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changeset 0:ed1308d04df2 moonlitnights

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[svn r1] initial import
author rlm
date Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:24:59 -0500
parents
children dbe144217c71
files BlackLady.zip ChibiUsa.zip ChibiUsa2.zip Hotaru.zip Hotaru2.zip Hotaru3.zip bar.gif ccsflower.zip chFics.html chFics.php chibihota-header.gif chibihota-logo_head.gif chibiusa-hotaru-wpsm.gif chibiusa-hotaru.jpg colorbook/index.html cu-panic_title-screen.jpg cu_panic.zip doujins/HM_doujin-trans.zip doujins/akumu_cover.jpg doujins/angel_time-cover.jpg doujins/angel_time.zip doujins/cuh_akumu.zip doujins/honeymoon_cover.jpg doujins/love_cherry-cover.jpg doujins/love_cherry-trans.zip downloads.php gallery/c_hPics.html gallery/c_hPics2.html gallery/chPics.html gallery/chPics2.html gallery/index.html gallery/main.html gallery/misc.html gallery/misc2.html gallery/misc3.html gallery/sidebar.html gallery/t_sPics.html gallery/t_sPics2.html gallery/t_sPics3.html gallery/t_sPics4.html gallery/t_sPics5.html gallery/tsPics.html gallery/tsPics2.html gallery/tsPics3.html gallery/tsPics4.html gallery/tsPics5.html gallery/tsPics6.html gallery/tsPics7.html hotaru-chibiusa.zip index-logo3.gif index.php index2.html index_redirext.html large-win_btm.jpg large-win_top.jpg links.php mireille-new.gif misc-logo_head.gif misc.php misc_noir-header.gif mn-logo_head.gif mn-style.css multi-logo_head.gif multi_spica-header.gif navi/cuh.gif navi/main.gif navi/misc.gif navi/multimedia.gif navi/navi_01.gif navi/navi_02.gif navi/navi_04.gif navi/navi_05.gif navi/navi_06.gif navi/navi_08.gif navi/navi_09.gif navi/navi_11.gif navi/navi_12.gif navi/navi_13.gif navi/navi_15.gif navi/navi_16.gif navi/navi_17.gif navi/navi_18.gif navi/navi_20.gif navi/navi_21.gif navi/spacer.gif navi/tomosaku.gif olivia.zip phpBB2/faq.php phpBB2/groupcp.php phpBB2/index.html phpBB2/index.php phpBB2/login.php phpBB2/memberlist.php phpBB2/search.php phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/BlackSoul.css phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/logo_phpBB.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif saku-tetris_screen.jpg sakura-new.gif sakura-tetris.zip sakutomo-header2.gif saturn-new.GIF small-win_btm2.jpg small-win_top2.jpg staff.php star-bg.gif stories/Bara.txt stories/CCN0.txt stories/CCN1.txt stories/CCN2.txt stories/CCN3.txt stories/CCN4.txt stories/CCN5.txt stories/CCN6Sword.txt stories/CCN7Ieraninclasslatest.txt stories/CCSDreamspart1fnl.txt stories/CCSReprise.txt stories/CCScharity.txt stories/CCScharity_2.txt stories/CCScharity_3.txt stories/CCScharity_4.txt stories/CCScharity_5.txt stories/Changecard.txt stories/Christmas_story.txt stories/Christmasgiftccs.txt stories/DeceptionTruth.txt stories/Dreams4.txt stories/Ellastory.txt stories/Hiddenfeelings.txt stories/Hotarus-Secret.txt stories/MelodiesofLifefin.txt stories/Misao.txt stories/Sarasong.txt stories/The-End.txt stories/TomoyoVideoDiary4.txt stories/Zero-X.txt stories/ad_story_list.txt stories/again.txt stories/aishiteru.txt stories/althea.txt stories/althea2.txt stories/alwayseternal1.txt stories/alwayseternal2.txt stories/angel-gatecrasher.txt stories/angel-itara.txt stories/angel-itara2.txt stories/angel-itara3.txt stories/angel-itara4.txt stories/anna.txt stories/another-day.txt stories/arigatou.txt stories/bestory.txt stories/blood.txt stories/bssm-harumichi.txt stories/bssm-senshireborn.txt stories/bssm_newsenshi.txt stories/btscenes.txt stories/callme.txt stories/cameo.txt stories/cckakumei.txt stories/ccs-2ndchild.txt stories/ccs-aishiteru.txt stories/ccs-anniversary.txt stories/ccs-asiwait.txt stories/ccs-cannot.txt stories/ccs-cctomopt1.txt stories/ccs-cinderella.txt stories/ccs-daydream.txt stories/ccs-destiny.txt stories/ccs-gift.txt stories/ccs-happiness.txt stories/ccs-happy.txt stories/ccs-hewasnt.txt stories/ccs-icanhear.txt stories/ccs-kg_01.txt stories/ccs-kg_02.txt stories/ccs-kg_p.txt stories/ccs-lifelove1.txt stories/ccs-lifelove2.txt stories/ccs-lost.txt stories/ccs-lovebest.txt stories/ccs-loveme.txt stories/ccs-nakunaku.txt stories/ccs-notforme.txt stories/ccs-painful.txt stories/ccs-parenthood.txt stories/ccs-perhaps_xmas.txt stories/ccs-pltofear.txt stories/ccs-ql.txt stories/ccs-seal01.txt stories/ccs-sh_01.txt stories/ccs-sidebyside.txt stories/ccs-song.txt stories/ccs-tellparents.txt stories/ccs-thousand.txt stories/ccs-timeheals.txt stories/ccs-tomoyoslove.txt stories/ccs-truelovewaits.txt stories/ccs-understanding.txt stories/ccs-unexpected.txt stories/ccs-whatis.txt stories/ccs-whitexmas.txt stories/ccs-wilbOK-01.txt stories/ccs.txt stories/ccs2.txt stories/ccs_adv-in-time.txt stories/ccs_chseasons.txt stories/ccs_crooked.txt stories/ccs_dear-diary.txt stories/ccs_grad-day.txt stories/ccs_home.txt stories/ccs_inmymind.txt stories/ccs_inthemiddle.txt stories/ccs_kissfromrose.txt stories/ccs_nadeshikosfirst.txt stories/ccs_nightflight.txt stories/ccs_nvr-engh-tm.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch1.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch2.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch3.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch4.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch5.txt stories/ccs_psla-ch6.txt stories/ccs_revelations.txt stories/ccs_tearfulnights.txt stories/ccs_tell-everyone.txt stories/ccs_tellstories.txt stories/ccs_theoneyoulove.txt stories/ccs_thewedding.txt stories/ccs_tomoyosmagic.txt stories/ccs_woman-girl.txt stories/ccs_yoru-01.txt stories/ccs_yoru-02.txt stories/ccs_yoru-03.txt stories/ccs_yoru-04.txt stories/ccs_yoru-05.txt stories/ccs_yoru-06.txt stories/ccs_yoru-07.txt stories/ccs_yoru-08.txt stories/ccsadults.txt stories/ccsakutomo.txt stories/ccsfieldday.txt stories/ccsnewlyweds.txt stories/ccssmile.txt stories/ccstomodfinl.txt stories/ccsxmas.txt stories/cera1.txt stories/cera2.txt stories/chbmn-satpt3.txt stories/chbmn_amp_amp_satpt4.txt stories/choices.txt stories/coldnight.txt stories/conjure.txt stories/cuh-amara.txt stories/cuh-complicated.txt stories/cuh_cruc.txt stories/cuh_grownchange.txt stories/cuh_iwonder.txt stories/cuh_newtitles.txt stories/cuh_ras-02.txt stories/cuh_ras-03.txt stories/cuh_ras-04.txt stories/cuh_ras-05.txt stories/cuh_ras-06.txt stories/cuh_ras-07.txt stories/cuh_ras-08.txt stories/cuh_ras.txt stories/cuh_somerise2.txt stories/cunpnk1.txt stories/cunpnk2.txt stories/cunpnk3.txt stories/cunpnk4.txt stories/cunpnk5.txt stories/cusahota1.txt stories/cusahota2.txt stories/darkrainbowcrystals01.txt stories/darkrainbowcrystals02.txt stories/darkrainbowcrystals03.txt stories/darkrainbowcrystals04.txt stories/dearsakura-00.txt stories/dearsakura-01.txt stories/dearsakura-02.txt stories/dearsakura-03.txt stories/dearsakura-04.txt stories/dearsakura-05.txt stories/dearsakura-06.txt stories/dearsakura-07.txt stories/dearsakura-08.txt stories/dearsakura-09.txt stories/dearsakura-10.txt stories/dearsakura-11.txt stories/dearsakura-12.txt stories/dearsakura-13.txt stories/dearsakura-14.txt stories/dearsakura-15.txt stories/dearsakura-16.txt stories/dearsakura-17.txt stories/dearsakura-18.txt stories/dearsakura-19.txt stories/dearsakura-20.txt stories/dearsakura-21.txt stories/dearsakura-22.txt stories/dearsakura-23.txt stories/dearsakura-24.txt stories/dearsakura-25.txt stories/dearsakura-26.txt stories/dearsakura-27.txt stories/dearsakura-28.txt stories/dearsakura-29.txt stories/dearsakura-30.txt stories/dedication.txt stories/desolation.txt stories/destiny.txt stories/different.txt stories/disbeauty1.txt stories/disbeauty2.txt stories/disbeauty3.txt stories/disbeauty4.txt stories/disbeauty5.txt stories/dojo.txt stories/dontmake.txt stories/dreamerstory.txt stories/dreamingof.txt stories/dreams2.txt stories/dreams3.txt stories/dreamsthatwontdis1.txt stories/dreamsthatwontdis2.txt stories/dreiseranth.txt stories/durimu.txt stories/earth-heaven.txt stories/emeraldeyes.txt stories/empty_coffin.txt stories/eye-1.txt stories/eye-2.txt stories/eye-3.txt stories/eye-4.txt stories/eye-pro.txt stories/familyties.txt stories/farewellfin.txt stories/fate-love.txt stories/firstkiss.txt stories/forgotten.txt stories/free.txt stories/friendship.txt stories/getaclueedit.txt stories/gotafriend.txt stories/grave.txt stories/greatestgift.txt stories/growingup.txt stories/guardian.txt stories/guessed.txt stories/hateme.txt stories/havebeenfate.txt stories/highheel.txt stories/hotaru2.txt stories/hotchoc.txt stories/illhap.txt stories/illusns.txt stories/itry.txt stories/jealous.txt stories/johannstory.txt stories/jrfdoor.txt stories/kstail.txt stories/letgo1.txt stories/letgo2.txt stories/liwpt.txt stories/lonely_hearts-00.txt stories/lost-feelings.txt stories/lost-feelings2.txt stories/lost-feelings3.txt stories/lost.txt stories/lovelies.txt stories/loversdreamers.txt stories/lovestory.txt stories/lovestory2.txt stories/loveyou.txt stories/magicnight.txt stories/meetagain.txt stories/mgs3.txt stories/mgsrain.txt stories/mint.txt stories/misch.txt stories/mlnite1.txt stories/moonlit2.txt stories/moving.txt stories/myeyesonyou.txt stories/myodango.txt stories/nervousdepression.txt stories/neveragain.txt stories/newmoon.txt stories/noir-afterwards.txt stories/noir-althena.txt stories/noir-rainfall.txt stories/noir-when.txt stories/noir_blackturnred.txt stories/noir_complementary.txt stories/noir_redblack-01.txt stories/noir_redblack-02.txt stories/noir_redblack-03.txt stories/noir_redblack-04.txt stories/noir_redblack-05.txt stories/noir_redblack-06.txt stories/noir_redblack-07.txt stories/noir_redblack-08.txt stories/noir_redblack-09.txt stories/noir_redblack-10.txt stories/noir_redblack-11.txt stories/noir_redblack-12.txt stories/noir_sabimer.txt stories/nomore.txt stories/nowboarding.txt stories/onewish.txt stories/pain.txt stories/pain2.txt stories/pain3.txt stories/panbra.txt stories/premise.txt stories/prismhearts-02.txt stories/prismhearts-03.txt stories/prismhearts-04.txt stories/prismhearts-05.txt stories/prismhearts-06.txt stories/prismhearts-07.txt stories/prismhearts-08.txt stories/prismhearts-09.txt stories/prismhearts-10.txt stories/prismhearts-11.txt stories/prismhearts-12.txt stories/prismhearts-13.txt stories/prismhearts-14.txt stories/prismhearts-15.txt stories/prismhearts-16.txt stories/prismhearts-17.txt stories/prismhearts-end.txt stories/prismhearts.txt stories/private.txt stories/psammy.txt stories/remswtch1.txt stories/remswtch2.txt stories/remswtch3.txt stories/revelations.txt stories/rinitaru.txt stories/rockmanxfic.txt stories/run.txt stories/runaway.txt stories/sailorstars.txt stories/sakuheart.txt stories/sakura.txt stories/sakuralemonpt1.txt stories/sakuralemonpt2.txt stories/sakuralemonpt3.txt stories/seal02.txt stories/seclove.txt stories/secretsdm.txt stories/sexs3.txt stories/shatteredmirror.txt stories/sleepingbeauty.txt stories/somerise1.txt stories/sonomi.txt stories/sonominadeshiko.txt stories/starcrossed.txt stories/stepping.txt stories/sttail.txt stories/substituteforlove.txt stories/sudnglmps.txt stories/summerbreeze.txt stories/sunrise.txt stories/sunset.txt stories/superman.txt stories/swing.txt stories/takesonept1.txt stories/tbcoml.txt stories/tcs1.txt stories/tcs2.txt stories/temporary.txt stories/thedepthsofhereyes.txt stories/thedream.txt stories/thejealousycard.txt stories/thief.txt stories/thoughts.txt stories/tnbxmas.txt stories/togetherforeverpt1.txt stories/togetherforeverpt2.txt stories/tomosak.txt stories/tomoyo-farewell.txt stories/tomoyo-prince.txt stories/tomoyo.txt stories/tomoyofirst.txt stories/tomoyofruits.txt stories/tomoyostory.txt stories/tomoyovisitor.txt stories/toujour2.txt stories/toujour3.txt stories/toujour4.txt stories/toujour5.txt stories/toujour6.txt stories/toujours.txt stories/truth-brings.txt stories/tshower.txt stories/underneath.txt stories/utenanshi_aftermovie.txt stories/vacation.txt stories/victorstory.txt stories/voltarianmush.txt stories/walkrain.txt stories/wanto.txt stories/watchingyou.txt stories/waterrunsdry.txt stories/waterrunsdry2.txt stories/whynotme.txt stories/xeno-picnic.txt stories/xmas-carol.txt stories/yetheaven.txt submit/index.html submit/maianuploader.php submit_toheart-header.gif table-bg.jpg tomosaku-logo_head.gif tomoyo_chan.zip tsFics.php
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     1.1 Binary file BlackLady.zip has changed

     2.1 Binary file ChibiUsa.zip has changed

     3.1 Binary file ChibiUsa2.zip has changed

     4.1 Binary file Hotaru.zip has changed

     5.1 Binary file Hotaru2.zip has changed

     6.1 Binary file Hotaru3.zip has changed

     7.1 Binary file bar.gif has changed

     8.1 Binary file ccsflower.zip has changed

     9.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     9.2 +++ b/chFics.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     9.3 @@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
     9.4 +<HTML><head><title>Moonlit Nights: ChibiUsa and Hotaru</title>
     9.5 +<style>
     9.6 +  body{
     9.7 +  scrollbar-arrow-color: #C0D2F6;
     9.8 +  scrollbar-3dlight-color: #000000;
     9.9 +  scrollbar-highlight-color: #C0D2F6;
    9.10 +  scrollbar-face-color: #000000;
    9.11 +  scrollbar-shadow-color: #C0D2F6;
    9.12 +  scrollbar-darkshadow-color: #000000;
    9.13 +  scrollbar-track-color: #000000;
    9.14 +  }
    9.15 +  </style>
    9.16 +<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://jrem.net/moonlit/favicon.ico">
    9.17 +</head>
    9.18 +<body bgcolor="000000" background="star-bg.gif">
    9.19 +
    9.20 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 255; height:
    9.21 +308"><img src="chibihota-top.gif" width="540" height="260"></div>
    9.22 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 110; left: 285; width: 255;
    9.23 +height: 308"><img src="chibihota-title.gif" width="315" height="141"></div>
    9.24 +
    9.25 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 265;
    9.26 +left: 2%; width: 255; height:383">
    9.27 +<table border="2" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
    9.28 +bordercolor="000000">
    9.29 +<tr>
    9.30 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Welcome to the page that Moonlit 
    9.31 +Nights was started around: an archive of stories dedicated to 
    9.32 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru (from the manga/anime of "Bishoujo Senshi 
    9.33 +Sailor Moon"). As in the other sections, at times there may be 
    9.34 +a story or so that doesn't exactly fall completely into the 
    9.35 +catergory of the characters. These stories are here because 
    9.36 +it was felt that they not only met the standards, but they 
    9.37 +applied to the same basic theme. Just thought I'd mention that 
    9.38 +ahead of time.
    9.39 +<p>
    9.40 +!H! = Hentai<p>
    9.41 +<img src="saturn-new.GIF" width="26" height="51"> = New</td>
    9.42 +</tr>
    9.43 +<tr><td><br><br></td></tr><tr>
    9.44 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><p><a href="index2.html">Main</a><br>
    9.45 +<a href="chFics.html">ChibiUsa and Hotaru</a><br>
    9.46 +<a href="tsFics.html">Tomoyo and Sakura</a><br>
    9.47 +<a href="misc.html">Misc</a><br>
    9.48 +<a href="downloads.html">Downloads</a><br>
    9.49 +<a href="thanks.html">Thanks</a><br>
    9.50 +<a href="links.html">Links</a></p>
    9.51 +<p><a href="gallery/index.html">Image Gallery</a></p>
    9.52 +</td>
    9.53 +</tr>
    9.54 +</table></div>
    9.55 +
    9.56 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 265;
    9.57 +left: 36%; width: 255; height:383">
    9.58 +<table border="2" width="400" height="600" bgcolor="F2C8CE"
    9.59 +style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="000000">
    9.60 +<tr>
    9.61 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
    9.62 +
    9.63 +<a
    9.64 +href="rinitaru.txt" target="_blank">Alabaster Rubies</a> 
    9.65 +Adria Lynne Tondreault<br>
    9.66 +<img src="saturn-new.GIF" width="26" height="51">
    9.67 +<a href="cuh-amara.txt" target="_blank"
    9.68 +>Untitled</a> Amara<br>
    9.69 +        !H!<a href="aishiteru.txt" target="_blank">Aishiteru 
    9.70 +        ChibiUsa</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.71 +        !H!<a href="bestory.txt" target="_blank">A 
    9.72 +        Beach Story</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.73 +<a
    9.74 +href="ad_story_list.txt" target="_blank">Amazoness Duo's 
    9.75 +Story List</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.76 +        !H!<a href="btscenes.txt" target="_blank">Behind 
    9.77 +        The Scenes</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.78 +        !H!<a href="choices.txt" target="_blank">Choices</a> 
    9.79 +        Amazoness Duo and Aimie
    9.80 +<p>
    9.81 +<a
    9.82 +href="eye-pro.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Prologue</a> 
    9.83 +Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.84 +<a
    9.85 +href="eye-1.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part One</a> 
    9.86 +Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.87 +<a
    9.88 +href="eye-2.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Two</a> 
    9.89 +Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.90 +<a
    9.91 +href="eye-3.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Three</a> 
    9.92 +Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.93 +<a
    9.94 +href="eye-4.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Four</a> 
    9.95 +Amazoness Duo
    9.96 +<p>
    9.97 +        <a href="familyties.txt" target="_blank">Family 
    9.98 +        Ties</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
    9.99 +        <a href="farewellfin.txt" target="_blank">Farewell</a> 
   9.100 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.101 +!H!<a
   9.102 +href="free.txt" target="_blank">Finally Free</a> 
   9.103 +Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.104 +        <a href="illusns.txt" target="_blank">Illusions</a>Part 
   9.105 +        3 To Moonlit Nights. Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.106 +        !H!<a href="loveyou.txt" target="_blank">I 
   9.107 +        Love You Hotaru</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.108 +<a
   9.109 +href="chbmn_amp_amp_satpt4.txt" target="_blank">Killing Me Softly</a> 
   9.110 +Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.111 +<a
   9.112 +href="sailorstars.txt" target="_blank">Kryptonite</a> 
   9.113 +Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.114 +        <a href="loversdreamers.txt" target="_blank">Lovers 
   9.115 +        And Dreamers</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.116 +        <a href="MelodiesofLifefin.txt" target="_blank">Melodies 
   9.117 +        Of Life</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.118 +        !H!<a href="misch.txt" target="_blank">Missed 
   9.119 +        Chances</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.120 +        <a href="mlnite1.txt" target="_blank">Moonlit 
   9.121 +        Nights</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.122 +        !H!<a href="moonlit2.txt" target="_blank">Moonlit 
   9.123 +        Nights 2</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.124 +        <a href="premise.txt" target="_blank">Premise</a> 
   9.125 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.126 +        !H!<a href="revelations.txt" target="_blank">Revelations</a> 
   9.127 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.128 +        !H!<a href="sexs3.txt" target="_blank">Secret 
   9.129 +        Of The Sexy Slippers: Part 3</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.130 +        <a href="shatteredmirror.txt" target="_blank">Shattered 
   9.131 +        Mirror</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.132 +        <a href="sudnglmps.txt" target="_blank">Sudden 
   9.133 +        Glimpse</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.134 +        !H!<a href="chbmn-satpt3.txt" target="_blank">Tears 
   9.135 +        And Rain</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
   9.136 +        !H!<a href="tnbxmas.txt" target="_blank">'Twas 
   9.137 +        The Night Before Christmas</a> Amazoness Duo
   9.138 +<p>
   9.139 +        <a href="cunpnk1.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
   9.140 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
   9.141 +        <a href="cunpnk2.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
   9.142 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 2</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
   9.143 +        <a href="cunpnk3.txt" target="_blank">Chibiusa 
   9.144 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 3</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
   9.145 +        <a href="cunpnk4.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
   9.146 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 4</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
   9.147 +        !H!<a href="cunpnk5.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
   9.148 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 5</a> Andrea Doolan
   9.149 +<p>
   9.150 +        <a href="jrfdoor.txt" target="_blank">Musings 
   9.151 +        At The Door Of Sleep</a> Berk Watkins<br>
   9.152 +        <a href="tbcoml.txt" target="_blank">The 
   9.153 +        Biggest Choice Of My Life</a> Blue Esper<br>
   9.154 +        <a href="dreiseranth.txt" target="_blank">Letting 
   9.155 +        Go</a> Dreiser<br>
   9.156 +<a
   9.157 +href="bssm-harumichi.txt">What My Heart Knows</a> Forever3330<br>
   9.158 +<a href="cuh-complicated.txt" target="_blank"
   9.159 +>Complicated</a> Forever3330<br>
   9.160 +        <a href="desolation.txt" target="_blank">Letters 
   9.161 +        From Desolation Row</a> Ghost of 'lectricity
   9.162 +<p>
   9.163 +        !H!<a href="pain.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
   9.164 +        Pain</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
   9.165 +        !H!<a href="pain2.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
   9.166 +        Pain 2</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
   9.167 +        !H!<a href="pain3.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
   9.168 +        Pain 3</a> Ghost of 'lectricity
   9.169 +<p>
   9.170 +        !H!<a href="friendship.txt" target="_blank">A 
   9.171 +        Story Of Friendship And Curiosity</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
   9.172 +        <a href="blood.txt" target="_blank">The 
   9.173 +        Taste Of Blood</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
   9.174 +        <a href="again.txt" target="_blank">Until 
   9.175 +        We Meet Again</a> Hotaru/Amber<br>
   9.176 +
   9.177 +!H!<a
   9.178 +href="hotchoc.txt" 
   9.179 +target="_blank">Hot Chocolate</a> Hotaru-Angel<br>
   9.180 +!H!<a
   9.181 +href="nomore.txt" target="_blank">Innocent No More</a> Ice_Fyre03<br>
   9.182 +        !H!<a href="dreamerstory.txt" target="_blank">No 
   9.183 +        Title</a> Lady Dreamer<br>
   9.184 +        !H!<a href="Hotarus-Secret.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
   9.185 +        Secret</a> Lanis01<br>
   9.186 +        <a href="myodango.txt" target="_blank">My 
   9.187 +        Odango</a> Michiruka <br>
   9.188 +        <a href="cusahota1.txt" target="_blank">Everlasting 
   9.189 +        Love</a> Minako Star<br>
   9.190 +        !H!<a href="newmoon.txt" target="_blank">The 
   9.191 +        New Moon's Decision</a> Miss ParaPara<br>
   9.192 +        !H!<a href="tshower.txt" target="_blank">The 
   9.193 +        Shower</a> Miss ParaPara<br>
   9.194 +        <a href="cusahota2.txt" target="_blank">Silent 
   9.195 +        Star</a> MoonbeamDancer<br>
   9.196 +<a
   9.197 +href="darkrainbowcrystals.txt" target="_blank"
   9.198 +>The Dark Rainbow Crystals</a> Moonpower02<br>
   9.199 +<a href="drc2.txt" target="_blank"
   9.200 +>The Dark Rainbow Crystals Chapter 2</a> Moonpower02<br>
   9.201 +        <a href="sunrise.txt" target="_blank">Sunrise</a> 
   9.202 +        Obscure Sapphire<br>
   9.203 +        <a href="dreamsthatwontdis1.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 
   9.204 +        That Won't Disappear When I Open My Eyes: Prelude</a>
   9.205 +Princess<br>
   9.206 +        <a href="dreamsthatwontdis2.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 
   9.207 +        That Won't Disappear When I Open My Eyes: Part 1</a>
   9.208 +Princess<br>
   9.209 +        !H!<a href="thedepthsofhereyes.txt" target="_blank">The 
   9.210 +        Depths Of Her Eyes</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.211 +        !H!<a href="growingup.txt" target="_blank">Growing 
   9.212 +        Up</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.213 +        !H!<a href="swing.txt" target="_blank">Lovers 
   9.214 +        Of The Past</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.215 +        <a href="summerbreeze.txt" target="_blank">Summer 
   9.216 +        Breeze</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.217 +        <a href="waterrunsdry.txt" target="_blank">Water 
   9.218 +        Runs Dry</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.219 +        !H!<a href="waterrunsdry2.txt" target="_blank">Water 
   9.220 +        Runs Dry 2</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
   9.221 +        !H!<a href="vacation.txt" target="_blank">Vacation</a> 
   9.222 +        ReiHime<br>
   9.223 +        <a href="gotafriend.txt" target="_blank">You've 
   9.224 +        Got A Friend</a> Sailor Aphrodite/Rami<br>
   9.225 +        !H!<a href="sunset.txt" target="_blank">Sunset 
   9.226 +        Magic</a> Sailor Scorpio<br>
   9.227 +<a
   9.228 +href="havebeenfate.txt" target="_blank">It Must Have 
   9.229 +Been Fate</a> Sara Jaye<br>
   9.230 +<a
   9.231 +href="yetheaven.txt" target="_blank">And Yet By Heaven</a>
   9.232 + Saturn Knight<br>
   9.233 +
   9.234 +<p>
   9.235 +<a
   9.236 +href="toujours.txt" target="_blank">Toujour</a> 
   9.237 +Saturn Knight<br>
   9.238 +<a
   9.239 +href="toujour2.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 2</a> 
   9.240 +Saturn Knight<br>
   9.241 +<a
   9.242 +href="toujour3.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 3</a> 
   9.243 +Saturn Knight<br>
   9.244 +<a
   9.245 +href="toujour4.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 4</a> 
   9.246 +Saturn Knight<br>
   9.247 +<a
   9.248 +href="toujour5.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 5</a> 
   9.249 +Saturn Knight<br>
   9.250 +<a
   9.251 +href="toujour6.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 6</a> 
   9.252 +Saturn Knight
   9.253 +</p>
   9.254 +
   9.255 +<a
   9.256 +href="starcrossed.txt" 
   9.257 +target="_blank">Star Crossed</a> Saturn Knight<br>
   9.258 +
   9.259 +        !H!<a href="seclove.txt" target="_blank">Secret 
   9.260 +        Love</a> Sumire<br>
   9.261 +        <a href="liwpt.txt" target="_blank">Love 
   9.262 +        Is Worth The Pain</a> Traveler<br>
   9.263 +        !H!<a href="dojo.txt" target="_blank">Relax 
   9.264 +        At The Dojo</a> Unknown<br>
   9.265 +        !H!<a href="highheel.txt" target="_blank">High 
   9.266 +        Heel Shoes</a> Unknown<br>
   9.267 +        <a href="hotaru2.txt" target="_blank">Teenage 
   9.268 +        Life</a> Unknown<br>
   9.269 +        <a href="always.txt" target="_blank">I 
   9.270 +        Will Always Be There For You</a> YaRassno<br>
   9.271 +        <a href="tndrstrm.txt" target="_blank">Thunderstorm</a> 
   9.272 +        YaRassno<br>
   9.273 +        <a href="victorstory.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
   9.274 +        Birthday</a> Victor? <br>
   9.275 +        !H!<a href="destiny.txt" target="_blank">Destiny's 
   9.276 +        Plans</a> Yohann DeSabrais<br>
   9.277 +        !H!<a href="private.txt" target="_blank">My 
   9.278 +        Private Teacher</a> Yohann DeSabrais
   9.279 +
   9.280 +<br>
   9.281 +</div></td>
   9.282 +</tr>
   9.283 +</TABLE>
   9.284 +</div>
   9.285 +
   9.286 +</body>
   9.287 +
   9.288 +</HTML>
   9.289 \ No newline at end of file

    10.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    10.2 +++ b/chFics.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
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  10.128 +<img src="chibihota-header.gif" width=540 height=260>
  10.129 +</div>
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  10.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
  10.136 +</tr><tr>
  10.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Welcome to the page that Moonlit 
  10.138 +Nights was started around: an archive of stories dedicated to 
  10.139 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru (from the manga/anime of "Bishoujo Senshi 
  10.140 +Sailor Moon"). As in the other sections, at times there may be 
  10.141 +a story or so that doesn't exactly fall completely into the 
  10.142 +catergory of the characters. These stories are here because 
  10.143 +it was felt that they not only met the standards, but they 
  10.144 +applied to the same basic theme. Just thought I'd mention that 
  10.145 +ahead of time.
  10.146 +<p>
  10.147 +!H! = Hentai<p>
  10.148 +<img src="saturn-new.GIF"> = New</td>
  10.149 +</tr>
  10.150 +<tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
  10.151 +</tr>
  10.152 +</table></div>
  10.153 +
  10.154 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 340;
  10.155 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
  10.156 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
  10.157 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
  10.158 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  10.159 +
  10.160 +<a href="stories/rinitaru.txt" target="_blank">Alabaster Rubies</a> 
  10.161 +Adria Lynne Tondreault<br>
  10.162 +        !H!<a href="stories/bestory.txt" target="_blank">A 
  10.163 +        Beach Story</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.164 +        !H!<a href="stories/aishiteru.txt" target="_blank">Aishiteru 
  10.165 +        ChibiUsa</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.166 +<a href="stories/ad_story_list.txt" target="_blank">Amazoness Duo's 
  10.167 +Story List</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.168 +        !H!<a href="stories/btscenes.txt" target="_blank">Behind 
  10.169 +        The Scenes</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.170 +        !H!<a href="stories/choices.txt" target="_blank">Choices</a> 
  10.171 +        Amazoness Duo and Aimie
  10.172 +<p>
  10.173 +<a href="stories/eye-pro.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Prologue</a> 
  10.174 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.175 +<a href="stories/eye-1.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part One</a> 
  10.176 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.177 +<a href="stories/eye-2.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Two</a> 
  10.178 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.179 +<a href="stories/eye-3.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Three</a> 
  10.180 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.181 +<a href="stories/eye-4.txt" target="_blank">Eye Of The Beholder Part Four</a> 
  10.182 +Amazoness Duo
  10.183 +</p>
  10.184 +        <a href="stories/familyties.txt" target="_blank">Family 
  10.185 +        Ties</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.186 +        <a href="stories/farewellfin.txt" target="_blank">Farewell</a> 
  10.187 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.188 +!H!<a href="stories/free.txt" target="_blank">Finally Free</a> 
  10.189 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.190 +        <a href="stories/illusns.txt" target="_blank">Illusions</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.191 +        !H!<a href="stories/loveyou.txt" target="_blank">I 
  10.192 +        Love You Hotaru</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.193 +<a href="stories/chbmn_amp_amp_satpt4.txt" target="_blank">Killing Me Softly</a> 
  10.194 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.195 +<a href="stories/sailorstars.txt" target="_blank">Kryptonite</a> 
  10.196 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.197 +        <a href="stories/loversdreamers.txt" target="_blank">Lovers 
  10.198 +        And Dreamers</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.199 +        <a href="stories/MelodiesofLifefin.txt" target="_blank">Melodies 
  10.200 +        Of Life</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.201 +        !H!<a href="stories/misch.txt" target="_blank">Missed 
  10.202 +        Chances</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.203 +        <a href="stories/mlnite1.txt" target="_blank">Moonlit 
  10.204 +        Nights</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.205 +        !H!<a href="stories/moonlit2.txt" target="_blank">Moonlit 
  10.206 +        Nights 2</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.207 +        <a href="stories/premise.txt" target="_blank">Premise</a> 
  10.208 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.209 +        !H!<a href="stories/revelations.txt" target="_blank">Revelations</a> 
  10.210 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.211 +        !H!<a href="stories/sexs3.txt" target="_blank">Secret 
  10.212 +        Of The Sexy Slippers: Part 3</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.213 +        <a href="stories/shatteredmirror.txt" target="_blank">Shattered 
  10.214 +        Mirror</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.215 +        <a href="stories/sudnglmps.txt" target="_blank">Sudden 
  10.216 +        Glimpse</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.217 +        !H!<a href="stories/chbmn-satpt3.txt" target="_blank">Tears 
  10.218 +        And Rain</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  10.219 +        !H!<a href="stories/tnbxmas.txt" target="_blank">'Twas 
  10.220 +        The Night Before Christmas</a> Amazoness Duo
  10.221 +<p>
  10.222 +        <a href="stories/cunpnk1.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
  10.223 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
  10.224 +        <a href="stories/cunpnk2.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
  10.225 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 2</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
  10.226 +        <a href="stories/cunpnk3.txt" target="_blank">Chibiusa 
  10.227 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 3</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
  10.228 +        <a href="stories/cunpnk4.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
  10.229 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 4</a> Andrea Doolan<br>
  10.230 +        !H!<a href="stories/cunpnk5.txt" target="_blank">ChibiUsa 
  10.231 +        No Pyua Na Kokoro 5</a> Andrea Doolan
  10.232 +</p>
  10.233 +        <a href="stories/jrfdoor.txt" target="_blank">Musings 
  10.234 +        At The Door Of Sleep</a> Berk Watkins<br>
  10.235 +        <a href="stories/tbcoml.txt" target="_blank">The 
  10.236 +        Biggest Choice Of My Life</a> Blue Esper<br>
  10.237 +        <a href="stories/dreiseranth.txt" target="_blank">Letting 
  10.238 +        Go</a> Dreiser<br>
  10.239 +<a href="stories/cuh-complicated.txt" target="_blank">Complicated</a> Forever3330<br>
  10.240 +<a href="stories/bssm-harumichi.txt">What My Heart Knows</a> Forever3330<br>
  10.241 +        !H!<a href="stories/friendship.txt" target="_blank">A 
  10.242 +        Story Of Friendship And Curiosity</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
  10.243 +<p>
  10.244 +        !H!<a href="stories/pain.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
  10.245 +        Pain</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
  10.246 +        !H!<a href="stories/pain2.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
  10.247 +        Pain 2</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
  10.248 +        !H!<a href="stories/pain3.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
  10.249 +        Pain 3</a> Ghost of 'lectricity
  10.250 +</p>
  10.251 +        <a href="stories/desolation.txt" target="_blank">Letters 
  10.252 +        From Desolation Row</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
  10.253 +        <a href="stories/blood.txt" target="_blank">The 
  10.254 +        Taste Of Blood</a> Ghost of 'lectricity<br>
  10.255 +        <a href="stories/again.txt" target="_blank">Until 
  10.256 +        We Meet Again</a> Hotaru/Amber<br>
  10.257 +
  10.258 +!H!<a href="stories/hotchoc.txt" 
  10.259 +target="_blank">Hot Chocolate</a> Hotaru-Angel<br>
  10.260 +!H!<a href="stories/nomore.txt" target="_blank">Innocent No More</a> Ice_Fyre03<br>
  10.261 +<a href="stories/cuh-amara.txt" target="_blank">A New Light</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.262 +<a href="stories/bssm_newsenshi.txt" target="_blank">A New Senshi?</a> 
  10.263 +Jerry-rose<br>
  10.264 +<a href="stories/bssm-senshireborn.txt" target="_blank">A Senshi Reborn</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.265 +<a href="stories/cuh_cruc.txt" target="_blank">
  10.266 +Crucifixion</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.267 +<a href="stories/cuh_grownchange.txt" target="_blank">Growing And Changing</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.268 +<a href="stories/cuh_newtitles.txt" target="_blank">
  10.269 +New Titles</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.270 +<a href="stories/cuh_iwonder.txt" target="_blank">
  10.271 +Space For Hope</a> Jerry-rose<br>
  10.272 +        !H!<a href="stories/dreamerstory.txt" target="_blank">No 
  10.273 +        Title</a> Lady Dreamer<br>
  10.274 +        !H!<a href="stories/Hotarus-Secret.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
  10.275 +        Secret</a> Lanis01<br>
  10.276 +        <a href="stories/myodango.txt" target="_blank">My 
  10.277 +        Odango</a> Michiruka <br>
  10.278 +        <a href="stories/cusahota1.txt" target="_blank">Everlasting 
  10.279 +        Love</a> Minako Star<br>
  10.280 +        !H!<a href="stories/newmoon.txt" target="_blank">The 
  10.281 +        New Moon's Decision</a> Miss ParaPara<br>
  10.282 +        !H!<a href="stories/tshower.txt" target="_blank">The 
  10.283 +        Shower</a> Miss ParaPara<br>
  10.284 +        <a href="stories/cusahota2.txt" target="_blank">Silent 
  10.285 +        Star</a> MoonbeamDancer<br>
  10.286 +<p><a href="stories/cuh_ras.txt" target="_blank">
  10.287 +Ra's Daughters</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.288 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-02.txt" target="_blank">
  10.289 +Ra's Daughters 2</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.290 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-03.txt" target="_blank">
  10.291 +Ra's Daughters 3</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.292 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-04.txt" target="_blank">
  10.293 +Ra's Daughters 4</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.294 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-05.txt" target="_blank">
  10.295 +Ra's Daughters 5</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.296 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-06.txt" target="_blank">
  10.297 +Ra's Daughters 6</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.298 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-07.txt" target="_blank">
  10.299 +Ra's Daughters 7</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.300 +<img src="saturn-new.GIF">
  10.301 +<a href="stories/cuh_ras-08.txt" target="_blank">
  10.302 +Ra's Daughters 8</a> Moonpower02</p>
  10.303 +
  10.304 +<p>
  10.305 +<a href="stories/darkrainbowcrystals01.txt" target="_blank">
  10.306 +The Dark Rainbow Crystals</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.307 +<a href="stories/darkrainbowcrystals02.txt" target="_blank">
  10.308 +The Dark Rainbow Crystals 2</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.309 +<a href="stories/darkrainbowcrystals03.txt" target="_blank">
  10.310 +The Dark Rainbow Crystals 3</a> Moonpower02<br>
  10.311 +<a href="stories/darkrainbowcrystals04.txt" target="_blank">
  10.312 +The Dark Rainbow Crystals 4</a> Moonpower02</p>
  10.313 +
  10.314 +        <a href="stories/sunrise.txt" target="_blank">Sunrise</a> 
  10.315 +        Obscure Sapphire<br>
  10.316 +        <a href="stories/dreamsthatwontdis1.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 
  10.317 +        That Won't Disappear When I Open My Eyes: Prelude</a>
  10.318 +Princess<br>
  10.319 +        <a href="stories/dreamsthatwontdis2.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 
  10.320 +        That Won't Disappear When I Open My Eyes: Part 1</a>
  10.321 +Princess<br>
  10.322 +        !H!<a href="stories/growingup.txt" target="_blank">Growing 
  10.323 +        Up</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.324 +        !H!<a href="stories/swing.txt" target="_blank">Lovers 
  10.325 +        Of The Past</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.326 +        <a href="stories/summerbreeze.txt" target="_blank">Summer 
  10.327 +        Breeze</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.328 +        !H!<a href="stories/thedepthsofhereyes.txt" target="_blank">The 
  10.329 +        Depths Of Her Eyes</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.330 +        <a href="stories/waterrunsdry.txt" target="_blank">Water 
  10.331 +        Runs Dry</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.332 +        !H!<a href="stories/waterrunsdry2.txt" target="_blank">Water 
  10.333 +        Runs Dry 2</a> Psychokittensenshi611<br>
  10.334 +        !H!<a href="stories/vacation.txt" target="_blank">Vacation</a> 
  10.335 +        ReiHime<br>
  10.336 +        <a href="stories/gotafriend.txt" target="_blank">You've 
  10.337 +        Got A Friend</a> Sailor Aphrodite/Rami<br>
  10.338 +        !H!<a href="stories/sunset.txt" target="_blank">Sunset 
  10.339 +        Magic</a> Sailor Scorpio<br>
  10.340 +<a href="stories/havebeenfate.txt" target="_blank">It Must Have 
  10.341 +Been Fate</a> Sara Jaye<br>
  10.342 +<a href="stories/yetheaven.txt" target="_blank">And Yet By Heaven</a>
  10.343 + Saturn Knight<br>
  10.344 +<a href="stories/somerise1.txt" target="_blank">Some Rise By Sin</a> Saturn Knight<br>
  10.345 +<a href="stories/cuh_somerise2.txt" target="_blank">Some Rise By Sin 2</a> Saturn Knight<br>
  10.346 +<a href="stories/starcrossed.txt" 
  10.347 +target="_blank">Star Crossed</a> Saturn Knight<br>
  10.348 +
  10.349 +<p>
  10.350 +<a href="stories/toujours.txt" target="_blank">Toujour</a> 
  10.351 +Saturn Knight<br>
  10.352 +<a href="stories/toujour2.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 2</a> 
  10.353 +Saturn Knight<br>
  10.354 +<a href="stories/toujour3.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 3</a> 
  10.355 +Saturn Knight<br>
  10.356 +<a href="stories/toujour4.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 4</a> 
  10.357 +Saturn Knight<br>
  10.358 +<a href="stories/toujour5.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 5</a> 
  10.359 +Saturn Knight<br>
  10.360 +<a href="stories/toujour6.txt" target="_blank">Toujour 6</a> 
  10.361 +Saturn Knight
  10.362 +</p>
  10.363 +
  10.364 +        !H!<a href="stories/seclove.txt" target="_blank">Secret 
  10.365 +        Love</a> Sumire<br>
  10.366 +        <a href="stories/liwpt.txt" target="_blank">Love 
  10.367 +        Is Worth The Pain</a> Traveler<br>
  10.368 +        !H!<a href="stories/dojo.txt" target="_blank">Relax 
  10.369 +        At The Dojo</a> Unknown<br>
  10.370 +        !H!<a href="stories/highheel.txt" target="_blank">High 
  10.371 +        Heel Shoes</a> Unknown<br>
  10.372 +        <a href="stories/hotaru2.txt" target="_blank">Teenage 
  10.373 +        Life</a> Unknown<br>
  10.374 +        <a href="stories/victorstory.txt" target="_blank">Hotaru's 
  10.375 +        Birthday</a> Victor?<br>
  10.376 +        <a href="stories/Christmasgiftccs.txt" target="_blank">I Will 
  10.377 +Always Be There For You</a> YaRassno<br>
  10.378 +        !H!<a href="stories/destiny.txt" target="_blank">Destiny's 
  10.379 +        Plans</a> Yohann DeSabrais<br>
  10.380 +        !H!<a href="stories/private.txt" target="_blank">My 
  10.381 +        Private Teacher</a> Yohann DeSabrais
  10.382 +
  10.383 +<br>
  10.384 +</div></td>
  10.385 +</tr>
  10.386 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
  10.387 +</tr>
  10.388 +</TABLE>
  10.389 +</div>
  10.390 +
  10.391 +</body>
  10.392 +
  10.393 +</HTML>
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  15.130 +
  15.131 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 300;
  15.132 +left:25; width: 129; height:368"><img src="design/mn_color.gif" alt="Brought to you by 
  15.133 +Moonlit Nights" width="140" height="262"></div>
  15.134 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 10;
  15.135 +left:35; width: 140; height:99"><a href=
  15.136 +"http://www.moonlitnights.org/downloads.php"><img src="design/chibiusa_header.gif" alt="Return to Multimedia" border=0 width="140" height="99"><br>Return to Multimedia</a></div>
  15.137 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 10;
  15.138 +right:-10; width: 190; height:308"><img src="design/sakura_sketch.gif" alt="Kiss me, love 
  15.139 +me, bring color to my soul." width="180" height="291"></div>
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   26.62 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   26.63 +</TR><TR>
   26.64 +<TD COLSPAN=4 ROWSPAN=2>
   26.65 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_02.gif" WIDTH=36 HEIGHT=41></TD>
   26.66 +<TD COLSPAN=5>
   26.67 +<A HREF="./chFics.php"
   26.68 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='ChibiUsa and Hotaru';  return true;"
   26.69 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image1.src='navi/cuh2.gif';"onmouseout="image1.src='navi/cuh.gif';">
   26.70 +<img name="image1" src="navi/cuh.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   26.71 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_04.gif" WIDTH=16 HEIGHT=55></TD>
   26.72 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=33></TD>
   26.73 +</TR><TR>
   26.74 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_05.gif" WIDTH=187 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   26.75 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   26.76 +</TR><TR>
   26.77 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_06.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=33></TD>
   26.78 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
   26.79 +<A HREF="./misc.php"
   26.80 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Misc';  return true;"
   26.81 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image3.src='navi/misc2.gif';"onmouseout="image3.src='navi/misc.gif';">
   26.82 +<img name="image3" src="navi/misc.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   26.83 +<TD COLSPAN=4><IMG SRC="navi/navi_08.gif" WIDTH=142 HEIGHT=14></TD>
   26.84 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=14></TD>
   26.85 +</TR><TR>
   26.86 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_09.gif" WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=19></TD>
   26.87 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=3><A HREF="./index2.php"
   26.88 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Main';  return true;"
   26.89 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image2.src='navi/main2.gif';"onmouseout="image2.src='navi/main.gif';">
   26.90 +<img name="image2" src="navi/main.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   26.91 +<TD ROWSPAN=7><IMG SRC="navi/navi_11.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=91></TD>
   26.92 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=15></TD>
   26.93 +</TR><TR>
   26.94 +<TD COLSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_12.gif" WIDTH=74 HEIGHT=4></TD>
   26.95 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
   26.96 +</TR><TR>
   26.97 +<TD ROWSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_13.gif" WIDTH=6 HEIGHT=72></TD>
   26.98 +<TD COLSPAN=5 ROWSPAN=2><A HREF="./downloads.php"
   26.99 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Multimedia';  return true;"
  26.100 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image4.src='navi/multimedia2.gif';"onmouseout="image4.src='navi/multimedia.gif';">
  26.101 +<img name="image4" src="navi/multimedia.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
  26.102 +<TD ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_15.gif" WIDTH=24 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  26.103 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
  26.104 +</TR><TR>
  26.105 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
  26.106 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_16.gif" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=20></TD>
  26.107 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
  26.108 +</TR><TR>
  26.109 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_17.gif" WIDTH=123 HEIGHT=4></TD>
  26.110 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
  26.111 +</TR><TR>
  26.112 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_18.gif" WIDTH=29 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  26.113 +<TD COLSPAN=5><A HREF="./tsFics.php"
  26.114 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Tomoyo and Sakura';  return true;"
  26.115 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;">
  26.116 +<span onmouseover="image5.src='navi/tomosaku2.gif';"onmouseout="image5.src='navi/tomosaku.gif';">
  26.117 +<img name="image5" src="navi/tomosaku.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
  26.118 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_20.gif" WIDTH=18 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  26.119 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=31></TD>
  26.120 +</TR><TR>
  26.121 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_21.gif" WIDTH=179 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  26.122 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  26.123 +</TR></TABLE>
  26.124 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 End -->
  26.125 +</div>
  26.126 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
  26.127 +left: 0; width: 262; height:321">
  26.128 +<img src="multi_spica-header.gif" width=262 height=321>
  26.129 +</div>
  26.130 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  26.131 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
  26.132 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
  26.133 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
  26.134 +<tr>
  26.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
  26.136 +</tr><tr>
  26.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Here we are, in the 
  26.138 +Multimedia section. What sorts of little gems can 
  26.139 +be found here? Well, this is where you can pick up 
  26.140 +all sorts of odds and ends for you to play with 
  26.141 +to keep yourself entertained, all related to 
  26.142 +Moonlit Nights! Some files can be downloaded while 
  26.143 +others are for use online (such as the online 
  26.144 +KiSS dolls). If you have a hard time getting 
  26.145 +any of the downloadable files to work, feel 
  26.146 +free to contact me.
  26.147 +</td>
  26.148 +</tr><tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
  26.149 +</tr>
  26.150 +</table></div>
  26.151 +
  26.152 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  26.153 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
  26.154 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
  26.155 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
  26.156 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  26.157 +
  26.158 +<table width="300" border="0">
  26.159 +<tr>
  26.160 +<td><b>[Manga/Doujins]</b></td>
  26.161 +</tr>
  26.162 +<tr>
  26.163 +<td>!H!<a href="./doujins/angel_time.zip">Angel Time</a> 
  26.164 +<a href="doujins/angel_time-cover.jpg" target="_blank">[Cover]</a> [S+T] [English]</td>
  26.165 +<td>2.8MB, 19 pgs</td>
  26.166 +</tr>
  26.167 +<tr>
  26.168 +<td><a href="./doujins/HM_doujin-trans.zip">HoneyMoon</a> 
  26.169 +<a href="doujins/honeymoon_cover.jpg" target="_blank">[Cover]</a> [S+T] [English]</td>
  26.170 +<td>1.54MB, 24 pgs</td>
  26.171 +</tr>
  26.172 +<tr>
  26.173 +<td>!H!<a href="./doujins/love_cherry-trans.zip">Love Cherry</a> 
  26.174 +<a href="doujins/love_cherry-cover.jpg" target="_blank">[Cover]</a> [S+T] [English]</td>
  26.175 +<td>1.87MB, 17 pgs</td>
  26.176 +</tr>
  26.177 +<tr>
  26.178 +<td>!H!<a href="./doujins/cuh_akumu.zip">Nightmare Planet</a> 
  26.179 +<a href="doujins/akumu_cover.jpg" target="_blank">[Cover]</a> [C+H] [English]</td>
  26.180 +<td>1.78MB, 24pgs</td>
  26.181 +</tr>
  26.182 +<tr>
  26.183 +<td><b>[Games]</b></td>
  26.184 +</tr>
  26.185 +<tr>
  26.186 +<td><a href="cu_panic.zip">ChibiUsa Panic</a> <a href="cu-panic_title-screen.jpg">
  26.187 +[Screen]</a></td>
  26.188 +<td>2.6MB</td>
  26.189 +</tr>
  26.190 +<tr>
  26.191 +<td><a href="sakura-tetris.zip">Sakura Tetris</a> <a href="saku-tetris_screen.jpg">
  26.192 +[Screen]</a></td>
  26.193 +<td>200KB</td>
  26.194 +</tr>
  26.195 +<tr>
  26.196 +<td><b>[Online Games/Toys]</b></td>
  26.197 +</tr>
  26.198 +<tr>
  26.199 +<td><i>May require a newer version of Java</i></td></tr>
  26.200 +<tr>
  26.201 +<td><b>Coloring Book</b></td>
  26.202 +<td><a href="./colorbook/">Launch</a></td>
  26.203 +</tr>
  26.204 +<tr>
  26.205 +<td><b>Online KiSS dolls</b></td>
  26.206 +<td><a href="#" onClick="control=window.open('kiss/control.html','control','toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=150,height=300'); return false;">Control Panel</a></td></tr>
  26.207 +<tr>
  26.208 +<td><b>[KiSS Dolls]</b></td>
  26.209 +</tr>
  26.210 +<tr>
  26.211 +<td><a href="BlackLady.zip">BlackLady</a></td>
  26.212 +<td>45.4KB</td>
  26.213 +</tr>
  26.214 +<tr>
  26.215 +<td><a href="ChibiUsa.zip">ChibiUsa</a></td>
  26.216 +<td>26.6KB</td>
  26.217 +</tr>
  26.218 +<tr>
  26.219 +<td><a href="ChibiUsa2.zip">ChibiUsa 2</a></td>
  26.220 +<td>81.3KB</td>
  26.221 +</tr>
  26.222 +<tr>
  26.223 +<td><a href="Hotaru.zip">Hotaru</a></td>
  26.224 +<td>942KB</td>
  26.225 +</tr>
  26.226 +<tr>
  26.227 +<td><a href="Hotaru2.zip">Hotaru 2</a></td>
  26.228 +<td>1.04MB</td>
  26.229 +</tr>
  26.230 +<tr>
  26.231 +<td><a href="Hotaru3.zip">Hotaru 3</a></td>
  26.232 +<td>43.5KB</td>
  26.233 +</tr>
  26.234 +<tr>
  26.235 +<td>[WinAMP Skins]</td>
  26.236 +</tr>
  26.237 +<tr>
  26.238 +<td><a href="hotaru-chibiusa.zip">Hotaru-ChibiUsa</a></td>
  26.239 +<td>324KB</td>
  26.240 +</tr>
  26.241 +<tr>
  26.242 +<td><a href="ccsflower.zip">Sakura and Tomoyo</a></td>
  26.243 +<td>237KB</td>
  26.244 +</tr>
  26.245 +<tr>
  26.246 +<td><a href="olivia.zip">Hotaru/Olivia</a></td>
  26.247 +<td>204KB</td>
  26.248 +</tr>
  26.249 +<tr>
  26.250 +<td><a
  26.251 +href="tomoyo_chan.zip">Tomoyo-chan</a></td>
  26.252 +<td>202KB</td>
  26.253 +</tr>
  26.254 +</table><br><br>
  26.255 +
  26.256 +<a href="chibiusa-hotaru.jpg" target="_blank"><img
  26.257 +src="chibiusa-hotaru-wpsm.gif" width="120" height="90"
  26.258 +border="0"></a><br>51.6KB<br>ChibiUsa and Hotaru. Author: Unknown
  26.259 +
  26.260 +<br>
  26.261 +</div></td>
  26.262 +</tr>
  26.263 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
  26.264 +</tr>
  26.265 +</TABLE>
  26.266 +</div>
  26.267 +
  26.268 +</body>
  26.269 +
  26.270 +</HTML>
  26.271 \ No newline at end of file

    27.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    27.2 +++ b/gallery/c_hPics.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    27.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
    27.4 +<html><head><title>ChibiUsa and Hotaru Images {Separate}</title>
    27.5 +
    27.6 +<style type="text/css">
    27.7 +body {
    27.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    27.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   27.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   27.11 +	border:none;
   27.12 +	margin:0;
   27.13 +}
   27.14 +
   27.15 +a {  
   27.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   27.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   27.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   27.19 +}
   27.20 +
   27.21 +a:hover {
   27.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   27.23 +}
   27.24 +</style>
   27.25 +
   27.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   27.27 +
   27.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   27.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   27.30 +
   27.31 +<!-- Begin
   27.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   27.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   27.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   27.35 +  Controlla(img);
   27.36 +}
   27.37 +function Controlla(img){
   27.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   27.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   27.40 +  }
   27.41 +  else{
   27.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   27.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   27.44 +  }
   27.45 +}
   27.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   27.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   27.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   27.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   27.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   27.51 +}
   27.52 +//  End -->
   27.53 +</script>
   27.54 +
   27.55 +</head>
   27.56 +
   27.57 +<body><center><h2>ChibiUsa and Hotaru {Separate}</h2>
   27.58 +<br><br></center>
   27.59 +
   27.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibi_4.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibi_4.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibibunny.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibibunny.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibifootballvaleriep.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibifootballvaleriep.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibifuku.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibifuku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiluna-p.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiluna-p.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.65 +<br>
   27.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Chibiprettysleep.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Chibiprettysleep.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiSailorPrincess.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiSailorPrincess.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiSD.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiSD.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ChibiUsa4.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ChibiUsa4.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Chibiusa13.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Chibiusa13.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.71 +<br>
   27.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiusaemily.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiusaemily.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiusasonpan.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiusasonpan.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/cukishokahime.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/cukishokahime.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.75 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/eternal_chibi.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/eternal_chibi.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.76 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hota1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hota1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   27.77 +<br><br><br>
   27.78 +
   27.79 +<table height=10 width=30 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>1-<a href="c_hPics2.html">2</a></font></td></tr></table>
   27.80 +</div></body></html>
   27.81 \ No newline at end of file

    28.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    28.2 +++ b/gallery/c_hPics2.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    28.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    28.4 +<html><head><title>ChibiUsa and Hotaru Images {Separate}</title>
    28.5 +
    28.6 +<style type="text/css">
    28.7 +body {
    28.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    28.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   28.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   28.11 +	border:none;
   28.12 +	margin:0;
   28.13 +}
   28.14 +
   28.15 +a {  
   28.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   28.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   28.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   28.19 +}
   28.20 +
   28.21 +a:hover {
   28.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   28.23 +}
   28.24 +</style>
   28.25 +
   28.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   28.27 +
   28.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   28.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   28.30 +
   28.31 +<!-- Begin
   28.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   28.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   28.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   28.35 +  Controlla(img);
   28.36 +}
   28.37 +function Controlla(img){
   28.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   28.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   28.40 +  }
   28.41 +  else{
   28.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   28.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   28.44 +  }
   28.45 +}
   28.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   28.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   28.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   28.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   28.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   28.51 +}
   28.52 +//  End -->
   28.53 +</script>
   28.54 +
   28.55 +</head>
   28.56 +
   28.57 +<body><center><h2>ChibiUsa and Hotaru {Separate}</h2>
   28.58 +<br><br></center>
   28.59 +
   28.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaru-fuku2.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaru-fuku2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaru-fuku.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaru-fuku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hotaruhat.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hotaruhat.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hotarukimono.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hotarukimono.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaruposter.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaruposter.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.65 +<br>
   28.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaru-sad2.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaru-sad2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hotarushawl.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hotarushawl.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaru-sleepy.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaru-sleepy.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hotaruswing.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hotaruswing.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hp_02h01-09.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hp_02h01-09.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.71 +<br>
   28.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/sat72.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/sat72.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/saturn_1.JPG')"><img src="cuh/thumb/saturn_1.JPG" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/SaturnSD.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/SaturnSD.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   28.75 +<br><br><br>
   28.76 +
   28.77 +<table height=10 width=30 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="c_hPics.html">1</a>-2</font></td></tr></table>
   28.78 +</div></body></html>
   28.79 \ No newline at end of file

    29.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    29.2 +++ b/gallery/chPics.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    29.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
    29.4 +<html><head><title>ChibiUsa and Hotaru Images</title>
    29.5 +
    29.6 +<style type="text/css">
    29.7 +body {
    29.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    29.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   29.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   29.11 +	border:none;
   29.12 +	margin:0;
   29.13 +}
   29.14 +
   29.15 +a {  
   29.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   29.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   29.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   29.19 +}
   29.20 +
   29.21 +a:hover {
   29.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   29.23 +}
   29.24 +</style>
   29.25 +
   29.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   29.27 +
   29.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   29.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   29.30 +
   29.31 +<!-- Begin
   29.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   29.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   29.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   29.35 +  Controlla(img);
   29.36 +}
   29.37 +function Controlla(img){
   29.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   29.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   29.40 +  }
   29.41 +  else{
   29.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   29.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   29.44 +  }
   29.45 +}
   29.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   29.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   29.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   29.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   29.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   29.51 +}
   29.52 +//  End -->
   29.53 +</script>
   29.54 +
   29.55 +</head>
   29.56 +
   29.57 +<body><center><h2>ChibiUsa and Hotaru</h2>
   29.58 +<br><br></center>
   29.59 +
   29.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/2000-11November.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/2000-11November.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/3781.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/3781.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ChibiHota-Angels.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ChibiHota-Angels.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibiusahotaru.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibiusahotaru.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/couple.JPG')"><img src="cuh/thumb/couple.JPG" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.65 +<br>
   29.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Darkness_and_Light.JPG')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Darkness_and_Light.JPG" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/futurequeens.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/futurequeens.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/birth.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/birth.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/g0117.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/g0117.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hcStandF.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hcStandF.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.71 +<br>
   29.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hotachibifukus.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hotachibifukus.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/chibi_hota1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/chibi_hota1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Hota-Chibi-kiss2.gif')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Hota-Chibi-kiss2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.75 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hotaruchibiusa.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hotaruchibiusa.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.76 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/hp_12.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/hp_12.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   29.77 +<br><br><br>
   29.78 +
   29.79 +<table height=10 width=30 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>1-<a href="chPics2.html">2</a></font></td></tr></table>
   29.80 +</div></body></html>
   29.81 \ No newline at end of file

    30.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    30.2 +++ b/gallery/chPics2.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    30.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
    30.4 +<html><head><title>ChibiUsa and Hotaru Images</title>
    30.5 +
    30.6 +<style type="text/css">
    30.7 +body {
    30.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    30.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   30.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   30.11 +	border:none;
   30.12 +	margin:0;
   30.13 +}
   30.14 +
   30.15 +a {  
   30.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   30.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   30.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   30.19 +}
   30.20 +
   30.21 +a:hover {
   30.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   30.23 +}
   30.24 +</style>
   30.25 +
   30.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   30.27 +
   30.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   30.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   30.30 +
   30.31 +<!-- Begin
   30.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   30.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   30.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   30.35 +  Controlla(img);
   30.36 +}
   30.37 +function Controlla(img){
   30.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   30.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   30.40 +  }
   30.41 +  else{
   30.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   30.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   30.44 +  }
   30.45 +}
   30.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   30.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   30.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   30.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   30.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   30.51 +}
   30.52 +//  End -->
   30.53 +</script>
   30.54 +
   30.55 +</head>
   30.56 +
   30.57 +<body><center><h2>ChibiUsa and Hotaru</h2>
   30.58 +<br><br></center>
   30.59 +
   30.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/kawaiiCU-Hhold.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/kawaiiCU-Hhold.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/saturn-1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/saturn-1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/Sweet_Dreams.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/Sweet_Dreams.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/sm-chibiusa-saturn-0001.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/sm-chibiusa-saturn-0001.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/blm9pic.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/blm9pic.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.65 +<br>
   30.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/blm9potm12.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/blm9potm12.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ami_mako1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ami_mako1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ami_mako_3.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ami_mako_3.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ami_mako_4.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ami_mako_4.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="59"></a>
   30.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ami_mako_5.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ami_mako_5.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.71 +<br>
   30.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/ami_mako_6.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/ami_mako_6.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/michi_haru1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/michi_haru1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/mina_rei_2.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/mina_rei_2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.75 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/mina_rei_hota.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/mina_rei_hota.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.76 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('cuh/mina_usa1.jpg')"><img src="cuh/thumb/mina_usa1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   30.77 +<br><br><br>
   30.78 +
   30.79 +<table height=10 width=30 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="chPics.html">1</a>-2</font></td></tr></table>
   30.80 +</div></body></html>
   30.81 \ No newline at end of file

    31.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    31.2 +++ b/gallery/index.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    31.3 @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
    31.4 +<HTML>
    31.5 +<HEAD>
    31.6 +<TITLE>Moonlit Nights Image Gallery</TITLE>
    31.7 +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    31.8 +</HEAD>
    31.9 +<BODY background=stars.jpg BGCOLOR=#000000>
   31.10 +<!-- ImageReady Slices (moonlit-gal.psd) -->
   31.11 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
   31.12 +left: 100; width: 640;">
   31.13 +<TABLE WIDTH=640 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0>
   31.14 +	<TR>
   31.15 +		<TD>
   31.16 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=14 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.17 +		<TD>
   31.18 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=111 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.19 +		<TD>
   31.20 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=2 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.21 +		<TD>
   31.22 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=13 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.23 +		<TD>
   31.24 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.25 +		<TD>
   31.26 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.27 +		<TD>
   31.28 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=347 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.29 +		<TD>
   31.30 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=2 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.31 +		<TD>
   31.32 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=149 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.33 +		<TD></TD>
   31.34 +	</TR>
   31.35 +	<TR>
   31.36 +		<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=3>
   31.37 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_01.gif" WIDTH=127 HEIGHT=110></TD>
   31.38 +		<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3>
   31.39 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_02.gif" WIDTH=14 HEIGHT=110></TD>
   31.40 +		<TD ROWSPAN=5>
   31.41 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_03.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=120></TD>
   31.42 +		<TD ROWSPAN=2>
   31.43 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_04.gif" WIDTH=347 HEIGHT=109></TD>
   31.44 +		<TD ROWSPAN=8>
   31.45 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_05.gif" WIDTH=2 HEIGHT=450></TD>
   31.46 +		<TD>
   31.47 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_06.gif" WIDTH=149 HEIGHT=107></TD>
   31.48 +		<TD>
   31.49 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=107></TD>
   31.50 +	</TR>
   31.51 +	<TR>
   31.52 +		<TD ROWSPAN=7>
   31.53 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_07.gif" WIDTH=149 HEIGHT=343></TD>
   31.54 +		<TD>
   31.55 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=2></TD>
   31.56 +	</TR>
   31.57 +	<TR>
   31.58 +		<TD ROWSPAN=3>
   31.59 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_08.gif" WIDTH=347 HEIGHT=11></TD>
   31.60 +		<TD>
   31.61 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   31.62 +	</TR>
   31.63 +	<TR>
   31.64 +		<TD COLSPAN=5>
   31.65 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_09.gif" WIDTH=141 HEIGHT=5></TD>
   31.66 +		<TD>
   31.67 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
   31.68 +	</TR>
   31.69 +	<TR>
   31.70 +		<TD ROWSPAN=4>
   31.71 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_10.gif" WIDTH=14 HEIGHT=335></TD>
   31.72 +		<TD ROWSPAN=2 background="images/moonlit-gal_11.gif" WIDTH=111 HEIGHT=218>
   31.73 +<iframe src="sidebar.html" WIDTH=111 HEIGHT=218 name="sidebar" allowTransparency=true frameBorder=0></iframe>
   31.74 +			</TD>
   31.75 +		<TD COLSPAN=3>
   31.76 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_12.gif" WIDTH=16 HEIGHT=5></TD>
   31.77 +		<TD>
   31.78 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
   31.79 +	</TR>
   31.80 +	<TR>
   31.81 +		<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3>
   31.82 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_13.gif" WIDTH=15 HEIGHT=330></TD>
   31.83 +		<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2 background="images/moonlit-gal_14.gif" WIDTH=349 HEIGHT=314>
   31.84 +<iframe src="main.html" WIDTH=349 HEIGHT=314 name="main" allowTransparency=true frameBorder=0></iframe></TD>
   31.85 +		<TD>
   31.86 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=213></TD>
   31.87 +	</TR>
   31.88 +	<TR>
   31.89 +		<TD ROWSPAN=2>
   31.90 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_15.gif" WIDTH=111 HEIGHT=117></TD>
   31.91 +		<TD>
   31.92 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=101></TD>
   31.93 +	</TR>
   31.94 +	<TR>
   31.95 +		<TD COLSPAN=3>
   31.96 +			<IMG SRC="images/moonlit-gal_16.gif" WIDTH=349 HEIGHT=16></TD>
   31.97 +		<TD>
   31.98 +			<IMG SRC="images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
   31.99 +	</TR>
  31.100 +</TABLE>
  31.101 +<!-- End ImageReady Slices -->
  31.102 +</div></BODY>
  31.103 +</HTML>
  31.104 \ No newline at end of file

    32.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    32.2 +++ b/gallery/main.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    32.3 @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
    32.4 +<html><head><title>I is HTML</title>
    32.5 +
    32.6 +<style type="text/css">
    32.7 +body {
    32.8 +	background-color:transparent;
    32.9 +	overflow:hidden;
   32.10 +	border:none;
   32.11 +	margin:10;
   32.12 +}
   32.13 +</style></head>
   32.14 +
   32.15 +<body><center><b>Welcome to the Moonlit Nights Image Gallery! Here you can find all sorts of illustrations and images of the couples and characters that appear on Moonlit Nights. Some images do contain artistic nudity so you may wish to proceed with caution if you have problems with images like that.
   32.16 +<br><br>
   32.17 +
   32.18 +The gallery is always expanding, so be sure to check back from often. Also, please do not direct-link to any image here. If you want to use an image, download it and upload it to your own website. Not having a website, I'm afraid, isn't an excuse. Simply don't use the image if that's the case. Thank you.</b></center></body></html>
   32.19 \ No newline at end of file

    33.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    33.2 +++ b/gallery/misc.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    33.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    33.4 +<html><head><title>Misc Images</title>
    33.5 +
    33.6 +<style type="text/css">
    33.7 +body {
    33.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    33.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   33.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   33.11 +	border:none;
   33.12 +	margin:0;
   33.13 +}
   33.14 +
   33.15 +a {  
   33.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   33.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   33.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   33.19 +}
   33.20 +
   33.21 +a:hover {
   33.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   33.23 +}
   33.24 +</style>
   33.25 +
   33.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   33.27 +
   33.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   33.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   33.30 +
   33.31 +<!-- Begin
   33.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   33.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   33.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   33.35 +  Controlla(img);
   33.36 +}
   33.37 +function Controlla(img){
   33.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   33.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   33.40 +  }
   33.41 +  else{
   33.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   33.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   33.44 +  }
   33.45 +}
   33.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   33.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   33.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   33.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   33.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   33.51 +}
   33.52 +//  End -->
   33.53 +</script>
   33.54 +
   33.55 +</head>
   33.56 +
   33.57 +<body><center><h2>Misc</h2>
   33.58 +<br><br></center>
   33.59 +
   33.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Yuina-Akiho.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Yuina-Akiho.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Angelic_Layer01031.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Angelic_Layer01031.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/b01.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/b01.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Lain25.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Lain25.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/rikku_yuna.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/rikku_yuna.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   33.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/noir_006.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/noir_006.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/noir_001.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/noir_001.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/bath.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/bath.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/MireilleAndKirika9.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/MireilleAndKirika9.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/MireilleAndKirika2.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/MireilleAndKirika2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   33.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/MireilleAndKirika5.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/MireilleAndKirika5.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/MireilleAndKirika7.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/MireilleAndKirika7.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/MireilleAndKirika8.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/MireilleAndKirika8.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/015seirameimi.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/015seirameimi.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/meimi-seira.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/meimi-seira.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   33.75 +<br><br><br>
   33.76 +
   33.77 +<table height=10 width=45 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>1-<a href="misc2.html">2</a>-<a href="misc3.html">3</a></font></td></tr></table>
   33.78 +</div></body></html>
   33.79 \ No newline at end of file

    34.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    34.2 +++ b/gallery/misc2.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    34.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    34.4 +<html><head><title>Misc Images</title>
    34.5 +
    34.6 +<style type="text/css">
    34.7 +body {
    34.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    34.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   34.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   34.11 +	border:none;
   34.12 +	margin:0;
   34.13 +}
   34.14 +
   34.15 +a {  
   34.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   34.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   34.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   34.19 +}
   34.20 +
   34.21 +a:hover {
   34.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   34.23 +}
   34.24 +</style>
   34.25 +
   34.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   34.27 +
   34.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   34.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   34.30 +
   34.31 +<!-- Begin
   34.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   34.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   34.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   34.35 +  Controlla(img);
   34.36 +}
   34.37 +function Controlla(img){
   34.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   34.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   34.40 +  }
   34.41 +  else{
   34.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   34.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   34.44 +  }
   34.45 +}
   34.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   34.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   34.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   34.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   34.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   34.51 +}
   34.52 +//  End -->
   34.53 +</script>
   34.54 +
   34.55 +</head>
   34.56 +
   34.57 +<body><center><h2>Misc</h2>
   34.58 +<br><br></center>
   34.59 +
   34.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Meimi.gif')"><img src="misc/thumb/Meimi.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Cute.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Cute.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Kiss-2.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Kiss-2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Cute-2.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Cute-2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/TAIL5.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/TAIL5.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   34.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01002.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01002.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01002a.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01002a.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01003.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01003.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01033.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01033.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01047.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01047.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   34.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01050.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01050.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01063.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01063.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01067.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01067.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01068.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01068.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/Saint_Tail01070.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/Saint_Tail01070.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   34.75 +<br><br><br>
   34.76 +
   34.77 +<table height=10 width=45 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="misc.html">1</a>-2-<a href="misc3.html">3</a></font></td></tr></table>
   34.78 +</div></body></html>
   34.79 \ No newline at end of file

    35.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    35.2 +++ b/gallery/misc3.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    35.3 @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
    35.4 +<html><head><title>Misc Images</title>
    35.5 +
    35.6 +<style type="text/css">
    35.7 +body {
    35.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    35.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   35.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   35.11 +	border:none;
   35.12 +	margin:0;
   35.13 +}
   35.14 +
   35.15 +a {  
   35.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   35.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   35.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   35.19 +}
   35.20 +
   35.21 +a:hover {
   35.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   35.23 +}
   35.24 +</style>
   35.25 +
   35.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   35.27 +
   35.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   35.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   35.30 +
   35.31 +<!-- Begin
   35.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   35.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   35.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   35.35 +  Controlla(img);
   35.36 +}
   35.37 +function Controlla(img){
   35.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   35.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   35.40 +  }
   35.41 +  else{
   35.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   35.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   35.44 +  }
   35.45 +}
   35.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   35.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   35.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   35.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   35.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   35.51 +}
   35.52 +//  End -->
   35.53 +</script>
   35.54 +
   35.55 +</head>
   35.56 +
   35.57 +<body><center><h2>Misc</h2>
   35.58 +<br><br></center>
   35.59 +
   35.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/samimisa.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/samimisa.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   35.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/sasamimisao2.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/sasamimisao2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   35.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/sasamimisao.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/sasamimisao.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   35.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/sasamisao30.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/sasamisao30.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   35.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/OlderMandS.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/OlderMandS.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   35.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('misc/misa05hp.jpg')"><img src="misc/thumb/misa05hp.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   35.66 +<br><br><br>
   35.67 +
   35.68 +<table height=10 width=45 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="misc.html">1</a>-<a href="misc2.html">2</a>-3</font></td></tr></table>
   35.69 +</div></body></html>
   35.70 \ No newline at end of file

    36.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    36.2 +++ b/gallery/sidebar.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    36.3 @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
    36.4 +<html><head><title>I is HTML 2</title>
    36.5 +
    36.6 +<style type="text/css">
    36.7 +body {
    36.8 +	font-size: 13px;
    36.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   36.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   36.11 +	border:none;
   36.12 +	margin:10px;
   36.13 +}
   36.14 +
   36.15 +a {  
   36.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   36.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   36.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   36.19 +}
   36.20 +
   36.21 +a:hover {
   36.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   36.23 +</style></head>
   36.24 +
   36.25 +<body>
   36.26 +<p><a href="chPics.html" target="main">::ChibiUsa and 
   36.27 +Hotaru::</a><br>
   36.28 +<a href="c_hPics.html" target="main">-Single</a></p>
   36.29 +
   36.30 +<p><a href="tsPics.html" target="main">::Tomoyo and Sakura::</a><br>
   36.31 +<a href="t_sPics.html" target="main">-Single</a></p>
   36.32 +
   36.33 +<p><a href="misc.html" target="main">::Misc::</a></p>
   36.34 +
   36.35 +<p><a href="main.html" target="main">-Main</a></p>
   36.36 +<p><a href="http://www.moonlitnights.org/index2.html" target="_parent">-Moonlit Nights</a></p>
   36.37 +</center></body></html>
   36.38 \ No newline at end of file

    37.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    37.2 +++ b/gallery/t_sPics.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    37.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
    37.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images {Separate}</title>
    37.5 +
    37.6 +<style type="text/css">
    37.7 +body {
    37.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    37.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   37.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   37.11 +	border:none;
   37.12 +	margin:0;
   37.13 +}
   37.14 +
   37.15 +a {  
   37.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   37.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   37.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   37.19 +}
   37.20 +
   37.21 +a:hover {
   37.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   37.23 +}
   37.24 +</style>
   37.25 +
   37.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   37.27 +
   37.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   37.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   37.30 +
   37.31 +<!-- Begin
   37.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   37.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   37.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   37.35 +  Controlla(img);
   37.36 +}
   37.37 +function Controlla(img){
   37.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   37.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   37.40 +  }
   37.41 +  else{
   37.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   37.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   37.44 +  }
   37.45 +}
   37.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   37.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   37.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   37.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   37.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   37.51 +}
   37.52 +//  End -->
   37.53 +</script>
   37.54 +
   37.55 +</head>
   37.56 +
   37.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura {Separate}</h2>
   37.58 +<br><br></center>
   37.59 +
   37.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/C07.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/C07.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01065.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01065.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01073.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01073.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/i_4sakura.gif')"><img src="ts/thumb/i_4sakura.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/img008saku.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/img008saku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   37.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/m_sakura_2.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/m_sakura_2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/neko.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/neko.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/omake01.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/omake01.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakumoon.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakumoon.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakura012.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakura012.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   37.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakura022.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakura022.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakura_6.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakura_6.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/adopttom5.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/adopttom5.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01064.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01064.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01078.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01078.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   37.75 +<br><br><br>
   37.76 +
   37.77 +<table height=10 width=60 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>
   37.78 +1-<a href="t_sPics2.html">2</a>-
   37.79 +<a href="t_sPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="t_sPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="t_sPics5.html">5</a></font></td></tr></table>
   37.80 +</div></body></html>
   37.81 \ No newline at end of file

    38.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    38.2 +++ b/gallery/t_sPics2.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    38.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
    38.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images {Separate}</title>
    38.5 +
    38.6 +<style type="text/css">
    38.7 +body {
    38.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    38.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   38.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   38.11 +	border:none;
   38.12 +	margin:0;
   38.13 +}
   38.14 +
   38.15 +a {  
   38.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   38.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   38.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   38.19 +}
   38.20 +
   38.21 +a:hover {
   38.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   38.23 +}
   38.24 +</style>
   38.25 +
   38.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   38.27 +
   38.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   38.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   38.30 +
   38.31 +<!-- Begin
   38.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   38.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   38.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   38.35 +  Controlla(img);
   38.36 +}
   38.37 +function Controlla(img){
   38.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   38.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   38.40 +  }
   38.41 +  else{
   38.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   38.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   38.44 +  }
   38.45 +}
   38.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   38.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   38.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   38.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   38.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   38.51 +}
   38.52 +//  End -->
   38.53 +</script>
   38.54 +
   38.55 +</head>
   38.56 +
   38.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura {Separate}</h2>
   38.58 +<br><br></center>
   38.59 +
   38.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01077.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01077.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/jeans.gif')"><img src="ts/thumb/jeans.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sass_05tomo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sass_05tomo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomo047.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomo047.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sonomitomoyo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sonomitomoyo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   38.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomo048.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomo048.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoydai.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoydai.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo00.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo00.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo02.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo02.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo11knit.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo11knit.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   38.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo15cardcaptor.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo15cardcaptor.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo32.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo32.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo37newfuku.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo37newfuku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Tomoyo-2hat.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Tomoyo-2hat.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Tomoyo---1.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Tomoyo---1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   38.75 +<br><br><br>
   38.76 +
   38.77 +<table height=10 width=60 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>
   38.78 +<a href="t_sPics.html">1</a>-2-
   38.79 +<a href="t_sPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="t_sPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="t_sPics5.html">5</a></font></td></tr></table>
   38.80 +</div></body></html>
   38.81 \ No newline at end of file

    39.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    39.2 +++ b/gallery/t_sPics3.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    39.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    39.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images {Separate}</title>
    39.5 +
    39.6 +<style type="text/css">
    39.7 +body {
    39.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    39.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   39.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   39.11 +	border:none;
   39.12 +	margin:0;
   39.13 +}
   39.14 +
   39.15 +a {  
   39.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   39.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   39.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   39.19 +}
   39.20 +
   39.21 +a:hover {
   39.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   39.23 +}
   39.24 +</style>
   39.25 +
   39.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   39.27 +
   39.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   39.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   39.30 +
   39.31 +<!-- Begin
   39.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   39.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   39.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   39.35 +  Controlla(img);
   39.36 +}
   39.37 +function Controlla(img){
   39.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   39.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   39.40 +  }
   39.41 +  else{
   39.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   39.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   39.44 +  }
   39.45 +}
   39.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   39.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   39.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   39.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   39.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   39.51 +}
   39.52 +//  End -->
   39.53 +</script>
   39.54 +
   39.55 +</head>
   39.56 +
   39.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura {Separate}</h2>
   39.58 +<br><br></center>
   39.59 +
   39.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Tomoyo---2.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Tomoyo---2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyo-aikon.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyo-aikon.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyoteddybear.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyoteddybear.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyovert1.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyovert1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1130309882311.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1130309882311.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   39.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1131012016026.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1131012016026.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1131107404462.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1131107404462.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1134531981008.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1134531981008.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1138840916159.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1138840916159.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1140936278275.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1140936278275.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   39.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomocapt.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomocapt.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomocheer.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomocheer.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoeraser.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoeraser.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyocamm.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyocamm.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomoyoholdd.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomoyoholdd.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   39.75 +<br><br><br>
   39.76 +
   39.77 +<table height=10 width=60 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="t_sPics.html">1</a>-<a href="t_sPics2.html">2</a>-3-<a href="t_sPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="t_sPics5.html">5</a></font></td></tr></table>
   39.78 +</div></body></html>
   39.79 \ No newline at end of file

    40.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    40.2 +++ b/gallery/t_sPics4.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    40.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
    40.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images {Separate}</title>
    40.5 +
    40.6 +<style type="text/css">
    40.7 +body {
    40.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    40.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   40.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   40.11 +	border:none;
   40.12 +	margin:0;
   40.13 +}
   40.14 +
   40.15 +a {  
   40.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   40.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   40.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   40.19 +}
   40.20 +
   40.21 +a:hover {
   40.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   40.23 +}
   40.24 +</style>
   40.25 +
   40.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   40.27 +
   40.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   40.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   40.30 +
   40.31 +<!-- Begin
   40.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   40.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   40.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   40.35 +  Controlla(img);
   40.36 +}
   40.37 +function Controlla(img){
   40.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   40.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   40.40 +  }
   40.41 +  else{
   40.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   40.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   40.44 +  }
   40.45 +}
   40.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   40.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   40.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   40.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   40.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   40.51 +}
   40.52 +//  End -->
   40.53 +</script>
   40.54 +
   40.55 +</head>
   40.56 +
   40.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura {Separate}</h2>
   40.58 +<br><br></center>
   40.59 +
   40.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/13.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/13.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1128768885572.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1128768885572.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1129417949899.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1129417949899.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1130144226520.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1130144226520.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1130331948436.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1130331948436.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   40.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1131457331109.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1131457331109.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1132060221798.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1132060221798.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1133063663793.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1133063663793.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1142602739916.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1142602739916.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakudemon.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakudemon.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   40.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakudkangel.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakudkangel.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakufade.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakufade.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakukit.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakukit.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakusailor.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakusailor.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Sakutsub2.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Sakutsub2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   40.75 +<br><br><br>
   40.76 +
   40.77 +<table height=10 width=60 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="t_sPics.html">1</a>-<a href="t_sPics2.html">2</a>-
   40.78 +<a href="t_sPics3.html">3</a>-4-<a href="t_sPics5.html">5</a></font></td></tr></table>
   40.79 +</div></body></html>
   40.80 \ No newline at end of file

    41.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    41.2 +++ b/gallery/t_sPics5.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    41.3 @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
    41.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images {Separate}</title>
    41.5 +
    41.6 +<style type="text/css">
    41.7 +body {
    41.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    41.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   41.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   41.11 +	border:none;
   41.12 +	margin:0;
   41.13 +}
   41.14 +
   41.15 +a {  
   41.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   41.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   41.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   41.19 +}
   41.20 +
   41.21 +a:hover {
   41.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   41.23 +}
   41.24 +</style>
   41.25 +
   41.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   41.27 +
   41.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   41.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   41.30 +
   41.31 +<!-- Begin
   41.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   41.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   41.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   41.35 +  Controlla(img);
   41.36 +}
   41.37 +function Controlla(img){
   41.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   41.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   41.40 +  }
   41.41 +  else{
   41.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   41.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   41.44 +  }
   41.45 +}
   41.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   41.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   41.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   41.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   41.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   41.51 +}
   41.52 +//  End -->
   41.53 +</script>
   41.54 +
   41.55 +</head>
   41.56 +
   41.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura {Separate}</h2>
   41.58 +<br><br></center>
   41.59 +
   41.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakutsub.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakutsub.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   41.61 +<br><br><br>
   41.62 +
   41.63 +<table height=10 width=60 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="t_sPics.html">1</a>-<a href="t_sPics2.html">2</a>-
   41.64 +<a href="t_sPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="t_sPics4.html">4</a>-5</font></td></tr></table>
   41.65 +</div></body></html>
   41.66 \ No newline at end of file

    42.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    42.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    42.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    42.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    42.5 +
    42.6 +<style type="text/css">
    42.7 +body {
    42.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    42.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   42.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   42.11 +	border:none;
   42.12 +	margin:0;
   42.13 +}
   42.14 +
   42.15 +a {  
   42.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   42.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   42.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   42.19 +}
   42.20 +
   42.21 +a:hover {
   42.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   42.23 +}
   42.24 +</style>
   42.25 +
   42.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   42.27 +
   42.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   42.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   42.30 +
   42.31 +<!-- Begin
   42.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   42.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   42.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   42.35 +  Controlla(img);
   42.36 +}
   42.37 +function Controlla(img){
   42.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   42.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   42.40 +  }
   42.41 +  else{
   42.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   42.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   42.44 +  }
   42.45 +}
   42.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   42.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   42.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   42.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   42.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   42.51 +}
   42.52 +//  End -->
   42.53 +</script>
   42.54 +
   42.55 +</head>
   42.56 +
   42.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   42.58 +<br><br></center>
   42.59 +
   42.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1k_tomo3.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1k_tomo3.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/3adfcf1csakutomo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/3adfcf1csakutomo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/7fe7e10bsakutomokiss.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/7fe7e10bsakutomokiss.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/100.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/100.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/640asakutomo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/640asakutomo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   42.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/56739fbcsakutomo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/56739fbcsakutomo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1078146801.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1078146801.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/aaccs.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/aaccs.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/anyasakutomodresses.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/anyasakutomodresses.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/aru0005.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/aru0005.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   42.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/b.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/b.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/C02tomosaku.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/C02tomosaku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/C17sakuratomoyostaff.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/C17sakuratomoyostaff.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01002.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01002.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01005.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01005.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   42.75 +<br><br><br>
   42.76 +
   42.77 +<table height=10 width=80 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>1-<a href="tsPics2.html">2</a>-<a href="tsPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="tsPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="tsPics5.html">5</a>-<a href="tsPics6.html">6</a>-<a href="tsPics7.html">7</a></font></td></tr></table>
   42.78 +</div></body></html>
   42.79 \ No newline at end of file

    43.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    43.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics2.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    43.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
    43.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    43.5 +
    43.6 +<style type="text/css">
    43.7 +body {
    43.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    43.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   43.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   43.11 +	border:none;
   43.12 +	margin:0;
   43.13 +}
   43.14 +
   43.15 +a {  
   43.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   43.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   43.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   43.19 +}
   43.20 +
   43.21 +a:hover {
   43.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   43.23 +}
   43.24 +</style>
   43.25 +
   43.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   43.27 +
   43.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   43.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   43.30 +
   43.31 +<!-- Begin
   43.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   43.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   43.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   43.35 +  Controlla(img);
   43.36 +}
   43.37 +function Controlla(img){
   43.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   43.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   43.40 +  }
   43.41 +  else{
   43.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   43.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   43.44 +  }
   43.45 +}
   43.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   43.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   43.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
   43.49 +  stringa="width="+largh+",height="+altez;
   43.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
   43.51 +}
   43.52 +//  End -->
   43.53 +</script>
   43.54 +
   43.55 +</head>
   43.56 +
   43.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   43.58 +<br><br></center>
   43.59 +
   43.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01010.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01010.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.61 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01011.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01011.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.62 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01013.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01013.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.63 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01015.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01015.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01063.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01063.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   43.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Cardcaptors01084.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Cardcaptors01084.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/cc1tomosaku.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/cc1tomosaku.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.67 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/CCS27.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/CCS27.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.68 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/CCS-Christmas.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/CCS-Christmas.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.69 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/CCSFF8.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/CCSFF8.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   43.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/cg_88_1.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/cg_88_1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.71 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/fan-art-054c.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/fan-art-054c.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.72 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Fishy.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Fishy.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.73 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/Fix-Just-So.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/Fix-Just-So.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/groupshot1.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/groupshot1.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   43.75 +<br><br><br>
   43.76 +
   43.77 +<table height=10 width=80 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>
   43.78 +<a href="tsPics.html">1</a>-2-<a href="tsPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="tsPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="tsPics5.html">5</a>-<a href="tsPics6.html">6</a>-<a href="tsPics7.html">7</a></font></td></tr></table>
   43.79 +</div></body></html>
   43.80 \ No newline at end of file

    44.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    44.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics3.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    44.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
    44.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    44.5 +
    44.6 +<style type="text/css">
    44.7 +body {
    44.8 +	font-size: 10px;
    44.9 +	background-color:transparent;
   44.10 +	overflow:hidden;
   44.11 +	border:none;
   44.12 +	margin:0;
   44.13 +}
   44.14 +
   44.15 +a {  
   44.16 +  color: #82A9E9; 
   44.17 +  text-decoration: none;
   44.18 +  font-weight:bold;
   44.19 +}
   44.20 +
   44.21 +a:hover {
   44.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
   44.23 +}
   44.24 +</style>
   44.25 +
   44.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   44.27 +
   44.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   44.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   44.30 +
   44.31 +<!-- Begin
   44.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   44.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   44.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   44.35 +  Controlla(img);
   44.36 +}
   44.37 +function Controlla(img){
   44.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   44.39 +    viewFoto(img);
   44.40 +  }
   44.41 +  else{
   44.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
   44.43 +    intervallo=setTimeout(funzione,20);
   44.44 +  }
   44.45 +}
   44.46 +function viewFoto(img){
   44.47 +  largh=foto1.width+20;
   44.48 +  altez=foto1.height+20;
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   44.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
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   44.54 +
   44.55 +</head>
   44.56 +
   44.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   44.58 +<br><br></center>
   44.59 +
   44.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/i_will_guide_you2.gif')"><img src="ts/thumb/i_will_guide_you2.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   44.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/isoy0009Sakutomo.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/isoy0009Sakutomo.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   44.70 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/mtt-ccs.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/mtt-ccs.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   44.77 +<table height=10 width=80 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>
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   44.80 \ No newline at end of file

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    45.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
    45.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    45.5 +
    45.6 +<style type="text/css">
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   45.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   45.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   45.30 +
   45.31 +<!-- Begin
   45.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   45.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   45.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   45.35 +  Controlla(img);
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   45.55 +</head>
   45.56 +
   45.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   45.58 +<br><br></center>
   45.59 +
   45.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/SakTomo-card.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/SakTomo-card.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   45.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/snt.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/snt.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   45.75 +<br><br><br>
   45.76 +
   45.77 +<table height=10 width=80 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3>
   45.78 +<a href="tsPics.html">1</a>-<a href="tsPics2.html">2</a>-<a href="tsPics3.html">3</a>-4-<a href="tsPics5.html">5</a>-<a href="tsPics6.html">6</a>-<a href="tsPics7.html">7</a></font></td></tr></table>
   45.79 +</div></body></html>
   45.80 \ No newline at end of file

    46.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    46.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics5.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    46.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    46.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    46.5 +
    46.6 +<style type="text/css">
    46.7 +body {
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    46.9 +	background-color:transparent;
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   46.21 +a:hover {
   46.22 +  text-decoration: underline;
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   46.25 +
   46.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   46.27 +
   46.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   46.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   46.30 +
   46.31 +<!-- Begin
   46.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   46.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   46.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   46.35 +  Controlla(img);
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   46.37 +function Controlla(img){
   46.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   46.39 +    viewFoto(img);
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   46.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
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   46.50 +  finestra=window.open(img,"",stringa);
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   46.53 +</script>
   46.54 +
   46.55 +</head>
   46.56 +
   46.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   46.58 +<br><br></center>
   46.59 +
   46.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sxtbed.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sxtbed.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   46.64 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomosakucomplexcolot.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomosakucomplexcolot.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a><br>
   46.65 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/TomoSaku-kiss.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/TomoSaku-kiss.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   46.66 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomosakustaff.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomosakustaff.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   46.75 +<br><br><br>
   46.76 +
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   46.78 +</div></body></html>
   46.79 \ No newline at end of file

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    47.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics6.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    47.3 @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
    47.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    47.5 +
    47.6 +<style type="text/css">
    47.7 +body {
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    47.9 +	background-color:transparent;
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   47.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
   47.27 +
   47.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   47.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   47.30 +
   47.31 +<!-- Begin
   47.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   47.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   47.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   47.35 +  Controlla(img);
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   47.37 +function Controlla(img){
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   47.54 +
   47.55 +</head>
   47.56 +
   47.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   47.58 +<br><br></center>
   47.59 +
   47.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/1127740081746.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/1127740081746.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   47.74 +<a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/sakutomosd.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/sakutomosd.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
   47.75 +<br><br><br>
   47.76 +
   47.77 +<table height=10 width=80 bgcolor=FFFFFF><tr><td><font size=3><a href="tsPics.html">1</a>-<a href="tsPics2.html">2</a>-<a href="tsPics3.html">3</a>-<a href="tsPics4.html">4</a>-<a href="tsPics5.html">5</a>-6-<a href="tsPics7.html">7</a></font></td></tr></table>
   47.78 +</div></body></html>
   47.79 \ No newline at end of file

    48.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    48.2 +++ b/gallery/tsPics7.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    48.3 @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
    48.4 +<html><head><title>Tomoyo and Sakura Images</title>
    48.5 +
    48.6 +<style type="text/css">
    48.7 +body {
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   48.26 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
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   48.28 +<!-- This script and many more are available free online at -->
   48.29 +<!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->
   48.30 +
   48.31 +<!-- Begin
   48.32 +function CaricaFoto(img){
   48.33 +  foto1= new Image();
   48.34 +  foto1.src=(img);
   48.35 +  Controlla(img);
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   48.37 +function Controlla(img){
   48.38 +  if((foto1.width!=0)&&(foto1.height!=0)){
   48.39 +    viewFoto(img);
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   48.41 +  else{
   48.42 +    funzione="Controlla('"+img+"')";
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   48.52 +//  End -->
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   48.54 +
   48.55 +</head>
   48.56 +
   48.57 +<body><center><h2>Tomoyo and Sakura</h2>
   48.58 +<br><br></center>
   48.59 +
   48.60 +<div align=center><a href="javascript:CaricaFoto('ts/tomosakubtb.jpg')"><img src="ts/thumb/tomosakubtb.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60"></a>
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   48.64 +
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   48.66 +</div></body></html>
   48.67 \ No newline at end of file

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  51.138 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="right"><b>Last Updated:
  51.139 +<br><i>11-26-2006</i></b></div><p>Welcome to 
  51.140 +<i>Moonlit Nights</i>, a fanfiction archive and 
  51.141 +website dedicated to all those cute shoujo-ai 
  51.142 +romances that you never really can have too 
  51.143 +much of. Here you can find fanfiction, images, and 
  51.144 +other such multimedia detailing exactly how 
  51.145 +beautiful true love can be.</p>
  51.146 +<p>If you have any stories you've written that you 
  51.147 +would like to submit to this site, please follow the 
  51.148 +link at the bottom of this table to the submission 
  51.149 +page to submit your story.</p>
  51.150 +<p><i>Moonlit Nights</i> is run completely free of 
  51.151 +charge and there are no "for-pay" services here. 
  51.152 +However, it is run at my own personal expense, so 
  51.153 +any donations are greatly appreciated, no matter 
  51.154 +what the amount.</p>
  51.155 +<p><center><b><a href="./submit/">Submit</a></b></center>
  51.156 +</p></td><tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
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  51.201 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
  51.202 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  51.203 +Rising from the ashes, I'm back again! Midterms are done with, 
  51.204 +papers are written, and other projects I no longer remember have 
  51.205 +been done. Next up: finals and all that stuff, follow by the 
  51.206 +holidays. Yes. BUT! I'm here, alive, and updating. Pretty cool, 
  51.207 +isn't it?<br><br>
  51.208 +
  51.209 +This month marks the sixth year of Moonlit Nights, on November 
  51.210 +9th to be exact. It's really hard to believe it's come this far, 
  51.211 +actually. A small fanfiction archive made to house some stories 
  51.212 +I couldn't get placed up elsewhere and to spread out some more 
  51.213 +support for under-represented couples has really grown over the 
  51.214 +years. Most of all, though, I'd want to thank all those who have 
  51.215 +come to and contributed their time and energies to Moonlit 
  51.216 +Nights over the years. If anything, I can hope that I've at least 
  51.217 +provided something for the visitors, as I know I've gained alot 
  51.218 +from doing this over all these years!<br><br>
  51.219 +
  51.220 +We have 5 new stories this time, four of them Tomoyo and Sakura and 
  51.221 +one ChibiUsa and Hotaru. The ChibiUsa and Hotaru one is the final 
  51.222 +chapter in "Ra's Daughters" by Moonpower02, along with "Find Out 
  51.223 +The One You Love", "Home", and "Is It Real Or Just All In My Mind?" 
  51.224 +by Radar and "Kiss From A Rose" by a new author, Siobhan Pettit. 
  51.225 +As per usual, all are rather well written, so check them out as 
  51.226 +soon as you can!<br><br>
  51.227 +
  51.228 +As always, thanks for stopping by Moonlit Nights, and be sure to 
  51.229 +check back again soon! If you ever need to get in touch with me, 
  51.230 +find my details on the "Staff" page. See you again soon!
  51.231 +</div></td>
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  51.241 \ No newline at end of file

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  52.100 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
  52.101 +</TR><TR>
  52.102 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
  52.103 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_16.gif" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=20></TD>
  52.104 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
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  52.107 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
  52.108 +</TR><TR>
  52.109 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_18.gif" WIDTH=29 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  52.110 +<TD COLSPAN=5><A HREF="http://www.moonlitnights.org/tsFics.html"
  52.111 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Tomoyo and Sakura';  return true;"
  52.112 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;">
  52.113 +<span onmouseover="image5.src='navi/tomosaku2.gif';"onmouseout="image5.src='navi/tomosaku.gif';">
  52.114 +<img name="image5" src="navi/tomosaku.gif" border=0 width="179" height="31"></span></A></TD>
  52.115 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_20.gif" WIDTH=18 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  52.116 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=31></TD>
  52.117 +</TR><TR>
  52.118 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_21.gif" WIDTH=179 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  52.119 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  52.120 +</TR></TABLE>
  52.121 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 End -->
  52.122 +</div>
  52.123 +
  52.124 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 370;
  52.125 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
  52.126 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
  52.127 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
  52.128 +<tr>
  52.129 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg" width="255" height="8"></td>
  52.130 +</tr><tr>
  52.131 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="right"><b>Last Updated:
  52.132 +<br><i>07-18-2004</i></b></div><p>Welcome to 
  52.133 +<i>Moonlit Nights</i>, a fanfiction archive and 
  52.134 +website dedicated to all those cute shoujo-ai 
  52.135 +romances that you never really can have too 
  52.136 +much of. Here you can find fanfiction, images, and 
  52.137 +other such multimedia detailing exactly how 
  52.138 +beautiful true love can be.</p>
  52.139 +<p>If you have any stories you've written that you 
  52.140 +would like to submit to this site, please follow the 
  52.141 +link at the bottom of this table to the submission 
  52.142 +page to submit your story.</p>
  52.143 +<p><i>Moonlit Nights</i> is run completely free of 
  52.144 +charge and there are no "for-pay" services here. 
  52.145 +However, it is run at my own personal expense, so 
  52.146 +any donations are greatly appreciated, no matter 
  52.147 +what amount.</p>
  52.148 +<p><center><b>Submit</b></center>
  52.149 +</p></td><tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg" width="255" height="8"></td>
  52.150 +</tr><tr><td>
  52.151 +
  52.152 +<p><!-- BEGIN COUNTER CODE -->
  52.153 +<A HREF="http://www.vgws.com/php-
  52.154 +scripts/counter/sdisplay.php3?user=moonlit_nights"><IMG
  52.155 +SRC="http://www.vgws.com/php-
  52.156 +scripts/counter/counter.php3?username=moonlit_nights&font=smoon4&block=0&bgcolor
  52.157 +=0" BORDER="0"></A>
  52.158 +<!-- END COUNTER CODE --><br>
  52.159 +
  52.160 +<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
  52.161 +<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
  52.162 +<input type="hidden" name="business" value="webmaster@jrem.net">
  52.163 +<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1">
  52.164 +<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
  52.165 +<input type="hidden" name="tax" value="0">
  52.166 +<input type="image" src="http://jrem.net/moonlit/paypal-mn.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">
  52.167 +</form><br>
  52.168 +
  52.169 +<font size=1 color=black>
  52.170 +<a target="_blank" href="http://v.extreme-dm.com/?login=moonlitn">
  52.171 +<img name=im src="http://v1.extreme-dm.com/i.gif" height=38
  52.172 +border=0 width=41 alt="Thingie.. ^_^;"></a><script
  52.173 +language="javascript"><!--
  52.174 +an=navigator.appName;d=document;function
  52.175 +pr(){d.write("<img src=\"http://v0.extreme-dm.com",
  52.176 +"/0.gif?tag=moonlitn&j=y&srw="+srw+"&srb="+srb+"&",
  52.177 +"rs="+r+"&l="+escape(d.referrer)+"\" height=1 ",
  52.178 +"width=1>");}srb="na";srw="na";//-->
  52.179 +</script><script language="javascript1.2"><!--
  52.180 +s=screen;srw=s.width;an!="Netscape"?
  52.181 +srb=s.colorDepth:srb=s.pixelDepth;//-->
  52.182 +</script><script language="javascript"><!--
  52.183 +r=41;d.images?r=d.im.width:z=0;pr();//-->
  52.184 +</script><noscript><img height=1 width=1 alt="" 
  52.185 +src="http://v0.extreme-dm.com/0.gif?tag=moonlitn&j=n"></noscript>
  52.186 +</font></p>
  52.187 +</td>
  52.188 +</tr>
  52.189 +</table></div>
  52.190 +
  52.191 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 370;
  52.192 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
  52.193 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
  52.194 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg" width="400" height="8"></td></tr><tr>
  52.195 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  52.196 +This is an update notice. ^_^<br><br><br><br><br>
  52.197 +</div></td>
  52.198 +</tr>
  52.199 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg" width="400" height="8"></td>
  52.200 +</tr>
  52.201 +</TABLE>
  52.202 +</div>
  52.203 +
  52.204 +</body>
  52.205 +
  52.206 +</HTML>
  52.207 \ No newline at end of file

    53.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    53.2 +++ b/index_redirext.html	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    53.3 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
    53.4 +<html><head><title>Moonlit Nights</title></head><body bgcolor=000000 onLoad=window.setTimeout("location.href='http://www.bortreb.com/moonlitnights/index2.php'",300)><h2><center><font color="#FFFFFF">Redirecting to Moonlit Nights</h2><br><br>
    53.5 +
    53.6 +This page will look prettier.. soon. o_O<br><br>
    53.7 +
    53.8 +</font></center><div align=bottom>Hi. ^_^</div></body></html>
    53.9 \ No newline at end of file

    54.1 Binary file large-win_btm.jpg has changed

    55.1 Binary file large-win_top.jpg has changed

    56.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    56.2 +++ b/links.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    56.3 @@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
    56.4 +<HTML><head><title>Moonlit Nights: Links</title>
    56.5 +<LINK REL=StyleSheet HREF="mn-style.css" TYPE="text/css"
    56.6 +
    56.7 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
    56.8 +<!-- Begin
    56.9 +image1 = new Image();
   56.10 +image1.src = "navi/cuh2.gif";
   56.11 +
   56.12 +image2 = new Image();
   56.13 +image2.src = "navi/main2.gif";
   56.14 +
   56.15 +image3 = new Image();
   56.16 +image3.src = "navi/misc2.gif";
   56.17 +
   56.18 +image4 = new Image();
   56.19 +image4.src = "navi/multimedia2.gif";
   56.20 +
   56.21 +image5 = new Image();
   56.22 +image5.src = "navi/tomosaku2.gif";
   56.23 +
   56.24 +// End -->
   56.25 +</script>
   56.26 +
   56.27 +</head>
   56.28 +<body bgcolor="000000" background="./star-bg.gif">
   56.29 +
   56.30 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
   56.31 +right: 0; width: 103; height: 39"><img src="links-logo_head.gif"></div>
   56.32 +
   56.33 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
   56.34 +left: 0; width: 407; height: 39"><img src="bar.gif" usemap="#bar.gif" border="0">
   56.35 +<map name="bar.gif">
   56.36 +<area shape="rect" coords="2,4,126,38" href="./phpBB2/" target="_blank">
   56.37 +<area shape="rect" coords="132,3,203,39" href="./gallery/" target="_blank">
   56.38 +<area shape="rect" coords="206,0,262,40" href="./cards.php" target="">
   56.39 +<area shape="rect" coords="266,1,322,39" href="./staff.php" target="">
   56.40 +<area shape="rect" coords="329,0,388,40" href="./links.php" target="">
   56.41 +</map></div>
   56.42 +
   56.43 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 50;
   56.44 +right: 85; width: 239; height: 154" id="navi">
   56.45 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 Begin -->
   56.46 +<TABLE WIDTH=239 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0>
   56.47 +<TR><TD>
   56.48 +<IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=6 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.49 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1></TD>
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   56.52 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=45 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.53 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=48 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.54 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=24 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.55 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=61 HEIGHT=1></TD>
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   56.57 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=9 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.58 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=1></TD>
   56.59 +<TD></TD></TR><TR>
   56.60 +<TD COLSPAN=11>
   56.61 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_01.gif" WIDTH=239 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   56.62 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   56.63 +</TR><TR>
   56.64 +<TD COLSPAN=4 ROWSPAN=2>
   56.65 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_02.gif" WIDTH=36 HEIGHT=41></TD>
   56.66 +<TD COLSPAN=5>
   56.67 +<A HREF="./chFics.php"
   56.68 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='ChibiUsa and Hotaru';  return true;"
   56.69 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image1.src='navi/cuh2.gif';"onmouseout="image1.src='navi/cuh.gif';">
   56.70 +<img name="image1" src="navi/cuh.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   56.71 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_04.gif" WIDTH=16 HEIGHT=55></TD>
   56.72 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=33></TD>
   56.73 +</TR><TR>
   56.74 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_05.gif" WIDTH=187 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   56.75 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
   56.76 +</TR><TR>
   56.77 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_06.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=33></TD>
   56.78 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
   56.79 +<A HREF="./misc.php"
   56.80 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Misc';  return true;"
   56.81 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image3.src='navi/misc2.gif';"onmouseout="image3.src='navi/misc.gif';">
   56.82 +<img name="image3" src="navi/misc.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   56.83 +<TD COLSPAN=4><IMG SRC="navi/navi_08.gif" WIDTH=142 HEIGHT=14></TD>
   56.84 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=14></TD>
   56.85 +</TR><TR>
   56.86 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_09.gif" WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=19></TD>
   56.87 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=3><A HREF="./index2.php"
   56.88 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Main';  return true;"
   56.89 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image2.src='navi/main2.gif';"onmouseout="image2.src='navi/main.gif';">
   56.90 +<img name="image2" src="navi/main.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
   56.91 +<TD ROWSPAN=7><IMG SRC="navi/navi_11.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=91></TD>
   56.92 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=15></TD>
   56.93 +</TR><TR>
   56.94 +<TD COLSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_12.gif" WIDTH=74 HEIGHT=4></TD>
   56.95 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
   56.96 +</TR><TR>
   56.97 +<TD ROWSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_13.gif" WIDTH=6 HEIGHT=72></TD>
   56.98 +<TD COLSPAN=5 ROWSPAN=2><A HREF="./downloads.php"
   56.99 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Multimedia';  return true;"
  56.100 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image4.src='navi/multimedia2.gif';"onmouseout="image4.src='navi/multimedia.gif';">
  56.101 +<img name="image4" src="navi/multimedia.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
  56.102 +<TD ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_15.gif" WIDTH=24 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  56.103 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
  56.104 +</TR><TR>
  56.105 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
  56.106 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_16.gif" WIDTH=79 HEIGHT=20></TD>
  56.107 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
  56.108 +</TR><TR>
  56.109 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_17.gif" WIDTH=123 HEIGHT=4></TD>
  56.110 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
  56.111 +</TR><TR>
  56.112 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_18.gif" WIDTH=29 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  56.113 +<TD COLSPAN=5><A HREF="./tsFics.php"
  56.114 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Tomoyo and Sakura';  return true;"
  56.115 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;">
  56.116 +<span onmouseover="image5.src='navi/tomosaku2.gif';"onmouseout="image5.src='navi/tomosaku.gif';">
  56.117 +<img name="image5" src="navi/tomosaku.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
  56.118 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_20.gif" WIDTH=18 HEIGHT=36></TD>
  56.119 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=31></TD>
  56.120 +</TR><TR>
  56.121 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_21.gif" WIDTH=179 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  56.122 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
  56.123 +</TR></TABLE>
  56.124 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 End -->
  56.125 +</div>
  56.126 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
  56.127 +left: 0; width: 274; height:321">
  56.128 +<img src="links_hina-header.gif" width=300 height=321>
  56.129 +</div>
  56.130 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  56.131 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
  56.132 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
  56.133 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
  56.134 +<tr>
  56.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
  56.136 +</tr><tr>
  56.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Leaving so soon? Well, if you 
  56.138 +insist, here are several sites that I would suggest. Also, 
  56.139 +it would be highly appreciated if you would link back to 
  56.140 +Moonlit Nights. If you have, or know of, a site that would 
  56.141 +be applicable to this page, please let me know.
  56.142 +</td>
  56.143 +</tr>
  56.144 +<tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
  56.145 +</tr>
  56.146 +</table></div>
  56.147 +
  56.148 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  56.149 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
  56.150 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
  56.151 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
  56.152 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  56.153 +<b>[Moonlit Nights Banners]</b><br><br>
  56.154 +
  56.155 +<img src="moonlit_banner2.gif"><br>
  56.156 +<img src="moonlit-button01.gif"><br>
  56.157 +<img src="moonlit-button02.gif"><br>
  56.158 +<img src="moonlit-button03.gif"><br>
  56.159 +<img src="moonlit-button04.gif"><br>
  56.160 +<img src="moonlit-button05.gif"><br>
  56.161 +<br><br>
  56.162 +<b>[Outside Links]</b><br><br>
  56.163 +
  56.164 +The Dungeon Of Lilies (Japanese Fanfiction Archive)<br>
  56.165 +<a href="http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~yuriyuri/"><img src="linkchan.jpg" 
  56.166 +width="256" height="128" border=0></a><br>
  56.167 +Magical Shoujo (For Sakura and Sasami sprites)<br>
  56.168 +<a href="http://www.magicalshoujo.com/"><img src="ms.gif" border=0></a>
  56.169 +
  56.170 +<br>
  56.171 +</div></td>
  56.172 +</tr><tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
  56.173 +</tr>
  56.174 +</TABLE>
  56.175 +</div>
  56.176 +
  56.177 +</body>
  56.178 +
  56.179 +</HTML>
  56.180 \ No newline at end of file

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    58.1 Binary file misc-logo_head.gif has changed

    59.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    59.2 +++ b/misc.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    59.3 @@ -0,0 +1,386 @@
    59.4 +<HTML><head><title>Moonlit Nights: Misc</title>
    59.5 +<LINK REL=StyleSheet HREF="mn-style.css" TYPE="text/css"
    59.6 +
    59.7 +<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
    59.8 +<!-- Begin
    59.9 +image1 = new Image();
   59.10 +image1.src = "navi/cuh2.gif";
   59.11 +
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   59.13 +image2.src = "navi/main2.gif";
   59.14 +
   59.15 +image3 = new Image();
   59.16 +image3.src = "navi/misc2.gif";
   59.17 +
   59.18 +image4 = new Image();
   59.19 +image4.src = "navi/multimedia2.gif";
   59.20 +
   59.21 +image5 = new Image();
   59.22 +image5.src = "navi/tomosaku2.gif";
   59.23 +
   59.24 +// End -->
   59.25 +</script>
   59.26 +
   59.27 +</head>
   59.28 +<body bgcolor="000000" background="./star-bg.gif">
   59.29 +
   59.30 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
   59.31 +right: 0; width: 88; height: 39"><img src="misc-logo_head.gif"></div>
   59.32 +
   59.33 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
   59.34 +left: 0; width: 407; height: 39"><img src="bar.gif" usemap="#bar.gif" border="0">
   59.35 +<map name="bar.gif">
   59.36 +<area shape="rect" coords="2,4,126,38" href="./phpBB2/" target="_blank">
   59.37 +<area shape="rect" coords="132,3,203,39" href="./gallery/" target="_blank">
   59.38 +<area shape="rect" coords="206,0,262,40" href="./cards.php" target="">
   59.39 +<area shape="rect" coords="266,1,322,39" href="./staff.php" target="">
   59.40 +<area shape="rect" coords="329,0,388,40" href="./links.php" target="">
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   59.42 +
   59.43 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 50;
   59.44 +right: 85; width: 239; height: 154" id="navi">
   59.45 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 Begin -->
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  59.126 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
  59.127 +left: 0; width: 231; height:321">
  59.128 +<img src="misc_noir-header.gif" width=231 height=321>
  59.129 +</div>
  59.130 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  59.131 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
  59.132 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
  59.133 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
  59.134 +<tr>
  59.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
  59.136 +</tr><tr>
  59.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Welcome to the Misc. page. Here you
  59.138 +can find all the 
  59.139 +odds and ends that don't quite fit all too nicely into the 
  59.140 +other sections. Some of the key series (ones that have 
  59.141 +a few stories devoted to just that) are seperated into 
  59.142 +series-specific groupings. The rest, however, are simply 
  59.143 +in a large group sorted by alphanumerical order by author. 
  59.144 +Most are from anime/game series, though a few are original 
  59.145 +series.<p>
  59.146 +!H! = Hentai<p>
  59.147 +<img src="mireille-new.gif"> = New</td>
  59.148 +</tr>
  59.149 +<tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
  59.150 +</tr>
  59.151 +</table></div>
  59.152 +
  59.153 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
  59.154 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
  59.155 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
  59.156 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
  59.157 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
  59.158 +<b>[Kaitou Saint Tail]</b><br><br>
  59.159 +
  59.160 +<a href="stories/thief.txt" target="_blank">A Thief in the  Night</a>
  59.161 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.162 +<a href="stories/kstail.txt" target="_blank">Can't Say Goodbye  to
  59.163 +Yesterday</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.164 +<a href="stories/sttail.txt" target="_blank">Kiss Me Sunlights</a> Amazoness
  59.165 +Duo<br>
  59.166 +
  59.167 +<br><br>
  59.168 +
  59.169 +<b>[Noir]</b><br><br>
  59.170 +
  59.171 +<a href="stories/noir-afterwards.txt" target="_blank" >Afterwards</a> 
  59.172 +Immo<br>
  59.173 +<a href="stories/noir-althena.txt" target="_blank">Althena</a> 
  59.174 +Immo<br>
  59.175 +<a href="stories/noir-when.txt" target="_blank">When</a> 
  59.176 +Immo<br>
  59.177 +
  59.178 +!H!<a href="stories/noir_blackturnred.txt" target="_blank">Black Turned Red</a>
  59.179 +Kirika<br>
  59.180 +
  59.181 +<p>
  59.182 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-01.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.183 +Chapter 01</a>
  59.184 +Kirika<br>
  59.185 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-02.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.186 +Chapter 02</a>
  59.187 +Kirika<br>
  59.188 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-03.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.189 +Chapter 03</a>
  59.190 +Kirika<br>
  59.191 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-04.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.192 +Chapter 04</a>
  59.193 +Kirika<br>
  59.194 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-05.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.195 +Chapter 05</a>
  59.196 +Kirika<br>
  59.197 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-06.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.198 +Chapter 06</a>
  59.199 +Kirika<br>
  59.200 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-07.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.201 +Chapter 07</a>
  59.202 +Kirika<br>
  59.203 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-08.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.204 +Chapter 08</a>
  59.205 +Kirika<br>
  59.206 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-09.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.207 +Chapter 09</a>
  59.208 +Kirika<br>
  59.209 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-10.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.210 +Chapter 10</a>
  59.211 +Kirika<br>
  59.212 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-11.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.213 +Chapter 11</a>
  59.214 +Kirika<br>
  59.215 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-12.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.216 +Chapter 12</a>
  59.217 +Kirika<br>
  59.218 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-13.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.219 +Chapter 13</a>
  59.220 +Kirika<br>
  59.221 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-14.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.222 +Chapter 14</a> Kirika<br>
  59.223 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-15.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.224 +Chapter 15</a> 
  59.225 +Kirika<br>
  59.226 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-16.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.227 +Chapter 16</a> 
  59.228 +Kirika<br>
  59.229 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-17.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.230 +Chapter 17</a> 
  59.231 +Kirika<br>
  59.232 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-18.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.233 +Chapter 18</a> 
  59.234 +Kirika<br>
  59.235 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-19.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.236 +Chapter 19</a> Kirika<br>
  59.237 +<img src="mireille-new.gif">
  59.238 +<a href="stories/noir_redblack-20.txt" target="_blank">Red And  Black:
  59.239 +Chapter 20</a> Kirika</p>
  59.240 +
  59.241 +<a href="stories/noir-rainfall.txt" target="_blank">Rainfall</a> LeeT911<br>
  59.242 +<a href="stories/noir_complementary.txt" target="_blank" >Complementary 
  59.243 +Colours</a>
  59.244 +Yasminm<br>
  59.245 +<a href="stories/noir_sabimer.txt" target="_blank">S'abîmer</a>
  59.246 +Yasminm<br>
  59.247 +
  59.248 +<br><br>
  59.249 +
  59.250 +<b>[Pretty Sammy]</b><br><br>
  59.251 +
  59.252 +<a href="stories/psammy.txt" target="_blank">A Pretty Sammy  Story</a>
  59.253 +Amazoness Duo/ Yosho Masaki<br>
  59.254 +<a href="stories/Misao.txt" target="_blank">Love Lies Bleeding</a> Amazoness
  59.255 +Duo<br>
  59.256 +<a href="stories/earth-heaven.txt" target="_blank">Earth Back To  Heaven</a>
  59.257 +Washu<br>
  59.258 +
  59.259 +<br><br>
  59.260 +
  59.261 +<b>[Other]</b><br><br>
  59.262 +
  59.263 +<a href="stories/forgotten.txt" target="_blank">Forgotten</a> 
  59.264 +
  59.265 +            Althea K.<br>
  59.266 +
  59.267 +            <a href="stories/rockmanxfic.txt" target="_blank" >Fate In
  59.268 +Haze</a> 
  59.269 +
  59.270 +            AmazonessDuo<br>
  59.271 +
  59.272 +<a href="stories/hateme.txt" target="_blank">I Know Why You Want  To Hate
  59.273 +Me</a> 
  59.274 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.275 +<a href="stories/lonely_hearts-00.txt" target="_blank">Lonely Hearts [Prelude]</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.276 +<a href="stories/lost.txt" target="_blank">Lost</a> Amazoness
  59.277 +Duo<br>
  59.278 +
  59.279 +<a href="stories/nowboarding.txt" target="_blank">Now Boarding</a> Amazoness
  59.280 +Duo<br>
  59.281 +
  59.282 +<a href="stories/anna.txt" target="_blank">One Dance Left</a>  Amazoness
  59.283 +Duo<p>
  59.284 +
  59.285 +<a href="stories/prismhearts.txt" target="_blank">Prism Hearts</a> 
  59.286 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.287 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-02.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 2:
  59.288 +Prelude</a> 
  59.289 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.290 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-03.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 3: Radical 
  59.291 +Dreamers</a> 
  59.292 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.293 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-04.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 4: PlanitB
  59.294 +Remix</a> 
  59.295 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.296 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-05.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 5: Time's
  59.297 +Scar</a> 
  59.298 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.299 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-06.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 6: The
  59.300 +Wanderer of
  59.301 +Time</a> 
  59.302 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.303 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-07.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 7:
  59.304 +Melodies of 
  59.305 +Life</a> 
  59.306 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.307 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-08.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 8:
  59.308 +One Winged Angel</a> 
  59.309 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.310 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-09.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 9:
  59.311 +Eyes On Me</a> 
  59.312 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.313 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-10.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 10: Treasure
  59.314 +Chest of My Heart</a> 
  59.315 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.316 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-11.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 11: Love
  59.317 +is the 
  59.318 +Gift</a> 
  59.319 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.320 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-12.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 12:
  59.321 +Angelus Errare:
  59.322 +Where Angels Lose Their Way</a> 
  59.323 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.324 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-13.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 13:
  59.325 +Final Distance</a> 
  59.326 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.327 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-14.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 14:
  59.328 +Fly Me to the Moon</a>
  59.329 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.330 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-15.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 15:
  59.331 +Primal Eyes</a>
  59.332 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.333 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-16.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 16:
  59.334 +Addicted To You</a>
  59.335 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.336 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-17.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts 17:
  59.337 +Hikari</a>
  59.338 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.339 +<a href="stories/prismhearts-end.txt" target="_blank">Prism  Hearts Epilogue: 
  59.340 +Simple And Clean</a>
  59.341 +Amazoness Duo</p>
  59.342 +
  59.343 +<a href="stories/mgsrain.txt" target="_blank">Rain</a> 
  59.344 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.345 +
  59.346 +            <a href="stories/mint.txt" target="_blank">Relic Of  My Heart</a>
  59.347 +AmazonessDuo<br>
  59.348 +
  59.349 +<a href="stories/superman.txt" target="_blank">Superman</a>  Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.350 +
  59.351 +<a href="stories/mgs3.txt" target="_blank">You Never Can Tell  With Bees</a> 
  59.352 +Amazoness Duo<br>
  59.353 +
  59.354 +<a href="stories/Zero-X.txt" target="_blank">ZeroxRockmanX</a>  Amazoness
  59.355 +Duo<br>
  59.356 +
  59.357 +
  59.358 +<a href="stories/watchingyou.txt" target="_blank">Watching You</a> 
  59.359 +Forever3330<br>
  59.360 +<a href="stories/guessed.txt" target="_blank">Who Could Have  Guessed?</a> 
  59.361 +Forever3330<br>
  59.362 +<a href="stories/guardian.txt" target="_blank">I'll Always be  You Guardian</a>
  59.363 +Phoenix<br>
  59.364 +
  59.365 +<p><a href="stories/angel-itara.txt" target="_blank">Itara  Hanasanai No Ni</a>
  59.366 +Shiderezakura<br>
  59.367 +<a href="stories/angel-itara2.txt" target="_blank">Itara  Hanasanai No Ni
  59.368 +2</a> Shiderezakura<br>
  59.369 +<a href="stories/angel-itara3.txt" target="_blank">Itara  Hanasanai No Ni
  59.370 +3</a> Shiderezakura<br>
  59.371 +<a href="stories/angel-itara4.txt" target="_blank">Itara  Hanasanai No Ni
  59.372 +4</a> Shiderezakura</p>
  59.373 +
  59.374 +<a href="stories/xeno-picnic.txt" target="_blank">Picnic For Two</a> Silvercry<br>
  59.375 +<a href="stories/panbra.txt" target="_blank">Always Were More  Than
  59.376 +Friends</a> Starlight<br>
  59.377 +<a href="stories/utenanshi_aftermovie.txt" target="_blank">After The Movie</a> WaMat DeBly<br>
  59.378 +<a href="stories/angel-gatecrasher.txt" target="_blank">Sing For  Me</a> Zeb
  59.379 +A.<br>
  59.380 +</div></td>
  59.381 +</tr>
  59.382 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
  59.383 +</tr>
  59.384 +</TABLE>
  59.385 +</div>
  59.386 +
  59.387 +</body>
  59.388 +
  59.389 +</HTML>
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    62.5 
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    88.4 +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
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   88.27 +				<td align="right" width="100%" valign="middle"><span class="gen"><br />&nbsp; </span>
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   88.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   88.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
   88.32 +                        <a href="profile.php?mode=editprofile&amp;sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Profile" hspace="0" /></a></span><span class="mainmenu"><a href="profile.php?mode=register&amp;sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Register" hspace="0" /></a><a href="faq.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif" width="39" height="20" border="0" alt="FAQ" hspace="0" /></a><a href="index.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" hspace="0" /></a><a href="search.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Search" hspace="0" /></a></span>&nbsp;
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   88.36 +						<td height="25" align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Memberlist" hspace="0" /></a><a href="groupcp.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif" width="82" height="20" border="0" alt="Usergroups" hspace="0" /></a><a href="login.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif" width="95" height="20" border="0" alt="Log in" hspace="0" /></a>&nbsp;</span></td>
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   88.45 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="0" align="center">
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   88.47 +		<td align="left" class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></td>
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   88.50 +
   88.51 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
   88.52 +	<tr>
   88.53 +		<th class="thHead">FAQ</th>
   88.54 +	</tr>
   88.55 +	<tr>
   88.56 +		<td class="row1">
   88.57 +			<span class="gen"><b>Login and Registration Issues</b></span><br />
   88.58 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#0" class="postlink">Why can't I log in?</a></span><br />
   88.59 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#1" class="postlink">Why do I need to register at all?</a></span><br />
   88.60 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#2" class="postlink">Why do I get logged off automatically?</a></span><br />
   88.61 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#3" class="postlink">How do I prevent my username from appearing in the online user listings?</a></span><br />
   88.62 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#4" class="postlink">I've lost my password!</a></span><br />
   88.63 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#5" class="postlink">I registered but cannot log in!</a></span><br />
   88.64 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#6" class="postlink">I registered in the past but cannot log in anymore!</a></span><br />
   88.65 +			<br />
   88.66 +			<span class="gen"><b>User Preferences and settings</b></span><br />
   88.67 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#7" class="postlink">How do I change my settings?</a></span><br />
   88.68 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#8" class="postlink">The times are not correct!</a></span><br />
   88.69 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#9" class="postlink">I changed the timezone and the time is still wrong!</a></span><br />
   88.70 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#10" class="postlink">My language is not in the list!</a></span><br />
   88.71 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#11" class="postlink">How do I show an image below my username?</a></span><br />
   88.72 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#12" class="postlink">How do I change my rank?</a></span><br />
   88.73 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#13" class="postlink">When I click the email link for a user it asks me to log in.</a></span><br />
   88.74 +			<br />
   88.75 +			<span class="gen"><b>Posting Issues</b></span><br />
   88.76 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#14" class="postlink">How do I post a topic in a forum?</a></span><br />
   88.77 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#15" class="postlink">How do I edit or delete a post?</a></span><br />
   88.78 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#16" class="postlink">How do I add a signature to my post?</a></span><br />
   88.79 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#17" class="postlink">How do I create a poll?</a></span><br />
   88.80 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#18" class="postlink">How do I edit or delete a poll?</a></span><br />
   88.81 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#19" class="postlink">Why can't I access a forum?</a></span><br />
   88.82 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#20" class="postlink">Why can't I vote in polls?</a></span><br />
   88.83 +			<br />
   88.84 +			<span class="gen"><b>Formatting and Topic Types</b></span><br />
   88.85 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#21" class="postlink">What is BBCode?</a></span><br />
   88.86 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#22" class="postlink">Can I use HTML?</a></span><br />
   88.87 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#23" class="postlink">What are Smileys?</a></span><br />
   88.88 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#24" class="postlink">Can I post Images?</a></span><br />
   88.89 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#25" class="postlink">What are Announcements?</a></span><br />
   88.90 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#26" class="postlink">What are Sticky topics?</a></span><br />
   88.91 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#27" class="postlink">What are Locked topics?</a></span><br />
   88.92 +			<br />
   88.93 +			<span class="gen"><b>User Levels and Groups</b></span><br />
   88.94 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#28" class="postlink">What are Administrators?</a></span><br />
   88.95 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#29" class="postlink">What are Moderators?</a></span><br />
   88.96 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#30" class="postlink">What are Usergroups?</a></span><br />
   88.97 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#31" class="postlink">How do I join a Usergroup?</a></span><br />
   88.98 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#32" class="postlink">How do I become a Usergroup Moderator?</a></span><br />
   88.99 +			<br />
  88.100 +			<span class="gen"><b>Private Messaging</b></span><br />
  88.101 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#33" class="postlink">I cannot send private messages!</a></span><br />
  88.102 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#34" class="postlink">I keep getting unwanted private messages!</a></span><br />
  88.103 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#35" class="postlink">I have received a spamming or abusive email from someone on this board!</a></span><br />
  88.104 +			<br />
  88.105 +			<span class="gen"><b>phpBB 2 Issues</b></span><br />
  88.106 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#36" class="postlink">Who wrote this bulletin board?</a></span><br />
  88.107 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#37" class="postlink">Why isn't X feature available?</a></span><br />
  88.108 +			<span class="gen"><a href="#38" class="postlink">Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board?</a></span><br />
  88.109 +			<br />
  88.110 +		</td>
  88.111 +	</tr>
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  88.113 +		<td class="catBottom" height="28">&nbsp;</td>
  88.114 +	</tr>
  88.115 +</table>
  88.116 +
  88.117 +<br clear="all" />
  88.118 +
  88.119 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.120 +	<tr>
  88.121 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">Login and Registration Issues</span></td>
  88.122 +	</tr>
  88.123 +	<tr>
  88.124 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="0"></a><b>Why can't I log in?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to log in. Have you been banned from the board? (A message will be displayed if you have.) If so, you should contact the webmaster or board administrator to find out why. If you have registered and are not banned and you still cannot log in then check and double-check your username and password. Usually this is the problem; if not, contact the board administrator -- they may have incorrect configuration settings for the board.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.125 +	</tr>
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  88.127 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.130 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="1"></a><b>Why do I need to register at all?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">You may not have to -- it is up to the administrator of the board as to whether you need to register in order to post messages. However, registration will give you access to additional features not available to guest users such as definable avatar images, private messaging, emailing to fellow users, usergroup subscription, etc. It only takes a few minutes to register so it is recommended you do so.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.131 +	</tr>
  88.132 +	<tr>
  88.133 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.136 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="2"></a><b>Why do I get logged off automatically?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">If you do not check the <i>Log me in automatically</i> box when you log in, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university cluster, etc.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.137 +	</tr>
  88.138 +	<tr>
  88.139 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.140 +	</tr>
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  88.142 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="3"></a><b>How do I prevent my username from appearing in the online user listings?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">In your profile you will find an option <i>Hide your online status</i>; if you switch this <i>on</i> you'll only appear to board administrators or to yourself. You will be counted as a hidden user.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.143 +	</tr>
  88.144 +	<tr>
  88.145 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.146 +	</tr>
  88.147 +	<tr>
  88.148 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="4"></a><b>I've lost my password!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click <u>I've forgotten my password</u>. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.149 +	</tr>
  88.150 +	<tr>
  88.151 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.154 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="5"></a><b>I registered but cannot log in!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">First check that you are entering the correct username and password. If they are okay then one of two things may have happened: if COPPA support is enabled and you clicked the <u>I am under 13 years old</u> link while registering then you will have to follow the instructions you received. If this is not the case then maybe your account need activating. Some boards will require all new registrations be activated, either by yourself or by the administrator before you can log on. When you registered it would have told you whether activation was required. If you were sent an email then follow the instructions; if you did not receive the email then check that your email address is valid. One reason activation is used is to reduce the possibility of <i>rogue</i> users abusing the board anonymously. If you are sure the email address you used is valid then try contacting the board administrator.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.155 +	</tr>
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  88.157 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.158 +	</tr>
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  88.160 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="6"></a><b>I registered in the past but cannot log in anymore!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">The most likely reasons for this are: you entered an incorrect username or password (check the email you were sent when you first registered) or the administrator has deleted your account for some reason. If it is the latter case then perhaps you did not post anything? It is usual for boards to periodically remove users who have not posted anything so as to reduce the size of the database. Try registering again and get involved in discussions.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.161 +	</tr>
  88.162 +	<tr>
  88.163 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.164 +	</tr>
  88.165 +</table>
  88.166 +
  88.167 +<br clear="all" />
  88.168 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.169 +	<tr>
  88.170 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">User Preferences and settings</span></td>
  88.171 +	</tr>
  88.172 +	<tr>
  88.173 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="7"></a><b>How do I change my settings?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the <u>Profile</u> link (generally shown at the top of pages but this may not be the case). This will allow you to change all your settings.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.174 +	</tr>
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  88.176 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.177 +	</tr>
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  88.179 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="8"></a><b>The times are not correct!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.180 +	</tr>
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  88.182 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.185 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="9"></a><b>I changed the timezone and the time is still wrong!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">If you are sure you have set the timezone correctly and the time is still different, the most likely answer is daylight savings time (or summer time as it is known in the UK and other places). The board is not designed to handle the changeovers between standard and daylight time so during summer months the time may be an hour different from the real local time.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.186 +	</tr>
  88.187 +	<tr>
  88.188 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.191 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="10"></a><b>My language is not in the list!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">The most likely reasons for this are either the administrator did not install your language or someone has not translated this board into your language. Try asking the board administrator if they can install the language pack you need or if it does not exist, please feel free to create a new translation. More information can be found at the phpBB Group website (see link at bottom of pages)<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.192 +	</tr>
  88.193 +	<tr>
  88.194 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.197 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="11"></a><b>How do I show an image below my username?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">There may be two images below a username when viewing posts. The first is an image associated with your rank; generally these take the form of stars or blocks indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the forums. Below this may be a larger image known as an avatar; this is generally unique or personal to each user. It is up to the board administrator to enable avatars and they have a choice over the way in which avatars can be made available. If you are unable to use avatars then this is the decision of the board admin and you should ask them their reasons (we're sure they'll be good!)<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.198 +	</tr>
  88.199 +	<tr>
  88.200 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.201 +	</tr>
  88.202 +	<tr>
  88.203 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="12"></a><b>How do I change my rank?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">In general you cannot directly change the wording of any rank (ranks appear below your username in topics and on your profile depending on the style used). Most boards use ranks to indicate the number of posts you have made and to identify certain users. For example, moderators and administrators may have a special rank. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank -- you will probably find the moderator or administrator will simply lower your post count.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.204 +	</tr>
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  88.206 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.209 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="13"></a><b>When I click the email link for a user it asks me to log in.</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Sorry, but only registered users can send email to people via the built-in email form (if the admin has enabled this feature). This is to prevent malicious use of the email system by anonymous users.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
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  88.212 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
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  88.215 +
  88.216 +<br clear="all" />
  88.217 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.218 +	<tr>
  88.219 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">Posting Issues</span></td>
  88.220 +	</tr>
  88.221 +	<tr>
  88.222 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="14"></a><b>How do I post a topic in a forum?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Easy -- click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may need to register before you can post a message. The facilities available to you are listed at the bottom of the forum and topic screens (the <i>You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc.</i> list)<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
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  88.226 +	</tr>
  88.227 +	<tr>
  88.228 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="15"></a><b>How do I edit or delete a post?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Unless you are the board admin or forum moderator you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post (sometimes for only a limited time after it was made) by clicking the <i>edit</i> button for the relevant post.  If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic that lists the number of times you edited it. This will only appear if no one has replied; it also will not appear if moderators or administrators edit the post (they should leave a message saying what they altered and why). Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.229 +	</tr>
  88.230 +	<tr>
  88.231 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.232 +	</tr>
  88.233 +	<tr>
  88.234 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="16"></a><b>How do I add a signature to my post?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">To add a signature to a post you must first create one; this is done via your profile. Once created you can check the <i>Add Signature</i> box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio box in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box on the posting form.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.235 +	</tr>
  88.236 +	<tr>
  88.237 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.238 +	</tr>
  88.239 +	<tr>
  88.240 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="17"></a><b>How do I create a poll?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Creating a poll is easy -- when you post a new topic (or edit the first post of a topic, if you have permission) you should see a <i>Add Poll</i> form below the main posting box. If you cannot see this then you probably do not have rights to create polls. You should enter a title for the poll and then at least two options -- to set an option type in the poll question and click the <i>Add option</i> button. You can also set a time limit for the poll, 0 being an infinite amount. There will be a limit to the number of options you can list, which is set by the board administrator<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.241 +	</tr>
  88.242 +	<tr>
  88.243 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.244 +	</tr>
  88.245 +	<tr>
  88.246 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="18"></a><b>How do I edit or delete a poll?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator, or board administrator. To edit a poll, click the first post in the topic, which always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote then users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if people have already placed votes only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it; this is to prevent people rigging polls by changing options mid-way through a poll<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.247 +	</tr>
  88.248 +	<tr>
  88.249 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.250 +	</tr>
  88.251 +	<tr>
  88.252 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="19"></a><b>Why can't I access a forum?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post, etc. you may need special authorization which only the forum moderator and board administrator can grant, so you should contact them.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.253 +	</tr>
  88.254 +	<tr>
  88.255 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.256 +	</tr>
  88.257 +	<tr>
  88.258 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="20"></a><b>Why can't I vote in polls?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Only registered users can vote in polls so as to prevent spoofing of results. If you have registered and still cannot vote then you probably do not have appropriate access rights.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.259 +	</tr>
  88.260 +	<tr>
  88.261 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.262 +	</tr>
  88.263 +</table>
  88.264 +
  88.265 +<br clear="all" />
  88.266 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.267 +	<tr>
  88.268 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">Formatting and Topic Types</span></td>
  88.269 +	</tr>
  88.270 +	<tr>
  88.271 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="21"></a><b>What is BBCode?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. Whether you can use BBCode is determined by the administrator. You can also disable it on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than &lt; and &gt; and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.272 +	</tr>
  88.273 +	<tr>
  88.274 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.275 +	</tr>
  88.276 +	<tr>
  88.277 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="22"></a><b>Can I use HTML?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">That depends on whether the administrator allows you to; they have complete control over it. If you are allowed to use it, you will probably find only certain tags work. This is a <i>safety</i> feature to prevent people from abusing the board by using tags which may destroy the layout or cause other problems. If HTML is enabled you can disable it on a per post basis from the posting form.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.278 +	</tr>
  88.279 +	<tr>
  88.280 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.281 +	</tr>
  88.282 +	<tr>
  88.283 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="23"></a><b>What are Smileys?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express some feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, though, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may decide to edit them out or remove the post altogether.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.284 +	</tr>
  88.285 +	<tr>
  88.286 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.287 +	</tr>
  88.288 +	<tr>
  88.289 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="24"></a><b>Can I post Images?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. To display the image use either the BBCode [img] tag or appropriate HTML (if allowed).<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.290 +	</tr>
  88.291 +	<tr>
  88.292 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.293 +	</tr>
  88.294 +	<tr>
  88.295 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="25"></a><b>What are Announcements?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Announcements often contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Whether or not you can post an announcement depends on the permissions required, which are set by the administrator.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.296 +	</tr>
  88.297 +	<tr>
  88.298 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.299 +	</tr>
  88.300 +	<tr>
  88.301 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="26"></a><b>What are Sticky topics?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Sticky topics appear below any announcements in viewforum and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them where possible. As with announcements the board administrator determines what permissions are required to post sticky topics in each forum.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.302 +	</tr>
  88.303 +	<tr>
  88.304 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.305 +	</tr>
  88.306 +	<tr>
  88.307 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="27"></a><b>What are Locked topics?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You cannot reply to locked topics and any poll contained inside is automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.308 +	</tr>
  88.309 +	<tr>
  88.310 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.311 +	</tr>
  88.312 +</table>
  88.313 +
  88.314 +<br clear="all" />
  88.315 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.316 +	<tr>
  88.317 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">User Levels and Groups</span></td>
  88.318 +	</tr>
  88.319 +	<tr>
  88.320 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="28"></a><b>What are Administrators?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Administrators are people assigned the highest level of control over the entire board. These people can control all facets of board operation which include setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc. They also have full moderator capabilities in all the forums.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.321 +	</tr>
  88.322 +	<tr>
  88.323 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.324 +	</tr>
  88.325 +	<tr>
  88.326 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="29"></a><b>What are Moderators?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) whose job it is to look after the running of the forums from day to day. They have the power to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally moderators are there to prevent people going <i>off-topic</i> or posting abusive or offensive material.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.327 +	</tr>
  88.328 +	<tr>
  88.329 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.330 +	</tr>
  88.331 +	<tr>
  88.332 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="30"></a><b>What are Usergroups?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Usergroups are a way in which board administrators can group users. Each user can belong to several groups (this differs from most other boards) and each group can be assigned individual access rights. This makes it easy for administrators to set up several users as moderators of a forum, or to give them access to a private forum, etc.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.333 +	</tr>
  88.334 +	<tr>
  88.335 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.336 +	</tr>
  88.337 +	<tr>
  88.338 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="31"></a><b>How do I join a Usergroup?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">To join a usergroup click the usergroup link on the page header (dependent on template design) and you can then view all usergroups. Not all groups are <i>open access</i> -- some are closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the board is open then you can request to join it by clicking the appropriate button. The user group moderator will need to approve your request; they may ask why you want to join the group. Please do not pester a group moderator if they turn your request down -- they will have their reasons.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.339 +	</tr>
  88.340 +	<tr>
  88.341 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.342 +	</tr>
  88.343 +	<tr>
  88.344 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="32"></a><b>How do I become a Usergroup Moderator?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">Usergroups are initially created by the board administrator who also assigns a board moderator. If you are interested in creating a usergroup then your first point of contact should be the administrator, so try dropping them a private message.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.345 +	</tr>
  88.346 +	<tr>
  88.347 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.348 +	</tr>
  88.349 +</table>
  88.350 +
  88.351 +<br clear="all" />
  88.352 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.353 +	<tr>
  88.354 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">Private Messaging</span></td>
  88.355 +	</tr>
  88.356 +	<tr>
  88.357 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="33"></a><b>I cannot send private messages!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">There are three reasons for this; you are not registered and/or not logged on, the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board, or the board administrator has prevented you individually from sending messages. If it is the latter case you should try asking the administrator why.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.358 +	</tr>
  88.359 +	<tr>
  88.360 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.361 +	</tr>
  88.362 +	<tr>
  88.363 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="34"></a><b>I keep getting unwanted private messages!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">In the future we will be adding an ignore list to the private messaging system. For now, though, if you keep receiving unwanted private messages from someone, inform the board administrator -- they have the power to prevent a user from sending private messages at all.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.364 +	</tr>
  88.365 +	<tr>
  88.366 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.367 +	</tr>
  88.368 +	<tr>
  88.369 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="35"></a><b>I have received a spamming or abusive email from someone on this board!</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track users who send such posts. You should email the board administrator with a full copy of the email you received and it is very important this include the headers (these list details of the user that sent the email). They can then take action.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.370 +	</tr>
  88.371 +	<tr>
  88.372 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.373 +	</tr>
  88.374 +</table>
  88.375 +
  88.376 +<br clear="all" />
  88.377 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center">
  88.378 +	<tr>
  88.379 +		<td class="catHead" height="28" align="center"><span class="cattitle">phpBB 2 Issues</span></td>
  88.380 +	</tr>
  88.381 +	<tr>
  88.382 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="36"></a><b>Who wrote this bulletin board?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">This software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyrighted <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_blank">phpBB Group</a>. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed; see link for more details<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.383 +	</tr>
  88.384 +	<tr>
  88.385 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.386 +	</tr>
  88.387 +	<tr>
  88.388 +		<td class="row2" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="37"></a><b>Why isn't X feature available?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">This software was written by and licensed through phpBB Group. If you believe a feature needs to be added then please visit the phpbb.com website and see what the phpBB Group has to say. Please do not post feature requests to the board at phpbb.com, as the Group uses sourceforge to handle tasking of new features. Please read through the forums and see what, if any, our position may already be for features and then follow the procedure given there.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.389 +	</tr>
  88.390 +	<tr>
  88.391 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.392 +	</tr>
  88.393 +	<tr>
  88.394 +		<td class="row1" align="left" valign="top"><span class="postbody"><a name="38"></a><b>Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board?</b></span><br /><span class="postbody">You should contact the administrator of this board. If you cannot find who that is, you should first contact one of the forum moderators and ask them who you should in turn contact. If still get no response you should contact the owner of the domain (do a whois lookup) or, if this is running on a free service (e.g. yahoo, free.fr, f2s.com, etc.), the management or abuse department of that service. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do email phpBB Group about any third party use of this software then you should expect a terse response or no response at all.<br /><a class="postlink" href="#Top">Back to top</a></span></td>
  88.395 +	</tr>
  88.396 +	<tr>
  88.397 +		<td class="spaceRow" height="1"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></td>
  88.398 +	</tr>
  88.399 +</table>
  88.400 +
  88.401 +<br clear="all" />
  88.402 +
  88.403 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="2" border="0" align="center">
  88.404 +	<tr>
  88.405 +		<td align="right" valign="middle" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gensmall">All times are GMT - 7 Hours</span><br /><br />
  88.406 +<form method="get" name="jumpbox" action="viewforum.php?sid=8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" onSubmit="if(document.jumpbox.f.value == -1){return false;}"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
  88.407 +	<tr>
  88.408 +		<td nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gensmall">Jump to:&nbsp;<select name="f" onchange="if(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value != -1){ forms['jumpbox'].submit() }"><option value="-1">Select a forum</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Moonlit Nights</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="1">Website/Board News</option><option value="4">General</option><option value="9">Critical Thinking</option><option value="10">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</option><option value="11">Spam-Filter</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Fanfiction</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="2">Story Ideas</option><option value="8">Story Review</option><option value="3">CardCaptor Sakura</option><option value="5">BSSM</option><option value="6">Misc</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Other</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="7">Cyberia Café</option></select><input type="hidden" name="sid" value="8809708178b692e1cef0a8b154ec5b6a" />&nbsp;<input type="submit" value="Go" class="liteoption" /></span></td>
  88.409 +	</tr>
  88.410 +</table></form>
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  88.413 +	</tr>
  88.414 +</table>
  88.415 +
  88.416 +
  88.417 +<div align="center"><span class="copyright"><br /><br />
  88.418 +<!--
  88.419 +	We request you retain the full copyright notice below including the link to www.phpbb.com.
  88.420 +	This not only gives respect to the large amount of time given freely by the developers
  88.421 +	but also helps build interest, traffic and use of phpBB 2.0. If you cannot (for good
  88.422 +	reason) retain the full copyright we request you at least leave in place the
  88.423 +	Powered by phpBB  line, with phpBB linked to www.phpbb.com. If you refuse
  88.424 +	to include even this then support on our forums may be affected.
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  88.426 +	The phpBB Group : 2002
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  88.428 +Powered by <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_phpbb" class="copyright">phpBB</a>  &copy; 2001 phpBB Group<br>
  88.429 +Template created by <a href="mailto:sp@phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">Stefan Paulus</a> |
  88.430 +<a href="http://www.phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">phpbb2-users.de</a><br /></span></div>
  88.431 +		</td>
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  88.433 +</table>
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  88.435 +</body>
  88.436 +</html>

    89.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    89.2 +++ b/phpBB2/groupcp.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    89.3 @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
    89.4 +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
    89.5 +<html dir="ltr">
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   89.10 +<link rel="top" href="./index.php?sid=7de036e33cc4cba26bb4a0f3f2bd9a44" title="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" />
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   89.12 +<link rel="help" href="./faq.php?sid=7de036e33cc4cba26bb4a0f3f2bd9a44" title="FAQ" />
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   90.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   90.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
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   90.54 +    <td class="row1" align="left" valign="bottom"><span class="gensmall">
   90.55 +	The time now is Tue Apr 03, 2007 9:54 am<br>
   90.56 +    </span><span class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></span></td>
   90.57 +	<td class="row1" align="right" valign="bottom" class="gensmall">
   90.58 +		<span class="gensmall">We have <b>1861</b> registered users</span><br /><span class="gensmall">The newest registered user is <b><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=1898&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">MaxLemon</a></b><br>
   90.59 +        Our users have posted a total of <b>23930</b> articles</span></td>
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   90.65 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="privmsg.php?folder=inbox&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="cattitle">Private
   90.66 +    Messages</a></span></td>
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   90.70 +      	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/mailbox.gif" alt="Private Messages" /></td>
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   90.74 +	<th colspan="2" class="thCornerL" height="25" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Forum&nbsp;</th>
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   90.76 +	<th width="50" class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Posts&nbsp;</th>
   90.77 +	<th class="thCornerR" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Last Post&nbsp;</th>
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   90.81 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=1&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="cattitle">Moonlit Nights</a></span></td>
   90.82 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
   90.83 +  </tr>
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   90.85 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
   90.86 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=1&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Website/Board News</a><br />
   90.87 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">A quick little "What's new" for both the website and the board.<br />
   90.88 +	  </span></td>
   90.89 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">55</span></td>
   90.90 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1383</span></td>
   90.91 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:26 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45199&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45199"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
   90.92 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
   90.93 +  </tr>
   90.94 +  <tr>
   90.95 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
   90.96 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=4&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">General</a><br />
   90.97 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Randomness at its best. Post here for your introduction or anything else that you want to throw out.<br><br>
   90.98 
   90.99 +
  90.100 
  90.101 +<b>Please be sure to read the <a href="http://moonlitnights.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=487&sid=9b5e34c27aa8cc3bc01fc636ae3ff49b">rules</a> before posting on the board.<br />
  90.102 +	  </span></td>
  90.103 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">513</span></td>
  90.104 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">18132</span></td>
  90.105 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:10 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=66&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Magnus_the_red</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45225&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45225"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.106 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.107 +  </tr>
  90.108 +  <tr>
  90.109 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.110 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=9&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Critical Thinking</a><br />
  90.111 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">A forum open for more serious discussions. Threads should be kept on-topic and replied to in a mature fashion.<br />
  90.112 +	  </span></td>
  90.113 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">26</span></td>
  90.114 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">577</span></td>
  90.115 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:15 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=56&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Leonnin Skyhunter</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45205&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45205"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.116 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.117 +  </tr>
  90.118 +  <tr>
  90.119 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.120 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=10&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</a><br />
  90.121 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">The "official" Moonlit Nights RPG can be found here. Come in and read along with the plot or post and add to the story. Please click <a href="http://moonlitnights.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=475">here</a> for the rules.<br />
  90.122 +	  </span></td>
  90.123 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">4</span></td>
  90.124 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">212</span></td>
  90.125 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:08 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=56&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Leonnin Skyhunter</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44353&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#44353"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.126 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.127 +  </tr>
  90.128 +  <tr>
  90.129 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.130 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=11&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Spam-Filter</a><br />
  90.131 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Post in here and read the instructions to get added as a 'Member' so you can post in all the other forums (except other member exclusives).<br />
  90.132 +	  </span></td>
  90.133 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">2</span></td>
  90.134 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">3</span></td>
  90.135 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:01 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=1883&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Scahfer</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45226&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45226"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.136 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">&nbsp;</span></td>
  90.137 +  </tr>
  90.138 +  <tr>
  90.139 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=2&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="cattitle">Fanfiction</a></span></td>
  90.140 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
  90.141 +  </tr>
  90.142 +  <tr>
  90.143 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.144 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=2&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Story Ideas</a><br />
  90.145 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Here you can discuss different ideas for new fanfiction, request fanfiction, and work on other elements of putting a story together. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  90.146 +	  </span></td>
  90.147 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">25</span></td>
  90.148 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">671</span></td>
  90.149 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:02 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45082&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45082"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.150 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.151 +  </tr>
  90.152 +  <tr>
  90.153 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.154 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Story Review</a><br />
  90.155 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Come here for reviews on fanfiction posted on Moonlit Nights. Either review something yourself or just read up on what others think of your favorite fanfic. Please read the rules before posting.<br />
  90.156 +	  </span></td>
  90.157 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">9</span></td>
  90.158 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">155</span></td>
  90.159 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:12 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=28&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Miss Kanzaki</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44747&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#44747"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.160 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.161 +  </tr>
  90.162 +  <tr>
  90.163 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.164 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=3&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">CardCaptor Sakura</a><br />
  90.165 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Talk about your favorite CardCaptor Sakura moments here, including the anime, manga, and fanfiction you've read or others you'd like to see. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  90.166 +	  </span></td>
  90.167 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">18</span></td>
  90.168 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">540</span></td>
  90.169 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:59 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=610&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">rei&amp;usagi_fan</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45064&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45064"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.170 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.171 +  </tr>
  90.172 +  <tr>
  90.173 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.174 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=5&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">BSSM</a><br />
  90.175 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Talk about your favorite BSSM moments here, including the anime, manga, and fanfiction you've read or others you'd like to see. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  90.176 +	  </span></td>
  90.177 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">16</span></td>
  90.178 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1032</span></td>
  90.179 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:19 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45053&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#45053"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.180 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.181 +  </tr>
  90.182 +  <tr>
  90.183 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.184 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=6&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Misc</a><br />
  90.185 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Not all things are as clearly defined as they could be. Here you can discuss couples of interest, or thoughts on a particular series, from other anime, manga, video games, and fanfiction ("Prism Hearts", etc). Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  90.186 +	  </span></td>
  90.187 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">34</span></td>
  90.188 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1185</span></td>
  90.189 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:36 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44937&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#44937"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.190 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  90.191 +  </tr>
  90.192 +  <tr>
  90.193 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=3&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="cattitle">Other</a></span></td>
  90.194 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
  90.195 +  </tr>
  90.196 +  <tr>
  90.197 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  90.198 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=7&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="forumlink">Cyberia Café</a><br />
  90.199 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Would you like some accela?<br><br>
  90.200 
  90.201 +
  90.202 
  90.203 +This is a board for the staff of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  90.204 +	  </span></td>
  90.205 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">17</span></td>
  90.206 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">40</span></td>
  90.207 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Fri Jul 01, 2005 12:50 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=2&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6">Cloud</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=43464&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6#43464"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  90.208 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">&nbsp;</span></td>
  90.209 +  </tr>
  90.210 +</table>
  90.211 +
  90.212 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="2">
  90.213 +  <tr>
  90.214 +	<td align="left"><span class="gensmall"><a href="index.php?mark=forums&amp;sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="gensmall">Mark all forums read</a></span></td>
  90.215 +	<td align="right"><span class="gensmall">All times are GMT - 7 Hours</span></td>
  90.216 +  </tr>
  90.217 +</table>
  90.218 +
  90.219 +<table width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline">
  90.220 +  <tr>
  90.221 +	<td class="catHead" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="viewonline.php?sid=88f4b29029515b617ba746f0aa58ffc6" class="cattitle">Who is Online</a></span></td>
  90.222 +  </tr>
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  90.228 +  	<td class="row1" align="left"><span class="gensmall">In total there are <b>5</b> users online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 5 Guests &nbsp; [ <span style="color:#FFA34F">Administrator</span> ] &nbsp; [ <span style="color:#006600">Moderator</span> ]<br />Most users ever online was <b>32</b> on Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:09 am<br />Registered Users: None<br /></td>
  90.229 +  </tr>
  90.230 +</table>
  90.231 +
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  90.239 +	  <td class="catHead" height="28"><a name="login"></a><span class="cattitle">Log in</span></td>
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  90.259 +	<td width="20" align="center"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_new.gif" alt="New posts"/></td>
  90.260 +	<td><span class="gensmall">New posts</span></td>
  90.261 +	<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
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    91.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
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   91.27 +				<td align="right" width="100%" valign="middle"><span class="gen"><br />&nbsp; </span>
   91.28 +				<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0">
   91.29 +					<tr>
   91.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   91.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
   91.32 +                        <a href="profile.php?mode=editprofile&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Profile" hspace="0" /></a></span><span class="mainmenu"><a href="profile.php?mode=register&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Register" hspace="0" /></a><a href="faq.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif" width="39" height="20" border="0" alt="FAQ" hspace="0" /></a><a href="index.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" hspace="0" /></a><a href="search.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Search" hspace="0" /></a></span>&nbsp;
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   91.34 +					</tr>
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   91.36 +						<td height="25" align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Memberlist" hspace="0" /></a><a href="groupcp.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif" width="82" height="20" border="0" alt="Usergroups" hspace="0" /></a><a href="login.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif" width="95" height="20" border="0" alt="Log in" hspace="0" /></a>&nbsp;</span></td>
   91.37 +					</tr>
   91.38 +				</table></td>
   91.39 +
   91.40 +			</tr>
   91.41 +		</table>
   91.42 +
   91.43 +		<br />
   91.44 +
   91.45 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" border="0" class="forumline" align="center">
   91.46 +  <tr>
   91.47 +    <td align="left" valign="bottom">
   91.48 +    <p><span class="gensmall">
   91.49 +  </tr>
   91.50 +</table>
   91.51 +
   91.52 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" border="0" class="forumline" align="center">
   91.53 +  <tr>
   91.54 +    <td class="row1" align="left" valign="bottom"><span class="gensmall">
   91.55 +	The time now is Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:53 am<br>
   91.56 +    </span><span class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></span></td>
   91.57 +	<td class="row1" align="right" valign="bottom" class="gensmall">
   91.58 +		<span class="gensmall">We have <b>1318</b> registered users</span><br /><span class="gensmall">The newest registered user is <b><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=1355&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">iFOUNTITff</a></b><br>
   91.59 +        Our users have posted a total of <b>23909</b> articles</span></td>
   91.60 +  </tr>
   91.61 +</table>
   91.62 +<br>
   91.63 +<table width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline">
   91.64 +<tr>
   91.65 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="privmsg.php?folder=inbox&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="cattitle">Private
   91.66 +    Messages</a></span></td>
   91.67 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
   91.68 +  </tr>
   91.69 +  <tr>
   91.70 +      	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/mailbox.gif" alt="Private Messages" /></td>
   91.71 +      	<td class="row1" align="center" colspan="5"><span class="gensmall"><a href="privmsg.php?folder=inbox&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Log in to check your private messages</span></td>
   91.72 +  </tr>
   91.73 +  <tr>
   91.74 +	<th colspan="2" class="thCornerL" height="25" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Forum&nbsp;</th>
   91.75 +	<th width="50" class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Topics&nbsp;</th>
   91.76 +	<th width="50" class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Posts&nbsp;</th>
   91.77 +	<th class="thCornerR" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Last Post&nbsp;</th>
   91.78 +	<th width="50" class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;Moderators&nbsp;</th>
   91.79 +  </tr>
   91.80 +  <tr>
   91.81 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=1&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="cattitle">Moonlit Nights</a></span></td>
   91.82 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
   91.83 +  </tr>
   91.84 +  <tr>
   91.85 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
   91.86 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=1&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Website/Board News</a><br />
   91.87 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">A quick little "What's new" for both the website and the board.<br />
   91.88 +	  </span></td>
   91.89 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">55</span></td>
   91.90 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1383</span></td>
   91.91 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Dec 05, 2006 11:26 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45199&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45199"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
   91.92 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
   91.93 +  </tr>
   91.94 +  <tr>
   91.95 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
   91.96 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=4&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">General</a><br />
   91.97 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Randomness at its best. Post here for your introduction or anything else that you want to throw out.<br><br>
   91.98 
   91.99 +
  91.100 
  91.101 +<b>Please be sure to read the <a href="http://moonlitnights.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=487&sid=9b5e34c27aa8cc3bc01fc636ae3ff49b">rules</a> before posting on the board.<br />
  91.102 +	  </span></td>
  91.103 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">507</span></td>
  91.104 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">18112</span></td>
  91.105 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:18 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=63&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Thrice Cursed</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45204&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45204"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.106 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.107 +  </tr>
  91.108 +  <tr>
  91.109 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.110 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=9&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Critical Thinking</a><br />
  91.111 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">A forum open for more serious discussions. Threads should be kept on-topic and replied to in a mature fashion.<br />
  91.112 +	  </span></td>
  91.113 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">26</span></td>
  91.114 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">577</span></td>
  91.115 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:15 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=56&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Leonnin Skyhunter</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45205&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45205"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.116 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.117 +  </tr>
  91.118 +  <tr>
  91.119 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.120 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=10&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</a><br />
  91.121 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">The "official" Moonlit Nights RPG can be found here. Come in and read along with the plot or post and add to the story. Please click <a href="http://moonlitnights.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=475">here</a> for the rules.<br />
  91.122 +	  </span></td>
  91.123 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">4</span></td>
  91.124 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">212</span></td>
  91.125 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:08 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=56&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Leonnin Skyhunter</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44353&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#44353"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.126 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.127 +  </tr>
  91.128 +  <tr>
  91.129 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.130 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=11&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Spam-Filter</a><br />
  91.131 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Post in here and read the instructions to get added as a 'Member' so you can post in all the other forums (except other member exclusives).<br />
  91.132 +	  </span></td>
  91.133 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">2</span></td>
  91.134 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">2</span></td>
  91.135 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:07 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=2&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Cloud</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45171&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45171"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.136 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">&nbsp;</span></td>
  91.137 +  </tr>
  91.138 +  <tr>
  91.139 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=2&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="cattitle">Fanfiction</a></span></td>
  91.140 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
  91.141 +  </tr>
  91.142 +  <tr>
  91.143 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.144 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=2&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Story Ideas</a><br />
  91.145 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Here you can discuss different ideas for new fanfiction, request fanfiction, and work on other elements of putting a story together. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  91.146 +	  </span></td>
  91.147 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">25</span></td>
  91.148 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">671</span></td>
  91.149 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:02 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45082&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45082"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.150 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.151 +  </tr>
  91.152 +  <tr>
  91.153 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.154 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Story Review</a><br />
  91.155 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Come here for reviews on fanfiction posted on Moonlit Nights. Either review something yourself or just read up on what others think of your favorite fanfic. Please read the rules before posting.<br />
  91.156 +	  </span></td>
  91.157 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">9</span></td>
  91.158 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">155</span></td>
  91.159 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:12 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=28&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Miss Kanzaki</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44747&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#44747"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.160 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.161 +  </tr>
  91.162 +  <tr>
  91.163 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.164 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=3&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">CardCaptor Sakura</a><br />
  91.165 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Talk about your favorite CardCaptor Sakura moments here, including the anime, manga, and fanfiction you've read or others you'd like to see. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  91.166 +	  </span></td>
  91.167 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">18</span></td>
  91.168 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">540</span></td>
  91.169 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:59 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=610&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">rei&amp;usagi_fan</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45064&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45064"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.170 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.171 +  </tr>
  91.172 +  <tr>
  91.173 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.174 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=5&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">BSSM</a><br />
  91.175 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Talk about your favorite BSSM moments here, including the anime, manga, and fanfiction you've read or others you'd like to see. Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  91.176 +	  </span></td>
  91.177 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">16</span></td>
  91.178 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1032</span></td>
  91.179 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:19 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=45053&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#45053"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.180 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.181 +  </tr>
  91.182 +  <tr>
  91.183 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.184 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=6&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Misc</a><br />
  91.185 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Not all things are as clearly defined as they could be. Here you can discuss couples of interest, or thoughts on a particular series, from other anime, manga, video games, and fanfiction ("Prism Hearts", etc). Should remain on-topic to the themes of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  91.186 +	  </span></td>
  91.187 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">34</span></td>
  91.188 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">1185</span></td>
  91.189 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:36 pm<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Black Rose</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=44937&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#44937"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.190 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Ametrine</a>, <a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  91.191 +  </tr>
  91.192 +  <tr>
  91.193 +	<td class="catLeft" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="index.php?c=3&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="cattitle">Other</a></span></td>
  91.194 +	<td class="rowpic" colspan="4" align="right">&nbsp;</td>
  91.195 +  </tr>
  91.196 +  <tr>
  91.197 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_big.gif" alt="No new posts" title="No new posts" /></td>
  91.198 +	<td class="row1" width="100%" height="50"><span class="forumlink"> <a href="viewforum.php?f=7&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="forumlink">Cyberia Café</a><br />
  91.199 +	  </span> <span class="genmed">Would you like some accela?<br><br>
  91.200 
  91.201 +
  91.202 
  91.203 +This is a board for the staff of Moonlit Nights.<br />
  91.204 +	  </span></td>
  91.205 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">17</span></td>
  91.206 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50"><span class="gensmall">40</span></td>
  91.207 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">Fri Jul 01, 2005 12:50 am<br /><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=2&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">Cloud</a> <a href="viewtopic.php?p=43464&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616#43464"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/icon_latest_reply.gif" border="0" alt="View latest post" title="View latest post" /></a></span></td>
  91.208 +	<td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle" height="50" nowrap="nowrap"> <span class="gensmall">&nbsp;</span></td>
  91.209 +  </tr>
  91.210 +</table>
  91.211 +
  91.212 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="2">
  91.213 +  <tr>
  91.214 +	<td align="left"><span class="gensmall"><a href="index.php?mark=forums&amp;sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="gensmall">Mark all forums read</a></span></td>
  91.215 +	<td align="right"><span class="gensmall">All times are GMT - 7 Hours</span></td>
  91.216 +  </tr>
  91.217 +</table>
  91.218 +
  91.219 +<table width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline">
  91.220 +  <tr>
  91.221 +	<td class="catHead" colspan="2" height="28"><span class="cattitle"><a href="viewonline.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616" class="cattitle">Who is Online</a></span></td>
  91.222 +  </tr>
  91.223 +  <tr>
  91.224 +	<!--
  91.225 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"><img src="templates/subSilver/images/whosonline.gif" alt="Who is Online" /></td>
  91.226 + -->
  91.227 +	<td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"><span class="mainmenu"></span><BR /><span class="mainmenu"></span><BR /><BR /></td>
  91.228 +  	<td class="row1" align="left"><span class="gensmall">In total there is <b>1</b> user online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 1 Guest &nbsp; [ <span style="color:#FFA34F">Administrator</span> ] &nbsp; [ <span style="color:#006600">Moderator</span> ]<br />Most users ever online was <b>32</b> on Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:09 am<br />Registered Users: None<br /></td>
  91.229 +  </tr>
  91.230 +</table>
  91.231 +
  91.232 +<table width="100%" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
  91.233 +	<td align="left" valign="top"><span class="gensmall">This data is based on users active over the past five minutes</span></td>
  91.234 +</table>
  91.235 +
  91.236 +<form method="post" action="login.php?sid=643b31acb5459acec16bdf45fc674616">
  91.237 +  <table width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline">
  91.238 +	<tr>
  91.239 +	  <td class="catHead" height="28"><a name="login"></a><span class="cattitle">Log in</span></td>
  91.240 +	</tr>
  91.241 +	<tr>
  91.242 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle" height="28"><span class="gensmall">Username:
  91.243 +		<input class="post" type="text" name="username" size="10" />
  91.244 +		&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Password:
  91.245 +		<input class="post" type="password" name="password" size="10" />
  91.246 +		&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Log me on automatically each visit
  91.247 +		<input class="text" type="checkbox" name="autologin" value="ON" />
  91.248 +		&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
  91.249 +		<input type="submit" class="mainoption" name="login" value="Log in" />
  91.250 +		</span> </td>
  91.251 +	</tr>
  91.252 +  </table>
  91.253 +</form>
  91.254 +
  91.255 +<br clear="all" />
  91.256 +
  91.257 +<table cellspacing="3" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0">
  91.258 +  <tr>
  91.259 +	<td width="20" align="center"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_new.gif" alt="New posts"/></td>
  91.260 +	<td><span class="gensmall">New posts</span></td>
  91.261 +	<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  91.262 +	<td width="20" align="center"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder.gif" alt="No new posts" /></td>
  91.263 +	<td><span class="gensmall">No new posts</span></td>
  91.264 +	<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  91.265 +	<td width="20" align="center"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/folder_lock.gif" alt="Forum is locked" /></td>
  91.266 +	<td><span class="gensmall">Forum is locked</span></td>
  91.267 +  </tr>
  91.268 +</table>
  91.269 +
  91.270 +<div align="center"><span class="copyright"><br /><br />
  91.271 +<!--
  91.272 +	We request you retain the full copyright notice below including the link to www.phpbb.com.
  91.273 +	This not only gives respect to the large amount of time given freely by the developers
  91.274 +	but also helps build interest, traffic and use of phpBB 2.0. If you cannot (for good
  91.275 +	reason) retain the full copyright we request you at least leave in place the
  91.276 +	Powered by phpBB  line, with phpBB linked to www.phpbb.com. If you refuse
  91.277 +	to include even this then support on our forums may be affected.
  91.278 +
  91.279 +	The phpBB Group : 2002
  91.280 +// -->
  91.281 +Powered by <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_phpbb" class="copyright">phpBB</a>  &copy; 2001 phpBB Group<br>
  91.282 +Template created by <a href="mailto:sp@phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">Stefan Paulus</a> |
  91.283 +<a href="http://www.phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">phpbb2-users.de</a><br /></span></div>
  91.284 +		</td>
  91.285 +	</tr>
  91.286 +</table>
  91.287 +
  91.288 +</body>
  91.289 +</html>

    92.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    92.2 +++ b/phpBB2/login.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    92.3 @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
    92.4 +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
    92.5 +<html dir="ltr">
    92.6 +<head>
    92.7 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    92.8 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css">
    92.9 +
   92.10 +<link rel="top" href="./index.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" title="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" />
   92.11 +<link rel="search" href="./search.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" title="Search" />
   92.12 +<link rel="help" href="./faq.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" title="FAQ" />
   92.13 +<link rel="author" href="./memberlist.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" title="Memberlist" />
   92.14 +
   92.15 +<title>Moonlit Nights :: Log in</title>
   92.16 +<link rel="stylesheet" href="templates/BlackSoul/BlackSoul.css" type="text/css">
   92.17 +</head>
   92.18 +<body bgcolor="#E5E5E5" text="#000000" link="#006699" vlink="#5493B4">
   92.19 +
   92.20 +<a name="top"></a>
   92.21 +
   92.22 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0" align="center">
   92.23 +	<tr>
   92.24 +		<td class="bodyline"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
   92.25 +			<tr>
   92.26 +				<td><a href="index.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/logo_phpBB.gif" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" vspace="1" /></a></td>
   92.27 +				<td align="right" width="100%" valign="middle"><span class="gen"><br />&nbsp; </span>
   92.28 +				<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0">
   92.29 +					<tr>
   92.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   92.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
   92.32 +                        <a href="profile.php?mode=editprofile&amp;sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Profile" hspace="0" /></a></span><span class="mainmenu"><a href="profile.php?mode=register&amp;sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Register" hspace="0" /></a><a href="faq.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif" width="39" height="20" border="0" alt="FAQ" hspace="0" /></a><a href="index.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" hspace="0" /></a><a href="search.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Search" hspace="0" /></a></span>&nbsp;
   92.33 +						</td>
   92.34 +					</tr>
   92.35 +					<tr>
   92.36 +						<td height="25" align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Memberlist" hspace="0" /></a><a href="groupcp.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif" width="82" height="20" border="0" alt="Usergroups" hspace="0" /></a><a href="login.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif" width="95" height="20" border="0" alt="Log in" hspace="0" /></a>&nbsp;</span></td>
   92.37 +					</tr>
   92.38 +				</table></td>
   92.39 +
   92.40 +			</tr>
   92.41 +		</table>
   92.42 +
   92.43 +		<br />
   92.44 +
   92.45 +<form action="login.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" method="post">
   92.46 +
   92.47 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="0" align="center">
   92.48 +  <tr>
   92.49 +	<td align="left" class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></td>
   92.50 +  </tr>
   92.51 +</table>
   92.52 +
   92.53 +<table width="100%" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline" align="center">
   92.54 +  <tr>
   92.55 +	<th height="25" class="thHead" nowrap="nowrap">Please enter your username and password to log in.</th>
   92.56 +  </tr>
   92.57 +  <tr>
   92.58 +	<td class="row1"><table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="100%">
   92.59 +		  <tr>
   92.60 +			<td colspan="2" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
   92.61 +		  </tr>
   92.62 +		  <tr>
   92.63 +			<td width="45%" align="right"><span class="gen">Username:</span></td>
   92.64 +			<td>
   92.65 +			  <input type="text" name="username" size="25" maxlength="40" value="" />
   92.66 +			</td>
   92.67 +		  </tr>
   92.68 +		  <tr>
   92.69 +			<td align="right"><span class="gen">Password:</span></td>
   92.70 +			<td>
   92.71 +			  <input type="password" name="password" size="25" maxlength="25" />
   92.72 +			</td>
   92.73 +		  </tr>
   92.74 +		  <tr align="center">
   92.75 +			<td colspan="2"><span class="gen">Log me on automatically each visit: <input type="checkbox" name="autologin" /></span></td>
   92.76 +		  </tr>
   92.77 +		  <tr align="center">
   92.78 +			<td colspan="2"><input type="hidden" name="redirect" value="" /><input type="submit" name="login" class="mainoption" value="Log in" /></td>
   92.79 +		  </tr>
   92.80 +		  <tr align="center">
   92.81 +			<td colspan="2"><span class="gensmall"><a href="profile.php?mode=sendpassword&amp;sid=db3d24177f2ea3ff80cda18d6c310b92" class="gensmall">I forgot my password</a></span></td>
   92.82 +		  </tr>
   92.83 +		</table></td>
   92.84 +  </tr>
   92.85 +</table>
   92.86 +
   92.87 +</form>
   92.88 +
   92.89 +
   92.90 +<div align="center"><span class="copyright"><br /><br />
   92.91 +<!--
   92.92 +	We request you retain the full copyright notice below including the link to www.phpbb.com.
   92.93 +	This not only gives respect to the large amount of time given freely by the developers
   92.94 +	but also helps build interest, traffic and use of phpBB 2.0. If you cannot (for good
   92.95 +	reason) retain the full copyright we request you at least leave in place the
   92.96 +	Powered by phpBB  line, with phpBB linked to www.phpbb.com. If you refuse
   92.97 +	to include even this then support on our forums may be affected.
   92.98 +
   92.99 +	The phpBB Group : 2002
  92.100 +// -->
  92.101 +Powered by <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_phpbb" class="copyright">phpBB</a>  &copy; 2001 phpBB Group<br>
  92.102 +Template created by <a href="mailto:sp@phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">Stefan Paulus</a> |
  92.103 +<a href="http://www.phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">phpbb2-users.de</a><br /></span></div>
  92.104 +		</td>
  92.105 +	</tr>
  92.106 +</table>
  92.107 +
  92.108 +</body>
  92.109 +</html>

    93.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    93.2 +++ b/phpBB2/memberlist.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    93.3 @@ -0,0 +1,612 @@
    93.4 +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
    93.5 +<html dir="ltr">
    93.6 +<head>
    93.7 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    93.8 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css">
    93.9 +
   93.10 +<link rel="top" href="./index.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" title="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" />
   93.11 +<link rel="search" href="./search.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" title="Search" />
   93.12 +<link rel="help" href="./faq.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" title="FAQ" />
   93.13 +<link rel="author" href="./memberlist.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" title="Memberlist" />
   93.14 +
   93.15 +<title>Moonlit Nights :: Memberlist</title>
   93.16 +<link rel="stylesheet" href="templates/BlackSoul/BlackSoul.css" type="text/css">
   93.17 +</head>
   93.18 +<body bgcolor="#E5E5E5" text="#000000" link="#006699" vlink="#5493B4">
   93.19 +
   93.20 +<a name="top"></a>
   93.21 +
   93.22 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0" align="center">
   93.23 +	<tr>
   93.24 +		<td class="bodyline"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
   93.25 +			<tr>
   93.26 +				<td><a href="index.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/logo_phpBB.gif" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" vspace="1" /></a></td>
   93.27 +				<td align="right" width="100%" valign="middle"><span class="gen"><br />&nbsp; </span>
   93.28 +				<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0">
   93.29 +					<tr>
   93.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   93.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
   93.32 +                        <a href="profile.php?mode=editprofile&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Profile" hspace="0" /></a></span><span class="mainmenu"><a href="profile.php?mode=register&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Register" hspace="0" /></a><a href="faq.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif" width="39" height="20" border="0" alt="FAQ" hspace="0" /></a><a href="index.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" hspace="0" /></a><a href="search.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Search" hspace="0" /></a></span>&nbsp;
   93.33 +						</td>
   93.34 +					</tr>
   93.35 +					<tr>
   93.36 +						<td height="25" align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Memberlist" hspace="0" /></a><a href="groupcp.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif" width="82" height="20" border="0" alt="Usergroups" hspace="0" /></a><a href="login.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif" width="95" height="20" border="0" alt="Log in" hspace="0" /></a>&nbsp;</span></td>
   93.37 +					</tr>
   93.38 +				</table></td>
   93.39 +
   93.40 +			</tr>
   93.41 +		</table>
   93.42 +
   93.43 +		<br />
   93.44 +
   93.45 +<form method="post" action="memberlist.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">
   93.46 +  <table width="100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="0" align="center">
   93.47 +	<tr>
   93.48 +	  <td align="left"><span class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></span></td>
   93.49 +	  <td align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="genmed">Select sort method:&nbsp;<select name="mode"><option value="joindate">Joined Date</option><option value="username">Username</option><option value="location">Location</option><option value="posts">Total posts</option><option value="email">Email</option><option value="website">Website</option><option value="topten">Top Ten Posters</option></select>&nbsp;&nbsp;Order&nbsp;<select name="order"><option value="ASC" selected="selected">Ascending</option><option value="DESC">Descending</option></select>&nbsp;&nbsp;
   93.50 +		<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Sort" class="liteoption" />
   93.51 +		</span></td>
   93.52 +	</tr>
   93.53 +  </table>
   93.54 +  <table width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" class="forumline">
   93.55 +	<tr>
   93.56 +	  <th height="25" class="thCornerL" nowrap="nowrap">#</th>
   93.57 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">&nbsp;</th>
   93.58 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">Username</th>
   93.59 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">E-mail</th>
   93.60 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">Location</th>
   93.61 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">Joined</th>
   93.62 +	  <th class="thTop" nowrap="nowrap">Posts</th>
   93.63 +	  <th class="thCornerR" nowrap="nowrap">Website</th>
   93.64 +	</tr>
   93.65 +	<tr>
   93.66 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;1&nbsp;</span></td>
   93.67 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=2&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.68 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=2&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Cloud</a></span></td>
   93.69 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=2&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.70 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">In the state of Denial</span></td>
   93.71 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">03 Nov 2003</span></td>
   93.72 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">102376</span></td>
   93.73 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://fly.to/moonlit_nights" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.74 +	</tr>
   93.75 +	<tr>
   93.76 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;2&nbsp;</span></td>
   93.77 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=3&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.78 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=3&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Heather</a></span></td>
   93.79 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=3&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.80 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">USA</span></td>
   93.81 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">05 Nov 2003</span></td>
   93.82 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">105</span></td>
   93.83 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://fly.to/moonlit_nights" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.84 +	</tr>
   93.85 +	<tr>
   93.86 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;3&nbsp;</span></td>
   93.87 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=4&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.88 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=4&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">WaMat</a></span></td>
   93.89 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
   93.90 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">where i'm needed most, exactly where i am.</span></td>
   93.91 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">07 Nov 2003</span></td>
   93.92 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">223</span></td>
   93.93 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
   93.94 +	</tr>
   93.95 +	<tr>
   93.96 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;4&nbsp;</span></td>
   93.97 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=5&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
   93.98 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=5&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">NetKatz</a></span></td>
   93.99 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=5&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.100 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.101 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">07 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.102 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">11</span></td>
  93.103 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.104 +	</tr>
  93.105 +	<tr>
  93.106 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;5&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.107 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=6&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.108 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=6&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Seriva</a></span></td>
  93.109 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=6&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.110 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Spring Lake MI</span></td>
  93.111 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">07 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.112 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.113 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.114 +	</tr>
  93.115 +	<tr>
  93.116 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;6&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.117 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=7&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.118 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=7&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">krazies</a></span></td>
  93.119 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.120 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">insanity</span></td>
  93.121 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.122 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">175</span></td>
  93.123 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.124 +	</tr>
  93.125 +	<tr>
  93.126 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;7&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.127 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=8&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.128 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=8&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Ametrine</a></span></td>
  93.129 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=8&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.130 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Wierdington</span></td>
  93.131 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.132 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">4261</span></td>
  93.133 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/~ayarose" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.134 +	</tr>
  93.135 +	<tr>
  93.136 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;8&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.137 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=9&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.138 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=9&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Shadow</a></span></td>
  93.139 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=9&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.140 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Edmonton</span></td>
  93.141 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.142 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.143 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.144 +	</tr>
  93.145 +	<tr>
  93.146 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;9&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.147 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=10&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.148 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=10&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">captals_avatar</a></span></td>
  93.149 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.150 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Ontario</span></td>
  93.151 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.152 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">9</span></td>
  93.153 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.154 +	</tr>
  93.155 +	<tr>
  93.156 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;10&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.157 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=11&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.158 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=11&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">miki_anderson</a></span></td>
  93.159 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.160 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">KWT, South Africa</span></td>
  93.161 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.162 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">6</span></td>
  93.163 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.164 +	</tr>
  93.165 +	<tr>
  93.166 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;11&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.167 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=12&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.168 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=12&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">buggie</a></span></td>
  93.169 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.170 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.171 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.172 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.173 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.174 +	</tr>
  93.175 +	<tr>
  93.176 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;12&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.177 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=13&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.178 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=13&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Bonjour Honey</a></span></td>
  93.179 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=13&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.180 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Southern California</span></td>
  93.181 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.182 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">3</span></td>
  93.183 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://everlution.cjb.net/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.184 +	</tr>
  93.185 +	<tr>
  93.186 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;13&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.187 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=14&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.188 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=14&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Krii_Zuroi</a></span></td>
  93.189 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=14&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.190 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Upstate New York (Moooo....)</span></td>
  93.191 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">09 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.192 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1</span></td>
  93.193 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.geocities.com/animemusicrequest" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.194 +	</tr>
  93.195 +	<tr>
  93.196 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;14&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.197 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=15&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.198 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=15&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Amawa Hibiki</a></span></td>
  93.199 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.200 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">On an extremely high horse *yells* Hello down there!</span></td>
  93.201 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">13 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.202 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">7</span></td>
  93.203 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/yurifics" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.204 +	</tr>
  93.205 +	<tr>
  93.206 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;15&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.207 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=16&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.208 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=16&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Phoenix</a></span></td>
  93.209 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=16&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.210 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Stalking a goat, of course!</span></td>
  93.211 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">13 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.212 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">4719</span></td>
  93.213 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.214 +	</tr>
  93.215 +	<tr>
  93.216 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;16&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.217 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=17&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.218 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=17&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Forever3330</a></span></td>
  93.219 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=17&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.220 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Reading odd things.</span></td>
  93.221 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">15 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.222 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">3224</span></td>
  93.223 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/~forever3330" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.224 +	</tr>
  93.225 +	<tr>
  93.226 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;17&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.227 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=18&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.228 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=18&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Boco</a></span></td>
  93.229 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=18&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.230 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.231 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">16 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.232 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">19</span></td>
  93.233 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/boco/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.234 +	</tr>
  93.235 +	<tr>
  93.236 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;18&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.237 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=19&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.238 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=19&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Kushinada</a></span></td>
  93.239 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=19&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.240 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">My December</span></td>
  93.241 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">17 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.242 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">155</span></td>
  93.243 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.244 +	</tr>
  93.245 +	<tr>
  93.246 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;19&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.247 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=20&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.248 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=20&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Haschel</a></span></td>
  93.249 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=20&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.250 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">On the Corner of Grey Street, At the End of the World.</span></td>
  93.251 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">20 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.252 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1</span></td>
  93.253 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.254 +	</tr>
  93.255 +	<tr>
  93.256 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;20&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.257 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=21&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.258 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=21&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Chibinaoka</a></span></td>
  93.259 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=21&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.260 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Canada</span></td>
  93.261 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">21 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.262 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1</span></td>
  93.263 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://seaofpetals.cjb.net" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.264 +	</tr>
  93.265 +	<tr>
  93.266 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;21&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.267 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=22&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.268 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=22&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">MoonlightSaturn82</a></span></td>
  93.269 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.270 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.271 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">21 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.272 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.273 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.274 +	</tr>
  93.275 +	<tr>
  93.276 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;22&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.277 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=23&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.278 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=23&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Black Rose</a></span></td>
  93.279 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=23&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.280 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Collage</span></td>
  93.281 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">27 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.282 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">198</span></td>
  93.283 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.284 +	</tr>
  93.285 +	<tr>
  93.286 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;23&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.287 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=24&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.288 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=24&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">instantR</a></span></td>
  93.289 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=24&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.290 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">college</span></td>
  93.291 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">30 Nov 2003</span></td>
  93.292 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">888</span></td>
  93.293 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.294 +	</tr>
  93.295 +	<tr>
  93.296 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;24&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.297 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=25&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.298 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=25&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Yume</a></span></td>
  93.299 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.300 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.301 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">12 Dec 2003</span></td>
  93.302 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.303 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.304 +	</tr>
  93.305 +	<tr>
  93.306 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;25&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.307 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=26&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.308 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=26&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Silvercry</a></span></td>
  93.309 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.310 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">On the front steps of the Dark Tower.</span></td>
  93.311 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">14 Dec 2003</span></td>
  93.312 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">55</span></td>
  93.313 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://geocities.com/silvercry2000/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.314 +	</tr>
  93.315 +	<tr>
  93.316 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;26&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.317 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=27&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.318 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=27&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">sailor_cupid</a></span></td>
  93.319 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.320 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.321 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">23 Jan 2004</span></td>
  93.322 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">2312</span></td>
  93.323 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.324 +	</tr>
  93.325 +	<tr>
  93.326 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;27&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.327 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=28&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.328 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=28&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Miss Kanzaki</a></span></td>
  93.329 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=28&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.330 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Lost Myself A Long Time Ago</span></td>
  93.331 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">24 Jan 2004</span></td>
  93.332 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">2891</span></td>
  93.333 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.334 +	</tr>
  93.335 +	<tr>
  93.336 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;28&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.337 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=29&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.338 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=29&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">tehwalrus</a></span></td>
  93.339 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.340 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.341 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">01 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.342 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">4031</span></td>
  93.343 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.344 +	</tr>
  93.345 +	<tr>
  93.346 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;29&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.347 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=30&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.348 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=30&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Claudio</a></span></td>
  93.349 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.350 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Where we always live in fear and chaos (for now ^_^)</span></td>
  93.351 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">09 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.352 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">4</span></td>
  93.353 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.354 +	</tr>
  93.355 +	<tr>
  93.356 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;30&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.357 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=31&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.358 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=31&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">DancingChibi</a></span></td>
  93.359 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=31&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.360 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">my Dark Place</span></td>
  93.361 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">10 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.362 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.363 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/dancing_chibi/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.364 +	</tr>
  93.365 +	<tr>
  93.366 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;31&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.367 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=32&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.368 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=32&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">rphjas</a></span></td>
  93.369 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=32&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.370 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Fayetteville NC</span></td>
  93.371 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">20 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.372 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1290</span></td>
  93.373 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.LiveJournal.com/users/rphjas" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.374 +	</tr>
  93.375 +	<tr>
  93.376 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;32&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.377 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=33&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.378 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=33&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Kasei no Hime</a></span></td>
  93.379 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=33&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.380 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Va Beach, VA</span></td>
  93.381 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">22 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.382 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.383 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.384 +	</tr>
  93.385 +	<tr>
  93.386 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;33&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.387 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=34&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.388 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=34&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">SK</a></span></td>
  93.389 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.390 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.391 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">26 Feb 2004</span></td>
  93.392 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">41</span></td>
  93.393 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.394 +	</tr>
  93.395 +	<tr>
  93.396 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;34&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.397 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=35&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.398 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=35&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Coke</a></span></td>
  93.399 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.400 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">England</span></td>
  93.401 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">04 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.402 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">13</span></td>
  93.403 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tatu.us" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.404 +	</tr>
  93.405 +	<tr>
  93.406 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;35&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.407 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=36&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.408 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=36&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Helium</a></span></td>
  93.409 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=36&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.410 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">High in the atmosphere.</span></td>
  93.411 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.412 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.413 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.414 +	</tr>
  93.415 +	<tr>
  93.416 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;36&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.417 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=37&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.418 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=37&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">NOD</a></span></td>
  93.419 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.420 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">LaGrange,GA</span></td>
  93.421 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">11 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.422 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">25</span></td>
  93.423 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.424 +	</tr>
  93.425 +	<tr>
  93.426 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;37&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.427 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=38&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.428 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=38&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Dreamdragon</a></span></td>
  93.429 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=38&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.430 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Brunei Darussalam</span></td>
  93.431 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">12 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.432 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">182</span></td>
  93.433 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.434 +	</tr>
  93.435 +	<tr>
  93.436 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;38&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.437 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=40&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.438 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=40&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">conker</a></span></td>
  93.439 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=40&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.440 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">I dunno...</span></td>
  93.441 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">16 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.442 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1071</span></td>
  93.443 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/conkerchan/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.444 +	</tr>
  93.445 +	<tr>
  93.446 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;39&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.447 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=41&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.448 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=41&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Ora</a></span></td>
  93.449 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.450 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">WI</span></td>
  93.451 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">16 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.452 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">48</span></td>
  93.453 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.454 +	</tr>
  93.455 +	<tr>
  93.456 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;40&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.457 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=42&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.458 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=42&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">One Chan</a></span></td>
  93.459 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.460 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Madison, WI</span></td>
  93.461 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">24 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.462 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.463 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.464 +	</tr>
  93.465 +	<tr>
  93.466 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;41&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.467 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=43&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.468 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=43&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">obsessed fan</a></span></td>
  93.469 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=43&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.470 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">My happy place</span></td>
  93.471 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">28 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.472 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">7485</span></td>
  93.473 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/obsessed_trio/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.474 +	</tr>
  93.475 +	<tr>
  93.476 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;42&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.477 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=44&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.478 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=44&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Nabiki_S</a></span></td>
  93.479 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.480 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Ontario, Canada</span></td>
  93.481 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">28 Mar 2004</span></td>
  93.482 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">469</span></td>
  93.483 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.484 +	</tr>
  93.485 +	<tr>
  93.486 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;43&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.487 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=45&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.488 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=45&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Makochan</a></span></td>
  93.489 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=45&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.490 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Sin City</span></td>
  93.491 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">03 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.492 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">6</span></td>
  93.493 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/goth2/forsaken_one/index.html" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.494 +	</tr>
  93.495 +	<tr>
  93.496 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;44&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.497 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=46&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.498 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=46&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">thrashbasket</a></span></td>
  93.499 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=46&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.500 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">still in parents' basement</span></td>
  93.501 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">09 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.502 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">11</span></td>
  93.503 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://tynanthegreat.netfirms.com" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.504 +	</tr>
  93.505 +	<tr>
  93.506 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;45&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.507 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=47&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.508 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=47&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Ditt</a></span></td>
  93.509 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.510 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.511 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">11 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.512 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">0</span></td>
  93.513 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.514 +	</tr>
  93.515 +	<tr>
  93.516 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;46&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.517 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=48&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.518 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=48&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Yousei</a></span></td>
  93.519 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.520 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Close as I'm ever going to get to heaven</span></td>
  93.521 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">12 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.522 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">15</span></td>
  93.523 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  93.524 +	</tr>
  93.525 +	<tr>
  93.526 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;47&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.527 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=49&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.528 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=49&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Mamoru</a></span></td>
  93.529 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=49&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.530 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Columbia MO</span></td>
  93.531 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">13 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.532 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">26</span></td>
  93.533 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dontforgettotakeyourvitamins.com/MAUPIN17881" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.534 +	</tr>
  93.535 +	<tr>
  93.536 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;48&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.537 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=50&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.538 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=50&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">krell</a></span></td>
  93.539 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=50&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.540 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">um erath? wait i know this one USA!</span></td>
  93.541 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">14 Apr 2004</span></td>
  93.542 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">21</span></td>
  93.543 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="Http://redskulls.kicks-ass.net/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.544 +	</tr>
  93.545 +	<tr>
  93.546 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;49&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.547 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=52&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.548 +	  <td class="row1" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=52&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Harbrynd</a></span></td>
  93.549 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=52&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.550 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">Mahannon</span></td>
  93.551 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">08 Jun 2004</span></td>
  93.552 +	  <td class="row1" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">1648</span></td>
  93.553 +	  <td class="row1" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~arkha/" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.554 +	</tr>
  93.555 +	<tr>
  93.556 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen">&nbsp;50&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.557 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="privmsg.php?mode=post&amp;u=53&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_pm.gif" alt="Send private message" title="Send private message" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.558 +	  <td class="row2" align="center"><span class="gen"><a href="profile.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=53&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" class="gen">Prism_Hearts_Fan</a></span></td>
  93.559 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;<a href="profile.php?mode=email&amp;u=53&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_email.gif" alt="Send e-mail" title="Send e-mail" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.560 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">The Lair Of The Moogle</span></td>
  93.561 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">29 Jun 2004</span></td>
  93.562 +	  <td class="row2" align="center" valign="middle"><span class="gen">75</span></td>
  93.563 +	  <td class="row2" align="center">&nbsp;<a href="http://materiarevolution.cjb.net" target="_userwww"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/lang_english/icon_www.gif" alt="Visit poster's website" title="Visit poster's website" border="0" /></a>&nbsp;</td>
  93.564 +	</tr>
  93.565 +	<tr>
  93.566 +	  <td class="catbottom" colspan="8" height="28">&nbsp;</td>
  93.567 +	</tr>
  93.568 +  </table>
  93.569 +  <table width="100%" cellspacing="2" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="2">
  93.570 +	<tr>
  93.571 +	  <td align="right" valign="top"></td>
  93.572 +	</tr>
  93.573 +  </table>
  93.574 +
  93.575 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
  93.576 +  <tr>
  93.577 +	<td><span class="nav">Page <b>1</b> of <b>27</b></span></td>
  93.578 +	<td align="right"><span class="gensmall">All times are GMT - 7 Hours</span><br /><span class="nav">Goto page <b>1</b>, <a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=50&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">2</a>, <a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=100&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">3</a> ... <a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=1200&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">25</a>, <a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=1250&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">26</a>, <a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=1300&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">27</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?mode=joined&amp;order=ASC&amp;start=50&amp;sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790">Next</a>&nbsp;</span></td>
  93.579 +  </tr>
  93.580 +</table></form>
  93.581 +
  93.582 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="2" border="0" align="center">
  93.583 +  <tr>
  93.584 +	<td valign="top" align="right">
  93.585 +<form method="get" name="jumpbox" action="viewforum.php?sid=420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" onSubmit="if(document.jumpbox.f.value == -1){return false;}"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
  93.586 +	<tr>
  93.587 +		<td nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gensmall">Jump to:&nbsp;<select name="f" onchange="if(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value != -1){ forms['jumpbox'].submit() }"><option value="-1">Select a forum</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Moonlit Nights</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="1">Website/Board News</option><option value="4">General</option><option value="9">Critical Thinking</option><option value="10">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</option><option value="11">Spam-Filter</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Fanfiction</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="2">Story Ideas</option><option value="8">Story Review</option><option value="3">CardCaptor Sakura</option><option value="5">BSSM</option><option value="6">Misc</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Other</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="7">Cyberia Café</option></select><input type="hidden" name="sid" value="420f07d14ec6e365c34b7b9dbf35a790" />&nbsp;<input type="submit" value="Go" class="liteoption" /></span></td>
  93.588 +	</tr>
  93.589 +</table></form>
  93.590 +
  93.591 +</td>
  93.592 +  </tr>
  93.593 +</table>
  93.594 +
  93.595 +
  93.596 +<div align="center"><span class="copyright"><br /><br />
  93.597 +<!--
  93.598 +	We request you retain the full copyright notice below including the link to www.phpbb.com.
  93.599 +	This not only gives respect to the large amount of time given freely by the developers
  93.600 +	but also helps build interest, traffic and use of phpBB 2.0. If you cannot (for good
  93.601 +	reason) retain the full copyright we request you at least leave in place the
  93.602 +	Powered by phpBB  line, with phpBB linked to www.phpbb.com. If you refuse
  93.603 +	to include even this then support on our forums may be affected.
  93.604 +
  93.605 +	The phpBB Group : 2002
  93.606 +// -->
  93.607 +Powered by <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_phpbb" class="copyright">phpBB</a>  &copy; 2001 phpBB Group<br>
  93.608 +Template created by <a href="mailto:sp@phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">Stefan Paulus</a> |
  93.609 +<a href="http://www.phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">phpbb2-users.de</a><br /></span></div>
  93.610 +		</td>
  93.611 +	</tr>
  93.612 +</table>
  93.613 +
  93.614 +</body>
  93.615 +</html>

    94.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    94.2 +++ b/phpBB2/search.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    94.3 @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
    94.4 +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
    94.5 +<html dir="ltr">
    94.6 +<head>
    94.7 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    94.8 +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css">
    94.9 +
   94.10 +<link rel="top" href="./index.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" title="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" />
   94.11 +<link rel="search" href="./search.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" title="Search" />
   94.12 +<link rel="help" href="./faq.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" title="FAQ" />
   94.13 +<link rel="author" href="./memberlist.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" title="Memberlist" />
   94.14 +
   94.15 +<title>Moonlit Nights :: Search</title>
   94.16 +<link rel="stylesheet" href="templates/BlackSoul/BlackSoul.css" type="text/css">
   94.17 +</head>
   94.18 +<body bgcolor="#E5E5E5" text="#000000" link="#006699" vlink="#5493B4">
   94.19 +
   94.20 +<a name="top"></a>
   94.21 +
   94.22 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0" align="center">
   94.23 +	<tr>
   94.24 +		<td class="bodyline"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
   94.25 +			<tr>
   94.26 +				<td><a href="index.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/logo_phpBB.gif" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" vspace="1" /></a></td>
   94.27 +				<td align="right" width="100%" valign="middle"><span class="gen"><br />&nbsp; </span>
   94.28 +				<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0">
   94.29 +					<tr>
   94.30 +						<td align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;</span><span class="maintitle">Moonlit Nights<br>
   94.31 +                        </span><span class="mainmenu"><br>
   94.32 +                        <a href="profile.php?mode=editprofile&amp;sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/profile.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Profile" hspace="0" /></a></span><span class="mainmenu"><a href="profile.php?mode=register&amp;sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/register.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Register" hspace="0" /></a><a href="faq.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/faq.gif" width="39" height="20" border="0" alt="FAQ" hspace="0" /></a><a href="index.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/bbhome.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Moonlit Nights Forum Index" hspace="0" /></a><a href="search.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/search.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Search" hspace="0" /></a></span>&nbsp;
   94.33 +						</td>
   94.34 +					</tr>
   94.35 +					<tr>
   94.36 +						<td height="25" align="center" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="mainmenu">&nbsp;<a href="memberlist.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/members.gif" width="62" height="20" border="0" alt="Memberlist" hspace="0" /></a><a href="groupcp.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/usergroups.gif" width="82" height="20" border="0" alt="Usergroups" hspace="0" /></a><a href="login.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="mainmenu"><img src="templates/BlackSoul/images/login_out.gif" width="95" height="20" border="0" alt="Log in" hspace="0" /></a>&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.37 +					</tr>
   94.38 +				</table></td>
   94.39 +
   94.40 +			</tr>
   94.41 +		</table>
   94.42 +
   94.43 +		<br />
   94.44 +
   94.45 +<form action="search.php?mode=results&amp;sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" method="POST"><table width="100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="0" align="center">
   94.46 +	<tr>
   94.47 +		<td align="left"><span class="nav"><a href="index.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" class="nav">Moonlit Nights Forum Index</a></span></td>
   94.48 +	</tr>
   94.49 +</table>
   94.50 +
   94.51 +<table class="forumline" width="100%" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" border="0">
   94.52 +	<tr>
   94.53 +		<th class="thHead" colspan="4" height="25">Search Query</th>
   94.54 +	</tr>
   94.55 +	<tr>
   94.56 +		<td class="row1" colspan="2" width="50%"><span class="gen">Search for Keywords:</span><br /><span class="gensmall">You can use <u>AND</u> to define words which must be in the results, <u>OR</u> to define words which may be in the result and <u>NOT</u> to define words which should not be in the result. Use * as a wildcard for partial matches</span></td>
   94.57 +		<td class="row2" colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="genmed"><input type="text" style="width: 300px" class="post" name="search_keywords" size="30" /><br /><input type="radio" name="search_terms" value="any" checked="checked" /> Search for any terms or use query as entered<br /><input type="radio" name="search_terms" value="all" /> Search for all terms</span></td>
   94.58 +	</tr>
   94.59 +	<tr>
   94.60 +		<td class="row1" colspan="2"><span class="gen">Search for Author:</span><br /><span class="gensmall">Use * as a wildcard for partial matches</span></td>
   94.61 +		<td class="row2" colspan="2" valign="middle"><span class="genmed"><input type="text" style="width: 300px" class="post" name="search_author" size="30" /></span></td>
   94.62 +	</tr>
   94.63 +	<tr>
   94.64 +		<th class="thHead" colspan="4" height="25">Search Options</th>
   94.65 +	</tr>
   94.66 +	<tr>
   94.67 +		<td class="row1" align="right"><span class="gen">Forum:&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.68 +		<td class="row2"><span class="genmed"><select class="post" name="search_forum"><option value="-1">All available</option><option value="1">Website/Board News</option><option value="4">General</option><option value="9">Critical Thinking</option><option value="10">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</option><option value="11">Spam-Filter</option><option value="2">Story Ideas</option><option value="8">Story Review</option><option value="3">CardCaptor Sakura</option><option value="5">BSSM</option><option value="6">Misc</option></select></span></td>
   94.69 +		<td class="row1" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">Search previous:&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.70 +		<td class="row2" valign="middle"><span class="genmed"><select class="post" name="search_time"><option value="0" selected="selected">All Posts</option><option value="1">1 Day</option><option value="7">7 Days</option><option value="14">2 Weeks</option><option value="30">1 Month</option><option value="90">3 Months</option><option value="180">6 Months</option><option value="364">1 Year</option></select><br /><input type="radio" name="search_fields" value="all" checked="checked" /> Search topic title and message text<br /><input type="radio" name="search_fields" value="msgonly" /> Search message text only</span></td>
   94.71 +	</tr>
   94.72 +	<tr>
   94.73 +		<td class="row1" align="right"><span class="gen">Category:&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.74 +		<td class="row2"><span class="genmed"><select class="post" name="search_cat"><option value="-1">All available</option><option value="1">Moonlit Nights</option><option value="2">Fanfiction</option>
   94.75 +		</select></span></td>
   94.76 +		<td class="row1" align="right"><span class="gen">Sort by:&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.77 +		<td class="row2" valign="middle" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="genmed"><select class="post" name="sort_by"><option value="0">Post Time</option><option value="1">Post Subject</option><option value="2">Topic Title</option><option value="3">Author</option><option value="4">Forum</option></select><br /><input type="radio" name="sort_dir" value="ASC" /> Ascending<br /><input type="radio" name="sort_dir" value="DESC" checked /> Descending</span>&nbsp;</td>
   94.78 +	</tr>
   94.79 +	<tr>
   94.80 +		<td class="row1" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">Display results as:&nbsp;</span></td>
   94.81 +		<td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap"><input type="radio" name="show_results" value="posts" /><span class="genmed">Posts<input type="radio" name="show_results" value="topics" checked="checked" />Topics</span></td>
   94.82 +		<td class="row1" align="right"><span class="gen">Return first</span></td>
   94.83 +		<td class="row2"><span class="genmed"><select class="post" name="return_chars"><option value="-1">All available</option><option value="0">0</option><option value="25">25</option><option value="50">50</option><option value="100">100</option><option value="200" selected="selected">200</option><option value="300">300</option><option value="400">400</option><option value="500">500</option><option value="600">600</option><option value="700">700</option><option value="800">800</option><option value="900">900</option><option value="1000">1000</option></select> characters of posts</span></td>
   94.84 +	</tr>
   94.85 +	<tr>
   94.86 +		<td class="catBottom" colspan="4" align="center" height="28"><input class="liteoption" type="submit" value="Search" /></td>
   94.87 +	</tr>
   94.88 +</table>
   94.89 +
   94.90 +<table width="100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="0" align="center">
   94.91 +	<tr>
   94.92 +		<td align="right" valign="middle"><span class="gensmall">All times are GMT - 7 Hours</span></td>
   94.93 +	</tr>
   94.94 +</table></form>
   94.95 +
   94.96 +<table width="100%" border="0">
   94.97 +	<tr>
   94.98 +		<td align="right" valign="top">
   94.99 +<form method="get" name="jumpbox" action="viewforum.php?sid=a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" onSubmit="if(document.jumpbox.f.value == -1){return false;}"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
  94.100 +	<tr>
  94.101 +		<td nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gensmall">Jump to:&nbsp;<select name="f" onchange="if(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value != -1){ forms['jumpbox'].submit() }"><option value="-1">Select a forum</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Moonlit Nights</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="1">Website/Board News</option><option value="4">General</option><option value="9">Critical Thinking</option><option value="10">RPG-Role Playing Goodness</option><option value="11">Spam-Filter</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Fanfiction</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="2">Story Ideas</option><option value="8">Story Review</option><option value="3">CardCaptor Sakura</option><option value="5">BSSM</option><option value="6">Misc</option><option value="-1">&nbsp;</option><option value="-1">Other</option><option value="-1">----------------</option><option value="7">Cyberia Café</option></select><input type="hidden" name="sid" value="a07e1ecd8a83349d9ee5a98b24b886ab" />&nbsp;<input type="submit" value="Go" class="liteoption" /></span></td>
  94.102 +	</tr>
  94.103 +</table></form>
  94.104 +
  94.105 +</td>
  94.106 +	</tr>
  94.107 +</table>
  94.108 +
  94.109 +
  94.110 +<div align="center"><span class="copyright"><br /><br />
  94.111 +<!--
  94.112 +	We request you retain the full copyright notice below including the link to www.phpbb.com.
  94.113 +	This not only gives respect to the large amount of time given freely by the developers
  94.114 +	but also helps build interest, traffic and use of phpBB 2.0. If you cannot (for good
  94.115 +	reason) retain the full copyright we request you at least leave in place the
  94.116 +	Powered by phpBB  line, with phpBB linked to www.phpbb.com. If you refuse
  94.117 +	to include even this then support on our forums may be affected.
  94.118 +
  94.119 +	The phpBB Group : 2002
  94.120 +// -->
  94.121 +Powered by <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/" target="_phpbb" class="copyright">phpBB</a>  &copy; 2001 phpBB Group<br>
  94.122 +Template created by <a href="mailto:sp@phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">Stefan Paulus</a> |
  94.123 +<a href="http://www.phpbb2-users.de" class="copyright">phpbb2-users.de</a><br /></span></div>
  94.124 +		</td>
  94.125 +	</tr>
  94.126 +</table>
  94.127 +
  94.128 +</body>
  94.129 +</html>

    95.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
    95.2 +++ b/phpBB2/templates/BlackSoul/BlackSoul.css	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
    95.3 @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
    95.4 +/*
    95.5 +  The original subSilver Theme for phpBB version 2+
    95.6 +  Created by subBlue design
    95.7 +  http://www.subBlue.com
    95.8 +*/
    95.9 +
   95.10 +
   95.11 + /* General page style. The scroll bar colours only visible in IE5.5+ */
   95.12 +body {
   95.13 +	background-color: #000000;
   95.14 +	
   95.15 
   95.16 +background: black url(http://www.moonlitnights.org/star-bg.gif);
   95.17 
   95.18 +	scrollbar-face-color: #000000;
   95.19 +	scrollbar-highlight-color: #C0D2F6;
   95.20 +	scrollbar-shadow-color: #C0D2F6;
   95.21 +	scrollbar-3dlight-color: #000000;
   95.22 +	scrollbar-arrow-color:  #C0D2F6;
   95.23 +	scrollbar-track-color: #000000;
   95.24 +	scrollbar-darkshadow-color: #000000;
   95.25 +}
   95.26 +
   95.27 +/* General font families for common tags */
   95.28 +font,th,td,p { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif }
   95.29 +a:link,a:active,a:visited { color : #2AAAA8; }
   95.30 +a:hover		{ text-decoration: underline; color : #2AAAA8; }
   95.31 +hr	{ height: 0px; border: solid #D1D7DC 0px; border-top-width: 1px;}
   95.32 +
   95.33 +
   95.34 +/* This is the border line & background colour round the entire page */
   95.35 +.bodyline	{ border: 1px #000000 solid; }
   95.36 +
   95.37 +/* This is the outline round the main forum tables */
   95.38 +.forumline	{ background-color: #000000; border: 2px #000000 solid; }
   95.39 +
   95.40 +
   95.41 +/* Main table cell colours and backgrounds */
   95.42 +td.row1	{ background-color: #5C5C8E; }
   95.43 +td.row2	{ background-color: #5C5C8E; }
   95.44 +td.row3	{ background-color: #5C5C8E; }
   95.45 +
   95.46 +
   95.47 +/*
   95.48 +  This is for the table cell above the Topics, Post & Last posts on the index.php page
   95.49 +  By default this is the fading out gradiated silver background.
   95.50 +  However, you could replace this with a bitmap specific for each forum
   95.51 +*/
   95.52 +td.rowpic {
   95.53 +		background-color: #5090D0;
   95.54 +		background-repeat: repeat-y;
   95.55 +}
   95.56 +
   95.57 +/* Header cells - the blue and silver gradient backgrounds */
   95.58 +th	{
   95.59 +	color: #000000; font-size: 11px; font-weight : bold;
   95.60 +	background-color: #DAEAFF; height: 25px;
   95.61 +	
   95.62 +}
   95.63 +
   95.64 +td.cat,td.catHead,td.catSides,td.catLeft,td.catRight,td.catBottom {
   95.65 +			background-color:#5090D0; border: #000000; border-style: solid; height: 28px;
   95.66 +}
   95.67 +
   95.68 +
   95.69 +/*
   95.70 +  Setting additional nice inner borders for the main table cells.
   95.71 +  The names indicate which sides the border will be on.
   95.72 +  Don't worry if you don't understand this, just ignore it :-)
   95.73 +*/
   95.74 +td.cat,td.catHead,td.catBottom {
   95.75 +	height: 29px;
   95.76 +	border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
   95.77 +}
   95.78 +th.thHead,th.thSides,th.thTop,th.thLeft,th.thRight,th.thBottom,th.thCornerL,th.thCornerR {
   95.79 +	font-weight: bold; border: #000000; border-style: solid; height: 28px; }
   95.80 +td.row3Right,td.spaceRow {
   95.81 +	background-color: #DAEAFF; border: #000000; border-style: solid; color: #000000 }
   95.82 +
   95.83 +th.thHead,td.catHead { font-size: 12px; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.84 +th.thSides,td.catSides,td.spaceRow	 { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.85 +th.thRight,td.catRight,td.row3Right	 { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.86 +th.thLeft,td.catLeft	  { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.87 +th.thBottom,td.catBottom  { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.88 +th.thTop	 { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.89 +th.thCornerL { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.90 +th.thCornerR { border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }
   95.91 +
   95.92 +
   95.93 +/* The largest text used in the index page title and toptic title etc. */
   95.94 +.maintitle,h1,h2	{
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  95.108 +
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  95.111 +.mainmenu		{ font-size : 11px; color : #000000 }
  95.112 +a.mainmenu		{ text-decoration: none; color : #2AAAA8;  }
  95.113 +a.mainmenu:hover{ text-decoration: underline; color : #DD6900; }
  95.114 +
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  95.120 +a.cattitle:hover	{ text-decoration: underline; color : #FFFFFF; }
  95.121 +
  95.122 +/* Forum title: Text and link to the forums used in: index.php */
  95.123 +.forumlink		{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; color : #2AAAA8; }
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  95.125 +a.forumlink:visited 	{ text-decoration: none; color : #2AAAA8; }
  95.126 +a.forumlink:hover{ text-decoration: underline; color : #2AAAA8; }
  95.127 +
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  95.132 +a.nav:hover		{ text-decoration: underline; color : #2AAAA8;}
  95.133 +
  95.134 +
  95.135 +/* titles for the topics: could specify viewed link colour too */
  95.136 +.topictitle			{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color : #FFFF00; }
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  95.139 +a.topictitle:hover	{ text-decoration: underline; color : #2AAAA8; }
  95.140 +
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  95.144 +
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  95.146 +.postdetails		{ font-size : 10px; color : #FFFFFF; }
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  95.171 +
  95.172 +
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  95.178 +
  95.179 +
  95.180 +/* Form elements */
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  95.183 +	font: normal 11px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
  95.184 +	border-color : #000000;
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  95.186 +
  95.187 +/* The text input fields background colour */
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  95.189 +	background-color : #FFFFFF;
  95.190 +}
  95.191 +
  95.192 +input { text-indent : 2px; }
  95.193 +
  95.194 +/* The buttons used for bbCode styling in message post */
  95.195 +input.button {
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  95.197 +	color : #000000;
  95.198 +	font-size: 11px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
  95.199 +}
  95.200 +
  95.201 +/* The main submit button option */
  95.202 +input.mainoption {
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  95.204 +	font-weight : bold;
  95.205 +}
  95.206 +
  95.207 +/* None-bold submit button */
  95.208 +input.liteoption {
  95.209 +	background-color : #FAFAFA;
  95.210 +	font-weight : normal;
  95.211 +}
  95.212 +
  95.213 +/* This is the line in the posting page which shows the rollover
  95.214 +  help line. This is actually a text box, but if set to be the same
  95.215 +  colour as the background no one will know ;)
  95.216 +*/
  95.217 +.helpline { background-color: #DEE3E7; border-style: none; }
  95.218 +
  95.219 +
  95.220 +/* Import the fancy styles for IE only (NS4.x doesn't use the @import function) */
  95.221 +@import url("formIE.css");

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   112.2 +++ b/staff.php	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   112.3 @@ -0,0 +1,231 @@
   112.4 +<HTML><head><title>Moonlit Nights: Staff</title>
   112.5 +<LINK REL=StyleSheet HREF="mn-style.css" TYPE="text/css"
   112.6 +
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  112.20 +
  112.21 +image5 = new Image();
  112.22 +image5.src = "navi/tomosaku2.gif";
  112.23 +
  112.24 +// End -->
  112.25 +</script>
  112.26 +
  112.27 +</head>
  112.28 +<body bgcolor="000000" background="./star-bg.gif">
  112.29 +
  112.30 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
  112.31 +right: 0; width: 104; height: 39"><img src="staff-logo_head.gif"></div>
  112.32 +
  112.33 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 321;
  112.34 +left: 0; width: 407; height: 39"><img src="bar.gif" usemap="#bar.gif" border="0">
  112.35 +<map name="bar.gif">
  112.36 +<area shape="rect" coords="2,4,126,38" href="./phpBB2/" target="_blank">
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  112.40 +<area shape="rect" coords="329,0,388,40" href="./links.php" target="">
  112.41 +</map></div>
  112.42 +
  112.43 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 50;
  112.44 +right: 85; width: 239; height: 154" id="navi">
  112.45 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 Begin -->
  112.46 +<TABLE WIDTH=239 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0>
  112.47 +<TR><TD>
  112.48 +<IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=6 HEIGHT=1></TD>
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  112.58 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=1></TD>
  112.59 +<TD></TD></TR><TR>
  112.60 +<TD COLSPAN=11>
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  112.62 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
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  112.64 +<TD COLSPAN=4 ROWSPAN=2>
  112.65 +<IMG SRC="navi/navi_02.gif" WIDTH=36 HEIGHT=41></TD>
  112.66 +<TD COLSPAN=5>
  112.67 +<A HREF="./chFics.php"
  112.68 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='ChibiUsa and Hotaru';  return true;"
  112.69 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image1.src='navi/cuh2.gif';"onmouseout="image1.src='navi/cuh.gif';">
  112.70 +<img name="image1" src="navi/cuh.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
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  112.72 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=33></TD>
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  112.75 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=8></TD>
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  112.77 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=3><IMG SRC="navi/navi_06.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=33></TD>
  112.78 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=2>
  112.79 +<A HREF="./misc.php"
  112.80 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Misc';  return true;"
  112.81 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image3.src='navi/misc2.gif';"onmouseout="image3.src='navi/misc.gif';">
  112.82 +<img name="image3" src="navi/misc.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
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  112.84 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=14></TD>
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  112.86 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_09.gif" WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=19></TD>
  112.87 +<TD COLSPAN=3 ROWSPAN=3><A HREF="./index2.php"
  112.88 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Main';  return true;"
  112.89 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image2.src='navi/main2.gif';"onmouseout="image2.src='navi/main.gif';">
  112.90 +<img name="image2" src="navi/main.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
  112.91 +<TD ROWSPAN=7><IMG SRC="navi/navi_11.gif" WIDTH=7 HEIGHT=91></TD>
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  112.95 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=4></TD>
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  112.98 +<TD COLSPAN=5 ROWSPAN=2><A HREF="./downloads.php"
  112.99 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Multimedia';  return true;"
 112.100 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;"><span onmouseover="image4.src='navi/multimedia2.gif';"onmouseout="image4.src='navi/multimedia.gif';">
 112.101 +<img name="image4" src="navi/multimedia.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
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 112.103 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=16></TD>
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 112.111 +</TR><TR>
 112.112 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_18.gif" WIDTH=29 HEIGHT=36></TD>
 112.113 +<TD COLSPAN=5><A HREF="./tsFics.php"
 112.114 +ONMOUSEOVER="window.status='Tomoyo and Sakura';  return true;"
 112.115 +ONMOUSEOUT="window.status='';  return true;">
 112.116 +<span onmouseover="image5.src='navi/tomosaku2.gif';"onmouseout="image5.src='navi/tomosaku.gif';">
 112.117 +<img name="image5" src="navi/tomosaku.gif" border=0></span></A></TD>
 112.118 +<TD COLSPAN=2 ROWSPAN=2><IMG SRC="navi/navi_20.gif" WIDTH=18 HEIGHT=36></TD>
 112.119 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=31></TD>
 112.120 +</TR><TR>
 112.121 +<TD COLSPAN=5><IMG SRC="navi/navi_21.gif" WIDTH=179 HEIGHT=5></TD>
 112.122 +<TD><IMG SRC="navi/spacer.gif" WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=5></TD>
 112.123 +</TR></TABLE>
 112.124 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 End -->
 112.125 +</div>
 112.126 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
 112.127 +left: 0; width: 321; height:321">
 112.128 +<img src="staff_spica-header.gif" width=321 height=321>
 112.129 +</div>
 112.130 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 112.131 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
 112.132 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
 112.133 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
 112.134 +<tr>
 112.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
 112.136 +</tr><tr>
 112.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">So, what kind of crazy 
 112.138 +people actually run this thing called <i>Moonlit 
 112.139 +Nights</i>? Well, you're about to find out! Here 
 112.140 +you'll find basically everything you could ever 
 112.141 +want to know (not that I know why you'd want to) about 
 112.142 +the people behind <i>Moonlit Nights</i>. In the event 
 112.143 +that there's something that isn't covered here (like, 
 112.144 +for instance, you absolutely must know my favorite 
 112.145 +color, where I live, my password, and how I sleep), 
 112.146 +feel free to e-mail (or otherwise contact) the 
 112.147 +appropriate person. We're not all too scary in 
 112.148 +person.. honest!<br><br>
 112.149 +
 112.150 +As a minor side note, I'd like to personally thank 
 112.151 +Pepsi for making Mountain Dew. Most updates and 
 112.152 +work on this site are thanks to the caffeine and 
 112.153 +sugar that somehow keep me up despite not getting 
 112.154 +much sleep.. and yes, I'm drinking it as I type 
 112.155 +this up.
 112.156 +</td>
 112.157 +</tr>
 112.158 +<tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
 112.159 +</tr>
 112.160 +</table></div>
 112.161 +
 112.162 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 112.163 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
 112.164 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
 112.165 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
 112.166 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">
 112.167 +<b>Nickname:</b> Cloud<br>
 112.168 +<b>Name:</b> Jason <br>
 112.169 +<b>DOB:</b> 1985.12.30<br>
 112.170 +<b>E-mail:</b> cloud_strife_952<u>at</u>yahoo<u>dot</u>com<br>
 112.171 +<b>AIM:</b> Promboy00<br>
 112.172 +<b>MSNm:</b> promboy<u>at</u>hotmail<u>dot</u>com<br>
 112.173 +<b>Y! Messenger:</b> cloud_strife_952<br>
 112.174 +<b>ICQ:</b> 13952792<br>
 112.175 +<b>Websites:</b> <a href="http://jrem.net">JREM.net</a> and <a href="./">Moonlit Nights</a><br>
 112.176 +<b>Journal:</b> <a href="http://jrem.net/journal/">Disorganized Patterns</a></p>
 112.177 +
 112.178 +<p><b>Website:</b><br>
 112.179 +Jason's job at Moonlit Nights is mostly background work 
 112.180 +to keep things running smoothly along with other such 
 112.181 +administrative tasks most webmasters have to deal with. 
 112.182 +This includes (but isn't limited to) website design (making sure the site looks nice and is easy for visitors to navigate), the updating process (posting update notices, uploading files, modifying pages to reflect the new content), and content acquisition (sorting through submissions and e-mailing authors about their stories for use on this site). When not updating the website, 
 112.183 +he can also be found running the message board as the 
 112.184 +administrator. Aside from those listed, his jobs pretty much consist of everything else that needs to be done. Jason's been the webmaster of Moonlit Nights since its creation (November 9th, 2000) and is the only full-time staff member.</p>
 112.185 +
 112.186 +<p><b>Personal Life:</b><br>
 112.187 +Jason is a college student living in could-be-prettier 
 112.188 +Arizona. He's currently studying for a Bachelors of Arts with a Major in East Asian Studies (with emphasis on Japanese culture and language). Now that's a long title, but it sure does sound impressive. It basically means that he plans on either teaching English in Japan or perhaps working in translation. Scholastic career aside, his hobbies are computers, anime/manga, video games, and RPGs. He also has an obscenely large over-priced anime/game figurine collection which is really, really cool.
 112.189 +</p><br><br>
 112.190 +
 112.191 +<b>Nickname:</b> Amazoness Duo<br>
 112.192 +<b>Name:</b> Heather <br>
 112.193 +<b>DOB:</b> June 4, 1983<br>
 112.194 +<b>E-mail:</b> amazonessduo<u>at</u>hotmail<u>dot</u>com<br>
 112.195 +<b>AIM:</b> heartless_kizuku<br>
 112.196 +<b>MSNm:</b> amazonessduo<u>at</u>hotmail<u>dot</u>com<br>
 112.197 +<b>Y! Messenger:</b> tomoyo_chan<br>
 112.198 +<b>ICQ:</b> Don't really get on it anymore. O_o<br>
 112.199 +<b>Websites:</b> <a href="http://fly.to/moonlit_nights">Moonlit Nights</a><br>
 112.200 +<b>Journal:</b> <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/~amazonessduo">Emily</a></p>
 112.201 +
 112.202 +<p><b>Website:</b><br>
 112.203 +I'm the site author of Moonlit Nights and I've written quite a bit 
 112.204 +of the stories in the Tomoyo & Sakura, Misc, and ChibiUsa & Hotaru sections. 
 112.205 +I'm the big sister of the webmaster, which helped a lot when forcing him to 
 112.206 +make a website about the type of fanfiction I wanted to see more of online, 
 112.207 +particularly best friend romance stories. I leave most of the computer 
 112.208 +things to Cloud because he's so much better with that than I am. I'm much 
 112.209 +happier doing the writing.</p>
 112.210 +
 112.211 +<p><b>Personal Life:</b><br>
 112.212 +I'm a college student who has no idea what she's doing with 
 112.213 +her life. ^^;; I enjoy writing quite a bit and I love losing myself in the 
 112.214 +characters and their lives. I love all sorts of escapism, really. ^-^ 
 112.215 +Roleplaying games, videogames, books, anime, manga, etc. It all lets me 
 112.216 +surround myself with these fascinating characters. I'm the eldest sister of 
 112.217 +four siblings and I've helped raise the two youngest, so I don't get out of 
 112.218 +the house much. ^^;; I'm shy and neurotic and my mind is always spinning 
 112.219 +around something. I'm obsessive and overemotional and generally crazy. I 
 112.220 +believe wholeheartedly that love should conquer all, regardless of race, 
 112.221 +gender, religion, or idiotic governments. If anything, that's what I want to 
 112.222 +get across in my stories, that love is the most important thing in life.
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   114.2 +++ b/stories/Bara.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   114.3 @@ -0,0 +1,933 @@
   114.4 +Author’s notes: This story is set in the future of Cardcaptor
   114.5 +Sakura. ^-^ Tomoyo & Sakura are married and have a child named Bara.
   114.6 +This is just a cute little story that I’ve been wanting to write for
   114.7 +a while now. If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail
   114.8 +me. ^-^ I always love to hear what people think. ^-^ The characters
   114.9 +are not my own (with the exception of Bara). They are property of
  114.10 +CLAMP. 
  114.11 +
  114.12 +
  114.13 +Be My Teddy Bear
  114.14 +by Amazoness Duo
  114.15 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  114.16 +
  114.17 +
  114.18 +	“How kawaii!! I finally get the chance to videotape the two most
  114.19 +beautiful women in my life,” Tomoyo exclaimed ecstatically, zooming
  114.20 +in on the subjects of her camcorder. A pale hand went to the slightly
  114.21 +eccentric woman’s cheek as she focused the image. Her long, dark
  114.22 +hair, done up in two pigtails with some aquamarine ribbons, stirred
  114.23 +lightly in the gentle afternoon breeze that meandered through the
  114.24 +garden bringing with it the sweet fragrance of flowers in bloom. 
  114.25 +	The two women who were as always the focus of Tomoyo’s wholehearted
  114.26 +attention blushed simultaneously as they found themselves caught on
  114.27 +video. “Tomoyo-chan...” The taller of the two said nervously as she
  114.28 +placed her hand behind her head. Her fingers brushed chestnut hair
  114.29 +away from her eyes as the gentle breeze began to pick up. After over
  114.30 +a decade of marriage, Sakura still couldn’t hide her embarrassment
  114.31 +over some of her wife’s obsessive remarks. Of course, knowing what
  114.32 +was behind her best friend’s words actually made it all the more
  114.33 +embarrassing. These weren’t just strange comments as she’d thought
  114.34 +when they were children. She knew very well just how much Tomoyo
  114.35 +meant every one of them. Of course, even if they were a little
  114.36 +embarrassing to hear at the end of a meeting at Daidouji Inc., she
  114.37 +could never bring herself to ask Tomoyo to stop. She wouldn’t want
  114.38 +the dark haired woman to cease such things, after all. Besides,
  114.39 +wasn’t that sweet devotion part of why she had married her in the
  114.40 +first place? So even if it always started Sakura blushing, she was
  114.41 +always happy to hear her wife’s strange remarks. 
  114.42 +	The younger girl, not much older than Sakura had been back when she
  114.43 +had begun her own adventure with the Cards, sweatdropped herself.
  114.44 +Daidouji Bara was a small, pale girl with short, midnight hair. While
  114.45 +not quite as easily embarrassed as her more athletic mother, she
  114.46 +still found herself blushing at some of Tomoyo’s comments. Certainly
  114.47 +not starved for attention, she once again whiled away her afternoon
  114.48 +by having a picnic with her parents. The daughter of Sakura and
  114.49 +Tomoyo was an energetic and gentle girl. While not being as
  114.50 +athletically inclined as Sakura, she did find herself becoming more
  114.51 +and more interested in the magical workings of her mother’s own
  114.52 +Sakura Cards. Part of that was because of her friendship with several
  114.53 +of the Cards, including the Flower and Mirror. Brave and determined,
  114.54 +there was little that frightened her and so magic had quickly become
  114.55 +something that captivated her attention. Unfortunately, through some
  114.56 +twist of nature, or perhaps an inheritance from Nadeshiko, the poor
  114.57 +girl was terribly accident prone. This kept her loving parents and
  114.58 +guardians ever vigilant, but even then she often got herself hurt.
  114.59 +While not quite as overprotective as Tomoyo’s mother, they still
  114.60 +tried to keep a careful eye on their bubbly daughter. “Okaa-sama...”
  114.61 +Bara said, nearly mimicking Sakura. This only brought a giggle from
  114.62 +Tomoyo and yet more videotaping. 
  114.63 +	Bara didn’t really mind her mother’s videotaping hobby. In fact,
  114.64 +she had grown up with that particular facet of life. So it hardly
  114.65 +seemed strange when the dark haired woman pulled out her camcorder to
  114.66 +record just about any event. It seemed that the only prerequisite for
  114.67 +Tomoyo’s camcorder was that Sakura or Bara had to be present. The
  114.68 +loving wife and mother was always happy to videotape one or the other
  114.69 +for her ever expanding collection of videotape. Bara herself enjoyed
  114.70 +watching through her mother’s older videotapes so aptly entitled
  114.71 +‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ or ‘Sakura-chan’s Kawaii and Magical Adventures’.
  114.72 +It always fascinated her to watch her parents in their younger days
  114.73 +and the exciting escapades they had found themselves in. She had even
  114.74 +worn some of the costumes that Sakura had worn in the videotapes.
  114.75 +Tomoyo had kept nearly every costume, so when Bara had asked her
  114.76 +about them she had been more than happy to go through the vast
  114.77 +collection. The designer of the costumes had fixed up some of them to
  114.78 +fit Bara and had taped her running around in them. Bara had been
  114.79 +awestruck at the wide variety of beautiful designs that her mother
  114.80 +had sewn over the years. The gorgeous outfits had all been eye candy
  114.81 +for the hungry girl. Sharing her mother’s flare for the artistic, she
  114.82 +had easily been lost in the wide array of clothes kept in pristine
  114.83 +condition. In recent years she had even begun helping Tomoyo with
  114.84 +some of the costumes that she still made for an embarrassed but
  114.85 +willing Sakura. She was always thrilled to see the finished designs
  114.86 +on their auburn haired model, something she shared with her pale
  114.87 +mother. 
  114.88 +	“Oh, Bara-chan,” Tomoyo began thoughtfully, pulling herself from
  114.89 +her Sakura induced daydreams. Her hand went to her chin as she placed
  114.90 +the camcorder on her lap. “I picked up some materials for you on the
  114.91 +way home. I put them on your bed. If you want a different design for
  114.92 +the cloth I can go through my closet and see if there’s anything you
  114.93 +like.” Her trademark smile graced her lips as she watched her
  114.94 +daughter’s face light up. It was such a wonderful feeling to see her
  114.95 +daughter enjoying some of the same things that had always brought joy
  114.96 +to her own heart. Tomoyo’s mother had taught her simple things like
  114.97 +sewing and even videotaping when she had been a child herself and she
  114.98 +had fallen in love with these seemingly simple activities. Mostly
  114.99 +because the woman she loved was always the focus of her work. Seeing
 114.100 +her daughter grow up was equally thrilling but was slightly
 114.101 +bittersweet. She knew that her child would one day grow up and find
 114.102 +her own way in the world, but part of her wanted to cling on to the
 114.103 +baby girl that she and Sakura had raised together, to never let her
 114.104 +grow up. But watching her blossom into a beautiful woman, seeing the
 114.105 +result of her love for Sakura grow was a gift that she would never
 114.106 +let go of. 
 114.107 +	“Really?! Okaa-sama, arigato!” Bara nearly squealed. Pushing off
 114.108 +the picnic blanket, she hugged the older woman tightly. Tomoyo hugged
 114.109 +her back for a moment before the younger girl got to her feet.
 114.110 +Excitement tingled through her mind as the half-forgotten thought
 114.111 +from earlier once gained her full attention. Bowing to both of her
 114.112 +parents, she smoothed down her sunflower yellow sundress as the wind
 114.113 +played with the edges. “Dinner was wonderful. It was a lot of fun. I
 114.114 +think I’m going to go to my room to start right now. Thank you again,
 114.115 +mother!” She smiled happily as she turned on a sandalled foot and
 114.116 +hurried towards the large mansion. Despite her frail body, the
 114.117 +younger girl took off like a shot, anticipation evident in her eager
 114.118 +strides. 
 114.119 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura watched her daughter disappear into the
 114.120 +house, wincing as the younger girl nearly fell on her face, barely
 114.121 +recovering herself. The door finally swung shut, bringing forth a
 114.122 +relieved sigh from the two parents as their baby remained unscathed
 114.123 +for the time being. Turning to her still smiling wife, the auburn
 114.124 +haired woman raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Bara-chan sure was eager. I
 114.125 +think she would have even given Sonomi-sama some trouble in a race
 114.126 +just now.”
 114.127 +	“And Sakura-chan, too, if that’s the case,” Tomoyo added, sipping
 114.128 +some tea delicately, her stormy blue eyes never leaving the Mistress
 114.129 +of the Cards. Dark lashes fluttered half closed as she savored the
 114.130 +bitter taste of the tea, watching Sakura through long lashes. “She
 114.131 +may not be very fast but she can’t help speeding off with her whole
 114.132 +heart blazing.”
 114.133 +	“Well, she might not be fast, but she has your cute feet,” Sakura
 114.134 +replied thoughtfully, resting back on her hands. Her eyes went to
 114.135 +Tomoyo’s pale bare feet, her unused sandals lying next to the picnic
 114.136 +basket. The pale girl had always been beautiful, but as she had grown
 114.137 +into a woman she had become absolutely stunning, and it was something
 114.138 +that Sakura was easily reminded of. Her mind would have happily
 114.139 +lingered on such warm thoughts had something Tomoyo said hadn’t
 114.140 +suddenly replayed through her mind like one of Tomoyo’s tapes on
 114.141 +replay. Sitting up, the brunette shifted her legs under her. Her
 114.142 +throat had suddenly gone dry and she had to lick her lips before
 114.143 +continuing. Bara was still her little girl in her mind and it was
 114.144 +difficult to imagine her growing up so quickly. Sakura had always
 114.145 +tried to protect those she loved and she had come to understand just
 114.146 +why Sonomi had been so overprotective now that she had a daughter of
 114.147 +her own. “Wait, with ‘her whole heart blazing’?” Years ago, the
 114.148 +brunette had written off a lot of Tomoyo’s strange comments as just
 114.149 +her friend’s cute but bizarre eccentricity. But as she had learned
 114.150 +from their time dating and years of marriage, what Tomoyo said should
 114.151 +always be given careful consideration. Certain things still slipped
 114.152 +past her at times, but she wasn’t nearly as dense as she once had
 114.153 +been, especially when it came to the dark haired woman. 
 114.154 +	Smiling to herself, Tomoyo again sipped at her tea. She had
 114.155 +wondered if Sakura would catch that. Setting down the tea cup, the
 114.156 +pale woman brushed some grass away from her long skirt. “She may have
 114.157 +my feet, but she definitely has Sakura-chan’s adorable ears.” Pausing
 114.158 +for a moment, Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, dark hair spilling
 114.159 +past her shoulder in a shadowy cascade. “And Sakura-chan’s nose. And
 114.160 +your sparkling emerald eyes, always so full of energy and
 114.161 +determination.” Sighing sweetly, Tomoyo placed a hand on her cheek. A
 114.162 +soft giggle escaped her lips as a slightly flustered Sakura continued
 114.163 +to watch her intently. Shifting on the blanket, the dark haired woman
 114.164 +felt her bare feet brush against the soft fabric. Tilting her head
 114.165 +back, Tomoyo brushed a long, dark pigtail over her shoulder. She
 114.166 +waited for Sakura to comment, but the brunette just waited, her hands
 114.167 +now on the blanket in front of her. Sighing to herself at the
 114.168 +gorgeous sight before her, Tomoyo almost forgot what had been on her
 114.169 +mind. Pale fingers reached out, gently playing with Sakura’s auburn
 114.170 +hair. The soft strands swayed at her touch, tickling playful fingers.
 114.171 +The shorter haired woman held her breath for a moment as Tomoyo
 114.172 +brushed through the luxurious hair. Her heart swelled happily as she
 114.173 +looked into the eyes of her genki wife. Her love for Sakura had only
 114.174 +grown stronger as the Cardmistress’s presence nurtured it. That train
 114.175 +of thought reminded her of the purpose of Sakura’s intent gaze, but
 114.176 +it could have easily been her touch that drew Sakura nearer. And
 114.177 +almost subconsciously, the brunette was getting ever closer. A
 114.178 +delicious warmth spread through Tomoyo’s soul despite the cool breeze
 114.179 +swirling around them. Her daughter’s company was always wonderful to
 114.180 +have, but time alone with Sakura was it’s own reward. “You haven’t
 114.181 +noticed? Bara-chan has been extra genki lately. And very dreamy.” She
 114.182 +paused, waiting for Sakura’s reaction. 
 114.183 +	“Un... I guess so. But what does that have to do with her heart?”
 114.184 +Sakura asked curiously, her own hand coming to a rest atop Tomoyo’s.
 114.185 +She could still feel Tomoyo’s fingers in her hair, moving through the
 114.186 +short hair slowly. The sensation was certainly a pleasant one as they
 114.187 +sat under the sinking sun. The Mistress of the Cards would have been
 114.188 +happy to simply bask in Tomoyo’s gentle touch, but her curiosity had
 114.189 +been piqued. Sakura herself had never been very good at reading
 114.190 +hearts, whether it be her own or someone else’s. But her nearly
 114.191 +constantly smiling wife could read hearts with an ease that had
 114.192 +always surprised Sakura. Tomoyo seemed to know them inside and out,
 114.193 +Sakura’s in specific. But the pale woman seemed to be able to read
 114.194 +her daughter equally as well. Sakura knew her daughter well, but
 114.195 +there were some things that slipped past her. She was glad that her
 114.196 +more perceptive wife always picked up on them. 
 114.197 +	“Bara-chan is making a teddy bear to give to someone very important
 114.198 +to her,” Tomoyo said simply, watching Sakura’s reaction. For a
 114.199 +moment, the auburn haired mage said nothing, emerald eyes sparkling
 114.200 +with their own inner radiance. Sakura looked as if she may be
 114.201 +dreaming, still drifting closer to the warmth of her wife’s embrace
 114.202 +as Tomoyo continued toying with her hair. After a long moment, the
 114.203 +jade orbs widened perceptibly, shock registering on Sakura’s pretty
 114.204 +face. 
 114.205 +	“A teddy bear..?” Sakura asked, trailing off. She shook her head
 114.206 +quickly, still holding Tomoyo’s hand to the side of her head. “But
 114.207 +she’s just... How can she be making one... She’s making a teddy bear
 114.208 +for the person she likes?” the surprised Cardmistress got out at
 114.209 +last. The dark haired woman nodded, still smiling sweetly. The fact
 114.210 +that Tomoyo didn’t seem fazed at all by this turn of events didn’t
 114.211 +immediately soothe Sakura’s frazzled nerves. After all, the lavender
 114.212 +haired businesswoman rarely seemed shaken by anything that didn’t
 114.213 +have to do with her. And even then, Tomoyo had hidden it from her for
 114.214 +the longest time whenever she would worry. Any arguments Sakura could
 114.215 +think of died before they made their way to her mouth. Age couldn’t
 114.216 +be a problem. Tomoyo had been in love with her since the third grade.
 114.217 +Sakura couldn’t even argue about Bara sewing because Tomoyo had been
 114.218 +teaching her how. Besides, even if Bara was accident prone, she never
 114.219 +seemed to have trouble with artistic endeavors. The fact that her
 114.220 +daughter was in love with someone wasn’t such a big deal, but she was
 114.221 +hit with the sudden realization that her baby girl wasn’t quite so
 114.222 +little anymore. “Hoe...” she got out weakly. 
 114.223 +	“Sakura-chan makes such a cute mother,” Tomoyo whispered softly as
 114.224 +she closed the remaining distance between herself and her still
 114.225 +bewildered wife. Her lips pressed lightly against Sakura’s, drawing
 114.226 +the brunette from her jumbled thoughts to a much more pressing here
 114.227 +and now. Tomoyo had known all about the teddy bear and had actually
 114.228 +been the one to tell Bara about the legend behind giving one to the
 114.229 +person you liked. She was even fairly confident that she knew the
 114.230 +focus of Bara’s attention. Of course, there would be time to explain
 114.231 +the intricacies to Sakura later on. For now it was much nicer to just
 114.232 +enjoy the distinct taste of Sakura’s kisses. Sakura apparently
 114.233 +thought so as well, her arms sliding around Tomoyo’s waist and
 114.234 +pulling her closer as their kiss deepened. Letting her eyes fall
 114.235 +closed, Tomoyo sighed inwardly. Love wrapped her heart like a heavy
 114.236 +quilt. Love spun her around, leaving her ever thirsty for more of
 114.237 +it’s intoxicating and endless depths. It was for this reason that she
 114.238 +was so pleased to see her daughter falling in love. Her love for
 114.239 +Sakura, and in later years Sakura’s love for her, had been life’s
 114.240 +greatest joy and deepest amazement. If her daughter could experience
 114.241 +that same warm and all encompassing feeling then it was with great
 114.242 +joy that she watched her growing into a beautiful young woman.
 114.243 +Curling up with Sakura on the blanket, the two women quickly lost
 114.244 +themselves to each other, lost to a deep and endless love that had
 114.245 +captured them both long ago. As the heavy sun began sinking beyond
 114.246 +the horizon, the two women continued to kiss, embracing warmly under
 114.247 +the darkening sky.
 114.248 +
 114.249 +	Blushing at her parents’ sudden display of affection, Bara closed
 114.250 +the blinds to her window. She had been about to call down to Tomoyo
 114.251 +to thank her again for the materials for her teddy bear, but the
 114.252 +older woman looked like she had her mind on other things. Not that
 114.253 +Sakura was ever far from her mind. Deciding it might be best to thank
 114.254 +her mother later, the younger girl hurried to her bed. Surveying the
 114.255 +items on her bed, the materials all looked perfect for what she had
 114.256 +in mind. A beautiful peach and white cloth would make up the body of
 114.257 +the bear. A lavender bow would clad the small teddy bear when it was
 114.258 +finished while tiny little green orbs would make up the eyes. Tomoyo
 114.259 +had insisted upon that small touch. 
 114.260 +	“After all, if the one you like is going to name it after you, it
 114.261 +should have your eyes,” Tomoyo had said earlier. “That way, they will
 114.262 +always see you when they look into its eyes.”
 114.263 +	Sitting on her bed next to the pile of supplies, the dark haired
 114.264 +girl pulled her legs up to her chest. The bear was already fully
 114.265 +assembled in her head, but she didn’t know where to start. Her heart
 114.266 +still beat in her chest like a swarm of angry honey bees, startling
 114.267 +her. She was a little embarrassed about making such an obvious
 114.268 +declaration of her feelings, but she knew it was what she wanted to
 114.269 +do. It was too difficult to not say anything at all. And this would
 114.270 +finally give her a chance to tell the person she liked how she felt.
 114.271 +She still wasn’t sure how they felt, but as long as she didn’t have
 114.272 +to hide her feelings anymore, it would be worth it. She hoped. 
 114.273 +	“I need the scissors,” Bara said, thinking aloud. Slipping off the
 114.274 +bed, the dark haired girl hurried out of her room, her mind already
 114.275 +two steps ahead of her body. When would she give her gift? What
 114.276 +should she say? Should she offer anything else with it? Too lost in
 114.277 +her own thoughts while on the way to her mothers’ room for the
 114.278 +supplies she needed, Bara didn’t see the little table in the hallway.
 114.279 +It had been there for nearly as long as she could remember, but she
 114.280 +simply wasn’t paying enough attention to notice it. Her bare foot
 114.281 +snagged the table leg, throwing her off balance as her forward
 114.282 +momentum kept her sailing forward. Arms pinwheeling, the pale girl
 114.283 +fell forward, the world seeming to tumble around her. A short yelp
 114.284 +escaped her lips before arms grasped her waist, keeping her from
 114.285 +falling face first into the floor. The situation not being very new
 114.286 +to the accident prone girl, she didn’t find herself very startled by
 114.287 +the whole situation. Smiling, she turned in the arms of her rescuer.
 114.288 +Moving in the tight embrace, she came face to face with herself.
 114.289 +Emerald green eyes looked at her in concern from underneath midnight
 114.290 +hair. Pale skin offset the darkness, pressed against Bara’s own pale
 114.291 +skin. “Mirra-chan!” Bara exclaimed happily.
 114.292 +	The Sakura Card let out a sigh, slowly letting go of the
 114.293 +Cardmistress’s daughter. As usual, the dark haired girl hardly seemed
 114.294 +fazed by yet another accident she nearly got herself into. Mirror was
 114.295 +starting to wonder if the human girl cared at all about such trivial
 114.296 +things as pain or injuries. She tried to frown, but Bara’s smile was
 114.297 +contagious. She found herself returning it before too long. “You
 114.298 +really need to be more careful, Bara-chan. You’re cuter when you
 114.299 +aren’t all bruise covered,” she said quietly.
 114.300 +	The two Baras looked at each other for a moment before the real one
 114.301 +giggled in reply. “But with you and mother and everyone around
 114.302 +there’s no reason to worry about it.” Turning back to the task at
 114.303 +hand, the pale girl began again towards her parents’ large room,
 114.304 +slipping lithely into the room through the half open door. 
 114.305 +Emerald eyes began searching for what she needed, looking past a sea
 114.306 +of portraits and picture frames, labels and videotapes that were all
 114.307 +somehow in perfect order. Tomoyo’s large desk lay in one corner,
 114.308 +several costume designs and a half finished costume resting on top of
 114.309 +it. Some stuffed animals lay on the bed, all from Sakura’s
 114.310 +collection, which had grown in recent years even as she gave some of
 114.311 +her long held ones to Bara. One of the centerpieces to the group of
 114.312 +stuffed dolls was a little Sakura doll that Tomoyo had made for the
 114.313 +brunette back when they has still been children. The fabric was a
 114.314 +little frayed and it’s age was showing, but Sakura took it wherever
 114.315 +she went, and always held onto it when Tomoyo was gone on a business
 114.316 +trip. 
 114.317 +A television lay in one corner of the room, obviously for Tomoyo to
 114.318 +view her tapes, even though she had a viewing room for such things
 114.319 +with a much better setup. Bara’s questing eyes finally came to a halt
 114.320 +on the desk. It looked like her mother had been busy at work on a
 114.321 +costume the night before, so all of the materials she needed were
 114.322 +there. Grabbing several of them, she turned to leave the room.
 114.323 +	“I’ll carry that,” Mirror said quickly, taking the scissors from
 114.324 +Bara’s hands. The last thing she needed was for Bara to trip while
 114.325 +holding something like that. The midnight haired girl simply smiled
 114.326 +in gratitude as she headed back for her room. Following behind her,
 114.327 +the Sakura Card watched as the Cardmistress’s daughter sat back on
 114.328 +the bed. “What are you doing?” she asked curiously.
 114.329 +	Looking up from the assortment of items she had gathered along with
 114.330 +those her mother had already lain out for her, Bara spotted Mirror in
 114.331 +the doorway. Smiling cutely, the dark haired girl shook her head
 114.332 +emphatically. “I can’t tell you. I’m making something, but it’s going
 114.333 +to be a surprise for someone.” She turned back to the items, shifting
 114.334 +through them. After a second, she walked over to a still confused
 114.335 +Mirror and took the scissors slowly from her hand. “I’ll tell you all
 114.336 +about it later,” she said reassuringly.
 114.337 +	Mirror sighed as Bara returned to the bed. “Why can’t you tell me
 114.338 +now? You know I won’t tell anyone. It will just be our secret.” The
 114.339 +Sakura Card tried to catch Bara’s gaze as she herself reached the
 114.340 +bed. Her own eyes tried to lock onto Bara’s jade eyes, but the human
 114.341 +girl seemed intent on her thoughts. Shifting to her normal form for a
 114.342 +brief second, the magical creature quickly returned to being Bara’s
 114.343 +lookalike. Something she had learned over time was that it was easier
 114.344 +for someone to trust themselves than to trust anyone else. This
 114.345 +helped her at times because she could be them. It was, in a sense, as
 114.346 +if they were looking into a mirror. Unfortunately, this trick rarely
 114.347 +seemed to work on the Cardmistress’s daughter. Bara generally trusted
 114.348 +her with most things as it was. But when the dark haired girl wanted
 114.349 +to keep something from her, it was very difficult to drag it out. 
 114.350 +	Tilting her head to the side in thought, Bara paused for a moment.
 114.351 +“Well, mother, for one. Maybe Flower. Oh, and uncle Touya if he stops
 114.352 +by. Am I missing anyone?” Smiling sweetly, the magical girl finally
 114.353 +turned her gaze back to the Sakura Card. She liked to tease her
 114.354 +friend from time to time. Mirror got riled up so easily. Never did
 114.355 +her teasing get mean spirited, but she did like to see how Mirror
 114.356 +reacted. The midnight haired girl already knew that she wouldn’t be
 114.357 +telling her friend about what she was making anyway. So she was only
 114.358 +having some fun while Mirror was continuing to be stubborn. Besides,
 114.359 +Bara’s mind was already busy trying to decide exactly how she wanted
 114.360 +the teddy bear to end up. But the image she had in her mind slowly
 114.361 +faded away. ‘I can’t force it. Just like mother’s costume designs and
 114.362 +her videotape. You have to let things flow on their own, to see where
 114.363 +they take you.’ Her hands gently trailed over the cloth. ‘There’s a
 114.364 +teddy bear in here and she wants to come out. I’m just going to help
 114.365 +her. How she comes out is up to her,’ she thought to herself, a small
 114.366 +smile spreading across her lips. An important lesson that she had
 114.367 +learned from her mother was not to force things. Bara had learned
 114.368 +that after coming to Tomoyo with tears in her eyes over an accident
 114.369 +she had while painting. Her inspiration had been nonexistent and when
 114.370 +she had tried to finish a painting she had started several days
 114.371 +before, it wound up being ruined. Tomoyo had held onto her and
 114.372 +brushed back her shorter, dark hair, whispering softly. She had
 114.373 +explained to Bara that forcing things didn’t let them grow as they
 114.374 +wanted to, and it forced them to be a certain way. To bring them out,
 114.375 +to truly see them for what they were, they had to be nurtured and
 114.376 +loved. It was a lesson that Bara saw in many aspects of life. Whether
 114.377 +it be painting or videotaping or falling in love. It was still
 114.378 +difficult sometimes to banish a finished mental image from her mind,
 114.379 +but she was much happier with how things turned out.
 114.380 +	Unaware that Bara was deep in thought, Mirror found herself
 114.381 +blushing deeply. She had indeed had a crush on Touya long ago. And
 114.382 +she was still delighted to see him whenever he stopped by to visit
 114.383 +his little sister and her wife. But that hardly mattered. He had
 114.384 +Yukito, after all. And she was only a Card as it was, so it couldn’t
 114.385 +have worked out between them, even if Touya had returned her
 114.386 +feelings. A sigh escaped her lips as she let her eyes slip closed.
 114.387 +Still, did Bara have to keep teasing her about it? It had been a
 114.388 +lifetime before. Bara hadn’t even been born back then. But Tomoyo had
 114.389 +to be right about one thing. There was definitely something cute
 114.390 +about those ears. For some time now, she had continually noticed how
 114.391 +Bara’s were the same. The cute little ears jutted out of short, black
 114.392 +hair in the same way that Sakura’s did. Mirror had found it quite an
 114.393 +endearing aspect of her friend. And it certainly added to Bara’s
 114.394 +already considerable cuteness. Shaking her head and attempting to
 114.395 +banish the blush, Mirror replied. “You know I wouldn’t tell any of
 114.396 +them. Even Touya-san.”
 114.397 +	“I know,” Bara answered simply, emerald eyes glittering as she
 114.398 +looked up from her thoughts. Pale fingers brushed dark hair away from
 114.399 +her jade orbs. “But I still can’t tell you. You’ll find out sooner or
 114.400 +later. You always do.” Winking at the Sakura Card, the pale girl
 114.401 +giggled. “So just be patient.”
 114.402 +	“If you say so, Bara-chan,” Mirror said in defeat. She knew it was
 114.403 +pointless to continue arguing to be told. Much like Tomoyo, Bara
 114.404 +could keep a very tight lip about such things. Even if she didn’t
 114.405 +want to wait to find out what her friend was up to, it didn’t seem
 114.406 +like she had a choice. Sitting on the bed, the Sakura Card watched
 114.407 +the pale girl continue to dreamily go over ideas in her head. 
 114.408 +	Blushing a bit from the direction her thoughts were headed about
 114.409 +giving her teddy bear to the one she loved, Bara quickly shook her
 114.410 +head. “Ano... I think you should probably go for now, Mira-chan. I
 114.411 +need to get started on this.” Hopping off of the bed, Bara put her
 114.412 +hands on the Sakura Card’s back, gently pushing her mirror image
 114.413 +towards the door. “If you stay, I’ll get distracted and then I’ll
 114.414 +never finish up. And if I don’t ever finish, you’ll never find out
 114.415 +what it is.” Smiling sweetly, the Cardmistress’s daughter closed the
 114.416 +door. 
 114.417 +	Mirror blinked as she found herself outside of Bara’s room. What
 114.418 +had just happened? “Well, I guess. But I hope it won’t take too
 114.419 +long,” Mirror said through the door, pressing her ear up against it
 114.420 +as she waited for a reply. Curiosity gnawed at her magical core. She
 114.421 +couldn’t begin to guess what her human best friend was up to, and the
 114.422 +dark haired girl’s strange behavior was only strengthening her desire
 114.423 +to know what Bara was up to. She could hear movement on the other
 114.424 +side of the door, strange noises that met her ears as she tried to
 114.425 +discern them. Just what was the slightly eccentric girl doing?
 114.426 +Pushing the side of her face against the door, she strained to make
 114.427 +out what was happening. Suddenly, the door fell away from her and she
 114.428 +nearly came crashing to the ground. Pinwheeling, the Card barely
 114.429 +regained her balance in Bara’s doorway. She looked up to see Bara
 114.430 +smiling at her.
 114.431 +	“Well, the sooner you stop listening in, the sooner I can start.
 114.432 +Honestly, Mira-chan, how can I ever do anything surprising if you
 114.433 +won’t let me hide a few things from you now and then?” the pale girl
 114.434 +gently chided, tucking some strands of black hair behind her ear. She
 114.435 +could only smile at the childish look of embarrassment flashing
 114.436 +across Mirror’s face, an exact copy of her own face. Did she really
 114.437 +look like that when she was caught embarrassed? The fact that Mirror
 114.438 +often looked like her wasn’t at all awkward for her. She had actually
 114.439 +grown accustomed to seeing that pale face and dark hair greeting her
 114.440 +when she saw her best friend. Like looking into an actual mirror, she
 114.441 +could always see herself in it, but unlike those constructs of glass,
 114.442 +she could see the girl underneath her visage. Mirror was always her
 114.443 +Mira-chan, no matter what she looked like. The Sakura Card looked
 114.444 +very lovely in her normal form, very formal with pretty pale green
 114.445 +hair, but she didn’t get to see Mirror like that very often. It was a
 114.446 +shame, but Bara didn’t mind very much. It didn’t matter how Mirror
 114.447 +looked so long as she was there. “Now scoot,” she commanded, putting
 114.448 +on as serious a look as her near giggly heart could allow. It came
 114.449 +out sounding silly, even to her. She placed her hands on her hips and
 114.450 +gave Mirror a mock stern look before bursting out laughing. Mirror
 114.451 +joined her a second later, forgetting her earlier embarrassment.
 114.452 +	“I can’t let you hide things from me,” Mirror said after they both
 114.453 +regained some measure of composure. “Because I’m you.” Striking her
 114.454 +best imitation of the young heiress, she watched the human girl. That
 114.455 +was what she was after all, a reflection. She had been created to be
 114.456 +a mirror, to reflect things back. She was more comfortable looking
 114.457 +like Bara than she was looking like herself. It was easier for her
 114.458 +that way, to assume someone else’s identity, to simply reflect what
 114.459 +she saw. And she could think of no one she would rather be a
 114.460 +reflection of than the Cardmistress’s daughter. Bara’s shimmering
 114.461 +spirit and sweet nature made her a perfect choice for Mirror’s new
 114.462 +guise. She had spent more time as the dark haired girl’s twin over
 114.463 +the past few years than she had as herself. And that’s the way she
 114.464 +liked it. “So it’s not fair if you know things about you that I
 114.465 +don’t,” Mirror argued.
 114.466 +	“Nice try, Mira-chan. I’ll see you in a bit.” The pale girl gave
 114.467 +her magically created friend a quick hug before once again closing
 114.468 +the door. She waved to her slowly before it closed shut. Pressing her
 114.469 +own ear against the door, she waited until she heard the Sakura Card
 114.470 +walking away before hurrying back to her bed. Her heart fluttered in
 114.471 +her chest like a hummingbird, her jade eyes flashing with
 114.472 +determination to finish her teddy bear as quickly as possible. Pale
 114.473 +fingers began sifting through the materials spread out on her bed,
 114.474 +shaking in their eagerness. The young girl had to force herself to
 114.475 +slow down, lest she make any mistakes with her new little friend. The
 114.476 +teddy bear should be perfect after all. Her heart’s desire deserved
 114.477 +nothing less. Humming softly to herself, the pale waif started her
 114.478 +work. 
 114.479 +
 114.480 +	“Hoe...” a flustered voice rang through the spacious wardrobe room
 114.481 +that Tomoyo had insisted on having when the house had been built. It
 114.482 +was right across the hallway from Sakura’s Magician’s Workshop,
 114.483 +another room Tomoyo had decided on having. The whole house was almost
 114.484 +dreamy, very beautiful and elegant yet with an almost absurdly cute
 114.485 +feel to things. It lingered in the background, never entirely
 114.486 +prominent but there just the same. And it was in Tomoyo’s wardrobe
 114.487 +room, or rather, Sakura’s wardrobe room as the costumes inside all
 114.488 +fit her snugly, that the two childhood friends once again found
 114.489 +themselves. “Isn’t it a bit...” Sakura trailed off, at a loss for
 114.490 +words. Here she was, a grown woman, and Tomoyo could still get her
 114.491 +into crazy costumes with little more than a few words. Her cheeks
 114.492 +flushed as she looked down at the outfit she was wearing this time.
 114.493 +She wore a man’s suit and tie, a very dressy outfit. The polished
 114.494 +white and black shoes shown back up at her. She would think Tomoyo
 114.495 +had gone shopping in the men’s section on accident if it weren’t for
 114.496 +the fact that it fit her measurements exactly. 
 114.497 +	“Handsome? I certainly think so,” Tomoyo put in, finished Sakura’s
 114.498 +sentence in a way Sakura herself wasn’t likely to have. Reaching
 114.499 +forward, the lavender haired businesswoman readjusted Sakura’s white
 114.500 +dress shirt. “There. See? I think children will love this design for
 114.501 +the Kenji doll. He’s handsome and dashing with just a touch of
 114.502 +innocent vulnerability in him. It’s a nice outfit for if he’s going
 114.503 +out on a date with one of our other dolls or if he’s just going out
 114.504 +for a night at the theater.” Smiling happily, Tomoyo was in her
 114.505 +element. Dressing up Sakura and working out new designs. Turning her
 114.506 +shy wife around, the eccentric woman sighed contentedly. Yes, this
 114.507 +was exactly what she lived for. “After this, you can try on the two
 114.508 +new designs we have for the Hanako doll.”
 114.509 +	“Ano... Tomoyo, do you really have to make life-size versions of
 114.510 +all the costumes you design for the toys?” Sakura asked as her
 114.511 +lovably obsessive wife fixed the costume here and there on her. 
 114.512 +	“Yes, of course. Because it makes a much better impact if I can
 114.513 +have Sakura-chan sport our new designs at the meetings before they go
 114.514 +into production. Seeing you walk around the room like a model
 114.515 +showcasing the new designs is always much better than simply showing
 114.516 +the costumes for our dolls on paper,” Tomoyo explained, turning
 114.517 +Sakura so that the auburn haired woman faced the camcorder on it’s
 114.518 +tripod more directly.
 114.519 +	“But Tomoyo-chan, you’re the president of the company. You don’t
 114.520 +need to sell everyone on the designs.” Sakura sweatdropped as she
 114.521 +looked over at the camcorder. Even after over a decade of marriage,
 114.522 +the lavender haired woman still managed to confuse Sakura at times.
 114.523 +But it was always a sweet confusion that didn’t generally last long.
 114.524 +Tomoyo’s motives were, after all, beautifully simplistic. 
 114.525 +	“It makes the meetings much more fun if Sakura-chan’s dressed up
 114.526 +like our new products,” Tomoyo added, smiling her trademark smile as
 114.527 +she looked at the brunette. Sakura simply watched her as she
 114.528 +readjusted the camcorder. Her long, dark hair was done up in a high
 114.529 +ponytail now, draped down over one shoulder. That had always been her
 114.530 +ulterior motive, but it had been one that served her well. She liked
 114.531 +designing, but she found that Sakura was always at the root of her
 114.532 +inspiration. Working for her mother and later taking over the
 114.533 +Daidouji Toys company, she had to design for many of the toys the
 114.534 +company produced. It was fun to work on them, but she much preferred
 114.535 +to be designing costumes and outfits for her beloved Sakura. She had
 114.536 +found a way around this by making life-size versions of her designs
 114.537 +for Sakura to traipse around in for her. This allowed her to design
 114.538 +for the brunette even while she was working on dolls and their
 114.539 +wardrobe. Besides, who could resist seeing Sakura wearing her
 114.540 +company’s newest designs at important meetings? 
 114.541 +	Sighing in defeat, Sakura’s shoulders slumped. Wasn’t this the way
 114.542 +things had always worked? No matter how embarrassingly cute the
 114.543 +design, Sakura had always wound up wearing whatever Tomoyo made for
 114.544 +her. How could she not when the lavender haired woman had poured so
 114.545 +much of her love and effort into creating these beautiful clothes for
 114.546 +Sakura? Even as she stood in the man’s clothes for the Kenji doll,
 114.547 +the Mistress of the Cards knew that she did enjoy the attention
 114.548 +Tomoyo blanketed her with. Her mother had been a famous model, but
 114.549 +Sakura was Tomoyo’s model alone. And that was the way she liked it.
 114.550 +Sure, it was embarrassing. Sure, Tomoyo had some bizarre designs and
 114.551 +things that Sakura would never wear without a promise that the
 114.552 +videotape of her in such things would never be viewed by anyone but
 114.553 +her wife. But it was simply part of life with Tomoyo. Who else would
 114.554 +treat her like a movie star? Who else would give her all the
 114.555 +attention in the world? Who else could love her the way Tomoyo did? 
 114.556 +	“Besides, Sakura is very handsome like this,” Tomoyo stated,
 114.557 +placing her hands on Sakura’s shoulders. Her stormy blue eyes gazed
 114.558 +lovingly into their emerald partners, sending a spark through her
 114.559 +that had only grown stronger and more acute as the years had gone by.
 114.560 +It always thrilled her to dress Sakura up in all manner of clothing
 114.561 +and styles, eager to see how her energetic wife would look in them
 114.562 +all. It was like having her own live KiSS doll. The lavender haired
 114.563 +woman’s hobbies were very much centered around the one she loved. Her
 114.564 +videotaping was always of Sakura, her costume designs were made
 114.565 +specifically for her wife, and her singing was for the one she loved.
 114.566 +But what better way to spend her free time than with her beautiful
 114.567 +wife, no matter what they did? Her hands squeezed Sakura’s shoulders
 114.568 +slightly, delighting at the feel of Sakura underneath her fingertips.
 114.569 +Sakura looked nearly as cute in men’s clothes as she did in women’s
 114.570 +clothes. Even if it wasn’t as lacy or as frilly as Tomoyo would like,
 114.571 +it was still her gorgeous Sakura. And she pulled off the dress suit
 114.572 +perfectly. Though it helped that Tomoyo had designed it with Sakura
 114.573 +in mind. 
 114.574 +	Sakura blushed at Tomoyo’s compliment, her eyes unable to escape
 114.575 +that azure gaze. Her hands slowly went to Tomoyo’s slender waist.
 114.576 +“Arigato, Tomoyo... You’re gorgeous,” Sakura breathed quietly as she
 114.577 +raised on of her hands up to the lavender haired woman’s snow white
 114.578 +cheek. The pale skin was offset wonderfully by the cascade of dark
 114.579 +hair down her shoulder. That long ponytail hung between them as the
 114.580 +two women inched closer. The Mistress of the Cards had the
 114.581 +overwhelming urge to ask Tomoyo to dance. They were surrounded by
 114.582 +racks of costumes and mannequins sporting some of Sakura’s old battle
 114.583 +costumes, but even in the quiet room it seemed like an excellent
 114.584 +idea. “Will you dance with me, Tomoyo?” Sakura asked at last, unable
 114.585 +to find a single reason not to. It felt a little strange to still be
 114.586 +in the awkward clothes Tomoyo had given her to wear, but it clung to
 114.587 +her perfectly, showcasing her wife’s talent for costume design. 
 114.588 +	“I would love to, Sakura,” Tomoyo whispered in reply, smiling
 114.589 +brilliantly. Leaning ever closer, her petal soft lips brushed
 114.590 +Sakura’s. Her heart ached longingly as their lips touched again,
 114.591 +longer this time. These little touches of heaven were pure bliss to
 114.592 +the lavender haired businesswoman. They were like the sweetest of
 114.593 +dreams brought magically to life. This was the magic she saw in a
 114.594 +life with Sakura. It wasn’t the Cards or any of the power Sakura had.
 114.595 +It was the brunette’s ability to bring out a sheer, unadulterated joy
 114.596 +inside of her. It was the warmth that shivered through her heart as
 114.597 +it waited bedecked with ribbons and lace for Sakura to simply hold it
 114.598 +close. Dancing with Sakura anywhere sounded like a wondrous idea, but
 114.599 +dancing with her among the flurry of cute and dreamlike costumes felt
 114.600 +like a trip through some distant wonderland. And her trusty camcorder
 114.601 +was set up to record the glorious moment. Tomoyo sighed rapturously
 114.602 +as their lips slowly parted, both women reluctant to end the kiss.
 114.603 +But there would be many more. There always were. 
 114.604 +	Drawn forward as if by a magnet, the dazed Sakura barely stopped
 114.605 +herself before initiating another long kiss. Shaking her head, she
 114.606 +tried to think coherently, but thought was rendered all but
 114.607 +impossible as the lavender haired woman caught her near kiss and
 114.608 +returned it with her own. Holding onto Tomoyo, Sakura felt feather
 114.609 +soft lips deliciously meeting her own. The fairy tale kiss came to a
 114.610 +slow end after Sakura got a taste of Tomoyo’s tongue in her mouth.
 114.611 +Her own tongue tried to follow Tomoyo’s, but her wife had already
 114.612 +begun to pull away. Still leaning forward, Sakura blushed as she felt
 114.613 +the lavender haired woman’s lips around the tip of her tongue. They
 114.614 +stayed that way for a moment, Tomoyo sliding closer for another
 114.615 +simmering kiss before pulling away once more. Slowly remembering
 114.616 +where she was and the promised dance that awaited them, a dreamy
 114.617 +Sakura pulled out a pink Card and twirled it between her fingers.
 114.618 +“Song! Please give us some music to dance to!” The Sakura Card
 114.619 +flashed and music slowly began to filter through the room, Tomoyo’s
 114.620 +voice singing softly with the music. The Song Card had long ago
 114.621 +chosen Tomoyo’s voice for the one it would use, just as the Voice
 114.622 +Card had sought her out as the most beautiful voice it could find.
 114.623 +And Sakura certainly agreed with the both of them. Hearing Tomoyo’s
 114.624 +voice sing to the both of them, the two woman slowly began to dance
 114.625 +through the costumes. “Hanyaan,” Sakura whispered.
 114.626 +
 114.627 +	“So okaa-sama couldn’t have caught it without you?” Bara asked
 114.628 +curiously as she flipped through the Book of Sakura. Several of the
 114.629 +Cards were elsewhere at the moment, such as Mirror and Song, but the
 114.630 +majority of the pink Sakura Cards were in their matching book. Bara
 114.631 +was currently looking through the Cards, trying to get a feel for
 114.632 +them. She was leaning absentmindedly against the upstairs railing,
 114.633 +overlooking the large entrance hall to the house. While sifting
 114.634 +through the Cards, she was listening to Kero’s stories about his
 114.635 +adventures during her mother’s days of card capturing. His stories
 114.636 +weren’t always entirely factual as Tomoyo’s videos had shown when
 114.637 +Bara watched them after listening to the Seal Beast, but she loved to
 114.638 +hear them all the same. Magic fascinated her and she always yearned
 114.639 +to find out more about it. 
 114.640 +	“You got it, kid. Had I not been there, we might not be standing
 114.641 +here today havin’ this little chat.” Kero nodded, his arms crossed.
 114.642 +He was standing on the railing, recounting his tales of wonder to
 114.643 +Sakura’s daughter. At least the dark haired girl appreciated him.
 114.644 +Sakura had never quite believed in how truly amazing he was. The kid,
 114.645 +on the other hand, would hang onto his every word. It had been a
 114.646 +mighty good thing that Sakura and Tomoyo had gotten hitched after
 114.647 +all. He was finally getting some appreciation. 
 114.648 +	“Then I’m sure Tomoyo-mama must have thanked you many times over
 114.649 +for saving Sakura-mama.” Smiling, Bara continued to flip through the
 114.650 +Cards, trying to feel them with her own slowly growing magic. It was
 114.651 +difficult for her, but she was pleased to see that she was making
 114.652 +some progress. Her left foot moved about playfully behind her. She
 114.653 +had finished the teddy bear a short time ago and now all she had to
 114.654 +do was wait for a good opportunity to give it to her special someone.
 114.655 +These things needed to be planned carefully if they were to come out
 114.656 +perfectly. One wouldn’t want to give something important like a teddy
 114.657 +bear to their true love during an inconsequential moment. So while
 114.658 +she waited for inspiration to strike on how to go about giving away
 114.659 +her heart in the guise of a trussed up bear, she spent some time with
 114.660 +the Seal Beast, gleaning up on her knowledge of the Sakura Cards. Her
 114.661 +mother didn’t really mind when she borrowed the Sakura Book to look
 114.662 +through the Cards, so she tried to go through them when she could.
 114.663 +The Cards were all so amazing to the pale girl. Her best friend was
 114.664 +one of them as well. They all had such neat things they could do and
 114.665 +they all had their own distinct personalities. Some had become good
 114.666 +friends, like Mirror and Flower, others seemed rather mischievous
 114.667 +like Jump, and some had an air of respect about them that had Bara
 114.668 +bowing whenever in their presence, as was the case with Dark and
 114.669 +Light. And the Seal Beast was just funny. She always enjoyed Kero’s
 114.670 +company. 
 114.671 +	“Yep! She made such a delicious cake as a thank you...” Kero sighed
 114.672 +dreamily, remembering the cake Tomoyo had made in more detail than he
 114.673 +could remember the actual event in question. “Hey, let’s ask Tomoyo-
 114.674 +chan to bake a nice big dessert for everybody when we finally find
 114.675 +her. If this place wasn’t so big, I’d go look for her right now. As
 114.676 +it is, I’d probably get lost and starve to death.” The Seal Beast
 114.677 +looked down at his stomach, putting both hands on it. “I’m already
 114.678 +wasting away.” 
 114.679 +	“I’ll bake you something if you want, Kero-chan,” Bara offered,
 114.680 +looking over to the flying teddy bear. She idly wondered if she
 114.681 +should have based her teddy bear off of the Seal Beast, but decided
 114.682 +she was happier having something original. It felt more from the
 114.683 +heart that way. Besides, no stuffed animal could take Kero’s place. 
 114.684 +	“Would you?” Kero’s eyes sparkled as he flew up next to the dark
 114.685 +haired girl. Yes, this was definitely Tomoyo’s daughter. “Wai!! Wai!!
 114.686 +Arigato, Bara-chan!!” Visions of cakes and sweets encircled his head
 114.687 +while he alighted next to the young heiress’s elbow. 
 114.688 +	Giggling at Kero’s enthusiasm, Bara nodded quickly. “Un, Kero-chan.
 114.689 +It sounds like fun.” There were very few instances when Kero wasn’t
 114.690 +hungry and this didn’t appear to be one of them. The dark haired girl
 114.691 +had plenty of time to waste as it was and if the Seal Beast was
 114.692 +hungry, she was more than happy to cook for him. He was always very
 114.693 +complimentary about such things, so she didn’t have to worry overtly
 114.694 +about ruining a recipe while she was at it. Besides, cooking was an
 114.695 +art form in itself. So with enough patience, it could be a very
 114.696 +lovely thing. Bara enjoyed cooking nearly as much as she enjoyed
 114.697 +painting. They had a chef for such things, if they so needed it, but
 114.698 +Tomoyo and Sakura often cooked dinner together, and Bara had learned
 114.699 +from the two of them. She was slowly making her way through some of
 114.700 +the cookbooks in the kitchen along with Kero, though she needed
 114.701 +Tomoyo’s help with some of the trickier recipes.
 114.702 +Looking over at the Seal Beast with a smile, she didn’t notice as
 114.703 +the Sakura Book began slipping in her grasp. She barely looked back
 114.704 +in time to see it tumble end over end through space as it plummeted
 114.705 +to the floor below. 
 114.706 +	“Owww!!” sounded rather than the thud Bara had been waiting for. 
 114.707 +	Peering over the railing, Bara spotted Mirror sitting on the floor,
 114.708 +rubbing her head, the Sakura Book lying next to her. “Gomen nasai,
 114.709 +Mira-chan!” The dark haired girl darted down the stairs, nearly
 114.710 +tumbling down herself if not for Kero’s grip on her blouse as she
 114.711 +missed a step. Stumbling forward, she didn’t miss a beat as she
 114.712 +hurried to her injured friend’s side. “I’m so sorry, Mira-chan! It
 114.713 +just kinda... fell.” Sweatdropping, the pale heiress bowed
 114.714 +apologetically. “Daijoubu?”
 114.715 +	One of the only real downsides to being the sweet, genki young
 114.716 +girl’s best friend was that it seemed her accident proneness had
 114.717 +targeted Mirror as well. As if it wasn’t enough that the pale girl
 114.718 +was always getting herself hurt, it always turned out that she
 114.719 +somehow managed to get Mirror hurt as well. It was as if Fate was
 114.720 +aiming at the poor girl and anyone who got near her. But even then,
 114.721 +the Sakura Card couldn’t imagine giving up her cherished friendship
 114.722 +with the girl for anything. Sighing, she continued to rub her own
 114.723 +dark hair, still a mirror image of Bara Daidouji. “I’m fine. Just a
 114.724 +little dazed. I didn’t expect it to start raining books today.”
 114.725 +	“Awww... Gomen, Mira-chan.” Bending over, the pale girl kissed the
 114.726 +spot on Mirror’s head that the Sakura Card had been rubbing. Like a
 114.727 +mother kissing away some phantom pain, she gently pressed her lips
 114.728 +into Mirror’s soft, black hair. She didn’t know if it would do any
 114.729 +good, but it had always comforted her when she was younger, and the
 114.730 +gesture itself always made her feel better. Pulling away, she knelt
 114.731 +next to the fallen Sakura Card, hugging her pale legs to her chest.
 114.732 +She smiled softly at her friend, watching and waiting to see if she
 114.733 +was still in pain.
 114.734 +	Blushing, Mirror looked down as Bara sat next to her. For a long
 114.735 +moment, she was silent. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Bara was so
 114.736 +accident prone after all. If that was what she had to look forward to
 114.737 +when she got hurt, it might be worthwhile just to stumble around
 114.738 +blindly and see what happened. The dark haired girl had a very
 114.739 +gentle, loving touch and it shined through in everything she did. The
 114.740 +Cards had all quickly come to love their Mistress’s daughter, keeping
 114.741 +an eye out for her. That was probably the main reason Bara hadn’t
 114.742 +been hurt any worse than she already had over the years. The
 114.743 +embarrassment quickly melted away as Mirror’s eyes shot up eagerly.
 114.744 +“Oh, are you finished yet with whatever it was you were doing? Can
 114.745 +you tell me now?”
 114.746 +	Bara giggled and hugged her legs tighter. “Yes, I’m finished with
 114.747 +it. No, I can’t tell you yet.” Letting go of her legs, the heiress
 114.748 +crawled over to Mirror and whispered in her ear so Kero wouldn’t
 114.749 +here. She knew how much he liked to be on the inside of everything.
 114.750 +“I can’t say now, but meet me in the garden tonight at nine. I’ll
 114.751 +explain everything then.” Standing up slowly, the pale girl smoothed
 114.752 +out her long skirt and smiled. “See you then, Mira-chan!”
 114.753 +	Blushing once more from Bara’s cute whisper ringing through her
 114.754 +ear, Mirror nodded, now more confused than ever. What was she making?
 114.755 +Why was it so big a deal that she couldn’t simply tell her now? Well,
 114.756 +many things seemed like a big deal to the dark haired girl. Even
 114.757 +small things held a great deal of importance to her. So it didn’t
 114.758 +necessarily mean this was any different. But still, she couldn’t help
 114.759 +but wonder just what this was all about.
 114.760 +	“What were you doing? And what are you two talking about?” Kero
 114.761 +demanded, disappointed about being left out of whatever this whole
 114.762 +thing was. 
 114.763 +	“Come on, Kero-chan. You can decide what we bake,” Bara coaxed,
 114.764 +already on her way to the kitchen. 
 114.765 +	The Seal Beast fell in with the younger girl, all previous thoughts
 114.766 +replaced with the goodies of what was to come.
 114.767 +	Mirror sighed as she watched the two disappear around a corner.
 114.768 +“Bara-chan...”
 114.769 +
 114.770 +	Mirror paced nervously in the darkened garden as time slowly ticked
 114.771 +away in her head. There were plenty of lights out in the garden that
 114.772 +could be turned out if someone were so inclined to take a midnight
 114.773 +stroll or to have a late picnic, but aside from the lights of the
 114.774 +mansion, it was dark at the moment. The flustered Sakura Card
 114.775 +couldn’t even understand why she was so nervous. Bara was simply
 114.776 +going to explain whatever it was she had been doing earlier. From the
 114.777 +looks of things, she was probably sewing a yukata or something for
 114.778 +school. But then, maybe she could see the midnight haired girl in it.
 114.779 +That would be a sight to behold in and of itself. Just the same,
 114.780 +Mirror couldn’t completely set her anxiety aside. Bara was treating
 114.781 +this all like some special secret that she was enjoying far too much.
 114.782 +When this all turned out to be nothing more than some school
 114.783 +project... The green haired magical being knew that she should most
 114.784 +likely be in her Card form at the moment, back with the other Sakura
 114.785 +Cards, but she had to know that Bara was so excited about. Her best
 114.786 +friend was a real mystery at times. 
 114.787 +	A sound from up above tore Mirror from her thoughts. Shifting back
 114.788 +to a reflection of Bara, she watched up above and listened for the
 114.789 +sound to return. A small figure haltingly crawled out of one of the
 114.790 +windows, stepping out onto a nearby tree branch. Mirror could barely
 114.791 +make out the pale girl in the dim moonlight, it’s pale glow
 114.792 +illuminating her faintly. Hurrying over to the tree, the Sakura Card
 114.793 +looked up and tried to spot her Mistress’s daughter. “Bara-chan?” she
 114.794 +called out.
 114.795 +	“Shh... I’ll be right down,” came Bara’s whispered reply. The dark
 114.796 +haired girl stepped down to another branch, being careful not to snag
 114.797 +her dress on the tree. Bit by bit, she made her way down the tree.
 114.798 +Nearing the last few branches, she reached out with her foot for the
 114.799 +last one and missed. Losing he footing, the pale girl careened out of
 114.800 +the tree.
 114.801 +	Mirror’s eyes went wide as she saw the shape of her best friend
 114.802 +drop out of the tree. Bolting under her, she tried to catch the
 114.803 +falling star, but did little more than break Bara’s fall. Collapsed
 114.804 +under the heiress’s slender weight, Mirror sighed, spitting out some
 114.805 +grass. “You’re going to be the death of me, Bara-chan.”
 114.806 +	The pale girl giggled softly as she helped her magical friend back
 114.807 +to her feet. “Gomen nasai, Mira-chan. I’ll try to be more careful.
 114.808 +Thank you for saving me.” Bowing, she glanced up to see Mirror
 114.809 +watching her. Smiling at the Sakura Card, Bara stood up. Her hair in
 114.810 +slight disarray looked like the faintest of shadows, the first
 114.811 +touches of midnight gripping the sleeping world. Her alabaster skin
 114.812 +seemed to sparkle like freshly fallen snow in the dim moonlight. She
 114.813 +wore a stunning ice blue dress that flowed down to her ankles. Her
 114.814 +ears were adorned with two cute teardrop earrings. Slender shoes clad
 114.815 +her delicate little feet while white stockings disappeared underneath
 114.816 +the dress. She held a small pink sack that was drawn closed with some
 114.817 +pull strings. It was all slightly messy from her fall, little blades
 114.818 +of grass here and there and what looked like a leaf stuck in her
 114.819 +hair, but she looked altogether gorgeous nonetheless. 
 114.820 +	Shaking her head, Mirror tried to find herself, but couldn’t help
 114.821 +but stare in astonishment at the Cardmistress’s stunning daughter.
 114.822 +The small girl was always beautiful, but that night she looked simply
 114.823 +angelic. “It was my pleasure. I’m just glad you’re all right, Bara-
 114.824 +chan. I don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt. I’d be a broken
 114.825 +mirror. It wouldn’t be worth going on if I couldn’t reflect your
 114.826 +beautiful image ever day.” She smiled when the pale girl giggled
 114.827 +softly and hugged her. She returned the hug, the two carbon copy
 114.828 +girls holding each other underneath the moonlit. They stayed that way
 114.829 +for a long time, the cool breeze playing with dark tendrils of black
 114.830 +hair, moonlight shimmering over them. Bara was like a falling star,
 114.831 +carrying her own inner light that cascaded through the darkness. Oh,
 114.832 +and she fell a lot. But Mirror wasn’t about to mention that. It was
 114.833 +nice to simply stand there, hugging the other girl while the night
 114.834 +enveloped them. The pale girl’s steady breathing lulled Mirror into a
 114.835 +peaceful silence. For a moment, she thought that Sakura’s daughter
 114.836 +had fallen asleep in her arms, but Bara slowly stirred and took a
 114.837 +step back. 
 114.838 +	“This is for you, Mira-chan,” Bara said, smiling cutely. She held
 114.839 +out the small pink bag hopefully, trying to keep her own nervousness
 114.840 +from showing. She didn’t want to pressure Mirror with concern for how
 114.841 +she herself would feel. She simply wanted to express her feelings in
 114.842 +the best way she knew how. As the confused Sakura Card slowly took
 114.843 +the bag, Bara felt as if she were handing over all of her hopes and
 114.844 +dreams in the small sack. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a
 114.845 +cloud of butterflies, yet she continued to smile as best she could.
 114.846 +It was like waiting to see what someone thought of one of her
 114.847 +paintings, only infinitely worse. This time there was a lot more
 114.848 +involved than a simple piece of artwork. Crafted with such care and
 114.849 +love, she could only hope her gift would be given a good home. But it
 114.850 +was more than the gift itself. Wasn’t it her heart in that bag? It
 114.851 +had simply taken the shape of a bear for the night. It’s Fate now
 114.852 +rested in Mirror’s hands. 
 114.853 +	Looking at Bara and then back at the bag, Mirror began to undo the
 114.854 +pull strings on the pink bundle. She was surprised to see her hands
 114.855 +shaking. She could never remember being this nervous, not even when
 114.856 +she had been confronted by Sakura after getting Touya hurt years and
 114.857 +years earlier. This was altogether different. And much more
 114.858 +frightening for some reason. Something in the back of her mind
 114.859 +whispered to her that it was only Bara. That there was nothing to
 114.860 +fear from this petite, lovely young girl. That eased the Sakura
 114.861 +Card’s nerves and allowed her to work out the last knot. Opening up
 114.862 +the bag, she gazed in to spy its contents. Inside sat a lone teddy
 114.863 +bear, his ‘fur’ a creamy peach and white combination. A cute lavender
 114.864 +bow was tied neatly around his neck, and beautiful emerald eyes
 114.865 +looked up from the teddy bear to the Sakura Card. Mirror stared at
 114.866 +the precious gift, speechless. The bag fluttered to the ground as she
 114.867 +held it up in the moonlight. “For.. me?”
 114.868 +	Nodding quickly, Bara smiled, her eyes closed. She wanted to see
 114.869 +every little detail, to know what Mirror thought, to see how she
 114.870 +reacted and her facial expressions and what she did with the bear and
 114.871 +so on, but she couldn’t bring herself to watch. Her nervousness had
 114.872 +finally stepped in and gotten the better of her. She knew that she
 114.873 +couldn’t keep smiling if she watched. It would be too difficult to
 114.874 +keep it up when she was too concerned with how Mirror was taking it.
 114.875 +And if she kept smiling, it wouldn’t matter how Mirror would take it,
 114.876 +because then the Sakura Card wouldn’t have to worry about hurting
 114.877 +her. So she waited in silence, her hands held together in front of
 114.878 +her as the wind whistled in her ear. She wanted to open her eyes, but
 114.879 +she couldn’t quite get them to budge. All the better, she supposed.
 114.880 +She wanted to know exactly how Mirror felt about receiving her heart
 114.881 +in a bear costume, and she certainly wouldn’t know if she was staring
 114.882 +at Mirror and begging for a positive response. The cold wind brushed
 114.883 +her bare skin, as if to tease her about her gift. She felt her dress
 114.884 +flutter about in the wind, her dark hair waving forward. The silence
 114.885 +just made her all the more anxious, but she continued to smile for
 114.886 +what felt like an eternity. Something warm and soft pressed into her,
 114.887 +causing her to take a half step backwards. Blinking her eyes open,
 114.888 +she could see Mirror’s grateful, smiling face in front of her, and
 114.889 +realized that the Sakura Card was hugging her again. She could feel
 114.890 +the bear still in Mirror’s hands pressed against her back. For once,
 114.891 +Mirror was actually herself, her longer green hair tossing about in
 114.892 +the wind. Smiling genuinely now, Bara returned the hug tightly. 
 114.893 +	“It’s so pretty. Thank you, Bara-chan. I’ve never gotten such a
 114.894 +wonderful gift. It’s perfect.” Elation rose through Mirrors soul as
 114.895 +the two stood under the starlight. Never had she imagined that
 114.896 +something so small yet so important as a little teddy bear would be
 114.897 +her own. That the black haired girl had made it for her was stunning.
 114.898 +She was a magical creation, a Sakura Card. Did she really deserve
 114.899 +something so special? Did it matter? Bara had made it for her. Had
 114.900 +crafted it with her own small, delicate hands. No gift could ever
 114.901 +exceed the small, precious teddy bear that she held. 
 114.902 +	Relief flooded through Bara’s nervous body, the pale girl relaxing
 114.903 +into the embrace that held them both. And that was really all she
 114.904 +could ask for. Whatever happened in the future, well, hopefully the
 114.905 +legend of the teddy bear was true. “What are you going to name it,
 114.906 +Mira-chan?” the black haired heiress asked after a moment, the wind
 114.907 +dying down around the two of them. 
 114.908 +	Pausing for a moment, Mirror shifted her grip on the cute bear in
 114.909 +her hand. Her fingers carefully traced the stitches as she held onto
 114.910 +the Cardmistress’s daughter. She remembered once more when she had
 114.911 +first met up with Touya. He had been helping her look for something,
 114.912 +but they had never found it. ‘When you find what you’re looking for..
 114.913 +Maybe you can go back..’ he had said, referring to heaven. Holding
 114.914 +the teddy bear tighter against Bara as she hugged the smaller girl,
 114.915 +she smiled to herself. She had found what she had been looking for
 114.916 +after all. But she needn’t go anywhere to find heaven. It was right
 114.917 +with her in the form of the darling little angel of a girl before
 114.918 +her. “I’m going to name it Bara-chan,” Mirror whispered.
 114.919 +	Bara couldn’t help but smile joyously as the Mirror Card held her.
 114.920 +That had been exactly what she had prayed for. Maybe the legend was
 114.921 +true after all. “Really? There’s a legend that if someone gives you a
 114.922 +teddy bear and you name it after them, the two of you will fall in
 114.923 +love,” the dark haired girl explained quietly. She could feel her
 114.924 +hair moving around, but she couldn’t quite tell if it was the wind or
 114.925 +Mirror that was doing it. She shifted a bit against the now taller
 114.926 +girl, letting her eyes fall closed again. It felt so peaceful. Her
 114.927 +previous worries felt far away, as if they had been from years
 114.928 +before. Now she was just with Mirror. Under the moonlight. Her heart
 114.929 +beat steadily. It was all so sweetly romantic.
 114.930 +	Mirror sighed softly, looking down at the younger girl. She kissed
 114.931 +Bara’s forehead gently, brushing back the girl’s short, black hair.
 114.932 +“I sure hope so,” she replied, smiling. Bara blushed and looked away,
 114.933 +burying her head against Mirror. Holding onto the dark haired girl
 114.934 +underneath the night sky, the Sakura Card promised off all of her
 114.935 +magic if only that moment could last forever.
 114.936 + 
 114.937 \ No newline at end of file

   115.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   115.2 +++ b/stories/CCN0.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   115.3 @@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
   115.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   115.5 +Chapter Zero
   115.6 +by G.P. and the Amazoness Duo
   115.7 +
   115.8 +On Sonomi’s tenth birthday it rained hard all day. Mother cancelled the party, leaving her 
   115.9 +daughter with the dreary prospect of being cooped up indoors. Like most girls her age Sonomi 
  115.10 +was active and easily bored, so being shut in by the weather left her edgy and irritable.
  115.11 + Frustrated, she prowled the house like a restless animal, looking at the birthday decorations
  115.12 + with a pitiful disappointment. Surprised by a knock at the front door, she was opened it and 
  115.13 +heard the rushing roar of the heavy rain. There stood her cousin Nadeshiko, drenched by the 
  115.14 +downpour, smiling sweetly as always. Stunned, Sonomi silently ushered her in, then frantically 
  115.15 +began yelling for her mother to bring all the towels in the house, and quickly. Her mother rushed
  115.16 + to the hallway, spied the dripping wet girl, shook her head and laughed,
  115.17 +“Oh, my goodness! Nadeshiko-chan, you look like something that the cat dragged in.”
  115.18 +
  115.19 +Sonomi blurted out indignantly, “Mother, it’s not funny. She could get pneumonia or something!”
  115.20 +
  115.21 +Mother regarded her worried daughter with a smile. Then, as mothers ever have, she began to bring
  115.22 + order out of chaos, “Sonomi-chan, get the big red blanket from the hall closet. Nadeshiko-chan, 
  115.23 +lets get you out of those wet clothes and into a hot bath right away. I guess you can wear some 
  115.24 +of Sonomi-chan’s clothing”.
  115.25 +
  115.26 +Nadeshiko chimed in brightly, as if all the bedlam concerned her not in the least, “Thank you, 
  115.27 +Oka-sama, but I brought clothes for the party I can change into afterwards.” Smiling proudly, she
  115.28 + held forth a large package carefully wrapped in plastic.
  115.29 +
  115.30 +
  115.31 +Sonomi’s mother smiled indulgently, “All right dear. Let’s get you in the tub straight away. 
  115.32 +Sonomi darling, please get me that blanket.”
  115.33 +
  115.34 +
  115.35 +Suddenly remembering her appointed task, the red-haired girl leapt up the stairs and hurried to 
  115.36 +the hall closet. Her birthday forgotten, she felt a sickening knot in her stomach as she fretted
  115.37 + about her precious cousin. Grabbing the heavy woolen blanket, she dashed to the bathroom. 
  115.38 +Entering, she heard the sound of running water, and her mother’s voice calling out, “Sonomi-chan,
  115.39 + please get that blanket around Nadeshiko right away.”
  115.40 +
  115.41 +
  115.42 +Sonomi stepped over a heap of damp clothing, and then saw the girl hugging herself for warmth, 
  115.43 +naked and shivering in the cold, October air. She looked like some bedraggled fairy, her long, 
  115.44 +silver-gray hair a wet and stringy shawl draped over her slender body. Sonomi quickly wrapped her
  115.45 + up and hugged her tightly, as if to give her own warmth to the trembling girl. Looking at her 
  115.46 +cousin with glistening, grateful eyes, Nadeshiko spoke in her whispery, musical lilt, “Thank you,
  115.47 + Sonomi-chan.” Burying her head in her cousin’s chest, she waited patiently for the bath to fill.
  115.48 +
  115.49 +
  115.50 +Later that afternoon, the willowy girl sat on a chair by the window, staring out at the dark, 
  115.51 +ragged clouds scudding across the steel gray sky. Enraptured by the jagged lightning illuminating
  115.52 + the thunderclouds, Nadeshiko listened eagerly for the distant rumbling and booming to follow. 
  115.53 +Clapping her hands in delight, she ooh'ed and ahh'ed with each brilliant burst of light like a 
  115.54 +fireworks display at a festival. Simple things intrigued her, and this showy display of Nature 
  115.55 +filled her with an indescribable joy. For the odd nine year-old, the world was an endlessly 
  115.56 +fascinating place. Sometimes, she would sit still and quiet for hours, watching an ant laboring 
  115.57 +mightily with an enormous crumb, or a delicate spider weaving her web with silent dedication. 
  115.58 +Oblivious to the stares and whispers that followed her peculiar behavior, she dwelt in a solitary
  115.59 + world inhabited only by herself and the current object of her fascination. Thus it was to be 
  115.60 +expected that, enthralled by the crashing thunderstorm, she was quite unaware that her equally 
  115.61 +enthralled cousin was staring at her.
  115.62 +
  115.63 +
  115.64 +Sonomi perched on the edge of her bed, watching intently. Nadeshiko had changed into the outfit
  115.65 + she had brought in the package, and now wore a frilly, flouncy dress of pure white taffeta that
  115.66 + made her look like a fairy tale princess. This was no doubt her Mother's doing, as she 
  115.67 +invariably dressed the lovely child in the cutest manner possible, like some rare and precious 
  115.68 +doll. Her flowing hair, a curious shade of silvery-gray, was loosely tied with bows of light blue
  115.69 + ribbon. She wore white shoes and lacey anklets, her crinoline crinkling as she swung her feet 
  115.70 +back and forth. Sonomi gazed at her with an aching heart, a longing she felt but did not 
  115.71 +understand. Yet the joy that bubbled up inside her was tinged with sadness, as if all her 
  115.72 +happiness rested on a perilously fragile foundation. It was more than a girl just turned ten 
  115.73 +could fathom, so she spoke out almost irritably, struggling to put her confused and distraught 
  115.74 +feelings into words,
  115.75 +
  115.76 +“Nadeshiko-chan, why did you go out in the rain like that?”
  115.77 +
  115.78 +
  115.79 +Literally lost in the clouds, her cousin failed to respond. Sonomi sighed, and reflected on this 
  115.80 +craziest of birthdays. After a warm bath and hot tea, Nadeshiko had defied all Sonomi’s worries 
  115.81 +by appearing perfectly fine. Mother broke out the party hats, colorful napkins, and all the 
  115.82 +birthday regalia that had been consigned to the closet. At first it seemed quite foolish, this 
  115.83 +party of two, but Nadeshiko’s innocent enthusiasm soon swept away the birthday girl’s lingering 
  115.84 +inhibitions. After luncheon, Nadeshiko insisted on singing Happy Birthday in as rousing a chorus
  115.85 + as she could manage with her gentle voice. Sonomi blushed during the song, and after when her 
  115.86 +cousin hugged her with delirious abandon. Now, clad in her birthday party best, the silver-haired
  115.87 + girl seemed oblivious to Sonomi’s edgy concern. Clearing her throat, the auburn-haired girl 
  115.88 +spoke up in a voice loud enough to get her distracted cousin’s attention,
  115.89 +
  115.90 +“Nadeshiko-chan!”
  115.91 +
  115.92 +
  115.93 +Startled, the girl turned around. Sonomi, unable to hide her gnawing worry, said,
  115.94 +
  115.95 +“Nadeshiko-chan, why did you come like that in the rain? You could have gotten terribly sick.”
  115.96 +
  115.97 +
  115.98 +Tilting her head and smiling brightly, she replied, “Nadeshiko would have felt terrible if she 
  115.99 +had missed Sonomi-chan’s wonderful tenth birthday party.”
 115.100 +
 115.101 +
 115.102 +Exasperated, Sonomi declared, “But didn’t your parents tell you the party was cancelled? I can’t
 115.103 + believe they let you go out in weather like this.”
 115.104 +
 115.105 +
 115.106 +“Oh, they told me the party was cancelled. But that would have made Sonomi-chan too sad on her 
 115.107 +special day. Sonomi-chan being sad would have been worse than any cold I could catch.” With that,
 115.108 + she giggled conspiratorially and whispered, 
 115.109 +
 115.110 +“Mother and Father didn’t know I was coming. But I left them a note for when they get back, so 
 115.111 +everything is all right.”
 115.112 +
 115.113 +
 115.114 +As if that settled the matter, Nadeshiko went back to sky gazing, leaving Sonomi more perplexed 
 115.115 +than ever. But suddenly, the silver-haired girl leaped up, clasping her hands and blurting out, 
 115.116 +“Oh!”
 115.117 +
 115.118 +
 115.119 +Sonomi felt her heart racing as she exclaimed, “Nadeshiko-chan, what’s wrong?”
 115.120 +
 115.121 +
 115.122 +Nadeshiko bolted for the door and sang out, “I’ll be right back. Stay there, and no peeking!”
 115.123 +
 115.124 +
 115.125 +In no time she was back, holding two rather soggy presents wrapped in pink paper and bows. She 
 115.126 +bowed and smiled apologetically as she merrily offered the first one to her startled cousin,
 115.127 +
 115.128 +
 115.129 +"Happy Birthday, Sonomi-chan!"
 115.130 +
 115.131 +
 115.132 +Sonomi took the package, looked at it, then stared at Nadeshiko. Smiling, she shook her head and
 115.133 + began to undo the ribbon. Thoughts of her crazy cousin gave way to a child's curiosity as she 
 115.134 +carefully undid the ribbons, then ran a finger through the seam of the paper. It was skillfully 
 115.135 +wrapped, which led her to believe that Nadeshiko's mother had done it. Finally the paper shook 
 115.136 +loose, revealing a scrapbook with a hand-written title, "Sonomi-Chan's Precious Memories." The 
 115.137 +script was labored and unsteady, as if her cousin had spent an inordinate amount of time trying 
 115.138 +to get it just right. The cover was gaily decorated with hand-drawn hearts and flowers, and odd 
 115.139 +little animals and faces. She opened it, and saw the blank pages had little marginal notes and 
 115.140 +drawings written in a familiar, childlike scrawl. She looked up and saw Nadeshiko's expectant 
 115.141 +face, and struggled to keep her own tears in check as she spoke,
 115.142 +
 115.143 +
 115.144 +"Thank you so very much. It's beautiful."
 115.145 +
 115.146 +
 115.147 +The silver-haired girl smiled with glee as she bounced up and down , "Open the other one! Open 
 115.148 +the other one!"
 115.149 +
 115.150 +
 115.151 +Sonomi carefully placed the hand-made scrapbook on her desk. It was typical of Nadeshiko's 
 115.152 +presents. Despite a lack of skill or craft, her little gifts were imbued with an innocent love 
 115.153 +that deeply touched the heart. Sonomi took the next package, which was a small rectangle. 
 115.154 +Carefully opening it, she saw a box for a camera kit. With a puzzled glance at her cousin she 
 115.155 +asked, "What is it?"
 115.156 +
 115.157 +
 115.158 +Nadeshiko could scarecely contain herself, "Open it, Sonomi-chan, open it!"
 115.159 +
 115.160 +
 115.161 +What on earth did she put in this box, Sonomi wondered. Cookies? Candies? Undoing the tape on the
 115.162 + lid, she pulled out a cardboard liner wrapped around a small, black camera. Stunned, she gaped 
 115.163 +open-mouthed as Nadeshiko hopped up and down, her face alight with excitement, "Do you like it? 
 115.164 +Do you like it?" The girl asked eagerly.
 115.165 +
 115.166 +
 115.167 +"It's...it's wonderful," Sonomi stammered, "But how did you...it must have been so expensive."
 115.168 +
 115.169 +
 115.170 +Nadeshiko's grinned hugely, " I saved up all my birthday money, and the money grandfather gave me
 115.171 + for Girl's Day. The man at the store said it was a very good camera. You can buy new lenses and 
 115.172 +everything."
 115.173 +
 115.174 +
 115.175 +Sonomi ran her finger over the cold metal trim and the bumpy black body of the amazing 
 115.176 +instrument. She had always been fascinated by photography, by the ability to capture a moment out
 115.177 + of time forever. But this was too much. She couldn't accept such a costly gift. Yet one look at 
 115.178 +Nadeshiko's ecstatic face and she knew it would break her heart to refuse it. And that was 
 115.179 +something she could never, ever do. Carefully placing the camera down on the desk, she wrapped 
 115.180 +her arms around the long-haired girl. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she hugged tightly, 
 115.181 +whispering thank-yous. Finally, reluctantly, she pulled back, wiping away the tears, and said,
 115.182 +
 115.183 +
 115.184 +"Well, the first picture should be of my most precious memory for my beautiful scrapbook. May I 
 115.185 +please take your picture, Nadeshiko-chan?"
 115.186 +
 115.187 +
 115.188 +Her cousin bowed and answered in mock solemnity, "I would be honored to serve as the first 
 115.189 +subject of the future famous photographer, Amamiya Sonomi-sama."
 115.190 +
 115.191 +
 115.192 +Giggling, the two girls examined the camera and began to read the complicated instructions.
 115.193 +
 115.194 +
 115.195 +II. 
 115.196 +
 115.197 +On the way home in the car as her mother gently chastised her, Nadeshiko's mind wandered. Her 
 115.198 +walk in the rain was great fun, dodging from tree to tree, helping the poor little worms to keep
 115.199 + from drowning, and dancing in the streams and rivers that gurgled down the storm drains. The 
 115.200 +warm bath and hot tea had felt so good, and the love of Sonomi's mother had washed over her like
 115.201 + a gentle wave. The magnificent cake was so pretty, with curlicues of pink and green frosting 
 115.202 +around the edges, and little sugar decorations that looked like rosebuds. The look on Sonomi's 
 115.203 +face as she unwrapped her presents had been so adorable. Nadeshiko's heart beat faster at the 
 115.204 +thought of her precious cousin. She smiled, feeling the love swirl inside her heart. 
 115.205 +
 115.206 +
 115.207 +And the pictures! Posing for the camera had been almost like dancing, gliding and moving like 
 115.208 +liquid, her body infused with light, shimmering and transparent. Sonomi-chan was so cutely 
 115.209 +flustered at first, but soon seemed determined to take the perfect shot. All that afternoon 
 115.210 +Nadeshiko posed while Sonomi fussed with the camera. Finally, Nadeshiko's worried, apologetic 
 115.211 +parents swept her away to home, where a comfy bed was waiting. By the time the car arrived at her
 115.212 + house, Nadeshiko had slipped into the land of dreams. Her father carried her to bed as she 
 115.213 +danced with Sonomi under a purple moon.
 115.214 +
 115.215 +
 115.216 +The days that followed her birthday were an agony of waiting for Sonomi. On the way home from 
 115.217 +school she stopped faithfully at the drugstore to see if her pictures were ready. Finally, on 
 115.218 +Friday, the clerk saw her coming and smilingly placed a neatly wrapped brown packet on the 
 115.219 +counter. Sonomi eagerly paid and ran home. At first she was crestfallen. Some of the shots were 
 115.220 +blurry, or washed out, too light or too dark. She frowned, realizing only a dedicated effort 
 115.221 +would bring the skill she needed to be a real photographer. But one came out just right: 
 115.222 +Nadeshiko standing, holding a straw hat on her head, framed by the gray storm clouds in the 
 115.223 +picture window. She looked carefree and natural, as if the camera did not even exist. Sonomi 
 115.224 +always felt self-conscious when pictures were taken, but not Nadeshiko. In a way, the picture was
 115.225 + oddly disturbing, as if her cousin was blithely unaware of the furious storm that raged all 
 115.226 +about her. But the anxiety Sonomi felt was eased by the sheer beauty of the photograph. Nadeshiko
 115.227 + looked like something from a storybook, a beautiful princess or a magical spirit. Sonomi felt a 
 115.228 +hot, crimson blush on her cheeks, but could not stop looking at the ethereal image. All that day 
 115.229 +she kept it with her, finally falling asleep under the covers, gazing at her beautiful cousin by 
 115.230 +flashlight. In the morning, worried about the picture being crumpled, she carefully placed it in 
 115.231 +her kawaii little scrapbook before going to school.
 115.232 +
 115.233 +
 115.234 + Then, and forever after, Nadeshiko would be her most precious memory.
 115.235 +
 115.236 +

   116.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   116.2 +++ b/stories/CCN1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   116.3 @@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
   116.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   116.5 +Chapter 1
   116.6 +by G.P. and Amazoness Duo
   116.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   116.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   116.9 +
  116.10 +Spring came all in a rush that year, brusquely chasing away winter's chill. Nadeshiko was drawn 
  116.11 +to the burgeoning sunshine like all the plants and animals that bloomed and stirred after a long 
  116.12 +hibernation. The park near her house was closed for construction, but an indulgent mother 
  116.13 +cheerfully ferried the girl and her cousin to the nearby park at Tomoeda. Stopping in a crowded 
  116.14 +lot, Nadeshiko's mother bustled the children to the edge of the just-green grass. Sitting on her 
  116.15 +heels, she earnestly looked at her daughter as she spoke,
  116.16 +
  116.17 +"Nadeshiko-chan, I want you to stay in the park, and be careful. Please don't wander around, and 
  116.18 +stick by Sonomi-chan, OK? Nadeshiko-chan?"
  116.19 +
  116.20 +But the girl was already lost in the budding branches and twittering birds. Her emerald eyes 
  116.21 +sparkled in wonder as she clasped her hands and hopped excitedly. A little zephyr teasingly 
  116.22 +tossed her long, silvery hair, as if inviting the beautiful child to come and play. With a sigh, 
  116.23 +her mother smiled and looked at her daughter's companion.
  116.24 +
  116.25 +Born nine months before her flighty cousin, Sonomi's height and serious manner made her seem more
  116.26 +mature than her 10 years.  Wearing her reddish-auburn hair in two long, practical pigtails, and 
  116.27 +dressed in a pretty white skirt with a frilly, long-sleeve mint-green blouse, she looked 
  116.28 +perfectly attired for the cool, spring day. Nadeshiko's mother placed her hand on the girl's 
  116.29 +shoulder and gazed into her sky-blue eyes. With a pleading smile, she said,
  116.30 +
  116.31 +"Please try and watch out for her, Sonomi-chan."
  116.32 +
  116.33 +Sonomi bowed quickly and answered, "Hai."
  116.34 +
  116.35 +The Amamiya woman stood and said,  "Il be back at three o'clock to pick you up. Oh, and here's 
  116.36 +some money for lunch. They have a nice little stand that sells snacks over by the playground. 
  116.37 +Have a fun time!"
  116.38 +
  116.39 +As the older woman waved and walked away, Sonomi bowed, but her daughter was already running 
  116.40 +towards the bushes, quickly followed by her nearly frantic cousin. Poised to enter the car, she 
  116.41 +watched them from a distance. Her precious daughter, growing up so fast! With a smile and a 
  116.42 +sigh, she started the engine and drove away.
  116.43 +
  116.44 +Nadeshiko tilted back her head and stared at the sky. She began to twirl about; arms spread 
  116.45 +wide, giggling, slowly gaining speed as the dancing dizziness took her. Laughing, she collapsed 
  116.46 +in a heap as the shimmering world tilted and spun. Lying back in the grass, shading her eyes 
  116.47 +from the dazzling sun, she slowly regained her equilibrium. Puffy white clouds hovered in the 
  116.48 +turquoise sky, drifting gently on some unseen breeze. The little girl loved simple things. Each 
  116.49 +leaf and pebble, every grain of sand and drop of briny water at the beach was a world of it's 
  116.50 +own. She could stare for hours at droplets trickling down a rainy-day window, or fat, white 
  116.51 +snowflakes silently falling. Boredom was an alien emotion she had never experienced, for there 
  116.52 +was always something to catch and teasingly hold her attention. Closing her eyes, feeling the 
  116.53 +world swirling about in the inner darkness, she heard a voice softly calling,
  116.54 +
  116.55 +"Nadeshiko-chan, you shouldn't spin around like that. You'll make yourself sick."
  116.56 +
  116.57 +Her eyelashes fluttered, and a slightly tilting Sonomi filled her vision. Sonomi-chan! For a 
  116.58 +moment she lay there, gazing at the solemnly beautiful girl sitting by her side. She felt 
  116.59 +ice-blue eyes regarding her with loving care and concern. Smiling, she reached out and lightly 
  116.60 +took one of the swaying pigtails in her hand. Fascinated, she traced the contours of the 
  116.61 +twisting braids with her fingers, her eyes following the terra-cotta curves of the girl's 
  116.62 +lustrous hair. In a whispery voice she asked,
  116.63 +
  116.64 +"Sonomi-chan, can you show me how to braid my hair like this? It's so pretty."
  116.65 +
  116.66 +Sonomi blinked in momentary confusion. Feeling her hair in the hand of the gorgeous girl left 
  116.67 +her breathless and blushing. She felt a flash of irritation at herself for being so surprised at 
  116.68 +her cousin's sudden change of topic. She was often blindsided by the strange girl's erratic 
  116.69 +thoughts and actions. With an inner sigh, she conceded the impossibility of sticking to the 
  116.70 +original topic. Rather than continuing her lecture on the dangers of dizziness, she let herself 
  116.71 +go with the unpredictable flow. She was also aware of the crimson-hot blush spreading across her 
  116.72 +cheeks as she answered,
  116.73 +
  116.74 +"Thank you, Nadeshiko-chan. I'd love to show you how to braid your hair someday."
  116.75 +
  116.76 +For a while Nadeshiko was silent, lost in contemplation. Then she sat up, gazing at Sonomi. Her 
  116.77 +cousin looked away, blushing again, unable to voice the feelings she barely understood. Nadeshiko
  116.78 +stood and suddenly started singing to herself, beaming down at Sonomi. She teetered for a few 
  116.79 +halting steps, giggling at her fading dizziness. Sonomi shot up to steady her, and was suddenly 
  116.80 +hugged by her cousin. The slender body embraced her tightly, nearly overwhelming her in a storm 
  116.81 +of scented, silvery hair. Again she heard the soft, feathery voice,
  116.82 +
  116.83 +"I love you, Sonomi-chan."
  116.84 +
  116.85 +Sonomi was dumbstruck. Nadeshiko baffled her, enchanted her, and set her heart racing. Around 
  116.86 +the girl her emotions were always in a whirl, robbing her of speech and reason. All she could do 
  116.87 +was hug back with a fierce, mysterious affection. Finally, Nadeshiko laughed in a high-pitched 
  116.88 +trill, then dashed away like some nymph in the forest. Sonomi breathlessly watched her go, shook 
  116.89 +off the odd urge to cry, and then sprinted off to make sure she was all right.
  116.90 +
  116.91 +All that day they played in the park. The spring sun warmed them, and the buds and blossoms, 
  116.92 +shaking off the shackles of winter, cheered them with the news that all life comes ‘round again. 
  116.93 +They nibbled little crackers and snacks, and Nadeshiko bought a sweet potato from a broken-down 
  116.94 +looking truck. Sonomi frowningly said they might get ill from such unlady-like fare, but accepted
  116.95 +the steaming portion of sweetness from her cousin, secretly reveling in the illicit treat. 
  116.96 +Finally, they wandered to an open field bordered with sakura trees. The cherry blossoms were in 
  116.97 +early bloom, floating over the grassy expanse like pink and white clouds. Nadeshiko squealed in 
  116.98 +delight and ran to greet her favorite flowers. Sonomi trailed along behind, half watching a group
  116.99 + of older boys playing baseball at the far end of the field. One of them, large and muscular, 
 116.100 +swung hard and knocked himself down, laughing all the while. But the next pitch he pulverized, 
 116.101 +the ball leaping off his bat, rocketing past the outfield, towards the sakura trees, and, Sonomi 
 116.102 +realized in horror, right at Nadeshiko-chan.
 116.103 +
 116.104 +Nadeshiko stopped running as soon as she reached the first tree. She looked up at the sky, 
 116.105 +dappled sunlight scattered by thousands of sakura blossoms waving gently in the breeze. Reaching 
 116.106 +up with delicate fingers, she touched a satiny flower, felt the hard, rough branch and a slick, 
 116.107 +shimmering green leaf. Overflowing with indescribable joy, eyes drinking in the quivering beauty,
 116.108 +she smiled. She felt her body melting away, her ephemeral frame vaporizing in a spray of light. 
 116.109 +For an instant she saw with the eyes of the tree, old eyes that had watched a hundred thousand 
 116.110 +sunsets and millions of stars spinning in the black satin sky. She saw the world of trees, where 
 116.111 +time meanders in a slow and steady flow, where people and birds and bugs chatter and eat and 
 116.112 +pass away in an instant. And then, she saw the ball, a streak of white lightning blazing straight
 116.113 +at her, at the flowers and buds and branches, at the fragile flesh and bone of her pale, 
 116.114 +porcelain face. She heard a thin scream, wailing from far away, calling a name, her name? But 
 116.115 +she stood still, entranced by the dipping arc of the ball as it sailed towards her, gathering 
 116.116 +speed in descent, whispering of pain and disfigurement and dark, seductive death. As the white 
 116.117 +blur approached, crashing through the twigs and leaves, sending up a shower of pretty, pink 
 116.118 +sakura blossoms, she felt a sudden pressure on her arm and shoulder, a jarring shove knocking 
 116.119 +her off balance. Her eyes followed the slow-motion flight of the ball as she fell, it's course 
 116.120 +straight and true even as it's target tilted away. The ball struck, cushioned by her thick, 
 116.121 +silken hair, glancing off the side of her head. In a flash her vision grayed and faded, and the 
 116.122 +blackness took her.
 116.123 +
 116.124 +Sonomi exploded in a desperate sprint, a fatal race against the streaking ball. As she strained 
 116.125 +every muscles and sinew, she saw Nadeshiko transfixed, watching the sky. She screamed her name 
 116.126 +even as her lungs gasped for air, but the girl ignored her. Panic and fear were swallowed in a 
 116.127 +longing for speed as all thoughts and feelings gave way to a singularity of instinct. As 
 116.128 +Nadeshiko filled her vision she leapt like a panther for the kill, outstretched fingers clawing 
 116.129 +at the innocent girl. Her momentum shoved her cousin back with a sudden snap, but too late, as 
 116.130 +the ball hit her head with a sickening thud. The two tumbled to the ground together, but Sonomi 
 116.131 +quickly sprang back up and knelt by Nadeshiko's side. Her eyes closed, the girl lay still as 
 116.132 +death in the sweet, spring grass. Sonomi felt an icy dread gripping her chest as she stared at 
 116.133 +the broken doll figure splayed in the grass, silvery hair spread like a fan, framing the 
 116.134 +beautiful, lifeless face. The unthinkable tore at her self-control like some frenzied animal. 
 116.135 +She trembled, tears falling freely, dotting Nadeshiko's creamy white ice-cream dress like little 
 116.136 +raindrops. She was oblivious to the breathless voice behind her, 
 116.137 +
 116.138 +"No. Oh, no."
 116.139 +
 116.140 +The teenage boy in the baseball uniform knelt on the other side of the fallen girl, concern 
 116.141 +etched in his face. He reached out and took the girl's slender wrist, feeling for a pulse. The 
 116.142 +relief poured out in his gentle voice,
 116.143 +
 116.144 +"She's alive. Thank goodness. I was so afraid. My, my house is right over there. Let's take her 
 116.145 +there, OK?"
 116.146 +
 116.147 +Sonomi, still in shock, nodded as the sempai easily lifted the stricken girl, carefully cradling 
 116.148 +her head in his large arms. 
 116.149 +
 116.150 +Nadeshiko slowly awoke in shadowy darkness, with only a thin trickle of sunlight eking past the 
 116.151 +drawn shades of an unfamiliar room. Fragments of dreams lingered as her eyes focused on the dimly
 116.152 +lit ceiling. She scanned the unfamiliar space, and then heard the music again. The music from her
 116.153 +dreams, the music she had followed while she slept. Slept? Why was she sleeping in a funny room 
 116.154 +like this? But the music called to her again, and she sat up, listening. She stood, a bit 
 116.155 +unsteady at first, and then tiptoed to the door. The music was behind there, behind that door. 
 116.156 +Curious, she opened it a crack, and heard the music swell. It was some sort of dance music, a 
 116.157 +Western waltz, maybe. Her eyes were already used to the darkness, and she carefully crept down 
 116.158 +the creaking stairs. Awareness of a headache slowly came, but in her fascination with the 
 116.159 +alluring music she ignored it. Finally, she reached the basement floor, and found herself in the 
 116.160 +middle of a library. 
 116.161 +
 116.162 +There were all manner of books packed on the shelves, most of them very old looking, with titles 
 116.163 +in languages she could not read. She followed the delightfully cheery music, looking for a radio 
 116.164 +or phonograph. But there were only books. Finally, she paused, puzzled, and simply listened to 
 116.165 +the wonderful tune. She smiled. And then she began to dance.
 116.166 +
 116.167 +Holding the scalloped hem of her dress, she slowly began to twirl and step to the music. She 
 116.168 +was, at times, something of a clumsy girl, and wondered if that explained the bump on her head 
 116.169 +that she felt just now. But she danced with an easy grace, and was charming to behold. Her mother
 116.170 +had enrolled her in dance class at an early age, and if she lacked the burning desire and 
 116.171 +ambition of the other girls, her natural beauty and poise had quickly won over the instructors. 
 116.172 +The Russian woman told her mother that the girl had the natural talent to be a professional 
 116.173 +ballerina, and that in the old country she would have been boarded at one of the great ballet 
 116.174 +schools and molded properly. But Nadeshiko was too easily distracted, and her sweetness too 
 116.175 +potent for the teachers to apply the harsh discipline needed to bend her to their will. Yet when 
 116.176 +she danced, the other students watched, some in awe and some in envy, for she seemed to them 
 116.177 +like some fugitive from the realms of Faerie.
 116.178 +
 116.179 +So she danced, green eyes sparkling, hair loose and free, bare feet tracing deft patterns on the 
 116.180 +dusty floor. The magic buried deep inside of her awoke, and shone forth like a blazing beacon of 
 116.181 +pure, white light. In the cramped spaces of the dark basement she leapt and spun, a shimmering 
 116.182 +whirlwind of pirouettes and swirls. Then her motions slowed, fingers tracing slow circles in the 
 116.183 +air, timidly tip-toeing like a fawn in the deep forest. Gyrating, gliding with light-footed ease,
 116.184 +she danced for the music whose source she could not see. But she was seen, and watched with 
 116.185 +surprise, delight, and yearning. Suddenly leaping high, then descending airily, her dress 
 116.186 +ruffling like gossamer in the wind, she was startled by a thudding sound on the ground by her 
 116.187 +tiny feet. The music stopped, and so did her dance. Curious, she bent over and picked the book 
 116.188 +up. It was an odd volume, ancient by it's look, heavy, and thick with dust. She brushed it off, 
 116.189 +and saw the image of a winged, golden lion on the back, and strange moons and a sun on the front.
 116.190 +The book was fastened with metallic clasp, and as she examined it more closely she realized that 
 116.191 +it was a western book, and the lion was actually on the front cover. But what could be in such a 
 116.192 +strange and marvelous volume? Why was it locked tight? Aching to know, her agile fingers 
 116.193 +carefully pried the clasp. At first resistent, it suddenly sprang open with a click that sounded 
 116.194 +distressingly loud in the quiet basement. 
 116.195 +
 116.196 +Nadeshiko gently opened the book and was amazed to find not pages, but a recessed hollow 
 116.197 +containing what looked like cards. She carefully placed the book on the floor, and took out the 
 116.198 +top card. It was so beautiful! On it was a young woman in a magical dress that looked just like 
 116.199 +a blossom. Her hair was worn in two twirly cones, with little spiral tresses dangling at the 
 116.200 +ends. She had flowers for earrings, and smiled beatifically, eyes closed, as petals rained down 
 116.201 +upon her. There were strange, petal-like symbols on her forehead and breast. The mysterious 
 116.202 +figure was bordered by a frame with the sun on top, two seven-pointed stars on each side, and a 
 116.203 +crescent moon at her feet. She was absolutely adorable, and Nadeshiko loved her at first sight. 
 116.204 +Her name was written in Romanic letters, in the English language that always baffled the girl at 
 116.205 +school. Nadeshiko struggled to remember the complex patterns of sound that the alien letters 
 116.206 +formed,
 116.207 +
 116.208 +"Teh...heh.....ee...The, The!  Foo...Row..." She struggled with the impossible "L" sound. 
 116.209 +Concentrating, her tongue feeling odd and thick, she tried again,
 116.210 +
 116.211 +"The...Fo...low...her......Follow?....The Flower!" 
 116.212 +
 116.213 +The excitment of discovery lit up her face, and in the same instant the card was lit with an 
 116.214 +equally sudden, oscillating white light. She felt the card fall, or leap, from her hand, and was 
 116.215 +momentarily blinded by the shatteringly brilliant light. Falling backwards in surprise and 
 116.216 +banging into a bookshelf, she barely kept on her feet. Painfully squinting her eyes, the room 
 116.217 +was illuminated in a soft, pale, glow. Gradually growing used to the brightness, she discerned 
 116.218 +the outline of a figure in front of her. At the same time she caught the unmistakable scent of 
 116.219 +flowers, hundreds of flowers mingled together, gardens and greenhouses and fields full of 
 116.220 +flowers. With a start, she recognized the outline of the figure before her as the beautiful 
 116.221 +young woman in the card. 
 116.222 +
 116.223 +Open-mouthed, she gasped as the woman slowly approached her. Regarding her with luminous, 
 116.224 +multi-hued eyes, the flowery creature dipped in a pretty little curtsey.  Not quite sure what 
 116.225 +else to do, Nadeshiko held the hem of her dress and offered her own curtsey in return. This 
 116.226 +brought a musical giggle from the woman, who smiled and leaned closer, regarding the barefoot 
 116.227 +girl with fascination. She reached out a hand, and gently ran her fingers through the long, 
 116.228 +silvery hair. Resting her palm on the girl’s cheek, Nadeshiko closed her eyes, nearly 
 116.229 +overwhelmed by the sweet scent of roses and lilies. Her eyes shot open as she felt a hand 
 116.230 +embrace her waist, pulling her closer as the music swelled. When the woman took her other hand 
 116.231 +and held her close, Nadeshiko blushed. This brought more giggles from the strange new 
 116.232 +acquaintance as she neatly stepped into the pace of the music. 
 116.233 +
 116.234 +And so they danced, Nadeshiko quickly falling into the rhythm of her taller partner. She had 
 116.235 +danced with other girls in her class, but never with someone like this. The two swept over the 
 116.236 +floor in a graceful arc, the girl following her partner step by step. At first, Nadeshiko 
 116.237 +labored to keep up, but she quickly gained familiarity with the pattern, and soon gave herself 
 116.238 +over to the motion and the music. There was a dreamy, unreal quality to the dance, and the girl 
 116.239 +was aware that as they spun and dipped, a flurry of flower petals were left in their wake. As 
 116.240 +the tempo picked up, they whirled about faster and faster, whipping up the air into a little 
 116.241 +cyclone. The books were shaken on the shelves, and Nadeshiko saw the cards in the mysterious 
 116.242 +book she had found thrown into the air, glowing and shimmering, spinning along with their dance. 
 116.243 +Finally, the cards burst through the ceiling in a blaze of light, slipping through the wooden 
 116.244 +surface like pebbles dropped in a lake. Astonished, concerned, and breathless from the waltz, 
 116.245 +Nadeshiko spoke in a panicky whisper, “Please stop.”
 116.246 +
 116.247 +In an instant, Flower flowed like liquid back into her card as Nadeshiko watched in stunned 
 116.248 +silence. Dizzy from all the twirling and spinning, the girl picked up the card in one hand, and 
 116.249 +felt her throbbing head with the other. Suddenly, a high-pitched voice shrieked out behind her, 
 116.250 +and the already disoriented girl leapt into the air,
 116.251 +
 116.252 +“The Cards!”
 116.253 +
 116.254 +Nadeshiko quickly bowed her apologies, “Gomenesai, I, Umm, it was all my fault. I didn’t know 
 116.255 +that the dancing would scatter them so.” 
 116.256 +
 116.257 +But as she peeked to see the feet of the owner of the voice, there was nothing but empty floor. 
 116.258 +Puzzled, she raised her eyes higher, and finally saw a small, winged little creature, paws on 
 116.259 +his cheek, staring dumbstruck at the now empty book on the floor. Nadeshiko stood up and stared 
 116.260 +in turn. Despite it’s obvious distress, the little animal was irresistibly kawaii, and with a 
 116.261 +delighted squeel the girl grabbed the creature and smothered it in a giggling hug. Squirming away
 116.262 +from the demonstrative stranger, the furry animal shot back in an accusatory tone,
 116.263 +
 116.264 +“Who are you? Where did the Cards go? How did they get free?”
 116.265 +
 116.266 +Giggling, Nadeshiko bowed and answered brightly, “I’m Amamiya Nadeshiko.” Then, clasping her 
 116.267 +hands behind her back, she leaned forward and continued, “I’m so very sorry if I lost your cards.
 116.268 +I guess it happened when Flower and I were dancing. She’s such an amazing dancer, and I guess we 
 116.269 +set too fast a pace. “
 116.270 +
 116.271 +The furry creature regarded her with a suspicious gaze and asked, “How did Flower get free. Did 
 116.272 +you see who did it?”
 116.273 +
 116.274 +Nadeshiko tilted her head, placing her fingertip on her cheek as she tried to remember, “Well, I 
 116.275 +don’t really know. I first saw her appear after I said her name written on the card.”
 116.276 +
 116.277 +Wings beating faster, the hovering animal looked at her in disbelief, “You set her free? But you 
 116.278 +aren’t the Card Captor. You can’t be.”
 116.279 +
 116.280 +Nadeshiko smiled and replied, “I don’t know what that is, a Card Captor, I mean. If I see that 
 116.281 +person, I’ll be happy to tell you.”
 116.282 +
 116.283 +“You spoke Flower’s name,” the creature asked. The girl smilingly nodded her assent. 
 116.284 +
 116.285 +“And then she appeared.” Again, the smile and the nod. The little animal continued to regard her,
 116.286 +as if measuring her against some hidden standard. Finally, he asked,
 116.287 +
 116.288 +“You opened the book.”
 116.289 +
 116.290 +Still smiling, she replied, “The Book.”
 116.291 +
 116.292 +He nodded.
 116.293 +
 116.294 +“THE Book.” She stated definitively. 
 116.295 +
 116.296 +Again, he nodded. With a puzzled look she asked, 
 116.297 +
 116.298 +“What book is that?”
 116.299 +
 116.300 +After his dizziness cleared, the animal squeeked angrily, “Baka! The Clow Book! The book with 
 116.301 +all the cards in it.”
 116.302 +
 116.303 +Nadeshiko’s expression brightened, “Oh, THAT book! Yes, I opened it. That’s where I saw the 
 116.304 +Flower card. I wonder what other cards were in there.” She stood lost in this new thought. 
 116.305 +
 116.306 +He gazed at her wonderingly, thinking to himself, “Is she the one? How can it possibly be her? 
 116.307 +Something about all this seems so wrong. But she says she opened the Book, and summoned The 
 116.308 +Flower.  And she sent her back; I saw that with my own eyes. How could she possibly do that 
 116.309 +unless…” Finally, he spoke up in a rolling, portentous voice,
 116.310 +
 116.311 +“Yes, now I see. I can see that you are indeed the Card Captor of legend. I am the Beast of the 
 116.312 +Seal, Kereberous the Golden, Guardian of the Cards, and for 300 years my vision has never failed.
 116.313 +Even now, the challenge of the Cards calls to us. Come, Card Captor, for our work begins!”  
 116.314 +
 116.315 +Kereberous struck an awesome pose, a formidable combination of determination, will, and hearty 
 116.316 +good fellowship. In response, Nadeshiko replied,
 116.317 +
 116.318 +“I wonder if there were any other flowers in there. Oh, or maybe other pretty things, like cute 
 116.319 +little netsuke, or maybe some yummy food cards!”
 116.320 +
 116.321 +Kereberous stared in disbelief at the girl, oblivious to everything he had said. Holding a paw 
 116.322 +to his bowed head he released an exasperated sigh. As he was about to speak again, a desperate 
 116.323 +scream rose from the floor above, “Nadeshiko-chan? Nadeshiko-chan! Where are you?”
 116.324 +
 116.325 +The girl looked up at the ceiling and whispered, “Sonomi-chan?”
 116.326 +
 116.327 +

   117.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   117.2 +++ b/stories/CCN2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   117.3 @@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
   117.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   117.5 +Chapter 2
   117.6 +by G.P. and Amazoness Duo
   117.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   117.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   117.9 +
  117.10 +
  117.11 +“Nadeshiko-chan!! Look out!!” Sonomi cried out, throwing herself between her curious cousin and 
  117.12 +the evil, bloodthirsty, undead teddy bear. She kept herself in the way, lest it try to drink her 
  117.13 +precious best friend’s blood or some other such travesty. She eyed it with fiery determination 
  117.14 +for a ten year old, ready to protect Nadeshiko to the bitter end. No one was going to hurt her 
  117.15 +cousin. It felt like some kind of nightmare. But somehow, deep down, Sonomi felt vindicated. Her 
  117.16 +paranoia had been right! Something else had gone wrong! Sure, it wasn’t what she had expected, 
  117.17 +but she had known it all along. 
  117.18 +
  117.19 +“Huh? What is it?” The little yellow stuffed animal looked one way and the other, getting ready 
  117.20 +to pounce on whatever the danger could be. Something had the auburn haired girl pretty worked up 
  117.21 +by the look of things. He had to be ready for anything. 
  117.22 +
  117.23 +With strong legs garnered from being the fastest girl on the track team, Sonomi’s leg swept out 
  117.24 +and hit the teddy bear dead on. The stuffed animal got out a muffled ‘ooph’ before getting flung 
  117.25 +into the far wall by the force of Sonomi’s unexpected kick. Her skirt fluttered about her in a 
  117.26 +very unladylike way, but aside from her mother’s voice telling her to fix it in her head, she 
  117.27 +didn’t bother worrying about it. Picking up Nadeshiko’s alarm clock, Sonomi hurried to the 
  117.28 +fallen plushy. If it could be hurt like that, then maybe it could be killed. She wasn’t about to 
  117.29 +let some demonic puppet whisk away her darling Nadeshiko. Her heart beat furiously in her chest 
  117.30 +as she kept a wary eye on the little stuffed animal.
  117.31 +
  117.32 +Nadeshiko hurriedly followed Sonomi, her eyes swiftly spotting Teddy. He was lying on the floor 
  117.33 +in a daze, little eyes swirling. Nadeshiko felt sad inside as she surveyed the sight. It looked 
  117.34 +like her friends weren’t getting along very well at all. But then, Sonomi was awfully protective,
  117.35 +so maybe she thought that Teddy was trying to take her place as her best friend. Smiling 
  117.36 +brightly, she tried to ease her cousin’s worries. “Don’t worry about Teddy-chan, Sonomi-chan. 
  117.37 +He’s my new friend, but nobody could ever replace you as my very best friend.” She hugged the 
  117.38 +slightly taller girl from behind, holding onto her tightly. Sonomi was fun to hug. She always 
  117.39 +got all blushy and embarrassed. It was always hard for Nadeshiko to keep from giggling. 
  117.40 +	
  117.41 +The stuffed animal in question could dimly hear someone talking as he tried to get his bearings. 
  117.42 +What had happened? He had the vague memory of danger and then swift and immediate pain. It must 
  117.43 +have been invisible, he decided. What else could hurt the almighty Cereberus? Nothing, that’s 
  117.44 +what. Assured once more of his invulnerability, the animate stuffed doll looked around the cute 
  117.45 +room. Everything was frills and ribbons. Even the pigtailed girl above him wielding an alarm 
  117.46 +clock. In all of his life, nothing had frightened the Seal Beast as much as that ten year old 
  117.47 +girl about to squash him flat with a cute pink clock. There was something about it that didn't 
  117.48 +make for a fitting demise to the legendary Cereberus. Luckily, the pale girl from earlier 
  117.49 +managed to stop the auburn haired girl that was bent on crushing his head. The pigtailed girl 
  117.50 +blushed and fidgeted in the pale girl’s embrace, offering him the chance to recover, quickly 
  117.51 +flying up into the air.
  117.52 +
  117.53 +“Nadeshiko-chan...” Sonomi got out weakly as she felt Nadeshiko’s arms around her. She nearly 
  117.54 +forgot about the bloodsucking teddy bear and the clock in her hand. Nadeshiko was always so sweet
  117.55 +and loving. And it always made Sonomi’s heart flutter when they would hug, or just when she got 
  117.56 +to watch her precious cousin. Sonomi loved pretty, cute things and Nadeshiko was the living 
  117.57 +embodiment of such things. And even with her own admittedly short temper and emotional nature, 
  117.58 +Nadeshiko could always diffuse it with a smile or a hug. Just as she did now. It took the 
  117.59 +brunette a moment to spot the flying toy. Narrowing her eyes, she pressed back against Nadeshiko,
  117.60 +intent on protecting the smaller girl. “Stay away from Nadeshiko-chan!!”
  117.61 +
  117.62 +“Will ya wait a minute? Geez...” The floating stuffed animal rubbed his head with his small arm, 
  117.63 +wincing at the pain that burst through him at the contact. “What kind of girl are you? Didn’t 
  117.64 +your mother teach you not to hit people?” He frowned as he watched the two girls. Somehow this 
  117.65 +wasn’t turning out at all how he’d planned it. The Cardcaptor seemed... out of it. And the other 
  117.66 +girl certainly was violent. 
  117.67 +
  117.68 +“Of course she did. But I’m not gonna let some little evil stuffed animal hurt my 
  117.69 +Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi shot back angrily. This thing was starting to get on her nerves. If only 
  117.70 +she’d smacked it with the alarm clock...
  117.71 +
  117.72 +“Who are you callin’ little?!” Little wings beat irately as a vain appeared on the toy’s 
  117.73 +forehead. “Why you..!! You have no idea who you’re talkin’ to!”
  117.74 +
  117.75 +Sonomi clenched her fists as she advanced on the pissed off teddy bear. She was done arguing with
  117.76 +the thing. She was just gonna beat the thing until it stopped moving. That would keep it from 
  117.77 +getting to Nadeshiko. Then maybe they could call an exorcist or something to get rid of it. 
  117.78 +
  117.79 +Nadeshiko darted in front of Sonomi before she could reach the stuffed animal. She knew her 
  117.80 +bigger cousin would hurt Teddy if she thought he might hurt her. Sonomi was sweet like that. She 
  117.81 +was always looking out for her. Nadeshiko was very happy to know that Sonomi was looking out for 
  117.82 +her, but somehow she thought Teddy wouldn’t appreciated it as much as she did. “No, wait, Sonomi-
  117.83 +chan! Teddy-chan’s my friend. He was on the book with the pretty Cards. He told me I get to go 
  117.84 +find the rest of them.” She smiled happily at her cousin, disarming most of Sonomi’s wrath. 
  117.85 +
  117.86 +“Ahem...” The flying toy crossed his arms as he lowered to eye level. He had more important 
  117.87 +things to do right now than argue with the fiery girl. The much more placid pale girl was his 
  117.88 +concern at the moment. “I am the Seal Beast, Cereberus! My job is to look after the Clow Book 
  117.89 +and the Cards inside of it. But now all of the Clow Cards are gone. If they aren’t found, 
  117.90 +misfortune will befall the world,” he said gravely. 
  117.91 +
  117.92 +“Not all of them are gone,” Nadeshiko spoke up brightly, holding up the Flower Card. “Here you 
  117.93 +go!” 
  117.94 +
  117.95 +“Err...” The stuffed animal sweatdropped as he shook his head. “No, you keep it.” The pale girl 
  117.96 +brightened even further, evidently pleased that she got to keep the Card. The Seal Beast tried 
  117.97 +not to get distracted, going back to his story. “The Clow Cards were made by Clow Reed, the best 
  117.98 +magician ever. Each Card is alive and has it’s own special power. They all have their own 
  117.99 +personalities, but they can be quite mischievous. That’s why they were all kept in a book and 
 117.100 +why I was set to look after them. So if we want to avert the Catastrophe and get all the Cards 
 117.101 +back, I’ll need your help.” He motioned towards Nadeshiko with a flourish. He was still a bit 
 117.102 +miffed that the Cards had all gone missing, but at least he was out and about. He’d been stuck 
 117.103 +in that bookstore in Osaka for far too long. Any excuse to get out of the book seemed like a 
 117.104 +great idea.
 117.105 +
 117.106 +Nadeshiko squealed delightedly. Sonomi, on the other hand, did not quite share her cousin’s 
 117.107 +enthusiasm. “Why does she have to get the Clow Cards? I thought you said that was your job. 
 117.108 +Shouldn’t you go find them?”
 117.109 +
 117.110 +“I’m supposed to protect them! That’s a completely different job altogether. I’m not the one who 
 117.111 +lost them,” Kero argued, crossing his arms. Why couldn’t he finish this up back at the other 
 117.112 +house? It was a lot easier without the brunette there.
 117.113 +
 117.114 +“Then she wouldn’t need to go looking for them if you’d been doing your job!” Sonomi declared.
 117.115 +
 117.116 +“I was asleep, all right!! Besides, she has power. She opened the book. So she obviously has 
 117.117 +magic.”
 117.118 +
 117.119 +“Hmph... Some Seal Beast you turned out to be.” Sonomi crossed her arms, not at all happy with 
 117.120 +all this. “Come on, Nadeshiko-chan. Let’s go downstairs and get some tea. I’m sure the stuffed 
 117.121 +animal can find his way out on his own.” She sweatdropped when she spotted her cousin with a 
 117.122 +thrilled look on her face, holding the Book of Clow. “Nadeshiko-chan?”
 117.123 +
 117.124 +“I am not a stuffed animal,” the Seal Beast said irritably. “I’ll have you know that I’m quite 
 117.125 +menacing in my true form. I may look stunningly cool now in my false form, but you haven’t lived 
 117.126 +till you’ve seen me like that. As soon as we get the Cards back, I’ll be able to retain that 
 117.127 +form.”
 117.128 +
 117.129 +“Sounds like too much trouble to me,” Sonomi said halfheartedly, her attention still distracted 
 117.130 +by Nadeshiko. 
 117.131 +
 117.132 +“That sounds great, Teddy-chan! I can’t wait to see it! I bet it’s adorable.” The pale girl’s 
 117.133 +eyes sparkled as she thought about the beautiful form that must await her cute little Teddy. Now 
 117.134 +she was even more eager to catch the Cards. Especially if they were at all as fun as Flower. She 
 117.135 +couldn’t wait to introduce herself to them all. 
 117.136 +
 117.137 +“I’m not a teddy bear! I’m a lion! A really menacing lion, too!” The Seal Beast narrowed his 
 117.138 +eyes as he floated in front of the two cousins. Why did he have to get saddled with two little 
 117.139 +girls? Why couldn’t it be some powerful magician or something? He sighed miserably. You had to 
 117.140 +make do with what you had, he guessed. “All right. We need to make the contract. Nadeshiko-chan, 
 117.141 +please stand over there.”
 117.142 +
 117.143 +“All right!!” Nadeshiko said happily, practically skipping over to her designated position.
 117.144 +
 117.145 +“Wait a minute! What’s all this about?” Sonomi asked worriedly, her eyes darting back and forth 
 117.146 +from the teddy bear to her cousin and back. Whatever it was, she sure didn’t like the looks of 
 117.147 +it. Why wasn’t anyone listening to her? Protecting Nadeshiko would be so much easier if the 
 117.148 +beautiful dark haired girl would simply listen once in a while. Sonomi’s stormy blue eyes went 
 117.149 +wide when she saw the room vanish, replaced by a dark expanse. A strange symbol lit up underneath
 117.150 +Nadeshiko’s bare feet, her nightgown fluttering around as if tugged by the wind. Sonomi felt a 
 117.151 +cold pit in the center of her stomach, but her cousin looked sweetly excited. 
 117.152 +
 117.153 +“Oh key to the seal. Here is a girl wishing to make a contract with you. Her name is Nadeshiko. 
 117.154 +Key, give power to this girl!” The small key in the lock of the book flew over to Nadeshiko 
 117.155 +lighting up in the center of the symbol. It slowly grew in front of her, becoming a large 
 117.156 +lavender staff. It had two beautiful flower blossoms on the sides of the top of the staff, and 
 117.157 +what looked to be tiny vines traveling down the length of it. “Now, Nadeshiko-chan! Pick up the 
 117.158 +Key!” 
 117.159 +
 117.160 +Sonomi struggled to see through the blinding light, her eyes barely managing to make out 
 117.161 +Nadeshiko as she walked towards the staff, her arm raised. “Wait! Nadeshiko-chan! Don’t!!” she 
 117.162 +called out.
 117.163 +
 117.164 +“Don’t worry, Sonomi-chan. It’ll be fun,” Nadeshiko promised, smiling at her overprotective 
 117.165 +cousin. With that, she grasped the Key, energy filling her. 
 117.166 +
 117.167 +“All right!! A new Cardcaptor is born! Sugoi!!” The newly dubbed Teddy exclaimed. 
 117.168 +
 117.169 +Sonomi sighed, holding her head. As if it wasn’t difficult enough to protect Nadeshiko as it was,
 117.170 +now she’d have to deal with sweet, naïve Nadeshiko as a magical girl? Somehow that didn’t lift 
 117.171 +the brunette’s spirits. Sure, Nadeshiko had always been magical in her own way. But this was just
 117.172 +wrong. The beautiful pale girl shouldn’t be in a position where she could just get hurt even 
 117.173 +worse. If that day had proved anything, it was that Sonomi had to keep a closer watch on 
 117.174 +Nadeshiko. The younger girl had already gotten hurt that day as a normal girl. Making her a 
 117.175 +magical girl was just asking for trouble. 
 117.176 +
 117.177 +As if on cue, one of Nadeshiko’s puppets stood up, glancing around the room. It finally caught 
 117.178 +sight of the pale Cardcaptor and leapt her way. Sonomi jumped in the way of the stuffed rabbit 
 117.179 +in time to take the blow in her chest. Being made out of fluff and cloth, it bounced off 
 117.180 +harmlessly, landing on the floor. “Buni-chan? What’s wrong Buni-chan?” Nadeshiko asked curiously,
 117.181 + bending down to pick up her injured stuffed animal. 
 117.182 +
 117.183 +“Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi pulled Nadeshiko away before the stuffed animal could attack again. 
 117.184 +“Another man-eating toy? What’s going on today?” Sonomi asked to no one in particular. She loved 
 117.185 +toys, she really did. They were so cute and fun, just like her cousin. But twice in one day was 
 117.186 +a little ridiculous. 
 117.187 +
 117.188 +“It’s a Clow Card!” Teddy said joyously. His face lit up. Perhaps this wouldn’t be too difficult 
 117.189 +after all. The new Cardcaptor did have a sweet disposition. The Cards would love that. It would 
 117.190 +make things much easier than if they were trying to get away from her. It must have already 
 117.191 +attracted one of the Cards. But which one? Teddy watched as it leapt about the room. “It’s Jump! 
 117.192 +We have to catch it before it gets away!”
 117.193 +
 117.194 +“Come here, Buni-chan... It’s all right,” Nadeshiko said soothingly as she hopped up onto her 
 117.195 +futon, following the bouncing bunny. Another new friend already. It was turning out to be a 
 117.196 +wonderful day! Now if only Sonomi was a little happier about things it would be perfect. But she 
 117.197 +was sure that her older cousin would grow to love the whole thing as much as she did. 
 117.198 +
 117.199 +Sonomi was currently hating the whole thing. Not only was her dearest friend stuck as a magical 
 117.200 +girl who had to seek out strange and mysterious magical items, but one of those said items was 
 117.201 +terrorizing her cousins room in one of her stuffed animals. A stuffed animal that Sonomi had 
 117.202 +given Nadeshiko for her birthday, no less! Sonomi trailed after the snow white rabbit, nearly 
 117.203 +swiping it off the floor several times, but it continued just out of her grasp. At the same 
 117.204 +instant, both pigtailed girl and Clow Card spotted the open window. The Jump leapt for the 
 117.205 +window as Sonomi sprinted forward. She slammed the window with jarring force, shocking her. For 
 117.206 +a moment, she didn’t know whether she had been in time. A glance down to her feet reassured her. 
 117.207 +The bunny was lying in a daze on the floor, having slammed dead on into the window. She stepped 
 117.208 +down with her sock covered foot and caught it’s arm before it could leap away again. “Gotcha!”
 117.209 +
 117.210 +“Poor Buni-chan. Were you scared? I’ve got you, Buni-chan.” Nadeshiko swept the small bunny in 
 117.211 +her arms, tickling Sonomi’s foot with lithe fingers before she stood up. She smiled happily at 
 117.212 +her cousin as she held her stuffed animal. “Thank you, Sonomi-chan!” Leaning forward, the flighty
 117.213 +Cardcaptor kissed her auburn haired friend on the cheek. 
 117.214 +
 117.215 +Blushing furiously, Sonomi could only nod in reply. The burning warmth of Nadeshiko’s silken lips
 117.216 +remained on her cheek, replaying over and over again in the brunette’s mind. Her fingers went to 
 117.217 +the small patch of skin where her cousin’s lips had lingered and felt her heart skip a beat. She 
 117.218 +had only wanted to help Nadeshiko with this killer stuffed animal. She had never thought that 
 117.219 +she could receive such a sweet reward. Feeling dizzy, Sonomi had to sit down quickly before she 
 117.220 +could topple over. She didn’t fully understand the feelings the younger girl stirred within her, 
 117.221 +but they always overwhelmed her. Sighing not unpleasantly, the auburn haired athlete watched her 
 117.222 +best friend cradle the Clow Card in the stuffed animal it inhabited at the moment. 
 117.223 +
 117.224 +“You have to seal it, Nadeshiko-chan!” Teddy shouted. Just then, the door opened. Teddy dropped 
 117.225 +lifelessly to the floor, hoping whoever it was hadn’t seen him. His heart froze in his chest as 
 117.226 +he saw an older woman stuck her head in. 
 117.227 +
 117.228 +“Nadeshiko-chan? What are you and Sonomi-chan up to? You really should get some sleep, dear. All 
 117.229 +of this yelling and jumping around can’t be good for you after getting hit earlier,” Nadeshiko’s 
 117.230 +mother chided gently. She smiled over at a blushing Sonomi who was still sitting on her 
 117.231 +daughter’s futon. At least there was one voice of reason in her daughter’s room. She would have 
 117.232 +to thank her sister for her responsible daughter looking out for her own little girl. Just like 
 117.233 +when she herself was a child. Looking from one cousin to the other, she decided to call her 
 117.234 +sister again before going to sleep.
 117.235 +
 117.236 +“We were just helping Teddy-chan get the Kurow Kaddo, mama,” Nadeshiko said sweetly, still 
 117.237 +cradling the white rabbit in her arms.  
 117.238 +
 117.239 +“Oh, is that all? How about you do that in bed, dear? I’m sure you can help Teddy-chan all you 
 117.240 +want from under the covers.” Bending down, the older Amamiya woman picked up the small winged 
 117.241 +bear from the floor and handed him to Sonomi. After helping the two girls get settled in bed, 
 117.242 +she walked back to the door, turning to get another peak of her baby girl and her little niece. 
 117.243 +“You two are just too cute. Sleep well, girls.” Blowing a kiss to the two cousins, Nadeshiko’s 
 117.244 +mother shut the door behind her. 
 117.245 +
 117.246 +“...and then you say ‘release’!” Teddy was whispering, Nadeshiko nodding intently. 
 117.247 +
 117.248 +“Like this? Return to your true form, Kurow Kaddo! Release!” Nadeshiko said, very gently tapping 
 117.249 +the rabbit’s head with staff underneath the sheets. She didn’t want to hurt it, after all. In a 
 117.250 +flash of light, magic was pulled out of her rabbit, appearing in the form of a small brown card. 
 117.251 +Grinning delightedly, she grasped the Card and hugged it close. “Sugoi!”
 117.252 +
 117.253 +“Hai, just like that. But you have to yell it out louder. It sounds cooler that way,” Teddy said 
 117.254 +approvingly. 
 117.255 +
 117.256 +Sighing miserably, Sonomi stared up at the roof. Why did she have a very bad feeling about all 
 117.257 +of this? Something was going to go horribly wrong, she just knew it. It was only a matter of 
 117.258 +time. Determination sparked in her stormy blue eyes. This just meant she’d have to be ever more 
 117.259 +vigilant in protecting her dearest Nadeshiko. She would have to make sure she was always there to
 117.260 +help her. Magic or not, she wouldn’t let anything hurt her pretty cousin. Her thoughts cut off 
 117.261 +abruptly as she felt arms wrap around her stomach as her pale friend snuggled close to her under 
 117.262 +the sheets. She could feel Nadeshiko’s warm breath against her neck as the smaller girl yawned. 
 117.263 +
 117.264 +“Goodnight, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko said quietly, resting her head against the brunette. She 
 117.265 +always felt warm and safe with her athletic cousin. She got so lonely late at night when she was 
 117.266 +all alone. She had once asked her mother if Sonomi could move in with them so that she could 
 117.267 +always spend the night, but her mother had said that Sonomi’s parents would miss her too much. 
 117.268 +‘But I miss her too much,’ Nadeshiko had protested. Her mother hadn’t been able to come up with 
 117.269 +a good explanation after that, but Nadeshiko had to content herself with when her best friend 
 117.270 +could stay over. Snuggling closer, Nadeshiko smiled and let her emerald eyes fall shut.
 117.271 +
 117.272 +“Sweet dreams, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered in reply, holding her smaller cousin close. Her 
 117.273 +fingers gently brushed through Nadeshiko’s hair the way she remebered her aunt’s fingers 
 117.274 +traveling through her own. Nadeshiko had such beautiful hair. And it felt so nice and soft 
 117.275 +falling through her fingers. Forgetting about the Cards and the teddy bear with the Osaka 
 117.276 +dialect for the moment, Sonomi held onto her friend, her heart beating wildly. “I’ll always 
 117.277 +protect you, Nadeshiko-chan.”
 117.278 +
 117.279 +“I know,” Nadeshiko replied matter-of-factly, already starting to drift off to sleep in Sonomi’s 
 117.280 +arms. “I know, Sonomi-chan.”
 117.281 + 
 117.282 +	 
 117.283 \ No newline at end of file

   118.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   118.2 +++ b/stories/CCN3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   118.3 @@ -0,0 +1,301 @@
   118.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   118.5 +by 
   118.6 +Amazoness Duo
   118.7 +and
   118.8 +G.P.
   118.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  118.10 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  118.11 +
  118.12 +
  118.13 +‘My name is Amamiya Sonomi. I’m ten years old. I have brunette hair and dark blue eyes that I get
  118.14 +from my mother. I like cute things a lot. I also like sports, especially track. I think it’s fun.
  118.15 +But most of all, I like my cousin, Nadeshiko-chan. She’s my best friend and the most important 
  118.16 +person in my life.’
  118.17 +
  118.18 +“Look, Sonomi-chan! A bouquet! This one’s for you.” Nadeshiko smilingly handed a large bouquet 
  118.19 +of lillies to Sonomi, barging in on her still wet cousin. She hardly noticed Sonomi scramble for 
  118.20 +a towel, simply holding the flowers out to the brunette. 
  118.21 +
  118.22 +“They’re beautiful, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi said breathlessly, cinching up the large towel before
  118.23 +taking the lovely flowers. Bringing them up to her nose, she sniffed the sweet perfume that 
  118.24 +drifted from the bouquet. Brushing back some wet hair from her shoulder, the stormy blue eyed 
  118.25 +girl smiled at her cousin. “Thank you.”
  118.26 +
  118.27 +“I made them with Flower-sama. She’s good at making all sorts of flowers. My room’s covered in 
  118.28 +Sakura blossoms right now. It’s so pretty! You should see it when you’re done with your bath, 
  118.29 +Sonomi-chan! I’m going to give these roses to mother real quick.” Waving cheerfully, the silver 
  118.30 +haired girl made her way downstairs, just remembering to close the bathroom door before she did. 
  118.31 +
  118.32 +Sighing to herself, Sonomi let her towel drop to the floor before slipping back into the bathtub.
  118.33 +Her heart fluttering, she held onto her precious gift from Nadeshiko. ‘Oh, I forgot to mention 
  118.34 +that Nadeshiko-chan’s a magical girl now. She’s also accident-prone and not the most observant 
  118.35 +person I know. How this is supposed to turn out, I hardly know. But I’ll protect her from the 
  118.36 +whole world if I have to. And that stupid teddy bear.’ Closing her eyes, the brunette slipped 
  118.37 +under the water, the warmth surrounding her, waking her up for school. As usual, her mind was 
  118.38 +once again drawn back to a silver haired angel.
  118.39 +
  118.40 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  118.41 +
  118.42 +“That is so cute!” Sonomi exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Her eyes shimmered as she 
  118.43 +hurried to Nadeshiko’s side. Enthusiastic fingers brushed through long, gray locks of hair done 
  118.44 +up in a beautiful ponytail, long strands falling in front of Nadeshiko as well. “It’s so pretty.
  118.45 +I love your hair, Nadeshiko-chan! It’s prettier than any dolls.” Still delighting in her cousin’s
  118.46 +current hairstyle, Sonomi didn’t notice her aunt’s approach.
  118.47 +
  118.48 +“You like it, Sonomi-chan? Nadeshiko-chan does have very pretty hair. It can be a lot of fun to 
  118.49 +try out different styles on her. Now if only she would stay still when I did her hair, it 
  118.50 +wouldn’t always be such a mess.” Nadeshiko’s mother let out a sigh, but she couldn’t help but 
  118.51 +smile at the two girls despite it. 
  118.52 +
  118.53 +“Hai, it’s wonderful,” Sonomi replied, finally pulling her hands away from Nadeshiko’s beautiful 
  118.54 +silver hair. She turned and bowed politely to her aunt, her own slightly shorter hair falling 
  118.55 +past her shoulders as she did, done up with small yellow ribbons throughout it. “Thank you for 
  118.56 +letting me spend the night.”
  118.57 +
  118.58 +The older woman laughed softly, shaking her head. “I should be thanking you, Sonomi-chan. You’re 
  118.59 +the only one can keep Nadeshiko-chan in bed. Otherwise she’s likely to end up just about 
  118.60 +anywhere. That’s probably why she falls asleep in such odd places all the time.”
  118.61 +
  118.62 +“That’s because there are too many things to do instead of going to sleep. It’s much better to 
  118.63 +fall asleep when you find yourself sleepy instead of making yourself go to sleep at a certain 
  118.64 +time,” Nadeshiko reasoned, putting a finger on her pale chin. It was true that she often didn’t 
  118.65 +sleep at night, instead walking about or just lying in bed in fascination of the sounds of the 
  118.66 +night. But it all made sense to her. She fell asleep when she fell asleep. What did it matter if 
  118.67 +it was in bed or in a flower garden, at home or in the park? She was always so busy with things 
  118.68 +that sleep was simply something that happened. And most of the time Sonomi would find her and 
  118.69 +take her back to bed anyway. 
  118.70 +
  118.71 +Sonomi sweatdropped at her cousin’s odd logic, but nodded all the same. She had long ago learned 
  118.72 +that sometimes it was just easier to humor Nadeshiko than to argue with her. The pale girl 
  118.73 +wouldn’t listen anyway. She would smile sweetly and let you argue yourself hoarse and then she 
  118.74 +would go off and do what she had wanted to do all along. Shaking her head, Sonomi took 
  118.75 +Nadeshiko’s hand. “We have to get going or we’ll be late to school. Thank you again!” She waved 
  118.76 +politely to her aunt as she hurried to the door, her navy blue pleated skirt shifting about her. 
  118.77 +Her white blouse and blue bow rustled against her as they walked out into the always dangerous 
  118.78 +world. Sonomi immediately began to feel the worry that she usually did whenever they would go 
  118.79 +out, that paranoid feeling that something bad was going to happen. But with her flighty cousin 
  118.80 +tagging along, that usually wasn’t far off.
  118.81 +
  118.82 +“I like your hair, too, Sonomi-chan. It’s so vibrant and fiery. I hope my daughter has hair like 
  118.83 +yours,” Nadeshiko mentioned thoughtfully, playing with some stray strands of auburn hair behind 
  118.84 +her cousin. The hair was still a bit damp, drying from her bath earlier. The green eyed girl 
  118.85 +watched it sway, pawing at it almost like a curious kitten. 
  118.86 +
  118.87 +Blushing faintly, Sonomi didn’t attempt to stop her cousin. She really didn’t mind as it was. 
  118.88 +Just being with her blissful cousin always made things feel special. Even school felt more like 
  118.89 +an adventure than a chore when she was alongside Nadeshiko. Her younger cousin was a shimmering 
  118.90 +angel that lit even the darkest recesses of Sonomi’s life. The brunette couldn’t quite 
  118.91 +understand the depths of her feelings for Nadeshiko, simply that the other girl was always on 
  118.92 +her mind, always dwelling in her heart. And Sonomi wanted to protect the younger girl. It was 
  118.93 +frightening to see such a free spirit in such a scary world. She was always afraid that 
  118.94 +something might happen to her beloved Nadeshiko. So all she could do was try her best to protect 
  118.95 +her. “Arigato, Nadeshiko-chan. I can only hope my daughter would have beautiful hair like yours.
  118.96 +I love your hair. It’s...” Sonomi trailed off, trying to force away a persistent blush from her 
  118.97 +cheeks. She couldn’t think of words to describe it. She bit her lip in frustration, trying to 
  118.98 +understand the myriad of feelings strangling her fluttering heart. Answers eluded her. Sighing, 
  118.99 +the brunette changed the subject. “I need to get a haircut soon, though. Short hair is a lot 
 118.100 +easier to manage. And it’s been windy lately so it’s been getting in my way at track.”
 118.101 +
 118.102 +“I could cut it for you,” Nadeshiko offered, still playing with the auburn hair before her. 
 118.103 +“Then you wouldn’t have to wait to get your mom to take you.” 
 118.104 +
 118.105 +“You would? Thank you, Nadeshiko-chan. I’d like that. Could we do that after school?” Sonomi 
 118.106 +asked excitedly. Her heartbeat quickened in her chest, sending a thrill throughout her. She 
 118.107 +couldn’t exactly explain it, but it sounded like a much more enjoyable situation if Nadeshiko 
 118.108 +would be doing it. Before it had sounded simply like something she needed to do, a chore that 
 118.109 +needed to be dealt with. But now she was actually looking forward to it. She could already see 
 118.110 +herself sitting before her smiling cousin. Even the thought of Nadeshiko with scissors failed to 
 118.111 +alert Sonomi to the potential dangers of such a situation. But she was far too enraptured by the
 118.112 +idea of her cousin’s fingers through her hair, cutting it all into a much shorter, neater style.
 118.113 + 
 118.114 +“Un! It would be fun. Now we have something to do this afternoon, too.” Nadeshiko grinned 
 118.115 +happily, walking alongside her auburn haired friend. Life was never boring for the gray haired 
 118.116 +girl. There was always something fascinating going on, some little aspect of life that immersed 
 118.117 +her attention. Every little thing was a work of wonder for Nadeshiko. She could only puzzle why 
 118.118 +other people couldn’t see that. There was always something new to fathom. But the one constant 
 118.119 +throughout it all, the single thing that was always a part of this wonder, was her big cousin 
 118.120 +Sonomi. The older girl had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, had always 
 118.121 +been there even as she would move from one thing to the next. So it always delighted her when 
 118.122 +she could draw Sonomi into the fantastic world that she saw. An afternoon of cutting hair 
 118.123 +sounded like an excellent time to Nadeshiko. She had never cut any hair before, but she was 
 118.124 +eager to try. Even if it did mean getting rid of Sonomi’s pretty long hair. Oh well. She’d just 
 118.125 +keep it in a box or something. 
 118.126 +
 118.127 +Reaching school, the two cousins entered their homeroom, sitting down in the large classroom. 
 118.128 +Sonomi took her seat to Nadeshiko’s right, going through her backpack for what she would need 
 118.129 +for class. Several cute keychains and buttons adorned Sonomi’s backpack, just a small sampling 
 118.130 +of her large collection of toys and things back home. She loved cute things of all shapes and 
 118.131 +sizes, finding herself always thrilled to get her hands on something new for her collection. But 
 118.132 +the cutest thing she could think of was her smaller cousin. Nadeshiko was like the perfect doll. 
 118.133 +She hadn’t a care in the world, was hardly ever sad or even worried. She was beautiful and 
 118.134 +delicate, like a doll. She was such a cute little model, modeling for Sonomi’s camera whenever 
 118.135 +she would ask. Her mother dressed her in such pretty clothes and always had new hairstyles to 
 118.136 +try out on her only daughter. Sonomi was always happy to see what new look Nadeshiko would have. 
 118.137 +She was already amassing a nice collection of photos. In fact, she would have to go get some 
 118.138 +more film developed soon. Placing her chin in her hands, she glanced over at the silver haired 
 118.139 +girl next to her. As she should have expected, Nadeshiko was looking out the window, her head 
 118.140 +tilted to the side as she watched the birds fly by, listening to their gentle melody. The 
 118.141 +brunette smiled to herself, her heart warming at the sight. 
 118.142 +
 118.143 +“Class, I would like to introduce you to my new assistant,” the teacher was saying. 
 118.144 +
 118.145 +Reluctantly pulling her attention away from her delicate cousin, Sonomi cast her eyes forward. 
 118.146 +What she saw made her blood boil. At the front of the class, she could see an irritatingly 
 118.147 +smiling face, glinting glasses, and chestnut hair. She had just managed to forget about the man 
 118.148 +who had injured her dearest Nadeshiko. So what was he doing here? Was he trying to haunt her? It 
 118.149 +sure felt like it. She couldn’t help but think he was here for Nadeshiko, for some reason or 
 118.150 +another. Of course, that was ridiculous. But Sonomi didn’t always care for logic. What she did 
 118.151 +know was that this man had already hurt her cousin once. She didn't intend to let him have a 
 118.152 +second chance. 
 118.153 +
 118.154 +“This is Kinomoto Fujitaka. He will be my assistant while I recover. I may have some more 
 118.155 +doctor’s appointments soon, so he will take care of things for me whenever I’m gone,” the 
 118.156 +teacher explained.
 118.157 +
 118.158 +Smiling his omnipresent smile, the man bowed to the class. “Thank you. It will be a pleasure to 
 118.159 +work with all of you.” His eyes caught sight of two familiar girls at the back and his smile 
 118.160 +widened. How wonderful! Those were those two delightful girls from that weekend. He was relieved 
 118.161 +to see that the gray haired girl seemed to be doing fine. 
 118.162 +
 118.163 +“Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko half-whispered, leaning out of her desk. “That’s the man who gave me 
 118.164 +the book and Teddy-chan!” Several students looked her way, but Nadeshiko ignored them, still 
 118.165 +leaning towards her cousin. It was a surprise to see the man here, but for Nadeshiko it was just 
 118.166 +another of life’s many miracles. That he was there was just another amazing little tidbit. It 
 118.167 +was nice to know that the man who gave her such a wonderful gift as Teddy and the Clow Book was 
 118.168 +nearby. Maybe she could thank him someday. 
 118.169 +
 118.170 +“Un, I know,” Sonomi whispered back quietly. She glared at the man when he smiled their way. 
 118.171 +Shaking her head, she sighed. He had hurt Nadeshiko on accident. And he had apologized. It was 
 118.172 +probably nothing. She really shouldn’t be so angry with him. But still, she didn’t like him 
 118.173 +around Nadeshiko. Not at all. But all the same, she dropped her glare. Maybe he’d learned his 
 118.174 +lesson. It had just been an accident after all. Though Sonomi still didn’t trust him. She had a 
 118.175 +bad temper at times and she wasn’t one to let things drop. ‘I’ll keep an eye on you, mister. And 
 118.176 +you better stay away from my Nadeshiko-chan. I’m not going to give you another chance to hurt 
 118.177 +her,’ she thought to herself.
 118.178 +
 118.179 +“This should be fun to have him in class. I hope he doesn’t feel bad about the baseball,” 
 118.180 +Nadeshiko was saying.
 118.181 +
 118.182 +“Nadeshiko and Sonomi Amamiya! Was there something the two of you wanted to discuss?” The 
 118.183 +teacher raised an eyebrow, staring at the two girls. 
 118.184 +
 118.185 +“No, we just...” Sonomi began.
 118.186 +
 118.187 +“We know your assistant. Hi, Kinomoto-san!” Nadeshiko waved to Fujitaka, eliciting some laughter 
 118.188 +from several classmates. 
 118.189 +
 118.190 +“If you insist on talking in class, then I’ll have to ask you to leave. Please go to the 
 118.191 +hallway.”
 118.192 +
 118.193 +“Hai, sensei!” Hardly fazed, Nadeshiko smiled to Sonomi before getting out of her desk. Nothing 
 118.194 +seemed to get to the girl. But then, she was too busy with her own little world to concern 
 118.195 +herself with the trivialities of this one. Or perhaps it was the trivialities that we take for 
 118.196 +granted that held her so captivated. Whatever the case, the pale girl hurriedly made her way out 
 118.197 +of the classroom. 
 118.198 +
 118.199 +Sonomi wasn’t quite as quick to leave as her cousin. Sighing inwardly, the auburn haired girl 
 118.200 +followed Nadeshiko out of the room. She wasn’t happy about being kicked out of class, but what 
 118.201 +could she do? Pushing back a slight urge to cry, she continued forward. This wasn’t a big deal. 
 118.202 +It didn’t matter. She had been punished and she would take her punishment. And if her parents 
 118.203 +found out, then she would deal with that when the time came. For a moment, her stormy blue eyes 
 118.204 +locked with Fujitaka’s. He smiled at her apologetically. Breaking the gaze, Sonomi sped up to 
 118.205 +reach her cousin. 
 118.206 +
 118.207 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 118.208 +
 118.209 +“Isn’t that nice that Kinomoto-san is helping out our teacher now? Sensei must be very happy 
 118.210 +about it. And Kinomoto-san seems very smart.” Nadeshiko glanced around for which pair of 
 118.211 +scissors she should use. Picking entirely at random, she turned back to Sonomi. The brunette 
 118.212 +was sitting on the porch with her back to the gray haired girl, waiting to have her hair cut. 
 118.213 +The yellow ribbons that had been in her hair earlier were now lying on the floor next to her. 
 118.214 +“Hmm...” Nadeshiko stepped around Sonomi, trying to get some idea of what to do with her 
 118.215 +cousin’s hair. She usually let her mother do her own hair, but she did see all of the styles it 
 118.216 +was put in. She herself had had shorter hair not too long ago. So she wanted to have some idea 
 118.217 +before starting on Sonomi’s hair. Tilting her head to the side, she rethought that. Why have 
 118.218 +some initial goal? Why not wait and see what her hair became? Like a flower, she shouldn’t force 
 118.219 +it to become something it wasn’t. She should help it grow into whatever hairstyle it wanted to 
 118.220 +be. Satisfied with that line of thought, Nadeshiko began snipping away. 
 118.221 +
 118.222 +Taking a deep breath, Sonomi slowly let it filter out of her lips. Her cheeks were a rosy red, 
 118.223 +her stormy blue eyes pointed straight ahead. She could feel Nadeshiko’s pale fingers through her 
 118.224 +hair, the sound of scissors close behind. Her heart skipped a beat as Nadeshiko paused for a 
 118.225 +moment, sniffing her hair as she would a flower. Like everything the green eyed girl did in 
 118.226 +life, Nadeshiko seemed to move slowly from one part to the next, enjoying every little bit as 
 118.227 +she did. There was something very... romantic about getting her hair cut by Nadeshiko? No, that 
 118.228 +wasn’t the word. Was it? No, that couldn’t be it. But Sonomi couldn’t think up what exactly it 
 118.229 +was to have her cousin cutting her hair. Whatever the feeling, it was nice. “Can we not talk 
 118.230 +about him?”
 118.231 +
 118.232 +“Hm? Why not? You don’t like him?” Nadeshiko asked curiously. Feeling some more of Sonomi’s long 
 118.233 +hair between her thumb and forefinger, she cut it away, watching intently as it lay between her 
 118.234 +fingers. She set the lock of hair aside. She still needed to find a place to keep Sonomi’s hair. 
 118.235 +It would just be a shame to throw it all away. Like she had said before, it was very pretty. 
 118.236 +
 118.237 +“Of course not. He hurt you.” Sonomi crossed her arms as she shifted her bare legs under 
 118.238 +herself. They were still sore from track practice that afternoon. Just as she was still sore 
 118.239 +about Nadeshiko getting hit by a baseball. Her frown fading, she tilted her head to the side 
 118.240 +when Nadeshiko’s delicate hand pushed on the side of her head. 
 118.241 +
 118.242 +“Oh.” Nadeshiko considered that for a minute, pulling up Sonomi’s hair as she did to get an idea 
 118.243 +of what to do next. Her cousin’s protective nature was something she had grown used to over the 
 118.244 +years. After all, the crazy world didn’t always make sense, but Sonomi always did. Everyone else 
 118.245 +hid how they felt or said things they didn’t mean. But Sonomi was almost always straightforward 
 118.246 +about her feelings. When she was mad, you knew it. When she was happy, you felt it. It was 
 118.247 +something that felt very refreshing for Nadeshiko. She was fascinated by the world, but the 
 118.248 +people in it didn’t always make sense. At least she knew that Sonomi did. “But I hurt myself all 
 118.249 +the time. And you don’t get mad at me,” she pointed out, snipping some more hair away.
 118.250 +
 118.251 +“But that’s different,” Sonomi protested, tilting her head the opposite way as her younger 
 118.252 +cousin’s fingers pushed on her forehead again. She giggled a bit as she felt Nadeshiko rolling 
 118.253 +her head around from side to side playfully.
 118.254 +
 118.255 +“How?”
 118.256 +
 118.257 +Sonomi bit her lip, still staring forward. “I can’t explain it. It just is. It’s different when 
 118.258 +you hurt yourself than when someone else hurts you. Besides, I could never be angry with you.” 
 118.259 +She felt Nadeshiko’s stomach on her head as the green eyed girl leant over her, her head in 
 118.260 +front of Sonomi’s. Sonomi saw Nadeshiko’s upside down head lean into view, her long gray hair 
 118.261 +spilling down in front of her. The brunette felt her cheeks burn as she watched her delicate 
 118.262 +cousin’s smiling face in front of her. Her heart felt like it would give out at any moment. What 
 118.263 +was going on? Why did she always feel like this around Nadeshiko? Sonomi felt her frustration 
 118.264 +rising inside of herself, but it disappeared as Nadeshiko moved forward and kissed her nose. Her 
 118.265 +cheeks darkened further as she watched pale skin move back ever so slightly. 
 118.266 +
 118.267 +“You’re so sweet, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko said simply. Smiling cutely, she slowly got back to 
 118.268 +her feet, leaving a blushing Sonomi sitting before her. Going back to work, the pale girl hummed 
 118.269 +to herself. It took a while for her older cousin to relax again, the blush slowly fading from 
 118.270 +her cheeks. She smiled as she watched. She didn’t know what she’d do without her best friend. 
 118.271 +
 118.272 +Waiting anxiously as Nadeshiko clipped her hair, Sonomi moved her palms across her thighs, hair 
 118.273 +dropping down to them every so often. She idly wondered about the finished product, but she was 
 118.274 +much more caught up in the moment to worry about what would come afterwards. ‘If only we could 
 118.275 +stay like this,’ Sonomi thought blissfully. A sigh escaped her as Nadeshiko finally stepped 
 118.276 +away. “Huh? Are you done?” Sonomi turned to find her cousin smiling at her. Her fingers went 
 118.277 +quickly to her hair, feeling the freshly cut brunette hair much shorter than it had been.
 118.278 +
 118.279 +“Un! And it’s very cute. Let’s go see the mirror. I want you to see it, Sonomi-chan.” Taking the 
 118.280 +brunette’s hand, Nadeshiko hurried up the stairs towards her room, a handful of Sonomi’s hair in 
 118.281 +her other hand. She smiled prettily as she led Sonomi in, getting behind her and pushing her the 
 118.282 +rest of the way towards the mirror. She couldn’t wait to see what her friend thought of the new 
 118.283 +hairstyle. It had been much more fun than if Sonomi had simply gone to a barber shop. 
 118.284 +
 118.285 +Sonomi gazed into the mirror, her fingers following her new hairstyle as she watched. Her 
 118.286 +brunette hair was cropped quite a bit shorter than she had ever had it before. The short strands 
 118.287 +moved easily between her fingers. But oddly, the hair was cut at a slant. It was shorter on one 
 118.288 +side than the other, making for an odd style. She ran her fingers through the longer hair on 
 118.289 +the right, tilting her head experimentally. It seemed perfectly Nadeshiko, a strangely uneven 
 118.290 +haircut. A smile spread across Sonomi’s lips as she moved her head from one side of the other. 
 118.291 +Yes, it was definitely Nadeshiko’s handiwork. And that alone made her love it. “Thank you, 
 118.292 +Nadeshiko-chan!” She turned swiftly, taking the pale girl’s hands in her own. “I love it. I 
 118.293 +always will.”
 118.294 +
 118.295 +“I’m glad, Sonomi-chan. It looks very pretty on you,” Nadeshiko concluded, smiling brightly. She 
 118.296 +brought a hand up to the side of Sonomi’s face, brushing back the short hair. Her cousin looked 
 118.297 +very happy with the job she did. “Maybe I should become a barber,” she said thoughtfully.
 118.298 +
 118.299 +“I think you’d be better at other things, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi said quickly. “But I’ll always 
 118.300 +let you cut my hair when you want to.” Returning Nadeshiko’s smile, Sonomi hugged the smaller 
 118.301 +girl. The rest of the trials of the day melted away. She forgot all about the trouble she had 
 118.302 +gotten into and the smiling boy who had hurt Nadeshiko. She didn’t even think about what her 
 118.303 +mother would say about her strange new haircut. None of it mattered while she was with her 
 118.304 +cousin. 
 118.305 \ No newline at end of file

   119.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   119.2 +++ b/stories/CCN4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   119.3 @@ -0,0 +1,376 @@
   119.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   119.5 +Chapter 4
   119.6 +by 
   119.7 +Amazoness Duo
   119.8 +and
   119.9 +G.P.
  119.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  119.11 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  119.12 +
  119.13 +I.
  119.14 +Nadeshiko sat huddled by the windowsill, intent on the rays of sunshine filtering through the
  119.15 +glass. With emerald eyes, she scrutinized the delicate crystal swan cradled in her hands. Suddenly, the light caught a new facet of the beveled wing, showering the tatami mat with a 
  119.16 +fiery rainbow of color. The little girl let out a shrieking squeal of delight at this latest
  119.17 + display. Fascinated by the morning’s little light show, she remained oblivious to the 
  119.18 +footsteps growing louder on the stairs. Nor did she notice the gentle rapping on the door 
  119.19 +that soon became a frantic pounding. Not even the worried voice of the old man could rouse 
  119.20 +her,
  119.21 +
  119.22 +"Miss? Little Miss? Are you all right? Please open the door. I’ll have to break it down if...,
  119.23 + oh, oh, it’s not locked. Forgive me, Miss, but I am opening the door now. Oh, I hope she is 
  119.24 +all right. I hope she is all right."
  119.25 +
  119.26 +
  119.27 +Through wars, typhoons, and earthquakes, the old man had served three generations of 
  119.28 +Amamiyas, but rarely had he known such fear. Peering into the enormous sunroom of the 
  119.29 +family's summer cottage, he saw the little girl curled up into a ball by the shimmering 
  119.30 +picture window. She was utterly still and motionless, and his heart sank. Tottering over 
  119.31 +as quickly as his ancient legs would go, he reached with a trembling hand and gently touched 
  119.32 +her shoulder. In a halting whisper he asked,
  119.33 +
  119.34 +
  119.35 +"Nadeshiko-sama, are you all right?"
  119.36 +
  119.37 +
  119.38 +Reacting to the tentative touch, the little girl suddenly whirled around, all smiles. In 
  119.39 +a cheery, sing-song voice she replied,
  119.40 +
  119.41 +
  119.42 +"Hai, ojiisan. Look at all the colors! Aren't they beautiful? Where do they come from? Are 
  119.43 +the colors inside the crystal? How do they get out? How do they all fit in? Does the sunlight
  119.44 + unlock them somehow? I have to ask grandfather, but he won't be back until tomorrow. I know!
  119.45 + I'll ask Teddy-chan. He knows lots of things." 
  119.46 +
  119.47 +
  119.48 +Clutching the crystal swan, the girl dashed down the hallway to her room, silvery hair 
  119.49 +trailing like the wisps of a little cloud. The old man slumped to the floor, letting out a 
  119.50 +slow, relieved breath. Smiling at last, he thought, "I hope her imaginary friend has better
  119.51 + nerves than I."
  119.52 +
  119.53 +Except that this particular imaginary friend was anything but. Teddy-chan, or Kereberous, as he
  119.54 + preferred, spun the top and watched with glee as it zipped across the floor. Hovering in the 
  119.55 +air like a hummingbird, he followed the spinning toy on its journey across the parquet floor.
  119.56 + When the breathless girl burst through the door, He jumped in surprise, then smiled with
  119.57 + satisfaction at the thought, "The legendary Cardcaptor. And I found her."
  119.58 +
  119.59 +Standing before him, catching her breath after running down the lengthy hallway, the girl
  119.60 + suddenly burst out,
  119.61 +"Teddy-chan, what makes the colors in my swan?" 
  119.62 +
  119.63 +Then, remembering her manners, she suddenly dipped a bow before continuing, "Ohayo, 
  119.64 +Teddy-chan. Do you know what makes the colors happen when the sunlight is on my swan? I was 
  119.65 +going to ask grandfather, but he won't be back until tomorrow. Do you know?"
  119.66 +
  119.67 +
  119.68 +Folding his arms and bowing his head with thoughtful concern, the Seal Beast called upon 
  119.69 +his ageless wisdom to answer his eager pupil,
  119.70 +
  119.71 +"Colors, yes, of course, of course. The colors happen because, well, it is hard to explain
  119.72 + exactly why the colors happen the way they do. Perhaps you could show me which colors you 
  119.73 +mean?"
  119.74 +
  119.75 +The little girl gleefully produced the sparkling crystal, and shifted it in the morning light
  119.76 + streaming through her window. Suddenly, a dazzling blue-green ray flashed forth, lighting up 
  119.77 +the wall in a tiny rainbow. Teddy gaped in wonder as Nadeshiko giggled in delight.
  119.78 +
  119.79 +"How, how did you...what is that?" He stared in amazement. At first, the girl had seemed 
  119.80 +the unlikeliest of Card Captors. Had he not seen the capricious Flower obey her without
  119.81 + hesitation, he would never have believed it. No one would pick her out of a crowd as the
  119.82 + successor to the fearsome Clow Reed. His memories of the great magician were vague and dark,
  119.83 + much like the man himself. He remembered a quiet and reserved figure who could command with a
  119.84 + glance, and force submission with the slightest of gestures. One by one, the mightiest of Hong
  119.85 + Kong had challenged him, and in the end all had failed. His power seemed without limit, and in
  119.86 + the end it twisted his soul and he became fell and frightful. Hazier still were the Beast’s
  119.87 + feelings for his master. Sometimes at night he lay awake and the memories took him, memories 
  119.88 +of fear, love, and awe. And now, bringing him more confusion was this girl. 
  119.89 +
  119.90 +
  119.91 +Guarding the Cards for so long, he had nearly forgotten his purpose, the last command of his
  119.92 + Master. Though every sign pointed to her, he still could not shed his doubts that something had
  119.93 + gone wrong, and that this girl, though obviously connected to the Cards, was not the one. But 
  119.94 +he had made his choice, and would stick it out to the bitter end. And bitter it would be should
  119.95 +she fail. Shaking off these hidden doubts, the fluttering beast returned to his learned lecture,
  119.96 +
  119.97 +"This magical light is a mystery, and hard to explain. But as you gather more Cards, and
  119.98 +more power, it will all become clear to you."
  119.99 +
 119.100 +With wide eyes the girl stared at him, smiling in delight. Suddenly she grabbed him, squeezing
 119.101 +the little creature frantically as she sang out,
 119.102 +
 119.103 +Oh, thank you, Teddy-chan! I can’t wait to have more friends. I love Jump and Flower so much!
 119.104 +When do you think we can find more Cards? Where do you think they are?
 119.105 +
 119.106 +Squirming away, the blushing, exasperated Beast of the Seal struggled to maintain his cool, 
 119.107 +
 119.108 +“I don’t know where they are. They, they have their own minds, and some of them are a bit, well,
 119.109 +erratic. But they won't all be as easy to find and capture as Jump.”
 119.110 +
 119.111 +Nadeshiko gazed earnestly at the ruffled Teddy-chan, 
 119.112 +
 119.113 +“That’s all right. I know we can find them if we try our hardest.” The girl rose and walked
 119.114 +lightly to the window that overlooked the forest encircling the lake. Lost in thought she
 119.115 +whispered to herself,
 119.116 +
 119.117 +“I wonder if there are any in there?”
 119.118 +
 119.119 +
 119.120 +II. 
 119.121 +Nadeshiko sat on the grass and arranged the folds of her voluminous blue satin dress. It was a
 119.122 +gift from her grandfather, and Teddy said that a Card Captor should be properly attired so as to
 119.123 +impress the Cards with her grandeur. This was the grandest thing she could think of wearing,
 119.124 +though it made walking through the tight undergrowth of the forest a little difficult. Finally
 119.125 +satisfied, she unpacked her o-bento. The chef had made it for her, delighted by the oohs and 
 119.126 +ahhs of his appreciative audience of one. She nibbled the cold, sticky rice with her chopsticks
 119.127 +and listened to the distant rumble of a summer thunderstorm. But here it was sunny and bright; a
 119.128 +hot, humid, lazy summer day that lulled the senses. Crunching on a pink, pickled radish, she
 119.129 +thought of all the cards that might lie in wait inside the woods. So eager to begin looking that
 119.130 +she rose before dawn, then slipped out of the summer mansion with only the chef knowing she was
 119.131 +awake. Even Teddy-chan snored through it all, she thought with a giggle.  
 119.132 +
 119.133 +Nadeshiko yawned and stretched, running her fingers through the green blades of grass in the
 119.134 +little dale. All that morning and much of the afternoon she searched the woods with no sign of
 119.135 +the cards. The forest was so much larger than she remembered from walks with her mother and
 119.136 +grandfather. It was also hard to get one's bearings. There were so many wonderful trees! Each 
 119.137 +one looked and somehow felt different, and yet it seemed like she was seeing the same trees 
 119.138 +while walking about. This was an odd puzzle, but it really didn't matter. Here was a beautiful
 119.139 +day, and she was eating a yummy lunch on the soft, soft, grass. That she was hopelessly lost
 119.140 +never occurred to her, and even if it had, the thought would have left her placidly unconcerned.
 119.141 +Full after eating only half of the delicious o-bento,  the girl carefully re-wrapped it and then
 119.142 +curled up in the shade of a massive oak tree. Sleep came swiftly, and as she drowsed the
 119.143 +afternoon away, squirrels and birds peered in silent amazement at the strange little sleeping
 119.144 +beauty.
 119.145 +
 119.146 +All was not silent at the Amamiya summer mansion. After the disappearance of little
 119.147 +Nadeshiko-sama became known, the household was in chaos. The tearful chef only knew she had 
 119.148 +taken her o-bento dressed in a beautiful blue outfit that was entirely inappropriate for out of
 119.149 +doors. But a thorough search of the massive mansion had turned up nothing, and the searchers
 119.150 +reluctantly expanded their scope to include the grounds and lake. With fear and trepedation they
 119.151 +phoned Amamiya-sama, who rushed to the mansion. Stepping out of his limousine, he quickly took
 119.152 +charge of the frantic servants and organized search parties to find his missing granddaughter. 
 119.153 +In his wake was a stunned-looking Sonomi, who had insisted on accompanying him when she
 119.154 +discovered his reason for leaving the family's long-planned Sunday dinner. As the large bearded
 119.155 +man grimly set the gardeners to dragging the lake, Sonomi slipped away and rushed to the room 
 119.156 +her cousin had been staying. Bursting through the door, she found a nervous Seal Beast peering
 119.157 +out the window. Without pause she demanded frantically,
 119.158 +
 119.159 +"Where is she?"
 119.160 +
 119.161 +Teddy-chan spun about in surprise, then slumped to the ground,
 119.162 +
 119.163 +"I don't know."
 119.164 +
 119.165 +Sonomi snapped back angrily,
 119.166 +
 119.167 +"What do you mean, you don't know? I thought you were her guardian or something?"
 119.168 +
 119.169 +Teddy looked to the side, avoiding the ice-blue eyes of the furious child. In a quiet voice he
 119.170 +replied,
 119.171 +
 119.172 +"She left while I was asleep. I heard the chef telling them she got her lunch before it was
 119.173 +light. But nobody knows where she went. I heard someone say that with the lake she may have..."
 119.174 +The words died in his throat.
 119.175 +
 119.176 +Sonomi dropped to the floor, her anger giving way to despair. For several minutes she sat on the
 119.177 +floor, trying not to sob. Finally, she blinked her eyes and spoke to the Seal Beast in a
 119.178 +carefully measured tone,
 119.179 +
 119.180 +"Nadeshiko-chan would never go swimming all by herself, so she didn’t drown in the lake. She 
 119.181 +must be somewhere else. Did she give you any clue? Did she say anything at all about where she
 119.182 +might be?"
 119.183 +
 119.184 +Looking up in surprise, Teddy chan suddenly grew thoughtful. He spoke slowly, struggling to
 119.185 +remember every detail, 
 119.186 +
 119.187 +"Last night she was talking about the cards, asking me where they might be. Oh, yes, she said
 119.188 +something about wondering where they might be while she was looking out the window."
 119.189 +
 119.190 +Revelation spread across both their faces as they simultaniously sprang up and ran to the 
 119.191 +massive picture window. The vast forest spread out before them, a fiery red carpet of trees lit
 119.192 +by the westering sun. The girl and the diminutive Seal Beast looked at each other and nodded.
 119.193 +Sonomi whispered, 
 119.194 +
 119.195 +"It’ll be dark soon, so I’ll go find a flashlight. We can't tell them why she went there, so 
 119.196 +make sure nobody sees us."
 119.197 +
 119.198 +With that, the girl dashed out the door. In a few minutes she returned, flashlight in hand. In
 119.199 +stealthy silence, the two slipped out of the house and vanished into the woods.
 119.200 +
 119.201 +III. 
 119.202 +
 119.203 +Still as a statue, the little girl sat bathed in moonlight. It helped when her eyes were closed,
 119.204 +so she was oblivious to the little cloud of fireflies dancing about her head. There was no doubt
 119.205 +that a Clow Card was nearby. It was sort of like being hungry before the big New Year's dinner.
 119.206 +Even if you weren’t allowed in the kitchen, you could sense the delicacies being prepared. In 
 119.207 +the same way she knew the Clow card was nearby, it's scent wafting in from the forest. She could
 119.208 +feel it watching her, hesitant but interested. At first, she had pursued it through the
 119.209 +impenetrable forest, but the mysterious card always stayed a step ahead. Laughing quietly to
 119.210 +herself, she wished she had Sonomi's speed so she could run and catch it. But with all the trees
 119.211 +everywhere, such speed probably wouldn't be very useful, anyway. For the same reason, she had
 119.212 +rejected the idea of using Jump. So she resolved to simply sit and wait, and let the card come 
 119.213 +to her when it wanted to. It was like meeting someone new at school.  At first, they would be 
 119.214 +shy and hesitant, even if they wanted to be friends. She was certain the card would like to meet
 119.215 +her, but perhaps it was afraid, too. So, instead of chasing and scaring it away, she sat down in
 119.216 +the little clearing and waited. She was a surprisingly patient girl, and could be very good at
 119.217 +waiting when she wanted to.
 119.218 +
 119.219 +Further away in the forest, Sonomi was also sitting. But unlike her cousin, she was not waiting
 119.220 +patiently, but thinking frantically. All that kept a river of tears from flowing was her
 119.221 +desperate resolution to find Nadeshiko. She willed herself not to cry. Crying would be an
 119.222 +admission of defeat and an acknowledgement that something terrible had happened to her beautiful
 119.223 +cousin, and neither possibility was acceptable. So instead, she sat deep in thought, puzzling 
 119.224 +out the girl’s disappearance. Finally she looked up at the hovering Seal Beast and asked,
 119.225 +
 119.226 +“Where is the Clow Card?”
 119.227 +
 119.228 +The fluttering creature, startled by the sudden break in the silence, gave her a curious look,
 119.229 +“Eh?”
 119.230 +
 119.231 +She repeated herself patiently, “Do you know where the Clow Card is that she is looking for?”
 119.232 +
 119.233 +Shaking his head, Teddy-chan scanned the dark woods and answered, 
 119.234 +
 119.235 +“My powers are diminished in this form, but it seems to be over there somewhere.”  He gestured
 119.236 +towards the Northeast with a little paw. “But even if she is following it, she could be
 119.237 +anywhere.”
 119.238 +
 119.239 +Sonomi frowned as she stood, dusting off the leaves from her skirt. With a quick breath and a
 119.240 +smile, she faced the flying creature and said, “No, she isn’t anywhere. She has to be somewhere.
 119.241 +But we’ll never know just where by sitting here. She must be following the card, and if it’s
 119.242 +that’s where it is, then she is, too. Let’s go.”
 119.243 +
 119.244 +With that, they plunged into the forest. After a few moments, Teddy-chan stopped and pulled a
 119.245 +small strip of blue fabric from a bramble bush. Holding it out to Sonomi he asked, “What’s this?”
 119.246 +
 119.247 +Sonomi took the fabric and turned it over in her hands. It was made of sleek satin, colored a
 119.248 +vibrant cobalt-blue. The girl instantly broke out in a broad grin and exclaimed, “That’s
 119.249 +Nadeshiko’s! It’s from a dress grandfather gave her for Christmas, I’m sure of it! And this 
 119.250 +break in the trees looks like some sort trail. She must have gone this way.” 
 119.251 +
 119.252 +The Seal Beast smiled and nodded, and they both rushed down the pathway. As they walked, 
 119.253 +Sonomi’s flashlight illuminated other scraps of Nadeshiko’s dress. Following these inadvertent
 119.254 +little signposts, they eventually came to edge of a clearing. There they stopped, both staring
 119.255 +open-mouthed at the moonlit scene before them. 
 119.256 +
 119.257 +At the other end of the little dale, perhaps a hundred feet away, Nadeshiko sat in her tattered
 119.258 +dress. In front of her stood Flower. The strange woman was fidgety, shifting back and forth as 
 119.259 +if standing still was unbearable. Practically entwined with her was another woman, all clad in
 119.260 +green, luminous and shimmering, gently swaying in the breeze that rustled through the branches
 119.261 +above them. Nadeshiko’s musical laughter carried over the field like a bell. When the shock of
 119.262 +this sight wore off, Sonomi let out a shout mingled with relief and exultation and began to run.
 119.263 +The green-tinged woman was startled, and seemed ready to bolt, but Flower hugged her tightly,
 119.264 +soothing her with reassuring caresses. Nadeshiko turned about, smiled as she rose, and leapt 
 119.265 +into the arms of her onrushing cousin. 
 119.266 +
 119.267 +The two girls embraced in joy and relief. After several minutes they separated, and Sonomi gazed
 119.268 +at her cousin in horror. The pretty face was bruised and scratched, a trickle of blood on her
 119.269 +pale, slender neck. The silvery-gray hair was in disarray, entangled with twigs and leaves. Her
 119.270 +dress was torn and ripped, and one shoe was missing. Trembling fearfully, Sonomi somehow managed
 119.271 +to whisper, 
 119.272 +
 119.273 +“Nadeshiko-chan, are, are you all right?”
 119.274 +
 119.275 +Holding her cousin’s hands, the disheveled girl smiled and burst out enthusiastically,
 119.276 +
 119.277 +“Hai! I feel wonderful. I just knew that Wood-sama was here somewhere, and that she was afraid.
 119.278 +That’s why I asked Flower-sama to talk with her, to let her know that I just wanted to be
 119.279 +friends. Isn’t she beautiful, Sonomi-chan? Oh, I’m so sorry, I haven’t introduced you.
 119.280 +Sonomi-chan, this is my wonderful new friend Wood-sama. Wood-sama, this is my very best friend
 119.281 +and cousin, Sonomi-chan.”
 119.282 +
 119.283 +The auburn-haired girl looked slightly flustered as she bowed. Flower leaned over and giggled as
 119.284 +she whispered something in Wood’s ear. Wood blushed as she bowed, eyeing Sonomi curiously. A
 119.285 +little coughing fit interrupted the proceedings, and Nadeshiko quickly added,
 119.286 +
 119.287 +“Oh, and this is Teddy-chan, the Beast of the Seal, who is also my friend.”
 119.288 +
 119.289 +“Long time, no see,” The flying figure announced in a suave voice. Flower curtsied and again
 119.290 +whispered into Wood’s ear, reducing them both to giggles as they regarded the diminutive
 119.291 +guardian. Teddy ignored this possible affront to his dignity as Sonomi, still looking at the
 119.292 +battered Nadeshiko, spoke up,
 119.293 +
 119.294 +“We should get home. Everyone is very worried.”
 119.295 +
 119.296 +Nadeshiko placed her pointer finger to her cheek, trying to figure out just why anyone had cause
 119.297 +to worry. Speaking with authority, Teddy addressed the silver-haired girl,
 119.298 +
 119.299 +“Nadeshiko-chan, there is something that still needs to be done. Do you have your staff?”
 119.300 +
 119.301 +The girl brightened, nodding her head enthusiastically as she answered, “Hai.”
 119.302 +
 119.303 +Stepping forward, straightening out the remnants of her cobalt-blue dress, she bowed to the
 119.304 +verdant woman and spoke,
 119.305 +
 119.306 +“Wood-sama, if I may?”
 119.307 +
 119.308 +Wood took a tentative step forward. She looked carefully at the little girl and smiled. Crossing
 119.309 +her folded hands on her breast and closing her eyes, she waited. Nadeshiko glanced at the Seal
 119.310 +Beast, who nodded, and then carefully touched the woman’s forehead with her staff as she spoke
 119.311 +the chant,
 119.312 +
 119.313 +“Clow Card, return to your true form.”
 119.314 +
 119.315 +The light burst forth, swirling, and eddying around The Wood. As if she had turned to liquid, 
 119.316 +she flowed into a shimmering card that appeared out of nowhere. The card dropped to the grass,
 119.317 +and Nadeshiko picked it up. As she did, Sonomi heard Teddy mutter to himself,
 119.318 +
 119.319 +“They won’t all be this easy.”
 119.320 +
 119.321 +IV.
 119.322 +
 119.323 +For punishment, the cousins were confined to their room for the weekend. It wasn’t much of a
 119.324 +punishment, as the pair chatted and played the days away as if at a slumber party. After a long,
 119.325 +soaking bath, Nadeshiko looked as good as new, save for a few scratches and a bruised shoulder.
 119.326 +Reassured, Sonomi offered to comb out her tangled hair. Nadeshiko sat on the futon, facing away
 119.327 +from Sonomi who sat cross-legged behind her. It was difficult work, with many a tug and pull,
 119.328 +despite her gentle care. Through it all, Nadeshiko was silent, without so much as a whimper.
 119.329 +Working a particularly stubborn mat with her fingers, the auburn-haired girl said,
 119.330 +
 119.331 +“Nadeshiko-chan, your hair is so fine and so long, this is almost impossible. Please don’t ever,
 119.332 +ever do that again.”
 119.333 +
 119.334 +“Do what again, Sonomi-chan?” the girl asked.
 119.335 +
 119.336 +Sonomi considered her answer carefully. She knew she wanted Nadeshiko to give up this crazy card
 119.337 +capturing. Never had she been so frightened as yesterday. But even if she wanted to control
 119.338 +Nadeshiko, she just couldn’t. It would be like caging a beautiful bird. You could make her safe
 119.339 +by taking away her freedom, but you couldn’t make her happy. And nothing meant more to
 119.340 +Sonomi-chan than her cousin’s happiness. With a reluctant little sigh, she replied softly,
 119.341 +
 119.342 +“Don’t go running into the woods with your hair all loose. Let me put it up into braids or
 119.343 +something.”
 119.344 +
 119.345 +“I’d like that, Sonomi-chan. I love when you do my hair.” The girl snuggled comfortably against
 119.346 +Sonomi’s legs as they sat on the futon. Sonomi found herself blushing as she added,
 119.347 +
 119.348 +“And please don’t go after the cards without me. Please tell me before you go, because I want to
 119.349 +be with you.”
 119.350 +
 119.351 +In her sweetly musical voice, the little Card Captor answered, “I’d like that. It’s nice to be
 119.352 +with Sonomi-chan.”
 119.353 +
 119.354 +“Promise?” Sonomi asked.
 119.355 +
 119.356 +“Hai, I promise.” The lilting voice replied.
 119.357 +
 119.358 +Sonomi placed the comb and brush down and hugged her cousin, laying against her back, closing 
 119.359 +her eyes and nestling her cheek in the girl’s sparkling, silvery hair. Still as a fawn in a
 119.360 +moonlit clearing, Nadeshiko whispered,
 119.361 +
 119.362 +“I love you, Sonomi-chan.”
 119.363 +
 119.364 +Sonomi caught her breath and opened her eyes. Trembling, her heart racing, she hugged the 
 119.365 +slender form fiercely and closed her eyes. She was ecstatic, relieved, and uncertain. At long
 119.366 +last, she could cry. 
 119.367 +
 119.368 +
 119.369 +
 119.370 +
 119.371 +
 119.372 +
 119.373 + 
 119.374 +
 119.375 +
 119.376 +
 119.377 +
 119.378 +
 119.379 +

   120.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   120.2 +++ b/stories/CCN5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   120.3 @@ -0,0 +1,575 @@
   120.4 +
   120.5 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   120.6 +Fly Me Away
   120.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   120.8 +and G.P.
   120.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  120.10 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  120.11 +
  120.12 +	All is still. The world is frozen for an eternity, time standing still. Girls lined up
  120.13 +together all kneel forward precariously. Even the wind does not interrupt the moment, leaving
  120.14 +behind an anxious moment of calm. Thoughts are abandoned as the girls all wait silently, as if
  120.15 +awaiting the judgement of the world. A single moment stretches to infinity. In an all too brief
  120.16 +moment, time snaps back into place.
  120.17 +	“Go!”
  120.18 +	Like glass shattering, the silence is over. The girls all bolt from their positions, 
  120.19 +the sudden movement almost a blur. Silent statues transform into swift eagles, darting across 
  120.20 +the track. Like graceful cats, they move fluidly toward their goal. It is closer than any want 
  120.21 +to think about, but feels like it may as well be half a world away. The thunderous stampede of
  120.22 +girls moves inexorably forward, no force in heaven or hell able to stop them. 
  120.23 +	At the front of the pack, an auburn haired girl pushes herself. Further, faster.
  120.24 +Conscious thought escaped her. Or, rather, she refused to let it impede her movement. All that
  120.25 +waited for her was the finishing line. Like a beautiful angel, it beckoned to her, calling her
  120.26 +and her alone. She would be the one to reach it. She would be the one to claim it for her own. 
  120.27 +So she pushed herself further and faster, leaving the other girls behind. Her feet barely 
  120.28 +seemed to touch the ground as she ran, sending her hurtling forward to her eventual goal. The
  120.29 +goal awaited her, calling out her name as she drew nearer. She could hear the other girls behind
  120.30 +her, waiting to pass her. With all of her energy, all of the passion in her soul, she ran 
  120.31 +forward to the embrace of the finish line.
  120.32 +	Looking down at her stopwatch, the coach whistled. “Great time, Amamiya-san. You’re
  120.33 +getting better. You girls better continue practicing if you’re going to keep up with her.”
  120.34 +	The girl in question jogged over to a bench, picking up a towel. Her breathing came
  120.35 +quickly, her heart racing in her chest. It was always such a lovely feeling. A small smile
  120.36 +crossed her lips as she heard her time. Her practice was paying off. Little by little, it was
  120.37 +helping. Sonomi had always been a natural at most athletic events, but track was her favorite. 
  120.38 +It was simple, straightforward. It didn’t matter who you were or what your background was. Boy 
  120.39 +or girl, age or race, it didn’t matter. On the track, it didn’t matter that she was rich or that
  120.40 +her family was important. The only thing that mattered was running. The fastest person won.
  120.41 +Whoever got to the finish line first was the winner. And Sonomi was almost always the first to
  120.42 +the finish line. On the track, she could leave everything behind. All she had to do was run. It
  120.43 +wasn’t confusing like the rest of life. Like things with Nadeshiko. Shaking her head, Sonomi
  120.44 +turned to see her younger cousin nearly bursting with enthusiasm. Sonomi smiled as Nadeshiko
  120.45 +hurried over to her. That was another thing that the young heiress liked about track. Her cousin
  120.46 +was always there to cheer her on. 
  120.47 +	“Sonomi-chan! You ran so fast! I could barely see you!” Nadeshiko said excitedly. The
  120.48 +wind, as if it were finished holding it’s breath while awaiting the girls to run, began to play
  120.49 +with her long, dark hair. Nadeshiko smiled brightly at her cousin, her pale skin almost
  120.50 +glistening under the sunlight.
  120.51 +	Sonomi felt her heart swell at Nadeshiko’s ringing endorsement. She was always happy to
  120.52 +have her cousin watching. The gray haired girl was always so confident in her. It made her feel
  120.53 +like she could accomplish anything with Nadeshiko by her side. It was always nice to have her 
  120.54 +own personal cheerleader. “Arigato, Nadeshiko-chan!” Smiling gratefully, she took the cup of
  120.55 +water from Nadeshiko’s outstretched hands. The water slid graciously past her lips, revitalizing
  120.56 +her exhausted insides. The cold water helped her to forget about the burning sun overhead. 
  120.57 +	“I bet you’re even faster than Terrada-san. He’s the fastest on the boys’ team. But
  120.58 +you’re like a blur, Sonomi-chan. You’re just like the wind.” Nadeshiko brushed her hair back
  120.59 +absentmindedly, the wind sending it fluttering behind her. She smiled sweetly, glad to see her
  120.60 +cousin. Everything in life was fascinating to Nadeshiko. And why shouldn’t it be? After all,
  120.61 +wasn’t life itself such a fascinating thing to begin with, the simple act of being such an
  120.62 +amazing fact? Sitting and watching things for hours, watching them partake of life’s endless
  120.63 +dream, it was something she could never tire of. And of all these things, watching her cousin 
  120.64 +run was one of the most fascinating that she could think of at the moment. Seeing Sonomi zip
  120.65 +across a stretch of ground, moving so eagerly towards her destination, it was always so 
  120.66 +wonderful to watch. Nadeshiko loved the way Sonomi always looked so intent, so dedicated to 
  120.67 +reach her goal. Watching her move, watching her face, watching the whole thing was just a 
  120.68 +wonder. But then, so much of life was. 
  120.69 +	“Do you really think so? I heard he was really fast. I’d like to race him some time,”
  120.70 +Sonomi said thoughtfully, heading back into the locker room. She had to change out of her gym
  120.71 +uniform and back into her school uniform before going home. She was feeling rather good about
  120.72 +things. She had a wonderful best friend, she was the up and coming star of the track team, and
  120.73 +her grandfather was visiting. Yes, things were going well. She smiled happily to herself as she
  120.74 +pulled her school uniform out of her bag. Pulling her shirt over her head, she turned around to
  120.75 +see Nadeshiko still standing there, smiling. Sonomi nearly stumbled backwards over her bag.
  120.76 +Apparently, Nadeshiko had followed her back into the locker room, even though only the track 
  120.77 +team was supposed to be there for the moment. “Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi found her heart beating
  120.78 +faster, her mind fuzzy. She tried to clear it as she began to pull her school uniform on. It
  120.79 +shouldn’t matter if Nadeshiko were there anyway. The dark haired girl didn’t often listen to
  120.80 +rules or other such nonsense. And Sonomi had practically grown up with her, so it wasn’t like 
  120.81 +she should worry about dressing in front of her. But still...
  120.82 +	Meanwhile, Nadeshiko busied herself with looking through Sonomi’s locker. Her innocent
  120.83 +curiosity sent her from one object to the next, all the while waiting for her older cousin to
  120.84 +walk her home as she always did. Like a big sister, Sonomi had always looked out for her.
  120.85 +Nadeshiko didn’t always understand why Sonomi was always so overprotective, but she was grateful
  120.86 +for it. She thought it was sweet of Sonomi to want to protect her all the time. Even if she did
  120.87 +worry too much. Sonomi was always so silly. 
  120.88 +	“Are you ready, Nadeshiko-chan?” Sonomi asked after a moment when she thought she had 
  120.89 +her composure back. The strange trill that Nadeshiko always sent through her heart both thrilled
  120.90 +and captivated her. It left her rolling about on powerful waves that shook her heart. And it had
  120.91 +grown stronger lately, nearly taking her breath away at times. It was one of those confusing
  120.92 +things that made running even more enjoyable. She didn’t have to worry about weird feelings she
  120.93 +couldn’t understand. The dark haired girl was her best friend and that had been her explanation
  120.94 +for the strange feelings at first, but now she wasn’t so sure. It was just so overpowering. She
  120.95 +almost felt dizzy when she was with Nadeshiko, her heart aching sweetly. And it was driving
  120.96 +Sonomi crazy. A flash in her eyes sent her reeling back to reality. Blinking a few times, Sonomi
  120.97 +finally caught sight of Nadeshiko holding her camera, the one she had received as a birthday
  120.98 +present. 
  120.99 +	Giggling, Nadeshiko held out the camera to its owner. “Take my picture, Sonomi-chan!
 120.100 +You’ve been getting better with your camera. I want to have my picture taken by the future world
 120.101 +prize winning photographer, Amamiya Sonomi-chan!” She giggled again as she posed for her cousin. 
 120.102 +	Sonomi giggled herself, holding the camera by its strap. “There’s no one I’d rather take
 120.103 +pictures of than you, Nadeshiko-chan. But let’s wait till we get home. I don’t want okaa-san to
 120.104 +worry about us being late.” Picking up her bag, the auburn haired girl turned to lead the way.
 120.105 +She was startled a second later when she felt something soft grab her hand. Her face darkened
 120.106 +slightly as she saw Nadeshiko holding her hand, smiling sweetly as always. Sonomi tried to 
 120.107 +return the smile, but found her heart beating mysteriously again. Nadeshiko’s hand felt so soft
 120.108 +against her own, her gentle fingers moving ever so slightly against her own. The young heiress
 120.109 +tried to shake off the strange feeling, but it refused to leave her. Hand in hand, the young
 120.110 +Amamiya girls made their way home. 
 120.111 +
 120.112 +	“Girls!”
 120.113 +	“Grandpa!” 
 120.114 +	The two girls were swept up into a warm hug by their grandfather shortly after stepping
 120.115 +through the front door of Sonomi’s house. The hug lasted for a long moment before the elder man
 120.116 +took a step back, smiling at his lovely granddaughters. “You’re both growing up into such pretty
 120.117 +young ladies.”
 120.118 +	Nadishiko curtsied with a flourish, smiling brightly. “Thank you, grandpa!”
 120.119 +	“Arigato, grandpa!” Sonomi replied, smiling herself. Though they had visited their
 120.120 +grandfather recently, he had come up himself to stay for a bit. Sonomi was always happy to see
 120.121 +him. He was always so nice and fun. He didn’t have the same demanding authority that her parents
 120.122 +had. She loved them dearly, but there were certain things they expected of her that her
 120.123 +grandfather didn’t. He was a kind, gentle soul. His visits were always something Sonomi looked
 120.124 +forward to.
 120.125 +	“I was waiting for the two of you to get home. I have something for you.” Going back to
 120.126 +the guest room he was using, he returned with two beautiful dresses. “Now which one was for 
 120.127 +which of you?” A smile crossed his face as he saw his granddaughters’ faces light up. The older
 120.128 +man cherished his granddaughters, and enjoyed pampering them when he got the chance to. 
 120.129 +	“Wai! They’re beautiful!” Nadeshiko smiled brightly at the two dresses her grandfather
 120.130 +held. She always loved to dress up, no matter what the occasion. It was so much fun to try on 
 120.131 +all sorts of different things, to wear something beautiful. And her grandfather was more than
 120.132 +happy to indulge her on that wish, always ready to supply another wonderful dress for her to
 120.133 +wear.
 120.134 +	“Grandpa! It’s gorgeous!” Sonomi stated, holding onto the hem of one of the dresses. It
 120.135 +was beautifully adorned with ribbons and bows. The other dress was no less adorable, a white
 120.136 +dress with plenty of frills and lace. “Can we try them on?” she asked hopefully. Seeing the 
 120.137 +older man nod, she smiled happily and took the two dresses. “Come on, Nadeshiko-chan. I’ll go
 120.138 +take your picture in both of these.”
 120.139 +	Laughing, the older man smiled at his granddaughters’ exuberance. “Just make sure you
 120.140 +both come down to dinner in them. I want to see how they look on my pretty granddaughters.”
 120.141 +
 120.142 +“Hai, grandpa!”
 120.143 +
 120.144 +	Sonomi watched her younger cousin through the lens of the camera, following every little
 120.145 +movement as she lined up her shot. Nadeshiko’s emerald green eyes sparkled. There was no one
 120.146 +Sonomi would rather take pictures of. Nadeshiko was the perfect model for her. The other girl 
 120.147 +was so pretty and she always posed gracefully. One would never be able to guess at how accident
 120.148 +prone the gray haired girl was if they had only seen pictures of her. 
 120.149 +	Sonomi was currently wearing the ribbon and bow clad dress, Nadeshiko wearing the other.
 120.150 +They had taken several pictures of Nadeshiko in the other dress and now they had switched,
 120.151 +allowing Sonomi to get several more pictures. Nadeshiko was currently lying on her stomach, her
 120.152 +chin in her hands and her bare feet slowly kicking in the air. She was smiling happily at the
 120.153 +camera. Sonomi could feel a faint blush color her cheeks as Nadeshiko gazed directly at her. Her
 120.154 +finger pushed the button, the shutter closing with a click and a whir. And so another image of
 120.155 +her beloved cousin was frozen forever on film. It was such an amazing thing, the camera. Some
 120.156 +people said it was magical, that it had the power to trap ones soul. And Sonomi could see why. 
 120.157 +It certainly had its own magic. It allowed you to capture a single moment of time forever, to
 120.158 +hold onto it for as long as you wished. And yes, it even allowed you to capture pieces of
 120.159 +someone’s soul. No, not the whole thing, of course. But fragments. Bit and pieces. The shards
 120.160 +lying around. Each picture held a little bit of Nadeshiko in it, which was why each picture was
 120.161 +so precious to Sonomi. She was extremely careful with each picture she took, wanting it to be
 120.162 +perfect. Another click and whir sounded as she took another picture. 
 120.163 +	Nadeshiko watched Sonomi as the other girl moved around to get a better shot. She loved
 120.164 +posing for her cousin. It was so much fun to be able to dress up for Sonomi, to have her take 
 120.165 +her picture with that camera. She loved getting in position for the pictures, trying to look
 120.166 +pretty for each consecutive shot. It was always so lovely to be the focus of Sonomi’s attention,
 120.167 +to see her trying so hard to take the perfect picture. And every picture that Nadeshiko had seen
 120.168 +Sonomi take always turned out beautifully. She loved flipping through the scrapbook that her
 120.169 +older cousin was keeping, seeing all of her pictures lined up neatly. The fact that all of the
 120.170 +pictures were of herself didn’t seem surprising at all. Sonomi always paid attention to her, so
 120.171 +it just seemed natural. It was something she always liked. She smiled prettily for the camera,
 120.172 +her long dark hair framing her face, nearly obscuring her hands. Sitting up on her knees, she
 120.173 +tilted her head to the side as Sonomi got ready for another shot. 
 120.174 +	Taking another picture of her lovely cousin, Sonomi stepped around to the other side of
 120.175 +the bed. It was wonderful being able to do this with Nadeshiko. It was their time alone 
 120.176 +together. She could take endless amounts of pictures of her photogenic cousin. And she was more
 120.177 +than happy to. Sonomi was trying harder and harder to get better at taking pictures. If 
 120.178 +Nadeshiko was her subject, then they had to be perfect. The other girl was perfect, and so the
 120.179 +pictures of her should be as well. Nadeshiko was the only thing Sonomi really liked to take
 120.180 +pictures of. Maybe it was just that Nadeshiko made such an excellent model. Or maybe... Sonomi
 120.181 +shook her head, unsure of where that thought would lead. She tried to shake off the confusion as
 120.182 +she clicked another picture. “You’re so cute in that!” Sonomi said, her mind shifting to something much easier for her to grasp: her cousin’s irresistible cuteness. All of Sonomi’s room was filled with cute things, from toys to dolls to stuffed animals. And the cutest thing of all was, of course, Nadeshiko herself. The other girl was so innocent and sweet and cute. It was just perfect. Smiling, Sonomi took another picture. “I wish I had enough film to do this forever.”
 120.183 +	“Me too, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko replied, smiling into the camera. “You’re so good at
 120.184 +taking pictures.” A knock at the door drew her attention, long dark hair fluttering about her. 
 120.185 +	“It’s time for dinner, girls. Hurry and wash up,” Sonomi’s mother said. 
 120.186 +	“Hai!” Slipping off the bed, Nadeshiko hurried for the door, eager to show her
 120.187 +grandfather the dress he had bought her. 
 120.188 +	Sonomi pulled up the camera after a moment, letting Nadeshiko fill the lens. Taking another quick picture, she caught Nadeshiko’s beautiful image in film once again. A soft, 
 120.189 +dreamy sigh escaped her. If only she could do that forever. Nadeshiko was always at the 
 120.190 +forefront of her mind. It would be so nice to spend forever taking her beautiful picture. 
 120.191 +Setting down her camera, Sonomi quickly followed, a bright smile on her lips. 
 120.192 +
 120.193 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 120.194 +
 120.195 +	“So you don’t think I can beat you?” Sonomi asked in irritation, her hands on her hips.
 120.196 +She stared the reddish haired boy down as she waited for an answer. 
 120.197 +	“I just think that your cousin shouldn’t go around saying you’re faster than me. I’m 
 120.198 +sure you’re good. But you’re still a girl,” the boy replied, crossing his arms. 
 120.199 +	Sonomi’s eyebrow twitched at his words. “If Nadeshiko-chan said I can beat you, then I
 120.200 +can. Are you calling her a liar?”
 120.201 +	“No, no,” the boy said quickly. He sighed inwardly. He had wanted to confront her about
 120.202 +the rumors that she was faster than him. He didn’t want to start a fight over Sonomi’s cousin.
 120.203 +Everyone knew how touchy she could be when Nadeshiko was involved. “It’s just that I’m the
 120.204 +fastest one at the school. And everyone keeps saying that you are. That’s stupid.”
 120.205 +	“Fine. If you want to race, then let’s race, Terrada-san,” Sonomi challenged, tossing 
 120.206 +her hair out of her eyes with a quick toss of her head. She wasn’t one to back down from things.
 120.207 +And she was frustrated that this boy would come to her to argue about who was faster. “If you
 120.208 +want to prove who’s faster, then let’s see.” And to say that he was faster because he was a boy
 120.209 +at that! That was one of her favorite things about racing, that it only mattered who was the
 120.210 +fastest, not who they were. She did think that it was a little embarrassing that Nadeshiko had
 120.211 +been telling everyone at school that she was the fastest one, but she was happy to have her
 120.212 +younger cousin’s confidence. 
 120.213 +	The boy nodded in agreement. “All right. Let’s do it. First one to the finish line is 
 120.214 +the fastest at the school.” He wanted to clear this up once and for all. At first it had just
 120.215 +been Nadeshiko talking about how fast Sonomi was, but now other girls were beginning to as well
 120.216 +and even some of the boys. If he didn’t put an end to this fast, everyone really would think she
 120.217 +was the fastest. 
 120.218 +	The two stretched as they waited. Several other students had gathered by the time they
 120.219 +had gotten ready. Sonomi was still in her school uniform, but there wasn’t anything she could do
 120.220 +to fix that. She would just have to make do. She and Terrada slowly took their places, waiting
 120.221 +for the signal to send them dashing towards the finish line. 
 120.222 +	“You can do it, Sonomi-chan! No one can beat you!” Nadeshiko called out energetically.
 120.223 +She didn’t see what all the fuss was about. She was proud of her cousin. Sonomi really was a
 120.224 +great runner. Nadeshiko had watched her all the time. So she wanted people to know how great 
 120.225 +she was. It struck her as odd that someone would get mad about that. But she didn’t let it 
 120.226 +bother her. It didn’t matter. And it gave Sonomi another chance to run. 
 120.227 +	“What’s going on?” a voice asked.
 120.228 +	Turning to answer the voice, Nadeshiko smiled pleasantly at the teacher’s assistant,
 120.229 +Kinomoto Fujitaka. “Kinomoto-sensei! Sonomi-chan and Terrada-san are about to race. Did you come
 120.230 +to watch?” she asked cheerfully. 
 120.231 +	Smiling at the younger girl, Fujitaka nodded. “Yes, I guess I did. I just didn’t know
 120.232 +what it was about. Thank you, Nadeshiko-chan.” Lured by the crowd of students, Fujitaka had been
 120.233 +curious as to what was going on. He had been glad to find the dark haired girl there to explain
 120.234 +things to him. She was rapidly becoming his favorite student. It was funny how things worked. It
 120.235 +was almost like Fate that he had hit her with a ball in the park not so long ago. He could tell
 120.236 +she was different from the other girls her age. She was almost other worldly, always lost in her
 120.237 +own thoughts and in the world around her, never seeming concerned about anything. It was so
 120.238 +refreshing with how worried all the other girls were about life’s trivialities. 
 120.239 +	Sonomi, meanwhile, was preparing for her race. She waited motionless, her mind set
 120.240 +directly on the task before her. She let out a deep breath. “Go!” a black haired girl called. 
 120.241 +And with that, Sonomi launched herself forward. Run! It raced through her mind in the same way
 120.242 +that she raced across the track, the single thought becoming all encompassing. She could hear
 120.243 +Terrada running beside her, could feel the wind sweeping across her body and the ground for a
 120.244 +split second at a time. Her mind focussed on the finish line, everything else blurring,
 120.245 +disappearing from her vision. There was only the goal. Even her rival began to fade away, her
 120.246 +concentration remaining steadfast. Just a little further... This was her chance to prove 
 120.247 +herself, to show that Nadeshiko was right about her. Her strong legs propelled her forward, 
 120.248 +the mingled voices of the students nothing more than a whisper to her as she finally reached 
 120.249 +the designated finish line. It took her a moment to realize she had crossed it. Already stopped,
 120.250 +she had to clear her head, to let the rest of reality back in. 
 120.251 +	“Amamiya-san! That was unbelievable!” one of the girls said in amazement. 
 120.252 +	“We told you she was the best, Terrada-san!” another girl said. 
 120.253 +	“I can’t believe that a girl beat you,” one of Terrada’s friends said, shaking his head. 
 120.254 +	Sonomi smiled to herself, brushing back her disheveled auburn hair. She had proven
 120.255 +Nadeshiko right. She had proven herself right. It didn’t matter who you were with track. It only
 120.256 +mattered who the fastest was. She slowly caught her breath, glancing around for Nadeshiko. Her
 120.257 +eyes were well trained to the task, quickly scanning for the gray haired girl. But this time she
 120.258 +couldn’t find her amongst the gathered crowd of students. Her elation at her victory quickly
 120.259 +disappeared as panic began to grow inside of her. She didn’t like being away from Nadeshiko for
 120.260 +too long. Nadeshiko always managed to get hurt if she wasn’t there to protect her. Ignoring the
 120.261 +praise from some fellow students, Sonomi hurried off in search of her cousin. 
 120.262 +
 120.263 +	“Thank you for your help, Nadeshiko-chan,” Fujitaka said gratefully, smiling as he 
 120.264 +pushed up his glasses. “It would have taken me much longer to get all of those papers back to 
 120.265 +the teacher’s lounge on my own.”
 120.266 +	“You’re welcome, Kinomoto-sensei,” Nadeshiko replied, smiling in return. When he had
 120.267 +asked if she wanted to help move some papers back to the teacher’s lounge, she had been happy to
 120.268 +help. She had a boundless curiosity and she had never seen the teacher’s lounge before, so it 
 120.269 +had sounded like a great idea. She already knew that Sonomi would win, anyway. So she didn’t 
 120.270 +need to wait and see the results. The teacher’s lounge, once a mysterious and far off place, was
 120.271 +now added to her mental map of the school. Having seen it didn’t take away any of the wonder,
 120.272 +though. Nadeshiko always managed to find wonder hidden in anything. 
 120.273 +	Sonomi stood in the doorway for a long moment, unsure of what to say. She felt hurt,
 120.274 +angry, jealous. But she didn’t know what to say about any of it. Her victory felt cheap,
 120.275 +pointless, with Nadeshiko leaving to go help the assistant teacher. Nadeshiko was always there 
 120.276 +to cheer her on, to share the victory with her when it was all over. But the assistant teacher
 120.277 +had lured her off to help with some trivial task. Sonomi had been running because of what
 120.278 +Nadeshiko had said about her being the fastest. It didn’t feel right to have won without
 120.279 +Nadeshiko waiting for her at the end. And here that assistant teacher was, not caring at all
 120.280 +about such things, smiling as if all was right with the world. And why shouldn’t he? He had
 120.281 +Nadeshiko with him, so of course he was smiling. Who wouldn’t smile in Nadeshiko’s presence?
 120.282 +Yeah, that was it. He had taken Nadeshiko away at her moment of victory. He was why she wasn’t
 120.283 +there to share it with her. Balling up her fists, Sonomi stormed into the room. “Nadeshiko-chan,
 120.284 +there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. I was starting to get so worried. You know 
 120.285 +you shouldn’t wander off like that.” 
 120.286 +	“Hi, Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko replied, waving to her older cousin. She hurried over to
 120.287 +Sonomi’s side, glad to see the auburn haired girl. Sonomi always managed to find her, though 
 120.288 +she did always look worried when she did. This time she looked a little different, though. Not
 120.289 +exactly worried. Something else. Nadeshiko watched her curiously.
 120.290 +	“Oh, she’s fine, Sonomi-chan. She’s been with me the whole time,” Fujitaka said
 120.291 +helpfully, smiling all the while. “Oh, how did your little race go, by the way?” he asked
 120.292 +curiously, pushing his glasses up.
 120.293 +	“My little race went just fine, thank you. Come on, Nadeshiko-chan.” Turning her
 120.294 +attention back to Nadeshiko, Sonomi took the other girl’s hand, leading her out of the large
 120.295 +classroom. She just wanted to get away from the teacher. She was still frustrated about the 
 120.296 +whole thing, but all she could do was to take her dearest Nadeshiko away from him. She shot him 
 120.297 +a gaze with her stormy blue eyes as she headed for the door, Nadeshiko in tow. Nadeshiko 
 120.298 +followed as she always did, waving to Fujitaka before they disappeared out the door.
 120.299 +
 120.300 +	Sonomi lay in bed, her blanket up around her head, her school uniform laying on the
 120.301 +floor. She was usually much better about keeping things in order, but she just didn’t care. Her
 120.302 +grandpa has asked her if she wanted to play some tennis with him, but she had declined. She 
 120.303 +loved to play things like that with her grandfather, but she just didn’t feel up to it at the
 120.304 +moment. She was still feeling burnt out from her race with Terrada. It just felt so shallow
 120.305 +knowing Nadeshiko hadn’t been there for it. It wasn’t that she couldn’t race without Nadeshiko,
 120.306 +but this was for the other girl as well as for herself. Knowing that Nadeshiko had been lured
 120.307 +away made it all feel so pointless to have ran against him at all. Who cared what the other
 120.308 +students thought of her? It was what Nadeshiko thought of her that was important. 
 120.309 +	Rolling on her side, Sonomi sighed sadly. She still felt jealous that Nadeshiko had been
 120.310 +with her teacher instead of with her. She was angry at him for taking Nadeshiko away while she
 120.311 +was racing. Nadeshiko was supposed to be there, watching her, cheering for her. How dare he take
 120.312 +her away? But what could she do about it? He was her teacher. That feeling of powerlessness sent
 120.313 +Sonomi’s heart tumbling again. She hated feeling powerless, useless. She hated feeling trapped.
 120.314 +It was one of the most painful feelings she could think of. She needed to be able to handle
 120.315 +things, to be free. 
 120.316 +	Her mother’s words cam ringing back to her, ones from back near her birthday. ‘Oh,
 120.317 +Sonomi-chan, you’re growing up so fast! Pretty soon, you’ll be a beautiful young lady. All the
 120.318 +handsome boys will start falling for you. Someday you’ll get a wonderful husband and a darling
 120.319 +family.’ Sonomi had merely smiled and humored her mother at the time. Truth be told, she didn’t
 120.320 +really care much about the idea of a husband or boys starting to fall for her. It didn’t sound
 120.321 +like something that she would want. She never much liked boys to begin with. She was much more
 120.322 +interested with the idea of having a family. One went with the other, though. She had no doubt
 120.323 +that eventually she’d wed and have a child. It was how things worked. But she didn’t much care 
 120.324 +to think about it too much. But now that she thought about it again, it made perfect sense in
 120.325 +context with her beloved Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko was already very pretty. She would only grow more
 120.326 +beautiful as time went by. Though she was a little odd, boys were already becoming interested in
 120.327 +her. In time, they would surely start falling for her en masse. Sonomi shook her head at the
 120.328 +horrifying vision of manbeasts stalking her dear Nadeshiko. If it was anything like what was
 120.329 +going on with the assistant teacher, Sonomi could already tell it would be a living nightmare.
 120.330 +‘I’ll protect you from those insects, Nadeshiko-chan. I won’t let them take you away. They don’t
 120.331 +deserve you. I’ll keep them away from you,’ Sonomi vowed.
 120.332 +	A knock at her window shocked the auburn haired girl out of her thoughts. Getting out
 120.333 +from under her blanket, Sonomi crept to the window, squinting to try and see out into the
 120.334 +darkness. Her room was on the second floor, so how could anyone be at her window? Picking up a
 120.335 +porcelain dolphin by her nightstand just in case, Sonomi peered out her window. What could
 120.336 +possibly be making the light rapping on her window? It took her a moment to recognize the shape.
 120.337 +“Nadeshiko-chan?!” The auburn haired girl immediately opened the window for her younger cousin.
 120.338 +“What are you doing here? How did you get all the way up here, Nadeshiko-chan?” Without waiting
 120.339 +for the dark haired girl’s answer, Sonomi pulled Nadeshiko inside, holding onto the other girl
 120.340 +tightly.
 120.341 +	Resting against Sonomi, Nadeshiko pulled up a foot behind her, motioning to her foot,
 120.342 +wings on either side of it. “I used the Jump Card. It was really helpful. You’d be surprised how
 120.343 +high you can jump with them, Sonomi-chan. It’s a lot of fun. You should try it some time.” 
 120.344 +	Sonomi held Nadeshiko’s foot, her fingers brushing along her ankle where the wings were
 120.345 +located. “That’s really cute. So that’s what that little stuffed animal guy we caught does?” She
 120.346 +would have said something about it not being safe for Nadeshiko to come to her window like that,
 120.347 +but she was too happy to see her to argue. And the wings on her feet really were cute. Sonomi
 120.348 +brushed the wings a bit, still holding Nadeshiko’s small foot in her hand. She didn’t want to 
 120.349 +let go. Thankfully, Nadeshiko didn’t seem to mind, her toes wiggling as Sonomi continued to 
 120.350 +hold her ankle and the wings.
 120.351 +	“Yeah. I was surprised. But I guess it makes sense with her name being Jump and all.” A
 120.352 +thump at the window caught Nadeshiko’s attention. “Oh yeah! Teddy-chan came, too. I got so
 120.353 +excited about jumping around to your house that I must have forgotten about her. Could you open
 120.354 +the window?”
 120.355 +	Reluctantly letting go of Nadeshiko’s foot, Sonomi headed to the window. She paused for 
 120.356 +a moment, considering. That little stuffed animal was always getting Nadeshiko in trouble. Did
 120.357 +she really want to let it in? Sighing, she slid the window open. If it would appease Nadeshiko,
 120.358 +then she could deal with it. 
 120.359 +	“About time you opened the window. I was freezing out there!” The little yellow Seal
 120.360 +Beast shuddered to make a point, his expressive face in a frown. 
 120.361 +	Sonomi stared at the Seal Beast for a long moment before looking back to Nadeshiko. The
 120.362 +dark haired girl simply smiled brightly. Sonomi turned back to the floating teddy bear. The Seal
 120.363 +Beast was wearing a small lavender dress, obviously from one of Nadeshiko’s other doll. He had
 120.364 +two little green bows tied on his ears. 
 120.365 +	“Isn’t she cute?” Nadeshiko asked, clasping her hands together. She had summarily 
 120.366 +decided that Cereberus was a girl shortly after having discovered him. And it only seemed 
 120.367 +fitting that she dress up her newest stuffed animal friend in something pretty. 
 120.368 +	“Err.. Of course she is, Nadeshiko-chan! She’s very cute,” Sonomi said quickly, smiling
 120.369 +reassuringly. Her cousin certainly had good taste. The little dress was cute. And it almost made
 120.370 +the Seal Beast look friendly. Now if only Nadeshiko could fix the things attitude, then it would
 120.371 +be perfect. But as far as the Seal Beast was concerned, the feeling was mutual. He didn’t seem
 120.372 +particularly fond of Sonomi either.”
 120.373 +	“I’m not a girl,” Teddy-chan said unenthusiastically, his stubby arms crossed. Though he
 120.374 +found himself to be the pinnacle of manliness, the current Cardcaptor didn’t seem to agree. All
 120.375 +of his arguments had been politely ignored as Nadeshiko had gone about dressing him as prettily
 120.376 +as she could. 
 120.377 +	“Of course you are,” Sonomi said, looking him in the eyes. “And Nadeshiko-chan thinks
 120.378 +you’re a very pretty girl. You should be happy.” Putting a hand on her chin, Sonomi watched him
 120.379 +thoughtfully. “And though I hate to admit it, she’s right. You do look cute in that. She did a
 120.380 +great job.” The auburn haired girl felt herself nearly get knocked over as Nadeshiko hugged her
 120.381 +tightly from behind. A warm blush spread across her cheeks as she felt Nadeshiko hold onto her.
 120.382 +	“Arigato, Sonomi-chan! I’m so glad you agree! Teddy-chan didn’t seem so sure,” Nadeshiko
 120.383 +said happily. She was glad to get Sonomi’s opinion of her makeover of Teddy. She had spent a lot
 120.384 +of time making the Seal Beast pretty and she was happy to have Sonomi on her side. It was much
 120.385 +better that Teddy have a cute wardrobe than to just fly around without any clothes all day, she
 120.386 +had told him. He had agreed at first, saying he would like to wear something ‘cool’. He had
 120.387 +changed his mind upon seeing the wardrobe she had found for him. At least Sonomi thought it was 
 120.388 +a good idea.
 120.389 +	Teddy grumbled to himself, holding his yellow head in his paws. “Can we please get down
 120.390 +to business? We need to stop a Clow Card. It’s out there right now and it doesn’t seem very
 120.391 +happy.” Why was he stuck in the middle of all of this? He was the Seal Beast. He shouldn’t be
 120.392 +sporting lipstick or hair bows. He sighed miserably and tried to make the best of it. The least
 120.393 +they could do is catch the Clow Cards before they caused too much damage. But between the
 120.394 +Cardcaptor’s bizarre behavior and her hot tempered cousin, this was getting to be a difficult
 120.395 +job. 
 120.396 +	“A Clow Card? Again?” Sonomi wasn’t very thrilled with where this was going. She didn’t
 120.397 +like the idea of Nadeshiko have to run around and catch these things. What would she do if
 120.398 +anything happened to her? But that was exactly why she had to go. She couldn’t stop Nadeshiko
 120.399 +from going anymore than her parents could make her go to bed on time. Nadeshiko would go with or
 120.400 +without her consent. So all she could do was go with and try to protect Nadeshiko as best she
 120.401 +could. 
 120.402 +	“Mmhmm..” Nadeshiko said, nodding. “That’s why we came. I thought you’d want to come,
 120.403 +too, Sonomi-chan. It’s more fun when you’re there. At least, I think it is. I’ve never gone
 120.404 +without you. Except for when I got the book.” Nadeshiko looked thoughtful for a moment before
 120.405 +nodding. “And I want you to come.” She smiled sweetly at her cousin, holding her staff in front
 120.406 +of her.
 120.407 +	Sighing, Sonomi went to grab her jacket. “All right. But lets hurry. It’s getting late. 
 120.408 +I just want to get this thing over with.” Pulling her jacket on, she looked over at Nadeshiko
 120.409 +worriedly. Stepping forward, she took Nadeshiko’s hands in her own. “Please, Nadeshiko-chan,
 120.410 +always come get me before you go do these things. I want to help you with them. I want to keep
 120.411 +you safe.” Her stormy blue eyes pleaded with Nadeshiko’s emerald gems. 
 120.412 +	“All right, Sonomi-chan,” Nadeshiko agreed, smiling.
 120.413 +	Sighing, this time with a slight feeling of relief, Sonomi nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
 120.414 +
 120.415 +	“So.. Where is it?” Sonomi asked, hugging her jacket close to herself. A cold night
 120.416 +breeze blew across the two girls and the Seal Beast. Sonomi was only wearing her nightgown and a
 120.417 +jacket. She hoped it wouldn’t rain. She’d have to take Nadeshiko home if it did, Card or not. 
 120.418 +She wasn’t going to have the other girl getting sick because of this. 
 120.419 +	Nadeshiko looked around, holding her staff in front of her. She couldn’t see anything,
 120.420 +but every once in a while she would feel strange feelings drawing her one way or another. Teddy
 120.421 +had told her that it was sensing magic in the Cards, but it was so difficult to do! It was like
 120.422 +trying to decide what direction ‘happy’ was in. Shaking her head, she turned to Sonomi, offering
 120.423 +a small smile. “It has to be around here somewhere. Maybe it’s shy,” she suggested, glancing
 120.424 +around once more. “Ms. Clow Card! Could you please come out? We’d really like to meet you! We
 120.425 +want to be your friend!”
 120.426 +	As if in response to Nadeshiko’s call, a large object swept out of the treetops, soaring
 120.427 +through the air towards them. Leaves scattered in every which direction, the wind buffeting the
 120.428 +street below. 
 120.429 +	“There she is!” Nadeshiko smiled, waving to the Clow Card as it hurtled towards them. It
 120.430 +grew larger and larger as it continued to close in on them. This wasn’t so hard after all. It 
 120.431 +was coming right to her. Suddenly, the ground disappeared from beneath her feet and she went
 120.432 +flying to the side. It took her a moment to realize that Sonomi had knocked her out of the way.
 120.433 +She got up shakily, using her staff to support herself. “She doesn’t seem very happy to see 
 120.434 +us.”
 120.435 +	Sonomi crouched near Nadeshiko, watching the Card soar up into the sky again, searching
 120.436 +for them. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched it circling above, like a giant bird of
 120.437 +prey. “Why is it attacking us? What’s wrong with that thing?” 
 120.438 +	“It’s the Fly Card. It doesn’t have the most docile disposition. I think it’s a little
 120.439 +angry about being stuck in the book for so long,” Teddy explained, floating next to the two
 120.440 +girls. 
 120.441 +	“But Nadeshiko-chan didn’t do that to the Card! It’s not her fault! The Card should 
 120.442 +thank her for setting it free,” Sonomi replied angrily. 
 120.443 +	“Well, that’s how it works,” Teddy replied with a shrug. “And she’s the new Cardcaptor,
 120.444 +so it probably isn’t happy about being stuck in the book again.”
 120.445 +	“I’ll take her out of the book a lot if that’s what she wants,” Nadeshiko offered
 120.446 +hopefully. “She doesn’t have to stay in it if she doesn’t want to. Can we tell her that?” She 
 120.447 +had no want to subjugate the Cards. She simply wanted to be their friend, to meet them all. 
 120.448 +	“I don’t think it’s in a listening mood right now, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi stated,
 120.449 +watching the Fly Card descend towards them. Grabbing the other girl’s pale hand, she ran as fast
 120.450 +as she could. Should might be able to get away on her own, but Nadeshiko slowed her 
 120.451 +considerably. But she couldn’t leave Nadeshiko alone against that thing. Her eyes darted for any
 120.452 +place they could escape to, anything that would let them get away from the magical creature
 120.453 +hunting for them. She yanked Nadeshiko around a tree at the last moment, the wind nearly 
 120.454 +knocking them both off of their feet as it darted past the side of the tree, lifting into the 
 120.455 +air again. Her heart pounded in her chest, shaking her whole body. Never before had Nadeshiko
 120.456 +actually been in danger with the Cards. This was wrong. Nadeshiko shouldn’t be out here past her
 120.457 +bedtime with a giant hawk thing trying to tear her apart. And yet Nadeshiko was expected to bind
 120.458 +the beast, to change it back into a Card. She was just a little girl! Sonomi had some choice
 120.459 +words for whoever decided to place this burden on her beloved Nadeshiko. Her mind raced for
 120.460 +options. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly. The longer they were out in the
 120.461 +open, the greater the chance they would get hurt. Her eyes finally settled on a building, still
 120.462 +under construction. “Nadeshiko-chan, run!” she yelled before bolting to the building. An angry
 120.463 +squawk thundered above them before the Fly dove towards them. It flew ever nearer, the wind
 120.464 +nearly tearing Sonomi’s hand from Nadeshiko’s. She held on tightly, finally pulling her through
 120.465 +the opening as the large bird creature passed just above the ground. 
 120.466 +	Nadeshiko leant against the wall, catching her breath. She wasn’t nearly as athletic as
 120.467 +her cousin and all the physical exertion was exhausting her. She slid down the wall, breathing
 120.468 +quickly. “We have to talk to her. She needs to know that we don’t want to hurt her.” 
 120.469 +	“I’m more worried about what she wants to do to us,” Teddy answered, floating beside the
 120.470 +Cardcaptor. “We need to find some way to capture it. But I don’t think you have the right Cards
 120.471 +yet. Flower isn’t strong enough, Jump just isn’t the type of Card to bind her, and even if Wood
 120.472 +is strong enough, she doesn’t have that kind of range.”
 120.473 +	The angry squawking grew louder as the Fly continued its search for the Cardcaptor and
 120.474 +her friends. Something large toppled over outside as the wind beat down around it. 
 120.475 +	Sonomi looked at the large back opening to the building. They hadn’t finished enough of
 120.476 +it. It was large enough for the bird creature to get through if it found it. They would have to
 120.477 +find another hiding place. But how long could they keep hiding? This thing was out there
 120.478 +somewhere. They needed to catch it. But she couldn’t let it hurt Nadeshiko. She couldn’t let her
 120.479 +go out there, even armed with her magic, to do battle with the Card. She could never allow that.
 120.480 +It could tear apart her beautiful little cousin. No, she had promised she would protect
 120.481 +Nadeshiko. And she would, no matter what. Her decision made, Sonomi walked over to the door.
 120.482 +“Nadeshiko-chan. I’m going to get the Card to chase me in here through the back. When you hear 
 120.483 +us coming, get the Wood Card ready. You can trap it when we come in here. It won’t have the room
 120.484 +to get away.” She swallowed as she held onto the doorframe. She would have to use every ounce of
 120.485 +speed she had ever shown in track. This wasn’t just a game. Taking a deep breath, Sonomi 
 120.486 +prepared herself. This was still the same thing. It only mattered that she was fast enough.
 120.487 +	“Sonomi-chan? No, you can’t go out there. It might hurt you,” Nadeshiko hurried over to
 120.488 +Sonomi’s side, shaking her head. “We have to talk to it first. Otherwise it might still be
 120.489 +angry.”
 120.490 +	Sonomi smiled at her cousin, squeezing Nadeshiko’s hand. “You said I’m the fastest,
 120.491 +right? Then I can’t lose. It won’t be able to catch me. I can do it, Nadeshiko-chan. I know I
 120.492 +can. Because you believe in me. Please believe in me. If you do, I know I can do anything.”
 120.493 +	Nadeshiko smiled slowly, nodding. “Hai. I believe in you, Sonomi-chan. I know you can!
 120.494 +You’re the fastest! You’re just like the wind, Sonomi-chan!” The dark haired girl gave Sonomi a
 120.495 +quick hug before stepping away.
 120.496 +	Watching her cousin for a moment, Sonomi felt her determination swell. That was why she
 120.497 +was doing this. For Nadeshiko. Because she didn’t want Nadeshiko to get hurt. So she had to lure
 120.498 +the beast to her cousin. It was the only way to keep Nadeshiko out of harm’s way. Taking a deep
 120.499 +breath, Sonomi darted out of the doorway. 
 120.500 +	The squawking above grew into a frenzy as the Fly caught sight of a single girl running
 120.501 +below. It dove below trying to catch its prey as it hurried through the street. It would not be
 120.502 +captured again. It was free. And it would remain so. 
 120.503 +	Sonomi could hear the roar of the creature as it flew behind her, quickly catching up.
 120.504 +She threw her all into running, her mind staying constantly on the finish line. She had to reach
 120.505 +it. She had to make it back to Nadeshiko. If the thing caught her, it would only wait for
 120.506 +Nadeshiko to come out. She couldn’t let her cousin get hurt. Her heart ached painfully as she
 120.507 +ran, both from the thought of the creature right behind her and the exhaustion of her running. 
 120.508 +It would be on her soon. She had to go faster. She was almost there. Almost.. She could feel the
 120.509 +wind whipping around her, threatening to send her sprawling to the floor. She knew that if she
 120.510 +fell down, she wouldn’t be getting back up. She finally caught sight of the opening. Her entire
 120.511 +body burned as she forced her muscles to move despite the pain. Just a little more.. She could
 120.512 +hear the Fly nearer and nearer, just behind her. The opening was right in front of her. Her
 120.513 +entire body wanted to collapse, but instead she ran even faster, her vision blurring around her
 120.514 +as her weary body threatened to give up.
 120.515 +	And she was through. Teddy grabbed hold of Sonomi’s jacket and yanked her into the air
 120.516 +just as the Fly crashed through the opening.
 120.517 +	“Wood! Bind the Fly and hold it still!” Nadeshiko called out, her voice echoing in the
 120.518 +confines of the unfinished building. A beautiful magical woman appeared out of the Wood Card,
 120.519 +large leafy branches reaching out to entangle the Fly Card. The large branches held it in place,
 120.520 +keeping it from flying away. But still, the Fly struggled, writhing about in its bonds, yanking
 120.521 +and shifting desperately to escape. It cried out again and again, trying to force its way free.
 120.522 +It wouldn’t be captured again. It couldn’t allow itself to be sealed away in the book. It only
 120.523 +wanted to be free. To soar free. It cried out, bashing about left and right in a mad attempt to
 120.524 +get away. Wood struggled to hold it, but it’s branches began to sway under the force, some
 120.525 +snapping painfully.
 120.526 +	“No! Please don’t!” Nadeshiko called out, running through the maze of branches to the
 120.527 +struggling Clow Card. She couldn’t stand to see it hurting itself and Wood so badly. She could
 120.528 +already see Wood suffering from its sustained blows. The Fly’s wing was injured as well, the
 120.529 +beautiful creature hurting it in its vain struggle. “Please don’t,” Nadeshiko whispered, laying 
 120.530 +a gentle hand on the Fly’s beak. “Don’t hurt yourself. Please. And please don’t hurt Wood. She’s
 120.531 +really sweet. She’s just trying to help you. We both want to help you.” Dismissing the Wood 
 120.532 +Card, Nadeshiko stood before the Fly, her hand still on its beak. She looked at its frightened,
 120.533 +pained eyes. She smiled gently, looking into its eyes. “It will be okay. I promise.”
 120.534 +	“Nadeshiko-chan!” Sonomi cried out, panic gripping her. She raced to her cousin’s side,
 120.535 +but Teddy blocked the way. “Get away from it!” She almost couldn’t bear to watch. Her mind 
 120.536 +filled with horrible fates for her beautiful cousin, the large creature lashing out at her in
 120.537 +them. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Nadeshiko. She couldn’t live with
 120.538 +herself if her younger cousin got hurt. She shoved Teddy aside, ready to run to Nadeshiko. But
 120.539 +she knew she wouldn’t be in time. She was too weak from running all the way there. There was no
 120.540 +way she could get Nadeshiko out of the way. Her heart hung in limbo as she watched and waited.
 120.541 +	Slowly, gently, the Fly Card nuzzled Nadeshiko. It’s eyes calmed as it watched her. This
 120.542 +girl would enslave it. She was sincere. She was genuinely sorry for the Fly getting hurt. The 
 120.543 +Fly simply stood there before her.
 120.544 +	“Thank you very much,” Nadeshiko said happily. Holding its beak with both of her hands,
 120.545 +she gave it a kiss on the tip of it. “I’ll take good care of you. You can stay with all of your
 120.546 +friends, the other Cards. And Teddy-chan, too.” Holding up the staff, Nadeshiko brought it down
 120.547 +gently on the Fly Card. “Return to your true form! Clow Card!” In a swirl of magic, a small Card
 120.548 +appeared in the air before Nadeshiko. Hugging the card close, she smiled. “She just wanted a 
 120.549 +nice place to stay.” 
 120.550 +	Sonomi sighed, reaching Nadeshiko. “I hope we never have to do anything like that 
 120.551 +again.” Her whole body ached. She knew it was going to be sore the next day. And she had track
 120.552 +practice, too. But at least it was over with. This was their shared triumph. It was so much more
 120.553 +fulfilling to share it with Nadeshiko. She smiled as she watched her cousin standing there
 120.554 +cutely, wand in hand. It was nice to be there with her. Better than being home in bed alone.
 120.555 +Well, the whole Nadeshiko being in danger part notwithstanding. 
 120.556 +	“Well..” Teddy laughed nervously at Sonomi’s comment. There were other, more dangerous
 120.557 +Cards out there. But they didn’t need to know that at the moment.
 120.558 +	“Fly!” Nadeshiko watched in amazement as wings grew on the back of her staff. “Sugoi!!
 120.559 +Isn’t that great, Sonomi-chan?” The dark haired girl watched as the wings on her staff flapped
 120.560 +slowly. She climbed on, deciding to test it out. Jumping had been fun earlier. Flying seemed 
 120.561 +even more amazing. Pushing off with her feet, the staff lifted into the air. “Wai! Come on,
 120.562 +Sonomi-chan! This really is fun!”
 120.563 +	“Nadeshiko-chan! Wait!” Sonomi called, her concern returning. She did not like the idea
 120.564 +of Nadeshiko flying on that thing. It didn’t look safe at all. She hurried behind as Nadeshiko
 120.565 +began lifting into the air. She hopped on the back just as it began to ascend. The two girls 
 120.566 +rose into the air, riding on a staff up into the heavens. Sonomi held onto the staff tightly 
 120.567 +with her strong legs, her arms quickly going around Nadeshiko’s waist. Did Nadeshiko really 
 120.568 +need magic? Wasn’t she magical enough on her own? Or at the very least, couldn’t the Cards have
 120.569 +some safer magic? She sighed as they lifted high above Tomoeda. The city sprawled out underneath
 120.570 +them, the gorgeous moon shining above. Her arms wrapped tighter around Nadeshiko’s stomach, her
 120.571 +eyes closing slowly. She could smell the sweet scent of Nadeshiko’s soft hair as it fluttered
 120.572 +against her. She could feel Nadeshiko against her as they soared through the air. Together. She
 120.573 +sighed inwardly. This did make a rather cute scene. Blushing faintly, she rested her head 
 120.574 +against Nadeshiko’s back. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. No, this wasn’t bad at all. 
 120.575 +	“Isn’t it beautiful, Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked, watching the city below, the lights
 120.576 +playing like thousands of fireflies. 
 120.577 +	“Hai. Very beautiful, Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi replied, not opening her eyes. She knew. 
 120.578 +It was beautiful. Because Nadeshiko was there. Sighing softly, she held onto the other girl. 
 120.579 \ No newline at end of file

   121.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   121.2 +++ b/stories/CCN6Sword.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   121.3 @@ -0,0 +1,656 @@
   121.4 +
   121.5 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   121.6 +Across the Distance
   121.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   121.8 +
   121.9 +
  121.10 +
  121.11 +	“Mama?” the young girl asked from her perch near the top of the stairs.
  121.12 +She watched the older woman through the rail of the stairs, looking like a young
  121.13 +prisoner through the bars. The auburn haired girl crouched on the steps in her frilled green nightgown.
  121.14 +	“Hmm? Yes, Sonomi, darling?” The older woman turned her attention to
  121.15 +the little girl on the stairs, a small smile spreading across her lips. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?
  121.16 +	Sonomi nodded slowly, as if not wanting to concede defeat just yet. Holding onto the railing, she tried to work out the jumble of thoughts that had
  121.17 +led her out of her room, slowly piecing them into words. She couldn’t even quite
  121.18 +tell what she wanted to ask, only that something had drawn her here as her 
  121.19 +thoughts had kept her tossing and turning. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said at last,
  121.20 +resting her forehead against the rail of the stairwell. She knew it was late. And
  121.21 +she wasn’t prone to disobeying her mother. But something had kept her from 
  121.22 +drifting off into sleep, thoughts and feelings that she found difficult to
  121.23 +understand. At the forefront of all of them was a shimmer of liquid silver hair, and 
  121.24 +a beautiful, pale girl’s smile. A sigh escaped her lips as the curious feelings
  121.25 +resurfaced. They weren’t anything new. Far from it, in fact. She had been dealing
  121.26 +with them for quite some time. But the thought of spending another night lying in
  121.27 +bed alone and confused didn’t appeal to her at all
  121.28 +	The mother watched her child for a long moment, Sonomi’s normally
  121.29 +bright stormy blue eyes looking clouded over, the girl lost in her thoughts.
  121.30 +“What’s wrong, Sonomi-chan?” she asked curiously. She knew her daughter was
  121.31 +a very emotional girl, getting carried away with her emotions wherever they
  121.32 +drifted. In many ways, Sonomi was much more sensitive than her cousin.
  121.33 +Nadeshiko was a very sweet, loving girl who spent her time marvelling at the
  121.34 +wonders the world offered. Sonomi, on the other hand, was very emotional.
  121.35 +When she was sad, she was very sad. When she was happy, she was ecstatic.
  121.36 +She rode every emotion to its fullest. And when she couldn’t understand her
  121.37 +feelings, it often frustrated the poor girl. It looked like now was one of those
  121.38 +times.
  121.39 +	Sonomi considered the question, looking down at her small bare feet as
  121.40 +she rubbed them together. A yawn overtook her before she could bite it back for
  121.41 +worry that her mother would send her back to bed. She really was tired. But sleep
  121.42 +kept eluding her. “Mama, when did you and papa fall in love?” the auburn haired
  121.43 +girl asked, looking down to see her mother. She couldn’t quite tell why the
  121.44 +question was so important, only that it was.
  121.45 +	Pausing for a moment, Sonomi’s mother thought over the question.
  121.46 +“Hmm... Well, we met in college. We got married some time after that.” Setting
  121.47 +down the book she had been reading, she walked to the foot of the stairs,
  121.48 +looking up them towards her sleepy daughter. Sonomi didn’t look satisfied with
  121.49 +her answer.
  121.50 +	The young heiress shook her head, auburn hair fluttering about her face
  121.51 +in its odd slant hairstyle. “No, not that. When did you know you were in love,
  121.52 +mama?” Sonomi asked, a tinge of desperation in her voice. She wanted to know.
  121.53 +But still, college felt so far away. And she didn’t feel like love was that far off. At
  121.54 +least that meant that she wouldn’t have to worry about Nadeshiko marrying
  121.55 +anytime soon. That thought was soothing, at any rate. The thought of
  121.56 +Nadeshiko getting married made her heart scream in protest. She knew she
  121.57 +wanted her little cousin to be happy, to be loved, but she couldn’t stand the
  121.58 +thought of someone taking her best friend away from her. She could make
  121.59 +Nadeshiko happy. Nadeshiko didn’t need some man to stealing her off
  121.60 +somewhere. Like some princess being stolen away by the talons of some dragon,
  121.61 +she could see a wedding dress clad Nadeshiko being pulled back from her by a
  121.62 +man in a tuxedo. Her mind placed a face on the smilingly evil groom. Assistant
  121.63 +teacher Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled pleasantly as he whisked Nadeshiko away from
  121.64 +her, leaving Sonomi all alone. Shaking her head quickly, Sonomi tried to banish
  121.65 +the thought. She had been too concerned lately with how the assistant teacher
  121.66 +had been spending so much time with her cousin. She hadn’t trusted him even
  121.67 +when they first met because he had hurt Nadeshiko, and she wasn’t about to
  121.68 +start trusting him now. Maybe he could see the wonders that Nadeshiko had
  121.69 +inside of her, but that was exactly why Sonomi would protect her best friend from
  121.70 +people like him.
  121.71 +	Biting her lip, Sonomi’s mother ascended the stairs. This was more
  121.72 +difficult than she had suspected. Her daughter was obviously curious about this
  121.73 +sort of thing, but she didn’t know whether or not she should answer with a
  121.74 +fairytale. Sonomi could be rather mature, mostly stemming from her concern for
  121.75 +her younger cousin, but she also had a rather romantic, dreamy side that
  121.76 +manifested in her room and her love of cute things, her cousin included. Dolls
  121.77 +and stuffed animals, ribbons and lace adorned the young Sonomi Amamiya’s
  121.78 +room. But she couldn’t hide her daughter from the world forever. Life was not a
  121.79 +fairy tale. Things didn’t always have happy endings. It was with these shadowed
  121.80 +thoughts that she sat next to her daughter on the stairs, her hands folded primly
  121.81 +in her lap. Licking her lips, the older woman tried to decide how to begin. Her
  121.82 +daughter watched her hopefully, expectantly. “You don’t always get married because you’re in love, Sonomi-chan. There are many other aspects involved in
  121.83 +it. Social standing. The good of your family. What type of future you can have
  121.84 +with this person.”
  121.85 +	“But what about love?” Sonomi asked. She felt even more confused
  121.86 +than ever. Wasn’t it all about love? Wasn’t that the most important thing? But
  121.87 +then, hadn’t she been raised with the thought that she would one day wed and
  121.88 +continue the family? The sudden thought that she was expected to wed for the
  121.89 +family, for her station as opposed to because she was in love seemed like a cold
  121.90 +air of reality blowing over her. She shivered under her nightgown. In some ways,
  121.91 +it was what she had always expected. The thought of marriage had never excited
  121.92 +Sonomi the way it did many of the girls she knew. It seemed like something she
  121.93 +knew she would have to do one day, not something she wanted. Now she
  121.94 +realized that it was exactly that, not a matter of the heart at all. That frightened
  121.95 +her. 
  121.96 +	“Love is like a fairytale, Sonomi-chan. It’s fun to lose yourself in it, but
  121.97 +in the end you have to come back to reality. Love is a fun distraction. But you
  121.98 +have to plan for other things, to decide what’s best for you and your family. And
  121.99 +your heart can’t tell you this,” Sonomi’s mother explained gently, hugging her
 121.100 +small daughter against her side. Lithe fingers brushed through her daughter’s
 121.101 +hair, trying to sort through the odd hair cut. Sighing, she shook her head. It was
 121.102 +best to get away from such a lonely topic. “So why are you suddenly so curious,
 121.103 +Sonomi-chan? You’ll meet a handsome boy to marry one of these days.
 121.104 +	Sonomi frowned, shaking her head, her hair fluttering between her
 121.105 +mother’s fingers. “I don’t like boys. They’re stupid.” The younger girl crossed
 121.106 +her arms, her stormy blue eyes narrowed. No, she wasn’t the biggest fan of the
 121.107 +opposite sex. There was just something she didn’t like about them. Especially
 121.108 +one in particular. His glasses glinted in her mind for a moment. She forced it out
 121.109 +immediately. 
 121.110 +	Sonomi’s mother laughed at her daughter’s words, glad to be off the
 121.111 +topic. “Of course you like boys. All girls like boys, Sonomi-chan. Maybe you
 121.112 +don’t now, but you will in a few years, trust me.” She found it amusing to see her
 121.113 +daughter so intent. She would have to remember to point this out to the younger
 121.114 +girl in a few years when she finally changed her mind.
 121.115 +	Shaking her head, Sonomi looked up at her mother, the older woman’s
 121.116 +fingers still in her auburn hair. “I couldn’t like someone who didn’t like pink at
 121.117 +least a little bit,” the young heiress explained. 
 121.118 +	Laughing again, the mother grinned. “Sonomi-chan, you get such silly
 121.119 +ideas. I’m know you’ll find a nice boy one of these days who will make you
 121.120 +forget all of this nonsense.”
 121.121 +	Resting her head against her mother, Sonomi yawned tiredly. Her mind
 121.122 +was made up. She wouldn’t let any of those insects near her beloved Nadeshiko.
 121.123 +She wouldn’t let any of them take her way, or marry her. She would protect her
 121.124 +little cousin from them all. They would be happy. She would make Nadeshiko
 121.125 +happy. Somehow. She knew that Nadeshiko made her happy. If she didn’t need
 121.126 +to be in love to get married, then she didn’t need to worry about getting married.
 121.127 +And she wouldn’t let anyone marry her Nadeshiko. No one would take her away.
 121.128 +No one would hurt her. In her fading mind, she saw a sparkling image of her
 121.129 +silver haired angel. Her heart soared at the thought, warm and overflowing.
 121.130 +‘Nadeshiko-chan...’ she thought resolutely. The small auburn haired girl fell
 121.131 +asleep against her mother on the stairs shortly thereafter.
 121.132 +	
 121.133 +	Light. The first thing that existed was the light. It was white and cold,
 121.134 +like freshly fallen snow. It encompassed him, pulsing with him. The pulsing was
 121.135 +silent, but it was there, a slow rise and fall throughout the brightness. Slowly, the
 121.136 +brightness grew. His eyes burned, but he couldn’t shut them, for he still had no
 121.137 +eyes. He had no form, only the light. Thoughts spun incoherently like a spider
 121.138 +spinning its web, thoughts going in every direction and none at all.
 121.139 +‘WhyamIwhoamIwhereamIwhenamI?
 121.140 +	Am I?
 121.141 +Yes, you are, aren’t you? 
 121.142 +Please help me. I don’t know where I am. 
 121.143 +You aren’t anywhere. 
 121.144 +Who am I? 
 121.145 +You are the moonlight. 
 121.146 +Please, I’m scared... 
 121.147 +So am I.’
 121.148 +	His mind was the first thing to coalesce, but it was confused and lost.
 121.149 +He searched desperately for answers within himself, within the light. It took him a
 121.150 +moment to realize that he was the light. He struggled with this newfound
 121.151 +knowledge, searching out bits and pieces, working through the jumble of chaotic
 121.152 +thoughts to paint a picture of just what was going on. His body slowly began to
 121.153 +form as his mind worked its way back from the brink. He was. He knew that now.
 121.154 +He existed. That was reassuring, somehow. It was nice to know that he hadn’t
 121.155 +simply tricked himself into believing he existed. After all, he thought, so
 121.156 +therefore, he was. At least, he thought that he could think. The idea confused
 121.157 +him further. In frustration, he discarded the notion. He knew he could spend
 121.158 +eternity arguing with himself, as he had done just moments before. But had that
 121.159 +argument been an eternity or a split second? Or had it even happened? He
 121.160 +couldn’t remember. He could remember the light. The light was everywhere. The
 121.161 +light was outside of him and within him. Within him? Yes, that was right, wasn’t
 121.162 +it. He slowly curled his fingers, the bright snowy moonlight shifting through
 121.163 +them. He could feel his legs drifting underneath him, not touching any form of
 121.164 +solid ground. Long, feathered wings were outstretched behind him, glowing with
 121.165 +their own inner light.
 121.166 +	He looked down to see himself, to try to understand what he was, but
 121.167 +he could only see the blinding moonlight. He expected the brightness to carry
 121.168 +some form of heat with it, but it was surprisingly cold. It was the light of the full
 121.169 +moon. He moved experimentally, glad to know that his limbs were once again
 121.170 +attached. Once again? Had he been there before? Had he been himself before?
 121.171 +Yes, something of the sort. He was returning. He was being called back. He was...
 121.172 +being reawakened. Yes, something was calling him. He was waking up from a
 121.173 +deep slumber, brought back to fulfil the goals of his master. What goals? He
 121.174 +asked. But there was no answer. He frowned in the light that bathed him, still
 121.175 +trying to piece his inexplicable life together. So he was supposed to be here for
 121.176 +some reason. But what was the reason? 
 121.177 +	Slowly, memories returned to him. He waited centuries to recall
 121.178 +everything, reliving every moment of his previous existence. It all happened i
 121.179 +the blink of an eye, his life returned in a split second. And in this split infinity, he
 121.180 +knew who he was. He knew what he was. He knew why he was. And a cold smile
 121.181 +crossed his lips. Yes, it had all returned. He knew everything now. He woul
 121.182 +accomplish his mission for his master. All would go according to plan. Except...
 121.183 +Things hadn’t gone according to plan, had they? The girl wasn’t the one he was
 121.184 +supposed to judge. Something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong. What had
 121.185 +become of his master’s plan? No matter. He would quickly remedy the situation.
 121.186 +That was what he existed for. Soon, she would be forgotten and the master could
 121.187 +pretend this little fiasco never happened. They would go about with the plan
 121.188 +again afterwards, this time without the little problem that had popped up. He
 121.189 +would erase it from the pages of history. A cold grin spread over him. It was nice
 121.190 +to be of use again. 
 121.191 +	And with all the suddenness of a spring storm, everything was robbed
 121.192 +from him. His precious memory, his very existence was denied him. In another
 121.193 +second that lasted for all time, he felt his memories being extinguished, pulled
 121.194 +away from him with reckless abandon. He screamed into the night as all that he
 121.195 +was faded from him. “No!” he called out wordlessly. “Don’t take it away from me
 121.196 +Not again!” But he knew there was nothing he could do. Even the reason behind
 121.197 +his anger and fear disappeared. But the anger and fear remained, even as the
 121.198 +words unraveled in his mind. 
 121.199 +	Again, he was nothing. His mind faded, thoughts disappearing into the
 121.200 +void. There was nothing. The blinding moonlight disappeared. Darknes
 121.201 +converged around him, consuming him. And all was dark
 121.202 +
 121.203 +	“Mmm...” Sonomi stretched, trying to make sure her form was in top
 121.204 +shape. She was all alone on the track field at the school, but she didn’t mind. Sh
 121.205 +was still thinking about what her mother had said the night before. It had staye
 121.206 +with her throughout the day, making it difficult for her to concentrate during her
 121.207 +classes. So she didn’t mind having some solitude for the moment. And the best
 121.208 +way to do that was to get in some practice with her running. That was always a
 121.209 +good way to get her focus on other things. You couldn’t get distracted while
 121.210 +running. The only thing that mattered was how fast you could go. It was always
 121.211 +so refreshing. It was as if she could run away from all that was bothering her,
 121.212 +leaving it far behind as she outdistanced it. It felt wonderful, free
 121.213 +	The young heiress was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the
 121.214 +sound of approaching footsteps. She was far too busy to bother with such
 121.215 +things. Her mind was focused on the task at hand, everything else seeming hazy,
 121.216 +distant. Getting into position, Sonomi felt the track beneath her fingers, waiting in
 121.217 +a crouch at the starting line. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she anticipated
 121.218 +an imaginary signal. Everything around her narrowed, fading away. The only
 121.219 +thing that existed in this half world was the track and the wind. She had to be
 121.220 +focused intently on the situation, ready to start at a moment’s notice. And. That
 121.221 +Was. Now! 
 121.222 +Like a shot, she was off, throwing herself forward. Every muscle in her
 121.223 + body worked towards one common goal, to send her hurtling forward to the
 121.224 +finish line. Her speed was incredible, the ten year old girl darting across the field
 121.225 +in a blur. Her mind didn’t have time for anything else, no time for concerns or
 121.226 +distractions. There was still the thrill of pulling ahead, of being the fastest. Of
 121.227 +being the first to reach the goal. She was almost there. It was always over so
 121.228 +quickly, but while she was racing it felt like a lifetime had passed. And with that,
 121.229 +she had passed it.
 121.230 +Catching her breath, the brunette slowed to a halt, her hands on her
 121.231 +thighs as she slumped over, catching her breath. The world slowly sprang back
 121.232 +into existence, as if it had merely been put on pause. Sounds filtered back to her,
 121.233 +sights slowly coming into focus. A sharp sound caught her ear, making her spin
 121.234 +around despite being out of breath. To her surprise, the assistant teacher,
 121.235 +Fujitaka Kinomoto, was clapping, his usual smile on his face. Sonomi stood up
 121.236 +quickly, trying to breath normally as she crossed her arms. She had no idea what
 121.237 +he was doing there, but she instantly didn’t trust him. Why wasn’t he busy
 121.238 +trying to steal away her Nadeshiko? Wasn’t that his hobby, after all? Well, she
 121.239 +had to admit that it was better that he was there than with Nadeshiko. Though
 121.240 +not by much.
 121.241 +“Nadeshiko-chan told me you were fast, Amamiya-san. I had no idea
 121.242 +how fast. I’m impressed,” the older man said, smiling pleasantly. The young girl
 121.243 +continued to stare at him, but he only smiled in response. 
 121.244 +Smoothing down her gym uniform, Sonomi didn’t take her eyes off of
 121.245 +the assistant teacher, almost afraid that he would run off to find Nadeshiko if she
 121.246 +let down her guard. She nodded simply, her breathing slowly returning to normal.
 121.247 +“Hai. Nadeshiko-chan watches most of my races. I never lose. She says I’m like
 121.248 + the wind,” Sonomi said proudly. If Nadeshiko believed in her, then she knew
 121.249 +that she could do anything. With Nadeshiko’s belief, how could she fail?
 121.250 +“Is that so?” Fujitaka asked curiously, still smiling. “She’s such a sweet
 121.251 +little girl, isn’t she?” 
 121.252 +Sonomi frowned, flustered by his comment. Of course she was a sweet
 121.253 +little girl. But she was Sonomi’s best friend. And the auburn haired girl wasn’t
 121.254 +about to give her up to some... some insect. He was beneath Nadeshiko. She
 121.255 +wouldn’t let him or anyone have her precious silver haired angel.
 121.256 +“Nadeshiko-chan is the sweetest, cutest, most beautiful girl there is. There’s no
 121.257 +one out there like her. She’s perfect. She has the prettiest voice and she’s always
 121.258 +so bright and happy and her eyes sparkle when she looks at you.” Sonomi took a
 121.259 +deep breath, trying to suppress the stirrings in her heart. But she always felt this
 121.260 +way when she started thinking about Nadeshiko. She couldn’t help but notice
 121.261 +how perfect her little cousin was. It was so blatantly obvious. She saw it all every
 121.262 +single day that they were together. She took a shuddering breath, closing her
 121.263 +eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she had her composure back.
 121.264 +She couldn’t go off on a Nadeshiko tangent right now. She had to keep an eye
 121.265 +on the assistant teacher. Even if one was much, much more enjoyable than the
 121.266 +other. 
 121.267 +“You seem to think very highly of her. You’re lucky to have a cousin
 121.268 +like her.” Fujitaka smiled, pushing up his glasses. “You’re right. She really is like
 121.269 +an angel. I almost wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be one.” The young
 121.270 +man had been more and more pleased to have met his young student. She was
 121.271 +incredibly odd, but he found her fascinating. And apparently, her cousin thought
 121.272 +so as well. They could both see that Nadeshiko was somehow special.
 121.273 +“She is. She just only shows her wings to me,” Sonomi replied. She felt
 121.274 + jealous that he would speak of her Nadeshiko that way. She had always been the
 121.275 +one to worship Nadeshiko like an angel. She was always the one to dwell on how
 121.276 +amazingly perfect Nadeshiko was. Now this man who had hurt Nadeshiko had
 121.277 +the gall to think the same thing. She just wanted him to stay away from her little
 121.278 +cousin. Nadeshiko was already accident-prone enough. Sonomi had to keep her
 121.279 +away from trouble. And she definitely considered him to be trouble.
 121.280 +	Fujitaka laughed at Sonomi’s comment, nodding. “That must be very
 121.281 +sweet of her, then. I bet they’re very pretty. But I don’t think Nadeshiko-chan is
 121.282 +the type to keep things like that to herself. I think she would want to share, to
 121.283 +show her wings to others as well. Don’t you think?” 
 121.284 +	Clenching her fists, Sonomi could only stare at the assistant teacher for
 121.285 +a long moment. His question sent a tremor of anger surging through her heart.
 121.286 +She knew Nadeshiko better than anyone else. How could he insinuate that he
 121.287 +knew her better? Yet she couldn’t bring herself to agree. Yes, Nadeshiko would
 121.288 +probably want to share that. But Sonomi silently wished she wouldn’t. Why
 121.289 +wasn’t she enough for Nadeshiko? Why wasn’t it enough that she was there for
 121.290 +her? She was lucky enough that no one believed Nadeshiko when she told them
 121.291 +she had magic, believing it to be just a daydream of the perpetually dreamy girl.
 121.292 +Sonomi was glad that she was the only one who knew, but she wished it could
 121.293 +just be their secret, that Nadeshiko would be happy enough with only her auburn
 121.294 +haired cousin knowing. Fujitaka correcting her didn’t help matters. She could feel
 121.295 +her nails biting into the skin of her palms as she tried futilely to respond. She
 121.296 +didn’t want to agree with him, though she knew Nadeshiko well enough to know
 121.297 +that he was right. 
 121.298 +Before she could answer, he continued, as if it wasn’t necessary for her
 121.299 +to reply. “Would you like to race, Amamiya-san? I heard you beat the quickest
 121.300 +on the boys’ team. You must make some very good competition.”
 121.301 +Without quite realizing it, Sonomi nodded. Yes, that was right. A race.
 121.302 +That would make this much better. She could finally beat him at something. She
 121.303 +could finally prove that he wasn’t better at her, that she was all Nadeshiko
 121.304 +needed. That sounded perfect. “Hai,” she replied. Bowing to him, she took her
 121.305 +place at the starting line. She would never let him near her Nadeshiko. She was a
 121.306 +delicate flower, and Sonomi would protect its blossoms with her all. Nadeshiko
 121.307 +was not something for this arrogant man to have, to ponder. She was a mystery
 121.308 +that Sonomi was slowly uncovering. She wouldn’t let him take her away.
 121.309 +Nadeshiko was her best friend, her cousin, her most precious treasure. She
 121.310 +wouldn’t let him or anyone else interfere. 
 121.311 +	“All right. On three,” Fujitaka stated, slowly taking his place. He smiled
 121.312 +over at the younger girl, his glasses glinting. She simply looked straight forward,
 121.313 +waiting. He could tell she was ready to give her all. It would be an interesting
 121.314 +race. Smiling, he looked forward himself. 
 121.315 +“One.” The two prepared for the inevitable race awaiting them. “Two.”
 121.316 +Sonomi’s heart pounded in her chest as she waited anxiously for their duel to
 121.317 +begin. “Three.” And they were both off. 
 121.318 +Never before had Sonomi forced herself to go as fast as she did. Every
 121.319 +ounce of her being burned, pushing every forward. The only thing in her mind
 121.320 +was the goal. She had to reach the goal. It was waiting for her. Nadeshiko was
 121.321 +waiting for her. She had to show that he wasn’t better than her at everything. She
 121.322 +had to reach it. She had to be the fastest. Her vision was nonexistent with the
 121.323 +single exception of the thin strip signifying the finish line. The assistant teacher
 121.324 +and the young track star were both propelled by awesome forces towards their
 121.325 +objective. It might as well have been Nadeshiko waiting for them rather than the
 121.326 +finish line, intense passions stirring to push the two ever faster. 
 121.327 +To Sonomi’s astonishment, she still hadn’t pulled ahead of Fujitaka. By
 121.328 +now in most races, she had pulled far ahead of the pack. But she was still side by
 121.329 +side with him. Her heart pounded feriously, her body trying to force itself to go
 121.330 +even faster. But it was giving all it had. She was pushing herself as fast as she
 121.331 +could go. She kept towards the goal, trying to will herself to reach it first. Her
 121.332 +whole being tried to grip onto it, tried to give her that last bit of energy.
 121.333 +Somehow, she found it. With a trill in her heart, as sweet as Nadeshiko’s
 121.334 +singsong voice, Sonomi managed to speed up, throwing her last bit into the final
 121.335 +seconds of the race. It was all she had, every last ounce of energy inside of her.
 121.336 +But she had to win. For Nadeshiko-chan. 
 121.337 +To Sonomi’s horror, Fujitaka began to pull ahead, moving past her.
 121.338 +Even with her last burst of strength, it wasn’t enough. It was like some cruel joke,
 121.339 +her final boost pushing her across the finish line right after him. The world
 121.340 +refused to come back to her this time, her weary body slowly collapsing to her
 121.341 +knees. The world around her continued to stay a blurry, surreal nightmare,
 121.342 +nothing else appearing. But she didn’t care. Nothing else mattered. She had lost.
 121.343 +It didn’t matter who you were when you raced. It only mattered that you were the
 121.344 +fastest. And Sonomi Amamiya, a girl who had long been the fastest, no longer
 121.345 +was. The dirt beneath her irritated her legs, but it didn’t seem to matter. She
 121.346 +couldn’t get the strength to get back up.
 121.347 +“That was a good race, Amamiya-san. You did a great job,” Fujitaka
 121.348 +complimented, smiling to the younger girl as he caught his breath. She didn’t
 121.349 +meet his eye. In fact, she didn’t even seem to see him. He watched her for a
 121.350 +moment, before stepping back towards the classrooms. “I’ll tell Nadeshiko-chan
 121.351 +you’re out here if I see her, Amamiya-san,” he called back over his shoulder, still
 121.352 +smiling. He felt much better now that he’d been able to get some exercise. Now
 121.353 +back to grading tests!
 121.354 +Sonomi didn’t hear him. She was too distraught, too broken by her loss.
 121.355 +How could she have lost to him? How could he have beaten her? She had tried
 121.356 +so hard! But even then, it wasn’t enough. She hadn’t been able to win, after all.
 121.357 +She had always been the fastest, but it hadn’t meant anything against him.
 121.358 +Balling up her fists, she hit them again and again into the dirt until her knuckles
 121.359 +cried out in pain. Angry, bitter tears fell into the dust bellow, falling onto her
 121.360 +hands. She’d wanted so badly to beat him, to show that he wasn’t better than her
 121.361 +at everything. To show that she could take care of Nadeshiko. She had been
 121.362 +racing for Nadeshiko, to win for her. To beat him for her sake. Even if it hadn’t
 121.363 +been stated, she had been the reason they were racing, the rivalry behind it. And
 121.364 +she had failed. 
 121.365 +“Nadeshiko-chan..” Sonomi got out in a pained sob. Her dirty hands
 121.366 +came up to her face, smearing some along her cheeks as she rubbed angrily at her
 121.367 +tears. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t right! She should have won! Nothing ever worked
 121.368 +with him. He was slowly trying to take her Nadeshiko away. And then she would
 121.369 +be all alone, without the most important thing in her life. And she’d just failed to
 121.370 +beat him at the one thing that she was the best at. What good was she if she
 121.371 +couldn’t even do that? How could she possibly hope to protect Nadeshiko-chan
 121.372 +that way? She had always been the fastest. And he had taken that away from her.
 121.373 +Would Nadeshiko be next? A cold chill settled throughout her battered soul,
 121.374 +weighing her down like a heavy cloak. 
 121.375 +“Sonomi-chan~!” Nadeshiko called, wandering about slowly, her eyes
 121.376 +following every trace of springtime beauty that she happened to cross. Her lazy
 121.377 +beeline eventually took her towards the field where Sonomi practiced track. Just
 121.378 +where Fujitaka had told her that her cousin was waiting. She giggled to herself as
 121.379 +she watched some ants scurrying about a few bread crumbs. “Busy, busy, busy.
 121.380 +You should have some fun, sometimes, too,” she suggested before moving on.
 121.381 +She finally caught sight of her auburn haired friend sitting in the field, collapsed
 121.382 +in the dirt. Nadeshiko tilted her head to the side, dark hair spilling across her
 121.383 +shoulder. “Sonomi-chan! Hi, Sonomi-chan! Guess what? I just found this really
 121.384 +cute..” Nadeshiko trailed off, her smile replaced with a curious look.
 121.385 +“Sonomi-chan?” Was Sonomi crying? Had something happened to her?
 121.386 + “Sonomi-chan?” she asked again, closing the distance between them.
 121.387 +	The auburn haired girl looked up quickly, wiping at her eyes quickly,
 121.388 +struggling to see through her tear blurred vision. She could see a pale angel
 121.389 +growing ever closer, a curious, worried look on her face. “Nadeshiko-chan..”
 121.390 +Sonomi got out, wiping more desperately at her eyes. She couldn’t let Nadeshiko
 121.391 +see her like this. How could she explain it? What could she say? Pushing herself
 121.392 +to her feet on pained muscles, Sonomi hurried away from her oncoming cousin,
 121.393 +trying to escape the pain and her tears. She had to get away. To think. To cry.
 121.394 +“Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked to her cousin’s retreating form. She
 121.395 +came to a halt where Sonomi had been, watching after her as the other girl ran off.
 121.396 +What had happened? What had hurt her cousin so terribly? Kneeling down,
 121.397 +Nadeshiko ran her fingertip through the teardrops in the dirt. “Poor
 121.398 +Sonomi-chan.. Please don’t cry,” she whispered. Nadeshiko sat in the dirt, her
 121.399 +skirt spread out around her. She looked at her dirty, tear streaked finger. The
 121.400 +image of Sonomi, hunched over and in tears played through her mind. Sonomi
 121.401 +had always been her best friend. It made her feel terrible to see her cousin in
 121.402 +tears. And she didn’t know what to do about it. She couldn’t even find Sonomi
 121.403 +to make her feel better. Sniffling, Nadeshiko began to cry. 
 121.404 +	
 121.405 +	“Damn it!” Sonomi punched the locker, her injured knuckles burning at
 121.406 +the contact. Her head slumped against the locker with an audible ‘clang’. She
 121.407 +slowly turned around, sliding down the locker. Her legs hurt too much to keep
 121.408 +standing. Her heart hurt too much to think. She just wanted to sit there until it all
 121.409 +went away. But she knew she couldn’t do that. She had to fight. She had to do
 121.410 +something. She had to do anything. But she couldn’t figure out what. Rubbing at
 121.411 +her eyes with her palms, she let out a wet sob. She hated him. She hated him for
 121.412 +ever meeting Nadeshiko, for ever hitting her in the head with the softball. She
 121.413 +hated him for coming to the school, becoming a part of Nadeshiko’s life. She
 121.414 +hated him for pulling Nadeshiko away during her race with Terrada. She hated
 121.415 +him for beating her at what she was best at. She hated him for trying to take
 121.416 +Nadeshiko away. Even if she knew that was silly, that she shouldn’t believe such
 121.417 +a stupid thing, she couldn’t help it. It felt like he was trying to take her place with
 121.418 +Nadeshiko. And even though he had hurt Nadeshiko, the angelic silver haired
 121.419 +girl didn’t mind at all. She was happy to be his friend. And that frightened
 121.420 +Sonomi. She wanted to protect Nadeshiko, but she didn’t always know how. She
 121.421 +wanted to keep those boys from hurting her, from snagging her away. But now
 121.422 +she didn’t even know if she could.
 121.423 +	“Owww..” Sonomi winced as she got to her feet, her hand resting
 121.424 +against the cold metal of her locker. With slow, lifeless fingers, she began to
 121.425 +open it. She had to get dressed, to change clothes. She would need to be ready
 121.426 +to go home. But for the most part, she simply wanted a distraction. What could
 121.427 +she say to Nadeshiko? What was she supposed to do about Fujitaka? None of it
 121.428 +had any easy answers. Right now, she just wanted to curl up in bed and cry
 121.429 +herself to sleep. For once she was glad that Nadeshiko didn’t live at her house.
 121.430 +Nadeshiko would certainly want to talk to her, and she didn’t know if she could
 121.431 +face the other girl at the moment. She couldn’t even face herself. She felt
 121.432 +miserable, a failure. And it was all his fault. 
 121.433 +	Something caught Sonomi’s eye from the back of the locker, glittering
 121.434 +faintly in the sterile light of the locker room. Reaching in, the young heiress
 121.435 +pulled out a small pendant shaped like a sword. “What’s this supposed to be?
 121.436 +Did Nadeshiko-chan put it in here?” Sighing, Sonomi held it in her hand. She
 121.437 +would have to talk to Nadeshiko, wouldn’t she? Otherwise she would only make
 121.438 +Nadeshiko worry. And she couldn’t bear to hurt her dear cousin. Closing her
 121.439 +locker, she looked back down at the pendant. Yeah, she couldn’t leave her sweet
 121.440 +cousin waiting. But before she could take another step, the little broach came
 121.441 +alive, light splashing through the room.
 121.442 +
 121.443 +	Nadeshiko cried softly, shaking her head against the offers of
 121.444 +assistance, Her hands lay in her lap, her small shoulders shaking with each sob.
 121.445 +She didn’t know where Sonomi was or what was going on or even why she had
 121.446 +been crying. She kept seeing Sonomi crying in her mind, filling her own tears. It
 121.447 +was too sad for Sonomi to have to be crying. 
 121.448 +	“It’s all right, Nadeshiko-chan,” Fujitaka said soothingly, trying to
 121.449 +comfort his pupil. “Please, just tell me what’s wrong. I’ll help however I can.” But
 121.450 +try as he might, he couldn’t coax anything other than ‘Sonomi-chan’ out of the
 121.451 +pale girl. Whatever it was, she seemed to be taking it pretty hard. She hadn’t
 121.452 +stopped crying since he had spotted her and he had no idea how long she had
 121.453 +been crying before that. Something glinted, catching his eye. “You see? She’s
 121.454 +right there. Your cousin is just fine,” he promised, smiling.
 121.455 +	Nadeshiko wiped at her eyes quickly, breaking out into a relieved smile
 121.456 +when she saw Sonomi walking towards them. Getting to her feet, Nadeshiko
 121.457 +quickly ran towards her cousin, her arms open. “Sonomi-chan!” She felt much
 121.458 +better now. It was enough to see that Sonomi was no longer crying. She giggled
 121.459 +happily as she raced towards the auburn haired girl. But something was wrong.
 121.460 +She slowed as she approached Sonomi. The taller girl was holding onto some
 121.461 +type of sword, her eyes looking unfocused. Sonomi didn’t even seem to
 121.462 +recognize her. “Sonomi-chan?” Nadeshiko asked. Sonomi didn’t even look at her,
 121.463 +instead looking at Fujitaka as he approached. Now that confused Nadeshiko.
 121.464 +Sonomi always liked to look at her. She always got Sonomi’s full attention. So
 121.465 +why would she suddenly not have it? Something felt wrong about all this. It was
 121.466 +like Sonomi wasn’t Sonomi. But how could she not be Sonomi? Unless it was
 121.467 +someone using Sonomi. 
 121.468 +	“Are you all right, Amamiya-san? Your cousin was very worried about
 121.469 +you. She was crying about you. But it seems like everything’s fine now,” Fujitaka
 121.470 +stated, smiling to the two younger girls. He was glad that problem was over with.
 121.471 +He couldn’t stand to see the poor silver haired girl in tears. At least that problem
 121.472 +was over. He felt so relieved.
 121.473 +	Nadeshiko watched Sonomi for a moment. It finally fitted into place as
 121.474 +she watched the hand with the sword move. “Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko stepped
 121.475 +in front of Sonomi, but it was too late. Sonomi was faster than she was. The
 121.476 +auburn haired girl lunged forward, the sword tip glinting as it drove into
 121.477 +Fujitaka’s side. Crimson rain lit the sky for a split second, some of it landing on
 121.478 +Nadeshiko’s face while the rest spattered on the grass. For that long moment of
 121.479 +silence, Nadeshiko watched the red droplets, amazed at how beautiful the blood
 121.480 +was, as if it were some of the paint left over from God’s paintbrush. It all felt
 121.481 +surreal. She could see herself next to Sonomi, the other girl’s eyes clouded over,
 121.482 +their normal depth missing. She could see the blood before her. She could see
 121.483 +Fujitaka with the tip of the sword in his side. 
 121.484 +	And everything started up again. “Sonomi-chan! Kinomoto-sensei!”
 121.485 +Nadeshiko called out, running to her teacher’s aid. The older man stumbled back.
 121.486 +Luckily, the blow had only been the tip of the sword. He was bleeding, but he
 121.487 +could still move. Sonomi was moving swiftly, like some jungle cat intent on it’s
 121.488 +prey. She was circling, waiting for another chance. 
 121.489 +	“Run, Nadeshiko-chan! You need to get out of here!” Fujitaka yelled,
 121.490 +his eyes never leaving his magically possessed student. He winced painfully as
 121.491 +he held his side. It hadn’t been deep, but it still hurt. He saw Sonomi coming
 121.492 +closer again, sword raised. To his surprise, Nadeshiko once again got in the way.
 121.493 +“Watch out!” Grabbing Nadeshiko, he yanked her out of the way. Sonomi used
 121.494 +that moment to duck towards him, slashing again. 
 121.495 +	“Jump!” Nadeshiko called, her staff striking the Card. As Sonomi
 121.496 +slashed ever closer, she managed to jump back, pushing Fujitaka with her. She
 121.497 +kept hopping backwards, out of Sonomi’s range. But he was heavy, and she
 121.498 +couldn’t keep it up for long. She waited near the fence, trying to catch her breath
 121.499 +	Fujitaka watched in astonishment at the silver haired girl. What was
 121.500 +this? Magic? He had the sense not to ask about it. Now was definitely not the
 121.501 +time. Looking back up, he saw Sonomi once again barreling towards them. He
 121.502 +barely had time to throw himself into Nadeshiko, pushing her away as Sonomi
 121.503 +slashed through the fence. “Nadeshiko-chan, you have to get out of here. I’ll
 121.504 +distract her.”
 121.505 +	Nadeshiko shook her head quickly, squirming away from her teacher’s
 121.506 +grasp. “No! I can’t leave Sonomi-chan!” She smiled a faint smile, clutching her
 121.507 +staff tightly. “Don’t worry. She won’t hurt me. Sonomi-chan would never hurt
 121.508 +me.” Pushing away from Fujitaka, Nadeshiko ran towards her cousin. 
 121.509 +	“Nadeshiko-chan!” Fujitaka called out. He collapsed in pain, unable to
 121.510 +follow her. He watched, mortified as Nadeshiko raced towards her sword wielding
 121.511 +friend. He was helpless to stop her.
 121.512 +	Sonomi watched as Nadeshiko came ever closer. She raised the sword,
 121.513 +still ready to attack. Her eyes focused past Nadeshiko, to the wounded man back
 121.514 +behind her. She ran towards the oncoming Cardcaptor, ducking to the side and
 121.515 +past Nadeshiko, still headed for Fujitaka. 
 121.516 +	Whirling around, Nadeshiko watched, stunned, as Sonomi kept right on
 121.517 +towards their teacher. She had expected Sonomi to stop before her. She could
 121.518 +only watch, unable to reach the other girl in time. “Sonomi-chan!” she yelled after
 121.519 +her, her voice pleading. She had to be able to reach Sonomi. Even if that sword
 121.520 +was using her cousin, Sonomi had to be in there somewhere. She just needed to
 121.521 +bring her out.
 121.522 +	Sonomi stopped before Fujitaka, pulling the sword above her head to
 121.523 +swipe him in half. Fujitaka just watched her through his glasses, waiting. He
 121.524 +couldn’t move enough to get out of the way in time. He could only watch and
 121.525 +wait. With that, Sonomi brought the sword down towards him. He closed his
 121.526 +eyes as the blade fell, waiting for the pain to follow. But aside from the pain in his
 121.527 +side, he still seemed to be in one piece. A clang reverberated inches in front of
 121.528 +his face. Blinking, he found a traditional fan right in front of him, holding back
 121.529 +Sonomi’s blade. Barely. He forced himself to move, crawling away along the
 121.530 +fence. He had to get Nadeshiko so they could get out of there. 
 121.531 +	The girl who had blocked Sonomi’s strike watched her carefully, her fan
 121.532 +still pressed tightly against Sonomi’s. Leaping back, she landed on the grass, her
 121.533 +curious weapon still held at the ready. She wore a strange costume, looking
 121.534 +exotic amidst the two girls in their school uniforms. “Get out of here. I’ll handle
 121.535 +this,” she said to Nadeshiko, not bothering to look at the Cardcaptor. There were
 121.536 +more pressing matters. 
 121.537 +	Nadeshiko shook her head quickly. “No, I can’t! She’s my best friend!
 121.538 +She needs my help!” She didn’t know who the new girl was, but she could feel
 121.539 +very strong magic coming from her. Her attention went back to Sonomi. She was
 121.540 +worried that the new girl might hurt her if they fought for long. There had to be
 121.541 +something else she could do. Did this have something to do with why Sonomi
 121.542 +was crying earlier? Is that how the Clow Card found her? She wanted to help the
 121.543 +Card, too, but she was much more concerned about Sonomi. She didn’t want
 121.544 +anything bad to happen to her big cousin. Sonomi was always looking out for
 121.545 +her. The thought of the brunette getting hurt by all this was horrifying.
 121.546 +	The new arrival tried to size up the situation. She was lucky enough to
 121.547 +have foreseen this. Her dream had told her bits and pieces of this. But she hadn’t
 121.548 +gotten there in time to stop it. She had been hoping to keep it from escalating to
 121.549 +this point. As it was, it didn’t seem like the Cardcaptor was keeping a very good
 121.550 +handle on things. At least she had gotten there in time to save the man. Now she
 121.551 +could put a stop to all this and go about her business. To her surprise, Sonomi
 121.552 +came charging at her. She managed to block the first blow, dodging the next.
 121.553 +Whoever the girl was that was possessed by the Sword, she had more than the
 121.554 +Sword’s expert fencing. She had quite a lot of strength and speed as well. She
 121.555 +moved beautifully, almost like a dancer. Each movement was fluid, graceful. She
 121.556 +was impressed. And despite her parries, she could feel each blow through her
 121.557 +fan. This girl obviously kept physically fit. If only she had studied up more on
 121.558 +her martial arts, this wouldn’t be such a problem. But then, she doubted even
 121.559 +that would have given her the physical prowess of the other girl. She would have
 121.560 +to settle for her magic. Which should be more than enough to handle the
 121.561 +situation. She blocked another blow, searching her mind for the proper spell to
 121.562 +bring this to an abrupt end. Another thrust ducked low, slipping near her hand.
 121.563 +With a flick of her wrist, Sonomi disarmed the young mage. The mage watched in
 121.564 +shock as her fan tumbled end over end, landing at her feet. All magic spells were
 121.565 +suddenly forgotten as she stared into the cloudy blue eyes of her attacker. It
 121.566 +wasn’t supposed to go this way. She was supposed to catch the Cards, not be
 121.567 +done in by them. This was all wrong. She hadn’t foreseen this at all. Her mind
 121.568 +desperately tried to sort out what had gone wrong, as she told herself again and
 121.569 +again that this couldn’t happen, that she wouldn’t be able to die because she
 121.570 +hadn’t seen it beforehand. She stared at Sonomi, disbelieving as the brunette
 121.571 +thrust forward. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. She wasn’t supposed to.. A
 121.572 +halo of silvery gray hair blocked her vision all of the sudden. 
 121.573 +	“Sonomi-chan!” Nadeshiko stood in front of the young mage, her arms
 121.574 +out. The sword came flying towards her, aimed right for her head. Nadeshiko
 121.575 +stood and waited, her emerald eyes searching Sonomi’s cloudy blue ones,
 121.576 +searching for any indication of her cousin. She knew Sonomi had to be in there
 121.577 +somewhere. She just had to find her. The blade stopped, inches from her head.
 121.578 +Sonomi just watched her for a long moment, unable to hurt her little cousin. The
 121.579 +sword slowly fell from her hand, clattering to the grass below. “Sonomi-chan!”
 121.580 +Nadeshiko yelled happily, rushing to Sonomi. She hugged the auburn haired girl
 121.581 +tightly. Her exhausted cousin collapsed against her, sending them both to their
 121.582 +knees in the grass. “Sonomi-chan!” She laughed joyously, pulling Sonomi as
 121.583 +close as she could. She felt so relieved, so happy. Sonomi was all right.
 121.584 +	“I.. Thank you,” the new girl said, bowing to Nadeshiko. “You saved my
 121.585 +life, almost at the expense of your own. I’ll always remember that.” She watched
 121.586 +the two cousins hugging in the grass curiously, a bit surprised at what she saw
 121.587 +in the Cardcaptor. She had been expecting something else. Something a little
 121.588 +more akin to Clow Reed, perhaps. Not some silly schoolgirl. But the girl had
 121.589 +saved her life nonetheless.
 121.590 +	Nadeshiko shook her head, smiling brightly. “I knew Sonomi-chan
 121.591 +wouldn’t hurt me. She couldn’t. She’s too busy trying to keep everything else
 121.592 +from hurting me. That’s why I knew she wouldn’t let the Clow Card that was
 121.593 +using her hurt me.” 
 121.594 +	The young mage nodded thoughtfully. Looking down, she prodded the
 121.595 +Sword Card with her foot. “You should seal this before it can cause anymore
 121.596 +trouble.”
 121.597 +	“Un,” Nadeshiko replied, nodding against Sonomi. The other girl was
 121.598 +still weak against her, not even fully conscious. But she was safe. And that was
 121.599 +the important thing. Pulling up her staff, Nadeshiko looked at the Sword. “You
 121.600 +really need to be more careful, Ms. Clow Card. You could have really hurt
 121.601 +someone tonight. So I’m going to take you home with me, all right? You can make
 121.602 +a lot of friends there, I promise. Return to your true form, Clow Card!” Bringing
 121.603 +the staff down, the Sword disappeared, only to be replaced by a small orange
 121.604 +brown card with a sword on it.
 121.605 +	“Don’t worry about your friend. She’ll be fine with a little rest. She
 121.606 +won’t remember any of the time she was under the influence of the Sword. But
 121.607 +what about him?” The mage gestured back towards Fujitaka. 
 121.608 +	“I’ll be fine. I’m just glad you two are all right. I guess you really do
 121.609 +only show your wings to Sonomi-san.” Fujitaka winced as he came forward, still
 121.610 +holding his side. He was amazed that Nadeshiko was a magical girl, but somehow
 121.611 +it seemed fitting. He didn’t want to make her tell him all the details. That was all
 121.612 +part of her life. He was glad for his glimpse of it, though. Did it have something to
 121.613 +do with that strange book he’d given her? It seemed so. It was strange that
 121.614 +something he’d barely thought about had such drastic repercussions. But at
 121.615 +least everything had worked out. 
 121.616 +	“Arigato, Kinomoto-sensei!” Nadeshiko replied, smiling. He returned
 121.617 +the smile, though he still looked a little pale. “And thank you..” Nadeshiko turned
 121.618 +to thank the young mage who had helped them, but found that she was already
 121.619 +gone. Nadeshiko glanced around for her, but there was no sign that she had ever
 121.620 +been there at all. Shrugging off the thought, Nadeshiko went back to hugging
 121.621 +Sonomi. She felt one of Sonomi’s hands slowly rubbing her back, up and down.
 121.622 +“Sonomi-chan!”
 121.623 +	“Nadeshiko-chan...” Sonomi replied, her mind still hazy. How did she
 121.624 +get there? What had happened? Where was she? She sighed softly, resting her
 121.625 +weary head on Nadeshiko’s soft shoulder. It felt so nice. She could smell the
 121.626 +sweet scent of Nadeshiko’s hair against her. She breathed deeply, her aching
 121.627 +body relaxing. Her earlier worries and pain were forgotten. Only half broken
 121.628 +fragments of her earlier thoughts floated through her mind. One of them brushed
 121.629 +past her heart, making her want to hold on tightly to Nadeshiko and to never let
 121.630 +go. She wrapped both arms around her cousin’s waist, resting against her. “I’ll
 121.631 +always protect you, Nadeshiko-chan,” she whispered tiredly.
 121.632 +	Nadeshiko kissed the side of her head, smiling. “I know, Sonomi-chan.
 121.633 +I’ve always known. And thank you. It makes me happy to know that
 121.634 +Sonomi-chan will always be there to rescue me.”
 121.635 +	Sonomi blushed at Nadeshiko’s words, feeling her cousin’s fingers
 121.636 +rubbing the back of her head. She couldn’t bring herself to move outside of
 121.637 +Nadeshiko’s embrace, not that she would want to even if she did have the
 121.638 +strength. The two sat together for quite some time, Nadeshiko enjoying the
 121.639 +wonders of the life around them and right next to her, and Sonomi simply
 121.640 +enjoying the wonders that lay in Nadeshiko.
 121.641 +
 121.642 +	The image of the two girls rippled and then disappeared as the young
 121.643 +mage ran her fingers through the water. This was certainly interesting. It
 121.644 +appeared that things wouldn’t be so simple after all. A small smile crossed her
 121.645 +lips as she trailed her fingertips through the water. At least her time while
 121.646 +capturing the Cards wouldn’t be boring. She had the feeling that it would be
 121.647 +anything but. 
 121.648 +	“Are you done with your bath, miss?” a voice asked from outside the
 121.649 +bathroom.
 121.650 +	“Almost, Wei. I’ll be out in just a minute,” she called, letting herself sink
 121.651 +lower in the warm water. 
 121.652 +	“I’ll leave your clothes out on your bed, miss. Be sure to get to bed
 121.653 +early. You have a rather big day ahead of you.”
 121.654 +	The girl sighed softly, nodding. “Yes, I know. A very big day.” Sliding
 121.655 +back into the water, she let it surround her. A big day, indeed. After all, what
 121.656 +could be bigger than the day when one takes over the job of Cardcaptor?
 121.657 +
 121.658 +
 121.659 +	
 121.660 \ No newline at end of file

   122.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   122.2 +++ b/stories/CCN7Ieraninclasslatest.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   122.3 @@ -0,0 +1,577 @@
   122.4 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko
   122.5 +Chapter 7
   122.6 +by 
   122.7 +Amazoness Duo
   122.8 +and
   122.9 +G.P.
  122.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  122.11 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  122.12 +
  122.13 +
  122.14 +I.
  122.15 +“Nadeshiko?”
  122.16 +
  122.17 +A breeze stirred the branches of the little tree, leaves vibrating merrily, beckoning the young
  122.18 +girl’s attention. One day she was nearly frantic with excitement while talking to a classmate
  122.19 +about all the different leaves on that very tree. But her friend laughed, saying they all looked
  122.20 +the same to her. It seemed incomprehensible to the silver-haired child that someone really
  122.21 +couldn’t see how each leaf had a life, a personality, and, as fall crept closer, a death all its
  122.22 +own. For Nadeshiko, leaves were like rocks and cats and clouds and people: all thrumming with
  122.23 +life, their own little life, yet connected to one another by shimmering threads. Only slowly was
  122.24 +she realizing that many people, perhaps most people, did not, or could not, see this.
  122.25 +
  122.26 +“Nadeshiko?”
  122.27 +
  122.28 +It was sort of like numbers, she mused. That thought reminded her of the math homework, and
  122.29 +mentally she reconstructed her actions from that morning to ensure the assignment had been placed
  122.30 +in her school bag. At first, she had done dreadfully at arithmetic, staring at the paper filled
  122.31 +with columns of numbers in utter bafflement. Her father, though patient as always, had nearly
  122.32 +despaired of her ever learning even the basics of the subject. One day, he told her earnestly
  122.33 +that she wasn’t listening to what the numbers told her. This was intriguing, and she took note.
  122.34 +For days she focused with a frightening singularity, skipping meals, conversations, and sleep to
  122.35 +gaze at the numbers carefully etched onto paper.
  122.36 +
  122.37 +“Amamiya Nadeshiko.”
  122.38 +
  122.39 +Finally, sitting bleary-eyed at her desk early one morning, she heard a faint whispering. It was
  122.40 +3. 3 was the boldest number, the first to break the long silence. Enthralled, excited, but
  122.41 +careful not to frighten her new numerical friend, Nadeshiko smiled, listened, and eventually fell
  122.42 +into a merry conversation. Her parents found her that morning, chattering excitedly to a piece of
  122.43 +paper. In a panic they nearly rushed her to the hospital. But when she came to everything seemed
  122.44 +all right, or at least as all right as can be with such an unusual child. From that time on
  122.45 +Nadeshiko’s grades in mathematics improved, one might even say soared, and it became her favorite
  122.46 +subject. Once she even approached a teacher, asking apprehensively if it was cheating when the
  122.47 +numbers told her the answers. 
  122.48 +
  122.49 +“Amamiya Na-de-shi-ko.”
  122.50 +
  122.51 +So, maybe other people were like she once was with numbers, and that explained why they could not
  122.52 +see that leaves and trees and bugs were all so different. Maybe that explained why most people
  122.53 +did not stare at a burning fire for hours, or sit under a starry sky all night and wonder in
  122.54 +astonishment why the stars were suddenly extinguished, only to realize it was now dawn. Maybe…
  122.55 +
  122.56 +A light tap on the head from a rolled up workbook caused Nadeshiko to blink in puzzlement. She
  122.57 +looked up, and saw the exasperated teacher above her, looking in anticipation for a response.
  122.58 +Nadeshiko’s mind raced to put the situation into some sort of order and context. Desperately she
  122.59 +glanced over at her cousin for help. Sonomi, blushing for her, silently mouthed the word.
  122.60 +Nadeshiko squinted, trying to understand, her own lips moving in a futile attempt to follow. The
  122.61 +voice from above spoke evenly, 
  122.62 +
  122.63 +“I believe Sonomi chan is trying to tell you the word, ‘present.’”
  122.64 +
  122.65 +Nadeshiko slowly digested this, and then, in a Eureka moment nearly jumped out of her chair with
  122.66 +excitement shouting,
  122.67 +
  122.68 +“Oh, gomenesai, present, present!”  
  122.69 +  
  122.70 +The giggles around the class were quickly suppressed by the teacher’s glare. Unflustered, the
  122.71 +instructor continued the roll call with, “Amamiya Sonomi?”
  122.72 +
  122.73 +“Present.” The girl with the strangely cut red hair glanced at her cousin in relief. As the roll
  122.74 +call wound through the rest of the class, Nadeshiko smiled at her cousin and formed a silent
  122.75 +thank you with her lips. Sonomi rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smiling back. As the roll call
  122.76 +ended, the teacher paused and announced,
  122.77 +
  122.78 +“Today, I am going to introduce you to a new classmate. She is not from Japan, so I want you to
  122.79 +treat her with special consideration. Please, enter.”
  122.80 +
  122.81 +A transfer student was big news anytime, but one from abroad was a banner headline. The eyes of
  122.82 +the entire class fell on the slowly opening door as their new classmate emerged. The girl walked
  122.83 +in steadily, seemingly unaware of the curious, measuring stares that greeted her. She was tall
  122.84 +and slender, brown eyes humbly downcast. But what most caught the class’s attention, and even
  122.85 +caused a few gasps of surprise, was her hair. Straight, jet-black, and falling loose nearly to
  122.86 +her knees, the lustrous hair gave her the look of a Heian-era court beauty, a mysterious visitor
  122.87 +from another time and place. She stopped in front of the teacher and bowed low, her long hair
  122.88 +trailing on the floor. Writing her name on the chalkboard in a lovely script, the new girl turned
  122.89 +to face the class, then bowed and spoke in a feathery, lilting accent,
  122.90 +
  122.91 +“Ohayo Gozaimasu. My name is Li Ieran. I am from Hong Kong. Please help me to be a worthy student
  122.92 +at your school.”
  122.93 +
  122.94 +The hush gave way to a universal “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh” as the class gazed in wonder. Suddenly, a voice
  122.95 +rang out,
  122.96 +
  122.97 +“Oh, Hello! You’re the girl from last night! I never had a chance to thank you.”
  122.98 +
  122.99 +All eyes swung towards Nadeshiko, who was out of her seat hopping excitedly. Ieran bowed again,
 122.100 +her impassive face giving way to a reluctant smile. “It is utterly improper for me to smile like
 122.101 +this,” the Chinese girl thought to herself, “but she commands my smile as the sun commands
 122.102 +warmth.” Still bowing she spoke in her whispery voice,
 122.103 +
 122.104 +“It is I who am in your debt, and only my thanks, not yours, are seemly and proper.”
 122.105 +
 122.106 +The bewildered teacher finally restored order and settled Nadeshiko down, placing the new student
 122.107 +in a seat behind the excitable Amamiya girl. In this tumultuous storm of curiosity, amidst the
 122.108 +whispers, peeks and stolen glances, no one, not even the teacher, got much work done that
 122.109 +morning.
 122.110 +
 122.111 +During lunch, after casting glances at the mysterious girl from Hong Kong, the students drifted
 122.112 +away to their regular eating spots. All alone now , Ieran unwrapped her obentou. She was curious
 122.113 +about the strange Japanese meal prepared by her guardian, Wei. Sensing a presence, she glanced up
 122.114 +into the face of the Card Captor leaning over her, staring curiously at the little silk-wrapped
 122.115 +package. Startled and speechless, the Chinese girl could only stare back as the pale apparition
 122.116 +spoke in a giggly voice,
 122.117 +
 122.118 +“I’m sorry, Ieran-chan. I just wondered what was in there. I’ve never seen a Chinese obentou
 122.119 +before. Would you like to eat with us? With Sonomi-chan and me?”
 122.120 +
 122.121 +Ieran spied the girl possessed by The Sword the night before. As if embarrassed by her friend’s
 122.122 +eccentricities, the red-haired girl blushed slightly, blue eyes averted. The girl from Hong Kong
 122.123 +felt a blush of her own growing, a trickily tickling of the neck and ears. Japan was a much
 122.124 +stranger place than she had ever expected, and this situation literally left her at a loss for
 122.125 +words.
 122.126 +
 122.127 +Last night was odd enough. The Card Captor was not what she expected: just a silly, pretty little
 122.128 +girl. Yet that little girl stopped The Sword with no more than a glance. Ieran forced herself to
 122.129 +quickly work through the possibilities. Now she casually approaches me, her rival for the Cards.
 122.130 +Surely she knows I wield power? Perhaps she is contemptuous of me? That thought burned a little,
 122.131 +but didn’t seem to fit with the Card Captor’s beatific smile. There was no hint of condescension
 122.132 +or arrogance on that gentle face. Nor did the girl from Hong Kong, long trained in the subtle
 122.133 +arts, sense guile or hidden motive. It was as if the Card Captor was genuinely interested in her.
 122.134 +In near desperation, Ieran focused her inner eye on the smiling figure to discern the
 122.135 +silvery-haired girl’s true motives. To her surprise, she sensed curiosity, and concern that the
 122.136 +new girl might have to eat lunch all alone. Somewhat stunned, she whispered shyly,
 122.137 +
 122.138 +“Yes.Yes, I would like to eat with you. Thank you.”
 122.139 + 
 122.140 +Delighted, Nadeshiko took the girl’s hand and walked her out of the building into the dazzling
 122.141 +sunlight. Sonomi, frowning, followed the pair to a grassy spot beneath the trees in the
 122.142 +schoolyard. Soon they were spread out beneath the gently swaying branches, Nadeshiko merrily
 122.143 +chattering away. Finally Sonomi broke in and said quietly,
 122.144 +
 122.145 +“Nadeshiko-chan, I don’t think Ieran-san knows our names yet. We’ve never been properly
 122.146 +introduced.”
 122.147 +
 122.148 +Nadeshiko stopped and stared straight ahead, as if she were replaying all the previous morning’s
 122.149 +events in her head. With a trilling laugh she quickly arose and bowed, her long, silver gray hair
 122.150 +cascading as she did,
 122.151 +
 122.152 +“Gomenesai, Ieran-chan. My name is Amamiya Nadeshiko, and this is my cousin and best friend,
 122.153 +Amamiya Sonomi. We are very happy to meet you.”
 122.154 + 
 122.155 +Introductions dispensed with, Nadeshiko returned to her running commentary on the weather, lunch,
 122.156 +school, and various stars she saw last night. This latter finally gave Ieran an opening, and she
 122.157 +asked in a quiet voice,
 122.158 +
 122.159 +“Um, Nadeshiko-san, may I ask you something? Something in private?”
 122.160 +
 122.161 +At this, Sonomi stopped short and looked at the Chinese girl with surprise. She felt a twinge of
 122.162 +irritation, but Nadeshiko only laughed and said, “Sonomi knows all of my secrets anyway, because
 122.163 +she knows me so well. What did you want to ask?”
 122.164 +
 122.165 +Ieran shifted uncomfortably and spoke in a halting whisper, “About last night. About the, the
 122.166 +Card.”
 122.167 +
 122.168 +Nadeshiko brightened, “Oh, you mean the Clow Cards? Do you know about them?”
 122.169 +
 122.170 +Ieran looked open-mouthed at the girls. Nadeshiko casually mentioned the Cards in the same way
 122.171 +she talked about rice balls and sunsets. Sonomi seemed equally nonplussed. Barely suppressing a
 122.172 +triumphant smile, the red-haired girl said simply, “I already know about them.”
 122.173 +
 122.174 +Ieran’s mind raced for an explanation. How many others knew about the Cards? And just who was
 122.175 +this Sonomi to the Card Captor? Judging from last night, she seemed quite close, perhaps a
 122.176 +beloved servant? Calling upon all her training, Ieran presented a placid smile as she buzzed
 122.177 +inside with questions. Her mind fell on a fact and anchored itself as she spoke,
 122.178 +
 122.179 +“Ah, I see. Nadeshiko-san, you mentioned ‘Cards.’ Do you, I mean, have you encountered more Cards
 122.180 +than The Sword?”
 122.181 +
 122.182 +Nadeshiko’s eyes brightened as she gushed, “Oh, yes, I have met Wood, Fly, Jump, and the
 122.183 +wonderful Flower! They are all my friends now.” 
 122.184 +
 122.185 +Ieran held a frozen smile on her face as she groped for a reply, but no words came. How was it
 122.186 +possible that this frail, flighty creature had gathered up so many of the Cards? But had she
 122.187 +really? With forced calm Ieran asked, “Nadeshiko-san, when you say they are your friends, does
 122.188 +that mean you have captured them? Have you sealed them all?”
 122.189 +
 122.190 +Nadeshiko nibbled thoughtfully on a rice ball as she replied, “Sealing. Well, that’s what
 122.191 +Teddychan calls it. But I don’t think I capture them so much as make them my friends.”
 122.192 +
 122.193 +Sonomi sighed as she brushed away a stray rice grain from her cousin’s cheek, “She makes friends
 122.194 +with everybody and everything, from the meanest bully in school to the grossest bugs in the
 122.195 +woods.”
 122.196 +
 122.197 +Ieran smiled at the gentle figure and believed she could befriend anyone and anything. Suddenly
 122.198 +puzzled, she asked, “Who is Teddychan? Does he know about the Cards?”
 122.199 +
 122.200 +At the thought of her funny flying companion, Nadeshiko giggled, “Oh, yes, he knows a lot of
 122.201 +things about them. His real name is Kero…Kerobero…Kerobus…his real name is hard to say, so I call
 122.202 +him Teddychan, because he looks just like a cute little teddy bear.”
 122.203 +
 122.204 +“Do you mean Kereberous?” Ieran asked in astonishment.
 122.205 +
 122.206 +“Yes, that’s it! Do you know him, too?” Nadeshiko leapt to her feet in excitement.
 122.207 +
 122.208 +“No, no I don’t,” The startled Ieran replied. “I’ve only read of him, and heard of him. But I
 122.209 +don’t think he could be the same one. The Kereberous I know of is a large and powerful magical
 122.210 +beast.”
 122.211 +
 122.212 +Ieran grew thoughtful again and asked, “Nadeshiko-san, I would very much like to meet your friend
 122.213 +Teddy-chan someday.”
 122.214 +
 122.215 +Nadeshiko leaned over and said with a grin, “Would you like to come to my home tonight and meet
 122.216 +him? You could stay for dinner. My mother is a very good cook.”
 122.217 +
 122.218 +Ieran looked up, again at an utter loss for what to say. Surely an invitation to the House of a
 122.219 +Card Captor could not be made so lightly? Schooled in the ways of duplicity and suspicion that
 122.220 +governed the shadow world of Hong Kong, Ieran wondered if all this was some elaborate trap, some
 122.221 +great design set in motion to lure her in. But the green eyes that beheld her were empty of
 122.222 +artifice or malice. And besides, the Chinese mage thought to herself, I need to know more about
 122.223 +her, and how better to know the tiger than visit her den? She stood up and bowed deeply, speaking
 122.224 +in a distant and formal tone,
 122.225 +
 122.226 +“Thank you for your kind offer, Nadeshiko-san. It would be an honour beyond my humble worth to be
 122.227 +the guest of your illustrious House.”
 122.228 +
 122.229 +Ieran gasped as the girl fell into her arms and hugged her. Her body tensed, and then softened as
 122.230 +the silver-haired girl held her. Wrapped in those gentle arms, a burning blush consumed her as
 122.231 +her breath fled away. Robbed of speech yet again, she could only stand and tremble in that
 122.232 +fragrant embrace. Finally Nadeshiko released her, leaving Ieran delirious and unsteady, her mind
 122.233 +awhirl.
 122.234 +
 122.235 +
 122.236 +II.
 122.237 +Ieran worried all the way to the Amamiya residence. Determined to strike a commanding presence,
 122.238 +the girl fussed all afternoon to find just the right outfit for this momentous meeting.
 122.239 +Contemplating a closet full of garments, she realized how out of her element she was. Nervousness
 122.240 +was something she scornfully left to opponents, but this time it infected her. The apprehension
 122.241 +made her angry, which only led to further imbalance and blindness. She was even short with Wei
 122.242 +when he warned her they would be late, an unforgivable display of weakness on her part. Trained
 122.243 +in the shadowy ways of Hong Kong, she knew something of power, and was being groomed for greater
 122.244 +things. Staring out at the unfamiliar landscape as Wei drove through the sheets of rain, she
 122.245 +recalled  overhearing the praise of an illustrious Great Uncle: “She’s young, but a fast
 122.246 +learner.” That caused a momentary flush of pride, which she ruthlessly suppressed with a frown.
 122.247 +Yes, she thought, there I knew names and rank, powers and flaws, tendencies and the direction of
 122.248 +things.  Knowledge is power. But here is only this troubling ignorance, ignorance both broad and
 122.249 +embarrassingly deep. The people and customs of this island were strange, though none more so than
 122.250 +the weird girl whose home she was heading towards. 
 122.251 +
 122.252 +Nadeshiko. She spoke the name silently, like a prayer. For countless decades the Cards lay
 122.253 +hidden, and now some silly little girl captures five of them. Five! It seemed ridiculous, yet she
 122.254 +did not doubt the girl spoke truly. Despite her incredulity, Ieran remembered that most basic
 122.255 +lesson of all her magical training: “Things are not as they seem.” So, too, it must be with her.
 122.256 +She seemed a pretty, though inconsequential female. Yet, if she had captured so many Clow Cards,
 122.257 +she must wield significant power. If this power exists, Ieran thought to herself, it is my
 122.258 +weakness not to have seen it. Her fingers tightened imperceptibly into little clenched fists as
 122.259 +she vowed, “This time I will see it.” So intent was she on this inner resolution that as soon as
 122.260 +the car stopped she leapt out into the storm, leaving her coat and umbrella behind. 
 122.261 +
 122.262 +The blast of wet wind slapped her awake. Wei had dashed out with an umbrella, but his efforts
 122.263 +were mocked by a gale that blasted her carefully coiffed hair. With a little shriek she ran the
 122.264 +long distance from the driveway to the front door, Wei following, the useless umbrella turned
 122.265 +inside out. Rapping on the door, the manservant tried his best to shield the girl, but with
 122.266 +little success. The door opened, and a startled older servant stared at the pair for a second
 122.267 +before bidding them enter. Wei sheparded his young charge into the hallway then entered himself.
 122.268 +Uncertain what to do, he bowed and stood motionless, waiting. Ieran, wet and disheveled, looked
 122.269 +up expectantly. Flustered, the older servant of the house stared at the pair, finally blurting
 122.270 +out, “Let us go to Amamiya-sama.”
 122.271 +
 122.272 +With fuss and concern, the girl was ushered into a warm kitchen, redolent of spices and simmering
 122.273 +sauces. A pretty woman glanced at her, put down a mixing bowl, and instructed an assistant to
 122.274 +continue with the cooking. Wiping her hands on a white apron, she approached Ieran with a smile,
 122.275 +bowing as she spoke,
 122.276 +
 122.277 +“You must be Ieran-chan? My daughter told me that you would be joining us for supper. I am
 122.278 +honored to have you as our guest.”
 122.279 +
 122.280 +When Ieran bowed in reply, a little trickle of water spattered onto the floor, and the woman
 122.281 +gasped,
 122.282 +
 122.283 +“Oh, you poor thing! I’ve been in the kitchen so long I didn’t know it was raining. Come along;
 122.284 +let’s dry you off before you catch yourself a death of a cold.”
 122.285 +
 122.286 +Wrapping the sopping wet girl in a kitchen towel, she bustled the child out through the dinning
 122.287 +room down a long hallway. Cooed and comforted, Ieran felt a curious twinge, an inexpressible
 122.288 +longing for her own mother so far, far away. Stopping at a door, the woman knocked and spoke
 122.289 +rather loudly as she opened it,
 122.290 +
 122.291 +“Nadeshiko-chan? Nadeshiko-chan?”
 122.292 +
 122.293 +To her horror, Ieran saw the Card Captor: her rival, her enemy, who knew what. Far worse, the
 122.294 +Card Captor saw her. What an absurd sight I must be, she thought in a panic. Desperately trying
 122.295 +to straighten out her sopping wet blue silk cheongsam, she waited with dread for the mocking
 122.296 +glance and stinging remark. Instead, she was again wrapped in those gentle arms as the giggling
 122.297 +girl embraced her, hugging her tightly. It was the woman’s voice she heard first,
 122.298 +
 122.299 +“Nadeshiko-chan, your friend got wet in the rain. Would you please help her dry off and find some
 122.300 +clothes? I’ll have Maid come by in a bit and try to dry out her outfit. Such a shame; it’s a very
 122.301 +pretty dress.” 
 122.302 +
 122.303 +Ieran looked up, and saw the loving eyes of the woman as she slowly pried away the clinging,
 122.304 +still excited silver haired girl. Again, she repeated her instructions, and slow realization
 122.305 +crept over Nadeshiko’s fair features. Filled with concern, she hugged Ieran one last time, then
 122.306 +skittered out of the room in a frantic search for a blanket or a towel. With a bemused sigh, the
 122.307 +woman guided the Chinese girl to an adjacent bathroom and said,
 122.308 +
 122.309 +“You can change in here, dear. There are towels on the rack; I’ll find you something in
 122.310 +Nadeshiko’s closet. You’re close to the same size, I think.”
 122.311 +
 122.312 +The door closed, and Ieran saw a bedraggled sight in the mirror. It made her want to cry. She
 122.313 +remembered the English phrase from school, “from the sublime to the ridiculous.” Grimacing, she
 122.314 +peeled off her clothes, and dried herself with the fluffy pink towels. The room was toasty warm,
 122.315 +which made things a little better. Outside, the door opened and shut, and she heard muffled
 122.316 +voices. The excited one was Nadeshiko, the calm and reassuring one belonged to her mother.
 122.317 +Another was familiar, but she could not place it. Curious, she peeked out of the bathroom.
 122.318 +
 122.319 +“It’s all right, Nadeshiko-chan, your friend is fine now. We already have towels, thank you. Now,
 122.320 +let’s see if we can find something nice for her to wear. Sonomi-chan, what do you think of this
 122.321 +one?”
 122.322 +
 122.323 +Sonomi, Ieran thought, Sonmi. Oh, yes, the girl with the sword. She watched her solemnly
 122.324 +comparing two garments, one mint green with dark pine needles, the other sky blue, dotted with
 122.325 +black and white cranes. Looking up, the red-haired girl spoke, “The blue, I think.” Ieran
 122.326 +vanished inside as she saw them turning to the door. Wrapped in a long, pink towel, she sat on a
 122.327 +chair and waited expectantly. Hearing a knock on the door, she answered, “Come in,” and Nadeshiko
 122.328 +bustled in, her face lit with both concern and joy,
 122.329 +
 122.330 +“Hello again! How are you? Are you OK?” The silver-haired girl gushed, staring at the still damp
 122.331 +figure.
 122.332 +
 122.333 +Ieran nodded, unable to look away from the curious and concerned Nadeshiko. The girl with the
 122.334 +oddly cut red-hair stepped into the room, holding the beautiful blue garment she had selected,
 122.335 +and handed it to Ieran,
 122.336 +
 122.337 +“Here, you can wear this. It’s a little thin, so there’s a comforter in the bedroom you can wrap
 122.338 +up in while you dry.” Holding it up, she smiled at the Chinese girl’s curious look,
 122.339 +
 122.340 +“It’s called a yukata.”
 122.341 +
 122.342 +Ieran frowned, feeling foolish for not knowing more about Japanese customs,
 122.343 +
 122.344 +“Thank you, Sonomi-san,” she said formally, “when the two of you leave I shall change.”
 122.345 +
 122.346 +Nadeshiko, not catching the hint, was gently dragged away by her cousin. As the door shut, Ieran
 122.347 +sat down, gazing at the lovely blue fabric. Shaking her head and smiling ruefully, she dressed
 122.348 +herself, tied back her long, wet hair with a red ribbon, and opened the door.
 122.349 +
 122.350 +III. 
 122.351 +Ieran sat on the bed, huddled in her comforter, listening to rain lash the windows, watching the
 122.352 +two cousins carefully. Nadeshiko was bubbly, effervescent, and seemed quite the chatterbox.
 122.353 +Later, the Chinese girl would realize that this first impression was only partially on the mark.
 122.354 +She certainly was bubbly and effervescent; genki, as the Japanese would say. But though she was
 122.355 +merrily chattering away tonight, at other times Nadeshiko could be silent for hours, her
 122.356 +attention absorbed by the slightest of trifles: a star, a stone, or a tree. Sonomi, on the other
 122.357 +hand, was usually quiet, unless she was mad. But most of all, Ieran watched Sonomi watching
 122.358 +Nadeshiko, and smiled at what she saw.
 122.359 +
 122.360 +Eventually, her poise recovered, Ieran subtly steered the conversation towards her true interest:
 122.361 +The Cards. As she did, Nadeshiko jumped to her feet, her look serious and concerned,
 122.362 +
 122.363 +“Oh…that…that reminds me…magic…something, someone I was supposed to….” For a long minute she
 122.364 +stood still, inwardly seeking the answer to her half-asked question. Then, leaping to the closet
 122.365 +door, she blurted out, “Teddy-Chan!” Sliding the door open, she bent down and unclasped the brass
 122.366 +lock of a black lacquer chest. As she opened the door, a yellow blur zipped out, gasping and
 122.367 +coughing,
 122.368 +
 122.369 +“I thought I was going to die!”
 122.370 +
 122.371 +The tiny creature hovered in the air, wings beating furiously, breathing heavily. Nadeshiko
 122.372 +fussed and apologized, while Sonomi looked away in irritation,
 122.373 +
 122.374 +“You can spare us the dramatics. The box isn’t air tight, you know.”
 122.375 +
 122.376 +The little creature glowered at Sonomi, and spluttered, “Well, it was, it was certainly dark, and
 122.377 +stuffy, and…well, how would YOU like to be locked in some stupid box, forgotten and abandoned,
 122.378 +and…and…”
 122.379 +
 122.380 +The two combatants glared at each other, teeth clenched, growling like cats before a fight.
 122.381 +Suddenly, Keroberus noticed the girl wrapped in the comforter staring at him in open-mouthed
 122.382 +amazement. The yellow creature looked to the right, then the left, and stared at Ieran with a
 122.383 +gulp. Then, as if transforming into a stuffed animal, he fell to the floor with a clatter, and a
 122.384 +stifled groan.
 122.385 +
 122.386 +Sonomi stared, and then laughed at the sight, while Nadeshiko rushed up and comforted the
 122.387 +stricken warrior,
 122.388 +
 122.389 +“It’s all right, Teddy-chan, she’s a friend!”
 122.390 +
 122.391 +As Kereberous blinked at her, then suspiciously shot a sidelong glance at the bundled up girl,
 122.392 +Nadeshiko spoke in a formal voice,
 122.393 +
 122.394 +“Ieran-chan, this is my good friend Teddy-chan. He knows an awful lot about the Cards. When you
 122.395 +mentioned them I remembered he was hiding in there.”
 122.396 +
 122.397 +Ieran stared at Teddy-chan, then at Nadeshiko as she blurted out,
 122.398 +
 122.399 +“That is Kereberous?”
 122.400 +
 122.401 + Folding his arms and assuming a dignified pose, he answered, “I am known by many names:
 122.402 +Kereberous, The Beast of the Seal, Servant of Clow Reed, and Guardian of the Cards, to name but a
 122.403 +few.”
 122.404 +
 122.405 +Ieran pressed the comforter against her mouth as she stifled a giggle. With great control she
 122.406 +managed to ask,
 122.407 +
 122.408 +“But are you not rather….diminutive to serve such a fearsome role?”
 122.409 +
 122.410 +Fortunately, the irony was lost on the self-important Beast, “My size is of little concern,
 122.411 +though, eh-hem, my powers have waned somewhat since the release of the Cards.”
 122.412 +
 122.413 +This made sense to the Chinese girl. The Guardian’s power would be linked to the Cards, and their
 122.414 +unleashing would be his undoing. Still, it was difficult to take such a flighty creature
 122.415 +seriously. In a challenging tone she asked him,
 122.416 +
 122.417 +“If you are the Guardian, then shouldn’t you know where all the Cards are?” 
 122.418 +
 122.419 +At this, Kereberous seemed rather crestfallen. “Well,” He answered hesitantly, “I can sense when
 122.420 +they are close, but…”
 122.421 +
 122.422 +Suddenly, Nadeshiko chirped up, “Oh, Teddy-chan is wonderful about the Cards! He was very helpful
 122.423 +with Jump, and Fly. He knows so very much about them. 
 122.424 +
 122.425 +“Eeeeehh, truly?” Ieran was having a difficult time with all this, but of course was too polite
 122.426 +to say so.  
 122.427 +
 122.428 +The conversation wound its way through the recent history of Clow Reed’s magical cards. Like the
 122.429 +girl herself, Nadeshiko’s narration was elliptical and eccentric, detouring into peculiar
 122.430 +thoughts and speculations before Sonomi gently put her back on track. Teddy-chan, as he was now
 122.431 +known, interjected modest (and not so modest) observations about his own contributions. Ieran, on
 122.432 +the whole, listened, an art she excelled at. Sonomi watched her with increasing interest, waiting
 122.433 +for her cousin to pause for breath before asking,
 122.434 +
 122.435 +“Ieran-san, Nadeshiko has told you all about herself. But what about you? Why do you know about
 122.436 +the Cards, and what do you want with them?”
 122.437 +
 122.438 +For a brief instant, this query caught the Chinese girl off guard. As she had been trained, she
 122.439 +used that instant well, weighing and calculating all the possibilities and implications of a
 122.440 +response. She settled for telling the truth, though not all of it. In a formal tone she made her
 122.441 +answer, 
 122.442 +
 122.443 +“My family claims descent from Clow Reed, creator of the Cards. As future head of the Li
 122.444 +Household, I have been designated to investigate the possibility that they have reemerged. As for
 122.445 +what I want, well, that is of little enough importance. As the Cards are the… (She paused, nearly
 122.446 +saying “property) responsibility of the Li, I am to ensure they are properly dealt with. As for
 122.447 +what I know, knowledge is a thing not lightly given. Some things I know, some I do not. But then,
 122.448 +not even having seen these cards, one can say little.”
 122.449 +
 122.450 +Nadeshiko looked baffled at first, but then smiled, thinking to herself, such pretty words!
 122.451 +Teddy-chan just looked baffled. Sonomi looked at the two and rolled her eyes. As she had all her
 122.452 +life, Sonomi explained the subtleties of human conversation to her cousin,
 122.453 +
 122.454 +“She wants to see the Cards.”
 122.455 +
 122.456 +Ieran looked somewhat taken aback at such bluntness, but did not deny the statement. Nadeshiko,
 122.457 +smiling as realization dawned, jumped up and rushed to the drawer of her pink and white dresser.
 122.458 +Excitedly she babbled,
 122.459 +
 122.460 +“Teddy-chan says I must always keep them safe, so I put them in my very most special drawer. I
 122.461 +used to keep my very most special rocks here, but they seemed so unhappy to be in the dark all
 122.462 +the time that I let them play in the garden, with beetle san and cicada san and ant san and, oh,
 122.463 +here they are!” 
 122.464 +
 122.465 +With a flourish she held them up. Ieran could barely conceal her interest as she gazed at the
 122.466 +Cards. Wood, Jump, Fly, Flower, Sword. Catching her breath, she felt their magic pulse and throb.
 122.467 +She didn’t need her magical finder to know they were real. Seeing Nadeshiko’s flowery signature
 122.468 +inspired her with awe, and not a little jealousy. Still, at least they had been sealed. But aside
 122.469 +from Sword, they were among the less aggressive Cards. In a reverent whisper she asked,
 122.470 +
 122.471 +“Are these all?”
 122.472 +
 122.473 +“All that I have, yes. Teddy-chan says there are many more, and that they must be gathered up
 122.474 +before they cause everybody problems.” Nadeshiko was all too familiar with causing problems,
 122.475 +being for many years a sweet one for family and friends. 
 122.476 +
 122.477 +Problems, thought Ieran. What a word for this looming apocalypse. Still entranced by a sight that
 122.478 +had lain hidden hundreds of years, the Chinese girl muttered,
 122.479 +
 122.480 +“He’s quite right. They must be gathered and sealed quickly.” She looked up at the newly met trio
 122.481 +with analytic eyes. It seemed almost preposterous that these three could have been responsible
 122.482 +for sealing five of the legendary Clow Cards. But here they were, unmistakably real, and
 122.483 +unmistakably sealed. Her mind sifted through the legends and theories of the mysterious and
 122.484 +frightening Clow Reed. Her eyes fixed on the winged creature, hovering by Nadeshiko’s side.
 122.485 +Ieran’s voice was sharp and curt,
 122.486 +
 122.487 +“You have chosen her, have you not? This is an irrevocable decision, yes?”
 122.488 +
 122.489 +The hovering figure was taken aback, but managed a grave nod.
 122.490 +
 122.491 +“Have you told her of the dangers involved?”
 122.492 +
 122.493 +Teddy-chan shifted nervously in the air as he answered, “Well, yes, sort of, I mean, I don’t know
 122.494 +if she quite understands it all.”
 122.495 +
 122.496 +At this, Sonomi jumped in, aggressively querying the newcomer, “What dangers are you talking
 122.497 +about?”        
 122.498 +
 122.499 +
 122.500 +Ieran slyly watched the silver haired girl as she spoke, “The Cards hold incalculable power, and
 122.501 +pose dire risks for all who would face them.”
 122.502 +
 122.503 +Nadeshiko’s expression was sweetly blank. Either she’s fearless or a fool, thought the
 122.504 +black-haired girl. But Sonomi’s response was short and sharp,
 122.505 +
 122.506 +“What risks? What do you mean?”
 122.507 +
 122.508 +Ieran gazed at the intense blue eyes regarding her with barely concealed hostility. Here was a
 122.509 +lever to gauge the Card Captor’s strength. This Sonomi would not allow her beloved one to enter
 122.510 +danger lightly. Ieran replied in an even tone,
 122.511 +
 122.512 +“I mean what I say. This is a perilous thing, to capture these Cards. I do not know all there is
 122.513 +about them. No one does. But I do know this is a deadly serious business.” Now she turned the
 122.514 +tables by asking, “You, Sonomi, you care for her. Will you let her face such dangers?”
 122.515 +
 122.516 +The athletic girl slumped her shoulders and sighed, 
 122.517 +
 122.518 +“I don’t like any of this, but I can’t tell her what to do. Nobody can. All I can do is be with
 122.519 +her.”
 122.520 +
 122.521 +If this strong-willed girl cannot control her, surely no one can, thought Ieran. 
 122.522 +
 122.523 +At that moment, there was a knock on the door. The maid’s voice, “The manservant of Li-san has
 122.524 +arrived to take her home”.
 122.525 +
 122.526 +With hugs and goodbyes from Nadeshiko, and a stiff formal bow from a worried Sonomi, Ieran left
 122.527 +the Amamiya mansion. The sky was crystal clear after the rain, stars blazing in the newly washed
 122.528 +sky. On the way home, Ieran suddenly asked the old servant,
 122.529 +
 122.530 +“Wei, please stop at that little park we passed before, the one with the lake.”
 122.531 +
 122.532 +“Yes, Ieran-sama.” He did not protest that the night was late, since tomorrow was not a school
 122.533 +day. He had learned long ago that, even as her appointed guardian, with so strong-willed a child
 122.534 +he must pick his battles carefully.  As he pulled over to the curb, she asked him to wait, in a
 122.535 +tone that meant she wished to be alone. 
 122.536 +
 122.537 +Walking through the empty park, leaves laden with fresh rainwater, Ieran delighted in the wetness
 122.538 +all around her. She loved parks, the little swath of green in the busy, noisy city. She saw a
 122.539 +couple together, close together, sitting on one of the park benches. This caused her to blush.
 122.540 +Walking a little faster, clutching the white sweater Nadeshiko’s mother had given her. Finally
 122.541 +she came to the lake, spring fed, she sensed, laced with the recent rains, but calm and placid
 122.542 +now. It was a very good lake. Slipping off the sweater and hanging it on a nearby tree, she
 122.543 +stooped down, gazing at the reflection of a thousand thousand lights. Crossing her arms on her
 122.544 +breast, she felt the chill air through the delicate yukata. With a deep breath, she began.
 122.545 +
 122.546 +She willed her mind to stillness, as still as the black sky that held the dancing stars, as still
 122.547 +as the lake before her. Kneeling gracefully at the edge of earth, air, and water, she softly
 122.548 +chanted a call for Vision. And Vision came, shimmering on the dark water. She opened her eyes and
 122.549 +saw three figures, battered, shaken, pressed against a gray stone wall. In the center was
 122.550 +Nadeshiko, gripping a magical staff, illuminated by some unearthly light. Shielding the glowing
 122.551 +girl was the one with curious hair, Sonomi. Bruised and bloodied, blue eyes defiant, she braced
 122.552 +herself for what was to come. And by their side Ieran saw herself, clad in her finest robes, the
 122.553 +robes of a water mage passed down through generations uncounted. Her face was dirty, and she saw
 122.554 +the dreaded Fear in her eyes as she concentrated on a spell. A teasing little breeze rippled the
 122.555 +surface of the waters, and the vision fled.
 122.556 +
 122.557 +She knelt for a long time, eyes fixed on the water. She had learned in her few years not to force
 122.558 +the images, not to over analyze or think about them too much. It was like seeing for a brief
 122.559 +moment 2 or 3 pieces from a massive jigsaw puzzle, the sort her mother loved to assemble on rainy
 122.560 +nights. There was no way to know the entire picture from those few pieces. All you could do was
 122.561 +remember the fragments, and hope they would give you some little guidance when the time was
 122.562 +right. Ieran rose, and straightened out the delicate summer kimono. It was wet at the knees, but
 122.563 +happily not dirty, for she had been careful to kneel on the grass. It would be a shame to ruin
 122.564 +such a pretty thing. For a moment she thought of the yukata’s owner, another pretty thing.
 122.565 +Flowing, silvery hair, green, green eyes, enchanting smile…  Ieran blushed to be so close to her,
 122.566 +even in such an indirect manner. Well, the yukata gives me a reason to go back, to see her again,
 122.567 +she thought happily. She slipped on the white sweater and began to walk
 122.568 +
 122.569 +Strolling towards the car, she gazed at the stars and begged their blessing. She was grateful for
 122.570 +having come so far in so short a time. She had seen the Cards, and the girl who captured them.
 122.571 +She had met the Seal Beast, though his diminutive form made her smile even now. And she had been
 122.572 +given a glimpse of a future, her future, seemingly entwined with that of the one who had captured
 122.573 +five of the legendary Cards. It was a strange vision, in a strange country, but good to have for
 122.574 +all that. Approaching the car, the ever vigilant Wei leapt out and opened the door. She bowed and
 122.575 +smiled a greeting and then slipped into the back seat. In the warm and cozy car the utterly
 122.576 +exhausted Ieran fell asleep, and when they arrived home the old man carried her off to bed.
 122.577 +Uncertain what to do with the drowsing girl, he tucked her in, yukata and all. That night she
 122.578 +dreamt of three black and white cranes, soaring together through a limitless blue sky. But when
 122.579 +she awoke the storm had come again, and the thunder rasped out a warning that all dreams must
 122.580 +end.
 122.581 \ No newline at end of file

   123.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   123.2 +++ b/stories/CCSDreamspart1fnl.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   123.3 @@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
   123.4 +Dreams Part 1
   123.5 +
   123.6 +By Amazoness Duo
   123.7 +Amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   123.8 +
   123.9 +She smiled gently as she ran a hand through the other girl’s long blonde hair. Bright aquamarine 
  123.10 +eyes looked deeply into beautiful violet ones as if they were in a world all their own. She felt the other girl 
  123.11 +push a lock of her dark brown hair away from her eyes.  She felt as if the other girl could see right through 
  123.12 +her, as if she could see into the depths of her soul. That feeling sent shivers through her, the feeling that the 
  123.13 +other girl truly knew her better than she knew herself. They didn’t need to say anything. They both knew 
  123.14 +the other far too well to need any words right now. She let out a contented sigh as those soft, sweet lips 
  123.15 +brushed gently, almost cautiously against her own. How she longed to kiss her lover deeply, passionately. 
  123.16 +But she could wait, and that was part of the joy in this moment. The leisure of spending this time with her 
  123.17 +one true love. It felt boundless, as if they weren’t confined to this world or to any other, a feeling that they 
  123.18 +could just bask in the glow of the others warmth. 
  123.19 +Bringing a hand up gingerly to the other girl’s warm cheek, she tilted her head to the side as if to 
  123.20 +ask ‘You or I?’ Who was it to be this time? Who would be the one to begin their endless dance again. 
  123.21 +Before she knew who had begun this time, she felt the other girl’s lush lips push against her own. This time 
  123.22 +the kiss was longer, more drawn out, evoking a gasp from her lover. She brought her hands to the sides of 
  123.23 +the other girl’s head, watching the other girl smile sweetly back at her. Her fingers slowly moving across 
  123.24 +her lover’s silky skin, she gently caressed her soft lips with her own. 
  123.25 +If her entire life had been leading up to one specific place, one specific time, this would be it. But 
  123.26 +that was not the case. ‘We’ll be together, you and I, no matter where fate leads. No matter what path we 
  123.27 +take, we take it together.’ Pouring her entire being into one kiss, she tried to convey every feeling she was 
  123.28 +having to the blonde girl. The other girl matched her point for point as they stood together, both needing the 
  123.29 +other to be whole. 
  123.30 +
  123.31 +Kumiko stretched luxuriously, basking in the warm sunlight that filtered through her bedroom 
  123.32 +window. She opened her blinds wide to let in the coming day. She smiled at the sounds of the birds 
  123.33 +chirping outside her window. She froze when she heard a groan coming from her bed. Turning quickly, she 
  123.34 +caught sight of long blonde hair peeking out from beneath one of Kumiko’s pillows. 
  123.35 +	“Turn off the light, okay?” Megumi’s tired voice sounded muffled from underneath the pillow. 
  123.36 +“Megumi-chan? What are you doing here?” Kumiko asked surprised.
  123.37 +“You don’t remember last night? I came over here late last night because I wanted to see you and 
  123.38 +you told me not to go after that. I didn’t.”
  123.39 +Kumiko laughed. “I thought it was a dream.”
  123.40 +“I never have dreams that nice.” Megumi smiled sweetly over at the brown haired girl, watching 
  123.41 +her try to adjust her pony tail. 
  123.42 +“Megumi-chan…” Kumiko said quietly, crossing the few feet between them with a couple steps. 
  123.43 +Leaning down, she kissed the blonde girl for a few blissful moments. “You really better go before my 
  123.44 +parents catch you.”
  123.45 +“Kumi, what would be wrong with that? I like your parents. They’re very nice. I’m sure they 
  123.46 +would be happy for you,” Megumi said.
  123.47 +“Yeah, maybe, but I still don’t want them catching you in here,” Kumiko gestured to the bedroom 
  123.48 +around them. 
  123.49 +A knock at the door startled both girls. “Kumiko-chan, breakfast is ready, dear. Hurry up before it 
  123.50 +gets cold,” Kumiko’s mother yelled. 
  123.51 +	“Hai, mom. I’ll be right there.” Turning to Megumi, Kumiko pointed to her closet. “You can 
  123.52 +borrow one of my uniforms and I’ll pack a lunch for you.” 
  123.53 +Megumi nodded. “Thanks. Today’s cheerleading practice, though.”
  123.54 +Kumiko thought for a moment. “You should have thought of that before you came over,” she said, 
  123.55 +sticking out her tongue at the other girl. More seriously, she began to think again. “Could we stop off at 
  123.56 +your house on the way to school to pick up your cheerleading uniform? You live close enough that if we 
  123.57 +get going soon we should be able to make it in time.” Walking to her closet, Kumiko put her own 
  123.58 +cheerleading uniform in her backpack. 
  123.59 +Megumi smiled happily. “Thanks, Kumi. I’ll try to get ready quickly then.”
  123.60 +“Okay. See you in a minute.” Giving the blonde girl a soft kiss on the lips, Kumiko picked up her 
  123.61 +backpack and hurried out of the room.
  123.62 +“There you are, Kumiko-chan,” her father said as she walked into the kitchen. “We thought you’d 
  123.63 +slept in.”
  123.64 +“No, I’m up. I just had to finish some things before I was ready,” Kumiko explained, taking a bite 
  123.65 +of the fresh pancakes. They tasted marvelous, but she didn’t have the time to savor them. She made her 
  123.66 +way to the refrigerator. Taking a brief look inside, she started grabbing food for two lunches. 
  123.67 +Her mother laughed when she looked over at her rushed daughter. “You must be hungry today.”
  123.68 +“I’m making lunch for Megumi-chan, too. Sometimes she forgets,” Kumiko said, wrapping some 
  123.69 +leftovers. 
  123.70 +“That girl’s sweet. You’re lucky to have a friend like that,” her father said.
  123.71 +“Yeah. She’s the best.” Kumiko smiled. She almost dropped the lunch she was making when she 
  123.72 +saw Megumi standing next to her mother in the kitchen. “Megumi-chan?”
  123.73 +“She was right outside. It looks like some people can wake up early,” her mother laughed while 
  123.74 +she ushered Megumi inside. Megumi just smiled and waved to Kumiko. “Would you like to stay for 
  123.75 +breakfast, Megumi?” 
  123.76 +	“She’d love to, mom, but we’ve got to get going. Thanks anyway!” Taking a hold of Megumi’s 
  123.77 +arm, Kumiko headed for the door. Her parents sweatdropped as they watched their daughter hurrying off.
  123.78 +	“Goodbye!! Arigato!” Megumi said to Kumiko’s parents before heading out the door. 
  123.79 +	“How’d you get there?” Kumiko asked as they started off towards Megumi’s house. 
  123.80 +	“I climbed out your window and knocked on the front door. Your mother let me in after that,” 
  123.81 +Megumi smiled. 
  123.82 +	“I know what you’re thinking.”
  123.83 +	“I like your parents. They’re really nice,” Megumi said. 
  123.84 +	“So are yours.” Kumiko smiled.
  123.85 +	“When they’re home.” Letting out a sigh, Megumi looked over at Kumiko. “Besides, I thought 
  123.86 +you said your parents liked me, too.”
  123.87 +	Kumiko laughed, brushing some hair out of her eyes. “As another daughter, yeah. You are over at 
  123.88 +our house enough to be.”
  123.89 +	“See? Your parents should have started guessing with that.  And I’m always going places with 
  123.90 +you. When you and I are going places Friday nights, you dress up for it. Last time there was a dance, your 
  123.91 +parents asked you for over a week who you were going to go with but you kept saying you didn’t know 
  123.92 +until you wound up going with me as ‘friends’.” Turning to Kumiko, she grinned. “So maybe they already 
  123.93 +know. Or they have to have guessed a few times.”
  123.94 +	“Oh, stop it. That’s not funny,” Kumiko said. “Anyway, we better hurry if we want to get to your 
  123.95 +house and school on time.”
  123.96 +	“Thanks.”
  123.97 +	Starting to walk faster, Kumiko blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright day. “For what?”
  123.98 +	“For lunch. That was sweet of you,” Megumi said happily.
  123.99 +	“That? Oh, that’s alright.” Kumiko winked at the blonde girl. “Just make sure you eat all of it.”
 123.100 +	Megumi giggled. “Of course I will. You made it.” Stopping in front of her house, Megumi pulled 
 123.101 +out a house key and unlocked the door. “Would you like to come in, Kumi?”
 123.102 +	Kumiko looked at her watch nervously. “No, that’s okay. Just be quick.”
 123.103 +	Megumi nodded and headed swiftly into her house. A few moments later, she came out the door, 
 123.104 +putting her cheerleader uniform in her backpack.
 123.105 +	“Is that everything?” Kumiko asked worriedly as she took another glance at her watch. 
 123.106 +	“That should be.” Grabbing Kumiko’s arm just above the shoulder, Megumi looked into her eyes. 
 123.107 +“Kumi, don’t worry about it. If anything happens, we’ll tell your parents that it was my fault because I 
 123.108 +forgot something at home.”
 123.109 +	Kumiko shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t say anything like that. Let’s just try to get there on 
 123.110 +time.”
 123.111 +	“Hai.” Megumi made sure the door was locked before she and Kumiko started running to school.
 123.112 +
 123.113 +“So why did you both show up so late?” Asahi asked, pulling on her shoes. She was eager to get to 
 123.114 +cheerleading practice so she had dressed hurriedly. 
 123.115 +“Oh… We…” Kumiko started. She turned to Megumi and shrugged helplessly. She busied herself 
 123.116 +with fixing her pony tail.
 123.117 +“I was waiting to walk to school with Kumi, but by the time we were on our way, I remembered I 
 123.118 +left my uniform at home.” Megumi gestured to the cheerleading uniform she was now wearing.
 123.119 +“No wonder. Well, at least you got here. Chisa was betting you wouldn’t and Akari thought one of 
 123.120 +you was sick.” Picking up her baton, Asahi checked to make sure everything was perfect. “But I thought 
 123.121 +Kumiko-chan just wound up sleeping in again.”
 123.122 +Megumi nodded. “Kumi must have been tired after last night. I did want to get up myself.” She 
 123.123 +smiled mischievously at the brown haired girl.
 123.124 +Kumiko blushed and nudged the blonde none too gently. “Megumi-chan…”
 123.125 +Megumi merely giggled and stepped to the side. “Your cranky, Kumi. You didn’t sleep much last 
 123.126 +night, did you?” She winked at Kumiko while their friend looked on in confusion.
 123.127 +Before anyone could say another word, a woman in her early twenties entered the room, her dark, 
 123.128 +shoulder length hair offsetting calm blue eyes. “You girls almost ready?” She asked.
 123.129 +A faint blush spread over Asahi’s cheeks. She clutched her baton tightly and nodded. “Yes, 
 123.130 +Coachie.”
 123.131 +The older woman smiled gently at Asahi. “Good. I’ll be waiting for you.” She paused for a 
 123.132 +moment before she turned to leave the room. 
 123.133 +Asahi slowly let out a sigh. “Coachie…” she said dreamily. Without looking back, she hurried 
 123.134 +after the other woman.
 123.135 +Kumiko turned to Megumi. “That still frightens me.”
 123.136 +Megumi shrugged, looking after their friend. “Coach is really nice, and Asahi’s seemed to like her 
 123.137 +since the first day she showed up for gym class. I’m just wondering if they’re going out or if Asahi-chan’s 
 123.138 +still pining away,” the blonde girl said thoughtfully.
 123.139 +Kumiko eyes widened. “Going out? But the coach is so much older than Asahi-chan. Do you think 
 123.140 +they might be?”
 123.141 +“Maybe, I’m not sure yet. And age doesn’t matter, anyway, so that’s not important.”
 123.142 +“Well, if they’re not together, I wish Asahi-chan luck,” Kumiko said, taking Megumi’s hand in her 
 123.143 +own.
 123.144 +Megumi smiled. “Me too. For now, we better get out there before they start worrying about us.”
 123.145 +Kumiko nodded agreement and the two girls headed outside.
 123.146 +
 123.147 +“How did you do on the test, Kumi?” Megumi asked as they walked vaguely towards Kumiko’s 
 123.148 +house. It was a beautiful cloudless day and they had the whole weekend in front of them. 
 123.149 +Kumiko slung her backpack on one shoulder. “I did okay, I guess. It helps that we studied for it. I 
 123.150 +wouldn’t have been ready at all otherwise.” She rolled her aquamarine eyes. “They could have at least 
 123.151 +tested us on something we already knew.”
 123.152 +“We could try to study more next time,” Megumi suggested.
 123.153 +Kumiko thought for a moment. “No, that’s alright. I did pretty well and we’d probably just get off 
 123.154 +track next time we study anyway, like we usually do.”
 123.155 +Megumi smiled at the other girl. “That’s true.” 
 123.156 +The two girls walked along for a few minutes, talking about this and that. Megumi came to a halt 
 123.157 +when she spotted something. “Hey, looks like they’re selling some antics over there.”
 123.158 +Kumiko turned to where Megumi’s gaze led. “See anything you want?”
 123.159 +“Maybe…” The blonde said before walking over to the items spread before them. The items were 
 123.160 +all set up in front of a large metal gate. Behind the gate lay a rather impressive mansion. The sight of the 
 123.161 +mansion sent a chill through both girls.
 123.162 +Kumiko rubbed her arms, the feeling she got from the house almost physical. “Can we go, 
 123.163 +Megumi-chan?” She felt odd seeing that place.
 123.164 +“In just a minute,” Megumi said quietly. Many of these items, these personal belongings of 
 123.165 +someone long gone, seemed familiar to her. Some she could nearly remember. Try as she might, she 
 123.166 +couldn’t stop the familiarity she felt.
 123.167 +“Cool! Megumi, look at this,” Kumiko said, her gaze settling on a small video camera. 
 123.168 +	“Wow! It looks pretty old.” Megumi walked over to the desk on which it lay, side by side with 
 123.169 +Kumiko.
 123.170 +“It would be great to have it, wouldn’t it? I’d love to record you with it.” Kumiko laughed as she 
 123.171 +picked it up, pretending to video tape Megumi. The other girl giggled and posed for the video camera.
 123.172 +“You girls find something you want?” A girl around their age walked up to them, seeming to 
 123.173 +come from nowhere. They had been so caught up in the house and the items that they were both startled by 
 123.174 +her arrival.
 123.175 +Regaining her composure first, Kumiko turned. “Yeah, we’re interested in this video camera. How 
 123.176 +much is it?”
 123.177 +“You are? No one else has even looked its way yet.” The girl stood in thought for a moment. “If 
 123.178 +you want it, you can have it.”
 123.179 +“Really?” Megumi asked excitedly.
 123.180 +“Yeah, sure,” the other girl smiled. “My mom and I just moved in. We need to get rid of some of 
 123.181 +the stuff that was already here.”
 123.182 +“Thanks!” Kumiko said happily.
 123.183 +“Don’t mention it.” The girl nodded to them before returning to watch over the sale.
 123.184 +Kumiko grinned as she held up the video camera again. “This should be fun.”
 123.185 +“We have to see if it works first, though,” Megumi pointed out. 
 123.186 +“Yeah, you’re right. I hope it does.” Kumiko gave the video camera a quick glance to make sure it 
 123.187 +looked like it was in working order. “It looks like whoever owned it took really good care of it.”
 123.188 +“We can check it out at my house.” Megumi smiled at Kumiko and brushed some of the other 
 123.189 +girl’s dark brown hair away from her eyes.
 123.190 +	“Looks like there’s still a video in it, too,” Kumiko said, still toying with the video camera.
 123.191 +	“Good. Now, let’s go back to my house. This place is giving me the creeps.” Megumi took 
 123.192 +Kumiko’s free hand with her own.
 123.193 +	Kumiko waved to the girl who had given them the camera before they left. Neither Kumiko nor 
 123.194 +Megumi understood the significance of the video camera they held or the history it possessed. Both tried to 
 123.195 +push off the strange feelings they’d had while near the house as they got further and further away from it.
 123.196 +
 123.197 +
 123.198 +	As they approached Megumi’s house, Kumiko broke the silence that had been following them 
 123.199 +ever since they left that scary mansion that had given them such odd feelings of déjà vu. 
 123.200 +“This really is a cool camera, isn’t it?” Kumiko smiled excitedly, trying to be patient and wait till 
 123.201 +they could see what was on the video tape. 
 123.202 +	“I guess so, Kumi, but I don’t see why you’re so amazed with it. It’s so old. They probably don’t 
 123.203 +even make tapes that are compatible with such an old model video camera.” Megumi sighed, trying to 
 123.204 +brush that scary feeling she got from the mansion away.
 123.205 +	“Aww..” Kumiko frowned. “I’m sure that they’re sold somewhere.”
 123.206 +	Megumi giggled and leaned forward, lightly kissing Kumiko’s lower lip. “I’m sorry. I’m just a 
 123.207 +little shaken by the old building.”
 123.208 +	When they stepped inside, Kumiko noticed that Megumi’s parents weren’t there. “Where are your 
 123.209 +parents, Megumi?”
 123.210 +	“They’re gone. Like usual. I don’t see why you’re surprised. They’re hardly ever here.” Megumi 
 123.211 +sighed, angrily.
 123.212 +	 “Don’t worry about it, Megumi-chan. At least we have the place to ourselves. And we can check 
 123.213 +out this video in peace,” Kumiko smiled, trying to cheer up her best friend, schoolmate, and girlfriend.
 123.214 +	“You know that the video’s probably just an old empty tape left in by the owner a long time ago 
 123.215 +and they never used it, right?” Megumi tried to let her down gently, noticing that Kumiko had such high 
 123.216 +hopes for the camera and didn’t want to crush them.
 123.217 +	“For some odd reason, I just know that there’s something on that tape. Like destiny’s calling for 
 123.218 +me to watch it. Like there’s something or someone very important on it.” Kumiko shook her head trying to 
 123.219 +clear away all of the overwhelming thoughts that rushed through her as she connected the video camera to 
 123.220 +the television so they could view the contents of the tape. 
 123.221 +	Megumi laughed, hugging Kumiko from behind. “Kumi, its just an old tape. Probably of 
 123.222 +someone’s birthday or family.”
 123.223 +	“What if its for us?” Kumiko asked half seriously. She blushed when she thought about how 
 123.224 +foolish that sounded. “Well, I still want to see what its about.”
 123.225 +	“Want me to get some popcorn?” Megumi asked, still smiling. 
 123.226 +	Kumiko sat down beside Megumi, pulling her legs up to her chest. She felt the warmth of the 
 123.227 +other girl sitting next to her. She could smell the sweet scent of Megumi’s long, soft blonde hair as it 
 123.228 +brushed her cheek. Smiling to Megumi, she received a brief kiss from the blonde before returning her 
 123.229 +attention to the television. Her heartbeat quickened as the video started. 
 123.230 +	Megumi sighed. She had an odd feeling about this. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see what was on 
 123.231 +the video. She felt that maybe, just maybe, Kumiko had been right about the video being for them. That 
 123.232 +thought scared her. What if it changed things? Maybe there were certain things they weren’t meant to know 
 123.233 +about.
 123.234 +	The faint outline of a girl could be seen amidst the static as someone tried to fix the camera so 
 123.235 +many years ago. After a short time, the silhouette started to come into view. She was a girl about their age 
 123.236 +with long dark hair and dark stormy blue eyes. Her skin was very pale, as if made of alabaster. She seemed 
 123.237 +to have a perpetual smile that followed her as she continued to check the camcorder. Both Megumi and 
 123.238 +Kumiko caught their breath as they watched the dark haired girl on the video. A strange sense of nostalgia 
 123.239 +filled the room. The dark haired girl winked at the camcorder after she seemed fairly certain that it was 
 123.240 +working. 
 123.241 +	“Tomoyo-chan,” another girl called from offscreen. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
 123.242 +	“It’s okay, Sakura-chan. Its working now,” Tomoyo said happily. The camcorder turned suddenly, 
 123.243 +now being held by the dark haired girl. A girl with short brown hair and large green eyes stood in view of 
 123.244 +the camcorder. She was wearing the same school fuku Tomoyo was wearing. 
 123.245 +	Sakura sweatdropped and put a hand behind her head nervously. “I just meant that you don’t have 
 123.246 +to videotape me right now, Tomoyo-chan. I’m not even doing anything interesting like card captoring right 
 123.247 +now.”
 123.248 +	Tomoyo’s quiet voice spoke up warmly. “Sakura-chan’s always interesting. You know there’s 
 123.249 +nothing else I’d rather videotape.”
 123.250 +	Sakura sighed in defeat. “Okay. I just thought that we were going to go for a walk.”
 123.251 +	“We are,” Tomoyo replied. “I wanted a video to remember it by.” Megumi’s hand absentmindedly 
 123.252 +went to her left cheek as she watched the events unfold. This whole things seemed so familiar. She knew 
 123.253 +these girls. She was sure she knew them.
 123.254 +	Kumiko felt her breath catch in her chest. She felt like she was actually there, watching everything 
 123.255 +as if it were through her own eyes rather than the camcorder. As the two girls onscreen talked, Kumiko 
 123.256 +tried desperately to remember what happened next. Remember? How could she remember something she’d 
 123.257 +never seen?
 123.258 +	The dark haired girl behind the camcorder giggled as she ran to catch up with Sakura. Sakura 
 123.259 +smiled brightly at her as she caught up. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you do that, Tomoyo-chan.” 
 123.260 +	“Because you are the most beautiful thing for me to record. Because you are the most interesting 
 123.261 +thing for me to record. Because I love you,” Tomoyo explained.
 123.262 +	Sakura smiled brighter and looked over at Tomoyo. “I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan.”
 123.263 +	“Watch out…” Megumi whispered. Tomoyo was too busy following Sakura with the video 
 123.264 +camera to notice the tangled root in front of her. Her foot got caught, throwing her off balance. The 
 123.265 +camcorder tumbled from her grasp, but by now the images weren’t needed. They both knew what 
 123.266 +happened. Sakura looked on in alarm when she heard Tomoyo’s gasp. She quickly lunged forward, 
 123.267 +catching the dark haired girl around the waist and under an arm. They both stumbled the rest of the way to 
 123.268 +the grass. The camcorder was on its side, pointing at the two girls holding each other. Both were breathing 
 123.269 +heavily from the shock. They looked at each other for a long moment, passing a silent thank you between 
 123.270 +them. Ever so slowly they leaned towards each other, their lips meeting passionately. 
 123.271 +	Kumiko gasped as the television turned off. For a moment she thought the video was over, but 
 123.272 +looking up she could see Megumi had pressed the power button on the television. Megumi stood there 
 123.273 +silently, looking off into the distance. She seemed to be thinking. Or maybe she didn’t want to think. 
 123.274 +“Tomoyo…” Kumiko pleaded.
 123.275 +Megumi turned to the other girl, her eyes wide. “Why did you call me thatt?” 
 123.276 +“Call you what?” Kumiko asked nervously.
 123.277 +“Tomoyo.”
 123.278 +“I meant… I didn’t mean you, Megumi-chan. I was caught up in the video.” Kumiko tried to 
 123.279 +explain it away.
 123.280 +	Megumi shook her head. “You can’t lie to me, Kumi. I know you too well. Why did you call me 
 123.281 +that?” She swallowed nervously. ‘Please just say I reminded you of her, or that you were daydreaming that 
 123.282 +was us. Anything. I’ll believe you, Kumi,’ Megumi thought to herself.
 123.283 +	“I… I don’t know, Megumi-chan,” Kumiko said softly. 
 123.284 +
 123.285 +End part 1
 123.286 +

   124.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   124.2 +++ b/stories/CCSReprise.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   124.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
   124.4 +By Stirling Twilight
   124.5 +stirling_9@hotmail.com
   124.6 +
   124.7 +
   124.8 +
   124.9 +Reprise 
  124.10 +
  124.11 +Sakura flopped onto her back across the bed, clutching the Key around her neck.  Why was this so
  124.12 +hard, she wondered again?  Tomoyo had told her that she loved her, had been as sincere and
  124.13 +honest as a girl could be, and yet… 
  124.14 +Rolling onto her side Sakura pulled the pillow over her head, hiding from the unknown.  In her
  124.15 +head music played, over and over.  Sakura tried to listen; tried to draw meaning from the words,
  124.16 +but it was a confusion of sound that had no logic.  She sighed, flipped the pillow off and sat
  124.17 +up.  Across the room Kero-chan watched an old movie on the TV, occasionally calling her
  124.18 +attention to something he had forgotten since the last time he had watched this movie.  Sakura
  124.19 +smiled, stretched, and moved towards the door. 
  124.20 +"I'm taking a walk," she announced, not waiting for an answer, and was gone before Kero-chan
  124.21 +noticed. 
  124.22 +She padded softly though the house, knowing she was alone but for the Seal Beast, but enjoying
  124.23 +the stillness.  Outside the night air was pleasantly cool, the sort of air that made you breathe
  124.24 +deeply because the temperature was so comfortable.  Smiling to herself Sakura buckled on her
  124.25 +roller blades and headed for the park. 
  124.26 +As she glided along the internal music resumed.  It had been gone for just a moment, but now
  124.27 +that it was back Sakura realized why she had missed it, and she smiled.  Picking up her pace she
  124.28 +hurried to the King Penguin, hoping she would be alone for what she wanted to do.  Luck was with
  124.29 +her as she slowed to a stop just outside of the halo of streetlights.  Her hand was in the place
  124.30 +she had become accustomed to finding it in…nearly clutching for the Key around her neck.  She
  124.31 +reached into her shirt and with one fluid motion brought the Key into the night air. 
  124.32 +"Release!" she yelled, feeling the warm evening air swirl around her.  With another equally as
  124.33 +practiced motion a Clow Card was in her hand and then spinning before her face.  With unhidden
  124.34 +joy she brought the Key wand down on the Song Card, and commanded the Card to sing Tomoyo's song
  124.35 +for her. 
  124.36 +Light and sound surged around her and at the first tentative strains of the song Sakura felt
  124.37 +herself relax.  Here was Tomoyo, singing for her.  Singing for her, to please her, and no one
  124.38 +else.  Sakura leaned back against a tree and let the sound carry her away.  She saw in her
  124.39 +mind's eye the small group of friends on the rooftop that night, the Clow Card glowing before
  124.40 +Tomoyo, and the two of them singing the sweet duet.  Almost it seemed she could hear the
  124.41 +counter-part in the song, softly, very softly. 
  124.42 +Closing her eyes she painted for herself an image of silky charcoal grey hair, soft grey eyes,
  124.43 +and delicate, graceful hands clasped at her breast.  Tomoyo's hands suddenly arrested Sakura's
  124.44 +attention.  Why hadn't she noticed them before? The recognition of that touch made her sit down
  124.45 +heavily, as the song continued around her. The smallest whimper escaped her lips.  She suddenly
  124.46 +felt a warm wave of the softest caresses wash over and in her. Her heart swelled in her chest as
  124.47 +she breathed deeply, remembering. How many times had Tomoyo's hand slipped easily into her own?
  124.48 +Had always been there when her own fears had caused her to unconsciously groped for something to
  124.49 +hold onto?  There suddenly seemed to be no place Tomoyo hadn't touched.  She was an invisible
  124.50 +lifeline in a chaotic world that Sakura could share with no one.  Almost she could feel those
  124.51 +hands on her, softly, very softly. 
  124.52 +The final notes of Tomoyo's song faded away like a splash of cold water on her face causing
  124.53 +Sakura to scramble upright, grasping for the Key, desperate for the song to continue.  As if in
  124.54 +response to her mad rush the Song Card began again, and Sakura sat back again with a sigh. 
  124.55 +"Keep singing please, I'll tell you when I want you to stop," she whispered dreamily. 
  124.56 +Lying back again, in a sleepy haze, she saw Tomoyo before her, wearing a long dress Sakura had
  124.57 +never seen before.  The pure whiteness of it made it glow in the soft light thrown off by Song,
  124.58 +surrounding Tomoyo in a soft halo.  A perfect angel Sakura thought smiling.  Tomoyo's hair was
  124.59 +swept up onto the top of her head in a mass of curls, white ribbons, and cherry blossom
  124.60 +flowers.  Tomoyo's hands came together at her chest and her eyes closed as she joined her voice
  124.61 +to that of Song, singing the fairy duet once again.  Entranced Sakura found herself watching the
  124.62 +apparition's mouth.  The lips, as pink as the cherry blossoms in her hair, looked moist and
  124.63 +soft, with a promise of heavenly sweetness about them Sakura wanted to taste.  She longed to
  124.64 +touch the Tomoyo before her but feared breaking the spell.  Her lungs suddenly ached in her
  124.65 +chest from a lack of air and she drew in a deep breath.  Sakura realized her whole being was
  124.66 +wound tight, almost to the point of panting.  The spectral Tomoyo glided closer as the song
  124.67 +reaching its simple climax and slowly she bent over the straining Sakura.  The scent of Tomoyo
  124.68 +embraced Sakura and she sucked in breath, her eyes growing wide in surprise.  Lowering herself
  124.69 +to her knees Tomoyo leaned into Sakura, who, unnerved, locked her eyes on the petal like lips
  124.70 +before her.  For a fleeting moment she was afraid she would speak, but desire won her over and
  124.71 +closing her eyes Sakura lifted her face towards the angel who knelt over her.  Tomoyo's soft
  124.72 +breath caressed Sakura's face with the final words to the song, their lips less than an inch
  124.73 +apart, and then, as soft as snowflakes, Tomoyo's mouth came down on Sakura's.  For an eternity
  124.74 +Sakura fought an urge to stiffen, but the warmth of the angel pressed against her turned her
  124.75 +muscles to jelly and her whole body relaxed.  Encouraged, Tomoyo gently applied more pressure,
  124.76 +and Sakura gave herself over to the sensation, her whole body ringing like the clearest chime. 
  124.77 +Her arms, moving on their own, came up and wound around the tiny waist, encountering white silk
  124.78 +and even softer escaped curls.  Sakura pulled her friend in closer, longing to drown in the
  124.79 +feelings she was experiencing.  And the Song Card sang on.

   125.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   125.2 +++ b/stories/CCScharity.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   125.3 @@ -0,0 +1,523 @@
   125.4 +Learning to Fly
   125.5 +Chapter 1
   125.6 +by
   125.7 +The Amazoness Duo- amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   125.8 +G.P.- pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   125.9 +
  125.10 +
  125.11 +
  125.12 +The breeze off of the nearby ocean meandered playfully about on a path it neither knew nor
  125.13 +understood. It was free in a way that Syaoran Li, the heir to the illustrious Li Clan, could
  125.14 +never be. He felt some contempt for it as it's gentle, invisible fingers caressed his shirt to
  125.15 +his chest. What made it worse was that the breeze didn't know, nor care, for his jealous regards.
  125.16 +With all the power his position levelled him, with all the magical strength he possessed, he was
  125.17 +still as nothing to the wind. Oh, to be that free...
  125.18 +
  125.19 +“You haven't said a word since the banquet. I hope it didn't fry your brain. And you were doing
  125.20 +so well, too. I had you all trained and everything.” A snap of fingers and an exhale of breath
  125.21 +followed a dark haired woman's exclamation as she feigned frustration. “Ieran is going to be so
  125.22 +disappointed that I broke her son.” Meiling Li, one time fiancee of Syaoran, walked along the
  125.23 +small stone fence aside and above her cousin. Long wisps of beautiful raven hair trailed behind
  125.24 +her, almost as one with the wind. 
  125.25 +
  125.26 +Whereas the wind seemed to fight against Syaoran, finding a barrier in him, it seemed to flow
  125.27 +effortlessly about his female companion, offering her no barriers. Perhaps it was because she was
  125.28 +at peace with the wind, with the very nature of the world we live in. Or at least at peace with
  125.29 +herself and her place within the world. Syaoran still found himself trying to find his place in
  125.30 +it all, which seemed unneccessary what with his destiny as the head of the Li Clan preordained.
  125.31 +Yet still he found himself unsure of his future and his place within it. 
  125.32 +
  125.33 +“I'm fine.” His voice was rough, strong. He liked how it sounded. No longer the child he had been
  125.34 +back during his time assisting with the Clow Cards, he was a man now. It was known throughout
  125.35 +China that he was the premiere wizard, nearly as strong as his mother in the ways of his families
  125.36 +mystical arts. With a lean body, handsome looks, and enormous potential as the next heir to the
  125.37 +most powerful family of magicians in China, he was heavily sought after to wed the daughters of
  125.38 +many different influential families. Yet none of them managed to sway the admittedly headstrong
  125.39 +young master of the Li Clan. The one and only Cardmistress was his lover, the one who would one
  125.40 +day join him. He was happy with his strength, with the man he was now. 
  125.41 +
  125.42 +In many ways, Meiling had made his transformation possible. Or was transformation too strong of a
  125.43 +word? It was more subtle than that. He held a confidence he had been lacking when he was younger.
  125.44 +No longer was he a slave to his fears of not being good enough for his mother, for the Li Clan.
  125.45 +It had taken all of his courage to tell his mother that he was dating the Cardmistress. Back
  125.46 +then, he had been afraid she would turn her icy, disappointed eyes into him and the small amount
  125.47 +of love he had garnered from her over the years would wither and die. But the great and all
  125.48 +powerful Ieran had simply agreed and asked him if there was anything else of import he wished to
  125.49 +discuss. Perhaps it was then that he discovered his mother had never expected him to be stronger
  125.50 +than Sakura. She had never expected him to be the one to take back the cards of their ancestor,
  125.51 +Clow Reed. Anger and relief in equal parts had flooded him until he had been almost unable to
  125.52 +excuse himself and collapse on his bed back in his room. His whole life, he had been the only boy
  125.53 +in his family, the heir to the head of the household, the one expected to handle the family's
  125.54 +problems despite being the youngest. All that time, his mother had treated his sisters with
  125.55 +warmth and caring while she had granted him a somewhat disappointed indifference. He had thought
  125.56 +it was because he hadn't been strong enough, that she had expected more from him, that he had to
  125.57 +be better to gain her approval. But it seemed to be something altogether different. Perhaps she
  125.58 +had only been preparing him for the harsh life that awaited him as the head of the Li Clan. 
  125.59 +
  125.60 +With that experience, Syaoran had slowly taken up more and more responsibilities within the
  125.61 +household. Oddly enough, it had been Meiling who stood behind him throughout it all. His
  125.62 +beautiful, dark haired cousin had given him the confidence in himself to perform his duties as
  125.63 +well as to cultivate an air of authority he had long lacked. When other family members had
  125.64 +giggled at his attempts to take charge of a situation, Meiling had barked at them to listen to
  125.65 +him. Meiling had supported him unfalteringly every day for the past few years, despite the fact
  125.66 +that she knew he had cancelled their engagement. Even then, she was always the first to support
  125.67 +him, the first to tell him how great he was, how strong and smart and capable he was. She was the
  125.68 +one to make him feel as if he could accomplish anything.
  125.69 +
  125.70 + Meiling was his backup when he couldn't finish things on his own. When he had been told to
  125.71 +search through some family records for an important document, she had stayed up all night with
  125.72 +him, helping him through all the large, musty volumes that filled the huge library. Bringing them
  125.73 +tea every few hours, Meiling had been right alongside him as they poured through the thick,
  125.74 +boring manuscripts. 
  125.75 +
  125.76 +So much of his newfound sense of self, his gained self-confidence, came from Meiling's unwavering
  125.77 +support. He felt like he could handle taking over the household, which was slowly becoming a
  125.78 +reality. All thanks to the help of his strongwilled cousin. All of his self-doubts, his fears and
  125.79 +weaknesses, felt as if they were being ironed away, smoothed out of himself. He was pleased with
  125.80 +what he saw in the mirror and what he heard when he spoke. It was strong and honorable and he
  125.81 +liked it. Sakura would be so glad when she saw him again. He would show her how he had grown, how
  125.82 +much more in control he was. He would sweep her off her feet. 
  125.83 +
  125.84 +“So you can speak!” Meiling clapped her hands delightedly, grinning as she startled Syaoran from
  125.85 +her thoughts. From personal experience, she knew she was one of a few lucky people who could drag
  125.86 +Syaoran from his moody thoughts. He came kicking and screaming sometimes, but she could force him
  125.87 +into the here and now nonetheless. It was for his own good, she always told herself. Better to
  125.88 +make him pay attention than to be ignored. 
  125.89 +
  125.90 +Glancing up at his cousin, resplendant in her beautiful red and yellow dress, he nodded. “Thanks
  125.91 +for your help at the banquet, Meiling. I really thought Fanren was going to argue about my idea
  125.92 +for a minute.”
  125.93 +
  125.94 +Amber eyes seemed to sparkle gleefully as slim shoulders shrugged. “She was going to. But she
  125.95 +wasn't going to fight the both of us. She still doesn't like the idea, but she doesn't have to.
  125.96 +You're the new head of the household, not her. Besides, if she really wants to fight over it, you
  125.97 +can always bring up her plethora of lovers. That would shut her up real quick. Your mother
  125.98 +tolerates it because she keeps it quiet. You could make a big fuss over it once you're in charge
  125.99 +though. She'd stop fighting with you just so you'd leave her alone about it.
 125.100 +
 125.101 +”Silence followed for
 125.102 +a moment. It was at this moment that Syaoran realized Meiling could fight extremely dirty when
 125.103 +she wanted to. The revelation was both exciting and frightening at the same time. He decided to
 125.104 +push that away for the moment. “I'd... rather not piss off Fanren if I can help it. She's still
 125.105 +my big sister. If we can resolve it without her hating me for the rest of my life, I'm happier.
 125.106 +Besides, it all seemed to get resolved when you threw in with me. She didn't want to have to
 125.107 +argue with both of us.”
 125.108 +
 125.109 +“If you say so. She'll have to get used to you being in charge sooner or
 125.110 +later, no matter how much older she is,” Meiling stated. Her arms spread out like wings, keeping
 125.111 +her balance despite the increasingly harsh sea wind. 
 125.112 +
 125.113 +A part of Syaoran's mind flinched at the thought. Fanren was his eldest sister. Memories of his
 125.114 +older sisters dressing him in their old clothes, going through their makeup to make him look like
 125.115 +their pretty little sister, their personal dress up doll, made his cheeks turn a light shade of
 125.116 +crimson. The thought of threatening Fanren with the knowledge of her many lovers seemed
 125.117 +impossible in the light of those memories. She was still his older sister. He'd always be the
 125.118 +baby to her, which was why it was so hard for her to entirely defer to him. But at least Fanren
 125.119 +had given in with Meiling's help. The thought of trying to force his fiery older sister to submit
 125.120 +in any situation didn't strike him as pleasant. Whereas his mother had an icy strength to her,
 125.121 +Fanren's spirit was fiery. He liked to think that he himself held his mother's reserve of ice
 125.122 +cold strength, but he couldn't be entirely sure. 
 125.123 +
 125.124 +“....ting engaged soon. He's from that Chang family. That one with all the scholars? I hear
 125.125 +they've got some magic in the family, too. So I guess it makes sense,” Meiling was finishing, a
 125.126 +few paces ahead of Syaoran by now. The wind continued to play with her hair, sending the pigtails
 125.127 +trailing behind her, almost far enough out for Syaoran to reach if he tried. 
 125.128 +
 125.129 +“Hmm?” Syaoran gathered himself, looking up to his slightly younger cousin. Thoughts swirled in a
 125.130 +fragmented pattern as they tried to piece themselves back together. What had she been saying? A
 125.131 +touch of anxiety began eating at him. He quashed it immediately. If there was anything he hated
 125.132 +with a passion, it was fear. He never wanted to fear, to worry, again. Such a feeling was
 125.133 +unfitting someone of his post. But all the same, Meiling's next words left him shaken.
 125.134 +
 125.135 +“What are
 125.136 +you going to do when I'm not here to force you out of your thoughts? You'll never go do anything
 125.137 +fun. I'm the one who drags you out to go dancing or to see movies or even to go to the park.
 125.138 +You're hopeless.” The smile on her lips didn't meet her eyes as she walked backwards along the
 125.139 +fence, eyeing her onetime fiancee. “I'm getting married,” she said after a brief pause. She
 125.140 +hurried before Syaoran could respond. “I'm my mother's oldest daughter and I'm unmarried. Mom
 125.141 +doesn't have as many kids as your mother has, so she can't afford to squander her bargaining
 125.142 +chips. She's been looking for someone for me to marry for a while now. To 'bolster the strength
 125.143 +of the Li Clan' is how she put it, I think.” Another shrug of her athletic shoulders. “It got to
 125.144 +the point where she began to arrange my marriage to the only son of the Chang family. I think
 125.145 +we're getting married in August.”
 125.146 +
 125.147 +“But... you can't!” His voice wasn't as controlled as he wanted it to be. When upset or angry, he
 125.148 +still lost a bit of that vital control he longed for. His voice had come out harsh, too harsh.
 125.149 +Too... afraid? No, it was Meiling's life. It didn't concern him. Maybe it was that she was
 125.150 +getting married off. But hadn't she always been in a situation where she would be married off?
 125.151 +First him and now this Chang boy. His stomach clenched at the thought of this person taking away
 125.152 +his... best friend. Another realization. Meiling was his best friend. Perhaps his only friend.
 125.153 +And she was being taken away from him. Fear and anger and frustration all threatened, crashing
 125.154 +like stormy waves against the walls of control he had so diligently crafted. Now he wasn't so
 125.155 +sure they would hold. His mind raced desperately for a way to solve the problem. “You don't have
 125.156 +to have an arranged marriage. I stepped out of mine. I told mother I was going to be with
 125.157 +Sakura.” As soon as it was out of his mouth, he immediately regretted it. In an unspoken pact, he
 125.158 +and Meiling rarely discussed his love life with Sakura. Meiling didn't want to hear about it,
 125.159 +didn't want to think about it. And this scenario was infinitely worse. He had stepped out of his
 125.160 +engagement to Meiling in order to be with Sakura. Unlike himself, Meiling had not wanted to end
 125.161 +their engagement. 
 125.162 +
 125.163 +Amber eyes that would be beautiful in almost any light got incredibly frosty in the blink of an
 125.164 +eye. Though Syaoran couldn't tell what had changed about Meiling's posture or demeanor, her aura
 125.165 +was much, much crisper now, matching the biting wind that had risen. “This is political. The
 125.166 +family is strengthened from my marriage to the heir to the Chang Clan. And, whether you want to
 125.167 +believe it or not, you being with Sakura is also political. You want to know why your mother
 125.168 +didn't put up so much as an argument for why you couldn't be with her? Because she's the
 125.169 +Cardmistress. She has the book that belonged to our ancestor. Having you marry her, to bring both
 125.170 +her magic and her Sakura Cards back into our family, is the next best thing to if you had managed
 125.171 +to get the Cards in the first place.” Turning to look forward, she continued to walk briskly
 125.172 +along the stone fence. Syaoran had to hurry to keep up. “So my mother probably wouldn't care even
 125.173 +if I told her I 'didn't want to' marry him. And I have no reason not to marry him.”
 125.174 +
 125.175 +Continuing on
 125.176 +in silence for a moment, the sounds of the street beneath his shoes sounded distant and false.
 125.177 +Not only had he lost his precious control for a brief moment, but he had also hurt Meiling with a
 125.178 +stupid comment he should have known better than to let slip out of his mouth. “Do you love him?”
 125.179 +It took all his effort to make the question sound casual, to keep it from revealing how concerned
 125.180 +he was for its answer. If she didn't have a reason to not marry him, then maybe...
 125.181 +
 125.182 +“No. I haven't even met him. But what do I have to wait around for? Your sisters are starting to
 125.183 +get married off. My brother's already engaged. I don't want to be the only daughter sitting
 125.184 +around here like a dusty old maid. Then what? I get to sit around and watch you and Sakura get
 125.185 +married and have kids while I sit at home? At least I'm doing the family some good by marrying
 125.186 +him. I don't have to like him to have his kids. Who knows. Maybe I'll fall for him.” The last was
 125.187 +mean and she knew it. Part of her still wanted to make him jealous. The rest of her was just
 125.188 +tired and lonely and exhausted. The love she held for Syaoran had blossomed when she had been a
 125.189 +small child. The seedling had grown into something that filled her entire being. And yet, the
 125.190 +past few years she had watched him in love with another. Never once had he seen her crying over
 125.191 +him, tearry eyed in her bed, wishing they had never gone to Japan. She had waited and hoped that
 125.192 +maybe, just maybe, he would eventually choose her. But now that seemed unlikely. She would never
 125.193 +love anyone the way she loved Syaoran, but she wouldn't sit and wait like an old pet. 
 125.194 +
 125.195 +There was nothing he could say at this point. Words would fail him and he knew it. They had never
 125.196 +been his strong point anyway. Almost all of their arguments were won by Meiling because of that.
 125.197 +But he felt incredibly empty as he watched her ahead of him.
 125.198 +
 125.199 +Hopping off the low fence, Meiling landed lightly in her sandals. “I need to get home to help
 125.200 +mother for the preparations. I'll stop by tomorrow to see how things are going. Goodnight,
 125.201 +Syaoran.” With that, she left, not bothering to look back over her shoulder.
 125.202 +
 125.203 +“Goodnight, Meiling.” The words were not enough and they sounded tiny and irrelevant in his ears.
 125.204 +The hollow, empty sounds plagued him as he watched her receding back. He should have said
 125.205 +something, done something to make it better. Instead, he had succeeded only in sticking his foot
 125.206 +in his mouth. He was about to lose his best friend to some boy she didn't even know because of
 125.207 +the family honor he had devoted his life to. He felt weak. The support for everything he had
 125.208 +built was suddenly slipping away. He would be strong enough on his own, wouldn't he? Without her,
 125.209 +he could still handle it, right? Doubts nagged at him, doubts he had long suppressed. The girl he
 125.210 +had long depended on without realizing was suddenly getting ready to leave. And there was nothing
 125.211 +he could do about it. 
 125.212 +
 125.213 +“Fuck!!” Fist cracked against stone in a battle that was shortlived. Pain
 125.214 +crackling through his knuckles, Syaoran hoped Meiling had been far enough away not to hear him.
 125.215 +He hit the stone again. And again. He didn't want to let her go. It was like losing the one
 125.216 +pillar he had to keep things together. But it wasn't his choice to make. 
 125.217 +
 125.218 +Slumping against the wall, he slid down into a sitting position. 'Don't go, Meiling,' he wanted
 125.219 +to say. 'Stay with me,' his younger voice pleaded. Tears built in his eyes, damned tears he had
 125.220 +long thought dried out. His sisters had been playing with him again, something he had always
 125.221 +loved when he was a child. They'd dressed him up in their most beautiful old clothes, made him as
 125.222 +pretty as any young girl his age, and had played with him all afternoon. And then his mother had
 125.223 +come. His mother never told his sisters to leave him alone back then, never scolded them for
 125.224 +playing with him in such ways. She simply sent them away. It was time for some of Syaoran's
 125.225 +lessons. He had to learn to be strong. He had to learn to be a man because he would one day lead
 125.226 +the Li Clan. And his older sisters all bowed to their mother and made their hasty retreat.
 125.227 +Leaving him with his mother's cold, disapproving glare. That glare was so different from the
 125.228 +smiles and giggles of his sisters as they played with him. He hated it. And he had begged his
 125.229 +fleeing sisters to stay. To not leave him alone with those cold, disappointed eyes. But they
 125.230 +always left. And he was always alone with her. Fighting his dragons. Trying to be the man his
 125.231 +mother demanded him to be. And now, when he was fighting again for control of the Li Clan, the
 125.232 +brilliant smile and light that Meiling bestowed upon him was about to flee. And he knew he would
 125.233 +be left in darkness again. 'Don't go...' his voice from years long gone cried out. Sakura. He
 125.234 +still had Sakura. Pulling out his cell phone, her number was speed dialed in seconds. 
 125.235 +
 125.236 +Trrrrrrriiiiil. Trrrrrrrrrrrriiiil. Trrr.... “Hello?” Her soft voice was still as bright and warm
 125.237 +as it had been when he had fallen for her as a child. “Hello? Syaoran?”
 125.238 +
 125.239 +“Sakura...” His voice was
 125.240 +steady, calm, and for that he was glad. His earlier signs of weakness had been erased. He barely
 125.241 +felt the tears trickling down his cheeks. He was in control again. 
 125.242 +
 125.243 +“Syaoran! How are you? I was
 125.244 +just talking to Tomoyo-chan about you.” A pause. “I miss you.”
 125.245 +
 125.246 +“Mmm... I miss you, too. I'm fine.”
 125.247 +His voice was sounding better by the minute. “Just wanted to check up on you. How've things been
 125.248 +going?”
 125.249 +
 125.250 +“Oh, they're fine. We've finally got everything moved in. Oh, Syaoran, you should see the place!
 125.251 +It's so cute! I really, really have to thank Sonomi-san for finding us such a nice place. And
 125.252 +it's really close to the campus, too, kind of between my campus and Tomoyo's. I still have to
 125.253 +take the tram, but... well, I could take the limo that Sonomi has take Tomoyo-chan to school, but
 125.254 +then I'd feel even guiltier. I mean, she already got this place for us. Hoe... I need to find a
 125.255 +way to thank her. Can you think of anything?” Sakura finally paused for a breath. 
 125.256 +
 125.257 +“No,
 125.258 +nothing.”
 125.259 +
 125.260 +“Well, I'll have to think of something.” Then, away from the phone. “Yeah, right there
 125.261 +is fine, Tomoyo-chan.” Back to the phone. “You really should come out soon, Syaoran. It's such a
 125.262 +nice place. The view at night is gorgeous. Tomoyo-chan and I stayed up last night and the city
 125.263 +looks so beautiful. It's lit up like a thousand different stars. The cars look like little
 125.264 +shooting stars under us.”
 125.265 +
 125.266 +“Yeah, I'd like that, Sakura. Maybe I can check it out soon.”
 125.267 +
 125.268 +“Really?
 125.269 +I'd love that, Syaoran. It's been so long. It'd be so great to see you again.” Sakura sighed
 125.270 +softly, the sigh she always gave when she was lonely. He got it a lot on their phone calls. 
 125.271 +
 125.272 +“I'll try to see what I can do, then,” he promised. 
 125.273 +
 125.274 +“Thanks, Syaoran,” her cheerful voice responded. “Ack... I have to go now. Tomoyo-chan needs my
 125.275 +help to move something. Well, she didn't say she needs my help, but you know how skinny and
 125.276 +fragile she is. She's trying to lift it herself, but....” Away from the phone, he can still hear
 125.277 +her voice. “Tomoyo-chan, let me help you with that. You're going to get hurt if you try to carry
 125.278 +that by yourself.” Pulling the phone to her ear, her voice was clear again. “We sent the
 125.279 +bodyguards her mother had sent home after they helped get everything up to the apartment. We
 125.280 +didn't want them to have to wait for us to figure out how we want the layout.”
 125.281 +
 125.282 +“Go
 125.283 +ahead and help Daidouji. I'll call you later.”
 125.284 +
 125.285 +“Syaoan, I hope I can see you soon,” Sakura said,
 125.286 +her voice a lot whisper.“Me too, Sakura-chan.” Maybe if she were near, he could stave off this
 125.287 +collapse. And then the phone went silent as he let it turn off.Nothing was better. Icy tears
 125.288 +rolled down his cheeks as the wind got more and more violently, making the leaves scractch
 125.289 +against anything like distant, insane laughter. No one heard the cries in his head. Or perhaps
 125.290 +they didn't care. Nonetheless, he was left all alone in the cold. 
 125.291 +
 125.292 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 125.293 +
 125.294 +“And that one? Does it have a name?” After all of her years as the head of a large toy company,
 125.295 +Sonomi Daidouji still managed to hold onto an almost childlike glee at times. Her harshly cut
 125.296 +diagonal hairstyle and her business suit seemed at odds with the thin violet bow she had tied
 125.297 +around her neck. She was, as her employees would attest, eccentric. As Tomoyo would be quick to
 125.298 +add, she was also an extremely caring woman. Like a lioness, she would care for her cubs with the
 125.299 +utmost care. But if ever any harm threatened one of her love ones, she would sink her claws in
 125.300 +faster than the blink of an eye. 
 125.301 +
 125.302 +Currently, the brunette was in one of her former moods, as she often was when around her lovely
 125.303 +daughter. The particular business they were doing could have been delegated to others, but Sonomi
 125.304 +hadn't assigned anyone to that particular task yet, so she had decided to do it herself. It was
 125.305 +well known that she was the hardest worker at Daidouji Toys. And since she was never one to miss
 125.306 +out on time she could spend with her daughter, Tomoyo, she had dragged her daughter along. 
 125.307 +
 125.308 +“Yes,
 125.309 +this one is to an Inaka Tsushimoto,” Tomoyo soft, singsong voice replied, reading off the list.
 125.310 +“It's one of the working toy camcorders. It fits with the hobbies she listed. I think she'll like
 125.311 +it.” The pale girl smiled beautifuly when she looked up, a sight that always stunned her mother
 125.312 +for a second or two. Tomoyo bore a stunning resemblence to the late love of Sonomi's life. 
 125.313 +
 125.314 +“I'm sure she will,” Sonomi replied, pulling up the next box. They were getting toys ready for
 125.315 +delivery to a children's hospital. Children's hospitals were not an unfamiliar sight to the elder
 125.316 +Daidouji woman. Her cousin, Nadeshiko, ever accident-prone and always eager to try anything,
 125.317 +despite the danger involved, mixed with a weak constitution to begin with, sat in the small
 125.318 +hospital beds more times than Sonomi would like to count. But being her protective older cousin,
 125.319 +Sonomi had always been there, sometimes staying the night with Nadeshiko when they would let her.
 125.320 +'I don't want Nadeshiko-chan to stay here alone,' she had once told her mother. 'She'll get bad
 125.321 +dreams.' And so Sonomi had stayed to protect her darling cousin from the specter of bad dreams.
 125.322 +'The shot doesn't hurt so bad, but I don't like to look at it,' Nadeshiko had once told her, eyes
 125.323 +tearing up even as she smiled, holding onto Sonomi's hand with a death grip as the doctor gave
 125.324 +her the injection. Sonomi's hand tightened on the box reflexively, almost thinking she would find
 125.325 +her small cousin's hand in her grip. But as had been the case for too many years now, it wasn't
 125.326 +so.
 125.327 +
 125.328 +Nowadays, Sonomi seldom had occasion to be in a hospital setting herself. She was incredibly
 125.329 +healthy and her daughter was reasonably so. Thought somewhat frail looking, Tomoyo wasn't plagued
 125.330 +by the sicknesses that had occasionally haunted Nadeshiko. For that, Sonomi was grateful. But
 125.331 +nonetheless, Sonomi still had an attachment to the small children locked away in those hospital
 125.332 +rooms, many without loving older cousins to look out for them, getting shots that looked worse
 125.333 +than they felt. So the businesswoman wished to take away a small measure of that pain. In a way,
 125.334 +she was still searching for Nadeshiko, or the memory of the other girl, at any rate. 
 125.335 +
 125.336 +“Sakura-chan loves the appartment. She wanted me to thank you for her. She bowed cutely many
 125.337 +times and said she'd do anything at all to make it up to you,” Tomoyo said excitedly, her stormy
 125.338 +blue eyes sparkling the way they often did when she spoke of Sakura. “I believe her words when
 125.339 +she first saw the appartment were 'Hoe... It's so beautiful! We have to give it back to
 125.340 +Sonomi-san! I can never pay her back for this!' There was lots of cute gesticulating and general
 125.341 +Sakura-chan cuteness, but I'd need to give you the videotape to show it all accurately.” 
 125.342 +
 125.343 +A warm laugh escaped the older woman. Sakura made her happy in two ways. The first was that
 125.344 +Sakura was the daughter of the woman she loved, and through Sakura, Sonomi could she glimpses of
 125.345 +her dear Nadeshiko. The second was that Sakura made her daughter deliriously happy, which was
 125.346 +always a wonderful sight for the elder Daidouji woman to behold. “Anything, huh? Then she'll
 125.347 +finally marry you?”
 125.348 +
 125.349 +“Mother,” Tomoyo chided gently, still going through the list she held,
 125.350 +checking boxes. “Sakura-chan is still dating Li-kun.”
 125.351 +
 125.352 +“Hmph... I never liked that boy,” Sonomi
 125.353 +said, frowning. Pulling another box closer, she began to wrap it, expertly tying a ribbon onto
 125.354 +the present. A present to a girl who didn't have any idea who she was. She hoped the girl would
 125.355 +smile. “Then how about a day... two days...” She shook her head, smiling as she decided. “A week
 125.356 +of passionate sex for my daughter. If Sakura-chan's dating that boy, she could at least make up
 125.357 +for it by making you come into my office with a great, big smile. But you have to tell me how she
 125.358 +moans. She's Nadeshiko-chan's daughter, after all.”
 125.359 +
 125.360 +“She moans very cutely,” Tomoyo stated
 125.361 +matter-of-factly. “Very soft and cute and in little sounds now and then. As if they just bubble
 125.362 +out.” Her mother raised an eyebrow, wondering how Tomoyo was privy to such information. The
 125.363 +heiress smiled. “Sakura-chan thinks about her boyfriend sometimes. I just happen to be near
 125.364 +enough to hear what happens.” Of course, that sometimes took some doing, but it wasn't past the
 125.365 +lavender haired girl. Going back to her list, she shakes her head slightly, her hair swishing
 125.366 +about. “I think by 'repaying you', Sakura-chan doesn't mean 'sleep with your daughter'.”
 125.367 +
 125.368 +“Well,
 125.369 +then what does she mean?” Sonomi asked, sounding mock stern. Tomoyo's giggle undid her facade and
 125.370 +she couldn't help but smile herself. Yawning, Sonomi stretched, letting her weary eyes fall
 125.371 +closed for a moment. She'd worked past a full day at her normal job alone. Now she and Tomoyo had
 125.372 +been at the office for half the night already. 
 125.373 +
 125.374 +Watching her mother for a moment, the lavender haired girl tapped her pen against her lips
 125.375 +thoughtfully. “You really should get some rest, mother. You work yourself too hard. If you keep
 125.376 +this up, you'll be joining Nadeshiko-san too soon and Sakura-chan and I will both miss you too
 125.377 +much.”
 125.378 +
 125.379 +If there was one thing that made her life worth living, it was certainly her daughter. And having
 125.380 +Sakura and Tomoyo so close after all these years was almost like having two daughters. 'Our
 125.381 +daughters,' she sometimes thought, gazing at her portrait of Nadeshiko. “Someone has to get all
 125.382 +this done. Everyone here is too busy to do our charity work as well as their normal work but the
 125.383 +charity work is too off and on for me to hire full time help to do it.”
 125.384 +
 125.385 +Another thoughtful look
 125.386 +from Tomoyo before the pale girl commented. “I can do it for you. I know your office well enough
 125.387 +and you can trust me with handling the charity. You can give me clearance to get whatever toys or
 125.388 +items we need for the different charities and I can get them all together. I'm a student, so I
 125.389 +can't work full time, but I have enough time to devote to the charity.”
 125.390 +
 125.391 +The older woman rolled the
 125.392 +idea over in her head before shaking it. “You couldn't handle it by yourself. It's taking the two
 125.393 +of us to get through it all, Tomoyo-chan. You'd be exhausted by the end of the first night. Then
 125.394 +I'd have to drag you home to bed and fire my precious little girl just so she'd get some sleep.”
 125.395 +Tomoyo nodded, having already thought of that. “Then Sakura-chan can help me. You and I have
 125.396 +managed to handle most of the charity between the two of us. I can take over for you. I know it
 125.397 +well enough. I've been helping since you started it. And Sakura-chan and I make a good team. We
 125.398 +can handle it. Sakura-chan feels guilty that you got her such a nice appartment. She can pay you
 125.399 +off by working for you on the charity. It gets her job experience and she'll feel a lot better
 125.400 +about the appartment.”
 125.401 +
 125.402 +Leaning back in her chair, the businesswoman considered. A small grin
 125.403 +played across her face. “Then I get to see the two of you more, too, if you're working here, even
 125.404 +if it is only part time. All right. Tell Sakura-chan about it later. If she agrees, you two can
 125.405 +get started tomorrow. For now,” Sonomi stretched, yawning. “Go home and get some sleep,
 125.406 +Tomoyo-chan.”
 125.407 +
 125.408 +
 125.409 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 125.410 +
 125.411 +“Thank you so much, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura hugged her friend tightly for the third time, wearing
 125.412 +only her green pajama top. “I'd love to work for Sonomi-san! I felt so bad about her letting me
 125.413 +stay in this nice place.” Her sweatdrop lasts only a moment before she smiles happily again. “Now
 125.414 +I can finally repay her for all of the kindness she's shown me.”
 125.415 +
 125.416 +Returning the smile, Tomoyo stood
 125.417 +calmly in the dress she'd returned from Daidouji Toys in. “Mother practically sees you as family,
 125.418 +Sakura-chan. She wants to make sure you're happy. You're very special to her. You're very special
 125.419 +to many people.” Granted, Sonomi would rather have Sakura as a daughter-in-law than a daughter,
 125.420 +but Tomoyo decided to leave that fact out.Sakura turned about, looking back towards her room.
 125.421 +Soft, light blue panties peaked out from under the pajama top as Sakura raised a hand to her
 125.422 +chin, thinking. Tomoyo continued to smile her patented smile, wishing she had her camcorder. It
 125.423 +was in her room on her bedside table, right where she'd left it. Damn. 
 125.424 +
 125.425 +Her arms dropping
 125.426 +dramatically, Sakura sighed miserably. “Hoe... I don't have any business clothes. I'll look so
 125.427 +out of place at Sonomi-san's business.”
 125.428 +
 125.429 +“You'll look fine in whatever you wear, Sakura-chan.
 125.430 +Mother will probably just worry that your beauty will distract the staff.” Tomoyo shrugged
 125.431 +lightly, her dark hair shifting over her shoulders.
 125.432 +
 125.433 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura laughed nervously,
 125.434 +rubbing the back of her head. She had known Tomoyo for well over a decade. Despite having heard
 125.435 +well over a million flattering comments from the pale heiress in the time she had known her,
 125.436 +Sakura still got flustered every time. She was starting to think she'd never entirely get used to
 125.437 +it. Deciding to put it aside for now, as she had so often in the past, she changed the subject.
 125.438 +“So tomorrow's our first day? I should get an outfit ready. This is my first job. Maybe I should
 125.439 +call onii-chan and ask what you do the first day. But then he might lie and I'll do something
 125.440 +stupid. Grrrr... Maybe I could ask Yukito to hit him if he lies. Only Yukito-san would never hit
 125.441 +onii-chan, even though he really should sometimes because...” Light fingers on her cheeks slowed
 125.442 +down Sakura's thoughts, bringing her back to the present, her anxiety spun through her like a
 125.443 +spiders web. Tomoyo's soothing, stormy blue eyes met her own shining emeralds, her friend's
 125.444 +incredibly soft fingers cupping her cheeks. And for a moment, Sakura was breathless, her heart
 125.445 +still pounding a thousand miles a minute, but her thoughts tapering off into
 125.446 +nothingness.
 125.447 +
 125.448 +“Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo began softly. “Breath.” She didn't start again until she saw
 125.449 +that Sakura was taking in air through her lips once more. “You're not going in for an interview.
 125.450 +My mother has known you for almost as long as I have. And she loves you almost as much as I do.
 125.451 +She's happy that you're working for her. You don't need to wear anything to impress her and you
 125.452 +don't need to do anything special at all. You're special enough the way you are. Just be you.
 125.453 +That's all anyone wants.”
 125.454 +
 125.455 +Sometimes Sakura wondered if Tomoyo would kiss her. It was a dumb
 125.456 +thought, she told herself, and something she shouldn't be thinking, but at moments like this, it
 125.457 +resonated in her head. She had learned years ago when they were teenagers that her best friend
 125.458 +was in love with her. Though she could be dense, and even Sakura knew that she could be, Tomoyo
 125.459 +couldn't keep her feelings a secret forever. An embarrassing revelation for Sakura, but not one
 125.460 +she couldn't accept and move on with. Tomoyo was Tomoyo. And when she stopped and thought about
 125.461 +it, Tomoyo being in love with her didn't change anything about that. In a way, it just shed light
 125.462 +on so much that Sakura hadn't understood before. Tomoyo's devotion to her took on a new light. In
 125.463 +many ways, nothing had changed. Sakura merely had a name for Tomoyo's affection for her. In other
 125.464 +ways, Sakura was now accutely aware of her best friend's feelings. No longer afraid of Sakura
 125.465 +finding out, Tomoyo had become more and more generous in how she went about showing her
 125.466 +affection. No longer confined to vague statements and showings of her love, the lavender haired
 125.467 +girl could now outright tell her, or show her. It was embarrassing, but Sakura had accepted it as
 125.468 +she always had Tomoyo affection. With lots of stammering and blushes. Despite being perfectly
 125.469 +open about her love for the Cardmistress, Tomoyo never once tried to get between Sakura and
 125.470 +Syaoran. And that puzzled Sakura to some extent. And at times like this, when Tomoyo was so
 125.471 +close, so soft, so.... so very Tomoyo, Sakura wondered why Tomoyo didn't kiss her. Why her
 125.472 +beautiful best friend didn't take the kiss she so obviously wanted.Tomoyo's hands were gone and
 125.473 +Sakura was blushing now, hoping she hadn't looked too goofy for the past moment, staring wide
 125.474 +eyed at her best friend. “I know, Tomoyo-chan,” she stated quickly. “I just want everything to go
 125.475 +perfectly. It's my first job and I really don't want to disappoint Sonomi-san. She's been so
 125.476 +wonderful to me.”
 125.477 +
 125.478 +Smiling softly, the pale girl nodded. Sakura was always so cute when she was
 125.479 +hyper. Which was most of the time. Sakura's emotions were to Tomoyo like vibrant colors to an
 125.480 +artist or musical notes to a musician, a feast for the sensations. Living with Sakura, being so
 125.481 +near her, it was like living inside your favorite painting, enveloped in the colors or lost in
 125.482 +the music. Sakura's emotions hit like a tsunami, and Tomoyo loved to stand outside and let it
 125.483 +wash over her. “You'll do fine, Sakura-chan. It's just you and me and the charity comittee. We'll
 125.484 +be putting it together in our spare time after classes. We've been working together for years.
 125.485 +It's the same thing. It's just that this time we're trying to bring miracles to people who need
 125.486 +them.”
 125.487 +
 125.488 +“Miracles?” That sounded nice. When all was said and done, Sakura had caught the Cards
 125.489 +because it was her duty. Because she had to stop the Catastrophe. But she had't really been able
 125.490 +to make anything better because of it, she had only kept things from getting worse. Now she was
 125.491 +the world's most powerful magician and, as Kero told her, she 'didn't do anything fun' with her
 125.492 +magic. The chance to actually help people sounded like a welcome change. She nodded swiftly.
 125.493 +“Hai! We'll bring all sorts of miracles, Tomoyo-chan!”
 125.494 +
 125.495 +Taking Sakura's hands, the lavender haired
 125.496 +girl squeezed them in her own. “I knew you'd want to, Sakura-chan. We'll do even more than mother
 125.497 +expected. We'll do more than give a few gifts to those in need here and there. We'll bring
 125.498 +miracles to all sorts of people. We'll be shooting stars for people to wish on. A pair of
 125.499 +shootings stars high up in the sky.”
 125.500 +
 125.501 +The imagery sounded beautiful to Sakura. It seemed fitting
 125.502 +that she and Tomoyo would be partners in this. Working with Tomoyo always comforted her. No
 125.503 +matter how hard things got, she knew she could count on her best friend. So it sounded perfect
 125.504 +that she would be going into her new job with Tomoyo by her side. 
 125.505 +
 125.506 +“For now, though, Sakura-chan should get some sleep. You have a test tomorrow that I hope you
 125.507 +were studying for while I was gone and then we need to head to work to pick up everything,”
 125.508 +Tomoyo said, slowly letting go of Sakura's hands. 
 125.509 +
 125.510 +The brunette nodded slowly. “Yeah, if I can get
 125.511 +any sleep.” She was far too excited about the new events to be able to shut off her mind for
 125.512 +sleep. She had hoped to study with Tomoyo a bit for her test the next day, but that thought was
 125.513 +lost to her. Despite the fact that they went to different Universities, Sakura having not quite
 125.514 +made it into Tokyo University with her incredibly intelligent and perceptive friend, she still
 125.515 +felt more at ease when Tomoyo helped her study. For now, that would have to wait. 
 125.516 +
 125.517 +“That's all
 125.518 +right. I don't think I'll be able to sleep, either. I'll have visions of Sakura-chan clad in
 125.519 +nothing but panties all night long.” Turning to head to her room, Tomoyo sighed dreamily with not
 125.520 +a sound of distress. Cheeks burning a brilliant rouge, Sakura watched Tomoyo's elegant form
 125.521 +walking away from her. 
 125.522 +
 125.523 +“I'm wearing a shirt,” she squeaked in self-defense.
 125.524 +
 125.525 +“Not in my dreams,
 125.526 +you're not,” Tomoyo replied before she disappeared into her room for the night.
 125.527 \ No newline at end of file

   126.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   126.2 +++ b/stories/CCScharity_2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   126.3 @@ -0,0 +1,595 @@
   126.4 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 2
   126.5 +
   126.6 +by:
   126.7 +The Amazoness Duo 
   126.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   126.9 +
  126.10 +G.P. 
  126.11 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  126.12 +
  126.13 +=====
  126.14 +
  126.15 +Shifting uneasily in his chair, the hospital administrator glanced
  126.16 +at the two young women while shuffling distractedly through the
  126.17 +paperwork on his massive desk. He had seen the one girl many times
  126.18 +before, assisting her mother in charity work. As Acting Director of
  126.19 +the Tokyo Medical Center Children's Hospital, he was fully aware that
  126.20 +the presents for pediatric patients were but a tiny fraction of the
  126.21 +Daidouji Foundation's generous contributions. Very generous
  126.22 +contributions. He knew the younger Daidouji as quiet, sensible and
  126.23 +hard working. But her companion was something new altogether. He
  126.24 +peeked sideways at her, as if to confirm just what he was seeing. She
  126.25 +was young, rather pretty, and looked deeply embarrassed. Embarrassed,
  126.26 +no doubt, by the outlandish costume in which she was dressed. 
  126.27 +
  126.28 +Her blouse was tightly wrapped and bare at the shoulders, leaving
  126.29 +little to the imagination. Made of a curious fabric, she shimmered
  126.30 +all the colors of the rainbow with every hesitant movement. Her
  126.31 +skirt, made of glossy white taffeta, was distressingly short,
  126.32 +revealing a pair of athletic legs clad in silvery pantyhose and
  126.33 +lavender garters. Her hair was bedecked with ribbons and bows, and on
  126.34 +her back were…wings. She had to lean forward to keep from crushing
  126.35 +her delicate, diaphanous butterfly wings against the chair. Most
  126.36 +peculiar of all they seemed to flutter now and then all on their own.
  126.37 +It was of little comfort that the girl seemed as embarrassed as he
  126.38 +was, though their mutual emotion seemed to make little impression on
  126.39 +the cheerful Daidouji woman. In a reluctant voice he spoke,
  126.40 +
  126.41 +"Ehhh, well, it is a bit unusual, you see. The children, are, well,
  126.42 +easily upset by changes in their routine."
  126.43 +
  126.44 +Oblivious to his concerns, the dark-haired woman sang out, "But
  126.45 +we're merely delivering the presents, so there really is no change to
  126.46 +the routine. And I'm sure they would be delighted by Sakura's
  126.47 +costume, don't you think?"
  126.48 +
  126.49 +This allowed him the chance to look directly at the young brunette,
  126.50 +though he quickly looked away with a blush. Haltingly, he spoke
  126.51 +again, "Perhaps, umm, if I had some of the nurses deliver the
  126.52 +presents…"
  126.53 +
  126.54 +Tomoyo replied with a sweet smile, "I wouldn't want to trouble your
  126.55 +staff with such a little thing. I'm sure they are very busy with
  126.56 +their regular duties. Perhaps, if there is a problem, you and my
  126.57 +mother would be the best ones to work it out?"
  126.58 +
  126.59 +This hit home. The last thing he wanted was to explain to the Board
  126.60 +of Directors why the primary donor of the Hospital was upset. Almost
  126.61 +too hastily he answered, "Oh, no, no, no, I'm sure there is no need
  126.62 +for that, heh-heh. Umm, yes, well, why don't you and, umm,  Kinomoto
  126.63 +san go ahead with your good work, then?"
  126.64 +
  126.65 +"Splendid!" The Daidouji woman rose and bowed, pulling up the still
  126.66 +dazed Sakura by her bare arm. "I believe we are scheduled for the
  126.67 +second floor today."
  126.68 +
  126.69 +"Yes, well, the best of luck to you both." The Acting Director
  126.70 +slumped back in his chair, watching the peculiar pair exit the door.
  126.71 +Holding his head in his hands he slumped back, longing for the life
  126.72 +of a simple ward doctor working 48 hours straight.
  126.73 +
  126.74 +Sakura and Tomoyo strained to pull the wagon full of gaily decorated
  126.75 +packages. Passing nurses and orderlies doing their utmost not to
  126.76 +stare, Sakura mumbled, "Tomoyo chan, he's right, you know. Why am I
  126.77 +dressed up in this….costume?
  126.78 +
  126.79 +Tomoyo, amazed as ever at Sakura's strength, replied cheerily,
  126.80 +"Because Sakura looks very cute in it, and if it makes the children
  126.81 +half as happy as it makes Tomoyo, they will be ecstatic."
  126.82 +
  126.83 + After trundling down the long 1st floor hallway, the girls stopped
  126.84 +in front of a massive freight elevator. Tomoyo pressed the "2" button
  126.85 +and waited. With a mechanical ka-chunk the doors opened, and the cart
  126.86 +was wheeled in. As the doors shut, Sakura marveled,
  126.87 +
  126.88 +"It's sooooo big! Do they use it as a freight elevator?"
  126.89 +
  126.90 +Tomoyo nodded and answered quietly, "Yes, and it has to be big for
  126.91 +the gurneys, for carrying children to and from the operating rooms.
  126.92 +That happens on the third floor."
  126.93 +
  126.94 +Sakura was silent as the elevator stopped with a little jolt, and
  126.95 +the doors opened. Operations, she thought with a shudder. It must so
  126.96 +scary for the poor children. She realized Tomoyo was struggling to
  126.97 +get the cart over a little bump between the doors, so she helped
  126.98 +muscle the cart onto the second floor. The hospital was impeccably
  126.99 +clean, characterized by a distinct antiseptic odor. But this smell
 126.100 +was somehow sharper and less cheery than the scent of a freshly
 126.101 +cleaned house. Sakura felt an odd sense of unease, but she shook it
 126.102 +off as the cart rolled forward. Finally, Tomoyo gasped out
 126.103 +breathlessly, "This is it, 21, the first Ward. Oh, my, I'm so glad
 126.104 +you came, Sakura-chan. This is much harder to do without Oka-sama."
 126.105 +Tomoyo opened the door and the two pushed the heavily laden cart into
 126.106 +the large room. 
 126.107 +
 126.108 +Sakura looked up from her labors and saw a long room, with beds on
 126.109 +either side. Suddenly, the boys and girls rose up amid squeals and
 126.110 +chatter, nearly overwhelming the nurse in their eagerness.
 126.111 +
 126.112 +Contrary to Sakura's expectations, Tomoyo proved to be exactly
 126.113 +right. The children were more excited by Sakura and her fairy costume
 126.114 +even than the cartload of presents. They huddled around her, gaping
 126.115 +in awe at the remarkable sight, a few brave ones reaching out
 126.116 +tentative hands to touch her. At first overwhelmed, she quickly
 126.117 +adapted to being the center of attention, and was soon chatting
 126.118 +merrily with her appreciative audience. They showed her scars and
 126.119 +hurts, some healed, some not. They peppered her with questions,
 126.120 +unable to suppress their astonishment at such a fantastic sight.
 126.121 +Tomoyo and the nurse struggled to bring order out of the happy chaos,
 126.122 +finally managing at least a modicum of order. Tomoyo organized some
 126.123 +quiet games, and a sing along, including one song about fairies that
 126.124 +the children found especially delightful. Sakura again found herself
 126.125 +the center of attention, blushing as the children laughed and sang.
 126.126 +Finally, when it was time to go, the children rushed forward and
 126.127 +hugged her, reluctant to loose the magic she had brought. With waves
 126.128 +and smiles and shouts of goodbye, the two girls, with the grateful
 126.129 +nurse's help, pushed the slightly less heavy cart out into the
 126.130 +hallway.
 126.131 +
 126.132 +And so it went for 5 other wards on the 2nd floor. By the time they
 126.133 +entered Ward 26, both girls were exhausted, but the excited children
 126.134 +somehow gave them the giddy energy to continue. As Tomoyo passed out
 126.135 +the last of the presents, Sakura wended her way to the bed-ridden
 126.136 +children near the large window at the end of the ward. Finally she
 126.137 +came to one boy, about 12 years old,  who stared at her curiously
 126.138 +with dark, watchful eyes. She smiled and asked his name, but he
 126.139 +frowned at her hatefully and turned away. Startled, she opened her
 126.140 +mouth to say something, but found herself at a total loss for words.
 126.141 +A little girl with a cast on both legs managed an apologetic smile
 126.142 +and said quietly,
 126.143 +
 126.144 +"Don't mind him.. He's always grumpy about things," 
 126.145 +
 126.146 +"I'm not grumpy. I just hate her," he spat out.
 126.147 +
 126.148 +Sakura was taken aback, and whispered, "I'm sorry."
 126.149 +
 126.150 +Suddenly the boy spun around and glared at her angrily. In a venom-
 126.151 +laced voice laced he shouted,
 126.152 +
 126.153 +"You should be sorry! Running around in that pathetic outfit,
 126.154 +pretending to be something that doesn't even exist."
 126.155 +
 126.156 +The little girl in the cast recoiled and answered in a trembling
 126.157 +voice, "That's not true. Fairies do so exist."
 126.158 +
 126.159 +The boy turned on her with an ugly scowl and shot back, "Don't be
 126.160 +stupid. Fairies don't exist, and even if they did, she's just a
 126.161 +stupid girl in a stupid costume." Suddenly, he reached out and
 126.162 +tightly grabbed a diaphanous wing. With a smirk he brutally ripped
 126.163 +off the shimmering wing, tearing the costume and leaving a flap of
 126.164 +satin loose on Sakura's back. Triumphantly the boy held up his trophy
 126.165 +and called out in a mocking voice, 
 126.166 +
 126.167 +"See? See? It's just a fake outfit. She's just a fake!" Then,
 126.168 +turning Sakura he hissed, "Go back to your stupid cosplay, you
 126.169 +stupid, lame, fake."
 126.170 +
 126.171 +With that, he hurled the severed wing at Sakura and lay down,
 126.172 +turning his back to the room. She stood stunned and paralyzed, her
 126.173 +mouth open in disbelief. She heard sobs and one child nearly
 126.174 +shrieking. Suddenly she felt a gentle touch on her arm, and saw
 126.175 +Tomoyo bending down to retrieve the fallen wing. Calmly, the dark
 126.176 +haired young woman escorted her out into the hall, leaving the nurse
 126.177 +to try and restore order. As the door closed, Sakura's composure
 126.178 +finally shattered, and in a furry of tears she slumped to the floor.
 126.179 +
 126.180 +Tomoyo's suffered her own agony as she cradled her sobbing friend.
 126.181 +Sakura's pain was always her own, amplified by the intense love the
 126.182 +Daidouji woman bore her. Worse was knowing that she was responsible
 126.183 +for bringing her dear friend into all this. Unaware of her tears that
 126.184 +fell silently on Sakura's soft brown hair, Tomoyo struggled to keep
 126.185 +from completely breaking down. Time enough for tears later, she
 126.186 +scolded herself. Feeling the head burrowing into her breast, Tomoyo
 126.187 +cooed reassurance, desperately trying to mask her own shattered
 126.188 +heart. For a long time they hugged each other, oblivious to the
 126.189 +figure that stood beside them. Finally, Sakura glimpsed the neatly
 126.190 +starched white skirt, and struggled to her feet. Wiping away the
 126.191 +tears, she rose unsteadily, helped by the Tomoyo. The woman offered a
 126.192 +handkerchief that she thankfully accepted. Sakura stammered  an
 126.193 +apology, but the nurse cut her short,
 126.194 +
 126.195 +"Please, it's my fault for not warning you about him. He's, well,
 126.196 +he's a bit of a problem child here, and there's no way to predict
 126.197 +just how he will react."
 126.198 +
 126.199 +Sakura looked at her, verging on tears again. Confused and hurt,
 126.200 +Sakura felt a stirring of anger at the injustice of it all, "But
 126.201 +why/? Why did he do that? Why is he so mean? What a horrible boy." 
 126.202 +
 126.203 +The nurse let out a heavy sigh, and stared at the wall, looking for
 126.204 +the answer there.
 126.205 +
 126.206 +"He didn't use to be like that. He was actually one of our
 126.207 +favorites: bright, curious, and always so helpful."
 126.208 +
 126.209 +Sakura looked at her, genuinely baffled. The nurse answered the
 126.210 +girl's pained question before she asked it,
 126.211 +
 126.212 +"Well, I suppose no one really knows why. But last winter, he got a
 126.213 +hold of his medical file. We never let the children see their files,
 126.214 +of course, especially children like him. But he was always the
 126.215 +curious one, and clever enough to find a way."
 126.216 +
 126.217 +Sakura and Tomoyo gazed at the woman, her features clouded in silent
 126.218 +pain, an echo of some past storm of agonized regret. She smiled
 126.219 +bitterly and continued, "I'm the one who left the charts out where he
 126.220 +could get them. So all this really is my fault."
 126.221 +
 126.222 +Sakura's voice shook as she asked, 'But why…" Her voice trailed off,
 126.223 +as if she dared not ask. The nurse answered in a detached, clinical
 126.224 +manner,
 126.225 +
 126.226 +"Because he's terminal. And now he knows." 
 126.227 +
 126.228 +Tomoyo looked at the brightly polished floor, eyes fixed on the
 126.229 +black and white checkerboard tiles. Terminal. The nurse said the word
 126.230 +as her Mother once said it, when describing what it was like when
 126.231 +Nadeshiko was in the hospital. Terminal. The cold, metal finality of
 126.232 +the word cut the heart like a dagger of ice.
 126.233 +
 126.234 +Sakura stared, the slow comprehension mirrored in her tear-streaked
 126.235 +face. Again the nurse spoke in her best professional monotone,
 126.236 +
 126.237 +"He has maybe 6 months, at most a year."
 126.238 +
 126.239 +A dipping sun painting the hallway shades of pink and orange. Three
 126.240 +figures standing silent. Nothing more to say.
 126.241 +
 126.242 +II.    
 126.243 +
 126.244 +Sonomi served the tea herself. Eager to hear how the first day went
 126.245 +for the new member of Daidouji Foundation, she had urged Tomoyo to
 126.246 +bring Sakura over for dinner. When she heard her daughter's
 126.247 +reluctance over the phone, she insisted. No one knows a daughter like
 126.248 +her mother, and no one knew the enigmatic Tomoyo better than Sonomi.
 126.249 +Something was wrong, and she would find out what.
 126.250 +
 126.251 +Dinner had been delicious, but strained. Both girls tried to put on
 126.252 +a stolid front, but it was apparent the day had not gone well.
 126.253 +Normally a gratifyingly hearty eater, Sakura picked at her food with
 126.254 +distracted disinterest. Tomoyo bravely kept up a stream of
 126.255 +conversation on every imaginable topic but the day at the hospital.
 126.256 +Sonomi let her ramble, sometimes nudging the conversation in
 126.257 +directions her daughter did not want it to go, watching for her
 126.258 +reaction, probing, testing, reconnoitering. The older woman was
 126.259 +anxious to know, but patient as a cat by a rat hole. She bided her
 126.260 +time and waited for dessert.
 126.261 +
 126.262 +Chirping crickets made more noise than the sad little party of three
 126.263 +sipping their tea in the massive Daidouji Estates garden. Finally,
 126.264 +Tomoyo broke the silence and announced that they should be leaving.
 126.265 +Her voice sounded relieved that the night was over, and whatever
 126.266 +secrets lay hidden would stay that way. But Sonomi, with an inward
 126.267 +smile, pounced. In a purring voice she asked,
 126.268 +
 126.269 +"Yes, I'm sure you two are exhausted after your big day at the
 126.270 +Hospital."
 126.271 +
 126.272 +At this, Sakura stiffened, and Tomoyo glanced to the side, all hope
 126.273 +of avoiding discovery dashed. Sonomi regarded the two with cat's
 126.274 +eyes, inwardly smiling at their discomfort, knowing she had hit close
 126.275 +to the mark. With her daughter, as well as the daughter of her
 126.276 +beloved cousin, she was a typical mother, all love and affection. But
 126.277 +when their welfare was at stake, she turned into a deadly predator.
 126.278 +Sometimes love had to hurt before it could help. Sonomi let the
 126.279 +uncomfortable silence do it's work until her daughter struggled to
 126.280 +break it,
 126.281 +
 126.282 +"Well, it was, eh, very interesting for Sakura." As soon as she
 126.283 +spoke, Tomoyo regretted her words. Her mother's eyes turned to Sakura
 126.284 +as she blandly asked,
 126.285 +
 126.286 +"Oh, and what was so interesting today, Sakura-chan?"
 126.287 +
 126.288 +The girl stared at her for a moment, then her lip trembled and she
 126.289 +began to cry. Not the wild sobbing of late afternoon, but a slow,
 126.290 +soft, sad sort of sorrow, the sorrow of regret and loss. The sorrow
 126.291 +that comes with the night. Tomoyo enfolded her friend in her arms,
 126.292 +looking at her mother, silently begging her to stop. Sonomi's voice
 126.293 +was kind but insistent,
 126.294 +
 126.295 +"Tomoyo-chan, what happened?" 
 126.296 +
 126.297 +Before she could speak, Sakura broke in, "It's all my fault. I'm
 126.298 +sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Slipping from her chair she fell to her
 126.299 +knees, bowing her head to the ground like a suppliant. Sonomi stood
 126.300 +up, walked over, bent down, and gently lifted the girl to her feet.
 126.301 +Holding her close, gently stroking her hair and back, the woman spoke
 126.302 +in a motherly voice that Sakura only dimly remembered,
 126.303 +
 126.304 +"It's all right now. It's all right."  
 126.305 +
 126.306 +It took time, and some gently probing questions, for Sonomi to find
 126.307 +it all out. She gave the girls time to calm down and talk among
 126.308 +themselves when she went out to make more tea. Upon returning, she
 126.309 +poured the steaming liquid into cute little yellow cups. Finally,
 126.310 +Sakura whispered resignedly, 
 126.311 +
 126.312 +"It really is my fault. I made such a scene. I'm deeply sorry. I
 126.313 +will of course resign from my duties at the Daidouji Foundation."
 126.314 +Tomoyo looked stricken, but Sonomi replied calmly after a pause,
 126.315 +
 126.316 +"Of course, you are free to resign anytime, as you are under no
 126.317 +contractual obligation. But the Foundation," and here Sonomi spoke in
 126.318 +her most dignified, Voice-Of-The-Foundation tone, "Sees nothing wrong
 126.319 +in your actions."
 126.320 +
 126.321 +Sakura looked at her with surprise, "But I…"
 126.322 +
 126.323 +"But you did everything right". Sonomi smiled, placing her arm on
 126.324 +the beautiful girl's shoulder. Her voice was almost mirthful, "You
 126.325 +didn't break down in front of the children, and further upset them.
 126.326 +You got out of the room and then started to cry. There's nothing
 126.327 +wrong with crying, dear."
 126.328 +
 126.329 +Sakura stared into the woman's crystal blue eyes, and felt all the
 126.330 +hurts of the day wash away. For the first time in many hours, Sakura
 126.331 +managed a genuine smile.
 126.332 +
 126.333 +And so they talked, the three of them, sipping tea late into the
 126.334 +night. A crescent moon swung into view, dancing amid the far away
 126.335 +stars. The crickets stopped, and a cool breeze caused Sakura and
 126.336 +Tomoyo to huddle together. Shortly after midnight Sonomi suddenly
 126.337 +spoke up from the shadows in a voice fraught with emotion,
 126.338 +
 126.339 +"Just now, the moon reminded me of her. It was that sort moon on
 126.340 +that night. No, it was that moon exactly." She sounded distant, her
 126.341 +voice strange and far off. And so it was, for she was lost in memory.
 126.342 +Still and faceless in the darkness, she spoke like a ghost from the
 126.343 +long past,
 126.344 +
 126.345 +"It affects everyone differently, those it takes and those it leaves
 126.346 +behind. Some are afraid, so very afraid. Some are sad, overfull with
 126.347 +regrets. Some are so in pain that's all they know. Some are angry,
 126.348 +cursing the hospitals, and the doctors and nurses who can't do
 126.349 +anything, and all the living that walk about as if nothing had
 126.350 +happened. As if no one had gone forever, as if no bright light had
 126.351 +been extinguished in the filthy darkness. As if everything was just
 126.352 +the same, even though it will never be the same again. I was angry
 126.353 +like that. I guess I still am. But she wasn't."
 126.354 +
 126.355 +Sonomi paused, and Sakura could hear her own heart beating. Tomoyo
 126.356 +listened, her heart breaking for her beloved mother. But Sonomi only
 126.357 +laughed,
 126.358 +
 126.359 +"She wasn't angry. Not once, not ever in her whole life. At least
 126.360 +not that I remember. She wasn't afraid at all. They always said she
 126.361 +was too stupid to be afraid, climbing up trees and skiing down
 126.362 +professional-only slopes. But it wasn't that she was stupid. It was
 126.363 +just that she didn't care. About the danger, I mean. Nothing ever
 126.364 +frightened her. She loved the whole world." Here the woman paused,
 126.365 +and when she started again her voice was filled with wonder, "She
 126.366 +even loved leaving it." 
 126.367 +
 126.368 +"She told me, near the end, not to be afraid, or sad, or angry. She
 126.369 +said she'd had a wonderful little visit. That was exactly what she
 126.370 +called it, that short, sweet life of hers: the little visit. She said
 126.371 +she had had a fascinating career, two wonderful children, and a
 126.372 +cousin who adored her." Sonomi paused her, straining to keep the
 126.373 +loathing out of her voice, 
 126.374 +
 126.375 +"Oh, yes, and a wonderful husband, too. Anyway, she said with all
 126.376 +these things, her life felt very complete. And she was curious about
 126.377 +what came next. She really was. But I was still angry. So very, very
 126.378 +angry. And anger is a terrible master. It makes you say and do things
 126.379 +you don't really mean, things that hurt and break. You hurt so bad
 126.380 +yourself that's all you want to do: hurt and break."
 126.381 +
 126.382 +Sonomi leaned closer to Sakura, gently taking her hand. In the dim
 126.383 +light the woman's face seemed to Sakura almost ghostly, but she was
 126.384 +too entranced to be afraid. The woman smiled and broke the spell,
 126.385 +then she spoke in a plain, matter of fact voice,
 126.386 +
 126.387 +"Try not to blame the boy. He's probably afraid, and full of regret,
 126.388 +and very angry. But he doesn't mean the hurt he causes. It's just
 126.389 +that, when you have no hope…"
 126.390 +
 126.391 +Sonomi smiled a sad, knowing smile. Sakura nodded, and suddenly felt
 126.392 +very, very tired.
 126.393 +
 126.394 +III. 
 126.395 +
 126.396 +The next night, Sakura and Tomoyo stayed up late studying together.
 126.397 +Even going to different schools, their classes were similar, so
 126.398 +mutual study was a helpful exercise, especially for the frequently
 126.399 +perplexed Sakura. Taking a break, Tomoyo brought out the torn fairy
 126.400 +costume and began to sew. Sakura sat on the floor at the seamstress'
 126.401 +feet, knees brought up together under her chin. The dark-haired girl
 126.402 +knew her friend was deep in thought, so she worked quietly. Sakura
 126.403 +looked up and saw the pale girl, her nimble fingers deftly stitching
 126.404 +the torn material. Entranced, she watched the silver needle slip
 126.405 +through the satiny fabric, every stitch perfect and precise. Tomoyo
 126.406 +had always been a marvelous seamstress, garnering praise and
 126.407 +attention all through school. She would kid that with all the
 126.408 +practice sewing costumes for the Card Mistress, anyone would be good.
 126.409 +Sakura was unable to look away from the slender fingers, the smooth
 126.410 +flow of flawless craft. Tomoyo used a little desk lamp to light her
 126.411 +work. The room was dim, save for the glow that bathed the costume on
 126.412 +her lap. Sakura's green eyes wandered, beholding Tomoyo's placid
 126.413 +face, illuminated by the little glow. She felt her heart flutter at
 126.414 +the sight. 
 126.415 +
 126.416 +Tomoyo had always been pretty, the prettiest girl she knew. But
 126.417 +tonight, she was exquisite. Her violet eyes were fixed on her task,
 126.418 +long lashes fluttering now and then. A cute little nose, pale, fair
 126.419 +skin, and little ears shrouded in that mysterious hair, sometimes
 126.420 +black, sometimes gray, sometimes almost violet. An ever present smile
 126.421 +hovered on  delicate cherry lips, making her seem as enigmatic as the
 126.422 +Mona Lisa. Suddenly, Sakura was sweetly shaken by this ethereal
 126.423 +vision of the girl she knew so well. A strange tugging at her heart,
 126.424 +and a dizziness, like being on a great height looking down. Sakura
 126.425 +felt an aching surge, a longing, an incomprehensible desire. She
 126.426 +trembled like a fawn in the chill early dawn.  She felt her body
 126.427 +floating like a little cloud, far above the world below. Slowly, as
 126.428 +if she were underwater, Tomoyo lifted her eyes and gazed at the
 126.429 +countenance below. Sakura felt her face on fire, a furious blush
 126.430 +covering her entire body. But she could not look away from those
 126.431 +eyes, those deep, violet eyes. Tomoyo's smile widened ever so
 126.432 +slightly. She tilted her head, looking at her friend with a
 126.433 +quizzical, elfin curiosity. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but no
 126.434 +words came. Suddenly, she tore her gaze away, staring at the floor,
 126.435 +breathing raggedly. As if from some far off place, she heard Tomoyo's
 126.436 +voice.
 126.437 +
 126.438 +"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, are you OK?"
 126.439 +
 126.440 +I was going to say I love you. 
 126.441 +
 126.442 +Had she actually said it out loud? Sakura's mind raced and wheeled
 126.443 +in shock and confusion. No. No, but I was going to say it. I was
 126.444 +going to say I love you.  It sounded like the strangest three words
 126.445 +ever uttered by human tongue: I love you. What had happened to her?
 126.446 +As if an explosion had gone off near her head, she was disoriented,
 126.447 +torn from her normal, cozy world. Tomoyo's voice again, shot through
 126.448 +with worry and concern.
 126.449 +
 126.450 +"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
 126.451 +
 126.452 +With a violent shake of her head, Sakura fought to regain her
 126.453 +composure. She somehow managed a disjointed, "Ummm hmmm," nodding her
 126.454 +head furiously. What had happened? She was afraid to look up, afraid
 126.455 +she might again go spinning wildly out of control if she saw Tomoyo.
 126.456 +Calm came gradually, haltingly, and brought a numb, fragile peace to
 126.457 +her thudding heart. Tomoyo, masking her concern, sat back and
 126.458 +continued her sewing. Time passed like a lazy river between them,
 126.459 +until Tomoyo at last broke the silence,
 126.460 +
 126.461 +"Sakura-chan, what were you thinking of back then?"
 126.462 +
 126.463 +"Umm, that boy. That boy in the hospital," Sakura lied. Well, not
 126.464 +precisely a lie. The boy had been on her mind ever since. 
 126.465 +
 126.466 +"Ah, so," Tomoyo graciously replied. Her silence begged Sakura to
 126.467 +continue.
 126.468 +
 126.469 +"I was so surprised, and then so hurt, and then so angry at him. I
 126.470 +feel awful about that."
 126.471 +Sakura remembered her righteous rage at the child, and the sickness
 126.472 +that followed the nurse's revelation.
 126.473 +
 126.474 +"But Sakura-chan didn't know about the boy's condition. If she had,
 126.475 +she would never have felt anger," Tomoyo looked intently at the
 126.476 +fabric in her lap as she spoke; it was a delicate point in the
 126.477 +mending.
 126.478 +
 126.479 +Sakura thought about this for a moment, and then replied, "Still, I
 126.480 +shouldn't have gotten so angry." Then, mumbling to herself, "I wish
 126.481 +there was something I could do."
 126.482 +
 126.483 +"There." A note of pride and triumph in Tomoyo's voice as she held
 126.484 +the outfit aloft for Sakura's inspection, "As good as new."
 126.485 +
 126.486 +Sakura looked at the shimmering fairy costume. Tomoyo's work was
 126.487 +impeccable: the tear neatly sewn and barely perceptible, the severed
 126.488 +wing restored. Restored. Healed, fixed. Made whole again. 
 126.489 +
 126.490 +Made well.
 126.491 +
 126.492 +Sakura's smile froze, and then broadened into a crazy grin. Leaping
 126.493 +to her feet she took the outfit in both hands, holding it aloft.
 126.494 +Then, she turned to her friend with a beaming smile,
 126.495 +
 126.496 +"No, Tomoyo-chan. It's better. Better than new!"
 126.497 +
 126.498 +The boy woke slowly from his dream. A sound? A knocking somewhere?
 126.499 +Bleary-eyed, he stared at the ceiling. Then he heard it again, an
 126.500 +unmistakable rapping. Startled, he sat up in bed and turned to the
 126.501 +side, towards the window. There, hovering with great, beating wings,
 126.502 +was the woman from before, the one in the costume. With her was the
 126.503 +lady who always delivered the presents, and both were astride a long,
 126.504 +slender staff with a marvelous star at the top. His mouth opened in
 126.505 +surprise, for they were floating, no, flying in the air. He let out a
 126.506 +startled cry, rousing the other children. Instinctively he crawled
 126.507 +away to a corner of his bed as the other children moved to the window
 126.508 +with oooo's and ahhhhhh's. The costumed woman was smiling, pointing
 126.509 +to the handles on the inside of the window. A girl tried to open it,
 126.510 +but it was stuck fast. Pleadingly she looked at him, and with a frown
 126.511 +he moved to the window and undid the lock. The children were starting
 126.512 +to get loud, but the costumed woman placed her finger to her lips and
 126.513 +that quieted them somewhat. 
 126.514 +   
 126.515 +She floated into the room, great wings beating, a flurry of wind and
 126.516 +feathers announcing her arrival. The dark-haired one slipped off the
 126.517 +staff, video camera in hand, filming the proceedings. The feet of the
 126.518 +other woman, clad in little beribboned slippers, finally touched the
 126.519 +floor. The children encircled her in awe, but she came before the boy
 126.520 +and stood straight and still. Then, bowing low before him, she spoke
 126.521 +in a musical voice,
 126.522 +
 126.523 +'Gomenesai. I'm very sorry if I disturbed you the other day. Please
 126.524 +accept my apologies."
 126.525 +
 126.526 +He stood there, unable to reply. The fairy figure straightened up,
 126.527 +tilting her head and smiling. Then she said,
 126.528 +
 126.529 +"You may be right. There may be no real fairies in this world. But
 126.530 +there is magic, and it is real."
 126.531 +
 126.532 +With that she swung her staff, and a riot of colors lit up the room.
 126.533 +Her voice rang out as she flipped a card into the air, " ***Sakura's
 126.534 +chant here****
 126.535 +
 126.536 +Suddenly, a beautiful flower-clad woman appeared. She looked around
 126.537 +the room, and with a wave of her arms showered the surprised children
 126.538 +in a blizzard of sweetly scented petals.  Then she began to dance,
 126.539 +with the giggling children, with Sakura, and finally, with the still-
 126.540 +startled boy. In a giddy whirl they danced, she smiling, he blushing,
 126.541 +both spinning away. Finally, she stepped lightly before the dark-
 126.542 +haired girl with the camera. The woman dressed as a fairy giggled,
 126.543 +"She wants to dance with you, too, Tomoyo-chan."
 126.544 +
 126.545 +Slowly the woman lowered her camera, looking a bit uncertain. She
 126.546 +glanced at Sakura, who was busy with a gaggle of young children.
 126.547 +Then, with a smile, she walked to the boy and leaned forward, "Would
 126.548 +you please hold it for me?"
 126.549 +
 126.550 +He gazed at her sparkling eyes and felt his heart pound. Taking the
 126.551 +camera, he watched her return to the mysterious flower woman, curtsey
 126.552 +prettily, and begin to dance. Distressed to think such a beautiful
 126.553 +sight might be lost forever, he swung the camera up and began
 126.554 +filming. Through the viewfinder he watched her, graceful and fluid,
 126.555 +her body flowing in rhythm to the music. Music? What music? Where was
 126.556 +it coming from? He didn't know, but he could hear. And see.
 126.557 +
 126.558 +There were other amazing sights to see that night as the fairy woman
 126.559 +tossed her cards and waved her staff: a bouncing plush toy, a
 126.560 +mysterious, shadowy figure, and a strange flying teddy bear that kept
 126.561 +up an incessant chatter about himself. Finally, one of the girl
 126.562 +patients pulled on Sakura's sleeve, and whispered that it was nearly
 126.563 +time for the night nurse to check up on them. The fairy girl looked
 126.564 +panicky, but the one called Tomoyo calmly began tidying up, tucking
 126.565 +the children in bed, and escorting Sakura to the window. The boy
 126.566 +followed, feeling a mix of emotions. Wonder and awe clashed with
 126.567 +shame for his past behavior. Clearing his throat, he watched the
 126.568 +fairy girl,  Tomoyo, and the teddy bear stop and face him,
 126.569 +
 126.570 +"Excuse me. I….I ," It was hard to say. He could just let it go,
 126.571 +but… "I'm very sorry that I tore up your costume. I…I would like to
 126.572 +help pay for the new one you bought."
 126.573 +
 126.574 +The fairy girl looked confused, but Tomoyo smiled as she arched over
 126.575 +him, "It's the same costume. I just sewed it up."
 126.576 +
 126.577 +Astonished, he turned and glimpsed her pale face, the color of
 126.578 +radiant moonlight. He bowed and stammered, "Thank you for fixing it."
 126.579 +
 126.580 +She nodded and then slipped through the window onto the staff, aided
 126.581 +by the fairy girl. The children gathered around, straining to keep
 126.582 +their gleeful voices down. He waved, and thought he saw the beautiful
 126.583 +dark-haired girl wave back. The pair swung into the starry night, and
 126.584 +he watched them until they vanished. He stood and stared into the
 126.585 +dark sky. 
 126.586 +
 126.587 +"Tomoyo," he whispered her name to himself, "Tomoyo."
 126.588 +
 126.589 +The little girl in the adjacent bed poked him in the ribs. With a
 126.590 +mischievous grin she giggled, "See, fairies are real."
 126.591 +
 126.592 +He looked down ate her and smiled wryly, "Well, I don't know about
 126.593 +that. But I guess magic is."
 126.594 +
 126.595 +The next morning, Sakura and Tomoyo slept late and missed all their
 126.596 +early classes At that same time, the Acting Director of the Tokyo
 126.597 +Medical Center Children's Hospital began his day by trying to figure
 126.598 +out how to dispose of 12 bushels of flower petals in Ward 26.
 126.599 \ No newline at end of file

   127.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   127.2 +++ b/stories/CCScharity_3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   127.3 @@ -0,0 +1,994 @@
   127.4 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 3
   127.5 +
   127.6 +by:
   127.7 +The Amazoness Duo 
   127.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   127.9 +
  127.10 +G.P. 
  127.11 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  127.12 +
  127.13 +=====
  127.14 +
  127.15 +A soft, gentle knock resounded throughout Sakura's moderately
  127.16 +spacious room. Already blushing a shade of crimson, the Cardmistress
  127.17 +sunk lower on her bed. Her clothes laid in a hesitant pile near her
  127.18 +knees on her bed. Heart pounding, she covered it with a satiny glone,
  127.19 +one of the few articles of cloth that adorn her. She was clad in a
  127.20 +pink, lacey bra that teases at what it holds undernearth and matching
  127.21 +panties. The gloves trailed ribbons at her wrists. The stockings
  127.22 +ended at her thighs, again with a generous use of lace. Kicking
  127.23 +against the bed, the half clothed Cardmistress let out a whine.
  127.24 +"Hoe... Tomoyo-chan, I'm not coming out in this," she said, her voice
  127.25 +infused with embarrassment.
  127.26 +
  127.27 +"But I need to see if it fits properly. It needs to be perfect
  127.28 +before Li-kun sees Sakura-chan prancing about in it," came Tomoyo's
  127.29 +reply, her voice as sweet as always. Pulling her silk hair back, the
  127.30 +heiress placed her head against the door, listening for the tell-tale
  127.31 +signs of her roommate's fidgeting. 
  127.32 +
  127.33 +"That isn't why you want to see it," Sakura whined, her hands
  127.34 +slipping to the edge of the bed. Looking down, she swished her toes
  127.35 +around in the stockings, feeling the cloth move over them. She wasn't
  127.36 +used to anything this dressy. Normal undergarments usually did the
  127.37 +trick for her. Okay, she was used to things this dressy. Tomoyo's
  127.38 +costumes. But those she could wear without most of her body showing.
  127.39 +Well, most of them. 
  127.40 +
  127.41 +"All right, that isn't why. -I- want to see Sakura-chan prancing
  127.42 +around in it," Tomoyo admitted after a moment's pause. Her head still
  127.43 +pressed against the door, the sounds came to her of Sakura shifting,
  127.44 +her embarrassment audible.Blushing intensely, Sakura hugged her legs
  127.45 +to her chest, her chin resting on the soft fabric that covered her
  127.46 +legs. How was she supposed to reply to that? Even after having known
  127.47 +of Tomoyo's feelings for the past few years, she still wasn't
  127.48 +entirely sure how to react. So her body tended to react with a huge
  127.49 +amount of blushes and embarrassed stammers. Her heart was pounding
  127.50 +faster now and her voice had left her. "Tomoyo-chan..." was all she
  127.51 +could get out, coming out as little more than a whimper. Trying to go
  127.52 +to someone for help, she had gone to her older brother. Tomoyo would
  127.53 +have been her first choice, but seeing as how the other girl was
  127.54 +involved, it seemed in bad taste to ask Tomoyo what she should do
  127.55 +about it. Since Touya had been through the same thing, she had
  127.56 +thought he would have excellent voice. His advice: "You take him out
  127.57 +to ice cream, then get him back home and leave your clothes at the
  127.58 +door." Yukito had simply smiled the whole time. Blushing fiercely, as
  127.59 +she was blushing now, Sakura had quickly excused herself. 
  127.60 +
  127.61 +"I bet it looks gorgeous on you, Sakura-chan. I made it for you so
  127.62 +you could show off your beautiful body the next time you see Li-kun.
  127.63 +It would be a shame if you had it and no one ever got to see how
  127.64 +gorgeous you were in it," Tomoyo prodded, still listening for any
  127.65 +reaction on her friend's part. Testing gently, she realized the door
  127.66 +wasn't locked. Sakura very seldom locked any doors. Which had caused
  127.67 +the Cardmistress no end of trouble back when she had lived with her
  127.68 +father and brother. There had been plenty of close calls with Sakura
  127.69 +talking to her supposedly stuffed doll, Kero. But now, Tomoyo found
  127.70 +that it worked to her advantage. "Sakura-chan," Tomoyo began again,
  127.71 +"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've been helping you dress
  127.72 +in your outfits since we were ten years old. I've seen more of you
  127.73 +than Li-kun has. And I've probably named every little part by
  127.74 +now.""You've what?" Sakura blinked, looking up, confused. Confusion
  127.75 +gave way to even more embarrassment. All those times she had changed
  127.76 +in front of Tomoyo, not realizing the other girl actually enjoyed
  127.77 +what she saw came back to her. Tomoyo had helped her dress into many
  127.78 +of her more elaborate costumes. And Tomoyo had named her body parts?
  127.79 +Her cheeks flushed as a morbid curiosity burned inside of her. What
  127.80 +had she named? What names had she picked? Sakura had to shake her
  127.81 +head and force the thought away, too shy to ask her questions. "But..
  127.82 +No! That was different. You helped me into your costumes and with the
  127.83 +dresses you made for me. Not something... sexy..." The last word came
  127.84 +out lower than the rest, as if she had to force it out. Seeing
  127.85 +herself in the mirror, Sakura shrunk down even more. 
  127.86 +
  127.87 +"Sakura-chan has worn lots of sexy clothes. You must not remember
  127.88 +half of the costumes you've worn for the past five years. I'll have
  127.89 +to get out the videotapes and show you again. The lingerie probably
  127.90 +has more cloth in total than the hummingbird outfit had," Tomoyo said
  127.91 +thoughtfully, a finger going to her chin. 
  127.92 +
  127.93 +"You told me that was a swimsuit!" Sakura responded, letting her
  127.94 +legs fall back to the bed and her fists resting near her sides. 
  127.95 +
  127.96 +Perfect. Tomoyo smiled, hearing Sakura's position change. "No, I
  127.97 +said it was waterproof, not that it was a swimsuit," she corrected.
  127.98 +The door slid open in one swift movement. For several seconds, Tomoyo
  127.99 +got a wonderful glimpse of her startled Sakura. For the first second
 127.100 +and a half, the brunette didn't even have the chance to be
 127.101 +embarrassed. Sakura truly looked beautiful in the lingerie, looking
 127.102 +both cute and sexy all at once, something Tomoyo had always loved
 127.103 +about her energetic friend. Those moments were burned forever into
 127.104 +memory thanks to the wonderful technology of camcorders. Thanks to
 127.105 +years and years of videotaping her flighty friend, the dark haired
 127.106 +girl had become an expert and bringing the camcorder to bear in the
 127.107 +most crucial of seconds. And then, like a groundhog popping back into
 127.108 +his hole, Sakura was gone. The girl had rolled off the bed, hiding
 127.109 +behind the side opposite Tomoyo. 
 127.110 +
 127.111 +"Tomoyo-chan!!" Sakura whined again, her heart pounding and her face
 127.112 +burning as she lay hunched over behind her bed. She hadn't expected
 127.113 +the other girl to come in. Now what was she supposed to do? Her hand
 127.114 +darted up to the bed, searching for her clothes. Her questing fingers
 127.115 +encountered nothing but the top of her bed. 
 127.116 +
 127.117 +"Sakura-chan needs to fold her clothes more often or they'll get
 127.118 +wrinkled," Tomoyo chided playfully, having pulled Sakura's clothes
 127.119 +away from her reach. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she could
 127.120 +only make out her friend's hunched back. Good enough. Bringing the
 127.121 +camcorder up, she began to record. 
 127.122 +
 127.123 +"Why are you recording this?" Sakura asked, trying to curl up into
 127.124 +herself. It wasn't working. The camcorder and Tomoyo's eyes stayed
 127.125 +fixed on her. Her position didn't offer her much comfort or security.
 127.126 +"For posterity," Tomoyo chimed in, smiling brightly. "Maybe I should
 127.127 +make a copy for Li-kun. He must get lonely being so far away from
 127.128 +you."
 127.129 +
 127.130 +"No! No copies for Syaoran," Sakura said quickly, looking up. It
 127.131 +took her a moment to see the camcorder dip, looking down her front.
 127.132 +Squeaking, the Cardmistress hugged herself tightly. 
 127.133 +
 127.134 +"But it seems unfair for me to get to see this while your boyfriend
 127.135 +doesn't get to," Tomoyo reasoned, panning over Sakura's strong
 127.136 +shoulders and down her pack to where the panties hugged her before
 127.137 +continuing down her beautiful, runner's legs. Sighing dreamily, the
 127.138 +heiress held a hand to her face. "You're very sexy, Sakura-
 127.139 +chan.""Th..Thanks, Tomoyo-chan." Blushing deeply, the Cardmistress
 127.140 +gazed back down at the floor. She couldn't say she minded Tomoyo's
 127.141 +compliments. They always made her feel wonderful. Tomoyo made her
 127.142 +feel like she could really do anything. Like she was something
 127.143 +special. So even the embarrassing things weren't all that bad. Just,
 127.144 +well, embarrassing. 
 127.145 +
 127.146 +"Please, Sakura-chan? Just for me and my camcorder. You can decide
 127.147 +later on if Li-kun sees. But I don't want to see my one chance at
 127.148 +seeing my super sexy Sakura-chan in the lingerie I made her. I love
 127.149 +seeing you in the clothes I make. Knowing you're wearing them, that
 127.150 +they're mixing together with you to make a beautiful picture. Without
 127.151 +you, they're just clothes. I've see what these look like under my
 127.152 +fingers. Now I want to see what they look like with you living and
 127.153 +breathing in them," Tomoyo pleaded, pulling down her camcorder for a
 127.154 +moment to look down at her best friend.
 127.155 +
 127.156 +Emerald eyes gazed up for just a moment, but they were immediately
 127.157 +caught by the beautiful, pleading stormy blue ones of her friend.
 127.158 +Giving an imperceptible nod, Sakura sighed. "You know you always win
 127.159 +these things, right? Why do we even bother debating it anymore? I
 127.160 +should just give up and do what you want in the first place. Then we
 127.161 +can save ourselves the trouble." Blushing, hands slowly let go of her
 127.162 +body. Moving slowly, the Cardmistress stood up, shifting shyly from
 127.163 +foot to foot as Tomoyo's eyes roamed over her. A twinge of excitement
 127.164 +ran through her. Someone was actually seeing her like this, someone
 127.165 +who thought she was sexy. Sakura liked the thought, that she could be
 127.166 +sexy, that Tomoyo would want to see her like this. She blushed deeper
 127.167 +at the realization. Was it just that her boyfriend had been gone so
 127.168 +long? That she wanted someone to appreciate her like that? But she'd
 127.169 +always liked when Tomoyo fawned over her, even when she didn't know
 127.170 +that Tomoyo was in love with her. Confused and embarrassed, Sakura
 127.171 +stood for Tomoyo's approval.A sudden intake of breath. An excited
 127.172 +gasp. "Sakura-chan, you're so sexy!" Tomoyo crooned, standing up to
 127.173 +travel around Sakura with her camcorder, wanting every available
 127.174 +angle of her semi-nude friend. A light giggle escaped her when she
 127.175 +was behind Sakura. "No, you should keep debating. If you did whatever
 127.176 +I wanted in the first place, then you wouldn't be wearing anything at
 127.177 +all."
 127.178 +
 127.179 +For Sakura, who had just started to regain her composure, the
 127.180 +comment was like a bag had dropped on her stomach. She was blushing
 127.181 +darkly again and at a loss for words instantly. "T..Tomoyo-chan!" The
 127.182 +tone of her voice was supposed to be chiding, but it sounded more
 127.183 +like a shy refutal. A soft hand on her back, just above the bra, made
 127.184 +Sakura start. Tomoyo's hand, silky and warm against her skin. Letting
 127.185 +her eyes fall closed, the Cardmistress felt each delicate finger
 127.186 +caress in a pattern on her bare skin, her breath nearly catching
 127.187 +before she remembered to keep breathing. 
 127.188 +
 127.189 +"Sakura-chan, you aren't such a shy girl most of the time. I bet
 127.190 +when you get used to being with Li-kun, you'll be a tiger in the
 127.191 +bedroom. You shouldn't act all shy for the camera. Then I won't get
 127.192 +to see what you'd really be like in the lingerie. Don't focus on the
 127.193 +clothes. Focus on Sakura-chan. Be Sakura-chan in the clothes." 
 127.194 +
 127.195 +
 127.196 +Tomoyo's voice had it's cheering quality that came to her whenever
 127.197 +she was rooting for Sakura, no matter what the situation may be.
 127.198 +Sakura found it highly effective, even now. Her blush subsiding
 127.199 +somewhat, she stepped away, moving again. This time, she moved more
 127.200 +quickly, more sure of herself, keeping her embarrassment in the back
 127.201 +of her mind. Putting on her brightest smile, she spun to face the
 127.202 +camera, moving as if she wasn't the least bit shy about what she was
 127.203 +in. Her eyes caught Tomoyo returning her smile. That made Sakura even
 127.204 +happier. Ribbons and lace swished as she moved about the room, posing
 127.205 +with all her athletic body was worth.
 127.206 +
 127.207 +For her part, Tomoyo hurried to keep track of Sakura, wanting to get
 127.208 +every shot she could of her beautiful friend. The way she moved...
 127.209 +The way she smiled... The sparkle in her eyes... The way the cloth
 127.210 +rustled against her skin... If there was any place closer to Heaven,
 127.211 +Tomoyo had not visited there yet. Sighing dreamily, she tried her
 127.212 +hardest to keep up with her athletic friend, barely noticing as her
 127.213 +pale cheeks flushed and her breath quickened. She stepped lithely up
 127.214 +onto the bed and back onto the other side like a sprite, never taking
 127.215 +the camcorder away from Sakura's gorgeous, sensuous form. How Sakura
 127.216 +could not notice how incredibly beautiful she had become was beyond
 127.217 +the heiress. The task of making sure Sakura was told, and quite
 127.218 +often, had fallen into her able hands. 
 127.219 +
 127.220 +"Tsubasa," Tomoyo said at last, as Sakura had twirled in front of
 127.221 +the bed. 
 127.222 +
 127.223 +"Hmmm?" The Cardmistress looked over as if broken from a trance.
 127.224 +Quizzical, she tilted her head as she stood near the foot of the bed.
 127.225 +"I named your butt Tsubasa. You were wondering what I named the
 127.226 +pieces of you. That's what I named it. Because it's cute and soft
 127.227 +like the feathers on a wing and because it looks like it's been
 127.228 +lifted up by beautiful wings." Tomoyo smiled brightly as she
 127.229 +explained. Chewing on her lip thoughtfully, she added. "And I saw a
 127.230 +lot of it when you used to fly on your staff. So I guess the wing
 127.231 +motif just followed easily from there, since it was framed by the two
 127.232 +wings on your staff."
 127.233 +
 127.234 +Another blush spread quickly. But this blush was a little different.
 127.235 +It was tempered with a playful frustration. Growling, Sakura grabbed
 127.236 +her pillow. "Tomoyo-chan! Stop embarrassing me!" Before Tomoyo could
 127.237 +react, the athletic girl pounced, hitting her friend again and again
 127.238 +with the soft pillow. That heart melting giggle of Tomoyo's
 127.239 +accompanied Sakura's feather soft blows as Sakura bopped her on the
 127.240 +head again and again, watching Tomoyo's long hair fly wild about them
 127.241 +in their one-sided battle. 
 127.242 +
 127.243 +And as soon as it had begun, it was over. The two lay on the bed,
 127.244 +panting heavily. Tomoyo's pale cheeks were flushed darkly, her
 127.245 +fragile body exerted from all of the hopping and running and playing
 127.246 +they had done. Sakura lay on her side, facing the other girl, her
 127.247 +heart pounding from the exertion. Or maybe it was pounding from the
 127.248 +way Tomoyo's stormy blue eyes gazed so lovingly into her own. Or the
 127.249 +way Tomoyo's tender fingers trailed delicately up and down her side.
 127.250 +Or the way Tomoyo's bare foot felt against her own through the cloth
 127.251 +of her stockings. Or the way Tomoyo's now messy lavender hair framed
 127.252 +her so beautifully on the bed. 
 127.253 +
 127.254 +Fingers slid up to Sakura's bra, tracing over the fabric for just a
 127.255 +moment before beginning their downward spiral back to the brunette's
 127.256 +hips. Tomoyo gazed into Sakura's eyes, so glad to have them looking
 127.257 +back at her. Those emerald orbs had always fascinated her. Some
 127.258 +nights when she couldn't sleep, she would take a look into those eyes
 127.259 +in one of her pictures or videotapes and fall asleep imagining she
 127.260 +were safe in Sakura's arms. Now, lying so close to her, almost like
 127.261 +lovers, Tomoyo felt that delicious feeling that accompanies our
 127.262 +longing for the person we love without the bad aftertaste of knowing
 127.263 +they are out of our reach. Maybe they weren't locked in a lover's
 127.264 +embrace, but Sakura was so close, so soft, so lovely. And that was
 127.265 +enough for Tomoyo.A small pink tongue darted over dry lips, trying
 127.266 +desperately to wet them. Whether it was in case Tomoyo should happen
 127.267 +to kiss her or just because they were dry, Sakura couldn't really
 127.268 +tell. Her heart was thundering now, her eyes enthralled to Tomoyo.
 127.269 +She couldn't pull her gaze away if she tried. A delightful shiver
 127.270 +passed through her body as her friend's fingers traced over her hip
 127.271 +and back up again. This was a position she had thought she'd end up
 127.272 +with Syaoran in, facing in each other, blushing and waiting for him
 127.273 +to kiss her. Would Tomoyo kiss her? Did Tomoyo want to kiss her? What
 127.274 +would she do if Tomoyo did kiss her? Her breath slipped out and she
 127.275 +prayed that Tomoyo didn't notice how anxious she was. About what? Was
 127.276 +she scared that Tomoyo would kiss her? Or rather, was she scared that
 127.277 +Tomoyo wouldn't kiss her? And all the while, those incredibly deep
 127.278 +stormy blue eyes, the color of the beautiful yet sad stormclouds that
 127.279 +greet us on spring days, gazed longingly back at her. She didn't want
 127.280 +to move, didn't want to breathe. Her foot pushed experimentally
 127.281 +against Tomoyo's and was delighted to find Tomoyo's petite foot push
 127.282 +back, Tomoyo's small toes playing with her own.
 127.283 +
 127.284 +Sakura knew Tomoyo could see her, could see almost all of her in the
 127.285 +lingerie she wore. And yet, she couldn't get herself to do anything
 127.286 +about it. Why would she want to? Tomoyo liked her in it. The heiress
 127.287 +had said as much. And now... Now she didn't want to move. But she
 127.288 +wanted to do -something-. Anything. But no actions came to mind. No
 127.289 +words came to her rescue. It was only her and Tomoyo and those
 127.290 +deliciously confusing feelings that slid over her like cool water on
 127.291 +a hot day. 
 127.292 +
 127.293 +Tomoyo, meanwhile, was getting more adventurous. Sakura hadn't so
 127.294 +much as eeked in embarrassment since they had found themselves facing
 127.295 +each other on the bed. Her hand was going alternatingly higher and
 127.296 +lower. Up past Sakura's bra. Down past Sakura's pantied. Feeling the
 127.297 +brunette's athletic body under her fingertips. The cute, confused
 127.298 +look in Sakura's eyes made her want to be with the Cardmistress even
 127.299 +more. She wanted to help Sakura make up her mind, to end up doing
 127.300 +something she'd wanted to do for years. And right now, would Sakura
 127.301 +stop her? Would Sakura even want her to stop? Her mind played over
 127.302 +the thoughts carefully, trying to unravel them. In the meantime, her
 127.303 +foot continued to play more and more with Sakura's, neither girl
 127.304 +gaining ground, but neither wanting to, content to continue their
 127.305 +game. On this turn up Sakura's side, Tomoyo stopped at Sakura's bra,
 127.306 +just under her arm. Fingers caressed the skin underneath the cloth
 127.307 +for a long moment. Almost imperceptibly, the fingers moved across the
 127.308 +cloth. Forward. Slowly, slowly. The fingertips moved as if in slow
 127.309 +motion to the front of Sakura's bra, tracing Sakura's slightly larger
 127.310 +breasts as they went. They continued to play their designs over
 127.311 +Sakura's skin, Tomoyo's eyes ever ready for any flicker of Sakura's
 127.312 +face. The brunette simply blushed more but did nothing to stop her.
 127.313 +Moving apart and together again, her fingertips played across the
 127.314 +thin fabric over Sakura's skin. To Tomoyo's delight, she could feel
 127.315 +Sakura reacting, her fingers rubbing over the slowly hardening nub of
 127.316 +Sakura's nipple under the bra. She continued to play with it, pushing
 127.317 +and circling and rubbing through the cloth, watching as Sakura gazed
 127.318 +back, their feet still locked in their battle. Just as slowly as she
 127.319 +had done with her fingers, Tomoyo's head inched closer. Perhaps...
 127.320 +just a kiss? A delicious, Sakura tasting kiss? It couldn't do any
 127.321 +harm, could it? Not if part of Sakura wanted her to, right? And dear
 127.322 +god did she hope that's what she saw in Sakura's eyes. Her nose slid
 127.323 +past Sakura's now, their eyes still locked. Warm breath played
 127.324 +against her lips. Just another moment. Tomoyo was incredibly patient.
 127.325 +She could wait a lifetime if she had to. She could almost feel
 127.326 +Sakura's lips against her own. Just a little
 127.327 +closer....Trrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiillll..... 
 127.328 +
 127.329 +Sakura blinked dumbly. Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiilllllll..........
 127.330 +
 127.331 +Bolting up, a new wave of embarrassment coursing through her, Sakura
 127.332 +searched quickly for her cell phone. Where had she put it? Sliding
 127.333 +off the bed, stocking clad feet padded across the floor. Heart
 127.334 +pounding in her chest, Sakura couldn't think of what to say, only to
 127.335 +keep looking for the damn phone. And to tell them she'd call them
 127.336 +back. She had more important things to think about right
 127.337 +now."Goodnight, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo whispered as Sakura grabbed the
 127.338 +cell phone so as not to disturb whoever was on the line. Her lips
 127.339 +brushed against Sakura's cheek, kissing softly. Sakura's cheek warmed
 127.340 +under her lips. Smoothing out her skirt, the dark haired girl
 127.341 +disappeared from the room like an elegant Cinderella from her ball.
 127.342 +And no less anxious and confused as Cinderella's prince sat Sakura.
 127.343 +She reached out, wanting to call Tomoyo back, but the phone was
 127.344 +already answering. Her voice echoed shakily on the line, her mind
 127.345 +elsewhere. What had been about to happen? And why did she feel so
 127.346 +disappointed that it didn't?
 127.347 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 127.348 +
 127.349 +The soft vibration of a sweet hum reached the door to the appartment
 127.350 +Sakura shared with Tomoyo before the brunette reached it herself. Her
 127.351 +exaltant hum was the product of her classes finally coming to an end
 127.352 +for another week as well as the generally positive upswing her life
 127.353 +had taken in general. Living with her best friend was more fun than
 127.354 +she had imagined. They shared a wonderfully cute and eccentric
 127.355 +(thanks in no small part to Tomoyo) appartment. And now Sakura even
 127.356 +had a job that she could pour herself into. To celebrate her good
 127.357 +fortune, she had deigned it a worthy cause to stop by the grocery
 127.358 +store on the way home and get supplies for a feast. When Tomoyo got
 127.359 +home that night, there would be a wonderful meal waiting for her.
 127.360 +'Hanyaa...' Sakura thought happily, her smile broadening as she
 127.361 +slipped her keys into the door. Everything felt so amazing. It almost
 127.362 +felt like she was dreaming. And wouldn't Tomoyo be excited to come
 127.363 +home to a meal she cooked for her! A small giggle escaped the
 127.364 +brunette as she pushed the door open.
 127.365 +
 127.366 +"Can I start on the strawberries?" Kero's voice carried from the
 127.367 +grocery bag. A small rustling noise preceded his appearance, his
 127.368 +small head popping up out of the bag. "They look soooooo good..." His
 127.369 +tiny eyes looked up to Sakura, pleading. They searched for mercy.
 127.370 +They found none.
 127.371 +
 127.372 +"Kero-chan!! Out! Those things are all for the meal tonight! The
 127.373 +strawberries are for desert. I'll make some for you, too, I promise.
 127.374 +But you better not be eating any of my ingredients!" Sakura harumphed
 127.375 +when Kero pouted. Plans for her dinner with Tomoyo wouldn't be ruined
 127.376 +because Kero had an endless stomach. Her moods immediately lightened
 127.377 +at the thought, she nearly twirled into the appartment.
 127.378 +
 127.379 +"Tomoyo-chan?"
 127.380 +
 127.381 +The twirling ceased immidiately. Blink blink. Someone was inside?
 127.382 +Someone who sounded awfully familiar. "Sakura-chan! It's you. I
 127.383 +thought Tomoyo said something about you coming home earlier than she
 127.384 +did on these days." Sonomi smiled brilliantly, still in her dashing
 127.385 +business suit and skirt. Her prowess as a businesswoman hid her years
 127.386 +as an athlete. The hug she gave Sakura certainly didn't hide that
 127.387 +aspect, nearly pulling Sakura off her feet. "You're always so cute,
 127.388 +Sakura-chan. Tomoyo's rants about you almost don't do you justice.
 127.389 +Almost." Grinning with what could only be the Daidouji family smile,
 127.390 +something that both generations of Daidouji women did an incredible
 127.391 +amount of around Sakura, she placed her hands on the younger woman's
 127.392 +shoulders. "Is Tomoyo-chan with you? I thought I heard you talking
 127.393 +when you came in."Sakura was still in a state of confusion. Slowly,
 127.394 +bit by bit, it was being processed into usable information in her
 127.395 +brain. Sonomi had a key to the appartment. Tomoyo had told her when
 127.396 +they'd come home the second night and found roses left for them by
 127.397 +Sonomi. Now onto the more immediate, pressing matters. Sweatdropping
 127.398 +and stammering profusely, Sakura said the first thing that came to
 127.399 +mind. "C...Cell phone... I was on the cell phone when I came in..."
 127.400 +Laughing nervously, she hoped that would be enough for Tomoyo's
 127.401 +mother."You brought groceries home," Sonomi observed. "How cute!" She
 127.402 +clasped her hands together.
 127.403 +
 127.404 +"Well, yeah..." Sakura blushed and walked to the kitchen. "I was
 127.405 +going to make dinner for me and Tomoyo-chan." A muffled 'And me' came
 127.406 +from the grocery bag, but Sakura coughed and nudged the bag as she
 127.407 +set it down on the counter. 
 127.408 +
 127.409 +"That's wonderful! Tomoyo-chan will be so happy when she gets home.
 127.410 +I'll help you with it. I'll go when Tomoyo-chan gets home so I won't
 127.411 +get in the way of your dinner," Sonomi decided, starting to unpack
 127.412 +one of the bags."You will?" Sakura asked excitedly. Though her own
 127.413 +cooking skills were good, she had more faith in those of Sonomi.
 127.414 +Working with Tomoyo's mother, she knew they could make something
 127.415 +delicious. "Thanks, Sonomi-san!" she said happily. Her eyes shot open
 127.416 +when she saw Sonomi's hand snake into the bag, searching for that
 127.417 +last object in the bag. Kero-chan!
 127.418 +
 127.419 +Sonomi's lithe hand withdrew from the bag holding onto Kero's small,
 127.420 +plush body. The businesswoman inspected the figure for a long moment.
 127.421 +A sad, nostalgic smile played across her lips. "You really are a lot
 127.422 +like your mother sometimes, Sakura-chan." A finger gently traced over
 127.423 +Kero's face. "She used to drag some of her dolls around with her
 127.424 +everywhere. I used to tell her she'd be dragging them around even
 127.425 +when she was an adult. She laughed and asked why she'd do anything
 127.426 +but." The older brunette shook her head, still smiling as she set
 127.427 +down the Seal Beast. 
 127.428 +
 127.429 +"Then Tomoyo-chan must have gotten a lot from you, too, Sonomi-san.
 127.430 +She's beautiful, talented, and elegant. Just like you," Sakura
 127.431 +offered, returning the older woman's smile as she got out the
 127.432 +utensils for the night's meal. There was another thing that Sonomi
 127.433 +shared with her daughter. When Sakura heard Sonomi speak of her
 127.434 +mother, Nadeshiko, it came with that same loving tone that Tomoyo's
 127.435 +held when the dark haired girl spoke of Sakura. There was something
 127.436 +almost sad in it, something that always made the Cardmistress miss
 127.437 +her mother even more. 
 127.438 +
 127.439 +A laugh escaped Sonomi as she searched for the aprons. "Sometimes I
 127.440 +think Tomoyo-chan got more from your mother than she got from me.
 127.441 +She's very, very loving. And so... ethereal. It's almost like she's
 127.442 +an angel. Just like your mother." Her quest came up triumphant as she
 127.443 +pulled out two aprons, handing one to her daughter's friend.Sakura
 127.444 +nodded in wholehearted agreement as she tied the apron on tight.
 127.445 +"Tomoyo-chan is very much like an angel. Sometimes I'm surprised that
 127.446 +she's not the one with wings." A nervous laugh quickly followed.
 127.447 +Sonomi wouldn't get the part about the fact that she could have wings
 127.448 +herself when she wanted. Though Tomoyo seemed far more deserving of
 127.449 +them in Sakura's mind. The dark haired girl really did seem like an
 127.450 +angel, Sakura's guardian angel. Sighing dreamily, Sakura got to work
 127.451 +on preparing the food. 
 127.452 +
 127.453 +Brushing her brunette hair out of her eyes with her free hand,
 127.454 +Sonomi watched Sakura chopping the vegetables. A smile tugged at the
 127.455 +corners of her mouth. It was easy to see what her daughter loved
 127.456 +about the younger woman. Being around Sakura always brought back
 127.457 +memories of the girl's mother.  And Tomoyo lit up like the moon
 127.458 +lights up from the sun's rays when she was around Sakura. The
 127.459 +businesswoman was happy to have Sakura as part of her life, as very
 127.460 +nearly a part of her family. When she saw Sakura's emerald eyes
 127.461 +shimmering at her, it was hard for her to tell that she wasn't
 127.462 +looking into Nadeshiko's eyes. "If you're very lucky in this life,
 127.463 +you'll fall in love, truly in love, once. You'll find your one, true
 127.464 +love. I'm not talking about all the crushes, all the people who take
 127.465 +a place in your heart. Just the one who you can't help loving, who
 127.466 +warms your heart, who makes you better just by being around." Sonomi
 127.467 +smiled softly, her stormy blue eyes distant. "I found mine, a long
 127.468 +time ago. She was... the most beautiful, wonderful thing in my life.
 127.469 +I was always so happy when I was with her. When I lost her... I
 127.470 +didn't think I could go on. If I hadn't had Tomoyo, I might not have
 127.471 +been able to." She shook her head, her stormy blue eyes a little
 127.472 +darker now, the color of clouds about to storm. Smiling at Sakura,
 127.473 +she tilts her head to the side ever so slightly. "I think Tomoyo
 127.474 +found hers, too. I hope that you find yours.""I... did..." Sakura's
 127.475 +voice trailed off. She had found her one, true love, right? Syaoran
 127.476 +had been her boyfriend for years now. They'd been together through a
 127.477 +lot. They loved each other. But did she really love him more than
 127.478 +she'd loved Yukito? Or even the feelings she had gotten from Mizuki-
 127.479 +sensei? When she thought about him, warm thoughts surfaced. But did
 127.480 +she feel that she was better around him? Did he ensnare her the way
 127.481 +Sonomi's heart had so obviously been caught so long ago? She loved
 127.482 +him, of course, she reminded herself. They'd been together all these
 127.483 +years. But those feelings... They did sound familiar. Someone who
 127.484 +mader her better... Someone who always made her feel all hanyaan...
 127.485 +Sakura's hand slipped, cutting a jagged slice out of the vegetable
 127.486 +she was working on as the image turned in her mind. Tomoyo. Her heart
 127.487 +beat a confused, staccatto rhythm in her chest. That was different.
 127.488 +Tomoyo was her best friend. Of course the dark haired girl made her
 127.489 +happy and embarrassed and warm and strong. It was... Yeah.... Sakura
 127.490 +nodded slightly to herself, trying to keep her thoughts straight.
 127.491 +"That's great, Sakura-chan," Sonomi replied, forcing a smile. Truth
 127.492 +be told, she couldn't stand the boy who had taken away Sakura from
 127.493 +her daughter. Granted, Tomoyo tried to convince her that he was the
 127.494 +one that made Sakura happy. But Sonomi knew beyond the shadow of a
 127.495 +doubt that her daughter could make Sakura just as happy, if not much,
 127.496 +much more so. But, alas, that didn't seem to be in the cards. Again.
 127.497 +Just like with Nadeshiko. She sighed inwardly. Well, she wouldn't let
 127.498 +it happen that way again. She wasn't about to see her little girl end
 127.499 +up all alone like she did. Fishing around in her purse, she pulled
 127.500 +out a large photo of a beautiful woman. Holding it out in her strong
 127.501 +yet gentle hands, Sonomi smiled. "That's Sugaru Kurumiya. She does
 127.502 +some modelling, like your mother used to. Her mother and I are
 127.503 +friends. I kept saying we should get her together with Tomoyo. Sugaru
 127.504 +is great in front of the camera and Tomoyo is a wizard behind the
 127.505 +camera. I finally convinced Tomoyo-chan to go out on a date with her.
 127.506 +Isn't that great?" Sonomi sighed, putting the picture away. "My baby
 127.507 +is going on her first date. How cute... It's too bad she won't be
 127.508 +able to record it. I'd love to see the video."The knife slid off the
 127.509 +carrot Sakura was cutting. "Wh...what?" Her eyes blinked in
 127.510 +disbelief. It should have been an obvious eventuality, but like all
 127.511 +things we don't want to think of, Sakura had stored it away as
 127.512 +something that would happen 'later', in that indeterminate future we
 127.513 +hope will never come. And now it had. "Tomoyo-chan's going on a date?
 127.514 +But..." Her mind raced to find a good reason to call off the date,
 127.515 +but she found none. Her heart sank at the thought of Tomoyo
 127.516 +videotaping some other girl, a model at that. Didn't Tomoyo say she
 127.517 +was the most amazing thing to videotape? And going out on a date...
 127.518 +'I love you, Sakura-chan.'. Sakura had heard that phrase over and
 127.519 +over for the past six years. And every time, she knew Tomoyo meant
 127.520 +it. Would this other girl take her place? Would she be the one to
 127.521 +make Tomoyo smile? Would Tomoyo make the other woman costumes and
 127.522 +make her blush and tell her how wonderful she was? Would she make her
 127.523 +feel like she could do anything? Would Tomoyo make her feel warm and
 127.524 +loved? The way she made Sakura feel?
 127.525 +
 127.526 +Sakura wanted to drop to her knees. They suddenly felt weak and
 127.527 +watery. It seemed appropriate to say something nice about Tomoyo's
 127.528 +plan in perspective mates for her best friend, but she couldn't get
 127.529 +herself to compliment it. Instead, words came to her mouth that
 127.530 +ignored that line of thought altogether. "But Tomoyo-chan loves me. I
 127.531 +make her happy.""True," Sonomi conceded. "But you love Syaoran. And
 127.532 +Tomoyo's my baby. I want what's best for her. I want her to be happy
 127.533 +and loved and to be able to curl up in someone's arms when the day is
 127.534 +through. So I told her as much until she agreed to go on this date. I
 127.535 +think it will be good for her. The whole time you've been dating,
 127.536 +Tomoyo-chan has been all alone. Maybe you can give her some dating
 127.537 +tips."Sakura could only nod weakly. "Yeah... dating tips..." She
 127.538 +suddenly didn't feel like making dinner. With a heavy heart, she went
 127.539 +back to preparing for her now less than anticipated celebration
 127.540 +dinner. 
 127.541 +
 127.542 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 127.543 +
 127.544 +"And that concludes today's lecture. Please remember to do the
 127.545 +reading for next class." Professor Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled
 127.546 +pleasantly at his students as they passed, busying himself with
 127.547 +putting his papers neatly back in his briefcase. Out of the corner of
 127.548 +his eye, he could see the pale figure and dark hair of a woman that
 127.549 +always reminded him of his wife. Sonomi couldn't have done a better
 127.550 +job with a tribute to Nadeshiko. He shook off the thought and smiled
 127.551 +over at his daughter's best friend. 
 127.552 +
 127.553 +"Hello, Kinomoto-sensei. You said you wanted to see me after class?"
 127.554 +The darkhaired girl tilted her head to the side curiously.  Her hair
 127.555 +swayed with the small motion, the dark silk a stark contrast with her
 127.556 +pale skin. Leaning down, Fujitaka produced a large box, setting it on
 127.557 +the table. "I made a chocolate cake yesterday night and I realized I
 127.558 +couldn't eat it all by myself. I was hoping you and Sakura would have
 127.559 +it." It was an excuse, of course. He used to cook for his children
 127.560 +when he would have the chance, but now that his youngest child had
 127.561 +moved away, he had found himself missing them. Deciding to make the
 127.562 +cake for Sakura was a way of remembering times gone by. 
 127.563 +
 127.564 +Tomoyo bowed politely before gingerly picking up the box. "I know
 127.565 +Sakura-chan will love it. She always loved your food. I'm sure it's
 127.566 +delicious," the lavender haired girl insisted. 
 127.567 +
 127.568 +Smiling wistfully, the professor shook his head. "I never would have
 127.569 +thought you'd be interested in archeology, Tomoyo-chan."Tomoyo
 127.570 +giggled softly. "I have very broad interests, Kinomoto-sensei. I
 127.571 +think it's a very interesting course."
 127.572 +The rest of Fujitaka's papers slowly found their way into his
 127.573 +briefcase. Standing, he motioned for Tomoyo to follow him. "Your
 127.574 +mother must not have been pleased with you taking my course. She
 127.575 +still hasn't forgiven me about... things." He knew that Tomoyo had
 127.576 +probably grown up hearing her mother's anger with him, that he had
 127.577 +stolen what was most precious to her. Caution dictated that he be
 127.578 +careful with this subject. "On the contrary. When I told her, she
 127.579 +frowned for a moment and then said that if I had to take archeology,
 127.580 +it might as well be from you. She said you had been a very good
 127.581 +teacher when she was younger and that you'd be good to learn it
 127.582 +from," Tomoyo explained, her heels clicking as they walked down the
 127.583 +hallway of the university. A small, grateful smile crossed Fujitaka's
 127.584 +lips. It was nice to know that even if Sonomi hated him for 'taking
 127.585 +away' Nadeshiko, she still had some nice things to say about him.
 127.586 +Sonomi had always been a strong willed woman with the proud soul of a
 127.587 +warrior. Despite her hatred of him, her rival, she still respected
 127.588 +him. It was nice to hear that from her daughter, because he doubted
 127.589 +he'd ever hear it from Sonomi herself. And he knew Sonomi would never
 127.590 +accept his praise for her, no matter how heartfelt it may be. 
 127.591 +
 127.592 +He still remembered how devestated Nadeshiko had been when Sonomi
 127.593 +hadn't come to the wedding. Nadeshiko kept running out to see if her
 127.594 +best friend had arrived, thinking that she was only late. But Sonomi
 127.595 +never came. And until Nadeshiko got sick the final time, that was the
 127.596 +last time the two had seen each other. Nadeshiko had smiled brightly
 127.597 +and gone on with the wedding, but he had seen how hurt she was not to
 127.598 +have her cousin share in it with her. Nadeshiko had been such a
 127.599 +charming, lovely, happy woman for the time she had spent with her
 127.600 +family. But the one shadow that had stayed with her was losing
 127.601 +Sonomi. It didn't go away until the end, when Sonomi came to visit
 127.602 +her in the hospital. She had told him late at night in her hospital
 127.603 +bed that she was happy now. 'I have you, Touya-chan, and Sakura-chan.
 127.604 +And now I have Sonomi-chan again. I'm happy now. I'm happy with how
 127.605 +things turned out. Please don't cry for me, Fujitaka." And she had
 127.606 +smiled, a smile devoid of that haunted shadow. So he had never cried
 127.607 +for her, just as she had asked. 
 127.608 +The girl that could be a young copy of his wife was watching him as
 127.609 +they walked in silence for a moment. Offering another smile, he
 127.610 +pushed his glasses up. "I'm very glad Sonomi-san would think so." His
 127.611 +eyes looked just a trifle concerned as he looked over at his student.
 127.612 +"How is Sakura?" It was impossible to keep concern completely out of
 127.613 +his voice. Sakura was his little girl, after all. "Sakura-chan is
 127.614 +wonderful as always," Tomoyo replied, a soft sigh escaping her lips.
 127.615 +It never took much work to get her mind on Sakura, if indeed her mind
 127.616 +ever left that line of thought in the first place. Being so near the
 127.617 +brunette as of late had been like a dream, her heart overflowing with
 127.618 +happiness at the prospect of so very much Sakura in her life.
 127.619 +Fujitaka laughed at the dreamy look on Tomoyo's face as well as the
 127.620 +pale girl's reply. "I meant to ask how she was doing," he corrected
 127.621 +himself.
 127.622 +
 127.623 +Demurely holding her bag in front of her, Tomoyo giggled as well.
 127.624 +"Sakura-chan has been doing well lately. She misses you and Touya-
 127.625 +san, but it's wonderful seeing her on her own. She's so strong
 127.626 +willed. You should really see her. She's giving it her all. I know
 127.627 +that she likes working for mother. The two of them get along very
 127.628 +well. They're similar in a lot of ways. And Sakura-chan is doing well
 127.629 +in her classes. She was always a good student and we study together
 127.630 +some nights.""She's not on her own. She has you, Tomoyo-chan,"
 127.631 +Fujitaka replied. "You've always helped her so much. I really have to
 127.632 +thank you for all you've done for her.""It's all my pleasure. I love
 127.633 +being near Sakura-chan. I want her to be happy. I'd do anything for
 127.634 +her. If I can be near her, if I can help her from time to time,
 127.635 +that's enough for me." The pale heiress tucked some hair behind her
 127.636 +ear, looking forward.
 127.637 +
 127.638 +"I think you make her very happy," Fujitaka offered. "She's always
 127.639 +so happy when she's with you." Stopping in front of his office, he
 127.640 +turns to the small woman. "I want you to know I'd have been happy to
 127.641 +have you as a daughter-in-law." It was small consolation, he knew,
 127.642 +but it was true. Tomoyo was so much like Nadeshiko, an angel in
 127.643 +anyone's life. He would have been happy to see Sonomi's daughter with
 127.644 +his own. But because it hadn't worked out that way, he could only
 127.645 +offer that.
 127.646 +
 127.647 +"Thank you," Tomoyo said wholeheartedly. "I'm glad you'd think so. I
 127.648 +know mother would have loved having Sakura-chan as part of the
 127.649 +family, too," she replied, grinning. Her lithe frame bowed. "Thank
 127.650 +you for the cake, Sensei. Sakura-chan and I will share it tonight."
 127.651 +Turning, she swished softly towards the exit. 
 127.652 +
 127.653 +"I can't believe Sonomi-chan had her wear her hair like mine," a
 127.654 +soft voice said behind Fujitaka, almost poutily. "I didn't know she
 127.655 +missed me so much."Fujitaka smiled softly, turning to the source of
 127.656 +the voice, the ghostly form of his wife. "You always cute Sakura-
 127.657 +chan's hair short like Sonomi-san."The woman tilted her hair to the
 127.658 +side, giving a puzzled look. Her angel wings blazed with an inner
 127.659 +light. "Yeah, but I knew how much I missed Sonomi-chan. I didn't know
 127.660 +she missed me as much as I missed her." Her emerald green eyes
 127.661 +sparkled as she nearly floated about his office. "I need to see her
 127.662 +again," she whispered. Fujitaka nodded. "I know." He had never owned
 127.663 +Nadeshiko's heart. He doubted anyone ever could. He was blessed with
 127.664 +Nadeshiko's love. But so was Sonomi. It was the way of things. Was
 127.665 +Sakura the same way, he wondered? Would Sakura get hurt just as
 127.666 +Nadeshiko had because her heart was too open, too loving? Did Sakura
 127.667 +love her boyfriend as well as her best friend? He hoped that whatever
 127.668 +happened, Sakura wouldn't have the same haunted look as his wife when
 127.669 +Sonomi had left her side all those years ago when they had announced
 127.670 +their wedding. 
 127.671 +
 127.672 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 127.673 +
 127.674 +The appartment was quiet when Tomoyo finally got home. Her head
 127.675 +tilted to the side, listening for the familiar noises of Kero playing
 127.676 +videogames or Sakura making any of a hanful of noises Tomoyo could
 127.677 +name instantly. Leaving her shoes by the door, the pale girl treaded
 127.678 +softly across the floor. "Sakura-chan? Kero-chan?" Her voice carried
 127.679 +in the appartment. Her stormy blue eyes glanced to their living room,
 127.680 +seeing the table where Sakura had tossed her backpack and the DVDs of
 127.681 +Sakura lying on top of the large television. Sakura was home, at any
 127.682 +rate. And something certainly smelled delicious. 
 127.683 +
 127.684 +"Tomoyo-chan!" In a flurry of feathers, Sakura had crashed into
 127.685 +Tomoyo, hurtling into her like a small, Sakura-sized freight train.
 127.686 +Her small wings wrapped around the dark haired girl along with her
 127.687 +arms. The two almost fell over, but Sakura's wings opened up and gave
 127.688 +a quick flap, sending them back to their feet. Sakura's bare feet
 127.689 +were nearly on top of Tomoyo's socks. A soft giggle escaped the
 127.690 +heiress. "I missed you, too, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo's hands rested on
 127.691 +Sakura's hips as they stood that way for a moment. Leaning forward,
 127.692 +she nuzzled Sakura's chestnut hair, enjoying the smell that permeated
 127.693 +her noise. She always loved Sakura's hair. It made her want to be
 127.694 +there to wash it for the other girl. To run her hands through
 127.695 +Sakura's hair... She pushed away from the tempting thoughts. "You've
 127.696 +been out flying?"Pulling away, slightly embarrassed, Sakura nodded.
 127.697 +"I needed... Well, I wanted to see the view," the Cardmistress nodded
 127.698 +quickly. Truthfully, she had flown off after Sonomi had left to try
 127.699 +and clear her mind. It hadn't worked. The idea of Tomoyo finally
 127.700 +going on a date still left her with a bad taste in her mouth. But how
 127.701 +could she tell Tomoyo that? 'Don't date. I want you to love me and
 127.702 +only me. But I'll still be loving Syaoran, so you don't get anything
 127.703 +that you want.' Sakura felt ashamed of even thinking such a thing.
 127.704 +How good a friend was she if she would feel jealous of Tomoyo dating?
 127.705 +But still, she couldn't help it. And she knew she needed to change
 127.706 +the subject before Tomoyo's almost magical powers of perception found
 127.707 +her out. "I made you dinner. Well, Sonomi-san helped. She was by
 127.708 +earlier. So we made dinner for you. It's a celebration. For our new
 127.709 +job and our new appartment and... and everything!" Smiling, Sakura
 127.710 +took Tomoyo's hands, leading her to the kitchen where any number of
 127.711 +treats awaited. It had taken all of her strength to drag Kero out
 127.712 +after Sonomi had left. Her genuine smile and the excitement that
 127.713 +coursed threw her at the idea of showing Tomoyo the meal she'd cooked
 127.714 +for her helped keep Tomoyo from digging deeper into her concerns. "It
 127.715 +looks delicious, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said, amazed. Turning to
 127.716 +Sakura, the brunette's eyes sparkled happily. "It all looks
 127.717 +wonderful. It's a perfect dinner. Even more perfect because it was
 127.718 +made by Sakura-chan." The dark haired girl sighed dreamily, imagining
 127.719 +Sakura in an apron, laboring over the stove for her sake. How sweet!
 127.720 +Taking Sakura's hands, she squeezed them, pulling them to her heart.
 127.721 +"I'm so lucky to have you for a roommate."Blushing, Sakura looked
 127.722 +down. That simply gave her a good look of Tomoyo's beautiful form,
 127.723 +clad as it was in a cute white dress. Her eyes shot up only to get
 127.724 +anchored to Tomoyo's stormy blue eyes gazing affectionately into her
 127.725 +own. "I'm lucky to have you for a roommate, too, Tomoyo-chan. I just
 127.726 +wanted to show you how much," she said after a moment's silence. It
 127.727 +was the wrong thing to say if she was trying to extricate herself
 127.728 +from an embarrassing situation. Tomoyo let out a delighted sigh and
 127.729 +practically melted into her arms, hugging Sakura tightly. 
 127.730 +
 127.731 +"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said blissfully. "Ummm... Tomoyo-
 127.732 +chan, I think we better eat before it gets cold." Sakura hurried over
 127.733 +to the dishes after Tomoyo finally let her go, her cheeks still
 127.734 +flushed pink. She had hoped it would go over well, but this went over
 127.735 +much better than she'd expected. Tomoyo followed her to the counter,
 127.736 +watching her prepare the plates. Picking up a bite of the food with
 127.737 +her chopsticks, she turned and offered the bite to Tomoyo. Leaning
 127.738 +forward, the other girl took the bite, eating it from Sakura's
 127.739 +chopsticks. 'Hanyaan...' Sakura thought, smiling brightly. She felt
 127.740 +warm and fuzzy inside, glad to be with her friend. Her worries took a
 127.741 +small vacation, overcome by her currently shining emotional state.
 127.742 +The two decided to forgo eating at the table and finished up dinner
 127.743 +like that, Sakura feeding Tomoyo bite after bite with her chopsticks. 
 127.744 +
 127.745 +"You're such a good cook, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said between bites.
 127.746 +They were both leaning against the counter, and her eyes traced over
 127.747 +the other woman, delighting in Sakura's smile. Leaning forward, she
 127.748 +took another bite. Her mother felt bad for her that Sakura was in
 127.749 +love with another, but Tomoyo was incredibly grateful to be Sakura's
 127.750 +best friend. And moments like this were worth just about anything.
 127.751 +Having Sakura feed her, seeing the brunette smile and lift the food
 127.752 +to her lips, it made her heart swell. Her love for the Cardmistress
 127.753 +was almost overwhelming at times like this. Oh, how she wanted to
 127.754 +reach out and embrace her. These moments were glimpses of her dreams,
 127.755 +little bits of her fantasies of being with Sakura. Even if she
 127.756 +couldn't have Sakura's love, she was more than happy for the little
 127.757 +pieces she could collect. And for a moment, she could forget that
 127.758 +Sakura's heart belonged to another and simply revel in the here and
 127.759 +now. She 'mmm'ed as Sakura pulled the chopsticks away. 
 127.760 +
 127.761 +"Thanks, Tomoyo-chan. I was hoping you'd like it." Sakura took
 127.762 +another morsel up to Tomoyo's lips, waiting for it to disappear
 127.763 +between Tomoyo's soft, cute lips. Her heart pounded as it indeed
 127.764 +disappeared, the slight tug on the chopstickes signalling the end of
 127.765 +that bite. She had faint memories of wanting to feed Yukito
 127.766 +strawberries when she was younger. This was the feeling she'd
 127.767 +imagined along with it, that warm throbbing of her heart and the
 127.768 +utterly perfect feeling of it all. Tomoyo smiled at her openly and
 127.769 +lovingly, accepting each bite graciously, almost as if starved for a
 127.770 +piece of Sakura's creation, the love Sakura had peppered throughout
 127.771 +the meal. "Of course I'd like it," Tomoyo assured her. "I like
 127.772 +anything Sakura-chan." With Sakura pausing before getting more food,
 127.773 +the heiress took the time to give one of her patented smiles. "Tomoyo-
 127.774 +chan..." Sakura sighed, mock chiding. "What am I going to do with
 127.775 +you?"Placing her finger on her chin, Tomoyo looked deep in thought.
 127.776 +"I can think of another things, but I think we'd need to make sure
 127.777 +Kero-chan was in another room." Her eyes travelled over Sakura's
 127.778 +graceful form, her smile growing. "We'll have to tell him to turn up
 127.779 +the television, too. How loudly do you moan?""T...Tomoyo-chan...."
 127.780 +Her face darkening, Sakura quickly grabbed another bite, popping it
 127.781 +into Tomoyo's mouth to keep her quiet for a moment while a very
 127.782 +embarrassed Sakura regained her composure. Tomoyo smiled at her,
 127.783 +undaunted, and chewed the bite away. "You're so terrible. You
 127.784 +shouldn't tease me like that." Her heart was racing and she couldn't
 127.785 +tear her eyes away from the beautiful heiress before her.Finishing
 127.786 +the bite, Tomoyo finally spoke again. "It isn't teasing if you mean
 127.787 +what you're saying," the lavender haired girl corrected. "It's more
 127.788 +of an offer." She nodded after a moment, affirming that it was indeed
 127.789 +an offer. Resting her hands on Tomoyo's shoulders, Sakura giggled,
 127.790 +her cheeks still slightly red. Her forehead came to rest against
 127.791 +Tomoyo's. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Tomoyo-chan."Letting
 127.792 +her eyes fall closed, Tomoyo felt her heartbeat quicken. Did Sakura
 127.793 +know what a huge affect she had on her? How her heart would get so
 127.794 +wild when she was near like this? Oh, Sakura... "I'm sure Sakura-chan
 127.795 +would be fine without me. I just try to help when I can," she got
 127.796 +out, her voice a little too soft. It was almost hard to think,
 127.797 +feeling Sakura against her, knowing she was so close. 'Can we please
 127.798 +stay like this?' Tomoyo wanted to ask, but she feared she was too
 127.799 +breathless to get it out. Sakura had no idea of her true power, the
 127.800 +way she held Tomoyo's heart enthralled to her. 
 127.801 +
 127.802 +Sakura shook her head, her hair rustling against Tomoyo's. "You're
 127.803 +my strength, Tomoyo-chan. I was talking to Sonomi-san earlier. She
 127.804 +made me think of how lucky I am to have you. You make me stronger. I
 127.805 +wouldn't have been able to have done it all without you. Syaoran
 127.806 +helped me a lot, but you made me strong enough to get through it
 127.807 +all." Her voice was starting to choke up. The thought of anyone
 127.808 +taking Tomoyo away was like the thought of getting her oxygen taken
 127.809 +away, something incredibly important. She would be so empty without
 127.810 +Tomoyo. Her strength would flee her without Tomoyo to hold her up.
 127.811 +"With you..." her eyes sparkled with unshed tears when she looked
 127.812 +into Tomoyo's eyes. "With you, everything will always be all right."
 127.813 +
 127.814 +"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo's fingers reached up, gently stroking
 127.815 +Sakura's cheek. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I'll always
 127.816 +be here for you. I'll always love you. Whether you love me or not, my
 127.817 +heart will always be yours. I'll always be there to help you go
 127.818 +forward, to help show you how strong and beautiful and wonderful you
 127.819 +are. You make sure that everything will always be all right, Sakura-
 127.820 +chan. That's your magic. I just make sure that you remember it and
 127.821 +pour your heart into it." Her hand trailed to Sakura's heart. "You
 127.822 +have to believe it with all your heart. And I'm here to make sure you
 127.823 +know how true it is, how you can accomplish anything." Sakura's
 127.824 +heartbeat was quick under her palm. She left her palm there, counting
 127.825 +the beats in her mind. Sakura's heart, kissing her palm. The heiress
 127.826 +smiled softly. "Let's have cake, Sakura-chan. Your father made you
 127.827 +some. We'll have that and watch a movie. And I'll be right here with
 127.828 +you." Sakura's heart slowly calmed against her palm.The brunette
 127.829 +nodded almost imperceptibly at first, but more assuredly a second
 127.830 +time. "That sounds nice, Tomoyo-chan. I'd like that." She held
 127.831 +Tomoyo's hand to her heart, interlacing her fingers with Tomoyo's own
 127.832 +delicate fingers. She smiled when she opened her eyes, the tears
 127.833 +fading. They were a team, after all. Whatever happened. 
 127.834 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 127.835 +
 127.836 +Syaoran was so tired of talking to self-important people. How did
 127.837 +his mother handle all the meaningless blather? Yes, it was to keep
 127.838 +important ties between the Li Clan and other influential families and
 127.839 +people throughout Hong Kong. But it was so frustrating. Small talk
 127.840 +wasn't his forte. Everyone wanted to speak to the new heir to the Li
 127.841 +Clan and his mother, Ieran, made sure they were all directed neatly
 127.842 +to him. He had to make so many assurances and he had to discuss the
 127.843 +most inane things. It almost seemed like a better option to just walk
 127.844 +out of the damn thing. His sisters were much, much better with people
 127.845 +than he was, chatting away with the different guests they had.
 127.846 +Syaoran would have been happier practicing his magic out in the
 127.847 +gathering storm. It felt so crowded. He just wanted to get away for a
 127.848 +moment, but he knew he couldn't. This was his job now, his place as
 127.849 +the heir to the Li Clan. 
 127.850 +
 127.851 +A hand on his shoulder almost made him jump. Not another person to
 127.852 +talk to. His sister, Sheifa, had told him to try smiling more, but he
 127.853 +didn't feel like smiling for these people. Sighing inwardly, the
 127.854 +young magician turned to start some more worthless rambling about
 127.855 +things he didn't care for. Blink blink. A halfgrin and amber eyes met
 127.856 +his gaze. 
 127.857 +
 127.858 +Meiling smiled at him, arching a raven eyebrow. "Surprised to see
 127.859 +me? I just got here. I had to take care of some things for my
 127.860 +mother." Stepping closer, her voice dropped to a whisper. "Dance with
 127.861 +me. They'll leave you alone while you're dancing." Seeing the boy
 127.862 +hesitate for a moment, Meiling placed his hands on her body and began
 127.863 +to dance with him, moving towards the other couples who were dancing.
 127.864 +"See? That's not so bad. And no more stupid conversations you have to
 127.865 +pretend to be interested in."Syaoran let out a light sigh, giving
 127.866 +Meiling a nod as they moved. "Thanks, Meiling. I owe you one." He let
 127.867 +himself relax a bit, moving in tandem with Meiling. After years of
 127.868 +practicing martial arts with his cousin, they had very good rhythm
 127.869 +together. A few people looked on as they danced, surprised by how
 127.870 +good the two were. They knew where the other's movement would lead
 127.871 +them. It wasn't a problem of having to guess. They simply knew. So
 127.872 +for the time being, at least, Syaoran didn't have to worry about the
 127.873 +world around him. Meiling felt like an extension of himself, moving
 127.874 +with the same step as he did. 
 127.875 +
 127.876 +"Don't say that," Meiling whispered. "Or I'll hold you to it. And
 127.877 +you wouldn't like what I had you do to repay me," she warned, her
 127.878 +breath warm in his ear. She laughed softly as she saw him try to
 127.879 +scowl and fail, his cheeks just the lightest shade of red. "Your
 127.880 +sisters seem more well versed in the art of small talk." The raven
 127.881 +haired girl glanced across at one of Syaoran's sisters talking to an
 127.882 +important banker as they danced. "But I understand why you wouldn't
 127.883 +like it. I hate having to kiss up to these people. Sometimes I hate
 127.884 +family politics. Makes you just want to run off and scream." She
 127.885 +scrunched up her face and even Syaoran had to grin.
 127.886 +
 127.887 +"Yeah, I know," Syaoran replied, sighing.  "But there's nothing I
 127.888 +can do about it. This is my place now. I need to do what's best for
 127.889 +the Clan." He had been preparing for this postion his whole life. He
 127.890 +knew he was prepared for it. But that didn't make it any less
 127.891 +frustrating at times. It simply made him determined to push past it
 127.892 +all. He would prove he was a worthy successor. He would make his
 127.893 +mother proud even if it killed him.Meiling closed her eyes as they
 127.894 +danced, holding on tighter to her cousin. "I know what you mean. We
 127.895 +all have our roles to play in the family. It's bigger and more
 127.896 +important than what we want. But sometimes... Sometimes you just want
 127.897 +to go do something stupid, something just for you."
 127.898 +
 127.899 +Nodding slowly, the brunette boy felt Meiling's long pigtail swish
 127.900 +over his hand, feeling her heart beating against his chest as they
 127.901 +danced. His arms pulled her closer almost without his noticing.
 127.902 +Sometimes Meiling could seem so fragile, so delicate. It was such a
 127.903 +departure from her normally strong, confident self. He always wanted
 127.904 +to protect her when she was like that, just as he had when they had
 127.905 +been children together. He wanted to make her feel warm and safe
 127.906 +again. He held her even closer, her breath caressing his neck. She
 127.907 +did so much for him. She had been his support this whole time,
 127.908 +helping him through all the trials that faced him. He felt useless
 127.909 +for not being able to return the favor. She didn't need his
 127.910 +protection anymore. She was a big girl, a strong woman. When they had
 127.911 +been children, she had needed him. But now, it was reversed. Now he
 127.912 +needed... With a curt nod of his head, he tried to slice the thought
 127.913 +off, but it didn't entirely go away. 
 127.914 +
 127.915 +Syaoran tried to send his mind elsewhere, turning slowly with her as
 127.916 +the music and chatter of voices surrounded them. Meiling was getting
 127.917 +married soon, sacrificed as another offering for the family. He could
 127.918 +go out on a limb and try to stop the marriage, but she didn't care.
 127.919 +He felt as if he had failed her somehow. Did she love him? No, of
 127.920 +course not. But she wasn't fighting the marriage, even with her fiery
 127.921 +spirit. Had he crushed her spirits? All those years, endlessly loving
 127.922 +him, without anything in return. Had she finally just given up? He
 127.923 +wanted to make it up to her somehow, to make things better for her.
 127.924 +She'd sacrificed so much to him. 'Meiling, you were never a bother,'
 127.925 +he thought. He had told her that long ago when she'd been forced to
 127.926 +go home during his time capturing the Clow Cards. And it was true.
 127.927 +Meiling had never been a bother. She'd always been his safety net,
 127.928 +helping to keep him going. And what had he given her in return? A
 127.929 +broken heart. And here Meiling was, again trying to save him from the
 127.930 +boredom of this stupid event. She was always there for him. 
 127.931 +
 127.932 +The two continued twirling under the stars that were the lights
 127.933 +above them. Meiling's body was warm and comfortable against Syaoran's
 127.934 +strong, thin body. Her soft breathing kept a steady rhythm on his
 127.935 +shoulder, her hair swishing now and then against his hands. He
 127.936 +swallowed nervously, still moving in tandem with her. A soft sigh
 127.937 +escaped his cousin, muffled by his shoulder. 
 127.938 +
 127.939 +"I've never been good at being patient. 'I'll be your fiancee until
 127.940 +you find the one you love most.' I remember making you promise that
 127.941 +when we were little." Meiling laughed softly, her voice strained.
 127.942 +Syaoran couldn't tell if there was a sob in her voice or not. "I wish
 127.943 +you hadn't found her."
 127.944 +"Meiling..." Syaoran didn't know what to say. He never wanted to
 127.945 +break her heart. The only girl who had always cared for him. Even
 127.946 +moreso than disappointing his mother, he hated hurting Meiling. But
 127.947 +what could he say to that? It wasn't like he could just take it back.
 127.948 +His mind raced in frustrating circles, mocking him. 
 127.949 +
 127.950 +Cupping Meiling's chin, his heart pounding, he pulled her lips
 127.951 +against his own. Meiling's lips felt altogether different from
 127.952 +Sakura's, but no less as wonderful. They were frozen against his own
 127.953 +for a moment before they seemed to melt, springing to life against
 127.954 +his own. His heart beat faster as Meiling's fingers dug into him, his
 127.955 +cousin slowly kissing back.  Her lips felt so wonderful against his
 127.956 +own. They were so soft and warm and full of like. Meiling shifted,
 127.957 +her lips pushing further against his own. If he could just hold her
 127.958 +like this... Maybe he could make things better. He could finally heal
 127.959 +Meiling's broken heart. It took all of Meiling's strength to finally
 127.960 +pull away from the kiss. It was a kiss she had waited over a decade
 127.961 +for and part at her screamed that she must be mad to give up on it.
 127.962 +But she clamped down on the feelings, balling her fists and pulling
 127.963 +away from Syaoran. Her eyes narrowed to keep from betraying the
 127.964 +cacophony of the emotions inside of her. "I have to go." Her voice
 127.965 +was weaker than she would have liked, but she didn't have time to be
 127.966 +picky. As she turned to leave, his hand reached out for her. Her hand
 127.967 +launched out and caught his wrist. Her eyes shot him a glance. "You
 127.968 +have a girlfriend and I'm getting married. Great time to decide to
 127.969 +seduce me. You finally take a shot when I'm unavailable. Not very
 127.970 +sporting. I love you, Syaoran. But I will never be second best to
 127.971 +you. I'd be yours if I were your first choice. I'm not going to play
 127.972 +for you because Sakura's too far away at the moment." Turning on her
 127.973 +heal, the raven haired girl hurried out into the gathering storm, her
 127.974 +emotions mirrored in the heavens. She was disappointed and hurt and
 127.975 +apologetic all at the same time. She was angry with him and angry at
 127.976 +herself. Syaoran could only watch for a long moment, seeing Meiling
 127.977 +run out the door, tears glistening in her eyes. "Meiling!!" But it
 127.978 +was too late. She was already gone. He had thought it was what she
 127.979 +wanted. It felt so nice to finally be able to kiss her. What had gone
 127.980 +wrong? Had he been wrong? Did her heart really belong to another now?
 127.981 +"Good job, Syaoran," a voice said behind him. Fanren held her arms
 127.982 +behind her back, a bemused look on her face. "Leave me the hell
 127.983 +alone," Syaoran growled quietly, his eyes shooting daggers. "She left
 127.984 +herself open for you all these years. She kept pining after you even
 127.985 +after you started dating Sakura. But Meiling is a very proud girl.
 127.986 +She wants to be the one you love the most. She can't stand to be
 127.987 +second best. And now you're picking her because you're lonely and
 127.988 +she's getting married. You insulted her. Now she feels like she isn't
 127.989 +good enough," Fanren explained."I didn't... I never meant..." Syaoran
 127.990 +trailed off. What had he meant by it? He still loved Sakura, didn't
 127.991 +he? But what about Meiling? He hadn't meant that she was second best,
 127.992 +only that... His emotions felt so indecipherable sometimes. He closed
 127.993 +his eyes, clenching his jaw. Damn it.... He wanted to go after
 127.994 +Meiling, but he didn't know what to say. This was another time that
 127.995 +he couldn't save her.
 127.996 +
 127.997 +

   128.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   128.2 +++ b/stories/CCScharity_4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   128.3 @@ -0,0 +1,703 @@
   128.4 +Learning to Fly Chapter Four
   128.5 +by 
   128.6 +The Amazoness Duo 
   128.7 +and
   128.8 +G.P. 
   128.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  128.10 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  128.11 +
  128.12 +
  128.13 +
  128.14 +"Where is he?" Sakura whined, hugging herself in an attempt to fight
  128.15 +off the cold evening that was settling in. "He's always late. It's
  128.16 +because he works so much. How does Yukito put up with him?" the
  128.17 +brunette asked, turning to her elegantly dressed friend. As usual,
  128.18 +Sakura thought Tomoyo put her to shame. Though they'd both dressed up
  128.19 +for dinner, Tomoyo's lavender ensemble seemed more refined than
  128.20 +Sakura's more simple green dress. Her pale friend was absolutely
  128.21 +gorgeous. Sakura's heart raced at the memory of helping Tomoyo braid
  128.22 +her beautiful dark tresses before they left. Momentarily forgetting
  128.23 +her complaints, the Cardmistress could only stop and stare. She shot
  128.24 +an angry look at two older boys who were gawking at Tomoyo, stepping
  128.25 +closer to the shorter girl protectively. Ignoring most of the stares
  128.26 +that came her way, with the obvious exception of Sakura's glances,
  128.27 +Tomoyo smiled. "Yukito-san must have boundless patience, then." The
  128.28 +occasion for the night's outing was a dinner with Sakura's brother
  128.29 +and his boyfriend, the object of Sakura's childhood affection. Now
  128.30 +that Sakura no longer lived with her brother, his busy lifestyle made
  128.31 +it hard to stay in touch with him. Little things like going out for
  128.32 +dinner helped keep them close. 
  128.33 +
  128.34 +"You must be even more patient than Yuki if you can somehow put up
  128.35 +with the monster," Touya deadpanned from behind the two girls, his
  128.36 +white haired lover in tow.
  128.37 +
  128.38 +"I'm not a little girl! You can't call me a monster anymore!" Sakura
  128.39 +argued, clenching her fists and shaking them at the imposing image of
  128.40 +her tall, dark haired brother. 
  128.41 +
  128.42 +The tall man shrugged. "If it looks like a monster and acts like a
  128.43 +monster...""It's good to see you both again," Yukito cut in, smiling
  128.44 +pleasantly at the younger girls. 
  128.45 +
  128.46 +Lightening up visibly, Sakura smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's
  128.47 +good to see you, too.""Now she's calm. Let's get something to eat
  128.48 +before she snaps again," Touya suggested, pushing the restaurant door
  128.49 +open. Harumphing, Sakura led Tomoyo past Touya and into the warmth of
  128.50 +the restaurant beyond. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  128.51 +
  128.52 +The restaurant was spacious but crowded. The group of four sat in a
  128.53 +back corner, a myriad sampling of food spread out before them. "Too
  128.54 +bad Kero-chan's not here. He'd love this," Sakura mused, reaching
  128.55 +over with her chopsticks indecisively. So much food. It was difficult
  128.56 +to decide where to begin."Yuki will be sure to eat enough for him,
  128.57 +too," Touya promised, watching some of the food before him disappear
  128.58 +thanks to his ever hungry boyfriend. 
  128.59 +
  128.60 +"What have you been doing lately, onii-chan?" Chestnut hair fell to
  128.61 +one side as Sakura tilted her head curiously. "I haven't seen you on
  128.62 +campus much. I hoped I'd get to see more of you.""He's been working
  128.63 +mostly. When he's not in class, he's at work. You know Touya. He has
  128.64 +to keep busy or he's not happy," Yukito replied between mouthfuls.
  128.65 +"Onii-chan is ever happy?" Sakura asked, blinking incredulously. "I
  128.66 +thought that was impossible." She couldn't help but smile as Tomoyo
  128.67 +giggled beside her. "You always look so grumpy.""I'm plenty happy.
  128.68 +It's better than being so excitable. You end up crying over the
  128.69 +simplest things or you're excited over the tiniest details. I'd
  128.70 +rather just sail smoothly through everything," Touya countered."But
  128.71 +it's cute that Sakura-chan's so excitable! It means everything she
  128.72 +encounters affects her in some way. She's so emotive. That's why it's
  128.73 +so much fun to watch her." Sighing dreamily, Tomoyo cast her eyes on
  128.74 +Sakura, watching her friend blush and fumble with her napkin. Sakura
  128.75 +was always so cute when she was embarrassed. And if Syaoran wasn't
  128.76 +going to be around to embarrass her, then it was Tomoyo's duty to get
  128.77 +a blush on Sakura's cheeks whenever possible. Hoping to change the
  128.78 +subject, Sakura looked up at her brother. "So... ummm... What jobs
  128.79 +are you working this week? You're not going ot have to run off to
  128.80 +wait tables in a minute, are you?" 
  128.81 +
  128.82 +Touya shook his head, sipping some tea before replying. "No, I don't
  128.83 +work here. It's just a nice restaurant. Yuki and I came here to
  128.84 +celebrate some things a while back. I'm working at a bar now.""A
  128.85 +bar?" Sakura repeated.
  128.86 +
  128.87 +"He's a bartender there. He's getting pretty good at it, too,"
  128.88 +Yukito answered. "I'll go just to watch him make the drinks. He has
  128.89 +very nimble hands.""So does Sakura-chan." Taking one of Sakura's
  128.90 +hands in her own, Tomoyo let her fingers trace over Sakura's creamy
  128.91 +skin. She could tell Sakura's blush worsened, but the other girl
  128.92 +didn't pull her hand away. Smiling, Tomoyo continued to caress
  128.93 +Sakura's hand. To the heiress's surprise, Sakura's fingers curled
  128.94 +around her own, holding on warmly. Her heart swooned at the
  128.95 +feeling.Raising an eyebrow, Touya watched the two girls for a moment.
  128.96 +"I'm so glad you finally started dating Tomoyo. She's much better for
  128.97 +you than the brat ever was. I've been waiting for you two to get
  128.98 +together since you were kids. It was so obvious."Sakura's faint blush
  128.99 +escalated to near crimson. "Obvious? But..."Touya nodded,
 128.100 +interrupting. "Very obvious. How you were always blushing around her
 128.101 +and getting moony about things. I'm surprised it took you so
 128.102 +long."Simply watching the exchange, Tomoyo continued to nibble on her
 128.103 +food. This was certainly interesting. "But we're not dating..."
 128.104 +Sakura got out at last, her heart pounding. Why did the mention of
 128.105 +them dating get her so excited? Why was her heart beating so fast?
 128.106 +Hoe... Why was this all so confusing? Touya's eyes were still staring
 128.107 +in her direction. She followed his gaze to her hand, still
 128.108 +interlocked with Tomoyo's. Pulling her hand away in a hurry, she
 128.109 +placed both hands on her lap, staring at her plate. Stupid Touya. Why
 128.110 +did he have to mention anything? It felt so nice to hold Tomoyo's
 128.111 +hand like that. 
 128.112 +
 128.113 +"Oh..." Touya rolled this news over for a moment in his head before
 128.114 +continuing. "So you are still dating the brat?""Yeah..." Sakura
 128.115 +responded, still staring at the table. Why was that answer so
 128.116 +dissatisfying to say? It didn't hold the magic it once did, and none
 128.117 +of the excitement that even her denial of a relationship with Tomoyo
 128.118 +had held. Syaoran was overseas. He was her boyfriend. She felt safe
 128.119 +with him. But Tomoyo... A surge of emotions came at the thought of
 128.120 +her friend, the thoughts exciting and delicious and terrifying all at
 128.121 +once. Tomoyo made her feel so alive. So warm. So loved. It was such a
 128.122 +completely different feeling from the relative safety that Syaoran
 128.123 +offered.
 128.124 +
 128.125 +Tomoyo was her best friend. Syaoran was her boyfriend. So why
 128.126 +couldn't she be happy with the way things were? That question haunted
 128.127 +her throughout the rest of the dinner. 
 128.128 +
 128.129 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 128.130 +
 128.131 +The cold night air blanketed the dark haired pair, a stark contrast
 128.132 +to the warmth held inside the restaurant. Keeping an eye on the
 128.133 +fragile seeming heiress, Touya offered his jacket. Smiling, she
 128.134 +accepted gratefully, sliding her arms into the protective warmth of
 128.135 +the much too large coat. She was absolutely stunning, a beautiful
 128.136 +princess shimmering under the glow of the moonlight. The years had
 128.137 +been kind on the Daidouji girl. At one time Touya had considered her
 128.138 +a cute kid, but now he had to admit that she was gorgeous. It was a
 128.139 +similar beauty to what he had seen when his mother's ghost had
 128.140 +visited him, ethereal and angelic. He wondered if Sakura was as
 128.141 +blinded to the angel that never left her side as she had been to her
 128.142 +mother's ghost when she was a child. 
 128.143 +
 128.144 +"I wonder why Sakura-chan wanted to speak with Yuki," Touya stated
 128.145 +after a moment's silence. 
 128.146 +
 128.147 +Her eyes cast skyward at the glittering jewels that were the stars,
 128.148 +Tomoyo spoke, her soft voice carrying on the crisp night air. "Sakura-
 128.149 +chan is full of mysteries."This caused Touya to furrow an eyebrow. "I
 128.150 +don't think the monster could be mysterious if she tried." He nearly
 128.151 +smiled at the giggle his comment drew forth from the heiress. He
 128.152 +always enjoyed Tomoyo's company. If he'd been Sakura's age, they
 128.153 +would have made great friends. 
 128.154 +
 128.155 +"I think Sakura-chan's asking for advice about something," Tomoyo
 128.156 +ammended her previous statement, her hands disappearing inside the
 128.157 +long jacket sleeves. A shake of her head freed her face from her long
 128.158 +dark hair, letting the breeze caress her cheeks. "She's asking Yuki's
 128.159 +advice?" Touya glanced questioningly at the short girl. Her silence
 128.160 +told him all he needed to know. "Yue's advice." Nodding, he returned
 128.161 +his gaze to the late traffic. "I wonder what she wants from Yue.
 128.162 +Unless she just wants to see how cute he is one last time before she
 128.163 +runs off and gets married to the brat.""I don't think you have to
 128.164 +worry about that," Tomoyo assured the dark haired man. "Yue-san is
 128.165 +very beautiful, but I think Sakura-chan just wants help figuring
 128.166 +something out." Her mind was drifting elsewhere, back to the dinner.
 128.167 +Sakura had been somewhat distracted. Hopefully Sakura's chat with Yue
 128.168 +would fix things, though Tomoyo doubted it. What was bothering Sakura
 128.169 +was more complex than something she could simply ask the answer to.
 128.170 +Some answers only come to us when we have exhausted all other
 128.171 +possibilities. Some wait til we have nowhere left to turn but inward.
 128.172 +And Sakura's inner world was something that the brunette had always
 128.173 +had trouble understanding.Touya slipped his hands into his pockets,
 128.174 +shaking his head. "Then why isn't Sakura-chan going to you? She's
 128.175 +always run to you whenever she has a problem. Especially when she
 128.176 +needs help figuring things out." Turning to look at the heiress, he
 128.177 +could see that her pale features were set in a serious, somewhat sad
 128.178 +look. "Because I can't help her this time," Tomoyo said simply.
 128.179 +Licking her lips, she busied herself with trying to spot where her
 128.180 +bodyguards had hidden themselves away this time. A helpless feeling
 128.181 +bubbled up, encasing her heart. It was the same feeling she'd always
 128.182 +had whenever Sakura had been in physical danger, the knowledge that
 128.183 +she was helpless to protect Sakura. It was icy cold and devestating.
 128.184 +That feeling was one of the primary reasons she had pushed Sakura
 128.185 +towards Syaoran. Syaoran could protect her from whatever magical
 128.186 +dangers came her way, something Tomoyo couldn't do. But with matters
 128.187 +of the heart, Tomoyo had always been able to comfort Sakura in some
 128.188 +way. Not this time. That thought left her feeling useless to the girl
 128.189 +she loved. Sakura needed her and yet she couldn't lift a finger to
 128.190 +help. 
 128.191 +
 128.192 +"Why not? You've always steered Sakura well so far. I swear she
 128.193 +would've ended up running into a wall without you there. You've made
 128.194 +my duties as a big brother a lot easier. I can actually get some
 128.195 +sleep when I know you're around to keep her out of trouble." Touya
 128.196 +was grateful for all Tomoyo had done for his sister. Though he teased
 128.197 +her, he was intensely protective of Sakura. Tomoyo had been Sakura's
 128.198 +safety net from almost the day they met. It relieved him to know that
 128.199 +Tomoyo was there for Sakura when he couldn't be. "Because I think I'm
 128.200 +involved." A breeze played with the jacket, making it sway around the
 128.201 +delicate heiress, her long, dark hair following suit. Her pale
 128.202 +fingers peaked out of the sleeves as she held the jacket closer. "I
 128.203 +can't give Sakura any advice on this if it's about me. I have to let
 128.204 +her decide. I can't tell her what's in her heart. Not this time.
 128.205 +Because I'm too close. I made a mistake last time. I won't do that
 128.206 +again. I have to let Sakura find out for herself what's in her
 128.207 +heart.""You were only looking out for her. Few people would have done
 128.208 +what you did, trying to get her with someone else so she'd be happy."
 128.209 +Placing a hand on her shoulder, he looked down into her stormy blue
 128.210 +eyes. "You've always been looking out for her. You've always been
 128.211 +working for her best interests, even when she didn't see that. You've
 128.212 +sacrificed so that she'd be happy. If that doesn't make you worthy of
 128.213 +her love, I don't know what does." Squeezing her shoulder lightly for
 128.214 +emphasis, he continued. "If I'd been the one trying to push her in
 128.215 +anyone's direction, I'd have wanted her with you over the brat
 128.216 +anyday. Don't scare yourself with thoughts of whether or not you're
 128.217 +good enough for her, Tomoyo-chan. Because I know you are. You'd be my
 128.218 +first choice for her."Slowly, a smile spread across Tomoyo's face.
 128.219 +Looking up, she brushed back her hair. "Thank you, Touya-san.""Don't
 128.220 +mention it. I should thank you for trying to take the monster off my
 128.221 +hands." Touya let go, glancing once again around the parking lot.
 128.222 +"Now where are those two? Some lovers they turn out to be, making us
 128.223 +wait in the cold like this."Smiling, Tomoyo cast her eyes to the
 128.224 +stars once more. Touya was right. It was up to Sakura now. And
 128.225 +whatever Sakura decided, she would always be by her side. Doubts
 128.226 +would only hold her back.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 128.227 +
 128.228 +Sakura walked nervously alongside her onetime crush and protector,
 128.229 +Yukito. The older man smiled at her, but this only served to make the
 128.230 +young Cardmistress fidget even more. Snow the color of Yukito's hair
 128.231 +began to dance around them, swirling lazily about the two. Hugging
 128.232 +her jacket closer, the athletic girl struggled to make sense of the
 128.233 +maelstrom in her head. She couldn't talk to Tomoyo about this because
 128.234 +Tomoyo was the whole reason her heart was flittering so wildly. She
 128.235 +surely couldn't ask Syaoran. How would the proud future leader of the
 128.236 +Li Clan react to his girlfriend asking him about her feelings towards
 128.237 +another girl? Kero's advice was suspect at best. Her brother's
 128.238 +preferences over the two closest to Sakura's heart was obvious. That
 128.239 +left her stoic guardian, the Judgement himself. "Yukito-san," Sakura
 128.240 +finally got out through numb lips. "I need to speak to Yue."
 128.241 +
 128.242 +In a dazzling display of cool light and wings, the man who had stood
 128.243 +next to her was replaced by his counterpart, the long haired
 128.244 +guardian, Yue. "Yes, Sakura-sama."
 128.245 +
 128.246 +That title always made Sakura want to squirm. It felt too heavy
 128.247 +resting on her shoulders. She didn't like the thought of being in
 128.248 +charge. She just wanted to be friends with her 'subjects'. But now
 128.249 +wasn't the time for her discomfort over titles. How was she supposed
 128.250 +to begin? She'd never been good at talking about love. It left her
 128.251 +feeling confused and tongue-tied. The words finally escaped her in a
 128.252 +rush. "How do you know you're in love?"Silence surrounded the
 128.253 +ethereal pair for a long moment. When Yue spoke, he arched an eyebrow
 128.254 +curiously. "Isn't this better asked of Tomoyo? Or perhaps Dark and
 128.255 +Light? Love has never really been my strong point.""But you and Touya
 128.256 +seem so happy. You look like you belong together. When I'm with
 128.257 +Syaoran..." Sakura trailed off, looking down at the gathering snow
 128.258 +for a moment. "It doesn't feel that way. And I can't ask Tomoyo.
 128.259 +She's... I..." The Carmistress blushed and held her hands to her
 128.260 +heart. "Tomoyo's in love with me. But I don't know how I feel. I
 128.261 +thought I was in love with Syaoran. But now I don't know anymore.
 128.262 +Tomoyo makes me feel so... hanyan... When I'm with her, my heart
 128.263 +starts pounding. It's like I'm short of breath. And the things she
 128.264 +says... The thought of her finding someone else, of someone else
 128.265 +getting Tomoyo's love, it makes me feel miserable. I don't know what
 128.266 +I'd do without her."Yue smirked, crossing his arms regally. "It
 128.267 +sounds to me like you've answered your own questions, Sakura-sama.
 128.268 +Perhaps you just needed someone to listen.""What? No, I..." Sakura's
 128.269 +blush deepened as she shook her head. "That wasn't what I meant.
 128.270 +I..." But her words did ring with a certain truth, didn't they? The
 128.271 +way Tomoyo made her feel was something she had taken for granted as a
 128.272 +child. But now that she understood how her friend felt, it made
 128.273 +Sakura wonder about her own feelings. Were they the same? 
 128.274 +
 128.275 +"Yuki, we need to get going or I'll be late for work." Turning at
 128.276 +the sound of her brother's voice, Sakura saw Touya and Tomoyo walking
 128.277 +towards them. Yukito walked past to join Touya, already having
 128.278 +reverted back from his true form. Questions still lingered in the
 128.279 +Cardmistress's mind even as Tomoyo approached her. A smile spread
 128.280 +across her lips nonetheless as she took the few steps to reach her
 128.281 +beautiful friend. Even if questions lingered, she still loved being
 128.282 +with her friend. And that was enough for now.
 128.283 +
 128.284 +"Touya wanted to know if we wanted to go to the bar he worked at
 128.285 +with them," Tomoyo explained, brushing back her dark hair from her
 128.286 +pale face. She felt better after talking to Touya and could only hope
 128.287 +that Sakura felt the same way after her conversation with Yukito. She
 128.288 +couldn't help but return the smile Sakura gave her, falling alongside
 128.289 +her athletic friend. "Unless the monster is too little," Touya added,
 128.290 +slipping an arm around Yukito as they walked. Sakura's fists balled
 128.291 +up as she followed her elder brother. "I am not! I'm plenty old
 128.292 +enough to go to the bar." Her dreams of one day growing up and being
 128.293 +taller than him were hampered by the fact that he was still
 128.294 +incredibly taller than her. Sakura could only claim to be taller than
 128.295 +Tomoyo, and even then it was only by a few inches. "Come on, Tomoyo-
 128.296 +chan. We don't have work tomorrow. It'll be fun." Whether she really
 128.297 +thought it would be fun or she was just trying to prove her brother
 128.298 +wrong, Sakura couldn't rightly say. The two thoughts bled together
 128.299 +until they were practically the same thing. 
 128.300 +
 128.301 +Still, seeing her brother with his arm around the slender white
 128.302 +haired man made her own heart years. Her fists unclenched as she
 128.303 +found herself gazing sidelong at her friend. It would feel so nice to
 128.304 +hold Tomoyo like that, to feel the soft, frail girl in her arm,
 128.305 +moving against her as they walked. The heiress was so elegent, so
 128.306 +gorgeous. Her steps seemed almost perfect, making her seem to glide
 128.307 +along barely touching the floor. How would it feel to hold onto her,
 128.308 +to feel Tomoyo melt against her side? "Are you coming with us or are
 128.309 +you going to walk the whole way?" Touya asked, shattering Sakura's
 128.310 +thoughts. "What?" Embarrassment colored the brunette's cheeks as she
 128.311 +saw Touya and Yukito getting on their bikes. Tomoyo slid up behind
 128.312 +her brother, her arms going around his waist to hold on. "Oh... Yeah,
 128.313 +I'm coming." Sakura climbed up behind Yukito, holding on as the
 128.314 +taller boy pushed the bike into motion. For some reason this didn't
 128.315 +hold the excitement it once had. Her eyes found their way back to
 128.316 +Tomoyo, the heiress sitting demurely on the back of Touya's bike just
 128.317 +as she had once sat on the back of Sakura's staff when they would fly
 128.318 +through the night. A pang of loss struck Sakura as those memories
 128.319 +resurfaced. She missed gliding through the air with Tomoyo so close
 128.320 +to her. When she flew with her wings, it could feel so lonely. But
 128.321 +when she had flown on her staff with Tomoyo, they were sharing the
 128.322 +night sky together. But now that seemed so long ago. They weren't
 128.323 +children anymore. That magic seemed far away. She longed to be on the
 128.324 +bike near Tomoyo, the two of them free as the wind. Catching Sakura's
 128.325 +gaze, Tomoyo smiled at her friend. Sakura's nostalgic look was
 128.326 +replaced by a smile of her own. They watched each other for a long
 128.327 +time as the snow and lit up streets zipped past around them. The
 128.328 +beauty around them couldn't compare with the beauty of her best
 128.329 +friend, the wind and snow playing through her hair. For a moment,
 128.330 +Tomoyo wished that she had her camcorder with her. But Sakura was
 128.331 +always a beautiful sight. For now she was content to simply watch,
 128.332 +their eyes never breaking for more than a few seconds. Did Sakura
 128.333 +have any idea how she affected her? How her heart would swell just by
 128.334 +being near the brunette? Even the Cardmistress couldn't know just how
 128.335 +strong her spells could be. "I love you, Sakura," she whispered to
 128.336 +her friend, knowing Sakura couldn't hear her as they sped along on
 128.337 +the bikes. She thought she saw Sakura's mouth move shortly afterwards.
 128.338 +
 128.339 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 128.340 +"I think you've just been around your sisters so long that you don't
 128.341 +know how to treat a girl's heart," Fanren explained, sitting on an
 128.342 +ornamental stone as Syaoran continued practicing, his limbs moving
 128.343 +nimbly about in the different poses. "And what makes you think that?"
 128.344 +Syaoran asked dryly, switching his balance as he moved. Martial arts
 128.345 +was one thing he could count on. Overemotional girlfriends and pissed
 128.346 +off cousins were far away when he was training. Unfortunately, his
 128.347 +big sister wasn't about to let him escape completely."Because Meiling
 128.348 +hasn't been here in days." She leaned forward and spoke in a
 128.349 +conspiratorial whisper. "I heard she punched a whole in her wall."
 128.350 +Sweatdropping, Syaoran tried not to lose his balance. "That's just a
 128.351 +rumor. So what can't I figure out a girl's heart if I grew up with so
 128.352 +many girls, huh?"Fanren grinned, watching her intent little brother.
 128.353 +"Because you think like a girl, silly."
 128.354 +
 128.355 +Syaoran nearly stumbled at this bit of news. Whirling about, his
 128.356 +eyes narrowed. "I what?""You think like a girl. You've grown up with
 128.357 +all your big sisters and mom. You don't think like a boy. A boy would
 128.358 +be expected to try to figure out a girl's heart so they could one day
 128.359 +marry so you'd have someone to help you with the Li Clan. But you
 128.360 +practically grew up as a girl. Boy's hearts are easier for you to
 128.361 +understand because they're simpler. Like that boy you had a crush on
 128.362 +who ate all the time."Syaoran's cheeks flushed as he went back to his
 128.363 +training. Let Fanren air her crazy theory if it would make her feel
 128.364 +better. She was his big sister, so he was obligated to at least
 128.365 +listen. "That was different. I liked him because his magic attracted
 128.366 +mine."Laughing, Fanren shook her head. "You keep telling yourself
 128.367 +that, Syaoran. Anyway, it's the same way the rest of your sisters
 128.368 +think. They don't have to deal with the subtleties of a girl's heart.
 128.369 +They can work their feminine wiles on a boy and more often than not,
 128.370 +he'll be theirs. You can't expect the same tricks to work on girls as
 128.371 +boys.""And just how did you get to be so insightful?" Syaoran asked,
 128.372 +shooting her a glance.
 128.373 +
 128.374 +A smirk crossed the elder siblings lips as she shrugged. "I like
 128.375 +boys and girls, so I needed to learn the rules for both."
 128.376 +
 128.377 +Syaoran didn't know how to answer, his cheeks flushing."So I think
 128.378 +I'm in a unique position to understand how difficult things must be
 128.379 +for my little brother. You're having the same problems I did when I
 128.380 +was first trying to figure out how to go about winning a girl's
 128.381 +heart. You're still too used to falling for boys, so it's confusing
 128.382 +you. Meiling doesn't work the way you're used to.""I'm dating
 128.383 +Sakura!" Syaoran finally shot back. "She's a girl, or did you just
 128.384 +forget that?" His pride was wounded and he only knew to fight back.
 128.385 +His sister thought he had grown up as a girl, that he didn't know how
 128.386 +to figure out a girl's heart. Of course he did. He was dating the
 128.387 +Cardmistress. "No offense, Syaoran, but that hardly counts. Sakura's
 128.388 +more tomboyish than you are." She saw him wince at that and quickly
 128.389 +moved to reassure him. "It's not a problem. It's not like you're any
 128.390 +less a person for it. You're my wonderful little brother. It's just
 128.391 +that you grew up more like a little sister, so these things that boys
 128.392 +have to deal with end up being confusing. But that isn't your fault.
 128.393 +Who was supposed to explain them to you? One of your sisters? Mom?
 128.394 +And Wei's too old for that sort of thing."
 128.395 +
 128.396 +"So you're supposed to teach me how to be a man?" Syaoran asked
 128.397 +incredulously. What would she know about being a man? And having the
 128.398 +nerve to call him, the heir to the Li Clan, her little sister. But he
 128.399 +couldn't get himself to just leave or to quit listening to her. Maybe
 128.400 +it was that he felt so off balance with Meiling angry at him. Or
 128.401 +maybe he sensed some truth in her words. Yukito had been so much
 128.402 +easier to have a crush on. That had made sense to him. Sakura was a
 128.403 +little more confusing and it always felt like he was doing the wrong
 128.404 +things with Meiling. 
 128.405 +
 128.406 +"Well, I can't teach you how to be a man. I think you're fine the
 128.407 +way you are. Though you could smile a bit more." The older girl
 128.408 +winked at her brother. "I can, on the other hand, help you figure out
 128.409 +how to understand a girl's heart. Which might help patch things up
 128.410 +with Meiling. And if you're going to stop her from getting
 128.411 +married...""That isn't my problem. If she's going to get married,
 128.412 +that's her business," Syaoran said frostily. 
 128.413 +
 128.414 +"It's not her choice, Syaoran," Fanren reminded him gently."She
 128.415 +could fight it. I know Meiling. She's a fighter. So why would she
 128.416 +just give up?" Anger fueled his motions as he kicked and punched at
 128.417 +the air in front of him."Because she doesn't feel like she has
 128.418 +anything to fight for. Why keep fighting if she has no reason? What
 128.419 +good would arguing the wedding be? I think she's tired of fighting
 128.420 +it." A small smile passed across Fanren's lips. "But I'm sure we
 128.421 +could change that.Syaoran couldn't help himself. He turned quickly,
 128.422 +his eyes burning with intensity.
 128.423 +"How?"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 128.424 +
 128.425 +Though Tomoyo was fairly certain her mother had ended up in bars
 128.426 +several times for various reasons, either while talking to business
 128.427 +associates or lamenting her beloved Nadeshiko, Tomoyo herself had
 128.428 +never been to one. It was a bit exciting to be in such a different
 128.429 +atmosphere. She somehow didn't think it would be nearly as exciting
 128.430 +without Sakura so near. Staying close to the other girl, Tomoyo
 128.431 +followed right behind Sakura. Touya, meanwhile, took his blace behind
 128.432 +the bar dressed in his uniform, relieving a fellow employee. He
 128.433 +wasted no time in getting to work. Sakura slid up onto a stool near
 128.434 +the bar, followed closely by Tomoyo. Emerald eyes looked all about
 128.435 +the nicely decorated yet dimly lit bar. People mingled about all
 128.436 +over. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves.
 128.437 +
 128.438 +"You have to order something if you're going to sit there," Touya
 128.439 +cautioned, cleaning out some of the glasses.Nibbling on her lower
 128.440 +lips, Sakura nodded after a moment. "Okay. Get me whatever the usual
 128.441 +is.""I'll have one, too," Tomoyo followed. One certainly couldn't
 128.442 +hurt. And she could call her bodyguards to drive them home. 
 128.443 +
 128.444 +"Are you sure?" Touya asked, raising an eyebrow. When the two girls
 128.445 +nodded, he went about getting them their drinks. Seeing his sister
 128.446 +drunk was an awkward thought, but if she did anything stupid, at
 128.447 +least he'd have stories to hold over her for the rest of her life.
 128.448 +And if she was going to try it, he felt a lot better about it being
 128.449 +when he could keep an eye on her rather than somewhere else. "Here
 128.450 +you are, ladies." He produced the two glasses, sliding them to his
 128.451 +sister and her friend. Taking her glass, Sakura examined the amber
 128.452 +liquid for a long moment. Catching sight of her brother watching her
 128.453 +even as he helped another customer, the Cardmistress decided to throw
 128.454 +caution to the wind. She wasn't going to look like a stupid little
 128.455 +kid in front of him. Raising the glass, she took a long drink. And
 128.456 +almost coughed it back up. The liquid tasted vile, almost burning her
 128.457 +throat as it went down. She swore she saw Touya smirk as he walked
 128.458 +past. Harumphing, she tried again, closing her eyes this time as the
 128.459 +liquid burned down into her belly. Having accomplished that much, she
 128.460 +made she he was watching the next time she took a drink. 'I'm not a
 128.461 +little kid anymore, Onii-chan,' she thought triumphantly.
 128.462 +
 128.463 +Tomoyo watched her friend take her first few drinks before trying
 128.464 +her own. Sakura was so cute even while trying to prove that she was a
 128.465 +big girl. The heiress took a sip of her own drink. So that's why
 128.466 +Sakura was having a hard time with it. She could see why businessmen
 128.467 +would talk business over such hearty drinks. It must show how intent
 128.468 +they were to drink such strong things. And if it helped them loosen
 128.469 +up while they were at it, they probably wouldn't complain. Tomoyo
 128.470 +decided on the slow and steady approach to finishing her own drink,
 128.471 +rather than the occasional gulps that Sakura seemed to favor. The two
 128.472 +stayed that way for some time. Tomoyo kept sipping at her drink while
 128.473 +Sakura would take big gulps of hers when Touya would come past. Touya
 128.474 +would occasionally refill Sakura's glass when it would near the
 128.475 +bottom. The music played around them, enveloping them in the almost
 128.476 +mysterious atmosphere around them. Tomoyo kept watching Sakura as she
 128.477 +absentmindedly nursed her drink. Watching Sakura was, after all, her
 128.478 +favorite hobby.Meanwhile, Sakura was getting a bit tipsy. She hadn't
 128.479 +quite gotten used to the taste of the stuff, but it had stopped being
 128.480 +so difficult to drink. By now Touya surely wasn't thinking of her as
 128.481 +a kid. She grinned at the thought. Good. That would show him to treat
 128.482 +her like a child. Her head moved slightly in tune to the music
 128.483 +surrounding her, letting her mind wander. She forgot all about Touya
 128.484 +and trying to prove anything to him. Stormy blue eyes caught her own
 128.485 +emerald eyes like a magnet, reeling her in. She smiled brightly at
 128.486 +Tomoyo, swiveling to look at her friend. It felt so nice to have
 128.487 +Tomoyo's eyes on her, to have all of Tomoyo's attention like that. It
 128.488 +made her feel special. And not special because of any magic or power
 128.489 +she had, but special simply for who she was in the eyes of her best
 128.490 +friend. Tomoyo was so sweet. 
 128.491 +
 128.492 +Her foot swept out, gently pushing against Tomoyo's sandal-clad feet
 128.493 +under the stools. The heiress looked only momentarily puzzled before
 128.494 +her foot pushed back lightly. Giggling, Sakura continued playing with
 128.495 +Tomoyo's foot. Leaning over, she had to speak in a loud whisper to be
 128.496 +heard. "Ne, Tomoyo-chan, do you want to dance?" Everyone else was
 128.497 +dancing and it seemed a shame to just sit there all night. Besides,
 128.498 +it would be so nice to feel Tomoyo so close, to move across the floor
 128.499 +holding onto her. 
 128.500 +
 128.501 +"I'd love to, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo replied, sliding gingerly off of
 128.502 +her seat and taking Sakura's hand. Her heartbeat quickened as she
 128.503 +felt Sakura's warm hand holding onto her own, pulling her inexorably
 128.504 +towards the dance floor. She had learned to dance with her mother
 128.505 +when she was young, danding at first on the tall woman's feet to the
 128.506 +music her mother would put on. Being able to dance with Sakura had a
 128.507 +dreamlike quality to it. She almost couldn't believe it was
 128.508 +happening. Little moments like that gave her a taste of what it must
 128.509 +feel like for Syaoran to be dating the beautiful tomboy. She found
 128.510 +those little tastes delicious and treasured them deep within her
 128.511 +heart. A warm smile lit up her face even as her heart played a
 128.512 +staccato beat in her heart while Sakura's arms went around her,
 128.513 +pulling her close. Her mind whirled but she made no attempt to stop
 128.514 +it. Though she hadn't expected to be dancing so very close to Sakura,
 128.515 +she was thankful for the chance to. 
 128.516 +
 128.517 +The music danced around them like The Flower Card as Sakura held her
 128.518 +dark haired friend close. Their bodies moved together under the the
 128.519 +dim lights. Tomoyo's soft figure felt wonderful up close in Sakura's
 128.520 +arms. Tomoyo was just as elegant dancing as she was walking, her
 128.521 +skirt twirling about as they danced. Sakura's own athleticism helped,
 128.522 +though her state of mind made her slip up now and then. Tomoyo hardly
 128.523 +seemed to notice the few mistakes. Had dancing ever felt this good
 128.524 +with Syaoran? When they danced, Syaoran always felt so guarded, as if
 128.525 +he were simply trying to prove his capabilities in the situation. It
 128.526 +never felt like he was simply there, dancing alone with her. But the
 128.527 +people seemed to melt away as she danced with Tomoyo. The heiress's
 128.528 +hands found their way to her back, holding onto her there as they
 128.529 +danced, Tomoyo's body unabashedly hers as she led it this way and
 128.530 +that in their dance. It was a glorious feeling. Tomoyo trusted her
 128.531 +wholeheartedly, adrift in her arms. And Sakura pulled her along,
 128.532 +never letting go. 
 128.533 +
 128.534 +An eternity later, the two pulled themselves away from the dance
 128.535 +floor, finding a nice spot to catch their collective breath. Tomoyo
 128.536 +leaned against the wall, her heart still pounding from the whirlwind
 128.537 +ride it had been on during their dance. Oh, to be able to dance with
 128.538 +Sakura like that whenever. Syaoran was the luckiest boy under the
 128.539 +heavens. Slumping against the wall next to Tomoyo, Sakura's green
 128.540 +eyes refused to leave the flushed heiress. "You're so beautiful,
 128.541 +Tomoyo-chan," Sakura found herself whispering, her fingers stroking
 128.542 +through Tomoyo's luxurious hair. Her worries from earlier that night
 128.543 +felt like that had melted away, evaporating into nothing. She felt
 128.544 +free in that way she'd wished to reclaim with Tomoyo up in the sky.
 128.545 +Tomoyo blushed faintly, unable to pull away from Sakura's emerald
 128.546 +orbs. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. But you're the beautiful one. Even
 128.547 +when you aren't there, your beauty is still burnt into my mind."
 128.548 +Reaching out, her lithe fingers brushed past Sakura's cheek softly.
 128.549 +"You're so gorgeous. It's no wonder everyone loves you. I can't
 128.550 +imagine anyone being able to resist your charms. I know I never
 128.551 +could."Giggling, Sakura slid closer to her friend, twirling Tomoyo's
 128.552 +hair around her fingers. "But you never tried. I'm sure you could if
 128.553 +you wanted to. You're the prettiest, smartest, most talented girl I
 128.554 +know. I'm still surprised you haven't found someone better
 128.555 +yet.""There can't be anyone better than you. You're the one I love.
 128.556 +Everything about you..." Tomoyo kicked herself after the words had
 128.557 +escaped. Yeah, good job. How was Sakura supposed to believe that
 128.558 +Tomoyo would be okay when Sakura married Syaoran if Tomoyo still
 128.559 +believed Sakura was her perfect person? Well, it was out now. Sakura
 128.560 +already knew that she loved her. But Tomoyo didn't want Sakura to
 128.561 +think she could never fall in love with someone else. She didn't want
 128.562 +to make Sakura feel guilty. "Hoe... Tomoyo-chan, you always say the
 128.563 +sweetest things," Sakura crooned, burying her nose in Tomoyo's hair.
 128.564 +Tomoyo's eyes closed while she nuzzled the wonderfully soft hair,
 128.565 +enhaling Tomoyo's wonderful scent. Tomoyo shuddered almost
 128.566 +imperceptibly against her. The Cardmistress loved hearing that, even
 128.567 +if she felt guilty about having Tomoyo's love so completely. But it
 128.568 +was such a wonderful sensation knowing that the other girl loved her
 128.569 +so much, that Tomoyo would see her as an angel. Tomoyo was the most
 128.570 +amazing girl she knew. Having Tomoyo see her like that always made
 128.571 +her feel like she could move mountains. "We should get home, Sakura-
 128.572 +chan," Tomoyo said after taking a moment to compose herself. "It's
 128.573 +getting late." Gracing Sakura with her patented smile, she dug in her
 128.574 +purse to pull out her cellphone, quickly dialing her bodyguards. Even
 128.575 +as she spoke into it, she could feel Sakura's gaze caressing her skin
 128.576 +and her hair being twirled around Sakura's nimble fingers. It took
 128.577 +some effort to keep her voice steady on the phone. "They'll be here
 128.578 +in a few moments," she said at last, turning her eyes once more to
 128.579 +the pretty brunette against her side. Her heart nearly stopped when
 128.580 +Sakura slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "We should
 128.581 +probably go wait outside for them," she suggested. 'Because if we
 128.582 +stay in here, I don't know what will happen. If I can get you home
 128.583 +and in bed, then everything will be fine. You're dating Syaoran. I
 128.584 +will not damage that. I love you too much to damage that,' Tomoyo
 128.585 +thought, even as Sakura walked her to the door. It felt so very good
 128.586 +to be in Sakura's strong arms, held against her side. Tomoyo let
 128.587 +herself give in for the time being, resting her head on Sakura's
 128.588 +shoulder. Sakura smiled happily as she felt Tomoyo's long hair spill
 128.589 +down across her back. The warm breath from the heiress felt so good
 128.590 +on her shoulder. She couldn't resist nuzzling Tomoyo's hair one more
 128.591 +time, enjoying the way it tickled her nose. Stepping out into the now
 128.592 +frigid outdoors, the Cardmistress protectively pulled Tomoyo closer.
 128.593 +Melting into her grasp, the heirss placed a hand against her heart,
 128.594 +standing neslted in Sakura's arms as the snow fell like pieces of
 128.595 +clouds from the heavens. The two stayed that way until the limo
 128.596 +finally arrived, Tomoyo enraptured by the feel of Sakura's heartbeat
 128.597 +against her palm. 
 128.598 +
 128.599 +Climbing in, Tomoyo leaned back against the seat, trying to will her
 128.600 +heart to regain some sense of normalcy. That night had been like a
 128.601 +surreal dream, taking her on a tour of a heaven that could not be. If
 128.602 +only she could have taped it! She sighed, slipping her sandals off
 128.603 +her aching feet. At least there would always be the memories, though
 128.604 +CDs last twice as long and are ten times clearer. She needed to hire
 128.605 +someone to follow them around constantly to get everything on tape.
 128.606 +The best things always happened when she just happened to be away
 128.607 +from her trusty camcorder. Whatever god lived in the heavens above,
 128.608 +he certainly loved irony. 
 128.609 +
 128.610 +Tomoyo was yanked out of her daydream as her bare foot was pulled up
 128.611 +onto Sakura's lap. Staring blankly for a moment, Tomoyo could only
 128.612 +watch as the brunette began to rub her foot and ankle. Her toes
 128.613 +wiggled absentmindedly as she watched Sakura. First priority: Hire
 128.614 +someone to bring her camcorder along at all times so when dreamy
 128.615 +things like this happened, she'd have proof they weren't just a
 128.616 +wonderful dream she was having. "Do your feet hurt?" Sakura asked.
 128.617 +Tomoyo nodded weakly. The brunette rubbed more intently, trying to
 128.618 +massage the tenseness out of them. "Mine would get like that after
 128.619 +lots and lots of track. And yours are so much more delicate. It must
 128.620 +hurt a lot more for you." "It was worth it. I got to dance with you
 128.621 +for so long. I'd do it again even if they'd fall off," Tomoyo
 128.622 +promised, watching the curious Cardmistress. Sakura made a face,
 128.623 +working on Tomoyo's delicate foot with both hands, caressing over the
 128.624 +soft skin and rubbing wherever she could get. "I hope not. You have
 128.625 +such cute feet. I'd hate to see anything happen to them." Tomoyo
 128.626 +stared at the roof of the limo for a moment, borrowing from Sakura's
 128.627 +library a word she thought expressed the situation perfectly.
 128.628 +"Hoe..." Sakura giggled and continued caressing Tomoyo's foot. Her
 128.629 +fingers slowly began making their way upward, over her ankle and up
 128.630 +the back of her leg. "Your skin's so soft, Tomoyo-chan. You feel so
 128.631 +nice. It's not like this when I'm with Syaoran." Sakura giggled,
 128.632 +shaking her head. "I mean, he feels different than you. Well, his
 128.633 +legs, anyway." Her hands continued to climb higher until they were
 128.634 +rubbing the sides of Tomoyo's thighs under the dark haired girl's
 128.635 +lavender skirt, Sakura's body pressed nicely against Tomoyo's.
 128.636 +"Everything feels different with you.""That could be because I'm a
 128.637 +girl. I hear boys and girls do feel a bit different," Tomoyo
 128.638 +reasoned, trying to look as composed as possible under the situation.
 128.639 +Sakura's hands felt deliciously good against her bare skin, warm and
 128.640 +strong against her soft thighs. Little flitters of reason struggled
 128.641 +to take hold, telling her to stop Sakura from doing anything else,
 128.642 +that Sakura was drunk and shouldn't be this close. But it felt so
 128.643 +wonderful. And she hardly had the heart to deny Sakura anything. 
 128.644 +
 128.645 +"You feel so much better. You make me so hanyaan, Tomoyo-chan.
 128.646 +'Everything will always be all right.' But it only feels all right
 128.647 +when I'm with you," Sakura explained, her weight holding Tomoyo's
 128.648 +slender form underneath her. That swirl of feelings that she felt
 128.649 +when Tomoyo was close to her felt like a hurricane now, something
 128.650 +powerful and unstoppable. There was some magic about the heiress that
 128.651 +sparked something deep inside of her that no one else could touch. In
 128.652 +her current state, Sakura's thoughts were a swirl of emotions and
 128.653 +feelings, logic lost somewhere along the way. There was only the
 128.654 +fragile, pale girl undernearth her and the storm of feelings she sent
 128.655 +through her. Tomoyo looked up at her, pink lips and stormy blue eyes
 128.656 +framed by her raven hair. Sakura pressed further into the smaller
 128.657 +girl, her lips finding Tomoyo's. She kissed her friend softly, loving
 128.658 +the way Tomoyo's feathery lips felt under her own. Tomoyo was still
 128.659 +mildly out of it because of her own drink at the bar, but she knew
 128.660 +she was much more lucid than Sakura. Or, rather, she had been before
 128.661 +Sakura had kissed her. Tomoyo was rapidly becoming drunk off of
 128.662 +Sakura, off the taste of Sakura's lips against hers and the feeling
 128.663 +of Sakura's body pressing against hers through their clothes. So she
 128.664 +wasn't overly surprised to find herself kissing back shortly, her
 128.665 +hands climbling up Sakura's back even as Sakura's hands began
 128.666 +questing over her own body. Sakura was kissing her. Sakura was loving
 128.667 +her. And it felt so wonderful. Her body squirmed as the brunette's
 128.668 +hands quested over her thighs, caressing over her panty-clad lower
 128.669 +half. Her own deft fingers were busying themselves with Sakura's top,
 128.670 +sliding it down and exposing the Cardmistress's bra. Tomoyo's eyes
 128.671 +drew in the whole picture before her, her heart jumping with joy at
 128.672 +the sight. 
 128.673 +
 128.674 +Kissing Tomoyo quickly escalated to much more, Sakura was pleased to
 128.675 +see. Though the logic that may have stopped her from all this was
 128.676 +curiously absent, the emotions and feelings that surrounded her
 128.677 +spurred her on further. She blushed slightly as she felt Tomoyo
 128.678 +unclasp her bra, letting it slide forward and out of the way. Her
 128.679 +blush grew as she watched Tomoyo's gaze move over her bare chest. Her
 128.680 +embarrassment was shortlived, however, as Tomoyo's hands swiftly made
 128.681 +their way to Sakura's chest, fingertips caressing over the soft skin.
 128.682 +Sakura purred as she pressed closer to Tomoyo, kissing her pale
 128.683 +friend deeper. She wanted to pull Tomoyo closer, to kiss her more, to
 128.684 +make love to her. She wanted to never let her go. 
 128.685 +
 128.686 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 128.687 +
 128.688 +"Owwwww..." Sakura awoke the next morning to an angry headache.
 128.689 +Moving made her feel even worse. Her feet ached and the sheets felt
 128.690 +odd against her. Blinking groggily, the Cardmistress forced herself
 128.691 +to sit up. She immediately wished she hadn't. Her head swam and for a
 128.692 +moment she thought she would pass out. It slowly passed, but her
 128.693 +headache returned with a vengence. The sheets rustled against her
 128.694 +bare skin, a strange feeling for her. The only time she'd been in bed
 128.695 +naked, she'd been sleeping with Syaoran. Her eyes slowly widened, the
 128.696 +headache that had been impeding her thinking now being pushed
 128.697 +forcefully to the side. The night before... Tomoyo... in the car... 
 128.698 +
 128.699 +Kero didn't bat an eyebrow as he floated in, carrying a mug of
 128.700 +steaming tea. He'd seen Sakura get dressed enough growing up that
 128.701 +seeing her in just a sheet wasn't particularly bothersome. "Tomoyo-
 128.702 +chan says to drink this. She says it'll make ya feel better." 
 128.703 +
 128.704 +Taking the cup, Sakura held it close in her hands. Did she...? Had
 128.705 +she...? With Tomoyo? The sheets slipped down as she took her first
 128.706 +sip. "Hoe..."
 128.707 \ No newline at end of file

   129.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   129.2 +++ b/stories/CCScharity_5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   129.3 @@ -0,0 +1,876 @@
   129.4 +Learning to Fly Chapter Five
   129.5 +by 
   129.6 +The Amazoness Duo 
   129.7 +and
   129.8 +G.P. 
   129.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  129.10 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
  129.11 +
  129.12 +
  129.13 +"Just go with him, Meiling. He's the heir. We need someone to keep
  129.14 +an eye on him so he doesn't do something completely stupid while he's
  129.15 +in Japan. You're the only one he trusts."Walking down the crowded
  129.16 +street, gazing at the merchandise for sale on all sides, Meiling's
  129.17 +amber eyes narrowed. "Why the hell should I? If he wants to go across
  129.18 +the sea to screw his girlfriend, that's his business. I don't see how
  129.19 +that has anything to do with me." 
  129.20 +
  129.21 +A moment of silence came from Fanren. Syaoran's older sister was
  129.22 +trying to approach the subject as diplomatically as possible.
  129.23 +Unfortunately, Meiling was not always a logical being. It didn't help
  129.24 +that the subject of Syaoran was rapidly becoming a minefield for her.
  129.25 +Fanren couldn't remember the last time she'd pissed someone off
  129.26 +simply by kissing them. In fact, her results were generally quite the
  129.27 +opposite. She would have to give Syaoran some pointers. Her little
  129.28 +brother must be doing something wrong. "Because he's about to become
  129.29 +the head of the Li Clan and he's not always... as tactful as he could
  129.30 +be."Meiling snorted. "That's for sure.""Anyway," Fanren continued,
  129.31 +"Syaoran is a stubborn young man and if he's off in Japan visiting
  129.32 +his girlfriend, he might do something stupid. Like if Sakura
  129.33 +convinces him to stay in Japan so they can live together there.
  129.34 +Mother doesn't mind if he marries the Cardmistress, but Syaoran is
  129.35 +the next heir and we need him back home in Hong Kong to lead the
  129.36 +family."Shrugging, Meiling feigned interest in some caged birds in
  129.37 +the marketplace, brushing a pigtail over her shoulder. "Then send
  129.38 +someone else to play your watchdog. I've spent enough time keeping an
  129.39 +eye on him."An exasperated sigh escaped Fanren. "But you're the only
  129.40 +one he'll listen to. If Sakura manages to convince him to stay, do
  129.41 +you really think he'd listen to me? Or Shiefa? Maybe mother, but
  129.42 +she's far too busy to go with him to Japan. But he listens to you,
  129.43 +Meiling. He trusts you. You're the only one outside of mother who can
  129.44 +actually make him do anything. You can make sure he comes back home
  129.45 +when his little trip is over."
  129.46 +
  129.47 +Fists clenched as Meiling stood up, her back to Fanren. "We all make
  129.48 +our choices. And we all have to live with him. I can't make up
  129.49 +Syaoran's mind for him. He'll make his choices whether or not I'm
  129.50 +there."Fanren was quiet for a long moment as she watched her younger
  129.51 +cousin. Was Meiling crying? She couldn't quite tell. "Meiling..." Her
  129.52 +hand rested lightly on Meiling's shoulder, but the raven haired girl
  129.53 +quickly pulled away."Syaoran's already made his choices. You give me
  129.54 +way too much credit. In the end, he's already made his choices. We
  129.55 +just need to wait and see what they are. I can't change them. I spent
  129.56 +way too much of my life hoping I could." Syaoran's one time fiancee
  129.57 +straighted as she began to walk again. "I'll go with him if it will
  129.58 +make your mother feel better. But Syaoran's not as weak as you think
  129.59 +he is. In the end, he'll decide his own destiny." "Thanks, Meiling.
  129.60 +I'm sorry that..."Meiling cut her off, shaking her head. "Don't be.
  129.61 +We all make choices. Maybe I made the wrong ones. But we all have to
  129.62 +live with them." A few steps pulled her away from Fanren. "I'm going
  129.63 +to pack for the trip. Tell Syaoran I'll see him then." And with that,
  129.64 +the raven haired girl left.
  129.65 +
  129.66 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  129.67 +
  129.68 +	Naked and confused, Sakura decided to fix the only one of her two
  129.69 +problems she currently had any control over. Slipping out of bed, the
  129.70 +brunette padded over to her closet and hurriedly got dressed. Her
  129.71 +head still ached, but the tea Tomoyo had sent with Kero had helped.
  129.72 +The earthquake between her ears had settled into a dull throb.
  129.73 +Finding this an acceptable if annoying state to start the day in,
  129.74 +Sakura exited her room. After all, there were potentially much more
  129.75 +important afteraffects of the last night than a hangover. 
  129.76 +	Dressed in yet another beautiful dress, hair in pigtails, and in
  129.77 +the middle of constructing a delicious smelling breakfast, Tomoyo
  129.78 +seemed like the perfect wife. Is that what Sakura's father had woken
  129.79 +up to for so many years? Was this what it felt like for him every
  129.80 +morning, breath catching at the gorgeous sight before him? Mind
  129.81 +rolling through those questions, Sakura stood in the doorway to the
  129.82 +kitchen, her own breath catching as she watched her fair skinned
  129.83 +roommate move gracefully about the kitchen. If she'd been a boy,
  129.84 +would she have had any reservations at all of being with Tomoyo?
  129.85 +Would there be anything stopping her from sweeping Tomoyo up in her
  129.86 +strong, boyish arms and holding her forever?
  129.87 +	"Good morning, Sakura," Tomoyo greeted brightly without looking up
  129.88 +from her current task of pouring batter onto a pan. "How did you
  129.89 +sleep?" 
  129.90 +	As usual, being able to tell what had happened the night before
  129.91 +from Tomoyo's behavior was impossibe. The dark haired girl betrayed
  129.92 +no clue of exactly what may have happened between them the night
  129.93 +before. Puzzling this over, the Cardmistress dropped into a chair and
  129.94 +watched her friend putting the finishing touches on breakfast. Had
  129.95 +they slept together? The feeling of Tomoyo's lips pressing against
  129.96 +her own brought a dark blush to her cheeks. Whatever had happened,
  129.97 +that memory was still vividly clear. Brief images and feelings of
  129.98 +hands sliding underneath clothing flittered through Sakura's mind,
  129.99 +but they fled when she tried to grasp at them. 
 129.100 +	It seemed like the only thing Sakura really knew at this point was
 129.101 +that Tomoyo was a very different kisser than Syaoran. Much softer,
 129.102 +much more receptive. Fists balled up and pressed against her thighs
 129.103 +through her shorts in frustration and emarrassment. Why was the last
 129.104 +night such a blur? Why wasn't Tomoyo saying anything? If Tomoyo had
 129.105 +been naked in the kitchen, then that would've been a big enough clue
 129.106 +that Sakura could appreciate. Sakura sat in silence for a long
 129.107 +moment, listening to her friend sing softly as she prodded herself to
 129.108 +ask Tomoyo what had happened. What if they had? What would happen
 129.109 +after that? Infinity seemed to stretch out in front of the
 129.110 +Cardmistress, boggling her mind. 	Pressing her knuckles into her
 129.111 +thighs painfully, Sakura forced herself to speak. Unfortunately, her
 129.112 +mind still wasn't responding entirely. She was still hesitant to ask.
 129.113 +"Tomoyo, did... Umm... Last night, after.... Well, did you... I mean,
 129.114 +we... Tomoyo, if I were a boy, I'd marry you," Sakura finished
 129.115 +dumbly, her cheeks reddened. It wasn't exactly what she'd meant to
 129.116 +say, but she'd wanted to say it anyway.	"Would you?" Tomoyo countered
 129.117 +softly, travelling to the table with their plates. "If you were a
 129.118 +boy, lets say that Syaoran was a girl. Or he could still be a boy.
 129.119 +Touya doesn't seem to mind that about Yukito. Then you two would
 129.120 +still have ended up together because I would have noticed how much he
 129.121 +or she liked you and helped you two end up together."	"But you'd make
 129.122 +a perfect girlfriend. If I were a boy, I'd notice that and we'd..."
 129.123 +Sakura put her hands together, motioning, "be a couple. Or something
 129.124 +like that." She looked down embarrassedly at the smile that brought
 129.125 +to Tomoyo's lips. Those soft lips... Sakura tried to force the
 129.126 +thought out of her head. 	"You're so sweet, Sakura. But I don't think
 129.127 +you didn't notice me because you're a girl. When I was younger, I
 129.128 +thought that was it, but I think it's more than that now. I've been
 129.129 +your best friend since we were ten years old. I've been in love with
 129.130 +you from the moment I saw you, and it's gotten stronger for me ever
 129.131 +since. But to you, I've always been your best friend. That's how you
 129.132 +see me. It's hard for you to see me as anything else. If you were a
 129.133 +boy, we still would have been best friends. And you'd still think of
 129.134 +me as that while other girls got your attention. Even if you think I
 129.135 +would make a perfect girlfriend and even if you were a boy, I think
 129.136 +you wouldn't see me as a possible lover because you'd still see me as
 129.137 +your best friend. I love filling that role for you, but it would make
 129.138 +it hard for you to see me as anything more than that."	"But... But
 129.139 +what if I could see through that? What if I could push past that and
 129.140 +see that you could be more than my best friend?" Sakura argued.
 129.141 +Tomoyo made sense, but Sakura didn't want to give up yet. It didn't
 129.142 +seem fair that she could totally miss Tomoyo even if she were a boy.
 129.143 +	A smile spread over Tomoyo's pink lips. "Then it wouldn't matter if
 129.144 +you were a boy or a girl."	Blushing, Sakura's chestnut hair hid her
 129.145 +face as she looked down, studying her hands intently. Were her
 129.146 +feelings for Tomoyo really so unaffected by what body she had? If
 129.147 +that was the case, what did she feel? Because she thought she'd want
 129.148 +to be with Tomoyo if she were a boy. Did that mean she'd want to be
 129.149 +with her now, as a girl?
 129.150 +	Looking up suddenly, an intense fire lit Sakura's eyes.
 129.151 +Determination had finally overtaken her. She didn't want to squirm
 129.152 +away from this again. Tomoyo was too important to her to just leave
 129.153 +everything to the winds. "Did we sleep together?" Though the thought
 129.154 +thoroughly embarrassed her, she wasn't afraid of it. The thought of
 129.155 +sleeping with Tomoyo wasn't at all disturbing, which Sakura found a
 129.156 +bit odd. It had been embarrassing the first time she'd slept with
 129.157 +Syaoran as well. Despite the fact that she had previously slept with
 129.158 +a boy, the thought of sleeping with a girl really didn't bother
 129.159 +Sakura. She was much more concerned with what exactly it meant if she
 129.160 +had. 	"Do you want us to have slept together?" Tomoyo asked, tilting
 129.161 +her head to the side. One pigtail slid past her shoulder as her
 129.162 +lavender eyes held onto Sakura's emerald gaze. She'd been curious
 129.163 +about whether or not Sakura would ask about the night before. Sakura
 129.164 +was curious, but she didn't always push things to their conclusion
 129.165 +when she was embarrassed about them. She was surprised to see Sakura
 129.166 +trying so hard to rationalize the events of the night before. If she
 129.167 +weren't so intimately involved, it would be easier for her to help
 129.168 +Sakura get things into perpective. But maybe Sakura wouldn't need her
 129.169 +for this after all. It thrilled Tomoyo to see Sakura so determined
 129.170 +about figuring things out. When Sakura was determined, nothing could
 129.171 +stop her. Though she understood Sakura's feelings better than anyone,
 129.172 +she couldn't untangle the web in Sakura's heart. Only Sakura could do
 129.173 +that. 	Tomoyo's question hung in the air, stopping Sakura cold. Her
 129.174 +own question had been about fishing for facts. It was a simple yes or
 129.175 +no. But Tomoyo's question complicated things exponentially. The
 129.176 +brunette's feelings didn't factor into whether or not they had slept
 129.177 +together so she hadn't really thought about it. That seemed like a
 129.178 +minor problem anyway. But the way Tomoyo spoke made her feelings
 129.179 +sound like the single most important aspect of if they did or not.
 129.180 +"I..." Sakura began. 
 129.181 +	'Rrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnngggg....' the phone trilled. 	Watching
 129.182 +Sakura for a long second, the dark haired girl slipped gently from
 129.183 +the table to answer the phone. Sakura sat in confused silence until
 129.184 +Tomoyo returned.	"It's Syaoran. He said he'll be arriving in Tomoeda
 129.185 +late tonight," Tomoyo explained, holding the phone out to
 129.186 +Sakura.	"Hoe..." Sakura's head fell to the table with a thump loud
 129.187 +enough to make Tomoyo wonder if she should get the first aid kit.
 129.188 +Sakura sighed despite the pain. Great. As if things weren't
 129.189 +complicated enough. Now she'd have her boyfriend and her best friend
 129.190 +that she may or may not have slept with all in the same place.
 129.191 +Sometimes she wasn't so sure that Clow was done testing
 129.192 +her.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 129.193 +
 129.194 +	Bags passed round and round, a carousel of black, of handles and
 129.195 +wheels, of bags backed to the brim with necessary and worthless
 129.196 +supplies for countless trips. Lifeless ponies, endlessly cirlcling in
 129.197 +the hopes that someone would eventually take an interest and bring
 129.198 +them home. Tired eyes from wary travellers dully watched the cycle as
 129.199 +if in a trance. Now and then someone would yank one of the bags away
 129.200 +and a new one would slide down the chute to replace it. People's eyes
 129.201 +would briefly light up in hope that their bag had arrived, but they
 129.202 +quickly became disenchanted.	Hefting her bags up, Meiling pulled
 129.203 +ahead of her cousin and one-time fiancee as he struggled to find a
 129.204 +proper way to balance the weight of his own supplies. Ignoring his
 129.205 +efforts to carry something for her, Meiling impatiently began making
 129.206 +her way through the airport, Syaoran hurrying to keep up with her. "I
 129.207 +don't know why you brought so much stuff. Sakura will probably have
 129.208 +everything you need at her place."	A moment of silence followed
 129.209 +Meiling as Syaoran took a moment to interpret this. Feelings were not
 129.210 +his strong point. And the feelings of overemotional girls had the
 129.211 +same affect on him as a complex mathematical formula he couldn't hope
 129.212 +to follow. On the one hand, at least Meiling was talking to him
 129.213 +again. This was a relief in and of itself because she had been
 129.214 +avoiding him since he had kissed her at the party some time before.
 129.215 +But he still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about things. And this
 129.216 +concerned him. Because if he had learned anything over the years, it
 129.217 +was that Meiling could be frightfully scary when she was angry. His
 129.218 +cousin must have gotten that from his mother's side of the family.
 129.219 +How Meiling felt about being back in Japan with him, about to meet
 129.220 +Sakura again, was a mystery to him. For the most part, Meiling seemed
 129.221 +to be her normal self. Stubborn, irrational, and incredibly vocal
 129.222 +about things. He decided that she must be fine and that he'd leave it
 129.223 +at that. Trying to delve into Meiling's emotional state otherwise
 129.224 +would be about as frustrating and problematic as figuring out
 129.225 +Sakura's. He had enough of a headache from the plane ride that he
 129.226 +figured it would be best to avoid aggravating it if at all possible.
 129.227 +If Meiling's sudden mood swings had any predictible pattern, it was
 129.228 +so complex that Syaoran was certain only mathematical theoreticians
 129.229 +could understand it.
 129.230 +	"Sakura doesn't have everything I need. If I'm staying a while, I
 129.231 +need to make sure I have everything with me," Syaoran replied matter-
 129.232 +of-factly. 
 129.233 +	"Like what? You want a manlier shampoo than whatever she uses?
 129.234 +You'd be fine just borrowing her stuff." Arching an eyebrow, Meiling
 129.235 +glanced over at her stoic cousin. "You probably didn't even need to
 129.236 +bring clothes. She wears boyish enough outfits half the time that you
 129.237 +could just borrow some of those." Smiling inwardly, she added, "You'd
 129.238 +get used to the panties before too long." The flustered look that
 129.239 +crossed Syaoran's face was worth it. He failed to respond and she
 129.240 +continued forward. 
 129.241 +	"Syaoran! Meiling-chan!" a familiar voice called out. 
 129.242 +	Pulling to a halt, Syaoran began to scan the crowd for the voice's
 129.243 +source. His amber eyes finally settled on his brightly smiling
 129.244 +girlfriend and her seemingly everpresent friend. For a moment, the
 129.245 +concern drained from Syaoran. Everything was fine now that he was
 129.246 +with Sakura again. He was far away from family politics and back with
 129.247 +the girl he loved.  
 129.248 +	Sighing inwardly, Meiling readjusted her bags and continued in step
 129.249 +with Syaoran to their welcoming party. It wasn't that she didn't like
 129.250 +Sakura as a person. Someone as compassionate and goofy as Sakura was
 129.251 +hard to hate. But Sakura as Syaoran's girlfriend was a different
 129.252 +story. Meiling tried to adopt a resigned disposition to the whole
 129.253 +thing. After all, she'd lost Syaoran to Sakura when they were only
 129.254 +eleven. Logically, it made sense to just drop it. Unfortunately,
 129.255 +Meiling was not a logical person. She hated knowing that Sakura was
 129.256 +with Syaoran in the way she had wanted to be ever since she was a
 129.257 +child. Since she wasn't the type to spend a lot of time lying about
 129.258 +polite niceities, she simply waited alongside Syaoran rather than say
 129.259 +something she might regret if she were going to be staying with
 129.260 +Sakura for their stay in Japan.
 129.261 +	Before Syaoran could think of what to say to his girlfriend now
 129.262 +that he was finally face to face with her once again, the brunette
 129.263 +practically pounced on him. Her arms wrapped tightly around him,
 129.264 +pulling him close. Holding onto her boyfriend warmly, Syaoran was
 129.265 +surprised at how strong Sakura had become over the years. She had
 129.266 +always been athletic, but it showed even more now. It took him a
 129.267 +moment to disengage himself enough to return the hug. Holding Sakura
 129.268 +felt nice. She was like an anchor to the way things were supposed to
 129.269 +be. Safe and warm. "It's good to see you again, Sakura," he said at
 129.270 +last. He felt like he should say more, but he was too stunned to be
 129.271 +with the Cardmistress once more to think clearly. Memories from a
 129.272 +lifetime ago exploded through his mind, of magic and school and
 129.273 +romance. 
 129.274 +	Moving to pick up one of the bags Syaoran had set down, Tomoyo
 129.275 +smiled and motioned for them to follow. "My mother let me take the
 129.276 +limo to pick you up. It'll be much easier to get you home that way." 
 129.277 +	The pale girl looked small and fragile holding the bag in front of
 129.278 +her, prompting Sakura to quickly take it from her, falling in step
 129.279 +alongside the heiress. Turning to face Syaoran, Sakura smiled
 129.280 +sheepishly. "I would have picked you up myself, but I don't think
 129.281 +we'd all fit on my bicycle."
 129.282 +	For a moment, Sakura almost came out of focus in Syaoran's mind.
 129.283 +This goofy, energetic Japanese girl seemed so normal at first glance.
 129.284 +And yet she was the most powerful magic user on the planet. The
 129.285 +dissonance was astounding. Sakura had the power to rebuild the world
 129.286 +in her image, and yet she got from place to place on a plain bicycle.
 129.287 +It was hard to imagine that she was the correct successor to the
 129.288 +great Clow Reed. Syaoran was head of the powerful Li Clan and yet he
 129.289 +had been passed up for such a simple girl. He slowly managed to place
 129.290 +Sakura's twin identities of ordinary girl and extraordinary magician
 129.291 +back together. It could be a bit jarring at times. He hoped Clow
 129.292 +found the irony amusing. His eyes narrowed as he changed his mind.
 129.293 +Clow seemed to find everything immensely amusing. 
 129.294 +	Women dressed smartly in black opened the doors to the limo as the
 129.295 +group approached. One took the bags and began to place them in back.
 129.296 +Climbing into the vehicle, Tomoyo moved to one side to give Sakura
 129.297 +and Syaoran room together in the middle. Sitting quietly for a long
 129.298 +moment, Syaoran stared straight ahead. He wasn't a little boy
 129.299 +anymore, so why was he feeling so nervous? He hated feeling shy and
 129.300 +nervous about things. Hadn't he gotten over that by now? Wrestling
 129.301 +his nervous mind back under control, he reached out and took Sakura's
 129.302 +hand. A small gesture, but he was happy for the victory. He didn't
 129.303 +want to let his nervousness control him. Sakura squeezed his hand and
 129.304 +smiled at him. Her offered a small, shy smile in return. It
 129.305 +disappeared as she rested her head on his shoulder for the car ride.
 129.306 +Good. Things hadn't changed after all. Everything was just fine. He
 129.307 +wrapped an arm around the athletic girl and let his chaotic mind come
 129.308 +to a rest. 	Gazing out the window, Meiling wished she had fought with
 129.309 +Fanren more strenuously about coming to Japan. Who was she kidding?
 129.310 +She wasn't strong enough to handle this. She still loved Syaoran. How
 129.311 +was she supposed to sit and watch him love someone else? She should
 129.312 +have stayed home, far away from this pain. Closing her amber eyes,
 129.313 +she tried to pretend that the warm, wet drops sliding down her cheeks
 129.314 +were the cleansing rain. 
 129.315 +
 129.316 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 129.317 +
 129.318 +	As Tomoyo led the way up to the appartment they shared, Sakura
 129.319 +helped Syaoran carry the bags. Meiling refused to let anyone help her
 129.320 +with her own, instead following closely behind the heiress. In many
 129.321 +ways, it was worse when Sakura was so kind and helpful to her. That
 129.322 +always robbed Meiling of a target for her anger, leaving all those
 129.323 +terrible feelings with nowhere to escape. They boiled away inside,
 129.324 +eating her alive. She felt sick to her stomach as Sakura's bubbly
 129.325 +voice mingled with Syaoran's behind her about all the things they
 129.326 +could do. God, did they really have to spend so long in Tomoeda? Her
 129.327 +mind idly wondered if she could get on a plane back to Hong Kong
 129.328 +first thing in the morning. It might even be worth looking weak and
 129.329 +shameful in front of Fanren just to get away from the pain that
 129.330 +surrounded her in Japan.
 129.331 +	Entering the cutely decorated appartment, the Chinese cousins were
 129.332 +suitably impressed. Sonomi had made sure that the two girls were well
 129.333 +taken care of. Their eyes wandered over the appartment as they
 129.334 +entered, exhanging their shoes with the assortment of slippers by the
 129.335 +door. The surroundings were an interesting mix of Sakura's taste in
 129.336 +cute stuffed animals and decorations along with Tomoyo's more
 129.337 +eccentric tastes in clothing and design and electronics. Suffice it
 129.338 +to say, milky pink seemed the predominant color in the appartment.
 129.339 +	"Hey, it's the brat! How ya doin'?" 
 129.340 +	Wincing at the thickly accented voice, Syaoran was unsurprised to
 129.341 +find that he hadn't missed the Seal Beast in the slightest.	"Better
 129.342 +than you, I'd suppose. Syaoran's been growing over the past few
 129.343 +years. You're still bite sized, as always," Meiling remarked. Old
 129.344 +habits died hard. Kero had always supported Sakura and she had always
 129.345 +supported Syaoran, quite exuberantly so. The Chinese girl and the
 129.346 +Guardian of the Cards bickered like children over their chosen
 129.347 +champions. The fact that Kero had never liked Syaoran didn't really
 129.348 +help, either. 
 129.349 +	Kero's mind went abuzz with Meiling's coment. They certainly
 129.350 +sounded like fighting words and he was more than up for the
 129.351 +challenge. Lifting up into the air, he smirked as a slurry of
 129.352 +remarks, each more stinging than the last, began to take shape.
 129.353 +Meiling shouldn't have opened the floodgate. She would regret
 129.354 +challanging him, the great and all powerful Seal Beast. He would
 129.355 +destroy her in this exchange. His mouth moved to launch his opening
 129.356 +salvo. "MMmmmhmmhhmmghhhh..." he mumbled around Sakura's
 129.357 +hand.	Laughing nervously, Sakura dragged Kero back towards her room.
 129.358 +"Go ahead and have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable," she offered.
 129.359 +Pushing her door open, she tossed Syaoran's bags on her bed and
 129.360 +pushed Kero in. "Not tonight, Kero-chan," Sakura pleaded. Before Kero
 129.361 +could answer, the door shut quickly behind him. The Seal Beast
 129.362 +harumphed indignantly.
 129.363 +	Clapping her hands together in completion, Sakura smiled at the
 129.364 +small group already sitting on her couch. At least that was out of
 129.365 +the way. If Syaoran and Meiling were staying with them, the last
 129.366 +thing she needed was Kero and Meiling arguing the whole time. At
 129.367 +least Tomoyo had handled things swiftly. The dark haired girl always
 129.368 +made a great hostess. Tomoyo already had Meiling and Syaoran well
 129.369 +taken care of and entertained. Syaoran's eyes were glued to the
 129.370 +screen. Curiosity nagged at Sakura as she approached the couch. What
 129.371 +were they watching? The sound hit her before she could see the
 129.372 +screen. That sounded suspiciously like her own voice. Plopping down
 129.373 +on the couch next to Syaoran, she was rewarded with images of herself
 129.374 +streaming on the television. "Tomoyo-chan..." she whimpered
 129.375 +embarrassedly. 
 129.376 +	Tomoyo merely smiled sweetly at her and went back to watching the
 129.377 +video she'd made of Sakura. "I compiled this earlier today. Since you
 129.378 +haven't seen Sakura in so long, I thought you'd want to see what
 129.379 +types of things she's been up to," Tomoyo explained. A nod came as
 129.380 +the only reply from Syaoran as images of Sakura riding her bike and
 129.381 +wearing costumes and running track all played for them. The brunette
 129.382 +had gotten exceptionally fast since Syaoran had last seen her. She
 129.383 +moved like a blur across the screen. For all the magic she had, her
 129.384 +running was purely Sakura, her determination burning within her as
 129.385 +she threw herself forward like a shot.
 129.386 +	Sighing to herself, Meiling busied herself with being bored. Bored
 129.387 +was better than lonely and bitter and hateful. Resting her chin in
 129.388 +her hands, she wondered what the big deal was with watching Sakura do
 129.389 +anything.
 129.390 +	The screen switched to Sakura wearing a fairy costume in an
 129.391 +elevator. She shifted back and forth on her feet as she waited for
 129.392 +her stop. The camera swept over Sakura's body, highlighting all the
 129.393 +beautiful curves and lines that composed the Cardmistress. "Sakura-
 129.394 +chan has a great figure doesn't she, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked playfully.
 129.395 +Sakura blushed hotly, followed shortly thereafter by Syaoran as he
 129.396 +mumbled an affirmative. Sakura was gorgeous. Her body had developed
 129.397 +nicely over the years. Her athletic frame was sleek and strong. Her
 129.398 +small breasts curved gently under her dress. Her hair was somewhat
 129.399 +longer than it had been as a child, hanging lower and framing her
 129.400 +beautiful face with it's shining emerald eyes. 
 129.401 +	Tomoyo sighed dreamily as she watched the part of Sakura she would
 129.402 +always have. Her images would always be hers, even if Sakura couldn't
 129.403 +be. They were only a small fraction of Sakura, but they were pieces
 129.404 +that were hers and hers alone. It was okay if Syaoran had the real
 129.405 +Sakura. She would always have those glittering shards of her one and
 129.406 +only. So she collected as many as she could. Disc after disc of
 129.407 +Sakura. Every single moment she could capture went on those discs. So
 129.408 +even after Sakura was gone and married, even when everything had
 129.409 +changed, she would still have those moments forever cast in video. 
 129.410 +	"Tomoyo-chan... Do you really need to show all this?" Sakura asked
 129.411 +hesitantly. She was still blushing in embarrassment. Her blush grew
 129.412 +deeper when she saw how intently Syaoran was watching the screen.
 129.413 +"Hoe..."	"Of course! You're the prettiest thing we could be watching.
 129.414 +And there's so much to see. It's been a busy year. I need to make
 129.415 +sure I catalogue all the important things in your life. Speaking of
 129.416 +which..." The darked haired girl fished around in her bag, pulling
 129.417 +out her camcorder. "Now that Li-kun is here, I should be catching all
 129.418 +of the exciting moments the two of you have. Just pretend I'm not
 129.419 +even here." The pale girl grinned as she got the two of them in the
 129.420 +picture. "I don't have many images of Sakura-chan's passionate
 129.421 +romance. I don't think I even have any good scenes of you two
 129.422 +kissing." 
 129.423 +	The couple lit up red as the heiress filmed them. Tomoyo always had
 129.424 +been quirky, but she seemed even more so than she had been as a
 129.425 +child. Syaoran had once told Sakura that Tomoyo would videotape them
 129.426 +sleeping together if she had the chance. Sakura had been unable to
 129.427 +argue against that. It wouldn't surprise her at all. There didn't
 129.428 +seem to be anything that the dark haired girl didn't like recording
 129.429 +about her. And sometimes Tomoyo seemed more excited about Sakura's
 129.430 +relationship than Sakura was. 	"We were... umm... gonna talk. So...
 129.431 +We'll see you later." Syaoran knew his excuse was lame, but it was
 129.432 +the best he could do. Despite the fact that Sakura was obviously
 129.433 +embarrassed, he knew from experience that Sakura would never send
 129.434 +Tomoyo away from videotaping them. The heiress had videotaped most of
 129.435 +their date the last time he was in Japan. He had been halfway through
 129.436 +unbuttoning Sakura's shirt when he realized Tomoyo was still there
 129.437 +videotaping them. He had been shocked that Sakura hadn't sent Tomoyo
 129.438 +away after that, merely blushing and waiting. Sakura might not mind
 129.439 +for whatever reason, but Syaoran wasn't about to make out with Sakura
 129.440 +on videotape. So it looked like it was up to him to get Sakura and
 129.441 +leave so they could get some time to themselves. He wished Sakura
 129.442 +would want more privacy for the two of them, but she never seemed to
 129.443 +mind the Daidouji girl's presence.
 129.444 +	"We were?" Sakura asked, blinking, turning to Syaoran. A
 129.445 +disappointed look crossed her face. She was glad Syaoran was here,
 129.446 +but she didn't want to leave yet. Tomoyo could be a bit embarrassing,
 129.447 +but in a sweet way. It made her feel more important. She was happy to
 129.448 +have Tomoyo there, even when she was with Syaoran. It made her feel
 129.449 +stronger and more confident, like she could handle anything. She was
 129.450 +shy about everything going on video, but if Tomoyo really wanted to
 129.451 +catch it all, she didn't mind. In a way, it made it something she and
 129.452 +Tomoyo could share. She couldn't really talk to Syaoran about
 129.453 +everything, but she could with Tomoyo. And when Tomoyo was an eye in
 129.454 +Sakura's life, videotaping it, it was like they shared the
 129.455 +experience. She could talk to Tomoyo about any of it and Tomoyo would
 129.456 +understand it all. 
 129.457 +	"Yes," Syaoran nodded, leading Sakura to the door. "Have a nice
 129.458 +night." He bowed quickly. "Don't wait up for us." He hoped they'd
 129.459 +listen and he could come home with Sakura to a quiet appartment that
 129.460 +they could be semi-alone in. But he knew Tomoyo would be there,
 129.461 +waiting for them as always. Sighing, he slid his slippers off. His
 129.462 +eyes caught on Meiling, who was making a concentrated effort not to
 129.463 +look his way. For a moment, he balked about leaving the house and
 129.464 +leaving her alone. Guilt crept up from the pit of his stomach. Gazing
 129.465 +over, he wished she would look up so he could meet her eyes, to show
 129.466 +her he was sorry about this, but she refused to look in his
 129.467 +direction. It was too late now. Sakura already had her shoes and was
 129.468 +unlocking the door. Syaoran looked apologetically at Meiling, but she
 129.469 +never saw it. 	The door closed behind them, leaving the room in
 129.470 +silence. The television turned off a moment later. 	"You knew they'd
 129.471 +leave if you started videotaping them getting frisky," Meiling
 129.472 +stated, finally turning to look at the heiress who was heading to the
 129.473 +small kitchen seperated from the living room by a half-wall. 
 129.474 +	Nodding thoughtfully, Tomoyo stood on her tiptoes, pulling down
 129.475 +some wine glasses. "I knew it was a distinct possibility." Turning in
 129.476 +place, she wandered to the back of the kitchen.	Resting her arms on
 129.477 +the back of the couch, Meiling watched the heiress hurrying about the
 129.478 +kitchen. "Thanks," she said simply. Life was miserable enough without
 129.479 +having to sit next to the lovestruck couple. Being close enough to
 129.480 +get elbowed by the one you love while he makes out with another
 129.481 +wouldn't have done any favors for her state of mind. 
 129.482 +	Reentering the room, Tomoyo offered her a soft smile. Her graceful
 129.483 +form moved swiftly to the table, setting down the two wine glasses
 129.484 +and the bottle of wine she had retrieved from the kitchen. "My mother
 129.485 +left this for me. I think she was hoping it would help facilitate
 129.486 +some romantic moments with Sakura," she explained, filling up the two
 129.487 +glasses.
 129.488 +	A bitter smile crossed Meiling's face. "Instead it gets to wash
 129.489 +away the lonely night while she's galavanting around with her
 129.490 +boyfriend. Not exactly the same thing." Reaching out, she took a long
 129.491 +gulp of the wine. It burned as it went down, but she didn't care. Her
 129.492 +eyes watered, but she blinked away the tears quickly. "How do you
 129.493 +deal with it? You love her, don't you? So how can you just sit there
 129.494 +and smile while she loves someone else?"	"Of course I love her."
 129.495 +Tomoyo sat next to Meiling, sipping at her wine. "But if she loves
 129.496 +someone else, then what else can I do? I want her to be happy. If
 129.497 +Sakura would be happier with someone else, then that's what I want
 129.498 +for her. I want to see her happy and loved and cared for. I want to
 129.499 +be able to watch Sakura's wonderful life as it unfolds her
 129.500 +her."	Meiling shook her head. "You hide behind that damn camcorder
 129.501 +too much. You figure as long as you're behind the camera, you're not
 129.502 +here. You're not a part of Sakura's life, so you can try to
 129.503 +orchestrate it so the girl you love will have a happy ending. Then
 129.504 +your movie will be perfect. You can just watch it all end happily and
 129.505 +not actually have to be part of it. But you aren't the director. This
 129.506 +isn't a movie. You -are- here. You are part of her life. You do love
 129.507 +her. And she's running off playing grab ass with my goddamn fiancee."
 129.508 +Slumping back against the couch, the raven haired woman pulled her
 129.509 +legs up like a sullen child. 
 129.510 +	Gazing at the large television that filled the front of the room,
 129.511 +Tomoyo sat in silence for a moment. "It's simpler that way, isn't it?
 129.512 +Sakura is my best friend. I love her. I want things to work out for
 129.513 +her. If I can make her life turn out happily, then that makes me
 129.514 +happy. I can watch my videos and I'll see her smile and it lights up
 129.515 +my heart. Because I know she'll be fine. I know her story will have
 129.516 +turned out perfectly. I can be her guardian angel. I can be a helping
 129.517 +hand. I can try to be the director to make sure that her life is
 129.518 +happy. She'll be happy the way my mother never was. Sakura deserves
 129.519 +her own fairytale and I want to watch it happen. I want to make it
 129.520 +happen," Tomoyo answered wistfully. Looking into her drink, she took
 129.521 +another sip. 	"But what's wrong with you being the one to make her
 129.522 +happy? You think Syaoran can make her happier, right? But what's
 129.523 +wrong if you can't make her as happy as he can? You'd try your
 129.524 +hardest to make her happy. And I know you'd do a good job. Then not
 129.525 +only would she be happy, but so would you." Meiling sighed. "Maybe
 129.526 +Sakura can make Syaoran happier than I could. But I love him, damn
 129.527 +it. And I know I'd do everything I could to make him happy. So maybe
 129.528 +I wouldn't be as good. But not as good does not mean not good enough.
 129.529 +I wouldn't just give up because he has a thing for Japanese tomboys."
 129.530 +Amber eyes followed the slender heiress in the dimly lit living room.
 129.531 +She could tell that Tomoyo was hesitant, as if she were unsure of
 129.532 +herself. This was an awkward sight for Meiling. Tomoyo had always
 129.533 +seemed so calm and controlled, no matter what the situation. She only
 129.534 +ever seemed out of sorts if Sakura was in danger.
 129.535 +	Taking a longer drink of her wine, Tomoyo paused before answering.
 129.536 +"I want Sakura to be happy. And I would love to make her happy if I
 129.537 +could. But I've given up my chance with her. I gave it up years ago.
 129.538 +I was the one who tried to get Syaoran to tell her how he felt. I
 129.539 +tried to convince Sakura that she loved him. I was the one who pushed
 129.540 +them together. So I forfeited my chance with her a long time ago. I
 129.541 +can't interfere now. They're happy together. I can't threaten that."
 129.542 +	"You were a little girl when you did that! You can't blame yourself
 129.543 +for something stupid you did years ago. Things have changed. Sakura
 129.544 +knows you love her now. She wouldn't have understood that back then."
 129.545 +Meiling waved her hands emphatically nearly spilling her half empty
 129.546 +drink. "Just because you played a hand in them getting together
 129.547 +doesn't mean you owe it to them to stay out of it. Life is not a
 129.548 +movie. It doesn't work out perfectly. You can't just sit back and
 129.549 +watch things play out for them. You need to live your own life."
 129.550 +	Tomoyo laughed softly. "Sakura's life is much more interesting to
 129.551 +me. I'd rather just watch how it works out. But yes, I do need to
 129.552 +live my own life, too. And I do. My life is just very centered around
 129.553 +Sakura."
 129.554 +	Sighing, Meiling finished off her glass, staring forward and
 129.555 +hugging her legs with one arm. "I never really did get why everyone's
 129.556 +so obsessed with her. I'm just as athletic. I'm outgoing, too. I'm
 129.557 +sure as hell prettier. And I'm a better singer," she finished
 129.558 +counting down. "So why always her? Why does everyone like her instead
 129.559 +of me?"
 129.560 +	"Sometimes we're too close to things to see them clearly. Maybe
 129.561 +Syaoran was always too close to you to tell what he had right in
 129.562 +front of him." Tomoyo said gently, rubbing Meiling's shoulder.
 129.563 +	Amber eyes suddenly looked up, locking Tomoyo's stormy blue orbs in
 129.564 +place. "And what about you?" Her voice had lost it's earlier
 129.565 +conviction. The Chinese martial artist sounded weak and desolate.
 129.566 +	Sipping at her wine, Tomoyo swallowed slowly, tasting the tart
 129.567 +grapes washing over her tastebuds. For a long moment, she was unsure
 129.568 +of how to reply. Meiling's eyes shined wetly at her in the dim room.
 129.569 +"I fell in love with Sakura the first day I met her. And those
 129.570 +feelings have grown everyday since. It's hard for me to see anyone
 129.571 +else like that because my heart has belonged to her for so long,"
 129.572 +Tomoyo explained. 	Meiling nodded weakly, fat, hot tears rolling
 129.573 +slowly down her cheeks. The room disappeared in front of her,
 129.574 +replaced with a wet blur. "Yeah... I've loved Syaoran since I was a
 129.575 +little girl... I always..." She sniffled before continuing.
 129.576 +"...always just wanted to be with him... I just... just wanted to be
 129.577 +good enough...." Her chest heaved as she tried in vain to catch her
 129.578 +breath. She angrily held her legs tighter, angry at herself for being
 129.579 +so weak, for breaking down so completely. She bit the inside of her
 129.580 +cheek to keep her lips from trembling, the blood warm and coppery in
 129.581 +her mouth.
 129.582 +	Tomoyo's soft arms wrapped around the shuddering girl, holding
 129.583 +Meiling close as she began to cry softly. Her nimble hands ran up and
 129.584 +down the raven haired girl's back comfortingly. They were the
 129.585 +casualties of love, those who were left on the wayside in the
 129.586 +process, forgotten and alone. It seemed a terrible price to pay.
 129.587 +Whereas Tomoyo had always been ready to sacrifice herself for
 129.588 +Sakura's happiness and love with another, Meiling had never consented
 129.589 +to that. Life had made that decision for her. Now both of their loves
 129.590 +were in the arms of each other while they sat in a dark appartment
 129.591 +drinking wine and reminiscing about their lost loves.
 129.592 +	Shaking lightly as sobs tried to break free of her chest, Meiling's
 129.593 +chin rested on Tomoyo's shoulder. Her warm, wet tears slid down her
 129.594 +cheeks, soaking through the dress to Tomoyo's pale skin underneath.
 129.595 +"Sakura's an idiot for not being able to see what she could have had
 129.596 +in you," Meiling whispered softly, her voice weighed down by tears.
 129.597 +The arms that encircled Meiling were warm and sympathetic, cradling
 129.598 +her close. They held a pained understanding of the wounds in
 129.599 +Meiling's heart and just how deep they went. The heiress was soft and
 129.600 +comfortable, her gentle caresses soothing the Chinese girl's weary
 129.601 +spirits. Tomoyo understood her in ways that no one else could. They
 129.602 +were the same, after all. Always loving, but never loved. Always
 129.603 +supporting, but left with nothing to lean on when they were in need.
 129.604 +Maybe Meiling couldn't just wait to be loved. Maybe she had to find
 129.605 +it.
 129.606 +	Hands resting on Tomoyo's shoulder to support herself, Meiling
 129.607 +slowly managed to sit up to look back at Tomoyo. Tear streaked amber
 129.608 +eyes pleaded with their stormy blue counterparts. Tomoyo's gaze
 129.609 +remained fixed on Meiling, compassionate and understanding and...
 129.610 +unsure. That was enough for Meiling. Leaning forward, her trembling
 129.611 +lips brushed Tomoyo's inexpertly, her fingers holding Tomoyo's
 129.612 +slender shoulders sharply as if she were afraid the heiress would
 129.613 +disappear if she let go. She'd never kissed a girl before. It felt
 129.614 +strange, but exhilerating. Freeing. All this time she had chased
 129.615 +after Syaoran and he had resisted. Tomoyo's petal soft lips felt
 129.616 +receptive, accepting of the quick, hesitant kisses she placed on
 129.617 +them. She grew more adventurous, her pain and loneliness eased by the
 129.618 +understanding inside of the heiress, the flames eating away inside of
 129.619 +her cooled by Tomoyo's gentle presence. Her kisses met Tomoyo's lips
 129.620 +for longer and longer, loving the way they gave against hers, how
 129.621 +they melded to her own lips. Her hands pulled the lavender haired
 129.622 +girl closer desperately, their dark hair mingling as the kisses
 129.623 +continued. 
 129.624 +	Meiling kissed her more hungrily as Tomoyo's fingers continued to
 129.625 +caress up and down her strong back. The Chinese girl's body was so
 129.626 +similar to Sakura's. So strong and lean and athletic. The way
 129.627 +Meiling's muscles felt under her hands reminded her of Sakura's. Even
 129.628 +Meiling's small breasts felt similar to Sakura's when they would hug.
 129.629 +If she couldn't have Sakura, then wasn't this the next best thing?
 129.630 +Tomoyo's mind wavered at the thought. It was so very tempting. She
 129.631 +wouldn't have to worry about ruining Sakura's relationship. And
 129.632 +Meiling felt so insistent. She felt a connection to the other girl
 129.633 +that could only be born of the flames of their shared suffering.
 129.634 +Meiling's tongue was playing inside of her mouth. It took Tomoyo a
 129.635 +moment to realize that her own tongue was responding. Her fingers
 129.636 +played through Meiling's silky pigtails, feeling herself held tightly
 129.637 +to Meiling's body. Meiling's tongue playing across her own, their
 129.638 +bodies pressed together, Tomoyo understood just how far the raven
 129.639 +haired girl was willing to go. Meiling never did like to do anything
 129.640 +halfway. But would that be so bad? To forget about Sakura for one
 129.641 +night... To lose herself in Meiling... Meiling obviously wanted that.
 129.642 +And she wanted to give that to her. But....
 129.643 +	But she still loved Sakura. And Meiling still loved Syaoran. Tomoyo
 129.644 +slowly pulled away, Meiling's breath hot against her lips.
 129.645 +"Meiling..." the heiress whispered softly. 
 129.646 +	It felt as if Meiling had awoken from a trance as Tomoyo put an end
 129.647 +to the moment. Shame crashed down across Meiling. Here she was in
 129.648 +Sakura's appartment, making out with the girl's best friend. Her
 129.649 +weakness had been so open, so obvious. She had succumbed to it, right
 129.650 +in front of Tomoyo. She'd been so desperate for companionship, for
 129.651 +understanding, that she had been willing, no, eager, to kiss another
 129.652 +girl. No, even more than that. She would have gladly given her body
 129.653 +to Tomoyo, she knew. Her face burned and her anger with herself
 129.654 +returned. What the hell was wrong with her?  Just how weak was she? 
 129.655 +	Sliding off the couch, Meiling bowed slightly as she excused
 129.656 +herself. "I need to get to sleep," she said curtly and turned to
 129.657 +leave. Her bags were in Tomoyo's room, she remembered with a pang.
 129.658 +She hoped she could fall asleep before she had to face the other girl
 129.659 +again. 	"Meiling, please..." Tomoyo pleaded. But if the Chinese girl
 129.660 +heard her, she made no sign, simply retreating to the back room.
 129.661 +Sighing heavily, the heiress hugged a pillow and curled up on the
 129.662 +couch. Couldn't she help anyone?
 129.663 +	
 129.664 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 129.665 +
 129.666 +	Sakura slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to awaken Syaoran's
 129.667 +sleeping form. Her pajama pants lay somewhere on the floor, a
 129.668 +testament to the time the two lovers had spent fooling around
 129.669 +earleir. It had felt so nice, but it had brought too many thoughts
 129.670 +unbidden to Sakura's mind, so she had stopped it short. It had indeed
 129.671 +felt wonderful, but so had her time with Tomoyo. What she could
 129.672 +remember of it, at any rate. As Syaoran's hands had traced patterns
 129.673 +over her bare skin, memories of Tomoyo's hands traveling similar
 129.674 +paths had grown stronger. Now she couldn't even sleep. 
 129.675 +	Leaving her pants somewhere in the darkness after a moment's
 129.676 +fruitless search, Sakura padded silently out to the living room. She
 129.677 +needed to clear her head. Why was an intimate moment with her
 129.678 +boyfriend competing with memories of being drunk and in the arms of
 129.679 +her best friend? Why was her heart so torn? She liked being with
 129.680 +Syaoran. But those half-remembered moments with Tomoyo refused to
 129.681 +leave her alone. 
 129.682 +	"You couldn't sleep either?" a soft voice asked through the
 129.683 +darkness. Tomoyo smiled at her startled friend. The heiress took a
 129.684 +moment to appreciate the gorgeous pair of legs she could see in
 129.685 +Sakura's current state of undress. "Would you like some tea? I made
 129.686 +it just a little while ago, so it should still be warm." 
 129.687 +	Taking a moment to regain her composure, Saura took a seat next to
 129.688 +her pale wraith of a friend. "Thanks, Tomoyo." Accepting the cup, her
 129.689 +thoughts continued their jumbled rounds through her head. Hot tea
 129.690 +washed away her sleepiness, leaving her thoughts crisp and clear in
 129.691 +the night. The tea cup nearly burned her hands, but she held it
 129.692 +tightly. The pain was real and present, not some memory of the past.
 129.693 +	Tomoyo's love for her had been no secret for years now, but
 129.694 +Sakura's complex feelings for the heiress had always been explained
 129.695 +away as mere friendship. She had been intimate with Syaoran on
 129.696 +several occasions. He was her boyfriend, so that made perfect sense.
 129.697 +But now, she had also been intimate with her best friend. And had
 129.698 +loved it. Was it simply the alcohal mixed with her incredibly close
 129.699 +friendship to Tomoyo? Or was there more to it than that? Did she
 129.700 +honestly like being with Tomoyo in that way? Touya had told her of
 129.701 +plenty of stupid things he had seen people do while drunk. Where her
 129.702 +actions just another stupid, alcohal induced event? Another long sip
 129.703 +of the hot liquid helped burn away her reluctance like sunlight
 129.704 +through the morning fog. She was left with a strong sense of
 129.705 +determination where the confusion had been moments before. A need to
 129.706 +know, to understand if it had just been a mistake or not. Like Tomoyo
 129.707 +had said, did she want them to have slept together? 
 129.708 +	"What are you doing up?" Sakura asked at last. 
 129.709 +	Tomoyo's hands moved methodically through the darkness, dancing in
 129.710 +the shadows. The fact that she was sewing had, up till now, entirely
 129.711 +escaped Sakura. " I let Meiling use my room, so I've been out here
 129.712 +all night. I thought I'd get some sewing done while I was at it. I
 129.713 +was in the kitchen when you and Syaoran came in, but you seemed..."
 129.714 +she paused, searching for the right words, "like you would rather not
 129.715 +be disturbed, so I let you go back to your room without any
 129.716 +interruptions."	A blush played across Sakura's cheeks. They had been
 129.717 +somewhat... frisky when they had gotten home. She'd thought no one
 129.718 +was awake when they'd entered the appartment. Her blush disappeared,
 129.719 +replaced with a frown. Tomoyo's tone was perfectly cheerful, but
 129.720 +Sakura had learned over the years that just because Tomoyo sounded
 129.721 +fine didn't always mean that the dark haired girl was. "You shouldn't
 129.722 +be up so late. Between classes, studying and working for your mother,
 129.723 +you need your sleep, Tomoyo. You're so..." The brunette trailed off.
 129.724 +Watching the pale girl in the darkness, she wanted to say frail,
 129.725 +fragile. Tomoyo was a delicate China doll and sometimes Sakura was
 129.726 +frightened that the slightest thing would shatter her best friend. "I
 129.727 +worry about you," she said instead. 
 129.728 +	A warm smile met Sakura's emerald eyes as Tomoyo placed a slender
 129.729 +hand atop Sakura's. Sakura's hand turned under Tomoyo's to take it
 129.730 +and hold it, to keep it safe and protected in her own. "I'm glad you
 129.731 +would worry about me. I'm happy you'd care so much. But I'll be fine,
 129.732 +Sakura." It always made her ecstatic to know she could be so
 129.733 +important to Sakura, but she didn't want to concern the other girl
 129.734 +too much. Her mother had spent too many sleepless nights worrying
 129.735 +about her, especially whenever she would get sick, and she didn't
 129.736 +want to do the same to Sakura. She would be fine no matter what
 129.737 +happened. She just wanted Sakura and her mother to be happy. Worrying
 129.738 +about her all the time wouldn't help that. 
 129.739 +	Once again, Sakura was reminded of how what Tomoyo said and how she
 129.740 +felt were not always one and the same. Reaching out tentatively, the
 129.741 +Cardmistress's fingertips began to stroke Tomoyo's soft, dark hair.
 129.742 +It felt so nice and silken against her fingers, sliding under her
 129.743 +touch. Tomoyo rested her head on Sakura's shoulder in response, her
 129.744 +long, lavender hair cascading down Sakura's back. The brunette's
 129.745 +breath caught for a moment, but her fingers continued stroking her
 129.746 +friend's long, curly hair. Tomoyo felt so soft and warm against her
 129.747 +side. It was as if Tomoyo was melting into her. Soft curves met
 129.748 +Sakura's own, the two merging into one.
 129.749 +	Tomoyo breathed softly, her lavender eyes slipping shut. The night
 129.750 +had been a long, confusing one. She was glad to be with Sakura now,
 129.751 +away from the loneliness and confusion that had played out earlier.
 129.752 +Even if her love was an unrequited one, she was still happiest when
 129.753 +she was close to the girl she loved. She could lie there with
 129.754 +Sakura's fingers gently stroking her hair forever. Something that
 129.755 +felt like Sakura's nose pressed against her hair and her lips curved
 129.756 +in a soft smile. Sakura's warm breath tickled her through her hair.
 129.757 +Snuggling closer against Sakura's side, Tomoyo wished the night
 129.758 +wouldn't end. When the morning light spilt through the windows, this
 129.759 +dream would be forgotten without so much as a video to remember it
 129.760 +by. Syaoran would wake up and Sakura would remember that she loved
 129.761 +him and this would be nothing more than a moment that had slipped
 129.762 +away like a grain of sand. Why was it that the moments she loved most
 129.763 +with Sakura were always the ones she couldn't videotape? Fate was
 129.764 +cruel. Now if only... 
 129.765 +	Tomoyo's thoughts were quickly forgotten. A soft squeak escaped her
 129.766 +lips, a brief intake of air and a gasp of surpirse from her musical
 129.767 +voice. Sakura's strong, free hand had slid up over her stomach,
 129.768 +cupping one of the heiress's breasts through her nightgown. Sakura's
 129.769 +lips replaced her nose in Tomoyo's hair, kissing her head softly.
 129.770 +Confusion spun a web through the dark haired girl's mind, slowing her
 129.771 +thoughts down to a crawl. She usually understood Sakura better than
 129.772 +anyone, so the Mistress of the Cards' current behavior took her
 129.773 +completely by surprise. She was torn between her instincts to protect
 129.774 +Sakura's relationship with Syaoran and her own need for Sakura. Her
 129.775 +usual calm, collected nature in shambles, Tomoyo remained silent for
 129.776 +the moment, squirming slightly under her friend's questing hands. 
 129.777 +	Force of will pushed Sakura's embarrassment far away from her mind.
 129.778 +Tomoyo felt so wonderfu, so perfect, both against her and under her
 129.779 +fingertips. She squeezed Tomoyo's breast experimentally, marvelling
 129.780 +at how soft Tomoyo felt and how the skin melded to her palm. She
 129.781 +delighted in the gasp it ellicited from Tomoyo. Tomoyo's excited
 129.782 +gasps were so different from Syaoran's restrained groans. She loved
 129.783 +the way it sounded, how it let her know how much Tomoyo enjoyed what
 129.784 +she was doing to her. Sometimes so was so unsure of whether or not
 129.785 +she was doing the right thing with Syaoran. It was great to know how
 129.786 +Tomoyo felt about her ministrations. Her hand left Tomoyo's somewhat
 129.787 +larger chest and travelled back to the heiress's bare legs. Tomoyo
 129.788 +spread her legs invitingly making room for Sakura's hand. It caressed
 129.789 +up and down Tomoyo's right thigh, feeling the warmth under pale,
 129.790 +silky skin. 
 129.791 +	It hadn't been the alcohal, Sakura decided. Her heart sang at the
 129.792 +way Tomoyo shuddered when she suckled on her earlobe. She felt so...
 129.793 +alive. Like her body crackled with electricity. Tomoyo always made
 129.794 +her happy and being with her like this was no different. It was still
 129.795 +Tomoyo, but so much closer. So much warmer. So much more... hers. Her
 129.796 +kisses along Tomoyo's jawline caught the other girl's attention and
 129.797 +her best friend's lips quickly met her own. They were warm and wet
 129.798 +and delicious. They licked and kissed at her own passionately and
 129.799 +Sakura could do nothing but give into them. 
 129.800 +
 129.801 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 129.802 +
 129.803 +	Yawning sleepily, Syaoran wandered through his girlfriend's
 129.804 +apparment half awake. It had been strange to wake up in a place that
 129.805 +was so... cute. He'd been disoriented to wake up to such a heavy dose
 129.806 +of pink around the appartment. He hoped Sakura could refrain from
 129.807 +decking out their home like that when they got married. He couldn't
 129.808 +imagine waking up to milky pink every morning. 
 129.809 +	The shower was going, but he couldn't figure out who it was.
 129.810 +Probably Sakura, since she hadn't been in bed when he'd woken up. He
 129.811 +considered going in to join her. It had been a long day the day
 129.812 +before and the flight had been exhausting. And a shower with Sakura
 129.813 +would certainly wake him up this morning. A small smile crossed his
 129.814 +lips as he made up his mind. It was nice not to be a country away
 129.815 +from Sakura for the moment. He certainly couldn't be with her like
 129.816 +that from and ocean away. 
 129.817 +	The bathroom door opened quietly under Syaoran's hand. Beautiful
 129.818 +humming came from the shower, a syren's song drawing him ever closer.
 129.819 +His amber eyes went to the shower as he filled up the doorway.
 129.820 +"Sakura..." His voice trailed off as Tomoyo turned to look at him.
 129.821 +Her pale body was wet and entirely naked. His mind vaguely made note
 129.822 +that her breasts were a bit larger than Sakura's. Her body was soft
 129.823 +and curvy and slender, not like Sakura's athlete's body. Stormy blue
 129.824 +eyes met his and the humming stopped immediately. "I.. uhh..."
 129.825 +Syaoran stammered, his face going a deep shade of crimson. 
 129.826 +	Oddly enough, Tomoyo seemed hardly embarrassed, simply covering
 129.827 +herself with her hands and offering a sympathetic smile. "Sakura's
 129.828 +not here," she explained helpfully. "She was in the living room when
 129.829 +I came in here." For a moment, she wondered if Syaoran had understood
 129.830 +her. He finally nodded and gave her a mumbled thanks. Wondering idly
 129.831 +what Syaoran would have done if it had been Sakura in the shower,
 129.832 +Tomoyo resumed her humming.
 129.833 +	Slamming the door quickly, Syaoran took a long moment to compose
 129.834 +himself. It took a while for the blood to drain from his face. Tomoyo
 129.835 +was certainly beautiful... He shook his head quickly to force the
 129.836 +idea out of his mind. Daidouji was the last person he wanted to be
 129.837 +thinking about. She'd always been that crazy friend of Sakura's.
 129.838 +Though she had always been helpful to him. If it hadn't been for her,
 129.839 +he never would have told Sakura how he felt about her. 
 129.840 +	Deciding it was best to pretend that hadn't happened, Syaoran
 129.841 +continued his search for Sakura. He made his way to the living room,
 129.842 +but Sakura was curiously missing. In her place sat Meiling, sitting
 129.843 +on the couch in front of the large television Tomoyo seemed so fond
 129.844 +of watching her videos on. "Meiling, have you seen Sakura?" he asked.
 129.845 +The murderous look Meiling gave him chilled his blood. He wondered if
 129.846 +perhaps he had said the wrong thing. 
 129.847 +	"She's in the kitchen. I think she's making breakfast or something.
 129.848 +I would've made something, but I don't know my way around the
 129.849 +kitchen." Her gaze went back to the television. Nothing was on, but
 129.850 +she seemed to be content to focus on it. Her thoughts were busy
 129.851 +elsewhere anyway. She was still ashamed of her actions the night
 129.852 +before. Crossing one leg on top of the other, she rested back on the
 129.853 +couch, trying to appear perfectly content. The affect on Syaoran was
 129.854 +more that he was afraid to bother her again. That worked just as well.
 129.855 +	Entering the kitchen, Syaoran finally found his girlfriend. She,
 129.856 +too, was humming to herself. Her apron hugged her body cutely. Flour
 129.857 +and batter left her looking like she walked through a small cooking
 129.858 +warzone, but the smell coming from the oven was delicious. Sakura
 129.859 +could be flighty, but when she put her mind to something, she could
 129.860 +do an incredible job. "Good morning, Syaoran," Sakura said happily,
 129.861 +kissing his cheek as he entered the kitchen. She went back to
 129.862 +whisking something in a bowl, keeping an eye on a timer near the
 129.863 +oven. 
 129.864 +	Deciding that dark haired girls were merely crazy this early in the
 129.865 +morning, Syaoran was glad to see that Sakura was her usual energetic
 129.866 +self. It was good to be away from all the Li Clan business and back
 129.867 +with the girl he loved. He wrapped his arms around her from behind,
 129.868 +holding her body close to his. Kissing the back of her neck under her
 129.869 +short hair, he was glad to feel her snuggling back against him. 
 129.870 +	Sakura was happy. The confusion that had seemed to consume her life
 129.871 +lately had, for now, abated. She knew how she felt now. She loved
 129.872 +Syaoran. She loved Tomoyo. The night before had helped her to
 129.873 +understand that. She had stayed up with Tomoyo late into the night.
 129.874 +They had held each other and talked until they had finally fallen
 129.875 +asleep in each others arms. Syaoran and Tomoyo both made her happy.
 129.876 +Her feelings were no longer such a mystery to her, making even her
 129.877 +own actions indecipherable. At some time, it would be necessary for
 129.878 +her to figure out what to do about this revelation. But for now, she
 129.879 +was simply happy. And very, very much in love. 

   130.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   130.2 +++ b/stories/Changecard.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   130.3 @@ -0,0 +1,2260 @@
   130.4 +Author’s Notes: Hello, everyone! ^-^ This is a story I’ve wanted to
   130.5 +do for a while, and it actually focuses on Meiling & Syaoran. ^-^
   130.6 +They really do make a good couple. ^,^ If Meiling had gotten Syaoran
   130.7 +and Tomoyo had gotten Sakura, everyone would have been happy. Anyway,
   130.8 +this story has some.. strange themes. ^-^;; Please read responsibly.
   130.9 +^^ This story played hell with what nouns I should use when and
  130.10 +where, so if it looks a little sloppy, I apologize in advance. ^-^;;;
  130.11 +If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me your
  130.12 +thoughts. I always love to know what people think. ^-^ Please enjoy!
  130.13 +
  130.14 +
  130.15 +The Shape of Things
  130.16 +By Amazoness Duo
  130.17 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  130.18 +
  130.19 +
  130.20 +	Transcendental silence held the world steadfastly in its grip, only
  130.21 +a distant bird daring to interrupt the world’s peaceful slumber. The
  130.22 +spring day was warm and lazy, as if it were trying to lull the
  130.23 +students inside the large school building to a gentle nap. Even the
  130.24 +wind didn’t feel like disturbing the peace and quiet. Flowers grew
  130.25 +and trees stretched out in this quiet interim, in this silent
  130.26 +purgatory that held the world in a sleepy stasis. 
  130.27 +	A shrill bell broke all the former pristine silence as students
  130.28 +burst out of the school doors like water bursting from a dam. Gossip
  130.29 +and teasing quickly took the place of the lone bird in the distance.
  130.30 +Students hurried this way and that as everyone met up with friends or
  130.31 +went to their after-school clubs or just went home. The lazy spring
  130.32 +day had lost its power over them with the ringing of the final bell.
  130.33 +Boys and girls hurried about their business, none of which was more
  130.34 +important than simply escaping the tomblike confines of the classroom
  130.35 +they had been suffocating in. 
  130.36 +	Out of this sea of chaos and confusion, walked a pretty, short
  130.37 +haired brunette. There wasn’t anything particularly surprising about
  130.38 +her. Not at first sight, at any rate. She could be any girl that went
  130.39 +to that school, though if you asked anyone, they would have to tell
  130.40 +you that there was something different about the girl. What exactly,
  130.41 +they couldn’t quite say. Except for one girl in specific. She could
  130.42 +answer any question imaginable about the brunette. And what made the
  130.43 +auburn haired girl stand out at the moment was that her arms were
  130.44 +entwined around one of the arms of a very pretty lavender haired
  130.45 +girl. This lavender haired girl was the one that could, indeed, read
  130.46 +the brunette like a well-written novel. 
  130.47 +	Talking about the day, Sakura and Tomoyo made their way through the
  130.48 +moving throng of students, not seeming to notice the crowd
  130.49 +encompassing them. Stormy blue eyes sparkled in heartfelt joy as they
  130.50 +gazed lovingly into genki emerald gems. Those eyes didn’t see the
  130.51 +flurry of students around them, only seeing the energetic young woman
  130.52 +by her side. And that made the hectic evening all the more enjoyable.
  130.53 +Her free hand went to her cheek as she let out a soft sigh. Sakura’s
  130.54 +cute voice played through her mind like beautiful music. As if
  130.55 +sitting next to the auburn haired girl in class all day wasn’t
  130.56 +enough, this little touch of heaven certainly made her day. The two
  130.57 +continued along, completely oblivious to anyone around them.
  130.58 +	“So I was thinking about trying out for the soccer team, but I’m
  130.59 +still not sure. It’s been so busy lately that I really don’t know if
  130.60 +I could fit it in. Especially with onii-chan gone. Dad and I had to
  130.61 +split the chores, so I haven’t had as much time after school,” Sakura
  130.62 +continued, still holding onto Tomoyo’s arm. The pale girl leaned
  130.63 +against her, bringing a smile to Sakura’s lips. Of course, Tomoyo
  130.64 +would know that she hadn’t had as much time since her brother had
  130.65 +moved out with Yukito. Tomoyo was there most of the time anyway,
  130.66 +keeping her company as she did her chores or cooked dinner. And
  130.67 +Tomoyo was even helping her with her cooking. It had obviously been
  130.68 +an improvement from some of her father’s compliments about her recent
  130.69 +dinners. She had Tomoyo to thank for that. So Tomoyo definitely knew
  130.70 +about her lack of time after school. But it didn’t seem like such a
  130.71 +bad thing. The pale girl was over more often than not and with Touya
  130.72 +gone it meant that she could enjoy their time together in peace
  130.73 +without the teasing he had given her upon finding out that she was
  130.74 +dating Tomoyo. 
  130.75 +	“That would be so cute! I’m sure Sakura-chan would be their star
  130.76 +player. And I could go to all of your games and videotape you
  130.77 +playing. And then you could watch them to see how you played and to
  130.78 +get better,” Tomoyo replied, smiling sweetly at her Cardmistress.
  130.79 +Though she knew full well that she would most likely be the one
  130.80 +watching the videos, whether or not they could help Sakura’s game.
  130.81 +Sighing dreamily, she tilted her head to the side, her long,
  130.82 +currently braided hair spilling over their entwined arms. “I can see
  130.83 +it now; Sakura-chan bolting across the field like a streak of light,
  130.84 +looking stylish yet sporty in her team uniform. The crowd cheers as
  130.85 +Sakura-chan gets the ball, every single detail captured forever in
  130.86 +film by her loving koibito while her devoted fans pass out in ecstasy.”
  130.87 +	Her face a bright shade of cherry red, Sakura stared at Tomoyo
  130.88 +before she began to sweatdrop. She had the distinct feeling as of
  130.89 +late that Tomoyo had been trying harder to embarrass her. It had been
  130.90 +easy for the dark haired girl to embarrass her as a child, but now
  130.91 +that they had been dating, Sakura had grown used to some of the
  130.92 +things Tomoyo said and what she meant by them. So lately she was
  130.93 +certain that her pale girlfriend had been going further to bring a
  130.94 +blush to her cheeks. “Tomoyo-chan...” she got out, a hand behind her
  130.95 +head as she laughed weakly. "I don’t really think it would be like
  130.96 +that.”
  130.97 +	Giggling softly, Tomoyo led the way to the waiting limousine. Her
  130.98 +bodyguards held the doors open for the pair as they approached. She
  130.99 +would have preferred to walk, simply to spend the warm day by
 130.100 +Sakura’s side, but her house was a bit far for that. With Sakura’s
 130.101 +father out for another convention and no Touya to take care of his
 130.102 +only daughter, Tomoyo’s mother had been eager to have Sakura over.
 130.103 +The Daidouji women were both equally thrilled to have Sakura spending
 130.104 +the next few days. Sonomi had made sure that she could get off early
 130.105 +that night to spend some time with her daughter and the child of her
 130.106 +deceased love. She and Tomoyo would be making dinner for the three of
 130.107 +them. Tomoyo was happy to see her mother enjoying Sakura’s presence
 130.108 +nearly as much as she did, but it was nice to know that they would
 130.109 +have some time alone as well. She already had some ideas for that.
 130.110 +After all, it was nice to plan things out ahead of time. Sakura was
 130.111 +impulsive, leaping into whatever happened, but Tomoyo liked things to
 130.112 +go slowly and smoothly. Not that she didn’t love Sakura’s
 130.113 +impulsiveness, only that she liked to temper it with her thorough
 130.114 +planning at times. Smiling brightly at the brunette, Tomoyo replied.
 130.115 +“I think Sakura-chan would make an adorable soccer player. I can come
 130.116 +over and help out more if Sakura-chan would like, but I think you
 130.117 +should have enough time for it as it is. And it would be exciting to
 130.118 +go to all of Sakura-chan’s games.”
 130.119 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered softly as she rested her head on
 130.120 +Tomoyo’s shoulder. Her cheeks flushed faintly, her eyes closing
 130.121 +slightly as she leaned against the slightly smaller girl. A bright
 130.122 +smile crossed her lips as they slipped into the limousine. The pale
 130.123 +girl was always so perceptive about things. And Sakura was always
 130.124 +glad to follow her advice. Thinking back to the little board that
 130.125 +held her chores back home, Sakura tried to think if she would have
 130.126 +the time to be on the soccer team even without Tomoyo’s help. Her
 130.127 +flush grew a little brighter as the image of Tomoyo in a maid’s
 130.128 +costume filled her mind. The last time Tomoyo had come over to help
 130.129 +her out, she had dressed up in a cute maid’s outfit. Of her own
 130.130 +design, as always. So maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing even if
 130.131 +she did need her girlfriend’s help. The eccentric heiress’s costume
 130.132 +fetish (and video fetish and just general Sakura fetish for that
 130.133 +matter) certainly made things... interesting. “Un, I think I’ll try
 130.134 +out for it on Thursday, then. I really do think it would be fun. I
 130.135 +haven’t had the chance to really do anything like that since I was on
 130.136 +the swim team last year,” Sakura said with a smile. 
 130.137 +	“Sugoi!!” came Tomoyo’s reply. She would have clasped her hands
 130.138 +together, but Sakura still held sole possession of her right arm.
 130.139 +Instead, she began to run her pale finger’s through Sakura’s short,
 130.140 +firey hair. “I’ll be sure to show up with a fresh videotape after
 130.141 +classes on Thursday. I don’t want to miss a second of ‘Sakura-chan’s
 130.142 +Soccer Advance’,” Tomoyo declared. The limousine began it’s path home
 130.143 +while Tomoyo’s fingers made themselves at home in Sakura’s hair. She
 130.144 +let a delicious sigh escape her lips as she felt the soft strands
 130.145 +under her fingertips, marveling at the feeling of Sakura’s strong,
 130.146 +athletic body pressed against her side. She smiled exquisitely,
 130.147 +kissing Sakura’s forehead. After a second, she kissed it again, and
 130.148 +again, all the while moving slowly lower, over her eyelids, down the
 130.149 +bridge of her nose, sweetly caressing her cheek with kisses.
 130.150 +	Sakura blushed faintly at Tomoyo’s kisses, but didn’t move to
 130.151 +distance herself from them. Her lavender haired best friend had such
 130.152 +soft, sensuous lips. It felt blissful to have them against her. It
 130.153 +was nice to know that, as always, she had Tomoyo’s love and support
 130.154 +behind her. It made the decision to try out for the soccer team much
 130.155 +easier for her. Blinking in confusion, the auburn haired Mistress of
 130.156 +the Cards looked up to the mistress of her heart. “’Sakura-chan’s
 130.157 +Soccer Advance’?” Sakura asked curiously, a thin eyebrow raising.
 130.158 +	“Of course. I like to have titles ahead of time when I can, but
 130.159 +most of the time you can’t predict what’s going to happen, so I just
 130.160 +wait until afterwards. So this is more of a working title. It’s
 130.161 +because Sakura-chan will surely advance through the other girls to
 130.162 +become the best soccer player on the team. Just like you were the
 130.163 +best on the cheerleading team and the drama club and the swim team,”
 130.164 +Tomoyo explained, kissing down Sakura’s left cheek as she paused.
 130.165 +“Though I may use ‘Sakura-chan, Race for the Goal!’ I’ll have to see
 130.166 +how it turns out,” Tomoyo said thoughtfully. The heiress smiled
 130.167 +sweetly and tilted her head to the side at Sakura’s puzzled
 130.168 +expression. The Cardmistress was just too pretty for her own good.
 130.169 +Just being with her, talking to her, the lavender haired heiress
 130.170 +could feel her love growing stronger and stronger.
 130.171 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura shifted in her seat, still holding onto
 130.172 +Tomoyo’s arm. “Tomoyo-chan, I think you’re the only one who would
 130.173 +think that. I really wasn’t even all that good at Drama Club.
 130.174 +Besides, that was your idea.” Drama Club had been... difficult. With
 130.175 +so many lines to memorize, it had been almost overwhelming for the
 130.176 +poor auburn haired girl. She found it much easier to memorize
 130.177 +routines or warm ups rather than to force script into her mind. But
 130.178 +Tomoyo had helped her through it with every play she had been in that
 130.179 +year. Sakura never saw Tomoyo memorizing her own lines, but the pale
 130.180 +girl always seemed to know them by heart. Tomoyo had thought it would
 130.181 +be fun to join the club together so they could both join a club that
 130.182 +year. And even if it had been exhausting, it had also been a lot of
 130.183 +fun at times, especially practicing her lines with the lavender
 130.184 +haired girl. 
 130.185 +	Tomoyo smiled and shook her head briefly. “No, I don’t think so.
 130.186 +I’m sure I could find someone to agree with me. Like mother. And even
 130.187 +if I couldn’t, I think you were the best in all of those things and
 130.188 +more. To me, you are.” Sure, Sakura would drop her baton at times.
 130.189 +Sure, she would miss a line or two. Sure, she sometimes forgot to
 130.190 +stretch before swimming. But she had always tried her hardest. And
 130.191 +Tomoyo had always found that trait to be one of Sakura’s most
 130.192 +endearing. 
 130.193 +	Blushing slightly, Sakura felt some of Tomoyo’s gorgeous lavender
 130.194 +hair brush past her cheek as Tomoyo watched her intently, her face
 130.195 +mere inches away. “But that’s because you love me,” Sakura whispered
 130.196 +at last, her cheeks still tinted pink. Tomoyo’s hair smelled
 130.197 +wonderful, and the silky strands caressed her cheek with the same
 130.198 +gentleness of the other girl’s pale fingers. 
 130.199 +	“And I always will,” Tomoyo whispered in reply. She could feel
 130.200 +Sakura’s arms loosen around her right arm before pulling away
 130.201 +altogether. She simply watched the beautiful brunette, smiling softly
 130.202 +at her. She gasped softly as Sakura’s arms went around her waist, the
 130.203 +distance between them disappearing before Tomoyo could even tell that
 130.204 +it was gone. Motioning with her free hand for the driver to circle
 130.205 +the block a few times before they got home, Tomoyo returned the kiss.
 130.206 +As always, Sakura was the most potent, intoxicating drug she could
 130.207 +think of. And Tomoyo was happy to lose herself to the affects the
 130.208 +brunette caused in her heart. 
 130.209 +
 130.210 +Just a little behind Sakura and Tomoyo, another brunette left the
 130.211 +school. This one, too, had a dark haired girl in their personal
 130.212 +space. This dark haired girl was clinging to her perspective love
 130.213 +interest like a vice. The object of her affections, however, wore a
 130.214 +deep scowl. Syaoran frowned as he watched Sakura and Tomoyo leave
 130.215 +school arm in arm, giggling like... like... like schoolgirls! He had
 130.216 +only recently returned, but already things weren’t exactly turning
 130.217 +his way. Sakura and that Daidouji girl were inseparable as of late.
 130.218 +What with Meiling having shown up only a few days before, it made
 130.219 +things much more difficult. Sakura seemed to be ignoring her
 130.220 +affections, which was only made worse by the fact that Meiling was
 130.221 +almost always there. It made it impossible for him to get to the
 130.222 +bottom of the situation. How could he ask Sakura what was going on if
 130.223 +his fiance was right by his side? But now he would find out what was
 130.224 +going on. He found it strange that Sakura was heading home in a
 130.225 +limousine. She usually rollerbladed or walked back to her home. So
 130.226 +was she even heading back there? Why would she be going to the
 130.227 +Daidouji girl’s house anyway? On a school night, of all nights?
 130.228 +“So what should we do tonight, Syaoran? I was thinking that I could
 130.229 +make some dinner and we can let Wei relax for a bit. Then it can be
 130.230 +just you and me. And maybe some candlelight. And then...” Meiling
 130.231 +trailed off, not noticing her fiance’s nearly constant scowl or the
 130.232 +direction of her thoughts, too lost in her own plans for the night.
 130.233 +“Who knows after that. Maybe we could just talk for a while. I can
 130.234 +wear that little red dress I bought with me and you can wear that
 130.235 +cute blue shirt that I bought you a little while back.” Her finger
 130.236 +began trailing in circles on Syaoran’s back as they walked forward.
 130.237 +She had been rather pissed off to find that Syaoran had disappeared
 130.238 +back to Japan for reasons unknown, but now that she was with her
 130.239 +beloved again, she felt her anger slipping away. Did it matter where
 130.240 +they were as long as they were there together? Syaoran needed her to
 130.241 +take care of him at any rate and now she was here to do it. Besides,
 130.242 +he’d just get himself into trouble on his own.
 130.243 +“Meiling... Come on, stop it,” Syaoran said, trying not to blush as
 130.244 +he watched the limousine pull off. This was exactly why he had wanted
 130.245 +to go on his own. He didn’t want to hurt Meiling. She was important
 130.246 +to him. She was most likely his best friend. She was the only person
 130.247 +that he really spent a lot of time with, that really knew him. He
 130.248 +didn’t want to hurt her over his feelings for Sakura. And with how
 130.249 +she had always made especially sure to mark Syaoran as her property,
 130.250 +that made it much more difficult to reach Sakura. How could he when
 130.251 +everyone at the school already knew he was Meiling’s? A sigh escaped
 130.252 +his lips as he watched the limo speeding into the distance. He
 130.253 +finally did blush as he felt Meiling’s supple body pressing tightly
 130.254 +into his side, his cousin and fiance trying to snag his attention.
 130.255 +Meiling had certainly blossomed in recent years, but he had a hard
 130.256 +time seeing her as anything other than the little cousin that had
 130.257 +always followed him around. Kneeling down both to pick up something
 130.258 +he had spotted and to get away from Meiling’s tight grip for a
 130.259 +second, Syaoran pulled up a small piece of paper he had seen fall
 130.260 +away from Tomoyo’s bookbag. It was a simple sketch of Sakura, but it
 130.261 +was stunning. It looked so real. Tomoyo’s artistic eye and years of
 130.262 +drawing costume designs for Sakura had apparently paid off. 
 130.263 +	“Wow... She’s good,” Meiling commented, her chin on Syaoran’s
 130.264 +shoulder. The boy blushed and tried to stand up, but she held him in
 130.265 +place with strength gained from a lot of time spent getting out her
 130.266 +frustration over the boy she loved while training in the martial
 130.267 +arts. “I guess Tomoyo finally decided that she couldn’t beat me in
 130.268 +singing so she should find another talent.” The black haired girl
 130.269 +nodded thoughtfully. “Good for her. It’s good to see her with
 130.270 +something to fall back on.” Smiling as she held her hands on
 130.271 +Syaoran’s shoulders, she finally allowed the boy to stand, her arms
 130.272 +wrapping around his waist as soon as he did. Yeah, it didn’t matter
 130.273 +if he did something silly like running back to Tomoeda. She could
 130.274 +forgive him. After all, she did love him. Just so long as he didn’t
 130.275 +do anything that stupid again. 
 130.276 +	“I have to find out what’s going on,” Syaoran said, more for his
 130.277 +own benefit than anyone else’s. His scowl returned as he watched the
 130.278 +direction Sakura had disappeared in. Just what had happened? Why
 130.279 +hadn’t Sakura jumped into his arms already? Why would she rather
 130.280 +spend her time with the Daidouji girl than with him? Had he done
 130.281 +something wrong? He’d find out what was going on. He was tired of
 130.282 +playing games. He would know before the night was through. Crumpling
 130.283 +up the sketch of Sakura in his fist, he stuffed it in his pocket. 
 130.284 +	Meiling blinked in confusion. “Huh? What’s going on with what?” She
 130.285 +stared at Syaoran for a moment, following his gaze. Why was the
 130.286 +Chinese boy so out of it lately? He seemed so distant, like he was
 130.287 +always busy with other things. He amber eyes followed to the distant
 130.288 +horizon. “Ohhh… You mean with Sakura.” The black haired girl’s eyes
 130.289 +narrowed as she held onto her fiance tighter. She really needed to
 130.290 +put an end to this whole Sakura thing. And soon. “I’d think that
 130.291 +would be obvious,” she said nonchalantly. “It’s not like it came as a
 130.292 +huge surprise, at any rate. I mean, Tomoyo always was pretty
 130.293 +eccentric about her.”
 130.294 +	Frowning, Syaoran turned around in Meiling’s grasp, pulling away.
 130.295 +“And what’s that supposed to mean?” He didn’t like the sound of this.
 130.296 +Or where it was going. But apparently Meiling didn’t like his tone,
 130.297 +because her gaze grew frosty as she crossed her arms. He tried not to
 130.298 +shudder at her piercing gaze, instead letting his hot anger warm him. 
 130.299 +	“It means that Tomoyo’s with Sakura now. Guess you weren’t Sakura’s
 130.300 +type. Not that it’s any of your concern. I am your fiance, after
 130.301 +all.” Meiling shrugged, tossing a pigtail back over her shoulder.
 130.302 +Tomoyo had been in much the same situation that she had been in, so
 130.303 +it hadn’t been too difficult to see who the lavender haired girl’s
 130.304 +heart belonged to. Actually, by now most of the class should be able
 130.305 +to tell that with little or no difficulty. Upon returning and seeing
 130.306 +that her counterpart seemed to have managed to capture the heart of
 130.307 +the Cardmistress, Meiling had been overjoyed. If Sakura was with the
 130.308 +eccentric pale girl, then she certainly couldn’t get in the martial
 130.309 +artist’s way. Unfortunately, everyone but Syaoran seemed to be happy
 130.310 +with this turn of events.
 130.311 +	“That’s a lie!” Syaoran shot out angrily. He was not about to be
 130.312 +beaten out by some... some girl! And some weak little crazy girl at
 130.313 +that. He was Li Syaoran, heir to the venerable House of Li, and a
 130.314 +powerful magician at that. That some magic-less, frail, soft spoken
 130.315 +girl could beat him to the heart of the one he loved was
 130.316 +inconceivable. It just couldn’t happen. Besides, Meiling was always
 130.317 +like this. She was just trying to ruin things with Sakura so that he
 130.318 +would have to stay with her. Part of him felt ashamed for writing off
 130.319 +Meiling so quickly, but his mind couldn’t accept her words as
 130.320 +anything but vicious lies. There had to be some other reason that
 130.321 +Sakura was spending so much time with the Diadouji girl instead of
 130.322 +him. 
 130.323 +	Meiling stared at the brown haired boy incredulously. “What did you
 130.324 +say?” she asked in surprise. Her eyes narrowed in fury as she looked
 130.325 +into his own amber eyes. “You did come scurrying back here to the
 130.326 +Cardmistress, didn’t you?! You were going to try and slip out right
 130.327 +under my nose just so you wouldn’t have to marry me! You’re so stuck
 130.328 +on that bitch that you’ve blinded yourself to the truth. You won’t
 130.329 +let yourself see anything you don’t want to.” By now, a few of the
 130.330 +remaining students had begun to stare, but the black haired Chinese
 130.331 +girl could care less about them. She was furious. No, it wasn’t just
 130.332 +that. She was hurt. Her heart had belonged to Syaoran for so long,
 130.333 +had been his and his alone, but he discarded it at the first
 130.334 +opportunity. All for some naïve Japanese girl. It hurt so much to
 130.335 +know that the one she loved could so easily toss her aside. Tears
 130.336 +threatened to spill from her amber eyes, but her anger held them in
 130.337 +check. For the time being. 
 130.338 +	“I’m going to find out for myself. I’ll prove that’s not how it is.
 130.339 +Sakura-chan wouldn’t do that.” Syaoran was holding onto his last hope
 130.340 +now. He was trying desperately to hold onto the belief that Meiling
 130.341 +was lying, that it had all just been a mean spirited way of keeping
 130.342 +him with her. But doubts started to creep in to his mind little by
 130.343 +little. Whirling away from his cousin, the Chinese sorcerer leapt
 130.344 +into the nearby trees. He had to find Sakura. He had to find out what
 130.345 +was happening.
 130.346 +	“Syaoran!! I’m not done with you yet!” Meiling called after him,
 130.347 +her fists balling up as she leapt into the trees behind him. She was
 130.348 +going to put an end to this once and for all. If he was going to be
 130.349 +so stubborn, she’d walk into the damn room and snap some photos of
 130.350 +the two girls doing who knows what just to get him to drop it. And
 130.351 +then he would never hear the end of all of this, especially making
 130.352 +her travel all the way to Japan so he could try to get with someone
 130.353 +else. Hmm... Perhaps there would be a slight change of plans. It sure
 130.354 +sounded a lot more worthwhile to just kill him.
 130.355 +
 130.356 +	It was dark by the time Syaoran finally reached the expansive
 130.357 +Daidouji estate. He had only been there a handful of times and that
 130.358 +had been years before. The large gate enclosed a huge, elegant home
 130.359 +that rivaled even the Li estate. It was ironic that such a home was
 130.360 +only for two people, a woman and her daughter. And one of them was
 130.361 +rarely home to begin with. Syaoran didn’t count the maids and
 130.362 +servants as actually living there, since they weren’t a part of the
 130.363 +family proper. They had plenty of them back at his own home in China.
 130.364 +They were a symbol of one’s status, hired to maintain one’s life when
 130.365 +they were too busy with more important things to do so. Of course,
 130.366 +Wei didn’t fit this description in his mind. The man had helped to
 130.367 +raise him, had taken care of him during his time in Japan. The older
 130.368 +man had been a respected elder that he could think of warmly without
 130.369 +the same fear that his mother had instilled in him. The Chinese boy
 130.370 +wondered idly if Tomoyo had a similar surrogate guardian what with
 130.371 +her mother gone so often, but he decided that he had more important
 130.372 +things to worry about. 
 130.373 +	Amber eyes glanced at the front gate that sealed off the vast
 130.374 +household. Going through the gate wasn’t an option. He had to get in
 130.375 +quietly, sneaking to Sakura to find out just what was going on. If he
 130.376 +just confronted them, they’d probably give him some stupid excuse.
 130.377 +The fact that he was too shy to actually demand Sakura tell him
 130.378 +didn’t cross his mind. He wouldn’t allow such thoughts to linger. He
 130.379 +was Li Syaoran, the next head of the House of Li, a sorcerer who had
 130.380 +helped... He winced a bit at that thought. Helped. He had helped
 130.381 +Sakura. He hadn’t been good enough to handle the situation on his
 130.382 +own. Letting a little anger seep into his mind helped him to focus.
 130.383 +It gave him something to hold onto. Yes, he was mad that he had come
 130.384 +back here for the sake of his love, Sakura, and had found her
 130.385 +spending all of her time with the Daidouji girl. He deserved an
 130.386 +explanation. He had spent years waiting for this time to see her
 130.387 +again, when he could again be with the Cardmistress. 
 130.388 +	Ducking around the side, Syaoran tried not to make a noise as he
 130.389 +heard one of Tomoyo’s bodyguards approaching. This might not be as
 130.390 +easy as he thought. But he had to find out what was going on, no
 130.391 +matter what lay in his path. ‘Sakura-chan’s determination sparkles
 130.392 +like the stars above,’ her heard from deep within his memories. Who
 130.393 +had said that? It was a soft, sweet voice. The Daidouji girl. Well,
 130.394 +he would prove that he could be just as determined as Sakura. He
 130.395 +would prove that he deserved the brunette. She would fly into his
 130.396 +arms just like he had imagined these last few years when he would lie
 130.397 +in bed, ever since he had left back to Hong Kong. He had confessed
 130.398 +his feelings to Sakura before he had left. And she had felt the same,
 130.399 +hadn’t she? She still felt that way for him, didn’t she? Panic began
 130.400 +to eat at him, but he burnt it away by drudging up more anger. A
 130.401 +scowl crossed his face as he waited for the bodyguard to leave. He
 130.402 +could hear her by the gate, obviously glancing around, dressed in a
 130.403 +black business suit, he was sure. Finally, briskly, the woman walked
 130.404 +away calling someone on her cell phone. Letting out a sigh of relief,
 130.405 +Syaoran let himself relax. But angry amber eyes burned holes into his
 130.406 +own, startling the poor boy before he could regain his composure.
 130.407 +“Meiling!!” 
 130.408 +	The Chinese girl clenched her fist as she glared at her misbehaving
 130.409 +fiance. “Why are we here, Syaoran? And you better have a good
 130.410 +reason.” This was Tomoyo’s house, she was fairly certain. And sense
 130.411 +she knew that Syaoran held no interest in the pale girl, she knew
 130.412 +what he was here for. Sakura. And that thought brought with it a
 130.413 +meteor shower of jealousy in the black haired girl. She was his
 130.414 +fiance, not the Cardmistress. She was the one that loved him, not
 130.415 +that dense and overly cheerful girl. She felt hurt and disappointed
 130.416 +that he would come running to her the first chance he got. Syaoran
 130.417 +had grown closer to her in the past couple years. They spent so much
 130.418 +time together, had been spending more and more together ever since
 130.419 +Syaoran’s return to Hong Kong. They had shared several romantic times
 130.420 +together, and had even kissed. Meiling had been thrilled. It was all
 130.421 +she had ever wanted, being with the man she loved. But now he was
 130.422 +running away from that, treating her like some type of door prize.
 130.423 +She would feel cold and sad about the whole thing, but she had cried
 130.424 +for him once too often over the years, burying her head in her pillow
 130.425 +when she knew she was all alone. Now she just felt like beating some
 130.426 +sense into him and dragging him back home.
 130.427 +	‘Ko.. Kowaii...’ Syaoran thought to himself, backed against the
 130.428 +wall as Meiling’s gaze began to bore through him. ‘She’s almost as
 130.429 +frightening as mother.’ The Chinese boy quickly got himself back in
 130.430 +control, his eyes narrowing as he stepped away from the wall. He
 130.431 +shouldn’t be scared of his younger cousin. He was a man now, not just
 130.432 +some little boy. Even if Meiling was a little scary sometimes, it
 130.433 +wasn’t like she could do anything. He was the one in charge of all
 130.434 +this. He’d just have to explain that he loved Sakura and that their
 130.435 +engagement was off. Later. He’d explain it later. He looked away from
 130.436 +the black haired girl, busying himself with looking at the wall for a
 130.437 +way in. A twinge of guilt passed through him at the thought of ending
 130.438 +his engagement to Meiling. She had been there for him sense they had
 130.439 +been children, had been there for him back when he would cry after
 130.440 +meeting his mother’s cold disapproval, back before he had quit crying
 130.441 +altogether. Meiling had always been there for him, his best friend
 130.442 +and sometimes something more. She had been his first kiss, had
 130.443 +accompanied him dancing at all of the school activities back in Hong
 130.444 +Kong. She had never had a problem talking to him about anything. And
 130.445 +more over, she loved him. He knew that. It had only become more
 130.446 +apparent in recent years, growing stronger as she blossomed into
 130.447 +womanhood. And she had always been eager to shower that love upon
 130.448 +him. Sure, she frightened away all the other girls at school that
 130.449 +even looked his way, but it was sweet in its own way. He didn’t want
 130.450 +to hurt her. He never had. But he was in love with Sakura. He had
 130.451 +been for a while now. They were supposed to be together, not him and
 130.452 +Meiling. 
 130.453 +	“I said, ‘You better have a good explanation for this’,” Meiling
 130.454 +repeated, her hands on her hips as she stared at Syaoran’s back. She
 130.455 +thought she saw the boy shudder visibly at the tone of her voice and
 130.456 +allowed herself a small, quick grin. All that time around Ieran-sama
 130.457 +was paying off. Her aunt could be cold at times, especially to
 130.458 +Syaoran, but she sure seemed nicer to the girls in the family.
 130.459 +Syaoran’s older sisters were all very sweet and energetic, very
 130.460 +different from their little brother. Ieran had raised them very
 130.461 +differently from her son, the one who would one day head the Li Clan.
 130.462 +She even treated Meiling with a gentleness that she seldom afforded
 130.463 +the chestnut haired boy. Meiling didn’t hold the same fear for the
 130.464 +older woman that Syaoran did. She looked up to Ieran, the woman’s
 130.465 +beauty and grace something that she hoped she could one day have
 130.466 +herself.  She had one day asked Ieran about why things were so
 130.467 +different when the older woman’s words had obviously cut into Syaoran
 130.468 +deeply. The black haired girl respected Ieran deeply, but she
 130.469 +couldn’t stand to see the boy she loved hurting so. She had expected
 130.470 +a cold admonishment for her disrespect, but Ieran had remained silent
 130.471 +for a moment. She finally walked over to Meiling, brushing back the
 130.472 +younger girl’s black pigtails in a motherly gesture. She said that as
 130.473 +his fiance, Meiling had a right to be concerned about his wellbeing
 130.474 +like that. The head of the House of Li went on to explain that she
 130.475 +had to be hard on Syaoran, that as a boy, in Chinese culture, he
 130.476 +would be the next head of the Li Clan. She had to make him strong
 130.477 +enough to handle that. Meiling had seen what a huge burden it was for
 130.478 +Ieran and for the first time, she had actually feared for Syaoran’s
 130.479 +eventual rise to the head of the House of Li. Such a burden on the
 130.480 +man she loved... But she had quickly replied to Ieran that Syaoran
 130.481 +would certainly be able to handle it and any other hardships that
 130.482 +came his way. Heading for the door, she had been swift to add that
 130.483 +he’d be able to handle anything because she’d be there by his side.
 130.484 +So at least she knew why he feared his mother. But that didn’t mean
 130.485 +she couldn’t use it to her advantage from time to time. Especially
 130.486 +when he was being so... difficult. 
 130.487 +	Ignoring Meiling, Syaoran leapt over the wall and landed as quietly
 130.488 +as he could on the other side. His black haired cousin was just
 130.489 +moments behind him. He could feel her ire growing. But he had to do
 130.490 +this. For his sake as well as Sakura’s. He needed to know what kind
 130.491 +of spell held Sakura in its grasp. Then he would ride to the rescue,
 130.492 +her prince come to save her. Then he would finally have his love. He
 130.493 +quickly darted past the neatly trimmed hedges, trying to keep his
 130.494 +presence from Tomoyo’s bodyguards. His amber eyes locked onto
 130.495 +Tomoyo’s open bedroom window. At least, he thought that was her room.
 130.496 +It had been so long ago that he couldn’t quite remember. Hoping that
 130.497 +his instincts were correct, her dashed in that direction, followed
 130.498 +closely by Meiling. The two reached the side of the house without
 130.499 +incident, trying to stay out of view. At least, Syaoran was. Meiling
 130.500 +stood with her hands on her hips, with that same ‘You owe me an
 130.501 +explanation’ look on her face. Syaoran scowled and waved her forward,
 130.502 +out of the line of sight of any passersby. But the Chinese girl stood
 130.503 +stubbornly where she was, her eyes never leaving him. Sighing in
 130.504 +frustration, Syaoran looked back up at her. “I’m here to see what’s
 130.505 +up with Sakura. She’s been acting strangely lately. Are you happy?” 
 130.506 +	Not exactly pleased, but getting her explanation regardless,
 130.507 +Meiling ducked out of the way of prying eyes. “That’s not really your
 130.508 +problem anymore, Syaoran. I’m sure if anything’s wrong with Sakura,
 130.509 +Tomoyo will be the first to know.” She noticed Syaoran twitch at her
 130.510 +words, but she didn’t feel like tiptoeing around the subject for him
 130.511 +when he obviously didn’t care how she felt about this whole thing.
 130.512 +Smoothing down her skirt, she felt the soft grass tickle her legs as
 130.513 +she sat down, next to where Syaoran was crouching. An inner sigh
 130.514 +accompanied her shoulders slumping. She should have seen this coming,
 130.515 +what with him running off to Japan so suddenly and all. Part of her
 130.516 +had known, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it. How could he leave
 130.517 +her alone like that? After all of the beautiful times they had spent
 130.518 +together? She loved him so much. Why couldn’t he see that? All she
 130.519 +wanted was to marry him, to spend eternity with him. Why wasn’t she
 130.520 +good enough for him? It was always someone else. First that white
 130.521 +haired man and now this naïve little girl. She sighed exasperatedly,
 130.522 +blinking her eyes quickly to hide the tears that threatened. 
 130.523 +	Gazing up to the open window, Syaoran tried to get a better view.
 130.524 +Was that the room? He couldn’t quite tell. Holding his breath, the
 130.525 +chestnut haired boy tried to listen for any sounds coming from the
 130.526 +room. He thought he heard something, but he couldn’t quite make it
 130.527 +out. It was soft, almost like mumbling. He strained harder to hear
 130.528 +who may be in the room, not wanting to stumble upon Tomoyo’s maids or
 130.529 +her bodyguards. A squeal escaped the open window, sending a bird
 130.530 +fluttering away. Syaoran sweatdropped, wondering just what was going
 130.531 +on up in the mystery room. Did Tomoyo have any pets? He couldn’t
 130.532 +remember. Tomoyo had just never been important enough for him to
 130.533 +remember anything about her. He knew she was one of Sakura’s friends
 130.534 +and that she liked to do crazy things like videotape her and that she
 130.535 +tried to get him to tell Sakura his feelings, but that was about the
 130.536 +extent of his knowledge on the Daidouji girl. But she had to have a
 130.537 +pet. That squeal had given that away. Though it didn’t sound entirely
 130.538 +animalistic. Crossing his arms, Syaoran arched his head to try to
 130.539 +take in more of the window while he pondered this situation. 
 130.540 +	Meiling turned to look back at Syaoran, a curious look etched onto
 130.541 +her face. What had that been just now? It had sounded like a squeal,
 130.542 +but she could swear that it had been a girl’s voice. She could dimly
 130.543 +hear quiet murmurs again, but the sound didn’t reappear. Brushing
 130.544 +back a black pigtail, she waited. She wasn’t a big fan of waiting for
 130.545 +things to happen, such as her eventual wedding to Syaoran that she
 130.546 +would have been plenty happy to have had five years before, but she
 130.547 +could if the situation called to it. And besides, the scenery wasn’t
 130.548 +so bad. She smiled to herself as she watched Syaoran while silence
 130.549 +surrounded them. He really was cute. A frown crossed her lips. When
 130.550 +he wasn’t being such an asshole. She really hoped he’d get over this
 130.551 +soon so she could drag him back to Hong Kong so he could marry her.
 130.552 +The sooner, the better. Her ears suddenly perked up as she heard
 130.553 +another noise. This one was much more musical, the word filled with
 130.554 +emotion as it drifted down to her. 
 130.555 +	“Sakura-chan!”
 130.556 +	The Chinese sorcerer tensed as he heard Sakura’s name cried out.
 130.557 +“Sakura-chan...” Darting to a nearby tree, Syaoran struggled to get a
 130.558 +grip on it. Sakura was in trouble. She needed his help. He couldn’t
 130.559 +hear Sakura’s voice, so it had to be something horrible for the
 130.560 +usually quiet Daidouji girl to call out her name. Images of Sakura
 130.561 +passed out on the floor, injured, entered his head. He forced himself
 130.562 +further up the tree. Maybe she really was under some strange spell,
 130.563 +something that was hurting her and keeping her from him. ‘I’m on my
 130.564 +way, Sakura-chan,’ he thought determinedly.
 130.565 +	Meiling’s eyes shot open in realization. Moving to her legs
 130.566 +instantly, she darted to her tree-climbing fiance. She knew exactly
 130.567 +what was going on. And she wasn’t about to let her Syaoran barge in
 130.568 +on that. Gripping his ankle, Meiling tried to drag the Chinese boy
 130.569 +down from the tree. “What are you doing? Get down from there, you
 130.570 +pervert!” she yelled at him, her voice only slightly hushed. Her
 130.571 +cheeks were tinted red as she heard more noises coming down from the
 130.572 +room. She certainly hadn’t expected to hear that while they were at
 130.573 +the Daidouji home. She and Syaoran hadn’t even... She blushed deeper
 130.574 +as she tried to get a better grasp on his leg, but she only succeeded
 130.575 +in pulling his shoe off. “Syaoran!!” she whispered harshly after him. 
 130.576 +	Struggling up to the top of the tree, Syaoran started to climb out
 130.577 +along a limb. The sounds from inside had stopped a short time before,
 130.578 +back when his shoe had fallen off. It had been silent now for a
 130.579 +minute or two. Was the Daidouji girl hurt, too? What was in there? He
 130.580 +had to get to Sakura before it was too late. He didn’t have time to
 130.581 +deal with Meiling’s jealousy issues. A surge of magic shattered
 130.582 +Syaoran’s concentration. Sakura’s magic had increased significantly
 130.583 +since he had last seen her use it. The power was just mind blowing.
 130.584 +Syaoran barely gripped onto the branch, nearly having lost his
 130.585 +balance. So Sakura was still inside. Was she fighting someone? He
 130.586 +couldn’t feel anyone else’s magic. Just one of the Sakura Cards.
 130.587 +Sakura’s yelp caught his attention, his eyes moving up to the window.
 130.588 +His cheeks flushed a dark crimson as he saw Sakura. The brunette had
 130.589 +pink cat ears on and frilly matching stockings. Where the rest of
 130.590 +Sakura’s clothes had gone seemed to be a mystery. Near Sakura was the
 130.591 +Daidouji girl, her pale skin starkly contrasted with her long, dark
 130.592 +hair. She wore nothing, but looked no less elegant than Sakura with
 130.593 +her beautiful hair draped across her. Syaoran nearly lost his grip
 130.594 +again, leaves falling below as he scrambled for a purchase. His mind
 130.595 +tried desperately to make sense of the situation, anger and confusion
 130.596 +warring with his embarrassment. It didn’t look like they had seen
 130.597 +him. Then why had Sakura yelped? His eyes latched onto a large
 130.598 +chameleon-like animal that was running from Sakura. “What?” Syaoran
 130.599 +got out before realizing the creature was headed right his way.
 130.600 +Bracing himself on the tree branch, he caught the animal right as it
 130.601 +leapt towards him. He struggled to hold onto the tree branch with his
 130.602 +legs, but its momentum was too great. Without time to utter a curse,
 130.603 +he found himself falling from the tree.
 130.604 +	“Syaoran!” Meiling got out, her eyes wide as the boy fell. With the
 130.605 +reflexes of the trained martial artist she was, she quickly got
 130.606 +beneath her cousin. She had been about to berate him about staring
 130.607 +into the window like that when she had suddenly seen him grow very
 130.608 +serious, as if ready to pounce on an attacker. Whatever had lunged at
 130.609 +him, he still held it in his grasp. Syaoran seemed to fall in slow
 130.610 +motion, but in retrospect it all felt blindingly fast. Meiling’s
 130.611 +heart skipped a beat as she watched her beloved plunge. Her arms
 130.612 +grabbed him tightly as he finally fell into her grasp. The sudden
 130.613 +weight made her stagger backwards. Her mind was on Syaoran, and not
 130.614 +on where her feet where going. She was about to ask him if he was all
 130.615 +right before she toppled backwards onto the grass, Syaoran crumpled
 130.616 +on top of her. She felt the animal’s tale moving against her stomach
 130.617 +as the Chinese sorcerer still held it fast. Before Meiling could open
 130.618 +her mouth, she felt her whole body freeze, energy trailing through
 130.619 +it. She felt a sudden grip around her, but it didn’t feel physical.
 130.620 +It was as if someone had snagged her soul. She tried to call out to
 130.621 +Syaoran, but nothing got out of her lips. 
 130.622 +	And just as soon as it had begun, the strange feeling came to a
 130.623 +sudden conclusion. Meiling shifted around, disoriented by the strange
 130.624 +feeling. She could feel the animal writhing in her arms and
 130.625 +immediately let go. How did it make its way up to her? Her whole body
 130.626 +felt strange. But it didn’t hurt as much as it had a moment ago. It
 130.627 +felt as if something had broken her fall. “Syaoran!” she called out,
 130.628 +the Chinese boy quickly forcing his way to the forefront of her mind.
 130.629 +She struggled up into a sitting position when she felt him squirming
 130.630 +under her. How had they switched places? They must have rolled over
 130.631 +when that weird feeling passed through her. Her clothes suddenly felt
 130.632 +awkward on her body, every movement feeling wrong. ‘It must have been
 130.633 +the fall. I hope I didn’t hurt anything in it. But at least it was to
 130.634 +save Syaoran,’ she thought to herself. “Syaoran, are you okay?” she
 130.635 +asked gingerly, reaching out for her fiance. If he was hurt, she
 130.636 +wanted to make it all better. But her hand froze inches away from the
 130.637 +boy she had been reaching for. Amber eyes widened in surprise.
 130.638 +Sitting in front of her, wincing in pain as they sat up, she saw
 130.639 +herself. Black pigtails and amber eyes, rustled skirt showing off
 130.640 +more than Meiling would care too because of the awkward way the other
 130.641 +Meiling was sitting. Her fists whipped out like lightening bolts,
 130.642 +gripping either side of the imposter’s blouse as she pulled her
 130.643 +closer. “Where’s Syaoran!? What did you do with him?” she asked
 130.644 +angrily. 
 130.645 +	Syaoran struggled to think clearly amidst the pain shooting up and
 130.646 +down his body. Meiling must’ve dropped him when she’d grabbed him,
 130.647 +because it certainly hurt. He’d felt something strange when he’d
 130.648 +gripped the odd little beast, but it had quickly gone away. His body
 130.649 +still felt strange, as if it weren’t his own, but it didn’t feel like
 130.650 +there was any permanent damage. He glanced around for Meiling to try
 130.651 +and see what shape she was in, but before he got a good look he was
 130.652 +being throttled back and forth. “Wha..? Meiling, what are you tal...”
 130.653 +His voice trailed off as he saw who was shaking him. He looked up and
 130.654 +saw himself. Suddenly, everything snapped into place. The chameleon
 130.655 +like creature, the strange feeling that had coursed through him as he
 130.656 +and Meiling had been pressed against it. He’d felt that before,
 130.657 +hadn’t he? “Oh no... The Change...” Syaoran’s eyes shot back up to
 130.658 +the window. His heart began to pound in his chest as panic really did
 130.659 +grip him this time. He remembered that the Change’s magic took a day
 130.660 +to recharge. There was no way he was going to spend a day like this.
 130.661 +This was worse than being the Seal Beast. He was a girl. His cousin.
 130.662 +Mortified, Syaoran struggled to his feet. The sudden realization of
 130.663 +his new body made the lack of something between his legs a horrifying
 130.664 +feeling as he stood up. He suddenly wasn’t quite as pleased with how
 130.665 +feminine Meiling’s body had grown in recent years. He still
 130.666 +remembered when they were children, when there had been little
 130.667 +difference in that regard. Why couldn’t this have happened back then? 
 130.668 +	“And who might you be? Most of Tomoyo-sama’s friends use the
 130.669 +intercom at the gate,” a woman’s voice said. Syaoran and Meiling
 130.670 +turned to find two woman dressed entirely in black watching them. One
 130.671 +raised an eyebrow in slight amusement.
 130.672 +	“Wait! You don’t understand!” Syaraon got out as he watched them
 130.673 +approach.
 130.674 +
 130.675 +	Tomoyo walked towards the window, her lavender hair messily falling
 130.676 +past her shoulders, some draping across her front. “What was that?”
 130.677 +She asked curiously, jumping at the sound of her own voice. Shaking
 130.678 +her head, she reached the window. “There you are. You shouldn’t run
 130.679 +away like that. I can’t go chase you like this,” the pale girl
 130.680 +admonished gently. The chameleon-like Change Card simply nodded as it
 130.681 +sat on the windowsill. “You scared me when you took off like that.
 130.682 +But you’ll be good now, right?” A smile crossed her lips when she saw
 130.683 +the Card nod. “Good. Now go back to your normal form for now. And
 130.684 +thanks.” She added the last as little more than a whisper. Sighing,
 130.685 +she watched the Card return to its pink rectangular form in front of
 130.686 +her. Holding it in her hands, she gazed out the window at the
 130.687 +countless stars above. The little pinpricks of light looked like
 130.688 +countless diamonds spilt across the night sky. She hadn’t realized
 130.689 +how late it had gotten. But then, she usually did lose track of time
 130.690 +when she was with her best friend. It was just so easy to. Those
 130.691 +beautiful, sensuous eyes, her gentle touch, her musical voice... The
 130.692 +girl sighed again, her shoulders slumping. How did she let herself
 130.693 +get talked into this? Arms wrapped around her shoulders as she felt
 130.694 +an athletic body pull against her back. A dark blush spread across
 130.695 +her cheeks and down her neck as she felt a soft kiss behind her ear. 
 130.696 +	“Sakura-chan is so good with the Cards. They trust you even when
 130.697 +you aren’t Sakura-chan,” the brunette commented, giggling softly. So
 130.698 +this is what it felt like to be Sakura. It was such a strange feeling
 130.699 +to be in her energetic girlfriend’s body. It was much more athletic
 130.700 +than her own, though not quite as graceful. But Tomoyo loved every
 130.701 +second of it. Not simply for the thrill of seeing Sakura in the
 130.702 +mirror, but because it was such an intimate thing to share with
 130.703 +Sakura. It was something most people could never do, that most never
 130.704 +would do. It was a clear sign of trust, to be able to switch places
 130.705 +like that, to share the other’s body. It was such a fun little thing
 130.706 +to do, to be able to delve so deeply into Sakura this way. It would
 130.707 +certainly let her test her knowledge on Sakura the next day at
 130.708 +school. Not that she'd probably put much of it to use. She’d much
 130.709 +rather follow along her beloved, even if Sakura was in her own body.
 130.710 +It certainly made things interesting. Tomoyo had wanted to try this
 130.711 +for a while, ever since she had learned that Syaoran had switched
 130.712 +with Kero so many years before. It sounded like the perfect way to
 130.713 +get even closer to Sakura, to switch bodies with her. It was like a
 130.714 +lover’s game of pretend. What better way to get closer than to
 130.715 +actually be the other? Of course, Sakura had been pretty embarrassed
 130.716 +about the idea. She still was from the blush Tomoyo could see, which
 130.717 +stood out quite clearly on her pale skin. She’d finally described it
 130.718 +as similar to the costumes, that it would be like Sakura putting on a
 130.719 +Tomoyo costume for a while. Sakura had finally agreed with some
 130.720 +gentle prodding from Tomoyo, and they now found themselves in a very
 130.721 +different way than they ever had before. Tomoyo sighed happily as she
 130.722 +hugged the pale girl in her arms, kissing behind her ear again. 
 130.723 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered in reply, blushing deeper.
 130.724 +Nonetheless, she slowly let herself relax into Tomoyo’s embrace. It
 130.725 +felt strange, but nice. Tomoyo was always so soft, almost seeming
 130.726 +delicate. It felt different to have her own body against her. Her
 130.727 +athletic frame wasn’t quite as soft as Tomoyo’s, though the girl’s
 130.728 +gentle touch remained the same as it had always been. This whole
 130.729 +situation had Sakura feeling very confused. She was in Tomoyo’s body,
 130.730 +inside the pale girl in a way she had never imagined. Meanwhile,
 130.731 +Tomoyo was in her own body and with the closeness in proximity,
 130.732 +Sakura couldn’t forget that for a second. She shifted a long, pale
 130.733 +leg as she felt the frills of the stockings Tomoyo was now wearing
 130.734 +against the back of her thigh. She turned around against, Tomoyo,
 130.735 +still shocked to see her own face looking back at her. It was her own
 130.736 +face, but it looked so different. She could see Tomoyo’s warm smile
 130.737 +etched into it, her emerald eyes sparkling lovingly. She shivered at
 130.738 +the sight. Her heart skipped a beat. Seeing Tomoyo like that, even in
 130.739 +her own body, sent warm ripples through her heart. Leaning forward,
 130.740 +she kissed the newly christened brunette, feeling her own arms go
 130.741 +around Tomoyo’s waist. It felt bizarre to be kissing herself, to feel
 130.742 +short brunette hair teasing her now longer dark hair. But she could
 130.743 +feel the eccentric girl’s slow, sweet kisses. Even if the body was
 130.744 +different, that was still the same. And it slowly sent sparks through
 130.745 +Sakura as they continued to slowly kiss each other. Tomoyo melted
 130.746 +against her at the kiss, the two ending up on their knees, kissing
 130.747 +again and again on the floor. Sakura felt herself shudder again when
 130.748 +Tomoyo’s fingers began brushing through her now long, lavender hair.
 130.749 +She had always loved Tomoyo’s hair. It was always so gorgeous, no
 130.750 +matter what style Tomoyo had it in. Feeling it against her shoulders
 130.751 +and down her back, feeling Tomoyo’s hands running through it, it was
 130.752 +a very intense feeling. She had to remember to play with Tomoyo’s
 130.753 +hair more often when they switched back. 
 130.754 +	The currently brunette heiress sighed inwardly. This was even
 130.755 +better than she’d imagined. The chance to be with Sakura like this,
 130.756 +to be together so completely, to share her own body, it was all just
 130.757 +overwhelming. And Sakura still looked so cute. She still had that
 130.758 +same genki energy in her eyes, that same sweet look on her face that
 130.759 +Sakura always got when they kissed. It was heavenly. Her hands went
 130.760 +down across Sakura’s shoulders, savoring the feeling of Sakura
 130.761 +shivering against her hands. Kissing herself may have been strange,
 130.762 +but seeing Sakura underneath it all pushed her further and further.
 130.763 +Her tongue slowly brushed against Sakura’s as the two held each
 130.764 +other, kneeling. There was something very magical about this whole
 130.765 +thing, just seeing Sakura in her own body being enough to play with
 130.766 +the strings of Tomoyo’s heart. It was so cute to see Sakura trying to
 130.767 +get used to the longer hair, the different body. The heiress knew
 130.768 +that with Sakura’s determination, she would get it down before too
 130.769 +long. She may not make a perfect Tomoyo no matter how long she was
 130.770 +stuck in that body, but that didn’t matter. She made a perfect Sakura
 130.771 +even if she didn’t look like Sakura. Her toes curled up in the
 130.772 +stockings as she felt Sakura’s tongue stroking back against hers and
 130.773 +let herself sigh into the kiss. Yes, this was fantastic. 
 130.774 +	“Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out after several moments of silence. The
 130.775 +two sat together in the dark room, the starlight filtering in through
 130.776 +the open window. Sakura’s arms were still around Tomoyo’s waist,
 130.777 +curiously following the different feel of the muscles under the skin.
 130.778 +Tomoyo’s hands were still on her shoulders, her delicate touch moving
 130.779 +slowly down Sakura’s shoulders and to her back, brushing through the
 130.780 +lavender hair as she went. Sakura inhaled deeply at the feeling. It
 130.781 +always felt wonderful when Tomoyo would play with her hair, but this
 130.782 +was even better. Her fingers running through the silky strands felt
 130.783 +lovely. It was still strange to be gazing lovingly into emerald eyes
 130.784 +instead of lavender ones, but she could feel the love in them
 130.785 +directed at her with the same passion that she could always remember
 130.786 +in Tomoyo’s eyes. “Isn’t this.. a little awkward?” she asked at last.
 130.787 +She shook her head quickly, marveling at the way her long hair moved
 130.788 +with her head. Maybe she should try long hair when she was in her own
 130.789 +body again. Her mind tried to formulate what she wanted to say. Of
 130.790 +course it was awkward, but so were some of the other things they had
 130.791 +done before. Her face flushed in remembrance of some of the costumes
 130.792 +Tomoyo had made for her that only the two of them ever saw. She
 130.793 +hadn’t known Tomoyo could make something so cute out of leather.
 130.794 +Shaking her head again, Sakura fought to remain focussed on the task
 130.795 +at hand. She could tell that Tomoyo was delighting in her blush and
 130.796 +that just made her blush deeper. “Isn’t this a little too strange? I
 130.797 +love being so close to you, but you’re looking at yourself, not at me.”
 130.798 +	Shaking her head, the brunette heiress dismissed the idea. So was
 130.799 +that what Sakura was worried about? Oh, her poor Cardmistress.
 130.800 +Tomoyo’s hand went to Sakura’s cheek, brushing it lightly with her
 130.801 +fingertips. She smiled softly, watching the pale Cardmistress. “Of
 130.802 +course not, Sakura-chan. I see my body, but I don’t see me. It’s not
 130.803 +like looking into the mirror. I see Sakura-chan when I look at you.
 130.804 +Not the brunette, athletic girl I’m in now, but Sakura-chan herself.
 130.805 +I see your mannerisms in everything you do. I see you in how you move
 130.806 +your hands.” Tomoyo trailed off for a second as she took one of
 130.807 +Sakura’s hands and brought it to her mouth, kissing it. “I see it in
 130.808 +your eyes.” She leaned forward, kissing Sakura’s eyelids. “I see it
 130.809 +in your cute little smile.” Tomoyo’s lips brushed Sakura’s as she
 130.810 +leaned forward, giving her a soft but sweet kiss. “I see my body, but
 130.811 +I see Sakura-chan. It’s like you’re trussed up in a new costume for
 130.812 +me. When you’re in the costumes, you look different every time. But
 130.813 +you’re always the same genki girl that I love,” Tomoyo explained,
 130.814 +keeping Sakura’s voice gentle as she spoke. She smiled at the
 130.815 +Cardmistress, her hand going back to her cheek. Sakura was gorgeous,
 130.816 +whoever she was. That’s why it had never bothered her once that she
 130.817 +had fallen in love with a girl. That wasn’t important. She had fallen
 130.818 +in love with Sakura, and little things like that didn’t matter in the
 130.819 +least. If Sakura was a boy or a girl, in her body or another, she was
 130.820 +the one that Tomoyo loved. 
 130.821 +	Sakura could only blush, her hand resting on top of Tomoyo’s as she
 130.822 +looked deeply into Tomoyo’s now emerald eyes. She could see it. Yes,
 130.823 +it was Tomoyo, deep in those emerald eyes. She heard her own voice
 130.824 +ringing in her ears, but those words were certainly Tomoyo’s. She
 130.825 +always said the sweetest things. It didn’t feel like such a big deal
 130.826 +anymore, even if it still felt a bit strange. Because it was still
 130.827 +Tomoyo. Shifting towards Tomoyo, Sakura captured another kiss,
 130.828 +holding onto Tomoyo in a passionate embrace. “Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura
 130.829 +got out happily as the two fell back on the floor.
 130.830 +
 130.831 +	The gender disoriented Syaoran and Meiling quickly found themselves
 130.832 +outside of the gates of the Daidouji estate under a large and lonely
 130.833 +moon. It offered no comfort for the two cousins. Syaoran stared up at
 130.834 +the sky, sighing. He was frustrated and very embarrassed about the
 130.835 +situation, but he seemed to be taking it better than Meiling. The
 130.836 +former black haired girl was still freaking out about the whole
 130.837 +thing. He slowly got to his feet, trying to get accustomed to his now
 130.838 +female body. It was still warm out, which he was glad for. He didn’t
 130.839 +want to see how cold his legs would get in the little protection the
 130.840 +skirt offered. Crossing his arms, he tried to think. ‘What do we tell
 130.841 +Wei? Should we even try to tell him anything? And how am I supposed
 130.842 +to tell Sakura about all this?’ His thoughts were quickly interrupted
 130.843 +by Meiling gripping his arm tightly. He whirled around to see his own
 130.844 +face looking back at him, but the amber eyes were wild and worried. 
 130.845 +	“Syaoran, we have to get back in there!! We need to make Sakura
 130.846 +change us back!” Meiling felt panicky. This wasn’t at all on her
 130.847 +plans for the day. She loved Syaoran, but that didn’t mean she wanted
 130.848 +to be him. She wanted her own body back. She wanted things to be back
 130.849 +to normal. And this certainly wasn’t helping her opinion of Sakura.
 130.850 +Not only was the girl trying to steal her boyfriend and fiance, but
 130.851 +she had also gotten them all mixed up. She could see Syaoran hesitate
 130.852 +at her urging. Balling up her fists, she leaned towards the former
 130.853 +boy. “Syaoran!!” She’d drag him back there if she had to. She didn’t
 130.854 +care how embarrassed he was about telling Sakura what happened, she
 130.855 +was not going to be spending the night as a boy. 
 130.856 +	Scowling, Syaoran shook his head. How could this happen to him? It
 130.857 +was like everything had been against him since he had returned to
 130.858 +Japan. And Meiling wasn’t exactly helping at the moment. He wasn’t
 130.859 +too pleased with his new body either. “Crying isn’t going to help the
 130.860 +situation. Besides, there isn’t anything we can do tonight. The
 130.861 +Change Card’s magic takes a day to recharge.” He turned around as he
 130.862 +let that sink in, starting to walk home. It was awkward in this body,
 130.863 +but right now he just wanted some warm food and to try to ignore
 130.864 +everything until the next day came.
 130.865 +	Frozen to the spot, Meiling stared after Syaoran. Her heart seized
 130.866 +up in her chest. “You mean we’re stuck this way?” she asked
 130.867 +incredulously. He simply sighed and nodded. Clenching her hands
 130.868 +tightly, she hurried off after her cousin. She didn’t like this at
 130.869 +all. It was all Syaoran’s fault for coming to Tomoyo’s house in the
 130.870 +first place. So why did she have to get punished for him? It wasn’t
 130.871 +fair! She wanted to be holding on to Syaoran, not to be inside of
 130.872 +him. “Syaoran! Wait for me!” she insisted, chasing after him. 
 130.873 +
 130.874 +	“I can’t stay...” the man said as he turned from the beautiful dark
 130.875 +haired woman. He couldn’t look her in the eye. His feelings tried
 130.876 +desperately to betray him but he held them back with all of his will.
 130.877 +They both knew he had to leave, but his heart begged him to
 130.878 +reconsider. After all they had been through, leaving felt like he was
 130.879 +cutting out a piece of himself, the most important piece. But his
 130.880 +duty lay elsewhere. He couldn’t back down on his word. No matter how
 130.881 +much he wanted to. 
 130.882 +	Hao Minh took several steps towards the brave, silent warrior. With
 130.883 +his stoic appearance, his feelings were a mystery to her. What she
 130.884 +did know was that it felt like she should have died back in the
 130.885 +burning village, that being rescued once again by him wasn’t worth it
 130.886 +if she couldn’t stay by his side. “I.. I could never love anyone
 130.887 +else,” she got out quietly, stopping a few feet from the soldier. 
 130.888 +	Closing his eyes, he knew he couldn’t face her. His heart and his
 130.889 +honor fought to the death inside of him, conflicting emotions warring
 130.890 +for control. All his life had been nothing but pain and death. He
 130.891 +could remember nothing besides the cold, expansive depths. But she
 130.892 +had pulled away the curtains and let in the light in his life,
 130.893 +chasing away the darkness that latched onto his soul. The prospect of
 130.894 +plunging once more into the darkness, lit only with swaths of
 130.895 +crimson, it filled him with hopelessness. Her sobs broke his strength
 130.896 +and he quickly turned to her. He held her close, her head on his
 130.897 +chest. No words came to mind to express his sorrow or even to help
 130.898 +ease her own, but that was all right. Because...
 130.899 +
 130.900 +	A knock at the door shook Wei from his writing, dragging him from
 130.901 +the long ago time he had lost himself in. The caretaker of both
 130.902 +Syaoran and Meiling Li hurried to the door, leaving his work behind
 130.903 +him. He had been a faithful servant to Syaoran’s mother, Ieran, for
 130.904 +many years now. He had known her when she had been but a child. So
 130.905 +she had trusted him with her son’s care when the boy had been sent to
 130.906 +Japan years earlier. Now that Syaoran had returned to Japan, Wei had
 130.907 +come along with Meiling to keep an eye on the young man. Ieran had
 130.908 +been angry about Syaoran’s disrespect for his engagement to Meiling,
 130.909 +but Wei could also tell that she worried about her only son. So he
 130.910 +had promised to take good care of the boy. But what with Meiling and
 130.911 +Syaoran being older this time around, he had much more time on his
 130.912 +hands. The two seemed to be fine on their own, and he often worried
 130.913 +that he was getting in the way. So he had started writing a romance
 130.914 +novel to while away the time. 
 130.915 +	Reaching the door, Wei opened it and stood by politely. Sure
 130.916 +enough, there were the two cousins waiting. “Miss Meiling, Master
 130.917 +Syaoran, how are you? I trust that your day was pleasant?” he asked,
 130.918 +bowing his head to the two as they entered. He waited for a response,
 130.919 +but found that none seemed to be forthcoming. He watched the two
 130.920 +teenagers looking around awkwardly. Frowning in confusion, he stepped
 130.921 +forward. “Are you both all right?” They were both acting so
 130.922 +strangely. He’d known them both from the time they had been born and
 130.923 +neither seemed to be their normal selves. And Meiling was wearing a
 130.924 +scowl that looked remarkably like Syaoran’s. It must have rubbed off
 130.925 +on her. 
 130.926 +	Syaoran whirled around quickly, the small tie on his uniform
 130.927 +trailing to the side as he did. He smiled quickly and nodded. “We’re
 130.928 +both fine, Wei. Today was great. Nothing big. Oh, I’m over that
 130.929 +Sakura girl now. Maybe we can head back to Hong Kong soon. Like after
 130.930 +tomorrow or something. Anyway, Meiling and I were going back to my...
 130.931 +her room. Have a good night, Wei!” The chestnut haired boy waved
 130.932 +energetically before turning and grabbing his cousin’s arm. 
 130.933 +	Meiling stopped dead in her tracks, eyes narrowing as she scowled.
 130.934 +Wei would have sworn that he’d seen that exact same look on Syaoran
 130.935 +countless times before. He was impressed at how well Meiling pulled
 130.936 +it off. She did spend most of her time with him, so it made sense
 130.937 +that she would be able to know him well enough to copy his
 130.938 +mannerisms. But Meiling wasn’t concerned with Wei’s line of thought
 130.939 +at the moment. Her amber eyes were instead focused on her fiance.
 130.940 +“Since when did I say I was going back to Hong Kong? And I never said
 130.941 +anything about getting over Sakura-chan. I...” The girl trailed off
 130.942 +as her thoughts returned to earlier that evening. Her shoulders
 130.943 +slumped and her eyes closed as the image of Sakura with Tomoyo filled
 130.944 +his mind. So that’s why the Cardmistress had been spending all of her
 130.945 +time with the heiress lately. They were dating. Meiling had been
 130.946 +right in the first place. Coming to Japan had been pointless. 
 130.947 +	Nonplussed by the glare he had received from Meiling, Syaoran
 130.948 +shrugged. It had been worth a shot, at any rate. Besides, maybe she
 130.949 +could convince Wei to take them back to Hong Kong while she was
 130.950 +Syaoran. Not until after they got changed back, of course. Smiling
 130.951 +wickedly, the woman inhabiting Syaoran’s body smiled. His hand moved
 130.952 +from Meiling’s arm down to her hand. “Besides, I want to hurry back
 130.953 +so that I can marry my beloved Meiling. The sooner I can get back,
 130.954 +the better.” Leaning forward, he kissed the defeated looking Meiling.
 130.955 +The kiss broke through the black haired girl’s thoughts and brought a
 130.956 +deep blush to her cheeks. It felt so strange to be kissing herself.
 130.957 +He had to keep reminding himself that he was kissing Syaoran. But
 130.958 +despite the awkwardness of the situation, it was surprisingly easy.
 130.959 +Seeing the former boy blushing so brightly was a nice touch and it
 130.960 +felt so nice to be able to kiss him again, even if he was a girl at
 130.961 +the moment. That thought ended the kiss pretty quickly. Maybe this
 130.962 +was a little more bizarre than she thought. “I just love her so
 130.963 +much,” he added with a smile. “Sleep well, Wei! See you in the
 130.964 +morning!” He knew that it wasn’t really Syaoran’s words, but it
 130.965 +helped to at least hear them for once. Taking Meiling’s arm again, he
 130.966 +hurried back towards the girl’s room that had previously been his own.
 130.967 +	Watching in silence, Wei could barely contain his excitement. Ieran
 130.968 +would certainly want to hear of this sudden development! He had to
 130.969 +make plans to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible. 
 130.970 +
 130.971 +	Meiling sighed as she closed the door to her room behind the two of
 130.972 +them. Being in Syaoran’s body was getting a little too confusing for
 130.973 +her. But still... She smiled as a hand went to her lips. It had been
 130.974 +Syaoran and Meiling kissing, even if it had been a little mixed up
 130.975 +about who was who. It would’ve been nicer had Syaoran kissed her
 130.976 +back, but it had been fun to make him blush like that. Sitting on her
 130.977 +bed, Meiling tried to smooth down her skirt only to find Syaoran’s
 130.978 +shorts instead. Her hands immediately went to her sides, her own
 130.979 +blush burning across her cheeks. No, she didn’t like being in a boy’s
 130.980 +body. She wanted to be in her own again soon. She had been a girl her
 130.981 +entire life. She had always had such strong feelings for her cousin.
 130.982 +Now she was trapped in the body of the boy she loved and it was just
 130.983 +making everything so difficult. Her eyes slowly went over to Syaoran,
 130.984 +who was still a little flushed from earlier. The former boy was
 130.985 +having trouble with the skirt, but his mind was obviously elsewhere.
 130.986 +She giggled a bit at his frustration and scooted over to help him.
 130.987 +Her hands went to his waist. It felt strange to feel her body like
 130.988 +that. At least her martial arts training kept her in good shape.
 130.989 +“Okay, stand up.” Syaoran frowned but complied with her command. She
 130.990 +pulled the skirt back down and sat Syaoran down again, smoothing it
 130.991 +out over his legs. “There. See? It’s not so difficult. But you
 130.992 +shouldn’t have to get too used to it. We should be ourselves
 130.993 +tomorrow. Then we can put this nightmare behind us.” 
 130.994 +	Simply nodding, Syaoran looked around Meiling’s room. It wasn’t
 130.995 +that he hadn’t been there before, but he had been avoiding the room
 130.996 +since they had kissed in it the night after Meiling had arrived from
 130.997 +Hong Kong. He knew how she felt about him, but he was supposed to be
 130.998 +there for Sakura, damn it, and not an obsessive cousin. So he had
 130.999 +thought it best to try and ignore the room and the girl who slept in
130.1000 +it as much as possible, at least until he was dating Sakura again.
130.1001 +Meiling confused him. Even after all this time, she still loved him.
130.1002 +Despite his pledge of love for Sakura and despite his ignoring most
130.1003 +of her advances again and again. She was extremely determined, not
130.1004 +giving up on him. It was something that he had found incredibly
130.1005 +attractive in Sakura, that determination. And aside from Meiling
130.1006 +sharing that trait with Sakura, he genuinely liked spending time with
130.1007 +Meiling. She was probably the only person that he could relax around.
130.1008 +She made him feel good, like everything was fine. Meiling had been
130.1009 +his best friend since they had been children, and she still held up
130.1010 +that position even as she fell in love with him. She was closer to
130.1011 +him than anyone else could be. And it was for all of those reasons
130.1012 +that he had tried to stay away from her. Too often, he had felt a
130.1013 +warm feeling wrapping around his heart, his heart beating faster as
130.1014 +they were together. Too often, he had found himself nearly lost to
130.1015 +his beautiful cousin. And he simply couldn’t allow that of himself.
130.1016 +Not when he was going to make the Cardmistress his bride. Not that
130.1017 +that seemed like a possibility at all at the moment. But she was the
130.1018 +one he loved? Right? But he didn’t feel the same conviction he had
130.1019 +held for the past few years. It felt weaker, empty. How well had he
130.1020 +ever known Sakura? Why had his feelings for Yukito transferred so
130.1021 +quickly to her instead? Would he have even liked her had it not been
130.1022 +for her power, her determination? No, he loved her. It was simple.
130.1023 +He’d prove that he was the one for the Cardmistress, not that
130.1024 +backstabbing Diadouji girl. She had been the one who had nursed his
130.1025 +feelings for Sakura in the first place, had told him to tell her how
130.1026 +he felt. But now she was the one with Sakura. How could such a weak,
130.1027 +pathetic girl ever be enough for the powerful and determined Sakura?
130.1028 +It was just mind boggling. 
130.1029 +	Watching Syaoran closely, Meiling reached out and pushed back one
130.1030 +of his new black pigtails behind his shoulder. It was her body, but
130.1031 +it was so obvious that he was inside of it. That quiet, almost
130.1032 +irritated look that he always gave shined through even in another
130.1033 +body. But she knew what was behind all of his machismo, all of his
130.1034 +manliness. He was shy and uncertain. He always had been, for as long
130.1035 +as Meiling could remember him. He had never been very good at
130.1036 +expressing his feelings. They baffled him and he tried to keep them
130.1037 +all hidden, even from himself. Growing up in a house filled with
130.1038 +girls and faced with his mother’s high expectations of him, Syaoran
130.1039 +had overcompensated in his attitude, trying to be as manly as
130.1040 +possible to make up for the fact that he had no men to look up to, to
130.1041 +make up for his own shyness and insecurities. That was part of why
130.1042 +Meiling thought that he had gotten a crush on Yukito, because he was
130.1043 +a boy that he could really look up to, a boy that was sweet and kind
130.1044 +and didn’t need to worry about how manly he was. But Syaoran wanted
130.1045 +to be as masculine as possible, to prove that he was one in a house
130.1046 +full of women. That he was not one of them. Most of the time, it just
130.1047 +made him look like a jerk. At least at first glance. But Meiling
130.1048 +could see under that at the boy underneath it all. And there was
130.1049 +something almost feminine about him. Which made sense in its way,
130.1050 +what with him being the only boy in the entire family. It was fine
130.1051 +with her if Syaoran wanted to hide behind this tough boy image he had
130.1052 +made up for himself. But sometimes Meiling wondered if that stood in
130.1053 +her way. Was he so desperate to be strong on his own that he kept
130.1054 +pushing her away? That he couldn’t let her be strong for him? She
130.1055 +wasn’t sure, but it had begun to gnaw at her lately. It wasn’t so
130.1056 +much that he didn’t need her, but that he didn’t want to need her. At
130.1057 +least, she thought that it might be part of why she was having so
130.1058 +much trouble getting him to return her feelings. 
130.1059 +	“Why did you say all of those things to Wei?” Syaoran finally
130.1060 +asked, a trace of anger in his/Meiling’s voice as he spoke. He had
130.1061 +been lost in thought, but now he found himself once again facing the
130.1062 +present. Looking into Meiling’s large mirror, he could see a
130.1063 +beautiful black haired girl looking back at him. That wasn’t at all
130.1064 +what he was supposed to see. The feminine image looking back at him
130.1065 +just served to frustrate him even further. He felt so powerless, so
130.1066 +trapped by this whole scenario. He couldn’t do a thing until the
130.1067 +coming day to change back to who he was. “You had no right to say any
130.1068 +of that. Just because you’re in my body doesn’t mean you can go
130.1069 +around saying things like that. It’s my choice if I’m going to go
130.1070 +after Sakura-chan or not. I’m going to decide when I go back to Hong
130.1071 +Kong.”
130.1072 +	Lowering her head, Meiling closed her eyes. Hearing Syaoran yelling
130.1073 +at her, even in her own body, cut her deeply. She hadn’t meant to
130.1074 +make him angry, only to use her time as Syaoran as best as she could.
130.1075 +But her moved changed swiftly. Her hands clenched as his words played
130.1076 +through her head over and over. Her heart suddenly dropped. “So it’s
130.1077 +all right for you to run off here to chase some other woman while I
130.1078 +spend my whole life waiting for you? How long do I have to wait,
130.1079 +Syaoran? If you’re going to end the engagement, just do it already!
130.1080 +I’m tired of waiting for you, of being the door prize in case things
130.1081 +don’t work out with Sakura. I want you to love me, but if you can’t
130.1082 +then you need to tell me that. I won’t always be there for you to
130.1083 +fall back on, Syaoran.” Her head came up as she looked him in the
130.1084 +eye. Tears ran down her cheeks, but her amber eyes burned furiously.
130.1085 +“I’ll always be there to pick up the pieces when you fall, but I
130.1086 +won’t stand for second best. You know I never could.” She scoffed,
130.1087 +crossing her arms. “Besides, if you want Sakura so much, now’s the
130.1088 +time to do it. Dark haired girls are her thing, after all.” Crying
130.1089 +herself to sleep on her pillow sounded like a great idea at the
130.1090 +moment, but she was still too pissed off to let Syaoran get away that
130.1091 +easily. She felt sick inside, crushed by his inability to return the
130.1092 +feelings that she held for him, by his longing for another woman when
130.1093 +she was his fiance. “If you don’t want it, I won’t force you. I’m not
130.1094 +going to trap myself in some loveless marriage the way my mother did.
130.1095 +I’ll go home to Hong Kong myself and I’ll tell Ieran-sama that the
130.1096 +engagement’s off, that I’ve given up my claims on you. Just tell me.
130.1097 +I can get Wei to send me back on the next flight.” The fact that she
130.1098 +was still in Syaoran’s body didn’t register to her, or that Syaoran
130.1099 +was sitting across from her as a girl. None of that seemed to matter.
130.1100 +She was simply staring into Syaoran’s eyes, looking one last time for
130.1101 +something she had searched a lifetime for. Sometimes there had been
130.1102 +peeks, little flashes of what might have been, but she could never be
130.1103 +sure. This was all or nothing. If it wasn’t there this time, then she
130.1104 +was through. “I won’t love anyone else. I couldn’t,” she whispered.
130.1105 +“But I’m not your property, Syaoran.”
130.1106 +	“Mei... Ling...” Syaoran watched Meiling in surprise. He had always
130.1107 +thought that Meiling would simply be there, waiting, for all time if
130.1108 +need be. But how could he ever ask that of her? How could she sit by
130.1109 +while he continued to hurt her by trying to win the love of another?
130.1110 +And he had been hurting her more and more lately. He had always been
130.1111 +so careful about not hurting her. He had never simply thrown off her
130.1112 +advances or told her outright to stop them. He had tried his hardest
130.1113 +to never hurt her that way. She was too important to him. The thought
130.1114 +of her in pain because of him was unbearable. But here he was hurting
130.1115 +her all the same. They had grown closer in their time back in Hong
130.1116 +Kong, but ever since he had returned to Japan, he had tried to
130.1117 +distance himself from her as he focused on Sakura. So he had to be
130.1118 +man enough to accept this. That thought seemed a little strange as he
130.1119 +glanced back at the mirror, at the female body that currently housed
130.1120 +him. But that didn’t seem important. None of this seemed important
130.1121 +any longer. Finding out Sakura was with the heiress, or that he and
130.1122 +Meiling had switched bodies, none of it seemed all that tragic at the
130.1123 +moment. The tragic thought was that he might lose Meiling because of
130.1124 +this. And that frightened him. He couldn’t remember a time when she
130.1125 +hadn’t been there for him. He had always been too proud to go to her
130.1126 +with his problems, but she usually came to him and helped him through
130.1127 +them anyway. It was so much more than just that. She had stood up for
130.1128 +him in front of his mother before, something even he found almost
130.1129 +impossible to do. She had given him the strength to face so much. She
130.1130 +loved him even though he never returned the warmth she gave him. And
130.1131 +now he had to decide. Would he pull her closer or set her free? Would
130.1132 +he tug the string that bound her to him, or cut it loose? He looked
130.1133 +down at his skirt clad lap indecisively. He wasn’t good with things
130.1134 +like this. It had taken Tomoyo quite a while just to convince him to
130.1135 +tell Sakura how he felt. How was he supposed to handle a situation
130.1136 +like this? “Meiling,” he said at last, slowly looking up into her
130.1137 +tear soaked eyes. He looked directly into the face that had been his
130.1138 +own up till a few hours before. “I can’t let you go. I don’t want you
130.1139 +to stop being my fiance. It would be.. harder without you. I... I...”
130.1140 +He wanted to look away, to trail off, but he forced himself to try
130.1141 +again. His fingers clutched onto the fabric of the skirt as amber
130.1142 +eyes met amber eyes. “I.. I need you, Meiling,” he got out at last.
130.1143 +Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. It had been one of the
130.1144 +hardest things he had ever said, but he suddenly felt like a weight
130.1145 +had been lifted off of his shoulders. It felt nice to finally admit
130.1146 +that to himself and to Meiling.
130.1147 +	The currently brown haired boy looked on in astonishment. Had
130.1148 +Syaoran actually said that he needed her? That he wanted to stay her
130.1149 +fiance? “You really mean it?” she asked quickly, her hands on her
130.1150 +knees. He nodded, dark hair fluttering about his back. A giddy thrill
130.1151 +shot through Meiling, her heart swelling with joy. She had waited so
130.1152 +long to hear that, to hear him finally accept her. So often in recent
130.1153 +years, she had wondered if he ever would, if she would ever be able
130.1154 +to marry the boy she loved. Her arms wrapped around him joyously as
130.1155 +she clutched on tightly to her betrothed. It didn’t matter if he was
130.1156 +a girl at the moment or if she was currently a boy. It didn’t matter
130.1157 +if she was looking into her own eyes as long as Syaoran was on the
130.1158 +other side of them. Such things were of little importance to her. She
130.1159 +was in love, and that blinding light made everything else seem
130.1160 +insignificant. Tears spilt down her cheeks as she felt his arms go
130.1161 +around her neck. She had been on the razor’s edge just a moment
130.1162 +before, torn apart at the thought of leaving her cousin behind.
130.1163 +Relief flooded through her in a torrent, mixed with the delicious
130.1164 +love that poured over her heart and soul. Hesitating for only a
130.1165 +second, Meiling kissed Syaoran again, but this time without the
130.1166 +concerns that had brought her earlier kiss to an early conclusion. A
130.1167 +moment like this wouldn’t feel right without a kiss. It signified so
130.1168 +much in that sweet meeting of lips. Meiling was delighted to feel
130.1169 +Syaoran return the kiss this time. Though she wasn’t exactly
130.1170 +narcissistic, Meiling had plenty of confidence in herself. And one of
130.1171 +the things she was fairly certain of was that she was a pretty young
130.1172 +woman. Seeing Syaoran in her body just strengthened that belief
130.1173 +because she sure thought Syaoran looked pretty in it. She didn’t know
130.1174 +if it was from the euphoria of the moment or if it was just a simple
130.1175 +as being in love, but it really didn’t matter that Syaoran was a girl
130.1176 +at the moment. 
130.1177 +	Syaoran blushed as he tried to catch his breath from the kiss with
130.1178 +Meiling. It felt so nice not to have to worry about how manly he
130.1179 +seemed or whether or not he was in charge of things. It was such a
130.1180 +relief to leave it in Meiling’s very capable hands. And what hands
130.1181 +they were. Syaoran blushed a darker shade of red as Meiling’s hands
130.1182 +trailed up and down his back, holding him close. Meiling was always
130.1183 +so sure of what she wanted, so determined and ready to go for it. For
130.1184 +once in his life, he didn’t feel wrong for just wanting her to lead
130.1185 +him wherever she wanted to. He felt so free, to just give up and let
130.1186 +it happen, to know that Meiling would handle things. Part of him
130.1187 +almost didn’t want to go see Sakura to switch bodies the next day. He
130.1188 +thought that he had to act certain ways as a boy, that he had to hide
130.1189 +his own insecurities and shyness behind a picture of confidence and
130.1190 +bravado. As a girl, he could finally let go of them. His mind drifted
130.1191 +back to his sisters and how happy and carefree they always seemed. As
130.1192 +a girl, he didn’t have to live up to his mother’s high demands of
130.1193 +him. He didn’t have the entire weight of the Li Clan resting solely
130.1194 +on his shoulders. His mother had always treated him so harshly in
130.1195 +comparison to his sisters. It almost felt a shame that he would have
130.1196 +to go back to all that when he regained his own body. Besides,
130.1197 +Meiling was already so confident, so self-assured. He envied that in
130.1198 +her, but it was also something that he loved about her. Loved? Had he
130.1199 +just thought that? Well, yes... Yes, he did love her. This
130.1200 +beautiful... err… handsome boy that was currently holding him,
130.1201 +kissing him again and again. He had to admit, Meiling did make a nice
130.1202 +boy. And he felt so peaceful in Meiling’s arms. It felt like he was
130.1203 +floating along in a crystal stream, flowing deeper and deeper.
130.1204 +	“I love you, Syaoran,” Meiling whispered breathlessly as her lips
130.1205 +finally parted from her cousin's. This felt like a dream, a
130.1206 +hopelessly wonderful yet admittedly bizarre dream. She just prayed
130.1207 +that she would never have to awaken from it. It didn’t matter who
130.1208 +Syaoran was so long as he was Syaoran and as long as he was hers. Her
130.1209 +heart burned passionately for her more introverted fiance, driving
130.1210 +her ever forward. Her hands gently followed her old body’s curves,
130.1211 +moving over every inch of Syaoran that she could. It felt so
130.1212 +different now. It wasn’t like when she would bathe or dress or
130.1213 +anything. No, then it was just her body, nothing special. Now it was
130.1214 +Syaoran, and that made all the difference in the world. She blushed
130.1215 +as Syaoran let out a gasp, finding her hand on his now more ample
130.1216 +chest. Looking over at him, she saw that his eyes were closed, his
130.1217 +face red. She should stop. Who knew where this could go? She had been
130.1218 +wanting to be with Syaoran for so long that it was almost
130.1219 +irresistible to continue. Besides, they were in each other’s bodies
130.1220 +at the moment. She’d stop before she got too far with anything. It
130.1221 +wasn’t like she wanted to do anything to her own body. She just...
130.1222 +wanted to be close to him for as long as she could.
130.1223 +	
130.1224 +	Wei could see the two cousins kissing in Meiling’s room through the
130.1225 +slightly ajar door and couldn’t help but grin. Ieran had made an
130.1226 +excellent choice in engaging the two. They really made a perfect
130.1227 +match. He had been hoping that they would eventually work out, for
130.1228 +both of their sakes. “They seem to be... They’re both asleep at the
130.1229 +moment, Miss Ieran. But I’m sure they’ll love to speak with you as
130.1230 +soon as they can. I have the tickets, so that will be very soon.”
130.1231 +Smiling, the older man shut the door the rest of the way and returned
130.1232 +to his conversation with the head of the House of Li. He remembered
130.1233 +when he had been that young, so he didn’t wish to disturb the two of
130.1234 +them. It looked like Master Syaoran was feeling a bit adventurous.
130.1235 +They would have such beautiful children. He hoped he could be around
130.1236 +to help that generation as well. A lifetime of service to the Li
130.1237 +family had endeared him to them very much. He was glad to see it
130.1238 +continuing on.
130.1239 +
130.1240 +	“Master Syaoran, Miss Meiling, it’s time to wake up,” Wei called
130.1241 +from somewhere that sounded extremely far off to the still sleepy
130.1242 +Meiling.
130.1243 +	Shifting in bed, Meiling was surprised to find one of her arms
130.1244 +pinned under something warm. A flush spread across her cheeks as she
130.1245 +felt the soft skin against her arm. ‘Syaoran!!’ she thought
130.1246 +excitedly. ‘So he must have stayed with me last night.’ She rolled
130.1247 +back on her side and hugged the sleeping form of her fiance with all
130.1248 +of her might. “Syaoran,” she sang into his ear. “Time to wake up. We
130.1249 +have school.” Kissing the side of his head, she felt his hair brush
130.1250 +against her face. “You need a haircut soon,” she said, yawning. Her
130.1251 +hand finally paused on Syaoran’s stomach. Something was wrong. Having
130.1252 +grappled onto Syaoran more than a thousand times in her lifetime, she
130.1253 +knew what it felt like to hold onto him. She was more or less an
130.1254 +expert on the subject. And this felt.. different. “Syaoran?” Sitting
130.1255 +up in bed, the blanket slid down past her, leaving her sitting naked
130.1256 +in the cold air and Syaoran only half covered by it. Next to her, she
130.1257 +saw herself, lying with the blanket around her waist and her black
130.1258 +hair in disarray. Looking down slowly, she saw Syaoran’s body, along
130.1259 +with something she hadn’t seen very often currently between her legs.
130.1260 +“Syaoran!!!!” She cried out, standing up on the bed. Her eyes were
130.1261 +wide with panic. She was still Syaoran. Which meant that Syaoran was
130.1262 +still her. Well, in her body, at any rate. Which meant that.. What
130.1263 +had happened last night? They had been kissing and holding each other
130.1264 +and they had slumped back on the bed together and... She nearly
130.1265 +toppled off the bed as the realization struck her. She had slept with
130.1266 +Syaoran the night before. That would have been a cause for
130.1267 +celebration under most other circumstances seeing as how she had
130.1268 +wanted to be with him for the longest time. But slowly, the night
130.1269 +began returning to her and it wasn’t exactly what she had fantasized
130.1270 +about. Not that it hadn’t been intense. But the fact that she had
130.1271 +slept with Syaoran as a girl suddenly had her disoriented. It was
130.1272 +only made worse by the fact that she had been a boy at the time. What
130.1273 +had she been thinking? ‘Those eyes,’ she thought dreamily. She shook
130.1274 +her head instantly, trying to banish the thought. How could she have
130.1275 +let that happen? Let alone, how could she have actually been the one
130.1276 +to bring it about? Why the hell would she want to sleep with her own
130.1277 +body? Why would she want to have sex as a boy? Those eyes once again
130.1278 +came back as her answer. Because it had been Syaoran. Because she had
130.1279 +seen it in them. Because she wanted nothing more than to be with him,
130.1280 +even if he wasn’t a he at the moment. Slumping back on the bed,
130.1281 +Meiling stared at the roof. This was going to take a while to get
130.1282 +over. 
130.1283 +	Stirring in bed, Syaoran slowly blinked himself awake. Seconds
130.1284 +later, a scream shook the household.
130.1285 +
130.1286 +	A playful morning breeze meandered through the still sleepy
130.1287 +students as they all made their way towards their inevitable
130.1288 +destination as if by drawn by the hand of Fate. The warm wind worked
130.1289 +its gentle fingers on the tired students, easing the anxiety over the
130.1290 +school day laid out before them. Most of the teenagers lazily made
130.1291 +their way to the vast complex that would house their young minds for
130.1292 +the majority of the day, stopping to wave hello to fellow students or
130.1293 +to stop and chat with friends in an attempt to stall the awaiting
130.1294 +judgement. But two students stood out from the crowd, not at all
130.1295 +sedated by the early morning breeze and the still low lying sun.
130.1296 +Syaoran and Meiling Li hurried through the crowd with single-minded
130.1297 +intent. Meiling’s hair lay draped across her shoulders, her usual
130.1298 +pigtails abandoned, but no one thought it wise to ask the admittedly
130.1299 +short tempered Chinese girl about it. 
130.1300 +	“Where is she?” Meiling asked anxiously, scouring the crowd for the
130.1301 +Cardmistress but to no avail. After that morning’s little ‘surprise’,
130.1302 +she was in no mood for games. She just wanted to end the whole thing.
130.1303 +She wanted her own body back. She was supposed to be on the other end
130.1304 +of things the night before, not the other way around. A slight blush
130.1305 +crossed Meiling’s cheeks as she tried to force back the thoughts from
130.1306 +the night before. Her almond eyes darted back to Syaoran despite
130.1307 +their current mission. Seeing the boy she had longed to marry for
130.1308 +most of her life in her body was a very strange sight indeed. He
130.1309 +looked so awkward in the skirt, shifting around uneasily in it and
130.1310 +holding it down tightly whenever any breeze would threaten to ruffle
130.1311 +it. But there was something cute about that, seeing him as herself,
130.1312 +long hair, skirt, and all. He looked so much more vulnerable in her
130.1313 +body, something that the Chinese boy always tried desperately to hide
130.1314 +beneath a rough and uncaring exterior. He had grown up with the
130.1315 +expectations that he was supposed to be a man in a family full of
130.1316 +women. And he didn’t know how. So he tried far too hard,
130.1317 +overcompensating in an attempt to prove his worth. Sometimes amusing,
130.1318 +sometimes frustrating, Meiling always stayed by his side. It wasn’t
130.1319 +his exterior she was interested in. He could be as quiet or as
130.1320 +haughty as he wanted. It was the shy, emotionally troubled boy inside
130.1321 +that had always captivated Meiling. And it showed through exquisitely
130.1322 +while he was trapped in her body. Just as it had shown through the
130.1323 +night before. Sighing, Meiling tried to force the blush away from her
130.1324 +cheeks. But just like her search for Sakura, it proved to be
130.1325 +fruitless. 
130.1326 +	Syaoran, meanwhile, was wondering how in the world he was supposed
130.1327 +to keep his skirt down with the wind mischievously tugging at it
130.1328 +every few seconds. What used to be a mild interest now turned
130.1329 +irritating. Short skirts were definitely more fun to look at on
130.1330 +others than to wear himself, he decided. He was still desperately
130.1331 +searching for the Cardmistress, hoping that Sakura could put
130.1332 +everything right again. And then he could try to forget all about the
130.1333 +night before. He scowled as images and sounds flooded back from
130.1334 +memory of his time with his fiance. Meiling’s hands all over his
130.1335 +body, her lips gently caressing his own, her murmurs and whispers of
130.1336 +love as they writhed together on her bed. The electrical feelings
130.1337 +that tingled through him as Meiling’s body reacted in ways that his
130.1338 +never could. Balling his hands into fists, he tried to fight back his
130.1339 +embarrassment the way he always did, with anger. This was all
130.1340 +Daidouji’s fault. Somehow. If she hadn’t lured Sakura back to her
130.1341 +place... But then, if he hadn’t follwed them... Damn it, he didn’t
130.1342 +care whose fault it was. He just wanted to get things back to normal.
130.1343 +He certainly wasn’t supposed to be fooling around with himself like
130.1344 +the night before. Even if it was Meiling. And even if thoughts of
130.1345 +those sweet kisses threatened to send a shiver down his spine.
130.1346 +Blushing and scowling in unison, Syaoran threw himself into finding
130.1347 +Sakura.
130.1348 +	The two cousins finally spotted Sakura under a tree near the gates
130.1349 +to the school. The brunette was joined by her lavender haired
130.1350 +companion as usual. But oddly enough, Tomoyo looked to be the
130.1351 +embarrassed one this time around. Sakura was smiling brightly, her
130.1352 +hands on her cheeks as she spoke to the blushing pale girl. Meiling
130.1353 +was the first to react, practically dragging Syaoran over to the two
130.1354 +girls. She didn’t care if they were both acting flaky that morning or
130.1355 +what they were up to. She wanted things set back to normal before
130.1356 +anything else happened. There were already enough problems she had to
130.1357 +handle with only the night before. If this went on any longer, who
130.1358 +know what might happen? Noticing Syaoran’s typical scowl crossing his
130.1359 +face as he waited, she realized that her quiet cousin wasn’t sure of
130.1360 +how to proceed. With a sigh, Meiling decided to handle things
130.1361 +herself. Stepping forward, she crossed her arms. “Sakura, we need to
130.1362 +talk.”
130.1363 +	Turning to face the Chinese Sorcerer and his martial artist cousin,
130.1364 +the brunette smiled Tomoyo’s patented eerie smile. “Hello, Li-kun,
130.1365 +Meiling-chan. Is there anything I can do for the both of you?” she
130.1366 +asked politely, looking from one to the other. It didn’t surprise her
130.1367 +to hear Syaoran asking to speak to her so seriously. She’d been
130.1368 +waiting for him to ask Sakura about what was going on. Sakura was
130.1369 +obviously his reason for returning to Japan. Sakura treated him like
130.1370 +one of her friends, kindly and happily just like Sakura always did.
130.1371 +But this surprised the sorcerer who had been expecting something more
130.1372 +from the Cardmistress. Tomoyo had actually expected him to ask Sakura
130.1373 +earlier, but she supposed that with how long it took for him to
130.1374 +confess his feelings for Sakura, it must take a while to ask about
130.1375 +Sakura’s feelings. But now it appeared he was ready to ask her, and
130.1376 +sense she was in Sakura’s body, she was the one he had come to. But
130.1377 +as she waited for his response, she began to reevaluate the
130.1378 +situation. Why would Syaoran come to ask about the brunette’s
130.1379 +feelings with Meiling in tow? That would just be cruel to Meiling and
130.1380 +with her temper, she wouldn’t be very happy to hear her fiance asking
130.1381 +about Sakura’s love life. On top of that, Meiling appeared to be
130.1382 +acting strangely. She was scowling very familiarly, letting Syaoran
130.1383 +do the talking. She was oddly quiet, wrapped up in her thoughts. Just
130.1384 +like someone else. Tomoyo brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully,
130.1385 +never once losing her smile. 
130.1386 +	Meiling frowned for a moment, at a loss for words. This seemed a
130.1387 +lot easier when she’d been running around the house in a panic,
130.1388 +getting an odd stare from Wei when she walked out of her room wearing
130.1389 +the girl’s uniform. Things had been very straightforward. They would
130.1390 +find Sakura and make her change them back. But how was she supposed
130.1391 +to say that? She suddenly felt very self-conscious, shifting around
130.1392 +under the boy’s uniform. She was a girl trapped in a boy’s body and
130.1393 +she somehow had to explain that. This wasn’t at all like when Syaoran
130.1394 +had been trapped in Kero’s body. At least that whole event had been
130.1395 +mostly painless. This time she was directly involved. “Sakura, we’ve
130.1396 +got a problem. Last night...” She glared over at Syaoran. She’d bop
130.1397 +him right now if she wasn’t so nervous. If he hadn’t gone after that
130.1398 +Japanese hussy, she’d be in her own body at the moment, clinging to
130.1399 +her cousin’s arm lovingly. Just like how Sakura was leaning happily
130.1400 +against Tomoyo at the moment, a contented look on her face as she
130.1401 +held her chin in thought. Meiling placed her hands on her hips,
130.1402 +frowning as she tried to describe what had happened. “You need to fix
130.1403 +things,” she got out at last, frustrated with how difficult this was
130.1404 +turning out.
130.1405 +	Syaoran sighed. This wasn’t turning out as well as he’d planned.
130.1406 +Then again, he hadn’t had much time to plan anything. Upon waking up,
130.1407 +he had found himself in a very awkward position with memories of the
130.1408 +night before returned shortly thereafter. The whole morning felt more
130.1409 +like a haze than reality. He couldn’t even remember walking to
130.1410 +school, having been too lost in his thoughts. The night before
130.1411 +blurred together with images and thoughts and feelings, all
130.1412 +compounding together until the poor boy was thoroughly confused. His
130.1413 +feelings for Meiling burned inside of him in a way that they never
130.1414 +had with Sakura. She didn’t have Sakura’s limitless magic, something
130.1415 +that demanded his attention, but Meiling had a magic all her own, a
130.1416 +will that managed to grab his attention whether or not he wanted to
130.1417 +give it. He had grown much closer to his fiery cousin in the past few
130.1418 +years during his time back in Hong Kong, her unswerving loyalty and
130.1419 +beautiful presence always keeping him company through even the
130.1420 +roughest waters. And what did he give her in return? Nothing. He had
130.1421 +always assumed that he would return to Japan and claim Sakura, even
130.1422 +as he and Meiling would talk in the garden under the stars back home.
130.1423 +Though he didn’t say it, he was grateful for her presence. She was
130.1424 +truly his best friend, the only person to really know him for who he
130.1425 +was and not for the masculine façade he tried to hold up. Life would
130.1426 +be too lonely without her. Even if she was rather forceful in staying
130.1427 +with him no matter how quiet and aloof he generally was. He had had
130.1428 +some rather doki doki, romantic moments with Meiling over the past
130.1429 +few years, but they were always left unfinished as the Chinese boy
130.1430 +found one way or another to get away. How many half kisses, embraces,
130.1431 +and deep looks had they shared since his return to Hong Kong? The
130.1432 +night before just felt like a natural conclusion to things, a long
130.1433 +drawn out consummation of the unspoken feelings between the two.
130.1434 +Syaoran had actually felt relieved when it was all done, glad to have
130.1435 +finally broken the barrier that had held back his heart for so long.
130.1436 +The small, unfinished moments they had shared beforehand had been
130.1437 +teasing him for what felt like an eternity. It was so nice to finally
130.1438 +have it behind him, to have it out in the open. Being a girl at the
130.1439 +time gave the whole thing a freakish spin that threatened to twist
130.1440 +the whole thing out of perception, but he was slowly coming to grips
130.1441 +with it. Just like how the night before felt like a forgone
130.1442 +conclusion, so did his being a girl during it. In fact, Meiling being
130.1443 +a boy at the time had made it easier for him. He hadn’t been so
130.1444 +worried, so overwhelmed by what he should by doing or how he was
130.1445 +supposed to act. He hadn’t felt so pressured to be the cold, aloof
130.1446 +man he thought he was expected to be. He had just gone along with her
130.1447 +wishes. Meiling always was so much better at deciding things than he
130.1448 +was anyway. The thought of the night before and Meiling herself was
130.1449 +like warm, delicious honey coating his heart, no matter how hard he
130.1450 +tried to deny it to himself. Meiling loved him in a way Sakura and
130.1451 +Yukito never could, bringing out feelings in him that neither of his
130.1452 +previous crushes had elicited. 
130.1453 +Sighing again, he scowled and crossed his arms over his now more
130.1454 +ample chest. At least he was getting used to the girl’s clothes. He
130.1455 +hadn’t worn girl’s clothes since he was a kid, back when his crazy
130.1456 +older sisters had dressed him up often in their old clothes. They had
130.1457 +all loved it, treating him like their little doll. He had complained,
130.1458 +but he secretly loved how they would call him their little sister,
130.1459 +giving him a taste of the love and care that had been denied him as
130.1460 +the male heir to the Li Clan. He had been raised with the explicit
130.1461 +purpose of becoming head of the Li Clan, groomed for that position.
130.1462 +All the while, his sisters had been granted all the love and
130.1463 +attention that his sometimes distant mother could afford them. They
130.1464 +all looked so happy while he was always scowling. It hadn’t seemed
130.1465 +fair at all. Sometimes he had envied his sisters, wishing his mother
130.1466 +would treat him as she did his siblings. But he had grown angry and
130.1467 +introverted, his feelings all looping back into himself. He had tried
130.1468 +to be exactly what his mother wanted him to be, a strong man. But
130.1469 +sometimes all he wanted was for her to look at him the way she looked
130.1470 +at his sisters...
130.1471 +	Tomoyo brushed away some of the brunette hair from her face,
130.1472 +studying the two cousins with her now jade eyes. Having a penchant
130.1473 +for trying new hairstyles, she didn’t let being in Sakura’s body stop
130.1474 +her. The short auburn hair was done up in two short pigtails, little
130.1475 +lacy ribbons interspersed all through her hair. She had done Sakura’s
130.1476 +now long, dark hair on the way to school in the limousine as well,
130.1477 +giving her longer pigtails so they would match. It was still a bit
130.1478 +different for her to be in her love’s body, but she was enjoying
130.1479 +every single second of it, thrilling at the smallest details like
130.1480 +watching the muscles under soft skin as she moved Sakura’s legs. It
130.1481 +was so incredibly different to watch Sakura from outside. Now she saw
130.1482 +Sakura the same way that the Cardmistress saw herself and it was a
130.1483 +fascinating experience. And seeing Sakura trying to get used to her
130.1484 +old body was just so incredibly adorable! The way she moved, the way
130.1485 +she talked, it was all so cute. Tomoyo’s body wasn’t as athletic as
130.1486 +Sakura’s, but the Cardmistress continued to move with an almost
130.1487 +blinding amount of energy, always letting her genki spirit shine
130.1488 +through. Hearing Sakura use her voice and watching Sakura moving
130.1489 +around so enthusiastically was better than seeing Sakura in any
130.1490 +simple costume. It was like she had put Sakura in a Tomoyo costume
130.1491 +and let her run free. Tomoyo was still trying to videotape as much of
130.1492 +Sakura as possible, wanting to capture it all for posterity and her
130.1493 +own viewing pleasure later on. 
130.1494 +	Thoughts flowed serenely in Tomoyo’s head as she listened to
130.1495 +Syaoran, watching the two cousins as she rested against Sakura. The
130.1496 +answer to the puzzle she found herself looking at was just on the tip
130.1497 +of her tongue, the picture almost making sense for her. Something
130.1498 +finally clicked into place while she saw Meiling’s long hair flutter
130.1499 +in the wind. Smiling sweetly, she turned to the Chinese boy, his
130.1500 +hands still on his hips. “What can I do to help, Meiling-chan?” she
130.1501 +asked the boy curiously, though she had a fair idea what that would
130.1502 +be. The boy’s eyes went wide and then closed in relief. Tomoyo felt
130.1503 +Sakura shift against her, long lavender hair teasing her face when
130.1504 +the Cardmistress moved.
130.1505 +	Breathing a sigh of relief, Meiling’s eyes fluttered open. This
130.1506 +whole thing would be over soon enough and she could forget all about
130.1507 +it. But did she want to? She had given her love to Syaoran and for
130.1508 +once her fiance had accepted it. Well, that hardly mattered. First
130.1509 +things first, after all. She grinned from ear to ear at Sakura’s
130.1510 +words. Things would be back to normal soon. “We need you to change us
130.1511 +back. Now.”
130.1512 +	Sakura looked from Meiling to Syaoran and back, dark hair obscuring
130.1513 +her vision for a moment before she moved a pigtail to the side. What
130.1514 +had just transpired? Did Tomoyo really say that Syaoran was Meiling?
130.1515 +Then that meant... “Syaoran-kun?” Sakura asked, turning to the dark
130.1516 +haired girl. Syaoran looked miserable, but he nodded. “Hoe...” The
130.1517 +Cardmistress nearly felt dizzy. As if things weren’t usually
130.1518 +confusion enough, now everyone appeared to be someone that they
130.1519 +weren’t. What next? Chiharu telling all kinds of crazy stories while
130.1520 +Yamazaki got frustrated and said she was lying? Syaoran being Meiling
130.1521 +was certainly a little more bizarre than when the boy had switched
130.1522 +places with Kero. How was he handling being a girl? Sakura was
130.1523 +curious to ask, but now didn’t feel like the appropriate time. She
130.1524 +followed Meiling’s gaze to Tomoyo. So they still thought that Tomoyo
130.1525 +was her. “Ano... I’m Sakura-chan,” she said hastily, sweatdropping.
130.1526 +She felt both of the Li’s eyes turning to her and immediately
130.1527 +regretted saying anything. She probably should have waited for a
130.1528 +better opportunity to explain things. Oh well. Too late for that now.
130.1529 +	“Sakura-chan?” Syaoran asked in confusion. So that’s what had
130.1530 +happened with the Change Card... Sakura must have been using it on
130.1531 +herself and Tomoyo. His shoulders slumped as his mind went back to
130.1532 +what he had seen in Tomoyo’s window. He felt a flash of anger at
130.1533 +that, but he tried to focus on the important part of the situation,
130.1534 +getting the whole thing sorted out. “So you got switched with
130.1535 +Daidouji-san, Sakura-chan? How did that happen?” He nearly bit out
130.1536 +the last part, anger building up at Sakura’s choice in Tomoyo over
130.1537 +him. That, however, was short lived. As soon as it was out of his
130.1538 +mouth, Meiling’s elbow connected with his ribs none too gently, her
130.1539 +currently brown eyes shooting him a glance. Scowling again, he
130.1540 +crossed his arms and waited.
130.1541 +	Pale cheeks turned a dark shade of scarlet as Sakura struggled for
130.1542 +a reply. She could remember the events that had led up to her
130.1543 +switching places with Tomoyo in crystal clarity, but she didn’t
130.1544 +exactly want to share the explanation. She could remember Tomoyo and
130.1545 +stockings and video cameras and lace and kisses and warm skin and...
130.1546 +No, she definitely didn’t think an exact recollection of the night’s
130.1547 +events was called for. Luckily, Tomoyo came to her rescue, not
130.1548 +seeming at all fazed by the mention of the night before.
130.1549 +	“Sakura-chan was staying at my house last night because her
130.1550 +father’s out of town at a conference,” Tomoyo stated with a smile.
130.1551 +Her gentle voice didn’t betray her as her thoughts replayed her time
130.1552 +with Sakura in vivid detail. “We finished our homework early and
130.1553 +decided to play a game. I thought it would be fun to trade places
130.1554 +with Sakura-chan for a while, so she used her magic,” the heiress
130.1555 +explained, head tilted to the side. She wasn’t technically lying.
130.1556 +What she said was all true. It just lacked some of the meatier
130.1557 +details that led up to their switching places. “The Change Card
130.1558 +switched us and then hopped out the window for a moment.” Tomoyo
130.1559 +turned to Sakura and smiled brilliantly, holding onto a blushing
130.1560 +Sakura. “Isn’t Sakura-chan gorgeous even when she’s in another body?
130.1561 +Sakura-chan can pull off any look!” Noting the even more embarrassed
130.1562 +look on Sakura’s face, Tomoyo smiled happily, though she didn’t
130.1563 +release Sakura from her embrace. “How did the Change get a hold of
130.1564 +the two of you?” she asked curiously. She already had a pretty good
130.1565 +idea of what on her own. Syaoran must have followed them, Meiling
130.1566 +giving chase. Syaoran must have been somewhere very near the house
130.1567 +when the Change jumped out the window because it had come back to
130.1568 +Sakura rather quickly. 
130.1569 +	Meiling stepped forward and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We
130.1570 +just need to fix this right now. I don’t care if you two want to run
130.1571 +around like this, but Syaoran and I would kindly like to have our own
130.1572 +bodies back. I just want this whole nightmare to be over with.” That
130.1573 +wasn’t exactly true, as Meiling couldn’t honestly say it was a
130.1574 +nightmare. But nevertheless, she longed to return to her own body. 
130.1575 +	Looking down nervously, Sakura placed a hand behind her and
130.1576 +laughed. It was a nervous laugh, but she hoped they wouldn’t catch
130.1577 +on. From the looks on their faces, it appeared that they had. “Hoe...
130.1578 +I can’t,” she mumbled. 
130.1579 +	“What?” Syaoran asked. He tried to catch Sakura’s now stormy blue
130.1580 +eyes, but Tomoyo was obviously distracting her, keeping her
130.1581 +attention. His heart seemed to be pounding in slow motion, panic
130.1582 +struggling within his brain. But it wasn’t time for that yet. He had
130.1583 +to know what was going on. Maybe he had misunderstood. “What do you
130.1584 +mean?”
130.1585 +	“I can’t change everyone back yet,” Sakura began, taking a deep
130.1586 +breath before looking up. She smiled weakly, her hand still behind
130.1587 +her head. She scratched through her long, lavender hair as she tried
130.1588 +to go on. “The Change Card needs a day to recharge when I use it. It
130.1589 +takes a lot for it to switch the souls of two people.”
130.1590 +	“But it’s already been a day. Almost,” Syaoran added quickly,
130.1591 +waiting for Sakura to continue.
130.1592 +	“Un. But that’s when it’s only changing two people. This time, it
130.1593 +switched all four of us. And I was using a lot of magic at the time
130.1594 +because I was… excited about the whole thing.” Her cheeks burned as
130.1595 +she fought for words. She had been in a very excited state of mind at
130.1596 +the time she had used the Card, so her magic had come pouring forth
130.1597 +in vast quantities. “So it’s going to take longer for it to
130.1598 +recharge,” she finished quietly. 
130.1599 +	“What?!?” Meiling’s eyes went wide as she stared at the pale girl
130.1600 +that was now the Cardmistress. Her hopes for a speedy resolution to
130.1601 +the situation were now dashed beyond recognition. “You mean we’re
130.1602 +stuck this way? For how long?”
130.1603 +	The world spun around Syaoran as he replayed Sakura’s words. The
130.1604 +logic was sound. Even if logic could be a funny thing when applied to
130.1605 +magic. This was much, much worse than getting stuck in the body of
130.1606 +the Seal Beast. He was stuck in the body of the girl who loved him,
130.1607 +his own cousin, and he somehow had to deal with it for however long
130.1608 +it took the Card to recharge. Did Fate think he hadn’t been
130.1609 +humiliated enough by finding out that some weak girl was the
130.1610 +Cardcaptor, that she held the limitless power of his great ancestor?
130.1611 +Was his role as her sidekick simply not enough of a slap in the face
130.1612 +to the heir to the Li Clan? 
130.1613 +	Sakura smiled, trying to put a brighter slant on the situation.
130.1614 +This just meant they’d all have to spend a little time in different
130.1615 +bodies. And besides, she was getting used to Tomoyo’s body. It was so
130.1616 +much prettier than her own, a gorgeous look that always left her
130.1617 +breathless when she was in Tomoyo’s presence. A few more days as
130.1618 +Tomoyo didn’t feel like such a bad thing. Then again, Syaoran and
130.1619 +Meiling didn’t seem to be as happy about the situation. She and
130.1620 +Tomoyo had been exploring what it was like to be in the others body,
130.1621 +almost treating it like a game. How were Syaoran and Meiling handling
130.1622 +it? Her smile faltered a bit as she spoke up. “The Change Card
130.1623 +probably needs another day or two to recharge before I can use it
130.1624 +again. Maybe a little longer. I did use a lot of magic with it.”
130.1625 +Syaoran and Meiling both looked devastated by the news, shock
130.1626 +registering on Syaoran’s face while mute horror etched itself onto
130.1627 +Meiling. Sakura sighed, brushing more lavender hair from her eyes.
130.1628 +Sometimes being a magical girl was not what it was cracked up to be.
130.1629 +	“So what do we do in the meantime? Are we just stuck this way? I
130.1630 +don’t want to be a boy!!” Meiling slumped to her knees on the grass
130.1631 +miserably. Students stared oddly for her comment, but she wasn’t
130.1632 +paying them any attention. 
130.1633 +	“We just have to wait for the Change Card to recharge. It’s not
130.1634 +like we’re stuck this way. Besides, there’s no other option, so we
130.1635 +have to wait,” Syaoran explained, crossing his arms. To his surprise,
130.1636 +he felt cool relief spread through him. The thought that they
130.1637 +wouldn’t be changing back right away was a soothing one. Like finding
130.1638 +out a dentist appointment was cancelled or postponed, he was glad to
130.1639 +know they wouldn’t be going through with it. He couldn’t quite
130.1640 +understand it, but he didn’t want to be in his own body again, at
130.1641 +least for the moment. Playing dress up with his sisters came to mind,
130.1642 +but this felt much stronger. Back then there was the knowledge that
130.1643 +they were simply playing, that he wasn’t a girl like his sisters. But
130.1644 +now... He felt free in Meiling’s body. He was free from his mother’s
130.1645 +coldness and the responsibilities that had been thrust on him simply
130.1646 +for the mistake of his being born as a boy. Fanren, his oldest
130.1647 +sister, would make a better head of the Li Clan than he would anyway.
130.1648 +Syaoran didn’t even mind Meiling being in his own body. He had always
130.1649 +had an interest in boys, especially when he had met Yukito, and
130.1650 +Meiling made an excellent boy in his mind, even if she was rather
130.1651 +feminine for one. So maybe it wasn’t all that bad. Maybe they
130.1652 +wouldn’t have to Change back for a few days. Heck, maybe even a week.
130.1653 +A sigh escaped Syaoran’s lips, his worry dissipating. He would have
130.1654 +been more concerned about his feelings regarding the whole matter,
130.1655 +but he simply didn’t feel like dealing with them at the moment. 
130.1656 +	“And in the meantime, we can try to get to know the one we love
130.1657 +better while we’re in their place,” Tomoyo said happily. She was
130.1658 +already enjoying sharing this with Sakura, and it could easily help
130.1659 +Syaoran and Meiling to grow closer if they were stuck as each other. 
130.1660 +	Getting back to her feet, Meiling scoffed. “I already know my
130.1661 +Syaoran just fine. I don’t need to know him any better.” She grabbed
130.1662 +Syaoran’s arm, yanking her cousin close by and holding onto him. 
130.1663 +Syaoran sighed as Meiling manhandled him. He really did need to get
130.1664 +used to that. She’d been doing it since they were little kids and she
130.1665 +didn’t seem to be in any hurry to stop. 
130.1666 +“I’ll tell you when the Change Card recharges. Then we can all meet
130.1667 +at the park and I can switch us all back,” Sakura said hopefully. It
130.1668 +was weird but a little fun to be Tomoyo, but she was starting to
130.1669 +worry. If the Change Card didn’t recharge soon, she’d miss the soccer
130.1670 +tryouts. And with all of Tomoyo’s encouragement, she was really
130.1671 +looking forward to trying out for the team. She could always try out
130.1672 +as Tomoyo, but it just didn’t feel right to be throwing her fragile
130.1673 +friend out on a soccer field. It was like putting a piece of fine
130.1674 +china on the edge of a building. Delicately beautiful things should
130.1675 +be held reverently, not in the way of flying soccer balls. So she’d
130.1676 +just have to hope she could fix things in time. With Tomoyo as her
130.1677 +personal cheerleader, she knew she could get on the soccer team. Now
130.1678 +it was all up to whether or not the Card would be ready in time.
130.1679 +The bell rang shrilly, giving the students a sense of urgency as
130.1680 +people began rushing to class. “All right. We’ll meet back when the
130.1681 +Card’s ready.” Nodding, Syaoran hurried off with Meiling, leaving the
130.1682 +Cardmistress and the heiress. At least something was solved, even if
130.1683 +it would take a few days. But inside, he still couldn’t explain his
130.1684 +feelings. Struggling with his inner turmoil, Meiling dragged him off
130.1685 +towards class. 
130.1686 +	
130.1687 +	“I never should have let you do that for me, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura
130.1688 +reiterated for what had to be the hundredth time as she held onto her
130.1689 +injured girlfriend. Tomoyo rubbed her back as she murmured her
130.1690 +apologies over and over again. Sakura had always felt a strong urge
130.1691 +to protect her best friend from harm, saving her above all of the
130.1692 +others back in Hong Kong one time and asking Tomoyo to stop coming
130.1693 +along when she was capturing Cards for fear that Tomoyo would get
130.1694 +hurt another time. And so she always kicked herself when, despite her
130.1695 +efforts, Tomoyo sometimes got hurt or in trouble. But the gentle
130.1696 +heiress always soothed away her worries before too long. 
130.1697 +	Shifting on her crutches, Tomoyo continued to caress Sakura’s back.
130.1698 +Sakura was still in her pale body while she was still enshrined in
130.1699 +Sakura’s athletic body. Unfortunately, athletic body or not, Tomoyo
130.1700 +simply wasn’t athlete material. The sweet, soft-spoken girl was much
130.1701 +more at ease singing or sewing than she was out running. So even with
130.1702 +Sakura’s swift form, she had managed to sprain her ankle during
130.1703 +soccer tryouts. “I’m sorry that I hurt Sakura-chan’s cute body,”
130.1704 +Tomoyo whispered in reply as she returned her needy girlfriend’s warm
130.1705 +embrace. Sakura needed plenty of love and attention, which Tomoyo was
130.1706 +more than happy to supply. She would do anything for the
130.1707 +Cardmistress, after all. Which is how she had ended up with a
130.1708 +sprained ankle in the first place. They hadn’t been able to change
130.1709 +back before the soccer tryouts that Sakura had so eagerly
130.1710 +anticipated. Sakura had been disappointed that she couldn’t tryout
130.1711 +for the team. Wanting to help her darling Sakura, Tomoyo had tried
130.1712 +out for the soccer team herself while in Sakura's body. As she had
130.1713 +discovered, however, watching soccer and playing soccer were two
130.1714 +completely different things. Not much sooner had she showed up on the
130.1715 +field than she had slipped on the soccer ball, landing awkwardly on
130.1716 +her ankle. One doctor’s visit and plenty of concern from an
130.1717 +overprotective parent later, Tomoyo was hobbling around on crutches
130.1718 +with support from her sweet Sakura. 
130.1719 +	“Poor Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura lamented, helping Tomoyo onto her bed.
130.1720 +She had blamed herself for Tomoyo’s injury, as she often did when
130.1721 +something bad would happen to Tomoyo. Somehow she felt that she
130.1722 +should be able to protect Tomoyo from everything, that she alone
130.1723 +could keep her safe from all the pain and troubles in the world.
130.1724 +Sometimes she wasn’t as successful as other times. This was one of
130.1725 +them. Even though it seemed like she was looking in a mirror, Sakura
130.1726 +could still see Tomoyo’s ever-present smile on her lips. The
130.1727 +currently pale girl found herself relaxing as Tomoyo’s gestures
130.1728 +slowly began to affect her. Her gentle fingers rubbing her back, her
130.1729 +soft voice, her soothing smile; they all managed to numb the worry
130.1730 +that ate at her. Brushing dark hair from her eyes that she still
130.1731 +wasn’t completely used to, Sakura sat down next to her eccentric
130.1732 +friend. The bed shifted as Tomoyo made her way behind Sakura. The
130.1733 +Cardmistress was about to ask the other girl what she was up to when
130.1734 +she felt Tomoyo’s hands in her currently long hair, stroking back the
130.1735 +long silken hair in her gentle hands. Feeling Tomoyo’s fingers
130.1736 +through her hair, Sakura held her breath for a long moment as her
130.1737 +heart pounded in her chest. Tomoyo had such long, beautiful hair. Her
130.1738 +own was usually so much shorter. But it felt so nice to have Tomoyo
130.1739 +focusing so intently on her hair. The heiress always spent so much
130.1740 +attention on her and she always came up with such beautiful styles
130.1741 +for her own hair. So it was nice for Sakura to have Tomoyo trying out
130.1742 +those styles on her. Just like seeing herself in Tomoyo’s gorgeous
130.1743 +costume designs, it was stunning to see what Tomoyo could do with her
130.1744 +hair. She had never been able to do much with her own hair, but
130.1745 +Tomoyo’s was like an art form. 
130.1746 +	Slowly letting Sakura’s hair out of the high ponytail she had put
130.1747 +it into earlier, Tomoyo let the lavender hair cascade through her
130.1748 +fingers. She could make out a faint blush on Sakura’s pale cheeks and
130.1749 +felt a blush spreading across her own. “Sakura-chan is so gorgeous,”
130.1750 +she whispered in awe, letting her fingers roam through Sakura’s
130.1751 +silken locks. And it was true. Even in Tomoyo’s body, Sakura was
130.1752 +still so deliciously herself. She pulled it off beautifully, like an
130.1753 +elegant costume, Sakura’s cute and energetic charm sparkling out from
130.1754 +underneath it. Sakura was always the most crucial part of her
130.1755 +costumes. She was what truly made them shine. And so Sakura did the
130.1756 +same with her body. Tomoyo always loved dressing up her genki friend,
130.1757 +trying out all sorts of styles on her with different costumes and
130.1758 +things. And so she was loving the moment, being able to try new
130.1759 +hairstyles out on Sakura. She enjoyed trying new hairstyles herself,
130.1760 +but it was so much more fun for her to try them out on her precious
130.1761 +Sakura, to see how they fit the Mistress of the Cards. Sakura was
130.1762 +like a life size doll for her to dress up and style. And it made
130.1763 +perfect sense to dress up the girl she loved, to see her in such
130.1764 +dazzling clothes and costumes. Because she loved her. Who better to
130.1765 +dress up than the one you love, to see them in all manner of designs?
130.1766 +Sakura was lovelier than any doll could hope to be, so it would
130.1767 +simply be a shame if she weren’t dressed prettily. All of Tomoyo’s
130.1768 +designs were for Sakura, her lovely, spirited doll. Now she got to
130.1769 +play with her hair, a new thing for Tomoyo. Sakura’s hair was a
130.1770 +little too short for her to do much with, but now it was perfect. She
130.1771 +could try out all of her hairstyles and more on the pretty
130.1772 +Cardmistress. Sighing contentedly, Tomoyo rested against Sakura. “I
130.1773 +love my Sakura-chan.”
130.1774 +	Blushing deeper at Tomoyo’s touch and her words, Sakura shifted on
130.1775 +the bed, feeling Tomoyo’s head on her shoulder as the heiress hugged
130.1776 +her from behind. Sakura relaxed against her, hands resting on
130.1777 +Tomoyo’s arms that were still encircling her waist. It was so strange
130.1778 +to have everything switched around, but when they were all alone, not
130.1779 +much had changed. It was just her and Tomoyo. Sure, she saw green
130.1780 +eyes and auburn hair when she gazed at her lover instead of stormy
130.1781 +blue eyes and lavender hair, but that was really a minute thing
130.1782 +overall. It was still Tomoyo. And it was easy to forget that anything
130.1783 +was different at all when they kissed, aside from Tomoyo’s fingers in
130.1784 +her now longer hair. “Hanyaan...” What had started out as an
130.1785 +extremely bizarre thing now barely mattered to the Cardmistress.
130.1786 +Sure, she wanted her own body back. But it wasn’t all that important
130.1787 +to her when she did. As usual, Tomoyo’s idea turned out rather well
130.1788 +in the end. Which was nice what with how... experimental the heiress
130.1789 +could be. A crimson blush crept down to her shoulders as she thought
130.1790 +back through a number of other incidents that had turned out
130.1791 +similarly. For being so quiet and gentle, Tomoyo was certainly
130.1792 +eccentric and ready to try new things. Well, as long as said new
130.1793 +things involved Sakura in some way, shape, or form. “Hoe..?” Sakura
130.1794 +turned back to face her girlfriend when she felt Tomoyo’s arms pull
130.1795 +away from her, but only managed to get a face full of hair. Shaking
130.1796 +her head to get the lavender strands away from her eyes, she tried to
130.1797 +see what the heiress was doing only to find fingers once again at
130.1798 +home in her hair. Sakura quickly looked forward again, feeling Tomoyo
130.1799 +carefully braiding the dark hair. Tomoyo sure had some interesting
130.1800 +tastes, but Sakura was very happy to be one of them. “Aren’t I
130.1801 +supposed to be taking care of you, Tomoyo-chan? You’re the one who
130.1802 +got hurt.”
130.1803 +	“Sakura-chan is taking care of Tomoyo-chan. One way or another,”
130.1804 +Tomoyo replied, smiling as she held up Sakura’s long, dark hair for
130.1805 +inspection. It brushed past her own auburn hair, tickling past her
130.1806 +forehead. “All I could want is to have you here with me, Sakura-chan.
130.1807 +I can’t move around much because of my ankle, so I’m just happy to
130.1808 +have you close by. And it does give me the chance to play with your
130.1809 +hair, so maybe it was a good thing.” She gave Sakura a soft kiss on
130.1810 +the neck, secretly delighting at the darker blush that spread across
130.1811 +Sakura’s pale skin. If she was going to sprain her ankle, this was
130.1812 +certainly the way to go about recuperating. So close to Sakura,
130.1813 +braiding her hair, could she be any closer to heaven? Holding the
130.1814 +soft hair against her nose, she inhaled the wonderful scent of
130.1815 +lavenders. 
130.1816 +	“I still feel bad that you got hurt for me,” Sakura said with a
130.1817 +sigh, her shoulder slumping. The image of Tomoyo holding onto her
130.1818 +ankle once again felt her mind. Sakura had felt helpless as she ran
130.1819 +to her, stuck in a much slower body than her old one. There had to be
130.1820 +some way to make it up to Tomoyo. The beautiful heiress had gotten
130.1821 +hurt while trying to help her join the soccer team. Even if she had
130.1822 +failed, it was a very sweet thought. The least Sakura could do was to
130.1823 +repay the favor. Somehow. Her eyes lit up as she sat up straight
130.1824 +against Tomoyo again. “Sense you’re stuck in bed, I can try on some
130.1825 +of those costumes you’ve finished lately. I can model them for you
130.1826 +while you videotape.” Being videotaped in different costumes wasn’t
130.1827 +exactly her favorite thing in the world. It was always so
130.1828 +embarrassing. And some of Tomoyo’s designs had become a little more
130.1829 +grown up in recent years. But the way Tomoyo looked when she
130.1830 +videotaped her or watched her in the costumes was enough to send
130.1831 +Sakura’s heart fluttering. She was the full focus of Tomoyo’s
130.1832 +attention, the only thing in her world. So even if it was
130.1833 +embarrassing, it was something she would always do for Tomoyo.
130.1834 +“Oooph!!” Sakura felt Tomoyo’s now stronger arms squeeze her tightly
130.1835 +in a warm hug. Apparently the other girl liked her idea.
130.1836 +	“Sugoi! I don’t have to leave the bed to videotape, so I can
130.1837 +capture all of Sakura from here. That would be perfect, Sakura-chan.
130.1838 +And I get to see you in a whole new light.” Tomoyo sighed happily, a
130.1839 +hand on her cheek and stars in her eyes. She had thought that the
130.1840 +costumes would have to wait until they changed back, but this
130.1841 +afforded the perfect opportunity to get plenty of videotape she
130.1842 +wouldn’t otherwise have. “You’ll have to try on the costumes again
130.1843 +when you’re back to your old body so I can compare both videos of
130.1844 +you,” Tomoyo said excitedly. 
130.1845 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura sweatdropped. Tomoyo had a lot of costumes
130.1846 +she would need to wear. This would take a while. And it would all be
130.1847 +on video for Tomoyo’s later perusal. Sakura was about to continue,
130.1848 +but Tomoyo’s soft lips on her own silenced her. Kissing back, Sakura
130.1849 +decided she’d wear whatever Tomoyo wanted.
130.1850 +
130.1851 +	“This isn’t fair!” Meiling said angrily as she and Syaoran got out
130.1852 +of the limousine that had picked them up at the airport. “We need to
130.1853 +get back, Syaoran!” If anyone found it strange that the boy was
130.1854 +calling his cousin by his name, they didn’t say anything. But Meiling
130.1855 +didn’t care. She pushed short brown hair out of her eyes as she got
130.1856 +out of the limousine. Ahead of them lay the impressive Li household.
130.1857 +Meiling lived with her parents elsewhere, but she spent much of her
130.1858 +time there with Syaoran. It was usually a pleasant sight, but now it
130.1859 +looked so ominous and foreboding. She didn’t want to admit it, but
130.1860 +she was afraid. Afraid of what would happen and of how long she would
130.1861 +be stuck in her cousin’s body. Nothing was certain any longer and she
130.1862 +wasn’t taking it very well. She felt an icy pit in her stomach,
130.1863 +uncertainty and worry trying to drag her down. She fought it off with
130.1864 +difficulty, hurrying towards the house. “We have to tell Ieran-sama
130.1865 +what happened so we can go back.”
130.1866 +	Upon returning home from school, Meiling and Syaoran had been
130.1867 +shocked to find everything neatly packed up. Wei had explained to
130.1868 +them that he had told Ieran of their growing feelings for each other
130.1869 +and that the Li matriarch had decided to have them return home
130.1870 +immediately. After all, if Syaoran was no longer after Sakura then
130.1871 +there was no reason for them to remain. The two cousins had been
130.1872 +mortified, but there had been nothing they could do as they rapidly
130.1873 +got shuttled off towards far away Hong Kong. The past few hours were
130.1874 +little more than a blur as they made their way back home. All because
130.1875 +of Meiling’s pretending that Syaoran was in love with her earlier.
130.1876 +Now they were stranded far away from their chance to return to their
130.1877 +own bodies, stuck as each other and about to meet with Syaoran’s
130.1878 +expectant mother. And neither cousin was overly eager to tell her the
130.1879 +bad news. As Syaoran had come to realize quite a long time ago, his
130.1880 +mother could be an extremely imposing figure. 
130.1881 +	“Syaoran! Meiling!” An energetic figure met the two at the door,
130.1882 +waving brightly. “I was wondering when you two would finally get
130.1883 +back. Fuutie will have to stop using your closet to hold her extra
130.1884 +clothes, Syaoran. Everyone’s so excited to know your both back.
130.1885 +Mother already has a banquet planned in your honor. It’s going to be
130.1886 +a huge affair. Everyone will be attending. That’s where Shiefa is
130.1887 +right now.” Fanren gave Syaoran a warm hug as the girl reached the
130.1888 +top of the stairs, believing that her brother was Meiling. Her
130.1889 +brother wasn’t much for emotional displays, so she didn’t bother
130.1890 +ruffling him up for once, but her younger cousin usually didn’t mind.
130.1891 +Which is why she found it odd that the girl she was hugging tensed up
130.1892 +in her grasp, the same way Syaoran usually did when she’d hug him.
130.1893 +Deciding it didn’t matter, Fanren grinned. “So you finally dragged my
130.1894 +little brother back home, eh, Meiling? I can’t wait to hear how you
130.1895 +did that. Mother’s already planning the wedding. She was so pleased
130.1896 +to hear that you two were finally ready to start a life together.”
130.1897 +She held the younger girl at arms length, still smiling. “And you
130.1898 +must be absolutely thrilled. You’ve wanted this for years. Oh, I
130.1899 +can’t believe my little brother’s getting married before me! It’s
130.1900 +just not fair.” The eldest of the Li children laughed. “But I’m sure
130.1901 +it will be beautiful. You’ll make a wonderful bride, Meiling.”
130.1902 +	Unsure of what to say, Syaoran could only nod as he watched his
130.1903 +sister. Fanren never treated him like this normally. She treated him
130.1904 +differently. Like a boy. No, a man. The distant, aloof man that he
130.1905 +had always tried to be. It was for the sake of the Li Clan. His
130.1906 +mother had always treated him like that and his sisters had slowly
130.1907 +grown to treat him the same. Because that was how he acted. But now
130.1908 +Fanren was being as expressive and loving as she usually was around
130.1909 +others. It felt... nice. It felt very nice to be held by his big
130.1910 +sister, to see her smiling so warmly at him. Blinking back a stinging
130.1911 +sensation in his eyes, Syaoran hugged his older sister again.
130.1912 +“...Thanks, Fanren.”
130.1913 +	“Anytime, sweetie. You always were like another little sister. Now
130.1914 +you will be.” Fanren smiled sweetly as she wiped away the tears from
130.1915 +the edges of Syaoran’s eyes. The scowl that had been on his face
130.1916 +faded away, replaced by a look of reverence. He had always seen
130.1917 +Fanren’s emotional displays to be pointless, childish, and weak. But
130.1918 +now he had to reconsider. Could it be that he was just jealous, that
130.1919 +he was spiteful that he was left out while his sister’s grew up to be
130.1920 +so happy and emotional? He wasn’t sure. 
130.1921 +	Meiling, in the meantime, was still not very pleased with the
130.1922 +situation she found herself in. Syaoran was still blushing from the
130.1923 +mention of marriage. If the boy wasn’t scowling, he was blushing.
130.1924 +Sometimes Meiling wondered if he had any other expressions. Sighing,
130.1925 +she hurried inside past Fanren. She had to speak to Ieran. The Li
130.1926 +family matriarch had to hear what was going on before it was too
130.1927 +late. She wanted to be the one in the wedding dress, damn it! She
130.1928 +wanted to marry Syaoran with all of her heart, but she really would
130.1929 +rather marry him in her own body. Her eyes darted around the vast
130.1930 +interior of the Li household, trying to discern where Syaoran’s
130.1931 +mother may be.
130.1932 +	Finally noticing Meiling disappearing into the house, Syaoran
130.1933 +pulled away from Fanren and hurried after her, scowling. “Meiling!
130.1934 +Wait!” Meiling was much more impulsive than he himself was. And being
130.1935 +impulsive wasn’t always a good thing. Especially around his mother.
130.1936 +“We need to wait until she asks for us. I’m sure she’ll want to see
130.1937 +us soon.” He had to admit that he was a trifle concerned about seeing
130.1938 +her. How was he supposed to explain this to her? He was supposed to
130.1939 +be the strongest mage in the Li Clan and yet he had accidentally
130.1940 +gotten switched with his fiancee. He could only imagine how angry she
130.1941 +would be. A shudder ran through his spine at the thought. She was
130.1942 +always calm, never letting her anger shatter her placid exterior. But
130.1943 +it was quite evident when she was mad. And he had been at the center
130.1944 +of her cold, cutting scrutiny enough to fear her. Disappointing her
130.1945 +had never been an option in his life. Which is why it had taken all
130.1946 +of his will to sneak off to Japan to see Sakura again when Ieran
130.1947 +wanted him to marry Meiling. So she wouldn’t be pleased about that to
130.1948 +say the least. And finding out that he wasn’t ready to marry Meiling,
130.1949 +that it had all been a misunderstanding, and that he had in fact
130.1950 +gotten stuck in her body would not smooth things over with the
130.1951 +matriarch. 
130.1952 +	“I don’t want to wait. She needs to know now. She’s a strong
130.1953 +sorceress. She’ll understand. And then we can go back to Japan, fix
130.1954 +this up, come back and get married. Hopefully by the end of the
130.1955 +week.” Meiling continued down the hallway, ignoring Syaoran’s
130.1956 +frustrated sigh. She wasn’t in the mood to worry about such trivial
130.1957 +things. Her mind was set. She had her game plan. Now all she had to
130.1958 +do was find... Ieran’s study seemed to beckon to the two of them, the
130.1959 +door left slightly ajar. Meiling hurried to it, ducking into the
130.1960 +room. Syaoran paused for a moment before following. Meiling glanced
130.1961 +around the room, her lungs releasing a breath that she hadn’t even
130.1962 +known she was holding when she spotted the beautiful head of the Li
130.1963 +Clan at the other end of the study. “Ieran-sama!” 
130.1964 +	“Please forgive us, mother. We didn’t mean to intrude. We’ll wait
130.1965 +in the parlor until you wish to see us,” Syaoran said quickly, bowing
130.1966 +low before grabbing Meiling’s arm. As if things weren’t bad enough,
130.1967 +Meiling seemed intent on angering his mother. He could only guess
130.1968 +where that would go. Vivid images popped into his mind, none of them
130.1969 +good. He pulled again on Meiling’s arm, but the girl in his body
130.1970 +simply pulled away from his grasp, stepping towards Ieran. 
130.1971 +	“Ieran-sama, I’m sorry for being so forward, but I have to talk to
130.1972 +you. I’m not Syaoran. I’m Meiling.” Gesturing back towards Syaoran,
130.1973 +Meiling continued. “That’s Syaoran.” She could feel her heart
130.1974 +lighten, a weight lifting off of her. At least that was out of the
130.1975 +way. Ieran would know what to do. She always did. 
130.1976 +	Syaoran, on the other hand, felt an icy hand clamp onto his heart,
130.1977 +clutching deep inside of him. His head slumped as he waited for
130.1978 +Ieran’s harsh words. They would come, he was sure. Of course,
130.1979 +sometimes it was worse when she would greet him with only silence.
130.1980 +All he could do for now was wait. She would know doubt be angry at
130.1981 +him for his mistake, for causing so much trouble for the Li Clan. 
130.1982 +	Watching the two cousins contemplatively, Ieran thought for a
130.1983 +moment. “Is this true?” she asked the dark haired girl. Syaoran
130.1984 +nodded in response, long hair draping past her face. The older woman
130.1985 +nodded, rolling this information over in her head. “I thought that
130.1986 +something of the sort had happened. I could feel Syaoran’s magic in
130.1987 +Meiling’s body, whereas Syaoran’s body currently has no magic.” She
130.1988 +paused, letting an uneasy silence reign over the room. The two
130.1989 +shifted uncomfortably as they waited for her to continue. She simply
130.1990 +raised an eyebrow and continued to watch the gender switched cousins.
130.1991 +Syaoran’s head was still lowered like a sad puppy, obviously
130.1992 +expecting some sort of negative reaction on her part. Her daughters
130.1993 +were all much happier, none of them nearly as afraid of her as
130.1994 +Syaoran was. But it was necessary. She had raised Syaoran to fill his
130.1995 +role. He was to be the head of the family. He had to grow up to be
130.1996 +strong, to be the pillar of the family. So she had raised him very
130.1997 +differently from his sisters. It was his duty as the male heir. Just
130.1998 +as it had been her duty to assume the role as head of the Li Clan,
130.1999 +not having any male siblings herself. She knew how difficult it was
130.2000 +and she had tried to raise him accordingly. And also to fulfill his
130.2001 +duties to the Li Clan by becoming as strong a mage as he could to aid
130.2002 +the true Cardcaptor, and later the Cardmistress. She had known early
130.2003 +on that he would not be the Cardcaptor, nor could he handle the
130.2004 +situation on his own. The most he could hope to do would be to help.
130.2005 +But she had instilled in him a lust for power, to force him to be as
130.2006 +strong as he could be when the Cardcaptor needed him. At times like
130.2007 +this, seeing Syaoran cower before her, it was a sad sight. But it was
130.2008 +necessary. She couldn’t allow herself to regret it. Regrets only
130.2009 +mired one in the past. “I think I’ll set the wedding in two months.
130.2010 +That should be a nice enough time to get everything ready. I would
130.2011 +wait longer, but I really don’t think that will be necessary.” 
130.2012 +	Meiling and Syaoran both looked up in surprise. “What? Wait, Ieran-
130.2013 +sama, we need to go back to Japan soon so we can switch back to our
130.2014 +old bodies. We don’t have time to worry about a wedding,” Meiling
130.2015 +argued. “Yet,” she added quickly. Oh, a wedding sounded absolutely
130.2016 +lovely. But she had more immediate concerns. 
130.2017 +	“And I never agreed to marry Meiling. Wei heard Meiling talking and
130.2018 +thought that she was me,” Syaoran shot in, stepping up next to
130.2019 +Meiling. He immediately regretted the words as he saw Meiling wince.
130.2020 +He didn’t mean to hurt her. And he hadn’t meant it like that. He...
130.2021 +loved Meiling? Yes... Yes, he did. But he wanted his mother to know
130.2022 +that he hadn’t decided on this yet. 
130.2023 +	“I forbid it. You are not going back to Japan. You will not return
130.2024 +to your old bodies. We will leave things like this,” Ieran stated
130.2025 +calmly. She could see the two react in shock, but kept up her cold
130.2026 +composure. Their reaction was of no concern for her. She was simply
130.2027 +doing what was best for the Li Clan. And she had quickly realized how
130.2028 +this would benefit them. It was her decision to make. It may not be
130.2029 +what they would choose, but it hardly mattered. Things would be nicer
130.2030 +if they agreed, but you couldn’t always have things run perfectly.
130.2031 +This bit of luck actually quelled quite a number of her worries about
130.2032 +the future of the venerable House of Li. 
130.2033 +	Syaoran was left speechless as he watched his mother. She wasn’t
130.2034 +angry with him. She was actually pleased with the situation. Why
130.2035 +would she want things to turn out this way? What was going on? So he
130.2036 +was stuck this way? Forever? He suddenly felt dizzy, as if he was
130.2037 +spinning at a blinding rate. His fate seemed sealed with her words.
130.2038 +He would spend the rest of his life as Meiling. He would see Meiling
130.2039 +in his body from now on. He felt angry and sad and... elated? He
130.2040 +couldn’t deny that he once again felt relieved. His mind flashed back
130.2041 +to Fanren, to his bright and cheerful sisters, to the warm manner
130.2042 +that his mother showed them and kept from him. No!! He didn’t want
130.2043 +any of that. He was Li Syaoran, powerful sorcerer and the next head
130.2044 +of the House of Li. And he was not a girl! He would not spend the
130.2045 +rest of his life trapped in a girl’s body, in the body of his fiancee. 
130.2046 +	“What? But... Ieran-sama, why?” Meiling asked, near panic in her
130.2047 +voice. Her hopes were once again slipping away from her, this time
130.2048 +waving goodbye for what could be an eternity. This didn’t make any
130.2049 +sense. She had thought that Ieran would be eager to have this sorted
130.2050 +out, but instead the matriarch wanted to leave things as they were.
130.2051 +Meiling could see her wedding dress flying off into the distance. She
130.2052 +shook her head, balling up her fists as she looked pleadingly at
130.2053 +Syaoran’s mother. “Why are you doing this?”
130.2054 +	Ieran allowed a small smile to cross her lips as she looked at
130.2055 +Meiling. The girl was extremely strong willed. In some ways, Meiling
130.2056 +reminded her of herself at that age. “Very well. Though my reasons do
130.2057 +no concern you, I will concede that to you.” She stood up, walking to
130.2058 +the two cousins. She placed her hands on Meiling’s shoulders, looking
130.2059 +the girl in her son’s body in the eyes. “Meiling, you have the
130.2060 +strength to hold the Li Clan together. You have the will it takes to
130.2061 +be the head of the House of Li. I believe that if anyone can handle
130.2062 +whatever tragedies face our clan in the future, it will be you. You
130.2063 +do not give up, you are willing to go the distance to achieve your
130.2064 +goals. You are a bit impetuous, but I’m hoping that will mellow with
130.2065 +age. That is one of the reasons why I set you as Syaoran’s fiancee.
130.2066 +You and he are the best match for each other. I have seen that. Which
130.2067 +is why I wish that Syaoran had listened to my decision rather than
130.2068 +looking for someone not half as well suited to him.” She gave Syaoran
130.2069 +a quick glance before looking back to Meiling. “You are the one I
130.2070 +would choose to head the Li Clan. But Syaoran is the male heir, so it
130.2071 +is his duty, not yours. This way, you can head the Li Clan after
130.2072 +all.” She turned from Meiling, stepping in front of Syaoran. Her son
130.2073 +kept his eyes averted for some time before she tilted his chin up to
130.2074 +see his eyes. To his surprise, she smiled gently at him. “Syaoran,
130.2075 +I’m afraid that you weren’t suited to many of the tasks I gave you.
130.2076 +In some ways, I wonder why you weren’t born as a girl to begin with.
130.2077 +I think a lot of this could have been avoided had that happened. But
130.2078 +we do not choose how we are born, so we must all play with the hand
130.2079 +we are dealt. You are shy and emotional, even if your emotions are
130.2080 +all twisted inside of you as you repress them. But I must take the
130.2081 +blame for that. I have pushed you to be something that you are not.
130.2082 +Now we have the chance to remedy that. Your heart is like that of a
130.2083 +girl who has striven to be the boy she cannot be. I think you may
130.2084 +have turned out much like your sisters had things gone another way.
130.2085 +But regrets will get us nowhere. I wish to leave things as they are
130.2086 +because I believe it is best for the Li Clan. Even in your
130.2087 +relationship with Meiling, she is dominant in it over you. You are
130.2088 +too shy and unsure, though you pretend to be otherwise. Which is why
130.2089 +I wonder why you ever assumed you could handle the Cardmistress, who
130.2090 +can also be very shy and unsure. But all of this points to this being
130.2091 +the best possible solution. You get to be my daughter as you should
130.2092 +have been while Meiling will be my successor as she rightfully should
130.2093 +be.”
130.2094 +	Meiling’s mind reeled as Ieran’s words spun round and around
130.2095 +through her thoughts. ‘She wants me to be the next head of the Li
130.2096 +Clan? But how can I? I always thought I’d marry Syaoran, but I never
130.2097 +thought that I’d have the weight of the Li Clan on my shoulders. I
130.2098 +thought that would be Syaoran’s responsibility.’ Her mind was too
130.2099 +consumed with these new revelations to realize what else was going
130.2100 +on. She was still trying to understand the full extent of Ieran’s
130.2101 +words. 
130.2102 +	“I... I...” Syaoran struggled for words, choking back the tears
130.2103 +that threatened. He wasn’t weak. He was strong. His mother was wrong
130.2104 +about Meiling being the right head of the Li Clan. He was the one.
130.2105 +How could he get replaced again? By another girl? First Sakura and
130.2106 +now Meiling. And what did she mean about him being a girl? No, he was
130.2107 +a man. Just like he’d always grown up to be. But... Ieran was smiling
130.2108 +at him. Warmly. It was so different from the cold looks she usually
130.2109 +gave him. It was the motherly smile she would bestow upon his
130.2110 +sisters, the love that she seldom gave him. “Mother...” he got out
130.2111 +weakly. The older woman held him as he trembled. He could be like his
130.2112 +sisters... He could stop worrying, stop holding everything inside. He
130.2113 +could stop trying so hard to be strong and unemotional. Tears burned
130.2114 +in his vision as visions of he eternally cheerful, flighty sisters
130.2115 +danced through his head along with the warmth his mother would show
130.2116 +them. But... But he couldn’t... No, he was Li Syaoran... Li Syaoran.
130.2117 +	Slowly pulling away from his mother, Syaoran quickly wiped away his
130.2118 +tears, composing himself. He knew who he was. His mother was wrong.
130.2119 +He would be the head of the House of Li. He would be the man he was.
130.2120 +“Mother, please let us go back to Japan. I promise you that I’ll
130.2121 +marry Meiling as soon as I get back, just like you’ve wanted for me,”
130.2122 +he vowed. He knew that it wasn’t much of a deal, that Ieran could
130.2123 +probably find a way to force him to marry Meiling anyway, but he
130.2124 +hoped it would be enough. He had to get back, to end this.
130.2125 +	Ieran sighed inwardly, but didn’t let anything show through.
130.2126 +“Meiling, do you wish the same? If you both wish to return to Japan,
130.2127 +I won’t stop you.” She couldn’t help but let her disapproval of the
130.2128 +idea drift through, but there was no use forcing the both of them. 
130.2129 +	Nodding quickly, Meiling took Syaoran’s hand. “Yes, Ieran-sama. We
130.2130 +want to go back to Japan to get our own bodies back. And then I want
130.2131 +to marry Syaoran.” Her eyes went over to her cousin, hopes somehow
130.2132 +returning to her. She almost felt giddy, though she tried not to let
130.2133 +it get the best of her. Not only could she be herself again, but she
130.2134 +could have Syaoran at that. She couldn’t think of a happier ending.
130.2135 +She squeezed Syaoran’s hand in her own and was surprised to feel him
130.2136 +squeeze back. 
130.2137 +	“All right,” Ieran conceded, turning from the two. It looked like
130.2138 +the Li Clan’s problems wouldn’t be solved so easily after all. But at
130.2139 +least she could have the marriage problem dealt with. “But I want you
130.2140 +to stay for a week or two. Everyone’s looking forward to the banquet
130.2141 +and I want to speak with you both a bit before you return.”
130.2142 +	“Thank you, Ieran-sama!” Meiling felt relief flood through her
130.2143 +body. Ieran simply nodded in reply, dismissing the two of them.
130.2144 +Anxiously awaiting both a return to her own body and her impending
130.2145 +marriage to Syaoran, she quickly dragged her cousin out of the study.
130.2146 +	
130.2147 +	It took some time, but Syaoran and Meiling had finally returned to
130.2148 +Japan once more, for what Syaoran had promised would be the last
130.2149 +time. They would only be there for a short time, to get themselves
130.2150 +changed back by Cardmistress Sakura. With several weeks having passed
130.2151 +from the time the Change Card had been used, it had recharged back to
130.2152 +it’s full power long before the cousins had returned to Tomoeda. They
130.2153 +had all met outside of Tomoyo’s house, where it had all began in the
130.2154 +first place to finally put an end to the long nightmare.
130.2155 +“Are we almost ready?” Meiling asked impatiently, her arms crossed.
130.2156 +She was eager to have her own body back, to be a girl again. It had
130.2157 +been almost impossible to last the past few weeks with the knowledge
130.2158 +that she would soon be in her own body again. She wasn’t the most
130.2159 +patient individual, but somehow she survived. But she seriously
130.2160 +doubted she could last another few seconds. 
130.2161 +“Un, just about,” Sakura said happily. Sakura and Tomoyo were both
130.2162 +in their normal bodies, if the two could be called normal. Tomoyo was
130.2163 +recording Sakura who was decked out in a flashy feather design
130.2164 +costume. Why such an elaborate setup was needed for the Cards,
130.2165 +Meiling couldn’t fathom. Tomoyo tried to explain that the
130.2166 +Cardmistress had to be professional and that she had to take it all
130.2167 +down for posterity. 
130.2168 +“Perfect, Sakura-chan. You look so cute! Sakura-chan makes such a
130.2169 +beautiful magical girl,” Tomoyo said with a sweet yearning in her
130.2170 +voice as she zoomed in on the Cardmistress. Sakura blushed at her
130.2171 +comments, but modeled for the video camera nonetheless. Tomoyo only
130.2172 +swooned further, videotaping every inch of her magical girlfriend.
130.2173 +“Sakura-chan is both gorgeous and cool in her costume, a flurry of
130.2174 +feathers. The Card will certainly heed Sakura-chan’s call.”
130.2175 +“Can we please just get this over with?” Syaoran growled irritably.
130.2176 +He had already been sick that morning and he wasn’t feeling all that
130.2177 +well now. He wanted to switch bodies and have this whole even behind
130.2178 +him. He felt a tinge of sadness that he’d lose the chance that his
130.2179 +mother had mentioned, but he forcibly pushed it out of his mind. This
130.2180 +would be over soon enough.
130.2181 +“Oh, right!” Sakura sweatdropped. Looking forward with her
130.2182 +determined emerald eyes, the Mistress of the Cards through a pink
130.2183 +Card on the air, letting it spin for a moment before hitting it with
130.2184 +her staff. “Change! Put these two back to the way they should be!”
130.2185 +the brunette called out, magic swirling around her. She could see
130.2186 +Tomoyo moving to the side to get a better shot out of the corner of
130.2187 +her eye and smiled a bit, waving her fingers at her eccentric best
130.2188 +friend. 
130.2189 +The Change leapt out of the Card, jumping towards the embracing
130.2190 +Syaoran and Meiling. They both braced for the Sakura Card as it
130.2191 +headed towards them.
130.2192 +“Wait!!” Tomoyo called out, halting even the Sakura Cards advance. A
130.2193 +confused pair of jade eyes and two angry sets of amber and brown eyes
130.2194 +shot her way. 
130.2195 +“What is it this time? Do you need more film or something?” Meiling
130.2196 +asked in frustration. Why couldn’t they just get this over with? She
130.2197 +didn’t want to wait another second. 
130.2198 +“I think that it would be a lot more touching if the two of you
130.2199 +weren’t just embracing as the Change affects you. You both learned
130.2200 +quite a bit throughout all this and with the wedding approaching, you
130.2201 +both have to be very excited. It would be much more romantic and
130.2202 +meaningful if you were kissing when you change back. Then you will
130.2203 +shift from one side of the kiss to the other, returning to your old
130.2204 +body but still joined,” Tomoyo explained with a smile. She pulled up
130.2205 +her camcorder to see the two, adjusting the picture. Having a flare
130.2206 +for the aesthetic, it just seemed to fit much better on tape that way. 
130.2207 +“What?” 
130.2208 +“Tomoyo-chan does have a point,” Sakura said with a giggle,
130.2209 +motioning for the Change to stay still for a moment. 
130.2210 +Meiling looked back to Syaoran, still holding onto her fiancee. He
130.2211 +sighed as they held each other. It did seem to make enough sense,
130.2212 +Meiling reasoned. Licking her lips, she leaned forward slowly.
130.2213 +Syaoran blushed as she touched her lips against his. The two began to
130.2214 +kiss softly, growing more passionate as they forgot about the Change
130.2215 +Card and their audience. 
130.2216 +Looking back to the Change Card, Sakura smiled and gave a nod. The
130.2217 +chameleon-looking Sakura Card sped towards the kissing couple,
130.2218 +pressing into their legs as it’s magic lit up the area around them.
130.2219 +Magic coalesced around the two, a small sun covering them with
130.2220 +blinding intensity. And then, just as suddenly, it was gone. The
130.2221 +Change Card reappeared in Sakura’s hand. 
130.2222 +Syaoran felt Meiling’s lips against his own as they kissed, holding
130.2223 +each other. The kiss dragged on as he finally felt the magic around
130.2224 +him. It gripped him like it did the last time, maintaining its hold
130.2225 +for a second before pulling away. He could still feel the kiss, their
130.2226 +lips never leaving the other even as Sakura’s magic overtook them.
130.2227 +Relieved, Syaoran kissed Meiling deeper, in a passionate kiss that
130.2228 +let out all of the worry and tension that had built up inside of him.
130.2229 +He could feel their tongues dancing as their victory kiss continued.
130.2230 +Meiling’s hands shifted down his sides. He made a soft gasp into
130.2231 +their kiss as he felt her hand on his breast, feeling the fingers
130.2232 +through the blouse and bra. His arms went around her as their lips
130.2233 +met again and again. His hand slipped down her back as he.. Wait..
130.2234 +His eyes shot open in terror. His hands went to Meiling’s still flat
130.2235 +chest. “What the hell?” Pulling away, he gazed at Meiling, still in
130.2236 +his body. “What happened?” He asked frantically, whirling towards the
130.2237 +Mistress of the Cards.
130.2238 +	Shrugging helplessly, Sakura looked down at the Card. “I don’t
130.2239 +know. It should be charged by now. I know I used enough magic. And
130.2240 +the Change seems to be doing fine. I don’t know what could have gone
130.2241 +wrong.” 
130.2242 +Kero nodded thoughtfully. The Seal beast had his arms crossed, his
130.2243 +brow furrowed. “The Change can’t work it’s magic if someone’s
130.2244 +pregnant. It might accidentally switch the baby’s soul, too, so it’s
130.2245 +too dangerous.”
130.2246 +Syaoran’s eyes were the size of saucers. Meiling was blushing a
130.2247 +cherry red while Sakura sweatdropped and Tomoyo looked on with a
130.2248 +smile. Syaoran looked down at his female body, still too in shock to
130.2249 +utter a word. “I’m... pregnant?!” His mind was still having trouble
130.2250 +registering the thought. ‘Pregnant?’ he thought, staring down. His
130.2251 +first night with Meiling in each other’s bodies raced to the front of
130.2252 +his mind. He’d gotten pregnant from Meiling...
130.2253 +“Congratulations, Li-kun! Meiling-chan!” Tomoyo said cheerfully, a
130.2254 +hand on her cheek. She seemed to find the situation a lovely one
130.2255 +indeed. Her camcorder panned from one of the cousins to the other,
130.2256 +trying to get both of their reactions for the tape in case they
130.2257 +wanted one later. 
130.2258 +“Seems so, kiddo,” Kero replied, grinning from ear to ear. “And ya
130.2259 +should stop yelling like that. It can’t be good for the baby.” As if
130.2260 +it hadn’t been good enough to hear that Syaoran had switched bodies
130.2261 +with Meiling, this was icing on Kero’s cake.
130.2262 +“Syaoran...” Meiling got out, still too embarrassed to say anything
130.2263 +else. She watched as Syaoran fainted dead away. 
130.2264 \ No newline at end of file

   131.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   131.2 +++ b/stories/Christmas_story.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   131.3 @@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
   131.4 +Legal Note: I (isdestroyer) do not own any of the characters in this fic, they belong to Clamp.
   131.5 +A note to the reader, I am not fluent in Japanese, in fact I only know a few words, so if any are
   131.6 +misspelled or misused, then I apologize.  I also apologize for writing this in Notepad, but I don't
   131.7 +have Word on my computer right now so I have to make do. Thank you.
   131.8 +
   131.9 +			A Cherry Blossom Christmas
  131.10 +			            By isdestroyer
  131.11 +				wmmmdm@swbell.net
  131.12 +
  131.13 +	The days couln't pass fast enough for Sakura.  There were still three weeks to go
  131.14 +before Christmas, and she was getting rather impatient.  The days passed slowly, yet steadily
  131.15 +and Sakura waited.  It wasn't as if she was idle, far from it.  Sakura and her best friend in all
  131.16 +the world Tomoyo Daidouji would pass the remaing days by going to the park after shool, or
  131.17 +to go shopping for presents.  As the last days of school dragged on, semingly to do so just to
  131.18 +annoy Sakura, Sakura got more and more anxious.  She loved Christmas, in fact it was her 
  131.19 +favorite holiday.  Not for the receiving of presents (though that was certanly part of it), but to
  131.20 +be with those she loved.  And those who loved her back.  Tomoyo was also looking forward
  131.21 +to this Christmas for specific two reasons.  One was that this year, Sakura was going to spend
  131.22 +it over at Tomoyo's house.  Her friend had said that she was always with her family, and that this
  131.23 +time she wanted to be with Tomoyo.  That, in fact, meant more to Tomoyo than any present, but
  131.24 +Sakura insited that she had a special gift for Tomoyo this year. And so that was the other 
  131.25 +reason.  Because the two girls had hardly spent any time apart for the past month, or really the 
  131.26 +year, Tomoyo was dumbfounded at how Sakura had managed to get her a gift without her noticing.
  131.27 +They did all of their shopping together, or so it seemed anyway.  Nontheles, Sakura maintained
  131.28 +that she had a present for Tomoyo that Sakura knew Tomoyo had wanted for a long time,
  131.29 +even if she hadn't said anything.  The days continued to pass slowly, but at least, Sakura reasoned,
  131.30 +they passed.  Christmas vacation had started and Sakura went out to shop with Tomoyo again,
  131.31 +this time for her family.  She bought some new clothes and a book for Touya.  A really big
  131.32 +book on ancient civilizations for her father.  Yukito was going to get a big box of chocolates
  131.33 +and a book on the magical properties of the moon that Shaoran had aquired for her in Hong
  131.34 +Kong.  That one was also for her as much as it was for Yukito's other half.  Sakura had 
  131.35 +already sent Shaoran a present which she hoped arrived on time.  Sakura even got Tomoyo's
  131.36 +mother a gift, with a little help from Sakura's father.  It was a picture of Sonomi and Nadeshiko
  131.37 +when they were in high school.  On the back it read "Sonomi - I will always treasure you and 
  131.38 +love you, Nadeshiko."  Sakura's father had told her that Nadeshiko had written that after
  131.39 +they got married, and that she had wanted to give it to Sonomi so she wouldn't be angry
  131.40 +anymore, but then decided not to for reasons that she kept to herself.  Sakura got Kero
  131.41 +a ridiculusly large box of candy and she also intended to make him a large cake and a lot
  131.42 +of pudding.  Finally Sakura's shopping was done, and she and Tomoyo went out to get some
  131.43 +hot chocolate.
  131.44 +
  131.45 +	With agonizing slowness, December 25th came closer and closer.  Sakura counted
  131.46 +the days on her calender and was nearly bouncing off the walls with anticipation (with her
  131.47 +magic, she actually considered doing just that to relieve some of the tension, but decided against it).
  131.48 +When Kero asked why she was so anxious, she said,
  131.49 +"Because, Kero-chan, I can't wait to be with Tomoyo-chan and give her her gift.  I'm also
  131.50 +really nervous about it, what if something bad happens, what if I mess the whole thing up and 
  131.51 +I hurt her? I just couldn't stand it if that happened."
  131.52 +"But you know what you have to do, I've seen you practicing."
  131.53 +"Hai, but thats not the real thing.  If she gets hurt it will be my fault and I won't be able to forgive
  131.54 +myself."
  131.55 +Kero gave up trying to console Sakura.  He knew there was no reasoning with the Cardmistress.
  131.56 +
  131.57 +	At long last Christmas Eve came.  It started to snow around noon, and Sakura was busy
  131.58 +getting ready to go to Tomoyo's house.  After supper she packed all the things she would take 
  131.59 +with her and said goodbye to her father, brother and Yukito.  Then she called out the Fly card
  131.60 +and lept into the air as angelic wings sprouted from her back.  She waved goodbye one last time
  131.61 +to her family and Kero, then took off towards her best friend's mansion.  When she arrived she
  131.62 +let out a gasp of awe as she gazed at the Daidouji residence.  It was as if she had landed at  Santa's
  131.63 +House itself.  There were large snowmen all over the yard and the fountain in the middle of the
  131.64 +sidewalk looked like a giant ice sculpture. Every tree looked like a Christmas tree as they were
  131.65 +all decorated with ornaments and lights.  The house itself had thousands of multicolored lights
  131.66 +that sent out rainbow rays all over the lawn and were refracted by the icicles on the mansion and 
  131.67 +the various lawn statues.  Along with the lights in the bushes and the ice crystlals sparkling all over
  131.68 +the place, the effect was simply mind blowing.  If Sakura didn't know better, she would have sworn
  131.69 +that Tomoyo's house had been decorated with magic.  She walked up to the door and rang the bell.
  131.70 +almost immedietly the door opened and there stood Tomoyo.  Sakura gasped at the stunning dress
  131.71 +her best friend was wearing.  It was a shimmering silk periwinlke dress with a lace frill at the hem.
  131.72 +It had lace at the end of the sleaves so that Tomoyo's hands were just covered, but not in such a
  131.73 +way as to become a nusiance.  The neck line dropped a little bit but not so much as to forgo
  131.74 +modesty and was also rimmed with lace.  Tomoyo was also wearing soft silk slippers of the same 
  131.75 +color as her dress and her hair was falling in shimmering waves down her shoulders and back and 
  131.76 +had a single bow in it of the same color as the dress.  Tomoyo was smiling as she opened the door
  131.77 +and greeted Sakura.
  131.78 +"Sakura-chan, please come in. I want to show you the tree."
  131.79 +"Hai Tomoyo-chan."
  131.80 +Tomoyo led Sakura through the entrance hall to the living room and pointed at the largest Christmas
  131.81 +tree Sakura had ever seen.  Sakura thought that the outside decorations had beed spectacular, but
  131.82 +they were nothing compared to this Christmas tree.  The tree was covered with brilliant white lights
  131.83 +that made it seem as if the tre itself was made of crystal.  At various spots on the tree there were
  131.84 +small decorations that were just large enough to see, but did not take away from the lights.  At
  131.85 +the very top was an angel that looked so real that Sakura started when she saw it.  The angel was
  131.86 +shining even more brightly than the rest of the tree, if that was possible, and when Sakura looked
  131.87 +at it closely, she thought it had a slight resemblance to her.  the whole thing was so bright Sakura
  131.88 +wondered how anyone could sleep with it plugged in.  She looked at Tomoyo who was beaming
  131.89 +as brightly as the tree at Sakura's awestruck face.
  131.90 +"Hoe, Tomoyo-chan, it's so bright.
  131.91 +"Do you like it Sakura-chan?"
  131.92 +"Oh yes, its beautiful, almost as beautiful as you look in that dress."
  131.93 +Tomoyo beamed even more at this and gave Sakura a hug, which Sakura returned.  Sonomi came
  131.94 +in and Sakura gave her her present to put under the tree.  The three stayed up late talking and
  131.95 +reminising about passed Christmases.  Eventually Sonomi said they all had to get to bed, for after
  131.96 +all, the sooner you get to sleep, the sooner it will be morning.  Sakura and Tomoyo walked up the
  131.97 +stairs to Tomoyo's room and changed into their pajamas.  As they got into bed Tomoyo said,
  131.98 +"Sakura-chan, I didn't see you bring my present, did you forget it?"
  131.99 +"Nope. Don't worry Tomoyo chan, I have your present, but you have to wait for tomorrow."
 131.100 +"Hai Sakura-chan.  I can't wait."
 131.101 +Tomoyo in truth hd no idea of what was going to happen tommorrow, but she would treasure it
 131.102 +for the rest of her life.  The two girls snuggled closer for warmpth an slowly drifter off to sleep.
 131.103 +
 131.104 +	In the morning the sunlight crept across the floor of Tomoyo's room and woke the two
 131.105 +girls up instantly when it hit their eyes.
 131.106 +"Hurray!  It's Christmas!" shouted Sakura as she jumped up and down on the bed.
 131.107 +"Ohaiyo to you too Sakura-chan."  said Tomoyo with a smile.
 131.108 +"Oh! O-Ohaiyo Tomoyo-chan."  Sakura said, blusshing furiously.  Tomoyo just smiled even more
 131.109 +and laghed good-naturedly at the embarrased Cardmistress.  They both rushed downstairs to the
 131.110 +living room and just about dove into the large pile of presents.  Sonomi rushed in to take pictures
 131.111 +as all mothers do, no matter how embarrasing.  Sakura and Tomoyo tore through the gifts like a
 131.112 +wolves in a herd of deer.  Wrapping paper flew as they discovered one delight after the other until
 131.113 +there was nothing left.  Suddenly Tomoyo said,
 131.114 +"Sakura-chan, I didn't find your present. Are you sure you brought it?"
 131.115 +"Hai, Tomoyo-chan.  I have it.  This is something I know you've wanted for a long time, even though
 131.116 +you didn't say anything.  I'm really nervous here, and I'm afraid I might hurt you."
 131.117 +"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I know you would never hurt me on purpose."  replied Tomoyo.
 131.118 +"Well then, here goes."  said Sakura with a nervous expression on her face.
 131.119 +Sakura put her hands on the sides of Tomoyo's head and closed her eyes.  She began wispering some
 131.120 +odd words that soudened like another language and her hands began to glow.  Suddenly Tomoyo
 131.121 +gasped as she felt a warm glow in her chest.  The glow grew larger and warmer until it seemed to 
 131.122 +fill her up completely.  When Sakura took her hands away, Tomoyo looked confused and asked
 131.123 +Sakura what she did.
 131.124 +"Tomoyo-chan, I dicovered a spell that would allow you to use magic for one day.  It was very
 131.125 +difficult to do, and I was afraid I would mess up and end up hurting you."
 131.126 +"Sakura-chan are you serious?  I can use magic?"  Sakura nodded and Tomoyo's eyes lit up.
 131.127 +"Thats wonderful!  Arigato Sakura-chan."
 131.128 +"But it's only for one day so..."
 131.129 +"That doesn't matter, Sakura-chan.  You've given me somthing I never thought I could have, and
 131.130 +that means all the world to me."  
 131.131 +Sakura smiled and looked Tomoyo in the eye.  Tomoyo looked at Sakura and and the two girls
 131.132 +leaned forward and kissed each other lightly.
 131.133 +
 131.134 +				The End
 131.135 +
 131.136 +
 131.137 +Well, thats my first Sakura/Tomoyo fic and I hoped you like it.  Interestingly enough, I wrote this 
 131.138 +all in one night on Christmas Eve.  If you have any comments or questions e-mail me at
 131.139 +  isdestroyer@hotmail.com  I will apreceate any praises or constructive critiesism.  Flames
 131.140 +will be ignored.  I have more to come and hopfully I will get Word on my Computer
 131.141 +because notepad is a pain in the ass.  Thanks for reading.
 131.142 +

   132.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   132.2 +++ b/stories/Christmasgiftccs.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   132.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1202 @@
   132.4 +Hi. I have another ChibiUsa and Hotaru story here for you guys. ^^ While 
   132.5 +it is still not a hentai piece, it should be observed that the young 
   132.6 +adult ChibiUsa and Hotaru love each other deeply and it is best suitable 
   132.7 +for mature readers. Just so you would know.... otherwise, enjoy.
   132.8 +
   132.9 +Disclaimer: I do not own ChibiUsa and Hotaru - they are copyrighted by 
  132.10 +the wonderful Sailor Moon artist, Naoko Takeuchi.  This is only a fan 
  132.11 +fiction, okay? ^^
  132.12 +
  132.13 +***********************************************************************
  132.14 +
  132.15 +I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU
  132.16 +
  132.17 +By YaRassno (yup, it's still spelled this way! ^^)
  132.18 +
  132.19 +Readers take note: this story contains a few violent scenes and mature 
  132.20 +situations.
  132.21 +
  132.22 +
  132.23 +	
  132.24 +***********************************************************************
  132.25 +
  132.26 +"Wake up, sleepyhead."
  132.27 +
  132.28 +ChibiUsa grumbled, twisted away from the voice and burrowed deeper under 
  132.29 +the covers, not wanting to wake up.  "Go away, Diana-chan! I'll get up 
  132.30 +when I'm good and ready."
  132.31 +
  132.32 +"Hey, come on!"  The voice said again, poking her in the side.
  132.33 +
  132.34 +"All right, all right, don't tell me you're hungry already!  I just fed 
  132.35 +you some snacks a while ago.  Diana-chan, how if I scratch behind your 
  132.36 +ears, will you go away and leave me alone?" Even as she finished speaking, 
  132.37 +ChibiUsa put her hand out from beneath the blanket. Almost instantly it 
  132.38 +was clasped in someone else's hands and pressed against something soft.  
  132.39 +It was not her cat at all.
  132.40 +
  132.41 +"I'm not Diana," the voice laughed, "And I've already eaten!"
  132.42 +
  132.43 +"Nani?"  ChibiUsa poked her head up from the depths of the bed. "Hotaru-
  132.44 +chan?  What are you doing in my bedroom?"
  132.45 +
  132.46 +"YOUR bedroom?"  Hotaru gazed at her with amusement. "Well, ChibiUsa-chan, 
  132.47 +you're not in Crystal Tokyo now!"  The tall thin girl, dressed as always 
  132.48 +in black, was holding ChibiUsa's hand tenderly against her breast. "I had 
  132.49 +half a mind to pull you right out of the bed if you are not up by noon, 
  132.50 +and it is already past ten minutes!"
  132.51 +
  132.52 +ChibiUsa frowned slightly, sat up and looked around. "Oh, that's right. I 
  132.53 +just got here yesterday. Okay," She fell back into the bed, then just as 
  132.54 +quickly she sat bolt upright again. "Wait a minute, what about your 
  132.55 +school?"
  132.56 +
  132.57 +"Lucky for you, we are in the middle of a Christmas vacation right now.  
  132.58 +You have arrived just in time - No school for a week!"
  132.59 +
  132.60 +"Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. What a relief," ChibiUsa plopped 
  132.61 +back in the bed, "Now I can go back to sleep!"  But Hotaru, still holding 
  132.62 +her hand, pulled her back to her sitting position again. 	
  132.63 +
  132.64 +"Not a chance! You're getting out of bed, and that's it!" 
  132.65 +
  132.66 +"Aw, Hotaru-chan!" ChibiUsa griped, but she complied anyways and stood on 
  132.67 +the floor, shivering from the morning chill because she was not wearing 
  132.68 +anything on her.  Hotaru let go of her hand.  "Say, where is my duffel 
  132.69 +bag I brought over with me?"
  132.70 +
  132.71 +Hotaru pointed. "Right over there!"
  132.72 +
  132.73 +"Arigato!"  ChibiUsa brushed the loose hair from her face and went to the 
  132.74 +corner where she had tossed her duffel bag and started rummaging around 
  132.75 +inside it. When she straightened up and turned, she saw Hotaru sitting on 
  132.76 +the edge of the bed and gazing lovingly at her.
  132.77 +
  132.78 +"Welcome back, my princess. You look even more beautiful each time I see 
  132.79 +you!" Seeing a light blush on ChibiUsa's cheeks Hotaru chuckled. "Well, 
  132.80 +that's true.  And I'm really glad you came all the way from Crystal Tokyo 
  132.81 +to stay with me for a while," she said, "I'll tell you, every time you 
  132.82 +went away for a few months I missed you terribly. Whenever you are gone I 
  132.83 +thought about you all the time!"
  132.84 +
  132.85 +ChibiUsa smiled. "Me too, Hotaru-chan," She went over and kissed Hotaru 
  132.86 +softly on the lips. "I think about you every day, even in my dreams. So I 
  132.87 +just decided to sneak off and see you again!" She shrugged sheepishly. 
  132.88 +"Although I unknowingly arrived right in the middle of the Christmas 
  132.89 +season!"
  132.90 +
  132.91 +"But it's a perfect timing!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "I was just 
  132.92 +wishing the other day you would be here to celebrate Christmas with me 
  132.93 +and my parents this year, and when you turned up suddenly at our door 
  132.94 +yesterday night I am truly delighted!"
  132.95 +
  132.96 +"Yeah, and Haruka and Michiru were so surprised to see me so soon," 
  132.97 +ChibiUsa said with a small laugh.
  132.98 +
  132.99 +"Well, I'm happy to see you again anyway. It's going to be so much fun, 
 132.100 +now that you are here with me!" Hotaru put her arms around the pink-
 132.101 +haired princess and hugged her warmly. "Then again I'm always happy 
 132.102 +whenever you travel back here to visit me...again and again! I just wish 
 132.103 +you could stay with me - permanently!"
 132.104 +
 132.105 +"I wish I could, Hotaru-chan, but Puu probably won't let me stay too long. 
 132.106 +Neither would my mother...Whoop!" ChibiUsa stepped back and clutched at 
 132.107 +her loudly rumbling stomach. "Guess I'm starving!"
 132.108 +
 132.109 +Hotaru chuckled.  "That's what you got for skipping breakfast. Okay, I'll 
 132.110 +see what I can cook up for you for lunch."  Suddenly her face brightened, 
 132.111 +"Hey, I have an even better idea! We can go downtown and get something to 
 132.112 +eat. My treat. How does it sound?" 
 132.113 +
 132.114 +"Great!" ChibiUsa said happily.
 132.115 +
 132.116 +"Good. Go get dressed. Or you can help yourself to some of my clothes in 
 132.117 +the closet. I don't mind.  I'll be downstairs waiting for you!"
 132.118 +
 132.119 +"Hotaru-chan?"
 132.120 +
 132.121 +"Hai, ChibiUsa-chan?"
 132.122 +
 132.123 +"I was thinking - could we stop by at the Tsukino house first? I'd like 
 132.124 +to see Usagi again." ChibiUsa asked tentatively. "I never got a chance to 
 132.125 +see Usagi and her family while I was here the last time, and I just 
 132.126 +wanted to see how she is doing."
 132.127 +
 132.128 +Hotaru thought about it. "I'm not sure if she's still living with her 
 132.129 +family, and also it's a bit long way from here...but sure, we can go over 
 132.130 +there and say hello to Usagi!"
 132.131 +
 132.132 +ChibiUsa threw her arms around her dark-haired friend in a big hug.   
 132.133 +"Arigato!"
 132.134 +
 132.135 +	
 132.136 +   		        ******************
 132.137 +
 132.138 +Some time later Hotaru and ChibiUsa (who managed to find some warm, 
 132.139 +light-colored clothes from the closet to wear) found themselves standing 
 132.140 +before the door at the Tsukino house, shivering because it *was* pretty 
 132.141 +long way getting there.  But neither complained, though.  Hotaru glanced 
 132.142 +at her young friend and noticed the nostalgic look in ChibiUsa's face. 
 132.143 +The pink-haired girl must really miss her future mother a lot, she 
 132.144 +observed.
 132.145 +
 132.146 +"ChibiUsa-chan, I wonder if Usagi's parents will recognize you?"  
 132.147 +
 132.148 +"Not without Luna-P, I don't think so," ChibiUsa said, looking rather sad. 
 132.149 +"You know, I used my Luna-P on Usagi's family a long time ago and fooled 
 132.150 +them into thinking I was just a poor, long-lost and abandoned 'cousin' 
 132.151 +who needed to be taken care of.  I believe the effect have long since 
 132.152 +worn off now. There's no way Usagi's family would recognize me and 
 132.153 +welcome me with open arms."
 132.154 +
 132.155 +Hotaru impulsively put her arm around ChibiUsa and hugged her closely, 
 132.156 +trying to console her. "At least Usagi will remember you and be happy to 
 132.157 +see you again anyway!"
 132.158 +
 132.159 +"Yeah," ChibiUsa nodded, smiling a little. "Well, here we go."
 132.160 +	
 132.161 +Hotaru stepped back to one side and watched silently as ChibiUsa reached 
 132.162 +up, hesitated only momentarily, then knocked the door.  A few moments 
 132.163 +passed, then the door swung outward and a middle-aged woman with long, 
 132.164 +bluish hair streaked with gray peered curiously at the the pink-haired 
 132.165 +teenager.   "Hai?"  The woman queried.
 132.166 +
 132.167 +ChibiUsa blinked. "Uh, uh, I-I just came here to see if Usagi is home," 
 132.168 +she stuttered, shuffling her shoes and looking terribly shy. "I haven't 
 132.169 +seen her for quite a while and I've lost touch with her...so...." 
 132.170 +
 132.171 +"Oh, my goodness. You must be one of Usagi's friends. Do you know she got 
 132.172 +a job in the other part of the city and moved away a couple of months 
 132.173 +ago?" The woman asked.
 132.174 +
 132.175 +ChibiUsa's face fell. "Oh...I don't know that."		
 132.176 +
 132.177 +The woman looked at her more closely and said with a quizzical expression 
 132.178 +on her face, "Hmmm...You seem familiar. Where have I met you before?"
 132.179 +
 132.180 +Hotaru's eyebrows raised and she looked sideways at ChibiUsa who became 
 132.181 +flustered and looked down at her shoes, tongue-tied. She decided to speak 
 132.182 +up for her.
 132.183 +
 132.184 +"Konnichi wa, Mrs. Tsukino-san. Since Usagi's not living here anymore, 
 132.185 +can we have her phone number so we can get in touch with her?"
 132.186 +
 132.187 +The woman's head turned, and gave the dark-haired girl a surprised look.  
 132.188 +"Why, hello, Hotaru! I haven't seen you in months - good to see you 
 132.189 +again!"  Then the woman turned her attention back to the pink-haired teen.  
 132.190 +"Well, I'll most certainly be happy to give you Usagi's phone number if 
 132.191 +you like."
 132.192 +	
 132.193 +"Arigato! It's just that Usagi is my...really good friend," ChibiUsa 
 132.194 +replied, sounding even more shy than usual. "And I just want to talk to 
 132.195 +her again..."
 132.196 +
 132.197 +"Okay. I understand," The woman nodded. "Give me a second, and I'll give 
 132.198 +you a piece of paper with Usagi's phone number on it."
 132.199 +
 132.200 +"All right, Ik...ma'am," ChibiUsa said, beaming.  She staggered against 
 132.201 +Hotaru as soon as the woman closed the door. "Kami-sama, I almost called 
 132.202 +her 'Ikuko-mommy'!"  She whispered as Hotaru gave her another one-arm 
 132.203 +reassuring hug.
 132.204 +
 132.205 +The door opened, and the girls straightened up expectantly. Ikuko stepped 
 132.206 +forward with, "Here you are," and handed ChibUsa a piece of paper.  "I 
 132.207 +hope you will be able to get hold of Usagi long enough to have a nice 
 132.208 +talk - I myself have had hard time getting her on the telephone as she is 
 132.209 +so busy with her job and her social life!"
 132.210 +	
 132.211 +"Arigato again," ChibiUsa said, accepting the proffered paper. "If Usagi 
 132.212 +ever come by here some time, please tell her that I was looking for her."
 132.213 +
 132.214 +"Oh, hai, we are planning to visit Usagi this weekend," Ikuko said 
 132.215 +brightly with a smile, "But what's your name, so I can tell her that you 
 132.216 +were looking for her?"
 132.217 +
 132.218 +"Oh," ChibiUsa felt a sudden pang of sadness that the woman could no 
 132.219 +longer knew her name.  "Just tell her the little spore stopped by in 
 132.220 +Tokyo for a sort visit. She'll know who it is. Ja ne!" She grabbed 
 132.221 +Hotaru's arm and took off with the dark-haired friend in tow before the 
 132.222 +woman would see her tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.
 132.223 +
 132.224 +*********************************************************************
 132.225 +
 132.226 +"Are you okay, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru said, glancing worriedly at her 
 132.227 +friend across the table they had taken at the Crown Place.  "You seem 
 132.228 +awfully quiet."
 132.229 +
 132.230 +"Oh well. I was thinking about Usagi's mother," ChibiUsa said. "Now that 
 132.231 +I have seen her I miss her just as much as I do Usagi. Although," She 
 132.232 +rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands with a 
 132.233 +look of mild disbelief, "To tell you the truth, I can't believe she 
 132.234 +looked so much older than I last saw her!"
 132.235 +
 132.236 +"Hmm-mmm," Hotaru said, nodding. "Things changed a lot since you were 
 132.237 +away, I guess," Hotaru smiled and reached across the table to squeeze 
 132.238 +ChibiUsa's arm affectionately. "I'm sorry we don't get to see Usagi, but 
 132.239 +now that you got her number we can call her tonight to say hi. Oh, by the 
 132.240 +way," she added quickly as though an thought had occurred to her, "Tell 
 132.241 +you what, with Christmas only a few days away I need to do some shopping 
 132.242 +this afternoon and get a few Christmas presents for Haruka-papa and 
 132.243 +Michiru-mama.  We'll go to the mall after we ate. Okay with you?"
 132.244 +
 132.245 +"Okay, Hotaru-chan," But ChibiUsa was still preoccupied; "Ikuko-
 132.246 +mommy...she said I look familiar," she whispered half to herself, "I 
 132.247 +wonder if she still remembers me after all?"
 132.248 +
 132.249 +A young, smiling waitress came up to their table and bowed slightly 
 132.250 +toward the two occupants.  "May I take your order?"
 132.251 +
 132.252 +ChibiUsa looked up, sat straight up and exclaimed happily;  "Hi, 
 132.253 +Unazuki!" 
 132.254 +
 132.255 +Unazuki looked at her in surprise.  "Nani?  Have we met before?...Oh, 
 132.256 +ChibiUsa! I almost didn't recognize you! My, but you've all grown up now 
 132.257 +and without your odangos in your hair!"
 132.258 +
 132.259 +The pink-haired princess grinned.  "I guess I hadn't gotten around to 
 132.260 +fixing my hair up  - and Hotaru said she don't know how to do odangos."
 132.261 +
 132.262 +"Indeed!"  The young waitress paused to study her critically. "Whoa! You 
 132.263 +know, I believe you look real kawaii with your hair down...I mean really 
 132.264 +kawaii!"
 132.265 +
 132.266 +"That's what I thought, too!"  Hotaru said.  She smiled fondly at 
 132.267 +ChibiUsa.  "Unazuki's right.  You do look very kawaii with your hair 
 132.268 +down! Would you consider letting your hair hang loose for the rest of 
 132.269 +your life?"
 132.270 +
 132.271 +"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Unazuki agreed. "You'd make a complete 
 132.272 +knockout sight!"
 132.273 +
 132.274 +"Well, I don't know," ChibiUsa said, looking slightly embarrassed by the 
 132.275 +sudden interest in her hairstyle. Bemused, she looked from Hotaru to 
 132.276 +Unazuki and laughed nervously, then decided to change the subject; 
 132.277 +"Uh...can I order fried chicken sandwich?"
 132.278 +
 132.279 +"Certainly!" Unazuki scribbled in her small notepad. "What about you?" 
 132.280 +She asked Hotaru. The raven-haired girl gave her choice and the smiling 
 132.281 +waitress wrote it down, then paused and gave the teen girls a concerned 
 132.282 +look. "Please pardon me, but did you say you'll do the shopping at the 
 132.283 +mall?  Down the 8th Street, correct?"
 132.284 +
 132.285 +"Uh, yeah, Unazuki, that's right," Hotaru answered. "Why?"
 132.286 +
 132.287 +"Oh, my.  Just be very careful, girls. There is a gang living in an area 
 132.288 +not far from the 8th Street," Unazuki said seriously, "They're called the 
 132.289 +White Wolves, and I heard they're pretty vicious. I just thought I'd warn 
 132.290 +you if you're planning to shop there."
 132.291 +
 132.292 +"The White Wolves?" ChibiUsa squeaked. 
 132.293 +
 132.294 +Hotaru looked thoughtful. "I've heard of them, my parents had told me 
 132.295 +once about them a while ago," she said with a nod, "Arigato for the 
 132.296 +warning, Unazuki. We will certainly be careful." 
 132.297 +
 132.298 +"Good, then," Unazuki was all smiles now. She looked at ChibiUsa and said, 
 132.299 +"I still think you look quite kawaii with your hair down. I really like 
 132.300 +it a lot!"  She bowed herself away.
 132.301 +
 132.302 +ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru. "The White Wolves...I don't remember hearing 
 132.303 +about them. I know we have many gangs here in Tokyo, but this one?  This 
 132.304 +is news to me," She sounded a little worried, "And she says they're 
 132.305 +vicious, eh?"
 132.306 +
 132.307 +"Don't worry about them, ChibiUsa-chan. As long as you are with me, 
 132.308 +you'll be safe," Hotaru turned to gaze at the pink-haired teen and 
 132.309 +grinned. "Well, I believe you're blushing, aren't you?" she teased, "You 
 132.310 +acted like Unazuki were trying to hit on you just because she commented 
 132.311 +so nicely on your hair, ne?" 
 132.312 +
 132.313 +ChibiUsa ducked her head, face turning even deeper color of red. "Of 
 132.314 +course not! I don't think so, Hotaru-chan!"
 132.315 +
 132.316 +Hotaru chuckled. "Heh. Sorry, ChibiUsa-chan. I better not tease you 
 132.317 +anymore, now that your face got such a lovely shade of red."
 132.318 +
 132.319 +ChibiUsa squawked indignantly and tried to cuff her friend. With a 
 132.320 +lightning motion borne of long senshi practice, Hotaru grabbed the young 
 132.321 +girl's hand and covered it with both of her own hands. Deep purple eye 
 132.322 +twinkling, the raven-haired girl grinned at ChibiUsa. "Okay, okay. I'll 
 132.323 +behave, ChibiUsa-chan."
 132.324 +
 132.325 +Chibiusa struck her tongue out at her. "You better be!"  She huffed. She 
 132.326 +felt warm inside, however, when she noticed Hotaru's eyes became soft and 
 132.327 +her mischievous smile turned gentle. The raven-haired girl's hands kept a 
 132.328 +firm yet tender hold on hers. 
 132.329 +
 132.330 +"Uh-oh," ChibiUsa said, raising one eyebrow, "I think I know what you're 
 132.331 +thinking, Hotaru-chan."
 132.332 +
 132.333 +The raven-haired girl gave a small chuckle.  "Perhaps you do, ChibiUsa-
 132.334 +chan," She winked at her, "But you'll have to wait until later to find 
 132.335 +out!"  She released her friend's hand, placed her elbows on the table and 
 132.336 +rested her chin on her hands, still smiling gently at ChibiUsa.  "Well, 
 132.337 +suppose I get you something for Christmas, what will it be?"
 132.338 +
 132.339 +"You don't have to get me anything!"  ChibiUsa protested, feeling a 
 132.340 +little guilty,  "I'm afraid I don't bring any money with me to buy you 
 132.341 +something because I have no idea it would be almost Christmas when I 
 132.342 +arrived at your house yesterday.  You know how unpredictable time-
 132.343 +traveling can be. And besides, I've already got too much stuff back at 
 132.344 +home anyways.  If I've known I would arrive during the holiday, I would 
 132.345 +bring something for you!"
 132.346 +
 132.347 +Hotaru smiled again. "Okay, then. And don't worry about that...ChibiUsa-
 132.348 +chan, just having you here with me is like a early Christmas present to 
 132.349 +me!"
 132.350 +
 132.351 +"Really?"  ChibiUsa said, pleased.
 132.352 +
 132.353 +Hotaru nodded vigorously, then became serious. "ChibiUsa-chan...Now that 
 132.354 +you are here, how long will you stay?  I hope this time you will be able 
 132.355 +to stay as long as you can," Hotaru looked pleadingly at her young friend. 
 132.356 +"Would you?"
 132.357 +
 132.358 +"I don't know. That depends," ChibiUsa said slowly, her brow furrowed.  
 132.359 +"I would certainly stay as long as possible. But then Puu will come and 
 132.360 +discover me here, she'll say I should go back home," Her voice sounded 
 132.361 +resigned, "Then I'd have to leave."
 132.362 +
 132.363 +At this Hotaru frowned and shook her head vehemently.  "ChibiUsa-chan, 
 132.364 +she can't do that to you. You shouldn't let Pluto tell you what to do!" 
 132.365 +she said sharply. ChibiUsa blinked at the tone of her friend's voice. 
 132.366 +Hotaru continued, "If you want to stay here, you just tell her so!"
 132.367 +
 132.368 +"Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said. She reached out to touch her friend's 
 132.369 +shoulder, wanting to reassure her, "It's okay! I'm not going anywhere - 
 132.370 +especially not this soon anyhow!"
 132.371 +
 132.372 + "As much as I love Pluto, I just don't want her to come and take you 
 132.373 +away again," Hotaru said earnestly, almost angrily. She took ChibiUsa's 
 132.374 +hand and squeezed it briefly.  "You are not only my best friend, you are 
 132.375 +my soul mate.  I won't let her tear us apart like she did last time.  I'd 
 132.376 +miss you terribly if she does."
 132.377 +
 132.378 +"I see," The pink-haired teen said softly, giving her friend a curious 
 132.379 +look.  She had never seen Hotaru this upset before. A memory came to her, 
 132.380 +of young Hotaru and ChibiUsa trying to catch up with each other after the 
 132.381 +downfall of Neherenia - to pick up where they had left off since they 
 132.382 +last saw each other [and Hotaru was then a baby at that time before the 
 132.383 +evil Neherenia and the Dead Moon Circus began causing trouble] - only to 
 132.384 +have Pluto come and said that ChibiUsa have to return home to Crystal 
 132.385 +Tokyo for good. Hotaru was so disappointed they had not been able to be 
 132.386 +together very long... "I'd miss you too, if I leave. Don't worry, Hotaru-
 132.387 +chan, for you I will stay as long as it is possible, no matter what Puu 
 132.388 +may say."
 132.389 +
 132.390 +Hotaru's troubled face cleared, and she seemed to calm down. "Good!"  She 
 132.391 +said, starting to smile warmly, "If you stay around long enough it'll be 
 132.392 +also my birthday present next month too!"
 132.393 +
 132.394 +"At least until..." ChibiUsa hesitated and blushed a little, "Until Usagi 
 132.395 +gets pregnant. Then I really have to go."
 132.396 +
 132.397 +Hotaru's smile faded, and she sighed, releasing her friend's hand.  "You 
 132.398 +have a point. Well, as long as you're here, we have to make the most of 
 132.399 +time, I guess."
 132.400 +
 132.401 +"Hai, that's right," ChibiUsa agreed.  She scooted around the beach to 
 132.402 +the raven-haired teen's side and gave her a tight hug, "I don't want you 
 132.403 +to feel bad, Hotaru-chan. I love you, always and forever. Nothing can 
 132.404 +change that in any way!"
 132.405 +
 132.406 +For a moment Hotaru looked at her with shining purple eyes, and she 
 132.407 +opened her mouth and was on verge of speaking something when Unazuki 
 132.408 +returned bearing a tray of steaming food and placed it on their table.
 132.409 +
 132.410 +"Chow time!"  The waitress announced with a huge smile.
 132.411 +
 132.412 +"What is it you were about to say?"  ChibiUsa prompted her as soon as 
 132.413 +Unazuki left.  Hotaru shrugged and gave her another loving look.
 132.414 +
 132.415 +"Just that: I love you, too, ChibiUsa-chan. Always and forever." 
 132.416 +
 132.417 +****************************************
 132.418 +
 132.419 +The night sky was clear and cloudless with the bright, full moon hovering 
 132.420 +over the Tokyo that twinkled and glittered like jewels with Christmas 
 132.421 +lights everywhere. 
 132.422 +
 132.423 +The young senshi and the princess from the future, each clutching tightly 
 132.424 +to a bugling bag, pushed their way trough the jostling crowd of 
 132.425 +pedestrians and shoppers across the congested street from the mall they 
 132.426 +had just left. Reaching the other side safely, they turned in one 
 132.427 +direction and started off on way home down the sidewalk.
 132.428 +
 132.429 +"Whoa, it's night already. We must have shopped all day until now!" 
 132.430 +ChibiUsa exclaimed. She glanced down at the bags, then at Hotaru. "You 
 132.431 +said a few presents, huh? I can't believe you can afford to buy all those, 
 132.432 +let alone treat me at the Crown Place. Just how much allowance do you 
 132.433 +actually get from Haruka and Michiru each week?!"  
 132.434 +
 132.435 +"You're making it sound like Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are spoiling 
 132.436 +me!"  Hotaru laughed. "No, really, the amount of the weekly allowance I 
 132.437 +receive is about as normal as yours when you lived with Usagi, I think.  
 132.438 +And every time I get it I just squirreled it away for later when I need 
 132.439 +it to buy something." 
 132.440 +
 132.441 +"So you just accumulate your allowance over time?" ChibiUsa raised her 
 132.442 +eyebrows in mock surprise.  "Oh, no wonder. And I thought you were 
 132.443 +wealthy because of your parents!"
 132.444 +
 132.445 +Hotaru shrugged. "I'm not like those born-to-shop-until-I-drop-dead guys, 
 132.446 +you know.  Just a few things I need to buy now and then. With Christmas 
 132.447 +coming, I thought I'd better hurry and get something for my parents!"  
 132.448 +She turned her head and smiled at her young friend. "It was fun shopping 
 132.449 +with you, ChibiUsa-chan. And thanks for your help in picking out a really 
 132.450 +cool gift for Haruka-papa. Now I can tell her that she's a proud owner of 
 132.451 +2001 Ferrari GTO. Then all she have to do is look inside the box and find 
 132.452 +a kawaii little toy car she can play with the remote controller!"
 132.453 +
 132.454 +ChibiUsa laughed. "You're very welcome, Hotaru-chan," she said.
 132.455 +
 132.456 +They walked for a while; admiring the decorated windows they passed by 
 132.457 +while their booted feet made crunching sound in the snow.  Suddenly 
 132.458 +ChibiUsa giggled furiously.
 132.459 +
 132.460 +"Gomen. There was one place that I was browsing back there - you were in 
 132.461 +the other store at that time - and they were selling gag gifts. It 
 132.462 +reminded me of one Mom got from Mars and Venus for her birthday back in 
 132.463 +Crystal Tokyo last summer," She said, still giggling.  "I can't say what 
 132.464 +it was, but I know it was kind of naughty.  You should have seen Mom's 
 132.465 +face - it was really funny!"
 132.466 +
 132.467 +Hotaru laughed gently, mainly because ChibiUsa's giggles were quite 
 132.468 +infectious.  "I wish I could have been there with you. It would be fun, 
 132.469 +eh?"
 132.470 +
 132.471 +ChibiUsa became somber and looked at her with a hint of sadness in her 
 132.472 +cinnamon-red eyes. She said quietly, "Yeah, It would indeed be fun, with 
 132.473 +all friends and about every Senshi there for our birthday except..." 
 132.474 +
 132.475 +Hotaru cocked her head and looked at her quizzically. "Eh?  Except what?"   
 132.476 +When the pink-haired princess looked at you sadly and didn't respond, it 
 132.477 +dawned on her; "I wasn't there?"
 132.478 +
 132.479 +ChibiUsa shook her head, and walked more slowly with her eyes downcast. 
 132.480 +"You weren't there at the party. In fact, you are not around anywhere in 
 132.481 +the Crystal Tokyo at all!"
 132.482 +
 132.483 +"How come?"
 132.484 +
 132.485 +ChibiUsa was silent for a moment before continuing,  "I'll have you know, 
 132.486 +Hotaru-chan, that after we defeated Neherenia I returned home and saw all 
 132.487 +the old and new Senshi, including Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune - 
 132.488 +except Sailor Saturn.  I asked everyone what happened to you.  Nobody 
 132.489 +could give me a straight answer, not even my mother. Puu was the only one 
 132.490 +to tell me that you were no longer on the Earth."  She stopped and looked 
 132.491 +at the stunned Hotaru. She continued with tears brimming her eyes, "At 
 132.492 +first I thought it meant you had already died. But Puu said no, it was 
 132.493 +just that you were sent back to your own planet - on the far side of the 
 132.494 +galaxy. And nobody have contacted you ever since!"  She scrubbed away the 
 132.495 +tears that now tickled down her cheeks. "I can't reach you in any way, 
 132.496 +and it made me feel so bad not to be able to see you. Oh, Hotaru-chan, I 
 132.497 +miss you so much..."
 132.498 +
 132.499 +"Oh, ChibiUsa!"  Hotaru dropped her bag and stepped forward quickly to 
 132.500 +take her into her arms. "It's all right...don't cry, ChibiUsa-chan," For 
 132.501 +the pink-haired princess was beginning to cry in earnest. "So that's why 
 132.502 +you kept coming back here just to see me? It's okay, we're together now. 
 132.503 +Shh, shh...." 
 132.504 +
 132.505 +ChibiUsa snuggled against her and did not say anything else for a while.  
 132.506 +Hotaru continued to murmur soft reassuring words and stroked her friend's 
 132.507 +long hair absently. It was perhaps two full minutes before ChibiUsa 
 132.508 +sighed and raised her head to look at the raven-haired teen right in the 
 132.509 +face.  "You're O.K. now?  Hotaru asked in a concerned tone.
 132.510 +
 132.511 +ChibiUsa nodded, still not looking very happy. "Well, but I sure wish you 
 132.512 +could still remain in Crystal Tokyo and not go anywhere else. Why did 
 132.513 +they have to send you so far away?"
 132.514 +
 132.515 +"I really don't know. I have no idea what is going on in the future," 
 132.516 +Hotaru said, feeling distressed herself, "Could it be they just decided 
 132.517 +they don't need me now that there are no more powerful enemies in the 
 132.518 +30th Century to battle with?" She paused for a moment as though thinking 
 132.519 +and shrugged, "Or maybe it's just that your people can live much longer 
 132.520 +in that century than we do here - don't they, ChibiUsa-chan? If so, they 
 132.521 +probably don't want Death hanging because it would be too depressing for 
 132.522 +them, huh?"
 132.523 +
 132.524 +"Hotaru-chan, I don't think those are good reasons enough to send you 
 132.525 +away!" ChibiUsa said, shaking her head negatively, "We still do have 
 132.526 +enemies popping up from time to time, and besides, you are one of the 
 132.527 +elder Senshi and you are have an important duty in Crystal Tokyo, so why 
 132.528 +should they..."
 132.529 +
 132.530 +"It just occurred to me," Hotaru said suddenly, looking pensive. 
 132.531 +"ChibiUsa-chan, could it be they send me away because they are afraid of 
 132.532 +my powers?"
 132.533 +
 132.534 +"What are you saying!"  ChibiUsa was startled. "What made you think they 
 132.535 +are afraid of you? But you are our dear friend. Why would they be scared 
 132.536 +of you...?"
 132.537 +
 132.538 +"I think I know why," Hotaru said quietly. She paused and looked at 
 132.539 +ChibiUsa with a serious look on her face.  She took a long breath and 
 132.540 +asked rather diffidently, "First I'd like to ask you something I have 
 132.541 +been wondering about for a long time.  ChibiUsa-chan, when you first knew 
 132.542 +I am Sailor Saturn, were you afraid of me?"
 132.543 +
 132.544 +"Me, afraid of you?" ChibiUsa cried in surprise. "Why should I?"
 132.545 +
 132.546 +"Remember, I am a Sailor of Death and Rebirth," Hortaru said more quietly, 
 132.547 +"You know that if I must, I will not hesitate to kill the enemies which I 
 132.548 +have done many, many times. And watching them die is not something you 
 132.549 +should see - it's horrible.  And not only that, you are aware that with a 
 132.550 +single blow of my Glaive I am quite capable of destroying everything on 
 132.551 +this Earth, and the planet itself too. You know that, don't you?"
 132.552 +
 132.553 +ChibiUsa looked at her and gave a small, uncertain nod but otherwise did 
 132.554 +not say anything. After a while Hotaru continued. "I'll tell you what.  
 132.555 +When I go around as Sailor Saturn almost everyone is afraid of me. It may 
 132.556 +not seem like a big surprise, considering I carry the Glaive anyway. 
 132.557 +But...the problem is, even if I am not transformed - that is, I go around 
 132.558 +as Hotaru and not carrying my weapon - both the Inner and the Outer 
 132.559 +Senshi, including what few friends I have, once they knew who I am, are 
 132.560 +still uneasy around me.  I believe even your mother is a little afraid of 
 132.561 +me. I know they are, because I could see a hint of fear in their eyes 
 132.562 +even if they declared their love for me and would stand by me no matter 
 132.563 +what. They tried to hide it, but I was not fooled. They are just, simply, 
 132.564 +afraid of me and walk around me on tiptoes, so to speak."
 132.565 +
 132.566 +"Even my mother?" ChibiUsa asked. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. 
 132.567 +"But it can't be!"
 132.568 +
 132.569 +Hotaru closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Even Usagi, believe it or not. 
 132.570 +I think it's because I have the power to bring the destruction and death 
 132.571 +down at any time and there's no one who can stop me. ChibiUsa-chan, I 
 132.572 +must tell you, it has been going like this for so long I just can't take 
 132.573 +it any more. I hate it, the way everyone was just...you know, kind of 
 132.574 +skittish around me. I just want to be treated like a normal person, a 
 132.575 +friend and not a sort of cold, ruthless Grim Reaper they seemed to think 
 132.576 +I am!"
 132.577 +
 132.578 +"But Hotaru-chan..."
 132.579 +
 132.580 +Now Hotaru opened her eyes her eyes and but did not quite meet her 
 132.581 +friend's eyes.  "Chibiusa-chan, shouldn't you be afraid of me?  You have 
 132.582 +seen my Glaive and know my powers and what I am capable of,"  She said 
 132.583 +softly, "Are you?"
 132.584 +
 132.585 +"No, Hotaru-chan. I have never been afraid of you. No, not at all!"
 132.586 +
 132.587 +Hotaru gasped and looked at the pink-haired princess full in the face.  
 132.588 +ChibiUsa looked steadily back at her with her wide, cinnamon-red eyes 
 132.589 +filled with...love, compassion and total trust.  There was absolutely no 
 132.590 +fear in them at all.  "Hotaru-chan, like I said, I love you. I've known 
 132.591 +you for a long time and yet I love you more than anything. 
 132.592 +Nothing...especially what you just said...can change it. You have to 
 132.593 +believe that!"
 132.594 +
 132.595 +Hotaru was vastly relieved to hear that. "ChibiUsa-chan," she whispered, 
 132.596 +"Is it any wonder why I love you so much?  Of all people I've known, you 
 132.597 +are the only one who do not fear me!" She became aware of ChibiUsa's hand 
 132.598 +was stroking her face, wiping away tears that Hotaru didn't know were 
 132.599 +steaming down her own cheeks. 
 132.600 +
 132.601 +"Hotaru-chan, I don't care what they think or say about you, I see you 
 132.602 +only as a warm, kind-hearted person who is fun to be with," ChibiUsa 
 132.603 +continued, "And more than just a best friend, too. You are someone I feel 
 132.604 +comfortable enough to share with you my innermost feelings and secrets 
 132.605 +nobody else knows. And what's more, I know you will always be there for 
 132.606 +me as I will for you too." She smiled up at Hotaru. "To tell you the 
 132.607 +truth, I feel much more safe and secure whenever I'm with you, because 
 132.608 +you protect me and would not let anything happen to me. Won't you?"
 132.609 +
 132.610 +Impulsively Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's hand and kissed it.  "Of course, I 
 132.611 +will always be there for you, ChibiUsa-chan! And I will always protect 
 132.612 +you because as Sailor Saturn I'm sworn to protect you anyway. Not only 
 132.613 +because you are a princess, but you are very important to me.  Much more 
 132.614 +than you realize!"
 132.615 +
 132.616 +The pink-haired teen's face grew more serious. "I guess that is why they 
 132.617 +sent you away just because they are still afraid of you, even in the 30th 
 132.618 +Century? I can't believe it!" 
 132.619 +
 132.620 +"Either that or the other way," Hotaru said with a slow shrug. "Right now 
 132.621 +it's way far into the future, so I guess we will never really know, eh?"
 132.622 +
 132.623 +ChibiUsa shook her head with disapproval.  "Well, I will not tolerate 
 132.624 +that!  When I have a chance I'll find out why and then I'll see to that 
 132.625 +it get changed so you will always remain in Crystal Tokyo with me, no 
 132.626 +matter what! I swear on it!"
 132.627 +
 132.628 +Hotaru smiled.  "Good. I want to be near you, too. I wouldn't want to be 
 132.629 +separated from you either," The raven-haired girl said. Absently, she 
 132.630 +reached up and brushed the pink strands of hair from ChibiUsa's face.  A 
 132.631 +snowflake floated down and melted against the princess' forehead. "Oh, 
 132.632 +it's starting to snow," Hotaru looked up, and realized not only it was 
 132.633 +snowing, the wind was becoming quite chilly and gusty. "Come on, we 
 132.634 +better hurry home," she said, grabbing a heavy shopping bag.
 132.635 +
 132.636 +Without another word the girls both strode at a brisk pace, shoulder to 
 132.637 +shoulder, hand in hand, shivering with their heads bent against the 
 132.638 +heightening blizzard. They met fewer and few pedestrians, until they 
 132.639 +could see no other person traveling down the strangely silent side of the 
 132.640 +street with only an occasional car rumbling by. Curious as why she did 
 132.641 +not see any more store windows festooned brightly with Christmas 
 132.642 +decorations like they should be, ChibiUsa looked up and after a while she 
 132.643 +whispered, "I don't think I've been here before."
 132.644 +
 132.645 +"Hmmm?" Hotaru raised her head and looked carefully around. Thanks to the 
 132.646 +heavily blowing snow, it seemed they had somehow lost their way and 
 132.647 +stumbled into an unfamiliar area of the city. Puzzled, She peered through 
 132.648 +the snow swirling crazily in the streetlight at the signpost and took 
 132.649 +note of the name of the street. She did not recognize it.  "I guess we 
 132.650 +must have took a wrong turn." Hotaru said. 
 132.651 +
 132.652 +"We seem to be in a bad neighborhood," ChibiUsa observed, eying with 
 132.653 +distaste the crude graffiti on the weathered brick wall.  
 132.654 +
 132.655 +"Really," Hotaru said, sounding slightly perturbed at their predicament. 
 132.656 +"I guess we just need to turn around and find our way back there." She 
 132.657 +paused and she cast a concerned look at her friend and noticed that 
 132.658 +ChibiUsa's face was red from cold and exposure, and that the young 
 132.659 +princess covered on one side with snow. "You okay, ChibiUsa-chan?"
 132.660 +
 132.661 +"Just cold, that's all," ChibiUsa griped, shivering. Even her teeth were 
 132.662 +chattering a little. "I don't suppose you know a shortcut to your house 
 132.663 +from around here, Hotaru-chan?"
 132.664 +
 132.665 +"I don't think so," Hotaru sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be home before 
 132.666 +long. Just stay close to me, okay?"  The girls turned around and began to 
 132.667 +trudge back up from where they had come from.
 132.668 +
 132.669 +"Hey, kawaii girls," A new voice hailed them.
 132.670 +
 132.671 +Both girls stopped and twirled around, startled.
 132.672 +
 132.673 +"What are you nice girls doing here? If you two are lost, maybe we could 
 132.674 +help you out," A slender, older girl - probably in late teens - stepped 
 132.675 +out of the shadows and into the glare of the lamppost and stood in the 
 132.676 +front of them, regarding them with some interest. She was a good head 
 132.677 +taller than them, and under the streetlight her long windblown hair was 
 132.678 +bleached white and she was wearing long, dark heavy leather coat. She 
 132.679 +grinned down at them, but the look she gave them wasn't exactly 
 132.680 +benevolent.
 132.681 +
 132.682 +We? Hotaru frowned, suddenly wary. She looked around quickly to see if 
 132.683 +there were anyone else with the strange girl, but there were no one she 
 132.684 +could see beyond the scope of the lamppost.  All the same, Hotaru moved 
 132.685 +closer to her friend in order to protect her and replied in an even voice, 
 132.686 +"No, thanks. I'm sure we can find our way home."  
 132.687 +
 132.688 +"Oh?"  The girl cocked her head, the grin hardly leaving her face. "But 
 132.689 +it's freezing out here! We are heading over to our place and maybe you 
 132.690 +both should come in with us to get warmed up," She jerked her thumb back 
 132.691 +at a squat brick building that appeared to be somewhat dilapidated. Two 
 132.692 +upper curtained windows were lit with sickly yellow light, and Hotaru 
 132.693 +could see silhouetted figures moving forth and back ominously behind them. 
 132.694 +The stranger continued; "There you can have something to eat and drink, 
 132.695 +too if you have not yet eaten."
 132.696 +
 132.697 +"Thanks for the offer, that is very nice of you," Hotaru said quietly, 
 132.698 +"But I'm afraid we have to pass it up.  It's getting late anyway and we 
 132.699 +need to go home."  She whispered to her friend, "Let's go, ChibiUsa-
 132.700 +chan."
 132.701 +
 132.702 +The pink-haired girl threw a longing glance at the building; apparently 
 132.703 +she was hungry too as well as cold, and would gladly go in there to thaw 
 132.704 +out if possible.  But after a moment's hesitation Chibiusa sighed and 
 132.705 +conceded, "All right, Hotaru-chan, we better go home then."  Both the 
 132.706 +girls turned to walk away.
 132.707 +
 132.708 +"You are not going anywhere!" A new, stern voice called out.  Another 
 132.709 +girl, even taller than the first, stepped into sight out of nowhere 
 132.710 +blocking their path. She too has bleached hair and wore the similar dark 
 132.711 +attire and has a very unfriendly expression on her face. Narrowing her 
 132.712 +eyes, she said flatly; "Don't you know it's extremely rude to turn down a 
 132.713 +generous offer like that?"
 132.714 +
 132.715 +Both Hotaru and ChibiUsa abruptly halted, and the raven-haired girl threw 
 132.716 +her arm around the princess and pulled her close protectively. "What do 
 132.717 +you want?" Hotaru demanded.
 132.718 +
 132.719 +"You," the second tall girl said simply.
 132.720 +
 132.721 +"That's right, we're always looking for new friends!"  Yet another voices 
 132.722 +chorused and two more girls, twins to be exact, soon appeared on both 
 132.723 +sides of the disagreeable second girl. In contrast their faces were 
 132.724 +cheerful and smiling, but their expressions belied a dangerous glint in 
 132.725 +their eyes.  Like the other girls who had accosted Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
 132.726 +the somewhat young twins have pale hair and wore the same kind of leather 
 132.727 +coats.   
 132.728 +
 132.729 +The four strangers spread out, and in the next few moments the young 
 132.730 +Senshi and the princess found themselves surrounded with no other way out. 
 132.731 +Something was terribly wrong.  Hotaru felt ChibiUsa gripped her arm 
 132.732 +tightly. "Who are you?" The pink-haired girl challenged angrily, "What 
 132.733 +are you going to do with us?"
 132.734 +
 132.735 +"Well, well. Such a gutsy girl," One of the girls smirked. 
 132.736 +
 132.737 +"ChibiUsa," Hotaru whispered to her in a warning tone.
 132.738 +
 132.739 +The tall girl, obviously a leader who had spoken to them in the first 
 132.740 +place now addressed them again, "Well, we might as well introduce 
 132.741 +ourselves.  I am Hoshi," She bowed slightly. "And this is Kumiko," She 
 132.742 +nodded toward the tall hard-faced girl.  "And those are Shina and Yoko," 
 132.743 +She finished, looking in direction at the young twins with deceptively 
 132.744 +pleasant faces. Then she turned her attention toward Hotaru and ChibiUsa. 
 132.745 +Her eyes hardened.  "Now that you have met us, I'll let you know one 
 132.746 +thing.  We are the White Wolves, and you happened to be trespassing our 
 132.747 +territory."
 132.748 +
 132.749 +Hotaru tensed, and heard ChibiUsa gasped sharply.
 132.750 +
 132.751 +Obviously anticipating this type of reaction, Hoshi smiled. "However, 
 132.752 +since this is Christmas season," She said in a more genial voice, "And 
 132.753 +for such kawaii girls like you should not be wandering around out in this 
 132.754 +bad weather, we'll be generous. Therefore, you could have taken up my 
 132.755 +offer to come in with us and get acquainted with us guys. There's so much 
 132.756 +we can learn from each other."
 132.757 +
 132.758 +Hotaru and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a second. Then the raven-
 132.759 +haired girl shook head firmly. "No, thanks."
 132.760 +
 132.761 +The leader sighed.  "If you decline our offer and would rather leave here 
 132.762 +anyway...well, there is a price for trespassing our turf. So you have two 
 132.763 +choices.  Hand over your money and bags you are carrying, and we'll let 
 132.764 +you leave without any hassle."
 132.765 +
 132.766 +Hotaru's heart began to beat rapidly.  Before she could say anything 
 132.767 +ChibiUsa demanded, "And what's the second choice?" 
 132.768 +
 132.769 +The leader's smile thinned and eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you try to 
 132.770 +leave without paying the price, well, you'll have to find it out the hard 
 132.771 +way."
 132.772 +
 132.773 +Hotaru did not like the sound of it at all. She whispered to her pink-
 132.774 +haired friend, "I think we better hand over our bags, ChibiUsa-chan, and 
 132.775 +then they'll let us go."
 132.776 +
 132.777 +"Nani?" ChibiUsa stared at her incredulously. "But you bought all those 
 132.778 +presents with your money for Haruka and Michiru...and it's not right for 
 132.779 +them to take the presents away from you!"
 132.780 +
 132.781 +"Never mind, it's better than standing around to find what the second 
 132.782 +choice is all about," Hotaru whispered back. As ChibiUsa scowled angrily 
 132.783 +and muttered something acidic under breath, Hotaru turned to the leader. 
 132.784 +"We'll give up our bags and money.  You're sure if we do, we'll leave 
 132.785 +without any trouble, correct?"
 132.786 +
 132.787 +Hoshi grinned suddenly. Her dark eyes glistened with greed as she nodded. 
 132.788 +"Excellent choice. We will certainly let you go after we have your 
 132.789 +stuff."
 132.790 +
 132.791 +"Okay, here you are," Hotaru said with quiet resignation, and held out 
 132.792 +the bag. Just as the tall leader reached forward to take it, ChibiUsa 
 132.793 +suddenly yanked Hotaru back. 
 132.794 +
 132.795 +"No!"  ChibiUsa said vehemently, shooting the gang leader an angry look,  
 132.796 +"They have no right to do that to us!"
 132.797 +
 132.798 +"ChibiUsa!" Hotaru said sharply. "We don't want any trouble with them. 
 132.799 +Just let them take what they want, and then we'll be let go. It's not 
 132.800 +worth making a big fuss about it!"
 132.801 +
 132.802 +ChibiUsa shook her head stubbornly, still balking.  "It's just not 
 132.803 +right!"
 132.804 +
 132.805 +"Ah, so you're resisting, eh?" The hard-faced second girl named Kumiko 
 132.806 +said. She rubbed her knuckles ominously. "What are we going to do about 
 132.807 +you two?"
 132.808 +
 132.809 +"You're not taking anything from us!"  ChibiUsa shouted. 
 132.810 +
 132.811 +The leader glanced over Hotaru and ChibiUsa's heads at Kumiko and nodded.  
 132.812 +As though on cue, the hard-faced girl standing behind Chibisusa stepped 
 132.813 +forward with slow, purposeful and menacing movements.
 132.814 +
 132.815 +Without warning, ChibiUsa's elbow flew out and caught Kumiko in the 
 132.816 +stomach. As she doubled over, gasping, the petite pink-haired princess 
 132.817 +grabbed her around the head and flipped her right over her shoulder.  
 132.818 +Kumiko went down with a thud and lay there in the snow, groaning.  The 
 132.819 +other bleach-haired girls froze where they stood, staring in stunned 
 132.820 +disbelief.
 132.821 +
 132.822 +"ChibiUsa!" Hotaru gasped. "What do you think you are doing?"
 132.823 +
 132.824 +"Come on! We're getting out of here!"  ChibiUsa said. She grabbed 
 132.825 +Hotaru's hand and dragged her across the space that was formerly occupied 
 132.826 +by Kumiko and into the alley, taking the bags with them.
 132.827 +
 132.828 +"They're getting away!"  The leader of the gang screamed as Kumiko jumped 
 132.829 +to her feet.  She sounded absolutely livid; "They will pay for it! Go 
 132.830 +after them!" 
 132.831 +
 132.832 +"Oh, Kami-sama," Hotaru said, looking at her friend in consternation.  
 132.833 +They could hear the angry words echoing off the walls and a set of 
 132.834 +footfalls slapping furiously upon the snow-covered ground behind them, 
 132.835 +growing closer and closer each moment. The raven-haired girl yelled; "Run 
 132.836 +as fast as you can!" 
 132.837 +
 132.838 +And so the senshi and the princess sprinted hand in hand down the semi-
 132.839 +dark alley for dear lives, turning this way and that way at every corner 
 132.840 +in hopes to shake their pursuers off.  But when they made fourth such 
 132.841 +detour they immediately realized their mistake; they had ran into a dead 
 132.842 +end. And they could not backpedal out of their predicament, for almost 
 132.843 +immediately the angry girls with bleached hairs burst into view, blocking 
 132.844 +their only way of escape.
 132.845 +
 132.846 +Before Hotaru would react, she was tackled from behind with such a force 
 132.847 +that she was slammed against the brick wall. As she groaned painfully she 
 132.848 +heard a falsely cheerful voice said with a tone of ironic playfulness in 
 132.849 +it, "Tsk, tsk. You think you can dodge us, aren't you?"  Hotaru was not 
 132.850 +sure if it was either Shina or Yoko.  But as she tried to struggle she 
 132.851 +saw Kimuko striding right by and caught a fleeting glimpse of what looked 
 132.852 +like a bowie knife flashing in dim light.  Icy fear seized her heart. It 
 132.853 +was not out of a concern for her own safety, however, but for ChibiUsa. 
 132.854 +[Dear Kami-sama, don't let them hurt my friend!]
 132.855 +
 132.856 +"Know what I'm gonna do?"  The same voice laughed nastily, and Hotaru 
 132.857 +felt her arm twisted savagely behind her. She could not cry out loud, she 
 132.858 +was paralyzed with pain. "We're gonna break every bone of yours and kill 
 132.859 +you!"
 132.860 +
 132.861 +The next few moments seemed like an eternity, as Hotaru was struck 
 132.862 +brutally several times - with what, she wasn't able to tell.  Hotaru was 
 132.863 +dimly aware of a furious scuffle not too far off. [ChibiUsa...oh, no!] 
 132.864 +But there was nothing she could do at that time. Then, with a final 
 132.865 +savage blow to her head that sent her reeling, she was flung to the 
 132.866 +ground among the overturned trashcans. 
 132.867 +
 132.868 +"Next time we see you it'll be much worse than that. You should be lucky 
 132.869 +we let you live for now."  It was Hoshi's voice now. "Have a Merry 
 132.870 +Christmas!"  With those mocking parting words, the gang stomped away.  
 132.871 +Then there was silence.
 132.872 +
 132.873 +Hotaru lay panting there in semi-darkness, shivering, waiting for the 
 132.874 +pain to dwindle to a tolerable level before she could dare to raise her 
 132.875 +head. She was somewhat relieved she suffered no broken bones. "ChibiUsa? 
 132.876 +Are you there?"  She called tentatively. When she did not hear the 
 132.877 +immediate response she became panicky.  "ChibiUsa! Answer me!"
 132.878 +
 132.879 +At last a weak reply came.  "Hotaru...!" In semi-darkness Hotaru could 
 132.880 +see a form of ChibiUsa floundering around in the snow not far from her.  
 132.881 +Hotaru, frightened and concerned for her friend, tried frantically to 
 132.882 +reach where the pink-haired girl was.  ChibiUsa must have seen her, for 
 132.883 +she shuffled over to her right away on knees and hands and an arm slipped 
 132.884 +gently around the raven-haired girl, supporting her.  "Hotaru! Are you 
 132.885 +all right?" ChibiUsa said in a much stronger voice now. She also sounded 
 132.886 +strangely restrained as thought she was trying to hide pain from her 
 132.887 +voice.
 132.888 +
 132.889 +Hotaru staggered into her friend's arms with relief. [Thank Kami-sama!] 
 132.890 +She was so scared that they might beat ChibiUsa senseless...or worse. She 
 132.891 +looked up through blowing snow flurries into ChibiUsa's face, trying to 
 132.892 +gauge just how bad the princess looked.  It was hard to tell, as 
 132.893 +ChibiUsa's face was in shadow with tendrils of pink hair whipping around 
 132.894 +in the wind, partly concealing it. 
 132.895 +
 132.896 +"I...I think so," Hotaru said in a halting voice as she allowed ChibiUsa 
 132.897 +to pull her to a sitting position.  Instinctively she massaged the aching 
 132.898 +arm. "Ouch. That's a wonder they didn't pull my arm out of the socket!  
 132.899 +ChibiUsa-chan, please tell me - how badly are you injured in any way?"
 132.900 +
 132.901 +ChibiUsa did not answer the question. Instead, she became upset; "Kami-
 132.902 +sama, you're hurt!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, stricken. "They did 
 132.903 +this to you and got away with it!"
 132.904 +
 132.905 +"Forget it," Hotaru said wearily. "Let them go."
 132.906 +
 132.907 +"But, they took the gifts you bought for Haruka and Michiru and beat you 
 132.908 +up...!"  ChibiUsa was becoming angry again. "I won't forgive them. I'm 
 132.909 +not going to let them get away with it!"
 132.910 +
 132.911 +"I said forget it. It's not worth going after them," Hotaru said.
 132.912 +
 132.913 +"There's no way I can let them get away with it!"  ChibiUsa repeated.  
 132.914 +She hugged Hotaru fiercely for a second or two, then released and 
 132.915 +scrambled to her feet. "I'm going after them!" And then she took off down 
 132.916 +the alley after the retreating members of the White Wolves gang. 
 132.917 +
 132.918 +"ChibiUsa! Come back!" Hotaru shouted. [Can't she see they're armed and 
 132.919 +extremely dangerous?]  Ignoring her pains, she got to her feet and took 
 132.920 +off after her friend at a frantic speed. "ChibiUsa!  ChibiUsa!" 
 132.921 +
 132.922 +The pink-haired princess, however, had already vanished around the corner.  
 132.923 +[I can't believe it, ChibiUsa is just as rash as her mother Usagi was!] 
 132.924 +The thought of ChibiUsa trying to take on the White Wolves gang by 
 132.925 +herself and getting sliced up and down horrified Hotaru, and her feet 
 132.926 +picked up an ever faster pace.  Already a violent melee could be heard 
 132.927 +breaking out not too far off. Her heart sank. [If anything happen to 
 132.928 +ChibiUsa, I might not even be able to put her together!]  She ran around 
 132.929 +the corner just in time to hear ChibiUsa cry out loud.    
 132.930 +
 132.931 +"SATURN PLANET!"
 132.932 +
 132.933 +As she drew nearer to the open area she caught sight of the White Wolves 
 132.934 +gang standing around in a circle, viciously hitting and kicking at the 
 132.935 +huddled form in the snow.  Oh, gods.
 132.936 +
 132.937 +"POWER!"
 132.938 +
 132.939 +[ChibiUsa-chan, hold on! I'm coming! ]
 132.940 +
 132.941 +"MAKE UP!"
 132.942 +
 132.943 +A purplish light flashed momentarily around her and her heavy civilian 
 132.944 +attire for the winter dissolved, to be replaced by a purple and white 
 132.945 +sailor uniform. "GLAIVE, COME FORWARD!"  She raised her arm, and the 
 132.946 +deadly Silent Glaive materialized from far above and came spinning into 
 132.947 +her outstretched gloved hand.  Thus armed, Sailor Saturn bounded over to 
 132.948 +the top of the big dumpster and pointed the Glaive toward the gang.  
 132.949 +"STOP IT AT ONCE!"   
 132.950 +
 132.951 +The White Wolves gang twirled around. 
 132.952 +	 		
 132.953 +The light from a nearby lamppost was dim but the Saturn saw enough to 
 132.954 +make her heart stop. ChibiUsa was lying quite still.  There appeared to 
 132.955 +be some dark stains in the snow near her body.  Saturn felt sick inside.  
 132.956 +She lifted her eyes to glare at the older girls.  "Beating up and robbing 
 132.957 +a young lady during a Christmas season - this I cannot tolerate, nor can 
 132.958 +I forgive!" 
 132.959 +
 132.960 +Hoshi appeared to recover quickly from her stupefaction at the sight of a 
 132.961 +formidable figure on the dumpster in front of her, and became belligerent.  
 132.962 +"Who are you?"   
 132.963 +
 132.964 +"I am Sailor Saturn," The Senshi intoned flatly, her Glaive that 
 132.965 +reflecting cold light every time she moved it, "Agent of Death and 
 132.966 +Rebirth." 
 132.967 +
 132.968 +"Hoshi! I've heard of her!"  One of the twins shrieked, her eyes bulging. 
 132.969 +"She's one of the senshi, and the most deadly of them all!"
 132.970 +
 132.971 +Hoshi, unnerved, stepped back a pace and eyed Sailor Saturn warily. "What 
 132.972 +do you want with us?"
 132.973 +
 132.974 +"It would be better if you all leave right now!" With that Saturn leaped 
 132.975 +down from the dumpster and, despite the freezing, blowing snow, she 
 132.976 +struck a threatening posture with her Glaive thrust outward.
 132.977 +
 132.978 +The gang gasped and scurried back a few paces.
 132.979 +	
 132.980 +"I said, leave NOW!" Saturn shouted, and advanced on them.
 132.981 +
 132.982 +The twins - no longer so cheerful looking now - lost their nerve 
 132.983 +completely and fled screaming into the dark without a backward glance.  
 132.984 +Hoshi and Kumiko took several nervous paces back but did not flee. "We 
 132.985 +don't do anything to you!" The leader yelled. "You're not gotta butcher 
 132.986 +us for no reason, are you?"
 132.987 +
 132.988 +Saturn stopped advancing, but said nothing. 
 132.989 +
 132.990 +"Maybe she's bluffing," Kumiko said to Hoshi.
 132.991 +
 132.992 +"I'm warning you..."  Saturn growled softly. Keeping her eyes on the two 
 132.993 +remaining older girls, she moved sideways until she reached the still 
 132.994 +form in the snow and crouched down. Her gloved hand slipped down to touch 
 132.995 +the pink-haired girl's face.
 132.996 +
 132.997 +The gesture was not lost on the tall girl.  "Ah, so it must be your lover, 
 132.998 +ne?"  Kumbio said. Somehow, in spite of the grim situation she actually 
 132.999 +smirked; "I think you came too late to save her. She's gone."
132.1000 +
132.1001 +Saturn's face stiffened. Hardly taking her eyes off the older girls, she 
132.1002 +shook her friend's shoulder with her hand. "ChibiUsa," the Senshi 
132.1003 +whispered urgently, "Come on, wake up."
132.1004 +
132.1005 +ChibiUsa did not answer.  Saturn grew desperate. "ChibiUsa!" She said, 
132.1006 +turning her attention away from the older girls to look down at her 
132.1007 +friend. "ChibiUsa...can you hear me?!"
132.1008 +
132.1009 +The princess opened her eyes. "I'm cold..."  She mumbled. She turned her 
132.1010 +head to look at Saturn and grimaced. She was not hiding pain from her 
132.1011 +voice this time; "And I hurt." 
132.1012 +
132.1013 +"Oh, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn said, deeply distressed. She wrapped her one 
132.1014 +arm around her friend and pulled her carefully to a sitting position. The 
132.1015 +young teen shuddered, and rested her head wearily against Saturn's chest, 
132.1016 +shivering violently.  
132.1017 +
132.1018 +"HAIIIIIII!"  Kumkio whipped her knife out and rushed toward her with 
132.1019 +wild, insane look in her eyes.  Saturn reacted quickly; with a lightning 
132.1020 +speed she jumped up and swung her Glaive around, slamming the blunt end 
132.1021 +against the side of Kumbio's head. Without a word the tall girl dropped 
132.1022 +down with a crash and lay there in a heap.  
132.1023 +
132.1024 +"Oh, my god. You killed Kumkio, didn't you!"  Hoshi gasped.
132.1025 +	
132.1026 +"I think not," Saturn said, giving the leader a cold stare, "She's lucky 
132.1027 +if all she'll get is a severe headache when she wakes up. It should teach 
132.1028 +her not to mess with the Senshi of Death!"
132.1029 +
132.1030 +"Yeah, serve her right!"
132.1031 +
132.1032 +Saturn nearly lost her composure. She glanced sharply downward and saw 
132.1033 +that ChibiUsa had raised her head and was glaring defiantly at Hoshi. The 
132.1034 +pink-haired girl struggled unsteadily to her feet and hands and then said 
132.1035 +stoutly; "Sailor Saturn will see to that you and your friends will be 
132.1036 +punished in the name of Moon, for we will not tolerate your such actions, 
132.1037 +threatening and robbing citizens during Christmas season!"
132.1038 +
132.1039 +Hoshi stared at the pink-haired teen, astonished and impressed at the 
132.1040 +same time. "You are really one gutsy girl. I saw Kumkio struck her knife 
132.1041 +deep in you, and you still come up fighting!"
132.1042 +
132.1043 +"ChibiUsa-chan...?"  Saturn said in disbelief. The princess gasped, 
132.1044 +shuddered and collapsed with a strangled cry. Frightened, the senshi fell 
132.1045 +to her knees and put her arm around the wounded girl again.  
132.1046 +"ChibiUsa...!" 
132.1047 +
132.1048 +The princess coughed briefly, then moaned in pain. "It hurts. It 
132.1049 +hurts..."
132.1050 +
132.1051 +Hoshi snickered nastily. "Well, well. Then again I guess she's not so 
132.1052 +tough after all."
132.1053 +
132.1054 +Saturn's head whipped around. "Get out of here! Take your friends and get 
132.1055 +out of the city and don't come back!" She said in a cold fury and aimed 
132.1056 +her lethal weapon toward the gang leader, "Or so help me, if I catch one 
132.1057 +of you White Wolves lurking around I will strike every one of you down 
132.1058 +with my Glaive  - without a moment's hesitation!"
132.1059 +
132.1060 +Taken back at the tone of the senshi's voice, Hoshi looked genuinely 
132.1061 +frightened at last.  Her eyes widened, and she turned as pale as her hair. 
132.1062 +Hastily she reached down and dragged the still unconscious Kumkio away.
132.1063 +
132.1064 +As soon as they were gone Saturn turned her attention back to the 
132.1065 +pink=haired teen. "Hold on, ChibiUsa-chan!" Saturn put down the Glaive, 
132.1066 +quickly stripped one glove off and, still holding her injured friend in 
132.1067 +one arm, she put a bare hand under ChibiUsa's sweater. Almost immediately 
132.1068 +her hand found the wound just under ChibiUsa's right breast, and what a 
132.1069 +terrible wound it was. Saturn could feel the blood bubbling from the 
132.1070 +nasty slash where the knife had penetrated the lung. She became extremely 
132.1071 +upset. Sobbing, the Senshi pressed the hand firmly against the wound and 
132.1072 +poured all her energy to Heal it. 
132.1073 +
132.1074 +ChibiUsa gasped from the pressure placed on the wound but otherwise made 
132.1075 +no other word. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me?" Saturn said 
132.1076 +through tears, "ChibiUsa-chan, you just have to hold on and don't you 
132.1077 +dare leave me - not now, please, not now!"
132.1078 +
132.1079 +Slowly the wound stopped bleeding and began to close up. Even so, Saturn 
132.1080 +refused to take her hand off after it has completely healed. The princess 
132.1081 +lay still in her arms, so quiet and so pale.  The senshi cradled her 
132.1082 +friend's head under her chin and rocked her forth and back. 
132.1083 +"ChibiUsa...ChibiUsa-chan, do you hear me? Please tell me!"
132.1084 +
132.1085 +For one long, terrifying moment there was no reply. Then, slowly, the 
132.1086 +princess raised her head and opened her eyes to look at Saturn. "Hotaru-
132.1087 +chan..."
132.1088 +
132.1089 +Saturn gasped. "ChibiUsa-chan, are you all right?" 
132.1090 +
132.1091 +ChibiUsa snuggled against the senshi. "Yeah. I think so...but I'm still 
132.1092 +cold."
132.1093 +
132.1094 +Saturn withdrew her hand, now covered with blood, and threw her arms 
132.1095 +around her friend in a fierce hug and could not let go for a long while.  
132.1096 +"ChibiUsa...oh, ChibiUsa-chan, I was so afraid you were going to die. I 
132.1097 +don't want to lose you!" She whispered with her face buried in the soft, 
132.1098 +silky pink hair.
132.1099 +
132.1100 +ChibiUsa gave a weak laugh and shook her head slowly. "Not this time. 
132.1101 +Don't worry, Hotaru-chan. No way I can leave you now...not ever!"
132.1102 +
132.1103 +"Thank Kami-sama!" Saturn lifted ChibiUsa's chin and kissed her fervently. 
132.1104 +"Just don't you ever do that again! I don't know how I can go on, if you 
132.1105 +run off and get killed. Promise me you will not do anything rash like 
132.1106 +that again!" 
132.1107 +
132.1108 +"Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, sounding suddenly meek. "I promise."
132.1109 +
132.1110 +"Good," Saturn kissed her again and hugged her even more tightly. It has 
132.1111 +been such a huge relief to know that the princess would be all right. 
132.1112 +Indeed, thank Kami-sama for that.
132.1113 +
132.1114 +*************************************************************************
132.1115 +****
132.1116 +
132.1117 +With her arms full Hotaru stepped into her bedroom and managed to close 
132.1118 +the door behind her. The room was semi-dark, with only two or three lamps 
132.1119 +burning dimly on the dresser in the corner. "ChibiUsa-chan, I've got 
132.1120 +another blanket. Want it?"
132.1121 +
132.1122 +ChibiUsa, lying on her side in the bed with a couple of covers pulled up 
132.1123 +to her chin, looked up. "Hai! Hurry up and get in with me!" She said, and 
132.1124 +held out arms for her.  The raven-haired teen walked briskly toward her, 
132.1125 +threw the thick blanket over the bed before disrobing and slipped under 
132.1126 +the covers next to the princess. She gasped softly with pleasure when 
132.1127 +ChibiUsa's warm body moved forward, pressing against hers.
132.1128 +
132.1129 +"I thought I would never thaw out! Hotaru-chan, what took you so long?"
132.1130 +
132.1131 +"Well, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said as she snuggled into her lover's 
132.1132 +inviting arms, "I have told Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama about our 
132.1133 +encounter with the White Wolves gang. You can imagine they were pretty 
132.1134 +upset about it, and they promised they would keep an eye out for them and 
132.1135 +to make sure the gang will not return to cause any more trouble in the 
132.1136 +city again." 
132.1137 +
132.1138 +"Great! Now the people can do Christmas shopping without fear of running 
132.1139 +into those thieves!" ChibiUsa said happily. Then she paused and added, 
132.1140 +"Speaking of the Christmas presents, I wonder what happened to the gifts 
132.1141 +you bought from the mall?"
132.1142 +
132.1143 +Hotaru shrugged. "Buried under the snow somewhere in the alley, for all I 
132.1144 +care," she said. "I'm not worried about them. My parents will understand. 
132.1145 +It was more important that you would live. I just can't bear the thought 
132.1146 +of losing you!" She brushed the loose strands of pink hair out of 
132.1147 +ChibiUsa's face and kissed her soft lips. "I'm just glad you are still 
132.1148 +here, alive and well. That is the best Christmas present I can ask for."
132.1149 +
132.1150 +ChibiUsa smiled and ran hand through the other girl's dark hair. "Arigato 
132.1151 +domo for healing me and saving my life. I'll say that was the best 
132.1152 +present I got also!" she said, and then hesitated. "Um...Hotaru-chan, I'm 
132.1153 +really sorry I went off and got us into trouble with that gang. I guess I 
132.1154 +should not have acted so recklessly, eh? Gomen nasai."
132.1155 +
132.1156 +"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'll always be there for 
132.1157 +you and protect you," Hotaru kissed her again, "Just don't make a habit 
132.1158 +of it, okay?"
132.1159 +
132.1160 +"Hai, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, and moved back a little to look at her 
132.1161 +lover with some distress, noting the bruises that were still visible on 
132.1162 +Hotaru's body.  "But you're still hurt, and you can't heal yourself..."
132.1163 +
132.1164 +Hotaru shook her head. "ChibiUsa-chan... Don't worry about me. Just give 
132.1165 +me time and then I'll be fine," She paused, and then laughed quietly. 
132.1166 +"But don't let that stop you from loving me any way you want, my 
132.1167 +princess!"
132.1168 +
132.1169 +The worried look on ChibiUsa's face cleared. She smiled, pulled Hotaru 
132.1170 +closer and gave her a kiss, this time longer and more passionate. Hotaru 
132.1171 +happily responded with as much vigor as possible. After a while they 
132.1172 +broke apart and Hotaru rested her head on ChibiUsa's chest. The pink-
132.1173 +haired teen continued to groom the dark hair with her fingers.  "Hotaru-
132.1174 +chan...I love you," she whispered after a moment.
132.1175 +
132.1176 +Hotaru smiled contentedly. "I love you too, ChibiUsa-chan," she replied. 
132.1177 +She could hear ChibiUsa's heart beating, regularly and reassuring.  To 
132.1178 +her, it was most beautiful music, far more than anything and more 
132.1179 +precious than the Christmas and birthday presents combined.
132.1180 +
132.1181 +
132.1182 +
132.1183 +*******************************************************************
132.1184 +
132.1185 +Well, that's it. I'm not sure how you like this story. ^^;;  But I hope 
132.1186 +you enjoyed it anyways!
132.1187 +
132.1188 +
132.1189 +Thanks for reading!
132.1190 +
132.1191 +YaRassno 
132.1192 +
132.1193 +Comments?  Email: yarassno@juno.com
132.1194 +
132.1195 +
132.1196 +	
132.1197 +	
132.1198 +	
132.1199 +
132.1200 +	
132.1201 +
132.1202 +	
132.1203 +
132.1204 +	
132.1205 +

   133.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   133.2 +++ b/stories/DeceptionTruth.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   133.3 @@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
   133.4 +Legal Crap: I don't own these characters, nor do I make any profit off of them.  I ask you not to sue me.
   133.5 +Note: I've only seen the dubbed episodes, so I'll be using names from them (Madison rather than Tomoyo, Julian rather than Yukito, Meilin rather than Meiling, etc.)
   133.6 +Warning: This story is a yuri romance.  In other words, it's a love story between two females.  If you don't like the idea of that, then don't waste your time reading it.  I have no tolerance for flames.  If you don't like this story and tell me so, you'd better have a better reason than just disliking that sort of relationship.
   133.7 +
   133.8 +
   133.9 +Deception Brings Truth
  133.10 +By Animeanie
  133.11 +
  133.12 +Sakura sighed and flopped down on her bed.  "I don't know why you're so worried, Kero.  There hasn't been a Clow Card sighting in months," she said.
  133.13 +
  133.14 +From over on the dresser, Kero shook his head.  "That's exactly why I'm concerned, Sakura.  It's been too quiet.  It's been three months since you started Middle School, and not a single card has shown up yet.  The next one is probably trying to lull you into a false sense of security.  Remember what I always say: expect the unexpected."
  133.15 +
  133.16 +Before Sakura could reply, the phone began ringing.  She scrambled over to get it.  "Hello?"
  133.17 +
  133.18 +Li's voice was on the other end.  "Is that you, Sakura?"
  133.19 +
  133.20 +"Li?!" Sakura said, surprised.  Li rarely ever called.
  133.21 +
  133.22 +As usual, Li was direct.  "You know that dance at the school tomorrow night?"
  133.23 +
  133.24 +"Um, yeah," Sakura said, a bit confused.
  133.25 +
  133.26 +"Are you going?" he asked.
  133.27 +
  133.28 +"Well, no.  No one's asked me to go, and it's kind of for couples."
  133.29 +
  133.30 +"You want to go with me?" he asked.
  133.31 +
  133.32 +Sakura's heart skipped a beat.  Could it be possible?  Li was asking her to go to the dance with him!
  133.33 +
  133.34 +"Sure!" Sakura managed to say.
  133.35 +
  133.36 +"Good.  I'll meet you there," Li said before hanging up.
  133.37 +
  133.38 +Sakura stared at the phone for a few minutes, not fully believing what had just happened.
  133.39 +
  133.40 +Kero floated over and asked, "What was that all about?"
  133.41 +
  133.42 +"Li asked me to go to the dance!" Sakura said giddily.
  133.43 +
  133.44 +Kero frowned.  "I don't like that kid, Sakura."
  133.45 +
  133.46 +Sakura ignored him and dialed Madison's number.  Madison picked up on the second ring and said, "Hello?"
  133.47 +
  133.48 +Sakura couldn't contain her excitement.  "Madison, guess what?  Li just asked me to go to the dance with him!"
  133.49 +
  133.50 +There was a slight pause, then Madison enthusiastically said, "That's great, Sakura!  You've had a crush on him for a while now, haven't you?"
  133.51 +
  133.52 +"Yeah.  Anyway, I was wondering if you could make me a dress or something to go in?" Sakura asked hopefully.  "It's supposed to be a dress-up sort of occasion."
  133.53 +
  133.54 +"Sure, Sakura.  I'll start working on it right now."
  133.55 +
  133.56 +"Thanks, Madison, you're the greatest!"
  133.57 +
  133.58 +*  *  *
  133.59 +
  133.60 +Madison hung up and looked at her TV.  She had been watching one of her tapes before Sakura had called, and had paused the home video.  The screen showed a close-up of Sakura's face.
  133.61 +
  133.62 +A tear trickled down Madison's cheek as she gazed lovingly at what she so desperately wanted, but could never have.
  133.63 +
  133.64 +With a ragged sob, she buried her face in her arms and wept.
  133.65 +
  133.66 +*  *  *
  133.67 +
  133.68 +"What do you think?" Madison asked.
  133.69 +
  133.70 +Sakura looked in the mirror at the dress that Madison had spent hours on after she had called the day before.  It was an elegant, old-fashioned dress, complete with many frills all over.
  133.71 +
  133.72 +"It's wonderful, Madison!  I love it!" Sakura said happily.
  133.73 +
  133.74 +Madison smiled.  "That's a relief.  I was a little worried.  Sometimes you don't like my costumes."
  133.75 +
  133.76 +"Don't be silly, Madison.  I always like your costumes.  Some are a bit weird, but I always like them," Sakura said.  "Say, where's your dress?  Aren't you going to be wearing one?"
  133.77 +
  133.78 +"Oh.I'm not going," Madison said with forced lightness.
  133.79 +
  133.80 +"What? You mean no one asked you?" Sakura asked, surprised.
  133.81 +
  133.82 +"Not exactly.just no one I liked," Madison replied.  Many of the boys in their class had asked, in fact.  She had turned them all down.
  133.83 +
  133.84 +"Oh.  Well, which of the boys do you like?" Sakura asked.
  133.85 +
  133.86 +"None of them.  I meant that there was no one I'm interested in," Madison said quickly.
  133.87 +
  133.88 +An awkward silence followed.  Madison fixed up a few frills, avoiding Sakura's eyes.  Sakura was confused, and a bit hurt.  Madison was hiding something from her.  They were best friends; they weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other.
  133.89 +
  133.90 +She decided not to pry, though.  It was Madison's business, and it was her decision whether or not to tell her.
  133.91 +
  133.92 +"Well," Sakura said, breaking the silence, "I'd better get going if I'm going to be on time.  Thanks for the dress, Madison."
  133.93 +
  133.94 +"You're welcome, Sakura.  Have fun," Madison replied.
  133.95 +
  133.96 +*  *  *
  133.97 +
  133.98 +Sakura went into the dance and looked for Li.  It didn't take long for her to find him.  When she did, though, she met the sight of him with hurt and confusion.
  133.99 +
 133.100 +Over in the corner, Li and Meilin were dancing slowly.  Meilin's eyes were closed in bliss, and even Li seemed relaxed.
 133.101 +
 133.102 +Sakura couldn't stand it.  She marched over and yelled, "What are you doing!?"
 133.103 +
 133.104 +Meilin's eyes opened in annoyance.  Li jumped away from Meilin.  "Avalon!  What are you doing here?!" he asked, blushing slightly.
 133.105 +
 133.106 +"You actually have the nerve to ask me that!?  I'm here because you asked me to come with you!" Sakura yelled.
 133.107 +
 133.108 +Li looked very confused.  After a moment, though, understanding flickered across his face.  "You say I asked you to go with me to this dance?" Li asked.
 133.109 +
 133.110 +"Well, of course you did!  Don't try to deny it!  You called me yesterday!" Sakura shouted.
 133.111 +
 133.112 +Li nodded.  "Now it makes sense.  Listen, Sakura.  I didn't call you yesterday.  Yesterday afternoon, the Lasin Board flickered off and on.  It was trying to point at the school, but it seemed to be having trouble.  Meilin and I decided to come to this dance and check it out."
 133.113 +
 133.114 +"Then how do you explain the phone call?" Sakura asked angrily.
 133.115 +
 133.116 +"Considering the facts that the Lasin Board was having trouble, you don't sense a card's presence, and that you got a fake call, I'd say the Deception Card is on the loose!" Li stated.
 133.117 +
 133.118 +"The Deception Card?  How can a card be powerful enough to almost fool the Lasin Board?" Sakura asked skeptically.
 133.119 +
 133.120 +"The Deception Card is exceptionally powerful.  It's not even really a Clow Card.  When Clow Reed made the cards, he made them just like a normal card deck: with fifty two cards, but with two `joker' cards, as well.  Deception is one of those two.  It can fool your senses, it can almost fool the Lasin Board.  It's a  master of trickery, and enjoys playing pranks on people, such as the phone call," Li explained.
 133.121 +
 133.122 +Disappointment echoed throughout Sakura.  Li didn't like her; he hadn't invited her here.  And from the way he'd been dancing with Meilin, it looked like he already had someone in his life.
 133.123 +
 133.124 +Sakura sat down.  "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well stay and help you catch the card," she sighed.
 133.125 +
 133.126 +"Thanks, Avalon.  And, uh.I'm.I'm sorry, Sakura," Li said.
 133.127 +
 133.128 +Meilin led Li way, saying, "Come on, Li, let's go dance some more."
 133.129 +
 133.130 +Raising his voice as he always did when embarrassed, he said, "I told you, I'm only dancing to pass the time until the card shows up!"
 133.131 +
 133.132 +Sakura watched them dance, sadly realizing that she would never get to dance with Li that way.
 133.133 +
 133.134 +*  *  *
 133.135 +
 133.136 +Kero performed another fancy trick for the camera.  Madison, holding the camera, laughed.  Kero inwardly smiled.
 133.137 +
 133.138 +The Guardian Beast had known for some time now that Madison was in love with Sakura.  He had lived for a long time, and he knew what was friendship and what was love.  And he knew that Madison loved Sakura.
 133.139 +
 133.140 +Knowing this, he had flown to Madison's house as soon as Sakura had left.  He had intended to cheer her up, and so far, by performing tricks inspired by Zylon Warriors for the camera, he was doing a good job.
 133.141 +
 133.142 +After another trick, the phone began ringing.  Madison, still holding the camera, went to answer it.  Kero took a small break from his rigorous routine and eavesdropped on her conversation.
 133.143 +
 133.144 +*  *  *
 133.145 +
 133.146 +"Deception, return to your power confined!" Sakura yelled.  The dark, shapeless blob that was Deception was sealed away.
 133.147 +
 133.148 +Sakura stood, gasping.  That had been a tough battle.  She and Li had had to fight it for a long time, using almost all of their powers to weaken it.
 133.149 +
 133.150 +Sakura picked up the card, which had no picture, symbols, or even writing, and pocketed it.  She said good-night to Li and Meilin and headed home.  Thank goodness the card had shown up after the dance was over.  At least that way there were no witnesses.
 133.151 +
 133.152 +Once at home, she flopped down on her bed, exhaused, and fell asleep almost instantly.
 133.153 +
 133.154 +*  *  *
 133.155 +
 133.156 +"Rise and shine, Sakura!" Kero yelled.
 133.157 +
 133.158 +Sakura groaned.  "Leave me alone, Kero.  I had a rough night."
 133.159 +
 133.160 +"Come on, Sakura!  Today's a big day, so wake up!" the Guardian Beast insisted.
 133.161 +
 133.162 +"Alright!  Alright!  I'm up!" Sakura yelled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
 133.163 +
 133.164 +"Hey, whatcha got there?" Kero asked, seeing the Deception Card poking out of Sakura's pocket.
 133.165 +
 133.166 +Sakura took the card out.  "Li and I caught it at the dance last night.  He said it was the Deception Card."
 133.167 +
 133.168 +Kero looked at the blank face of the card and nodded.  "Ye, that's Deception.  Good job, Sakura!  That's a tough catch!"
 133.169 +
 133.170 +Sakura nodded.  "It sure was."  She sighed.  "What a mean card.  It turns out that Li never called me, it was the card playing a trick.  He'd never admit it, but I think he really likes Meilin.  I don't think he likes me, or at least not that way."
 133.171 +
 133.172 +Kero suddenly went rigid.  "You say that Deception made a fake phone call to you?" he asked slowly.
 133.173 +
 133.174 +Sakura nodded.  "Yeah, why?"
 133.175 +
 133.176 +"Um, Sakura.did you call Madison last night?" Kero asked.
 133.177 +
 133.178 +"No.I don't think so." Sakura replied.
 133.179 +
 133.180 +"Uh, oh." Kero groaned.
 133.181 +
 133.182 +"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.
 133.183 +
 133.184 +Kero flew over to her chair, where a videotape was lying.  "I went to Madison's house last night to show off my excellent moves.  After a little while, you.or the Deception Card.called her.  She didn't know, but she forgot to turn her camera off, so she got the whole thing on tape.  When I left later, she said I could keep the video, so here it is," he said, pointing at the video.
 133.185 +
 133.186 +"Well.well, what'd the card say?  Did it hurt her feelings?  What?" Sakura asked, concerned.
 133.187 +
 133.188 +"Err.you really have to hear it," Kero said.  They went downstairs and put the video into the VCR.
 133.189 +
 133.190 +Sakura watched the tape, unsure of what to expect.  For the first ten minutes, there was nothing but a fairly amusing kung-fu show by Kero.  Then, the phone started ringing in the background.  The camera switched views as Madison lowered it and walked over to the phone.
 133.191 +
 133.192 +Though the camera could only see the floor, Sakura could hear everything from the phone call.
 133.193 +
 133.194 +"Hello?" came Madison's voice.
 133.195 +
 133.196 +Sakura could hear her own voice answer.  "Hi, Madison."
 133.197 +
 133.198 +"Oh, hi Sakura.  Are you having fun with Li?" Madison asked.
 133.199 +
 133.200 +"Madison, I've realized something.  I don't love Li.  I love you."
 133.201 +
 133.202 +There was a gasp from Madison.  "W.what did you say, Sakura?" she asked, her voice wavering.
 133.203 +
 133.204 +"I love you.  I want to talk to you in person.  Meet me tomorrow at noon by the Penguin Slide."  With that, there was a sound of the fake Sakura hanging up.
 133.205 +
 133.206 +Sakura paused the tape.  "Oh, man!  Madison must be so creeped out!  I'd better tell her I don't really love her!  She must be so grossed out."
 133.207 +
 133.208 +Sakura reached for the phone, but Kero said, "I'd really watch the rest of the tape before you do that, Sakura."
 133.209 +
 133.210 +Confused, Sakura hit the Play button.  There was a silence for a moment, then the sound of a phone being put down.  The camera view shifted as Madison slowly put it down on a table.  From its new vantage point, the camera could see most of the room, including Madison, who was wearing a stunned face.
 133.211 +
 133.212 +"She.she loves me.Sakura loves me." Madison whispered in a shocked voice.
 133.213 +
 133.214 +Slowly, a happy, relieved, joyful smile spread across her face.  "She loves me," she said softly, as though relishing the very sound of these words.  "Kero, did you hear?  Sakura loves me!" she said, looking deliriously happy.
 133.215 +
 133.216 +Sakura could hear Kero's voice from off-camera.  You've been wanting to hear that for a long time, haven't you?" he asked sympathetically.
 133.217 +
 133.218 +Madison nodded, tears brimming in her eyes.  "I've loved her for years, Kero.  Years and years."
 133.219 +
 133.220 +And then she was laughing and crying at the same time.  Weeping with joy and laughing with relief.  She went on like this for several minutes, as if expelling years of pent-up agony.
 133.221 +
 133.222 +When she finally stopped and wiped her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry, Kero.  It's just that.it's been so hard, keeping this a secret.  Every time I see Sakura, I want to hug her, to tell her how much I love her, but."
 133.223 +
 133.224 +"I understand, kid," Kero said, flying over within the camera's sight.  "But hey, tomorrow you'll be able to do exactly that."
 133.225 +
 133.226 +Madison nodded happily.  Kero flew out of sight again and said, "Well, I'm going to go home now.  Can I keep the tape?  I wanna be able to see how awesome I look using my Zylon Karate Power."
 133.227 +
 133.228 +Madison nodded, and the last thing the camera showed before the tape was removed was a picture of perfect contentment on her face.
 133.229 +
 133.230 +As the screen went black, Sakura sat and stared at it, unbelieving.  "What will I do?  Kero, what will I do?" she asked in horror.
 133.231 +
 133.232 +*  *  *
 133.233 +
 133.234 +Kero shrugged.  "Really only one thing you can do.  Go meet her at the slide and tell her the truth."
 133.235 +
 133.236 +"But I can't, Kero!  I can't do that to her!  You saw how happy she was.  If I tell her that it was all the Deception Card's doing, it'll hurt her so badly.  I just can't do that to her!" Sakura said.
 133.237 +
 133.238 +Kero frowned.  "I said that you should tell her the truth, and I'll stick by it.  Tell a lie, and you could hurt her very badly, Sakura.  If you don't love her, tell her so."
 133.239 +
 133.240 +"But Kero, that will hurt her, too!" Sakura said helplessly.
 133.241 +
 133.242 +"Well, you gotta do something!" Kero shouted.
 133.243 +
 133.244 +Sakura groaned and covered her eyes.  "I just don't know what to do.  I don't want to hurt Madison, but I can't do anything that won't!" she moaned.
 133.245 +
 133.246 +"Yes, you can," Kero replied.
 133.247 +
 133.248 +"What?" Sakura asked hopefully.
 133.249 +
 133.250 +"Tell her you love her," Kero said.
 133.251 +
 133.252 +"What!?  But I don't love her that way!  She's a girl!  How could I love a girl?" Sakura said incredulously.
 133.253 +
 133.254 +"How can she?" Kero retorted.  "She loves you for who you are.  She loves you for your personality, for your actions, for the way you are.  She loves you, and she's not letting the issue of gender confuse her feelings for you.  That's an uncommonly strong love, Sakura.  A love with the power to look beyond what society accepts is a powerful love, indeed."
 133.255 +
 133.256 +"But, Kero.I don't." Sakura stammered.
 133.257 +
 133.258 +Kero frowned.  "I've seen a lot, Sakura.  I know what friendship is.  I know what love is.  And I know what denial is.  And you, kid, are deep in it."  He flew up the stairs, saying, "I'm gonna let you figure this out for yourself, Sakura.  Don't keep Madison waiting at the slide for too long."
 133.259 +
 133.260 +Sakura watched him go in disbelief.  How could he just leave her here by herself?
 133.261 +
 133.262 +Sakura sat for a moment, staring at the blank TV, then got up.  Kero was right about one thing: she did need to get going.  She certainly wasn't finding any of the answers here, and it wouldn't be fair to make Madison wait.
 133.263 +
 133.264 +As she waked to the Penguin Slide, Sakura thought about what Kero had said.  Was she in denial?  He had sounded pretty sure.  Could it really be?  Did she really love Madison?
 133.265 +
 133.266 +Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated.  She thought about the people she loved.  She saw Tory.  She saw her father.  She saw her mother.  And she got a glimpse of one other person.  Madison.
 133.267 +
 133.268 +Sakura opened her eyes and sighed.  That didn't help very much.  There was no way of telling if she'd seen Madison because she loved her, or just because of their strong friendship.
 133.269 +
 133.270 +She could have wept from frustration.  If only she could know for sure, one way or another!  She wanted to be able to give Madison a straight answer.  No, actually, that wasn't entirely true.  She wanted to give Madison an answer that would make her happy.
 133.271 +
 133.272 +Sakura stopped in shock.  She realized that she no longer really cared about figuring this out for herself.  She wanted to figure this out because she cared about Madison's happiness.  She cared more about Madison's happiness than her own.  And Sakura knew that to be a sign of true love.
 133.273 +
 133.274 +"I love her," Sakura said aloud.  "I love Madison Taylor."
 133.275 +
 133.276 +The words felt right.  Sakura said them over and over, and knew she could do so with honesty.  She loved Madison.  She had for a long time.  She'd just been denying it.  She loved Madison with all her heart.
 133.277 +
 133.278 +Her heart swelled with joy at the realization that Madison loved her back.
 133.279 +
 133.280 +She ran the rest of the way to the Penguin Slide.
 133.281 +
 133.282 +*  *  *
 133.283 +
 133.284 +As Sakura approached the Penguin Slide, she could see Madison waiting for her.  Madison ran to her, arms outstretched.
 133.285 +
 133.286 +As Madison was about to embrace her, however, Sakura said, "Wait, Madison.  Before you hug me, I need to tell you something."
 133.287 +
 133.288 +Madison stopped and lowered her arms.  "What is it, Sakura?" she asked, confused.
 133.289 +
 133.290 +Sakura told Madison about the Deception Card's trickery.
 133.291 +
 133.292 +Madison's eyes shimmered.  The look of sadness on her face nearly broke Sakura's heart.  "Sakura.I'm.I'm sorry.I.can we.can we still be friends?"
 133.293 +
 133.294 +Sakura shook her head.  "No, Madison, you've got it all wrong.  I just told you about the Deception Card so that I could tell you this for myself."  She took a deep breath.  "Madison, I love you.  You mean more to me than anyone else in the world."
 133.295 +
 133.296 +A few tears escaped Madison's eyes, creating rivulets down her cheeks.  "Oh, Sakura, I love you, too!" she cried, hugging her.  "I've loved you for so long!"
 133.297 +
 133.298 +Sakura returned the hug and asked, "Madison, why didn't you ever tell me?  All this time must have been terrible!"
 133.299 +
 133.300 +"I was scared, Sakura," Madison said softly.  "I mean, we're both girls.  I was afraid you'd be disgusted, and you wouldn't want to be my friend any more."
 133.301 +
 133.302 +"Well," Sakura said, smiling, as she drew back from Madison, "you don't have to worry about that any more, Madison.  We're going to be together forever."
 133.303 +
 133.304 +Madison's eyes closed with joy as she savored those two words.  "Together forever."
 133.305 +
 133.306 +Madison opened her eyes after a moment and looked deeply into Sakura's eyes.  Sakura looked back.  Slowly, they drew closer and closer until their lips met in a loving kiss.
 133.307 +
 133.308 +A kiss between two people who love one another is a truly beautiful and unique thing.  There are no words to describe its wonder, but suffice to say, as the world melted away around them, both knew that this was where they bleonged.
 133.309 +
 133.310 +The End

   134.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   134.2 +++ b/stories/Dreams4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   134.3 @@ -0,0 +1,490 @@
   134.4 +Dreams
   134.5 +part 4
   134.6 +by Amazoness Duo
   134.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   134.8 +http://fly.to/moonlit_nights
   134.9 +
  134.10 +
  134.11 +Perfect. Beautiful, dark brunette hair hung slightly lower in front than in back, framing 
  134.12 +piercing amber eyes. A well built, thin, muscular body stood still in the dark room, lit only by
  134.13 +candles. He was hairless except for the hair at his head and between his legs. Clothes lay 
  134.14 +folded on the floor nearby, yet shame didn't brush his handsome features in the least. Slender,
  134.15 +yet strong, he was a beautiful creation. 
  134.16 +
  134.17 +Sighing to herself, Ming Ue, current heir to the Li Clan, admired her handiwork. 'Gorgeous,' she
  134.18 +thought. Fingers reached out almost as if of their own accord, trailing ever so lightly over his
  134.19 +soft skin. Time was of the essence. But was it not honorable to make sure the body of her 
  134.20 +revered ancestor was perfect? And perfect it was. The magical body that she had created had 
  134.21 +taken every ounce of her concentration and all of her free time for the past month. All of her
  134.22 +work had not been unnoticed. Her parents were getting impatient with her lack of progress. The
  134.23 +explanation that she had to make sure their ancestor was recieved in the best body possible was
  134.24 +wearing thin. The ritual had to be completed tonight. 
  134.25 +
  134.26 +Kneeling in front of the still form, Ming Ue began to mark a rune into the ground around his
  134.27 +feet. It had been said that her runes were the most beautiful, that they were the writing of the
  134.28 +gods. And yet, sadly, even that wasn't enough to impress her parents. But that would change
  134.29 +shortly. Runes were the writing of reality. They were the messages that could shape the world
  134.30 +around us. Though not as direct a magic as more focussed forms, Ming Ue had grown to be quite a
  134.31 +powerful magician in her own right. Currently, she was the most powerful magician in all the Li
  134.32 +Clan. But even that wasn't enough in that day and age. The Li Clan, long the most powerful of 
  134.33 +the magical families in Asia, had been losing its strength and prestige in the past two decades.
  134.34 +Now it was seen as little more than a joke, looked down upon by some of the current elite clans. 
  134.35 +
  134.36 +The job of rectifying the situation had been granted to Ming Ue. Not that she had wanted it. By
  134.37 +no means. Though a talented magician, she had never lived up to the hopes of her parents. Every
  134.38 +failure she had, every mistake she made, it was all her fault and her parents were quick to make
  134.39 +her realize that. So the thought of being the one to reclaim the Li Clan's lost honor worried 
  134.40 +her greatly. Their one chance at regaining their power was to get the recently released Sakura
  134.41 +Cards, magical Cards that had originally been created by their descendent, Clow Reed. But even
  134.42 +her ancestor, Syaoran Li, had failed to capture the Cards. Some girl from Japan, Sakura 
  134.43 +Kinomoto, had been the one to seal them. How could Ming Ue do it on her own?Suppressing a 
  134.44 +shudder at her mounting nervousness, Ming Ue finished her rune. Glancing up at the figure, her
  134.45 +beautiful figure, she glanced up at a piece of anatomy she had been careful in crafting. Her
  134.46 +cheeks flushed darkly as she quickly got out of her kneeling position. At least he wasn't alive
  134.47 +yet. That would have been embarrassing. The girl calms herself by focussing on the ritual at
  134.48 +hand.
  134.49 +
  134.50 +If Syaoran Li couldn't capture the Clow Cards, then Ming Ue had few hopes that she alone would 
  134.51 +be able to capture the Sakura Cards. She didn't have the confidence in her abilities to get them
  134.52 +on her own. So she had no intention of going on her own. When told by her parents that she would
  134.53 +go to Japan to recover their families ancient Cards, she had worried the problem over in her 
  134.54 +mind night after night. Finally, it came to her. She would gain the assistance of someone with
  134.55 +great knowledge of the Sakura Cards, a powerful magician who could help her seal them and return
  134.56 +their family to greatness, an amazing leader of the Li Clan. Together, she knew they could save
  134.57 +their family's honor. She would resurrect Syaoran Li. Creating a body had been difficult, but 
  134.58 +not impossible. Her ancestor, Clow Reed, had created a number of bodies in his time. Bodies for
  134.59 +his servants as well as for himself. And without having to create a soul to inhabit the body, it
  134.60 +became much more practical for Ming Ue. Research through the old library had taken her many late
  134.61 +nights to fill in the missing spells she would need. After many attempts and many mistakes, she
  134.62 +had finally brought the body to completeness. She had taken extra time to make sure it was
  134.63 +perfect. And beautiful. Her hand gently caressed his shoulder, her eyes gazing into his own
  134.64 +unseeing gaze. With a blush, she quickly yanked her hand away. The body had to be perfect so it
  134.65 +would be fitting for her honorable ancestor. At least, that's what she told herself. Being able
  134.66 +to spend so much time to create her version of the ideal male body had lifted her spirits. It 
  134.67 +was like sculpture, creating perfection of the human body in stone. This was her sculpture,
  134.68 +beautiful and strong. She almost wished she could show it off, all of her work finally complete.
  134.69 +Well, if Syaoran liked it, then that would be praise enough, she decided. Her beautiful
  134.70 +sculpture... Oh, he wasn't awake yet, so who cared if she got to ogle it a little longer? 
  134.71 +
  134.72 +Finally pulling away, Ming Ue stood before her creation. The body was finished. Now came the
  134.73 +harder part. Out of all the souls in the afterlife, she had to call Syaoran's soul back, to 
  134.74 +bring it back to life in the body she had created for him. Chanting, she closed her eyes and 
  134.75 +held out her hands, holding them together in focus. The rune beneath the body's feet lit ablaze,
  134.76 +overtaking the candlelight in the room. Wind began to pulsate as she continued chanting, her 
  134.77 +hair and his waving about as if waiting for a storm to hit. 
  134.78 +
  134.79 +'Where are you?' she thought, the light of the rune now blinding even behind her closed eyelids.
  134.80 +'Can you hear me, my fierce ancestor? I need your help. Please, come to me. Please, help me.
  134.81 +Together, we can seal the Sakura Cards and return our Clan, your Clan, to glory...' Something
  134.82 +touched at the edge of her spirit, something not quite there. A flood of images deluged her. One
  134.83 +of the Clow Cards waiting to be sealed, Syaoran with his sword ready to cut down the magical
  134.84 +beast that stood in his way, Syaoran walking with a girl outside game shops, later days as
  134.85 +Syaoran and the woman, Meiling, were in charge of the Li Clan. That had to be him! Those
  134.86 +memories... She gasped as she finally came back to herself, out of the memories that had
  134.87 +coalesced around her for a moment. It took her a brief moment to remember who she was, and in
  134.88 +that moment, she was disappointed. Better to have been someone from those memories. But she had
  134.89 +no time to hold onto the feeling. Chanting faster, her rune began to spin underneath the feet of
  134.90 +her magical sculpture, drawing in the soul she had just connected with. Her rune worked to 
  134.91 +infuse the soul into the body, trapping it inside the flesh so that it may live again. And with 
  134.92 +a last wave of wind and light, it was over. 
  134.93 +
  134.94 +For what seemed like a long moment, Ming Ue could not see. The only way she could tell if her
  134.95 +eyes were open or closed was by the sound of her blinking. Annoyance bubbled up at herself at 
  134.96 +the thought that she could have cast a spell around herself to disperse the light. But it was 
  134.97 +too late for that now. And there were much more important things to attend to.
  134.98 +
  134.99 +The room slowly came back into focus as the Li heiress took cautious steps towards the body. Her
 134.100 +heart skipped a beat when she saw he was on his knees. And breathing! Licking her lips, she
 134.101 +contiued towards him, her heart pounding in wild excitement. It worked! It really worked! The
 134.102 +rush of accomplishment, of bringing her beautiful sculpture to life with the soul of her once
 134.103 +great ancestor, made her feel like she was floating. “Syaoran?” she asked cautiously, unable to
 134.104 +keep the smile off her face. He would make things better. With his assistance, they would have 
 134.105 +no problem with the Sakura Cards. “Syaoran?” she called again.
 134.106 +
 134.107 +The boy looked up in a daze, his eyes slowly adjusting to his surroundings. How long had it been
 134.108 +since he had used living eyes to see? The body felt awkward after so many long years of being
 134.109 +free from the confines of a body. And this one felt different... “Syaoran?” his voice got out,
 134.110 +straining. 
 134.111 +
 134.112 +Hands clapped excitedly. “You are here! I'm Ming Ue, your descendent, honorable ancestor. I have
 134.113 +been charged with capturing the Sakura Cards, just as you once were. I didn't know if I could do
 134.114 +it on my own, so I created a body for you and called you back. With your strength and knowledge,
 134.115 +I'm sure nothing can keep us from reclaiming what is rightfully ours.” Her words flowed out like
 134.116 +a waterfall, her heart still pounding in her chest. All of her hard work had paid off. The fear
 134.117 +of failing her parents for the last time melted away. 
 134.118 +
 134.119 +The art of making words with a human body was slowly coming back to the boy. That had been such
 134.120 +an unnecessary skill for such a long time. This body felt so different from the last one. His
 134.121 +mind was still trying to make sense of what he was saying. It was as if he had awakened from an
 134.122 +extremely long, deep sleep. Memories of the afterlife were fleeting, disappearing as some dreams
 134.123 +do upon waking up. All he knew was that he wanted to go back and that he wasn't happy about 
 134.124 +being brought back. “Help you?” he got out. Frowned. Tried again. “Help you get the Cards? That
 134.125 +was...” He had to clear his throat. His voice sounded strange in his ears. “That was a long time
 134.126 +ago.” His head slumped forward, the body still exhausted from the soul being forced inside of 
 134.127 +it. That's when he made a discovery that brought his voice back quickly. “What the hell?!”
 134.128 +
 134.129 +“What? What?!” Ming Ue asked, panicked. Had she forgotten something? Did she make the body wrong?
 134.130 +Was he displeased? She ran over, but the boy covered himself, cheeks darkening in what looked
 134.131 +like a mixture of shame and anger. Ohhh... She blushed herself, picking up the clothes. “I'm
 134.132 +sorry about that. I should have dressed you earlier. I was just worried about the clothes 
 134.133 +getting in the way of the ritual,” she lied. It had nothing at all to do with her wanting to see
 134.134 +her beautiful nude sculpture alive. She mentally crossed her fingers. “I've got a dick!” He spat
 134.135 +out, glaring as he looked up, still trying to cover as much of his body as possible. This was 
 134.136 +all wrong. His sharpened mental state from his shock only made it all the more disorienting. Why
 134.137 +was he here with this girl? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? And why in this body? Ming Ue
 134.138 +sweatdropped, the clothes still held to her chest. “Ummm... Didn't you always have one?” she
 134.139 +asked sheepishly. That hadn't really been one of her main concerns. It went to show that a male
 134.140 +ancestor would be happy with keeping his pieces intact. She could have made a girl body, sure,
 134.141 +and it would have been less embarrassing. But it would've been a lot less fun to make, too.
 134.142 +“No!!” The boy snatched the clothes from her, turning around and pulling them on quickly. 
 134.143 +
 134.144 +Ming Ue was disappointed to see him turn away from her. He was obviously confused and frustrated
 134.145 +and concerned. “Syaoran, I'm sorry for bringing you back.” Bowing low, she felt herself 
 134.146 +beginning to lose her composure. He was angry with her. Now he'd never help her. What had she
 134.147 +done wrong? “But I really need your help. I can't do it on my own.” Tears brimmed in her eyes 
 134.148 +and she shut them immediately to keep them from showing.
 134.149 +
 134.150 +“Syaoran...” The boy was silent for a moment, pulling the pants on. Finally, he whirled about.
 134.151 +“Whoever you are, you've screwed up. I'm not Syaoran. I'm Meiling.” Amber eyes narrowed as she
 134.152 +drove the point home. “I'm his wife.”
 134.153 +
 134.154 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 134.155 +
 134.156 +
 134.157 +“Please.... Please don't tell my parents!” Ming Ue sobbed. Meiling paced around her room while
 134.158 +she sat with her hands on her lap, eyes downcast, her body shaking as she cried. Her parents
 134.159 +would kill her when they found out. The spell had worked, the body worked, but the reincarnation
 134.160 +spell had grabbed the wrong soul. This would be proof to her parents that she was a failure as
 134.161 +the savior of the Li Clan.Meiling sighed, pacing around the room. Her arms fell to her sides.
 134.162 +They had been crossed beforehand, but that was just an uncomfortable feeling. She was used to a
 134.163 +very different chest. Her eyes closed as she paced again, listening to the other girl sob.
 134.164 +Meiling had been resurrected and thrown into a male body and the girl who brought her back was
 134.165 +crying? This was very, very messed up. “How do I get out of this body?” she asked at last,
 134.166 +cutting to the point.
 134.167 +
 134.168 +“When...” sniffle. “When it dies...” Ming Ue averted her gaze, her voice low. Her mistakes had
 134.169 +already been bad enough. Now they only seemed to be amplified. It had been her hope that Syaoran
 134.170 +would help bring the Clan back to honor with a second lifetime. But now she felt miserable to
 134.171 +tell Meiling she'd be stuck for another life.Gritting her teeth, Meiling crossed her arms. And
 134.172 +immediately uncrossed them. “Can you at least change it into a female body? I was pretty used to
 134.173 +being female seeing how I lived as one for a whole lifetime.” A voice so low that she couldn't
 134.174 +hear. “What?” she demanded.“I don't know how...” was Ming Ue's reply. She was dangerously close
 134.175 +to breaking out into fresh tears. If only she had waited for the right soul. Her impatience now
 134.176 +had her ancestor angry with her, her plan a failure, and her parents ready to exile her when 
 134.177 +they found out.
 134.178 +
 134.179 +Hands ran through much shorter hair than Meiling was used to, nearly trying to crush the skull.
 134.180 +This was too much to deal with all at once. Tilting her head back, Meiling let out a sigh. “So
 134.181 +you're saying I'm stuck here all alone in this crappy body...”
 134.182 +
 134.183 +“It's not a crappy body!” Ming Ue interrupted, looking up for the first time since they'd 
 134.184 +reached her room. “It's beautiful and strong and I spent so much time on it. And you're not
 134.185 +alone. I'm not much help, but I'm here and I'll help in any way I can to make your stay more
 134.186 +pleasant. And...” Meiling's hands on her face stopped her. Her words trailed off into an
 134.187 +ineffectual mumble. Her ancestor looked so handsome and dashing and protective in the body she'd
 134.188 +created and those amber eyes pierced deep inside of her, cutting off whatever thoughts she'd
 134.189 +held. 
 134.190 +
 134.191 +Gazing deep into her descendent's eyes, Meiling tried to hold her attention. “I'm trying to tell
 134.192 +you that I'll help you with catching the Sakura Cards.” Eyes lit up in excitement, but Meiling
 134.193 +continued before the girl could interrupt her. “But you need to listen to me. I've done this
 134.194 +before. You haven't. I know what I'm doing. These things are dangerous. They almost did awful
 134.195 +things to me and Syaoran way too many times. So if we're doing this, we're going back to Japan
 134.196 +and you need to listen to everything I say.” The girl nodded quickly. Meiling's hands slid away
 134.197 +from the other girl's face. It had been a long time since she'd helped Syaoran go after the
 134.198 +Cards. But maybe she could make a difference this time. “And I need some decent clothes if I'm
 134.199 +going to be running around like this,” she finished with a sigh.
 134.200 +
 134.201 +
 134.202 +
 134.203 +
 134.204 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 134.205 +
 134.206 +Meishi paced nervously, her hands clasped behind her back. She kept stealing glances of Megumi
 134.207 +from behind her glasses. The woman didn't look a thing like Tomoyo. Long, blonde hair and violet
 134.208 +eyes. Her skin wasn't the delicate pale of fallen snow that Meishi had gotten to know and love 
 134.209 +so well as Sakura. But Meishi could see past the flesh as easy as if she were simply looking at
 134.210 +the surface. Her eyes saw deep into the woman sitting on her bed. And there was no way she could
 134.211 +keep from recognizing Tomoyo, her beloved wife, in everything Megumi said and did. That familiar
 134.212 +hanyaan feeling came bubbling up like a burst dam, flooding all of her senses. This was the 
 134.213 +woman she loved, after all. The woman she had only been able to watch from afar for so many
 134.214 +years. It took all of Meishi's will not to run to the bed and leap into the blonde's arms,
 134.215 +telling Megumi, her Tomoyo, how much she had missed her. To be held in Tomoyo's arms again, even
 134.216 +in this new body, would be heaven. A heaven that she had specifically forbade herself. Or 
 134.217 +rather, that Sakura had. When she had been Sakura, she had reincarnated herself as two parts. 
 134.218 +The normal girl side, Kumiko, with the enviable job of loving Megumi forever and ever. And the
 134.219 +magical side, Meishi, with the job of ending the terrible cycle of the Cards so she could 
 134.220 +finally die and so that another wouldn't be placed under their burden of power and immortality.
 134.221 +But, alas, for that mission, she had retained her memories of her past life. Most specifically,
 134.222 +her memories of her loving wife. A woman that she herself had reincarnated but never got to be
 134.223 +with. And it ate at her every day. Just as it threatened to overwhelm her now with Megumi so
 134.224 +close.
 134.225 +
 134.226 +Megumi held the blanket to her lap, violet eyes slowly gliding left, right, and left again as
 134.227 +they followed Meishi's movements. Waking up in a strange bed with a younger, redheaded girl
 134.228 +kissing her and a pale, dark haired woman watching them, was a little... disconcerting. To say
 134.229 +the least. The fact that the younger girl, though looking nothing the part, reminded her 
 134.230 +fiercely of Kumiko, helped none at all. Oh, the fact that the dark haired woman had large, black
 134.231 +angel wings didn't help either, now that she thought of it. Was she dead? Was the girl some
 134.232 +interpretation of Kumiko and the dark haired woman an angel? No, she hurt far too much to be
 134.233 +dead. Dying, maybe, but not dead. There went that idea. She was almost disappointed. It would be
 134.234 +nice to finally escape that pain. But she couldn't yet, could she? Kumiko still needed her. Or
 134.235 +did she still need Kumiko? Probably both.
 134.236 +
 134.237 +“Dream Angel,” Megumi murmered, without fully realizing she had spoken.That's what this girl
 134.238 +remined her of and why the redhead seemed so much like Kumiko. They both seemed so much like her
 134.239 +dream angel, didn't they? When she had been young, she had often dreamed of a beautiful woman
 134.240 +with wings. The woman always came to her when she was very sick or sad or lonely. She had always
 134.241 +been there for her, if only in her dreams. A young Megumi had drawn her over and over in
 134.242 +pictures, almost obsessively. Her parents had thought it nothing but fantasy when their daughter
 134.243 +had told them quite certainly that her dream angel would come and see her someday. And she did.
 134.244 +Several years later, she met Kumiko. The beautiful, braided girl instantly reminded her of the
 134.245 +beautiful angel from her dreams. It had been love at first site, her love having grown over the
 134.246 +years for her dream angel, only to then find a home almost immediately in the cute, somewhat shy
 134.247 +girl who quickly became her best friend. And this girl, this younger girl in the glasses, she
 134.248 +felt exactly the same as her dream angel had so many years ago. And as Kumiko did everytime
 134.249 +Megumi was near her. That resonance scared her. How could she have found her dream angel twice?
 134.250 +But nonetheless, if she closed her eyes, it felt like her dream angel, her Kumiko, was the one
 134.251 +pacing before her.
 134.252 +
 134.253 +Ears perking up at Megumi's soft voice, the Mistress of the Cards nearly
 134.254 +stumbled as she pulled to a halt and whirled around to face the bed. “Dream angel?” she asked.
 134.255 +Did Megumi remember her? Had she seen her in dreams, aloft on her magical wings? Her excitement
 134.256 +at the prospect was difficult to hold in check. If Megumi remembered her, even in part.... Her
 134.257 +hands clenched over her heart, fingers barely visible outside of her oversized sleeves,
 134.258 +desperately trying to keep her racing heart from escaping. 
 134.259 +
 134.260 +“You'd call her Sakura, I guess.”
 134.261 +Megumi rubbed her aching temples, wincing at the wave of dizziness that crashed over her at the
 134.262 +effort.  “I never really had a specific image of her. She was more a feeling than an image. I
 134.263 +know how she made me feel. The same way you and Kumiko make me feel. She made me feel like
 134.264 +everything would always be all right. Her visits always gave me the strength to carry on, even
 134.265 +when my body would almost refuse. She would come to me when I would cry myself to sleep,
 134.266 +comforting me.”
 134.267 +
 134.268 +Sweatdropping, Meishi rolled the information around in her head. The connection
 134.269 +between Sakura and Megumi's dream angel had come swiftly. It seemed that even in a new life,
 134.270 +Tomoyo had not lost her perceptive abilities. Part of her was just thrilled that Megumi had
 134.271 +remembered her, if only vaguely. “Why would you think that was Sakura?” she ventured.
 134.272 +
 134.273 +Raising an eyebrow, Megumi couldn't help but smile faintly. “Because it's the same feeling I got
 134.274 +when I watched the videotape. Because Sakura is the key to all this, isn't she?” Her violet eyes
 134.275 +traced the younger girl's for any reaction. She was pleased to see that it did seem to respond,
 134.276 +mulling over her explanation. 
 134.277 +
 134.278 +Meishi harumphed, crossing her arms. “I should really wipe your mind. You're getting too close 
 134.279 +to all of this. I knew I should have stayed away.”
 134.280 +
 134.281 +A mishievous smile lit up Yue's face as she 
 134.282 +sat gracefully, watching the two humans. “But she won't, because she makes snap emotional
 134.283 +decisions instead of thinking them out fully.” The glare Meishi shot her only made her smile
 134.284 +more, turning her attention to her Mistress. “It's part of your charm, Meishi-chan.”
 134.285 +
 134.286 +Tilting her head to the side, Megumi's mind immediately went to it's favorite subject, it's home. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
 134.287 +
 134.288 +Yue giggled, turning her attention back to Megumi. “I would certainly think so.”
 134.289 +
 134.290 +“Yue...” Meishi whined admonishingly. But her magical creation was correct, as usual. Why did 
 134.291 +Yue always have to be right? It would hurt too much to wipe Megumi's mind of their meeting. The
 134.292 +reason was selfish, she knew, but she wanted to be in Megumi's memories. She wanted the other
 134.293 +girl, the love of her life, to know who she was. Even if Sakura had decided that Megumi would
 134.294 +never get to know Meishi. That had been a good plan from a planning viewpoint, but in all
 134.295 +actuality, it was hell. Meishi felt like Kero without the energy to atain his true form. Like
 134.296 +Yukito when Yue had been draining all his energy. She felt like she was a false form, everything
 134.297 +strained. Her power source, the light that bolstered her and made her strong, was Tomoyo. 
 134.298 +Without her, Meishi had to struggle to keep going everyday. And now Tomoyo was so very, very
 134.299 +close... For a moment, Meishi was horrified that she would lose control of herself and end up
 134.300 +crying and clinging to Megumi for dear life. 
 134.301 +
 134.302 +The former Mistress of the Cards tried to move her mind in a different direction. Anything to
 134.303 +escape the frightening prospect of losing conrtol. How much she should allow Megumi to know was
 134.304 +still being decided in her mind, but her curiosity welled up instantly. “If you felt that same
 134.305 +feeling when you saw Sakura as when you're with Kumiko, then why didn't you want to find out
 134.306 +about it? Wouldn't you want to know who they were? If they were the two of you?”
 134.307 +
 134.308 +Lithe fingers brushed blonde hair away from piercing violet eyes. A small, sad smile graced
 134.309 +Megumi's lips. “There is a reason Pandora's box was never meant to be opened. Sakura and Kumiko
 134.310 +felt the same to me. But so do you. There's no guarantee that the feeling meant Kumiko was
 134.311 +Sakura. Or if it did, there was no way of knowing if I was the woman in the video. What if 
 134.312 +Kumiko was Sakura? But what if I was someone else who loved her? What if she ended up with
 134.313 +someone else and I got her this time around? What would that mean to all of Kumiko's belief in
 134.314 +Fate?” She let Meishi take in her answer for a moment before continuing. “But most importantly, 
 134.315 +I don't have time. I don't have time to go chasing the past. I don't know what happened in that
 134.316 +video or who those people were. But I do know that I love Kumiko. And I always will. I don't 
 134.317 +have time for the past or for the future. All I have is right now. And I want to spend that with
 134.318 +Kumiko while I can.” Her eyes became downcast, her hands holding the blanket tightly. “If she'll
 134.319 +let me.”
 134.320 +
 134.321 +“She's scared of losing you...” Meishi's voice was quiet when she replied. The feelings that 
 134.322 +came at the thought of losing Tomoyo didn't come from her other half, but rather from the woman
 134.323 +of whom they were both shards. The fear and loneliness at losing Tomoyo was still a part of
 134.324 +Sakura's memories that lay within Meishi. Those feelings were why she had reincarnated Tomoyo to
 134.325 +begin with. So they could always be together. Sakura's immortality meant she couldn't die and be
 134.326 +with Tomoyo, but if she held on, if she never let go of her love, they would always be together
 134.327 +in this life instead. Now she saw what a grave mistake she had made. And that Kumiko was making
 134.328 +right now. “She can't bear the thought of going on without you. She's desperate. She'll do
 134.329 +anything, anything at all, to keep you with her.” Meishi's voice was distant now, lost in the
 134.330 +memories that Sakura had left her. It was happening again. But Kumiko didn't have the power to
 134.331 +keep Megumi with her. She could only hurt the blonde girl with her pain and anger that it had to
 134.332 +end this way. What had her mother told her father? Not to cry for him. She was happy for the
 134.333 +chance they had. Tomoyo was the same, wasn't she? But Sakura, in either of her forms, couldn't
 134.334 +promise not to cry. She couldn't just let Tomoyo go. It hurt too much. Maybe she took after
 134.335 +Sonomi more than she had realized. Could she really let go? She had to, though. She was hurting
 134.336 +Tomoyo by keeping her here in this limbo. But still...
 134.337 +
 134.338 +“I don't want to lose her either,” Megumi replied, her violet eyes burning wetly. “I want to see
 134.339 +her smile forever. But it isn't my choice. I'm grateful for the time I had with her. She made
 134.340 +this life worthwhile. She made me so happy. It wasn't a waste at all.” Smiling, tears slipped
 134.341 +down her cheeks. I don't want it to end, but all good things do. I loved every minute of it.
 134.342 +Everyday was a carnival. Even the pain inside seemed to melt away when she would laugh or blush.
 134.343 +I don't want her to think it was pointless. Because it meant the world to me. She is my world.
 134.344 +And leaving it, my only regret is that she can't see how precious our time together was, even if
 134.345 +it has to come to an end.”
 134.346 +
 134.347 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Meishi's heart sank at Megumi's words. Even a life removed, she was still the
 134.348 +angel that Sakura had always known. It broke Meishi's heart to see her like this, especially
 134.349 +knowing it was her fault. If she hadn't been so selfish, trying to hold onto Tomoyo's soul even
 134.350 +after the girl died, then this never would have happened... Seeing Tomoyo cry was a very rare
 134.351 +event. She had only seen her best friend, her wife, cry on several occasions. It always made her
 134.352 +feel like crying herself. Without realizing it, she was at Megumi's side, her smaller arms
 134.353 +wrapping around the blonde tightly. Her heart pounded against the older girl's side. “I love you
 134.354 +so much, Tomoyo. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.” Her own tears bled into the shoulder of
 134.355 +Megumi's blouse as she clung tightly onto the blonde.
 134.356 +
 134.357 +For some reason, the thought that this wasn't Kumiko felt awkward to Megumi, as if it didn't fit
 134.358 +entirely. Despite her best efforts to reason out that this girl was someone else altogether, it
 134.359 +felt like she was holding Kumiko in her arms. Her soul felt balmed by the redhead in her arms.
 134.360 +Her tears slowly faded and she felt a soothing calm trickle over her. Hands and fingers slipped
 134.361 +comfortingly up over the redhead's back, just as she had always done with Kumiko. It felt nice 
 134.362 +to hold her this way, to feel the girl's heartbeat, her small movements in her arms. Fear tried
 134.363 +to instill itself in her that this girl could feel so much like Kumiko, but even the fear had a
 134.364 +hard time making it through the warm feelings the girl evoked inside of her. Her eyes met with
 134.365 +those of the dark haired angel sitting across the room from them. The woman smiled softly. She
 134.366 +could see it there in her stormy blue eyes, a resigned, unrequited love. The angel was in love
 134.367 +with the girl she currently held. Was it that the more you loved someone, the bigger the tragedy
 134.368 +that would accompany that love? Was this Fate's way of testing the hearts of those in love? If
 134.369 +so, Fate could be remarkably cruel. She offered an apologetic smile to the angel, but the dark
 134.370 +haired woman only smiled and shook her head, waving the apology off.
 134.371 +
 134.372 +Being held like this, feeling the woman she had loved through two lifetimes rubbing her back,
 134.373 +made Meishi's heart melt. How long had she dreamt of this moment? How many years had passed now
 134.374 +since she had anything but her memories of being in Tomoyo's arms? But now Megumi was awake and
 134.375 +holding her and Meishi never wanted to let her go, no matter how much was riding on it. If only
 134.376 +she could keep Megumi with her forever.
 134.377 +
 134.378 +“You called me Tomoyo.” Megumi's statement was muffled by Meishi's fiery hair, but the sorceress
 134.379 +heard her all the same. Though she had expected as much, this was much more evidence to her past
 134.380 +life. It was hard to believe that the pale woman she had seen in the video could be her. If it
 134.381 +was true, did it change anything? Kumiko was the one who had wanted to know. Her love for Kumiko
 134.382 +had been much more important than any possible past life in her mind. But now... She had come 
 134.383 +too far to back away from it now. No matter how much she may want to. This had to do with the
 134.384 +dream angel of her youth and why this girl felt so very much like Kumiko in her heart. “Am I
 134.385 +Tomoyo?” she asked at last, almost dreading the answer.
 134.386 +
 134.387 +Head buried against Megumi's shoulder, Meishi nodded slowly. This wasn't supposed to happen. Megumi wasn't supposed to know the truth. But then again, was Megumi dying part of the plan? 
 134.388 +The thought occured to Meishi that very few things were going according to plan. But then, 
 134.389 +plans had never been her strong point. And lying to Megumi further would just make matters 
 134.390 +worse. She never could lie to the girl she loved. How could she? Tomoyo was the sweetest,
 134.391 +gentlest soul she knew. It was like tearing off a butterfly's wings to lie to her. Sighing, the
 134.392 +young mage pushed back, looking up at Megumi. “Yes, you're Tomoyo.” Swallowing painfully, she
 134.393 +pushed her glasses up to try to hide the tears glistening in her eyes. She was sitting with her
 134.394 +wife after a lifetime, but the other woman hardly remembered her. The moment was incredibly
 134.395 +bittersweet. 
 134.396 +
 134.397 +A cold numbness spread through Megumi at first. So the girl in the videotape was her after all.
 134.398 +Kumiko had been right. Her mind tried to wrap around the concept of having another body, another
 134.399 +life before the one she found herself in now. Another thought broke through to the forefront, 
 134.400 +one that demanded her attention. Her voice almost trembled as she asked. “Then Sakura is...?”
 134.401 +What if Sakura wasn't Kumiko? She had never wanted to go looking for these answers. All she had
 134.402 +ever wanted was wrapped up in the heart of the braided girl she loved. That wouldn't change to
 134.403 +her even if Sakura was someone else. She loved Kumiko. But it would break Kumiko's heart. Kumiko
 134.404 +was so desperate to believe that they had been together, that they always would be. Megumi 
 134.405 +didn't want anything to jeopardize that. 
 134.406 +
 134.407 +“I am,” was the first thing out of Meishi's mouth. She hated being so selfish about it, but she
 134.408 +had to let Megumi, her Tomoyo, know who she was. That she loved her. But she could see the
 134.409 +conflict already tearing at Megumi inside. Sighing, her head slumped and her glasses slipped 
 134.410 +down her nose. Tomoyo wasn't hers any longer. It wasn't her place to be with her. That was the
 134.411 +job of her other half. “So is Kumiko. Sakura was a powerful magician years and years ago. But 
 134.412 +she was too powerful. She could see parts of the future she didn't want to see. Her magic
 134.413 +wouldn't let her die. She could change practically anything she wanted. It was difficult, but 
 134.414 +she tried to live a normal enough life. But she still had to watch those around her grow and die
 134.415 +while she remained the same. And when her wife died, she couldn't stand it. She needed her.
 134.416 +Needed you. I needed you.” Her fingernails scratched against her thighs painfully, tears 
 134.417 +dropping onto her glasses. “Sakura decided she couldn't go on without you. She had to get rid of
 134.418 +her magic power. So she came up with a plan.” Snorting mirthlessly, she shook her head. “Not 
 134.419 +that she was ever good with plans. And without you, she was in an emotional cloud. She wasn't
 134.420 +thinking straight. She just did everything she possibly could, thinking she was fixing things.
 134.421 +She couldn't die, but she could start a new life. But she didn't think she could do it without
 134.422 +you. You were always her light, her strength, ever since she was a child. But she had risked 
 134.423 +your life so many times with the magic she had to fight when she was younger that she couldn't
 134.424 +put you through that again. So she came back as two people. The girl, Kumiko, to love you. And
 134.425 +the mage, Meishi, to put an end to the Cards and get rid of her magic so she could finally die.
 134.426 +What she didn't realize...” Her voice broke, her fingers scratching up her legs until they 
 134.427 +balled into fists. Tears dripped down her cheek, mixing with the small trails of blood on her
 134.428 +thighs. “What she didn't realize was that she couldn't just make one half of her heart stop
 134.429 +loving you. Not when she loved you with all of it. So while Kumiko has been able to have your
 134.430 +love all these years, I've been watching from afar, knowing you could never be mine, wanting to
 134.431 +gaze into your eyes but knowing it wasn't my place... You aren't supposed to get involved in all
 134.432 +this. Sakura didn't want you getting hurt...” She laughed bitterly, nearly shaking. “Ironic,
 134.433 +isn't it? She never wanted to hurt you, but she did anyway. You're dying and it's all her fault.
 134.434 +All my fault. Kumiko doesn't remember, so she isn't to blame. But I remember the thoughts that
 134.435 +went through Sakura's head as she cast the spell to bind you here so she could be with you 
 134.436 +again. I remember because I'm her.” Her lips trembled as her tears spilled forth, her slender
 134.437 +body shaking under the emotional hurricane that battered her heart and soul inside. Her hands
 134.438 +initially resisted Megumi's hands as they took her own small fists, but she was too weak at the
 134.439 +moment to fight the blonde. 
 134.440 +
 134.441 +Megumi slowly managed to unclench Meishi's hands, holding onto them tightly with her own, 
 134.442 +holding the cold hands to herself, trying to show the other girl that she was there, now. That
 134.443 +she was real. Head tilted low, her violet eyes slowly caught Meishi's. The girl in glasses tried
 134.444 +to avert her gaze, but the persistent blonde finally won out, holding Meishis' eyes with her 
 134.445 +own. She smiled softly, stroking the mage's trembling palms. “It was incredibly sweet what 
 134.446 +Sakura was trying to do for Tomoyo. I know Tomoyo must have been so happy that Sakura would want
 134.447 +to be with her again. And I know that she was trying to protect her by keeping her away from the
 134.448 +magic. And that she wouldn't want me to hurt in this life.” Her smile grew and Meishi could 
 134.449 +swear she saw Tomoyo's glint in the blonde's eyes. “But it wasn't a mistake to bring me here.
 134.450 +Even if I am dying, even if it hurts, this has been such a precious gift to me. My life with my
 134.451 +dream angel. Sakura tried to do what she thought was best, but she ended up hurting herself.” 
 134.452 +One hand let go of Meishi's and trailed up to the redhead's cheek, stroking tears away. “She
 134.453 +ended up hurting you to protect me. I'm glad she'd go through all that trouble for Tomoyo. For
 134.454 +me. But you shouldn't have to be so lost and lonely because of me.”
 134.455 +
 134.456 +“But...” Meishi began, but Megumi's gentle finger on her lips silenced her.
 134.457 +
 134.458 +“But you never got to ask Tomoyo what she thought. So you've been blaming yourself and trying to
 134.459 +stay away so you could keep me safe. I think I know what Tomoyo would say, if I really am her.”
 134.460 +Megumi's finger slipped into the other girl's fiery mane and pulled Meishi's forehead against 
 134.461 +her own. “This was not a mistake. It doesn't matter if I'm dying. It's been worth every minute.
 134.462 +And I never would have wanted you to suffer on your own. I never would have wanted to have left
 134.463 +your side. You were trying to protect Tomoyo, but if you ever asked her, I know I would have 
 134.464 +told you not to hurt yourself like that. Let me help you, Meishi. Don't push me away.”
 134.465 +
 134.466 +Meishi shook her head weakly, Megumi's thumb pushing her glasses back up her nose. She had to be
 134.467 +strong, but it was so hard to stop crying, to try to fight Megumi's logic. She wasn't supposed 
 134.468 +to be near Megumi. She was supposed to keep her safe. “But you're in pain because of me. You've
 134.469 +always been so selfless, Tomoyo. I don't want to be selfish about you. If I keep you here, 
 134.470 +you'll keep hurting. What if trying to keep you here only hurts you more? I should let you go...
 134.471 +So you'll never hurt again because of me...” A sob broke through as she closed her eyes tightly.
 134.472 +“And I shouldn't let you get near the magic. I don't want to put you in danger again.”
 134.473 +
 134.474 +“You really are my dream angel, aren't you?” Megumi whispered softly. This girl was so sweet,
 134.475 +always trying to protect her, just like her dream angel. She was that girl from her dreams. Just
 134.476 +as Kumiko was.  “I'm so glad you'd want to protect me. But it's my choice. I'd suffer through a
 134.477 +thousand deaths to be by my dream angel's side. I don't care if I end up hurting again because 
 134.478 +of it. You... The two of you are more important to me than that. And I'd risk any danger. You
 134.479 +can't push me away because you're afraid of what might happen, Meishi. The things that mean the
 134.480 +most are those worth taking risks for. It's my life. It's my pain. And I'll accept it all
 134.481 +gladly.” Her own violet eyes closed and she smiled. “I know it's what Tomoyo would want.” 
 134.482 +Opening her eyes, the sparkled like twin suns as she gazed into Meishi's eyes, awakened from 
 134.483 +what seemed an age old slumber. “It's too sad for you to have to be all by yourself. You're the
 134.484 +other side of the girl I love. I don't want to sit back while you suffer. I'm willing to do
 134.485 +anything to help. If I end up dying over and over, so be it. You're not the only one who can
 134.486 +fight, Meishi. I'll fight for us, too. So don't give up on us.” Her lips grazed Meishi's. “Not
 134.487 +now. Not ever.”
 134.488 +
 134.489 +“Tomoyo-chan!!” Meishi flung herself into Megumi's arms and for the first time in the years she
 134.490 +had spent as the redhead, Meishi felt at home again. She was in Tomoyo's arms once more. She
 134.491 +would fight, too. “Everything will always be all right,” she whispered. And she'd give it her 
 134.492 +all to make sure that was the truth.
 134.493 +

   135.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   135.2 +++ b/stories/Ellastory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   135.3 @@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
   135.4 +A Week to Life
   135.5 +by Ella
   135.6 +
   135.7 +*Dream*
   135.8 +"Sakura, I need to tell you something," Tomoyo whispered softly.
   135.9 +Sakura turned around ,"I all ready know everything."
  135.10 +"Huh?"
  135.11 +"How you feel for me, I feel the same."
  135.12 +Tomoyo looked happily at Sakura, Sakura came closer and kissed Tomoyo's smile.
  135.13 +"TOMOYO, WAKE UP!!!"
  135.14 +*End Dream*
  135.15 +"What?"
  135.16 +Tomoyo's mom was right by her bed, lecturing her on something, tiredly Tomoyo looked at the time to see it was 5:00 AM.
  135.17 +"Mom?"
  135.18 +"What now?"
  135.19 +"It is 5:00 in the morning."
  135.20 +"Well, we need to talk about something."
  135.21 +"About what?"
  135.22 +"Well, I just received a call telling me that we might have to move, or more specifically, I have to move, you are the only one with a choice." 
  135.23 +"I have a choice? I am only 15."
  135.24 +"Well, lets not talk about that now, lets talk about the destination - Paris, France."
  135.25 +"Wwwhhaaattt?!?"
  135.26 +Tomoyo's mom started to walk away. 
  135.27 +"You got a week to think about it."
  135.28 +And she walked out of the room...
  135.29 +
  135.30 +There's the first chapter. 
  135.31 +
  135.32 +
  135.33 +
  135.34 +Tomoyo was sitting down eating breakfast, while thoughts raced trough her head.
  135.35 +~Why would mom put this kind of pressure on me?~
  135.36 +~I want to stay, but how can you turn down your mother?~
  135.37 +~Why is this so hard?~
  135.38 +Tomoyo looked out the window to the garden and saw Sakura, sitting on one of the benches.
  135.39 +"Hey Sakura, over here!" she shouted.
  135.40 +Sakura turned her head and for once of many times their eyes met.
  135.41 +Tomoyo raced to the door.
  135.42 +"How you doing Tomoyo? " Sakura asked.
  135.43 +"Just fine, I need to ask you something."
  135.44 +"What?"
  135.45 +"Well my mom just told me..."
  135.46 +"Hey, lets get some burgers!" screamed Sakura.
  135.47 +"Okay."
  135.48 +Tomoyo walked silently beside Sakura.
  135.49 +"Now what is it that you want to tell me?"
  135.50 +"Um, nothing."
  135.51 +
  135.52 +There's chapter two!!! 
  135.53 +
  135.54 +
  135.55 +Tomoyo and Sakura are sitting at a small table outside a burger stand.
  135.56 +"You look sad," Sakura said.
  135.57 +"I got up a little to early."
  135.58 +"Oh."
  135.59 +"You want to go shopping?"
  135.60 +Tomoyo got up.
  135.61 +"Ok" Sakura answerd.
  135.62 +On the way they passed Tomoyo's mom on a bench.
  135.63 +"What are you doing here?" Tomoyo asked, startled.
  135.64 +"I wanted to talk to you."
  135.65 +"About what?"
  135.66 +Her mother got up and stared at her for a little while before saying anything.
  135.67 +"See you tomarrow."
  135.68 +"No mom, I want to talk."
  135.69 +She chased her mom, but tripped over her sandles. She had no idea where she was. She started to cry,
  135.70 +"Mom, you already know my answer, so why ask? Must you hear it to believe it?!?!" she screamed.
  135.71 +
  135.72 +
  135.73 +There's chapter threeeeee!!!! 
  135.74 +
  135.75 +
  135.76 +
  135.77 +Tomoyo woke up somewhere muddy and in blood. 
  135.78 +She got up as she mumbled under her breath,
  135.79 +"Where the heck am I?"
  135.80 +"Where you belong," a voice said.
  135.81 +She rubbed her eyes to see a brown haired kid,
  135.82 +"Li?"
  135.83 +"...And?"
  135.84 +"Why are you here?"
  135.85 +She just stared blankly at him, seeing a few tears on his cheek.
  135.86 +"Wandering around in the middle of the night, I suppose."
  135.87 +"Well...w..."
  135.88 +He came closer to her.
  135.89 +"Hold out your hand," Li asked.
  135.90 +Tomoyo held out her hand, Li put a small ring in her hand.
  135.91 +Li wiped a tear from his face,
  135.92 +"Give it to Sakura, you have a better chance."
  135.93 +Tomoyo tried not to smile.
  135.94 +Li ran off.
  135.95 +"Where are you going?!?" Tomoyo yelled.
  135.96 +"Home!" Li replied.
  135.97 +And he ran off.
  135.98 +
  135.99 +Tomoyo decided to walk home the long way, so she could come in through the garden and not be spotted by her mom. She fell on her bed and started to untie the chain her mom had given her for her first birthday. On it, she slipped the ring and put the chain back on her neck. She checked her watch to see that it was almost time for dinner. She rushed down to the dinner table to see her mom having dinner - something she had not done since her birthday.
 135.100 +
 135.101 +"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Tomoyo asked.
 135.102 +"Nothing," she said speedily.
 135.103 +And they finished their dinner in silence.
 135.104 +
 135.105 +There's chapter four!
 135.106 +
 135.107 +
 135.108 +
 135.109 +Ok I tried to use everybody's suggestions. Also I am having my friend Tiffany help work with the grammar(And yes Tiff you will be credited).
 135.110 +
 135.111 +P.S. tiffany edited the fic, so it is more easier to read. Thanks Tiff! 
 135.112 +Well you know the usual disclaimer. Ccs belongs to clamp, ok
 135.113 +
 135.114 +Tomoyo woke up to silence, but she felt like someone wanted something of her. After yesterday who wouldn't.
 135.115 +*********************Tomoyo's view************************************8
 135.116 +~flash back~
 135.117 +Li: give this to Sakura, you have a better chance then I
 135.118 +gives Tomoyo a ring
 135.119 +~end flash back~
 135.120 +"I wonder why he said that"
 135.121 +Mabie I have a chance she thought
 135.122 +She got up from her bed and looked in the mear 
 135.123 +"Who am I kidding"
 135.124 +
 135.125 +********************end Tomoyo's view*************************************8
 135.126 +Tomoyo sat on her bed thinking when one of the bodyguard ladies knocked on the door, and Tomoyo opened it. They gave her a small letter addressed from Hong Kong. She opened it and read outloud the letter. It read...
 135.127 +
 135.128 +Dear Tomoyo,
 135.129 +I know you have been wondering about what I said yesterday, but I have no reason to explain. All I will say is that don't panic and the truth will reveal it's self.
 135.130 +Your friend,
 135.131 +Li
 135.132 +
 135.133 +Tomoyo stared at the paper for a little while before reading it again, this time to her self.
 135.134 +"What!!"
 135.135 +She got up and went to her shelf, She ran her hand across the videos she kept up there and picked one up called ccsmovie509. She plopped it in and watched. 
 135.136 +"dingalingaling" the phone rang
 135.137 +Tomoyo answered to the voice of her sweet cherry blossom.
 135.138 +"Wana get some burgers" Sakura asked
 135.139 +"Ok"
 135.140 +
 135.141 +
 135.142 +There is chapter five, please r&r. Also Chapter six is most likely going to be about Thursday, so if Wednesday is skipped you will know why.
 135.143 +
 135.144 +

   136.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   136.2 +++ b/stories/Hiddenfeelings.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   136.3 @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
   136.4 +I don't own these characters or profit from thm.
   136.5 +
   136.6 +
   136.7 +Hidden feelings
   136.8 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   136.9 +
  136.10 +  Sakura dodged to the side as the wave of sand smashed intot he spot where she had been. She turned to face the sand card again, but it had apparently changed it's target. It was now headed towards Madison, who had been video taping the capture. Madison had turned to run but the card was quickly catching up.
  136.11 +  Without thinking Sakura pulled out the Firey card and summoned it. "Firey, protect Madison!" The visible form of the firey card flew ahead quickly blocking the sand card's path. The sand card stopped and rose up to bury the firey card, but it let out a blast of fire directly into the sand. Suddenly the sand fell to the ground leaving the sand card's vsible form frozen in place as a glass figurine. Sakura swung her wand. "Sand card, return to your power confined." The figurine shattered into sand again and swirled back into it's card form, then it and the firey card returned to her and she put it away.
  136.12 +  Madison ran up to Sakura and hugged her. Sakura hugged her back just as tightly. "Are you alright Madison?"
  136.13 +  Madison smiled and hugged her again. "Yeah, thank you.You saved my life Sakura."
  136.14 +  Sakura smiled, then quickly let Madison go blushing red. "Um... you sure you are alright?"
  136.15 +  Madison smiled and nodded. "And I got the whole thing on video. How did the new costume work out?"
  136.16 +  Sakura blushed and looked down. She always thought she looked kind of silly in some of the outfits that Madison made for her, but since Madison always thought she looked good in them she would wear whatever her friend came up with. "It was great Madison, thanks. When we get back to my house let's watch the video. Kero was asleep when I came so he missed it." Madison nodded and Sakura summoned the fly card.
  136.17 +  As they flew over the city Sakura smiled at the feeling of Madison pressed against her back. Sakura closed her eyes enjoyign the sensation for a minute. She had been in love with Madison since they were eight years old, but every time she tried to tell her she balked. The closest she had ever come was when they were kids. Madison had told Sakura that she loved her, but when Sakura said she loved her too Madison had said something about telling her when she was older and then dragged her off to the fair grounds. That was when Sakura had realized that Madison would never see her as anything more than a friend.
  136.18 +  "Madison, are you sure you want to keep video taping the Clow cards? You were almost killed today." Sakura said.
  136.19 +  Madison smiled and hugged her from behind. "Ofcourse I do. Besides if anythign happend to you and I wasn't there to help I could never forgive myself."
  136.20 +  Sakura smiled and nodded. "I just don't want you to ger hurt. If you did I don't know what I'd do."
  136.21 +  Madison nodded and pressed closer to Sakura. "Don't worry Sakura, with you there to protect me what could happen?" Sakura blushed at how tight Madison was holding on. What she wanted to do was turn around and kiss her friend. But if she did that it might scare Madison so that she wouldn't like her any more. Heck it scared Sakura that she felt that way at all some times.
  136.22 +  As they flew Sakura spotted Lee and Maylin standing on a roof looking around. She told the fly card to land near them. She and Madison stepped off and smiled at them. "Hey Lee, Maylin. What are you two doing?"
  136.23 +  Lee frowned and looked at her. "We were going after the sand card, but you beat us to it."
  136.24 +  Maylin stood next to Lee and nodded. "Lee probably could have caught the card alot better than you did."
  136.25 +  Sakura smiled at them, then looked at Lee. "We were going back to my place to watch Maylin's video tape of the capture. Do you two want to come?" Lee loked at Maylin who just shrugged. Then he turned back and nodded.
  136.26 +  Sakura smiled, but was inwardly cursing herself. She had hoped that Lee would say no so she could have some time with Madison and had only asked to be polite. Oh well, atleast Madison would be there.
  136.27 +She summoned they fly card again and used the float card to pull Lee and Maylin behind them as they flew off towards Sakura's house.
  136.28 +
  136.29 +  Madison sighed as she sat on Sakura's couch watching the tape. She had been more than a little jealous when Sakura had invited Lee with them. She wanted to spend time alone with Sakura. Lately she had been getting up enough courage to tell her friend how she felt about her. Sakura saving her life like that made it seem like it would have been the perfect time and so romantic.
  136.30 +  She glanced down the couch at the others. Lee was beside her watching with interest. Maylin was sitting between her and Sakura. For some reason Maylin seemed to think Sakura and Lee liked eachother. Maybe they did. Maybe Sakura and Lee would get married, move away and leave Madison and Maylin to grow old and live with cats. If she did though Madison had sworn she would try to be happy for her. She glanced at Kero who had fallen asleep on the couch arm next to her. Atleast someone was carefree.
  136.31 +  Turning back to the movie she saw the wall of Sand being blocked by the firey card. Hearing Sakura send it to protect her had made her heart swoon, despite her terror. For a brief moment on the tape she saw Sakura watching ner nervously not even glancing at the fighting Clow cards. Maybe there was hope after all.
  136.32 +
  136.33 +  Sakura glanced at Madison and saw her sitting by Lee smiling pleasantly. Did Madison like Lee? Sakura felt a slight pain at that. Then she shook her head. If Madison liked Lee that was alright. It wasn't like she was her's or anything. Just because she had always been there for Sakura didn't mean she always would and that was alright.
  136.34 +  "Sakura, why are you crying?" Maylin asked.
  136.35 +  Sakura put her hand to her cheek and noticed that a tear had trickled out. She quickly wiped it away and smiled. "No reason, I was just thinking of something else.
  136.36 +  Sakura noticed Maylin and Lee looking at her too. "I said i'm fine." Lee shrugged and looked back at the screen just as Sakua sealed the card. But Madison kept looking at her.
  136.37 +  "Sakura, do you think I could stay the night this weekend? Tommarow is Friday after all." Madison asked a tad nervously.
  136.38 +  Sakura nodded and smiled. "That would be great Madison. Bring some videos for us to watch too ok?" Madison nodded and they both felt a bit better as the tape ended.
  136.39 +  Maylin and Lee got up to leave. "Great capture Sakura." Lee said as he walked out. Maylin frowned and shot Sakura a dirty look. Once they were gone Madison decided that she had better go to.
  136.40 +  Sakura asked if she needed a ride. "No, that's alright. I called my mom and she'll be here in five minutes. I'll see you tommorow on the wat to school alright Sakura?"
  136.41 +  Sakura smiled and said, "Sure thing Madison. I can barely wait." Just then there was a knock on the door. She opened it and Madison's mother was there. As she closed the door behind them Sakura leaned against it and sank to the floor. Maybe this weeked she could tell Madison how she felt. She just had to figure out how.
  136.42 +  Kero floated through the air next to her. "So you haven't told her yet huh? You humans make this stuff so complicated."
  136.43 +  Sakura shot him a look. "Oh you be quiet."
  136.44 +
  136.45 +  Madison lay back in her room looking around herself at the pictures and drawings hung on her walls. All were of Sakura ofcourse. Madison kept every picture she had taken of her since they met. Everything Sakura had given her she had in a special box in her closet. Even that dumb pencil she had given her to do her math with.
  136.46 +  Madison decided to design a new costume for Sakura to wear. Maybe somethign a bit more form fitting than usual. Kind of like that cat costume only different. As she drew out her idea she smiled and carefuly drew out Sakura's face. She never forgot a single detail no matter how much time it too.
  136.47 +  About an hour later her mother came in. "It's time for you to go to bed now Madison." Madison smiled and put her pencil down and got into bed.
  136.48 +  As her mother turned to leave Madison asked her. "Mom, what's something you gve someone so that they know you like them."
  136.49 +  Her mother turned back and smiled. "Do you have a crush on someone Madison?" Madison nodded.
  136.50 +  Her mother smiled and said, "Well then I suggest something with hearts and straight forward. If you are too subtle they may not get it." She sat down on the end of her daughters bed. "Can you keep a secret?" Madison nodded. "A long time ago I had a crush on Saura's mother. I didn't act on it and she eventually married Sakura's father. I always regretted I never told her. Do you understand?"
  136.51 +  Madison nodded and looked at the picture of her and Sakura she kept by her bed. Then she looked back at her mother. "Do you think I have a chance?"
  136.52 +  Her mother grabbed the locket that she always wore around her neck. Madison had never seen inside it, but she could now guess who's picture it was. "I know that if you don't try you'll never know." Madison leaned forward and hugged her mom. Her mom hugged her back then turned to leave. As she did Madison smiled and lay back, thinking about what her mother had said. Whether or no she lost Sakura this weekend didn't seem to matter any more. She had to tell her how she felt and take what was coming.
  136.53 +
  136.54 +  Sakura smiled as the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Miss Makinzy didn't have any homework for them this weekend but on the way out she smiled at Sakura. Sakura smiled back and left the room. Madison was right behind her. "So does your mom know you are come over to my house or should we call her?" Sakura asked.
  136.55 +  Madison smiled. "Yeah she knows, but I want to pick something up from my house first ok? I'll meet you at your place in about an hour alright?"
  136.56 +  Sakura smiled and nodded. This would be the perfect chance to find a gift for Madison. As her friend disapeared around the corner Sakura took off running into town. Looking around she tried to think what would be the perfect thing to get Madison. Then she saw the Hallmark store. "I'll get her a card." Sakura smiled and giggled. Maybe after this Madison wouldn't like her anymore, but she'd rather give it a chance than never know. Sakura quickly went inside and looked around for a while. When she felt she had the perfect card she left to head back home, slipping the card into her back pack.
  136.57 +  When she got home Madison was just arriving. "What took you so long Sakura?" Madison asked.
  136.58 +  Sakura smiled. "I just thought I'd take the long way home.Did you get what you needed from your house?"
  136.59 +  Madison nodded and held up her back pack. "Yeah, I needed to get some video tapes." And a card, she mentally added.
  136.60 +  Sakura smiled and went to open the door. As she did Tory stepped out. "Hey squirt, I'm going out of town to got over to a friend's house tonight. Dad called and said he'd be home Sunday from that trip he had to take. Think you'll be alright by yourself tonight?"
  136.61 +  Sakura nodded, "Yeah, Madison is spending the night and we're going to watch some movies." Tory nodded and walked past them.
  136.62 +  Sakura smiled and opened the door so they could go inside. When she did she called out to Kero. "We're home!"
  136.63 +  Kero came flying down the stairs. "It's about time, I'm starving!" Sakura and Madison giggled. Madison went to the livingroom to set up the video's while Sakura went to the kitchen with Kero. Once they were there Sakura got a sandwhich out of the fridge for him. "So are you going to tell her tonight?"
  136.64 +  Sakura blushed and shushed him. "She might hear you. And yes i'm going to tell her. I don't suppose you would mind sleeping on the couch tonight would you?"
  136.65 +  Kero rubbed his chin. "Ok, if you will give me a piece of that cake that's sitting in the refridgerator."
  136.66 +  Sakuran nodded. "Deal."
  136.67 +
  136.68 +  Madison yawned as she changed into the night shirt she had brought with her. She and Sakura had spent hours watching some of Madison's video collection then had traded stries of what had been happening in school lately. Finally they had decided to go to bed. Sakura had already changed and was in bed with her eyes closed. Madison slipped into the covers with her card hidden in her hand. She turned and smiled at Sakura. "Goodnight."
  136.69 +  Sakura turned to her. "Goodnight Madison." She yanws and turned back closing her eyes again. Madison smiled and looked over her face. Sakura was even more beutiful asleep... no she corrected herself. Nothing could make Sakura any more beutiful. She smiled and lay back waiting for Sakura to fall asleep.
  136.70 +  Sakura however was anything but sleepy. She was so nervous she could barely keep her eyes closed. She had slipped her card to Madison under her friend's pillow and was waiting for her to find it. . After a while she turned and glanced at Madison who was still awake. Madison smiled at her. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
  136.71 +  Sakura smiled, "I think... I think I need a drink of water. Do you want any?" Madison shook her head. Once Sakura got up she quickly slipped the card under Sakura's pillow and grinned.
  136.72 +  After Sakura got back both of them were awake for quite some time, but pretending to sleep has a tendency to turn into real sleep and eventually they were both out.
  136.73 +
  136.74 +  The next morning Sakura yawned and streatched. Suddenly her hand came in contact with something under her pillow. She picked it up and saw that it was the card she had left for Madison. She bit her lip and choked back a sob, then turned to look at her friend's sleeping face. So... she had decided not to embarass Sakura. Sakura hadn't thought she could love her any more but now she did. It hurt that Madison had basically said no to her, but it was apparentt hat she still waned to be friends.
  136.75 +  Sakura got up, still carrying the card and went downstairs to the kitchen. She would make Madison a breakfast to remember to make up to her. On the way she saw Kero asleep on the couch and smiled. "I should have listened to him."
  136.76 +
  136.77 +  Madison woke up to the smell of sausages and pancakes. As she slid out of bed her finger caught on something under her pillow. It was the card she had left for Sakura. Madison smiled. So that was why she was making breakfast, to show that theyy were still friends. Madison picked up her card and turned to walk down stairs. Sakura was such a good person.
  136.78 +  When she got to the bottom of the stairs she saw Kero still asleep on the couch. She was actually quite suprised. Usually Kero was the fist one at the table and the last to leave. Oh well, maybe Sakura had used the sleep card on him.
  136.79 +  Madison walked into the kitchen. "Hmm, that smalls wonderful Sakura."
  136.80 +  Sakura smiled and looked at her. "Thanks Madison. It should be done in a little bit."
  136.81 +  Madison smiled and put the card on the table beside her. Sakura finished cooking and turned to put the food on the table. She saw the card there and blushed, looking up at Madison. "Look, about that... I understand how you feel."
  136.82 +  Madison smiled at her and nodded. "I know Sakura. It's just..." She looked down.
  136.83 +  Sakura smiled at her. "It's ok, I just thought you should know." She looked around the room, then her gaze stopped in suprise.
  136.84 +  Madison looked up and saw her staring, then turned to see what she was looking at. On the counter was a card identical to the one by her hand. Sakura and Madison turned to look at eachother, then att he card on the table, then back at the one on the counter. Sakura quickly jumped out of her seat, knocking the chair to the ground, and ran to grab the card off the counter. At the same time Madison grabbed the one off of the table.
  136.85 +  Sakura opened the card. Inside was the same message she had seen at the store: I love you more than anyone else in the world and I want you to be mine. But at the bottom, instead of her name was Masion's. She turned to Madison who was looking at the card in her hand in growing shock. "But... but I thought..." Madison looked up at Sakura with her jaw hanging down slightly.
  136.86 +  Sakura walked slowly to her seat and picked the chair up and sat down quietly, still staring at the card in her hand. After afew minutes she looked up to Madison who was smiling at her and had tears in her eyes. Sakura saw this and smiled back as a tear dripped down her own cheek. Then suddenly Sakura started to laugh. Madison giggled and put her hand over her mouth. Finally they stopped, but neither of them was quite sure what to say.
  136.87 +  Sakura looked down at the card again, going over the words in her mind. Madison smiled and watched Sakura's face. Then Sakura looked up at her and whispered a single word. "Yes..."
  136.88 +  Madison's heart lept into her throat. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Me too Sakura." Slowly she and Sakura got up from the table and smiled at eachother. Sakura took the first step, but before they knew it they were in eachother's arms, each holding onto the other one as if they were afraid it was only a dream.
  136.89 +  Sakura and Madison eventually loosened their grip and pulled back slightly to look into eachother's eyes. Both of them were smiling, and both had tears in their eyes. Madison closed her eyes and leaned her head closer to Sakura. Slightly suprised Sakura realized what was happening and mat Madison half way in a kiss that sent shivers through her spine.
  136.90 +  When they broke apart both of them started talking. at the same time. Phrases like "I thought you didn't want to be more than friends." and "I love you so much." could be heard occasionaly. They both told the other that they had been in love since they were young, but had thought the other one had only wanted to be friends. Sakura smiled and shook her head. "Let's promise never to keep something like this from eachother again alright Madison?"
  136.91 +  Madsion smiled and nodded. "I promise Sakura." She leaned forward and kissed Sakura gain. "I love you."
  136.92 +  Sakura kisses her back. "I love you too Madison."
  136.93 +  Suddenly Kero flew into the room and saw them in eachother's arms. "It's about time!"
  136.94 +  Both girls looked at him with angrily then at eachother. "Are you thinking the same thing I am?" Sakura asked.
  136.95 +  Madison looked at the table and the cards. "I think that's a safe bet." She and Sakura each reached for a bottle of syrup from the table, then turned to Kero.
  136.96 +  Kero looked at them nervously. "Now come on you guys... can't you take a little good natured teasing." He flew back into the wall nervously. Sakura and Madison grinned and shortly there after the guardian beast was covered in maple syrup.
  136.97 +
  136.98 +The End
  136.99 +
 136.100 +Author's note
 136.101 +  Hope you like it. Near the end I kind of had trouble thinking of things for them to say. The way i saw it though is if two people, let alone two people who are in love, would probably think along the same lines. I thought it would be a nice touch if not only did Sakura attatch special meaning to that childhood conversation, but had the same idea as Madison on how to show her feelings. If you agree, write me at clayton_n@hotmail.com and tell me what you think. If not, well you just spent alot of time reading a story you didn't like.
 136.102 +
 136.103 +

   137.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   137.2 +++ b/stories/Hotarus-Secret.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   137.3 @@ -0,0 +1,483 @@
   137.4 +Hello everyone! I'm lanis01 and this is my first attempt to writing a Sekkushiaru Roman. For those of you 
   137.5 +who don’t know what this is it’s a romance story that contains a lot of adult themes. This is for mature 
   137.6 +readers only. If you caught with this and you are underage I hope your parents teach you a lesson! I am not 
   137.7 +responsible for minors that happen to read this story because they are not my responsibility they are the 
   137.8 +parents and this story is on a site that says who can read this and who can't. I don't own any of the 
   137.9 +characters in this, Toei, Naoko Takeuchi and other people who I don't know of yet do. This story line 
  137.10 +however is my idea and I hope you readers enjoy my story! 
  137.11 +
  137.12 +
  137.13 +Hotaru's secret
  137.14 +By: Lanis01
  137.15 +
  137.16 +
  137.17 +       "Ten to three, ten more minutes closer to freedom." Hotaru sighed happily. It was the last day 
  137.18 +of school and Hotaru couldn't wait to get home. School was never her favorite thing. Even though 
  137.19 +she had a normal life like the rest of the sailor soldiers, her life could never be anything like 
  137.20 +normal. The attacks she used to have when she had first met the other soldiers had come back. 
  137.21 +She thought it was always because she was torn between the two forces trapped inside her body, 
  137.22 +but now there was no reason for her attacks. 'I'm just a freak like always' she thought to herself. 
  137.23 +At least that’s what the kids at school told her. She had no friends at her school; she really didn't 
  137.24 +want to be friends with people like them. She thought things would be different after she had 
  137.25 +become sailor saturn but nothing had changed. 'No, that’s not all true, one this has changed' she 
  137.26 +thought again. She opened her wallet and saw the picture she had inside it. It made her smile, 
  137.27 +which was something most people never saw. It wasn't an old picture, but the date the picture was 
  137.28 +taken seemed like it had been years ago. But no matter how old it was, its value to her heart 
  137.29 +would never change. She stared at the picture and thought back to when it was taken. It had been 
  137.30 +the happiest day of her life, one she would never forget. Suddenly her mind shot back to reality as 
  137.31 +the last bell rang and the students around her got up to leave. Hotaru put the picture away and 
  137.32 +stood up. No sooner has she stood up when a hand grabbed her shoulder and forced her back in 
  137.33 +her seat. Hotaru looked up scared to a girl who was known for causing a lot of fights in her 
  137.34 +school. She was a head taller then Hotaru but was very beautiful, at least that’s what most guys 
  137.35 +thought. She had blond curly hair that ended to her shoulders and dark green eyes. "Where do you 
  137.36 +think your going freak?" the girl asked tightening her hold on Hotaru's shoulder. "Wh…What do 
  137.37 +you want Kerri?" Hotaru whispered. "Shut up! I saw you looking at my boyfriend slut. Stay away 
  137.38 +from him or I'll cripple your worthless ass!" Kerri yelled. She turned her head to see if the two of 
  137.39 +them were alone and when she saw that they were she backhanded Hotaru across the face. Hotaru 
  137.40 +fell out of her chair and took her school bag with her, knocking out the things she had in it. 
  137.41 +"Understand?" Kerri said in a low voice. Hotaru was on her hands and knees and only nodded to 
  137.42 +the question. "Good. See you next year freak." Kerri said as she walked out of the empty 
  137.43 +classroom. Hotaru was starting to cry softly to herself as she picked up the things that had fallen 
  137.44 +out of her bag. 'The more things change, the more the remain the same…'
  137.45 +
  137.46 +           'At least its over know, I don't have to go back for a long time.' Hotaru though to herself on 
  137.47 +her way home. Her cheek was red and so were her eyes. 'I just hope I get home in one piece, and 
  137.48 +once I do I'm running upstairs to my room and locking the door!' Hotaru thought again kicking a 
  137.49 +rock in front of her. 'But I know that won't change anything, I just hope my days get better.' As 
  137.50 +Hotaru was walking she heard a stick break behind her but before she could turn around someone 
  137.51 +covered her eyes with their hands from behind her. Hotaru gasped, scared that it might have been 
  137.52 +Kerri again. "Guess who!" a small voice said behind her. Hotaru sighed, as she knew who it was 
  137.53 +and smiled. "Is it a cute girl with short pink hair done up in a odd style?" Hotaru asked, blushing 
  137.54 +when she heard herself talk. "No, just little old me." Chibiusa said uncovering her eyes and 
  137.55 +stepping in front of Hotaru. "Hotaru are you ok? Your face is red and so are your eyes? Is 
  137.56 +everything alright?" Chibiusa asked with concern in her voice for her dear friend. Hotaru covered 
  137.57 +her cheek and said, "I'm fine, I always am aren't I?" That was all Chibiusa need to hear. "You 
  137.58 +can't lie to me Miss Hotaru Tomoe, I'm your best friend and I know when you're hiding 
  137.59 +something." Chibiusa said acting as if she knew Hotaru like a book, which she almost did. And 
  137.60 +almost was just how Hotaru wanted it. Hotaru only smiled, "I'm fine really Chibiusa, you don't 
  137.61 +need to worry about me." Chibiusa gave Hotaru a serious look and said back, "What kind of a 
  137.62 +friend would I be if I didn't worry?" Hotaru sighed and asked, "Would you walk me home please 
  137.63 +Chibiusa? I mean if you're not busy." Chibiusa smiled and took Hotaru's hand. "Of course I will. 
  137.64 +Is it ok with you if I stay alittle while? Usagi is cooking again today and I'm scared to go home." 
  137.65 +Hotaru giggled and nodded. "I would love to have you over." The two girls smiled to one another 
  137.66 +and made there way to Hotaru's house. 
  137.67 +
  137.68 +     "Please, make yourself at home. Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama won't be home till late 
  137.69 +because I think they were going to try and go out on a date. And Setsuna-mama has been really 
  137.70 +busy lately so I don’t even think she'll come home." Hotaru said taking her shoes off. "You sure 
  137.71 +they won't mind?" Chibiusa asked setting her bags down. "I'm sure, why would they mind?" 
  137.72 +Hotaru asked walking into the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?" Hotaru asked. "No 
  137.73 +that’s ok, do you mind if I put my bags in your room?" Chibiusa asked back. "No go ahead, I 
  137.74 +have to check on dinner so I'll be up in a minute." Hotaru said. Chibiusa took her bags and ran 
  137.75 +upstairs. She went to the end of the hallway and opened the door to Hotaru's room. As soon as the 
  137.76 +door opened up she caught the scent of Jasmine in the room. Hotaru had two dark emerald green 
  137.77 +candles lit. Hotaru's room was always dark if not for the lamps and few scented candles she had. 
  137.78 +Chibiusa always loved being in Hotaru's room, it was so, romantic. But it was also dark, like 
  137.79 +Hotaru was sometimes. That thought made Chibiusa frown, she knew that recently Hotaru had 
  137.80 +been acting sadder and sadder but would always try and hide it when she was around. Chibiusa 
  137.81 +sat down on Hotaru's bed and let she let herself fall back. Hotaru had a feather bed and it was 
  137.82 +always very comfortable, like a cloud. She turned and noticed something, a large black leather 
  137.83 +book on Hotaru's desk. It had a purple ribbon in the middle. Chibiusa knew she shouldn't have 
  137.84 +looked in it but she couldn’t stop her curiosity. She opened the book and read what was inside. 
  137.85 +'Oh my god this is Hotaru's diary! Oh my…no wonder she's been so sad!' Chibiusa thought to 
  137.86 +herself. Hotaru had never told her about her attacks coming back or that nothing in her social life 
  137.87 +had changed. What made Chibiusa really upset was the line she read at the end; 'I was born a 
  137.88 +freak, and I'll die a freak.' Chibiusa heard footsteps coming up to the room and quickly put the 
  137.89 +book back. Hotaru walked in her room and noticed the look on Chibiusa's face. "What's wrong?" 
  137.90 +she asked seeing that Chibiusa was upset. "Why didn't you tell me?" Chibiusa asked. Hotaru 
  137.91 +looked at Chibiusa for a moment then noticed her dairy was behind her. "What are you talking 
  137.92 +about?" Hotaru asked, although she had a good idea what Chibiusa was talking about. "I'm 
  137.93 +talking about your attacks coming back! And that you've been getting beat up at school! I take it 
  137.94 +that it happened again." Chibiusa said in an angry tone, pointing to Hotaru's still sore cheek. 
  137.95 +Hotaru was shocked that she knew all that and felt tears building up in her eyes. 'Oh my god, she 
  137.96 +read it! She must know what I wrote about her then!' "Chibiusa…I'm sorry I…" Hotaru couldn't 
  137.97 +think of words to say, she thought Chibiusa would hate her forever now that she knew Hotaru's 
  137.98 +secret. "And I wish you wouldn't think like that, it's wrong Hotaru! You know it is." Rini said, 
  137.99 +talking about how Hotaru thought she was a freak. Hotaru couldn't believe what Chibiusa had 
 137.100 +said and started to breakdown. "I know its wrong, I'm so sorry!" Hotaru cried thinking she was 
 137.101 +talking about her secret. Tears were sliding down her face and finally Hotaru ran out of her room. 
 137.102 +Chibiusa didn't know why Hotaru had acted so serious over what she said. But she didn't read all 
 137.103 +of Hotaru's diary, at least not the part about her. Chibiusa ran after Hotaru and found her crying in 
 137.104 +her parent's bedroom. "Hotaru? I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry. I had no idea you take it 
 137.105 +that seriously." Chibiusa said behind Hotaru. "I knew you would be angry with me, I know 
 137.106 +thinking such things are wrong and I know you must hate me for what I wrote about you. Its just 
 137.107 +that you…" Hotaru couldn't finish her sentence. Chibiusa moved in front of her and knelled down 
 137.108 +next to her. "What did you write about me?" she asked. Hotaru looked up to her in shock 'Oh my 
 137.109 +god she doesn't know?!' Hotaru though. Hotaru was even more scared now. Her secret had not 
 137.110 +been found out by the one person that it had to do with, but now her mistake would force that 
 137.111 +secret out. "Hotaru? What did you write about me?" Rini asked again. Hotaru couldn't bring 
 137.112 +herself to say it. "Please Chibiusa, I don't want to talk about it. It was nothing. I just need to get 
 137.113 +some rest." Hotaru said as she tried to leave. Chibiusa grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Please 
 137.114 +Hotaru, if something is bothering you I want to know what it is. I'm your best friend aren't I?  
 137.115 +Please let me help you!" Chibiusa said now getting frustrated with her. "Chibiusa please!" Hotaru 
 137.116 +yelled. Chibiusa let her arm go and backed off in shock. She had not expected to hear Hotaru yell 
 137.117 +at her. Hotaru began to cry again when she realized she had yell at her best friend for only trying 
 137.118 +to help her. "Please, I just want to get some rest now. I don't want to talk about it anymore." 
 137.119 +Hotaru said softly, trying to act calmer. Chibiusa just nodded, afraid to say anymore. "I'm sorry, 
 137.120 +I'll get my bag and go back home, I didn't mean to upset you." Chibiusa said, leaving before 
 137.121 +Hotaru could say anything else. She ran back to Hotaru's room and grabbed her bag, unknowingly 
 137.122 +knocking Hotaru's dairy in an open pocket in her bag. She took the bag in her arm and left. She 
 137.123 +was about to leave when Hotaru stopped her. "Chibiusa, I'm sorry for raising my voice. You were 
 137.124 +right; I did get into another fight in school today. My days only seem to get harder as they go by. 
 137.125 +Now I just want to rest for awhile. I appreciate that you want to help me, but there are 
 137.126 +something's that a friend just can't help someone with. I'm really sorry I yelled at you." Hotaru 
 137.127 +said bowing her head. Chibiusa only nodded and put on a fake smile. "It's ok, I know you had a 
 137.128 +hard day. I'll leave you alone now." Chibiusa said quickly. She left just as fast, not waiting to say 
 137.129 +goodbye to Hotaru. Hotaru wanted to stop her before a sharp pain hit her chest and made her 
 137.130 +collapse. She was having another one of her attacks. She grabbed her chest, struggling to breathe. 
 137.131 +This attack was the worst one she had ever had. "Chibiusa…" Hotaru tried to yell out, but it came 
 137.132 +only in a whisper. Hotaru was scared now and thought for sure that she was going to die, the pain 
 137.133 +she was in was so great that for a moment she wanted to die if it meant ending this pain. Tears 
 137.134 +were building up in Hotaru's eyes and suddenly everything went black. 'I'm dead' was Hotaru's 
 137.135 +last thought; not something you want to take with you into the darkness. 
 137.136 +
 137.137 +       Colors. Dark and cold colors. It felt like being in a tomb almost. But there was a breeze? 
 137.138 +Tombs don't have a breeze, do they? That’s what Hotaru asked herself when she opened her eyes. 
 137.139 +Her vision was blurred and she couldn't tell where she was or if she was alone. She tried to talk 
 137.140 +but couldn't. 'I'm dead…' Hotaru though to herself again. Suddenly she felt something warm take 
 137.141 +her hand. She closed her eyes and opened them again to clear her vision. What she saw would 
 137.142 +have made her cry. She wasn't dead at all, she was in her room laying on top of her bed with what 
 137.143 +Hotaru thought for sure could only have been an angel. "Chibiusa…" Hotaru whispered after she 
 137.144 +licked her dry and cracked lips. How long had she been out? When she spoke the name of the 
 137.145 +person sitting next to her bed the grip on her hand tighten. "Shh Hotaru, don't try and talk. You've 
 137.146 +been unconsciousness for three days now. The doctors thought you were in a coma and you 
 137.147 +would never wake up. But I told them they were wrong, I made them go away and told the others 
 137.148 +I would stay with you until you woke up." Chibiusa had tears in her red eyes and after Hotaru's 
 137.149 +vision cleared more she could see Chibiusa's cheeks were tear stained. 'She stayed her with me? 
 137.150 +All that time, for me?' Hotaru though that maybe she really did die, why would anyone want to 
 137.151 +stay with her when everyone else thought she was with death. Chibiusa brushed some hair off 
 137.152 +Hotaru's face and said, "Are you hungry Hotaru? Can I get you anything?" Hotaru only shook her 
 137.153 +head. She was tired but she didn't have the strength to eat or to even sleep. Plus if what Chibiusa 
 137.154 +said was true, which she knew it was when she saw a plate with food half eaten on her desk and a 
 137.155 +blanket on Chibiusa's lap, then Hotaru wouldn't burden her any further. Chibiusa smiled at Hotaru 
 137.156 +and said, "Don't worry about it, I'll get something right now." Chibiusa got up and pulled the 
 137.157 +blanket that was covering Hotaru up more and she tucked some of the blanket under Hotaru's feet. 
 137.158 +"Promise me you'll be awake when I come back ok?" Hotaru would have cried right there if she 
 137.159 +hadn't been struggling to hold back her tears. Hotaru nodded. "Thank you Tara-chan, I'll be back 
 137.160 +really soon." Chibiusa said. She walked out of Hotaru's room and closed the door behind her, 
 137.161 +forgetting what she had just called Hotaru. Hotaru stared at the door in shock, she wondered if 
 137.162 +that had been all a dream. 'If that was just another of my dying dreams, I pray I die with this 
 137.163 +dream so I may never leave it.'
 137.164 +
 137.165 +     Night had come; Hotaru had just fallen asleep. Chibiusa had made sure that Hotaru didn't get 
 137.166 +out of bed with out her knowing. She wouldn't let anyone else in the room beside her and told the 
 137.167 +others, "I just need to be alone with her." Chibiusa sat back in an old rocking chair that Hotaru 
 137.168 +had. She remembered her telling Chibiusa that it was her mother's. She closed her eyes and 
 137.169 +smiled. 'Thank God you woke up Tara-chan. Thank you God so much.' Chibiusa took a book 
 137.170 +from her backpack and opened it to a bookmarked page. She smiled joyfully and read the same 
 137.171 +pages she had been reading for those three days she stayed with Hotaru:
 137.172 +
 137.173 +June 25, 1999
 137.174 +The day I opened my eyes
 137.175 +
 137.176 +Dear diary,
 137.177 +     God knows how many lives I've ruined, God knows how many lives I'll lived, but for the first 
 137.178 +time in all those lives, my eyes have opened. All this time I kept fooling myself thinking this was 
 137.179 +wrong or that I was wrong myself. I have given this a lot of thought and I'm sure with all my 
 137.180 +heart that this is anything but wrong. I kissed someone for the first time in my life. Not a kiss on 
 137.181 +the cheek but a real kiss on the lips. Oh it was the sweetest feeling I could ever feel. I can't think 
 137.182 +of words to describe it but pure serenity would be the only thing that comes close to it. I know 
 137.183 +that I love this person, I have loved this person for a long time. No, I take that back, love is to 
 137.184 +small a word to describe how I feel about this person. To think I never saw it makes wonder how 
 137.185 +I can see anything. But now I worry about what this person will think. Will they feel the same? I 
 137.186 +think they won't. No, not for me. I am the last person to be blessed by something wonderful as 
 137.187 +true love. They could not love me because I am different. Even more now then before. I fear if I 
 137.188 +ever tell them about my true feelings that they will laugh or even worse, abandon me and think 
 137.189 +me a freak when they are the only soul on this planet that might just think I am normal. Its funny, 
 137.190 +writing that right now, I don't believe I am or ever well be normal. I was born with this curse and 
 137.191 +I'll die with it, then take it with me to my next life. So I decided not to tell this person I love them, 
 137.192 +nor that I stole a kiss from them in their sleep. I suppose they may never know how I feel, even 
 137.193 +though I scream the words "I love you" from my heart; they will never hear them. Just like I will 
 137.194 +never hear those words back from their lips. Their sweet lips.  I would give anything to kiss their 
 137.195 +lips again, to have them hold me in their arms at night and in day. To look into their eyes and 
 137.196 +know that they really love me in all the ways a human can be loved. If it were possible for me 
 137.197 +then I would sell my soul to have them forever. But just like I said before, this person, this sweet 
 137.198 +and special person would never love a mistake like me. They are far too good for me to have. For 
 137.199 +me to call my own. But I hope and pray, beyond hope and prayers can go, that this person might 
 137.200 +someday say the words I may never live to hear, "I love you Hotaru." It has grown late now, I 
 137.201 +should go and sleep but that would only bring my days closer to me, and so far for the last four 
 137.202 +weeks my days have given me only sadness and more reasons to hold that knife to my wrist. If 
 137.203 +not for this person, I would have died along ago. And this person, this person who God himself 
 137.204 +must have sent to be with me is someone who I hope I never lose, someone how has become the 
 137.205 +only ray of light in my dark world. And that someone is Chibiusa…
 137.206 +
 137.207 +      Chibiusa blushed the whole time she read that special part in Hotaru's dairy. She never had a 
 137.208 +clue that Hotaru felt like this about her. When she thought about it, they had been spending more 
 137.209 +time with each other recently, and it was normally just the two of them. Hotaru was very dear to 
 137.210 +Chibiusa; she was her first real friend sense she came back to the past. Chibiusa smiled 
 137.211 +remembering the day they first met. Her hat had been flown away in the park. And even though 
 137.212 +Hotaru didn't know Chibiusa at the time she went after her hat and saved it from a creek. She 
 137.213 +wasn't even suppose to be running because she was so weak but she still did it. 'Maybe she 
 137.214 +already knew?' Chibiusa though, holding the diary close to her like she would hold a teddy bear. 
 137.215 +'Do I feel the same?' she thought again. She turned to Hotaru who was still sleeping soundly in 
 137.216 +bed. She was the only person Chibiusa knew that didn't look peaceful when they slept. Hotaru 
 137.217 +didn't look like she was in pain, just sad. Chibiusa put the book down on the desk and moved to 
 137.218 +the side of the bed. She lit one of Hotaru's lamps and stood by the foot of the bed. Chibiusa 
 137.219 +smiled to Hotaru, her face looked beautiful in the small amount of light the lamp gave out. 
 137.220 +Chibiusa bent over and moved some of Hotaru's hair away from her face but didn't get back up. 
 137.221 +Chibiusa was staring at Hotaru's face. There was something different about, something she had 
 137.222 +never noticed before. Hotaru's face looked so pretty, even though she couldn't see her eyes. "You 
 137.223 +are important to me…" Chibiusa whispered. She felt her heart beginning to beat faster as she 
 137.224 +licked her lips and took a deep breath. Chibiusa bent over alittle more and very gently gave 
 137.225 +Hotaru a kiss. Just like Hotaru had stole a kiss from her, Chibiusa had just stole a kiss from 
 137.226 +Hotaru, and Chibiusa blushed greatly after it. But, she did have a rather big smile on her face.
 137.227 +
 137.228 +      Hotaru woke up early the morning after to the scent of pancakes. Hotaru sat up in bed and 
 137.229 +looked around. Chibiusa was still asleep in her mother's rocking chair. Hotaru blushed alittle and 
 137.230 +thought how sweet Chibiusa was to stay with her all these nights. Hotaru pushed the heavy 
 137.231 +blankets away and was surprised to see that she was still in her school uniform. 'Eww. I need to 
 137.232 +change. No I need a shower first!' Hotaru though. They she smelled pancakes. 'After I eat.' She 
 137.233 +tried to stand up but found that it was kind of hard. Chibiusa heard Hotaru getting up and jumped 
 137.234 +out of her chair. "Hotaru! You shouldn't be moving around like that! You might hurt yourself!" 
 137.235 +Chibiusa said taking Hotaru's arm and helping her stand when she was about to fall. Hotaru only 
 137.236 +blushed. "Chibiusa, I'm fine really I am. I need to move around or I'll be stuck in that bed. And I 
 137.237 +think I need to change these cloths." Hotaru said calmly, trying to fool her pink hair friend. 
 137.238 +Chibiusa didn't buy it. "Hold on, you can't just get up and walk away after being asleep for three 
 137.239 +days straight. Please let me take care of you for now." Chibiusa pleaded. Hotaru didn't want to 
 137.240 +agree with her but she was feeling alittle too weak to argue. "Alright…" Hotaru said sitting back 
 137.241 +in bed. “Good!” Chibiusa said happily. “Now I tell you what, you can go ahead and take a shower 
 137.242 +if you want, and then after that I’ll serve you breakfast in bed. Does that sound good?” Chibiusa 
 137.243 +asked. Hotaru giggled and nodded. “Your doing too much Chibiusa, you don’t have to be 
 137.244 +worrying yourself over me like this.” As soon as Hotaru had finished her sentence Chibiusa 
 137.245 +pressed her finger against Hotaru’s lips. “Shh, you almost died if I had not gone back to talk more 
 137.246 +to you, I was scared I would lose you Hotaru, so expect me to worry more about you for awhile. 
 137.247 +You’re a precious person to me and I’m going to take care of you until I know your better.” 
 137.248 +Chibiusa said looking into Hotaru’s eyes the whole time she was talking. ‘She has such lovely 
 137.249 +eyes’ Chibiusa thought to herself. Hotaru was shocked by Chibiusa and nodded to what she had 
 137.250 +said, blushing badly. “Alright then, so you going to take your shower or do you want your food 
 137.251 +now?” Chibiusa asked smiling happily knowing Hotaru was going to let her take care of her. 
 137.252 +Hotaru was still blushing and thought, ‘Thank God I have you…’
 137.253 +
 137.254 +     Hotaru walked out of the bathroom carrying her cloths with her. She had finished taking her 
 137.255 +shower and felt a lot better now. She dressed herself in a black nightgown, even though it was 
 137.256 +still early in the day but Chibiusa wanted her to dress comfortable. It was nice knowing she had a 
 137.257 +friend that cared so much for her, but Hotaru never really felt worthy of Chibiusa's friendship. 
 137.258 +She was nothing like Chibiusa or any of her friends. She laughed alittle to herself when she 
 137.259 +thought to herself that she was nothing like anyone! But if Chibiusa could hear her thoughts she 
 137.260 +would scold Hotaru for thinking such foolish things. Chibiusa always said that out of all her 
 137.261 +friends Hotaru meant the most to her because she was her first true friend. And she always said 
 137.262 +that Hotaru was her special friend. Hotaru blushed remembering the first day Chibiusa said that to 
 137.263 +her. It was when Chibiusa went to see her father, after Sailor Moon had saved Hotaru from the 
 137.264 +silence. She was only a baby, but she clearly remembered Chibiusa holding her in her arms and 
 137.265 +whispering, "Sweet Hotaru, I know you may not be able to understand me, but I couldn't leave 
 137.266 +without saying good bye to you my special friend." Hotaru blushed more and quickly pulled 
 137.267 +herself together before she entered her room. She knew Chibiusa was in there and she didn't want 
 137.268 +to explain why she was blushing. She opened the door and dropped the cloths she was holding to 
 137.269 +the floor in surprise. Her room, dark as always, had every lamp she ever collected lit up. The 
 137.270 +room had a beautiful glow to it and for a second Hotaru didn't know if she was in the right room 
 137.271 +or not. She had never lit all of them before. She could smell something sweet in the air as well. 
 137.272 +"Jasmine," Chibiusa's voice said behind Hotaru. Hotaru turned around and saw Chibiusa was 
 137.273 +dressed in a nurse's dress. Hotaru couldn't help but notice that it looked little too tight on her from 
 137.274 +the waist up. "What's this?" Hotaru asked. "Just something to make you alittle more comfortable. 
 137.275 +Come on lay down. I changed the sheets on your bed too because I knew you wouldn't want to 
 137.276 +sleep in a sweaty bed." Chibiusa said with her finger in the air pointing up like she knew what she 
 137.277 +was talking about. Hotaru only sweat drop. She walked in and sat down on her bed, Chibiusa had 
 137.278 +put on the dark purple silk sheets Hotaru had. Chibiusa grabbed Hotaru's legs and lifted them up 
 137.279 +to the bed before Hotaru could stop her. " Haruka and Michiru are out now, I told them I could 
 137.280 +take care of you by myself and they agreed so it's just you and me." Chibiusa said. Hotaru 
 137.281 +blushed and said, "Chibiusa this is all so very thoughtful of you but it's all too much. You 
 137.282 +shouldn't have done all this for me. It must have took you all day." Chibiusa giggled and said, 
 137.283 +"Hotaru I want to take care of you, making you relax is one of the ways I take care of people. Plus 
 137.284 +I know you've had a hard couple of weeks and I haven't been a good friend by not being there for 
 137.285 +you so this is the least I can do." Hotaru blushed more and shook her head. "You’re a wonderful 
 137.286 +friend Chibiusa, more then I should have, thank you so much for all that you've done. It really 
 137.287 +means a lot to me." Chibiusa bowed. "Your very welcome Tara-chan. And don't say such foolish 
 137.288 +things about yourself." 
 137.289 +
 137.290 +     Hotaru lay peacefully in bed after she had finished eating the dinner Chibiusa had brought her.  
 137.291 +She remembered what Usagi told her about Minako and Chibiusa dressing up like nurses and 
 137.292 +taking care of her. It made Hotaru laugh, even more when Usagi told her to watch out for that rice 
 137.293 +gruel they would bring her. Just then Chibiusa walked in to Hotaru's room. She smiled to Hotaru 
 137.294 +and asked, "Anything I can get you?" Hotaru giggled and said, "No Chibiusa I'm quiet fine. 
 137.295 +You've already taken such great care of me I can't thank you enough." Chibiusa only nodded and 
 137.296 +asked in serious tone, "Hotaru, may I talk to you about something?" Hotaru could tell the change 
 137.297 +in her friend's tone and said, "Of course Chibiusa, what is it?" Chibiusa walked to the bed and sat 
 137.298 +next to Hotaru. "I know now. I know what you think about me." Hotaru turned to face Chibiusa 
 137.299 +when she heard her say that and a feeling of fear ran down Hotaru's spine. "What…what do you 
 137.300 +mean?" Hotaru asked. Chibiusa took Hotaru's hand and said, "You know what I mean, I know 
 137.301 +what you feel for me, that you're in love with me." Chibiusa's voice was heavy with emotion and 
 137.302 +Hotaru was scared now that Chibiusa would hate her for knowing what she really thought about 
 137.303 +her friend. "Chibiusa…I…I know its wrong to think such things but…I can't help it." Hotaru had 
 137.304 +tears in her eyes and jumped out of her bed and gave Chibiusa a hard look. "I won't lie about it 
 137.305 +anymore, yes I do love you Chibiusa! I've loved you for a long time because you’re a special 
 137.306 +person to me and you mean so much to me that I can't imagine a life with out you." Hotaru yelled, 
 137.307 +tears running down her face. She was very scared about what Chibiusa would say about this but 
 137.308 +she knew she had to say it. It was the right thing to say. "You make my days worth living, you've 
 137.309 +always been there for me when even God himself abandoned me. When everyone thought I was 
 137.310 +just a cold-hearted killer you were the only one that would stand beside me and protect me, even 
 137.311 +when I turned on all of you, you still wouldn't give up on me. You saved my life; you saved my 
 137.312 +soul from the darkness that would have swallowed me whole. You’re the light in my life, how 
 137.313 +could I not fall in love with you?" Hotaru said before she fell to her knees crying. "I love you and 
 137.314 +I know you must think I'm a freak now more then ever." Hotaru was breaking down and Chibiusa 
 137.315 +went right to her and made Hotaru face her. The two girls looked into each other's eyes for while, 
 137.316 +one seeing sadness and begging for forgiveness, the other seeing only concern and what someone 
 137.317 +would have mistaken for love. "Chibiusa, I…" Hotaru never had the chance to finish her 
 137.318 +sentence. Chibiusa pulled Hotaru toward her and pressed her lips against hers. Hotaru's eyes grew 
 137.319 +big with surprise and shock; Chibiusa's eyes however were closed. Hotaru didn't know what to 
 137.320 +do, she wasn't even breathing. Chibiusa put her arms around Hotaru's neck and Hotaru closed her 
 137.321 +eyes, putting her arms around Chibiusa waist. The two girls relaxed and kissed each other for 
 137.322 +what seemed to them like hours. Finally, Chibiusa broke the kiss. Both girls' cheeks were red. 
 137.323 +"When you collapsed at your door after I left I was so scared that I couldn't get you to open your 
 137.324 +eyes, I prayed to God that you weren't going to die. I would have done anything to make you 
 137.325 +open your eyes again. I would have traded my life for yours. And then finally after help came, I 
 137.326 +thought to myself what would have happened if you had died right there and then. I would have 
 137.327 +been lost without you. The thought of losing you twice, no, three times was too much for me. I 
 137.328 +swear I was so scared I wouldn't leave your room. I stayed by your bedside holding your hand 
 137.329 +hoping and waiting for you to open your eyes again. All the while, I read more of your diary, and 
 137.330 +I realized I had felt the same about you all the time. And when I thought I was going to lose you, I 
 137.331 +made myself promise that when you woke up I wasn't going to lie to myself anymore. I wouldn't 
 137.332 +want to leave your side and most importantly, I wanted to let you know I left the same way about 
 137.333 +you." Chibiusa and Hotaru were both crying after Chibiusa's speech. Hotaru was crying the worst 
 137.334 +and hid her face in Chibiusa's chest. "Say it again please?" she asked. Chibiusa held Hotaru 
 137.335 +tightly, as if she was going to fade away and whispered, "I love you Hotaru." Hotaru stayed in 
 137.336 +Chibiusa's arms crying for an hour, thinking of how impossible it all seemed. How wrong it 
 137.337 +would seem that anyone would love a monster like her. But Chibiusa never let her go and Hotaru 
 137.338 +knew inside her heart that she would never let her go, just like she would never let Chibiusa go.      
 137.339 +
 137.340 +     Hours had past, maybe more? Hotaru didn't care. Both her and Chibiusa were lying in her bed, 
 137.341 +Hotaru still in Chibiusa's arms. Her face was tear stained but she wasn't crying anymore. "What 
 137.342 +are you thinking Hotaru?" Chibiusa asked. Hotaru's back was toward Chibiusa and she couldn't 
 137.343 +see her face but Chibiusa knew she was not all right. Hotaru sighed and said, "I…I just still can't 
 137.344 +get over it I guess. I prayed so hard that someday someone would treat me like a normal person, 
 137.345 +and then I met you. Then I wished to fall in love with someone who would really love me back, 
 137.346 +not just say it, but mean it in every way it can be meant. Like the person's heart would say I love 
 137.347 +you, not their mouth. Then I began to realize just how important you were to me, and how much 
 137.348 +you truly me to me." Hotaru turned around and faced Chibiusa; the first thing she noticed where 
 137.349 +how Chibiusa's eyes glowed in the light the lamps around them gave out. 'Beautiful.' Hotaru 
 137.350 +thought to herself. "Hotaru, why didn't you tell me this sooner? Why were you afraid to tell me?" 
 137.351 +Chibiusa asked. Hotaru laughed alittle to the question and said, "What would you have thought if 
 137.352 +one day I came up to you and said 'Chibiusa I'm in love with you'? Besides, I was so sure you 
 137.353 +wouldn't feel the same way. I mean, I'm your best friend, at least I think I am still, and plus I'm a 
 137.354 +girl, I was worried what you would think about that, not to mention what everyone else would 
 137.355 +think. I didn't want to but you in that kind of situation. And what could you love in a freak like 
 137.356 +me?" Chibiusa placed her hand on Hotaru's cheek and put her forehead to Hotaru's. "Don't say 
 137.357 +such foolish things Hotaru. Your not a freak, never have been and never will be." Chibiusa said. 
 137.358 +She kissed Hotaru's forehead and continued, "I'll admit I can understand why you didn't tell me. 
 137.359 +But I'm glad I found out. You’re a special person to me Hotaru; you were my first real friend 
 137.360 +when I came to this time. You saved my hat when you didn't even know me, and you knew you 
 137.361 +shouldn't had been running. I can always trust you just like you can always trust me. So trust me 
 137.362 +when I say I do not care what Usagi or anyone else would say about you and me. One of the 
 137.363 +things my mother taught me was that love is love, love is unbiased and there is no wrong way to 
 137.364 +love someone, and I love you Hotaru. You’re the reason why I came back to this time again." 
 137.365 +Hotaru was hiding her face from Chibiusa's and could feel her eyes watering. "But…I'm crazy." 
 137.366 +Hotaru whispered, not wanting Chibiusa to hear. Chibiusa lifted Hotaru's face back up to hers and 
 137.367 +whispered back, "Your not crazy Tara-chan. Actually, from what I see right now, your beautiful." 
 137.368 +Chibiusa smiled a loving smile to Hotaru and gave her a soft and gentle kiss. Hotaru felt her body 
 137.369 +stiffen to the kiss but it didn't stop her from kissing back. Their kissed lasted for what seemed like 
 137.370 +forever to them. Chibiusa broke the kiss from Hotaru's soft lips and started kissing her cheeks and 
 137.371 +her forehead, everywhere on Hotaru's face. Hotaru started kissing Chibiusa neck and made her 
 137.372 +way down. She stopped at Chibiusa's transformation brooch and gave it a soft kiss; to her it felt 
 137.373 +like kissing Chibiusa's heart. Chibiusa put her hands on Hotaru's cheeks and brought her face to 
 137.374 +hers. "I love you Hotaru." she whispered. Hotaru blushed deeply and whispered back, "I love you 
 137.375 +too Chibiusa." Chibiusa smiled slyly and whispered again in Hotaru's ear, "Then, may I show you 
 137.376 +just how much I love you?" Hotaru's face and her body got hot with those words and all she could 
 137.377 +do was nod. 
 137.378 +
 137.379 +     Hotaru laid on her back under the black silk sheets of her queen size bed. She was wearing a 
 137.380 +simple rose red nightgown with a black lace trim on the shoulders and at the skirt. Her cheeks had 
 137.381 +a red glow to them as Chibiusa pulled some of the sheets away and went into the bed. She was 
 137.382 +wearing a soft pink nightgown made out of silk. She pulled the covers back up and embraced the 
 137.383 +other girl. Hotaru's cheeks had brightened as she wrapped her arms around Chibiusa slim waist. 
 137.384 +She was trembling slightly to being so close to the person who she had secretly had been 
 137.385 +fantasizing about for so long. She looked into Chibiusa's ruby eyes and became lost within them. 
 137.386 +"Are you sure you're ok with this Tara-chan? You don't have to force yourself." Chibiusa said in a 
 137.387 +gently whisper. Hotaru pulled herself closer to Chibiusa and said weakly, "No, I've been 
 137.388 +dreaming about this for so long. I never thought it was possible but now that it has truly happened 
 137.389 +I want to be as close to you as possible." Hotaru put her hand on the back of Chibiusa's head and 
 137.390 +gave her a passionate kiss. To her it was like kissing a divine angel. Chibiusa's lips were soft like 
 137.391 +rose petals and just as sweet. To Chibiusa, kissing Hotaru was like kissing a star; it was nothing 
 137.392 +short of amazing. Their tongue's danced in their mouths and their fingers locked together, never 
 137.393 +wanting to part, just like them. Chibiusa turned Hotaru over so she was on top oh her. Their kiss 
 137.394 +deepened not only in length but also in feeling. Hotaru began moaning softly as Chibiusa began 
 137.395 +giving her quick butterfly kisses to Hotaru's sweet neck. Hotaru moaned louder, making Chibiusa 
 137.396 +more excited and said almost in a plea, "Chibiusa, I love you." Chibiusa blushed and responded 
 137.397 +with more kisses to Hotaru's neck and a whisper, "I love you too Hotaru." Chibiusa pulled the 
 137.398 +shoulders of Hotaru's nightgown down and pulled the soft garment off, exposing Hotaru's soft 
 137.399 +pale skin. Hotaru wasn't wearing anything underneath the nightgown and felt her naked body turn 
 137.400 +red with embarrassment. "You really are a goddess aren’t you," Chibiusa said, winking to Hotaru. 
 137.401 +Hotaru blushed more and pulled Chibiusa up to her, kissing her deeply and untying the garment 
 137.402 +in the back that Chibiusa was wearing. When she pulled it off, she found that she wasn't the only 
 137.403 +one that didn't wear anything underneath their nightgown. Hotaru laid underneath Chibiusa and 
 137.404 +smiled to her. Chibiusa smiled back and started to kiss Hotaru's chest. Chibiusa heard Hotaru 
 137.405 +moan softly as she started to kiss Hotaru's breast. She could feel Hotaru's hand moving up and 
 137.406 +down her back. Chibiusa took one of Hotaru's breasts in her mouth and sucked gently on it, 
 137.407 +playing with the other one with her hand. Hotaru arched her back up slightly, putting her leg 
 137.408 +between Chibiusa's as she started running her hands threw Chibiusa soft hair. She undid the 
 137.409 +odango's, letting Chibiusa's hair fall free down the length of her back. Chibiusa could feel 
 137.410 +Hotaru's leg between hers and started to move her hips along the length of Hotaru's soft silky leg. 
 137.411 +She let Hotaru's breast go and started to kiss her tummy. Hotaru giggled slightly to the feeling as 
 137.412 +she started to kiss the top of Chibiusa head, taking in the scent of roses in her hair. Chibiusa 
 137.413 +smiled and brought her face down lower. She spread Hotaru's legs apart and gave Hotaru a sly 
 137.414 +smile. Hotaru didn’t know what Chibiusa was going to do until it was too late. Chibiusa bent her 
 137.415 +head down and gently licked Hotaru's untouched flower. Hotaru let out a yell to the feeling of 
 137.416 +Chibiusa wet tongue giving her pleasure that she never knew of. "Chibiusa…" Hotaru moaned as 
 137.417 +she placed her hands on Chibiusa head, almost pushing her head closer. Chibiusa responded to 
 137.418 +Hotaru's moans by taking all of Hotaru in her mouth, licking and kissing her. Hotaru started to 
 137.419 +move her hips in the rhythm of Chibiusa tongue, keeping her eyes closed and moaning louder and 
 137.420 +louder. Chibiusa was enjoying hearing Hotaru moan and say her name repeatedly. She pulled 
 137.421 +Hotaru's lips apart slightly and pushed a finger inside of her. Hotaru gave a loud yell as she 
 137.422 +started to feel something inside of here building up. "Chibiusa…don't stop." Hotaru panted. "I 
 137.423 +won't, trust me." Chibiusa said as she pushed another finger inside of the lavender haired girl. 
 137.424 +Hotaru arched her back as much as she could and finally it hit her. Her first orgasm left like a 
 137.425 +shock of electricity running threw her body, stealing her strength but giving her unimaginable 
 137.426 +pleasure. "Oh my God, you must be an angel cause I think you just took me to heaven." Hotaru 
 137.427 +said as she took deep breaths. Chibiusa giggled and said, "I guess I was good." Hotaru sat up and 
 137.428 +nodded. "Now I want to return the favor." Hotaru said as she pulled Chibiusa into her arms, 
 137.429 +kissing her passionately. Chibiusa was caught off guard by the kiss but soon came over that. 
 137.430 +Hotaru moved behind Chibiusa and started kissing her shoulder blade and neck while her hands 
 137.431 +wondered all over Chibiusa body. Chibiusa moaned softly in Hotaru's ear and whispered, "Be 
 137.432 +gentle." Hotaru kissed the back of Chibiusa ear and said, "With you, always princess." Hotaru's 
 137.433 +hands grabbed Chibiusa breast and started to play with them, gently as Chibiusa had requested. 
 137.434 +Chibiusa gave a small moan and took Hotaru's cheek in her hand and turned her head to kiss her. 
 137.435 +As they kissed Hotaru's hands started to work magic into Chibiusa as they started to glow in a 
 137.436 +soft purple light. She took Chibiusa nipples between her fingers and gave a slight twist. Chibiusa 
 137.437 +started to moan louder, saying Hotaru's name with each breath as Hotaru continued to pleasure 
 137.438 +her. Hotaru turned to face Chibiusa and said, "Now like I said before, I'll return the favor you 
 137.439 +gave me." She spread Chibiusa's legs apart, exposing the girl's wet and untouched flower. Hotaru 
 137.440 +lifted Chibiusa's pussy to her mouth and took her all in. Chibiusa let a short scream out when she 
 137.441 +left Hotaru's tongue washing over her sensitive area and then let another one out when she felt it 
 137.442 +go in her. "Oh Hotaru, oh my God don't stop, please don't stop." Chibi begged as she pushed 
 137.443 +Hotaru's head closer to her. Hotaru pushed her tongue in as deep as she could, enjoying the little 
 137.444 +Chibiusa pie she was having. Finally, Chibiusa couldn't take anymore of the pleasure Hotaru was 
 137.445 +giving her and gave one last finally yell before her body stiffened and her heart forgot to beat. 
 137.446 +Chibiusa collapsed on the bed panting for air. Hotaru put her fingers inside of Chibiusa and took a 
 137.447 +taste of the pink haired girl. She didn't know just how to describe it other then sweet and kinda of 
 137.448 +bitter. All and all, her Chibiusa pie was good. 
 137.449 +
 137.450 +      Chibiusa finally started to breathe normally again and noticed Hotaru was gone. She looked 
 137.451 +around the room but there was no sight of her. Suddenly the lights in the room went off and a 
 137.452 +cold chill entered the room. Chibiusa was still naked and started shivering. "Hotaru? Where are 
 137.453 +you?" Suddenly out of no where Hotaru appeared, but as Sailor Saturn. "Hotaru?" Chibiusa 
 137.454 +asked. "I am Sailor Saturn, the soldier born to darkness and death. I was born alone, and meant to 
 137.455 +die alone for I am the forbidden soldier who should never have been. But now I live for a new 
 137.456 +reason now. Not to snuff out a worlds dying light, nor to walk the path of ruin and silence, but to 
 137.457 +serve and protect the princess of the future Crystal Tokyo, Small Lady Chibiusa. And I promise to 
 137.458 +serve, honor, protect, and love her for all the days of my life, and the rest of all eternity." Sailor 
 137.459 +Saturn said bowing on one knee to Chibiusa. Chibiusa could feel tears in her eyes and jumped off 
 137.460 +the bed and took Saturn in her arms. "Oh Hotaru I love you so much!" Saturn put her arms around 
 137.461 +Chibiusa and said, "And I love you my princess, more then the word love cane even describe." 
 137.462 +With that the two girls shared a deep a loving kiss that they would always remember for the rest 
 137.463 +of their lives and even after that. Saturn quickly took Chibiusa in her arms and lifted her up, 
 137.464 +carrying her back into the bed. She laid her down and got on top of her.  She kissed her gently on 
 137.465 +the lips and put her arms around Chibiusa. Chibiusa did the same and Saturn's fuku began to 
 137.466 +disappear, leaving behind only purple ribbons around Hotaru's naked figure. The ribbons seemed 
 137.467 +to go around Chibiusa as well, binding the two together. Hotaru pushed herself on Chibiusa and 
 137.468 +moaned when her sex was rubbed up against Chibiusa. Chibiusa pulled Hotaru into a deeper kiss 
 137.469 +as the two started to rub up against each other. They turned around and switched places with each 
 137.470 +other, but always would the ribbons keep them together, just like their newfound love would keep 
 137.471 +their hearts and their souls together forever. Hotaru began to move her hips faster and harder, 
 137.472 +making both her and Chibiusa pant harder and harder, each one saying the others name over and 
 137.473 +over again until they both stopped when an explosion hit both of them at the same time. The two 
 137.474 +lovers came together, each one screaming "I love you," each one holding on to the other tightly 
 137.475 +hoping nothing would pull them apart. Hotaru fell on top of Chibiusa exhausted and tired. 
 137.476 +Chibiusa panted hard and was very tired herself. Without saying a word, the couple fell asleep in 
 137.477 +each other's arms, the ribbons around them still holding them together. But when they would 
 137.478 +wake, it would be their hearts that would hold the two together for the rest of their lives.
 137.479 +
 137.480 +
 137.481 +
 137.482 +The end.              
 137.483 +
 137.484 +Well that’s all! I hope you enjoyed my story. Again this is my first attempt to writing a 
 137.485 +Sekkushiaru Roman. I welcome any comments or feedback and you can e-mail me at 
 137.486 +saturn_archangel@hotbot.com. I hope you enjoyed my story. ^_^

   138.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   138.2 +++ b/stories/MelodiesofLifefin.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   138.3 @@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
   138.4 +This story is a songfic about ChibiUsa a while after Hotaru has died in 
   138.5 +a battle. The song is ‘Melodies of Life’, a beautiful song from Final 
   138.6 +Fantasy 9 sung by Emiko Shiratori and written by Nobuo Uematsu. The 
   138.7 +gorgeous characters were created by the wonderfully talented Naoko 
   138.8 +Takeuchi.
   138.9 +
  138.10 +Melodies of Life 
  138.11 +By Amazoness Quartet
  138.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
  138.13 +----------------
  138.14 +
  138.15 +~Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark
  138.16 +For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart
  138.17 +To weave by picking up the pieces that remain
  138.18 +Melodies of life--love's lost refrain~
  138.19 +
  138.20 +Why did you have to leave me? I loved you so much. I still do. 
  138.21 +That’s why it still hurts so badly whenever I think about you. My mom 
  138.22 +says I’ve been growing distant, that I’m always lost in thought. That 
  138.23 +can’t be good for the next Queen of Crystal Tokyo. But I can’t help it, 
  138.24 +Hotaru. I miss you. When I close my eyes, I can still see that shy 
  138.25 +smile of yours, hear your soft voice calling me. I’ll always love you, 
  138.26 +even if we can’t be together. Why wouldn’t you let me come with you? 
  138.27 +Maybe I could have helped. And even if I couldn’t, at least we would 
  138.28 +have died together. You told me when you had grown up again that it was 
  138.29 +to fight alongside me. Why couldn’t I fight alongside you then? I know 
  138.30 +you wanted to protect me, but it hurts so much without you. It’s so 
  138.31 +hard to keep going. But every time I falter, every time I fall, I can 
  138.32 +feel you there with me, helping me make it through.
  138.33 +
  138.34 +~Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why
  138.35 +We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye
  138.36 +And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?
  138.37 +Let them ring out loud till they unfold~
  138.38 +
  138.39 +You were always so sad, Hotaru. Just lurking under the surface, 
  138.40 +like you could never completely escape it. Even when I could lure that 
  138.41 +smile out of you or hear your laugh, it was still there. I could never 
  138.42 +completely cure that sadness inside of you. I told you that we’d be 
  138.43 +together forever and you smiled a little sadly and didn’t say anything. 
  138.44 +I always wondered why you looked on the dark side of things so often, 
  138.45 +but I was determined to show you that things could work out. That you 
  138.46 +could have a happy ending. But now as I look back on it all, was I just 
  138.47 +naïve? Did you know all along that it would come to this? All the 
  138.48 +dreams we had shared will never take place now. All the promises I had 
  138.49 +made of our beautiful future together. I wanted to keep them so dearly, 
  138.50 +Hotaru. And I’d probably promise you them all over again if you were 
  138.51 +here, even after all that’s happened. 
  138.52 +
  138.53 +~In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me
  138.54 +Though you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name~
  138.55 +
  138.56 +Looking around feverishly, I find myself once again in my bed. 
  138.57 +Looking next to me, I almost expect to see you there, asleep after a 
  138.58 +passion filled night, or maybe just reading a book as you watched me 
  138.59 +dozing. Your beautiful pale body seemed to shine in the moonlight, 
  138.60 +though I needed no such prompting to go to you. I swear I can hear your 
  138.61 +voice sometimes, even though Diana says she doesn’t hear anything. 
  138.62 +Careful not to wake my guardian cat, I sneak outside to the balcony. 
  138.63 +Its cold out, but I don’t care. Not anymore. I remember when I used to 
  138.64 +find you out here late at night, staring at the stars. I’d ask you to 
  138.65 +come back inside but you’d always say you weren’t tired. I would go 
  138.66 +back in for a few seconds and come back with a blanket for the two of 
  138.67 +us to share. Sometimes I’d ask what it was and other times you’d look 
  138.68 +like you didn’t want to talk about it. But it didn’t matter because we 
  138.69 +were together. Is that what you were trying to teach me whenever I’d 
  138.70 +feel bad about not being able to fix things for you and you’d tell me 
  138.71 +that wasn’t what was important? I hug myself tighter as the cold starts 
  138.72 +to set in. I don’t want to go back inside now. Not yet.
  138.73 +
  138.74 +~A voice from the past, joining yours and mine
  138.75 +Adding up the layers of harmony
  138.76 +And so it goes, on and on
  138.77 +Melodies of life,
  138.78 +To the sky beyond the flying birds--forever and beyond~
  138.79 +
  138.80 +When I look back on things, it seems like a blur sometimes. When 
  138.81 +we first met, when I saw you smile for the first time, when you 
  138.82 +returned to me, when we first kissed, when we would share our hopes and 
  138.83 +dreams in each other’s arms, when I saw you for the last time with that 
  138.84 +determined look on your face... I’m crying again, I realize. I should 
  138.85 +hide it before mother sees, but I can’t find the will. She wants me to 
  138.86 +be strong, to work my way through this, but I’m not as strong as you. 
  138.87 +You suffered through so much, Hotaru. You took it all and yet you 
  138.88 +continued on. You would never admit it. You never saw the strength in 
  138.89 +yourself that I always saw in you. 
  138.90 +
  138.91 +~So far and away, see the bird as it flies by
  138.92 +Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky
  138.93 +I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings
  138.94 +Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings~
  138.95 +
  138.96 +Sometime later, I find myself sitting barefoot on the hill where 
  138.97 +I spent so much time as a child, leaning against an old tree that has 
  138.98 +grown there. Here I can lose myself in my memories and forget all 
  138.99 +that’s happened. The birds are beautiful, Hotaru, but not as beautiful 
 138.100 +as the fireflies. Sometimes I’ll come out late at night and watch them. 
 138.101 +Sometimes I even think I see you amongst them, carefree and happy at 
 138.102 +last. It may last for just a split second out of the corner of my eye, 
 138.103 +but that sight alone gives me the strength I need to push forward. I 
 138.104 +know I can’t have you back, but sometimes its nice to pretend, ne? I 
 138.105 +smile a little as I watch the city in the distance. I don’t know what 
 138.106 +lies ahead of me, but I promise I’ll always remember you, that I’ll 
 138.107 +always love you.
 138.108 +
 138.109 +~In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?
 138.110 +Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?~
 138.111 +
 138.112 +I’ve lost you so many times. I had thought that this time would 
 138.113 +be no different, that we’d find ourselves in the other’s arms before it 
 138.114 +was through. But it didn’t work out that way. It was such a cruel trick 
 138.115 +fate played, letting me fall in love with you before snatching you away 
 138.116 +from me. But I would do it all over again if I had the choice. It was 
 138.117 +so painful, but the joy you made me feel was worth so much more. I know 
 138.118 +we’ll be together again. Because... because I know that you love me, 
 138.119 +too.
 138.120 +
 138.121 +~A voice from the past, joining yours and mine
 138.122 +Adding up the layers of harmony
 138.123 +And so it goes, on and on
 138.124 +Melodies of life,
 138.125 +To the sky beyond the flying birds--forever and beyond~
 138.126 +
 138.127 +	“ChibiUsa-chan..?”
 138.128 +I hear a soft voice whisper behind me, ripping me from my 
 138.129 +thoughts. That voice... My heart starts beating furiously as I sit up 
 138.130 +on my knees. It’s almost impossible to breath as I struggle to turn 
 138.131 +around quickly enough. It’s.. you... Standing up, I almost fall back 
 138.132 +down again. My vision blurs as tears start to form in my eyes. “Hotaru-
 138.133 +chan?” I ask weakly as I stumble towards you. You merely smile, dark 
 138.134 +eyes shining with the inner beauty that made me fall in love with you 
 138.135 +in the first place. I throw myself into her arms, you stagger back 
 138.136 +under my assault. Sobs wrack my body as I hold onto you tightly. I’ve 
 138.137 +missed you so much. There’s been so much I wanted to tell you, but 
 138.138 +words escape me right now. I want to hold on to you for eternity, to 
 138.139 +never let go again. I can feel your fingers brushing through my hair 
 138.140 +and I feel myself sobbing more uncontrollably at the memories. Looking 
 138.141 +up, I see tears in your own dark eyes. Oh, Hotaru...
 138.142 +
 138.143 +~If I should leave this lonely world behind
 138.144 +Your voice will still remember our melody
 138.145 +Now I know we'll carry on
 138.146 +Melodies of life
 138.147 +Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts
 138.148 +As long as we remember~
 138.149 +
 138.150 +I want to hear you promise me that we’ll always be together, that you’ll never leave my side again, 
 138.151 +but its enough for me just to have you here with me now. I know that this time we don’t need promises like 
 138.152 +that. Because this time I know that we’ll always be together, even if one of us dies. Because you were with 
 138.153 +me through every step I took while you were gone. Just as I’d be there with you. But I’m so glad to have 
 138.154 +you here like this nonetheless. Clutching onto you tighter, I bury my face against your shoulder.
 138.155 +Your answer to all of my unasked questions sends a warm spark through my body as your lips 
 138.156 +press against my own. I feel myself kissing back with all the strength I can muster as the tension from the 
 138.157 +past few years drains away from me in the space of seconds. I feel alive again in your arms. Truly alive. 
 138.158 +“How..?” I ask softly. 
 138.159 +You just smile again and kiss me softly. “I love you, ChibiUsa-chan.”
 138.160 +I love you, too, Hotaru. And I always will. 

   139.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   139.2 +++ b/stories/Misao.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   139.3 @@ -0,0 +1,254 @@
   139.4 +This took me an afternoon while waiting for everyone to set up my brother’s 
   139.5 +birthday. ^-^ It was either this or a Chuck E. Cheese romance story (my little 
   139.6 +brother’s turning 7, so that’s where we’re going ;_;) and I’m more morbid than 
   139.7 +that. ^-^;; I think the scariest thing is that I do have a plot centered around a 
   139.8 +Chuck E. Cheese. O_o Good thing I don’t have characters worked out yet. ^-^ 
   139.9 +Oh well. This is my second Sasami & Misao story and it wasn’t as happy as I 
  139.10 +would have liked, but I’m glad I got the chance to. ^-^ They make such a cute 
  139.11 +couple. ^=^ Hopefully I can again soon. ^-^ If you like this or have any 
  139.12 +suggestions for a future story I could do about them, please e-mail me. ^-^ 
  139.13 +Thanks so much for reading. *hugs* Oh, and I know that I’m reusing a the title 
  139.14 +from a CCS fic I wrote, but the friend I got the title from didn’t like it so I’m 
  139.15 +hoping this one will fit better. ^^;; Then again, third time’s a charm, so you 
  139.16 +never know.
  139.17 +
  139.18 +Heather
  139.19 +
  139.20 +
  139.21 +Love Lies Bleeding
  139.22 +
  139.23 +By Amazoness Duo
  139.24 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  139.25 +
  139.26 +	Emptiness. The cold, infinite emptiness in her heart was all that made 
  139.27 +up Misao’s world for the moments it took to listen to the answering machine. 
  139.28 +Her mother was going to be late again and she wasn’t supposed to wait up. Her 
  139.29 +cram school had called about her extended absences. And the doctors wanted to 
  139.30 +run more tests. Possibly even another operation. 
  139.31 +Whenever the world was at it’s darkest, something happened to make 
  139.32 +matters worse. She had had an awful day at school, that sea of people that hardly 
  139.33 +knew her and hardly cared rushing past, catching her in their wake. Her body 
  139.34 +ached horribly, a reminder of how sick she had been feeling all day. No one had 
  139.35 +seen her when she had collapsed from the pain in the hallway. When she had 
  139.36 +passed into unconsciousness, an awful dream about an evil blonde girl fighting 
  139.37 +Sasami in a cute magical girl outfit played out for her. It wouldn’t have been so 
  139.38 +horrible if she hadn’t been the blonde girl in the dream. She never wanted to 
  139.39 +fight Sasami, to ever cause any trouble to her best and only friend. 
  139.40 +The horrible pains had been scaring her more and more lately. She 
  139.41 +could barely see past the pain at times as it consumed her. It was becoming 
  139.42 +clearer and clearer to her that she was going to die. She was getting sicker. 
  139.43 +Which meant more operations. And her mother would have to work even harder 
  139.44 +and later to pay for it all. She barely saw her mother as it was and the poor 
  139.45 +woman was already overworked. She didn’t want to make things worse. Holding 
  139.46 +herself, the pale girl shivered at the thought of another operation. The hospital 
  139.47 +frightened her. If anything, it just made things hurt even worse than they already 
  139.48 +did and made her mom worry about whether or not she’d pull through. The look 
  139.49 +on her mother’s face when she was talking to the doctor the last time chilled her 
  139.50 +soul. Her mother never did tell her what he had said, but she feared the worst. 
  139.51 +Everything was cold. Everything was lonely. Everything hurt her. 
  139.52 +Misao brushed away pained tears from her aquamarine eyes. It hadn’t occurred 
  139.53 +to her at first that she had been crying. She contemplated the crystalline droplet 
  139.54 +as more streamed down her cheeks. Her lips quivered as a sob escaped her. She 
  139.55 +hugged herself tightly against the harshness of the world. If only she were with 
  139.56 +Sasami, then maybe... No, she couldn’t depend on Sasami all of the time. She 
  139.57 +was already a burden on her mother. Was she a burden to Sasami as well? The 
  139.58 +other girl offered her unconditional friendship when she needed it the most, 
  139.59 +helping her and spending time with her when everyone else was usually content 
  139.60 +to ignore her and let her die in a corner somewhere. There was no doubt in her 
  139.61 +mind that she would have died a long time ago had it not been for Sasami. But 
  139.62 +now the thought that she was just burdening the blue haired girl with her own 
  139.63 +insecurities and loneliness hurt her deeply. Why did Sasami waste her time with 
  139.64 +her? Did she feel sorry for her? No one else thought she was worth the time of 
  139.65 +day.
  139.66 +Biting pain shot through Misao, her breathing becoming ragged as she 
  139.67 +clutched at her chest. Staggering forward, more tears fell from her. The entire 
  139.68 +house held a lonely silence, the only sound her own labored breaths. “Please, 
  139.69 +make it go away...” she begged. The pain in her body was almost as strong as 
  139.70 +the pain in her heart. Why did it always have to be this way? Why was she so 
  139.71 +weak? “Mama... Don’t take me back.. to the hospital... I’ll be just fine, I 
  139.72 +promise...” Whimpering at the pain that burned through her senses along with 
  139.73 +the hopelessness surrounding her, Misao struggled to get to her room. The world 
  139.74 +tilted on it’s side halfway up the stairs, making it ever more difficult to think. 
  139.75 +She needed to lie down. She needed to make it all go away. Her next step missed 
  139.76 +the stairs by a few inches, her disoriented body failing to compensate as the 
  139.77 +world dropped out under her. The pain became more intense as she fell back 
  139.78 +down the stairs. She barely got out a short yelp before she hit the floor near the 
  139.79 +foot of the stairs. 
  139.80 +Time stood still. It had no meaning to Misao. Her world was ablaze in 
  139.81 +pain and fear. “Mama...” she choked out, her chest aching as her breathing 
  139.82 +labored on. Weakly raising her hand shakily, she was shocked to see it covered 
  139.83 +in her own blood. Another silent sob escaped her bruised lips. She could see the 
  139.84 +door from where she was lying, her shoes all alone. Her mother wouldn’t be 
  139.85 +back for hours. Her heart shattered as she came to the painful realization that she 
  139.86 +was going to die all by herself. There was no one to comfort her, no one to ease 
  139.87 +her pain. 
  139.88 +‘Sasami!!’ her feverish mind shot out in desperation. ‘I need to tell her. 
  139.89 +I need her to know or she’ll be mad. She’s the only one who cares. She’ll be 
  139.90 +mad at me if I don’t tell her why I’m gone.’ She grasped onto that one thought 
  139.91 +as her body began to go numb in a number of places, not dulling the sharp pain 
  139.92 +inside in the least. She barely managed to get a hold of the phone, pulling it 
  139.93 +close as she pushed the speed dial for her only friend. The seconds ticked on like 
  139.94 +hours, defeat threatening her as death’s door drew ever nearer. As she was about 
  139.95 +to give up, to quit like she always did, a cheerful voice answered.
  139.96 +“Moshi moshi.”
  139.97 +“Sa.. sa..mi...” Misao got out painfully. Her heart caught in her chest 
  139.98 +for a moment. The fear that she wouldn’t be able to tell Sasami before she was 
  139.99 +taken away gripped her. “..sami...” she whispered again into the receiver, her 
 139.100 +hand shaking.
 139.101 +Sasami froze. Something was dreadfully wrong. “Misao-chan? Misao, 
 139.102 +is that you? What’s wrong? You sound strange.”
 139.103 +Misao released a muffled sob, pulling the phone closer. “..it hurts... 
 139.104 +sami.. hurts so much… I’m sorry.. so sorry... I just… I want.. it to stop...” she 
 139.105 +barely managed to get out.
 139.106 +“Misao? Misao, you’re not making sense. What’s going on? Misao-
 139.107 +chan, you have to tell me what’s going on,” Sasami urged. She was growing 
 139.108 +frantic. Misao sounded awful and she could barely make out what she was 
 139.109 +saying. What could have happened to her?
 139.110 +“..won’t go away... Always hurts... gomen nasai... Sasami.. I.. I.. love 
 139.111 +you..” Misao’s sob was more prominent this time. Her grip on the phone 
 139.112 +weakened. She didn’t want to go. Sasami meant so much to her. But she was her 
 139.113 +only reason to stay anymore and it didn’t look like it was her choice. 
 139.114 +“Misao-chan? What? I... Are you at home?” Sasami clutched the phone 
 139.115 +to her ear painfully, not wanting to miss anything. There was no response after a 
 139.116 +long silence, only ragged breathing. “Misao! Misao-chan!!” she screamed into 
 139.117 +the phone.
 139.118 +Was someone calling her name? “Mama..? Gomen, mama.. You won’t 
 139.119 +have... to work so hard.. anymore, mama..” Tears welled up as her eyes closed, 
 139.120 +falling off of long lashes. Misao could barely hear Sasami anymore, the phone 
 139.121 +slipping from weak fingers. The tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with 
 139.122 +the blood dripping down her chin. She shivered in the cold, empty house. Alone. 
 139.123 +Always alone. 
 139.124 +
 139.125 +Sasami thanked all that was Holy when she found the door to Misao’s 
 139.126 +house open. Her initial reaction started to dissipate when she realized what that 
 139.127 +could mean. Anyone could have gotten in. Someone might have hurt Misao. She 
 139.128 +sounded in pain on the phone. What if... Sasami pushed off the thought as she 
 139.129 +walked inside. There was no time for speculation. She need to find out what 
 139.130 +happened. 
 139.131 +What she saw froze her in her tracks. Misao was lying not far from the 
 139.132 +door at the foot of the stairs, the phone next to her with a bloody handprint. 
 139.133 +Misao herself wasn’t moving, blood seeping through her ripped white school 
 139.134 +blouse.  “Misao-chan!!” Sasami gasped. Rushing to the raven haired girl’s side, 
 139.135 +her heart pounded in her chest. Her worst fear made her legs go numb 
 139.136 +underneath her as she sat down hard next to her best friend. She couldn’t be 
 139.137 +dead. That wasn’t fair. She needed Misao. Her hands searched desperately for a 
 139.138 +heartbeat, for any sign that there was still life in that weak, battered body. Misao 
 139.139 +made a weak noise as she moved under Sasami’s questing fingers. Stopping the 
 139.140 +search for a heartbeat, Sasami sat in silence for a brief moment. “Misao? Can 
 139.141 +you hear me?! Misao-chan, I’m here. I’m right here. Don’t close your eyes. You 
 139.142 +have to stay with me. I won’t let you go,” she said urgently. 
 139.143 +Misao’s eyes blinked open slowly. She could vaguely make out a shape 
 139.144 +next to her, blue blurs next to what she thought was the face. She wasn’t dead 
 139.145 +yet? When would her suffering be over? “Sa..sami?” she asked weakly. “You.. 
 139.146 +came?”
 139.147 +Sasami wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands as she nodded 
 139.148 +hurriedly. “I had to. Of course I came. You’re my best friend, Misao-chan. I 
 139.149 +can’t leave you alone.” Misao was about to close her arms, but Sasami protested 
 139.150 +adamantly . “No, you can’t! Stay with me, Misao-chan. Stay here with me. I’ll 
 139.151 +get help for you. You’ll be just fine.” Sasami grabbed the blood stained phone 
 139.152 +off the floor and quickly dialed up the paramedics. 
 139.153 +“No, please don’t, Sasami..” Misao whimpered as she tried to roll over. 
 139.154 +“No more doctors.. I don’t.. I don’t want anymore doctors...”
 139.155 +Sasami’s insides were turned inside out at the pain in Misao’s voice. 
 139.156 +She knew that Misao had been a very sick girl for very long, but Misao had 
 139.157 +never told her about any doctor’s visits or anything about being so afraid of 
 139.158 +them. She gathered Misao in her arms when she was finally done with the call. 
 139.159 +“Oh, Misao-chan. Everything will be just fine. I promise. We’ll go get ice cream 
 139.160 +after all this. Or we’ll go to the park. No, you don’t like the park. We’ll do... 
 139.161 +We’ll do whatever you want to do. I promise.” Sasami’s voice break as tears 
 139.162 +began welling up in her eyes. She held her broken friend tighter. 
 139.163 +By now Misao was far to numb, the pain already having been plunged 
 139.164 +through indescribable in comparison to the pain that shot up from Sasami’s 
 139.165 +arms. Besides, it felt so warm, so safe, so soothing. She wouldn’t give up her 
 139.166 +spot in them even if the pain was unbearable. “Thank you... Sasami-chan..” Her 
 139.167 +body shook as she coughed painfully, small flecks of blood getting on Sasami. 
 139.168 +“I just... I want it to go away... I want it to stop hurting... I want it.. all to stop 
 139.169 +hurting..” Shaking her head weakly, more tears fell down her deathly pale 
 139.170 +cheeks. “I can’t make you.. promise that, Sasami.. because... I don’t want to be 
 139.171 +here..” Her voice was full of pain and sorrow, her small body shaking from the 
 139.172 +raw emotion inside. 
 139.173 +Sasami shook her head violently. “No, don’t say that, Misao-chan. 
 139.174 +Don’t leave me alone. Please, stay here with me. Please stay, Misao-chan. 
 139.175 +There’s still plenty of reasons to stay. I promise we’ll see them all together.”
 139.176 +“You’re.. you’re the only reason to stay, Sasami..” Misao whispered 
 139.177 +softly, trying to look up at the blue haired girl through her hazy vision. 
 139.178 +“Everything else... hurts too much.. I don’t want.. to hurt anymore..” 
 139.179 +Aquamarine eyes met pink ones, displaying all of the loneliness and unshed 
 139.180 +tears in the dimming orbs. 
 139.181 +“But.. me?” Sasami shook her head. How could she be the only thing 
 139.182 +worth sticking around for? She didn’t care. As long as Misao did, what did it 
 139.183 +matter? How she was, was trivial. “Misao-chan, I don’t want you to hurt either. 
 139.184 +If I’m you’re only reason, then please stay for me. I don’t want to be alone. I 
 139.185 +need you.” She brushed some of Misao’s matted hair away from her eyes, 
 139.186 +meeting them with her own teary eyes. “I love you, Misao-chan. Don’t make me 
 139.187 +go on without you. You still have to sing for me. You have to help me when I’m 
 139.188 +lonely. You have to... It doesn’t matter what you have to do as long as you stay 
 139.189 +with me, Misao.” She pulled Misao closer, on the verge of tears at the battle 
 139.190 +between life and death her friend was facing.
 139.191 +Misao blinked weakly, still trying to make out Sasami. “You... love 
 139.192 +me?” she asked tentatively. Her hand reached up slowly, brushing Sasami’s 
 139.193 +warm cheek. Her own hand was so cold. “Sasa.. mi-chan... I.. love you, too..” 
 139.194 +The coldness inside seemed to melt away, the pain becoming more bearable as 
 139.195 +Sasami held her close. “I.. love you..” she repeated with as much strength as she 
 139.196 +could muster.
 139.197 +Smiling softly, tears starting to trickle down her face, Sasami nodded. 
 139.198 +“Thanks, Misao-chan. Those are the nicest words I could ever hear.” Placing a 
 139.199 +hand on Misao’s cheek, she leaned forward, kissing the raven haired girl as 
 139.200 +gently as she could despite the pounding in her heart that ached for more. The 
 139.201 +soft lips were still bloody, giving the kiss a coppery taste. “Misao-chan...” 
 139.202 +Sasami wiped at her eyes, trying to control her emotions but finding it 
 139.203 +impossible. “Now you have to stay. You have to stay with me. Because I love 
 139.204 +you. And I won’t leave you alone.”
 139.205 +“Sasami...” Misao whispered weakly, managing a faint smile. “Thanks, 
 139.206 +Sasami... I don’t want to be alone..” She closed her eyes tiredly, feeling so warm 
 139.207 +and peaceful in Sasami’s arms. The pain didn’t even seem to be there, in her 
 139.208 +body or in her heart. The blue haired girl’s voice sounded so distant as she lay 
 139.209 +against her. Was it becoming more insistent? She couldn’t tell as everything 
 139.210 +started to slow down. She was so tired. It would be nice to get some rest. Some 
 139.211 +rest in the arms of the girl she loved. Everything started to get brighter as her 
 139.212 +spirits rose. She was finally happy. “I.. love you... sami..” 
 139.213 +
 139.214 +“Owww...” Misao tried to roll over in bed as pain stabbed her... 
 139.215 +everywhere. Her whole body hurt. She felt like she’d just gotten back from 
 139.216 +being beat up by her entire class. Except Sasami. Sasami would never do that. 
 139.217 +She tried to sit up in bed but found it nearly impossible. She weakly slumped 
 139.218 +back down onto her pillow. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the IV in her 
 139.219 +arm. Not the doctor. Anywhere but there. They always wound up hurting her. 
 139.220 +The chill of fear building inside of her was immediately quelled by a sweet 
 139.221 +voice near her bedside.
 139.222 +“Misao-chan! You’re awake,” Sasami exclaimed joyously, rubbing the 
 139.223 +sleep from her eyes as she slipped out of the chair she’d been sitting in and 
 139.224 +reached the raven haired girl. All of the worry that had been turning her stomach 
 139.225 +in knots for the past few hours finally loosened its grip on her. Seeing Misao 
 139.226 +awake reassured her that everything would be alright. 
 139.227 +“Sasami-chan?” Confusion swirled around in Misao’s still drugged 
 139.228 +mind. She wanted to pull out the IV, but somehow she doubted Sasami would let 
 139.229 +her go through with it. But just seeing the blue haired girl there was enough to 
 139.230 +soothe her frayed soul. 
 139.231 +“Shh... Try not to move too much. You’re supposed to get some rest. 
 139.232 +Your mother was really worried about you. The doctors spent a long time 
 139.233 +making you better. But she’ll be glad to know you’re all right now.” Reaching 
 139.234 +down, Sasami took Misao’s hand in her own. It was cold to the touch. A smile 
 139.235 +graced her face when Misao’s hand weakly held on. “It’s going to be alright 
 139.236 +now, Misao-chan.”
 139.237 +Misao’s eyes slid closed as everything slowly started coming back to 
 139.238 +her. All of the fear and pain from her memories seemed almost as potent even 
 139.239 +then through her sleepy mind. Tears welled up in her aquamarine eyes. Sasami’s 
 139.240 +warm fingers reached out, brushing them away from her soft, pale skin. 
 139.241 +“Sasami-chan...”
 139.242 +“I promise. I promise it will all be better. I’ll make sure it is because I 
 139.243 +won’t leave your side.” Sasami smiled brightly, even through the tears that 
 139.244 +started to build up in her own eyes. It had been quite a scare earlier, but now she 
 139.245 +was just glad she had the chance to fix things. She bent down over the other girl, 
 139.246 +giving her a soft, lingering kiss. “I love you, Misao-chan.”
 139.247 +Misao blushed fiercely but couldn’t do much else, her mind nearly 
 139.248 +freezing. The whole thing seemed worth it, if only for that. She would go 
 139.249 +through that pain over and over again if it meant she could be with Sasami. Her 
 139.250 +mind clouded over, but now with a much warm and fuzzier feeling than the pain. 
 139.251 +She couldn’t help but believe Sasami that things would be better. How could 
 139.252 +they not be with her? “I love you, too, Sasami-chan.”
 139.253 +
 139.254 +
 139.255 +
 139.256 +
 139.257 +

   140.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   140.2 +++ b/stories/Sarasong.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   140.3 @@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
   140.4 +"I'll have to say I love you in a song"
   140.5 +    by Sara Jaye
   140.6 +        SaraJNES@aol.com
   140.7 +
   140.8 +    Wow, who'd have thought my first ever CCS fic would be a songfic? :P But
   140.9 +that's what it is. In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to make my writing
  140.10 +debut with a short, sweet little songfic. It's a Sakura/Tomoyo story *ducks
  140.11 +flames from Sakura/Syaoran fans*, and it's mostly from Tomoyo's point of
  140.12 +view. Well, the song is at least, until the last few lines. After that, it
  140.13 +switches to Sakura's. Parts from Tomoyo's point of view are encased in
  140.14 +{}'s.
  140.15 +    I used the song "I'll have to say I love you in a song", by Jim Croce.
  140.16 +Sorry if it's such an obscure one. ^^; I just thought it fit rather well.
  140.17 +    All lyrics are encased in *'s.
  140.18 +    I've never really seen CCS before, and only know a little about the
  140.19 +manga. So I'm not sure of the time period the storyline covers. In this
  140.20 +story, Sakura and Tomoyo are 13, but Syaoran and Sakura are (supposedly)
  140.21 +falling for one another. So if I got any timeline or story elements wrong,
  140.22 +please let me know.
  140.23 +    Anyways, I think that's enough for the author's notes, ne? :P Now, on
  140.24 +with the story! ^_^
  140.25 +
  140.26 +
  140.27 +[Disclaimers: CCS, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Syaoran are not mine, the belong to
  140.28 +CLAMP. This story is for entertainment purposes, so please don't sue me.
  140.29 +"I'll have to say I love you in a song" is the property of the late, great
  140.30 +Jim Croce.
  140.31 +This is a yuri fanfiction, meaning love between 2 girls. If you are either
  140.32 +(a) homophobic and offended/bothered by this kind of thing or (b) a
  140.33 +Sakura/Syaoran fan, I suggest you leave now, as you will definitely not like
  140.34 +this. If you read this and are outraged/disturbed/etc, please do not blame
  140.35 +me. :P But if none of the above apply to you, enjoy! ^_^]
  140.36 +
  140.37 +                ~
  140.38 +
  140.39 +*Well, I know it's kind of late,
  140.40 +I hope I didn't wake you.*
  140.41 +
  140.42 +    {I hate to call this late. I know you're probably asleep and would hate
  140.43 +to disturb you or anyone else in the house. So if I did, gomen nasai.}
  140.44 +
  140.45 +*But what I got to say can't wait,
  140.46 +I know you'd understand.*
  140.47 +
  140.48 +    {I just really needed to tell you this. It's been driving me crazy for
  140.49 +the longest time and if I put it off any longer, it's sure to kill me. But
  140.50 +you'll probably understand. You've always been so sweet...among many other
  140.51 +things.}
  140.52 +
  140.53 +*Every time I tried to tell you
  140.54 +The words just came out wrong.*
  140.55 +
  140.56 +    {I've tried to say this to you several times, but no matter how hard I
  140.57 +tried, the words always got caught in my throat. And when I did manage to say
  140.58 +something, it always came out wrong, like "I love that color on you", or
  140.59 +"You're very important to me". Even if those things are true...they're not
  140.60 +what I wanted to say.}
  140.61 +
  140.62 +*So I'll have to say I love you in a song.*
  140.63 +
  140.64 +    {What I'm trying to say, and what I've been trying to say for all this
  140.65 +time is...I love you, Sakura-chan. I always have, and I always will.}
  140.66 +
  140.67 +*Yeah, I know it's kind of strange,
  140.68 +But every time I'm near you,
  140.69 +I just run out of things to say.*
  140.70 +
  140.71 +    {It's so strange. I'm usually so cheerful and talkative around people,
  140.72 +and you've always been the shy one. Yet every time we're together, this shy,
  140.73 +awkward feeling comes over me and I get so...tongue-tied. I don't know what
  140.74 +to say...}
  140.75 +
  140.76 +*I know you'd understand.*
  140.77 +
  140.78 +    {So you'll probably understand what I'm saying...or at least I hope.}
  140.79 +
  140.80 +*Every time I tried to tell you
  140.81 +The words just came out wrong.
  140.82 +So I'll have to say I love you in a song.*
  140.83 +
  140.84 +    {People always say that it's better to confess something like this in
  140.85 +person. But since I obviously can't do that, I've got to tell you over the
  140.86 +phone. In this message. I just hope nobody else hears this before you do,
  140.87 +Sakura.}
  140.88 +
  140.89 +*(Guitar solo)*
  140.90 +
  140.91 +    {I can't believe it's come down to this, though...having to tell you my
  140.92 +true feelings in an answering machine message. Were the little messages I've
  140.93 +been sending for awhile not getting through? If that's the case...I'm not
  140.94 +surprised. I love you more than life itself, and I hate to say anything
  140.95 +negative about you...but you can be so dense sometimes, Sakura-chan. I know
  140.96 +you've got other important things to worry about, but still...*sigh* Maybe
  140.97 +it's my fault...maybe I'm being too subtle.
  140.98 +    And the sad thing is...even if you had been able to pick up on the hints,
  140.99 +I know you couldn't feel the same way towards me as I feel towards you. I
 140.100 +know you already have someone...I know you're slowly falling in love with
 140.101 +Syaoran. But that is okay. I want you to be happy above all else, and if he
 140.102 +makes you happy, then I hope you 2 get together. I want only the best for
 140.103 +you, Sakura-chan. You deserve it.}
 140.104 +
 140.105 +*Every time the time was right,
 140.106 +All the words just came out wrong.*
 140.107 +
 140.108 +    {*sigh* Even when the moment was just perfect, I always managed to
 140.109 +freeze...or he came by...sometimes I feel so frustrated. Why does something
 140.110 +that should be as simple as this have to be so hard to say? Why?}
 140.111 +
 140.112 +*So I'll have to say I love you in a song.*
 140.113 +
 140.114 +    {As long as you get this message, I'll be satisfied. I just hope...you
 140.115 +don't feel any differently towards me...}
 140.116 +
 140.117 +*Yeah, I know it's kind of late,
 140.118 +I hope I didn't wake you.*
 140.119 +
 140.120 +    {Again, if I woke you or your family, gomen nasai. I'll go
 140.121 +now...Goodnight, Sakura-chan. Sleep well. *voice breaks a little* I love you.
 140.122 +*hangs up*}
 140.123 +
 140.124 +*But there's something that I just got to say.
 140.125 +I know you'd understand.*
 140.126 +
 140.127 +    I sneak dowstairs to the answering machine. I could've sworn Tomoyo just
 140.128 +left me a message...but why? Could I just be imagining things? I walk to the
 140.129 +table where the machine rests, and the light is flashing. Someone did leave a
 140.130 +message. I press the "Play" button and listen.
 140.131 +
 140.132 +*Every time I tried to tell you
 140.133 +The words just came out wrong.
 140.134 +So I'll have to say I love you in a song.*
 140.135 +
 140.136 +    By the time the message is over, I can't even blink. Did I actually hear
 140.137 +this? Tomoyo loves me? I must be dreaming...I pinch myself just to be
 140.138 +sure...this seems so unreal.
 140.139 +    "Ow!" I wince. I'm not dreaming. And now I feel guilty, rather stupid,
 140.140 +and relieved. She does love me...
 140.141 +    I can't say that I was wishing the exact same thing the whole time. Until
 140.142 +recently, I only thought of her as my best friend. But lately, I'd been
 140.143 +noticing her in a different light...for the first time, I'm seeing just how
 140.144 +wonderful she really is...how beautiful she looks, especially in the
 140.145 +moonlight on a clear, starry night. And just how much she means to me. But
 140.146 +I've also had feelings for Syaoran, so I was confused.
 140.147 +    'Not anymore,' I think. Quietly, I go back up to my room. I slip on my
 140.148 +shoes and jacket, then open the window and climb out. For a minute I consider
 140.149 +using the power of the Clow cards and flying to her house, but decide not to.
 140.150 +It'd be too risky. Shivering, I quickly walk to Tomoyo's house.
 140.151 +
 140.152 +    Standing outside, I gaze into her window. It's dark, and the blinds are
 140.153 +drawn almost all the way. She's probably asleep...I consider going back and
 140.154 +just leaving her a message. 'No,' I tell myself. 'You owe it to both her and
 140.155 +yourself to tell her in person.' I sigh, then pick up a tiny pebble and throw
 140.156 +it up at her window, hoping not to wake her mother or her bodyguards. As I
 140.157 +see her get out of bed and walk to the window, I feel my heart pounding in my
 140.158 +chest. 'Please understand, Tomoyo-chan,' I pray.
 140.159 +    "Sakura-chan?" she yawns, rubbing her eyes and looking very surprised to
 140.160 +see me. "Hi...can I talk to you?" I ask shyly. She nods, tossing a rope out
 140.161 +the window. I climb up as fast as I can, then practically fall into the room,
 140.162 +shivering.
 140.163 +    "You must be freezing," she says sympathetically, and wraps a blanket
 140.164 +around my shoulders. "Thanks," I whisper. She smiles. "No problem," she says,
 140.165 +settling down next to me on the bed. The next few minutes are silent.
 140.166 +    "What did you want to talk to me about?" she asks. I take a deep breath,
 140.167 +then look at her. "I got your message." She blushes, and almost looks
 140.168 +panicked.
 140.169 +    "You did?" she nearly cries out. I nod. "I see..." She looks down.
 140.170 +    "And?"
 140.171 +    "And...now I understand. And I'm very sorry for not seeing it
 140.172 +before...for not picking up on your hints, and for not realizing I felt the
 140.173 +same way." She blinks.
 140.174 +    "You mean...?" I nod. My heart beats faster, and I can barely get the
 140.175 +words out. But somehow, I manage.
 140.176 +    "Aishiteru, Tomoyo-chan," I whispered. For a minute, she doesn't answer.
 140.177 +Then she turns to me, her eyes shiny and that beautiful smile spreading
 140.178 +across her face.
 140.179 +    "Sakura-chan..." she whispers. Several tears of joy run down her cheeks.
 140.180 +I reach up and gently brush them away with my fingertips, then take her in my
 140.181 +arms. "I-I just can't believe this...I never thought you could feel the same
 140.182 +way," she chokes. I look into her eyes, my own sparkling with happiness.
 140.183 +    "I only wish I'd known my own feelings sooner," I whisper. She smiles and
 140.184 +snuggles closer.
 140.185 +    "It's okay. I'm just happy I finally told you," she sighs. "I love you so
 140.186 +much...finding out you feel the same way is just...more than I ever dreamed
 140.187 +possible." Then she looked a little concerned. "What about Syaoran?" she
 140.188 +asked.
 140.189 +    "He's just a good friend. I thought I loved him, but it was only a
 140.190 +schoolgirl crush," I told her. We gaze into each other's eyes. She wraps her
 140.191 +arms around my chest, looking deliriously happy.
 140.192 +    "I love you, Sakura-chan," she whispers.
 140.193 +    "And I love you." I lean my head in slightly, as does she. Our eyes
 140.194 +close, and our lips slowly meet.
 140.195 +
 140.196 +                ~End~
 140.197 +
 140.198 +    Wow, that was a bit longer than I expected! ^^ But it was pretty damn fun
 140.199 +to write. Sakura and Tomoyo are just too cute. ^-^
 140.200 +Well, that's all for now. I dunno when I'll actually write my next CCS fic,
 140.201 +but I hope I can soon. ^^
 140.202 +    Till then, ja ne! ^_^
 140.203 \ No newline at end of file

   141.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   141.2 +++ b/stories/The-End.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   141.3 @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
   141.4 +Hello everyone! ^-^ This is a weird poem-like thing from 
   141.5 +Tomoyo's point of view. It's kind of depressing, but I 
   141.6 +was crying when I wrote it, so that's part of the reason.
   141.7 +Anyway, I hope you like it. ^-^ Please tell me what you
   141.8 +think! 
   141.9 +
  141.10 +
  141.11 +The End
  141.12 +By Amazoness Duo
  141.13 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  141.14 +
  141.15 +
  141.16 +Once again, its time for things to come to a close.
  141.17 +This chapter is over, life moves on to the next.
  141.18 +I will never forget you, no matter the pages till the end.
  141.19 +We will always have this dream, no matter the roads ahead.
  141.20 +
  141.21 +If that's the case, why I can't I bring myself to close this?
  141.22 +Why can't I agree that this time and place can now rest?
  141.23 +Through tear stained eyes, I shake my head,
  141.24 +Unwilling to say goodbye.
  141.25 +This may be the finale, our last duet,
  141.26 +But please let me pretend a last time that this is when we first 
  141.27 +met once more. 
  141.28 +
  141.29 +There's so much I would tell you, so much I wish to show you in an 
  141.30 +outpouring of my heart. 
  141.31 +But I'm too choked up with tears to utter a word. 
  141.32 +No goodbye greets your sad eyes as you turn to leave.
  141.33 +I will forever regret that, I know now. 
  141.34 +If only...
  141.35 +
  141.36 +I'm being torn in two, ripped in half.
  141.37 +This can't be the way things are meant to be.
  141.38 +How can I lose my other half now?
  141.39 +The missing piece of my soul, you complete me.
  141.40 +You're my better self.
  141.41 +But why must I be left alone weeping? Broken and half complete?
  141.42 +
  141.43 +The cold courses through my body now,
  141.44 +As I watch your receding form.
  141.45 +Now I am truly alone once again.
  141.46 +I wonder if perhaps I was the dream, destined to be forgotten as such.
  141.47 +Or am I the dreamer? 
  141.48 +Blessed with you as a beautiful dream.
  141.49 +Cursed to have that pulled from my grasp.
  141.50 +
  141.51 +I stand paralyzed with fear. 
  141.52 +Both for the new future and for the death of our cherished time together.
  141.53 +Why can't we stay this way forever? 
  141.54 +You don't have to go. 
  141.55 +You and me, together we'll pretend that our melodies have first crossed
  141.56 +paths all over again. 
  141.57 +
  141.58 +Through my tears, I see your face.
  141.59 +Why do you tease me?
  141.60 +My lonely heart screams out silently, wishing you were near.
  141.61 +I'd strangle you for leaving, kiss you for being there by my side again.
  141.62 +Sparkles of my tears, no, my shattered dream trickle to the floor,
  141.63 +A crystaline pool of blood as my dream lay dying. 
  141.64 +Why must the dreamer awake? 
  141.65 +Just one more minute is all I ask.
  141.66 +One more minute with you...
  141.67 \ No newline at end of file

   142.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   142.2 +++ b/stories/TomoyoVideoDiary4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   142.3 @@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
   142.4 +Tomoyo Video Diary 4
   142.5 +By G. P.
   142.6 +
   142.7 +This is a sequel to the bonus videos released with the Japanese CCS
   142.8 +DVD seasons. The first explains how the entire Card Captor Sakura
   142.9 +series was a creation and production by Tomoyo, who used her footage
  142.10 +of the real Sakura for individual episodes.
  142.11 +
  142.12 +Please send any comments, questions, and observations to:
  142.13 +Treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
  142.14 +
  142.15 +
  142.16 +
  142.17 +Sakura lay thinking in bed, covered by a fluffy down quilt. Unable
  142.18 +to keep her thoughts to herself, the girl whispered softly, "Tomoyo-
  142.19 +chan, are you awake?"
  142.20 +
  142.21 +"Hai, Sakura-chan," came the sweet and melodious reply. 
  142.22 +
  142.23 +Sakura hesitated a minute, and then asked tentatively, "Tomoyo-chan,
  142.24 +um, can I ask you something?"
  142.25 +
  142.26 +"Sakura-chan can ask me anything she likes," the cheery voice
  142.27 +answered.
  142.28 +
  142.29 +Sakura rolled over, and saw the dark-haired girl lying on her side,
  142.30 +gazing at her with starry eyes. She blushed, as she always did when
  142.31 +the girl regarded her with such overwhelming adoration. She tried to
  142.32 +calm down and compose her thoughts, but only when she looked away
  142.33 +could she continue,
  142.34 +
  142.35 +"Tomoyo-chan, why did you do your series the way you did? I mean,
  142.36 +why did you end Card Captor Sakura like that?"
  142.37 +
  142.38 +The voice that replied seemed genuinely puzzled, "Like what, Sakura-
  142.39 +chan? I'm sorry, I don't believe I understand."
  142.40 +
  142.41 +Sakura looked at the radiant girl, clad in a charmingly lacey pink
  142.42 +and green nightgown. This didn't help her concentration at all, and
  142.43 +she spoke in a halting voice, 
  142.44 +
  142.45 +"I mean, why did you have me end up with Li-kun like that? The last
  142.46 +picture of the manga looked like I was just falling into his arms or
  142.47 +something. Or more like I tripped and fell. I know I'm sort of clumsy
  142.48 +sometimes, but why Li-kun?"
  142.49 +
  142.50 +Tomoyo smiled brightly as she answered, "Because you looked so cute
  142.51 +together."
  142.52 +
  142.53 +"Cute? He's practically scowling in every picture we're in. I think
  142.54 +he liked posing even less than I did. Even I can see we'd be a
  142.55 +terrible couple. He's always grumpy, doesn't like to talk, and when
  142.56 +he does it's just to complain about something. Oh, that would have
  142.57 +been a great marriage!” Sakura was wound up and spoke excitedly,  “I
  142.58 +can see it now: I've spent the whole day fixing up the house,
  142.59 +preparing a lovely dinner, and I'm wearing my prettiest dress for him
  142.60 +when comes in, plops into a chair, turns on the TV, and yells out,
  142.61 +'Beer-u!'"
  142.62 +
  142.63 +Tomoyo giggled, covering her mouth daintily with a slender hand.
  142.64 +With undimmed enthusiasm she replied, "But it was a maho shoujo
  142.65 +story. I had to have a happy ending for my pretty Cardmistress."
  142.66 +
  142.67 +Sakura stared in disbelief, "Happy ending? What kind of happy ending
  142.68 +was that? What's happy about me being stuck with Li-kun? At least you
  142.69 +could have given me Yukito-san." At that, Sakura's cheek colored
  142.70 +crimson, which brightened Tomoyo's ever-present smile even more.
  142.71 +Tomoyo suddenly looked thoughtful, as if reviewing a complex
  142.72 +mathematical equation,
  142.73 +
  142.74 +"But then poor Touya would have been all alone. And he worked so
  142.75 +hard at all those jobs, and he really was a wonderful brother, even
  142.76 +if he did tease my precious Sakura-chan sometimes."
  142.77 +
  142.78 +Sakura's fist shook in helpless rage and a vein popped on her
  142.79 +forehead as she recalled the sweet memories of childhood, "Sometimes?
  142.80 +Grrrrrrr. All my life it was, 'Hey, monster. What are you doing,
  142.81 +monster? Did you ruin supper again, monster?'” Calming down a bit she
  142.82 +asked, “Well, why not Mizuki-sensei? Why didn't he end up with her?"
  142.83 +
  142.84 +She was aware of Tomoyo's giggling again as her blood pressure
  142.85 +gradually returned to normal. The pale girl smiled again and replied,
  142.86 +
  142.87 +"But what about poor Eriol-kun? He'd been waiting for a special
  142.88 +someone for hundreds of years. It just seemed too sad to leave him
  142.89 +all alone at the end." 
  142.90 +
  142.91 +Sakura thought about this in silence. Eriol-kun was far too
  142.92 +manipulative for her liking, but she couldn't argue with Tomoyo's
  142.93 +sense of the dramatic. In a rueful voice she noted,
  142.94 +
  142.95 +"Well, at least Mizuki-sensei was closer to his age. Not like those
  142.96 +awful doujinshi you showed me."
  142.97 +
  142.98 +Tomoyo laughed out loud at the disapproval in the genki girl's
  142.99 +voice. In a bubbly tone she asked innocently,  "You don't believe he
 142.100 +and I made a good couple? We are both dark-haired and pale, so we
 142.101 +looked very nice together, don't you think?"
 142.102 +
 142.103 +Sakura practically exploded, "Tomoyo-chan, it was awful! You and
 142.104 +Eriol would be horrible together. The whole idea is just, just
 142.105 +stupid. What kind of crazy people write those things, anyway?"
 142.106 +
 142.107 +Tomoyo looked thoughtful again as she spoke in her musical voice, "I
 142.108 +suppose you're right. I mean, we are both sort of eccentric, but I
 142.109 +don't guess I have a thing for older men. Especially when they are
 142.110 +really, really, really, older." At this Tomoyo burst out in a fresh
 142.111 +gale of giggling, and Sakura restrained the urge to toss a pillow her
 142.112 +way. She also realized how gloriously happy the girl's laughter made
 142.113 +her feel. 
 142.114 +
 142.115 +"I don't remember you having much of a thing for really, really
 142.116 +young men, either," Sakura teased. She looked at those breathtaking
 142.117 +azure eyes that regarded her now with such love and affection.
 142.118 +Suddenly, the auburn-haired girl turned serious as she spoke,
 142.119 +
 142.120 +"Besides, what kind of happy ending is it when Tomoyo-chan is all
 142.121 +alone? It's like you just faded away, and I never even knew. I was
 142.122 +crying at the end. I didn't like it. I would never let that happen.
 142.123 +Never."
 142.124 +
 142.125 +Tomoyo reached out and softly caressed the satin-smooth cheek of the
 142.126 +girl beside her. Her fingers played with the silky, cinnamon hair
 142.127 +that sparkled in the glow of their little Kero-chan nightlight. She
 142.128 +saw the tears, more precious than diamonds, glittering at the corners
 142.129 +of those wide, emerald eyes. Tomoyo's voice was sweetly reassuring,
 142.130 +like a mother comforting a child awakening from a bad dream,
 142.131 +
 142.132 +"I'd never want to make my Sakura-chan sad. I'm so sorry if I did.
 142.133 +But stories should be like that, don't you think? Happy-sad, I mean.
 142.134 +Otherwise it just doesn't seem right. Besides, I did get a happy
 142.135 +ending. I have Sakura-chan, who makes me happier than anything else
 142.136 +in the whole world."
 142.137 +
 142.138 +Sakura smiled through her tears, and felt a breathless rush as the
 142.139 +pale girl leaned towards her. The lavender hair fell in a scented
 142.140 +cascade, like a waterfall of petals that tickled her bare shoulders. 
 142.141 +Sakura closed her eyes, her heart throbbing wildly. After an
 142.142 +exquisitely long pause, she felt the brush of those feathery soft
 142.143 +lips. She trembled as Tomoyo kissed her, a slow, voluptuous kiss that
 142.144 +sweetly shook her heart and aroused her awakening senses. She opened
 142.145 +her eyes and saw the luminous face above her, lips glistening wetly.
 142.146 +In a tremulous voice she whispered,
 142.147 +
 142.148 +“As long as you have a happy ending , too. Then it’s all right.”
 142.149 +
 142.150 +Tomoyo gazed silently at the lithesome form below her, and murmured
 142.151 +liltingly, “Kisses always make for a happy ending. And happy
 142.152 +beginnings, too.”
 142.153 +
 142.154 +With that, she fell into the gentle arms of her beloved Sakura-chan.
 142.155 + 
 142.156 +
 142.157 +
 142.158 +

   143.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   143.2 +++ b/stories/Zero-X.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   143.3 @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
   143.4 +AmazonessDuo
   143.5 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   143.6 +
   143.7 +Silence reigned as the two men looked at each other from across the devastated landscape. This was the hardest battle of their lives not because of the sheer desperation of the battle, but because neither wanted to fight the other. The former comrades said nothing for a long moment, both trying to decide just what the other might do next. X was the first to speak, taking a step forward,his weary body protesting. "Zero, why are we doing this? What can we hope to achieve by fighting each other." A slight pause as he looks across at his old companion. "Zero, come back to me..."
   143.8 +
   143.9 +The blonde robot shook his head, his Z-saber still held menacingly in front of him. "Don't you see, X? It's a viscious cycle. The pain and destruction will only last as long as we do. How many more friends do we have to lose? How many more people have to die for us, X?" 'Iris...' The smiling image of the beautiful girl flashes through his mind, deepening the pain within him. 
  143.10 +
  143.11 +"Zero, we can't bring them back, but we can't just give up on them. We can't make their sacrifices in vain. You gave me the chance to stop Sigma when you sacrificed yourself to keep Vile from killing me. Should I just have given up?" X is practically pleading now, taking a few more steps forward. Zero obviously notices, slashing at him. X takes a quick step to the side but still feels the burning in his side where the saber nearly cerrated him. 
  143.12 +
  143.13 +"You don't understand, do you? As long as we keep fighting, our struggle will continue. This endless war will never be resolved until you and I are dead and gone. How long must our fighting continue, X? You never wanted to fight in the first place." Zero continues to stare at his counterpart, the one he'd been created to kill. "Why did you choose to fight?"
  143.14 +
  143.15 +X flashes back to when he'd first made that decision, back when Sigma had declared war on the humans. Why had he decided to? Dr. Light had said himself that X could choose his own future. "Because I couldn't let all those people suffer. Because I couldn't stand back while it was all happening. Because I wanted to fight with you. I couldn't let you go on your own agaisnt those odds, Zero. Maybe it was just the two of us, but I knew that it was enough."
  143.16 +
  143.17 +Zero manages to laugh a little. "The two of us against the world, eh?" His expression becomes serious after a moment. "You never wanted to fight, X. You shouldn't have to. You're soul isn't that of a warrior. All you want is peace. But it'll never come as long as we live!" Another few slashes from his Z-Saber just miss the dodging blue armored robot. 
  143.18 +
  143.19 +"Zero!" X finally jumps back, barely missing getting slashed in two. "I don't want to fight, but if I don't, who will? I can't sit back and do nothing."
  143.20 +
  143.21 +Zero nods. "Exactly. But you can't keep fighting either. X, we're both at an impasse. If we continue, the fighting will never end. If we go back to the way things were, so many more will have to die because of us. We can end the cycle now. We can stop all the death and pain."
  143.22 +
  143.23 +X's shoulders slumped as he heard his crimson friend's words. "Zero, you're wrong. Giving up... killing each other, that won't solve anything. It won't stop the Mavericks or Sigma or anyone." 
  143.24 +
  143.25 +Zero merely shook his head sadly as he took a step forward himself, the cracking ground echoing through the surrounding area. "I'm sorry, X."
  143.26 +
  143.27 +X closed his eyes, trying to keep his composure from slipping as it was so danerously close to doing. "Me too. Goodbye, Zero." He raised his X-Buster at his partner.
  143.28 +
  143.29 +"Goodbye, X." Zero lifted his Z-Saber as he prepared to lunge forward.
  143.30 \ No newline at end of file

   144.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   144.2 +++ b/stories/ad_story_list.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   144.3 @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
   144.4 +Hello! ^-^ I've gotten a few requests recently for a listing of my stories
   144.5 +so I finally decided to post it up. ^-^ Hopefully things will be less 
   144.6 +confusing now as to what story goes where. ^^;; 
   144.7 +
   144.8 +Heather
   144.9 +The head writer of Amazoness Duo
  144.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  144.11 +
  144.12 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon
  144.13 +
  144.14 +Surprises -never- happened and never existed (its just a bad hallucination).
  144.15 +I Love You, Hotaru doesn't really count either.
  144.16 +
  144.17 +Aishiteru, ChibiUsa
  144.18 +Missed Chances
  144.19 +Twas' the Night Before Christmas
  144.20 +Moonlit Nights Part 1
  144.21 +Moonlit Nights Part 2
  144.22 +Moonlit Nights Part 3 (Illusions)
  144.23 +A Beach Story
  144.24 +Sudden Glimpse
  144.25 +Revelations
  144.26 +Behind the Scenes
  144.27 +Family Ties
  144.28 +Lovers and Dreamers
  144.29 +Tears and Rain
  144.30 +
  144.31 +And then Choices isn't part of the normal series. ^-^ They're all chronological 
  144.32 +in where they take place if you don't count most of Sudden Glimpse taking place 
  144.33 +in the future. ^-^
  144.34 +
  144.35 +Farewell is an alternate version of events on ChibiUsa's birthday. ^-^
  144.36 +
  144.37 +Melodies of Life is another fic that doesn't really fit in with the chronology
  144.38 +of the others. ^-^;; It's set in an alternate future.
  144.39 +
  144.40 +Secret of the Sexy Slippers part 3 took place near Missed Chances, but it 
  144.41 +doesn't really fit chronology either.
  144.42 +
  144.43 +Shattered Mirror does fit, but only because there's nothing to contradict
  144.44 +the bulk of the series. ^-^;; It actually takes place during S, so it is
  144.45 +my earliest story as far as the time frame goes.
  144.46 +
  144.47 +Trapeze Act is another side story like Shattered Mirror. It more or less fits 
  144.48 +with the series, but I'm not really sure how happy I am with how it turned out.
  144.49 +
  144.50 +Cardcaptor Sakura:
  144.51 +
  144.52 +Candid Camera
  144.53 +Fallen Horses
  144.54 +Dreams Part 1
  144.55 +The Jealousy Card
  144.56 +The End
  144.57 +Sleeping Beauty
  144.58 +Love Lies Bleeding
  144.59 +Where Did You Go?
  144.60 +
  144.61 +I think this is more or less the order the stories were written in. ^-^;; As 
  144.62 +far as a timeline for them goes, none of them really take place together. If 
  144.63 +anything, I might say that Fallen Horses happened and then a few years later 
  144.64 +Candid Camera and finally Dreams (which will be a series if I can ever start 
  144.65 +part 2). ^-^;; 
  144.66 +
  144.67 +Pretty Sammy:
  144.68 +
  144.69 +A Pretty Sammy Story
  144.70 +Love Lies Bleeding (a different story than the CCS version)
  144.71 +
  144.72 +This is in the order they were written, too, because neither really fits
  144.73 +the other. ^^
  144.74 +
  144.75 +RockmanX:
  144.76 +ZeroxRockmanX
  144.77 +Fate in Haze
  144.78 +
  144.79 +The first is just a short scene I wrote down and the other's a full story. 
  144.80 +^-^ I'd wanted to drag it out more, but I didn't know where to go with it. ^^;;
  144.81 +My first yaoi story. ^-^
  144.82 +
  144.83 +St. Tail:
  144.84 +I'm just finishing my first story about Seira & Meimi. ^-^ Hopefully it'll
  144.85 +be done soon. ^-^ They're just so perfect for each other. ^,^ 
  144.86 +
  144.87 +
  144.88 +Well, I think that's just about everything. ^-^ All of the characters are
  144.89 +copyright their original creators and companies they belong to, but all 
  144.90 +the ideas and situations thereof are copyright of the Amazoness Duo. I'd
  144.91 +like to thank everyone who's helped in the creation of these stories over
  144.92 +the years and wish you all the best of luck. ^-^ Thanks again!

   145.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   145.2 +++ b/stories/again.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   145.3 @@ -0,0 +1,320 @@
   145.4 +Until We Meet Again.
   145.5 +
   145.6 +
   145.7 +Hello! Alright, first and foremost, I hate all those terrible echhi fanfics 
   145.8 +about Chibi-Usa and Hotaru. (Fortunately, there aren't many!) I felt like 
   145.9 +cleaning up the whole Chibi-Usa-Hotaru deal in my own way, and what I think 
  145.10 +they will be. I was inspired, alright?! Comments are appreciated, as I have 
  145.11 +stated in many varied terms before. Questions too!
  145.12 +
  145.13 +All rights to Sailor Moon all all affiliated characcters belong to: Naoko 
  145.14 +Takeuchi, Kondansha comics and Toei Animation. (To my knowledge.)
  145.15 +
  145.16 +This fanfic was written by Hotaru/Amber.
  145.17 +
  145.18 +E-mail at: tomoechan@hotmail.com
  145.19 +
  145.20 +
  145.21 +Until We Meet Again.
  145.22 +
  145.23 +
  145.24 +        "Small Lady Serenity, the time has come for me to leave this planet," 
  145.25 +Saturn said, looking eye-to-eye with the princess.
  145.26 +        "Hotaru-chan..." Small Lady's eyes were brimming with tears. Ever since 
  145.27 +she had returned from the Tokyo of the past, become friends with Saturn, she 
  145.28 +had realised that the senshi of destruction never remained on a planet other 
  145.29 +than her own for a long time. Not to mention, she had been on earth when 
  145.30 +Galaxia had attacked. If Hotaru had been dormant on Saturn, she may have been 
  145.31 +able to destroy earth before Galaxia stole her sailor crystal.
  145.32 +        "Princess Small Lady Serenity, the world will go on without me!" Saturn 
  145.33 +smiled, her eyes filled with tears too. Her comment had been kind of redundant.
  145.34 +        "But...but...Hotaru-chan!!!" The pink haired princess began crying and 
  145.35 +hugged the sailor senshi before her. "It's...it's only one week!!! Couldn't you 
  145.36 +wait just one week?"
  145.37 +        "No, my Princess. I will be there in spirit, always."
  145.38 +        "I was looking forward to seeing you there..."
  145.39 +        "Your coronation will be beautiful, Chibi-Usa. Just like you, I promise." 
  145.40 +The two looked in each others eyes, and Small Lady stepped back quietly. Saturn 
  145.41 +summoned the Glaive and disappeared in a flash of violet light. 
  145.42 +"Farewell....Small Lady..." Her voice lingered behind in Small Lady's heart 
  145.43 +long after the figure of her friend had faded into a dreamless oblivion.
  145.44 +
  145.45 +
  145.46 +A Week Later,
  145.47 +
  145.48 +
  145.49 +        "On this most important day, I hand my crown down to Lady Serenity, next 
  145.50 +in line of the noble blood of the Silver Millennium, which has rised like the 
  145.51 +phoenix from its ashes on the Moon to begin once more on the planet of Earth," 
  145.52 +Neo-Queen Serenity said as she took her crown off her head, "And so forth, each 
  145.53 +planet in the Millennium gives alliance to our new Queen, so that the strengths 
  145.54 +and weaknesses, the gifts and the burdens, can be shared through our peace," 
  145.55 +Each senshi of the Old Court stood up. The blue haired Queen was first.
  145.56 +        "On behalf of the planet of Knowledge and Water, Mercury, I assign my 
  145.57 +world to the allegiance of the Earth and Moon." 
  145.58 +
  145.59 +Behind her, the black haired Queen of fire walked up and made her royal 
  145.60 +proclamation.
  145.61 +        "On behalf of the planet of War and Fire, Mars, I assign my world to the 
  145.62 +allegiance of the Earth and Moon."
  145.63 +
  145.64 +The next Queen, standing regally in her long green dress,
  145.65 +        "On behalf of the planet of Protection and Thunder, Jupiter, I assign my 
  145.66 +world to the allegiance of the Earth and Moon."
  145.67 +
  145.68 +Finally, the leader of the Inner Senshi made her decree,
  145.69 +        "On behalf of the planet of Love and Gold, Venus, and as leader of the 
  145.70 +Inner Senshi, I assign my world to the allegiance of the Earth and Moon."
  145.71 +
  145.72 +The next three Queens stood taller than those that came before, each with a 
  145.73 +degree of severity unmatched in the age. The first came forward and bowed 
  145.74 +before the new queen.
  145.75 +        "On behalf of the planet of Flight and Sky, Uranus, I assign my world to 
  145.76 +the allegiance of the Earth and Moon."
  145.77 +
  145.78 +The second, in her aqua-green dress, hair trailing behind her in waves, made a 
  145.79 +slow curtsy to the new queen, and held hands with the first.
  145.80 +        "On behalf of the planet of Embrace and Ocean, Neptune, I assign my world 
  145.81 +to the allegiance of the Earth and Moon."
  145.82 +
  145.83 +Finally, came forth the last senshi. Dark green hair swirled around her, giving 
  145.84 +her an aura of mystery. Her black dress trailed behind her, covering the carpet 
  145.85 +placed out for the royals to walk on like a shadow from the skies. Her garnet 
  145.86 +eyes stared into the queens own.
  145.87 +        "On behalf of the planet of Reformation, Time, and Earth, Pluto, and as 
  145.88 +acting leader of the Outer Senshi, and as last planet in this solar system, I 
  145.89 +assign my world to the allegiance of the Earth and Moon." The old queen nodded 
  145.90 +to each of them as they made a circle around the new queen and bowed. The queen 
  145.91 +finally rose the crown above her head.
  145.92 +        "These Seven planets, Earth and Moon, make our Millennium. Rise to hail 
  145.93 +the new queen! I present to you, Second Queen of Crystal Tokyo, Queen Lady 
  145.94 +Serenity!" All the court rose and cheered. Serenity was now to make her first 
  145.95 +royal decree.
  145.96 +        "Each of these planets are at peace with us as so declared today in the 
  145.97 +Crystal palace. Any member of Earth has a right to be on these planets to newly 
  145.98 +populate them. Only the Silent planet, Saturn, is outside the Millennium, and 
  145.99 +not to be touched. Now, let peace live forever!" The queen stood triumphantly 
 145.100 +as cheers rose again. Her prince bowed once to her, and the two set off to the 
 145.101 +throne room. She was disappointed that Hotaru had not decided to join the 
 145.102 +Millennium. No one had been able to contact her, and she hoped that her decree 
 145.103 +would help keep things that way. It would be her friends wish.
 145.104 +
 145.105 +
 145.106 +Two Years Later,
 145.107 +
 145.108 +        "Helios..." Queen Lady Serenity looked deep into the blue eyes of her 
 145.109 +prince. Today, today, thousands of years after they met, they would finally be 
 145.110 +wed. The Asteroid senshi each were her bridesmaids, the original senshi in the 
 145.111 +front row with her mother. Pallas had insisted on daisies with the roses, and 
 145.112 +had made each senshi carry a small bunch of them. Vesta had argued long 
 145.113 +afterwards, but Juno had said that the daisies were a nice contrast to the 
 145.114 +Queen's red roses. Ceres had even gone to the trouble of making Vesta leave her 
 145.115 +whip on a nearby table, so she could get it if she needed it, but wouldn't look 
 145.116 +like a complete fool carrying it in the middle of a wedding ceremony. the four 
 145.117 +had quarrelled for hours, but Queen Lady Serenity ignored them all, her 
 145.118 +thoughts only to her and her prince finally being together, forever. Her father 
 145.119 +had walked her down the aisle. In her hands, she carried the bouquet of red 
 145.120 +roses, grown especially for her wedding by her father. She knew she must look 
 145.121 +beautiful, her white gown shining, her odangos trailing behind her, pink and 
 145.122 +airy. Her veil was almost transparent, and her golden moon ensigna was glowing. 
 145.123 +Helios' earth symbol had begun giving off a soft glow as well. The priest 
 145.124 +coughed
 145.125 +        "And in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish," He conituned, 
 145.126 +but Helios and Serenity didn't seemed to hear him. When he stopped, Helios 
 145.127 +said,
 145.128 +        "I do. I have always,"
 145.129 +        "And do you, Queen Lady Serenity, take this man, to be..." his voice 
 145.130 +continued. Now, both the bride and grooms' eyes were filled with soft tears.
 145.131 +        "I do." Serenity said.
 145.132 +        "Then I now pronounce you," He didn't finish, as Serenity kissed Helios 
 145.133 +passionatly on the lips. The entire court of Queen Lady Serenity stood and 
 145.134 +applauded. (Along with a few hollers and whistles, too.) The old queen gave the 
 145.135 +woman she would always think of as Small Lady a quick embrace, as did her 
 145.136 +father, resplendant in his lavender tuxedo. Helios bowed befor the pair, and he 
 145.137 +and his new wife ran down the aisle. The original senshi through daisies at 
 145.138 +them, filling the air with white petals. The Queen looked back for only a 
 145.139 +moment, searching for the one person who had not come, wishing on the heart of 
 145.140 +a wish that the familiar purple eyes would look back at her, but the only hue 
 145.141 +of purple was the lavender of her fathers tuxedo. The Queen looked at her 
 145.142 +husband again and smiled. This was the life she had chosen, and she should not 
 145.143 +regret it.
 145.144 +        "Goodbye, Hotaru...my friend."
 145.145 +
 145.146 +
 145.147 +Five Hundred Years into the Future,
 145.148 +
 145.149 +        Time passed into the waves of time, and the forces of Chaos rose once 
 145.150 +more from the hearts of darkness in the seas of beginning. Earth became the 
 145.151 +battle field, the final war for the blue planet had begun.
 145.152 +
 145.153 +        The earth ravaged with darkness under the attacks. Cosmos had led the 
 145.154 +army, and had finally fallen. Her staff shone brightly over her head, still 
 145.155 +giving her strength.
 145.156 +        "We fight on! Chaos will not have this world!!!" The black storms sliced 
 145.157 +through the fallen forests, the crumbling mountains. Grey stone flew through 
 145.158 +the air and black lightning crackled over head. All that could be seen of their 
 145.159 +mysterious enemy was the black rolling clouds, sometimes a set of red eyes 
 145.160 +appearing from the mists, only to reappear miles away a minute later. Laughter 
 145.161 +boomed above them, but Cosmos fought on, her planet staff glowing brightly in 
 145.162 +her hands. In minutes, the entire army but Sailor Cosmos was broguth to its 
 145.163 +knees. The storm flew past, now moving towards the crystal palace.
 145.164 +
 145.165 +        Inside, the queen sat on her throne, breathing heavily. Her odangos 
 145.166 +trailed behind the throne, somehow looking as exhausted and weary as her. Her 
 145.167 +husband had died in the first battle, and now she was alone. Alone, by the 
 145.168 +final battles of her home, planet and kingdom. Cosmos, some vague power, a 
 145.169 +ghost of what had once been her mother, led the armies with such bravery and 
 145.170 +fierce determination that she had to wonder if the stories of Cosmos' origins 
 145.171 +were true. She had heard of her from the Asteroids, gaurenteeing peace for a 
 145.172 +thousand years, until Chaos was reborn. Now Chaos and Cosmos were at eternal 
 145.173 +war, nothing seeming capable of defeating either. Queen Lady Serenity stood up 
 145.174 +and walked to a glass case, in which, embedded in stone by the tip of its 
 145.175 +blade, was a sword. It had not been used for nearly two thousand years, but 
 145.176 +Venus and Neo-Queen Serenity had made sure to keep it safe. On the sword were 
 145.177 +the powers and words to encase evil, and good, in a seal. As the Queen of 
 145.178 +Crystal Tokyo, she had the right and power to use it. Venus had lead the first 
 145.179 +line of battle, the leader of the Outer senshi long since having faded into the 
 145.180 +memories of her past. The gold senzshi had raised the blade in defiance against 
 145.181 +Chaos, glowing with energy. Each senshi had fallen, until the soldier of love 
 145.182 +had been the only one left standing, protected by the enchanted blade. She had 
 145.183 +lunged against Chaos, her golden enrgy shattering it only for a moment before 
 145.184 +the darkness had consumed her. She closed her eyes, and as she cried, the 
 145.185 +ginzhuishou reformed for her. Glowing from her tears, it sparkled silver before 
 145.186 +her. She must win this battle. The soldiers sacrifices would not be in vain. 
 145.187 +She lifted the case, the ginzhuishou glowing beside her. She would have to seal 
 145.188 +Cosmos and Chaos to properly seal it. The sword glowed orange for a moment, a 
 145.189 +glowing reminder of the senshi who had taken out half of Chaos' forces in a 
 145.190 +glow of golden light before being struck down, dead, by that monstrosity. The 
 145.191 +sword pulled easily from the stone, and was lighter than she had expected. She 
 145.192 +held the blade in her right hand, the silver crystal in her left, and she 
 145.193 +filled the palace with power.
 145.194 +
 145.195 +        Outside, The last of the armies were incinerated in the black blast. 
 145.196 +Cosmos finally stood squared to Chaos.
 145.197 +        "You cannot defeat me, Chaos!"
 145.198 +        "Nor you me..." it said in its deep voice. Cosmos began to glow a fierce 
 145.199 +white light, born of the cleansing forces of good, and Chaos mimiced the same, 
 145.200 +in the forces of darkness.
 145.201 +        "We shall end this battle here..."
 145.202 +        "So you are the last player in this game...I thought as such." The two 
 145.203 +locked, blue eye for red eye. Suddenly, a great shattering noise came from 
 145.204 +behind them.
 145.205 +        "What?" Said Cosmos. The crystal palace had begun radiating strams of 
 145.206 +light, faster and faster till the glass like shards filled the air. Both Cosmos 
 145.207 +and Chaos protected themselves from the flying daggers.
 145.208 +        "Who is there..." asked Chaos.  A single pillar of crystal rose from the 
 145.209 +center of what had once been the palace, and on it stood the Queen. She raised 
 145.210 +her sword and pointed it at Chaos.
 145.211 +        "You shall not rule this world!" Shouted a voice, standing in the rubble 
 145.212 +of what had once been the pintacle of Tokyo.
 145.213 +        "I belive that I will," Queen Serenity's eyes began glowing, and she rose 
 145.214 +the sword above her head. The ginzhuishou embedded itself into the hilt. 
 145.215 +        "Cosmos! Give me your power!!!" The crystal shone, and the blade of the 
 145.216 +sword filled with light. Beams of light began falling from the sky, slowly at 
 145.217 +first, until light fell in waterfalls. Cosmos' aura had expanded, all the 
 145.218 +energy being sucked into the ginzhuishou. Each ray of light sliced at Chaos... 
 145.219 +Like a thousand shooting stars, Serenity thought, to punish this evil. "For 
 145.220 +love and Justice, and on behalf of the Moon, Chaos, and for my kingdom, I will 
 145.221 +punish you!!!" The sword filled with light, and the sky grew brighter in a 
 145.222 +final display of dazziling light. Her power spent, Serenity fell to the ground, 
 145.223 +the sword clattering beside her, falling slowly, until it shattered against the 
 145.224 +now blackened earth.
 145.225 +
 145.226 +
 145.227 +        "Small Lady....Small Lady..." A voice came from above her. I have not 
 145.228 +been called that in years...she thought to herself. The voice continued, 
 145.229 +changing tones... "Queen. Awaken. There is work to be done, and choices to be 
 145.230 +made." Serenity grogilly got up and looked at the figure before her. Tired, her 
 145.231 +head hung low, she could still make out the purple boots. Please, she pleaded, 
 145.232 +don't let this be a dream...don't let this be a dream.
 145.233 +        "Hotaru?"
 145.234 +        "Small Lady," a gloved hand helped her up and she looked into the purple 
 145.235 +eys once more. She ran to hug her, but the now silent figure merely pointed to 
 145.236 +the west. "Look," was all she said. The world was barren, no life, no trees. 
 145.237 +Even the highest mountain range that protected Crystal Tokyo had crumbled. The 
 145.238 +earth itself had become dark. If she could see it from space, Serenity would 
 145.239 +realise how much the Earth had begun to look like the long forgotten Nemisis.
 145.240 +        "Where are Chaos and Cosmos?"
 145.241 +        "Sealed in the crust of this earth. More so, binded to this earth. Both 
 145.242 +are like star seeds from this earth, Queen. And can be destroyed with it."
 145.243 +        "You mean...." she looked at the soil beneath her. It had turned black. 
 145.244 +"Where is everyone else?" Saturn looked away.
 145.245 +        "Dead,"
 145.246 +        "My mother? On the Moon?" Saturn put her hand gently to the Queen's face 
 145.247 +and moved the tear that glistened there away. She nodded.
 145.248 +        "No... oh heavens...no...." Saturn looked around. Black clouds filled the 
 145.249 +sky once more, and the Earth rumbled in anger.
 145.250 +        "Small Lady...this kingdom is no more. You have saved the universe once 
 145.251 +more, but it is not permenant."
 145.252 +        "You returned....your sight... the appearnce of Saturn means..."
 145.253 +        "The death of the world. You remeber your lore well, Small Lady."
 145.254 +        "Isn't there something we can do?"
 145.255 +        "Save the world, and we release Chaos."
 145.256 +        "Won't destroying it be the same?"
 145.257 +        "They are binded, Small Lady. For the first time ever, they have been 
 145.258 +binded. The power of the ancient sword is great. They say it was forged in the 
 145.259 +seas of begings. To the death of this world, to the death of them. Yes, they 
 145.260 +will grow again. But this time, it will be more... permenant. In the seas of 
 145.261 +beginning, there will be new star seeds, which take Milleniums to create, and 
 145.262 +these star seeds will be named Cosmos and Chaos. But for now, to the end of 
 145.263 +this world, there may be peace."
 145.264 +        "Tell me, Hotaru. Please. Did you know that this...this," she said, 
 145.265 +pointing, "Would be the outcome?"
 145.266 +        "This is every outcome, eventually. Everything happens. Every world, 
 145.267 +every soul will have its trial. Most die in it. But in this, we keep Chaos at 
 145.268 +bay, until the end of the universe."
 145.269 +        "What choice is there to make?"
 145.270 +        "You made the seal. You must choose to break it."  Saturn lowered the 
 145.271 +Silence Glaive to the grey shards of stone scattered across the sands of what 
 145.272 +had once been Lady Serenity's kingdom. Glowing purple, they reformed into the 
 145.273 +blade. Serenity picked up the sword and drove it into the earth.
 145.274 +        "On this sword, by my mothers guardians and by my name and power as the 
 145.275 +Queen Serenity of Tokyo, I..." She looked at Saturn. "I..." she paused, crying. 
 145.276 +"How can I ask for a world to end?! How can I ask everythign to end? For me? 
 145.277 +For others?"
 145.278 +        "There is no other to die on this Earth, Serenity. Everyone but you is 
 145.279 +already dead. As for asking for the end of the world...In this case...how can 
 145.280 +you not?"
 145.281 +        "I entrust this blade and earth to its final destruction of destroy the 
 145.282 +heart of Chaos and Cosmos." Saturn nodded as Lady Serenity made her final 
 145.283 +decision.
 145.284 +
 145.285 +
 145.286 +        Lady Serenity had a few minutes to talk to the soldier of destuction, and 
 145.287 +she had so many things to ask...to know. Too much to left unsaid.
 145.288 +        "Hotaru...why didn't you come? Why could you not be there?"
 145.289 +        "I love you too much to let you leave this world with Chaos on it. To 
 145.290 +feel guilty for the destruction of every world in the solar system. This way, I 
 145.291 +still have the power to destroy this world, to doom Chaos. If I had stayed... I 
 145.292 +would not."
 145.293 +        "Will I die here?"
 145.294 +        "If...if you choose. Life is made of choices, Small Lady. We make them to 
 145.295 +help ourselves or help others. It is our chouices inn this life that make us 
 145.296 +who we are."
 145.297 +        "What choice have I?"
 145.298 +        "If I named your choices, they would become mine. You must choose your 
 145.299 +own path, your own destiny."
 145.300 +        "End this world, Hotaru. Sailor Saturn." Saturn nodded, now her eyes 
 145.301 +filled with tears. She did not even say the attack, just brought down the 
 145.302 +Glaive in  a clean `swish,' guiding it to the earth, to the destruction. The 
 145.303 +Queen stepped closer to her, and clung to her shoulders. In her palm lay the 
 145.304 +ginzhuishou.
 145.305 +        "Farewell, Small Lady. I...."
 145.306 +        "I know. Until we meet again, Hotaru. Until we meet again."
 145.307 +
 145.308 +
 145.309 +Saturn.
 145.310 +
 145.311 +        Grey mists swirled around the planet of destruction, as barren as the 
 145.312 +earth that they had left. Sometimes, a purple lightning bolt would flash above, 
 145.313 +but other than that, it was silent. No life lived her, but in all the planet, 
 145.314 +everywehre, you could sense the spirit of another, waiting for some event that 
 145.315 +would signal her to return. After the destruction, Hotaru's spirit return to 
 145.316 +its sleep. But, in the world where spirits are all we are, the floating Saturn, 
 145.317 +silent, was not alone. Another waited for her awakening, when she could look 
 145.318 +into her eyes, the eyes of someone who she still knew, still loved, once more. 
 145.319 +She was carefully pulled into a set of arms, the small figure asleep on 
 145.320 +another's lap. The two odangos trailed behind the figure, holding the smaller 
 145.321 +one, watching carefully over the spirit of her friend. Knowing the unsaid words 
 145.322 +that drifted between them.
 145.323 +        "I know, Hotaru. I know."
 145.324 \ No newline at end of file

   146.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   146.2 +++ b/stories/aishiteru.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   146.3 @@ -0,0 +1,449 @@
   146.4 +Title: Aishiteru, ChibiUsa
   146.5 +Rating: H-Hentai
   146.6 +Authors: Amazoness Duo
   146.7 +E-mail: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   146.8 +
   146.9 +
  146.10 +This is a Sekkushiaru Roman, which means it is a romance story that contains
  146.11 +a lot of adult themes. This is for mature readers only. We don't own any of 
  146.12 +the characters in this, Toei, Naoko Takeuchi and assorted other people do. 
  146.13 +This is based on the anime, though the idea that they are a couple was hinted
  146.14 +at in the manga. We're trying to make this fit with the anime, so we've tried
  146.15 +to work out the ages as well. We're guessing that ChibiUsa and Hotaru were 8 
  146.16 +when she left during Sailor Stars (if anyone knows how old they really are 
  146.17 +please tell us). ChibiUsa then spent four years in Crystal Tokyo and came 
  146.18 +back to the past at the age of 12. Hotaru had reaged to the apperant age of 
  146.19 +12 during the time that ChibiUsa was gone. Hotaru started to age normally 
  146.20 +after that. This is a little over three years after Sailor Stars. ChibiUsa & 
  146.21 +Hotaru are 15. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 19 (They were 16 at the end of 
  146.22 +Sailor Stars). Mamoru was about 20 in Sailor Stars, so he is 23 now. Michiru 
  146.23 +& Haruka are 20 and Setsuna is in her early 20's (it was never explained how 
  146.24 +old she was in the anime so, if anyone knows her age we would really 
  146.25 +appreciate any help). If there are any important characters we've missed with
  146.26 +their ages, please let us know. This is a Sekkushiaru Roman which means that 
  146.27 +this is a romantic story that involves adult material. It is a love story 
  146.28 +between ChibiUsa and Hotaru. It takes place about a year before our story "I 
  146.29 +Love You, Hotaru". This is our version of Hotaru and ChibiUsa falling in love 
  146.30 +(that's not entirely true. They've been best friends and very close for a 
  146.31 +long time, so they fell in love over the years. This story is about them 
  146.32 +realizing their feelings for each other). This story was inspired by the 
  146.33 +story "ChibiUsa No Pyua Na Kokoro" by Andrea Doolan. It's a beautiful romance
  146.34 +story about ChibiUsa & Hotaru. This story came about because we wanted to try
  146.35 +our hand at getting Hotaru and ChibiUsa together, so hopefully we can do them
  146.36 +justice. They make such a great couple and we wanted to explore how they might
  146.37 +have gotten together in the present day. We write for two reasons. 1 Because 
  146.38 +we genuinely love to write and 2 we hope that other people enjoy what we 
  146.39 +write. We love to hear from people and what they thought of our stories or 
  146.40 +what stories they'd like us to write so we're taking a poll right now. 
  146.41 +We'd like to know what characters you'd like to see us use in our 
  146.42 +hentai stories or Sekkushiaru Romans. We'd also like to know who Seiya and 
  146.43 +Taiki should get with. Any ideas for a Setsuna fic whether a hentai story or
  146.44 +a Sekkushiaru Roman? Any ideas for some of the characters we've already
  146.45 +written (I.E. the Witches 5, the Amazoness Quartet,  the Animamates,
  146.46 +the Starlights, etc...)? That's about it. If you have any other ideas, please
  146.47 +e-mail us at: 
  146.48 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com.
  146.49 +
  146.50 +Sorry for such a long authors' note. We just felt like we had a lot to say
  146.51 +this time around. Thanks. ^_^
  146.52 +
  146.53 +
  146.54 +
  146.55 +
  146.56 +
  146.57 +
  146.58 +			 Aishiteru, ChibiUsa
  146.59 +                        By The Amazoness Duo
  146.60 +
  146.61 +
  146.62 +	Hotaru stood outside of the house she shared with the three other 
  146.63 +outer senshi waiting for ChibiUsa to show up. 
  146.64 +	"Aren't you a little too old to have a sleep over?" asked Haruka as
  146.65 +she leaned against the side of the house.
  146.66 +	"Oh, leave her alone, Haruka. They've been sleeping over at each 
  146.67 +other's houses since they were little kids. I think its cute that they still
  146.68 +do things like that," said Michiru as she stepped outside. 
  146.69 +	"I know, Michiru. I just like to give her a hard time about her little
  146.70 +girlfriend," said Haruka. She put her arms around Michiru and the two kissed.
  146.71 +	"She's not my girlfirend," said Hotaru. "We're just best friends." 
  146.72 +'Just because they're gay doesn't mean I am. Even though ChibiUsa's nice,
  146.73 +my best friend, cheerful, cute, sexy, I love spending time with her......What
  146.74 +was I thinking?!' Hotaru shook her head to clear that line of thought. 
  146.75 +'ChibiUsa's just my best friend.'
  146.76 +	Finally, Michiru and Haruka broke the kiss. "Are you two ready?" asked
  146.77 +Setsuna, standing in the doorway. 
  146.78 +	"Ready for what?" replied Haruka.
  146.79 +	"Michiru and I were going to go see a movie. ChibiUsa and Hotaru are 
  146.80 +old enough to watch themselves. Do you want to go?" asked Setsuna.
  146.81 +	"Sure," said Haruka, slightly disappointed. She had wanted to take
  146.82 +Michiru out to a nice romantic dinner. 
  146.83 +	"Okay, good. Wait here, I've got to go get my jacket," said Michiru.
  146.84 +She kissed Haruka and then walked back inside with Setsuna.
  146.85 +	"You'll be okay with us gone, right?" asked Haruka.
  146.86 +	"I'll be fine. I'm 15 years old," said Hotaru.
  146.87 +	Haruka smiled at the younger girl. "Yeah, you'll be fine. We shouldn't
  146.88 +be gone too long anyway."
  146.89 +	"Oh, good. It's ChibiUsa." Hotaru said as she started to wave to the
  146.90 +pink haired girl walking towaards the house. "Hi, ChibiUsa!"
  146.91 +	"She's cute, isn't she?" asked Haruka.
  146.92 +	"Yeah, she is," said Hotaru. Hotaru blushed a deep crimson when she
  146.93 +realized what she had said. "I mean cute in a friendly way," she said 
  146.94 +nervously.
  146.95 +	"Don't worry. I won't tell anybody how you feel about her," Haruka 
  146.96 +said just as Michiru and Setsuna came out of the house. They waved to Hotaru 
  146.97 +as they walked towards the car. Hotaru wondered to herself how she felt about
  146.98 +ChibiUsa.
  146.99 +	"Hi, Hotaru. Where are they going?" asked ChibiUsa as she walked up
 146.100 +to her best friend and hugged her.
 146.101 +	"Hi ChibiUsa. They're going to a movie. Let's go upstairs. You can 
 146.102 +leave your stuff there and then we can decide what to do," said Hotaru. They
 146.103 +walked inside. Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's hand and the two girls ran upstairs.
 146.104 +	ChibiUsa had always liked Hotaru's room. It felt so.... romantic. She
 146.105 +couldn't really explain it any other way. It was fairly dark even with all of
 146.106 +the lamps Hotaru had collected. ChibiUsa set her backpack on the bed and 
 146.107 +followed Hotaru back downstairs. 
 146.108 +	They talked for hours, enjoying each other's company. They didn't 
 146.109 +even notice the sky outside darkening as it got later. Both girls heard a 
 146.110 +small rumbling sound. ChibiUsa blushed. It had been her stomach.
 146.111 +	Hotaru laughed. "Your hungry, aren't you, ChibiUsa? I hadn't noticed 
 146.112 +how late it was getting. Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Haruka-papa will 
 146.113 +probably be back soon, but we might as well get our own dinner." 
 146.114 +	"That sounds good. I skipped lunch today since Usagi was cooking," 
 146.115 +said ChibiUsa as she followed Hotaru into the kitchen. They looked around to 
 146.116 +find something to eat. They couldn't find anything that looked appetizing.
 146.117 +	"There's nothing to eat..." said ChibiUsa as she closed the 
 146.118 +refrigerator.
 146.119 +	"Don't worry. I'll cook," ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru skeptically. "It's
 146.120 +okay. Setsuna-mama taught me how to cook a few things. It shouldn't take too
 146.121 +long," finished Hotaru. She told ChibiUsa what she needed and the two girls 
 146.122 +started looking for the ingredients.
 146.123 +
 146.124 +
 146.125 +	"That looks great. Thanks, Hotaru. I was starving," said ChibiUsa as 
 146.126 +she looked in the oven.
 146.127 +	Hotaru smiled at ChibiUsa. "I hope you like it," she said as she tried
 146.128 +to find glasses for the two of them.
 146.129 +	"I think it's done," said ChibiUsa. She opened the oven and reached 
 146.130 +in. ChibiUsa yelled and pulled back her hand. 
 146.131 +	"ChibiUsa!" Hotaru rushed over to her friend. ChibiUsa had tears in
 146.132 +her eyes as she held her hand. Hotaru gently held onto ChibiUsa's hand. She
 146.133 +had burned herself when she had tried to get their dinner out of the oven. 
 146.134 +Hotaru concentrated as she held ChibiUsa's hand. The burn started to fade. 
 146.135 +"How's that, ChibiUsa?"
 146.136 +	"It still hurts," said ChibiUsa as she tried to flex her hand.
 146.137 +	"Wait right here," Hotaru ran off. She came back with a first aid kit.
 146.138 +She grabbed ChibiUsa's hand again and started to bandage it. "Done," said 
 146.139 +Hotaru. She looked at ChibiUsa. "You scared me. I hate to see you hurt." 
 146.140 +	ChibiUsa blinked away the tears of pain. She and Hotaru looked into 
 146.141 +each others eyes. Both girls started to lean closer to each other. Just as
 146.142 +they were about to kiss, they heard a door close. They pulled away, neither
 146.143 +quite sure about what had been about to happen.
 146.144 +	"We're home," Setsuna shouted as they walked in the front door. "You 
 146.145 +two have fun  while we were gone?" she asked.
 146.146 +	"Yeah, we did," said Hotaru. "How was the movie?"
 146.147 +	"It was great," said Michiru. "It was very romantic."
 146.148 +	"Next time we'll go watch an action movie. Then I won't have to be
 146.149 +reminded of how alone we all are, or in my case, how alone I am. That and the
 146.150 +sweet couple here," she said, indicating Haruka and Michiru, "kissing the 
 146.151 +whole time just helped me realize that it's been a thousand odd years and I 
 146.152 +still don't have anyone. On that note, I'm going to bed. Good night." 
 146.153 +Setsuna walked off towards her room. The other girls sweat-dropped. 
 146.154 +	"I hope she's doing okay," said ChibiUsa.
 146.155 +	"Yeah. That was kind of scary," said Hotaru.
 146.156 +	"It's late. Maybe you two should go to bed," said Michiru.
 146.157 +	Hotaru yawned. "Yeah, it is getting late. Come on, ChibiUsa."
 146.158 +	"Good night," said Haruka.
 146.159 +
 146.160 +
 146.161 +	Both girls washed up and got ready for bed. ChibiUsa was rumaging 
 146.162 +through her backpack for her night shirt. She glanced to her left and saw
 146.163 +Hotaru's clothes on the floor. She looked up and saw Hotaru pulling on her
 146.164 +nightie. Her gaze slowly went higher as she looked at her best friend's nude
 146.165 +body. The moonlight from the open window splashed across Hotaru's body. She
 146.166 +tried to avert her gaze but she was entranced. Hotaru was beautiful. ChibiUsa
 146.167 +and Hotaru had changed in front of each other before. Why was this so
 146.168 +different? 
 146.169 +	"ChibiUsa, are you okay?" asked Hotaru.
 146.170 +	"I...I'm fine," said ChibiUsa as she looked away, blushing. She found
 146.171 +her night shirt and walked to another room to change. She started to unbutton
 146.172 +her blouse when she heard something behind her. She turned around to see that 
 146.173 +Hotaru had followed her. She was looking at ChibiUsa questioningly.
 146.174 +	"What are you doing?" asked Hotaru. She was wondering why ChibiUsa 
 146.175 +had walked off.
 146.176 +	"I'm just changing," said ChibiUsa defensively. She didn't really 
 146.177 +have a reason why she had gone to change in another room. She never had 
 146.178 +before. She decided to change quickly. If she kept trying to get Hotaru out,
 146.179 +she might get suspicious. 'Suspicous of what?' thought ChibiUsa. She pulled 
 146.180 +the half unbuttoned blouse over her head. The shirt got caught when it was 
 146.181 +around her head. Hotaru giggled lightly as she walked over to help her friend.
 146.182 +	ChibiUsa turned to face her when she heard her footsteps. "I'm stuck,"
 146.183 +she said simply.
 146.184 +	Hotaru stifled another giggle. "Here, let me help you. It's caught on
 146.185 +one of your odango." She brought her hands up and started to unbutton the 
 146.186 +shirt the rest of the way. She smiled as ChibiUsa's face came into view. 
 146.187 +ChibiUsa looked emberassed for needing Hotaru to help take her shirt off. 
 146.188 +"Don't worry, ChibiUsa. When you have an intricate hair style like your 
 146.189 +odango, something like that's bound to happen sooner or later. You should 
 146.190 +let your hair down before you go to sleep, anyway."
 146.191 +	"Do you think so?" asked ChibiUsa.
 146.192 +	"Of course," said Hotaru. Since she was only slightly taller than 
 146.193 +ChibiUsa, she stood on her on the tips of her toes and started to undo her 
 146.194 +odango. She could smell the scent of her hair. After some of the things that 
 146.195 +had happened that day, just breathing in the scent of ChibiUsa's hair calmed
 146.196 +her. Finally she finished and took a step away. "There, done," she said. 
 146.197 +	ChibiUsa looked into a mirror on the wall. Her pink hair cascaded 
 146.198 +lightly down. It reached just below her bare shoulders. She saw Hotaru behind 
 146.199 +her in the mirror.
 146.200 +	"How do I look?" asked ChibiUsa.
 146.201 +	"Gorgeous," Hotaru murmured more to herself than to ChibiUsa. "You 
 146.202 +look great."
 146.203 +	"Thanks, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa. She looked at Hotaru and followed 
 146.204 +her gaze downward. She saw that she was only wearing her bra and her skirt.
 146.205 +Both girls blushed immensely. ChbiUsa pulled her skirt off and grabbed the 
 146.206 +night shirt, dressing as quickly as possible. ChibiUsa turned around when she
 146.207 +was done, but Hotaru was already gone. She picked up her clothes and walked 
 146.208 +back to Hotaru's room. Hotaru was on her bed reading. She put her clothes in 
 146.209 +the backpack. 
 146.210 +	"What are you reading?" asked ChibiUsa.
 146.211 +	"Some poetry. It's interesting," answered Hotaru. She lifted up the
 146.212 +blanket. "You should ge in. It's getting pretty cold tonight." ChibiUsa 
 146.213 +climbed under the blankets. 
 146.214 +	"Do you still like Helios?" Hotaru asked.
 146.215 +	"Where'd that come from?" replied ChibiUsa.
 146.216 +	"I was just wondering," said Hotaru. "It has been seven years since 
 146.217 +you've seen him."
 146.218 +	ChibiUsa thought for a moment. "I don't know. Back then I knew I had
 146.219 +to protect him. I don't really know if there was anything between us in the 
 146.220 +first place. And by now he's probably forgotten about me, so I shouldn't 
 146.221 +worry about it."
 146.222 +	"How could he forget about you? You're beautiful, charming, sweet..."
 146.223 +Hotaru's voice trailed off.
 146.224 +	"Thanks, but I'm sure Helios didn't think of me like that," said 
 146.225 +ChibiUsa.
 146.226 +	"If he didn't see you like that, then he must not have known you very 
 146.227 +well," replied Hotaru. 
 146.228 +	"ChibiUsa? Are you awake?" asked Hotaru some time later. She turned 
 146.229 +over and looked at ChibiUsa. Hotaru smiled lightly. ChibiUsa had fallen asleep
 146.230 +while they had been talking. Hotaru pulled the blanket up higher on ChibiUsa.
 146.231 +Hotaru fell asleep several minutes later.
 146.232 +
 146.233 +
 146.234 +	Sunlight filtered in through the window onto the two sleeping girls.
 146.235 +ChibiUsa rolled over onto Hotaru. Hotaru's arms encircled ChibiUsa's waist.
 146.236 +ChibiUsa slowly opened her eyes when she felt the arms around her. Her vision
 146.237 +started to clear as she looked at Hotaru. She panicked and tried to pull 
 146.238 +away. Both girls tumbled off of the bed. 
 146.239 +	"Owww..." Hotaru opened her eyes when she hit the floor. Her arms were
 146.240 +pinned at the small of ChibiUsa's back. Their faces were mere inches apart. 
 146.241 +Their legs were intertwined beneath the blankets, with one of Hotaru's legs 
 146.242 +between ChibiUsa's. ChibiUsa's hands were pressed up against Hotaru's breasts.
 146.243 +Her hands were caught between both of their bodies. Hotaru's nipples brushed 
 146.244 +ChibiUsa's palms through the thin fabric of her nightie. Both girls looked 
 146.245 +deep into each other's eyes. Something was partially obscuring Hotaru's 
 146.246 +vision. ChibiUsa pushed Hotaru up slightly with one hand and brought her 
 146.247 +other hand to Hotaru's forehead. Both girls blushed furiously and got into 
 146.248 +sitting positions. 
 146.249 +	"What is it?" asked Hotaru nervously.
 146.250 +	"It's a Post-It note," said ChibiUsa, feigning a great amount of 
 146.251 +interest in the piece of paper. ChibiUsa gave Hotaru the note.
 146.252 +	"It says, 'Hi, Hotaru! You and ChibiUsa are home alone with an 
 146.253 +axe-murderer.'" Both girls looked at each other for a moment. "'Just kidding.
 146.254 +Michiru, Haruka, and I went shopping. We'll be back around noon. Have fun, 
 146.255 +you two. Love, Setsuna'. That's strange. I guess we'll see them later," said
 146.256 +Hotaru. 
 146.257 +	Both girls sat in silence for several minutes. At the very least, 
 146.258 +they had had a very emberassing way to wake up. At the most, it was far more
 146.259 +significant. 
 146.260 +	"ChibiUsa, would you like some breakfast?" asked Hotaru, breaking the
 146.261 +tense moment.
 146.262 +	ChibiUsa smiled at her best friend 'And nothing more,' she thought
 146.263 +to herself. "That would be great." Both girls walked downstairs. Hotaru found
 146.264 +some food Setsuna had left for them. The both sat down at the table, still a 
 146.265 +bit uneasy after what had happened that morning. They ate in relative 
 146.266 +silence, trying to keep up a small conversation. When they finished eating,
 146.267 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru cleaned up the food and dishes. 
 146.268 +	"I'm going to change my clothes. I'll be back in a minute," said 
 146.269 +ChibiUsa. She walked back to Hotaru's room. She slumped down on the floor 
 146.270 +near the foot of Hotaru's bed. "What am I going to do? Hotaru's my best 
 146.271 +friend. I can't be in love with her. I can't," she said, not knowing she had 
 146.272 +spoken out loud. Hotaru stood in the doorway, stunned by what she had heard. 
 146.273 +	"Aishiteru, ChibiUsa," said Hotaru as she walked into the room. 
 146.274 +	"Hotaru?" ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru. Hotaru sat by ChibiUsa. She 
 146.275 +gently laid her hand upon ChibiUsa's.
 146.276 +	"ChibiUsa, you've been there for me when no one else was. You were
 146.277 +there for me whenever I needed you. You cared when no one else did. We've 
 146.278 +been friends for a long time now, but during that time I coudn't help but fall
 146.279 +in love with you," Hotaru's voice was heavy with emotion. Tears were running 
 146.280 +down her face. 
 146.281 +	"Hotaru," ChibiUsa grabbed the other girl and pulled her into an 
 146.282 +embrace. "I hadn't realized how important you were to me before today. I 
 146.283 +remember the hardest part of going back to the future was that I thought I'd
 146.284 +never see you again. I couldn't wait to see you when I came back to the
 146.285 +past. I fell in love with you during all this time, too. I love you, Hotaru."
 146.286 +	"It's strange. We're both girls, but its like fate we met," said
 146.287 +Hotaru between sobs as she held onto ChibiUsa. ChibiUsa brought her hand to
 146.288 +Hotaru's chin and lifted her head up. Hotaru saw that ChibiUsa had tears in 
 146.289 +her eyes as well. Both girls leaned toward each other. Their lips brushed 
 146.290 +together lightly at first. They kissed passionately as they let go of all of
 146.291 +the pent up emotions they had had over each other. ChibiUsa ran a hand 
 146.292 +through Hotaru's hair. Hotaru placed her hand on the side of ChibiUsa's 
 146.293 +face and gently started to caress her cheek. They finally broke the kiss after
 146.294 +what seemed like hours. ChibiUsa's cheeks had a rosey blush to them. 
 146.295 +	"ChibiUsa, don't be embaressed. There's nothing wrong with this. We're
 146.296 +in love. That's all that matters," Hotaru said, realizing how right those
 146.297 +words sounded. All that really mattered to her was ChibiUsa. 
 146.298 +	"I know, Hotaru. It's just weird finding out that you're in love with
 146.299 +your best friend," said ChibiUsa. 
 146.300 +	"I'm going through the same thing. Don't worry. Just think about it
 146.301 +this way. We won't have to go through that awkward part of the relationship
 146.302 +where you have to find out everything about the person," said Hotaru.
 146.303 +	ChibiUsa laughed. Hotaru smiled. She loved to hear the pink haired 
 146.304 +girl laugh. They both sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't know what's going
 146.305 +to happen, but it doesn't matter as long as I'm with you," said Hotaru as she
 146.306 +rested a hand on ChibiUsa's thigh. 
 146.307 +	ChibiUsa brushed some strands of hair away from Hotaru's eyes. "I'll
 146.308 +be with you forever, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa. 
 146.309 +	The two girls leaned into another kiss. Hotaru started to caress 
 146.310 +ChibiUsa's inner thigh. Hotaru gently pushed ChibiUsa back onto the bed. 
 146.311 +ChibiUsa cupped Hotaru's breasts through the thin fabric of her nightie. 
 146.312 +Hotaru's hand traveled farther up ChibiUsa's bare leg. ChibiUsa felt Hotaru's
 146.313 +body atop her own. She pulled Hotaru's nightie slowly down past her waist. 
 146.314 +Hotaru slid the nightie the rest of the way off, past her supple legs and 
 146.315 +onto the floor. ChibiUsa blushed. She was looking at Hotaru's body in a way 
 146.316 +she never had before. Before she had always thought of her as a friend. Now 
 146.317 +she thought of her as the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. ChibiUsa 
 146.318 +felt the heat between her legs rising as she felt Hotaru's naked form against 
 146.319 +her own lightly clothed body. They kissed as their bodies pressed together. 
 146.320 +ChibiUsa brought her hands up to the bare skin of Hotaru's breasts. Hotaru's
 146.321 +nipples were pressed against ChibiUsa's palms. Hotaru reached under the bottom
 146.322 +of ChibiUsa's night shirt. She pulled ChibiUsa's panties down and off. The 
 146.323 +panties fell on the floor next to Hotaru's nightie. Hotaru's hand slid back
 146.324 +under the night shirt. She felt ChibiUsa's soft curves against her hand. She
 146.325 +felt the rising swell of ChibiUsa's breasts as her hand went higher. With her
 146.326 +other hand, she brushed gently across ChibiUsa's pussy, causing the pink 
 146.327 +haired girl to shudder slightly from the new sensation. Hotaru brought both
 146.328 +hands up and pulled ChibiUsa's night shirt off. Since ChibiUsa's hair was 
 146.329 +still down, it was easy to pull off. Both girls looked up and down the others
 146.330 +body. ChibiUsa's cheeks were flushed from the sensation of Hotaru's naked 
 146.331 +body atop her own. Hotaru's hand tickled ChibiUsa's inner thigh. One of 
 146.332 +ChibiUsa's hands fondled one of Hotaru's breasts while her other hand ran up
 146.333 +and down Hotaru's back. Hotaru's hand brushed against ChibiUsa's pussy again.
 146.334 +This time her fingers lingered there. She started to rub ChibiUsa's inner
 146.335 +lips. She could smell ChibiUsa's musky scent as she slid a finger into 
 146.336 +ChibiUsa's pussy. ChibiUsa pinched one of Hotaru's nipples. Hotaru rubbed her
 146.337 +thumb over ChibiUsa's clit. ChibiUsa moaned as she felt Hotaru slide another 
 146.338 +finger into her pussy. ChibiUsa's love juices started running down her
 146.339 +upper thighs and onto the bed. ChibiUsa felt Hotaru push her fingers deeper
 146.340 +inside her. Hotaru continued to stroke ChibiUsa's clit. ChibiUsa started
 146.341 +to move her hips along with Hotaru's fingers. 
 146.342 +	"Ohhhh...Hota..Hotaru..." ChibiUsa moaned Hotaru's name. ChibiUsa
 146.343 +reached orgasm as she felt Hotaru kissing along her neck and shoulder. 
 146.344 +	Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's muscles tense as she orgasmed. Hotaru brought 
 146.345 +her hand to her mouth and licked away ChibiUsa's cum. 
 146.346 +	ChibiUsa kissed Hotaru. "Oh, thank you, Hotaru. That felt so good."
 146.347 +	Hotaru brought a hand up to the side of ChibiUsa's face and smiled.
 146.348 +"I love you, ChibiUsa. That was just one way of showing it." Both girls 
 146.349 +kissed again. 
 146.350 +	ChibiUsa rolled over so that she was on top of Hotaru. ChibiUsa 
 146.351 +kissed Hotaru's shoulder and traveled down to one of her breasts. ChibiUsa 
 146.352 +licked the top of Hotaru's breast. She brought her mouth farther down to 
 146.353 +Hotaru's pebble-like nipple. She ran her tongue across the nipple and then 
 146.354 +started to suck on it. ChibiUsa brought her head to Hotaru's other breast and
 146.355 +repeated sucking on her nipple. Hotaru moaned as she felt ChibiUsa start 
 146.356 +moving downward. She ran her hands through ChibiUsa's hair, feeling the 
 146.357 +strands between her fingers. ChibiUsa ran her tongue across Hotaru's stomach,
 146.358 +stopping at her belly button for several seconds before moving on. ChibiUsa
 146.359 +could smell Hotaru's arousal as her face paused just above Hotaru's slit.
 146.360 +ChibiUsa gently licked Hotaru's sheath. ChibiUsa brought her hand up and 
 146.361 +used two fingers to hold her pussy open, so she could gain further access to
 146.362 +Hotaru. ChibiUsa licked Hotaru's inner lips. Hotaru panted as she continued 
 146.363 +to run her hands through ChibiUsa's hair. ChibiUsa's tongue went deeper into 
 146.364 +Hotaru, emitting a moan from the other girl. ChibiUsa went further up and
 146.365 +licked Hotaru's clit. She brought her mouth to Hotaru's clit and started to 
 146.366 +suck on her pearl. She brought her hand up across Hotaru's leg and started
 146.367 +caressing her inner thigh. Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's tongue wash over her clit.
 146.368 +ChibiUsa's hand went farther up from Hotaru's thigh to her sheath. ChibiUsa
 146.369 +pushed a finger up to the first knuckle into Hotaru. Hotaru reached orgasm 
 146.370 +as she felt ChibiUsa add another finger. ChibiUsa got up and crawled back by
 146.371 +Hotaru. Hotaru put her arms around ChibiUsa as they laid in the bed. They 
 146.372 +kissed once more as they lay, looking into each others eyes.
 146.373 +	"I love you, ChibiUsa," said Hotaru as she looked at the other girls 
 146.374 +lovely face.
 146.375 +	ChibiUsa sighed contentedly. "I love you, too, Hotaru," replied 
 146.376 +ChibiUsa as she looked into Hotaru's purple eyes. 
 146.377 +	"We better go take a shower, before everyone get's home," said 
 146.378 +Hotaru.
 146.379 +	"What time is it now?" asked ChibiUsa worriedly.
 146.380 +	"It's almost ten. They said they'd be home by noon, so we have plenty
 146.381 +of time to take a long, relaxing shower," said Hotaru.
 146.382 +	"Whatever could you mean?" asked ChibiUsa, feigning innocence. Both 
 146.383 +girls giggled. 
 146.384 +	"You start the water. I'll take care of the sheets and our clothes,"
 146.385 +said Hotaru. 
 146.386 +	"Okay, that sounds good," said ChibiUsa. She kissed Hotaru lightly
 146.387 +on the lips before walking toward the bathroom. Hotaru changed her sheets and
 146.388 +packed ChibiUsa's clothes in her backpack. By the time she got to the 
 146.389 +bathroom, ChibiUsa was already in the shower. Hotaru came up behind ChibiUsa
 146.390 +and put her arms around her waist. ChibiUsa was a bit startled, but relaxed 
 146.391 +into the embrace. 
 146.392 +	"How did I never notice how beautiful you are?" asked ChibiUsa as 
 146.393 +Hotaru stepped under the shower head.
 146.394 +	Hotaru smiled. "Thanks, ChibiUsa. I've had strong feelings for you
 146.395 +for a long time now. I just never expressed it as love. I always thought of
 146.396 +it as friendship. I thought you were cute since the first time we met."
 146.397 +	"When we met, you were twelve and I was eight," said ChibiUsa.
 146.398 +	"You were a very cute little girl, then," said Hotaru. She got a 
 146.399 +wistful look in her eyes. "What a romantic way to meet. I managed to catch 
 146.400 +your hat before it flew away and you saved me from a daemon. Too bad it took
 146.401 +years for anything to happen."
 146.402 +	"Yeah, but we were really young back then. It had to take years for
 146.403 +us both to grow up," said ChibiUsa.
 146.404 +	"I know," said Hotaru. "I just wonder why it took us both so long to 
 146.405 +realise anything. We've been best friends for over three years."
 146.406 +	"Actually, I was wondering about that," said ChibiUsa. "From some of 
 146.407 +the things you said a while ago I was wondering how you felt about me. I'd 
 146.408 +only think about it for a couple seconds before getting rid of the idea, but
 146.409 +now it makes more since."
 146.410 +	Hotaru looked puzzled. "What did I say?" 
 146.411 +	ChibiUsa blushed. "Well, one time you and I were walking to school
 146.412 +and Usagi showed up. We were holding hands at the time and she said she 
 146.413 +thought that we were getting a little to friendly. You replied by saying that
 146.414 +it's okay to hold hands and didn't she and Mamoru hold hands."
 146.415 +	"Ohhh, yeah, that." Hotaru smiled at ChibiUsa. "I guess I always knew
 146.416 +I loved you, if only on a subconscious level."
 146.417 +	"And the time you were calling my friends Ruruna and Naruru bimbos
 146.418 +when they said I was their best friend," continued ChibiUsa.
 146.419 +	"I got really attached to you. You were my first and best friend. And
 146.420 +they were bimbos," said Hotaru.
 146.421 +	"And the time you and I danced together at Usagi and Mamoru's 
 146.422 +wedding," ChibiUsa smiled at the memory.
 146.423 +	"Well, at the time, I thought it was just because there weren't many 
 146.424 +boys there and none of them had asked us, but looking back on it, I did want
 146.425 +to dance with you that day," replied Hotaru.
 146.426 +	ChibiUsa hugged her. "Oh, good. I liked dancing with you, too, 
 146.427 +Hotaru."
 146.428 +They lathered each other up and washed off together. Hotaru grabbed a towel 
 146.429 +when they got out of the shower and started to dry ChibiUsa off. ChibiUsa 
 146.430 +dried Hotaru when she was finished. The girls walked out of the bathroom 
 146.431 +holding hands. They went back to Hotaru's room and helped each other get 
 146.432 +dressed. They sat on the bed in silence for a while.
 146.433 +	"I'm kind of worried," ChibiUsa said suddenly.
 146.434 +	"What about?" asked Hotaru.
 146.435 +	"Just different things. First, how are we going to tell everyone. I
 146.436 +want to tell my mom and dad, but I don't really think about Usagi and Mamoru
 146.437 +as my parents yet. Another is that I'm from the future. I haven't even been
 146.438 +born yet. And last, I'm the princess of Crystal Tokyo. After I take over, I
 146.439 +have to have an heir," said ChibiUsa.
 146.440 +	Hotaru held ChibiUsa in her arms. "Whatever happens, we'll be 
 146.441 +together. I love you. You're all that matters to me. Things will work out. 
 146.442 +And I'll be there with you no matter what happens."
 146.443 +	Both girls leaned into a passionate kiss, holding each other and
 146.444 +wishing the moment would never end.
 146.445 +
 146.446 +________________________________________
 146.447 +
 146.448 +Well, we hope you all enjoy this story. Sorry it took so long to get out, but
 146.449 +our personal lives interfered a lot. We hope to get back to writing more this
 146.450 +week. We're gonna try to address some of ChibiUsa and Hotaru's problems (What
 146.451 +ChibiUsa was talking about at the end) in later stories. If you have any 
 146.452 +ideas for ChibiUsa and Hotaru, please write us. 	
 146.453 \ No newline at end of file

   147.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   147.2 +++ b/stories/althea.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   147.3 @@ -0,0 +1,360 @@
   147.4 +(Author's Note: This is my first Card Captor Sakura fanfiction and,
   147.5 +at the time of its writing, I have only seen the first four episodes
   147.6 +of the series and read none of the manga, so please forgive any
   147.7 +errors I have made. I've also decided to, for this piece, neglect
   147.8 +most of the plot of the series and just stick to playing with the
   147.9 +characters. Also, some parts of the fic were written at insane hours
  147.10 +of early morning and so may be a little.... strange. Nevertheless, I
  147.11 +hope you enjoy the fic. *takes a little bow*) 
  147.12 +
  147.13 +
  147.14 +---------------------------------------------------------------------
  147.15 +----------- 
  147.16 +
  147.17 +
  147.18 +
  147.19 +So Much Easier 
  147.20 +by Althea K. 
  147.21 +
  147.22 +
  147.23 +"Coming, coming," Sakura called out, covering the mouthpiece of her
  147.24 +cell phone temporarily. She trotted, barefoot, to the door, still
  147.25 +listening with one ear to her father's voice. She peered out to see
  147.26 +who her visitor was, but could see only darkness. A frown pouted her
  147.27 +lips. "Hmph." 
  147.28 +"Is something wrong, dear?" 
  147.29 +"No, it's just... I could've *sworn* someone was knocking at the
  147.30 +door, but there's no one there." 
  147.31 +"That's odd.." 
  147.32 +Sakura opened the door and peeked out, a bit nervously, into the
  147.33 +night. "Hello? Is someone out here?" Silence was the only reply.
  147.34 +"Hrmph." Her eyes narrowed as she wondered if perhaps some
  147.35 +neighborhood children were playing a prank on her, only to widen as
  147.36 +she finally noticed the small package at her foot. She knelt to
  147.37 +retrieve it. "Hey, Dad, were you expecting a package or something?"
  147.38 +she asked, turning it carefully in her hand. 
  147.39 +"No.." 
  147.40 +"Odd. I'm not, either.. But here one is." 
  147.41 +"A bit *late* for mail delivery, isn't it?" 
  147.42 +Sakura muttered her agreement, glancing about one last time before
  147.43 +reentering the house and shutting the door behind her. "Maybe someone
  147.44 +left it for Touya?" she suggested doubtfully. "But it's been ages
  147.45 +since he's lived here... Who would send him anything at this
  147.46 +address?" In the light of the house she examined the brown paper
  147.47 +covering the rectangular package. "There doesn't seem to be a name on
  147.48 +it... Oh, wait." She squinted and bowed her head in, having
  147.49 +discovered one small word typed almost unnoticeably onto the
  147.50 +packaging: Sakura. "Huh. It's for me." 
  147.51 +"An early birthday present, maybe?" 
  147.52 +Sakura laughed. "If it is, it's *really* early." 
  147.53 +"True.. Oh, honey, I'm sorry, but I have to go now. My
  147.54 +presentation's in five minutes and I still haven't organized all my
  147.55 +notes." 
  147.56 +"Ah, it's okay. You want me to leave you something in the fridge for
  147.57 +when you get home?" 
  147.58 +"You're so sweet! That would be wonderful; thank you." 
  147.59 +"No problem. Good luck with your presentation." 
  147.60 +Sakura shut off her phone after their parting words and headed into
  147.61 +the kitchen. Carefully, she broke the tape bindings with a small
  147.62 +steak knife and removed the brown paper wrap. "A video cassette?" She
  147.63 +quirked an eyebrow. Replacing the steak knife, she turned the
  147.64 +cassette around in her hands to read its title. Her eyes widened.
  147.65 +"'The True Confessions of Daidouji Tomoyo'??" she read aloud. "So
  147.66 +that was Tomoyo-chan at the door..." she mumbled numbly to herself,
  147.67 +her mind still twitching nervously around the idea of "true
  147.68 +confessions". She glanced toward the door as if she expected her
  147.69 +friend to still be there, then slowly turned back to the cassette.
  147.70 +"This isn't like Tomoyo-chan at all.. not even stopping in to say
  147.71 +'hello'..." Concern creased her brow as she tapped her fingers
  147.72 +worriedly against the hard plastic casing of the tape. After a long
  147.73 +moment of hesitation, Sakura picked up her phone and headed for her
  147.74 +bedroom. "Plenty of time to cook something for Dad later..." she
  147.75 +mumbled. She popped the cassette into her VCR, snapped her television
  147.76 +on, and plopped down onto her bed. The VCR came to life with a click
  147.77 +and a whirr and in moments Tomoyo's image lit up the screen, moving
  147.78 +backwards to sit in front of the camcorder. 
  147.79 +"Hello, Sakura-chan.." 
  147.80 +"Hi, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura blurted out before she could remember she
  147.81 +was talking to a recording. She blushed lightly, embarrassed by her
  147.82 +mistake, but this faded quickly as she took in the scene that her
  147.83 +friend had recorded. Tomoyo sat alone in her darkened room, her face
  147.84 +sad and her voice trembling slightly. Her skin seemed even paler than
  147.85 +usual somehow, even under the blue cast that the darkness painted her
  147.86 +with. Sakura's heart grew heavy with concern. 
  147.87 +"I guess you've already seen the title of this little recording, so
  147.88 +you have some idea of what I'm doing here.. Like I wrote, it's a
  147.89 +confession... *my* confession. There are so many things that I've
  147.90 +been wanting to tell you over the years we've been friends, but I
  147.91 +just never had the courage to say them to you... You always were the
  147.92 +brave one, Sakura-chan." The image of Tomoyo punctuated her statement
  147.93 +with a tight, pained smile. "I always thought that I'd tell you when
  147.94 +you were older, but even now that you're older, I'm still a coward.
  147.95 +I'd hoped that by this time it would all be just a mildly
  147.96 +uncomfortable memory, you know? I thought I could tell you about it
  147.97 +and we'd look back together and laugh at my childhood foolishness.
  147.98 +Well, I'm eighteen now and I'm still not laughing." Tomoyo's image
  147.99 +paused and rubbed her palms against her pant legs. "Hell, I'm wishing
 147.100 +now I could just go back in time, so things could be like that
 147.101 +again.. I could at least be a little naive then. It still hurt, but
 147.102 +it didn't hurt this much, and even if I was a little scared by my
 147.103 +feelings when I was a kid, I wasn't terrified like I am now. Sakura-
 147.104 +chan... I'm... I'm so *scared*!" 
 147.105 +Sakura could feel Tomoyo shuddering as the image drew her arms
 147.106 +across her chest, hugging her knees into herself. "Tomoyo-chan," she
 147.107 +whimpered. "Please don't be scared, Tomoyo-chan..." 
 147.108 +"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan... It just hurts so *much* sometimes... I
 147.109 +can't take this anymore... Keeping it all a secret..." The image of
 147.110 +Tomoyo shook her head as she unfolded from herself. "I.. I just can't
 147.111 +keep it all inside of me anymore...!" 
 147.112 +"So tell me already!" Sakura cried out to the recording, too
 147.113 +frustrated and curious to be embarrassed now. 
 147.114 +"Sakura-chan..." Sakura leaned in eagerly to listen as Tomoyo
 147.115 +appeared to hesitate. "I..." 
 147.116 +"...Yes??" 
 147.117 +"Do you... remember... when we were children?" 
 147.118 +Sakura blinked. "Uhmm.." 
 147.119 +"I do. I remember it all like it was yesterday... I know, I know. It
 147.120 +sounds corny, doesn't it." 
 147.121 +Sakura couldn't help but grin as she saw Tomoyo's mouth quirk up
 147.122 +into a tiny smile. "Actually, yes, it does." 
 147.123 +"We were always such good friends... I'm not saying we're not still,
 147.124 +I'm just saying that... there was... I don't know. There was an
 147.125 +innocence to us back then, you know? And it's missing now. There's
 147.126 +just something *off* about us now, and it's my fault." 
 147.127 +Sakura lost her smile. "Tomoyo-chan..." 
 147.128 +"It... It would've been so much easier if we could've stayed
 147.129 +children forever, wouldn't it? I mean... Despite all we went through
 147.130 +with the Clow Cards and all... we still had some pretty good times,
 147.131 +didn't we? I'd make you those ridiculously cute little battle
 147.132 +costumes and video tape you wearing them... I miss that. You know, I
 147.133 +don't know if I could make things like that again if I tried... Back
 147.134 +then I could always just picture you wearing it to fight Clow Cards
 147.135 +and think about how cute it would be, and how much fun we would have,
 147.136 +and I could just *do* it, you know? But now.. Everything I make for
 147.137 +you just seems so... *lifeless*, somehow. It's still nice, but it's
 147.138 +never the same, never quite so much fun. Getting older just kinda
 147.139 +sucked all the fun out of everything, you see? Nothing's the same
 147.140 +anymore.. Everything I do now, I have to examine my motivations; I
 147.141 +have to think about it.. Oh, Sakura-chan, I wish we could be kids
 147.142 +again! I'd give anything to be able to feel the way I did then again.
 147.143 +I didn't have to think about why my heart was racing and whether it
 147.144 +was wrong to feel that way then; I could just *feel* it and *enjoy*
 147.145 +it. I could say things to you without having to think so much about
 147.146 +how you would take it, if you would understand... But as we got
 147.147 +older...." 
 147.148 +There was a long moment of unbearable silence. Sakura's eyes stung
 147.149 +with tears as she waited for her friend to go on. 
 147.150 +"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo began again at last. "Sakura-chan... I..."
 147.151 +Tomoyo's sigh brushed almost palpably against Sakura's ears. "I love
 147.152 +you. I'm.... *in love* with you." 
 147.153 +Sakura's world held still for a full three seconds. 
 147.154 +"I know you couldn't possibly understand, but... That's why. That's
 147.155 +the reason for... for *everything*. I'm so sorry I never told you...
 147.156 +I just knew it was hopeless, and I didn't want to scare you away.. I
 147.157 +just couldn't bear the thought of telling you and having you not want
 147.158 +to be my friend anymore. You... You mean everything to me, Sakura.
 147.159 +You always have. And I'm sorry I was such a coward... I couldn't tell
 147.160 +you then, and I can't even tell you now... I just let technology do
 147.161 +the uncomfortable work for me," Tomoyo's voice proclaimed bitterly as
 147.162 +her image gestured at the screen. "I'm so weak, Sakura-chan... I wish
 147.163 +I could be strong for you. I wish I could be strong... But you'll
 147.164 +always be the stronger one." 
 147.165 +Sakura fumbled blindly for her phone as Tomoyo's recording spoke on,
 147.166 +until at last her fingers collided with it and she picked it up from
 147.167 +where it lay on her bed. She punched Tomoyo's phone number into
 147.168 +without needing to look at the buttons. Drumming her fingers
 147.169 +impatiently against her thigh, she listened to it ring. 
 147.170 +"...and I knew even then that things could never be the same once I
 147.171 +told you. I couldn't bring myself to find out whether the change
 147.172 +would be for better or worse, fearing so much that we would never be
 147.173 +friends again.... And I still can't. You see, Sakura-chan... There's
 147.174 +another reason why I'm giving you this tape.." 
 147.175 +Sakura's fidgeting grew even more agitated. 
 147.176 +"I probably would've held it all in until something ruptured inside
 147.177 +of me, really, if there weren't this other motivation for me to come
 147.178 +clean with you right now... I... I never told you this, but a while
 147.179 +ago I sent out an application to a college overseas...." 
 147.180 +Sakura's drumming ceased. The phone continued to ring harshly in her
 147.181 +ear. 
 147.182 +"...and I was accepted. The term starts soon... In fact, I've been
 147.183 +packing all day." 
 147.184 +For the first time, Sakura noticed how empty Tomoyo's room appeared
 147.185 +behind her. 
 147.186 +"My flight leaves tonight." 
 147.187 +"No!" Sakura leapt to her feet in a state of panic. Still pressing
 147.188 +the phone to her ear, she grabbed the jacket that Tomoyo had made for
 147.189 +her last birthday off her floor and started pulling it on one-handed. 
 147.190 +"I know this must be a shock to you... but you mustn't try to stop
 147.191 +me. There's nothing you can do about it anyway. By the time you'll
 147.192 +have reached this part of the tape, I should already be well on my
 147.193 +way." 
 147.194 +Sakura stopped halfway to the door. "No..." she whispered. 
 147.195 +"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan.. I'd've loved so much to hold you in my
 147.196 +arms just one last time before I left.." Sakura flopped back down
 147.197 +onto her bed, her entire body feeling numb. It was all too much for
 147.198 +her to take in at once. "I'm taking all my videotapes of you with me,
 147.199 +but I've left behind some copies in my room in case you want to go
 147.200 +back and look at them.. Maybe if you look at them now you'll begin to
 147.201 +see what I've been seeing all along... I'm also taking all your old
 147.202 +battle costumes; they're too small for you now, anyway. But I am
 147.203 +leaving your prom dress; after all, you may need it some time, and
 147.204 +you did look so beautiful in it.. Do you remember the prom, Sakura-
 147.205 +chan? I had so much fun dancing with you..." 
 147.206 +Sakura groaned, sudden floods of memory washing over her. "Kami,"
 147.207 +she breathed. "Was I really that blind???" 
 147.208 +"We ate so much cake that we almost made ourselves sick, and then
 147.209 +left early without our dates to take a walk in the park and watch an
 147.210 +old movie on television... It's funny: I can't even remember my
 147.211 +date's name; can you? He was a pretty nice guy, I think... I didn't
 147.212 +know him very well, and I guess I didn't pay him that much attention.
 147.213 +You were always the center of my own little universe... He could've
 147.214 +had fangs and a dog-tail and I wouldn't've noticed." Tomoyo's sad
 147.215 +chuckle was almost smothered by the recording that erupted in
 147.216 +Sakura's ear, politely informing her that the party did not answer,
 147.217 +as if she hadn't already noticed. 
 147.218 +"Uuhng..." Sakura grunted and lowered her phone, snapping it off
 147.219 +reluctantly. "She's just gotta still be there... She *has* to be...!"
 147.220 +She folded her arms across her chest, her movement only slightly
 147.221 +impaired by the jacket still hanging off one arm. "Tomoyo-chan... You
 147.222 +can't leave me...! We have so much to talk about... You can't just
 147.223 +leave without even letting me discuss this all with you! There're
 147.224 +questions I want to ask you... things I want to say to you..." 
 147.225 +"I... I put everything I have of you together earlier today... All
 147.226 +the costumes, and sketches, and videotapes... *Everything*. Notes
 147.227 +we'd passed each other in class.. Presents you'd given to me...
 147.228 +Photographs I'd taken of you... Even this.." Sakura glanced up
 147.229 +through a thin film of growing tears to see Tomoyo holding what
 147.230 +appeared to be a small glass vial containing something feathery and
 147.231 +somehow familiar. "Can you see this? It's a lock of your hair."
 147.232 +Sakura and Tomoyo's image blushed simultaneously. "I hope you don't
 147.233 +mind... I cut it off while you were sleeping over at my house one
 147.234 +night long ago... I wanted to always remember how soft your hair was,
 147.235 +and how sweet its scent...I've slept with it under my pillow for
 147.236 +years." Tomoyo's image eyed it sadly. "And then today I put it
 147.237 +together with all those other cherished possessions and mementos...
 147.238 +I... I wanted to make a bonfire of them." 
 147.239 +Sakura blinked. "...Bonfire..???" 
 147.240 +"I wanted to destroy everything that reminded me of you so I could
 147.241 +go away and start fresh.. I wanted to burn all bridges connecting me
 147.242 +to you so maybe in time I could learn to forget you... But I just
 147.243 +couldn't do it. I had the match lit in my hand, but I just couldn't
 147.244 +drop it.. It burned right down to my fingertips and still I couldn't
 147.245 +bring myself to let it drop." Sakura peered closer at the screen,
 147.246 +finally seeing Tomoyo's hurt fingertips. "It wasn't so bad, getting
 147.247 +burned... What really hurt was the shame. I felt like such a fool,
 147.248 +unable to rid myself of you, clinging to my pain... Then I thought
 147.249 +that maybe I could just leave it all behind, maybe even give it all
 147.250 +to you, but I guess I wasn't strong enough to do that, either.. The
 147.251 +thought was unbearable. I couldn't stand the idea of not having a
 147.252 +picture of you with me always to keep your face fresh in my mind...
 147.253 +The idea of your face ever fading from my memory...." A tear trickled
 147.254 +down Tomoyo's face. "I suppose, though, that it doesn't really matter
 147.255 +whether I burned it, or gave it away, or packed it up... I'd still be
 147.256 +taking you with me, inside my mind. I don't think I could let go of
 147.257 +you, no matter what. I would feel... empty. Hollow. I don't think I
 147.258 +could ever entirely be myself again without holding onto you in my
 147.259 +heart. I can't imagine life without you... But I can't... I just
 147.260 +can't stand it anymore!" A heart-breaking sob shuddered from her
 147.261 +trembling lips as her tears continued to fall. "I can't stand being
 147.262 +with you every day without really *being with you*. I can't stand the
 147.263 +horrible innocence of your every touch. I can't stand having you so
 147.264 +near to me without being able to call you my own. I... I can't..."
 147.265 +Tomoyo's words disappeared into wrenching sobs and shudders. As the
 147.266 +image of Tomoyo on her screen buried her face in her hands, Sakura's
 147.267 +tears began to fall as well. 
 147.268 +"T-tomoyo-chan.." Sakura moaned. Each minute that passed was its own
 147.269 +small eternity as their tears streamed on without any apparent end. 
 147.270 +"I... I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo at last managed to gasp out
 147.271 +from behind her hands. "I have.. no right... to put you through my
 147.272 +pain." 
 147.273 +"Tomoyo-chaaan..." Sakura sobbed at the screen, frustrated and
 147.274 +confused. 
 147.275 +"I never wanted you to see me cry... You've always been such a sweet
 147.276 +girl, Sakura-chan. I didn't want to put you through any of this.. But
 147.277 +I guess it was inevitable, wasn't it. One can only hold so much in
 147.278 +for so long before it explodes all over everything.. Oh, Sakura-chan,
 147.279 +I've made a real mess of things, haven't I? I wish I knew some way to
 147.280 +set things right again... But you have to know. It wouldn't have been
 147.281 +fair for me not to say anything... never to tell you... Maybe I'm
 147.282 +just being selfish. Or maybe I'm just trying to keep my promise..
 147.283 +Didn't I say that I'd tell you when you were older? I seem to
 147.284 +remember that... I don't know. I'm confused... Another reason why I
 147.285 +have to go away. I need some distance... some time apart from you so
 147.286 +I can think, clear my head a little.. Or maybe I'm just trying to
 147.287 +justify my actions. Maybe the sad truth is really just that I'm a
 147.288 +damnable coward and I'm running away yet again from finding out how
 147.289 +you'll react..." 
 147.290 +Sakura wiped at her eyes as she watched Tomoyo's shoulders slump
 147.291 +pathetically. She picked up the phone again and dialed Tomoyo's cell
 147.292 +phone number with equal parts hopelessness and determination. "C'mon,
 147.293 +Tomoyo-chan, you've *got* to pick up the phone... *Please*, don't
 147.294 +shut me out...." 
 147.295 +"That's why...." Tomoyo's image licked her lips slowly, nervously.
 147.296 +"That's why I'm not telling you where I'm going. Whether I'm running
 147.297 +away or just need some time alone or whatever... I don't feel like I
 147.298 +can handle you knowing where I'm going right now. It's just... so
 147.299 +much *easier* to fade away... You probably won't even notice I'm
 147.300 +gone, after a while, as long as I stay out of touch... You'd probably
 147.301 +be strong enough to make that bonfire, wouldn't you? Maybe... Maybe
 147.302 +I'll let you be rid of me even if I can't be rid of you... At least
 147.303 +one of us will be spared, right?" 
 147.304 +"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura's voice finally broke out of its paralysis.
 147.305 +"How... How can you even *think* these things!?" She shook her head
 147.306 +in utter disbelief, then dropped to her knees before the television
 147.307 +and pressed her palm against the screen. "Tomoyo-chan, come back to
 147.308 +me... Oh, please, oh, please, come back to me...." 
 147.309 +"Can you promise me just one thing, though?" 
 147.310 +Sakura thumped her palm against the screen. "Come *back* to me!!" 
 147.311 +"If you must remember me... please... *try* to remember me as I used
 147.312 +to be. I don't want to be remembered like this... Please... remember
 147.313 +me with a smile on my face. Remember me from those innocent times,
 147.314 +when we could walk hand in hand through the park and I could just let
 147.315 +my heart soar, unable to imagine ever being happier or more content.
 147.316 +Remember the costumes, and the laughter, and all those sweet little
 147.317 +things that meant so much... I can remember. I remember giggling over
 147.318 +our secret jokes, and you combing my hair, and how wonderful the
 147.319 +world always seemed when you were there..... I just wish I could
 147.320 +remember that and forget all the rest. I don't want to remember the
 147.321 +sleepless nights, tossing and turning, delighting in the agony of
 147.322 +having you by my side. And I don't want to remember how many times I
 147.323 +had to bite my tongue, holding back for fear of losing you..." 
 147.324 +Sakura clutched desperately at the screen, pressing her phone
 147.325 +painfully to her ear. 
 147.326 +After a long pause, Tomoyo finally appeared to regain her speech.
 147.327 +"Well... I... I'd better stop now. The tape should be almost over by
 147.328 +now, I think, and I'll have to hurry to the airport..." Sakura's hand
 147.329 +dropped limply to her side. "I... I wish things could've been better
 147.330 +for you, Sakura-chan. I know I've probably said and done some pretty
 147.331 +stupid, hurtful things over the years we've been friends, especially
 147.332 +tonight, and I hope you'll be able to find it in your heart to
 147.333 +forgive me... You're such a wonderful person, Sakura-chan. I wish you
 147.334 +luck in everything you ever do... Good-bye, Sakura-chan. You'll
 147.335 +always be the best friend I've ever had, no matter what... I love
 147.336 +you... I love you so much..." Sakura choked on a sob as Tomoyo's sad-
 147.337 +eyed image reached forward and in a moment was shot into a sea of
 147.338 +static. 
 147.339 +"Damn it..." Sakura stared through blurred eyes as shortly the
 147.340 +screen flashed blue and the VCR jumped into action once more,
 147.341 +stopping and rewinding the tape. She could only hear the telephone
 147.342 +still ringing in her ear in the most distant of ways, too numbed by
 147.343 +shock and pain to hear it as any more than a fading echo in a tomb.
 147.344 +Catching and reflecting the blue light of the television screen, a
 147.345 +lone tear glistened on her cheek, frozen prematurely, its path left
 147.346 +unfinished and its future uncertain. 
 147.347 +
 147.348 +
 147.349 +---------------------------------------------------------------------
 147.350 +----------- 
 147.351 +
 147.352 +
 147.353 +
 147.354 +
 147.355 +(Legal Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters in
 147.356 +this fanfic; I'm just borrowing them from CLAMP and whoever else
 147.357 +holds the rights.) 
 147.358 +
 147.359 +(Sequel to Author's Note: If you want to put this fic on your
 147.360 +website, are wondering why the hell someone would write a fic for a
 147.361 +story she knows so little of, or just want someone to talk about
 147.362 +anime lesbians with, please email me at either
 147.363 +womanprince@hotmail.com or poorjuri@hotmail.com. Thank you ^-^)
 147.364 \ No newline at end of file

   148.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   148.2 +++ b/stories/althea2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   148.3 @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
   148.4 +Why 
   148.5 +by Althea K. 
   148.6 +
   148.7 +
   148.8 +
   148.9 +I know you couldn't possibly understand. And that's alright. I don't
  148.10 +expect you to. 
  148.11 +
  148.12 +And I know that if I did try to explain it to you, you would protest
  148.13 +and say that I'm wrong, that no one will ever be more important to
  148.14 +you than I. And that's alright, too. Because I would know you didn't
  148.15 +mean to lie. 
  148.16 +
  148.17 +Someday, you'll be gone. Oh, sure, we might stay in touch:
  148.18 +occasional phone calls with long, uncomfortable silences, chance
  148.19 +meetings in public places involving forced, halting conversation and
  148.20 +maybe some awkward attempt at physical contact. But do you honestly
  148.21 +believe that as the years go by we'll be able to maintain this kind
  148.22 +of intensity? Believe me, there is nothing I would love more than to
  148.23 +remain forever the center of your universe, the focus of your life,
  148.24 +that routine yet joyous event that every day must be planned around.
  148.25 +I would love so much to spend my every moment by your side, to always
  148.26 +have your voice, rough with sleep, be the very first I hear when I
  148.27 +wake each morning. 
  148.28 +
  148.29 +But this will never be my place. 
  148.30 +
  148.31 +For now I can race through the streets with your hand clasped in
  148.32 +mine; for now I can collapse on the dewey grass with you, my head
  148.33 +resting on your soft belly until the last crazed traces of laughter
  148.34 +have faded from that violent hitching and heaving to the subtlety of
  148.35 +your gentle, steady breath. But there will come a time when I can no
  148.36 +longer crawl into bed with you and dream of your ever loving me as I
  148.37 +love you and pretend to feel your lips against my forehead as I drift
  148.38 +into sleep. There will come a time when there is another in that
  148.39 +place. This fortunate person will be honoured with that goodnight
  148.40 +kiss I have always secretly longed for but never could request from
  148.41 +you. 
  148.42 +
  148.43 +Our time together is so limited; I must cherish every moment I can
  148.44 +get. I must burn each and every moment into my memory, tuck each one
  148.45 +away for those bitter times ahead when I will have to watch you from
  148.46 +a distance, walking by his side. What else will keep me warm those
  148.47 +cold nights when you will run to his arms instead of mine? 
  148.48 +
  148.49 +There is no way to make you understand such things. I can see it in
  148.50 +your eyes, can feel it in your touch.. 
  148.51 +
  148.52 +I wish you wouldn't ask me. 
  148.53 +
  148.54 +Whenever I can't answer a question of yours with total honesty, I
  148.55 +feel sick in my heart. I feel like I have lied to you, have somehow
  148.56 +let you down. But if I told you the whole truth, you wouldn't
  148.57 +understand. You simply wouldn't see. The innocence in your voice when
  148.58 +you ask me is enough to make this certain fact. What good would it do
  148.59 +to confuse you, perhaps to frighten you? I don't want to make you cry. 
  148.60 +
  148.61 +And you would, wouldn't you? Cry and deny and cling to my arm.
  148.62 +Tangle loving fingers in my hair and tell me the end will never come.
  148.63 +Sing sweet lies to me, unable to see the truth through your tears of
  148.64 +naivety. 
  148.65 +
  148.66 +I wish you could blind me with those tears. I wish that I didn't
  148.67 +have to see the lonely nights ahead of me with such perfect clarity.
  148.68 +I could put away my camera and grab your hand and dance with you
  148.69 +until the years fall away like sheets of silk.. I could... I could.. 
  148.70 +
  148.71 +I could fall asleep on a pillow no longer damp with tears. 
  148.72 +
  148.73 +I could enjoy each moment without the desperate need to capture it
  148.74 +on film. 
  148.75 +
  148.76 +I could put away my camera without fear of missing anything.. 
  148.77 +
  148.78 +Oh.. I wish I could forget... 
  148.79 +
  148.80 +Every smile... Every laugh... I must hold... forever. 
  148.81 +
  148.82 +It may be the last you ever share with me. 
  148.83 +
  148.84 +
  148.85 +
  148.86 +
  148.87 +---------------------------------------------------------------------
  148.88 +----------- 
  148.89 +
  148.90 +
  148.91 +(Legal Disclaimer: The characters and situations of Card Captor
  148.92 +Sakura belong to CLAMP and.. whoever else holds the rights.) 
  148.93 +
  148.94 +(Author's Note: If you want to use this fanfic on your website, want
  148.95 +to talk about anime lesbians, or don't know what the hell this fanfic
  148.96 +was about, please email me at either womanprince@hotmail.com or
  148.97 +poorjuri@hotmail.com. Thank you.) 
  148.98 \ No newline at end of file

   149.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   149.2 +++ b/stories/alwayseternal1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   149.3 @@ -0,0 +1,343 @@
   149.4 +Always and Eternal
   149.5 +
   149.6 +By MH Hughes
   149.7 +
   149.8 + 
   149.9 +
  149.10 +Notes and the like: Ok, these characters do not belong to me….*phew* Got that off my chest!
  149.11 +
  149.12 +The fic is slightly AU-ish in the first part….the second will be more present day. Maybe….basically whatever I am in the mood for ^^
  149.13 +
  149.14 +And in being AU, expect possible OOC behavior. But you’ll like it, I swear ^^
  149.15 +
  149.16 +I will also begin this with a song, which I also do not own….it is by Cibo Matto, a Japanese group…I suggest you get one of their CD’s. They rock!!! Alright, I can babble at the end of the first part….^_~
  149.17 +
  149.18 + 
  149.19 +
  149.20 + 
  149.21 +
  149.22 + 
  149.23 +
  149.24 + 
  149.25 +
  149.26 + 
  149.27 +
  149.28 +*******************************************
  149.29 +
  149.30 + 
  149.31 +
  149.32 +She’s got a living stone and rain in her mind
  149.33 +
  149.34 +She doesn’t have an umbrella to cover herself
  149.35 +
  149.36 +She’s got a living stone and pain in her hand
  149.37 +
  149.38 +All I can do is sing for her and myself
  149.39 +
  149.40 +I wish I can take it away to three thousand light years away
  149.41 +
  149.42 +Don’t be afraid, I’ll be next to you.
  149.43 +
  149.44 + 
  149.45 +
  149.46 + 
  149.47 +
  149.48 +*************************************************
  149.49 +
  149.50 + 
  149.51 +
  149.52 +Sakura fell into bed, feeling exhausted and spent. She had no reason to feel this way…school, cheerleading practice, coming home and doing chores……
  149.53 +
  149.54 +Even Kero was sleeping when she got in and not playing that video game of his.
  149.55 +
  149.56 +Why am I so tired?
  149.57 +
  149.58 +She closed her eyes, grateful for the darkness. But sleep wouldn’t come easily at first.
  149.59 +
  149.60 +Instead, Sakura laid there and stared out the window, her eyes seemingly searching….
  149.61 +
  149.62 +For what?
  149.63 +
  149.64 +A Clow card? No….I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary.
  149.65 +
  149.66 +Except myself. I don’t feel ordinary. Hoe…..
  149.67 +
  149.68 +She felt a headache coming on. Sakura massaged her temples and tried to come up with the explanation for her odd feeling.
  149.69 +
  149.70 +It started today….early this morning….before dawn…..
  149.71 +
  149.72 +Sakura paused in her ministrations. A dream.
  149.73 +
  149.74 +She awoke with from a dream, the effects of it still cloying at her, heavy like humid air….
  149.75 +
  149.76 +Sakura couldn’t shake the feeling all day.
  149.77 +
  149.78 +I just want to sleep….Sakura turned on her side and forced her mind to stop thinking about it, it wasn’t a vision…at least it didn’t feel like it.
  149.79 +
  149.80 +Good, Sakura decided.
  149.81 +
  149.82 +No problems, time to relax…..to sleep…..She yawned, letting her eyelids grow heavy, until her breathing calmed…..her headache left….her muscles uncurled…..
  149.83 +
  149.84 +And for a moment, almost too brief to be noticed, a flutter went through her body.
  149.85 +
  149.86 +It clinched at her heart.
  149.87 +
  149.88 +But Sakura didn’t catch it. She slipped into slumber.
  149.89 +
  149.90 + 
  149.91 +
  149.92 +***********************************************************
  149.93 +
  149.94 + 
  149.95 +
  149.96 +Again, that dream…..
  149.97 +
  149.98 +Sakura barely tasted her food at breakfast. Even Touya commented on her lack of enthusiasm. 
  149.99 +
 149.100 +She didn’t understand it herself.
 149.101 +
 149.102 +The dream was so vivid……
 149.103 +
 149.104 +Sakura was sipping from a cup, bitter tea…very bitter…..salty?
 149.105 +
 149.106 +No, that was tears….tears pouring from her face and into the tea. Why am I crying so?
 149.107 +
 149.108 +Sakura then looked up and saw Tomoyo, the girl looking beautiful in a robe….so many colors…
 149.109 +
 149.110 +Red, blue, orange, yellow…..
 149.111 +
 149.112 +“Don’t you remember?” Tomoyo kept asking. Sakura could only cry.
 149.113 +
 149.114 +“How could you leave me?” Was all Sakura could say…over and over…..her sobbing only becoming worse.
 149.115 +
 149.116 +Sakura shuddered at the thought of it now.
 149.117 +
 149.118 +Is something going to happen to me? Or to Tomoyo?
 149.119 +
 149.120 + 
 149.121 +
 149.122 +It was hot. Too hot. Sakura roller bladed down the street slowly, Tomoyo walking beside her, talking about her newest fashion creation…..
 149.123 +“Sound good, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked, shaking Sakura out of her overheated haze.
 149.124 +
 149.125 +“Uh…yes, very nice…”
 149.126 +
 149.127 +“Sakura, it is rude not to listen when someone is talking to you…” Tomoyo giggled, showing that it really didn’t bother her at all that Sakura seemed a million miles away.
 149.128 +
 149.129 +Sakura smiled weakly, the dream presenting itself once again…should I tell Tomoyo?
 149.130 +
 149.131 +But Tomoyo’s house loomed ahead and Sakura sighed dejectedly.
 149.132 +
 149.133 +Guess not…..
 149.134 +
 149.135 +“And we’ll still go on that picnic on Saturday?” Tomoyo asked.
 149.136 +
 149.137 +“Of course, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura said, running a hand through her hair. Tomoyo smiled at her warmly and grabbed Sakura’s shoulder.
 149.138 +
 149.139 +“You can tell me anything, Sakura-chan…..” The girl said softly. Was Sakura that obvious with her plight?
 149.140 +
 149.141 +“Oh, no…I’m fine! See?” Sakura smiled broadly, hoping Tomoyo couldn’t tell she was lying.
 149.142 +
 149.143 +If the black haired girl did know, she didn’t let on.
 149.144 +
 149.145 +****************************************************************
 149.146 +
 149.147 + 
 149.148 +
 149.149 +Sakura took at bath, trying to refresh herself.
 149.150 +
 149.151 +It did not work very well.
 149.152 +
 149.153 +She walked into her bedroom, looking idly for Kero.
 149.154 +
 149.155 +“Kero-chan?” She questioned. No answer….that’s strange….Unless….
 149.156 +
 149.157 +The cake downstairs…Sakura knew she should go after him, but could not muster the energy to catch him and bring him back.
 149.158 +
 149.159 +If he gets caught, I can come up with something….maybe.
 149.160 +
 149.161 +She glanced at her desk of drawers, seeing the picture of her and Tomoyo, sliding her finger over the glass…..
 149.162 +
 149.163 +What is the dream telling me?
 149.164 +
 149.165 +Sakura suddenly felt very dizzy, her head swimming….light and disconnected with the rest of her body….She dropped to her knees, watching the room spin out of control.
 149.166 +
 149.167 +“Don’t you remember?” Tomoyo’s voice echoed. Sakura tried to focus on the sound of the other girl, to try and find it in this confusion….
 149.168 +
 149.169 +“Don’t you?” The voice pleaded. Sakura grabbed her head….remember? Remember what?
 149.170 +
 149.171 +Then she saw herself, kneeling across from her….watching her.
 149.172 +
 149.173 +Is…is this a card? Sakura’s mind managed to ask.
 149.174 +
 149.175 +Her double smiled at her, reaching out to touch Sakura’s face…..
 149.176 +
 149.177 +“You must try, try to recall the past….” Sakura heard herself say.
 149.178 +
 149.179 +Tears sprang forth from her eyes at those words…..
 149.180 +
 149.181 +Sakura rested her head in her hands.
 149.182 +
 149.183 +“I have tried….I have…..please, show me how….” 
 149.184 +
 149.185 +*************************************************************
 149.186 +
 149.187 + 
 149.188 +
 149.189 + 
 149.190 +
 149.191 +Then she drifted, pulled by a black current she could not fight….The further she went, the less she could recall her room, her brother or father…all of it was slipping away from her mind’s grasp. What….? A small tendril of light was piercing her vision. Dawn…it feels like morning, Sakura thought, feeling oddly calm and serene.
 149.192 +
 149.193 +Her hands fell to her sides, grazing….is this grass? Yes, grass….Sakura sat up, recognizing the field before her, it’s tall green waving at her…..My field….mine…….
 149.194 +
 149.195 +In the distance, smoke weaved it’s way upward and into the sky…..a house….my house.
 149.196 +
 149.197 +Sakura began to walk.
 149.198 +
 149.199 +This path…I know it, Sakura thought. Each step she took seemed familiar, filling her soul with an unknown happiness.
 149.200 +
 149.201 +I am finally home, Sakura smiled to herself.
 149.202 +
 149.203 +*********************************************************************
 149.204 +
 149.205 + 
 149.206 +
 149.207 + 
 149.208 +
 149.209 +Tomoyo was almost asleep when she heard a small tapping at her bedroom window. She got up and threw the curtains open, almost expecting Sakura to be there….
 149.210 +
 149.211 +“Kero-chan?” Tomoyo whispered, her face falling somewhat. The Seal beast came into her room, all business.
 149.212 +
 149.213 +“A new card has Sakura under it’s magic.” Kero stated. Tomoyo felt her blood run cold.
 149.214 +
 149.215 +“Sakura….” Her voice managed to say, as she grabbed some more suitable clothing, her limbs feeling numb.
 149.216 +
 149.217 +“It is the Memory Card….I have yet to understand all it’s powers…” Kero talked as Tomoyo climbed out of her window.
 149.218 +
 149.219 +“You don’t know what it does?” Tomoyo asked, not wanting to sound worried but unable to conceal it.
 149.220 +
 149.221 +“Let’s go. I’ll show her to you.” Kero answered.
 149.222 +
 149.223 + 
 149.224 +
 149.225 +***********************************************************************
 149.226 +
 149.227 + 
 149.228 +
 149.229 + 
 149.230 +
 149.231 +Sakura entered the house, touching the table with the red cloth, so fine….hanging on the surface.
 149.232 +
 149.233 +She lingered in the kitchen, her fingertips pressing onto the cool marble counter, her nose taking in the scents of a recent meal….cumin or rosemary….her mother’s herb garden, near the stream….
 149.234 +
 149.235 +Sakura went further into the home, to where she knew her room waited for her.
 149.236 +
 149.237 +Her bed, disheveled, her books from school….the little hearts she drew on the thin paper given to her….given by…….
 149.238 +
 149.239 +Sakura felt tears splash onto her cheeks.
 149.240 +
 149.241 +Tomoyo……
 149.242 +
 149.243 + 
 149.244 +
 149.245 +She ran as fast as she could without falling down. Each root was jumped, all puddles of muddy water were traversed with ease……Just over there, just a little bit further……
 149.246 +
 149.247 +Sakura stopped short, not wanting to look desperate and slowed her pace down.
 149.248 +
 149.249 +Then she saw the girl.
 149.250 +
 149.251 +She sat in the garden, letting the flowers be graced by her presence, her soft gray-black hair loose…not in the usual bun her mother insisted on…..
 149.252 +
 149.253 +Sakura felt her heart skip a beat.
 149.254 +
 149.255 +“Tomoyo!” Sakura hollered out, waving a hand. Tomoyo smiled at her…..that smile! I feel as though I have not seen it forever, Sakura thought as she ran over.
 149.256 +
 149.257 +She couldn’t stop herself from embracing Tomoyo. 
 149.258 +
 149.259 +The girl laughed softly.
 149.260 +
 149.261 +“Sakura-chan?” She asked. But Sakura just held her, afraid…..very afraid Tomoyo would disappear if she let go.
 149.262 +
 149.263 +“Is something wrong?” Tomoyo asked, her voice a little concerned.
 149.264 +
 149.265 +“I just missed you.” Sakura answered, knowing it would sound silly. Tomoyo giggled and pushed Sakura off gently.
 149.266 +
 149.267 +“I just saw you at Mitashi-sensei’s, Sakura-chan……”
 149.268 +
 149.269 +“I know.” Sakura blushed, now feeling embarrassed. She fidgeted with her hands until Tomoyo shook her head understandingly.
 149.270 +
 149.271 +“You had that dream again didn’t you?” Tomoyo stated. Sakura nodded, her face lowered.
 149.272 +
 149.273 +“I am not going to leave here…you mustn’t let it bother you. Mother doesn’t believe anyone would marry me anyway…too independent minded she says….And marriage would be the only way I could leave, though it would be nice to see the world….”
 149.274 +
 149.275 +Sakura grabbed the girls delicate hands in her own.
 149.276 +
 149.277 +“You and I can travel, Tomoyo-chan” Sakura said softly, hoping…just hoping….
 149.278 +
 149.279 +“And how would we live? Selling rice cakes by the trading road?” Tomoyo laughed.
 149.280 +
 149.281 +“But…?”
 149.282 +
 149.283 +“Gomen, Sakura-chan, but that is unrealistic. Though, I find it sweet that you would want to spend your days with me….arigatou, Sakura.”
 149.284 +
 149.285 +Tomoyo stood up then, pulling her hands away and walked onto the terrace.
 149.286 +
 149.287 +“Want to stay for dinner, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked, suddenly cheery and light.
 149.288 +
 149.289 +“Nani?” Sakura asked, still trying to feel Tomoyo’s hands in hers.
 149.290 +
 149.291 +“Dinner?”
 149.292 +
 149.293 +“Hai…” Sakura followed her inside…….
 149.294 +
 149.295 +My Tomoyo….don’t leave me….
 149.296 +
 149.297 + 
 149.298 +
 149.299 +*****************************************************************
 149.300 +
 149.301 + 
 149.302 +
 149.303 +Li looks upset, Tomoyo noted. I suppose he really does care for Sakura….I wonder if Sakura feels the same? The two seem so different, but they carry some of the same qualities….
 149.304 +
 149.305 +They hunt the Clow Cards.
 149.306 +
 149.307 +They both had crushes on Yukito-san.
 149.308 +
 149.309 +Maybe…would this be the special person for her Sakura?
 149.310 +
 149.311 +“It is possible…” Kero muttered. Tomoyo knew that Li and Kero had little affection for each other, but she hoped that they could put it all aside for Sakura’s sake.
 149.312 +
 149.313 +“It is the only possibility, but…I do not know how to break the spell.” Li said somberly.
 149.314 +
 149.315 +“Silly pookie baka….” Kero stated, to which Li grumbled. Tomoyo sighed.
 149.316 +
 149.317 +“Sakura needs our help…please fight later.” She pleaded. The two of them backed down.
 149.318 +
 149.319 +“So, it is thought to be Memory’s purpose to what?” She asked Li.
 149.320 +
 149.321 +“It lulls you to sleep in order for you to recall memories your mind has repressed…..whether in this life or another…”
 149.322 +
 149.323 +“Really?” Tomoyo looked at the sleeping girl, that beautiful auburn hair framing her face…..
 149.324 +
 149.325 +Sakura, what are you remembering? Tomoyo wondered.
 149.326 +
 149.327 + 
 149.328 +
 149.329 +**************************************************************************
 149.330 +
 149.331 + 
 149.332 +
 149.333 +End of Part one
 149.334 +
 149.335 + 
 149.336 +
 149.337 + 
 149.338 +
 149.339 +Notes:
 149.340 +
 149.341 +*sighs* I feel better now! I have wanted to right this forever…..^^ Any questions about plot? Like what the hell is going on? Email me and I will explain all…in great detail, no doubt ^_~
 149.342 +
 149.343 +You can find me residing at SPIRITWOMAN@skybest.ocm
 149.344 +
 149.345 +MH
 149.346 +

   150.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   150.2 +++ b/stories/alwayseternal2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   150.3 @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
   150.4 +Always and Eternal  Part Two
   150.5 +
   150.6 +By MH Hughes
   150.7 +SPIRITWOMAN@skybest.com
   150.8 + 
   150.9 +Notes: It has taken me too long to write the second part for this story….gomen
  150.10 +^^;;  I have been very busy these days (I know, excuses…excuses….) But here we
  150.11 +go…I hope you like!
  150.12 +
  150.13 + 
  150.14 +********************
  150.15 +
  150.16 + 
  150.17 + 
  150.18 +Li was able to use the illusion card for the next day, the fake Sakura claiming
  150.19 +illness. Touya was suspicious, but Tomoyo finally convinced him that she would
  150.20 +keep an eye on her and tell him if she worsened.
  150.21 +“I don’t know how long we can keep this up…” Tomoyo whispered. Li rubbed his
  150.22 +bloodshot eyes and nodded in agreement.
  150.23 +“I have tried all my ideas….if the Kero cannot come up with something….” Li
  150.24 +stared at the floor. Tomoyo shook him by the shoulder to force him to look up.
  150.25 +“We will not stop until she awakens.” She stated confidently. Li smiled briefly.
  150.26 +“Of course.” He answered.
  150.27 +     Tomoyo turned back to the sleeping Sakura, noting the faintest of smiles on
  150.28 +her lips….the memory must be a good one, Tomoyo thought as she ran her fingers
  150.29 +lightly through Sakura’s hair. Tomoyo felt a little bad, relishing this moment
  150.30 +of closeness and savoring the softness of Sakura’s hair, while Sakura was under
  150.31 +a Card’s influence.  She let the strands slip through her fingers and fall onto
  150.32 +the pillow without a sound.
  150.33 +Sakura-chan……..
  150.34 +I love you…..Please come back to me…….
  150.35 +
  150.36 + 
  150.37 +**********************
  150.38 +
  150.39 + 
  150.40 + 
  150.41 +      Sakura walked behind Tomoyo and into the woods.
  150.42 +“Did you hear that?” Tomoyo hissed, reaching back and grabbing Sakura’s hand.
  150.43 +Sakura calmed herself, holding the hand of her beloved, and stepped closer.
  150.44 +“It’s nothing Tomoyo-chan….come on, the others will be waiting for us….” Sakura
  150.45 +grinned. Tomoyo frowned.
  150.46 +“I don’t like spooky things like this….do you believe in the mists?” The black
  150.47 +haired girl asked, now holding onto Sakura’s arm as they walked. 
  150.48 +“I guess so.”
  150.49 +“I hope nothing happens, nothing at all….” Tomoyo shuddered. Sakura hugged her
  150.50 +quickly.
  150.51 +“It will be fine, I’ll be there to protect you.”
  150.52 +
  150.53 + 
  150.54 +       “Did you bring your lanterns?” Rika asked. The others nodded silently. 
  150.55 +“Now…light them and repeat this verse from the shrine….then the mists will be
  150.56 +released….” Rika announced. Everyone did as told. Sakura glanced at Tomoyo,
  150.57 +whose hand shook as she lit her candle, a soft blue surrounding her face and
  150.58 +showing her nervousness. Sakura was about to go over to her when someone
  150.59 +screamed out. 
  150.60 +“I saw something! Over there!” Chiharu pointed to the right of herself, the
  150.61 +densest part of the wood. Everyone started to grab their lanterns,  high pitched
  150.62 +voices and one girl was crying, all eager to leave before the mists got them.
  150.63 +Rika was trying to calm people, but to no avail.
  150.64 +Sakura watched the woods, looking for the mists….she wanted to see it, to know
  150.65 +for sure if it was real or not…She walked closer to the trees and noticed a
  150.66 +light, small and yellow, in the distance….should I go closer? Sakura wondered.
  150.67 +She took a small step and focused on the light….she listened for a sound….Sakura
  150.68 +walked  closer, feeling light headed….She placed a hand on a tree.
  150.69 +What is wrong? Why can’t I stay standing?
  150.70 +“Sakura!”
  150.71 +Someone is calling me….but why can’t I move? The light….it is getting closer…..
  150.72 +“Please, Sakura, answer me!”
  150.73 +Sakura tried to  turn and yell out, but the light was too bright for her to
  150.74 +think on anything else….A whisper slid past her ears, clear as a bell….
  150.75 +
  150.76 +“We may never get her back…..” A soft voice echoed, followed by sobbing.
  150.77 +
  150.78 +The next thing Sakura remembered was being dragged by her arm and being held
  150.79 +tightly. Sakura cleared her throat, trying to swallow….Tomoyo looked at her.
  150.80 +“Oh Sakura-chan….you scared me so! I called for you and could not find
  150.81 +you….don’t do that ever again! The others thought a spirit captured you and
  150.82 +I…I…” Tomoyo stopped, tears forming in her eyes. Sakura managed a smile, her
  150.83 +body not really responding to her commands.
  150.84 +“Don’t…cry…Tomoyo-chan….” She whispered. Tomoyo reached out and touched her
  150.85 +fingertips to Sakura’s cheek.
  150.86 +And they just stood there until Rika ran over to them.
  150.87 +“Sakura, I am so glad you are okay….” She said out of breath. “Did you see
  150.88 +something like Chiharu?”
  150.89 +Sakura tore her gaze from Tomoyo and nodded.
  150.90 +“Yes….”
  150.91 +
  150.92 + 
  150.93 +**************
  150.94 +
  150.95 + 
  150.96 +       Tomoyo left a note and hoped no one would get too angry, but Sakura had
  150.97 +to be somewhere safe until they could wake her. She told her mother that Sakura
  150.98 +would be staying for the entire weekend, but was too sick to do much…I hope this
  150.99 +works, Tomoyo worried as she settled Sakura under the blankets.
 150.100 +I get to sleep next to her….Tomoyo sighed and slipped under the covers, watching
 150.101 +Sakura in her slumber.
 150.102 +So beautiful….My Sakura….my cherry blossom….
 150.103 +Tomoyo snuggled closer and brought her lips to Sakura’s ear.
 150.104 +“I know you can hear me, Sakura-chan…..I’ll take care of you until you come back
 150.105 +to us….to me.” Tomoyo whispered, wrapping her arms around the girl’s waist and
 150.106 +drifting to sleep.
 150.107 +
 150.108 + 
 150.109 +****************
 150.110 +
 150.111 +End of pt. 2
 150.112 +
 150.113 +More notes: Ok, good? Bad? Strange? Anywho, I hope you like it as much as I like
 150.114 +writing it…^_^
 150.115 +
 150.116 +You can find me at SPIRITWOMAN@skybest.com
 150.117 +MH
 150.118 +
 150.119 +Note: This message contains an HTML attachment.The HTML code may potentially contain malicious scripting,so please open at your own risk.  If you would like toview this message in a separate browser window,then please Click here to open.
 150.120 +
 150.121 +

   151.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   151.2 +++ b/stories/angel-gatecrasher.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   151.3 @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@
   151.4 +Hey guys,
   151.5 +this is my first ever fan fic so I'd really appreciate feedback on it.
   151.6 +
   151.7 +It's based on the Angel/Dust manga by Aoi Nanase. It's currently being
   151.8 +serialised in the Newtype magazine and for indepth information on the
   151.9 +storyline, plot details, translations and images etc. check out my site at
  151.10 +http://www.asgard.gen.nz/anime/aoinanase/
  151.11 +The story is incomplete and I'll post it on the ML each time I complete a
  151.12 +chapter (if thats cool)
  151.13 +
  151.14 +And here we go... please to be not dissing TOO much ^_^;
  151.15 +
  151.16 +Disclaimer:
  151.17 +
  151.18 +This story is written in a parallel universe to the Angel/Dust story.
  151.19 +Characters and concepts remain intact but as Angel/Dust is, as yet, incomplete
  151.20 +(31.03.01) the events within this story may not follow the thread of the actual
  151.21 +manga.
  151.22 +This is a yuri fan fic… i.e. love/sex between two females. If you are against
  151.23 +such goings on, you have been warned. Please do not expect to find gratuitous
  151.24 +sex scenes; sex is only used within this story as an expression of love.
  151.25 +Characters, concepts and Angel/Dust are copyright to Aoi Nanase.
  151.26 +
  151.27 +Composed to the sounds of Gatecrasher Wet.
  151.28 +
  151.29 +Chapter 1
  151.30 +
  151.31 +Staring up at the sky Yuina sighed. It was a warm spring evening and the
  151.32 +darkening sky above already glittered with stars. All around, the city lights
  151.33 +were coming on and the dull roar of traffic and humanity seemed to be more
  151.34 +muted. Yuina noticed none of this. Lost in her own world, she slowly trudged
  151.35 +home. She was not looking forward to a night of sitting in her room, alone.
  151.36 +Listening to her aunt getting ready to go out, smiling and nodding to whatever
  151.37 +she said. Not wanting to get in the way.
  151.38 +
  151.39 +She always felt like she was in the way. Soon after her mother died, her father
  151.40 +had asked his sister to look after his daughter until she graduated from high
  151.41 +school. Yuina had always felt like she was in the way. Always felt that she was
  151.42 +causing people problems just by her very existence. Over time, trying to be
  151.43 +perfect and un-obtrusive had become part of her nature. She went through the
  151.44 +motions of life in a shell. She had cut herself off so much from life, she no
  151.45 +longer even sang.
  151.46 +
  151.47 +Yuina used to love singing, and she sang very well indeed. Being able to play
  151.48 +the piano at an early age, Yuina had developed a strong music talent. It had
  151.49 +all shattered during middle school. Even though her talent was recognized
  151.50 +during a try out for the school choir, someone else got the lead role and
  151.51 +Yuina's confidence has deserted her.
  151.52 +
  151.53 +Walking through a deserted playground Yuina saw a swing and went and sat on it.
  151.54 +Pushing herself, she gently rocked back and forth, staring up at the sky.
  151.55 +
  151.56 +Little bird, why don't you sing for me?
  151.57 +
  151.58 +There was a slight breeze blowing, and through it Yuina heard the whispered
  151.59 +words. Frowning she looked around, trying to find the speaker.
  151.60 +
  151.61 +Sing. Please sing for me. Sing so I can be with you!
  151.62 +
  151.63 +Shaking her head Yuina muttered to herself "I'm hearing things."
  151.64 +
  151.65 +There was a soft laughter.
  151.66 +
  151.67 +Sing for me.
  151.68 +
  151.69 +"But I don't sing anymore!" Yuina replied, brushing away a lock of hair that
  151.70 +had escaped its bindings. Unsure and a little scared she whispered, "I can't
  151.71 +sing."
  151.72 +
  151.73 +Oh but you can! I've heard you sing Yuina. Sing so beautifully that the heavens
  151.74 +have wept.
  151.75 +
  151.76 +"You've heard me sing?" Again Yuina frowned. Standing up, she began pacing
  151.77 +around the playground, trying to find the source of the voice. The breeze had
  151.78 +picked up and leaves flew across the ground. Yuina's long hair waved out behind
  151.79 +her, slowly coming loose from the ribbon that that bound it up in a braid.
  151.80 +
  151.81 +Yes I have. Through space and time have I heard you sing. Now please, sing for
  151.82 +me again.
  151.83 +
  151.84 +Coming to a stop under a cherry tree Yuina gave up looking and shook her head.
  151.85 +She must be going mad to start hearing voices like this, but, then, she always
  151.86 +wondered whether she was mad. Nothing made sense in her life. No one wanted her
  151.87 +and she could never do things right. She must be mad!
  151.88 +
  151.89 +Laughing to herself Yuina said, "Okay, I'll sing."
  151.90 +
  151.91 +There was a soft sigh, whether it was the wind or the cherry tree above
  151.92 +creaking against the growing force of the wind Yuina did not care. Searching
  151.93 +for a song to sing, she noticed a cherry blossom floating past her. A song came
  151.94 +into her mind, and lifting her face up to the sky, she began to sing.
  151.95 +
  151.96 +At first her voice sounded rusty, off key from dis-use; but slowly it grew in
  151.97 +strength and clarity, musical words spilling from her lips as she sang with
  151.98 +pure joy about the coming of spring. The renewal of life to a barren, dead
  151.99 +world. The wind had grown and now blew with enough strength to whip off the
 151.100 +cherry blossoms from the tree and send them streaming around the singing girl,
 151.101 +who noticed none of it, too lost in the power of the song. Deep inside, Yuina
 151.102 +began waking up. The words of the song struck her. "I'm singing! I'm singing
 151.103 +again!"
 151.104 +
 151.105 +Yes you are Yuina! Thankyou! Thankyou!
 151.106 +
 151.107 +There was a flash of blinding golden light and everything around her turned a
 151.108 +shade of gold too bright to behold. Then something fell from the sky. A
 151.109 +feather. Then another feather, and then more feathers until the sky swirled
 151.110 +with feathers and cherry blossoms. Gasping in delight Yuina stared up, arms
 151.111 +stretched out and slowly turning. Something large drifted down amongst the
 151.112 +feathers, and crying out Yuina watched as it fell to the ground near her feet.
 151.113 +
 151.114 +"An angel!"
 151.115 +
 151.116 +What else could it be? Female of form, long legs, slender hips, full bosom and
 151.117 +the longest pearly hair; the most arresting features were the huge white wings
 151.118 +attached to the figure. Although, this was a strange angel indeed for it wore
 151.119 +clothes quite alien to any depiction of an angel Yuina had ever seen before.
 151.120 +The wind died down and with it the wings disappeared. The ground around them
 151.121 +was covered with cherry blossoms and feathers; gulping, Yuina slowly approached
 151.122 +the inert figure, wondering what she was to do.
 151.123 +
 151.124 +She was saved from having to make a choice when a groan came from the figure.
 151.125 +Slowly the female sat up, wincing and looking around with a slightly dazed
 151.126 +expression.
 151.127 +
 151.128 +"Where..?" it whispered to itself, and at the same time Yuina haltingly asked
 151.129 +"Are… are you alright?"
 151.130 +
 151.131 +The female looked at Yuina and then a slow smile formed on her lips. "Yuina!"
 151.132 +she whispered, the name breathed out with an almost sensual joy. Stepping back
 151.133 +Yuina replied, "Yes? How do you know me?" The female laughed and carefully
 151.134 +stood up, brushing off a cherry blossom from her arm. Stepping towards Yuina
 151.135 +she said "Thankyou for singing for me Yuina."
 151.136 +
 151.137 +Blinking in shock, it slowly registered to Yuina that this female was the
 151.138 +source of the mysterious voice. "Who… who are you!"
 151.139 +
 151.140 +"I have no name… although… you may call me by my hierarchy code… Seraph," the
 151.141 +female replied, again taking another step closer to Yuina. Before Yuina could
 151.142 +say anything Seraph said, "Yuina, I need your help. Will you make contract with
 151.143 +me?"
 151.144 +
 151.145 +"Contract? What sort of contract?" Yuina felt confused. Dazed by the beauty of
 151.146 +Seraph and by these strange events. "This contract…" Seraph whispered, and
 151.147 +before Yuina could do anything, Seraph placed her hands gently onto Yuina's
 151.148 +shoulders, bent her head, and kissed her.
 151.149 +
 151.150 +Yuina stood still, unable to believe that she was being kissed, and by a female
 151.151 +no less! She couldn't move though. Couldn't break the kiss or protest in any
 151.152 +way. She was finding this kiss far too pleasurable. Seraph's full lips were
 151.153 +soft against hers, caressing her lips. When Yuina felt Seraph's tongue gently
 151.154 +stroke her bottom lip, she shivered. Seraph broke the kiss then, and all Yuina
 151.155 +could do was stare up at her beautiful face.
 151.156 +
 151.157 +Stroking Yuina's cheek, Seraph smiled and whispered "We are one now."
 151.158 +
 151.159 +Chapter 2.
 151.160 +
 151.161 +    "Miss Akiho? It's time to wake up Miss Akiho," a voice called, and groaning
 151.162 +Akiho Kudou rolled over and opened her eyes. She saw her maid Okudzume staring
 151.163 +anxiously down at her. Groaning again Akiho said, "I'm going to sleep some
 151.164 +more, go away!" There was a silence. "But Miss Akiho, your father wants to see
 151.165 +you at breakfast."
 151.166 +
 151.167 +Akiho sat up and cursed. "And I shouldn't keep dear daddy waiting should I?"
 151.168 +Swinging her legs off the bed, Akiho stretched and stared out the huge French
 151.169 +windows that lined one wall of her spacious bedroom. "Now Miss Akiho, you
 151.170 +shouldn't speak of your father like that," Okudzume admonished, laying out her
 151.171 +mistress' new school uniform. "I can talk about my father any way I please.
 151.172 +It's at least one grace I can allow myself!" Akiho said, bitterly hating how
 151.173 +much of her life was dictated by her father.
 151.174 +
 151.175 +All her life Akiho had done what her father had told her to do. Never wanting
 151.176 +to dis-please him in any way. Never wanting to lose his good opinion of her.
 151.177 +Always wanting to be the best for him. She had even given up her best friend
 151.178 +for him.
 151.179 +
 151.180 +Akiho could remember the event well enough. It was when she was in middle
 151.181 +school. Her father had learned of the trials for the lead role in the choir and
 151.182 +wanted her to get it. He had know that her best friend would be trying out for
 151.183 +the position and her told her on the day of the trial "Don't let Hatori's
 151.184 +daughter win Akiho. You are a Kudou so don't let me down!"
 151.185 +
 151.186 +When her best friend had been chosen for the lead role Akiho had been consumed
 151.187 +with envy. She had complained, saying that she, a Kudou was better! Knowing
 151.188 +that the school would not go against someone as powerful as her father, she had
 151.189 +been given the lead role.
 151.190 +
 151.191 +It had been an empty victory.
 151.192 +
 151.193 +"Oh Yuina, I wonder whether you can ever forgive me?" Akiho whispered,
 151.194 +remembering how at the time she had lorded her victory over her best friend;
 151.195 +while deep inside hating Yuina. She had known very well that Yuina was far
 151.196 +better in singing than she could ever be.
 151.197 +From that point on they had grown apart, and soon after Akiho had been
 151.198 +transferred to a private boarding school for the rich. Making her way to the
 151.199 +bathroom ensuite, Akiho wondered whether she would ever be given the chance to
 151.200 +make up for her mistake.
 151.201 +
 151.202 +An hour later, Akiho bowed to her father as she entered the breakfast room.
 151.203 +Sitting at the shokutaku, her knees bent beneath her, Akiho let a servant serve
 151.204 +her with an assortment of raw quail eggs, grilled fish, miso soup and rice.
 151.205 +
 151.206 +"Good morning Akiho, I trust you slept well?" her father asked. "Hai otousan,"
 151.207 +she murmured, taking up her chopsticks and delicately picking up a piece of
 151.208 +fish and placing it in her mouth. It tasted delicious, but to Akiho it was
 151.209 +another reminder of how her father's riches could control all aspects of her
 151.210 +life.
 151.211 +
 151.212 +"I'm glad. Today is your first day at this new high school and I hope it goes
 151.213 +well for you." Rustling the papers he was reading, he put them down and looked
 151.214 +at his daughter. She was a petite creature, resembling her dead mother in
 151.215 +appearance. A good child most times, he was slightly disappointed that she had
 151.216 +not been born a male. Unfortunately her mother had died giving birth to her,
 151.217 +and being too busy to bother with finding another wife, he had given her care
 151.218 +over to nannies and governesses.
 151.219 +If she continued to be a dutiful daughter, he would make sure she married well.
 151.220 +Daughters were good for sealing deals through marriage, if anything.
 151.221 +
 151.222 +Gently patting his mouth with a napkin, he said, "I have a gift for you Akiho."
 151.223 +The door opened and a woman walked in. Looking at her, Akiho felt very
 151.224 +self-conscious, the woman was extremely beautiful. Long straight black hair
 151.225 +reaching just past her knees and a svelte, neatly rounded figure dressed in a
 151.226 +fashionable suit. She walked to her father's side and bowed, before turning and
 151.227 +bowing to Akiho. "This, is Sahaku. I've arranged that she becomes your new
 151.228 +homeroom teacher at the school. Her ultimate task is to make your life easier.
 151.229 +Please listen to whatever she says."
 151.230 +
 151.231 +You really mean her job is to watch over me and make sure I don't do anything
 151.232 +that would harm the Kudou name Akiho thought, inwardly shaking with fury.
 151.233 +
 151.234 +Her father then stood. Akiho immediately stood up and bowed. Pleased, he said
 151.235 +"This is your first day at school. Do well and don't disappoint me."
 151.236 +
 151.237 +Half an hour later, her father's limo rolled to a stopped in front of her new
 151.238 +school. Waiting for the chauffer to open the door, Akiho stared at the
 151.239 +sprawling building and the groups of students making their way to classes. This
 151.240 +was the first time since middle school that she had been to a public school.
 151.241 +Although she wasn't exactly a snob, she felt she had nothing in common with
 151.242 +them. Being brought up in the lap of luxury, she had developed an appreciation
 151.243 +for the finer things in life. Even that didn't stop her from wishing she had
 151.244 +more friends, but most were intimidated by her father's wealth and standing.
 151.245 +
 151.246 +That was one of the many reasons why she loved having Yuina as a best friend.
 151.247 +Yuina had looked past the wealth and fame and seen her for who she was; smiling
 151.248 +to herself she realized that Yuina probably never saw the wealth at all. Yuina
 151.249 +had been a good friend, and she Akiho, had gone and ruined it all.
 151.250 +
 151.251 +"Life is a constant battle Miss Akiho, those who are ruthless succeed,"
 151.252 +murmured Sahaku, and with a start Akiho stared at the woman sitting next to her
 151.253 +in dismay. Sahaku smiled and answered her un-spoken question "Yes, I read
 151.254 +minds. More specifically, your mind."
 151.255 +
 151.256 +"What? Why… how?" Akiho asked, confused. "We are connected Akiho. Connected in
 151.257 +a way that can only make the both of us stronger," Sahaku replied, sliding
 151.258 +closer to her, her skirt riding up her thighs. Reaching out with a slender
 151.259 +hand, Sahaku stroked Akiho's smooth cheek, black lacquered nails gently
 151.260 +scratching at each stroke. Held immobile by the rhythmic strokes and the
 151.261 +mesmerizing glitter in Sahaku's eyes, Akiho could only watch.
 151.262 +
 151.263 +She didn't feel afraid. She felt almost resigned to what was to come. Sahaku,
 151.264 +for all her subservient exterior, was turning out to be as controlling as her
 151.265 +father. By the looks of it, she had her father wrapped around her fingers and
 151.266 +no amount of complaint from Akiho would sway her father from his faith in the
 151.267 +woman. This realization was enough to make Akiho silently scream inside.
 151.268 +
 151.269 +"Yes connected Akiho. Together we will fulfill both our dreams," Sahaku
 151.270 +whispered. Capturing Akiho's face in her hands she knelt forward and nipped
 151.271 +Akiho's ear, before trailing soft kisses across her cheek, and then onto her
 151.272 +mouth. The kiss was a shock to the senses. Akiho could feel Sahaku inside of
 151.273 +her, inside her mind, learning everything there was to her. The invasion was
 151.274 +less disturbing in comparison to the surge of desire that coursed through her
 151.275 +at Sahaku's kiss!
 151.276 +
 151.277 +She could hear Sahaku's laughter inside her head… no, not Sahaku. This
 151.278 +creature's name was Lucifer, a being from another world. Come to earth on a
 151.279 +mission, a mission that she was irrevocably involved in now no matter what.
 151.280 +"Submit to me Akiho! Become mine and I will give you everything you could
 151.281 +want!" The pressure, the desire to please, the pleasure of the kiss; it all
 151.282 +became too much for Akiho. With a groan, she gave way.
 151.283 +
 151.284 +Chapter 3.
 151.285 +
 151.286 +"Seraph no! You can't come to school with me!" Yuina protested for the fourth
 151.287 +time, stopping and glaring at the woman. Cocking her head to the side slightly
 151.288 +Seraph said "But we made a contract. Now I have to be with you all the time."
 151.289 +Yuina groaned, "How am I going to explain your presence to my teachers?" "What
 151.290 +about your friends?" Seraph asked, and Yuina winced. "I have none." Looking at
 151.291 +her Seraph smiled and said "Alright. Just remember, if you need me, you must
 151.292 +invoke my key." Nodding, Yuina quoted it, having learned it by heart thanks to
 151.293 +Seraph constantly mentioning it. "There, see? I know it. Now go away!" Blowing
 151.294 +Yuina a kiss and winking, Seraph vanished into thin air.
 151.295 +
 151.296 +Gaping, Yuina made a mental note to tell Seraph that she couldn't just vanish
 151.297 +like that, especially in public! Smiling at a shocked bystander who had
 151.298 +witnessed the scene she said, "Oh she does that all the time! She's a magician
 151.299 +ehe!" before beating a hasty retreat.
 151.300 +
 151.301 +Taking a huge breath of relief, Yuina made her way to her homeroom. Seraph
 151.302 +really had stuck to her side after that kiss, so much so that she had woken up
 151.303 +this morning to find Seraph sleeping beside her. That, and the fact that Seraph
 151.304 +was virtually naked had caused Yuina to almost have a seizure. Blushing at the
 151.305 +memory, Yuina found her seat at the far corner of the class and sat down.
 151.306 +
 151.307 +Seraph had hit sore point earlier about her lack of friends. After losing her
 151.308 +best friend in middle school, Yuina had stayed away from her classmates. Kept
 151.309 +to herself and never participated in any of the school activities. She had
 151.310 +never minded the lack of friends; but now with Seraph in her life, everything
 151.311 +seemed so much more different. Suddenly, life seemed worth living again.
 151.312 +
 151.313 +There was a stir, and looking up Yuina saw a beautiful woman enter the class.
 151.314 +"Hello. My name is Sahaku, I am to be your new homeroom teacher until Ms
 151.315 +Yamazaki, your old homeroom teacher is discharged from hospital," the woman
 151.316 +introduced herself. The class greeted her, and smiling she opened the door and
 151.317 +ushered a girl in. "Let me introduce you to a transfer student. This is Kudou
 151.318 +Akiho."
 151.319 +
 151.320 +Staring at the new girl, something clicked and with a gasp Yuina cried
 151.321 +"Aki-chan?" Akiho glanced towards the girl sitting in the far corner, and felt
 151.322 +her world tilt. "Yuina!" Glancing between the two girls Sahaku softly asked,
 151.323 +"You know each other?" "Yes! This is Yui-chan. We were best friends at middle
 151.324 +school. May I sit next to her teacher?" Akiho asked, looking at Sahaku, her
 151.325 +eyes pleading. Nodding her ascent, Sahaku watched as Akiho tripped over to the
 151.326 +corner and sat at an empty desk, the two girls soon talking to each other. Eyes
 151.327 +narrowed, Sahaku called the class to order and began the lessons.
 151.328 +
 151.329 +At lunch break Akiho and Yuina found a quiet spot for themselves in the school
 151.330 +gardens.
 151.331 +
 151.332 +"Oh Yuina I never imagined I would ever get to see you again!" Akiho smiled
 151.333 +happily, drinking in the girl's features. Yuina had grown so beautiful. Her
 151.334 +long pale blond hair reached just past her knees, her pale face dominated by
 151.335 +her huge violet eyes. As she spoke, Akiho was again entranced by the soft sweet
 151.336 +quality of her voice. "Do you still sing Yuina?"
 151.337 +
 151.338 +She watched as a slow blush spread across Yuina's cheeks. "Not since recently
 151.339 +Akiho, but… but I was never as good as you." Akiho smiled to herself; Yuina was
 151.340 +still the same as ever; willing to let Akiho take credit for things she didn't
 151.341 +deserve. "No I'm not Yuina. You should have gotten the lead role in the choir."
 151.342 +
 151.343 +Yuina's head shot up, surprised at what Akiho had just said. "It's true Yuina.
 151.344 +I envied you so much; you were so much better than me. I couldn't handle your
 151.345 +getting the role so I spoke to the teachers and they gave it to me because of
 151.346 +who my father is," Akiho sighed, looking away. "I felt so awful once I realized
 151.347 +how cruel and wrong I had been. I… I've been wanting to say sorry for so long."
 151.348 +
 151.349 +Smiling, Yuina sat next to Akiho and wrapped her arms around her friend and
 151.350 +hugged her. "Oh Akiho it doesn't matter anymore. I just hope we can be good
 151.351 +friends again, like before. I've missed you!" Surprised and pleased at the same
 151.352 +time, Akiho returned the hug and smiled. "I've missed you too Yuina."
 151.353 +
 151.354 +From the shadows of nearby a tree, Lucifer watched, her hand clenched to the
 151.355 +trunk of the tree, slowly shredding it. Jealousy flooded through her; no one
 151.356 +could share Akiho's affection with her. They were hers and hers alone. Yuina
 151.357 +Hatori would bear close watching.

   152.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   152.2 +++ b/stories/angel-itara.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   152.3 @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
   152.4 +Itara Hanasanai no ni 
   152.5 +Chapter 1 
   152.6 +By: Shidarezakura
   152.7 +Disclaimer: This is a parallel world from that of the original story. Yuina and Akiho are still 
   152.8 +friends but they never met Seraph and Lucifer. This does have yuri type stuff in it... so don't 
   152.9 +sue me, this is just a fanfic. 
  152.10 +
  152.11 + Yuina sat with Akiho ontop of the roof of her house, looking at the stars. Wind blew across the
  152.12 +ir faces and Akiho smiled, her long hair twisting. She turned to Yuina. 
  152.13 + "Yui-chan... what do 
  152.14 +you think about when you sing?" she asked. Yuina blinked. 
  152.15 + "When I'm singing? Well, I think of 
  152.16 +all the happiness my voice can carry to people... Life can be so cruel, so I want to help things 
  152.17 +be happy," Yuina says, still staring at the sky. 
  152.18 + "That's very kind of you... I'd never be 
  152.19 +able to even be worthy of something like that..." Akiho slumps down. 
  152.20 + "Worthy? What do you 
  152.21 +mean?" 
  152.22 + "You've always been better then me... always. I envy you..." 
  152.23 + "Aki-chan... don't envy 
  152.24 +me... I mean look at you. You have the the softest hair... and you have soft skin. We all have 
  152.25 +something to envy... But, we were created imperfect... so don't be depressed," Yuina smiles. 
  152.26 + 
  152.27 +Akiho smiles and nods back. "Yeah... I guess you're right..." 
  152.28 + "Hehehe... I'm always right! 
  152.29 +Mwahahahaha!!!" Yuina jumps up and smiles. 
  152.30 + "EH?!!" Akiho jumps up and grabs Yuina's wrist and 
  152.31 +pulls her. "Always right!?!" 
  152.32 + "Yes!!! I am the master!!!" Yuina laughs and grabs Akiho's arm. 
  152.33 + 
  152.34 +"Master?" 
  152.35 + "Yup!!" 
  152.36 + Akiho smiles and hugs Yuina. Yuina blinks and begins to blush. Akiho 
  152.37 +cuddles close. 
  152.38 + "Mmmm... would you be my master?" 
  152.39 + "Eh... me???" Yuina jumps, suprized. 
  152.40 + 
  152.41 +"Hehehe! Yes you!" Akiho lets go of Yuina and runs over to the window. "You're my master!" 
  152.42 +Akiho jumps inside and jumps off the bed. 
  152.43 + "Akiho's master...?" 
  152.44 +
  152.45 +* * *
  152.46 +
  152.47 + Drifting in space's time, a body moved slowly. It's wings ripped and it's body beaten. The 
  152.48 +voice of a hole shattered the silence. Drawing the body toward it. 
  152.49 + The corpse seemed to still 
  152.50 +be alive. It had a feminine shape to it, long hair... beautiful. Decending into the hole and 
  152.51 +disappearing. The circular vacuum collapsing and drifting away. 
  152.52 +
  152.53 + Chirping birds fluttered over and past Yuina and Akiho's heads. They wore their school 
  152.54 +uniforms and were talking about an anime. 
  152.55 + "That one part where she gets hit and flies over and 
  152.56 +hit by that car and falls into the river and gets almost eaten by a fish! Hahaha! Imagine that 
  152.57 +in the real world!" Akiho laughs. 
  152.58 + "I know! Hahahaha! And where the hooligan came in and 
  152.59 +stuff! I love it!!" Yuina says and pushes her glasses up. 
  152.60 + Akiho smiles and watches each 
  152.61 +expression Yuina makes. Her heart racing as Yuina smiles. Akiho was in love with Yuina, but she 
  152.62 +couldn't tell her. The thought of rejection would cause massive heart break and tears, and 
  152.63 +that's something Akiho feared. 
  152.64 +
  152.65 + From above the earth, a large gap ripped through space. A luminating light bursts through, 
  152.66 +moving toward earth. White streaks flowing from the back of the ball of white fire. It hits the 
  152.67 +atmosphere, ripping into it and twirling down. Falling past clouds and air. 
  152.68 + Akiho and Yuina 
  152.69 +were walking near the forest, taking the long way home to keep talking about what happened in 
  152.70 +school. The thing from space could be seen in the distance. Yuina looks up. 
  152.71 + "Whoa... what is 
  152.72 +that??" Yuina watches it grow bigger in distance. 
  152.73 + "It could me some sort of meteor!" Akiho 
  152.74 +gasps. 
  152.75 + The white ball twists and crashes down in the middle of the forest, burning acres of 
  152.76 +land and knocking down trees. Birds fly for safety and a large beam shoots straight into the 
  152.77 +sky, then vaporates. Everything grows quiet. 
  152.78 + "Let's go see what happened!" Akiho grabs Yuina's 
  152.79 +arm. 
  152.80 + "Ah! But what if there's strange monsters or radiation?!" 
  152.81 + "Let's take the risk... 
  152.82 +hehehe!" 
  152.83 + The girls run into the forest. Pushing branches and jumping over roots. It didn't 
  152.84 +take them long until the found the area the "meteor" hit. Akiho and Yuina looked all around. 
  152.85 +Trees where on fire and there was a warm mist coming from where the meteor should be. Slowly, 
  152.86 +they walk toward the large crator and peered down. 
  152.87 + "I don't see anything..." Yuina looks and 
  152.88 +waves her hand around moving the smoke. 
  152.89 + "Wait... what's that!" Akiho points down near the 
  152.90 +bottom of the crator. "It's a person!" 
  152.91 + They start to climb down the warm ground. Yuina was 
  152.92 +starting to freak out, thinking the person is probably dead. Akiho didn't know what to think. 
  152.93 +
  152.94 +
  152.95 +
  152.96 + The girls finally reach the bottom and run over to the body. Yuina kneeled down and checked 
  152.97 +it's pulse. Her eyes widen. 
  152.98 + "The lady is still alive! But her pulse is weak," Yuina told 
  152.99 +Akiho. 
 152.100 + "What about CPR?" Akiho asked getting worried. 
 152.101 + "Yeah!" Yuina looks at the body, she 
 152.102 +tilt the head back a bit to open the air passage. She holds the nose closed and moves the chin 
 152.103 +down and takes a breath, then places her mouth over the woman's mouth and blows air into her 
 152.104 +lungs. Yuina looks over at the woman's chest and sees it rise. 
 152.105 + "You can do it Yui-chan!" 
 152.106 + 
 152.107 +Yuina repeats everything, hoping the woman would wake up. If Yuina becomes tired, Akiho had to 
 152.108 +take over. Suddenly, as Yuina goes to blow more air in, the woman's arms lift up and wrap around 
 152.109 +Yuina. 
 152.110 + "MMMM!!!!" Yuina tries screaming and jumps up, breaking what seemed to be a kiss. 
 152.111 + 
 152.112 +"Ah! Yuina! Are you okay?!" 
 152.113 + Yuina didn't say anything as the woman sat up and opened her 
 152.114 +eyes. She looked deeply into Yuina's and Akiho saw it. The woman slowly stood and looked at 
 152.115 +them both. 
 152.116 + "Where... where am I?" she asked them. 
 152.117 + "Ah... you were unconsious... w-we had 
 152.118 +seen a meteor hit here... are you hurt?!" Yuina asked frantically. 
 152.119 + "I'm fine... what are your 
 152.120 +names...?" 
 152.121 + "I'm Hatori Yuina... and this is Kudou Akiho..." 
 152.122 + "Hmmm..." the woman looked 
 152.123 +around. "I've come far... my home planet was destroyed and I barely got away. This world seems 
 152.124 +so much like mine..." 
 152.125 + "You came from space?!" Akiho blinks. 
 152.126 + "Deep in space time... I must 
 152.127 +have been sucked by the dark portals and brought here." 
 152.128 + Suddenly they hear sirens of 
 152.129 +ambulances and firetrucks in the distance. Yuina and Akiho looked at each other, unsure if they 
 152.130 +should let anybody else see this woman. 
 152.131 + "They will probably get her! We have to get out of 
 152.132 +here!!" Akiho tells Yuina. 
 152.133 + Yuina nods and starts climbing up and out of the crator. 
 152.134 + "You 
 152.135 +have to follow us, please..." Akiho said to the woman. The woman nods and floats out of the 
 152.136 +crator and waits for the two girls to get out. 
 152.137 + Once they are out, they run into the foliage 
 152.138 +and trees and pass through brush. They finally are out of the forest and onto the main path. 
 152.139 +The woman floats over them and they turn the corner toward Yuina's house. 
 152.140 + The run into the 
 152.141 +house and shut the door. Yuina and Akiho remove their shoes and breath hard. The woman watches 
 152.142 +them and smiles a bit. 
 152.143 + "Ahhh... Yuina... you okay?" Akiho asks. 
 152.144 + Yuina plops down on the 
 152.145 +couch. "Yeah..." She turns to the woman and smiles a bit and takes her glasses off. 
 152.146 + "I 
 152.147 +haven't formally introduced myself... I have no name... but in the Hierarchy-System, I am a 
 152.148 +Seraph. Please call me by that name," Seraph said. 
 152.149 + "Seraph?" Yuina smiles. "That's a nice 
 152.150 +name..." 
 152.151 + Akiho stares at Yuina and Seraph smiling at each other. Feeling the pain in her 
 152.152 +heart, that empty feeling... like she doesn't exist. She glares and stays silent...
 152.153 +

   153.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   153.2 +++ b/stories/angel-itara2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   153.3 @@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
   153.4 +Itara Hanasanai no ni 
   153.5 +
   153.6 +Chapter 2 
   153.7 +By: Shidarezakura 
   153.8 +
   153.9 + Yuina, Akiho, and Seraph had gone to Yuina's bedroom. They had to find out why Seraph was here 
  153.10 +and how would they hide her. Seraph looked around Yuina's room, noticing every detail. Books 
  153.11 +lined up, plushies, neat bed... it was so weird. As Seraph turned, Yuina noticed that one of 
  153.12 +her wings was torn up. 
  153.13 + "Ah! You're hurt!" Yuina starts to frantically think of what to do. 
  153.14 +Seraph looks at her wing. 
  153.15 + "Hm? Oh, don't worry. It will fix itself..." light flashed around 
  153.16 +the wound. Small balls float to it and the wing begins to heal. 
  153.17 + "Wow!!!" Yuina's eyes become 
  153.18 +large. 
  153.19 + Akiho watches them still. Reading each expression they make and hearing their echoing 
  153.20 +voices in her mind. Replaying over and over. She didn't understand what she was feeling, but she 
  153.21 +knew she felt hurt. As if somebody plugged up her lungs, everything is tight. What is Seraph? 
  153.22 +Why is she here...? She's making this whole thing difficult. And she has Yuina's attention... I 
  153.23 +don't exist... 
  153.24 + "Yuina-chan... I'm gonna go home... I'm not feeling so well..." Akiho says to 
  153.25 +Yuina. "I'll call you when I feel better..." 
  153.26 + "Eh? Aki-chan!" Yuina starts walking behind Akiho 
  153.27 +as she begins to leave the house. "Are you okay?" 
  153.28 + "Yeah... I'm just a little sick to the 
  153.29 +stomach..." Akiho slips her feet into her shoes and opens the door. "Bye..." She leaves. 
  153.30 + 
  153.31 +"...Akiho..." Yuina stares at the door, hoping Akiho would come back in. 
  153.32 + Seraph floats behind 
  153.33 +Yuina and wraps her arms around her waist. Yuina jumps a bit, not knowing she was there. 
  153.34 + 
  153.35 +"Seraph...?" 
  153.36 + Seraph smiles and kisses Yuina's neck. Yuina begins to blush. What's Seraph 
  153.37 +doing? Seraph smirks and whispers in Yuina's ear. 
  153.38 + "Yuina... I can hear every thought in your 
  153.39 +mind..." 
  153.40 + "What?! But how?!" 
  153.41 + "I forced you onto a contract... and when I kissed you... I 
  153.42 +became one with you..." 
  153.43 + "What?!" 
  153.44 + "We are unified... bonded together... I am you and you are 
  153.45 +me..." 
  153.46 + "Seraph! What's going on!!!" Yuina pushed out of Seraph's arms and turned, facing her. 
  153.47 +"Why are you doing this! What are your plans?!" 
  153.48 + "Plans?" Seraph smiles, "I have no definet 
  153.49 +plans... But I'm afraid I am on a mission. My world was distroyed by a powerful emulator, like 
  153.50 +myself. Somehow in the war against it all, I came in contact with her and battled. But I was 
  153.51 +out numbered. They left me for dead and I drifted in space until I was brought here. It's 
  153.52 +destiny... all of it. The emulator has to be here." 
  153.53 + "Destiny..." Yuina looks down. "But... 
  153.54 +why the contract with me?" 
  153.55 + "Because, when I awoke to your warm lips... I could feel your soul 
  153.56 +crying out. You want to be free, Yuina." 
  153.57 + "..." 
  153.58 +
  153.59 +* * *
  153.60 +
  153.61 + Akiho walked slowly down the street. Staring at the ground, thinking of what had happened. The 
  153.62 +wind had stopped blowing and the sun was beginning to hide behind the large buildings. She 
  153.63 +didn't think of time or what was going on around her. 
  153.64 + Yuina doesn't notice me now that Seraph 
  153.65 +has entered her life. I was just there to keep her company when she was bored with other things. 
  153.66 +Now she's bored with me. Brushed me off like I never existed. How could she do that? I've known 
  153.67 +her for so long and suddenly Seraph comes in and screws everything up! Damn you Yuina... You're 
  153.68 +a traitor! How can you just throw me away like that!!! 
  153.69 + Akiho turns the corner. She held her 
  153.70 +breath, hoping nobody would see her cry. Angry and upset at how Yuina treated her. It was wrong. 
  153.71 +
  153.72 +
  153.73 + "I hate you Yuina..." she says and keeps walking, the stars in the sky move. 
  153.74 + Akiho walks 
  153.75 +toward a dark alley. Her mind clouded and unaware of the environment around her. Tokyo at night 
  153.76 +was dangerous. She heard some footsteps and looked up. 
  153.77 + "Hey bitch!!! Come here!!" a 
  153.78 +dark-skinned man, weighing about 270 pounds, wearing jeans and a black shirt, dark hair and 
  153.79 +sunglasses, appears from the alley and reaches out at Akiho. 
  153.80 + "Ahhhhhh!!!!!" Akiho begins to 
  153.81 +turn. 
  153.82 + "Yaa!!" the man dashes forward and grabs her arm and jerks her back. 
  153.83 + "Ahhhh!! Let me 
  153.84 +go!!! Help!!!!!!" she screamed and tried kicking him and hitting him. 
  153.85 + "Shut da' hell up!!" he 
  153.86 +throws her into the wall and she falls over. He walks over to her and grabs her by the hair. 
  153.87 +She tries to gather her balance but he covers her mouth with his hand and picks her up. 
  153.88 + 
  153.89 +"Mmmm!!!! Mmmph!!!" she tried screaming. 
  153.90 + The man pulls her into the alley, way into the back. 
  153.91 +Small puddles on the ground from pipes draining. Trash and paper everywhere. He walks behind a 
  153.92 +staircase and throws her down. A flash of lightning lights up the sky. 
  153.93 + "Mmmm... I love young 
  153.94 +girls..." he said and grabbed her arms. 
  153.95 + "AHHHH!!!! NO! PLEASE!!!" Akiho screams as thunder 
  153.96 +rattles. Her voice seeming silent to the weather. 
  153.97 + The man grabs the top of Akiho's uniform and 
  153.98 +rips it downward, revealing her bra. She screams more and rain begins to pour down. The drops 
  153.99 +hitting them hard. 
 153.100 + "LEAVE ME ALONE!!! HELP!!!! SOMEBODY!!!" Akiho screams, tears beginning to 
 153.101 +fall down her soft cheeks. 
 153.102 + "Shut up!!!" he backhands her in the jaw. She accidentally bites 
 153.103 +the inside of her cheek and blood trickles down the side of her mouth. "If you make any more 
 153.104 +noise! I'll fuckin' kill you!!! Do you got that?!?!?!" 
 153.105 + Akiho nods and cries silently. Was she 
 153.106 +afraid to die? No, she wanted to live. Live with Yuina and the world. 
 153.107 + "Good... hehehehe..." 
 153.108 +the man rips her bra off and grabs her breasts and squeezes them. "Mmmm... oh yes..." 
 153.109 + The 
 153.110 +world seem to be taking forever. Why wouldn't it end. Akiho didn't even want to look at the 
 153.111 +man. She was scared and helpless. The thunder roared on as the rain hit against their bodies. 
 153.112 +A heart beats... 
 153.113 + "Aki-chaaaaaan! Let's play!" a girl says. 
 153.114 + "But... it's raining..." Akiho says back. Her hair 
 153.115 +in pigtails. 
 153.116 + "That's okay! We can hide under our umbrellas and jump in the puddles!" 
 153.117 +Echoing inside the soul... 
 153.118 + "Aki-chan! Come on! Let's sing!" 
 153.119 + "I can't..." 
 153.120 + "Don't say you can't! Try it!!" 
 153.121 +Trapped by false emotions... 
 153.122 + "YUINAAAAAAA!!!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!!!" 
 153.123 +

   154.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   154.2 +++ b/stories/angel-itara3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   154.3 @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
   154.4 +Itara Hanasanai no ni 
   154.5 +
   154.6 +Chapter 4 
   154.7 +By: Shidarezakura
   154.8 + "You don't know what you have done..." 
   154.9 + "It's all your fault..." 
  154.10 + "You can't run away..." 
  154.11 + 
  154.12 +"Time will catch you..." 
  154.13 + "Your blood will be poured out of this land..." 
  154.14 + "I will see to 
  154.15 +it..." 
  154.16 + "You will die by my hand..." 
  154.17 +
  154.18 + Akiho opens her eyes and sits up. Her hair falls over her shoulders and she looks around. She 
  154.19 +was at her home, in her bed. Akiho gripped her bedsheets and looked down. A figure walks out 
  154.20 +from the shadows and Akiho looks up startled. 
  154.21 + "Hello Akiho... I'm glad to see that you're 
  154.22 +alright..." Lucifer smiled. 
  154.23 + "Wh-what? It... it wasn't a dream?!" 
  154.24 + "I'm afraid not... 
  154.25 +everything you have just gone through was real." 
  154.26 + Akiho stares at Lucifer a bit and then looks 
  154.27 +down. Lucifer smiles and walks over to the window and unfolds the blinds and looks out the 
  154.28 +window. Looking up, Akiho watches Lucifer as she walks over toward her and bends over. 
  154.29 + 
  154.30 +"Akiho... you need to wake up!" 
  154.31 + "Hm?" 
  154.32 + "Heh..." 
  154.33 + Lucifer snaps her fingers and the sheet 
  154.34 +pulls away from Akiho. Akiho jumps a bit, and her pajama pants begin to pull off. 
  154.35 + "Ah!!!" 
  154.36 + 
  154.37 +Lucifer smirks and the pants come off and fall over to the side. Akiho blinks as her pajama 
  154.38 +shirt opens up and exposes her breasts. She quickly covers them. 
  154.39 + "What are you doing?!" Akiho 
  154.40 +screams, her face turning red. 
  154.41 + Lucifer laughs and walks over to Akiho and grabs her shoulders 
  154.42 +and pushes her onto her back. Lucifer's right hand holds onto Akiho's left breast. 
  154.43 + "You 
  154.44 +shouldn't be ashamed of your body..." Lucifer squeezes her breast a bit. 
  154.45 + "Ah!!! What!!! WHAT 
  154.46 +ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!" Akiho tries to push Lucifer off of her. 
  154.47 + "Hehehe!!!" Lucifer takes 
  154.48 +Akiho's struggling as playful pushing and bends over and begins to kiss Akiho's neck. 
  154.49 + 
  154.50 +"AHHH!!! STOP!!! STOP STOP STOP!!!!" Akiho keeps screaming. 
  154.51 + Suddenly, the blinds shut and the 
  154.52 +room becomes dark. Akiho sees darkness in front of her. She notices that Lucifer isn't holding 
  154.53 +her. Standing slowly, she reaches out to see if anything is even there. Her clothes are totally 
  154.54 +gone and her bare body stands alone. 
  154.55 + "Lucifer...?" Akiho whispers. 
  154.56 + Akiho takes a step 
  154.57 +forward and suddenly falls forward, unable to stand. Her eyes widen as she keeps falling toward 
  154.58 +total darkness. Akiho's hair blowing and body feeling the pressure of the fall that seems to 
  154.59 +never end. 
  154.60 + "IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Akiho screams and smashes into the darkness which 
  154.61 +shatters into glass shards. 
  154.62 + The world around her turns space, stars and planets surrounding 
  154.63 +her. Still she fell in this endless loop. 
  154.64 + "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" 
  154.65 + Black 
  154.66 +strands shoot out from cracks in space and grab Akiho's arms and legs. They wrap around her 
  154.67 +body, between her legs, around them, around her breasts, arms, everything. She had stopped. 
  154.68 +Slowly, she opened her eyes. 
  154.69 + "Eh?!?!" Akiho had opened her eyes and sees an angelic figure. 
  154.70 + 
  154.71 +Wings spread out around space, the figure's hair, flowing as if a gust of wind was blowing. 
  154.72 +Akiho realizes that the black strands holding her are the figure's hair. 
  154.73 + "Who?!" Akiho's 
  154.74 +voice echoed. 
  154.75 + The figure's wings move slowly and it's arms open. A small light appears where 
  154.76 +it's chest is. 
  154.77 + "?!" 
  154.78 + "Akiho..." 
  154.79 + "Eh? Lucifer?!" 
  154.80 + "Akiho, I am inside of you... in your 
  154.81 +subconsious mind..." 
  154.82 + "What's going on?!" 
  154.83 + "In order for you to understand where I came 
  154.84 +from... I must show you..." 
  154.85 + "I don't understand! Are we in space?! I thought... but... 
  154.86 +I..." 
  154.87 + "Shhhh... Akiho, relax. You are in your own mind. Right now you are in the part that 
  154.88 +holds the secrets to your past and things humans have, that... they don't know about..." 
  154.89 + "I 
  154.90 +still don't understand..." 
  154.91 + "Look in front of you Akiho... what do you see?" 
  154.92 + "I..." Akiho 
  154.93 +looks up and stares at the figure. The light shines on it's face and it slowly looks up at 
  154.94 +Akiho. It's eyes open and Akiho gasps. In front of her, she sees herself. 
  154.95 + "Akiho... this is 
  154.96 +you... your true form..." 
  154.97 +

   155.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   155.2 +++ b/stories/angel-itara4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   155.3 @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
   155.4 +Itara Hanasanai no ni 
   155.5 +
   155.6 +Chapter 4 
   155.7 +By: Shidarezakura
   155.8 + "You don't know what you have done..." 
   155.9 + "It's all your fault..." 
  155.10 + "You can't run away..." 
  155.11 + 
  155.12 +"Time will catch you..." 
  155.13 + "Your blood will be poured out of this land..." 
  155.14 + "I will see to 
  155.15 +it..." 
  155.16 + "You will die by my hand..." 
  155.17 +
  155.18 + Akiho opens her eyes and sits up. Her hair falls over her shoulders and she looks around. She 
  155.19 +was at her home, in her bed. Akiho gripped her bedsheets and looked down. A figure walks out 
  155.20 +from the shadows and Akiho looks up startled. 
  155.21 + "Hello Akiho... I'm glad to see that you're 
  155.22 +alright..." Lucifer smiled. 
  155.23 + "Wh-what? It... it wasn't a dream?!" 
  155.24 + "I'm afraid not... 
  155.25 +everything you have just gone through was real." 
  155.26 + Akiho stares at Lucifer a bit and then looks 
  155.27 +down. Lucifer smiles and walks over to the window and unfolds the blinds and looks out the 
  155.28 +window. Looking up, Akiho watches Lucifer as she walks over toward her and bends over. 
  155.29 + 
  155.30 +"Akiho... you need to wake up!" 
  155.31 + "Hm?" 
  155.32 + "Heh..." 
  155.33 + Lucifer snaps her fingers and the sheet 
  155.34 +pulls away from Akiho. Akiho jumps a bit, and her pajama pants begin to pull off. 
  155.35 + "Ah!!!" 
  155.36 + 
  155.37 +Lucifer smirks and the pants come off and fall over to the side. Akiho blinks as her pajama 
  155.38 +shirt opens up and exposes her breasts. She quickly covers them. 
  155.39 + "What are you doing?!" Akiho 
  155.40 +screams, her face turning red. 
  155.41 + Lucifer laughs and walks over to Akiho and grabs her shoulders 
  155.42 +and pushes her onto her back. Lucifer's right hand holds onto Akiho's left breast. 
  155.43 + "You 
  155.44 +shouldn't be ashamed of your body..." Lucifer squeezes her breast a bit. 
  155.45 + "Ah!!! What!!! WHAT 
  155.46 +ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!" Akiho tries to push Lucifer off of her. 
  155.47 + "Hehehe!!!" Lucifer takes 
  155.48 +Akiho's struggling as playful pushing and bends over and begins to kiss Akiho's neck. 
  155.49 + 
  155.50 +"AHHH!!! STOP!!! STOP STOP STOP!!!!" Akiho keeps screaming. 
  155.51 + Suddenly, the blinds shut and the 
  155.52 +room becomes dark. Akiho sees darkness in front of her. She notices that Lucifer isn't holding 
  155.53 +her. Standing slowly, she reaches out to see if anything is even there. Her clothes are totally 
  155.54 +gone and her bare body stands alone. 
  155.55 + "Lucifer...?" Akiho whispers. 
  155.56 + Akiho takes a step 
  155.57 +forward and suddenly falls forward, unable to stand. Her eyes widen as she keeps falling toward 
  155.58 +total darkness. Akiho's hair blowing and body feeling the pressure of the fall that seems to 
  155.59 +never end. 
  155.60 + "IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Akiho screams and smashes into the darkness which 
  155.61 +shatters into glass shards. 
  155.62 + The world around her turns space, stars and planets surrounding 
  155.63 +her. Still she fell in this endless loop. 
  155.64 + "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" 
  155.65 + Black 
  155.66 +strands shoot out from cracks in space and grab Akiho's arms and legs. They wrap around her 
  155.67 +body, between her legs, around them, around her breasts, arms, everything. She had stopped. 
  155.68 +Slowly, she opened her eyes. 
  155.69 + "Eh?!?!" Akiho had opened her eyes and sees an angelic figure. 
  155.70 + 
  155.71 +Wings spread out around space, the figure's hair, flowing as if a gust of wind was blowing. 
  155.72 +Akiho realizes that the black strands holding her are the figure's hair. 
  155.73 + "Who?!" Akiho's 
  155.74 +voice echoed. 
  155.75 + The figure's wings move slowly and it's arms open. A small light appears where 
  155.76 +it's chest is. 
  155.77 + "?!" 
  155.78 + "Akiho..." 
  155.79 + "Eh? Lucifer?!" 
  155.80 + "Akiho, I am inside of you... in your 
  155.81 +subconsious mind..." 
  155.82 + "What's going on?!" 
  155.83 + "In order for you to understand where I came 
  155.84 +from... I must show you..." 
  155.85 + "I don't understand! Are we in space?! I thought... but... 
  155.86 +I..." 
  155.87 + "Shhhh... Akiho, relax. You are in your own mind. Right now you are in the part that 
  155.88 +holds the secrets to your past and things humans have, that... they don't know about..." 
  155.89 + "I 
  155.90 +still don't understand..." 
  155.91 + "Look in front of you Akiho... what do you see?" 
  155.92 + "I..." Akiho 
  155.93 +looks up and stares at the figure. The light shines on it's face and it slowly looks up at 
  155.94 +Akiho. It's eyes open and Akiho gasps. In front of her, she sees herself. 
  155.95 + "Akiho... this is 
  155.96 +you... your true form..." 
  155.97 +

   156.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   156.2 +++ b/stories/anna.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   156.3 @@ -0,0 +1,637 @@
   156.4 +Hello! ^-^ This is a story about Anna Respighi from Battle
   156.5 +Athletess, easily one of my favorite characters from anything. ^-^
   156.6 +This takes place after the OAV episode where they discover that Anna
   156.7 +is a boy, though it borrows several elements from the tv series, such
   156.8 +as Anna’s lapses into insanity, what happened to her sister, etc. Oh,
   156.9 +and as far as Anna’s roommates names go, I’m not trying to force in
  156.10 +English sounding characters into a Japanese series. The characters
  156.11 +from Battle Athletess are from all over the place, so their
  156.12 +nationalities reflect that. I was simply trying to do the same with
  156.13 +the boys. I really hope you enjoy it. ^-^ If you have the chance,
  156.14 +please e-mail me any feedback you may have. Thanks! ^-^ 
  156.15 +
  156.16 +
  156.17 +One Dance Left
  156.18 +by Amazoness Duo
  156.19 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  156.20 +
  156.21 +
  156.22 +	Looking out the window into the dark emptiness of space, Anna
  156.23 +Respighi had to wonder which was truly emptier, space or herself. She
  156.24 +felt like a brittle shell, having long ago spent the last of her
  156.25 +tears. Her carefully trained athletic body felt weak now, unable to
  156.26 +perform the simplest of tasks like closing the window she was staring
  156.27 +out of. But she didn’t have the will to close it even if she could
  156.28 +muster the strength. Her life felt like it had ended. They were
  156.29 +shipping her off already. They hadn’t listened to her pleas, her
  156.30 +frenzied explanations. They hadn’t cared at all that they would be
  156.31 +taking her away from her only two friends in the entire galaxy. The
  156.32 +headmaster had been all too eager to get rid of her, seeing her as
  156.33 +unfitting alongside his all female students. No matter how much she
  156.34 +cried, how much she tried to dissuade them, her arguments fell on
  156.35 +deaf ears. And now she found herself hurtling away from what she had
  156.36 +come to see as her home, from the two girls that had been closer to
  156.37 +her than mere teammates, from all the hopes and dreams that her
  156.38 +mother had instilled in her from the time that she was a child.
  156.39 +	Why hadn’t she listened to her mother? Why hadn’t she been more
  156.40 +careful? Because Akari had told her it would be all right. Because
  156.41 +she said that everyone did it. Shy, introverted Anna had been all too
  156.42 +willing to go along with her friend’s words, not wanting to seem
  156.43 +awkward. The look of shock on Akari’s face was still painfully
  156.44 +emblazoned in her mind. She felt such bitter betrayal at that sight.
  156.45 +Everyone had run away from her, crumbling what little self-esteem she
  156.46 +had managed to garner in her time at the University Satellite. She
  156.47 +had run to Akari for help, but even Akari had reacted terribly to
  156.48 +seeing her. It was a bathing area. She was supposed to go in naked.
  156.49 +Akari had told her so. So why had everyone ran away as if they were
  156.50 +frightened of her? It had hurt Anna so much to see that. Like she was
  156.51 +some sort of monster. Even Akari...
  156.52 +	The problem for the lonely yet gorgeous blue haired girl was that
  156.53 +she wasn’t a girl at all. At least not physically. But she hadn’t
  156.54 +known that. Her entire life had been led as a girl. She had always
  156.55 +been raised as one by her mother along with her twin sister. Her
  156.56 +childhood had been one of lace and ribbons, dolls and cooking, all
  156.57 +interspersed with intense training by her mother. Her mother’s dream
  156.58 +was that one of her little girls would one day become the Cosmo
  156.59 +Beauty. That had been a source of rivalry between the twin sisters.
  156.60 +Both wanted nothing more than to please their mother, to win for her,
  156.61 +to fulfill her dreams. Whenever one would achieve in sports and
  156.62 +athletics, they would be praised endlessly, given all the warm
  156.63 +attention their mother could muster. So they had both fought
  156.64 +tirelessly to win their mother’s attention. Until one day back on the
  156.65 +earth training school, their usually friendly rivalry had turned
  156.66 +tragic. Anna had heard her mother telling her more outgoing sister
  156.67 +that the last event to decide which of them, equally matched thus
  156.68 +far, would be going to the University Satellite. Anna's twin, Ellene,
  156.69 +was better at tennis than Anna was and her mother had told her to
  156.70 +win when Ellene began to consider whether or not she should
  156.71 +use her advantage. Anna had been devastated. Ellene would win,
  156.72 +she would receive all of her mother’s praise and attention and her
  156.73 +mother already knew it. She was nothing. She would forever be in her
  156.74 +sister’s shadow, never able to get her mother to truly see her.
  156.75 +Something inside Anna had snapped that day. She wouldn’t let anyone
  156.76 +stand in her way. No one would stop her. Not even her own twin. When
  156.77 +the sisters faced each other that fateful day, that darkness inside
  156.78 +Anna lashed out, and in the end, her sister lay in a coma, making
  156.79 +Anna the winner by default. Yet even then, tasting the madness that
  156.80 +had overcome her, Anna still didn’t have her mother’s attention. Her
  156.81 +mother had left to the hospital with her comatose twin. She hadn’t
  156.82 +been there when Anna had left for space, though Anna had waited till
  156.83 +the last possible second before boarding so that her mother might see
  156.84 +her off.
  156.85 +	All of this Anna knew to some extent, though she still didn’t
  156.86 +understand the full implications. Her mind had glossed over how badly
  156.87 +her sister had been hurt, had tried to make up for the fact that her
  156.88 +mother wasn’t there to see her victories and her losses. But what she
  156.89 +hadn’t known was something that had been with her for the entirety of
  156.90 +her life. They had told her there, in the headmaster’s room, not
  156.91 +caring at all for the pain it caused her. She was a boy. That was why
  156.92 +the girl’s in the bathroom had been lacking something of their
  156.93 +anatomy. Or rather, why she had something different. They had
  156.94 +explained to her that her mother had so wanted her daughter to be the
  156.95 +Cosmo Beauty that she had raised Anna as a girl as well, hoping that
  156.96 +one of her twin children would make it that far. This had torn apart
  156.97 +Anna’s small world. A boy? How could she be a boy? She had always
  156.98 +been a girl, had in fact been more feminine than her twin sister. Yet
  156.99 +they didn’t listen to her as she tried to explain this simple fact to
 156.100 +them. They wouldn’t listen to her as she tried unsuccessfully to tell
 156.101 +them that she was, in fact, a female, and that she belonged at the
 156.102 +University Satellite. That damned perverted headmaster had sent her
 156.103 +away, telling her that her athletic record would make her an
 156.104 +excellent student at the boy’s satellite. She had been aghast, unable
 156.105 +to utter a word to the headmaster as he sent her off to pack her
 156.106 +bags. But her mind screamed clearly into the abyss. She didn’t belong
 156.107 +at the boys’ school because she wasn’t a boy. 
 156.108 +	The blue haired girl had been in a state of shock as she had been
 156.109 +escorted to a shuttle to be shipped off to a boys’ school that she
 156.110 +knew nothing about nor cared to be at. She had grown up wanting to be
 156.111 +the Cosmo Beauty, not whatever the best boy athlete was supposed to
 156.112 +be. How could she get her mother to look at her if she couldn’t even
 156.113 +compete for the prestigious Cosmo Beauty title? Her sister had beaten
 156.114 +her again. She couldn’t even attempt her mother’s dreams now. Her
 156.115 +heart clenched up as the familiar feelings of worthlessness and
 156.116 +despair overtook her once more. But she had no more tears to cry. She
 156.117 +had been crying ever since she had gotten on the shuttle. No more
 156.118 +Kris and her odd yet always comforting ways. No more Akari and her
 156.119 +energetic spirit. Her only two friends, ripped from her without even
 156.120 +so much as a goodbye. But did Akari even care? The girl with the
 156.121 +rabbit eared hair had been just as disturbed by Anna being a boy as
 156.122 +everyone else there. No, Akari probably didn’t care. And Kris
 156.123 +wouldn’t mind as long as she was with Akari. So she was truly all
 156.124 +alone. In a place that she didn’t want to be. Surrounded by boys that
 156.125 +she didn’t understand. It had always been just the three of them, her
 156.126 +mother, her sister, and herself. 
 156.127 +	Anna burst into tears again, finding that she hadn’t cried all of
 156.128 +her tears after all.
 156.129 +
 156.130 +	Taking her few bags with her off of the shuttle, Anna slowly walked
 156.131 +down the steps. She had changed out of her girls’ uniform when they
 156.132 +had told her she wasn’t allowed to take it with. She had protested
 156.133 +strenuously, but they wouldn’t let her take it with. The last symbol
 156.134 +of her mother’s dream had been ripped from her clenched fingers. The
 156.135 +woman who had pried it from her fingers had stared at her oddly for
 156.136 +the longest time as she finally walked away, muttering something
 156.137 +about how crazy ‘he’ was. The blue haired girl had barely had the
 156.138 +strength to change into a short, pleated skirt and a button up blouse
 156.139 +with a small tied ribbon before they had taken her off to the shuttle
 156.140 +bay. 
 156.141 +	Brushing back some blue green hair from her eyes, Anna looked
 156.142 +around the expansive shuttle port. She got several odd looks from
 156.143 +some of the staff servicing the shuttles and the rest of the
 156.144 +equipment, but she tried to ignore it. She just wanted to find out
 156.145 +where her room was so she could hide. ‘Roommates,’ an inner voice
 156.146 +added quickly, ruining even the small solace that idea had held. She
 156.147 +lowered her head miserably as a man approached. 
 156.148 +	“Anna Respighi?” he asked quizzically, as he looked at the notepad
 156.149 +he held. He looked up at the girl in front of him and down at the
 156.150 +notepad once more. This was certainly awkward. He had thought the boy
 156.151 +merely had a strange name when he’d first received the report that a
 156.152 +new student was being flown in from the girls’ university, presumably
 156.153 +having been sent there by mistake. But upon seeing the new student,
 156.154 +he sure thought the boy looked like a girl as well. 
 156.155 +	Anna nodded shyly, not looking up as she held her bags tightly. She
 156.156 +could feel the rough material cutting into her palms. Her vision
 156.157 +blurred momentarily, causing her to blink furiously in an attempt to
 156.158 +banish the tears. “Hai...” she said quietly. 
 156.159 +	The man looked at the new student one last time before turning.
 156.160 +‘Well, this has to be the strangest student I’ve met yet,’ he thought
 156.161 +to himself. Aloud, he said, “Please come this way. I’ll show you to
 156.162 +your room. We’ll send by some uniforms in a bit after you have a
 156.163 +chance to get settled.” He started walking out the door and down the
 156.164 +hallway, listening for the footsteps to signify that he was being
 156.165 +followed. He nodded in satisfaction as soft footsteps rang out behind
 156.166 +his own. “I took a look at your statistics. It sounds like you’ll be
 156.167 +giving quite a few boys around here a run for their money,” he said
 156.168 +with a smile.
 156.169 +	Rubbing her eyes with her palm, Anna took in a shuddering breath
 156.170 +and held it for a moment. “I don’t want to be here...” she whispered
 156.171 +hopelessly. “I... Thank you..” she replied, louder this time. Her
 156.172 +mother had always taught her to be polite. Even if she was shy, she
 156.173 +could still retain that at least.
 156.174 +	The two stopped in front of a room very similar to the rooms back
 156.175 +at the female University. A placard was placed near the door,
 156.176 +signifying the occupants. Stahl Ivon, Emmerich Dave, Respighi Anna,
 156.177 +it read in sharp letters. Just looking at it made Anna feel homesick,
 156.178 +remembering a similar placard when she had first found her room at
 156.179 +the girls’ University. And finding it had been no easy task. She
 156.180 +shuddered in remembrance of Mylandah Walder. But Kris had come and
 156.181 +saved both her and Akari. And shortly thereafter she had found out
 156.182 +that they were all roommates. She choked back a sob, her two friends
 156.183 +smiling faces returning unbidden to her mind. Whoever occupied this
 156.184 +room, she didn’t know. And she didn’t want to know. She wanted to be
 156.185 +back with her friends, to be striving for her mother’s dream once
 156.186 +more. 
 156.187 +	“Good luck, kiddo,” the man said casually as he walked down the
 156.188 +hallway, waving at Anna with his notepad before disappearing into the
 156.189 +maze of corridors. 
 156.190 +	Anna slumped against the door, sliding down to her knees. The cold
 156.191 +metal seeped into her bare legs as she collapsed onto them. Her bags
 156.192 +fell next to her, standing sentinel in front of the door. A weak sob
 156.193 +escaped her trembling lips as she sat there in a rising storm of
 156.194 +grief. It battered continually at her heart, it’s winds tearing apart
 156.195 +her sail, the waves crashing down around the bow. She was drowning in
 156.196 +agony. Some of the boys walking down the hallway stared at her oddly,
 156.197 +but said nothing, whispering amongst themselves as they gawked at the
 156.198 +new boy. The pretty new boy. Their stares burned her flesh, like the
 156.199 +eyes of hunting jackals or sinister demons. This got her to her feet,
 156.200 +grabbing her bags with shaking hands. Part of her just wanted to
 156.201 +leave the bags, to just get inside and get away from these frightful
 156.202 +beasts. But she knew that all of her pictures and important keepsakes
 156.203 +were inside. She had to take them with. 
 156.204 +	The door took an eternity to open. Even with 50th century
 156.205 +technology, it was far too slow for Anna. She scraped her arm against
 156.206 +the metal as she pulled herself inside before it was fully open. The
 156.207 +door closed quickly behind her. In the darkness of her new room, her
 156.208 +knees threatened to give out. She so wanted to collapse where she
 156.209 +stood, to wrap the darkness around her like a blanket and try to cry
 156.210 +herself to sleep. ‘Roommates,’ that persistent and sometimes
 156.211 +frightening inner voice repeated. Anna simply nodded, dragging her
 156.212 +bags further into the small dorm. 
 156.213 +	“Oh, so you’re the new guy? Nice to meet you?” A boy startled the
 156.214 +girl with the sea green hair as he popped up from the couch. He had
 156.215 +messy blond hair and glasses and his right hand was still clutching a
 156.216 +book he had been reading. How he had gotten up to this prestigious
 156.217 +sports university was anyone’s guess. “My name’s Dave. Dave
 156.218 +Emmerich.” He paused as he noticed her skirt and the red ribbon in
 156.219 +her hair. He pulled his glasses up and rubbed at his eyes for a
 156.220 +moment before pulling them back down. There must have been a mistake,
 156.221 +because the boy they were supposed to send in to room with him
 156.222 +couldn’t be this shy looking girl. Of course, there weren’t any girls
 156.223 +around the boys’ University, so seeing one was always a very, very
 156.224 +welcome surprise. Many of the boys’ had started up relationships with
 156.225 +other boys while they were segregated up here in space, as he had
 156.226 +heard happened oftentimes at the girl’s University as well. But that
 156.227 +didn’t mean he wasn’t pleased to see a female member of the species
 156.228 +in his room. In his room. Wow... He quickly ran his fingers through
 156.229 +his blond hair, hoping that he had it in some semblance of order. “I
 156.230 +really hope you haven’t gotten the wrong room, ma’am. I’d be happy to
 156.231 +help you with whatever you could possibly need. Books, directions...
 156.232 +ummm... anything at all.” He nodded quickly, laughing nervously. How
 156.233 +long had it been since he had seen a girl? Two, three months? And
 156.234 +that had just been his sister when he had been about to get shipped
 156.235 +off to the University.
 156.236 +	“She’s a boy, you moron,” another voice interrupted, causing Anna
 156.237 +to drop her bags in fright. A silver haired boy with sharp, angular
 156.238 +features stepped out of the shadows. He was soaked with sweat,
 156.239 +obviously having chosen to train in his limited free time. “Either
 156.240 +that or she’s flat as hell.”
 156.241 +	“She looks curvy enough to me,” Dave replied conversationally,
 156.242 +adjusting his glasses. His face burned in embarrassment seconds later
 156.243 +as he realized the subject of their discussion was still present. “I
 156.244 +mean... err... Not that I’d be looking or anything..” he supplied
 156.245 +lamely. “Anyway, this is Ivon Stahl. But you can call him Shard. No
 156.246 +one else does, but hey, maybe we can start a nickname for him.”
 156.247 +	Ivon sighed, brushing sweat from his brow as he walked past Anna.
 156.248 +“You don’t really think they’d send a girl here, do you, Dave? You’ve
 156.249 +been out in space too long. Those genius brain cells of yours are
 156.250 +starting to misfire.” Grabbing something to drink from the small
 156.251 +kitchen area they had, he turned to take a look at the cute new
 156.252 +arrival. “So you’re a crossdresser?” he asked mildly.
 156.253 +	“I’m not a crossdresser!!!” Anna screamed angrily. Her fists
 156.254 +clenched as she turned towards the silver haired boy. The voice
 156.255 +inside of her was trying desperately to break through what few
 156.256 +barricades Anna had against it. Rage, humiliation, and agonizing pain
 156.257 +accompanied the boy’s words as they echoed again and again in her
 156.258 +mind. That was so degrading, that she was just dressing up in these
 156.259 +clothes, that she was anything like the two boys in the room. It was
 156.260 +like she was just some performer, wearing this for thrills, not
 156.261 +because they were what she felt comfortable in, what she had always
 156.262 +worn. Tears threatened to spill down her lovely cheeks once more, but
 156.263 +this time they were tinged with red hot hatred. Hatred for the
 156.264 +headmaster, for all those that had sent her away from her mother’s
 156.265 +dream and her only friends. Hatred for this boy who would so
 156.266 +callously disregard her as obviously not a woman. Hatred for herself
 156.267 +for not being able to achieve her mother’s attention. She barely
 156.268 +noticed the blood dripping down to the floor from her cut palms. Her
 156.269 +fingernails dug deeply into her flesh. 
 156.270 +	“Calm down, man. Geez. I’m just wondering what’s up with the
 156.271 +feminine clothes. Hey, if it’s a fashion statement from the
 156.272 +Biginners, then that’s good for you.” Ivon put his hand on Anna’s
 156.273 +shoulder, trying to calm the obviously agitated boy down. He
 156.274 +immediately wished that he hadn’t. Pain shot through his wrist as
 156.275 +Anna moved with blinding speed, twisting his wrist as she yanked his
 156.276 +hand away from her. 
 156.277 +	“I AM NOT A CROSSDRESSER!” Anna shouted, holding the silver haired
 156.278 +boy’s hand in a death grip as her body shook. The pain, the anger all
 156.279 +ate at her, pushing forward in a frenzied path towards freedom. Anna
 156.280 +was usually a very calm, shy, introverted girl. She was very sweet
 156.281 +and kind, though she always had trouble with people because of her
 156.282 +shyness. But she could also be very volatile. Sometimes all of that
 156.283 +pain and anger she held inside was just too much for her and she
 156.284 +lashed out in a psychotic, maniacal rage. That had brought about her
 156.285 +sister’s extended hospital visit and the coma she was in after the
 156.286 +stress of competing with her sister and the knowledge that she
 156.287 +wouldn’t be able to get her mother’s approval had become too much.
 156.288 +Now Anna was very close to breaking. She had lost her only two
 156.289 +friends, had been yanked away from her only chance at finally getting
 156.290 +her mother’s attention, had been told that she wasn’t even a girl,
 156.291 +and now she was in some strange place all alone with someone telling
 156.292 +her that she was only a boy in drag. And inside, that angry voice,
 156.293 +that pained, psychotic voice cried out, drowning out Anna’s usually
 156.294 +soft spoken and quiet words. She finally let go of the boy’s hand
 156.295 +just short of breaking it. Grabbing her bags, she stormed back to her
 156.296 +room, dragging her bags with her.
 156.297 +	Ivon collapsed in pain, clutching his wrist as he fell to the
 156.298 +floor. His wrist was smeared with the blood from Anna’s palms.
 156.299 +“Fuck... What the hell...” He tried to catch his breath as he watched
 156.300 +Anna disappear into the free room, the door swishing shut behind her.
 156.301 +	
 156.302 +	Several hours later, Anna’s hand shook as she punched in the
 156.303 +numbers to call her house back on earth. She needed to speak to her
 156.304 +mother. She needed to know that things would be all right. She
 156.305 +couldn’t handle it here. She didn’t want to be here at all. This was
 156.306 +a boys’ school and she certainly didn’t belong here. The poor,
 156.307 +frightened girl needed her mother. It had taken her forever to work
 156.308 +up the courage to hurry out of her room to find a communications
 156.309 +system that would let her call Earth. Her two roommates had avoided
 156.310 +her for some reason, though she couldn’t quite recall why. But it
 156.311 +hardly seemed to matter. She wasn’t good with people. Of course they
 156.312 +wouldn’t like her. And she was too shy to try and get to know them.
 156.313 +Which is why she had been so thrilled to find that she, Kris, and
 156.314 +Akari really had been a team, that they had grown to be friends. Her
 156.315 +only friends. Fresh pain washed over her heart, but she pushed it
 156.316 +down deep inside of her, unknowingly feeding the pain and anguish
 156.317 +within her, as the communications request was sent. 
 156.318 +	“Mama!” Anna said happily, smiling into the communications screen.
 156.319 +“I’m so sorry! I.. I wanted to talk to you, but they wouldn’t let
 156.320 +me...” The blue green haired girl sniffled as she wiped at her eyes.
 156.321 +“Mama, they sent me away.. They sent me to the boys’ University...
 156.322 +I’m not a boy, mama... I’m not..” Tears trickled wetly down her
 156.323 +cheeks as she began to cry weakly, leaning against the communications
 156.324 +system. 
 156.325 +	“Of course you aren’t, honey,” her mother’s voice stated softly.
 156.326 +“You’re my little girl. You’ve always been my little girl. I love
 156.327 +you, Anna.” The older woman smiled her motherly smile, placing her
 156.328 +hand on the screen directly where Anna’s was placed miles and miles
 156.329 +away.
 156.330 +	“I know... I love you, too, mama... I just... I don’t know what to
 156.331 +do... I can’t win the Cosmo Beauty here.. I don’t want to be here...
 156.332 +I hate this place...” She looked around hatefully at the walls that
 156.333 +surrounded her. She wiped tears away from her blue eyes with her
 156.334 +fingertips. “I want to come home..” she whispered painfully. It was a
 156.335 +relief to finally see her mother, to hear her voice, but the anguish
 156.336 +of the last few hours still weighed heavily on her, dragging her
 156.337 +deeper and deeper into the abyss. 
 156.338 +	“I’m sorry, honey. You can’t come home yet. Not yet. There’s still
 156.339 +more that you have to do. You still have to become the Cosmo Beauty,”
 156.340 +her mother’s voice replied, as if she were speaking directly to
 156.341 +Anna’s heart instead of through the communications system.
 156.342 +	“But.. Mama, I can’t... I can’t become the Cosmo Beauty from
 156.343 +here... They won’t let me back to the girls’ University because they
 156.344 +all think I’m a boy...” Anna shook her head, tears sparkling through
 156.345 +the air as she tried to focus past the despair. When she opened her
 156.346 +blue eyes, she could see several crystalline teardrops on the screen
 156.347 +in front of her. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she watched
 156.348 +her mother. 
 156.349 +	“I know. But you’ll get your chance, my dear. You just have to keep
 156.350 +training. You’ll eventually get your chance at Cosmo Beauty. And I
 156.351 +know you’ll win, Anna. Because you’re my daughter. And I know how
 156.352 +strong you are inside. You just have to wait for your chance,” her
 156.353 +mother explained calmly. Her mother’s voice sounded so much like the
 156.354 +voice inside of her, that angry and pained one. Like she was talking
 156.355 +to Anna from inside, where the voice was. 
 156.356 +	Nodding, Anna tried to smile weakly. “Un... You’re right, mama..
 156.357 +I’ll try to get better... I’ll wait for my chance,” she said softly.
 156.358 +Her mother was right. Her mother was always right. She wasn’t a boy.
 156.359 +And she would get her chance to be Cosmo Beauty, to win the honor
 156.360 +that her mother so longed for one of her daughters to achieve. ‘My
 156.361 +sister,’ Anna thought to herself. Was she doing all right? Was she
 156.362 +feeling better? From what? What had happened again? A soft, velvety
 156.363 +blanket wrapped itself around Anna’s thoughts as she tried
 156.364 +desperately to make sense of them. ‘My.. sister?’ Anna thought to
 156.365 +herself. But by now, even the emotions behind that thought were gone,
 156.366 +wrapped away and swept back into her subconsciousness. Whatever she
 156.367 +had been thinking of was gone, and she couldn’t even recall that hand
 156.368 +that had gently pulled the thoughts away. 
 156.369 +	“You’ll be fine, Anna. I know you will. I’ll be cheering for you in
 156.370 +ever event, honey. Do your best for me,” her mother finished, smiling
 156.371 +brightly.
 156.372 +	Anna nodded, determination gleaming in her still bloodshot eyes. “I
 156.373 +will, I promise, mama! I’ll win for you. Please watch me. I’ll win
 156.374 +everything for you,” Anna promised, desperate for her mother’s divine
 156.375 +attention, that which she had striven her entire live for. With that,
 156.376 +the monitor blinked out and her mother was gone. But what Anna failed
 156.377 +to notice was that her mother had never been there at all. Her mother
 156.378 +was still at the hospital with her sister, keeping an eye on the
 156.379 +comatose girl in the hopes that she would recover. What Anna had just
 156.380 +spoken with was her own inner voice, the person she was talking to
 156.381 +merely a product of her own mind. But the sea green haired girl
 156.382 +walked off feeling happier nonetheless, still believing that her
 156.383 +mother would be watching her as she continued to train.
 156.384 +
 156.385 +	“I thought you would know Kris-san’s heart by now, Akari-san,” Anna
 156.386 +said, giggling softly at her friend’s embarrassment. It was the
 156.387 +tournament between the boys’ University and the girls’ University and
 156.388 +she had just been in a very close match with Akari. The match had
 156.389 +taught her quite a bit. No matter how much one trained, there was a
 156.390 +certain amount of will, or heart, that went into it. It was something
 156.391 +she would have to understand more clearly if she could ever stand a
 156.392 +chance at the title of Cosmo Beauty. Of course, she would have to get
 156.393 +out of the boys’ University first. “You had Kris-san’s heart with
 156.394 +you, so there was no way you could lose,” Anna continued. She was
 156.395 +wearing the boys’ uniform and her hair wasn’t in its usual single
 156.396 +pigtail style. Akari, on the other hand, was in a very skimpy outfit
 156.397 +that was supposed to wreak havoc on the male players playing against
 156.398 +the girls’ team. The boys’ headmaster had foreseen this, though, and
 156.399 +had prepared by sending in a boy team that consisted of two
 156.400 +homosexual boys and Anna herself, three people who wouldn’t be
 156.401 +bothered by the skimpy outfits in front of them.
 156.402 +	“Anna-chan...” Akari said in obvious embarrassment. But she looked
 156.403 +secretly pleased at the thought of having Kris’s heart near her own.
 156.404 +She and Kris had grown even closer as of late and although the idea
 156.405 +of falling in love with the other girl was definitely disconcerting
 156.406 +for her, it was a very pleasant topsy turvy feeling that accompanied
 156.407 +it. Almost like getting off a carousel on a bright and sunny day. But
 156.408 +she quickly pushed away her discomfort at Anna’s words, happy to see
 156.409 +her friend again, even if she was dressed up in boys’ clothes this
 156.410 +time around. “How are you? It’s not the same without you here. We
 156.411 +were a team, so it doesn’t seem right continuing on towards the Cosmo
 156.412 +Beauty without you.”
 156.413 +	Anna felt a painful stab in her heart at Akari’s words. Oh, how she
 156.414 +longed to be there with Akari and Kris once more, eagerly straining
 156.415 +for the greatest title a girl could ever hope to be granted. Anna
 156.416 +smiled a little sadly. “I really miss you two. You were the best
 156.417 +friends I ever had. I wish I could come back for good, but we have to
 156.418 +leave again when the Universities separate.” She sighed, brushing
 156.419 +back blue green hair from her misty eyes. “But I’m fine. My roommates
 156.420 +are nice, I guess. And I’ve been trying my hardest in all of the
 156.421 +events.” She didn’t continue past that, only hoping that that would
 156.422 +be enough for Akari. Truth be told, her only friend at the boys’
 156.423 +school was the headmaster’s pet dog. And she couldn’t tell which
 156.424 +headmaster she hated the most, the slave driver at the boys’
 156.425 +University or the perverted one at the girls’ school who wouldn’t let
 156.426 +her stay just because of what happened to be between her legs. She
 156.427 +blinked in surprise. Well, maybe she knew which one she hated more
 156.428 +after all. She hated the pervert infinitely worse. Rage bubbled
 156.429 +simply at the sight of the smirking bastard. Her fists clenched in
 156.430 +anger as she watched him smugly feeling up female students with his
 156.431 +eyes. She didn’t know if she felt like bursting into tears or tearing
 156.432 +out his throat. ‘Kill him,’ that inner voice whispered seductively
 156.433 +into her ear. ‘Tear him apart.’ “Mama...” she whispered, holding her
 156.434 +head as she tried to think straight. She had already injured a boy in
 156.435 +one of the final rounds of the boys’ University’s program. She was a
 156.436 +much better athlete when her dark side was unleashed, but it
 156.437 +frightened her. There was almost a limitless amount of strength at
 156.438 +her call when she snapped, but she always found herself lost, barely
 156.439 +noticing what happened while she was in that state. She didn’t even
 156.440 +remember hurting the boy, only knowing what Dave had told her. 
 156.441 +	“Anna-chan?” Akari asked worriedly. The bluish haired girl looked
 156.442 +so out of it, like she was grappling with some inner demon. She
 156.443 +hadn’t seen or heard from Anna since she had been transferred and she
 156.444 +was concerned about how the shy girl was coping.
 156.445 +	“Are you all right, Anna-chan?” Kris reached the group quickly, her
 156.446 +face marked with concern as she watched the fragile girl in front of
 156.447 +her. She reached out, gently pushing away some of Anna’s hair from
 156.448 +her face.
 156.449 +	Slowly looking up, Anna looked from Akari to Kris, the concerned
 156.450 +faces of her friends watching her intently. Just seeing them both
 156.451 +made her feel more at ease. She smiled softly and stood up straight.
 156.452 +She bowed to Kris, nodding. “Hai, I’m fine, Kris-san. I just didn’t
 156.453 +get much sleep last night. I was very eager to see the two of you
 156.454 +again.” Her smile brightened visibly as she looked from one to the
 156.455 +other. 
 156.456 +	Kris laughed, grinning. “We missed you, too, Anna-chan. It’s good
 156.457 +to see you back.” She hugged the smaller girl tightly, surprising
 156.458 +Anna. “It doesn’t matter how far I get in the competition. I’ll
 156.459 +always remember this for the experiences it has given me. Meeting you
 156.460 +was one of them, Anna-chan. I’ll always treasure our friendship.
 156.461 +Thank you so much for giving me that token. That’s much more valuable
 156.462 +than any trophy or title.”
 156.463 +	Anna shyly hugged back, feeling genuinely happy for the first time
 156.464 +since she had been transferred away from her friends. It felt so nice
 156.465 +to know that someone cared about her, to feel her friends near.
 156.466 +Seconds later, she felt Akari’s arms wrap around her as well. A
 156.467 +peaceful sigh escaped her lips. There was no anger, no pain to bother
 156.468 +her now. It was locked away, deep inside. Hot tears trickled slowly
 156.469 +down her cheeks as felt the group hug. So they hadn’t forgotten her
 156.470 +after all. They still cared about her. They were still her friends.
 156.471 +Her very best friends. When it finally ended, she quickly wiped at
 156.472 +her eyes, smiling brilliantly. “Thank you both so much. I’ll always
 156.473 +remember you both, no matter where we wind up.” 
 156.474 +	Returning the smile, Akari laughed. “It’s a small universe. We’ll
 156.475 +see each other again. We have to. Because we’ll always be friends.”
 156.476 +	Nodding, Kris wiped away one of Anna’s tears. She held it on the
 156.477 +tip of her finger for a long moment, contemplating it. Anna
 156.478 +sweatdropped as the taller girl licked the teardrop away. “So that
 156.479 +we’ll always share in each others’ pain and joy, wherever we may go.”
 156.480 +	Anna lunged forwards, hugging the taller woman and then Akari
 156.481 +again. She clasped her hands in front of herself, looking from one to
 156.482 +the other. There was so much she wanted to say to them, to tell them
 156.483 +how important their friendship was to her, but her shyness was a
 156.484 +difficult hurdle to cross. “Akari-chan, thank you for being my
 156.485 +friend. You helped me understand how important your heart and soul
 156.486 +are even in sports. And Kris-san, I had a lot of fun reading manga
 156.487 +with you and watching you try my cooking. You taught me a lot about
 156.488 +the Biginners and about friendship. Thank you both.” She bowed
 156.489 +quickly to the two of them as the final call came for the boys to
 156.490 +return. She took a few hurried steps away. “I’ll never forget you!!”
 156.491 +Without looking back, Anna ran off, blinking through a haze of tears.
 156.492 +
 156.493 +	The new school year had started at the University Satellite and
 156.494 +Akari Kanzaki was the reigning Cosmo Beauty. She had returned for the
 156.495 +new year, thrilled at the prospect of once again returning to this
 156.496 +place of fond memories and the heart and soul she had thrown into
 156.497 +everything while she had been there. Friends and enemies, joy and
 156.498 +heartache, it had all happened here. She had even received her first
 156.499 +kiss at the Satellite. Blushing deeply, she recalled Kris’s tender
 156.500 +lisp against her own. They had stayed together all that night, not
 156.501 +wanting to leave each other’s side. It had been so painful to know
 156.502 +that they would soon be parting. Akari had grown to need Kris, to
 156.503 +need her presence. The taller woman made her heart beat quicker, made
 156.504 +her soul soar. She made her reach further and fly higher than she
 156.505 +possibly could on her own. 
 156.506 +	There had been so much tension back them. Akari had been so
 156.507 +embarrassed about her twisted feelings for the other girl and how
 156.508 +Kris acted around her. But she couldn’t deny her feelings on that
 156.509 +last night, as they kissed amidst starlight. She hadn’t quite
 156.510 +understood what her feelings were at the time, but in the time they
 156.511 +had been apart, she came to realize that she loved Kris. As Anna had
 156.512 +said long ago, their hearts were entwined. Even apart, Akari could
 156.513 +feel Kris’s heart singing their song. Which is why she had hurried
 156.514 +back, taking the first shuttle she could upon learning that Kris had
 156.515 +returned to the University Satellite. She had nearly flown to the
 156.516 +moon to see the tall woman, her need to explain her feelings, to be
 156.517 +in Kris’s arms almost unbearable. The only thing that had kept her
 156.518 +from going insane was the help of her best friend, Ichino. Without
 156.519 +her, Akari would never have been able to survive their time apart.
 156.520 +And now Ichino had managed to get to the Satellite as well. So many
 156.521 +returning faces. Jessie, Mylandah, Lahrri, Tanya, Kris, Ichino. There
 156.522 +was only one person that remained absent, leaving a small hole in
 156.523 +Akari’s heart. 
 156.524 +	A sudden glimpse of blue in the crowd of students caught her
 156.525 +eye. Pausing after a moment’s hesitation, the brunette turned around
 156.526 +and scanned the crowd. She was probably just imagining things. There
 156.527 +was no way Anna could be here. She would be at the boys’ University,
 156.528 +wouldn’t she? But there it was again, that same flash of sea green in
 156.529 +the crowd. Akari hurried past the new students, struggling past to
 156.530 +reach the girl she finally spotted. “Anna-chan!! Anna-chan!” she
 156.531 +called out, waving in excitement. The girl looked around curiously,
 156.532 +her eyes settling on Akari as the brunette rushed up and hugged her.
 156.533 +“Anna-chan!! I’m so happy to see you!”
 156.534 +The girl blinked in confusion, looking at Akari as if she had gone
 156.535 +mad. “Anna-chan?” She paused for a moment before smiling. “You must
 156.536 +be Kanzaki Akari-san! You’re the whole reason I’m here. Well, your
 156.537 +mother, at any rate. Anna-chan met you last year, didn’t she? I’m her
 156.538 +sister, Ellene. I finally made it up to the Satellite this year. I’m 
 156.539 +really eager to prove myself. I can’t wait to play against you. I’ve 
 156.540 +been training a lot with my sister during the break just for this.”
 156.541 +“Oh..” Akari nodded slowly, a little disappointed. This was Anna’s
 156.542 +twin sister? So Anna didn’t get to come back to the girls’ University
 156.543 +after all. She smiled all the same, glad to see that familiar face.
 156.544 +“I’ll be happy to train with you sometime if you’d like. I’d love to
 156.545 +know what Anna-chan’s been up to.” 
 156.546 +	Ellene agreed happily. “Sure! I would be thrilled to train
 156.547 +with you, Kanzaki-san. And I’d be happy to tell you anything you want
 156.548 +to know about my sister.”
 156.549 +Akari quickly said goodbye to the girl that looked startlingly like
 156.550 +Anna and hurried towards her own room. It was a little disconcerting
 156.551 +that Anna had been replaced with her sister, but she was happy about
 156.552 +it even if it was bittersweet. If she was anything like Anna, then it
 156.553 +would be a pleasure to get to know her. 
 156.554 +All of Akari’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she saw the woman
 156.555 +standing ahead of her, ice blue hair framing her beautiful face.
 156.556 +“Kris..” she whispered breathlessly. “Kris!!” She ran to the taller
 156.557 +woman with all of the strength she could muster, reaching her arms
 156.558 +almost immediately. Kris reeled back but held on fast. “Oh, Kris, I
 156.559 +missed you so much! You don’t know what it was like..”
 156.560 +A smile broke across Kris’s features as she looked down at the
 156.561 +brunette, her hands on her cheeks. “I know, Akari-chan. I felt it
 156.562 +along with you. I was always there, even if we weren’t side by side.”
 156.563 +In a moment spawned of months of heartache and the loneliness of
 156.564 +constantly imagining the one she loved, Akari pushed up on her
 156.565 +tiptoes and returned the kiss that Kris had granted her such a long
 156.566 +time before. That spinning carousel feeling was gone, replaced by a
 156.567 +crystal clarity that soothed her soul. Her heart was enraptured by
 156.568 +the taller girl’s presence, her mind just incredibly relieved to once
 156.569 +again be in her arms. “Kris..” she whispered, resting her head on the
 156.570 +blue haired woman’s chest as their lips finally parted.
 156.571 +“Akari-chan..” Kris said softly, gently stroking Akari’s brunette
 156.572 +hair. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, savoring Akari’s
 156.573 +scent, her feel, the sound of her breathing. It was all better than
 156.574 +she could possibly have dreamed. “This is why I came back. Akari-
 156.575 +chan, I want to be by you side. I want us to go through all of this
 156.576 +together, playing with our hearts side by side.”
 156.577 +Blushing slightly, Akari nodded eagerly. “That’s what I want, too,
 156.578 +Kris.” Resting her head on Kris’s shoulder, the two women made their
 156.579 +way back to the dorm that they’d be sharing with a third party
 156.580 +member. They were both too absorbed in the moment to bother reading
 156.581 +the placard. The door whooshed open and they entered, but what met
 156.582 +Akari’s eyes caught her completely by surprise. 
 156.583 +Ichino was sitting at the table, a large plate in front of her. She
 156.584 +was quickly devouring the appetizing platter, obviously enjoying
 156.585 +herself. But what surprised Akari more than seeing her best friend in
 156.586 +her room was the sight behind the dark haired girl. Anna stood in the
 156.587 +small kitchen wearing a cute pink and white apron with frills around
 156.588 +the edges, busy cooking for the ‘fastest girl in Japan’. She was
 156.589 +humming something to herself, completely in her element and seeming
 156.590 +to enjoy herself just as much as Ichino was.
 156.591 +“Hey, Akari-chan!” Ichino said after choking down some food. “I was
 156.592 +wondering where you were. This place is huge! I almost got lost. I’m
 156.593 +glad Anna-chan knew where to go.” Ichino looked back at the blue
 156.594 +haired beauty who was slowly turning around to face her former
 156.595 +teammates. “Oh, sorry, Akari-chan. I should introduce her. This is
 156.596 +Respighi Anna-chan.” Ichino placed a hand behind her head, laughing
 156.597 +nervously. “She’s my girlfriend.”
 156.598 +“G..gir..girlfriend..?” Akari asked, suddenly taken even further off
 156.599 +guard by Ichino’s words. 
 156.600 +Anna blushed a deep scarlet, clasping her hands together as she
 156.601 +looked down. “Ichino-chan..” she said, embarrassed. Her foot moved
 156.602 +back and forth on the floor as she stared at it. Finally regaining
 156.603 +some of her composure, she looked up to see Akari and Kris standing
 156.604 +in the doorway. A bright smile flashed across her face as she saw her
 156.605 +roommates again. “Kris-san! Akari-san! I’m so glad to see the both of
 156.606 +you!”
 156.607 +Grinning happily, Kris nodded. “I knew we’d meet again, Anna-chan.
 156.608 +It must have been Fate. We really are a team.”
 156.609 +Akari simply nodded quickly, still taken aback by the recent events.
 156.610 +She shook her head, confusion spinning her around until she felt
 156.611 +dizzy. “Wait, I thought Anna-chan had to go to the other University
 156.612 +because she’s a bo..”
 156.613 +“Akari-chan, could we not talk about that right now,” Ichino cut her
 156.614 +off, fighting a dark blush that lined her cheeks. She had found out
 156.615 +for herself about Anna’s male anatomy, but she could certainly vouch
 156.616 +for the blue haired girl’s femininity nonetheless. “We met at the
 156.617 +Training School in Australia. She was so shy around everybody that I
 156.618 +kinda felt like I had to look out for her. She paid me back by
 156.619 +cooking for me. We got to talk a lot during that. And what can I say,
 156.620 +I absolutely love her cooking. And watching her cook.” She grinned.
 156.621 +Anna blushed at Ichino’s words and turned to address Akari’s
 156.622 +question. She rested her hands on Ichino’s shoulders, standing behind
 156.623 +the dark haired girl’s chair. “My mother found out that I was kicked
 156.624 +out of the school and brought it up with the school board. It seems
 156.625 +that it violates the Equal Races act from several decades ago. She
 156.626 +argued that I was still female no matter what they said and that I
 156.627 +didn’t belong at the boy’s school. The school board reviewed my case
 156.628 +and finally agreed. So I got to come back. We get to be a team
 156.629 +again.” Anna smiled happily. Her pain was gone. Her anger and
 156.630 +frustration that had eaten at her soul had finally faded away some
 156.631 +time ago. That pained voice had left her. Her sister was fine and
 156.632 +they were both at the University now. She got to be with her friends
 156.633 +once more. Her mother had been more than happy just to see her again
 156.634 +when she had returned to Earth. And she had a beautiful girlfriend
 156.635 +that made her feel all bubbly inside. She felt wonderful. For once in
 156.636 +her life, she felt complete and fulfilled inside. No matter where the
 156.637 +winds took her sailboat this time, she was prepared. She would ride
 156.638 +the wind with her friends, and with her love.
 156.639 +
 156.640 +

   157.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   157.2 +++ b/stories/another-day.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   157.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   157.4 +Yet another day ends.
   157.5 +
   157.6 +I am Kinomoto Sakura, 17. I am a happy, naive, carefree girl...
   157.7 +or at least thats what i should be. 
   157.8 +
   157.9 +I collapse onto my bed, careful not to bend any of the tomoyo 
  157.10 +pictures scattered on my bed. I have boyfriend... Syaoran. I 
  157.11 +love him, or loved him, really. our relationship used to be fun,
  157.12 +it used to be deep... it has become a chore, something i must 
  157.13 +endure.
  157.14 +
  157.15 +I pick up a picture of Tomoyo. She is so beautiful. I love her
  157.16 +hair, i love her eyes...
  157.17 +
  157.18 +i love her.
  157.19 +
  157.20 +"No...Syaoran is my 'special person'" i whisper to myself.
  157.21 +
  157.22 +but my heart tells me otherwise.
  157.23 +
  157.24 +The next morning i wake up, excited for the day to start. 
  157.25 +I will walk to school with Tomoyo.
  157.26 +
  157.27 +As i walk next to her, holding her hand tightly, i hope 
  157.28 +that we never get to school.. it stays like this forever.
  157.29 +Laughing, not a care in the world... i look into her deep
  157.30 +eyes. They are like wells, endless, exposing herself to the 
  157.31 +world. I know she loves me... she confessed when we were
  157.32 +14. I really should of realized it earlier, she is obsessed 
  157.33 +with every detail about me... and i, the same with her. 
  157.34 +
  157.35 +only if she knew...
  157.36 +
  157.37 +"Tomoyo-chan...I..." suddenly, we get to school, and the spell
  157.38 +that wraps us together is broken. I look up to see syaoran, 
  157.39 +waiting for me. He greets me with nothing but a grunt, the 
  157.40 +closest thing i have recieved to an "i love you" in years. i 
  157.41 +look to tomoyo, to save me, help me, but she either doesn't 
  157.42 +get what i mean or decides not to help. she walks away, saying,
  157.43 +
  157.44 +"I'll see you later, Sakura-chan"
  157.45 +
  157.46 +And she does that sweet smile. god, tomoyo, don't do that to me.
  157.47 +that smile... it makes me shiver. 
  157.48 +
  157.49 +"ahem." syaoran breaks me out of my utopia.
  157.50 +
  157.51 +"oh, um... whats up?" i reply.
  157.52 +
  157.53 +"there is something i need to tell you..." syaoran says.
  157.54 +
  157.55 +"I am going back to Hong Kong. I don't fit here... hong
  157.56 +kong is where i belong. I think that we should break this 
  157.57 +off... i know the gap between us is only getting wider. I 
  157.58 +know about... Tomoyo." 
  157.59 +
  157.60 +Her name sends shivers down my spine. I'm sad to see syaoran 
  157.61 +go, but now, the two words "tomoyo" and "sakura" can finally 
  157.62 +be together.
  157.63 +
  157.64 +I throw my arms around Syaoran and say my final words to him.
  157.65 +
  157.66 +"thank you."
  157.67 +
  157.68 +================================================================
  157.69 +taa daaaa! this is the first part. its over!!! the second part is in the
  157.70 +making, so be patient and i'll give you a dollar!
  157.71 +
  157.72 +-yukiyo
  157.73 +
  157.74 +

   158.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   158.2 +++ b/stories/arigatou.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   158.3 @@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
   158.4 +Arigatou
   158.5 +by Riesz Fenrir
   158.6 +
   158.7 +Disclaimer: I don't own CLAMP or Card Captor Sakura. In fact, CLAMP
   158.8 +and Card Captor Sakura own me. They own you too, admit it. ^_^
   158.9 +
  158.10 +This is the first fanfic I've ever written, about any series, so
  158.11 +please don't flame me too hard for it. ^_^; Die-hard fans may well be
  158.12 +able to find some inaccuracies, since I've not seen that much of
  158.13 +::cough:: "Cardcaptors" and even less of CCS itself. In fact, this is
  158.14 +largely based on the manga, which I have a lot more of (plus it's
  158.15 +cuter ^_^). Oh, and a warning: this is angst, pure and simple. Don't
  158.16 +expect happy endings.
  158.17 +
  158.18 +Stuff in <angle brackets> = thoughts.
  158.19 +
  158.20 +
  158.21 +
  158.22 +~~~
  158.23 +
  158.24 +<"You don't know just how much.... I love you, Sakura.">
  158.25 +
  158.26 +      Tomoyo sat on the bed in the middle of her expansive,
  158.27 +exquisitely-decorated quarters at the Daidouji mansion. Not that one
  158.28 +would be able to tell from a glance around the room that intricately-
  158.29 +patterned magnolia wallpaper, or indeed anything at all, lay behind
  158.30 +the countless photographs of Sakura that covered the walls ceiling to
  158.31 +floor. One more rested in Tomoyo's hands as she gazed absently out of
  158.32 +the window towards Tomoeda Elementary.
  158.33 +      <Morning classes will be nearly over by now....> Tomoyo knew
  158.34 +she ought to be at school too, but over these past few weeks, it
  158.35 +seemed, Sakura and Syaoran had been getting closer. A *lot* closer.
  158.36 +Tomoyo sighed. What was her problem anyway? She had always said she'd
  158.37 +be happy if Sakura was happy. And Syaoran did make Sakura happy....
  158.38 +which was the one thing that tore Tomoyo's heart to shreds. Seeing
  158.39 +them together like that.... holding hands, laughing...... <like we
  158.40 +used to be.....>
  158.41 +      So here she was, alone in her room, pretending to be too sick
  158.42 +to go. <It's the truth, anyway.... only the sickness is in my heart.
  158.43 +I just didn't think I could face another day of living my life this
  158.44 +way.... putting on that same smile, pretending everything's
  158.45 +okay........>
  158.46 +      Tomoyo's gaze returned to the picture in her hand.
  158.47 +      <It's not okay......>
  158.48 +      Most of the pictures that lined Tomoyo's walls were of Sakura
  158.49 +as only Tomoyo knew her; as the Card Captor, the defender of Tomoeda
  158.50 +from the Clow Cards' evil...... but this, this was just everday,
  158.51 +ordinary Sakura, smiling as she made her way to school. Only there
  158.52 +had never been anything "everyday" or "ordinary" about Sakura. She
  158.53 +was perfection itself..... the touch of her smooth, soft, lightly-
  158.54 +tanned skin..... the way the light danced in those intense, emerald-
  158.55 +green eyes when she smiled..... the sweet scent of her short auburn
  158.56 +hair..... the gentleness of her voice.... all things that could melt
  158.57 +Tomoyo in a heartbeat.
  158.58 +      <It's not okay......>
  158.59 +      A single hot tear slid down Tomoyo's cheek and fell onto the
  158.60 +photograph. Her hand, seemingly independent of her conscious mind,
  158.61 +reached behind her and groped for something on the bedside table.
  158.62 +Tomoyo's trembling hands unsheathed the small penknife as she brought
  158.63 +it back into her tear-blurred view. Her eyes closed, squeezing out
  158.64 +another tear.
  158.65 +      <It's not okay!>
  158.66 +      The sound of Tomoyo's own scream broke into her thoughts,
  158.67 +jolting her back to reality. A place to which she had no desire to
  158.68 +return any longer. She didn't need to open her eyes to feel the blood
  158.69 +trickling down her arm. Concentrating on the warm sensation, allowing
  158.70 +the darkness to encapsulate her senses, coccooning her within
  158.71 +herself.... as the initial stinging sensation faded, it began to feel
  158.72 +calming, almost.... comforting. Tomoyo wrapped her arms around
  158.73 +herself and huddled blindly into her pillows.
  158.74 +      <Sakura-chan.....>
  158.75 +      As if answering her silent call, the phone rang. Reluctantly,
  158.76 +almost tentatively, Tomoyo opened her eyes and released the pillow
  158.77 +she was hugging, reaching for the pink cellphone with clammy,
  158.78 +bloodstained fingers.
  158.79 +      "M...moshi-moshi?" she half-whispered, her voice weak and shaky.
  158.80 +      "Tomoyo-chan?" While she knew that only Sakura would ever call
  158.81 +her on this phone, the sound of her voice still made her heart jump
  158.82 +unexpectedly.
  158.83 +      "...Hai......"
  158.84 +      "I was just calling to see how you were..... Terada-sensei
  158.85 +said you weren't feeling too good......"
  158.86 +      "......I'm okay......."
  158.87 +      "You don't sound it, Tomoyo-chan.......... Do you want me to
  158.88 +come over?"
  158.89 +      Tomoyo took a deep breath. "........Onegai............... if
  158.90 +it's not too much trouble.............."
  158.91 +      Sakura laughed a little on the other end of the phone. "Of
  158.92 +course not, baka! Nothing's too much trouble for my best friend!"
  158.93 +      ".......Arigatou..........."
  158.94 +      "Okay, I'll be there right away. Ja ne..."
  158.95 +      "......Ja ne." The line went dead as Sakura hung up.
  158.96 +      For the ten minutes it took for Sakura to arrive, Tomoyo sat
  158.97 +cross-legged on the bed, motionless, her back to the door. She
  158.98 +clutched her left arm tightly to her chest, deep crimson fluid
  158.99 +soaking into her nightshirt, the pain now reduced to a dull throb. It
 158.100 +was in this state that Sakura found her.
 158.101 +      "Tomoyo-chan.....?" Sakura's soft, inquiring voice floated
 158.102 +into her thoughts, at first a distant echo, a lingering echo of a
 158.103 +long-faded dream..... then gradually, the voice became clearer,
 158.104 +sharper, as though the one she dreamed of stood right by her
 158.105 +side.........
 158.106 +      "Tomoyo-chan?"
 158.107 +      Tomoyo's eyes flickered open to see Sakura's questioning face,
 158.108 +a mixture of concern and anxiety in those deep, all-encapsulating
 158.109 +green eyes.
 158.110 +      "Tomoyo-chan, are you...." Sakura gasped a little as Tomoyo's
 158.111 +hand shifted, uncovering the stains on her shirt. "Tomoyo-chan!
 158.112 +You're hurt...."
 158.113 +      Tomoyo whimpered a little as Sakura sat down beside her and
 158.114 +gently moved her arm away from her chest to examine the wound. "How
 158.115 +did......" Sakura began, stopping in her tracks when her gaze was
 158.116 +caught by the bloodied penknife that still lay on the bedclothes. Her
 158.117 +eyes turned back to Tomoyo's, green orbs of disbelief meeting greyish-
 158.118 +blue pools of fear. A single word escaped her lips. "Why.......?"
 158.119 +      Tomoyo struggled to break the intensity of Sakura's gaze, but
 158.120 +failed. Slowly, her right hand opened to reveal the crumpled, tear-
 158.121 +stained picture she had been clutching the entire time. Sakura
 158.122 +glanced down at it, then back at Tomoyo, a blank look in her eyes. "I
 158.123 +don't understand, Tomoyo-chan...." Another tear silently slid down
 158.124 +Tomoyo's cheek, and Sakura absently wiped it away with her
 158.125 +fingertips, causing the dark-haired girl to shudder slightly at her
 158.126 +friend's tender touch.
 158.127 +      "S...Sakura-chan....... I.......I......." Tomoyo's cheeks
 158.128 +reddened suddenly as the realisation of just how close Sakura was
 158.129 +dawned upon her. Suddenly dumbstruck, in a momentary lapse of
 158.130 +rational thought she leaned in closer to Sakura and briefly allowed
 158.131 +their lips to brush. <Surely... this will make her understand.....>
 158.132 +      It did.
 158.133 +      Sakura jumped back suddenly, her mind swirling with confusion
 158.134 +that quickly turned to dizzying realisation. <I love you a lot too,
 158.135 +Sakura....> She stared at Tomoyo, who returned the gaze, her eyes
 158.136 +threatening tears once more, pleading for acceptance. Sakura felt
 158.137 +tears sting her own eyes too as she realised that for the first time
 158.138 +in their lives there was nothing she could do to help her friend.
 158.139 +"I...... I'm sorry........... Tomoyo-chan.........." Her words barely
 158.140 +came out as a whisper, but they were clear enough to Tomoyo. Feeling
 158.141 +powerless to do anything else, Sakura turned and fled from the room.
 158.142 +
 158.143 +~~~
 158.144 +
 158.145 +Too shaken by Tomoyo's unspoken revelation to return to school,
 158.146 +Sakura made her way towards Penguin Park in a haze. <A place where
 158.147 +Tomoyo and me spent so much time together....... will it ever be the
 158.148 +same?> She sat down heavily inside the great King Penguin that was
 158.149 +seemingly Tomoeda's primary landmark, leaning back against its inner
 158.150 +walls with an anguished sigh. It wasn't that this kind of thing
 158.151 +disgusted her.... it wasn't even that new to her, really. After all,
 158.152 +her brother and Yukito..... But somehow, Tomoyo's actions today had
 158.153 +changed things between them. The dark-haired girl was her best
 158.154 +friend, she had been since third grade, and Sakura couldn't imagine
 158.155 +what her life would be like without her, but... after today, she
 158.156 +thought, a sickening feeling growing in her stomach at the fact that
 158.157 +she could think of her best friend with such callousness, she wasn't
 158.158 +sure if she could ever feel comfortable around Tomoyo again. Not in
 158.159 +the same way.
 158.160 +      "Hoeeee......."
 158.161 +
 158.162 +~~~
 158.163 +
 158.164 +Tomoyo's eyes were fixated on the screen as she sat alone in her
 158.165 +video room, the almost stifling darkness illuminated only by the glow
 158.166 +of the projected image. The penknife dangled limply from her fingers,
 158.167 +crimson liquid flowing freely down the smooth blade from the deep
 158.168 +gashes in her wrists, seeming almost black in the half-light.
 158.169 +      The on-screen Sakura smiled and waved, and Tomoyo couldn't
 158.170 +help but manage a wavering attempt at a smile in return.
 158.171 +      <Arigatou, Sakura-chan...... for
 158.172 +everything.......................>
 158.173 +      Sakura's image blurred and flickered as as a mixture of
 158.174 +sadness, pain and resignation brought new tears to her reddened eyes
 158.175 +once more. And as the last scenes of Tomoyo's home movie faded to
 158.176 +black, so did Tomoyo's world.... forever.
 158.177 +
 158.178 +<"Thank you for all your tenderness....
 158.179 +Thank you for all your happiness....
 158.180 +Thank you for all your kindness....
 158.181 +Thank you for all your everything.............">
 158.182 +
 158.183 +~~~
 158.184 +
 158.185 +Glossary of Japanese terms:
 158.186 +arigatou = thank you
 158.187 +-chan= affectionate suffix, used between friends, lovers, people who
 158.188 +are close
 158.189 +moshi-moshi = what the Japanese say when they answer the phone
 158.190 +hai = yes
 158.191 +-sensei = suffix used for teachers etc.
 158.192 +onegai = please
 158.193 +baka = silly, stupid, etc.
 158.194 +ja ne = see you later
 158.195 +hoeee = just Sakura's favourite little expression
 158.196 +
 158.197 +Author's notes: Crying yet? ;_; Probably with tears of frustration
 158.198 +at how people such as me can be allowed to call themselves
 158.199 +writers..... Still, I had a go, can't say I didn't. I love S&T fluff
 158.200 +as much as the next shoujo-ai fan, it's true, but I don't think there
 158.201 +are enough fics out there that deal with the harsh reality - that,
 158.202 +while we all know Tomoyo loves Sakura, Sakura almost certainly would
 158.203 +not return her feelings... ;_; Also, this was inspired by real,
 158.204 +personal feelings, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't riff it no
 158.205 +matter how much you think it sucks. Thanks.... and if you liked, or
 158.206 +you didn't like, or you want to throw comments/criticism/whatevers my
 158.207 +way, email me at fenrirknight@hotmail.com. I promise to reply to all
 158.208 +non-flames.
 158.209 +
 158.210 +Now go and read some fluff! ^_^
 158.211 +
 158.212 +

   159.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   159.2 +++ b/stories/bestory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   159.3 @@ -0,0 +1,401 @@
   159.4 +Title: A Beach Story
   159.5 +Rating: H-hentai
   159.6 +Author: Amazoness Quartet
   159.7 +E-mail: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   159.8 +
   159.9 +
  159.10 +Hello! ^^ This is a Sekkushiaru Roman about Hotaru and ChibiUsa.
  159.11 +They are both 15 in this story and its part of the continuity
  159.12 +we have with most of our other stories. Basically all of our 
  159.13 +stories use the same continuity except the very early ones. 
  159.14 +This takes place after 'Moonlit Nights', we just haven't 
  159.15 +finished it yet. ^^ Hopefully we'll be done soon. Anyway, we'd 
  159.16 +like to thank those of you who read this and if you could 
  159.17 +e-mail us we'd love to hear from you. ^^ You can e-mail us at:
  159.18 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  159.19 +We hope you enjoy the story. Bye! ^-^
  159.20 +
  159.21 +
  159.22 +	"Wow!" ChibiUsa exclaimed as she stepped out of 
  159.23 +Haruka's car.
  159.24 +	Hotaru smiled as she followed the enthusiastic pink
  159.25 +haired girl out. "I'm glad you like it. I came up here with 
  159.26 +my dad almost every summer. This was our beach house. My 
  159.27 +dad gave it to us the last time we saw him. He said that I
  159.28 +should come down here sometime." 
  159.29 +	"So here we are," Haruka leaned against the car as
  159.30 +Michiru and Setsuna got out. She pulled the sun glasses she
  159.31 +was wearing down a bit. "It's a nice place."
  159.32 +	"It's beautiful," Michiru said. She took off Haruka's
  159.33 +sunglasses and put them on. She smiled at Haruka. "Help me 
  159.34 +get the luggage. I want to go down to the beach as soon as we
  159.35 +can."
  159.36 +	"Are you sure there are enough rooms?" Setsuna asked.
  159.37 +	"Sure. It was just me and dad when I used to come up
  159.38 +here, but there should be plenty of room. ChibiUsa can sleep
  159.39 +with me," Hotaru answered.
  159.40 +	Haruka unlocked the trunk. All five girls grabbed 
  159.41 +luggage and headed for the beach house. Hotaru was breathing
  159.42 +heavily by the time they reached the door. 
  159.43 +	"Hotaru-chan, are you okay?" ChibiUsa asked. 
  159.44 +	Hotaru nodded. "I'm fine..." Hotaru hefted the 
  159.45 +suitcase she was carrying. She was stronger in this life than
  159.46 +she'd been before, but she was still very weak.
  159.47 +	"Hime-chan, be careful not to overexert yourself,"
  159.48 +Setsuna chided. "If you need us to get the rest of the 
  159.49 +luggage, just tell us."
  159.50 +	"Hai, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru answered.
  159.51 +	Michiru unlocked the door and they all walked in. The
  159.52 +group of women looked around as they entered. Memories 
  159.53 +returned to Hotaru of happy summers spent there with her 
  159.54 +father. She blinked several times as tears built up in her 
  159.55 +eyes. It had been so long since she had been there last, but 
  159.56 +it was the same as it had been years ago.
  159.57 +	"Hotaru-chan?" ChibiUsa asked concerned.
  159.58 +	Hotaru blinked again and smiled warmly at ChibiUsa. 
  159.59 +She took the other girl's hand in her own. "I'm fine. I'm just 
  159.60 +remembering a lot, that's all." ChibiUsa gave her hand a quick 
  159.61 +squeeze. Hotaru's fingers intertwined with ChibiUsa's as the 
  159.62 +two girls looked at the interior of the beach house.
  159.63 +	"Hmmm... We'll have to make at least another trip to 
  159.64 +the car. Let's leave what we've already got here. We can take 
  159.65 +them to the rooms later," Setsuna said as she put the luggage
  159.66 +she was holding by the door. The rest of the girls quickly 
  159.67 +followed.
  159.68 +	"That sounds good. Then we can see the rooms and find 
  159.69 +out who sleeps where." Michiru yawned from the long drive.
  159.70 +	Haruka smiled. "Maybe you should stay here and sleep 
  159.71 +while we go down to the beach."
  159.72 +	"And miss one of my few chances to see you in a bikini? 
  159.73 +I'm not going to sleep until after I see that." Michiru 
  159.74 +giggled.
  159.75 +	The three other girls stood in silence for a moment 
  159.76 +before Setsuna spoke up. "Well, let's get the rest of the 
  159.77 +luggage and then we'll head to the beach."
  159.78 +	"Sounds good to me," Michiru said smiling. 
  159.79 +	They returned to the car to get the rest of their 
  159.80 +things.
  159.81 +
  159.82 +	Hotaru pulled her bathing suit up past her legs. It was 
  159.83 +a black one piece. ChibiUsa was sitting on the bed in front of 
  159.84 +Hotaru. She was blushing a she watched the girl dress. It was 
  159.85 +only halfway on, so ChibiUsa had a good view of Hotaru's 
  159.86 +breasts. 
  159.87 +	"ChibiUsa-chan, are you okay?" Hotaru asked. She 
  159.88 +smiled. She enjoyed being able to affect the pink haired girl 
  159.89 +the way she did. ChibiUsa affected her much the same way. It 
  159.90 +was so different than the looks she had recieved from ChibiUsa
  159.91 +several monthes before. 
  159.92 +	"Hai," ChibiUsa nodded. 
  159.93 +	"Good. Can you help me?" Hotaru pulled the bathing suit 
  159.94 +the rest of the way up and put the strings over her shoulders. 
  159.95 +"Can you tie it for me?"
  159.96 +	ChibiUsa walked over and tied the string behind Hotaru's
  159.97 +neck. Hotaru was about to walk towards the door when she felt 
  159.98 +ChibiUsa's hand slide beneath her bathing suit. The tight cloth 
  159.99 +pushed ChibiUsa's hand close to her body. ChibiUsa cupped one of
 159.100 +Hotaru's breasts under the thin fabric. Hotaru let out a light 
 159.101 +moan as she felt the other girl squeeze her breast. ChibiUsa 
 159.102 +started kissing her shoulder. 
 159.103 +	"Od...Odango-chan...." Hotaru said quietly.
 159.104 +	They froze when they heard a knock at the door. The 
 159.105 +door knob slowly turned and the door was pushed open. ChibiUsa 
 159.106 +quickly pulled her hand out from underneath Hotaru's bathing 
 159.107 +suit. Both girls were blushing profusely.
 159.108 +	"Hi, Michiru-mama," Hotaru said quickly.
 159.109 +	"Are you two almost ready?" Michiru asked. 
 159.110 +	They both nodded. "We're ready," ChibiUsa responded.
 159.111 +	"Okay. Then let's go. Haruka and Setsuna are waiting," 
 159.112 +she smiled and led them out of the room.
 159.113 +	"I should have changed in the bathroom. It's safer 
 159.114 +there," Hotaru whispered to ChibiUsa.
 159.115 +	"Only if you'd have let me change with you," ChibiUsa 
 159.116 +whispered back impishly. 
 159.117 +	Hotaru turned around as they walked out of the house, 
 159.118 +trying to get a good view of it. She smiled as she recalled the
 159.119 +happy memories she associated with it. ChibiUsa called for her
 159.120 +after a couple seconds. Hotaru ran to catch up to the two other
 159.121 +girls. 
 159.122 +	
 159.123 +	Haruka and Setsuna were already on the beach by the time
 159.124 +they arrived. Michiru smiled as she ran up to Haruka. Sure 
 159.125 +enough, the tall blonde was wearing the bikini Michiru had 
 159.126 +bought for her. It was dark blue and fit the contours of her 
 159.127 +body well. Haruka blushed and coughed into her fist as Michiru 
 159.128 +tugged a bit at the material, trying to make it fit better. 
 159.129 +	"Michi..." Haruka said as she took a step back.
 159.130 +	"Haruka, you look beautiful in it. Now let me help you. 
 159.131 +Its not on completely right," Michiru replied.
 159.132 +	Haruka sighed. She stood as Michiru adjusted it. "I knew
 159.133 +I should have bought my own swimsuit."
 159.134 +	"I'm glad you didn't. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been 
 159.135 +able to get this one," Michiru said.
 159.136 +	"Exactly," Haruka put her hands behind her head as 
 159.137 +Michiru stepped away.
 159.138 +	"Perfect," Michiru said as she studied both the bikini 
 159.139 +and the fit woman beneath.
 159.140 +	Hotaru giggled as she listened to the exchange between
 159.141 +two of her parents. She turned to spot ChibiUsa. She saw the 
 159.142 +pink haired girl spreading out a towel on the sand. "Need any
 159.143 +help, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru asked.
 159.144 +	"No, I'm fine. Just lie on the towel. You need some 
 159.145 +sun tan lotion if we're going to be out here long," ChibiUsa 
 159.146 +said.
 159.147 +	"Since when were you so health conscious?" Hotaru asked
 159.148 +as she complied. "Or does it serve some other purpose, like 
 159.149 +what happened when we were changing?" 
 159.150 +	"Maybe," ChibiUsa said and laughed. "Actually, you've 
 159.151 +got pretty pale skin and I was worried you'd get sunburned." 
 159.152 +ChibiUsa started to rub the cold lotion on all of Hotaru's 
 159.153 +exposed skin. Hotaru closed her eyes. They heard splashing 
 159.154 +coming from the water.
 159.155 +	Hotaru sighed happily as she felt ChibiUsa's hands 
 159.156 +moving across her skin. "What's going on?" she asked.
 159.157 +	ChibiUsa squinted as she looked towards the beach. "I 
 159.158 +think they're having a water fight. Setsuna and Haruka are 
 159.159 +teaming up on Michiru."
 159.160 +	"Poor Michiru-mama."
 159.161 +	"You could always go help her," ChibiUsa suggested.
 159.162 +	"Maybe later. It's your turn," Hotaru got up as ChibiUsa
 159.163 +took her place on the towel lying on her stomach. Hotaru 
 159.164 +brushed some hair out of her eyes and looked to the water. She 
 159.165 +could still hear the splashing, but she could barely see 
 159.166 +Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka anymore. She smiled as she grabbed
 159.167 +the suntan lotion. "I want you to relax, Odango-chan."
 159.168 +	ChibiUsa nodded as she closed her eyes. She stretched 
 159.169 +out on the towel. She was tired after the drive up there and 
 159.170 +lying on the towel felt great after being in the car for so 
 159.171 +long. Her eyes closed as she started to drift off. She felt 
 159.172 +Hotaru's hands rubbing the lotion into her skin. She continued 
 159.173 +to drift off as she lay there. She was brought back as she felt
 159.174 +Hotaru's hands moving under her bathing suit. She shivered as 
 159.175 +she felt Hotaru start to rub the cold lotion onto her right 
 159.176 +breast. ChibiUsa rolled over and looked up at Hotaru. The dark 
 159.177 +haired girl smiled evilly. "Hotaru-chan, what are you doing?" 
 159.178 +ChibiUsa asked.
 159.179 +	"I want to make sure you don't get sunburned," Hotaru 
 159.180 +said innocently. She put some more lotion on her hand and ran
 159.181 +it over ChibiUsa's exposed stomach. Her hand continued to go
 159.182 +lower until it had slipped beneath the fabric of the bathing 
 159.183 +suit. ChibiUsa tried to remain calm, but Hotaru's touch was
 159.184 +exciting her greatly. "Hotaru, we shouldn't do that here," she
 159.185 +managed.
 159.186 +	Hotaru looked at her and smiled. "I know. I don't plan
 159.187 +on doing anything. I just want to make sure that I get the
 159.188 +suntan lotion everywhere."
 159.189 +	ChibiUsa tried to breath deeply as Hotaru worked the 
 159.190 +lotion in under her bathing suit. The sleep she had been 
 159.191 +drifting towards earlier was now far from her mind. 
 159.192 +	"Okay. Now roll over. I need to get your other side,"
 159.193 +Hotru said.
 159.194 +	ChibiUsa rolled onto her chest. She giggled. "This 
 159.195 +isn't fair. I want you to have your turn over again."
 159.196 +	"Yes it is. This is for what happened when I was 
 159.197 +changing." Hotaru said as she started to massage ChibiUsa's
 159.198 +shoulders. 
 159.199 +	"That wasn't my fault. I had to watch you change,"
 159.200 +ChibiUsa said in defense. She started to move when she felt
 159.201 +Hotaru's hand slip under the bottom half of her bathing 
 159.202 +suit again. Hotaru gently pushed her back down. 
 159.203 +	"I had to watch you change, too. And as I recall, I 
 159.204 +kept my hands to myself," Hotaru said. 
 159.205 +	ChibiUsa was silent for a moment. Hotaru pinched her.
 159.206 +"Owwww..." 
 159.207 +	"See. I win," Hotaru said triumphantly.
 159.208 +	"I don't mind as long as we discuss what you've won
 159.209 +back at the beach house." ChibiUsa turned over so she could
 159.210 +see Hotaru.
 159.211 +	"You're pretty anxious about it. I am, too, but you'll
 159.212 +have to wait until later. It's been a long time since I was 
 159.213 +last here and I want to wander around the beach." Hotaru 
 159.214 +brushed a hand through ChibiUsa's soft, pink hair.
 159.215 +	ChibiUsa pouted. "You shouldn't tease me like that."
 159.216 +	"I know. But you're so cute when I do."
 159.217 +	"Hotaru..." ChibiUsa chided.
 159.218 +	Hotaru leaned down. Her lips met ChibiUsa's for 
 159.219 +several seconds before she sat up. ChibiUsa sat up as well
 159.220 +and gave the dark haired girl a deep kiss. Her arms went 
 159.221 +around Hotaru's waist as her tongue dueled with Hotaru's. 	
 159.222 +	Several minutes later both girls sat out of breath.
 159.223 +	"Maybe we should go back to the beach house," Hotaru
 159.224 +said after a moment of silence. 
 159.225 +	ChibiUsa sighed and leaned her head on Hotaru's 
 159.226 +shoulder. "This is really nice, Taru-chan," ChibiUsa said as
 159.227 +she looked across the beach.
 159.228 +	"Isn't it? I used to love coming here with my dad when
 159.229 +I was younger. He was always so busy, but he'd always make the
 159.230 +time to come down here."
 159.231 +	"Do you miss him?" ChibiUsa asked.
 159.232 +	"Yeah. Sometimes. But I have Michiru-mama, 
 159.233 +Setsuna-mama, and Haruka-papa now. I wouldn't want to give 
 159.234 +them up for anything." Hotaru looked at the distant figures of 
 159.235 +her three parents in the distance. 
 159.236 +	ChibiUsa stood up. She grabbed Hotaru's hand and helped
 159.237 +her up. "Come on. You wanted to enjoy the beach, so let's. I'm
 159.238 +sure Michiru still needs our help."
 159.239 +	Hotaru hugged the pink haired girl. "Thanks, 
 159.240 +Odango-chan." ChibiUsa hugged her back before they ran towards 
 159.241 +the water.
 159.242 +
 159.243 +	ChibiUsa sat up in bed. She blinked a couple times to
 159.244 +adjust her vision to the darkness. The open window let in the
 159.245 +moonlight and illuminated the room for her to make out slight 
 159.246 +details. She saw Hotaru standing by the window. The moonlight
 159.247 +gave glimpses of Hotaru's naked body. ChibiUsa was still 
 159.248 +wearing her pajamas, but she knew that Hotaru didn't wear 
 159.249 +anything when she slept. ChibiUsa blushed as she gazed at her
 159.250 +lover. She got up and stood beside Hotaru. 
 159.251 +	Hotaru turned to ChibiUsa. "I thought you were asleep.
 159.252 +Did I wake you?"
 159.253 +	"I'm not sure. I'm glad I did, though. What are you 
 159.254 +thinking about?" ChibiUsa asked.
 159.255 +	"A lot of things. Mostly just about other times I was 
 159.256 +here," Hotaru answered.
 159.257 +	ChibiUsa nodded. "It must be strange being here again."
 159.258 +	"Yeah. I'm glad. I've been wanting to come back for a 
 159.259 +while now. I like having my parents and you here. I can make 
 159.260 +new memories here instead of dwelling on the old ones," Hotaru 
 159.261 +said. She gave ChibiUsa a quick kiss.
 159.262 +	"What type of memories do you have in mind?" ChibiUsa
 159.263 +asked innocently. 
 159.264 +	Hotaru looked out the window again. "I was going to go
 159.265 +out to the beach right now. Will you come with me?"
 159.266 +	"Okay. That sounds good. It's kind of late, don't you
 159.267 +think?"
 159.268 +	"Yes, I do. It looks nice." Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's
 159.269 +hand and led her out of the room. 
 159.270 +	ChibiUsa stared shocked at Hotaru's bare body. "Don't 
 159.271 +we need our bathing suits first?" 
 159.272 +	Hotaru smiled at her. "Nope. Haven't you ever gone 
 159.273 +skinny dipping?"
 159.274 +	"No," ChibiUsa answered. "Have you?"
 159.275 +	"Not really. It sounds fun, though," Hotaru said.
 159.276 +	"Don't we need towels?"
 159.277 +	"Odango-chan, you worry too much," Hotaru whispered to
 159.278 +her as she opened the door. The two girls walked out into the
 159.279 +warm night air.
 159.280 +	They reached the water's edge and stopped. ChibiUsa
 159.281 +looked at the sea water as it splashed along the beach. "You
 159.282 +go ahead. I'll watch. It looks cold."
 159.283 +	"ChibiUsa-chan..." Hotaru said pleadingly.
 159.284 +	ChibiUsa sighed nervously and started unbuttoning her
 159.285 +pajama top. She put her pajamas on the beach towel she'd left 
 159.286 +there earlier. The pink haired girl stood there for several 
 159.287 +seconds to adjust to the gentle breeze blowing across her body.
 159.288 +"I hope Setsuna and the others don't get up."
 159.289 +	"Just think about trying to explain it," Hotaru said.
 159.290 +"Come on, ChibiUsa. Check the water."
 159.291 +	"It looks too cold," ChibiUsa said.
 159.292 +	Hotaru dipped her foot in the water. "It's not bad."
 159.293 +She took a step further in. She shivered at first but continued
 159.294 +walking. "See? Now you try."
 159.295 +	ChibiUsa hesitated for a moment before walking in. She
 159.296 +went faster than Hotaru had in an attempt to get it over with
 159.297 +all at once. ChibiUsa hugged herself to try and stay warm. "It
 159.298 +was a lot better this afternoon."
 159.299 +	"I don't know. It's more peaceful now," Hotaru said.
 159.300 +	"And its just us," ChibiUsa said as she swam near 
 159.301 +Hotaru.
 159.302 +	The two girls talked for a long time while the swam,
 159.303 +enjoying each others presence. While Hotaru was swimming,
 159.304 +ChibiUsa finally got out and walked over to the beach towel. 
 159.305 +She sat down quickly, the cold water dripping off her body.
 159.306 +	"ChibiUsa?" Hotaru got out of the water and walked over
 159.307 +to the pink haired girl. She shivered as she stood there. 
 159.308 +	"It's too cold in the water," ChibiUsa said as she lay
 159.309 +down on the beach towel to dry off.
 159.310 +	"It's too cold out here," Hotaru said when a breeze
 159.311 +started up. 
 159.312 +	"Should we go in?" ChibiUsa asked.
 159.313 +	Hotaru shook her head. "Not yet. I think I know what 
 159.314 +would warm us up." She kneeled by ChibiUsa.
 159.315 +	"Taru-chan," ChibiUsa said quietly. They kissed as Hotaru
 159.316 +lay atop ChibiUsa. ChibiUsa could feel one of Hotaru's breasts
 159.317 +pressed against her own. Her nipples were hard from the cold 
 159.318 +water and now the wind. Hotaru and ChibiUsa rolled over several
 159.319 +times with Hotaru ending up on the sandy beach. ChibiUsa kissed
 159.320 +down her jawline while she cupped Hotaru's breasts. ChibiUsa 
 159.321 +began rubbing Hotaru's nipples softly at first. 
 159.322 +	Hotaru moaned as she felt ChibiUsa's hands against her 
 159.323 +breasts. Her hand went up along ChibiUsa's side before pushing
 159.324 +against the other girl's breast. Hotaru moved her head downward
 159.325 +and started kissing ChibiUsa's other breast. She could taste the
 159.326 +salty sea water that was still dripping off of their bodies. 
 159.327 +ChibiUsa let out a gasp as she felt Hotaru's mouth around one
 159.328 +of her nipples. Hotaru licked it at first before she started 
 159.329 +to suckle the pink haired girl. 
 159.330 +	One of ChibiUsa's hands left Hotaru's breasts and 
 159.331 +started to descend over the dark haired girl's body. The tips
 159.332 +of her fingers gently caressed Hotaru's stomach as they 
 159.333 +continued down. Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's fingers move over her
 159.334 +already swollen nether lips. A moan escaped her lips as ChibiUsa
 159.335 +parted her labia. She could feel the tip of ChibiUsa's finger 
 159.336 +slide into her vagina. Hotaru moved her head to ChibiUsa's other
 159.337 +breast and began to suckle her nipple. Hotaru's free hand 
 159.338 +roamed ChibiUsa's back. ChibiUsa's fingers brushed along 
 159.339 +Hotaru's labia again. Hotaru shuddered visibly after ChibiUsa 
 159.340 +found her clitoris. ChibiUsa stroked the dark haired girl's 
 159.341 +jewel as other hand slid along Hotaru's bare side.
 159.342 +	Hotaru could feel the heat building up inside her as
 159.343 +she moaned ChibiUsa's name. She could feel her climax coming.
 159.344 +Her hand mover way from ChibiUsa's breast and down between her
 159.345 +legs. She began to rub the pink haired girl's vagina. Hotaru
 159.346 +could feel herself reaching climax. She moaned as she reached 
 159.347 +it, her mind losing all conscious thought for a few blissful
 159.348 +seconds. 
 159.349 +	Hotaru lay still for a few moments. She saw ChibiUsa
 159.350 +sitting by her, licking her fingers clean. Hotaru sat up. She 
 159.351 +took some deep breaths to stop her heavy breathing. "Your turn,
 159.352 +ChibiUsa-chan."
 159.353 +	ChibiUsa smiled and kissed her. "We keep taking turns 
 159.354 +today, don't we?"
 159.355 +	Hotaru had ChibiUsa lie down on the towel. The pink 
 159.356 +haired girl gladly obeyed. Hotaru positioned herself so her 
 159.357 +legs were on either side of ChibiUsa's head. She pushed 
 159.358 +ChibiUsa's legs apart. Her tongue ran over ChibiUsa's nether
 159.359 +lips, causing the pink haired girl to squirm under Hotaru. 
 159.360 +Hotaru licked ChibiUsa's swollen labia before using her fingers
 159.361 +to part them. She started licking inside ChibiUsa, her tongue
 159.362 +sliding into ChibiUsa's vagina. The future princess moaned as
 159.363 +the purple haired girl continued to lick her. ChibiUsa's nose
 159.364 +brushed the other girl's still sensitive lips. She began to
 159.365 +mimic Hotaru's movements with her own tongue. ChibiUsa started
 159.366 +panting as she started moving her hips against Hotaru's invading
 159.367 +tongue. She was panting heavily. 
 159.368 +	Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's tongue lick her clitoris before
 159.369 +moving on. Hotaru involuntarily brought her legs closer 
 159.370 +together, bringing ChibiUsa's head closer to her vagina. Hotaru
 159.371 +felt the sensations increase as ChibiUsa added a finger into 
 159.372 +her vagina. ChibiUsa felt the dark haired girl licking her more
 159.373 +voraciously. ChibiUsa couldn't last much longer. She arched her
 159.374 +back as she reached orgasm. 
 159.375 +	Hotaru was taking quick, shallow breaths as she felt 
 159.376 +ChibiUsa continue. Hotaru moaned again before she climaxed a 
 159.377 +second time. 
 159.378 +	Hotaru rolled off of ChibiUsa and snuggled against her.
 159.379 +"I told you it would be fun out here." Her arms went around
 159.380 +ChibiUsa. Her dark purple eyes met gentle crimson ones. The sky 
 159.381 +was a light pink from the rising sun. "How long have we been 
 159.382 +out here?" she asked.
 159.383 +	"We should get back in," ChibiUsa said.
 159.384 +	"Do you want to?" Hotaru asked.
 159.385 +	"No," ChibiUsa replied. The girls smiled. 
 159.386 +	"Let's wash up first, then we'll go in later," Hotaru 
 159.387 +said grinning. 
 159.388 +	"That sounds good." ChibiUsa kissed the raven haired 
 159.389 +girl again. They both walked back to the water's edge. The water
 159.390 +didn't seem as cold as they washed each other off. 
 159.391 +
 159.392 +	Hotaru looked back at the beach house. She'd had a lot
 159.393 +of great memories of it and after this weekend she had even 
 159.394 +more. She smiled a bit as she looked over to the beach one last
 159.395 +time before they left. She knew seh'd be back, but she still
 159.396 +didn't want to leave. She felt a hand grab her own. She squeezed
 159.397 +ChibiUsa's hand and turned to her. 
 159.398 +	"Is everybody ready?" Haruka asked from the car. 
 159.399 +	Hotaru turned back to the beach house to see it once 
 159.400 +more before walking back to the car. She smiled again, this time
 159.401 +happier. She'd be back. And she'd be able to make more memories
 159.402 +for this place she treasured.
 159.403 +	 
 159.404 +

   160.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   160.2 +++ b/stories/blood.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   160.3 @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
   160.4 +Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, but the 
   160.5 +plot to this story is.
   160.6 +Warning: People die in this story so don't read 
   160.7 +it if you have a problem with that.
   160.8 +
   160.9 +   The Taste of Blood
  160.10 +    by The Ghost of 'lectricity
  160.11 +
  160.12 + The taste of blood on my lips. That's all I have 
  160.13 +left of her. Sweet and bitter. Warm. I can still 
  160.14 +feel it.
  160.15 +
  160.16 + The blade went smoothly through her chest. Into 
  160.17 +her left breast slicing her heart in two. When 
  160.18 +the first trickles of blood appeared she was 
  160.19 +still smiling. How could you have done this to 
  160.20 +me? How could you have asked that of me?
  160.21 +
  160.22 + "You have to do it. When I die the Ginzuishou 
  160.23 +will restore everything. I die so everyone else 
  160.24 +can live. It has to be this way. And you have to 
  160.25 +do it. Only the destructive power of Saturn can 
  160.26 +kill me."
  160.27 +
  160.28 + It was so easy. When the blade went through her 
  160.29 +flesh I couldn't feel any resistance. Soon her 
  160.30 +whole dress - white before - was red with her 
  160.31 +blood.
  160.32 +
  160.33 + When she was lying there, the Ginzuishou keeping 
  160.34 +her still alive, she opened her mouth to speak. I 
  160.35 +brought my face closer so she wouldn't strain 
  160.36 +herself too much. She told me to close my eyes. 
  160.37 +Then she put her hands to the sides of my face 
  160.38 +and brought my face closer to hers. She kissed 
  160.39 +me. Lightly. Sweetly. Gently. But all that filled 
  160.40 +my mind was the taste of blood on my lips. No 
  160.41 +emotions came up.
  160.42 +
  160.43 + When I opened my eyes she had closed hers 
  160.44 +already. A single tear fell onto her eyelid. I 
  160.45 +got up and turned to walk away. Behind me I felt 
  160.46 +warmth, but it wasn't her warmth, it was the 
  160.47 +power of the Ginzuishou. Pink ribbons began 
  160.48 +flying everywhere, green plants began covering 
  160.49 +the gray surface, the black emptiness above was 
  160.50 +replaced by a blue sky and white clouds. The 
  160.51 +puffy ones, the ones she loved so much. She 
  160.52 +always recognized some animals or people in them.
  160.53 +
  160.54 + The princess of the Moon possesses the ability 
  160.55 +to contain its power while the Princess of Saturn 
  160.56 +possesses the ability to unleash it. That is what 
  160.57 +she told me once. Then she added that we are the 
  160.58 +perfect couple and we laughed. Life will begin 
  160.59 +anew, no, it will be restored, now that she is 
  160.60 +dead.
  160.61 +
  160.62 + Now I am on Saturn, an outcast from the Moon 
  160.63 +Kingdom. The Senshi exiled me here because I 
  160.64 +never explained what happened. They thought I 
  160.65 +killed the Princess and so I did, that is why I 
  160.66 +do not wish to go back.
  160.67 +
  160.68 + When I am alone I can feel it. The warmth. It's 
  160.69 +not the power of her protecting crystal, but her 
  160.70 +warmth that I feel. When I close my eyes I can 
  160.71 +recall our first kiss but with that her last 
  160.72 +minutes. And the taste of blood on my lips. So I 
  160.73 +don't. I'm content in the warmth that surrounds 
  160.74 +me ever since.
  160.75 +
  160.76 +   The End
  160.77 +
  160.78 +***
  160.79 +
  160.80 +Peter
  160.81 +The Ghost of 'lectricity
  160.82 +lectricity@email.si
  160.83 +13.17 CET, September 26th, 2000.

   161.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   161.2 +++ b/stories/bssm-harumichi.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   161.3 @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
   161.4 +Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at a Sailor Moon fanfiction. Chibiusa looks a bit like her grandmother at first (white hair, blue eyes) but the story will explain why it changed later on. So just bear with me. Haruka and Michiru are off in never-never-land with Hotaru for the time being, but they’ll come in soon. I don’t own what I don’t own, but wouldn’t it be nice if I did? Please, enjoy the story. Feel free to send comments or advise my way…I’d prefer no death threats, but I suppose you can send those along as well…Bye! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   161.5 +
   161.6 +Foreign words and phrases…Most will not appear….
   161.7 +
   161.8 +1) Ohayou - hello 2) onii - brother 3) Yo - yo 4) chotto matte - wait a minute, hold on 5) hai - yes 6) Tadaima - I'm home 7) Gomen nasai - I'm sorry 8) Daijoubu - It's okay 9) Arigatou - Thanks 10) Hontou - Really? 11) Ne - like asking for agreement…like putting 'okay?' at the end of a sentence 12) Ano… - ummm… 13) Baka - silly, stupid...a million things really...all depends on the context 14) O-yasumi - goodnight 15) Onegai - please 16) furin: a wind bell with a small piece of paper hanging from it; seen in a lot of animé 17) zettai daijoubu desu yo - everything will always be alright! 18) Sono mama de iinda - stay the way you are 18) hanasa nai de - please don't leave me/ don't let go 19) Ikimasu! - let's go 20) Wo ai ni - I love you 21) Aishiteru - I love you 22) Konbanwa - Good evening 23) Konnichiwa - Good morning 24) Kawaii - cute 25) Ogenki desuka - How are you? 26) Daijoubu desuka - Are you alright? 27) Daijoubu - Okay 28) Masaka- It can't be! 29) Tonikaku- At any rate, anyways 30) Wasurenai yo zutto-I'll never forget
   161.9 +
  161.10 +What My Heart Knows~~A Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Fanfiction
  161.11 +
  161.12 +By Forever3330
  161.13 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  161.14 +
  161.15 +Prologue:
  161.16 +
  161.17 +	World-Gate
  161.18 +
  161.19 +	She hadn’t known that it was truly over, that the peace and happiness their world had known all her lifetime, and most of her ancestors, until the day when Crystal Tokyo fell.
  161.20 +
  161.21 +	She had known, yes, that there was war. She had known that the enemy was strong, that they were losing most of the battles, being forced back…but as long as her parents smiled, as long as the Senshi smiled, it was alright. Because they did not seem worried, she was not worried.
  161.22 +
  161.23 +	Even if she had noticed what was hidden behind their calm-happy masks, Small Lady Serenity would not have been able to see what happened. She would not have known what was coming. As the very walls and floors and ceilings of the Crystal Castle began to tremble, as her mother gave a small cry, eyes gazing into the depths of something only she could she, as all the crystal became black and clouded, fizzled with colored lightning sparks, that was when the full understanding of it hit her. They would all die. As demons charged the city, and the Senshi who had never before gone to battle scattered, going to try to fight them, she finally realized that there was no escape from their destiny.
  161.24 +
  161.25 +	The Dark Queen would rule.
  161.26 +
  161.27 +	And they would all bow to her or die.
  161.28 +
  161.29 +	There was a flurry of shouting, orders passed quickly, taken without question. Someone grasped her hand; one of the guards, tugging at her, trying to get her to walk. Where to? Was there someplace safer then this one? Her siblings followed a few others without question. Older sister Kousagi, younger sister Chibi-Chibi, older brother Toki, younger brother Sapphire. Where was her mother? Where was her father? A glint of green caught her attention, and she turned swiftly.
  161.30 +
  161.31 +	Setsuna.
  161.32 +
  161.33 +	Shaking the guard off, she felt him reach out, pulling back only a pink hair ribbon and a few locks of silver-white hair. A sense of relief came as she raced after the tall woman, who seemed to be going somewhere…going where? Setsuna would make it all better. She would make Small Lady safe, with her hugs and smiles, and gentle mothering. She would make it safe. It had been a long while since Small lady had felt the urge to run into Pluto’s arms.
  161.34 +
  161.35 +	“Puu!” The Senshi turned around, eyes widening, then she stopped, and grasped Small Lady’s arm with one slender hand.
  161.36 +
  161.37 +	Ruby eyes glinted, narrowing. The Senshi of Time’s face was taunt with worry, fear, anger. At who or what, Small Lady couldn’t begin to guess. “Small Lady! You must go with your siblings! You’re to go-Ahh!”
  161.38 +
  161.39 +	Small Lady felt Pluto pull her aside, away, and shield her, as chunks of the now-black crystal began to crumble away, falling, falling down upon them. The way she had come was blocked, and the palace was still shaking…it would all be over soon…
  161.40 +
  161.41 +	Small Lady pulled closer to Setsuna, who surged up. “Small Lady, there is no time! You…” She sighed, sorrow to great for the girl to understand, even after her fifteen years of life. Pluto had many more years…she had much more knowledge…she was a second mother, a mother who was less detached. A dark shadow passed over Setsuna’s face. “Small Lady, in the Gardens there is a stone arch. Do you know of it?” Although Setsuna’s voice was calm, she rushed through the words, staring straight into Small Lady’s eyes.
  161.42 +
  161.43 +	Small Lady nodded, not feeling safe as she had hoped she would.
  161.44 +
  161.45 +	“I want you to go to it. Stand in front of it and concentrate. Let lose a small burst of ki at it. Then I want you to step through the Gate that appears. Do you understand me?” Setsuna was scary like this, her eyes hard and hands cold, her face afraid.
  161.46 +
  161.47 +	“Puu, what about-”
  161.48 +
  161.49 +	“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
  161.50 +
  161.51 +	Small Lady had once thought that Pluto’s voice could never be harsh. But it was now. “Hai.”
  161.52 +
  161.53 +	Pluto gently squeezed Small Lady in a hug, as if in goodbye. “Go.”
  161.54 +
  161.55 +	Small Lady turned, walked a few steps, and turned, seeing Setsuna with her long flowing dark green hair, her gentle eyes, her soft smile. She hesitated, not sure what was happening, what WOULD happen.
  161.56 +
  161.57 +	“Go!” The Senshi turned and continued quickly on her path, disappearing down the dark hallways.
  161.58 +
  161.59 +	She stood still, terrified of how suddenly her mother’s birthday feast had turned into the end. “Plu…Pluto…” Now was no time to cry over what was lost. The palace shook again, stronger this time.
  161.60 +
  161.61 +	The third-born child to Neo-Queen Serenity turned and fled.
  161.62 +
  161.63 +~
  161.64 +
  161.65 +	The arch was old, crumbling. No one paid much notice to it, as there was little to notice about it. Still, now Small Lady saw that the arch stood firm while all around it things were being destroyed.
  161.66 +
  161.67 +	She looked within herself, deep within, and found the white energy that was her life force. And suddenly, horribly, she felt herself being lifted of the ground, and looked into pure black eyes that held so much hatred they burned, saw a horrid cloaked figure. Where the hand, or claw, held her, she felt something flow out of her. Something important. She didn’t know what.
  161.68 +
  161.69 +	Small Lady tried to scream, but the claws sunk into her, deep, deep, and she felt blood run over her, saw it splash to the ground. She had no voice. Choking, the claws moving to her neck, she tried to escape. There was no way. Pluto had said…
  161.70 +
  161.71 +	To open…
  161.72 +
  161.73 +	…A Gate…
  161.74 +
  161.75 +	Something forced her away from the demon, a blast of pure power. A glowing cat-form floated, fizzling and snapping like lightning. Yet Small Lady didn’t feel fear, as she realized, with the kind of detachment that people who have lost too much, of blood or something else, feel, what the cat-spirit was doing. It was fighting.
  161.76 +
  161.77 +	Fighting the demon for her.
  161.78 +
  161.79 +	The Gate!
  161.80 +
  161.81 +	Looking within her, she found her life-energy, but it was so small. So weak. The last of herself. Small Lady grasped the ki, and threw it with her mind at the arch, the effort making her dizzy, spots of red in her sight. Was that actual blood, or was it simply the pain that made her see things?
  161.82 +
  161.83 +	A watery mirror-like substance appeared, and images flashed through it. Of many places, few of which she knew.
  161.84 +
  161.85 +	World-Gate, her dying mind supplied. It’s a World-Gate.
  161.86 +
  161.87 +	If she had any life-force left she could have perhaps shown the Gate where she wanted to go. But what was left was flickering. The images flashed, growing quicker, too fast for her to see which was which, as they all became simple blurs of colors.
  161.88 +
  161.89 +	If anything, she could at least fulfill Puu’s orders. A hand reached out, pale…it almost surprised her that it was her own. A full-grown hand. She must not, at her dying moment, have the child-body any longer. This body was the one of a girl of fifteen-years. She had always wished she would grow to match her age. Now was a horrid joke of whatever deities there were to finally give Small Lady her wish.
  161.90 +
  161.91 +	She touched the surface of the shimmering World-Gate, and felt it pulling her in, felt herself falling through what felt like water, then through open air. Small Lady saw something white beside her-a cloud or the cat-spirit, she didn’t know or care which-against the iridescent blue of the sky of a world she did not know, where she would die, alone. Against the sky whose hues matches those of her eyes…
  161.92 +
  161.93 +	As her frail body slammed into ground, twisting and breaking, she had one last breath, one last view of the world before it turned black, one last touch, one last sound. As she hit rock-bottom in a forest of green, two pools of deep violet stared at her, as someone held her gently, and a faint musical voice, whose words she did not understand, though they were in a language she knew, was shouting…
  161.94 +
  161.95 +	The goddess of death…Small Lady thought, Come to take me away…
  161.96 +
  161.97 +	And with those words resounding in her mind, everything simply spiraled away into nothingness…
  161.98 +
  161.99 +TBC
 161.100 +
 161.101 +Author’s Notes: Um…what is there to say? O.o; This might take a while to finish, but seeing as how I have nothing but Band Camp this summer, I will most likely have the time to finish. If I stay still long enough to write again. For some reason I'm very mellow right now…Must be because I just had a long nap. ^,^ Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated. Criticism as well. This is AU, by the way, just in case you hadn’t noticed…AU’s are fun…I really need to wake up…^,^; And perhaps, if it’s not too much to ask, get un-stuck in Lufia: Ruins of Lore. Gah…I got lost in one of the ruins…but, on the bright side, my characters are now super-strong. That’s how I always beat the bosses with no trouble whatsoever. -_-; I get lost so much that I get into way to many battles and level up much too soon. It’s not a BAD thing, it just means I get stuck really easily…But never on the hard things…o.o; Just the EASY things…it’s quite annoying. Anyways, I'll go away now, and let you get on with your lives, if any of you actually wasted time reading this little babble/rant. ‘Till next time! ^.~
 161.102 \ No newline at end of file

   162.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   162.2 +++ b/stories/bssm-senshireborn.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   162.3 @@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
   162.4 +E-mail: keriisgo@hotmail.com 
   162.5 +
   162.6 +Title: A Senshi Reborn. 
   162.7 +
   162.8 +<AN: This is going to be a continuation from the previous story, a new senshi? 
   162.9 +I would recommend reading that one before you read this one but hey, do what you want; I just write the things. 
  162.10 +Also I’d like to say that the sailor moon cast is not mine, it’s Naoko’s and I am thankful she created them (if she didn’t what would I do with all my time?!) and that the only sailor scout I made up is Sailor Tethys, she’s mine so leave her alone.> 
  162.11 +
  162.12 +Chibiusa waved her hand in front of her friends face: 
  162.13 +"hey, Hotaru!" 
  162.14 +"What? Oh, sorry Chibiusa, i didn't mean too zone out." 
  162.15 +"That's ok Hotaru, but are you OK?" Chibiusa looked concerened for her new girlfriend. 
  162.16 +"Oh don't worry Chibiusa i'm fine, but could we finish our card game later please?" 
  162.17 +"OK Hotaru, so what do you want to do?" Hotaru looked at the floor. 
  162.18 +"Would you mind if i went home Chibiusa? I'd like to be alone." Chibiusa was a little upset but agreed none the less. 
  162.19 +"Sure Hotaru, we can play again later." Hotaru nodded, they hugged, kissed and then Hotaru left. 
  162.20 +Usagi came in and looked confused. 
  162.21 +"What's wrong with Hotaru?" 
  162.22 +"I don't know but she hasn't really been herself since Sailor Tethys left. She wouldn't even tell me Sailor Tethys human name." 
  162.23 +"Oh, why do you think that is?" 
  162.24 +"I really don't know anything about it, all i managed to get out of her was that Sailor Tethys was her sister in the Silver Millenium." 
  162.25 +Usagi looked sad. 
  162.26 +"Well, Chibiusa?" Chibiusa looked up. 
  162.27 +"How would you feel if you lost Hotaru, or me?" Chibiusa's eyes seemed to reply for her but she answered anyway. 
  162.28 +"I would die." That was all it took, plain and simple. Usagi nodded. 
  162.29 +"There you go then. It's no wonder she's sad, Sailor Tethys only just came back to her and then had to leave. She lost her sister and her only frind from the Silver Millenium." 
  162.30 +Chibiusa was very upset by this. 
  162.31 +"She didn't have anyone at all except Sailor Tethys, not even her parents?" 
  162.32 +"No, Chibiusa they died when she was born." Chibiusa's eyes filled with tears for her friend. 
  162.33 +"Poor Hotaru." 
  162.34 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  162.35 +
  162.36 +Hotaru was walking down the road, looking at the floor as she always did and she didn't hear someone running up to her and then... 
  162.37 +"OUCH!" Someone ran into her and they both fell to the floor. 
  162.38 +"Oh, i'm sorry Hotaru." Hotaru didn't even take note that the someone knew her name, she just stood up and walked on. 
  162.39 +"Hotaru?!" Someone called after her but she was already lost in her thoughts again, she didn't even realise her head was bleeding a little, as were her hands, from falling over. 
  162.40 +She got home and went strait to her room, Haruka and Michiru got to their feet and Setsuna poked her head out of her study. 
  162.41 +"Hotaru, Honey, Would you come down here please?" Haruka shouted up the stairs, not harshly, just to get Hotarus attension. 
  162.42 +There was no reply. Haruka made a face and was about to shout louder when Michiru stopped her. She walked up the stairs and knocked on Hotaru's room door. 
  162.43 +"Hotaru?" No reply. She opened the door and looked in, not a single lamp was lit, the room was pitch black apart from the shaft of light that came from the landing. 
  162.44 +When Michiru's eyes adjusted to the dark she stepped in and closed the door behind her, managing to make out Hotaru's form sitting on her bed. 
  162.45 +"Hotaru?" Hotaru was staring at the floor as far as Michiu could see. She went and sat down by Hotaru on the bed, this bought Hotaru out of her daze and she looked at Michiru. 
  162.46 +"Hai Michiru-Mama?" Michiru moved closer to Hotaru and hugged her. 
  162.47 +"Hotaru, Mina called just before you got in." Hotaru looked up. 
  162.48 +"Why should that include me Michiru-Mama?" Michiru looked concerned. 
  162.49 +"Because she said she ran into you today and you didn't say even look up, let alone say anything. Do you feel ill lovely?" Michiru put a hand to Hotaru's forehead and pulled away after a few seconds. 
  162.50 +"you don't feel hot but your clammy, why not come down and eat something?" 
  162.51 +"No thankyou Michiru-mama, i'm not hungry." 
  162.52 +"Again? But Hotaru, you haven't eaten anything for three days." Hotaru looked to the floor again. 
  162.53 +"I haven't really been that hungry Michiru-Mama, do you mind if i just go to bed now?" Michiru was worried but agreed to leave it there. 
  162.54 +"Of course Hotaru, see you in the morning then." Michiru kissed Hotaru's Forehead and left the room, shutting the door and blinking in the bright light. Haruka and Setsuna were waiting downstairs in the living room. 
  162.55 +"What did she... What have you got around your mouth?" Haruka asked. Michiru looked confused and got out her hanky, wipeing her lips. She looked at the hankie and wondered if it was blood, but where would it have come from? She dismissed it as cheap lipstick. 
  162.56 +Michiru went to put the Hanky away and saw more of the substance on her hand. She suddenly thought, I touched Hotaru's forehead with my hand and my lips! That means she's hurt! 
  162.57 +"Hotaru must have hurt herself when Mina banged into her!" Michiru said, stunned and the others put two and two together, they ran up the stairs. 
  162.58 +Haruka was the fastest and burst into her daughters room. 
  162.59 +"Hotaru!" Hotaru was still sitting in the position she was in when Michiru left her. Setsuna turned a few lamps on so they could see and Michiru hugged Hotaru tight as Haruka pushed back Hotaru's hair to have a look. Haruka gasped, she couldn't see the cut, there was so much blood. 
  162.60 +Hotaru went limp in Michiru's arms and Michiru knew she had feinted. 
  162.61 +"We have to get her to a hospital." Setsuna said. The others nodded in agreement and Haruka picked Hotaru up, flashing back to when she was holding Hotaru this way a few days earlier, to take her to hospital after she had a particularlly bad seisure and before that when they had met Sailor Tethys. 
  162.62 +Haruka put Hotaru in the back seat of the car with Hotaru's head on Setsuna's lap, and then she and Michiru sat in the front. 
  162.63 +"Everyone in?" Haruka asked and recieved two nods, she stepped on the accelorator and sped out of their driveway. 
  162.64 +Some minutes later (and alot of near collisions and cuss words) they were in the hospital, with a doctor, Ami's mother to be exact. 
  162.65 +She had bandaged Hotaru's head and disinfected her hands, she was just doing some general checks when Hotaru stirred. Her tree parents moved closer and Ami's mum smiled. 
  162.66 +"She's strong. Most people who retained a wound like that would be out for hours." All three smiled but it was Haruka who answered. 
  162.67 +"She is stronger than she looks." 
  162.68 +"I think you should be able to take her home in a few hours, i think she should be monitered for a while and then if she can stand unaided she can go tonight." The three nod. Ami's mum was about to walk out when Hotaru sat up. All four went forward to lie her down again but she refused. 
  162.69 +"I'm fine, see?" She stood up and stayed there, confident and strong. 
  162.70 +"Can i go now? Please?" Ami's mum seemed uncertain. 
  162.71 +"You did say i could." Hotaru stated. 
  162.72 +"True." Ami's mum admitted defeat and Hotaru and her parents left a few minutes later. 
  162.73 +As soon as Haruka stopped the car Hotaru was out. 
  162.74 +"Can i go and see Chibiusa... Please? Please?" She asked and the three laughed. 
  162.75 +"Go ahead, we'll see you later ok?" 
  162.76 +"Thankyou!" Hotaru said and walked off in the direction of Chibiusa's house. As soon as she was out of sight of her parents she started to run in the opposite direction. 
  162.77 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  162.78 +
  162.79 +Chibiusa was worried about Hotaru and was about to go and call on her when the phone rang. She sighed and answered. 
  162.80 +"Moshi-Moshi, Chibiusa speaking." 
  162.81 +"Chibiusa? It's Michiru, Could i talk to Hotaru please?" Chibiusa pulled a face. 
  162.82 +"Hotaru went home at lunchtime, i was about to come over." Chibiusa heard Michiru relay the information to Haruka and Setsuna. 
  162.83 +"She said she was going to go see you and left, hours ago." Chibiusa gasped and said 
  162.84 +"We need to find her! She could be hurt!" 
  162.85 +"How did you know she was hurt?" Michiru asked. 
  162.86 +"She was hurt?! How?!" Michiru sighed and told her what she knew. 
  162.87 +"Poor Hotaru! We need to find her!" 
  162.88 +"Senshi meeting at Hikawa Shrine?" 
  162.89 +"Right!" They both hung up and called the other Senshi. 
  162.90 +__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  162.91 +
  162.92 +"Lets split into 5 groups." Setsuna sugested. The others nodded. 
  162.93 +"How do we chose groups?" Minako asked. 
  162.94 +"NO TIME!" Chibiusa shouted and said 
  162.95 +"Mina, you go with rei. Mako, you go with Ami. Usagi, you go with Setsuna and Haruka, you with Michiru." They all nodded again and set off in the different directions. Chibiusa went to search all Hotaru's favourite spots. 
  162.96 +"HOTARU?! HEY HOTARU?!" Chibiusa shouted into the night. She heard voices coming from nearby and ran to see who it was. 
  162.97 +"Hotaru?" she whispered and looked around a tree. Hotaru was standing, talking to someone. Chibiusa called the others and was just about to step out of her hiding place when Hotaru ran to the other person and hugged her tightly. 
  162.98 +Chibiusa hid again to see what she was doing however she moved a lttle closer, behind more trees and listened. 
  162.99 +"I'd love to come back to Saturn with you Aura, but i can't, i have my future queen and future princess here. And the other senshi. And the person who i care about most in the world. Chibiusa. I couldn't leave her here." 
 162.100 +"So bring her with you." Aura suggested. 
 162.101 +"No! She can't come home. Aura, you can't understand. As much as i love you, i can't leave earth. My heart belongs here." 
 162.102 +"You forget that i can take what i want." 
 162.103 +"I have not forgotten that actually Aura. I know that you could have my mind, but you can't ever have my heart, and my heart is what keeps me here. Besides, i know... I know that you wouldn't do this, you wouldn't take my mind from me unless you didn't have yours. What happened after you were reborn?" 
 162.104 +"HEY! YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH BITCH!" Aura backhanded Hotaru and she fell to the floor. Hotaru looked into Aura's eyes, blood flowing out of her mouth and dripping thickly off her chin. 
 162.105 +"What happened to you? Who is doing this to you?" Hotaru reached up and touched Aura's face. Aura hit it away. 
 162.106 +"Don't touch me!" 
 162.107 +"Aura. I know we wanted revenge on everyone for all those years we spent alone, but we can live together with the senshi at least. I have them and they support me. I have Haruka-Papa and Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama, and I have Chibiusa, all of them are very special to me and all of them care for me. Can't you come and live with us in peace?" 
 162.108 +"NO!" Aura leant down and grabbed Hotaru's black T-shirt collar. Hotaru didn't stuggle or fight back. 
 162.109 +"I'm going to fight you Aura, Don't you remember that Haruka-papa was willing to die for me? Doesn't that give you a small example? Any one of them would give their lives for mine, and i would give my life for any one of them! I love them all, but i love chibiusa the most." At this Chibiusa couldn't help smiling. 
 162.110 +Aura dropped Hotaru, who fell to her knees and then forward onto her hands and knees. Chibiusa couldn't help but interfere, 
 162.111 +"Hotaru!" Chibiusa ran forward and helped Hotaru to her feet. She only just took note of alot of cuts and bruises that littered Hotaru's body. Hotaru had odviously been here and talking like this for all the time she was missing, at least 3 hours. Chibiusa was quite surprised hotaru had lasted that long, but she was very weak. 
 162.112 +"Hotaru?" Chibiusa leaned towards her friend, trying to keep her on her feet. Hotaru hadn't said anything and seemed like she would feint at any moment. Aura however, seemed completely unfased, it was odvious that Hotaru hadn't been fighting back. 
 162.113 +The other senshi arrived on the scene and were already transformed. Aura seemed aggitated by this. 
 162.114 +"You still think you pose a threat? That you have a chance of beating me? I proved last time that you are no match for me. Leave Hotaru and i alone." 
 162.115 +Aura lashed forward and everything was still for a minute, but then Hotaru and Chibiusa were sent flying into the dark of the forest. Hotaru had seen it coming and moved in front of Chibiusa to protect her but they were both still hit hard. The other senshi ran to where they had landed, Jupiter, Mars, venus and pluto in front, to protect them and then Uranus, Neptune and Moon all helped the two up. 
 162.116 +Hotaru, already being weak and having protected Chibiusa was very badly hurt but Chibiusa was hardly touched. 
 162.117 +"Leave us alone." Aura repeated. Everyone turned to look at her. 
 162.118 +"How did she attack without transforming?" Pluto asked no one in general. 
 162.119 +"Ha! You are more pathetic than i thought! You can't attack while your human can you?" The others were shocked but Hotaru pulled away from Uranus and Neptune. 
 162.120 +"Hotaru?" Uranus asked, stepping forward. Everyone turned around to look at Hotaru. 
 162.121 +"I should have known you'd have figured it out Hotaru." Everyone gasped at the thought. She could do it? 
 162.122 +Hotaru raised her arms infront of her and made a motion as if to hold something. The silence Glave materialised and she grasped it tightly. Chibiusa walked towards Hotaru. 
 162.123 +"Don't... Don't use your powers Hotaru, your to weak." The others nodded their agreement. 
 162.124 +"Leave." Hotaru said firmly. The others were shocked. 
 162.125 +"We can help you!" sailor moon said. 
 162.126 +"No, You can't, you'll just get in the way or get hurt, LEAVE!" Hotaru said and pushed Sailor moon away as she tried to get close. Sailor moon wasn't prepared for the sudden contact and fell backwards, only to be caught by Sailor Uranus. Uranus, Neptune and pluto were the stronger senshi but they knew that they didn't stand a chance, not even sailor moon did. 
 162.127 +Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto all detransformed and turned around. 
 162.128 +"She's right you guys, come on." They started walking and the others started to understand that they didn't know much about Aura, but Hotaru seemed to, and she also seemed to be alot more advanced then them. They all agreed and turned to walk away. Chibiusa however didn't move. Usagi took her hand and started to lead her away. Chibiusa looked to Hotaru, who nodded and turned to face Aura. Chibiusa left with the other senshi. They all went to a cliff that was nearby so that they could see the fight. 
 162.129 +Hotaru and Aura stood facing each other, in their battle stances. The others were looking on when sailor moon had an idea. 
 162.130 +"We can do the sailor planet attack! We can still get her, even from over here!" The others all nodded and they formed  circle, joining hands. They all focused their energies and then... 
 162.131 +"SAILOR PLANET ATTACK!!" The attack aimed directly at Aura hit her head on and she flicked her wrist and the sailor planet attack sailed off into the air, harmless. 
 162.132 +"NO! HOW?!" The senshi were stunned. Now there definatly wasn't anything they could do. 
 162.133 +"Now your friends are done interfereing, lets get serious." Aura tensed and Hotaru nodded and got into a better stance. 
 162.134 +Aura lurched forward and none of the denshi saw where she went. They didn't know what was happening until Hotaru surged forward and disapeared. They saw numerous trees fall and the ground being disturbed but nothing else. There was a particularly powerful surge and all the trees within 40 metres of the impact were flattened and the senshi were caught up in a fierce storm of energy and wind, all having to sheild their eyes. 
 162.135 +The energy cleared and they looked down to the clearing. Hotaru was lying on the floor and Aura was smileing over her. Hotaru opened her eyes and sat up, then stood. 
 162.136 +Hotaru picked up her glaive and shouted 
 162.137 +"SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!" Her attack flew forward and hit Aura hard, Aura had not even tried to move as she wasn't expecting much power. She was wrong. As the attack persisted Aura was thrown backwards and hit the floor, seemingly unharmed. But she didn't get up. 
 162.138 +"Hotaru did it!" Chibiusa shouted but the outer senshi were still looking on worriedly. 
 162.139 +"This battle is far from over." Setsuna stated and they all looked down at Hotaru and Aura. Aura had already got up and Hotaru was preparing for the worst. Aura straitened her arms and grabbed at an invisable stick, which when touched became visable. 
 162.140 +The stick was almost exactly like Hotaru's glaive but it was black and had a long strait spike instead of the unknown shape on top of Hotaru's. 
 162.141 +"SILENCE SWORD STRIKE!" Aura shouted out and pointed her sword towars Hotaru, who braced herself. 
 162.142 +The attack flew forwards, a flaming arrow. Hotaru put up a silence wall but the attack pierced through her sheild and then through her stomach. She stayed still for a few seconds, her eyes widening and then she fell to her knees and onto her stomach. The blood seeping through her t-shirt and onto the floor. 
 162.143 +"HOTARU!!" Chibiusa screamed out and started to run down the hill when Haruka grabbed her arms. 
 162.144 +"Don't try it Chibiusa, you'll just get hurt, she wouldn't want that and you know it." Chibiusa pulled her arm away. 
 162.145 +"Well i refuse to sit here and watch!" Chibiusa continued to run towards the clearing. 
 162.146 +When she reached it Hotaru was having severe trouble breathing but was on her feet again. 
 162.147 +"Hotaru!" Hotaru turned around so fast it made Chibiusa dizzy. 
 162.148 +"You shouldn't be here! LEAVE!" Hotaru was incredibly angry but even more concerned. Chibiusa stood no chance on this battlefield. 
 162.149 +Aura decided to take advantage of Hotaru being distraced. She jumped forward and swung the blunt end of her blade at Hotaru's head. Hotaru only just saw it in time and jumped back out of the way. The force of the swing seemed nothing to Hotaru yet it forced Chibiusa off her feet and onto the floor a few feet away. 
 162.150 +"Chibiusa!" Hotaru ran to Chibiusa's side and helped her up. 
 162.151 +"You shouldn't be here, you don't stand a chance." Hotaru turned Chibiusa around and gave her a push in the direction of the cliff. Aura didn't like to wait and so she blind-sided Hotaru and she was sent flying through the air, yet she still managed to land on her feet. But that time Aura used the sharp end of her blade and it sliced through Hotaru's side easily. Hotaru held her wound and gave Chibiusa another push. 
 162.152 +"Please just go." 
 162.153 +"But i can't just leave you here!" Chibiusa was crying and Hotaru pulled a pained face, Chibiusa, thinking it was because she was hurt ran forward. 
 162.154 +"No Chibiusa!" Chibiusa was halfway to Hotaru when she realised Hotaru made that face because she didn't want Chibiusa to get hurt. Chibiusa stopped short of Hotaru. Hotaru smiled and nodded. 
 162.155 +"Go back to the cliff, there is nothing you can do for me." Chibiusa was about to turn when Aura came behind her and swung. Chibiusa screamed and the crystal activated but wasn't fast enough. By the time the crystal had activated she was already in the air... In the AIR?! Chibusa looked up to see Hotaru. She had jumped and picked Chibiusa out of harms way. 
 162.156 +"Phew, thanks Hotaru." Chibiusa smiled at Hotaru and Hotaru smiled back. Chibusa was happy to see Hotaru smile and was about to say so when they heard Aura scream her attack from behind. Hotaru dodged but was slowed by Chibiusa and the attack just caught her right hand. 
 162.157 +"Kuso!" Hotaru muttered under her breath. Chibiusa was looking where the attack had gone. She heard Hotaru swear and looked up at her, she was in pain. Chibiusa looked to her right hand. 
 162.158 +"Hotaru! That looks painful." 
 162.159 +"It is." Hotaru stated and started flying towards the cliff. 
 162.160 +"I didn't know you can fly Hotaru." Chibiusa said. 
 162.161 +"I only recently learned, it's not perfected yet." 
 162.162 +"It seems fine to me." Chibiusa laughed and Hotaru couldn't help but grin. 
 162.163 +"Stop laughing!" She fired her attack again and Chibiusa told Hotaru to move but Hotaru couldn't. She was flying strait at the cliff with the senshi on it, if she moved, they'd be hit. Hotaru couldn't let them die, not now. She threw Chibiusa, who was caught by Sailor moon, and turned to face the oncoming attack. 
 162.164 +"HOTARU!" Chibiusa screamed. Hotaru didn't take note of her scream and instead called her glaive forward. Hotaru started up her shield. 
 162.165 +"SILENCE WALL!" The attack slammed into the sheild, pushing her backwards. She kept moving backward until she felt her feet hit the cliff top. Hotaru heard someone coming up behind her. 
 162.166 +"Stay put!" Hotaru shouted over her shoulder. Whoever it was stopped and Hotaru focused again on her sheild. She was puched back a few more steps and felt 2 hands on her back. She knew it was Chibiusa. She thought how as Chibusa's hands came  round her stomach that they were keeping her together, stopping her exploding into pain. 
 162.167 +"That's it!" Hotaru cried out. 
 162.168 +"Please let go now Chibiusa." Chibiusa sqeezed her tighter and then let go. Hotaru focused one last time on her shield. 
 162.169 +She took a small step forward and the ends of her sheild came off the floor. Then another step and the ends straitened out to become a disc in front of them. The others started to wonder what she was doing. 
 162.170 +Hotaru took one last step forward and the sheild encircled the attack. The attack inside grew and grew and then started to shrink. Hotaru fell to her knees but was still concerntrating. The attack dwindled and died. 
 162.171 +"YAY HOTARU!!" Chibiusa cried, showing her younger side again. 
 162.172 +Hotaru looked up. 
 162.173 +"It's not over yet." They all looked up to see a very angry Aura staring at Hotaru. 
 162.174 +"I hate you, why can you always beat me? Why can you always have fun and laugh? And have friends?" Hotaru seemed to relax at this. 
 162.175 +"Why? To be honest i don't know why. I definatly didn't deserve them." The senshi all moved forward to Hotaru. 
 162.176 +"Yes you did!" Hotaru smiled slightly. 
 162.177 +"Then Aura deserves you too. Right?" Hotaru asked them all. They all stopped and stuttered. 
 162.178 +"But... but..." Hotaru and Aura smiled together this time. 
 162.179 +"But?" Aura chided. 
 162.180 +"But, She has the same circumatances as i did when you first met me." Hotaru smiled at them all. 
 162.181 +"I am the same." Aura said. The others couldn't deny it. 
 162.182 +"but... she's done so many bad things, like hurting you!" Chiniusa stated. 
 162.183 +"True, but so did i." Hotaru also stated. 
 162.184 +The others couldn't disagree, she was right. It was sailor moon who spoke up first. 
 162.185 +"Everyone can be our friend if they truely want to, and give friendship in return." Aura sneered at sailor moon. 
 162.186 +"You pathetic little wimp! Your the one who just leaves Hotaru to her death by me!" 
 162.187 +"She wanted us to go!" 
 162.188 +"She's my sister! I know what she feels! She wanted you to stay!" Everyone gasps and looks towards Hotaru who ws looking at the floor with a small smile dancing on her lips. 
 162.189 +"Hotaru... Is that true?" Sailor moon asked. Hotaru didn't look up or answer. She finally looked to Aura. 
 162.190 +"Do you remember those days during the Silver Millenium? When we lived on Planet Saturn?" 
 162.191 +"Of course i do! They were the loneliest in my life!" Aura shouted at Hotaru. 
 162.192 +"NO! They weren't! We played together, in the castle, in the gardens. We had fun. Don't you remember?" 
 162.193 +"NO! SO SHUT UP!!" Aura fired her attack again and the senshi were all about to be hit when Hotaru stood up and attacked aswell. Her attack hitting Aura's and diminishing it, then going on to hit Aura. 
 162.194 +Aura screamed as it hit her, falling to the ground and flinching every few seconds. 
 162.195 +"What did you do Hotaru?" Chibiusa asked. 
 162.196 +"I just gave her some of my memories, the good and bad of both times and worlds." Everyone looked down at Aura, who was on a lower ledge. Hotaru stood and was about to jump down when she took note of something, a metal device shining in a tree nearby. The others followed her gaze and saw it aswell. 
 162.197 +"It means something." Hotaru said. 
 162.198 +"But how do we get it?" Sailor mars asked. hotaru smiled. 
 162.199 +"I will." Hotaru jumped off the cliff and landed in the top branches of the tree. Everyone was stunned. 
 162.200 +"Hotaru! That was at least 30 feet!" Hotaru laughed and then got back to the matter at hand. She reached down and went to touch the machine when it let out a type of pulse, the only evidence a light flash and then Hotaru falling. 
 162.201 +The light went over each of the other senshi but all were unaffected. 
 162.202 +"How could it effect Hotaru that way when she is the strongest?" Chibiusa asked. The others were just as bewildered. 
 162.203 +Hotaru lifted herself up onto her knees and then onto her feet. 
 162.204 +"Hotaru?! What happened?" Chibiusa called over the cliffs edge. Hotaru looked up towards the machine but didn't answer, she couldn't. Hotaru had no idea what happened. 
 162.205 +"What happened...? and why did it only effect me?" Hotaru whispered to herself, touching the trunk of the tree. Aura came out of nowhere and pinned Hotaru to the tree, smileing. 
 162.206 +"Aura, what are you doing?" Hotaru asked. 
 162.207 +"Nothing, you wanted to know why it only effected you?" Aura asked, knowing the answer. 
 162.208 +"Yes..." Hotaru answered, becoming increasingly suspisous. 
 162.209 +"It only effected you, because i designed it to only effect you. It's tuned to you. So it will only hurt you." 
 162.210 +"It didn't hurt me." Hotaru stated blankly. 
 162.211 +"You don't think it did, but what you think and what are, well they're two VERY different things." Aura smirked and released Hotaru, but Hotaru didn't move from where she was. 
 162.212 +"What have you done to me Aura?" Hotaru asked, her voice serious. Her eyes flashing dangerously as if warning Aura not to tempt her into anything. 
 162.213 +"You'll see soon enough!" Aura laughed and vanished, leaving Hotaru in a very bad state of mind. She appeared calm, but she was looking at the spot Aura had been and the last few movements and words still playing in her mind. 
 162.214 +Chibiusa put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder, and Hotaru, not being completely out of her daze lashed out at her with her fist, catching her in the stomach and forceing her to the floor. Hotaru realised who she'd hit and immidiatly knelt down besides Chibiusa. Knowing that Chibiusa would be really hurt from that punch, considering how much stronger Hotaru was. 
 162.215 +"I'm so sorry!" Hotaru appologised and lifted Chibiusa's t-shirt, showing a glowing red pmark in the shape of Hotaru's fist. Hotaru hadn't used her healing in a long time but she had no choice, Chibiusa meant alot to her and she wasn't about to let Chibiusa suffer for her stupity. 
 162.216 +"It's fine Hotaru." Chibiusa said but she was still struggling for breath. Hotaru held her hands over the mark and they started to glow, reducing the redness. Chibiusa sighed and Hotaru looked up to her, still healing. She realised that Chibiusa was relaxing into Hotaru's energy. Hotaru went back to healing properly and was soon finished, though very worn out from her battle and then healing for the first time in ages. 
 162.217 +"Hotaru? Are you ok?" The question was directed at her from Michiru. Hotaru looked at chibiusa and then at her Michiru-mama, then round everyone else, not sure what to tell them all. They had all seen her fall and all seen Aura, but no one had heard what she'd said. 
 162.218 +Hotaru decided that Aura was probobly bluffing and that she didn't need to tell the others. 
 162.219 +"I'm fi..." Hotaru started but didn't finish, she feinted onto Chibiusa's lap. 
 162.220 +"HOTARU!!" Everyone called. 
 162.221 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.222 +
 162.223 +Hotaru woke up in a dark void, something she was used to seeing from her recent dreams. 
 162.224 +"Princess Saturn, I'm glad your awake." Hotaru looked around to see who knew her like that. 
 162.225 +"Show yourself!" A young girl, looking only 8 or 9 walked out of the shadows. As she got closer Hotaru realised she was in a sailor Fuku. Hotaru recognised him. 
 162.226 +"You're... You're Sailor Rhea?!" Hotaru was dumbstruck. 
 162.227 +"Hello Sailor Saturn." Sailor Rhea smiled. 
 162.228 +"It's been a while little sister." Hotaru enjoyed being in the presence of her little sister alot but... her twin, identical, and age wise. She wanted to see her twin the most. 
 162.229 +"Have... Have you seen...?" Hotaru didn't get to finish. Sailor Rhea moved aside and someone else walked forward. An exact twin of Hotaru. The only difference, the sailor fuku. It was a delicate lilac body with a dark purple skirt and delicate lilac gloves with a dark purple rim. Her bow, dark purple and a pure heart crystal in the middle, just like Hotaru's. 
 162.230 +"Sailor Telesto!" Hotaru cried and ran forward, hugging her twin tightly. Sailor Telesto was hugging back and tears were staining both their faces. 
 162.231 +Sailor Rhea ran towards them. 
 162.232 +"Hey! don't leave me out!" They all hugged and laughed and cried. A crack appeared in the top of the void, letting light spill into it. 
 162.233 +"What's happening?" Hotaru asked. Sailor Telesto and sailor Rhea looked at each other and then at Hotaru. 
 162.234 +"This void was just to protect you while you were unconcious, and now your waking up so... so now we dissapear." Sailor Telesto said softly. 
 162.235 +"NO! DON'T GO NOW! I ONLY JUST GOT TO SEE YOU!!" Hotaru shouted as the void got lighter and they started to dissapear. 
 162.236 +"Will i see you again?!" 
 162.237 +"Of course, but while we are human, maybe very soon." Sailor Telesto said. Hotaru was very relieved. 
 162.238 +"It's good to see you two again. My only family from the silver millenium." They all hug again and Hotaru closes her eyes. 
 162.239 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.240 +
 162.241 +When Hotaru opened her eyes again she was lying in a hospital bed. She sat up and felt a short sharp pain hit her body. It made her clamp her eyes shut but she didn't make any noises. She looked around the room and noticed how no one was there. Her heart seemed to feel upset but then she remembered Sailor Rhea and Sailor Telesto. 
 162.242 +Hotaru hated hospitals and didn't want to stay so she got up and found her clothes on the chair next to her bed. Putting them on she noticed they were clean and folded. She didn't dwell on it however and walked out of the room, out of the ward and then out of the hospital. No one took any notice as she looked so healthy. 
 162.243 +Hotaru walked strait back to the mansion she shared with her two mama's and her papa. She used her key and let herself in silently. Hotaru walked to the living room door and heard Usagi's voice. Then Makoto's and then Haruka's. Haruka's voice was raised and Hotaru heard what she said. 
 162.244 +"You pulled me away from my child, who the doctors don't know if she'll get up or not, just to tell me that Ami's computr has picked up another two senshi?!" 
 162.245 +Hotaru heard the phone ring, and waited. Everything was quiet for a while and then Haruka, who she presumed had answered the phone shouted again. 
 162.246 +"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!" Hotaru heard her slam down the reciever and then heard everyone get up and come running to the closed door. 
 162.247 +"What do i do? I can't face them all, how would i explain what happened then?" Hotaru whispered to herself. 
 162.248 +"Up here!" Hotaru heard a voice calling her. It was Sailor Rhea and Sailor Telesto, in their human forms! Hotaru wasted no time in running up the stairs and hugging them, forgeting about the others comeing. She was just hugging Sailor Rhea's human form when she felt her knees give way and she fell to the right of the stairs, out of view with Reah <AN: Reah is Sailor Rhea's human name and Sailor Telesto's is Tammy.>. 
 162.249 +Tammi was leaning down to help them, her head out of view so when the others came into the hallway they saw her body and, being Hotaru's identical twin, they thought it was Hotaru. 
 162.250 +"Hotaru!" They all shouted at once. Tammi looked down at them all and laughed, a laugh exactly like Hotaru's. Chibiusa noticed something strange, but what could it be? There was a strange moment when no one moved but then they heard someone elses voice from around the corner. 
 162.251 +"Hey Hotaru, you got a new friend?" Makoto asked. Tammi laughed even more and picked Reah up off Hotaru. 
 162.252 +Hotaru was relieved to get the weight of her chest but was still having a little difficulty breatheing. Tammi noticed this and remembered. 
 162.253 +"Oh god Hotaru, you were always having seizures! I'm sorry, i forgot!!" She leant down and helped Hotaru up, supporting her while she tried to breathe. 
 162.254 +"Forgive me?" Tammi asked. Hotaru couldn't exactly answer right then so she nodded instead. 
 162.255 +A few gasps and confused noises came from the bottom of the stairs. 
 162.256 +"Hotaru! Hang on!" Chibiusa shouted up the stairs and ran up to her, taking her weight from Tammi and hugging her hard. Coughs racked Hotaru's body and Chibiusa released her, looking concerned. 
 162.257 +"Hotaru, you haven't had a seizure this bad since Mistress Nine!" Chibiusa stated. Hotaru nodded and tried to explain. 
 162.258 +"I, i used... My healing... abil, abilities." She managed before her knees gave way again, Chibiusa, who wasn't expecting it, was going to fall to, when Tammi caught Hotaru and Reah caught Chibiusa. 
 162.259 +"You mean you only have sezures because you use your healing abitlities?" Chibiusa asked in disbelief. Hotaru had caught her breath a little and answered. 
 162.260 +"Not exactly, when i use alot of my energy i have seizures and healing takes alot more energy than something like fighting." Hotaru seemed a little uncomfortable, being the centre of everyone's attention. Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna picked up on this and said 
 162.261 +"Hey, why don't we all go into the living room, have some tea and talk this out?" Everyone nodded and followed the three into the living room. 
 162.262 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.263 +
 162.264 +"So, You're twins?" Haruka asked, indicating to Hotaru and Tammi. 
 162.265 +"And you're all sisters?" Michiru asked, indicating to all three. All three nodded a yes. 
 162.266 +"If your both here, what about your parents?" Minako asked. They all looked down to the floor quietly. Hotaru knew them all the best and so she answered the question. 
 162.267 +"Our parents died when Reah was born, our father was out fighting and mother died while giving birth." Everyone was quiet and sipping their tea half-heartedly. 
 162.268 +Just as Hotaru was about to say she needed to rest she felt Aura transform. Hotaru, even with her ability of being able to fight when human, would still stand no chance against Aura as a sailor senshi so she transformed. 
 162.269 +Everyone wondered what she was doing when a brick came through the window, heading for Chibiusa. Sailor Saturn used her Silence Glave and blocked it. The brick had a note tied to it and Sailor Saturn read it aloud. 
 162.270 +"There is only one of me, there are twelve of you, if you want to save the world you'llhelp me out. Sailor Saturn, come to the cherry blossom tree that you once sat under as a child. Bring Sailor Telesto and Sailor Rhea, but the others are to stay put. No tricks." 
 162.271 +Hotaru sighed and nodded to her sisters. They both transformed and all three were gone in a flash. 
 162.272 +"We can't let them go alone!" Chibiusa cried out. 
 162.273 +"We have to, you heard what the note said. We don't get a say in this." Setsuna said. 
 162.274 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.275 +
 162.276 +"Come on out then Sailor Tethys!" Sailor Saturn shouted. 
 162.277 +"All in due time." Sailor Tethys voice replied, seeming to echo, like when she first appeared, making it immpossible to know where it was coming from. 
 162.278 +A power ball came flying throught the fog and Sailor Saturn dodged it, as did the others and it vanished into the fog again. They weren't expecting it when it came hurtling back out of the fog and so it collided with Sailor Rhea and Sailor Telesto but Sailor Saturn still managed to dodge it. 
 162.279 +Sailor Telesto fell to the floor first, Sailor Rhea hitting the floor a few feet away from her. Sailor Rhea was crying. Hotaru ran forward and knelt between them both, taking Sailor Rhea into a hug and bringing her onto her knee. She also put a hand onto Sailor Telesto's back, stroking gently until she felt Sailor Telesto's muscles tense up. Sailor Telesto pushed herself up off her stomach and onto her knees. 
 162.280 +"That hurt." Sailor Telesto stated. Sailor Rhea was still crying and Sailor Saturn ribbed his back and rocked him gently. 
 162.281 +"Aww, so touching." Sailor Tethy's voice taunted them. 
 162.282 +"Don't you remember?! Remember when you hurt yourself? And I came out and hugged you tight. The plaster i put over your knee, you remember the pattern on it? It was ours." Sailor Saturn cried into the fog. They all heard Sailor Tethys mutter something and she walked towards them through the fog. 
 162.283 +"It was... it was a picture of a blood red eye." Sailor Tethys said smileing. Sailor Saturn brightened up. 
 162.284 +"Yes! Yes it was! And do you remember what it stood for?" 
 162.285 +"It stood for... Hmm, the eye stood for us being able to see right through each other, the blood red stood for the same blood running through our veins and then the pupil of the eye stood for... the centre of our love!" Sailor Tethys seemed happy she had remembered. 
 162.286 +"Exactly! I knew you'd remember!" Hotaru cried and ran up to Sailor Tethys, hugging her. 
 162.287 +A blueish colour substance came out of Sailor Tethys mouth and Sailor Saturn looked at it as it landed on the floor. Sailor Tethys seemed her normal self again. 
 162.288 +Sailor Saturn used her glaive and sliced the slime in half, it made a fizzing noise and disolved into nothing. 
 162.289 +"What was that?" Sailor Saturn asked. 
 162.290 +"It was one of my little creatures, only i accidentally spilt a chemical on it and it went bad, and when i say bad, i mean evil. 
 162.291 +They all hugged again and then all detransformed. 
 162.292 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.293 +
 162.294 +All four of them walked into Hotaru's house and were greeted by 9 heads poking out the living room door, all of the four sisters laughed, when Tammi said 
 162.295 +"It's time for us to go Hotaru." Hotaru was very upset to say the least, but she still smiled and hugged them all. They all hugged and appologised and said goodbyes to everyone else and everyone was sorry to see the three go. 
 162.296 +"Goodbye you guys, i love you all, never forget me ok?" Hotaru cried and they hugged one las time before a flash of light came and went, taking the tree with it. 
 162.297 +_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 162.298 +
 162.299 +Everyone went home after a while and Haruka and Michiru went out to dinner and said they needed a holiday so they wouldn't be back until morning. Setsuna had to go guard the time-gate so Hotaru and Chibiusa were left alone. 
 162.300 +"Hmmm, Chibiusa... that means we have the night alone together..." 
 162.301 +"I guess it does..." Both had a mischevious grin on their face as they ran upstairs.
 162.302 \ No newline at end of file

   163.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   163.2 +++ b/stories/bssm_newsenshi.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   163.3 @@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
   163.4 +Username: Amara 
   163.5 +E-mail: keriisgo@hotmail.com 
   163.6 +
   163.7 +<AN: hello again, just like to say that none of the senshi or characters are mine, except the new senshi, Sailor Tethys IS mine. I’d also like to say that my previous fic is called ‘A new light.’ And this is not in any way related to the aforementioned story. This fic is set after the sailor stars series; I’ll let you try to figure out the ages. (And I’ve decided to let you use your imagination as to why Chibiusa’s there. Also, I have made up a few attacks for the other senshi. There is a lot in here about sailor Neptune and sailor Uranus but is also based upon the love that Hotaru and Chibiusa carry for each other.> 
   163.8 +
   163.9 +Title: A new senshi? 
  163.10 +
  163.11 +Hotaru and Chibiusa were sitting on the sofa at Hotaru’s house when Hotaru’s communicator started to beep. 
  163.12 +“Hotaru here.” She said as she open it up. 
  163.13 +“Hotaru! Is Chibiusa there? We need you both right away. At the end of Usagi’s street! It’s a Youma!” 
  163.14 +“We’ll be right there!” Hotaru looked at Chibiusa and they ran out the door, transforming as they ran down the road. 
  163.15 +
  163.16 +“We’re here!” they shouted as they skidded round the corner into Usagi’s street. 
  163.17 +“Good, we need your help!” Sailor moon said as she ran up to them. Sailor Jupiter was the only other senshi still standing. Mercury, Mars, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Tuxedo Mask were all down already. The Youma looked like the worst they’d ever seen, so ugly. 
  163.18 +“Where did it come from?” Hotaru asked sailor moon. 
  163.19 +“Setsuna said something about a distortion in the timeline.” Sailor moon said. Hotaru wasted no more time. 
  163.20 +“Silence glaive, Surprise!” She shouted as she pulled her glaive down. 
  163.21 +“ARGH!” the youma screamed in pain as the attack hit it. It was hurt badly but not destroyed. It stared at Hotaru with an evil Glare in it’s eyes. It charged forward towards Hotaru and hit the road as Hotaru jumped up out the way. 
  163.22 +“Sailor moon! Now!” 
  163.23 +“Right!” She used her attack. 
  163.24 +“Silver Moon, Crystal Power, Kiss!” The youma vanished as the attack hit it but no human came forward. 
  163.25 +“Maybe they aren’t using humans anymore.” Hotaru voiced her thoughts. 
  163.26 +“I hope not.” Said sailor moon and ran to Tuxedo Mask. He opened his eyes and said 
  163.27 +“I’m OK, don’t worry, go and see your friends.” But as Sailor Moon nodded and turned around she saw that they were already getting up. Only Sailor Mercury needed support from Sailor Saturn. Tuxedo Mask also stood up. 
  163.28 +“Sailor Pluto, Why did this happen and will it happen again?” Sailor Saturn asked. 
  163.29 +“It happened because it had the power to travel though time without going through the time gate. And no, I don’t think it will happen again, however there is one more of the time travelling youma somewhere in the city. We have to find it before it does some irreversible damage.” The other Senshi nodded in agreement. 
  163.30 +“Thank you Sailor Saturn.” Mercury said, referring to giving her support. 
  163.31 +“Are you OK?” Sailor Saturn asked in return. 
  163.32 +“I’m fine, it’s just a sprained ankle.” Sailor Mercury said, smiling. 
  163.33 +
  163.34 +Suddenly her computer started beeping violently and the other youma appeared behind her and Sailor Saturn, It charged at them and as Sailor Saturn was holding Sailor Mercury there was nothing she could do. It caught Sailor Saturn round the neck and threw Sailor Mercury aside. The rest of the Senshi ran to Sailor Mercury’s side, some to help her, some in front to protect her. 
  163.35 +“I’m fine.” Sailor Mercury said and stood with the help of Tuxedo Mask. 
  163.36 +“Sailor Saturn!” Sailor mini moon cried out. Sailor Saturn was being strangled by the youma but no one could attack because they’d run the risk of hitting her. Sailor Saturn was struggling against the hold in which the youma had her. It was killing her slowly, stopping her breathing. She could see the spots in her eyes and her vision started to blur, all she could see was Chibi moon crying. 
  163.37 +“Chibi…Usa…” Sailor Saturn managed to say. Her silence glaive dropped from her grasp and her eyes closed, her last image of Chibi moon crying, for her. 
  163.38 +The youma wasn’t satisfied with killing her that way and so let her go, just before she lost conciseness. The youma was still holding her to close for the others to attack and you could see the fear and anxiety in her respective parents eyes. But no pair of eyes was more full of tears than those of Chibi moon. She was frozen at the thought of loosing Sailor Saturn. 
  163.39 +“I can’t live without you Sailor Saturn, don’t go!” Chibi moon cried out and Sailor Saturn seemed to hear her plea as she opened her eyes as called out to her 
  163.40 +“Chibiusa!” The youma acknowledged the fact that Sailor Saturn was awake and pushed her to the floor, holding her hair, making Sailor Saturn grimace in pain. Sailor Saturn was to weak to support herself and so she was being held up by her hair, to weak to scream, to weak to cry. The youma realised she was unable to resist anything and dug her knee into Sailor Saturn’s back, crushing her bones. This time Sailor Saturn couldn’t help but scream. 
  163.41 +“ARGH!!” Sailor Saturn cried out in anguish as she felt her ribs crack and her bones crunch. Chibi moon cried out to see Sailor Saturn in such pain. 
  163.42 +“Sailor Saturn!” everyone cried out. 
  163.43 +“That’s enough!” Haruka cried, 
  163.44 +“She would much rather be killed than be put though this much pain. We can’t just sit here and watch anymore.” Everyone nodded in agreement, everyone except Chibi moon. She was still frozen to the spot. A life without Hotaru was impossible to imagine. Everyone’s eyes fell on Chibi moon. 
  163.45 +“Sailor Chibi Moon?” Sailor moon said. This pulled Chibi moon out of her daze. 
  163.46 +“I can’t live without her!” Chibi moon cried out and ran into Sailor moons open arms. 
  163.47 +“We’ll do everything we can for her, but remember Chibi moon, she’d rather die by our hand than by that youma.” Sailor Moon shocked the other senshi, as she didn’t usually agree to these things. 
  163.48 +“But, what will I do without her?” Chibi moon cried into Sailor moon’s fuku. 
  163.49 +“We’ll get though it together Chibi moon.” Sailor moon said and stood up. 
  163.50 +“Gather round you guys, I have a plan!” Sailor moon said and they gathered round. 
  163.51 +“Some of us can attack from in front, not aiming for them, just looking like it, while one or two of us go round the back, we can attack with full strength from the back and hopefully not harm Sailor Saturn.” Everyone agreed that this was a good plan, it was decided that the inner senshi would stay at the front with the outer senshi and only sailor moon and sailor chibi moon would go behind. 
  163.52 +While all this was being said and decided the youma busied itself with hurting Sailor Saturn. It was beating her with its fists and feet and it was throwing attacks like there was no tomorrow. She couldn’t even scream anymore. She was bleeding virtually all over and the blood kept pouring out of her mouth. She just lay on the floor as she lacked the energy to do anything else. The youma had an evil smirk on its face. 
  163.53 +“See what you get for hurting my brother, sailor brat?” it said happily. It stood up and lifted Sailor Saturn by her right arm, punched her in the stomach, causing more blood to come out of her mouth and then it punched her in the cheek, causing yet more blood to spray the youma and the floor around her. In the meantime the senshi had got into their positions and at a signal; which came from sailor moon; the attack began. The youma started to thrown energy at the sailors in front of her to neutralise their attacks. Sailor moon and sailor mini moon attacked together at the back and the attack was about to hit the youma when it turned around and held Sailor Saturn into the blast instead. Sailor Saturn’s eyes went wide and she screamed in pain. The attack was still so powerful and pushed the youma back, as the youma was still holding Sailor Saturn she couldn’t let go, else she would get blasted. The attack however, reached the youma as well as Sailor Saturn and it was dusted. As the youma was dusted Sailor Saturn fell to the floor, her transformation reversed and she was Hotaru before she hit the ground. Everyone ran forward to her but Chibi moon got there first. 
  163.54 +“Hotaru! Hotaru! Get up! Please!” Chibi moon yelled over and over while hugging Hotaru’s body. 
  163.55 +“I’m…sorry… can’t… get…up.” Hotaru tried to smile at Chibi moon but couldn’t quite hide the pain she was in. 
  163.56 +“Hotaru…” Chibi moon said solemnly. 
  163.57 +“Please forgive me for not being there.” 
  163.58 +“Chibi…Usa… you’ve…always… been here… for me…” Hotaru managed. 
  163.59 +“Don’t go please.” Chibi moon pleaded with Hotaru. 
  163.60 +“I’m… not…” Hotaru said with even greater difficulty than before. Chibi moon looked confused and hopeful. 
  163.61 +“A new… senshi… will come… trust her and… she will help… Me.” With that Hotaru fell into unconsciousness. Everyone was feeling upset but there was also hope in every ones eyes. 
  163.62 +“A new senshi will come…” Sailor Pluto repeated Hotaru’s words. 
  163.63 +“I have not foreseen any new senshi, but I didn’t foresee this either.” Everyone nods at her and they all untransformed. Makoto bent down to pick up Hotaru but Haruka put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Makoto moved out of the way respectfully. Haruka picked Hotaru up and saw that Chibiusa hadn’t moved since untransforming. 
  163.64 +Haruka nodded towards Chibiusa after catching Usagi’s eye. Usagi knelt tenderly next to her and lifted her into her arms. Chibiusa was trembling and Usagi held her close. 
  163.65 +Haruka gasped and everyone turned towards her. 
  163.66 +“Hotaru.” She said and looked below the girl she was carrying. There was a puddle of blood and Haruka suddenly slapped Hotaru around the face, fortunately there was no one standing in front of her as blood splattered everything in sight. 
  163.67 +“Why did you do that?” Michiru asked. 
  163.68 +“She was suffocating in her own blood.” Haruka stated. Everyone gasped. 
  163.69 +“We need to get her to a hospital.” Haruka said. 
  163.70 +“No you don’t.” The voice rang out and echoed, only dieing down after the words were repeated 10 or 11 times. 
  163.71 +“Who said that?!” Haruka ordered into the cold. 
  163.72 +“I did.” A sailor senshi came down from the freezing air and landed softly on the floor in front of Haruka and Hotaru. 
  163.73 +“I am Sailor Tethys.” 
  163.74 +“You are the senshi she told us about?” Haruka asked. 
  163.75 +“Give her to me.” Sailor Tethys told Haruka. Haruka pulled back, not wanting to let go of her daughter. 
  163.76 +“Don’t be a fool.” Sailor Tethys smirks. Everyone looks to each other; they decide she looks to evil to be good. No one trusts her except Chibiusa. 
  163.77 +“Haruka, Hotaru said we need to trust her… give Hotaru to her.” Chibiusa said quietly. 
  163.78 +“No, I won’t, she… she doesn’t look trustworthy.” Haruka pulled back even more. 
  163.79 +“So you want her die then?” Sailor Tethys asked. 
  163.80 +“No, no but I can’t let her go.” Haruka seemed lost. Not knowing what to do. That decision was made for her. 
  163.81 +“You have to let her go!” Sailor Tethys shouted. Usagi stepped between the two. She also wanted to keep Hotaru under their supervision. 
  163.82 +“Don’t you understand? She’ll die here with us, we have to let her go with Sailor Tethys!” Chibiusa said. 
  163.83 +“CHIBIUSA!” Usagi shouts at her and ducks to her level. Just as she goes to say something Sailor Tethys shout out 
  163.84 +“By the power of Tethys, COME!” Usagi was thrown forward onto Chibiusa and the rest of the senshi were also knocked over but Haruka was hit the worst. She was thrown so far back it was impossible to see where she landed, all you heard was the thud as she hit the ground. Hotaru however remained where she was, then went towards Sailor Tethys. Hotaru kept moving forward until she was in Sailor Tethys arms. Chibiusa got out from under Usagi and said to Sailor Tethys 
  163.85 +“Please make her well again.”  Sailor Tethys smiled and said 
  163.86 +“I will Chibiusa, see you again.” 
  163.87 +“Goodbye my friend, Goodbye Hotaru!” Chibiusa shouted up to them as they flew up in the air and then disappeared. Chibiusa hadn’t taken note of the fact that she was the only one who could stand against the power until it died down and the others got up. 
  163.88 +They were about to ask Chibiusa what she was thinking when Michiru noticed something. 
  163.89 +“Where’s Haruka?!” No one had an answer and so they all split up to look for her. A dense fog had moved in and was making it very difficult. 
  163.90 +Michiru’s communicator beeped and she answered 
  163.91 +“Hello?” 
  163.92 +“Michiru, it’s no good, we are all meeting at Rei’s shrine in five minutes.” It was Usagi. 
  163.93 +“OK.” Michiru said solemnly. 
  163.94 +When she got to the shine the others were already there. 
  163.95 +“What could have happened to her?” Michiru asked as she came in. No one answered and everything was silent for some time. They heard a shuffle outside and every one ran out, hoping it was Haruka. It was Chad. Everyone sighed but he was flushed and out of breathe. 
  163.96 +“What’s the matter Chad?” Rei asked. 
  163.97 +“A guy, he’s out in the park. I think he’s unconscious.” Chad managed between breathes. 
  163.98 +“Haruka!” Michiru said. 
  163.99 +“Chad, take us there!” He started to run and everyone followed, except Mercury because of her ankle and Darien stayed to look after her. Chad and the girls were running for quite some time until finally they came to a cherry blossom tree with a disturbance in the middle, made when Haruka’s body smacked into it. 
 163.100 +“Oh my god, She must be really hurt.” Minako stated as she studied the hole. 
 163.101 +“Oh Haruka.” Michiru started to cry slightly and Setsuna came over to her. 
 163.102 +“Don’t worry Michiru, she’s strong, she’ll be OK.” Setsuna hugged Michiru tightly and everyone started walking back to the shrine. 
 163.103 +“MICHIRU!” A voice sounded through the fog. Michiru stopped and so did everyone else. 
 163.104 +“Did you hear that?” she asked. Every one nodded. 
 163.105 +“It sounded like Haruka.” Setsuna pointed out. 
 163.106 +“Let’s go!” everyone said in unison and started running into the fog. They were all starting to get tired and ready to give up when they heard the voice again 
 163.107 +“MICHIRU!” It was closer this time and was defiantly Haruka’s. 
 163.108 +“HARUKA!” Michiru screamed. 
 163.109 +“WHERE ARE YOU?!” They heard footsteps a little ahead of them and to the right. They followed the footsteps at a running pace until they could see the silhouette of a person, walking away from them. 
 163.110 +“Haruka! Stop!” Michiru called out but the person didn’t even turn. 
 163.111 +“Are we sure that’s Haruka?” Usagi asked. 
 163.112 +“Yes, I’m positive, look at her posture.” Michiru said. The person did have a distinctive posture, though no one could decide why. 
 163.113 +“But if it is then why won’t she stop?” Makoto asked. 
 163.114 +“MICHIRU!” This time they were positive it came from the walking person and moved in. As they got closer they noticed the person was limping and was holding her right arm, the person was badly injured. They all ran as fast as they could, but this time Michiru was the fastest. She got behind the person and touched their shoulder. It wasn’t Haruka. It was an old man. 
 163.115 +“Oh, I’m so sorry sir.” Michiru said apologetically and bowed. 
 163.116 +“That’s ok child, I heard a voice and it seemed to be in pain so I was following it, I was starting to think it was my imagination, are you following it too?” Michiru was shocked at first but recovered herself. 
 163.117 +“Yes, we are, she is my girlfriend and is hurt, we must find her.” 
 163.118 +“But I have been following the voice for at least half an hour and not got close.” The old man said. 
 163.119 +“I won’t give up, she needs me.” Michiru stated and ran off once more into the fog. 
 163.120 +“Michiru!” It was the same voice but quieter, Michiru wouldn’t have heard it if she had not stopped to catch her breathe. 
 163.121 +“Haruka?! Where are you?!” She called into the fog, and now into the night. 
 163.122 +“I’m here.” Haruka said and Michiru turned around. She walked forward a few steps and another silhouette came into view, this one facing her. She ran forward but stopped short. There were two people here, one was Haruka, the one in front, but the one behind was a mystery to Michiru. 
 163.123 +“Ah, Michiru, so nice of you to join us.” The person said. It was at this point she noticed that Haruka had one hand in an arm lock and the other being held above her head, to stop her moving. Michiru also noticed that Haruka was badly hurt, she was trembling and blood leaked out the corner of her mouth. She also looked as if she has been punched in the side of her face. Upon closer inspection she also realised there was blood seeping through Haruka’s shirt, down onto her knees and then onto the floor. Michiru couldn’t tell why or where Haruka was bleeding but it certainly was a bad cut. Michiru saw Haruka’s eyes go heavy as she was in so much pain, she started to feint but the arm lock tightened and Haruka screamed once again. The others came onto the scene just as Haruka screamed and were all silent as they could see they had a problem. 
 163.124 +“What do you want?” Michiru asked boldly. The person holding Haruka laughed and let Haruka’s left arm go, but still had her right in the arm lock. The arm that had been let go just fell to Haruka’s side. 
 163.125 +“I want something simple, the little girl behind the blonde Odango.” Everyone looked at Chibiusa and then back at Haruka. Haruka had her eyes closed but everyone knew she was listening. 
 163.126 +“Don’t do it.” Haruka said but the person behind her pulled the arm lock tighter, making Haruka scream again. The others stepped forward. 
 163.127 +“Don’t you move any closer or she looses this.” She indicates to Haruka’s arm. No one moved. 
 163.128 +“I’ll ask again, the girl for this woman.” Haruka grimaced as the arm lock tightened again, but didn’t scream this time. 
 163.129 +“Don’t do it!” Haruka shouted to the girls and the person behind her showed her anger by kicking Haruka in the back. Haruka would have fallen had she not been in the arm lock, but she still did not scream or cry. 
 163.130 +“I don’t want your opinion, Sailor Uranus!” Everyone was shocked, everyone except Haruka. 
 163.131 +“Please, don’t do it.” Haruka said again and another twist and pull came to her arm and she clamped her mouth and eyes shut, trying not to scream. No one knew what to do. No one wanted to loose their future princess and it was their duty to protect the moon queen and princess. Haruka also said to do that so they all thought they should let her die, but no one wanted to, they were all desperately trying to think of a way to get both of them out alive. 
 163.132 +The person laughed and grabbed Haruka’s hair; pulling it so Haruka leaned back. The person also leaned forward, coming out of the mist and revealing to everyone that they were a she. Haruka opened her eyes and wondered what she was doing. The woman leaned forward and pulled Haruka back until they were level and then she leaned down and kissed Haruka on the lips. Haruka tried to get away but was held fast. She had an idea and bit the woman’s tongue. The woman pulled back, holding her mouth with her free hand. 
 163.133 +“Don’t you ever do that again, only Michiru touches me that way.” Haruka said aggressively. Michiru was happy that Haruka still valued her highly enough as to risk her life to say so, but was unhappy to see her in such pain at the hand of another and being able to do nothing about it. 
 163.134 +“I don’t take orders from you Sailor Uranus!” She pulled back on Haruka’s hair until Haruka couldn’t bend anymore. She then slapped Haruka around the face and let her hair go. Haruka bent over forwards, putting her free hand to her cheek. Michiru knew how much pain Haruka was in. Haruka looked up so her eyes caught Michiru’s, she could see they had their defiant look in them but wondered what Haruka could be planning. Haruka took her free hand and punched upwards, catching the woman on her chin. The woman swore severely but didn’t let go of Haruka’s arm. 
 163.135 +“You little Bitch!” The woman shouted in Haruka’s ear and punched her, this time as hard as she could and Haruka would have gone flying had the woman not been holding on so tight. It made Haruka grimace again but she didn’t scream or cry. The woman grabbed Haruka’s free arm and pulled it back, she felt Haruka resisting but as she put her weight into it she thought of something and let the arm go free. Haruka, surprised by this, tried to jump free but the woman held her tightly in place. The woman had an evil smile on her lips and knelt down beside Haruka. Haruka eyed her defiantly but the woman just smiled. The woman thought up something she knew Haruka wouldn’t be able to resist, she knew Haruka would scream in pain. 
 163.136 +“Hotaru.” The woman said and Haruka looked into her eyes. Haruka suddenly recognised the woman and her eyes went wide. 
 163.137 +“SAILOR TETHYS!” Haruka shouted out and everyone saw she was right, but not sure what to do. 
 163.138 +“What have you done with Hotaru?!” Haruka demanded. 
 163.139 +“Nothing.” She stated simply. 
 163.140 +“My name, is Lucinda, and your daughter is here.” She clicked her fingers and Hotaru appeared before them all. Chibiusa tried to run forward but was thrown back by a force shield. Lucinda smiled and let Haruka go. Haruka was inside the shield with Lucinda and Hotaru so she ran to her daughter and hugged her tight. 
 163.141 +“Hotaru, wake up.” Haruka cried onto Hotaru and looked over her, her wounds were gone and she looked peaceful, but she wasn’t awake. 
 163.142 +“Is she…?” Haruka asked. 
 163.143 +“No, she isn’t.” Lucinda replied, a hint of tenderness in her voice. 
 163.144 +Haruka hugged her daughter tightly, never wanting to let go. When she did let go she realised she’d left a bloodstain on her child’s t-shirt. 
 163.145 +“Sailor Uranus, she is in a deep sleep, she will awaken but only if something happens.” 
 163.146 +“What?” Haruka asked. 
 163.147 +“Your death needs to occur before she can live, and also the love of Chibi Moon is needed.” Lucinda seemed sad. 
 163.148 +“Had you given her to me sooner she would have been fine with just Chibi Moon’s love.” Haruka laughed at this, which surprised everyone. 
 163.149 +“So, I made her this way so now I pay the price, seems reasonable, but how do I have to die?” Haruka asked. 
 163.150 +“How did you know there were terms?” Lucinda asked. 
 163.151 +“There always are.” Haruka replied knowingly. Lucinda nodded and bowed her head. 
 163.152 +“You must die a painful death, a death in which you suffer beyond mortal comprehension.” 
 163.153 +“I had guessed that would be the answer.” Haruka said blankly and stood up. Everyone outside the shield gasped at how ready she seemed and Michiru began to cry softly. Lucinda took note of Michiru’s cry and said to Haruka 
 163.154 +“Would you like to say goodbye?” 
 163.155 +Haruka nodded. Lucinda lifted her hand and Haruka was put beside Michiru. 
 163.156 +“I love you Michiru, never forget that.” They embrace. 
 163.157 +“I love you too, and I won’t ever forget you or your love.” 
 163.158 +“Goodbye you guys, say bye to Ami and Darien for me too.” They all nodded and everyone took turns to hug Haruka. When it came to Setsuna and Michiru again they shared a special hug. 
 163.159 +“Hey, don’t worry you guys, we’ll all be reborn together some day, we’ll meet again.” 
 163.160 +Then it was Chibiusa’s turn, they embraced, took each other’s hand and Lucinda bought them back into the shield. Chibiusa ran strait to Hotaru and hugged her lovers body. Haruka looked fondly at the two. At least she would die for a good cause. 
 163.161 +Haruka nodded her head to Lucinda, signalling that she was ready. Lucinda bowed her head slightly and then took aim at Haruka with her hands. An energy beam shot from them and Haruka was sent flying into the shield, her previous injuries made worse and also inflicting new ones. She fell to the floor but managed to push herself up to her feet again. The others felt her pain for a split second and all realised that Haruka was a very brave and kind person. She was blasted again and Hotaru flinched, the movement going through her body. Haruka noticed the spark of life in her daughter and was glad it was working. Chibiusa also noticed and took her hand, staring at her beautiful face. Haruka was hit again and again. Lucinda held her hands up again and fired the beam; once again Haruka hit the shield and fell to the floor. She didn’t get up. Lucinda let her hands fall to her sides, sorry that she had to kill a fellow senshi. 
 163.162 +Hotaru awoke to see Chibiusa’s pink orbs looking at her. She wanted to look into those eyes forever but she felt something, something that made her heart ache and so she sat up, only to see her Haruka-Papa lying on the floor, covered in blood. 
 163.163 +“HARUKA-PAPA!” Hotaru screamed out and ran to her side, lifting her head onto her lap. The others were happy to see Hotaru was all right but also very emotional over Haruka’s death. No one knew what to do. The shield was removed but everyone stayed where they were. 
 163.164 +Hotaru leant over her papa and cried, one of her tears hitting Haruka’s nose. Haruka stirred but Hotaru didn’t notice. Haruka felt another tear hit her cheek. 
 163.165 +“Hey, don’t cry Hotaru-Hime.” Haruka smiled. Hotaru let go of her papa to look into her eyes. They were the same as always, beautiful, mischievous and defiant. Lucinda took note of Hotaru’s joyous face and her happy eyes and decided she’d done the right thing in bringing Haruka back, unfortunately, that meant that Lucinda must be reborn, as she is one of Sailor Saturn’s protectors she has the double edged sword as well. If Sailor Saturn uses her Death reborn revolution, she also dies, and if Lucinda uses her healing abilities to that extent she also dies. 
 163.166 +Hotaru senses Lucinda behind her and stands up. Hotaru turns to face her and moves forward until they are inches apart. 
 163.167 +“Thank you for saving me and my Papa Lucinda. I’m sorry that you now die.” 
 163.168 +Lucinda smiles at Hotaru and Hotaru smiles back. They bear a huge resemblance. 
 163.169 +They embrace. 
 163.170 +“Goodbye, sister.” Hotaru says and everyone takes a breathe in. 
 163.171 +“We’ll meet again!” Lucinda says and fades into the darkness. Haruka is on her feet by the time Hotaru turns back around and they embrace, but as Hotaru and Chibiusa embrace they realise how much they mean to each other. They kiss deeply and Haruka turns away and walks to Michiru 
 163.172 +“And they are always complaining about us!” Haruka jokes and Michiru sweat drops 
 163.173 +“How can you act as if nothing has happened?! Do you realise what you put me through?” Michiru shouts at Haruka. 
 163.174 +“I’m sorry, but I love you so much.” 
 163.175 +“I love you too.” They both embrace and then kiss. 
 163.176 +<The scene ends with a pan going across from the inner senshi and sailor Pluto laughing to Haruka and Michiru and then to Hotaru and Chibiusa, it freezes with Hotaru and Chibiusa in the foreground and a picture of Lucinda is shown in the background.>
 163.177 \ No newline at end of file

   164.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   164.2 +++ b/stories/btscenes.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   164.3 @@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
   164.4 +Hi! ^-^ Not much to say this time. There is a love scene in this one, so
   164.5 +please read responsibly. ^^ We wanted to do more with this plot, but
   164.6 +we ran out of ideas. If you can think of anything, or if you just liked the
   164.7 +story, please e-mail us at: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   164.8 +Oh, and for anyone who’s interested, we have finished two Card Captor
   164.9 +Sakura stories. If you’re at all interested in reading them or if you know
  164.10 +of a place we can post them, please, please e-mail us. We’ve finally got
  164.11 +some ideas for how to write a Sailormoon, Pretty Sammy, and Card
  164.12 +Captor Sakura crossover, but we’d like to know if anyone likes the idea
  164.13 +before we start it. Thank you. ^^ Enjoy the story. ^-^
  164.14 +
  164.15 +
  164.16 +
  164.17 +Behind The Scenes:
  164.18 +
  164.19 +	Rini walked briskly back to her dressing room. She had
  164.20 +another scene she had to do in a little while and she had to change
  164.21 +costume. She sighed. Acting was hard work, but it was her passion.
  164.22 +Acting and a sweet dark haired girl.
  164.23 +Rini’s mind drifted as she started thinking about Tara. At first
  164.24 +she’d been a little weary of the shy, introverted girl. When she’d first
  164.25 +met her on the set, she’d barely managed to get the dark haired girl to
  164.26 +look up at her. She’d read the script and knew she’d be having a lot of
  164.27 +scenes with her, so she wanted to get to know her better before they’d
  164.28 +be acting together. She thought it would be impossible with how shy
  164.29 +the other girl was.
  164.30 +Gradually things had changed. Tara had quickly gained Rini’s
  164.31 +respect as she watched the other girl act. She came to look forward to
  164.32 +her scenes with the dark haired girl, enjoying working with her. As
  164.33 +time went on, they spent more and more time together on and off the
  164.34 +set. Rini had slowly managed to work past the other girl’s shyness and
  164.35 +got to find out about what was behind the facade. She found everything
  164.36 +about the dark haired girl fascinating. From the books she read to what
  164.37 +her favorite food was to what she dreamed about.
  164.38 +Everyone had thought her first kiss was onstage when an
  164.39 +episode called for her to, but her real first kiss had been weeks before
  164.40 +that with that dark haired beauty. It had been heaven. Rini smiled at the
  164.41 +memory. They’d started dating a while before that, but neither was
  164.42 +ready to make the first move. She’d surprised that shy girl when they’d
  164.43 +kissed. Rini had been almost as surprised when she’d felt the other girl
  164.44 +kiss back. It had felt like… what was the saying? Fireworks. Thousands
  164.45 +of fireworks going off at once for the two girls. It still felt like that
  164.46 +every time they kissed.
  164.47 +Rini looked around absentmindedly for the door to her
  164.48 +dressing room, lost in thought. She shook her head to think clearly and
  164.49 +finally stepped in. She stretched as she looked around the small room.
  164.50 +It was small, but she’d grown accustomed to it. It was pretty
  164.51 +comfortable for her. That was probably because of quick naps she’d
  164.52 +had to take when filming went late. As she let her hair down from the
  164.53 +odango hair style she’d had it in all day, she noticed something near the
  164.54 +mirror. ChibiUsa’s heart swooned as she picked up the roses. “Oh,
  164.55 +Tara…” she sighed. She sniffed the lovely fragrance of the roses and
  164.56 +giggled to herself. She couldn’t wait to see the other girl later.
  164.57 +Rini froze when she heard a knock at the door. She smiled
  164.58 +brightly at the thought of her love. “Come on in!” Her smile faded
  164.59 +when the door opened. Rather than the love of her life, it was another
  164.60 +one of the actresses, Erika. She was a friend, but Rini had gotten all
  164.61 +worked up over nothing.
  164.62 +“Hey! Don’t worry about getting ready yet. This Inner Senshi
  164.63 +scene seems to be taking a lot longer than they’d expected. They won’t
  164.64 +be doing your scene for at least an hour. The director sent me over to
  164.65 +tell you.”
  164.66 +Rini mustered a smile. “Thanks, Erika.”
  164.67 +The tall blonde smiled back at her. She motioned to the roses
  164.68 +still in the pink haired girl’s arms. “An adoring fan?” she asked
  164.69 +teasingly.
  164.70 +Rini stuck her tongue out. “You know who they’re from.” She
  164.71 +walked over to the mirror and set the flowers down. “Where is Tara,
  164.72 +anyway?”
  164.73 +“I’m not sure. I can ask Michelle if you want,” Erika offered. “
  164.74 +She might have seen her.”
  164.75 +“Thanks. If you see her…”
  164.76 +“I’ll send her this way,” Erika finished. She laughed. She
  164.77 +waved to Rini and shut the door before heading off.
  164.78 +
  164.79 +Rini stood alone in the now silent room thinking to herself.
  164.80 +After a minute, she picked up a pen and paper and wrote down a quick
  164.81 +note just in case Tara stopped by the dressing room again. She left the
  164.82 +note where she hoped Tara would see it and then walked out the door.
  164.83 +
  164.84 +Tara was sitting on one of the benches in the park set. No one
  164.85 +was there, so she had the whole place to herself. She found it relaxing.
  164.86 +She finally had a chance to read. She knew she should be reading the
  164.87 +script instead, but the book she was in the middle of was too engrossing
  164.88 +to put down. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she should
  164.89 +be doing something, but she pushed that to the side, thinking it was the
  164.90 +script. She’d read it enough so far. She should do fine.
  164.91 +As she turned the page, her vision was abruptly obscured. She
  164.92 +felt the two small hands placed over her eyes and a warm body pressed
  164.93 +against her. She sighed happily and leaned back against the other girl.
  164.94 +“Hi, Rini.”
  164.95 +The pink haired girl giggled. “I’m supposed to say guess
  164.96 +who.” Her hands went down from the girls eyes and clasped around the
  164.97 +dark haired girl’s stomach. Her chin rested on Hotaru’s shoulder. “I’ve
  164.98 +been looking all over for you,” She said more seriously.
  164.99 +“I’m sorry. I was going to come see you earlier, but I lost track
 164.100 +of time.” Tara’s hand stroked the other girl’s cheek before running
 164.101 +through her shoulder length pink hair. “I’ll remember next time.”
 164.102 +Rini laughed. “I’m sure you will.” She nuzzled the dark
 164.103 +haired girl’s neck lovingly. “I’m just glad I found you before I had to
 164.104 +go on.”
 164.105 +“Don’t go,” Tara said simply.
 164.106 +“But I need to finish a scene.”
 164.107 +“If they don’t find you, they can finish a different scene today.
 164.108 +Things have been pretty hectic all day. No one will mind if you don’t
 164.109 +show up. And I’d be much happier if you don’t.” Tara’s fingers trailed
 164.110 +down to Rini’s chin. She turned the other girl so that their lips were
 164.111 +inches apart. They moved at the same instant, their soft lips meeting.
 164.112 +Tara’s fingers intertwined in the other girls light pink hair as the kiss
 164.113 +grew more passionate. Their tongues brushed against each other as they
 164.114 +lost themselves to the moment. They were finally alone.
 164.115 +When they pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.
 164.116 +“You’re right. Nobody will mind,” Rini said quickly.
 164.117 +Tara smiled at the pink haired girl. “You are so cute.”
 164.118 +Rini mock pouted. “Cute? I need to stop dressing like my
 164.119 +character.”
 164.120 +Tara giggled. “What’s wrong with that? I like cute.” The two
 164.121 +leaned towards each other and kissed again. Tara stood up quickly.
 164.122 +“Come on.” She tugged at the pink haired girl’s hand. Rini stood up
 164.123 +and followed as Tara led her away from the park set.
 164.124 +“Where are we going?” Rini asked. Tara just smiled and
 164.125 +walked faster. They finally arrived at the set of Hotaru’s bedroom. Rini
 164.126 +just looked confused.
 164.127 +Tara smiled mischievously. She whispered to the other girl
 164.128 +seductively. “I’m sorry I didn’t show up earlier. Can I make up for it?”
 164.129 +Rini swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. The dark haired girl
 164.130 +always managed to affect her like this.
 164.131 +Tara lay down on the bed after slipping off her shoes. Rini
 164.132 +leaned down and kissed her soft lips, her hand gently running up and
 164.133 +down Tara’s leg, the thin cloth of the girl’s stockings the only thing
 164.134 +between them. She slowly started pulling the stockings down the other
 164.135 +girl’s shapely legs. Rini felt Tara’s fingers unbuttoning her blouse.
 164.136 +Rini climbed onto the bed on top of the other girl, never
 164.137 +stopping their sweet kiss. Rini finally slipped one of the stockings off
 164.138 +Tara’s small foot, tossing it behind the two of them. Her fingers slid
 164.139 +under the cloth of Tara’s other stocking, the cloth pushing her hand
 164.140 +tightly against Tara’s warm flesh. Rini moaned as Tara’s hands cupped
 164.141 +her breasts through the soft cotton bra. Her hands shakily unclasped the
 164.142 +bra, the fire within her growing uncontrollably. Tara’s other stocking
 164.143 +quickly joined the first on the floor. Rini sucked in a sudden breath of
 164.144 +air as she felt Tara’s hands against her breasts. Rini’s hand traveled up
 164.145 +Tara’s now bare legs. She continued on up under the dark haired girl’s
 164.146 +skirt. She slipped Tara’s panties down. Tara kicked them off when they
 164.147 +reached her feet. She felt Rini’s fingers brush against her inner thigh as
 164.148 +they moved upward. Tara gasped as Rini’s fingers touched her most
 164.149 +private of places.
 164.150 +The pink haired girl moaned softly as Tara continued to
 164.151 +massage her breasts. Tara’s fingers danced over Rini’s pink nipples.
 164.152 +Her fingers circled one of the nipples, the pink bud hardening as she
 164.153 +directed her attention on it. Tara’s other hand slid down Rini’s smooth
 164.154 +stomach, her fingertips inching across the other’s skin, slowly enough
 164.155 +to savor the feel of the soft flesh while driving the pink haired girl
 164.156 +crazy. “Tara…” Rini whimpered as her lover’s hand continued with
 164.157 +agonizing slowness. After passing Rini’s naval, Tara’s pace quickened
 164.158 +as she felt her the other girl’s fingers rubbing up and down against her
 164.159 +swollen labia. Rini slowly parted Tara’s petals and slid a finger inside
 164.160 +the dark haired girl’s entrance.
 164.161 +“Rini… Oh, Rini…” Tara moaned her love’s name
 164.162 +breathlessly. She paused for a brief moment when she reached Rini’s
 164.163 +skirt. Her hand went under the skirt and the elastic band of Rini’s
 164.164 +panties in a fluid motion. Rini took in a sharp breath of air when she
 164.165 +felt Tara’s fingers brush past her soft, pink hair. The pink haired girl
 164.166 +moaned as Tara’s fingers pressed against her soft skin. Her own finger
 164.167 +pushed deeper into Tara. Tara’s hand stopped as searing pleasure shot
 164.168 +through her body like an electric current.  Her legs bucked as she felt
 164.169 +the other girl touching her so intimately.
 164.170 +“Tara, don’t stop,” Rini pleaded. Their lips met as their half-
 164.171 +clothed bodies pressed together. Their tongues dueled as they kissed,
 164.172 +both wanting the other to know the extent of their feelings. Tara looked
 164.173 +deeply into her lover’s beautiful crimson eyes. She could feel all the
 164.174 +love and passion that radiated between them as she lost herself in those
 164.175 +eyes.
 164.176 +A trail of kisses led down Tara’s jawline as Rini reveled in the
 164.177 +salty taste of the dark haired girl’s skin. A soft moan escaped her lips as
 164.178 +Tara’s fingers found her jewel. The heat between her legs grew
 164.179 +unbearable from the other girl’s loving touch. She kissed down Tara’s
 164.180 +neck, her hand brushing through her soft, dark hair. She continued to
 164.181 +tease and kiss Tara’s glistening, pale skin. The pink haired girl gasped,
 164.182 +her lover’s sweet caresses pushing her over the edge. She never could
 164.183 +describe the sheer ecstasy she felt when she and Tara made love. Her
 164.184 +finger pushed further between Tara’s soft folds as pleasure shot through
 164.185 +her.
 164.186 +“Rini!” Tara cried, her muscles clenching around Rini’s
 164.187 +probing finger. She arched her back, the incredible feelings rushing
 164.188 +throughout her body. Her eyes clenched shut as she waited for the
 164.189 +sweet sensations to pass, wishing she could somehow stop the all too
 164.190 +brief moment from ending.
 164.191 +The dark haired girl slumped back on the bed in the mock-up
 164.192 +of a girl named Hotaru’s room. Pink hair obscured her vision from Rini
 164.193 +landing beside her. Tara laughed and brushed some of her lover’s hair
 164.194 +out of the way. She was still breathing hard when she caught a glimpse
 164.195 +of the other actress. Hands folded across her stomach, she was looking
 164.196 +up at where a roof would be had they been in a real room. A smile
 164.197 +swept across Tara’s face as she looked at the girl she loved. Rini looked
 164.198 +over and returned the smile, her eyes lighting up. Tara’s arms went
 164.199 +around her love, her head resting on the other girl’s shoulder. Her hand
 164.200 +rested atop both of Rini’s. She felt the rise and fall of her lover’s chest
 164.201 +as they lay in silence. “What are you thinking about?” Tara asked
 164.202 +quietly.
 164.203 +Rini paused a moment before answering, as if deep in thought.
 164.204 +“Do you ever stop and wonder if maybe somewhere out there, there’s
 164.205 +another you?”
 164.206 +Tara laughed and held Rini closer. “As long as she’s with the
 164.207 +other you that’s out there.” She smiled and kissed the other girl softly.
 164.208 +“I’m sure I’d be happy no matter where or when I was as long as I was
 164.209 +with you.”
 164.210 +Rini grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Even if the other me was
 164.211 +as clumsy or ate as much as my character?” the pink haired actress
 164.212 +asked.
 164.213 +“Even then,” Tara said, laughing. The two kissed again, longer
 164.214 +this time. Everything around them started to fade away as they lost
 164.215 +themselves in each other.
 164.216 +
 164.217 +
 164.218 +ChibiUsa bolted upright in bed. She looked frantically around
 164.219 +the dark bedroom. She felt the sleeping form next to her roll over. She
 164.220 +sighed in relief when she saw Hotaru lying beside her. She could feel
 164.221 +the dark haired girl’s bare skin against her own. She hugged her close.
 164.222 +She felt Hotaru stir before getting comfortable again.
 164.223 +That had been such a strange dream. But had it really been that
 164.224 +bad? She’d still had Hotaru.
 164.225 +The others had still been there, even if everything was a little different.
 164.226 +Maybe it hadn’t been so bad after all.
 164.227 +	ChibiUsa silently watched Hotaru’s sleeping face. The other
 164.228 +girl looked so peaceful. She’d thought about waking her up, but now
 164.229 +she decided against it. It wasn’t anything to worry about. And she had
 164.230 +everything she could want right there in the sleeping dark haired girl.
 164.231 +They could always talk about it in the morning. In the meantime, she’d
 164.232 +just try and get some sleep. She kissed Hotaru softly on the cheek
 164.233 +before laying her head back on the pillow. ChibiUsa smiled and closed
 164.234 +her eyes as Hotaru snuggled closer in her sleep.
 164.235 +
 164.236 +

   165.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   165.2 +++ b/stories/callme.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   165.3 @@ -0,0 +1,304 @@
   165.4 +Starry, Starry Night
   165.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   165.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   165.7 +
   165.8 +
   165.9 +
  165.10 +Slam. The door slamming shut fails to startle the usually jumpy
  165.11 +Sakura Kinomoto. Perhaps it is because she’s the reason behind it.
  165.12 +Perhaps it is because the day has been far too long for her. Her
  165.13 +genki spirits are drained, strained to their limit. Even her
  165.14 +seemingly boundless energy has limits, apparently. Or perhaps it is
  165.15 +simply that she doesn’t care. 
  165.16 +
  165.17 +Her shoes lie sloppily by the door, her body slipping them off only
  165.18 +out of years of habit. There they lay, discarded by their mistress as
  165.19 +she limps off towards her room, a broken prince making her way back
  165.20 +to her conquered kingdom. 
  165.21 +
  165.22 +“I should have known you were home, monster. You make enough noise
  165.23 +to wake the dead,” her brother says from the couch. 
  165.24 +
  165.25 +She hardly hears him. Her world is thousands of miles away, a
  165.26 +distant speck in the sky. Everything reaches her from light years
  165.27 +away, travelling an eternity to reach her. For once she doesn’t feel
  165.28 +like arguing. She hasn’t the will to bother. She merely climbs the
  165.29 +stairs, one foot at a time, focussing only on the next step. If her
  165.30 +brother is concerned by her strange behavior, she pays no attention. 
  165.31 +
  165.32 +Finally returning to her room, the seemingly vanquished Cardmistress
  165.33 +stumbles inside. Her bookbag drops to the floor near her door. She
  165.34 +doesn’t bother changing out of her school uniform. Keeping it nice
  165.35 +and neat, relaxing into something more comfortable, neither matter to
  165.36 +her at the moment. She simply collapses on her bed, her body giving
  165.37 +up its long struggle to reach that point. She lies there, time
  165.38 +standing still. Yet she knows this won’t last. There are more dragons
  165.39 +to slay, after all. There’s still far too much going on for her to
  165.40 +actually rest for long. 
  165.41 +
  165.42 +The auburn haired girl waits impatiently for the silence to break,
  165.43 +for her rest to come to an abrupt halt. But it continues on, a quiet
  165.44 +purgatory, halfway between peace and the worries that keep stabbing
  165.45 +at her brain for her attention. So apparently Kero isn’t here. She
  165.46 +sighs in relief. She doesn’t think she can deal with the Seal Beast
  165.47 +at the moment. He’s important to her, but she is feeling too
  165.48 +miserable to listen to him right now. He isn’t exactly the best
  165.49 +person to go to when she was feeling like this. 
  165.50 +
  165.51 +There was one person who could always help when she was like this.
  165.52 +Who always managed to make sense out of her tangled web of feelings,
  165.53 +sorting it all out with an expert hand, never breaking a single
  165.54 +strand, her gentle touch unraveling the spider’s web in her heart
  165.55 +into a single clear thread. But alas, this sorceress of her heart was
  165.56 +far away now. 
  165.57 +
  165.58 +Life was so much more difficult without someone to turn to when
  165.59 +things went wrong, without someone to subtly lead her in the right
  165.60 +direction. It wasn’t until Tomoyo was gone that she realized how much
  165.61 +she relied on the other girl. She had never felt this weak and
  165.62 +miserable back when Tomoyo had been in her life. No matter how bad
  165.63 +things got, the eccentric heiress could take away her worries with a
  165.64 +few soft words and usually leave her blushing in the process.
  165.65 +
  165.66 +Sakura sighs, rolling over onto her back, staring up at her roof. It
  165.67 +was her own fault. She should try harder to stay in touch. But it was
  165.68 +so difficult. Life was so complicated. And Tomoyo always seemed to be
  165.69 +busy with something. And she lived so far away. She had to take a bus
  165.70 +just to reach her house. It had all started when they had entered
  165.71 +high school. Sakura had been surprised when Tomoyo went to a
  165.72 +different high school. She should have known that would happen, but
  165.73 +it still hit her pretty hard. Tomoyo was one of the smartest people
  165.74 +in her class, after all, always getting high marks in everything. But
  165.75 +somehow she had thought Tomoyo would always be there. So they went to
  165.76 +different schools. They both had so much to do. And then Syaoran came
  165.77 +back and Tomoyo got even busier for some reason. It had been quite a
  165.78 +while since Sakura had last seen her dark haired friend. That thought
  165.79 +sends a cold chill through her. She feels guilty and lonely all at
  165.80 +the same time. 
  165.81 +
  165.82 +Turning her head, Sakura gazes at her phone. Spellbound, she reaches
  165.83 +for it. But she can’t call her. It would only seem like she only came
  165.84 +to her when she needed help. She should wait until this had passed.
  165.85 +So that she could call Tomoyo simply to call her, for nothing else.
  165.86 +Yes, that’s a good idea.
  165.87 +
  165.88 +But it’s too late. The phone is already ringing. Sakura must have
  165.89 +dialed while she was thinking about all that. She must have been more
  165.90 +eager to call than even she had realized. She sits anxiously, her
  165.91 +heart fluttering nervously in her chest. It had been weeks. What
  165.92 +should she say? What will Tomoyo think? What has she been up to? The
  165.93 +phone rings and rings. Sakura breaths a sigh of mixed relief and
  165.94 +disappointment. Tomoyo must not be home. She wants to hear her, but
  165.95 +at least this solves her problem of calling when she can’t handle
  165.96 +things without her friend’s delicate touch. 
  165.97 +
  165.98 +“Moshi moshi,” a soft voice answers on the other end of the phone. 
  165.99 +
 165.100 +Sakura freezes. She doesn’t know how long it is before she answers,
 165.101 +but it feels like a lifetime. She swallows nervously and speaks
 165.102 +haltingly into the phone. “Hi.. ano... Tomoyo-chan? Is.. Are you..
 165.103 +This is Sakura-chan.” She blinks, wondering just how stupid she
 165.104 +sounds. But her thoughts fail her. She can’t think. In panic, she
 165.105 +almost wants to hang up and pretend she didn’t call. Maybe Tomoyo
 165.106 +will think it was a wrong number. Well, if she hadn’t mentioned her
 165.107 +name. 
 165.108 +
 165.109 +A small giggle on the other end. “I’d remember your voice anywhere,
 165.110 +Sakura-chan. It’s so wonderful to hear from you again.” Dark hair
 165.111 +gets pushed behind her ear as she repositions the phone. “You sound
 165.112 +just as beautiful as I remember.” A soft sigh. “How have you been,
 165.113 +Sakura-chan?”
 165.114 +
 165.115 +“I’ve been all right,” Sakura says, though she certainly doesn’t
 165.116 +feel all right. But it was accurate enough. She may not have been her
 165.117 +best lately, but she could have been much worse, right? “Just busy, I
 165.118 +guess. High school’s a lot harder than I expected. Especially without
 165.119 +you there to help me understand some of the lessons. I probably
 165.120 +wouldn’t have even passed the entrance exams without you helping me
 165.121 +study for them.”
 165.122 +
 165.123 +The other girl shakes her head, not believing the praise. “Sakura-
 165.124 +chan would have done just fine on her own. You would have rushed at
 165.125 +the last moment without me, but you would have passed them all just
 165.126 +fine. And I’m sure your father’s still proud of your grades even
 165.127 +without me to help you. You’re very bright, Sakura-chan. You just
 165.128 +don’t pay attention enough to certain things because your mind is
 165.129 +always elsewhere. But I would never want to change that. It’s too
 165.130 +cute to get rid of. So I don’t think anyone would mind if your grades
 165.131 +suffer just a bit because of it. It’s who you are.”
 165.132 +
 165.133 +A small smile plays at Sakura’s lips. She rolls on her side, her
 165.134 +legs pulling up to her stomach. “Thank you, Tomoyo-chan. I guess I
 165.135 +haven’t been paying as much attention as I could. But there’s always
 165.136 +so much to think about. It’s hard to focus on the lessons all the
 165.137 +time.”
 165.138 +
 165.139 +Tomoyo giggles. “See? So my Sakura-chan has nothing to worry about.
 165.140 +You’ll do just fine, I promise.”
 165.141 +
 165.142 +Sakura nods, starting to believe it. “It always feels like that when
 165.143 +I talk to you. Like it really will be all right. ‘Everything will
 165.144 +always be all right,’ ne, Tomoyo-chan?”
 165.145 +
 165.146 +“Of course it will, Sakura-chan. You just have to keep believing
 165.147 +that. You will make it all work out. That’s your own special type of
 165.148 +magic. Never give up. You can overcome anything. I have faith in you.
 165.149 +I know everything will be all right for you,” Tomoyo replies
 165.150 +comfortingly. 
 165.151 +
 165.152 +Emerald eyes close, the world slipping away. She holds onto Tomoyo’s
 165.153 +voice, her only anchor to the world. It laps about her like a gentle
 165.154 +wave, caressing away the aches and pains in her heart. “But what
 165.155 +about you?” she asks, not even sure why. But the way Tomoyo said
 165.156 +that... She wants things to work out for her best friend, too. Not
 165.157 +only herself. Otherwise what was the point?
 165.158 +
 165.159 +There’s a pause on the other end. It’s only for half a second, but
 165.160 +it feels so long for Tomoyo. But when she replies, she sounds like
 165.161 +her normal eccentric self. “If everything is all right for Sakura-
 165.162 +chan, then everything will be fine for me. Because then I’ll know
 165.163 +you’re happy. That’s all I really want.”
 165.164 +
 165.165 +Sakura swallows painfully, her eyes closing tighter. “Tomoyo-chan...
 165.166 +I’m sorry I haven’t seen you in a while.”
 165.167 +
 165.168 +The heiress gingerly brushes away the apology. “Please don’t worry,
 165.169 +Sakura-chan. I know you’ve been busy. Especially with Li-kun back.
 165.170 +You have a lot going on in your life. You finally have a love life
 165.171 +now on top of everything else, after all.” 
 165.172 +
 165.173 +This time it’s Sakura’s turn to pause. She hadn’t known how to
 165.174 +explain that. Or what to say about it. Or even where to begin. “You
 165.175 +know that Li-kun is here?”
 165.176 +
 165.177 +“Hai,” Tomoyo replies. “Meiling-chan told me. We’ve been keeping in
 165.178 +contact. I’ve been writing her some letters. I think she’s needed
 165.179 +someone to talk to who understands. She isn’t taking Li-kun being in
 165.180 +love with you very well. But don’t worry, Sakura-chan. She’s a strong
 165.181 +girl. She reminds me of my mother. I think she’ll be just fine.” What
 165.182 +Tomoyo doesn’t mention is how her mother had handled the loss of her
 165.183 +own love. If Meiling takes the same path, then she probably won’t
 165.184 +ever be on good terms with Sakura. But there is no point in worrying
 165.185 +the Cardmistress about such things. 
 165.186 +
 165.187 +“But.. I need you..” Sakura whispers, barely audibly. She feels a
 165.188 +tinge of jealousy that Meiling was getting Tomoyo’s letters, getting
 165.189 +Tomoyo’s support when she wanted it herself. She misses it terribly,
 165.190 +having the dark haired girl there with her, to catch her when she
 165.191 +stumbled, to help push her forward when she wasn’t strong enough
 165.192 +herself. She wasn’t the same without Tomoyo there beside her. Tomoyo
 165.193 +brought out things inside of her that made life so much more amazing.
 165.194 +Life on her own felt so tedious. It was too normal, too boring
 165.195 +without the cute girl videotaping her every movement, whispering
 165.196 +embarrassing things to her, giving her all the love and support she
 165.197 +could need. 
 165.198 +
 165.199 +“Sakura-chan?” 
 165.200 +
 165.201 +Sakura shakes her head, swallowing again and again to force down the
 165.202 +knot in her throat. She shouldn’t cry now. Tomoyo was her friend. She
 165.203 +didn’t need to worry about her problems when she was so busy. She
 165.204 +tries to speak, but she stops herself, her voice about to break.
 165.205 +She’ll cry if she says something, she knows it.
 165.206 +
 165.207 +“Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo says, more anxiously this time. “Are you all
 165.208 +right? What’s been happening? What’s wrong?” Her voice is still a
 165.209 +whisper, but now it’s stronger, trying to make sure it gets to
 165.210 +Sakura. Sakura is supposed to be happy now. Things are supposed to be
 165.211 +working out for her. But there are tears laced under Sakura’s words.
 165.212 +Something is bothering her auburn haired friend. And she hadn’t been
 165.213 +there to help it. She had been trying to step back from Sakura’s
 165.214 +life, leaving her in Syaoran’s capable hands. At least, she had
 165.215 +thought they were capable. But if that was the case, why wasn’t
 165.216 +Sakura going to him right now? She wants to reach out and hold the
 165.217 +other girl, but all she can do is wait for the silence to end. 
 165.218 +
 165.219 +“He’s... I’ve just been...” Sakura swallows again, blinking again
 165.220 +and again. The tears sting at her eyes as she struggles to find her
 165.221 +voice. But she can’t use magic to return it the way she had
 165.222 +recaptured Tomoyo’s voice. Her teary eyes blink open. On her desk she
 165.223 +sees a picture of herself with her boyfriend, his face scowling even
 165.224 +in the picture of the two of them. Just as he always did. Those amber
 165.225 +eyes looking into her own so uncomfortably. But when she closed her
 165.226 +eyes on those starry, starry nights, she didn’t see those amber eyes.
 165.227 +Those eyes could not read her soul. They couldn’t see into her heart.
 165.228 +They didn’t blaze passionately the way the beautiful stormy blue eyes
 165.229 +in her mind did, the ones she gazed into under the moonlight in her
 165.230 +dreams. “Sometimes I wish you had been a boy. Then maybe you would
 165.231 +have fallen in love with me.” Sakura laughs weakly, only half joking.
 165.232 +“You always understood me. You were always there for me. I always
 165.233 +felt safe with you. Like it didn't matter that my feelings were
 165.234 +always so confusing. You helped me sort them out. You took such great
 165.235 +care of my heart. Like it was a delicate treasure.”'
 165.236 +
 165.237 +"I wouldn't need to be a boy to fall in love with you, Sakura-chan,"
 165.238 +Tomoyo's soft voice whispers through the phone. It is so quiet that
 165.239 +Sakura has to strain to hear her now. 
 165.240 +
 165.241 +The Cardmistress finds herself blushing once again. But this time
 165.242 +she doesn’t try to ignore it. She won’t just push it off this time.
 165.243 +“Really?” she asks, almost desperately. She was afraid what she had
 165.244 +said about Tomoyo being a boy would sound stupid or embarrassing. But
 165.245 +the dark haired girl had soothed away her worries again with her
 165.246 +response. Had, in fact, sprung up some hope in Sakura’s heart. “I
 165.247 +didn’t realize how happy you made me until I stopped seeing you,
 165.248 +Tomoyo-chan. I miss you. I miss you so much.” Sakura feels hot tears
 165.249 +slip down her cheeks as she rolls onto her back again, a hand over
 165.250 +her heart.
 165.251 +
 165.252 +Tomoyo blinks weakly. She is having trouble focussing. Everything
 165.253 +feels so hazy and dreamlike. She’s so tired, but she pushes past that
 165.254 +as best she can. A warm smile lights up her face. “I’ve missed you,
 165.255 +too, Sakura-chan. More than you could ever know. You’re all I ever
 165.256 +think about. You always made me happy, too. All of my happiest times
 165.257 +were with you.”
 165.258 +
 165.259 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura clutches the phone tightly, her heart
 165.260 +rumbling in her chest. There is so much she wants to say, but she
 165.261 +doesn’t even know where to begin. Her feelings are all a jumble, just
 165.262 +as always. But maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. Tomoyo always
 165.263 +understood before. Even when she herself didn’t know what lay in her
 165.264 +heart.
 165.265 +
 165.266 +“Sakura-chan... I’ll always love you...” Tomoyo whispers sleepily,
 165.267 +her voice barely carrying over the phone. She looks blearily at her
 165.268 +mother’s letter opener, wiping away the fresh blood from it with
 165.269 +weak, numb fingers. The phone ringing had barely managed to catch her
 165.270 +attention after she had used it to etch out a ticket away from her
 165.271 +life. Life without Sakura was too empty. It was like getting a taste
 165.272 +of heaven and then being snatched away, separated from that bliss. It
 165.273 +is so nice to hear Sakura one last time, she thinks tiredly. What a
 165.274 +perfect goodbye present. It’s a good thing that Sakura can’t see her
 165.275 +bloody and in her nightgown in bed. Her poor Cardmistress wouldn’t
 165.276 +take that well at all. So this way, she could find a softer way of
 165.277 +saying goodbye. She tries so hard to keep thinking, but it’s all
 165.278 +getting so much more difficult. Her room seems so far away. The last
 165.279 +thing she hears is Sakura’s beautiful voice ringing in her ears. The
 165.280 +voice of an angel. Her angel.
 165.281 +
 165.282 +And as always, Tomoyo somehow hands Sakura the missing piece. Things
 165.283 +slowly begin to fit. A beautiful picture begins to take shape, it’s
 165.284 +implications almost too much for Sakura to take in all at once. No,
 165.285 +she hadn’t been in love with Syaoran after all. He wasn’t the one who
 165.286 +nurtured her heart, who shared her deepest joys and darkest sorrows.
 165.287 +He wasn’t the one who loved her for all that she was. The puzzle
 165.288 +slowly completed itself in her mind’s eye. It held a gorgeous picture
 165.289 +of a girl with deep blue eyes and snow white skin, dark hair flowing
 165.290 +about her. Tomoyo. It had always been Tomoyo. That’s why her life
 165.291 +wasn’t working without her. She truly does need the dark haired
 165.292 +heiress. More than she could possibly imagine. “I love you, too,
 165.293 +Tomoyo-chan...” she answers, her cheeks red. It feels so freeing to
 165.294 +say it, to let it out. Yes, she loves her. Boy or not. It didn’t
 165.295 +matter. Tomoyo completed her life. Without her, everything was chaos.
 165.296 +She waits anxiously for Tomoyo’s reply, but nothing comes. The phone
 165.297 +slowly slips away from the dark haired girl’s dead fingers,
 165.298 +clattering to the floor. “Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asks. No response.
 165.299 +“Tomoyo-chan?” Perhaps Tomoyo had fallen asleep. She had sounded so
 165.300 +tired on the phone, so weak and quiet. Yes, that’s it. Sakura listens
 165.301 +intently, but she can’t even hear Tomoyo’s gentle breathing on the
 165.302 +other end. “Tomoyo-chan?” Still nothing. It’s as if the world has
 165.303 +gone silent on the other end of the phone.
 165.304 +
 165.305 +“Tomoyo-chan? I love you...”
 165.306 +
 165.307 +Click.
 165.308 \ No newline at end of file

   166.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   166.2 +++ b/stories/cameo.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   166.3 @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
   166.4 +I don't own these characters or profit from them.
   166.5 +
   166.6 +
   166.7 +Different views
   166.8 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   166.9 +
  166.10 +  Lee sighed as he stared at the ceiling of his room. As usual, he was thinking about Sakura and the Clow cards. While he was jealous that she was the one chosen to own the cards, even the ones he currently kept, he had accepted the idea after a while. That and he'd developed a crush on her. Despite the fact that Maylin, his guardians, and the lazen board had warned him off her, each with their own reasons. All three seemed to expect him to love Maylin.
  166.11 +  He knew he should like Maylin, but she was always so pushy and suspicious... too much like he was. It was just too much. Not that she wasn't pretty... beautiful really. The way her hair fell down her shoulders, the way her cheeks looked when she smiled. She just lacked something Sakura had. Maybe it was her eyes, or how she was always so happy, or how she seemed to need him. Whatever it was he always got butterflies in his stomach around her, especially when her brother's friend was around. She really seemed to like him sometimes.
  166.12 +  In all truthfulness there were two things that kept him from telling Sakura how he felt about her. One was Maylin, who always followed him around to make sure he didn't get anywhere near Sakura. The other was Madison, who seemed to be everywhere Sakura was, filming her the entire time. She seriously creeped him out some times. And on the weekends if she wasn't at Sakura's house, Sakura was at hers. She even came along on the carp captures.
  166.13 +  Right now they were probably having a slumber party like the one Maylin had old him about. He envied that Madison spent so much time with her and could always be so open in front of Sakura. The closest he'd come was helping her catch the Clow cards, the one thing they could both share.
  166.14 +  He sat upright in bed. "I should go talk with her. See how she feels." If things went wrong... well he still had the time card.
  166.15 +
  166.16 +  Lee smiled as he approached Sakura's house. By now he had planned out everything in his head. He'd tell her how he felt, she would tell him the same thing and he would be happy. He thought of actually kissing her and blushed, frowning at the same time. He was a warrior and a skilled sorcerer. He could handle this, he was sure of that.
  166.17 +  "Oh Lee, what are you doing out here at this hour?" A voice asked behind him. He turned around and saw Miss Makinzey standing there. "I would think you would be at home in bed."
  166.18 +  Lee blushed again, but then his suspicious nature took over. "What are you doing out here?"
  166.19 +  "Oh me? I'm just out for a walk. Whenever I have a problem on my mind I find it helps to walk." She said smiling. "It helps me focus and figure out what's really important."
  166.20 +  "And you just happened to be right near Sakura's house when I get here."
  166.21 +  "It would seem so, wouldn't it?" She said softly. Suddenly her smile was replaced by a look of concern. "You know Lee, sometimes things are just meant to be and no matter how much we don't like it... The path you're on... the way out isn't always the right way Lee."
  166.22 +  Lee turned away. "Oh, what do you know? I still don't trust you. Besides, you aren't making any sense."
  166.23 +  She nodded. "As you wish Lee. Just remember, sometimes things work out for the best when they are supposed to and the signs all point to it." With that she began walking the other way and Lee continued on, feeling suddenly nervous.
  166.24 +  He shook it off as he approached Sakura's house. By the time he was at the door, he had completely forgotten Miss Makinzy. Lee reached out to knock on the door... but he stopped. It was the middle of the night. Suppose her brother or father answered the door? Or worse yet, Madison.
  166.25 +  No, he had to do this some other way. Looking around he noticed that one of the windows on the second floor still had a light on. Carefully he drew out the time card. That way he could see what was going on first and nobody would know.
  166.26 +  "Time card, freeze the moment!" He yelled.
  166.27 +  Suddenly everything froze in place. The cars on the road, the birds in the air, and even a falling leaf: all stood still. Lee smiled then jumped into the tree next to the house and began climbing up to the window. He smiled as he looked inside.
  166.28 +  His smile quickly vanished from his face. Sakura and Madison were sitting on the bed, as he had expected. What he had not expected was that they appeared to be inches from kissing each other. Madison had her arm around Sakura's back and the other one on her leg. Sakura was running the fingers of one hand through Madison's hair and had the other one on her cheek. Their lips were puckered and he could swear he saw the tip of Madison's tongue.
  166.29 +  Lee was crushed as he stared through the window. Then he was angry. How could she do this to him? Let alone with Madison, another girl.
  166.30 +  Suddenly Sakura blinked. She began to move though it was in slow motion. She pulled back from Madison and looked at her curiously, speeding up with every second. Sakura sensed something behind he and turned towards the window, seeing Lee there with tears in his eyes.
  166.31 +  Sakura was surprised for a moment, but quickly grasped the situation. She looked him right in the eyes and shook her head. Without a second glance she turned back to Madison and closed the kiss. When she looked back at the window, Lee was gone.
  166.32 +  Madison bumped her head on Sakura's shoulder and looked up surprised. "Did something just happen?"
  166.33 +  Sakura nodded. "Lee was here. I saw him at the window."
  166.34 +  Madison blushed. "Was he alright?"
  166.35 +  "I don't think so... he was crying." Sakura looked at the window sadly.
  166.36 +  Madison reached out and rubbed her cheek. "Let's go find him. We have to see if he will be O.K. or we'll never be able to rest."
  166.37 +  Sakura nodded and they both got up, heading downstairs and out the door. Kero watched them go, shaking his head.
  166.38 +
  166.39 +  Maylin lay against the mailbox with one hand over her eyes and the other on the ground next to a pair of binoculars. She had followed Lee from home to Sakura's house. She was sure he was going to tell her he loved her. It had hurt Maylin a lot, but she had to make sure. After all, it could have been a Clow card. He'd tried to leave her behind before.
  166.40 +  She'd seen Sakura and Madison kissing from across the street, even before Lee made it to the tree. At first she'd been shocked, having had no clue. Then she was overjoyed, because now she knew that there was no chance Sakura would go after Lee.
  166.41 +  All that left her when the scene suddenly changed. Lee was gone and Sakura and Madison were running out the door.
  166.42 +  "He looked so sad." Sakura was saying. "I just didn't know what to say so I tried to show him. Then he was gone."
  166.43 +  Madison put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Sakura. But we need to find him and talk with him."
  166.44 +  "I know Madison, it's just..." Their voices faded as they ran down the street.
  166.45 +  Maylin at that moment realized the hurt Lee must have felt. It was the same way she'd felt when she had known why he was coming here. Suddenly it didn't matter how she felt or whom Lee ended up with. Right now she wished Sakura and he had gotten together. Anything so that Lee wasn't sad any more.
  166.46 +  "And what do we have here?" Miss Makinzy asked, causing her to jump. "Seems everyone is out tonight."
  166.47 +  Maylin looked up at her and frowned. "What do you want? I thought you were out for a 'walk'."
  166.48 +  She smiled and sat down on the curb. "Maylin, now is not the time to play games, so I am going to talk to you out in the open. Is that alright?" Maylin looked at her suspiciously, but nodded. "You saw most of what went on over there right?"
  166.49 +  "Yeah... though I'll bet you saw all of it." Madison said angrily. "It's not fair. None of the magic I can learn would let me catch the cards."
  166.50 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "Let's just say I saw enough. Right now Lee is very upset and confused. I think he needs someone who he cares about to talk to."
  166.51 +  Maylin snorted. "Sakura and Madison are already on their way already."
  166.52 +  She smiled. "You've known Lee your entire life. When has he ever told anyone he cared about them?"
  166.53 +  Maylin thought about it for a minute. "Never... not since his parents died." She gritted her teeth. "He was going to tonight though. Why should I even bother if she can get him to do that?"
  166.54 +  She answered with another question. "And what does he do when something frightens him Maylin? When he feels something strange and new that he doesn't understand and scares him."
  166.55 +  Maylin blinked in confusion. Lee, afraid or not understanding something? Impossible, her mind said. But then she'd thought about it. The times he'd come into her room during a thunderstorm or after a scary movie and offered to stay with her as long as she didn't do anything mushy while he was there. Or when he had first been told about his magical powers and that he was not the one to get the cards. He had gone right out to do it anyway, even if it meant he had to give them to her later. At the time Maylin had just been glad he was there, but now...
  166.56 +  "He acts like it doesn't. He... I don't know. He pretends it's somebody else's problem and he's just there to help. He doesn't even know he does it."
  166.57 +  Miss Makinzy nodded. "So if he really cared about someone, what would Lee Sho-ron do?"
  166.58 +  "He would... he would turn his back and run in the other direction, making it seem like he was running right at it." She whispered. That couldn't be right though. He had been running towards Sakura this entire time. The one he'd been ignoring was... "Who are you Miss Makinzy?"
  166.59 +  The woman smiled. "I am merely your teacher Maylin." She stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants. "If you find Lee, tell him I said hello."
  166.60 +  Maylin shook her head. "But I didn't see where he went. I'm not a... um... How am I supposed to find him?"
  166.61 +  Miss Makinzy began walking away. "I think you know Maylin. Goodnight."
  166.62 +  Maylin frowned and watched her go. Then she got up off of the cement and began walking. Maybe she did know where Lee might have gone.
  166.63 +
  166.64 +  Lee had run for a long time, despite the exhaustion he felt from using the Time card. Why did Sakura have to do this to him? She'd taken away the one thing he'd thought would make him feel better. The thought of being with her took away all the confusion he felt. It had seemed like she was the one right path.
  166.65 +Suddenly he stopped and sat down in front of the clock tower, where he had gotten his first Clow card. Miss Makinzy's words came back to him. Had she known about Sakura and Madison? Maybe... or maybe she had just been talking with his guardian and he had tried to get her to hook him up with Maylin too.
  166.66 +  He buried his face in his hands and shook his head, tears falling down his face. It had seemed like a sure thing. The way Sakura had sent him, the way she had hugged him tightly when he'd come back, even the bears they had sent each other. He had been certain that she was in love with him.
  166.67 +  Now that he thought about it though, she would have done the same for Madison. Would have done more apparently, he thought as the image of them kissing danced in his head. She may have even loved him then; maybe she still did as a friend, but Sakura had made it quite clear who she was in love with.
  166.68 +  He thought about Maylin for a second and his stomach twisted into knots. What was it about her that made him so uncomfortable? And why was he thinking of her instead of Sakura? The last one made him feel worse so he decided to focus on the first question.
  166.69 +  A part of it was guilt. He felt bad about the way he ignored her, told her to go away, and never smiled at her. The fact that she never seemed to mind for more that a minute and that brief look of pain made it all the worse. Especially the time he'd told her she was in the way.
  166.70 +  It wasn't that he didn't like her or want her to be happy. In fact he liked seeing her smile. That was why he'd agreed to train with her, even though she didn't have any powers. It was also why he'd gone out into the rain to get her lost bird for her. He had no idea she'd fall in love with him. He still didn't even know why she did with the way he treated her.
  166.71 +  He heard footsteps and turned around. Maylin was standing there, looking at him and biting her lip. Lee's shoulder's stiffened and his face took on its normal deadpan look. Maylin watched in fascination as she realized he didn't even know he'd done it. He expected her to ask why he was crying, not even wondering why she was there.
  166.72 +  Instead Maylin walked over and sat down next to him. Without saying anything to him, she leaned against him and buried her face in his shoulder. They were like that for a long time. Lee simply sat there like a rock.
  166.73 +  Finally Maylin smiled and said. "I love you Lee, even if you are a coward who tried to get another girl so he wouldn't have to say it back to me."
  166.74 +  Lee's face cracked into a real frown as he stood up and he yelled, "I am not a coward!"
  166.75 +  Maylin stood up and looked him in the eyes. "Oh yeah? The prove it." He stood there glaring at her. "Ha, I knew it. No wonder you were passed over to be the card's keeper. I'll even make it easy on you. You don't have to say it. Just kiss me one time on the lips to prove it and I'll never call you a coward again."
  166.76 +  Lee just stood there gritting his teeth. Maylin went 'Humph' and turned to walk away. As she did the smile disappeared from her face. Suppose she was wrong and didn't know Lee as well as she thought she did? What if he really did love Sakura?
  166.77 +  The question disappeared from her mind as she felt herself spun around and Lee's lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed back, closing her eyes. Lee held her close and kissed her harder. After a long time he finally pulled back and looked at her, still frowning.
  166.78 +  "There, now will you please stop calling me a coward?" He asked.
  166.79 +  She took a minute to catch up, but a smirk crossed her face. "Sure thing Lee." The both began to walk down the street towards their home. "But you are still a wimp."
  166.80 +  "Wimp?" He yelled.
  166.81 +  "Yeah. That's why I keep beating you in our training. And remember the time with the Fight card? You were on the ground and I had to save your butt."
  166.82 +  "Yeah, I remember. I saved you when the card had you backed into a corner."
  166.83 +  "Ha! Now you listen to me Lee Sho-ron..." Their voices faded as they turned the corner.
  166.84 +  Sakura and Madison watched them go with smiles on their faces. They had arrived just after Maylin had.
  166.85 +  "You know, I'm glad that Maylin was here to help him." Sakura said. "I had no clue what we were going to say to him."
  166.86 +  "I know what you mean Sakura. Though it was nice for you to try." Madison said.
  166.87 +  Sakura nodded. "Though that does mean we're out here for no reason in the middle of the night wearing night gowns." She shivered as a cold breeze blew over them.
  166.88 +  Madison smiled and took her hand, kissing her on the cheek. "It's O.K. Sakura. You were just trying to help Lee. Come on, let's go back to your house."
  166.89 +  Sakura nodded and they both turned to walk down the street in the opposite direction as Lee and Maylin.
  166.90 +
  166.91 +The End
  166.92 +
  166.93 +Author's note
  166.94 +  I got it into my head to write one of these from Lee and Maylin's point of view. While I was writing it I was clued in by a friend of mine about what happened at the end of Card Captors and worked it into the story, realizing that Sakura would have acted the same way if Madison had gone away. Only she would have kissed Madison when she got back, not just hugged her. I have only seen the few episodes they show on the WB myself (not even the ones they are getting on Toonami yet).
  166.95 +  I've noticed a basic formula to these kinds of anime shows, mostly Tenchi Muyo, which I have written many fics for at www.tmffa.com. You take the star of the show and have them go through a change (Turn into a sorcerer, become a captain, find out you're an alien prince, get cursed and turned into a girl, etc.) Then you have the hero hook up with a group of people including old friends, members of the opposite sex, and someone who's a family member but is in love with you anyway.
  166.96 +  In my view Lee is the Aeka of this show. He came in right after Madison made a comment about what they needed the camera for that made Sakura blush and became Madison's main competition. He was also stuck up, elitist, rude, a total jerk and related to Sakura making him even more like Aeka. Which makes Maylin the Ryoko of the show. She is super strong, pushy, in love with the guy and jealous of the other girls. She is also way cooler than Lee. While she is a bit rude too, she'll at least smile on occasion and the scene where she fought the Fight card was awesome.
  166.97 +  I could do some more comparison (Miss Makinzy = Yosho) but I won't. If you have any questions about this or any of my other fics or want to tell me what you thought of this one, email me at clayton_n@hotmail.com
  166.98 +
  166.99 +
 166.100 +

   167.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   167.2 +++ b/stories/cckakumei.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   167.3 @@ -0,0 +1,255 @@
   167.4 +Card Captor Kakumei (Shoujo-Ai Archive Fanfiction)Card Captor Kakumei
   167.5 +a Card Captor Sakura fanfiction by Kamui Ikari
   167.6 +Some points:
   167.7 +
   167.8 +-Both girls are ten years old.
   167.9 +
  167.10 +I WANT FEEDBACK!!! That's all ^_^''
  167.11 +
  167.12 +*****
  167.13 +
  167.14 +Sakura was looking at something in her dresser for Tomoyo. She invited
  167.15 +her best friend to spend the night with her. Meanwhile Tomoyo was
  167.16 +making a dress for Sakura, and she was finishing it when Sakura came to
  167.17 +her.
  167.18 +
  167.19 +"I think this would be good for you Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said as she
  167.20 +showed Tomoyo the cloth.
  167.21 +
  167.22 +"It's okay Sakura-chan, anything you give me is okay for me," Tomoyo
  167.23 +said smiling and Sakura blushed.
  167.24 +
  167.25 +Sakura looked at the dress that Tomoyo made for her. It was like a
  167.26 +princess dress. Sakura smiled at the sight.
  167.27 +
  167.28 +"It's for the school representation, and for me? You think that I will
  167.29 +win the role of the princess for the representation?" Sakura asked as
  167.30 +she gave Tomoyo the cloth.
  167.31 +
  167.32 +"Of course. You're beautiful and I'm sure you will win the role,"
  167.33 +Tomoyo said smiling.
  167.34 +
  167.35 +"Thanks, Tomoyo-chan. You're a great friend" Sakura said smiling.
  167.36 +
  167.37 +Tomoyo smiled at her best friend, but the smile turned into a sad one
  167.38 +for a short moment.
  167.39 +
  167.40 +"Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong?" Sakura asked worried.
  167.41 +
  167.42 +"No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine," Tomoyo said still smiling.
  167.43 +
  167.44 +Sakura wasn't convinced.
  167.45 +
  167.46 +"Can you wear the dress, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked as she gave Sakura
  167.47 +the dress.
  167.48 +
  167.49 +"Sure" Sakura said and she put on the dress.
  167.50 +
  167.51 +"Wow!!!! You're so beautiful Sakura-chan!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed excited.
  167.52 +
  167.53 +Sakura blushed at the compliment of her friend.
  167.54 +
  167.55 +"Thanks Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said smiling.
  167.56 +
  167.57 +"You're the most beautiful princess I have ever seen," Tomoyo said
  167.58 +again with excitement.
  167.59 +
  167.60 +Sakura blushed again.
  167.61 +
  167.62 +"Tomoyo-chan can we go to sleep now? I'm tired and we must get up early
  167.63 +tomorrow," Sakura said as she changed herself.
  167.64 +
  167.65 +"Sure Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said smiling.
  167.66 +
  167.67 +Both girls crawled into the bed and Sakura was sleeping quickly. Tomoyo
  167.68 +looked at her with a sad smile and she kissed Sakura's forehead and
  167.69 +turned around.
  167.70 +
  167.71 +"Aishiteru, Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said as she fell to sleep.
  167.72 +
  167.73 +******
  167.74 +
  167.75 +Sakura was standing in some place, behind her was Tomoyo. Sakura looked
  167.76 +at her cloth, and it was something like a costume. Something caught
  167.77 +Sakura's attention; in her breast pocket a white rose was there.
  167.78 +Suddenly rose petals and something like cards were floating in the air
  167.79 +surrounding both of them. Sakura looked to Tomoyo, she was wearing a
  167.80 +red dress that made look her like a princess. Suddenly, she arched her
  167.81 +back and a baton came out of her chest. Sakura looked surprised but
  167.82 +when she tried to get the baton the place faded away...
  167.83 +
  167.84 +******
  167.85 +
  167.86 +Sakura woke up and turned to see Tomoyo sleeping quietly. Sakura sighed
  167.87 +relieved at the sight of her best friend.
  167.88 +
  167.89 +"It was only a dream" Sakura said relaxed.
  167.90 +
  167.91 +"Do you think that?" a voice said.
  167.92 +
  167.93 +Sakura quickly turned to see a person, a man who was wearing Chinese
  167.94 +clothes and golden glasses, dark long hair and having a smile.
  167.95 +
  167.96 +Sakura was scared as she felt that the man was a spirit and she was
  167.97 +afraid of ghosts.
  167.98 +
  167.99 +"Don't worry. I'm here because I saw something in you" said the man.
 167.100 +
 167.101 +"Something in me?" Sakura asked quietly trying to not wake Tomoyo.
 167.102 +
 167.103 +"Yes, strength and nobility, a prince's qualities" said the man.
 167.104 +
 167.105 +"I'm not a prince, I'm a girl and I want to become a princess for the
 167.106 +school's representation" Sakura said.
 167.107 +
 167.108 +"It's true but you can become a prince as well," said the man smiling.
 167.109 +
 167.110 +"Why?" Sakura asked.
 167.111 +
 167.112 +"A prince has a noble task: protect the princesses in disgrace and
 167.113 +people from disaster" the man said.
 167.114 +
 167.115 +"I don't understand," said Sakura
 167.116 +
 167.117 +"You will understand. With time you will" the man said.
 167.118 +
 167.119 +Sakura was uncertain and the man looked to Tomoyo.
 167.120 +
 167.121 +"She's your friend right?" the man asked.
 167.122 +
 167.123 +"Yes, she's my best friend" Sakura said smiling.
 167.124 +
 167.125 +"She cares about you in a special way" the man said.
 167.126 +
 167.127 +"In a special way?" Sakura asked surprised.
 167.128 +
 167.129 +"Yes, you will find it with time." the man said.
 167.130 +
 167.131 +Sakura looked puzzled.
 167.132 +
 167.133 +"She's the key..." the man said.
 167.134 +
 167.135 +"Eh?" Sakura asked.
 167.136 +
 167.137 +"This girl is special, with time you will find it, she will give you
 167.138 +the reason you're looking for to become a prince," the man said.
 167.139 +
 167.140 +"Tomoyo-chan will give me the reason?" Sakura asked.
 167.141 +
 167.142 +"Yes" the man said.
 167.143 +
 167.144 +Sakura looked at Tomoyo and then she remembered the dream, she'd seen
 167.145 +Tomoyo like a princess and then the sight of the baton coming out of
 167.146 +Tomoyo's chest made Sakura wonder about the dream.
 167.147 +
 167.148 +"The dream was..." Sakura said.
 167.149 +
 167.150 +"It's time and I must go," the man said.
 167.151 +
 167.152 +"Wait... Will I see you again? The dream... Tomoyo-chan is..." Sakura
 167.153 +said but the man smiled.
 167.154 +
 167.155 +"With time you will find it" the man said.
 167.156 +
 167.157 +"If anything happens to Tomoyo-chan, I won't forgive myself," Sakura
 167.158 +said.
 167.159 +
 167.160 +The man smiled again and came to Sakura.
 167.161 +
 167.162 +"Will you do anything for her?" the man said.
 167.163 +
 167.164 +"Yes, anything to make her happy," Sakura said.
 167.165 +
 167.166 +"Even if she would suffer from that?" the man asked.
 167.167 +
 167.168 +"I don't want her to suffer... I don't," Sakura said.
 167.169 +
 167.170 +"You have a noble purpose, a noble heart and power," the man said.
 167.171 +
 167.172 +Sakura looked puzzled again.
 167.173 +
 167.174 +"Keep these noble qualities in your heart, in that way we will see
 167.175 +again," the man said.
 167.176 +
 167.177 +"I will," Sakura said.
 167.178 +
 167.179 +"I will a give you a reminder of this encounter; keep them," the man
 167.180 +said.
 167.181 +
 167.182 +The man lift his hand, and from nowhere two things appeared. Sakura
 167.183 +looked at the things, it was a book and something like a card. Both
 167.184 +things placed on Sakura's hands.
 167.185 +
 167.186 +Sakura looked to the card, it had the image of a woman and a name; "The
 167.187 +Windy". Then she looked to the book, a lion was incrusted in the front
 167.188 +and a name was there; "The Clow".
 167.189 +
 167.190 +"These things will lead you to me again," the man said smiling and
 167.191 +disappeared.
 167.192 +
 167.193 +******
 167.194 +
 167.195 +"Sakura-chan..."
 167.196 +
 167.197 +"Sakura-chan, please wake up. We must go to school," Tomoyo said trying
 167.198 +to wake her best friend.
 167.199 +
 167.200 +Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Tomoyo, she smiled weakly.
 167.201 +
 167.202 +"It was just a dream..." Sakura said sleepily.
 167.203 +
 167.204 +"Eh?" Tomoyo asked puzzled
 167.205 +
 167.206 +"I had a dream, it was so strange, you looked like a princess..."
 167.207 +Sakura said and Tomoyo smiled.
 167.208 +
 167.209 +"It's nice but you won't become the princess for the representation if
 167.210 +we don't go to school on time," Tomoyo said smiling.
 167.211 +
 167.212 +"Sure..." Sakura said smiling and both left the room.
 167.213 +
 167.214 +In the kitchen, Fujitaka and Touya were having breakfast when Sakura
 167.215 +and Tomoyo sat down.
 167.216 +
 167.217 +"Hi, dad and onii-chan," Sakura said smiling.
 167.218 +
 167.219 +"Hi, Fujitaka-san and Touya-san," Tomoyo said smiling as well.
 167.220 +
 167.221 +"The breakfast is ready" Fujitaka said smiling.
 167.222 +
 167.223 +Sakura and Tomoyo ate the breakfast, and after cleaning the dishes,
 167.224 +both were ready to go the school.
 167.225 +
 167.226 +"Onii-chan left so soon?" Sakura asked.
 167.227 +
 167.228 +"Yes, he said that will pick up Yukito" Fujitaka told her.
 167.229 +
 167.230 +"Oh, I forgot my book!" Sakura exclaimed as she checked her school bag.
 167.231 +
 167.232 +"And the dress!" Tomoyo exclaimed as well.
 167.233 +
 167.234 +Both went to Sakura's room to find the things, Sakura grabbed the book.
 167.235 +
 167.236 +"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo said.
 167.237 +
 167.238 +"Yes, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked.
 167.239 +
 167.240 +"What are these things?" Tomoyo asked.
 167.241 +
 167.242 +Sakura looked and froze, over Tomoyo's dress, the book and the card
 167.243 +were there.
 167.244 +
 167.245 +"Can't be..." Sakura said.
 167.246 +
 167.247 +******
 167.248 +
 167.249 +Well, it's kind of short, but is a prologue of this story. But like we say here. 
 167.250 +"La intencion es lo que cuenta" ^_^
 167.251 +
 167.252 +Matta!!! Until the next one!!!!
 167.253 +
 167.254 +
 167.255 +
 167.256 +
 167.257 +
 167.258 +Back to Card Captor Sakura Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction

   168.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   168.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-2ndchild.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   168.3 @@ -0,0 +1,278 @@
   168.4 +Sakura, Tomoyo and their second child
   168.5 +
   168.6 +By Radar
   168.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   168.8 +
   168.9 +-----------
  168.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  168.11 +
  168.12 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read
  168.13 +
  168.14 +She knocked on the door and waited for a reply. 'Are you ready yet Kumiko-chan?' she asked.
  168.15 +The door opened and a young girl stood infront of her, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
  168.16 +'Why Sakura-papa?' she asked. 'You don't remember do you?' Sakura asked.
  168.17 +'No!' Kumiko replied, smiling brightly. 'We're going out today!' Sakura said, smiling at her daughters reaction.
  168.18 +'Really?' Kumiko asked. 'Really!' Sakura replied.
  168.19 +'Sakura, Kumiko-chan! Hikaru-chan's here!' Tomoyo said, having walked up to them, wanting to see if Kumiko was ready.
  168.20 +'Hikaru-chan's here?' Kumiko whispered, before running passed Sakura.
  168.21 +'Where is she mama?' Kumiko asked, stopping suddenly. 'She's in the living room!' Tomoyo replied.
  168.22 +'Arigatou!' Kumiko called out before running down the stairs. Sakura smiled brightly.
  168.23 +'She really likes Hikaru-chan doesn't she?' Tomoyo asked. 'Hai!' Sakura replied.
  168.24 +'So where are we going again?' Tomoyo asked.
  168.25 +'Well, first we're going to pick up Auntie Rika and Auntie Naoko then we're heading for the beach!' Sakura replied.
  168.26 +Tomoyo giggled softly. Smiling Sakura wondered why, as a child, she hadn't known why the sound of Tomoyo's laughter always made her feel happy.
  168.27 +'Auntie Rika? Auntie Naoko?'
  168.28 +'Yeah! Remember when Kumiko slept with Naoko and Rika when they said they wanted to know what it was like to have a child?' Sakura asked.
  168.29 +Tomoyo nodded slightly remembering that day.
  168.30 +'Well, when I tucked her in, Kumiko said that she'd had fun with Auntie Rika and Auntie Naoko and she'd like to spend some more time when them!'
  168.31 +'Oh!' Tomoyo said, smiling brightly. Sakura smiled again and hugged the pale business woman with one arm. 'Is everything ok with Nadeshiko-chan?' Sakura asked.
  168.32 +'Hai! She's just a little energetic today!' Tomoyo replied, smiling when Sakura leaned closer to her swelling stomach.
  168.33 +'Are you going to be a good girl today Nadeshiko-chan?' she asked.
  168.34 +As if responding Nadeshiko started kicking. 'Good girl!' Sakura whispered.
  168.35 +'You certainly have a way with them Sakura!' Tomoyo whispered.
  168.36 +Sakura giggled softly before wrapping her arm around Tomoyo.
  168.37 +
  168.38 +'Hi Hikaru-chan!' the girl called out upon seeing her friend.
  168.39 +'Hi Kumi-chan!' Hikaru replied, before blushing slightly.
  168.40 +'Um.. Kumi-chan... are you going to go out like that?' she asked.
  168.41 +Looking down, Kumiko blushed brightly.
  168.42 +'Hoe! I forgot we were going out today!' Kumiko said, her blush deepening.
  168.43 +'I think we'd better get you dressed.' Hikaru said, taking Kumiko's hand in her own and pulling the pale girl to her bedroom.
  168.44 +'Ok!' Kumiko said, smiling brightly. 'Hello Sakura-san, Tomoyo-san!' Hikaru said, passing them on the stairs.
  168.45 +'Hi Hikaru-chan!' Tomoyo replied. 'Where are you going?' Sakura asked.
  168.46 +'Dressing Kumiko-chan!' Hikaru replied, stopping suddenly.
  168.47 +Not paying attention Kumiko walked straight into Hikaru's back.
  168.48 +'Ok! Just be gentle!' Sakura said, giggling when she saw Kumiko blush slightly.
  168.49 +'Papa!' Kumiko stuttered. 'I'm always gentle with my Kumiko-chan Sakura-san!' Hikaru stated, giggling softly as Kumiko blushed brighter.
  168.50 +'Hoe! Hikaru-chan! Stop teasing me!' Kumiko whined, attracting even more giggling from her friend and parents.
  168.51 +'I can't help it! You look so cute when you blush!' Hikaru said.
  168.52 +Sensing her task was complete Hikaru resumed their walk to Kumiko's bedroom.
  168.53 +'You know I think Hikaru-chan's right! She is cute when she blushes!' Tomoyo said.
  168.54 +Sakura nodded in agreement before heading to the kitchen to finish packing their picnic.
  168.55 +
  168.56 +Kumiko stood infront of her mirror and sighed as Hikaru looked through her wardrobe.
  168.57 +'Why'd you do that?' Kumiko asked. 'Do what?' Hikaru asked, not turning around.
  168.58 +'Embarrass me like that infront of mama and papa!' Kumiko replied, sighing again.
  168.59 +'Because I like to see you blush!' Hikaru replied holding some clothes to herself.
  168.60 +Nodding slightly she walked closer to her friend. 'Here you go!' Hikaru said, handing Kumiko the clothing.
  168.61 +Hikaru's ability to choose clothing for Kumiko rivaled Tomoyo's.
  168.62 +'Is Kero-chan coming?' she asked, while Kumiko got changed. 
  168.63 +Nope! Auntie Rika and Auntie Naoko are coming so has to stay here!' Kumiko replied.
  168.64 +Moments passed in total silence. 'Hikaru-chan... I'm stuck!' Kumiko said.
  168.65 +Turning around Hikaru giggled slightly when she saw why Kumiko was stuck.
  168.66 +'No wonder! You've got your head in your slieve!' she said.
  168.67 +Helping her Hikaru smiled when Kumiko's head appeared and she opened her eyes.
  168.68 +'Thats better!' Kumiko said, smiling slightly. 'Kumiko-chan, your mother needs your help!' a voice said through the slightly open door.
  168.69 +'I'll be right there Sakura-papa!' Kumiko called back.
  168.70 +Hurrying out the door she raced to see what her mother needed her help with.
  168.71 +Hikaru smiled before Kero-chan caught her attention. The little beast lay on Kumiko's bed, his little wings twitching every now and then.
  168.72 +'What's wrong Kero-chan?' she asked. 'I have to say here while you guys go off to have fun and cake! It's not fair!' he said.
  168.73 +Hikaru smiled slightly. 'If you want I could save you a piece!' she said.
  168.74 +'Really? Arigatou Hikaru-chan!' he said, smiling brightly.
  168.75 +The girl sighed softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
  168.76 +'I had a funny dream last night!' she muttered. 'Really?' Kero-chan asked.
  168.77 +'Yeah! Me and Kumiko-chan were a lot older and a young girl ran upto us and hugged us!' Hikaru said. 'And?'
  168.78 +'Then we kissed! What does that mean?' she asked. 'I don't know!' Kero-chan replied.
  168.79 +It had been years since Sakura had had that kind of dream. 'What could it mean?' he thought.
  168.80 +'The strange thing is the girl looks a lot like Sakura-san!' Kero-chan looked at her.
  168.81 +'She's seen the future!' he thought. Before Hikaru could say anymore Kumiko ran in.
  168.82 +'Everythings ready!' the young girl said. Turning Hikaru looked at Kero-chan. 'I'll remember that piece of cake!'
  168.83 +The little animal smiled and nodded. Taking hold of Hikaru's hand, she led her out of the room, leaving a very confused Kero-chan.
  168.84 +
  168.85 +'Hi Sakura, hi Tomoyo!' Rika said when they got out of their car.
  168.86 +'Hi Rika, Naoko!' Tomoyo said, resting against the car door.
  168.87 +'Hi Auntie Rika, Auntie Naoko!' Kumiko said, slowly jogging up to them.
  168.88 +'Hi Kumiko-chan!' Naoko said, hugging the young girl. 'Um.. Hello!' Hikaru stuttered bowing politely.
  168.89 +'Who's this Kumi-chan?' Rika asked. 'She's my best friend! Her name is Hikaru Watanabe!' Kumiko said.
  168.90 +'Oh yeah!' Rika said, smiling slightly. 'She's a cute one! You'd better not let her slip away!' Rika said.
  168.91 +'Rika, you can't tell them that!' Sakura said. 'Why not?' Naoko asked.
  168.92 +'Because they don't know yet!' Sakura said. 'Know what papa?' the child asked.
  168.93 +'Sorry Kumi-chan, but its a secret!' Sakura replied. 'Are you ready?' Sakura asked looked at her friend.
  168.94 +'Yeah!' Rika replied smiling slightly. Naoko smiled brightly. Apart from Rika she hardly saw her friends.
  168.95 +Still smiling they got in the car and headed to the beach. After almost 2 hours of traveling they reached the beach.
  168.96 +As the adults set the picnic up Hikaru and Kumiko played near the water.
  168.97 +'They don't know yet?' Rika asked. 'Nope!' Sakura replied, helping Tomoyo sit down.
  168.98 +'Kumiko-chan! Hikaru-chan! Everythings ready!' Sakura called out.
  168.99 +The girls slowly approached her, talking amongst themselves. 'Really?' Hikaru asked.
 168.100 +'Hai! I'd like to know too!' Kumiko replied. 'Sakura-san.. can you remember what Kumiko-chan's first word was?' she asked.
 168.101 +Sakura smiled and nodded. Hugging her mother Kumiko felt Nadeshiko start kicking.
 168.102 +'She's kicking again mama!' the girl said. 'Can I feel it Tomoyo-san?' Hikaru asked.
 168.103 +Tomoyo nodded before Hikaru lightly pressed her hand against Tomoyo's swelling stomach.
 168.104 +She blushed slightly when she felt the unborn child kick.
 168.105 +'I think she's saying hi Hikaru-chan!' Tomoyo whispered. 'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Hikaru whispered, smiling as she felt the baby kick again.
 168.106 +Rika and Naoko smiled slightly, they were also curious about their "niece's" first word.
 168.107 +'Well it started about 6 years ago....'
 168.108 +
 168.109 +6 YEARS AGO
 168.110 +
 168.111 +She opened her eyes the second she heard the baby cry.
 168.112 +Tomoyo sat in her chair trying to stop the child by singing to her, but this time it was having no effect.
 168.113 +Looking up she saw Sakura looking at her. 'I'm sorry Sakura!' the pale woman said.
 168.114 +'Why didn't you wake me?' Sakura asked. 'Because you looked so cute!' Tomoyo replied, yawning softly.
 168.115 +'Tomoyo, you rest! I'll look after Kumiko-chan for now! Besides, I think she wants her mother!' Sakura said, gentlely lifting the child from her wifes arms.
 168.116 +'Ok!' Tomoyo whispered, kissing Sakura before laying on the bed Sakura had vacated.
 168.117 +Within moments of laying down Tomoyo was asleep. It was then Sakura noticed that Kumiko wasn't crying anymore.
 168.118 +Looking down she saw the child smile at her. 'Hi Kumiko-chan!' she whispered.
 168.119 +The child gurgled, closed her eyes and nuzzled into Sakura's chest. Sakura smiled.
 168.120 +'I knew you just wanted your mother!' she whispered. Kumiko yawned softly, before opening her eyes again.
 168.121 +'Pa...pa!' the girl said. Sakura's eyes went wide. 'What?' she said. 'Papa!' Kumiko said again happily.
 168.122 +'Papa? You think I'm your father?' she asked the child holding her up.
 168.123 +Kumiko's small arms reached out as Sakura brought her closer then she grabbed and started pulling on her cheeks.
 168.124 +'Papa!' the child said again. 'Having fun?' she asked as Kumiko pulled her cheeks again.
 168.125 +'How can I be your papa?' Sakura asked, just as Kumiko giggled again.
 168.126 +She sat down and picked up a small bear that sat next to her bed.
 168.127 +Kumiko let go of her cheeks when she handed her the bear. Standing up, she walked over to Tomoyo and sat next to her.
 168.128 +'Tomoyo!' she whispered, 'Tomoyo-chan..' The pale woman moaned and opened her eyes.
 168.129 +'What is it Sakura?' she asked, rubbing her eyes. 'Why does our daughter see me as her papa?' Sakura asked.
 168.130 +'Really?' Tomoyo asked. Sakura nodded. 'Kumi-chan..' Sakura whispered, before the child looked up. 'Who am I?' she asked.
 168.131 +'Papa!' the girl said, smiling brightly. Then she pointed to Tomoyo.
 168.132 +'Who's this?' Sakura asked. Kumiko looked up at her then at Tomoyo.
 168.133 +'P..' the child said before looking again, 'Ma.. ma!'
 168.134 +Looking up she smiled before hugging the bear in her arms.
 168.135 +'Why are you the mother Tomoyo-chan?' Sakura asked.
 168.136 +'I think it's because Kumiko-chan sees you differently to the way she sees me!' Tomoyo replied.
 168.137 +Sakura sighed softly as she watched her daughter play with her teddy bear.
 168.138 +
 168.139 +PRESENT DAY
 168.140 +
 168.141 +Kumiko, Hikaru, Rika and Naoko looked at her, amazed by the story while Tomoyo smiled at them.
 168.142 +'Did that really happen?' Rika asked. 'Hai!' Sakura said, smiling brightly.
 168.143 +'Why do you see Sakura-san didderently Kumiko-chan?' Hikaru asked. Kumiko shrugged her shoulders.
 168.144 +'I don't know! I've always thought of her as my papa!' the girl replied.
 168.145 +'I have a question Sakura!' Naoko said.'How'd you get Tomoyo pregnant?'
 168.146 +Sakura looked at Tomoyo for a second before Tomoyo answered.
 168.147 +'Sakura.. convinced Touya to get us some of his sperm!' Tomoyo said.
 168.148 +'Really?' Rika asked. Sakura nodded, not trusting herself to answer.
 168.149 +'We should try that!' Rika said. Naoko nodded. Kumiko lightly tugged on Sakura's shirt.
 168.150 +'Uncle Touya's my papa?' she asked. 'I'll explain everything when we get home!' Sakura said.
 168.151 +'Ok!' Kumiko whispered. She was so confused.
 168.152 +'Could uncle Touya be my papa?' she asked herself. 'Whats the matter Kumi-chan?' Hikaru asked.
 168.153 +'Hai!' Kumiko replied, blushing slightly. 'Are you ok Kumiko-chan?' Hikaru asked.
 168.154 +Kumiko nodded, blushing brighter. 'If he is does that mean that Sakura-papa's my auntie?'
 168.155 +She became so lost in her thoughts that she never heard Hikaru ask her if she wanted to go swiming.
 168.156 +'Kumi-chan?' a voice said followed by a light tapping on her shoulder. 'Hai Sakura-papa?' she asked.
 168.157 +'Hikaru-chan wants to know if you'll go swiming with her!' Sakura said. 'But I forgot my bathing suit!' Kumiko said.
 168.158 +Sakura smiled slightly. 'You might have but you're mother brought one with her just encase!' Sakura said, handing her daughter her spare bathing suit.
 168.159 +'Arigatou!' Kumiko whispered, 'But where can I change?' Sakura's smile grew slightly.
 168.160 +'You're gonna have to step off the blanket for a moment!' Sakura said.
 168.161 +Moving away Sakura picked up the blanket and held up shielding Kumiko for view.
 168.162 +'There you go!' the auburn gaired woman siad, before closing her eyes.
 168.163 +A few minutes later Kumiko lightly pulled on Sakura's shirt. 'Ready?' Sakura asked.
 168.164 +'Hai!' Kumiko replied, as Sakura opened her eyes. 'What's the matter Kumi-chan?' Sakura asked.
 168.165 +'Um.. Is uncle Touya really my papa?' the girl asked. 'No!' Sakura replied.
 168.166 +'But you're a girl like Tomoyo-mama!' Kumiko said, very confused.
 168.167 +'And the strongest magician in the world! Remember?' Sakura said.
 168.168 +'Oh! I forgot!' Kumiko said, blushing slightly.
 168.169 +Sakura smiled at her before the girl hugged her as tightly as she could.
 168.170 +'Where's Hikaru-chan?' she asked, releasing Sakura from the hug. 'Near your mother!' Sakura replied, smiling when Kumiko ran off.
 168.171 +Jogging slowly behind her, they surprised the unsuspecing Tomoyo and Hikaru.
 168.172 +
 168.173 +The trip home was uneventful. They dropped Naoko and Rika off at their appartment and continued home.
 168.174 +They thanked their friends for a good day out and was surprised when Kumiko hugged them before they left.
 168.175 +'Did you enjoy your day out?' Sakura asked when they stopped in the drive way.
 168.176 +When she got no answer she and Tomoyo turned around to see Kumiko and Hikaru resting against each other, sound asleep.
 168.177 +'They're so cute!' Tomoyo whispered, withdrawing a camera from her bag.
 168.178 +Moments later a flash filled the car and the girls opened their eyes slowly.
 168.179 +'Where are we?' she asked as she and Hikaru rubbed their eyes. 'Home!' Sakura replied, holding back a smile.
 168.180 +The girls got out of the car, closed the doors and stumbled.
 168.181 +Falling into Sakura and Tomoyo's arms they blushed and whispered their appologies.
 168.182 +'Did you have fun today?' Sakura asked again. Kumiko nodded slightly.
 168.183 +'Lets get you 2 to bed!' Sakura muttered as she and Tomoyo helped the girls into the house and up to Kumiko's bedroom.
 168.184 +Laying on the bed Hikaru snuggled into Kumiko. The pale girl smiled slightly and placed an arm around her waist, hugging her before they fell asleep.
 168.185 +As they shut the door they smiled ad went to the living room.
 168.186 +As they slowly walked down the stairs Sakura noticed that Tomoyo seemed to be paler then normal.
 168.187 +'Are you ok Tomoyo?' she asked. 'Hai! Just a little tired!' Tomoyo replied, sitting down when they got into the living room.
 168.188 +As she sat down she noticed something wet where she had been standing moments before and realised what had happened.
 168.189 +'Its time Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo said softly when Ssakura sat next to her.
 168.190 +Sakura looked at her and paled slightly. 'But I thought you still had over a week to go!' she said.
 168.191 +Tomoyo smiled at her. 'I do but Kumiko was a few weeks late remember!' the pale woman said.
 168.192 +'I think Nadeshiko-chan wants to come out early!'
 168.193 +'We'd better get you to the hospital then!' Sakura said, helping the pale woman stand.
 168.194 +Helping Tomoyo into the car Sakura rushed back into the house. Minutes later she appeared walking towrds the car with Kumiko and Hikaru almost asleep.
 168.195 +'Where are we going papa?' Kumiko asked, rubbing her eyes.
 168.196 +'The hospital! Nadeshiko-chan's gonna be a little early!' Sakura replied, almost pulling the girls with her.
 168.197 +This seemed to wake the girls up. 'But.. but she's not ready!' Kumiko said.
 168.198 +'I think she is Kumi-chan!' Sakura said as the girls jumped into the car.
 168.199 +Less then 30 minutes later they were at the hospital waiting for Tomoyo's mid-wife.
 168.200 +
 168.201 +32 hours later little Nadeshiko Daidouji came into the world kicking and screaming.
 168.202 +Placed in her mothers arms the child continued to cry and squerm. 'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Tomoyo whispered, lightly strocking her baby's cheek.
 168.203 +Sakura smiled slightly. 'That girl has a good set of lungs! I bet she's gonna sing sometime!' she thought.
 168.204 +Slowly the infants crying stopped and she opened her eyes. 'She has your eyes Tomoyo!' Sakura whispered.
 168.205 +'Yeah for now!' Tomoyo replied, her voice a mear whisper.
 168.206 +Sakura smiled as they watched the nurse wrap Nadeshiko in a blanket and hand her to Sakura.
 168.207 +'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura whispered. 'Papa.. who's that?' a small voice asked from ehind her.
 168.208 +Turing she saw Kumiko and Hikaru stand a short distanse away from her. 'Nadeshiko-chan say hello to your big sister!' Sakura whispered, showing Kumiko her little sister.
 168.209 +'She's so small papa!' Kumiko said. Sakura giggled softly.
 168.210 +'You were once like this Kumi-chan!' Sakura said. 'Why's she so red Sakura-san?' Hikaru asked.
 168.211 +'I.. I don't know!' Sakura said, blushing slightly. 'She has Kumiko's eyes!' Hikaru thought.
 168.212 +'They're so cute!'
 168.213 +'Are you ok Hikaru-chan?' Kumiko asked. 'H.. hai!' Hikaru stuttered.
 168.214 +'She has Kumi-chan's ears too!' the brown haired girl thought, blushing even brighter.
 168.215 +'Are you sure you're ok Hikaru-chan?' Sakura asked when she saw the girl's blush brighten.
 168.216 +'Hai Sakura-san!' the girl replied. Slowly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around a surprised Hikaru and something pressed against her cheek.
 168.217 +'You're wierd Hikaru-chan!' a soft voice said from behind her, 'But that's why I like you!'
 168.218 +Hikaru smiled slightly. 'Arigatou Kumi-chan!' Hikaru whispered.
 168.219 +The kiss that had just happened was almost as good as the kiss that had happened at Christmas.
 168.220 +It had been a surprise to find herself under the mistletoe, especally with her best friend.
 168.221 +Sakura and Tomoyo had insisted that they kiss and a picture be taken.
 168.222 +It had been embarassing when she did it, but she had secretly been wanting to be caught with the pale girl under the mistletoe.
 168.223 +Her parents were shocked at Kumiko's parents behavour, but allowed it.
 168.224 +She blushed brighter as she felt Kumiko tighten the hug slightly. 'She's cute!' Hikaru said, before Nadeshiko grabbed her finger with a tiny hand she'd managed to get out of the blanket.
 168.225 +Sakura smiled as the girls looked on at the baby.
 168.226 +
 168.227 +YEARS LATER
 168.228 +
 168.229 +A pale teenage girl with long dark hair and sparkling emerald eyes ran into her parents room and jumped on the bed.
 168.230 +'Hi mama! Hi papa!' the girl said happily. The pale woman occupying one side of the bed sat up slowly, yawning.
 168.231 +'Morning Nadeshiko-chan!' she said. 'Morning Tomoyo-mama!' Nadeshiko said, smiling brightly.
 168.232 +'Sakura!' Tomoyo whispered to the auburnhaired woman on the other side of the bed.
 168.233 +'wozdomata?' Sakura muttered.
 168.234 +'Morning Sakura-papa!' Nadeshiko said. Sitting up Sakura rubbed her eyes.
 168.235 +'Morning Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura replied sitting up. Nadeshiko's smile wavered slightly.
 168.236 +'You don't remember?' she asked. 'Of course we rememeber!' Tomoyo said. 'Remember what?' Sakura asked, her view going from her pale daughter to her pale wife.
 168.237 +'Oh! That!' she said, feeling Tomoyo pinch her under the covers.
 168.238 +'Happy Birthday Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura said. Nadeshiko's smile grew a lot larger before she hugged her parents.
 168.239 +Jumping off the bed the girl ran out of the room, down the hall and into her bedroom.
 168.240 +Sakura winced when she saw Nadeshiko run handlong in the door, before running off unhindered.
 168.241 +Over the years Sakura noticed that her daughter was more like her mother Nadeshiko and not Tomoyo.
 168.242 +She sighed as the got out of bed and started dressing. Running down the stairs Nadeshiko heard a knock at the door.
 168.243 +Opening it she saw 3 red haired people smiling at her. 'Happy birthday Nadeshiko-chan!' the youngest said, hugging the pale girl.
 168.244 +'Arigatout Rika-chan!' Nadeshiko replied. 'Happy Birthday Nadeshiko-chan!'the other red heads said, bowing slightly.
 168.245 +'Arigatou Tohru-san, Yuri-san!'
 168.246 +'So 15?' Yuri asked. Nadeshiko nodded happily. Tohru smiled slightly.
 168.247 +Rika looked up to the dark haired girl, for reasons mainly her own. Nadeshiko had failed to notice that Rika had blushed slightly when Nadeshiko had returned her hug.
 168.248 +'I'm gonna tell her today!' the young red head thought. 'Mama and papa'll be down soon!' Nadeshiko said as they walked into the living room.
 168.249 +Just as she sat down there was another knock on the door. Standing up the pale teen walked to the door and opened it.
 168.250 +'Happy Birthday Nadeshiko-chan!'
 168.251 +'Hi Hikaru-san! Hi Onii-chan!' Nadehshiko replied happily. 'Hi Kaijuu!' Kumiko said.
 168.252 +'I'm not a Kaijuu!' Nadeshiko screamed at her older sister. 'Happy Birthday Nadehshiko-chan!' a softer voice came from behind Hikaru.
 168.253 +'Hi Megumi-chan!' Nadeshiko said as Hikaru and Kumiko stepped passed her. Slowly they moved into a tight hug.
 168.254 +'I missed you Megumi-chan!' Nadeshiko whispered. 'Silly Nadeshiko-chan! I was here yesterday!' Megumi said, giggling softly.
 168.255 +'I know but I still missed you!' Nadeshiko countered, leaning forward slightly.
 168.256 +Leaning forward Megumi lightly pressed her lips to Nadeshiko's. Slowly they leaned apart.
 168.257 +'Where's your present Megumi-chan?' Nadeshiko asked, realising that both of Megumi's arms were around her waist.
 168.258 +'I'm gonna give it to you later Nadeshiko-chan!' Megumi replied, smiling slightly.
 168.259 +'Hi Megumi-chan!' came a voice from behind them. They blushed as they moved apart.
 168.260 +'Hi Rika-chan!' Megumi said, seeing their friend. 'Why?' Rika asked herself. 'She's Nadeshiko's best friend, and they're dating! Why didn't I see this before?'
 168.261 +'Are you ok Rika-chan?' Nadeshiko asked. Rika nodded. 'Because you wouldn't see it!' a voice answered. 'You refused to see it!'
 168.262 +'But I love her!' she thought. 'And she loves you! But she loves Megumi even more! Besides what about Misato?' the voice replied.
 168.263 +'Hey you three! Mama and Papa want to know it you want cake!' Kumiko's voice said.
 168.264 +'We'll be right there Onii-chan!' Nadeshiko called back, turning to see Rika smiling at them.
 168.265 +They walked into the living room to find a bright blue Birthday cake now on a table in the centre of the room.
 168.266 +'Papa could Megumi-chan give me her present first?' Nadeshiko asked. Sakura smiled at her.
 168.267 +'Sorry Nadeshiko-chan.. there'll be time for that later!' she said, smiling brighter when Nadeshiko and Megumi blushed.
 168.268 +'Ok Sakura-papa!' Nadeshiko whispered, looing at the cake. Megumi smiling slightly, having had a hand in making it.
 168.269 +'Blow out the candles Nadehsiko-chan!' she whispered, nudgin the pale girl towards the cake.
 168.270 +Nadeshiko blushed and closed her eyes. 'I wish... I wish...' she thought. She opened her eyes and blew the candle out and smiled.
 168.271 +'Happy Birthday Nadeshiko-chan!' Everyone said. Nadeshiko smiled and helped cut the cake.
 168.272 +
 168.273 +Hours later Nadeshiko lay next to Megumi, almost asleep. 'Wow!' the blonde haired girl whispered. 'Where'd you learn that?'
 168.274 +'From mama and papa!' Nadeshiko replied, smiling slightlyand pulling the covers over them.
 168.275 +'They let you watch them?' Megumi asked. Nadeshiko shook her head and smiled at the other girl.
 168.276 +'Silly Megumi-chan!' she whispered as Megumi blushed, 'They told me how!' Slowly she moved down so she was face to face with Megumi.
 168.277 +'Arigatou!' she whispered. 'I know we promised to wait till we were both 16.. but I couldnt wait!' Megumi whispered.
 168.278 +Nadeshiko smiled slightly. Megumi was only a few months older then her.
 168.279 +'Its ok Megumi-chan! It's been the best birthday ever!' she whispered, lightly kissing the other girl before they fell asleep.
 168.280 +Moments later the door opened and Sakura walked in. 'Are you ok...?' she asked, just noticing the girls were alseep.
 168.281 +She smiled and left the room leaving the girls to sleep.
 168.282 \ No newline at end of file

   169.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   169.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-aishiteru.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   169.3 @@ -0,0 +1,213 @@
   169.4 +"Aishiteru"
   169.5 +by Kamui Ikari
   169.6 +
   169.7 +
   169.8 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com 
   169.9 +
  169.10 +Hello everyone!!! Let me introduce myself. I am Kamui Ikari (my true name is Claudio) I am from Argentina and I am a great fan of CCS and other works of Clamp, and this is my first story of CCS. My english is not very good so it can have grammatical errors. This story is focused in Sakura and on what she thinks when she finds about the feelings of Tomoyo. I hope you like it and I will see you at the end of the story. 
  169.11 +
  169.12 +********* 
  169.13 +
  169.14 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp, Kodansha and other companies. This history was only made by amusement, don't sue me. 
  169.15 +
  169.16 +********* 
  169.17 +
  169.18 +Aishiteru 
  169.19 +
  169.20 +I didn't know. Really, I didn't know. I didn't know that Tomoyo Daidouji, my best friend, was in love with me. She didn't tell it to me. I found out while reminiscing on my past, remembering the points that I couldn't understand. One was that Tomoyo had told me that she loved me and that when we were older she would explain to me better. 
  169.21 +
  169.22 +Another point was when she requested me if she could cut my hair, I told her that yes but I also asked her why. She said "Because I like you, Sakura". The only thing that I remember is that I blushed. While I am recumbent looking toward the sky shattered in this cold night, I remember the things that she had told me about her "special person", that she wanted her "special person" to be happy. I am so stupid, other people understood it, why I am the only person that doesn't understand anything? Why I had never found out about the other's feelings? Syaoran admitted it to me before leaving toward Hong Kong, the feelings of my brother toward Yukito and vice versa and the feelings of Tomoyo toward me. 
  169.23 +
  169.24 +Tomoyo-chan... why am I your "special person"? Why me? Even knowing it, why don't I get scared? Others had gotten scared but I am not afraid, I am not. I get out of bed and I go towards my dresser, I open it and I see the costumes that she made me for the capture of the cards. They are so many and of varied designs. I always found strange that she makes me those costumes and it record me in video. She always tried to be present in the moment where I captured the cards to film me, I didn't care but sometimes I feared that something might happen to her, several times already, with the card "The Erase" and the fight with Eriol. I believe that that was her way of showing her love for me. She must think that her feelings never would be returned, that because my stupidity I would never find about her feelings. I close the dresser and I go to the bed, it is already late and I should go to the school, tomorrow I will continue thinking of Tomoyo. 
  169.25 +
  169.26 +************* 
  169.27 +
  169.28 +I wake up when I hear a voice calling me. It was an unknown voice but I make an effort and I wake up but I see that somebody's in my room. 
  169.29 +
  169.30 +"Sakura-chan" 
  169.31 +
  169.32 +I get out of bed and I see Tomoyo. She is in my room. She has a white dress, and is smiling. 
  169.33 +
  169.34 +"Tomoyo-chan, what are you doing here?" 
  169.35 +
  169.36 +"I came to say goodbye to you, Sakura-chan" 
  169.37 +
  169.38 +My heart stopped when I heard those words. 
  169.39 +
  169.40 +"To say goodbye?" I ask, shocked. 
  169.41 +
  169.42 +"Yes, Sakura-chan" Tomoyo calmly says. 
  169.43 +
  169.44 +"But, where are you going?" 
  169.45 +
  169.46 +"I don´t know where I'll go, I only know that trip we all make it arrived this moment." 
  169.47 +
  169.48 +"All?" 
  169.49 +
  169.50 +"Yes, even you will make it." 
  169.51 +
  169.52 +"I will see you again?" I ask, while I feel tears begin to fall for my cheeks. 
  169.53 +
  169.54 +"No" Tomoyo says with sadness. 
  169.55 +
  169.56 +When I hear this I get up and I run to hug her, crying. Having her in my arms I feel something that I had never felt before. A warmth hugs my heart in a special way and it beats quickly. I hug her strongly and I don't want to let her go. 
  169.57 +
  169.58 +"Don't go, please" I say babbling. 
  169.59 +
  169.60 +"Sakura-chan, can you promise me something?" 
  169.61 +
  169.62 +"Eh?" 
  169.63 +
  169.64 +"Can you promise me that you will be happy?" 
  169.65 +
  169.66 +"I can't be happy without you" I say with sadness. 
  169.67 +
  169.68 +"I was happy to be by your side. You have given me a lot, and I will never forget you." 
  169.69 +
  169.70 +"Tomoyo-chan..." I begin to cry. 
  169.71 +
  169.72 +Suddenly she looks at me smiling and puts a hand on my cheek. 
  169.73 +
  169.74 +"You are cute, Sakura-chan..." 
  169.75 +
  169.76 +I blush when I feel her hand, suddenly she comes closer and her lips touch mine for a moment. I freeze but my heart emanates a very intense warmth and I see that she's leaving me. 
  169.77 +
  169.78 +"Tomoyo!" I scream crying. 
  169.79 +
  169.80 +She looks at me with a smile and suddenly her body starts to disappear, beginning with her feet. 
  169.81 +
  169.82 +"Aishiteru, Sakura-chan" she says before disappearing completely. 
  169.83 +
  169.84 +"TOMOYO!" 
  169.85 +
  169.86 +************* 
  169.87 +
  169.88 +I wake up, startled and with tears in my eyes. It was just a dream, only a dream but I don't trust the dreams. They are usually sometimes premonitory, and I have already had several before, the only thing that I had left fixed in the mind was the kiss that Tomoyo gave me was and her final words: "Aishiteru, Sakura". Then I remembered what Eriol told me before leaving for England. Then I found that he told me had two meanings, not only referred to that someone who goes far like in the case of Syaoran but rather it also referred to that a person that goes far away because that person... dies. 
  169.89 +
  169.90 +I couldn't accept that Tomoyo would die, it must be a dream, I look at my clock and I see that I have still time to go to the school, but I don't want to sleep, I prefer to solve the topic of Tomoyo. I took a picture of Tomoyo of the many that I have and I observe it: she is smiling while her hair moves by the wind. I like her smile, the eyes that she has, her voice, my life is not the same one since I met her at the first time, she was always to my side, she gave me support in the difficult moments and if she leaves... I don't know what to do. 
  169.91 +
  169.92 +I look inside of my interior the answer to my question. Who is my special person? After a long effort I discover the answer, but I also found that I am late for the school. I go to the dining room to have breakfast. I greet my father and my brother and took my rollerblades and I go quickly so that I can make it to the school. I enter to the classroom and I sit down. I feel that the time doesn't pass, and Tomoyo doesn't appear. I become nervous, the dream returns with force. I tried to forget it, when a voice makes me lift my head. 
  169.93 +
  169.94 +"Hello, Sakura-chan." 
  169.95 +
  169.96 +I can't believe what I see, it was Tomoyo and she was smiling. My heart begins to beat strongly. 
  169.97 +
  169.98 +"Tomoyo..." 
  169.99 +
 169.100 +I feel a tear fall for my cheek, but I dry it with my hand. But I don't care about that. She's here, all is well, I only care about that. 
 169.101 +
 169.102 +"Hello, Tomoyo-chan" I say with a great relief and with a great smile. 
 169.103 +
 169.104 +I couldn't concentrate on the class, I looked indirectly at Tomoyo, the only thing that I wanted was to be able to have one minute alone with her to speak. In the recess I was not able to due to our friends. So, I wiil have to wait until classes finish. 
 169.105 +
 169.106 +The class concludes, and all the kids retire, I looked that Tomoyo preparing her things and I come closer to her. 
 169.107 +
 169.108 +"Tomoyo-chan" I ask. 
 169.109 +
 169.110 +"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo responds with a smile. 
 169.111 +
 169.112 +"Can we speak now in the park?" I ask her. 
 169.113 +
 169.114 +"Sure" Tomoyo says. 
 169.115 +
 169.116 +When we're leaving the school I saw Tomoyo's bodyguards waiting for her. I feel a little nervous. I know that they take care of her but I don't want them here. Tomoyo comes closer to them and she tells them something, later they leave and she comes closer to me. 
 169.117 +
 169.118 +"Can we go?" she asks me with a smile. 
 169.119 +
 169.120 +"Yes" 
 169.121 +
 169.122 +While we go walking toward the park, we speak about several things. I feel fine knowing that she was fine. I take her hand and we continue walking until we arrive at the park. 
 169.123 +
 169.124 +I sit down in one of the swings of the park and Tomoyo in another. I feel nervous, I don't know how to start. 
 169.125 +
 169.126 +"Tomoyo-chan?" 
 169.127 +
 169.128 +"Yes, Sakura-chan?" 
 169.129 +
 169.130 +"Well... I... I..." 
 169.131 +
 169.132 +"What's happened, Sakura-chan?" 
 169.133 +
 169.134 +"Will you go away to some distant place?" I ask finally. 
 169.135 +
 169.136 +"Eh?" Tomoyo asks surprised. 
 169.137 +
 169.138 +"Will you leave?" I ask quietly. 
 169.139 +
 169.140 +"No, Sakura-chan. I won't leave to any side." 
 169.141 +
 169.142 +"Really?" I ask hopeful. 
 169.143 +
 169.144 +"Yes" Tomoyo says smiling. 
 169.145 +
 169.146 +"Do you mean that you will stay forever with me?" I ask anxious. 
 169.147 +
 169.148 +"Yes" Tomoyo answers. 
 169.149 +
 169.150 +When I listening this I get up and hug her, with tears in my eyes. 
 169.151 +
 169.152 +"Thank you, thank you" I say happily. 
 169.153 +
 169.154 +Tomoyo looks at me smiling and when I see this I feel that I'll lose the control, and I let my feelings dominate me, I look at her with sweetness and I smile. 
 169.155 +
 169.156 +"Tomoyo-chan?" 
 169.157 +
 169.158 +"What, Sakura-chan?" 
 169.159 +
 169.160 +"What I wanted to tell you is... I want to ask you for forgiveness, for the many times I didn't understand what you really wanted to tell me" I say seriously. 
 169.161 +
 169.162 +"About what?" Tomoyo asks. 
 169.163 +
 169.164 +"About your feelings." 
 169.165 +
 169.166 +Tomoyo becomes serious and she tried to get free of my hug, but I don't leave her. 
 169.167 +
 169.168 +"Please, I really want to ask you for forgiveness for not finding out about it before" I say with sincerity. 
 169.169 +
 169.170 +"Sakura..." Tomoyo says. 
 169.171 +
 169.172 +"But... I..." 
 169.173 +
 169.174 +Then I knew that it was the moment. 
 169.175 +
 169.176 +"Aishiteru... Tomoyo-chan" I say finally. 
 169.177 +
 169.178 +Tomoyo opens her eyes and froze. 
 169.179 +
 169.180 +"It's true. You are the one I can love, you are my "special person", you are everything to me, not Syaoran . He's only a friend to me. Please my beloved Tomoyo-chan, give me a chance to be happy with you... and you with me" I said with sincerity while I put my head on her shoulder. 
 169.181 +
 169.182 +Tomoyo doesn't respond. She is still shocked, I wait for her reply, while I run my hand through her hair, it's smooth and beautiful. Suddenly Tomoyo returns my embrace strongly and she looked at me smiling. 
 169.183 +
 169.184 +"Aishiteru... Sakura-chan" she says with a smile. 
 169.185 +
 169.186 +When I hear her words, the words that I wanted to hear, I come closer and kiss her on the lips, my heart emits the same warmth that I felt in the dream. I pulled away of her and Tomoyo kissed me again. After that I hugged her tightly. 
 169.187 +
 169.188 +"I'm so happy, Tomoyo-chan" I say happily. 
 169.189 +
 169.190 +"My Sakura-chan, me too. You are my true love" Tomoyo says with tears in her eyes. 
 169.191 +
 169.192 +"Tomoyo-chan, do you want to be my girlfriend?" 
 169.193 +
 169.194 +"Yes!!!" Tomoyo answers happily. 
 169.195 +
 169.196 +Then I take her hand and we go toward my house, I don't care anything because she is with me, I am sure that we will be together forever. 
 169.197 +
 169.198 +That is what I most desire. 
 169.199 +
 169.200 +OWARI (The End) 
 169.201 +
 169.202 +****** 
 169.203 +
 169.204 +Index of Japanese terms: 
 169.205 +
 169.206 +Aishiteru: Means "I Love You" 
 169.207 +
 169.208 +****** 
 169.209 +
 169.210 +Author's Notes: 
 169.211 +
 169.212 +1) I like scenes where Sakura and Tomoyo are together, the two make a beautiful couple. 
 169.213 +
 169.214 +I hope you liked this story, if you didn't like it, if the Syaoran's fans want to kill me by pairing Sakura together with Tomoyo ^_^, anything, so please e-mail me to 
 169.215 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com. 
 169.216 +Until the next one!!! 

   170.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   170.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-anniversary.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   170.3 @@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
   170.4 +Anniversary
   170.5 +
   170.6 +By Radar
   170.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   170.8 +
   170.9 +-----------
  170.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  170.11 +These caracters belong to CLAMP! this is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  170.12 +
  170.13 +It was their one year anniversary the day after tomorrow and she wanted to get her pale lover something special.
  170.14 +That day was not only their anniversary but also her birthday.
  170.15 +‘How does she do this?’ she asked herself, scratching her short auburn hair.
  170.16 +Tomoyo would always give her something special. She set the catalogue aside and lay face down on the pillow.
  170.17 +‘Still blanking on a gift for Tomoyo?’ a voice asked from behind her. She nodded slowly not looking up.
  170.18 +It was a day over 2 years since he had broken up with her.
  170.19 +Just before her 15th birthday he suddenly broke with her and left for Hong Kong and it had devastated her.
  170.20 +For almost a month she had refused to leave her room, except for the times Tomoyo had called by.
  170.21 +Slowly she had broken the bond that had formed between them and formed a new one, a stronger one.
  170.22 +After 6 months she was back to her usual self. Then on her 16th birthday Tomoyo had confessed her love for her.
  170.23 +She had smiled at the dark haired girl before they shared a long loving kiss,
  170.24 +Things changed between them, now they were much more then friends.
  170.25 +‘I just want to get her something special! Like she did on our one month anniversary!’ Sakura said into the pillow.
  170.26 +She sighed remembering the little hand made teddy bear that Tomoyo had given her.
  170.27 +The little hand made teddy bear that sat proudly next to her Card Captor Sakura doll. A small hand lightly patted her head.
  170.28 +‘I’m sure you’ll think of something!’ the little animal said.
  170.29 +‘Arigatou Kero-chan!’ Sakura muttered, slowly moving her head so she could breath again. Then she saw it.
  170.30 +‘That is.. perfect!’ Sakura muttered. ‘But look at the price!’ Sakura’s face faulted when she saw the price.
  170.31 +‘I’ll never be able to afford that!’ Sakura said. ‘Who knows many you can!’ Kero-chan said, smiling slightly.
  170.32 +Sakura smiled herself before looking through the catalogue again.
  170.33 +
  170.34 +Meanwhile a few miles away, Tomoyo was doing something similar. A knock at the door shook her out of her deep thoughts.
  170.35 +‘Tomoyo-chan it’s dinner time!’ her mothers voice called though the door. ‘Hello Mama!’ she replied.
  170.36 +The door opened and the auburn haired businesswoman slowly walked in and approached her daughter.
  170.37 +‘What are you doing Tomoyo-chan?’ she asked when she saw the catalogue.
  170.38 +‘Picking out a birthday present for Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo replied. ‘What about you anniversary?’ Sonomi asked.
  170.39 +Tomoyo blushed slightly. ‘It is you anniversary isn’t it?’ she asked. ‘H.. Hai!’ Tomoyo said.
  170.40 +‘So what are you getting her?’ Sonomi asked. Sonomi smiled slightly.
  170.41 +She liked to tease her daughter about Sakura less now that they were dating but it was still nice to bring a blush to her daughters’ cheeks.
  170.42 +Then her mind drifted back to when she had caught them kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas.
  170.43 +That had been quite a surprise and the first hint that they were a couple.
  170.44 +She thought back to when they told her, she thought Sakura was going to pass out because of her fear.
  170.45 +‘I.. I’m not sure yet!’ Tomoyo said, sighing slightly. Slowly she pulled a box out of her pocket and set it on Tomoyo’s desk.
  170.46 +‘Well why don’t you take her out to dinner then give her this!’ Sonomi whispered. Slowly she reached out and opened the box.
  170.47 +‘It’s beautiful!’ she whispered, looking at the ring. ‘It was Nadeshiko’s!’ Sonomi said.
  170.48 +‘She gave it to me to remind me that we’d always be friends!’ Tomoyo smiled.
  170.49 +‘I hope she’ll like it!’ she whispered, putting the ring in its box.
  170.50 +‘So do I Tomoyo-chan! But not it’s time for dinner!’ Sonomi said, as Tomoyo stood up.
  170.51 +‘Ok! Arigatou mama!’ Tomoyo said as they left the room.
  170.52 +
  170.53 +The next day Sakura looked around the mall. ‘Where is that shop?’ she asked herself.
  170.54 +She’d spent the last hour looking for a specific jewellery store, with no success.
  170.55 +‘I know it’s here, but where?’ Another shop.. nothing. She was about to scream when she found the shop she wanted.
  170.56 +As soon as she got in the door she saw the piece of jewellery she wanted to buy.
  170.57 +When she walked up to the counter a sales assistant approached her. ‘Can I help you miss?’ she asked politely.
  170.58 +‘Yes, er.. how much is that broach?’ she asked pointing into the display case.
  170.59 +‘Could you please wait while I check?’ Sakura smiled and nodded before the assistant left holding the broach.
  170.60 +‘I hope I can afford this!’ Sakura thought. Moments later the assistant slowly walked back.
  170.61 +‘Well according to our records, it’s supposed to be 15,000 yen but we’re having a sale today so it’ll be 2,000 yen!’
  170.62 +Sakura smiled brightly. ‘I’ll take it!’ she said handing over the money.
  170.63 +The assistant smiled and wrapped the broach up and handed it to Sakura. ‘I hope she likes it!’ Sakura muttered.
  170.64 +‘She?’ the assistant asked. ‘My girlfriend!’ Sakura said. They smiled at each other before Sakura turned to face the exit.
  170.65 +She ran out of the store ready to give her love her gift.
  170.66 +Just as she had ran around a corner Sonomi walked out of the back room. ‘That was a good thing you did Mai!’ she said.
  170.67 +‘I know it was! She reminds me of you when we were that age, except you didn’t have a girlfriend!’ Mai said smiling slightly.
  170.68 +‘By the way have you gotten over Nadeshiko?’ Sonomi smiled sadly. ‘I don’t think I ever will!’ she whispered.
  170.69 +Mai smiled as she watched her friend leave. Just as she turned the corner near the exit, she ran straight into someone.
  170.70 +‘Gomen Nasai!’ she said, after ensuring the broach was still in one piece. ‘Hi Sakura!’ a familiar voice said.
  170.71 +Looking up she was surprised to see Syaoran Li standing in front of her. ‘Why are you back?’ she asked, naturally curious.
  170.72 +‘I realised that breaking up with you was stupid!’ he said. ‘So you want to pick up where you left off?’ she asked.
  170.73 +Syaoran nodded slightly. ‘Well.. no!’ she said. ‘But..’ he stuttered.
  170.74 +‘I’m seeing someone new now! Just like you were!’ Sakura said. ‘Did you really expect me to wait for you again?’ she asked.
  170.75 +‘I really want to try again Sakura!’ Syaoran said, hanging his head in defeat.
  170.76 +‘Try again..’ Sakura repeated, ‘Sorry!’ then she walked away quickly.
  170.77 +‘I doubt you are sorry Sakura, but I’ll make sure you are!’ Syaoran whispered to himself.
  170.78 +As he walked to his apartment a curious thought struck him. ‘I don’t even know who she’s seeing now!’ he thought.
  170.79 +‘Whoever he is I’ll teach him that she’s mine!’
  170.80 +
  170.81 +THE NEXT DAY
  170.82 +
  170.83 +‘Happy anniversary Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said. ‘Happy anniversary Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura replied as she approached the school gates. ‘Would you like to go somewhere special tonight Sakura-chan?’ Tomoyo asked, suddenly very shy. ‘Tomoyo-chan, wherever I am with you is special!’ Sakura whispered, blushing slightly. Tomoyo giggled. ‘Could you come to my house tonight around 6? Please?’ Tomoyo asked, her stormy blue eyes begging her to say yes. ‘I will Tomoyo!’ Sakura whispered, holding herself back from taking the other girl in her arms and ravishing her face with kisses. Tomoyo smiled brightly, hugging her card mistress tightly. When they broke apart they noticed that many of the students were staring at them. ‘We’d er.. We’d better get to class, shouldn’t we Tomoyo-chan?’ Sakura asked. Tomoyo nodded and they slowly walked away. Unbeknownst to Sakura and Tomoyo Syaoran was watching them and was confused by their behaviour. ‘What’s with them?’ he asked himself. ‘And what’s with the anniversary thing?’ He shook his head and left for class before he was late. As they walked into their homeroom, their friends slowly approached them. ‘Hi Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan!’ Rika said. Naoko smiled slightly. ‘Happy birthday Sakura-chan!’ she said. ‘Thanks Rika-chan, Naoko-chan, Chiharu-chan!’ Sakura said, blushing slightly. Rika closed her eyes for a second, before opening them in remembrance of what the day also was. ‘Isn’t today also your anniversary?’ she asked. Tomoyo blushed just like Sakura, and she nodded. ‘So are you going anywhere special?’ Chiharu asked. ‘Well I’m taking Sakura-chan out to dinner and I’m not sure what’ll happen after!’ Tomoyo said, wrapping her arms around Sakura’s shoulders smiling brightly. The others giggled as Sakura’s blushed deepened. ‘Tomoyo-chan please..’ she whispered, feeling her fingers go numb due to lack of blood. The other girls giggled before the teacher entered the classroom. They took their seats and waited for school to finish.
  170.84 +
  170.85 +SEVERAL HOURS LATER
  170.86 +
  170.87 +‘Are you ready yet Sakura?’ Touya asked through his little sisters’ bedroom door.
  170.88 +‘Almost!’ she replied, zipping up her dress.
  170.89 +‘Come on Sakura, you don’t want to keep Tomoyo waiting!’ She blushed when she heard Tomoyo’s name.
  170.90 +Idly she wondered what Tomoyo would be wearing. ‘Ready!’ she called out.
  170.91 +As she walked into the living room her father whistled. ‘You look wonderful Sakura-chan!’ Fujitaka said.
  170.92 +‘Yeah.. you look pretty good Kaijuu!’ Touya said. ‘Onii-chan...’ Sakura growled. ‘Stop teasing your sister!’ Fujitaka said.
  170.93 +‘I hope you have a good time tonight Sakura-chan!’
  170.94 +‘Arigatou!’ Sakura stuttered, before there was a knock at the door.
  170.95 +When she opened the door, one of Tomoyo’s bodyguards stood in the doorway.
  170.96 +‘Kinomoto-san, Daidouji-san sent us to pick you up!’ she said. Sakura nodded and turned back into the house.
  170.97 +‘See you later!’ she called out before closing the door. ‘I’m going out!’ Touya said suddenly.
  170.98 +Fujitaka looked at him just as he left the house.
  170.99 +
 170.100 +‘What do you think Sakura-chan?’ Tomoyo asked when Sakura walked up to her outside the restaurant.
 170.101 +‘You look beautiful Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura replied smiling brightly.
 170.102 +‘Arigatou Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo whispered, blushing slightly. They smiled at each other before they were shown to their seats.
 170.103 +‘Tomoyo, I.. here!’ Sakura said, presenting Tomoyo with a small box.
 170.104 +‘Oh Arigatou Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said, before placing a small box of her own on the table.
 170.105 +‘This is for you Sakura!’ Sakura gasped. Slowly they reached out and picked up their respective boxes.
 170.106 +‘It’s beautiful Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said when she saw the broach. When Sakura opened the box a small note fell out.
 170.107 +When she picked up the note she read it out loud.
 170.108 +
 170.109 +‘Sakura-chan,
 170.110 +	    I have loved you for many years! It made me very happy when you said you were in love with me!
 170.111 +Now I only have one question:
 170.112 +Will you marry me?’
 170.113 +
 170.114 +Sakura looked at the note again and then at Tomoyo. ‘Yes!’ was the only word she said.
 170.115 +Tears suddenly appeared in Tomoyo’s eyes, who was smiling brightly.
 170.116 +Sakura smiled slightly, before kissing Tomoyo then excusing herself to visit the ladies room to freshen up.
 170.117 +However a very nosey ex-boyfriend saw everything. ‘Her! She had to be with her! Well not for long!’ he thought.
 170.118 +‘Hey Tomoyo!’ he called out. Tomoyo was shocked when Syaoran called out to her.
 170.119 +‘Do you know why Sakura stays with you?’ he asked. ‘Because she loves me!’ Tomoyo answered.
 170.120 +‘No! She stays with you because she pities you!’ he said, smiling when he saw tears forming in the pale girls eyes.
 170.121 +‘She doesn’t!’ Tomoyo whispered. ‘She does!’ he yelled. And the room went silent.
 170.122 +‘She pities you, because you’re strange, because you aren’t normal!’ he yelled.
 170.123 +The room was silent, so silent Sakura could hear someone yelling at her pale girlfriend.
 170.124 +Pushing her way through the crowd she saw Syaoran laughing as Tomoyo cried into her hands, trying to reason why Sakura was with her.
 170.125 +‘Li-kun what did you say to her?’ she yelled. ‘S.. Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo called out, running into Sakura’s arms.
 170.126 +‘It’s ok Tomoyo! It’s ok!’ she whispered, stroking the pale girls back.
 170.127 +‘He said you stay with me because you pity me!’ Tomoyo whispered, wiping some of her tears away.
 170.128 +‘That’s not true Tomoyo! You know that! I stay with you because I love you!’ Sakura whispered, ‘With all my heart!’
 170.129 +Tomoyo smiled before starting to cry again. Sakura smiled slightly, before glaring at Syaoran.
 170.130 +‘You get the hell out of my sight before I soil my good name!’ she spat.
 170.131 +He looked at her for a moment, before someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned around to see Touya standing over him.
 170.132 +‘What did he do to her?’ he asked Sakura. ‘He lied to her about why I want to be with her!’ Sakura said, hugging Tomoyo tighter.
 170.133 +‘So you lied to her! Now I’m glad I got here!’ he said before grabbing the younger man by the collar and dragging him outside.
 170.134 +That night many things happened.
 170.135 +
 170.136 +MANY YEARS LATER
 170.137 +
 170.138 +‘Sakura-papa! Sakura-papa!’ a small voice called out, breaking her sleep.
 170.139 +Slowly she opened her eyes and met with a pair of scared stormy blue eyes.
 170.140 +‘What can I do for you Kumiko-chan?’ she asked, when her eyes adjusted to the light.
 170.141 +‘I had a bad dream Sakura-papa!’ the young girl said, hugging her favourite doll tighter.
 170.142 +‘Are you ok?’ Tomoyo asked, opening her eyes. Sakura and Kumiko looked at her.
 170.143 +‘No!’ Kumiko replied, ‘I’m scared Tomoyo-mama!’ They smiled before moving slightly.
 170.144 +‘Come on Kumiko-chan, hop in!’ Sakura said, before Kumiko disappeared under the quilt and reappearing between Sakura and Tomoyo.
 170.145 +Tomoyo was concerned about the young girl now, just by looking at the young girl, she could tell her daughters dream had really shaken her up.
 170.146 +‘What was your dream about Kumiko-chan?’ Tomoyo asked.
 170.147 +‘A bad man tried to spilt you and Sakura-papa up!’ Kumiko replied, tears slowly forming in her eyes.
 170.148 +Sakura smiled, lightly stroking her daughters’ short dark hair.
 170.149 +‘It was only a dream Kumi-chan! It’s ok!’ Sakura said, lightly kissing the top of the young girls’ head.
 170.150 +‘Really?’ she asked. ‘Hai! Nothing is going to slip me and your papa up!’ Tomoyo whispered.
 170.151 +‘Hm!’ Kumiko whispered, falling asleep. Sakura and Tomoyo smiled at each other.
 170.152 +‘Why do you think Kumiko dreamed about Syaoran trying to take you away?’ Tomoyo asked.
 170.153 +‘I don’t know Tomoyo! But it must have been really bad if it brought her here!’ Sakura said.
 170.154 +Tomoyo nodded, ‘But she’s fine now!’ Sakura nodded.
 170.155 +‘You’re an even better father then you thought you’d be Sakura!’ Tomoyo said, smiling slightly.
 170.156 +Sakura blushed slightly. She’d never thought that she’d be a father when she was younger, but she was glad she was now.
 170.157 +‘Well I’m lucky I have a good wife!’ Sakura whispered, leaning over Kumiko to kiss Tomoyo.
 170.158 +‘So am I!’ Tomoyo whispered, yawning. ‘Hmm!’ Sakura whispered before falling asleep.
 170.159 +Tomoyo fell asleep moments later, lightly resting her head against Kumiko and Sakura’s, dreaming of their perfect future.
 170.160 +
 170.161 +Authors notes:
 170.162 +I hope you enjoyed it!
 170.163 \ No newline at end of file

   171.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   171.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-asiwait.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   171.3 @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
   171.4 +As I Wait For You.
   171.5 +
   171.6 +By: WaMat DeBly
   171.7 +Rewrite: Midori Marie Corvinus
   171.8 +
   171.9 +Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, it belongs to the most honorable CLAMP, and i thank them for their very good story, and appolgize for the story i'm about to write, as the author of Moby Dick said after writing it, "I have written an evil book, but feal spotless as a lamb..." i'm fealing much the same at the moment... forgive me for this story, but it needed to be written for my own good... it wouldn't leave me alone.
  171.10 +
  171.11 +WARNING, MAJOR CHARACTOR DEATHS...(so don't say i didn't warn you.) 
  171.12 +
  171.13 +An: I'd like to start by giving thanks to my close friend, midori... she took this story and rewrote it to what you see today, and exactly how i forsaw everything in my mind while writing this story, and i must say, i'm very happy i let her rewrite it... not much has changed from the origional draft, only a slight bit more detial was added. "Arigroto, Midori-chan." *bows*
  171.14 +
  171.15 +
  171.16 +	Sakura sat in her room alone, soft wimpers, and tears running down her face. "It's all my fault... How could I?" Sakura hiccouped once, asking herself the same question over and over again. Tomoyo was dead, ending it all with one fatal stab, three cuts, dying alone in her room, in a single night of pain.
  171.17 +
  171.18 +
  171.19 +~One Week Ago~
  171.20 +
  171.21 +	Tomoyo looked into Sakura's eyes, the soft purple ringlets searching the other girls face. "Sakura-chan, this is why I waited to tell you." Tomoyo paused, taking a deep breath, "Because I knew you were not ready." She gave a small but hurt smile, "Now I know that I was right, perhapse I shouldn't have told you..."Tomoyo looked down, avoiding Sakura's gaze, making sure to cover her own nervousness within, along with the crimsion blush on her cheeks.
  171.22 +	Sakura, who had been standing there eyes wide, her heart pounding, her mind racing. "Tomoyo..." She began, the light-headed giddyness starting to settle in, "I...I'm just confused." Bringing her eyes to meet Tomoyo's, "Just give me a little time... alright?"
  171.23 +	Tonoyo nodded, understanding Sakura's confusion, though not quiet sure herself if she was more releaved by this, or upset. "Hai..." She said softly. "Take all the time you need, Sakura-chan." With those words, Tomoyo turned on her heel, walking slowly toward her home, wondering if she had lost her best friend, and her love.
  171.24 +	Sakura watched her for a short time before turning to walk home herself, the confusion of her best friend still in her mind. Sakura couldn't help but wonder, if she had similar fealings for Tomoyo...
  171.25 +Apon entering the house, she promptly headed upstairs to her room, she had finally decided on what to do, "I'd proably better sleep on it." she said softly to herself, floping down on her bed, exhousted physically and mentaly, she fell into a deep sleep.
  171.26 +
  171.27 +
  171.28 +~Three Days Later~
  171.29 +
  171.30 +	Tomoyo had been avoiding Sakura, it hurt her inside, to be doing such a thing to the one she loved, but she felt Sakura would come to her when the time came. However Tomoyo was not going to just stand fully in the background this time, she was keeping an eye on Sakura, however it was this that pushed the young dark haired girl over the edge...
  171.31 +	Sakura had been lost in thought all lunch period, trying to figure out just what to do... a shadow fell over her, but she didn't notice the person who was blocking her sun... though if she was to look up, she'd reconginize him immedately. 
  171.32 +	Mato Wadu was a quite guy, though handsome, his dark brown hair almost looked black when the light shown on it at the right angle, his brown eyes scanned the form infront of him.
  171.33 +It was well known to most that Sakura Kinimoto had a slight cursh on this man... but he knew better, being a year older than she, and a senior, he had a wisdome that seemed far beyond that of most his age, he smiled softly... leaning down infront of her, raising her chin so she could look into his eyes, "Sakura-chan, I can tell you love her, just tell her." he said, speeking with an even tone, a relaxing tone. "Besides, I can tell by the way you both look at eachother." he added standing up.
  171.34 +Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, a soft pale blush comming over her, "Hai, you're right, Mato-kun." she stated, looking up at him, a small smile on her tear streaked face, "I have to tell her." Pulling Mato into a hug, he returned it, they stayed that way for just a moment, then Mato moved back a bit, "Go, find her now, and tell her how you feel Sakura-chan."
  171.35 +
  171.36 +	Tomoyo leaned heavly agenst the wall, "I knew it..." she said to herself, Sakura didn't love her, she loved Mato...
  171.37 +
  171.38 +~That Night, Tomoyo's Room.~
  171.39 +
  171.40 +	Tomoyo sat alone in her room, the darkness balnketing her like a shroud. Tears littered her face as she held the small box, made of laquer, on her lap, "Gomen-nasai, Sakura-chan..." she said between sobbs. "I'll wait for you in death." Slowly, Tomoyo reached into the box, pulling a small glinting object from it. The object was a silver dagger, the ridges inlaid with gold. Tomoyo had forgotten where she had found it, but remebered that it had cought her eye long ago in the attic. 
  171.41 +Turning the blade toward herself, she closed her violet eyes, suddenly thrusting the blade deep within her stomache, making the first cut. The liquid of life stained her satin nightgown, she let out a soft wimper, making the second cut...
  171.42 +Her nerves felt onfire, but she kept quiet... how she didn't know, she made the final cut, finally falling to the floor, her fading thoughts of her beloved Sakura.
  171.43 +
  171.44 +~Two Days Later~
  171.45 +
  171.46 +	It was saterday, when the call came to Sakura, seeing on the caller Id that it was Tomoyo's number she smiled, she could finally tell her friend... "Mushi, Mushi... Tomoyo-chan." she said in a happy voice... then her smile fell, and she did aswell, falling to her knees, "Nani... Tomoyo-chan is..." she droped the phone... tears streaming down her face... 'it couldn't be.' she thought, "TOMOYO!!!" she screamed, finally falling to the floor, thinking to herself... "If only I had said something... if only I had told her..."
  171.47 +
  171.48 +~Tomoyo's Funeral~
  171.49 +
  171.50 +	I held Sakura through the entire funeral, as she cried and screamed. Tears fell fresh on my face as well, "Sakura... I... I'm sorry." I told her softly, it was all I could manage to say, my face reddened with grief.
  171.51 +Sakura nodded, "Arigroto, Mato-kun.." she said... finally calming down, knowing that somehow, somewhere, she'd be with her Tomoyo-chan soon.
  171.52 +
  171.53 +~The Next Saterday~
  171.54 +
  171.55 +	Sakura sat in her room alone, not even kero was there... tears flowing down her face, a simple kitchen knife grasped in her hand... closing her eyes she thrust it deeplywithin her abdomen, a smile then wince apearing on her soft face as she made the cuts.
  171.56 +Looking to the dark and stary night beyond her window... closing her eyes of jade green, Sakura slumped, meeting the cool floor of her room, "I'll be with you soon, Tomoyo-chan." she said quietly, sliping into the darkness...
  171.57 +
  171.58 +~Two Weeks Later~
  171.59 +
  171.60 +	I looked over the graves of my two greatest friends, tears running fresh down my face in hot waves, cooling in the light breeze. I watched as the pale pink sakura pettles trailed down around me and across the graves. Kneeling down, I spoke with my head bowed, "Blessed you both be in death." I said, closing my eyes. "By now, you have found eachother, and i'm sure that nothing  can ever tear you apart." Standing, i whispered a silent prayer to myself, and I was overcome with a fealing of love like i'd never felt before, I knew that it was  Sakura and Tomoyo, and that they were together.
  171.61 +	"Arigroto, Mato-kun..." It sounded almost like the wind, but with all I've experienced, I smiled, noticing the voice to be Tomoyo's. "Hai." I said softly, looking at my car...I had been heading toward it before hearing the voice.
  171.62 +I gave another blessing for them as I entered my car, thinking about them, 'This shouldn't have happened, but at least they're together now..." a small smile crossed my lips... though I longed for them to still be alive, I knew that would  never happen, so I sent them my happiness, and blessings, for they deserved that happiness.
  171.63 +
  171.64 +
  171.65 +(An: It's finally done... *cries softly* this is my first angst... and I am Mato... i wanted to be there for this, for some reason... call it a fealing that some day my impulse to help will do something that dosn't help. 
  171.66 +In this fic, Sakura and Tomoyo were both 16, juniors in highschool. I'm 19, senior, and i did cry while writing this, I'm a softy, forgive me, i hated killing them off, but it was needed for some reason... this is hopefully my last angst, but as i've said before, my stories write themselves... i kinda go into a trance and write, suprised when i read what i write.
  171.67 +well i'd like to thank midori once more for helping add the finer details... send me reviews on the moonlight nights message board, or e-mail me at wamatdebly@hotmail.com or for a faster way, makotokinolesjupiter@sailormoon.com)
  171.68 \ No newline at end of file

   172.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   172.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-cannot.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   172.3 @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
   172.4 +Songfic: I Could Not Ask for More 
   172.5 +By samuraiheart 
   172.6 +email: kokoro_no_samurai@yahoo.com 
   172.7 +
   172.8 +
   172.9 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  172.10 +
  172.11 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or these lyrics. The song is “I Could Not Ask for More” sung by Sara Evans and written by Diane Warren. 
  172.12 +
  172.13 +
  172.14 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  172.15 +
  172.16 +Author’s notes: 
  172.17 +This is written in Tomoyo’s point of view 
  172.18 +
  172.19 +
  172.20 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  172.21 +
  172.22 +I wake up to her soft scent next to me. It is a scent that I have never been able to fully describe. It is a mix of strawberries and summer. Maybe that’s just the way that I think of Sakura. She is so happy. She makes me so happy by just looking at her face. I love to wake up in the middle of the night and see her sleeping beside me. I still find it hard to believe that this is real. I can’t believe that she is here. I can’t believe that she is real. It’s been three years since she told me that she loved me and I wouldn’t trade a day since then. 
  172.23 +
  172.24 +Lying here with you 
  172.25 +Listening to the rain 
  172.26 +Smiling just to see 
  172.27 +The smile upon your face 
  172.28 +These are the moments 
  172.29 +I thank God that I’m alive 
  172.30 +These are the moments 
  172.31 +I remember all my life 
  172.32 +I find all I’ve waited for and 
  172.33 +I could not ask for more 
  172.34 +
  172.35 +It’s raining outside. I see the raindrops wash over our window and I hear the wind gusting just beyond the safety of our home. It is our home. I smile as Sakura whispers something in her sleep. I hope that it is not a nightmare. I will wake her if I think that she is having a nightmare, but her face is relaxed and peaceful in the dim light of the room. Lightning flashes and I see her face clearly. I reach out and touch her cheek. Sakura is so beautiful. Her auburn hair falls across her pillow and barely touches mine. I kiss her softly on the cheek and her eyes flutter open. I didn’t mean to wake her. I just wanted to let her know that I was thinking about her. 
  172.36 +
  172.37 +Sakura smiles and whispers, “I love you, Tomoyo.” Before she drifts off to sleep again. For a moment I see her green eyes staring back at me and I know that she is happy. All I ever wanted to do was make her happy. I never thought that I could be happy too. 
  172.38 +
  172.39 +Looking in your eyes 
  172.40 +Seeing all I need 
  172.41 +Everything you are 
  172.42 +Is everything to me 
  172.43 +These are the moments 
  172.44 +I know heaven must exist 
  172.45 +These are the moments 
  172.46 +I know all I need is this 
  172.47 +I find all I’ve waited for and 
  172.48 +I could not ask for more 
  172.49 +
  172.50 +I turn over and close my eyes. I really should get some rest. I have a lot of things to do tomorrow. I wish I could spend more time with her, but I know she is busy too. We both have work to do, but at least we have these moments together. I hear her shift a little in her sleep and I smile. I love her so much. Then I feel her hand on my shoulder and I turn around to see if she is alright. She is looking up at me dreamily, but she is awake. I ask her if there is anything wrong and she shakes her head. The next thing I know, her lips are on mine and we share a passionate kiss. At the end I look at her in disbelief and can only say her name “Sakura.” She just smiles again and holds me close to her. I drift off to sleep in her arms. 
  172.51 +
  172.52 +I could not ask for more than this time together 
  172.53 +I could not ask for more than this time with you 
  172.54 +And every prayer has been answered 
  172.55 +Every dream has come true 
  172.56 +Yeah right here in this moment 
  172.57 +Is right where I’m meant to be 
  172.58 +Here with you 
  172.59 +Here with me 
  172.60 +
  172.61 +I still have trouble believing this is real. It all seems so perfect. She is here with me. She is here for me. I never factored this in to any of my plans. I always hoped and wished that Sakura could love me, but I was convinced that it was impossible. I still can’t imagine why she chose me. I shake my head as I stare at her reflection in the mirror, as we both get dressed. 
  172.62 +
  172.63 +These are the moments 
  172.64 +I thank God that I’m alive 
  172.65 +These are the moments 
  172.66 +I’ll remember all my life 
  172.67 +I’ve found all I’ve waited for 
  172.68 +And I could not ask for more 
  172.69 +
  172.70 +Sakura looks up at me and smiles. I am sure that she knows what I am thinking. She always seems to. I look down at the carpet and a slight blush creeps over my cheeks as she gently traces the curve of my chin with her outstretched fingers. I look up into her shimmering green eyes and I feel my heart beat quicken in my chest. 
  172.71 +
  172.72 +“Tomoyo, I am so happy to have you here with me. I don’t know what I ever did without you.” 
  172.73 +
  172.74 +My throat suddenly feels dry. I don’t know what to say. She can say so much in just a few simple words. She knows that I feel the same way, but I have to make her see. 
  172.75 +
  172.76 +“Sakura, I am glad that I can make you happy. You have no idea how happy you have made me.” 
  172.77 +
  172.78 +I could not ask for more than this time together 
  172.79 +I could not ask for more than this time with you 
  172.80 +And every prayer has been answered 
  172.81 +Every dream has come true 
  172.82 +Yeah right here in this moment 
  172.83 +Is right where I’m meant to be 
  172.84 +Here with you 
  172.85 +Here with me 
  172.86 +
  172.87 +Moments like these scare me a little. They feel too fragile, like delicate crystal on the edge of something about to fall. I am always afraid that I will do something wrong and the glass will fall and break into a thousand shards of glitter. Sakura smiles and wraps her arms around me. She understands me like no one else. She doesn’t ask why tears suddenly fill my eyes. She only brushes them away with her delicate fingers and kisses me softly on the cheek. The love that I feel for her is overpowering and I can feel it every time we touch. 
  172.88 +
  172.89 +“Tomoyo. Don’t ever forget how much you mean to me.” I shake my head and marvel at the way she says my name. There is no doubt that she loves me too. 
  172.90 +
  172.91 +No I could not ask for more than this love you gave me 
  172.92 +‘Cause it’s all I’ve waited for 
  172.93 +And I could not ask for more 
  172.94 +No I could not ask for more 
  172.95 +
  172.96 +There is nothing more I need. There is nothing more I want. I have the most precious treasure that I could ever ask for and she has given herself to me willingly. I am hers as well and I always will be. I take her hand in mine and squeeze it gently. I will never leave her. I will always love her and I know that it will always make her happy. 
  172.97 +
  172.98 +
  172.99 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 172.100 +
 172.101 +~Owari~ 

   173.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   173.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-cctomopt1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   173.3 @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
   173.4 +Princess Chibiusa
   173.5 +chibiusa_1117@yahoo.com
   173.6 +
   173.7 +Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or any of these characters. Both flames and compliments are welcome. This is a Tomoyo/Sakura story so if you don't like those two don't read it, okay? Unless you want to get reallly mad...Oh yeah, um.........I never mention this in the story but Syaoran is with Meiling in this, so he's out of the way ^-^
   173.8 +
   173.9 +Sakura woke up from her dreams. Lately, she had only dreamt of Tomoyo. It had been three years since Syoaran had left, and Sakura really didn't want him to come back. Ever since he left, so did her feelings for him. Kero-chan had said that maybe they were just attracted to each other's magic. Kero was still fast asleep, Sakura decided not to wake him up until breakfast. She looked out the window, a beautiful Spring Saturday morning. 'Maybe I can get Tomoyo to stay the night' thought Sakura. Her heart sank 'Unless she's with Eriol". She laid back down on the bed 'Wouldn't hurt to try'. She picked up her pink phone and dialed Tomoyo's number.
  173.10 +
  173.11 +Once.
  173.12 +
  173.13 +Twice..
  173.14 +
  173.15 +"Hello?"
  173.16 +
  173.17 +"Tomoyo!This is Sakura!"
  173.18 +
  173.19 +"Hey, Sakura, is everything alright?"
  173.20 +
  173.21 +"Yeah, I was just wondering if you would spend the night at my house tonight?"
  173.22 +
  173.23 +Sakura crossed her fingers...
  173.24 +
  173.25 +"Alright"
  173.26 +
  173.27 +"Ok! See you then!"
  173.28 +
  173.29 +She hung up the phone.
  173.30 +
  173.31 +She felt like she could float!Just thinking about her beautiful friend. That angel with deep, light blue eyes and long, soft black hair. Her eyes glittered like two perfect oceans, deep with the sun sparkling over them. 'Oh, Tomoyo....I'm so lucky just to know you.....' 
  173.32 +
  173.33 +Kero woke up "What are you doing?" he asked, sleepily.
  173.34 +
  173.35 +"Tomoyo-chan is sleeping over!"
  173.36 +
  173.37 +Kero yawned...."Is it breakfast?"
  173.38 +
  173.39 +Sakura ran down stairs, Touya and her father were at work. Kero followed after."So.....what's so great about Tomoyo spending the night? She used to do it all the time" Sakura ignored him. Her feelings about Tomoyo had changed, but not in a bad way. She had gotten so jealous when she heard about Tomoyo and Eriol 'But I guess everyone has to move on...' thought Sakura. But she couldn't help but feel bad...'Maybe I can tell her how I feel tonight' She thought.
  173.40 +
  173.41 +"Here, Kero-chan, finish my pancakes"said Sakura
  173.42 +
  173.43 +"Anything for you, Sakura" said Kero, as he procceded to shove whole pancakes into his mouth.
  173.44 +
  173.45 +He glanced up "Where are you going?" 
  173.46 +
  173.47 +"To get Tomoyo"
  173.48 +
  173.49 +He shrugged and continued to eat.
  173.50 +***
  173.51 +Sakura rung the doorbell.
  173.52 +
  173.53 +"Who is it?" One of the bodyguards said over the speaker.
  173.54 +
  173.55 +"Um...Sakura Kinomoto"
  173.56 +
  173.57 +A few minutes later, Tomoyo opened the door "Sakura?"
  173.58 +
  173.59 +"Wanna come over right now?"
  173.60 +
  173.61 +"Um...it's only about 1:00"
  173.62 +
  173.63 +"Please?"
  173.64 +
  173.65 +"Oh, alright, come on and help me get my stuff"
  173.66 +
  173.67 +They went up to Tomoyo's room. Sakura looked on one of the shelves and saw the video camera, which had collected much more than it's share of dust.
  173.68 +
  173.69 +"Tomoyo, do you still have those old video tapes?"
  173.70 +
  173.71 +"Um...I might have them somewhere...Why? Do you want one of them with Syoaran in it?"
  173.72 +
  173.73 +"No...just, wondering"
  173.74 +
  173.75 +Sakura wondered if Tomoyo had anymore romantic feelings left for her.
  173.76 +
  173.77 +"Here Tomoyo, I'll carry your bag"
  173.78 +
  173.79 +"Thanks, Sakura"
  173.80 +
  173.81 +One of Tomoyo's bodyguards drove them to Sakura's house. Sakura unlocked the door and let Tomoyo in first.
  173.82 +
  173.83 +"Where's your dad?"
  173.84 +
  173.85 +"At work, so is Touya"
  173.86 +
  173.87 +Tomoyo nodded. They went upstairs and put Tomoyo's bag near Sakura's bed. Sakura shuffled through her closet and found her old costumes. She threw one at Tomoyo.
  173.88 +
  173.89 +"Try it on"
  173.90 +
  173.91 +Tomoyo stared at the outfit for a few minutes, and laughed "Are you making fun of me, Sakura-chan?"
  173.92 +
  173.93 +"No, I just always wondered what you would look like in them"
  173.94 +
  173.95 +Tomoyo laughed and agreed. They spent the next hour dressing Tomoyo up in the costumes. When they were on the last one, the doorbell rang. They raced down to get the door, laghing. It was Eriol, Tomoyo saw him, realized she had the Green Fairy outfit on, and hid.
  173.96 +
  173.97 +Eriol saw her and smiled "Hey Sakura, may I talk to Cardcaptor Tomoyo?"
  173.98 +
  173.99 +Sakura got the joke but didn't laugh 'who the hell does he think he is?Trying to come over and steal Tomoyo!'
 173.100 +
 173.101 +Tomoyo came to the door, Sakura sat on the couch and pretended not to hear.
 173.102 +
 173.103 +"Wanna go to the movies?"
 173.104 +
 173.105 +"Um...not tonight, Eriol...I haven't seen Sakura-chan for awhile"
 173.106 +
 173.107 +Eriol kissed her lightly on the lips. Sakura picked up the newspaper on the table and threw it at Eriol"She doesn't want to go!" She yelled.Eriol ran down the driveway and down the street. Sakura slammed the door behind him.
 173.108 +
 173.109 +"Sa-Sakura?"
 173.110 +
 173.111 +"Uh, sorry, Tomoyo. I thought he was trying to get you to go..."
 173.112 +
 173.113 +"But you threw a newspaper at him...Are you sure you're okay?"
 173.114 +
 173.115 +Sakura only had one good excuse for that, and it was real.She loved Tomoyo more than anyone, even her Father. But...She couldn't say it. She broke down and started crying. She sat down on the floor.
 173.116 +
 173.117 +"I-I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-chan!"She cried
 173.118 +
 173.119 +Tomoyo, still in the fairy outfit, sat beside her "It's alright Sakura-chan, but please, tell me what's bothering you, I'll understand"
 173.120 +
 173.121 +Sakura threw her arms around Tomoyo "I love you!"she said, still crying.
 173.122 +"I love you more than anyone or anything else in the world! I'd do anything for you! *ANYTHING*"She cried even harder...
 173.123 +
 173.124 +Tomoyo hugged her back "It's alright Sakura, calm down....."
 173.125 +
 173.126 +"But...You're with Eriol!"
 173.127 +
 173.128 +"Eriol only likes me, if you really do love me, you'd be hurt worse"
 173.129 +
 173.130 +"But I want you all to myself!"
 173.131 +
 173.132 +"Then that's what you'll get"
 173.133 +
 173.134 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo even tighter.
 173.135 +
 173.136 +"I love you Tomoyo"
 173.137 +
 173.138 +"I love you too, Sakura"
 173.139 +
 173.140 +"Um...Tomoyo?"
 173.141 +
 173.142 +"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
 173.143 +
 173.144 +"Can I start videotaping you?"
 173.145 +
 173.146 +Tomoyo laughed "If you want to"
 173.147 +
 173.148 +Sakura stood up and helped Tomoyo up. "Well, come on! Let's start with the red cape outfit!" She said, and pulled Tomoyo upstairs. 
 173.149 +
 173.150 +THE END
 173.151 +
 173.152 +Okay, Okay I know I know.....But it's my first one! My friends thought it was pretty cute.
 173.153 \ No newline at end of file

   174.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   174.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-cinderella.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   174.3 @@ -0,0 +1,982 @@
   174.4 +Author’s notes: Hello, minna-san! ^-^ This is a short story that I
   174.5 +wrote in one night, so I apologize if it jumps around too much. ^^;;;
   174.6 +I wrote this after someone mentioned that I should write another
   174.7 +fairy tale based CCS story. I thought that Cinderella would fit
   174.8 +perfectly. ^-^ As always, the story didn’t always go where I intended
   174.9 +it to. ^^;; But I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out. ^-^ I
  174.10 +don’t own these characters, but if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have
  174.11 +left poor Tomoyo without her Sakura, so that’s why I’m writing these.
  174.12 +^-^ If you have any comments, please e-mail me. ^-^ I hope you like
  174.13 +it! 
  174.14 +
  174.15 +
  174.16 +If the Shoe Fits
  174.17 +by Amazoness Duo
  174.18 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  174.19 +
  174.20 +
  174.21 +	“Hurray! Hurray! Tomoeda!” schoolgirls chorused together, batons
  174.22 +whirling in the air above before landing in deft hands. The sun beat
  174.23 +down on the group of cheerleaders, the heat of the warm spring day
  174.24 +taking away most of the cheer and exuberance of the girls, leaving
  174.25 +their chants somewhat lifeless. But still the pressed on, the
  174.26 +oppressive heat taking its toll on the weary students. They had a lot
  174.27 +of practice left to do in order to have some of their routines ready
  174.28 +for the next school game. Their timing would have to be perfect in
  174.29 +order to captivate their audience. But for the time being, they
  174.30 +needed only a single cheerleader to delight their audience of one. 
  174.31 +	Tomoyo watched the cheerleading practice from the grass a short
  174.32 +distance away. Her dark skirt fluttered lazily in the meandering
  174.33 +breeze that brought the only relief to the afternoon sun. Her
  174.34 +attention rested solely on a cute brunette who was still struggling
  174.35 +with the last bit of the routine. Camcorder in hand, the pale heiress
  174.36 +dedicatedly recorded her best friend’s every move on videotape. The
  174.37 +better to watch and rewatch it all later, of course! She didn’t often
  174.38 +get a chance to watch Sakura’s cheerleading practice what with her
  174.39 +own choir practice at the same time. But her choir teacher was sick
  174.40 +for the day. Rather than going home early, Tomoyo was happy to stay
  174.41 +and watch Sakura’s practice. The way Sakura moved was simply
  174.42 +breathtaking. Every twirl of the baton, every cartwheel, every swish
  174.43 +of pompoms fascinated the dark haired girl. Sakura moved so lithely,
  174.44 +so gracefully. And more than that, Sakura genuinely enjoyed such
  174.45 +things. Tomoyo had decided that it must give all of Sakura’s energy
  174.46 +someplace to go, which was why Sakura always seemed happy while she
  174.47 +was being athletic. The auburn haired girl was a sight to behold at
  174.48 +whatever she was applying herself to, whether it be track or
  174.49 +cheerleading or soccer. Well, except when she got distracted. Which
  174.50 +Sakura was prone to doing. Then she’d often lost track of what she
  174.51 +was doing. But even that was incredibly cute in Tomoyo’s eyes. 
  174.52 +	Shifting on the dry grass, Tomoyo felt the hot sun against her pale
  174.53 +skin. She was vaguely concerned about getting sunburned, not because
  174.54 +it would be painful but mostly because she knew it would concern her
  174.55 +lovingly overprotective mother if she found out. She knew she should
  174.56 +probably move, but she was reluctant to give up such a perfect spot
  174.57 +to videotape her beloved Sakura. Setting her school hat on her pale
  174.58 +thighs, the dark haired heiress continued capturing her friend on
  174.59 +film. Zooming in on Sakura’s content face, Tomoyo let out a blissful
  174.60 +sigh. While most of the other girls were ready to quit, Sakura was
  174.61 +enjoying the chance to move her body, even under the merciless sun.
  174.62 +It was just one of many things Tomoyo loved about her best friend.
  174.63 +And besides, Sakura made such a cute cheerleader. Every little
  174.64 +beautiful movement by the Cardmistress made Tomoyo’s heart dance.
  174.65 +Resting a hand on her cheek, she followed Sakura as the other girl
  174.66 +went into a cartwheel. From the rustle of skirt to Sakura’s legs in
  174.67 +the air to her tousled hair as she returned to her feet, Tomoyo
  174.68 +captured it all. Her favorite part of all was the small, sweet smile
  174.69 +of success on Sakura’s lips as she finished. Sakura wasn’t out here
  174.70 +to compete or to show off. She was out here to have fun. She liked
  174.71 +being able to see what she could do. And Tomoyo loved being able to
  174.72 +watch. 
  174.73 +	‘If only I could videotape Sakura-chan all the time. If I could
  174.74 +catch every precious second of her life on videotape, then I could
  174.75 +treasure every shining moment forever,’ the dark haired girl thought
  174.76 +with a sigh. ‘But then if I was videotaping every second of her life,
  174.77 +I would never have time to watch it all. Hmmm... I’d have to watch it
  174.78 +while she slept,’ Tomoyo decided at last. She continued to follow
  174.79 +Sakura as the brunette got into formation with Rika and Naoko. Taking
  174.80 +a moment away from her assigned task, Sakura waved her fingers at
  174.81 +Tomoyo, a cute smile on her lips. Tomoyo returned the smile warmly,
  174.82 +her heart lighting up at the small gesture. She waved back, panning
  174.83 +out to get a better view of Sakura. Though she did love choir, Tomoyo
  174.84 +was grateful to have the day off to record Sakura’s practice. No
  174.85 +matter how much she loved singing, it couldn’t begin to compare to
  174.86 +her love for the auburn haired girl. “You can do it, Sakura-chan!”
  174.87 +Tomoyo called to her friend as Sakura prepared herself. Sakura may be
  174.88 +the one cheerleading, but Tomoyo was Sakura’s personal cheerleader.
  174.89 +She was there to support the auburn haired girl through everything,
  174.90 +to give her the confidence she needed to overcome anything. She was
  174.91 +always there to help her beloved Sakura. 
  174.92 +	Looking more sure of herself, Sakura took a few steps back to get
  174.93 +ready for her running start. Tomoyo watched quietly, eager to see
  174.94 +Sakura succeed. Even if she failed, Tomoyo knew that Sakura wouldn’t
  174.95 +give up on it. It just wasn’t the brunette’s style. Sakura had a
  174.96 +burning determination within her that just waited for the right times
  174.97 +to come out. And it always thrilled Tomoyo when she could see it make
  174.98 +its way to the surface. It burned with an emerald fire in Sakura’s
  174.99 +eyes. Sighing again, Tomoyo raised the camcorder to get a good
 174.100 +glimpse of Sakura’s face. ‘Sakura-chan is so beautiful,’ she thought
 174.101 +dreamily, tracing the athletic girl’s face in her memory as she
 174.102 +lowered it back to prepare for Sakura’s movement. 
 174.103 +	Sakura was everything to Tomoyo. She was a beautiful, gentle
 174.104 +princess. She was a brave and courageous prince. She was a fun and
 174.105 +energetic best friend. She was Tomoyo’s one and only true love. The
 174.106 +dark haired girl had fallen in love with Sakura shortly after first
 174.107 +meeting her. It was almost a love at first sight. And what had
 174.108 +started out as tentative feelings for this genki girl who had
 174.109 +befriended her grew stronger and deeper with each passing day.
 174.110 +Everything they had been through had made the heiress love her friend
 174.111 +ever more and more. Sakura was Tomoyo’s most cherished treasure, her
 174.112 +heart’s single desire. Whether it was fate that she fall for the
 174.113 +daughter of her own mother’s lost love or if it was simply an amazing
 174.114 +coincidence, Tomoyo knew that she had fallen deeply in love with her
 174.115 +energetic best friend. And it was something that held Tomoyo
 174.116 +helplessly caught in its strength. But even with her whole heart
 174.117 +singing to her beautiful best friend, she could not yet speak it to
 174.118 +the brunette. Sakura wouldn’t yet understand her feelings, wouldn’t
 174.119 +begin to comprehend how she felt. So she would wait for now. Someday,
 174.120 +somewhere, she would explain her heart to the Cardmistress. Maybe
 174.121 +after Sakura was happily married or maybe when she would ask Sakura
 174.122 +out herself if things didn’t pan out with Syaoran. But for the time
 174.123 +being, she would live her life as one huge ‘I love you’ to Sakura.
 174.124 +The brunette might not hear the words, but Tomoyo put her love into
 174.125 +everything she did. And someday, maybe Sakura would hear the song
 174.126 +from her heart. 
 174.127 +	Girls clapped cheerfully as Sakura landed lithely on her feet.
 174.128 +Smiling, the brunette put a hand behind her head. She smiled over at
 174.129 +the girl who was videotaping her. She always felt like she could
 174.130 +accomplish anything when Tomoyo was around. Tomoyo always gave her
 174.131 +that extra little bit of encouragement she needed. Just knowing that
 174.132 +the dark haired girl was around made her feel like she could do more
 174.133 +than she could on her own. Maybe it was because Tomoyo had so much
 174.134 +confidence in her. Or maybe it was because she knew that she had all
 174.135 +of Tomoyo’s support behind her, no matter what she did. Whatever the
 174.136 +case, Sakura was grateful for it all the same. 
 174.137 +	The coach finally called an end to the days practices, sending the
 174.138 +gathered girls holding pompoms and batons on their way. Sakura
 174.139 +hurried over to her pale friend, still smiling happily. She had been
 174.140 +trying to get that last jump right for the past week. “Arigato,
 174.141 +Tomoyo-chan! Thanks for staying to watch!”
 174.142 +	“You were amazing, Sakura-chan! You moved like a beautiful jungle
 174.143 +cat, so graceful on your feet,” Tomoyo replied, slowly getting up and
 174.144 +smoothing out her skirt. “I was happy to watch you, Sakura-chan. I
 174.145 +wish I had the chance to more often.”
 174.146 +	“You already watch Sakura-chan almost all the time, Tomoyo-chan,”
 174.147 +Chiharu added, followed by Rika and Naoko.
 174.148 +	Tomoyo sighed, a hand resting on her cheek as she gazed longingly
 174.149 +at Sakura. “Almost all the time isn’t enough. I want to watch Sakura-
 174.150 +chan all the time.” The gathered girls laughed while Sakura blushed a
 174.151 +dark red, sweatdropping. Tomoyo merely smiled sweetly, Her stormy
 174.152 +blue eyes never leaving her cutely blushing beloved. 
 174.153 +	“Tomoyo-chan... Why do you want to watch me all the time, anyway?
 174.154 +There are lots of more interesting things out there,” Sakura
 174.155 +ventured, holding her pompoms behind her head. It always embarrassed
 174.156 +her to hear Tomoyo say such things. She always thought it was sweet
 174.157 +of the dark haired girl, even if it was strange. But she’d known
 174.158 +Tomoyo was a little strange for nearly as long as she had known her.
 174.159 +What she didn’t know what why Tomoyo thought so highly of her. She
 174.160 +couldn’t quite understand it. 
 174.161 +	“Some people go to movies, some people read books, other people
 174.162 +watch sports. They do these things because it makes them happy. I
 174.163 +watch Sakura-chan. That makes me happy.” Tomoyo placed her camcorder
 174.164 +in it’s carrying case and smiled as she turned back to Sakura. “And
 174.165 +there isn’t anything more interesting to me than Sakura-chan.”
 174.166 +	“I wish Yamazaki-kun was that loyal. I don’t even know how he feels
 174.167 +half the time because he’s always making up stories.” Chiharu
 174.168 +frowned, her hands on her hips.
 174.169 +	“So you’d rather Yamazaki-kun talk about you all the time like
 174.170 +Tomoyo-chan instead of telling tall tales?” Rika teased.
 174.171 +	“That would be much better than him spending all his time lying
 174.172 +about everything. Then I’d at least know he liked me. I’m tired of
 174.173 +having to guess all the time.” Sighing, Chiharu scratched the back of
 174.174 +her leg with her shoe. “So who are you going with to the masquerade?”
 174.175 +she asked curiously.
 174.176 +	Rika blushed faintly, smiling nonetheless. “Oh, I’m not going with
 174.177 +anyone. I think I’m just going to help Terrada-sensei with the food
 174.178 +and drinks and all.”
 174.179 +	“I’m not going with anyone either. I’ll just go by myself. Maybe
 174.180 +I’ll meet my prince charming there,” Naoko answered. “You never know.”
 174.181 +	“What about you, Sakura-chan?” Chiharu asked, turning to the
 174.182 +puzzled brunette.
 174.183 +	“Hoe... Masquerade? When is that?” Sakura asked in confusion. She
 174.184 +couldn’t remember anything about that. When had all this happened?
 174.185 +	“You didn’t know? Terrada-sensei mentioned it this morning,” Rika
 174.186 +supplied, pushing back some hair from her eyes. 
 174.187 +	“Sakura-chan was catching a quick nap. She was up late last night
 174.188 +so I didn’t want to wake her,” Tomoyo answered, smiling softly. 
 174.189 +	“Oh. Well, it’s this Sunday at the school. I heard it’s going to be
 174.190 +romantic. It’s supposed to be for couples, so there’s going to be
 174.191 +dances and games and things. I’m going with Yamazaki-kun.” Chiharu
 174.192 +glanced around for the boy in question, but her boyfriend didn’t seem
 174.193 +to be anywhere in sight. She sighed, frustrated. She would just have
 174.194 +to call him that night. Ignoring her frustration, she turned her
 174.195 +attention back to Sakura. “So who are you going with?”
 174.196 +	“I don’t know,” Sakura answered, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by
 174.197 +the whole situation. It wasn’t fair that they spring something like
 174.198 +this on her at the last moment. And even worse, she didn’t have
 174.199 +anyone to go with. What was the good of having a nice romantic
 174.200 +masquerade ball when she had no one to go with? 
 174.201 +	Tomoyo watched Sakura thoughtfully, a hand on her chin. Sakura
 174.202 +didn’t look too happy about this turn of events. And she certainly
 174.203 +couldn’t blame her. It would be too sad for Sakura not to be able to
 174.204 +go to the ball. Her mind worked quickly. There had to be something
 174.205 +she could do for Sakura.
 174.206 +	“What about Li-kun, Sakura-chan? You could always ask him,” Rika
 174.207 +suggested hopefully. 
 174.208 +	“He’s already going with Meiling-chan,” Tomoyo said absentmindedly,
 174.209 +her mind still puzzling over the matter. “She got him to promise just
 174.210 +after the announcement.”
 174.211 +	Chiharu giggled, grinning. “She probably threatened to hurt him if
 174.212 +he didn’t take her.”
 174.213 +	“That’s probably what you’ll do to poor Yamazaki-kun if he doesn’t
 174.214 +go with you, too,” Rika added, giggling herself.
 174.215 +	Chiharu ‘harumphed’, crossing her arms. 
 174.216 +	“I have to get home. It’s my night to make dinner,” Sakura said,
 174.217 +feeling a little dazed. The other girls waved to her as she got her
 174.218 +bag, heading out past the front gate. A nice romantic ball. And she
 174.219 +had no one to go with. Her shoulders slumped at the thought. There
 174.220 +was always the hope that someone might ask her, but who would? It
 174.221 +wasn’t like Yukito would ask her to a dance at her school. 
 174.222 +	“Sakura-chan, are you all right?” Tomoyo asked concernedly,
 174.223 +startling her auburn haired friend. 
 174.224 +	“Tomoyo-chan... I didn’t see you there. Gomen nasai.” Sakura smiled
 174.225 +weakly, the smile fading quickly. “I don’t think I’m going to the
 174.226 +masquerade. It sounds like fun, but I don’t have anyone to go with.”
 174.227 +Sighing, the brunette, blinked back the wet sting of tears. She felt
 174.228 +Tomoyo take her hand, the dark haired girl’s gentle fingers entwining
 174.229 +with her own. She wasn’t feeling well at all. Her heart had dropped
 174.230 +after finding out about the ball. It reminded her too much of how she
 174.231 +didn’t have anyone to be with. Everyone else was falling in love, but
 174.232 +she was all alone. Where was her prince? 
 174.233 +	“I’m sorry, Sakura-chan. I really think you should go. I think
 174.234 +you’ll have fun. You may not have anyone to go with, but I know
 174.235 +you’ll meet someone there who would be more than happy to spend some
 174.236 +time with you,” Tomoyo offered, squeezing Sakura’s hand softly. It
 174.237 +was horrible to see Sakura like this, to see her genki spirit so sad.
 174.238 +Sakura was very emotional, so everything affected her greatly. And
 174.239 +Tomoyo always watched the rise and fall of Sakura’s heart. It hurt
 174.240 +her to think of Sakura being sad for long. Even seeing Sakura near
 174.241 +tears now was like a painful stab to her heart. She stopped where she
 174.242 +was, still holding Sakura’s hand. “I know you will. So please don’t
 174.243 +be sad. It makes me sad to see you like this, Sakura-chan. I want to
 174.244 +see you smile. I want to see your eyes sparkle.”
 174.245 +	Sakura looked down for a long moment. She wiped at her eyes with
 174.246 +the back of her hand. Smiling slowly, she looked up to meet Tomoyo’s
 174.247 +pretty indigo eyes. Yes, Tomoyo was right. This wasn’t anything to be
 174.248 +sad about. And maybe she would meet someone while she was there. Like
 174.249 +Naoko had said, you never know. “Un. You’re right, Tomoyo-chan. And
 174.250 +you’ll be there with me, so even if I can’t go with the one I love,
 174.251 +we can at least have fun.”
 174.252 +	Tomoyo shook her head, her long, dark hair swishing from side to
 174.253 +side. “Gomen, Sakura-chan. I won’t be able to go that day. I need to
 174.254 +help mother with something.” She caught Sakura’s eye before Sakura
 174.255 +could look down again. “But please go, Sakura-chan. I know you’ll
 174.256 +have fun. I promise. I’d love to go with you more than anything, but
 174.257 +I can’t this time.”
 174.258 +	Sighing, Sakura nodded. “If you say so, Tomoyo-chan. But I still
 174.259 +don’t think it’ll be any fun without you there.” She squeezed
 174.260 +Tomoyo’s soft hand back. If Tomoyo thought so, then she would go,
 174.261 +even if she was doubtful. She sighed again, brushing back her hair.
 174.262 +“Tomoyo-chan, you’re so lucky that you haven’t fallen in love with
 174.263 +someone who didn’t love you back. I still feel bad about Yukito-san.” 
 174.264 +	Tomoyo hugged Sakura warmly. “I know exactly how you feel, Sakura-
 174.265 +chan. It’s a lonely feeling, isn’t it? You want to be with them with
 174.266 +all your heart, but you know you can’t. All you can do is pray for
 174.267 +the best for them. And love them with all your heart.” The young
 174.268 +heiress slowly pulled away. “Arigato, Sakura-chan. Please enjoy
 174.269 +yourself. And if someone asks you to dance, please do.” Tomoyo smiled
 174.270 +brightly before letting go of Sakura’s hand. Her limousine was
 174.271 +waiting back near the school. “Bye, Sakura-chan!”
 174.272 +	Sakura blinked in confusion, waving to her eccentric friend. “Bye,
 174.273 +Tomoyo-chan!” She didn’t know what Tomoyo was suddenly so
 174.274 +enthusiastic about. Well, she better hurry home to finish dinner.
 174.275 +Shaking her head, she went about deciding what to make for dinner. 
 174.276 +
 174.277 +	“Hmmm...” Sonomi took a step back from her daughter, looking at the
 174.278 +younger girl thoughtfully. With a sigh, she set the needle she was
 174.279 +holding down. “Tomoyo-chan, you do not make a very good boy. You’re
 174.280 +just too feminine to make a decent boy.”
 174.281 +	Looking down at her mother’s handiwork, Tomoyo shifted a bit. “I
 174.282 +think you’ve done a wonderful job, okaa-sama. I don’t think Sakura-
 174.283 +chan will notice.” She smiled appreciatively, looking back up at her
 174.284 +mother.
 174.285 +	“If she needs a date for the dance, I don’t see why you can’t take
 174.286 +her as a girl. You would look so much prettier in a nice dress
 174.287 +instead of a tuxedo.” Picking up the needle again, Sonomi knelt in
 174.288 +front of her daughter, going back to her sewing. It was difficult for
 174.289 +her to see Tomoyo as a boy even in the outfit. She tried to tell
 174.290 +herself that it was simply because she had known Tomoyo for the
 174.291 +younger girl’s entire life, but she doubted it. 
 174.292 +	“I’d rather go in a dress, too. But then Sakura-chan would just
 174.293 +think it was us going as friends. I want her to have a nice, romantic
 174.294 +ball that she’ll remember forever.” Tomoyo clasped her hands
 174.295 +together, looking off into the distance. A soft sigh escaped her as
 174.296 +she came back to the present. “Sakura-chan’s lonely now. She needs a
 174.297 +nice romantic moment to spark the love that’s held deep in her heart.
 174.298 +And I can’t do that if I go as myself. Sakura-chan doesn’t understand
 174.299 +about girls liking girls yet.”
 174.300 +	Sonomi chuckled softly, pulling the thread through again. “I didn’t
 174.301 +understand it myself back when I was her age. All I knew was that
 174.302 +Nadeshiko-chan was the most wonderful person I could think of. I knew
 174.303 +I felt very strongly about her, but I didn’t know that I was in love
 174.304 +with her back then.” Sonomi sighed, her eyes closing as she brought
 174.305 +up an image of her beautiful cousin, a perpetual smile on her
 174.306 +eternally young face, as if she had been frozen in amber. 
 174.307 +	“You didn’t understand back when you were our age?” Tomoyo asked
 174.308 +curiously. She had heard stories of her aunt, her mother’s only love,
 174.309 +for her entire life. But she had always assumed that her mother had
 174.310 +always known of her love for the other woman. Tomoyo herself had
 174.311 +known rather early on that she was in love with Sakura. It was a
 174.312 +surprise to hear that it had taken her mother a while to understand
 174.313 +what these feelings were. Those beautiful feelings of love. The most
 174.314 +lovely torture imaginable. Tomoyo had always held them close to her
 174.315 +heart, cherishing the love she had for Sakura.
 174.316 +	“We’re not all as perceptive as you, Tomoyo-chan. It took me a
 174.317 +while to find out what those feelings were. So I wouldn’t be
 174.318 +surprised if it takes Sakura-chan a little while to figure it out
 174.319 +herself. She reminds me a lot more of myself than of Nadeshiko-chan,
 174.320 +even if she is Nadeshiko-chan’s daughter.” Sonomi finished her
 174.321 +sewing, stretching as she stood up. ‘Hopefully Sakura-chan will
 174.322 +figure it out before it’s too late. I know that I didn’t. Maybe if I
 174.323 +had...’ Ending that thought, the businesswoman smiled at her
 174.324 +daughter. 
 174.325 +	Tomoyo tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. It had taken her
 174.326 +mother some time before she had understood her feelings for her
 174.327 +cousin. Could the same be true of Sakura? She knew that Sakura was
 174.328 +too young to understand her feelings for her, but did this mean
 174.329 +Sakura may not understand her own feelings as well? Sakura did often
 174.330 +get confused about such things. She was very emotional, but the poor
 174.331 +brunette often had a difficult time understanding her own heart. The
 174.332 +possibility left Tomoyo’s heart weak at the prospect of being the one
 174.333 +to make Sakura happy. If only...
 174.334 +	“It’s so cute. Most girls fall for people like their father. Now my
 174.335 +little girl’s falling in love with someone like her mother. How
 174.336 +sweet.” Sonomi grinned, brushing back some of her daughter’s hair.
 174.337 +She didn’t get to spend much time with her darling daughter because
 174.338 +of her job, but she was always happy when she got the chance to be
 174.339 +with her. She didn’t get nearly enough time to tease the younger girl
 174.340 +about Sakura. Of course, she understood exactly how Tomoyo felt about
 174.341 +the brunette. It reminded her so much of herself and Nadeshiko when
 174.342 +they had been younger. Which is why it always pained her to see
 174.343 +Tomoyo ready to let someone else be with Sakura. Her daughter had
 174.344 +told her that it was so Sakura would be happy, but Sonomi could think
 174.345 +of no one better suited to that job than Tomoyo. No one knew Sakura
 174.346 +better than Tomoyo. None of them had a better understanding of
 174.347 +Sakura’s heart, not even Sakura herself. If anyone could make Sakura
 174.348 +happy, Sonomi was sure it was her daughter. 
 174.349 +	Tomoyo giggled in response. “She even runs like you. And she’s so
 174.350 +cute when she does. She has this beautiful determined look in her
 174.351 +eyes.” Sighing deliciously, Tomoyo stepped down from the pedestal she
 174.352 +was standing on while her mother had fixed her outfit. “How is it?”
 174.353 +she asked, turning around. 
 174.354 +	“You look like my precious Tomoyo-chan in a tuxedo,” Sonomi
 174.355 +answered truthfully, raising an eyebrow. “But I guess that can’t be
 174.356 +helped. I wouldn’t want you to look like anyone else anyway. If you
 174.357 +keep your hat on, then you should be able to pass for a boy at least.
 174.358 +Hopefully Sakura-chan won’t notice that it’s you. Or maybe she will
 174.359 +and she’ll still spend the night dancing with you.”
 174.360 +	“Arigato, okaa-sama,” Tomoyo said at last, taking a look in the
 174.361 +mirror. Closing her stormy blue eyes, the young heiress clasped her
 174.362 +hands together. “This is perfect. Even if it’s for only one night, I
 174.363 +can try to make Sakura-chan happy.” 
 174.364 +
 174.365 +	Sakura sighed inwardly, leaning against the wall. She wanted to
 174.366 +apologize to Tomoyo. Here she was in a gorgeous ball gown Tomoyo had
 174.367 +made for her, and she was spending the whole time just watching the
 174.368 +other couples enjoy themselves. It felt like such a waste of Tomoyo’s
 174.369 +beautiful gown. She really hadn’t wanted to go at all, but she had
 174.370 +promised her best friend that she would. And seeing the gown that
 174.371 +Tomoyo had spent so much time working on made sure she couldn’t back
 174.372 +out of it. But now that she was at the ball, she just wanted to go
 174.373 +home. She didn’t even have Tomoyo to talk to. It just made the whole
 174.374 +thing feel pointless. She didn’t know if she could take another
 174.375 +friend walking by and asking if she was having fun. Rika was dancing
 174.376 +with Terrada-sensei at the moment and even Naoko was dancing with
 174.377 +someone. She tried not to watch as Meiling and Syaoran danced by.
 174.378 +Oddly enough, she didn’t really mind that Syaoran was there with
 174.379 +Meiling. She seemed much happier to have him, really. But it was
 174.380 +exactly that type of love that left Sakura feeling so desolate. She
 174.381 +didn’t have that, not even with Yukito anymore. She didn’t like not
 174.382 +being in love. It was too lonely. It was like living life without a
 174.383 +dream in one’s heart, no light at the end of the tunnel. 
 174.384 +	The doors to the gym slowly opened, a boy Sakura didn’t recognize
 174.385 +entering the room. She couldn’t say what caught her attention, but
 174.386 +only that there was something different about him. Pushing up the
 174.387 +small mask around her eyes, she took a closer look. He was very pale,
 174.388 +with some dark hair showing from underneath his hat. He worse a mask
 174.389 +like everyone else at the ball, so it was difficult to tell if she
 174.390 +knew him or not. He did look familiar, though she couldn’t place him
 174.391 +exactly. She looked away when she saw his eyes meet her own, a faint
 174.392 +blush on her cheeks. She felt embarrassed to have been caught
 174.393 +staring. 
 174.394 +	“Hello,” a soft voice said, catching Sakura’s attention.
 174.395 +	Looking up, Sakura saw the pale boy in front of her. He smiled a
 174.396 +warm, soft smile, his eyes closed as he did. Sakura felt herself
 174.397 +relax in his presence, not feeling as embarrassed anymore. “Hi,” she
 174.398 +replied, pushing her mask back up. She still didn’t know who he was.
 174.399 +Her mind hurried to figure it out. He was pale and had dark hair. Was
 174.400 +it Eriol? But didn’t he need glasses? Maybe he was wearing contacts
 174.401 +or something. But it didn’t feel like Eriol.
 174.402 +	“Would you like to dance?” the mysterious boy asked, holding out an
 174.403 +ivory hand to the Cardmistress. He blinked his stormy blue eyes open,
 174.404 +watching Sakura’s hopefully. 
 174.405 +	It took Sakura a moment to realize she had accepted. By the time
 174.406 +she did, they were already hand in hand, headed for the dance floor
 174.407 +with the other students. She forced away a faint blush that darkened
 174.408 +her cheeks. This was just one dance. She didn’t have to feel
 174.409 +embarrassed about it. But she couldn’t help but be a little nervous
 174.410 +as they passed the other dancing, costumed students. Why wouldn’t she
 174.411 +be? Some mysterious boy had just asked her to dance. As if it wasn’t
 174.412 +bad enough just to be asked to go dancing in the first place.
 174.413 +Glancing over at him again, he smiled softly, taking away Sakura’s
 174.414 +worry. She returned the smile as they reached the dance floor. 
 174.415 +	Slowly, the two began to dance, moving about the dance floor in
 174.416 +tandem. Sakura was amazed by the boy’s grace, his movements drawing
 174.417 +her along fluidly. She quickly lost herself to their dance, a
 174.418 +beautiful dream of swirling and movement that captured her soul. All
 174.419 +nervousness she had had earlier fled as they moved about together.
 174.420 +She didn’t know what it was about him that put her at ease, but it
 174.421 +certainly did its job. She found herself enjoying the dance
 174.422 +immensely, fluttering about in the beautiful gown Tomoyo had made for
 174.423 +her. They moved fluidly together, as if their thoughts were one.
 174.424 +Sometimes he would lead and sometimes Sakura would lead, switching
 174.425 +every so often as they did. 
 174.426 +	The other students faded away as they danced, becoming nothing more
 174.427 +than part of the backdrop of the dance. The lights receded into the
 174.428 +barest hints of stardust, swirling around them as they continued to
 174.429 +dance. Sakura watched him as they swayed about, finding herself at
 174.430 +ease even so near to him. His eyes were warm, his smile so charming.
 174.431 +It wasn’t like Syaoran’s scowl at all. In fact, it was almost like
 174.432 +Yukito’s smile, soft and caring. But there was something else in it,
 174.433 +too, something that Sakura couldn’t quite put her finger on. It made
 174.434 +her feel happy and content. As if it filled her up with some unknown
 174.435 +energy. She couldn’t quite understand what it was, but she liked it.
 174.436 +She sighed happily to herself. 
 174.437 +	When the next song finally ended, Sakura got ready to take the lead
 174.438 +again. She was a little disappointed when he smiled apologetically at
 174.439 +her. She felt ready to dance the night away. It was so much fun,
 174.440 +letting her body move about in time with the music, following and
 174.441 +leading this mysterious boy. “Gomen nasai,” he said in his soft,
 174.442 +musical voice. “I would love to dance with you forever. You’re so
 174.443 +cute when you’re dancing. But I think I need to take a break for just
 174.444 +a bit. My feet need a short rest.” 
 174.445 +	Sakura blinked herself out of the dreamy haze she had been lost in,
 174.446 +focussing on the pale boy in front of her. A slow ache worked its way
 174.447 +from her own abused feet and sore legs. Just how long had they been
 174.448 +dancing? She smiled in response and nodded. “That’s a good idea. I
 174.449 +could probably use a break, too.” She felt silly for having been so
 174.450 +lost in their dance. How could she have lost track of everything like
 174.451 +that? But somehow it didn’t really seem to matter with him. She
 174.452 +followed the dark haired boy outside, the realization of the pain in
 174.453 +her feet suddenly making it much more acute. Stepping outside, she
 174.454 +took a seat next to him. To her surprise, the moon was out, the stars
 174.455 +shining brightly. They had been dancing for hours. No wonder she was
 174.456 +so sore. Slipping her shoes off with her feet, she rubbed them
 174.457 +together through the stockings she was wearing. 
 174.458 +	“You’re so pretty in the moonlight,” The boy said happily, his
 174.459 +stormy blue eyes watching Sakura intently. “Especially when you
 174.460 +smile. You don’t know how glad I am to have seen you smiling
 174.461 +tonight.” His stormy blue eyes sparkled in the dim light, his hand
 174.462 +lying on top of Sakura’s. 
 174.463 +	Blushing faintly, Sakura looked down at her feet. It was
 174.464 +embarrassing, but she liked hearing him say that. It made her feel
 174.465 +good inside. Somehow, she knew that he meant every word of it. She
 174.466 +graced him with another smile, looking back up at him. “Thank you,”
 174.467 +she replied. She wasn’t concerned with who he was anymore. That was
 174.468 +in the back of her mind by now. She was just happy to be spending the
 174.469 +dance with him. She had to remember to thank Tomoyo when she saw her
 174.470 +later. She had been right, as always. “I had a lot of fun tonight.
 174.471 +You’re a really good dancer. I didn’t know dancing could be so much
 174.472 +fun.”
 174.473 +	He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Dancing is a wonderful
 174.474 +thing. It lets you lose yourself in the music, to move along with it.
 174.475 +It really helps the music to touch your soul. It’s a lot more fun
 174.476 +when you can dance with someone you like.”
 174.477 +	Sakura blushed brighter at his words. Looking down at their hands,
 174.478 +she took a deep breath. She felt so nice with him. It made her feel
 174.479 +special, magical in a way that the Cards couldn’t make her feel. This
 174.480 +boy made her feel like she was a treasure to be cherished. She loved
 174.481 +that feeling. It made her feel dizzy and ecstatic. She didn’t feel
 174.482 +awkward with him. She liked talking to him, liked seeing him smile at
 174.483 +her. “Do you like me?” she asked, looking down immediately, her
 174.484 +cheeks burning. That was what he had implied, right? But maybe she
 174.485 +shouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t even know who the mystery
 174.486 +boy was. But that didn’t seem to matter. There was just something
 174.487 +about him. It felt so familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger
 174.488 +on it. 
 174.489 +	The boy blinked for a moment as if taken by surprise. The surprise
 174.490 +quickly went away though, and he smiled. “Yes. I like Sakura-chan
 174.491 +very much. I don’t see how anyone couldn’t.” 
 174.492 +	Looking up quickly, Sakura’s emerald eyes caught with his own
 174.493 +indigo ones. She found herself captured by them, frozen in their
 174.494 +gaze. She hadn’t known what to expect as his answer, but it shook her
 174.495 +nonetheless. At the same time, she couldn’t really imagine him saying
 174.496 +anything else. It just felt right. She felt like she had known him
 174.497 +for years. Which she may well have. Whoever he was, he made her feel
 174.498 +so special, like a real live princess. She smiled happily, but she
 174.499 +felt another wave of embarrassment hit as she ventured forward. “I..
 174.500 +I like you, too,” she replied, surprised to find that no blush came
 174.501 +to her cheeks this time. Perhaps it was because she knew she had no
 174.502 +reason to worry. His eyes held onto hers with a loving care. He would
 174.503 +hold her heart preciously. There was no fear of offering it to him,
 174.504 +of him rejecting it. It was surprising. She finally met the boy she
 174.505 +liked and she didn’t even know who he was. She had to have met him
 174.506 +before, but which boy in her class he was, she wasn’t certain. But
 174.507 +she couldn’t help how she felt. Sometimes one’s heart and mind
 174.508 +weren’t always in the same place. For Sakura, her heart was much more
 174.509 +important than her mind.
 174.510 +	This seemed to stun the boy much more than Sakura’s previous
 174.511 +question. He watched her for a long moment, his stormy blue eyes
 174.512 +almost afraid. He stood up quickly, bringing up Sakura’s hand with
 174.513 +both of his own. “Thank you very much, Sakura-chan. I’m so glad you
 174.514 +had fun at the dance. But you don’t even know who I am. You really
 174.515 +shouldn’t say that,” he explained, looking down into her emerald eyes
 174.516 +worriedly. The worry faded away behind a soft smile, as if it hadn’t
 174.517 +been there at all. So familiar. Just like... Sakura still couldn’t
 174.518 +place him.
 174.519 +	Shaking her head swiftly, Sakura watched the mysterious boy. “No, I
 174.520 +do. I know I do. I feel like I’ve known you forever. You’re so sweet
 174.521 +and kind. You make me feel happy. I like being with you. I like you,”
 174.522 +Sakura repeated, looking up at him hopefully. “It doesn’t matter who
 174.523 +you are. I’ll still like you, no matter who it is. You must know me
 174.524 +pretty well, but I can’t tell who you are. But that isn’t important.
 174.525 +Right?”
 174.526 +	The boy looked back down into Sakura’s pleading eyes. He smiled
 174.527 +more, placing his hands on her cheeks. “Sakura-chan, I’ll always love
 174.528 +you. If you still feel that way about me when you know who I am, then
 174.529 +that would be the sweetest dream come true. But I can’t tell you who
 174.530 +I am yet. I don’t think it’s the right time. I don’t know if you’re
 174.531 +ready. But you’ve given me a wonderful gift tonight. Hope. That hope
 174.532 +will burn brightly in my heart as I wait for you, Sakura-chan. I’ll
 174.533 +always wait for you.” 
 174.534 +	Sakura placed her hands on top of his, lost in his deep indigo
 174.535 +eyes. She felt her cheeks flushed against his hands, but she could
 174.536 +only look up at him. She wanted to protest, to tell him it wasn’t so,
 174.537 +but she could only meet his gaze. Slowly, he leant towards her. The
 174.538 +brunette’s heart started pounding faster in her heart, a sweet
 174.539 +longing overtaking her as the soft lips brushed her own. Silky lips
 174.540 +touched gently against her own, leaving her with a petal soft kiss.
 174.541 +She could only sit and watch as he pulled away, the kiss lingering on
 174.542 +her lips. It was so delicate, but she could feel its aftereffects
 174.543 +throughout her body and soul. 
 174.544 +	“I love you, Sakura-chan,” he whispered, smiling at the dazed
 174.545 +Cardmistress as he let his hands drop from her cheeks. Turning, he
 174.546 +headed towards the parking lot.
 174.547 +	‘He kissed me,’ Sakura thought, her fingers moving to her lips. It
 174.548 +was much softer than she would’ve imagined, just a delicate little
 174.549 +thing, but it was infinitely more powerful than anything she could
 174.550 +have dreamt of. Closing her eyes, she could still feel the soft kiss
 174.551 +against her lips, could feel the spark in her heart. Blinking
 174.552 +quickly, the brunette forced herself out of her daze in time to see
 174.553 +the pale boy’s retreating form. ‘If he leaves now, how will I ever
 174.554 +see him again? How will I know who he is?’ Sliding on her shoes
 174.555 +quickly, Sakura ran after the boy. “Wait! Please don’t go yet! You
 174.556 +have to tell me your name! I know I’ll like you, whoever you are!”
 174.557 +She called after him. But the boy didn’t stop. He looked back
 174.558 +apologetically and climbed into a black car. Sakura hurried to him,
 174.559 +hoping to reach the car in time. But obviously the car was in a hurry
 174.560 +of it’s own, zipping past her. 
 174.561 +	Sakura slowed to a halt, her heart drooping in her chest. Her
 174.562 +shoulders slumped as she watched the car fade into the distance. She
 174.563 +didn’t even know his name. When school came the next day, she
 174.564 +wouldn’t have any idea which of the boys he was. She was stuck. She
 174.565 +was back in love, but she didn’t even know with who. She couldn’t
 174.566 +tell if that was better or worse than her earlier predicament of not
 174.567 +being in love at all. She sniffled, alone in the moonlight. How would
 174.568 +she find him again? She just wanted to be with him, to talk to him,
 174.569 +to know he was there. But now she was lost.
 174.570 +	 Just when she was about to give up hope, something caught her eye.
 174.571 +A shoe lay on the floor near where the car had been parked. A surge
 174.572 +of hope flooded through her. He must have lost it before getting in
 174.573 +the car. He hadn’t been able to retrieve it because Sakura had been
 174.574 +right behind him. He would have had to stay if he had waited to get
 174.575 +the shoe. She picked it up quickly, holding it tightly to her chest.
 174.576 +It was her only possession of his, her only clue. The small shoe was
 174.577 +her only proof that he had been there at all, that her mystery boy
 174.578 +had been more than just a dream. But what could she do with it? How
 174.579 +could she find out who he was with this simple hint? 
 174.580 +	‘Onii-chan!’ her mind supplied frantically. Her older brother had
 174.581 +worked every part-time job known to man. He would know about the
 174.582 +shoe! He had to. Pulling out her key, Sakura flew home. There was no
 174.583 +reason to stay at the dance anymore. Her prince charming had fled and
 174.584 +she had to find him. 
 174.585 +
 174.586 +	“Onii-chan! Onii-chan!” Sakura called out, nearly tripping on the
 174.587 +long gown as she pushed through the door. Her eyes quickly scanned
 174.588 +for her older brohter, desperate to find him. “Onii-chan!!” she
 174.589 +called out, frustrated. He had to be around somewhere. She didn’t
 174.590 +feel like waiting. Her heart was still beating rapidly, her mind
 174.591 +still stuck on her mysterious love. Love. Yes, that was it. She did
 174.592 +love him. She hadn’t felt this way about Syaoran. Or even Yukito.
 174.593 +This was stronger than her crushes in the past. This left her head
 174.594 +over heals, her whole soul longing to see him again. He made her feel
 174.595 +complete. Whoever he was. “Onii-chan!!!”
 174.596 +	“What is it, monster? This better be good. You’re going to wake up
 174.597 +the whole neighborhood with your wailing,” Touya said exasperatedly
 174.598 +as he made his way downstairs. His younger sister hurried to his
 174.599 +side, holding up a shoe in her hands. He smiled inwardly. She really
 174.600 +was growing up. She wasn’t just a little girl anymore. She actually
 174.601 +looked pretty in the gown she was wearing, nearly grown up. But he
 174.602 +would never tell her that, of course.
 174.603 +	“I need you to tell me about this shoe. It’s very important that I
 174.604 +find out who it belongs to. This boy..” Sakura trailed off, blushing.
 174.605 +“I just need to know about it.”
 174.606 +	“About a shoe?” he replied, skeptically. 
 174.607 +	“Please, onii-chan?” Sakura begged, clasping her hands together.
 174.608 +She was desperate. She usually wouldn’t bother with Touya, but she
 174.609 +needed his help. She had to find the pale boy again. She needed to
 174.610 +tell him that nothing would change her feelings, that she just wanted
 174.611 +to see him again. That she couldn’t be happy without him.
 174.612 +	Touya was surprised by Sakura’s eagerness. He nodded slowly, taking
 174.613 +the shoe before sitting down. “Let’s see..” He frowned, turning it
 174.614 +over. “Who’s shoe did you say this was again?”
 174.615 +	“Some boy from the dance,” Sakura replied quickly, pressing her
 174.616 +fingers together in embarrassment. The last thing she needed was for
 174.617 +Touya to play the concerned big brother and worry about some boy she
 174.618 +met. 
 174.619 +	Shaking his head, Touya looked back at Sakura. “This is a girls’
 174.620 +shoe, Sakura-chan.”
 174.621 +“So he has dainty feet!!” Sakura said angrily, kicking her brother
 174.622 +in the shin. She crossed her arms, glaring at him as she waited for
 174.623 +him to continue. 
 174.624 +Gritting his teeth, Touya rubbed his leg. If only Sakura wasn’t so
 174.625 +athletic, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much when she did things like
 174.626 +that. It wasn’t so bad when she was a kid, but now he was seriously
 174.627 +starting to reconsider taunting her. Of course, this time he was
 174.628 +being serious, so it wasn’t even his own fault. “Alright. So he wears
 174.629 +girls’ shoes. That’s not my problem.” He gave his younger sister a
 174.630 +stare of his own before moving on, looking back at the shoe. “It’s
 174.631 +pretty small, so he has to have small feet. A little smaller than
 174.632 +yours, actually. It doesn’t look like it’s been used much, so I’m
 174.633 +guessing it was bought recently. Other than that, there’s not much I
 174.634 +can tell you.” He looked back up to see Sakura storm over and swipe
 174.635 +the shoe from him. He let it go, raising an eyebrow. Apparently
 174.636 +whatever this was had affected Sakura pretty badly. He wanted to ask,
 174.637 +but he didn’t think this was something she’d want to tell her older
 174.638 +brother. “Don’t stomp on those stairs so much, monster. Do you want
 174.639 +the whole house to collapse?” Her only reply was to slam her door.
 174.640 +Sighing inwardly, Touya rested his head back against the couch.
 174.641 +
 174.642 +	Sakura slumped on her bed, cradling the shoe in her arms. So much
 174.643 +for that avenue. All she knew now was that he had small, dainty feet.
 174.644 +But who could match that description? Syaoran? No, he didn’t fit. And
 174.645 +he had been dancing with Meiling anyway. Yamazaki? He should have
 174.646 +been with Chiharu the whole night, and he was actually pretty tall.
 174.647 +Eriol? No, Sakura still didn’t think it was him. But then who could
 174.648 +it belong to? She couldn’t think of any other boys that would match
 174.649 +her mystery boy either. 
 174.650 +	Lifting the shoe up in the air, Sakura turned it around, looking at
 174.651 +it thoughtfully. It was the only thing she had left from the pale
 174.652 +boy. There had to be something she could do with it to find out who
 174.653 +he was. But what? It was too bad he didn’t write his name in it or
 174.654 +his address. Then Sakura could show up with it, giving it back to him
 174.655 +and explaining that he had no need to worry because she still liked
 174.656 +him. But she wasn’t that lucky.
 174.657 +	“Nice shoe,” Kero commented, looking up from his video game. “Looks
 174.658 +expensive.” Pausing the game, Kero lifted up, floating over to
 174.659 +Sakura. “How did the dance go?”
 174.660 +	Sakura rolled onto her side, still clutching the shoe. A faint
 174.661 +blush colored her cheeks. “It was fantastic. I had so much fun, Kero-
 174.662 +chan. I danced and danced and danced. And there was this really sweet
 174.663 +boy there that..” She trailed off, holding the shoe to her chest
 174.664 +again.
 174.665 +	“Ohhhh.. So you met a boy you liked there, huh?” Kero asked,
 174.666 +grinning from ear to ear. “Who was he?” His curiosity piqued, the
 174.667 +Seal Beast landed next to Sakura, poking her in the side with a
 174.668 +stubby paw. “You have to tell me.”
 174.669 +	Sighing, Sakura rolled onto her back again, her legs held up
 174.670 +against herself. “I would if I could. But I don’t even know his name.
 174.671 +I just know that this was his. But I can’t even give it back to him
 174.672 +because I don’t know who he is.” Sighing miserably, Sakura set the
 174.673 +shoe next to her bed, staring up at her roof. She kept seeing his
 174.674 +smile, warm and gentle. It taunted her every time she closed her
 174.675 +eyes, making her miss him even more. 
 174.676 +	“Hmm.. That is a problem,” Kero said thoughtfully, flying down to
 174.677 +inspect the shoe. He prodded it with one of his feet, watching the
 174.678 +delicate thing shift on its side.
 174.679 +	“I know. But it’s all I have of his. It’s the only thing that I can
 174.680 +use to find out who he is,” Sakura lamented, hugging a pillow to
 174.681 +herself. She felt miserable. And alone. She wanted to be with him
 174.682 +again, dancing and smiling and laughing. Her emerald eyes fell
 174.683 +closed, her mind half daydreaming about seeing him again. She hugged
 174.684 +her pillow closer, pretending it was the pale boy. “I miss you
 174.685 +already,” she whispered to it.
 174.686 +	“I’ve got it!” Kero called out, popping up right in front of
 174.687 +Sakura’s face and very nearly startling the poor girl. “You have his
 174.688 +shoe, right? You know he’s from your class, right? Just try it on
 174.689 +every boy in your class until you find him.” The Seal Beast crossed
 174.690 +his arms, proud of himself.
 174.691 +	Sakura blinked at the absurd thought, still holding tightly onto
 174.692 +her pillow. What a plan, going from boy to boy and trying on the one
 174.693 +shoe she had of her mystery boy. It was laughable. And yet, it was
 174.694 +all she had. And it made sense. If she could find the boy that fit
 174.695 +the shoe.. “Thank you, Kero-chan!” Sakura said happily, dropping the
 174.696 +pillow as she got to her knees. She squealed happily at the thought,
 174.697 +taking Kero’s small hands in her own. “Sugoi! I’ll get to find him
 174.698 +after all! And I’ll prove to him that I like him just the same, no
 174.699 +matter who he is!”
 174.700 +	“I knew it would work. I’m full of good advice. You should turn to
 174.701 +me more often,” Kero said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. 
 174.702 +	Sakura picked up her little pink cell phone, ready to call Tomoyo.
 174.703 +For some reason, she had the strongest urge to call the pale girl, to
 174.704 +tell her everything that had happened that night. This wasn’t
 174.705 +particularly unusual because she always talked to Tomoyo about
 174.706 +everything. But it was already late and Tomoyo was probably in bed.
 174.707 +Sakura had the urge to call anyway, to wake her up despite it just so
 174.708 +she could hear her voice, so they could talk it all out. She wanted
 174.709 +to hear Tomoyo at the moment. She knew it would make her feel better.
 174.710 +It always did. Or she could even fly to her house. It wouldn’t take
 174.711 +long. And then Tomoyo would probably get her some tea and they would
 174.712 +sit and talk all night long. But there was so much she needed to do
 174.713 +tomorrow. And she would feel awful if she did wake Tomoyo up, even
 174.714 +though Tomoyo told her she always could if she needed to. Working up
 174.715 +the will, Sakura finally put the phone down. She would just tell
 174.716 +Tomoyo all about it the next day. Slipping out of her gown and
 174.717 +pulling on some pajamas, Sakura quickly got ready for bed, though
 174.718 +sleep would be long in coming.
 174.719 +	
 174.720 +	Tomoyo stirred as light filtered into the Daidouji home, slowly
 174.721 +pushing away the sleepiness that clouded her mind. She had to be up
 174.722 +to get to school on time as she always did. Shifting around she found
 174.723 +that she wasn’t in bed. Her head slowly pulled up, sleep blurred eyes
 174.724 +blinking tiredly as they struggled to come into focus. She was on the
 174.725 +couch. A hand in her hair told her that she wasn’t alone. She sighed
 174.726 +softly, resting her head back on her mother’s lap. She must have
 174.727 +fallen asleep after telling her mother the whole story the night
 174.728 +before. And her mother had stayed with her all night long, even in an
 174.729 +uncomfortable sitting position. She smiled softly, glad to be near
 174.730 +her mother, even if for only a short time before school. 
 174.731 +	Memories played back through the young heiress’s mind as if they
 174.732 +had been recorded on one of her videotapes, each image crystal clear.
 174.733 +She could remember dancing the whole night with Sakura, could
 174.734 +remember Sakura telling her that she liked her, could remember the
 174.735 +deliciously soft kiss they had shared. She blushed, a hand going to
 174.736 +her cheek as she replayed that memory again and again. Now only if
 174.737 +she could have gotten that memory on videotape. 
 174.738 +	All in all, the night had been very nearly perfect. She had
 174.739 +accomplished what she had set out to do. Sakura had had a nice,
 174.740 +romantic night. She had healed some of the loneliness in her best
 174.741 +friend’s heart. But the only problem that lingered was Sakura’s
 174.742 +profession of love. That hadn’t been part of the plan at all. Tomoyo
 174.743 +was supposed to go to the ball as a boy. Check. She was supposed to
 174.744 +make sure Sakura enjoyed herself. Check. Then she was supposed to
 174.745 +leave, giving Sakura renewed confidence that she would find love.
 174.746 +That one was now a little more confusing. She had left Sakura with
 174.747 +the renewed confidence that she had found her love then and there.
 174.748 +But where did that leave Tomoyo? Sakura didn’t even know it was her.
 174.749 +And how could she tell Sakura that it was? Was Sakura even ready for
 174.750 +that? She had left in the hopes of quelling such problems, but the
 174.751 +dark haired girl doubted they would go away so easily. Oh well. Maybe
 174.752 +this meant Sakura could like her after all, that maybe she could
 174.753 +actually make Sakura happy. In a few years, maybe she could even tell
 174.754 +Sakura how she felt. Yes, there was always hope. Now more than ever. 
 174.755 +	Smiling happily, Tomoyo slowly sat up next to her mother. “Okaa-
 174.756 +sama, it’s time to wake up,” she said softly. 
 174.757 +The older woman stirred, blinking herself awake. Sonomi stretched,
 174.758 +her body sore from sleeping so awkwardly. She smiled sleepily at her
 174.759 +daughter, the younger girl still wearing the shirt from the tuxedo.
 174.760 +“Good morning, Tomoyo-chan.”
 174.761 +Tomoyo leant forward and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Thank you for
 174.762 +everything, okaa-sama.” Standing up, the pale girl hurried towards
 174.763 +the stairs. “I have to hurry if I’m going to get to school on time. I
 174.764 +want to see how Sakura-chan is doing.”
 174.765 +Sonomi watched her daughter disappear off to her room. Smiling to
 174.766 +herself, the older woman finally got up herself. It was so nice to
 174.767 +see her daughter in love. It did her pained heart good to watch
 174.768 +Tomoyo so enraptured by Nadeshiko’s daughter. She only hoped Sakura
 174.769 +would take good care of Tomoyo’s heart. It was a precious gift and
 174.770 +one that Sonomi tried her hardest to protect. But that was something
 174.771 +that was ultimately up to Sakura to hold onto.
 174.772 +
 174.773 +“Ohayo, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo called out, waiting by the gate at
 174.774 +school some time later. She smiled pleasantly as the auburn haired
 174.775 +girl skated up to her. She could tell that Sakura looked much
 174.776 +happier. That, in turn, made her own heart shine. “You look much
 174.777 +better today, Sakura-chan. I trust things went well at the dance?”
 174.778 +Sakura nodded enthusiastically, pulling off her rollerblades. “It
 174.779 +went perfectly, Tomoyo-chan! You were right. Thank you for getting me
 174.780 +to go. It was so much fun!” The brunette sighed, her hands on her
 174.781 +cheeks as she walked towards the school building with Tomoyo. “I met
 174.782 +this wonderful boy. He was just.. hanyaa.” She blushed at the thought
 174.783 +of him. Shaking her head, she smiled over at Tomoyo. She had been so
 174.784 +anxious about the whole thing the entire night before, but now that
 174.785 +she was with her best friend again, she felt infinitely better. It
 174.786 +was strange how Tomoyo managed to do that. She made Sakura feel
 174.787 +better about herself, about everything. Her simple presence was
 174.788 +enough to do that. 
 174.789 +“So Sakura-chan met a boy she liked?” Tomoyo asked curiously, her
 174.790 +hand on her chin. “It definitely sounds like it went well. I’m glad
 174.791 +you met someone, Sakura-chan. It only shows that your fairy tale
 174.792 +romance is waiting for you. One day your prince will come and hold
 174.793 +you close forever. Sakura-chan deserves nothing but the best.” The
 174.794 +dark haired girl sighed happily, images of Princess Sakura filling
 174.795 +her mind. Yes, this is what she lived for. 
 174.796 +Sakura sweatdropped, laughing nervously. “Tomoyo-chan..” Tomoyo was
 174.797 +always so concerned about her happiness, about Sakura in general. It
 174.798 +was always comforting to know that some things would never change.
 174.799 +“But I know that my prince is out there somewhere. I just need to
 174.800 +find out who he is.”
 174.801 +Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, thoughtfully. Sakura seemed
 174.802 +awfully determined. It took all Tomoyo had not to swoon at the sight.
 174.803 +Sakura was always so adorable when that determined look burned in her
 174.804 +eyes. It was one of the many, many things that Tomoyo loved about the
 174.805 +brunette. But why was she so determined all of the sudden? “What do
 174.806 +you mean, Sakura-chan?”
 174.807 +Fumbling through her backpack, Sakura pulled out a single black
 174.808 +shoe. “This was one of his shoes. He accidentally dropped it last
 174.809 +night. Kero-chan thought I should try it on everyone here to find out
 174.810 +who he is.” Sakura sweatdropped as she explained her plan. It sounded
 174.811 +awfully silly. But Tomoyo merely nodded, watching her.
 174.812 +“That’s a good idea, Sakura-chan. But I’m a little worried. What if
 174.813 +your prince doesn’t turn out to be a prince at all?” Tomoyo asked,
 174.814 +walking alongside Sakura. The auburn haired girl looked back at her
 174.815 +in confusion. Tomoyo smiled and rephrased her question. “What if he
 174.816 +isn’t who you want him to be?”
 174.817 +Sakura shook her head, clutching the shoe determinedly. “I don’t
 174.818 +care who he is. I know I love whoever it is I met last night. I’ve
 174.819 +never felt that way before. It was just.. just..” Sakura trailed off,
 174.820 +unable to come up with words to match the storm of emotions in her
 174.821 +heart. Her hands clenched in front of her, as if she could drag the
 174.822 +words out of thing air. "It was perfect. I felt so happy with him. So
 174.823 +peaceful. And for once it didn’t have anything to do with magic. It
 174.824 +was just him. He was what made me feel that way. I don’t care who he
 174.825 +is.”
 174.826 +“That’s so sweet!” Tomoyo exclaimed, a hand on her cheek. “Sakura-
 174.827 +chan is so cute, lost in her thoughts on love. You really are
 174.828 +perfect, Sakura-chan. You’re willing to do whatever to you can to be
 174.829 +with your love again, ready to sacrifice what you have to in order to
 174.830 +see him again. You’re so romantic.” Letting out a sweet sigh, Tomoyo
 174.831 +watched Sakura lovingly.
 174.832 +Sakura sweatdropped. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan.” She should have known
 174.833 +Tomoyo would react that way. But somehow, it gave her more
 174.834 +confidence. It made her feel better about her plan. Tomoyo thought it
 174.835 +was sweet of her, romantic. So it wasn’t just some crazy idea after
 174.836 +all. Nodding to herself, Sakura hurried into the school, Tomoyo right
 174.837 +behind her. 
 174.838 +
 174.839 + “Maybe if you curl your toys up more,” Tomoyo offered helpfully,
 174.840 +standing next to a kneeling Sakura as she tried to place the small
 174.841 +black shoe on yet another boy.
 174.842 +“Oww.. This thing is too tight. I don’t even know what this is all
 174.843 +about,” the boy complained, rubbing his foot after he pulled it out
 174.844 +of the shoe.
 174.845 +Sighing, Sakura sat back, her hands resting on the ground. “We’ve
 174.846 +tried just about every boy in class, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t know who he
 174.847 +could be. It hasn’t fit on any of them. I’m starting to worry. What
 174.848 +if I don’t find him?” The brunette was suddenly overcome by worry.
 174.849 +Her plan has seemed so great earlier that day, but now she felt
 174.850 +hopeless. There weren’t many boys left to try, and none of them
 174.851 +seemed like good candidates for the mystery boy. The thought of not
 174.852 +seeing him again was almost physically painful. Sakura sighed,
 174.853 +holding the shoe. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking,
 174.854 +up, she saw Tomoyo smiling gently down at her. Her worry ebbed away
 174.855 +slowly as she looked up into loving stormy blue eyes.
 174.856 +“It’s all right, Sakura-chan. I know you’ll find him. Just don’t
 174.857 +give up hope. It doesn’t suit you. Remember, you can do anything.
 174.858 +Everything will always work out,” Tomoyo said softly, giving Sakura’s
 174.859 +shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling her hand away. She was
 174.860 +rewarded with a soft smile from Sakura.
 174.861 +“Un, you’re right, Tomoyo-chan. I just have to keep trying. He has
 174.862 +to be out there somewhere. And I know he’s in the class. He was so
 174.863 +familiar. I just couldn’t quite remember who he is.” Shaking her
 174.864 +head, Sakura looked back down at the shoe. There was still a chance.
 174.865 +They hadn’t tried all the boys yet. Just almost all of them. She
 174.866 +sighed softly.
 174.867 +“That’s my shoe!” 
 174.868 +Sakura looked up rapidly, her heart pounding. Who was the shoe’s
 174.869 +mysterious owner? Where was he? Had she finally found him? Locating
 174.870 +the source of the voice, she spotted Yamazaki approaching her.
 174.871 +“Yamazaki-kun? This is your shoe?” she asked in surprise. Could it
 174.872 +have been him the night before? Was he her mystery boy? The one who
 174.873 +had so effortlessly captured her heart?
 174.874 +“Yeah, it’s mine. I always like to wear girls’ shoes. They let you
 174.875 +hear girl’s thoughts that way. The ancient Aztecs knew this. That’s
 174.876 +why they invented girls’ shoes back during the 1500s,” Yamazaki
 174.877 +explained. He pulled the shoe on, the small black shoe reaching
 174.878 +slightly past half of his foot. “See? Perfect fit. I always wear my
 174.879 +shoes like this.”
 174.880 +Sakura blinked in confusion, looking back up at the taller boy. She
 174.881 +watched as he got bopped in the head by his frustrated girlfriend,
 174.882 +Chiharu. 
 174.883 +“Why do you always have to make things up?” Chiharu sighed, dragging
 174.884 +him off, leaving Sakura alone with her shoe.
 174.885 +Sakura knelt down next to the shoe again, sighing. “Tomoyo-chan,
 174.886 +what if I don’t find him? What if I look forever for him and he never
 174.887 +shoes up? What if he was just a dream?” Sakura was on the verge of
 174.888 +tears. She felt awful. Her last chance was slowly slipping away from
 174.889 +her. If she couldn’t find him with his shoe, she didn’t know how she
 174.890 +could ever find him again. It was her only clue and it didn’t seem to
 174.891 +be working at all.
 174.892 +Watching Sakura sadly, Tomoyo stepped closer, trying to figure out
 174.893 +what to do. Sakura seemed so sad. There had to be some way she could
 174.894 +help. But what if it only made things worse if she told Sakura? What
 174.895 +if Sakura couldn’t handle finding out her mystery boy was really a
 174.896 +mystery girl? “The most important things are worth waiting forever
 174.897 +for, Sakura-chan. Some things are worth searching an eternity for.
 174.898 +You just have to find out what these things are. They aren’t always
 174.899 +where we look. So we have to keep looking, always holding out hope
 174.900 +that it will be there.” She smiled softly, brushing back some of
 174.901 +Sakura’s hair from the kneeling girl’s eyes. “He wasn’t a dream,
 174.902 +Sakura-chan. I know because every time I’m with you, I think ‘Sakura-
 174.903 +chan is so amazing. She’s so wonderful. I have to be dreaming.’ But
 174.904 +you’re always there when I wake up. Maybe that’s why I videotape you
 174.905 +so much. As proof. Evidence that you’re really real.”
 174.906 +Tomoyo’s gentle words soothed Sakura’s frightened soul like a
 174.907 +lullaby, playing through her mind again and again. Her musical voice
 174.908 +calmed Sakura’s worried heart, taking away the pain she felt. It was
 174.909 +so soft, so gentle. It played through Sakura like a song. Her emerald
 174.910 +eyes slowly went to Tomoyo’s feet, up her pale legs. An idea struck
 174.911 +with sudden ferocity. Hope bloomed in her heart, followed by the
 174.912 +intense fear that she might be wrote. But she had to try. Scooting
 174.913 +forward, she took Tomoyo’s leg so suddenly that the pale girl almost
 174.914 +toppled over. “Gomen, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura apologize, the words
 174.915 +barely escaping her breathless mouth. With trembling fingers, she
 174.916 +pulled off Tomoyo’s shoe, letting it fall to the floor. Her heart
 174.917 +pounded in a staccato beat in her chest, her mind focusing on this
 174.918 +last attempt. It all seemed to lead here, even if it spun Sakura in
 174.919 +circles to think it all through. She slowly slid the shoe on, waiting
 174.920 +for it to get stuck or for it to be too big. 
 174.921 +The shoe fit perfectly. Sakura could only blink in surprise as she
 174.922 +moved Tomoyo’s foot around in her hand, amazed at the fit. It was
 174.923 +almost too good to be true. She had found him. He had been right
 174.924 +there, all along, watching her try it on all the others. Her heart
 174.925 +pounded in her chest, as she slowly looked up. Tomoyo was looking
 174.926 +down at her, stormy blue eyes sparkling just as they had the night
 174.927 +before. “Tomoyo-chan.. It’s you.. You’re him! I mean.. her. I..
 174.928 +Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura trailed off, unsure of what to say. 
 174.929 +Smiling down softly, Tomoyo helped Sakura back up. “Gomen nasai,
 174.930 +Sakura-chan. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to cause any
 174.931 +trouble for you,” the dark haired girl apologized, looking into
 174.932 +Sakura’s eyes. She still wasn’t sure how Sakura was taking it, how it
 174.933 +was affecting the other girl. She nearly shrank back at the
 174.934 +frustration that briefly flashed in Sakura’s eyes.
 174.935 +“You were right there all along and you didn’t even tell me? I spent
 174.936 +all day touching people’s feet just so I could find you and you were
 174.937 +right there?” Sakura darted forward, hugging Tomoyo tightly. To her
 174.938 +pleasant surprise, it was much more enjoyable than hugging her
 174.939 +pillow. “If you didn’t want to cause me trouble, you could have told
 174.940 +me this morning that it was you I was looking for.”
 174.941 +Tomoyo giggled softly, her indigo eyes falling shut. Whatever
 174.942 +concerns she had held earlier dissipated like a fine mist. Sakura
 174.943 +wasn’t angry with her. She wasn’t even in shock about the whole
 174.944 +thing. And she seemed to be taking the fact that her mystery prince
 174.945 +was a princess rather well. “I’ll remember that next time, Sakura-
 174.946 +chan.”
 174.947 +“Hoe.. There won’t have to be a next time, will there?” Sakura
 174.948 +asked, feeling exhausted. She had enough searching for her love for
 174.949 +any number of lifetimes. 
 174.950 +“Not if you don’t want there to be, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied.
 174.951 +She sighed, resting against Sakura. “But I still found it incredibly
 174.952 +romantic that you would look for me with such cute determination. I
 174.953 +always knew that Sakura-chan could be incredibly romantic at heart.” 
 174.954 +Sakura blushed, still holding onto Tomoyo. But that just furthered
 174.955 +to relax her. The dark haired heiress always had been good at making
 174.956 +her blush, after all. And making her feel loved. She smiled happily,
 174.957 +holding onto her newly found princess, who just happened to have been
 174.958 +there all along. “I love you, Tomoyo-chan,” she whispered softly. “I
 174.959 +told you I didn’t care who you were. I should have known it was you
 174.960 +all along.”
 174.961 +“Oh, Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo replied, her heart nearly bursting with
 174.962 +joy. She hugged the other girl tighter, reveling in the sound of
 174.963 +Sakura’s beautiful words in her mind. “I love you, too, Sakura-chan.”
 174.964 +	Sakura sighed happily, not wanting to relinquish their embrace.
 174.965 +Slowly, she blinked her eyes open. “Ano.. Tomoyo-chan? If you didn’t
 174.966 +want me to know it was you, why did you kiss me last night?”
 174.967 +	Tomoyo smiled, her hands on Sakura’s shoulders as she pulled just
 174.968 +inches away. “Because Sakura-chan looked so cute, but a little
 174.969 +lonely, too. You looked like you needed a kiss. Just like now.” Using
 174.970 +Sakura’s blush as her cue, Tomoyo leant forward and gave Sakura
 174.971 +another soft kiss. This time, however, Sakura responded. Tomoyo
 174.972 +blushed herself as she felt Sakura return the kiss with her whole
 174.973 +genki spirit. Closing her eyes tightly, Tomoyo let the world melt
 174.974 +away as the kiss took her to the brink of heaven. Maybe the dance
 174.975 +hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but she was more than happy with the
 174.976 +outcome. If Sakura thought she could make her happy, then she would
 174.977 +just have to try her hardest.
 174.978 +	Sakura held onto Tomoyo with all that she had as they kissed. It
 174.979 +was even more magical than the one the night before. It filled Sakura
 174.980 +with a swirling typhoon of feelings that threatened to sweep her
 174.981 +away. But she didn’t care. She would be happy to lose herself in
 174.982 +them. She felt so happy, so ‘hanyaa’, just to be with Tomoyo, to have
 174.983 +found her prince. Or princess, as the case may be. Tomoyo had been
 174.984 +right. Some things were worth searching an eternity for. But she was
 174.985 +incredibly grateful that she had found it now.
 174.986 \ No newline at end of file

   175.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   175.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-daydream.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   175.3 @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
   175.4 +Daydreaming 
   175.5 +by Ricardo Chirino 
   175.6 +riel@telcel.net.ve 
   175.7 +
   175.8 +Every day is a new chance to reach happiness. When I'm near Sakura-chan, nothing can go wrong. She's my reason to live. Whenever I see her lovely smile, my life is filled with joy. I'm so lucky. I live near an angel. I feel alive when we are together. Although this is not really difficult. We were meant to be together. My dear Sakura-chan. 
   175.9 +
  175.10 +Every day, when I go to Tomoeda Gakuen I find Sakura there. She's always smiling. She's always cheerful. God! I certainly can't even think about my life without Sakura. I guess it's fate. My dear mother, Sonomi, also had a crush on Nadeshiko. Definately, our blood ties us together. Today I'm going to spend a long, long time with my sweet and tender Sakura-chan. That's what I really want. That's what we both want... 
  175.11 +
  175.12 +"Tomoyo? Tomoyo-chan?" 
  175.13 +
  175.14 +I felt the voice grow. It was getting me back to reality. Her lovely voice was calling me from the void of my mind. Sakura-chan was calling me. 
  175.15 +
  175.16 +"Yes dear?" I said as softly as possible to my beloved. 
  175.17 +
  175.18 +"You were daydreaming, ne?" Sakura asked me. She was stunning. So beautiful and attractive. She was the captor of my heart and soul. "Class is over, you know..." 
  175.19 +
  175.20 +"Yes... I. I was thinking on you, Sakura-chan." I said, blushing. 
  175.21 +
  175.22 +"Oh Tomoyo!" 
  175.23 +
  175.24 +Sakura leaned against me. She was so close! I could feel her warm breath, her soft skin, her angelic eyes staring at me. I was in paradise. She used her hands and softly hugged me. 
  175.25 +
  175.26 +"Tomoyo. You are so sweet." 
  175.27 +
  175.28 +I could feel her soft, baby-like smell. Her brown short hair was soft and silky. I love how her cute head felt on my hands. I want to protect Sakura. I want she to stay with me like that forever. Sakura-chan! 
  175.29 +
  175.30 +"Sakura-chan. I love you with all my might." 
  175.31 +
  175.32 +"I love you too, Tomoyo-chan. Just hug me, please." 
  175.33 +
  175.34 +We stayed like that for a long time. Chiharu entered the classroom to pick the flower vase, and saw us together. She already knew about our relation, and she smiled at the lovely sight. 
  175.35 +
  175.36 +"See you tomorrow, Sakura, Tomoyo." 
  175.37 +
  175.38 +"Bye, Chiharu-chan!" we replied at the same time. 
  175.39 +
  175.40 +We were alone. It didn't matter. If the classroom was full it would be the same. We were in love, and we could find happiness anywhere, as long as we were together. I'm in heaven whenever I'm near my Sakura-chan. 
  175.41 +
  175.42 +"Tomoyo..." 
  175.43 +
  175.44 +Sakura looked at me directly. Those beautiful green eyes of her captivated me with each stare. God... She's so beautiful. I, without noticing, following the desires of my body and my mind, leaned forward to her. My lips only a few milimeters from hers. Now I could smell the air coming out from her... I could feel the warmth of my beloved Sakura-chan. 
  175.45 +
  175.46 +"Please, kiss me... I want to love you." She said caringly to me. 
  175.47 +
  175.48 +I couldn't resist it anymore. My heart was galloping. I was so happy and excited. I took the last step and placed my mouth on hers. We kissed for a long, long time. We kissed and hugged like never before. I can't describe how I felt at that moment. The feeling of joy and love was overwhelming. 
  175.49 +
  175.50 +After a few minutes, we went outside. We leaned against a tree. The sunset was beautiful. I don't know if it really was, but I guess that being with that special person can make anything look gorgeous. 
  175.51 +
  175.52 +Sakura sat beside me. Her head rested on my shoulder. 
  175.53 +
  175.54 +"Tomoyo-chan..." 
  175.55 +
  175.56 +"Yes, my love." 
  175.57 +
  175.58 +"Can you sing for me?" 
  175.59 +
  175.60 +"Of course, my angel." 
  175.61 +
  175.62 +It was a pleasure for me to sing to her. I really enjoy singing to her. God, I really love her! I'll do my best to make her happy, since her happiness is mine too. 
  175.63 +
  175.64 +I sang for her a long time. Soon she fell asleep on my lap. I softly caressed her hair. After a while she woke up, and we both went to my house. There we spent the night together. 
  175.65 +
  175.66 +Tomorrow I'll be there for her! Tomorrow she'll be there for me... 
  175.67 +
  175.68 +"Sakura-chan. I love you..." 
  175.69 +
  175.70 +
  175.71 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  175.72 +
  175.73 +AUTHOR'S NOTES: 
  175.74 +
  175.75 +Hello once again! I really enjoyed writing this shortie. I really love this sweet couple. Long live Sakura & Tomoyo. Pretty please: If you find any grammatic or spelling errors please, PLEASE, e-mail me @ riel@telcel.net.ve. I'm also looking forward to reading your comments! I'll be back! 
  175.76 +
  175.77 +Sayonara!

   176.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   176.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-destiny.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   176.3 @@ -0,0 +1,405 @@
   176.4 +Author’s note: Hello! ^-^ This is another Tomoyo & Sakura story
   176.5 +(like a good deal of my fanfics) and it has some dark issues that it
   176.6 +deals with. It isn’t exactly a lemon, but it does have some
   176.7 +suggestive moments between two women. I don’t own these characters
   176.8 +though I’d do almost anything to own Tomoyo-chan. ^-^ But then I’d
   176.9 +have to own Sakura, too, just so she wouldn’t get lonely. ^-^;;
  176.10 +Anyway, this fanfic comes from a discussion G.P. and I were having
  176.11 +about the possibilities of Sakura’s vast powers after her life
  176.12 +started to break down with her marriage to Syaoran and the consequent
  176.13 +loss of Tomoyo as a major force in her life. The original idea was
  176.14 +much darker, but the characters had their own idea where this story
  176.15 +was going. ^-^;; I really hope you enjoy it. ^-^ I always love
  176.16 +feedback, so if you have a chance when you’re done with the story, I
  176.17 +would love to hear from you. ^-^
  176.18 +
  176.19 +
  176.20 +Don’t Close Your Eyes
  176.21 +by Amazoness Duo
  176.22 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  176.23 +
  176.24 +
  176.25 +
  176.26 +	What was the start of all this? When had things started taking a
  176.27 +turn for the worse? Sakura wasn’t quite sure anymore as she looked
  176.28 +back on things. She had a difficult time remembering the last time
  176.29 +she was truly happy. The wedding? The honeymoon? Sometime afterwards?
  176.30 +The marriage had been dreamlike at first, the novelty of being a
  176.31 +married couple making it all the more amazing. It had seemed
  176.32 +wonderful. She could finally be with the man she loved always. But
  176.33 +things hadn’t worked out quite the way she had planned. She had a
  176.34 +hard time connecting with Syaoran. He had a difficult time with his
  176.35 +own emotions. Her emotions seemed like a complete mystery to him,
  176.36 +like another language. He saw her overemotional behavior often as a
  176.37 +sign of weakness and couldn’t understand her pain. Nor could he truly
  176.38 +take part in her joy. And so her heart had languished. 
  176.39 +	If that had been the only thing, it might have been bearable. But
  176.40 +as time went by, things became worse. Syaoran had always been a
  176.41 +jealous person. And now that she was his bride, his possession, he
  176.42 +was even worse about it, even to her friends and family. She was
  176.43 +confused and hurt with how he treated them. She found that she could
  176.44 +not come to him with her misery of being away from them and alone in
  176.45 +Hong Kong. The only one she could really talk to about it was Tomoyo,
  176.46 +and unfortunately she had heard less and less from the dark haired
  176.47 +beauty as time went by until she stopped hearing from her altogether
  176.48 +several months before. 
  176.49 +	The phone call from Sonomi had startled her out of a peaceful
  176.50 +sleep. At first she thought it was a phone call from Tomoyo but
  176.51 +Sonomi’s pain wracked voice quickly shook that thought. She had never
  176.52 +heard someone hurt that badly before as Sonomi tried to speak on the
  176.53 +phone. A cold chill had run through Sakura’s body as she waited. It
  176.54 +had to be about Tomoyo. There was nothing else it could be. And deep
  176.55 +in her heart, she already knew what the phone call was about. Tomoyo
  176.56 +had killed herself. Sonomi had found her in her little apartment with
  176.57 +her wrists slashed. Her broken best friend had bled to death on her
  176.58 +floor, all alone in the middle of the night. The simple suicide note
  176.59 +left by Tomoyo was just like her, sweet and kind with hidden pain
  176.60 +behind it. Apparently, she hadn’t intended for Sakura to ever find
  176.61 +out about her suicide, mentioning in the letter how she had faded
  176.62 +from Sakura’s life and that now she could leave without worrying
  176.63 +about making the brunette sad. Sonomi had other ideas instead of
  176.64 +keeping it from Sakura. Sakura had curled up and cried for what felt
  176.65 +like an eternity.
  176.66 +	Tomoyo’s death had shattered Sakura’s heart into thousands of
  176.67 +splinters, all lodged painfully in her soul. Syaoran could not mend
  176.68 +her heart after that point. She was too far gone, living every day in
  176.69 +an emotional agony. She was fairly sure that he didn’t love her
  176.70 +anymore. He rarely spent time with her now and the luster of their
  176.71 +early marriage was gone. And she had finally come to the realization
  176.72 +that she hadn’t loved him in the first place. He was important to
  176.73 +her, to be sure, but she had never fallen in love with him. Everyone
  176.74 +had pushed her into a relationship with him. And she had gone along
  176.75 +with it, believing that they all knew her heart better than she
  176.76 +could. And she had been wrong. 
  176.77 +	Pulling up her staff, Sakura closed her emerald green eyes. She
  176.78 +didn’t know when things had started going wrong, but she didn’t care
  176.79 +by this point. She was the most powerful magician in the world. With
  176.80 +all of her magic, fixing things should be easy enough. There was a
  176.81 +slight quiver in her heart of fear, but she pushed it away. It was
  176.82 +too painful to keep living on this way. Tomoyo, Syaoran, her family,
  176.83 +it had all slipped away from her. Clutching the staff tighter, she
  176.84 +began to focus all of her magic. “I’m going to put all of this
  176.85 +right,” she whispered. As she finished chanting, the world around her
  176.86 +began to grow fuzzy, distorted. Colors began to bleed together,
  176.87 +reality swirling around her. Faces and images, smells and sounds
  176.88 +tormented Sakura as the world around her twisted and pulled. Her own
  176.89 +body began following suit, her hand dropping the staff as her fingers
  176.90 +began to dissipate in a swirl of light. It felt like she was being
  176.91 +pulled apart, piece by piece. A shrill scream shattered the world
  176.92 +around her and everything went dark. 
  176.93 +
  176.94 +	Some time later, Sakura woke up with a pounding headache. It was
  176.95 +still pitch black, but it was now deathly silent. What had happened?
  176.96 +Nothing was coming to mind. Everything was distant, like it had all
  176.97 +been a dream that was quickly fading away. Perhaps that was all it
  176.98 +had been. A horrible nightmare brought on by the stress of Tomoyo’s
  176.99 +death and her own weakening relationship with her husband. A sad sigh
 176.100 +escaped her lips as she shifted in bed. Good. She was home in bed. It
 176.101 +had all been a bad dream after all. She could feel warm arms around
 176.102 +her, naked skin against her own as they lay haphazardly under the
 176.103 +sheets. She snuggled closer, holding on tightly herself. “Syaoran...”
 176.104 +she whispered. She desperately wanted comfort right now, but at least
 176.105 +she knew he was there, even if he was asleep. She buried her face
 176.106 +against his shoulder and got a face full of long hair. It smelt of
 176.107 +lilacs. That was strange. She couldn’t remember that scent before.
 176.108 +Nor did she remember Syaoran’s hair being quite so long. Now that she
 176.109 +thought about it, the body that was pressed firmly against her didn’t
 176.110 +feel much like Syaoran’s either. Her bare leg moved up along the
 176.111 +other figure’s long bare leg as Sakura’s confusion grew to a breaking
 176.112 +point in her head. The body felt much softer, much more curvy than
 176.113 +her husband’s. It also seemed smaller. Her leg finally stopped
 176.114 +between the other figure’s legs. This wasn’t her husband at all. This
 176.115 +was a woman. 
 176.116 +	Sakura nearly fell out of bed after slipping away from the sleeping
 176.117 +figure. What was going on here? How had she woken up naked in bed
 176.118 +with another woman? None of this was making any sense. The person in
 176.119 +bed should be her husband. If it had all just been a bad dream then
 176.120 +she should have woken up to find herself at home in bed with him.
 176.121 +Unless... It hadn’t been a nightmare at all, had it? Then her magic
 176.122 +must have gone freakishly wrong to have her end up here. Noticing a
 176.123 +discarded nightie on the floor, Sakura snagged it and quickly pulled
 176.124 +it over her head. She dimly realized that it fit perfectly, as it if
 176.125 +were her own even though she had never seen the garment before. 
 176.126 +	Standing up silently in the dark room, Sakura waited for her eyes
 176.127 +to adjust. The room she was in definitely wasn’t the one she shared
 176.128 +with her husband. It looked elegantly decorated and beautifully done.
 176.129 +Whoever had made up the room had done so with great care. There were
 176.130 +long ethereal curtains around the bed that Sakura had slipped out of,
 176.131 +obscuring the woman within. She was lying on her back, her long dark
 176.132 +hair spread around her head on the pillow she was using. The sheet
 176.133 +had been pulled mostly off of her from Sakura’s quick escape from the
 176.134 +bed. She was obviously a very beautiful woman around Sakura’s age. 
 176.135 +But that still didn’t explain why they were sharing a bed. Especially
 176.136 +in such an intimate way. Sakura’s cheeks flushed crimson as she
 176.137 +covered herself with her arms self-consciously. What had her magic
 176.138 +done? 
 176.139 +	The woman on the bed stirred in her sleep, startling Sakura nearly
 176.140 +to death before going back to her contented slumber. The Cardmistress
 176.141 +let out a weary sigh of relief. Her curiosity began gnawing at her
 176.142 +again. She had to know who the woman was and what was going on.
 176.143 +Leaning forward, her fingers grasped onto the thin fabric of the bed
 176.144 +curtains. Pulling them aside, Sakura squinted in the darkness, trying
 176.145 +to make out the familiar face of the sleeping woman. Realization hit
 176.146 +her with a sudden ferocity. “Tomoyo-chan!” she exclaimed in shock.
 176.147 +The last she had seen of her was at the funeral. Her knees went weak
 176.148 +at the sight, the body of her best friend stirring again after her
 176.149 +sudden outburst. How could it be? Tomoyo was dead. She had seen her.
 176.150 +There was no way... But she had used her magic to fix things. Had she
 176.151 +saved Tomoyo? 
 176.152 +	Yawning tiredly, the dark haired woman in question blinked up at
 176.153 +the brunette who was leaning over her. A sleepy smile crossed her
 176.154 +lips as she propped herself up on one elbow. She seemed unabashed
 176.155 +about her nudity in front of Sakura. “Sakura’s up early. Did Bara-
 176.156 +chan wake you up again? I still don’t know which of us she likes to
 176.157 +wake up more often.” 
 176.158 +	Sakura could do nothing but stare at the dark haired woman in front
 176.159 +of her. This was all too much too quickly for her to understand.
 176.160 +Tomoyo was back. And she was here for some reason. Or Sakura was
 176.161 +there. One or the other. Had she called her Sakura and not Sakura-
 176.162 +chan? She’d never heard that before. She barely heard what Tomoyo
 176.163 +said. She only nodded weakly. Tomoyo’s hand reached out, stroking
 176.164 +Sakura’s cheek lovingly. Sakura felt a dark blush creeping up on her
 176.165 +cheeks as Tomoyo leaned up and kissed her. It was long and sweet, the
 176.166 +pale woman taking her time to savor the kiss. It was very slow yet
 176.167 +passionate, beginning to send a warm feeling through Sakura’s whole
 176.168 +body. Wide eyed, she slumped back to her knees when the kiss finally
 176.169 +finished, now even more confused than ever at what had happened. 
 176.170 +	A giggle came from Tomoyo as she watched the bewildered woman on
 176.171 +the floor near her. Sakura was always so cute, even when she was
 176.172 +tired. “You should get back to sleep, Sakura. We have a big day
 176.173 +tomorrow. If Bara-chan comes back in, I’ll take care of her,
 176.174 +darling.” Taking Sakura by the hand gently, she pulled her back onto
 176.175 +the bed next to her, snuggling close once more. She rested her head
 176.176 +on Sakura’s chest, her long dark hair spilling across Sakura like a
 176.177 +blanket.  
 176.178 +	Sitting in shock, Sakura could do nothing but stare at the girl
 176.179 +lying against her. Just what had she done with her magic? Things had
 176.180 +changed quite a bit. And why had Tomoyo kissed her? Just what was
 176.181 +going on? Sakura blushed deeply in the darkness, trying to sort past
 176.182 +the knotted feelings inside of her. Tomoyo was back. That was the
 176.183 +important thing. This time around she hadn’t killed herself. She was
 176.184 +alive. And happy. Sakura wrapped her arms around Tomoyo protectively,
 176.185 +prompting Tomoyo to snuggle closer. Sakura yawned, closing her eyes.
 176.186 +After all of the stress and sudden shock, she passed out quickly. 
 176.187 +
 176.188 +	“Mama?” a tiny voice meandered through Sakura’s head. It sounded
 176.189 +distant, miles away. But it slowly became closer, more insistent. She
 176.190 +felt a tug on her nightgown from small hands. “Mama?” 
 176.191 +	Blinking tiredly, Sakura sat up in bed. Closing her jade eyes, she
 176.192 +stretched, yawning. Last night sure had been... “Mama?” a small voice
 176.193 +interrupted her thoughts, irrefutably nearby. Sakura’s eyes shot open
 176.194 +suddenly. It hadn’t been a dream. Again. She was really here. With
 176.195 +Tomoyo. And... “Bara-chan?” she asked curiously. The little girl
 176.196 +smiled, happy to have her attention. Just who was the young lady? Was
 176.197 +she Sakura’s daughter? Or Tomoyo’s? She and Syaoran had discussed
 176.198 +children on occasion, but it had never happened. Was this Tomoyo’s
 176.199 +daughter then? She had Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes with dark brown hair
 176.200 +down to her shoulders. “Mama, can you put these ribbons in my hair?”
 176.201 +she asked sweetly, holding out a handful of green ribbons to Sakura.
 176.202 +Sakura just stared at her for a minute, slowly taking the ribbons.
 176.203 +Who’s daughter was she, then? This whole thing wasn’t making any
 176.204 +sense. She decided to be more careful the next time she decided to
 176.205 +use her magic to fix everything. 
 176.206 +	A gentle giggle came from the other side of the room, drawing
 176.207 +Sakura’s attention. Tomoyo was already dressed in a business outfit,
 176.208 +her hair done up beautifully in braids. “You’re finally awake,
 176.209 +Sakura. You must have been tired last night. I would have woken you
 176.210 +up earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to. You look so pretty when
 176.211 +you sleep.” Looking back in the mirror as she finished adjusting her
 176.212 +outfit, Tomoyo sighed dreamily. 
 176.213 +	Sakura just sat in bed, clutching the sheets against her body. Her
 176.214 +emerald eyes darted from the girl in front of her to Tomoyo and back.
 176.215 +The little girl was still watching her patiently, her little hand
 176.216 +holding the ribbons out to the dazed woman. Sakura found herself
 176.217 +slowly reaching out for them, not quite aware of what she was doing.
 176.218 +This pleased the younger girl who eagerly gave up the little fabric
 176.219 +strips. The ribbons hung heavily in Sakura’s hand, practically
 176.220 +demanding her full attentions. They were so much safer than
 176.221 +contemplating what was going on. Beautiful lavender ribbons. They
 176.222 +brought back memories of braiding Tomoyo’s hair, her fingers lost in
 176.223 +Tomoyo’s lavender tresses. She didn’t notice the curious look that
 176.224 +Bara was giving her, nostalgia replacing her confusion for the time
 176.225 +being. The last she had seen of Tomoyo was at the funeral. It had
 176.226 +been the single most painful event in her life. Nothing could have
 176.227 +possibly prepared her for it. She still woke up crying at night, but
 176.228 +there was no comfort in waking up. The nightmare had been very real.
 176.229 +But this time, it was only a nightmare. Tomoyo was alive and well.
 176.230 +She had the same bright, gorgeous smile that Sakura remembered her
 176.231 +wearing so beautifully. She felt like she had finally been let out of
 176.232 +a sealed coffin. Poisonous thoughts that had plagued her nearly every
 176.233 +day since the dark haired woman’s suicide had left her feelings so
 176.234 +tired and weak, always on the verge of collapse. But now she couldn’t
 176.235 +even remember all of them, as if they had been nothing more than a
 176.236 +dream. And for all intents and purposes, they were. She was the only
 176.237 +one who could remember what had happened before she had fixed things.
 176.238 +She still wasn’t sure exactly what she had fixed, but she was content
 176.239 +in the knowledge that Tomoyo was still alive and well. She had needed
 176.240 +her best friend terribly over the past few months and going on
 176.241 +without her had been almost impossible. No, that wasn’t true. She had
 176.242 +needed Tomoyo for much longer than the past few months. The past few
 176.243 +years of her marriage. No, that wasn’t right either. She had needed
 176.244 +her ever since she left for Hong Kong. Ever since she left Tomoyo. 
 176.245 +	Tilting Sakura’s chin, Tomoyo gave her a petal soft kiss, savoring
 176.246 +the wondrous feel of Sakura’s lips against her own. Even after all
 176.247 +the years they had been together, she never got tired of the simple
 176.248 +joys of living with the brunette. Her lips lingered on Sakura’s for a
 176.249 +long moment, the warmth in her heart wrapping around her like a
 176.250 +blanket. Her lithe fingers delicately stroked the bottom of Sakura’s
 176.251 +chin as she finally pulled away, smiling happily as she did. “I’m
 176.252 +going to check on breakfast. Don’t take too long, you two.” 
 176.253 +	Sakura watched Tomoyo’s retreating form with wide eyes, her fingers
 176.254 +lightly held against her lips. She was more awake now and the shock
 176.255 +had had time to set in so she couldn’t just push it aside the way she
 176.256 +had the night before. No, that wasn’t entirely the case. She was
 176.257 +still most definitely shocked. But the idea of pushing this off was
 176.258 +impossible. She was dense, but she wasn’t blind. 
 176.259 +	“Mama?” Bara’s voice reached out again, taking a hold of Sakura’s
 176.260 +thoughts and leading her back to the ribbons in her hand.
 176.261 +	“Oh... Hai, let me fix these for you,” Sakura said after a moment’s
 176.262 +hesitation. Her voice came out surprisingly better than she would
 176.263 +have thought, given the circumstances. While her fingers were busy
 176.264 +with the ribbons in the little girl’s hair, her mind was still
 176.265 +focussed a minute earlier on the kiss. It had felt so natural, so
 176.266 +warm and loving. It was with some shock that she realized exactly
 176.267 +what it was. The kiss of a couple that has had quite some time to
 176.268 +grow completely comfortable with the other. Granted, Tomoyo kissed
 176.269 +rather differently from Syaoran, more gentle and slow, but the basis
 176.270 +was still there. The years were apparent in the kiss. Her shaking
 176.271 +hands settled in her lap. Her eyes slowly began to scan the room. In
 176.272 +the morning light it was much easier to see the room’s design. The
 176.273 +room was very neat, everything seeming to accentuate everything else
 176.274 +like a well designed costume. It was definitely Tomoyo’s doing. But
 176.275 +at the same time, there were tell tale signs that she shared the
 176.276 +room. Little stuffed animals at odd places, trinkets on the dresser,
 176.277 +cluttered yet organized chaos lurking around the room. And most
 176.278 +importantly, a picture of the two of them by the bedside, both in
 176.279 +wedding gowns, along with numerous other pictures of the happy
 176.280 +couple. Bara showed up in quite a few of them as well. Apparently
 176.281 +Tomoyo still did an excellent job of documenting everything for
 176.282 +posterity. And why wouldn’t she? If they were married then she had
 176.283 +even more reason to be making her memorial videos and documenting
 176.284 +Sakura’s life. Her loving and devoted wife. “Hoe...” Sakura slumped
 176.285 +back on the bed, by now too lost in thought to notice the little girl
 176.286 +mentioning that breakfast is probably ready or that she had already
 176.287 +walked out the bedroom door. Just what had she changed? She was
 176.288 +fairly certain that it was one specific thing, but how could it have
 176.289 +had such drastic affects?
 176.290 +	“Sakura?” Tomoyo asked softly, startling Sakura from her thoughts.
 176.291 +The pale woman was standing at their bedside. She had been watching
 176.292 +the brunette for a minute or two now, but Sakura hadn’t noticed her
 176.293 +arrival. Sakura was like a book to Tomoyo. Her favorite book, of
 176.294 +course. Her feelings always came across perfectly, even when Sakura
 176.295 +didn’t quite understand them. The years they had spent together had
 176.296 +only made it easier to tell what Sakura was feeling. She could tell
 176.297 +that Sakura was having trouble with something but she wasn’t sure if
 176.298 +she should say anything yet. Sometimes offering a subtle hand made
 176.299 +much more of a difference than a strong grasp. She was there for
 176.300 +Sakura and her wife knew that. If Sakura didn’t want to say anything,
 176.301 +then that was all right. Though it usually didn’t take long before
 176.302 +Sakura told her whatever was on her mind. Sitting down next to the
 176.303 +Cardmistress, Tomoyo placed her hand atop her wife’s, squeezing
 176.304 +gently. “Are you all right?” 
 176.305 +	Sakura couldn’t answer for a moment. All she could do was look at
 176.306 +the dark haired woman, listening to her gentle voice, transfixed by
 176.307 +her stormy blue eyes. Her free hand came up slowly of it’s own
 176.308 +volition, the tips of her fingers tracing Tomoyo’s silken skin. Her
 176.309 +fingers brushed through Tomoyo’s soft hair as they continued up along
 176.310 +her cheek. Sakura’s heart had nearly stopped in her chest. “Tomoyo-
 176.311 +chan!!” Sakura threw her arms around Tomoyo, holding onto her as
 176.312 +tightly as she could, her body shaking as she buried her head in the
 176.313 +crook of the dark haired woman’s neck. The reality of the situation
 176.314 +hadn’t quite dawned on her until that moment. Until then, she had
 176.315 +still been confused, lost in the situation presented before her. But
 176.316 +now the how and what hardly mattered to her. Now that she was
 176.317 +surrounded in Tomoyo’s presence, her soft, gentle touch, her warm
 176.318 +skin, her intoxicating scent, it was all that mattered. “You’re
 176.319 +really here... Oh, Tomoyo-chan!” Tears that Sakura thought she could
 176.320 +no longer shed spilt down her cheeks, sliding down Tomoyo’s shoulder.
 176.321 +Coherent thought was beyond her. There was merely a sea of emotions
 176.322 +and she was Alice, riding through it all in a tiny jar, tossing and
 176.323 +turning in the waves. She could feel Tomoyo’s hand lightly rubbing
 176.324 +her back, the pale woman’s soft voice whispering reassurances in her
 176.325 +ear. She cried even harder, clutching onto Tomoyo with all of her
 176.326 +strength. “I won’t let you go again, Tomoyo-chan... I won’t...” she
 176.327 +sobbed weakly. 
 176.328 +	“I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without you, Sakura,” Tomoyo
 176.329 +whispered comfortingly. She gently brushed Sakura’s hair from her
 176.330 +damp eyes with her free hand, still stroking Sakura’s back with the
 176.331 +other. What had started as a small concern in her mind had suddenly
 176.332 +turned into a blaring alarm. Something was definitely wrong. A
 176.333 +nightmare, perhaps? No, Sakura usually woke her up when she had
 176.334 +nightmares, wanting her to tell her it would be all right. Whatever
 176.335 +this was, it was affecting Sakura immensely. The brunette was acting
 176.336 +as if she had died. The possibility of magic was open, but aside from
 176.337 +the magician’s library she had insisted on adding to the house for
 176.338 +Sakura and the occasions that Sakura would use magic when it was just
 176.339 +the two of them, the Cardmistress hadn’t had to deal with any real
 176.340 +magical crisis for years. But now wasn’t the time to pursue it. Right
 176.341 +now she just wanted to take away Sakura’s pain. The cause could wait
 176.342 +until later. Pulling away ever so slightly, Tomoyo leaned down and
 176.343 +began to kiss away Sakura’s salty tears one at a time, her hands
 176.344 +resting on the brunette’s shoulders. Sakura could only look back at
 176.345 +her with watery jade eyes that tugged at Tomoyo’s heart. ‘Oh, Sakura-
 176.346 +chan... I’m so sorry. You should never have to look out at the world
 176.347 +with such sad eyes. I’ll do anything to make that pain go away.’
 176.348 +	Sakura sniffled as Tomoyo kept kissing away the last of her tears.
 176.349 +Her body still shook though she had finally quit crying. She watched
 176.350 +Tomoyo the entire time, her eyes following the sweet motions and the
 176.351 +concerned yet reassuring look on the dark haired woman’s face.
 176.352 +Tomoyo’s soft lips remained on her skin for a few seconds at a time,
 176.353 +lingering on each little tear drop before miraculously whisking it
 176.354 +away and moving to the next. Each kiss soothed Sakura’s weary mind,
 176.355 +like bandages for her soul. It was nice. Warm. Loving. The tumultuous
 176.356 +sea of emotion that had risen up around her like a tsunami slowly
 176.357 +began to calm into a peaceful, serene ocean with Tomoyo at it’s
 176.358 +center. She had reached out for her, pulling her away from the
 176.359 +shipwreck she had found herself lost in. Just like Tomoyo always had.
 176.360 +Her kisses continued across Sakura’s warm cheeks, trailing the last
 176.361 +of her tears. Sakura moved her head to the side, her eyes finally
 176.362 +closing. Her lips met Tomoyo’s, Sakura’s last tear dripping past her
 176.363 +chin, forgotten. Sakura felt her whole body still as she kissed her
 176.364 +best friend. She didn’t know quite why. Tomoyo’s kisses had been
 176.365 +coursing through her bit by bit. She wanted to feel them... Needed to
 176.366 +feel them, to know that they were there. That Tomoyo was alive and
 176.367 +well. In her arms. She kissed Tomoyo softly at first, but found
 176.368 +herself eagerly complying as Tomoyo began to kiss her more
 176.369 +passionately. She couldn’t remember what was the dream anymore. She
 176.370 +only knew this moment. There was so much she wanted to tell Tomoyo
 176.371 +but had never had the chance to. And now that she was, Sakura found
 176.372 +herself in tears even thinking about all the things she wanted to
 176.373 +say. But this felt like the perfect way to get across all of the
 176.374 +nuances in her heart. Finding out that they were married had come as
 176.375 +a huge shock to Sakura. It had never crossed her mind before that
 176.376 +such a thing would have ever been possible. But now it didn’t seem to
 176.377 +matter. Her lips parted slightly and for a brief moment she felt
 176.378 +Tomoyo’s tongue dancing with her own. The rest of the ice in her
 176.379 +heart melted. It was delightfully sensuous, insanely slow. The dark
 176.380 +haired girl kept drawing out the moment, kissing Sakura with a gentle
 176.381 +intensity that shook off the painful bonds that had shackled Sakura’s
 176.382 +heart. 
 176.383 +	Relaxing into the kiss, Tomoyo allowed herself to stop worrying
 176.384 +herself to death for the time being. Yes, this was certainly her
 176.385 +beloved Sakura. Whatever the problem was, she would help the brunette
 176.386 +with it if it reared up again. For now, she wanted to bathe her in
 176.387 +the love that filled her heart near bursting. Sakura’s kiss had been
 176.388 +hesitant at first, unsure of herself. But it had quickly grown to the
 176.389 +wonderful breathless kisses that had marked some of their most
 176.390 +treasured moments together. Sakura’s arms slowly wrapped around her
 176.391 +neck as they continued kissing. Tomoyo leaned into Sakura, enjoying
 176.392 +the warm feeling of their bodies pressed together. For the dark
 176.393 +haired woman, kissing Sakura, or just being with Sakura for that
 176.394 +matter, was like being out in a shower of Sakura petals, each one a
 176.395 +piece of her beloved’s heart raining down about her. It was the
 176.396 +purest joy, the deepest happiness. And it only fed her limitless love
 176.397 +for the woman in her arms. “I love you,” Tomoyo whispered. “With all
 176.398 +my heart.”
 176.399 +	“I love you, too, Tomoyo-cha... Tomoyo.” Sakura smiled softly. It
 176.400 +was a small, genuine smile. Yes, that other place, that dark place
 176.401 +must have been a dream. A nightmare. It was all fading as quickly as
 176.402 +one. How could she have gotten so worked up over a bad dream like
 176.403 +that? Tomoyo was alive. Tomoyo was hers. They had a beautiful
 176.404 +daughter and a wonderful life together. There was no reason to
 176.405 +indulge in nightmares any longer. “I love you, too.”
 176.406 +	
 176.407 +	
 176.408 + 
 176.409 \ No newline at end of file

   177.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   177.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-gift.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   177.3 @@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
   177.4 +A silly, one-shot ficsnip that I wrote as a Valentine's Day gift for Meghan/Suppi-chan.
   177.5 +^_-
   177.6 +
   177.7 +
   177.8 +--
   177.9 +
  177.10 +_The Gift That Keeps On Giving_
  177.11 +
  177.12 +Author: Catsy (nekojita@ayashi.net)
  177.13 +Content: silly, mild sexual suggestiveness
  177.14 +
  177.15 +--
  177.16 +"Hiiragizawa-kun," Tomoyo scolded, returning Eriol's selection to the wall
  177.17 +rack, "you're impossible. Why can't we just get her chocolate, like
  177.18 +everyone else?"
  177.19 +
  177.20 +Eriol favored Tomoyo with that special smile he reserved for those times
  177.21 +when he was planning something genuinely diabolical and therefore needed to
  177.22 +look as innocent as possible. "Not impossible, Tomoyo-san. Merely
  177.23 +difficult. Everyone gives chocolate on Valentine's Day in Japan--wouldn't
  177.24 +you rather do something special for Sakura-san?"
  177.25 +
  177.26 +Eriol knew it to be a mistake the moment he said it. As soon as the word
  177.27 +/Sakura/ passed his lips, Tomoyo once again got that far-off look of
  177.28 +orgasmic pleasure that meant she was visualizing Sakura in something
  177.29 +frilly, handmade, and probably better left at Victoria's Secret if it
  177.30 +weren't fitted for a teenager.
  177.31 +
  177.32 +Sure enough, Tomoyo whirled and clasped her hands together, declaring,
  177.33 +"Before, when she was capturing and mastering the Clow Cards, there were so
  177.34 +many different outfits I could've made for her! Why, there was this one I
  177.35 +made that one year--"
  177.36 +
  177.37 +Eriol waited for Tomoyo's gushing description to end, a patient and
  177.38 +indulgent smile on his face. "And now that it's long over," he said in an
  177.39 +attempt to steer the conversation back on track, "what should we get her?"
  177.40 +
  177.41 +Tomoyo tapped thoughtfully at her chin, looking around the store. "I don't
  177.42 +know," she said with such despair that she sounded as if she were
  177.43 +confessing to a double-murder. "The problem is, anything we buy her will
  177.44 +just embarass her."
  177.45 +
  177.46 +"Undoubtedly," he agreed cheerfully. "So then, what about this one?"
  177.47 +
  177.48 +Tomoyo shook her head firmly. "Too plain. It would never do for her."
  177.49 +
  177.50 +"And this?"
  177.51 +
  177.52 +Another shake, side-to-side. "No, that shade of green is wrong for her.
  177.53 +What about this?"
  177.54 +
  177.55 +Eriol halted in his tracks for a moment, thinking. "No," he said after a
  177.56 +brief pause. "We're on the right track, but it's too glittery."
  177.57 +
  177.58 +"But Sakura-chan /likes/ glitter!" Tomoyo protested.
  177.59 +
  177.60 +"Oh yes," Eriol said with a winning smile. "But I think perhaps this is
  177.61 +the wrong occasion. On the other hand..." His eyes wandered over to another
  177.62 +section of the store. Tomoyo immediately saw what he'd spotted, and her
  177.63 +eyes glazed over. "Oh, that's perfect! Absolutely /perfect!/
  177.64 +Hiiragizawa-kun, we absolutely have to get that for her, it's just the
  177.65 +right shade of pink, and she will completely /die/ over it!"
  177.66 +
  177.67 +Eriol winced at the volume of Tomoyo's voice, and hooked his arm in hers
  177.68 +to guide her in the right direction. It took some work, since she was busy
  177.69 +bouncing up and down and generally attracting attention with her
  177.70 +exclamations. Laughing gently, he picked up the item in question, and
  177.71 +turned it on. It gave off faint buzz, which died after a few seconds.
  177.72 +"We'll have to buy batteries, of course."
  177.73 +
  177.74 +"Oh, don't you worry about that," Tomoyo said with the gleam of rapture in
  177.75 +her eyes. "I have plenty of those."
  177.76 \ No newline at end of file

   178.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   178.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-happiness.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   178.3 @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
   178.4 +Title: Happiness
   178.5 +Style: One Shot
   178.6 +Author: Syaoran No Ichiban Aikousha
   178.7 +Author's Note: Hi! This is my first Sakura & Tomoyo fanfic. I actually wrote this for a friend whose a fan of yuri/yaoi stuff. She liked it so I'm posting it up! This is a one shot so it's kind of short. And please understand that I am a BIG fan of S&S, but I enjoy writing almost any kind of story. ^__^ If you have a request for any kind of CCS couple fanfic, e-mail me and I'll try to write something if I have time! :D Anyway, enjoy!
   178.8 +Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. CCS is not mine. Belongs to CLAMP, Kodansha.... you get the idea, ne? e.e
   178.9 +
  178.10 +' ' - Thoughts (All Tomoyo's)
  178.11 +[ ] - Change of scene
  178.12 +------------------------------------------------
  178.13 +
  178.14 +'Happiness. What exactly is happiness? Is it being with the one you know you truly love? Rather than letting them go off with someone you, deep in your heart, know they'll be happier with? Why... why is this feeling... this aching, twisting, stabbing feeling, inside of me? Why do I deny it? And, more importantly, why do I hide it under this mask of carefree cheerfulness? So many questions in my mind... probably never to receive an answer. To be neglected by me. All because I am afraid. Afraid to accept. Afraid to believe.'
  178.15 +
  178.16 +"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!" A girl's voice chirped.
  178.17 +
  178.18 +Ebony lashes fluttering open, she looked to the direction in which the voice came from. Quickly putting on that innocent smile to hide her thoughts, she lifted her head from the palm of her hand as she watched Sakura seat herself at her desk.
  178.19 +
  178.20 +"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo replied, sweetly. 'If only you knew...'
  178.21 +'Oi! Syaoran-kun!" Sakura smiled happily, looking to the direction of the front door as a boy stepped in.
  178.22 +
  178.23 +'Look how happy she is when he appears. If only she could see how her eyes light up, shimmering with excitedness and how her lips curve ever so nicely into a smile, a smile that shines like the brightest star in the galaxy. If only you could see yourself the way I do...'
  178.24 +
  178.25 +"O-Ohayo..." Syaoran muttered, cheeks being painted a bright crimson as he sat down at his chair.
  178.26 +
  178.27 +'There's just nothing I can do.... nothing except to watch. Except to understand. Things only happen the way I hoped for in my dreams. And even then, I know I must awaken and face reality. No matter how painful. No matter how heartbreaking.'
  178.28 +
  178.29 +''Anou... Syaoran-kun, Yukito-san told me about a new bakery that serves delicious food... do you want to come with me today and go see what it's like?" Sakura asked, beaming at the blushing Syaoran, those emerald gems hidden as her eyes arched.
  178.30 +"A...aa." Syaoran replied, stuttering out what he could, hoping Sakura didn't notice the redness in his face.
  178.31 +"Yokatta. Tomoyo-chan, do you want to come, too?" Sakura question, turning to her best friend.
  178.32 +"Me?... N-no thank you, Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo said softly, looking to the ground, depression spreading across her cerulean eyes.
  178.33 +"To-Tomoyo-chan.... what's wrong?" Sakura asked, a worried tone appearing in her once content voice. "Are you feeling well?"
  178.34 +
  178.35 +'I.... I don't want to worry her... but... but...'
  178.36 +
  178.37 +"Iie. I'm fine. I just have something to do at home today. Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo said, giving a faint smile.
  178.38 +
  178.39 +'Why do I lie to her? Why do I lie to myself?'
  178.40 +
  178.41 +"It's okay. Some other time, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked hopefully. Tomoyo simply nodded and looked away, guilt arising in her heart. As the school bell rang, the teacher walked into the room and began the lesson.
  178.42 +
  178.43 +[After School....]
  178.44 +
  178.45 +Tomoyo slowly walked out of Tomoeda Shougakkou's doors and made her way through the chattering students. She usually is driven home, but she had told her mother to let her walk today. As she got to the sidewalk which led to her home, she peered behind her only to see Sakura and Syaoran walking the other way, not even noticing her for they were talking amongst themselves. Slamming her eyes close, she felt a cold teardrop form at the end of her eye. She quickly wiped it off with the sleeve of her shirt and turned her back to the school and walked off, her mind drifting off into endless thoughts.
  178.46 +
  178.47 +'Why do I feel like this? What's the explaination I'm searching for, but not finding. What is this? This... pain. This neverending pain that haunts me day and night. I've always ignored it before, throwing it to the side thinking that it's nothing and if it was, I'd fix it later. Well, now it's too late. I can't fix it. I can't because I don't understand it. Why does this hurt? It's not a physical pain. It's emotional. My heart feels as if it had been pierced thousands of times. As if someone had taken advantage of it. But, it hasn't. That's what I do not understand. The hurt is coming from somewhere inside of me. What's causing it is beyond my knowledge. Though, it mostly occurs when I see Sakura. But, why would that happen? Sakura's my best friend... isn't she? Do I think of her as more than that? No.. no, I probably don't. Although, how does that explain the raising of this feeling when Syaoran is with her? Does that mean... I love her? But, we've been friends since the beginning of fourth grade. And now it's sixth grade. Syaoran and Sakura belong together. Have I felt this way in the past before? I do recall nights where I couldn't sleep because I was thinking of her and Syaoran. But those thoughts are just a blur now... I always say I'm happy if she is. Yet, I don't feel that way. And I can't possibly tell her. It'd interfere with her feelings for Syaoran. And that's the last thing I'd want to do. To ruin her happiness. So does that mean I have to keep rejecting these feelings? These feeling which taunt me at night. So much as to the point where I can't even close my eyes for a second without tears falling from them? Perhaps I'll have to.... for Sakura's sake.'
  178.48 +
  178.49 +Reaching the door to her house, mansion rather, she entered the gates and stepped up to the doors, letting herself in. Peering down at her watch, she sighed, noticing how long it took her to get home.
  178.50 +
  178.51 +'An hour. Maybe I walked too slow....'
  178.52 +
  178.53 +Removing her jacket and hat, she went into her room and sat on her bed. She peered out the window at the evening sky. The bright orange sun was setting and the horizon was a beautiful mixture of orange, yellow, red, and purple. Darkness was setting in as she gave a sigh, her faint blue eyes becoming glassy as her mind wandered once again. 
  178.54 +
  178.55 +'I can't help but wonder what she's doing now...what she's thinking. Love... why must it be so complicated? Why can't it just leave me be!? Why must it cause so much heartache...? So much pain.... ' 
  178.56 +
  178.57 +At that point, tears began spilling out from Tomoyo's eyes, no matter how much she didn't want them to. Falling into a puddle on her lap, she shook her head, trying to ignore it.
  178.58 +
  178.59 +'What have I done to deserve this? I just care and love Sakura. Is that so wrong!? Why am I being punished for that?! Is this to frighten me from loving others? Although, I can't think of anyone I feel more strongly for than Sakura. I hide what I can and ignore the rest. I know she feels differently about me. I'm just her best friend. Always will be. Nothing more. Am I forced to have to live in secret for the rest of my life? Am I forced to have to keep these emotions bottled up until they cause me so much pain that I can't take it any longer? If that is true... and if that'll keep Sakura in her sweet and content state... then I am willing to do it. All for her. No one else. I'd do anything for Sakura, as she would for me... I'd sacrifice my life to save her from any danger...to keep her distant from any harm. I don't ask for much. I understand Sakura's love for Syaoran. That's why I say nothing. That's why I barely share my thoughts with anyone. I keep everything I think about... isolated. Never to come forth. Never to show.'
  178.60 +
  178.61 +''Ojou-san! Dinner's ready.'' A lady walked into Tomoyo's room carrying a tray of food and some tea. She placed it upon the table and bowed towards Tomoyo.
  178.62 +''Ari...arigato gozaimasu!" Tomoyo said, turning her back to the lady who worked at her home, not wanting her to notice that she was crying. As soon as the woman left the room, closing the door behind her, Tomoyo looked up and at her dinner. She wasn't hungry. All she wanted to do was to go to sleep. And possibly stay in bed forever. Peering over at the clock which hung neatly upon the wall, she realized it was quite late so she decided, although it was rude, to leave the food alone and go to bed a bit early. She stood up and went got changed into her nightgown, then headed into the bathroom. She grabbed a nearby brush and began stroking it down her long ebony hair, hinted with just a bit of silver. As soon as she had brushed her teeth and such, she slowly walked to her bed and sat in it, looking back towards the large window. Flicking off the light switch, she watched as the moonlight shone into her room, bouncing off the walls. The stars were plentiful tonight and the chilly night air was amidst. She continued to stare at the radiant sight, sadness present on her face as she continued her thoughts.
  178.63 +
  178.64 +'I refuse. I refuse to let my unhappiness get in the way of anyone else's... especially Sakura's. She's happy. Happy with Syaoran. And because she's happy, I should be as well. So... why am I not? What is preventing me from true happiness? Is it because I'm too afraid to share my feelings with her? Or is it because I'm jealous? Why would I be jealous? Probably because I see Sakura with Syaoran. But, he makes her happy. Happier than I ever could. Happier than I ever will. I suppose this love will be forever hidden.. deep within me. Never to be shown to anyone else. My heart feels a twisting pain because of it, but I won't let it interfere with anything. If I'm to suffer for the rest of my life, so be it. Just as long as Sakura's not hurt. As long as she's not feeling any pain. As long as she's happy... '
  178.65 +
  178.66 +
  178.67 +--------------------------------------
  178.68 +
  178.69 +I know, I know. Sad ending... ;-; Gomen ne. It was shorter than you expected, ne? e.e; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! How about some reviews? n.n; Well, mata ne!
  178.70 +
  178.71 +-Tomoyo Daidouji- 
  178.72 \ No newline at end of file

   179.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   179.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-happy.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   179.3 @@ -0,0 +1,792 @@
   179.4 +Title: Happy Years
   179.5 +Author: Matthias Engel aka MysticMew
   179.6 +Feedback: Solarsenshi@gmx.de
   179.7 +Status: Alpha
   179.8 +Fandom: Card Captor Sakura (manga)
   179.9 +Rating: PG-13
  179.10 +Category: Romance, a tad bit darkish
  179.11 +Pairing: Sakura/Tomoyo
  179.12 +Timeline: Sequel to "The Different Path"
  179.13 +Summary: Tomoyo reflects on the changes in her lives and the 
  179.14 +experiences she had in her relationship with the "older" Sakura and 
  179.15 +how the consequences of Sakura's wish begin to catch up with them.
  179.16 +Distribution: MSD (www.catstrio.de), Shoujo Ai.com (www.shoujoai.com), 
  179.17 +ff.net (www.fanfiction.net), Mediaminer (www.mediaminer.org), Moonlit 
  179.18 +Nights (http://jrem.net/moonlit/tsFics.html) others may follow. If you 
  179.19 +like this fic for your story, please tell me, I'm not likely to put 
  179.20 +stones in your way, but I like to know where it goes.
  179.21 +Legal Disclaimer: This story features two females romantically 
  179.22 +involved. If that is illegal where you are or entirely not your thing, 
  179.23 +turn around and leave now.
  179.24 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and assorted 
  179.25 +companies, I claim no right on the characters and original storyline.
  179.26 +Story Disclaimer: Happy Years(c)2003 by Matthias Engel
  179.27 +
  179.28 +******************************
  179.29 +
  179.30 +Foreword
  179.31 +
  179.32 +This is going to be the sequel to The Different Path. I firmed my 
  179.33 +decision meanwhile that this will tie in with an idea I had for 
  179.34 +another Sailormoon story. For now there is no visible connection but 
  179.35 +they will flow together eventually when I get to the main story. But 
  179.36 +that probably is still in the future.
  179.37 +For now, this was prompted a little by one of the reviews I got, 
  179.38 +wondering how Tomoyo's reaction to all this would be. This is a bit 
  179.39 +free after the concept "Scenes of the rest of their life" or something 
  179.40 +like that. The story will be done in diary format with several short 
  179.41 +and some longer entries... we'll see, I never know this in advance. :)
  179.42 +
  179.43 +******************************
  179.44 +
  179.45 +Happy Years
  179.46 +Based on the works of CLAMP
  179.47 +Story Concept by Matthias Engel
  179.48 +
  179.49 +******************************
  179.50 +
  179.51 +<From the diary of Daidouji Tomoyo, aptly named "Sakura Musings">
  179.52 +
  179.53 +April 13, 1994
  179.54 +	Dear Diary.
  179.55 +
  179.56 +	It has been awhile that I wrote in here and I'm sorry for 
  179.57 +leaving you at such a crucial point where my dear Sakura seemed to be 
  179.58 +just inches away from confessing her love to Syaoran. The reason why I 
  179.59 +didn't get to write in here lately is that something really incredible 
  179.60 +happened. Something so incredible that it will also effect this diary.
  179.61 +	For as long as I kept this, I have dedicated these entries 
  179.62 +solely to my one true love. The walking miracle that is Sakura-chan, 
  179.63 +trying to capture my thoughts on the beautiful girl that had captured 
  179.64 +my heart from the first day we met. But now, I can't write about 
  179.65 +Sakura alone anymore because the most joyous, unexpected thing 
  179.66 +happened...
  179.67 +	But let me begin from the beginning, yes? It was on the day 
  179.68 +Li-kun was going to return home. I had already suspected of course 
  179.69 +that Sakura as was typical of her would only realize her feelings at 
  179.70 +the last moment. Not that I want to say that she is... indecisive. 
  179.71 +Sakura just has a hard time realizing her own feelings but you really 
  179.72 +cannot fault her for that. It is just as I told her a short while ago. 
  179.73 +Peoples hearts are hard to predict - even Eriol-kun said so. And 
  179.74 +usually it is hardest to understand your own heart.
  179.75 +	But back to what happened. Since Sakura was expected to come to 
  179.76 +her realization a little late, I went and called her early. That was 
  179.77 +when the first odd thing happened. I was actually going to tell her 
  179.78 +about where she could find Li-kun but instead I only reached her 
  179.79 +brother and Touya told me that she was already out...
  179.80 +	Going back to practice, I had pretty much shrugged it off and 
  179.81 +told myself that it didn't matter. If she managed on her own, all the 
  179.82 +better, even though I would have liked to help. All I ever wanted to 
  179.83 +be was a part of Sakura's life. Before Li-kun came along I used to 
  179.84 +entertain the hope that maybe in the future, when her crush on Yukito 
  179.85 +passed and we were both older, I might actually seize my chance and 
  179.86 +tell her. But it became apparent that Sakura and Syaoran were meant 
  179.87 +for each other and developed feelings that both were reluctant to 
  179.88 +realize and admit to. But that day, when I thought for sure that it 
  179.89 +would be Syaoran she would ultimately choose as her special person, I 
  179.90 +had to realize that with all that I deemed to know about Sakura, a 
  179.91 +person can neither predict someone's else hearts accordingly. I 
  179.92 +learned that sometimes if you think you know someone else's heart, you 
  179.93 +might end up surprised.
  179.94 +	Back to events. It was near the end of our next practice session 
  179.95 +that I noticed someone watching me. You know that prickling feeling at 
  179.96 +the base of your neck? It got stronger and stronger and it filled me 
  179.97 +with almost giddy anticipation although I couldn't fathom why. I had 
  179.98 +ignored it for awhile, concentrating on the practice. However, it 
  179.99 +became too much and I finally glanced towards the entrance and there 
 179.100 +was Sakura.
 179.101 +	I was so totally baffled I almost missed the next several notes. 
 179.102 +I would have bet all my insurance - and that is after all plenty - 
 179.103 +that she would have been with Li-kun at that moment. It was about the 
 179.104 +time when his bus left for the airport after all... I don't think 
 179.105 +Sakura ever managed to confuse like this before. I thought I knew my 
 179.106 +best friend and secret love so well but her appearance had totally 
 179.107 +thrown my belief for a loop.
 179.108 +	But that was not the only surprise I should get. Approaching her 
 179.109 +in the pause, I immediately realized that something was different 
 179.110 +about her. Outwardly she seemed to be the same person but inside there 
 179.111 +was something so completely different that it startled me for a 
 179.112 +moment. I briefly entertained the notion that it might be Mirror or 
 179.113 +Illusion but was pretty sure that I would notice that. It was still 
 179.114 +Sakura, just... different... somehow.
 179.115 +	Then Sakura told me she saw Syaoran off - as expected - and 
 179.116 +confessed that she does love him. I couldn't help but feel a little 
 179.117 +disappointed for a brief moment. When I saw her standing there, I 
 179.118 +hadn't been able to help the thought, the hope that maybe... But that 
 179.119 +was crazy, illogical, Sakura and Syaoran were meant for each other and 
 179.120 +Sakura would be happy with him... Or so I immediately told myself 
 179.121 +again.
 179.122 +	That was when Sakura really shocked me. While she loves Syaoran, 
 179.123 +there is a person that she loves equally but who needs her more. 
 179.124 +Syaoran isn't necessary to give her life meaning and neither is she 
 179.125 +for Syaoran's life. That is how she put it. Then she told me she 
 179.126 +couldn't live without me, though, and asked me if I could live without 
 179.127 +her.
 179.128 +	Of course the question was silly, needed no answer and I believe 
 179.129 +Sakura had not expected one. But when her words finally sank in... I 
 179.130 +can't describe how I feel because I'm not sure if there are words 
 179.131 +existing in any written or spoken language that properly can describe 
 179.132 +my feelings in that moment and the ones that followed. I barely 
 179.133 +managed to find my voice in order to respond, asking what exactly she 
 179.134 +meant by that. Of course, the question was rhetorical. That spark of 
 179.135 +hope at seeing Sakura standing there, watching me sing, had exploded 
 179.136 +from a tiny star into a full-fledged super nova. The meaning of her 
 179.137 +words had been all too clear, yet the emotions suddenly welling up 
 179.138 +from deep inside me were overwhelming and hindered my thought process 
 179.139 +a lot.
 179.140 +	Sakura told me she wants me - ME - to be her special person and 
 179.141 +gave me a teddy bear.
 179.142 +	God, I was sure my heart would stop beating right there, frozen 
 179.143 +in this moment of perfect bliss.
 179.144 +	But it didn't, thankfully, because I would surely have regretted 
 179.145 +if it did. Hearing these three words from Sakura, spoken honestly and 
 179.146 +with clear conviction behind them was a gift I would cherish forever. 
 179.147 +Oh, how I had longed for this moment. It hadn't mattered right then 
 179.148 +that Sakura might be a little different and it still doesn't matter. 
 179.149 +Nothing really mattered then and right now. Okaasan says I am 
 179.150 +"deliriously happy" nowadays. But who can forbid me that? Sakura loves 
 179.151 +me as much as I love her. Her beautiful, kind heart has chosen me to 
 179.152 +claim that special place only reserved for one person. How can I not 
 179.153 +be "deliriously happy" then?
 179.154 +	It had been only later in the day that I found out exactly what 
 179.155 +had made Sakura change her mind and what is so different about her. 
 179.156 +The experience was quite shocking itself. Apparently Sakura had been 
 179.157 +traveling back in time by capturing a hidden Clow Card. She hasn't 
 179.158 +told me any details about the future she left yet and I won't pry. It 
 179.159 +is painfully obvious that whatever dire reason she had for this 
 179.160 +action, whatever had happened in the future, saddened her. It is in 
 179.161 +her eyes. When she thinks I'm not watching her - what I do most of the 
 179.162 +time anyway. There is something...haunted there. It pains me to know 
 179.163 +that my dearest Sakura had to go through such hardships in her time 
 179.164 +and would give everything to know how to take that pain away. But I 
 179.165 +will let her decide when she wants to tell me everything. For now what 
 179.166 +she told me that day at choir practice turns out to be the truth. She 
 179.167 +is beginning to be happy, more her old self again. I can tell it will 
 179.168 +be a long path though and by now everyone close to Sakura has noticed 
 179.169 +some changes but only a few seem concerned. Sakura told me that she 
 179.170 +could be happy now that she is with me. And she is happy. Genuinely 
 179.171 +happy. And I am the one that makes her happy!
 179.172 +	So, what does that mean for this diary? Well, it is not going to 
 179.173 +be solely dedicated to my beloved anymore. Now that she has proposed 
 179.174 +to share her life with me, I will make this diary a dedication to OUR 
 179.175 +relationship. OUR. I still can hardly believe all this and if you ask 
 179.176 +me now about my exact thoughts, I think I am still not ready to form 
 179.177 +any remotely coherent ones.
 179.178 +	It is becoming late, I will write in here some more at a later 
 179.179 +point.
 179.180 +
 179.181 +******************************
 179.182 +
 179.183 +May 6, 1994
 179.184 +
 179.185 +	Yes, I've said I write earlier but a lot of things happened. 
 179.186 +Well, not that much but more like what happened has kept us very busy. 
 179.187 +While I never was opposed to the idea of coming out I am surprised at 
 179.188 +how fast it is happening. Interestingly neither Sakura's family nor my 
 179.189 +mother were really surprised at finding out Sakura had chosen me 
 179.190 +instead of Li-kun. I suspected at much but it still manages to make me 
 179.191 +happy. The least I wished was to cause Sakura any more trouble. It is 
 179.192 +apparently hard enough for her to deal with her time travel... aside 
 179.193 +from complaining about having to go back to school and learn all that 
 179.194 +boring stuff again! (she's so cute when she pouts!). No, the 
 179.195 +transition seems not to be an easy one, especially on an emotional 
 179.196 +level. Sakura is almost clingy ever since confessing to me. Not that I 
 179.197 +mind, definitely not. But it worries me. It's almost like she expects 
 179.198 +me to disappear any moment. By now, even without her telling me, I 
 179.199 +become firmed in my belief that whatever happened in her time must 
 179.200 +have included my and probably the others' deaths as well. My heart 
 179.201 +aches at how much pain I sometimes seem in her eyes and since we are 
 179.202 +sleeping over a lot I have woken more than once finding Sakura shaking 
 179.203 +with a nightmare. I wish I could take them all away but that's one 
 179.204 +thing I can't do. All there is left for me is to be there for the one 
 179.205 +girl I love and help her forget about the trauma that has driven her 
 179.206 +here and into my waiting arms.
 179.207 +	Mind you, that sounds like she's a frightened wreck but that 
 179.208 +isn't the impression I want to give you. Those moments are rare and 
 179.209 +mostly private. Sakura is most comfortably opening up to me and that 
 179.210 +display of trust makes me love her even more... if that is even 
 179.211 +possible. Yet, the change is becoming obvious to anyone close to 
 179.212 +Sakura. As much as she tries to "act her age", this Sakura IS far more 
 179.213 +mature and the weight of her heavy past (or future, whatever way you 
 179.214 +want to look at it) doesn't allow her to completely fall back into her 
 179.215 +innocent self.
 179.216 +	Do I love her less because of that? If you know me, you 
 179.217 +shouldn't even be asking that question. Even if she's older mentally 
 179.218 +and far from the innocent cheerleader that managed to capture my heart 
 179.219 +within a second of meeting her, she is still Sakura. There is 
 179.220 +something unique about her. Actually, there are many things unique 
 179.221 +about her. Like her big heart that seems to be big enough to include 
 179.222 +anyone who wants to have a part of it... and even those who don't. Or 
 179.223 +her fierce determination when she gets an idea in her head. Right now 
 179.224 +I am experiencing a whole new dimension of that determination all 
 179.225 +focused on me. It often leaves me overwhelmed thinking alone that 
 179.226 +Sakura's genki spirit will now always be focused on me and my needs. 
 179.227 +She's constantly getting me things, asking me what I want to do when 
 179.228 +all I really need is her. But Sakura is persistent about making me as 
 179.229 +happy as possible. And I am as happy as possible. Really, I am.
 179.230 +	It appears I have come a little off topic. I was talking about 
 179.231 +her families reaction. Quite frankly if there had been any surprise, 
 179.232 +it would have been on my part if they actually had been surprised. 
 179.233 +Touya-san is always so observant and looks out for his sister. He 
 179.234 +never liked Syaoran much for some reason. I always thought it might be 
 179.235 +that on some level he wanted to keep Sakura close to him. Sometimes I 
 179.236 +wish I had such a protective brother. However, he seemed rather 
 179.237 +pleased after admitting to our relationship.
 179.238 +	Sakura's father, Fujitaka, didn't seem overly surprised either. 
 179.239 +He just smiled and said he is happy for us and that we will surely 
 179.240 +take good care of each other. I suppose since he experienced the 
 179.241 +affection between his wife and my mother, it must have been rather 
 179.242 +hard even for me to hide my feelings - not that I tried very hard. 
 179.243 +Both he and Sakura's brother seemed just a little surprised at the 
 179.244 +suddenness though. Especially since it had been apparent lately that 
 179.245 +Sakura would choose Li-kun... Neither of them asked about this though 
 179.246 +or about Sakura's weird mood (she is a lot quieter these days).
 179.247 +	Anyway, that leaves my mother. Well, Sakura is almost scared of 
 179.248 +her now, I think. About the way she's going on about how happy she is 
 179.249 +that we are in love and that we make such an adorable couple. Of 
 179.250 +course, her older mind must have figured out what happened between her 
 179.251 +and Nadeshiko by now but I must admit even I find my mother a little 
 179.252 +intimidating at times when she speaks about her late love (especially 
 179.253 +in association with Sakura's father)... and Okaasan is practically as 
 179.254 +fond of Sakura as she is/was of her own mother.
 179.255 +	Our families aren't the only ones that know though. Sakura's 
 179.256 +public confession at choir was clear enough. Even if not everyone 
 179.257 +heard what was said, within the days talk around school had managed to 
 179.258 +make it pretty much clear to anyone. Rika, Chiharu and Naoko seemed a 
 179.259 +little surprised but otherwise were more or less alright with it. I 
 179.260 +think they are more baffled that Sakura's scores have become as high 
 179.261 +as mine and Rika's...
 179.262 +	Apart from that everything is fine. We cannot complain, despite 
 179.263 +all those little things. I am sure, given time, Sakura will get over 
 179.264 +her experiences and settle into her new life. It still warms my heart 
 179.265 +to think that she felt obligated enough to choose me for that purpose 
 179.266 +and not Syaoran. I don't doubt her one minute when she says she really 
 179.267 +loves me. It's obvious in every action lately, there is no way someone 
 179.268 +can play that. Besides, Sakura has always been a very honest person, I 
 179.269 +am sure she wouldn't lie to me - or anyone - about such an important 
 179.270 +matter. No, Sakura and I are happy and I intend to keep it that way, 
 179.271 +forever if Sakura wants me to.
 179.272 +
 179.273 +******************************
 179.274 +
 179.275 +May 20, 1994
 179.276 +
 179.277 +	We had our first real date today and it was a glorious event! We 
 179.278 +hadn't had found time to actually do something like this until now. 
 179.279 +Okay, if you read this you might say that we are just eleven... Normal 
 179.280 +kids don't have dates at this age. True, I suppose. The thing is I am 
 179.281 +quite aware of some of the other kids at school saying how mature I 
 179.282 +often act and I won't argue with them there if they'd ever directly 
 179.283 +ask me. That has nothing to do with arrogance. It is more a 
 179.284 +good-natured confidence in my abilities. I have always had an 
 179.285 +excellent learning ability. Okaasan says that sometimes she thinks I 
 179.286 +have some sort of eidetic memory. I wouldn't go so far since then I 
 179.287 +doubt I would have to study at all for some subjects. No, I have 
 179.288 +always liked learning new things and ever since meeting Sakura I 
 179.289 +wanted to learn even more to help this magnificent creature through 
 179.290 +life. I realized quickly back then that for all her enigmatic 
 179.291 +abilities she was often a tad bit... naïve (I really don't like that 
 179.292 +word) and would need guidance in some areas and in others would need 
 179.293 +to be sheltered. Like a beautiful but fragile flower that will die 
 179.294 +quickly if not constantly kept in the right environment.
 179.295 +	To shorten all that. I guess I have always been a little 
 179.296 +precocious.
 179.297 +	As for Sakura. Well, she isn't the innocent girl anymore anyone 
 179.298 +knew. The other children have more or less gotten used to it but they 
 179.299 +seem a little... "weird out" to quote Sakura herself. That was to be 
 179.300 +expected too, though. No, given that in her mind Sakura was already 
 179.301 +seven years older than me, I believe you can grant her the right to go 
 179.302 +out on dates, right? I think she's having a harder time with some 
 179.303 +things about being little again than she lets on. I mean, I can hardly 
 179.304 +begin to comprehend what it has to feel like, suddenly being younger 
 179.305 +again, with a full recollection of being almost an adult. Must be 
 179.306 +really weird. I am helping her as much as I can and am amazed again 
 179.307 +and again every day at Sakura's ability to let her self be loved but 
 179.308 +also at giving back this love. I have never felt so... important 
 179.309 +before in my life. Why it is true that I am probably one of the 
 179.310 +smartest girls in my age class - Sakura not withstanding (but she has 
 179.311 +seven years in advance of me, technically) -, I can hardly say that I 
 179.312 +had much friends or other such social contact outside of occasional 
 179.313 +choir practice before coming to Tomoeda and meeting Sakura.
 179.314 +	Meeting Sakura has been a blessing and that is why I will be 
 179.315 +eternally grateful and why I would never dream of rejecting her just 
 179.316 +because she's... different now. My love is hers forever and always. 
 179.317 +After all Rika-san is seeing someone older too (I have a suspicion 
 179.318 +Sakura knows from the looks she gives her sometimes but she won't 
 179.319 +tell), so why should it be different for me? Sakura is still Sakura. 
 179.320 +Seven years of life experience and maturity have not really destroyed 
 179.321 +what I love about her. Certainly not. There is a lot of sadness and 
 179.322 +pain but it is dulling, I can tell, and that is bound to have some 
 179.323 +effects on her personality. Like she's quieter, calmer, more serious. 
 179.324 +However, I have witnessed enough moments already that show that Sakura 
 179.325 +is still able to let go and simply enjoy the moment.
 179.326 +	No, I won't... I can't love her any less. This is all a part of 
 179.327 +Sakura now. Besides, the new level of maturity doesn't only have 
 179.328 +negative effects. At times I actually find myself liking the older 
 179.329 +Sakura a little more since we are now able to communicate on a higher 
 179.330 +level. Not that she's suddenly become a genius but she certainly does 
 179.331 +know a lot more about life in general as the Sakura before the fateful 
 179.332 +day at choir practice. I will forever cherish her innocent self, yet I 
 179.333 +know it is not completely lost. In time I am sure she will be a lot 
 179.334 +like the old Sakura again. I'll take her any way she wants to be, that 
 179.335 +is for sure.
 179.336 +	But I've been getting away from the point. I actually wanted to 
 179.337 +talk about the date! You see how much she is affecting me already, 
 179.338 +normally I would not digress from the point that much. Not that I am 
 179.339 +complaining, mind you.
 179.340 +	Anyway, it was very beautiful. We had found ourselves a nice, 
 179.341 +sheltered spot at our all time favorite King Penguin park. It had been 
 179.342 +a warm, sunny day, perfect for a picnic for two (Sakura had to 
 179.343 +literally threaten Kero not sneak in and disturb us). I think I must 
 179.344 +have giggled like a little child with joy when Sakura proceeded to use 
 179.345 +Flower and create a bed of Sakura blossoms for us. It was so 
 179.346 +beautiful, so absolutely perfect!
 179.347 +	We sat there for hours, talking or simply enjoying each others 
 179.348 +company. Sakura seemed to have made it her special duty to make this 
 179.349 +the perfect day for me. I am a little disappointed for not getting 
 179.350 +much to do in return but seeing how happy Sakura was just relaxing, 
 179.351 +being with me, it makes my heart flutter even now. For the first time 
 179.352 +since her time travel I think I finally saw her completely at peace. 
 179.353 +This is a very precious memory to me.
 179.354 +	And then, as evening drew closer, Sakura somehow managed to find 
 179.355 +the perfect ending. I still can't believe she did that! It was all so 
 179.356 +amazing. I hadn't suspected anything when Sakura told me I had to hold 
 179.357 +tight onto her so that she could show me a special gift. Needing no 
 179.358 +reason to not comply with such a thrilling request, I was caught a 
 179.359 +little off guard than Sakura called for Fly. I had never thought she 
 179.360 +could carry me! (at least not that long) It was a little bit of a 
 179.361 +strain for her, I could tell, but she managed. And if the sheer 
 179.362 +excitement of being carried through the late evening sky hadn't been 
 179.363 +enough, just guess where she set us down!
 179.364 +	At the top of Tokyo Tower!
 179.365 +	We sat there for almost an hour, watching the sunset. It was a 
 179.366 +moment straight out of a picture... or maybe more like a famous 
 179.367 +painting. Oh yes, it was a little cold up there but I hardly minded. 
 179.368 +Not to mention that Sakura seemed to have the presence of mind to keep 
 179.369 +up a little fire magic all the time (she really has gotten A LOT 
 179.370 +better).
 179.371 +	Once again I am not sure I can describe what exactly went 
 179.372 +through me when, close to the end, Sakura whispered to me an 
 179.373 +"Aishiteru" in a voice thick with emotion and followed that up with a 
 179.374 +short but sensual kiss. There is too much that is still waging inside 
 179.375 +of me like a hurricane and it is all too jumbled to put into words, 
 179.376 +nor would words do any of it justice. However, I can tell you for sure 
 179.377 +that if Sakura hadn't held me tightly the whole time, I am sure I 
 179.378 +would have fallen off the support beam we had settled on.
 179.379 +	I am still so... thrilled! I have been trying to get to sleep 
 179.380 +for almost an hour now to no avail, so I decided to sit down and write 
 179.381 +all this down now rather than tomorrow. However, I am still much too 
 179.382 +excited. I wonder if I get any sleep tonight at all! Sakura is really 
 179.383 +an unique experience and it gets even more special than you are the 
 179.384 +single-most focus of her attention!
 179.385 +	Dear Diary, I really AM the happiest girl in the world!
 179.386 +
 179.387 +******************************
 179.388 +
 179.389 +April 5, 1997
 179.390 +
 179.391 +	It's been a long time since I wrote in here. Almost three years.
 179.392 +	Oops.
 179.393 +	I guess life has simply been too good for me to write down 
 179.394 +anything. I have my tapes after all and all those wonderful memories 
 179.395 +of three wonderful years with Sakura so far which are far more worth 
 179.396 +than any recorded pictures could ever be. I can hardly believe it's 
 179.397 +been that long. We are both in our second year of Junior High now. I 
 179.398 +could tell you so many things now but I think I'd be sitting here all 
 179.399 +night. Well, it's Friday but still...
 179.400 +	Oh, who am I kidding? There is a reason after all I actually 
 179.401 +remembered having that diary, I thought writing in here again would 
 179.402 +actually help me calm my mind and get things into the right 
 179.403 +perspective. You see, Sakura and I have reached a phase of our 
 179.404 +relationship that probably has to come for any couple one time or 
 179.405 +another. We had our first big fight just five days ago. God, I feel so 
 179.406 +horrible. It was so dumb and unnecessary and... I just... don't know 
 179.407 +what's gotten into me.
 179.408 +	Maybe I should start from the beginning. I'm not sure where the 
 179.409 +tension really began to build up but I believe it might have been 
 179.410 +since we entered Junior High. There were just slight nuisances, 
 179.411 +beginnings of something that seemed to bother Sakura greatly. Tomoeda 
 179.412 +Junior High is a little different than the Elementary School... or it 
 179.413 +is VERY different may be a better way to describe it. The teachers are 
 179.414 +very strict as is the headmaster, the school prides itself with its 
 179.415 +good image and tradition. That posed to be a problem for us. Back in 
 179.416 +Elementary School everyone more or less took us for granted. We were 
 179.417 +THE couple, really. Everyone found it cute and romantic that we were 
 179.418 +together... well, mostly everyone. Now, now we have to be extremely 
 179.419 +careful around whom we can trust to show feelings for the other that 
 179.420 +are more than friendship. Within the first weeks at Tomoeda Junior 
 179.421 +High we learned the hard way that Japanese society might tolerate a 
 179.422 +cute crush between two young girls but if they turn out to be two 
 179.423 +maturing young teenagers who openly show their love for each other, 
 179.424 +then the alarm bells are ringing in some people's heads. It is a good 
 179.425 +thing our families stand behind us and support our relationship 
 179.426 +despite some of the harsh treatment we had to endure at the beginning. 
 179.427 +I swear Okaasan was ready to sue the school, Touya-oniisan right 
 179.428 +behind her.
 179.429 +	Things settled down eventually and the initial uproar has blown 
 179.430 +over. Most people know about us but choose to ignore it. There are 
 179.431 +some rare people who actually try to support us - if not officially 
 179.432 +than at least in small actions (for example: giving leeway in the way 
 179.433 +of discipline or maybe giving a higher grade when one of us was 
 179.434 +in-between). So, not all people there are traditional man in business 
 179.435 +suits who'd rather improve their self-image than care for their 
 179.436 +students, but a lot of them are. And not only once had we played with 
 179.437 +the tempting thought of transfer. There were enough - more modern and 
 179.438 +open-minded - schools in the area and both of us were smart enough; 
 179.439 +money wasn't an issue either.
 179.440 +	I think it's a bit of defiance probably. Not too mention all of 
 179.441 +our friends are there, even Rika who really could have gotten into a 
 179.442 +better school. But I can understand her well enough after finally 
 179.443 +figuring out that she is seeing Terada-sensei (who had - not so 
 179.444 +surprisingly - also transferred to Junior High, leaving me wondering 
 179.445 +if Rika followed him or he followed her!). That was a bit of a shock 
 179.446 +at first but at the moment I guess we are sitting in the same boat, 
 179.447 +sort of, and neither of us is keen on budging. Society can be cruel 
 179.448 +sometimes, especially the traditional-bound Japanese one. While 
 179.449 +Western influences had lessened that, there still were a lot of old 
 179.450 +families with a lot of influence.
 179.451 +	But enough about that. It has little do with the current dilemma 
 179.452 +since most of the drama had been in the beginning. I just mentioned it 
 179.453 +because some of it might have affected Sakura more than I initially 
 179.454 +thought. Why I still can't fathom but... Well, I hoped it would make 
 179.455 +more sense writing it down, however, it seems I am back to where I 
 179.456 +started from.
 179.457 +	The confrontation had been coming a long way, I guess, and yet I 
 179.458 +felt so terrible about it. I had noticed that Sakura is spending more 
 179.459 +and more time by herself, only with Kerberos (and I think Yue too but 
 179.460 +I can't be sure). I tried to talk to her about it but she's always 
 179.461 +saying the same thing. "I'm fine, Tomo-chan, don't worry about me." 
 179.462 +Somehow this feels a little like déjà vu. I used to say things like 
 179.463 +that often when we were just innocent children. It irked me a little 
 179.464 +but nevertheless I respected Sakura's privacy. She is after all a lot 
 179.465 +older than me (in her mind at least) and sometimes she just gets 
 179.466 +frustrated with being young again. You would think it'd be a blessing 
 179.467 +for anyone, yet living it is probably a lot different, I guess. She 
 179.468 +won't tell me much about it... or everything concerning the time 
 179.469 +travel that brought her ultimately into my arms. Which brings us back 
 179.470 +to the root of the problem.
 179.471 +	At first I could ignore all of this, believing it must be too 
 179.472 +painful to remember or to talk about and Sakura doesn't want to worry 
 179.473 +me. Then, about half a year ago, a little after my fourteenth 
 179.474 +birthday, she started to spend all those hours alone in her room at 
 179.475 +her house (where she barely ever is anymore, at least not alone). I am 
 179.476 +pretty sure it has something to do with the cards and in this regard 
 179.477 +probably with Time. I remember that Kero lectured Sakura again and 
 179.478 +again about consequences for capturing and using Time but my 
 179.479 +girlfriend never seemed to be overly concerned. And, as I said 
 179.480 +already, she won't tell me any details whenever I ask.
 179.481 +	Everything came to a climax at the beginning of the week. It was 
 179.482 +April 1, start of the new grade and Sakura's birthday. I had spent 
 179.483 +practically the whole weekend preparing a special treatment just for 
 179.484 +my special girlfriend. I had hoped that would help relax her a little 
 179.485 +and maybe she'd open up to me. Not that I would have pressed.
 179.486 +	I had everything set, Okaasan was on a business trip and I had 
 179.487 +sent most of the serving stuff home. I told Sakura to come over after 
 179.488 +her club practice (she's still doing cheerleading but most of it 
 179.489 +half-heartedly, she actually has joined the Choir club so that we 
 179.490 +could spent even more time together). And so I sat there, alone in the 
 179.491 +big house and waited for Sakura.
 179.492 +	Sakura didn't come.
 179.493 +	At first I became worried that something might have happened so 
 179.494 +I called her on our private phones, only to discover that Sakura had 
 179.495 +turned off hers, something I discovered she was almost always doing 
 179.496 +when working with the cards. I considered going over and looking for 
 179.497 +myself but something in me was rebelling and refused to just chase 
 179.498 +after my errand girlfriend. A feeling rather new and unusual for me. I 
 179.499 +usually tended to defend Sakura's actions even if I should by all 
 179.500 +standards be angry with some. For me Sakura's happiness had always 
 179.501 +been valued higher than anyone else's - including my own. Ironically 
 179.502 +enough, thinking about it now, the anger might be a result of Sakura's 
 179.503 +own doing. The brunette was so adamant about our relationship that she 
 179.504 +had practically made me speak my mind more often, whenever something 
 179.505 +is bothering me or I just need to talk to her, she made it very clear, 
 179.506 +that she will always be there for me, insisting for me to confide in 
 179.507 +her always.
 179.508 +	I was still worried but I knew that if something happened to 
 179.509 +Sakura I would know it. I had known in my heart if she was in danger. 
 179.510 +Besides, she'd never turn off that phone other than for her magical 
 179.511 +studies that she was so secretive about. So I waited, and Sakura 
 179.512 +didn't come.
 179.513 +	Next morning I confronted her before school. Turns out she 
 179.514 +"forgot"! She forgot about her own private birthday party with her 
 179.515 +girlfriend?! I might have bought that from the innocent ten-year old 
 179.516 +before the whole time travel incident but not from her, not now. And 
 179.517 +then she had the audacity to brush me off with a feeble apology that 
 179.518 +she "is not feeling well".
 179.519 +	To quote Sakura: Hoe?
 179.520 +	Sakura doesn't just simply feel "not well". My girlfriend is the 
 179.521 +healthiest girl I know, really. She's so full of energy that she's 
 179.522 +almost bursting most of the time. While it has been much more reserved 
 179.523 +since her change it is still there. It's something so typical Sakura 
 179.524 +that you can't miss it after having seen it once.
 179.525 +	And what shocked me more and is still puzzling me is that look 
 179.526 +she gave me. Sakura almost seemed scared, not off me, but maybe 
 179.527 +something having to do with me. And that scared me in return. Having 
 179.528 +Sakura look so... lost... and as if the devil was chasing her (I 
 179.529 +really can't describe it any better) was disconcerting to say the 
 179.530 +least.
 179.531 +	All throughout the day and the next morning almost no word had 
 179.532 +been spoken between us. I think that was the longest ever since we've 
 179.533 +been together and not separated by vacation or other things. And I 
 179.534 +swear the whole school seemed to have picked up on it. Even some of 
 179.535 +the teachers who usually loved to focus their attention on us made a 
 179.536 +point not to.
 179.537 +	Tuesday afternoon I finally had enough. I was confused about all 
 179.538 +of this but I was also feeling uncharacteristically angry. I wanted to 
 179.539 +know what was going on. I didn't see what I could have done wrong and 
 179.540 +Sakura would neither speak up on her own or come over as she usually 
 179.541 +did. And that devastating silence was straining my nerves. So then, 
 179.542 +finally, I went over to the Kinomoto house and practically marched 
 179.543 +into her room (the look on Touya's face would have been priceless if I 
 179.544 +hadn't been in such a foul mood).
 179.545 +	I had secretly hoped to find Sakura sitting on her desk, working 
 179.546 +with her cards or something like that. That way I would have at least 
 179.547 +had somewhere to start but that didn't stop or slow me down any. I 
 179.548 +think, analyzing it now, most of my feelings weren't so much anger as 
 179.549 +they were frustration, frustration fueled by worry and the uncertainty 
 179.550 +of what was going on with my girlfriend. She is the most important 
 179.551 +thing in my life and I think I deserve to know what is going on in her 
 179.552 +life. She told me pretty much the same after all. Doesn't she trust me 
 179.553 +with this? I was... still am a little hurt about that. Maybe it's 
 179.554 +unfair to feel like that but I really can't help it at the moment.
 179.555 +	When I told her all that, told her that I wanted to know what 
 179.556 +was going on, why she was shutting me out from her magical studies and 
 179.557 +why she never told me about the future. I wanted to know, even if it 
 179.558 +might not be pleasant. I am sure she was trying to protect me in some 
 179.559 +way and I am grateful for that, but I am also still her girlfriend and 
 179.560 +couldn't just stand by letting Sakura worry herself all on her own.
 179.561 +	I am still mulling over her response. Sakura actually apologized 
 179.562 +for being so absent lately and that she was doing very important 
 179.563 +things that had to be taken care off. And that there were some things 
 179.564 +she couldn't tell me yet... I swear I could hear the "I tell you if 
 179.565 +you are older" behind the words (again déjà vu) and that really leaves 
 179.566 +me puzzled. Sakura rarely makes comments likes that or treats anyone 
 179.567 +as if she is really those seven years older. And it's not just an act 
 179.568 +but rather genuine from what I can tell.
 179.569 +	Before I could come up with any sort of response she had gently 
 179.570 +but persistently made me leave, saying she had some things to do, 
 179.571 +alone, and that right now she couldn't be distracted. And THAT really 
 179.572 +hurt. It felt like Sakura was purposefully trying to put distance 
 179.573 +between us. As if she was afraid that something might happen if we 
 179.574 +were too close right now.
 179.575 +	I have the very distinct feeling that I am missing something 
 179.576 +obvious here but I just can't put my finger on it.
 179.577 +	This had been about three days ago and apart from sporadic talk 
 179.578 +in school, there had been a deep wedge between us and I simply felt 
 179.579 +terrible about it. Logically seen there was no reason for me to feel 
 179.580 +at fault but this state was becoming unbearable. Being so close to my 
 179.581 +one and true love and yet so far away... I feel like I am going to 
 179.582 +explode any moment now!
 179.583 +	No, I didn't really feel at fault. However, I felt extremely 
 179.584 +worried and a little ashamed at my reaction. After all everyone had 
 179.585 +their secrets, so why should Sakura be an exception. How could I know 
 179.586 +that with my intense reaction I might have even made it worse than it 
 179.587 +actually was? Also she had sacrificed so much by traveling back in 
 179.588 +time, she gave up Syaoran to be with me. I should by all means be 
 179.589 +thankful.
 179.590 +	Yet, the fact remained that I was worried. For Sakura and for 
 179.591 +us. I feel very lucky to have such a fierce protector, nevertheless 
 179.592 +this had reached a point where I felt utterly excluded from things. 
 179.593 +Doesn't she understand that seeing her worried and in pain, pains me 
 179.594 +equally? How can she expect by shutting me out not to make me worry? I 
 179.595 +have to know what is going on and I will...
 179.596 +	Yes, my decision is made. Tomorrow I will go over and find out 
 179.597 +what all this is about. I might not like it but that should be for me 
 179.598 +to decide. I wanted my girlfriend back, all the pros and cons about 
 179.599 +her, nothing less. I will apologize for being so angry but I will also 
 179.600 +make sure that she knows that I am worried about her and that all I 
 179.601 +want to do is help her. We have always been together through so many 
 179.602 +things. The school problems at the beginning of last year hadn't 
 179.603 +managed to drive a wedge between us, so I won't let this thing 
 179.604 +(whatever it is) either. Sakura has to realize that and I will make 
 179.605 +her realize it!
 179.606 +	Reading back over that last paragraph, I think I sound rather 
 179.607 +scary... Hah, I feel a lot better now. Tomorrow I will make sure to 
 179.608 +fix whatever is burdening our relationship or at least to share that 
 179.609 +burden with Sakura. Thanks, Diary, sometimes it's nice to have 
 179.610 +somewhere to write all this down and analyze your thoughts. That 
 179.611 +really helped me today.
 179.612 +
 179.613 +******************************
 179.614 +
 179.615 +April 7, 1997
 179.616 +
 179.617 +	Some time ago, someone - I am not sure who - said to me that too 
 179.618 +much wisdom, too much knowledge poisons the mind. It sounded like the 
 179.619 +words of a wise man then and even more so now. I wonder if I would 
 179.620 +have been better off listening to them...
 179.621 +	Okay, that sounds very gloomy. There is enough motivation for 
 179.622 +that though. Thinking my dearest Sakura had to go through all... 
 179.623 +this... terrible... things. I had wanted to know. Now I knew and I 
 179.624 +feel a certain numbness and a deep sadness coming from that knowledge.
 179.625 +	But I am not making much sense to you, do I? So I better start 
 179.626 +from the beginning.
 179.627 +	My decision made I had wanted to go over early to Sakura and 
 179.628 +make her tell me about all that bothered her lately. That is where I 
 179.629 +got my first surprise, finding the demure and rather meek-looking 
 179.630 +brunette at my doorstep, appearing for all it was worth like a 
 179.631 +chastened child. I immediately felt sick in my heart, knowing that I 
 179.632 +was probably one of the main reasons for her state. After writing my 
 179.633 +thoughts down, I had lain awake for some time, regret beginning to 
 179.634 +plague me. Regret for some of the harsh words traded and the 
 179.635 +accusation I had so blindly uttered. I knew that something was 
 179.636 +troubling Sakura and that she just wanted to shield me from it. 
 179.637 +Certainly I hadn't done her a favor with my explosion of temper, as 
 179.638 +rare as it was.
 179.639 +	Therefore I was quick to assure her that I wasn't at all angry 
 179.640 +with her anymore when she practically begged for forgiveness. I felt 
 179.641 +so terrible that moment, seeing her so lost and obviously torn inside. 
 179.642 +How could I have ever even thought that she doesn't trust me? The 
 179.643 +appearance she gave yesterday morning spoke more than the revelation 
 179.644 +of any secret how devoted she is to me, how much she depends on my 
 179.645 +presence and love.
 179.646 +	After we had calmed down a little, Sakura asked me if I still 
 179.647 +wanted to know. She revealed that it might not make a difference 
 179.648 +anymore soon and she probably couldn't shield me from what was to 
 179.649 +come. As gentle as possible I made her see that I wanted to know 
 179.650 +EVERYTHING that was going on in her life. We were a couple, and 
 179.651 +couples share such things, they share everything. We were so close 
 179.652 +already and despite feeling like dirt at the moment, I hated to not 
 179.653 +being able to care for my Sakura properly, not knowing what it was 
 179.654 +that bothered her.
 179.655 +	Sakura just smiled at me a little sadly but with more fondness 
 179.656 +and love I had seen her do in a long while. And then she told me. 
 179.657 +Kami, yes, she told me... everything! I sat there just listening, numb 
 179.658 +with shock over some of the things that were revealed to me that very 
 179.659 +moment.
 179.660 +	I am not sure I should write all this down, I am not sure I even 
 179.661 +can. However, I feel that if someone ever reads this, they deserve to 
 179.662 +know about what that innocent, gentle creature had to go through, what 
 179.663 +kind of future she left behind by risking so much to come here and set 
 179.664 +things right. Set things right mostly for me. I don't think I really 
 179.665 +deserve that, I feel insignificant compared to Sakura's big heart. She 
 179.666 +had made clear to me that what she did wasn't done primarily in order 
 179.667 +to save the world from the terrible future she had witnessed but in 
 179.668 +the first place it was because of me. Her wish while confronting Time 
 179.669 +wasn't about setting things right for the world, that had only been in 
 179.670 +the back of her mind. Her sole motivation was for me and the love she 
 179.671 +felt she owed me. It's all so amazing and hard to believe, how can I 
 179.672 +even hope to compare to that with my meager devotion?
 179.673 +	Still, I wanted to tell you of what happened in that future 
 179.674 +Sakura left and might as well do so. Everything started out as 
 179.675 +normally as you may expect. Sakura and Syaoran were happy. All three 
 179.676 +of us had stuck together all the way up to and through High School. It 
 179.677 +was after graduation that IT happened. No one on Earth at that time 
 179.678 +truly knew what exactly caused it, where the malevolent creature came 
 179.679 +from. However, when She began to emerge and reign terror on the cities 
 179.680 +of the planet it was like the very definition of hell, many brave 
 179.681 +warriors and magicians fell to Her infinite seeming power. In the 
 179.682 +matter of a few month the world became a place darker than night, 
 179.683 +filled with death and despair.
 179.684 +	In Greek mythology there is a tale about a box that the first 
 179.685 +woman on Earth opened because she was curious. This box harbored all 
 179.686 +of the humanity's darker emotion. Fear, jealousy, hate, greed, bigotry 
 179.687 +(you can continue that list endlessly). The woman was named Pandora 
 179.688 +and the box had become known as Pandora's Box. I am not sure whether 
 179.689 +it is a coincidence, a connection or just the perverted humor of fate 
 179.690 +but the creature that had wrecked havoc in Sakura's future had been 
 179.691 +aptly named Pandora as well.
 179.692 +	The little Sakura described about her still sent shivers down my 
 179.693 +spine, thinking about the emotions alone I saw in her normally vivid 
 179.694 +and cheerful eyes and heard in her soft, whispered tones. Fear. There 
 179.695 +was fear. Not anger or loathing or rage at the unbelievable things 
 179.696 +that evil creature had done to her and Earth. Those emotions were 
 179.697 +there too, but they were insignificant compared to the fear and the 
 179.698 +terror emitting from Sakura speaking of her experience. Eriol said 
 179.699 +that Sakura was the strongest mage on Earth now and to just think 
 179.700 +about something or someone evoking such strong reactions from my 
 179.701 +beloved is... unsettling doesn't even begin to describe it.
 179.702 +	Pandora had turned Earth into a world of terror and fear and 
 179.703 +there was no one able to stop her path of destruction. Sakura 
 179.704 +described her as something very old, totally incapable of having 
 179.705 +positive emotion. Her whole being was a reflection, the epitome of any 
 179.706 +dark emotion you could come up with. Her whole purpose was to turn 
 179.707 +everything into oblivion in the most painful, torturous way possible. 
 179.708 +Her powers were so massive that compared to her Sakura's own seemed 
 179.709 +like comparing an ant with an elephant.
 179.710 +	And the worst part is, Sakura steadfastly believes that the same 
 179.711 +thing might happen again very soon if she doesn't do something about 
 179.712 +it in advance.
 179.713 +	That is what she has been doing the last months, using the cards 
 179.714 +to predict the future and possible chances to prevent the fate that 
 179.715 +had befallen her own time from happening here. I cried for Sakura's 
 179.716 +grief at her description at how Pandora had come for her as well and 
 179.717 +how she had to watch first Syaoran's death and then my own. She 
 179.718 +visibly relieved that moment and it was a torturing experience. I 
 179.719 +realized then that it must have been that moment that Sakura finally 
 179.720 +realized my feelings and that still makes me choke back an angry sob. 
 179.721 +That is not how I would have wanted Sakura to find out. I know she was 
 179.722 +caring so much for all those close to her and that she could never 
 179.723 +live with my death. That is why I had sworn to myself that even if 
 179.724 +Sakura ended up with Syaoran and we drifted apart, I wouldn't do 
 179.725 +anything rash and stupid. I know I would just make Sakura sad and hate 
 179.726 +herself and that is a thought I cannot stand.
 179.727 +	I had to hold and reassure her for almost half an hour before 
 179.728 +she managed to calm down. I smoothed the embarrassment Sakura felt at 
 179.729 +having broken down like that immediately, making sure that she knows I 
 179.730 +would and will never do anything like this on purpose. Not that I have 
 179.731 +a reason now but it was very important at that moment to soothe those 
 179.732 +fears.
 179.733 +	I wasn't quite sure what to do or say to soothe her fears about 
 179.734 +Pandora though. Sakura hadn't even done more when describing 
 179.735 +superficially what happened and I can tell where is a lot still left 
 179.736 +untold (which right now really isn't much of a bad thing). Just from 
 179.737 +watching how terrified the usually brave and determined girl was of 
 179.738 +that evil creature put me at a loss for words. What could little, 
 179.739 +unimportant me do after all? All I managed was that weak reminder of 
 179.740 +her magic phrase again. Everything would surely be alright. Yeah sure, 
 179.741 +I am quite sure I had said the same thing in her future and I know now 
 179.742 +that it hadn't helped a tiny bit.
 179.743 +	Thinking along these lines I was rather surprised to find Sakura 
 179.744 +looking at me with a serious expression, a flicker of that 
 179.745 +breathtaking determination in her eyes. Then she said the absolutely 
 179.746 +sweetest thing. That this phrase held little meaning without me there. 
 179.747 +I breathed life into the phrase, gave it a purpose, a direction. That 
 179.748 +as long as I was there that everything WILL always be alright. And 
 179.749 +that because of me and us being together, my love fueling her, pushing 
 179.750 +me onward, she might be able to change the future and make it better 
 179.751 +for us. That is why she had pushed herself so hardly lately, to 
 179.752 +prevent all this from happening. For me.
 179.753 +	ME.
 179.754 +	Wow.
 179.755 +	My expression must have been priceless that moment. But Sakura 
 179.756 +didn't express her obviously humor, just a fond, loving smile, 
 179.757 +followed by a kiss so sensual and utterly devouring I felt like I was 
 179.758 +being sucked right into her. My body is still shaking from the 
 179.759 +feelings coursing through me. I could feel all the pent up 
 179.760 +frustrations of the last months but also all the love she felt for me. 
 179.761 +I realized then that until that moment that as much as I thought I 
 179.762 +knew how lucky I was, how much Sakura loved me and was willing to give 
 179.763 +for me, I never had completely understood.
 179.764 +	I am not sure if we can weather that storm. I really am not as 
 179.765 +much as I wish to fuel myself but... I will have faith in Sakura and 
 179.766 +if she wishes me to be by her side, supporting her as much as I can, 
 179.767 +then I will. I will believe in my angel, my savior. If anyone can do 
 179.768 +it, she can.
 179.769 +
 179.770 +THE END (for now)
 179.771 +
 179.772 +Author's Notes
 179.773 +
 179.774 +Okay, this might seem a little cut off and doesn't explain everything, 
 179.775 +probably only serves to open up more questions. But that was wholly 
 179.776 +intended that way. I think I revealed already more than I wanted at 
 179.777 +that point anyway.
 179.778 +This is going to be part of a bigger project, a background story so to 
 179.779 +say but you can read it as a stand alone as well (I hope). There will 
 179.780 +be one more installment (probably featuring two parts) that will tie 
 179.781 +things up for the background story and Sakura and Tomoyo's 
 179.782 +involvement. Seeing that Maia seems to have a good inspiration streak 
 179.783 +right now, you may see it sooner than you think.
 179.784 +Don't worry Sailormoon fans as I said this will tie into a bigger 
 179.785 +project and you will soon get to see something of it (always assuming 
 179.786 +Maia complies).
 179.787 +
 179.788 +Some things to clear up.
 179.789 +First off, I changed a tiny amount of things in "The Different Path". 
 179.790 +No real revision but more little details that are necessary. I am a 
 179.791 +perfectionist than writing, especially concerning facts like a working 
 179.792 +timeline that makes sense. I realized that the birth year given for 
 179.793 +Tomoyo on her tombstone has actually to be one year earlier or she'll 
 179.794 +end up younger than Sakura. Why this might be possible, it doesn't 
 179.795 +work out for the timeline of the greater project. That's really a

   180.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   180.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-hewasnt.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   180.3 @@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
   180.4 +Disclaimer: Hey all. O_o; April Lavigne song, I know, but the lyrics fit. Enjoy, tell me what I do wrong, and don’t throw anything I can’t catch (hint: throw nothing!). I own nothing I don’t own. The song is 'He Wasn't'. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   180.5 +
   180.6 +He Wasn’t~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   180.7 +
   180.8 +By Forever3330
   180.9 +
  180.10 +Sunday. A day when all she had was herself and her thoughts; she could call someone. She probably should call someone. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, was it? For once she had to figure it out on her own. Or rather, she didn't think she could stand to hear someone telling her it'd be okay or that it was her fault or anything or nothing. Sometimes being alone was something to be cherished.
  180.11 +
  180.12 +~There's not much going on today.
  180.13 +I'm really bored, it's getting late.~
  180.14 +
  180.15 +"Oi, do you really plan on sitting there all day?" A deep voice from her side. Sakura turned her head just enough to glimpse Touya, then went back to gazing out the darkening window, half-sprawled on the couch.
  180.16 +
  180.17 +"Yeah."
  180.18 +
  180.19 +~What happened to my Saturday?
  180.20 +Monday's coming, the day I hate.~
  180.21 +
  180.22 +Up the stairs. She'd never realized she could make so little noise doing so, normally bounding up the stairs to greet Kero or call a friend. Normally Tomoyo, but also Chiharu and Rika and Naoko, and Yamazaki when she had a question on the math homework. More often as of late had been Syaoran.
  180.23 +
  180.24 +Monday was too close for comfort.
  180.25 +
  180.26 +~Sit on the bed alone, staring at the phone.
  180.27 +He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no.~
  180.28 +
  180.29 +When she slid into her room she found Kero playing one of his games. When he was doing that, she was as good as invisible. So, Sakura went to her bed, all blue-and-white and dotted with stars. Laying in her artificial night sky, she calmed a little, half-watching Kero and staring from time to time at the phone. She turned on her side, gazing at it now, as if it would answer every question she'd ever asked.
  180.30 +
  180.31 +The phone rang.
  180.32 +
  180.33 +Sighed, closing her eyes. "Syaoran. I'm sorry."
  180.34 +
  180.35 +~He wouldn't even open up the door.
  180.36 +He never made me feel like I was special.
  180.37 +He isn't really what I'm looking for.~
  180.38 +
  180.39 +He knew she was sorry, of course. He'd been the one to point out that she seemed distant. She'd been the one to ask, hesitantly, if he wasn't also distant as well.
  180.40 +
  180.41 +They both knew that. But it was awkward, sitting in the park, trying not to look at the other person and trying to explain away the distance on his part, and trying not to say what would make it all disappear on hers.
  180.42 +
  180.43 +It didn't take as long as she'd thought, and he looked happier for once, as if he realized something. She asked, carefully, and he told her.
  180.44 +
  180.45 +She just hoped that Meiling would still be waiting for him, and she left.
  180.46 +
  180.47 +He had been distant. He'd rarely hugged her, and never kissed her, and still looked utterly embaressed when she made some display of affection, no matter how small, down to something as simple as holding hands.
  180.48 +
  180.49 +But then, holding hands was earthshattering, wasn't it? If it was with the right person.
  180.50 +
  180.51 +But he wasn't the right person, and neither was she.
  180.52 +
  180.53 +And then, she had been distant as well.
  180.54 +
  180.55 +~This is where I start to bite my nails.
  180.56 +And clean my room when all else fails.~
  180.57 +
  180.58 +Chewed nails, short and a shiny pink, paint chipping away with the age of a week or so. Done last Saturday at Rika's sleepover, by Tomoyo, who's hands were more steady then hers. One really shouldn't try to paint the right hand when you're right handed. Or the left, when you're uncoordinated.
  180.59 +
  180.60 +Her dark-haired friend had laughed, amused at her attempts, then carefully wiped away the mistakes and applied the pink nailpolish perfectly.
  180.61 +
  180.62 +Tomoyo tended to straighten things out like that, even when not asked. And take her time doing it, smiling, until it was just so. And she loved it.
  180.63 +
  180.64 +Currently she was dusting, much to Kero's displeasure. His game couldn't be played when she dusted the TV and station and that was Not Good in his book.
  180.65 +
  180.66 +When she was worried, she cleaned.
  180.67 +
  180.68 +~I think it's time for me to bail.
  180.69 +This point of view is getting stale.~
  180.70 +
  180.71 +Scrubbing the hardwood floor, just the way she'd learned long ago. She liked the way the soap and warm water felt on her skin, even if she heard Kero telling her she'd have prune hands in a while, sitting like that at intervals, swirling her hands around in the water and watching the bubbles. They reflected so much color and sometimes none at all, and she liked that.
  180.72 +
  180.73 +She remembered bubbles, once, in the girl's bathroom at school. They were supposed to be changing for the Halloween parade, but instead Naoko showed them how to blow bubbles with their hands and water and soap, and they'd all blown bubbles for a good half hour, dressed up like things they weren't.
  180.74 +
  180.75 +The faerie Sakura had loved it, and the princess Tomoyo had figured out a way to blow a single bubble together, making it bigger. Put your hand together with another, as if in prayer, and rub the soap and blow between, cheek to cheek and the enormous bubble grew and grew made of wishes and laughter, and then, when they pulled their hands apart it broke.
  180.76 +
  180.77 +They never were in that parade, but somehow the bubbles were better.
  180.78 +
  180.79 +Why did she have to cling to faerie tales?
  180.80 +
  180.81 +~Sit on the bed alone, staring at the phone.~
  180.82 +
  180.83 +Her room was pristine. Kero had ordered her to stop, threatening to bite, and she had. Now she sat on her bed, leaning against the pale lavender walls, staring at her phone. Pink, cordless. A gift from Tomoyo at one point in time a few years ago. A few years ago when she wasn't sixteen and confused. A few years ago when they blew bubbles together when they were magical, and the bubbles were wishes.
  180.84 +
  180.85 +Were they her wishes?
  180.86 +
  180.87 +The phone rang again.
  180.88 +
  180.89 +And Sakura stared.
  180.90 +
  180.91 +Did she believe in faerie tales?
  180.92 +
  180.93 +~He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no.
  180.94 +He wouldn't even open up the door.
  180.95 +He never made me feel like I was special.~
  180.96 +
  180.97 +Maybe if he had done so much as open a door, and not let it swing shut on her, or held her hand or just smiled every so often for her she could believe in faerie tales.
  180.98 +The prince find the princess and they live happily ever after.
  180.99 +
 180.100 +Faerie tale.
 180.101 +
 180.102 +But happily ever after wasn't her and Syaoran, was it? It wasn't Sakura and Syaoran. That was quiet and silent and awkward and she always messed up or said too much and he said too little and they clanged like bells.
 180.103 +
 180.104 +Was that a faerie tale?
 180.105 +
 180.106 +~He isn't really what I'm looking for.~
 180.107 +
 180.108 +There was someone who made her feel like she was Sakura, and she wasn't a prince or a princess and didn't have to be because she was already magical, even before she had magic. She felt like she could fly, and there was never the clanging, but a soft tune she heard in a voice she loved, and it was dancing and singing and running through her backyard and laughing all at once.
 180.109 +
 180.110 +It was walking hand in hand.
 180.111 +
 180.112 +She thought, once, that that was a faerie tale until she was told that in a faerie tale there had to be a prince and a princess, and they had to live happily ever after.
 180.113 +
 180.114 +But now she wondered why life had to be anything like a faerie tale.
 180.115 +
 180.116 +And if the real faerie tales weren't the ones not recorded.
 180.117 +
 180.118 +~Na na na na na, we've all got choices.~
 180.119 +
 180.120 +She didn't have to follow the expectations or the faerie tale. She didn't, did she? Father and Touya wouldn't mind if she did or she didn't, and Touya didn't seem to think much of faerie tales anyways. And even if father loved faerie tales, she knew he loved her more.
 180.121 +
 180.122 +And in the end it would be her choice whether or not she wanted to be a princess or Sakura, and it was her choice what she would do.
 180.123 +
 180.124 +And though she believed in faerie tales, the faerie tales she believed were those whispered to her on stormy nights when Tomoyo slept over and made up a story because Sakura asked, and those stories were always the tales that Sakura believed.
 180.125 +
 180.126 +~Na na na na, we've all got voices.~
 180.127 +
 180.128 +Maybe she loved those stories because they were special and dark and light and perfect and not always happy but not always sad, but sometimes she thought she loved them just because of the voice speaking them, low and calm and sweet, and reassuring at all the scary parts, even as it spoke of terrible things. And Tomoyo would hold her, all pale and made of moonlight, like a ghost,only she didn't scare Sakura like ghosts did.
 180.129 +
 180.130 +And when the thunder and lightning outside cracked, she didn't even worry or shriek, because the voice was more entrancing and powerful then fear or the storm.
 180.131 +
 180.132 +~Na na na na na, stand up make some noise.~
 180.133 +
 180.134 +Maybe she should just forget her thoughts and worries and ideas and everything she knew and become a new Sakura and not deal with any of it, because eventually she'd hurt someone in life, like she had hurt Syaoran momentarially, and how she knew she hurt her friends sometimes without meaning to, and how she was beginning to know she hurt Tomoyo.
 180.135 +
 180.136 +She never meant to hurt anyone, and it killed her to think she had. She didn't want to hurt anyone, especially not her best friend, not the one who made things as silly as nailpolish better, and the worse things better as well.
 180.137 +
 180.138 +~Na na na na, stand up make some noise.~
 180.139 +
 180.140 +She wished she could fix everything she had ever done to hurt anyone. But that was silly, in a way. She couldn't change the past. And even with the hurt she'd done, she wasn't sure she'd like to change the past. So many things were good, and she wouldn't know everything she knew now if the bad hadn't happened. It was so odd, to need the pain. But she needed it.
 180.141 +And she needed the good things as well.
 180.142 +
 180.143 +Especially the good things.
 180.144 +
 180.145 +~Sit on the bed alone, staring at the phone.
 180.146 +He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no.~
 180.147 +
 180.148 +Maybe it was a good thing that she'd changed this. Would she want to end up in the same hole years from now, dug deeper?
 180.149 +
 180.150 +Would she want to go on believeing in the false faerie tales, not knowing the true ones?
 180.151 +
 180.152 +The phone shook slightly, and rang.
 180.153 +
 180.154 +Sakura stared.
 180.155 +
 180.156 +~He wouldn't even open up the door.
 180.157 +He never made me feel like I was special.~
 180.158 +
 180.159 +Her hand reached out, and she realized it was shaking. Why was she afraid to pick it up?
 180.160 +
 180.161 +What if it were Syaoran?
 180.162 +
 180.163 +What if it weren't?
 180.164 +
 180.165 +What if it were...
 180.166 +
 180.167 +"Hello?" Her own voice was more steady then her hands, and she gripped the phone hard.
 180.168 +
 180.169 +~He isn't really what I'm looking for.~
 180.170 +
 180.171 +"Sakura!" The soft voice, sweet with worry, came over the line, rushing out and wrapping around Sakura like sweet, sticky honey, warmth encased in it. "Are you okay? I heard about yesterday from Meiling. I've been trying to call you all day..."
 180.172 +
 180.173 +~He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no.
 180.174 +He wouldn't even open up the door.
 180.175 +He never made me feel like I was special.~
 180.176 +
 180.177 +"I...was thinking." Sakura said, quietly. "We decided together, Tomoyo."
 180.178 +
 180.179 +"Together?" Tomoyo sounded confused.
 180.180 +
 180.181 +"We weren't right, is all. He never made me feel like I was special." She tried to explain it.
 180.182 +
 180.183 +"...Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, careful.
 180.184 +
 180.185 +"I don't know." Hesitation. Then, "Tomoyo, do you believe in faerie tales?"
 180.186 +
 180.187 +"I...suppose you could say that."
 180.188 +
 180.189 +Sakura closed her eyes. "Princes and princesses and happily ever afters?"
 180.190 +
 180.191 +"I don't think those are faerie tales so much as they are wishes, Sakura." Tomoyo spoke gently, as if not to break a dream.
 180.192 +
 180.193 +"What's a faerie tale, then?" The quesiton.
 180.194 +
 180.195 +"What do you think, Sakura?"
 180.196 +
 180.197 +~Like I was special, cuz I was special.~
 180.198 +
 180.199 +"Tomoyo..." She opened her eyes, looking out her window at the real stars, and not the fake ones on her coverlet. Then she spoke. "I think we're a faerie tale. Do you?"
 180.200 +
 180.201 +There was silence at the other end.
 180.202 +
 180.203 +~Na na na na na.~
 180.204 +
 180.205 +And then, in a breathless, happy tone, filled with tears, "Yes. I think we are."
 180.206 +
 180.207 +"Good." Sakura smiled, crookedly. "I was hoping you would. Did you know you make me feel special?"

   181.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   181.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-icanhear.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   181.3 @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
   181.4 +                                                     I Can Hear You
   181.5 +By: Buffy
   181.6 +tomoyo19892002@yahoo.com
   181.7 +
   181.8 +
   181.9 +“Sakura!” That voice, the same one that haunts my dreams calls my name. It’s owner runs towards me, her dark hair blowing behind her.
  181.10 +
  181.11 +“Wait up!” I have an angel running towards me, and god do I wait for her. In fact, I even met her halfway.
  181.12 +
  181.13 +She smiles, of course. She always does that. “Did you expect me to let you walk to school alone?”
  181.14 +
  181.15 +“I guess not, sorry Tomoyo-chan, I was lost in thought” I said.
  181.16 +
  181.17 +“Oh, it’s okay. I know you must be really upset about Syaoran” I had received a letter from him months ago, telling me he was marrying Meiling. Actually, I hadn’t been slightly upset at the news.
  181.18 +
  181.19 +We walked to school alone now. Touya and Yuki had finished school and lived together. That had upset me a little. But most of all it was my feelings for Tomoyo and the dreams I had of her that made me so absent-minded. We had known each other for four years, almost five, so at first I thought it was just platonic love, but it wasn’t. I don’t think she could love me back. She still thought I loved Syaoran. If only she knew it was she I wanted so badly. The one I wanted to hold in my arms until I died. I was dying, and she didn’t know the real reason why.
  181.20 +
  181.21 +‘She deserves to know’ that’s what Kero said, and I knew he was right. But the chance of losing her friendship was unbearable and I couldn’t take a chance with Tomoyo-chan.
  181.22 +
  181.23 +                                                                   ***
  181.24 +
  181.25 +“Did you tell Tomoyo?” Kero asked me. I shook my head and continued to write in my journal. Or scribble at least, and pretend I was writing. My vision blurred as tears fell down my face and stained the paper. Kero watched me, he saw me do this every night and never knew really what to do.
  181.26 +
  181.27 +“Maybe you should ask Tomoyo to stay over at your house tonight?” Kero suggested “I think her company would ease some of the pain”
  181.28 +
  181.29 +I nodded and pulled a pink cell phone from the dresser drawer and dialed the number I had punched in about a billion times. 
  181.30 +
  181.31 +Ring…
  181.32 +
  181.33 +“Hello?”
  181.34 +
  181.35 +“Tomoyo!!”
  181.36 +“Oh, hi Sakura!”
  181.37 +
  181.38 +“Hi! Would you stay over at my house tonight?”
  181.39 +
  181.40 +“Sure! Let me get my stuff and I’ll be right over,” I could tell she was smiling.
  181.41 +
  181.42 +About an hour later I was dragging Tomoyo upstairs.  I was so glad to see her, knowing she was going to stay.
  181.43 +
  181.44 +                                                            ***
  181.45 +
  181.46 +Later that night, we changed into our pajamas and lied down in the bed. I watched Tomoyo looking out the window, a pained expression on her face. I knew that look. It was the same way I looked when I thought about how small the chances were of me and Tomoyo as a couple. I took her into my arms, trying to comfort her.
  181.47 +
  181.48 +“Who is it?” I whispered, I rested my chin on the top of her head.
  181.49 +
  181.50 +She made no reply. It was okay I could wait. I could hear her heart beating, and her soul calling out to me. Her eyes were like pieces of the sea. She was so damn gorgeous.
  181.51 +
  181.52 +“Tomoyo…” I whispered involuntarily. She looked up at me. I was a bit taller than her, but she was a pretty good height herself. I ran my hand down her side and felt the curves of her body. Before I could realize what I was doing I kissed her. I had never kissed anyone, but somehow, I just knew how to kiss her. I let out all the pent-up feelings and passion I had tried to keep hidden for too long, only to fail like this. What would she do when we parted? Would she be mad or grossed out?
  181.53 +
  181.54 +All these worries were washed away when she put her arms around my neck and started to kiss me back. I had to do something. I wanted to prove to her I loved her. How much I loved her. My hands slid down a little lower and I started to pull her pajama bottoms down. I pulled them as low as I could without breaking the kiss, and she kicked them off the rest of the way. I lowered myself and she whimpered when I broke the kiss. I ran my hands through her hair until I reached the ends and continued to move under the covers until I was at level with her middle. I slid down her panties and put her legs over my shoulders. She gasped as I slid my tongue inside of her, and sighed when I slid it in and out of her.  She wriggled and squirmed, not being able to stay still because of the pleasure, at least that’s what I hoped. I pulled my tongue out and began to suckle on her clit. She squirmed even more, and even cried out. I wanted to make her scream, the house was empty, so there would be nobody to question what was going on. She began breathing harder and harder until finally she screamed my name, filling the empty halls. I lapped up every drop before sliding her clothes back up and joining her up at the pillow. I stopped to look at her then kissed her passionately. 
  181.55 +
  181.56 +“I love you, Tomoyo”
  181.57 +
  181.58 +“I love you, too Sakura”
  181.59 +
  181.60 +Those were the magic words I had dreamt about. I watched her doze off and then felt my own need. The tingling from in between my legs. I wish she would have me, or I would have myself. Suddenly, I felt her hand slip into my pajama bottoms and her finger slid into me, she pumped it in and out while rubbing my clit and it wasn’t long before I came. I kissed her once more before we both feel asleep, with her in my arms. I could hear her breathing, her heartbeat, her soul, and her mind, all screaming my name. I love you, Tomoyo.
  181.61 +
  181.62 +“I love you, too Sakura-sama” 
  181.63 +
  181.64 +I jerked awake and smiled at the half-sleeping angel in my arms. Until we fell asleep for real this time.
  181.65 +
  181.66 +The End!
  181.67 +
  181.68 +There we go! All done! I don’t own these characters, I don’t own this, I don’t own that. There ya go. 
  181.69 \ No newline at end of file

   182.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   182.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-kg_01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   182.3 @@ -0,0 +1,413 @@
   182.4 +Disclaimer: Neither of us owns BSSM or CCS, though I'm sure we’d be happy if 
   182.5 +we did. ^.^; This is a collaboration by Nabiki_S and Forever3330…hoping you 
   182.6 +enjoy it!! Again!!
   182.7 +
   182.8 +Kawaii Getsurin~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   182.9 +
  182.10 +By Forever3330 and Nabiki_S
  182.11 +
  182.12 +Chapter One: She's so Kawaii!
  182.13 +
  182.14 +Long, slender fingers traced an invisible pattern on the armrest of a 
  182.15 +cushioned chair, crimson in color, seated inside of the Principal's office. 
  182.16 +A tall girl, perhaps sixteen in age, regarded her mother and the Principal 
  182.17 +with calm sapphire eyes. She had once been told her eyes were a shade born 
  182.18 +of the mating of sky and sea, but Tomoyo did not think of herself in such 
  182.19 +ways. It was just her mother's affection, whenever the older woman had the 
  182.20 +chance to give it.
  182.21 +
  182.22 +Chuckling to herself as the adults spoke, the ebony-haired girl stood 
  182.23 +quietly, walking over to the window, locking her hands behind her, gazing 
  182.24 +out the glass. It was like a different world, in Tokyo. Where she had come 
  182.25 +from...London, as her mother had been working there for perhaps five years 
  182.26 +now, it was very different. It was odd to hear her native language all the 
  182.27 +time, but a great relief, then almost musical sounds falling to her like 
  182.28 +water did to one who was thirsty.
  182.29 +
  182.30 +Tomoyo raised her hand to the glass, resting it there gently. The sun was 
  182.31 +bright today...she didn't like it. It was too perfect, too calm. The kind of 
  182.32 +day that was made to be broken. But for now, she would like it. A face that 
  182.33 +was not her own gazed back, reflected in the mirror, and smiled, a small 
  182.34 +smile. The girl finally smiled, softly, and the face smiled back brightly, 
  182.35 +fading away to her own reflection. Mirror was too worried.
  182.36 +
  182.37 +"Daidouji-san." A voice, from behind her. Oh. Another teacher. "Follow me. 
  182.38 +I'll take you to Terada-sensei's room."
  182.39 +
  182.40 +Nodding vaguely, Tomoyo followed. She wasn't sure what she passed on the 
  182.41 +way, lost in her own thoughts, but felt a small tug on her right hand, which 
  182.42 +was resting on her schoolbag as she walked. A small, black cat stared up at 
  182.43 +her, then pointed to where she normally kept crackers. Tomoyo gave a nod, 
  182.44 +before the man in front of her stopped. She looked up, and he pointed to a 
  182.45 +door, walking away.
  182.46 +
  182.47 +Door could do so much for one. They were a way into life, a way into change. 
  182.48 +What did this door hold? Smiling at her own thoughts, Tomoyo reached out as 
  182.49 +the black cat went back into her bag, and pulled the door open.
  182.50 +
  182.51 +The typical boredom had kicked in, and that usually ment, the balancing the 
  182.52 +pencil on her finger trick. Sitting by the open window, Sakura sighed to 
  182.53 +herself, while watching the beautiful scene outside. Quietly to herself, as 
  182.54 +the pencil fell from her finger, "Great...a perfect day to be out and 
  182.55 +blading, and here I am...trying to figure out what compound fractures can do 
  182.56 +to fulfil my life in the future...pfft...I can say this much, it ain't gonna 
  182.57 +be an everyday event, that's for sure."
  182.58 +
  182.59 +"Huh?" The classroom door opened up and Sakura's head turned towards it to 
  182.60 +see what was up, and hoping for some form of interruption for this lame 
  182.61 +amount of learning. And when she saw it was a new student, she figured it 
  182.62 +would at least constitute a limited disruption...at least for ten minutes or 
  182.63 +so.
  182.64 +
  182.65 +Mr. Terada looked away from the black board for a moment and smiled 
  182.66 +politely, "Well now...who do we have here?" He placed the chalk down and 
  182.67 +walked over to Tomoyo, "Hello there, you must be Miss Daidouji, yes? I've 
  182.68 +been expecting you."
  182.69 +
  182.70 +The girl smiled. It was small, silent, and calm, as she was. "Hai. I am 
  182.71 +Daidouji Tomoyo. You are Terada-sensei...? Ah...where should I sit?" 
  182.72 +Tomoyo's voice was low and musical, and one would have to strain to hear it 
  182.73 +if it had been noisy. But it was not. The classroom was hot, silent, thick 
  182.74 +with the boredom she herself was familiar with, though she would never admit 
  182.75 +it. Her eyes slid off the teacher, smile in place, and roamed the classroom.
  182.76 +
  182.77 +A few boys and girls smiled at her, and she smiled back, ever polite, eyes 
  182.78 +catching on a few of the more energetic. At the end of her examination of 
  182.79 +the classroom, Tomoyo found herself looking into a pair of eyes of a green 
  182.80 +she had never quite seen. They were not emerald, as many would say, but soft 
  182.81 +and warm and alive. Like a forest, growing. Emeralds were hard gems. These 
  182.82 +eyes might be gems, but they were by no means hard.
  182.83 +
  182.84 +Yoshiyuki Terada nodded toward Tomoyo and gestured towards the end of an 
  182.85 +isle of desks, "Well, if you don't mind...you can take a seat next to Miss 
  182.86 +Kinomoto." He thanked the teacher that had escorted Tomoyo to the class and 
  182.87 +then asked the young girl something before she got to her seat, "Perhaps 
  182.88 +you'd like to introduce yourself to the class first though? If not...that's 
  182.89 +fine too."
  182.90 +The green eyes that Tomoyo had found fixed on were attached to the rather 
  182.91 +fair skinned Kinomoto Sakura. She was smiling warmly towards the new girl 
  182.92 +and even gave a slight nod as Terada Sensei motioned towards the seat next 
  182.93 +to her's. She thought it was about time that someone would take that seat, 
  182.94 +having been without someone to whisper to in quite some time. Sakura then 
  182.95 +reached down to pick up the pencil that had dropped from her desk, not 
  182.96 +wanting Tomoyo to trip on it.
  182.97 +
  182.98 +A blush spread across the pale girl's cheeks, slightly ashamed for having 
  182.99 +been the least bit rude. She bowed slightly to the class. "I am Daidouji 
 182.100 +Tomoyo, just here from London...I was born here, though." Not quite knowing 
 182.101 +what to say about herself, the heiress smiled and walked to the empty desk, 
 182.102 +gracefully. A good number of boys, and a few girls, gave Sakura glares, as 
 182.103 +the girl settled herself into the seat and Terada began his lesson again, 
 182.104 +this time accompanied by whispers and notes passing about the room.
 182.105 +
 182.106 +"Thank you for allowing me to sit here." Tomoyo's voice, low, to the girl 
 182.107 +beside her, as she searched for something in her bag, carefully around the 
 182.108 +hidden creature.
 182.109 +
 182.110 +Straightening up and placing the pencil back in the fold of her text book, 
 182.111 +Sakura smiled brightly and quietly replied, "Not a problem. I've been dieing 
 182.112 +to have someone to talk to...errr...not that Terada Sensei's class is 
 182.113 +boring. But, you know...it's good to have someone to talk to." Sakura wasn't 
 182.114 +opposed to Terada at all...just when it came to math that she suddenly felt 
 182.115 +a distaste for the classroom environment.
 182.116 +
 182.117 +"So, you're from London England...that's so cool. It must have been 
 182.118 +wonderful there, right?" She wasn't particularly overtly interested in 
 182.119 +Europe, but the thought of living anywhere but here, tickled her greatly. 
 182.120 +"If you need any catch up notes or what-nots...just let me know. I have most 
 182.121 +of them here and you're free to borrow them whenever you want them." Sakura 
 182.122 +was half paying attention towards what Terada was writing in the black 
 182.123 +board, but was more focused on her new classmate.
 182.124 +
 182.125 +Tomoyo couldn't help but smile warmly. For once there was someone who wasn't 
 182.126 +asking about...
 182.127 +"London? Isn't that where Kawaii M is?!" A glasses-wearing girl leaned 
 182.128 +around Sakura, whispering in an excited voice, amber eyes sparking. "Ah, 
 182.129 +she's the coolest!"
 182.130 +
 182.131 +"Yes, Kawai M was thereabouts. I don't..." How best to handle this? "Know 
 182.132 +much about her. I mean, I've seen the news, and pictures, but it's not as if 
 182.133 +she went out of her way to speak to an ordinary girl like me. Ah...do you 
 182.134 +mind if I ask your names?"
 182.135 +
 182.136 +"Oh. Sorry! Yanagisawa Naoko. Rika-chan is the girl behind me and two seats 
 182.137 +over, but don't bother looking. She's taking notes, probably. That's Chiharu 
 182.138 +behind Miss Kinomoto," Naoko's voice was lightly teasing. "And that's about 
 182.139 +it."
 182.140 +
 182.141 +The girl arched one eyebrow, then turned to look at 'Miss Kinomoto'.
 182.142 +
 182.143 +Sakura nodded, as if confirming Naoko's introductions, "Yeah...that's the 
 182.144 +gang, so-to-speak." She then felt alittle stupid, when the mentioning of 
 182.145 +Kawaii M was made, "Umm...question? Who or what is Kawaii M?" obviously not 
 182.146 +one up with modern news, Sakura had no idea what Naoko was going on 
 182.147 +about...which wasn't all that surprising. The girl had always confused or 
 182.148 +creeped out Sakura with her odd tales and para-media quips.
 182.149 +
 182.150 +She had hoped that Tomoyo wasn't going to think poorly of her ignorance, or 
 182.151 +perhaps it was obscure knowledge and it wouldn't make Sakura look too 
 182.152 +poorly. She then made an after thought that perhaps she should've just 
 182.153 +smiled and acted like she knew what they were talking about. Too late for 
 182.154 +that, she guessed.
 182.155 +
 182.156 +About to answer, Tomoyo was cut off by Naoko, who's eyes were shining 
 182.157 +brightly. "Kawaii M is only the super hero ever!!! She fights the 
 182.158 +paranormal, all while looking good! Well, I mean, she gets messed up after 
 182.159 +battles, but oh gods! She is the BEST! Sakura-chan, haven't you watched the 
 182.160 +news lately?"
 182.161 +
 182.162 +"Sakura-chan. So that's your name. Cherry blossom." Tomoyo wasn't heard by 
 182.163 +Naoko.
 182.164 +
 182.165 +"Anyways, Chiharu-chan knows more about it, don't you Chiharu-chan?!" Naoko 
 182.166 +leaned over, more quiet now that she was done.
 182.167 +
 182.168 +Chiharu looked up at the mention of her name and then smiled, "Hai, I've 
 182.169 +been keeping paper clippings...hold on," she then pulled open her back pack 
 182.170 +and fumbled around till she finally pulled out a slim binder and handed it 
 182.171 +to Naoko, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mihara Chiharu...it's a pleasure to meet you miss 
 182.172 +Daidouji. In there are all of the events that the media have covered on 
 182.173 +Kawaii M. Well, as much as they've released here in Japan. Two of those 
 182.174 +clippings I had to pull off of the internet."
 182.175 +
 182.176 +Sakura blushed as Tomoyo said her name, though wasn't sure why...perhaps it 
 182.177 +was the way she had said it, "Yeah, Kinomoto Sakura...but I like your name 
 182.178 +much better, Tomoyo-chan just chimes nicely. Errr...I mean, Tomoyo-san. 
 182.179 +Sorry..." She then bent over to look at the binder that Naoko was looking 
 182.180 +through. "Ohhh...you're right. She is pretty."
 182.181 +
 182.182 +"Tomoyo-chan is fine, if I am permitted to call you Sakura-chan." She would 
 182.183 +look wonderful in some of those costumes, Tomoyo thought, thinking. She 
 182.184 +wasn't paying attention to the binder much, though the other three were. She 
 182.185 +was watching the brunette. "Ah, nice to meet you as well, Chiharu-san. Your 
 182.186 +clippings are...very extensive."
 182.187 +
 182.188 +And slightly scary, the ebony-haired girl though silently. "You think she's 
 182.189 +pretty?" Tomoyo felt a flush rise in her cheeks.
 182.190 +
 182.191 +The green eyed girl tilted her head slightly as she was reading over Naoko's 
 182.192 +shoulder now, and then looked back at Tomoyo, smiling. "She is...not too 
 182.193 +many people could pull off an out-fit like that and look good in it. But, 
 182.194 +she's done it perfectly. I guess, hence the name Kawaii..." Sakura then sat 
 182.195 +back down after Terada Sensei glanced in her direction, though said nothing. 
 182.196 +She got the point quick enough without a word and nodded apologetically.
 182.197 +
 182.198 +Sakura then looked back at Tomoyo, "Well then, Tomoyo-chan it is. And I like 
 182.199 +Sakura-chan, so that's fine." She took notice that the new girl wasn't too 
 182.200 +interested in Chiharu's collection, and figured it was cause she's seen it 
 182.201 +all first hand in the local papers of London. Probably old news to her.
 182.202 +
 182.203 +Chiharu piped up, "I've been hoisting a fan site for her...though I really 
 182.204 +could use some better pictures to use. News print doesn't scan too well." 
 182.205 +She then reached back to take the binder from Naoko, "We should put that 
 182.206 +away before we get into trouble. I really don't want it taken away from me 
 182.207 +again."
 182.208 +
 182.209 +Tomoyo sweat dropped. "I could...see if I can find some for you...sometime. 
 182.210 +You're EverGreener? I think I've seen the site." She smiled all the time, 
 182.211 +though this was slightly over the top. Sakura seemed interested, though. She 
 182.212 +probably found the superhero exotic or the like. It was odd to even think 
 182.213 +about the website...it even guessed at Kawaii M's vital statistics, and was 
 182.214 +quite possibly the best site out there for the new hero.
 182.215 +
 182.216 +"When's lunch period...?" Naoko groaned as the pictures and clippings were 
 182.217 +taken away, looking depressed. "I can't wait for the horror to end. Or art. 
 182.218 +I hear we're pairing up for the photography unit. You wanna be with me, 
 182.219 +Chiharu-chan? Or are you still waiting to see who else comes 'round. I think 
 182.220 +Rika-chan is paired with Kamirko-chan."
 182.221 +
 182.222 +Chiharu put the binder away in her pack, "You could do that for me, Tomoyo? 
 182.223 +Wow, that's great...I'd even give you mention on the site for that," and 
 182.224 +then grinned at Naoko, "No, we can do it together, Na-chan. I think we work 
 182.225 +pretty good together actually." She then went back to topping up her math 
 182.226 +notes that they had missed cause of the conversation. Grumbling about the 
 182.227 +work as much as Sakura was previously.
 182.228 +
 182.229 +Sakura sighed and figured her had to get back to work as well, but the 
 182.230 +mention of the photography assignment had caught her attention, and she then 
 182.231 +realized that she didn't have a partner either. "Hmm...Tomoyo-chan? Would 
 182.232 +you like to work with me on that project? I mean..." she lowered her head, 
 182.233 +being somewhat embarrassed, "...I just didn't have a partner, and 
 182.234 +figured...seeing how you didn't either...you know, I...well, it would be a 
 182.235 +great way for us to get to know each other, right?" She sort of perked up at 
 182.236 +the last part, "I love making new friends, and I'm sure we'd get along just 
 182.237 +swell."
 182.238 +
 182.239 +Tomoyo smiled birghtly, leaning over on her desk as she replied. "I think so 
 182.240 +as well, Sakura-chan. Besides which, I think you'd make a good model. I like 
 182.241 +photography, actually. It's always been a hobby of mine. And I think I'm 
 182.242 +decent at it, enough not to shock anyone with the horror, at least." She 
 182.243 +giggled at this. "Is this an in school project, or out of school?"
 182.244 +
 182.245 +The mention of her being a good model caught Sakura off guard and even 
 182.246 +caused Rika to raise her head from her notes taking. "Errr...huh? Me? A 
 182.247 +model? Not likely...I don't think I'm model material...that stuff kinda 
 182.248 +requires abit of beauty and grace...two serious requirements that arn't in 
 182.249 +my favour. But...thank you, that was nice of you to say." She then flipped 
 182.250 +open one of her note books and read over the assignment, "Hmm...says here, 
 182.251 +that it's kind of an artsy thingy. So, I'm guessing where ever you can point 
 182.252 +a camera. In school or out...doesn't really matter as long as it's done with 
 182.253 +proper lighting, focal points and mood settings involved."
 182.254 +
 182.255 +Sakura handed over her notes on the project to Tomoyo and bent over next to 
 182.256 +her, pointing out the various requirements, "See? It doesn't say where it 
 182.257 +gets done..." She then looked up at her new classmate with a kind smile, 
 182.258 +"You like taking pictures, huh? Too cool. Maybe you can teach me a few 
 182.259 +things...I tend to always mess up the exposures."
 182.260 +
 182.261 +Terada looked over to the two, after taking notice that Sakura had moved 
 182.262 +closer to Tomoyo. He then smiled seeing that Sakura was actually pointng out 
 182.263 +an up-coming project paper to the new girl and went back to finishing up the 
 182.264 +lesson. "...and that's why the common denominator is always followed 
 182.265 +with..."
 182.266 +
 182.267 +"Anywhere?!" The first time in ages she'd even had time to think of such a 
 182.268 +thing. "I think the park would be nice...all the flowers are blooming, and 
 182.269 +the Sakura trees as well. Maybe even in a kimono..." Tomoyo touched her hand 
 182.270 +to her cheek, eyes glazed over. "Oh, I think you'd look nice in a nice blue 
 182.271 +one...fabrics are endless...what kind of embroidery, though? I think maybe 
 182.272 +suns...suns and stars...dragons? Hmm. So maybe brighter colors..." She 
 182.273 +trailed off, smiling dreamily. "We should go to the store after school! I 
 182.274 +still remember where it is, I think."
 182.275 +Naoko was staring. It was hard to take in. Although Sakura was entergetic, 
 182.276 +cheerful, and always smiling, she was hardly graceful. She generally caught 
 182.277 +the baton on her head and nose and anywhere but her hands fifty percent of 
 182.278 +the time in cheerleading, and she'd been doing that for quite a while. 
 182.279 +"Um...model?"
 182.280 +
 182.281 +"Yes! Don't you see it?" Tomoyo turned, excited. "It's perfect!!"
 182.282 +
 182.283 +Sakura sat back in her chair as her cheeks went all rose coloured from 
 182.284 +embarrassment and some-what shock. "Errr...I don't know...I've never really 
 182.285 +done anything like this before." She then caught the mention of hit a store 
 182.286 +afterwards, "Umm...wouldn't that be expensive? I really can't afford 
 182.287 +that...not that i don't want to, but...." She really didn't know Tomoyo 
 182.288 +would get so enthusiastic about this project...it was suppose to be a simple 
 182.289 +picture shoot to show creativity. But the way she was going on, it sounded 
 182.290 +like she wanted to open a photo studio.
 182.291 +
 182.292 +"Ummm...perfect?" A sweat drop ran down her forehead, "I don't know if I'd 
 182.293 +say perfect...I'm just..."
 182.294 +
 182.295 +Rika final said something after quietly listening to the conversation, "Oh, 
 182.296 +I don't know Sakura-chan. Perhaps you could be a model? I think you should 
 182.297 +give it a try." The green eyed girl looked at Rika with abit of surprise, 
 182.298 +"You choose NOW to say something?" Rika giggled and then went back to her 
 182.299 +gazing lovingly at Terada Sensei.
 182.300 +
 182.301 +"You're perfect." Tomoyo's voice was confident. "Don't worry about supplies. 
 182.302 +I can get them. Okaa-san doesn't mind funding my hobbies, so long as I 
 182.303 +complete them." She smiled at the girl, both hands on her cheeks, reddening 
 182.304 +as costume ideas flooded her mind. "Oh! I can see you in sooooooooo many 
 182.305 +different things! Sakura-chan at the aquarium! Sakura-chan at the beach! Ah, 
 182.306 +this'll be fun! School is wonderful!! It'll be just so absolutely perfectly 
 182.307 +KAWAII!!"
 182.308 +
 182.309 +"Erm, Tomoyo-san--" Naoko was beginning to think this girl was more 
 182.310 +obsessive then herself, in about three minutes of knowing her. What had 
 182.311 +happened to the quiet girl of about two minutes ago?
 182.312 +"Sakura-chan will make a wonderful model! Even her ears are adorable!"
 182.313 +
 182.314 +Instinctually Sakura covered her ears, "My ears?...a...adorable?" The poor 
 182.315 +girl was now getting out right embarrassed as some of the other students 
 182.316 +were catching wind of this little talk, and more notes were being passed 
 182.317 +around the classroom. Kinomoto was fully aware what was on those notes too, 
 182.318 +and this caused her to shy away more so, "I...umm...arigato 
 182.319 +Tomoyo-chan...domo ...errr...but, don't you think...umm? Don't you think me 
 182.320 +on the beach, at the aquarium, and...my ears are alittle much?"
 182.321 +
 182.322 +She was beginning to think this new girl was alittle too friendly, though it 
 182.323 +was incredibly flattering to say the least. Sakura couldn't quite place it, 
 182.324 +but there was something about Tomoyo that seemed so darn familiar...perhaps 
 182.325 +it was her face, or her smile, or her voice...but something seemed to dig 
 182.326 +into Sakura psyche deeply. And the praise she was getting from the girl was 
 182.327 +making Sakura feel...funny. If it wasn't for the crowds of students 
 182.328 +near-by...she felt that it wouldn't be that uncomfortable.
 182.329 +
 182.330 +Giggling as the other girl turned red, Tomoyo smiled. This felt familiar, 
 182.331 +like she'd done so before. She knew this girl, it seemed. And it was hard 
 182.332 +not to keep hyperventilating on the uber-kawaiiness of Sakura, but she was 
 182.333 +starting to get weird looks, and that would hardly do. Though she had always 
 182.334 +been somewhat eccentric, off in her own little world. And the whispering was 
 182.335 +growing in volume, possibly about her, but that didn't much matter.
 182.336 +
 182.337 +"Gomenasai, Sakura-chan. I guess it's just that you were right, is all." She 
 182.338 +smiled sweetly, tilting her head so it seemed as if her hair were violet in 
 182.339 +the light. "We get along swell."
 182.340 +Sakura's mouth was partially open as she was looking at Tomoyo in a new 
 182.341 +light, though somewhat still in shock, "Umm...yeah. Exactly my 
 182.342 +point...sorta." She then straightened up and looked down at her books, 
 182.343 +noticing that she's missed the entire last part of the lesson and sighed in 
 182.344 +grief, "Ohhh, man..."
 182.345 +
 182.346 +Terada Sensei was just wiping off the board and then turned around, "Okay 
 182.347 +class, now I'm sure that wasn't so bad. I'll expect those papers to be 
 182.348 +finished by tomorrow, and just a reminder. The photography assignment study 
 182.349 +is due for next Monday, so I hope that you all have setup partners, and if 
 182.350 +not, I'll assign partners tomorrow for the remainders of you all." He then 
 182.351 +brushed off his hands and bowed, "Class dismissed..." He said this just as 
 182.352 +the bell rang out as if he was timing it in his head.
 182.353 +
 182.354 +Sakura began packing up her books and supplies slowly, still thinking about 
 182.355 +all of the ideas Tomoyo had stated. And then she smiled to herself, 
 182.356 +picturing herself wearing the kimono with bright enwrapping dragons and 
 182.357 +cherry blossoms. "Hmm...that would look nice, I do admit." The rest of the 
 182.358 +class also began to pack up, making the odd comment of the new girl and her 
 182.359 +rather vocal expressions towards Kinomoto.
 182.360 +
 182.361 +Smiling as she left, Tomoyo spent what was left of the day thinking about 
 182.362 +her ideas, and sketching. It'd been a while since she'd done such things, 
 182.363 +and she was generally cheerful about it. Sakura was in most of her classes, 
 182.364 +but it didn't take long to get the hang of drawing her, after three periods 
 182.365 +of staring.
 182.366 +
 182.367 +Now there was just the problem of finding the girl. Standing by the school 
 182.368 +gates, where a slight breeze lessened the heavy heat of the day, Tomoyo 
 182.369 +waited for the other girl, watchful.
 182.370 +As Sakura left the confines of the school, she stopped to strap on her 
 182.371 +roller blades on the front steps. And it didn't take her long to throw her 
 182.372 +school bag over her one shoulder and shoes over her other, "Wow...what an 
 182.373 +interesting day, and here I thought it would be boring."
 182.374 +
 182.375 +She skated up to the school gates and saw Tomoyo waiting there. "Oh my...was 
 182.376 +she actually serious about shopping after school?" Sakura hadn't taken her 
 182.377 +entirely serious before, and even now, thought that maybe Tomoyo just wanted 
 182.378 +someone to walk home with. "Hi Tomoyo-chan!" She waved as she rolled up to 
 182.379 +the long haired girl. "Are you waiting for me?"
 182.380 +
 182.381 +"Of course, Sakura-chan!" The raven-haired girl smiled sweetly. "We're going 
 182.382 +shopping, remember? I still know the way to my favorite craft store, and it 
 182.383 +should have everything I need. Or is there something else you need to do?" 
 182.384 +Her brow creased, worried. "I don't want to keep you from getting things 
 182.385 +done."
 182.386 +
 182.387 +And if she ever should, it would be very, very bad. Doing such a 
 182.388 +thing...deserved nothing.
 182.389 +
 182.390 +Sakura shook her head, "Nope...it you wanna look around for stuff at the 
 182.391 +craft store, I'd be glad to go with ya!" A sparkled smile came forth from 
 182.392 +Sakura as she stopped rolling right at Tomoyo, and then a crack caused her 
 182.393 +to stumble abit, and had to take a hold of the classmate's shoulder to 
 182.394 +steady herself, "Errr...sorry about that. Okay...so where to?"
 182.395 +
 182.396 +She was rather surprised...she hardly ever stumbled before on her skates. In 
 182.397 +fact she was a rather good roller blader, but she figured mistakes happen.
 182.398 +
 182.399 +"It's just across from the Grudenten Cafe. You know of it? It was quite 
 182.400 +popular last I was here." Tomoyo smiled, steadying her classmate as she 
 182.401 +looked up slightly, the skates making Sakura taller. "The craft store is 
 182.402 +small, but it has a good selection." It wasn't as if she were surprised; 
 182.403 +Sakura had the tendency to be less the graceful at times. But she seemed to 
 182.404 +be graceful to Tomoyo, almost all the time, just slightly distracted. It was 
 182.405 +odd, already, that she wasn't.
 182.406 +
 182.407 +Nodding cheerfully, Sakura knew exactly where that was, though never knew 
 182.408 +there was a craft shop across from it, "Okay..." she began skating at 
 182.409 +walking speed, sometimes backwards to face Tomoyo directly and other times, 
 182.410 +just beside the young girl.
 182.411 +
 182.412 +It didn't take the two long to get where they were going, and Sakura found 
 182.413 +Tomoyo's presence rather soothing, in an odd way. Like they've been friends 
 182.414 +forever. Without the crowd of the students, Sakura was able to be herself, 
 182.415 +and didn't mind the raven-haired girl's rather eccentric ways.
 182.416 +

   183.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   183.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-kg_02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   183.3 @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
   183.4 +Disclaimer: Yay! We made it to Chapter Two. ^-^ Go us. Anyways, we own nothing we do not own, and own everything we do own, I believe!
   183.5 +
   183.6 +Kawaii Getsurin~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   183.7 +
   183.8 +By Forever3330 and Nabiki_S
   183.9 +
  183.10 +Chapter Two: Enter the Night, Enter The Light
  183.11 +
  183.12 +   "Well, here we are...I guess." Sakura looked a bit nervous and glance at Tomoyo's face, "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, to get all dressed up and spend money for a school project? Seems like a bit of over kill to me...a bit..." She was a bit worried that there might be more to this, or that maybe...Tomoyo was a bit...weird. She didn't know which.
  183.13 + 
  183.14 +   The other girl smiled sweetly, waving off Sakura's worry. "I always try my hardest, when given the chance. Don't you, Sakura-chan? I want to make something beautiful. And even though you make that far easier, I would like the chance to accent it. It would be an honor, Sakura-chan. Because I can think of nothing I would like more then to help something along...do you understand? It's just...it just is."
  183.15 + 
  183.16 +   Poor Sakura looked a bit confused, and embarrassed in the same moment, "Well...yeah...okay." She really didn't know what more to say about that, and opened the door to the store for Tomoyo, "After you then, Tomoyo-chan..."For some reason, just saying her name, drew a smile across Sakura's face. "I still think you have a very pretty name. It suits you." A second later, Sakura wondered where that sudden burst of matching compliments came from. Sure she was a nice person, but that seemed...cheesy, even by her standards.
  183.17 +
  183.18 +Smiling, as ever, the raven-haired girl entered, graceful, and walked immediately to the third isle, though she had not been here in years. The fabrics were of all colors, rich and not so.
  183.19 + 
  183.20 +   Following along and looking around herself, Sakura seemed to be pleased by her surroundings, "Hey this place is neat!" She immediately went to look at some patterns, and checked out a few different materials. "ooOOo...this one's soft...I could make a nice comforter out of this."
  183.21 + 
  183.22 +   "I can make one for you, if you like." Tomoyo's voice was absent, as she fingered a deep red silk. "This crimson is nice..." Pulling the roll off it's rack, she went to stand by Sakura, holding it up to the girl.
  183.23 + 
  183.24 +   "Is this for the kimono, Tomoyo-chan?" She practically posed against the fabric for her, "It's nice...very nice, actually." She then placed the material she was looking at down and stayed with Tomoyo's side, looking at what she was, "So, you know how to sew and design too...plus photography? Wow, that's really impressive...I mean, i've never seen anyone with that much talent before."
  183.25 + 
  183.26 +   "It's not really talent." The other girl flushed lightly. "More hobby then anything else. I'm sure Sakura-chan has lots of talent, though! And this looks nice for the outer kimono...there are many layers." Sighing in her happy, dreamy manner, Tomoyo raised her eyebrows slowly. "What does Sakura-chan like to do?"
  183.27 + 
  183.28 +   She giggled as Tomoyo referred to her in a third person, and then sighed while thinking, "Umm...just what does Sakura do? Hmm...good question." Sakura never thought of anything really note worthy of herself to brag about...especially to someone who was obviously talented and special in many ways.
  183.29 +   "I...I haven't really thought of a work-stationed life style for myself, yet...if you know what I mean. But, everyone says I'm pretty good at sports...I like swimming and rollerblading..." she pointed at the pair she had been moving around on, "And I am a lead cheerleader for the school." She really couldn't think of anything else...which kind of brought her down a bit, once she realized that she was pretty boring when compared to Tomoyo.
  183.30 +   "You're a cheerleader?!" Tomoyo took Sakura's hands in her own, hearts almost visible in her eyes. "You HAVE to let me come to some of your shows! I want to videotape every one of them! Sakura-chan in a cheerleading uniform would be so adorably cute! Maybe with flowers falling around her? And cute hair ribbons! You need hair ribbons!"
  183.31 + 
  183.32 +   Sakura looked a bit shocked, "Huh...wa...hold on there...ribbons? Hmm...ribbons would be nice actually." She then shook her head abit, "Now wait a second...umm...flowers? Adorable? Videotape me!?!" It had gone too far now, explanations were in order.
  183.33 +   Taking a hold of Tomoyo's hands and firmly looking her directly, Sakura questioned, "Tomoyo-chan? Umm...can i ask, why you want to do all of this. I mean, I like you...that's fine, but you don't need to be...well...you're kinda making it sound...well. Okay..." She took a deep breath, and was tempted to tell her that she was getting creeped out here, but turned it around. "Just how attracted to me are you?"
  183.34 + 
  183.35 +   "Hmm?" Tomoyo blinked a few times, attempting to process this new information. "Attracted? You mean how cute do I think Sakura-chan is?"
  183.36 + 
  183.37 +   As Sakura's eyes narrowed she was starting to catch on to something, "Umm...now, I'll admit, I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree...but even I see this..." She stopped and then decided to answer Tomoyo, "Something like that, yes...cute? You really think I'm cute?" She couldn't help but blush a bit and her expressions softened slightly.
  183.38 +   "That's fine...and thank you, Tomoyo-chan...that's really nice of you to say. But...I don't know if you realize this, but...even in class with all of those people. You kind a made it sound...umm..." Sakura then noticed that they were still holding hands and she looked from the entwined fingers to the raven haired girl's eyes, and then smiled, "You know what? Forget it...I think you're really cute too." 
  183.39 +   Smiling brightly, Tomoyo was about to say something, but gasped, and hurried over to something past Sakura. "Look at this fabric!! Isn't it gorgeous? It would bring out your eyes..." A few minutes later they had several rolls of cloth and thread, most of which Sakura ended up carrying. Smiling slightly at the thought of the designs dancing through her head, Tomoyo sighed happily.
  183.40 +   Walking back towards Tomoyo's home, Sakura was the manual labor of the project, but she knew her place at least. "So, how long will this all take. I never even thought about that part back at the store...an outfit like this by hand could take weeks to make...even months! But we don't have that long, Tomoyo-chan."
  183.41 +   Smiling, Tomoyo handed over a few of the bundles. "My mother may pitch in, and together I'm sure we can do it. At any rate, why don't you take these and cut them to the measurements I asked? We can work on them at my house tomorrow. Thank you for walking me home, Sakura-chan. It was very kind of you."
  183.42 + 
  183.43 +   Sakura looked down at the bundles and sighed, "I have to carry these home now? Geez..." She then waved and started the long journey home, throwing the bags over her shoulder, "Hmm...nice mansion...no wonder she could afford the materials...nice."
  183.44 + 
  183.45 +
  183.46 +   Tomoyo watched the other girl leave, quietly, from the window right beside the front door. There was that new, giddy feeling, all the various thoughts, and a breathless feeling that rushed at her. As well as slight caution.
  183.47 +
  183.48 +   Tomoyo turned away from the window, shaking her head. This wasn't the time to be thinking of such things. She was here for a reason. A good one, at that. A very good one. The girl sighed.
  183.49 +
  183.50 +   "Why didn't you tell her you like her?" A dry, solemn voice came from her bag, as she walked to her room, shutting the door firmly. "When she asked?" A small black cat fluttered out to rest on her bed, faerie wings shining slightly in the light.
  183.51 +
  183.52 +   Ebony-violet hair was braided by quick fingers, and wound around her head, before Tomoyo turned to face the creature. "I know you well enough to hear disapproval, Suppi. You know as well as I that duty 
  183.53 +comes first. That is what you needed to hear?" She smiled calmly. "Besides, who knows if she's even real, and not some illusion?"
  183.54 +
  183.55 +   "Spinel. Not Suppi." The creature smiled slightly as the girl looked through her closet, searching. "Good. We cannot afford to risk civilians."
  183.56 +
  183.57 +   Coming up with a small white eye-mask, the girl was about to reply, but the door swung open, and as it did she hid the thing, and Spinel 
  183.58 +fell limp. In the doorway stood an elegant woman, the woman who had gone to the principal's with her that morning. "Mother. You're home early today." Tomoyo walked closer, to hug her mother.
  183.59 +
  183.60 +   "Just here for a quick stop, I'm afraid." The older woman leaned down to give her daughter a peck on the cheek, smiling apologetically. "Do you think you can manage?" Sonomi was always running somewhere, 
  183.61 +though now that they were back in Japan it was a little less often.
  183.62 +
  183.63 +   "Of course. I'll be fine, so don't worry." Tomoyo smiled calmly.
  183.64 +
  183.65 +   Sonomi left, quietly, and Tomoyo took out the mask, and settled it over her eyes. "Are you ready, Spinel?"
  183.66 +
  183.67 +   "Better. And yes." The small cat was no longer small, but large.
  183.68 +
  183.69 +   "I am ready as well, Mistress. And I sense a presence, coming strong. We must hurry." A soft, dark voice, melodic came from behind.
  183.70 +
  183.71 +   Tomoyo smiled. "Let's go."
  183.72 +
  183.73 +
  183.74 +   The long trek home was rather uneventful for Kinomoto. She was getting a bit tired with all of the materials over her back, plus her regular school supplies. But, she found the energy to venture forth with little difficulty. The brunette did, however, have an odd feeling as she appeared on her property that someone was watching her. This caused a rather disturbing shiver up Sakura’s spine, as she quickly made her way inside of her home.
  183.75 +   “Dad? Touya? I’m home…hmm…what’s this?” Sakura finished announcing herself and then saw a small note upon the side table close to the front door. It wasn’t much in design, just a folded piece of white paper, balanced like a simple tent. She placed all of her bags down and quickly snatched the note up, while walking into the main living room. The young girl then plopped down on the couch and started reading the message aloud, “Dear kids. I’ve been called away again, and for this I am truly sorry. I didn’t have much time to prepare for this, but as you are both aware, you know that my work tends to develop unexpectedly. I shouldn’t be gone long, but in the meantime I would like you two to get along well and keep the house intact as best as possible. I’ll call later to see how your days were. Love dad.”
  183.76 + 
  183.77 +   Sakura sighed deeply and placed the note upon the coffee table before her, “Great, Touya’s in charge again…” Drawing the fingers of one hand through her hair, she glanced over to her bags and nodded. “Well…might as well get you all cut up like Tomoyo-chan wanted before dinner.” Then hopping to her feet again, Sakura snatched up the bags and headed off to her bedroom. Though disappointed that her father had gone away without physically saying goodbye, she knew that he had to do what he had to do. Work was important to him, and was required to keep the household stable.
  183.78 + 
  183.79 + 
  183.80 +   Once inside her room, the energetic schoolgirl closed the door behind her and began taking out the various lengths of material. Placing it all upon her bed and writing desk, in the order she wished to work on first. As the last strip of fabric was pulled ouut of it’s bag, Sakura spun around towards her door and snapped her fingers, “Oh! That’s right…I’ll need a tape measure and scissors from the kitchen…” As she threw the last bundle of material to her bed and left to retrieve the tools needed, something small fell to the floor behind her, slipping out from between the layers of purple cloths without Sakura’s awareness.
  183.81 + 
  183.82 + 
  183.83 +   Distraction might as well have been Kinomoto Sakura’s middle name, for as she had gotten to the kitchen and discovered the plate of bite sized cookies her father had left for his two children, she discovered that sitting there and munching down upon them was a swell idea at the time. Of course this followed with a tall glass of milk and flipping through the local newspaper in her usual search for celebrity pop-cultured news. She was also now curious to find any mention of this girl, Kawaii M, that was spoken about at school earlier that day. “Hmm…car crashes…meh, Weather report…please, that’s what a window is for. A Tribute for the JSDF over their efforts to assist with the last earthquake? Pfft…yeah, where were they when I fell off the old maehara bridge? Anyways…” Her mumblings were interrupted by a sudden crash coming from her room, “What the…?”
  183.84 + 
  183.85 +   Startled and yet curious, Sakura stood up and dropped the newspaper on the kitchen counter, “Oh man…did all of that fall off my desk?” A second crash, followed by a tearing and dragging sound began, “Tha…that wasn’t a falling noise…” Her green eyes went wide with fright and this sound stopped her from continuing forward. Instead, she peered down the hallway to her room, and saw the door was closed. “I didn’t close it behind me…did I?” She quietly questioned herself. When everything went silent once more, the shorthaired student built back up her courage…slowly. 
  183.86 + 
  183.87 +   Biting her lower lip and feeling her hands shaking slightly, Sakura started towards her doorway cautiously. Each step she took, was halted so she could listen again, but heard nothing. “Maybe a squirrel got in through my window…that had to be it.” Reassuring herself, and then smiling over how silly it was to be frightened over a thing like that, Sakura reached out and grabbed the doorknob. 
  183.88 + 
  183.89 +   Once her fingers touched the cold metal a brilliant light burst out from around the seams of the bedroom door. It was almost burning bright and Sakura couldn’t help but to scream out and cover her eyes, as it surrounded her from all sides. The door then blew open and sent the poor girl tumbling backwards down the hall. From the balled up position she was in, Sakura lifted her head to look into the light, which was blasting out of her room, “Oh my gosh…”
  183.90 + 
  183.91 +   Before her stood a figure…it was completely crafted of energy, but looked alive and radiant. Glowing the white light that enveloped the entire hall now…showing nothing of detail or anything but a tunnel of pure brilliance. Sakura raised an arm to shield herself from its’ presence, but all it did was obscure her vision more. She felt if she remained looking into the heart of this energy, she’d surely go blind, “Who…or what are you?”
  183.92 + 
  183.93 +   The creature spoke not a word, but cast down its’ ominous glare upon Sakura’s scared and confused eyes. The two pairs met for a moment, that Sakura felt was forever. It haunted her soul like never before. The creature looked the image of a woman, and yet not. It possessed long curled hair, which whipped about in an absent wind, and was garbed in a flowing intricately designed dress, that seemed to shift as the light emitted from it’s folds. Tilting its’ head, as if inspecting the young girl with a great amount of curiosity, it remained still and silent.          
  183.94 +

   184.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   184.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-kg_p.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   184.3 @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
   184.4 +Disclaimer: Neither of us owns BSSM or CCS, though I'm sure we’d be happy if 
   184.5 +we did. ^.^; This is a collaboration by Nabiki_S and Forever3330…hoping you 
   184.6 +enjoy it!!
   184.7 +
   184.8 +Kawaii Getsurin~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   184.9 +
  184.10 +By Forever3330 and Nabiki_S
  184.11 +
  184.12 +Prologue
  184.13 +
  184.14 +“Time...just what is time? Is it a matter with which can be manipulated and 
  184.15 +sculpted by the mortal world? Or does it pass us by for the sake of human 
  184.16 +destruction? Time has always been against mankind since the beginning..." 
  184.17 +The pondering voice emerged from within a darkened room. A glint of 
  184.18 +reflection burst through from a set of spectacles upon the speaker, who's 
  184.19 +voice was in hushed tones.
  184.20 + 
  184.21 +He rose from the seat of treated leather and made his way across the 
  184.22 +blackened room, and grasped at a thick curtain, "No...time is a mere figment 
  184.23 +of a mass imaginative state which has bound this world. And this will change 
  184.24 +soon enough." Drawing back the curtain, that individual was greeted with a 
  184.25 +blinding light from the mid-day sky. It was such a change that he had to 
  184.26 +shield his eyes to peer out upon the sky scrapers of Tokyo.
  184.27 + 
  184.28 +The pane of glass slid to the left as he stepped out onto the patio, which 
  184.29 +was high above the traffic-ridden city. Walking slow and deliberate toward 
  184.30 +the edge he removed his glasses and wiped them off with a square of cloth 
  184.31 +he'd always kept within his shirt pocket, "Ahhh...Tokyo City. A place of 
  184.32 +commerce and life. Millions of people all blind to the Earth's true nature. 
  184.33 +How insignificant and pathetic these creatures of evolution are. Totally 
  184.34 +unaware of the crushing defeat they we're about to receive..."
  184.35 + 
  184.36 +He gripped the ledge and hung his head over the rail, allowing the wind to 
  184.37 +blow his short cut blue hair in random directions. "It's a pity, really. If 
  184.38 +perhaps there was one to inform them of their impending doom...maybe...just 
  184.39 +maybe they would stand a chance of survival. It's a shame that the only 
  184.40 +heroes in this world are two dimensional characters on a television 
  184.41 +screen..."
  184.42 +
  184.43 +

   185.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   185.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-lifelove1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   185.3 @@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
   185.4 +The End and the Beginning of Life and Love" 
   185.5 +
   185.6 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com 
   185.7 +cemv_shinji@uol.com.ar 
   185.8 +
   185.9 +Hi!! I'm back with a new story of CCS, this piece is something that worked in my head for a time and I decided to write it. It's kind of depressing, but please read it until the end. 
  185.10 +
  185.11 +Some points: 
  185.12 +
  185.13 +-It's settled after the end of manga 
  185.14 +-It's a fic of love between girls 
  185.15 +
  185.16 +I WANT FEEDBACK!!! With your opinion I can know if I did things well ^_^ Onegai!!! 
  185.17 +
  185.18 +***** 
  185.19 +
  185.20 +The always present disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp (I love their works, but I'm deeply and fully disappointed about the manga ending of CCS, T_T), Kodansha and the other companies that have the respective rights. This was made for fun and for contribute to the Tomoyo/Sakura relationship, which for me it's the best of all of CCS. Please don't sue/kill/e-mail with spam to me 
  185.21 +
  185.22 +***** 
  185.23 +
  185.24 +"The End and the Beginning of Life and Love" 
  185.25 +
  185.26 +Sakura was in some unknown place, like an abandoned house. She was nineteen years old, her staff on her hands, all the cards standing before her. Blood was dripping from her body and tears formed of water and blood coming out from her eyes. The Dark and The Light looked while having something in their arms, The Light came to Sakura with what they had, Sakura smiled sadly with tears as she extended her hand to what The Light carried. She whispered something unknown and she clutched her heart tightly. As she did that, she coughed blood. 
  185.27 +
  185.28 +She looked to the thing that Light carried and started to remember what happened some time ago... 
  185.29 +
  185.30 +******* 
  185.31 +
  185.32 +Sakura and Tomoyo were walking on their way to home. Sakura was happy because Syaoran was waiting on her for a date. Tomoyo was beside her. 
  185.33 +
  185.34 +"You will have a date with Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo asked smiling. 
  185.35 +
  185.36 +"Yes, he's waiting for me, Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said to her. 
  185.37 +
  185.38 +Tomoyo smiled at Sakura. They saw Syaoran and Sakura ran to him and kissed him. Tomoyo smiled but her heart received a lot of pain for seeing that scene. 
  185.39 +
  185.40 +"Are you ready to go Sakura?" he asked. 
  185.41 +
  185.42 +"Yes, I will call you later. Bye Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura said to Tomoyo as both left. 
  185.43 +
  185.44 +Tomoyo smiled and she went to the King Penguin Park, she sat in one of the swings and looked to the children and the couples that were there. 
  185.45 +
  185.46 +Slowly tears started to fall from her cheeks. 
  185.47 +
  185.48 +For years she tried to look for someone to love but she failed. She wished Sakura happiness, and she tried to find her own but she found loneliness. She still loved Sakura and she couldn't break that bond. 
  185.49 +
  185.50 +Many times she had the urge to scream to the world that she loved Sakura. To tell Sakura her true feelings, to embrace Sakura, to kiss Sakura, to make Sakura happy. But she pushed that urge into the depths of her heart, since she was a child she was accustomed to feel pain inside her body, a pain that was consuming her. 
  185.51 +
  185.52 +She thought many times about if things were different if she told Sakura about her love, but she knew that could destroy their friendship. She only could stay as Sakura's best friend, nothing more. 
  185.53 +
  185.54 +Tomoyo stood up and wiped the tears from her face and she headed to her home. When she entered she saw her mother and father talking about things, she was glad that her parents solved their differences and ended again as a couple. She went to her room and picked one of the videos that she had and put it in. 
  185.55 +
  185.56 +The video was about Fujitaka's second marriage, he married a teacher that he met in the university, her name was Yui. Sakura was happy to have a mother, and everyone looked happy. Touya and Yukito were a couple, and her friends Rika, Naoko, Chiharu had someone in their lives. Everyone had someone except her. 
  185.57 +
  185.58 +She switched off the TV and went to the box and opened it, she looked to the eraser that Sakura gave to her many years ago. A tear ran down her cheek and she put the eraser in the box and locked it. 
  185.59 +
  185.60 +After she had dinner, she went to her room, she was in bed when the phone rang and she picked it up. 
  185.61 +
  185.62 +"Hello, Tomoyo speaking." 
  185.63 +
  185.64 +"Hi, Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said. 
  185.65 +
  185.66 +"Sakura-chan! How was your date?" Tomoyo said happily. 
  185.67 +
  185.68 +"It was nice, he's kind," Sakura said cheerfully. 
  185.69 +
  185.70 +"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. 
  185.71 +
  185.72 +"Yes?" 
  185.73 +
  185.74 +"Have you found true happiness?" Tomoyo asked seriously. 
  185.75 +
  185.76 +"Yes, I'm happy," Sakura said happily. 
  185.77 +
  185.78 +"It's good. I'm happy, Sakura-chan, because you're happy," Tomoyo said as the tears fall down her cheeks. 
  185.79 +
  185.80 +"Tomoyo-chan, what are you trying to say really behind that words?" Sakura asked 
  185.81 +
  185.82 +Tomoyo was shocked of hearing that. 
  185.83 +
  185.84 +"What Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo said trying to be calm. 
  185.85 +
  185.86 +"You were different the past days, you always said that words, I was thinking that words are hiding something more deeper. What are you trying to tell me really Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura said. 
  185.87 +
  185.88 +"Well... I..." Tomoyo tried to say something when she heard Yui's voice through Sakura's receiver. 
  185.89 +
  185.90 +"Sakura, dinner is getting cold!!" Yui said. 
  185.91 +
  185.92 +"Okay, I will go. Sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I will meet you in college tomorrow and you will explain it to me, ne?" Sakura said. 
  185.93 +
  185.94 +"Yes, I will," 
  185.95 +
  185.96 +"Bye, Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said and hung up the phone. 
  185.97 +
  185.98 +Tomoyo hung up the phone and went to her bed. She thought about telling Sakura the true meaning of the words, but Sakura had found the happiness and Tomoyo couldn't break the happiness of the one she loved by saying that she was in love with Sakura. 
  185.99 +
 185.100 +Tomoyo wasn't sure of what she must do and fell to sleep. 
 185.101 +
 185.102 +During the night Tomoyo was dreaming of being with Sakura as a couple, going out, doing the things that the ones in love do. But the pain she carried through years finally was free, loneliness, tears, suffering, sadness, all them seizing her body and finally her heart. 
 185.103 +
 185.104 +When morning came, Sonomi went to awake her daughter, she found Tomoyo sleeping with a tiny smile, she tried to awake her but Tomoyo didn't awake, Sonomi only could do was scream to her husband for a doctor. 
 185.105 +
 185.106 +Sakura was at college worried, Tomoyo wasn't there and she was thinking of what they talked about the last night. 
 185.107 +
 185.108 +"I don't understand why Tomoyo-chan always said those words 'I'm happy because you're happy', must be something deeper behind that words but what?" Sakura asked to herself when the cold air blew her and started to feel something inside her. 
 185.109 +
 185.110 +"I'm feel something is wrong" Sakura said worried. 
 185.111 +
 185.112 +When the class was over Sakura was worried, she had a bad feeling and rushed to her house. When she entered to her house, her step-mother was surprised and Sakura asked if something was wrong. Yui said to her step-daughter that nothing was wrong but Sakura wasn't convinced and went to her room, and fell to sleep from exhaustion. 
 185.113 +
 185.114 +When Sakura woke up, Yui was there with a sad look in her eyes. Sakura was sure that something was wrong. 
 185.115 +
 185.116 +"Sakura... I have to tell you something... and it's something sad..." Yui said quietly. 
 185.117 +
 185.118 +"What happened?" Sakura said nervously. 
 185.119 +
 185.120 +"Tomoyo-san..." 
 185.121 +
 185.122 +"What happened to her???" Sakura asked desperately and worried. 
 185.123 +
 185.124 +"She... passed away...last night when she was asleep" Yui said. 
 185.125 +
 185.126 +Sakura froze as the sad words entered in her mind. 
 185.127 +
 185.128 +"What... are you saying?" Sakura asked shocked. 
 185.129 +
 185.130 +"Tomoyo-san died... that's what I'm saying..." Yui said to Sakura. 
 185.131 +
 185.132 +"No... can't be... CAN'T BE!!!" Sakura screamed. 
 185.133 +
 185.134 +Yui embraced her and Sakura started to cry uncontrolably. 
 185.135 +
 185.136 +******* 
 185.137 +
 185.138 +Sakura stopped her memory and looked to the cards, the cards had a sad look but they agreed with what Sakura was planning. The Light and The Dark approved Sakura's decision. Sakura was bleeding and sat on the floor, The Dark embraced her. 
 185.139 +
 185.140 +"It's not going to be easy and you must know that," The Dark said to her mistress. 
 185.141 +
 185.142 +"I know that but I must do it, I have to do it" Sakura said with tears. 
 185.143 +
 185.144 +The Dark looked to her and nodded. 
 185.145 +
 185.146 +"We can't stop you... we're aware of that" The Light said while carrying the thing Sakura was looking. 
 185.147 +
 185.148 +Sakura smiled to The Light. 
 185.149 +
 185.150 +"Are they coming?" The Dark asked to Sakura. 
 185.151 +
 185.152 +"Yes, I hope they can be here" Sakura said. 
 185.153 +
 185.154 +The Dark nodded and Sakura started to remember again... 
 185.155 +
 185.156 +******* 
 185.157 +
 185.158 +Many people were at Tomoyo's funeral. Her classmates, her parents, and Sakura was there with her family and boyfriend. 
 185.159 +
 185.160 +Sakura was the most hurt of all them. After the funeral ended she just stood there and cried over and over, later she left the cemetery and wandered alone until she reached her home. When she entered all were waiting for her, but she said to them that she wanted to be alone even to her boyfriend. He understood and left. Sakura entered to her room and collapsed into bed and started to cry. 
 185.161 +
 185.162 +When morning came she woke up hardly, she cried all night and still tears were coming out of her face. She went to school and entered her classroom. She sat and looked to the empty seat next to her, again tears started and she wiped them away. When the class was over she left and her boyfriend was waiting for her. Sakura told him that she wanted to be alone to clear some things by herself. He understood and left again. Sakura walked through the streets and found a flower shop. She bought some flowers and went to the cemetery. She put the flowers over the grave and remembered when she met Tomoyo for the time, the things that they did together, etc. 
 185.163 +
 185.164 +Without notice an old woman came to the grave and looked to Sakura. Sakura saw as the old woman put some flowers in the grave. 
 185.165 +
 185.166 +"It's sad when people die, life is this way, every day people must die so others can live," the old woman said. 
 185.167 +
 185.168 +"Did you know her?" Sakura asked. 
 185.169 +
 185.170 +"No, I never met her but I saw you crying sadly yesterday after the funeral ended, it seems she was important to you," said the old woman. 
 185.171 +
 185.172 +"She is important to me," Sakura said to her. 
 185.173 +
 185.174 +"Would you like to come to that grave with me? I must put some flowers and I would like to have someone with me," the old woman said. 
 185.175 +
 185.176 +"Sure" Sakura said and both went to the grave. 
 185.177 +
 185.178 +Sakura saw as the old woman put some flowers in the grave, she looked to the name engraved and found that was a woman. 
 185.179 +
 185.180 +"A friend?" Sakura asked. 
 185.181 +
 185.182 +"At the beginning yes, but now she is much more to me" the old woman said. 
 185.183 +
 185.184 +Sakura looked to the old woman, the woman was with tears as she looked to the grave. 
 185.185 +
 185.186 +"She died at young age" Sakura said. 
 185.187 +
 185.188 +"Like your friend" the old woman said. 
 185.189 +
 185.190 +"Yes. I just can't understand why she died, why she had to die. I can't accept that. Not now and not ever" Sakura said as she started to cry again. 
 185.191 +
 185.192 +"Have you told her how important she is to you?" the old woman asked. 
 185.193 +
 185.194 +"No, I never told her really how important she is to me. I said to her that she was my best friend, but I never with the sincerity I should have" Sakura said crying. 
 185.195 +
 185.196 +"I felt the same. With her I was so special but when she died I realize the true nature of my feelings towards her and this is my punishment for being so blind" the old woman said. 
 185.197 +
 185.198 +"You never realized it before her death?" Sakura asked as she wiped the tears away. 
 185.199 +
 185.200 +"Never, she was in love with me, I never realized it. She pushed me and a friend of mine together, she wanted me to be happy, even if she suffered from it. One day she told about the happiness and just before left forever of my life she said that she was happy because I was. The next day she was gone and I never was the same. With time I realized that she is part of me, and I fell in love with her. My boyfriend told me to give up on her and return to him. I told him that I was in love with her, she loved me so much more than him. He told me that I was in love with her only for guilt, but I realized that I really was in love with her. So I broke with him and every day I come to see her until the day we can be reunited again and live our love forever" the old woman said. 
 185.201 +
 185.202 +Sakura looked to the woman surprised. 
 185.203 +
 185.204 +"Tomoyo-chan always wanted my happiness, she said 'I'm happy because you're happy' but I was thinking that there is something deeper behind that. Yesterday we were going to talk about that and then she died..." Sakura said. 
 185.205 +
 185.206 +The old woman smiled slightly. 
 185.207 +
 185.208 +Sakura was realizing something but she needed more clues to realize it. 
 185.209 +
 185.210 +"What's your friend, I mean 'special person', told about happiness?" Sakura asked. 
 185.211 +
 185.212 +The old woman smiled to Sakura. 
 185.213 +
 185.214 +"The true happiness is seeing the one you love happy" the old woman said. 
 185.215 +
 185.216 +Sakura looked to her with surprise. 
 185.217 +
 185.218 +"Tomoyo-chan told me that when we were eleven years old. After that we bought materials to make a teddy bear..." Sakura said. 
 185.219 +
 185.220 +The old woman smiled slightly again and went to her. 
 185.221 +
 185.222 +"It's late now and the cemetery will close soon. Why don't go to your house and think about how important she is to you, how much she means to you..." the old woman said. 
 185.223 +
 185.224 +Sakura thought about that and agreed. 
 185.225 +
 185.226 +"I will. What's your name?" Sakura asked. 
 185.227 +
 185.228 +"My name is not important, just think about what I told you" the old woman said. 
 185.229 +
 185.230 +"Will I see you again?" Sakura asked. 
 185.231 +
 185.232 +"Sure, if life can give me more strength to me for live," the old woman said smiling. 
 185.233 +
 185.234 +Sakura thanked the old woman and left the cemetery, the old woman smiled as she felt the presence of another person. 
 185.235 +
 185.236 +"Both of you are sure that she will find her true feelings about Tomoyo?" the old woman asked. 
 185.237 +
 185.238 +"We gave her the clues, now all depends of her to realize the true feelings of Tomoyo" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.239 +
 185.240 +"But, what if she finds the true feelings of Tomoyo and doesn't fall in love with her?" another voice said. 
 185.241 +
 185.242 +"She is like me, naïve but I saw her crying badly so I suppose that she could be in love with her" the old woman said. 
 185.243 +
 185.244 +"I don't know, she claims to be in love with the future head of Li family" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.245 +
 185.246 +"That's why she must find her true feelings about Tomoyo, in that way she will find if she really loves him," the another voice said. 
 185.247 +
 185.248 +"If she doesn't love him?" the old woman said. 
 185.249 +
 185.250 +"Then all can happen" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.251 +
 185.252 +"I thought after what happened to me with her, that thing will never repeat again, but did. Things... tend to repeat through ages, it's a unbreakable circle" added the old woman. 
 185.253 +
 185.254 +"Could be. I just hope that she can feel something more than friendship for Tomoyo" the another voice said. 
 185.255 +
 185.256 +"Yeah, me too" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.257 +
 185.258 +"I thought she was my best friend but when she died, I realize what I really feel for her. If only I realized them before of she leaving..." said the old woman with tears. 
 185.259 +
 185.260 +"For some people, it's the only way to realize their true feelings," the mysterious voice said. 
 185.261 +
 185.262 +"We want to thank you for your help," another voice said. 
 185.263 +
 185.264 +"No, I'm really glad to be helping that girl to realize her true feelings for her best friend" the old woman said. 
 185.265 +
 185.266 +"She's waiting for you" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.267 +
 185.268 +The old woman opened her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. 
 185.269 +
 185.270 +"What?" the old woman asked. 
 185.271 +
 185.272 +"She never stop loving you. After her death she prayed happiness for you and when you said that you love her, she cried of joy and from then she looked over you and cared for you," the other voice said. 
 185.273 +
 185.274 +"You two will be reunited again. Your wish will be fulfilled. You two will live your love through eternity" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.275 +
 185.276 +The old woman cried for a long time and stopped her tears. 
 185.277 +
 185.278 +"And that girl? If she finds her true feelings for Tomoyo, no one will stop her to follow the same path that Clow Reed did or do the same things that he did" the old woman said. 
 185.279 +
 185.280 +"No, it's different. Her purposes will be different than his" the other voice said. 
 185.281 +
 185.282 +"Clow Reed is Clow Reed. Sakura Kinomoto is Sakura Kinomoto" the mysterious voice said. 
 185.283 +
 185.284 +"There is a difference" the old woman said. 
 185.285 +
 185.286 +"Sakura Kinomoto not only will realize her true feelings for Tomoyo" the other voice said. 
 185.287 +
 185.288 +"Also she will realize the true mean of being the Most Powerful Mage in the World..." the mysterious voice said. 
 185.289 +
 185.290 +The old woman nodded as the sun started to disappear into the horizon... 
 185.291 +
 185.292 +To be continued... 
 185.293 +
 185.294 +*Orignally this one was going to be an one fic but it seems that will be very long. So I decided to divide it in parts, the next will be posted as I write it. 
 185.295 +
 185.296 +See you!!! 

   186.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   186.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-lifelove2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   186.3 @@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
   186.4 +"The End and the Beginning of Life and Love" (Part 2) 
   186.5 +
   186.6 +Kamui Ikari
   186.7 +
   186.8 +Hi!!! I started my new year on the University, so I did a little effort and I finished the second chapter of this story. I hope you will like it. I will see you at the end of the story. 
   186.9 +
  186.10 +***** 
  186.11 +The always present disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp, Kodansha and the other companies that have the respective rights. This was made for fun and for contribute to the Tomoyo/Sakura relationship, which for me it’s the best of all of CCS. Please don’t sue/kill/e-mail with spam to me. 
  186.12 +
  186.13 +
  186.14 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  186.15 +
  186.16 +"The End and the Beginning of Life and Love" (Part 2) 
  186.17 +
  186.18 +When the night came over Tomoeda, the old woman was going to her house. The mysterious person was beside her. After a time she reached her house, it was a big house. The woman looked for her keys, when she got them she opened the door. 
  186.19 +
  186.20 +She turned to the mysterious person, the person had something in her hands. The old woman looked at the thing. 
  186.21 +
  186.22 +"I want to take care of this," the old woman said. 
  186.23 +
  186.24 +"What?" the other voice said. 
  186.25 +
  186.26 +"That I want to keep this. It'll be safe with me. This thing is the entire reason of what we're planning" the old woman said. 
  186.27 +
  186.28 +"Us. We'd planned this, but we needed your help. You're not pushed in our plan," the other voice said. 
  186.29 +
  186.30 +"I'm involved because I agreed with both of you on this, I'm part of this plan. Besides if this thing is with both of you Sakura will find it and the plan will be crushed before she finds her true feelings. It's important that Sakura must realize her feelings, no matter what," the old woman said. 
  186.31 +
  186.32 +"Are you sure that you can keep this?" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.33 +
  186.34 +"Sure. I want to keep this" the old woman said smiling. 
  186.35 +
  186.36 +"Take care of it please" the other voice said as the old woman received the thing. 
  186.37 +
  186.38 +"It's better that both of you must go, before she… " the old woman said as she entered in the house. 
  186.39 +
  186.40 +"We know, please take care" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.41 +
  186.42 +"Of this thing and yourself" the other voice said. 
  186.43 +
  186.44 +"I know" the old woman said as she closed the door. "Now, we must return before Sakura finds that…" the other voice said. 
  186.45 +
  186.46 +"Don't worry, she is so busy that she won't feel our presence," the mysterious voice said. 
  186.47 +
  186.48 +"I wonder what will happen from now on" the other voice said. 
  186.49 +
  186.50 +"I don't know. But I have faith in Sakura, no matter which path she will take. Even if she takes the same path" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.51 +
  186.52 +"You mean, the same path of Clow Reed?" the other voice said. 
  186.53 +
  186.54 +"His path was different. Her path is not the same as his" the mysterious voice. 
  186.55 +
  186.56 +"Sakura…" the other voice said. 
  186.57 +
  186.58 +"She will become Clow Reed in a some way but she's Sakura Kinomoto" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.59 +
  186.60 +"My faith in her is high, like Tomoyo's. She didn't disappoint me, and passed the trial of the Clow Cards Judge" the other voice said. 
  186.61 +
  186.62 +"Yue…" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.63 +
  186.64 +"She must deal with hard things from now, but she is Sakura" the other voice said. 
  186.65 +
  186.66 +"The New Clow Mistress and the Most Powerful Mage in the World" the mysterious voice said. 
  186.67 +
  186.68 +****** 
  186.69 +
  186.70 +Sakura stopped her memory again and coughed up some blood. She cleaned the bloodstains from her mouth and leaned her head on the ground, she felt her entire body weak, the pain she was feeling was the worst but she smiled to herself. The cards were floating in the air as the moonlight covered Sakura, the Light came to her mistress. 
  186.71 +
  186.72 +"If you keep going like this you…" the Light card said. 
  186.73 +
  186.74 +"I know, but I want to continue, if my body will rip into pieces, my bones breaking like glass, my heart being shattered from pain, I won't stop myself, because this is I want." Sakura said smiling weakly. 
  186.75 +
  186.76 +"I understand but them?" the Light card said. 
  186.77 +
  186.78 +"I just hope that the two of them can understand. It's my decision" Sakura said as she laughed. 
  186.79 +
  186.80 +"Why are you laughing?" the Dark card said. 
  186.81 +
  186.82 +"Because I'm feeling like Clow Reed in this moment, maybe I'm Clow Reed" Sakura said. 
  186.83 +
  186.84 +"No, you're Sakura Kinomoto" the Light said. 
  186.85 +
  186.86 +"A person never can become another, even twins will have the same or similar bodies but are different, you're unique as every person of this world" the Dark said as she sat beside Sakura. 
  186.87 +
  186.88 +"Yes. I'm Sakura Kinomoto" Sakura said as she caressed the Light's cheek. 
  186.89 +
  186.90 +"You're Clow Reed in a some way, but you never will become him" the Dark said. 
  186.91 +
  186.92 +"I finally realized what I am now, in what I've became. If everything goes right then…" Sakura said as she coughed up blood again. 
  186.93 +
  186.94 +"Sakura…" said the Light. 
  186.95 +
  186.96 +Sakura smiled at the Light. 
  186.97 +
  186.98 +"Don't worry about me" Sakura said as she started to remember again... 
  186.99 +
 186.100 +******* 
 186.101 +
 186.102 +Sakura was walking to her house, her head was down and tears falling down her cheeks. The wind was blowing against her body. She didn't care about that. She was deep in thought, she could only think of Tomoyo. Sakura heard Tomoyo's voice inside her head, she smiled sadly and started to remember when she met Tomoyo for the first time, the things done together, everything. 
 186.103 +
 186.104 +"Why did you leave me, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked. 
 186.105 +
 186.106 +"Why did you have to go?" she asked again. 
 186.107 +
 186.108 +"I thought we were the best friends, forever. Why did you have to die that way?. I never told you how important you are to me. I need to see you again. Please let me see your face again… please… I have the ability to see spirits. I promise that I won't be scared of you but please… I need to see you again Tomoyo-chan… you don't know how much I need you…" Sakura said with tears in her face. 
 186.109 +
 186.110 +Silence covered her. 
 186.111 +
 186.112 +"Tomoyo…" 
 186.113 +
 186.114 +She walked to her home again, when she entered she sat on the table. Yui was making some food. Sakura started to cry again. Yui embraced her. 
 186.115 +
 186.116 +"Oh Sakura…" Yui whispered. 
 186.117 +
 186.118 +"Why…" Sakura said crying. 
 186.119 +
 186.120 +"I know it's hard, but sooner or later you must accept that she's gone and never coming back. You must think that she only wanted you to be happy, it's sad when we lost things that are dear for us, but we must go on in this world. I'm sure that Tomoyo-san is looking for you from where she is now" Yui said calmly. 
 186.121 +
 186.122 +Sakura stopped her cry and smiled briefly at her. 
 186.123 +
 186.124 +"Thank you, mother," Sakura said. 
 186.125 +
 186.126 +"Sakura, I told you many times before Yui is right for me. You don't have to call me mother if you want." Yui said smiling. 
 186.127 +
 186.128 +"No, I want to call you mother because you're my mother now. You're my father's wife" Sakura said. 
 186.129 +
 186.130 +"But I will never become your real mother, the one who gave you life" Yui said. 
 186.131 +
 186.132 +"I like to call you mother, because I'm happy to have a mother. My father was so lonely before meeting you, I'm glad that he's happy with you now." Sakura said smiling. 
 186.133 +
 186.134 +"If you want to call me mother, do it" Yui said. 
 186.135 +
 186.136 +"Thank you, mother" Sakura said smiling. 
 186.137 +
 186.138 +"Ah, Li-san called asking for you" Yui said. 
 186.139 +
 186.140 +"Oh, I understand" Sakura said, then she left the kitchen and went to her room, she picked up her phone and dialed Li's number. 
 186.141 +
 186.142 +"Hello, Syaoran speaking" 
 186.143 +
 186.144 +"Li-kun…" 
 186.145 +
 186.146 +"Sakura? How are you? Are you okay?" he asked with worry in his voice. 
 186.147 +
 186.148 +"I suppose I'm fine, but I don't know. It was so sudden. I don't know…" Sakura said sadly. 
 186.149 +
 186.150 +"I know. It's hard," Syaoran said with concern in his voice. 
 186.151 +
 186.152 +"I'm sorry" Sakura said. 
 186.153 +
 186.154 +"For what?" 
 186.155 +
 186.156 +"For asking you to leave me alone" Sakura said. 
 186.157 +
 186.158 +"You don't have to. I understand that happened so sudden, and maybe you needed some time to resolve some things" Syaoran said. 
 186.159 +
 186.160 +"Yes, but I didn't come in terms about this. I think that I'll need more time, sooner or later, I will overcome it but for now I need to be alone. I hope you can understand" Sakura said sadly. 
 186.161 +
 186.162 +"Don't worry, I understand. Please take the time you want. I will wait for you" Syaoran said. 
 186.163 +
 186.164 +"Thanks, Li-kun" 
 186.165 +
 186.166 +"I love you, Sakura" 
 186.167 +
 186.168 +"Me too, Syaoran" 
 186.169 +
 186.170 +Sakura hung up the phone and picked up a blanket. She sat on the floor and covered herself with the blanket and let her thoughts come in her mind… 
 186.171 +
 186.172 +Meanwhile the old woman was in her bed and looking to the shattered sky. 
 186.173 +
 186.174 +"I hope everything will end well, it's a pity that I won't see it when that happens" said the old woman. 
 186.175 +
 186.176 +She looked to her nightstand, there was a picture of her and a girl embracing with a smile in their faces. She smiled sadly as she touched the picture and remembered her painful moments after the death of her beloved. After a long time the old woman stopped her memory and prepared herself for sleep. She looked to the thing that was also in her nightstand. 
 186.177 +
 186.178 +"Good night, my love" she said to the picture. 
 186.179 +
 186.180 +"Good night to you too" she said to the thing. 
 186.181 +
 186.182 +"I hope you're still dreaming nicely" she said to the thing and fell to sleep. 
 186.183 +
 186.184 +Meanwhile, Sakura was deep in thought, trying to find the answers to her questions. In her mind three sentences were there. 
 186.185 +
 186.186 +"I love you, Sakura. I'll tell you when you're older" Tomoyo said to Sakura when they were ten years old. 
 186.187 +
 186.188 +"I'm happy, because Sakura-chan is happy." 
 186.189 +
 186.190 +"The true happiness is seeing the one you love happy." 
 186.191 +
 186.192 +These three sentences were fixed on Sakura's mind. She did her best efforts to find it's connection. 
 186.193 +
 186.194 +"Why did Tomoyo-chan always say those words? Why?" she asked. 
 186.195 +
 186.196 +"What must I realize about her?" she asked to herself. 
 186.197 +
 186.198 +She felt tired and fell to sleep. 
 186.199 +
 186.200 +****** 
 186.201 +
 186.202 +Sakura stopped her memory again and rose, still bleeding and needing the staff to maintain herself. Suddenly the cards started to float in the thin air, she coughed blood again but she clutched herself to the staff. Slowly she lifted her head to see the Light card. 
 186.203 +
 186.204 +"You will keep going on this, won't you?" the Light asked. 
 186.205 +
 186.206 +"Yes, but it's time to start what I've planned" Sakura said smiling. 
 186.207 +
 186.208 +"I see" the Dark said. 
 186.209 +
 186.210 +"I have faith that everything will go right, it's the only opportunity that I have with this plan. I can't lost this chance" Sakura said. 
 186.211 +
 186.212 +"No one will stop you from now on. Will you keep going on your plan no matter what or who are in your front?" the Light asked. 
 186.213 +
 186.214 +"Yes, no matter what or who," Sakura said with determination in her face. 
 186.215 +
 186.216 +"Then follow your plan, we'll obey you in anything you will need," the Dark said. 
 186.217 +
 186.218 +"Thanks, all of you, my friends" Sakura said smiling. 
 186.219 +
 186.220 +The Dark card gave Sakura an object, Sakura clutched it tightly against her bleeding chest. 
 186.221 +
 186.222 +"I blamed myself for being the person that I was before, but I will not make the same errors from now. Everything will go right, I promise to all of you" Sakura said. 
 186.223 +
 186.224 +The Dark and the Light nodded and the rest of the cards still floating in the air surrounded Sakura, slowly a circle of magic was forming on the floor. Sakura was on the center of the circle, and clutching her baton, she started to whisper something. But she felt a presence, and turned to see, then her face turned into a sad one. 
 186.225 +
 186.226 +Syaoran was there, dressed with Chinese clothes, the clothes were different from the ones he used when he was young, in his right hand was his sword, in his left hand a spell. Sakura turned her head and clutched tightly the object in her chest. 
 186.227 +
 186.228 +"So, you finally became the head of Li family, didn't you?" Sakura asked not seeing Li. 
 186.229 +
 186.230 +"How do you know?" Li asked. 
 186.231 +
 186.232 +"From your clothing, I suppose. Thats the clothes of the family head" Sakura said. 
 186.233 +
 186.234 +"Yes, Sakura. I'm now the head of my family," Syaoran said to her. 
 186.235 +
 186.236 +Sakura turned to see Syaoran, she smiled sadly. 
 186.237 +
 186.238 +"You came trying to stop me?" Sakura asked. 
 186.239 +
 186.240 +"You're making a mistake, I can't let you continue with this. In other words. Yes, I came to stop you" Syaoran said. 
 186.241 +
 186.242 +With that Syaoran held his sword in front of him. The spell in his left hand started to burn covering his hand with fire. He closed his eyes, he inhaled and began to chanting, energy was coming from his body and mixed with the flame of his hand, the new energy surrounded the blade. Sakura whispered for The Mirror card to protect her. The Mirror Card was in front of Sakura protecting her. 
 186.243 +
 186.244 +Then Syaoran buried his sword in the floor, his attack broke the circle. All the cards were in front of Sakura, ready to protect her. 
 186.245 +
 186.246 +"You can't stop me, Li-kun" Sakura said sadly. 
 186.247 +
 186.248 +"Why not?" he asked to her. 
 186.249 +
 186.250 +"Do you know what I'm planning?" Sakura asked him. 
 186.251 +
 186.252 +"No, I don't know what are you planning, but I must stop you because I believe you're making a mistake" he said. 
 186.253 +
 186.254 +"I'm not making a mistake, but I promised myself that no one will stop me, even if that one is you…" Sakura said smiling sadly as she coughed blood again. 
 186.255 +
 186.256 +"Yes, I can. I'm the head of Li family, Clow Reed's descendants" Syaoran said to her. 
 186.257 +
 186.258 +"And I'm also descendent of Clow Reed in some way, but I'm Sakura Kinomoto…" 
 186.259 +
 186.260 +"The Most Powerful Mage in the World and the Mistress of Clow Cards, but they're now the Sakura Cards" Sakura said as the Sakura Cards turned into their spirits form. 
 186.261 +
 186.262 +To be continued.... 
 186.263 +
 186.264 +********** 
 186.265 +
 186.266 +Notes: This part is shorter than the first one, I wanted to make it longer but I failed. Gomen ^_^ 
 186.267 +
 186.268 +If you like it, don't, anything, e-mail me at: 
 186.269 +
 186.270 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com 
 186.271 +or 
 186.272 +cemv_shinji@uol.com.ar Until the next one!!!!

   187.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   187.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-lost.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   187.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   187.4 +"Lost" 
   187.5 +by Hinako Shinjo 
   187.6 +email:hinako_shinjo@yahoo.com 
   187.7 +
   187.8 +
   187.9 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  187.10 +
  187.11 +Aiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ Warning, warning! First fic of an amateur writer! Anyway, bare with me, people. I'm a real BIG fan of shoujo-ai couples, but Sakura and Tomoyo are my fave! It's a kinda depressing one, although kinna short. Tell me if ya like it, and tell me too anyways if you don't like it. ^_^;; Send em all! Insults, praises, or comments to hinako_shinjo@yahoo.com 
  187.12 +
  187.13 +
  187.14 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  187.15 +
  187.16 +All we can do is weep over things we have lost. - ME 
  187.17 +
  187.18 +
  187.19 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  187.20 +
  187.21 +Tomoyo... 
  187.22 +
  187.23 +It's only been a month since you've been gone, but now I realize just how you are important to me. Is it a month?...more like years to me. Tomoyo... 
  187.24 +
  187.25 +Since you've been gone all I that I found myself doing was thinking about you. Your eyes. Your hair. Your lips. Your smile. Everything that is you, I now long for. 
  187.26 +
  187.27 +I was so dumb, Tomoyo, I'm sorry. Remember when you told me you love me? I thought...yes, as a friend, you probably do, and I loved you back that way. But now...now... 
  187.28 +
  187.29 +Why am I saying all these things just now? Why? 
  187.30 +
  187.31 +Because I was content with you being always there by my side. You were always there, as a friend...and I thought I was in love with him. You were my friend, he was my lover. Everything was so right for the three of us, as it seemed for me. 
  187.32 +
  187.33 +I'm so sorry Tomoyo for what I had to put you through. I can only imagine the hurt you felt when I was with him. When we were together, you always smiled, as if nothing was hurting you. You put me and him together. You always wanted the best for me, no matter what it was, no matter how much it hurts you. You loved me that much, you loved me that much, Tomoyo. 
  187.34 +
  187.35 +Before you left, Tomoyo, just before you left, I finally saw the hurt in you. I hurt you. My stupidity gave you so much pain. You changed. Your smile was that of sadness, your eyes were of loneliness, but you were still there. Beside me. Rain or shine. You were beside me, there for me. 
  187.36 +
  187.37 +Goodbye Tomoyo. You didn't answer. You just looked at me with those beautiful eyes of yours. Once again my blindness for your feelings plagued me. I asked if there was something wrong. You just smiled. I'm happy for you, Sakura, because you're happy. That's what you said. You needn't tell me that. I know you're always happy for me. But why did you go? 
  187.38 +
  187.39 +Why did you have to go? 
  187.40 +
  187.41 +I'm not happy. 
  187.42 +
  187.43 +Not now. 
  187.44 +
  187.45 +Not ever. 
  187.46 +
  187.47 +When you're not beside me, I'll never be. 
  187.48 +
  187.49 +But that's all over now, Tomoyo. I'm here. I'm all yours. 
  187.50 +
  187.51 +I promise that you will never have to feel lonely again. 
  187.52 +
  187.53 +I love you. I love you so much Tomoyo. 
  187.54 +
  187.55 +I'm ready now to accept your love, Tomoyo, and reply with a love that will be with you for all eternity. 
  187.56 +
  187.57 +...but I know you'll never hear me now... 
  187.58 +
  187.59 +...and I know you'll never answer. 
  187.60 +
  187.61 +Because I'm too late...because you've left me forever. 
  187.62 +
  187.63 +Lonely, forever. 
  187.64 +
  187.65 +
  187.66 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  187.67 +
  187.68 +Sakura sobbed helplessly as she stood up from the grave she kneeled upon. She just stood there, looking at the name engraved upon it. 
  187.69 +
  187.70 +-Daidouji Tomoyo- 
  187.71 +
  187.72 +And all she could do was cry. 
  187.73 +
  187.74 +~END~ 

   188.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   188.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-lovebest.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   188.3 @@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
   188.4 +I've been dabbling at this little thing for a while now, but only 
   188.5 +today did I get the inspiration to finish it, in part from Spheeris's 
   188.6 +wish list.  So I guess you could say this is a bit of a birthday 
   188.7 +present. :)  Hope it stands well on its own.
   188.8 +
   188.9 +                       The One You Love Best
  188.10 +                   a Tale of Card Captor Sakura
  188.11 +                      by Star Knight Abraxis
  188.12 +			abraxis@goldengate.net
  188.13 +
  188.14 +Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, but I'll put them back 
  188.15 +when I'm done with them, okay?
  188.16 +
  188.17 +      She'd set up a camera, hidden away in one corner of the room, to 
  188.18 +tape all this.  She couldn't trust her hands not to start shaking at 
  188.19 +a moment like this... but she wanted this recorded.  For closure, if 
  188.20 +nothing else.
  188.21 +       "Thanks for having me over, Tomoyo-chan!  I still wanted to 
  188.22 +talk to you about what to do for Shaoran-kun now that he's leaving. 
  188.23 +I'm a little nervous..."
  188.24 +       'You're not the only one, Sakura-chan,' she thought.  "Can we 
  188.25 +talk about that a little later?  There's... there's something I 
  188.26 +wanted to tell you first."
  188.27 +      "Oh?"  Sakura plopped down on Tomoyo's bed, clutching a stuffed 
  188.28 +animal to her in a manner so cute as to set Tomoyo's pulse racing. 
  188.29 +"What is it?"
  188.30 +      Tomoyo took a deep breath, steadying herself.  She knew she 
  188.31 +shouldn't be doing this; it was so horribly selfish... but she had to 
  188.32 +tell Sakura.  Just once, before Sakura went off to Shaoran forever. 
  188.33 +"Sakura-chan...  I love you."
  188.34 +      Sakura smiled brilliantly.  "I know that, Tomoyo-chan!  I love you too!"
  188.35 +      "No!"  Tomoyo cut her off, a bit more sharply than she intended. 
  188.36 +"I... don't mean just like that.  I'm in love with you, Sakura-chan. 
  188.37 +Passionately.  Romantically.  With all my heart."
  188.38 +      Sakura nodded, looking a little confused.  "I know.  Like I 
  188.39 +said, I love you too."
  188.40 +      Tomoyo blinked.  Her mouth went dry.  "Y-you... know?"
  188.41 +      "Well, sure.  I mean, why else would we have been dating for so long?"
  188.42 +      Tomoyo sat down heavily on the bed.  She couldn't quite feel her 
  188.43 +legs anymore.  "D...dating?"
  188.44 +      Now Sakura was looking a little worried.  "All those things 
  188.45 +we've done together, just the two of us, like going to movies or the 
  188.46 +shrine festivals, even catching Clow Cards sometimes.  Well, 
  188.47 +Kero-chan was there too, but he's sort of a chaperone, I guess."  She 
  188.48 +looked at Tomoyo with concern.  "Didn't you think they were romantic 
  188.49 +enough?"
  188.50 +      She had, oh how she had, but she had been sure that was all in 
  188.51 +her own mind.  But for Sakura to feel the same way?
  188.52 +      No.  It was impossible.   "What about Shaoran-kun?"
  188.53 +      Sakura blinked.  "What about him?  I wanted some advice on 
  188.54 +whether I should get him a going-away present or something, but that 
  188.55 +can wait.  Whatever you're worried about is more important."
  188.56 +      "No, it's just... I thought you, well... had a crush on him?"
  188.57 +      "Hoe?"  Sakura shook her head.  "The only person other than you 
  188.58 +I've ever had a crush on was Yukito-san, and that turned out to be 
  188.59 +just because he was Yue and I was attracted to the magic."  She 
  188.60 +blushed a little.  "I don't think I ever thanked you enough for 
  188.61 +putting up with me through all that.  I mean, some of the time, it 
  188.62 +must have seemed like I'd dumped you for him.  But... it wasn't like 
  188.63 +that.  It was just... I think the magic dazzled me, and I couldn't 
  188.64 +think of anything else whenever I saw him."  She looked down, a 
  188.65 +little ashamed.  "I don't know why you didn't just abandon me when I 
  188.66 +did that.  I must have seemed so heartless, and you could do so much 
  188.67 +better than me..."
  188.68 +      Tomoyo jolted slightly at that.  "But there's no one better than 
  188.69 +you, Sakura-chan!"  The words almost came by reflex, so overwhelmed 
  188.70 +was she by the revelation after revelation, but they were of course 
  188.71 +truer than anything she knew.
  188.72 +      Sakura smiled, blushing.  "Thank you, Tomoyo-chan.  That's one 
  188.73 +of the reasons I love you so much.  Because you can always see the 
  188.74 +best in me, even when I can't."
  188.75 +      Now Tomoyo could feel herself blushing, her cheeks warm with 
  188.76 +embarrassment.  'Reasons she loves me.  She loves me.  Sakura-chan 
  188.77 +loves me.'  The words were spinning dizzily around her brain, not 
  188.78 +actually completely sinking in yet.  But oh, how beautiful they 
  188.79 +were...
  188.80 +      "I know I haven't always been the perfect girlfriend, but I hope 
  188.81 +I can always make you happy.  And I want to always be there for you. 
  188.82 +Because you've always been the best part of my life.  You always make 
  188.83 +me feel special. 
  188.84 +      "And because I love you."
  188.85 +      Sakura took Tomoyo's hands in her own, gently.  "Is that what 
  188.86 +you were worried about?  You were thinking I might be falling for 
  188.87 +Shaoran-kun?"
  188.88 +      "Well... maybe a little," Tomoyo breathed dazedly.  'Her skin is 
  188.89 +so soft...'
  188.90 +      Sakura smiled.  "Well, don't worry.  I don't love him.  He's a 
  188.91 +good friend, but he's a boy... and he's not you.  I want to grow up 
  188.92 +with you.  I want to give my first kiss to you, some special night. 
  188.93 +I even want to marry you, if we could, someday.  And someday, when 
  188.94 +we're both old ladies, I want to sit with you watching your tapes of 
  188.95 +us as little kids and laugh at how silly we used to be, and sigh at 
  188.96 +how in love we were even then.  Even now.
  188.97 +      "I want to be with you forever."
  188.98 +      All Tomoyo could see was Sakura's beautiful green eyes, staring 
  188.99 +into hers, full of love.  How had she not seen it before?
 188.100 +      She heard, distantly, her mother's voice shouting from 
 188.101 +downstairs.  "Sakura-chan, your brother's on the phone.  He wants to 
 188.102 +talk to you."
 188.103 +      "Mou..."  Sakura groaned exasperatedly.  "He sure can pick the 
 188.104 +wrong moment.  I'll be right back, Tomoyo-chan."  Sakura drew her 
 188.105 +girlfriend into a quick but close hug, then stood to race out the 
 188.106 +door.
 188.107 +      Slowly, Tomoyo looked around the room.  Her eyes fell on the 
 188.108 +camera, still hidden in the corner, still recording the stunned look 
 188.109 +on her face.
 188.110 +      And to think she'd wanted to see *Sakura's* expression!
 188.111 +      And with that thought, the disbelief left her all in a rush, 
 188.112 +leaving only giddy happiness.  Sakura-chan loved her.  The same way 
 188.113 +Tomoyo loved her back.  She'd loved her for the longest time.  And 
 188.114 +Tomoyo had missed every single hint.
 188.115 +      She flopped back onto the bed, smiling dreamily.  "Hanyaaaan," 
 188.116 +she sighed happily.
 188.117 +      And she'd thought *Sakura* was the clueless one.
 188.118 +
 188.119 +Author's Notes:
 188.120 +      I've read a few Tomoyo/Sakura fanfics recently, and while many 
 188.121 +of them were quite good, I also noticed a bit of a sameness to a lot 
 188.122 +of them.  Either Tomoyo and Sakura were already a couple, with the 
 188.123 +briefest of explanations, or Sakura found out how Tomoyo felt (often 
 188.124 +through magic), and after a bit of soul-searching, came to 
 188.125 +reciprocate.  Being as perverse by nature as I am, I wondered if 
 188.126 +there wasn't a different way to approach it.  This is the result.
 188.127 +      I won't claim this fits perfectly, or even well, with CCS canon. 
 188.128 +I haven't even seen the whole series or read all the manga at this 
 188.129 +point.  But isn't it a fun idea? :)
 188.130 +      I also have a more serious CCS work in progress, dealing with a 
 188.131 +secret admirer of Tomoyo (and I'm actually drawing her from canon), 
 188.132 +but it's taking a bit longer than this.  Hopefully it'll get done 
 188.133 +sometime in this geological epoch.
 188.134 +

   189.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   189.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-loveme.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   189.3 @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
   189.4 +Just love me 
   189.5 +by Ricardo Chirinos 
   189.6 +riel@telcel.net.ve 
   189.7 +
   189.8 +I'm not sure if she'll notice. I think that sooner or later she has to... I'm always by her side, and it hurts me deep inside to hide my feelings towards her. I'm not going to feel happiness ever again if I lose her -perhaps it's fate- but I... I must confess my love for her. She has to know. She has the right to know! And I want to tell her... Sakura, my love. 
   189.9 +
  189.10 +The sun rose and some of its golden rays entered Tomoyo´s big room through the windows. The soft satin curtains couldn't hold the wave of light produced by the morning sun, but the illumination of the room certainly was beautiful. Tomoyo slowly opened her eyes. She still thought about the dream she had. 
  189.11 +
  189.12 +"Sakura-chan" she whispered. A tear started to run, washing her cheek. "God. Who am I kidding? All these years. I want to hold her... Today I'll tell her my true feelings." 
  189.13 +
  189.14 +Tomoyo's look was melancholic and full of sadness. She thought only of Sakura. 
  189.15 +
  189.16 +Sakura got up early too. Kero, on the other hand, was snoring and mumbling some nonsense about the videogame he was playing yesterday. Sakura saw this and decided to leave him resting. After all, she didn't need Kero for anything at the moment. She quickly changed her pajamas for some comfortable day clothing, consisting on an orange cotton shirt (with the trademark wings on it) and a light brown short. 
  189.17 +
  189.18 +Hastily, she got down to the dining room. Tôya was there, and her father was cooking something. 
  189.19 +
  189.20 +"Ohayo brother! Good morning daddy!" she said cherfully. 
  189.21 +
  189.22 +"Ohayo my sweet princess..." replied her father, while keeping focused on what he was cooking. 
  189.23 +
  189.24 +"What's the matter, Sakura? You certainly look happy, and it's just a normal sunday..." Tôya said to his sister. 
  189.25 +
  189.26 +"I'm very happy, because Tomoyo invited me to the park today. She said she'll bring lunch for both of us." 
  189.27 +
  189.28 +"Is that so..." Tôya muttered. 
  189.29 +
  189.30 +The rest of the morning was pretty normal. Sakura helped her father with the cleaning and Tôya went to Yuki's place, as usual. Sakura was very happy, and her father, seeing how happy she was, felt an incredible joy. 
  189.31 +
  189.32 +"She's my sweet angel." he thought. "She reminds me of my dear Nadeshiko." 
  189.33 +
  189.34 +Sakura noticed that her father was looking at her, smiling. She felt even happier than before and ran to him, hugging him strongly. 
  189.35 +
  189.36 +"Dad. I love you." 
  189.37 +
  189.38 +"I love you too, Sakura-chan" he said caringly. She giggled, and felt in heaven for a short period of time. 
  189.39 +
  189.40 +"Sakura, may I ask you something?" 
  189.41 +
  189.42 +"Sure, daddy" 
  189.43 +
  189.44 +"I noticed you are glowing today. You are happy because Tomoyo-chan asked you to go with her to the park, right?" 
  189.45 +
  189.46 +Sakura blushed. "Y. Yes. I really enjoy being near Tomoyo-chan. I feel a nice warmth when I'm near her." 
  189.47 +
  189.48 +"I see." he smiled. "Well, then go, you don't want to be late." 
  189.49 +
  189.50 +Sakura noticed the hour. It was noon, and by that time she should've left the house already. 
  189.51 +
  189.52 +"Oh! I'm going now!" she kissed her father, and quickly grabbed her roller skates. 
  189.53 +
  189.54 +"Sakura really likes Tomoyo... I'm glad she has such a trustworthy friend. She deserves no less..." said her father to himself. "Well, back to work!" 
  189.55 +
  189.56 +When Sakura reached the park she saw Tomoyo was already there. She looked splendid. Sakura didn't notice, but she blushed when she saw Tomoyo-chan there. She was wearing a gorgeous golden dress. Her long and smooth black hair was flowing quietly with the soft wind. Sakura ran to her and sat by her side. Sakura also noticed the two boxes with the lunch. The smell of the food was really nice. 
  189.57 +
  189.58 +"Hello Tomoyo!" she smiled. 
  189.59 +
  189.60 +Tomoyo smiled sadly. "Hi, Sakura." 
  189.61 +
  189.62 +Sakura noticed the expression Tomoyo had on her face. It was not one of happiness. She was confused. "Is there somthing wrong, Tomoyo-chan?" 
  189.63 +
  189.64 +"Sakura... I have to tell you something." 
  189.65 +
  189.66 +"Sure. I'm all ears." Sakura held one of Tomoyo's hands. She was warm and soft. She really loved how Tomoyo's creamy skin felt. 
  189.67 +
  189.68 +"I don't know how to say this, but..." 
  189.69 +
  189.70 +"Huh?" Sakura blushed. She had an idea of what she wanted to say. "So it was real... It was not my imagination." 
  189.71 +
  189.72 +"I. I'm in love with you, Sakura-chan. All these..." Tomoyo was suddenly stopped by one of Sakura's soft fingers. 
  189.73 +
  189.74 +"Shhh... don't say it. I already know, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura rested her head on Tomoyo's lap. She was really happy. Maybe because she saw in Tomoyo a motherly figure... The mother she knew so little about, but loved like no one could ever love a mother. She also felt something new to her when she was with Tomoyo. Could it be desire? At any rate, all that mattered to Sakura was to be with Tomoyo-chan. 
  189.75 +
  189.76 +"Please forgive me, Tomoyo." 
  189.77 +
  189.78 +"For what?" she asked. She was enjoying herself a lot. She was so happy: Not only she knew that Sakura-chan also felt love for her, but they were near, feeling each other. 
  189.79 +
  189.80 +For not noticing it earlier... I've been so careless about us. You must have suffered a lot, thanks to my stupidity." 
  189.81 +
  189.82 +Tomoyo felt a great happiness. She was so happy that some tears began to flow down her soft and sweet face. Sakura wiped the tears of her friend's face. 
  189.83 +
  189.84 +"Please, don't cry. Just... Just hold me." 
  189.85 +
  189.86 +For a long time they held each other. They were so happy like that. They didn't care for anything else. For Sakura only Tomoyo existed. For Tomoyo, Sakura was the only thing that was really important. 
  189.87 +
  189.88 +"Sakura-chan. I love you with all my heart." 
  189.89 +
  189.90 +"I love you too, Tomoyo-chan. Promise me that you'll never leave me." 
  189.91 +
  189.92 +"I'll never leave you, Sakura. I love you with all my strength... I have loved you ever since I first saw you. I live for you Sakura..." 
  189.93 +
  189.94 +"Oh, Tomoyo..." now Sakura was the one bursting in tears. Tomoyo held her strongly against herself. She kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm so happy, Tomoyo. Please, just... Just love me." 
  189.95 +
  189.96 +AUTHOR'S NOTES: 
  189.97 +
  189.98 +Hello minna! Hope you enjoy this shortie about our favorite CCS couple! I'm not a native english speaker (and I don't write that much) so if you find any spelling, grammar/syntax errors please e-mail me at riel@telcel.net.ve and tell me. Also send your comments (only constructive criticism will be read. Flames, death threats and silly stuff will be ignored). I'm looking forward to your feedback! 
  189.99 +
 189.100 +Sayonara!

   190.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   190.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-nakunaku.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   190.3 @@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
   190.4 +_Ureshisou ni Shinagara, Naka Nakunaku_
   190.5 +
   190.6 +Author: Catsy (nekojita@ayashi.net)
   190.7 +Content: songfic, shoujo-ai, angst
   190.8 +Song: Vector
   190.9 +Artist: Sakamoto Maaya
  190.10 +
  190.11 +--
  190.12 +
  190.13 +Hands as delicate and pale as the fabric they held worked at the needle,
  190.14 +embroidering that which simply could not be entrusted to the sewing
  190.15 +machine. Tomoyo's lips pursed in concentration, the tip of her tongue
  190.16 +protruding just slightly as she worked the stitch over and under. Over and
  190.17 +under. It was painstaking, laborious work, work which could easily fetch
  190.18 +yen in the six-digit range, if she chose to sell it.
  190.19 +
  190.20 +She would not be selling it. It was for Sakura.
  190.21 +
  190.22 +Tomoyo tried to remember exactly when it was that she realized she loved
  190.23 +Sakura. There had to have been a point when it progressed from best
  190.24 +friends, to childhood infatuation, to real romance. Or was it imperceptibly
  190.25 +gradual, the way leaves shift to calico colors in the fall? All Tomoyo knew
  190.26 +was that it simply /was/. That was good enough; had to be good enough.
  190.27 +
  190.28 +But it wasn't.
  190.29 +
  190.30 +        Told myself for a long time
  190.31 +        Don't go there
  190.32 +        You will only be sorry
  190.33 +
  190.34 +Eriol had politely suggested to her at one point that she and Sakura--and
  190.35 +for that matter, many romantic relationships between women--suffered from
  190.36 +the regrettable Japanese notion that women weren't permitted to make the
  190.37 +first move. That if one or the other of them didn't break free of that and
  190.38 +do /something/, they weren't ever likely to. Of course, when Eriol
  190.39 +suggested something it was never /im/polite, and Tomoyo recognized on one
  190.40 +level that he was right. It made her wonder why he'd say such a thing,
  190.41 +since it was clear that Eriol approved of Sakura and Syaoran as a couple.
  190.42 +
  190.43 +        Told myself so many times
  190.44 +        I just had to take a look
  190.45 +        in those faraway eyes
  190.46 +
  190.47 +Of course, he was both right and wrong at the same time. The psychological
  190.48 +explanation made sense on the surface, but how could she explain to him her
  190.49 +own reasons for remaining silent?
  190.50 +
  190.51 +Sakura's friendship was precious to her. From elementary school to middle
  190.52 +school, to high school and beyond, Sakura's happiness sustained Tomoyo like
  190.53 +lifeblood itself. She had but to walk into the room, and everyone
  190.54 +immediately knew it--the temperature rose by a degree, moods lightened, and
  190.55 +the room seemed somehow brighter for her presence. 
  190.56 +
  190.57 +It wasn't that she didn't /want/ to be with Sakura. Nothing would make her
  190.58 +happier than if she and Sakura could have a life together, bringing each
  190.59 +other that fulfillment that only deep, bonding romance could.
  190.60 +
  190.61 +        In them I saw a longing
  190.62 +        for something
  190.63 +        Maybe I couldn't give you
  190.64 +
  190.65 +But if she tried, and failed, what would be the cost? Was it worth the
  190.66 +risk of harming her friendship with Sakura, for the sake of what she might
  190.67 +never be able to have?
  190.68 +
  190.69 +        Said it's all in my mind
  190.70 +        "It ain't nothing"
  190.71 +
  190.72 +Would it be worth risking everything, if all she got was a few stolen
  190.73 +kisses, and something to giggle nervously about together when they were
  190.74 +older? Was it worth the risk of hurting Sakura, or taking her away from
  190.75 +what made her happy, to tell her how she felt just once?
  190.76 +
  190.77 +        Don't say that
  190.78 +        Don't say that
  190.79 +        Darling no
  190.80 +        Don't say anything at all
  190.81 +
  190.82 +Tomoyo decided, as she had so many times before, that the answer was no.
  190.83 +What she hadn't told Eriol, what she'd seen no reason to point out, is that
  190.84 +Sakura probably knew anyway. She was naive and dense, but a remarkably good
  190.85 +judge of character. Tomoyo found it impossible to believe, given how long
  190.86 +they'd known each other, that Sakura could /not/ know how Tomoyo felt.
  190.87 +
  190.88 +
  190.89 +        Because I've seen it now
  190.90 +        Can't pretend anymore
  190.91 +        "It ain't nothing"
  190.92 +
  190.93 +The only explanation, the only sensible one, was that Sakura /did/
  190.94 +know--and didn't feel the same way. And that rather than hurt Tomoyo's
  190.95 +feelings, she simply didn't speak of it. That was fine--because even that
  190.96 +painful truth made Tomoyo happy. It meant that Sakura cared enough about
  190.97 +her feelings to spare them, and Tomoyo was willing to accept that.
  190.98 +
  190.99 +But it wasn't the same as telling her. It wasn't the same as taking
 190.100 +Sakura's hand in hers, bringing it to her lips, whispering /aishiteimasu/,
 190.101 +and watching Sakura's eyes light up with joy. It wasn't the same as walking
 190.102 +together hand in hand and knowing that everyone else knew who and what they
 190.103 +were, or holding each other in their arms after making love.
 190.104 +
 190.105 +                Do you know what I mean?
 190.106 +                And have you seen it too?
 190.107 +                Do you know what I mean?
 190.108 +                Do you know?
 190.109 +                And I'll do anything
 190.110 +                Just tell me what it means
 190.111 +                Cause I can't live in doubt anymore
 190.112 +
 190.113 +Tomoyo's hands gripped the fabric of the dress tightly, her knuckles
 190.114 +whitening. She squeezed her eyes shut to banish to image that leapt
 190.115 +unbidden into her mind, but it did no good--it merely succeeded in
 190.116 +squeezing a single tear out of eyes that she'd thought were dry. She jerked
 190.117 +back as she felt the wetness, let it roll down her cheek rather than fall
 190.118 +on the outfit she was working on. She would not cry--Sakura was in the next
 190.119 +room, spending the night. She would not allow Sakura to see her like this.
 190.120 +
 190.121 +        Do we try or should we
 190.122 +        just say goodbye
 190.123 +
 190.124 +Her mother had figured it out early on. She blessed it, of course, but was
 190.125 +of the opinion that Tomoyo should either fish or cut bait--that if she
 190.126 +wasn't going to tell Sakura, that she'd be better off leaving her to go her
 190.127 +own way after high school. Tomoyo knew she meant well, knew that her mother
 190.128 +only wanted to spare her the pain she'd gone through when Nadeshiko had
 190.129 +married Fujitaka.
 190.130 +
 190.131 +        If you'd rather be somewhere
 190.132 +        that's not here
 190.133 +        then you just gotta tell me
 190.134 +        Cause there's so much more to life
 190.135 +        than pretending
 190.136 +
 190.137 +In truth, she'd half-expected Sakura to be the one to break off the
 190.138 +friendship. Not maliciously, because Sakura would never do anything
 190.139 +malicious to hurt someone, least of all a friend--but on any one of the
 190.140 +numerous occasions when Tomoyo had been a little /too/ enthusiastic with
 190.141 +her professions of how wonderful Sakura was, in front of her. When they
 190.142 +were younger, it had occasionally discomfited Sakura, which Tomoyo was
 190.143 +grateful for--Sakura was so open about things like that, it let her know
 190.144 +when she'd crossed the line. But as they'd grown up, throughough junior
 190.145 +high and high school, Sakura had gradually ceased being put off by Tomoyo's
 190.146 +displays. Was it that it didn't bother her anymore, or was she just getting
 190.147 +better at keeping it inside?
 190.148 +
 190.149 +        Don't you know
 190.150 +        Don't you know
 190.151 +        Darling for you
 190.152 +        I'd do anything at all
 190.153 +
 190.154 +Sakura had only to say it, and Tomoyo would do it. If Sakura had ever told
 190.155 +her, "Tomoyo, this bothers me," Tomoyo would stop. If Sakura had ever asked
 190.156 +her for anything, Tomoyo would give it to her if it were in her power. And
 190.157 +if Sakura had ever asked Tomoyo to be hers, to any extent or in any
 190.158 +capacity, it would be so before the words had time to pass her lips.
 190.159 +Anything.
 190.160 +
 190.161 +        I wanna be with you
 190.162 +        but that look in your eyes
 190.163 +        tells me something
 190.164 +
 190.165 +Tomoyo would do anything for Sakura's happiness... including giving up on
 190.166 +her own.
 190.167 +
 190.168 +                Do you know what I mean?
 190.169 +                And have you seen it too?
 190.170 +                Do you know what I mean?
 190.171 +                Do you know?
 190.172 +                And I'll do anything
 190.173 +                Just tell me what it means
 190.174 +                Cause I can't live in doubt anymore
 190.175 +
 190.176 +But it wasn't really giving up her own happiness, was it? If Sakura was
 190.177 +happy, that made Tomoyo happy. She was the very embodiment of the word
 190.178 +/setsunasa/--that simultanaeity of bittersweet happiness, the thing which
 190.179 +was a source of both sweet yearning and pain. It was embroidered into her
 190.180 +being as inextricably as the lace she set about assiduously sewing to the
 190.181 +cuffs of the dress.
 190.182 +
 190.183 +
 190.184 +        I wanna know
 190.185 +        can you tell me
 190.186 +        I wanna know
 190.187 +        will you tell me
 190.188 +        is it hello
 190.189 +        is it good-bye
 190.190 +
 190.191 +At last, she was done. Tomoyo held up her handiwork and inspected it
 190.192 +critically. No, a seam on the collar was misaligned; it would need to be
 190.193 +redone. Fortunately, it was just a matter of ripping out the stitches and
 190.194 +running that part through the sewing machine again. Tomoyo did so, letting
 190.195 +the mindless automation of the work drive thought from her mind and dry her
 190.196 +eyes.
 190.197 +
 190.198 +
 190.199 +She was grateful for the dry eyes a few minutes later, as Sakura knocked
 190.200 +once and opened the door without waiting for a response.
 190.201 +
 190.202 +"Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Wait just a minute, it's /almost/ done..."
 190.203 +
 190.204 +        I gotta know
 190.205 +        won't you tell me
 190.206 +        I gotta know
 190.207 +        you can tell me
 190.208 +        is it hello
 190.209 +        or just good-bye
 190.210 +
 190.211 +"I'm sorry," Sakura said sheepishly. "I know you don't like to be
 190.212 +disturbed when you're working..."
 190.213 +
 190.214 +Tomoyo shook her head firmly, as if the very notion that Sakura could
 190.215 +disturb her was absurd. "No, no, it's just that I wanted you to see it when
 190.216 +it was finished... I'm afraid it's not my best work," she added with a
 190.217 +pensive glance at the uneven stitching. "I'll need to tailor it a bit, of
 190.218 +course."
 190.219 +
 190.220 +        I gotta know
 190.221 +        can you tell me
 190.222 +        I gotta know
 190.223 +        will you tell me
 190.224 +        is it hello
 190.225 +        is it good-bye
 190.226 +
 190.227 +This didn't seem to matter one bit to Sakura, who stared at Tomoyo's
 190.228 +latest creation with open-mouthed wonder. She rushed forward and felt at
 190.229 +the silken texture, rubbed the lace between her fingers. "I don't believe
 190.230 +you for a minute," she said insistently, her eyes fairly sparkling. "It's
 190.231 +/wonderful/."
 190.232 +
 190.233 +        I gotta know
 190.234 +        won't you tell me
 190.235 +        I gotta know
 190.236 +        you can tell me
 190.237 +        is it hello...
 190.238 +
 190.239 +Sakura set the dress aside and hugged Tomoyo tightly. "Thank you, thank
 190.240 +you, thank you!" She drew back and kissed Tomoyo on the cheek, taking her
 190.241 +hands in hers. Tomoyo drank in the touch as if it were life itself, and
 190.242 +committed the kiss to memory for all time. If Sakura never kissed her
 190.243 +again, nor held her hands like this, Tomoyo would still feel complete,
 190.244 +having known this moment. "Oh Tomoyo, what would I do without you? It's the
 190.245 +most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
 190.246 +
 190.247 +        Or just good-bye...
 190.248 +
 190.249 +Tomoyo smiled back at her friend. A thousand words passed through her
 190.250 +mind, in every way she knew how to say them. /Daisuki desu. Aishiteimasu.
 190.251 +Je t'aime. I love you./ Instead, however, she gazed at the dress, and
 190.252 +smoothed wrinkles out of the white fabric. "That's good, because you'll be
 190.253 +the most beautiful bride in the world."

   191.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   191.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-notforme.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   191.3 @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
   191.4 +
   191.5 +
   191.6 +But Not For Me
   191.7 +
   191.8 +A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   191.9 +By  Miss Kanzaki.
  191.10 +
  191.11 +
  191.12 +
  191.13 +Press “play”.
  191.14 +
  191.15 +What do you hear now? Is it a frivolous tune in a soberly elegant piano? 
  191.16 +
  191.17 +Yes it is.
  191.18 +
  191.19 +You say the room in which the piano was played is spacious, perhaps decorated in grayish tones. 
  191.20 +
  191.21 +That’s true too.
  191.22 +
  191.23 +Yet, there’s many things you don’t know. Not that I blame you, they’re not obvious to you, that’s all. They, like this melody, choose to act behind a cover.
  191.24 +
  191.25 +Like me.
  191.26 +
  191.27 +Are you telling me that’s not possible? That you could detect any sign of unsettling, of distress? I’m afraid not this time, my dear. Not this nor the times before.
  191.28 +
  191.29 +Especially this time. While I play for you for one last time.
  191.30 +
  191.31 +----------
  191.32 +
  191.33 +And here you are before me as I show you what I’ve just learned under Kerensky-sensei’s stern, perfectionist methods. I introduce the piece to you as “Love Walked In”.
  191.34 +
  191.35 +A piece title has never ever been so apt for an entrance on your behalf.
  191.36 +
  191.37 +These fingers work the keys with gentleness, just like that you display while tiptoeing to the window.
  191.38 +
  191.39 +Must be the music.  It goes like a grandiloquent whisper, a discreet scream into the emptiness of the room.
  191.40 +
  191.41 +That between you and me.
  191.42 +
  191.43 +But there it goes! The notes entangle among themselves to take this old piano, me, you!,  to unsuspected heights. You now abandon that gloom that had that gracious forehead leaned against the rain-stained glass of that window. You smile, and start dancing. You raise your arms as if waltzing with a ghost.
  191.44 +
  191.45 +Must be the vaporous embodiment of my emotions. How I envy them at this very moment!, for the undecipherable, nameless joy of your embrace shall always to me remain a mystery. 
  191.46 +
  191.47 +An experience never to be lived.
  191.48 +Ah! My eyes, in their bluest, darkest glance, turn to you nevertheless. They’ll admire the dance, study your movements, your expressions, your laughter, your silences, until they find the need to devour unstoppable. Why you of all have to be here?! I’m bound to keep weaving the spell that has you in this one occasion being all what an artist can wish from a muse, from Love it-  no, from Life itself!
  191.49 +
  191.50 +The tone of the song goes in an over-cheery, slightly too emotional flight. Simply jazzy. And the swing of your body, your swirling arms and hands seem to dictate the tempo. Very well, A test to my skill, to what I’d do for pleasing you.
  191.51 +
  191.52 +Such a melodramatic perfection! I’m at awe and scared at the same time. This desire of you has not from long ago reigned in my light and in my darkness. I’d do anything to watch how the world dissolves and reinvents itself in your angelic emerald sight.
  191.53 +
  191.54 +I still want to leave this instrument and hesitantly sweep you off your feet. Push you against the edge of this spiritual, physical abyss, and have my fingers play in you the keys that’ll move you to the deepest, splendorous, desperate fiber. I’d make you wince in pain under my weight, at my nails’ burying trace. Love, love, LOVE!!! I’d make you cry like no one has ever done, and still have the audacity to bring you back to reality and out of it with a soul-taking kiss!
  191.55 +
  191.56 +Yes, only I could have devised such fantasy. And adore it to pieces. Alas, the melody has to end, and with it the trance in which we both were. 
  191.57 +
  191.58 +One more note and you’d personally have witnessed me at the height of my powers, and how after confronting the ally, the enemy in you, I would’ve crumbled magnificently, slumped to my knees and implore the bubbly life, the shrouding death from thee.
  191.59 +
  191.60 +You’ll never know. Ignorance is such a bliss. 
  191.61 +
  191.62 +A heaven that I’ve built and to which I’ve no access to.
  191.63 +
  191.64 +Goodbye, love.
  191.65 +
  191.66 +--------
  191.67 +
  191.68 +Author’s Notes:
  191.69 +Both the title and the piano piece referred to in this fanfiction are from the genial mind of George Gershwin. Hear him, and let yourself be taken by the allure of classical and jazz fusion. Cheers!  > ^ _ ^  <
  191.70 \ No newline at end of file

   192.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   192.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-painful.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   192.3 @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
   192.4 +                                                        Painful
   192.5 +By: Buffy
   192.6 +tomoyo19892002@yahoo.com
   192.7 +
   192.8 +It’s strange to be in love. It’s even stranger when you think you love someone, but you really don’t. When you’re in love, you’re spinning. Sometimes you might even fall. Tomoyo says she fell, but I feel like I knocked her down. She’s lost all will to love, and it’s my fault. She confessed her feelings to me last year, I told her; although I didn’t love her back we were still best friends. I lied to her, I lied to myself. I love her. I always have, and I always will. I hadn’t realized it was true.
   192.9 +
  192.10 +I’m watching her now. She’s looking out the window with those two beautiful, flawless sapphire eyes. Her hair trails down her back like dark silk. She sad, she has been since last year. It’s painful, every time I see that gorgeous, flawless face full of tears it’s worse than being stabbed with a billion frozen knives. And it’s all my fault. I look at her, pale skin shining like porcelain, full, round breasts perfect like the rest of her. Soft curves and long, slender legs with two small feet at the end. She’s wearing a little lace dress that comes down to the middle of her thighs, so I sit here admiring those slender, crossed legs. I wonder if she could forgive me? I turned her down and caused us both pain, could she believe me if told her I loved her? But ‘love’ fell tragically short of the way I felt for her. I had always loved her, and lusted after her, too. I buried those feelings because I thought they were so wrong. But now they’re so right, but painful. 
  192.11 +
  192.12 +I stop and stare, before walking over to her. She doesn’t look at me; she’s in her own world right now. I have to bring her back. I put my hands on her shoulders and she turns and looks up at me. 
  192.13 +
  192.14 +“Tomoyo…”
  192.15 +
  192.16 +“What’s wrong?” She asks. She stands up and takes a few steps towards me. I could kiss her now if I wanted. She was only a few inches shorter than me, but she was still tall and slender. I smell her perfume, Cherry. I inhale deeply while she looks up at me questionably. 
  192.17 +
  192.18 +“I love you” 
  192.19 +
  192.20 +She looks at me with slight disbelief.
  192.21 +
  192.22 +“Sakura, you must be very lonely but we both know you don’t…”
  192.23 +
  192.24 +I cut her off with a deep, passionate kiss. I let out everything I have to tell her. I start kissing down her face and move towards her neck. She tries to kiss me back but she’s a bit overwhelmed. She wraps her arms around my neck because she’ll probably faint otherwise. I move my hands down and pick her up. I won’t drop her; she’s safe in my arms. She feels light in my arms.  I carry her over to my bed and lay her gently down.
  192.25 +
  192.26 +“I love you,” I say again.
  192.27 +
  192.28 +She looks at me again, like she wants to believe me but can’t. I have to make her believe. 
  192.29 +I grope her until I find the buttons down the back her dress. I unbutton the first one, then the second one. I had seen her naked before, but it was different now. I had desired her and admired her when she had no clothes on, but this time I get to touch her, taste her. She is mine this time.  I’m at the last button…
  192.30 +
  192.31 +“Sakura…don’t”
  192.32 +
  192.33 +I look at her, her face is still sad and it stabs me again. My body wants to hold her, so I do.
  192.34 +
  192.35 +“If that’s what you want, Tomoyo-chan” I’m disappointed, and sad. But I know she’s afraid.  She came to spend the night with me, not for me to invade her like this. She thinks I’m lying, anyways.
  192.36 +
  192.37 +                                                               ***
  192.38 +
  192.39 +I lay on my bed. Tomoyo went to take a shower. I was disgusted with myself, had I done something wrong to her?
  192.40 +
  192.41 +“I’m sorry Tomoyo…” I whisper.
  192.42 +
  192.43 +I want to follow her into the shower and it’s all I can do not to sneak in and take a peek. She probably wants to wash herself off, is my touch that bad to her? I remember the way she felt under my hands, so soft and pliant. 
  192.44 +
  192.45 +“Sakura”
  192.46 +
  192.47 +I look up, and see Tomoyo, clad only in a pink towel, her hair still wet and her body still dripping. I’m dripping, too, but not with water. I walk over to her and she smiles at me.
  192.48 +
  192.49 +“Kiss Me,” she tells me again.
  192.50 + 
  192.51 +I do that. God, do I do that. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull down the towel. She wraps her arms around my neck and I carry her to the bed again. She is so beautiful, so sexy. I want her so badly. I kiss her slender neck again. She runs her hands through my hair. I move down to her breasts.
  192.52 +
  192.53 +“Tomoyo, do you believe me when I say I love you?” I ask
  192.54 +
  192.55 +She nods. She believes me. I have always loved her, and I always will. I move back down to her breasts and suckled one of the pink mounds. She coos softly. I slid one of my fingers into her and she gasps. I slide it in and out of her and listen to her little squeals of pleasure. I move down to where my finger is and pull it out. She whimpers, until I spread her legs and start to lick her. She wriggles and squirms, much to my delight. Her hips buck when I slide my tongue in and out of her. 
  192.56 +“S-Sakura…don’t stop…I’m so close”
  192.57 +
  192.58 +I have no intention of stopping until she comes. I suckle her clit until she screams my name. I lap up all the sweet nectar and move up to where she is. 
  192.59 +
  192.60 +“I love you, Tomoyo”
  192.61 +
  192.62 +“I love you, too, Sakura”
  192.63 +
  192.64 +The pain disappears as I watch her fall asleep. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her head. I cover both of us with the blankets and we fall asleep, with her in my arms.
  192.65 +
  192.66 +The End
  192.67 +
  192.68 +

   193.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   193.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-parenthood.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   193.3 @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
   193.4 +"The road to parenthood."
   193.5 +
   193.6 +By: Radar
   193.7 +Carole@mcnestrie.wanado.co.uk.hsphere.us
   193.8 +
   193.9 +---------
  193.10 +Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, they belong to CLAMP. WARNING this is a Yuri story so if you're of a nervous disposition or you're just offended by this please stop reading!
  193.11 +
  193.12 +-------------
  193.13 +
  193.14 +‘Tomoyo-chan..’
  193.15 +‘I’m fine Sakura-chan, just continue with your cooking!’ Tomoyo relied, focusing her camera on Sakura. Sakura sweat dropped and walked slowly closer to her pale wife. ‘Tomo-chan, I really think that you should be resting!’ Sakura said, trying to get Tomoyo back to their bedroom. Tomoyo smiled warmly at Sakura whilst recording her friend with her camcorder, she’d not seen her beloved wife as emotional as this since the day they married. There were a lot of emotions going through Sakura, Tomoyo could only make out a few: happiness, wonder, and anticipation mixed with anxiety. ‘Sakura-chan makes an incredibly cute and caring wife!’ Tomoyo whispered, bring a blush to Sakura’s cheeks. ‘But Tomoyo-chan, what about Kumiko-chan?’ Sakura asked, lightly placing hands on Tomoyo’s swelling stomach. She could feel their daughter kicking. Their daughter, with a helpful push from Sakura’s magic, but she was their daughter never the less. Tomoyo smiled before closing her eyes. Unconsciously Sakura found herself leaning forward, almost jumping out of her skin when Tomoyo opened her eyes, smiling warmly. ‘I think Kumi-chan agrees with you!’ Tomoyo said. ‘Of course she does, she’s worried about you!’ Sakura said, taking Tomoyo’s hand in her own. Tomoyo smiled again and squeezed Sakura’s hand. Sakura smiled before lightly kissing her pale friend, before taking her to their bedroom. Once there, they lay on the bed, Tomoyo being held in Sakura’s arms. Even in this embrace, Tomoyo felt her love for Sakura grow as it always had. It grew even stronger with the card mistress by her side, nurturing it and Tomoyo was there, by Sakura’s side, nurturing Sakura’s love for her. With those warm thoughts she drifted into a peaceful sleep. Sakura smiled as she gently slid out from under Tomoyo. She lightly kissed the pale woman’s cheek and went back to the kitchen, finishing her cooking. She smiled before placing a single Nadeshiko flower in a small vase. She picked up the tray and headed for the room she shared with Tomoyo. As she was about to enter their room, she heard it. It sounded like Tomoyo singing softly. She opened the door to see Tomoyo softly singing to their unborn child. ‘I think Kumiko-chan like it when you sing to her Tomo-chan!’ Sakura said, as she set the tray down next to Tomoyo. ‘I hope she does!’ Tomoyo replied smiling whilst stroking her stomach. She wanted to make sure her baby girl felt loved, even if she was still inside of her. The thought of her carrying a child, Sakura’s and hers, filled her the same type of warm that filled her when she was with Sakura. Sakura picked up the bowl and the chopsticks next to it. Tomoyo smiled as Sakura fed her the meal. ‘Arigatou Sakura-chan! I’m sure Kumi-chan would like to thank you too! And I love Sakura’s special ingredient!’ Tomoyo asked smiling at the now blushing brunette. ‘Arigatou! A healthy dose of love for my beloved best friend and our cute little daughter!’ Sakura replied. She set the plate down and took Tomoyo’s hand in her own. Just being with the pale woman always seemed to calm the storm of emotion in her heart. She’d always had that affect on her. Tomoyo at the centre keeping everything out except Sakura herself. She smiled as she lay next to Tomoyo, her arms lightly wrapped around her pale friends waist. ‘Hanyan..’ she whispered before falling asleep. Tomoyo smiled at Sakura, then noticed that she had fallen asleep. She giggled softly as she reached for her camcorder. She started to record Sakura’s sleeping form, while not leaving the sweet embrace that they were in. ‘I think you’ll like it out her Kumiko-chan! It may be cold at first, but when you find the beauty and the joy life has to offer, you’ll find them in everything!’ she whispered before setting the camera down, resting her head next to Sakura’s and falling asleep again.
  193.16 +
  193.17 +‘Sakura-papa, guess what!’ Kumiko said, smiling brightly at her father. She smiled before answering. Every time she looked at her daughter, she felt like she as looking at her mother. The similarities between Kumiko and her mother Nadeshiko were simply astounding. ‘Um.. you’re really happy, so something good had happened!’ Sakura said. Her daughters’ smile grew. ‘Yeah! Me and Hikaru-chan are gonna get married!’ Kumiko said hugging the other girl. Hikaru blushed at the tight embrace. The other girl could be so too energetic for her own good at times, but she was glad that it now had other places to go, much like the previous night. Hikaru’s blush deepened remembering making love to the other girl for the first time. She smiled remembering her magical girl trying to muffle her cries during the heat of their lovemaking. They both sighed blissfully. Whispering their love for each other shortly before they fell asleep in each other’s arms. ‘That wonderful news Kumi-chan!’ Tomoyo said. Sakura nodded in agreement. ‘You mean it’s ok with you, Sakura-papa, Tomoyo-mama?’ Hikaru said. The older women nodded. Hikaru had started calling them Tomoyo-mama and Sakura-papa, shortly after she and Kumiko had started dating after the incident that had turned Sakura into a 12 year old again. Sakura smiled before hugging the two 15 year old girls. She leaned away and sighed. Kumiko was growing up so fast, a part of her wanted to keep her the baby she and Tomoyo had brought home so many years before. It was at that time she realised that her little girl wasn’t so little anymore, that she as becoming a woman. She smiled slightly at Tomoyo, realising that the pale woman was thinking the same thing. They smiled at each other as they knew they would have to let Kumiko grow up and find her own way in life. ‘Congratulations!’ Sakura said, followed soon after by Tomoyo. Watching Kumiko being with the woman she love reminded her of the time she spent with Tomoyo, both in friendship and, a little later, in love. ‘Could you come with me Hikaru-chan?’ Sakura asked. Hikaru nodded and followed Sakura. When they entered Sakura and Tomoyo’s bedroom, they could hear Kero-chan whisper something about pudding, Sakura handed Hikaru a small box. ‘Please open it!’ Sakura said. ‘Ok!’ Hikaru said nervously, she had gotten the impression that Sakura didn’t want her to marry Kumiko. As soon as she opened the box she knew she was wrong. ‘These were Tomoyo’s and mine! We talked about it and decided when Kumi-chan was going to get married we’d give her these!’ Hikaru looked at Sakura, completely shocked. ‘But Sakura-papa, these are yours..’ Hikaru said, trying to argue. Sakura smiled softly. In their own little way, this was their wedding present. ‘No, these are yours now! We know you’ll take good care of them and Kumiko-chan!’ Sakura said, placing the box in Hikaru’s hand. ‘Arigatou Sakura-papa!’ Hikaru whispered and bowed respectively. She now knew why Sakura and Kumiko were so similar. They had the same emerald eyes, the same smile and exceptionally cute ears, now she knew where Kumiko had gotten her cute ears from, the same genki spirit and the same determination when they started something they saw it through to the end and they were, at times, a little clueless about certain things. They left the room and found Tomoyo and Kumiko sat in the living room. Hikaru smiled at her lover before sitting next to her. ‘When you have children, who’s going to be the father?’ Tomoyo asked, smiling sweetly. Both girls blushed at the question. Sakura smiled to herself as she’d been expecting that question since the girls said they were getting married. They looked at each other. ‘We... don’t know yet!’ Kumiko said after a few minutes, she thought that they were still too young to be thinking about having a child of their own. They left the room minutes later because of some homework that they had to do but not before agreeing to let Tomoyo design and make their wedding dresses and video their wedding, for her collection of Sakura videos and for their daughter.
  193.18 +‘I think Kumiko-chan would make a cute mother!’ Tomoyo said, her smile growing slightly. ‘I think your right Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura replied before lightly kissing her pale wife. Tomoyo kissed back with a gentle passion. Now was not the time to think about their daughter as a parent, now was the time to savour Sakura’s kisses.
  193.19 +
  193.20 +Hikaru looked at Kumiko and sighed. She still remembered what she said to the other girl a little more than a decade ago. She had said that it wasn’t normal to have 2 girls as parents, leaving Kumiko in tears and running to her parents, hurt almost beyond measure. That had been a very painful thing for her to say, for her and Kumiko as she had run away crying shortly afterward equally as hurt. She had only said it because she could see Kumiko had started to become rather affectionate towards her, even if the other girl didn’t know it herself, she just wanted her friend not to know that she was doing the same. At the time they had been too young to understand their feelings for each other. She lowered her head, so Kumiko wouldn’t see the tears that had just started. ‘I’m sorry!’ she whispered, drawing her girlfriends’ attention. ‘What for Hikaru-chan?’ Kumiko asked innocently. ‘Do you remember when we were 5?’ Kumiko nodded.
  193.21 +‘I said it wasn’t normal to have 2 girls as parents! I hurt you by saying that and I’m so sorry!’ Hikaru whispered. Kumiko smiled. She hadn’t forgotten what her lover had told her, she had told the dark haired girl that many times that all was forgiven and almost forgotten, but it seemed that her little messages weren’t getting through. ‘I think you need a hug!’ Kumiko said, taking Hikaru into her arms. She could feel Hikaru shudder, trying to suppress her sobs. ‘I love you Hikaru-chan!’ Kumiko whispered, rubbing the other girls back, soothing the other girl. ‘I love you too Kumiko-chan!’ Hikaru whispered, before kissing Kumiko. This had been hanging on her heart for many years, she was glad that everything was ok now. ‘Do you feel better now?’ Kumiko asked after moving away. Hikaru found she couldn’t answer. ‘I need another hug!’ she said after a few moments. Kumiko smiled before obliging in her girlfriends request. Sakura walked passed Kumiko’s room several minutes later to see if her daughter and soon to be daughter in law wanted something to eat. She blushed when she heard Kumiko cry out Hikaru’s name followed by Hikaru calling out Kumiko’s name. She walked away and smiled. Her daughter was in good hands. She knew they would make each other happy. Very happy indeed. Just then a younger girl ran up to Sakura. ‘Sakura-papa, what’s happening with Onii-chan? I heard her yelling! Is she sick?’ Sakura shook her head and smiled. ‘No Nadeshiko-chan, she’s with Hikaru-chan!’ Nadeshiko smiled at her, Sakura couldn’t remember much about her mother, but she could remember that she always gave her the same smile as her little Nadeshiko, she was glad they had given the young girl the name. ‘I really like Hikaru-san! She makes Onii-chan very happy, she doesn’t tease me as much then!!’ Nadeshiko said, before Sakura took hold of her hand and led her to her room. Sakura smiled at her young daughter, she could remember Touya teasing her as much as Kumiko teased Nadeshiko when she was a kid, Nadeshiko smiled back not really knowing why Sakura was smiling at her. ‘I wanted to say hello to Hikaru-san, Sakura-papa!’ Nadeshiko said, before pouting as they reached her youngest daughters’ room. ‘Don’t worry, Hikaru-chan and Kumiko-chan are busy studying, besides, Hikaru-chan is spending the night!’ Nadeshiko smiled again. Suddenly Hikaru appeared in front of them and smiled brightly at Nadeshiko, she leaned down so the young girl could look her in the eye.
  193.22 +‘Would you like to be a brides maid at mine and Kumiko-chan’s wedding?’ Hikaru asked. Nadeshiko smiled before Hikaru’s words sunk in. Her eyes went wide before running to her sister. Nadeshiko ran straight into Kumiko’s arms, and burst into tears. ‘What’s wrong Nadeshiko-chan?’ Kumiko asked. The young girl couldn’t answer, coherent thought just beyond her. After a few minutes she answered. ‘Please don’t marry Hikaru-san!’ she asked. ‘Why not?’ Kumiko asked. ‘I don’t want you to move away, I’d miss you to much Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko replied, almost in tears again. Kumiko smiled at her little sister before wiping away her tears. ‘She’s not going to move away Nadeshiko-chan, they’re going to be living here!’ Tomoyo said softly, having just heard what her youngest child had said.
  193.23 +‘Really?’ Nadeshiko asked, smiling brightly. ‘Yey! Onii-chan’s staying! Onii-chan’s staying!’ Tomoyo smiled at her daughters. Nadeshiko was very emotional, just like her father. ‘There was another place I thought we could go!’ Kumiko said. They looked at her. ‘Where Onii-chan?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘Grandpa Fujitaka’s house!’
  193.24 +Tomoyo’s smiled vanished for a moment as Sakura walked up to her side. Sakura lowered her head slightly, obviously having heard what Kumiko had said. Fujitaka had passed away several months before, but she was sure he would have liked to have his granddaughter living happily in the house Sakura had grown up in. She lifted her head and smiled. ‘I’m sure grandpa would like that!’ she said, ‘Besides it not to far away, and you and see her anytime Nadeshiko-chan!’ Nadeshiko smiled and nodded in agreement.
  193.25 +
  193.26 +Many years’ later 4 women and 2 young girls stood near an elderly lady. ‘Kero-chan, Yue-san it’s time I left to be with Tomoyo!’ Sakura said, smiling. ‘But Sakura-papa, why?’ Nadeshiko asked, holding her young daughter close, her wife, Megumi holding Nadeshiko. ‘It’s my time Nadeshiko-chan, besides Tomoyo-mama’s probably lonely!’ Sakura replied. ‘But what about the cards?’ Kero-chan asked. Sakura smiled slightly. ‘I’ve already thought of that Kero-chan! ChibiSakura-chan, could you come here please?’ she asked. Kumiko’s daughter nodded and walked closer to her grandparent. ‘You remember those lessons about magic I taught you?’ she asked. ‘Hai grandpa Sakura!’ ChibiSakura replied. ‘It’s time to use what I’ve taught you!’ she smiled as she turned her granddaughter around. ‘She’ll be your new mistress!’ Sakura smiled at the other’s reaction. Yue and Kero-chan were dumbstruck while Kumiko, Nadeshiko and their wives sweat dropped. ChibiSakura looked remarkably like her grandfather, except her eyes. They were stormy blue, they reminded Sakura of her pale wife’s eyes. ‘What about ChibiTomoyo, Sakura-papa?’ Nadeshiko asked hugging her daughter. Sakura looked at her other granddaughter, she looked so much like Tomoyo, except her eyes, she had emerald eyes. ‘It’s a secret!’ Sakura said, gleefully. She’d seen the future, or rather the future had come to her many years before, and was a little surprised about how close her granddaughters actually were. Her smile grew slightly. At the moment they were best friends but the future ChibiSakura had come from.. She giggled slightly. ‘If you need help or advice, just ask Kero-chan or Yue-san, they’ll help you with any problem you might have!’ then as a hushed whisper, ‘I might even be there to help!’ ChibiSakura smiled. ‘But Sakura-san..’ Yue said. ‘Sorry Yue-san, it’s my time now!’ Sakura said. She smiled before disappearing. Suddenly ChibiSakura started to glow. Then it vanished leaving ChibiSakura standing there with her eyes closed holding the book and Sakura’s key.
  193.27 +‘Arigatou grandpa Sakura!’ she whispered. She opened her eyes and there were her grandparents as they were when they were younger, they smiled at her before slowly fading away. She smiled brightly. Kumiko and Nadeshiko started crying softly. Their parent’s were gone now leaving their namesakes to carry on what had started with them. ChibiTomoyo smiled at ChibiSakura, and ChibiSakura returned her cousins smile, before mouthing one word, soon. She nodded her head. Sakura’s journeys as the card mistress were over but now ChibiSakura and ChibiTomoyo’s journeys were just starting. No one, except for Sakura herself, knew what the future held for the young girls, but it would always be an exciting adventure.
  193.28 +
  193.29 +-------
  193.30 +Authors notes.
  193.31 +There is more to explain this story, I've just got to finish them! There will an explaination to this so stay tuned!
  193.32 \ No newline at end of file

   194.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   194.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-perhaps_xmas.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   194.3 @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
   194.4 +Disclaimer: I don’t own what I don’t own. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   194.5 +
   194.6 +~Here’s the Christmas fic for Cloud! ^,^; Sorry, sorry. I got distracted, so it’s late.~
   194.7 +
   194.8 +Perhaps, Maybe, I Don’t Know~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   194.9 +
  194.10 +By Forever3330
  194.11 +
  194.12 +	At first, looking out the window, the auburn-haired Cardmistress saw nothing but bright white shapes that must have been cars and plants and houses, so white they almost blinded her, and brightly colored lights, most steady, but some blinking. She was thinking of nothing much, just how Christmas had come to Japan. It confused her somewhat, but that was fine. All that mattered was the frost on the window, with all it’s intricate patterns splashed in Nature’s randomly artistic way. Small, drifting flakes of white snow fell from the sky, she saw, leaning against the living room window even more. She loved snow. It was so…peaceful. Then, she noticed a small black shape, almost a dot it was so far away, steadily moving closer down the street. It seemed to almost grow out of the white, spreading to become a clearer figure as it came ever closer.
  194.13 +
  194.14 +	 By the time she could tell it was a person, Sakura was as close to the glass of the window as she could get, spring-green eyes squinting to see the figure as clearly as possible, and the cold of the glass touched her nose, her warm breath bringing fog to the window, blurring her sight. Annoyed, she pulled back, wiping the fog away with the sleeve of her large russet sweater, hand-knitted by Tomoyo.
  194.15 +
  194.16 +	When she was finished the figure was crossing the street to get to her house. She knew it was coming to her house because it was no longer a nameless figure; the black shape had become Tomoyo in a black dress with a jacket of the same color, snowboots and scarf, ebony hair free and whipping about behind her. Why Tomoyo would be here now, on Christmas Eve, she hardly knew, but she ran to the front door, which was just in the other room, and swung open the door with a bright smile and curious eyes for her friend. “Tomoyo-chan! What are you doing out here? Why are you walking?” Feeling the chill of the air, she frowned, and stood aside. Tomoyo was at her driveway. “It’s so cold! Come in.”
  194.17 +
  194.18 +	The blue-eyed girl smiled, stopping in front of her best friend, and shook her head. “I am here to give Sakura-chan my Christmas present. I wanted to give it to you with my own hands, and get here by my own means.” Her smile was sweet, and her words as understandable yet puzzling as ever, the perfect combination. Sakura finally noticed the blue bag her friend was carrying. “Then I will go back home.”
  194.19 +
  194.20 +	Sakura frowned. “You should come in to rest for a while, Tomoyo-chan. Your house is so far away…” She was looking at the pale skin, flushed cheeks, trembling hands.
  194.21 +
  194.22 +	If she had looked at Tomoyo’s eyes she would have known these were symptoms of something else, something that affected her friend much more then the cold she hardly felt. “I’ll be fine, Sakura-chan. I’m just glad I got this to you.” She placed the hand in her friend’s hands, smiling sweetly. “That makes everything and anything worthwhile. I hope Sakura-chan likes it.”
  194.23 +
  194.24 +	The Cardmistress placed her hand on Tomoyo’s arm, even as her friend turned to go. “Please, Tomoyo-chan? Just come inside for some hot chocolate. You can call your bodyguards to pick you up.” Seeing the indecision in the heiress’s eyes, she added, “It would mean a lot to me.”
  194.25 +
  194.26 +	Tomoyo turned back, smile warm, and stepped inside. “Of course Sakura-chan. I would love to stay for some hot chocolate. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
  194.27 +
  194.28 +	“Great!” Sakura closed the door behind them, beaming at Tomoyo. “I’ll go set it up!”
  194.29 +
  194.30 +	“Wait!” Tomoyo was startled at the sound of her own voice. Sakura turned around, raising an eyebrow quizzically. “Are you…Are you going to open up your present?”
  194.31 +
  194.32 +	“It’s not Christmas day yet, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura’s smile was cheerful. “I won’t ruin it.”
  194.33 +
  194.34 +	Tomoyo almost nodded, but instead gave a calmer smile, nodding to herself. “It would mean a lot to me if I could see you open it. Please.”
  194.35 +
  194.36 +	“Of…course, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura looked surprised, but looked at the bag in her hand. "If you really want me to. I’ve had sixteen years of waiting to open presents; I can manage to open one early now.”
  194.37 +
  194.38 +	“I do.”
  194.39 +
  194.40 +	Sakura nodded, and pulled the bag open, peering inside to find a squishy white package and a card. The card, she noticed, was probably made by Tomoyo. But the gift probably was too, in any case. She opened the card, tucking the package under one arm while setting the bag down, and read it.
  194.41 +
  194.42 +To my dearest Sakura-chan,
  194.43 +
  194.44 +This is a gift from me to you, for your wonderful Christmas morning. I know it will be wonderful, because everything that Sakura does is wonderful. You’re looking confused now, but smiling. And now you’re surprised; I am laughing, right now, because of it. Sakura-chan, please accept my gift. I hope your Christmas this year is as happy and beautiful as you are, and that you have many, many more.
  194.45 +
  194.46 +DaidoujiTomoyo
  194.47 +
  194.48 +	Looking back up at her friend, Sakura smiled, seeing Tomoyo chuckle. “You know me too well. Let’s open it up, then shall we?” She saw her friend tense, momentarily, and would not have noticed it if she had not been examining the other girl for signs of a cold.
  194.49 +
  194.50 +	“Of course, Sakura-chan.”
  194.51 +
  194.52 +	Pulling the white tissue paper off, layers and layers of it, Sakura had to wonder what was within. When she finally managed to reach the center, she had to smile. Within was a stuffed bear, made of the softest white silk she had ever seen, with dark blue buttons for eyes. Looking at the buttons, she saw the colors seemed to shift, from blue to black and black to blue, so much like…
  194.53 +
  194.54 +	“She’s wonderful, Tomoyo-chan!” For such a dainty thing could only be a female.
  194.55 +
  194.56 +	Tomoyo, to the brunette’s surprise, did not relax. “What will you name her?”
  194.57 +
  194.58 +	And something in her tone made Sakura stop. She remembered this ritual of teddy bears, from Syaoran. Before he had gone back to China. She missed him, somewhat, but she was alright, with Tomoyo, Touya, Otou-san, Rika, Naoko, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Yukito, Kero, Yue, and the cards. She hardly thought of him anymore. So what would she name the bear? Surely Tomoyo didn’t mean it in that way…?
  194.59 +
  194.60 +	Maybe…maybe she’s angry? Tomoyo looked at her friend, searching for any sign of emotion.
  194.61 +
  194.62 +	Then, Sakura smiled, and the heiress looked at her somewhat quizzically. “You told us once at lunch that the day a bear gets a ribbon ‘round it’s neck and a name is it’s birthday. I have a ribbon.” She pulled her own red one from her hair, nimbly tying a bow in seconds. “And a name.”
  194.63 +
  194.64 +	“Which is?” Tomoyo felt her muscles tense more then they had already. Perhaps…
  194.65 +
  194.66 +	“After my best friend, of course!” Sakura smiled. She had more to say besides what she would, but that was for a later day, though one just as beautiful. “Tomoyo-chan!”
  194.67 +
  194.68 +	Tomoyo looked at her friend for a few moments, before Sakura spoke again. “I’ll go get the hot chocolate!”
  194.69 +
  194.70 +	The heiress wasn’t sure how Sakura felt for her. She didn’t know. “I’ll come and help you, Sakura-chan.”
  194.71 +
  194.72 +	But she was willing to find out.
  194.73 +
  194.74 +	And then Sakura leaned forward, placing a small kiss on her cheek, fleeting, barely there. “Merry Christmas, Tomoyo-chan.”
  194.75 +
  194.76 +	Somewhat dazed, Tomoyo could only say, “You mean Christmas Eve.”
  194.77 +
  194.78 +	Her friend’s laughter resounded throughout the house.
  194.79 + 	   
  194.80 \ No newline at end of file

   195.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   195.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-pltofear.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   195.3 @@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
   195.4 +Disclaimer: Hi! ^,^ This is Forever3330.  As I write this, I realize that I haven’t written in forever…but, um, yeah. I’ve decided to do a ton of songfics, because the long angst fic I promised Ametrine is going to take a while, I decided I’d try a few angst one-shots. And I just happened to get the lyrics to a ton of songs I like, and I figure I’ll give it a shot. I own nothing. And suing me won’t get you anything, anyways. In any case, I hope you enjoy the fanfic! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   195.5 +
   195.6 +The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most~~A CCS Fanfic
   195.7 +
   195.8 +By Forever3330
   195.9 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  195.10 +
  195.11 +For Ametrine
  195.12 +
  195.13 +“Isn’t it sad?” Watching the people in the streets around her from her bench, Sonomi winced. Again. They were talking about it again. The wind carried the voices to her. “Happened just last week.”~Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself, 
  195.14 +and covered with a perfect shell, 
  195.15 +such a charming beautiful exterior.
  195.16 +laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes
  195.17 +perfect posture but you're barely scraping by
  195.18 +But you’re barely scraping by~
  195.19 +
  195.20 +Even as she walked silently through the park, with its’ Sakura trees in full bloom and cold tears rolling down her cheeks, she could not manage a real smile, like she had always before been able to do. A real smile. When was the last time she had truly smiled? A real smile, not a forced one. When? It was funny in a way—even Sakura-chan no longer made her smile. But that in itself made Tomoyo sadder. And yet her pale face was still lit up with a gentle smile, one that did not reach her eyes. Ice blue eyes. Eyes that were pained and stoney at the same time. Okaa-san said she had lost her shine.
  195.21 +
  195.22 +And that had scared her.
  195.23 +
  195.24 +She was trying, really trying, to sit up straighter in class, pay attention more, be more cheerful then ever, keeping herself under a constant watch. And yet, it was still slipping—everything she had built to keep herself inside was falling apart.  She was breaking. And it was getting harder and harder to put herself back together. 
  195.25 +
  195.26 +But what scared her beyond anything else was that she was no longer Tomoyo; she was something broken, something scarred. And the darkness was calling to her, stronger every second, promising her the rest she hoped for with the traitorous part of her. The part of her that didn’t care if it made Sakura-chan or Okaa-san sad.
  195.27 +
  195.28 +Yet, somehow, the part of her that cared agreed, hesitantly. Sakura-chan was getting too close to the truth, with her ever-growing preception. And if Tomoyo didn’t get away soon everything would break, not just her. And that was the last thing she wanted.
  195.29 +
  195.30 +Sakura-chan could never be allowed to break. And she wouldn’t, as long as Tomoyo could take the pain for herself. If only she could lift it all away. ~This is one time, this is one time
  195.31 +that you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all. 
  195.32 +And the grave that you refuse to leave 
  195.33 +the refuge that you've built to flee
  195.34 +the places you have come to fear the most. ~
  195.35 +
  195.36 +Tomoyo had cried in class that day. She had been sitting paitently, smiling, listening to Terada-sensei’s explanation of their class book, when she knew with some utter certainty she had never before had with her emotions told her Sakura-chan would never love her back.
  195.37 +
  195.38 +Not in the way she wanted.
  195.39 +
  195.40 +Not ever.
  195.41 +
  195.42 +Because Sakura-chan loved someone else. Someone Tomoyo had pushed towards her. 
  195.43 +
  195.44 +Syaoran.
  195.45 +
  195.46 +The arch of the brunette’s hand as she smothered her laughter at something he said was trembling with something Tomoyo had seen before, with Yukito-san. Love.
  195.47 +
  195.48 +Was her downfall her own fault?
  195.49 +
  195.50 +“Tomoyo-chan? Tomoyo-chan, are you okay?”
  195.51 +
  195.52 +Even as she noticed the tears running down her cheeks, Sakura-chan’s blurred face floated in front of her, calling out to her. And her spring-green eyes were filled with something that made the shorter girl’s blood freeze over, colder then the tears leaking down her cheekd.
  195.53 +
  195.54 +Dawning enlightenment.
  195.55 +
  195.56 +So Tomoyo did the only thing she could do, to keep herself from answering the call, to keep Sakura-chan from doing what she had dreamed of her doing since she had known how to voice her feelings for the brunette, from doing what had recently become a nightmare. She ran.~Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself, 
  195.57 +and hidden in the public eye. 
  195.58 +Such a stellar monument to loneliness. 
  195.59 +Laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes 
  195.60 +and perfect makeup but you're barely scraping by.
  195.61 +But you’re barely scraping by~
  195.62 +
  195.63 +And she found herself in the park, a place with memories she would cherish forever. The sunny memories of childhood, clouded over with soft colors and feelings.  Memories she had thought were signs of hope. She didn’t delude herself anymore; to Sakura-chan they would always be moments of friendship. Friendship with Daidouji Tomoyo, slightly eccentric girl with rather odd habits.
  195.64 +
  195.65 +And no matter how many times she said ‘I love you’, no matter how many times she tried to explain it, Sakura-chan would never understand what she meant.
  195.66 +
  195.67 +Because she did not feel the same.
  195.68 +
  195.69 +And she never would.
  195.70 +
  195.71 +Ever. 
  195.72 +
  195.73 +The bridge near King Penguin was there, waiting for her, as it always was. Patient, taunting. Filled with memories of times when she had walked hand-in-hand with Sakura-chan, laughing with real joy. Complete. Back when she was herself, and not a broken doll.~This is one time, this is one time
  195.74 +That you can't fake it hard enough to please 
  195.75 +Everyone or anyone at all, or anyone at all
  195.76 +And the grave that you refuse to leave 
  195.77 +The refuge that you've built to flee
  195.78 +The places you have come to fear the most
  195.79 +Is the place that you have come to fear the most~
  195.80 +
  195.81 +The water under the bridge looked calm, perfect. There was hardly a ripple anywhere. And again, it called to her, the darkness. Only stronger this time, as darkness fed off the absence of hope. And for the first and last time, Tomoyo answered, falling into the welcoming depths of the lake, navy skirt fluttering behind her, long violet-raven locks waving like ribbons.
  195.82 +
  195.83 +As the water enveloped her, ice-cold even to her already cool skin, she felt her lips twitch into a slight smile. Just a little longer and she could sleep. Just a little longer and it would all finally be over—and nothing would matter anymore.
  195.84 +
  195.85 +She wouldn’t have to think. Just breathe.
  195.86 +
  195.87 +Her vision filled with swirls as she took a deep breath. Odd, how hard it was to breath now. She had been doing the simple task all her life. Was water really that much different from air?
  195.88 +
  195.89 +It made her wonderfully dizzy.~And you can't fake it hard enough to please
  195.90 + Everyone or anyone at all, or anyone at all~
  195.91 +
  195.92 +The past week had made Sakura vaguely worried. Tomoyo-chan was barely awake for the first day, and then was more vividly cheerful then normal. When Tomoyo-chan had begun to cry in class, Sakura began to get concerned.. When Tomoyo-chan ran out of class, her worry grew into fear for her friend.
  195.93 +
  195.94 +As long as she had know the dark-haired heiress, she had never seen Tomoyo-chan cry. Ever.
  195.95 +
  195.96 +So she stood without a word and followed, for once having trouble keeping up with the other girl. How was it that Tomoyo-chan never could run this fast before?
  195.97 +
  195.98 +Tomoyo-chan had been standing silently beside the lake, posture giving no sign that she was crying. And without seeing her face, Sakura knew with no doubt whatsoever that she was still crying. And she had the vague feeling she knew why.
  195.99 +
 195.100 +Yet it was like a sentence that was at the tip of her tounge that just wouldn’t roll off, wouldn’t be relesed. Whatever it was, it was hidden from her. Hidden so deep she barely knew it was there.
 195.101 +
 195.102 +And then, like an angel taking flight, Tomoyo-chan fell into the water, graceful as ever, arms outstretched, as if she were relieved, and simply going into her mother’s embrace. As if she meant to do it.
 195.103 +
 195.104 +Somewhere a reasonable part of her mind told her that Tomoyo-chan had to do it on purpose, as she didn’t exactly slip, and it was all her fault anyway. But Sakura wasn’t listening to herself anymore, but leaping over the bridge to the dark water, searching with her hands and eyes for the girl who she had known for what seemed like a lifetime. A distant part of her wondered it she really knew Tomoyo-chan at all.
 195.105 +
 195.106 +But the only thought in her mind was that Tomoyo-chan could not swim.
 195.107 +~And the grave that you refuse to leave
 195.108 +The refuge that you've built to flee
 195.109 +The places you have come to fear the most~
 195.110 +
 195.111 +The colors of the dark world around her were becoming brighter, more defined. Tomoyo was curious as to why such a thing would happen, but ignored it. She was sinking slowly, and choking as she did so. It was odd, how calm she could be at such a time. But compared to life, death did not really seem so painful. It was simply a dulled pain, if only because the larger part of her was busy bringing images of Before to her mind, of the time when Sakura-chan seemed to care about only her family and Tomoyo. When Tomoyo was her life.
 195.112 +
 195.113 +When she had thought Sakura-chan might love her.
 195.114 +
 195.115 +A face suddenly appeared before her, angelic and worried. Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan was an angel. If that was so, then Heaven must truly be a wonderful place. Sakura-chan with her genki spirit and bright smile.
 195.116 +
 195.117 +Where was her smile?
 195.118 +
 195.119 +The other girl’s hand reached out, pulling, trying to get her to the surface, when Tomoyo pulled back violently, still coughing and spasming as her vision became worse.
 195.120 +
 195.121 +Was this Sakura-chan real?
 195.122 +
 195.123 +The brunette pulled closer, trying to pull her up again, but the heiress didn’t want that; she was so close to reasting forever, it was almost over…
 195.124 +
 195.125 +Desperate, Sakura pulled Tomoyo-chan to her, putting her mouth on Tomoyo’s, trying to breathe air into her friend, to get her to stop trying to pull back like she wanted this to happen and…
 195.126 +
 195.127 +Tomoyo pulled the other girl close for a second, kissing the girl, not accepting the air, then pulled away and smiled. Her lips moved, saying something, but the precious things were lost forever, to the silence of water, to whatever may have heard them.
 195.128 +
 195.129 +And as Tomoyo’s world stopped, fading into nothing, eyes fluttering closed, Sakura understood.
 195.130 +
 195.131 +I love you.
 195.132 +
 195.133 +That was the last gift Tomoyo would ever give her. 
 195.134 +
 195.135 +And suddenly, she wanted more, too late. She wanted to walk through the peaceful streets of Tomoeda, holding her friend’s hand in her own, laughing, smiling, talking about everything and nothing at the same time because anything they talked about was perfect, and even just sitting in silence, comfortable, or pointing out the stars and clouds and flowers they thought were especially beautiful. She wanted the feel of absolute TOMOYO to overwhelm her, as it always had, even when she didn’t understand it.
 195.136 +
 195.137 +Because she loved Tomoyo. And the words formed on her lips, left, to die with Tomoyo’s own confession. In the silent place where her friend’s body floated listlessly, like a broken toy.
 195.138 +
 195.139 +As water filled her lungs, she somehow ceased to care. Tomoyo…she needed…Tomoyo.  
 195.140 + ~Is the place that you have come to fear the most~
 195.141 +
 195.142 +Sitting in the white room with a dark window she couldn’t see through, Sakura stared. There were people watching her, she knew, on the other side. Watching the tied up girl who was too thin because she wouldn’t eat, who was tied up because if she was loose she would try to kill herself with whatever was closest.
 195.143 +
 195.144 +She couldn’t see the door, because it was covered with soft padding, just as the rest of the room. Tilting her head, she sniffed; there was magic nearby. The magic of…the Clow Cards. And slowly, she saw them form around her, Kero and Yue there as well.
 195.145 +
 195.146 +“Sakura-chan!” The small yellow Guardian floated towards her, worried. “What are you doing here? Why do they have you here?”
 195.147 +
 195.148 +“Stupid. She’s insane, that’s why.” Yue’s snort was softer then normal, as were his eyes.
 195.149 +
 195.150 +“Kero…? Yue…? Why are you two here?” But even as she asked the question, she head the door swing open, and from the corner of her eyes saw Otou-san and Touya-kun walk in slowly. They looked different. Sad.
 195.151 +
 195.152 +	The docter was with them. Sakura spit at him, and smiled cheerfully when it hit. “Kero-chan, why don’t you get me out now?”
 195.153 +
 195.154 +	“Who are you talking to, Sakura-chan?” The docter’s voice was as painfully kind as ever.
 195.155 +
 195.156 +	The Card Mistress stared. “My friends. The cards. Everyone. Can’t you see them?”
 195.157 +
 195.158 +	“Sakura-chan, we can’t be seen; your magic is…haywire. And we can’t let you out. You keep trying to…hurt yourself.” Kero mumbled, slightly. Then, stronger, “Please calm down. Come home, Sakura-chan!”
 195.159 +
 195.160 +	After a moment, the girl burst into hysterical laughter. Was this what her life had come to? Talking to invisible friends, sitting in a small room of bright white?
 195.161 +
 195.162 +	Without Tomoyo, was this what she amounted to?
 195.163 +
 195.164 +	“Mirror-chan…Change into Tomoyo’s appearance.” The words came to her mouth without even thinking it. “I’ll come…but I need Tomoyo.”
 195.165 +
 195.166 +	The card looked hesitantly at Kero and Yue, both who looked away, and shyly changed into the violet-haired girl. And for a moment, that was enough. Sakura felt better, for a moment.
 195.167 +
 195.168 +	Then she saw through the illusion, saw everything that was missing, everything that was wrong, and screamed in fury, spitting at the Mirror-Tomoyo as hard as she could, rocking in her bonds. She wanted TOMOYO.
 195.169 +
 195.170 +	The Cards stepped back, moving, fearful. And Kero hung his head, reverting to his large form. “We tried, Sakura-chan. We’re going.”
 195.171 +
 195.172 +	“Where? I’m your Mistress. You have to stay with me.”
 195.173 +
 195.174 +	“We’re going to Eriol-sama.” Yue’s voice wasn’t as harsh as it should have been, but it was harsh all the same. “He has the power of Clow; we do not have time for this, Sakura-chan. Not when you’re hurting us as well as yourself.”
 195.175 +
 195.176 +	“You’re not going.”
 195.177 +
 195.178 +	“Goodbye, Sakura-chan.” The Guardian shimmered, then left. The others did the same. Kerberos was the last to go.
 195.179 +
 195.180 +	As she had watched her ‘friends’, the Docter and her family had been talking to her. Or trying to. Something about setting up a facility at home.
 195.181 +
 195.182 +	And vaguely, she wondered why she was still alive. Why had they saved her?
 195.183 +
 195.184 +	Why not Tomoyo?
 195.185 +
 195.186 +	It was all his fault. Syaoran. Why didn’t her let her die with Tomoyo?
 195.187 +
 195.188 +	Why did she have to be alive?
 195.189 +
 195.190 +	A hand rested on her shoulder. Touya was trying to smile, for once. “It’ll…it’ll be okay, Sakura-chan. We’ll get you through this. I promise.”
 195.191 +
 195.192 +	She bit him.
 195.193 +~Is the place that you have come to fear the most~
 195.194 +
 195.195 +“Some rich girl killed herself. Jumped into the lake. I swear, they do anything for attention…”
 195.196 +
 195.197 +“Her friend killed herself a week later at home—managed to get ahold of a knife. Bled to death.”
 195.198 +
 195.199 +“Isn’t it sad?”
 195.200 +
 195.201 +Yeah, Sonomi thought, rising from the bench. It is.
 195.202 \ No newline at end of file

   196.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   196.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-ql.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   196.3 @@ -0,0 +1,2270 @@
   196.4 +Hello! ^-^ This is a Quantum Leap/Cardcaptor Sakura crossover, so I
   196.5 +hope that 
   196.6 +explains why this is so strange. ^^;;; I’m always so worried about
   196.7 +crossovers 
   196.8 +because it’s so difficult to pull off merging two series together.
   196.9 +So I hope this 
  196.10 +goes well. ^-^ The idea has been playing around in my head for quite
  196.11 +a while 
  196.12 +now. Sam’s supposed to ‘put right what once went wrong’ so why can’t
  196.13 +he set 
  196.14 +right the biggest problem in Cardcaptor Sakura? I’d like to thank
  196.15 +Boco the 
  196.16 +Chokobo, who’s ideas helped me quite a bit with this. ^-^ Thanks!
  196.17 +*hugs* I’m 
  196.18 +using the leaping mechanics from Ashley McConnell’s Quantum Leap
  196.19 +novels 
  196.20 +because I like the idea of Sam actually switching bodies with who he
  196.21 +leaps into 
  196.22 +rather than him just taking their aura. Anyway, I really hope you
  196.23 +enjoy this! ^-^ 
  196.24 +I always love feedback, so if you have the time, please e-mail me! ^-^
  196.25 +
  196.26 +
  196.27 +Across the Distance
  196.28 +by Amazoness Duo
  196.29 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  196.30 +
  196.31 +
  196.32 +	Dr. Sam Beckett was always disoriented when he began a leap. Leaping 
  196.33 +from life to life, trying to put right what once went wrong, was a
  196.34 +very stressful 
  196.35 +job.  He always found himself in the strangest situations, with no
  196.36 +knowledge of 
  196.37 +who he was now or what situation he had leapt into. So he had gotten
  196.38 +very good 
  196.39 +at trying to read his surroundings very quickly. But the first few
  196.40 +minutes never 
  196.41 +allowed him such luxuries and it was up to him to wing it. 
  196.42 +	And he had absolutely no idea how to do so as the good doctor found 
  196.43 +himself locking lips with a teenage, brown haired boy. The kiss
  196.44 +lasted for 
  196.45 +another few seconds but it could very well have been an eternity. As
  196.46 +Dr. Beckett 
  196.47 +stumbled backwards, trying to catch his breath, a quick glimpse down
  196.48 +finished 
  196.49 +putting at least part of this scene together. He was a girl. Again.
  196.50 +And the boy 
  196.51 +that had just been kissing him must be her boyfriend. “Oh boy...”
  196.52 +
  196.53 +	The boy blushed fiercely after Sam backed away. “Daijobu? Sakura-
  196.54 +chan?” He took a few steps closer, finally taking Sam’s, or the body
  196.55 +Sam was 
  196.56 +currently inhabiting, hands and pulling him closer. Sam stumbled
  196.57 +forward, his 
  196.58 +head resting on the boy’s chest. His mind was spinning. Had he ever
  196.59 +leapt out of 
  196.60 +the US before? His swiss cheese memory betrayed him. He had no idea.
  196.61 +The boy 
  196.62 +continued saying something, but it wasn’t making any sense. Wait, it
  196.63 +was. Sam 
  196.64 +couldn’t remember if he’d taken Japanese in school or not, though he
  196.65 +very well 
  196.66 +could have, or if it was something left over from his host, but the
  196.67 +jumbled words 
  196.68 +began to make sense.
  196.69 +	“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam said with a nervous smile. “I just... was a
  196.70 +little 
  196.71 +distracted.” How often had he used that excuse? Too many times. But
  196.72 +after all 
  196.73 +these years of leaping, he still hadn’t come up with a better one. 
  196.74 +The boy’s amber eyes stared at Sam skeptically for a long moment, as 
  196.75 +if he didn’t quite believe that. But finally he nodded. “We better
  196.76 +get to school. I 
  196.77 +made sure that I’d be in the same homeroom as you.” He waited for
  196.78 +some 
  196.79 +acknowledgement of his statement, probably wanting to hear a shrill
  196.80 +of joy from 
  196.81 +his girlfriend, but Sam just nodded, still unsure as to how he was
  196.82 +supposed to act 
  196.83 +now. Grasping Sam’s hand, he began leading the way presumably to the
  196.84 +school. 
  196.85 +At least, Sam sure hoped so.
  196.86 +The two walked along in relative silence for a while. Which was fine 
  196.87 +by Sam because it gave him a chance to think. Where was he?
  196.88 +Apparently Japan. 
  196.89 +When was he? It looked pretty recent, but Sam couldn’t remember if
  196.90 +he’d gone 
  196.91 +there or not so it was difficult to be sure of an exact date. It was
  196.92 +much easier 
  196.93 +guessing dates back in the US. Finally, who was he? The boy had
  196.94 +called him 
  196.95 +Sakura, so at least he had a name. And a quick glimpse in a passing
  196.96 +shop 
  196.97 +window gave him a face. She was a very pretty girl with short,
  196.98 +reddish brown 
  196.99 +hair and emerald green eyes. She looked to be about fourteen or
 196.100 +fifteen and was 
 196.101 +wearing her school uniform.  “Oh boy...” he muttered under his
 196.102 +breath. This 
 196.103 +whole thing was too strange for him. If anything could get too
 196.104 +strange for a time 
 196.105 +hopping physicist. And being a girl was always... awkward for him.
 196.106 +When he 
 196.107 +leapt into other men, at least the equipment was still the same. Now
 196.108 +he’d have to 
 196.109 +deal with a teenage girl’s body. He’d ask Ziggy about what affects
 196.110 +that would 
 196.111 +have on his mind, but he knew it would have to go through Al. He
 196.112 +could picture 
 196.113 +the grin on his friend’s face as he asked the question and
 196.114 +immediately dismissed 
 196.115 +it. He’d figure it out on his own.
 196.116 +“I thought I’d come out and surprise you. I was going to send a
 196.117 +letter, 
 196.118 +but I decided to head out here as soon as I could instead,” the boy
 196.119 +was 
 196.120 +explaining. 
 196.121 +	Sam nodded quickly, offering what he hoped was a sweet smile. So he 
 196.122 +was probably here to make sure things went smoothly between them.
 196.123 +“Oh good. 
 196.124 +I’m really glad you came all this way.” Wherever it was he had come
 196.125 +from. 
 196.126 +	The two finally happened upon the school gates. Sam gave a sigh of 
 196.127 +relief. He could handle jr. high school. Probably a lot easier than
 196.128 +dealing with a 
 196.129 +lovestruck boyfriend. It would give him a chance to concentrate and
 196.130 +wait for Al. 
 196.131 +Where was Al, anyway? Wasn’t he usually here by now? What was taking
 196.132 +him 
 196.133 +so long?
 196.134 +	“Ohayo gozimasu, Sakura-chan!” a cute, pale girl with very long,
 196.135 +dark 
 196.136 +hair said as she stepped up, a sweet smile on her face. Her stormy
 196.137 +blue eyes 
 196.138 +were entrancing. Sam wondered for a moment if she was sick to have
 196.139 +such a 
 196.140 +pale complexion, but she seemed to be just fine. She looked a little
 196.141 +surprised to 
 196.142 +see Sam’s new boyfriend there, but she recovered quickly. “Ohayo, Li-
 196.143 +kun! 
 196.144 +Sakura-chan must be very happy to have you back. She’s been talking
 196.145 +about you 
 196.146 +so much lately.” Her smile returned almost as quickly as it had
 196.147 +disappeared, 
 196.148 +leaving Sam to wonder if it had ever left at all. But that did give
 196.149 +Sam a hint, at 
 196.150 +the least. His name was Li. Good.
 196.151 +	The boy just frowned, beginning to flush slightly before he turned
 196.152 +back 
 196.153 +to Sakura. 
 196.154 +	“Well, I’m very glad to have Li back. I’m sure everything’s going
 196.155 +to be 
 196.156 +great now,” Sam said quickly, smiling. The looks he got from the
 196.157 +other two 
 196.158 +made him wonder if he’d said that wrong. He sighed. These things
 196.159 +were always 
 196.160 +so difficult. Sam felt him squeeze his hand and then nodded.
 196.161 +	“It will be. I’m back now. I won’t let anyone force me to go back to 
 196.162 +Hong Kong again. I’ll stay this time, Sakura-chan.”
 196.163 +	Hong Kong. Okay, at least he was starting to get somewhere with all 
 196.164 +this. So the boy, Li, had come from Hong Kong and had apparently
 196.165 +been away 
 196.166 +for quite some time. “I’m sure, Li. Thanks. I really missed you.”
 196.167 +Sam smiled 
 196.168 +again, and Li seemed to accept it, but he was getting an odd look
 196.169 +from the dark 
 196.170 +haired girl. Her stormy blue eyes seemed to be looking through him.
 196.171 +The 
 196.172 +familiar sound of the Imaging Chamber door opening sent a breath of
 196.173 +relief 
 196.174 +through him. He quickly turned to spot Al. When he finally did, he
 196.175 +was 
 196.176 +surprised. Al’s usually wild attire was much more subdued. He was
 196.177 +wearing a 
 196.178 +black suit and tie. He had dark bags under his eyes and he looked
 196.179 +even older 
 196.180 +than usual. Sam frowned, staring at his holographic friend
 196.181 +concernedly. “I.. 
 196.182 +uhh... I’ll be back in a minute.” He let go of the boy’s hand and
 196.183 +ducked past the 
 196.184 +pale girl and made his way through Al, signaling the observer to
 196.185 +follow over 
 196.186 +near a tree. “Al! What took you so long? Where am I?” He paused for a 
 196.187 +moment, studying the observer. “Are you okay?”
 196.188 +	Al shook it off, plugging away at the handlink, offering his usual
 196.189 +abuse 
 196.190 +to the poor thing. “It took Ziggy a while to find you, Sam. You’re
 196.191 +only a month 
 196.192 +behind us. Ziggy’s freaking out. She’s never seen anything like this
 196.193 +before so 
 196.194 +she doesn’t know what to do about it. As far as details, we don’t
 196.195 +know why 
 196.196 +you’re here yet. It’s only a month ago and in Japan at that, so we
 196.197 +don’t have a lot 
 196.198 +of information to go on. Donn.. Err...” Al mentally stopped himself
 196.199 +from 
 196.200 +mentioning Donna’s name. She didn’t want Sam knowing that she was
 196.201 +still there 
 196.202 +waiting for him. It would be easier for him this way. “Everyone here
 196.203 +at the 
 196.204 +Project is a little worried about this. I mean, you’ve never been
 196.205 +this close before, 
 196.206 +Sam.”
 196.207 +	Sam gasped in shock. “Only a month? Al, I’m really that close? Maybe 
 196.208 +I can... No, I shouldn’t, but...” He shook his head, brunette hair
 196.209 +flailing from 
 196.210 +side to side as he did so. This was all too much. He could call up
 196.211 +Project 
 196.212 +Quantum Leap and ask to talk to the Al of this time. Or he could
 196.213 +look up 
 196.214 +material on a Doctor Samuel Beckett and try to replace the swiss
 196.215 +cheese holes in 
 196.216 +his memory. But Al looked less than excited. “So what do you have so
 196.217 +far?” 
 196.218 +	Al pulled up the handlink again, though by this time he didn’t need
 196.219 +it. 
 196.220 +He’d been reading the information ever since the plane ride back.
 196.221 +Over and over 
 196.222 +and over. He sighed, trying to keep the lack of sleep from showing.
 196.223 +“You are 
 196.224 +Sakura Kinomoto, a fourteen year old school girl in Tomoeda, Japan.
 196.225 +She’s a 
 196.226 +fair student and seems to be pretty athletic. Hey, Sam, you’re on the 
 196.227 +cheerleading team.” Al attempted a grin, but only got a stare from
 196.228 +the younger 
 196.229 +girl that housed the spirit of his best friend. He held up his arms
 196.230 +in defense. “Just 
 196.231 +pointing that out to you. You always want as much information as
 196.232 +we’ve got. 
 196.233 +Anyway, the Chinese boy over there is Syaoran Li, part of some
 196.234 +powerful 
 196.235 +family in Hong Kong.  It looks like he’s your sweety. He was here in
 196.236 +Japan a 
 196.237 +few years ago and left, but not before you two hooked up. You’ve
 196.238 +been sending 
 196.239 +letters back and forth since.” Al wasn’t even looking at the
 196.240 +handlink anymore. 
 196.241 +He’d heard all this days ago, before Ziggy even found out this was
 196.242 +where Sam 
 196.243 +had leapt to. 
 196.244 +	Sam coughed into his fist and shook his head, the memory of the kiss 
 196.245 +still fresh in his mind. “Well, why am I here, then? What am I here
 196.246 +to change? It 
 196.247 +sounds like they end up alright.”
 196.248 +	Bringing the handlink up again, Al crammed some buttons at random. 
 196.249 +“Ziggy’s trying to run some simulations and Dr. Beeks is talking to
 196.250 +Sakura right 
 196.251 +now so we’ll try to figure that out.” The retired admiral paused for
 196.252 +a long 
 196.253 +moment. There was something else he wanted to say. Sam waited.
 196.254 +	“Sakura-chan? Daijobu?” The pale girl asked. She looked very 
 196.255 +concerned for ‘Sakura’. Her hand went to Sam’s forehead, feeling for
 196.256 +a 
 196.257 +temperature. Her stormy blue eyes met the emerald green ones that
 196.258 +replaced 
 196.259 +Sam’s own for a long moment. She leaned forward a bit, whispering
 196.260 +with her 
 196.261 +wonderfully soft voice into Sam’s ear. “Is it because of Li-kun? Are
 196.262 +you 
 196.263 +nervous? You shouldn’t be. He’s happy to see you again. You can be
 196.264 +together 
 196.265 +now.” She stepped back, smiling brightly, her eyes closed.
 196.266 +	Sam laughed nervously. “Of course! I’m really happy, too. Yeah, I’m 
 196.267 +just a little nervous is all. I’m sure I’ll be fine soon.”
 196.268 +	“I’m sure Sakura-chan will, too. I know things will work out for the 
 196.269 +best for you.” The smile seemed to come to her quickly, as if she
 196.270 +smiled often, 
 196.271 +or practiced it quite a bit. It was a warm, gentle smile that
 196.272 +somehow eased Sam’s 
 196.273 +spirits. He nodded quickly as she took his arm, the bell ringing to
 196.274 +signify their 
 196.275 +first class. “We better hurry, Sakura-chan.”
 196.276 +	Sam looked to see Li pulling along beside them, taking his hand. The 
 196.277 +pale girl waited a second before letting go, keeping her distance.
 196.278 +Sam met her 
 196.279 +gaze and she smiled again, ushering him towards the correct class.
 196.280 +Glancing 
 196.281 +back over his shoulder, he looked for Al, but the observer was
 196.282 +already gone. 
 196.283 +What had he wanted to say?
 196.284 +
 196.285 +	Class went by strangely. It had been a while since Sam had been 
 196.286 +anyone this young and he found it awkward to be taking classes in
 196.287 +Japanese. But 
 196.288 +he still managed to get along well enough. The teachers even seemed
 196.289 +amazed at 
 196.290 +some of the answers he was giving. Sam had always found academics
 196.291 +calming. 
 196.292 +They didn’t have the same chaos that was inherent in everything
 196.293 +else. Especially 
 196.294 +leaping. So he found it relaxing to lose himself in class, even with
 196.295 +the slight 
 196.296 +difficulty of taking it in another language. 
 196.297 +	Throughout the day, he kept making little mistakes, but nothing that 
 196.298 +seemed too big. Besides, it was part of every leap. He had to gauge
 196.299 +other 
 196.300 +people’s reactions to him to decide if he was acting properly or
 196.301 +not. He seemed 
 196.302 +to be doing well enough, but the dark haired girl seemed to be
 196.303 +getting 
 196.304 +increasingly concerned. He tried to play it off, but she was always
 196.305 +close by, 
 196.306 +offering help whenever she could and trying to see if anything was
 196.307 +wrong. 
 196.308 +	Syaoran walked him from class to class, which he found a little 
 196.309 +embarrassing but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He got used
 196.310 +to holding 
 196.311 +the boy’s hand from class to class as lunch finally rolled around. 
 196.312 +	Stormy blue eyes caught Sam’s attention quickly as the dark haired
 196.313 +girl 
 196.314 +caught up with him. Sam just waited for her. She still held that
 196.315 +warm smile of 
 196.316 +hers as she fell in step with him. “Sakura-chan seems to have
 196.317 +studied a lot last 
 196.318 +night. You should have told me. I would have been happy to help you,
 196.319 +Sakura-
 196.320 +chan.”
 196.321 +	“Oh, I was bored. I didn’t want to bother you. I thought I’d catch
 196.322 +up in 
 196.323 +class and try to do a little better,” Sam supplied, hoping it
 196.324 +sounded reasonable 
 196.325 +enough. This whole leap was confusing him. Especially this girl. She
 196.326 +must be 
 196.327 +Sakura’s best friend. She was obviously very caring towards her. 
 196.328 +	The girl nodded thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. “You
 196.329 +even 
 196.330 +got that engrish poem down that you were worrying about. I knew
 196.331 +Sakura-chan 
 196.332 +would be just fine as long as she did her best.” She smiled happily,
 196.333 +as if waiting 
 196.334 +for Sam to explain something.
 196.335 +	“I.. uhh... Yeah, I guess it was easier than I thought,” Sam
 196.336 +muttered 
 196.337 +quickly. He looked around after a moment and noticed that he was
 196.338 +going down a 
 196.339 +dead end.
 196.340 +	“Lunch is this way, Sakura-chan,” the girl said politely, taking
 196.341 +Sam’s 
 196.342 +hand and leading him off down another corridor. Her hand felt soft
 196.343 +and held 
 196.344 +onto Sam’s with a very gentle care. She looked at Sam with that
 196.345 +concerned look 
 196.346 +again, but he just smiled and tried to brush it off. “It’s good that
 196.347 +Li-kun’s back. 
 196.348 +Sakura-chan shouldn’t have to be lonely. The two of you look so cute
 196.349 +together.” 
 196.350 +She squeezed Sam’s hand softly. “You’ll have to let me videotape the
 196.351 +two of 
 196.352 +you later. It can be Sakura-chan’s Happy Reunion.”
 196.353 +	Sam laughed and nodded. The girl was eccentric, but he liked that.
 196.354 +She 
 196.355 +must be a fun best friend. “Yeah, that sounds good. We should do
 196.356 +that later. I’m 
 196.357 +sure it’ll make for great memories.”
 196.358 +	“Not for her, Sam.”
 196.359 +	Sam turned on his heel and spotted Al behind him. Al shook his head 
 196.360 +and motioned for him to keep walking. Sam complied. “Hmm?” Sam asked, 
 196.361 +trying to look interested in the dark haired girl’s explanation of
 196.362 +some outfit for 
 196.363 +him to wear. 
 196.364 +	“Those obviously won’t make good memories for her, Sam. That's 
 196.365 +Tomoyo Daidouji. Heiress to the Daidouji fortunes and all 
 196.366 +around talented girl. Got the voice of an angel. I heard her sing
 196.367 +one time.” Al 
 196.368 +grew silent for a moment, not even glancing at the handlink. He
 196.369 +didn’t need it 
 196.370 +for this. “She kills herself about a month from now. You could never
 196.371 +tell with all 
 196.372 +those smiles.” Sighing, the observer shook his head, watching the
 196.373 +pale girl for a 
 196.374 +time before continuing. “She drowns in a lake at a park near here.
 196.375 +Left a note 
 196.376 +and went off to take a swim. The problem being that she doesn’t know
 196.377 +how to 
 196.378 +swim," Al explained grimly.
 196.379 +	“She what?” Sam shot out, his eyes wide. He immediately regretted it 
 196.380 +as Tomoyo looked back at him. He just shook his head quickly.
 196.381 +“Nothing.” Sam 
 196.382 +stared at his friend aghast. It seemed hard to believe that this 
 196.383 +cheery girl would ever consider something quite so drastic.
 196.384 +Al shook his head after a moment, knowing what Sam must be 
 196.385 +thinking. "Ziggy says that's not why you're here. It's a month from
 196.386 +now. If that
 196.387 +was the reason, you'd've leapt in a few days before it happened. She 
 196.388 +says it's more likely got to do with the girl you leapt into."
 196.389 +	Sam smiled as sweetly as he could and pulled his hand away from 
 196.390 +Tomoyo. “Excuse me for just a second. I need to... take care of
 196.391 +something.” 
 196.392 +They had finally gotten outside and Sam took the chance to head
 196.393 +around the side 
 196.394 +of the building. “No! That can’t be it. Why? What happened? Maybe it
 196.395 +wasn’t a 
 196.396 +suicide. That means it was only a few days ago for you. Maybe Ziggy
 196.397 +doesn’t 
 196.398 +have all the information she needs. She’s too sweet a girl for that.”
 196.399 +	Al sighed. He knew Sam was going to be like this. And it wasn’t as
 196.400 +if 
 196.401 +he hadn’t been trying to work this out himself. “Ziggy didn’t know
 196.402 +until an hour 
 196.403 +ago. I found out two days ago. Sam, I just got back form her funeral.”
 196.404 +	That news sent a shock through the leaper. Leaning heavily against
 196.405 +the 
 196.406 +wall, he looked over at Al. “You what? Why?”
 196.407 +	Al was deep in thought, contemplating an unlit cigar. It had been
 196.408 +days 
 196.409 +since he’d had one, but for some reason he just didn’t feel in the
 196.410 +mood for it. “It 
 196.411 +was a lovely funeral. Her mother really spared no expense. Sakura,
 196.412 +the girl you 
 196.413 +are, was there, too. It was a big thing. Her mother was all broken
 196.414 +up about it. 
 196.415 +Lost her only little girl.” Al closed his eyes, trying to force out
 196.416 +the images. “You 
 196.417 +probably don’t remember this, but back when we were looking for
 196.418 +funding for 
 196.419 +the project, we met with a whole lot of people. One of those people
 196.420 +was Sonomi 
 196.421 +Daidouji. Strong willed woman. But you get to like her. Won’t take
 196.422 +no for an 
 196.423 +answer. Anyway, I got to talking to her about funding for the
 196.424 +project. She runs a 
 196.425 +pretty big business in Japan. We wound up getting picked up by the
 196.426 +government 
 196.427 +for funding, but after I explained what the Project was about, she
 196.428 +was all too 
 196.429 +thrilled to get me all the Japanese technology we needed from the
 196.430 +Amamiya 
 196.431 +Corporation. Hell, half of Ziggy’s thanks to her. She never asked a
 196.432 +thing from 
 196.433 +us, just wanted to know how the Project was going from time to time.
 196.434 +So I’ve 
 196.435 +been staying in touch, talking to her about this and that. But when
 196.436 +I found out 
 196.437 +her daughter killed herself a few days ago, I rushed out there.
 196.438 +She’s really 
 196.439 +broken up, Sam. She doesn’t have anyone else now. Just her business.
 196.440 +She was 
 196.441 +really emotional at the funeral, and she had a right to be. It was
 196.442 +awful to see. I 
 196.443 +wish you had leapt in a few days ago and stopped that. But you’ve
 196.444 +said it 
 196.445 +yourself, you can only change what you’re supposed to.” 
 196.446 +	“Oh no... That can’t be right. How can I possibly stop that from
 196.447 +here? 
 196.448 +Unless I can find a way to keep it from happening. Something must
 196.449 +have 
 196.450 +happened that made her want to do that. We just need Ziggy to find
 196.451 +out,” Sam 
 196.452 +nodded, thinking deeply. 
 196.453 +	“Sam, I already know. Her mother told me. I found out while I was 
 196.454 +there. She killed herself over you.” Al rubbed at an ache in his
 196.455 +neck, sighing. 
 196.456 +“She killed herself because she’s in love with you.”
 196.457 +	“Oh boy...”
 196.458 +	“Yeah, so it doesn’t look like there’s anything you can do about
 196.459 +it. At 
 196.460 +least for now. I’ll get Ziggy working on those simulations. Maybe
 196.461 +she can come 
 196.462 +up with...” Al’s eyes went wide as he read the handlink. “She’s
 196.463 +what?!” Without 
 196.464 +another word to Sam, Al vanished through the door.
 196.465 +
 196.466 +	“What the hell is she doing here?” Al asked to no one in particular
 196.467 +as 
 196.468 +he stormed down the hallway. The former admiral came to a halt when
 196.469 +he 
 196.470 +finally caught sight of the younger Japanese woman. She was flanked
 196.471 +by several 
 196.472 +woman wearing dark clothes and sunglasses. They all looked like they
 196.473 +were 
 196.474 +good at what they did. Which was probably to protect Miss Daidouji.
 196.475 +Al would 
 196.476 +have gawked at the pretty ladies if he wasn’t still in shock.
 196.477 +“Sonomi, why are 
 196.478 +you here? The Project is off limits to all non-essential personal.
 196.479 +Now I 
 196.480 +appreciate all you’ve done for the project, but you certainly aren’t
 196.481 +a member of 
 196.482 +the staff.”
 196.483 +	“Arru, please... I need to see my little girl again. I know that
 196.484 +she’s here. 
 196.485 +She has to be. You can save her, can’t you?” Sonomi’s eyes were
 196.486 +pleading. She 
 196.487 +looked desperate, grasping at the final string dangling in front of
 196.488 +her. The 
 196.489 +woman had suffered so much in the past few days. 
 196.490 +	Al remained silent, his lips pursed tightly together. He didn’t
 196.491 +like this at 
 196.492 +all. She shouldn’t be here. This whole leap was already playing with
 196.493 +all the rules 
 196.494 +they’d set up years ago. This wasn’t helping.
 196.495 +	“Please, Arru. I need to see Tomoyo-chan.” Her eyes conveyed how 
 196.496 +deeply she meant that. She did need to see her. This woman was
 196.497 +strong, but 
 196.498 +losing her only child after that was killing her. He knew that she’d
 196.499 +agreed to 
 196.500 +help the Project in the hopes of one day bringing back her cousin,
 196.501 +her one true 
 196.502 +love, but now she had lost her daughter as well. 
 196.503 +	He sighed. He had been able to see Beth, his first wife and the only 
 196.504 +woman he had ever truly loved, even if for only a short time. They
 196.505 +may not be 
 196.506 +able to save Tomoyo, but was it fair to rob her of a final chance of
 196.507 +seeing her 
 196.508 +daughter alive? “Sonomi, you’re putting me in a hard spot here. Let
 196.509 +me get you 
 196.510 +and your friends some rooms and we can talk about it.”
 196.511 +	“He’s there, isn’t he? He’s back with my Tomoyo-chan. He can save 
 196.512 +her, right?” Sonomi had eliminated the distance between herself and
 196.513 +Al. This 
 196.514 +was her last chance. She had to pray it would work. She had barely
 196.515 +survived 
 196.516 +Nadeshiko’s loss, and that was only because she had had Tomoyo. Now
 196.517 +she had 
 196.518 +nothing. She couldn’t let things stay this way. 
 196.519 +	Looking away, Al frowned. “He’s... Back around then. But not close 
 196.520 +enough to stop it. A month back. We think he’s supposed to fix
 196.521 +something else.”
 196.522 +	Sonomi balled her fists angrily. “No!! He’s back there to save
 196.523 +Tomoyo-
 196.524 +chan! Maybe he got sent back too far or he needs to fix something
 196.525 +else while 
 196.526 +he’s at it, but he’s there to save my dear Tomoyo-chan!” Her English
 196.527 +was 
 196.528 +heavily accented, the long plane ride making it difficult for her to
 196.529 +concentrate. 
 196.530 +	“Let me get you a room first and then we can figure everything out.
 196.531 +I 
 196.532 +promise I’ll let you see her. Sam’s back with her now.” Al motioned
 196.533 +for them to 
 196.534 +follow, but Sonomi moved past him. 
 196.535 +	“I need to see Tomoyo-chan now. I need to see her alive and well. 
 196.536 +Moving and smiling and singing. I need to get the image of her in a
 196.537 +casket out of 
 196.538 +my head. I need to see my baby.” Sonomi stopped as she tried to
 196.539 +remember the 
 196.540 +layout from the blueprints she’d seen. Where was the Imaging Chamber
 196.541 +again?
 196.542 +	The bodyguards tensed up as Al grabbed her shoulder. Sonomi hardly 
 196.543 +seemed to notice. Al’s hand eased off when he noticed the tears in
 196.544 +her eyes. “It’s 
 196.545 +this way.” 
 196.546 +
 196.547 +	Sam blinked as he watched the space his holographic companion had 
 196.548 +occupied moments before. Al had looked pretty shocked about
 196.549 +something, but 
 196.550 +he hadn’t bothered telling Sam about it. And so he was stuck with
 196.551 +the news that 
 196.552 +the best friend of the girl he was currently inhabiting would kill
 196.553 +herself in a 
 196.554 +month’s time and that it didn’t look like there was anything he
 196.555 +could do about it. 
 196.556 +This didn’t make for a very comforting break from classes. A hand on
 196.557 +his 
 196.558 +shoulder nearly sent him into a panic.
 196.559 +	“Sakura-chan? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 
 196.560 +Tomoyo watched the brunette in front of her carefully, brushing some
 196.561 +hair from 
 196.562 +Sam’s eyes. Her stormy blue eyes were so loving, so concerned for
 196.563 +the well 
 196.564 +being of this Sakura. Even if the situation was a little strange, it
 196.565 +still tore at 
 196.566 +Sam’s heart to know where it would lead. 
 196.567 +	“Err... Yeah, something like that, Tomoyo. Don’t worry about it.
 196.568 +Let’s 
 196.569 +get some lunch.” Sam offered another smile, but he couldn’t help but
 196.570 +cast 
 196.571 +another glance back at the pale girl as he headed for a bench to eat
 196.572 +at. He 
 196.573 +couldn’t tell that anything so dark could be lurking under Tomoyo’s
 196.574 +peaceful, if 
 196.575 +eccentric, exterior. Could Al have been wrong? No, not likely. So it
 196.576 +seemed that 
 196.577 +she was extremely good at hiding her feelings. Which was probably
 196.578 +why Sakura 
 196.579 +had no idea about them. But that didn’t make it any easier to handle
 196.580 +the 
 196.581 +situation. And what about the long awaited return of Sakura’s
 196.582 +boyfriend? What 
 196.583 +was he supposed to do about it all? 
 196.584 +	Tomoyo sat down next to Sam, watching him closely as he ate. He 
 196.585 +fumbled with the chopsticks for a moment before she reached over and
 196.586 +helped 
 196.587 +adjust his grip. She smiled pleasantly as he got out a quick thanks.
 196.588 +It went on 
 196.589 +quietly for a few minutes, her eyes never leaving Sam as he ate. She
 196.590 +finally 
 196.591 +tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. 
 196.592 +	Sam looked back in confusion, some rice half in his mouth. “Is 
 196.593 +something wrong?” he asked after a moment. This girl did act rather
 196.594 +strangely, 
 196.595 +so he wouldn’t be surprised if this sort of behavior was normal for
 196.596 +her. 
 196.597 +	“You’re not Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered, leaning closer so that 
 196.598 +no one would hear. Her eyes were locked on Sam’s, as if looking past
 196.599 +the body 
 196.600 +and deep into his soul, as if he couldn’t hide in it at all. 
 196.601 +	Sam dropped the little ball of rice, his eyes wide. He almost
 196.602 +choked on 
 196.603 +what was in his mouth. “What?” he got out quietly, a little above a
 196.604 +chirp. This 
 196.605 +couldn’t be right. No matter how poorly he did as someone, people
 196.606 +rarely ever 
 196.607 +guessed that anything was wrong, let alone that he wasn’t who they
 196.608 +thought he 
 196.609 +was. “What do you mean?” He tried to keep his voice steady this
 196.610 +time, throwing 
 196.611 +in the confusion that was swirling through him.
 196.612 +	Tomoyo shook her head. “You’re not her. I don’t know who you are. If 
 196.613 +you’re a mage or another Card or something else entirely. But you’re
 196.614 +not 
 196.615 +Sakura-chan. You’ve been acting strangely all morning, nothing like
 196.616 +her. Your 
 196.617 +mannerisms are all wrong. You don’t have the same look in your eyes.
 196.618 +Your 
 196.619 +smile’s different. You aren’t lost in a haze of emotions that ebb
 196.620 +and flow 
 196.621 +rapidly. You don’t have the energy she does. You’re soul’s completely 
 196.622 +different.” She paused, watching his reaction. She could have gone
 196.623 +on for hours 
 196.624 +about the differences between him and her beloved Sakura-chan, but
 196.625 +that 
 196.626 +seemed to be enough. Her panic was suppressed, but barely. If this
 196.627 +person was 
 196.628 +replacing Sakura, then where was the Cardmistress? 
 196.629 +	“I... uhh... Al...” Sam looked around quickly, hoping for any sort
 196.630 +of 
 196.631 +back up that he could get, even the holographic type. She didn’t
 196.632 +seem to have 
 196.633 +any sort of psychic ability, yet somehow she had seen through him.
 196.634 +And he 
 196.635 +didn’t know what to do about that. So he gave up. A sigh escaped his
 196.636 +lips, or 
 196.637 +Sakura's lips, as the case may be. “Well... No, I’m not. My name is
 196.638 +Dr. Sam 
 196.639 +Beckett. I’m from the future. Or I used to be. But I’m here to fix
 196.640 +things. To put 
 196.641 +right what once went wrong.”
 196.642 +	Tomoyo clasped her hands together worriedly. “Did something bad 
 196.643 +happen to Sakura-chan? Is that what you’re here to fix? Where is
 196.644 +she? Please tell 
 196.645 +me. I need to know what’s become of her.” Her mind came up with
 196.646 +plenty of 
 196.647 +images of what could have happened to the Cardmistress, but she
 196.648 +pushed them 
 196.649 +back with all of her might. Now wasn’t the time to panic. She had to
 196.650 +stay calm 
 196.651 +so that she could figure out what had happened to Sakura. Her dark
 196.652 +eyes pleaded 
 196.653 +with Sam’s to explain to her.
 196.654 +	“No, she should be just fine. She’s back in the future right now.
 196.655 +Where 
 196.656 +I come from. We think that something went badly in her life or the
 196.657 +life of 
 196.658 +someone she knows.” ‘Like you,’ Sam mentally added. “So I’m here to
 196.659 +try and 
 196.660 +fix it so that things can go smoothly for her.”
 196.661 +	“You’re a sweet person to want to fix things for Sakura-chan. But
 196.662 +what 
 196.663 +could be wrong for her? I’ve been keeping a close eye on her and
 196.664 +she’s been 
 196.665 +perfectly fine.” Tomoyo’s fingers gripped the cool grass beneath her
 196.666 +as her mind 
 196.667 +swam, trying to find anything that would have gone wrong. “She’s
 196.668 +been doing 
 196.669 +perfectly well lately. And now that Li-kun’s back...” Her melodious
 196.670 +voice trailed 
 196.671 +off as she began picking up on it. “Now that Li-kun’s back, things
 196.672 +are changing. 
 196.673 +So I don’t know what will happen to her.” This was all so sudden.
 196.674 +She had 
 196.675 +known that something had happened to Sakura when she’d started acting 
 196.676 +strangely this morning. But now her fears were proven by her
 196.677 +replacement. 
 196.678 +What could have gone wrong? Things seemed perfect for Sakura. She
 196.679 +had her 
 196.680 +beloved back in Japan with her and she didn’t have anymore troubles
 196.681 +with the 
 196.682 +Cards and her high school entrance exams were still over a year away.
 196.683 +	Before Sam could reply, the boy in question sat down next to him.
 196.684 +Sam 
 196.685 +smiled warmly before casting an apologetic glance to Tomoyo. He’d
 196.686 +have to 
 196.687 +explain later. For now he’d have to keep things up with his
 196.688 +boyfriend. Scooting 
 196.689 +closer to the Chinese boy, Sam let out an inward sigh and kept
 196.690 +eating. An arm 
 196.691 +slowly went around his shoulders, pulling him even closer. It did
 196.692 +feel nice and 
 196.693 +warm...
 196.694 +
 196.695 +	Everything was upside down. At least, that’s how Sakura felt. What 
 196.696 +had happened? It took her a moment to fight through the
 196.697 +disorientation and 
 196.698 +finally sit up. She was in a bed with the sheets tangled around her.
 196.699 +So it must 
 196.700 +have all been some horrible dream. She had been in some strange
 196.701 +place all 
 196.702 +alone. No Tomoyo-chan or Syaoran by her side. Her school fuku had
 196.703 +been 
 196.704 +replaced by some white bodysuit. And the body in it was most
 196.705 +certainly not her 
 196.706 +own. It seemed to belong to a much older man. She had screamed and
 196.707 +fainted 
 196.708 +upon her discovery. But now that she was awake in bed, the whole
 196.709 +thing must be 
 196.710 +over. The last thing she could remember before the nightmare had
 196.711 +been seeing 
 196.712 +Syaoran again. He had been just about to kiss her before she found
 196.713 +herself in the 
 196.714 +strange room. A melancholy sigh escaped her lips at that. Syaoran
 196.715 +must have 
 196.716 +been a dream as well. He was probably still in Hong Kong. Oh well.
 196.717 +She’d have 
 196.718 +to tell Tomoyo about her dream and see what she thought. Tomoyo
 196.719 +always made 
 196.720 +her feel better about things when she was confused or nervous. Or
 196.721 +lonely. Which 
 196.722 +was probably why she dreamed up Syaoran being with her in Japan. 
 196.723 +	Her heart sinking in her chest, Sakura slid off the small bed. She
 196.724 +yelped 
 196.725 +a little when her bare feet touched the cold ground. Where were her
 196.726 +slippers? 
 196.727 +And why was the ground cold? Blinking groggily, her eyes traversed
 196.728 +the room 
 196.729 +she was in. It was empty aside from the small bed in the center and
 196.730 +completely 
 196.731 +white. The lights from above cast dark shadows against the white
 196.732 +floor. Her 
 196.733 +heart started pounding in her chest as she turned around, trying to
 196.734 +find out where 
 196.735 +she was. She was trapped somewhere. That realization brought a
 196.736 +trickle of fear 
 196.737 +through her soul. What was going on? She had all of the Sakura Cards
 196.738 +now, so 
 196.739 +this must be some other form of magic. But who would do this to her?
 196.740 +She 
 196.741 +clutched for the key, but her hand grasped nothing but air. Her eyes
 196.742 +darted down 
 196.743 +in horror to see the all white jumpsuit on again. And a masculine
 196.744 +body 
 196.745 +underneath. Another scream escaped her lips, but this time she
 196.746 +retained 
 196.747 +consciousness. Silence reigned throughout the small room, punctuated
 196.748 +only by 
 196.749 +her rapid breathing.
 196.750 +	“Where am I? What’s going on?” she asked in a tiny voice. She turned 
 196.751 +around in a circle, looking for some sort of door or any way out.
 196.752 +Anything but 
 196.753 +the constant white cube she was imprisoned in. If she didn’t have
 196.754 +her magic, 
 196.755 +what could she do? No, someone would notice she was missing. They
 196.756 +would 
 196.757 +find her. Tomoyo would know something was wrong. And Syaoran, Yue,
 196.758 +and 
 196.759 +Cerebrus would come to her rescue. Slumping back on the bed,
 196.760 +Sakura’s mind 
 196.761 +raced for some sort of explanation. Her heart nearly stopped when
 196.762 +she heard a 
 196.763 +whooshing sound and a door she hadn’t noticed sliding open. In
 196.764 +walked a 
 196.765 +woman in a lab coat with dark skin. She smiled softly to the
 196.766 +bewildered 
 196.767 +Cardmistress as she stepped forward slowly. The woman’s mouth opened
 196.768 +and 
 196.769 +she began speaking oddly, in a language that Sakura had trouble
 196.770 +following. She 
 196.771 +could make out some of it from her english class, but she wasn’t
 196.772 +fluent enough 
 196.773 +to make it all out. The woman sighed and said something to a
 196.774 +‘Ziggy’. A female 
 196.775 +voice replied from some point in the roof and then translated what
 196.776 +the woman 
 196.777 +had said into Japanese. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. This was
 196.778 +getting 
 196.779 +more and more difficult to make any sense out of.
 196.780 +	“Hello. My name is Doctor Verbeena Beeks. I’m sorry that we didn’t 
 196.781 +have a chance to speak earlier, but you passed out before I could
 196.782 +come in.” She 
 196.783 +had a calm, almost motherly manner about her. Something about the
 196.784 +woman 
 196.785 +helped put Sakura at ease. At least a bit more than she had been.
 196.786 +Dr. Beeks 
 196.787 +gestured for her to take a seat on the bed, holding a notepad under
 196.788 +one arm. 
 196.789 +Sakura complied, sliding up onto the bed, never taking her eyes off
 196.790 +of the only 
 196.791 +other person in the room. “Now maybe I can help make things a little
 196.792 +more 
 196.793 +comfortable for you. And maybe you can give me a little information
 196.794 +so we can 
 196.795 +get you back home sooner.”
 196.796 +	“What’s happened to me? Why am I here? Where is here? Hoe...” 
 196.797 +Sakura could feel the fear welling up inside of her again, but she
 196.798 +refused to let it 
 196.799 +get a good grip. She had been through too much by now. This was
 196.800 +bizarre, but 
 196.801 +she would make it out all right. Everything would always be all
 196.802 +right. She had to 
 196.803 +believe that. Even if it was hard to sometimes. She heard her words
 196.804 +being 
 196.805 +translated into English and again looked around for the source of
 196.806 +the voice. 
 196.807 +	The woman spoke again, a slight delay carrying between her words and 
 196.808 +the translation from the voice in the roof. “You’re here in what we
 196.809 +call the 
 196.810 +Waiting Room. It’s a little Spartan, but we never know who will show
 196.811 +up.” She 
 196.812 +paused for a moment as she tried to decide how much she should
 196.813 +divulge to the 
 196.814 +visitor. Some people she had explained their situation to, but most
 196.815 +of them 
 196.816 +wound up thinking they had been kidnapped by aliens or that it had
 196.817 +all been a 
 196.818 +bad dream. It was easier when there wasn’t such a big difference
 196.819 +between the 
 196.820 +bodies. She had already had trouble with a young girl in Sam’s body.
 196.821 +It didn’t 
 196.822 +seem like there had been any permanent mental trauma, thankfully,
 196.823 +but she 
 196.824 +didn’t want to try again with this girl, even if she was a bit
 196.825 +older. She hoped that 
 196.826 +this leap would be over quickly enough. “You’ve been replaced by a
 196.827 +friend of 
 196.828 +mine, a Dr. Sam Beckett. He’s living your life for a few days to fix
 196.829 +something 
 196.830 +that had gone wrong in it the first time around. When he’s done,
 196.831 +you’ll go back 
 196.832 +and everything will be perfectly fine again.” Her voice remained
 196.833 +calm, soothing. 
 196.834 +Even if Ziggy had to translate for the both of them, she still
 196.835 +wanted to convey a 
 196.836 +reassuring tone to the younger girl, something that Ziggy didn’t
 196.837 +always worry 
 196.838 +about. Ziggy was too worried about her calculations at this point
 196.839 +anyway. Sam 
 196.840 +had never leapt this close to home before and she was having
 196.841 +difficulty finding 
 196.842 +any solid information about any of it. Which frustrated the hybrid
 196.843 +super 
 196.844 +computer to no ends. 
 196.845 +	“Nani!?” Sakura’s emerald eyes went wide as she swallowed the 
 196.846 +information. Her head shook quickly. No, she didn’t like that at
 196.847 +all. This was 
 196.848 +definitely not a good usage of magic at all. “But why? I have Onii-
 196.849 +chan and 
 196.850 +Tomoyo-chan and Yukito-san and Kero-chan and Syaoran all looking out
 196.851 +for 
 196.852 +me. And I’m the Ca... I can take care of myself, too. And why
 196.853 +couldn’t you just 
 196.854 +tell me if something was going to go wrong? You didn’t need to
 196.855 +replace me for 
 196.856 +it.” 
 196.857 +	Dr. Beeks sighed, pulling up her notebook and the information Ziggy 
 196.858 +had given her on fourteen year old Sakura Kinomoto. The man on the
 196.859 +bed that 
 196.860 +looked exactly like Sam Beckett looked uncertain and confused, a
 196.861 +tinge of fright 
 196.862 +in his eyes. But there was also a determination laced underneath it
 196.863 +all, even 
 196.864 +amidst the swirling emotions. And with the way he was sitting, he
 196.865 +looked very 
 196.866 +much like a little girl that had been lost in a store. After all
 196.867 +this time of working 
 196.868 +with Sam’s body and whatever soul was currently inhabiting it, she
 196.869 +had learned 
 196.870 +to ignore the fact that it always looked the same and to look for
 196.871 +the mannerisms 
 196.872 +of the person underneath. “I’m afraid that it just doesn’t work like
 196.873 +that. We don’t 
 196.874 +have any control where he goes. He just replaces the person for a
 196.875 +little while to 
 196.876 +fix something in their life.”
 196.877 +	“But there’s nothing wrong in my life!” Sakura said in frustration.
 196.878 +She 
 196.879 +knew she was close to tears, but she didn’t care. This whole thing
 196.880 +was just too 
 196.881 +much for her to be taking at the moment. She wanted to be back home
 196.882 +with the 
 196.883 +ones that loved her. There was nothing in her life that needed
 196.884 +fixing. At least, 
 196.885 +nothing she couldn’t handle. This place was all wrong.
 196.886 +	Smiling a little sadly, the doctor shook her head. “I’m afraid God,
 196.887 +Fate, 
 196.888 +Time, or whoever’s leaping Sam around through time doesn’t seem to
 196.889 +think so. 
 196.890 +But try not to worry too much. It usually works out for the best.”
 196.891 +Pulling up the 
 196.892 +notes again, she thought to herself, ‘Let’s hope this isn’t one of
 196.893 +the few times it 
 196.894 +doesn’t.’ 
 196.895 +
 196.896 +	“Ziggy, I need you to draw some more power for the Imaging 
 196.897 +Chamber. I need enough so that someone else can be seen, too,” Al
 196.898 +said as he 
 196.899 +brushed past Gooshie and Tina. The two watched in confusion as the
 196.900 +Japanese 
 196.901 +woman and her entourage of bodyguards followed close behind. 
 196.902 +	“But Admiral, what would the purpose be of allowing Dr. Beckett to 
 196.903 +see Ms. Daidouji?” the female voice that was Ziggy asked from
 196.904 +everywhere and 
 196.905 +nowhere in particular.
 196.906 +	“Just do it, Ziggy. I don’t have time for this. Unless you want to
 196.907 +give 
 196.908 +me some information on what’s going on.” Al paused in front of the
 196.909 +Imaging 
 196.910 +Chamber door, waiting for a response. He knew he’d hurt Ziggy’s
 196.911 +feelings as 
 196.912 +the computer paused for a moment. There was no other reason for the
 196.913 +pause 
 196.914 +because the computer worked at unimaginably high speeds. But she was
 196.915 +very 
 196.916 +tempermental, especially about this leap.
 196.917 +	“Admiral, may I remind you that with the leap taking place little
 196.918 +more 
 196.919 +than a month ago, I am highly limited in my abilities to gain
 196.920 +information about 
 196.921 +the situation Dr. Beckett finds himself in. He shouldn’t be this
 196.922 +close to us. How 
 196.923 +am I supposed to find the necessary data when I have nothing to base
 196.924 +any of it 
 196.925 +on? A young Japanese school girl from the past month is difficult to
 196.926 +find 
 196.927 +information on, especially anything vital enough to require Dr.
 196.928 +Beckett’s 
 196.929 +immediate attention. I’m putting all available resources to
 196.930 +discovering the 
 196.931 +reason for this leap as well as why Dr. Beckett is so close to our
 196.932 +time. Perhaps 
 196.933 +we could switch jobs and you could perform mine to your liking,
 196.934 +Admiral.” 
 196.935 +Ziggy’s calm voice still managed to showcase her frustration and her
 196.936 +bruised 
 196.937 +ego.  
 196.938 +	Al sighed, rubbing his temples. He was getting too old for this. 
 196.939 +“Nevermind, Ziggy. Just draw up some more power, will ya?” This leap
 196.940 +was 
 196.941 +getting to everyone. Ziggy was having trouble because of the near
 196.942 +impossibility 
 196.943 +of this leap, Donna because Sam was so close to home, and he was
 196.944 +still trying to 
 196.945 +hold the whole circus together. 
 196.946 +	“So that is Ziggy? How remarkable.” Sonomi looked at the oddly put 
 196.947 +together computer. She had heard of some of the design
 196.948 +specifications for the 
 196.949 +hybrid super computer and had heard Al’s complaints about her ego,
 196.950 +but she had 
 196.951 +never actually thought she was this advanced. But she had a feeling
 196.952 +she liked the 
 196.953 +computer’s personality already.
 196.954 +	“This way, Sonomi-san,” Al said, gesturing to the door with the 
 196.955 +handlink. Punching in a button, the door slid open. He sighed and
 196.956 +took a step 
 196.957 +into the glowing light. He may not like this, but he understood. It
 196.958 +had torn him 
 196.959 +up to see Beth that one last time when she couldn’t see or hear him,
 196.960 +but he knew 
 196.961 +that he had needed it. He missed her so much, that he treasured even
 196.962 +that one 
 196.963 +bittersweet moment with her. He knew that Sonomi had gone through
 196.964 +the same 
 196.965 +with someone named Nadeshiko. That was part of why they had stayed
 196.966 +in touch. 
 196.967 +They had both suffered through losing their only true love and had
 196.968 +somehow 
 196.969 +managed to continue on through the pain. In a way, it was why both
 196.970 +of them had 
 196.971 +put faith into Project Quantum Leap. And now Sonomi had lost the
 196.972 +last thing 
 196.973 +keeping her going. So despite his doubts, he had to let her see.
 196.974 +Especially if Sam 
 196.975 +couldn’t fix things for her. Then this might be the last time she
 196.976 +would see her 
 196.977 +alive.
 196.978 +	Sonomi stopped for only a moment to motion the bodyguards to stay 
 196.979 +where they were before stepping after Al. Her heart pounded with
 196.980 +anxiety. What 
 196.981 +would happen? Would she be there? She needed to see her little girl
 196.982 +again. The 
 196.983 +past few days had been hell for her. First Nadeshiko and now her own
 196.984 +daughter, 
 196.985 +who reminded her so much of her dearly departed cousin. She had no
 196.986 +idea why 
 196.987 +she was still going on or what was holding her together. Her pain
 196.988 +was getting 
 196.989 +ever more acute, and she had no place for it to go. She couldn’t
 196.990 +hate Sakura, not 
 196.991 +the way she hated Fujitaka. Yet both had taken away those she loved,
 196.992 +albeit 
 196.993 +Sakura had done so unknowingly. But she still couldn’t quite forgive
 196.994 +the 
 196.995 +brunette for taking away her loving daughter, even if she was
 196.996 +Nadeshiko’s 
 196.997 +daughter. 
 196.998 +	And suddenly, everything was different. They were standing outside
 196.999 +of 
196.1000 +Tomoyo’s school. It appeared to be around lunchtime, with all of the
196.1001 +students 
196.1002 +sitting in groups, eating. It was as if they had stepped directly
196.1003 +from that door in 
196.1004 +Project Quantum Leap out into Tomoeda. Sonomi stood in shock as a
196.1005 +student 
196.1006 +walked right through her. She knew this was all one big hologram,
196.1007 +but it seemed 
196.1008 +so real. 
196.1009 +	Sam stared at the observer and the woman standing next to him. A boy 
196.1010 +had passed right through her. Which meant she was in the Imaging
196.1011 +Chamber 
196.1012 +with him. He tried to extricate himself from Syaoran’s grasp, but
196.1013 +the Chinese 
196.1014 +boy continued holding on. He mouthed ‘What is she doing here?’ to
196.1015 +Al, who 
196.1016 +shook his head uncomprehendingly for a moment before nodding. 
196.1017 +	Taking a few steps closer, Al hunched next to Sam, out of Sonomi’s 
196.1018 +range of hearing. “Ohhh... She’s Sonomi Daidouji, Sam. Your best
196.1019 +friend’s 
196.1020 +mother. She wanted to see Tomoyo again. And don’t argue, you big boy
196.1021 +scout. It 
196.1022 +won’t change my mind. I’m still in charge of the Project from here.
196.1023 +Besides, she 
196.1024 +misses her daughter. You have to understand that. I couldn’t just
196.1025 +send her away 
196.1026 +without ever being able to see her again.”
196.1027 +	Sam sighed in defeat and nodded. It did make sense, even if he
196.1028 +didn’t 
196.1029 +really like the idea. But if he couldn’t stop Tomoyo from killing
196.1030 +herself, then 
196.1031 +this was for the best. How would he feel if she never saw her again? 
196.1032 +	“Is your friend here?” Tomoyo whispered to Sam, unknowingly also 
196.1033 +next to Al’s ear. Al stared at Sam incredulously. “You told her?
196.1034 +Sam! You know 
196.1035 +you’re not supposed to tell anybody. Great. This is just great.”
196.1036 +	“She guessed,” Sam got out through a nervous smile. He went back to 
196.1037 +eating as Syaoran looked at him oddly. He nodded in acknowledgement
196.1038 +of 
196.1039 +Tomoyo’s question. 
196.1040 +	“Guessed?” Turning his attention to the pale girl, he could see her 
196.1041 +stormy blue eyes, deep and intelligent. Sonomi had always told him
196.1042 +that she was 
196.1043 +very perceptive and the few times he had met her had proven that. He
196.1044 +just hadn’t 
196.1045 +guessed to what extent. 
196.1046 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Tears dripped down Sonomi’s cheeks as she saw her 
196.1047 +daughter, alive and well before her eyes once again. It hadn’t been
196.1048 +that long ago 
196.1049 +that she had seen the young girl in a coffin, her soul already gone
196.1050 +from her 
196.1051 +beautiful body. But here she was again, shining the way she always
196.1052 +had, an 
196.1053 +ephemeral shimmer that seemed to encompass her sweet spirit. “Oh,
196.1054 +Tomoyo-
196.1055 +chan... My baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you
196.1056 +needed me. 
196.1057 +You’re the most precious thing in my life. Honey, I never should
196.1058 +have left you 
196.1059 +alone when I saw you breaking. I noticed the cracks in your shell
196.1060 +and I tried to 
196.1061 +help, but you kept insisting that everything was all right. I wanted
196.1062 +to help, but I 
196.1063 +thought that all I could do was be there for you when you needed me.
196.1064 +I never 
196.1065 +thought that you’d...” Her fists clenched, her nails digging into
196.1066 +her palms 
196.1067 +painfully as she fell to her knees beside the young heiress. “Tomoyo-
196.1068 +chan, I love 
196.1069 +you, my little daughter. I never wanted to see you get hurt the way
196.1070 +I was. I never 
196.1071 +wanted you to have to live through that. But now... My baby...” Her
196.1072 +body shook 
196.1073 +as she reached out to Tomoyo, her fingers slipping through the
196.1074 +hologram. 
196.1075 +Tomoyo still looked happy, but Sonomi could see that it was masking
196.1076 +her 
196.1077 +nervousness and fear underneath. For what? Probably for Sakura.
196.1078 +Sonomi’s gaze 
196.1079 +fell on the girl with the emerald eyes, her tears still streaming
196.1080 +down her cheeks. 
196.1081 +Her heart rolled over as she watched, still being held by Syaoran.
196.1082 +And yet 
196.1083 +Tomoyo was still pretending to be happy. She had kept up that mask of 
196.1084 +happiness for her friend until the day she had died. 
196.1085 +	“It’s not her, Sonomi,” Al explained as he stood up. “That’s Sam. We 
196.1086 +don’t know why he leapt back into Sakura yet, but we’re looking into
196.1087 +it.”
196.1088 +	Shaking her head, Sonomi tried to compose herself, not moving from 
196.1089 +Tomoyo’s side. “To keep Tomoyo-chan from killing herself, of course!
196.1090 +Why 
196.1091 +else would he be back here?” She was still nearly frantic, finally
196.1092 +able to see her 
196.1093 +daughter again but unable to even talk to her. “It will be all
196.1094 +right, Tomoyo-chan. 
196.1095 +I promise. We’ll fix everything. You just stay strong for your
196.1096 +mother. I promise 
196.1097 +I’ll make everything better,” She said reassuringly, trying to
196.1098 +stroke her 
196.1099 +daughter’s hair. Her fingers went through the empty space, but it
196.1100 +almost looked 
196.1101 +like she had heard her. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan...” It hurt to look at her,
196.1102 +but she 
196.1103 +couldn’t take her eyes away. The last time she had seen that face,
196.1104 +her eyes had 
196.1105 +been closed for the last time. Sonomi’s heart paused with every
196.1106 +blink. 
196.1107 +	Al watched from the side for a moment, glancing down to the handlink 
196.1108 +and back up. He knew what torture it was to finally see someone
196.1109 +you’d lost and 
196.1110 +not be able to interact with them. In a way, this would have been
196.1111 +easier to handle 
196.1112 +had Sonomi been here to see Nadeshiko. When she had lost Tomoyo, she
196.1113 +had 
196.1114 +lost everything. This was a woman in huge amounts of pain. He only
196.1115 +hoped that 
196.1116 +the sight would give her hope. Turning his attention back to Sam,
196.1117 +the handlink 
196.1118 +gave its usual squeak of protest as Al slapped it on the side.
196.1119 +“Still no new 
196.1120 +information, Sam. And Ziggy’s not very happy about this at all. She
196.1121 +says you 
196.1122 +shouldn’t be leaping so close to us. I’ll tell you what we figure
196.1123 +out as soon as we 
196.1124 +find it. Whatever it is. I’ve got Beeks talking to Sakura right now
196.1125 +and maybe 
196.1126 +Sonomi can help us figure out what you’re here to fix.” His eyes
196.1127 +went back to 
196.1128 +the grieving woman, not noticing Sam’s slow nod of approval. He
196.1129 +shook his 
196.1130 +head and punched up the door. With all that she had been through, he
196.1131 +didn’t 
196.1132 +want to interrupt her. He would come back in a bit. 
196.1133 +	Sitting next to her daughter, watching her intently as if afraid
196.1134 +that she 
196.1135 +would soon enough drop dead in front of her very eyes, Sonomi
196.1136 +continued 
196.1137 +whispering assurances to the smiling dark haired girl. And unknowing
196.1138 +of the 
196.1139 +guardian angel watching over her, Tomoyo continued her lunch.
196.1140 +
196.1141 +	It had been difficult for Sam to ignore Tomoyo’s mother for the
196.1142 +rest of 
196.1143 +lunch, but he was the only one who could see her. He wanted to help,
196.1144 +to say 
196.1145 +something that could take that terrible pain from her eyes, but he
196.1146 +couldn’t with 
196.1147 +everyone around. She had finally left a little after lunch had
196.1148 +ended, talking to Al 
196.1149 +for a bit before the Observer had finally convinced her to leave the
196.1150 +Imaging 
196.1151 +Chamber. Sam had considered telling Tomoyo, but thought it would only 
196.1152 +complicate matters if she knew her mother was there. Let alone why
196.1153 +she was 
196.1154 +there. 
196.1155 +	School had finally ended and he had absolutely no idea where his
196.1156 +home 
196.1157 +was. And no Al to tell him either. He sighed and glanced around,
196.1158 +hoping to see 
196.1159 +the Imaging Chamber door opening and the always oddly dressed Al
196.1160 +walking 
196.1161 +out. No such luck. A hand grabbing his own shook him from his
196.1162 +thoughts. 
196.1163 +Turning, he saw Syaoran’s face in it’s usual impassive look. But he
196.1164 +could notice 
196.1165 +a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Sam smiled a bit. It looked like
196.1166 +the body he 
196.1167 +was in gave a good impression at the least. 
196.1168 +	“Do you want to come with me? I still have some unpacking to do, but 
196.1169 +I thought we could do something when I’m done with that,” the
196.1170 +Chinese boy 
196.1171 +said after a moment’s hesitation. 
196.1172 +	“I’m sure she would love to, Li-kun, but Sakura-chan’s not feeling
196.1173 +very 
196.1174 +well. I just cancelled her cheerleading for today and I’m going to
196.1175 +take her right 
196.1176 +home. But Sakura-chan would love to go see it when she’s feeling
196.1177 +better. I’m 
196.1178 +afraid all of the excitement today has taken its toll on her. You
196.1179 +know how 
196.1180 +worked up girls can get over their boyfriends, Li-kun.” Tomoyo’s
196.1181 +sweet voice 
196.1182 +drifted to the two as she exited the front door to the school and
196.1183 +approached 
196.1184 +Sam’s other side. She was smiling her usual insanely cute smile.
196.1185 +Syaoran didn’t 
196.1186 +seem impressed with it. 	
196.1187 +	Sam nodded in agreement quickly. “Yeah, I really should get some
196.1188 +rest. 
196.1189 +I haven’t been feeling like myself all day. I’ll see you soon,
196.1190 +Syaoran.” He felt 
196.1191 +bad to be leaving Sakura’s boyfriend behind the day he had returned
196.1192 +to Japan to 
196.1193 +see her, but it was so much easier that way. He didn’t want to think
196.1194 +about all of 
196.1195 +the problems of going over to his house and dealing with it all. 
196.1196 +	Shrugging noncommittally, Syaoran looked at Sam. “Okay. I’ll see you 
196.1197 +then. Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home instead?”
196.1198 +	“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. You just finish
196.1199 +packing,” Sam 
196.1200 +answered with a smile. The last thing he needed right now was to
196.1201 +talk about the 
196.1202 +‘old times’ that he had no idea about. 
196.1203 +	“And the sooner you finish packing, the sooner you can come and see 
196.1204 +Sakura-chan in bed. I’ll do my best to nurse her back to health for
196.1205 +you,” 
196.1206 +Tomoyo added kindly, taking Sam’s other hand. The fingers
196.1207 +intertwined with 
196.1208 +those of Sakura’s body in a smooth, unconscious movement. 
196.1209 +	Syaoran frowned and shook his head. He had finally gotten back and 
196.1210 +now Sakura had to get sick. It wasn’t fair. She was the whole reason
196.1211 +he had 
196.1212 +come back in the first place. “I’ll try to see you later tonight,
196.1213 +Sakura-chan. Feel 
196.1214 +better soon.” Hesitating for a moment, but getting a look of
196.1215 +reassurance from 
196.1216 +Tomoyo the same way she had always tried to get him to tell Sakura
196.1217 +how he felt, 
196.1218 +he leaned forward and kissed Sakura.
196.1219 +	Sam’s eyes went wide as he felt the boy’s lips against his own
196.1220 +again. 
196.1221 +Well, the one’s he was using at the moment anyway. But it didn’t
196.1222 +feel altogether 
196.1223 +unpleasant as his lips pressed against those of the Japanese girl he
196.1224 +was 
196.1225 +inhabiting. And he needed to keep things together until his host
196.1226 +returned. 
196.1227 +Sighing inwardly, Sam kissed back slightly. Syaoran finally pulled
196.1228 +away, 
196.1229 +blushing a bit. Saying their goodbyes, he hurried off for home. Sam
196.1230 +stood where 
196.1231 +he was for a few moments, trying to shake the whole feeling off. But
196.1232 +being in a 
196.1233 +hormone ridden teenage body really didn’t help matters. 
196.1234 +	“Are you ready, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo’s voice asked from Sam’s left. 
196.1235 +When she saw him nod, she began to lead him back home. It was
196.1236 +strange seeing 
196.1237 +Sakura’s body, but not Sakura in it. It was like seeing someone
196.1238 +wearing a 
196.1239 +friend’s clothes. They clothes may look the same, but the person
196.1240 +underneath was 
196.1241 +different. It was the same watching Sam in Sakura’s body. It looked
196.1242 +like Sakura, 
196.1243 +but everything was off. The movements, the way he spoke, everything.
196.1244 +All of it 
196.1245 +strengthened her longing to have her friend back. Her mind had been
196.1246 +centered 
196.1247 +on the Cardmistress all day, barely keeping from panic. She needed
196.1248 +to know that 
196.1249 +Sakura-chan was all right. 
196.1250 +	It took Sam a moment to realize that they were moving. At least 
196.1251 +someone knew where his home was. That solved one problem. As they
196.1252 +walked, 
196.1253 +Tomoyo chatted pleasantly about all sorts of things, from camcorders
196.1254 +to sewing 
196.1255 +to how cute Sakura was. He wondered how Sakura hadn’t noticed the
196.1256 +girl’s love 
196.1257 +for her. It seemed obvious enough and she was so warm and caring
196.1258 +towards her, 
196.1259 +even if Sam was occupying the body for the time being. “Why didn’t
196.1260 +you tell 
196.1261 +her how you feel?” Sam interrupted as she was in the middle of
196.1262 +explaining how 
196.1263 +difficult it was to videotape someone on a flying staff that was
196.1264 +dodging magic. 
196.1265 +	Silence grew between the two for a moment. Tomoyo was smiling 
196.1266 +again when she looked at Sam. “Did your friend tell you? They must
196.1267 +have a lot 
196.1268 +of information on Sakura-chan.”
196.1269 +	Sam nodded quietly. He felt a cold chill as he remembered Al’s 
196.1270 +explanation of why she had killed herself. “Yeah, he did. We have
196.1271 +some 
196.1272 +information, but not as much as we’d like. But he did tell me that
196.1273 +you’re in love 
196.1274 +with her. Why didn’t you tell her?”
196.1275 +	Tomoyo looked away, concentrating on their surroundings instead of 
196.1276 +the body of her best friend. Her smile was still there, but it
196.1277 +looked marginally 
196.1278 +weaker, as if Sam had hit on a weak spot. “Because she loves Li-kun.
196.1279 +There’s no 
196.1280 +reason to tell her how I feel. That would only complicate things for
196.1281 +her. She’s 
196.1282 +happy now. As long as the one I love is happy, I’m happy, too.”
196.1283 +	“But it can’t be healthy to keep all of that inside all the time.
196.1284 +Don’t you 
196.1285 +ever talk to anyone about it? Don’t you think that she would want to
196.1286 +know how 
196.1287 +you felt?” Sam asked, wanting desperately to change the pale girl’s
196.1288 +apparent 
196.1289 +fate. How could he make her understand?
196.1290 +	“I think Sakura-chan was very confused about Li-kun’s feelings for
196.1291 +her. 
196.1292 +But she finally decided that she returned his feelings. And she’s
196.1293 +happy with that. 
196.1294 +I think telling her how I feel would confuse poor Sakura-chan and
196.1295 +she would 
196.1296 +feel bad about rejecting me, so it would just hurt her. If that’s
196.1297 +the case, then 
196.1298 +there really isn’t a reason to tell her. I’ll always love her,
196.1299 +whether or not she 
196.1300 +knows that. So if it comes between telling Sakura-chan and hurting
196.1301 +her or 
196.1302 +keeping it to myself and holding it all inside, I would much rather
196.1303 +keep it locked 
196.1304 +up inside. I never want her to suffer because of me.” Tomoyo’s
196.1305 +gentle voice held 
196.1306 +a tinge of sadness in it, but her smile didn’t falter again. She had
196.1307 +made her 
196.1308 +decision a long time ago. She would live her entire life alone if
196.1309 +she had to. But 
196.1310 +she wouldn’t hurt Sakura out of selfishness. Even if she did want
196.1311 +Sakura to 
196.1312 +know, no good could come from it.
196.1313 +	Sam watched the pale girl closely for a few seconds. No wonder she 
196.1314 +tried to kill herself. She was keeping it all pent up inside. Not
196.1315 +only her love, but 
196.1316 +all of her pain as well. It had no place to go, building up as it
196.1317 +ate away at her. It 
196.1318 +finally must have grown too much for her to carry. “But don’t you
196.1319 +think killing 
196.1320 +yourself would make her sad? If you’re her best friend, do you
196.1321 +really think she’d 
196.1322 +be happy about that?” He locked eyes with Tomoyo, trying to get
196.1323 +through 
196.1324 +somehow.
196.1325 +	Tomoyo paused for only a moment before replying with another smile, 
196.1326 +her head tilted to the side. “I’m here for Sakura-chan for as long
196.1327 +as she needs 
196.1328 +me. I will stay by her side for as long as I’m necessary to her. But
196.1329 +now she has 
196.1330 +Li-kun. And she’ll probably move back to Hong Kong with him. He’s
196.1331 +going to 
196.1332 +be the one that she’ll run to from now on. He’s the one who will be
196.1333 +the most 
196.1334 +important person in her life. She doesn’t need me anymore. He’ll be
196.1335 +the support 
196.1336 +that I always gave her. And he’ll protect her in ways I never could.
196.1337 +He’ll give 
196.1338 +her a child. So I understand that I couldn’t stay important to
196.1339 +Sakura-chan 
196.1340 +forever. I knew that she’d leave eventually and that I would just be
196.1341 +a memory. 
196.1342 +And that’s okay. Because I want her to be happy. But she doesn’t
196.1343 +need me 
196.1344 +anymore.” It did hurt inside. It hurt so badly. She wanted to stay
196.1345 +important to 
196.1346 +Sakura forever, to always be by her side. But now that was Li-kun’s
196.1347 +job. She 
196.1348 +had vowed to stay by Sakura for as long as Sakura needed her, but
196.1349 +that wouldn’t 
196.1350 +be much longer now that Syaoran was back. And so Tomoyo had thought
196.1351 +it best 
196.1352 +to fade into the background, letting herself slowly slip from Sakura
196.1353 +so that it 
196.1354 +wouldn’t hurt the other girl. Sakura wouldn’t need to miss her
196.1355 +because she’d 
196.1356 +only be a memory soon enough. A vague memory. But her heart would
196.1357 +always 
196.1358 +hold Sakura very close, always loving her. No matter what. There was
196.1359 +no reason 
196.1360 +for her to stay outside of Sakura’s life. 
196.1361 +	“No, that’s not true! She does need you. Even if she’s in love with 
196.1362 +some other boy, that doesn’t mean you aren’t important to her.
196.1363 +You’re her 
196.1364 +friend. You’ll still remain important to her whether or not other
196.1365 +things become 
196.1366 +important in her life. You can still be happy. You can find someone
196.1367 +else and 
196.1368 +stay friends,” Sam argued, wanting something to shake the dark
196.1369 +future that lay 
196.1370 +ahead. 
196.1371 +	Shaking her head almost imperceptibly, Tomoyo stopped. Her long, 
196.1372 +dark hair fluttered behind her in the wind. “I don’t want anyone
196.1373 +else. I love 
196.1374 +Sakura-chan. And I always will. It doesn’t matter if I’m with her.
196.1375 +Why would 
196.1376 +that change my love for her? Why would I want to find someone else?
196.1377 +To 
196.1378 +replace her? No, I’m perfectly content to hold her deep in my heart
196.1379 +for eternity. 
196.1380 +And I’ll always be her friend. Whether or not I’m here.” She smiled
196.1381 +again at 
196.1382 +Sam and continued on before he could answer. “Your brother’s
196.1383 +probably home. 
196.1384 +Try to act angry at his taunts, but don’t worry about them. He
196.1385 +really looks out 
196.1386 +for you. We’ll get you to your room before he can notice that
196.1387 +anything’s 
196.1388 +wrong.” Pulling up Sakura’s backpack, she reached in and grabbed the
196.1389 +key. 
196.1390 +	Sam sighed as she opened the door and motioned for him to follow. 
196.1391 +This leap wasn’t offering him any easy answers. Feeling Tomoyo’s
196.1392 +hand still 
196.1393 +holding his own, he let her pull him inside. 
196.1394 +
196.1395 +“You... You killed her. You killed my precious daughter all because 
196.1396 +you were too blind to see her devotion to you. You never saw the
196.1397 +pain in her that 
196.1398 +I would always see seeping around the edges whenever I would get
196.1399 +home. Why? 
196.1400 +Why did you have to take away my daughter?” Sonomi asked
196.1401 +incredulously. 
196.1402 +Sakura sobbed on the bed as her friend’s mother came closer, a look
196.1403 +of pure 
196.1404 +torment on her face. 
196.1405 +“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sakura cried in protest.
196.1406 +She 
196.1407 +had been so happy to see Sonomi, to see anyone at all that she
196.1408 +actually knew. 
196.1409 +But after running to her and hugging her, Sonomi had broken down
196.1410 +into tears, 
196.1411 +blaming Sakura for Tomoyo’s death. Sakura was completely taken by
196.1412 +surprise. 
196.1413 +Tomoyo was dead? What had happened? What had she done? 
196.1414 +“She loved you so much. She was always there for you. Why weren’t 
196.1415 +you there when she needed you, Sakura-chan? How could you hurt her so 
196.1416 +badly?” Shaking her head, the distraught mother paused for a moment,
196.1417 +trying to 
196.1418 +get a grip on herself. She was trying desperately to remember that
196.1419 +this was 
196.1420 +Nadeshiko’s daughter as well as Fujitaka’s. It pained her greatly
196.1421 +just to be there 
196.1422 +with her. She knew damn well why Tomoyo had killed herself. She knew
196.1423 +how 
196.1424 +much her little girl loved Nadeshiko’s daughter. It was almost
196.1425 +impossible to 
196.1426 +think clearly. She had thought she would be able to handle seeing
196.1427 +Sakura this 
196.1428 +time. At the funeral she had brushed her aside, barely able to stand
196.1429 +the sight of 
196.1430 +her even though Sakura had been trying to offer comfort. But now, it
196.1431 +all came 
196.1432 +back to her. The phone call after they had found her daughter’s cold
196.1433 +body in the 
196.1434 +lake, the letter from Tomoyo telling her not to be sad, the entire
196.1435 +funeral flashing 
196.1436 +before her eyes. 
196.1437 +“Sonomi-san, please tell me what’s going on,” Sakura begged, wiping 
196.1438 +at her eyes. “Tomoyo-chan... She’s not...” The words refused to
196.1439 +leave her 
196.1440 +mouth. No, that couldn’t be it. Tomoyo had to be all right. That
196.1441 +couldn’t be why 
196.1442 +she was here. But she had never seen anyone in so much pain before.
196.1443 +It was 
196.1444 +frightening. Her own heart was on the verge of breaking. If she lost
196.1445 +Tomoyo, 
196.1446 +what would she do? Tomoyo was always there for her, always sweetly 
196.1447 +supporting whatever she did. She always went to Tomoyo for
196.1448 +everything. 
196.1449 +Tomoyo was the sun in her sky, keeping everything in her life lit
196.1450 +brightly. The 
196.1451 +brunette couldn’t fathom a world without her brilliantly smiling
196.1452 +face. That 
196.1453 +would just be too lonely. Like a world without stars in the sky or a
196.1454 +big, shining 
196.1455 +moon. Darkness would encompass her life. She needed Tomoyo.
196.1456 +Somehow managing to grasp a hold of her composure for a moment, 
196.1457 +Sonomi glared at Sakura as she stood up to her full height. “Tomoyo-
196.1458 +chan died 
196.1459 +two days ago. She drowned in a lake at the park.” Sakura gasped at
196.1460 +Sonomi’s 
196.1461 +words, tears spilling down the cheeks of the quantum physicist whose
196.1462 +body she 
196.1463 +was inhabiting. Closing her eyes, Sonomi continued. “She killed
196.1464 +herself over 
196.1465 +you, Sakura-chan. She couldn’t live without you. And I don’t blame
196.1466 +her. You 
196.1467 +meant the world to her. She loved you with all of her heart.” Her
196.1468 +words echoed 
196.1469 +in her head as she choked past them. She could almost see Tomoyo’s
196.1470 +sad ghost 
196.1471 +shaking her head, pleading with her not to be angry with Sakura.
196.1472 +Sonomi 
196.1473 +couldn’t blame Tomoyo for killing herself. But Tomoyo wouldn’t want
196.1474 +her to 
196.1475 +blame Sakura either. 
196.1476 +“No...” Crying into her hands, Sakura tried desperately to find a way 
196.1477 +out of this nightmare. It couldn’t be true. Things were getting
196.1478 +worse and worse 
196.1479 +in this horrible dream. First she was stuck all alone in some man’s
196.1480 +body while he 
196.1481 +tried to fix something that went badly in her life, then Sonomi came
196.1482 +and got mad 
196.1483 +at her and now she found out that her best friend was dead. And that
196.1484 +it was her 
196.1485 +fault. Her body shook as she was wracked with sobs. ‘Please let me
196.1486 +wake up 
196.1487 +from this! Please...’ she thought weakly to herself, her thoughts to
196.1488 +painful to 
196.1489 +continue on rationally. Her only thought was Tomoyo’s smiling face,
196.1490 +glowing 
196.1491 +brighter and brighter as she faded until all that was left was a
196.1492 +vague outline. Her 
196.1493 +hands dropped to her sides as the brunette woman grabbed her
196.1494 +shoulders, 
196.1495 +forcing her to look up. 
196.1496 +“Sakura-chan, she would never tell you because she wanted to be 
196.1497 +happy, no matter how much I told her she should. Because she thought
196.1498 +you 
196.1499 +shouldn’t know. But damn it, I can’t let you keep on ignoring my
196.1500 +daughter 
196.1501 +forever. She deserves for you to know, even if you can’t love her
196.1502 +back. Sakura-
196.1503 +chan, she loves you. She still does, my sweet little angel. She’s
196.1504 +probably 
196.1505 +watching over you just as surely as Nadeshiko-chan is.” Sonomi’s
196.1506 +gaze was 
196.1507 +piercing, the same stormy blue eyes that Tomoyo had inherited from
196.1508 +her looking 
196.1509 +deep into Sakura’s soul, unflinching in their determination.
196.1510 +	Bursting into sobs at the intense gaze, Sakura’s eyes clenched shut 
196.1511 +again. Tomoyo’s voice chorused in her head, hundreds of different
196.1512 +things she 
196.1513 +had said tumbling end over end through her mind. She had filed them
196.1514 +all away 
196.1515 +as just strange things Tomoyo had said, but now they all began
196.1516 +making sense, as 
196.1517 +if Tomoyo was saying them all from right behind her.
196.1518 +	“Not only is she fast, but she’s cute, too!”
196.1519 +	“I guess you can hear the name of the person you like no matter what 
196.1520 +the circumstances.”
196.1521 +	“Sakura-chan is so cute and happy now, so I’m happy, too.”
196.1522 +	“Of course I would be happy if my special person liked me. But I’ll
196.1523 +be 
196.1524 +happy as long as my special person is.” 
196.1525 +	And most painfully, “I love you, Sakura-chan.”
196.1526 +	“I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan,” she had replied with a smile.
196.1527 +	“I don’t think my love is the same as Sakura-chan’s,” Tomoyo had 
196.1528 +replied, looking at her sweetly as she often did when she would say
196.1529 +such things. 
196.1530 +And shortly after Sakura’s confused response, “I’ll explain when
196.1531 +you’re older.” 
196.1532 +But Tomoyo never did. Sakura had forgotten all about it and Tomoyo
196.1533 +hadn’t 
196.1534 +tried to explain to her, always being kind and loving but never
196.1535 +telling her as the 
196.1536 +years went by and she grew closer to Syaoran. And apparently, Tomoyo
196.1537 +never 
196.1538 +would have the chance to explain it to her.
196.1539 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura cried quietly, shuddering. They had grown 
196.1540 +even closer over the past few years while Syaoran was back in Hong
196.1541 +Kong. The 
196.1542 +thought of living without her left her feel freezing cold inside.
196.1543 +Her heart felt like 
196.1544 +a wasteland. 
196.1545 +The older woman pulled her cousin’s daughter close, unable to watch 
196.1546 +her tears anymore. She couldn’t feel angry at Sakura any longer, the
196.1547 +tears 
196.1548 +showing her own pain at losing Tomoyo. Sonomi kissed her forehead
196.1549 +gently, 
196.1550 +stroking her back as she held her close, the older male body making
196.1551 +the whole 
196.1552 +scene seem awkward. “She loved you very much, Sakura-chan. She
196.1553 +always did.” 
196.1554 +Right now, she didn’t see Nadeshiko in Sakura. Nor did she see
196.1555 +Fujitaka. She 
196.1556 +saw herself, crying over the loss of her beloved Nadeshiko. She saw
196.1557 +that same 
196.1558 +pain in Sakura. Her own soul was mirrored in Sakura’s sobs and
196.1559 +tearful eyes. 
196.1560 +"Oh, Sakura-chan...”  
196.1561 +Dr. Verbeena Beeks sighed and let the door slide closed again. She
196.1562 +had 
196.1563 +been about to enter to put a stop to the whole fiasco, but it looked
196.1564 +like she 
196.1565 +wasn’t needed after all.
196.1566 +
196.1567 +	Sam sighed as he sat down on his host’s bed. Glancing around the 
196.1568 +room, her noticed that it looked nice and fairly organized, a
196.1569 +television in the 
196.1570 +corner with a gaming system that a little yellow stuffed bear was
196.1571 +placed in front 
196.1572 +of and other stuffed animals placed around the room. There was
196.1573 +another stuffed 
196.1574 +bear on the bed as well as a little doll that looked a little like
196.1575 +Sakura in a 
196.1576 +costume. Overall, it was a very nice, cute room. Not much like
196.1577 +Sam’s, if he 
196.1578 +could remember it at all. 
196.1579 +	Sitting elegantly next to him, Tomoyo smoothed down her skirt and 
196.1580 +smiled softly. “You did pretty well with Touya-san. I don’t think he
196.1581 +noticed that 
196.1582 +too much was different about you. But you should probably stay away
196.1583 +from him. 
196.1584 +He can be very perceptive about things, especially concerning people
196.1585 +around his 
196.1586 +sister,” she suggested helpfully. 
196.1587 +	Kero ignored the two girls talking behind him. He had more important 
196.1588 +things to think about, like finally beating the game he was
196.1589 +currently playing. He 
196.1590 +hadn’t saved a single time yet and he was already so very near the
196.1591 +end. “Jump!! 
196.1592 +C’mon!!” 
196.1593 +	Staring at the little bear over by the gaming console, Sam began 
196.1594 +crawling across the bed. He felt a hand readjust the skirt as it had
196.1595 +gotten 
196.1596 +bunched up. Blushing a bit, the leaper shrugged it off and
196.1597 +concentrated on the 
196.1598 +stuffed animal. “It just talked, didn’t it?” He sincerely hoped he
196.1599 +wasn’t going 
196.1600 +insane. After so many leaps, he would not be at all surprised if he
196.1601 +was. But that 
196.1602 +was the last thing he needed.
196.1603 +	“That’s Kero-chan. He’s the Seal Beast for Sakura-chan’s Sakura 
196.1604 +Cards. She’s the world’s best magical girl,” Tomoyo explained
196.1605 +cheerfully, 
196.1606 +smiling. 
196.1607 +	“She’s the only magical girl you know,” Kero pointed out, only
196.1608 +paying 
196.1609 +half attention to her. “But yeah, Sakura-chan’s the best.”
196.1610 +	“That’s amazing...” Sam breathed in wonder. In all his years of
196.1611 +leaping, 
196.1612 +all of the technological wonders he had worked on, this was like
196.1613 +nothing he had 
196.1614 +seen before. Walking over to the stuffed animal, Sam knelt down,
196.1615 +watching it 
196.1616 +play the video game. He poked lightly at the small wings on its
196.1617 +back. They 
196.1618 +fluttered in irritation at the touch. 
196.1619 +	“Sakura-chan, I’m a little busy right now. I just have to...
196.1620 +Almost!! 
196.1621 +C’mon!! Just wait till I show you my hurricane special move, the
196.1622 +Kero-chan 
196.1623 +Special!!” Kero yelled enthusiastically. 
196.1624 +	Shaking his head, Sam sat back and laughed. “I can’t believe it.
196.1625 +It’s 
196.1626 +real. I mean, it actually talks.” He shook his head, laughing again.
196.1627 +Sam Beckett, 
196.1628 +for all of his knowledge, had always been driven by his childlike
196.1629 +curiosity. It 
196.1630 +had always pushed him forward. And he was delighted to see the
196.1631 +magical being 
196.1632 +in front of him, entirely absorbed in a video game.
196.1633 +	Giggling softly, Tomoyo watched the person that looked like Sakura. 
196.1634 +“Hai, he has a lot to say.” She looked thoughtful for a moment,
196.1635 +tilting her head 
196.1636 +to the side. “So if you don’t know that she’s a magical girl, how
196.1637 +much do you 
196.1638 +know about Sakura-chan?”
196.1639 +	“Not an awful lot, I’m afraid.” Sam sighed, finally turning back to
196.1640 +the 
196.1641 +pale girl. “Not enough to know what I’m here to fix yet.” Averting
196.1642 +his gaze, his 
196.1643 +mind questioned his answer. 
196.1644 +	“But you have an idea,” Tomoyo supplied, watching his reaction. “You 
196.1645 +need to help Sakura-chan. I’ll do whatever I can to help you. I just
196.1646 +want her to 
196.1647 +be happy.” Her eyes closed and a weak sigh escaped her suddenly
196.1648 +fragile 
196.1649 +looking form. The day had taken quite a bit of her strength. She
196.1650 +just wanted to 
196.1651 +see Sakura again.
196.1652 +	“But what about you? Why can’t you be happy, too?” Sam shot back, 
196.1653 +regretting it as the words left his mouth. But he still couldn’t
196.1654 +understand how 
196.1655 +that one person could mean so much to her that she would end her
196.1656 +life. Not the 
196.1657 +way Al seemed to, at least. She was such a sweet, innocent girl. He
196.1658 +couldn’t let 
196.1659 +that fate befall her. There had to be a way for him to stop it.
196.1660 +	Tomoyo smiled softly and brushed back some of her lavender hair from 
196.1661 +her eyes. “But I am happy. I’m happy knowing that Sakura-chan will
196.1662 +be happy 
196.1663 +with the one she loves.” Before Sam could argue, she continued.
196.1664 +“That doesn’t 
196.1665 +mean that I don’t hurt as well. I love her so much. I would do
196.1666 +anything for 
196.1667 +Sakura-chan. To be in her arms, I would certainly have to be in
196.1668 +Heaven with its 
196.1669 +most beautiful angel, Sakura-chan. But I can’t have that. And I
196.1670 +understand. So I 
196.1671 +will do whatever I can to make Sakura-chan happy. That means much
196.1672 +more to 
196.1673 +me than my own happiness.”
196.1674 +	Sam shook his head in confusion. “But how can you do that when it 
196.1675 +hurts you so much? When you can’t survive the outcome? It doesn’t
196.1676 +make sense. 
196.1677 +Don’t do this to yourself! You can stop it all from happening. You
196.1678 +can still be 
196.1679 +happy without her.”
196.1680 +	Her smile faded slightly but it remained on the pale girl as she
196.1681 +closed 
196.1682 +her eyes, clasping her hands together. “It’s like I have fallen in
196.1683 +love with the 
196.1684 +stars in the sky. They shine down in our lives, twinkling happily
196.1685 +and giving us 
196.1686 +glimmers of dreams. But you can never reach them. Just as I have
196.1687 +fallen in love 
196.1688 +with Sakura-chan. Even if I can’t quite reach her the way I would
196.1689 +like to, she 
196.1690 +shines on me and makes me feel so blessed just to have known her. To
196.1691 +repay her 
196.1692 +for all of the wonderful dreams and happiness she has granted me
196.1693 +through my 
196.1694 +years with her, I will repay her as best I can, by making her happy.
196.1695 +And if I can’t 
196.1696 +be the one to make her happy, then I’ll be glad that Li-kun can.
196.1697 +Even if I don’t 
196.1698 +want to stay here without her, I’m eternally grateful to her for
196.1699 +being in my life 
196.1700 +for as along as she was. And I will not burden her by staying in
196.1701 +hers. But I will 
196.1702 +watch over her happily when I’m gone, the knowledge that she is
196.1703 +happy filling 
196.1704 +my heart.”
196.1705 +	Blinking in surprise, Sam looked away. He was speechless. He really 
196.1706 +didn’t know how to respond to Tomoyo. She was so convincing, even if
196.1707 +he 
196.1708 +believed that she was wrong. 
196.1709 +	“Sam!!” Al yelled out as soon as he stepped out of the Imaging 
196.1710 +Chamber door. “Ziggy’s got something! You’ve gotta get down to
196.1711 +Syaoran’s 
196.1712 +house now!” 
196.1713 +	Standing up quickly, Sam ignored the fluttering skirt around him and 
196.1714 +nodded. “Where is it, Al? What’s going on?”
196.1715 +	“Just get outside! I’ll show you from there. And I’ll explain along
196.1716 +the 
196.1717 +way.” With a few buttons on the handlink, I’ll repositioned himself
196.1718 +outside.
196.1719 +	“I need to get to Syaoran’s house,” Sam said hastily, heading out
196.1720 +the 
196.1721 +door.
196.1722 +	“Sakura-chan, matte! I’ll show you where it is.” Taking Sam’s hand, 
196.1723 +Tomoyo hurried with him down the stairs, leaving an oblivious Kero
196.1724 +to the last 
196.1725 +level of his game. She watched the person inhabiting her beloved
196.1726 +Sakura 
196.1727 +carefully, wondering what the invisible friend could have said to
196.1728 +get his 
196.1729 +attention this way.
196.1730 +	“Where are you headed off to so quickly, monster?” Touya asked 
196.1731 +conversationally from the kitchen. 
196.1732 +	“We’ve got to go study!” came Sam’s response as the rushed out the 
196.1733 +door.
196.1734 +	Touya watched after the two girl’s curiously, sipping his tea. His 
196.1735 +attention turned to the white haired boy sitting next to him at the
196.1736 +table. “Since 
196.1737 +when did Sakura ever hurry to go study?”
196.1738 +	Yukito smiled pleasantly, his glasses shimmering in the afternoon
196.1739 +light 
196.1740 +filtering in through the window. “Maybe it’s not the studying, but
196.1741 +being able to 
196.1742 +study with Tomoyo-chan. Studying seems to be the last thing on your
196.1743 +mind 
196.1744 +when we study,” the snow bunny commented thoughtfully, earning him a
196.1745 +dirty 
196.1746 +look from Touya. He just grinned even further. 
196.1747 +
196.1748 +	“So what’s going on, Al? What did Ziggy find out?” Sam asked 
196.1749 +impatiently as Tomoyo led the way to Syaoran’s house while the
196.1750 +holographic 
196.1751 +observer followed along. It had been decided that she should lead,
196.1752 +knowing the 
196.1753 +area much better than Al, even with the maps displayed on the
196.1754 +handlink. 
196.1755 +	“It took forever to find, but she finally found some records that
196.1756 +were of 
196.1757 +some interest. Okay, okay. She wants me to say what a supreme effort
196.1758 +it took on 
196.1759 +her part to obtain the information. Alright!” Al grimaced at the
196.1760 +handlink and 
196.1761 +pounded on the side. “And that she found it right in time because
196.1762 +this window of 
196.1763 +opportunity is rapidly shrinking. Egomaniacal hunk of...” he
196.1764 +muttered under his 
196.1765 +breath. Looking back up, Al continued on. “Syaoran’s getting a visit
196.1766 +right now 
196.1767 +from someone important to all of this. His fiancee, a girl named
196.1768 +Meiling. After 
196.1769 +finding out he went back to Japan to be with you, she booked a
196.1770 +flight and 
196.1771 +headed out to try to convince him otherwise. They get into a huge
196.1772 +argument and 
196.1773 +she leaves, apparently broken up by the whole thing. Seems she
196.1774 +really had it big 
196.1775 +for your boyfriend.”
196.1776 +	“Can you please quit calling him my boyfriend?” Sam asked 
196.1777 +exasperatedly. Shaking his head, he looked back at Al. He was glad
196.1778 +for Sakura’s 
196.1779 +athletic body during the long walk, but Tomoyo seemed to be
196.1780 +breathing with 
196.1781 +difficulty. He hoped they would get there soon. “All right, so what
196.1782 +happens with 
196.1783 +Meiling?”
196.1784 +	“Well, she doesn’t kill herself, but she doesn’t seem to take it
196.1785 +much 
196.1786 +better than Tomoyo other than that. Ziggy says there’s a 73%
196.1787 +probability that 
196.1788 +you’re here to make sure that she gets with Syaoran and that he
196.1789 +doesn’t ruin 
196.1790 +things with her. She says that things probably won’t work out with
196.1791 +you and him 
196.1792 +and that the relationship will eventually fall apart, but by then
196.1793 +it’ll be too 
196.1794 +shattered to pick up any of the pieces for anyone involved.”
196.1795 +Motioning towards 
196.1796 +Tomoyo with the handlink, he sighed. “Especially for her.”
196.1797 +	Sam stopped dead in his tracks, nearly dragging the dark haired
196.1798 +girl off 
196.1799 +of her feet at the sudden stop. “Only 73%? Al, can’t you give me
196.1800 +something a 
196.1801 +little better than that? I can’t ruin Sakura’s relationship with him
196.1802 +over that. What 
196.1803 +if they can work things out? What if they’re meant to have kids? How
196.1804 +can I do 
196.1805 +that, Al?” A sigh escaped his lips. This leap was really starting to
196.1806 +wear him 
196.1807 +down.
196.1808 +	“It’s all right, Fake Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said with a warm smile
196.1809 +and 
196.1810 +a gentle squeeze of Sam’s hand. “If you worry like that, then you
196.1811 +won’t be able 
196.1812 +to help Sakura-chan out when she needs it. I trust you to fix things
196.1813 +for her. 
196.1814 +Please believe in yourself. Whatever you decide.” Her eyes took on a
196.1815 +pleading 
196.1816 +look. “Please make sure that Sakura-chan can be happy.”
196.1817 +	“I promise that I’ll try my hardest to make sure she can be,” Sam 
196.1818 +promised, smiling a little in return. Turning his attention back to
196.1819 +Al, his eyes 
196.1820 +narrowed. “Even if the odds are only 73%.”
196.1821 +	Sighing, Al shook his head as a loud trill came from the handlink. 
196.1822 +“Ziggy’s not too pleased with your attitude about this, Sam. She had
196.1823 +to hack into 
196.1824 +a whole lot of systems to get the information that she did. And
196.1825 +besides, why do 
196.1826 +you always have to be this way about the odds? I give you bad odds
196.1827 +and you beg 
196.1828 +for better ones. I give you good odds and you’ll say that’s not why
196.1829 +you’ve leapt 
196.1830 +in and do something boneheaded on your gut instinct.”
196.1831 +	Sam frowned and looked away. “But most of the time I’m right when 
196.1832 +it’s my instinct,” he argued. Closing his eyes, he sighed. “But we
196.1833 +don’t have 
196.1834 +time for that. Especially if we don’t have much time left. Besides,
196.1835 +this sounds 
196.1836 +like it could hurt a lot of people in the end.”
196.1837 +	A door flew open near them and a black haired girl stepped out,
196.1838 +tears in 
196.1839 +her eyes and fists clenched. “And if that’s what you want, Syaoran,
196.1840 +then you can 
196.1841 +go ahead and have it!! I’m going back to Hong Kong, you selfish
196.1842 +asshole!! I 
196.1843 +hope I never see you again!” 
196.1844 +	Sam winced as he watched her gaze icily at him. Of course, he was
196.1845 +the 
196.1846 +reason she was angry. Syaoran stumbled out the door after her,
196.1847 +holding his 
196.1848 +stomach as if he had been punched there. Which, surprisingly, he had
196.1849 +been. 
196.1850 +Meiling seemed to be a very... fiery woman. Not someone he wanted
196.1851 +mad at 
196.1852 +him. He nearly backpedaled as he approached. 
196.1853 +	“Sam... Don’t get into a catfight with her, okay? I know you know 
196.1854 +some martial arts, but trust me, you don’t know anything compared to
196.1855 +her,” Al 
196.1856 +warned from Sam’s side, punching up information on the handlink.
196.1857 +“Ziggy says 
196.1858 +not to piss her off. Oh, thanks, Queen Ziggy. That’s something he
196.1859 +couldn’t have 
196.1860 +figured out for himself.”
196.1861 +	“Sakura-chan..?” Syaoran asked in surprise, standing up straight
196.1862 +when 
196.1863 +he saw Sam. He looked at her in confusion before looking back to the
196.1864 +still angry 
196.1865 +Meiling. 
196.1866 +	“I’m going home. I hope you two are happy with each other!” Meiling 
196.1867 +turned, wiping at her eyes as she began to walk away from the house.
196.1868 +Syaoran 
196.1869 +stood on the sidewalk, frozen with indecision. He shouldn’t go to
196.1870 +stop Meiling 
196.1871 +with Sakura here. He had made his decision and he would have to
196.1872 +stand by it. So 
196.1873 +he would have to let Meiling leave, possibly never to speak with her
196.1874 +again. But 
196.1875 +there was nothing else he could do. He never had been good at
196.1876 +expressing his 
196.1877 +emotions and this situation was no different. If anything, it just
196.1878 +made it more 
196.1879 +difficult. But he didn’t want to see Meiling leave like this.
196.1880 +	“Wait, Meiling!” Sam grabbed her arm, trying to stall her. She
196.1881 +easily 
196.1882 +pulled from his grasp, turning on an agile foot and glaring directly
196.1883 +at the 
196.1884 +displaced time traveler. 
196.1885 +	“What the hell do you want, Sakura? You already have Syaoran. Leave 
196.1886 +me alone. I’m leaving.” The rest of what she said was in Chinese and
196.1887 +didn’t 
196.1888 +make any sense to Sam. She was obviously very upset, masking her
196.1889 +pain with 
196.1890 +sheer, seething anger. She was not going to be easy to deal with at
196.1891 +all. Her 
196.1892 +beloved had just fled to Japan to be with another woman, leaving her
196.1893 +all alone. 
196.1894 +And arguing with him had just made things worse, painful words
196.1895 +flying both 
196.1896 +ways as it raged on. Right now she wanted to be on an airplane back
196.1897 +home 
196.1898 +where she could forget about sorcerer’s that didn’t keep their
196.1899 +promises to wed 
196.1900 +and magical girls that weave spells and steal fiancees. 
196.1901 +	“Please, don’t go, Meiling. You’ll regret it if you leave today. I 
196.1902 +promise. We have to talk about things,” Sam urged softly, hoping
196.1903 +that he could 
196.1904 +contain the situation. If Meiling wanted to leave, there was
196.1905 +absolutely no way he 
196.1906 +could stop her. And that was possibly his only chance to fix things.
196.1907 +“Please?”
196.1908 +	“I already regret coming here. What’s another regret?” Meiling shot 
196.1909 +back angrily, her eyes still bloodshot from her tears. But she
196.1910 +seemed to at least 
196.1911 +consider it, making no move to leave. Her eyes darted back towards
196.1912 +Syaoran 
196.1913 +who refused to look at her. He had no idea why Sakura was doing
196.1914 +this, but it 
196.1915 +was only making things harder. He had done this for her. Why was she
196.1916 +making 
196.1917 +it more difficult than it had to be? Meiling looked away again, her
196.1918 +heart torn in 
196.1919 +two at the sight of the boy she loved waiting to be with the
196.1920 +Japanese girl. 
196.1921 +	Sam took a deep breath, looking from face to face to face. Did
196.1922 +Sakura 
196.1923 +know how many lives she could affect? All of these people could be
196.1924 +hurt terribly 
196.1925 +by an innocent sin that Sakura had no idea to prevent. Sam only
196.1926 +hoped he still 
196.1927 +had time. Tomoyo would die at her own hands out of grief, Meiling
196.1928 +would be 
196.1929 +broken over the loss of her fiancee, and Syaoran and Sakura would
196.1930 +probably get 
196.1931 +hurt by the personal loss of the two girls, even if Meiling didn’t
196.1932 +leave in the 
196.1933 +same way. Now how did he fix all that? He glanced to Al, hoping for
196.1934 +some idea. 
196.1935 +The Observer had to know some way to resolve this, right? Otherwise
196.1936 +he 
196.1937 +wouldn’t be able to do anything. But how could he break up Sakura and 
196.1938 +Syaoran? It hardly seemed fair to do that to them. The sound of the
196.1939 +Imaging 
196.1940 +Chamber door whooshing open shook him from his thoughts. He stared
196.1941 +in shock 
196.1942 +as he saw himself standing next to Al wearing the all white fermi
196.1943 +suit that was 
196.1944 +used for multiple purposes at Project Quantum Leap. He hadn’t seen
196.1945 +himself in 
196.1946 +so long. But what was he doing there?
196.1947 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered softly as she looked at the dark 
196.1948 +haired girl standing next to her body. It took all she had to keep
196.1949 +from bursting 
196.1950 +into tears after what Sonomi had told her earlier. She sniffled
196.1951 +slightly but smiled 
196.1952 +at the brown haired boy standing a bit away from her. None of them
196.1953 +could see 
196.1954 +her, which was a bit eerie. “Thank you, Syaoran-kun. You were right.
196.1955 +I 
196.1956 +shouldn’t cry. It won’t fix anything. Thank you for teaching me
196.1957 +that. I need to 
196.1958 +solve my problems.”
196.1959 +	“Sakura?” Sam asked in shock. What was she doing here? Why was Al 
196.1960 +parading people through the Imaging Chamber? If they were all going
196.1961 +to see 
196.1962 +Tomoyo before she died, couldn’t the watch from Ziggy’s monitors? 
196.1963 +	Sakura bowed to Sam, a little awkward in his taller body. “Gomen 
196.1964 +nasai. Thank you for trying to fix my life. But I need to fix my own
196.1965 +problems. 
196.1966 +It’s not right to have you fix them all for me. Then I won’t have
196.1967 +learned 
196.1968 +anything. If you run away from your problems, you will regret them
196.1969 +for years 
196.1970 +afterwards. I learned that from Sonomi-san.” 
196.1971 +	“I... uhhh... sure..” Sam nodded, still a little confused about the
196.1972 +whole 
196.1973 +situation. He hoped this leap would start making sense soon. 
196.1974 +	“Sakura-chan, are you okay?” Syaoran asked, his eyes narrowing as he 
196.1975 +looked around for who Sakura was talking to. “Who is it?”
196.1976 +	Sam shook his head quickly, brushing back some reddish brown hair 
196.1977 +that got in his eyes. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’m just
196.1978 +trying to think 
196.1979 +about what to say.” He glanced back to Sakura, hoping that she had
196.1980 +some idea 
196.1981 +about how to resolve this whole thing.
196.1982 +	Sakura’s hands went to her chest, her eyes closing. She sighed
196.1983 +deeply, 
196.1984 +trying to concentrate. This would be difficult to do, but she knew
196.1985 +she had to. 
196.1986 +Opening her eyes, determination flared through them. She smiled
196.1987 +sadly at 
196.1988 +Syaoran, stepping up to him even if he couldn’t see her. “Syaoran-
196.1989 +kun, thank 
196.1990 +you so much for coming back to see me. I missed you so much. You
196.1991 +were such a 
196.1992 +great help with the Cards and with all of the dangers that I faced.
196.1993 +I couldn’t have 
196.1994 +asked for a better rival. I’m glad that we stopped that and that we
196.1995 +got to grow 
196.1996 +closer. You’re really sweet when you let it show through. I’m glad I
196.1997 +got to see 
196.1998 +you again. But I’m afraid that I can’t say I feel the same way I
196.1999 +used to. Or that I 
196.2000 +ever did. I never really got to decide for myself who I was in love
196.2001 +with. 
196.2002 +Everyone seemed to think it was you. Tomoyo-chan, Yukito-san, Eriol-
196.2003 +kun, they 
196.2004 +all seemed to lead me to you. So when you told me how you felt, I
196.2005 +felt like they 
196.2006 +already had told me. So I thought I had to return your feelings. But
196.2007 +they didn’t 
196.2008 +know my heart. Neither did I, back then. I’m so sorry. I think you
196.2009 +belong with 
196.2010 +Meiling-chan. She really does love you very much and she’s so open
196.2011 +about it. I 
196.2012 +think you’d be sad if you never see her again or if she’s mad at you
196.2013 +about this. I 
196.2014 +hope things work out. Hoe... I’m so sorry about all this. But I’m
196.2015 +really happy I 
196.2016 +got to meet you. And that we had all of the adventures that we did.
196.2017 +You’ll 
196.2018 +always be an important friend to me, Syaoran-kun.” She tried to hug
196.2019 +him, 
196.2020 +smiling weakly, but she nearly fell through him. Sighing, she
196.2021 +stepped back, 
196.2022 +watching the sad look on his face as Sam repeated what she had said
196.2023 +to him. He 
196.2024 +didn’t want to understand. He didn’t want it to be true. Her heart
196.2025 +went out to 
196.2026 +him, but she knew that she had to continue.
196.2027 +	“What?” Meiling asked in shock. Why would Sakura give up Syaoran 
196.2028 +all of the sudden? She never would in Sakura’s position. A slow
196.2029 +smile crept 
196.2030 +along her lips. Who cared if Sakura had suddenly gone insane? This
196.2031 +meant 
196.2032 +Syaoran would be all hers after all. It had been worth coming to
196.2033 +Japan again. 
196.2034 +“Poor Syaoran,” she said, mock pouting as she took the still shocked
196.2035 +boy’s arm. 
196.2036 +“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.” She smiled sweetly and
196.2037 +rested her 
196.2038 +head on his shoulder, delighting at the way it felt to be next to
196.2039 +him again. Yes, 
196.2040 +she’d make sure that Syaoran never did anything that stupid again.
196.2041 +Or else.
196.2042 +	Still in Sam’s body, Sakura blushed a bit, wringing her hands as she 
196.2043 +looked at Tomoyo. While in the Waiting Room, Sakura had had quite a
196.2044 +bit of 
196.2045 +time to think. And Sonomi’s explanations had given her a chance to
196.2046 +realize a 
196.2047 +horrible mistake that she would have made. She only hoped that she
196.2048 +was in time 
196.2049 +to fix it. “Tomoyo-chan, I finally understand what you meant. I.. I
196.2050 +love you, too, 
196.2051 +Tomoyo-chan. I need you. More than you could ever know. Tomoyo-chan,
196.2052 +you 
196.2053 +make me feel so warm and happy inside. So hanyaa. Whenever I feel
196.2054 +bad, 
196.2055 +you’re right there to help me back up again. When I’m happy, you’re
196.2056 +there with 
196.2057 +me recording it all and watching me. And that makes me even happier,
196.2058 +that you 
196.2059 +can be there to share it with me. Tomoyo-chan, you don’t have to
196.2060 +just watch 
196.2061 +your special person be happy. Because I don’t think I could be happy
196.2062 +without 
196.2063 +you. I... I want to make you happy, too.” Clasping her hands
196.2064 +together, Sakura 
196.2065 +looked down at her friend, watching her intently. Finding out how
196.2066 +Tomoyo felt 
196.2067 +about her hadn’t surprised her as much as she would have thought it
196.2068 +should 
196.2069 +have. But it just made sense now that she looked back on all that
196.2070 +Tomoyo had 
196.2071 +said and done for her. It didn’t take long to realize that her own
196.2072 +feelings had 
196.2073 +begun to flow along with Tomoyo’s long ago. She had begged them to
196.2074 +let her 
196.2075 +see Tomoyo when she had finally found the love hiding in her own
196.2076 +heart. 
196.2077 +	Tomoyo listened in disbelief to her friend’s sweet voice. That
196.2078 +couldn’t 
196.2079 +be right. Could it just be the person who was in Sakura saying that?
196.2080 +The 
196.2081 +mannerisms showed that it was still the fake Sakura, but those words
196.2082 +were the 
196.2083 +Cardmistress’s. So that meant Sakura was here. Saying this to her.
196.2084 +Her cheeks 
196.2085 +brightened as she looked around for her best friend. In desperation,
196.2086 +she grabbed 
196.2087 +onto the person impersonating Sakura, holding on tightly to the body
196.2088 +of her best 
196.2089 +friend. “Sakura-chan...!” Her stormy blue eyes closed tightly, her
196.2090 +heart pouring 
196.2091 +out to Sakura, wherever she was. Sakura had been gone all day and
196.2092 +this was the 
196.2093 +first time she had the chance to be near her, to know that she was
196.2094 +there. The real 
196.2095 +her. It left the pale girl feeling weak inside, especially at
196.2096 +Sakura’s words. She 
196.2097 +would have just been happy to know that the magical girl was back.
196.2098 +This set her 
196.2099 +soul afire, almost too much for her weary body to handle. A dam had
196.2100 +broken in 
196.2101 +her heart, letting all of the love she kept pent up inside for
196.2102 +Sakura flow out, 
196.2103 +nearly drowning her in its strength. Everything disappeared in the
196.2104 +storm, Sakura 
196.2105 +the calm at its center. “I know you’re there, Sakura-chan. I love
196.2106 +you, too. I 
196.2107 +always have, Sakura-chan.”
196.2108 +	Blushing at Tomoyo’s declaration of love, Sakura let her eyes fall 
196.2109 +closed as she stood in the same spot as Sam. Wanting so much to be
196.2110 +there, to 
196.2111 +feel the small dark haired girl, Sakura’s arms went around the
196.2112 +hologram of 
196.2113 +Tomoyo in the Imaging Chamber. 
196.2114 +	Sighing, Syaoran shook his head. He couldn’t believe any of this. He 
196.2115 +certainly hadn’t been expecting it. He never should have come back to 
196.2116 +Tomoeda. Not if this was going to happen. But he should have known
196.2117 +that 
196.2118 +Sakura didn’t feel that way about him anymore. Especially with how
196.2119 +strange she 
196.2120 +had been acting all day. He suddenly regretted what he had said to
196.2121 +Meiling just a 
196.2122 +short time earlier. He opened his mouth, trying to apologize, but
196.2123 +she shook her 
196.2124 +head. Leaning forward, she kissed him softly, the rest of his
196.2125 +conscious thought 
196.2126 +melting away as he stared at the floor, too embarrassed to utter a
196.2127 +word. Meiling 
196.2128 +giggled in triumph.
196.2129 +	Al motioned over towards the two members of the Li Clan with a 
196.2130 +flourish of his cigar. “Looks like things just might work out after
196.2131 +all. Ziggy’s 
196.2132 +finally breathing a sigh of relief.” 
196.2133 +	Shooting the Observer a skeptical look, Sam motioned his head 
196.2134 +towards Tomoyo. He was still a bit concerned about this whole leap.
196.2135 +It had 
196.2136 +definitely been bizarre all the way around. “But what about...?”
196.2137 +	“I wouldn’t worry about that, Sam. Something tells me she’ll live
196.2138 +for a 
196.2139 +good long time now that she’s got a reason to.” Grinning, the
196.2140 +observer made 
196.2141 +room for Sonomi, ignoring the trill of the handlink.
196.2142 +	“I’ll see you soon, my baby girl,” Sonomi whispered softly, her
196.2143 +fingers 
196.2144 +fading through Tomoyo’s holographic hair. She smiled softly, finally
196.2145 +feeling at 
196.2146 +ease for the first time since the funeral. Soon enough this would be
196.2147 +all over and 
196.2148 +the funeral would never have happened now that Tomoyo wouldn’t wind
196.2149 +up in 
196.2150 +that position in the first place. Though there was no breeze in the
196.2151 +Imaging 
196.2152 +Chamber, she could almost feel it just by watching Tomoyo’s dark
196.2153 +gray hair 
196.2154 +flutter near her fingertips. A lighter gray caught her eye nearby. A
196.2155 +faint image, a 
196.2156 +smiling angel looked back at her. Unseen to the group just as surely
196.2157 +as the 
196.2158 +holograms were, the woman watched over the two young girls. So much
196.2159 +like 
196.2160 +herself and someone else at that age. “Nadeshiko-chan...”
196.2161 +	Smiling softly, Sam returned the hug to the overjoyed heiress. He
196.2162 +knew 
196.2163 +he’d be gone soon enough, but he had the feeling that Al was right,
196.2164 +that things 
196.2165 +would work out. He was glad he had come, even if it was only for a
196.2166 +short time. 
196.2167 +“Good luck, Tomoyo.” For just a moment, after setting things right
196.2168 +that had 
196.2169 +once gone wrong, Doctor Sam Beckett felt at peace. For just one
196.2170 +moment, his 
196.2171 +journey didn’t seem so incredibly long. Home didn’t seem quite so
196.2172 +far away. 
196.2173 +With that, he leapt. 
196.2174 +	With a tingle that Sakura couldn’t quite tell if it was caused by
196.2175 +magic 
196.2176 +or by the feeling of being in Tomoyo’s arms, the Cardmistress was
196.2177 +back. She 
196.2178 +couldn’t really remember from where, but she felt relieved to know
196.2179 +that she was 
196.2180 +home again. With a furious blush, she could remember telling Sakura
196.2181 +the 
196.2182 +feelings that rose up inside her heart. She clutched onto the pale
196.2183 +girl tightly, 
196.2184 +feeling Tomoyo buried against her, her fingers lightly stroking
196.2185 +Sakura’s back. 
196.2186 +Tomoyo almost stumbled back but quickly regained her balance,
196.2187 +whispering 
196.2188 +Sakura’s name over and over in her ear. Tomoyo’s gentle touch
196.2189 +quickly forced 
196.2190 +away the disorientation that had lingered in the brunette’s mind.
196.2191 +All that 
196.2192 +mattered was that she was with Tomoyo once more. And for once, the
196.2193 +warm 
196.2194 +feelings in her heart made sense to their owner. It tossed her like
196.2195 +a balloon, 
196.2196 +turning her around and around until she didn’t know where she was.
196.2197 +But it 
196.2198 +didn’t matter. Now she wouldn’t ever be lost again. She wasn’t fully
196.2199 +aware of 
196.2200 +when she had come to the realization that Tomoyo had captured her
196.2201 +heart, but 
196.2202 +she knew Tomoyo had as surely as Sakura had captured any cards.
196.2203 +Tomoyo had 
196.2204 +bound her heart to her long ago. “I love you, too,” she whispered in
196.2205 +response to 
196.2206 +Tomoyo sweet voice in her ear. 
196.2207 +	It was her again. Tomoyo knew it. She was enveloped in Sakura. Her 
196.2208 +warm touch, her soft hair, her wonderful scent. It wrapped Tomoyo up
196.2209 +in 
196.2210 +ribbons of sheer joy. She never wanted to be free of the ribbons
196.2211 +that wound 
196.2212 +themselves tightly around her heart and soul. The pain, the cracks
196.2213 +in her soul 
196.2214 +began to heal from Sakura’s presence, soothing her battered spirit
196.2215 +and warming 
196.2216 +the icy chill that had threatened to consume her heart. Her pain
196.2217 +meant nothing in 
196.2218 +the face of Sakura’s love. It was as if it had never been there at
196.2219 +all. Sakura’s 
196.2220 +hands slowly began running through Tomoyo’s hair, smoothing away all
196.2221 +of 
196.2222 +Tomoyo’s worries at the same time. “Sakura-chan... I knew that you
196.2223 +would 
196.2224 +rescue me,” she whispered softly. Stormy blue eyes opened to meet
196.2225 +emerald 
196.2226 +orbs gazing back into them. The dark haired girl smiled contentedly,
196.2227 +her heart 
196.2228 +almost overflowing with the outpouring of her love and the influx of
196.2229 +Sakura’s. 
196.2230 +She had been the princess locked up in the castle, cursed to an
196.2231 +eternal night. And 
196.2232 +like she had always hoped, Sakura had pulled her out into the
196.2233 +sunshine. Leaning 
196.2234 +closer, Tomoyo marveled at the even deeper blush that colored
196.2235 +Sakura’s face as 
196.2236 +Sakura realized what she intended. Sakura met her softly, their lips
196.2237 +pressing 
196.2238 +together. The two girls held each other as if afraid the other would
196.2239 +slip away. 
196.2240 +Tomoyo was surprised at the vigor with which Sakura returned the
196.2241 +kiss, 
196.2242 +shattering the cage that had held Tomoyo completely and setting her
196.2243 +adrift in 
196.2244 +Sakura’s arms. Kissing back as passionately as she could, the dark
196.2245 +haired girl’s 
196.2246 +arms went around Sakura’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “Sakura-
196.2247 +chan is a very 
196.2248 +good kisser,” Tomoyo said breathlessly as their lips finally parted.
196.2249 +	“Tomoyo-chan, was that your tongue?” Sakura asked quietly, her 
196.2250 +cheeks flushing scarlet. “Hoe...” Resting her head on Tomoyo’s
196.2251 +shoulder, she 
196.2252 +felt Tomoyo’s gentle embrace as her musical giggle filled Sakura’s
196.2253 +mind. 
196.2254 +Whatever had happened, she was glad for it. She had to have a
196.2255 +guardian angel.
196.2256 +
196.2257 +	Sam found himself kneeling in a church in prayer when he finally
196.2258 +came 
196.2259 +to his senses. That didn’t seem too awkward. He had been a priest
196.2260 +before during 
196.2261 +another leap, after all. But he didn’t seem to be a priest this
196.2262 +time. The long white 
196.2263 +dress seemed to indicate that he was a nun instead. Another girl
196.2264 +stood in front of 
196.2265 +him, her mousey brown hair done up in a high pony tail with a black
196.2266 +bow. She 
196.2267 +wore what looked like a black magician’s outfit with a pink skirt
196.2268 +and held a top 
196.2269 +hat in one hand. “Seira-chan? You don’t look so well.”
196.2270 +	“Oh boy...”
196.2271 +	
196.2272 +
196.2273 +

   197.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   197.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-seal01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   197.3 @@ -0,0 +1,957 @@
   197.4 +Title: Seal Cards
   197.5 +Subtitle: Epitomes of Love
   197.6 +Author: Matthias Engel aka MysticMew
   197.7 +Feedback: Solarsenshi@gmx.de
   197.8 +Status: Alpha
   197.9 +Fandom: Card Captor Sakura (manga)
  197.10 +Rating: PG-13 (with some scenes bordering on R)
  197.11 +Category: Romance, Action/Adventure
  197.12 +Pairing: Sakura/Tomoyo
  197.13 +Timeline: Sequel to "Happy Years"
  197.14 +Summary: There are two more cards Clow created. Our couple must learn 
  197.15 +that even great mages are not prone to mistakes.
  197.16 +Sub-Summary: When a vacation goes a little different than planned, can 
  197.17 +Sakura control herself from loving Tomoyo "too much"?
  197.18 +Distribution: MSD (www.catstrio.de), Shoujo Ai.com (www.shoujoai.com), 
  197.19 +ff.net (www.fanfiction.net), Mediaminer (www.mediaminer.org), Moonlit 
  197.20 +Nights (http://jrem.net/moonlit/tsFics.html) others may follow. If you 
  197.21 +like this fic for your story, please tell me, I'm not likely to put 
  197.22 +stones in your way, but I like to know where it goes.
  197.23 +Legal Disclaimer: This story features two females romantically 
  197.24 +involved with a few (hinted) mature notions. If that is illegal where 
  197.25 +you are or entirely not your thing, turn around and leave now.
  197.26 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and assorted 
  197.27 +companies, I claim no right on the characters and original storyline.
  197.28 +Story Disclaimer: Seal Cards: Epitomes of Love(c)2003 by Matthias 
  197.29 +Engel
  197.30 +
  197.31 +******************************
  197.32 +
  197.33 +Foreword
  197.34 +
  197.35 +And it's time for the last one. This one will be done in two parts. 
  197.36 +That has more something with style than necessity though. This is the 
  197.37 +first part and this one will have a few more mature themes, the 
  197.38 +delicate stuff will be handled in special, additional file though.
  197.39 +
  197.40 +******************************
  197.41 +
  197.42 +Seal Cards: Epitomes of Love
  197.43 +Based on the works of CLAMP
  197.44 +Story Concept by Matthias Engel
  197.45 +
  197.46 +******************************
  197.47 +
  197.48 +<July of 1997 (Sakura>
  197.49 +There was a lasting silence in the small room. The curtains were 
  197.50 +closed and only the soft glow of daylight shining through their veil 
  197.51 +illuminated the table in front of me. But I could see perfectly well. 
  197.52 +I wouldn't even need to see the eight cards spread in front of me. 
  197.53 +This was a much more complex method of card reading than the simple 
  197.54 +one Kero hat shown me all the years back. Yet, judged by the situation 
  197.55 +at hand, this was rather appropriate.
  197.56 +	I stared intently at the two middle rows and the top card. Once 
  197.57 +again the same. Just like every time I attempted to see what the cards 
  197.58 +could tell me. I had tried this countless times in the past but the 
  197.59 +big picture would just not change, nor would it completely make sense 
  197.60 +to me. There was just one thing that was for sure. The premonition, 
  197.61 +beyond doubt, was about Her.
  197.62 +	I squeezed my eyes shut. I thought I had conquered those 
  197.63 +memories but after telling Tomoyo three months ago, I couldn't help 
  197.64 +but recall some of the horrible scenes that had driven me straight 
  197.65 +from that future into this one. Kuso, I hated myself for making Tomoyo 
  197.66 +worry so much. The accusations had cut right through my heart. I knew 
  197.67 +on some level they were mostly frustration but...
  197.68 +	*Don't you trust me?*
  197.69 +	That one had hurt. Of course I did trust her. She was the cause 
  197.70 +of why I had come back here, she was why Time had even let me, she was 
  197.71 +the sole reason that I was able to settle back into a remotely normal 
  197.72 +life - as normal as life can be for one of the most powerful people on 
  197.73 +Earth. I had long since given up on the notion that I was the most 
  197.74 +powerful person. Maybe being the strongest mage was true. However, in 
  197.75 +my old time I had met enough other groups of magic users to which my 
  197.76 +power seemed to be a trifle... And none of them had stood a chance 
  197.77 +against Pandora.
  197.78 +	Amazingly enough, after the talk with Tomoyo the tension within 
  197.79 +us had pretty much been turned upside down and nowadays we were almost 
  197.80 +inseparable. I feared that closeness a little since that had been one 
  197.81 +of the things that had troubled me back then. It still did. I would 
  197.82 +feel embarrassed but my mind was too old to be ashamed of the 
  197.83 +thoughts. And I wouldn't think twice about letting Tomoyo know just 
  197.84 +how much I loved her if not for the simple fact that we were both only 
  197.85 +fourteen. I had never quite imagined this would become a major problem 
  197.86 +of the transition but it seemed I had miscalculated. Lately my 
  197.87 +feelings for the lavender-haired girl had blossomed more and more into 
  197.88 +something greater and more passionate. My adult mind and teenager body 
  197.89 +were having a hard time coming to terms how to react to this.
  197.90 +	Kami, I am a little pervert!
  197.91 +	Okay, maybe it wasn't this bad but I was wondering what the hell 
  197.92 +was wrong with me. This had begun about a year ago, slowly at first 
  197.93 +but then more steadily. At first I thought it was just my teenage body 
  197.94 +beginning to mature but at times the love, and the desire spreading 
  197.95 +from that love, became so strong I was barely able to keep my hands 
  197.96 +off of Tomoyo when we were snuggling or something. I had to put some 
  197.97 +distances between us, yet I had chosen the wrong method as it seemed. 
  197.98 +The resulting frustration from both sides nearly drove a wedge between 
  197.99 +us. That was dealt with and resolved now, the feelings between us 
 197.100 +though had only been intensified and I was silently already preparing 
 197.101 +a last will, because if I should really lose control and Sonomi-kaasan 
 197.102 +found out...
 197.103 +	I chuckled ruefully. I WAS overreacting, not to mention 
 197.104 +distracting myself from the reading and its expected and depressing 
 197.105 +outcome. Compared to that, my little physical problems were rather 
 197.106 +insignificant. Sighing audibly, I slowly turned around the last card.
 197.107 +	Woody was the association, the first card. Woody stood for many 
 197.108 +things, for which one was nature itself, or Life if you want. In 
 197.109 +short, I assumed, it meant Earth itself would face a crisis soon. At 
 197.110 +least that made the most sense from what I expected to come. So 
 197.111 +basically, it was a call from Earth for help.
 197.112 +	Then came Mirror, Time and Illusion. They were the cause of the 
 197.113 +current situation. From experience I knew that Mirror and Illusion 
 197.114 +often were substitutes for other unknown elements the cards couldn't 
 197.115 +represent, or at least couldn't represent with the cards available. 
 197.116 +Together with Time at the center it would normally not make much 
 197.117 +sense. However, I knew that Mirror and Illusion most likely pointed at 
 197.118 +the two other Forbidden Clow Cards, those that were responsible for 
 197.119 +Pandora's release in my time. I hadn't known that then but I knew now 
 197.120 +after talking to Time - as little as she did reveal -, Kerberos and 
 197.121 +Yue. And the more I learned about this, the more my belief grew that 
 197.122 +Clow was just as imperfect as any other human being and not nearly as 
 197.123 +foreseeing as Eriol said his prior incarnation had been.
 197.124 +	The Light, the Dark and Erase in the next row, presenting the 
 197.125 +solution. Alright, the solution was not so more like a pointer, a 
 197.126 +guide, a way of what had to be done to assure an outcome in the mage's 
 197.127 +favor. The solution could point at powers, people, a lot of things. It 
 197.128 +could also be a gamble, since the solution could also turn into an aid 
 197.129 +for the problem. The combination was a little weird for my taste. 
 197.130 +While I could see Light and Dark together, I couldn't really place 
 197.131 +Erase. Erase could be another substitute or it could mean something 
 197.132 +completely different. I had some vague theories but that is all they 
 197.133 +were. Vague.
 197.134 +	Which leaves the last card. The location, the Where.
 197.135 +	Shadow.
 197.136 +	As expected. Once again, the location was clouded into shadows, 
 197.137 +unrevealing darkness. I had desperately hoped that for once I would 
 197.138 +get a clue where to look for the Seal Cards but once again no hint was 
 197.139 +given to me. The thing was I could feel the distant presence of a card 
 197.140 +but by their sheer magnitude I suppose they were probably very far 
 197.141 +away.
 197.142 +	Picking up the cards, I returned them to the book and stretched. 
 197.143 +This was getting me nowhere and tomorrow we would all make a small 
 197.144 +trip. I had agreed to the idea readily, seeing this as a chance to 
 197.145 +make up it up to Tomoyo for our little fight and just relax for 
 197.146 +awhile. Summer break had just started and the weather was ideal. A 
 197.147 +part of me wished that we could go alone but I didn't really mind the 
 197.148 +rest of the family coming along. This was going to be fun and maybe I 
 197.149 +could forget about the cards, the uncertain future and dark memories 
 197.150 +for awhile.
 197.151 +
 197.152 +******************************
 197.153 +
 197.154 +(Tomoyo)
 197.155 +Whistling a happy tune, I made my way to the front of the Kinomoto 
 197.156 +residence. It had been a nice day and the evening sun was still warm 
 197.157 +and pleasant. Perfect weather for a vacation. Adjusting the bag over 
 197.158 +my shoulder I made a note to myself not to pack so many things the 
 197.159 +next time. Of course I had reminded myself the last time to do so and 
 197.160 +look where it had gotten me
 197.161 +	Not that the little problem was of any significance to the more 
 197.162 +important things in life at the moment. Sakura and I had finally come 
 197.163 +around and while I was pretty sure that she hadn't told me everything, 
 197.164 +I was simply too happy right now to care. I had overreacted after all 
 197.165 +and chided myself enough about it already. I knew deep down that 
 197.166 +questioning Sakura's trust had hurt my girlfriend and I wished 
 197.167 +desperately I could take it back somehow. Being confronted with how 
 197.168 +much Sakura depended on me when she revealed some of her secrets to me 
 197.169 +had made me feel so ashamed of myself. Sakura was quick to scatter 
 197.170 +those worries though. And since we both felt too guilty about the 
 197.171 +whole matter for different reasons we came to the agreement that this 
 197.172 +would simply just not happen again.
 197.173 +	And the make up was definitely exquisite. I never thought you 
 197.174 +could be so close to a person. I had also thought I was already much 
 197.175 +more attached to a person than normal, even back then in Elementary 
 197.176 +School, at an age there that was rather strange. Especially since the 
 197.177 +relationship part hadn't come for another two years. However, seeing 
 197.178 +us now, aside from school we barely spent a minute alone anymore. The 
 197.179 +strength of our feelings was rather overwhelming even by me. Not that 
 197.180 +Sakura wasn't worth every last ounce of attention but it was as if our 
 197.181 +guilt over the whole accident had undergone the drastic change from 
 197.182 +"turning fire into water".
 197.183 +	My thoughts were interrupted as I looked up, coming to a stop a 
 197.184 +few feet from the front door. Touya stood there with a grin. "I 
 197.185 +suppose saying "Welcome" as if you are a guest, just doesn't do it 
 197.186 +anymore, hmm?" It was remarkable how much the two of them had in 
 197.187 +common. While physically not all that similar, Sakura and her older 
 197.188 +brother had a lot of hidden character traits that often made them more 
 197.189 +alike than they'd ever admit being.
 197.190 +	He moved forward, taking the bag not even waiting or actually 
 197.191 +expecting a request. After all this time I was still a little 
 197.192 +surprised - pleasantly so - as how easy Touya had accepted me. 
 197.193 +Compared to Syaoran that is. Knowing me prior probably had helped 
 197.194 +things a little and even with most of his sight gone - Sakura said it 
 197.195 +was returning very slowly - he had always been rather perceptive. 
 197.196 +Something I admired about him in a way.
 197.197 +	"Arigato," I said, following him into the house and slipping out 
 197.198 +of my shoes. Okaasan had made it pretty much clear to Sakura that she 
 197.199 +was to treat our home as hers and while it had never been said this 
 197.200 +way from the Kinomotos before, the offer was obvious in small things 
 197.201 +like this or the way the treatment had gradually changed from that of 
 197.202 +a normal guest to that of a permanent houseguest or resident even. 
 197.203 +Sakura's home had also become my home and it didn't really matter 
 197.204 +anymore where we were or who would stay with whom. Either way, IF we 
 197.205 +were together, we were at home.
 197.206 +	Touya shrugged, putting the bag down next to the staircase. 
 197.207 +"It's okay. I'll bring it up later. The monster has been in her room 
 197.208 +for awhile again, maybe you can get her to come down and eat 
 197.209 +something."
 197.210 +	I wasn't sure whether to give into the humor or the sigh. On one 
 197.211 +hand it saddened me to hear that Sakura obviously was still troubled 
 197.212 +by her worries. I couldn't fault her, knowing what I did learn so far. 
 197.213 +Sakura had such a good heart and she wanted to protect everyone, 
 197.214 +especially the people she loved and feeling so helpless had to be 
 197.215 +hard. I never really realized how hard it had to be until I learned 
 197.216 +the truth of the events of her timeline. Still, I wished she wouldn't 
 197.217 +think that she had to take all the responsibility upon herself, almost 
 197.218 +as if she was desperately trying to do it all alone. That is why I 
 197.219 +insisted so much on the vacation when the idea was brought up one 
 197.220 +evening we had all sat together in this very house. The idea for a 
 197.221 +little boat trip was spontaneous but once everyone had gotten into it, 
 197.222 +the plans were quickly made. Hopefully this could get Sakura's mind 
 197.223 +set on something different at least for a little while.
 197.224 +	I finally managed a small giggle. I found it funny that Touya 
 197.225 +still called her "monster", even more so than when my girlfriend was 
 197.226 +younger. I supposed that it had become more of an affective nickname 
 197.227 +than the gentle teasing it had once been.
 197.228 +	Already a few steps up the stairs I stopped and turned slightly 
 197.229 +to look back at Touya. "Doesn't it bother you at all?" I had meant to 
 197.230 +ask the question for awhile now. Sakura had come clean about her time 
 197.231 +travel by now. While both her brother and father had suspected 
 197.232 +something already, Sakura had felt obligated to talk to them about 
 197.233 +this after realizing how much concern it had caused me and how much it 
 197.234 +had to have an impact on her family. The whole thing was taken 
 197.235 +relatively well, she had let out a few things she told me exclusively, 
 197.236 +but other then that most of what I learned was revealed to the rest of 
 197.237 +the family.
 197.238 +	Touya looked at me thoughtful for a moment. "Not really. It's a 
 197.239 +little weird sometimes. And I admit I feel helpless knowing all that 
 197.240 +has happened already or will happen or... well, you get the point." I 
 197.241 +smiled wryly, knowing full well the confusion talking about this 
 197.242 +caused me sometimes. "I am just amazed that YOU are taking all this so 
 197.243 +well. Doesn't it bother you in the slightest, I mean... She's not 
 197.244 +exactly the girl you fell in love with anymore. I believe it is much 
 197.245 +harder for you, as her girlfriend, than it is for me, as a brother."
 197.246 +	I didn't really need to think about my answer. Staring directly 
 197.247 +into Touya's eyes - well, as much as you can from a higher vantage 
 197.248 +point -, I said softly but with a firm voice nonetheless, "I wouldn't 
 197.249 +be that - her girlfriend - if Sakura-chan hadn't done what she did. 
 197.250 +She is still Sakura, all the little details are still there. You can 
 197.251 +see it too, I know that. When you truly love someone, you love 
 197.252 +everything about that person. The positive as much as the negative. 
 197.253 +Tell me, Touya-oniisan, would you turn down Yukito-san if the same 
 197.254 +would have happened to him."
 197.255 +	The dark-haired, young man stared back stunned for a moment, 
 197.256 +then his eyes softened and he shook his head slowly. "No. Never."
 197.257 +	I smiled fondly. "Good. Then we understand each other." I turned 
 197.258 +back to resume my ascent. "We'll be down for dinner in a few minutes." 
 197.259 +I swear I heard him mumbling something along the lines of "if you were 
 197.260 +able to separate long enough to walk down the stairs", smiled to 
 197.261 +myself and proceeded to Sakura's room.
 197.262 +
 197.263 +******************************
 197.264 +
 197.265 +(Sakura)
 197.266 +As I leaned back after putting the cards back into the book, I 
 197.267 +realized how stiff I had become. This happened a lot. Often I tried to 
 197.268 +figure out a reading for hours not even realizing the passage of time. 
 197.269 +It was a good thing I still did physical activities frequently to keep 
 197.270 +my body in shape. It would be a little early to suffer from back 
 197.271 +problems...
 197.272 +	My eyes had drifted close for a moment and now they only 
 197.273 +fluttered open for a short moment before the movements of skilled 
 197.274 +hands rubbing my shoulders made me sigh blissfully - though I hadn't 
 197.275 +made up my mind if it was involuntary or not yet. I had to be pretty 
 197.276 +absorbed to not even notice Tomoyo coming up or slipping into the 
 197.277 +room. Usually I could tell from far away already when she was present. 
 197.278 +Not to mention that I tried not to show her just how much I took the 
 197.279 +whole thing to heart... and often failing miserable at that task.
 197.280 +	"Do you have to torture yourself. Even a day before vacation?" 
 197.281 +Tomoyo asked softly, her voice barely a whisper and close to my ear. I 
 197.282 +suppressed the shudder wanting to run down my spine at her closeness 
 197.283 +and the feelings her warm breath tickling my skin invoked. I wished 
 197.284 +nothing more than to...
 197.285 +	What was wrong with me?
 197.286 +	Fighting down the primal urges of my - entirely too young - body 
 197.287 +I focused on her question, with some effort. "You know I must. If I 
 197.288 +don't find a way to prevent the seal from breaking than..." I trailed 
 197.289 +off, not wishing to speak further in fear of calling back the haunting 
 197.290 +images of a future long since past. A future that might become reality 
 197.291 +again if I didn't...
 197.292 +	"I know you will find a way. You always do. But that you still 
 197.293 +have a few years, right? Don't push yourself so hard."
 197.294 +	I let go of another content smile as the hands moved from my 
 197.295 +shoulders to my neck and further down my back with patient precision. 
 197.296 +Tomoyo could really give one hell of a massage. "How can you be so 
 197.297 +calm about this. I told you what happened. I stood no chance against 
 197.298 +that... thing. I..." I turned around albeit my body's vehement 
 197.299 +protests, fixing a startled Tomoyo with an intense gaze. "She killed 
 197.300 +you, right in front of my eyes. I... I won't..." I could feel tears 
 197.301 +stinging in my eyes and was a little bit surprised at the emotional 
 197.302 +surge that had triggered such a strong response. I usually was much 
 197.303 +calmer nowadays but Tomoyo managed with her mere presence alone to 
 197.304 +create that overwhelming urge to love, to protect, to cherish and 
 197.305 +always hold onto this incredible gift. I couldn't maintain my shields 
 197.306 +around her for long. "I will never let this happen again," I finished, 
 197.307 +trying to make my voice sound firm but it was more a croaked whisper. 
 197.308 +"Never..."
 197.309 +	Before I even knew what was happening we were kissing. And not 
 197.310 +just the chaste kiss of children or young teenagers but laced with a 
 197.311 +mixture of passion and need. My arms went around Tomoyo's waist on 
 197.312 +instinct drawing her closer, basking in the heat of the contact. Not 
 197.313 +just the physical but also the spiritual one. Our kisses had become 
 197.314 +that much bolder lately and they weren't always initiated by me. 
 197.315 +Tomoyo proved very quickly that this important aspect of life was as 
 197.316 +much one of the skills she was so good with, just like all the others. 
 197.317 +And so I found myself relenting briefly as the kiss began to involve 
 197.318 +tongues rather quickly, that sweet scent, so distinctive Tomoyo, 
 197.319 +filling my mouth, literally drinking up all the troubles, concerns and 
 197.320 +fears of only a few moments ago.
 197.321 +	Finally Tomoyo drew away but only a few inches. I am sure my 
 197.322 +face was flushed since hers definitely was. A part of me was 
 197.323 +disappointed at the lack of contact and wanted to reengage right away, 
 197.324 +taking this to places I steadfastly refused to even let myself think 
 197.325 +about. The beautiful lavender-haired girl had her fingers tangled in 
 197.326 +some strands of my hair falling in disarray over my face. "I know, 
 197.327 +Sakura-chan. I know you will always be there to protect me. I told you 
 197.328 +that a long time ago and my belief has not changed. You have taken all 
 197.329 +those risks and changed your future already. Your beautiful heart will 
 197.330 +find a solution when the time is right. Please, don't burn yourself 
 197.331 +out. That won't get us anywhere and brings you only more pain. I hate 
 197.332 +to see you suffer."
 197.333 +	I stared in amazement at this magnificent creature. What in all 
 197.334 +the world had I done to earn such trust, such loyalty, such love from 
 197.335 +this gentle and kind girl. When I was young and unknowing of her 
 197.336 +feelings I had often felt a little embarrassed. But never scared. I 
 197.337 +knew some people who experienced our interaction wondered why I wasn't 
 197.338 +scared of Tomoyo's devotion. Yet, I could never be scared of such a 
 197.339 +wondrous thing. Now, I was simply amazed and every time she looked at 
 197.340 +me like this, so completely without doubt, utter faith in her gaze 
 197.341 +that I would never let her come to harm, I knew that I wasn't worth 
 197.342 +it. But yet, it always created a confidence in me so strong that I 
 197.343 +felt like being able to strike down any foe ever trying to harm this 
 197.344 +otherworldly creature that I could dare call my girlfriend.
 197.345 +	"I don't deserve you," I whispered, one hand softly stroking the 
 197.346 +pale skin of her cheek. I had never felt like this before. Not with 
 197.347 +Syaoran, never with him. That realization had come gradually but by 
 197.348 +now I was certain that while a part of me would always love him, my 
 197.349 +statement that the love for him and Tomoyo was an equal one had long 
 197.350 +since expired. The magnitude of love I felt for Tomoyo know had 
 197.351 +definitely exceeded what I ever had felt for the Chinese boy. "But I 
 197.352 +love you more than anyone or anything else in this world," I said, 
 197.353 +making sure she understood completely what I was implying.
 197.354 +	Tomoyo's smile was radiant, her blue eyes sparkling as if the 
 197.355 +sun was reflecting on the clear surface of a lake. I leaned forward 
 197.356 +again, touching my lips to hers, leaving my gaze glued on those 
 197.357 +brilliant orbs. Sensual at first I felt that inner fire once again 
 197.358 +igniting with renewed intensity and for several seconds I completely 
 197.359 +lost myself in the feelings, tongues meeting in a slow dance, 
 197.360 +passionate but not forceful. So much unlike Syaoran's kisses. This 
 197.361 +was... softer, slower and at the same much more intense.
 197.362 +	"Hey, monster! Get down here, dinner is ready!"
 197.363 +	I blinked my eyes, realizing only now that somehow Tomoyo had 
 197.364 +found her way into my lap and my hands were resting on her buttocks, 
 197.365 +Tomoyo's arms were around my neck, clinging tightly as if afraid to 
 197.366 +fall apart if she should let go. I blinked again, slowly drawing away 
 197.367 +and tentatively altering my grip from my girlfriend's behind to hold 
 197.368 +her around the waist again. I didn't want to let go but there was that 
 197.369 +slight spark of embarrassment that I had let myself go so far. But I 
 197.370 +didn't really feel all that bad about it, after all Tomoyo seemed 
 197.371 +quite content where she was.
 197.372 +	"Wow..." I whispered, my breath a little shallow from the 
 197.373 +exchange. I could feel some sweat on my forehead and was rather aware 
 197.374 +that both of our body temperatures had definitely risen to a 
 197.375 +noticeable degree. "That was..." I wanted to say "too close" but 
 197.376 +honestly, I had to agree with Tomoyo's definition.
 197.377 +	"Intense. Amazingly intense..." Tomoyo responded, equally 
 197.378 +breathless and I was fascinated at how much that sparkle in her eyes 
 197.379 +had even more increased but now it was more like... I wasn't sure I 
 197.380 +actually wanted to know the answer to that because I wasn't sure right 
 197.381 +now if I could control the following consequences.
 197.382 +	"We should... uh, get downstairs... Dinner, you know...?" I 
 197.383 +tried lamely, my mind not yet fully restored from one of the most 
 197.384 +passionate moments between us yet. Tomoyo just nodded, also a little 
 197.385 +out of it.
 197.386 +	It was only with a lot of effort and after another few minutes 
 197.387 +of regaining some composure that we managed to follow my brothers 
 197.388 +request. Touya was giving me the most annoying smirk all evening.
 197.389 +
 197.390 +******************************
 197.391 +
 197.392 +<About two days later (Tomoyo)>
 197.393 +There was one thing that was for sure about life with Sakura. It never 
 197.394 +was boring. I had known this right away when I met her. I knew that I 
 197.395 +just had to put an effort into at least befriending the genki brunette 
 197.396 +or my life would be so much duller. This experience had only grown 
 197.397 +when Sakura came back for me and devoted her attention almost solely 
 197.398 +upon me. The things we did on a regular basis when going out, other 
 197.399 +couples probably never even encounter half the excitement and the 
 197.400 +wonders Sakura managed to produce.
 197.401 +	I had noticed that Sakura liked to use the cards rather often 
 197.402 +for those special occasion but also other everyday life stuff. For 
 197.403 +example creating a nice atmosphere with Glow or Flower, lightening 
 197.404 +candles with Firery or often just flying around with Fly. Sakura had 
 197.405 +developed a close bond with her cards, that much was for sure. "Don't 
 197.406 +they mind doing all those things for you?" I asked, turning my head 
 197.407 +towards Sakura. The question was more a rhetorical one with just a 
 197.408 +touch of curiosity I could guess the answer already.
 197.409 +	Sakura laughed lightly and I could feel just the tiny bits of a 
 197.410 +ripple around us that felt like... giggling. "Don't worry about that. 
 197.411 +The cards actually want to get out and play whenever I let them. While 
 197.412 +they don't mind being in the book, they like to do things outside, 
 197.413 +interact with the world, you know." Sakura gazed at me adoringly and I 
 197.414 +felt my cheeks flush, a reaction the lovely girl had managed to bring 
 197.415 +forth more and more in the last days. The passionate scene from the 
 197.416 +evening two days ago was still present in my mind and this hasn't been 
 197.417 +the only occasion. "And they like you, too, so they like to do things 
 197.418 +that make you happy." The blush deepened and I melted into the 
 197.419 +following kiss that was much to brief and chaste for my taste...
 197.420 +	Blinking I tried to clear my foggy mind, snuggling closer to 
 197.421 +Sakura who had one arm around my waist so that we wouldn't be 
 197.422 +separated, not that any of us minded the contact. The water around us 
 197.423 +was cool but not freezing. I believed this to be an added side effect 
 197.424 +of Watery other than providing an air bubble to breath and right now 
 197.425 +the movement as well. We already had been swimming quite some while 
 197.426 +but right now we were content to enjoy each other's presence and let 
 197.427 +Watery do the stirring, so to say.
 197.428 +	The ocean down here was a captivating sight. Especially this 
 197.429 +way, without diving gear or other such limitations. Only our bodies 
 197.430 +and normal senses experiencing what no ordinary human would usually be 
 197.431 +able to do. Not for that long and surely enough not as deep as we were 
 197.432 +already. This definitely had been one of Sakura's best ideas involving 
 197.433 +the cards up to now. We had left the world above the surface already 
 197.434 +far behind, exploring the wondrous depths of the ocean.
 197.435 +	I hadn't expected something like that - Sakura always managed to 
 197.436 +surprise me with those things - when we set out yesterday morning for 
 197.437 +the beach and then a trip with our family yacht. Okaasan had actually 
 197.438 +been glad to have a use for it after all that time. In all my life we 
 197.439 +had only gotten to make use of it once and I had been almost too 
 197.440 +little to remember it then. Now, the yacht served as the perfect tool 
 197.441 +for some nice, relaxing days. Okaasan had been excited to participate 
 197.442 +in the family vacation and readily provided the boat even though it 
 197.443 +visibly got to her to spend so much time in close company to Sakura's 
 197.444 +father. They managed to behave most of the trip but a few hours ago 
 197.445 +the tension had escalated and everyone had retreated hastily to other 
 197.446 +parts of the yacht to evade the coming war zone. Yukito and Touya had 
 197.447 +went below deck and Sakura came up that we should probably go even 
 197.448 +deeper with a twinkle in her eyes. I had had barely enough time to 
 197.449 +prepare myself - thankfully we already had been in our bathing suits 
 197.450 +for the purpose of sun bathing - before Sakura grabbed me and jumped 
 197.451 +into the calm ocean, activating Watery in the process.
 197.452 +	The feeling was extraordinary. The ocean was calm on this clear 
 197.453 +summer day and the flow was gentle, encompassing the two of us. 
 197.454 +Somehow Watery had managed to make it so that we could breathe 
 197.455 +underwater but still feel the water and move freely. Therefore we were 
 197.456 +treated by the embrace of the wet element, washing over our skin. It 
 197.457 +didn't even sting in the eyes!
 197.458 +	Right now we were resting from swimming so much, gently floating 
 197.459 +through the vast ocean, letting Watery push us forward. And once again 
 197.460 +we found ourselves in one of those moments. The place was a little 
 197.461 +odd, I admit, but as usual neither of us cared very much and while we 
 197.462 +weren't even kissing, just the contact was enough to hold us captured 
 197.463 +in the moment. I could feel Sakura's hand lightly stroking my bare 
 197.464 +skin and shivered. Not from the cold of the water but from the sudden 
 197.465 +heat coursing through my body, making my skin tingle.
 197.466 +	Oh, I wasn't stupid. I was pretty much aware of the sexual 
 197.467 +tension. There was just no other way to describe it. Both of us were 
 197.468 +rather mature for our physical age and that was even more true in 
 197.469 +Sakura's case. It had taken me some time to figure out that the whole 
 197.470 +Pandora issue hadn't been all that had my girlfriend bothered lately. 
 197.471 +I hadn't been totally sure at first but the level of passion in our 
 197.472 +kisses, the lingering touches, the closeness. The encounter the 
 197.473 +evening before our departure wasn't the only one and they had become 
 197.474 +even more heated. No, by now I was pretty sure that Sakura had 
 197.475 +definitely trouble suppressing urges she surely felt entirely to 
 197.476 +improper for our physical age.
 197.477 +	How did I feel about this? I honestly wasn't sure. I would lie 
 197.478 +if I said that the rising passion between us didn't scare me a little. 
 197.479 +Just a little. I hadn't thought in this direction at all until a few 
 197.480 +months ago but now I found myself wishing at times that Sakura would 
 197.481 +just go ahead and... See, that's what I meant. Where I could 
 197.482 +understand and tolerate that Sakura's older mind might harbor such 
 197.483 +thoughts, I know that for me they were rather... early. Not 
 197.484 +impossible, but early in their appearance. And entirely too strong to 
 197.485 +be natural.
 197.486 +	At the same time the feelings were exhilarating and I felt 
 197.487 +myself craving the attention, the sensations of drowning in Sakura's 
 197.488 +love and passion, wishing nothing more than to just let go and feel. 
 197.489 +This was frightening in itself but more like a thrill, a good, 
 197.490 +exciting thrill I had entirely no idea how to deal with. I just knew 
 197.491 +if Sakura as much as asked I would jump at the chance and that scared 
 197.492 +me again, just a little.
 197.493 +	Out of the corner of my eye I spotted something and was 
 197.494 +partially grateful for the interruption of the moment. Because as much 
 197.495 +as a big part of me wouldn't object I think the setting would be more 
 197.496 +than a little awkward. Not too mention, we'd probably traumatize poor 
 197.497 +Watery!
 197.498 +	"Hey, there's a cave down there!"
 197.499 +	Sakura blinked, a look of disappoint crossing her features that 
 197.500 +almost made me giggle. I suppressed that reaction though and pointed 
 197.501 +down. We were rather close to the bottom I think. The water was 
 197.502 +getting murkier here. Less light was reaching us from the surface and 
 197.503 +it was a little hard to make out the cave's entrance. Sakura and I 
 197.504 +looked at each other, confirming our mutual curiosity and made our way 
 197.505 +into the cave.
 197.506 +
 197.507 +******************************
 197.508 +
 197.509 +(Sakura)
 197.510 +Emerging from the water we were both surprised and amazed to find a 
 197.511 +cave that huge. Sure, there probably were enough on the ocean floor 
 197.512 +but when did you ever get the chance to see them. Not that any of us 
 197.513 +was paying much attention to our surroundings. Watery went back into 
 197.514 +card form and then to subspace for the moment with nothing more than a 
 197.515 +thought. My eyes were pretty much glued to Tomoyo and there was a 
 197.516 +conflict inside of me whether to praise or curse myself for my 
 197.517 +impromptu idea. Kuso, Tomoyo was sexy in that dark blue bikini, 
 197.518 +drenched by the ocean water and therefore highlighting the young 
 197.519 +girl's curves pretty well.
 197.520 +	This was ridiculous. Something was definitely going on here. I 
 197.521 +mean something other than my dirty adult mind and developing teenage 
 197.522 +body. As much as I did love Tomoyo this was getting out of hand and I 
 197.523 +was pretty sure that my control was only a few percent from 
 197.524 +evaporating into thin air. I mean, I had actually kicked Touya for 
 197.525 +flirting with Tomoyo. He did that sometimes and I know very well that 
 197.526 +it was never more than teasing. And still I had actually hit him, he 
 197.527 +had been throwing wary glances my way the whole trip. And the poor boy 
 197.528 +from when we arrived at the beach who dared to... wanted to ask Tomoyo 
 197.529 +out or something. I swear he must have run straight to his mommy after 
 197.530 +the menacing look I had given him - thankfully that had been all. My 
 197.531 +emotions couldn't suddenly be so out of control. Not naturally...
 197.532 +	"Sakura?"
 197.533 +	Gah!
 197.534 +	Tomoyo was standing right in front of me, blue eyes focused on 
 197.535 +me in a wordless, yet demanding expression. I was being drawn into the 
 197.536 +liquid pools, drowned in a sea of happiness and love. I might have 
 197.537 +jumped at the touch, her hand on my cheek, caressing slightly in a 
 197.538 +circular pattern. "What are you afraid of?"
 197.539 +	Crap, she always knew me so well, that hadn't changed in the 
 197.540 +most aspects of my life even after traveling back in time. With the 
 197.541 +exception of the Pandora happenings and my growing desires she had 
 197.542 +always managed to read me like a book. It seemed the latter was about 
 197.543 +to experience the same fate.
 197.544 +	"Tomo-chan... I..." I breathed, my voice taking on a husky tone, 
 197.545 +feeling her other coming around me, one hand settling on my back. A 
 197.546 +surge of immediate desire rushed through me and my mouth couldn't 
 197.547 +decide whether to be dry or the complete opposite. I couldn't finish 
 197.548 +the sentence but looking into her eyes, I knew it wasn't necessary.
 197.549 +	"You don't have to be afraid for my sake, Sakura-chan." I gasped 
 197.550 +when she dipped her head slightly to the side and moved forward to run 
 197.551 +her lips over the skin on my neck. My arms tightened around her, 
 197.552 +almost crushing her lithe form against mine even if that small voice 
 197.553 +that was calling me names was still there. It was fading fast.
 197.554 +	"I... I don't want to hurt you... This is not how..."
 197.555 +	Tomoyo looked up again and before I could even guess her 
 197.556 +intentions her lips were upon mine. The kiss was sending hot waves of 
 197.557 +tiny flames through my whole body. Her lips were crushed against mine 
 197.558 +and I leaned into the passionate, desperate contact without even 
 197.559 +thinking. The last bit of rational thought was more or less leaving me 
 197.560 +right now.
 197.561 +	Coming up for air after almost a full minute, I realized that 
 197.562 +our hands had become much bolder. Tomoyo's hands were just resting 
 197.563 +under the hem of my bikini top and mine were already all the way 
 197.564 +there. The desire created between us had reached the force of a 
 197.565 +tornado. I could see the desperation and need reflected in Tomoyo's 
 197.566 +eyes.
 197.567 +	"Do you really want to fight this?" Tomoyo asked in her usual 
 197.568 +soft, lightly musical voice but still somehow managing to let it sound 
 197.569 +seductive. "We can't fight this any longer, you know that."
 197.570 +	Can't fight...? A jolting sensation of recognition passed 
 197.571 +through me and for just a single moment I managed to tear myself away 
 197.572 +from the powerful thrall both of us were under. No, not so much a 
 197.573 +thrall as the rise of emotions to its maximum. Right here, right now, 
 197.574 +around us...
 197.575 +	Love was here.
 197.576 +	Love, one of the Seal Cards. Time had told me that the reason I 
 197.577 +felt its presence nearing was because the original seal was more or 
 197.578 +less encompassing the whole planet, both elemental powers overlapping 
 197.579 +each other. It had been a steady stream, unyielding and without a 
 197.580 +flaw. Until Clow tempered with those ancient archtypes and bound 
 197.581 +powers where he should have not. After realizing his mistake and that 
 197.582 +he couldn't control the elemental powers, he had placed the cards 
 197.583 +inside the original seal, reestablishing the power but not the flow. 
 197.584 +The flow had been destroyed, its flawlessness lost. To make the flaw 
 197.585 +as tiny as possible the cards were moving around in the seal in a more 
 197.586 +or less stable orbit. It was no surprise to realize that this had 
 197.587 +given Pandora her opportunity. Clow's actions to fix his mistake had 
 197.588 +not been enough after all.
 197.589 +	The realization came at a rather bad moment though and most of 
 197.590 +my thoughts on the matter were just like a background image. I was 
 197.591 +aware of it, I was aware of the enormous presence so similar to Time 
 197.592 +back then, yet I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't have the 
 197.593 +willpower anymore to call upon some counter spell. I simply didn't 
 197.594 +want to stop!
 197.595 +	And with a groan of resignation I brought my hands up around 
 197.596 +Tomoyo's neck, drawing her in. My breath was creating tiny goose bumps 
 197.597 +against her skin, my voice long since having lost the battle to hold 
 197.598 +pack the passion and longing. "I love you so much, Tomo-chan. Even if 
 197.599 +this is not entirely our doing, I want to make you happy. Do you trust 
 197.600 +me enough with this?" I said the last bit with the utmost seriousness 
 197.601 +I could still muster in this situation, yet I was unsure if I could 
 197.602 +take a negative answer anymore.
 197.603 +	"I told you already," Tomoyo whispered back, her voice mirroring 
 197.604 +my own open desire. "I will always be safe with Sakura-chan. I have 
 197.605 +faith that Sakura-chan will always save me and keep me safe." 
 197.606 +Proceeding to kiss me again, I simply let go, my body almost sighing 
 197.607 +in relief, welcoming whatever shall come.
 197.608 +
 197.609 +******************************
 197.610 +
 197.611 +(Tomoyo)
 197.612 +Slowly, with the speed of a turtle climbing a hill my senses returned 
 197.613 +to awareness, my spirit floating back down from that place somewhere 
 197.614 +far above the heavens where it had climbed to... some time... ago. I 
 197.615 +really had NO idea how much time had passed, how long we had been in 
 197.616 +the cave or lying on the cold ground warmed by a small friction of 
 197.617 +magic - but I really didn't care where it came from right now.
 197.618 +	The tremors had finally subsided and my body lay in total peace, 
 197.619 +every muscle relaxed and surely not able to obey any command in the 
 197.620 +near future. And I felt GOOD. Kami, did I feel good. I had really been 
 197.621 +a little... unsure when I gave in to my desires. Yet, seeing Sakura 
 197.622 +suffer even more, trying to hold herself back, inhabitations had been 
 197.623 +thrown out of the window. Very, very far away. And it wasn't like I 
 197.624 +had not wanted. We loved each other after all, so it couldn't be a bad 
 197.625 +thing, just... a little early maybe. It wasn't like we were still ten 
 197.626 +or something. That would have been rather illogical.
 197.627 +	Feeling Sakura move slightly from her position spooned up behind 
 197.628 +me, I shifted slightly and craned my neck to look behind me. Her face 
 197.629 +was producing a stronger result than the Glow card could... even 
 197.630 +though I was sure the expression was mirrored on my own. I smiled 
 197.631 +widely, feeling giddy and in a state of utter bliss. I've never felt 
 197.632 +so much in the right place like now. I was sure that was what I was 
 197.633 +meant to be, where I belonged to be. Right here, in Sakura's arms, 
 197.634 +enveloped in a warm blanket of love. Body, mind and soul.
 197.635 +	I could see the hint of regret and shame in Sakura's eyes though 
 197.636 +and was quick to dispel these feelings. With some effort I managed to 
 197.637 +command my body to turn around in the tight embrace. Brushing some of 
 197.638 +the brown hair that had fallen into Sakura's face out of the way, I 
 197.639 +leaned in to place a soft, lingering kiss on her lips, gazing 
 197.640 +adoringly into green eyes. Sakura smiled faintly. "You keep giving the 
 197.641 +most special gifts in the most special ways. You are such an amazing 
 197.642 +person."
 197.643 +	Sakura's smiled turned into a more genuine one. "That wasn't all 
 197.644 +my doing. Don't you feel different somehow?"
 197.645 +	I was puzzled at her question. "What do you mean? Of course I 
 197.646 +feel different!" I said lightly teasing.
 197.647 +	Sakura laughed heartedly and the sound was such a lovely thing 
 197.648 +to my ears. "No, no, I mean. About the desire between us. Just until a 
 197.649 +few minutes ago..." She let the sentence linger and I suddenly 
 197.650 +realized what she meant. The whirlwind of feelings had ceased to be 
 197.651 +more gradual, more normal. I had first though this was only and effect 
 197.652 +of the afterglow but there was a little more to it. I didn't know how 
 197.653 +I could tell the difference, I just did. So when Sakura said this 
 197.654 +wasn't completely her doing then did that mean...
 197.655 +	I blinked almost audibly and was already in the process of 
 197.656 +sitting up despite the protests of my body before Sakura pulled me 
 197.657 +down again gently but persistent. "Yes, I am sure its one of the Seal 
 197.658 +Cards. I told you about them, right?" I nodded, wondering why we were 
 197.659 +still lying here. Not that I WANTED to move, mind you. "It must be 
 197.660 +Love. But its moving very slowly. We can easily catch up, don't rush 
 197.661 +now. I, personally, feel like being defiant and not rush after it the 
 197.662 +way it played with us." Sakura chuckled and run one hand through my 
 197.663 +open hair, drawing out a sigh from me in the process. I had went to 
 197.664 +tie it into a ponytail in the last months but was seriously 
 197.665 +considering to leave it open again in order to experience the 
 197.666 +wonderful sensations my girlfriend's fingers in my hair produced more 
 197.667 +often. Hmm, girlfriend didn't seem right anymore. Lover? Mate? It had 
 197.668 +felt a lot like mating on a level and I couldn't quite believe that 
 197.669 +this all had been the card's doing.
 197.670 +	"You mean Love made us do all this?" I asked curiously, showing 
 197.671 +my disbelief at the possibility.
 197.672 +	Sakura shook her head slightly, drawing me closer until my head 
 197.673 +rested contently under her chin, almost nestled comfortingly in her 
 197.674 +small chest. I let go of another sigh and could practically feel 
 197.675 +Sakura's smile in response. "No, the way I understand it is that Love 
 197.676 +cannot produce false feelings. It can only take what is there and 
 197.677 +amplify them. The stronger the feelings the more they are amplified. 
 197.678 +And Love doesn't do something on its own since the card is embedded in 
 197.679 +the seal. It is a natural side effect. Clow played with something you 
 197.680 +can't just simply control. The magic he bound into a card was so 
 197.681 +strong that, even ineffective, it puts out incredible power."
 197.682 +	I listened carefully and would have nodded, had I not been so 
 197.683 +comfortable right now. Instead I said in a lightly teasing voice, "So 
 197.684 +you DID want me THIS way..." I grinned to myself, feeling Sakura shift 
 197.685 +a little... not uncomfortably but surely enough embarrassed. Even if 
 197.686 +her mind was older she was still such an innocent creature at times. 
 197.687 +"It's okay. You didn't hurt me and it was the most wonderful gift 
 197.688 +other than your heart that you could ever have given me."
 197.689 +	Sakura's arms tightened around me even more. "I love you. I 
 197.690 +really do. More than anything. That wasn't just because of Love. I 
 197.691 +promise you, I will always love you, forever."
 197.692 +	I lifted my head slightly, meeting her downward gaze of 
 197.693 +unrestrained, unconditional love with one of my own. "I love you, too. 
 197.694 +More than I could ever put into words."
 197.695 +
 197.696 +******************************
 197.697 +
 197.698 +(Sakura)
 197.699 +You'd expect after the whole mess I'd feel guilty. You'd expect I 
 197.700 +would want to harm myself for ever letting my urges get the better of 
 197.701 +me. You know what? I really didn't care anymore. The experience was 
 197.702 +just so... glorious. And Tomoyo didn't regret it either. You could see 
 197.703 +it in her body language or every other part of her. She could probably 
 197.704 +be lightening a Christmas tree right now and I surely wasn't very far 
 197.705 +behind.
 197.706 +	I wasn't sure whether or not to give Love a piece of my mind 
 197.707 +when we caught up with it though. On the one hand I knew that 
 197.708 +logically seen the card had pretty much no control over its effect. 
 197.709 +Yet, the timing was rather... inappropriate. I still couldn't believe 
 197.710 +we did THAT down THERE. I mean, sure, I love to treat Tomoyo to 
 197.711 +special things in special places. The cards really like to be useful 
 197.712 +and they really like to make Tomoyo happy too, both of us actually. 
 197.713 +However, this was rather shooting over the top. As I said, now I 
 197.714 +didn't regret it anymore. It was done with and I was not about to 
 197.715 +destroy this eternal memory of a first time with thoughts of 
 197.716 +self-blame and guilt when my... lover looks like I couldn't have 
 197.717 +possibly made her happier today.
 197.718 +	Anyway, after resting a few minutes longer, we finally returned 
 197.719 +to the surface. The recovery was only one reason why I wanted to stay 
 197.720 +down there for awhile. No, and the other was NOT to enjoy the feel of 
 197.721 +Tomoyo's naked form against mine... Kami, I must be blushing madly at 
 197.722 +this thought, I could tell from Tomoyo's almost smug look - Tomoyo and 
 197.723 +smug! No, that had not been the reason... although it was an added 
 197.724 +bonus. Staying still for a short while would allow Love to pass on a 
 197.725 +little further and therefore lessening the chance of a fallback into 
 197.726 +emotional overload.
 197.727 +	I was very glad I decided on that because I REALLY didn't want 
 197.728 +to know what happened up here on - and mostly likely in - the yacht a 
 197.729 +few minutes ago while we had our own encounter below the surface. We 
 197.730 +might have just stood there for another minute or so before either of 
 197.731 +us could override the shock to our system at the scene playing in 
 197.732 +front of us. I glanced at Tomoyo with a totally bewildered look and 
 197.733 +saw my girlfriend - I would stick with that for now, the other term 
 197.734 +sounded TOO mature for our physical age - equally flabbergasted. 
 197.735 +"Didn't you say Love only amplifies what is already there?" she asked.
 197.736 +	I turned pack to the couple at the helm of the yacht, engaged in 
 197.737 +a - pretty intense - lip lock, blissfully unaware of having an 
 197.738 +audience... and probably just as unaware of what they were doing in 
 197.739 +the first place. I shrugged at Tomoyo's question, rather perplexed 
 197.740 +myself. "I honestly have no idea. It's not like even Clow himself 
 197.741 +understood what exactly he created there." Grinning slightly I put my 
 197.742 +hands on my hips and cleared my throat loud enough for the two adults 
 197.743 +to hear.
 197.744 +	There was a very short silence and it seemed as if the world 
 197.745 +itself just stopped breathing for a timeliness moment, awaiting the 
 197.746 +inevitable apocalypse. Then, as if someone dropped a sledgehammer 
 197.747 +between them the two parental figures of our group literally jumped 
 197.748 +several feet apart. Otousan looked rather baffled... well, stupefied 
 197.749 +actually and I could see from the look on Sonomi-kaasan's face that 
 197.750 +was just about turning from speechless consternation into smoldering 
 197.751 +rage that he would probably not survive the following moments if I 
 197.752 +didn't intervene.
 197.753 +	"Save it!" I shouted, drawing their attention immediately and 
 197.754 +succeeding in flustering both of them speech- and motionless again. 
 197.755 +Right now I regretted not explaining to them about the Seal Cards as I 
 197.756 +had done for Tomoyo but I really didn't want to waste anymore time. I 
 197.757 +could sense Love was actually picking up speed... which was strange 
 197.758 +since the paths of the cards were supposed to be stable. "We don't 
 197.759 +have time for this now. There is a card here I need to catch and its 
 197.760 +moving away right now. So if any of you would be kind enough to get us 
 197.761 +moving." Granted, I would normally never take such a... commanding 
 197.762 +tone with my father or Tomoyo's mother. But I knew where this was 
 197.763 +leading when I didn't intervene and I really had no time for this. I 
 197.764 +could feel in every fiber of my being that this was my chance, my only 
 197.765 +chance to change something about the future I had experienced.
 197.766 +	Just that moment Kero-chan choose to make his appearance, coming 
 197.767 +from below deck and looking rather agitated. "What's going on?" He 
 197.768 +looked around at the scene, arching a tiny eyebrow at the still rather 
 197.769 +shell-shocked-looking adults and then turned to me. "Sakura? I felt 
 197.770 +the presence of a card. Is that...?"
 197.771 +	I nodded at his unfinished question, already trying to track 
 197.772 +Love. That was funny, I cold feel something else too. Was that the 
 197.773 +other one? If yes, that would be more coincidence when I believed in. 
 197.774 +Isolating Love for now I felt it rapidly moving westwards.
 197.775 +	"Quick, Otousan, turn the boat around, its picking up speed for 
 197.776 +some reason!" I yelled running to the back of the yacht, staring out 
 197.777 +over the ocean intently. I could see something moving in the distance. 
 197.778 +It was to tiny to really make out and for someone without magic 
 197.779 +probably impossible to see at all.
 197.780 +	Otousan meanwhile had snapped out of his shocked state long 
 197.781 +enough to take over the controls and pull the boat around, pushing the 
 197.782 +engine to top speed. "Tomoyo, get Yukito, I'd rather like everyone 
 197.783 +together and who knows if I might need Yue. Love isn't actually 
 197.784 +dangerous - I think - but I'd rather be safe." Tomoyo nodded and took 
 197.785 +off. I was pretty sure Yue must have sensed what was going on too and 
 197.786 +was probably already on his way. Hopefully he was because I could more 
 197.787 +or less guess what Love did to him and Touya, considering what it did 
 197.788 +to the rest of us. I really hoped Tomoyo wouldn't catch them in an 
 197.789 +embarrassing situation.
 197.790 +	"I better take care of this before we all go crazy trying to go 
 197.791 +near that thing," I said more to myself, only realizing Kero was next 
 197.792 +to me at his squeak when he obviously figured out what exactly I was 
 197.793 +implying. Well, that couldn't be helped now.
 197.794 +	Taking the key from its resting place I invoked its ancient 
 197.795 +powers and drew Time from subspace. Better to fight Fire with Fire, or 
 197.796 +something like that. "Time!" I called out. "Encase us in a bubble of 
 197.797 +your power!" There was a bright flash of crimson-purple energy and the 
 197.798 +sensitive eye could see the dim, almost completely transparent field 
 197.799 +of temporal energy enveloping the yacht. I heard Otousan gasp and 
 197.800 +realized suddenly that he actually could see all this. Of course he 
 197.801 +could, I told myself, since he has part of Clow's magic now.
 197.802 +	"Don't worry, just stay on course." I reached out once again, 
 197.803 +confirming my earlier observation. "See the small object in the 
 197.804 +distance?" Otousan nodded. "Follow it!"
 197.805 +	If I could have it any other way I really wouldn't want to 
 197.806 +endanger everyone. But seeing as if I might never be able to come so 
 197.807 +close again, I had hardly a choice left. Besides, the Seal Cards were 
 197.808 +not really... active. Therefore I hoped it wouldn't be all that 
 197.809 +dangerous.
 197.810 +
 197.811 +******************************
 197.812 +
 197.813 +(Tomoyo)
 197.814 +I found them alright. And I found them just as expected in their cabin 
 197.815 +doing... err, the same that we did... Not that I would tell them that. 
 197.816 +Of course I had had the decency to knock or wanted to... until the 
 197.817 +cabin door was flung open and I was almost flattened by an agitated 
 197.818 +Yue. Thinking back on it I should really not be surprised but the 
 197.819 +sudden change from the powerful yet sweet experience below the surface 
 197.820 +and the serious situation above was rather sudden and I was a little 
 197.821 +nervous, I admit. I knew this was important for Sakura - heck, it was 
 197.822 +important for all of us in the long run. I didn't think I've seen 
 197.823 +Sakura so... confident before. She usually was not the type to give 
 197.824 +commands like that. That was a fact that was easily reflected onto her 
 197.825 +cards who she treated more as friends than as tools.
 197.826 +	I hadn't even realized I complied with her order without a 
 197.827 +question before I was halfway below the deck. That was an amazing 
 197.828 +discovery in itself because I found out just then that there was 
 197.829 +something else to Sakura I was sure neither of us had seen so far. The 
 197.830 +attributes of a natural leader. Not some great military genius or 
 197.831 +whatever you want to call the equivalent for a mage. No, years of 
 197.832 +training had given her an air of confidence that often leaked through 
 197.833 +in many aspects of every day life but really developed in a serious 
 197.834 +situation like this one. Making new discoveries about Sakura has 
 197.835 +always been one of my favorite things, especially since I knew so much 
 197.836 +about her already, seeing new things was rare and often served to add 
 197.837 +another special flair to her magnificent personality.
 197.838 +	As I said, I literally bumped into Yue, Touya following looking 
 197.839 +a little as if he just woke up - which might be true. I shot him a 
 197.840 +knowing smirk - to which the older Kinomoto sibling just shrugged and 
 197.841 +grumbled something - before I turned back to Yue. "You better go up. 
 197.842 +Sakura wanted you there just in case. I get it, you are quite aware 
 197.843 +what just passed us?" The faint blush tingling on his cheeks was 
 197.844 +answer enough for me.
 197.845 +	Yue nodded and was already up the stairs before I could make any 
 197.846 +more comments. I glanced back at Tomoyo and raised an eyebrow at his 
 197.847 +questioning stare. Oops, he isn't suspecting anything, is he? The 
 197.848 +young man didn't elaborate on the look, just grinned and then shrugged 
 197.849 +his shoulders. "Let's go up as well. I must admit I am curious. I have 
 197.850 +heard about all this from Sakura and you but I've never really had the 
 197.851 +opportunity to see it."
 197.852 +	Emerging outside a short while later I spotted Sakura standing 
 197.853 +in the middle of the spacious deck, her star wand transformed into a 
 197.854 +size I had never seen before. It was reaching a bit over her head and 
 197.855 +was planted firmly into the ground below. Sakura had her eyes closed, 
 197.856 +seemingly in deep concentration. Kerberos - transformed into his real 
 197.857 +form - and Yue stood a couple of feet behind her and seemed a bit 
 197.858 +unsure about their actual purpose.
 197.859 +	"What's that?" Touya asked next to me and pointed ahead of the 
 197.860 +yacht speeding westwards towards the small group of little isles in 
 197.861 +the distance. Funny, I hadn't noticed them before. There were several 
 197.862 +things I took note of that I know I definitely shouldn't. First of all 
 197.863 +their was a very faint glimmer around the ship. Like a force field of 
 197.864 +some kind. I had felt the emotional increase fade when I went under 
 197.865 +deck and was pretty sure now that whatever Sakura did was responsible 
 197.866 +for it. But I didn't think I should be able to see the magic at all.
 197.867 +	Yet I did and I also saw the sparkling sphere in the distance, 
 197.868 +coming closer very quickly. The orange-golden orb seemed to radiate 
 197.869 +purest light to my eyes.
 197.870 +	"Um... That's Love, I think. I hope the shield is going to hold 
 197.871 +its effects off." I said, not sure why I revealed my knowledge of 
 197.872 +actually seeing all this. I guess I was subtly seeking confirmation 
 197.873 +that I wasn't going crazy. Sakura had told me that Touya's second 
 197.874 +sight was gradually returning so he should be able to pick up those 
 197.875 +things.
 197.876 +	"Yeah, it's heading straight for that isle. I have the feeling 
 197.877 +that is no... wait a second... You can see all this?"
 197.878 +	I shrugged helplessly.
 197.879 +	There was no time for further research on the subject though. 
 197.880 +Sakura's father had finally managed to catch up with what was 
 197.881 +apparently the card. Suddenly the boat jerked, the engine almost 
 197.882 +coming to a complete spot. I flashed Touya a grateful smile for the 
 197.883 +steadying hand but my attention was quickly drawn back to the glowing 
 197.884 +sphere. Love was hanging in the air looking for all it was worth like 
 197.885 +a tiny star in the middle of the day. I was a little surprised at the 
 197.886 +sudden stop in movement but either the card realized that she couldn't 
 197.887 +escape - not that the term was accurate in the first place - or she 
 197.888 +sort of knew what was going to happen. Kero-chan told Sakura once and 
 197.889 +she told me in return that all the Clow Cards were automatically drawn 
 197.890 +to the new Master or Mistress. There was a connection between the one 
 197.891 +that was chosen to become their wielder and the cards themselves. I 
 197.892 +had no idea if this was the case with Love but I believed it to be 
 197.893 +very likely.
 197.894 +	I could see the sprite-form of the card - another thing I wasn't 
 197.895 +sure whether I was supposed to do this or no - and Love looked a 
 197.896 +little confused and uncertain. There was something else there though. 
 197.897 +I didn't know how I could tell. It wasn't my observations skills that 
 197.898 +much I was sure of. However, somehow I just KNEW that Love was 
 197.899 +tremendously lonely.
 197.900 +	Glancing at Sakura I waited to see what she would do or if she 
 197.901 +detected the same thing I just did. The Card Mistress had applied a 
 197.902 +lot of unorthodox methods capturing some of the Clow Cards, often 
 197.903 +rather trying to make the cards trust her and let themselves be 
 197.904 +captured rather than to engage into a heated battle. Therefore I 
 197.905 +wasn't really surprised seeing Sakura's tense and concentrated 
 197.906 +demeanor suddenly change. For a moment confusion crossed her features 
 197.907 +before she relaxed, her eyes softening and her grip around the staff 
 197.908 +not so firm anymore.
 197.909 +	Kerberos and Yue were about to move forward when without even a 
 197.910 +command Fly's wings materialized on Sakura's back. My girlfriend 
 197.911 +looked back with a reassuring smile that halted the two guardians even 
 197.912 +though one could tell they weren't really fond off the idea.
 197.913 +	The winged girl was about to ascend, then stopped and turned a 
 197.914 +look in my direction. Her eyes finding mine. Quite frankly I had no 
 197.915 +idea what exactly happened but when Sakura held out a hand towards me 
 197.916 +I stepped forward and took it in my own without a word. There was not 
 197.917 +even the thought of hesitation or surprise when I felt something wash 
 197.918 +over and through my body. Identical wings to the ones Sakura was 
 197.919 +sporting burst into existence but my movements were almost 
 197.920 +trance-like. Only one thing was for sure that I trusted Sakura, 
 197.921 +complete and unconditional trust. The level of communication at this 
 197.922 +moment was higher than anything before and somehow we just knew what 
 197.923 +we had to do.
 197.924 +	To the casual observers though - even the magical-apt ones - the 
 197.925 +moment we were on a level with the spectral figure of Love, we 
 197.926 +literally vanished from sight.
 197.927 +
 197.928 +TBC (soon)
 197.929 +
 197.930 +Author's Notes
 197.931 +
 197.932 +Yes, I know I am evil.
 197.933 +I said it would be two parts and I actually planned this out a little 
 197.934 +differently. The second part was supposed to take place some time 
 197.935 +later. Love was supposed to be captured already... I just realized 
 197.936 +that for what I wanted to do I had to do it in a shorter period of 
 197.937 +time and the ending was just such a nice point to end the first part. 
 197.938 +Don't worry though. I suppose I'll be out with the next part very 
 197.939 +soon. Maybe even before Christmas (don't hold me to that).
 197.940 +I hope I managed to describe the emotions in here in the way I wanted 
 197.941 +them to be represented. This installment started a little slow on the 
 197.942 +writing side but began to pick up pace and intensity fast.
 197.943 +I admit the moment I chose to reveal about what the Seal Cards are was 
 197.944 +rather... odd. Forgive me please, Maia decided to let this story run 
 197.945 +wild halfway through, I actually planned on... say, two more scenes 
 197.946 +from the start of the trip... I really think it's awkward and maybe I 
 197.947 +actually add those later on. Please tell me if it seems too out of 
 197.948 +place and I change that.
 197.949 +Anyway, things are slowly picking up on the suspense end. The last 
 197.950 +part will probably actually have some action and wrap things up for 
 197.951 +that little pre-series.
 197.952 +I am not sure if I’ll write the actual lemon scene or not. I planned 
 197.953 +to but am not so certain right now.
 197.954 +
 197.955 +I hope you enjoyed yourselves again. If you did, then leave me a note 
 197.956 +(mail, review whatever).
 197.957 +
 197.958 +Ja ne, yours
 197.959 +
 197.960 +Matthias
 197.961 \ No newline at end of file

   198.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   198.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-sh_01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   198.3 @@ -0,0 +1,514 @@
   198.4 +Ametrine: I'm here. Isn't that enough? Plots are easy, it's writing them out that's hard. -.- It's probably just the weather anyway. Why am I in first anyway? Are we alphabetical?
   198.5 +
   198.6 +Forever3330: ^,^; I’m here because Ametrine and I recently began exchanging e-mails with story ideas, and somehow ended up talking about co-writing. So…yay! Um…I think I just put you first because…O.o; Hmm, good question. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~ 
   198.7 +
   198.8 +Disclaimer: We don’t own anything we don’t own. At all.
   198.9 +
  198.10 +	It started with the dreams.
  198.11 +
  198.12 +	If it weren’t for the reoccurring dreams with the woman dressed in black, I never would have even thought of doing it. Magic was just a thing for Sakura and other real magicians to work with. It could be really dangerous and tended to backfire from what I've seen of it.
  198.13 +
  198.14 +	But the dark woman was so reassuring, and walked through each step so clearly... Even taking time to explain what each Arabic symbol meant, and how it affected the final magic. After the first few weeks, it even seemed a little like a hybrid between cooking and poetry. Of course in the morning it was always just another dream, teasing against the edge of my memory.
  198.15 +
  198.16 +	Just a few weeks ago, before the winter break, while shopping with Naoko for Christmas gifts, she found a great new bookstore just on the edge of town. There was 'sakura' in the name so it couldn't have been that bad. And it's pretty hard to keep Naoko away from a bookstore when she had 'That' look in her eyes anyhow, so it couldn't have hurt to make a little detour. She said it would take only a moment.
  198.17 +
  198.18 +	If I knew that book was there, I don't know if I would have gone. Sometimes I'm sure that I would have anyway. It called to me before I even got into the tiny shop. A little magnetic hum at the back of the store called me to it, stuffed between Wiccan self-help books and Feng Shui primers, a simple hardbound.
  198.19 +
  198.20 +	It wasn't even in Japanese, though some of the pages were dog eared, and there was a copyright that said the book was printed sometime in middle of the sixties, but I had to have it! It was the same book the woman in my dreams was teaching me from, and I could even make out a few familiar symbols. I can't explain it in words, but I just had to have it; my entire being knew that.
  198.21 +
  198.22 +	The straw haired red head at the counter was extremely helpful, throwing in an Arabic to Japanese dictionary at no extra charge. I have no idea why she was smiling so much, or why she kept tripping over herself while working, but it really did come in handy later.
  198.23 +
  198.24 +	Which brings me up to this point. If not for the dreams, I wouldn't be sitting in the bell tower, with this jacket the only thing between me and freezing, the old book in one hand, a piece of chalk in the other. Scribing the characters onto the bell is very calming though. It's like they want to be on the brass, and I'm just helping them. It really is quite pretty, and all the lines and shapes flow from my mind to their places, as if on their own. Before, I thought magic was something that was just given based on luck, and only exciting people could do it. I never thought of it as simple or anything even the slightest bit calm. Even Sayoran's mother never made it look... simple. She was sharp and clear cut, not at all like what I can do.
  198.25 +
  198.26 +	...I mean what I'm doing... does this mean I can do magic now? I don't know... If this works... Well if it works, the cards get a Christmas gift. If not, the chalk washes away with the snow. None the wiser. Well, it's almost eleven thirty, and all the characters are in place. In about half an hour we'll see if this works or not. I should get home before mother starts to worry. I hope Sakura doesn't mind. It's just one day.
  198.27 +
  198.28 +~
  198.29 +
  198.30 +Stolen Holiday~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
  198.31 +
  198.32 +By Forever3330 and Ametrine
  198.33 +
  198.34 +~
  198.35 +
  198.36 +	Waking up has never been something I was good at; lately, though, it’s been getting harder. Kero said something that confused me... I think it had to do with the season? Not to say that I dislike waking up. I very much like waking up, with the warm sunbeams dancing over me, coming from the slits in my blinds.
  198.37 +
  198.38 +	Tumbling out of bed, throwing on whatever my hand happens to touch, running a brush through my hair, it’s all routine. I yank open Kero’s drawer, ready to greet him, as I promised I would make him pancakes, and decided to remind him. “Oi, Kero, I’m-” My sudden scream echoed throughout the house.
  198.39 +
  198.40 +	“What?! Sakura?!” My door swung open loudly and Touya was beside me, gasping for air, snow shovel in hand, dressed for the outdoors. “What’s wrong?”
  198.41 +
  198.42 +	The words were out of my mouth before I even thought about it. “Kero’s a stuffed animal!” Indeed, there he sat, yellow cotton and buttoned eyes. Ah, poor Kero. I knew him well.
  198.43 +
  198.44 +	“Kaijuu...” Touya is staring at me as if I’m insane. “He’s BEEN a stuffed animal.”
  198.45 +
  198.46 +	“Er... haha... I knew that... ” I smile sweetly. “Bad dream?” He rolls his eyes and storms off. This gives me time to examine Kero-chan. It really is true. But why, and HOW, had THAT happened?!
  198.47 +
  198.48 +	It does not take me long to find the Cards are gone.
  198.49 +
  198.50 +	And so is my magic.
  198.51 +~
  198.52 +
  198.53 +	It’s something I’ve done ever since I could understand how to do it: meditation. Every morning, as soon as I wake, and every night, before I go to sleep. Reaching for my center, my magic, it’s so natural I don’t even need to think as I do it anymore. The calm of the room, the hard wood beneath me, all is as it should be.
  198.54 +
  198.55 +	Beneath my eyelids, it seems as if the entire world is black and red with bright flashes of light, the lightning that will one day be me. My hands tremble at the thought. One day, it WILL be me.
  198.56 +
  198.57 +	Ah... don’t I have a date with Sakura today? I was so excited last night I could barely sleep. Now, though, I’m not. I don’t know why... probably just stress. Time to meditate.
  198.58 +
  198.59 +	...
  198.60 +
  198.61 +	“WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
  198.62 +
  198.63 +~	 
  198.64 +
  198.65 +	Exactly like cooking. Yes, I know one deals in secret pacts made at the beginning of time, and the other deals with eggs and milk, but magic and cooking are very similar.
  198.66 +
  198.67 +	Take scrambled eggs. Crack, beat, season, and heat. It's almost funny in a way how similar everything is when you stop and look at it. it's all a series of repeatable actions in the long run. 
  198.68 +
  198.69 +	I really don't have anything planned today. Sakura's present needs to be dropped off. Sayoran's present too, I think. It's too bad Meiling isn't in town, but I sent her gift last week. I hope she likes it. Touya and Yukito's are all wrapped and ready. Then I just have to worry about getting Kero's and Yue's done today. 
  198.70 +
  198.71 +	Wait? Is it okay get two different gifts for two people sharing the same body? Oh well, two gifts never hurt anybody.
  198.72 +
  198.73 +	Mother won’t be in until really late tonight, as she was planning on spending the day distributing toys for charity. And I already have her gift ready, so I think that covers everything.
  198.74 +
  198.75 +	Most of the maids are gone today. It is the holidays and they do have family to visit. In fact, some of the guards have even taken the day off. That in itself is a little weird, but I've been getting older, and Mother doesn't seem to think I need as much security. It is still good to know she cares, though. 
  198.76 +
  198.77 +	Maybe I should call Sakura, just to see if she's awake yet. 
  198.78 +
  198.79 +	No. There's no school today, and I really wouldn't want to worry her needlessly.
  198.80 +
  198.81 +	Still, I wonder if that spell worked last night. I could almost laugh at myself really. Me? Casting spells and magical incantations? Of course it didn't work. People have to study for years to do magic, otherwise everyone would be doing it.
  198.82 +
  198.83 +	Though that still doesn't explain that nagging feeling at the back of my neck. It's almost like... Well, it's just weird. Like a cross between forgetting your keys and being on a roller coaster just before the big drop... It's not easy to describe, it just is.... you know?
  198.84 +
  198.85 +~
  198.86 +
  198.87 +	This is bad. I could already feel grandmother's cane rapping against the back of my head like she used to do during my training.  "You aren't Worried. The matriarch of the Li clan is never Worried. Stop being Worried." She would say that over and over again, like a mantra.
  198.88 +
  198.89 +	It was always capital. Being Worried was simply not allowed. Worried people in the family tended to result in large amounts of property damage. So I'm technically not Worried. Just... highly unsettled. Yes.
  198.90 +
  198.91 +	When I had set to my meditation this morning, I went through each of my normal rituals. The centering, the focusing, expanding the self to flow along with nature. The most important of all the rituals to check the welfare of my children. While my daughters were fine, I had absolutely no idea how my son was. It's wasn't like he wasn't there, I just could not find anything out about him.
  198.92 +
  198.93 +	Here I am, one of the most powerful mages of the modern era, and I could not see what was happening to my own child. To say I was a little upset would be like saying the sun was a little bright at times. Which is why I can feel grandmother's cane, even though she's long past. I tried to find the Card Mistress, her little friend, her brother, Yue, Yue's Human form, Keroberos, anyone who might even be near my son, all with the same 'not now' response. It was like the entire area was moved far into deep space and away from my view.
  198.94 +
  198.95 +	I have heard of spells that could hide people, but most of those were very individual specific. To hide more then one person would take a great deal of power, more so considering how strong my son and his friends were. Are. There shouldn't be enough power on the planet to hide all of them at once. It would take at least a Dragon to hide the Card Mistress alone for any length of time.
  198.96 +
  198.97 +	Motioning to one of my retainers, smiling softly at the fact this one didn't run as soon as I grew angry, I had a message sent. "Please have Meiling come visit me as soon as possible." 
  198.98 +
  198.99 +	If what was happening was going after mages, Meiling would be safe, and would be able to keep me up to date on what was happening. My husband may be upset that I used the private jet on a holiday, but it would be the only way I would be sure she could get there in time, with any extra equipment she would need. Weapons were usually so hard to get through customs these days.
 198.100 +
 198.101 +	Hopefully Meiling would try to stay low profile though. I wouldn't want Sayoran to think his mother was spying on him. Like last time.
 198.102 +
 198.103 +	But I’m not Worried.
 198.104 +
 198.105 +~
 198.106 +	
 198.107 +	Booooorring.
 198.108 +
 198.109 +	At the first scream I got my hopes up, but it was probably just The Mistress finding her cards and magic missing. Although I have to admit that watching Touya run and trip in the snow repeatedly was very funny.
 198.110 +
 198.111 +	When Dark-sama told me that the cards would be released, I jumped at the chance to watch over Sakura for the day. If she didn't have magic, every nasty in the area would come running for a shot at her power! And who better to protect her then The Fight card herself. Me. And considering The Mistress rarely actually used my Card in battle, I spend a lot of time bored. Why, if she used me more often, she wouldn't even have half the problems she had now. Not that she had a lot of problems anyway, but the point stands.
 198.112 +
 198.113 +	Of course, I didn't know EVERYbody's magic would be on the fritz. Now the only people who knew enough to go after her would not even want to visit the area. It's a known fact that magicless wizards can be knocked down by a strong wind. Or it had been last time I checked.
 198.114 +
 198.115 +	If I were back in my village, I would go hunting like this all the time. Find a nice snowy tree, and hide in the branches until something eatable like a deer or a tiger came by, then beat it up and come back with a feast. Of course, this time I’m just suppose to follow, not pummel, so bodyguard duty still really isn't that fun. Fun was hitting something. Preferably fleshy and pulpy. Not sitting in a tree watching The Mistress, with Power and Sword close behind.
 198.116 +
 198.117 +	And Power was just too young to be much fun. All she does is stand under the tree asking 'What's she doing now?'. Every two or three minutes. And it's a little hard to strike up a conversation with Sword. Even when he's not just a sword.
 198.118 +
 198.119 +	And watching The Mistress in the shower wasn't any fun either. Just once I'd like to spar against that 'Li' kid... either one of them. I remember sparring the girl, but she must have gotten better by now. And she was still fun to fight last time. That's all the twins would talk about after being captured. And the twins could barely put up a fight before I met them. So I am honor bound to fight them both at some point. Master/Student relationship and all that.
 198.120 +
 198.121 +	Guard duty sucks.
 198.122 +
 198.123 +~
 198.124 +
 198.125 +	“Gotcha. Stay out of sight at all times.” I almost groaned, repeating Ieran’s words again into the cell phone I had been given as I stood at a crowded street corner in Tomoeda, still slightly sleepy from being woken and thrown onto a jet with a small, blurry explanation, a coat, and a phone. Also a little money. “And don’t let Sayoran know I’m here. Right.” I snapped the phone shut, hoping the older woman wouldn’t call me back. If I was to figure out what was going on, I’d rather get to it, and not worry about the rules.
 198.126 +
 198.127 +	I wish I had managed to do my hair. It’s long, annoying, and in the way. But then, I just thought it would be a normal talk about the family with Ieran. Stupid mistake. At least I had gotten clothes on. I stretch my arms, watching the streets around me. Time to get answers. But from who?
 198.128 +
 198.129 +	Trailing Sayoran was... just out. Unless it was as a last resort for now. He’s getting too good at sensing me around. I’ll have to check if he’s alive, of course. Oh yeah. Check for life, then figure it out. I start moving towards my destination, quietly slipping through the laughing groups of people, who tended to stop RIGHT in front of you. Sayoran will be, if he was alive, on his morning run. If I sit in a tree somewhere along his usual path, I’m likely to see him. If he is alive of course.
 198.130 +
 198.131 +	Cousin, what the heck have you gone and done THIS time?
 198.132 +
 198.133 +	I would have continued that train of thought, most likely with a few choice swear words, but for the hand gripping my shoulder. I groaned silently. Please not Sayoran. And looked up to...
 198.134 +
 198.135 +	“Meiling-san?” One of Sakura’s friends. With the glasses. Oooh, Shiny. Not important! Name. What was the name? She was smiling, whatever the case. “What are you doing back in Tomoeda?”
 198.136 +
 198.137 +	“Er... uh...” Very smooth. What was that NAME? “Ah, NATSU!” Seeing the somewhat startled look, I felt a sweatdrop form, and laughed nervously. “I mean, Natsu-san, it’s nice to see you.” Cue nervous laughter. “Um... I’m just here to... look around. Nothing much.”
 198.138 +
 198.139 +	The other girl blinked several times. “So you’re here to spy on Li-kun?”
 198.140 +
 198.141 +	Why am I staring? Am I staring? “NO!”
 198.142 +
 198.143 +	“Oh. Then I suppose you don’t need to know where he is.” She smiled. Obviously she knew where Sayoran was.
 198.144 +
 198.145 +	Two choices. Blunder around and hope to find my cousin, who tended to be erratic in times of crisis, or just accept the other girl’s help. “Okay, so I’m spying on him. Where is he?”
 198.146 +
 198.147 +	“Can I come along?”
 198.148 +
 198.149 +	Staring once more, I just twitched. Not that I was staring before. Why do I have to bump into the curious ones?
 198.150 +
 198.151 +	“Well, you want to know where he is, don’t you?”
 198.152 +
 198.153 +	Why did I have to run into someone who was smart? Why not…someone stupid? “Oh, whatever. But you’d make it snappy!”
 198.154 +
 198.155 +	Natsu smiled. “Well, he should be out at the school. He’s supposed to help set things up for Archery club. Oh, and if you try to leave me behind, I’ll tell him.” She added the last as an afterthought, still smiling.
 198.156 +
 198.157 +	I really need to take the rooftops next time.
 198.158 +
 198.159 +~
 198.160 +
 198.161 +	Christmas Eve sucks. 
 198.162 +
 198.163 +	"Nakuru, are you coming down or not?" One of my familiars. A being I created with my own two hands will not listen to me. At all. Not even in passing like she usually does.
 198.164 +
 198.165 +	"Not until you make 'it' go away!" 
 198.166 +
 198.167 +	She won't even leave her room. Just because she can't float around in her genderless form now. And the other one is about as responsive as a stuffed animal. Spinel's body is limp and lifeless, like any other stuffed toy. His eyes still sparkle with intelligence though, so I'm not going to let him go. Maybe he will be angry for being treated like a doll. Maybe he will be afraid of it happening again. Maybe he'll never turn back. The last scares me, slightly. But all intrigue me in a way.
 198.168 +	
 198.169 +	I've never been 'normal' before. 
 198.170 +	Maybe it's different then what it was like before?
 198.171 +	I wonder if I'll like it? 
 198.172 +	I wonder how long it'll last? 
 198.173 +	I wonder how it happened?
 198.174 +	I wonder if I'll enjoy going back?
 198.175 +
 198.176 +	"I can't make 'it' go away. Lots of people deal with things like 'it' all the time. 50% of the world's population if I remember correctly. Except slugs I think. I'm pretty sure that's why they invented underwear so early on." 
 198.177 +
 198.178 +	I wonder if 'normal' people have to deal with stuff like this too.
 198.179 +
 198.180 +~
 198.181 +
 198.182 +	He can’t be normal. For the past hour, he has been staring at me. He’s done it before, I mean, but not quite like this. This is just... scary. I can’t move in the least, and his big fat face is BLOCKING the TV screen. Sakura put me down here, with a whispered promise to pick me up after her date with Sayoran. Sakura’s like that, though. She must have thought I’d feel more comfortable down here.
 198.183 +
 198.184 +	If only she knew...
 198.185 +
 198.186 +	“You’re alive, aren’t you?” He’s poking me AGAIN, with those damned chopsticks.
 198.187 +
 198.188 +	Not TODAY, I’m not! So just leave me alone!
 198.189 +
 198.190 +	He appears content to just poke me with the sauce-covered things and babble to himself. If I could move he would be in trouble. As it is, I’m not sure why the heck I can feel myself being poked when I can’t move. “Magical. And it’s connected to Sakura.”
 198.191 +
 198.192 +	Oh no, not this talk AGAIN!
 198.193 +
 198.194 +	“Everything is.”
 198.195 +
 198.196 +	I don’t want to hear the theories! Not the theories! PLEASE not the theories! I’ll be good, I swear!
 198.197 +
 198.198 +	“It all started when...”
 198.199 +
 198.200 +	Sakuraaaaaa... come home soon!
 198.201 +
 198.202 +~
 198.203 +
 198.204 +	It’s odd how much fun being... ’human’ can be. We’ll never be completely human, I mean, but this is very close. Still... we all do possess our... qualities... not magically, but more in a talent way. Like Fight and Power. They are still strong, just in a more... human way. But they have more experience then a normal human should.
 198.205 +
 198.206 +	Watching them is fun. Arrow is trying to teach Small to shoot an arrow correctly. So far, not much has gotten done there. Big is having somewhat more luck, though she hits other people’s targets just as much as her own.
 198.207 +
 198.208 +	I refused the offer, however polite it may have been, with a shake of my head. Currently, I feel slightly worried. For the entire time we have been out, Song has been silent. And being silent is my job, not hers. It’s in my name.
 198.209 +
 198.210 +	She came with us immediately, avoiding Flower. Which was odd within itself. I had thought they would go and shop or something. But then, most of our ‘groups’ were odd enough. Let’s just hope no one gets into too much trouble…
 198.211 +
 198.212 +	A sigh escapes my lips. That was impossible. I don’t know why, but I think that today we’ll manage to get into a lot of trouble. I know that Dark-sama made sure everything was set, and she spoke to me once of the exact spell used, but...I just dislike being without my magic. And being human doesn’t seem all too interesting as of yet.
 198.213 +
 198.214 +	Something sharp slams into my side, and I gasp in the sudden pain. Song’s elbow? I look at her, trying to glare, but she’s pointing frantically at the entrance on the other side of the room. What?
 198.215 +	Oh, shit.
 198.216 +
 198.217 +	Somehow I get the feeling the Li boy would not be... pleased... to find us all out. He may not SENSE us, but seeing us would not help our case. I stand from our bench, swing Small into my arms and grab Arrow’s elbow, dragging them out the exit. Song pulled out Big behind us.
 198.218 +
 198.219 +	“Oh dear. I think he saw us.” Big’s voice is cheerful as ever, yet calm. “He looked rather... surprised. What to do, what to do?”
 198.220 +
 198.221 +	Then there was a sudden Darkness around us, and I got the distinct feeling we blended into the shadows. I glanced over even as the Li boy ran out, and looked around, then went back inside, a frown etched on his face.
 198.222 +
 198.223 +	Shadow, who looked at the moment like a teenaged boy, was looking at us blankly. I’d forgotten how losing even most of his magic didn’t stop the odd effect he had on shadows. It was just something about him, I guess. But he was surprisingly human, all the same.
 198.224 +
 198.225 +	“Shadow, stop that.” Arrow looked at him sharply, and the shadows retreated, leaving the rather sheepish boy. If anyone could make him look sheepish, it was Arrow. She turned her gaze to Song and I after a moment, glaring. “He was half way across the room before you warned us. Why didn’t you tell...” She trailed off, then trained her gaze on Song alone, remembering who I was. “We might have been caught! You should have spoken up sooner!”
 198.226 +
 198.227 +	Song burst into tears, leaving us all very confused. Small wiggled out of my arms to go wrap herself around Song’s legs, looking confused.
 198.228 +
 198.229 +	Arrow backed up, not quite used to this reaction. “Um... I mean... are you okay?” The other girl only sobbed louder.
 198.230 +
 198.231 +	Shadow and I exchanged a look. What was going on? I tapped my throat once, confused as to why Song had yet to speak.
 198.232 +
 198.233 +	The boy turned back to the other four, shrugging. “Song.” His voice is cold and detached, though he looks somewhat amused. “You haven't spoken today yet.” They stared at him, Song still sobbing. He shrugged again, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Silent said so. Well... she just pointed it out.”
 198.234 +
 198.235 +	Arrow looked back at Song. “Well?”
 198.236 +
 198.237 +	“It’s...” Squeakgaspbreath, “Horrible!” After saying those two words through sobs, she went back to full-heartedly crying.
 198.238 +
 198.239 +~ 
 198.240 +
 198.241 +	I'm sure everyone thought I would have gone shopping first, but they're completely wrong. I snuck into the library first. I needed to see what the world's history had been like while we were in the book.
 198.242 +
 198.243 +	I know Clow had only good things in mind while we were hibernating, but for gosh sakes I missed the 60's!? How can Flower, The Flower have missed the flower child era? It's utter blasphemy I tell you. Blas*Phem*Ey.
 198.244 +
 198.245 +	But there was this really great thrift store I saw along the way, so I got this great gypsy skirt, and this great tie dye top, and this really cool headband, all on the cheap. Though I wish these Japanese would just stop staring at me. Why it's almost disconcerting. It's like they never saw a girl go all out or something.
 198.246 +	I'm sure everyone also thought that Dark-sama came up with this all on her own. Please. She may be the one of the most powerful of us all, but that girl is completely helpless when it comes to coming up with present ideas. I think one year before she became a spirit she made onion soup. As a birthday gift. So I gave her a few subtle hints. 'Oh wouldn't it be nice to have the day off?', 'You wouldn't happen to know any way we could go catch a movie?', 'You know, Christmas is coming up, and nothing is fated to destroy the Earth for a while...'
 198.247 +
 198.248 +	I know Dark is not the queen of party time, but Light is still too delirious for her own good. I know The Mistress still hasn't figured out about her cute little friend, but Light and Dark were living together for years, and she still didn't figure out why Dark-sama was so clingy until after they were cards. It's so sad in a way. Why does true love end so badly most of the time?
 198.249 +
 198.250 +	I must think happy thoughts though! Windy, Watery, Firey, Earthy and Wood are so cute together. They were planning on going to see a movie, I think. Wood really should have been Woody, but I guess Clow was working off a four element system and not a five, and really didn't feel like making a Metally card. Yeah, I guess that would have been confusing. I really do hope we can go the entire day without blowing something up. 
 198.251 +
 198.252 +	The last time we all got the day off, we caused so much havoc, even Yue got mad. Which is weird in and of itself. He gets this really cute blood vein on his forehead, and he really tries not to scream, but you can tell he's just about to blow up. He may have picked up most of Dark-sama's yin, but he's still way more likely to get angry then her.
 198.253 +
 198.254 +	I wonder if Voice found Song? It's unusual for cards that are so similar to avoid each other. It'd be really strange if Song had a crush on... No, that'd just be silly. We have enough drama as it is with Kero trying to... "Get the white chocolate, he likes that a lot more." What was I thinking? Oh bother, I forgot. Was it about honey? I always liked honey.
 198.255 +
 198.256 +~
 198.257 +
 198.258 +	I keep looking at the candy counter, trying to figure out what to get Kero. I finished Yue's scarf over an hour ago. It still took longer then usual though. Maybe I picked up a cold from being out on the tower last night. Everything seems so much more plain today. It's weird, like something is missing, and I can't put my finger on it. It doesn't help that I feel so tired and stuffed up. Maybe I'll take some sinus medicine when I get home.
 198.259 +
 198.260 +	I can't even decide what type of candy to get him. There's too much noise in the mall this time of year, and people are pushing and darting around. Completely ignoring anything or anyone they don't care about. It really doesn't seem or feel very nice like this season should be.
 198.261 +
 198.262 +	Should I get the chocolates, or the licorice? I know he'll eat anything I give him, but I want him to like it. Maybe he'll like the hard candy roses? There's just so much to choose from. I can't quite decide.
 198.263 +
 198.264 +	"Get the white chocolate, he likes that a lot more."
 198.265 +
 198.266 +	I jump at the voice. It sounds so familiar, but I look around only to see an overly extravagant American swishing away from me, cutting through the crowd like a knife. So many loud colors, all clashing together... But it works, in a way at least. Maybe I should make something like that for Sakura some time.  
 198.267 +
 198.268 +	"I'll get the white chocolates I think." The words leave my mouth as an after thought. Maybe I can catch up to that American woman. She has to be American. Who else would color their hair that pink? She might be another magician like Sakura. That would explain alot. But her voice. It was very familiar, but I just can't place it. It's like it's on the tip of my tongue. I hate that feeling. Just on the edge between knowing and not knowing.
 198.269 +
 198.270 +~
 198.271 +
 198.272 +	I hate this feeling.
 198.273 +
 198.274 +	The phone. I keep staring at it, and it just won't ring.
 198.275 +
 198.276 +	I know I sent Meiling there only a few hours ago, and I know she just called an hour or so ago, but I'm still worried.
 198.277 +
 198.278 +	Correction, I am unnerved. I take a slow deep breath. Calming thoughts. If Sayoran was having a problem he would call home. Unless he was locked up in a dungeon some where, being beaten with in an inch of his life. Forced to tell family secrets, while screaming out for assistance of any kind. Helpless against...
 198.279 +
 198.280 +	'Calm Down!' I almost yell at my self. Sayoran is 16 now. He's a very good magician and a decent fighter. He's trained his entire life not to be taken advantage of. He probably isn't being tortured. It's just your imagination going wild. Meiling is going to call any second now and say he's fine, and everyone's fine, and there is no sadistic torture going on.
 198.281 +
 198.282 +~
 198.283 +
 198.284 +	This is some kind of sadistic torture.
 198.285 +
 198.286 +	This movie is bad. I mean a love story, about bitter rivals. This is such a 'chick' flick. Sakura seems to be interested in it, so I'm not too worried. I really want to ask her about my magic, but we got here so late I didn't have time. Maybe after the movie. I really want to ask her about the cards I saw.
 198.287 +
 198.288 +	The Cards I think I saw. Of course, I may just be going insane. I went to set up the equipment for the Archery club, and I thought I saw The Arrow and The Small. I didn't get a good look, and they were dressed differently, but I'm pretty sure I saw them. I think. They did practically vanish into thin air.
 198.289 +
 198.290 +	Looking around the theater, there are mostly women in here. The big pack of five a few rows behind us are the most obvious, just chattering away in the darkness. Anything would be better then this movie. Anything.
 198.291 +
 198.292 +	I almost jump as Sakura takes my hand and smiles at me. I smile back but... I still feel nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe it has to do with why I lost my magic. If I can feel like I did before, maybe I can get my magic back.
 198.293 +
 198.294 +~
 198.295 +
 198.296 +	I wish the movie would end. I mean, it's a nice movie, and it's fun, but I just don't feel all that excited. I like being here...I just feel like I should be somewhere else entirely. Somewhere different.
 198.297 +
 198.298 +	The girls behind us are still chattering. They seem happy. I smile at that, though. I remember doing something much like that with Tomoyo and Naoko and Rika and Chiharu. And, amazingly enough, Meiling. That was fun.
 198.299 +
 198.300 +	I wish I could be in that memory again
 198.301 +
 198.302 +	"Sakura!" I blink, looking up at my boyfriend, who's now standing. Won't he block the movie? I look back at the screen, and finally notice it's blank. I must have been staring at it for several moments. Heh. "Don't you have to meet your friends? I thought you were all going on a picnic."
 198.303 +
 198.304 +	"Oh. Right." That would be fun! I don't know why, but Sayoran is staring at me.
 198.305 +
 198.306 +	"I'll come with you."
 198.307 +
 198.308 +	"Hoee?" I feel the familiar sweatdrop form.
 198.309 +
 198.310 +~
 198.311 +
 198.312 +	I never thought you could speak without words. Or anything. But I guess you can, because Silent manages.
 198.313 +
 198.314 +	Right now she's just sitting by me while Shadow and Arrow teach Small and Big to climb trees in the park. 
 198.315 +
 198.316 +	I wonder who Silent was, before she became a card. What was her past like? I can't help but be curious.
 198.317 +
 198.318 +	Silent taps my shoulder softly, then points something out. I turn to look, and see Voice and Jump. I feel myself pale. I'd rather stay here and not talk. Please?
 198.319 +
 198.320 +	Voice turns and waves, running towards us, leaving Jump to chatter with a raven near the iced-over pond.
 198.321 +
 198.322 +	Since when did begging work?
 198.323 +
 198.324 +~
 198.325 +
 198.326 +	Okay, I did miss them.
 198.327 +
 198.328 +	Being out and free was fun, but I did miss them. Watery, and Firey, and Windy, and Wood. The other cards are confused when they look up to us. Sitting almost at the top of the Hierarchy, and we spend so much time together. And all they see is us fighting.
 198.329 +
 198.330 +	Firey picking on Wood, Wood teasing me, me picking on Windy... And there's always some kind of argument between us. Firey is still upset about having to sit through that whole movie. So we're going to go get ice cream to appease her. Of course, Watery hates ice cream, so everything evens out again.
 198.331 +
 198.332 +	That's just how we are. Not friends, not sisters, not lovers, not rivals, but all of them at once. It's very hard to explain, because it simply is. Like the how the sun will rise tomorrow. It doesn't have to, it simply will happen.
 198.333 +
 198.334 +	"What are you thinking about?" Windy has her arms around me, nosing her way into my hair. I always liked that.
 198.335 +
 198.336 +	Firey grumbles to the side of me, "It's Earthy, she's always thinking." She tried her best to sound upset, which was completely ruined by the fact she was trying her best not to smile as Watery dragged her by the hand through the crowded mall.
 198.337 +
 198.338 +	"Just stuff. Random Stuff."
 198.339 +
 198.340 +~
 198.341 +
 198.342 +	“I wish I could fly like you.”
 198.343 +
 198.344 +	The cheerful voice came from above me in the tree, and I tilt my head back, to see who has found me, hidden away. I hate crowds and people in general; the deeper areas of the park are nice and quiet. Glow’s familiar face stares back at me, though different in her magicless form.
 198.345 +
 198.346 +	“Why?” I look back at the lake I had been watching; the ducks still there had not quite figured out that the ice would not let them swim, and pushed against it with all their might. One broke through a bit and quacked loudly, victorious, before returning to the battle. I feel my mouth twitch, but hold it still.
 198.347 +
 198.348 +	I hear a rustle, and the other card drops to my branch, settling. “You know why.”
 198.349 +
 198.350 +	Yes. I knew why. It was freedom and dreaming all at once, and a land where few ventured, but for the winged-folk, such as myself. Though not today. I don’t mind it as much as I might; the others were enjoying themselves, and that was a comfort. I’m just out of sorts on the land. I need the wind beneath my wings. I need my wings. The calm of the sky...
 198.351 +
 198.352 +	“D’you think you can take me flying sometime?” Glow whistles something, an arm outstretched, eyes intent on a dove that sat two trees over.
 198.353 +
 198.354 +	The dove answers, if only because I am there, and she recognizes me as one of the winged-folk. But then again, it may just be because it is Glow, with her own special something.
 198.355 +
 198.356 +	I watch some of the others, seeing them as a hawk may, from far away, then look back at my friend as the dove settles on her arm. Glow laughs, and I smile. “Maybe. Sometime.”
 198.357 +
 198.358 +~
 198.359 +
 198.360 +	I look at her. She looks at me. "But everything's covered in snow."
 198.361 +
 198.362 +	She still looks at me, like it's the sanest thing anyone has ever said, "Chiharu has created some strange traditions for the holidays. Most holidays really."
 198.363 +
 198.364 +	"But who in their right mind has a picnic in the snow? It just doesn't make sense!" I know I was losing my temper, but... well it was just plain frustrating. First we get to the archery club, apparently just missing my cousin by a few minutes. Ieran was very happy to hear that someone had seen him though, but she still wanted me to try figure out what was wrong.
 198.365 +
 198.366 +	"Naoko-chan!" someone shouted, and I turned to see the ponytailed girl running up towards us. I remembered her from school a while ago, but her name was... was... this was Chiharu?
 198.367 +
 198.368 +	"Wait a second, Naoko?" Natsu's starting to blush next to me, as I finally make a very important connection. "Why did you tell me your name was Natsu?!"
 198.369 +
 198.370 +	"Actually, I didn't tell you that was my name, I just didn't correct you."
 198.371 +
 198.372 +	I can feel the sweatdrop forming on the back of my head again, with Naoko laughing nervously at me, and Chiharu studying her friend, smiling at some faint thought of her own, "Good to see you too, Meiling-san. Are you here to spy on Li-kun?"
 198.373 +
 198.374 +	Rooftops. Sticking to the rooftops next time. Better yet, just going to say no. 'Sorry Ieran-sama, I just caught a bad case of the Death'.
 198.375 +
 198.376 +	Chiharu still smiles though, the fallen look on my face more then enough of an answer for her. "So, do you two want to help me get set up?"
 198.377 +
 198.378 +~
 198.379 +
 198.380 +	How? The concept is just downright foreign to me. Song, uses her voice to sing. Voice, uses her voice. they should fit together better. Admittedly sometimes Voice uses it a bit too frequently, and without regard to anyone around her, or common indoor/outdoor voice rules but still. And Silent is... just that. She never says anything. Ever. And not because she can't either, just because she doesn't want to.
 198.381 +
 198.382 +	But it does make sense, really. Voice is always pleading for attention, and Song is usually on the receiving end of all that. Why, now that I think of it, Song hasn't gotten a word in edgewise against Voice in... what, a century? The way her head is just bobbing as Voice talks at her. It really is quite depressing.
 198.383 +
 198.384 +	Happy thoughts! Silent isn't moving much though either, in fact the way she's holding on to Song's hand through Voice's tirade is quite cute. Why, they've been sitting there together since... well, at least thirty, no, forty... about an hour... well, the first time I passed through the park at least.
 198.385 +
 198.386 +	I really hope they like their gift. Because I'm not getting them flowers again.
 198.387 +
 198.388 +~
 198.389 +
 198.390 +	“And then the crowds. I mean just droves and droves of people. And none of them would even think of stopping." How long is she going to go on? "Can you imagine it? An entire island of people that put so much importance on being polite forgetting it all for one stupid capitalistic western holiday? It's just improper, that's what it is." She's only been talking for maybe 15 minutes, and the only thing I can do is wonder how she doesn't dehydrate right in front of us. 
 198.391 +
 198.392 +	"And these Americans, they don't even care to learn the language of a country they're visiting..." I feel sorry for Song. How often does she have to put up with this? More then a few minutes, and I'm already going insane. "Then have the audacity to tell me to slow down, and that I'm speaking too fast! What's the deal with that?"
 198.393 +
 198.394 +	Then the weirdness starts... Almost out of nowhere, Flowery appears. No cloud of blossoms, no poof of magic, just as if she was just 'There' in a great swoosh of air and multicolored fabric. And she grabs Voice, wrapping one arm around her arms to keep her from squirming, the other hand covering her mouth, Voice only able to let out a squeak of surprise.
 198.395 +
 198.396 +	"Voice dear? One, shut up for a second. Two, there's this wonderful sale you just have to see." And she picks her up, like a mother carrying an errant child, and walks away. I could have sworn I saw Voice's eye bulge in surprise, but I'm not sure if it was from being told bluntly to be quiet, or from the promise of a sale.
 198.397 +
 198.398 +	Only one thing is able to escape my lips as we watch Flowery merrily wander away with her captive, "Okay, that was pretty weird."
 198.399 +
 198.400 +~
 198.401 +
 198.402 +	"Okay, that was pretty weird." Yeah, Shadow got that one right. I just barely nod in agreement as I feel Song's hand soften around mine. She was starting to squeeze it a little tightly there for a moment, but now her entire body is starting to relax. She's even starting to lean against my shoulder. It really doesn't feel so bad really...
 198.403 +
 198.404 +	"So, did you tell her yet?" Again Song jumps, but this time it's Dream staring at her. Both of us really. For some reason, Dream has kept the body of an eight or nine year old child, but her wide eyes still seem hold too much knowledge for even her to understand.
 198.405 +
 198.406 +	"Oh? Not yet? I can come back later." And she walks off. Just like that.
 198.407 +
 198.408 +~
 198.409 +
 198.410 +	It’s slightly amusing to watch from a distance, I suppose, our annual picnics. The oddest one is the one that falls on Christmas Eve Day. There’s many people out and about, doing the last-minute shopping I refuse to ever have to do.
 198.411 +
 198.412 +	We’re not all as bundled up as it would be thought, I know; after a few years, you build up a immunity. Although the picnics have been getting... smarter. We even have a tarp now. Meaning we all stay somewhat dry. And Yamazaki brought us a heater this year, a new edition. And, of course, everyone brought the usual offerings of food, which made a feast when added together.
 198.413 +
 198.414 +	Well, it’s a feast if you know what to avoid. And really, it is the thought that counts. Just don’t eat anything Chiharu made and you’re fine. Well, you have to pretend to eat it, but everyone has learned to bring really large purses to these picnics. Yamazaki eats it, though. And Chiharu tries too, even though you can tell she knows it’s bad. But we all do try to eat a little before resorting to the purses. What are friends for?
 198.415 +
 198.416 +	Everyone else cooks fairly well, depending on the dish. Avoid any seafood made by Naoko, but eat her deserts. Sakura’s food is okay, so long as you steer away from her sushi. Eat anything made by Yamazaki or Tomoyo. Me? I don’t know about my own skills.
 198.417 +
 198.418 +	This year we even have one more person. Well, so far. Only Naoko, Chiharu and I are here. And Meiling. Nice to see her again. I wonder if she’s here to spy on Li-kun? She should really think about taking the rooftops next time.
 198.419 +
 198.420 +	In any case, today feels odd. I don’t know why. It just does. And I’ve seen more then my share of odd people today. They all seemed nice enough, I mean. But just really, really out of place.
 198.421 +	“I think it’s all set.” Chiharu smiled back at us as I carefully set down the large container of hot chocolate. It’s a good thing we’re all sixteen, and old enough to drive, or we’d be back to lugging this all from home. That always was the worst part.
 198.422 +
 198.423 +	Really, I think it’s lovely to have a picnic in the snow. You can see almost the entire park from this hill, with it’s large Sakura tree. I love when it’s in bloom, but it is just as lovely when it isn’t. The entire park, stretching out, is covered in sparkling white, a pure color that the colors of spring and summer and autumn match but cannot defeat. None of the colors can defeat another; they are all beautiful in their own unique ways.
 198.424 +
 198.425 +	I’m just happy I get the chance to celebrate in all of this with the people I care for. My friends. And even if the one I love most isn’t here, this is really a wonderful day. I hope there are many more like it to come.
 198.426 +
 198.427 +	“Rika-chan?” Chiharu’s giving me her suspicious look. She has this odd idea that if someone doesn’t speak for more then five minutes they’re up to something. That tends to make Tomoyo and I the plotters of this group. Chiharu is a little paranoid, being a girl with five older siblings so it's understandable.
 198.428 +
 198.429 +	“Sorry.” I smile, wondering what I could possibly be up to. I can’t really think of anything I want to plot. “I was thinking about the snow.”
 198.430 +
 198.431 +	She makes a ‘hmph’ noise and turns around, searching for the others, before turning back to Naoko and Naoko’s prisoner. “So... you look nice today, Naoko-chan. Don’t you think so, Meiling-san?”
 198.432 +
 198.433 +	What does that have to do with anything? “Um... Sure?” I can tell the Chinese girl is just trying to give Chiharu the answer she wants, so she can be left alone. If she’d known Chiharu as long as I have, she would know that particular tactic doesn’t work on Chiharu. It has the opposite effect.
 198.434 +
 198.435 +	“Sure? Just ‘sure’?”
 198.436 +
 198.437 +	“Chiharu-CHAN!” Naoko glared at the other girl from her seat on the tarp.
 198.438 +
 198.439 +	“What? Is it so wrong to ask a perfectly INNOCENT question Naoko-chan?”
 198.440 +
 198.441 +	“With you, nothing is never innocent.” The glasses-wearing girl muttered under her breath.
 198.442 +
 198.443 +	Chiharu raised an eyebrow. “WHAT was that?”
 198.444 +
 198.445 +	“Nothing!” Naoko smiled as innocently as possible.
 198.446 +
 198.447 +	“Um…I’m still not sure why I’m here.” Meiling put down the cup of hot chocolate I had just given her, blinking.
 198.448 +
 198.449 +	“To pay me back for an hour of being called Natsu.” Naoko said, sipping her own hot chocolate, blanching, most likely from the heat, and then shoving a hand-full of snow into her mouth.
 198.450 +
 198.451 +	“See? The snow is helpful.” Chiharu should not be started on why a picnic in the snow was genius. She’d go on forever. I hand her a cup of hot chocolate, to shut her up ahead of time.
 198.452 +
 198.453 +	“Of course it is, Chiharu-chan. And we’re all having a lovely time, aren’t we?” Naoko nods enthusiastically at my words.
 198.454 +
 198.455 +	“Whatever. I think it’s insane.” Meiling muttered. It’s really too bad Chiharu heard that one.
 198.456 +
 198.457 +	“INSANE?!”
 198.458 +
 198.459 +	“Yeah. It’s freezing outside.”
 198.460 +
 198.461 +	“It is NOT!”
 198.462 +
 198.463 +	Meiling stood, hot chocolate abandoned. “It is so. And... oh shit.”
 198.464 +
 198.465 +	“What are you... is that Sakura-chan and Li-kun?” Chiharu blinked several times.
 198.466 +
 198.467 +	“And Tomoyo-chan.” I point out, smiling.
 198.468 +
 198.469 +	“Oh no! I have to hide! Hide... hide...” Meiling turns around several times, frantic.
 198.470 +
 198.471 +	Chiharu pushes Naoko at Meiling. “Naoko-chan! Take her and run!”
 198.472 +
 198.473 +	“What the heck are you talking about?”
 198.474 +
 198.475 +	“We’ll die before we reveal Meiling-san is here spying on Li-kun.” Chiharu said, looking... worried? Oh, she’s up to something. “We’ll just have the picnic some other time. Tomorrow maybe. HURRY! We’ll meet back here tomorrow at the same time!”
 198.476 +
 198.477 +	“Um... okay.” Naoko figures that Meiling is more important then figuring out what Chiharu is on, and grabs the other girl’s hand before running off.
 198.478 +
 198.479 +	I blink, confused. “What are you up to?”
 198.480 +
 198.481 +	“What makes you think I’m up to anything?” She smiles, and I look at her. And look. And look. “Okay, so I’m up to something. Don’t be so uptight. They’re cute together, aren’t they? Now, let’s go tell the others the picnic has been rescheduled. Yamazaki-kun’s behind them.”
 198.482 +
 198.483 +~
 198.484 +
 198.485 +	Chiharu has always been... eccentric? I know the term has been used to describe me more often then would be considered polite, but it really fits Chiharu so much better. Normally she plans everything out so meticulously, right down to how many forks she sits out before serving soup, 'Just in case'. With how Yamazaki acts, one could think it's even genetic. It's just something about the way she is.
 198.486 +
 198.487 +	Which is why her cancelling on the spot is so unusual. By the way she's acting, I would almost guess she was lying, if I couldn't already tell from the way Rika looks just as surprised by her story. Sakura and Sayoran however have always been a bit gullible, so I'm sure they'll buy it. And if Chiharu feels strongly enough about it to lie about why she's postponing it until tomorrow, I won't blow her cover.
 198.488 +
 198.489 +	 I think the story has something to do with Naoko, a sick grandmother, and 'female problems', but I'm not paying all that much attention. I'm a little more disturbed by what happened a few minutes ago.
 198.490 +
 198.491 +	After getting Kero's present, I ran into Sakura and her boyfriend. And no, I didn't see that American woman again. Not that I didn't try. But Sakura was happy to see me.
 198.492 +
 198.493 +	Actually happy, not that fake laugh, 'Oh Tomoyo, good to see you', you'd expect when running into a friend in the middle of a date. A relieved happy. Like she wasn't happy before she saw me. That... that can't be right.
 198.494 +
 198.495 +	I smile and nod at Chiharu, as Yamazaki starts to add in some of his 'wisdom' to the story, but I'm still wondering. Why would Sakura be happy to see me? If she wasn't having fun on her special date, what was happening?
 198.496 +
 198.497 +	Maybe I'm just over reacting though. I know Li-kun loves Sakura, and that's just the way it is.
 198.498 +
 198.499 +~
 198.500 +
 198.501 +	"Let's work on this again dear. Repeat after me: 'How are you doing today?'"
 198.502 +
 198.503 +	"How are you doing today. It's really such a...<murpfle>" Talking tended a bit hard when you had food forced into your mouth. Sushi in this case.
 198.504 +
 198.505 +	When I had darted off with Voice in tow, there actually was a sale involved. I found this great little all-you-can-eat sushi bar on the way back from the mall, so I decided to treat Voice to a free meal and complimentary relationship lesson. "Let's try this again. When you are having a conversation, you randomly stop to let the other person talk as well. Understand?"
 198.506 +
 198.507 +	"Of course I understand. But no one I talk to ever wants to talk, no matter how much I...<mergle>" 
 198.508 +
 198.509 +	In fact, to work around Voice's major flaw, I've got a great training regime based on shoving whatever food is on my plate into her mouth when ever she starts on one of her tirades. "Okay lets try again. Remember, The period means stop."
 198.510 +
 198.511 +	"Oh come on, no one ever wants to talk to me. When ever I go to say hello they just... <mugph>"
 198.512 +
 198.513 +	Okay, this might take a while. I wonder if she likes wasabi?
 198.514 +
 198.515 +~
 198.516 +
 198.517 +End Part One.

   199.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   199.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-sidebyside.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   199.3 @@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
   199.4 +Side-by-Side
   199.5 +
   199.6 +A Sakura and Tomoyo Moment
   199.7 +
   199.8 +((A/N: *sigh* don't ask me why oh why I chose a corny title as such. But I do like the couple Sakura/Tomoyo. yes, Shojo Ai, yuri, ect ect. So sue me. I'm warning you: CONTAINS YURI! *sticks tongue out* can't take it, get out. This is NOT PERVERTED: Not graphic. The worse things is that Sakura kisses Tomoyo ON THE CHEEK! ON THE CHEEK! alright? Please no flames, this is my first serious yuri and I rushed through it a bit. Simply because I wanted to finish it before karate class! Hoeee! PLEASE REVIEW! arigato!))
   199.9 +
  199.10 +
  199.11 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  199.12 +
  199.13 +Things just don’t work out.
  199.14 +
  199.15 +Not things ‘like that’.
  199.16 +
  199.17 +I was different. You aren’t ‘that kind’ of girl.
  199.18 +
  199.19 +Not at all. You are happy, perky, innocent, carefree.
  199.20 +
  199.21 +Almost totally normal except for that one little factor: You are a cardcaptor.
  199.22 +
  199.23 +A cardcaptor.
  199.24 +
  199.25 +We were, are two sides of the same coin.
  199.26 +
  199.27 +I’m artistic, quiet, calm.
  199.28 +
  199.29 +You’re athletic, joyous, easily excited.
  199.30 +
  199.31 +I’m normal.
  199.32 +
  199.33 +You’re magical.
  199.34 +
  199.35 +You were always WERE magical. Even before kero-chan and the clow cards, you always cast some sort of horribly sweet spell over me just by walking beside me.
  199.36 +
  199.37 +And I know my eyes would reflect all the love I held for you...but you, you would never notice.
  199.38 +
  199.39 +What do I expected you to do? It’s not normal. Not normal at all. Simply put: I am abnormal. And, in other’s eyes, possibly disgusting.
  199.40 +
  199.41 +Is it disgusting to love and care for you so much that I would give my very life and soul for you? Is it THAT much of a sin!?
  199.42 +
  199.43 +I don’t know....I just don’t KNOW!
  199.44 +
  199.45 +But every time...everytime I’m around you, I just get that FEELING. That fluttering in my stomach...that hot feeling in my cheeks as a red color floods my face. Yup. That’s how it was.
  199.46 +
  199.47 +Sick and unusual punishment.
  199.48 +
  199.49 +You wouldn’t know how it would be, Sakura. You’re innocent. You’ve got magic, a whole life ahead of you. You’re not on the outside looking in at something...someONE you can’t have. Heck, you could have any guy you wished, because you’re so pretty. So very beautiful, inside and out and anyone would be a fool to pass up a chance to be your ‘one and only.’
  199.50 +
  199.51 +and me, of course I wouldn’t have a chance. You care for me, yes...but not like THAT. You’re too, too...oh, what’s the word!? Innocent, I guess. Too innocent to care for me like I care for you. You wouldn’t understand.
  199.52 +
  199.53 +So I can’t tell you, my love. I can’t tell you and probably, will never tell you. I’ll just keep growing closer to you as your camera-crazy best friend and we’ll grow up and we’ll go to the mall and I’ll make you cute dresses and videotape you and we’ll laugh at funny movies and cry at sad ones and gripe about boys and you’ll become the card mistress and all that time, all that time...you’ll never know.
  199.54 +
  199.55 +You’ll never know that I love you. You just won’t ever, ever know. Because I’m too chicken...and I know, if I tell you, that would mean loosing you, forever.
  199.56 +
  199.57 +So, you see...I sit here in the park, and the breeze plays with my hair. I have sobbed myself into a mess of silvery hair and puffy eyelids. And I still, even in the setting dark, can’t forget about you.
  199.58 +
  199.59 +Even in the middle of the park and the shadow of night is looming ahead, cold and unforgiving, I can’t forget about you.
  199.60 +
  199.61 +I can’t forget about you and you’re bright smile and copper-woven hair and your emerald green eyes that I adore so much. Those eyes that I know I will never be able to stare into with all the love in my heart reflecting in my eyes. Never.
  199.62 +
  199.63 +And it hurts.
  199.64 +
  199.65 +It hurts so much. I just want some form of refuge...I just want to hide, and for a day...oh, just for one short, short day I want to not feel anything. And maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to survive this constant barrage of torture as day-after-day...I see you.
  199.66 +
  199.67 +And I see those stupid boys gawking at your beauty as if you’re some, some THING and I’m outraged...but sad. I don’t want to ‘gawk’ at you, that’s downright disrespectful and truly disgusting. But I can’t help to stare, wide-eyed at your amazing soul and spirit and beauty that I know I will never have.
  199.68 +
  199.69 +I guess that’s some subtle form of gawking, but I can’t help myself. I just can’t.
  199.70 +
  199.71 +I can’t help but admire you.
  199.72 +
  199.73 +I can’t help but adore you.
  199.74 +
  199.75 +I can’t help but be in love with you.
  199.76 +
  199.77 +I can’t help but love you.
  199.78 +
  199.79 +Simple as that. I love you, Sakura Kinamoto, but you, you don’t love me back and never will.
  199.80 +
  199.81 +And.
  199.82 +
  199.83 +Never.
  199.84 +
  199.85 +Will.
  199.86 +
  199.87 +That’s the truth. The very very truth.
  199.88 +Nothing compares to you: no one compares to you.
  199.89 +
  199.90 +My ‘wealth’? My ‘artistic skills’? They mean nothing. I would gladly throw them away in a heartbeat if I could just hear that you love me back.
  199.91 +
  199.92 +But I know that would never happen. NEVER....so I seek refuge in those things hoping that maybe I can forget about you.
  199.93 +
  199.94 +How can one forget an angel of amazing beauty and even more amazing spirit?
  199.95 +
  199.96 +No one. It’s impossible: so my refuge always crumbles around me.
  199.97 +
  199.98 +Recently it’s getting harder and harder to accept the fact that I love you and you don’t love me. I can barely keep myself from breaking down into sobs whenever I’m around you.
  199.99 +
 199.100 +And, being your ever-lovely and kind self, you notice.
 199.101 +
 199.102 +And it breaks my heart even more.
 199.103 +
 199.104 +"Tomoyo?"
 199.105 +
 199.106 +I freeze. My tears turn to ice.
 199.107 +
 199.108 +The voice of an angel. A sad, sad angel. I slowly look up...and the face of an angel hovers over me. You takes a seat beside me on the cold park bench.
 199.109 +
 199.110 +You always have to be so damn caring and sweet. And, my heart shatters into a few more peices amongst the hundreds it’s already shattered into.
 199.111 +
 199.112 +"Tomoyo, what’s wrong?"
 199.113 +
 199.114 +My tongue feels like lead. Dead weight, and I cannot speak.
 199.115 +
 199.116 +And you wait, ever-vigilant, ever patient.
 199.117 +
 199.118 +"Nothing."
 199.119 +
 199.120 +Again, my feelings are slammed behind a door: and I lock myself up once again.
 199.121 +
 199.122 +You gently, lovingly wipe away my tears. I wonder what wonderful thing I have done to deserve your presence in my life.
 199.123 +
 199.124 +"No one cries for no reason, Tomoyo-chan. Tell me, what’s wrong?"
 199.125 +
 199.126 +Again, I can’t speak. TOMOYO-CHAN! You called me...wait, you call everyone with a ‘chan’ at the end. It’s part of your lovely, loving nature. I look down at the pavement.
 199.127 +
 199.128 +I can’t hide.
 199.129 +
 199.130 +I can’t. I can’t anymore. I’m slowly dwindling away and if I hide much longer...I’m going to explode.
 199.131 +
 199.132 +But I still hide.
 199.133 +
 199.134 +damn it if I explode. I’d rather explode then loose you. Stupid, isn’t it? But, still...
 199.135 +
 199.136 +You sit back and start fidgeting with your skirt hem. You sigh and look at me, and your eyes are worried.
 199.137 +
 199.138 +"Tomoyo, you’ve been distant, and quiet. If something’s bothering you I want to know." You choke back a sob. I look at you, startled. "I miss my Tomoyo-chan."
 199.139 +
 199.140 +Then you fling yourself at me, and hold me close. You cry, and I feel your tears on my own cheek, and they burn like fire. But I can’t pull away, because I want to be here for you.
 199.141 +
 199.142 +"Sakura...Sakura-chan." I whisper, trying to find the words.
 199.143 +
 199.144 +You sit back and wipes at your face. "Tomoyo-chan?"
 199.145 +
 199.146 +"Please don’t be made at me." I plead. "Gomen, I have a confession to make."
 199.147 +
 199.148 +I can’t sit back and see you like this. God, how could I have been so selfish? I was thinking about me all this time, without a second thought. You may not love me like I love you, but you care for me: I’m your best friend, and I’m proud to wear that title...and best friends tell each other everything.
 199.149 +
 199.150 +"Go on." You say, wiping your tears on your shirt. I slowly reach out my hand and put it over yours.
 199.151 +
 199.152 +"Sakura...for the longest time..." I sigh and take a deep breath. I feel a knot in my throat...but force myself to speak through it. "For the longest time...I...I love you."
 199.153 +
 199.154 +There.
 199.155 +
 199.156 +I said it.
 199.157 +
 199.158 +Those life-changing words that will forever and always determine our fate.
 199.159 +
 199.160 +I flinch involuntarily as you sit, stock-still, the cold wind sweeping your hair to the side, your eyes shining in the dull moonlight.
 199.161 +
 199.162 +Suddenly you fling yourself at me and hold me tight. At first I'm shocked and struggle away. "iie! Sakura! You misunderstand!" I yell. You must have misunderstood. You’re not ‘like that’.
 199.163 +
 199.164 +You sit up and wipe tears away from your eyes. This time, happy tears. "Gomen! I don’t, Tomoyo-chan! I don’t!" You say, grinning and crying at the same time.
 199.165 +
 199.166 +Suddenly, the impossible has happened.
 199.167 +
 199.168 +I was hiding all this time...and...and...you love me. You love me back!
 199.169 +
 199.170 +I’ve been denying what’s in my heart.
 199.171 +
 199.172 +And I’ve been denying what’s in your heart.
 199.173 +
 199.174 +And I've been denying everything when perfect happiness for both of us was right in front of me!
 199.175 +
 199.176 +And destiny is here, and I know. I know we love each other, no matter what.
 199.177 +
 199.178 +So, once again, you and I hug each other. Finally, united in a chain of love forever.
 199.179 +
 199.180 +
 199.181 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 199.182 +
 199.183 +So here we are, in a calm spell of mutual silence. You and I, forever. No matter what. We’ll love each other: forever.
 199.184 +
 199.185 +The hours have gone by and still, here we are. It grows colder, but we share a jacket. We share each other’s warmth. 
 199.186 +
 199.187 +We share the flame of love, and it will never go out.
 199.188 +
 199.189 +Suddenly, you lean away from me. You look sadly into my eyes.
 199.190 +
 199.191 +I immediately think you’re going back.
 199.192 +
 199.193 +
 199.194 +But you aren’t.
 199.195 +
 199.196 +"Tomoyo...I meant every word I said...but..."
 199.197 +
 199.198 +You trail off...then choke a bit, and continue. "But...I’m not ready...for this."
 199.199 +
 199.200 +You plead with your eyes. You plead with me...to understand.
 199.201 +
 199.202 +And yes, I do understand.
 199.203 +
 199.204 +"It’s OK, Sakura-chan. I will always love you, and I will always be here for you, as your best friend." I say, smiling through my tears.
 199.205 +
 199.206 +Tears of joy.
 199.207 +
 199.208 +You have tears of joy in your eyes, too. Precious diamonds that I would never, ever trade for anything else.
 199.209 +
 199.210 +"Thank you, Tomoyo."
 199.211 +
 199.212 +A gentle, feather-light kiss on my cheek. A moment I’ll never forget.
 199.213 +
 199.214 +And we walked home, side-by-side...
 199.215 +
 199.216 +side-by-side in understanding.
 199.217 +
 199.218 +in life.
 199.219 +
 199.220 +in destiny.
 199.221 +
 199.222 +in love.
 199.223 +
 199.224 +We were home, side-by-side in love.
 199.225 +
 199.226 +
 199.227 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 199.228 +
 199.229 +(You know I rarely do a/n after a fic, right? But I just want to remind you: Please no flames. this is my first yuri, and I told U in the summary that this is yuri. I thought it was sweet. Please, don't flame me! I'm sensitive when it comes to this! PLEASE! *BEGS*)
 199.230 +

   200.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   200.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-song.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   200.3 @@ -0,0 +1,585 @@
   200.4 +
   200.5 +
   200.6 +
   200.7 +              Hi!!! I'm back with a new story of CCS; of course is yuri. This story uses a   song and I don't know 
   200.8 +if is
   200.9 +              called a songfic or don't. If anyone know what   type of story is, songfic or don't, please let me 
  200.10 +know, I will
  200.11 +              thank it. I   will use a song that I like very much and is very special to me. I hope that   you will 
  200.12 +like it, and I
  200.13 +              will see you at the end of the story.
  200.14 +
  200.15 +              ******* 
  200.16 +              Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp, Kodansha and other   companies as well. The 
  200.17 +song is
  200.18 +              played by Christian Castro, I don't know who wrote it, the name   and lyrics are copyrighted by 
  200.19 +their
  200.20 +              respective owners and all rights   reserved. This was made for fun and for contributes to the 
  200.21 +Tomoyo x
  200.22 +              Sakura   relationship. Please don't sue/kill me *******
  200.23 +
  200.24 +              "Mañana" 
  200.25 +
  200.26 +              Sakura looked through her window, she sighed sadly, she has nineteen years   old, it was supposed 
  200.27 +to be
  200.28 +              happy but she wasn't. She remembered that she   waited five years for him, when she was 11.
  200.29 +
  200.30 +              After they met again, she said that they'll be together forever, but all   ended in nothing, they did 
  200.31 +many things
  200.32 +              together but about a year and half   later, they broke, even though they tried to make their best 
  200.33 +efforts to fix  
  200.34 +              the relationship, all was over.
  200.35 +
  200.36 +              After that he returned to Hong Kong, they just said goodbye to each other in   the airport, and then 
  200.37 +he left.
  200.38 +              She didn't know what to do, she wandered   alone that day, and looked for the King Penguin Park, 
  200.39 +she just
  200.40 +              sat in one of   the clings, with the head bowed and tears falling through her cheeks. She   lost the 
  200.41 +sense of
  200.42 +              time and it was night, the cold wind blow against her   body, she felt cold but didn't care about 
  200.43 +that.
  200.44 +
  200.45 +              She didn't notice that somebody was looking for her; she lifted her head to   see a girl of the same 
  200.46 +age as her,
  200.47 +              with dark long hair and blue eyes. Tomoyo   was looking desperately for Sakura, she received a 
  200.48 +call from
  200.49 +              Sakura's   father, Fujitaka, he told her that Sakura never returned to her home after   she went to do
  200.50 +              something. Then Tomoyo left her house and looked in every   place where Sakura could be.
  200.51 +
  200.52 +              Tomoyo saw Sakura sitting on the cling, and ran to her but she stopped a few   meters from her. 
  200.53 +Tomoyo
  200.54 +              had a clue about what happened with her. She came   closer and put her coat on Sakura. After that 
  200.55 +she just
  200.56 +              stood there waiting   for Sakura to response.
  200.57 +
  200.58 +              Sakura clutched the coat as she felt the cold and the understanding look of   her friend. Suddenly 
  200.59 +she stood
  200.60 +              up and ran to Tomoyo, Tomoyo was surprised   but she catches Sakura and put her arms around 
  200.61 +her.
  200.62 +              Sakura started to cry,   whishing that her friend wouldn't leave her alone.
  200.63 +
  200.64 +              Tomoyo never left her. 
  200.65 +
  200.66 +              Sakura looked at her nightstand that had a picture of her and Tomoyo, before   was a picture of her 
  200.67 +and him.
  200.68 +              After that day, Tomoyo took care of her,   sometimes she stayed in Sakura's house for weeks, 
  200.69 +Sakura was
  200.70 +              so hurt and   Tomoyo tried her best to cheer her up. She didn't push Sakura to tell her   what 
  200.71 +happened, but
  200.72 +              after a few months Sakura told her that she broke with   him. Sakura just told that she didn't 
  200.73 +understand why
  200.74 +              happened, but she felt   that was better end the relationship before going more deeply.
  200.75 +
  200.76 +              Tomoyo understood everything but inside of her she was blaming herself, she   pushed Sakura and 
  200.77 +Syaoran
  200.78 +              into the relationship, she knew that Syaoran loved   her and that she didn't have a chance to tell 
  200.79 +Sakura how
  200.80 +              she felt about her.   She said that she'll be happy as Sakura would be happy. But now it seems   that 
  200.81 +she
  200.82 +              made a mistake. For two weeks she called to Hong Kong searching   him, when she finally get 
  200.83 +him, he said
  200.84 +              coldly that all is over and he had a   new girlfriend now, the only thing he said before finishing the 
  200.85 +call is that  
  200.86 +              Tomoyo would take care of Sakura, and then silence&#8230;
  200.87 +
  200.88 +              Through months Sakura was better, she finally broke the bond to him, she   thought that she would 
  200.89 +be alone,
  200.90 +              but Tomoyo was there for her, her father   and brother too. With them she never felt alone, she 
  200.91 +returned to
  200.92 +              her normal   state but she knew that something is different, her heart will never be the   same.
  200.93 +
  200.94 +              She looked at the photo, she and Tomoyo were smiling during the college's   festival of the past 
  200.95 +year. She
  200.96 +              knew that she will never return what Tomoyo   did for her. She wanted to do something for her: 
  200.97 +But Tomoyo
  200.98 +              said that was   okay, she wanted Sakura better, that was enough. Sakura and Tomoyo did many   
  200.99 +things
 200.100 +              together, even Sakura offered Tomoyo to stay a month in her house,   she was accustomed to have 
 200.101 +Tomoyo
 200.102 +              in her house after the break with him, she   pleaded to Tomoyo so much and Tomoyo couldn't say 
 200.103 +no to her,
 200.104 +              so she stayed   on Sakura's house for a month. Sakura was happy and that month was   memorable,
 200.105 +              sometimes she wanted to repeat that again, but she knew that is   impossible now.
 200.106 +
 200.107 +              Due to her study profile, which was better in college than school, she   received an invitation for a 
 200.108 +institute in
 200.109 +              America. She didn't know what to   do, it's very interesting but she knew that if she goes to 
 200.110 +America, maybe  
 200.111 +              she will never return to Japan.
 200.112 +
 200.113 +              Could she leave her family and especially Tomoyo behind? Her heart ached at   the sound of her 
 200.114 +best friend's
 200.115 +              name, she was happy to have Tomoyo at her   side. But Sakura returned to her sadly state, she was 
 200.116 +covering
 200.117 +              her pain, the   pain is not of him, it was a special pain. Sakura thought about to make a   decision 
 200.118 +and finally
 200.119 +              she decided what to do.
 200.120 +
 200.121 +              She went to pick the phone and dialed Tomoyo's number and waited for a   response. Sonomi 
 200.122 +picked the
 200.123 +              phone.
 200.124 +
 200.125 +              "Hello, Daidouji residence. Sonomi speaking" 
 200.126 +
 200.127 +              "Sonomi-san? It's me Sakura" 
 200.128 +
 200.129 +              "Hi!!! How are you dear?" Sonomi said 
 200.130 +
 200.131 +              "Fine. Tomoyo-chan is there?" Sakura asked. 
 200.132 +
 200.133 +              "No, she's not home right now" Sonomi said. 
 200.134 +
 200.135 +              "Could you tell her that I will go to America for me, please?" Sakura said   quietly.
 200.136 +
 200.137 +              "Yes, sure" Sonomi said surprised. 
 200.138 +
 200.139 +              "Thanks" Sakura said and hang the phone. 
 200.140 +
 200.141 +              After that she collapsed on the floor and started to cry. 
 200.142 +
 200.143 +              "Please forgive me Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said crying. 
 200.144 +
 200.145 +              ***** 
 200.146 +              When Tomoyo returned to her home, her mother told Sakura's decision. She   understood and went 
 200.147 +to her
 200.148 +              room, she sat on the floor and remembered.
 200.149 +
 200.150 +              ****** 
 200.151 +
 200.152 +              "What is it, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked 
 200.153 +
 200.154 +              "It's an envelope.   The principal gave me." Sakura said as she held the   envelope.
 200.155 +
 200.156 +              "Open it" Tomoyo said. 
 200.157 +
 200.158 +              Sakura opened the envelope and read the contents. 
 200.159 +
 200.160 +              "It's an invitation&#8230; for study on America" Sakura said quietly. 
 200.161 +
 200.162 +              Tomoyo was shocked but she hided it, and congratulated her best friend. 
 200.163 +
 200.164 +              "Congratulations!!! You will go to America!!!" Tomoyo said happily 
 200.165 +
 200.166 +              Sakura sweatdropped and looked at her friend. 
 200.167 +
 200.168 +              "I don't know Tomoyo-chan, I like to stay here. Stay here with you&#8230;"   Sakura said.
 200.169 +
 200.170 +              Tomoyo blushed a little. 
 200.171 +
 200.172 +              "It's nice of you. But at least try to consider it, okay?" Tomoyo said 
 200.173 +
 200.174 +              "But, why me? You are better than me." Sakura said. 
 200.175 +
 200.176 +              "But my profile lowered, many things did that, I don't mind."   Tomoyo said   as she put her hands 
 200.177 +on
 200.178 +              Sakura's shoulders.
 200.179 +
 200.180 +              "Sakura, maybe this is the only chance that you have to start a new life.   You have a path in front 
 200.181 +of you that
 200.182 +              surely will lead you to the true   happiness. We could write letters, make phone calls, we will be 
 200.183 +still   friends
 200.184 +              through the distance. Just think about it, okay?" Tomoyo said.
 200.185 +
 200.186 +              "I will try." Sakura said. 
 200.187 +
 200.188 +              "It's okay. Let's go to the class" Tomoyo said and they leave. 
 200.189 +
 200.190 +              ***** 
 200.191 +              Tomoyo finished reminiscing and the tears started to fall.
 200.192 +
 200.193 +              "Sakura-chan, I lowered my profile on purpose. I knew I must be the one who   would receive the 
 200.194 +invitation,
 200.195 +              but I couldn't leave you. I just wanted you   happy, for that I pushed you to confess your love for 
 200.196 +Syaoran.
 200.197 +              You waited   for five years, but the time you two were together didn't reach those five   years." 
 200.198 +Tomoyo said.
 200.199 +
 200.200 +              She went to her bed and fell over it. 
 200.201 +
 200.202 +              "How could I leave you in your state? I am the only responsible of your   sadness. I'm there for 
 200.203 +whatever you
 200.204 +              need. I knew from the beginning that you   would never return my feelings, but yet I want you to 
 200.205 +be happy.
 200.206 +              But I know   when you'll leave&#8230; you will never return. The same happened when we   had 
 200.207 +ten years
 200.208 +              old, you found out your feelings for him, and I knew that all   was over. Only I can stay as a friend, 
 200.209 +not
 200.210 +              something more. For me the dream   of you loving me will never become true. Now you'll leave 
 200.211 +and then the  
 200.212 +              memories will become nothing, you'll forget&#8230; but I don't want to   forget you. You're my 
 200.213 +reason to
 200.214 +              live, you are the one who will leave from   me, not me from you. Finally the real day will come, 
 200.215 +the day that
 200.216 +              you don't   me anymore."
 200.217 +
 200.218 +              Tomoyo started to cry. 
 200.219 +
 200.220 +              "I will understand. I understand everything about you, because I love you,   Sakura-chan" Tomoyo 
 200.221 +said
 200.222 +              crying.
 200.223 +
 200.224 +              ****** 
 200.225 +
 200.226 +              The next day Tomoyo appointed to join the college's festival. She wanted to   sing a song, from 
 200.227 +then she was
 200.228 +              looking for a song that serve her purposes.
 200.229 +
 200.230 +              Sakura looked at her with sadness. 
 200.231 +
 200.232 +              "Tomoyo-chan&#8230;" Sakura said nervously 
 200.233 +
 200.234 +              "Hi!! Mom told me, that you will go to America, that's good" Tomoyo said. 
 200.235 +
 200.236 +              "I said yes, but&#8230;" Sakura said quietly. 
 200.237 +
 200.238 +              "Sakura-chan, are you regretting your decision?" Tomoyo asked still smiling. 
 200.239 +
 200.240 +              "I'm not sure, I would like to go, but at the same time I don't want. I want   to stay here, with 
 200.241 +father, my
 200.242 +              brother, you&#8230;" Sakura said looking   directly to Tomoyo.
 200.243 +
 200.244 +              "Sakura-chan, I told you before. Don't bother about me, we will be still   friends through the
 200.245 +              distance&#8230;" Tomoyo said but inside her she knew the   end of this.
 200.246 +
 200.247 +              "Tomoyo-chan&#8230;" Sakura said. 
 200.248 +
 200.249 +              "At least you will be at the school's festival, do you?" Tomoyo asked as she   looked for the lyrics 
 200.250 +of the
 200.251 +              song.
 200.252 +
 200.253 +              "Yes, I want to see you singing" Sakura said. 
 200.254 +
 200.255 +              "Daidouji-san, could you go with me? There are things you must set for the   festival," said a girl.
 200.256 +
 200.257 +              "Sure, I will see you later Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said and left. 
 200.258 +
 200.259 +              Sakura saw Tomoyo leaving and thought. 
 200.260 +
 200.261 +              "I was hoping that you would give me a reason for stay." Sakura said and the   tears started to fall.
 200.262 +
 200.263 +              ***** 
 200.264 +              In the followings days, Sakura couldn't see Tomoyo. Tomoyo was busy learning   the lyrics of the 
 200.265 +song she
 200.266 +              had chosen. Sakura didn't know what song Tomoyo   will sing, Tomoyo only said that the song 
 200.267 +touched her
 200.268 +              heart.
 200.269 +
 200.270 +              Sakura was making her luggage for the trip, she finally decided go to   America. Her father noticed 
 200.271 +that and
 200.272 +              went to talk with her.
 200.273 +
 200.274 +              "You're making a mistake Sakura" Fujitaka said 
 200.275 +
 200.276 +              "I made mistakes before, one more won't change anything" Sakura said. 
 200.277 +
 200.278 +              "One thing is go to any place if you really want from your heart. But you   don't. You're doing this 
 200.279 +because
 200.280 +              you want to escape from pain again."   Fujitaka said with concern in his eyes.
 200.281 +
 200.282 +              "Yes, I'm doing this because I don't want to suffer. When he left me, I   thought that all was over, 
 200.283 +but I
 200.284 +              started again with my life. But now it   seems that all will be over again," Sakura said almost to 
 200.285 +cry.
 200.286 +
 200.287 +              "If you don't try, how you know what will happen? Maybe tomorrow's festival   would be the last 
 200.288 +chance that
 200.289 +              you will have. I know the true reason of your   escape, but try. Maybe you're right but try." 
 200.290 +Fujitaka said
 200.291 +              putting his hand   on Sakura's shoulder.
 200.292 +
 200.293 +              "I will try&#8230; Thanks, father" Sakura said crying, 
 200.294 +
 200.295 +              "After tomorrow you'll go to America, the last chance is tomorrow. Don't   make a mistake that 
 200.296 +will lead you
 200.297 +              to suffer" Fujitaka said as he comforted   her.
 200.298 +
 200.299 +              "I will" Sakura said still crying. 
 200.300 +
 200.301 +              ****** 
 200.302 +              The next day at the college's festival, everyone was enjoying the things the   festival gave. Sakura 
 200.303 +was there
 200.304 +              looking for her friend, and enjoyed herself,   she was decided to give a try. She looked for the 
 200.305 +event's chart.
 200.306 +
 200.307 +              "I have still time to see the other events, before to see Tomoyo" Sakura   said.
 200.308 +
 200.309 +              After a time, Sakura looked her watch and she realize that she is late. 
 200.310 +
 200.311 +              "Hoe!!! I'm late!!!" Sakura said before going to the auditorium. 
 200.312 +
 200.313 +              In the auditorium Sakura looked in every place for an empty seat, when a   voice called her.
 200.314 +
 200.315 +              "Sakura!" 
 200.316 +
 200.317 +              Sakura turned to see Yukito and her brother calling for her. She went where   they were.
 200.318 +
 200.319 +              "Hi. Onii-chan. Yukito-san" Sakura said smiling 
 200.320 +
 200.321 +              "Tomoyo told us that you have this seat" Yukito said pointing the seat. 
 200.322 +
 200.323 +              "Oh, Tomoyo-chan&#8230;" Sakura thought to herself 
 200.324 +
 200.325 +              "Thanks." Sakura said to them. 
 200.326 +
 200.327 +              "Ah, here, this for you. It's the lyrics of the song Tomoyo will sing and   the translation, but don't 
 200.328 +read it until
 200.329 +              the end of song, right?" Touya said   as he gave the paper to Sakura.
 200.330 +
 200.331 +              "Yes. Thanks." Sakura said as she sat. 
 200.332 +
 200.333 +              "We will go to our seats, the show is going to start" Yukito said and they   leave.
 200.334 +
 200.335 +              Sakura looked at the stage when the lights went off, and the announcer   appeared in front of them.
 200.336 +
 200.337 +              "First of all, it's an honor starting   this show here in our college, many   students will show of us 
 200.338 +their talents,
 200.339 +              the only thing I will say is I hope   all of you like the effort of the ones whom did this. Now, let's 
 200.340 +the show  
 200.341 +              begin" the announcer said as he left.
 200.342 +
 200.343 +              The show started and many students showed their talents to the people there.   Sakura waited to see
 200.344 +              Tomoyo appear, after two hours the announcer appeared   and said.
 200.345 +
 200.346 +              "Ladies and gentleman, this is the end of this show, and of course a last   performance will happen. 
 200.347 +For this, a
 200.348 +              student of this college will sing for   us a song that she selected. We have the honor to the present 
 200.349 +one of our  
 200.350 +              best students. Ladies and gentleman, with us, Daidouji Tomoyo" the announcer   finished as 
 200.351 +Tomoyo walked
 200.352 +              on stage.
 200.353 +
 200.354 +              Sakura didn't believe that Tomoyo was so beautiful, she didn't have the   words to describe her best 
 200.355 +friend.
 200.356 +              She was wearing a special dress that made   her an angel.
 200.357 +
 200.358 +              Tomoyo picked up the microphone up and began to talk. 
 200.359 +
 200.360 +              "It's an honor for me to see all of you in this auditorium. This song is   played in a foreign 
 200.361 +language, that's why
 200.362 +              all of you have the lyrics and the   translation, for all of you can understand it. I want to dedicate 
 200.363 +this song   to
 200.364 +              someone who is very special to me, that person is the best thing what   happened to me. I just hope 
 200.365 +that
 200.366 +              person will like my performance," Tomoyo   said as she was looking to Sakura.
 200.367 +
 200.368 +              Sakura looked to Tomoyo, Tomoyo's look was different, it seems that Tomoyo   was trying to tell 
 200.369 +something
 200.370 +              to her. Tomoyo smiled to Sakura and the music   began to play.
 200.371 +
 200.372 +              The first notes of the music gave the sensation that the song would be sad   in certain meaning, 
 200.373 +Tomoyo
 200.374 +              clutched the microphone tightly and began to   sing&#8230;
 200.375 +
 200.376 +              Que triste es saber que todo terminó 
 200.377 +              Que triste es decirle a un amor adiós Si tú me comprendieras no te irías de mí Lo que yo más 
 200.378 +quería es que
 200.379 +              fueras feliz
 200.380 +
 200.381 +              Y mañana, mañana ya será un día muy triste Porque tú te irás, y no volverás ya jamás a mi lado Y 
 200.382 +mañana,
 200.383 +              mañana ya será un día muy triste Porque el sueno de amor que lidiamos tú y yo ahora se ha 
 200.384 +despertado
 200.385 +
 200.386 +              Ya no quiero pedirte que te quedes más 
 200.387 +              Ni quiero preguntarte para adonde vas Ya se que tu has venido a decirme adiós Que tengas buena 
 200.388 +suerte,
 200.389 +              hasta nunca amor
 200.390 +
 200.391 +              Y mañana, mañana ya será un día muy triste Porque tú te irás, y no volverás ya jamás a mi lado Y 
 200.392 +mañana,
 200.393 +              mañana ya será un día muy triste Porque el sueño de amor que lidiamos tú y yo ahora lo has 
 200.394 +despertado.
 200.395 +
 200.396 +              At the song's end all the auditorium stand up to gave Tomoyo a standing   ovation. Tomoyo just 
 200.397 +smiled and a
 200.398 +              tear fell through her cheek, she bowed   before the auditorium and then she left the stage.
 200.399 +
 200.400 +              Sakura could feel her heart beating so faster that it was almost to explode,   she looked to the paper 
 200.401 +and read
 200.402 +              it. After she read the translation she left   quickly the auditorium and looked for her best friend 
 200.403 +with tears in
 200.404 +              her   eyes.
 200.405 +
 200.406 +              After minutes of searching she found Tomoyo leaning back on a tree crying. 
 200.407 +
 200.408 +              "Tomoyo-chan!!!" Sakura said. 
 200.409 +
 200.410 +              Sakura went where Tomoyo was. She saw her best friend crying and smiling. 
 200.411 +
 200.412 +              "Did you like it?" Tomoyo asked crying. 
 200.413 +
 200.414 +              "Yes&#8230; I loved it" Sakura said crying. 
 200.415 +
 200.416 +              "But, did you understand the true meaning of the words?" Tomoyo said. 
 200.417 +
 200.418 +              "Yes, I did. Is this what you were going to tell when we're older?" Sakura   said.
 200.419 +
 200.420 +              "Yes. I thought when I saw you with him, that didn't make sense anymore. I'm   in love with you 
 200.421 +since I met
 200.422 +              you for the first time" Tomoyo said crying.
 200.423 +
 200.424 +              Sakura looked at her best friend, she saw that Tomoyo's dress was dirtying. 
 200.425 +
 200.426 +              "Your dress. It will become dirty" Sakura said. 
 200.427 +
 200.428 +              "I can make another dress like this. I can make thousands of dress. But I   can't make you loving 
 200.429 +me as I
 200.430 +              want." Tomoyo said crying.
 200.431 +
 200.432 +              Sakura hold Tomoyo's face with both hands, she started to cry again. 
 200.433 +
 200.434 +              "Tomoyo-chan, why?" Sakura asked. 
 200.435 +
 200.436 +              "Because I want to see you happy. I pushed you together with Syaoran, and   you were sad after 
 200.437 +the break. I
 200.438 +              blamed myself by let that happen. You will   never return my feelings. I thought that you going to 
 200.439 +America
 200.440 +              would be the   best for you. Tomorrow you'll leave. I was scared to be rejected when I told   you 
 200.441 +my
 200.442 +              feelings, but I wanted to tell you, because of the trip. I wanted to   show my true feelings for you 
 200.443 +through the
 200.444 +              song, because this song express   what I really feel for you" Tomoyo finished.
 200.445 +
 200.446 +              "Oh, Tomoyo-chan. You gave me the reason I most wanted to hear. The reason   that would make 
 200.447 +me forget
 200.448 +              about the trip. I thought that my destiny was to   be alone, but you were there. You made me 
 200.449 +embrace life
 200.450 +              again, with your   grace, your smile and your beauty. Sometimes I wished to be like you, but   
 200.451 +you're
 200.452 +              different. You're a guardian angel&#8230; my guardian angel. And now   more than ever I want to 
 200.453 +be your
 200.454 +              guardian angel." Sakura said crying   smiling.
 200.455 +
 200.456 +              "I don't understand Sakura" Tomoyo said. 
 200.457 +
 200.458 +              "Tomoyo-chan, I'm in love with you. I realized that I love you so much than   when I loved him. 
 200.459 +You're my
 200.460 +              reason to live now. I was scared too, scared of   if I told you my true feelings you would reject me. 
 200.461 +I couldn't
 200.462 +              support to be   heartbroken again, the idea of losing you would make me feel dead. The trip   only 
 200.463 +serve to
 200.464 +              make an escape from pain of not be with you as I wanted. But   you loved me since we were 
 200.465 +children. You
 200.466 +              thought you will never win my   heart, you won it. I don't love you because I choose you on 
 200.467 +impulse of
 200.468 +              cover   my feelings from the pain. I love you for what you are. I love you   Tomoyo-chan" Sakura 
 200.469 +finished her
 200.470 +              confession and looked to her best friend.
 200.471 +
 200.472 +              Tomoyo cried again, she thought that her dream will never become true, but   now is true.
 200.473 +
 200.474 +              "I love you Sakura-chan. Since I was a child I loved you and I love you more   than ever" Tomoyo 
 200.475 +said
 200.476 +              crying.
 200.477 +
 200.478 +              Sakura lifted Tomoyo up. She leaned to Tomoyo and kissed her on the lips.   Tomoyo closed her 
 200.479 +eyes and
 200.480 +              let Sakura have her in her arms, after a long   time they broke the kiss.
 200.481 +
 200.482 +              "Tomoyo-chan I want you to stay with me tonight, I want you to stay with me   every day of my 
 200.483 +life. I want to
 200.484 +              be your soul mate. And I will never leave   you" Sakura said before kissing Tomoyo again.
 200.485 +
 200.486 +              They kissed again for a long time, after that they looked to the stars. 
 200.487 +
 200.488 +              "Tomoyo-chan, we don't have to wait until 'mañana' to start a life together"   Sakura said taking 
 200.489 +Tomoyo's
 200.490 +              hand in her own.
 200.491 +
 200.492 +              "Yes, we don't Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said happily. 
 200.493 +
 200.494 +              "Our life together starts right now" Sakura said smiling. 
 200.495 +
 200.496 +              Tomoyo embraced Sakura, she was happy to have Sakura in her arms, Sakura   embraced her too 
 200.497 +for a long
 200.498 +              time.
 200.499 +
 200.500 +              "Come on, let's have a photo" Sakura said. 
 200.501 +
 200.502 +              They left the tree and went to the festival looking for the photo stand,   after getting the photo, they 
 200.503 +went to
 200.504 +              Sakura's house. Tomoyo helped Sakura   to undid her luggage for the trip, after that they laid on 
 200.505 +the bed
 200.506 +              holding   hands.
 200.507 +
 200.508 +              "What are you thinking Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked. 
 200.509 +
 200.510 +              "A lot of things, but especially about this new day" Tomoyo said. 
 200.511 +
 200.512 +              "About what?" Sakura asked. 
 200.513 +
 200.514 +              "What path is in front of us, now you won't go to America?" Tomoyo said 
 200.515 +
 200.516 +              "Tomoyo-chan, whatever path there is in front of us, I will take it with   you, together" Sakura said 
 200.517 +as she
 200.518 +              cuddled next to Tomoyo.
 200.519 +
 200.520 +              "Yes, I love you Sakura-chan"   Tomoyo said. 
 200.521 +
 200.522 +              "I love you too Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said. 
 200.523 +
 200.524 +              They kissed again and looked through the window, the stars were shining and   both smiled to each 
 200.525 +other.
 200.526 +              Tomoyo was the first who was sleeping, Sakura smiled and carefully replaced   the photo for the 
 200.527 +new one in
 200.528 +              her nightstand, after that she went to the bed,   she wrapped one arm around her love's waist.
 200.529 +
 200.530 +              "I love you Tomoyo-chan."   Sakura said before falling to sleep 
 200.531 +
 200.532 +              Tomoyo smiled sleepily. 
 200.533 +
 200.534 +              Owari (The End) 
 200.535 +
 200.536 +              ******* 
 200.537 +              Author's notes:
 200.538 +
 200.539 +              1º What is mañana? Mañana is the Spanish word for "tomorrow". 
 200.540 +
 200.541 +              I'm glad to finish this story, the idea about using this song for a Tomoyo x   Sakura story was very 
 200.542 +interesting,
 200.543 +              the song is very special to me.
 200.544 +
 200.545 +              Well, here below is the translation of the lyrics of the song, this time I   made a special effort to 
 200.546 +translate it, my
 200.547 +              English is no good, I still have   grammatical errors but I'm willing to be better with practice. Here 
 200.548 +is the  
 200.549 +              song.
 200.550 +
 200.551 +              "Tomorrow" 
 200.552 +
 200.553 +              It's sad to know that all is over. 
 200.554 +              It's sad to say a love farewell. If you understand me you wouldn't leave from me The most I 
 200.555 +wanted is that
 200.556 +              you were happy
 200.557 +
 200.558 +              And tomorrow, tomorrow, it will be a very sad day. Because you will leave, and you will never 
 200.559 +return to my
 200.560 +              side nevermore. And tomorrow, tomorrow it will be a very sad day Because the dream of love that 
 200.561 +you and
 200.562 +              me dealt, now it's awakened up
 200.563 +
 200.564 +              I don't want to request you to stay more 
 200.565 +              Neither I want to ask where you will go I know that you have come to tell me farewell Have you 
 200.566 +good luck,
 200.567 +              farewell love.
 200.568 +
 200.569 +              And tomorrow, tomorrow, it will be a very sad day 
 200.570 +              Because you will leave, and you will never return to my side nevermore And tomorrow, tomorrow 
 200.571 +it will be a
 200.572 +              very sad day Because the dream of love that you and me dealt, now you've awakened up.
 200.573 +
 200.574 +              Well, I hope you can understand it, it's not the ultimate translation, but a   standard. Now all of you 
 200.575 +know
 200.576 +              why Tomoyo picked this one.
 200.577 +
 200.578 +              Well, that's all for now. 
 200.579 +
 200.580 +              If you liked it, don't, anything, please let me know by e-mail me at: 
 200.581 +
 200.582 +              cem_kamui@h... 
 200.583 +              or cemv_shinji@u...
 200.584 +
 200.585 +              I hope you liked this story. 
 200.586 +
 200.587 +              Until the next one!!!! 
 200.588 +

   201.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   201.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-tellparents.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   201.3 @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
   201.4 +Telling the parents
   201.5 +
   201.6 +By: Radar
   201.7 +Carole@mcnestrie.wanado.co.uk.hsphere.us
   201.8 +
   201.9 +-----------
  201.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  201.11 +These caracters belong to CLAMP! this is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  201.12 +
  201.13 +
  201.14 +
  201.15 +They held each other close, before moving away. Sparkling emerald eyes met their brown partners. They held each other again. Not wanting their perfect moment to end. She gently moved some of the other girls blond hair out of her eyes. Soon they slept in each other’s arms, content that they had their one true love.
  201.16 +‘Nadeshiko-chan, it’s time to get up!’ a soft voice told her. ‘Not yet Tomoyo-mama! It’s not a school day today!’ she whispered, pulling the covers over her head. ‘I’m not Tomoyo-san, Nadeshiko-chan and it is a school day!’ the voice said. Nadeshiko opened her eyes and blushed before remembering who had spent the night. ‘Megumi-chan, please can I have a little longer?’ she asked. ‘Sorry Nadeshiko-chan! I promised Tomoyo-san I’d get you up and that’s what I’m gonna do even if I have to drag you out of bed!’ Megumi said, before tilting her head, in very deep thought, ‘But if I do that I’d hurt my Nadeshiko-chan, and I definitely don’t wanna do that!’ Megumi said softly. Nadeshiko smiled before wrapping her arms around the other girl. ‘Well, when you put it like that, then I’ve got to get up!’ Nadeshiko said, lightly kissing the other girl. ‘Nadeshiko-chan, Megumi-chan! Time to get up!’ Sakura’s voice called through the door. ‘Hai Sakura-papa!’ Nadeshiko called back. Megumi giggled slightly. She’d always found it strange that Nadeshiko called the older woman her father, but had come to accept it. ‘Oh!’ Nadeshiko said suddenly. ‘What? What’s the matter?’ Megumi asked. She knew her girlfriend was sometimes subject to bouts of forgetfulness, but they were few and far between. ‘Nothing bad, I just remembered that it’s Onii-chan and Hikaru-san’s anniversary tomorrow!’ Nadeshiko replied, smiling slightly, ‘And I haven’t forgotten my promise to you!’ Megumi smiled a large smile. Nadeshiko had promised to tell her parents about them and she knew her lover would tell them. ‘Well, I think we should at least get dressed before Sakura-papa comes back!’ Nadeshiko said softly. Megumi nodded and they left the warmth of the bed. They quickly dressed and left the room in time to bump into Sakura. ‘Well it’s better them I was at your age!’ Sakura said, smiling slightly. ‘Really Sakura-papa?’ Nadeshiko asked. Sakura nodded, with the right motivation her daughter could wake up quite easily. ‘Well, perhaps Megumi-chan should sleep over more often!’ Sakura whispered, bringing a slightly blush to both girls’ cheeks. ‘Besides your girlfriends’ always welcome here!’ Sakura said, before giggling at the reactions of the younger girls. She wasn’t nearly as dense as she was when she was a child, but something’s just stood out. ‘But Sakura-san.. how did you know?’ Megumi asked. Sakura continued to giggle for a few more moments before stopping. ‘Well, the way you act around each other, and I saw you kissing earlier!’ Sakura said. ‘But.. But..’ Nadeshiko stuttered. Megumi smiled before walking out the door. ‘No buts or you’ll be late for school!’ Sakura said, silencing her young daughter. Nadeshiko nodded numbly before grabbing a slice of toast and running out the door. Tomoyo smiled slightly. ‘She’s a lot like you Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said softly. ‘I hope not or she’ll never get to school on time!’ Sakura replied. Tomoyo started laughing, catching Sakura’s attention. ‘What?’ she asked, curious about why her pale wife was laughing. ‘What?’ she asked again.
  201.17 +
  201.18 +‘Megumi-chan! Wait up!’ Nadeshiko called out to the other girl. Megumi stopped and turn to look at her friend. ‘You walk too fast Megumi-chan!’ Nadeshiko said breathlessly when she caught up to her lover. Megumi giggled slightly. ‘I’m just giving you a little incentive to catch up!’ Megumi whispered, tightly hugging her lover. They leaned closer until they were almost kissing. ‘Hey Megumi-chan! Nadeshiko-chan!’ a voice called from behind them. They quickly moved away before the voice caught up to them. They turned to see Misato running up to them. ‘Good Morning Misato-chan!’ Megumi replied. ‘Ohayo Misato-chan!’ Nadeshiko replied, slightly embarrassed that they had almost been caught. Misato smiled brightly. ‘What’s first period today?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘Math!’ Misato replied. ‘Oh I hate math!’ Nadeshiko said. Megumi giggled, this was one of the many things that Nadeshiko had inherited from her father. ‘You two did do the homework didn’t you?’ Misato asked. Megumi and Nadeshiko nodded slightly, homework was the last thing they thought about when they were alone together. ‘Oh yeah! Shinji asked me to ask you if you want to go to the dance with him!’ Misato said suddenly, looking at Nadeshiko. Megumi looked taken aback, having just asked the dark haired girl to the dance herself. As the approached the school they caught a glimpse of a boy the same age as them. ‘Ohayo Shinji-kun!’ Megumi said. ‘Hi Shin-chan!’ Misato said, hugging his arm tightly. Shinji blushed at the attention his friend was paying him. Misato’s affections towards him were very obvious. ‘Shin-chan?’ he asked, but was ignored and he focused his attention on Nadeshiko. ‘Thank you for asking me to the dance, but I’m already going with someone!’ Nadeshiko said. ‘Oh, who is it?’ he asked. ‘The person I love!’ Nadeshiko replied simply. ‘That must be a very lucky person!’ Shinji said, smiling slightly. ‘Very lucky!’ Megumi whispered. Neither Shinji nor Misato heard her but Nadeshiko did and smiled brightly. Some time later Nadeshiko and Megumi sat alone under a cherry tree. ‘The person you love must be a very lucky person to hold the heart of sure a beautiful girl Nadeshiko-chan!’ Megumi said softly. ‘You’re a very luck person Megumi-chan! I’m glad it’s you!’ Nadeshiko replied, lightly stroking the other girls’ cheek. ‘Me too!’ Megumi replied before leaning closer and kissing Nadeshiko. Unknown to either Shinji watched them kiss, having walked up to them to ask them something, and was crushed. How a nondescript girl could beat him to the heart of the girl he loved was almost unbelievable, but it had happened. He was happy that Nadeshiko had found the person she loved and walked away slowly leaving the 2 girls alone.
  201.19 +
  201.20 +THE NEXT DAY
  201.21 +
  201.22 +2 girls walked up to an old house that had once been home to the card mistress just as 2 older women were walking out. Hikaru turn in time to see Nadeshiko and Megumi slowly walking up to them. ‘Ohayo Nadeshiko-chan, Megumi-chan!’ she called out, catching Kumiko slightly out guard. ‘Hi Hikaru-san!’ Megumi replied. ‘Hi Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko said. ‘Hi Kaijuu!’ Kumiko said, smiling slightly. ‘I’m not a Kaijuu Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko screamed at her older sister. Hikaru and Megumi sweat dropped at Nadeshiko’s outburst. Hikaru could remember Sakura’s brother saying the same thing to Sakura whenever he came to visit her. ‘Here!’ Nadeshiko said, handing the older women the present that she and Megumi had bought. Hikaru took the gift and opened it carefully. ‘They’re beautiful! Aren’t they Kumi-chan?’ Hikaru said as she held a pair of champagne glasses inscribed with their names on them. ‘Yep! Especially since a Kaijuu bought them!’ Kumiko said. ‘I told you Onii-chan, I’m not a Kaijuu!’ Nadeshiko yelled, kicking Kumiko in her shins. Kumiko winced, it wasn’t as bad when Nadeshiko was young but now she was beginning to think teasing her younger sister was a very bad idea. ‘Besides Megumi-chan helped me pick them!’ Nadeshiko said, taking the other girl into a tight hug. Megumi blushed at the attention her girlfriend was giving her. ‘Nadeshiko-chan!’ she whispered, as the other girl held her close. ‘Stop it Nadeshiko-chan or you’ll embarrass your girlfriend!’ Hikaru said, shocking both girls. ‘How do you know?’ Megumi asked. ‘We’ll tell you later!’ Kumiko said ‘How many people know about us?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘A few, except Megumi-chan’s parents!’ Hikaru said. ‘That’s where we’re going to go with Tomoyo-mama and Sakura-papa after we gave you your presents!’ Nadeshiko said. The girl smiled at the older woman before walking away slowly. ‘Lucky Sakura-papa and Tomoyo-mama!’ Hikaru said before remembering something.
  201.23 +‘Hey Kumiko-chan I’ve just remembered something, isn’t Megumi-chan’s mother very homophobic?’ she asked. Kumiko nodded slightly. ‘I think so!’ Kumiko replied, suddenly more worried about her little sister then she had ever been before. ‘I hope they’ll be ok!’ Kumiko whispered. Hikaru nodded in agreement hoping her beloved wife would be right.
  201.24 +
  201.25 +They stood outside Megumi’s house. Sakura whistled in amazement.
  201.26 +It was just as big as Tomoyo’s, and now her own, house. ‘Could you wait here please?’ Megumi asked. Sakura and Tomoyo nodded and waited. As the two girl entered the house Kumiko and Hikaru ran up.
  201.27 +‘Sakura-papa, where’s Nadeshiko-chan and Megumi-chan?’ Kumiko asked, almost out of breath. ‘They just went in!’ Sakura replied. ‘But we have to tell them that Futaba-san’s homophobic!’ Hikaru said. Sakura and Tomoyo looked at their daughter and daughter-in-law, completely shocked. ‘What about her father?’ Tomoyo asked, very concerned about the emotional well being of her youngest daughter. ‘We’re not sure!’ Hikaru said. Sakura looked at the house and started to worry.
  201.28 +‘Hi mama!’ Megumi said as she caught a glimpse of her mother. ‘Hi Megumi-chan, Nadeshiko-chan!’ Mrs. Futaba said as she approached her daughter and her friend. ‘Hello Futaba-san!’ Nadeshiko said, bowling politely. ‘We’ve got something to tell you!’ Megumi said, smiling brightly. ‘Oh?’ Mrs. Futaba said. ‘Yeah! Me and Nadeshiko-chan are a couple!’ Megumi said, hugging Nadeshiko tightly. ‘A couple?’ her mother asked. ‘As in a couple type of couple?’ Megumi nodded slightly. ‘We didn’t raise a child to be like either of Nadeshiko’s mother’s!’ Mrs. Futaba said. ‘I don’t have 2 mama’s! I have a mama and a papa!’ Nadeshiko said, hugging her lover tighter. ‘What would your father say if he found out you.. weren’t normal? What would your Uncle Aoi say?’ Megumi’s mother asked. Megumi thought about it for a moment. Aoi Futaba, her uncle and an officer at Bokuto police station traffic department in Tokyo. She’d met her uncle on several occasions, the last few time’s she’d met him with her girlfriend. Every time they’d met, Aoi would always have been dressed as a woman and she’s always been pleased to meet her. Aoi had been pleased that she’d found someone special. ‘Uncle Aoi was really happy when we told him!’ Megumi protested. Mrs. Aoi acted as if she hadn’t heard her daughters’ protest and looked at Nadeshiko. ‘Could you leave us alone?’ she asked Nadeshiko. The younger girl looked at her for a moment before running out of the house almost in tears. ‘You’re not to see her for a while Megumi!’ Mrs. Futaba said. ‘But why?’ Megumi asked. ‘She’s a bad influence on you! Besides in a few years you’ll find the boy you really like!’ her mother said before leaving the room. ‘But mama I love her..’ Megumi whispered, before collapsing to the floor in tears. That’s how her father found her when he heard her crying. ‘What’s the matter Megumi-chan?’ he asked. ‘We told mama that we’re a couple, and she told me not to see her again!’ Megumi replied. ‘We?’ he asked. ‘Me and Nadeshiko-chan!’ Megumi said, not daring to make eye contact. ‘You love her a lot don’t you?’ he asked, wiping away the last of her tears. ‘Yes!’ she replied. ‘That’s wonderful!’ he said, lightly stroking some of her damp blond hair from her eyes. ‘Really?’ Megumi asked, shocked her father approved of her relationship with her very best friend. ‘Yes! It’s very rare that you find that you truly love! You’ve done just that!’ he said smiling slightly. ‘You’re really ok with us?’ Megumi asked. He nodded, before she ran out of the house. ‘Don’t worry Nadeshiko-chan, things will be alright!’ Sakura whispered as she hugged the younger girl. ‘How Sakura-papa? She said I shouldn’t see Megumi for a while because I was a bad influence on her!’ Nadeshiko said. Megumi’s mothers’ words tore at her heart. How could that woman say she was a bad influence? ‘Sakura-san, is it ok if I stay with you for a while?’ a soft voice asked. Nadeshiko turned to see the one person she thought that she’d never see again. ‘Megumi-chan!’ she called out, before running into the other girls arms. ‘I thought I’d never see you again!’ she cried, before ravishing the other girls’ face with kisses. ‘Don’t worry, no one will ever keep us apart!’ Megumi said, as she hugged her girlfriend tighter, matching her kiss for kiss. ‘Megumi! Get away from her!’ someone called out, interrupting their perfect moment. They turned to see Megumi’s mother, walking towards them with barely restrained anger. ‘No!’ Megumi replied. ‘What?’ her mother asked. ‘I love her! And I’m going with her!’ Megumi said. She glared at Nadeshiko before her eyes softened as she looked at her daughter. ‘This isn’t your fault Megumi! She took at vantage of your confusion!’ she said. ‘No she didn’t!’ Sakura said softly. ‘Stay out of this!’ Megumi’s mother spat at Sakura. ‘Why can’t you see they love each other! Why aren’t you happy that your daughter has found someone who makes her happy?’ Sakura asked. ‘Why should I be happy? It’s not normal to feel that way for someone that’s the same gender as you!’ Mrs. Futaba asked. ‘It doesn’t matter if 2 girl’s or 2 boy’s fall for each other, the love they share is all that counts! Look at me, I fell in love with my best friend and here I am with a beautiful wife and 2 children, one of whom is married to her best friend!’ Sakura said, holding Tomoyo closer. Megumi’s mother looked at the disgusted at the sight. ‘I don’t care! My Megumi is nothing like you!’ she said, her voice lased with hatred and anger. At this point Nadeshiko had heard enough and couldn’t take anymore and she let her anger consume her and her innate magic had flared up. ‘Don’t you talk dare to my papa like that! I don’t care what you think anymore! I love Megumi and there nothing you say or do will change that!’ she yelled. Sakura and Tomoyo were shocked, never had they seen their daughter angry. Nadeshiko was usually very calm and collected. Megumi’s mother backed away slightly as something appeared in front of Nadeshiko. ‘Shield Card!’ Nadeshiko yelled before an invisible barrier appeared around them. ‘Let’s go Megumi!’ her mother said before being stopped by the shield. As Megumi’s mother hit the shield Nadeshiko’s anger had vanished. Then Nadeshiko turned to face Megumi smiling slightly. ‘Would you marry me Nadeshiko-chan Daidouji?’ Megumi asked softly. ‘Hai Megumi-chan Futaba!’ Nadeshiko replied lightly kissing the other girl. ‘Time to go you 2!’ Tomoyo said as the 2 girl rested against each other when they finished kissing. ‘Hai Tomoyo-mama!’ Megumi replied smiling softly at the older woman. ‘There’s another one calling you that Tomoyo!’ Sakura said. ‘Yes, but I really don’t’ mind!’ Tomoyo replied, smiling softly as she took Sakura’s hand in her own. ‘I guess she’ll be calling you Sakura-papa from now on!’ Tomoyo whispered as she rested again Sakura. ‘Yeah!’ Sakura replied, lightly kissing the top of Tomoyo’s head. Megumi’s mother just stood there and watched them walk away, the shield vanished as they did.
  201.29 +
  201.30 +THE NEXT DAY
  201.31 +
  201.32 +They sat on the edge of the bed, one holding the other as if she were to disappear. The other holding her lover for comfort, for support. She felt so weak, so drained. Megumi’s father had appeared that morning with some of his daughters clothing and a letter from her mother. She had cried so much. Her father and lover both tried to comfort her. ‘Why is she doing this Nadeshiko-chan?’ she asked, sobbing into her lovers’ shoulder once more. Nadeshiko looked at the letter again. ‘I don’t know Megumi-chan! I really don’t know!’ she replied, although she did have her suspicions. ‘Maybe it’s me!’ she thought. ‘Megumi..’ she said before stopping to collect her thoughts, ‘if you want to go back to being friends again, I’ll understand!’ She knew this might get Megumi’s mother to take her back, and if it did then it might be worth it. ‘Do you really want to go back to just being friends?’ Megumi asked, very softly. ‘No, but if your mother takes you back..’ Nadeshiko said, not making eye contact. ‘Nadeshiko, please look at me!’ Megumi asked. Nadeshiko slowly turned to face the person she loved, tears slowly down her cheeks. ‘I don’t care what my mother thinks! I love you Nadeshiko-chan! That’s all that matters!’ Megumi whispered as she wiped the other girls tears away. ‘I love you too Megumi-chan, but..’ Nadeshiko said. ‘No buts!’ Megumi said, ‘I wouldn’t be a good wife to you if I let you keep worrying about what my mother always thought!’ Megumi said. Nadeshiko just managed a weak smile. Megumi was right, all that mattered was the love they had for one and other, nothing else. ‘Thank you!’ Nadeshiko whispered. ‘What for?’ Megumi asked. ‘For reminding me about what’s most important thing in my life!’ Nadeshiko whispered leaning closer to the blond haired girl. ‘What’s that?’ Megumi asked, smiling slightly at the answer. ‘You!’ Nadeshiko replied, before their lips lightly brushed against each other. They kissed again and again before falling back onto the bed and into a contented sleep.
  201.33 +
  201.34 +MANY YEARS LATER
  201.35 +
  201.36 +‘Is that what really happened Nadeshiko-mama?’ a young girl asked. ‘Yes ChibiTomoyo-chan!’ Nadeshiko replied, lightly moving some of her daughter’s dark hair out of her shimmering emerald eyes. Little Tomoyo, Nadeshiko had insisted that they name their daughter after her mother, most surprising to everyone was that she was an exact copy of the original, except ChibiSakura was the eccentric one. In many ways, her little Tomoyo looked a lot like her mother, except for her eyes. They were definitely Sakura’s ‘Is grandma still angry with you?’ ChibiTomoyo asked. ‘I.. don’t know!’ Nadeshiko said.
  201.37 +‘Megumi-papa! Megumi-papa! Is grandma still angry with you and Nadeshiko-mama?’ the young girl called out to her father. ‘I think she is!’ Megumi replied, lightly kissing the top of her daughter’s head. ‘But why?’ ChibiTomoyo asked. ‘Well, my mother didn’t approve of me and your mother being in love and thought that I would eventually find the boy I really loved!’ Megumi said. ChibiTomoyo looked at them slightly confused. ‘But, Megumi-papa..’ ChibiTomoyo said. ‘No buts’ dear!’ Nadeshiko said, silencing her young daughters questions. ‘Ok Nadeshiko-mama!’ ChibiTomoyo said, smiling slightly. ‘Before you go to your room, ChibiSakura called and says she wants to tell you something!’ Nadeshiko said. ChibiTomoyo ran out of the room, smiling brightly. ‘You know, I think there’s something going on between them!’ Megumi said. Nadeshiko nodded in agreement. ‘You do! Really? I feel the same way!’ ChibiTomoyo’s voice came from the other room. Then she ran to her room smiling dreamily. ‘What just happened?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘Dunno!’ Megumi replied. ‘Maybe they told each other!’ she thought. She sighed slightly. Their little girl was growing up, and finding her own way in life, not to mention finding the person she loved. Megumi sighed again and looked at Nadeshiko. Maybe it was fate that their little Tomoyo was to fall for Kumiko and Hikaru’s little Sakura. She giggled as she thought about it. ‘At least I know she’ll be in good hands!’ she thought. They slowly walked out in to the garden and looked at the stars.
  201.38 +
  201.39 +Authors notes:
  201.40 +I hope you enjoyed it!
  201.41 \ No newline at end of file

   202.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   202.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-thousand.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   202.3 @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
   202.4 +More than a Thousand Flowers 
   202.5 +         
   202.6 +Spheeris1
   202.7 +spheeris1@yahoo.com
   202.8 +
   202.9 +First off, I know that this will be silly and short ^^;;
  202.10 +It is Tomoyo thinking about Sakura...yes, it's all been done before,
  202.11 +
  202.12 +But! I had to have fun with it...
  202.13 +
  202.14 +The song is by one of my fave groups, Cibo Matto
  202.15 +
  202.16 +
  202.17 +
  202.18 +********
  202.19 +
  202.20 +
  202.21 +/i want certain words more than a thousand flowers/
  202.22 +
  202.23 +
  202.24 +Tomoyo sat in the car, listening to the soft hum of the engine...it 
  202.25 +lulled her almost to sleep. But when I close my eyes...Sakura.
  202.26 +Always Sakura.
  202.27 +
  202.28 +Somedays, I wish I could just get over the emerald-eyed girl.
  202.29 +Move on.
  202.30 +Maybe even find someone else....
  202.31 +
  202.32 +/memory rubs in my heart like sand on my feet/
  202.33 +
  202.34 +But then I think about her, all the time spent loving her without her 
  202.35 +knowing it...and I can't give it up.
  202.36 +Like I am addicted to her. Tomoyo had to laugh.
  202.37 +Sakura-lcoholic.
  202.38 +
  202.39 +/my heart is frozen tonight like blue coral in the sea/
  202.40 +
  202.41 +
  202.42 +And if someone else liked me?
  202.43 +Would I even notice? No....
  202.44 +The car stop and Tomoyo stepped out when the bodyguard opened the 
  202.45 +door.
  202.46 +"I want to be alone for a while." Tomoyo said.
  202.47 +
  202.48 +/you are my twilight though not always right/
  202.49 +
  202.50 +The ocean lapped at her feet as she walked along the shore...
  202.51 +The stars shining bright..a beautiful night. 
  202.52 +Too bad I cannot share it with her.
  202.53 +
  202.54 +/you are so kind like the tide by my side/
  202.55 +
  202.56 +I have to make a decision...to stay or leave?
  202.57 +And if I leave, I have to decided to be happy.
  202.58 +With or without Sakura.
  202.59 +
  202.60 +/because of time we lost our pride for love/
  202.61 +
  202.62 +I want to tell her how I feel...
  202.63 +But I am tired of thinking about it.
  202.64 +I need a break....it's hard to even hear myself admit that.
  202.65 +
  202.66 +/i feel i'm alone again in the heat wave/
  202.67 +
  202.68 +
  202.69 +So...then it's final.
  202.70 +I'll leave for awhile...a respite from my longing.
  202.71 +Tomoyo walked into the ocean, enjoying the water and the coolness of 
  202.72 +the waves.
  202.73 +
  202.74 +/i wish we could meet again, you are already miles away/
  202.75 +
  202.76 +Bye, Sakura.
  202.77 +For now anyway...Tomoyo smiled and went back to the car.
  202.78 +
  202.79 +
  202.80 +end
  202.81 +
  202.82 +spheeris1
  202.83 +
  202.84 +
  202.85 +Silly, ne? C and C is welcomed...i know, a bit OOC? 

   203.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   203.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-timeheals.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   203.3 @@ -0,0 +1,262 @@
   203.4 +Time wounds all heals
   203.5 +
   203.6 +By Radar
   203.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   203.8 +
   203.9 +-----------
  203.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  203.11 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  203.12 +
  203.13 +‘Tomoyo-mama! I’m home!’ she called out when she shut the door.
  203.14 +‘Hi Kumiko-chan! How was your day?’ Tomoyo asked when Kumiko walked into the living room.
  203.15 +‘Mine was great, but Sakura-papa acted strangely after recess!’ Kumiko said.
  203.16 +‘Strangely? How so?’ Tomoyo asked, very curious. ‘She got really moody.. sometimes she got angry for no reason!’ Kumiko said.
  203.17 +She was scared, very scared, Tomoyo could tell that much but why did Sakura go into that mood?
  203.18 +Then the door slammed shut, followed by heavy footsteps up the stairs followed by another door slamming shut.
  203.19 +She smiled at her daughter. Her smiled grew when she noticed she had calmed slightly.
  203.20 +‘Don’t worry Kumiko-chan, I’ll find out what’s wrong with Sakura!’ Tomoyo said.
  203.21 +Tomoyo lightly set little Nadeshiko on her chair before walking to the door.
  203.22 +‘Do you have homework?’ she asked when she got to the door.
  203.23 +‘Hai! Hikaru-chan is coming over so we can study together!’ Kumiko said smiling brightly.
  203.24 +Tomoyo smiled, Kumiko was very fond of Hikaru.
  203.25 +If she hadn’t been in her daughters’ shoes herself all those years before, she wouldn’t have suspected that Kumiko was in love with her best friend.
  203.26 +‘Must run in the family!’ she thought.
  203.27 +‘Hello Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko said, waving to her older sister. Kumiko waved back, before putting her bag down.
  203.28 +‘Why’s Sakura-papa upset Onii-chan?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘I don’t know Nadeshiko-chan! But I’ll go and find out!’ Kumiko said.
  203.29 +She gave Nadeshiko her latest colouring book before leaving to see what had upset Sakura.
  203.30 +‘Arigatou Onii-chan!’ she heard Nadeshiko say before she closed the door and quickly ran up the stairs to her parents’ bedroom.
  203.31 +She noticed she wasn’t that far behind Tomoyo.
  203.32 +As she approached the door to the room she shared with Sakura, she heard a raised voice.
  203.33 +A voice that belonged to her beloved Sakura, and a loud thud that could only have been something heavy hitting the floor.
  203.34 +When she opened the door, she gasped when she saw the mess Sakura had caused.
  203.35 +She then noticed Sakura standing near what had been their bed, completely out of breath. ‘Sakura.. are you ok?’ she asked.
  203.36 +‘Peachy!’ was Sakura’s reply. Looking up she noticed Tomoyo slowly walking towards her, carefully avoiding the mess.
  203.37 +‘Are you really ok Sakura?’ she asked. ‘If you were I doubt that our bedroom would be a war zone!
  203.38 + Looking into Sakura’s eyes she realised what had happened.
  203.39 +Anger and hatred were the dominant emotions in her eyes along with something else.. pain. Anger and pain she knew well.
  203.40 +‘Today he showed up.. as a temporary replacement teacher!’ she whispered, her voice laced with anger, when Tomoyo had convinced her to sit down.
  203.41 +‘It couldn’t be him Sakura.. he left town years ago!’ Tomoyo said, lightly rubbing her Sakura’s back.
  203.42 +‘It was him! I’d know him anywhere!’ she yelled. Tomoyo was shocked, never had Sakura yelled at her.
  203.43 +Then she looked into Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes, they were filled with shock and she instantly regretting raising her voice to her pale wife.
  203.44 +‘I.. I’m sorry Tomoyo! I didn’t mean to yell at you!’ Sakura whimpered, before breaking into tears.
  203.45 +Tomoyo felt her heart break in two. She hadn’t seen Sakura cry or act like this for years. And she knew what Sakura was going through, she felt the same way. ‘It’s ok Sakura-chan! Just let them come!’ she whispered, lightly resting Sakura’s head on her lap.
  203.46 +Softly whispering comforting things to Sakura they stayed that way for hours, not noticing a very bewildered Kumiko looking on wondering what had caused her papa to act like that.
  203.47 +‘She’s crying! I’ve never seen Sakura-papa cry before!’ she thought. And it was true, she’d never seen her papa cry before.
  203.48 +Quietly she closed the door to her parents’ room and slowly made her way to the living room to wait for Hikaru, all the time wondering what had caused Sakura to cry.
  203.49 +
  203.50 +That night Sakura never slept. She kept tossing and turning.
  203.51 +Fortunately the next day was a Sunday so she didn’t have to go and teach.
  203.52 +Slowly she sat up and looked at Tomoyo’s sleeping form.
  203.53 +‘I’m so sorry about what I said to you yesterday!’ she whispered, lightly stroking Tomoyo’s long dark hair.
  203.54 +Then she looked at the alarm clock. 5.30. She sighed and slowly got out of bed.
  203.55 +‘I need a drink!’ she thought, picking up a dressing gown
  203.56 + As she closed the door, she heard giggling coming from Kumiko’s room. She passed Nadeshiko’s room and looked in.
  203.57 +‘Sound asleep!’ she thought happily. Slowly she approached the door and looked thought the keyhole.
  203.58 +‘They’re up early!’ she thought.
  203.59 +Absently she thought about the time Tomoyo had taught her to kiss someone. She sighed softly.
  203.60 +At the time she hadn’t thought she’d be kissing the pale girl. But now she was glad Tomoyo had been the one to teach her.
  203.61 +‘Are you ready Kumiko-chan?’ Hikaru asked, slowly leaning closer.
  203.62 +‘H.. Hai Hikaru-sensei!’ Kumiko stuttered. Hikaru smiled at her best friends pet name for her.
  203.63 +This was going to be her first kiss, and it was from her best and most special friend. Could it have been any better?
  203.64 +Hikaru giggled softly but didn’t slop leaning forward. Their lips met lightly for a second before Hikaru leaned away.
  203.65 +Kumiko blushed brightly, she was embarrassed as she wanted to feel her friends lips against hers again.
  203.66 +‘Learning how to kiss someone is fun!’ she thought, blushing even brighter. ‘Arigatou Hikaru-chan!’ she whispered.
  203.67 +Hikaru smiled at her.
  203.68 +‘If you want.. I can teach you other ways of kissing someone..’ she said as a light blush appeared on her cheeks.
  203.69 +‘You would?’ Kumiko asked, ‘I’d really like that!’
  203.70 +Slowly she leaned closer and lightly pressed her lips to Hikaru’s, surprising the other girl for a second.
  203.71 +When Kumiko leaned back she smiled slightly. ‘Could this be any better?’ she asked herself.
  203.72 +Her special person had just kissed her. ‘I just wish we could do it again and again!’ she thought happily.
  203.73 +‘I hope we can!’ Her smile grew slightly at that thought.
  203.74 +Smiling at the other girl, she wrapped her arms around Hikaru’s shoulders and tightly hugged her.
  203.75 +Sakura smiled slightly at what she had just seen. She remembered one night when Tomoyo had fallen asleep.
  203.76 +She had stayed up to watch her sleep, and felt the urge to kiss her.
  203.77 +She went on it and found herself looking at her best friend in a different light from then on until the day they married and after.
  203.78 +Then she knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
  203.79 +‘Come in..’ a voice said from behind the door.
  203.80 +When she walked in she noticed that Hikaru hadn’t moved from her place on Kumiko’s bed but was blushing brightly.
  203.81 +‘I saw the light and I just wanted to know if either of you would like something to drink!’ she said, smiling slightly.
  203.82 +‘No thank you Sakura-san!’ Hikaru said politely, she was sure that Sakura had seen them kiss.
  203.83 +‘Same for me Sakura-papa!’ Kumiko said, smiling slightly. ‘Ok!’ Sakura said before leaving the room.
  203.84 +As soon as her head hit her pillow, she fell into a light sleep. Hikaru looked at her and sighed.
  203.85 +‘Just wait a few more years Kumiko-chan! I promise I’ll tell you how much I love you!’ she whispered, lightly kissing the other girl on the lips.
  203.86 +Then she lay down and also fell into a light sleep.
  203.87 +
  203.88 +‘What is there to drink?’ she asked herself as she looked in the refrigerator.
  203.89 +She shut the door, picked up a glass and walked over to the sink.
  203.90 +Turning on the tap, she waited for the water to cool down and placed the glass under it.
  203.91 +When she glass was full she turned off the water and sat at the table.
  203.92 +‘Are you ok Sakura?’ a soft voice asked her. Turning she can face to face with Tomoyo.
  203.93 +‘Peachy!’ was all Sakura said before she turned back to her glass.
  203.94 +‘Sakura.. how did you feel when.. when you saw him again?’ Tomoyo asked when she sat down.
  203.95 +‘Like I wanted to do to him what he did to me and I didn’t even care who saw me do it!’ Sakura whispered.
  203.96 +Tomoyo watched her as she explained her feelings at that time.
  203.97 +Being an expert on anything to do with Sakura or just on Sakura herself, she knew Sakura was ashamed at what she had felt.
  203.98 +‘But you did nothing!’ Tomoyo whispered. Sakura nodded.
  203.99 +‘You know what.. the fact that you did nothing proves that you’re a better person then him!’ Tomoyo whispered, lightly wrapping her arm around Sakura, leaning into her.
 203.100 +‘Tomoyo-mama.. What happened Sakura-papa?’ another voice asked.
 203.101 +They turned around and saw Hikaru and Kumiko standing in the doorway. Tomoyo looked at Sakura, before she stood up.
 203.102 +‘Tell them Tomoyo.. they deserves to know!’ Sakura whispered, before leaving the kitchen.
 203.103 +‘What about you Sakura?’ Tomoyo asked.
 203.104 +‘Bed!’ was Sakura’s reply. She left the room, not wanting to hear someone else explain what had happened to her.
 203.105 +‘You may want to sit down for this!’ Tomoyo said, her voice sounding even softer then usual.
 203.106 +‘You know in school you’re told in school that homosexuality isn’t natural!
 203.107 +And not everyone you’ll meet will accept you if you’re homosexual even if it’s the person who’s homosexual! At first not even Sakura could accept the fact that she’s a lesbian, but she eventually came to accept it! When she first realised she was attracted to women she was really confused! At the age of 12 or 13 many people would be! At the time she was doing a barely able to keep her preferences a secret, from herself and from everyone else.’
 203.108 +Tomoyo paused to see if what she was saying had registered with the 2 girls. They nodded slowly.
 203.109 +‘Well, towards the end of middle school, Sakura had admitted to herself that she was more attracted to the girls at the school than the boys. When she knew she confided her feelings in me and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone! But somehow a few did find out!’
 203.110 +another pause. Tomoyo sighed as the memories of that time ran though her mind.
 203.111 +‘What happened Tomoyo-mama?’ Kumiko asked.
 203.112 +‘Well, just as Sakura left the school by herself, she was leaving late as she was really studying for a big test, and those few who didn’t approve of her preferences chased her and ended up...’
 203.113 +she stopped when she noticed the tears flowing down her cheeks.
 203.114 +‘She fought back but ended up being beaten up with a broken arm and leg. When I found her.. she kept trying to stand but..’
 203.115 +Tomoyo whispered. When she looked at the girls she noticed that they were similarly affected.
 203.116 +She remembered what Sakura looked like when she had found her.
 203.117 +Blood pooling around her, curled up in a ball, crying heavily.. falling flat whenever she tried to stand.
 203.118 +‘She ended up in hospital and almost dropped out of school!’ Tomoyo whispered.
 203.119 +‘The leader of that little gang told her not to go anywhere near them or they’d do it again!’
 203.120 +It was at that point the girls stood up and ran into Tomoyo’s arms.
 203.121 +Just by this action she knew how badly they were affected by what had happened to Sakura.
 203.122 +‘No one should have to go though it or hear about it!’ Tomoyo thought.
 203.123 +‘I took care of her while she was getting better.. that was when we got together and I swore nothing like that would ever happen again!’
 203.124 +Kumiko sniffled before looking up. Tear strained eyes met tear strained eyes.
 203.125 +‘And Sakura-papa met that man again?’ Kumiko asked, as she and Hikaru stepped back.
 203.126 +‘Hai and meeting him again has brought back everything that happened to her!’
 203.127 +‘But why did he do that to Sakura-san, Tomoyo-san?’ Hikaru asked.
 203.128 +‘I don’t know Hikaru-chan! Maybe he was scared of being known as someone who went to school with a lesbian or maybe he did it to make himself feel big and powerful after beating up a girl who was different.’ Tomoyo replied shaking her head.
 203.129 +‘But she’s always kept it inside her! And its been eating away at her
 203.130 + At times she thought it was a kind of punishment for not being normal!’ Kumiko and Hikaru looked at each other.
 203.131 +‘How can she not be normal Tomoyo-san?’ Hikaru asked.
 203.132 +‘I don’t know, but it’s what she had thought for years!’ Tomoyo replied, sighing heavily.
 203.133 +‘Can we go and see if Sakura-papa’s feeling better Tomoyo-mama?’ Kumiko asked
 203.134 + ‘Hai! Let’s go see!’ Tomoyo replied, smiling as she led them towards a spare room.
 203.135 +‘What’s Sakura-papa doing in here?’ Kumiko asked.
 203.136 +Tomoyo opened the door to show Sakura punching a punching bag bare knuckled.
 203.137 +‘This! She does it whenever it get to much for her to handle!’ Tomoyo replied.
 203.138 +Minutes later Sakura stopped punching and looked at her knuckles.. they were bloody.
 203.139 +That sight was all Kumiko needed to see before she ran into Sakura’s waist and tightly hugged her.
 203.140 +‘Kumiko-chan? What’s the matter?’ she asked when she heard her young daughter start crying.
 203.141 +Kumiko moved away and wiped her tears.
 203.142 +‘Just point that big meanine out Sakura-papa because me and Hikaru-chan’ll..’ she said, grabbing her shirt.
 203.143 +‘Do nothing!’ Sakura said, cutting her daughter off. ‘But Sakura-papa..’ Kumiko whimpered.
 203.144 +‘No Kumiko-chan! If I let you go and do whatever it is your planning, you could get hurt!’ Sakura said, smiling slightly.
 203.145 +‘And I don’t want you to get hurt Kumiko-chan!’
 203.146 +‘Ok’ Kumiko whispered, holding Sakura’s shirt even tighter. She smiled and kissed the top of her daughters’ head.
 203.147 +‘Good! Now how about later today we go out somewhere?’ Sakura asked. ‘Where are we going Sakura-papa?’ Kumiko asked.
 203.148 +‘You and Hikaru-chan decide!’ Sakura replied.
 203.149 +‘Yey!’ the girls called out before running out of the room, going to plan their day out. Tomoyo and Sakura smiled at each other
 203.150 + When Tomoyo looked in to her auburn haired wife’s eyes, she realised that it was all a façade just to stop the girls from worrying about her.. but Tomoyo knew better.
 203.151 +‘You might have fooled them Sakura-chan.. but you can’t fool me so easily!’ she said.
 203.152 +‘I meant it when I said that I didn’t want them going after him because they could get hurt and that we’d be going out and that they could choose!’ Sakura said, smiling slightly.
 203.153 +A genuine smile.
 203.154 +‘Good I thought you were going to stew in that mood of yours!’ Tomoyo said, wrapping her arm around Sakura’s waist.
 203.155 +Sakura laughed slightly. She was still in her mood, she just didn’t want to show it as she knew it would upset Tomoyo, their daughter and her friend.
 203.156 +
 203.157 +The next day they slowly walked to school. All the way Kumiko held Sakura’s hand until they reached the school gates.
 203.158 +‘Have a good day Kumiko-chan!’ Sakura said as Kumiko rushed off to her homeroom.
 203.159 +‘I will Sakura-papa!’ Kumiko replied, before she entered the building.
 203.160 +‘Good morning Daidouji-san!’ a voice came said from behind her. She turned around and there he was.
 203.161 +‘Good morning!’ she replied before she entered the building and briskly walked to the teachers lounge.
 203.162 +When she got there, she found her old friend Rika sitting at her usual desk. ‘Are you ok Sakura?’ she asked.
 203.163 +‘Just peachy!’ Sakura replied. ‘What happened?’ Rika asked. ‘He’s here!’ Sakura said, resting her head on her desk.
 203.164 +Noticing Rika’s confusion she decided to clarify things. ‘Him!’ she muttered. ‘Him?’
 203.165 +‘Him! The one who did..’ Sakura whispered. ‘Him!’ Rika whispered. Sakura nodded slightly.
 203.166 +‘Hello Kino-san!’ Rika said, looking up. Sakura’s eyes shot open, but never moved her head.
 203.167 +‘I think there’s something wrong with Daidouji-san, she looks a little paler than normal!’ he said.
 203.168 +‘Like you’d know what’s normal!’ Sakura said suddenly. Rika and Kino looked at her for a moment.
 203.169 +‘What’s wrong Daidouji-san?’ he asked.
 203.170 +‘I had a run in with someone I’d rather never have seen again!
 203.171 +Someone who, with a small gang, beat the living crap out of me breaking my arm and leg in the process!’ Sakura said, staring at him.
 203.172 +‘Then they left me laying on the ground as they walked away laughing!’
 203.173 +The replacement teacher looked at her for a moment. Her face was familiar but he couldn’t put a name to it.
 203.174 +‘Do I know you?’ he asked. ‘You should! I’m Sakura Kinomoto!’ Sakura said. ‘You!’ he whispered.
 203.175 +‘Yes! You left me there whilst you and your friends laughed and walked away leaving me!’ she yelled.
 203.176 +‘Do you know what it’s like to lay in the dirt, bleeding for every cut in my skin, from my lips, from my nose and having 2 broken limbs?
 203.177 +Do you know what it’s like to be laying on a hospital bed wondering if it was your fault that some idiots beat you up for being homosexual?’ she asked.
 203.178 +He shook his head.
 203.179 +‘You hurt my papa!’ a soft voice said from behind them. When they looked, there was Kumiko and Hikaru standing there, books in their arms shocked by what they had heard.
 203.180 +‘You hurt my papa!’ Kumiko whispered again. ‘Who are you?’ Kino asked.
 203.181 +‘I’m her daughter! My name is Kumiko Daidouji!’ Kumiko said, slowly walking up to the much taller teacher.
 203.182 +‘Why’d you hurt me papa like that?’ she asked, tears forming in her eyes.
 203.183 +‘Because I was more of an idiot back then! I was so scared of something I knew nothing about!’ he replied.
 203.184 +‘You didn’t have to do that to her!’ Kumiko yelled, dropping the book.
 203.185 +Then with one swift kick, she nailed him right in the shin.
 203.186 +‘Kumiko-chan, please let’s go!’ Hikaru said, gently pulling her friends arm.
 203.187 +‘No!’ Kumiko replied, kicking his shin again
 203.188 + ‘Leave him be Kumiko-chan!’ Sakura said softly, taking Kumiko by her shoulders, gently pulling her away from Kino.
 203.189 +‘But Sakura-papa..’ Kumiko whimpered, tears slowly making their way down her now pale cheeks.
 203.190 +‘He hurt you! He shouldn’t be here!’ Kumiko said, as Sakura wiped her tears away. Sakura smiled slightly.
 203.191 +‘You’re a brave girl Kumiko-chan! Not many people would kick a teachers shin like that!’ Sakura whispered.
 203.192 +‘But I think you should get to class.. I’ll be there in a few minutes!’ Kumiko smiled slightly.
 203.193 +‘Ok Daidouji-sensei!’ Kumiko replied. The guise of teacher and student coming up.
 203.194 +She hugged Sakura before picking her book up and walking out of the door with Hikaru.
 203.195 +‘She’s right! I shouldn’t be here!’ he said. ‘I’ll leave!’ Before she could even turn to face him, he was gone.
 203.196 +‘I’m going after him!’ Sakura said, running after him.
 203.197 +‘Hey.. before you go tell me why!’ Sakura said when she caught up to him. ‘Why what?’ Kino asked.
 203.198 +‘Why do did what you did to me!’
 203.199 +‘I told you! I was an idiot back then and scared of something I knew nothing about!’ he replied.
 203.200 +‘That might had been enough for my daughter but not me!’ Sakura yelled.
 203.201 +‘I did it because I was scared! I was scared that you might go after my younger sister and make her into one of.. your kind!’ he said softly.
 203.202 +‘My kind?’ she asked. ‘Your kind of person!’ he replied. Sakura laughed slightly.
 203.203 +‘How? It’s not something you catch!’ Sakura said. ‘I.. know that now!’ he said, his shoulders slumping.
 203.204 +‘Look.. I don’t expect you to forgive me now or ever.. I just want you to know that I’m so sorry that we.. I did those things to you!’ he whispered.
 203.205 +‘Get back into that school.. you have students to teach!’ Sakura said, before walking back into the school.
 203.206 +Kino turned around and looked at the school, just catching Sakura turning around.
 203.207 +‘You have a job to do don’t you?’ she asked, walking into the door. He nodded and jogged back into the school.
 203.208 +
 203.209 +‘Daidouji-sensei! Are you ok?’ Hikaru asked, when she saw Sakura approach their classroom.
 203.210 +‘Hai! I feel a bit better now Hikaru-chan!’ she replied. ‘Good cos Kumiko-chan was worried about you!’ Hikaru replied.
 203.211 +‘And I don’t want Kumiko-chan worried or upset!’ Sakura smiled at the young girl.
 203.212 +‘That’s because you get worried or upset when she is.. right?’ Sakura asked.
 203.213 +Hikaru nodded her eyes not daring to break contact with Sakura’s.
 203.214 +‘You’re a good friend Hikaru-chan!’ Sakura said, lightly patting the girls’ shoulder.
 203.215 +‘If you ever make Kumiko-chan upset or worried again..’ Hikaru said softly.
 203.216 +‘You’ll be there for her and cheer her up!’ Sakura whispered. Hikaru nodded again.
 203.217 +‘Besides I don’t want face your wrath if I do!’ Sakura whispered. Hikaru giggled softly.
 203.218 +‘Now let’s get class started!’ Sakura said as she slid the door opened. Hikaru walked into the classroom followed by Sakura.
 203.219 +‘Is Sakura-papa ok Hikaru-chan?’ Kumiko asked.
 203.220 +‘Hai! And if you’re worried about her again come and see me! I’ll try to help!’ Hikaru whispered.
 203.221 +‘Ok! Arigatou Hikaru-chan!’ Kumiko replied, smiling brightly. ‘She makes her so happy!’ Sakura thought.
 203.222 +‘I hope they tell each other!’ With that thought the lesson started and everything that they had worried about faded away.
 203.223 +
 203.224 +YEARS LATER
 203.225 +
 203.226 +‘Hi Kumi-chan!’ a voice called out from behind them. Before she could turn around a pair of hands covered her eyes.
 203.227 +‘Guess who!’
 203.228 +‘Could it be my very best friend and adorable girlfriend?’ she asked.
 203.229 +The hands vanished and she was turned around to face Hikaru. ‘Nope just me!’ Hikaru replied giggling.
 203.230 +Kumiko giggled herself before leaning closer and lightly kissed the other girl.
 203.231 +‘Tomoyo-mama is Onii-chan and Hikaru-san feeling ok? They’ve been acting really strange!’ Nadeshiko said, looking at her mother completely confused
 203.232 + Tomoyo smiled at her very confused daughter. ‘They’re fine Nadeshiko-chan! They’re just extremely happy!’ Tomoyo said.
 203.233 +‘Like you and Sakura-papa are?’ Nadeshiko asked.
 203.234 +‘Hai!’ Nadeshiko smiled. ‘I hope I’ll be like that one day!’ Nadeshiko said.
 203.235 +‘Hi Megumi-chan!’ she called out having spotted her best friend and now her significant other half.
 203.236 +‘Hello Nadeshiko-chan, Tomoyo-san!’ Megumi replied. Tomoyo looked at Sakura and her smile grew. Sakura giggled slightly.
 203.237 +‘What’s happened to Hikaru-san and Kumiko-san?’ Megumi asked. ‘They’re really happy!’ Nadeshiko said.
 203.238 +‘Nadeshiko-chan could I ask you something?’ Megumi asked.
 203.239 +‘Anything!’ Nadeshiko replied. Megumi gently took Nadeshiko’s hand and slowly led her away from her friends’ parents.
 203.240 +‘Have you told your parents yet?’ Megumi asked. ‘Not yet!’ Nadeshiko said softly. She turned her head away.
 203.241 +‘I’m just disappointing her by not telling them!’ she thought sadly. Megumi saw her girlfriends’ sadness and sighed softly.
 203.242 +‘It’s ok Nadeshiko-chan! You can tell them when you’re ready!’ Megumi said. Nadeshiko nodded, not looking at her girlfriend.
 203.243 +‘Arigatou Megumi-chan.. I’m sorry I’m disappointing you!’ Nadeshiko whispered, some tears falling down her cheeks.
 203.244 +‘Stop that Nadeshiko!’ Megumi said, raising her voice slightly. Nadeshiko looked up, shocked more then anything else.
 203.245 +She shrank away from the other girl, this was the first time Megumi had raised her voice to her.
 203.246 +Megumi smiled at her, pulling her closer whilst wiping her tears away, not breaking eye contact.
 203.247 +‘You’re not disappointing me! You could never disappoint me!’ Megumi said softly ‘But I thought..’ Nadeshiko whispered. Megumi smiled at the other girl before tightly hugging her.
 203.248 +‘Silly Nadeshiko-chan.. it takes time to tell your parents that you’re already in love with someone and that you’ve got a girlfriend. You take all the time you want!’ Megumi whispered.
 203.249 +Nadeshiko smiled, before burying her face into Megumi’s shoulder.
 203.250 +‘Arigatou Megumi-chan!’ Nadeshiko whispered, hugging the other girl tightly.
 203.251 +Sakura and Tomoyo looked on as Nadeshiko and Megumi kissed once more before slowly walking back to the blanket.
 203.252 +They smiled at each other. They were worried when they heard Megumi raise her voice to Nadeshiko, but it had just happened in the heat of the moment.
 203.253 +‘Are you ok Nadeshiko-chan?’ Tomoyo asked. ‘Hai! I fell a lot better!’ she replied, smiling brightly.
 203.254 +‘Is that since Megumi-chan came?’ Sakura asked. Nadeshiko nodded.
 203.255 +‘Good.. I always felt better when my best friend came to see me!’ Sakura said.
 203.256 +‘Now I always feel that way because my best friend is always with me!’ Nadeshiko and Tomoyo’s smile grew slightly.
 203.257 +‘And if your best friend is always with you I’m sure you’ll feel the same way!’ Nadeshiko and Megumi blushed.
 203.258 +‘I hope so too Sakura-san!’ Megumi said. Sakura smiled.
 203.259 +She was hopeful their little Nadeshiko would tell them about her and Megumi soon or she’d die of embarrassment when she told her that she and Tomoyo already knew about them.
 203.260 +
 203.261 +-------
 203.262 +Authors notes.
 203.263 +This takes place shortly before The Woman is a girl again!
 203.264 +I wrote this one to explain what would happen if Sakura saw the person who caused her ininjuries in my last story!
 203.265 +I hope you enjoyed reading this!
 203.266 \ No newline at end of file

   204.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   204.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-tomoyoslove.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   204.3 @@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
   204.4 +a story of 
   204.5 +
   204.6 +Tomoyo's Love
   204.7 +
   204.8 +by that that walrusy guy you all know and love[tehwalrus@gmail.com]
   204.9 +
  204.10 +It started off with a dove and the expression that it made on the face of 
  204.11 +Tomoyo's love. Sakura smiled brightly as she watched the bird with happiness 
  204.12 +plain writ upon her cheeks, a picturesque moment Tomoyo would cherish for 
  204.13 +weeks. And yet there was sadness there, not in Sakura's but Tomoyo's own. Both 
  204.14 +the girls have grown from the small children you have known, but as far as 
  204.15 +Time's wings have flown they have done naught to heal pains in hearts depths 
  204.16 +unknown.
  204.17 +
  204.18 +The day is black and white in Tomoyo's eyes, with a spray of pink surprise, a 
  204.19 +feeling of love she feared was all lies, but if Sakura knew, if she would only 
  204.20 +realize... but where would Tomoyo then be? In Sakura's arms or thrown out the 
  204.21 +door? Nay, such insecurity she needs must ignore, she must play it safe with 
  204.22 +her love, hide, cage it safely inside so Sakura could not see accidentally. And 
  204.23 +that was hard. Sakura brought it welling forth with a single word or look, even 
  204.24 +the most simple sight. And thus Tomoyo swayed back and forth, heaving sighs of 
  204.25 +delight or sitting silently in Sakura's light, fearing she might put it out and 
  204.26 +be alone in the night... her heart, the site of many a battle, her Reasoning a 
  204.27 +stalwart knight to push back the overwhelming tide of uncertainties and doubts 
  204.28 +that comes blazing forth to try and open the cage's door, to make certain she 
  204.29 +could hide her love no more, to push her feelings to the fore, for good or ill, 
  204.30 +and then wait and see if her heart was beating still or dashed upon the cold 
  204.31 +hard floor.
  204.32 +
  204.33 +To put a word of her loving forth... it is more than Tomoyo's life is worth. To 
  204.34 +say those simple words, a task more monumental than all else for she must fight 
  204.35 +herself and Tomoyo did not even know which side of the battle she cheered.
  204.36 +
  204.37 +"Tomoyo-chan? Are you okay? You haven't said much since we've come, and it was 
  204.38 +your idea to watch the birds in the park."
  204.39 +
  204.40 +She had invited Sakura here indeed, for she knew she must soon decide, step 
  204.41 +over that great divide, she must choose the winning side. For she had not 
  204.42 +forever, that hope had died, she must either take to Sakura's side or be 
  204.43 +roughly shoved aside and be left behind. Syaoran Li and a few like him chased 
  204.44 +after Sakura's magic, and while the mess it made of thier lives was tragic 
  204.45 +[poor Meilin, to have told and been given such a shoulder cold, though I'm sure 
  204.46 +she still expects to be the one beside him when they are old] and while they 
  204.47 +were better than the new crowd who wished only to have the beauty who broke the 
  204.48 +mold, none sought her heart to cherish and hold, so perhaps it is a must for 
  204.49 +Tomoyo to be bold and do just that, to keep it warm from cold, to love forever, 
  204.50 +Sakura close to hold...
  204.51 +
  204.52 +Sakura was one who loved foremost, and she gave it to all unknowning and 
  204.53 +misunderstanding, misrepresenting her emotions to those most dear to her, 
  204.54 +strength as fear, respect as love... How could Tomoyo know where she stands? 
  204.55 +And so.
  204.56 +
  204.57 +"Sakura-chan... I love you."
  204.58 +
  204.59 +And so the dove, in it's simple flight unfolds the complexities of love. But of 
  204.60 +course it is not finished yet, not the end but not even the start, Sakura's 
  204.61 +understanding does not fly straight as the dart. So the waiting is even more 
  204.62 +painful for the one most heavily involved as what she had resolved turned out 
  204.63 +not so easily solved.
  204.64 +
  204.65 +"Of course Tomoyo-chan, I love you too. You're my best friend."
  204.66 +
  204.67 +A shake of the head... Tomoyo despairs at how this will end.
  204.68 +
  204.69 +"I love you Sakura. I fall asleep thinking of you, spend the night dreaming of 
  204.70 +you and wake, eager to go and see you. I meet you and I am lost in you, I 
  204.71 +follow you, the wonderful girl Sakura, for the day until I must dreadfully part 
  204.72 +with you for another night, to dream of you again. I love you."
  204.73 +
  204.74 +Sakura was not stupid, her sight merely didn't detect certain things, those 
  204.75 +lines of string that connect people to each other. But to have them spelt out 
  204.76 +was to have them revealed, and a haze from her sight was peeled. Tomoyo's 
  204.77 +eccentricity was removed... it was a love, intense and burning inside the pale 
  204.78 +girl. She had hoisted that love as a sail and let it unfurl, that even Sakura 
  204.79 +might see it.
  204.80 +
  204.81 +Sakura searched for a sail of her own, examining things she had left alone, 
  204.82 +never truly dwelling on these thoughts. And yet, just as Tomoyo had explained 
  204.83 +she had thoughts the same of her friend.
  204.84 +
  204.85 +"Is this love? Tomoyo-chan... I feel the same for you. You are the anchor of my 
  204.86 +life, the thing that it centers around. I see a beautiful bird, and I think 'I 
  204.87 +wish Tomoyo was here to see this with me' or a hundred similar things..."
  204.88 +
  204.89 +And so Sakura told herself true to Tomoyo, fighting back all those insecurities 
  204.90 +and letting the love shine through. And yet Sakura was unsure and did not 
  204.91 +understand what she thought, or what was thought of her... was that love? She 
  204.92 +didn't know, she never knew... Tomoyo always helps her though, with such 
  204.93 +things, and Tomoyo is here, saying this is love.
  204.94 +
  204.95 +They lived, mostly happy much of the time, for a while, together, their spirits 
  204.96 +mingled for ever and ever.
  204.97 \ No newline at end of file

   205.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   205.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-truelovewaits.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   205.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1570 @@
   205.4 +True Love Waits (in itsy bitsy pieces)
   205.5 +
   205.6 +a Card Captor Sakura Fanfiction
   205.7 +by Miss Kanzaki
   205.8 +
   205.9 +
  205.10 +Chapter One : Sakura
  205.11 +
  205.12 +I'm happy. 
  205.13 +
  205.14 +I truly am happy.
  205.15 +
  205.16 +Well, maybe not right now- moving books, trophies, and other stuff to boxes here in my brother's room may test anyone's patience... and will. The light shining through the window radiates in a rather reddish tint, which makes me realize I've been here all day just TRYING to put order! Damn! Why can't Onii-chan do this by himself?!
  205.17 +
  205.18 +Beep!
  205.19 +
  205.20 +My wristwatch reinforces the pass of time in this afternoon, yet its sound makes me smile- it was, after all, a moment like this, in the middle of a task, when Syaoran-kun, my boyfriend, gave it to me as a present... And... Hoe!! He proposed to me. It was perhaps the happiest minute in my life the one I took to get his question to sink into me, and finally answer.
  205.21 +
  205.22 +I could just spend forever zombified replaying this memory.
  205.23 +
  205.24 +Moving here. Carrying. And a quick thump as something drops from the bundle I was transporting wakes me from my short reverie. I sigh. It's probably the thirty-fifth time I've had to pick up an object Touya couldn't wrap well enough.
  205.25 +
  205.26 +Alas, this one does call my attention. I don't remember seeing one of these since I was ten, and a strange if brief feeling makes my eyes well up in tears. We Japanese have a word for brief, nostalgic emotions on objects or ideas- aware. And it's about the only word fitting for it.
  205.27 +
  205.28 +What did I see? (Personally, I still can't believe someday I'd feel this, for I thought only artists, like my best friend, can be sensible enough to let their souls be receptive to such an emotion... and of all things!?! A tape!!!).
  205.29 +
  205.30 +Just a tape. A plain old, out of use cassette. It reads Sony, so it's a recording tape. 
  205.31 +
  205.32 +The tears never come out, though, for I smile as I think of the many times before using Cd's and then mini discs that tapes were about the only way to listen to music. I recall them as being cheap, too.
  205.33 +
  205.34 +Perhaps that is why Oni-chaan preferred them to burned discs or even originals he borrowed from friends. I giggle a bit imagining him with his ages-worn walkman amid a discman subway crowd.
  205.35 +
  205.36 +I examine the tape, as if I found a priceless archaeological artifact. I turn to my back to try to find its case. I'll know then what's it about.
  205.37 +
  205.38 +I'm actually VERY curious. This being stuck here all day helping Touya in his moving has made me reach for anything to shake the monotonous hum the job has had.
  205.39 +
  205.40 +Quite quickly, taking only a few seconds, I find the empty case. It reads Sony too. Bingo.
  205.41 +
  205.42 +Radiohead- B-Sides and Rare Collections. I think I may have heard them a couple of times before, mostly when my brother was in high school. There was one particular song that he played again and again back then.... let me remember... Reading the song list will probably give me a hint to its name.
  205.43 +
  205.44 +Radiohead- B-Sides and Rare Collections... 
  205.45 +
  205.46 +For starters, I can perfectly make out it's not his handwriting.
  205.47 +
  205.48 +So, Yukito-san gave you this?
  205.49 +
  205.50 +There's a slight grin playing on my lips. Yukito-san still has this cheery effect on me, for his kindness and polite manner are truly special. And it is this same qualities that I noticed since I met him that made me finally long ago understand why my brother fell in love with him. Let alone be his friend.
  205.51 +
  205.52 +Hai, Yukito-san gave him this tape. And I spot the song I was looking for. An asterik in violet ink gave away the answer.
  205.53 +
  205.54 +True Love Waits. Live.
  205.55 +
  205.56 +Searching up my memory. Found it. Yep. This is the song he couldn't stop playing one summer.
  205.57 +
  205.58 +I thought it to be a bit corny back then. More than corny, puzzling. Puzzling.
  205.59 +
  205.60 +You can't make it out 'cause you still don't learn English, kaijuu!
  205.61 +
  205.62 +A bit of blood rushes in a boiling manner to my face. He dismissed my curiosity like that and shut the door.
  205.63 +
  205.64 +He returned to a rather pensative gaze towards the ceiling as the door made way to block me his view and the recorder's sound.
  205.65 +
  205.66 +Live. The sound was that of an acoustic guitar, I think.
  205.67 +
  205.68 +True Love Waits... 
  205.69 +
  205.70 +Sakura! Dinner's served!
  205.71 +
  205.72 +Coming, dad!!
  205.73 +
  205.74 +True Love Waits... I decide to put the tape in the case, and place it in my pocket.
  205.75 +
  205.76 +As I close the door, for a short pause I consider putting it back.
  205.77 +
  205.78 +Nah!! He owes me plenty.
  205.79 +
  205.80 +And I leave hurriedly for the kitchen downstairs. Steamed vegetables and chicken teriyaki await.
  205.81 +
  205.82 +--------
  205.83 +
  205.84 +parenthesis : Tomoyo
  205.85 +
  205.86 +An 18 year-old girl stands out from the crowd.
  205.87 +
  205.88 +It must be the Prussian blue velvet blazer she's wearing.
  205.89 +
  205.90 +She walks towards a store in this three-level mall.
  205.91 +
  205.92 +Then again, it's almost impossible for people not to notice her beautiful features- long wavy dark hair, stormy indigo eyes, petite nose & lips, in an elongated figure. Her skin's as pale as the winter air hanging outside.
  205.93 +
  205.94 +Her graceful movement crowns this ideallic picture. And how fitting! She has walked into the art supply store.
  205.95 +
  205.96 +A ring and a voice meet her.
  205.97 +
  205.98 +- Daidouji-san! Back so early for material?
  205.99 +
 205.100 +The girl this mature-looking, all-knowing man greets nods cheerfully.
 205.101 +
 205.102 +- Hai, Mitsumori-sensei! I'm going to need more tubes of titanium white and ebony black than I expected.
 205.103 +
 205.104 +He now stands from the wooden stool he was sitting on, leaving aside the silver vase he was intent on restoring to its lost glory.
 205.105 +
 205.106 +- Just those? Have you turned away from expressionism or are you shortening way too much your other oils to save yourself money?
 205.107 +
 205.108 +Her giggle came out discreet. And she moves again with a grace to an aisle of the store.
 205.109 +
 205.110 +- No, not at all, sensei. But pale colors seem to suit my work much better...
 205.111 +
 205.112 +- If you say so, Daidouji-san...- he says while he scoops off with his fingers a drop of sweat from his brow.
 205.113 +
 205.114 +She's with her knees bent in front of the bottom rack of the aisle, her eyes searching cooly for the tubes.
 205.115 +
 205.116 +And then it was that she started to hum.
 205.117 +
 205.118 +Hum. hum. Hum. hum.
 205.119 +
 205.120 +Unlike a buzz, unlike an untrained bird young. It was how angels would sound if they knew how to hum at all rather than fill the skies with overpowering arias.
 205.121 +
 205.122 +- Hmmm... I've not heard this one before... Are you and the band preparing for a performance?
 205.123 +
 205.124 +Daidouji Tomoyo was snapped out of her search. And out of a secret reverie hardly unveiled by the hum. She grabs a boxed set of oils and walks back to the counter where her sensei stood.
 205.125 +
 205.126 +- With the crowd we're getting at the club we have to be preparing almost on a daily basis, sensei. Here.
 205.127 +
 205.128 +The old man took the card she tended to him, and passed it quick through the machine. He handed it back along with a short thin sheet of paper.
 205.129 +
 205.130 +- With school and your art studies, it's still a wonder you take time to sing in a club band! At your age it's not so good to overwork your abilities and miss out on the ordinary youth past times...
 205.131 +
 205.132 +She once again displays that discreet, yet cute smile.
 205.133 +
 205.134 +- It's okay, it's not like I'm missing out on much anyway. They're all important activities to me, since I want to master the most possible for my artistic goals... They may all be of some use when I leave in the end of the summer...
 205.135 +
 205.136 +Her pause, if done properly, called on the attention of her sensei. After all, not in vane has he known her since she was -and still is, he thinks to himself- a 12 year-old quiet, observant, condescendant, well-mannered, intelligent, talented, sweet girl.
 205.137 +
 205.138 +- In the end of the summer?
 205.139 +
 205.140 +She keeps to herself, as usual when a question she considered not answerable for now appeared. Yes, she's opening her wallet, placing back the credit card Mitsumori-sensei tended to her. She'd probably give an answer, if she only considered the moment adequate. Yet...
 205.141 +
 205.142 +- I didn't realize I'm running late to pick up my mother from the toy company. I have to leave now, sensei.
 205.143 +
 205.144 +Just before she could exit, her head turns back to me. She sighs and her deep blue eyes seem to flicker in a lower light, but then shine brightly as anyone could tell you, along with a soft, discreet smile.
 205.145 +
 205.146 +- Here, sensei. This is the flyer we're handing out to promote our next concert. Hope I'll see you there.
 205.147 +
 205.148 +Mitsumori Aoi took the flyer in his long, slightly wrinkle-skinned hand.
 205.149 +
 205.150 +- I'll be there, my child prodigy. I'll be there.
 205.151 +
 205.152 +The last thing he heard aside from her light footsteps was her humming, that slow soft hum that suddenly let a few words escape......
 205.153 +
 205.154 +I'd drown my beliefs.....
 205.155 +
 205.156 +And, perhaps in the lowest breath ever made by a human, she continued while grasping out of her blouse an ages-worn locket.
 205.157 +
 205.158 +------------
 205.159 +
 205.160 +parenthesis 2 : Syaoran
 205.161 +
 205.162 +The afternoon seemed perfect. Almost perfect enough to remind him that he was a foreigner.
 205.163 +
 205.164 +Yet this wasn't the first time he walked these streets. He did it before as a child, and nothing seems to have changed.
 205.165 +
 205.166 +Except that, aside that he had a nice compact sports car that he used every now and then, there was someone here in this town that loved him dearly. 
 205.167 +
 205.168 +And suddenly Tokyo was just as beautiful as the garden of Eden.
 205.169 +
 205.170 +Just that I wish every now and then that such paradise could last.
 205.171 +
 205.172 +And just as I'd go forward down the avenue to reach home, a crowd, a voice asking for attention, and a guitar strum capture my attention. That's about enough to make me run into the record store and ask immediately for the album.
 205.173 +
 205.174 +- Why certainly, Mr. Li!!!! When I received the shipment this morning I thought you'd love it.
 205.175 +
 205.176 +The tall, brown haired man nodded.
 205.177 +
 205.178 +- I appreciate the special treatment I get from you, Sorata-san. Even that you refer to me in a respectful manner.
 205.179 +
 205.180 +The other young man, short and with his long hair dyed in various colors, smiled and replied:
 205.181 +
 205.182 +- I suppose that back in Hong Kong people refer to you like that.... That'll be 2,000 yen, sir.
 205.183 +
 205.184 +Li Syaoran took out his black leather wallet and extended the right amount of cash to his friend. He examined the cover of the mini disc.
 205.185 +
 205.186 +- Mmmm.... I didn't know it was Radiohead!!
 205.187 +
 205.188 +The clerk then handed the bill.  He put a surprised expression on his brow.
 205.189 +
 205.190 +- You didn't know???
 205.191 +
 205.192 +Syaoran blushed in embarrasment. He, the best customer of this record store, that purchased at least three to five albums per week, didn't actually have knowledge of this song!!!!
 205.193 +
 205.194 +- Don't worry, little gentleman!!! I got the same expression from my other favorite customer, and she's also a music specialist!!! Like if she was a ball player, she'd be Major League!!!
 205.195 +
 205.196 +The Chinese boy couldn't help noticing the dreamy gaze Sorata was wearing.
 205.197 +
 205.198 +- I hope your affirmation's because of her knowledge and not her looks!!- he grinned.
 205.199 +
 205.200 +- She's the lead singer for a band,- replied the young punk, trying to look serious yet having a slight blush on his cheeks- that plays almost every night at the club further down the street.. AND I've seen her a couple o' times here with your girlfriend!!-, he added with a bit more of enthusiasm.
 205.201 +
 205.202 +An enthusiasm that Li Syaoran, however, did not share.
 205.203 +
 205.204 +- Well, I have to run now, Sorata-san. See ya!
 205.205 +
 205.206 +Sorata just stammered out a series of "But-but-but-but....".
 205.207 +
 205.208 +- I put the song again since the beginning, Li-san!!!
 205.209 +
 205.210 +Nonetheless, Syaoran, as he left, still managed to hear out the initial harmonies.
 205.211 +
 205.212 +To a more faint, due to the distance,
 205.213 +
 205.214 + .... To have you be in peace.....
 205.215 +
 205.216 +he whispered "Sakura" ...
 205.217 +
 205.218 +And a somewhat indecipherable tone he employed to add "Daidouji-san".
 205.219 +
 205.220 +-----------------
 205.221 +
 205.222 +He always thinks of me as a child.
 205.223 +
 205.224 +... And I'd dress up as your niece, ...
 205.225 +
 205.226 +I giggle a bit. Maybe I am.
 205.227 +
 205.228 +The butterflies in my stomach can't help but fly madly.
 205.229 +
 205.230 +Funny....
 205.231 +
 205.232 +... to wash your swollen feet....
 205.233 +
 205.234 +The crude sound of the guitar and the accompaning cruder vocals.... they have...
 205.235 +
 205.236 +Here he is now. Beside me. 
 205.237 +
 205.238 +It's our wedding day.
 205.239 +
 205.240 +And there's flowers. Of all kinds. Save for some men, everyone else is dressed in white, including the bridesmaids... Touya, Yukito-san and Kero are in white too.
 205.241 +
 205.242 +Here we are. At the altar.
 205.243 +
 205.244 +The priest is about to ask the groom if he'll take the lovely bride as his wife... To cherish and to protect her 'til death do them apart....
 205.245 +
 205.246 +(What a tough question, indeed!!)
 205.247 +
 205.248 +She shines the brightest, for the answer is one she's been expecting since she can remember....
 205.249 +
 205.250 +(All my life, it seems!!!)
 205.251 +
 205.252 +Then, something about the air... She darkens, so noticeable due to the contrast of her ever-white gown. He nods in refusal, or more like if he can't make up his mind.
 205.253 +
 205.254 +....Just, don't leave...
 205.255 +
 205.256 +He takes off running. RUNNING! But why?
 205.257 +
 205.258 +Why does she feel so torn apart from this scene? Everyone, let alone him, seem so out of reach. No matter how she tries to recapture them, him, with her hand yet ever so strange, unreal, her feet take her away further and further...
 205.259 +
 205.260 +... have taken her to another world.
 205.261 +
 205.262 +Our dream girl, this young thing with brunette short hair, emerald eyes and a long, athletic yet elegant look, shoots up from her slumber, and steps hurriedly toward her studying desk. Her right index finger reaches to the "stop" button on the tape player, and no more sounds come out from there.
 205.263 +
 205.264 +Still, Kinomoto Sakura is surprised. In her surprise she's echoing the last lines she listened to. Like a child.
 205.265 +
 205.266 +The butterflies have stopped their flight.
 205.267 +
 205.268 +------------
 205.269 +
 205.270 +Chapter 2 : Tomoyo
 205.271 +
 205.272 +What are you doing here?
 205.273 +
 205.274 +This place, where you're standing, is called a stage. And crowds gather around a stage -though there aren´t many people except those who work here- , in case you didn't know. And despite your experience, you'll always be a bit of an agoraphobic.
 205.275 +
 205.276 +Sigh. I must pick up the guitar. Guess I haven't gotten over the haunting of failure.
 205.277 +
 205.278 +But she has actually nothing to reproach herself, for everything she has ever embarked on has been a total success. She's nonetheless than Tomoeda's own child prodigy, she'd heard people say from time to time. And the four guys that play in her band absolutely respect and adore her.
 205.279 +
 205.280 +In fact, one of them, an auburn long haired 19 year-old guy, named Yuto, looks on to her in a forelorn fashion. He probably fell in love with her ever since he heard her play the piano in an audition. Her voice and her many other talents just deepened the spell.
 205.281 +
 205.282 +Tuning chords. Chords. Chord. One by one. The most elegant fingers he has ever seen on a woman work with expertise ease each and every knob to get the instrument right. And then come in the strums. Beautiful, simple notes. But definetely not Japanese in any possible musical genre.
 205.283 +
 205.284 +A voice that spills in words that are not Japanese either also soars quickly through the performing room in the night club. Amazing. It's just rehearsal and Daidouji-san always manages to make it look like the main event.
 205.285 +
 205.286 +- Yuto-san, aren´t you going to finish connecting the rest of the speakers?
 205.287 +
 205.288 +-Hai, Tsuwabuki-san. I was on my way, in fact...
 205.289 +
 205.290 +But that's a downright lie. If he moved towards the speakers it was only to be closer to her.
 205.291 +
 205.292 +The way she holds the guitar. A child she is, like cuddling to it...
 205.293 +
 205.294 +(Little does he know that this child thinks of her activity as more like caressing every bit of a lover so that the drunken chants of promises and desires come out for her delight).
 205.295 +
 205.296 +- Yuto-san! You should really get a load of what she's singing!
 205.297 +
 205.298 +He stops pretending to work the connections to the main audio equipment. He sighs in relief, for he can now watch his beloved without having to disguise he's doing it.
 205.299 +
 205.300 +... And true love waits...
 205.301 +
 205.302 +She can recall perfectly that a few days ago that her darling, ever-energetic Sakura-chan was right under the door of the school, before she arrived... Thus, the oddity of the day ensued.
 205.303 +
 205.304 +- Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan!
 205.305 +
 205.306 +I didn't mean to sound so cheery, yet this effect of silly yet enveloping giddiness is now second nature to me.
 205.307 +
 205.308 +She didn't answer immediately. I then examined her a bit, and found her wearing headphones. That explains it.
 205.309 +
 205.310 +That also gives me the perfect excuse to approach her, and gently touch her shoulder. The tiny yet guilty pleasures I have.
 205.311 +
 205.312 +- Huh? Ah, Tomoyo-chan! Ohayo!
 205.313 +
 205.314 +Right on her heels she turns to me. This overwhelming physical and spiritual being that's Kinomoto Sakura. She also removes the headphones, and presses "stop" on an old cassette walkman.
 205.315 +
 205.316 +- It's unusual for Sakura-chan to bring any kind of gadget for listening music to, having Li-kun's car stereo for that.
 205.317 +
 205.318 +My sweet one blushes. Gosh! How I love when she does that!
 205.319 +
 205.320 +- Well... Syaoran´s car does not have a tape player. And besides, I want to listen this song by myself.
 205.321 +
 205.322 +Asking the right questions, you get the right answers. Boy! Did I EVER get a response like that!
 205.323 +
 205.324 +She grasped my arm and pulled me away. Of course I wasn't going to put up any resistance, since I didn't in a long time enjoy this kind of brusque needy behavior of hers towards me. Besides, with her height and strength, it would've been useless. And there, under the lonely stairs of the back of the main building, I discovered just how powerful sometimes the tiny earphones of a cassette player could be, asking nothing of a CD or mp3 player.
 205.325 +
 205.326 +- You... you say that you found it while helping your brother pack for his home moving?
 205.327 +
 205.328 +I heard also how Sakura-chan, when she finds something like this, can speak so passionate. As if there was no other tune in the world worthy of mention than this one.
 205.329 +
 205.330 +I smiled later on because of this incident while on that same evening I sorted through my own attic and visited the neatly kept tapes, suits and designs that on other times I made for Sakura-chan. I sighed a while, felt as giddy as in her presence, like a child. And out of nowhere I started sorting out the notes of the song.
 205.331 +
 205.332 +She suddenly stopped playing the guitar. The stares she was getting from her bandmates made her feel uncomfortable.
 205.333 +
 205.334 +- Errr... Anything wrong?
 205.335 +
 205.336 +He couldn't believe it. It was rare to see deliciously mature Daidouji-san insecure. Why would she, with her perfect voice and playing genius, stop?
 205.337 +
 205.338 +- I know we only play non-English songs from time to time... If it's alright with you guys, I'll include this song in our repertoire for the next show.
 205.339 +
 205.340 +They were all surprised. Rarely did their divinely praised vocalist ever suggest a melody. She always seemed at ease with whatever song they'd come up with.
 205.341 +
 205.342 +Before even the usual control freak of Tsuwabuki answered, Yuto glanced quickly at the rest of his bandmates and said:
 205.343 +
 205.344 +- You think we'd hold you back on this one? The song's absolutely gorgeous! And.... - he involuntarily lowered his voice- since you're leaving in a few weeks, I don't see what harm can come from a Radiohead song.
 205.345 +
 205.346 +She smiled her best smile. Of course, the only ones that knew her plans were they, her brothers in music. She didn't want to hold the news from them, mainly to give them time to search for her replacement. They all nodded, and she waited for Yuto to finish hooking up the audio equipment.
 205.347 +
 205.348 +... in haunted attics...
 205.349 +
 205.350 +Butterflies fly lazily in memories confined.
 205.351 +
 205.352 +It's always this way. Waiting. 
 205.353 +
 205.354 +Waiting, waiting. Emotions gathering dust. 
 205.355 +
 205.356 +Waiting for someone to sweep the ages old crust of earth off them. Waiting for her.
 205.357 +
 205.358 +Waiting for the one who suggested she'd perform this song. 
 205.359 +
 205.360 +- Now, lets run an audio check before rehearsing... - she sighed. And again an ages worn locket was taken out by her hand, and she trusted to it her success, like every time she embarked on an activity.
 205.361 +
 205.362 +---------
 205.363 +
 205.364 +parenthesis : Sakura & Kerberos
 205.365 +
 205.366 +- Sakura? Sakura??
 205.367 +
 205.368 +There was no response.
 205.369 +
 205.370 +- SAAAKUUURAAAAAAAA???!!!!!
 205.371 +
 205.372 +- Hoe!! What's with the screaming, Kero-chan?
 205.373 +
 205.374 +The floating creature with the world's most obvious Osaka accent was looking sternly into her eyes, waving one of his arms in the direction of the studying desk.
 205.375 +
 205.376 +- Didn't you notice it?!
 205.377 +
 205.378 +She got up as fast as she could and her usually skeptic expression at whatever the Seal Beast hollered wildly about changed rapidly into one of disbelief.
 205.379 +
 205.380 +- What?! What did I-
 205.381 +
 205.382 +The image spoke clearly for itself- the top drawer, and the Sakura Book. Both open wide.
 205.383 +
 205.384 +I have to rub my eyes two times or more. And still this is too weird to believe in. For it's been a long time since the cards, aside from their morning greet, have shown a tendency to get out by themselves.
 205.385 +
 205.386 +- Kero... Is- are- any cards missing?
 205.387 +
 205.388 +- Kero?- His silence is making me nervous, but I try to stay as calm as possible. - Kero? Am I right in supposing a card is missing?
 205.389 +
 205.390 +The only thing he does is nod his head. Once and again. Nod his head and speak in the most skeptic of voices.
 205.391 +
 205.392 +- Sakura, I must know... Did you open the book by any chance? For any purpose? Sakura?
 205.393 +
 205.394 +I have now engaged myself in this mimical response. I shake my head in refusal to his questions.
 205.395 +
 205.396 +- Kero, please tell me... Is there anything wrong? Who could've opened the book? Which cards disappeared?
 205.397 +
 205.398 +Stepping closer to the drawer, I suddenly stop her. To calm her confusion, I say:
 205.399 +
 205.400 +- Don't bother in examining the book... I already did, and found only missing the Dream card.
 205.401 +
 205.402 +With her evergreen eyes rolling she couldn't have expressed more concern than she did in that second.
 205.403 +
 205.404 +- Yume? Yume's missing?
 205.405 +
 205.406 +I knew which card was Kero-chan talking about- the one Syaoran-kun captured inside Tokyo Tower.
 205.407 +
 205.408 +- Errr, Kero... do you think she's still mad at me by accidently stepping on her back when I sealed her?
 205.409 +
 205.410 +The Seal Beast's mad wing fluttering couldn't have also expressed more disbelief.
 205.411 +
 205.412 +- Nice joke, Sakura. But this is serious... Yet...
 205.413 +
 205.414 +I drew closer to listen in on what Kero started mumbling about. 
 205.415 +
 205.416 +- Hmmmm...... Hmmmm. Hmmmm!!!!
 205.417 +
 205.418 +- What, Kero-chan?
 205.419 +
 205.420 +- If the Dream card moved by itself... as all points out... what could've motivated it? Kami-sama! I can't believe you didn't feel its aura as it moved up and flew away!
 205.421 +
 205.422 +I can't believe it either. All these years merely giving the cards their morning salutation and nothing else has probably made my magical sixth sense sluggish. 
 205.423 +
 205.424 +The dying sunlight bathes my face for the last time. My eyes are drawn to the sun instantly. I can imagine the comments this would draw out from Syaoran...
 205.425 +
 205.426 +- You know... you actually look cute like that....
 205.427 +
 205.428 +Of course, that would've been after I tortured him into saying it because he'd stared at my face, too silently, too long.
 205.429 +
 205.430 +... And of course, I think of what another sweet phraser would say. Tomoyo-chan.
 205.431 +
 205.432 +-  It's quite natural that green should follow gold. Sakura-chan and Nature as one in my humble point of view.
 205.433 +
 205.434 +I find myself next wondering on the flock of butterflies chasing after the sun. 
 205.435 +
 205.436 +- Yume... what- what's going on?
 205.437 +
 205.438 +The butterflies in my stomach stir yet downward. I'm not sure of anything right now.
 205.439 +
 205.440 +Except that I'd like to chase after them. I lean into the windowsill and watch them go by.
 205.441 +
 205.442 +.... Don't leave...
 205.443 +
 205.444 +----------
 205.445 +
 205.446 +parenthesis 2 : Yuto & His Dream Girl
 205.447 +
 205.448 +- You're chasing after a dream. Don't you know that?
 205.449 +
 205.450 +- Huh?
 205.451 +
 205.452 +- Yuto-san,- began Tsuwabuki in a calm voice - it was a long time ago that I was in your place... Hell! Who wouldn't?! She's...
 205.453 +
 205.454 +Daidouji Tomoyo was now finished in writing down for everyone the musical sheet for the song. She set back a lock of her long dark hair that came across her face while she was bent over the box doing the transcription.
 205.455 +
 205.456 +- ... beautiful...
 205.457 +
 205.458 +- Fukuy-kun, can you please take this to the nearest copier and get at least six sets?-. The mere pale long hand of hers seemed to glide effortless through the heavy air of this for now empty nightclub.
 205.459 +
 205.460 +-... sublime...
 205.461 +
 205.462 +She seemed to be in control, her mind probably set in planning the further details of the performance.
 205.463 +
 205.464 +-... so mature...
 205.465 +
 205.466 +Yuto was sincerely amazed. Tsuwabuki was describing his thoughts on Tomoyo just as if he had his mind between his hands to read.
 205.467 +
 205.468 +- Ah... I could just go on and on, and still not quite reach the half of her pros, ol' chum! But...
 205.469 +
 205.470 +- What, Tsuwabuki-san?
 205.471 +
 205.472 +Tsuwabuki opened slightly his mouth as if to speak, but held his tongue back when he heard a pair of footsteps hurriedly march towards the stage area.
 205.473 +
 205.474 +Daidouji-san turned around as well. A sheet of anticipation covered her eyes.
 205.475 +
 205.476 +---------
 205.477 +
 205.478 +... And True Love Lives....
 205.479 +
 205.480 +She's staring at me. Again.
 205.481 +
 205.482 +And I stop my humming. Sakura smiles. About enough to bring me to silence and feel nervous waiting for her voice to fill the space I left.
 205.483 +
 205.484 +- I see I created a monster. You really liked that song, Tomoyo-chan?
 205.485 +
 205.486 +It may have been the afternoon breeze, but I had the notion that it was the warmth of her breath I felt against my cheek. Then again, she wasn't that close enough.
 205.487 +
 205.488 +Imagination plays the brightest yet cruelest of pranks on one.
 205.489 +
 205.490 +But, in fact, her face was –if just- a few inches away from mine.
 205.491 +
 205.492 +- The song is lovely. I heard about the band and some of their material before, but I never imagined they could possibly write down something so simple and pure.
 205.493 +
 205.494 +-In fact.- I added looking directly into her gorgeous emerald eyes with occasional specks of gold every now and then – I convinced the band to rehearse it for our next performance.
 205.495 +
 205.496 +She smiled a pleasant smile. One I knew of result from what I said.
 205.497 +
 205.498 +It also made me smile, yet as always mine was as I, discreet and unwilling to hint at my own exploding happiness.
 205.499 +
 205.500 +- It’s good to know something like this... amid a crisis like the one I’m having..
 205.501 +
 205.502 +- What was that you said, Sakura-chan?
 205.503 +
 205.504 +With half of herself trying to mantain the focus of her gaze into my face, and the other preventing if a bit sloppily that her hands trembled from the concern that invaded her, Sakura elaborated in carefully chosen words the present problem. 
 205.505 +
 205.506 +- ... And, it may have nothing to do with the incident, but I’ve been having strange dreams, and even daydreams lately. Tomoyo-chan, do you think these things might be related?
 205.507 +
 205.508 +I pondered, assisting myself with an arm folded in a way to bring my hand to my chin and hold the rim of my thoughts through that of my face. Memory serves one well every once in a while, and to mind came the time I had one of the most strongest daydreams I’d ever had with my dear energetic girl...
 205.509 +
 205.510 +- Tomoyo?
 205.511 +
 205.512 +- Tomoyo! Tomoyo!! Tomoyo!!! Tomoyo!!!! Tomoyo!!!!!
 205.513 +
 205.514 +I was frozen stiff, the camera held dead at my lower side. As I like to think sometimes, there she was, taunting me, calling me on, plain teasing me. Images of her cladded in the many costumes I’ve designed encircled me and danced the dance of envelopement. 
 205.515 +
 205.516 +- Tomoyo! Tomoyo!! Tomoyo!!! Tomoyo!!!! Tomoyo!!!!!
 205.517 +
 205.518 +I, finally giving in to the spell, set my camera ready and ran after her, no matter how many of her they were. I ran after her, along with her voice was mine with a soft if ecstasic laughter...
 205.519 +
 205.520 +I’ve never told her of that daydream back when we were children, and firmly nod to myself a “never will tell her” as she pours out the details of what has been going on her mind these days.
 205.521 +
 205.522 +- Have you told Li-kun about what’s going on?
 205.523 +
 205.524 +Her eyes withdrew a bit brusque from me and fixed themselves on the passing cars by the busy avenue. I should've known the answer.
 205.525 +
 205.526 +- No.
 205.527 +
 205.528 +The question that followed was obviously a dumb(?) one. 
 205.529 +
 205.530 +- Why not?
 205.531 +
 205.532 +For the longest time she paused as to consider her next words, all because she feared sounding like mad to the ears of the usually logical yet closeted romantic that was her best friend. 
 205.533 +
 205.534 +- I'm afraid... Afraid he'll say he's been having the same visions...
 205.535 +
 205.536 +These last syllables acoustically died out from her lips, a failed sentence from a fugacious image that refused to go away.
 205.537 +
 205.538 +(he's running off... yesterday, he was just walking away...)
 205.539 +
 205.540 +Kinomoto Sakura didn't hear the slight flutter of her friend's sleeves, and snapped back to her senses when Daidouji Tomoyo had finished moving to put both of her hands on her sad crouched shoulders.
 205.541 +
 205.542 +- Sakura, please, look at me.
 205.543 +
 205.544 +I had no choice but to do as she told me... I've never heard her say my name without the endearing “chan” she employs regularly.
 205.545 +
 205.546 +There, before me, was a girl imprisoned by nightmares she should not be having. Not at all!! If anyone in the world deserved to be spared from such things was my friend, my love. 
 205.547 +
 205.548 +My Sakura-chan.
 205.549 +
 205.550 +- Listen... if anyone in the world deserves to be spared from such things is you... I must say as well that I've never met a couple that so were meant for each other like Li-kun and you.
 205.551 +
 205.552 +And for a still uneasy Kinomoto Sakura she repeated in a harmonious tone, so similar to her singing voice:
 205.553 +
 205.554 +- Li-kun AND you.
 205.555 +
 205.556 +I saw suddenly the skies clearer. I could even line a small smile.
 205.557 +
 205.558 +Her voice has this effect on me, you see.
 205.559 +
 205.560 +I looked up to HER face. There was absolutely no way I could deny that glueing my eyes to hers was better than the skies themselves.
 205.561 +
 205.562 +(... so serene... yet firm...)
 205.563 +
 205.564 +For now, no image-conjured boyfriend nor anyone else runs off into the distance.
 205.565 +
 205.566 +- You're right. I musn't let myself be deceived by the nightmares. He loves me, he has shown it a million times before. Arigato, Tomoyo-chan.
 205.567 +
 205.568 +The alleviated brunette, perhaps overpowered by gratitude, takes a rather huge step forward and hugs the all-knowing dark-haired beauty. The latter returns a bit hesitant the embrace. She does this like one handling a treasure.
 205.569 +
 205.570 +- Really... it was nothing, little one.
 205.571 +
 205.572 +--------------
 205.573 +
 205.574 +Chapter 3 : Syaoran
 205.575 +
 205.576 +It was nothing AND everything at the same time.
 205.577 +
 205.578 +The scene that just played. That she just described in her most detailed fashion.
 205.579 +
 205.580 +For a moment, the skies were clearer. Yet darkness always finds a way to return, goes an old saying.
 205.581 +
 205.582 +He couldn't stop thinking about it too. That and what she just told him.
 205.583 +
 205.584 +He hadn't counted on this visit, even if he extended every courtesy known to his guest.
 205.585 +
 205.586 +- You're- you're doing this out of love, aren't you???
 205.587 +
 205.588 +She normally wouldn't have anything to say if the young man in front of her, and so like Sakura in many ways!, sounded stern and almost accusatory about her feelings. Even though, she stood her ground.
 205.589 +
 205.590 +- I'm not here to enumerate your duties as a man in love, Li. Help her find Yume, and please, please tell her about the dream you had back when we were children.
 205.591 +
 205.592 +Next, the same pair of small yet softly colored lips that spoke these words were sipping the cup of tea he poured prior to the odd conversation.
 205.593 +
 205.594 +- How did you know I hadn't told her about the incident at the movie theater?
 205.595 +
 205.596 +(How did she know about the dream at all?!)
 205.597 +
 205.598 +Li Syaoran, the heir to the banking and cultural estate of one of the most powerful families in all of China, still found himself amazed at the intuitive? or observatory ? powers of the porcelained girl.
 205.599 +
 205.600 +She only grinned.
 205.601 +
 205.602 +How did you?, he repeated.
 205.603 +
 205.604 +She glanced at him over the edge of her tea cup.
 205.605 +
 205.606 +- You're so much like her, Li-kun- telling a friend but never the one you love about personal matters... I understand, you'd rather alarm anybody else than her, like she'd prefer not causing you any inconvenience.
 205.607 +
 205.608 +The tea cup was then on the table. Daidouji Tomoyo stood from the chair and bowed.
 205.609 +
 205.610 +- The tea was magnificent. Give my compliments to Wei-san.
 205.611 +
 205.612 +He shook his head.
 205.613 +
 205.614 +- It wasn't Wei-
 205.615 +
 205.616 +- It was MEEEE!!!!!!!
 205.617 +
 205.618 +And out stepped from the kitchen a formidable looking girl. The odango styled raven hair was unmistakably belonging to only one person.
 205.619 +
 205.620 +Tomoyo acknowledged her presence. She paused on her way out, but only to unwrap a candy she had in her blazer's pocket, and ultimately reassumed her march.
 205.621 +
 205.622 +Thump. The door closed with a steady sound. But both of the cousins just stared in its direction.
 205.623 +
 205.624 +- What was up with her, Syaoran? She didn't even stop to say hello...
 205.625 +
 205.626 +The brown haired and eyed boy just once glanced back at his cousin Li MeiLing. He drew a bit of air to say something, but looked again at the door and finally kept to a desk which he approached.
 205.627 +
 205.628 +Leaning on it, he answered as if only to himself and a higher power:
 205.629 +
 205.630 +- All I can tell you, MeiLing, is that...
 205.631 +
 205.632 +She looked at him with that piercing glare of her red eyes.
 205.633 +
 205.634 +- What?
 205.635 +
 205.636 +I just nodded. My hand gestured my dismissal of the subject.
 205.637 +
 205.638 +It seems true: ... And True Love Wins.... 
 205.639 +
 205.640 +... On lollipops and crisps...
 205.641 +
 205.642 +-----------
 205.643 +
 205.644 +parenthesis : Daidouji Tomoyo & Sonomi
 205.645 +
 205.646 +It was perfectly logical.
 205.647 +
 205.648 +He dreamed about her too back when we first stumbled unto Yume.
 205.649 +
 205.650 +I knew it by the way he acted around her. The averting eyes, the sudden blushes that invaded his cheeks. I shied a bit too when it happened. He, as well as I, had realized that day that he'd fallen under the spell of our lovely mage friend.
 205.651 +
 205.652 +But my heaven/plight had started way before the Clow cards were released back onto the world accidently by my curious Sakura-chan. I can perfectly recall my vision the first time I saw her, right there in the classroom numbered "3-1". Even with no absolute knowledge of who she was and what she'd be, I was hit with a vision of her cladded in fantastic suits, wielding a magical scepter and some cards as to perform a spell. 
 205.653 +
 205.654 +Next thing I was conscious of is when she took seat right next to my desk, and I found so hard the rest of the day, and everyday since, to keep my eyes off her...
 205.655 +
 205.656 +Tomoyo decided to well better concentrate on the present. The whole dream matter has abruptly transformed from a heavenly refuge to a worrisome deceivement. A heavy burden not only for the Card Mistress.
 205.657 +
 205.658 +- Whew! This is the second suitcase I pack and I'm STILL not done!!
 205.659 +
 205.660 +- What surprises me,- replied an observant mother of this girl genius- is that you're not loading up your tapes or your so cherised designs. Otherwise, we'd probably had to reserve an entire plane to take all what's in your room!
 205.661 +
 205.662 +Daidouji Sonomi, a still attractive businesswoman and full-time worshiper of her late cousin Nadeshiko, walked quietly from under the door and leaned inside her daughter's wardrobe to help her.
 205.663 +
 205.664 +- I look at you right now, Tomoyo-chan, and it finally hits me that you've gone a long way from the newborn child I cherised immediately.
 205.665 +
 205.666 +She kept passing to her rather quiet daughter the boxes previously packed two weeks ago.
 205.667 +
 205.668 +- You truly do resemble my dear Nadeshiko, and that fact makes it more difficult to accept you're leaving.
 205.669 +
 205.670 +The younger Daidouji braked to a halt from her chaotic thinking and doing. She now stared with intense -if it could ever be- blue in her eyes, and a deep understanding smile drawn across her face.
 205.671 +
 205.672 +- Okasa-san, does this all too remind you of when Nadeshiko-san left grandfather's house?
 205.673 +
 205.674 +Her eyes welled up with tears, but not one escaped their concealment space.
 205.675 +
 205.676 +-  Yes. That was when I knew it was the beginning of the end. The end of whatever my hope had created, conjured in dreams.
 205.677 +
 205.678 +I left my boxes and stepped onto my mother's side. I took her hand just like she did when I was a child.
 205.679 +
 205.680 +- My departure's not for eternity. I'll return in vacation time. Besides, I could never be apart from my family so long!
 205.681 +
 205.682 +I held her hand more tightly, if still in a gentle manner. When our eyes met again, mine also did the trademark Daidouji hold-as-long-as-possible-those-tears look. 
 205.683 +
 205.684 +I kept thinking that in less than two weeks I'll be more capable of keeping my pledge to never tell Sakura-chan my feelings, or that dream, and others.
 205.685 +
 205.686 +Never tell her how she changed my world since that fatefull eraser incident.
 205.687 +
 205.688 +Never tell her that in every costume I designed each inch of fabric, of thread, was a confirmation of my love for her.
 205.689 +
 205.690 +Never tell her that I doubt I could possibly survive without her. That I, nor she, should ever leave each other's side.
 205.691 +
 205.692 +... Just...
 205.693 +
 205.694 +... Don't leave...
 205.695 +
 205.696 +... Don't leave...
 205.697 +
 205.698 +Perhaps, like her daughter, Sonomi was also tempted to murmur such words as she watched a couple of butterflies leave the tree next to the window.
 205.699 +
 205.700 +------------
 205.701 +
 205.702 +parenthesis 2 : Guardian Kerberos & Card Mistress Sakura
 205.703 +
 205.704 +For once, I'd love everything to be easy.
 205.705 +
 205.706 +Right now, I'd like that to happen with this stubborn bottle so I can drink my soda!!
 205.707 +
 205.708 +Just hear me- my life basicly revolves 'round all the gaming consoles I've made Sakura-san buy through the years, food...
 205.709 +
 205.710 +(... like this stupid soda that won't budge!!)
 205.711 +
 205.712 +... ah!!! The cards and the Book. Guarding them. Guarding the Mistress, too.
 205.713 +
 205.714 +FIZZ!!! Great!! About time this thing finally opened!!! And just as I give the cap a final twist...
 205.715 +
 205.716 +POP!!! 
 205.717 +
 205.718 +OOOWWWWW!!!!! KERO!!!!!!!!
 205.719 +
 205.720 +Well, so much for keeping her out of danger!
 205.721 +
 205.722 +There she is- rubbing the spot on her head in which the bottle cap landed. She winced for a few moments before turning back at me and changing her pained expression to an angry one, accompanied with all and a raised fist.
 205.723 +
 205.724 +Think, think quick, Kerberos... Yay!! I got it!!!
 205.725 +
 205.726 +- Errr... Sakura, have you already found the missing card???
 205.727 +
 205.728 +Whew!!!! Thank the Gods she froze and put down that knuckle sandwich she was readying to serve me!!!!!
 205.729 +
 205.730 +My auburn haired Card Mistress half-closed her eyes and sighed noisily.
 205.731 +
 205.732 +- Ie, Kero-chan, nothing so far...
 205.733 +
 205.734 +She finished the phrase with a total slump to the ground. Kero returned to gulp a bit of his soft drink, and after a few minutes he turned his kitten-like face back to her. He also sighed, hardly audible anyway, and flew to her side with his bottle.
 205.735 +
 205.736 +He offered shyly:
 205.737 +
 205.738 +- Wanna sip of this?? It's a good tasting cola.
 205.739 +
 205.740 +It's heart-warming to watch a smile go up her face. She takes the soda and gives if just a small gulp -a rather audible one-.
 205.741 +
 205.742 +Now, I approach her, and pat her fuzzy looking head.
 205.743 +
 205.744 +Her eyes express something more troubling then the loss of a card or of sleep (yep, I HAVE noticed she hasn't slept enough these days, aside from hearing her troubled murmurs while she got a few moments' rest). She stares at me so directly I feel it hurts a bit. Like watching a beautiful flower wither to nothing.
 205.745 +
 205.746 +- Kero, did you-
 205.747 +
 205.748 +- What do you want to ask me??
 205.749 +
 205.750 +I realized his face was not at all with a puzzled expression. Perhaps he knew then what I wanted to enquire.
 205.751 +
 205.752 +- Did you... did you know that Tomoyo-chan's leaving in a week???
 205.753 +
 205.754 +Pure pained speech. No anger nor bitter surprise. Pure Sadness, from the purest human I've known.
 205.755 +
 205.756 +My answer was simplicity in its own purity as well.
 205.757 +
 205.758 +- Yes. You found out from someone who wasn't Tomoyo, huh????
 205.759 +
 205.760 +If my answer was simple, her nod was the esense of the word.
 205.761 +
 205.762 +- Who- How... did it happen?????
 205.763 +
 205.764 +It was all too well clear for me that I shouldn't start by asking who, but rather by knowing the circumstances. And then her story would unfold like an instrument gently playing, exploring the harmony it makes while tripping with obstacles in the air.
 205.765 +
 205.766 +She started, with half a studder, and then with the pour-out of words...
 205.767 +
 205.768 +----------------------
 205.769 +
 205.770 +- What exactly did that mean?
 205.771 +
 205.772 +- Huh?? What are you talking about???
 205.773 +
 205.774 +She once again took a bite out of the butter cookies she bought, and had another gulp of her lukewarm tea. If anyone could say that knew him the best, that would be her though, with what she'd just witnessed, she wasn't now so sure. Certainly not sure enough to blindly accept the most absurd wish of his!
 205.775 +
 205.776 +Sighing in defeat. She perfectly realizes now that I'll tell her everything. But first, I must walk over to the balcony of my apartment, and watch the fascinating yet still foreign sunset over the waters of the Yokohama bay. It'll only take me a few minutes, she accepts this too patiently.
 205.777 +
 205.778 +- You're thinking about the bay back home, aren't you?
 205.779 +
 205.780 + I sigh again. Mind you, not in defeat. 
 205.781 +
 205.782 +She has slowly paced to where I am, and has put her soft hand over my rough shoulder.
 205.783 +
 205.784 +- MeiLing, I-
 205.785 +
 205.786 +- Don't say a thing, Syaoran. I understand what's going on... I mean, it must be hard to leave all of this behind suddenly...
 205.787 +
 205.788 +I squeeze her hand in mine. Gently. I'm still looking at the fugitive sun, and smile.
 205.789 +
 205.790 +- Lets not talk about that right now. Here, won't you step outside and watch with me like in Hong Kong this wonderful site?
 205.791 +
 205.792 +I scurry aside from the center of the balcony, and she reluctantly goes to my side. A tint of red, so similar to her eyes, goes up her cheeks.
 205.793 +
 205.794 +- Alright. I also happen to love it too, you know... In fact,- she adds facing me - it's a dream I had just a few days ago... watching a sunset with you, enjoying the silence...
 205.795 +
 205.796 +- And???- I glance to where she is, taking note that her dream so far is so alike mine, that one of childhood with Sakura. It meant love.
 205.797 +
 205.798 +She draws close to me, this time squeezing my hand in hers. A blush is evident even in the color of her earlobes.
 205.799 +
 205.800 +- ... the ocean behind us... and... an embrace. It meant love... still does.
 205.801 +
 205.802 +I understand what she says. She's saying that...
 205.803 +
 205.804 +- MeiLing... back when we captured the Dream card... you-you...
 205.805 +
 205.806 +She lets go of my hand. An all-knowing smirk drew on her pretty face.
 205.807 +
 205.808 +- Yes, Syaoran. I, like Kinomoto-san, Daidouji-san, AND you, had a vision given by Yume.
 205.809 +
 205.810 +----------------------
 205.811 +
 205.812 +Chapter 4 : Yume & The Troubled Trio
 205.813 +
 205.814 +I-I felt so better... so better, after speaking with Tomoyo-chan. Hell, I was such a smiley that I almost forgot about my confusing dreams with Syaoran-kun... Everything would be alright if I held on to what I have with him, like she told me to. Not hold on, I told myself. Believe.
 205.815 +
 205.816 +Yeah, that's it.
 205.817 +
 205.818 +Believe. Though, at the moment, it wouldn't be enough to get me through this every-last-inch-of-sidewalk-invading crowd!
 205.819 +
 205.820 +Then, the song again. It hit me back, with full force. My urge to hear it told me that Tomoyo's band was practicing the song when not more than half an hour again I stepped inside the club and interrupted them.
 205.821 +
 205.822 +Hehe. Maybe if I make my way back there, they'd still be at it, with Tomoyo being such a perfectionist and all... Lets go then.
 205.823 +
 205.824 +Just a minute, just a minute... I'm forgetting to tell you about yet another vision...
 205.825 +
 205.826 +- Are you saying that perhaps the Dream Card was around there???
 205.827 +
 205.828 +Well, many things trigger my imagination and send it running 400 kilometers per hours, yet rarely do I actually have stuff like -scenes!- playing in my head, vividly, like the premonitions Mitsuki-sensei talked about always having.
 205.829 +
 205.830 +Anyway, on my way back to the club, I saw a lightning blue butterfly glide past me...
 205.831 +
 205.832 +- Good kami-sama!!! You actually DID see Yume!!!
 205.833 +
 205.834 +I suppose I did, Kero. Yume's butterfly form is hard to miss, much more with that color and the way its wings seem to melt with the very air they sear on her flight. Lightning blue... reminds me of a certain someone's eyes...
 205.835 +
 205.836 +- Errr... Can we please stick to the topic and not to your crushes on pop music idols, Sakura???
 205.837 +
 205.838 +I AM being serious, Kero! I did think of that reminder while I walked back, and that's when it struck me- those eyes fluttered as if waving goodbye and turned to the other way, walking away. I knew who it was- it was Tomoyo-chan.
 205.839 +
 205.840 +- You had a vision about Tomoyo?
 205.841 +
 205.842 +I'm telling you that's how it was, right?! I- I only shook my head as if stirring off the surface of my mind's inner lake such image. That is when I realized that Yume had actually landed a few seconds before that on my shoulder, and as soon as she knew I was aware of her presence she didn't think twice on escaping.
 205.843 +
 205.844 +So, I ran after her.
 205.845 +
 205.846 +And, by some twist of Fate, it stopped right at the top of the tall neon sign that announces Tomoyo's club.
 205.847 +
 205.848 +I had to figure a way to get it down, since after ten seconds it didn't seem to have the intention of coming down or flying off somewhere else. It was more like it was watching me... or us...
 205.849 +
 205.850 +- Was there someone else?? Who???
 205.851 +
 205.852 +Yuto. Tomoyo's front guitarist. He was outside having a cigarette break.
 205.853 +
 205.854 +I arrived there almost out of breath, but at how he was puffing away I could've died in a matter of minutes. Only after he heard me cough about three times did he turn around and take note of my presence. Inside the club, a sultry yet languid song was sounding, and Tomoyo's voice was as if to heighten -errr, deepen- the emotion.
 205.855 +
 205.856 +"Tell me, please, since when did I start loving you..."
 205.857 +
 205.858 +Curious- both Yuto and I were listening oblivious to everything else. I looked in the direction of the club and smiled, as I usually do when Tomoyo graces the atmosphere with her beautifying tones. 
 205.859 +
 205.860 +-  Do you know that song belongs to a Mexican rock star?,- he started saying out of nothing - The lyrics are directly delivered, though soft, like the bossa nova arrangements it has. I happen to have the CD, and though actually it's a good album, I would've never thought of offering it for play with the band.
 205.861 +
 205.862 +He took a whiff off his half-smoked cigarette, and added:
 205.863 +
 205.864 +- But I did play the track while I was giving her a ride home one day... she suddenly went silent and listened. 
 205.865 +
 205.866 +"... Since when did I start loving you?..."
 205.867 +
 205.868 +- Her eyes, her entire body was bent on listening to the song as if a memory had been resurrected. I realized back then that I could never have a chance at her.
 205.869 +
 205.870 +I didn't know how to feel, act on, about this confession- I've never considered myself a friend to him, much less have we exchanged before two or three greetings. My feet shifted my weight back and forth, my head was now looking at him rather than the club or Yume.
 205.871 +
 205.872 +- The weird part is that not until this afternoon did I remember that. If I thought it a bit more carefully back then, I would've known she loves someone else, and not Tsuwabuki, not me or anyone you can think of!!
 205.873 +
 205.874 +" Tell me, please, since when did this begin to hurt..."
 205.875 +
 205.876 +He threw his cigarette rather harshly, hating it/himself. His usually gray, cold eyes wore an angry, desperate expression.
 205.877 +
 205.878 +- Kami-sama!! If I've only known that earlier I would've tried something, anything!!, to help her... or at least make this hurt less than it does!!! It's no wonder she's so calm about leaving to New York that...
 205.879 +
 205.880 +Even if in that same second the lightning blue butterfly that Yume disguises of would've flown right up to rest between my hands I probably wouldn't have noticed because of the shock and disbelief I was -STILL- in.
 205.881 +
 205.882 +"... Since when did this begin to hurt?..."
 205.883 +
 205.884 +- Oh yeah,- like if the sun set down on me- she's leaving...
 205.885 +
 205.886 +Yuto seemed to my relief too caught up in his plight to notice me. His until now tightened lips opened as to say something, but that's when Yume flew suddenly past our faces, and disappeared amid the flickering of the street lights coming to life. 
 205.887 +
 205.888 +I stared at the dusk-showing sky blankly, with a pale color to my self that hasn't disappeared since. I must go back home. That is why I left Yuto with a half finished sentence out of his mouth and came here. His words, those last ones, still ring in my ear, and I don't know the hell why?!...
 205.889 +
 205.890 +- ... the song's name is "Love's A Bitch"...
 205.891 +
 205.892 +I tell you, Kero-chan, I don't know the hell why she didn't tell me! I don't know the hell why Yuto and his confession shook me off balance!! I don't know the hell why that and the other song ring in my ears!!!
 205.893 +
 205.894 +She curled a bit more and cried off her frustration. I, as the very powerful Guardian of The Book, only left by her side the soft drink bottle and petted her short if somewhat fuzzy auburn hair to ease her. 
 205.895 +
 205.896 +Only ease her.
 205.897 +
 205.898 +(... I'm not living...)
 205.899 +
 205.900 +------------------
 205.901 +
 205.902 +parenthesis : Another Kind Of Magic
 205.903 +
 205.904 +
 205.905 +- You are sure that this is what you want to do, aren't you?
 205.906 +
 205.907 +Huh?
 205.908 +
 205.909 +I dunno... There are many things I want- to do, for starters.
 205.910 +
 205.911 +While we wait, lets light another cigarette. Under this stormy sky.
 205.912 +
 205.913 +(... I'm just killing time... )
 205.914 +
 205.915 +------------------
 205.916 +
 205.917 +parenthesis 2 : Love's A Bitch- last rehearsal
 205.918 +
 205.919 +- Wait, wait there, Fukuy-san... Can we soften a bit more the percussion sample?-, I asked while putting the microphone to rest on its stand. The thirst that was stabbing in my throat made me pick up from my duffel bag a 2 liter water bottle I never forget to take with me. My music teacher, after all, was right telling me that a singer's choice for a drink should be water, because it refreshes not just the body.
 205.920 +
 205.921 +- I'll see what I can do-, I heard Fukuy-san scream from the back of the synthesizers he played. And out came a bunch of "kitchen work", like we call what he does, in many tones, in different tempos.
 205.922 +
 205.923 +Tsuwabuki, as usual, was the first to hurry to where I was standing and spurt out his list of observations- your voice on this part, the accoustic guitar on the musical bridge, that maybe it's not a good idea to soften the percussion sample...
 205.924 +
 205.925 +-... that in fact it's total madness to learn two new songs before tomorrow night! Daidouji-san, I think we should stick with our original program... it's hard not only on us these changes, but on you as well... Hell, maybe that's the reason why Yuto slipped out during this song...
 205.926 +
 205.927 +I took an extra sip before considering a decent reply to the ever nervous Tsuwabuki-kun. There.
 205.928 +
 205.929 +- Yuto-kun already knows this song. He said clearly he was going out on a cigarette break, remember? 
 205.930 +
 205.931 +Tsuwabuki's dirty blond hair shook trying to think of something. He was genuinely worried about having to rehearse extra hours and change the program. 
 205.932 +
 205.933 +- I must confess I'm quite nervous about this performance, not just because it's my last here in Tokyo... It's also the last I may have with you guys, the last I'll have in front of the audience that has been kind to us, the last that I step in the stage of this club to which I'll be grateful...
 205.934 +
 205.935 +He probably heard the sudden down my tone took. 
 205.936 +
 205.937 +- Gomen ne, Tomoyo I forgot what this concert not only means to us, but to you. It may be difficult, but we'll pull this off together,- he grinned even making his eyes gain a cute childlike glimmer- Should I go and tell Yuto to get his ass in here?
 205.938 +
 205.939 +Giggles. Whenever she does that, it's always accompanied by a hand slightly raised to her lips, perhaps restraining herself from a full loud laughter.
 205.940 +
 205.941 +- Tell him whatever is necessary to bring him here, Tsuwabuki-san.
 205.942 +
 205.943 +One minute.
 205.944 +
 205.945 +Two minutes.
 205.946 +
 205.947 +And so on to five minutes. The only thing crossing the main entrance of the bar is an angry, frustrated Tsuwabuki.
 205.948 +
 205.949 +- Tsuwa-
 205.950 +
 205.951 +- He won’t come in unless you go by yourself to beg him!!-, he spitted out as he crushed an unused cigarette in his hand.
 205.952 +
 205.953 +- Were you again chastising him over smoking, Tsuwabuki-san?
 205.954 +
 205.955 +Abruptly, as it had started, the blonde ones anger dissipated. He knew it wasn’t his duty to tell her what really happened, so he nodded and dragged his feet to the nearest barstool.
 205.956 +
 205.957 +- I’ll be right back- I said as my own feet guided me to the exit door.
 205.958 +
 205.959 +One raindrop.
 205.960 +
 205.961 +As soon as I was outside I was hit by one.
 205.962 +
 205.963 +He was glaring at me. No sooner I had made my way through the door.
 205.964 +
 205.965 +Two raindrops.
 205.966 +
 205.967 +- Would you mind telling me what’s going on now?
 205.968 +
 205.969 +Clouds were getting darker. Like his grayish eyes.
 205.970 +
 205.971 +- Is it about another fight between your folks? You know you can always count on us, Yuto-san!
 205.972 +
 205.973 +I gave my best sympathetic smile. Clouds were getting darker. Like his grayish eyes.
 205.974 +
 205.975 +Three raindrops.
 205.976 +
 205.977 +You don’t know actually what’s going on. At least what’s going on with me.
 205.978 +
 205.979 +Huh?
 205.980 +
 205.981 +He was glaring at me. No sooner I’ve spoken my heart deep concern for him.
 205.982 +
 205.983 +But allow me to tell you something… I DO know what’s going on with YOU!
 205.984 +
 205.985 +Huh??
 205.986 +
 205.987 +I’m afraid I’m not following you. The clouds are as darker as I could ever recall.
 205.988 +
 205.989 +Four tiny raindrops make their way to rest on my head.
 205.990 +
 205.991 +A cigarette. A lighter. A click and a puff. A thread of smoke almost as dark as the skies pressing creepily.
 205.992 +
 205.993 +Your departure reason was here. SHE was HERE!
 205.994 +
 205.995 +One, two… three… four, five… I try to keep count if just to keep myself in check.
 205.996 +
 205.997 +- I’m really really not following, Yuto-san…
 205.998 +
 205.999 +I can’t pull out that smile he praises usually.
205.1000 +
205.1001 +Suddenly he’s the one grinning. A bit of a mixed expression. Like the mixed tones of darkness above us.
205.1002 +
205.1003 +- You sure DO know of who am I talking about… and… and, I understand, finally. Finally, why… why you can’t nor could ever love any of the guys… or me.
205.1004 +
205.1005 +Clack. My jaw. Silence. Overwhelming. My vocal chords.
205.1006 +
205.1007 +Puff away this sadness. Tobacco can roll out tranquility for awhile, if just for a short while. Nevertheless, enough to make myself do you this service…
205.1008 +
205.1009 +Daidouji Tomoyo found that the raindrops had stopped battering the top of her skull. He, the most dearest of her bandmates, was right with her, close, and shielding her with his height from the pouring.
205.1010 +
205.1011 +- Don’t leave off like a frightened child. Tell her, tell her. If just for the sake of the question that haunts you. And after that, leave, but leave if your worst fears come true.
205.1012 +
205.1013 +- Wha- what if she says yes? What if that happened?
205.1014 +
205.1015 +Yuto understood. Fear had taken her. He allowed her to lean her head against his chest.
205.1016 +
205.1017 +Now he was getting soaked both from above and upfront.
205.1018 +
205.1019 +She, a princess of maturity, had transformed into a child in his ensuing comprehensive embrace.
205.1020 +
205.1021 +Love’s a bitch… 
205.1022 +
205.1023 +------------------------------
205.1024 +
205.1025 +It makes you help to your own death even your rivals. 
205.1026 +
205.1027 +Syaoran was heading to his room. It was god awful late, and he had things to do tomorrow.
205.1028 +
205.1029 +What if it could still work? What if?
205.1030 +
205.1031 +Yet I’m not a man who loses himself in “what ifs”.
205.1032 +
205.1033 +I had a cat for whom I cared as a child despite my mother’s recommendations not to take in a pet of any kind.
205.1034 +
205.1035 +I went after my cousin MeiLing’s bird even if Wei-san warned me of the incoming rain.
205.1036 +
205.1037 +I left my beloved Hong Kong for the first time, my friends, my family, for new ones, for a new city, for the recovery of the family legacy. The Clow cards.
205.1038 +
205.1039 +It was more than Destiny or mere luck that made me not just do, but accept these things. Duty. A sense of duty.
205.1040 +
205.1041 +He stopped briefly at MeiLing’s door. She could never seem to shut it completely. Until a few days ago he’d be annoyed at her strategies to always keep an eye on him, guard him, be ready to step out just in case… 
205.1042 +
205.1043 +Since when?
205.1044 +
205.1045 +Since when we were children, I guess. I smile back at you and you step a bit behind the door.
205.1046 +
205.1047 +I’m surprised you’re still up. Wanna tell me what’s going on?
205.1048 +
205.1049 +- I hadn’t told Sakura yet. I guess I’m still nervous…
205.1050 +
205.1051 +- Or perhaps you’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?
205.1052 +
205.1053 +Sometimes, sometimes the melody of me dreams with your cheeriness…
205.1054 +
205.1055 +I blushed. But not because of your reply.
205.1056 +
205.1057 +Sometimes, sometimes out of the blue I dream that I fall with you…
205.1058 +
205.1059 +The shimmering blue appears out of the darkness of my room. I sense it, and leave MeiLing without an answer…
205.1060 +
205.1061 +Not that she needed one.
205.1062 +
205.1063 +… Which exactly was what I’d say...
205.1064 +
205.1065 +A park. King Penguin Park.
205.1066 +
205.1067 +A set of swings. My lovely cherry-haired girl swinging softly, almost with grace…
205.1068 +
205.1069 +And it’s the grace with which she does it that freezes me.
205.1070 +
205.1071 +I recall perfectly, with a precision that makes me sadden a bit, the many times we’ve been to that park, to the set of swings. I’ve never ever pushed her in that steady flow. Gods!, it’s even musical, tasteful. At that pace she could reach all she’s ever wanted…
205.1072 +
205.1073 +… without me.
205.1074 +
205.1075 +Sometimes, sometimes the melody of me dreams with your cheeriness,
205.1076 +Like in those nights in which my hand only finds excuses to write…
205.1077 +
205.1078 +I have it now sinking into me, so clear, so clear it hurts yet dissipating all doubts.
205.1079 +
205.1080 +Pushing her is none other than the angel o’ silent grace herself. A good friend to me, and the best of friends to her.
205.1081 +
205.1082 +What I want to say, love,
205.1083 +Is that I’ve been so happy by your side…
205.1084 +
205.1085 +It’s the truth. The simple truth. I extend my hand in front of me. I wait.
205.1086 +
205.1087 +Thank you, gods. Thank you, Sakura.
205.1088 +
205.1089 +My hand is lit with a lightning blue glow. Must be as well the real color of truth.
205.1090 +
205.1091 +I’m in perfect knowledge of my destiny. Thank you, Yume.
205.1092 +
205.1093 +The butterfly in his hand fluttered in its place a bit, nodding back.
205.1094 +
205.1095 +--------------
205.1096 +
205.1097 +Chapter Five :  Everything Has Been Written… In The Book Of Sakura
205.1098 +
205.1099 +A man in his mid-forties opens the door. The first ready comment anyone could have is that this man indeed does not show his age. And if they knew the one tragedy that casts a shadow on his life, they’d be more surprised for this auburn haired father with round spectacles still cherises –and misses- the woman that once shared his life.
205.1100 +
205.1101 +Li Syaoran greets this man in his solemn yet kind manner.
205.1102 +
205.1103 +- Ohayo gozaimasu, Kinomoto-sama.
205.1104 +
205.1105 +- Ohayo, Li-kun. Please make yourself comfortable while I call Sakura.
205.1106 +
205.1107 +- Arigato gozaimasu, Kinomoto-sama.
205.1108 +
205.1109 +Kinomoto Fujitaka took a long stare at this well-dressed and mannered young man. There was something- different about him. 
205.1110 +
205.1111 +Trouble in the air? No, he seems well in control…
205.1112 +
205.1113 +- Li-kun?
205.1114 +
205.1115 +- Yes?
205.1116 +
205.1117 +Fujitaka walked to his side, and layed a hand on one of the strong shoulders of Syaoran.
205.1118 +
205.1119 +- Nothing. I’m glad you arrived. With you here it’s more than sure that my little girl shall smile again.
205.1120 +
205.1121 +My eyes may have widened, I admit. But I was not so surprised. Kinomoto-sama, in my opinion, seems to have an otherwordly wisdom.
205.1122 +
205.1123 +Steps being lightly pounded by his feet. Knock knock. Murmurs, since I can’t hear what they’re saying, but have a good idea what it is.
205.1124 +
205.1125 +Heading downstairs, a rather hurried stomp. I turn from my seat at the large sofa and watch my Sakura jump the last step and land right next to the table with a white vase and a photo of her mother. 
205.1126 +
205.1127 +Yeah, right… I’m not supposed to attach to her name a possessive noun. Old habits are hard to break…
205.1128 +
205.1129 +… yet I dare say she has started with the process herself. By the look on her face, and her hand gesturing that we’d talk outside. 
205.1130 +
205.1131 +Funny, I expected you to come today.
205.1132 +
205.1133 +I nod. Then I’ll make this quick. And no sooner I spoke she stepped forward.
205.1134 +
205.1135 +I hand her back the Dream card. She smiles, and turns to make her way upstairs when suddenly she adds, “Syaoran-kun”.
205.1136 +
205.1137 +Yes?
205.1138 +
205.1139 +Arigato for everything. I learned so much from you… and I wonder if you could make it tonight to Rika-chan’s house. Tomoyo-chan’s leaving for New York some time next week and I’m making her a farewell party… one last get-together among the best of friends.
205.1140 +
205.1141 +I could perfectly tell that as she said this her eyes lost a bit of their flickering quality. My hand reached out to one of hers, and held it softly.
205.1142 +
205.1143 +- Hey, don’t think about what still doesn’t happen. Focus on giving Daidouji-san a good time- AND a nice surprise.
205.1144 +
205.1145 +Now those emerald jewels were showing how dumbfounded she felt with my comment. She murmured my name and was ready to take her left hand to slip the ring I gave her off her finger. I shook my head back in refusal of her gesture.
205.1146 +
205.1147 +I kissed her for the last time. Sakura, who for almost a lifetime was my love, the center of my universe.
205.1148 +
205.1149 +Did you know I dreamed about you back at the same day we captured Yume? I loved you since then, I’ll always love you. Just that my time with you has passed. This ring I gave you- give it to someone else… a child, an old person, a man, or a woman. Who you truly love.
205.1150 +
205.1151 +Then he walked in his slow, steady manner, out of the door.
205.1152 +
205.1153 +My eyes were now stinging. Yet the smile did not leave me. 
205.1154 +
205.1155 +And as I watched him leave, I murmured to the wind, to the butterflies, to the flowers… Arigato, Syaoran!
205.1156 +
205.1157 +-----------------
205.1158 +parenthesis – Art Surpasses Life
205.1159 +
205.1160 +I murmured to the wind, to the butterflies, to the flowers… Sakura-chan…
205.1161 +
205.1162 +… for I had no other words while leaning on the windowsill looking outside.
205.1163 +
205.1164 +Too many things to do yet. And so little time. You could only limit to thinking that while glancing at the piles and piles of tapes, photo albums and canvases she ever embarked on filling since she met her.
205.1165 +
205.1166 +“And I can’t believe I’m actually devising a way to have them all delivered to me in New York in a month!”.
205.1167 +
205.1168 +It was anyone’s guess the feelings going through her if they learned she’s been the last few nights without much sleep watching ‘til the first minutes of the dawn the many videos she recorded amid the haze of her existence alongside the spriteful brunette. She’d like to fancy at times she injected all her passion for art with the drug distilling out of everything Kinomoto Sakura did and did not do. Singing, snapping photos, recording video, painting, sketching!! Goddess! No wonder people think I’m a creepy character! Any psychiatrist will have to agree this is obsession! OBSESSION!!
205.1169 +
205.1170 +She laughed, that petite laugh of hers. People could say whatever they wanted. She never cared enough for what they thought anyways. After all, theirs lives weren’t in any form being touched by the Card Mistress, so they could never understand the discreet magic she worked on those she encountered. For instance, Grandfather never ceased to ask for her mother, whenever Sakura visits, always manages to step into our activity or conversations, and spend a while in her company Syaoran returned to Japan just for her… Just for her.
205.1171 +
205.1172 +And here I am leaving because of her!
205.1173 +
205.1174 +She fights back the tears, though. When she planned this trip she promised she’d only be away for as long as it took to leave aside her feelings and move on. But now that I’m viewing the tapes, paging the albums, contemplating my oils and sketches- how long will that be?
205.1175 +
205.1176 +The truth is that I love you, and sooner or later that truth shall kill me! Before I realize what I’ve done, my fingers have pressed “play” on the DVD’s remote control, and there you are, right in front me, smiling, smiling that big, warm smile of yours. 
205.1177 +
205.1178 +And I’m in tears. They’ve gone out, violated my will. I’m losing myself in a nightmare. The emptiness. Like the blackness that follows the recorded portions of a tape. Right after the dream.
205.1179 +
205.1180 +The dream that means each event reproduced in every item here.
205.1181 +
205.1182 +My muscles loosen a bit. My dreams. I’ve forgotten about them amid the turmoil of these days. A buzz. A message has reached my cell phone. Okay. Rika’s mailing to invite me over to a reunion she’s holding for Yamazaki-kun’s trip to Boston. He got that scholarship for Harvard. Must’ve told them in that personal essay plenty of high tales… but who wouldn’t? It’s for his future.
205.1183 +
205.1184 +I’ve told them as well for mine. To her especially. I’ll go, if just to see her one last time along with our old group of friends. Then I’ll just glance at her while at the concert. My eyes in the evening shall be those of a man lost in the desert.
205.1185 +
205.1186 +Until later this day, I’ll just keep watching my tapes. Perhaps finish the painting. Lose myself in sleep, in art. I’m having an idea to even edit a tape… After that, I’ll begin the process of cutting myself off from these never-meant-to-be dreams.
205.1187 +
205.1188 +A process, you all must agree, that will take her the rest of her life. A life that’ll sometimes have that bite eased by the sight of the New York skyline.
205.1189 +
205.1190 +----------------
205.1191 +
205.1192 +parenthesis 2 : Truth On Video and Off It
205.1193 +
205.1194 +I just hate sounding tragic about it. But this may well be my last chance to do something right in my life.
205.1195 +
205.1196 +Not that I haven’t done good things… Then again playing as a Master in an RPG doesn’t count at all.
205.1197 +
205.1198 +Yep, you’ve read right. That’s how I’d sum my role –though Kero says and once even made me believe it was a duty- as a Card Mistress.
205.1199 +
205.1200 +Just for now, I’m not going any deeper on that matter. Despite some inconveniences, it’s still one of the best things to ever happen to me.
205.1201 +
205.1202 +- … like my friends here tonight! I’m so glad all of you could make it at a last minute call!-, sighed in relief Kinomoto Sakura.
205.1203 +
205.1204 +- Are you implying that otherwise you wouldn’t have called us, Kinomoto-san?
205.1205 +
205.1206 +Yamazaki was piercing her with his skeptical glance. He grinned as he noticed the sweat appearing on the young brunette’s forehead, and knew it was his signal to begin…
205.1207 +
205.1208 +Have you… have you ever heard of the “Last Minute Party” curse??
205.1209 +
205.1210 +Huh??
205.1211 +
205.1212 +All the attention the skinny looking dark haired boy could ever wish for was set on him. Yep, after many years, we still listen to every little thing he comes up with!
205.1213 +
205.1214 +- In ancient Egypt, many festivities existed so there would be celebrations going on every week. But Egyptians were fond as well of finding gods in whatever object or phenomenon they stumbled upon, so this would multiply at least five more times the festivities calendar…
205.1215 +
205.1216 +He turned to check behind his back. Just in case you-know-who ruins your fun by dragging you out.
205.1217 +
205.1218 +- … And so it happened that the entire year was full, and no one had work. One day, an apprentice to the high priest of Ra decided to play a prank on everyone by making up a festivity and denounced at the town square the unworthiness of all the people because they failed to please the deity by holding a party,- If there was a better moment to add Yamazaki’s master acting skills, this was one!, since the girls swore he looked identical to that mischievious character. - The townspeople looked at each other in awe and fear, and marched off quickly to prepare the celebrations, all in accordance to the instructions of the young apprentice…
205.1219 +
205.1220 +- Gods! Strike me down now!
205.1221 +
205.1222 +This time it was Rika who sweated a bit. Naoko, the girl with round-framed glasses, giggled and Sakura snapped out of her amazement. Yamazaki was in for it!
205.1223 +
205.1224 +The line previously heard was delivered in the most exasperated tone ever employed by any human being. The employer was an average height, slim built girl with an odd-colored brown hair with golden highlights, and though normally sweet yet now fiery dark eyes. 
205.1225 +
205.1226 +Her friends say she’s named Chiharu. I’ve checked her student ID and it states the same. Heck! Even her personal papers say that! 
205.1227 +
205.1228 +And that’s the name engraved on the ring she gave me too.
205.1229 +
205.1230 +Ah jeez! I forgot I engraved mine on the ring she has and that surely is now printed as well at the top of my head!
205.1231 +
205.1232 +- You deserve that knuckle sandwich! Baka! What would happen if Harvard gets a hold on all the lies you’ve told throughout the years?! 
205.1233 +
205.1234 +I smile and say they’ll just probably send me directly to the Central Intelligence Agency. She sighs in her kawaii defeated look and drags me off to the table.
205.1235 +
205.1236 +- Well, enough story-telling! – Chiharu grabs a glass and starts pouring a drink. – I bet everyone’s thirsty!
205.1237 +
205.1238 +All those gathered here tonight scream a joyous hai. I only stay behind a bit to adjust the video camera – I must make sure the settings are perfect… and that I get the hang of this thing just in time! Whew! Never thought Tomoyo-chan surely had to dedicate plenty of time to master these machines! But with all the times she’s chased me with a camera…
205.1239 +
205.1240 +… She’s running. Running after me…
205.1241 +
205.1242 +No, that was then… Now, it’s away… away from me.
205.1243 +
205.1244 +She shakes her head. The doorbell rings. The image must leave if she wants to be in the fullest self-control possible.
205.1245 +
205.1246 +The door opens. 
205.1247 +
205.1248 +Surprise!!!!
205.1249 +
205.1250 +It’s us greeting you. 
205.1251 +
205.1252 +It’s you who have walked right through the door, and into the many hugs of the gang. 
205.1253 +
205.1254 +I’m, however, standing a bit apart. Like you do usually when recording. Those eyes of yours are as intense as ever… yet they’re elusive, probably half in wonder why am I handling the camera in this occasion, and half… half… 
205.1255 +
205.1256 +Escaping.
205.1257 +
205.1258 +You’re out to break me, aren’t you?
205.1259 +
205.1260 +The party, Yamazaki and the girls showering me with unexpected gifts for my trip, Sakura-chan recording. What is it? No, what I meant- how did they- why is she doing this?! It dawns on me after a while that it was she who engineered this reunion, this get-together before I leave, perhaps forever, to New York. But the awkwardness caused by all the above questions is not as much as strong as my sadness. 
205.1261 +
205.1262 +A while has past. And not a word have we exchanged.
205.1263 +
205.1264 +She’s not and never will be aware of my suffering at this moment.
205.1265 +
205.1266 +- Ano, Sakura-chan…
205.1267 +
205.1268 +- Huh?
205.1269 +
205.1270 +- The girls and I are wondering why Li-kun isn’t here too.
205.1271 +
205.1272 +Her emerald eyes, a precious inheritance from her mother, left the image on the display screen of the camera for a few seconds. She looked right back at Naoko-chan, whose brown eyes were posing more than curiosity behind the lens of her lightweight glasses.
205.1273 +
205.1274 +- Ah! I forgot to tell you guys that Li-kun can’t be here tonight because-
205.1275 +
205.1276 +- Because he had to look for a disc perfect for Daidouji-san!- shouted a gleeful Meiling as she sprung the door open.
205.1277 +
205.1278 +The typical whisper of “boy! does she know how to make an entrance!” was well heard in the lips of her companion, who held up in the air the disc in question.- Didn’t think we’d make it for a moment- he added.
205.1279 +
205.1280 +Their arrival seemed more normal to the others, but certainly not to Tomoyo nor Sakura, although the latter was extremely pleased. Pleased enough to leave the camera and run to greet in a hug both descendants of the mage Clow Reed, and to her the dearest of friends in these past days.
205.1281 +
205.1282 +I’m glad you’re here, Syaoran… I examine Meiling and am surprised with how little she’s changed- let alone the physical part (still lean yet looking like a fine antique Chinese porcelain figure, with the raven hair still styled in odangos, and her soft reddish brow eyes enmarked by a pair of skeptically lined brows). It’s easy to see that her features tell on the determined, practical girl I once knew.
205.1283 +
205.1284 +I go over to where they are. Bowing my head, a grateful smile on my lips. Nice way to acknowledge guests. Li-kun gives me this look. He requests we have a talk in a few minutes. I nod in agreement. All without saying a word. 
205.1285 +
205.1286 +Now it’s Meiling and Sakura-chan glaring at the exchange. Syaoran returns the stare, but he accompanies the gesture with handing over to both of them the disc. Play it on the stereo. I’m sure Daidouji-san will be pleased with the first of my gifts to her. 
205.1287 +
205.1288 +He winks as well. We’re now left alone while the rest gather in a curious crescent moon around the bearers of the disc, who are just about to press “play” on the Sony sound system Rika-san owns.
205.1289 +
205.1290 +- You know, those stairs over there seem to be the most private and comfortable spot in such a wide-spaced home design.- he ventured.
205.1291 +
205.1292 +- Yes. Lets sit over there and talk, Li-kun.
205.1293 +
205.1294 +A piano sounding from the stereo. Tomoyo could tell perfectly it belonged to her own sliding fingers, when the band and her were starting.
205.1295 +
205.1296 +- Like the gift?
205.1297 +
205.1298 +- I… I must confess I’m a bit dumbfounded. I never expected you to…
205.1299 +
205.1300 +- … to be a fan of yours, Daidouji-san? Well, truth is my admiration for you didn’t start right away- I liked your performances at the school choir back when we were kids, but never went ga-ga like Sakura did. One might say that aging, physically, mentally and spiritually, has changed my perception. It has not only taught me to appreciate the emotion burning behind your music, but to perceive it as well in your painting and your filming. The day I began to understand all of this, and I must say not only did my appreciation change concerning you but of others too, even my magic made a grand progress…
205.1301 +
205.1302 +His pause here, not just to take a sip of the drink handed earlier by Chiharu, was a bit longer than usual.
205.1303 +
205.1304 +- … and you know perfectly that after Sakura made hers all of the Clow Cards I never expected my magical abilities to make a progress at all! I may have been a bit jealous over her all these years despite our love because of her victory at the final Judgment, and somewhat a bit distrustful of others. Yet, she,-and he took a bit of time to glance at the figure of Sakura, who was laughing at a cheap impersonation of a professor made by Yamazaki- she changed all that. Very slowly, almost snail-like, but she did it. Every time she dragged me to your concerts, every time she made me sit through a Hollywood film, every time she had me do the talking whenever we encountered friends or we were making new ones. I owe her much more than I could ever pay her with… 
205.1305 +
205.1306 +- … which is why you’re choosing to fly back to Hong Kong and end your relationship with her. Am I right on this, Li-kun?
205.1307 +
205.1308 +He wasn’t surprised on her response, nor questioned himself as usual on how could she tell many things without one trying to give too much away. He shook his head and had his hand take one of hers.
205.1309 +
205.1310 +- Yes, but it’s not the reason you’re implying. It’s not just I who has outgrown her. She has done it as well with me. But I must not say no more on this.- he paused once more, and took a long sip- Talk to her, Daidouji-san, talk to her. The truths that the Dream Card revealed to us back then and now are not just for haunting our hearts. They’re for taking them into our hands and doing the right things in our lives.
205.1311 +
205.1312 +Tomoyo was now blinking in confusion. Yet I’m fully aware of what he’s saying in these mist-shrouded words. I try to utter something, anything. He stands up and bows.
205.1313 +
205.1314 +Arigato, Daidouji-san. Please reconsider your decision. Meiling and I wish you the best of luck.
205.1315 +
205.1316 +Take care, Li-kun, Meiling-san.
205.1317 +
205.1318 +I watch how they say to all a quick goodbye and promise out loud that they’ll keep in contact. He hugs once again Sakura, and they stay like that for about a minute or two. 
205.1319 +
205.1320 +They both look perfectly at ease. And after they let go, Sakura accompanies them to the door, and shuts it herself once she’s done waving goodbye to the speeding car.
205.1321 +
205.1322 +-------------------------
205.1323 +
205.1324 +
205.1325 +
205.1326 +
205.1327 +
205.1328 +Chapter Six – Not Everything Has Been Written In The Book… Of Love
205.1329 +
205.1330 +It’s time to go out and face the music.
205.1331 +
205.1332 +The band’s done with tuning their instruments and programming whatever electronics they got ready.
205.1333 +
205.1334 +My microphone’s set.
205.1335 +
205.1336 +It’s time to sing too, I remind myself. With a breath I take I set my mind to the task –what’s with me?! I never view singing as a task… why now?-, and pause. In happier times, like childhood can be every now and then, that brunette mistress o’mine would sneak backstage to wish me luck. Though she actually got me in some occasions more nervous, the sheer fact that she’d be aside my mother the one mostly attentive and applauding during the whole recital was enough stimulation for me. Thinking of this has made me stop and wait. Wait for her utopian arrival.
205.1337 +
205.1338 +Wait, wait. And she finally came.
205.1339 +
205.1340 +- Good luck out there, though you needn’t any, miss “Best artist I’ve known”!
205.1341 +
205.1342 +- Ummm… Arigato, miss “Best captain of the Cheerleading Squad”.
205.1343 +
205.1344 +I ignore why I can’t sound warm or familiar with her suddenly. Nicknames are supposed to—
205.1345 +
205.1346 +Goddess! She’s a sight to behold right now! The only thing off-setting her beauty is the slight darkness in her look.
205.1347 +
205.1348 +- I just wanted you to know that- that whatever happens I’ll be here for you… Waiting for you.
205.1349 +
205.1350 +Sakura-chan, I…
205.1351 +
205.1352 +No time there to say anything. She quickly turned and ran to get to her seat. 
205.1353 +
205.1354 +And I still can’t understand what she meant. Why despite that she held a party for me a few nights ago she hasn’t since spoken much more than a scarce number of phrases. She’s been… as if keeping to herself. 
205.1355 +
205.1356 +Just like I do whenever I’m preparing something for others. Secretive. Transforming into the sneakiest of characters. Yet all for the love of those who I cherish.
205.1357 +
205.1358 +What could she be up to?
205.1359 +
205.1360 +“.. please give a well deserved round of applause to this great band- Kirei na Azure!!!”
205.1361 +
205.1362 +My cue. Must go immediately and get this over with. 
205.1363 +
205.1364 +My last concert. 
205.1365 +
205.1366 +------------------
205.1367 +
205.1368 +parenthesis – Whispering At The Foot Of The Staircase
205.1369 +
205.1370 +- So it’s going to be your last concert?- she asked with a curious note playing in her voice, yet with her emerald eyes glued to the ground.
205.1371 +
205.1372 +- Yes.- I honestly had nothing else to answer her, and her attitude was from awhile back throwing me off. I mean, how did she find out about New York? And was she really comfortable with Syaoran-kun leaving? 
205.1373 +
205.1374 +I was staring at her with a studious yet mildly alarmed intensity, my chin propped up by my hand. 
205.1375 +
205.1376 +Hey… can I go watch you? Huh? Can I go watch you? It’s in the same bar I’ve known throughout the years, right? Yeah, of course you can! You’ve gone to all my presentations for so long that I cannot somehow conceive an audience without you being there…
205.1377 +
205.1378 +Ah jeez! I opened my mouth too soon! And she’s quite aware of this as well, because now the same intensity with which she had her eyes linked to the ground is being applied mercilessly to me. She has a small, discreet grin, to add.
205.1379 +
205.1380 +It’ll be grand if you come, Sakura.
205.1381 +
205.1382 +I suppose the same too, Tomoyo…
205.1383 +
205.1384 +As she said this she took my hand among hers, and grasped it tight. A sad smile crept upon her lips and a small kitty like sigh breathed out from them.
205.1385 +
205.1386 +It’s that art school offer in New York the one you’re taking?
205.1387 +Right?
205.1388 +
205.1389 +Umm- Yes! I finally decided on my future like you advised me once. I had to- make up my mind… grab a choice. No matter how much I love music, and filming, it’s painting where my dreams rise and skyrocket… Heavens! If it weren’t for your comment on my paintings months back I would’ve never settled on anything! Nervously I put my free hand over hers, and held them a bit too steady, a bit too afraid to squeeze them until our bones and blood were one as in my reverie to myself I fantasize.
205.1390 +
205.1391 +The odd sadness overtaking my sweet normally energetic and optimistic girl made itself quite more obvious when she turned away and diminished her grip’s strength. I’m- I’m glad I made something like that happen for you. It’s a pity that all this time I haven’t been able to do much for you, Tomoyo-chan.
205.1392 +
205.1393 +She really puzzles me. I have nothing to say, but I can’t bear her gloom expression. I want, love to see her happy, above all, and as in my self-imposed duty, I take advantage of the song playing in the stereo, and offer her a few verses in my lowest yet earnest tone:
205.1394 +
205.1395 +Sometimes, sometimes the melody of me dreams with your cheeriness…
205.1396 +Sometimes, sometimes out of the blue I dream that I fall with you…
205.1397 +
205.1398 +Sakura has softened her gorgeous facial emeralds, and has even turned to look at my stormy blue. I receive this as a good response and continue:
205.1399 +
205.1400 +Sometimes, sometimes the melody of me dreams with your cheeriness,
205.1401 +Like in those nights in which my hand only excuses finds to write…
205.1402 +What I want to say, love-
205.1403 +
205.1404 +Is that I’ve been so happy by your side.
205.1405 +
205.1406 +In an instant our roles have switched- she, with that single sang line, her hands taking my own so tightly and close to her chest, and the ever growing intensity in her eyes has unsettled me.
205.1407 +
205.1408 +She tried as all her intellect could to find an answer, something, anything, to say. But what did Sakura tried to imply? 
205.1409 +
205.1410 +- There! Every song you’ve rendered night after night, day after day, since I met you I’ve learned by memory too.-. If she took a pause ever so slight it was just to add- See that I’m your greatest fan and therefore can’t bear to miss being there?
205.1411 +
205.1412 +The light brunette gave a wide childish grin to accompany her statement, and gave a loud childish giggle. She let go of Daidouji Tomoyo’s hands and rose from the wooden step.
205.1413 +
205.1414 +- Are you going to sit there all night and not join the fun? C’mon! Rika and the others must be anxious.
205.1415 +
205.1416 +Tomoyo looked at her sleeves as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, she straightened her blue velvet jacket a bit and followed suit. Yes, be as sociable and earnest with others as she could, though with a thought circling her like a shark to a future prey.
205.1417 +
205.1418 +What- what’s going on, Sakura-chan?
205.1419 +
205.1420 +A whisper of a song came to her lips, the only response she could give in self defense to that shark…
205.1421 +
205.1422 +I'll drown my beliefs…
205.1423 +
205.1424 +---------------------------------
205.1425 +… To have you be in peace…
205.1426 +
205.1427 +She, Daidouji Tomoyo, lead singer for the Kirei na Azure band, has started to swell and break apart to new heights of well known human emotions with a song everyone in the crowd stood mesmerized at, even a group of her school friends and fan club that usually accompanied screaming atop their lungs all her interpretations.
205.1428 +
205.1429 +Yet her lighting blue stare was not really engaging them. Her perfect porcelaine face might be directed at the front, but with a second of consideration anyone might have known since the beginning that this song had a special dedication implicite in its lyrics, in its music. For she had said before starting it, in a simplicity that hinted at its special meaning:
205.1430 +
205.1431 +“This is a song that nobody’s heard before… at least outside rehearsals”.
205.1432 +
205.1433 +With an equally simple gesture she sat at the piano and her long quicksilver fingers worked up a conjure with its keys.
205.1434 +
205.1435 +Only I, amid, all these people have noticed this. That she’s playing with an earnestness and urgency as if t was her first time. That there’s someone in the crowd who hasn’t broken for one moment eye contact with her goddess figure and seems to be in much more knowledge of what Daidouji-san’s doing.
205.1436 +
205.1437 +That someone, of course, is me. Me, who from a few days back has started to see, smell, hear, feel things in a different light.
205.1438 +
205.1439 +Me, a well known high school cheerleader and less recognized but a competent mage. Me, who has slowly realized that the dreams of so long that I’ve ignored were the ones that were actually right. Me, who the Fates named Kinomoto Sakura. Me, who still is at awe with these things just mentioned.
205.1440 +
205.1441 +Yes, you heard right. I DID have dreams about this discovery, after all, Yume’s powers make those who come in contact with it have visions that, even if at times they borderline with sheer fantasy, also are predictions…
205.1442 +
205.1443 +… Or hidden truths as I now like to say.
205.1444 +
205.1445 +And True Love Waits…In haunted attics…
205.1446 +
205.1447 +I also like to express my agreement on that… Tomoyo-chan.
205.1448 +
205.1449 +I never break eye contact as I think these many things. Too many objects that hint at who I’ve been have resurfaced while helping Touya move, they have reminded me at what I really wanted, yearned. Some may be fragile at touch, yet they’re so beautiful,…
205.1450 +
205.1451 +… like you, Tomoyo-chan. They, YOU, are the true link to who I am now and who I can be.
205.1452 +
205.1453 +… Just, don’t leave… don’t leave…
205.1454 +
205.1455 +One hand of mine is clasped close to my heart. The other, holds this itsy bitsy card, inside a modest leather handbag at my left. 
205.1456 +
205.1457 +Hopefully, my message will get to you. For, since the recent events, -
205.1458 +
205.1459 +… I’m not living…
205.1460 +
205.1461 +------------------------
205.1462 +
205.1463 +parenthesis 2 : The End Of The Music Of Yore… 
205.1464 +
205.1465 +… I’m just killing time…
205.1466 +
205.1467 +Since when? 
205.1468 +
205.1469 +A glance here and there to the audience. 
205.1470 +
205.1471 +Since when?
205.1472 +
205.1473 +Nothing, no one, so far.
205.1474 +
205.1475 +Since when?
205.1476 +
205.1477 +Though I musn’t distract myself too much.
205.1478 +
205.1479 +Since when?
205.1480 +
205.1481 +The piano. The crowd. The song.
205.1482 +
205.1483 +They’re priorities right now.
205.1484 +
205.1485 +Since when?
205.1486 +
205.1487 +I know she’s there. Witnessing, yet not hearing.
205.1488 +
205.1489 +Or is she?
205.1490 +
205.1491 +Since when?
205.1492 +
205.1493 +Since the sweat started making its slow yet sure way across her pale forehead she feels she’s lost focus on the people tonight here, on the exceptional performance her bandmates are conjuring as well, and even on the bartender’s small niece who’s right by the side of the stage ready with a bottle of water and a much needed towel.
205.1494 +
205.1495 +Her eyes close. She must concentrate now.
205.1496 +
205.1497 +Yet her heart starts taking over, replacing her real world sight with forelorn dreams, iron-shackled illusions- a child with honey-tinted hair walking past her, a bunny head shaped eraser smiling up towards her from her own hand, a needle working with love-woven threads the fabric of her dream, her dream fighting against a giant teddy bear, her dream on a winged staff, herself flying with her, her dream with true angel wings, her dream changing… 
205.1498 +
205.1499 +Blooming! Blooming into an athletic, popular, charismatic, kind- beautiful! Beautiful young girl. A girl that could well be reasonable as also thick-headed, a girl who could hold her own as also depend on others if needed, a girl who could do the stuff of the dreams of many and did not regard herself as superior to others.
205.1500 +
205.1501 +… Your tiny hands…
205.1502 +
205.1503 +She knew that her own hands were longer, softer than that young girl’s could ever be, yet the touch of them in a handshake, a handhold, a slight fleeting caress, was all she required to satisfy the appetites of her fantasies. To feed the dream.
205.1504 +
205.1505 +Feed the dream on dreams. She begins to sing her heart out. Voicing her longings, picturing her surroundings, Yuto, Tsuwabuki, Fukuy, the crowd, her friends, her dream, through the harmonious echoes of music and singing. For a moment she opens her eyes again, the shimmering stormy blue pale a bit under the intense white stage lights, part of which is the climax of her passionate performance, part in surprise…
205.1506 +
205.1507 +For the flooding of longing laced images became suddenly overwhelming.
205.1508 +
205.1509 +She could feel it. Her lips burning. Her eyes burning.
205.1510 +
205.1511 +… Your crazy kiss and smile…
205.1512 +
205.1513 +Her body and soul on fire. She was being held by her dream, amidst the cloudy shrouding of dreams. Her mind was reeling, to extinguish that fire.
205.1514 +
205.1515 +She was now crying. Crying on the shoulder of her dream.
205.1516 +
205.1517 +- I love you.
205.1518 +
205.1519 +- What?
205.1520 +
205.1521 +- I love you, and please forgive me by not noticing our to-be fulfilled dream.
205.1522 +
205.1523 +- But… but you’re a dream! Just that!
205.1524 +
205.1525 +- Just that? I want to be more than that. Whatever you want, NEED, to live, smile, laugh… be all you can be.
205.1526 +
205.1527 +- You’ve- you’ve always been a dream to me. A dream with many dreamers, all breathing, eating, working to reach you… and I just took retreat to sigh my soul out away from your sight. I’m-
205.1528 +
205.1529 +- Nothing compared to those fighting knights? Don’t you think it’s up to me to decide to whom I give my heart to?
205.1530 +
205.1531 +It’s blurring unexpectedly. Two warm arms of a river spill down the white rubble face.
205.1532 +
205.1533 +… Just… Don’t leave… Don’t leave…
205.1534 +
205.1535 +I murmur in a crackling voice.
205.1536 +
205.1537 +… Don’t leave… Don’t leave…
205.1538 +
205.1539 +She holds me even closer. She now sings to lead me back to the real world, to her longings and aspirations, to appease me. 
205.1540 +
205.1541 +To make me smile and open my tear-filled eyes toward her persona. For there in the silent yet profoundly moved crowd, her dream stands, holding out for her to see a light pink card with a star emblem, and her Eden-Garden eyes rain light and water of pure love.
205.1542 +
205.1543 +Sakura-chan…
205.1544 +
205.1545 +Tomoyo-chan…
205.1546 +
205.1547 +The final strike of the alabaster fingers to the ivory and ebony keys. The performance has ended. 
205.1548 +
205.1549 +With a swiftness she didn’t know herself capable of, Daidouji Tomoyo leaves the stage. Despite her efforts, her legs cannot match the furious pounding of her principle. 
205.1550 +
205.1551 +Sakura-chan…
205.1552 +
205.1553 +Tomoyo-chan…
205.1554 +
205.1555 +She runs and almost crashes into her. Kinomoto Sakura. They embrace. Both in tears yet smiling.
205.1556 +
205.1557 +Sakura.
205.1558 +
205.1559 +Tomoyo.
205.1560 +
205.1561 +The waiting has stopped.
205.1562 +
205.1563 +The dream and the dreamer have finally merged in the real world.
205.1564 +
205.1565 +
205.1566 +---------------
205.1567 +
205.1568 +Author’s Notes:
205.1569 +Whew! That was a tough fanfic to write! But I’m glad I finished. About the songs, they’re listed in order of appearance:
205.1570 +1.- “True Love Waits”, written and performed by the British band Radiohead.
205.1571 +2.- “Love’s A Bitch (Tell me since when did this begin to hurt…)”, a translation of “Amores Perros (Dime Cuándo Comenzó el Dolor)”, written and performed by the Mexican artist Ely Guerra.
205.1572 +3.- “I’ve Been So Happy With You”, a translation of “He Sido Tan Feliz Contigo”, written and performed by the Spanish artist Alejandro Sanz.
205.1573 +In the final chapters I use the first and last songs above mentioned. If interested in a complete translation of the lyrics for the Spanish songs, please e-mail me.  >^_^<
205.1574 \ No newline at end of file

   206.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   206.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-understanding.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   206.3 @@ -0,0 +1,713 @@
   206.4 +I don't own these characters or profit from them.
   206.5 +
   206.6 +
   206.7 +Understanding
   206.8 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   206.9 +
  206.10 +
  206.11 +  Sakura and Madison walked hand in hand to school. The weekend before 
  206.12 +they 
  206.13 +had finally admitted to eachother that they were in love. (You can pick 
  206.14 +just 
  206.15 +about any other Tomoyo/Madison Sakura fic to fill in this part.) They 
  206.16 +had 
  206.17 +told their friends, who had said they understood, and had thought that 
  206.18 +was 
  206.19 +the end of it. They were wrong.
  206.20 +
  206.21 +  Sakura first began to notice something was wrong in first period. She 
  206.22 +kept 
  206.23 +getting odd feelings and when she looked up a lot of people were 
  206.24 +quickly 
  206.25 +looking away from either her or Madison. Blushing, she focused on her 
  206.26 +work 
  206.27 +and listening to Miss Makinzy explain the lesson. It wasn't easy.
  206.28 +  When the class was done Miss Makinzy announced that it was time to go 
  206.29 +out 
  206.30 +for break. Madison and Sakura walked out to the play ground and sat 
  206.31 +down by 
  206.32 +the sand pit where the volley ball net was set up.
  206.33 +  Madison looked over at Sakura and smiled nervously. "Is it just me or 
  206.34 +were 
  206.35 +we the focus of a lot of attention."
  206.36 +  Sakura shook her head. "It wasn't just you. I think we would probably 
  206.37 +get 
  206.38 +less attntion if we told them about the card captor thing."
  206.39 +  Madison smiled sadly. "You know Sakura if you want to stop now I 
  206.40 +would 
  206.41 +understand."
  206.42 +  Sakura smiled and shook her head. "You know better than that Madison. 
  206.43 +I 
  206.44 +love you and what anybody else thinks doesn't matter one bit."
  206.45 +  Madison smiled and hugged her. "Thank you Sakura. I don't know what 
  206.46 +I'd do 
  206.47 +without you."
  206.48 +  Sakura giggled. "You'd die of lonelyness, just like I would. Now come 
  206.49 +on, 
  206.50 +let's get back to class alright?"
  206.51 +  Madison nodded and they both got up. As they walked back to the 
  206.52 +classroom 
  206.53 +they were both accutely aware of the stares of most of the other kids 
  206.54 +on the 
  206.55 +play ground. Despite this they both kept smiling and holding hands. 
  206.56 +Sakura 
  206.57 +and Madison had both faced down everything from the fly card to the 
  206.58 +thunder 
  206.59 +card. Neither of them were afraid of a few odd looks.
  206.60 +
  206.61 +  The rest of the day went pretty much the same. Hushed whispers, 
  206.62 +strange 
  206.63 +looks, and some laughter behind their backs. They were both intensely 
  206.64 +relieved when the lunch bell rang. Madison and Sakura sat down at their 
  206.65 +usual table and began to eat. When Nikki and the others started to walk 
  206.66 +past 
  206.67 +them Sakura called out, "Hey, are you going to sit with us or what?"
  206.68 +  The other girls looked at her nervously and Nikki stepped forward. 
  206.69 +"Well 
  206.70 +Sakura, like we said we understand about you two and all that. But 
  206.71 +well, we 
  206.72 +still like guys. And if we sit with you they might think..."
  206.73 +  Sakura frowned and was about to tell them just how stupid that was 
  206.74 +when 
  206.75 +Madison put her hand on Sakura's arm. "That's alright Nikki. We 
  206.76 +understand. 
  206.77 +See you later alright?"
  206.78 +  They other girls nodded and walked away. Nikki stopped and glanced 
  206.79 +back, 
  206.80 +then continued after the others.
  206.81 +  Sakura frowned. "That is so dumb! I can't believe that they think 
  206.82 +that 
  206.83 +just hanging out with us..."
  206.84 +  Madison smiled pleasantly. "Well they're right Sakura. You've seen 
  206.85 +how 
  206.86 +people have been acting around us. For the next few weeks at least this 
  206.87 +is 
  206.88 +going to be a big deal. We just have to give them time to get used to 
  206.89 +it."
  206.90 +  Sakura sighed and took a bite of her food. "I know you're right 
  206.91 +Madison. 
  206.92 +It wasn't like it was easy for us either. But still..."
  206.93 +  Madison nodded and began eating too. Suddenly Lee and Maylin sat down 
  206.94 +infront of them. Maylin smiled and Lee looked at them with his usual 
  206.95 +grim 
  206.96 +face. "Hey Avalon, what's up?"
  206.97 +  Sakura smiled. "Aren't you afraid that sitting with us will damage 
  206.98 +your 
  206.99 +popularity?"
 206.100 +  Lee shook his head. "We didn't move down here to be popular. Anyway 
 206.101 +you 
 206.102 +two are our only real friends around here, so who cares what anybody 
 206.103 +else 
 206.104 +thinks."
 206.105 +  Madison looked at him suprised. "That's awfully nice of you Lee."
 206.106 +  Maylin nodded. "Well he's right. And anyway it's not like he has 
 206.107 +anyone to 
 206.108 +impress." She leaned her head on Lee's shoulder. Lee rolled his eyes 
 206.109 +but 
 206.110 +Maylin ignored it.
 206.111 +  Sakura smiled at them. "Well thanks you guys. I was begining to 
 206.112 +wonder if 
 206.113 +we had any real friends left."
 206.114 +  They ate the rest of their meals and talked about the cards they had 
 206.115 +been 
 206.116 +capturing lately. "So how many are left?" Madison asked.
 206.117 +  "About fifteen I think." Sakura said. She looked over at Lee. "There 
 206.118 +were 
 206.119 +fifty two to start with right?"
 206.120 +  Lee nodded. "Yes. You know Avalon you really need to study magic if 
 206.121 +you 
 206.122 +want to be a good card captor."
 206.123 +  Sakura blushed and looked down. "Well Kero has been teaching me, but 
 206.124 +it 
 206.125 +takes a while. You two have been studying it all your lives."
 206.126 +  Maylin frowned. "You've still got an edge on me. I can't even capture 
 206.127 +the 
 206.128 +cards."
 206.129 +  Madison looked at her. "Well neither can I, but Sakura is always 
 206.130 +telling 
 206.131 +me that she couldn't do it without my help."
 206.132 +  Sakura smiled. "Yeah, both of you help out alot Maylin. Even if you 
 206.133 +can't 
 206.134 +use magic, right Lee?"
 206.135 +  Lee grunted and took a bite of his food. Maylin, however, seemed to 
 206.136 +be in 
 206.137 +a better mood and the conversation turned to more pleasant topics. The 
 206.138 +good 
 206.139 +mood lasted almost until the end of lunch.
 206.140 +  As they were heading back to class, one of the boys that they didn't 
 206.141 +knwo 
 206.142 +very well made a comment. Sakura didn't hear much of it, but what she 
 206.143 +did 
 206.144 +hear was her and Madison's names and the phrase 'carpet muncher'.
 206.145 +  Lee immediately punched the guy in the face before Sakura or Madison 
 206.146 +could 
 206.147 +stop him. "When you insult my friends you insult me." He tried to go 
 206.148 +after 
 206.149 +the guy again but Sakura and Madison were holding him back.
 206.150 +  "Lee stop it right now!" Sakura, Madison, and Maylin said at the same 
 206.151 +time.
 206.152 +  Lee looked at them confused. "But he..."
 206.153 +  Sakura shook her head. "Lee I appriciate you trying to defend us, but 
 206.154 +you 
 206.155 +can't do things like that."
 206.156 +  Madison nodded. "She's right Lee. You can't be there every time 
 206.157 +something 
 206.158 +like this happens. Just let us handle it alright? You'll just end up 
 206.159 +getting 
 206.160 +into trouble."
 206.161 +  Lee stopped struggling, especially since the guy had run away. He 
 206.162 +looked 
 206.163 +at both of then, then bowed. "You're right, I'm sorry."
 206.164 +  Maylin smiled and held his arm. "Still Lee, it was very gallant of 
 206.165 +you to 
 206.166 +do that. Would you do the same for me Lee?"
 206.167 +  Lee blushed and the three girls laughed at him. Just then the bell 
 206.168 +rang 
 206.169 +and they turned to go back to class. On the way in Miss Makinzy looked 
 206.170 +at 
 206.171 +them. "I want to talk to the four of you after class." They all looked 
 206.172 +down 
 206.173 +and nodded. "Yes Miss Makinzy."
 206.174 +
 206.175 +  After the other students had been excused Sakura, Madison, Maylin, 
 206.176 +and Lee 
 206.177 +stood infront of Miss Makinzy's desk. "I saw what happend today durring 
 206.178 +lunch. That wasn't a very smart thing to do Lee."
 206.179 +  Lee looked down ebarrassed and frowned. "I'm sorry."
 206.180 +  Miss Makinzy laughed. "You don't have anything to be sorry for Lee." 
 206.181 +They 
 206.182 +all looked up at her suprised. "It's been a long time since I saw 
 206.183 +chivalry 
 206.184 +like that. But like Sakura said, you can't fight someone's battle for 
 206.185 +them."
 206.186 +  She looked at Madison and Sakura. "And it is going to be a battle you 
 206.187 +know. It hasn't been easy for either of you two has it?"
 206.188 +  They shook their heads and Sakura said, "No, but I'm not ready to 
 206.189 +give up 
 206.190 +just because of what somebody else thinks."
 206.191 +  Madison nodded. "Me either."
 206.192 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "You know I envy all of you. And not just for 
 206.193 +the 
 206.194 +cards either. Very few people find someone who loves them enough to go 
 206.195 +through this sort of thing. And even fewer have friends that will stand 
 206.196 +with 
 206.197 +them."
 206.198 +  Sakura dn Madison smiled at Lee and Maylin who stood looking stunned. 
 206.199 +Miss 
 206.200 +Makinzy smiled and pointed towards the door. "You may be excused now. I 
 206.201 +will 
 206.202 +see you all tommorow."
 206.203 +  They all nodded and headed towards the door. Madison and Sakura 
 206.204 +smiled at 
 206.205 +eachother and said goodbye to Maylin and Lee, then bagan walking 
 206.206 +towards 
 206.207 +Sakura's house.
 206.208 +
 206.209 +  When they arrived at Sakura's home Kero was waiting to be fed. "I'm 
 206.210 +starving. Why were you two so late getting back from school?" Sakura 
 206.211 +and 
 206.212 +Madison told him what happened. Kero was actually quite impressed with 
 206.213 +Lee's 
 206.214 +actions. "I didn't think he had it in him. Back in Clow Reed's time 
 206.215 +that was 
 206.216 +the standard of course. He must have been taught very well."
 206.217 +  Sakura shook her head and handed him a sandwich. "Well this isn't 
 206.218 +then. If 
 206.219 +we don't handle our own problems then they will just get bigger."
 206.220 +  Kero nodded. "You're right of course. But so was your teacher. This 
 206.221 +isn't 
 206.222 +going to be easy for either of you."
 206.223 +  Madison smiled and scratched Kero behind the ears. "Don't worry Kero, 
 206.224 +I'm 
 206.225 +sure we can handle it. Right Sakura?"
 206.226 +  "Right Madison." Sakura hugged both of them. "Thanks for helping out 
 206.227 +though Kero."
 206.228 +  Kero smiled and ate his sandwich. "No problem kid."
 206.229 +  They went to the livingroom and watched television until Sakura's 
 206.230 +brother 
 206.231 +and father came home. After that Madison called her mother for a ride 
 206.232 +home.
 206.233 +  When Madison's mother arrived and she was leaving Madison turned back 
 206.234 +to 
 206.235 +Sakura and the two kissed goodbye. "See you tommorow Sakura."
 206.236 +  Sakura smiled. "Bye Madison. See you on the way to school."
 206.237 +  Once Madison was gone Sakura turned back to see her father and Tory 
 206.238 +standing behind her. "Something you want to tell us Sakura?" Mr. Avalon 
 206.239 +asked.
 206.240 +  Sakura blushed. "Well Madison and I have kind of... become a couple."
 206.241 +  Both of them looked at her suprised. Tory frowned and asked her, "Why 
 206.242 +didn't you tell us?"
 206.243 +  Sakura looked at them. "Well it only happened this weekend. And I've 
 206.244 +been 
 206.245 +having a few problems at school so I just really didn't thinka bout 
 206.246 +it."
 206.247 +  Tory smiled and nodded. "I see. Well that's understandable I suppose, 
 206.248 +right dad?"
 206.249 +  Her father frowned and looked at her. "What kind of probelms at 
 206.250 +school?"
 206.251 +  Sakura told him about how her friends had decided not to sit with 
 206.252 +them any 
 206.253 +more and about what happened durring lunch. "It's no big deal really."
 206.254 +  Her dad seemed unconvinced. "Sakura I'm not sure if this is a good 
 206.255 +idea. I 
 206.256 +mean you're a little young to know what love is and you might be 
 206.257 +deluding 
 206.258 +yourself. Maybe you should think about not seeing her for a while."
 206.259 +  Sakura looked at him in shock. "Dad, I know what I'm doing. Madison 
 206.260 +makes 
 206.261 +me happier than anyone else in the world and I am not going to stop 
 206.262 +seeing 
 206.263 +her."
 206.264 +  Tory started to say something in Sakura's defense, but her dad cut 
 206.265 +him 
 206.266 +off. "Sakura I think that maybe you should go to your room to think 
 206.267 +about 
 206.268 +this. I'll send Tory up with your dinner later."
 206.269 +  Sakura looked at her father, feeling like he was betraying her. A 
 206.270 +tear 
 206.271 +trickled down her cheek and without another word she ran up the stairs 
 206.272 +to 
 206.273 +her room.
 206.274 +  Tory looked at his dad and said, "Weren't you a bit hard on her?"
 206.275 +  He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. She's just a kid. This way 
 206.276 +will 
 206.277 +spare her a lot of pain."
 206.278 +  Tory frowned and walked to the kitchen. "I'm going to make dinner."
 206.279 +
 206.280 +  When they got home Madison's mother asked her to wait a second before 
 206.281 +going upstairs. "Madison... I think we need to talk about you and 
 206.282 +Sakura."
 206.283 +  Madison sat down on the couch and looekd at her. "What do you mean?"
 206.284 +  "Well, when I was younger I had a crush on Sakura's mother, so I know 
 206.285 +what 
 206.286 +you're going through. I don't think you should keep seeing Sakura."
 206.287 +  Madison looked at her. "Why? I mean I've been in love with her for 
 206.288 +years 
 206.289 +and now we're finally together. I'm not going to give her up for no 
 206.290 +reason."
 206.291 +  Her mother bit her lip. "Madison, I'm just trying to spare you some 
 206.292 +of the 
 206.293 +pain I went through. I mean eventualy she might decide that she wants 
 206.294 +to 
 206.295 +have a baby Madison."
 206.296 +  Madison looked down sadly, then shook her head. "I don't care. We'll 
 206.297 +deal 
 206.298 +with thatever comes up."
 206.299 +  Her mother frowned. "I'm sorry Madison, but I can't let you do that. 
 206.300 +I'm 
 206.301 +going to arrange for home schooling now and I want you to not see 
 206.302 +Sakura for 
 206.303 +a while."
 206.304 +  Madison looked up at her in shock. "You can't do that!"
 206.305 +  Her mother shook her head. "It's for your own good Madison."
 206.306 +  "But mom I..." Madison began.
 206.307 +  "I've already decided Madison." She said.
 206.308 +  Madison gritted her teeth and ran up the stairs to her room. Her 
 206.309 +mother 
 206.310 +watched her go.
 206.311 +
 206.312 +  The cell phone in Sakura's room rang. Smiling she picked it up. 
 206.313 +"Madison?"
 206.314 +  "Yeah, it's me Sakura. You aren't going to believe this, but my mom 
 206.315 +wants 
 206.316 +me to stop seeing you." Madison said.
 206.317 +  Sakura sighed. "My dad is the same way. I can't believe them. It's 
 206.318 +none of 
 206.319 +their business anyway."
 206.320 +  Madison laughed. "You're right. But my mom is saying that she is 
 206.321 +going to 
 206.322 +make me take home schooling so I won't see you."
 206.323 +  Sakura gasped. "She can't do that, I mean it's totaly unfair. I don't 
 206.324 +believe... hold on a second, my brother is at the door." She stuffed 
 206.325 +the 
 206.326 +phone under her pillow. "Come in Tory."
 206.327 +  Tory came in carrying a tray of food. "Hey squirt. Here's your 
 206.328 +dinner."
 206.329 +  She smiled. "Mmm, smells good."
 206.330 +  He turned to leave and then stopped and looked back at her. "You know 
 206.331 +I 
 206.332 +think dad was totaly wrong."
 206.333 +  Sakura smiled. "Thanks Tory."
 206.334 +  He smiled. "No problem. I'll talk to him tommorow after he's had some 
 206.335 +time 
 206.336 +to think alright?" He turned and left, closing the door behind him.
 206.337 +  Once he was gone Sakura picked the phone up again. "Wow, you're 
 206.338 +brother is 
 206.339 +being really good about this." Madison said.
 206.340 +  Sakura nodded. "I know. I mean he teases me a lot, but he's a really 
 206.341 +cool 
 206.342 +guy some times."
 206.343 +  Sakura nodded and took a bite of her food. "So what are we going to 
 206.344 +do?"
 206.345 +  Madison sounded uncertain. "I don't know Sakura. I mean what can we 
 206.346 +do?"
 206.347 +  Sakura was thinking about it when she heard a door open on the other 
 206.348 +end 
 206.349 +of the line. In the background she could hear Madison's mother. 
 206.350 +"Madison I 
 206.351 +thought I had made myself clear. Give me that phone right now."
 206.352 +  Sakura listened while the phone exchanged hands. After a second 
 206.353 +Madison's 
 206.354 +mother said, "Sakura? I would really appriciate it if you would leave 
 206.355 +Madison alone for a while."
 206.356 +  Sakura frowned. "Why? We've been best friends since we were kids."
 206.357 +  "You are still kids. You're too young for this kind of relationship. 
 206.358 +Now 
 206.359 +please just leave her alone." She hung the phone up, leaving Sakura 
 206.360 +just 
 206.361 +sitting there.
 206.362 +  Sakura tried to call back, but it was turrned off. When she called 
 206.363 +the 
 206.364 +house number the operator told her that the call was blocked. She 
 206.365 +looked at 
 206.366 +Kero who had been sitting on the dresser. "This is so unfair. How can 
 206.367 +she do 
 206.368 +something like this?"
 206.369 +  Kero shrugged. "She wants what she thinks is best. for the two of 
 206.370 +you. The 
 206.371 +question is, what are you going to do about it?"
 206.372 +  Sakura frowned and bit her lip. Suddenly the clow book opened and the 
 206.373 +cards flew out to surround her. "Kero, what's going on?"
 206.374 +  Kero nodded. "The cards want to help you Sakura."
 206.375 +  Sakura frowned and looked at them, then nodded. "Alright, then I know 
 206.376 +what 
 206.377 +I have to do."
 206.378 +
 206.379 +  Madison sat in her room crying into her pillow. All the videos, 
 206.380 +drawings, 
 206.381 +and pictures she had of Sakura had been confinscated by her mother. She 
 206.382 +had 
 206.383 +taken away her cell phone and even went so far as to delete all of the 
 206.384 +pictures of Sakura that Madison had on her computer.
 206.385 +  Her door creaked as it opened slightly. "I don't want to talk to you 
 206.386 +right 
 206.387 +now."
 206.388 +  The door opened a bit more, but nobody answered. When she looked up 
 206.389 +instead of her mother she saw the visible form of the sleep card 
 206.390 +peeking 
 206.391 +around her door. Madison gasped and her face broke into a huge grin. 
 206.392 +"Is 
 206.393 +Sakura here?"
 206.394 +  The sleep card nodded and flew into the room, avoiding her so that 
 206.395 +she 
 206.396 +didn't fall asleep too. It pointed to the window. Madison got up and 
 206.397 +walked 
 206.398 +over to the window and opened it. The sleep card flew out and up. 
 206.399 +Looking 
 206.400 +outside Madison saw Sakura flying just above her roof.
 206.401 +  "Hi Madison, care to go on a little trip?" Sakura whipsered.
 206.402 +  Madison looked at her worriedly. "You mean like run away."
 206.403 +  Sakura nodded. "Not forever, but maybe long enough to let our parents 
 206.404 +know 
 206.405 +we're serious. If you don't want to we won't."
 206.406 +  Madison smiled. "Just wait a second while I get my coat and cammera."
 206.407 +  Madison ducked back inside while Sakura put the sleep card away. She 
 206.408 +peeked out her door and saw some of the house staff asleep on the 
 206.409 +floor. 
 206.410 +Quickly she went back into her room and walked to the window. "How do I 
 206.411 +get 
 206.412 +to you? If you land in the yard the security system will go off."
 206.413 +  Sakura smiled and pulled out the float card. She landed on the roof 
 206.414 +and 
 206.415 +used it to levitate Madison up to her. When she got there Madison 
 206.416 +hugged her 
 206.417 +tightly. "You're my hero Sakura."
 206.418 +  Sakura hugged her back. "And you're my princess Madison. Come on, 
 206.419 +let's 
 206.420 +go."
 206.421 +  They both got onto the wand and flew off into the night. A cold wind 
 206.422 +brushed over them and Madison scooted closer to her. "It's cold 
 206.423 +tonight."
 206.424 +  Sakura nodded. "Yeah. We need to find some place to go."
 206.425 +  Madison thought for a minute. "Maybe Lee and Maylin would let us stay 
 206.426 +at 
 206.427 +their place."
 206.428 +  Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. Their guardian might not 
 206.429 +want to 
 206.430 +get involved."
 206.431 +  Madison sighed and buried her face in Sakura's hair. "Maybe Miss 
 206.432 +Makinzy 
 206.433 +would help."
 206.434 +  Sakura smiled. "That's a great idea Madison." The wand banked to the 
 206.435 +left 
 206.436 +and they headed towards Miss Makinzy's house. When they got there they 
 206.437 +landed and walked over to the door.
 206.438 +  Sakura reached up and knocked on the door softly. After a minute Miss 
 206.439 +Makinzy opened it and smiled at them. "Sakura. Madison. What are you 
 206.440 +doing 
 206.441 +here so late? Come on in before you get sick."
 206.442 +  They followed her inside and into the living room. Once there Miss 
 206.443 +Makinzy 
 206.444 +motioned for them to sit on the couch. "Now to what do I owe this 
 206.445 +visit?"
 206.446 +  Sakura and Madison looked at her nervously. "We were wondering if 
 206.447 +maybe we 
 206.448 +could stay with you for a couple of days."
 206.449 +  Miss Makinzy looked at them in suprise. "What's wrong with your own 
 206.450 +homes?"
 206.451 +  They told her what had happened and how their parents were acting. 
 206.452 +She 
 206.453 +listend quietly until they were finished. "So we were hoping you'd help 
 206.454 +us. 
 206.455 +If you want we could do chores for you around here." Sakura said.
 206.456 +  "And we'll do whatever school work you want to give us." Madison 
 206.457 +added.
 206.458 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "Well that is a very tempting offer, but you 
 206.459 +know I 
 206.460 +can't do that." Sakura and Madison looked down sadly. "But what I can 
 206.461 +do it 
 206.462 +talk to your parents. I may be able to convince them to listen."
 206.463 +  Sakura looked up at her gratefully. "Would you? That would be so 
 206.464 +great."
 206.465 +  Madison nodded her agreement. "Yeah."
 206.466 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "Look, why don't you two have some cookies while 
 206.467 +I 
 206.468 +call your parents?" The girls smiled and Miss Makinzy brought in a 
 206.469 +plate of 
 206.470 +cookies for them.
 206.471 +  While they were eating Madison looked down at the coffee table. "Hey 
 206.472 +Sakura, doesn't that pattern look familiar?"
 206.473 +  Sakura looked down and stared in amazement. "It's a lazen board! Does 
 206.474 +everyone have one of these except me?"
 206.475 +  Madison giggled, then they both stopped as they heard miss Makinzy on 
 206.476 +the 
 206.477 +phone. "Yes, they are both here. Yes they are safe. No I will not make 
 206.478 +them 
 206.479 +go to seperate rooms. Please, will you please come here and talk to me 
 206.480 +in 
 206.481 +person? I don't think that will work. They would just run away again. 
 206.482 +No, I 
 206.483 +got them to agree to not do it if you are willing to come talk about 
 206.484 +it. 
 206.485 +Alright. I'll see you in a little bit. Good bye."
 206.486 +  She walked back into the room and smiled at  them, taking a cookie 
 206.487 +for 
 206.488 +herself. "It seems Madison's mother was already at your house Sakura. 
 206.489 +They 
 206.490 +are both on their way here now."
 206.491 +  Sakura bit her lip and looked up at her. "Do you think we should be 
 206.492 +here 
 206.493 +when you talk to them? It might help."
 206.494 +  She shook her head. "No. I know it doesn't seem fair to keep you two 
 206.495 +out 
 206.496 +of the conversation, but I think it will be easier to get them to 
 206.497 +listen to 
 206.498 +me if the two of you remain out of sight until we are done."
 206.499 +  Madison took Sakura's hand and squeesed it slightly. "I see what you 
 206.500 +mean 
 206.501 +Miss Makinzy, but still it is about us..." Sakura nodded and squeesed 
 206.502 +Madison's hand back.
 206.503 +  Miss Makinzy looked at then, then nodded. "Alright, but not at first. 
 206.504 +I'll 
 206.505 +call you down when it's time. Is that good enought?"
 206.506 +  They looked at eachother, then back at her and nodded. "Thank you 
 206.507 +Miss 
 206.508 +Makinzy."
 206.509 +  She smiled. "It's no problem. It actually makes me feel pretty good 
 206.510 +that 
 206.511 +you came to me with this. Your friends Lee and Maylin still don't quite 
 206.512 +trust me."
 206.513 +  Sakura smiled. "Well maybe if you weren't so mysterious all the time. 
 206.514 +By 
 206.515 +the way, this is a lazen board right?" She pointed to the table. "Where 
 206.516 +do I 
 206.517 +get one of these?"
 206.518 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "I may be able to get you one later. I take it 
 206.519 +you 
 206.520 +feel you could use one?"
 206.521 +  Sakura nodded and nervously rubbed the spot in her jakect where the 
 206.522 +Clow 
 206.523 +book was hidden. She was glad Kero had decided to stay at home.
 206.524 +  They spent some time talking, killing time until their parents showed 
 206.525 +up.
 206.526 +
 206.527 +  Sakura's father and Madison's mother drove to Miss Makinzy's house in 
 206.528 +the 
 206.529 +same car. She had woken up after the other people in her house and 
 206.530 +since 
 206.531 +they didn't want to get into trouble, they hadn't told her. When she 
 206.532 +had 
 206.533 +gone to check on Madison and found her missing nobody coudl figure out 
 206.534 +where 
 206.535 +she had gone since the security system had not been set off.
 206.536 +  She had gone to Sakura's house immediately, only to find that Sakura 
 206.537 +had 
 206.538 +been missing too. Sakura's father told her what had happened with him 
 206.539 +and 
 206.540 +Sakura. She admitted that a similar conversation had happened between 
 206.541 +her 
 206.542 +and her daughter. Just them Miss Makinzy had called to tell them that 
 206.543 +the 
 206.544 +girls had gone to see her. Both parents had immediately asked that the 
 206.545 +two 
 206.546 +be separated, but the teacher had refused. As they left Tory had looked 
 206.547 +at 
 206.548 +them and said, "You are both wrong. You should let them make their own 
 206.549 +decisions." Both parents left without saying anything to him.
 206.550 +  As they drove to her house Sakura's father said, "I think this is all 
 206.551 +your 
 206.552 +fault."
 206.553 +  She looked at him. "My fault?"
 206.554 +  He nodded. "I know about that thing you had about my wife."
 206.555 +  She frowned. "But I didn't even tell Madison about that. And anyway I 
 206.556 +told 
 206.557 +Madison that it would be best for all conserned if they stopped seeing 
 206.558 +eachother."
 206.559 +  "Well that's what I told Sakura." He said.
 206.560 +  The rest of the drive was very quiet and when they arrived at Miss 
 206.561 +Makinzy's house. They got out of the car and knocked on the door. 
 206.562 +Inside 
 206.563 +they heard what sounded like two people running up the stairs. Then 
 206.564 +Miss 
 206.565 +Makinzy opened the door. She smiled at them and asked them to come in.
 206.566 +  "Actually I was wondering if I might just get my daughter and go." 
 206.567 +Mrs. 
 206.568 +Taylor said.
 206.569 +  Miss Makinzy shook her head. "As I told Mr.Avalon the girls only 
 206.570 +agreed to 
 206.571 +wait here for you to show up if I would talk with you. Otherwise they 
 206.572 +will 
 206.573 +just run away again."
 206.574 +  They both followed her inside. "Look, we didn't want to hurt them. We 
 206.575 +just 
 206.576 +feel that it would be best if they just... waited a few years." 
 206.577 +Sakura's dad 
 206.578 +said.
 206.579 +  Miss Makinzy looked at him seriously. "And I suppose what they want 
 206.580 +means 
 206.581 +nothing?"
 206.582 +  Madison's mom shook her head. "I know what they are going through. I 
 206.583 +don't 
 206.584 +want my daughter to go through what I did."
 206.585 +  From upstairs Sakura and Madison listened while the adults talked.
 206.586 +  Miss Makinzy nodded. "I see, but I don't think this is the same 
 206.587 +situation. 
 206.588 +I have seen them at school and while they have been having their 
 206.589 +problems, 
 206.590 +both Sakura and Madison have been handling it well. Their friends have 
 206.591 +been 
 206.592 +helping them out."
 206.593 +  Mr. Avalon rubbed his chin. "Still this is rather unusual. I mean... 
 206.594 +well 
 206.595 +you know."
 206.596 +  Miss Makinzy smiled. "Yes, I do know. But still that is a choice they 
 206.597 +had 
 206.598 +to make and it probably wasn't easy for either of them. Don't you think 
 206.599 +you 
 206.600 +should let them decide how to do this?"
 206.601 +  Mrs. Taylor looked at her. "Well neither of them seem to be here do 
 206.602 +they?"
 206.603 +  Miss Makinzy shook her head. "Actually they want to talk to both of 
 206.604 +you 
 206.605 +about it. Girls, you can come down now."
 206.606 +  Sakura and Madison held eachother's hands as they walked down the 
 206.607 +stairs. 
 206.608 +When they reached the living room their parents looked at them. "You 
 206.609 +two are 
 206.610 +in a lot of trouble." Mr. Avalon said.
 206.611 +  Sakura looked down. "I know."
 206.612 +  Mrs. Taylor looked at Madison. "How did you get passed the security 
 206.613 +system?"
 206.614 +  "Magic." Madison answered honestly.
 206.615 +  Her mother looked mad, but Miss Makinzy interupted. "Let's leave that 
 206.616 +for 
 206.617 +another time. Girls, I think you wanted to tell them something."
 206.618 +  Both parents waited, watching their daughters. Sakura bit her lip and 
 206.619 +looked at them. "Well we think what you are doing is totaly unfair. I 
 206.620 +mean 
 206.621 +we tell you that we love eachother and instead of being happy for us 
 206.622 +you are 
 206.623 +pulling a Romeo and Juliet routeen."
 206.624 +  Madison nodded. "Yeah. We have enough problems as it is without you 
 206.625 +two 
 206.626 +trying to keep us apart. I mean mom, I know it didn't work out with 
 206.627 +you. But 
 206.628 +Sakura isn't her mother and I'm not you."
 206.629 +  Sakura spoke up, "Yeah. You can't judge how we're going to end up 
 206.630 +just 
 206.631 +because of what happened to you." She looked at her father. "And dad, I 
 206.632 +know 
 206.633 +you think we're too young, but I love Madison. Just as much as I love 
 206.634 +you 
 206.635 +and Tory."
 206.636 +  They stood there in silence for a minute. Then Miss Makinzy said, 
 206.637 +"Girls, 
 206.638 +why don't you go back upstairs for a minute while your parents talk?"
 206.639 +  They both nodded and turned to go upstairs. As they did Sakura and 
 206.640 +Madison 
 206.641 +held eachother close and stopped at the edge of the living room to look 
 206.642 +back 
 206.643 +at their parents. Then they left the room and went back to the top of 
 206.644 +the 
 206.645 +stairs.
 206.646 +  Mr. Avalon sighed. "They're right of course."
 206.647 +  Mrs. Taylor nodded. "Yeah, but that won't make it any easier on them. 
 206.648 +I 
 206.649 +mean people will talk and then there is the physical aspect..."
 206.650 +  He shook his head. "I know. And here I always thought Tory and I 
 206.651 +would 
 206.652 +have to keep boys away from her." He looked at Miss Makinzy. "You're 
 206.653 +sure 
 206.654 +they handled the school stuff alright?"
 206.655 +  She nodded. "Yes sir. In fact when one of their friends tried to 
 206.656 +defend 
 206.657 +them from a rude comment, they stopped him and insisted that they could 
 206.658 +handle it themselves. Your daughters are very grown up."
 206.659 +  He smiled. "I know. But still..." He looked at Madison's mom.
 206.660 +  "I don't see what we can do. After all if we try to keep them apart 
 206.661 +they 
 206.662 +might run away again. And next time they might not come to someone who 
 206.663 +will 
 206.664 +tell us where they are." She said.
 206.665 +  Miss Makinzy looked at them seriously. "I will promise you that there 
 206.666 +is 
 206.667 +nothing you can do to keep them apart. After all, didn't you say that 
 206.668 +some 
 206.669 +how Madison got out of your house with the security system, your 
 206.670 +bodyguards, 
 206.671 +and all that?"
 206.672 +  Mrs. Taylor nodded. "Yes. And anyway if they are really happy 
 206.673 +together I 
 206.674 +don't suppose it would be right to force them."
 206.675 +  He agreed and glanced the way the girls had gone. "So we just let 
 206.676 +them 
 206.677 +work it out for themselves then."
 206.678 +
 206.679 +When she got home Sakura looked at her dad. "Am I grounded?"
 206.680 +  He looked at her and shook his head. "No, just go to bed alright? You 
 206.681 +have 
 206.682 +school tommorow."
 206.683 +  She smiled and walked up the stairs. Tory was there and he smiled at 
 206.684 +her. 
 206.685 +"You seem to be in a better mood."
 206.686 +  Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Dad and I talked on the way home. Everything 
 206.687 +worked 
 206.688 +out fine."
 206.689 +  Tory nodded and they both went to their rooms. Once she got there 
 206.690 +Sakura 
 206.691 +changed into her night gown and settled down into bed. Suddenly her 
 206.692 +cell 
 206.693 +phone rang. She reached over and picked it up. "Hello?"
 206.694 +  Madison's voice answered. "Hi Sakura. My mom gave me back my phone 
 206.695 +and 
 206.696 +pictures. I just wanted to say good night."
 206.697 +  Sakura smiled. "Good night Madison. I'll see you tommorow. Love you 
 206.698 +lot's"
 206.699 +  "I love you too Sakura." The phone hung up and Sakura pulled the 
 206.700 +blankets 
 206.701 +over herself and smiled. Atleast things were getting better. Tommorow 
 206.702 +was 
 206.703 +going to be another rough day, but she knew that after all this she 
 206.704 +could 
 206.705 +hande it. Taking one last look at Madison's picture on her nightstand, 
 206.706 +Sakura closed her eyes and went to sleep.
 206.707 +
 206.708 +The End
 206.709 +
 206.710 +Author's note
 206.711 +  I realized that there would be some problems if they actually fell in 
 206.712 +love. So I wrote this and worked everything out. I mean even if they 
 206.713 +really 
 206.714 +did love eachother that didn't mean everyone would be supportive. So I 
 206.715 +wrote 
 206.716 +this. If you liked it tell me what you thought at clayton_n@hotmail.com
 206.717 \ No newline at end of file

   207.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   207.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-unexpected.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   207.3 @@ -0,0 +1,305 @@
   207.4 +Unexpected 
   207.5 +By: Hinako Shinjo 
   207.6 +email: hinako_shinjo@yahoo.com 
   207.7 +
   207.8 +
   207.9 +Tadaima!~ It's me again, Hinako Shinjo. Sorry you have to put up with another work of mine, took me long enough to make another...you know what I mean. Anyways, another lil story about Sakura and Tomoyo (Coz they're the best!) Now, to business, I do not own Sakura, Li, Mei Ling, Touya, Sonomi nor Tomoyo (yes, even the bodyguards). They belong to CLAMP. The others though are all from my evil lil mind. 
  207.10 +
  207.11 +This is about those little "what-ifs". What if things went along differently from what YOU would expect, coming from Sakura and Tomoyo. Hee-hee, I know, if you like it, tell me! If you don't like it, flame me! It's hinako_shinjo@ yahoo.com 
  207.12 +
  207.13 +Feedback! I want FEEDBACK! 
  207.14 +
  207.15 +Points to Ponder: 
  207.16 +**** --->Present 
  207.17 +*** --->Past (flashbacks, you know.) 
  207.18 +
  207.19 +If you got some time to spare, read on! 
  207.20 +
  207.21 +** Most of the interesting things in life are the ones you don't expect. **-ME 
  207.22 +
  207.23 +*** 
  207.24 +
  207.25 +The brown-haired figure remained concealed beneath the shadows of the night. Emerald-green eyes glistened amidst the darkness, ever focused on the young woman across the street. The stranger, never flinching as she watched the woman, whose dark hair flowed like silk played upon by the wind, whose eyes sparkled with that same emotion years ago. 
  207.26 +
  207.27 +Years ago. 
  207.28 +
  207.29 +In a snap, the glistening emerald-eyes closed, drifting into memories of the past. 
  207.30 +
  207.31 +*** 
  207.32 +
  207.33 +"Tomoyo-chan!", Sakura gushed as she came skating towards her friend, clearly excited about something. She was a pretty sight, her soft brown mane bouncing along her shoulders, her delicate mouth curved up into a bright smile, her body moving gracefully along the pavement with her blades, and her eyes, shining with delight. Hers was the complete picture of joy and innocence. 
  207.34 +
  207.35 +"Oh, good morning, Sakura-chan.", Tomoyo replied softly, just above a whisper. Sakura looked at her friend puzzledly, she looked different somehow. Sakura thought to herself for a moment what's wrong with this picture. 
  207.36 +
  207.37 +Smile? Yup. Hairdo? Yup. Dress? Yup. Well everything seems fine, must have been my...oh wait, her eyes. 
  207.38 +
  207.39 +Tomoyo looked at Sakura, who was staring at her with knitted eyebrows. The pale girl gently poked her puzzled friend by the ribs, then giggled with the other girl's reaction. 
  207.40 +
  207.41 +"Sakura-chan, have anyone ever told you staring is not proper?", Tomoyo mused, still giggling at Sakura's reaction. 
  207.42 +
  207.43 +Shrugging, Sakura dismissed what she saw and went on with what she was going to tell Tomoyo. 
  207.44 +
  207.45 +"Tomoyo, I have some great news!", the excited girl said, once again gushing with her hands clasped over her chest, looking dreamily at the skies. Her face was heightened with a blush as she let out a dreamy sigh. 
  207.46 +
  207.47 +"What, what is it?", the other girl now growing in excitement for this "great news". 
  207.48 +
  207.49 +Sakura took Tomoyo's hands in her own, and held them over her chest. Green eyes met blue. The blue-eyed girl was held breathless at this moment as her friend closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sakura then opened her eyes, meeting Tomoyo's once again. 
  207.50 +
  207.51 +"Li-kun is back." 
  207.52 +
  207.53 +*** 
  207.54 +
  207.55 +Sakura sat uncomfortably inside the car. Tomoyo had sent her bodyguards to get her, to meet her friend over at the park. She can still remember how...different...Tomoyo's voice sounded over the phone. 
  207.56 +
  207.57 +"I need to tell you something. Please meet me." 
  207.58 +
  207.59 +Of course, that worried Sakura. She knew her friend pretty well, something must be really bothering her to have her sound like that. Sakura clasped her hands together on her lap and looked out the window, the night seemed like a haze, and she felt every minute of the ride pass like an eternity. 
  207.60 +
  207.61 +At last, they arrived at the park. Tomoyo's bodyguards escorted Sakura all the way to where her friend was waiting. Sakura looked at Tomoyo from a distance. "She looks fine", she thought, "I must have imagined her sounding...", and she trotted off to talk to her friend. 
  207.62 +
  207.63 +"Hey, Tomoyo-chan!", Sakura greeted, waving her hand over her head as she walked towards the dark-haired girl. Tomoyo looked over to Sakura, and all at once she was nailed to her tracks. Her eyes, something WAS wrong. 
  207.64 +
  207.65 +Sakura rushed to her friend's side, and when she was about to ask her, Tomoyo patted the place beside her on the bench. She complied, still worried with her friend's unusual disposition. 
  207.66 +
  207.67 +Uncomfortable silence was what Sakura had to deal with for a moment. Her green eyes were never taken off Tomoyo. She had no idea how to break the ice. Tomoyo was still seated beside her smiling and looking up at the night sky with those eyes of her, which seemed different somehow. 
  207.68 +
  207.69 +"Her eyes seems so...sad. God, I know I'm not imagining it this time.", Sakura thought. 
  207.70 +
  207.71 +Finally, Tomoyo turned to face Sakura, who felt a shiver run down her spine as her eyes met hers. The girl's skin seemed paler, as if illuminated by the night, she was still smiling, although emotions of sadness and loneliness can be seen. With her heart aching, Sakura found her voice and was not surprised of the slight croak which escaped her throat as she spoke: 
  207.72 +
  207.73 +"What's the matter, Tomoyo-chan, is...anything wrong?" 
  207.74 +
  207.75 +A moment passed, but the dark haired girl did not answer, all in that moment she was looking at Sakura intently, as if she is trying to remember every bit of detail on her friend's face. More and more Sakura felt frustrated, she felt like every second that Tomoyo looked at her, she was being burned and crushed. Grabbing her chest in discomfort, Sakura groaned and felt an urge to grab the other girl and demand for an answer. She did not have to do that though. 
  207.76 +
  207.77 +"Sakura-chan, are you happy with Li-kun?" 
  207.78 +
  207.79 +Startled at the question, Sakura was held speechless. She wasn't expecting Tomoyo to ask THAT question in a situation like this. Is she worried that Li is hurting her, is that why she seemed so sad? Sakura felt relieved and let out a sigh. 
  207.80 +
  207.81 +"Of course I am, Tomoyo-chan, is that what's been bothering you?" 
  207.82 +
  207.83 +The other girl looked down and clasped her hands together on her lap. Sakura thought she heard a sob but dismissed that as Tomoyo raised her head again, she still had the same expression on her face. Taking a deep breath, Tomoyo began with a sad tone: 
  207.84 +
  207.85 +"I'm leaving Sakura-chan." 
  207.86 +
  207.87 +Sakura felt blood pulsing throughout her body in a quickened pace. She had so many questions in her mind. So many questions that made everything seemed like a blur. She can't even make out Tomoyo's image in front of her now, but that wasn't because of the questions. It was because her eyes were tearing up. 
  207.88 +
  207.89 +"W-why?", stuttered Sakura. "Did I do anything wrong? Have I hurt you? Or has anyone hurt you? Don't worry, Tomoyo, I promise that we'll get that meanie together! Or did..." 
  207.90 +
  207.91 +Tomoyo's finger pressed on Sakura's lip before she could say anything more. Sakura could see the other girl's eyes starting to get teary too, but somehow she held it back. Feeling a soft hand brush on her cheek, Sakura realized that her own tears welled out. 
  207.92 +
  207.93 +"I just had to know that you are in good hands before I leave. I have just...received an academic scholarship abroad. I've...always wanted to see other places, Sakura-chan, other places to see, to put into tape, to be in my memories forever...", and Tomoyo's voice broke off. She started sobbing. Sakura leaned in to hug her friend, fighting the tears that are pouring down from her own eyes. 
  207.94 +
  207.95 +"I'm lying, Sakura-chan,", Tomoyo sobbed, then urged a smile on her lips. "I'm going away because...you already have your special someone. No, I'm not jealous, in fact, I'm happy for you. I'm always happy when you're happy, Sakura-chan. I just can't face the fact that someday you wont need me anymore. I thought I can, but now...I'm so sorry Sakura...I have to..." 
  207.96 +
  207.97 +And with that Tomoyo rose from the park bench and walked away. Sakura didn't move, she just stared as Tomoyo walked away. She felt her world fell apart with that sight. 
  207.98 +
  207.99 +"But Tomoyo," Sakura finally broke into rampant tears, "I wont be happy if you are gone." 
 207.100 +
 207.101 +*** 
 207.102 +
 207.103 +Her hands trembled as she held the receiver within her hands. She's been calling Tomoyo's house almost every hour this week, and she couldn't reach anyone who can give her a satisfying answer to where Tomoyo had gone to. 
 207.104 +
 207.105 +"I think she doesn't really want you to find her, wherever she is." Touya said as he sipped his tea. 
 207.106 +
 207.107 +"Shh!", Sakura hissed. Someone has picked up the phone. 
 207.108 +
 207.109 +"Hello, Daidouji residence, may I know..." 
 207.110 +
 207.111 +"Sonomi-sama!", Sakura exclaimed. She thought, "Finally, someone who can give me answers." 
 207.112 +
 207.113 +"Oh, Sakura-chan, how nice it is to hear from you.", said Sonomi, whose voice sounded as formal as ever. 
 207.114 +
 207.115 +"Uhm...Sonomi-sama, I was wondering, could you please tell me where Tomoyo went to? I mean, she told about the scholarship abroad and all, but I never got the chance to ask where.", asked Sakura with her voice and hands trembling over the phone. 
 207.116 +
 207.117 +"Sakura, I regret to tell you this. Before Tomoyo left, she has made us all promise that no word about her whereabouts should be told to anyone, not even you. She said that she had to get away from..." 
 207.118 +
 207.119 +Sakura wasn't able to hear the rest. The receiver dangled over the phone. She just found herself down on the floor on her knees and on the verge of tears. It was hopeless. 
 207.120 +
 207.121 +*** 
 207.122 +
 207.123 +Li stared worriedly at Sakura, whose back is turned from him. He had started noticing that Sakura has been skipping class, she has said she was sick, and she does look sick. The girl has become significantly thinner and paler, all the signs for a sick person. But what caught Li's attention is the changing behavior of Sakura's. She seemed so distant from him now. The poor boy always has always tried to get his girlfriend to talk about it, but she'd always dismiss the topic. Finally, Sakura called and asked Li to meet her in the park. 
 207.124 +
 207.125 +With the soft evening wind blowing against him, Li waited for Sakura to start. He wasn't really good in initiating conversations, moreover serious conversations. He stood there with his hands to his sides, looking at Sakura, and waited. Hearing a deep breath come from the girl, he knew that she was going to start. 
 207.126 +
 207.127 +Sakura turned around now, making Li's mouth drop open in shock. How can somebody change like that in a few week's time? The girl seemed much thinner, paler, with bags under her eyes, and... disturbed. Li's hands clenched to become fists on his sides as he stared at the person before him who was the mere shadow of his girlfriend. 
 207.128 +
 207.129 +"Sakura-chan, what happened?", these were the only words that came out from his confused mind. 
 207.130 +
 207.131 +Sakura didn't even blink. She was looking back at Li with her green eyes, that had lost their joyous gleam and replaced with a dull, hollow look. That sent shivers down Li's spine. He even thought if this "thing" before him was a clow card that was disguising as Sakura. Li grabbed Sakura by her shoulders and started shaking her. 
 207.132 +
 207.133 +"What are you?! What have you done to Sakura?!", growled Li as he continued to shake the "thing" before him. 
 207.134 +
 207.135 +The girl raised her hands to Li's chest, grabbing his collar and pulling him to her. That told Li that this was Sakura. She started crying on his chest, letting out muffled words that Li couldn't make out. Li embraced Sakura closer to him, trying to comfort his lover. Instead, Sakura pushed him away. The boy couldn't understand what was making Sakura do that, or what was she was trying to do. The browned hair girl took a while to stop crying, but when she did, she wore a very grim expression on her face. 
 207.136 +
 207.137 +"Li-kun, I can't be with you anymore." 
 207.138 +
 207.139 +Once again, Li's mouth dropped open. No words came out. He was utterly dumbfounded with the statement. He struggled for words to say, to ask, why can't the girl who he loves so much, can't be with him anymore. Before he could ask, Sakura started to explain, with her sobs starting to build up again. 
 207.140 +
 207.141 +"I thought I loved you, but...but...when Tomoyo left, I felt so empty. I felt so sad. I can't even look at myself in the mirror! I was so happy when she was still with me, but ever since she went away, I turned to be...like this. I thought that with you I can still be happy, but no. I need her. She's the love that I've always taken for granted...", and with those words, Sakura burst out crying. 
 207.142 +
 207.143 +Li didn't try to comfort her this time. He was crying as well. Fighting his tears, he took one last defense for his love for Sakura. 
 207.144 +
 207.145 +"But, Sakura-chan, m-maybe you're just feeling this way because you lost her. You're just missing her! We all feel that we want something badly when we have lost it. What we can't have is what we..." 
 207.146 +
 207.147 +"No!", Sakura interrupted, with her voice cracking in anger. "That's entirely besides the point! Yes, I have lost her, and I miss her. Because of that is why I've realized how much she means to me! I'm not saying that I don't need you, Li-kun...I'm saying that without her...I'm lonely. It's not the same way when you left...", she paused. Sakura saw that she was hurting Li. 
 207.148 +
 207.149 +"Sakura...I understand.", Li stammered with sobs wracking his voice. "If you're happier with loving Tomoyo, why should I get in the way? But, she's not here anymore, Sakura...what do you..." 
 207.150 +
 207.151 +"I'll wait. After all what she has done for me the least thing I could do for her is to wait. Wait for her return.", Sakura answered with a faint smile on her face. 
 207.152 +
 207.153 +**** 
 207.154 +
 207.155 +And now she's back. After years of loneliness, she was not about to let her go away this time. Afterall, she was given too much ample time alone with herself, to think. She had always needed her. She had always felt happiness being with her. Every little thing didn't seem to matter when Tomoyo was around. Sakura remembered all of the sleepless nights she spent in the years her beloved was gone. Is she with someone else? Whose arms is she in now? Does she even think of me? Sakura cursed herself silently and said: 
 207.156 +
 207.157 +"Stupid Sakura, you had everything in your reach and you let it go." 
 207.158 +
 207.159 +Her green eyes glimmered again as she watched Tomoyo disappear from the street into her apartment. She had to find out everything about Tomoyo by herself because everyone who actually knows something about the girl would hide it from her. So far she knew that Tomoyo has been back to Japan after graduating from some American university. It's been barely a week, and that she was living all on her own in a simple apartment building. Asides from that, she knew nothing else. 
 207.160 +
 207.161 +The young woman stepped out from the shadows, with a hint of determination on her face. 
 207.162 +
 207.163 +"I'm not going to make the same mistake again." 
 207.164 +
 207.165 +She marched right into the apartment building where Tomoyo stayed in. 
 207.166 +
 207.167 +**** 
 207.168 +
 207.169 +Pressing the doorbell more times than what a regular visitor should, Sakura didn't care. It was already late, and probably Tomoyo would be getting ready for bed, but Sakura didn't seem to realize that. She can't have this feeling inside of her any longer. 
 207.170 +
 207.171 +"Yes...", answered a drowsy voice behind the door. "Who is it?" 
 207.172 +
 207.173 +Sakura almost leapt out from her skin. That voice she hadn't heard for so long is finally back. It sounded a little different, nonetheless, she knew it was her. 
 207.174 +
 207.175 +"Tomoyo-chan, you may have forgotten me, but I'm...", she hesitated. She knew how much it would hurt if Tomoyo had forgotten her. She waited for a reply, but nothing came. Taking a deep breath, Sakura was about to open her mouth to say who she was, but the door swung open. 
 207.176 +
 207.177 +The next thing she saw was a beautiful young woman in front of her. Her soft dark hair almost fell down to her eyes, with the rest of it reaching far below her shoulders. The dark eyes she had always remembered were still the same, although with the mixed emotions of surprise and confusion. Sakura felt like melting away when she noticed Tomoyo was in a nightgown, she stood there, gaping. 
 207.178 +
 207.179 +"Sakura-chan?", Tomoyo asked with uncertainty in her voice. She rubbed her eyes a few times then stared again at the person before her. "No, this can't be Sakura.", she thought to herself. Tomoyo was looking at a person resembling the Sakura she remembered years ago, but this...this person, is different. Her skin was much paler, and she was thinner. Though her hair is of the same color as her friend's, neatly combed and styled, it reached down a little past her waist. Her mouth was curved into an expression of surprise. She would have been attractive if she wore anything else rather than the worn-out, grayish-blue coat of hers. Tomoyo thought that this would be Sakura if not of her eyes. Those eyes were completely different of Sakura's. This person's eyes were dull, empty, sad. Completely different of her friend's, which were lively, cheery, happy. "Completely different.", Tomoyo thought to herself again. 
 207.180 +
 207.181 +Sakura felt a smile tugging on her face. She felt a little discomfort, since she probably hadn't done that in years. The young woman couldn't explain the joy she felt inside. 
 207.182 +
 207.183 +"You remember me?", asked Sakura, feeling something get caught up in her throat. 
 207.184 +
 207.185 +Tomoyo's jaw dropped open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This person IS Sakura. In the same grace and elegance she had always possessed, she regained her composure then invited her old friend inside. Sakura bowed slightly as she walked in into Tomoyo's apartment. 
 207.186 +
 207.187 +**** 
 207.188 +
 207.189 +Sakura's green eyes roamed around the spacious apartment as she waited for Tomoyo to finish preparing tea. She noticed that Tomoyo hadn't finished unpacking yet, there were still boxes left unopened set besides the living room. The apartment was already presentable though. She couldn't help but notice the beautiful framed photographs hanging on the apartment's newly painted walls. She felt something familiar about the photographs. Something in particular caught her attention though. She stood up from her seat and came closer to look more closely at it. It was a photo of the playground in Penguin Park. Several children are in the picture, their youthful energy and innocence caught in the very life-like photograph. Sakura closed her eyes and brought back memories of her childhood with Tomoyo. Them walking along hand-in-hand in the Penguin Park, playing in its grounds, the night when Tomoyo said she had to leave...suddenly she felt warm tears flowing down from her cheeks. 
 207.190 +
 207.191 +"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?", asked Tomoyo as she walked into the living room carrying a tray with a pot of tea. 
 207.192 +
 207.193 +"Yes, I'm fine.", the brown-haired girl answered in her normal tone as she immediately wiped her tears away, then turned to face Tomoyo. 
 207.194 +
 207.195 +"Can I help you with those?", Sakura again said when she saw Tomoyo carrying the tray with difficulty towards the table. 
 207.196 +
 207.197 +"No, I can manage.", answered Tomoyo with a smile on her face as she set the tray down and began pouring hot tea into the cups she had with her. 
 207.198 +
 207.199 +Sakura went back to where she was sitting and looked at Tomoyo. The light which had disappeared from her green eyes years ago was slowly returning at the sight of her beloved. 
 207.200 +
 207.201 +"She didn't change a bit," she thought. "She's still as bit as beautiful and reserved as she was back then." 
 207.202 +
 207.203 +Tomoyo offered tea and Sakura graciously accepted. 
 207.204 +
 207.205 +The dark-haired girl didn't know how to start. She just sat there sipping and looking at Sakura sipping her tea. The years she had spent in a different country full of unfamiliar faces has given her a skill to start a conversation out of anything. Why must she lose it now, now when she needed it most. 
 207.206 +
 207.207 +Sakura didn't know how to start either. She wanted to tell Tomoyo how lonely she had been in the past years without her. She wanted to say how much she needed her, how stupid it was of her not to have realized it when Tomoyo was still around back then. But what would Tomoyo say? Wouldn't she be uncomfortable with having her old friend being in love with her? Sakura can't even tell if Tomoyo was still even her friend. She is the reason why Tomoyo left in the first place, and now, she's here, sitting with the person she drove away. Sakura sat with the disturbing thoughts running along her head. 
 207.208 +
 207.209 +"So, how's Li-kun?", Tomoyo finally managed to start. 
 207.210 +
 207.211 +"He's fine, I guess.", Sakura answered non-chalantly as she continued sipping her tea. "Him and Mei-ling are about to be married, as so he said in his letter." 
 207.212 +
 207.213 +Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock. She wasn't expecting that kind of answer. "No wonder Sakura looks so bothered.", she told herself. 
 207.214 +
 207.215 +Sakura saw the look on Tomoyo's face and immediately followed-up, "Don't worry, I'm the one who broke up with him." 
 207.216 +
 207.217 +The other girl sighed in relief. When she saw Sakura looking over at the photographs, she diverted the topic. 
 207.218 +
 207.219 +"I took those photos. What do you think?", Tomoyo asked quietly as she filled herself another cup. 
 207.220 +
 207.221 +Sakura looked at Tomoyo for a moment in awe. No doubt she's good. Really, really good. 
 207.222 +
 207.223 +"They're good. Especially the Penguin Park photo. Is it a hobby?", Sakura asked, her voice in a sudden increase of intensity as she finished her cup. 
 207.224 +
 207.225 +"No.", Tomoyo replied, smiling. "I took photography and film-making in New York during college." She gestured to refill her visitor's cup. 
 207.226 +
 207.227 +"Oh...I see. I don't see why I'm surprised. You are so obssessed with the film anyway.", Sakura commented as she nodded for a refill, smiling. 
 207.228 +
 207.229 +Tomoyo forced a laugh. Memories of the past came back to her. 
 207.230 +
 207.231 +"Yes, it seemed so silly when I was always go chasing you with camera back then.", mused the dark-haired girl. 
 207.232 +
 207.233 +"Back then. That phrase reminded Sakura of what she was in here for in the first place. But before she can go to that, Tomoyo remarked: 
 207.234 +
 207.235 +"You've changed so much, Sakura-chan." 
 207.236 +
 207.237 +"Sakura was held speechless. She then realized that truth of that remark. She so much wanted to answer, "You changed me.", but she didn't, instead: 
 207.238 +
 207.239 +"Time can do so much to a person, Tomoyo-chan, but you, you didn't change." 
 207.240 +
 207.241 +Sakura gently set her cup down. She waited for Tomoyo to talk, but she didn't. Sakura looked at her friend, and saw that she was waiting for her continue. And she continued. 
 207.242 +
 207.243 +"All these years since you've left I've been waiting for you to come back. I've wanted to apologize for driving you away like I have. I hated myself for it. I must admit, I almost all hope for you to come back. I never left home in the thought you'd send a letter. I never even changed my phone number in the hope that you would call.", Sakura paused. She saw confusion fleet across Tomoyo's beautiful face, but continued. 
 207.244 +
 207.245 +"Call me obssessed, maybe I am, maybe I am not. Because, Tomoyo-chan, when you left, I just felt how empty my world would be without you. You don't know how much hurt I felt when you said you were leaving because of me. All at once my world was shattered before me when I found out that you didn't even want me to ever find out about where you were. I felt so helpless...", her voice broke into a sob. Tomoyo rose from her seat and sat beside Sakura, embracing her in her arms. Sakura felt a void in her heart become filled with a warmth she cannot explain. To her, Tomoyo's arms were rapture. 
 207.246 +
 207.247 +"Sakura-chan, please don't cry. I'm so sorry I had to leave you. Now I feel so sad knowing that I had left you in sorrow. I thought that I had left you in good hands, with the person you love..." 
 207.248 +
 207.249 +"But you're the person I love, Tomoyo! Don't you understand that!?", Sakura blurted out with her face still buried on Tomoyo's chest. Instantly, Sakura felt Tomoyo froze while still holding her. The brown-haired girl immediately pulled away from her surprised companion. She heard Tomoyo utter a soft, "What?" 
 207.250 +
 207.251 +"Yes, Tomoyo, I love you. But please, don't be afraid, I mean...you don't have to, I don't expect you to love me back. I just want to be with you, whatever you want me to be, to be a friend, sister, mother, anything! Just being with you is enough for me...", Sakura desperately explained to Tomoyo as she wiped her tears that were streaming down her face. 
 207.252 +
 207.253 +Sakura looked at Tomoyo, expecting a frown. Instead, Tomoyo, smiled, then giggled, then burst out into heartfelt laughter. The other girl was downright confused. There she was, confessing her unconditional love for her, and she was laughing at her. 
 207.254 +
 207.255 +"What's so funny?", Sakura asked in an irritated tone. 
 207.256 +
 207.257 +Tomoyo shaked her head, her eyes now teary from too much laughter, then gestured for Sakura to come closer. Sakura complied. As the brown-haired girl leaned her head closer, Tomoyo had held her laughter. She looked at her friend's face seriously, then began talking. 
 207.258 +
 207.259 +"Sakura-chan, do you remember the time when I told you I love you but you didn't understand and I promised to tell you when we were older?" 
 207.260 +
 207.261 +Sakura dropped her jaw at what Tomoyo said, then she asked: 
 207.262 +
 207.263 +"You...you meant it...THAT way?", she asked rather dumbly. 
 207.264 +
 207.265 +Tomoyo once again fell into hysterical laughter. Only, this time, Sakura was with her. Both of the young women fell from their seats, down to the floor, both engrossed into boisterous laughter. 
 207.266 +
 207.267 +By the time they both laughed themselves out, their faces were red in too much laughter and could barely breathe. Sakura turned her head over to look at Tomoyo, who had both hands on her chest, trying to catch her breath. Rolling over to her side, Sakura found herself just above her beloved. 
 207.268 +
 207.269 +"I'm so sorry I had to let you go through with that, Tomoyo.", said Sakura as she caressed the other girl's cheek. 
 207.270 +
 207.271 +"And I'm sorry too for leaving you too, Sakura. I promise I will never leave you again.", answered Tomoyo, holding her newfound lover's hand against her cheek. 
 207.272 +
 207.273 +"And I promise I'll never hurt you again, Tomoyo-chan...", and Sakura's voice was broken as she leaned to kiss Tomoyo. 
 207.274 +
 207.275 +They both lost themselves to each other for the rest of night. 
 207.276 +
 207.277 +**** 
 207.278 +
 207.279 +Sakura turned around on bed and was surprised to feel a warm body beside her. She opened her eyes and saw the sleeping face of Tomoyo. Sakura was thoughtful for a moment, then realized what happened the night before. 
 207.280 +
 207.281 +"I wasn't dreaming after all...", Sakura whispered as she stared at Tomoyo's sleeping figure. 
 207.282 +
 207.283 +Pale hands started stroking Tomoyo's dark hair. Sakura can't believe that she was with her beloved now, with Tomoyo. All of her pain and sorrow didn't seem to have existed at all. She's with her now, that's all that matters. 
 207.284 +
 207.285 +Tomoyo slowly opened her eyes and found Sakura looking at her. The dark-haired beauty smiled and greeted her lover a good morning. 
 207.286 +
 207.287 +Sakura sat up and looked at her long brown hair draped across her body. She looked at Tomoyo and asked: 
 207.288 +
 207.289 +"Tomoyo-chan, would you like to cut my hair like you used to, or would you have it long like this?", she asked while running her own hand through her hair. 
 207.290 +
 207.291 +Tomoyo's eyes blinked and run a hand through Sakura's hair and said: 
 207.292 +
 207.293 +"You'd look beautiful either way." 
 207.294 +
 207.295 +Sakura smiled. She didn't expect it to be like this, probably neither did Tomoyo. 
 207.296 +
 207.297 +"I guess the best things in life are the unexpected.", she thought to herself, then nodded to the girl she will love for all of eternity. 
 207.298 +
 207.299 +~The End~ 
 207.300 +
 207.301 +***** 
 207.302 +
 207.303 +"Woohoo! Finally! Finished! I had my mother nagging me over the comp as I was typing this. That helped, I like noisy environments when I write. 
 207.304 +
 207.305 +"Maybe when I get another idea for a fic, you'll hear from me again. 
 207.306 +
 207.307 +Until then, See ya. (K-cha!) 
 207.308 +

   208.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   208.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-whatis.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   208.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1166 @@
   208.4 +Author’s notes: Hello! ^-^ I’m sorry this took so long. ^^;; I’d
   208.5 +wanted to write this for a while, so I’m glad to have finally written
   208.6 +it. ^-^ It’s basically a chance for me to show two ideas that have
   208.7 +been on my mind a lot lately. The first is that Tomoyo would love
   208.8 +Sakura no matter what, because her love is so sweet and pure. I think
   208.9 +she’s a lesbian, yes, but I think she would love Sakura even if
  208.10 +Sakura were a boy. Her love isn’t just a trivial thing. And the
  208.11 +second thing is that I think most of Sakura’s denseness about Tomoyo
  208.12 +lies in the fact that she plays into her gender role. Sakura can be
  208.13 +incredibly naïve about things, especially Tomoyo’s feelings for her.
  208.14 +For Sakura, she knows that boys get with girls and girls get with
  208.15 +boys. Because it’s just the way things work. She has no problem with
  208.16 +it when it doesn’t work that way like with Yukito and Touya, but she
  208.17 +doesn’t realize that she could love a girl, hence why she never
  208.18 +realizes Tomoyo’s perfect for her. ^^;; But anyway, I think that
  208.19 +would be different if she were a boy because she would see very early
  208.20 +on that Tomoyo was a potential love interest. Anyway, that’s enough
  208.21 +of my rambling. ^-^;; I’ve been having a lot of trouble lately, so
  208.22 +I’ve been writing this in the meantime. If you have any comments, I
  208.23 +would love to hear them. ^-^ Thank you! Oh, and I modeled the end
  208.24 +after the episodes of the series, right down to the Kero-chan’s
  208.25 +Corner and the Next Episode spot. ^-^;;; I just thought it would be
  208.26 +fun to add. ^-^
  208.27 +
  208.28 +
  208.29 +What is Love
  208.30 +by the Amazoness Duo
  208.31 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  208.32 +
  208.33 +
  208.34 +
  208.35 +	Cherry blossoms swirled about above the ground as if dancing to a
  208.36 +tune that only they could hear. A single auburn haired boy moved
  208.37 +along to the silent music as he made his way to school, skating along
  208.38 +gracefully. Skidding in a slow circle, he continued backwards for a
  208.39 +moment. There was something about the morning that made him feel
  208.40 +peaceful inside. School couldn’t dampen his spirits any. How could it
  208.41 +when it meant he’d get to see his friends and play soccer that
  208.42 +afternoon? And, of course, she would be there. A light blush crossed
  208.43 +his cheeks at the thought. He tried to force it away but he couldn’t
  208.44 +help it. “Hanyaan...” he sighed happily to himself. She always made
  208.45 +school worthwhile. She made everything seem worthwhile. Even the
  208.46 +crazy costumes she made him wear. But if it made her happy, he’d
  208.47 +gladly wear whatever she wanted. 
  208.48 +	Smiling to himself, Sakura hurried with renewed determination to
  208.49 +reach school, ignoring his dancing namesake along the way. School was
  208.50 +a much more pleasant experience when a pretty girl was waiting for
  208.51 +you. His hands on the straps of his backpack, Sakura skidded towards
  208.52 +the large gates. “Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura called brightly,
  208.53 +slowing to a stop near his friend. 
  208.54 +	“Ohayo, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo replied, smiling her trademark smile.
  208.55 +“A perfect arrival, as usual. The girls must all be thrilled with
  208.56 +Sakura-chan’s cute and cool arrival.”
  208.57 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura blushed and rubbed the back of his head,
  208.58 +averting his gaze. Why did she have to say so many embarrassing
  208.59 +things all the time? He should get used to it, but she always managed
  208.60 +to embarrass him anyway. Ignoring that for the moment, he glanced
  208.61 +back at the pale girl to see what hairstyle she had for the day. Her
  208.62 +hair was done up in two highly decorated pigtails, blue ribbons
  208.63 +adorning them. One pigtail fell in front of her while the other lay
  208.64 +draped over her backpack. Absolutely beautiful. Smiling and blushing
  208.65 +faintly, Sakura slowly skated alongside his friend towards the front
  208.66 +doors. 
  208.67 +	“Sakura-chan looks so cute like that,” Tomoyo said with a sigh, a
  208.68 +hand resting on her cheek. “I got some more videotape last night.
  208.69 +Would you mind letting me videotape you some more later?” she asked
  208.70 +eagerly. 
  208.71 +	Sakura sweatdropped at his eccentric friend’s enthusiasm. “Sure, I
  208.72 +guess. But I don’t know why you’d want to videotape me. You should
  208.73 +really videotape something a little more interesting.”
  208.74 +	“But there isn’t anything more interesting or more handsome than
  208.75 +Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo smiled brightly, a slight blush on her cheeks as
  208.76 +she looked off distantly. She could see Sakura looking around in
  208.77 +embarrassment, but that only served to spur her on. He looked so cute
  208.78 +when he was embarrassed. If only she could catch that on video. Oh
  208.79 +well, there was always next time. “I have the cutest costume for you,
  208.80 +too. I can’t wait to see you try it on. My inspiration for this one
  208.81 +was seeing you waving at those penguins at the zoo.” Seeing Sakura
  208.82 +blink in response, Tomoyo continued. “Sakura-chan will make the
  208.83 +cutest penguin.” ‘There,’ the pale girl thought to herself happily as
  208.84 +Sakura shook his arms, his embarrassment growing. Tomoyo simply
  208.85 +sighed delightedly as she continued towards her locker. 
  208.86 +	“Hoe... A penguin?” Sakura sighed in defeat. He had learned long
  208.87 +ago that it was pointless to argue about the costumes. Tomoyo knew
  208.88 +him far too well. The pale girl easily got him to wear whatever she
  208.89 +wanted him to. Besides, he’d worn worse than a penguin costume
  208.90 +before. And at least he wouldn’t be capturing Cards in this one. And
  208.91 +Tomoyo would be the only one to see it, so it wouldn’t be that big a
  208.92 +deal. “When do you want me to come over?” he asked, getting over his
  208.93 +initial shock swiftly.
  208.94 +	“After soccer practice would be nice. You’ll probably be tired
  208.95 +after that, so I’ll call and make sure the limousine’s ready. I
  208.96 +already brought a fresh videotape to catch your soccer game today, so
  208.97 +I’ll record everything on the new tape. From Sakura-chan darting
  208.98 +across the field in his handsome soccer uniform to Sakura playing by
  208.99 +the poolside in his cute penguin costume, I will catch every precious
 208.100 +moment on videotape, and seal it all forever in my heart.” Tomoyo
 208.101 +tilted her head to the side, starry eyed. Today was already turning
 208.102 +out to be a wonderful day. She always loved going to Sakura’s soccer
 208.103 +games. She never really cared what was happening in the game itself.
 208.104 +Her eyes never left the auburn haired boy on the field anyway. It was
 208.105 +just fun to watch him with such determination, running all about. It
 208.106 +was much the same when she got to watch him capture Cards, though
 208.107 +that was even more fun because Sakura got to double as a life-sized
 208.108 +doll to dress up as well. But not only did she get to record his
 208.109 +soccer game, but she would also get to dress him up in her newest
 208.110 +costume. Tomoyo got out her books in a state of bliss. 
 208.111 +	“If you say so, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said quickly, a hand behind
 208.112 +his head. Tomoyo had him wrapped around her little finger and he knew
 208.113 +it. But what could he do about it? Not that he wanted to do anything
 208.114 +about it anyway. He was very comfortable this way. Even if Tomoyo did
 208.115 +delight in making him blush. “Oh, good morning, Li-kun!” Sakura waved
 208.116 +brightly to his perpetually scowling rival. He was happy to be
 208.117 +friends with the other boy now, though Syaoran was very difficult to
 208.118 +get close to. The other boy blushed and went the other way in a
 208.119 +hurry. “Hmm... I wonder what’s wrong with Li-kun. I hope he’s not
 208.120 +sick.”
 208.121 +	Giggling next to her naïve friend, Tomoyo smiled sweetly. “Sakura-
 208.122 +chan’s so handsome and cool that even the boys like him,” she
 208.123 +explained, watching her cute friend intently with her lavender eyes.
 208.124 +Sakura simply blinked in confusion at her statement. “Maybe I’ll tell
 208.125 +Sakura-chan when he’s older,” she said reassuringly as she hoisted up
 208.126 +her backpack.
 208.127 +	“Let me get that for you, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura said quickly after
 208.128 +shaking off his confusion. He took Tomoyo’s backpack, following her
 208.129 +to class. The dark haired girl always looked so fragile, so petite.
 208.130 +So Sakura was happy to carry her bags for her. Tomoyo was like a
 208.131 +beautiful princess, kind and sweet to everyone, especially Sakura.
 208.132 +And princesses shouldn’t have to worry about things like bookbags. 
 208.133 +	“Thank you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said in her pretty, singsong
 208.134 +voice. Walking slowly, she made her way to class. If the athletic boy
 208.135 +noticed her slowed pace, he didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to
 208.136 +miss a moment of his presence. 
 208.137 +
 208.138 +	Pulling on the shirt of his soccer uniform, Sakura looked down at
 208.139 +the gym bag next to him. Inside was a beautifully crafted pink and
 208.140 +violet teddy bear. It was Sakura’s good luck charm. He picked up the
 208.141 +small teddy bear and held it close. It still smelled of lavenders,
 208.142 +just like Tomoyo. Sighing softly, the Master of the Cards closed his
 208.143 +eyes. Tomoyo had given him this lovely gift several weeks ago. He had
 208.144 +taken it with him to every one of his games sense, and kept it with
 208.145 +him in bed every night. He was almost worried that it would start to
 208.146 +get frayed if he kept that up. But he wanted it there with him
 208.147 +wherever he went. It was his most precious gift, something that was
 208.148 +very dear to him. He had treasured it from the instant Tomoyo had
 208.149 +given it to him.
 208.150 +	The myth of the teddy bears kept coming back to Sakura when he
 208.151 +would think about the little teddy bear. He had heard that if you
 208.152 +made a teddy bear and gave it to the person you liked, then if they
 208.153 +named it after you, you would both fall in love. It was a very cute
 208.154 +myth, and something he had heard Tomoyo explain before. So did that
 208.155 +mean this was for that purpose? Just in case, Sakura had immediately
 208.156 +named it after the pale girl. So her little teddy bear, Tomoyo, was
 208.157 +with her whenever her best friend, Tomoyo, couldn’t be. But was their
 208.158 +truth to the myth?
 208.159 +	Sakura had been trying to ask Tomoyo out for the past week. But
 208.160 +every time he wanted to, he lost the nerve. He could talk to Tomoyo
 208.161 +about anything, but seeing her smile so prettily and asking what he
 208.162 +wanted to talk about always made him nervous when he was about to ask
 208.163 +her. What would she say? Did she like him? Well, that one kind of
 208.164 +seemed a given with how she talked about him. Actually, he was pretty
 208.165 +sure of that. And that gave him some courage to ask Tomoyo, but he
 208.166 +still couldn’t quite figure out what to say. She always had such
 208.167 +faith in him. What if it sounded stupid? Or worse, what if he
 208.168 +couldn’t get it out at all? He wanted to tell her how he felt before
 208.169 +someone else did, but he didn’t know how. 
 208.170 +	Sighing, Sakura placed his teddy bear back in his gym bag. Emerald
 208.171 +eyes sparkling determinedly, Sakura hurried towards the field. Tomoyo
 208.172 +would be watching, so he had to try his hardest for her. And then,
 208.173 +tonight, maybe he could tell her that he liked her. Besides, Tomoyo
 208.174 +was always there supporting him. She would help him through it, no
 208.175 +matter how nervous he could get looking into those stormy blue eyes.
 208.176 +Vowing to himself that he would tell Tomoyo that night, he ran the
 208.177 +rest of the way to the soccer field.
 208.178 +
 208.179 +	“Sakura-chan looks so cute!!” Tomoyo squealed delightedly as she
 208.180 +zoomed in on her best friend. Before her stood a forlorn looking
 208.181 +penguin, it’s arms hanging at its sides. Sakura was looking back at
 208.182 +the camcorder, his face a mask of embarrassment. Tomoyo took a few
 208.183 +steps to the side to get another viewpoint. Reaching forward, she put
 208.184 +a finger on Sakura’s lips, drawing them up into a smile. “Much better!”
 208.185 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura mumbled as Tomoyo’s finger pressed near his
 208.186 +lips. How did he let himself get talked into this? Oh yeah, Tomoyo
 208.187 +thought it was a good idea. That was generally all it took for Sakura
 208.188 +to do what Tomoyo wanted. Tomoyo was so nice and sweet that it was
 208.189 +hard not to do what she wanted. And the pale girl’s beautiful smile
 208.190 +more than made up for the discomfort of wearing a penguin costume. As
 208.191 +long as no one at school ever saw this videotape.
 208.192 +	“Mr. Penguin sure has come a long way from the south pole. But I
 208.193 +hope he never has to leave.” Stepping around the embarrassed Sakura,
 208.194 +Tomoyo continued to videotape her friend. “Sakura-chan is such a shy
 208.195 +boy, isn’t he? But I don’t mind. It means he gets to be my model
 208.196 +alone.”
 208.197 +	“Ano.. Tomoyo-chan, was there anything else you wanted me to try on
 208.198 +while I’m here?” Sakura interrupted. Though he wouldn’t admit it
 208.199 +unless Tomoyo prodded him, he did enjoy being Tomoyo’s model. His
 208.200 +mother had been a model for many years. Though he was a lot shyer
 208.201 +than his mother, he did enjoy modeling the pale girl’s outfits for
 208.202 +her. Especially with how thrilled Tomoyo always was to videotape him
 208.203 +in new things. It made him feel special to hear her in such delight.
 208.204 +Tomoyo made him feel special with everything she said and did. 
 208.205 +	Her hand on her chin, Tomoyo stood in thought for a moment. “Well,
 208.206 +there is one more costume that I’ve nearly finished. It wouldn’t take
 208.207 +more than a few minutes to sew on the last bit.” She continued to
 208.208 +scratch her chin thoughtfully as she recorded her cute penguin
 208.209 +attired best friend. 
 208.210 +	“That sounds great. I’ll just change out of this while I wait for
 208.211 +you to finish, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said energetically. It would be a
 208.212 +little awkward, he was sure, but it couldn’t be worse than the
 208.213 +penguin costume, adorable as it was. And if it made Tomoyo happy, so
 208.214 +much the better. Besides, he just wanted to do everything he could
 208.215 +for his eccentric friend. His heart swelled as he replayed the words
 208.216 +again and again in his head. ‘Tomoyo-chan, I have something I want to
 208.217 +tell you..’ he began again.
 208.218 +	“All right. Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. I can’t wait to see you
 208.219 +in it! You’ll be so cute, I know it.” Bowing to Sakura, the pale girl
 208.220 +turned and led Sakura back into the house before disappearing into
 208.221 +her room. She was eager to see Sakura in her new costume. It was a
 208.222 +little different from the other ones she had made over the years, but
 208.223 +she had no doubt that Sakura would pull it off perfectly.
 208.224 +Sakura headed to the bathroom where his school uniform was still
 208.225 +waiting. He pulled the shorts on first, glad to be out of the goofy
 208.226 +albeit extremely cute penguin costume. It was nice to be a normal boy
 208.227 +again and not a lost penguin. Smiling, he pulled on his shirt as he
 208.228 +wondered what exotic design Tomoyo’s new design would be. 
 208.229 +
 208.230 +“Kawaii!! Sakura-chan is so pretty! You put all the girls to shame,
 208.231 +Sakura-chan!”
 208.232 +Sakura stared at the videocamera with a mortified look on his face.
 208.233 +He was in a beautiful blue dress with a long white apron, a la Alice
 208.234 +in Wonderland. Long, white stocking ran up his legs, disappearing
 208.235 +under the frilly skirt. He had cute pink ribbons in his hair and
 208.236 +small, pale blue gloves. “To..To..moyo-chan...” he got out weakly,
 208.237 +his face crimson as he finally worked up enough thought to try and
 208.238 +cover himself from the relentless camcorder. Tomoyo simply
 208.239 +sidestepped, getting a good look at his side. 
 208.240 +“I knew you’d make a beautiful girl, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said
 208.241 +excitedly, a hand resting on her cheek. “You’re even prettier than
 208.242 +all of the girls at school.” Sighing happily to herself, Tomoyo
 208.243 +reached down and smoothed out the skirt a little more. Her darling
 208.244 +Sakura made a very handsome boy, but he also made a gorgeous girl.
 208.245 +Blushing, Tomoyo stood back up to videotape some more. She wanted to
 208.246 +have plenty of this for later. Sakura was just too cute not to
 208.247 +capture every instant. 
 208.248 +“Do.. Do you really think so?” Sakura asked curiously, turning his
 208.249 +face to watch the pale girl. He blushed deeper when he saw her nod.
 208.250 +It was bizarre, certainly, but he found himself very happy to hear
 208.251 +that she thought he was prettier than the girls at school. It wasn’t
 208.252 +something he had ever thought about before, but it was nice to know
 208.253 +all the same. Especially if Tomoyo thought so. The lavender haired
 208.254 +girl disappeared out of his line of sight after a moment and he
 208.255 +whirled to catch sight of her, the long skirt flowing around him. He
 208.256 +blushed and held it down tightly, not wanting anything to get caught
 208.257 +on videotape. Tomoyo had given him a pair of panties to wear as well,
 208.258 +saying that it was to keep everything authentic. He blushed deeper as
 208.259 +he wondered if they were Tomoyo’s. He shook his head quickly, trying
 208.260 +to concentrate on the moment. But that wasn’t helping either. He was
 208.261 +currently dressed up in girls’ clothes, so thinking about the moment
 208.262 +probably wasn’t the way to go. 
 208.263 +“Of course I do. You’re so beautiful, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered
 208.264 +gently, brushing Sakura’s bangs away from his eyes. She smiled at
 208.265 +him, no more than a few inches away. He really did look like a girl.
 208.266 +If Tomoyo didn’t know better, she would have been sure he was. Her
 208.267 +mind was already fast at work on other cute designs for her friend.
 208.268 +This little experiment had proven a brilliant success. Sakura was
 208.269 +cute in boys’ clothes and girls’ clothes. It opened up Tomoyo’s
 208.270 +costume designs to as of yet unknown heights. She was already excited
 208.271 +with the possibilities. “You’ll have to let me videotape you wearing
 208.272 +one of my school uniforms sometime,” Tomoyo stated simply, drawing
 208.273 +another dark blush from the boy she loved. He was just so cute.
 208.274 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whined, unable to look away from Tomoyo’s
 208.275 +pretty lavender eyes. There was a small thrill about the whole thing.
 208.276 +Tomoyo obviously seemed to like it. Besides, wasn’t this the whole
 208.277 +reason he dressed up in Tomoyo’s designs anyway, because the dark
 208.278 +haired girl wanted him to? So how was this different from dressing up
 208.279 +as a penguin? Because he wasn’t crossdressing as the penguin! “This
 208.280 +isn’t much like dressing up as a penguin, Tomoyo-chan,” he said weakly.
 208.281 +The heiress looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling. “I never
 208.282 +said if you were a boy penguin or a girl penguin. You could have been
 208.283 +dressed as a girl penguin. In which case, it’s exactly the same
 208.284 +thing, Tomoyo surmised. Sakura simply sweatdropped as her reply.
 208.285 +Tomoyo sighed exquisitely at the beautiful sight before her. “I
 208.286 +always knew you were handsome, Sakura-chan. But you’re also gorgeous.” 
 208.287 +Sakura could only blush deeper in response, finally pulling his eyes
 208.288 +away from Tomoyo as he stared down at stocking clad legs and cute
 208.289 +buckled shoes. He could hear Tomoyo walking around him, videotaping
 208.290 +this whole disturbing event for later viewing. “Could you lay down on
 208.291 +your stomach? If you could lift a leg into the air and place your
 208.292 +chin in your hands when you do, that would be so cute!” she heard
 208.293 +Tomoyo say. Sighing deeply, Sakura went to comply with his best
 208.294 +friend’s request. At least no one would ever see this. His brother
 208.295 +would never let him hear the end of it if he only knew.
 208.296 +
 208.297 +Finally back in his school uniform, Sakura sat on Tomoyo’s bed while
 208.298 +the lavender haired girl busily set about labeling her tape and
 208.299 +finding a spot for it amongst her huge collection of Sakura tapes.
 208.300 +Sakura was a little surprised to see himself all over his friend’s
 208.301 +room. This wasn’t his first time there, but he always found himself
 208.302 +surprised to see more and more of himself up whenever he went. There
 208.303 +were pictures of him all over as well as Tomoyo’s expansive videotape
 208.304 +collection. Her otherwise pristine desk was cluttered in only one
 208.305 +place, on Tomoyo desk with all of her costume designs. And even that
 208.306 +was an organized chaos. Everything seemed in place even as design
 208.307 +after design got stacked up on her desk. Sakura smiled as he saw a
 208.308 +picture of himself and Tomoyo in kimonos next to Tomoyo’s bed.
 208.309 +Tomoyo’s mother, Sonomi, had taken that picture a while back. Sakura
 208.310 +had been worried about how it would turn out, but Tomoyo had told him
 208.311 +that he was always cute so he shouldn’t worry about it. Turning to
 208.312 +look for his eccentric best friend, he could spy her kneeling before
 208.313 +her videotape collection, looking for the spot for her newest tape.
 208.314 +Tomoyo really was beautiful. Everything about her was so graceful,
 208.315 +almost as if it were all planned out. The pale girl looked so
 208.316 +delicate, her long lavender hair flowing behind her in those
 208.317 +beautiful pigtails. Sakura felt happy to be able to spend this time
 208.318 +with his friend. 
 208.319 +“When do you have to be home, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked curiously
 208.320 +as she stood up and walked back towards the auburn haired boy. She
 208.321 +had known he was watching her, but hadn’t wanted to embarrass him
 208.322 +about it. And she was thrilled to have his eyes on her. She was
 208.323 +always happy to have his attention. 
 208.324 +“Probably pretty soon. It’s my night to cook because onii-chan has
 208.325 +to work.” Sakura sighed, his hands behind his head. He didn’t want to
 208.326 +go home. Staying with Tomoyo sounded infinitely better than making
 208.327 +dinner.
 208.328 +“I’ll make sure the limousine can take you back home, then. You ran
 208.329 +so hard at soccer that I’m surprised you can move at all anymore.”
 208.330 +Tomoyo smiled at her weary best friend, rubbing his shoulders gently.
 208.331 +Sakura blushed at Tomoyo’s touch, looking around the large room.
 208.332 +“Un, but I wanted to play my best because you were watching me. I
 208.333 +wanted it to be a good game for you.” Fidgeting a bit, Sakura looked
 208.334 +down at his shoe, trying to concentrate on anything other than the
 208.335 +girl behind him.
 208.336 +“You played really well, Sakura-chan. But I like watching all of
 208.337 +your games, even when you’re distracted,” Tomoyo chirped up brightly.
 208.338 +“You’re always so cute out there on the field, kicking the ball
 208.339 +around everywhere. I love watching you.” A soft sigh drifted to the
 208.340 +auburn haired boy’s ear as Tomoyo continued rubbing his shoulders. 
 208.341 +“Tomoyo-chan, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a
 208.342 +while,” Sakura got out nervously, finally getting himself to look up.
 208.343 +He turned to face Tomoyo, looking into her sparkling blue eyes. “I..
 208.344 +You’ve always been my best friend and.. It’s always so nice when
 208.345 +you..” Sakura bit his lip, trying to decide what to say. It had all
 208.346 +sounded so much easier in his thoughts on the drive up. 
 208.347 +Tomoyo tilted her head to the side thoughtfully as she watched
 208.348 +Sakura struggling. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a cloud of
 208.349 +butterflies as she slowly realized what Sakura was trying to say.
 208.350 +“Yes, Sakura-chan?” she asked helpfully. “You know you can tell me
 208.351 +anything.” ‘And if you want to tell me what I think you do, then
 208.352 +there is absolutely nothing for you to fear because I love you with
 208.353 +all of my heart.’
 208.354 +“I really, really like you, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out at last,
 208.355 +his cheeks flushing as he looked at her. It took all of his will to
 208.356 +keep from averting his gaze. “More than anything or anyone. I’m just
 208.357 +so happy when I’m with you. I always feel so.. hanyaan. And I’ve been
 208.358 +thinking a lot since you gave me the teddy bear and all and I was
 208.359 +hoping that you might feel the same way and..” Sakura finally paused
 208.360 +to take a breath. “Will you go out with me, Tomoyo-chan?” His heart
 208.361 +froze as he waited for a reply. His reply came in the form of
 208.362 +Tomoyo’s arms wrapping tightly around him. A slow smile spread across
 208.363 +his face as he relaxed against the lavender haired girl.
 208.364 +“I would love to go out with you, Sakura-chan! More than anything
 208.365 +else in the world. Of course I like you. I always have. I’ve always
 208.366 +loved you, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo’s heart nearly burst with the love
 208.367 +that wanted to escape to Sakura at the auburn haired boy’s lovely
 208.368 +words. She hugged him tightly, sighing. It was like the most
 208.369 +beautiful dream imaginable come true. She had hoped that she might be
 208.370 +Sakura’s special someone, that she might be the one to make him
 208.371 +happy. And now that he had spoken it, she felt deliriously happy, as
 208.372 +if she had been placed directly in the path of a tornado. It swept
 208.373 +her up with rapid and intense force, throwing her around in its
 208.374 +strength and ferocity. “Oh, Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo whispered
 208.375 +delightedly. 
 208.376 +“Tomoyo-chan.. Arigato gozimasu!” Sakura stood up quickly, smiling
 208.377 +brightly. “I’ll try to come up with some place nice to take you, I
 208.378 +promise,” he said, bowing.
 208.379 +“I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,” Tomoyo responded with her
 208.380 +trademark smile. 
 208.381 +Sakura blushed and nodded quickly. “Un.. I’ll see you tomorrow,
 208.382 +Tomoyo-chan! Thank you!!” He hugged the pale girl again, fighting the
 208.383 +urge to stay that way when Tomoyo’s hands began stroking his back
 208.384 +warmly. But he knew if he stayed he would never be home in time to
 208.385 +finish dinner. And he was had to find the perfect place to take
 208.386 +Tomoyo on their date. Determination glinting in his eyes, he smiled
 208.387 +to Tomoyo before heading to the door. “Bye, Tomoyo-chan!!”
 208.388 +“Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo waved to the athletic boy as he
 208.389 +hurried out her door. Sighing deliciously, Tomoyo collapsed on her
 208.390 +bed. Sakura had asked her out. He had finally asked her out. Her one,
 208.391 +true love liked her. Life was, indeed, full of very pleasant
 208.392 +surprises, especially when Sakura was involved. “Hanyaan,” she
 208.393 +whispered, taking a cue from Sakura. 
 208.394 +
 208.395 +“He really is cute in a dress,” Sonomi admitted, tilting her head to
 208.396 +the side. “He doesn’t look much like Nadeshiko-chan, but those eyes
 208.397 +are so much like hers. You can tell he’s her daughter. I mean, her
 208.398 +son.” The elder Daidouji woman shook her head as she sat with her
 208.399 +daughter, watching the younger girl’s latest tape. Sonomi often
 208.400 +enjoyed watching them with Tomoyo, thrilled to get a glimpse of
 208.401 +Nadeshiko’s youngest son. Nadeshiko’s curious eccentricities even
 208.402 +showed through in her son’s strange name. And aside from getting
 208.403 +glimpses of Nadeshiko’s child, it was the perfect time to spend
 208.404 +together with her own daughter. 
 208.405 +“Hai, very cute. I want to see if he’ll let me videotape him in my
 208.406 +school uniform,” Tomoyo commented, brushing back some dark hair from
 208.407 +her eyes. She was still in a daze about earlier, but she had been
 208.408 +eager to show her latest video to her mother. She was certain Sonomi
 208.409 +would enjoy it the same way she did. “He makes a very cute girl.” Her
 208.410 +hand went to her chin thoughtfully. “He makes a very cute girl and a
 208.411 +very cute boy. Sakura-chan is cute no matter which gender he is.”
 208.412 +Sonomi laughed softly as she watched the camera angle change. “I’d
 208.413 +have to say he’s a little cuter as a girl. If he wasn’t standing so
 208.414 +awkwardly it would be impossible to tell. Maybe you can make him
 208.415 +dress that way after you start dating. And I think it would be
 208.416 +adorable if you can videotape him in your school uniform. You’ll have
 208.417 +to show me that tape as soon as you get it.”
 208.418 +“Hai, okaa-sama. I hope I can get it soon myself. And it would be
 208.419 +cute if he’d let me dress him like that on our dates. But I’ll
 208.420 +probably have to wait a little while before he will. Sakura-chan can
 208.421 +be so shy, so I want to wait a little while. I’m just so happy to be
 208.422 +dating him in the first place. He’s so perfect. I love him so much.”
 208.423 +Watching her lovesick daughter, Sonomi smiled. She was happy to see
 208.424 +Tomoyo in love. It reminded her so much of when she had been younger
 208.425 +with her cousin, Sakura’s mother, Nadeshiko. And seeing her daughter
 208.426 +so excited did her heart good. Her daughter’s happiness was one of
 208.427 +the most important things to her. It was so nice to see her about to
 208.428 +start dating. And Nadeshiko’s son, no less. It was almost like Fate
 208.429 +had arranged the whole thing. So maybe Sonomi could stop hating Fate
 208.430 +so much. Maybe just a little bit. “I know, dear. I know.” Sonomi
 208.431 +pulled Tomoyo to her side, feeling Tomoyo’s heart beating swiftly.
 208.432 +Bending down, she kissed her daughter’s forehead, resting her head on
 208.433 +Tomoyo’s as she went back to watching the tape. 
 208.434 +
 208.435 +“Hoe...” Pacing the length of his room, Sakura nearly walked
 208.436 +directly into the wall. Reeling back, the startled boy’s shoulders
 208.437 +slumped and a sigh escaped him. His thoughts were moving along the
 208.438 +same lines as his body, moving all around but getting nowhere but
 208.439 +dead ends. Flopping down on his bed, the auburn haired boy stared up
 208.440 +at the rood. He’d been struggling with his thoughts for the past two
 208.441 +hours. Giddiness still burst through him whenever he thought back to
 208.442 +the fact that his angelic best friend had agreed to go out with him.
 208.443 +But that only strengthened his determination to find the perfect
 208.444 +place to take her. But where? What could be perfect for a date with
 208.445 +such a perfect girl? ‘I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,’ Tomoyo
 208.446 +had said. And Sakura didn’t doubt the eccentric heiress for a moment.
 208.447 +But he couldn’t let that stop him from finding out where to take his
 208.448 +new girlfriend.  Clenching his fists and narrowing his vision, Sakura
 208.449 +got back to work.
 208.450 +“This is too hard! I can’t think of anything. Tomoyo-chan is so much
 208.451 +better at these things than I am,” Sakura lamented just a short time
 208.452 +later. And it was true. Tomoyo was usually the one to invite him
 208.453 +places or the one who could figure out difficult details such as the
 208.454 +one Sakura found himself pondering. He knew that she could think up
 208.455 +someplace for the two of them to go. But that was his job, wasn’t it?
 208.456 +Or was it? The lavender haired girl always did such a better job at
 208.457 +figuring these kinds of things out, even if it did get him in some
 208.458 +awkward situations like the penguin fiasco earlier. But still... He
 208.459 +had asked her out. He should come up with where he was going to take
 208.460 +her. He couldn’t exactly call her up and ask her to decide for him. 
 208.461 +Rolling onto his stomach, Sakura hugged his pillow, his legs moving
 208.462 +absentmindedly in the air. A movie? No, that didn’t sound good. How
 208.463 +often did they really go to movies anyway? Dinner? Where would they
 208.464 +go? Touya might know a few good places with how often he worked at
 208.465 +restaurants, but Sakura doubted he had the money to afford anything
 208.466 +really nice. A picnic in the park? But they already did that all the
 208.467 +time. What would be special about that? Only... It always felt
 208.468 +special when they would go together, just the two of them. They would
 208.469 +sit and talk for hours, watching the beautiful world around them and
 208.470 +just enjoying each other’s company. And Tomoyo was so sweet and
 208.471 +gentle. She would listen carefully to everything Sakura had to say,
 208.472 +always helpful with whatever was on his mind. And she always said the
 208.473 +nicest things, even if they were embarrassing. 
 208.474 +“I said, ‘What’s too hard?’. You know I can figure it out, whatever
 208.475 +it is. I’m good at these things,” Kero stated confidently as he
 208.476 +floated down onto Sakura’s bed, his arms crossed. “C’mon, Sakura-
 208.477 +chan. You can tell me.”
 208.478 +Sweatdropping, Sakura looked back at the Seal Beast curiously. Is
 208.479 +help generally wasn’t as helpful as Tomoyo’s. What he lacked in
 208.480 +genuine helpfulness, he sure made up for with self-confidence. “I’m
 208.481 +trying to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our date,” he said
 208.482 +quickly, his cheeks reddening as he buried his face into her pillow. 
 208.483 +“Huh? I have no idea how you can make Tomoyo-chan late. Hmm...” The
 208.484 +Seal Beast contemplated Sakura’s muffled concerns, scratching his
 208.485 +chin with one tiny paw. “You could always steal her shoes. Or lock
 208.486 +her in a broom closet. Or I could distract her. Depends what you need
 208.487 +her late for.”
 208.488 +“Date! Date!! I need to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our
 208.489 +date!” Sakura repeated, sitting up and hoisting the pillow above his
 208.490 +head in case the floating teddy bear decided to joke about the
 208.491 +situation. His cheeks darkened considerably as he saw the sly grin
 208.492 +spread across Kero’s face. 
 208.493 +“Date, you say? Well, if there’s one thing the mighty Cereberus
 208.494 +knows, it’s a thing or two about love. Just listen to me and you’ll
 208.495 +be reaching first, second, and third base in no time! Hell, with my
 208.496 +advice, you’ll be hitting field goals and scoring bogeys!” Kero
 208.497 +grinned as he walked up to Sakura, nudging him in the side. The
 208.498 +Cardmaster had no idea what Kero was talking about, but his blush
 208.499 +worsened nonetheless. “Boy, have you come to the right place. Because
 208.500 +I’m not only the Beast of the Seal, I’m the Beast of Love.” His tiny
 208.501 +eyebrows raised up and down suggestively as he looked up at the green
 208.502 +eyed boy.
 208.503 +Before Sakura could respond to Kero’s delusions of grandeur, the
 208.504 +door burst open. Touya looked into the room, spotting Sakura on the
 208.505 +bed. Kero collapsed by Sakura’s side, lying lifeless in the hopes
 208.506 +that Sakura’s older brother hadn’t heard them talking. “Umm... Hi,
 208.507 +onii-chan. What’s wrong? If this is about the dishes, it’s your day.
 208.508 +I checked.” He smiled, pulling Kero onto his lap as he waited for his
 208.509 +older brother to either agree or make some outrageous claim about it
 208.510 +being Sakura’s day for the dishes. But he’d glanced at the schedule
 208.511 +and he was sure. Reasonably sure, at any rate.
 208.512 +Touya closed the door behind him after he entered the room. He paced
 208.513 +back and forth for a moment as if trying to decide what to say. He
 208.514 +finally sat on the bed and stared at his younger brother fixedly for
 208.515 +a long moment. Sakura returned his gaze uneasily for a bit before
 208.516 +looking away. “So you’re going on a date?”
 208.517 +Sakura’s face immediately darkened once more at Touya’s question. It
 208.518 +sounded more like an accusation than a question at the moment. He
 208.519 +looked around, his cheeks flushed as he tried to think of a suitable
 208.520 +answer. Finally giving up that venue, Sakura nodded in agreement. He
 208.521 +needed to remember not to talk so loud with Kero when Touya was home.
 208.522 +“With Tomoyo-chan?”
 208.523 +Again Sakura nodded, feeling more and more embarrassed as time went
 208.524 +by. What did Touya want? Was he there to tease him about it? Why did
 208.525 +he care who his younger brother was dating? 
 208.526 +“I thought so. It’s obvious she likes you. I was waiting for you to
 208.527 +get the hint,” Touya said matter-of-factly. He watched in amusement
 208.528 +as Sakura’s embarrassment quickly changed to a frown, his younger
 208.529 +brother squeezing the stuffed animal in his arms tightly.
 208.530 +“I’m not that dense. I’ve known it for a while. She did give me that
 208.531 +teddy bear and all,” Sakura argued, squeezing poor Kero in his
 208.532 +frustration. His brother always got him riled up like this. Oh, if he
 208.533 +was only taller than him...
 208.534 +“Sure...” Touya said unconvincingly, raising an eyebrow. He knew how
 208.535 +dense his little brother could be at times. It was a surprise that he
 208.536 +ever figured it out. But that wasn’t the point at the moment.
 208.537 +“Doesn’t matter. You finally figured it out. I’m proud of you,
 208.538 +monsters. And you asked her out at that? So you’re ready to go on
 208.539 +your first date?” Despite his usual arguments with Sakura, he really
 208.540 +did care for his little brother’s well being. He just showed it in an
 208.541 +odd way at times. And since his father wasn’t here to offer Sakura
 208.542 +some friendly dating advice, he would have to fill in. At Sakura’s
 208.543 +quick nods, Touya continued. “So you don’t know where to take her?”
 208.544 +Again, a nod. “Here.” The older boy tossed a paper to Sakura, the
 208.545 +auburn haired boy immediately picking it up. “It’s a festival. Tomoyo-
 208.546 +chan probably would’ve invited you there in a few days anyway. She
 208.547 +always does. Why not make it a date? Besides, she’ll look cute all
 208.548 +dressed up in a yukata, so you might as well have an excuse for
 208.549 +whatever you wind up doing with her behind the trees.” Touya smirked
 208.550 +before pain shot through his leg. Sakura’s foot remained planted
 208.551 +against his leg where he had kicked him. 
 208.552 +“Onii-chan...” Sakura growled, his eyes narrowed. Touya’s eyes
 208.553 +narrowed as well as the two brothers stared each other down, one
 208.554 +being considerably taller than the other. But Sakura either didn’t
 208.555 +notice or didn’t care. Just as quickly as his ire had appeared, it
 208.556 +faded away as Sakura took another glance at the flier. “That might be
 208.557 +a good idea. It would be fun. And it would be a nice place to take
 208.558 +Tomoyo-chan. Maybe I can win her a prize or something, too.”
 208.559 +“Yeah, you never know. Yuki and I already planned on going, so I
 208.560 +figured the two of you would probably be there as well. And it works
 208.561 +well enough. Maybe if you’re busy making eyes at Tomoyo, you’ll stop
 208.562 +making them at Yuki,” Touya reasoned, his head tilted to the side for
 208.563 +a moment. He grinned as Sakura crossed his arms, fuming.
 208.564 +“It’s not like that! Yukito-san’s just... Ohhh!! Onii-chan!!” Sakura
 208.565 +humphed and stared at his older brother again. He didn’t know why his
 208.566 +older brother always teased him about Yukito. The older boy was very
 208.567 +nice, much nicer than his older brother, and it was fun to be around
 208.568 +him. Not unlike Tomoyo, in fact. But it wasn’t the exact same thing.
 208.569 +Aside from Yukito being a boy, he didn’t have that same feeling of
 208.570 +love and warmth that encompassed Sakura whenever he was with Tomoyo.
 208.571 +But it was pointless explaining it all to Touya, especially when he
 208.572 +was too embarrassed about the whole thing to come up with a good
 208.573 +argument. 
 208.574 +Putting an arm around his younger brother, Touya drew the younger
 208.575 +boy closer. “All right, you better listen up, Sakura-chan. There are
 208.576 +some things you need to know before your date.”
 208.577 +Sweatdropping, Sakura wondered if he would’ve been better off with
 208.578 +Kero’s talk. 
 208.579 +
 208.580 +Licking his dry lips, Sakura slowly reached out for the doorknob.
 208.581 +His hand shook lightly as he grasped the doorknob, his palms sweaty.
 208.582 +His brows furrowed as he tried to concentrate, to push off the
 208.583 +nervousness that toyed with him. This was his first date. He was
 208.584 +about to go out with his best friend. What would change after this?
 208.585 +What would happen? Well, only one way to find out, right? Steeling
 208.586 +himself, Sakura opened the door. The sight that awaited him took his
 208.587 +breath away. “Tomoyo-chan...” he whispered, catching eye of the pale
 208.588 +beauty before him. “You’re... gorgeous...” Emerald eyes studied the
 208.589 +stunning figure before him. Beautiful pale skin looked to have an
 208.590 +ethereal glow all it’s own wherever it peaked out of the yukata, both
 208.591 +at Tomoyo’s arms and her pretty face. Her long, lavender hair was
 208.592 +done up in elegant braids, spilling down her back. Shimmering stormy
 208.593 +blue eyes shined luminously. Her small body shifted gracefully as the
 208.594 +angelic girl bowed before Sakura. Her long hair pooled to one side
 208.595 +before she stood back up, the precious silken strands falling back
 208.596 +into place. 
 208.597 +“Thank you very much, Sakura-chan. You look very handsome. I wish I
 208.598 +had my camcorder with me.” One of Tomoyo’s pale hands went to her
 208.599 +flushed cheeks as she sighed, watching Sakura intently. She had
 208.600 +struggled with the decision of whether or not to take the camcorder
 208.601 +with her for the past few days but had finally decided against it.
 208.602 +She immediately regretted it upon seeing her prince all dressed up in
 208.603 +a yukata. What a darling picture it would have made!
 208.604 +“You look just like mother,” Touya said after a moment’s pause. He
 208.605 +had come to the door to wish the two a goodnight as he waited for
 208.606 +Yukito to arrive, but had been astonished by the figure at the door.
 208.607 +It was like one of the pictures of his mother from long ago brought
 208.608 +to life. He had originally thought it was his mother’s spirit
 208.609 +visiting them again, but only the stormy blue eyes had given away the
 208.610 +figure’s true identity. 
 208.611 +Sakura was about to protest his brother’s statement, but he had to
 208.612 +admit that Tomoyo certainly looked similar to the photos he had seen.
 208.613 +He couldn’t remember his mother well, as she had died when he had
 208.614 +only been three years old, but Tomoyo had the same captivating
 208.615 +appeal, the same delicate beauty. “Hai...” Sakura shook himself out
 208.616 +of his trance quickly, noticing the odd way Touya was staring at
 208.617 +Tomoyo. Taking Tomoyo’s hand quickly, Sakura stared at her brother
 208.618 +before stepping outside with her. “Bye, onii-chan!” he said quickly.
 208.619 +He didn’t want to share Tomoyo with anyone tonight, not even for
 208.620 +glimpses of their mother. He wanted to be alone with her on this
 208.621 +special night of theirs. He smiled softly at the beautiful girl in
 208.622 +front of him, nearly melting at the pretty smile she granted him in
 208.623 +return. “Tomoyo-chan.” It took him a long moment to realize he was
 208.624 +staring again. Looking down sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his
 208.625 +head. “We should probably get going now, huh?”
 208.626 +“If that’s what Sakura-chan wants to do,” Tomoyo replied, soft
 208.627 +fingers entwining with the auburn haired boy’s. He was so cute. And
 208.628 +the way he had looked at her sent a trill through Tomoyo’s heart. A
 208.629 +date with Sakura. It was finally happening. The heiress had to
 208.630 +struggle to remain in the here and now, already thinking about things
 208.631 +like marriage and children and mountain sized piles of videotape. But
 208.632 +even with the sweet little secrets the future hinted at, the present
 208.633 +was a very pleasant place to be. It was right with Sakura, right
 208.634 +where she always wanted to be. 
 208.635 +Sakura nodded quickly, his cheeks still tinted pink. “Yeah, we’ll
 208.636 +just go.” He laughed a little nervously, but it slowly began to fade
 208.637 +away as Tomoyo nodded her agreement, still holding his hand. He
 208.638 +smiled happily at his best friend, for once feeling the genuine
 208.639 +elation of the night in full without the worrisome nervousness that
 208.640 +had accompanied so much of the past several days. The two slowly
 208.641 +began walking, leaving the limousine that had dropped Tomoyo off at
 208.642 +Sakura’s house as well as Tomoyo’s bodyguards far behind. Sakura was
 208.643 +surprised at how easy this all felt. He had thought that this would
 208.644 +be such a difficult thing, being on a date with Tomoyo. But it was
 208.645 +still Tomoyo. He still felt comfortable with her, happy and warm.
 208.646 +Things had changed only subtly. He saw Tomoyo in a new light, not
 208.647 +just as his kindly best friend, but as his beautiful angel. Yes, they
 208.648 +were on a date. But that really wasn’t all that different from what
 208.649 +they had been doing all of these years. The only difference was that
 208.650 +now Sakura knew where his heart lay. And it was an intoxicating
 208.651 +experience. He could feel Tomoyo’s love for what it was rather than
 208.652 +the curious thing he had wondered about for so long. And his own
 208.653 +heart reveled under the attention, blooming like a lovely flower
 208.654 +under its tender yet deep touch. It all gave so many new layers to
 208.655 +just being with Tomoyo, all of them exciting for the master of the
 208.656 +Cards.
 208.657 +Tomoyo once again bemoaned her lack of a camcorder as she watched
 208.658 +Sakura out of the corner of her eye. Her free hand rested on her
 208.659 +cheek as she sighed joyously. Had she died? Was she dreaming? Or was
 208.660 +this a taste of heaven? If it was, Tomoyo could think of no better
 208.661 +way to spend eternity than with the boy who had so effortlessly
 208.662 +captured her heart. She would have to personally thank whatever God
 208.663 +or Goddess reigned over this world for crafting such a lovely soul as
 208.664 +her darling Sakura. Usually content simply with recording Sakura’s
 208.665 +life, Tomoyo found herself exhilarated at the prospect of actually
 208.666 +sharing in it, tasting it so closely rather than from behind the
 208.667 +camera. It was new and uncharted territory, something that existed
 208.668 +only in her dreams up till now. But with Sakura gently leading her,
 208.669 +she had no fear as she stepped out hand in hand with her love into
 208.670 +the movie of Sakura’s life. Not being born with magic, the lavender
 208.671 +haired girl couldn’t sense it the way her best friend could. But she
 208.672 +felt a different magic as they continued along, one that immersed her
 208.673 +heart and soul deeper than any other form of magic ever could. Like
 208.674 +an entire ocean, it swelled and encompassed her, holding her tightly
 208.675 +in its depths. It was almost too much, an emotional overload of pure,
 208.676 +unadulterated joy. Tomoyo felt as if she were drowning in it, her
 208.677 +heart nearly ready to burst. Smiling a sparkling, genuine smile,
 208.678 +Tomoyo rested her head on Sakura’s shoulder, her long braids draping
 208.679 +down across the two of them. 
 208.680 +Blushing faintly, Sakura continued along towards the festival, his
 208.681 +mind going blank. Tomoyo’s long, dark hair lay across his shoulder
 208.682 +and down the left side of his back, swaying gently as they moved. The
 208.683 +heiress’s cute head was resting pleasantly on his shoulder,
 208.684 +distracting him. The two walked along, hand in hand in a much closer
 208.685 +proximity that they usually did. The poor auburn hair kept blushing
 208.686 +as he tried to get a handle on his thoughts. It certainly felt nice
 208.687 +to have Tomoyo so close, to have his best friend so near. He could
 208.688 +hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, almost frightening him that
 208.689 +it would give away his nervousness. But even faced with such a new
 208.690 +and potentially terrifying situation, Sakura could still feel
 208.691 +Tomoyo’s effusive love wrapping like silk ribbons around his heart,
 208.692 +binding his soul as thoroughly as he himself bound the Cards. It
 208.693 +was... wonderful. Having Tomoyo so close was a new experience, but it
 208.694 +was a beautiful one. The heiress felt so soft and delicate next to
 208.695 +him. ‘I knew Sakura-chan would come and save me,’ Tomoyo had once
 208.696 +said. ‘Of course I would. I’d always have to save my Tomoyo-chan. I
 208.697 +can’t ever let anything bad happen to her,’ Sakura thought to
 208.698 +himself. ‘Besides, if I didn’t, Sonomi-sama would kill me.’ He
 208.699 +sweatdropped at the latter, remembering Tomoyo’s mother’s phone call
 208.700 +the night before. Sakura had lost track of how many times he had
 208.701 +promised to look after Tomoyo for the elder of the Daidouji women. 
 208.702 +Almost too soon, the young lovers finally came across the festival.
 208.703 +Lights sparkled brightly against the dark backdrop of the darkening
 208.704 +night as elegantly dressed boys and girls hurried about, playing
 208.705 +games and enjoying themselves about the festival grounds. It was
 208.706 +something the two had gone to often enough before, but never under
 208.707 +the context of a date. It left Sakura with a puzzled feeling of where
 208.708 +to begin and what to do. Tomoyo simply smiled at Sakura’s curious
 208.709 +look, squeezing his hand gently with her soft fingers. That lessened
 208.710 +the genki boy’s nerves as he returned her smile. People moved past
 208.711 +the cute couple like a busy stream, flowing past them on all sides.
 208.712 +Sakura pulled Tomoyo closer as people swept past, trying not to get
 208.713 +pulled along in the current. Still trying to decide where to go,
 208.714 +Sakura’s jade eyes fell upon a booth selling food. His stomach seemed
 208.715 +to think it was a great idea. While nowhere near as bad as the
 208.716 +perpetually hungry Kero and Yukito, Sakura had forsaken eating
 208.717 +earlier when his nervous stomach had refused to hold anything. But
 208.718 +now that he was finally with Tomoyo, his stomach reawakened. “Would
 208.719 +you like something to eat?” Sakura asked, turning to the dark haired
 208.720 +girl. 
 208.721 +The petite girl shook her head prettily, her dark hair moving back
 208.722 +and forth as she did. She wasn’t hungry herself, but she could
 208.723 +practically hear Sakura’s stomach even above the cacophony of the
 208.724 +festival. “No, that’s all right, Sakura-chan. I’m not very hungry.
 208.725 +What would you like to eat?” She followed emerald eyes to one of the
 208.726 +stands and slowly began towards it when a small gap in the large
 208.727 +crowd formed. The two waited, pressed tightly together as other
 208.728 +people continued to line up at the delicious smell wafting out from
 208.729 +the stand. Tomoyo brushed back lavender hair from her eyes with her
 208.730 +free hand to get a better look of her companion. Stormy blue eyes
 208.731 +watched the energetic auburn haired boy as he looked around
 208.732 +curiously. The heiress sighed happily, taking Sakura’s hand with both
 208.733 +of her own. Her fingers trailed over their entwined fingers, enjoying
 208.734 +the soft skin under her touch. He was so cute. There was something
 208.735 +almost feminine about him, which the heiress found very adorable.
 208.736 +Tomoyo loved to watch him, as evidenced by her collection of
 208.737 +videotape. She loved everything about the overemotional boy and
 208.738 +wanted to capture it all on film. As Sakura finally got the food he’d
 208.739 +been waiting for, the two began to move along through the beautiful
 208.740 +festival grounds. Sakura looked around at the well decorated
 208.741 +surroundings while Tomoyo’s attention remained solely captive of the
 208.742 +green eyed boy. After all, she thought to herself, he was far more
 208.743 +fascinating than the most amazing festival. 
 208.744 +Nibbling on the meat bun he had bought, Sakura walked hand in hand
 208.745 +with Tomoyo past the different festivities. His mind wandered as they
 208.746 +walked. He could remember some exciting things that had happened at
 208.747 +festivals in his life, but this was completely different. It seemed
 208.748 +that important things often happened at them, several Clow Cards
 208.749 +having shown up nearby over the time he had been capturing them.
 208.750 +Throughout it all, Tomoyo had been his constant companion and
 208.751 +confidante, helping him and videotaping him and outfitting him with
 208.752 +the cutest and most ridiculous looking costumes imaginable. And here
 208.753 +they were once more. But this wasn’t exactly the same thing as it had
 208.754 +once been. He felt a warm glow inside of himself at the thought. No,
 208.755 +this wasn’t the same old thing at all. He felt overwhelmed by the
 208.756 +moment, by his beautiful best friend holding his hand. He felt energy
 208.757 +welling up inside with nowhere to go. He felt so happy to be there
 208.758 +with her. Squeezing Tomoyo’s hand tightly, Sakura grinned at the pale
 208.759 +girl. All of the concern he’d had about this night felt completely
 208.760 +worth it if only for that single moment. “Tomoyo-chan, I...” Sakura
 208.761 +began, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say, but knowing he needed
 208.762 +to do something before his heart burst. 
 208.763 +“Hi, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!” Chiharu called out to the two,
 208.764 +Yamazaki in tow. She waved to the two as she approached, glad to see
 208.765 +someone that she recognized amongst the sea of people. “How are you
 208.766 +doing?” she asked as they came to a stop in front of them. 
 208.767 +“Hi, Chiharu-chan!” Sakura intoned happily. “We’re fine. We’re just
 208.768 +trying to decide what to do now.” Finishing off his meat bun, he
 208.769 +licked his fingers clean before smiling at the two. 
 208.770 +“Sakura-chan’s never been on a date before and neither have I, so
 208.771 +we’re both trying to figure things out. Do you have any suggestions,
 208.772 +Chiharu-chan?” Tomoyo’s melodious voice sang amidst the banter of the
 208.773 +crowd. Smiling politely, the pale girl tilted her head to the side.
 208.774 +Even with her eyes close, she could tell that Sakura was blushing
 208.775 +deeply. Yes, life was good indeed. 
 208.776 +“Oh, so Sakura-chan finally asked you out? What a shame. I heard
 208.777 +that Li-kun was going to ask you. But that’s not a problem. In
 208.778 +Antarctica, women can have as many as ten husbands at a time. So you
 208.779 +just have to move there, Tomoyo-chan.” Yamazaki nodded, his ever-
 208.780 +present smile plastered on his face despite the look that Chiharu
 208.781 +shot him. He hugged a pink rabbit tightly and grinned more, waiting
 208.782 +for Chiharu to either correct him or hit him in the arm. He was used
 208.783 +to it by now. She’d been doing it since they were little kids anyway.
 208.784 +Besides, it was cute. 
 208.785 +“Really? That’s all right, though. Sakura-chan’s the only husband I
 208.786 +want, so I think I’ll stay here in Japan,” Tomoyo replied, her stormy
 208.787 +blue eyes blinking open as she continued smiling her trademark smile.
 208.788 +She turned to Sakura, delighting at his ever darker blush.
 208.789 +“So you’re finally dating? Darn. Rika-chan wins the pool, then. We
 208.790 +were wondering when you finally would.” Chiharu frowned for a moment,
 208.791 +staring at Yamazaki before turning back to the other couple. “I don’t
 208.792 +think I can give any advice. Things just kinda happen. That’s how
 208.793 +relationships go, I suppose. Even if it would be nice if they made
 208.794 +more sense sometimes.” Sighing, she brushed back some curly hair. 
 208.795 +Watching the pink bunny in Yamazaki’s arms, Sakura felt his
 208.796 +curiosity gnawing at him. “Where did you get that, Yamazaki-kun?”
 208.797 +	“This? His name is ‘Elephant’. Chiharu-chan won it for me at that
 208.798 +booth over there. Chiharu-chan is very good at hitting things.” 
 208.799 +	Chiharu sweatdropped. Yamazaki was very often a pathological liar,
 208.800 +but for once she didn’t need to correct him. Of course, she could
 208.801 +detect a hint of humor in his voice about the last part of it. “Yeah,
 208.802 +it’s not that hard. They have some nice prizes back there. I collect
 208.803 +stuffed animals, so I like to pick up some things whenever I go to
 208.804 +places like this.”
 208.805 +	“Sugoi! Thanks!” Sakura smiled as he waved to the two, hurrying
 208.806 +with Tomoyo close behind. It sounded perfect. What better way to
 208.807 +remember their first date than a cute little stuffed animal? It did
 208.808 +sound romantic. All he had to do was win something cute for the pale
 208.809 +heiress. His emerald eyes burned with an enthusiastic determination
 208.810 +as they hurried towards the booth. Unfortunately, someone was already
 208.811 +there, a large pile of stuffed animals next to him. 
 208.812 +	“I want that one next, Syaoran!” A Chinese girl pointed excitedly
 208.813 +towards a large bear in the back of the booth. Meiling stood guard
 208.814 +over the large pile of stuffed animals at her feet. She didn’t notice
 208.815 +the approaching couple, nor did she care. She was on a date with
 208.816 +Syaoran. That was all that mattered to her at the moment. And woe to
 208.817 +anyone who decided to get in her way. But for the moment, her
 208.818 +attention was focussed specifically on her fiance winning another
 208.819 +prize for her. She could easily win them herself, but what was the
 208.820 +point in that? She wanted them to come from Syaoran. Then they would
 208.821 +be fit to decorate her room because they would come from the boy she
 208.822 +loved. “Great job, Syaoran!” she cried out as the bear quickly joined
 208.823 +the rest of the captive stuffed animals. She hugged the boy from
 208.824 +behind, squeezing him tightly. 
 208.825 +	Syaoran sighed as he pulled up a handful of rings again. “Which one
 208.826 +do you want this time, Meiling?” He didn’t like being out here with
 208.827 +all these people. He wasn’t an overly social person. Staying home
 208.828 +would have been a perfectly fine night for him, but Meiling had
 208.829 +insisted they go to the festival. She did seem to be enjoying
 208.830 +herself. And she did look cute in the small, blue Chinese dress she
 208.831 +wore. So maybe it wasn’t all bad. But Syaoran found himself pouring
 208.832 +himself into the games rather than bothering with the social part of
 208.833 +the whole setting. It was much easier to focus on the competition
 208.834 +than the people. “Hello, Li-kun!” a voice piped up cheerfully near
 208.835 +his ear. Turning to spy the owner of the voice, Syaoran frowned in
 208.836 +irritation. Who was trying to distract him? He didn’t feel like
 208.837 +dealing with whoever it was at the moment. He turned to glare at the
 208.838 +intruder, but his cheeks flushed as he saw Sakura’s smiling face. He
 208.839 +quickly looked away, back towards the booth. Sakura was one of his
 208.840 +only friends at the school. Meiling was his best friend, of course,
 208.841 +but Sakura was one of his only male friends. Sure, there was
 208.842 +Yamazaki, but they were more acquaintances than friends. But Sakura
 208.843 +was nice to him. Even after he had been such an asshole to the naïve
 208.844 +Cardcaptor at first. And his increase in magical power had attracted
 208.845 +him the same way Yukito’s magic had. Tomoyo must have noticed,
 208.846 +because she had mentioned it every now and then. It embarrassed him
 208.847 +greatly, though not quite as much as some of what Meiling did at
 208.848 +school. 
 208.849 +	“Wow!! You’ve done a great job, Li-kun!” Sakura looked at the huge
 208.850 +pile of prizes Syaoran had won and the nearly bare walls of the booth
 208.851 +he was playing at. “Could I try? I want to win something for Tomoyo-
 208.852 +chan.” He smiled happily at the Chinese boy, Tomoyo by her side. He
 208.853 +finally had some idea of where all that energy could go, of what to
 208.854 +do about the building feelings inside of himself. And he could get
 208.855 +something for Tomoyo on top of all that. Apparently Syaoran had
 208.856 +thought the same thing. And Meiling looked very happy about it all.
 208.857 +Sakura could see a superdeformed Tomoyo in his mind, hugging some
 208.858 +cute stuffed animal tightly. Smiling determinedly, Sakura tried to
 208.859 +spot something to aim for. 
 208.860 +	Syaoran nodded dumbly, handing the rings over to Sakura. He thought
 208.861 +about trying to win a prize to give to the other boy, but with
 208.862 +Meiling present, he estimated that he would only live approximately
 208.863 +two seconds after giving it to Sakura. Hardly enough time to see how
 208.864 +the other boy would react. Sighing, he let his fiance drag him back
 208.865 +from the booth and into a tight embrace. Feeling his frown disappear
 208.866 +as Meiling rested against him, Syaoran watched the auburn haired boy
 208.867 +getting ready to try. He would move to the next booth himself, but he
 208.868 +didn’t know if Meiling was done with this one or not. 
 208.869 +	Focusing on the task at hand, Sakura gripped onto one of the rings
 208.870 +in front of him. Being pretty athletic, he was pretty good with most
 208.871 +physical things. Tomoyo had once said that he could have even made
 208.872 +the cheerleading team had he wanted to. Sakura was happy on the track
 208.873 +team, though, so he had blushingly told the eccentric girl that he
 208.874 +wouldn’t be switching anytime soon. But all of that didn’t make him
 208.875 +any less nervous. He wasn’t just playing around with this. It wasn’t
 208.876 +simply a diversion. It was for Tomoyo. That spurred him forward, as
 208.877 +well as seeing the heiress watching from his right. Feeling the
 208.878 +bubbling energy inside of him, Sakura tossed the ring. The small area
 208.879 +around him went silent as it flew into the wall, bouncing off
 208.880 +speedily. “Gomen nasai!” he apologized quickly, bowing. He wanted to
 208.881 +use this as a chance to use all of those energetic feelings inside,
 208.882 +but that had been a little too much. 
 208.883 +	“That was amazing, Sakura-chan. I’m sure that would have made it
 208.884 +all the way back home if the wall hadn’t stopped it,” Tomoyo said
 208.885 +helpfully, as Sakura stood in embarrassment for a moment. She knew
 208.886 +that Sakura was shy and easily embarrassed, despite his outgoing
 208.887 +nature. She tried to give him all the support and love she could
 208.888 +throughout everything he went through. It helped bolster that endless
 208.889 +determination that welled up within the cute bishounen. 
 208.890 +	Concentrating once more on the game in front of him, Sakura pulled
 208.891 +up another ring. This time he would win Tomoyo a cute prize, just
 208.892 +like Syaoran had for his girlfriend and Chiharu had for her
 208.893 +boyfriend. He just had to concentrate. Again he saw the cute image of
 208.894 +Tomoyo holding onto a stuffed animal in his mind, smiling warmly at
 208.895 +him. His cheeks warm at the thought, Sakura let the ring fly off of
 208.896 +his fingertips. He remembered the bear that Tomoyo had painstakingly
 208.897 +crafted for him, that he held onto every night when he went to sleep,
 208.898 +that went with him to all of his games. He wanted to give Tomoyo a
 208.899 +cute stuffed animal to keep nearby as well. Something a little softer
 208.900 +than an eraser. He watched anxiously as the ring appeared to fly in
 208.901 +slow motion, spinning in the air like some magical disk. Though it
 208.902 +had left his fingers, his mind and heart never left it as it skimmed
 208.903 +through the air, begging the disk to make it, to land where it needed
 208.904 +to. With a clang, it ricocheted past the poor booth owner. 
 208.905 +
 208.906 +	“Thank you again, Sakura-chan. It’s so lovely. I think it looks a
 208.907 +bit like you,” Tomoyo stated thoughtfully, holding up the stuffed
 208.908 +kangaroo next to Sakura’s embarrassed face. True enough, it did look
 208.909 +a bit like the auburn haired boy. They stood next to Tomoyo’s
 208.910 +limousine, her bodyguards waiting to take her back home. She didn't
 208.911 +want to leave her darling Sakura yet, or ever for that matter. But at
 208.912 +the same time, she couldn’t wait to recount the night’s wonders to
 208.913 +her mother who was undoubtedly waiting for her only daughter’s return
 208.914 +despite the fact that she had work the next day. It was a comforting
 208.915 +thought to know that she had someone waiting for her to hear of what
 208.916 +had happened and one of the only things that made the night ending
 208.917 +bearable. Especially with no videotape to show for it. Tomoyo vowed
 208.918 +to tape their second date. She would have to keep a record of such
 208.919 +things. After all, what was more important than Sakura’s love life?
 208.920 +	“You’re welcome, Tomoyo-chan. I should have just bought you
 208.921 +something instead. I can’t believe it took me seventeen tries. And
 208.922 +for just a tiny kangaroo.” Sakura stared at the ground sheepishly. He
 208.923 +was normally good at such things, but he just couldn’t focus while he
 208.924 +had been playing the game. His mind kept going back to Tomoyo.
 208.925 +Despite all of the energy swirling within him and his need to win
 208.926 +something for the beautiful pale girl, he had kept missing. But that
 208.927 +had always been a problem for him. He was very good at most athletic
 208.928 +things he tried, but whenever he was distracted he would make a lot
 208.929 +of mistakes. Tomoyo had told him it was cute, that she enjoyed that
 208.930 +as much as she enjoyed when he was doing well. She had said she had a
 208.931 +tape full of just his cute little mishaps. Somehow he didn’t find
 208.932 +that very comforting. Tomoyo had a very strange idea of ‘cute’. 
 208.933 +But other than the trouble he’d had getting a hold of the stuffed
 208.934 +animal, the night had been magical. He and Tomoyo had spent the whole
 208.935 +night at the festival, simply enjoying each others company. In
 208.936 +retrospect, Sakura could hardly remember who else had been there. It
 208.937 +hardly seemed to matter. After a while, the huge crowds had just
 208.938 +faded away, leaving the two of them amidst the beautiful night. There
 208.939 +had been several embarrassing moments, but it had been a wonderful
 208.940 +first date. Tomoyo had helped him through it all, getting rid of the
 208.941 +nervousness that went along with a first date, taking that away and
 208.942 +leaving him with a gloriously warm excitement. Now he again found
 208.943 +himself unsure of what to say or what to do. He didn’t want Tomoyo to
 208.944 +go. He didn’t want the night to end, for their date to have to come
 208.945 +to a close. It was the most spectacular thing that had ever occurred
 208.946 +in his life. It had a magic that his Cards couldn’t begin to contend
 208.947 +with. “Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered at last. “I don’t want you to go.”
 208.948 +“Neither do I, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, hugging the stuffed
 208.949 +animal in her arms gingerly. “I don’t ever want to be away from
 208.950 +Sakura-chan. I want to stay with you forever. But if I have to leave
 208.951 +tonight, it’s only so the next night can come even quicker. Tonight
 208.952 +was lovelier than anything I could ever have dreamed.  I’m sure that
 208.953 +hundreds of beautiful nights await you, Sakura-chan. I hope they’ll
 208.954 +all come quickly.” Brushing Sakura’s cheek, Tomoyo smiled at the
 208.955 +pretty boy, stormy blue eyes meeting emerald orbs. Her heart fought
 208.956 +the idea of leaving her dearest Sakura for any reason whatsoever. She
 208.957 +had to go home, she knew that. But logic didn’t often understand
 208.958 +love. “The sooner I wake up, the sooner I can see you again. It’s
 208.959 +like dreaming. The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you can join
 208.960 +your shining dreams.”
 208.961 +“But I don’t want to dream.” Sakura sighed, placing his hand on top
 208.962 +of Tomoyo’s pale one. He felt Tomoyo’s fingers trailing across his
 208.963 +cheek. He smiled slowly. He felt bittersweet about the night ending.
 208.964 +He didn’t want Tomoyo to go, but he couldn’t wait to collapse in bed
 208.965 +and run it all over in his mind. Maybe he would tell Kero about it.
 208.966 +And like Tomoyo had said, the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner
 208.967 +they would be together again. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. For everything.”
 208.968 +“You don’t have to thank me for anything, Sakura-chan. I love you. I
 208.969 +only want to see you happy. If I can see you happy with me, then I
 208.970 +can’t think of a sweeter gift. But this kangaroo comes close.” Tomoyo
 208.971 +giggled softly as she held the kangaroo up in her other arm. She
 208.972 +regretted not having such a lovely night on videotape, but it was
 208.973 +something that she would always have burned into her mind’s eye. She
 208.974 +wouldn’t be able to play it back on videotape, but that wasn’t so
 208.975 +bad. It would be in her heart when she needed it. Her fingers slowly
 208.976 +pulled away from Sakura’s cheek. “You’re so cute, Sakura-chan.” 
 208.977 +Blushing at Tomoyo’s compliment, the auburn haired boy stared at his
 208.978 +sandal clad feet for a moment. Looking up again, he smiled at the
 208.979 +pale girl before him. She was always telling him how cute he was, how
 208.980 +handsome he looked. But she was easily the most gorgeous girl in
 208.981 +school, or of anyone Sakura had ever seen. She was exquisitely
 208.982 +beautiful, like a terribly delicate flower. He wanted to say
 208.983 +something, to put a nice spin on the end of the night, but words
 208.984 +stumbled in his mind. Finally, impulsively, he leaned forward and
 208.985 +kissed the pale girl before him. If Tomoyo was startled, she didn’t
 208.986 +show it. Sakura felt Tomoyo’s petal soft lips against his own,
 208.987 +blushing intently at the feel of their kiss. Before he could pull
 208.988 +away, he felt Tomoyo kiss him back. It was incredibly slow and
 208.989 +rapturously sweet, taking the genki boy by surprise. His arms went
 208.990 +around the petite heiress, pulling her closer as he kissed. Long,
 208.991 +dark tresses brushed past him as Tomoyo’s hair came loose from some
 208.992 +of the intricate braids. Warm lips kissed for what felt like a
 208.993 +painfully short eternity before they finally pulled away. Sakura
 208.994 +blinked as he watched the heiress before him, a red blush on her pale
 208.995 +cheeks. “I love you, Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered. 
 208.996 +“I love you, too, Sakura-chan. I always have,” Tomoyo replied,
 208.997 +giving Sakura a soft kiss once more before crawling back into the
 208.998 +limousine. Smiling brightly, the overjoyed girl waved to Sakura.
 208.999 +“Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” And with that, the long black car drove away.
208.1000 +Sakura watched for a long time, his hand on his lips. “Hanyaan!” He
208.1001 +smiled happily, his hands held tightly before him. What a perfect
208.1002 +night! Of course, he doubted he would be able to get to sleep now.
208.1003 +Especially after that kiss. It had been so... so... Sakura couldn’t
208.1004 +begin to describe it as anything other than delicious. It had drawn
208.1005 +him in, wrapping him up in those ribbons from Tomoyo’s heart. He had
208.1006 +once heard that kissing was how two souls touched and now he was sure
208.1007 +of it. 
208.1008 +“It sure looks like you had fun,” a voice said next to Sakura.
208.1009 +“Onii-chan...!” Sakura turned quickly, his fists balled up, ready to
208.1010 +explode at his older brother for watching. He immediately stopped
208.1011 +when he looked. Where Touya should have been stood a large, white
208.1012 +rabbit. It stared at him for a moment, it’s whiskers shifting as it
208.1013 +tilted its head to the side. 
208.1014 +“I still think she looks like mom,” the rabbit was saying as Sakura
208.1015 +fainted dead away.
208.1016 +
208.1017 +
208.1018 +	“... And then we kissed in the dream,” Sakura finished up, her hair
208.1019 +a mess and her rollerskating a little off as she and Tomoyo headed
208.1020 +for school. She shook her head in confusion. It had all felt so real,
208.1021 +even the slow, soul warming kiss. Blushing, Sakura put a hand to her
208.1022 +lips as she skated alongside her perceptive best friend. She had
208.1023 +woken up in a daze, the dream lingering in her mind as she had
208.1024 +struggled to get dressed. She had almost expected to find the boys’
208.1025 +school uniform waiting for her. Dressing quickly and ignoring Touya’s
208.1026 +usual morning taunts, she had hurried to meet with Tomoyo on the way
208.1027 +to school, eager to tell her friend about the bizarre dream. The
208.1028 +patient heiress was always the first one she came to with her
208.1029 +troubles, real or imagined. Like a loving mother or a gentle sister,
208.1030 +Tomoyo would always help Sakura through whatever it was that had
208.1031 +gotten to her. She was extremely important to Sakura, probably the
208.1032 +most important person in her life.
208.1033 +	Tomoyo considered the dream for a long moment, holding her bookbag
208.1034 +in front of her. Her long, high ponytail waved behind her as she
208.1035 +walked. A pale hand rested on her chin as she thought. Sakura had
208.1036 +come to her with strange dreams before, but none quite so bizarre as
208.1037 +this one. “Did you like the kiss?” she asked at last, tilting her
208.1038 +head to the side. 
208.1039 +	“Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura’s face went crimson at Tomoyo’s words. She
208.1040 +stared down at the street below, watching her rollerblades. How was
208.1041 +she supposed to answer that? She had certainly liked the kiss. It had
208.1042 +been a perfect end to a perfect night. But it had been with Tomoyo.
208.1043 +And that was part of why it had been so perfect. But how was she
208.1044 +supposed to put all of that into words? If only she were a boy things
208.1045 +would make so much more sense. Especially things with Tomoyo. Just
208.1046 +like her dream had shown her. It would be wonderful to be able to
208.1047 +date Tomoyo, to spend all of her time with the pale girl. Too bad the
208.1048 +dream hadn’t been real. Well, except the rabbit part. Sakura sighed
208.1049 +as she continued skating. “Un, I liked the kiss. It was very nice,”
208.1050 +she said quietly, blushing. “You were a really good kisser in the
208.1051 +dream. It felt all.. hanyaan.”
208.1052 +Sakura shuddered as she skated, remembering the kiss as best she
208.1053 +could.
208.1054 +	Nodding thoughtfully, Tomoyo followed alongside Sakura. Now whereas
208.1055 +kissing Sakura wasn’t an uncommon dream for Tomoyo, she was surprised
208.1056 +to hear that Sakura had dreamt about it. Of course, dreams often made
208.1057 +little sense, so it could be just about anything. But still...
208.1058 +“Sakura-chan would make a very cute boy. You made a very good prince
208.1059 +in the play last year. But I like you better as a girl. I think it’s
208.1060 +much cuter that way. Besides, I’m not as good at designing boys’
208.1061 +clothes, so it’s easier for me this way. Of course, if Sakura-chan
208.1062 +were a boy, I would just have to try harder with the costumes.”
208.1063 +Tomoyo tilted her head to the side curiously, running the whole
208.1064 +scenario over in her mind. It certainly was an interesting one. She
208.1065 +sighed at last. “It’s too bad I can’t videotape Sakura-chan’s dreams.
208.1066 +That sounds so cute!”
208.1067 +	Sakura sweatdropped as she watched her friend’s reaction. Why
208.1068 +should she have guessed that Tomoyo would react that way? But then,
208.1069 +the brunette didn’t think she would ever fully get used to the weird
208.1070 +things Tomoyo said about her. “Even though we were dating? You would
208.1071 +still want to watch that?” Sakura asked curiously. 
208.1072 +	“Especially if we were dating. I haven’t gotten to record any of
208.1073 +Sakura-chan’s love life other than her crushes. It would be so cute
208.1074 +to record her actually dating and to see what happened. I would love
208.1075 +to record every second of our dates if you asked me out,” Tomoyo
208.1076 +explained, smiling her trademark smile. It sounded like such a lovely
208.1077 +dream. Now why couldn’t she have more like that? It had everything,
208.1078 +especially a cute romance with Sakura with the added allure of a kiss
208.1079 +at the end. She sighed dreamily, gazing at her brunette friend. 
208.1080 +	Shaking her head, Sakura looked ahead. Cherry blossoms danced and
208.1081 +swirled ahead of them, oddly reminiscent of the dream she had had. It
208.1082 +felt strange to hear that Tomoyo would agree to go out with her. But
208.1083 +she was thrilled to hear it for some reason. Her mind wandered back
208.1084 +to the dream again, to the date. She felt saddened that it had all
208.1085 +been a dream, that they hadn’t shared that time together, that she
208.1086 +couldn’t be with Tomoyo. It felt so empty. “If I were a boy, I would
208.1087 +definitely ask you out, Tomoyo-chan. You’re so smart and pretty and
208.1088 +fun. Whoever you date will be very lucky.” Sakura blinked rapidly,
208.1089 +rubbing at her eyes. She didn’t know why she felt so desolate after
208.1090 +that dream. But now that it was all over, she felt like she had lost
208.1091 +something of vital importance and she couldn’t get it back. If only
208.1092 +she were a boy, then she would ask Tomoyo out and they could relive
208.1093 +all of that beautiful dream and what would have surely been to come. 
208.1094 +	Tomoyo watched Sakura, stopping along underneath the trees. Sakura
208.1095 +slowly came to a halt as well. Her emerald eyes shimmered with
208.1096 +unspent tears. Tomoyo held Sakura’s hand in her own, looking up at
208.1097 +the girl on rollerblades. “I wouldn’t want to date another boy. Or
208.1098 +another girl. I wouldn’t want to date anyone who isn’t Sakura-chan.”
208.1099 +She smiled sweetly up at the other girl, placing a hand on her cheek.
208.1100 +She could feel a wet trail of a teardrop against her palm. Sakura
208.1101 +sniffled again, another tear sliding down her other cheek. Tomoyo’s
208.1102 +heart nearly snapped in two as she watched the lost and lonely look
208.1103 +on Sakura’s face. She doubted that Sakura even understood why she was
208.1104 +feeling the way she was. It still amazed the pale girl after what she
208.1105 +had heard. It was a dream come true, but it felt unbearably painful
208.1106 +to see it hurting her unknowing Sakura. Leaning forward, Tomoyo
208.1107 +decided to show Sakura what she meant. After all, Sakura could be a
208.1108 +little dense sometimes, but maybe she could find a way to explain
208.1109 +things. She had promised to tell Sakura when they were older.
208.1110 +Tomoyo’s lips kissed Sakura’s softly, her entire body tingling from
208.1111 +the small touch. She slowly kissed the quietly crying girl, brushing
208.1112 +away Sakura’s tears with her fingertips. The brunette’s lips quivered
208.1113 +against her own as Sakura stood on the verge of sobbing openly.
208.1114 +Pulling away after the short kiss, Tomoyo smiled at the brunette,
208.1115 +both hands going to her wet cheeks. “I love you, Sakura-chan.”
208.1116 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered quietly. Her voice almost caught
208.1117 +in her throat, coming out painfully. It wasn’t until then that she
208.1118 +realized she was crying. Warm tears spilt past her cheeks, dripping
208.1119 +down her chin. She sniffled weakly. “Tomoyo-chan!” She cried out,
208.1120 +grasping onto the pale girl. She hung tightly onto her best friend,
208.1121 +shaking in her grasp. She felt her body begin to relax as Tomoyo
208.1122 +began to rub her back gently. Letting out a choked breath, Sakura
208.1123 +hiccuped, her sobbing slowly trailing off. Hiccuping again, Sakura
208.1124 +stood at arms length from Tomoyo, wiping at her eyes. She smiled
208.1125 +warmly after wiping away her tears. “I.. I love you, too, Tomoyo-
208.1126 +chan.” Tomoyo’s demeanor shifted in those few seconds. Sakura
208.1127 +couldn’t quite tell what had changed about Tomoyo, but the pale girl
208.1128 +seemed to glow with the light of an angel, a radiant joy cascading
208.1129 +off of her. She looked simply gorgeous. Sakura stood in stunned
208.1130 +silence for a moment before shaking her head. Something seemed wrong.
208.1131 +Like she hadn’t quite finished everything. But what...? Oh! “Tomoyo-
208.1132 +chan, I.. umm.. I was wondering..” Sakura took a deep breath. She had
208.1133 +already done this once, even if it had only been a dream. Seeing
208.1134 +those shining stormy blue orbs, Sakura pushed forward. “Tomoyo-chan,
208.1135 +will you go out with me?” she asked quickly.
208.1136 +Tomoyo didn’t miss a beat, though she was wondering how easy it
208.1137 +would be to have a heart attack from what had happened in just the
208.1138 +last few minutes. At least she’d die happy. “I would love to go out
208.1139 +with you, Sakura-chan,” the heiress sang joyously. The look of relief
208.1140 +that spread across Sakura’s face made her heart melt. She would have
208.1141 +been happy to help Sakura throughout her life no matter what
208.1142 +happened, but it seemed infinitely better to be there with Sakura for
208.1143 +it. She wasn’t thinking about where the date would take place or
208.1144 +when. Such things were trivial. It was that Sakura had asked that
208.1145 +mattered. It was that they would. 
208.1146 +Smiling delightedly, Sakura once again began for school, skating
208.1147 +alongside Tomoyo, hand in hand. “Hanyaan..” she whispered. The dream
208.1148 +seemed incredibly far away now, only a distant shadow. Life could be
208.1149 +endlessly more fascinating than even the most beautiful dreams. 
208.1150 +
208.1151 +Kero: Now it’s time for Kero-chan’s Corner!! Hi, everybody! Did you
208.1152 +have fun? Did you all follow the adventures of boy Sakura and his
208.1153 +date with Tomoyo? We all know it would have been better if I had been
208.1154 +able to give Sakura-chan that advice I was talking about earlier. But
208.1155 +maybe this time she’ll ask me about it, ne? Anyway, for today, we’ll
208.1156 +check out Sakura’s clothes. Basically, they were just the boys’
208.1157 +school uniform and a cute shirt and shorts. She also wore her yukata,
208.1158 +but I wasn’t in that scene, so does it even matter? Remember what
208.1159 +happened to the girl who got everything she ever wanted. She lived
208.1160 +happily ever after. Bai bai!! 
208.1161 +
208.1162 +Next Episode:
208.1163 +Sakura: Syaoran’s lost the engagement ring he was going to give
208.1164 +Meiling. Can I help him find it before Meiling finds out? Also, Kero
208.1165 +eats cake. And lots of it. And will all of this talk of marriage get
208.1166 +Tomoyo thinking? Hoe.. I’m too young to get married! Next on
208.1167 +Cardcaptor Sakura: ‘Sakura and the Engagement Ring’. Let’s watch it
208.1168 +together. Release!!
208.1169 +. 
208.1170 \ No newline at end of file

   209.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   209.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-whitexmas.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   209.3 @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
   209.4 +White Christmas
   209.5 +
   209.6 +By WaMat DeBly
   209.7 +
   209.8 +
   209.9 +Disclaimer: As much as I really wish I owned Cardcaptor Sakura... I do not... CLAMP own's Sakura-chan and Tomoyo-chan.... and the others of course... I'm just borrowing for this kwaii Christmas story... No money was made to make this... though a dollar was lost for my composition book...
  209.10 +Now on with the story...
  209.11 +
  209.12 +
  209.13 +	Sakura looked outside of her window, it was snowing, reminding her that it was just five days to Christmas, Sakura sighed. "Christmas is only five days away, and I still haven't gotten Tomoyo-chan's present." Sakura got up off her bed, a thought running through her head...
  209.14 +She had wanted to give Tomoyo something special, but she couldn't really figure out what to get the other girl... She knew Tomoyo enough to know that no matter what she gave the eccentric girl, she would treasure it as if it was solid gold... Sakura grabbed her coat, deciding to go shopping.
  209.15 +
  209.16 +	Tomoyo sat in her room, putting the finishing touches on the nightgown she was working on, supprisingly it was not for Sakura, well not directly... Tomoyo had a very special gift for her Sakura-chan this year, one she hoped would cheer Sakura up.. After Sakura had receved the letter from Li, telling her that he had decided to marry Mei Lin, Sakura had seemed to loose some of her genki spirit, and it was up to Tomoyo to bring it back...
  209.17 +"I've waited for too long to tell her how I feal, I'm going to tell her on Christmas, I'll give my heart to Sakura-chan openly, what ever she does with that is up to her, but I'll give myself to her for Christmas..." she said it in a quiet whisper, as if reminding herself of why she was creating the nightgown. Tomoyo held up the shear nightgown, a beautifull light blue, simi seethrough, with bits of lace around the edges, she smiled, trying it on she smiled, at sixteen she had filled out quite well, the nightgown fitting nicely, not too tight, but not too loose either. Tomoyo had been making Sakura costumes for 8 years, and had never made herself one... but she decided that now was the time... she took the gown off smiling, "kawaii... it's perfect, I just hope I get to wear it for my Sakura-chan."
  209.18 +
  209.19 +	Sakura walked bast the various shops and stores, passing by a dress shop she saw a dress that cought her eye, a beautifull long flowing white dress, with lots of satin and lace. "Kawaii..." she said smiling, she tried to pitcure herself in the dress, failing to see herself, she decided to try Tomoyo. "Perfect." she looked at the price, 2,000 yen. Sakura smiled, "just enough..." she walked inside asking to try the dress on, Tomoyo and her traded clothes often, being that they were the same size, she wanted to make sure it fit... it was perfect, she bought the dress and had them wrap it. "Tomoyo-chan will love this..."
  209.20 +
  209.21 +-five days later, Christmas Day.-
  209.22 +
  209.23 +	Tomoyo and been working over how she would tell Sakura her fealings, mainly just to pass the time, she had opened her presents from her mother, lots of blank tapes and a new camcorder... she smiled... 'relax Tomoyo... just tell her how you feal, let it flow from the heart...' Tomoyo smiled to herself slightly, that's when the doorbell rang, she walked to the door, opening it to see a very kawaii snow covered Sakura-chan, Tomoyo giggled... "Kawaii sakura-chan, are you cosplaying a snow-woman?" Tomoyo couldn't help but giggle...
  209.24 +Sakura blushed... "No, but perhapse you can do a snow woman costume some time for me Tomoyo-chan." Sakura smiled, handing Tomoyo thin box. 
  209.25 +"Arigroto Sakura-chan." Tomoyo took the box, opening it carefully, she saw the dress, and ghasped... "ohhhh, kawaii Sakura-chan." she looked at Sakura, hugging her close, "Thank you Sakura-chan."
  209.26 +Sakura blushed slightly, "no problem Tomoyo-chan..." Tomoyo broke the hug smiling, "Sakura, will you come up to my room with me, my gift is in there..." Sakura nodded, "Hai, lead the way."
  209.27 +
  209.28 +	Tomoyo took Sakura's arm lightly, leading her upstairs to her room, 'this is it Tomoyo-chan, you have to tell her how you feal, this decides everything.' Tomoyo sighed softly as they entered her room, closing the door behind them Tomoyo turned to look at Sakura. 
  209.29 +"Sakura-chan, do you remeber that day a long time ago, when I told you that I loved you, then you told me that you loved me too..." Sakura nodded, "Hai, you said that you're love was different than mine, and that you would explain when we were older, but you never did..."
  209.30 +Tomoyo blushed softly, "well now its time for me to tell you, Sakura-chan, I've loved you for years, during that time I've expressed that love through videotaping you and creating costumes for you."
  209.31 +	Sakura blinked... she was at a total loss, her very best friend was confessing that she loved her... Tomoyo continued. "Also, when I was setting you up with Li-kun, it was because I wanted you to be happy, I found out that he was the wrong person for you." Tomoyo paused for a moment, looking into Sakura's eyes, "Sakura-chan, this year my gift to you is my heart, though you've held it all this time and have never known."
  209.32 +	Sakura was stunned... she too had held a secret crush on Tomoyo, she had not acted on it for fear that Tomoyo wouldn't return her love... she now knew she was wrong... Sakura hugged Tomoyo close. "Tomoyo-chan, I...This is the best present I could ever recive, Tomoyo, I had been blinded by my emoations..." Sakura smiled softly, "I love you too, Tomoyo." Sakura followed her words with a deep kiss.
  209.33 +Outside the snow continued to fall
  209.34 +-Ten years later, Christmas-
  209.35 +
  209.36 +	Sakura sat by the fire, holding Tomoyo in her arms. "Happy anniversary Tomoyo-chan."
  209.37 +Tomoyo looked up into Sakura's eyes, "Hai, and Merry Christmas."
  209.38 +Tomoyo was wearing the shear nightgown she had made 10 years ago, the dress that Sakura had given her sat in the closet, a tribute to their weading, Outside, the snow continued to fall, just as it had that fatefull Christmas 10 years before... so if you're ever told that there's no magic during Christmas, just remeber Tomoyo and Sakura.
  209.39 +
  209.40 +[Merry christmas to every one at moonlit nights, and FF.net.... also a very Merry Christmas to my friends, Family, and fans, have a great christmas and new year.]
  209.41 \ No newline at end of file

   210.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   210.2 +++ b/stories/ccs-wilbOK-01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   210.3 @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
   210.4 +Everything will be Okay - Part 1
   210.5 +
   210.6 +by the interesting fusion of pork and kawaii[what else is a walrus made of?]
   210.7 +<anythingyoufeellike@downloadable-shit-for-your-brain.8bit.co.uk /
   210.8 +tehwalrus@hotmail.com>
   210.9 +
  210.10 +A Card Captor Sakura story -  the story half is mine, but CLAMP gets credit for 
  210.11 +CCS. If you're some easily offended chick go fuck off. Use a rake if you have 
  210.12 +one handy. Gays should have equal marriage rights. Marriage should cease to be 
  210.13 +observed. Ms Mizuki enjoys heavy BSSM. If you're still reading you have no 
  210.14 +right to flame me over any content, so please enjoy. ^W^
  210.15 +
  210.16 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  210.17 +
  210.18 +Tomoyo straightens Syaoran's tie as she looks him over, then gives a little 
  210.19 +nod. "You aren't going to mess this up, right? We spent all day working over 
  210.20 +what you're going to say..." She moves over to her camera bag, starting to 
  210.21 +check over the equipment.
  210.22 +
  210.23 +"He'll screw it up, I'm telling you. Don't worry though Li-kun, I'll still take 
  210.24 +you back after Sakura turns you down for looking such a fool."
  210.25 +
  210.26 +"Don't listen to her Syaoran. You can do this." Tomoyo gives him a smile and 
  210.27 +zippers the bag back up. This plan was best for sure. Meilin would forgive her 
  210.28 +surely after all.
  210.29 +
  210.30 +Li moves a hand up to his head, but stops just before running it through his 
  210.31 +well groomed hair. "C'mon you two, I know I'll do okay. Meilin..." A sigh. 
  210.32 +"You'd have been so much easier to deal with if you'd have just got mad at me. 
  210.33 +I'm going to ask her to marry me, why aren't you angry?"
  210.34 +
  210.35 +---
  210.36 +
  210.37 +Tomoyo slides outside, leaving the two alone to talk that over and taking the 
  210.38 +time to think over the plan. Thinking to have Syaoran ask her under a sakura 
  210.39 +tree... the video would be nearly perfect. "If only it could be me who asks 
  210.40 +her..."
  210.41 +
  210.42 +---
  210.43 +
  210.44 +"Sakura, stoooop~!!" The brunette turns around in the doorway and Kero slams 
  210.45 +into her chest, wings flapping wildly. He looks up at her, chest puffing as he 
  210.46 +catches his breath back. "I have to tell you... I hope she'll forgive me. 
  210.47 +Tomoyo is in love with you." 
  210.48 +
  210.49 +He expected shock, disbelief, something. Instead Sakura heaves a deep sigh. "I 
  210.50 +don't love her back Kero. What can I do? She's my best friend, and I love her, 
  210.51 +but not in the same way. Anything I tell her will just make her even more 
  210.52 +sad..." Tears well in the corners of her eyes and she wipes them away with 
  210.53 +balled fists. "Syaoran's going to ask me soon Kero-chan, and I think I want to 
  210.54 +say yes. What do I do for Tomoyo??"
  210.55 +
  210.56 +---
  210.57 +
  210.58 +Syaoran's heart was racing as the pink leaves fall calmly around him. She's not 
  210.59 +here yet. Don't worry, she'll be here soon. Sakura, I love you. Sakura, I love 
  210.60 +you. I think about you whenever we're apart... Tomoyo's words from his mouth. 
  210.61 +He shouldn't be doing this. It was a horrible idea, a lie to the girl he loved 
  210.62 +to say these words of half-truth. I won't do that, to any of them. What a 
  210.63 +selfish bastard I'm being...
  210.64 +
  210.65 +---
  210.66 +
  210.67 +They both peered out from thier place in the bushes, Meilin watching Syaoran, 
  210.68 +Tomoyo's camera trailed on the path where she expects to see Sakura.
  210.69 +
  210.70 +"You're sure you aren't mad?"
  210.71 +
  210.72 +"I wish you weren't doing this, but I don't hate you for it Tomoyo. You're 
  210.73 +probably even making him happier, I should thank you."
  210.74 +
  210.75 +A tiny sigh, "They'll make a wonderful couple."
  210.76 +
  210.77 +Meilin's voice is bitter, "Yes, yes they will. You see it, and you act on it... 
  210.78 +you're a better woman than I am. He'll have no room in his life for me, she's 
  210.79 +too perfect. Do you find my Syaoran so faulty that she'll still need you by her 
  210.80 +side?"
  210.81 +
  210.82 +---
  210.83 +
  210.84 +"Sorry for imposing on you."
  210.85 +
  210.86 +"Don't be silly Sakura-chan, you're always welcome here. I don't think Tomoyo 
  210.87 +will be out long, and to tell you the truth I'm glad to have a break from my 
  210.88 +work for tea."
  210.89 +
  210.90 +She bows as deeply as she can. "Sonomi, please, help me. I can't break her 
  210.91 +heart..."
  210.92 +
  210.93 +---
  210.94 +
  210.95 +"He's going home? Why..."
  210.96 +
  210.97 +Tomoyo stares at Syaoran's back , camera held to the side, red light flashing 
  210.98 +as he suddenly, simply walks off. "Meilin, I think you have a unique 
  210.99 +opportunity jsut now. I wish you heartfelt luck... I'll wait for Sakura-chan 
 210.100 +here."
 210.101 +
 210.102 +---
 210.103 +
 210.104 +Li frowns as Meling catches up to him, turning around to face her. "I love you. 
 210.105 +I don't only love you though. Can you accept that?"
 210.106 +
 210.107 +She pounces forward into his chest, arms wrapping tightly around his waist. 
 210.108 +"Li-kun you baka! Noone only loves one person. Are you choosing me?"
 210.109 +
 210.110 +He smiles down at her, wondering what he was doing. He loved Meilin dearly... 
 210.111 +much like a little sister, had he had one. "I'm not choosing -her-. Would you 
 210.112 +like to go out for supper? Daidouji has an amazing night planned."
 210.113 +
 210.114 +---
 210.115 +
 210.116 +The waiting was bad for both of them. Eventually Sonomi was called away back to 
 210.117 +work, and given the run of the place Sakura moved to the gardens to wait. Had 
 210.118 +that sakura tree been outside Tomoyo's window before?
 210.119 +
 210.120 +---
 210.121 +
 210.122 +Tomoyo has had bodyguards all her life, and she knows how to avoid them for a 
 210.123 +time when she really wants to. And so she gets back to her room without having 
 210.124 +to talk to anyone, ready to let her emotions out when she hears it come in her 
 210.125 +window faintly. "Tomoyo-chan..."
 210.126 +
 210.127 +Sakura's voice! She runs over, throws the window open, and she's standing there 
 210.128 +under the tree, looking radiantly beautiful with the light of the setting sun 
 210.129 +upon her.  
 210.130 +
 210.131 +"I -DO- love you, Tomoyo-chan."
 210.132 \ No newline at end of file

   211.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   211.2 +++ b/stories/ccs.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   211.3 @@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
   211.4 +A dance to remember
   211.5 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   211.6 +
   211.7 +Saturday night: Suprises
   211.8 +
   211.9 +I don't own these characters or profit from them. This is also a semi-lemon so if you don't like that sort of thing then please stop reading now.
  211.10 +
  211.11 +A dance to remember
  211.12 +By, Clayton Overstreet
  211.13 +
  211.14 +Saturday night: Suprises
  211.15 +
  211.16 +  Sakura and Madison were sitting in Madison's room while Sakura tried on her newest costume. "Are you sure this doesn't look silly Madison?"
  211.17 +  Madison smiled up at her and bit the end of her finger. "I think you look just great Sakura. Incredible really."
  211.18 +  Sakura blushed and looked down at the shiny pink thing she was wearing. "Well if you say so I'll take your word for it Madison. But I can't exactly sleep in this thing."
  211.19 +  Madison giggled and began helping her out of her costume. "Alright. There is a spair night shirt in the closet." She folded the costume up while Sakura went to put the shirt of. "So who are you going to the dance with on Friday?" 
  211.20 +  Sakura stuck her head into the shirt and said, "I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought. Nobody has asked me yet. Who are you going with?"
  211.21 +  Madison bit her lip when Sakura stepped out of the closet. "Well... I did have some ideas but I don't think they're interested."
  211.22 +  Sakura looked at her amazed. "Really? But Madison you get asked out all the time. Why don't you ever go out with anyone?" Madison blushed and Sakura grinned at her. "Oh you have someone you like already huh? Who is it? Lee? Zachery?"
  211.23 +  Madison frowned at her. "No. Now stop teasing me."
  211.24 +  Sakura laughed and shook her head. "Alright. But I'm going to find out eventually. You know you never could keep a secret from me."
  211.25 +  Madison looked at her with a self assured smirk. "Are you sure about that?"
  211.26 +  Sakura looked at her suspiciously, then lay down in the bed. "Fine, don't tell me."
  211.27 +  Madison giggled and Sakura smiled at her. Madison quickly turned off the light and crawled into bed with her. "Good night Sakura."
  211.28 +  "Good night Madison." Sakura yanwed.
  211.29 +
  211.30 +  Sakura yawned and streatched. Looking at the clock beside the bed she saw it was 1:14 in the morning. She glanced next to her at Madison, but her friend wasn't in bed. "She must have gotten up to go to the bathroom." Sakura yawned and noticed how dry her mouth was. Slipping out from under the covers she walked down the hall towards the kitchen. 
  211.31 +  On the way she heard an odd sound from one of the doors. It sounded like Madison. She stopped and looked around, noticing a light on under the bathroom door and coming through the key hole. Madison's house was very old and still had the old fashioned locks on the indide doors. Sakura heard another low moan from the door and finally her curiosity got the better of her and she bent down to look through the key hole.
  211.32 +  Inside the bathroom she saw Madison sitting back on the toilet. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then Sakura noticed that the lid was down. Madison had her right hand between her legs and was holding a picture in her left hand. Sakura blushed realizing what her friend was doing. She was about to leave when she heard Madison sob. "I love you so much... I just wish I could tell you..."
  211.33 +  Sakura bit her lip. Whoever it is she must really love him, Sakura thought. She began to notice that her own legs had gotten a bit wobbly and warm while watching her friend. She bit her lip and started to back up when Madison let out a very loud moan and dropped the picture she was holding. It floated to the door and slipped under right as Sakura pulled back. Feeling a bit guilty for sping on her friend in such an intimate momment Sakura leaned down and looked at the picture in the light under the door... and gasped.
  211.34 +  It was her, dressed in the cat costume Madison had made for her. Inside the bathroom Sakura suddenly heard running water and without thinking ran back to Madison's bedroom. She was under the covers and had her eyes closed just as Madison stepped out of the bathroom and retreaved her picture from the floor. 
  211.35 +  Sakura forced her breathing to slow down and her muscles to relax. She heard a floor board creak under Madison's foot and felt the matress move as Madison crawled into bed with her. It was all Sakura could do to keep her eyes closed and her face calm. 
  211.36 +  Suddenly she felt Madison's hand on her shoulder and felt warm breath on her cheek as Madison leaned over her and whispered, "I love you Sakura. Even if you'll never know it I do love you..." something warm and wet dripped onto Sakura's cheek and Madison rolled back over to go to sleep. 
  211.37 +  Sakura wasn't sure what she wanted to do. A part of her wanted to comfort her friend. To tell her that everything was alright. But another, more immediate,  part of her was frozen stiff in shock. She had always known Madison loved her, but had never guessed that she was IN love with her. How could she miss something like that about her best friend? 
  211.38 +  She peeked around at the dark room. She couldn't see much but everything in it was all too familiar. The walls were covered with pictures of her and Madison together. The desk was spilling over with drawings of the costumes Madison had designed for her. And Sakura was sure that the shelves of video tapes mostly consisted of herself aswell. 
  211.39 +  After a while Sakura rolled over and looked at Madison's face. Even in the dark she could see Madison's pale skin. She wanted to talk to her friend... but couldnt bring herself to do it. Now wasn't the right time.
  211.40 +
  211.41 +Monday: Confessing
  211.42 +
  211.43 +  Sakura yawned and streatched as her alarm clock went off. She had not gotten back to sleep the night before and had spent most of Sunday trying to act casual around Madison. She had not been able to find the words to talk to her friend. Mostly because she wasn't sure of her own feelings.
  211.44 +  Next to her on the pillow Kero roleld over, "Would you mind turning off the alarm. I would like to finish this dream I was having about chocolate cake."
  211.45 +  Sakura hit the clock and groggily rolled out of bed. And went to her closet to get dressed. She stopped suddenly, running her fingers along the fabric of the costumes she had in her closet. Madison's face popped into her mind and Sakura felt a warm feeling in her chest. She couldn't just let Madison keep torturing herself like this... but what could she do about it? 
  211.46 +  As she changed into her school clothes Sakura thought long and hard about how she could help Madison. The obvious answer was to love her back. Could she do that? After all they were both girls... but then Madison didn't seem to have a problem with it.
  211.47 +  After breakfast Sakura put on her skates and headed outside. Madison was waiting by the mail box. Sakura found herself smiling, even though she still wasn't sure about everything. On the way to school she and Madison talked about what they had done after they had gone home the other day. Sakura left out a few choice fragments of course. How could she talk to Madison like this without telling her that she had seen her? What if Madison got mad at her?
  211.48 +  When they got to school their friends were waiting for them outside of the school. "Hey Sakura. Madison. How was your weekend?" 
  211.49 +  Sakura blushed, but thankfuly Madison answered so nobody noticed. Once they got into the classroom Sakura relaxed a bit. Miss Makinzy had assigned some homework, which Madison and Sakura had worked on after school on Friday. Sakura spent the rest of the day just sitting in class and trying to pay attention. 
  211.50 +  At lunch Madison asked her, "Are you alright Sakura? You've been really distant lately."
  211.51 +  Sakura smiled at her. "I just have something on my mind Madison. Don't worry, I'm fine."
  211.52 +  In her last class Sakura had been staring out the window, still thinking about what she had seen. She felt a shiver go down her spine that had nothing to do with cold or distaist. She realized she was actually kind of attracted to Madison. After all they had been close friends for a while, had done pretty much everything together. 
  211.53 +  "Sakura class is over." Miss Makinzy said from beside her desk. 
  211.54 +  Sakura looked up startled and blushed. "Oh, sorry..." She gathered up her stuff and put it in her bag.
  211.55 +  Miss makinzy smiled at her. "It's alright. I'm sure you have plenty of things on your mind. Just try to be a bit more attentive in class alright?"
  211.56 +  Sakura nodded. "Thanks Miss Makinzy. See you later ok?"
  211.57 +  She nodded. "Have fun Sakura."
  211.58 +  When Sakura got to the front of the school Madison and her other friends were waitng for her. "What took you so long Sakura?"
  211.59 +  Sakura shrugged and put her pack on her back. "Oh you know me. I was day dreaming and lost track of time."
  211.60 +  Madison giggled and hugged her. "Yeah that sounds like you. Do you want to come by my house this afternoon?"
  211.61 +  Sakura blushed at the hug but quickly composed herself. "Um, sure Madison. Sounds fun."
  211.62 +
  211.63 +  When they got to Madison's house Madison suddenly stopped and looked at Sakura. "Alright, what's going on? You have been spaced out for two days now."
  211.64 +  Sakura blushed and looked at her. "I told you I've been thinking about something..."
  211.65 +  Madison smiled, "So what have you been thinking about? Clow cards? A boy? The dance? What?"
  211.66 +  Sakura bit her lip. "Well I..." She bit her lip. What could she say? Madison deserved to know. But what if she got mad? If she had wanted Sakura to know how she felt she probably would have told her. 
  211.67 +  Madison looked at her worriedly. Finally Sakura just acted. She leaned in and kissed Madison on the lips. "I love you too Madison."
  211.68 +  Madison stood there stunned with her jaw hanging open. Sakura turned and ran off, leaving her standing there. Madison put her hand too her mouth as she watched Sakura run off. 
  211.69 +
  211.70 +  When she got home Sakura slammed the door behind her and ran up to her room. She buried her face in the pillows of her bed and just lay there for a minute. "I can't believe I did that! What was I thinking? I am such an idiot."
  211.71 +  Kero flew up from his spot on the dresser. He had been taking his afternoon nap when Sakura had run in. He landed on the bed next to the lump in the pillows that was Sakura's head. "Are you alright Sakura?"
  211.72 +  Sakura shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it."
  211.73 +  Kero sighed. "Well why not? Who am I going to tell? Come on Sakura you can't stay under there forever."
  211.74 +  Sakura moaned. "That was my plan. Maybe I'll have the sleep card put me to sleep for afew thousand years... or maybe I'll just jump off the roof."
  211.75 +  Kero took the pillow in hit teeth and pulled it off of Sakura's head. "Come on now, tell me what's the matter."
  211.76 +  Sakura looked up at him. Her eyes were red and she was crying. She looked at the guardian beast. Suddenly for no real reason she started telling him exactly what had happened.
  211.77 +  "... and I just kissed her and ran off." She finished.
  211.78 +  Kero rubbed his chin. "I don't pretend to understand love Sakura. But I do know that if she really loves you she won't be mad. I think you should probably talk to her."
  211.79 +  Sakura blushe and lay down on the pillow. "How can I do that? I mean she probably totaly hates me now."
  211.80 +  Kero was about to answer when the phone next to her bed rang. Sakura just stared at it for a minute then reached to pick it up. "Um...he-hello?" 
  211.81 +  "Sakura?" Madison's voice said.
  211.82 +  Sakura blushed and said, "Yeah it's me Madison. Look... about earlier..."
  211.83 +  "No Sakura, please. Do you think we can talk in person?" Madison asked.
  211.84 +  Sakura bit her lip and twirled the phone cord. "Alright. Where do you want to meet?"
  211.85 +  Madison thought about it for a second. "How about the penguin slide in the park?"
  211.86 +  Sakura nodded. "Alright I'll meet you there." She put the phone down and looked at Kero. "You stay here."
  211.87 +  "Why? I want to come along and see how it all works out." He moaned.
  211.88 +  Sakura shook her head and put her pack down. Then she left the house and started towards the park. 
  211.89 +
  211.90 +  When she got there Madison was sitting on the swings staring out into space. She walked up behind her and sat down on a swing next to her. They both sat there quietly for a while, swinging slightly in the breeze. 
  211.91 +  Finally Madison turned to look at her. "Did you mean what you said Sakura?"
  211.92 +  Sakura nodded, but kept staring straight ahead. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry if..." She was cut off when Madison put her hand on Sakura's shoulder.
  211.93 +  "Don't say you are sorry Sakura... I'm not." Madison whispered the last part. 
  211.94 +  Sakura looked at her. "But I am. I should have known. I could have... I don't know. But I might have done something to make you feel better."
  211.95 +  Madison shook her head. "No Sakura... we were both a littel young for that. I loved every minute we had. You have always been my best friend."
  211.96 +  Sakura looked at her with sad eyes. "But you wanted more. If I had been a good friend I would have known that."
  211.97 +  Madison let out a laugh. "It's not like I told you Sakura. Not directly anyway. I don't even know how you found out..." She looked at Sakura curiously.
  211.98 +  Sakura blushed and smiled. "Well..."
  211.99 +  Madison smiled. "Don't worry, I won't get mad. I just want to know."
 211.100 +  Sakura looked at her, her face turning entirely red. "I woke up about one o'clock on Sunday morning and went to get a drink. I passed by the bathroom and heard you moaning. I thought you might be sick or something..."
 211.101 +  Madsion looked at her with her jaw hanging down, then looked quickly away. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to gross you out or anything. It was just you were there so close to me and..."
 211.102 +  Sakura smiled. "I wasn't grossed out Madison." She blushed again and mumbled, "In fact I feel kind of flattered and a bit..."
 211.103 +  Madison looked at her, "A bit what?"
 211.104 +  Sakura looked up at her and smiled. "It was a bit of a turn on." 
 211.105 +  Madison smiled at her. "Well that kiss of yours was pretty good. Kind of short though..." She looked directly into Sakura's eyes and winked. 
 211.106 +  Sakura blushed, then remembered that this was Madison. They had known eachother for their entire lives. She wasn't any different now than she had been then. They just knew eachother even better. Sakura leaned closer to Madison who closed her eyes and puckered her lips slightly. She felt Madison's warm breath on her lip and stopped, half an inch away from her friend. 
 211.107 +  Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Madison's. Madison let out a small moan and pushed back. Sakura felt something move against her mouth and realized it was her tongue. For a split second she panicked, unsure of what to do. Then she opened her mouth and felt it slide in. Sakura let out a slight moan, and her hands came away from the swing chain. She fell forward onto the ground, leaving Madison sitting above her giggling. 
 211.108 +  Sakura picked herself up and laughed. "Boy I sure know how to ruin a moment don't I?"
 211.109 +  Madison hugged her. "You didn't ruin anything Sakura. That was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you Sakura."
 211.110 +  Sakura put her arms around Madison's waist. "I love you too Madison."
 211.111 +  They talked until the sun began to set and the girls reluctantly started back home. On the way home Sakura felt a lightness in her heart that hadn't been there before. Was this what it was like to love someone and have them love you back? Sakura smiled and glanced back towards the way Madison had gone. After a minute she turned and headed for home again, feeling better than ever.
 211.112 +
 211.113 +Wednesday: Real friends
 211.114 +
 211.115 +  Sakura hefted her back pack as she and Madison walked hand in hand away from the school. They stopped when they heard someone call their names. Turning around they saw some of their friends from school following them. Sakura smiled and waved, "Hi, what's up?"
 211.116 +  The other girls stopped and looked at them for a second, then Jessica said, "Are you two alright? You've been acting kind of weird for the last few days."
 211.117 +  Sakura smiled and looked at Madison. "Well we've been working some things out."
 211.118 +  The other girls smiled and made varying sounds of acknowledgement. Jessica smiled at them, "So you two are finally dating huh?"
 211.119 +  Sakura and Madison looked at them suprised. "You... you mean you knew?" Madison asked.
 211.120 +  Jessica rolled her eyes and the other girls let out a collective giggle. "Are you kidding? I think the only people who don't know are those two new exchange students you are always hanging out with. We were actually wondering when you two were going to get together, but nobody wanted to say anything incase we were wrong."
 211.121 +  Sakura and Madison were blushing bright red. Samantha, another one of their friends, stepped forward and smiled at them. "Don't worry, you two have nothing to be embarassed about. We're your friends after all right?" The other girls all nodded in agreement and made similar comforting remarks. (Incase you are wondering the reason I keep grouping them together is I can't remember any of their friends names from the show. Feel free to change whatever you like.) 
 211.122 +  Sakura and Madison smiled at them and said, "Thanks guys... we were kind a little afraid of how you would react."
 211.123 +  After a while the group broke up and began heading in different direction, since whis was only a plot device that the author was using to avoid the possibility of a more complicated dialogue. As they walked to Sakura's house Madison and Sakura were quiet for a while. Then Sakura looked over at Madison. "That was... awkward."
 211.124 +  Madison nodded. "You said it. I mean I had no idea that they knew. I'm sorry if I..."
 211.125 +  Sakura smiled and shook her head, "Don't be sorry. It was going to come out eventually anyway. Atleast our friends don't hold it against us right?"
 211.126 +  Madison smiled and nodded, leaning against Sakura's shoulder. "I guess it could have been worse." She smiled and looked at Sakura's face. "Think Lee and Maylin have heard about it yet?"
 211.127 +  Sakura shugged. "I don't know. They are both pretty popular. I'm sure they must have heard something. Don't worry about it Madison."
 211.128 +  When they arrived at home Tory and Julian were sitting on the steps. Tory looked at them,  noticed how close they were, and shrugged. "Hey squirt. What are you two up to?"
 211.129 +  Sakura smiled at him. "We're just going to hang out and work on our homework." 
 211.130 +  Tory nodded. As she passed them to go inside Sakura heard Tory say to Jilian, "Alright, you were right and I was wrong."
 211.131 +  She turned back and saw her brother hand Julian some money. Sakura frowned and said, "Hey!"
 211.132 +  Both boys looked guilty for a second, then Tory quickly closed the door. Madison giggled. "Well atleast he isn't teasing us about it."
 211.133 +  Sakura looked at her and smiled grimly. "No, not yet anyway. I'm actually wondering if we even need to tell our parents about this."
 211.134 +  Madison laughed and poked her ribs. "I think if we just let things play out they'll figure it out soon enough." She playfully kissed Sakura's cheek, then sat down and pulled out her homework.
 211.135 +  Sakura groaned. "Oh I hate math!"
 211.136 +  Madison smiled at her. "Well in that case let's get it over with fast alright?"
 211.137 +  Sakura sighed and the two of them settled down to study. Afew hours later they finally closed the books and put everything away. Kero flew down stairs and landed on the couch between them. "Hey, what are the chances of getting something to eat?"
 211.138 +  Sakura and Madison laughed and Sakura got up to get Kero a sandwich. She looked at Madison and asked, "Do you want anything?" Madison shook her head no and Sakura disapeared into the kitchen.
 211.139 +  After a minute Madison reached into her back pack and took out the flier for the school dance. It was only a junior high school dance. Nothing really important, but in her mind Madison could just see her and Sakura together there. 
 211.140 +  She jumped when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Madison looked up and saw Sakura smiling down at her. "You alright Madison?"
 211.141 +  Madison smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright Sakura. I was just wondering if..."
 211.142 +  Sakura sat down next to ger and looked at the flier. "If I wanted to go to the dance with you?" Madson nodded sheepishly. Sakura smiled and looked at her. "I would love to Madison." 
 211.143 +  Madsion  hugged Sakura tightly and kisses her cheek. Sakura smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks Sakura."
 211.144 +  Sakura laughed, "No problem. I just need to get a dress."
 211.145 +  Madison shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I think I have the perfect idea for a dress for you."
 211.146 +  Sakura held up her hand. "Don't forget, you need one too."
 211.147 +  Madison smiled broader and nodded. "Alright. I'll remember Sakura." They both kissed again and hugged. "This is going to be perfect." Madison whispered in Sakura's ear.
 211.148 +  Sakura smiled and whispered back. "It already is." 
 211.149 +  Madison pressed closer and ran her hand down Sakura's back. Sakura smiled and kissed Madison's neck. Madison gasped slightly and closed her eyes. Sakura started kissing Madison's collar bone when she felt Madison's hand squeese her butt and jumped. Madison opened her eyes and looked at Sakura. "Oh I'm sorry. Are you alright Sakura?"
 211.150 +  Sakura nodded. "I'm fine, you jsut startled me is all. Infact I'm feeling a little bit better than fine." She ran a finger along Madison's arm. 
 211.151 +  Madison closed her eyes and licked her lips, enjoying the feeling of Sakura's fingers on her skin. Sakura leaned forward to kiss her again when Madison's eyes popped open and she stepped back. "No, wait. I want to wait a bit before we go that far Sakura. Is that alright?"
 211.152 +  Sakura nodded and winked at her. "It's perfectly ok Madison. I'm not even sure what I'm doing. I'd probably mess it up anyway."
 211.153 +  Madison looked at her and shook her head. "You were doing fine Sakura... incredible. I just want to wait. Plus I have to get home and do my chores."
 211.154 +  Sakura helped Madison pack up and saw her to the door. Julian and Tory had left so the porch was clear. Sakura kissed Madison goodbye and then slowly closed the door. Kero stuck his head out of the kitchen just then. "Hey, can I have some more?"
 211.155 +  Sakura sighed and nodded. "Alright, but this is it until dinner alright?"
 211.156 +
 211.157 +Friday: Finally the title makes sence.
 211.158 +
 211.159 +  Sakura and Madison had left from school seperately, planning to meet up later when Sakura's dad took them to the dance. Their parents had been perfectly alright with the situation and had told each of them how happy they were for the two of them. 
 211.160 +  Sakura got home and fed kero, then ran up to her room.  Madison had delivered her dress the day before and had strictly forbidden Sakura to open it early. All day Sakura had been imagining what was in the box and had asked Madison for a little hint atleast a half dozen times. Madison had just smiled and said, "Believe me, it suits you." Sakura had just had to take her word for it. Before getting the box out she checked on the clow cards and told them what was going on. She had found that if she didn't report her day to them they would float out of the book and circle her head until she did. Finally the cards were totaly informed and Sakura went to her closet. 
 211.161 +  Sakura picked the box up from in her closet and slowly opened it, peeling back the paper it was wrapped in. When she got the last piece of paper out of the way she saw the dress and gasped. It was the most beutiful thing Madison had even made for her. 
 211.162 +  Reaching into the box she drew the dress out and lay it on the bed. The material was a gold color, cut low in the front and back, but obviously not showing too much. Long sleeves ended in attatched golden finger covers for her ring and middle fingers. The bottom half was in three layers, with a silver edge running along the hems of the entire dress. Running her fingers across it Sakura was amazed at how soft it felt. She noticed that there were also matching shoes in the box and some gold nylon stockings and a silver hair band. "Madison, you think of everything." She smiled and set everything out on the bed with the dress.
 211.163 +  Sakura couldn't wait to put it on, but realized that first she'd need to shower. Tossing her clothes on the floor she ran to the bath room. Starting the shower she waited until it was warm then jumped in. 
 211.164 +  As the water ran down her body Sakura scrubbed herself clean from head to toe. Then, as she started to rince off, her eyes were drawn to the toilet. The memory of that night she had seen Madison in the bathroom... was it only five days ago?.. ran through her mind. Unconsiously her hand slid between her legs and traced slow circles through the small tuft of pubic hair she had. She closed her eyes and bit her lip as her hand slid just a bit lower... then she shook her head and stopped. She wanted to wait until Madison was there with her. Just the thought of it made her shiver in a combination of anticipation and uncertainty.
 211.165 +  Turning off the shower Sakura stepped out and grabbed a towel, making sure to dry everything. Then she put on her underclothes and stood infront of the mirror. She couldn't do much with her short hair, not like the styles Madison could pull off, but she promised to try something special. Reaching for the hair drier and comb she got to work. 
 211.166 +  When she finishes she had managed to make her hair look a little lighter than usual and had slipped on the silver hair band Madison had left for her. At last she felt like it was time to put on the dress. She undid the laces in the back that held it together and carefully pulled it on, loving the feel of the soft fabric against her skin. Then she slipped on the stockings and put her feet into the shoes. As expected everything fit perfectly. Sakura stood infront of her mirror for a while looking at herself. She felt like a princess and loved the way the dress caught the light and shimmered as she walked. 
 211.167 +  Kero had flown into the room while she was in the shower and was sitting on Sakura's dresser. Sakura smiled at him and twiled in her dress. "What do you think Kero?"
 211.168 +  The guardian beast looked her over. "Well I'm not really one to judge human beuty Sakura, but from what I know you look great."
 211.169 +  Sakura blushed and bowed. "Thanks Kero. I hope Madison likes it."
 211.170 +  Kero smiled and shook his head. "She likes anything you wear Sakura. Remember that jester costume she made you when you went after the water card?"
 211.171 +  Sakura blushed. "It was a good costume. Anyway I just wanted your opinion on this one." She turned to leave the room. "I'll see you when I get back Kero. Good night."
 211.172 +  "Good night Sakura." Kero said, flying to the video game console. 
 211.173 +  As she walked downstairs and saw her father and brother sitting on the couch. Tory whistled appreciatively. "Nice dress squirt. I have to admit you look good."
 211.174 +  Her dad nodded in agreement. "You really do Sakura. You look just like your mother."
 211.175 +  Sakura smiled at them. "Thanks you guys. You've been really great about all of this. I appreciate it, I really do."
 211.176 +  Her Dad hugged her, "Like we told you Sakura, we're just happy that you found someone who makes you happy."
 211.177 +  Tory nodded and tweaked her nose. "Besides I can find much better reasons to tease you."
 211.178 +  Sakura rubbed her nose and tried to look angry, but couldn't hold it. "Thanks Tory."
 211.179 +  Her dad smiled down at her. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"
 211.180 +  Sakura looked at the clock. They were supposed to pick Madison up in fifteen minutes. "No thanks dad. There will be food at the dance and I don't want to take the chance of getting anything on my dress."
 211.181 +  Her father shook his head. "Alright. Madison's mother is picking you two up afterwards right?"
 211.182 +  Sakura nodded. "Yes. She has an out of town flight at midnight so she's going to drop us off at her house."
 211.183 +  Tory smiled and elbowed her. "So you and Madison will be all alone huh?"
 211.184 +  Sakura blushed and her dad stepped in. "You promised not to tease her Tory."
 211.185 +  Tory shrugged and winked. "Alright, alright. But when you get back you have to tell us everything Sakura."
 211.186 +  Sakura looked up at him and smirked. "I'll tell you what I think you need to know and you'll like it." 
 211.187 +  Her dad laughed. "Alright you two, call off the dogs. It's time to go pick up Madison anyway. Come on Sakura. Tory didn't you volunteer to chaperone the dance? You should get going."
 211.188 +
 211.189 +  Sakura sat anxiously in the back of the car while her dad walked up to the door. Madison's mother answered it and they talked for a second. Then her dad came back and got in. "She'll be out in a minute. Her mom says she was in the bathroom all afternoon trying to make sure everything was absolutely perfect."
 211.190 +  Sakura smiled and watched the door anxiously. Finally she saw the door crack open and Madison step out. "Wow, she looks beutiful." Sakura whispered in awe. Madison was in a dress that matched her's perfectly except that instead of being gold with silver trim, it was silver with gold trim. A gold hair band glittered on her head and Sakura's breath caught in her throat as Madison began walking towards the car. She noticed that Madison had permed her hair so that instead of hanging down like it normally did it was in waves.
 211.191 +  Her father nodded his agreement and smiled, watching his daughter's face. She was so incredibly happy that she almost seemed to be glowing. Particularly the key around her neck. In fact he was pretty sure... he was snapped out of his thoughts as Madison opened the car door and stepped in. 
 211.192 +  Once she was inside and seated Madison turned to look at Sakura and blushed slightly. "Well, what do you think?"
 211.193 +  Sakura was breathtaken for a moment, but she quickly recovered. "You are gorgeouse Madison. And I love these dresses." 
 211.194 +  Madison smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss. "You look wonderful Sakura. Even better than I imagined." She turned to Sakura's father who was smiling back at them, and handed him a small video camera. "Could you take some quick shots of us?" 
 211.195 +  He nodded and took the camera, focusing ont he while they waved and hugged. Finally he handed it back to Madison and turned back to the wheel to drive them off.
 211.196 +  When they arrived at the dance Sakura and Madison said goodbye to Mr.Avalon and he drove off. Then, hand in hand, they walked towards the school gym, blending into the crowd of kids heading in the same direction. On the way Sakura looked around for their friends. She saw Lee and Maylin walking in next to eachother. Lee was in a tuxedo and of course he still wasn't smiling. Maylin was wearing a white dress with red japanease dragons all over it. She was also wearing light blue gloves. When she saw Sakura and Madison she waved and Lee glanced at them, nodding politely. They looked around and saw Ann walking in with Zachery, the one friend who's name the author can remember. 
 211.197 +  At the entrance Madison and Sakura stopped short and looked at eachother. They were both plainly nervouse and some how that made them both feel better. Sakura squeesed Madison's hand and Madison squeesed back and readied her video camera. Together they stepped inside.
 211.198 +
 211.199 +  Sakura and Madison had found their friends. The girls had broken off into their own group, leaving their dates to talk with the other guys. Maylin was there too. When they got close they found that everyone was compairing dresses. Sakura smiled at them and said, "You all look great."
 211.200 +  Maylin looked at them. "Well we don't have anything on you two, you look like a matched set."
 211.201 +  Madison blushed as Sakura told them she had made the dresses. Everyone congradulated Madison on a job well done and told her that they were even more sure than ever that she'd be a great fashion designer one day.
 211.202 +  Sakura glanced around the room and saw Tory standing in the back, wearing his best tux. He was talking to Miss Makinzy who had volunteered as the second shaperone. He glanced her way and gave her and Madison a thumbs up. Miss Makinzy saw them and imediately walked over to talk to them. "My you all look perfectly lovely."
 211.203 +  All the girls blushed simultaniously and thanked her for the compliement. Then the D.J. that had been hired for the dance took the stage. "Alright, now are you kids ready for some fun?" They all answered yes at the same time. "Then why don't you each grab your partner and come out onto the dance floor?"
 211.204 +  The kids found their dates and walked over to the large space between the tables on the basket ball court. The first song to start was a fast one, which everyone seemed to enjoy. The mirrored ball, strobe lights, and lazers that had been set up made the room look like it was spining. After the first song there was a break, durring which Madison and Sakura headed over to the food table. Madison went to get some punch while Sakura got them some plates of crackers and some cold cut sandwiches. 
 211.205 +  When they were done eating a second, slower song had started. Madison had convinced Tory to hold the video camera while she and Sakura danced. Each of them had one hand on the other's waist and the other on a shoulder. Sakura and Madison looked into eachother's eyes the whole time. It wasn't until much later that they noticed most of the others had stopped dancing. In fact aside from themselves there was only one other couple left on the dance floor: Lee and Maylin. 
 211.206 +  Sakura looked around and saw her friends smiling at them from the side along with everyone else. She whispered in Madison's ear. "I think we've been set up."
 211.207 +  Madison nodded. "I think you're right."
 211.208 +  Suddenly from the stage the D.J.'s voice cut through the music. "It seems we have a bit of a contest on our hands. I have here a request from the majority of the people here to keep playing music until I either run out, or one of these happy couples drops."
 211.209 +  Sakura and Madison glanced at Lee and Maylin. Lee looked back with his usual stone face and shrugged while Maylin smiled at them. "What's the matter Avalon, not up to it?"
 211.210 +  Sakura glanced at Madison who smiled and nodded. She looked back at Lee and Sakura and said, "You're on!"
 211.211 +  The assembled kids cheered them on and started clapping their hands to the music. Afew of them joined in occasionaly just for fun. As they danced to the music Sakura and Madison stared into eachother's faces. Hours passed and the D.J. announced the last dance of the evening. Everyone crowded onto the dance floor as a soft, slow song filled the gym. Sakura and Madison stepped closer, leaning on eachother as they danced. 
 211.212 +  "This has been the best night of my life Sakura. Thank you." Madison whispered in her ear.
 211.213 +  Sakura smiled and nodded. "Mine too Madison. Mine too."
 211.214 +  Sakura looked up over Madison's shoulder and saw Maylin leaning against Lee, obviously tired. Sakura was suprised to see Lee actually smiling at Maylin. Sakura grinned at him and winked. Lee frowned and put a finger to his lips. Sakura nodded softly and he turned back to Maylin.
 211.215 +  Finally the song came to an end and everyone applauded. Sakua and Madison took a seat and rested their legs for a minute. Tory came up and handed Madison her camera back and smiled at them. "You two looked great out there." 
 211.216 +  Sakura smiled at him. "Thank you Tory."
 211.217 +  Madison smiled at him, "I hope it wasn't too much trouble taping us like that."
 211.218 +  Tory smiled and shook his head. "No problem. Just make a copy for Sakura to show dad and me and we'll call it even alright?"
 211.219 +  Madison giggled. "Deal. So what are you doing the rest of the night?"
 211.220 +  Tory shrugged. "I was thinking I'd go home and watch some televison."
 211.221 +  Sakura smiled and checked her watch. "Well it's almost time for Madison's mom to come pick us up. I'll see you when I get home alright?"
 211.222 +  He nodded and turned to walk off. As he did Sakura and Madison looked around at the people filing out of the dance. The D.J. was packing up his CDs and equipment, while Miss makinzy and Tory began cleaning up the dishes and tables. Lee and Maylin passed them on the way out and Maylin actually smiled at them. "You two were great out there. Almost as good as lee and me."
 211.223 +  Lee rolled his eyes along with Madison. Sakura looked up at Maylin and said, "Thanks Maylin."
 211.224 +  Sakura took Madison's hand and they walked out the door to the parking lot. Madison's mother was just pulling up when they stepped out. She smiled at them as they got into the back seat. "So did you two have alot of fun?"
 211.225 +  Madison smiled at her. "Yeah, it was great. Wait until you see the tape we made."
 211.226 +  Her mother laughed. "You tape everything. I'm sorry I have to leave you girls alone at the house. Are you sure you'll be alright? We could always drop you off at Sakura's house."
 211.227 +  Sakura shook her head, "No, that's alright."
 211.228 +  Madison's mom glanced back at them and smiled. "I was just teasing. Don't worry. You'll have the whole house you yourselves tonight. I rented you a few movies and there is a pizza in the refrigerator if you get hungry."
 211.229 +  The ride back let Madison and Sakura rest their tired legs. The dance itself had lasted for over four hours. When they were dropped off they waved good bye to Madison's mom, then turned to go inside.
 211.230 +
 211.231 +The end
 211.232 +
 211.233 +Author's note
 211.234 +  I could have had them actually have sex, but for this story it wasn't right. Infact when I tried to write that part I almost chucked the whole thing into the recycle bin. But then I got to thinking about the dance part and realized that that would make a pretty good story. So I took out the part 
 211.235 +that made it seem like a low grade porno flick. I usually find a story goes better if you just focus on one event, then just figure out how each character reacts to that and resulting situations. In this case I saw a hentai picture of Madison with a picture of Sakura in her hand while she... well you get the idea. If you think you can write this better or have an idea of how to make the story flow into actual sex feel free. I however have finished with it. If you want to send me what you thought of the story my email is clayton_n@hotmail.com
 211.236 +  I am also sorry if you don't like me using the dubbed version of the names, but that's the only one I have seen. Feel free to replace whatever names you want aslong as you leave the story in tact and my name on it.
 211.237 \ No newline at end of file

   212.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   212.2 +++ b/stories/ccs2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   212.3 @@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
   212.4 +I neither own these characters or profit from them. Please, don't sue me.
   212.5 +
   212.6 +How things really are
   212.7 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   212.8 +
   212.9 +  Sakura and Madison were walking home from school when Maylin ran up behind them. "Hey Avalon, wait up."
  212.10 +  Sakura turned to smile at her. "Hi Maylin."
  212.11 +  Maylin looked at her suspiciously, "Have you seen Lee around anywhere? I haven't seen him anywhere and I thought you might know where he is..."
  212.12 +  Sakura shook her head. "Sorry I don't. I haven't seen him since we got out of school." 
  212.13 +  Maylin sighed. "Oh well. I'll probably see him when I get home." She turned to leave and walked down the street. 
  212.14 +  "Why do you suppose she always asks me where Lee is? I don't even see him outside of school that much unless there is a card to capture." Sakura asked. 
  212.15 +  Madison shrugged. "I guess because she thinks since you are both card captors you must have some special secrets you don't let her in on or something. I'm sure she'll get over it eventually. In the mean time I have a new costume for you to try on."
  212.16 +  Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not another one. I mean they're really great and everything Madison, but some ofo them look kind of silly."
  212.17 +  Madison smiled and elbowed Sakura in the ribs. "Well I think they make you look great."
  212.18 +  Sakura blushed. "Well alright. Atleast they make it harder for people to recognize me, and some of them do look pretty good." 
  212.19 +  Madison hugged her. "That's my girl."
  212.20 +  Once they got to Madison's house they walked to her room. On the dress dummy was a fairly tight outfit similar to the one the fight card had worn. It had fewer frills and was more skin tight than the usual dresses Madison made. "I thought about it and thought that you could use something water tight and insilated. It's like a diving suit."
  212.21 +  Sakura nodded. "Very nice Madison, it looks great." 
  212.22 +  Madison blushed and bowed melodramatically.. "Thank you Sakura." 
  212.23 +  Sakura giggled. "My pleasure. So what were you planning for the weekend?"
  212.24 +  Madison shrugged. "I didn't have much planned. I finished editing all my video's last night. What about you?"
  212.25 +  Sakura shook her head. "Not much."
  212.26 +  Madison smiled. "Then spend the weekend here. We could go to the park or something tommorow My mom is out of town on business and I'm sure we could find something to do tonight... " She winked at Sakura who blushed. 
  212.27 +  "Ok, just let me call my dad and Tory so they know where I am." Sakura said. She walked over to the phone and called her house. Kero answered the phone. "Hi Kero, is my dad not home yet? Ok, could you write a note and stick it on the refrigerator? Yeah, I'm spending the weekend at Madison's. You going to be alright?" She giggled. "Alright but only one piece. I'll see you later."
  212.28 +  As Sakura hung the phone up Madison asked, "So what was so funny?"
  212.29 +  Sakura grinned. "Kero said he would be alright aslong as there was still some of that chocolate cake left." Both girls giggled. 
  212.30 +
  212.31 +  That night Sakura and Madison had rented some movies and made popcorn. Sakura smild as she and Madison curled up on the couch together. "I hear this one if supposed to be pretty scary Sakura." Madison said as the first one started.
  212.32 +  Sakura grinned. "Great, I love scary movies."
  212.33 +  Madison giggled and offered Sakura some popcorn. They sat like that until the movie got going. As the young blond entered the darkened room of the abandoned mansion the music cut off. Sakura and Madison scooted closer together, hugging tightly. Then the killer jumped out and attacked the girl. Both Sakura and Madison jumped spillign popcorn everywhere. They looked at eachother and laughed. "I'll go get the vaccume, you wait here Sakura." Madison said cheerfully.
  212.34 +  After everything was cleaned up the girls headed upstairs to Madison's room. "Oops, I forgot to get a night shirt. Do you have one I could barrow Madison?"
  212.35 +  Madison smiled. "Even better, i have somethign I made you could wear."
  212.36 +  Sakura bit her lip. "This isn't going to be too silly is it?"
  212.37 +  Madison smiled and reached into her closet. "You tell me. What do you think?" She pulled out the clothing and Sakura stared.
  212.38 +  "It's beutiful Madison," Sakura whispered. It was a flowing outfit made of black material with silver threads that flashed s it moved. It was very low cut in the front and back and from what Sakura could see it didn't leave much to the imagination.
  212.39 +  Madison blushed at Sakura's comment. "Thanks, I made it with you in mind."
  212.40 +  Sakura nodded and gently took it. "I see that. But you would look great in this too you know."
  212.41 +  Madison blushed and reached into the closet. "I made myself one too. See?" 
  212.42 +  Both girls quickly changed into their new outfits and tried them on. "Wow Madison, I feel like a princess."
  212.43 +  Madison smiled at her. "Well it's only fair." She smiled and rubbed Sakura's cheek. "You are so perfect Sakura."
  212.44 +  Sakura smiled at Madison. "Only because you make me that way." Both girls leaned in and kissed quickly.
  212.45 +  Madison smiled. "Would my princess like to dance?"
  212.46 +  Sakura smiled and laughed. "Sure."
  212.47 +  Madison walked over to her sterio and put a CD in. Soft music filled the room. Madison also smiled and set up a camera on the shelf and pointed it to where Sakura was standing. Then she walked back and faced Sakura. Both girl smiled and curtsied to eachother. 
  212.48 +  Sakura reached out and took Madison's hand, putting her other hand around Madison's neck. Madison wrapped her hand around Sakura's waist and both of them began to dance. 
  212.49 +  Sakura didn't know how much time passed before the CD finished. She and Madison had been stairing into eachother's eyes the entire time. In fact the CD had ended several minuted before and neither girl had noticed. They had been brought out of it by the sound of the tape in the camera stopping and rewinding automatically. 
  212.50 +  Madison smiled at Sakura, "That was wonderful Sakura, thank you."
  212.51 +  Sakura giggled. "I liked it too you know."
  212.52 +  They hugged and then Sakura yawned. "I think it's time for bed."
  212.53 +  Madison agreed and both of them climbed under the covers of Madison's bed. As they drifted off to sleep they managed to put their arms around eachother. 
  212.54 +
  212.55 +  The next morning Sakura woke up to the sound of Madison's alarm clock. She smiled and reached out to Madison, but the other girl wasn't in the bed. Sakura yawned and streatched before reluctantly crawling out of the warm bed. Standing up she saw herself in the full length mirror of Madison's closet. Her hair was hanging down the sides of her face, but other than that she looked fine. She spent the next several minutes posing infront of the mirror. 
  212.56 +  Finally she turned to go downstair. She saw her school clothes neatly set on a chair by the door. Next to them were some other clothes Madison had obviously left for her to change into. A pink shirt and some blue shorts. Sakura smiled and changed. Once that was doen she headed downstairs. 
  212.57 +  When she got to the living room Sakura noticed the smell of eggs and sausage. Smiling she walked into the kitchen and saw Madison at the stove. "Wow Madison, that smells good."
  212.58 +  Madison turned and smiled at her. "It's nothing really. I woke up a while ago and you looked so cute I couldn't wake you up."
  212.59 +  Sakura winked. "Well thanks. Do you need any help?"
  212.60 +  Madison shook her head and put the egg she had been cooking onto a plate. "I'm already done. Here is your plate."
  212.61 +She handed Sakura a plate with some eggs and sausage on it, then took her own plate and sat down across from her.
  212.62 +  Sakura eagerly took a bite and smiled. "This is great Madison. You are a really good cook."
  212.63 +  Madison blushed. "Thank you Sakura. So what would you like to do today?"
  212.64 +  Sakura ate while she thought about it. Swallowing her mouth full of food she said, "Well some of the girls at school said they were going to go to the park today to play a game of volleyball. Want to see if we can join them?"
  212.65 +  Madison smiled, "That sounds great. We haven't really gotten to play volleyball since that trip to the beach."
  212.66 +  Sakura smiled and they both finished their breakfast and cleaned up the dishes. After they packed themselves a lunch both girls headed out the door and began walking to the park.
  212.67 +
  212.68 +  When they got to the park they noticed Miss Makinzy sitting on the bench by the gate reading a book. She smiled up at them. "Hello Sakura, Madison. How are you two doing today?"
  212.69 +  Sakura smiled. "We're alright. Have you seen any of our friends around? We were hoping to play some volleyball."
  212.70 +  Miss Makinzy nodded, "I think I saw them in the sand pit by the penguin slide. They were only just starting."
  212.71 +  Both girls thanked her and Madsion said, "See you in school on Monday."
  212.72 +  Miss Makinzy laughed softly. "Alright, have fun you two."
  212.73 +  Madison and Sakura walked away heading towards the sand pits. Sakura turned to Madison. "I don't see why Lee doesn't like her, do you?"
  212.74 +  Madison shook her head, "She's very mysterious alot of the time, but she really hasn't ever done anything for him to be like that. Maybe it's just because he thought he was going to be the only card captor then the two of you showed up or something."
  212.75 +  Sakura nodded, then looked up as someone called their names. "Hey Sakura! Madison!"
  212.76 +  They looked up and saw their friends standing in the volleyball court. "Hey you guys, can we play?" Sakura asked.
  212.77 +  Their friends waved them over and one said, "Sure, we're short four people anyway."
  212.78 +  Sakura looked at her suprised. "You mean even if we play we're still missing two people? Who else can we get to play?"
  212.79 +  Madison looked around then elbowed Sakura in the ribs. Sakura looked and saw Lee walking buy, followed closely by Maylin. She looekd at her friends who nodded. Then she turned back  and said, "Hey Lee. Maylin! Do you two want to play some volleyball? We need two more people."
  212.80 +  Lee looked at Maylin who shrugged, then back at Sakura. "Sure, no problem."
  212.81 +  The kids broke off into two teams with Lee and Madison on one side and Sakura wityh Maylin on the other team. (You may be wondering why I don't mention any of the others. It's because I can'r remember any of their names.)
  212.82 +As they played neither Sakura or Madison pulled any punches. Each of them slapped the ball at eachother as much as they did the others. 
  212.83 +  In the end they tied. Everyone congradulated eachother, even Lee mumbled something encouraging, though he still didn't smile. Maylin, however, grabbed his arm tightly and said, "Well I think Lee did the best!"
  212.84 +  Everyone rolled their eyes and Lee blushed slightly. Then Sakura and Madison's friends told them that they each had some plans and that they would see them later. Lee and Maylin sat down on the rocks and looked at them. "So have you seen any Clow cards lately Avalon?" Lee asked.
  212.85 +  Sakura shook her head. "No. Kero says he isn't suprised. There are only afew cards left and he thinks they may be trying to remain low profile."
  212.86 +  Lee nodded. "The Lazen board hasn't been pointing any out either."
  212.87 +  Maylin frowned at Sakura then looked at Lee. "Don't worry Lee. I'm sure you'll catch the rest of the cards really soon."
  212.88 +  Lee grunted slightly, but made no other responce. Maylin frowned at him, then turned away. "Fine be like that."
  212.89 +  Sakura looked at Lee. "Why are you always so mean to everyone Lee?"
  212.90 +  Lee looked up startled. "What did I do?'
  212.91 +  Sakura looked at Madison, then stepped forward. "You never smile, you barely put two words together in a day, and you always act suspicious of everyone. And the one person who can put up with it all the time you ignore."
  212.92 +  Lee's frown deepend. "Well it's not like I do it on purpose."
  212.93 +  Maylin stood up and looked at Sakura, "Besides it's none of your business anyway. I don't need any help from you Avalon."
  212.94 +  Madison stepped up into Maylin's face. "Leave her alone Maylin, she was trying to help you."
  212.95 +  Maylin looked at her and stuck out her tongue. Madison sighed exasperatedly and turned away. Lee held up his hand. "Don't I get to say anything about this?" 
  212.96 +  Everyone looked at him suprised. He stood up and looked around. "Look, I don't mean to be a jerk. I just think a lot alright? I didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings. I just want to keep focused and not let things distract me."
  212.97 +  Sakura smiled. "We all understand that Lee. It would just be nice if you showed it sometime."
  212.98 +  Lee sighed and sat down. "I'll try." He looked up and suprised them all by smiling slightly. Maylin smiled and hugged him. 
  212.99 +  Sakura looked around. "Hey, how about we go to the Zoo? I think Tory is still working there."
 212.100 +  They all turned and headed towards the zoo. Sakura smiled and stopped by the lion's cage. Madison stepped up behind her. "What are you thinking about Sakura?"
 212.101 +  Sakura smiled and looked over the lions. "Kero says that once we get all of the cards he'll get alot bigger. I was just wondering what will happen then. I mean will he go back in the Clow book with the cards? Or if he does stay what will I tell my dad and Tory? And what could I use the cards for really once they are all caught?"
 212.102 +  Madison put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "I'm sure it will all work out Sakura. After all Kero always says it was your destiny to find the cards. Maybe once you have them all you can help people fight off bad magic."
 212.103 +  Sakura turned and smiled at her. "You really think so?"
 212.104 +  Madison smiled and nodded. "I'm sure of it. I mean he did say that Clow Reed made his own kind of magic and that there were others out there. But in the mean time we can focus on the cards and worry about the future when it get's here."
 212.105 +  Sakura nodded and looked back towards the lions. "Still... Oh I guess you're right Madison. You always knwo just what to say to cheer me up."
 212.106 +  They both looked around and saw Maylin and Lee looking at the polar bear enclosure. Sakura and Madison walked over and looked in with them. Inside the cage Tory was feeding the bears from a bucket of fish. 
 212.107 +  When he was done Tory exited the cage through a door in the back. Sakura and the other's turned to walk away, then saw Tory behind them. "Hey squirt."
 212.108 +  Sakura frowned. "I told you not to call me that."
 212.109 +  Tory laughed and shook his head. "Just try and stop me. So what are you up to today?" He looked at Lee and frowned.
 212.110 +  Lee blushed and looked back at him. Sakura stepped in and smiled. "We were playing some volleyball earlier and now we were checking out the animals. You got my note didn't you?"
 212.111 +  Tory stopped glaring at Lee and said, "Yeah. Messiest note you ever wrote. It had chocolate all ove rit and didn't look like your hand writing even. And you two polished off half the cake. I thought it was pretty funny though that you dipped that stuffed animal of your's paw in the frosting and left a paw print on it." 
 212.112 +  Sakura blushed and laughed nervously. "Well I'm glad you appreciated it. Sorry about the cake. Was there enough there for you and dad?" 
 212.113 +  He nodded. "Yeah. Hey I'll see you later alright? I have to clean up and meet Julian at the basket ball court. I'll see you when you get home alright?"
 212.114 +  Sakura nodded and Tory walked away. Lee looked at her and said, "I don't think he likes me very much."
 212.115 +  "Well you can't really blame him. The first time he saw you you were trying to take the Clow cards from me. Maybe if you appologized to him." Sakura said.
 212.116 +  Lee frowned and Madison giggled. "I get the feeling that appologizing isn't Lee's strong point."
 212.117 +  Maylin leaned against Lee who looked at her like she was crazy. "Lee can do anything."
 212.118 +  Sakura smiled and Maylin leaned against her. "Well Sakura can do anything Lee can."
 212.119 +  Sakura and Lee blushed as the fight got going. Sakura stepped in. "Hey Madison it's time for lunch." Madison and Sakura sat down and opened their lunch bags. Lee and Maylin looked at them hungrily. Madison and Sakura smiled and split their sandwiches with them.
 212.120 +  When Sakura handed Lee half her sandwich Maylin frowned. "Avalon, stop doing stuff like that."
 212.121 +  Sakura looked at her confused. "Doing what?"
 212.122 +  Maylin frowned. "Things like that. You keep being nice and everything to Lee even though you know I like him. And you can catch cards and I can't. It just isn't fair." She bit into her half sandwich and turned away. 
 212.123 +  Sakura looked at Lee who shrugged. Then at Madison. Madison looked back at her and they both started laughing. Maylin looked back even angrier than before. "What's so funny?"
 212.124 +  Sakura stopped laughing and smiled at her. "Maylin you have nothing to worry about. I mean Lee's a great guy and everything, but he's not really my type. Besides I'm already seeing someone."
 212.125 +  Both Lee and Maylin seemed to be rather interested all of a sudden. Sakura could tell Lee was interested because he didn't even flinch as Maylin slipped her arm around his. Maylin looked at her suspiciously, "So what is your type. And who is it you are seeing. In the entire time we've been here the only guy I've even seen you anywhere near is that friend of your brothers."
 212.126 +  Sakura blushed and glanced at Madison. Madison meanwhile had decided to have a little fun. "Yes Sakura, what is your type?" 
 212.127 +  Sakura smiled. "Ha ha, very funny Madison. You know there has only ever been one person I've been in love with." 
 212.128 +  Madison giggled and blushed. "Yeah, but you never actually told anyone. All our friends figured it out on their own. And you never even talk about it."
 212.129 +  Sakura bit her lip and giggled. "Like you do?"
 212.130 +  Madison blushed and was about to respond when Maylin interupted, "What are you two talking about?"
 212.131 +  Sakura looked at her and Lee. "You mean you really don't know?" Maylin and Lee both looked and at her. Sakura and Madison laughed. "We are a couple."
 212.132 +  Lee and Maylin's eyes widend in astonishment. "Wha-what?" Maylin asked.
 212.133 +  Sakura and Madison turned and kisses eachother quickly on the lips. Then Madison looked back at them. "Get the picture?"
 212.134 +  Lee nodded. "I thought those were just rumors. Sorry." 
 212.135 +  They both smiled and winked. "No problem Lee. it's not exactly like we flaunt it. In fact we don't even really talk about it much in public. It just kind of... happens, you know?"
 212.136 +  Maylin looked confused, "But how did... I mean when did you two... this is weird."
 212.137 +  Sakura smiled. "Well actually that's an interesting point. You see it all happened afew years ago when we were really young..."
 212.138 +
 212.139 +  Sakura stood in the field with Madison. They had just finished saying that they loveed eachother and Madison had whispered that Sakura had no idea how much Madison really loved her. "What do you mean Madison?"
 212.140 +  "I'll tell you when you're older. Come on it's starting." They had run off to the fair they had been going to. They had spent the entire day there and had a great time. But Sakura had been thinking about what Madison had said. 
 212.141 +  That night Madison had gotten permission from her mother to spend the night at Sakura's house. They had been playing video games when Sakura suddenly turned it off. Madison looked at her and said, "What did you do that for?"
 212.142 +  Sakura looked at her. "I was wondering something Madison. You know how earlier you said you loved me... more than I thought?"
 212.143 +  Madison blushed. "Yeah...well you know I..."
 212.144 +  Sakura looked at her. "I wanted to know if you meant it? I mean I know we're kind of young to be thinking about this stuff, but I just wanted to know if you meant what you said."
 212.145 +  Madison bit her lip, but since they were only about nine years old she didn't embarrass easily. "Well yeah Sakura. Like you said we're a bit young for all of that... but I can't think of anyone else who I could feel that way about."
 212.146 +  Sakura smiled. "I know what you mean Madison. When I said I loved you I meant it too. You just cut me off before I could say it."
 212.147 +  Madison looked at her eyes. "You mean it Sakura?"
 212.148 +  Sakura nodded and they hugged. "This is so cool! Hey, let's celebrate by finishign off that pizza that's in the refrigerator!"
 212.149 +  They both ran downstairs to eat.
 212.150 +
 212.151 +  "And that's the way it happend." Sakura finished. 
 212.152 +  Madison smiled and poked her in the ribs. "I still say I was going to win that game before you cut it off."
 212.153 +  Sakura laughed. "No you weren't and you know it." They both giggled while Lee and Maylin looked at them strangely. 
 212.154 +  Maylin whispered in Lee's ear, "You know they don't actually seem any different than before."
 212.155 +  Lee nodded. "That's because they aren't. Don't worry about it Maylin. Anyway will you stop acting all jealous around her now?"
 212.156 +  Maylin looked at him. "But I like you Lee, I can't help it."
 212.157 +  Lee sighed. "I like you too Maylin, but when you start acting excited or jealous about it it get's embarassing."
 212.158 +  Maylin looked at him. "You mean you really do like me!" She started to get excited, but then saw him frown and stopped herself. Then she saw Sakura and Madison looking at them. "Oh what are you looking at?"
 212.159 +  Madison giggled and Sakura took the last bite of her sandwich and tossed the trash away. Lee looked at the two of them and asked, "Do your families know about this?"
 212.160 +  Sakura nodded. "Yeah, they seem alright with it. Infact my dad's exact words were 'Atleast I don't have to worry about boys chasing you.'"
 212.161 +  Madison smiled. "And my mom supported me whole heartedly. Even Tory doesn't tease us about it."
 212.162 +  "Atleast not since I suggested that he and Julian made a cute couple. He turned so red you couldn't even see his zits any more." Sakura laughed.
 212.163 +  Maylin looked at her strangely. "They aren't a couple are they?"
 212.164 +  Sakura shook her head. "Of course not. Any way are you two alright with this? I mean you aren't freaked out or anything are you?"
 212.165 +  Lee shook his head and Maylin bit her lip thinking. "I don't really know... I guess not. I mean it's not like it makes any real difference." 
 212.166 +  Sakura smiled and nodded. "Then that's that. So what would you like to do now?" 
 212.167 +  Lee was about to answer when his watch beeped. He looked down at it. "It looks like we need to go home. It's time for us to train and if we're late we have to do extra. We'll talk to you later alright?" He and Maylin ran off leaving Madison and Sakura where they were. 
 212.168 +  Once they were gone Madison turned to look at Sakura. "So what do we do now?"
 212.169 +  Sakura thought about it. "Why don't we go flying?"
 212.170 +  Madison's eyes gleamed. "Really? I mean in the middle of the day?"
 212.171 +  Sakura nodded. "Why not? If anybody saw us nobody would believe them and it's not like they can see our faces. Come on let's go." 
 212.172 +
 212.173 +  As Sakura and Madison rose above the clouds they both felt a slight chill. Madison scooted closer to Sakura, holding her close. "It's so beutiful up here Sakura."
 212.174 +  Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it's great. It's so calm and peaceful up here."
 212.175 +  The wand flew to the right and passed over the school. "It looks totaly different when nobody is there." Madison said. 
 212.176 +  Sakura smiled at her. "I know what you mean. It's so much more alive on school days." 
 212.177 +  They continued flying all over the town, stopping in place occasionaly to discuss some memories of some of their favorite places. Madison remembered everywhere that Sakura had ever caught a card. 
 212.178 +  As the sun set Sakura turned the wand back towards Madison's house. They had one day left in the weekend before school was out and they weren't going to waist it.
 212.179 +
 212.180 +The End
 212.181 +
 212.182 +Author's note
 212.183 +  I was watching the episode where Lee shows up for the first time and some of the comments made me start to think. What if Madison and Sakura are already an item and everybody knows about it and is ok with it? So I wrote this> Hope you liked it. If you wish to comment send your emails to clayton_n@hotmail.com
 212.184 \ No newline at end of file

   213.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   213.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_adv-in-time.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   213.3 @@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
   213.4 +Sakura and Tomoyo's adventure through time
   213.5 +By Radar
   213.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   213.7 +
   213.8 +-------------------------------
   213.9 +DISCLAIMER:
  213.10 +Card Captor Sakura belong to CLAMP! Doctor Who belongs to the BBC!
  213.11 +This is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  213.12 +
  213.13 +
  213.14 +
  213.15 +They stood next to the time rotor, feeling very vibration, hearing
  213.16 +it's constant hum. 'Where are we going this time Doctor?' the blonde
  213.17 +haired young woman asked the slightly taller brown haired man. The
  213.18 +Doctor grinned at her. 'Farther than even before Rose!' he replied,
  213.19 +pressing various buttons on the centre console. The TARDIS shook
  213.20 +roughly. The main display turned to static for a moment before coming
  213.21 +to life with a high pitched beeping sound. 'What?' The Doctor asked,
  213.22 +aloud. Grabbing his Mallet, he hit part of the console hard, causing
  213.23 +his ship to shake again and again. He hit the console again, harder
  213.24 +this time. 'What's wrong Doctor?' Rose asked, almost loosing her
  213.25 +footing. 'Just a small problem!' the Doctor replied, 'Easily sorted!'
  213.26 +He dropped the mallet and started pressing the various buttons and
  213.27 +flicking the various switches. 'A small problem?' Rose asked,
  213.28 +unconvinced, 'Remember the last small problem? We were stuck on a
  213.29 +desert planet for 3 weeks before you fixed the TARDIS!' The Doctor
  213.30 +snorted. 'I can't remember you complaining Rose Tyler!' The TARDIS
  213.31 +gave one last lurch before everything went black for The Doctor and
  213.32 +Rose.
  213.33 +
  213.34 +'Tomoyo-chan..' an auburn haired girl said, blushing brightly. 'Hai
  213.35 +Sakura-chan?'' Tomoyo replied, hugging her friend tighter. 'What
  213.36 +happened to letting them know softly?' Sakura asked. Their friends
  213.37 +had almost fainted when the found out she was dating Tomoyo, but
  213.38 +admitted that they had suspected something was going on between their
  213.39 +2 friends. Tomoyo was just about to reply when her long dark hair was
  213.40 +suddenly whipped up by a gust of wind. Slowly an outline of something
  213.41 +appeared around them, accompanied by a loud whooshing sound. Slowly a
  213.42 +big blue English Police box appeared around them. Gasping Sakura and
  213.43 +Tomoyo marvelled at the sight that had suddenly appeared around them.
  213.44 +'Where are we?' Tomoyo asked. 'I don't know Tomoyo-chan?' Sakura
  213.45 +replied. They looked around before noticing an unfamiliar man and
  213.46 +woman, out cold near the centre of the room. Suddenly the man sat up
  213.47 +straight and looked around. 'What happened?' he asked himself. 'Who
  213.48 +are you?' he asked, upon seeing Sakura and Tomoyo.
  213.49 +'Sakura Kinomoto!'
  213.50 +'Tomoyo Daidouji!' The girl groaned and sat up, holding her head.
  213.51 +'Are you ok Rose?' the man asked. 'Yes Doctor!' Rose replied. 'Who
  213.52 +are you?' Sakura asked. 'I'm The Doctor and this is Rose Tyler!' the
  213.53 +man replied, helping Rose to her feet. 'The Doctor?' Tomoyo asked,
  213.54 +almost a whisper. 'Yes!' The Doctor replied. 'I've heard of you! But
  213.55 +you look different!' Tomoyo said. 'Different?' The Doctor repeated,
  213.56 +'I suppose so!'
  213.57 +'You are different! The man I heard of had curly blonde hair and
  213.58 +wore a multi coloured patch work coat!' Tomoyo said. The Doctor
  213.59 +smiled slightly. 'That was me! My sixth incarnation!' he said. 'And
  213.60 +you are?' Sakura asked. 'The tenth!' The Doctor replied. Suddenly the
  213.61 +time rotor came to life, moving with a soft whooshing sound. The
  213.62 +Doctor looked surprised. 'Did you touch anything Rose?' he asked.
  213.63 +Rose shook her head, equally surprised. 'I though that the TARDIS
  213.64 +couldn't fly with out you at the controls!' she said. 'Something must
  213.65 +be attracting it!' the Doctor said, now pushing the buttons in the
  213.66 +centre console, trying to stop his ship. 'Where were we anyway?' Rose
  213.67 +asked. 'Early 21st century Japan!' The Doctor said, not taking his
  213.68 +eyes off the console. The TARDIS shook slightly, before the time
  213.69 +rotor slowly came to a stop. Suddenly two more girls, one with short
  213.70 +dark hair and her friend, slightly shorter with shocking pink hair
  213.71 +slowly appeared near the doors. The first girl looked more masculin
  213.72 +then her pink haired friend. 'Where are we?' the pink haired girl
  213.73 +asked. 'We're in the TARDIS Mako-chan!' the slightly taller girl
  213.74 +replied, as her friend hugged her arm. 'Hello?' the Doctor said,
  213.75 +'How'd you know where you are?' Sakura pointed to Miki and leaned
  213.76 +closer to Tomoyo. 'Wasn't she the one who bumped into us earlier?'
  213.77 +she asked. Tomoyo nodded, 'Strange!'
  213.78 +'My grandpa told me about this! And I've been in it!' the first girl
  213.79 +said. 'Miki-chan.. lets go!' Mako-chan said. 'Don't worry Makoto!'
  213.80 +Miki said, smiling slightly, 'They're not gonna hurt us!' Makoto
  213.81 +slowly let Miki's arm go. 'Miki?' The Doctor repeated, 'Miki
  213.82 +Daidouji?'
  213.83 +'Hai?' Miki replied, her eyes meeting the Doctors. 'Have we met?'
  213.84 +she asked. 'Yes!' The Doctor said, smiling brightly, 'We met when you
  213.85 +were this tall!' he levelled his left hand a few inches below his
  213.86 +waist. 'Wow! You've grown!' Sudden recognition came over the tall
  213.87 +dark haired girl. 'Doctor?' she asked. The Doctor nodded. 'How are
  213.88 +you?' the girl asked, as if she was talking to an old friend. 'So
  213.89 +so!' he replied, 'I'm still getting used to this latest regeneraton!'
  213.90 +'Still?' Miki asked, 'It's been more then 10 years!' Rose, Sakura,
  213.91 +Tomoyo and Makoto looked at each other very confused. 'For you maybe!
  213.92 +But it's only been a few weeks for me!' The Doctor said. 'Still not
  213.93 +ginger I take it?' Miki asked. The Doctor smiled and shook his head.
  213.94 +Miki smiled before she saw Sakura and Tomoyo. 'Grandma? Grandpa?' she
  213.95 +asked, before hugging the younger girls tightly. She backed away to
  213.96 +find the younger girls looking at her, in a state of utter confusion.
  213.97 +'Didn't tell them did you?' Miki asked. 'No! We landed right on top
  213.98 +of them!' The Doctor replied. 'Like you did with me and Mako-chan?'
  213.99 +Miki asked. The Doctor nodded. 'Told us what?' Sakura asked. 'Sakura
 213.100 +Kinomoto, Tomoyo Daidouji meet Miki and Makoto Daidouji!' The Doctor
 213.101 +said. 'Our grandchildren?' Tomoyo asked. The Doctor shook his head.
 213.102 +'Miki's your granddaughter and Makoto is her wife!'
 213.103 +'Her wife?' Sakura asked, unsure if she'd heard right. 'Yep! It was
 213.104 +kind of a shotgun wedding!' Miki said, hugging the pink haired girl
 213.105 +while smiling happily. 'As I remember it, Miki-chan, we were drunk!'
 213.106 +Makoto said. 'We were after we got married!' Miki countered. Before
 213.107 +anything else could be said the time rotor whooshed into life again,
 213.108 +filling the room with a soft green light and soft whooshing sound.
 213.109 +'Again?' The Doctor asked. He moved to the console again and started
 213.110 +hitting every button he could. 'What's happening Doctor?' Miki asked,
 213.111 +stepping to his side. 'We're moving again!' Quickly The Doctor
 213.112 +started pushing buttons again. 'Push that button!' he told Miki,
 213.113 +pointing to a specific button. Quickly doing as instructed the TARDIS
 213.114 +surged and threw everyone from their feet. Makoto and Tomoyo fell on
 213.115 +to their respective partners, while The Doctor and Rose fell against
 213.116 +the centre console. 'Now where are we?' Rose asked, standing up. 'I'm
 213.117 +not sure!' The Doctor replied, 'But we were just in Japan again.. mid
 213.118 +21st century!'
 213.119 +'Are you ok?' Tomoyo and Makoto asked, rolling off Sakura and Miki.
 213.120 +'Hai! Just a bump on the head!' Sakura and Miki replied. 'What's
 213.121 +going on Doctor?' Miki asked as she stood up. 'I have no idea! The
 213.122 +only thing that can affect a TARDIS like this is a Stattenheim remote
 213.123 +control!' The Doctor said, 'But they were all destroyed when
 213.124 +Gallifrey was destroyed.'
 213.125 +'Maybe I can help you there!' a voice said from behind them. They
 213.126 +turned to see a a young woman with short ginger curly hair wearing a
 213.127 +multi coloured patch work coat with a small white cat badge on the
 213.128 +lapel, with yellow pants, a multi coloured waist coat and a shirt
 213.129 +with question marks on the collar, standing in the open door. 'Who
 213.130 +are you?' The Doctor asked. 'Don't you know?' the woman asked. 'You
 213.131 +look familiar but I can't say from where!' The Doctor said. 'Sensei?'
 213.132 +Miki asked. 'Hi Miki-chan!' the woman said, smiling slightly. The
 213.133 +woman grabbed the Doctor hands and rested them on her chest. '2
 213.134 +hearts?' The Doctor whispered. 'You're a Time Lord!'
 213.135 +'What's going on?' Rose asked. 'She's one of me!' The Doctor said.
 213.136 +'Huh?'
 213.137 +'You're just confusing the poor girl!' the woman said. She sighed,
 213.138 +having a feeling of Deja-vu. 'Rose.. I can call you Rose can't I?'
 213.139 +She asked. Rose nodded. 'I'll try and explain.. He's one of me!' she
 213.140 +said. 'You're a Time Lord?' Rose asked. 'Not just any Time Lord! The
 213.141 +same Time Lord!' The Doctor said. Everyone gasped. The Female Doctor
 213.142 +looked around before coming to a stop, looking at Miki. 'Miki it's ok
 213.143 +to cry if you want to!' The female Doctor said, 'You don't have to
 213.144 +act so manly all the time!' Makoto looked at Miki, instantly she knew
 213.145 +something was bothering her wife. 'Miki-chan?' Makoto asked. 'H...
 213.146 +Hai?'
 213.147 +'What's wrong?' Miki almost whimpered. 'Grandma!' The Doctors and
 213.148 +Makoto looked at Tomoyo. Miki sniffled before slowly starting to cry.
 213.149 +
 213.150 +FLASH
 213.151 +
 213.152 +Slowly the girl opened her eyes 'Morning Grandma!' she said softly.
 213.153 +'Morning Miki-chan!' the elderly woman said, as the young girl hugged
 213.154 +her. 'You stayed here all night?' Miki asked. Tomoyo nodded,
 213.155 +remembering the time her mother did the same with her years before.
 213.156 +Slowly and unsteadily, Miki stood up and kissed Tomoyo on the cheek,
 213.157 +before getting off the couch and running into the kitchen. 5 minutes
 213.158 +later she slowly walked back to the couch, Sakura behind her with a
 213.159 +mark on her cheek and some of her greying hair standing on end.
 213.160 +'Sorry grandpa!' Miki whispered. 'It's ok Miki-chan.. you don't know
 213.161 +how to stop doing that yet!' Sakura said, wipping the mark away.
 213.162 +'What happened?' a voice asked. 'I didn't mean to do it Kumiko-mama!
 213.163 +I was just surprised!' Miki said quickly. Kumiko sighed softly. 'Are
 213.164 +you excited to start school soon Miki?' Sakura asked. Miki nodded and
 213.165 +smiled. 'I've already got my uniform!' the girl said happily.
 213.166 +
 213.167 +THE NEXT WEEK
 213.168 +
 213.169 +Miki sat in class not noticing her teacher approch her, 'Daidoiji-
 213.170 +san.. could you go to the pricipals office?' the teacher asked.
 213.171 +'Hai!' Miki replied, very confused. Slowly he got up and left the
 213.172 +classroom. Making her way to the principals office, she wondered what
 213.173 +she'd done. She'd not been in any fights lately. 'You're expected!'
 213.174 +the receptionist said. As soon as she entered the office she knew
 213.175 +something was wrong when she saw her grandpa, mother and aunt.
 213.176 +'What's wrong Kumiko-mama?' Miki asked. 'Um.. It's Tomoyo-mama..'
 213.177 +Kumiko said, her voice failing her. 'No!' Miki said, shaking her
 213.178 +head. 'She can't be!'
 213.179 +'Miki!' Sakura started before Miki ran out of the room. She just
 213.180 +ran, not caring where she was going. 'She can't be gone!' she
 213.181 +thought. Coming to a stop, she found herself in the girls room.
 213.182 +Crying heavily, she rested against a closed door. Sliding to the
 213.183 +floor, she hugged her legs tightly. 'She can't be gone!' the pale
 213.184 +girl thought. Suddenly the door opened, causing Miki to fall back
 213.185 +onto the legs of a shorter shocking pink haired girl. 'What's wrong?'
 213.186 +the girl asked. 'My grandma's gone!' Miki whispered. The girl smiled
 213.187 +slightly, hugging Miki. 'You'll be ok!' she whispered. 'How?'
 213.188 +'My grandpa died last year!' The girl said, as Miki winced at her
 213.189 +choice of words, 'I know how you feel!' Miki sniffled and rubbed her
 213.190 +eyes. 'I'm Miki!' The girl smiled. 'I'm Makoto!' the girl replied,
 213.191 +helping Miki to her feet.
 213.192 +'Thanks Mako-chan!' Miki said, as they walked back to the pincipals
 213.193 +office. As they entered, Miki was sure she was going to be scolded.
 213.194 +'I'm sorry!' she said. She waited, and nothing came. No harsh words
 213.195 +or anything similar. Looking up, she saw Sakura, Kumiko and Nadeshiko
 213.196 +standing in front of her, also waiting. 'Don't worry about it Miki-
 213.197 +chan!' Sakura said, speaking up. Miki sniffled again and hugged her
 213.198 +grandpa tightly. Then and there Miki made a silent vow never to cry
 213.199 +again.
 213.200 +
 213.201 +YEARS LATER
 213.202 +
 213.203 +'What are you wearing Miki-chan?' a dark haired woman asked. 'My
 213.204 +school clothes Hikaru-papa!' Miki replied. Minutes later she walked
 213.205 +into the living room showing off her new clothes. 'You look like a
 213.206 +boy!' Kumiko said, 'except your hair!' Miki grinned slightly. 'No!'
 213.207 +Hikaru said, knowing what her daughter was going to do. 'But Hikaru-
 213.208 +papa...'
 213.209 +'I said no Miki-chan!' Hikaru said. Muttering something, Miki
 213.210 +quickly changed and left the house to make a vist to Makoto. 'Hi Miki-
 213.211 +chan!' Makoto said, upon seeing her friend approach her home. 'Mako-
 213.212 +chan.. could you cut my hair please?' Miki asked. 'Sure!' Makoto
 213.213 +said. It wasn't an uncommom event for the girls to cut each others
 213.214 +hair. 'Same as usual right?' the pink haired girl asked. Miki shook
 213.215 +her head. 'Shorter!' Makoto looked at her confused. 'How much
 213.216 +shorter?' she asked. Miki smiled before picking up a pair of sizzors
 213.217 +and cutting her long dark hair above her shoulders. 'Shorter?' Makoto
 213.218 +asked. 'Hai!' Miki replied. Slowly Makoto cut Miki's hair ever
 213.219 +shorter. Slowly Makoto backed away. 'How do I look Mako-chan?' Miki
 213.220 +asked. 'Like a boy Miki-chan!' Makoto replied, 'If I didn't know
 213.221 +better I'd swear you were a boy!' Miki smiled slightly. 'Good!' she
 213.222 +said.
 213.223 +
 213.224 +THE FOLLOWING DAY
 213.225 +
 213.226 +Miki and Makoto slowly approached their new school. Kumiko and
 213.227 +Hikaru had expressed their dissapointment in Miki for having her hair
 213.228 +cut when they told her no.'I still think you look like a boy Miki-
 213.229 +chan!' Makoto whispered. Miki smiled. Her new hair cut was having the
 213.230 +intended effect. 'Mako-chan... Miki-chan wait up!' a voice from
 213.231 +behind them called. Slowly they turned around. The girl who had
 213.232 +called out blushed. 'I'm so sorry!' she said, 'I thought you were
 213.233 +someone else!' Makoto blushed slightly as the girl leaned closer. 'I
 213.234 +didn't know you had a boy friend Mako-chan!' Miki took that as her
 213.235 +sign and lightly kissed a surprised Makoto. Leaning away, she smiled
 213.236 +at the expresion on her friends face, embrassment mixed with
 213.237 +happinerss. 'Hi Rei-chan!' Miki said. Rei looked at her, very
 213.238 +confused. Leaning closer the girl gasped. 'Miki-chan?' Rei asked, 'I
 213.239 +didn't know you were a boy!'
 213.240 +'I'm not!' Miki said. 'I just dress like one!' Rei looked
 213.241 +unconviced. 'Prove it!' she said, as her twin slowly walked up. 'Hi
 213.242 +Mako-chan.. Miki-chan!'
 213.243 +'Hi Hil-chan!' Miki replied. 'Hillary.. you knew?' Rei whined. Miki,
 213.244 +Makoto and Hillary smiled slightly before slowly walking into the
 213.245 +school.
 213.246 +
 213.247 +END
 213.248 +
 213.249 +Slowly her tears came to a stop and Miki wiped her eyes. 'Sorry
 213.250 +about that!' Miki said. Tomoyo smiled softly. 'It's ok Miki-chan!'
 213.251 +Tomoyo said. Makoto hugged the slightly taller girl, knowing how long
 213.252 +it had been since she'd last cried. The TARDIS shuddered. 'We've
 213.253 +landed again!' The female Doctor muttered. They'd been so focused in
 213.254 +listening to Miki that they'd not heard the time rotor whoosh into
 213.255 +life. Slowly they moved to the door, not even seein a small pink
 213.256 +haired girl emerge from behind the time rotor. 'Mama...' she
 213.257 +whispered as the doors closed. Quickly she opened the door and ran
 213.258 +behind the TARDIS, still being able to see everything, but unable to
 213.259 +hear what was being said. The girl gasped as the much taller alien
 213.260 +lifted his whip and aimed it at Makoto. 'No...' the girl whispered,
 213.261 +tears stinging her eyes. In a flash, Makoto was gone. 'NO!' Miki
 213.262 +screamed, staring at the empty space where Makoto had stood. Slowly
 213.263 +she reached into her bag and pulled out a pink card. 'Please take me
 213.264 +back!' The girl whispered. Sakura turned around in time to see the
 213.265 +girl before time reversed itself. The alien raised his whip again and
 213.266 +aimed at Makoto. Before it made contact with the pink haired girl, it
 213.267 +was deflected by an invisable bubble, surprising everyone. Everone
 213.268 +except Sakura, Tomoyo and Miki. Turning Sakura ran behind the TARDIS
 213.269 +to see the girl prop herself against it. 'Please stay away!' the girl
 213.270 +whispered, holding another card. Sakura smiled at took hold of the
 213.271 +card. 'Shield!' she whispered. The invisable bubble surrounding
 213.272 +Makoto expanded until it fit around the TARDIS. 'It must have been
 213.273 +Time!' Sakura thought, 'But she's so young!' The girl looked at her
 213.274 +in disbelief. 'How? Only Grandma, her sister, papa and auntie can use
 213.275 +it?' the girl asked. Sakura smiled softly. 'What about your great-
 213.276 +grandpa?' she asked. 'Her too!' the girl admitted. 'Hi!' The girl
 213.277 +hugged her tightly. 'I'm Tomoko!' she said. Sakura was really
 213.278 +surprised. She'd met her granddaughter and great-granddaughter in the
 213.279 +same day. Tomoko smiled slightly. 'Papa really misses you and great-
 213.280 +grandma!' Tomoko blurted out. 'But I think I'd better get home before
 213.281 +I get in trouble!' Sakura nodded numbly as the girl quickly ran into
 213.282 +the Police box, taking the cards with her. 'Quickly... inside the
 213.283 +TARDIS!' The Doctor said. The alien watched on as they ran into a
 213.284 +small box and dissapeared. The first stop was Tomoko and the female
 213.285 +Doctor. The young girl was hidden from everyone, except Sakura, to
 213.286 +whom she gave a small wave. 'Remember.. the universe is big enough
 213.287 +for all of us.. maybe!' The female Doctor said, closing the TARDIS
 213.288 +door. The Doctor grunted. The next stop was Miki and Makoto. 'Bye
 213.289 +grandpa, grandma!' Miki said. 'See you soon Miki-chan!' Tomoyo said,
 213.290 +as the taller girl pulled her and Sakura into a tight bear hug.
 213.291 +Makoto slowly pulled her away. 'It was nice to meet you Tomoyo-san!'
 213.292 +she said, bowing polietly. 'It was nice to see you again Sakura-san!'
 213.293 +Slowly they left, and the time rotor whooshed into life, going for
 213.294 +one final stop. 'Good bye Doctor!' Sakura said bowing. 'Good bye
 213.295 +Rose!' Tomoyo said also bowing. Exiting the TARDIS they hugged as it
 213.296 +slowly vanished with a soft whooshing sound. Sakura smiled slightly.
 213.297 +Slowly they walked away. 'Oh no!' Tomoyo said suddenly. 'What is it
 213.298 +Tomoyo-chan?' Sakura asked. 'I forgot to take my camera with me!' the
 213.299 +pale girl said, utter horror on her face, 'I don't have a video of
 213.300 +Sakura-chan's adventures in time!' Sakura smiled slightly, kissing
 213.301 +her girlfriends cheek. Suddenly a soft whoosing sound appeared and a
 213.302 +small video appeared in Sakura's hand. 'I think this is for you from
 213.303 +The Doctor!' Sakura said, handing it to Tomoyo. The pale girl smiled.
 213.304 +Slowly the started walking again, being very wery to not run into big
 213.305 +blue English Police Boxes.
 213.306 +
 213.307 +Authors notes
 213.308 +-----------------------------------------------------------------
 213.309 +I hope you enjoyed reading this story.
 213.310 +This is my first crossover story... I hope everyone likes it.
 213.311 \ No newline at end of file

   214.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   214.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_chseasons.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   214.3 @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
   214.4 +Changing Seasons
   214.5 +by tehwalrus, a Card Captor Sakura fanfiction
   214.6 +
   214.7 +
   214.8 +
   214.9 +Winter  gently, slowly makes herself known. She creeps up in that first cold 
  214.10 +wind, in a guise as she first introduces herself to you, her long fingers 
  214.11 +playing through your hair, brown locks waving in the...
  214.12 +
  214.13 +
  214.14 +
  214.15 +Tomoyo closes her notebook with a happy but also regretful sigh as class 
  214.16 +finishes. She wanted to keep writing, but now she gets to go on her date with 
  214.17 +Sakura-chan! Of course, not a real date... She smiles at the brown haired 
  214.18 +bishoujo sitting in the desk next to her. "How is your poem coming Sakura-chan? 
  214.19 +Is it going to be excellent or spectacular?" The second girl blushes very 
  214.20 +cutely as she finishes packing up. "Tomoyo-chan... it really isn't as good as 
  214.21 +you say it is."
  214.22 +
  214.23 +Naoko, Chiharu and Rika walked over just then, each of the girls carrying thier 
  214.24 +schoolstuffs. Tomoyo smiles softly to the three, "Hello Naoko, Rika, Chiharu. 
  214.25 +Could you tell me how good this poem is?" She struggles just a little to bring 
  214.26 +up her memory of it, then begins to recite.
  214.27 +
  214.28 +"Sakura blossoms and Spring are two parts of the same thing. One just another 
  214.29 +flower without the other while Spring would be never seen without pink and 
  214.30 +green..."
  214.31 +
  214.32 +"Oh, very nice Tomoyo!" All three of Sakura's friends congratulated, Sakura 
  214.33 +blushing deeply. Tomoyo shakes her head a little bit, looking dreamily at 
  214.34 +Sakura. "Oh, that was Sakura-chan's great poem, not mine. It is very good 
  214.35 +Sakura-chan, everyone agreed." The girl nods, still blushing. "Hai, arigatou 
  214.36 +everyone. Tomoyo-chan and I were going to get ice cream before the store closes 
  214.37 +for christmas. Would you like to come too?"
  214.38 +
  214.39 +Tomoyo frowned only very slightly. She wanted to spend time alone with her 
  214.40 +genki friend, but wanting to make everyone happy and feel included was part of 
  214.41 +what made Sakura-chan Sakura-chan. Chiharu noticed the little disappointed look 
  214.42 +on Tomoyo's face, and quickly shook her head. "Sorry Sakura, we were all going 
  214.43 +to go over some homework together so we'll have it all done for the break." The 
  214.44 +other two nodded after a second, realizing what was going on. "We'll come next 
  214.45 +time."
  214.46 +
  214.47 +Tomoyo whispered a small thank you as the three friends left and felt bad... 
  214.48 +Sakura had confided in her, saying how she wasn't happy about how she and the 
  214.49 +other three girls were growing apart, not realizing everyone had taken to 
  214.50 +leaving the brunette alone with Tomoyo for the heiress' sake. Sonomi kept 
  214.51 +saying that Sakura-chan was definately having more fun with just Tomoyo... but 
  214.52 +Tomoyo always felt guilty anyways, though not enough to give up this time with 
  214.53 +her Sakura-chan. She felt even more guilty for not acting on her guilt.
  214.54 +
  214.55 +
  214.56 +
  214.57 +...wind. She stays the same inside, but over time her intensity grows unable to 
  214.58 +hide itself and she snows down, showing her true colors, ruining your happiness 
  214.59 +with her frozen tears.
  214.60 +
  214.61 +
  214.62 +
  214.63 +Tomoyo smiles as Sakura tells her about how Christmas had originated in the 
  214.64 +South Pole, but then Santa had to move since his wife was allergic to penguins. 
  214.65 +Tomoyo takes a bite of ice cream, shaking her head ruefully. "Did Yamazaki-kun 
  214.66 +tell you that Sakura-chan?" She giggles as Sakura nods emphatically. "I think 
  214.67 +maybe he was making it up."
  214.68 +
  214.69 +Sakura blushes deeply again, embarassed at herself. "I always believe him..." 
  214.70 +Tomoyo reaches across the table, taking Sakura's hand in both of her own and 
  214.71 +smiling softly at the brunette.
  214.72 +
  214.73 +"Sakura-chan is sweet and trusting. Don't be ashamed about it, those are some 
  214.74 +of the things that make Sakura-chan so perfect and wonderful." Tomoyo cringes 
  214.75 +inwardly... I have to tone it down some, not even kawaii Sakura-chan is 
  214.76 +completely naive. Of course, she was going to tell Sakura her feelings soon 
  214.77 +enough. If the poem Sakura was going to open on Christmas morning wasn't 
  214.78 +enough, Tomoyo wrote at the bottom "I love you Sakura, as your mother loved 
  214.79 +your father." Not even Sakura's naivety could escape the blatance there.
  214.80 +
  214.81 +Sakura paled, her eyes going wide. "Tomoyo-chan... you love me?" Her speech 
  214.82 +comes out a bare whisper, but it more than enough to startle the heiress out of 
  214.83 +her introspection. She... she must have said the words aloud? Tomoyo nods once, 
  214.84 +slipping the poem out of her notebook and setting it on the table, then running 
  214.85 +quickly out of the building. She wasn't expecting this, she wasn't prepared... 
  214.86 +she didn't know what to say, so she just ran and kept running, not noticing 
  214.87 +where she was going.
  214.88 +
  214.89 +Eventually she stops, finding herself on the bridge, and takes a seat along the 
  214.90 +edge of it, tears streaming down her face. "I ruined the whole plan, I was 
  214.91 +supposed to be at home when Sakura opened it, to give her a chance to reject me 
  214.92 +and never see me again. I was..." She stops midsentence at the sound of the so 
  214.93 +familiar voice behind her.
  214.94 +
  214.95 +"That's not fair Tomoyo-chan, I... you should have done as you did, and tell me 
  214.96 +to my face." Sakura puts a hand on Tomoyo's shoulder, sitting down beside her 
  214.97 +friend and pulling the sobbing girl into a comforting hug. "We're best friends 
  214.98 +Tomoyo-chan, you know you can tell me anything. I love you too..." Sakura's 
  214.99 +face lights up as she comes to that realization, and Tomoyo's sobs stop from 
 214.100 +where she's tucked agaisnt the brunette's shoulder.
 214.101 +
 214.102 +She looks up, most of her tears wiped from her cheeks. "Y-You do?" Sakura nods 
 214.103 +a little, grinning. "I do Tomoyo-chan... I didn't know it, but I do."
 214.104 +
 214.105 +
 214.106 +
 214.107 +And the brunette wipes the frosty tears away with a gentle kiss, holding Winter 
 214.108 +tight to herself and revealing Spring, still wet with sadness but joyful as 
 214.109 +happiness begins.
 214.110 \ No newline at end of file

   215.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   215.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_crooked.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   215.3 @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
   215.4 +Crooked
   215.5 +by Teresa Kaiju
   215.6 +teresa_kaiju@yahoo.com
   215.7 +
   215.8 +I guess it really started one sleepover when we were in the last year of middle school.  That's when I finally figured out why Tomoyo acted so strange.
   215.9 +
  215.10 +*********
  215.11 +
  215.12 +"Well, I got to thinking yesterday about boys."  I started.  I could almost see her little smile, even though we were in bed in the dark.
  215.13 +
  215.14 +"Boy's in general, or a particular boy."
  215.15 +
  215.16 +"Boy's in general.  I've gone out with more boys than I can remember since Shoaoran went back to Hong Kong.  And as far as I know you haven't gone out with any.  And I wondered why.  Then I remembered when girls used to ask me if my brother had a girlfriend.  And of course he didn't.  He had Yukito.  So I finally put two and two together.  You're like my brother, aren't you.   Except you are a girl who likes girls instead of a boy who likes boys."  I waited for her to deny it, but she was silent.  I wished I could see her face, but it was much too dark.  "Many times you've told me that I am your special girlfriend, but I didn't really know what you meant till now.  You don't really want anyone but me do you?"  I was proud of myself; it may have taken me a long time, but at least I did finally figure it out.  But Tomoyo was still silent.  "Well?  Do you deny it?
  215.17 +
  215.18 +"No.  I don't deny it.  Please don't hate me!"  Oh no!  She sounded like she was crying!  I must have really messed up.  Darn it!  I'm really bad at this sort of thing.  But after a moments hesitation I grabbed her and hugged her really tight against me.  I kissed her on her wet cheek and talked to her.
  215.19 +
  215.20 +"I don't hate you.  I love you.  Very very much.  Even more than my brother.  Maybe even more than my dad."  It was true I realized.  I did love her that much.  "Please don't cry!"  But she clung to me and kept on crying.  I didn't understand why she was crying but I was afraid to ask, so I just held her and kissed her a few more times and waited.  And eventually I fell asleep.
  215.21 +
  215.22 +The next morning she acted like nothing had happened.  And I was afraid to say anything about it for fear she would start crying again.  So I just acted like nothing had happened too.  But I thought about it a lot.
  215.23 +
  215.24 +I did love Tomoyo a lot all right, thinking about all the time I spent with her.  I would see her in home room and at lunch and then meet up with her every day after school and if Dad was gone on a dig, I would generally go over to her house for dinner and homework at least.  And then nearly every Saturday night I would sleep over at her house and Sunday's if I didn't have a date, we would spend the day together.  I never get tired of being with her.  And I thought this was great and it would go on forever.  
  215.25 +
  215.26 +But then when I got in high school I met Masaki, and he was SO special.  I was crazy about him.  I was sure that this wasn't just a little girls crush like it had been with Yuki, and Shoaoran.  This was the real thing.  
  215.27 +
  215.28 +Suddenly I wanted to spend ALL my time just with Masaki.  I had lunch with him and his boyfriends, and met him after school, so he could walk me home, and went out with him every Saturday night and most Sunday's.  And I didn't see Tomoyo much at all.  And I didn't miss her.  The thought did cross my mind once in a while that I should really spend more time with her, but it seemed like it always came down to a choice between her and Masaki.  And she lost out every time.
  215.29 +
  215.30 +This went on for most of that first year of high school, and then suddenly Masaki told me that we were through.  He had someone he liked better than me.  I was heartbroken.  I hardly ate, I messed up at school, and in short, I really didn't want to live.  If it wasn't for Tomoyo, I don't know what I would have done.  She insisted I go places and do things with her instead of just moping around my house.  And in a couple of weeks I felt better.
  215.31 +
  215.32 +That's when I got to thinking about what I had done to Tomoyo while I was crazy for Masaki.  She loved me and only me.  I was everything to her.  And I had effectively dumped her for some stupid boy!  Who didn't love me at all.  I really felt like kicking myself.  I thought I loved Tomoyo, but it seemed my love for her couldn't stand up against my attraction to boys.  There had to be something I could do.    
  215.33 +
  215.34 +So the next day I went over to visit my brother and Yukito at their house.  And I told them what my problem was and asked for advice.  And found out that the same thing would no doubt happen again.  And one of these times I would wind up marrying the boy and in effect dump Tomoyo forever.  And there wasn't anything I could do about it because I was attracted to boys and and not girls like Tomoyo.  "Can't I change who I'm attracted to?" I asked.
  215.35 +
  215.36 +"No, I'm afraid not." Yukito said gently.  "That's not something people can change.  I'm afraid you are stuck being attracted to boys.  And Tomoyo is stuck being attracted to other girls."
  215.37 +
  215.38 +"Attracted to the monster, you mean.  Poor Tomoyo!" my brother just had to add.  But I was so frustrated I didn't even yell at him.  It seemed an unsolvable problem, but I just couldn't let it go.
  215.39 +
  215.40 +Then later that night I got an idea.  It didn't matter if normal people can't change who they are attracted to.  Normal people can't sprout wings and fly either; but I can!  So why can't I change who I am attracted to?  I have a lot of magic power.  Why don't I use it to save Tomoyo from being left all alone.  I do love her.  So what is wrong with feeling attracted to her?  Of course the thought of kissing another girl on the lips was kind of icky, but so what.  I didn't have to actually kiss her, just not run off with some boy and ignore her.  The important thing was that I wouldn't be attracted to boys.  Boys were a rotten bunch anyway.  I could certainly live without them!
  215.41 +
  215.42 +So I got up and turned on the light.  I had some pictures of both Masaki and Tomoyo from when we went to the water park with my brother and Yuki.  I found one that showed both of them side by side.  Just as I suspected, the sight of Masaki in his bathing suit still gave me a flutter in my stomach.  He had to be the best looking boy in my school.  So this may just work.  I summoned my magic circle and then concentrated all my attention on Masaki and Tomoyo.  By concentrating the way Shoaoran's mother had taught me, I could feel my attraction to the handsome boy.  So I grabbed it with my mind and shifted it over to the picture of Tomoyo.  It didn't seem to do anything the first time but I kept my circle strong and kept trying different ways to transfer my feeling of attraction away from the boy and onto Tomoyo.  And then I suddenly felt it!  A really neat fluttery feeling inside when I looked at Tomoyo.  And when I looked at Masaki; nothing!  I was SO relieved.  And SO tired.  
  215.43 +
  215.44 +As I laid down to sleep I had an unpleasant thought, *what if this reversal doesn't last?*  Well if it didn't, I would just try again.  Until I got it right.  
  215.45 +
  215.46 +The next morning came really quick, and it seemed extra hard to get up and get moving.  Not surprisingly I barely made it to school on time.  Tomoyo had given up waiting for me at the school gate and was nearly to the building when I caught up with her..  "Hi Tomoyo!" I called out as I skated up behind her.  She stopped and turned and smiled at me as usual, but this morning she looked different.  More beautiful than I had ever seen her look.  I smiled back at her and felt good inside.  It was still working!  I was happy that I had managed to do what I had attempted, but I also felt happy that this beautiful girl was my very special girlfriend.  And she was crazy about me.  How neat!  And I had never appreciated this for the miracle that it was.
  215.47 +
  215.48 +I couldn't seem to take my eyes off her at lunch.  It made me feel good inside just to look at her.  And then when we were riding in her car over to her house after school, I moved in close to her and then I wanted to put my arm around her.  But I felt shy.  So I reminded myself that she really was crazy about me and she would really like to have my arm around her, and then I just did it!  She stopped right in the middle of what she was saying and just kept looking straight ahead. "Does that bother you?"  I asked as I quickly pulled my arm back.
  215.49 +
  215.50 +"No!" she squeaked.  Then she looked at me with her eyes open really wide.  "It doesn't bother me at all.  It was nice, really."  She finished.
  215.51 +
  215.52 +"Okay."  I replied, relieved, and I put my arm back around her and pulled her close.  It felt really good to have her up against me.  Even if it did feel kind of hot where she was touching me.  She went back to telling me about her writing assignment but she still sounded a little strange.
  215.53 +
  215.54 +Then when we got undressed for our bath, I found myself fascinated with her body.  She really had a wonderful figure, a lot nicer than mine.  I guess I was staring because I had got her attention. "Sakura?  Is something wrong?"
  215.55 +
  215.56 +"No.  Not a thing.  Everything is just fine." I finished with a happy smile.
  215.57 +
  215.58 +"Well, then why are you looking at me like that?"  *Good question* I thought.  Well, no reason not to tell her the truth.
  215.59 +
  215.60 +"I just noticed how beautiful you are.  You really do have a wonderful figure."  I said with feeling.
  215.61 +
  215.62 +"Oh." was all Tomoyo said.
  215.63 +
  215.64 +Then when we were soaking in the hot tub I moved over till I was almost touching her.  I really wanted to take her in my arms but I was still shy.  *Well this attraction thing is certainly working anyway.  Now maybe I should use my Magic to get over this shyness.  Well at least no boy is going to get between us now.*   My thoughts made me chuckle and Tomoyo nervously asked why I had laughed.  That's when it came to me.  *Should I tell her what I did?  Or not?*  It didn't take long to decide.  I really didn't want to lie to her about anything.  
  215.65 +
  215.66 +"I was feeling really guilty about how I had ignored you when I was going out with Masaki.  And so I talked to my brother and Yuki about why it had happened.  And they said it was just the attraction between girls and boys.  Or at least, girls like me and boys.  It's really really powerful.  And then I asked them if there was anyway I could avoid it happening again.  And they said there wasn't.  That in time I would fall in love with a boy and leave you again."  I noticed when I said this that she nodded and lost her little smile for a moment.  "Anyway I decided I would NOT accept this.  Normal people may be slaves to the way they are born but I had Magic.  And I was going to do something about this problem.  So I used my Magic to change who I was attracted to."  At this point Tomoyo took a sudden sharp breath and looked really shocked.  "Are you alright?"  I asked her as I put my hands on her shoulders.
  215.67 +
  215.68 +"You changed who you are attracted to...?" she practically whispered.
  215.69 +
  215.70 +"Yes.  I did.  I am no longer attracted to boys.  That's what I was laughing about.  No boy is going to get between us now."  She was still looking stunned as I continued with a big smile.  "Because now I am attracted to you just like you are attracted to me."  As she continued to stare at me, I notice just how nice her lips looked.  Kissing them wouldn't be icky at all.  In fact it might be really nice.  I was feeling really proud of myself now and brave I guess, because I moved in and kissed her right on her mouth.  And I was right.  It did feel nice.  But she only let me kiss her for just a moment before she pulled back and protested.
  215.71 +
  215.72 +"No!  Sakura-chan!  You can't do this to yourself!"
  215.73 +
  215.74 +"I already did it and I like it just fine."  With this I kissed her again.  This time she kissed me a little longer before she pulled back.
  215.75 +
  215.76 +"No!  You were normal.  Why did you make yourself like me?"
  215.77 +
  215.78 +"Because I love you, silly.  And I don't ever want anyone taking me away from you.  Now I can be satisfied with just you.  I don't need a boyfriend.  So we can be together, always.  Don't you want to be together with me?"
  215.79 +
  215.80 +"Of course I want to be together with you, but-"
  215.81 +
  215.82 +"And do you like kissing me?" I asked.
  215.83 +
  215.84 +"Oh yes...  Kissing you is heavenly.  I never thought I would ever have the chance to know what it felt like..."  That sounded good to me, so I kissed her again.  After a while we separated and she spoke again.  "Sakura-chan?"
  215.85 +
  215.86 +"Yes?"  I replied.  She shook her head as if to clear it before speaking again.  
  215.87 +
  215.88 +"This isn't right.  I can't let you sacrifice your future for me.  I would die of guilt!"
  215.89 +
  215.90 +"What sacrifice?" I asked.  "I'm giving up boys that's all.  And they're a bunch of jerks anyway."
  215.91 +
  215.92 +"But if you stay with me you will never have any children!"
  215.93 +
  215.94 +"Well as of right now, I don't really want any children.  And when I do, if I do, I'll figure out something.  Maybe I can use my magic to get you pregnant." I finished with a smile.  Her face looked sort of dreamy for a bit after that.  And I was getting too hot so I stood up and suggested we get dressed.  But when Tomoyo stood up I got another idea.  I just moved in and put my arms around her and held her against myself.  She didn't resist a bit, she just put her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder.  *This is neat!* I decided.  It was even more fun necking with Tomoyo than it had been with Masaki.  Of course I had never hugged Masaki naked either.  
  215.95 +
  215.96 +"What about your father?"  She said as she pulled her head back and looked at me again.  "Won't he be upset?"
  215.97 +
  215.98 +"He didn't get upset when he found out about my brother and Yukito.  I don't see why I should be any different."
  215.99 +
 215.100 +"Then there is society.  Japanese society doesn't accept girls like us very well.  People will give us all sorts of trouble."
 215.101 +
 215.102 +"Anything we can't handle as long as we stick together?"  When she hesitated I went on.  "After all, you are rich and I am a powerful Mage.  How could anyone possibly cause us any trouble we couldn't handle?"  This made her smile, which I was really glad to see.
 215.103 +
 215.104 +"Well, okay.  You do have a point there."  At this point I kissed her yet again.  This was becoming a habit.  And it was one I liked.  It was hard to believe I had ever thought kissing a girl was icky.  Tomoyo was kissing back now which made the kisses even better.  And they were longer too.  But then when we parted I noticed Tomoyo's mom was watching us from the door.  *Oh shoot, busted!* I thought to myself.  I let go of Tomoyo, took a deep breath, and spoke.  "Hello Mrs. Daidoji."  Not surprisingly Tomoyo turned around really fast.  But then I was relieved to notice that Tomoyo's mom didn't seem angry; in fact she smiled before she spoke.
 215.105 +
 215.106 +"Hello Girls.  I just wanted you to know that I was home and would like you to join me for dinner, if that would be okay?"
 215.107 +
 215.108 +"Sure, Mom.  We'll be down as soon as we get dressed."  Tomoyo answered.  When the door closed behind Mrs. Daidoji, I sat down on the edge of the tub and sighed.  "Don't worry Sakura, I don't think my mom will give you any problem about us kissing.  In fact, I expect she is happy about it."
 215.109 +
 215.110 +"Oh really?"  I replied.
 215.111 +
 215.112 +"Yes.  She has known for some time that I'm in love with you.  And she was really sad for me because of the hopelessness of it.  What with you being straight and all."
 215.113 +
 215.114 +"Straight?"
 215.115 +
 215.116 +"Girls who like boys are called straight."
 215.117 +
 215.118 +"Oh, Okay.  So how do we explain my suddenly turning crooked?"  I wasn't pleased when she burst out laughing.  "Okay!  What's the word?"  I growled.
 215.119 +
 215.120 +"It's lesbian."
 215.121 +
 215.122 +"Okay, so how do we explain my suddenly turning lesbian?"
 215.123 +
 215.124 +"I don't know.  Let’s just hope she doesn't ask."
 215.125 +
 215.126 +At dinner Tomoyo's mom had lost her smile.  But she didn't seem angry either.  Then after dinner she excused herself and told me that she wanted to speak to Tomoyo for a few minutes.  So I went up to Tomoyo's room to do my homework..
 215.127 +
 215.128 +I tried to work on it while I waited, but I couldn't concentrate.  Finally after what seemed like a really long time Tomoyo opened the door and joined me.  I was worried to see she had lost her smile.  "So what did she talk to you about?"
 215.129 +
 215.130 +"Well she asked how long we had been kissing, and I told her that we just started tonight.  Then she said that I needed to understand that your affection wasn't real.  It was just due to your being dumped by that boy.  And as soon as you got over it you would drop me again and get another boyfriend." She sat down next to me and looked at me for a moment before continuing.  "Is there any chance that your feelings for me aren't due to your magic but just a result of being dumped?"
 215.131 +
 215.132 +"No!"  I shook my head to emphasize my answer.  "I love you and I am no longer attracted to boys.  Not even a little bit."
 215.133 +
 215.134 +"But what if the magic wears off?"  She asked in a small voice.
 215.135 +
 215.136 +"Then I will just do it again.  I remember how I did it so it won't take but a couple of minutes to renew the spell."
 215.137 +
 215.138 +"You promise?"  She still sounded worried so I kissed her for a bit before I answered.
 215.139 +
 215.140 +"Yes.  I promise."  I said as I held out my pinkie.  She gave me a smile and locked pinkie's with me as I swore I would always see to it that I remained attracted to her.  After that she seemed to relax, and we kissed some more.
 215.141 +
 215.142 +"Another thing my mom said was that I should take advantage of you and make some beautiful memories before you come to your senses."  Then she giggled.
 215.143 +
 215.144 +"So what does that mean?"
 215.145 +
 215.146 +"I think she was hinting that I should seduce you while I have the chance."  She finished with a smile and another little giggle.  *Wow!* I laughed to myself, *that sure didn't sound like someone's mom talking!*
 215.147 +
 215.148 +"Okay" I grinned, "so since we have your mom's permission, go ahead and seduce me."  
 215.149 +
 215.150 +So she did...
 215.151 +
 215.152 +And the Magic never did wear off...

   216.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   216.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_dear-diary.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   216.3 @@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
   216.4 +Dear Diary
   216.5 +
   216.6 +By Radar
   216.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   216.8 +
   216.9 +-----------
  216.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  216.11 +These caracters belong to CLAMP! this is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  216.12 +
  216.13 +Dear Diary
  216.14 +	  Today I told her how I feel about her!
  216.15 +She simply turned to me and said she loved me too! Yet her love is not the same as mine.
  216.16 +I then said that there was a difference between our loves and promised when she was older.
  216.17 +While I was happy that she said she loved me, I was saddened that it was not the same type of love.
  216.18 +I can only hope she will understand when I tell her when she is older.
  216.19 +Dear dairy please tell me she’ll understand.
  216.20 +
  216.21 +-----------
  216.22 +
  216.23 +Dear Diary
  216.24 +	  Today Tomoyo-chan said she loved me! Me! I could have fainted when she said she loved me.
  216.25 +When I said I loved her too, she seemed sad and said that there my love and her love was the same then promised to explain the difference when I was older.
  216.26 +I know she’s in love with me, but why didn’t she know that I’m in love with her too?
  216.27 +I hope she’ll come to understand how much I love her!
  216.28 +Please dear diary, tell me she’ll understand!
  216.29 +
  216.30 +-----------
  216.31 +
  216.32 +Dear Diary
  216.33 +	  Today a Syaoran Li, transferred into our class.
  216.34 +Sakura-chan and I have learned that he is interested in collecting the Clow Cards.
  216.35 +And he almost hurt Sakura-chan! Thankfully Touya-kun stopped him.
  216.36 +Anyway he told Sakura-chan that she’s to weak to collect the cards, much to the annoyance of Kero-chan and myself.
  216.37 +How can my precious Sakura-chan be weak? She opened the book after all! (Sigh)
  216.38 +Sakura looks so cute in her costumes!
  216.39 +Every one is stitched together with the love I have for her!
  216.40 +I can only hope she knows that I’ll always love her in my own way, even if it’s just giving her new costumes and capturing her beauty on video forever!
  216.41 +
  216.42 +-----------
  216.43 +
  216.44 +Dear Diary
  216.45 +	 A new boy, Syaoran Li accused me of being to weak to capture the cards and Kero-chan bit him for saying it. (He He!)
  216.46 +Anyway when Tomoyo saw him grabbing me at school she came to my rescue, so did Onii-chan!
  216.47 +I’m just thankful that it was Tomoyo-chan asked me if I was ok! (Hanyan)
  216.48 +I could have fainted in her arms, I was so happy! She makes me feel all floaty!
  216.49 +Anyway later Rika-chan was taken over by the sword card, she started to attack me!
  216.50 +Just as she had me cornered, Li-kun stopped her from finishing me, for which I have to thank him later!
  216.51 +(Shudder)
  216.52 +And we captured the sword card.
  216.53 +I just wish Tomoyo-chan was there videoing it all! (Deep Sigh)
  216.54 +
  216.55 +-----------
  216.56 +
  216.57 +Dear Diary
  216.58 +	 Today Li-kun told Sakura-chan he loved her! Now I know my destiny!
  216.59 +It’s to be alone, simply loving Sakura-chan in the shadows, and never being able to have her return my love!
  216.60 +But I don’t mind, if she’s happy I’ll be happy! I can only hope that she’ll be happy. (Very deep sigh)
  216.61 +
  216.62 +-----------
  216.63 +
  216.64 +Dear Diary
  216.65 +Li-kun said he loved me today! I just wish I returned his feelings, it would be easer to tell him instead of telling him that my heart belongs to another!
  216.66 +I only wish Tomoyo-chan knew that!
  216.67 +I would have at least thought that she would’ve worked it out by now! But it’s ok.
  216.68 +I’ll tell her when she wants to hear it!
  216.69 +I only hope she’ll still want to be my friend after I’ve told her!
  216.70 +
  216.71 +-----------
  216.72 +
  216.73 +Dear Diary
  216.74 +Today Li-kun left for Hong Kong!
  216.75 +I told Sakura-chan when he’d be leaving, and she sounded upset that she might miss him before he left.
  216.76 +When he comes back I hope they’ll be happy together!
  216.77 +
  216.78 +-----------
  216.79 +
  216.80 +Dear Diary
  216.81 +Today Li-kun left. His mother wanted him go come home!
  216.82 +Although I’ll miss him, I won’t be lonely with Tomoyo-chan and the cards and Kero-chan and Yue-san!
  216.83 +I’ll tell Tomoyo how I feel about her in a few more years! I just hope she’ll understand. 
  216.84 +
  216.85 +A FEW YEARS LATER
  216.86 +
  216.87 +Sakura slowly walked up to Tomoyo’s house.
  216.88 +‘How am I supposed to tell her? “Hey Tomoyo-chan guess what.. I’ve been in love with you since the third grade!”’ she thought.
  216.89 +Then a thought hit her. How would Tomoyo react to her confession of love?
  216.90 +Would the pale girl be angry, or disgusted with her?
  216.91 +Would she accept that she was in love with her and still want to be friends?
  216.92 +‘Hi Sakura-chan!’ a voice called out, breaking her train of thought.
  216.93 +‘Oh Hello Sonomi-san!’ Sakura replied, bowing slightly. ‘Is Tomoyo-chan here?’ she asked.
  216.94 +‘Tomoyo-chan is up in her room Sakura-chan. I think she’s been expecting you!’ Sonomi replied, smiling slightly.
  216.95 +‘Arigatou Sonomi-san!’ Sakura said, before rushing to her friends’ room.
  216.96 +Moments later, she stood moments away from anything. ‘Tomoyo-chan can I speak to you?’ she asked through the door.
  216.97 +The door opened and Tomoyo stood in the doorway. ‘Of course Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said, ‘Please come in!’
  216.98 +She stepped aside to allow Sakura to enter.
  216.99 +‘Tomoyo-chan, there’s something you need to know!’ Sakura said.
 216.100 +‘What is it Sakura-chan?’ Tomoyo asked.
 216.101 +‘I love you Tomoyo-chan! I always have!’ Sakura said, looking towards the floor.
 216.102 +‘You love me?’ Tomoyo asked.
 216.103 +‘Hai! I.. I don’t mean as a friend I mean I’m in love with you!’ Sakura said.
 216.104 +Tomoyo was shocked. How could she have missed Sakura’s love for her?
 216.105 +She smiled and slowly approached her friend. ‘Sakura-chan.. please look at me!’ she whispered.
 216.106 +When Sakura looked up, Tomoyo noticed tears slowly making their way down Sakura’s cheeks.
 216.107 +She leaned closer and pressed her lips to Sakura’s.
 216.108 +She leaned away and smiled at the confused auburn haired girl.
 216.109 +‘Tomoyo..’ Sakura asked, unsure about way the pale girl had kissed her.
 216.110 +‘Sh Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo said, hugging Sakura.
 216.111 +Sakura just leaned against Tomoyo wrapping her arms around the pale girl.
 216.112 +‘I love you too Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo whispered, before feeling Sakura hug her tighter.
 216.113 +Sakura looked up and smiled. This was the start of a beautiful relationship.
 216.114 +
 216.115 +-----------
 216.116 +I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
 216.117 \ No newline at end of file

   217.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   217.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_grad-day.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   217.3 @@ -0,0 +1,380 @@
   217.4 +Grad Day
   217.5 +by Raven_Roth
   217.6 +
   217.7 +joelsi1989@hotmail.com
   217.8 +
   217.9 +I do not own any CCS works.
  217.10 +~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  217.11 +The black-haired girl was getting bored. She and Sakura were 
  217.12 +graduating today, but the highlights of the ceremony had come and 
  217.13 +gone. The awards had been neat; her beloved Sakura had gotten the 
  217.14 +highest student/athlete award. Tomoyo herself had received the best 
  217.15 +music award. But once these things were over, it was time to start 
  217.16 +listening to speeches. To make matters worse, Tomoyo’s camcorder’s 
  217.17 +battery had run down, so she couldn’t tape Sakura anymore today.
  217.18 +
  217.19 +And Sakura looked so pretty today, so elegant. And she smelled 
  217.20 +wonderful, too; she wore a new perfume that reminded Tomoyo of late 
  217.21 +springtime. Just by being this close, she was unwittingly driving 
  217.22 +Tomoyo to distraction. Suddenly, Tomoyo formed a brilliant, 
  217.23 +thoroughly evil idea.
  217.24 +
  217.25 +“Sakura-chan,” she whispered seductively into her best friend’s ear, 
  217.26 +“You’re so beautiful. I just want to lead you up to that main table, 
  217.27 +lay you down, rip off your clothes, spread chocolate frosting all over 
  217.28 +you-“
  217.29 +
  217.30 +“-What?” Sakura interjected, barely keeping her voice to a loud 
  217.31 +whisper. A few students seated near her stared for a minute as a 
  217.32 +cherry-red blush blossomed on her face. She waited until they’d 
  217.33 +turned away. Tomoyo was grinning. “Shame on you,” Sakura hissed in 
  217.34 +horror. “I can’t believe how naughty you are!”
  217.35 +
  217.36 +“It’s your fault for getting me all hot. If you didn’t want me to 
  217.37 +have these ‘naughty thoughts,’ you shouldn’t have agreed to exchange 
  217.38 +underwear with me. All I can think is, ‘I’m wearing Sakura-chan’s 
  217.39 +cute satin panties!’”
  217.40 +
  217.41 +The brown-haired girl groaned. “I knew that would come back to haunt 
  217.42 +me,” she said with false regret. “Please, just control yourself. 
  217.43 +This ceremony is almost over.”
  217.44 +
  217.45 +Tomoyo stuck out her lower lip. “I don’t think I can wait much 
  217.46 +longer. After this, we’ve got that banquet. Then we’re going over to 
  217.47 +your house to talk with your dad and brother and my mom. Only when 
  217.48 +that’s finally over will I be able to take my lovely Sakura-chan to 
  217.49 +bed and make her-“
  217.50 +
  217.51 +“-Stop it, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura said in a shocked voice. “This’ll be 
  217.52 +done soon enough, okay? Or am I not worth the wait?”
  217.53 +
  217.54 +“Well, when you put it that way…” Tomoyo sighed. But she smiled 
  217.55 +inwardly. She wasn’t giving up, not by a long shot.
  217.56 +
  217.57 +The graduation ceremony ended. Sakura and Tomoyo got into the limo 
  217.58 +Tomoyo’s mother had provided. “To the Ruby Restaurant, please,” 
  217.59 +Tomoyo told the chauffeuse.
  217.60 +
  217.61 +“See, it’s not so bad, is it?” Sakura asked. “We won’t have to stay 
  217.62 +at the banquet very l-mmphff!”
  217.63 +
  217.64 +Tomoyo had pounced, pulling her lover into a long, burning kiss. 
  217.65 +Sakura returned it with equal enthusiasm, tasting the blue-eyed girl’s 
  217.66 +tongue, enjoying the pressure of her delicious lips. The pair 
  217.67 +embraced tightly and kept kissing for most of the ride. With plenty 
  217.68 +of resistance from Tomoyo and herself, Sakura pulled away at last.
  217.69 +
  217.70 +“We’re nearly there, I think, and we need to ditch the ceremonial 
  217.71 +gowns,” she explained.
  217.72 +
  217.73 +“You’re right. You take off mine and I’ll take off yours, all right? 
  217.74 +The zippers are so tricky to reach.”
  217.75 +
  217.76 +Sakura nodded in agreement. She took her time removing Tomoyo’s gown 
  217.77 +and then turned her back to let Tomoyo help her with hers. She felt 
  217.78 +Tomoyo’s small, delicate fingers linger on her back for far longer 
  217.79 +than necessary and she smiled. But then Tomoyo pushed the loose robe 
  217.80 +off her shoulders, sliding the straps of her dress along with it-
  217.81 +
  217.82 +“-Tomoyo-chan!” she said reprovingly.
  217.83 +
  217.84 +“It was an accident,” Tomoyo said, not fooling Sakura at all.
  217.85 +
  217.86 +“It was not! Honestly!”
  217.87 +
  217.88 +“Gomen ne,” Tomoyo hastily apologized. “But you have to understand. 
  217.89 +The most beautiful woman in the world wanted me to help undress her; 
  217.90 +it would strain anyone’s self-discipline.”
  217.91 +
  217.92 +“How sweet,” Sakura melted. She gathered Tomoyo into another deep 
  217.93 +kiss. Then the car stopped.
  217.94 +
  217.95 +“Should only be about an hour or so,” Sakura told her friend as they 
  217.96 +entered the building.
  217.97 +
  217.98 +They seated themselves across from each other at a long table. Most 
  217.99 +of their old friends were situated around them. Naoko and Rika sat on 
 217.100 +either side of Tomoyo; Meilin and Chiharu were to Sakura’s right and 
 217.101 +left. The food was served almost immediately and it was quite good. 
 217.102 +The conversation was engaging too.
 217.103 +
 217.104 +“Where are you going from here?” Chiharu asked Tomoyo.
 217.105 +
 217.106 +“Ask Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied.
 217.107 +
 217.108 +Sakura’s face lit up with a red glow, but she stayed calm. “How about 
 217.109 +it then?” Chiharu pressed. “Where are you and Tomoyo-chan going after 
 217.110 +this?”
 217.111 +
 217.112 +“Well, w-“ Suddenly, Sakura felt a silk-clad foot gently rubbing her 
 217.113 +lower leg. Tomoyo was smirking, but trying to suppress it. Sakura 
 217.114 +swallowed hard and continued. “We are planning on attending the 
 217.115 +University of Tokyo. We’ve given it a lot of thought. I’m sure it 
 217.116 +will be-“
 217.117 +
 217.118 +Tomoyo’s foot was on her knee now, sliding slowly higher. Still, 
 217.119 +Sakura didn’t panic. Tomoyo would have to run out of space soon. The 
 217.120 +table was fairly wide; the black-haired demoness couldn’t extend her 
 217.121 +reach much further. With a shudder of arousal, Sakura took up her 
 217.122 +thread again. “It will be difficult, of course, but I believe that 
 217.123 +Tomoyo-chan and I can make the grade.”
 217.124 +
 217.125 +“If anyone can, it’s you two,” Naoko asserted.
 217.126 +
 217.127 +Tomoyo’s foot was slowly traveling higher and higher up Sakura’s 
 217.128 +thigh. How was that possible? Only if Tomoyo was-oh no! She was! 
 217.129 +She was slipping lower and lower in her seat. Someone was sure to 
 217.130 +notice, Sakura realized. What could she do? Then she remembered that 
 217.131 +Naoko had just complimented them. “Arigatou,” she said a tad 
 217.132 +breathlessly. “How about you, Naoko-chan?”
 217.133 +
 217.134 +Luckily, everyone but Tomoyo and Sakura turned their attention to 
 217.135 +Naoko. “I’m going to Hokkaido…” she was saying. Sakura didn’t hear a 
 217.136 +word. Tomoyo was wiggling her toes against Sakura’s most sensitive 
 217.137 +spot and she was so far down in her chair that her head was barely 
 217.138 +above the table. Sakura stifled a whimper and stood up, trying to 
 217.139 +save herself from the determined temptress across the table.
 217.140 +
 217.141 +“Got to get more sushi,” she stammered to the surprised group seated 
 217.142 +with her.
 217.143 +
 217.144 +“So do I,” Tomoyo said, nearly giggling. She hurried after Sakura. 
 217.145 +As she got to the buffet, the green-eyed girl whirled on her.
 217.146 +
 217.147 +“What’s gotten into you?” she demanded. “Are you trying to make me 
 217.148 +pass out from lack of blood, since it’s all in my face? Some 
 217.149 +girlfriend you are!”
 217.150 +
 217.151 +“What’s wrong?” Tomoyo said innocently. “Just stretching my legs was 
 217.152 +all. You should have ignored me.”
 217.153 +
 217.154 +“Ignore that?” Sakura objected. “The woman I love is rubbing me in a 
 217.155 +crowded restaurant and I’m supposed to ignore it? Look, just behave 
 217.156 +yourself.”
 217.157 +
 217.158 +“That’s what you do to me, darling. But I promise to try my best.” 
 217.159 +She winked and pinched Sakura’s backside.
 217.160 +
 217.161 +“Wow, I feel reassured,” the brown-haired girl said in her most 
 217.162 +sarcastic voice.
 217.163 +
 217.164 +It was a struggle, but Tomoyo kept her word, mostly. She brushed up 
 217.165 +against Sakura a couple times, but in general conducted herself very 
 217.166 +well. Sakura was plenty grateful for this, because Tomoyo had been 
 217.167 +getting her very worked up. She didn’t want to admit that to Tomoyo, 
 217.168 +of course; the knowledge would only encourage her to keep the 
 217.169 +lascivious teasing going. As soon as the two ladies got back into the 
 217.170 +limo, Sakura lunged. She started sucking on Tomoyo’s tongue and 
 217.171 +letting her hands roam all over Tomoyo’s lithe body. The girls made 
 217.172 +out for a few minutes when suddenly the driver’s voice came over the 
 217.173 +intercom. “Destination, please?”
 217.174 +
 217.175 +Sakura wrenched her mouth away from Tomoyo’s lips. “Kinomoto 
 217.176 +residence, please,” she managed to say. Then Tomoyo was kissing her 
 217.177 +again, keeping her extremely busy. It was all Sakura could do to keep 
 217.178 +herself clothed until the limousine rolled to a stop in front of her 
 217.179 +house. “Okay, you little bottle of mischief, I need one more hour of 
 217.180 +civilized behavior from you.”
 217.181 +
 217.182 +“Aw,” Tomoyo whined, “why did you have to get me all fired up then? 
 217.183 +How is that fair?”
 217.184 +
 217.185 +“That wasn’t to ‘fire you up,’ as you put it; it was to tide you over 
 217.186 +until we’re done here. Now be a good girl.”
 217.187 +
 217.188 +“Sure,” Tomoyo chuckled, playing with Sakura’s breasts.
 217.189 +
 217.190 +“I mean it!” Sakura chided.
 217.191 +
 217.192 +Soon they were all seated around the Kinomoto dinner table, playing a 
 217.193 +challenging but fun game that Sakura’s father called “Trivial 
 217.194 +Pursuit.” The parents surprisingly had real difficulties with Tomoyo, 
 217.195 +who had a memory like super glue.
 217.196 +
 217.197 +“It’s the end of an era,” Touya mourned as he took his move.
 217.198 +
 217.199 +“How’s that?” his father asked.
 217.200 +
 217.201 +“We’re out of school, oto-san, even the kaiju,” he joked.
 217.202 +
 217.203 +Sakura was about to retaliate when she felt her friend’s nimble 
 217.204 +fingers lightly stroking her inner thigh. She turned almost lavender, 
 217.205 +her retort dying before it reached her lips. She squirmed, but Tomoyo 
 217.206 +just wouldn’t take the hint.
 217.207 +
 217.208 +Touya, meanwhile, was staring at his younger sister. “You’re going to 
 217.209 +let me get away with that, Sakura-chan? Are you feeling okay?”
 217.210 +
 217.211 +“Yeah, I feel pretty darn good,” Sakura said, sweatdropping. “I’m 
 217.212 +grown up now; it’ll take more than just calling me a monster to get me 
 217.213 +riled.”
 217.214 +
 217.215 +“Glad to hear it, kaiju,” Touya chuckled.
 217.216 +
 217.217 +“You are going to study at the university with a specific goal in 
 217.218 +mind, right Sakura-chan?” Sonomi asked.
 217.219 +
 217.220 +My goal is to survive your daughter’s attempts to screw me to death, 
 217.221 +Sakura thought without meaning to. She blushed even harder. “I want 
 217.222 +to be an architect, Daidouji-san,” she said as evenly as she could. 
 217.223 +She felt Tomoyo’s hand almost reaching the panties she was 
 217.224 +wearing-Tomoyo’s panties. She couldn’t take much more of this.
 217.225 +
 217.226 +“It’s important to have goals,” Sakura’s father stated. “And today, 
 217.227 +you two achieved one of those goals. This calls for celebration. 
 217.228 +I’ve got a bottle of champagne-“
 217.229 +
 217.230 +“-I’ll get it!” Sakura cried, leaping up from Tomoyo’s incessant 
 217.231 +torture.
 217.232 +
 217.233 +“Let me come with you,” Tomoyo said, rising as well. A feeling of 
 217.234 +dread poured over Sakura, but she had no good reason to decline the 
 217.235 +request. The two girls headed down to the basement.
 217.236 +
 217.237 +As Sakura’s foot hit the floor, before she even had a chance to turn 
 217.238 +around, Tomoyo’s hands were under her dress, yanking her underwear 
 217.239 +down past her knees, dropping them to the carpet. “Hey!” she yelped.
 217.240 +
 217.241 +“I want my panties back. Now,” Tomoyo growled playfully. She forced 
 217.242 +her thigh between Sakura’s legs.
 217.243 +
 217.244 +“Tomoyo-chan!” the brown-haired girl squeaked. She couldn’t walk with 
 217.245 +the panties around her ankles, so she stepped out of them quickly. 
 217.246 +She began to dodge, but Tomoyo advanced even more swiftly. She 
 217.247 +grinned maliciously, got a firm grip on Sakura’s bottom, and lifted 
 217.248 +her onto the green billiard table. Her hands went back under Sakura’s 
 217.249 +dress, bunching it up around the slim young woman’s waist.
 217.250 +
 217.251 +“Stop, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura begged. “We might-“
 217.252 +
 217.253 +“-I’m through waiting,” Tomoyo declared in a flat voice. “It’s time 
 217.254 +for Sakura-chan to come.” She thrust her head between Sakura’s 
 217.255 +shaking knees and immediately began to assault her sopping, naked 
 217.256 +vagina with her mouth. It was obvious that Sakura’s body was more 
 217.257 +than ready for this.
 217.258 +
 217.259 +Sakura’s eyes rolled back. “Tomoyo!” she gasped. “We could-ah! Get 
 217.260 +caught!”
 217.261 +
 217.262 +“I know,” Tomoyo mumbled without lifting her head. “So you’d better 
 217.263 +come fast.”
 217.264 +
 217.265 +“Ah! Oh! Ah!” Sakura shrieked. Her toes curled. Tomoyo had been 
 217.266 +building her anticipation steadily all day and now she was delivering 
 217.267 +in spades. Her lips and tongue seemed to be everywhere. The 
 217.268 +sensations were so strong that it was like Tomoyo licking her entire 
 217.269 +body in long, languid strokes. Sakura’s every molecule sang with 
 217.270 +unbelievable pleasure. This was their gathering; they should be 
 217.271 +upstairs; Touya was bound to come looking for them an second-but damn, 
 217.272 +Tomoyo was loving her right! Sakura didn’t want her to stop, not at 
 217.273 +all, no matter what the consequences might be.
 217.274 +
 217.275 +“What’s taking those girls so long?” Sakura’s father wondered.
 217.276 +
 217.277 +Touya and Sonomi glanced at each other knowingly. “I’m sure they’ll 
 217.278 +be back in a minute,” Sonomi laughed nervously. I hope, she added 
 217.279 +silently. This isn’t the best way for Sakura’s father to find out 
 217.280 +about them. I can’t believe he doesn’t know already.
 217.281 +
 217.282 +The curious man started to rise from the table. “I’d better-“
 217.283 +
 217.284 +“-No, no,” Touya intervened. “I’ll do it; I’ll go get them. You just 
 217.285 +relax, oto-san.”
 217.286 +
 217.287 +As slowly as he could, Touya strode to the basement door. He listened 
 217.288 +before he opened it. He could distinctly hear his little sister’s 
 217.289 +muffled cries of ecstasy. He stopped and waited embarrassedly, not 
 217.290 +wanting to walk in on Tomoyo and Sakura while they were so…active.
 217.291 +
 217.292 +“Good job, Sakura-chan; I think that’s about the fastest you’ve ever 
 217.293 +climaxed. I knew you could do it!”
 217.294 +
 217.295 +“I love you, Tomoyo-chan,” the green-eyed girl sighed. “Now let’s 
 217.296 +hurry and get back upstairs.”
 217.297 +
 217.298 +“Right,” Tomoyo agreed, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief from her 
 217.299 +purse. “You taste so great.”
 217.300 +
 217.301 +“Where are my panties?”
 217.302 +
 217.303 +“You mean, my panties?”
 217.304 +
 217.305 +“Yes. Come on, I need them.”
 217.306 +
 217.307 +“They somehow got looped around a blade of the ceiling fan,” the 
 217.308 +blue-eyed beauty snickered.
 217.309 +
 217.310 +“What? You did that on purpose…but when did--I mean, how did you?”
 217.311 +
 217.312 +“No time to explain. We’d better get back up there.”
 217.313 +
 217.314 +“You are the most evil person I know,” Sakura pouted.
 217.315 +
 217.316 +Touya opened the door a crack. “Are you two done yet?” he called as 
 217.317 +loudly as he dared. “Dad’s getting suspicious.”
 217.318 +
 217.319 +“Just a second!” Tomoyo chirped while Sakura went redder than she had 
 217.320 +in years. Tomoyo gripped her lover’s arm and hauled her toward the 
 217.321 +staircase.
 217.322 +
 217.323 +“Underwear!” Sakura reminded.
 217.324 +
 217.325 +“I’m afraid you’ll have to do without,” Tomoyo answered sweetly, never 
 217.326 +pausing.
 217.327 +
 217.328 +Sakura was terrified. She knew that once they returned to the table, 
 217.329 +Tomoyo would be starting again in ten minutes, tops. Her only hope 
 217.330 +was to end the gathering before Tomoyo renewed her attack. But how? 
 217.331 +She pondered the possibilities desperately.
 217.332 +
 217.333 +She gave her dad the champagne bottle and took her seat next to her 
 217.334 +gorgeous lover. Given what she just did downstairs, she ought to be 
 217.335 +satisfied for a little while at least, Sakura hoped. But today she’s 
 217.336 +been a super-mega hornball, so I can’t count on more than a brief 
 217.337 +respite.
 217.338 +
 217.339 +Sakura’s father pulled the cork out of the bottle with a loud pop. He 
 217.340 +started pouring. Sakura glanced at Touya. He raised his eyebrows and 
 217.341 +smirked. Feeling a rising blush, she quickly turned away, only to 
 217.342 +find herself staring directly into Sonomi’s eyes. Tomoyo’s mother 
 217.343 +grinned at the embarrassed girl. Sakura would have bet the she could 
 217.344 +fry an egg on her cheeks; they were as hot as a griddle. Obviously, 
 217.345 +Sonomi knew what was going on between her and Tomoyo. But how had she 
 217.346 +found out? Sakura felt some relief though; Sonomi clearly approved of 
 217.347 +the relationship.
 217.348 +
 217.349 +“I would like to propose a toast,” Sakura’s father announced as he 
 217.350 +recorked the bottle. “Happiness and success to Tomoyo and Sakura!”
 217.351 +
 217.352 +Sonomi, Sakura, and Touya blushed at his choice of words, but everyone 
 217.353 +raised their glasses and toasted.
 217.354 +
 217.355 +“Mm, this is very good. Arigatou, Kinomoto-san,” Tomoyo said 
 217.356 +politely.
 217.357 +
 217.358 +“Hear, hear,” Sonomi said. “And thank you for having us over. My 
 217.359 +daughter is blessed to know such wonderful people as you.”
 217.360 +
 217.361 +“Don’t I know it?” Tomoyo said, squeezing Sakura’s leg under the 
 217.362 +table.
 217.363 +
 217.364 +“Please don’t mention it,” Sakura’s father replied. “I’m glad that 
 217.365 +Sakura-chan has such a terrific best friend and I’m honored that you 
 217.366 +accepted the invitation to our house.”
 217.367 +
 217.368 +Tomoyo began caressing Sakura’s upper thigh.
 217.369 +
 217.370 +Miraculously, the little get-together broke up just a few minutes 
 217.371 +later, while Sakura was still able to disguise her moans.
 217.372 +
 217.373 +Sakura ran to her room, with Tomoyo chasing right behind. As soon as 
 217.374 +Tomoyo got past the door, Sakura shut it behind her and tackled her to 
 217.375 +the mattress. “I love you Tomoyo-chan, in spite of your being a 
 217.376 +wicked temptress who can’t keep her hands to herself. But-“ here she 
 217.377 +lowered her voice and gazed into Tomoyo’s stunning blue eyes with her 
 217.378 +dazzling green eyes “-you know you’re about to be punished.”
 217.379 +
 217.380 +A chill of exhilaration raced up and down, up and down, along Tomoyo’s 
 217.381 +spine. In three seconds, Sakura had her naked.
 217.382 +
 217.383 +I love it when a plan works, Tomoyo reflected blissfully.
 217.384 \ No newline at end of file

   218.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   218.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_home.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   218.3 @@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
   218.4 +Home
   218.5 +By Radar
   218.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   218.7 +
   218.8 +-----------
   218.9 +DISCLAIMER:
  218.10 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it
  218.11 +offends you please don't read!
  218.12 +
  218.13 +Sakura sat facing the window, deep in meditation. It hadn't taken
  218.14 +her long in the monestary to realise that her magical powers had
  218.15 +grown. It had been several months since she returned to her former
  218.16 +home, and to her family. Kumiko, her eldest daughter had introdued
  218.17 +her own family, while Nadeshiko.. Nadeshiko had barely said more then
  218.18 +3 words to her. She was surprised to find out that Tomoyo was
  218.19 +acctually older then she had first appeared. Her cousin, Sakura's
  218.20 +namesake, had told her that they had been eperimenting with their own
  218.21 +magic that day and had accidentily turned themselves back to 11 year
  218.22 +olds. It had taken them a while but managed to reverse what they had
  218.23 +done. Silently the door opened. 'You can come in!' Sakura said, with
  218.24 +out opening her eyes or looking back. The figure looked surprised and
  218.25 +slowly walked in. 'What can I do for you?'
  218.26 +'Um...' was all she got. 'I take it you're curious about what I'm
  218.27 +doing!'
  218.28 +'Hai!' the persons voice said, very surprised. Opening her eyes she
  218.29 +turned around and smiled. Before her appear what seemed like a young
  218.30 +boy, no older then 10, standing near the doorway. 'I'm meditating!'
  218.31 +Sakura said. 'What's that?' The boy moved closer. Sakura smiled
  218.32 +slightly. 'The monks told me its a way of reaching enlightenment!'
  218.33 +Sakura replied. The boy smiled slightly as well. He must have sensed
  218.34 +that Sakura was treating every question as the most important one.
  218.35 +'Can you teach me how to do it?' Sakura nodded. 'Hai, but it'll take
  218.36 +a while!' This was true on Sakura's part. The boy nodded and pulled
  218.37 +another cushion opposite Sakura's. Just as he sat down, the door
  218.38 +opened again. 'Miki-chan!' Sakura opened her eyes. Kumiko now stood
  218.39 +in the doorway. 'I'm sorry if she bothered you Sakura-papa!' Kumiko
  218.40 +said. 'She?' Sakura thought 'Interesting!' She smiled at her eldest
  218.41 +daughter. 'It's alright!' Sakura replied, 'She was curious about
  218.42 +mediation and asked if I could teach her!' Miki smiled at her mother
  218.43 +and nodded. Kumiko returned her youngest daughters smile. Before
  218.44 +leaving she whispered, 'Mako-chan's here!' This caused Miki to blush
  218.45 +slightly. 'Why do you dress like that Miki-chan?' Sakura asked. 'Like
  218.46 +a boy?' Sakura nodded. 'Because...' Miki started out, she was very
  218.47 +uncomfortable when people asked her that. 'It's ok if you don't want
  218.48 +to tell me!' Sakura said, seeing her granddaughters discomfort.
  218.49 +'Arigatou!' the young girl whispered. Sighing softly she got into the
  218.50 +same position as her grandpa, closed her eyes and let Sakura tell her
  218.51 +what she had to do. There was another knock at the door, this time
  218.52 +softer. 'Come in!' The door opened, as did Miki's eyes. Standing up
  218.53 +she jogged upto the person who had opened the door. She smiled
  218.54 +brightly.
  218.55 +'Hi Mako-chan!' she said as she hugged her best friend. Sakura
  218.56 +opened her eyes and saw a girl that was slightly shorter then Miki
  218.57 +and had shocking pink hair. The girl looked over to Sakura, there was
  218.58 +a slight blush covering her cheeks. Idily Sakura wondered if Miki had
  218.59 +noticed it. 'Miki-chan?' Miki smiled at her, seemingly content. 'Hai?'
  218.60 +'Um... who's that?' the girl girl asked. 'That's my grandpa Makoto!'
  218.61 +Miki replied. The girls eyes widened. 'Um.. Are you sure Miki-chan?'
  218.62 +the girl whispered. Miki nodded, and smiled slightly. Before she
  218.63 +could say anymore Sakura interupted. 'Miki-chan could you get us
  218.64 +something to drink please?' The young girl nodded and ran out of the
  218.65 +room. Sitting down Makoto looked at Sakura cautiously. 'Are you
  218.66 +really her grandpa?' Makoto asked. 'Hai!' Sakura replied, as Makoto
  218.67 +sat opposite her. Makoto looked closer. 'She doesn't look like you
  218.68 +though!' she blurted out. Sakura laughed softly. 'I suppose she
  218.69 +doesn't, she looks like her grandma though!' Sakura said. Sakura
  218.70 +closed her eyes, picturing Tomoyo as she had been. Smiling, with a
  218.71 +camera in one hand and another battle costume over her other arm.
  218.72 +'She's very pretty!' Makoto said, as Sakura's eyes snapped open. 'You
  218.73 +saw?' The girl nodded. 'How?' Sakura asked, moving closer to Makoto.
  218.74 +The girl shrugged her shoulders, 'I see things like that!' Sakura
  218.75 +looked surprised. Just then the door opened and Miki walked in
  218.76 +holding 3 cans. 'Grandpa?' Miki asked. 'Hai?' The girl handed her a
  218.77 +can. 'Green tea! Is canned ok grandpa?'
  218.78 +'Arigatou!' Sakura smiled at her granddaughter. Miki smiled until
  218.79 +she saw Makoto's face, slightly pale with worry.
  218.80 +'Mako-chan? Are you ok?' Miki asked. 'She knows!' the pink haired
  218.81 +girl whispered. 'That you...' Miki trailed off when her friend
  218.82 +nodded. Miki seemed a little paler then before as she watched Sakura
  218.83 +sip her tea. Makoto gently squeezed Miki's hand, and smiled at her.
  218.84 +'When did you start?' Sakura asked. 'Grandpa?' Miki looked at her.
  218.85 +Sakura smiled at her slightly. Makoto leaned closer and gently rested
  218.86 +her head on Miki's shoulder. 'I think she's asked when we started
  218.87 +dating Miki-chan!'
  218.88 +'We've just started!' Miki replied, blushing brightly. Sakura smiled
  218.89 +before standing up. 'I think I'll leave you alone!' Sakura said,
  218.90 +before making her way to the door, 'We'll pick up where we left off
  218.91 +tomorrow!'
  218.92 +
  218.93 +Closing the door, Sakura smiled slightly as Miki blushed even
  218.94 +brighter. Kissing her embarrased girlfriends' cheek Makoto giggled
  218.95 +softly. 'You're really cute when your blushing like that!' Miki
  218.96 +smiled slightly. Gently Miki rubbed Makoto's cheek and kissed her
  218.97 +softly. When the kiss was over Miki rested her head on Makoto's
  218.98 +shoulder. 'You'll have to tell her eventually Miki-chan!' Makoto
  218.99 +whispered. Miki looked up. 'But Mako-chan...' Miki started to argue
 218.100 +when Makoto placed a finger against her lips. 'No buts Miki-chan!'
 218.101 +Miki blushed brighter then ever. A lot of people mistook her for a
 218.102 +boy when they first met her and were shocked when they found out Miki
 218.103 +was a girl. Makoto still remembered seeing Miki on their first day of
 218.104 +school, getting bullied by a group of older students saying that the
 218.105 +pale girl shouldn't dress like that, she couldnt hear why they had
 218.106 +said that. Later that day, she'd saw Miki leaving school, her bag
 218.107 +buldging. After a few days she once again saw the pale girl, dressed
 218.108 +in a boy's uniform her hair cut very short, avoiding everyone. She
 218.109 +slowly gained Miki's trust and friendship soon after she'd asked if
 218.110 +she could have lunch with her. Slowly the pale girl opened up to her
 218.111 +and they became best friends. Slowly she realised that she had deeper
 218.112 +feelings for her new best friend other then friendship. Having just
 218.113 +started dating, they thought it was a lot easier letting people think
 218.114 +they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Miki rubbed her eyes softly,
 218.115 +ridding herself of her tears again. 'I should just dress like a
 218.116 +normal girl!' Miki said, gazing into space. 'I'm just a silly tomboy
 218.117 +Mako-chan!' Miki whispered. 'You aren't silly Miki-chan!' Makoto
 218.118 +whispered, and smiled brightly 'And you're my tomboy!' Miki giggled
 218.119 +softly and smiled. Kissing the pale girl once more, they left to go
 218.120 +to ask Kumiko and Hikaru if they could help then study.
 218.121 \ No newline at end of file

   219.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   219.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_inmymind.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   219.3 @@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
   219.4 +Is it real or just all in my mind? 
   219.5 +By Radar
   219.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   219.7 +
   219.8 +-----------
   219.9 +DISCLAIMER:
  219.10 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it
  219.11 +offends you please don't read!
  219.12 +
  219.13 +Sakura opened her eyes slowly, letting them ajust to the light. She
  219.14 +sighed softly. 'I miss you Tomoyo-chan!' she whispered, looking at
  219.15 +the other half of the bed. The door opened and Miki slowly walked in.
  219.16 +She was worried about her grandpa, having hear the elder woman call
  219.17 +out for her grandmother on many occasions. 'Are you ok grandpa?' the
  219.18 +girl asked. Sakura nodded covering her breasts. The pale girl smiled
  219.19 +slightly. She knew what her granddaughter was going through at the
  219.20 +moment, as Miki had matured it had become harder to hide the fact
  219.21 +that she was female. Slowly getting out of bed, she put a loose shirt
  219.22 +on and some trowsers and left the room. Yawning slowly, she made her
  219.23 +way to the kitchen. 'Morning!' a loud voice called out. 'Kero-chan!'
  219.24 +Sakura muttered, looking at the little beast sitting opposite her
  219.25 +chair. She quickly started breakfast, as Kumiko, Hikaru, Sakura and
  219.26 +Tomoyo, Miki and Makoto slowly followed her. She sighed softly as
  219.27 +Nadeshiko refused to join them, Megumi appologies for this on many
  219.28 +occasions, despite Sakura telling her that it was ok if Nadeshiko
  219.29 +wanted to eat alone. Her train of thought was interupted by a soft
  219.30 +giggle. Looking back on the little group she saw Miki and Makoto
  219.31 +giggling softly to each other. 'Who'd have thought!' she mused. 'I
  219.32 +take it it's my turn to make breakfast!' Sakura said, as she got out
  219.33 +the apron Tomoyo had given her when the auburn haired woman had
  219.34 +become determind to cook properly. 'Hai!' they all said. Sakura let
  219.35 +out an mock sigh and got to work.
  219.36 +
  219.37 +A few hours later, Sakura sat, meditating. Miki and Makoto often
  219.38 +joined her, but today she asked if she could be alone. 'What's wrong
  219.39 +Sakura?' she heard a voice say. 'It's Nadeshiko-chan.. she's still
  219.40 +mad at me!' she replied, reaching out with her thoughts. There was a
  219.41 +small giggle as Tomoyo appeared in her minds eye. 'She still misses
  219.42 +you Tomoyo!' Sakura whispered. Opening her eyes, Sakura smiled
  219.43 +brightly. 'That's it!' Standing up, she stumbled before righting
  219.44 +herself and running out the door. 'Kero-chan!' she yelled. The little
  219.45 +beast slowly floated into her room, rubbing his eyes. 'What?' he
  219.46 +muttered. 'Yue has a magical body right?' Kero-chan nodded. 'How'd
  219.47 +Clow create it?' The guardian beast looked confused but told her
  219.48 +everything he knew. Smiling she ran back to her room and locked the
  219.49 +door. She had a lot of work to do.
  219.50 +
  219.51 +'Sakura-papa?' Kumiko said, knocking on the older woman's door. 'Are
  219.52 +you ok?' The door opened slightly and Sakura popped her head through
  219.53 +the crack. 'Hai?' She wiped her forehead, leaving a dirty mark. 'Are
  219.54 +you ok papa?' Kumiko asked. Sakura nodded and smiled brightly. Kumiko
  219.55 +smiled slightly. 'Miki-chan and Mako-chan were worried about you so
  219.56 +they made this up!' She handed Sakura the plate. Sakura's smile
  219.57 +widened slightly at seeing the small meal her granddaughter and her
  219.58 +girlfriend had prepared. Carefully taking it, she slipped behind the
  219.59 +door and closed it again. Looking up she sighed softly at the half
  219.60 +finished mass. 'Soon Tomo-chan!' Taking another bite, she set the
  219.61 +plate down and went back to work.
  219.62 +
  219.63 +'Are you sure Mako-chan?' Miki asked, looking at her lover, very
  219.64 +concerned. The pink haired girl nodded. 'I don't want to hide it any
  219.65 +more!' she whispered. Slowly, Miki took her love into her arms,
  219.66 +gently hugging her. They looked down at the matching gold bands on
  219.67 +their fingers, a symbol of their love and devotion to each other. The
  219.68 +pale girl looked up and smiled slightly. 'How about we tell them when
  219.69 +grandpa's finished whatever she's doing?' she asked. 'Really?' Makoto
  219.70 +looked up. Miki nodded. 'I did promise that we would tell everyone!'
  219.71 +The slightly smaller girl hugged Miki even tighter. 'Are you ok Mako-
  219.72 +chan?' Miki asked. Makoto nodded and looked up smiling. She had
  219.73 +become so tired of hiding everything from the people who loved them.
  219.74 +They had told Makoto's parents about them. The elder couple had
  219.75 +forbidden their daughter from seeing her lover ever again. After two
  219.76 +days, Makoto had packed what she needed and left a note saying she
  219.77 +was sorry but she had to be with Miki. Time and again every few days
  219.78 +for 3 months following Makoto running back to Miki her parents would
  219.79 +go to their daughter telling her to go back. The final time they had
  219.80 +visited they had told their daughter if she didn't return with them
  219.81 +that she would never be their daughter. Adiment, she remind with her
  219.82 +love and hadn't heard from the people who had called themselves her
  219.83 +parents. Just as they were about to kiss, the whole house shook,
  219.84 +throwing them to the ground. 'What was that?' Miki asked, helping
  219.85 +Makoto to her feet. Looking closer Miki could see Makoto bite her
  219.86 +lower lip. 'She made me promise not to tell Miki-chan!' the pink
  219.87 +haired girl replied. Miki looked confused before leaving their
  219.88 +bedroom and walking the short distance to Sakura's. She could feel
  219.89 +the magic in the room and see a bright light come from the gaps round
  219.90 +the door. Suddenly there was a loud thud and the light vanished. 'Is
  219.91 +it you?' a soft voice asked.
  219.92 +
  219.93 +Opening her eyes, Sakura rubbed the back of her head. She hadn't
  219.94 +known what would happen. There standing in front of her was a very
  219.95 +naked Tomoyo, marvelling her body. 'Is it you?' she asked softly.
  219.96 +Tomoyo opened her mouth, 'Sakura?' she asked, just as a whisper.
  219.97 +Sakura nodded softly and stood up. Slowly Sakura walked closer to her
  219.98 +love, gently stroking her cheek. The pale woman tilted her head into
  219.99 +Sakura's hand. Looking down Tomoyo gasped. 'Ummm Sakura..... why am I
 219.100 +standing here naked?' Sakura blushed slightly, she'd forgotten about
 219.101 +Tomoyo's clothes. 'What's happening Sakura?' Tomoyo asked. The auburn
 219.102 +haired woman hessitated. The door opened and two girls walked in
 219.103 +slowly. 'Grandpa?' the slightly taller of the two asked. Looking over
 219.104 +to her granddaughter Miki moved closer. 'Is that grandma?' Sakura
 219.105 +nodded and turned her attenion back to Tomoyo. 'Grandma?' Makoto
 219.106 +whispered. 'Is she the person you said you saw Miki-chan?' the pink
 219.107 +haired girl asked. Miki nodded slightly. It had been years ago.
 219.108 +Having fallen asleep in while bathing, she'd had a vision of her
 219.109 +grandmother. Upon waking, her parents had told her that she'd almost
 219.110 +drown. 'M... Miki?' the pale woman asked, opening her eyes and
 219.111 +focusing on the tall pale girl. Miki nodded and slowly approached
 219.112 +Tomoyo, looking in disbelief. 'You died!' Miki whispered, gently
 219.113 +poking the elder woman's shoulder. 'Sakura brought me back!' Tomoyo
 219.114 +replied, having come out of her trance like state. Smiling at the
 219.115 +young woman before her she wrapped her arms around the surprised Miki
 219.116 +and pulled her into a tight hug. A second later the door busrt open
 219.117 +again and Nadeshiko and Kumiko ran into the room, the younger sister
 219.118 +glaring at Sakura almost demanding an explanation. That was untill
 219.119 +she saw Tomoyo. 'Mama?' she asked. Shaking her head, she pulled away.
 219.120 +'It can't be you!'
 219.121 +'Nadeshiko-chan!' A voice said from behind her. 'Go away Onii-chan!'
 219.122 +Nadeshiko said. 'Nadeshiko-chan please wait!' Tomoyo said, causing
 219.123 +Nadeshiko to spin around and look at her. 'You died Tomoyo-mama!'
 219.124 +Nadeshiko said. 'I know!' Tomoyo replied. Slowly Tomoyo walked upto
 219.125 +her youngest daughter and hugged her, surprised at how tight the pale
 219.126 +woman returned her hug.
 219.127 +
 219.128 +Opening her eyes Sakura smiled slightly as Tomoyo snuggled into her
 219.129 +side. Gently she wrapped an arm around her pale wife and gently
 219.130 +pulled her closer, inducing a soft giggle from Tomoyo who quickly
 219.131 +obliged her wife. It had been 3 months since Tomoyo was brought back
 219.132 +to life. Shorty afterwards Miki and Makoto had come to them and told
 219.133 +them that they were no longer girlfriends, but a married couple.
 219.134 +Slowly Sakura leaned down and gently kissed Tomoyo's forehead.
 219.135 +'Aishiteru Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura whispered. 'Aishiteru Sakura-chan!'
 219.136 +Tomoyo replied, gently kissing her auburn haired wife. Snuggling into
 219.137 +her side again both women fell asleep. Upon waking the next morning
 219.138 +they decided to put the past behind them.
 219.139 \ No newline at end of file

   220.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   220.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_inthemiddle.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   220.3 @@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
   220.4 +In The Middle
   220.5 +by Teresa Kaiju
   220.6 +teresa_kaiju@yahoo.com
   220.7 +
   220.8 +--------------
   220.9 +
  220.10 +"Sakura?"
  220.11 +
  220.12 +"Yes, Shoaoran?"
  220.13 +
  220.14 +"I've come to a decision.  I'm going back to Hong Kong."
  220.15 + 
  220.16 +"Oh.  Okay.  How long are you going to be gone?
  220.17 +
  220.18 +"I'm not coming back."
  220.19 +
  220.20 +"Don't joke about things like that!  It's not funny!"
  220.21 +
  220.22 +"It's not a joke.  I think you will be happier without me."
  220.23 +
  220.24 +"How can you say that?!  I love you!"
  220.25 +
  220.26 +"And I love you.  But it's obvious that I'm just keeping you away from Tomoyo.  I can see that you love her more than you love me." 
  220.27 +
  220.28 +"Tomoyo?  No!   Sure I love her.  But as a friend!  That's all!"
  220.29 +
  220.30 +"No, Sakura.  That's not all.  She is a lot more than just a friend to you.  When you haven't seen her for even a couple of days, your eyes lose their sparkle.  And your voice changes too.  It gets dull and lifeless.  You can't live without her."  Sakura wanted to say this wasn't true, but she knew that she did miss her friend a lot when they were separated.  
  220.31 +
  220.32 +"But Shoaoran!  I don't want to live without you..."
  220.33 +
  220.34 +"And I don't want to live without you.  But I really think that Tomoyo can make you happier than I can.  She loves you so much.  You are the center of her life.  Losing you would kill her.  I can't let that happen.  So I'm going.  Come and visit sometime.  I'm going to miss you a lot, but I will survive."
  220.35 +
  220.36 +********
  220.37 + 
  220.38 +"Sakura.  You said on the phone that Shoaoran left you?  When?  Why?"
  220.39 +
  220.40 +"I got a phone call from him this morning.  He said that I loved you more than I loved him and that you couldn't live without me and he didn't want to take me away from you."
  220.41 +
  220.42 +"That baka!  He loves you as much as anyone could possibly love anyone else.  I'll bet he's really miserable right now."  Sakura was surprised at how angry Tomoyo was.  It was really unusual for her.
  220.43 +
  220.44 +"Well, I miss him too.  So what should I do?"
  220.45 +
  220.46 +"Go to Hong Kong and bring him back.  There is still a week of summer break left.  And I'll go with you just in case you weaken."
  220.47 +
  220.48 +********
  220.49 +
  220.50 +Shoaoran agreed to see the two girls but he was adamant about Sakura staying with Tomoyo.  "But Shoaoran, Sakura is straight.  She needs a guy.  I can't possibly give her what you can!"
  220.51 +
  220.52 +"Have you two done it together?"  Tomoyo was shocked while Sakura had no idea what Shoaoran was talking about.  So she watched quietly while Tomoyo and Shoaoran talked.
  220.53 +
  220.54 +"NO!  We haven't done it.  Why would you ask such a thing?!"
  220.55 +
  220.56 +"Well, don't tell me how straight she is until you've done it. I heard that two girls can have more fun than a girl and a guy."
  220.57 +
  220.58 +"Shoaoran!  I am not about to do anything improper with Sakura.  And that is final!  And I ought to tell your mother about the things you are saying to us."
  220.59 +
  220.60 +"There is no need to tell me.  I heard.  The walls here are very thin and you are both talking very loud.  So how about if I settle this disagreement for you?  I have some magic that will show just how much Sakura loves each of you.  And how much you love her.  Would that be acceptable?"  After some hesitation, all three parties agreed.  
  220.61 +
  220.62 +********
  220.63 +
  220.64 +"The first thing you must remember is that love and sexual attraction are two entirely separate things.  And they are both important.  Thus, I have a test for each.  First we will test Sakura and Shoaoran.  Take one of these little squares of paper and put it in your mouth.  Just keep them on top of your tongue.  Try not to get them too wet.  Now sit here facing each other and take each others hands and hold them.  Now look into each others eyes for a moment and think of how you feel about the other person."  A few seconds later she continued speaking.  "Very good now, Sakura, take your paper and place it where it says "Sakura's love for Shoaoran".  Good.  Now Shoaoran, you put yours where it says Shoaoran's love for Sakura.  Now here is another piece of paper for you Sakura and here is one for you Tomoyo.  Sit and do as Sakura and Shoaoran did." Again there was a pause before she continued.  "Now I would like to try one more test.  Sakura, you can get up.  Shoaoran, you take Sakura's place.  Now here are two more pieces of paper."
  220.65 +
  220.66 +"But why are you doing this?  We aren't a couple?" Shoaoran wanted to know.
  220.67 +
  220.68 +"My own curiosity?  Why would two people who both love Sakura, each be trying to make her pick the other person?  Hum?  Now go ahead and take each others hands and look deep into each others eyes.  Come on, Shoaoran, do it please?  That's better...  Now place yours, Shoaoran, here where it says Shoaoran's love for Tomoyo.  And yours, Tomoyo, goes here of course."
  220.69 +
  220.70 +After the love part of the test was done they all went through the same thing with yellow papers instead of white ones.  
  220.71 +
  220.72 +"There, now that we have all the results, let's look at love first. Unfolding each paper will reveal the result in the form of a red, blue or a mixture of the two colors.  The size, shape and color of the mark appearing on each paper shows the degree, the purity, and to some extent the sort of feelings.  A larger mark generally means a stronger feeling.  A pure red mark signifies pure unselfish love.  Blue indicates possessiveness.  We won't go into other colors, as I don't expect to see them."
  220.73 +
  220.74 +Shoaoran's love for Sakura showed a wide pure red bar straight across the paper.  "A good, very strong, very pure love."  Was Shoaoran's mothers verdict.  Sakura and Tomoyo both nodded as it was just as they expected.
  220.75 +
  220.76 +Sakura's love for Shoaoran looked just about the same.  Also no surprise to anyone.
  220.77 +
  220.78 +Sakura's love for Tomoyo however was a very large red spot that was fuzzy around the edges.  "Ah less clear and direct love, but still very pure and very strong."
  220.79 +
  220.80 +But when she unfolded Tomoyo's love for Sakura, the whole paper was blood red.  "Ah.  This I have never seen before.  I would say that Tomoyo's love for Sakura is very special indeed."
  220.81 +
  220.82 +"See?"  Shoaoran said firmly.  Sakura just stared with her eyes really big.
  220.83 +
  220.84 +The paper for Shoaoran's love for Tomoyo had another pure red bar about two thirds the size his for Sakura.  "Ah, as I suspected.  This would explain why Shoaoran doesn't want to hurt Tomoyo."  Shoaoran just looked at the floor while Tomoyo looked about as surprised as Sakura.  Now let's see how Tomoyo feels about Shoaoran.
  220.85 +
  220.86 +This paper had a red spot, only a little smaller than Sakura's for Tomoyo,  except it had sharp edges.  "And this would explain why Tomoyo was so adamant about Sakura staying with Shoaoran.  She not only didn't want to hurt Sakura but she didn't want to hurt Shoaoran either."  Now it was Tomoyo's turn to look at the floor.  And Shoaoran's turn to look surprised.
  220.87 +
  220.88 +"So it seems we have three people here who all love each other quite a lot.  Now let's check for sexual attraction.  The rules are just about the same." 
  220.89 +
  220.90 +Sakura's attraction for Shoaoran was a very large red spot.  "Ah, an impressive amount of attraction."  Tomoyo smiled while Shoaoran just looked at Sakura who was looking at the floor.
  220.91 +
  220.92 +Shoaoran's attraction for Sakura was a spot about half the size of Sakura's.  "A smaller but still respectable attraction."  Now it was Shoaoran's turn to look at the floor.
  220.93 +
  220.94 +Sakura's attraction for Tomoyo showed a spot about the same size as Shoaoran's for Sakura.  "Ah, that's interesting." Tomoyo looked really shocked while Sakura got really red.
  220.95 +
  220.96 +Tomoyo's attraction for Sakura was a very large red spot, even larger than Sakura's for Shoaoran.  As Tomoyo blushed and Sakura looked shocked, Shoaoran's mother commented.  "You must have a lot of self control, Tomoyo."  But Tomoyo didn't comment.
  220.97 +
  220.98 +Then came Shoaoran's attraction for Tomoyo.  A red spot as large as Sakura's for Shoaoran.  Now Shoaoran was blushing a lot while both Sakura and Tomoyo looked shocked.  "Interesting, but don't be too concerned about this Sakura, remember Love is separate from sex.
  220.99 +
 220.100 +Finally came Tomoyo's attraction for Shoaoran.  A spot about half the size of Sakura's for Tomoyo.  "Small, but not insignificant."  Shoaoran's mother concluded.  "The solution to your problem Sakura is simply to keep both of your loves.  Ordinarily this wouldn't work, but in this case your two loves love each other.  So the relationship should work as a triad.  The three couples can take turns going out, or all three of you can go out together."  Sakura and Tomoyo looked stunned but Shoaoran protested.  
 220.101 +
 220.102 +"Wait a second here!  You say I alternate going out with both of them?"
 220.103 +
 220.104 +Exactly.  And every third time your two girls should go out with each other.
 220.105 +
 220.106 +"That's weird." Shoaoran complained.
 220.107 +
 220.108 +"Perhaps, but I think if you all work at it such an arrangement could make all three of you happy."
 220.109 +
 220.110 +"What about marriage?  Three people can't get married." Tomoyo brought up.
 220.111 +
 220.112 +"Not legally.  Only one ceremony would be legal.  But I still think you should still have three separate ceremonies, to marry the three couples.
 220.113 +
 220.114 +"So I could make matching wedding gowns for Sakura and myself and we could have a ceremony with the two of us."  This thought took Tomoyo out of the discussion with stars in her eyes.
 220.115 +
 220.116 +"If you are uncomfortable with this arrangement, Shoaoran, think of it this way.  You get to marry Sakura, and have Tomoyo as a concubine to have sex with."  This quieted Shoaoran right down.  "How about you, Sakura?  What do you think of my idea?"
 220.117 +
 220.118 +"I like it.  This way I get to keep both of them."  She smiled.
 220.119 +
 220.120 +"True.  But you saw the sexual attraction readings.  I'm sure you won't have any problems with Shoaoran, but are you comfortable letting your friend Tomoyo have sex with you?"  Sakura only hesitated for a moment before answering.
 220.121 +
 220.122 +"I guess so.  It seems kind of perverted but kind of exciting too." This got Tomoyo's attention.  
 220.123 +
 220.124 +"You would really do it with me, Sakura?" she asked hesitantly.
 220.125 +
 220.126 +"Yeah.  I know you really want it from me, and," she continued hesitantly, "it does sound kind of exciting..."
 220.127 +
 220.128 +"Good enough."  Shoaoran's mother continued.  "And are you comfortable with your husband having sex with your best friend?"  This caused a slightly longer hesitation.  
 220.129 +
 220.130 +"I guess so.  As long as he doesn't neglect me.  Tomoyo?  How do you feel about having sex with Shoaoran?"
 220.131 +
 220.132 +"I don't really have a problem with it as long as it doesn't bother you Sakura."  This got a smile out of Shoaoran.  Then Sakura got smiles out of everyone with her announcement.
 220.133 +
 220.134 +"I sleep in the middle!"
 220.135 +

   221.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   221.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_kissfromrose.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   221.3 @@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
   221.4 +Kiss from a Rose
   221.5 +A CCS fanfiction by Siobhan Pettit
   221.6 +tomoyo_daidoji_0903@yahoo.com
   221.7 +
   221.8 +
   221.9 +Daidouji Tomoyo sat down very carefully on the freshly mowed grass
  221.10 +of the park, straightening outwards the full folds of her frilly
  221.11 +English dress. Honestly, she doesn't want to crumple her delicate
  221.12 +white and black couture. Mother already underwent a great deal of
  221.13 +trouble considering what happened-giving her a lovely rite and buying
  221.14 +her this outfit and even a peaceful place to rest, not to mention the
  221.15 +grief she had given her Mother.
  221.16 +	Her dress, harked back to ancient times, was a Victorian-inspired
  221.17 +pinafore clothing of ankle-length skit and full-blown sleeves. It was
  221.18 +a French-maid-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland image, but its black and
  221.19 +velvet brocade materials made it more grown-up and serious. There was
  221.20 +nothing morbid in the dress. Even it was done in a Gothic fashion.
  221.21 +The look was gathered entirely in an elegant slant, and kawaii is the
  221.22 +major factor in the final ensemble. Mother was really an
  221.23 +exceptionally talented person when it comes to choosing what to wear.
  221.24 +Imagine, her daughter is a grown woman already in her early twenties
  221.25 +and yet, okaa-sama made her don for the last occasion a dress that
  221.26 +was childlike yet elegant in their tradition and detail. Something
  221.27 +that would be fixed in everybody's memory. Mother had even fixed a
  221.28 +ribboned Sunday hat on her head, with beautiful flowers in the brim.
  221.29 +The juxtaposition of the dress in her made her look like somebody
  221.30 +jumping out of a fantasy world, but she liked it altogether.
  221.31 +	Tomoyo raised her head towards the clear September sky. The sun was
  221.32 +getting higher now, yet the warmth was not unpleasant. It had been
  221.33 +eight days since the incident happened, but it seemed like an
  221.34 +eternity already had passed. Everything went by in a slow motion-the
  221.35 +visits from the family's acquaintances, the mass, and the final
  221.36 +rite…everything. Everyone came to see her. Yamazaki-
  221.37 +kun…Chiharu…Rikka…Naoko-chan. Even Eriol-kun and Mizuki-sensei was
  221.38 +there. And Meiling-chan. Her dear, good friend. It was the second
  221.39 +time she had seen Meiling cry like that-lost and very angry at the
  221.40 +same time. It felt so grateful somehow, the first time in her life
  221.41 +that all her beloved ones and everyone dear to her were gathered in
  221.42 +one place. And Touya too. Tomoyo smiled inwardly. Her arrogant and
  221.43 +emotion-free cousin wept silently while being patted in the shoulder
  221.44 +by an equally emotional Yukito. And Fujitaka-sama. The church was
  221.45 +filled with friends, visitors, flowers and beautiful music. All for
  221.46 +her, only hers. They were all there. 
  221.47 +	Except for one person.
  221.48 +	The lovely heiress stretched out her hand and fidgeted the bouquet
  221.49 +of red tulips and anthuriums her mother had brought yesterday. They
  221.50 +were almost dry and wilted. Nevertheless, it was a grand visit.
  221.51 +Sonomi told her in a cheerful tone that Sakura had arrived from Hong
  221.52 +Kong at last. Mother knew it would cheer her up too. No, Li Syaoran
  221.53 +wasn't with her, she said. That's sad. She wanted to see him too. But
  221.54 +Sakura told Sonomi personally that she would visit Tomoyo today. And
  221.55 +she would do it alone.
  221.56 +	Tomoyo's s smile materialized. It had been two years since they
  221.57 +last saw each other. And that had been in Sakura's wedding day. The
  221.58 +couple is living in Hong Kong now. Tomoyo chewed her lip. At least
  221.59 +she could get to see Sakura before living today. She missed Sakura so
  221.60 +badly.
  221.61 +	Tomoyo was startled from her reverie when she heard a soft hum of a
  221.62 +car engine. She jerked her head towards the road in the distance and
  221.63 +saw a black Bentley Arnage snaking its way towards the gate and then
  221.64 +pulling down the curb. A minute later the sleek car screeched to a
  221.65 +halt. The driver's door opened and a brunette with a short, slant
  221.66 +hairstyle emerged into the sunlight. Li Sakura, now in her twenties,
  221.67 +was even more beautiful. She was dressed in an exquisite cream
  221.68 +Italian trenchcoat and black leather gloves. Sakura's attire was
  221.69 +subdued yet stylish and donned in good taste. Her child-like and
  221.70 +naïve features progressed to strong womanish facial expressions
  221.71 +through the years. Now, her resemblance to Daidouji Sonomi can be
  221.72 +distinguished with little or no effort at all. Sakura's likeness to
  221.73 +the Chairman of the Amamiya-Daidouji Corporation was so apparent that
  221.74 +they could be mistaken for a mother and daughter if seen standing
  221.75 +side-by-side.
  221.76 +	Sakura shut the door of the Bentley with a rather strong force and
  221.77 +it closed with a resounding thud. She approached Tomoyo in languid,
  221.78 +slow-paced steps.
  221.79 +	Tomoyo noticed Sakura's haunted gait. There was an uncertainty in
  221.80 +Sakura's appearance that made her shoulders seemed heavy as she
  221.81 +walked down the granite pathway.
  221.82 +	At last, the tall auburn-haired woman reached her destination and
  221.83 +stepped beside Tomoyo. Sakura gave a wan smile, but a cute one
  221.84 +nonetheless. Tomoyo can't help to smile back. Old habits die hard,
  221.85 +apparently.
  221.86 +	Sakura drew a tired breath. "Hello, Tomoyo-chan," she began. "It's
  221.87 +been a long time, wasn't it?"
  221.88 +	Tomoyo nodded in agreement.
  221.89 +	The brunette's lips suddenly trembled as if she was desperately
  221.90 +holding back her emotions. Sakura slumped down beside her carefully,
  221.91 +meticulously straightening too, the full length of her trench coat.
  221.92 +Like Tomoyo, Sakura sat with her feet clasped together at the sides.
  221.93 +The heiress couldn't hide another smile as her eyes noticed Sakura's
  221.94 +knee-high black suede boots peeking out behind the ankle-length robe.
  221.95 +She was quite impressed.
  221.96 +	"Prada, isn't it, Sakura-chan? And Milan, not New York?" Tomoyo
  221.97 +asked giddily, wanting to lighten up the mood and start a good
  221.98 +conversation.
  221.99 +	But Sakura never replied. Tomoyo's lips pursed, then she looked at
 221.100 +Sakura's guilt-ridden olive green eyes. But Sakura never returned her
 221.101 +gaze. The Card Mistress just kept staring down the ground.
 221.102 +	"I…I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan, if I wasn't present at the chapel. But
 221.103 +Sonomi-sama said that it was your wish not to inform me 'til
 221.104 +everything was over…"
 221.105 +	Tomoyo nodded again. Yes, it was her decision. She won't be able to
 221.106 +bear it seeing Sakura breaking down in the middle of the ceremony-
 221.107 +	"You cheated me, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed.
 221.108 +	The heiress was taken aback. No, Sakura-chan, she whispered. I love
 221.109 +you; I don't want to see you get hurt! I wanted to spare you the
 221.110 +pain… the misery, the same pain I felt when I watched you took the
 221.111 +vows with Syaoran-kun. It was the end for me. I was dying the entire
 221.112 +ceremony, one knife plunging into my heart after another. I don't
 221.113 +want you to undergo the same torture that I went through.
 221.114 +	Sakura's eyes began welling with tears. Her composure was now lost.
 221.115 +"You don't know what I felt when we parted, Tomoyo-chan. It was so
 221.116 +lonely, I missed you so much. Before I was glad because I know that
 221.117 +you're still here and just a phone call away. But now…but
 221.118 +now…everything's useless!"
 221.119 +	Tomoyo fought the urge to touch Sakura's face and brush those tears
 221.120 +away, just as she was fighting until now, the yearning to throw
 221.121 +herself in the arms of the Card Mistress. She wished that Sakura
 221.122 +would hold her, kiss her, and never let go of her again, whisper to
 221.123 +her ears loving words and assurances. But it was such a ridiculous
 221.124 +notion. Tomoyo doesn't have the right. Sakura has already a husband
 221.125 +that would do all those things. To hold her close, kiss her in a
 221.126 +fierce abandon.
 221.127 +	"Tomoyo-chan, why didn't you tell me?!" Sakura lashed, fighting
 221.128 +back the tears. At first, she was so shocked, learning Tomoyo's long
 221.129 +held secret from Sonomi herself-the secret that made Tomoyo finally
 221.130 +decide to part with her forever.
 221.131 +	The heiress shook her head and bit her lip. The words she wanted to
 221.132 +say were choking down her throat. No, Sakura-chan, she thought. Would
 221.133 +you dare cross the turbulent waters that separated us and risked
 221.134 +everything knowing that you're loving another girl? What if you don't
 221.135 +feel the same for me? I cannot bear to jeopardize your happiness with
 221.136 +Li-kun and ruin your relationship with him lest you don't feel the
 221.137 +same way. But at least, Sakura had realized now. It was never
 221.138 +useless, Sakura-chan. You can have a normal family, a child to bear.
 221.139 +It was better that way, she thought. She will wait for the time they
 221.140 +could be together again. Their love for each other could wait even
 221.141 +for an eternity. But not now, not yet. Their feelings for each other
 221.142 +were already bad as it is. And she couldn't let Sakura commit
 221.143 +adultery, could she?
 221.144 +	I'm so happy that you're here and I saw you at last, Sakura-chan,
 221.145 +Tomoyo thought. But I must go now, my time is almost up…"
 221.146 +	"I have something for you, Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura intervened, cutting
 221.147 +Tomoyo's thoughts. She reached for the inside pocket of her garment
 221.148 +and pulled out a long-stemmed English rose-a large, deep red one,
 221.149 +like those roses Tomoyo grows in the mansion's garden. Sakura kissed
 221.150 +the rose, imagining it was Tomoyo.
 221.151 +	But Tomoyo never reached out and tried to take it. Sakura bit her
 221.152 +lip to stop herself from crying, and put the rose on the ground.
 221.153 +Tomoyo, seeing Sakura putting up a brave front like that, broke her
 221.154 +tears at last. Now, her hand came up in its own volition and brushed
 221.155 +Sakura's cheeks. But she had forgotten. Her hand just went through
 221.156 +Sakura's face. Tomoyo curled her fist instead. She wished she could
 221.157 +touch Sakura even for the last time too.
 221.158 +	At that moment, Tomoyo felt the heavenly breath of the autumn wind
 221.159 +gently stirring her, beckoning and reminding her. It's time to go.
 221.160 +With a heavy knot in her heart, Tomoyo reluctantly stood up and began
 221.161 +leaving.
 221.162 +	Not forward, but upward.
 221.163 +	The breeze lifted and bore Tomoyo towards the sky. From her new
 221.164 +vantagepoint, she could see Sakura standing up too, her brown head
 221.165 +stooped low, staring down at the tombstone that bore Tomoyo's
 221.166 +epitaph. Sakura's shoulders began shaking with strong sobs. 
 221.167 +	"I…I love you too, Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura cried heavily, her voice
 221.168 +quivering wit the confession. She's so stupid! Why hadn't she
 221.169 +realized before? Her jade eyes squeezed tightly and more tears fell
 221.170 +to the dirt below. Yes, she knows it now. She really loved Tomoyo.
 221.171 +She still does. She always had. But she discovered it too late. Now
 221.172 +Tomoyo is dead! Life is so unfair! She'd do everything just to bring
 221.173 +Tomoyo back!  But that would be impossible. She felt useless. She's
 221.174 +the world's powerful sorceress yet she cannot do anything to righten
 221.175 +up her mistakes. Sakura's strength was snatched away from her legs.
 221.176 +For a moment she swayed dangerously, and then fell to her hands and
 221.177 +her knees, sobbing bitterly.
 221.178 +	"Tomoyo-chan…why? Why did you do it?! Why did you have to leave me?!"
 221.179 +	"But Tomoyo drifted farther and farther, her face serene. At peace
 221.180 +at last. She can rest now, savoring Sakura's words like lyrics from a
 221.181 +sad song. She will wait for the time they could be together again.
 221.182 +Her love for this girl can surpass even immortality.
 221.183 +	Up in the sky, Tomoyo could see the rose petals waving in the wind.
 221.184 +It was the first gift Sakura had given her out of carnal intentions.
 221.185 +	It was her first flower.
 221.186 +	Her first rose.
 221.187 +	
 221.188 +-Owari-
 221.189 \ No newline at end of file

   222.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   222.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_nadeshikosfirst.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   222.3 @@ -0,0 +1,280 @@
   222.4 +Nadeshiko's first school day
   222.5 +By Radar
   222.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   222.7 +
   222.8 +-------------
   222.9 +
  222.10 +WARNING! this is a yuri story!
  222.11 +these characters aside from the ones i created are teh property of
  222.12 +clamp!
  222.13 +
  222.14 +
  222.15 +Slowly the little girl opened her eyes and yawned softly. Looking to
  222.16 +her left she giggled at the snoring stuffed animal on her bed side
  222.17 +table. 'Silly Kero-chan!' she whispered yawning again. Getting out of
  222.18 +bed she walked to her dresser. Her emerald eyes scanned it until she
  222.19 +found what she was looking for. Picking up her brush she started
  222.20 +brushin her short midnight hair. Once she was finished she set the
  222.21 +brush down and sighed contently. 'What ya doin?' a tired voice behind
  222.22 +her asked. 'Getting ready for school Kero-chan!' the girl replied
  222.23 +turning around. 'School? Nadeshiko-chan, you don't go to school!'
  222.24 +Kero-chan said. Nadeshiko giggled softly. 'Yes I do! Todays my first
  222.25 +day!' she replied, picking him up and holding him at arms length.
  222.26 +Smiling, she hugged him like he was part of the collection of stuffed
  222.27 +animals she got from her papa. Slowly she got dressed in her new
  222.28 +uniform. 'Nadeshiko-chan.. are you awake?' a voice asked from her
  222.29 +door. Turning around her smile grew slightly and she ran to hug the
  222.30 +pale woman standing in the door way. 'Good morning Tomoyo-mama!'
  222.31 +Nadeshiko said, looking up. 'Good Morning Nadeshiko-chan!' Tomoyo
  222.32 +replied, smiling when Nadeshiko twirled around, showing off her new
  222.33 +school uniform. 'Are you excited?' Tomoyo asked when the walked into
  222.34 +the kitchen. 'Hai!' Nadeshiko replied, nodding happily. 'You
  222.35 +shouldn't get too excited Nadeshiko-chan!' a girl sitting at the
  222.36 +table said. 'Why Onii-chan?' Nadeshiko asked. 'Because if you're
  222.37 +naughty the teachers lock you in a small, dark room!'
  222.38 +'Stop teasing her Kumiko-chan!' Tomoyo said, her smile now a little
  222.39 +bigger because of Kumiko's teasing. Looking at Nadeshiko, she noticed
  222.40 +that the girl seemed a little paler then normal. 'Is it true Sakura-
  222.41 +papa?' Nadeshiko asked. The auburn haired woman sitting opposite
  222.42 +Kumiko shook her head and smiled. 'Of course it's not Nadeshiko-
  222.43 +chan!' Sakura replied. 'Stupid Onii-chan!' Nadeshiko said, kicking
  222.44 +the older girl in her shin. 'Morning Nadeshiko-chan!' another voice
  222.45 +said, coming from behind her. Turning around she smiled upon seeing
  222.46 +her sisters best friend Hikaru. 'Morning Aunite..um.. Hikaru-san!'
  222.47 +Nadeshiko replied. Hikaru smiled brightly. Usually the girl would
  222.48 +have replied Aunite Hikaru as Nadeshiko saw her that much. 'Kumiko-
  222.49 +chan must have told her to say that!' the older girl thought, looking
  222.50 +up at the pale girl opposite Sakura. 'Good morning Sakura-san!'
  222.51 +Hikaru said, 'Hi Kumi-chan!'
  222.52 +'Hi Hikaru-chan!' Kumiko replied, blushing slightly. 'Morning Hikaru-
  222.53 +chan!' Sakura replied, smiling slightly. 'Are you excited Nadeshiko-
  222.54 +chan!' Hikaru asked. 'Hai! But I'm a little scared Aunite Hikaru!'
  222.55 +Nadeshiko replied, talking quickly. Hikaru smiled slightly. 'Don't
  222.56 +worry Nadeshiko-chan! Everyone is on their first day!' Hikaru said.
  222.57 +'Are you excited to be starting  a new school Aunite Hikaru?'
  222.58 +Nadeshiko asked. 'Yeah! Especally with Kumiko-chan!' Hikaru said,
  222.59 +blushing slightly. Idlily she wondered if Nadeshiko had noticed that
  222.60 +she and Kumiko were dating. 'What's so special about Onii-chan?'
  222.61 +Nadeshiko asked. Hikaru smiled slightly. Just as she was about to
  222.62 +reply Tomoyo reminded them that it wouldn't look good if all 3 of
  222.63 +them were late for school on their first day. The girls hurried out
  222.64 +followed soon after by Sakura. Tomoyo smiled slightly, sitting at the
  222.65 +deserted table. She'd never seen Kumiko so.. gidddy before, not even
  222.66 +when she'd told everyone that she'd made a new friend. 'They make a
  222.67 +cute couple!' she thought.
  222.68 +
  222.69 +Having gone their separate ways Sakura noticed Nadeshiko walking
  222.70 +alone.
  222.71 +'Are you ok Nadeshiko-chan?' she asked. The girl looked at her and
  222.72 +smiled slightly. 'Hai! I'm still nervous Sakura-papa! Nadeshiko
  222.73 +replied. 'Well that's natural Nadeshiko-chan! Everyone is!'
  222.74 +'Even Mama?' Nadeshiko asked. 'Even Mama! She just didn't show it!'
  222.75 +Sakura replied. 'Just relax and be yourself!' Nadeshiko nodded and
  222.76 +smiled. They walked the rest of the journey to the school in silence.
  222.77 +'Nadeshiko-chan.. now that your starting school, you should know that
  222.78 +if I'm your teacher I'll treat you like any other student!'
  222.79 +'Why Sakura-papa?' Nadeshiko asked, quiet confused. 'Because the
  222.80 +other students won't like it if I treat you differently to them!'
  222.81 +Sakura replied, 'And it was the same with your sister!' The girl
  222.82 +smiled again and nodded. 'Ok papa!' As they walked into the school
  222.83 +yard they passed a blond girl and her mother standing at the gates.
  222.84 +'Are you feeling ok Megumi-chan?' the mother asked. 'I'm scared
  222.85 +mama!' the girl called Megumi replied. Her mother smiled slightly.
  222.86 +'Don't worry Megumi-chan, I'm sure you'll make alot of friends!'
  222.87 +Looking up the girl smiled and hugged her mother before she walked
  222.88 +into the school grounds. She looked up, her nervousness returning.
  222.89 +Suddenly the person in front of her stopped, they collided and fell
  222.90 +to the ground, the girl in front cusioning her fall. 'Gomen Nasai!'
  222.91 +the person she was on top of said softly. 'I'm sorry! It was my
  222.92 +fault!' Megumi replied. 'Are you ok?' another voice asked. 'I'm fine
  222.93 +Sakura-papa!' the pale girl replied, as the woman called Sakura
  222.94 +helped them to their feet. 'Arigatou!' the girl said. Megumi looked
  222.95 +up and blushed slightly. 'A.. Arigatou!' Megumi said, bowing
  222.96 +slightly. 'She really pretty!' she thought, blushing brighter. 'I'm
  222.97 +Megumi Futaba! It's nice to meet you!' the blond haired girl
  222.98 +stammered. 'I'm Nadeshiko Daidouji! It's nice to meet you Megumi!'
  222.99 +Nadeshiko said, bowing. 'I'm Sakura Daidouji!' Sakura said, bowing.
 222.100 +'She's my papa!' Nadeshiko said, proudly. 'Isn't she your mama?'
 222.101 +Megumi asked, looking at them confused. Nadeshiko shook her head.
 222.102 +'But how can she be your papa if she's a girl?' She was now scared
 222.103 +and really confused. 'I've always though of her as my papa!'
 222.104 +Nadeshiko said. 'Ok!' Megumi said, smiling slightly. Nadeshiko and
 222.105 +Sakura smiled too, before they walked into the school building. 15
 222.106 +minutes later they stood outside their classroom. To their surprise
 222.107 +Megumi and Nadeshiko found themselves in the same class, their
 222.108 +nevousness returning. The door opened and an auburn haired woman
 222.109 +ushered them into the classroom, asking them to stand in front of the
 222.110 +chalkboard. 'Hello everyone! I'm going to be your homeroom teacher
 222.111 +for the next few years! I'm Sakura Daidouji!' Sakura said, smiling
 222.112 +slightly. 'Before we start you need to find your seats!' Sakura said.
 222.113 +Several minutes later all her students were seated. 'Now could you
 222.114 +stand up, one at a time please, and say something about yourself!'
 222.115 +One by one boys and girls stood up and introduced themselves, then it
 222.116 +got to Nadeshiko and Megumi who stood up at the same time.
 222.117 +'I'm Megumi Futaba..'
 222.118 +'I'm Nadeshiko Daidouji..'
 222.119 +'It's nice to meet you!' They said together before sitting down and
 222.120 +blushing brightly. Sakura smiled slightly. Blushing they looked at
 222.121 +each other and smiled slightly. When Nadeshiko looked towards the
 222.122 +front of the class room, she saw a small red haired girl sitting
 222.123 +right in front of her. 'Rika-chan?' she asked. The girl turned around
 222.124 +and smiled slightly. 'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Rika replied softly,
 222.125 +nervousness apparent in her voice. The red head smiled slightly as
 222.126 +Sakura cleared her throat. Looking forward they listened to what
 222.127 +Sakura had to say.
 222.128 +
 222.129 +At Lunch Nadeshiko, Megumi and Rika sat next to each other. 'That
 222.130 +was embarassing!' Megumi said. Nadeshiko nodded in agreement and took
 222.131 +another bite out of her sandwich. 'Hi girls!' a voice said from
 222.132 +behind them. Nadeshiko smiled where her friends jumped in shock. 'Hi
 222.133 +papa!' the pale girl said, not looking away from her sandwich. 'How's
 222.134 +you like school so far?' Sakura asked, sitting opposite the girls.
 222.135 +'It's ok!' Megumi replied. Rika paled slightly. 'It's not as scarery
 222.136 +as I thought auntie Sakura!' Rika replied. 'I like it!' Nadeshiko
 222.137 +said, putting her sandwich back on her plate. 'Papa.. why aren't you
 222.138 +sitting with the other teachers?' Nadeshiko asked. 'Because I wanted
 222.139 +to know how my daughter was during her first day!' Sakura replied.
 222.140 +Nadeshiko blushed slightly. 'I'm ok papa!' the girl said, smiling
 222.141 +brightly, 'But why aren't you sitting with the other teachers?'
 222.142 +Sakura laughed softly. 'She's persistant!' Sakura thought. 'Because!'
 222.143 +'Because what auntie Sakura?' Rika asked, joining the conversation.
 222.144 +'They scare me!' Sakura whispered as her friend Rika passed by. 'Hi
 222.145 +aunite Rika!' Nadeshiko said. The other woman stopped and looked back
 222.146 +at her and smiled. 'Hi Nadeshiko-chan! How's your first day been?'
 222.147 +the brown haired woman asked. 'Really fun!' Nadeshiko replied as Rika
 222.148 +sat down. 'Is it true?'
 222.149 +'What?' Rika asked, very confused. 'That the other teachers scare
 222.150 +Sakura-papa?' Nadeshiko asked. Rika held her laugh back. 'What's
 222.151 +Sakura been telling her?' she thought. Looking to her right she saw
 222.152 +Sakura trying to hold back her laughter as well. 'I think so!' Rika
 222.153 +replied, 'I've seen them be really mean to her!'
 222.154 +'Poor Sakura-papa!' Nadeshiko said, looking down at her sandwich.
 222.155 +The other girl had been silent for a while, and looked at Nadeshiko.
 222.156 +'Don't worry Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura said, finishing her own
 222.157 +sandwich. 'Ok! See you after school!' the girl said, walking away
 222.158 +with her friends. 'So the others are really mean to you?' Rika asked.
 222.159 +Sakura laughed softly. 'Not really! I just needed something to
 222.160 +distract her from being nervous!' Sakura replied. Rika smiled, 'Which
 222.161 +classes do you have her for Sakura?' Rika asked. 'PE and Math!'
 222.162 +Sakura shuddered. The other woamn knew that Math wasn't Sakura's best
 222.163 +subject, but somehow she'd managed to get the hang of it and taught
 222.164 +it. 'You?'
 222.165 +'English, and Science!' Rika replied. They stood up and walked to
 222.166 +their classrooms, they still had a long day ahead of them.
 222.167 +
 222.168 +Hours later as Sakura and Nadeshiko walked home another pair of
 222.169 +girls got a big surprise. 'What would you like for dinner tonight
 222.170 +Kumi-chan?' Hikaru asked. 'Anything! Just as long as you use your
 222.171 +secret ingredient!' Kumiko replied, smiling brightly. 'Can we have
 222.172 +some?' a voice asked from behind them. Turning around, Kumiko gasped.
 222.173 +'Onii-chan?' she whispered. The older girl smiled at her. 'Hi Kumi-
 222.174 +chan!' the other girl replied, moving some of her firery red hair
 222.175 +from her eyes. 'I thought I'd never see you again Onii-chan!' Kumiko
 222.176 +said, hugging the older girl tightly. 'Calm down or you'll break me
 222.177 +in half!' the older girl said. 'Kumi-chan.. who's this?' Hikaru
 222.178 +asked. 'This is my big sister Misato Hattori!' Kumiko replied smiling
 222.179 +brightly. 'You have an older sister?' Hikaru asked, shocked. 'Hai!'
 222.180 +Kumiko replied. 'I'm not her real sister!' Misato said. 'Sakura and
 222.181 +Tomoyo adopted me when my parents died!'
 222.182 +'Why does she call you her sister?' Hikaru asked. Misato smiled as
 222.183 +the image of a 3 year old Kumiko appeared in her mind. 'Hi Onii-
 222.184 +chan!' the little girl said, hugging her when her parents told her
 222.185 +that Misato would be living with them. 'Oh!'
 222.186 +'Misato-chan.. aren't you going to introduce me?' a slightly smaller
 222.187 +girl asked, walking upto Misato. Misato smiled and nodded. 'This is
 222.188 +Nene!' she said simply. 'Hi!' Kumiko said. 'Hello!' Hikaru said.
 222.189 +'Hello!' the dark haired girl replied. 'She's my..' Misato said,
 222.190 +before becoming very shy, 'Wife!'
 222.191 +'You're married Onii-chan? When?' Kumiko asked. 'A few weeks ago!'
 222.192 +Misato said. 'Sorry about not telling you!' Kumiko smiled. 'It's ok!
 222.193 +But we would've come!' she said, one arm going around her
 222.194 +girlfriend's waist. Hikaru nodded. 'I know you would have but I
 222.195 +wasn't sure Sakura'd let you go!' Misato said. 'She would have Onii-
 222.196 +chan!' Kumiko said, 'She'll be happy to see you! I know she misses
 222.197 +you!' Misato smiled slightly. 'I know.. you told me all about it in
 222.198 +your letters!'
 222.199 +'Ah.. now I get it!' Hikaru said suddenly. 'Huh?'
 222.200 +'I asked you a while ago who you were writing to but you said it was
 222.201 +a secret!' Hikaru said. 'Sorry about not telling you!' Kumiko said.
 222.202 +'It's ok Kumi-chan!'
 222.203 +'Um.. could you introduce me to Daidouji-san please?' Nene asked.
 222.204 +Kumiko and Hikaru jumped as the older girl had been quiet for most of
 222.205 +the conversation. Kumiko smiled and took hold of Misato and Nene's
 222.206 +hand's and started walking home. As they were almost dragged to
 222.207 +Kumiko's home, the pale girl bombarded them with questions. 'Um my
 222.208 +mother said that I was just confused when I took Misato-chan home to
 222.209 +meet them! She thought that I was bringing a boy home fro them to
 222.210 +meet!' Nene replied. 'Why'd she say that?' Hikaru asked. 'Well.. she
 222.211 +was brought up traditionally so she thought that 2 girls shouldn't
 222.212 +and couldn't love each other!' the dark haired teen sighed as she
 222.213 +remembered what her mother had said:
 222.214 +'Nene-chan... I know you aren't a lesbian and I would apreciate it
 222.215 +if you didn't bring that dirty girl back here again!'
 222.216 +'My father came to the wedding!' Nene said, bringing herself back to
 222.217 +the present. 'He's a really nice man!' Misato said, her free arm
 222.218 +going around Nene's shoulders. 'Yeah he is!' Nene said, smiling
 222.219 +again. Kumiko and Hikaru smiled as they drew near the pale girls home.
 222.220 +
 222.221 +Just as she and Tomoyo sat down to listen to Nadeshiko about her
 222.222 +first day, the door opened and Kumiko appeared in the dorway to the
 222.223 +living room. 'Guess who me and Hikaru-chan ran into today Sakura-
 222.224 +papa?' Kumiko said happily. Sakura thought for a moment before
 222.225 +shaking her head. 'Onii-chan!' Kumiko said, pulling the older girl
 222.226 +into the doorway. 'Hi Sakura!' Misato said. 'Hello Misato!' Sakura
 222.227 +replied. The red head almost backed away. Sakura somehow seemed a lot
 222.228 +more emposing then she did when she left. 'I believe last time we
 222.229 +were like this you said you weren't gay and that you were leaving!'
 222.230 +'I know!' Misato said. 'I'm sorry!' she whispered. 'It's ok Misato!'
 222.231 +Sakura said, 'It's good to see you again!' Misato smiled slightly,
 222.232 +despite having tears in her eyes. 'Who's your friend Misato-chan?'
 222.233 +Tomoyo asked. 'I'm Nene!' Nene said, smiling slightly. 'Mistato-
 222.234 +chan's addoptive parents aren't as scary as I though they'd be!' the
 222.235 +darked haired girl thought. Tomoyo's smile grew when she saw the
 222.236 +girls wearing identical gold bands. 'She's married?' Tomoyo thought,
 222.237 +'She must love this girl alot!' Then everyone noticed Nadeshiko
 222.238 +staring at the older girls. 'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Misato said,
 222.239 +kneeling down so Nadeshiko could look her in the eye. 'Hi!' Nadeshiko
 222.240 +said. 'How'd you know my name?'
 222.241 +'Kumiko told about you in her letters!' Misato said. 'She's my big
 222.242 +sister!' Kumiko said, smiling brightly. Nadeshiko was shocked. 'I
 222.243 +have another sister?' she asked. Misato smiled slightly, before
 222.244 +Nadeshiko hugged her. slowly the girl backed away slightly. 'When did
 222.245 +it happen?' Nadeshiko asked. 'What Nadeshiko-chan?' Misato asked.
 222.246 +'You and Nene-san being like mama and papa?' Nadeshiko replied.
 222.247 +Misato gasped softly. It was then she realised that Nadeshiko had
 222.248 +recieved Tomoyo's preseptivness. 'You're married?' Sakura asked, more
 222.249 +from shock than anything else. Misato nodded. 'Surprise!' she said
 222.250 +softly. 'Congratulations Misato!' Tomoyo said, followed soon after by
 222.251 +Sakura, Tomoyo coaxing her out of her shocked state. Then everyone
 222.252 +sat down and listened to Nadeshiko as she finished listening to
 222.253 +Nadeshiko tell them what her first school day was like.
 222.254 +
 222.255 +YEARS LATER
 222.256 +
 222.257 +Slowly a dark haired pale teenager walked into her parents bedroom.
 222.258 +'Sakura-papa? Tomoyo-mama?' she asked. The pale woman in the bed
 222.259 +moaned softly and sat up. 'What is it Nadeshiko-chan?' she asked,
 222.260 +nudging Sakura helping her wake up. 'Um... you know how Megumi-chan
 222.261 +and I are dating?' the young pale heiress asked. Sakura sat up and
 222.262 +nodded. When she was young every other sentence was about Megumi.
 222.263 +'Megumi-chan told me something today!' a soft voice said in the back
 222.264 +of her mind. Sakura smiled slightly. 'It was the same with Kumi-chan
 222.265 +too!' she thought. 'We know Nadeshiko-chan!' Tomoyo said, yawning
 222.266 +softly. 'Um.. there's something we think you should know!' Nadeshiko
 222.267 +said, before Megumi slowly walked to her girlfriends side. 'What is
 222.268 +it Nadeshiko-chan?' Sakura asked. 'We're going to get married Sakura-
 222.269 +san!' Megumi replied, seeing Nadeshiko trying but failing to get the
 222.270 +words out. 'Congratulations Nadeshiko-chan, Megumi-chan!' Sakura
 222.271 +said. Nadeshiko and Megumi smiled before leaving the room. 'What are
 222.272 +you thinking about Sakura?' Tomoyo said. 'Nothing special Tomoyo!'
 222.273 +Sakura replied. 'Just how far ahead they are in planning their
 222.274 +wedding!'
 222.275 +'If Nadeshiko's anything like you she'll just jump into a wedding!'
 222.276 +Tomoyo replied. Sakura blushed slightly. 'So?' she asked, shifting
 222.277 +some of her auburn/grey hair out of her eyes, 'You didn't complain!'
 222.278 +Tomoyo giggled softly. 'You're right! But how could I refuse?' Tomoyo
 222.279 +asked, remembering Sakura saying that they should get married the
 222.280 +same day as she'd had a horrid nightmare. Sakura smiled brightly. 'Do
 222.281 +you think we should help them?' Sakura asked. Tomoyo nodded getting
 222.282 +out of bed. Sakura followed her before they walked out of the room to
 222.283 +help their youngest daughter with her wedding plans.
 222.284 \ No newline at end of file

   223.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   223.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_nightflight.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   223.3 @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
   223.4 +Night Flight
   223.5 +By rphjas
   223.6 +rphjas@yahoo.com
   223.7 +
   223.8 +----------------
   223.9 +
  223.10 +I dreamed a fitful dream. I heard her..crying softly under the stars. She was wailing so earnestly. I gasped for breath and woke with a start. I looked for her, but my eyes only saw Kero sleeping peacefully. The doll she made for me was clasped in my arms. Its bows and ribbons jumbled messily together. It was wet from the tears falling from my cheeks. She had been crying..a halo of moonlight adorning her long black hair..her tears falling like soft summer rain. Her light blue kimono shone in the darkness. Her porcelain cheeks were shiny from tears. She was still..looking like a fragile doll. She was holding something tightly in her delicate hands. 
  223.11 +
  223.12 +What was this? Was it some type of nightmare? I reached for the cellphone she gave me so long ago. I started to dial her number, but it was too late in the night. I was scared..not for myself..but for her. Sleep had left me. I wiped my eyes with a tear-soaked sleeve. Why..why was I crying? The dream was not about the ghosts Onii-chan used to tease me about. No, the image was burned into my heart. It was her..my dearest friend. What to do? I climbed out of bed and changed into a light outfit. I opened the window and saw the same stars she had been looking at..the same brutal moon. The light summer breezes danced with my clothing..the sleepwear she had made for me. 
  223.13 +
  223.14 +I might get into trouble, but I must find her now. School might be too late. Was it another Card trying to do her harm..like Mirror-chan did to my Onii-chan? Quietly, I whispered the words of power..reaffirming my contract with the Key. Fly ! 
  223.15 +
  223.16 +Through the night skies, I flew to her manor. The place I had seen was imprinted in my mind. Over Tomoeda, I glided noiselessly. I willed the wings to beat faster..faster than they ever had before. The city was sleeping, but I could somehow feel the cries of my dearest friend. 
  223.17 +
  223.18 +I finally reached her home..the place where I have had so many wonderful memories. Was it her Mother crying over the cruel fate..the same fate that had taken my beautiful Momma from me? No, I saw her. It was not Sonomi-sama. I wanted to scream hold on. But, my throat was tight from anxiety. Upon landing and Key in hand, I searched the grounds..trying to find her. 
  223.19 +
  223.20 +Around a corner, I spied her in the darkness.  She shook in the gardens outside her two-paneled bedroom window. Her sobbing was intense. Her face was wrinkled in pain. She clutched an old battle costume..one I had worn before. She was hugging it tightly to her small frame. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the green grass. Disheveled hair hung limply around her face. Like diamonds, the tears were shining in the moonlight. 
  223.21 +
  223.22 +I could stand no more and rushed to her side. I hugged her close and asked her why..why was she in such agony. Her small nose twitched a sniffle, and she turned to me with a surprised look. Her face fought to overcome her warring emotions..to become the mask I always saw. But, it was no good. Her broken heart would not still for the transformation. She hugged me back with unbelievable power. She looked into my emerald eyes and whispered my name. 
  223.23 +
  223.24 +For a long time, I just held her close to me. Her body shaking from sobs. Her stormy lavender eyes drowned me..pulling me into her heart. Both of us were on the ground kneeling and clutching each other. Where she never could..her heart told me..told me why she cried. I stumbled upon the answer..the answer to a question she felt she could never ask of me. The special someone I always thought she had..had never been told about her feelings. They were more powerful than any magic I possessed. Her feelings were strong and her heart was breaking from the strain of unrequited love. My own eyes were bleary and I could not see her features well. Oh, Tomoyo..why? Why have you waited so long? Why have you borne this burden alone? Who was this person who caused you so much pain? 
  223.25 +
  223.26 +With a deeper dive of intuition, I swam the depths of her heart. The face of her special someone was..me...?!?
  223.27 \ No newline at end of file

   224.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   224.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_nvr-engh-tm.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   224.3 @@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
   224.4 +Never enough time
   224.5 +By Radar
   224.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   224.7 +
   224.8 +-----------
   224.9 +DISCLAIMER:
  224.10 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it
  224.11 +offends you please don't read!
  224.12 +
  224.13 +'Never enough time!'
  224.14 +
  224.15 +That one thought kept repeating in her mind as she sat in
  224.16 +meditation. Her auburn hair now stretching down her back, her emerald
  224.17 +eyes that had once held a unique sparkle now dull, almost lifeless.
  224.18 +No one quiet knew how this seemingly young woman came to this
  224.19 +particual Buddhist temple, despite the fact that the question had
  224.20 +been asked many times since her arrival. She had arrived, seemingly
  224.21 +lost, and simply asked if she could join their small community. She
  224.22 +just sat there, or did menial chores, but there was always one thing
  224.23 +that repeated in her mind: 'Never enough time!'
  224.24 +
  224.25 +It had all happened more then 30 or so years ago. The auburn haired
  224.26 +woman cast herself backwards in her memories to that fateful day when
  224.27 +her beloved wife had met her end. She sighed softly, reliving that
  224.28 +night in great detail. The battle, her pale love arriving when she
  224.29 +had promised to go somewhere safe, the way the woman had pushed her
  224.30 +out of the way, taking the fatal attack for herself, the grief and
  224.31 +sadness, the anger that followed and the lust for vengance, the look
  224.32 +on the mysterious senshi's faces when her lust was satified. The
  224.33 +looks of horror, sadness and grief on their children's and her pale
  224.34 +wifes mother's face when she carried her loves body home.
  224.35 +
  224.36 +'Never enough time!' Slowly she stood up and slowly walked around
  224.37 +the temple, her legs stiff from her hours of sitting in the same
  224.38 +place. Once... may years ago she was know as Sakura, mistress of the
  224.39 +cards. But those days were long ago and far behind her. Sakura looked
  224.40 +up at the stars, focusing on one inparticular. 'Why'd you do it
  224.41 +Tomoyo?' she thought. Casting her mind back she relived it again.
  224.42 +
  224.43 +Sakura looked on as the 10 figures dodged attack after attack. Each
  224.44 +tried differnt attacks of their own, but to no affect. Tomoyo gasped
  224.45 +as the building not too far away exploded. 'Get somewhere safe
  224.46 +Tomoyo!' Sakura said, forming her staff. 'But...' Tomoyo started. She
  224.47 +was silenced by a slow and gentle kiss from Sakura. 'I'll be ok Tomo-
  224.48 +chan!' Sakura whispered, smiling at her pale wife. Tomoyo smiled
  224.49 +herself and slowly retreated. Turning Sakura saw one of the figures
  224.50 +on her knees, another with sea-green hair kneeling beside her. What
  224.51 +ever they were fighting her turned its attention towards them, and at
  224.52 +this moment they were very vunerable. Quickly she summond the Shield
  224.53 +card to protect them. The others turned to face her, shocked that 2
  224.54 +of their own had come so close to death. The monster also turn and
  224.55 +saw her, realising what Sakura was, it changed tactics and focused on
  224.56 +her and her alone, practically ignoring the others. In the end, she
  224.57 +was too slow. So determind to protect everyone she was still to slow
  224.58 +to protect herself. When the monsters final attack came and she was
  224.59 +helpless to stop it. Then the ground and her view shifted. Time
  224.60 +seemed to slow as she hit the ground, her horror at seeing Tomoyo
  224.61 +push her out of the way, just in time to take the full force of the
  224.62 +attack for herself, being propled through the air, and hitting the
  224.63 +ground. She couldn't remember hitting the ground, all she could
  224.64 +remember clearly is slowly crawling over to her fallen love,
  224.65 +craddling her body as Tomoyo slowly slipped away. 'Why Tomoyo?'
  224.66 +Sakura asked, tears falling down her cheeks. Tomoyo didn't answer.
  224.67 +Instead she looked up with a pained smile. 'I'm happy to die in
  224.68 +Sakura-chan's arms!' she whispered, her eyes closing for the last
  224.69 +time. Sighing softly the pale woman breathing stopped, her hand
  224.70 +falling from Sakura's cheek to the ground. 'Tomoyo?' Sakura
  224.71 +whimpered, shaking Tomoyo's body gently. She shook Tomoyo again,
  224.72 +almost screaming her name. Gently she set the pale woman's body down
  224.73 +and picked up her discarded staff transforming it into a deadly
  224.74 +sabre, and slowly walked towards the thing that had taken away her
  224.75 +wife. The rest was a blur. She turn having killed the monster and
  224.76 +took Tomoyo's body home, the senshi stood silent watching her leave.
  224.77 +Kumiko and Nadeshiko were completely shock when Sakura tried to
  224.78 +explain that their mother had gone to a better place. Nadeshiko
  224.79 +perhaps, never quite recovered from that. Sonomi had demanded that
  224.80 +Sakura tell her how her only daughter had ended up dead, only hear
  224.81 +nothing but silence.
  224.82 +
  224.83 +A tear fell down her cheeck as she pulled herself back to the
  224.84 +present. She knew now that is was time she left her exile and return
  224.85 +to her family. Bidding farwell to the monks and nuns she slowly made
  224.86 +her way back to Japan.
  224.87 +
  224.88 +'Never enough time!'
  224.89 +
  224.90 +Still in her robes, she stood outside the Daidouji mansion. She'd
  224.91 +forgoten how large the house was. Slowly opening the gate she walked
  224.92 +up to the house, stopping half way when someone had caught sight of
  224.93 +her. Too her surprise, it was Nadeshiko. 'You?' Nadeshiko asked, when
  224.94 +Sakura had lowered the rood of her robes. Sakura's nod was cut off
  224.95 +when Nadeshiko slapped her. 'Why'd you leave?' The question cut into
  224.96 +Sakura, who had not even tried to defend herself when she realised
  224.97 +what her youngest daughter was about to do. 'Answer me!' That was
  224.98 +followed by another slap. Nadeshiko's normally pale face was bright
  224.99 +red with anger. 'I'm sorry!' was Sakura's answer. It looked like
 224.100 +Nadeshiko was going to slap her again until the pale woman clentched
 224.101 +her fist and punched the older woman. Staggering backwards Sakura
 224.102 +managed to keep herself on her feet, standing up straight, she was
 224.103 +met with another punch, and another. Sakura still made no attempt at
 224.104 +defending herself under her daughters punches. Soon they became
 224.105 +weaker and weaker until Nadeshiko collapsed against the person she'd
 224.106 +known as her papa, crying heavily. Slowly she put her arms around her
 224.107 +daughter, trying her best to comfort her. Then she saw the young
 224.108 +girl, watching the older women. 'Nadeshiko-mama?' she asked, 'Are you
 224.109 +ok?' Nadeshiko nodded slightly, 'Hai!' Sakura was shocked at the
 224.110 +likeness. The girl couldn't have been more then 11 years old and yet
 224.111 +she looked almost excactly like Tomoyo, except for her eyes. 'Go and
 224.112 +get your oba-san Tomoyo-chan!' Nadeshiko whispered. The girl nodded
 224.113 +and ran into the house, emerging less then 2 minutes later, her oba-
 224.114 +san in tow. 'Sakura-papa?' the second woman asked. Sakura nodded.
 224.115 +Kumiko smiled slightly. Then she realised she was indeed home.
 224.116 +
 224.117 +'Welcome home!'
 224.118 \ No newline at end of file

   225.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   225.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   225.3 @@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
   225.4 +Pleasure Slave
   225.5 +
   225.6 +By Capitalist
   225.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   225.8 +
   225.9 +Chapter 1
  225.10 +‘taken’
  225.11 +
  225.12 +People said that it was impossible to see the wind, but they’d never come here.  They’d never basked on a sunlit slope, surrounded by the shadowed amethyst mountain peaks, so close to the gentle blue sky you felt you could almost touch it.  They didn’t see the way the vast tracts of green grass rippled and shimmered as the wind traveled past, or the patches of waving flowers that came next, before it finally reached you and caressed you with its warm touch.
  225.13 +Sakura did, though.  Surrounded by the riot of color, like a touchable rainbow, she relaxed against the flowers and closed her eyes, luxuriating in the sunshine.  It wasn’t the first warm day all year, but it was the first day she knew for certain that winter was over, and there would be no more surprise frost storms.  Winter was not an easy season, so high in the Paluwit mountains, but there was no better reward than the beautiful spring that followed it.  
  225.14 +It was nice to sit back and enjoy it, but she couldn’t lie here all day.  Stretching, Sakura sat up and reached for her collecting basket.  She’d gather a few of each, make her rounds, and that should get her home in time to prepare dinner.  Whimsically she studded her tiny braids with a few daisies, then set about plucking flowers in earnest.  There were so many here, on this sun-kissed slope, daisies and wild roses, bluebells and violets, marigolds and daffodils.  She became so involved in her task that it was some while before she realized she wasn’t alone.  Someone had wandered around the bend in the creek while she gathered, and now he stood watching her with a smile on his face.  
  225.15 +Surprised to see someone this far from the village, particularly a stranger, Sakura smiled in return. 
  225.16 +“Good afternoon.”
  225.17 +“Good afternoon,” he replied, nodding his head courteously.  “What’s a pretty young girl like yourself doing out here all alone?  Isn’t it dangerous?”
  225.18 +Sakura blushed faintly at the word ‘pretty’, but then she laughed.  “Dangerous?  I don’t think so, I’ve been walking these mountains all my life and nothing’s ever happened.  This is my home.”  But it wasn’t his, she knew every face in her home village.  He didn’t have the look of a lonesome mountain man, either, here in the countryside he seemed out of place.  “Are you visiting?”
  225.19 +“I suppose you could call it that,” the stranger agreed, “but I have no friends here.  I came seeking beautiful scenery.”
  225.20 +“Well I think you’ve found it,” Sakura said proudly, sweeping one arm out to the panoramic view.  She didn’t see how his eyes never left her.
  225.21 +“I think I have.”  
  225.22 +“Will you stay long?”
  225.23 +“Oh, not long.  I have business in Clearwater, pressing matters.  But I just couldn’t resist trekking up here to see the blooming flowers.”  
  225.24 +“I know what you mean.  I just love this season most of all, when everything is fresh and colorful.  It’s as if someone washed all of nature and hung it out to dry.”  
  225.25 +He laughed and she ducked her head, hoping it didn’t sound very silly.  But his eyes were friendly and his laugh not a mocking one.  Sakura decided he was quite nice, after all.
  225.26 +She would have liked to stay and talk more, but her basket was full and the sun would begin to drop soon.  
  225.27 +“Well I hope you enjoy your stay.  Good day.”  She curtsied, basket under one arm, and he hurried forward.  
  225.28 +“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of allowing you to walk back to your home unescorted, it would be very ungentlemanly of me.”
  225.29 +It was rare for anyone up this high to act so courtly, and Sakura blushed again at the unexpected attention.  
  225.30 +“It’s all right, really.  I told you, this is my home.  I often walk these paths alone.”  
  225.31 +He smiled at that for some reason, but the smile shifted into a shamefaced grin.
  225.32 +“Well, the truth is, I think I wandered a little too much today.  It seems I’ve gotten lost.  Would you be so kind as to let me follow you back to the village?”
  225.33 +“Of course!  It’s really not far at all, I’m sure you would have found it soon enough.”
  225.34 +“Well I thank you for your trouble.”
  225.35 +Sakura waved a hand in negation, leading him back to the woods’ edge.  Every tree and rock was easy to distinguish from one another, after spending her life wandering among them, and she couldn’t imagine getting lost.  But she’d been raised to show kindness to those in need of it, and her father wouldn’t expect any less of her.  
  225.36 +“And what does your father do?” he asked, when she’d explained as much to him.  For just a moment her smile fled, and she looked down.
  225.37 +“He was the teacher in my village, he taught most of the people there how to read.  But he’s gone now.  His heart stopped moving, two years ago.”  
  225.38 +“Oh dear.  What a hardship for your mother that must have been.”
  225.39 +“My mother died when I was just a baby.  I really don’t remember her, but people say she was the most beautiful woman in the mountains.  I’m sure they’re very happy together, somewhere.” 
  225.40 +He clucked his tongue, looking dismayed.  “And you live alone?”
  225.41 +“Goodness no, I have my older brother to look after me.  He works very hard, but I try to help by selling flowers and such.  We do all right.”  
  225.42 +In truth Sakura was rather proud of how well she and her brother had managed, since their father’s death, and lifted her chin a little.  There were some in the village that thought she’d be better off somewhere else, like a few men who presumed she ought to be married now that she was parentless.  Her snarling brother quickly corrected them, by way of a few punches here and there, and the aggressive suitors melted away.  
  225.43 +“He can be so difficult when he’s like that,” Sakura sighed.  “I know it’s just because he doesn’t want to live alone and have to cook his own food.  But it’s all right, I didn’t want to marry any of them anyway.  I’m only fifteen years old, there’s plenty of time.”
  225.44 +“Plenty of time,” her new friend agreed, and Sakura was pleased that at least one other person besides her brother understood.  Lately it seemed every woman in the village was determined to match her to a man.  “And yet it must be hard, carrying the burdens of the household on your young shoulders.”
  225.45 +“It’s a little hard,” Sakura admitted.  “Onii-chan works so many jobs around the village for money, but I try to help.  He won’t let me get a job, so I sell my flowers and gather food from the forest when I can.  It’s easy in springtime if you know where to look.”  She gestured to a flowing creek down the slope.  “There are mushrooms everywhere along those banks.  Tomorrow I’ll probably come and collect a basketful; they’ll keep for a good long time.”
  225.46 +“Really?  I didn’t know that.  I think your brother’s very lucky to have a sister like you.” 
  225.47 +Sakura hmphed.  “Well it would be nice if he said so, once in a while.  Oh, here we are.”
  225.48 +The widening path led them over the crest of a small hill, with the tiny village of Eagle’s Path was nestled below.  While it was always home to Sakura, her heart couldn’t help but lift at the picture it made now, almost floating in a cloud of bursting pink petals.  Spring really was the best season.  
  225.49 +“What a relief,” her companion sighed.  “And to think I might have spent the night roaming the mountains, completely lost!  I’m so glad I found you.”
  225.50 +“I’m glad too.  Will I see you again before you leave?”
  225.51 +“I hope so.  I’ll leave you here, I know how to find where I’m staying the night.  And I shouldn’t like to keep you any longer.”
  225.52 +“No trouble at all,” Sakura assured him, though she did need to get on if she was to prepare dinner in time.  On an impulse she grabbed a handful of sunflowers from her basket and held them out in offering.  “Here.  Because you don’t have any friends here.”
  225.53 +He looked surprised, but then the corners of his eyes crinkled and he grinned.  “Well thank you.  It’s as lovely a gift as anyone could ask for.”
  225.54 +He raised the bouquet in farewell, turned, and made his way down the gentle slope.  Sakura watched him for a moment, pleased with herself that she’d been able to do someone a good turn, and then hurried in the opposite direction.  Maki would be waiting.
  225.55 +
  225.56 +--
  225.57 +
  225.58 +Sakura arranged the leftovers in their small vase and set it on the table, between two steaming plates of potatoes and chicken.  Starving as usual, her brother said the customary thanks and dug in with enthusiasm.  
  225.59 +“How does it taste?  Is it too salty?”
  225.60 +“No, it’s fine.  Considering.”  He added that last part with a mischievous glance her way and she frowned.  
  225.61 +“Onii-chan!  Just once I wish you’d say that it tastes good, and nothing else.”
  225.62 +“Then start cooking better.”
  225.63 +“Nii-chan!”
  225.64 +“How much was the chicken?”
  225.65 +“Not very much.  I sold almost all of my flowers today, and that paid for most of it.  I promised Rika to bring her a share of mushrooms tomorrow to make up the difference.”
  225.66 +He nodded, not looking up.  While it was an unspoken agreement between them that expenses must be kept low, she knew he didn’t like talking about money with her.  He considered her too young to be exposed to such things, though Sakura felt that was nonsense.  He just wanted to pretend she was still ten years old and unable to do a simple sum in her head.  
  225.67 +“How was your day?” she asked, tactfully changing the subject.  
  225.68 +“Fine.  Spent most of it repairing Tanaka’s pigshed, the thing was about to fall down on them.”  He didn’t mention how many coppers he’d been paid for it, but he looked pleased and Sakura smiled.  Her brother could do so many things, and it seemed all of the village had come to him for help at one time or another.  In Sakura’s eyes, there wasn’t any job he couldn’t do.
  225.69 +“That’s wonderful.  I had a really good day too.  The flowers were so beautiful and the weather so nice today.  And I met a nice man, up on the slopes.”
  225.70 +Touya’s head jerked up, forkful of food in his hand forgotten.  “What?  Who?”
  225.71 +“Um, he didn’t tell me his name.  He was just someone from Clearwater, who’d come up to see the scenery.  He was lost, so I helped him find his way back to the village.”
  225.72 +“A stranger?  Sakura, how many times have I told you not to talk to strangers, especially men!”
  225.73 +“Onii-chan, you don’t have to yell.  I was just trying to be nice, like Father always said to.”
  225.74 +“But -”
  225.75 +“He was very nice, and nothing happened,” Sakura pointed out in defense, a little irritated that she had to explain her actions.  “He said thank you and I gave him a few sunflowers, and then he went on.  That’s all.  Honestly, Onii-chan, I don’t understand why you have to be so hostile every time I speak to a man.”  
  225.76 +She crossed her arms and pouted, and Touya bit back the instinctive response.  
  225.77 +“Sakura, I’m head of this house and what I say goes.  I don’t want you hanging around strange men.  Do you understand me?”
  225.78 +He slapped his hand against the table a little harder than he’d intended, and she flinched.
  225.79 +“Tou-san was never so mean.”
  225.80 +She pushed away from the table and flounced across the room, dropping into a little ball on the rug before the fire.  Instantly Touya regretted his outburst, and spoke again more softly.
  225.81 +“Sakura.”
  225.82 +She hugged her knees tighter to her chest and ignored him, though she could hear his footsteps coming closer.  He settled himself on the rug just behind her and rubbed a hand between her shoulders, an affectionate gesture that she refused to respond to.  Just because he was the elder didn’t mean he could forbid her from speaking to whomever she wanted.
  225.83 +“Sakura, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to yell.  I just worry about your safety, that’s all.”
  225.84 +“This is our home, Onii-chan.  What could happen?”
  225.85 +“I don’t know.  But you’re the only family I have left and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.  I need you to promise to be more careful.  Will you do that for me, please?”
  225.86 +In spite of herself, Sakura was melting.  He made her so angry when he threatened her and ordered her around, using his authority in the house to his advantage.  But when his voice turned soft and his words pleading, she could not resist.  Already sensing victory, his arms encircled her and she rested against his chest, enjoying his warmth and the warmth of the fire.  
  225.87 +“I promise,” she muttered grudgingly, and she could feel him exhale with relief.  She knew how hard he tried, to prove to her and the rest of the village that he was capable of running the house and taking care of her.  The least she could do was ease his mind.  
  225.88 +“What shall we read tonight?  More poetry, or begin a story?”
  225.89 +“Pick what you like.  I’ll wash the dishes.”
  225.90 +“But -”
  225.91 +“I’ll do them, Sakura.  Find something good.”
  225.92 +The tension was gone, the little cabin comfortable again.  Pleased, Touya extricated himself and returned to the table for their plates.  The last thing he wanted was any awkwardness or angry feelings between them, given what tomorrow was.  And she didn’t even know it, since he’d hidden the calendar a week earlier.  Though it did worry him, sometimes, his little sister was delightfully easy to deceive.   
  225.93 +
  225.94 +--
  225.95 +
  225.96 +They read late into the night, that night, as was their post-dinner ritual.  Poor though the siblings were, their father had left them a treasure in books, the largest collection in the village.  He’d spent his life acquiring them and neither of his children would dream of parting with them for any money, though they were happy to lend one now and then to their father’s old students.  Sakura loved the romance stories, the fairy tales about beautiful princesses and brave princes that came to their rescue, while Touya preferred the history books, though by now they’d both gone through the entire collection at least twice.  Wistfully Sakura wondered when they’d be able to spare money for a new one.  
  225.97 +She selected a volume of poetry that night, one that their mother had been very fond of.  Sakura loved the lilt and fall of the verses, the artful description of the lamb gambolling in the fields.  It made her feel very safe and happy, though she couldn’t quite explain why.
  225.98 +Touya listened to her read page after page, watching her eyes droop, until her voice trailed off and she slumped against his chest in sleep.  Both of them worked hard every day, but it was always Sakura that fell asleep first, he was always the one to put her to bed.  
  225.99 +“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, and kissed her quickly on the forehead before standing up again.  That too was a ritual, though she never knew it.  
 225.100 +
 225.101 +----------------------------------------------
 225.102 +
 225.103 +The cabin was empty when Sakura opened her eyes the next morning, her brother already gone.  This she knew simply by rolling over and looking; like most of the homes in this village their house was nothing more than one big room.  It still felt rather strange, waking up alone under her blanket, after so many years of sharing the bed with her brother.  Her friends complained often about sharing the bed with their fidgeting siblings, but Sakura always felt so safe and secure sleeping next to her tall and strong brother.  She remembered when she was very young and woke up whimpering from nightmares, how he would hug her until she fell asleep again without either of them disturbing their father.
 225.104 +But it was silly, to share a bed when their father’s was empty of occupants, and in due course after their time of grieving Touya had moved across the room.  But she wondered if he ever missed her too.
 225.105 +He’d left a hunk of coarse brown bread on the table, with a stoppered skin of what she knew would be goat’s milk.  It was an agreement he shared with their neighbor, to assist in the morning milking in return for a small share.  By now he was probably helping to herd the flock up the hill and to pasture.  
 225.106 +Which meant she didn’t have much of an excuse for just lying here in bed.  Sakura threw back the blankets and shivered a little; mornings were still cool so early in the season.  She rubbed her arms and stoked the fire, then went outside to draw water for her morning tea.  
 225.107 +
 225.108 +--
 225.109 +
 225.110 +It was going to be another beautiful day, she could tell.  The sky was a pure fine blue over the treetrops, like the fragile shell of a robin’s egg, and the air so fresh it made her antsy to get going.  She hurried through the household chores, clearing out yesterday’s ashes, sweeping the floor, and taking the rug out to beat it free of dirt.  On second thoughts she took their bed linens out to hang on the line as well, so that they might absorb some of the sweet country scent.  By the time she set out with her collecting basket, it was no longer cool.  
 225.111 +The distance was not great, not nearly as far as the field of flowers, and soon Sakura could hear the splash of creek water over stones.  Bathe?  Perhaps, but not until after she’d completed the grubby task of gathering.  Humming tunelessly, Sakura dropped to her knees by a promising patch and set about with a sharp stick, unearthing the delectable fungi as the sun climbed higher and the morning birds quieted.  So accustomed to the late morning stillness, she nearly jumped at the sound of a human voice.  
 225.112 +“There she is.”
 225.113 +Sakura’s head jerked up, startled, and she found herself looking up at the man she’d helped the day before.  So intent on her task, she hadn’t heard him approach, but now he stood between her and the path, smiling down at her with a rather pleased expression.  He wasn’t alone, either, another man stood at his side.
 225.114 +“Oh, good morning.”  She stood, dusting off her palms, and smiled uncertainly.  If he had no friends here, then who was the second man?  “We meet again after all.”
 225.115 +“Indeed we do,” he answered, then nudged his companion.  “What did I tell you?  Is that a face, or what?”
 225.116 +“She’s perfect.  What do you think, twenty?”
 225.117 +“I think twenty-five at least.  You don’t see a pair of eyes like that every day.”
 225.118 +What on earth were they talking about?  Sakura felt slightly uneasy as she looked back and forth from one face to the other, wishing she knew why she felt so uncomfortable.  
 225.119 +“Is something the matter?” she finally asked, the politest way she could think of to ask what they were discussing.  
 225.120 +“No, not at all,” the first man assured her.  “Just do me a favor, and come here.”  He crooked his finger in invitation but Sakura didn’t move, instinctively sensing something was not right.  There was a peculiar glint in his eyes, and his smile did not seem quite so friendly as she remembered.  
 225.121 +“Um, no thank you.”  She took a step back, watching the second man uncoil a length of rope from his belt with trepidation.  “I h-have to get back home now.  Please excuse me.”
 225.122 +She took another step back, the basket of mushrooms at her feet completely forgotten, wanting only to be back in her village and with other people.  
 225.123 +The first man sighed, and shrugged.  “Get her.”
 225.124 +His friend rushed forward and Sakura shrieked, bolting to her right since the creek prevented her from running in the opposite direction.  But the distance was too small and he was too fast for her, an iron grasp closed over her wrist and yanked her back, almost throwing her to the ground.  Never in her life had anyone assaulted her and Sakura screamed again, too terrified to think straight.  She struggled to pull free but it wasn’t even a contest, and he caught her other hand when she tried to pry off his grip.  Almost casually he held her wrists together and looped the thin rope around them, knotting it securely.  
 225.125 +Panicked, Sakura screamed for her brother to come save her.  Something terrible that she didn’t quite understand was going to happen, and she had to escape it at all costs.  More by luck than any skill she kicked her attacker right in the shin, and he dropped his grip with a muffled grunt.  Sakura sprinted for the path with a fresh burst of hope, but she hadn’t taken more than a step before his vice-like grip closed around her arms.  He yanked her off her feet and back against his chest, holding her firmly in place.
 225.126 +“Bloody hell, she’s going to wake the dead like this,” he complained over Sakura’s frantic screams.  “Take care of it, would you?”
 225.127 +“Right.”
 225.128 +The man she’d been so kind to the day before produced a strip of cloth and held it up to her mouth.  Quickly Sakura tried to lean her head back out of reach, but that was impossible, and easily he tied the gag over her mouth.  
 225.129 +“Shh, no more screaming please.  We’re not going to hurt you, I just want to take you somewhere.  Don’t struggle, it’ll only be worse for you.”
 225.130 +Every word only solidified Sakura’s terror and she screamed again, the sound muffled now.  
 225.131 +“C’mon, let’s get out of here before someone else comes along.”
 225.132 +Onii-chan!
 225.133 +Wordlessly Sakura begged her brother to hear her stifled screams, to come running for her and get her away from these horrible men.  But he did not appear, and the burly man behind her scooped her up easily in his arms, paying no attention to how she kicked and wriggled.  They walked quickly, heads swiveling constantly and on the lookout for witnesses.  There were none, however, and they took Sakura around a bend in the path to where a horse and cart stood waiting.
 225.134 +“In you go.”  The bigger man deposited her, not gently, on the wooden planking of the small cart and grabbed at her ankles before she could attempt to roll over and right herself.  Quite casually he tied her ankles together and linked the knot to the rope around her wrists, immobilizing her.  The other one draped a burlap blanket over her, darkening her world.
 225.135 +“Easy as anything,” he said cheerfully.  “Now let’s get going, I want to make it to Junction by lunch.”
 225.136 +Hunter’s Junction, the closest village to their own, was still a six hours’ walk and at a far lower elevation; Sakura had never been there in her life.  They were taking her away, away from her home and her brother and she hadn’t done anything wrong!
 225.137 +She rolled onto her back and tried banging her tied feet against the side of the cart, but it didn’t make much noise and she only fell over again whenever they hit a bump.  And it was difficult to breathe, under this heavy and scratchy blanket.  At length she collapsed against the planks, panting, and choked on a sob.  
 225.138 +The hot tears that fell were the first of many.
 225.139 +
 225.140 +--
 225.141 +
 225.142 +The most horrible hours of Sakura’s life passed in a blur of fear and pain, repeatedly tossed up and back against the hard wood with every bump in the road, her face hot and blotchy with tears.  A prickling discomfort crawled through her folded and tied legs, which then disappeared with all feeling period.  The agony was endless; she had no way of measuring how much time passed.  
 225.143 +But she did notice when the sunlight dimmed, through her roughly woven veil, and felt the cooler temperature of shadows.  Were they back under the canopy of trees?
 225.144 +The horse slowed, and then the filtered sunlight disappeared altogether, quite abruptly.  They stopped, and a new voice spoke up.
 225.145 +“Pierce.  Didn’t expect you so soon.”
 225.146 +“Unexpected windfall,” her captor announced, and she could hear footsteps approaching her prison.  The burlap was yanked off her and she cringed, blinking at the shift in light and trying to hide her face in her arms.  “Wait until you see what I’ve got for you.”
 225.147 +That same ruthless grip closed over her upper arm and pulled her up and over the edge of the cart.  Her dry throat hurt too much to scream anymore, thanks to the stifling gag, but she tried her best anyway.  Fingers tugged at the knot tying her ankles to her wrists, loosening it so she could at least stand straight if not walk.  But after so many hours of lying curled up on the hard wood her legs refused to obey her, and she almost crumpled to the floor.  Quickly the man behind her renewed his grasp, holding her upright and close to his chest to prevent much squirming.  
 225.148 +“This skinny wisp of a girl?” the new voice said doubtfully, its owner blurry through her tears and tangled veil of hair.  
 225.149 +“She’s a little small, sure, but look at her face.”  Fingers combed back her hair and a splash of water was thrown into her face.  She squealed and tried to turn her head, but he only held her chin steady as he patted her dry.  “Like an angel, wouldn’t you say?  And aren’t those the loveliest eyes you ever saw?”  Sakura squeezed them shut, willfully wishing away those eager shadowed faces looming over her, aware that she was beginning to shake.  Fingers curled around her lips, pulling them back to examine her teeth, and she cringed.  But there was worse to come.
 225.150 +“Hair’s awful short.”
 225.151 +“That can be remedied easily enough.  Anyway, it’s a fine texture and color.”  
 225.152 +Hands patted her on the shoulders, cupping around her neck, then without any hesitation started exploring her breasts.  Sakura screamed again, at that point, with everything she had, and she struggled to break free.  
 225.153 +None of them even commented.  The hands only moved down further, feeling her waist and then hips before they finally withdrew.  
 225.154 +“And you can confirm it later, but I’ll say here and now that she’s a virgin.”  
 225.155 +“Decent.  I’ll give you eighteen.”
 225.156 +“Thirty.”
 225.157 +“Twenty.”
 225.158 +They sounded almost like women haggling over a cut of mutton, and Sakura tried to understand just what it was this man was buying.
 225.159 +“Twenty-eight.”
 225.160 +“Twenty-three.”
 225.161 +“I won’t go one copper less than twenty-five, Trin.  There’s others who might buy, and you know this one’s a cut above.”
 225.162 +“Twenty-five then,” Trin acceded grudgingly.  “But I’ll come find you if she’s not.”
 225.163 +“Oh, she is.  Trust me on that one.”
 225.164 +Is what?  Twenty-five for what?  Eyes still closed, she heard the metallic clinking of exchanging coins, and then foreign lips planted a disgusting kiss on her forehead.  She recoiled.
 225.165 +“Bye bye, little one.  Thanks for the flowers.”  He patted her cheek lightly and the man behind her released his hold, surprising her in her unbalanced condition.  She nearly fell, but then another pair of arms caught her, dragging her across a dirt-packed floor before depositing her in a slump against the wooden wall.  She was in a barn, she saw upon looking around, a barn even larger than her own house.  The horse and cart she’d come here in was leaving through its wide open door, sunlight spilling through tantalizingly with the familiar tree leaves rustling outside.  Frantic, Sakura rolled toward that sunlight and the promise of escape, but a meaty hand clamped down on her shoulder before she even got close.  
 225.166 +“Oh, no you don’t.  I just paid for you, little missy, so don’t you get feisty on me.”  Without much apparent effort he sent her tumbling back against the wall.  “It’s early enough, so we’ll head for Hunter’s Junction in just a little while.  But first, a little something so you won’t be troublesome.”  
 225.167 +A hand grasped her hair and pulled her head back, while another untied the gag.  Taken aback at this sudden freedom, Sakura shrieked for help.
 225.168 +“Somebody!  Please -”  Some bitter liquid poured into her mouth and she almost choked, wheezing and gasping and trying to spit it back out.  
 225.169 +“No, you will swallow it.”  Again he tipped the canteen into her mouth and quickly covered it with his hand, pinching her nose cruelly until she had no choice but to swallow.  “Good girl.  Now just lie still while I get the horses ready.”  He dropped her, limp and panting, to the floor and she rolled over to look at the sunlight again.  The horse’s trot had already faded, the men that had brought her here were apparently gone.  Sakura tried to scoot across the packed dirt again, but her muscles weren’t responding this time.  
 225.170 +Her bones felt very heavy, suddenly, it was as if they’d been replaced with rocks.  She could hear her own breath, drawing in and out a little more slowly, lulling her with its steady pace.  
 225.171 +What was wrong with her?  This was a horrible place, she needed to get out, had to find a way back to her home.  Onii-chan, he would be so worried…
 225.172 +The sunlight didn’t seem so bright anymore.  In fact, all of the world was dimming, like an early dusk settling over her vision.  She was just so sleepy.  She could rest for a few minutes, then try again to get out.  Just for a few minutes.
 225.173 +
 225.174 +--
 225.175 +
 225.176 +It was a long sleep, for the hapless young girl.  Thick and oozing, like syrup, it embraced her and pulled her down into its dark depths.  Hard wagon floor and constant jostling crept into her awareness every now and then; confused, she rolled over and mumbled her brother’s name.  Someone tipped a mouthful of that bitter concoction down her throat whenever this happened, but she didn’t have the energy to fight it.  
 225.177 +Dreams were vague and troubling.  She was picking flowers, not in the wide open fields of the mountains but a garden, lavishly designed and cultivated.  Bars shot down between her and the flowers, caging her in, and she almost cried.  Always someone was watching her, many pairs of eyes though she couldn’t quite see them.  Only feel them.  Who was watching?
 225.178 +The images and feelings dissolved when a hand cupped her chin.
 225.179 +“Onii-chan… few more minutes,” she murmured half-heartedly.  The sky was still dark overhead, it couldn’t possibly be time to wake up.  Fingertips and something smooth and cool brushed over her neck, she heard the tiny metallic click of something latching.
 225.180 +“She is virginal,” someone said, and a damp handkerchief wiped at her face.  Grateful for its cool relief, Sakura hummed contentedly and rolled over so she could go back to sleep.  
 225.181 +She never imagined the great distances that she traveled as she slept, for so many hours, never saw the moon rise and set or the sun rise after that.  Lost in her dreams, Sakura never suspected how drastically her life had been changed forever.
 225.182 +
 225.183 +---------------------------------------
 225.184 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 225.185 \ No newline at end of file

   226.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   226.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   226.3 @@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
   226.4 +Pleasure Slave
   226.5 +
   226.6 +By Capitalist
   226.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   226.8 +
   226.9 +Chapter 2
  226.10 +‘desperate chase’
  226.11 +
  226.12 +The sun was dropping behind the trees by the time Touya returned to their cabin that evening, a little later than usual.  Taking care to keep his hands behind his back, Touya nudged open the door with his foot and sidled in.  
  226.13 +“Saku -”
  226.14 +The word died on his lips when he entered the dim house.  Dim, cold, and completely empty.  Strange, Sakura should be putting dinner on the table by now.  But not only was his sister nowhere in sight, there wasn’t even a glimmer in the fireplace.  It had obviously been cold since that morning.  
  226.15 +Touya couldn’t remember the last time he’d come home to an empty house, and the cabin’s silence felt a little uncomfortable.  Since their father’s death Sakura had always taken care to get dinner cooked before his return, and Touya was even later today than usual.  He placed the small strawberry pie and stuffed rabbit doll that were the reason on the countertop and overturned an empty basket to conceal them.  Trust Sakura to lose track of time and be late, on the one day that he’d gone to so much trouble to surprise her.  Touya sighed, but he couldn’t be annoyed.  His little sister had no idea that today was her birthday, and he could already hear her shrieks of delight when he presented his gifts – he’d been looking forward to this day for almost a month.  Of course it wasn’t much, but he’d been paying several coppers to the village baker for days now, to make her favorite dessert.  And Maki hadn’t been difficult at all to enlist; her skill as a seamstress earned her her bread, but her true love was sewing plush animals.  Sakura would adore it.
  226.16 +He opened the back door to collect some wood and saw their bed linens and hearth rug draped over clotheslines; Sakura must not have been here since midday at least.  Odd.  But he’d make the fire and start something cooking, and by then she’d surely be home.  
  226.17 +
  226.18 +--
  226.19 +
  226.20 +Broth was starting to bubble over a healthy fire, the twilight outside growing thicker and duskier, and still no sign of Sakura.  Touya shifted the pot away so the liquid wouldn’t boil over and left the cabin, unable to fathom why Sakura would be so late.  The distance to their nearest neighbor was not great and he knocked on the door, feeling a small flush of guilt when the door opened and he saw the family at dinner.  Guilt and envy; he and Sakura should be eating right now too.  So where was she?
  226.21 +They hadn’t seen her.  He apologized for his intrusion and continued down the path, interrupting several more dinners, and with every shake of the head he felt that knot of worry harden.  
  226.22 +“No, I haven’t seen her,” Rika said apologetically, her brow creased with concern.  “And I was expecting her hours ago, she promised to bring me a batch of mushrooms by lunchtime.  Payment for the chicken yesterday.”  
  226.23 +Yes, now he remembered.  And though Sakura could be forgetful about her chores when she wanted, she’d never shirked an obligation to a friend.  This wasn’t like her.  
  226.24 +Touya thanked the girl and backed away, looking from the glowing lights of the village to the dark forest.  Sakura wouldn’t be among those lights, frivolously wasting time with so many other things to attend to.  She just wouldn’t.  But, she’d never been lost in the forest, neither of them had.  
  226.25 +Could something have happened?
  226.26 +That knot twisted and grew a little, and before he realized it Touya’s feet were carrying him back to his own cabin.  It was still empty, and he snatched their only lantern with its precious and expensive oil.  Firelight had always provided enough light to read by and they rarely used it, but the darkness would be absolute under the tree canopy.  He wasn’t really worried about predators, it was rare for wolves to attack humans and prey was plenty in springtime.  But she might have fallen and injured herself somehow, rendered unable to walk back to the village.
  226.27 +Now that he’d thought about it, he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t sooner.  Lantern lit, he almost ran up the slope and into the woods.
  226.28 +“Sakura!  Sakura!”  
  226.29 +Only the peeping of nighttime birds answered, and the rustle of leaves in a gentle breeze.  
  226.30 +“Sakura!” he yelled as loud as he could, hating the way the placid forest swallowed his voice with no reply.  Mushrooms, was it?  He knew she often gathered them by the creek and he covered the distance in his long quick strides, straining to see beyond the shadows around his circle of light.  Soon he could hear the quiet trickle, and the moonlight reflecting off the water’s surface.  It wasn’t so dark here, with fewer trees, and he scanned the banks hopefully.  Nothing moved, and there was nothing that resembled his sister’s form.  Only roots and tufts of grass and – 
  226.31 +His light swept over something out of place and he turned back, narrowing his eyes.  A woven basket had been overturned, shredded in places where rodents had gnawed at it, a few mushrooms scattered nearby that hadn’t yet been devoured by forest creatures.  Touya knew that basket like he knew every object in his simple cabin, that was his sister’s collecting basket.
  226.32 +And she would never leave it behind.  
  226.33 +Hot and painful gasps of air ripped from his lungs, for one long terrible moment, as he stood there immobile in the darkness.  Unnoticed, the lantern dropped from his hand and fell with a crack against the creekbed stones, its flame extinguished.  And then he bolted, sprinting frantically back to his village along a path that he didn’t even see in his panic.  
  226.34 +A hundred unpleasant images flipped through his mind in less than a minute, and then replayed again and again, screaming at him to run faster.  It was already hopeless but he ran anyway, through a blurry darkness that went on forever.  Lights and homes and the village center square whisked past him, until finally he barreled through the door of the Eagle’s Perch.
  226.35 +It was the only drinking establishment in the village, and Touya himself had sometimes lent a hand in serving the ale.  There weren’t many customers tonight, when he stumbled in, it was still early enough that most men were at the dinner table.  Solom looked up, startled, at his noisy entrance, but he didn’t have time to move before Touya threw himself at the burly entrepreneur and clutched at his shirt.
  226.36 +“Help!  Get your lantern, get as many men as you can, quick!  We have to go, we have to hurry!”
  226.37 +In his panic he tried to drag Solom to the door and it was with extremely difficulty that the bigger man pried himself free.  
  226.38 +“Kinomoto, what’s gotten into you?  Hurry for what?”
  226.39 +“Sakura!” Touya shouted, as if it was obvious.  “Basket – creek – I found her basket by the creek and she’s gone!  We have to find her, now!”
  226.40 +Wolves, bears, even one of the rare but dangerous mountain cats – it could have been anything.  But there was still a chance, if they spread out to search for her, a slim but real chance…
  226.41 +Solom’s expression looked strangely uneasy, and he exchanged a glance with one of his customers.  
  226.42 +“There was no blood, no sign of attack?”
  226.43 +“No, nothing, she might still be alive and what are you waiting for?  Quick, quick, we have to go now.”
  226.44 +Solom still had that strange look in his eyes, and he shifted uncomfortably.  “Kinomoto, I think you should hear what -”
  226.45 +“There’s no time for talking!”
  226.46 +“Kinomoto,” one of the other drinkers spoke up, and he whirled around, unable to understand why nobody would get up and help.  “I been hearing some rumors, since last night.  People have been talkin’, saying there’s slave traders up this way.”
  226.47 +What?
  226.48 +Touya stared at him without comprehension, and then someone else nodded.  “That’s right, an’ I heard it too.  Men, out looking for young girls to sell in Terriene.  Shifty scoundrels, I reckon.”
  226.49 +Slave traders – young girls – sell – Terriene.  Finally recognition of the words filtered through and Touya blinked.  He’d heard, only vaguely, of the practice of keeping pleasure slaves in that distant city.  His father spoke of it just once, referred to it as a terrible blight on humanity.  But since Sakura had been in the room at the time, he refrained from going into detail and the subject never came up again.  It was a whole world away, Terriene, and what went on there had no effect on their lives.  Pleasure slaves weren’t something he’d ever spared more than two thoughts for.
  226.50 +Until now.
  226.51 +“Was gonna start spreading the word here tonight,” Solom was saying, “just in case.  Ain’t safe for young girls to be walking about and…”  He trailed off when he saw the stricken look in Touya’s eyes.  “I’m sorry, Kinomoto.  But it looks like- like your sister’s gone.”
  226.52 +The world tipped and he became aware of hands propping him up, guiding him to sit in the nearest chair.  Mumbles of ‘awful thing’ and ‘wicked practice’ swirled around him, without meaning, and then someone tipped a strong liquid into his mouth.  
  226.53 +“Say something, Kinomoto.”
  226.54 +Your
  226.55 +“His face has gone straight white.”
  226.56 +sister’s
  226.57 +“Is he breathin’?”
  226.58 +gone.
  226.59 +“Best get some smelling salts.”
  226.60 +No.
  226.61 +“No!”
  226.62 +Touya was on his feet again with no recollection of moving, and everyone flinched backward.  
  226.63 +“Where?” he demanded of no one in particular, and they looked blank.  “Where would they go?”
  226.64 +“I reckon Hunter’s Junction and then Clearwater,” someone ventured, “before they get on their way to Terriene.  But Kinomoto, you’ll never find -”
  226.65 +“Junction,” Touya breathed, all the blurring and swirling in his vision resolving into sharp focus.  Someone had taken his sister away from him.  He would go and get her back.  
  226.66 +Men he brushed aside like stray tree limbs in his path, not hearing or heeding their pleas to be rational, accept the impossibility of finding Sakura, or to at least wait for daylight.  He escaped the bar and began to run, no short-winded sprint but a run that he knew would take him far.  Hunter’s Junction was a six hours’ walk and he’d only been there twice in his life, both times with his father and years before.  It didn’t matter.  The lonely and rutted road, somber under the moonlight with the dark forest pressing in on either side, didn’t matter either.  He’d run, and he’d keep on running until he found Sakura again.
  226.67 +
  226.68 +--
  226.69 +
  226.70 +The stars had traveled some distance across the sky by the time Touya collapsed, exhausted, against the well’s brick siding.  He hadn’t been able to run the entire distance, after all, not without even so much as a waterbag by his side.  But at least he’d made it; he hadn’t forgotten the way after all.  
  226.71 +The town around him was dark and silent, in the middle of the night.  For hours he’d been consumed by the drive to get here, but now what?  If the kidnapper had brought Sakura here, it must have been afternoon at the latest.  What would he do then?  Would he go directly on to Clearwater?  Touya had never been there in his life and knew it was close to a twelve hour’s walk from Hunter’s Junction, and he shuddered at the thought.  No, Sakura couldn’t be gone already.  She had to be here.  She just had to be.
  226.72 +Touya clung to that thought as his breathing evened out, and dipped the pail into the town well for a well-deserved drink.  
  226.73 +Drink… The tavern.  If Touya had learned anything from occasionally lending a hand in Solom’s place, it was how news and gossip could flow there faster than the ale.  Find the tavern and he’d surely hear something.  It wasn’t as direct as the frustrated brother would have liked, but it would have to do.  He splashed his face with water and started walking.  
  226.74 +
  226.75 +--
  226.76 +
  226.77 +The village of Hunter’s Junction was not large, but to a boy raised in an even smaller village it was.  It was also not as compact, and by the time he’d located the large and prosperous looking establishment it was quite dark.  It was too late into the night; they’d all gone to bed.  
  226.78 +Damn it!  Miserably Touya thumped his fist against the solid wooden door and slumped to the ground.  Sleep was unthinkable, how could he sleep knowing Sakura was so close?  Crying, alone, afraid…  It made his stomach turn.  Wearily he stood again.  If he couldn’t seek any clues among humans, then he’d go to the animals.  A cart or wagon that brought Sakura here might hold some evidence of it – they might even be keeping her there while they stayed in an inn.  He had hours until sunrise, so as long as the town was so quiet he would make use of his privacy.  Freshly determined, he headed to the closest inn’s stables.  
  226.79 +
  226.80 +--------------------------------------------
  226.81 +
  226.82 +The wan gray light of predawn found Touya unsuccessful and growing more panicky by the minute.  Searching among the stables had yielded nothing, and now townsfolk were starting to move about.  If someone intended to make a trip to Clearwater, morning was surely the most logical time to do it – Sakura might be carried off right under his nose!  With that thought in mind, Touya found the main road where it left the town, the road a passing resident assured him was the only way down the mountain and to Clearwater.  He spent the day watching for any party to travel past, but only a handful of men on horseback did.  No wagon, no cart that could have concealed his little sister.  
  226.83 +Unbearable anxiety tightened in his stomach as the sun circled overhead, and when it started to drop over the western ridge he almost broke down.  It had more than a day now since he last saw his sister safe and sound, the trail was getting ever colder while he floundered here uselessly.  
  226.84 +“Sakura,” he choked.  “God, Sakura, I’m so sorry just hang on I’m coming.”  
  226.85 +He could not break down.  Evening was coming on, he could try his first plan now.  Ignoring the dizzy sensation when he stood up, Touya stumbled back to central square and the tavern.  The Dancing Bear, it was called, and he made his way around to the back entrance.  In spite of the difference in size its construction was just like Solom’s business, and there was already a girl kneeling by the familiar trough and scrubbing plates.  She looked up in surprise and then smiled, dimpling in that way that most of the girls in his home village often did when he was near.  
  226.86 +“Good evening, sir.  What can I do for you?”
  226.87 +“I’m looking for the owner.  Where can I find him?”  
  226.88 +She nodded her head to the doorway behind her.  “He’s in the kitchen, sir.  But hadn’t you best be goin’ through the front?”
  226.89 +Touya ignored her and strode inside, where a rotund older man stood debating with a woman by the butcher’s block.  
  226.90 +“Here then, who are you?”
  226.91 +“Someone looking for work,” Touya stated simply.  “I need a job.”
  226.92 +The businessman gaped.  “And you think you can get one just walkin’ in to my kitchen, eh?  Get out!”
  226.93 +Touya didn’t move.  “Just for tonight.  And you don’t have to pay me.”
  226.94 +That took the older man by surprise, and he exchanged glances with his cook.  “And I suppose you want to be paid in beer?  I don’t have time to waste on you -”
  226.95 +“I don’t want your ale either.  I just want to work here tonight.”
  226.96 +The owner looked absolutely bewildered, but Touya could almost hear the coins clinking in his thoughts.  “Er, I suppose you could help with the dishes -”
  226.97 +“No, I have to work in there.”  He nodded to the doorway, through which he could hear the noisy chatter of patrons.  “I’ll serve your customers, pull your beer, whatever you like.  But I have to be in there.”  He spoke more calmly than he felt, his tone firm and even.  On the inside he was fretting as the man hesitated, knowing this was his only chance.  Touya had not a copper on him, so to scout the tavern as a customer was impossible.  “If you’re not satisfied after an hour you can throw me out,” he added.  “Please.”
  226.98 +A few men were shouting for service now, the man looked torn.  He probably wanted to question Touya, but there wasn’t time for that just now.  After another minute shrug to the woman who was probably his wife, he nodded.  
  226.99 +“Fine, then.  Put an apron over those clothes, for goodness sake.  And I’ll be watching you.”
 226.100 +Touya’s shoulders slumped in relief.  He was in.  Now he only had to find his prey.
 226.101 +
 226.102 +--
 226.103 +
 226.104 +What did a slave trader look like?  Touya scanned the room furtively as he filled glasses, unsure what to look for.  Would they travel in groups or alone, be quiet or rowdy?  Automatically he topped off the pints with an expert’s touch, allowing the ale to foam frothy just over the rim, and he caught the owner nodding in approval.  Those nights working for Solom were well spent after all.
 226.105 +“Hallo, who are you?” he was questioned by more than one regular as the evening progressed.  “Did Rufus hire someone new?”
 226.106 +“Just passing through,” was the explanation he gave.  “I’m headed to Clearwater soon, I hope, do you know of any others going that way?”
 226.107 +The answers weren’t very promising.  A cousin or a friend might be riding that way soon, but the merchants all came in wagons to Hunter’s Junction, not the other way around.  As much as he dared Touya engaged the drinkers in conversation, probing the lives of the other men in the room, becoming less subtle as the evening wore on.  Tonight could not end like the fruitless day had, he had to make some sort of progress!  
 226.108 +Swallowing his bitter frustration, Touya ferried a few dishes of stew from the kitchen to the tables when ordered.  This was his last idea… if it didn’t work then he didn’t know which way to turn.  
 226.109 +“Here then, you scoundrel,” Rufus was lecturing at the bar when he returned, “not tonight.  I’ve had enough of your promises to pay!”  
 226.110 +“Not so fast, old man,” the muscular customer said haughtily, “I’ve got your cash all right.  Now give me a pint of the best.”  Casually he dropped three gold coins on the bar and Rufus’ eyes popped open wide.  
 226.111 +“And where did a good-for-nothing like you come about some gold?  Don’t tell me you’ve taken to honest work?”
 226.112 +“Eh, it was nothing.  You might say I found it walking about in the countryside.”  Touya almost dropped the glass of ale in his hand and held himself rigidly still, heart thudding in his ears.  
 226.113 +“Sounds to me like you stole it.”
 226.114 +“Here now, it weren’t nothing like that.  I was paid for some labor in the countryside yesterday, that’s all.”
 226.115 +Rufus hmphed slightly, but his hand closed over the coins anyway.  When he’d gone Touya placed the pint on the counter, then went to work wiping a cloth over the wooden surface.  
 226.116 +“Beautiful weather we’ve been having,” he said conversationally as the man took a swig.  He lowered the glass and nodded, smacking his lips with enjoyment.  “Must be real nice further up, huh?”
 226.117 +“Suppose it was,” the man agreed, still concentrating on his beer.  He hadn’t said before that he was further up on the mountain but he didn’t seem to notice, nor did he hear Touya’s breath quicken a little.  
 226.118 +“Lucky you, making so much for a little work.  I’ve done some labor in the country too but I never seem to make more than a few coppers.  I’ll never make it to Clearwater at this rate.”
 226.119 +The man smirked over the rim of his glass.  “You just got to know the right man to work for, that’s all.”
 226.120 +“So just what did you do?”  The man narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion and Touya retreated, taking his glass along the way.  “Oh here, let me fill that up for you.”  Rufus had ceased watching him like a hawk, so there weren’t any witnesses to see Touya wink slyly.  “On the house.”
 226.121 +His customer perked up right away, and grinned.  It was a thin chance, this man, but better than any other this day.  And so Touya kept plying him with beer as the hours passed, performing his duties but always returning to make sure his glass was topped up.  
 226.122 +“Not hard work at all,” he slurred, later on in the night.  “Ye just find ‘em and catch ‘em, free for the taking.  And they go for a good price, ‘speshly the young ‘uns.  He finds ‘em and pays me a cut to help catch ‘em.  Everyone wins.”  With difficulty Touya kept his fists at his sides.
 226.123 +“And then what?”
 226.124 +Blearily he blinked and waved a hand, shrugging.  “I dunno.  He’s always the one that finds the buyer, he’s the businessman, you know?”
 226.125 +“Sure.  But you do all the work in the field, right?”
 226.126 +“Er… I guess.”
 226.127 +“And all you get is a cut?  Shouldn’t you get half?”  
 226.128 +A muddled indignation filtered into his eyes once he understood Touya’s words.  “Hey!  That’s right, I am doing all the work.  This ‘un yesterday, she kicked me so hard it bruised.  Little brat.”  
 226.129 +Touya almost leapt over the bar right then and there, but somehow he kept himself in check.  He’d found the trail at last, but this man obviously didn’t know where Sakura was.  He couldn’t afford to blow it.  
 226.130 +“So who’s this cheap skifter, then?  Who’s that man robbing you?”  
 226.131 +“Pierce,” his informant snarled.  “Why, he’s been cheating me all this time!”
 226.132 +“Bet he’s staying in some posh inn, huh?”
 226.133 +“That’s right!  He’s got himself the best room at the Turtledove.  I ought to go there right now an’ -”
 226.134 +“Hold on, mate,” Touya advised, placing a hand on his meaty forearm.  “You’ve had a lot to drink tonight.  If you know where he sleeps, wait until tomorrow morning and surprise him while he’s in bed.  You can’t lose.”
 226.135 +The customer looked undecided, and Touya tensed apprehensively.  If he was the type that couldn’t see reason when very drunk, he’d have to come up with a new plan rather quickly.  But then the man subsided and nodded.  
 226.136 +“Tomorrow, then.  Tomorrow, I’m gonna tell that Pierce right where he gets off and that from now, it’s gonna be even down the middle…”
 226.137 +Touya slipped away as the guy growled into his drink, retreating to the kitchen.  “Rufus, that man at the bar has had about seven or eight, but he won’t pay.  He keeps insisting that I served him on the house, I don’t understand.”
 226.138 +“I knew it!” the owner declared angrily.  “Back to his old tricks already, the thief!  I’ll take care of him!”
 226.139 +He swept through the doorway and Touya shed his apron, heading in the opposite direction and to the back door.  He was almost there when the dishwasher intercepted him, holding out a bowl of stew in hopeful offering.
 226.140 +“Oh, won’t you have a little supper?  Surely you’re hungry after working all night -”
 226.141 +“Not right now,” he said as kindly as he could manage, quivering with impatience to get his hands on Pierce.  He skirted around her and then paused, looking back over his shoulder.  “Do you know where the Turtledove is?”
 226.142 +“Yes, it’s up the street and left at the tailor’s shop.  But won’t you please -”
 226.143 +He left without another glance.
 226.144 +
 226.145 +--
 226.146 +
 226.147 +Ye just find ‘em and catch ‘em… free for the taking… go for a good price, ‘speshly the young ‘uns… everyone wins… she kicked me so hard it bruised.  Little brat.  Little brat.  Little brat.
 226.148 +The callous words echoed in Touya’s head as he stood before the closed door of the room the sleepy innkeeper had assured him was Pierce’s.  Could Sakura be on the other side?  Almost trembling with anticipation, Touya knocked.
 226.149 +He heard a scraping noise, like chair legs over a wooden floor, and then the latch as it was unhitched.  
 226.150 +“Yeah, wh -”
 226.151 +Touya didn’t wait for the door to open more than a crack before he shoved his weight against it, slamming the hapless resident on the other side right in the face.  He cried out in pain and fell back against the floor, but didn’t have time to even sit up before Touya was kneeling on his chest.  Other than him the room was heartrendingly empty, and in his disappointment Touya smashed his fist into his jaw.
 226.152 +“Ah!  Help -”
 226.153 +Touya covered his mouth with his large hand and slammed the head back into the floor, other fist raised.
 226.154 +“Where is she?” he demanded, his voice low and hard.  “Where’s my sister?”
 226.155 +Eyes bewildered and terrified, the man underneath him tried to struggle free.  But Touya regularly wrestled two-hundred pound sows into the mud, and this man wasn’t even close to throwing him off.
 226.156 +“Tell me!  Where is she, what did you do with her?”  Mercilessly he bent one finger back, releasing his hold on the mouth.  “Scream and I’ll break it.”
 226.157 +“I don’t understand,” his victim gasped.  “Who are you, what do you want?”
 226.158 +“I want my sister!  Tell me where you took her!”
 226.159 +“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
 226.160 +Touya glanced up again at the room and nearly vomited at what he saw.  The chair Pierce had presumably been sitting in was next to a small writing desk, upon which rested a glass of wine, a book, and a vase of flowers.  Bright, beautiful sunflowers.  
 226.161 +“She walked you to the village, she gave you sunflowers.  And you kidnapped her!”  Furiously he struck Pierce again, no longer caring if either of them made too much noise.  “You took away my sister!”
 226.162 +Pierce cried out again, and Touya heard footsteps.  
 226.163 +“What’s going on in there?”
 226.164 +Snarling, Touya threw himself at the door and slammed it shut, throwing the deadbolt across the frame.  He turned around just in time to catch the walking stick Pierce was swinging at his head, stopping it cold in its path, and in his rage threw the man all the way across the room.  Pierce landed in a heap against the wall, nose bleeding, and shrank back when Touya advanced.
 226.165 +“Please!  I had no choice, I have debts to pay or they’ll kill me -”
 226.166 +“And my sister’s choice is what?  You stole her away from her home!”  He hauled the man to his feet by his collar and twisted, throwing him with a crash into the room’s large oak dresser.  Pierce crumpled to the floor and covered his head with his arms.
 226.167 +“Please!” he sobbed.  “Please stop!”
 226.168 +Someone was banging on the door now, but Touya didn’t hear it.  Black hatred swelled in his chest and he kicked the crying kidnapper as hard as he could.  
 226.169 +“Did my sister beg?  Did she cry for her brother?  Did you tie her up, hurt her?”  With every question he kicked again, but it wasn’t enough.  All the dark rage that had been building since the night before demanded release, and Pierce had not screamed loud enough yet.  “Did you touch her?”
 226.170 +“No!” Pierce wheezed.  “No, I never touched her, I swear.  They pay more for virgins -”  Touya’s hand clamped down on his head and he yanked, throwing him by his hair into the bedframe.  Something metallic clinked at the impact and Touya pulled up a corner of the mattress.  A small pouch was hiding there, and jingled musically when he picked it up.
 226.171 +“There’s eighteen gold coins in there,” Pierce panted, huddling into a ball against the head of the bed.  “It’s yours, take it.”
 226.172 +Touya’s fist clenched around the drawstrings.  “Is this the money you traded Sakura for?  Was this her price?”
 226.173 +Pierce nodded and Touya exploded, striking him across the face with the heavy purse.  He was too late, Sakura had already been sold to someone else.  Like an object, traded from one uncaring monster to the next.  
 226.174 +“Tell me where she is,” Touya said throatily, “and I won’t kill you.”  
 226.175 +“I sold her to a dealer named Trinlot,” Pierce babbled.  “He lives outside Junction, up the slopes on the eastern side.  I never hurt her -”
 226.176 +Touya clouted him again, and again, with the gold before Pierce slumped into an unconscious heap.  Hands trembling slightly, Touya backed away.  Part of him still cried out for blood, but he couldn’t afford the time.  Sakura had already passed into someone else’s hands, and now he had to find this Trinlot before it was too late.  He would not fail Sakura.
 226.177 +
 226.178 +---------------------------------------
 226.179 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 226.180 +
 226.181 +
 226.182 + 
 226.183 \ No newline at end of file

   227.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   227.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   227.3 @@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
   227.4 +Pleasure Slave
   227.5 +
   227.6 +By Capitalist
   227.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   227.8 +
   227.9 +And yes, at last we get to some actual hentai.  This is a chapter for yuri fans.
  227.10 +
  227.11 +
  227.12 +Chapter 3
  227.13 +‘first kiss’
  227.14 +
  227.15 +The everpresent bumping and jostling was gone, when she drifted back into consciousness, the hard wagon floor just a nightmarish memory.  A soft and cozy blanket lay puddled under her skin and she stirred slightly, nestling into its comforting texture.  It was over, thank goodness; such a horrible, realistic dream it had been.  
  227.16 +“She’s waking up,” an unfamiliar voice announced, surprising Sakura into opening her eyes.  It was not her home that she saw upon doing so, but a strange room without furniture or windows.  Blankets and thick cushions carpeted most of the floor, a handful of girls sitting cross-legged on them and looking at her expectantly.  
  227.17 +All of them were incredibly beautiful, though she only noticed that in afterthought, especially the one sitting closest to her.  Crimson hair fell like waves of fire past her shoulders as she cocked her head to get a better look.  
  227.18 +“About time,” she drawled, smirking in a way that triggered twinges of fear in Sakura, though she did not know why.
  227.19 +She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was so raw and parched only a hoarse rasp sounded.  She swallowed and tried again.
  227.20 +“Who are you?  What is this place?”
  227.21 +“My name’s Melara, cuteness.  And you’re in the holding pen of Silken Flowers, most high-class slave traders in the city.”
  227.22 +“Slave?” Sakura squeaked, and all the panic from her supposed nightmare surged into her blood again.  Her heart thudded in fear and she tried to sit up, only to discover that her arms were unable to move.  Something was pinching at her wrists, now that she noticed it; they’d been pinioned behind her back.  This unpleasant surprise was followed by a worse one when she looked down and saw her own naked body, stripped bare of every last scrap of her clothing.  
  227.23 +Horror and shame scalded her face and she drew her knees up to her chest in automatic reflex.  
  227.24 +“Hang on, cuteness, there’s no need to be modest.  You’ve been here a few hours, and believe me we’ve seen everything.”  Melara and the other girls giggled, apparently finding it funnier than ever when Sakura flinched at her casual touch.  
  227.25 +“Please,” Sakura tried in a small voice, “may I have my clothing back?”
  227.26 +“Those rags?” one of the other girls laughed.  “Oh, they were tossed in the fire the moment you got here.  Slaves from Flowers wouldn’t be caught dead in such common things.”  She fingered the lapel of her flowered satin robe, identical except in color to all the other girls’ apparel.  Sakura shook her head frantically.
  227.27 +“No, please, this is a mistake.  I’m not a slave!”
  227.28 +“Really?” Melara asked lazily, and reached to tug lightly on something around Sakura’s neck.  “Then what’s that?”
  227.29 +They were all wearing something like a choker around their throats, now that she looked, though it was closer to a collar.  Panic bubbled up again and Sakura whimpered, the room and all their faces going blurry for a moment with unshed tears.  She didn’t want to be in this horrible place, with all these strangers looking at her and touching her and calling her slave.  She just wanted to go home.
  227.30 +“Uh-oh, she’s crying,” someone pointed out.
  227.31 +“She’s not ready at all, is she?”
  227.32 +“Don’t worry, cuteness, we’ll make you feel better.”  Hands wrapped around her ankles and tugged on her legs, and Sakura shrieked in terror.  Unsuccessfully she tried to wriggle away, but her bonds made rapid motion almost impossible.  Eager hands pried her folded legs away from her chest and spread them, and someone behind her gripped a shoulder to prevent her from rolling over.  Melara knelt between her open legs and looked hungrily over Sakura’s sprawling nakedness, almost licking her lips in glee.  She brushed her palms along the inside of Sakura’s thighs and the helpless girl jumped, sheer terror paralyzing her vocal chords.  She couldn’t even beg.
  227.33 +“No need to be scared, honestly, it doesn’t hurt at all.  We’ve all had our turn, now it’s yours.”  
  227.34 +Rigid with fear, Sakura felt her fingertips glide toward the opening between her legs and she squeezed her eyes shut.  
  227.35 +“What’s going on here?”  
  227.36 +Cool and authoritative, the new voice stopped the fingertips in their tracks and Sakura could feel the others’ grips on her loosen.  She opened her eyes to see yet another beautiful girl had arrived, and was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.  She wore no robe like the others, but a pale lavender dress made from a gauzy material that swished around her legs when she took a step forward.  Sakura had never seen such an elegant creation in all her life, and wondered who this black-haired girl was that wore it so carelessly.  Violet eyes ignored her but fixed on Melara, who pursed her lips in a pout.
  227.37 +“Just having a little fun with the new girl, Tomoyo, that’s all.  You were out and she so obviously needs the training.”
  227.38 +“That may be so, Melara, but I don’t recall asking you to take on my job.  You’re a slave for sale just like her, don’t think yourself any different.”  The girl called Tomoyo did not bother to look at Melara’s indignant reaction to those words, but knelt at Sakura’s side and reached to touch.  Again Sakura flinched back, trembling.
  227.39 +“Shh, it’s okay.  I’m not here to hurt you.”  She smiled at Sakura, but it was not the leering, predatory smiles of the other girls.  Her eyes were genuinely kind, and Sakura relaxed enough to let her grasp her upper arm and waist.  With the extra support she was able to stand, and gratefully put several steps between herself and the other girls when Tomoyo guided her away.  
  227.40 +“Don’t keep her long,” Melara called out, and another chorus of giggles was the last thing Sakura heard before Tomoyo shut the door.  She turned a key in the lock and then draped its cord around her neck, shaking her head at the same time.  
  227.41 +“Bullies.  And if I’ve told the groomers once I’ve told them a thousand times, they are supposed to bring new arrivals directly to my room.  Especially white-collars!  I’m so sorry that I was out shopping, or I would have found you sooner.”  
  227.42 +As she spoke she herded Sakura down a passageway, keeping one hand on Sakura’s arm to help her keep her balance.  She hit a fast pace, one that Sakura was forced to match with small rapid steps.  The bare floor here was polished hardwood, so smooth and oily under her feet it felt almost warm to the touch.  She had the time to glimpse only that and the creamy painted walls before Tomoyo opened another door and ushered her inside.
  227.43 +This room was far smaller than the first, but immediately appealing in its comfort.  A large bed in the corner took most of the space, dressed in blue satins the color of afternoon sky.  
  227.44 +“Let me just find something…”  Tomoyo rustled through the objects on an elegant dresser, paying no attention to the crystal bottles and glittering jewelry, until she’d unearthed a pair of thin cosmetic scissors.  “This should do it.  Just hold still now.”
  227.45 +Numbly Sakura allowed her to turn her around, and she heard the thin rasp of blades sawing through rope fibers.  
  227.46 +“I have asked them not to tie them so tightly, it leaves burns on the skin and brings down the price.  It’s such a shame for someone with skin like yours.  But I’m sure there won’t be any permanent scarring.”  
  227.47 +The last of the thin rope snapped and Sakura’s hands fell free, an immediate relief to her aching shoulders.  Tomoyo clawed away the last of the shredded rope around each wrist and stepped back, satisfied.
  227.48 +“There, that’s much better.  Are you thirsty, can I get you some water?”  
  227.49 +Sakura was thirsty, but standing there in the middle of the room with a complete stranger she could only think about her naked body.  In her home village many women in a family might bathe together, to save water, but she had grown up with two men who made sure to be on the opposite side of the house whenever she cleaned herself.  In the past few minutes more people had seen her unclothed than in her entire life, and the humiliation was too much to bear.
  227.50 +“Can I have my clothes, please?” she whispered, desperately polite.  “Or, if they’re gone, just anything that I can borrow for a short while…”
  227.51 +Tomoyo smiled sympathetically, but she was already shaking her head.  “I am sorry, but whatever you were brought here in is surely long gone.  Our slaves just wear a robe to the auction; any clothing you have after that is what your master provides for you.  I’ll get you a robe shortly.”
  227.52 +There it was, that word again that everyone seemed so comfortable using for her.  Sakura shook her head, biting her lip to keep from crying.
  227.53 +“I am not a slave.”
  227.54 +Tomoyo looked surprised.  “Pardon?”
  227.55 +“I’m not.  I live with my brother in our family’s home, up in the mountains in a village called Eagle’s Path.  Men, they found me hunting mushrooms and took me away, they tied me up.”  She couldn’t stop them, hot tears were spilling down her cheeks as she spoke.  “My brother, he’ll be so worried about me – I don’t even know how long I’ve been gone.  Please let me go home.  I just want to go… home…”  She hugged her arms to her body and tried to choke back the threatening sobs.  Tomoyo’s expression was properly appalled, but there was an unyielding look in her eyes that made Sakura’s stomach turn with dread.
  227.56 +“That’s terrible.  What an awful thing to happen.  But my owner bought you, and that means you now belong to him.  It isn’t within my power to let you go, or even let you out of this building.  I’m afraid that you can’t go home.”
  227.57 +Her soft words crushed the last of her resistance, and Sakura burst into sobs.  Her knees crumpled beneath her, and she was only vaguely aware of Tomoyo catching her before she collapsed, murmuring platitudes and depositing her gently onto the edge of the bed.  Painful sobs ripped from her body until she was shaking with the force of them, every gulp of air like a hot knife to her chest.  All the fear and helplessness seemed to crash over her in a wave, and she kept crying and crying until she’d cried herself to sleep.  
  227.58 +
  227.59 +--
  227.60 +
  227.61 +Something in Sakura felt drained when she next opened her eyes.  She knew this time it was no mere nightmare, but she was too spent to cry anymore.  Instead she listened to the melody of Tomoyo’s voice, singing softly but sweetly from somewhere out of sight beyond an ajar door.  The idea of escape did brush her mind, but the moment she moved she felt the soft satin brush against her bare skin and subsided.  She was in no condition to try and run, even if she was somehow able to escape this building she wouldn’t know where to go.  For the moment, she didn’t want to do anything except lie here and feel the sheets.  She’d never seen, let alone felt, such luxury and wondered how many other rich things Tomoyo kept here.  It was like a bedroom for a princess.  
  227.62 +She adjusted her position slightly and realized that she was no longer directly exposed to the open air of the room.  A soft shawl had been draped over her crumpled body as she slept, of an even finer material than the bedsheets.  It was obviously sewn for elegance and not warmth, but the room was not cold.  As a gesture it was pure kindness, and Sakura fondled one fringed end in gratitude.  
  227.63 +Tomoyo breezed through the doorway, and her song trailed off when she met Sakura’s gaze.  “Oh, you’re awake.  Good, I was afraid this cup of tea would get cold.”  She crossed the room and picked up a porcelain cup printed with blooming pink flowers.  Holding the shawl to her chest, Sakura sat up and accepted the proffered cup, which was no longer steaming but still warm to the touch.  “It’s a blend of peppermint and chamomile, it should help you feel better.”
  227.64 +Going home would help me feel better, Sakura thought, but she took a sip without saying anything.  It did taste good, and the warm liquid soothed her aching throat.  Tomoyo dropped into the chair by her dresser, watching with concerned eyes.
  227.65 +“How do you feel?”
  227.66 +“I’m okay,” Sakura managed to whisper.  “Thank you for…”  She trailed off, not sure what she meant to say.  The tea, the shawl, the privacy, the offer of a kind and friendly smile?  Tomoyo seemed to understand, however, and nodded.  
  227.67 +“It’s nothing.  You obviously needed the chance to rest, and there’s plenty of time for training still.”  She picked up a hairbrush and ran it through her long ebony tresses, missing Sakura’s blanche.  She didn’t know what ‘training’ was, but she was fairly certain it was a topic she wanted to avoid. 
  227.68 +“You have a beautiful voice,” she tried, hoping to steer the conversation to something more innocuous.
  227.69 +“Thank you.  I did always want to be a singer when I was younger, but…”  She shrugged, still playing with her hair with one eye on her reflection in the dresser’s mirror.  “Sometimes things just work out differently.  I still practice whenever I can, but it seems my audience is limited to girls like you.”  She smiled in a resigned sort of way, and leaned forward to take the cup from Sakura’s hand when she drained it.  
  227.70 +“All finished?  Come here and I’ll brush your hair.”  
  227.71 +Though her expression was nothing but friendly, there was something about the offer that made it more command than invitation.  Obediently Sakura stood and took Tomoyo’s vacated seat, still clutching the pastel shawl to her body in a determined attempt at modesty.  Tomoyo set to work brushing the tangles out of her light brown hair.
  227.72 +“My goodness, your hair is awfully short.  Do all girls in the country wear it like that?”  Disappointed, Tomoyo fingered the ends that just brushed over her shoulders.
  227.73 +“Er, not many.  But some do, if it’s more convenient.  Washing isn’t always easy, especially in the winter.  I have to melt snow over a fire then.”  
  227.74 +It had never occurred to her before to think that was unusual, but Tomoyo looked scandalized.  “What a difficult way to live.  When you learn what a proper bath is, you’ll understand just what you’ve been missing.”  Sakura blushed, but Tomoyo didn’t appear to notice.  “Anyway, it seems to suit you well.  I’ll wash it with rosemary to bring out the shine, and trim it later so it will flatter your face.”
  227.75 +Sakura wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.  Maki, the village seamstress, sometimes branched out and applied her scissors to the women’s hair when they decided they needed it cut.  Since she always wore her hair pulled back and away from her face, the shape of the cut had never particularly mattered.  Obviously to Tomoyo it did.
  227.76 +For the first time Sakura really looked at her reflection and saw the foreign object around her neck.  So this was what Melara had been referring to earlier, and with a cold lump of dread forming in her stomach Sakura reached to touch.  It was leather, but not stiff enough to be painful, and had been buckled with a clasp loosely enough so that it rested just above her collarbone.  
  227.77 +“What’s this?”
  227.78 +“That’s your slave collar,” Tomoyo answered delicately.  “All slaves wear one, to show what they are.”
  227.79 +Sakura trembled, but this time she didn’t lose control.  “But the other girls wore black ones.  Why is mine white?”
  227.80 +“Color is a means to advertise experience.  Yours is white because you’re a virgin; it will turn black on its own.”  She tapped her own throat, and the silver choker that sparkled there.  It hadn’t occurred to Sakura that it wasn’t jewelry.  “I wear this because I’m a trainer.  I help the virgins that come here understand what’s expected of them, before they’re auctioned off.  It’s called training.”
  227.81 +A strange feeling, like nausea, curdled within Sakura and she shivered.
  227.82 +“And, what’s a virgin?”
  227.83 +Abruptly the hairbrush halted mid-stroke, and Sakura raised her eyes to see Tomoyo’s shocked expression in the mirror.  Somehow it made her feel even more self-conscious, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.  Very carefully Tomoyo set the hairbrush on the dresser and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, so she could face Sakura directly.
  227.84 +“Exactly how old are you?”
  227.85 +“I’m fifteen.”
  227.86 +Why was Tomoyo looking at her like that?  Nervously she plucked at the shawl’s fringe.
  227.87 +“Do you know what sex is?”
  227.88 +“Um, I think so.”  Sakura nodded bashfully, acutely aware of the fresh rush of blood to her cheeks.  “It’s something that… a man and a woman do, when they’re married.  Right?”  She looked for confirmation, but Tomoyo was still wearing that incredulous look.  “My brother, he was always so careful not to let me hear anything he didn’t think was appropriate – he wouldn’t even let me talk to boys.  I’m sorry -”
  227.89 +“No,” Tomoyo said quickly, “no, don’t apologize.  It’s not something to be ashamed of.  I was just – surprised, that’s all.  Most girls that come here have been bred for this purpose, like Melara back there.  They’ve spent most of their lives preparing for this role.”
  227.90 +“Oh.”  Sakura sat up straight with a flash of hope.  “Then, I’d make a very bad slave, wouldn’t I?  Shouldn’t I just go home?”
  227.91 +Tomoyo shook her head regretfully, smiling wanly.  “I’m sorry, but that’s not going to matter to Jereth.  The man who bought you,” she elaborated upon seeing Sakura’s puzzled look.  “He expects to make a profit off your sale, after all.  It just means I have to do a good job of training you.”  
  227.92 +She patted Sakura’s knee, and Sakura cringed.  “I don’t think… I mean, I don’t want -”
  227.93 +“Shh,” Tomoyo soothed.  “It’s nothing to be scared of, I promise.  I hold this position because I’m very good at what I do.  You don’t think I’d hurt you, do you?”  After a moment’s hesitation, Sakura shook her head.  “Good.  Now stand up.”  
  227.94 +She pulled gently on Sakura’s hand, and reluctantly Sakura followed the other girl’s direction to stand and face her directly.  Still smiling her gentle smile, Tomoyo rubbed her palms lightly over Sakura’s upper arms.
  227.95 +“What’s your name?”
  227.96 +“Sakura.” 
  227.97 +“Sakura…” she repeated, lilt in her voice.  “That’s beautiful.  It’s a tree that flowers up in the mountains, right?”  
  227.98 +The pride and beauty of her village.  Sakura nodded silently, too busy focusing on Tomoyo’s light touches to cry for her home just now.  Her hands slid gracefully to the hem of her own shawl, where Sakura still clasped it to her chest, and she slid her fingers underneath it.
  227.99 +Sakura squeaked and tried to step back, but Tomoyo only took a corresponding step forward.  This time she tugged a little harder at the fabric, and Sakura held on fast.
 227.100 +“Sakura,” Tomoyo said sweetly, but her tone was a warning one.  “Please don’t be a bad girl about this.  If I can’t do my job, I’ll have to tell Jereth.  And he’ll tie you down so I can, and I don’t want that to happen to you.  I promise this will not be painful.”
 227.101 +There was a look in her eyes that convinced Sakura she meant it, and she relaxed her grip on the precious material.  The soft silken cloth slipped off her skin at Tomoyo’s next pull, and the expensive shawl dropped in a puddle to the floor.  Extremely conscious of every inch of her bare skin, Sakura averted her gaze and twisted her hands nervously, unsure what to do with them.  She didn’t realize Tomoyo had stepped closer until one hand rested lightly over her breast, and she jumped.
 227.102 +“Shh,” Tomoyo murmured.  “It’s all right, just hold still.  Let me touch you.”  Sakura couldn’t help it, she knew she was shivering under Tomoyo’s hand.  Surely Tomoyo could feel her rapidly beating heart.  “Take a deep breath,” Tomoyo advised, and Sakura did her best to comply.  The fresh oxygen did help a little, but then Tomoyo’s hand trailed across her chest, just brushing above her breasts, and she had to remind herself to breathe again.  The hand traced a path across her chest and over her arm, and she realized Tomoyo was walking a slow circle around her.
 227.103 +“Beautiful,” she sighed in appraisal.  “You have a lovely body, Sakura, and such soft and creamy skin.  Breasts and hips are a little small, but that’s all right.  They’re well proportioned.”  She completed the circuit and must have seen Sakura’s flaming cheeks, for she chuckled.  “Has no one ever told you how pretty you are?”
 227.104 +“Not really,” Sakura mumbled.  Her brother often told her she looked like a monster, and that was the most anyone commented on her appearance.  
 227.105 +“Well, get ready to hear it a lot.  I can see see why Jereth purchased you, and he’s very selective.  Silken Flowers only deals in the most beautiful girls.”  Tomoyo’s hand cupped her jaw and lifted her face to make eye contact.  
 227.106 +“Sakura, do you know what a kiss is?”  Her expression was uncertain, as if she actually feared Sakura might not know, and Sakura flushed.  
 227.107 +“Of course I know.  Only, I’ve never been kissed.”
 227.108 +“Well that’s all right.  I’m going to kiss you now.  Are you ready?”
 227.109 +She wasn’t, but Tomoyo probably didn’t intend for her to answer.  Still holding her face still, Tomoyo drew close and leaned in, the whisper of her warm breath tickling Sakura’s lips.  It all happened so slowly but too fast to resist, and before Sakura knew it Tomoyo’s lips were pressed to hers.  
 227.110 +That was all, a simple touch with a hint of moisture when Tomoyo opened her lips.  Then she withdrew, looking rather pleased and expectant.  
 227.111 +“Did you like that?”
 227.112 +Shaken, Sakura could only nod.  
 227.113 +“How did it feel?”
 227.114 +“It was… warm.”  It was the best she could define it, though the tendrils creeping through her body weren’t the same cozy sensation of cuddling by a fire.  The tendrils wound through her blood, heating up her bare skin, and coiling between her legs in a place best not thought about.  
 227.115 +“Good.  I’m going to kiss you again now, and this time I’m going to put my tongue in your mouth.  Don’t look at me like that, it feels very nice.  You’ll see.  Are you ready?”  Tomoyo’s hand had dropped sometime after the kiss, though she didn’t realize that until Tomoyo placed both hands on her hips, holding her firmly in place.  It felt strange, and even more so when Tomoyo closed all distance between them, her own curves rubbing against Sakura’s behind the veil of thin fabric.  Sakura wished for a moment that Tomoyo wasn’t wearing the dress, and the shock of having such a thought was enough to distract her from the coming kiss.  
 227.116 +Her lips caressed Sakura’s, catching her off guard, her tongue gliding through the opening as promised.  It was an alien sensation and she squirmed slightly, though not hard enough to break free of Tomoyo’s grasp.  The friction of rubbing against her hips redoubled the warmth now, and Sakura was vaguely aware of a throbbing sensation, a steady rhythm between her legs.  Tomoyo pressed in further, tongue sliding along hers, exploring without hurry.
 227.117 +It seemed to last such a long time, provoking a flurry of strange feelings within her, but when Tomoyo withdrew from her mouth the feelings didn’t go away.  Her lungs protested and she gulped air like a winded runner.
 227.118 +“Try breathing through your nose next time,” Tomoyo offered, nose crinkling slightly in amusement.  She eyed Sakura’s flushed skin and panting breaths with an observant air and nodded to herself.  “You’re doing very well.  Does it feel good?”
 227.119 +“Yes,” Sakura whispered, for some reason slightly ashamed that it was so.  But she had been brought up not to lie and it didn’t occur to her to even try.  
 227.120 +“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Tomoyo assured her.  “It feels good for me too.  Would you like to try something else that feels good?”
 227.121 +Sakura managed the tiniest of nods, blushing furiously at her own assent.  But it seemed Tomoyo had expected it and raised a hand, tracing a fingertip lightly over the flesh of her left breast.  Her breath caught in Sakura’s throat, but Tomoyo had not even begun yet.  Ever so softly, her fingers brushed over the pink nipple, and the result was an instant shock.  Sakura twitched involuntarily, but it wasn’t totally unpleasant.  Tomoyo repeated the motion and Sakura felt it again, even more strongly, unable to help the tiny whimper deep in her throat.  Hands clenching into fists at her sides, she closed her eyes and threw her head back, unconsciously arching her back into Tomoyo’s caresses.  The fingertips swept to and fro a few more times over the skin, then gave a tiny squeeze.  It didn’t hurt but Sakura whimpered again and fought for another breath.  
 227.122 +All her efforts to contain herself scattered when a warm moistness swept over her nipple, and she moaned out loud.  Tomoyo murmured some kind of agreement and licked again, before she closed her lips over Sakura’s nipple and gently sucked.  Waves of pleasure coursed from that spot to the throbbing between her legs and Sakura moaned again.  But when Tomoyo increased the suction she wriggled in protest, blindly seeking respite.  Tomoyo released her and took a step back, watching as Sakura gasped for air.
 227.123 +“I’m sorry,” she wheezed, though she had no cause to apologize.  “I just – I feel dizzy.”
 227.124 +Tomoyo nodded understandingly and gestured to the bed.  “Would you like to sit down?”
 227.125 +Sakura nodded shakily and almost collapsed onto the edge of the bed, hugging her arms tightly to her waist.  
 227.126 +“Do you dislike it?”
 227.127 +“No,” she said quickly, anxious not to hurt Tomoyo’s feelings.  “It’s… nice.  But it makes me feel strange inside.  And it’s so hot.”
 227.128 +“Where is it hot?”
 227.129 +Bright pink, Sakura pointed.  A quiet giggle made her cringe, but Tomoyo was immediately contrite.
 227.130 +“I’m sorry for laughing, Sakura.  But your innocence is so charming.  And all those feelings are normal, I promise.  You’ll get used to them after a while.”
 227.131 +Tomoyo gathered up the hem of her dress, and without warning, pulled it up over her head and off her body.  Her underclothing consisted of nothing but her small silken panties, and the trim slippers she wore laced up the knees.  Sakura was so shocked at the rapid disrobing that she could only stare as Tomoyo draped her dress over the back of the dresser chair.  Then she became aware of herself and quickly tore her gaze away.  Though she’d essentially forgotten her own exposed body, it hadn’t occurred to her that anyone else might want to undress in front of another.  She had never seen a naked woman before – in fact she’d never seen anyone naked before.  
 227.132 +“There’s no need to be shy, Sakura.  You can look.”  
 227.133 +Sakura did not turn her face, so Tomoyo sat down on the bed next to her and reached to cup her jaw when she tried to avert her eyes again.  
 227.134 +“Really, it’s all right.  Take another deep breath.”  Keeping her eyes steadfastly on Tomoyo’s face, Sakura obeyed.  “Would you like to try kissing again?”
 227.135 +“Okay,” she agreed, timidly.  Tomoyo closed the distance between their mouths and pressed her soft lips against Sakura’s, allowing Sakura to remember the feel of it before she parted the crease with her tongue again.  Prickles of excitement shot through Sakura’s blood and she opened her mouth even more, giving Tomoyo better access.  Tomoyo uttered a humming noise of pleasure and took advantage of this.
 227.136 +Her fingers ran through Sakura’s hair a few times, then dropped to her shoulder and traveled downward, roaming lightly over her skin and tickling her nipple.  Sakura squirmed at the touch and for some reason found herself pushing slightly forward, tentatively advancing her side of the kiss.  Tomoyo responded with warmth, increasing the pace, and her hand slipped from Sakura’s breast to her waist to pull her closer.  Flesh rubbed against flesh and Sakura could feel her heart beating faster, that pounding rhythm between her legs accelerating.  
 227.137 +And then Tomoyo’s fingers slipped right into the cleft of that secret place.  Sakura uttered a muffled squeal mid-kiss and scrambled back, a fresh charge of apprehension sweeping through her.  Infinitely patient, Tomoyo merely relaxed and sat back.
 227.138 +“Why did you do that?” Sakura quavered, backing up to the pile of cushions and drawing her knees up protectively.  
 227.139 +“Didn’t you like it?”
 227.140 +“No!  I- that’s not a place to be touched.”
 227.141 +“Don’t be silly, Sakura, of course it is.  You’ll be surprised at how good it feels.”  Tomoyo crawled over her bedcovers on her hands and knees and Sakura shrank away.  “It’s all been very nice so far, hasn’t it?  Nothing hurts, just like I said.”
 227.142 +That was true, and Sakura hesitated.  But she still flinched reflexively when Tomoyo slipped a hand between her knees to part them.
 227.143 +“Shh, it’ll be all right.  I promise.  Just relax.”  Again Tomoyo levered her knees apart, and a trembling Sakura let them stay that way.  Hands glided down her thighs and Sakura tensed, but Tomoyo skipped over that part of her body and brought them up along her ribs instead, over and past her breasts and then up her arms.  Firmly she took Sakura’s hands in hers and guided them to the bed’s thin carved curleques behind her head.  
 227.144 +“Hold on,” she advised.  “You’ll want to.”  
 227.145 +Sakura shivered, but she gripped the curved strut obediently.  The cushions piled under her left her back somewhat arched, breasts and stomach exposed to the world.  Tomoyo took her time on the way back down, roaming her flat open palms over her skin just light enough to feel without pressing.  It tickled and Sakura squirmed again, but she did not let go.  Inexorably Tomoyo moved down, past her waist and over her abdomen, and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut.  
 227.146 +For the second time Tomoyo’s finger slipped into the crevasse, and Sakura went rigid.  Her instinct was to snap her knees closed again but somehow she resisted, biting her lower lip in trepidation.  Her finger moved down and then up, parting the flesh, and Sakura was shocked into opening her eyes at the sudden flush of moisture.
 227.147 +“Wh-what is that?”
 227.148 +Tomoyo smiled in tender affection.  “That’s you, Sakura.  It comes from those hot feelings inside you.”  
 227.149 +“Me?”  Sakura stared, amazed, and Tomoyo nodded.  Her finger moved up and down again, spreading the wetness, and Sakura gasped at the bolt of pleasure.  Part of her was curious and wanted to watch, but part of her was embarrassed to do so and she closed her eyes again, throwing her head back when Tomoyo inserted another finger.  She was going much faster now, rubbing up and down the narrow slit, and every new pressure released another wave of heat inside her.  She arched her back still more, panting and whimpering.  
 227.150 +“Feels nice, doesn’t it?” Tomoyo crooned, and Sakura could only nod rapidly, incapable of speech.  The pace increased and Sakura bucked, kicking out with her legs at nothing.  Patiently Tomoyo refolded them so her knees were pointing to the ceiling again, then returned to her task.  One finger delved deep within her pulsing body, and Sakura cried out.  It was not painful, exactly, but invasive.
 227.151 +“No -” she tried to protest.
 227.152 +“Yes,” Tomoyo corrected.  “Don’t worry, Sakura.  Trust me, you want this.”  She slid the finger in and out several times, each time provoking another gasping cry.  Her hips had begun to move back and forth under Tomoyo’s ministrations, unbelievable heat kept blooming inside her and demanding some kind of release that she didn’t know how to give.  It felt so good it hurt, and desperately Sakura tried to voice a plea that came out more like a moan.  
 227.153 +“I know.  Just hang on, a little more.”  
 227.154 +Tomoyo withdrew completely and moved to the very top of Sakura’s opening.  She braced herself, not knowing exactly why, and then Tomoyo started rubbing in small rapid strokes.  Raw ecstasy shot through Sakura and she moaned again, gripping the bed strut with white fists and writhing under the force of it.  It was too much, just too much and the energy inside her would surely explode, taking her with it.  No one could survive this.
 227.155 +“Please – I – want -”
 227.156 +“Just a little more…”
 227.157 +Each cry for mercy ripped from her throat, waxing in volume, and by some primeval instinct she brought her knees up toward her arms.  The slight change in posture triggered something inside her and the energy exploded.
 227.158 +She screamed.
 227.159 +And then she collapsed, panting and shuddering, against the pillows.  Her hands actually hurt to move, they’d been gripping with such force, and cautiously she flexed and bent her fingers.  She felt limp, as if she could never move again in her life, and utterly drained.  
 227.160 +Gentle fingers stroked hair away from her damp face.  “How do you feel?  Are you all right?”
 227.161 +Sakura wasn’t so sure the answer was yes, but she managed a shaky nod.  
 227.162 +“That’s good.  I’ll be back in a second.”  
 227.163 +The mattress rustled underneath her but Sakura didn’t raise her head to look.  A few moments passed in silence, save her own ragged breathing, and then Tomoyo returned with a dampened hand towel.
 227.164 +“This will help bring your temperature down,” she promised, and patted it over Sakura’s face.  The cool moisture felt wonderful, and Sakura mumbled a thank-you.  The towel wiped tenderly at her neck and then over her body, and unexpectedly Sakura shuddered with a feeling reminiscient of her explosive experience.
 227.165 +“Oh -”
 227.166 +“Shh, don’t worry about it.  It’s just an aftershock, it’s normal.  Your body needs a little time to come back down to earth.”  She took special care to wipe the place between Sakura’s legs, removing the stickiness.  Sakura’s eyes followed the movement and she squeaked in dismay when she saw the stains under her body.
 227.167 +“Oh no!  Your beautiful sheets – I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to -”
 227.168 +“Sakura,” Tomoyo interrupted firmly, “don’t worry about it.  It’s okay, it happens all the time.  They can be washed.”  She patted her own brow with a fresh corner of the towel, but she seemed to Sakura the same calm and cool girl that brushed her hair and offered her tea.  Tomoyo must be very used to doing this.  “Are you tired?”
 227.169 +Sakura nodded.
 227.170 +“I thought so.  It’s quite a lot for someone like you, that’s good enough for one day.  We’ll practice more tomorrow.  Now, would you like to sleep here with me, or back in the pen with the other girls?”
 227.171 +“With you, please,” Sakura answered quickly, and Tomoyo laughed.
 227.172 +“I thought so.  Just a moment.”  She tugged at the thin sheets underneath them, an exhausted Sakura trying to hold herself up, until she pulled the top one free and drew it back over Sakura’s bare body.  It felt wonderful to be really covered at last, and Sakura snuggled into the luxuriant material.  She hadn’t noticed how the room was lit, earlier, but now she watched Tomoyo pull a silken rope dangling from the ceiling.  The sourceless light immediately dimmed, and continued to fade as Tomoyo crawled into bed beside her.
 227.173 +“Is that a mage-light?” Sakura whispered, slightly awed.  She’d read about them, but never thought she’d actually see one used.  Such things were only for the very rich.  
 227.174 +“Oh yes.  Most of the building is lit by them; we can’t exactly have windows, after all.  Our slaves are rather tempting to onlookers.”
 227.175 +The darkness had become so absolute she could not see Sakura, who stiffened at the unwelcome reminder.  Slave, they considered her to be a slave.  Kidnapped or not, it didn’t matter, and now some faceless stranger owned her.  What was to become of her?  How would she get home?
 227.176 +A few tears dripped down her face and onto the pillow, but she was too tired to really cry.  Next to her, Tomoyo nestled closer and curled an arm around her waist, holding her close.  She didn’t know if Tomoyo sensed her distress or always did this for the girls that shared her bed, but it was a comforting gesture regardless.  At least here, for now, she was all right.
 227.177 +Sakura closed her eyes, and slept.  
 227.178 +
 227.179 +------------------------------------
 227.180 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 227.181 +

   228.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   228.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   228.3 @@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
   228.4 +Pleasure Slave
   228.5 +
   228.6 +By Capitalist
   228.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   228.8 +
   228.9 +Chapter 4
  228.10 +‘training’
  228.11 +
  228.12 +It was empty.  
  228.13 +Touya had broken into the house and then the barn, combed every inch of them both, but it was no use.  There was no sign of any Trinlot, and definitely none of his sister.  The trail that had been so promisingly warm an hour earlier was now cold and dark again.  Choking back tears, Touya sank to his knees on the scuffed dirt floor.
  228.14 +“Who’s there?”  A patch of gold light approached the barn doors, and a teenaged boy holding a torch slipped through the opening.  He gaped at Touya.  “Hey, who are you?  Get out!”  Touya stood, wearily, but made no move to leave.  “Hey, djew hear me?  Get on out!”
  228.15 +“I’m looking for a man named Trinlot.”
  228.16 +“Oh.  Well, he’s not here so you’ll have to come back.”
  228.17 +“Where is he?”
  228.18 +“Gone on to Clearwater, he has, and won’t be back for another day at least.”
  228.19 +Touya’s chest tightened painfully at the confirmation, though he’d already guessed as much.  “And when did he leave?”
  228.20 +“Ah, yesterday afternoon I think it was.”
  228.21 +Yesterday!
  228.22 +All of Touya’s strength evaporated and his legs crumpled underneath him; he dropped to the floor in a heap.  
  228.23 +“Hey, you all right?”
  228.24 +Yesterday.  This Trinlot must have left almost immediately with Sakura, she was already on her way to Clearwater before he even knew she was missing.  Had they already taken her to Terriene?
  228.25 +With difficulty he kept himself from retching, probably because there wasn’t anything to come up anyway, and buried the thought.  It still wasn’t too late, he might still have a chance.  
  228.26 +“You a friend of Trin’s?”  The boy knelt before him on the floor, squinting curiously.  “I don’t know you, an’ I’ve been working for Trin for a year now.”
  228.27 +Somehow Touya managed to get a grip on himself and inhaled deeply, forcing back the panic.  “What work does Trin do?”
  228.28 +“He’s a merchant, he brings goods up from Clearwater.  An’ I help him sort -”
  228.29 +“Does he trade in anything else?”
  228.30 +The scruffy teen hesitated and dropped his eyes.  “Wot do you mean?”
  228.31 +“Do you ever see him buy and sell something besides goods?  Like girls?”
  228.32 +“Um, I…”  He fidgeted, clearly not at ease.  “I’m not supposed to talk about that.”
  228.33 +Touya reached for the purse, now looped over his shoulder and under his shirt, and withdrew a gold coin.  Pierce’s money he had kept, not because he wanted the filthy stuff, but because even in his anger recognized it might be useful in the search.
  228.34 +“Try talking about it,” he encouraged, pressing the coin into the boy’s hand.  “Trin won’t know.  Did he have any girls with him when he left yesterday afternoon?”
  228.35 +The teen pressed his lips together and nodded.  “I think so.  He was set to head off to Clearwater that day anyway, or I think he would have waited for more.  Usually he won’t make the trip for just one girl.”
  228.36 +Touya wanted to bang his head into something, but managed to keep himself in check.  “Did you see what she looked like?”
  228.37 +This time the boy shook his head.  “I jes saw something under a blanket in his wagon, you know?  I’m not supposed to say anything…”  He glanced anxiously back at the doors, as if afraid his boss would come striding through any minute.
  228.38 +“Relax.  I won’t tell him you said anything.  Just tell me where he would go in Clearwater, and then I’ll leave.”
  228.39 +Again the boy hesitated, looking hopeful, and Touya dropped another coin in his hand.  
  228.40 +“He buys merchandise from a man named North, Samuel North.  His stores are on the edge of the town.  That’s all I know, I’m not sure about that… other thing.”
  228.41 +It would have to do.  Touya nodded and stood up, swaying slightly.  
  228.42 +“You all right, then?  Look a bit pale, you do.”
  228.43 +“I’m fine.  Show me which path will lead to the Clearwater road.”
  228.44 +“You’re going to walk?  But it’s hours away!”
  228.45 +“I don’t care,” Touya snapped, his voice rough with fatigue and impatience.  “Just show me the way.”
  228.46 +“All right,” the boy sighed, “if you want to go that bad.”  He led Touya from the barn and indicated the well-trodden dirt path.  “This leads back to Hunter’s Junction, but there’s a fork in the path by an old oak tree.  Take that and it will join with the main road that leads from Junction to Clearwater, you can see it well enough.”
  228.47 +“Thanks.”
  228.48 +“But are you sure you want to -”
  228.49 +“I’m sure.”  
  228.50 +Without another glance back, Touya started walking.
  228.51 +
  228.52 +-----------------------------------------------
  228.53 +
  228.54 +Morning triggered an automatic lightening of their interior rooms, and a well-rested Tomoyo opened her eyes at the pale beckoning.  There was a warm body next to hers and she turned slightly in the sheets to see Sakura, fast asleep and expression smooth and untroubled.  She must be very tired still, after all she’d endured these past two days.
  228.55 +What a horrible experience.  Tomoyo pressed her lips together at the thought of it, disgusted.  To be stolen away from her home with no explanation, and wake up in a strange city, surrounded by strangers, told that she now belonged to someone and could never go home… no wonder she was so terrified.  Most pleasure slaves were bred for this role, as she’d explained, even if they were kept virginal until their auction.  Sometimes a girl was sold by her own family as a means to relieve debt, like Tomoyo, but even then they at least understood what was happening to them.  Sakura was no less than bewildered, and Tomoyo could hardly blame her.  
  228.56 +Imagine, not even knowing what a virgin is.  What a sheltered life she must have led, up there in the mountains.  It rather added to her appeal, though, and fondly Tomoyo combed a few strands of hair back from her face.  Innocence like that was very rare in Tomoyo’s world, and she almost regretted having to strip Sakura’s away.  But there was no room for such sentimental pity, not when Sakura was to be sold to a new owner.  Better that she was instructed by Tomoyo and not some less forgiving master.
  228.57 +The object of her thoughts stirred slightly and mumbled something incoherent, then subsided again.  She’d be awake soon, and Tomoyo slipped out of bed as unobtrusively as possible.  Tying a lace-edged robe around her waist, she left the room and almost walked into her owner.
  228.58 +“Tomoyo, there you are.  Good morning.”
  228.59 +“Good morning, Jereth,” Tomoyo answered primly, raking her hair back over her shoulders in a semblance of presentability.  
  228.60 +“Where’s that new girl, how is she?”
  228.61 +“Her name is Sakura, and she’s in my bed right now, asleep.  This hasn’t been very easy on her, Jereth, she was kidnapped from her home.”  She shook her head disapprovingly.  “You should not have bought her, that’s not right.”
  228.62 +“How was I to know that?  Those traders, they pick up girls from all sorts of miserable places.  Saw her face and went with my instincts; she’ll fetch a pretty price this next auction, anyway.”  The portly businessman smacked his lips with anticipation, and Tomoyo stiffened.
  228.63 +“Wait, the auction in two days?  That’s when you want to sell her?”
  228.64 +“That’s right.”
  228.65 +“Jereth, she won’t be ready!  I’ve hardly begun and there’s still so much to teach her – she barely knows what sex is.  I can’t possibly train her up to our standards in just two days.”
  228.66 +Her owner shrugged.  “Sorry, Tomoyo, but she cost a fair amount and I can’t wait another month to recoup the expense.  Cash flow situation is rather thin just now.  And I don’t have any other virgins, you know we have to offer at least one.  They’ll be at each other’s throats to buy her, I can’t pass this up.”  
  228.67 +Jereth was not a cruel master, but he was a businessman at heart and Tomoyo knew the futility of trying to dissuade him.  Unhappily she nodded. 
  228.68 +“I know it’s not a lot of time, just do what you do best and she’ll be fine.  It’ll work out.”  He patted her on the shoulder and moved on, leaving Tomoyo to sigh at the closed bedroom door.  
  228.69 +Poor thing, sleeping in there.  She simply didn’t know what was happening to her.  
  228.70 +--
  228.71 +When Tomoyo returned several minutes later with breakfast, Sakura was lying quietly in bed and staring at the ceiling.  
  228.72 +“How can you stand it?”
  228.73 +“Stand what?”
  228.74 +“Not having any windows.  You can’t even see the sky, if it’s a fine day or it’s raining.  You can’t see the world.”
  228.75 +“I’m just used to it, I suppose.  I see the sky plenty whenever I go out, it’s not necessary to look at it from in here.”  Tomoyo set the tray on her dresser and slipped her robe off her shoulders.  Sakura had turned her head to face her as she spoke, but at that action turned pink and looked down.  “Sakura, honestly, it’s okay to look.  I don’t mind.”  
  228.76 +Tomoyo shook her head as she made herself comfortable on the bed again, atop the sheets this time.  While the blushing modesty was very cute, her future master was likely to be less than patient about it.  And if they only had two days before her sale, then Tomoyo couldn’t afford to waste any time.
  228.77 +She piled up her small cushions behind her so she was sitting up comfortably, then took Sakura’s chin in her hand and turned her face back.  “Sakura, it’s disrespectful to look away when someone’s talking to you, you know that right?”  Sakura nodded.  “So if I’m talking, you need to look at me even if I’m not dressed.  It will be the same for your master.  Understand?”
  228.78 +Sakura’s cheeks turned pinker at the word ‘master’, but she nodded again.  “Good.  Now I’m sure you’re hungry, but if your master has breakfast brought to his bed then he will expect you to feed him.  So let’s practice that first.”
  228.79 +On the tray were two steaming cups of tea, a pair of crusty and aromatic bread rolls, and two small bowls of fruit chunks.  She offered Sakura one of these, who looked surprised but nodded.  Compliantly she speared a strawberry and extended the fork uncertainly; Tomoyo helped by leaning forward just enough to close her mouth over it.  
  228.80 +“A little closer next time.”
  228.81 +“Sorry.”
  228.82 +“That’s all right.”
  228.83 +“I’ve never fed anyone before.”  Sakura tried again with a chunk of melon and Tomoyo slid it free of the fork tines, nodding approvingly as she chewed.  “I remember once, one winter I got terribly sick.  My brother sat by my bed and fed me at every meal for days; I was too weak to even lift my own hands.”  Her lips quirked in an approximation of a smile, then she dropped her eyes.  
  228.84 +“Sit up a little straighter,” Tomoyo instructed quickly, anxious to distract Sakura from any homesickness.  “It’s very important to have good posture, Sakura, slumping is not attractive.”
  228.85 +“Oh, sorry.”  Sakura straightened her back obediently, apparently no longer noticing that the sheets puddled in her lap left her bare from the waist up.  Tomoyo couldn’t help but admire her young breasts as Sakura fed her another mouthful; they were a little small but high and well-shaped.  A loud gurgle interrupted her thoughts and Sakura blushed in embarrassment.  “Sorry,” she said again.  “It’s just that I haven’t eaten since – um, before.”
  228.86 +That must make it two days, at least.  Tomoyo melted and pushed the fruit dish back towards Sakura.  “Don’t worry about it, Sakura, that’s enough practice.  Please go ahead and eat.  I don’t want you to be hungry.”
  228.87 +Sakura hesitated, but only briefly.  The pace that she consumed her breakfast with, moderated slightly by her innate good manners, made Tomoyo wish she’d offered some food the evening before.  But it couldn’t be helped, and she’d make sure to prepare an extra large lunch.  It did no good for slaves to appear bony.  
  228.88 +Patiently she sipped her tea while Sakura ate, donating her share of the bread to Sakura’s appetite as well as some of her fruit.  
  228.89 +“Thank you,” Sakura said politely when she’d finished.  “That was very delicious.  I’ve never tasted bread like that before.”  
  228.90 +Tomoyo just barely managed to keep from raising her eyebrows.  If cheap loaves from the bakery around the corner were all it took to impress her, this country girl must have been brought up on a very simple diet.  
  228.91 +“That was nothing, just wait until you try some of the richer foods we have here.  I’ll be sure and make some of my custard later today, you’ll love it.”
  228.92 +“You cook?”  Sakura looked so astonished that Tomoyo giggled.
  228.93 +“Why so surprised?  Can’t anyone?”
  228.94 +“Well, I suppose so, but…”  She gestured toward Tomoyo’s dresser and all its glittering bric-a-brac.  “You have so many beautiful things.  Surely you’re too rich to bother with cooking.”
  228.95 +“Oh, don’t I wish.  But none of those things are really mine, remember.  They’re bought with Jereth’s money.  This is a high-class establishment and he prefers that I work with quality materials.  It’s the only expense he’s willing to fork out, though, so I do a lot of the cooking and cleaning.  But I enjoy it, I think it’s fun.  And I’m rather good at it, if I do say so myself.”
  228.96 +She primped and Sakura smiled, the first genuine and relaxed smile Tomoyo had seen out of her.  The effect was startling, to say the least.  From the beginning Tomoyo had recognized her beauty, fragile like a pale pink shell on the beach.  But when she truly smiled some light seemed to blossom within her and her whole appearance transformed, she became radiant.    
  228.97 +She wondered if Sakura had smiled like that at her kidnapper.
  228.98 +The look faded away when Sakura bit her lip uncertainly.  “Tomoyo?  Is something wrong?”
  228.99 +The darker-haired girl realized she’d been staring, and quickly shook her head.  “Er, no.  Sorry.”  She returned her empty teacup to the tray on her dresser and tried to collect her thoughts.  “Sakura, do you remember what we did yesterday evening, before we went to sleep?”  The blush flared up again and Sakura nodded minutely.  “Would you like to try it again?”
 228.100 +Sakura tensed and stared fixedly at the bed pillows, unwilling to commit.  Tomoyo helped by reaching up and brushing the back of her hand over one of those tempting breasts.  She jumped and nodded quickly, wadding the material of her blue satin sheets within her fists.  
 228.101 +“Wonderful.  But this time we’ll do it a little differently.  I want you to participate.”
 228.102 +“Participate?” Sakura echoed uneasily. 
 228.103 +“I want to show you how to touch me, just like I did for you last night.”
 228.104 +Sakura looked a little panicky and shrank back, but Tomoyo took one of her hands in hers.  It was trembling.  “You needn’t worry, it’s very easy.”  
 228.105 +Tomoyo placed Sakura’s hand on her own chest, just above her breast.  Sakura looked apopletic with embarrassment, still trying to look away from Tomoyo’s unclothed body though she was touching it.  
 228.106 +“Sakura, look at me.”  She let some sternness slip into her voice and Sakura actually obeyed, though she kept her eyes on Tomoyo’s face.  “I want you to watch this.”  Firmly she guided Sakura’s hand downward, rubbing her open palm over her own nipple.  Flickers of excitement resulted and she took a quick breath, not missing that Sakura’s breathing had also become a little faster.  
 228.107 +“It feels good for you too, doesn’t it?”  Sakura nodded.  “That’s good, it’s supposed to.  Try it with just your fingertips now.”  Tomoyo released her hand, wondering if Sakura would only pull away again, but her young trainee brushed her fingers delicately over Tomoyo’s nipple.  “That’s good, now move in a more circular motion.  Good, good… now – very carefully – I want you to squeeze.  Just a little.”
 228.108 +Sakura looked doubtful about this, but dutifully she pinched the puckered aereola.  Inexperienced though they were, Sakura’s tentative caresses were all the more stimulating in her innocence.  Tomoyo arched her back a little more and hummed with approval.  
 228.109 +“Lovely.  Now, lean in a little and do the same with your tongue.  I want you to taste me.”
 228.110 +“Tongue?” Sakura repeated worriedly, and Tomoyo nodded.  Sakura leaned in closer, but balked, and Tomoyo had to place a hand on her head to steer her closer.  
 228.111 +“Just a little lick,” she encouraged.  A slight warm moistness flecked her skin and Sakura tried to pull away, but Tomoyo maintained her grip.  “Ah, more than that.  Try again.”
 228.112 +This time her tongue swept over her jutting nipple, and Tomoyo sighed.  “Much better.  Again, and a little more slowly.”
 228.113 +Sakura was relaxing, she could feel it, and licked at a more appropriate speed as instructed.  “Now I want you to close your lips over it, and suck.”
 228.114 +“Like a baby?”
 228.115 +“Um, yes.  Like a baby.”
 228.116 +That, at least, was something Sakura seemed to understand and she enclosed Tomoyo’s nipple within her mouth, sucking with a puppyish enthusiasm.  Tomoyo moaned out loud and pushed up to meet her, only just stopping herself from reaching between her own legs.  This was Sakura’s lesson, after all.
 228.117 +“Did I do it right?”
 228.118 +“You did it exactly right, Sakura.  Come here and kiss me.”  Sakura hardly hesitated at all and raised her head to meet Tomoyo’s lips, allowing Tomoyo’s tongue to slide into her mouth without demur.  The kiss was long and loving, and Tomoyo could feel her own moistness spreading.  No doubt it was the same for Sakura.  As they kissed she encircled the other’s body in her arms, pulling Sakura close so that they lay embraced against the pillows.  
 228.119 +“Do you feel how my hands are moving across your back?” she murmured into Sakura’s ear, when they parted.  Sakura nodded.  “I want you to do that for me too.  Feel all of me.”
 228.120 +As she spoke her hands roamed lightly over Sakura’s soft skin in example, rubbing, pressing her body into Tomoyo’s, cupping her little behind.  Sakura squeaked softly but did the same for Tomoyo, trying to copy her every motion.  At the feel of their hips bumping against one another Tomoyo moaned again, enjoying the sizzle every time their nipples made contact.  She kissed Sakura again, pleased to note that Sakura actually pressed her body against Tomoyo’s to participate fully.  She was panting when they parted.
 228.121 +“You’re doing so good, Sakura.  I’m so happy.”  She moved in again with her lips, but this time she avoided the mouth and closed them over Sakura’s earlobe.  A stifled gasp sounded when she sucked, and then Tomoyo traced her tongue along Sakura’s jaw and down her neck.  “Did that feel good?”
 228.122 +“Y-yes.”
 228.123 +“Now you try on me.”  Timid lips sought Tomoyo’s ear, and by accident or design her tongue caressed the skin.  “Oh… very good, Sakura.  Now go lower, down my neck.”  Sakura dropped a series of chaste kisses down to Tomoyo’s collar and then halted, unsure.  “Bite me just a little with your teeth and suck.”
 228.124 +“But -”
 228.125 +“It doesn’t hurt.  I want you to.”  Sakura obeyed, delicately, and Tomoyo pushed her hips against Sakura’s.  “Harder!”
 228.126 +Quickly Sakura increased the suction, Tomoyo crooning in ecstasy, until the trainer finally pulled away.  “Oh, that was lovely, Sakura.  You did very well.”
 228.127 +Sakura stared at the slight bruise on Tomoyo’s neck, aghast.  “I did that?  Doesn’t it hurt?”
 228.128 +“Not at all.  It feels wonderful.  I’d show you, but I don’t want to mar your skin.  Just trust me on that one.”  She grinned and Sakura smiled weakly.  Tomoyo resettled herself so she was sitting up against her cushions again, combing all her long hair back and out of the way.  “How do you feel?  All right?”
 228.129 +Sakura nodded.
 228.130 +“Good.  Now do you remember what we did after the kissing?”  A little of the fear returned to Sakura’s eyes, a very clear indication that she did.  “But it did feel good, didn’t it?”
 228.131 +“Yes,” she admitted, in a very small voice.  
 228.132 +“Would you like to try with me?”  Tomoyo rubbed her own hand enticingly along the length of her stomach, and Sakura cringed a little.
 228.133 +“I don’t think I can -”
 228.134 +“Of course you can.  I really want you to, so please don’t disappoint me.”  It was an underhanded move on her part, Tomoyo knew, targeting Sakura’s obvious eagerness to please.  But at least it worked, and she only felt a slight trace of guilt when Sakura ducked her head and nodded.
 228.135 +“All right.”
 228.136 +“Good.  Now, I’d like you to remove the last of my clothing.”
 228.137 +Predictably, Sakura paled.  “I could never -”
 228.138 +“Sakura.  Now.”  Tomoyo eyed her sternly and guided her hands to her hips.  “Your master will expect you to undress him and you musn’t ever hesitate.  Go on.”  
 228.139 +Looking as if she wanted to hide under a rug somewhere, Sakura pinched the thin silk cords that laced Tomoyo’s panties closed over each hip, and pulled them free of their bows.  
 228.140 +“Keep going.”
 228.141 +Sakura grasped the edge of her underclothing and tugged them off of Tomoyo’s body, the other girl assisting by lifting her hips slightly.  
 228.142 +“They’re wet!”  
 228.143 +Tomoyo choked back laughter at Sakura’s astonished observation.  “Yes, remember how that warm feeling inside you produces moisture?  Well it happens for me too.”  Sakura looked abashed, as if she should have realized that on her own.  “It’s all right, you’re very new at this.  You just forgot.  Do you feel that warmth too?”
 228.144 +Sakura nodded.  
 228.145 +“Then I’m sure you’re wet as well.  I’m very wet, would you like to feel?”
 228.146 +Sakura swallowed, and patiently Tomoyo took her hand to guide it to her opening.  Sakura flinched at the touch, but all Tomoyo did was press her open hand over the crevasse and hold it there.
 228.147 +“Do you feel how hot it is?”
 228.148 +“Yes.”
 228.149 +“It would make me very happy if you rub your finger inside.  Will you do that?”  
 228.150 +Sakura whimpered unhappily, but she did as she was told.  Tomoyo kept her hand over hers to demonstrate the right motion and pace, then let go so Sakura could practice on her own.  She did not pull away but kept at it, stroking in a diffident manner that made Tomoyo squirm with delight.  
 228.151 +“Oh… there’s so much of it.”
 228.152 +“It’s because you make me feel so good, Sakura.  Try two fingers now.”
 228.153 +“Okay.”
 228.154 +The change in pressure provoked another flush of heat inside her, and Tomoyo moaned, now caressing her own breasts.  She checked on Sakura and saw that her trainee’s face was flushed pink, her own breathing light and unsteady.  She was stimulated too, good.
 228.155 +“Now I want you to try pushing inside me with your fingers.  I’ll show you where.”  Tomoyo guided Sakura’s pointer finger to the appropriate place and plunged it in before Sakura could protest.
 228.156 +“Oh -”
 228.157 +“It doesn’t hurt at all.  Now move it in and out, okay?”  Sakura obeyed, in small motions at first before she grew more confident.  Soon her finger was gliding up and down Tomoyo’s passage, and Tomoyo bucked her hips with every thrust.  “Oh… yes… that’s very good, Sakura.”  
 228.158 +She lost herself in the pleasure of it for a few moments, then took Sakura’s hand and guided it to the top of the crease.  “Do you feel that small nub?”
 228.159 +“Yes.”
 228.160 +“I want you to wiggle it.”
 228.161 +Sakura complied quicker than she expected, and the fantastic pleasure almost swamped Tomoyo’s conscious thought.  Gasping, she threw her head back and writhed, moaning her desire to the ceiling.  
 228.162 +“Tomoyo, I feel – it’s so hot…”
 228.163 +“I know.”  Restraining herself, Tomoyo nudged Sakura’s hand away.  “Take a moment, catch your breath.”  
 228.164 +Shakily Sakura nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist.  She was trembling with her own tumultous sensations, not yet able to control them as Tomoyo could.  “I promise I’ll take care of you in a moment, Sakura, if you do something for me.”
 228.165 +“Do something for you?”
 228.166 +“Yes.  I’d like you to give me a kiss.”
 228.167 +Sakura looked surprised, but she rocked forward to get closer.  Tomoyo put a hand on her shoulder.  “Not on my mouth.”
 228.168 +“Not on your mouth?”
 228.169 +“No.  I want you to kiss me here.”  Tomoyo indicated her throbbing, soaked cleft, and Sakura’s eyes popped open wide with shock.  
 228.170 +“I couldn’t!”
 228.171 +“You can and will.  Just a kiss, Sakura.  I want to feel your lips there.”  This was too fast, for her, but Tomoyo had no choice.  There was just so little time.  “You must never argue when your master tells you what to do, Sakura, that is not your place.  Please understand this.”
 228.172 +Why did her eyes have to look so vulnerable?  Tomoyo was sympathetic to her fear, but a trainer had to be firm.  Resolutely she pressed Sakura’s shoulder downward, lowering her head to Tomoyo’s thighs.  
 228.173 +“Be a good girl, Sakura.  Just do as I say, and I promise that it will be all right.”  She heard Sakura’s low whimper, but her conciliatory nature must have won out over her fear.  Soft lips pecked her quickly and Tomoyo chuckled.
 228.174 +“It needs to last a little longer than that.  Try again.”
 228.175 +Sakura looked petrified, but she lowered her face again and brought her lips to the folds of Tomoyo’s flesh.  “Now, slip your tongue out and wiggle it, just like you did with your finger a few minutes ago.”
 228.176 +Warm moistness met more warm moistness, as an unsure Sakura tried to follow Tomoyo’s directions.  Tomoyo groaned at the sensation and combed her fingers through Sakura’s hair, unconsciously holding her in place.  
 228.177 +“That’s right, oh that’s good… mmm.  Just a little more, Sakura.”  Tomoyo closed her eyes, embracing the familiar sensations as they escalated inside her, moaning to a crescendo.  “Oh… oh… yes!”
 228.178 +The orgasm released and she shuddered, almost falling forward on top of Sakura.  Sensing the completion of her task, Sakura backed away hurriedly and sat up, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.  
 228.179 +“I don’t think I like that so much, Tomoyo.”  There was a slightly betrayed look in her eyes that triggered guilt, and Tomoyo nodded in understanding.  
 228.180 +“A lot of girls don’t like it very much the first time, I know, but it was important that you learn to do what I ask.”
 228.181 +Sakura looked wounded, still, and Tomoyo relented.  “Come here and I’ll make it up to you.”
 228.182 +Sakura crawled closer and Tomoyo directed her to turn around, settling her in between her legs so that their bodies nestled cozily together.  “You don’t have to do anything right now, Sakura.  Just let me make you feel good, like you did for me.”  She bent Sakura’s legs to point her knees to the ceiling, then moved her hand between her thighs.  She was already considerably moist from her activity with Tomoyo, and at Tomoyo’s touch a fresh wetness soaked her fingertips.
 228.183 +Sakura moaned and arched her back into Tomoyo, rubbing against her sensitive nipples.  With her left hand she began to caress and massage Sakura’s breasts, fondling them and tickling her nipples.  
 228.184 +“Oh, Tomoyo…”  The breathy whisper sparked fresh excitement in the trainer and she pressed her hips into Sakura’s, penetrating with her finger at the same time.  Sakura bucked and moaned again, starting to writhe within Tomoyo’s embrace.  “So… hot.”
 228.185 +“I know,” she whispered into Sakura’s ear.  “Do you like that, do you want more?”
 228.186 +“Yes!”
 228.187 +Tomoyo inserted a second finger and continued to pump in and out, and Sakura pressed herself right back into Tomoyo with a tiny grunt.
 228.188 +“Does that hurt?”
 228.189 +“No… it’s all right.”  More than all right, if Sakura’s frantic aspirated breathing was anything to go by.  Tomoyo decided to try an experiment, and moved her hand from Sakura’s breast up to her face, tracing a finger over her lips.  Without any instruction at all, Sakura captured it within her mouth and began to suck hungrily and desperately as a baby.  It was an instinctive reaction on her part, and Tomoyo moaned with both pleasure and satisfaction.  It might take some prompting to get her started, but for just two sessions Sakura showed promise.  
 228.190 +She decided against inserting a third finger, however, and continued to thrust until Sakura’s moans waxed into a climactic cry and she went rigid in Tomoyo’s arms.  Then a shudder moved through her body and she melted, panting, against Tomoyo’s chest.  
 228.191 +“How can you stand it?” she asked for the second time that morning.
 228.192 +“Stand what?”
 228.193 +“That… every time.  It’s so much.”
 228.194 +Tomoyo laughed.  The things that came out of Sakura’s mouth were just so amusing, in a childlike way.  “Well, I suppose I got used to that too.  You will too, I’m sure.”  It felt nice, lying here with Sakura resting in her lap, but there were a lot of things to get done that day.  Reluctantly Tomoyo extricated herself and crawled off the bed.
 228.195 +“I’ll draw us a bath, and you’ll feel fresher once you’re clean.  Then we can do something about your hair.”  
 228.196 +--
 228.197 +The surface of the water that wasn’t covered in bubbles reflected Sakura’s awed face, as she leaned over the marble edge to touch.
 228.198 +“It’s so warm!  How is it hot when there’s no fire?”
 228.199 +“Heating stones, underneath the basin.”
 228.200 +“But where did it all come from?  How did you bring in water from outside?”
 228.201 +Tomoyo bit her lip to keep from giggling.  Sakura was simply adorable when she was like this.  “I don’t have to bring it in from outside.  It comes through a pipe.  See?”  
 228.202 +She turned the tap and a stream of crystal clear water flowed out.  Sakura’s eyes were almost circular with amazement.  “It’s like magic!”  
 228.203 +“Well it is, in a way.  Heating stones and water pipes are both things made by sorcerers, just like the mage-lights.  Anyone upper-class in the city will have them, makes life so much easier.  Worlds away from what you’re used to, huh?”
 228.204 +Sakura was swirling a finger through the bubbles, still entranced.  “The water, it even smells nice.”
 228.205 +“Crushed rose petal perfume, I make it myself.  Sakura, are you just going to stand there and stare at it, or do you want to get in?”  
 228.206 +Sakura didn’t look as though she thought she deserved to, but at Tomoyo’s prompting she clambered over the edge and settled herself neck-deep in the warm liquid.  “I can’t believe you have all this to yourself,” she sighed, looking over the small porcelain bath room.  To her it probably did look like a palace, but Tomoyo shook her head.
 228.207 +“This is nothing.  You should see the bath that the other slaves use, it’s much bigger.  I didn’t think you’d want to bathe with them, though.”  
 228.208 +Sakura shook her head rapidly, and Tomoyo smiled affectionately.  “Dunk your head back and I’ll wash your hair.  Okay?”
 228.209 +“Okay.”
 228.210 +--
 228.211 +Tomoyo was spoiling Sakura.  She knew it, and yet she couldn’t help herself.  While it was true she often shared her bath with slaves the morning after, there was no reason to keep them in her room all day.  And yet that was what she did, taking special care to wash Sakura’s hair with her own custom made shampoo, and then rinsing it with herbs.  She trimmed her rudely-hacked hair herself, rather than taking her to the groomers, so that her thin wispy hair framed her face like the feathers of a baby bird.
 228.212 +Sakura stared wide-eyed at her reflection after that, as if she couldn’t believe the girl in the mirror was her.  And Tomoyo even painted her nails, the palest shade of petal-pink that she had, to compliment Sakura’s creamy skin.  She didn’t want to send Sakura back to the holding pen, for fear of what might happen to her, it didn’t seem right that she suffer any more than she had to.  Tomoyo had trained many virgins, but she felt rather protective of this one in particular.  She couldn’t bear to break any more of that innocence than she had to.
 228.213 +“Sakura, these things that I’ve shown you how to do, in bed… you know that it will be different with a man, right?”  She blushed and nodded, rather uncertainly.  “Sakura, do you know what a man looks like, without clothing?”
 228.214 +Sakura turned pinker and looked away.  “Sometimes my brother chops wood without his shirt on.  He’s very strong…”
 228.215 +“But you have never seen a man undressed?”
 228.216 +“No!  He would never allow it.”  Tomoyo sat back and sighed.  She could teach Sakura intimacy and proper behavior in bed, but some things were simply out of her reach to demonstrate.  She wondered if she ought to go fetch Jereth, but her owner was in his early forties and sported a considerable amount of flab around his waist.  She could not bring herself to put Sakura between his legs, even for oral practice.
 228.217 +She drew a picture instead.
 228.218 +“And he will expect you to take that in your mouth, and suck.  Like this.”  She took Sakura’s finger and inserted it between her own lips, sucking as Sakura had done for her that morning.  “Do you remember that feeling, when you’re so hot you can’t bear it anymore and you feel as if you’ll explode?”  Sakura nodded, green eyes wide with apprehension.  “When that happens for a man, something will come out – right here.  If he is in your mouth, don’t be surprised and spit it back out, because he won’t like that.  You must swallow it.”
 228.219 +“What?” Sakura squeaked, horrified.
 228.220 +“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.  It’s possible that won’t happen at all.  He may release when he puts this inside of you, here.”  She gestured between Sakura’s legs, who pressed them together nervously.  “Just like with my finger, only it’s a little bigger and a little longer.”
 228.221 +Sakura looked from her to the picture again.  “Does it hurt?”
 228.222 +Tomoyo hesitated, and Sakura got a panicky look in her eyes.  “Yes, Sakura, it does hurt a little.  Especially the first couple times.  In fact, you may bleed a little.”  Sakura looked stricken, and Tomoyo somehow resisted the urge to hug her close.  Something about the girl seemed to bring out the nurturing side of her.  “It’s normal, so please don’t be frightened.  And once you get used to it, it won’t hurt at all.”
 228.223 +Sakura wrapped her arms around her waist and trembled.  
 228.224 +“I’m scared, Tomoyo,” she whispered.  “I don’t want to.”
 228.225 +Tomoyo’s heart thudded in her chest and she adjusted her position so she was facing Sakura directly.  
 228.226 +“Sakura, look at me.  This is very important, are you listening?”  Pale, Sakura nodded.  “You must never, ever resist your master when he wants to have sex with you.  It’s why he bought you, it is his right, and he’ll be so angry with you if you say you don’t want to.  He might hurt you, and I don’t want that to happen.  Do you want to be hurt?”
 228.227 +Sakura shook her head, eyes glassy with fear.  “If you just do exactly as he tells you, I promise everything will be all right.”
 228.228 +Sakura was silent, but she nodded and Tomoyo was quick to move on.  She spent the rest of the day instructing her trainee in the art of massage, demonstrating on Sakura with her personal scented oils and then allowing Sakura to practice on her.  She taught her how to clean herself properly so as to stay fresh, and the correct etiquette necessary when eating with her master.  And Sakura tried very hard, listening closely and copying whatever Tomoyo did with a little pout of concentration.  She never suspected that Tomoyo was avoiding mention of the other things slaves ought to know: things like bondage and blindfolds, subjugation and the occasional light whipping.  
 228.229 +Tomorrow, she told herself.  Time enough to bring that up tomorrow.  Instead she made gentle love to Sakura that evening, once again inviting her to sleep in her room and not sending her back to the holding pen as she ought to.  She wished she could not hear the quiet sniffles on the other side of the bed, as Sakura cried herself to sleep.
 228.230 +She was scared, and all of Tomoyo’s spoiling could not delay what was to come after her sale.  Sakura simply didn’t belong in the world of slavery, and Tomoyo momentarily cursed the fate that she should have been blessed with such tempting beauty.  Again she felt a flash of disgust and anger at the men that so callously stole her away from her home, but it was short-lived.  Was she really any better?  Instructing Sakura in the art of passion, stripping away her innocence, preparing her for a role that she didn’t want instead of helping her to get back home?
 228.231 +Tomoyo shuddered at the audacity of her own thoughts.  Given the trust between her and Jereth, it might not be all that difficult to sneak Sakura out of the house.  But she wouldn’t know which direction to send her and she knew Sakura wouldn’t know either.  And Jereth would know it was her, when his newest slave disappeared.  She enjoyed an amiable relationship with her owner, but Tomoyo could kiss that goodbye after such a serious crime.  All the luxuries and status she held as a trainer would vanish, and she didn’t like to contemplate what would happen to her after that.  Helping Sakura escape was out of the question.
 228.232 +Was it such a terrible thing?  Tomoyo snuggled closer to Sakura and curled an arm around her small waist, trying to mollify her own guilt.  She had heard of horror stories, it was true, but the clientele of Silken Flowers were the genteel class of the valley.  Sakura was lucky she’d come to this company, really, Jereth’s slaves were so expensive that most men wouldn’t dream of injuring such valuable property.  Those girls that Tomoyo had kept in contact with, she knew, led almost royal lives, wanted for nothing.  From what Sakura had mentioned, her home was little more than a shack in the wilderness.  It sounded perfectly miserable to Tomoyo.  Surely it was preferable to be pampered and indulged, rather than live a life of dirty poverty.  
 228.233 +Wasn’t it worth the price of a collar around her neck?
 228.234 +
 228.235 +--------------------------------------
 228.236 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 228.237 +
 228.238 +

   229.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   229.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   229.3 @@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
   229.4 +Pleasure Slave
   229.5 +
   229.6 +By Capitalist
   229.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   229.8 +
   229.9 +Chapter 5
  229.10 +‘journey’
  229.11 +
  229.12 +Midday sunlight blurred and dimmed in his vision, and angrily Touya shook his head to dispel the dizziness.  It didn’t help, but somehow he kept upright and stumbled to the sound he’d been following.  A few more steps and he could see them, the crystal clear springs of fresh water that were this town’s namesake.  He couldn’t be far from civilization, but right now all Touya could think of was water.  Gratefully he dropped to his knees at the edge and submerged his head, drinking in as much as he could.  The cold water refreshed him, washed away the vague buzzing in his ears, and he sat back on the grass with a sigh.  The walk from Hunter’s Junction to here, even downhill, had been like some kind of endless nightmare in his exhaustion.  The stars traveled faster than he did, and then the sun rose and overtook him as well.  Sleep and food were luxuries from a long, long time ago, he’d done nothing in his life but walk this road.
  229.13 +The water helped.  So much of it gave his stomach a temporary feeling of fullness, and the cold splash on his face brought his thoughts back into line.  He’d made it, he was on the outskirts of Clearwater.  Now his objective was Samuel North.  Whether he was Trinlot’s buyer or merely knew him, Touya would find information about Sakura somehow and then he’d rescue her.  Not until she was safe beside him would he sleep or eat.
  229.14 +--
  229.15 +He allowed his body a few moments’ rest, then rolled to his feet and started walking again.  As he drew nearer to Clearwater he met more people, following directions from one to the next and gradually working out his way to North’s business.  To his eyes, it was quite large and rich-looking, though Touya would come to learn how average it really was.  It was a store and a merchandise trade center, where goods must have come all the way from Terriene so that dealers from small villages could purchase them for resale.  Such a long journey made items incredibly expensive, and therefore quite rare in his home village of Eagle’s Path.  But his father had once lived here, in his youth, and it was here that he’d acquired his love of books and his precious collection thereof.  But when he first saw his mother, he’d told Touya often with a fond smile, on a visit from high up the mountain, he left Clearwater behind without a second thought.  They spent the rest of their lives in Eagle’s Path, and never once had Touya thought it would be any different for him or Sakura.
  229.16 +He pushed open the door and entered, feeling curiously calm in his resolve.  The proprietor looked up and frowned slightly at his cheap and grimy clothing.
  229.17 +“Can I help you?” he asked, tone of polite disinterest.  Touya ignored it.
  229.18 +“I’m looking for Trin.”
  229.19 +“Oh?  He left some hours ago, back on up to Hunter’s Junction.”
  229.20 +Touya was fairly sure he hadn’t seen any wagons coming in the opposite direction, on the road, and wondered if he’d come along just when Touya went seeking the springs.  Never mind, Trinlot did not matter anymore.  Sakura was only headed in one direction.  
  229.21 +“He buys goods from you?”
  229.22 +“That’s right, he’s one of my many buyers.”
  229.23 +“Do you buy anything from him?”
  229.24 +The just barely-visible start in his posture rang like a loud and clear alarm to Touya, and he tensed.  
  229.25 +“Er, I don’t know quite what you mean.  Goods travel from Terriene through me to the villages, young man.  Not the other way around.”  
  229.26 +“Are you sure?”  Touya could never remember his voice sounding so cold and hard, so dead.  Unconsciously he advanced on the shopowner, who backed away nervously.  “You don’t buy anything from him, like the occasional young girl?”
  229.27 +The other man flinched, then quickly covered it with an affronted expression.  “I want you to leave my shop now.”
  229.28 +Without even looking Touya snagged a mirror from its wall hook, and sent it to the floor with a loud crash.  North jumped.
  229.29 +“She’s about this tall,” he indicated with his hand, leveling it just under his shoulder.  “Short brown hair, and bright green eyes that she got from our mother.  Where is she?”
  229.30 +“I don’t know what you’re talking about -”
  229.31 +This time it was a crystal glass figurine, that must have been worth ten gold coins at least.
  229.32 +“Try again.”
  229.33 +North panicked and bolted, back to the rear doorway that no doubt led to his personal quarters.  Touya leapt after him and tackled him to the floor, slamming him hard to the wooden planks without mercy.  
  229.34 +“Don’t you try and run away, you wouldn’t let her run away!  Did you tie her up, huh?  Lock her in your basement?  Where is she, you son of a bitch?  Where’s my sister?”
  229.35 +Touya’s hand clamped over the man’s throat and squeezed as he spoke, until North’s face had gone white from lack of air.  He couldn’t talk at all, and Touya realized he had to loosen his grip.
  229.36 +“Not… here,” he gasped.  “Terr…iene.”
  229.37 +Touya’s heart thudded loudly in his chest.  Oh, not that.  Anything but that.  
  229.38 +“What?”
  229.39 +“They’re gone,” North wheezed.  “She was the fourth, so he took them to Terriene.”
  229.40 +Touya bit back a scream of frustration.  No matter how hard he tried it seemed he couldn’t go fast enough, it was as if Sakura’s kidnappers were flying down the mountain.  
  229.41 +“When?”
  229.42 +“Yesterday morning.”
  229.43 +Oh god.  From what he knew of the distance to that far-off city, Sakura must have been in Terriene since last night.  Anything could have happened already.
  229.44 +“Who’s ‘he’, who took her there?”
  229.45 +“My partner, Monroe.  I buy them but he takes them…”
  229.46 +“Where?  Where would he take her?”
  229.47 +North shook his head helplessly.  “I don’t know, there are so many buyers.  He sells them for the highest price, a different place every time.”  
  229.48 +Touya’s stomach curdled in disgust and he squeezed North’s collar within his fists.  “Where does he stay?”  There was no immediate answer and he slammed his victim’s head back against the wood again.  “Tell me!”
  229.49 +“The Royal Crown!” North cried out.  “I’m sure it was that, that’s the inn he likes the most.  Royal Crown, Royal Crown.”  
  229.50 +It would have to do.  And now there was nothing for it but to get up and start walking again, for a distance that no one he knew had ever traveled and to a city that he knew nothing about.  As for North – 
  229.51 +Touya cracked his elbow into his chin and watched the man’s eyes roll back in his unconsciousness.  Clumsily he pushed himself upright and was surprised to see his hands shaking; that burst of anger and force had taken a lot out of him.  
  229.52 +“Yesterday morning,” he muttered dully.  He had no time to rest, it had to be now.  He turned and left the shop.
  229.53 +--
  229.54 +Somehow he managed to get directions to the main road, the one that would take him all the way down the mountain and to Terriene, and somehow he managed to follow them.  Words buzzed in his mind, scraps of conversation and loose ends of memories fluttered around him, distracting him.  
  229.55 +How does it taste?  Is it too salty?- You’re so mean! - Take good care of your sister, Touya, she’s counting on you. - Come see the kittens! - Father is gone now.  Don’t be scared, I’ll take care of you. - Isn’t it beautiful? - What shall we read tonight?
  229.56 +“I’m tired, Sakura,” he mumbled, “don’t go so fast.  I can’t catch up… going as fast as I can.”
  229.57 +He was lost – helped him – said thank you – gave him sunflowers.
  229.58 +The earth was spinning madly around him, the road swirling and tilting under his feet.  And then, inexplicably, it rose up to meet him just when night fell and everything went black.  
  229.59 +
  229.60 +The sensation of being moved filtered into his consciousness sometime later, vague and insubstantial as a dream.  Gentle hands caressed Touya’s face and held his head up, cradling him in her lap.
  229.61 +“Mama,” he murmured, trying to summon the energy to open his eyes.  Why was he so tired?  “Mama, don’t… let Sakura -”
  229.62 +“Shh.”  She tipped a cup of some lukewarm drink to his lips, and even drained as he was he tried to resist the bitter taste.  She did not relent, however, and finally he subsided and gulped it obediently.  The feel of her touch and the whisper of her voice faded away to nothingness, and he slept.
  229.63 +--
  229.64 +When Touya opened his eyes several hours later, he found himself looking at an unfamiliar white ceiling.  This was not his cabin; confused, he rolled over onto his side to see that he wasn’t even inside, at least not technically.  It was some kind of patio, the floor a creamy marble, and only a few pillars separated him from world outside.  Flowers in carefully tended beds waved gently in the night breeze, next to a small pond that reflected the moon from above.  A delicate cherry tree scattered its pink blossoms at the brief gust, littering the ground with petals.  It was a peaceful scene, if unfamiliar, but Touya could not understand why he was there.  Where was his home?  Where was – 
  229.65 +“Sakura!”  He gasped her name aloud and sat up straight, all the horrible memories flooding back.  Gone, whisked away to Terriene, dangerously close to disappearing forever.  It was afternoon when he set out for the city and now the moon was high in the sky; how much time had he lost?  Where was he?
  229.66 +“Up already?” a mild female voice inquired.  “That wasn’t very much rest.”
  229.67 +He’d been about to try and stand but turned his head swiftly at the sound.  A woman in priestess robes smiled sweetly under his stare but didn’t say anything else, extinguishing the flame on a stick of incense in her hand.  She arranged it in a small urn and placed it before an idol, either not noticing or ignoring his panic.
  229.68 +“I fell asleep?” he anguished, furious with himself.  How could he have been so weak?
  229.69 +“Fainted is more like it.  Almost on the steps of the shrine.”
  229.70 +“How long ago?”
  229.71 +“A few hours before sunset, I’d say.  Not very long.”  
  229.72 +Not very long?  How could she say that so calmly, when every minute only meant a greater distance between him and Sakura?
  229.73 +“So much time,” he groaned, and staggered to his feet.  The floor was scattered with cushions of various shapes and colors, several of which had been pushed together to create something of a bed for him, but he trod over them impatiently in his mindless drive to get back to that road, get back to his pursuit of Sakura.  
  229.74 +“A caravan departs Clearwater in the morning for Terriene,” the priestess pointed out, but he shook his head.
  229.75 +“I can’t wait that long.”
  229.76 +“You cannot walk faster than those on horseback, they would catch up to you tomorrow anyway,” she said smoothly.  “What is the point in suffering more than you need to?”  Touya grasped one of the porch’s pillars and hesitated, looking back.  There was a tender, understanding look in her eyes as she met his gaze.  “You’re lucky it was I who found you and not some bandit.  It might not be so next time.”
  229.77 +Touya opened his mouth to say he wouldn’t faint again, but even as he did so his vision blurred alarmingly.  Strong and healthy though he was, his body had taken all that it could and could give no more.  He needed rest.  
  229.78 +“How did you know I’m going to Terriene?” he asked suspiciously.
  229.79 +“You were on the road that leads there,” she answered practically.  “Please do sit down, your face is pale.  I’ll bring water.”
  229.80 +She disappeared through a shadowed doorway before he could say anything, and he looked from the cushions to the shrine grounds and then back again, conflicted.  It wasn’t right, he shouldn’t be taking the time to relax while Sakura was so far away and suffering god knew what.  The thought of taking one more step was unbearable, though, and her words were logical.  Frustrating as it was, there just wasn’t any point in leaving now.  
  229.81 +Feeling both relieved and guilty, Touya stumbled back to the pile and sank down into their softness gratefully.  A few were stiffer and triangular shaped, and he used these to make a backrest so he could sit up comfortably.  It made him easier if he could at least keep an eye on his foreign surroundings, though the grounds of the shrine were utterly quiet.  The blossoms that were his sister’s namesake seemed almost silver under the moonlight, a sight he hadn’t seen often since he retired rather early in the evening.  The picture brought an ache to his chest, and then throat, and his eyes burned with the threat of tears for the first time since he’d discovered she was missing.  How could anyone be so cruel?  Didn’t they understand he had nothing else?
  229.82 +At her soft footfalls Touya turned to see her emerge from the doorway with a tray in her hands.  On it was not only water but a bowl of steaming broth and some cooked greens, as he discovered when she knelt before him.  
  229.83 +Quickly he shook his head.  “No, I can’t -”
  229.84 +“You are human, you need nourishment as well as rest.  Starvation will not solve your troubles.”
  229.85 +He caught a whiff of the soup’s aroma and his stomach growled; the last thing he’d eaten had been a strip of dried meat with some bread for lunch… hours before he even knew there was anything wrong…
  229.86 +Touya clenched his fists and looked away, struggling for control.  “I can’t.”  How could he have eaten so contentedly that day, when his sister had already been tied up and carried off?  He should have felt something, he should have known that something was not right.  And now, barely outside Clearwater with still so far to go, he’d fallen asleep.  What kind of brother was he?
  229.87 +“Then you will arrive in Terriene,” she predicted, “starved and too weak to even walk.  Is that what you wish?”
  229.88 +Damn, she had a point.  Again logic warred with his conscience, and with another hungry growl he gave up.  
  229.89 +“Thank you,” he muttered, and lifted the warm bowl.  She smiled, but said nothing except to caution him against eating too fast.  It tasted wonderful and he was so hungry, but somehow he managed to pace himself.  The moon’s reflection had left the pond by the time he finished.
  229.90 +She’d left his side to rake up excess petals and stray leaves on the grounds, while he ate, and he watched her long red hair lift in the gentle breeze.  He’d never seen hair such a vibrant color, and it was a vivid contrast to her ivory skin and calm demeanor.  Strange, she’d found him collapsed in front of her shrine and brought him inside, offered him food and a place to sleep without even so much as a question.  
  229.91 +“Who are you?” he asked when she’d finished and returned to collect the tray.  “Why are you helping me like this?”
  229.92 +“My name is Kaho Mizuki and I am the shrine maiden here.  It is my duty to aid those in need.”
  229.93 +“I’m not helpless.”
  229.94 +“I didn’t say you were.  Accepting kindness does not make you weak.”  She reached for the tray and Touya realized that he’d eaten everything without even an offer of repayment.  His pride recoiled at the thought; as poor as he was he’d never accepted charity in his life.  
  229.95 +“Wait, let me pay you something for it.”  He remembered the purse of gold and patted underneath his shirt, then saw it slouched on the floor just an arm’s length away.  
  229.96 +“I don’t want that money any more than you do,” Kaho said sharply, and swept through the doorway with tray in hands.  Taken aback, Touya watched her go without even trying to argue the point.  
  229.97 +Did she know?  How could she?  But the way her eyes darkened so angrily, dropping for just a moment that placid expression, it was as if the very notion of touching that gold disgusted her like it did him.  
  229.98 +Touya stood again, not with any intention of leaving, only wanting to move his legs a little.  He was pleased to discover that the dizziness and trembling had essentially vanished; she was right, it was stupid not to eat.  He stepped off the porch and turned his face up to the night sky, comforted by the familiar stars overhead.  Soft petals scattered over him, and he inhaled the garden’s sweet scent mixed with the smoke of incense.  This place was calming, he could feel the anxiety that had been tearing away at him for so long start to subside.  Maybe things would be all right after all.
  229.99 +--
 229.100 +She appeared again with a thick and fluffy drying cloth, clean clothes, and an offer to let him bathe.  The shrine had been built around one of the springs that gave this town its name, and in the privacy of the bathouse he was able to wash free of all his accumulated grime.  It did feel strange bathing in a manmade and marble-lined pool instead of the river, and even though the water was cold it was crystal clear.  Touya thought it must be like one of those palaces in the fairy tales Sakura was so fond of, and how much she would have enjoyed this.  She would probably be dazzled by the shrine, and its priestess, and talk wistfully about how beautiful Kaho was.  
 229.101 +He swallowed the lump in his throat and dried himself off, donning the clothes she’d brought to him.  They were cheap, undyed cotton, but very soft and probably meant for sleeping in.  The clothes he’d been wearing she had taken, and when he stepped outside the bathouse he found them wet but clean, draped over her clothesline to dry overnight.  It did feel strange, to be taken care of like this, after so many years spent taking care of Sakura.  How could a world have both people like her and Sakura’s kidnappers?   
 229.102 +Touya returned to the porch where he’d woken and she materialized again, steaming cup in hands.  
 229.103 +“I’ve brewed you some tea.”
 229.104 +“Thank you,” he said quietly, and settled himself back on the cushions.  “You always go to this much trouble for the strangers on your doorstep?”
 229.105 +“It’s no trouble,” she denied, smoothing her skirt once she’d arranged herself comfortably on a cushion.  “It is my duty to aid those in need.”
 229.106 +“Yeah, you said.  But it’s more than that.”  He sipped his tea, gaze flicking back to the unwanted money on the floor.  “You know something, don’t you?”
 229.107 +At that she shrugged, an evasive look in her eyes.  “It is also my duty, at times, to know things.  I feel them more than I think them, but I know in my heart that they are true.”  She turned her head, gazing out into the cool night.  “There is a dark practice, growing here in the mountains.  Those without conscience prey on the weak, but I have never met one who fought back.  You are unusual.”  
 229.108 +Touya flushed a little, strangely pleased at the somewhat veiled compliment.  “My sister is the only family I have left, she’s… everything.  I don’t really have a choice.”
 229.109 +“Oh, there’s always a choice.  You’ll discover that soon enough.”  
 229.110 +“Hmm?”
 229.111 +“Are you finished?”  She extended her hand for the cup that he’d drained; nonplussed, he relinquished it.  “Let’s see.”  Brow creased in concentration she studied the tiny leaves plastered to the bottom, lips moving silently.  “You have a long journey before you.”
 229.112 +“I thought we both already knew that.”
 229.113 +“Not the physical kind,” she corrected, which prompted him to arch his eyebrows in confusion.  She did not elaborate, so he asked the most important question.
 229.114 +“Will I find my sister?”
 229.115 +“Oh yes,” she answered, without missing a beat.  “But that’s when the journey begins.”
 229.116 +Now what was that supposed to mean?  Touya surprised himself with a yawn, beginning to feel strangely mellow.  That tea had left a rather odd aftertaste in his mouth, come to think of it.
 229.117 +“Did you put something in that drink?”
 229.118 +“Of course.  Troubled thoughts do not let the body sleep easy.  Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to wake you before the caravan passes this way.”
 229.119 +Valiantly Touya tried to keep his eyes open but found it was difficult; lying down and drifting off seemed far more attractive.  “You’re strange…” he mumbled, and her only response was a light laugh.  
 229.120 +“So I am often told.  Sleep well, Touya.”  She moved a sitting cushion out of his way and directed him to rest his head on a softer, plusher pillow.  Her touch was pleasing and he did not fight it, but as he closed his eyes and drifted away he wondered when he’d told her his name.  
 229.121 +
 229.122 +---------------------------------------------
 229.123 +
 229.124 +There was another brief bout of disorientation, the next morning, when he opened his eyes again.  The eastern sky blushed pink and he shifted, ready to roll out of bed and head next door for the morning milking.  Then his eyes fell on the cherry tree, as pink and fluffy as the scattered clouds overhead, and he remembered.  Touya was not home, and neither was Sakura, but he was going to get her back.
 229.125 +For the first time his thoughts traveled backward instead of forward, and he wondered how his home was faring.  It was three full days now since anyone had seen him, there must be all kinds of speculation about what was happening.  Did anyone come to check on the cabin, clean out the fireplace?  Did they find his pathetic and insignificant birthday presents?
 229.126 +He swallowed and redirected his thoughts to the future.  Get to Terriene and find the Royal Crown, find Monroe, find his sister.  That was the proper order, that was how it would happen.  She would cry, but she would be all right and so happy to see him.  And then they’d come home, and one day far in the future this ordeal would be nothing but a short black mark in their lives.  Touya was looking forward to that day.
 229.127 +He heard footsteps and sat up, just before Kaho appeared with another tray in her hands.  This time it was a steaming cup of tea, bread with a slab of white cheese on top, and what must have been one of the first spring peaches.  They weren’t ripening yet back home, but here at a lower elevation they’d already come to fruition.  
 229.128 +He sniffed the tea warily, and she smiled.  “There’s nothing in it but peppermint and a little honey,” she assured him.  “It will energize you.  I’ll just go fetch your clothes, I’m sure the other travelers won’t be long.”
 229.129 +She departed as quietly as she’d arrived and he consumed his breakfast, both tea and bread.  The peach he saved, in Pierce’s purse, for later.  He splashed his face and rinsed his mouth out with fresh water, and changed when she returned with his clothing.  He could feel his goal settling itself within him, calm and purposeful compared to his earlier frantic desperation.  She’d done that, he knew, her and the tranquil shrine.  She might have saved his life.  
 229.130 +The sun rose over the trees, molten gold and pink.  Under the archway of the shrine they waited without speaking, and he watched her hair light up like strands of fire in its light.  She was beautiful, heartstoppingly beautiful in a way he once thought only his mother and sister could be.  Entranced, he watched her raise her arm to flag the attention of the oncoming caravan.  They slowed and she turned, that hint of a smile on her lips and in her eyes.  He wanted to kiss her.  It would have been his first.
 229.131 +But somehow, there was a distance between them.  It was partly worry for Sakura, and partly something about her manner.  Even kind as her eyes were there was a reserve about her, and he held back.  
 229.132 +“Thank you,” he said again.  
 229.133 +“It was nothing.”  
 229.134 +“When I’ve found my sister, and we’re on our way back, I’ll come see you again.”  As soon as he said it he realized what a good idea it was.  It would be better, to be with Kaho once he didn’t have to worry about Sakura anymore.  
 229.135 +The lead wagon in the small party slowed, horse’s hooves beating at the dirt beneath.  Kaho smiled politely, but did not reply.  Something lurked in her eyes, like she knew it would never be.  
 229.136 +“Your ride is here,” is what she finally said.  “Good luck on your journey.”  
 229.137 +He didn’t say thank you again, it wasn’t needed.  He raised a hand in farewell and approached the driver; quickly bargained a lift in exchange for three gold coins.  By the time he’d climbed up onto the hard bench beside him and turned, she was gone.  
 229.138 +
 229.139 +-----
 229.140 +
 229.141 +Sakura giggled uncertainly, groping blindly in the darkness, and took a step forward.
 229.142 +“Nope,” Tomoyo teased, “getting colder.”  Quickly Sakura turned to the sound of her voice and tried to reach out, but found only empty space.
 229.143 +“Ooh, that was close.  Almost there.”
 229.144 +“Tomoyo, you’re moving too fast!  I can’t find you!”
 229.145 +“Silly, that’s the point of the game.”
 229.146 +Sakura laughed again and edged forward, waving her arms in an attempt to make contact.  She thought it was an odd game, especially since Tomoyo had her take off her robe beforehand, but fun nonetheless.  By happy chance Sakura brushed a warm body and she shrieked victoriously.  
 229.147 +“I’ve got you!”  Tomoyo laughed and made a pretense of tugging away, but Sakura wouldn’t let go and they ended up falling in a tangle on the bed.  “I won, I found you.  Can I take off the blindfold now?”
 229.148 +“Yes, Sakura, you may.  And since you’re a such a good girl for asking first, you get another treat.”  Sakura tugged off the short black sash, eyes sparkling with delight, and opened her mouth.  Earlier Tomoyo had discovered Sakura had never tasted chocolate, and promptly went out to purchase a box.  The creamy sweet flavor was like heaven in her mouth, and Sakura was doing everything she could to please Tomoyo in hopes of another bite.
 229.149 +Tenderly Tomoyo inserted the delectable square, her fingers sliding out from Sakura’s lips when they closed.  
 229.150 +“Mmm.”
 229.151 +“Indeed,” Tomoyo agreed, though she wasn’t eating.  Fondly she rearranged Sakura’s mussed hair and then let her hands fall, stroking her fingertips lightly over her flesh.  Sakura was getting used to the sensation now, though it still made her squirm.
 229.152 +“But why a blindfold, Tomoyo?  Why cover my eyes?”
 229.153 +“Er, well, sometimes that’s a game that masters like to play with their slaves.  There’s a lot of different games to play, really, but everyone has their favorites.”
 229.154 +Sakura lost her smile.  She liked Tomoyo, she was a very kind and sweet girl.  But every time she mentioned the words ‘master’ and ‘slave’ a fresh burst of anxiety bloomed inside her.  She tried to cover it, not wanting Tomoyo to worry for her, but each time the feeling of dread pressed heavier on her heart.  
 229.155 +“Sometimes,” Tomoyo added delicately, “he may like to cover your eyes and tie your hands to the bed.”
 229.156 +“What?  But how is that a game?”
 229.157 +“Ah, it is for him.  Don’t worry, Sakura, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
 229.158 +Something in Sakura twinged uncomfortably.  “I still don’t think it sounds very nice.”  She could imagine what her brother would have to say if he could hear all this.  “I’m sure it isn’t right.”  
 229.159 +Tomoyo looked pained at her declaration.  “Sakura, we talked about this yesterday.  It is not your place to say such things, if you do so you will make your master angry.  Is that what you want?”
 229.160 +“I want to go home.”  
 229.161 +“Oh, Sakura, I wish you could.  I really do.  But you can’t, and you’re here now, and if you try to resist your master you could get hurt.  Don’t you understand that?”
 229.162 +A few tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks, and Tomoyo dabbed at her face with the sleeve of her robe.  “Please, Sakura, I know it scares you, but you just can’t keep crying like this.  It’s not helping anything.”  Embarrassed, Sakura tried to sniffle them back.  She’d never thought of herself as a crybaby.  “You’ll find out soon enough; it’s really not bad at all.  Trust me, most slaves are treated very well.  Females, anyway.”
 229.163 +That last part actually surprised Sakura out of her tears, and she looked up.  “Females?  You mean… there are boy slaves too?”
 229.164 +“Yes.  Silken Flowers doesn’t deal in them, but there is a market.”
 229.165 +“Do women buy them?”
 229.166 +Tomoyo had only been speaking absently, busy wiping at Sakura’s face, but at Sakura’s question seemed to become aware of herself.  She also seemed distinctly uncomfortable.
 229.167 +“Er, not exactly.  Some men like to buy male slaves instead of female slaves.”
 229.168 +“But why?  They can’t…”  She watched Tomoyo’s eyes skitter away to some corner of the room, looking more and more like she regretted starting this conversation.  “Can they?”
 229.169 +“It’s all right, Sakura, it’s got nothing to do with you.  Come tomorrow, a very rich man will buy you and take you to his home, and dress you in more jewels and fancy gowns than you’ll know what to do with.  Just be the sweet, polite girl that I know you are and he’ll be very happy.  Everything will be all right.”
 229.170 +And she would never see her home or her brother again.  Sakura closed her eyes and rested her head on Tomoyo’s shoulder, who embraced her gently and began to hum.  
 229.171 +Everything will be all right.  Sakura clung to that promise in spite of her better judgement, wishing away all her dark fears.  Tomorrow she was to be sold… and everything would be all right.
 229.172 +
 229.173 +-----------------------------------
 229.174 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 229.175 \ No newline at end of file

   230.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   230.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_psla-ch6.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   230.3 @@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
   230.4 +Pleasure Slave
   230.5 +
   230.6 +By Capitalist
   230.7 +peacewish@hotmail.com
   230.8 +
   230.9 +Chapter 6
  230.10 +‘auction’
  230.11 +
  230.12 +
  230.13 +Through the thin gap of the curtain Sakura watched men filtering into the garden, a knot of panic hardening in her stomach.  One of those men, they were going to buy her and take her away to yet another strange place, tell her she was a slave and that she must do as he said.  
  230.14 +Her lungs hurt and she could hear her own wheezing breath, becoming more frantic with every inhalation.    
  230.15 +“Sakura?  Sakura, are you all right?”
  230.16 +Tomoyo’s familiar hand cupped her gently on the shoulder, and turned her to get a better look at her face.  
  230.17 +“Tomoyo, please… I don’t want to.  I’m scared, don’t make me do this.”
  230.18 +“Shh.  Sakura, your face is white.  You must take a deep breath.  With me, now.”  A firm hand on each of her shoulders, Tomoyo inhaled deeply and Sakura mimicked her best as she could.  “Believe me, Sakura, if I had the choice I wouldn’t make you do this.  But there isn’t anything I can do about it, Jereth says he has to sell you today.”  
  230.19 +Her face blurred slightly and Sakura heard a disapproving cluck of the tongue.  “For goodness sake, don’t start crying now.  It will make your face all red and blotchy.”  She pressed a handkerchief to Sakura’s burning eyes and dabbed at the tears, wiping them away.  
  230.20 +“Tomoyo, are you going to hold her hand and take her out there yourself?” someone sneered, and both girls looked up to see Melara and the other slaves gathered at the other end of the curtain.  They all giggled and Tomoyo shot them a glare before turning back to Sakura.  
  230.21 +“Pay no attention to her, Sakura, I know you can do this.  All you have to do is walk out onto the platform, and stand straight.  It would be nice if you smile, but you don’t have to.  But you definitely can’t cry.”  
  230.22 +Tomoyo’s hands were absentmindedly combing through Sakura’s hair as she spoke, arranging the short strands around her face.  “If Jereth wants you to turn around, he’ll prompt you.  And when he says so, you have to take off your robe.”
  230.23 +The knot convulsed and Sakura clutched at her short satin robe, petrified.  “Sakura, you have to.”  Tomoyo’s eyes were anxious as she leaned in closer and cupped her face.  “If you hesitate, or refuse, it will look so bad for Jereth and the company.  If you’re not sold, which you probably wouldn’t be, he’ll beat you.  I won’t be able to stop him.  Promise that you will take your robe off when he tells you to.”  
  230.24 +The look in her eyes was so fearful, almost as terrified as Sakura felt.  Numbly Sakura nodded, and Tomoyo sighed with relief.  Outside in the garden, she could hear Tomoyo’s owner greeting the arrivals, his voice loud and cheerful in contrast to Sakura’s growing panic.  
  230.25 +“It won’t be long now, when he’s done talking to the bidders it’ll be time for you to go out.”
  230.26 +“Me?” Sakura squeaked.  “You mean I’m first?”
  230.27 +“Virgins always are.  The man that pays the most money for you will be your new owner, so when he leaves the garden follow him.  You can put your robe back on then.  Don’t forget what we talked about; you must always do as he says without question, and if you are obedient then everything will be fine.  Remember that you must call him ‘master’, unless he gives you permission otherwise.”
  230.28 +Tomoyo was adjusting the pale pink robe as she spoke, retying the sash and making sure the sleeves fell just right.  At the last moment, she leaned in and pressed a soft comforting kiss to Sakura’s lips.  “It’ll be fine, Sakura.  You’ll see.”
  230.29 +She smiled kindly, and for a brief moment Sakura forgot her terror.  Tomoyo had done so much for her, these past couple days; even innocent as she was, Sakura sensed this could have been far worse.
  230.30 +“You’ve been so nice, Tomoyo.  I’m very grateful.”  
  230.31 +Something that looked like guilt flashed through Tomoyo’s violet eyes, and she looked down.  “I’m glad I could help, Sakura.  But I haven’t really done that much.”
  230.32 +“Will I ever see you again?”
  230.33 +“I very much hope so.  If your master allows you out of the house, you can come and visit me whenever you like.”
  230.34 +Her heart stammered an unsteady staccato in her chest and Sakura’s panic returned.  “If he allows me out of the house?”
  230.35 +“Or, if not, I’ll try to come visit you.”  She turned slightly to the gap in the curtain, listening to Jereth.
  230.36 +“… allow me to present the girls you have come to see…”
  230.37 +“Oh, he’s starting.  This is your cue.”
  230.38 +She placed her hands on Sakura’s waist and steered her closer.  The curtain had become a gate to the edge of Sakura’s world, she would step through and fall off the brink, everything she knew left far, far behind.  Mellow spring days spent gathering flowers, cozy winter nights reading with her brother by the fire… all gone.  When she stepped through the curtain, her whole life would be swept away.  
  230.39 +“… we begin with this one.”
  230.40 +“This is it!  Good luck.”  Tomoyo kissed her quickly on the cheek and nudged her through, and Sakura froze.  The rapid push from shadows to sunlight left her blinded, and for one second her world was nothing but the sound of her own frantic heartbeat.  
  230.41 +“The only virgin on the block today, gentlemen, so take a good look.”  Her pupils contracted and her surroundings came into focus again, for the first time in what felt like forever she could see the sky.  But she could hardly appreciate that right now, not with the cluster of men seated on velvet-cushioned chairs and staring at her.  To her right, the man that was Tomoyo’s owner turned his head slightly and motioned impatiently.  He wanted her to walk to the center of the platform.  She had to do it.  She must obey, or she would be hurt.  
  230.42 +Stiffly she took a couple steps to her left, risking a glance at the crowd.  The hunger in their eyes made her quail, and she dropped her eyes again.  Muscles between her legs clenched, and she was struck by the horrifying thought that she might actually urinate on herself in front of all these strangers, she was so terrified.  That couldn’t happen, she wouldn’t let it happen.  Willfully she forced herself to take another deep breath.  
  230.43 +“This fresh young beauty from the mountains is as pure as the country air, skin soft as flower petals.  She’s never known a man’s touch, but is eager to please and willing to learn.  Will you be the first to take her?”
  230.44 +Sakura flushed with humiliation, never had she felt so much like a thing in her entire life.  Jereth cleared his throat slightly and she looked up.  He was looking at her meaningfully and motioning with his hand, indicating the robe wrapped around her body.  
  230.45 +The time had come to undress herself.  
  230.46 +Watching from behind the curtain, Tomoyo bit her lip anxiously.  Sakura hadn’t moved and was still staring frozenly at Jereth, looking as if she might faint at any moment.  
  230.47 +“Please, Sakura,” she whispered.  “Please do it.”
  230.48 +Slowly, fingers trembling, Sakura took one end of the sash and pulled it out.  The robe loosened but that wasn’t enough, she had to take it completely off.  Bare herself to all these staring strangers.  She couldn’t do it.
  230.49 +“Please,” Tomoyo begged, fear blossoming inside her that Sakura might actually balk.  Everything would be ruined.
  230.50 +She would be beaten if she didn’t do it.  Tomoyo had made her promise to do it, out of fear for Sakura’s own wellbeing.  She had to do it.  Bracing herself, Sakura grasped the lapels of her robe and pulled them apart, letting the soft satin fall away from her shoulders.  The most expensive and beautiful thing she’d ever worn hit the wooden platform with a soft sigh that seemed to echo forever in her ears.  She’d done it, and now everyone could see.
  230.51 +A chorus of ‘ahh’s rippled through the garden, provoking another blush from her.  
  230.52 +“Isn’t she lovely?  Long legs and trim waist, and notice her high young breasts.  Only fifteen years old, gentlemen, she’ll keep for a good long time.  Be the one to take this delicate prize home, I open the bid at twenty gold nobles.”
  230.53 +That last part almost shocked Sakura out of her embarrassment.  Although Tomoyo had spoken often of her sale, it hadn’t really occurred to Sakura how much someone would want to pay for her.  She’d never seen more than ten gold coins together in her life.  
  230.54 +“Twenty,” someone answered casually.
  230.55 +“Twenty-five.”  
  230.56 +“Thirty!”
  230.57 +Stunned, Sakura tried to follow the source of each bid but they were coming too quickly to keep up.  Tomoyo had told her not to stare at any one man, but Sakura couldn’t help scanning the crowd furtively.  Most of them seemed to be in their thirties or forties, richly dressed and prosperous looking.  As old as her own father, before he died, and that thought made her shiver.  None of them looked especially kind.
  230.58 +“Forty.”  The newest bid came from a seat almost directly in front of her, where a young man was whispering into the ear of the one who’d spoken.  Perhaps he wanted to buy her for his son?  The younger man looked up and their eyes met; casually he ran his tongue over his teeth and grinned.  There was something extremely malicious about his stare, and like a rabbit under the thrall of a fox Sakura returned it helplessly.  
  230.59 +“Fifty!” someone else insisted, and she looked away quickly.  This man was the same age as the rest, his neatly trimmed black beard peppered with silver.  He was incredibly muscular, even more so than her brother, built strong and wide like a brick well.  It seemed he would break her if he so much as touched her.
  230.60 +“Sixty,” the father answered.
  230.61 +“Seventy.”
  230.62 +The rest of the men had fallen quiet, it had come to a duel between these two.  Amazed, Tomoyo heard them take it to eighty and then ninety.  A hundred and ten was the most a slave had ever been sold for here, as far as she knew, and that had been for a trained masseuse and dancer.  Virgins rarely went past sixty, but it seemed Jereth had been correct in his prediction.  
  230.63 +“One hundred,” the father countered, with a hint of a dare in his voice.  The bearded man hesitated, looking over Sakura again as if debating whether she was actually worth it.  Not sure whether she wanted him to win or lose, she looked from him to the son again.  His smile grew bigger as the silence dragged on, his dark and cruel eyes pinning her to the platform where she stood.  
  230.64 +“One hundred gold pieces,” Jereth finally said when the bearded man shook his head.  “Going at one hundred then, once, twi -”
  230.65 +“One hundred ten,” someone interrupted.  Startled, Sakura looked up, and most of the crowd turned in their chairs to look.  A new arrival stood before the gate, astonishingly young compared to all the others.  He wore no rich clothing, but rough brown pants and a cheap cotton shirt, the kind of clothing Sakura was accustomed to seeing in her home village.  Unkept brown hair fell messily over his eyes and she didn’t even have time to glimpse them before he looked away from her to face Jereth.  
  230.66 +The auctioneer looked no less astonished than she felt, but when the new arrival raised his eyebrows he seemed to collect himself.
  230.67 +“Er, one hundred ten then.  Going once -”
  230.68 +“One hundred twenty,” the father snapped, looking affronted at this turn of events.  Tomoyo gasped, as did most of the crowd.  
  230.69 +“One hundred thirty,” the young man replied without pause, sounding bored.  Sakura could hardly believe her ears.  One hundred and thirty pieces of gold was like a fabulous fantasy treasure, an impossible amount for anyone to ever possess.  Surely this man couldn’t be ready to exchange so much for her.  
  230.70 +The father didn’t seem to think so either, and stared aghast.  His son hissed something, and he stiffened his back.  
  230.71 +“One hundred and fifty!”  Tomoyo reeled, gripping the edge of the doorway frame to steady herself.  Never in her life had she heard of someone selling for so much, she doubted even she herself would fetch such a price.  But it seemed taking Sakura home had become an issue of pride for the gentleman in front.  The young man heaved an exasperated sigh and strode past the rows of chairs, stopping just in front of Jereth.  He didn’t even glance at Sakura.  
  230.72 +“Is this going to take all day, or what?  Two hundred.”
  230.73 +Sakura clapped her hands over her mouth, feeling dizzy.  The men in the crowd were in uproar, murmuring among themselves, and Jereth’s mouth hung wide open.  The father stared numbly, but even his son’s pleading tug on his arm could not prevail.  When the newcomer threw a daring look his way, he shook his head.  
  230.74 +Two hundred… Tomoyo watched Jereth recite the final bid and then bang his gavel on the small podium.  He’d be doing cartwheels tonight, that was for sure.  But who was this stranger, who could carelessly toss out so much money?  She was sure she knew all the big spenders in the city, and this scruffy looking man was nobody she recognized.  Looking indifferent to all the excitement he’d caused, he withdrew a small rolled parchment from the bag slung over his shoulder and tossed it to Jereth.  She couldn’t see the seal that had been stamped on it, but Jereth obviously recognized it and nodded.  
  230.75 +“Silken Flowers thanks you for your business,” he said dazedly.  “Please enjoy her.”  
  230.76 +“Yeah, sure.”  He turned on his heels, waving impatiently for Sakura to follow.  The newly purchased slave was still staring wide-eyed, but at the curt reminder came back to earth.  This man was her owner now, and she was expected to go with him.  She couldn’t even say goodbye to Tomoyo.
  230.77 +Helplessly she glanced back at the edge of the curtain, and saw Tomoyo peeking out.  Her eyes looked as though they might be glistening, at little, but she smiled encouragingly and blew Sakura a kiss.
  230.78 +Be a good girl, Sakura could hear her saying in her mind.  Just do what he asks and you’ll be all right.
  230.79 +Somehow controlling the urge to cry, Sakura snatched her robe and scurried after her buyer.  He was already out of the gate by the time she caught up, gratefully retying the robe over her body.  
  230.80 +“Today, if you don’t mind,” he said over his shoulder, untying his rather dusty horse from a post.  
  230.81 +“I’m very sorry, master,” Sakura answered carefully, doing her best to follow Tomoyo’s instructions.  She didn’t want him to get angry with her.  
  230.82 +He turned to look at her then, and she could finally see his eyes properly.  They were dark brown and fierce, not at all kind, and there was something rather sardonic in his gaze.  
  230.83 +“The name’s Li,” he informed her, his tone clipped and terse, “call me that.”  
  230.84 +“Oh.”  She blinked, rather taken aback.  Somehow she hadn’t expected permission to be granted so quickly.  Or gruffly.  
  230.85 +“Now let’s get moving.  I want to get home.”  He gestured for her to mount his horse, but Sakura didn’t move.  She’d never ridden a horse in her life; few in her village owned them.  And the thought of her exposed body rubbing against that grimy saddle was very unappealing.  
  230.86 +“Um -”
  230.87 +“What?” he snapped, and Sakura cringed.  Timidly she tugged on the hem of her short robe.  
  230.88 +“I don’t think I can ride, like this.”  
  230.89 +He regarded her blankly for a moment, as he tried to follow her meaning, then comprehension filtered through.  
  230.90 +“Oh.  Damn it.”  She’d never heard anyone swear before, and she turned pink.  He didn’t seem to notice or care, and turned to rifle through his horse’s saddlebag.  “Fucking ridiculous, the things I have to do…”  
  230.91 +As Sakura stared, he unearthed a rolled up shirt and pants, similar to the ones he wore but crumpled and even grimier.  “Here.  Put these on, and be quick about it.”
  230.92 +He practically shoved them into Sakura’s arms, then turned his attention to his horse.  She didn’t know if he was trying to grant her a little privacy, or simply didn’t care, but either way she was grateful for his diverted attention.  And even if the clothes were a little dirty, not to mention big for her, it felt wonderful to have real clothing at last.  She tied the drawstrings as tightly as she could around her waist, then turned around to shed the robe and pull on his shirt.    
  230.93 +“Thank you.”
  230.94 +“Whatever.”  He stuffed the satin robe in his saddlebag and directed her to place her left foot in the stirrup.  Without even grunting, he pushed her up and onto the horse’s back.  It hadn’t looked especially big, but Sakura was surprised at how high up she felt once astride.  He swung up into the saddle behind her, and she was quickly distracted by his extreme closeness.  Outside of her own family, no man had ever been so near.  
  230.95 +He reached around her for the reigns, and clucked softly.  Immediately the horse started moving, and Sakura was taken by surprise at the unexpected motion.  She fell back against his chest with a small cry, impatiently he propped her upright again.  
  230.96 +“For gods’ sake, don’t fall off.  Haven’t you ever ridden a horse before?”
  230.97 +She was glad he couldn’t see her face, sure she was scarlet.  “No.”
  230.98 +“U-huh.  Well, you’d be a lot better off holding onto the saddle horn instead of my leg.”  Sakura looked down and almost fainted when she realized that she had indeed gripped his thigh in the moment of imbalance, and was still holding on for dear life.  She couldn’t yank it away fast enough, and clutched at the knob of leather in front of her that she assumed he’d meant.  
  230.99 +“Sorry!”  
 230.100 +He grunted, which she took to mean that it didn’t really matter, and that she should forget about it, and that he was not in the mood for any more conversation.  Happy to oblige, she concentrated on keeping her balance and staring at the surroundings as they passed.  
 230.101 +She was in Terriene, the great city at the foot of the Paluwit mountains.  Built on the banks of the flowing Balta, it was so prosperous and so big that it sprawled all along the river from the foothills well toward the coast, where the smaller city of Port Corryn was growing to meet it.  All this she knew from reading her father’s books, which had at one point come from here, but printed words on a page couldn’t compare to seeing it all for herself.  Though she’d occasionally daydreamed about visiting this mythical, fantasy city, never had she really thought it might happen.  That she was here, riding through it on horseback, seemed too impossible to believe.
 230.102 +There were people everywhere; Sakura never knew there were so many people in the world.  Children darted through the crowds, sneaking their fingers into purses and pockets, grinning like little devils.  Women shouted demands to buy their products, from woven scarves to dead fish to bouquets of colorful flowers.  Through large glass windows that must have been very expensive, Sakura could glimpse the richer products available in shops: dresses sewn like clouds of silk from the waist down, sparkling jewelry that she thought must be fit only for royalty.  
 230.103 +Though she stared round-eyed at everything and everyone, few in the crowd paid her any attention.  Those that looked long enough squinted curiously at Sakura’s clothing, but other than that she was uninteresting, a profound relief to the shy slave.  She’d more than had her fill of strangers staring at her.  Even the white collar was more or less hidden by the collar of Li’s shirt.
 230.104 +Slave.  Collar.  She reached up and felt it, that soft strip of leather around her neck that declared her a prisoner forever.  She still didn’t understand exactly what was going to happen, in spite of Tomoyo’s illustrations, and the thought of it left her terrified.  She didn’t want it, wasn’t ready for it, and only wanted to go home.  
 230.105 +What if she tried?  Here in the bustling streets, with people everywhere, could she hide if she tried to run right now?  It was the best time, surely, before they even reached Li’s home.  With this plain clothing she could blend in, and even if she didn’t know exactly where to go she could at least see the mountains.  She knew what direction home lay.
 230.106 +Her breath quickened at the bold thoughts running through her mind.  Tomoyo had never mentioned what the penalty was for attempting to escape, but Sakura could imagine just how harsh it would be.  Still, it was better to at least try for freedom, wasn’t it?
 230.107 +She shifted slightly in her seat and realized Li’s arms were still around her, guiding his horse through the busy streets.  She’d already felt his hard muscles, sitting so close to him in the saddle, it was obvious how strong he was.  It would be impossible to push free, and exit the saddle quickly, and somehow figure out how to land on her feet when she’d never dismounted a horse before.  Escape was not possible.
 230.108 +She was disappointed and relieved at the same time, to have the decision taken out of her hands.  Maybe in a little while a chance might present itself; she’d consider it again then.  
 230.109 +They continued through the city, for what seemed like forever to Sakura.  Terriene was gigantic, it must be twenty times the size of her own village.  The riot of noise and smells faded away eventually, and she could see that the homes and shops were becoming richer.  She kept expecting Li to turn off into one of the smaller streets but he did not, and even from on horseback she could see they were moving up an incline.  Foothills cradled the city on all sides except the western, coastal facing side, they must be making their way up the slope of one.  
 230.110 +“Hold on,” Li instructed briskly, startling her after so much silence.  She hardly had the chance to tighten her grip on the saddle horn before he kicked lightly and spurred his horse into a light run.  Sakura was very nearly tossed out of the saddle and yelped, completely at a loss as to how to sit properly on a cantering horse.  Li muttered an oath and wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding her close to his body.
 230.111 +“Relax, already.  All you have to do is keep count.  You can count to three, can’t you?”
 230.112 +Sakura was too busy trying to control her stomach to feel insulted, and nodded.  “Good.  One, two, three, one, two, three…”  Every count corresponded to a hoofbeat on the stones and she realized she could feel the horse’s muscles moving rhythmically underneath her, in a motion that now seemed very smooth and steady.  She busied herself keeping count and trying to move with the horse, and it wasn’t for some while that she realized Li was still holding onto her.  She could feel his muscles contracting against her body, his deep and even breathing just behind her ear, and most disturbingly his groin pressing against her behind.  It was not so very different from one of the positions Tomoyo had demonstrated the day before.  
 230.113 +Sakura shut her eyes and whimpered a little.  
 230.114 +They rode on for seeming ages, and the cobbled stones gave way to a hard-packed dirt road.  Houses became further apart and shops disappeared altogether, and soon Sakura could see no buildings at all.  Her spirit lifted at the familiar sight of trees and wildflowers, birds trilling their morning songs.
 230.115 +“You live in the country?”
 230.116 +“More or less.  Whoa.”  The horse slowed at his slight tug on the reins and they turned off the path, wending through a few trees until they came upon a shallow creek.  “Off,” he directed.  “She needs a drink.”  
 230.117 +Sakura shifted awkwardly in the saddle, trying to figure out how to get one leg over to the other side and then slide off without catching her pants on anything.  It really was a good thing she hadn’t tried to jump off in the city, most likely she would have fallen flat on her face.  
 230.118 +Li dismounted in half a second and gripped her waist, paying no attention to her squeak of surprise as he pulled her off the horse and deposited her on the grass.  
 230.119 +Never mind.  Now they were free of the alien city, Sakura felt much more at ease.  She knew the woods, knew what could be eaten and what couldn’t and what predators to watch for.  Any other slave might feel trapped here in the wilderness, but to Sakura it was like a promise of freedom.  If she waited for the right opportunity to escape, she knew she could find her way back home.
 230.120 +Not right now, though.  She’d never be able to get away fast enough when Li had a horse, and these woods weren’t thick enough for hiding.  So instead she settled for kneeling at the water’s edge and cupping her hands, enjoying a drink of the cold clear water like the horse was.  When she’d finished, she sat back in the grass with a sigh.
 230.121 +Li was staring at her strangely, as if she’d just done something very peculiar.  It made her flush and she hugged her knees to her chest.
 230.122 +“What?”
 230.123 +“I have a waterbag if you’re thirsty,” he pointed out, indicating the stoppered canteen hanging from his horse’s saddle.  
 230.124 +Did he think it so backwards that she drank directly from the creek?  Sakura hadn’t even thought about it.  “Oh, er, thank you.  This is fine.”  
 230.125 +He shrugged and snorted.  “Good grief, what rock did they find you under?”  
 230.126 +“I come from the mountains,” she answered softly, wondering if she had any cause to be embarrassed about her poor upbringing.  Now that she’d glimpsed what a truly rich lifestyle was like, she could see how many would think her house a shabby shack.  But it was still home to her, still the place she belonged.  
 230.127 +He only grunted again, apparently not caring enough to continue the conversation.  He was pacing along the bank as they spoke, swinging his arms, probably trying to loosen his muscles.  He paid no attention to her, and though she was grateful for it she was also a little puzzled.  Given all of Tomoyo’s lectures and the stares of her other would-be buyers, she’d expected him to be a little more demanding.  
 230.128 +Someone did demand affection right then, and Sakura almost jumped when his horse bumped her nose against Sakura’s arm.  For a moment she thought the mare would bite her, but when she didn’t move the horse only nudged her again.  She was a pretty horse, dark chestnut like her owner’s hair with a white star on her forehead.  Sakura had never pet a horse before, but she raised a hand and stroked her long nose, surprised at how velvety soft it was.  The horse seemed to enjoy it too, pressing into her touch and snorting every time Sakura pulled away.  After a while she raised her other hand to tease and tickle her ears.  It had been some while since she pet an animal and Sakura could feel herself relaxing with every stroke, unaware that she was smiling.
 230.129 +It was only after several minutes had passed that she remembered they weren’t alone, and she thought to look for Li.  He was standing on the edge of the bank several steps away and staring at her again, in disbelief.  Quickly Sakura withdrew her hands.  
 230.130 +“I’m sorry!  I should have asked.”  She ducked her head apologetically, but he said nothing.  “She’s a lovely horse.  What’s her name?”
 230.131 +“Spirit,” he answered, still looking at her rather oddly.  “And she doesn’t like it when strangers touch her.”
 230.132 +“Oh.”  Spirit bumped impatiently against her shoulder, eloquently refuting his statement, and Sakura shrugged abashedly.  “I’m sorry, it’s just that she asked me to, and -”
 230.133 +“Asked you to?”
 230.134 +Sakura cringed, wishing she could take that back.  Her brother and the others in her village never questioned the attraction animals seemed to hold for her, and Sakura had always taken for granted the benign stray cats and dogs gathered at their porch by dinnertime.  To her it really did seem that they asked for her attentions, but she hadn’t meant to say it.  Li must think her mad.
 230.135 +She mumbled another apology, and flinched when he closed the distance between them in long, quick strides.  He didn’t touch her, however, and only took Spirit’s bridle in his hand.
 230.136 +“She’s had enough.  Let’s go.”  
 230.137 +Once again he hoisted her into the saddle and settled himself behind her.  When they returned to the path and he prodded his horse into a canter again, he did not move to hold her steady.  Evidently he felt she could handle it on her own this time, and Sakura was rather pleased to find he was right.  
 230.138 +The slope grew even steeper, the trees closer together, and the sun climbed directly overhead.  She hadn’t slept very well the night before, too anxious about the coming auction, and the steady beat of hooves on the path were lulling Sakura into drowsiness.  It seemed to her that Li must live in the middle of nowhere.  A nice country house, perhaps, like the richest family’s home in her village.  Imagination mixed with memories, and she dreamed that she was being taken back to Eagle’s Path.  Her brother would surely scold her for making him worry, but he would be relieved too.  He would hug her and hug her, he was so very strong…
 230.139 +The arms around her jostled her slightly.  “Wake up.  We’re here.”  
 230.140 +Sakura started, and Li had to catch her before she fell off the horse.  Disoriented, she had to reconstruct the memory of where she was and what was going on, blinking away sleep.  
 230.141 +And then she turned her face up and got the shock of her life.  Spirit had slowed to a walk and was approaching what was no simple country house, not even a grand one.  It was a castle, pure and simple, right out of the pictures of her favorite fairy tales.  From this position, a high outer wall concealed most of it, but if she tilted her chin up she could see the main building reaching up into the sky, a few towers soaring even higher.  To Sakura’s awestruck gaze, it seemed to climb forever.
 230.142 +She pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t still asleep.
 230.143 +“This is where you live?”
 230.144 +“Mm.”  He uttered a piercing whistle, prompting Sakura to clap her hands over her ears, and a face appeared over the wall.  “Jensen!  Open up!”
 230.145 +The other man grinned and waved.  “Welcome back, Li!”  Then he ducked out of sight again.  Something groaned and creaked, and the large iron gates that barred their way swung outward, revealing a courtyard within.  The path turned slightly here and Sakura was able to look back over her shoulder, just in time to see Terriene sprawled out far beneath them.  She hadn’t realized how high they’d climbed; this must be the very crest of the hill.  Li guided Spirit through the short arch and dismounted, this time dragging Sakura off the saddle before she had a chance to almost fall off again.  The massive gates creaked again and she couldn’t help but stare, watching as the panoramic mountain range and her home was cut off from her sight.  All her hopes of escape disappeared with the view; this place was nothing less than a fortress.  They slammed shut with a bang, and she winced.  
 230.146 +“Li, good to see you.  We were expecting you hours ago, what happened?”
 230.147 +“Got held up.”  He nodded his head briefly at Sakura, and the man who’d opened the gate eyed her curiously.  
 230.148 +“Uh-huh.  You want me to take Spirit back?”
 230.149 +“No, I’ll do it, she needs a good rub-down.  Just as soon as I figure out what I’m supposed to do with her.”
 230.150 +The watchman snickered.  “She probably needs a rub-down too.”
 230.151 +Sakura flushed and looked at the ground, hoping that didn’t mean what she thought it meant.  The man chuckled, but Li didn’t.  He only took her arm and started walking, steering her across the cobbled courtyard and toward the nearest building entrance that she could see.  He walked very fast and she had to take rapid steps to keep up, tripping on an uneven stone in her haste.
 230.152 +He grunted impatiently at her squeal, maintaining his grip so that she didn’t fall.  “C’mon, I’ve wasted enough time on you as it is.  Let’s find out where he wants you to go.”
 230.153 +He pushed open a pair of double doors and they entered the castle itself, Sakura blinking to catch up with the rapid shift in light.  None of Li’s words were making sense, and she stared blankly at the walls as they walked past, trying to understand.  He dragged her down one corridor and then turned into another, finally emerging in a rather large open area.  It wasn’t so much a room as a place where corridors intersected with a stairwell, and Sakura stared open-mouthed at the beauty around her.  The floor was made purely from marble, of the faintest light blue and cream, and so highly polished she could see her own reflection underneath her.  The walls weren’t built from individual bricks but from one solid material that she couldn’t identify.  It too was cream, and in the light of a vast window over their heads the whole area seemed as open as if it were outdoors.  
 230.154 +“Is that the slave?” someone asked, bringing her back to reality.  Li nodded.
 230.155 +“Yes, and could you please tell Ralen to get his ass down here and collect her?  I’ve got other things to be doing.”
 230.156 +The young man, considerably better dressed and groomed than Li, smiled humorlessly.  “You needn’t fret, captain, he’s already heard.  I’m sure he’ll be here momentarily.”
 230.157 +“Can’t wait.”
 230.158 +Sakura tried to process this and came to a surprising conclusion.  “You mean – you’re not my owner?”
 230.159 +Another withering look on his part said that she should have figured this out a long time ago, and he rolled his eyes.  “No, I’m not.”
 230.160 +He hadn’t released his grip on her upper arm, and it tightened a little when a handful of people trooped noisily around the bend in the marble stairwell, led by a tall blonde man in black.  
 230.161 +“Is he my owner?”
 230.162 +Again Li rolled his eyes.  “No.  Lucky for you.”
 230.163 +The blonde halted a few steps away from the floor, taking care to keep a little height over Li, and Li stiffened his back.  Sakura had the uneasy impression that they were facing off.  
 230.164 +“Captain Li, so wonderful to have you back at the castle.  I trust you enjoyed your holiday?”
 230.165 +“Every minute, you want this girl or what?”
 230.166 +Gray eyes lit on her, examining her leisurely, and Sakura had to swallow.  Li’s stare had not exactly been kind either, but this man’s was worse.  Something about it invaded her, made her tremble and want to back away even though he hadn’t touched her.  It was hard and merciless.  
 230.167 +She had to remind herself that this man was not her master, but somehow it didn’t give much comfort.
 230.168 +“Don’t tell me she came dressed like that.”
 230.169 +“I was on my horse,” Li replied curtly.  “If you don’t like it, I suggest you run your own goddamn errands from now on.”
 230.170 +Tension in the room thickened perceptively and the blonde bristled.  “You’re finished here, captain, run along outside and play with a sword or something.”
 230.171 +Li scowled darkly, but didn’t reply.  Instead he moved to take a step, realized he was still clutching Sakura in a death grip, and released her.  She almost stumbled at the sudden movement but he paid no attention, not even glancing at her as he swept past her and out of sight through a doorway.  
 230.172 +“That’s better,” the blonde sighed, gaze traveling back to Sakura.  Feeling exposed now that she stood alone, she hugged her arms to her waist apprehensively.  “Girls, take her to the bathing rooms and get her cleaned up.  And dress her in something decent, for crying out loud.”
 230.173 +She knew it was too good to last, but all the same Sakura clutched at Li’s shirt.
 230.174 +“Actually, I don’t mind -”
 230.175 +“Weren’t you trained not to speak unless spoken to?”  The casual menace in his tone made her throat close up, and Sakura said nothing more.  His cruel eyes pinned her to the floor where she stood, immobilized her to the point where she even forgot to breathe.  A pair of young women standing in his shadow hurried forward and took each of her hands, murmuring for her to accompany them.  And still she could not look away from that cold gray stare.  
 230.176 +--
 230.177 +Sakura breathed easier when he was gone, though she was far from comfortable here in this strange castle.  A trio of softly-speaking female servants, all of them wearing black collars, herded her down a stairwell and through a couple passages before finally emerging in a room of such dazzling beauty that Sakura had to blink.  As in much of what she’d seen so far of the castle, the floors were marble, white and light blue.  So were the walls, and over all of it the reflected light from the water dappled.
 230.178 +The room was filled with small pools, four of them in all, so perfectly clear that Sakura could quite easily see the design of the marble tiles along the bottom.  In the largest one, the sculpture of an exotic water serpent rose up in the center, a perpetual fountain spraying up from its mouth and into the pool.  
 230.179 +That all of it was indoors, bathed in light from so many overhead windows, only added to its luxury.  Sakura was so busy staring that she almost didn’t notice when fingers started working on her shirt buttons, reaching to undress her.  When she did notice, she squeaked and took a couple hasty steps back.  
 230.180 +“If you please, miss,” one of them whispered.  
 230.181 +“It’s all right,” Sakura said quickly.  “I can take them off.”  Though she didn’t particularly want to strip before these strangers, it was obvious they wanted her to bathe.  And having seen the bath, Sakura was only too happy to.  “I can wash myself, you don’t have to stay.”
 230.182 +All three of them looked surprised and aghast, as though Sakura had just offered to cut up their clothes and throw them to the fire.
 230.183 +“Oh no, miss, Sir Ralen’s orders must be obeyed.”  
 230.184 +The hushed fear in her voice left Sakura no doubt as to who she was talking about, even though Li said he was not her owner.  Clearly he was very important here.  She swallowed at the memory of his stare, but Tomoyo had specifically told her that no man was permitted to touch her except her master – provided that her master did not extend an invitation.  Sakura consoled herself with that promise, sure that Tomoyo could not be wrong.
 230.185 +Li’s clothing dropped to the floor and she made a beeline for the water, quick to submerge up to her neck.  She may have gotten used to it around Tomoyo but now that she was with strangers again she could feel the blush heating up her cheeks.
 230.186 +“Shy,” she heard one of them whisper, and a fleeting giggle.  But these girls were obviously not inclined to tease like the women in Silken Flowers, and in relative silence they set about bathing her.  One disappeared, holding Li’s grimy clothing out and away from her body as though it might bite her.  Another poured something onto her scalp and began massaging it in, presumably washing her hair, and the third stripped down to get in the water with her.  
 230.187 +“Your feet, if you please.”  Sakura did not please, but she sat back on the low bench under the water so she could lift one foot above the surface.  The woman tackled it with a rough sponge, apparently oblivious to Sakura’s embarrassment.  As if she couldn’t wash her own feet.
 230.188 +“Um, what’s your name?” she ventured, hoping she might not feel so awkward if these girls became friends, like Tomoyo.  
 230.189 +“I’m sorry, miss, but I have been given no leave to answer questions.”
 230.190 +Sakura blinked in surprise, perplexed.  Did that mean she had to ask permission before every conversation?  “It’s all right, I won’t tell anyone.”
 230.191 +“Your other foot, if you please.”
 230.192 +What sort of place was this castle?  And who did it belong to, who did she belong to?  She had yet to even hear his name.
 230.193 +“Do you know who my owner is?”
 230.194 +“Lean your head back, miss, and close your eyes.”  A bowl of cold water cascaded over her lathered hair, and she barely shut them in time.  They weren’t going to answer any of her questions, clearly.  Sakura had no choice but to wait.
 230.195 +--
 230.196 +After they’d finished scrubbing her head to toe they dressed her in a satin robe and escorted her through another set of doors.  Here in a smaller, enclosed room they dressed her solemnly in pale silken underclothing, paying no attention to her discomfiture as they laced the small panties tight over her hips.  The third woman selected a gown from a rack of them and presented it, and Sakura forgot her embarrassment at the sight.  Surely something so beautiful must be for a princess.
 230.197 +The material was white and filmy, like gauzy cobwebs, with a skirt that fell to the floor soft as a whisper.  Sleeveless, the dress had been embroidered with a trail of shimmering pastel butterflies that meandered from the skirt up past her heart and along the neckline.  She was too stunned to even protest when they directed her to lift her arms, and pulled it on over her head.  
 230.198 +They sat her firmly on a cushioned stool after that, flicking over her face with tiny brushes and arranging her short hair as it dried.  One of them examined her hands, but upon seeing Tomoyo’s manicure declared they would be all right.  The skirt had been cut at a strange angle, so that even though the back fell to the floor the front revealed some of her legs, and they slid a butterfly-adorned garter up over one knee.  
 230.199 +When they finally finished and stepped back, allowing Sakura to examine her reflection in a mirror, she didn’t even recognize herself.  Somehow, she’d been transformed into one of the heroines in her fantasy books.  
 230.200 +It created a warm glow inside her, in spite of everything else that had happened, but the glow faltered when they led her back to the castle hallways and the waiting Ralen.
 230.201 +“Ah,” he sighed, “now that is an improvement.”  His eyes roved hungrily over her body, exploring her visually, and Sakura hugged her arms to her waist.  “I did wonder, when he dragged you in, but it seems the captain has an eye for slaveflesh after all.  Come.”  He turned abruptly on his feet and beckoned, and Sakura hesitated just a moment before scurrying after him.  The servants had all melted away without her even noticing, and Sakura sensed it was a bad idea to make this man angry.  
 230.202 +His strides were long, and she had to hurry to keep up as he led her back up two flights of stairs and down a long corridor, so vast and open it even had pillars inside.  The view through the window was astonishing, and Sakura glimpsed the Paluwit mountains as she walked past.  She followed Ralen past the pillars and windows and through an archway on the left, into an open room overlooking the valley below.  So much of the walls were windowed that Sakura could see everything: the sun dropping toward the nearly-visible ocean in the west, Terriene far below, and even her home – distant though the mountain peaks were – starting to turn purple in the afternoon sunlight.   
 230.203 +At first, so entranced with the view, she didn’t even notice the actual room.  But when Ralen cleared his throat impatiently she turned to look, and stared blankly.
 230.204 +In the corner, not far from some kind of throne that was the only other furniture, Ralen was waiting by an enormous bird cage.  It was almost just like the handwoven ones she’d seen in her home village, except infinitely larger and made from gold, the thick bars rising smooth and straight until they curved to meet overhead in a domed fashion.  A small swing even dangled from overhead, like a perch, and the entire construction stood on short legs, off the floor.  
 230.205 +Ralen had the open door in his hand.  “In,” he ordered, but Sakura didn’t move.  
 230.206 +“Birdcage?” she squeaked, and his face hardened.  
 230.207 +“It is not your place to question me, slave, you’ll learn that soon enough.  In, now.”  His harsh tone left no room for argument, and Sakura meekly entered.  He shut the door with a particularly loud bang behind her, and she jumped.  “See this?”  He dangled a fancy key on its ring, through the bars.  “I’m the only one with this key.  This cage is your home now, you leave it when I say so or when the lord calls for you.  He’s away right now, so until he returns it’s your job to sit here and look pretty.  Not to talk,” he added when Sakura opened her mouth.  
 230.208 +“I’ll be along in a little while to take you to your dinner.  Treat me with the proper respect, and I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”  His lips curved up in a slight smile, one that sent shivers up Sakura’s back.  When he spoke again his voice was softer, a little more thoughtful.  
 230.209 +“You are a pretty little thing.  I believe Lord Yue is going to enjoy you.”  
 230.210 +
 230.211 +--------------------------------------------
 230.212 +Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
 230.213 +
 230.214 +If you hopped on this storyline for the yuri, then you should know that’s pretty much it.  Tomoyo isn’t gone forever, but from here on out the story is mainly yaoi and het.  Yes, het is there, Lili, I just forgot to click on it when uploading the story.  And the Edit Details option won’t let me change it.  To my favorite sleepwalker: yes, she will be in this story, thought not quite in the role you envisioned.  Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed.
 230.215 +How is it so far?  Are you enjoying it?  I don’t mean to complain, but only one reader out of every hundred has bothered to comment.  I’m not one of those writers that holds the story hostage for a review quota, but I’ll admit a lack of feedback isn’t great motivation for writing more.  Even if you’re so incredibly busy that you can’t bother with a review, at least give me a rating.  Thanks for being considerate!
 230.216 \ No newline at end of file

   231.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   231.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_revelations.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   231.3 @@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
   231.4 +Hey there! This was originally an entry into a one-hour challenge
   231.5 +that I just decided to add here too. This is a one shot, but if
   231.6 +enough people like it, I might continue with it. Now, if you're
   231.7 +looking for a story with great sex in it, look somewhere else, 'cause
   231.8 +you won't find it here. Enjoy!
   231.9 +Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. My personal deities,
  231.10 +Clamp, do.
  231.11 +
  231.12 +_____________________________________________________________________
  231.13 +_________
  231.14 +
  231.15 +Revelations
  231.16 +by The Snow Queen
  231.17 +scplatter@msn.com
  231.18 +
  231.19 +
  231.20 +"Is that all?" The young hostess asked as the young man finished
  231.21 +paying the check. Nodding in reply, Li Syaoran let his gaze fall on
  231.22 +his date, Kinomoto Sakura. She had finally found the time between
  231.23 +high school, cheerleading, studying, her friends, and her cardcaptor
  231.24 +duties to go out with him again. It had been so long since he had
  231.25 +last taken the young sorceress out that he was starting to believe
  231.26 +that she was not interested. But that could not be the case. They
  231.27 +loved each other deeply, and she was with him now, was she not?
  231.28 +
  231.29 +Having finished the transaction with the restaurant, Syaoran took
  231.30 +Sakura's hand and led her out of the eatery. Still having some time
  231.31 +until the young woman was required to return home, the far-to-early
  231.32 +hour of 10:00 being set by the nuisance of her older brother, Syaoran
  231.33 +decided a walk would be rather nice. And it was seeing that it was a
  231.34 +balmy summer night, and with just a few trees still abloom, a walk
  231.35 +through the falling petals was divine.
  231.36 +
  231.37 +The young maiden's eyes seemed to glow as she gazed at the delicate
  231.38 +petals, wondering what it was they reminded her of. She could not
  231.39 +place it, but she had seen that same soft shade of pink before, and
  231.40 +not on a flower petal. 
  231.41 +
  231.42 +'Well, whatever it is, it's lovely...... 'The Mistress of the Cards
  231.43 +thought dazedly. She continued to stare about her, occasionally drawn
  231.44 +into a conversation by her long-term boyfriend. Kinomoto Sakura had
  231.45 +changed ....and yet not changed in the years following her discovery
  231.46 +of the Clow Cards. She had matured much, learning a few life lessons,
  231.47 +and losing a bit of her naivete. But, still she had a certain
  231.48 +innocence and purity to her that time just simply could not steal.
  231.49 +She had gained the lithe body of a dancer, rather than the slightly
  231.50 +bulkier form of the athlete that she was. The nimble maiden's hair
  231.51 +was still short, as she just could not give up her favorite hair
  231.52 +styles, but slightly longer. 
  231.53 +
  231.54 +'Which is just as well,' She thought lazily. 'because now Tomoyo has
  231.55 +more hair to play around with when she's doing my hair up for one of
  231.56 +my costumes.'
  231.57 +
  231.58 +"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed in sudden understanding, much to Syaoran's
  231.59 +surprise. 
  231.60 +
  231.61 +"What?!?" He asked, a noticable tone of worry lacing his voice.
  231.62 +
  231.63 +"Ummmm.... nothing." She replied, far to embarrassed to reveal that
  231.64 +she had not been listening to his banter. 
  231.65 +
  231.66 +'It's Tomoyo..... I've seen that color on her. Their just like her
  231.67 +lips. That's where I've seen it before.....' She thought, an abashed
  231.68 +blush forming on her cheeks. Sakura vaguely wondered if her best
  231.69 +friend was enjoying her trip to Paris. She had begged Sakura to join
  231.70 +her, and oh how Sakura had wanted to go. But with her father working
  231.71 +so hard on his current archeological dig and Touya rarely at home
  231.72 +these days, she was needed far too much. It was a shame, Sakura had
  231.73 +longed to go.
  231.74 +
  231.75 +"Well, anyway.... that's what happened. Weird, isn't it?" Syaoran
  231.76 +asked, pulling Sakura from her thoughts. Quickly recovering, the
  231.77 +lithe brunette agreed with her boyfriend's question. Once again a
  231.78 +blush formed on her cheeks, embarrassed at her lack of attention. 
  231.79 +
  231.80 +But she really could not help it. Lately, she had stopped paying
  231.81 +that much attention to Syaoran. She had not stopped loving him, she
  231.82 +never could, but she suddenly did not find him that fascinating
  231.83 +anymore. The cheerful freshman had even, though she would never admit
  231.84 +it, lied about why she could not make some of their planned dates,
  231.85 +unwilling to spend an entire evening with just him.
  231.86 +
  231.87 +'I'd rather spend time with Tomoyo. She always has such interesting
  231.88 +things to talk about. I can't wait until I get home so I can call her
  231.89 +and ask what she's been up to in France. She promised to take loads
  231.90 +of pictures for me!' Sakura thought excitedly. But she quickly chided
  231.91 +herself on once again not paying attention to her boyfriend. She then
  231.92 +began a battle with herself, trying to pay as much attention as
  231.93 +possible to his conversation, missing the subtle clues he was sending
  231.94 +to her with his body. It seemed ....accidently, that they had ended
  231.95 +up walking to Syaoran's home. 
  231.96 +
  231.97 +"Sakura ....ummmmm.... why don't we go inside." Syaoran stated,
  231.98 +guiding the suddenly naive girl into his home. The warrior's home
  231.99 +was, as always, spotless. Sitting down in the living room, Sakura
 231.100 +waited alone as her boyfriend made some tea. Upon arriving, the
 231.101 +unaware young man continued to talk about this and that while his
 231.102 +girlfriend's thoughts wondered to the other side of the planet.
 231.103 +
 231.104 +It was when the clock stroke nine that Syaoran asked if Sakura
 231.105 +wanted to continue the conversation in his room. Having missed many
 231.106 +of the signals that the boy had been sending Sakura, she eagerly
 231.107 +agreed, not realizing what he had actually meant. Even when Syaoran's
 231.108 +hip brushed her own more often than it should have, or when his hand
 231.109 +found itself on her knee, she did not perceive the true meaning of
 231.110 +his actions.
 231.111 +
 231.112 +'Syaoran's always touching me.....' Sakura thought, bored once again
 231.113 +by Syaoran's suddenly poor conversational skills. 'He's even more
 231.114 +boring than usual.....' But when his hand moved a little farther up,
 231.115 +the young brunette finally started to realize what her sudden future
 231.116 +held. 
 231.117 +
 231.118 +'Hoeee!' She thought, using one of her well known exclamations.
 231.119 +'Well, it's not like this is totally new. We've talked about this
 231.120 +before. I mean, I always knew that Syaoran would be my first.' And
 231.121 +with that thought in mind, Sakura gave into the young warriors
 231.122 +advances. 
 231.123 +
 231.124 +He moved his hand from her leg to her hip, and its counterpart to
 231.125 +the back of her neck as he moved closer. Slowly bringing his face to
 231.126 +hers, Syaoran kissed her, massaging his lips across her own. Syaoran
 231.127 +soon ran his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for permission to
 231.128 +enter. She granted him such, opening her mouth so she could fully
 231.129 +engage with him. 
 231.130 +
 231.131 +Sakura told anyone willing to listen that her favorite thing about
 231.132 +Syaoran was the way he kissed. She had never been kissed by anyone
 231.133 +but Syaoran, so she didn't know truthfully if he was any better at it
 231.134 +than anyone else, but Sakura seemed, as of late, to find her
 231.135 +boyfriend most interesting when their lips were locked. 
 231.136 +
 231.137 +****** END OF ORIGINAL HOUR********
 231.138 +
 231.139 +'Well, he certainly is good that.....' Sakura thought dreamily as
 231.140 +her soon to be lover started sucking on her lower lip. She barely
 231.141 +noticed that his hands had started moving, and that they were soon in
 231.142 +places that only she had touched before. Soon her boyfriend decided
 231.143 +to divest her of her clothing, removing the lovely blue dress that
 231.144 +Tomoyo had made for her.
 231.145 +
 231.146 +'Tomoyo.....' 
 231.147 +
 231.148 +Suddenly the image of the dark-haired angel that was Sakura's
 231.149 +dearest friend came to her mind and did not leave. Visions of her
 231.150 +pale skin and full pink lips danced across her mind as Sakura started
 231.151 +returning Syaoran's attention with a fervor. 
 231.152 +
 231.153 +'Tomoyo.....'
 231.154 +
 231.155 +Sakura's body started heating up as she closed her eyes, imagining
 231.156 +Tomoyo was in the room with her. All of a sudden, it was her closest
 231.157 +friend who was running her hands over her inner thighs. It was
 231.158 +Tomoyo's sharp breaths on Sakura's petals that made her moan with
 231.159 +desire. 
 231.160 +
 231.161 +Long withheld fantasies of the delicate young woman with the raven
 231.162 +hair consumed Sakura's mind. Inescapable dark eyes captured the
 231.163 +sorceress as the angel's hair fluttered over her body. Oh so soft
 231.164 +hands placed feather-light touches all across Sakura's body, bringing
 231.165 +her to a fevered pitch. The soft voice of her goddess, her Tomoyo,
 231.166 +whispered sweet nothings in her ear. 
 231.167 +
 231.168 +But suddenly, her lilting voice changed, became deeper and far more
 231.169 +masculine, stating that everything would be alright. It would only
 231.170 +hurt for a little bit.
 231.171 +
 231.172 +'....Syoaran?' She thought, suddenly recognizing the strange voice.
 231.173 +That was when she felt it. Something entering her body, stretching
 231.174 +her walls painfully. The image of Tomoyo vanished as reality sunk
 231.175 +back into her. She was not with Tomoyo. She was with Syaoran, losing
 231.176 +her virginity. 
 231.177 +
 231.178 +'No..... this isn't right. Tomoyo should be here......' Sakura
 231.179 +thought, but then all thought left her head as pain consumed her. She
 231.180 +stiffened, holding onto the bed as her maidenhead was taken. Tears
 231.181 +formed and fell from her eyes, but not because of the pain. Her lover
 231.182 +then wiped them away, stating she would only hurt for a little while.
 231.183 +
 231.184 +'What does he know?' Sakura thought derisively, suddenly aware of
 231.185 +why she was no longer interested in her boyfriend. Syaoran then
 231.186 +started moving, pushing his engorged member in and out of her core.
 231.187 +But Sakura was no longer willing to participate. She wanted to leave.
 231.188 +She wanted him to stop.
 231.189 +
 231.190 +'I want Tomoyo. I love Tomoyo!' Sakura screamed over and over in her
 231.191 +head, wishing she could be anywhere but there. But the young
 231.192 +sorceress could not just leave. Nothing could help her. Her fantasies
 231.193 +were gone as she tried to move with Syaoran, to enjoy herself.
 231.194 +But.... she could not.
 231.195 +
 231.196 +'Tomoyo!' Sakura screamed as her lover shouted her name. Syaoran
 231.197 +then fell on top of her, exhausted. He placed light kisses upon her
 231.198 +shoulders as he came down from his high. 
 231.199 +
 231.200 +'....Tomoyo.....'
 231.201 +
 231.202 +After that, Syaoran helped her dress and walked her home. He tried
 231.203 +to keep up the conversation, so utterly cheerful that Sakura could
 231.204 +have killed him. She managed to make it home right on time, much to
 231.205 +Touya's displeasure as he had been longing to pound the brat into a
 231.206 +pulp. Sakura was quite willing to let him.
 231.207 +
 231.208 +She then ran to her room and flung herself on her bed, demanding
 231.209 +that Kero leave. As soon as she knew she was alone, that there were
 231.210 +no guardians eavesdropping outside her room, she cried. She cried all
 231.211 +night, unable to stop.
 231.212 +
 231.213 +'Tomoyo...... TOMOYO!' She screamed mentally, trying to apologize.
 231.214 +How could she have been so blind, so stupid, to just ignore
 231.215 +everything she had felt since she was a little girl? And then to just
 231.216 +give the most precious thing she owned to someone else.....
 231.217 +
 231.218 +'Oh Tomoyo, I'm so sorry! Is this how life is?' She thought. 'Is
 231.219 +this what life is really like? To realize what we truly want, only to
 231.220 +have it ripped from us? Is that what life is like? Is that all?"
 231.221 +
 231.222 +
 231.223 +_____________________________________________________________________
 231.224 +
 231.225 +
 231.226 +Kind of depressing, isn't it? I hope it was good, though, in all
 231.227 +it's angsty glory. I'm such a huge fan of Sakura/Tomoyo pairings, but
 231.228 +everyone seems to be really into Sakura and Syaoran being together. I
 231.229 +guess I wanted Sakura to realize why she might not want to be with
 231.230 +him. Anyway, tell me what you think.
 231.231 \ No newline at end of file

   232.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   232.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_tearfulnights.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   232.3 @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
   232.4 +Tearful Nights
   232.5 +by rphjas
   232.6 +rphjas@yahoo.com
   232.7 +
   232.8 +--------------
   232.9 +
  232.10 +With wet lavender eyes, I look upon sparkling stars. Do I pray to a
  232.11 +higher power? Do I whisper my fears and dilemmas to the night? I love
  232.12 +her, and she loves me. But, my love is more mature than I am and also
  232.13 +much more than hers. If I had the courage, I would one day tell
  232.14 +her..in Penguin Park. I would whisper the three simple words. But,
  232.15 +would she understand? Would she see through all of my masks and
  232.16 +disguises? 
  232.17 +
  232.18 +I sew every costume with stitches of pure love. I sing my songs to
  232.19 +her with all of my heart. Does she feel the fabrics I weave..clinging
  232.20 +to her slender form? Do her ears hear my songs of longing? I am
  232.21 +afraid...afraid of rejection. Is it not better to be a friend than a
  232.22 +stranger? Is it better to be in her world even a little than all
  232.23 +alone? If I knew the future, I would know what to do. I would know
  232.24 +the risk is worthwhile. But, I am still unsure. I have no confidence. 
  232.25 +
  232.26 +Would she think me perverted..loving her like I do? Would she run
  232.27 +away in revulsion? Would she? Why is my heart so torn? I see her each
  232.28 +day in school. She lets me film her every day. I spend all my free
  232.29 +time with her or doing things for her. I watch her videos again and
  232.30 +again until I memorize each phrase and line of her figure. Her face
  232.31 +leads me into the sleepiness of dreams. I hug my pillows..as if they
  232.32 +were her. 
  232.33 +
  232.34 +This starry night .. I wonder .. is she thinking about me? Is she
  232.35 +dreaming of me? Do her cards quietly reveal my intentions..my
  232.36 +feelings? I wonder if she will ever be..ever be able to love me. I
  232.37 +would..I would give her my life..to save her own. But, how many times
  232.38 +has she risked her own for my sake? The number is too high. Would it
  232.39 +be better if I vanished..faded from her world? Each night, I am torn
  232.40 +and wake up weary wrestling these questions. The uncertainty of the
  232.41 +future is weighing me down. But, I manage to put on my cheerful mask
  232.42 +each morning before I see her. She does not know. She can never know
  232.43 +my nightly bouts.. 
  232.44 +
  232.45 +One sleepover, she let me brush her hair..even hug her long and
  232.46 +close. Surprisingly, she let me kiss her because she wondered why it
  232.47 +was such a big fuss with the older students. Her energy pulsed
  232.48 +through to my core. Her sweet taste lingered on my lips the entire
  232.49 +night! Oh, I was so very happy. Even now, I can remember her soft
  232.50 +full lips..the silk of her hair..the firm athletic body. Like some
  232.51 +drug, I crave more. But so far, only that one night was so very
  232.52 +special. I could not tape it. But, the memories are burned into me
  232.53 +forever. 
  232.54 +
  232.55 +Will hope be my lifeline..in the stormy seas of life? Will it help
  232.56 +me persevere until she someday loves me..?
  232.57 \ No newline at end of file

   233.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   233.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_tell-everyone.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   233.3 @@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
   233.4 +Telling everyone
   233.5 +
   233.6 +By Radar
   233.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   233.8 +
   233.9 +---------------
  233.10 +
  233.11 +'Sakura-chan wake up!' a voice said, interupting her sleep. She rolled over moaning softly.
  233.12 +'Come on Sakura-chan! Wake up!' the voice said.
  233.13 +'It's not a school day Onii-chan! Go away!' she muttered, pulling the covers over her head, trying to ignore that damn beautiful voice.
  233.14 +It gave out a musical giggle. 'Yes it is Sakura-chan and I'm not your brother!' the voice said, pulling the covers away.
  233.15 +Opening her eyes she yawned and was surprised to find she wasn't in her bedroom.
  233.16 +Looking down she blushed brightly finding herself naked.
  233.17 +Looking up her eyes met a pair of stormy blue eyes.
  233.18 +'Just a little longer! Please Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura begged, covering herself.
  233.19 +Tomoyo smiled at her. 'Sorry but I promised Fujitaka-san that I'd get you up and to school on time!' she said, before tilting her head slightly.
  233.20 +'And you do had a problem getting up!'
  233.21 +'I can get up on time! But only if the conditions are right!' Sakura said.
  233.22 +'What conditions?' Tomoyo asked innocently. Sakura smiled slightly.
  233.23 +She knew just by asking that question it prooved that Tomoyo wasn't as innocent as she appeared.
  233.24 +'Well.. first you'd have to drop that idea of going to school and I'd have to get you out of those clothes!' Sakura replied, pulling Tomoyo closer to her and starting to pull off the pale girl's school uniform.
  233.25 +Tomoyo giggled softly.
  233.26 +'Sorry Sakura-chan, but I want to stay as pure as possible for my wedding!' Tomoyo said, showing Sakura the gold band around her finger.
  233.27 +Sakura blushed slightly remembering how she gave Tomoyo the ring.
  233.28 +'I understand!' she muttered, falling back on the bed. They sighed heavily.
  233.29 +'I still have to get you out of bed!' Tomoyo whispered, lightly resting her head on Sakura's bare chest.
  233.30 +She sighed softly, loosing herself in Sakura's heartbeat.
  233.31 +Closing her eyes, she felt Sakura move slowly.
  233.32 +The other girl's heartbeat softened before stoppping altogether.
  233.33 +Upon openning her eyes hers was instantly met with her beloved emerald eyes.
  233.34 +Leaning forward Sakura captured Tomoyo's lips with her own. 'Can you get up now?' Tomoyo asked.
  233.35 +'Hai!' Sakura whispered. 'Sleeping naked! I'll never get used to it! But it feels so good! Especally with Tomoyo! And we've never slept as well!' she thought, sitting up.
  233.36 +
  233.37 +Almost 10 minutes later they walked into the dining room with Sakura yawning.
  233.38 +Looking up from her plate Sonomi giggled softly. 'Joined at the hip! As always!' she said, going back to her breakfast just as Sakura moved slightly.
  233.39 +Tomoyo looked at her, very confused.
  233.40 +'I now how much you care for her Sakura-chan! You don't have to move away on my account!' Sonomi said, not looking up.
  233.41 +'How did you know about us?' Sakura asked. A small smile crossed her lips.
  233.42 +'Well.. I saw you kissing under the mistletoe last Christmas and a few times after that! And by what you were doing last night!' the auburn haired business woman replied before looking up.
  233.43 +'What were you doing anyway?' she asked.
  233.44 +Her eyes widened when she saw the girl's were blushing brightly.
  233.45 +'We.. Were.. Making..' was all Sakura could say before her voice failed her.
  233.46 +Her blush deepened when she felt Tomoyo's hand on her thigh moving slowly towards her waist.
  233.47 +'What's she doing?' Sakura asked herself.
  233.48 +'Look at the time! You're going to be late!' Sonomi said, looking at her watch.
  233.49 +The girls nodded and left. Moments later she heard a door open and close.
  233.50 +She sighed and rested against the back of her chair.
  233.51 +'I wish you were here Nadeshiko-chan! Our daughters are a couple! And a very cute one at that!' she whispered.
  233.52 +When Tomoyo was younger she would tell her to tell Sakura about her feelings for her.
  233.53 +Now she was glad the auburn haired girl had come to realise her feelings about Tomoyo.
  233.54 +Unknown to her Nadeshiko watched on and smiled.
  233.55 +She regretted not being there when Sakura had been beaten up, but she knew her daughter was in good hands.
  233.56 +
  233.57 +As they walked towards the school they caught a glimps of Rika, Chiharu and Naoko.
  233.58 +They were a little surprised when Rika looked up and smiled at them.
  233.59 +Closing her eyes she let out a small laugh, knowing what the subjest of their conversation would change to when her friends saw Sakura and Tomoyo.
  233.60 +When the others noticed them, they imediately walked towards them.
  233.61 +'So are you going to tell you who your boyfriend is today Sakura-chan?' Naoko asked.
  233.62 +'I don't have a boyfriend Naoko-chan!' Sakura said. 'But I have a girlfriend!' she added mentally.
  233.63 +'If you don't have a boyfriend then why have you been so giddy for the last year?' Chiharu asked.
  233.64 +Sakura sighed before she heard a soft giggle.
  233.65 +Looking at the pale girl she saw she was covering her mouth, attempting to hold in her laughter.
  233.66 +Then they all caught a flash of gold coming from Tomoyo's hand. 'You're married?' Naoko asked.
  233.67 +Tomoyo nodded happily, showing her friends the ring Sakura had given her.
  233.68 +'When did that happen?' Sakura sighed heavily.
  233.69 +'It happened last night when I gave it to her!' she thought.
  233.70 +'Aren't you happy for Tomoyo-chan, Sakura-chan?' Naoko asked, turning her head so she faced Sakura.
  233.71 +Looking up she smiled and nodded.' Let's get to class!' Rika suddenly said.
  233.72 +The girls nodded and started walking to their homerooms.
  233.73 +When they reached High school the girls had been separated.
  233.74 +Tomoyo smiled when she gazed at Sakura. Slowly she reached out, touching her forearm, smiling when the auburn haired girl gasped softly.
  233.75 +Over the years she'd come to know every inch of Sakura's body, the places where Sakura would gasp or let out a small groan.
  233.76 +Turning Sakura smiled at her, her emerald eyes sparkling with love.
  233.77 +'Please Sakura-chan! Who's your boyfriend?' Naoko asked, for the seventh time.
  233.78 +'Leave Sakura-chan alone! If she doesn't want to tell us who her boyfriend is then its up to her!' Rika said.
  233.79 +Naoko and Chiharu nodded before entering their homeroom.
  233.80 +The 3 remaining girls continued their short walk to their homeroom.
  233.81 +'Congratulations!' Rika said. 'Arigatou!' Tomoyo replied.
  233.82 +Rika took hold of Tomoyo's hand and took a better look at the ring.
  233.83 +'It's beautiful! I wonder who the lucky person is?' she said, looking at Sakura.
  233.84 +'You know who it is Rika-chan!' she replied, blushing slightly. Rika smiled before looking at Sakura's hand.
  233.85 +'Where's yours?' she asked. 'Well.. I kinda surprised Tomoyo-chan with it last night!' Sakura said, as she placed her hand behind her head.
  233.86 +'Really?' Rika asked. Sakura nodded.
  233.87 +'I was going to ask her a little later but, I couldn't wait!'
  233.88 +'It doesn't matter if it was sooner or later! All that matters is Sakura-chan is going to make a beautiful bride!' Tomoyo said, her eyes sparkling ing antisipation. Rika smiled while Sakura's blush brightened. 'How about you Rika-chan? Has your boyfriend asked you?' Sakura asked. 'I don't think he will!' Rika said sadly. 'Why? What happened?' Tomoyo asked. 'He.. He found someone else!' Rika replied. 'Oh Rika-chan! I'm so sorry!' Sakura said, before hugging the other girl. 'Arigatou Sakura-chan! But I think you're gonna make Tomoyo-chan jealous!' Looking towards Tomoyo, they smiled. 'Besides I found someone else as well!'
  233.89 +'Really?' Sakura asked. 'Who?'
  233.90 +Just as Rika was about to answer, their teacher arrived.
  233.91 +'Ladies, I hope I'm not interupting anything important, but could you please go in?' she asked. 'I'll tell you later!' Rika whispered, when they walked into the classroom.
  233.92 +
  233.93 +The morning classes passed quickly, and all Sakura wanted to do was to be in Tomoyo's arms.
  233.94 +Sitting under a cherry tree, they ate the lunchs they made for each other.
  233.95 +Looking up Sakura saw Rika walking towards them. 'Hi Rika-chan!' Sakura said, once Rika sat down.
  233.96 +Rika smiled slightly, wondering if she should tell them who her new flame is.
  233.97 +'So who's the luck person Rika-chan?' Sakura asked. 'Naoko-chan!' Rika said softly.
  233.98 +Closing her eyes, she hoped Sakura and Tomoyo hadn't heard her and let the subject go.
  233.99 +'Really?' Tomoyo asked. Nodding she sighed. 'Wow!' Sakura said.
 233.100 +A short distance Naoko stood silently, having heard everything.
 233.101 +'She loves me!' she whispered. Smiling she said them again and again.
 233.102 +To her those words were the sweetest words ever spoken.
 233.103 +Her smile growning, she slowly approached the other girls.
 233.104 +'Hi Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan, Rika-chan!' she said, sitting down. Rika paled.
 233.105 +'Did she hear me?' she asked herself. Sakura suddenly stood up, gently grabbing Tomoyo's hand.
 233.106 +'Let's go Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura said.
 233.107 +'Where?' Tomoyo asked, slightly confused with her girlfriends' actions.
 233.108 +'You wanted to showme something earlier!' Sakura said.
 233.109 +It took Tomoyo a moment to realise what Sakura meant. 'Oh right!' she said, smiling brightly.
 233.110 +Standing up they walked away, leaving Naoko and Rika alone.
 233.111 +'What are they doing?' Rika asked herself franticly. Blushing she realised what they'd done.
 233.112 +'Did Tomoyo-chan tell you who she married?' Naoko asked. Rika nodded.
 233.113 +'Hai, she married Sakura-chan!' she replied. 'But they're both girls!' Naoko said.
 233.114 +She looked at her confussed for a moment. 'Oh!' she said, realising what Rika meant.
 233.115 +'But what if they want children?' she asked. Rika smiled at her.
 233.116 +'I'm sure they'll find a way!' Rika replied. They remained silent for a moment, gathering the courage to tell the other girl. 'There's something I need to tell you!' they said together. Giggling they blushed slightly. 'You first!' Rika said. 'I really like you Rika-chan!' Naoko said. 'I really like you too Naoko-chan!' Rika replied, smiling slightly. Naoko smiled saddly. 'I think I'll have to show her!' she thought. Closing her eyes, she leaned foreward and lightly pressed her lips to Rika's for a moment. Leaning apart they blushed. 'Gomen Nasai!' Naoko whispered, looking away. She was sure she'd ruined her friendship with the other girl. Lightly she placed her hand on Naoko's shoulder and made her turn to face her. 'It's ok!' Rika whispered. 'You mean you like me in that way?' Naoko asked. 'Hai!' Rika replied. Naoko smiled slightly, before leaning closer and kissing the other girl again. A short distance away Sakura and Tomoyo looked on. 'They make a cute couple don't they?' Sakura asked, shifting her gaze to Tomoyo. The pale girl nodded, before her eyes went wide.
 233.117 +She suddenly grabbed her bag and started sifting through the contense.
 233.118 +'Tomoyo-chan?' Sakura asked. 'Found it!' Tomoyo whispered, pulling a small box from her bag.
 233.119 +'What?' Sakura asked. Tomoyo smiled as she opened the box.
 233.120 +Sliding the ring onto Sakura's finger she stepped back. 'What do you think?' she asked.
 233.121 +She looked at the ring for a moment before looking up at Tomoyo, tears suddenly appearing in her eyes.
 233.122 +'It's beautiful!' Sakura whispered.
 233.123 +'I'm glad you like it, but I think it's time to get to class!' Tomoyo whispered, leaning forward lightly kissing her auburn haired love.
 233.124 +Leaning away, they smiled at each other, before feeling a tingling down their backs.
 233.125 +Turning around they saw they had been seen and Chiharu and Yamazaki was stairing at them.
 233.126 +'Hi!' Sakura said weakly. 'You're Sakura-chan's boyfriend Tomoyo-chan?' Chiharu asked.
 233.127 +Tomoyo nodded slightly. 'So you're gay?' she asked. Both girls nodded.
 233.128 +'And married!' Yamazaki pointed out, noticing their rings.
 233.129 +'Wow!' Chiharu said, blushing slightly.
 233.130 +'Did you know that the first recorded lesbians were in 13th century England?' Yamazaki asked.
 233.131 +Sakura shook her head, while Tomoyo smiled.
 233.132 +'It was the king's daughter! She feel for the daughter of the countries finest blacksmith!' the boy said.
 233.133 +Before he could say anymore, Chiharu grabbed his collor and shook him violently.
 233.134 +'Stop lying!' she yelled, before dragging her boyfriend away.
 233.135 +'I thought he was telling the truth this time!' Sakura said, slumping her shoulders.
 233.136 +Suddenly she felt Tomoyo wrap her arms around her waist and snuggle agianst her.
 233.137 +'Don't worry about that for now Sakura-chan!' the pale girl whispered.
 233.138 +'Ok! Let's get back to class!' Sakura said. feeling Tomoyo nod they headed for their next class.
 233.139 +
 233.140 +YEARS LATER
 233.141 +
 233.142 +They lay in each others arms, moments away from a contented sleep.
 233.143 +That was until a soft knocking started.
 233.144 +'Mama! Papa! What happening? Are you alright?' a voice asked.
 233.145 +The door opened and a young girl walked into the room. 'Mama?' the child asked.
 233.146 +'What is it Nadeshiko-chan?' the pale woman asked.
 233.147 +'I heard you and Sakura-papa yelling Tomoyo-mama!' Nadeshiko replied, walking upto the bed.
 233.148 +Sakura yawned and opened her eyes, letting them ajust to the light as she sat up.
 233.149 +She hadn't noticed the covers had slipped down, exposing her breasts.
 233.150 +'Everythings fine Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura replied, smiling slightly.
 233.151 +Looking down she saw Nadeshiko blush brightly.
 233.152 +Realising why Nadeshiko was blushing she quickly covered herself up before hearing a soft giggle.
 233.153 +'If everthings fine why were you yelling papa?' the girl asked.
 233.154 +'What are you doing up Nadeshiko-chan?' another voice asked.
 233.155 +Turning Nadeshiko ran upto her older sister.
 233.156 +'Somethings wrong with mama and papa Onni-chan!' Nadeshiko said.
 233.157 +'Really?' the older girl asked.
 233.158 +'Hai!' Nadeshiko replied, 'I heard them yelling at each other! I think their mad with each other!' the child said, looking really worried.
 233.159 +Just as the older girl was about to reply a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.
 233.160 +She shuddered feeling hot breath on the back of her neck.
 233.161 +'Come back to bed Kumi-chan! I'm lonely!' a voice whispered.
 233.162 + 'Hi Hikaru-san!' Nadeshiko said. 'What are you doing here?' Hikaru smiled at her, not realeasing he girlfriend her the embrase.
 233.163 +'We're having a sleep over!' Hikaru replied. 'Plus I get to spend some time with your sister!'
 233.164 +'Why? You spend a lot of time with her already!' Nadeshiko replied. Hikaru giggled softly.
 233.165 +'I know, but it's time I get to spend with my girlfriend!' Hikaru said to a very confused Nadeshiko. 'Do you know who Hikaru-san's girlfriend is Onii-chan?' Nadeshiko asked. 'Hai! You know her to Nadeshiko-chan!' Kumiko replied. 'What going on Nadeshiko-chan?' a sleepy voice asked. 'Hi Megumi-chan!' Kumiko said, noticing the young blonde blush. 'Hi Kumiko-san!' Megumi stuttered, blushing brighter. Kumiko giggled softly. She notice Megumi always blushed when she was near her. 'Nadeshiko-chan, what's going on?' Megumi asked. 'I'm trying to find out who Hikaru-san's girlfriend is!' Nadeshiko replied. 'Ooo! Can I help?' the blonde asked. Nadeshiko nodded and they turned to face Hikaru and Kumiko. Sakura smiled slightly. 'Do you think they'll find out?' she asked. 'Maybe! But what about Megumi-chan?' Tomoyo whispered. 'I think she's got a crush on Kumiko-chan!'
 233.166 +'Really? I thought it was Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura said.
 233.167 +She might have been dense as a child, but she knew somethings were just so obvious.
 233.168 +'You know her?' Megumi asked. 'Hikaru-san says I do!' Nadeshiko replied, 'But I can't think who!'
 233.169 +'I'm her girlfriend!' Kumiko said.  'Really?' Megumi asked.
 233.170 +'Hai!' Kumiko replied, turnin garound and lightly kissing the brown haired girl.
 233.171 +Looking at her friend, she was confused when she saw Megumi looking upset, then smiling at the older girls.
 233.172 +Sakura and Tomoyo also noticed this. 'Are you ok Megumi-chan?' Sakura asked.
 233.173 +The girl smiled and nodded. 'I'll go back to bed!' Megumi whispered, quickly excusing herself.
 233.174 +Nadeshiko watched her leave, very confused. She knew Megumi liked her older sister, but was confused by the way she was acting now.
 233.175 +'Could you see if Megumi-chan's ok Nadeshiko-chan?' Tomoyo asked.
 233.176 +'Ok mama!' Nadeshiko said, before following her friend.
 233.177 +
 233.178 +She sat on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands.
 233.179 +'She already has a girlfriend!' she thought sadly.
 233.180 +'Besides what knid of a girlfriend would I be?' Tears appeared in her eyes.
 233.181 +'What about Nadeshiko-chan? How would she feel?' she asked herself.
 233.182 +Suddenly a funny thought hit her. Hadn't she done things that would sugest that she was interested in Kumiko and not Nadeshiko.
 233.183 +'What does that mean?' she wondered. 'Are you ok Megumi-chan?' a soft voice asked.
 233.184 +Looking up she blushed and nodded.
 233.185 +'If you're alright.. why's your face gone all red?' Nadeshiko asked.
 233.186 +Megumi didn't answer, her blush deepened. Giggling Nadeshiko sat down next to her friend.
 233.187 +'Besides, I already know why you blush near Onii-chan!'
 233.188 +'REally?' Megumi asked. Nadeshiko smiled and nodded. 'Too bad she's taken!'
 233.189 +'Yeah, but that's ok!' Megumi said. Blushing again she realised what she had just said.
 233.190 +Looking at Nadeshiko she was surprised to see the other girl smile at her. 'I thought so!'
 233.191 +'You knew?' Megumi asked. The pale girl nodded and smiled.
 233.192 +'I know you'll find someone special someday!' Nadeshiko said, lightly kissing the other girls cheek.
 233.193 +'Please understand!' Nadeshiko thought. 'Arigatou!' Megumi whispered. 'I think I already have!'
 233.194 +'Really? Who?' Nadeshiko asked. 'Not telling!' Megumi said, giggling at the other girl's pout.
 233.195 +Falling backwards on the bed, Nadeshiko followed.
 233.196 +Moments later they were asleep, Megumi snuggling into Nadeshiko.
 233.197 +Sakura smiled when she walked into the room. slowly she pulled the covers over them and left the room, stopping at the door for a moment to watch the girls sleep.
 233.198 +When she got back to her room, she undressed and slipped under the covers with Tomoyo.
 233.199 +'Are they ok?' Tomoyo asked. 'Hai! I think Megumi-chan has just realised who she really loves!' Sakura whispered.
 233.200 +Closing her eyes, she felt Tomoyo snuggle against her. Sighing softly they fell asleep.
 233.201 \ No newline at end of file

   234.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   234.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_tellstories.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   234.3 @@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
   234.4 +Stories
   234.5 +
   234.6 +By Radar
   234.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   234.8 +
   234.9 +-----------
  234.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  234.11 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  234.12 +
  234.13 +A young girl of 5 years old ran into her parents bedroom, crying. ‘Sakura-papa! Sakura-papa!’ she cried out.
  234.14 +Sakura turned suddenly at her daughters cry. She still wasn’t used to being a “father”.
  234.15 +She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. ‘What’s wrong Kumi-chan?’ she asked. Kumiko sniffed before answering,
  234.16 +‘Hikaru-chan says it’s not normal to have two girls as parents!’ she said before starting to cry again.
  234.17 +Sakura slowly wrapped her arms around the young girl. ‘Do you think it’s wrong?’ Sakura asked when Kumiko had stopped crying. Kumiko shoot her head slightly.
  234.18 +‘No! You’re my papa and Tomoyo-mama is my mama!’ she said as Sakura gently brushed some of her dark hair out of her eyes.
  234.19 +‘What’s wrong Kumi-chan?’ Tomoyo asked, entering the room after hearing her little girls cry for her “father”.
  234.20 +‘Hikaru told her it’s not normal to have two girls as parents!’ Sakura said, looking up.
  234.21 +‘Kumi-chan, do you want to hear a story?’ Tomoyo asked. Kumiko wiped her eyes and nodded.
  234.22 +‘Do you want to hear about the time Sakura-papa couldn’t remember poor Tomoyo-mama?’ Sakura asked.
  234.23 +Kumiko nodded. Sakura sat on the bed and gently set her little girl on her knee and took a deep breath.
  234.24 +‘Well, it started a long time ago..’
  234.25 +
  234.26 +Sakura’s story
  234.27 +
  234.28 +Sakura looked at the person sitting next to her and felt her heart flutter.
  234.29 +Tomoyo had told Sakura how she felt and was surprised to find Sakura felt the same about her.
  234.30 +‘Mrs Kinomoto! Could you answer the question?’ the teacher asked, forcing Sakura back to reality.
  234.31 +Sakura blushed slightly before answering. ‘Correct! Please be more attentive in class!’ Sakura nodded and sat down then heard Tomoyo giggle slightly. She smiled at her pale girlfriends evil sense of humour. Tomoyo smiled sweetly at Sakura and the lesson continued. They held each other’s arms as they walked home. Sakura could feel Tomoyo’s cool skin against her own. Then she leaned closer and kissed Tomoyo’s cheek lightly.
  234.32 +Then all she felt was pain.
  234.33 +It all happened in slow motion. Tomoyo saw Sakura fall to the ground, slowly.
  234.34 +She caught her auburn haired card mistress before the hard pavement could meet her. Then she felt something warm against her hand.
  234.35 +When she brought her hand away from the back of Sakura’s head she knew what it was. Blood.
  234.36 +
  234.37 +Tomoyo sat near Sakura in her hospital room for 3 days. She would talk to her, read her things from books and magazines.
  234.38 +On the fourth day Sakura woke up and there came an unpleasant surprise for her pale girlfriend.
  234.39 +Sakura opened her eyes to find an unfamiliar girl lying across her. ‘She’s cute!’ she thought, blushing.
  234.40 +‘What am I thinking?’ she asked herself. Then the girl opened her eyes and looked at Sakura.
  234.41 +‘She’s not cute.. she’s beautiful!’ Sakura thought, her blush deepening.
  234.42 +‘You’re awake!’ the pale girl said before tightly hugging Sakura.
  234.43 +‘I’m sorry but.. who are you?’ Sakura asked when the girl moved away.
  234.44 +‘It’s me Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan! I’m your girlfriend!’ she whispered, lightly kissing Sakura on her lips
  234.45 + She leaned back slightly before initiating a long sweet kiss. Sakura, to her own amazement kissed back.
  234.46 +Tomoyo leaned back and blushed slightly. Sakura was shocked. ‘Does this mean I’m gay?’ Sakura asked.
  234.47 +This confused Tomoyo. ‘Sakura-chan, we’ve been a couple for over 3 years now!’ Tomoyo said, trying to help Sakura remember.
  234.48 +Sakura tried her best to remember. There were flashes but nothing about them came.
  234.49 +‘I’m sorry Tomoyo-chan, but I can’t remember anything about us!’ Sakura said sadly.
  234.50 +She felt strongly about this girl and instinctively knew she didn’t want to hurt her, but seeing her now, she knew she had.
  234.51 +Tomoyo couldn’t believe it; she had lost Sakura’s love. 3 wonderful years as a couple had been lost in a freak accident.
  234.52 +She tried to hide the pain she felt from the brunette, but failed.
  234.53 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo close and could hear her crying softly. She tried to comfort her but couldn’t.
  234.54 +
  234.55 +Intermission
  234.56 +
  234.57 +‘You mean you couldn’t remember anything about Tomoyo-mama?’ Kumiko asked.
  234.58 +‘Hai!’ Sakura said sadly. ‘Poor Tomoyo-mama!’ Tomoyo said, playfully. Kumiko giggled while Sakura blushed a dark red.
  234.59 +
  234.60 +Back to the story
  234.61 +
  234.62 +The next few days were difficult for both young women. When she woke up Sakura had thought she was still only 8 years old.
  234.63 +She was surprised when she realised she was a lot older. Sakura was having indiscriminate flashes from her memory.
  234.64 +Most of the flashes was about her and Tomoyo.
  234.65 +
  234.66 +Flash
  234.67 +
  234.68 +‘I love you so much Tomo-chan!’ Sakura whispered, her voice filled with emotion.
  234.69 +‘I love you too Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo whispered, her voice equally emotional.
  234.70 +Then they kissed. Softly at first but then more passionately.
  234.71 +
  234.72 +End
  234.73 +
  234.74 +Sakura shook her head. She was slowly realising that what Tomoyo told her was true and had the answer to her question.
  234.75 +She loved the other girl. She was gay.
  234.76 +‘I never thought I’d fall in love with another girl!’ she thought. She shook her head again and sighed.
  234.77 +She was still getting used to being 9 years older then she thought. She sighed again as another flash took her.
  234.78 +
  234.79 +Flash
  234.80 +
  234.81 +Tomoyo blushed slightly as Sakura looked at her through her new video camera.
  234.82 +‘Happy birthday Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura said, smiling brightly.
  234.83 +Many cards could be seen behind her pale girlfriend.
  234.84 +It was Tomoyo’s 16th birthday and Sakura had said she was going to do something special for her.
  234.85 +Her smile grew slightly as she went into another room, not before kissing Tomoyo lightly.
  234.86 +Sakura left the room about 15 minutes later wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Sakura smiled as she handed Tomoyo the camera.
  234.87 +Tomoyo played the tape and was surprised to see Sakura doing a very slow strip tease. Tomoyo smiled at Sakura.
  234.88 +When the video finished, she pounced. She striped them both. And they made love. They held each other for hours afterwards.
  234.89 +‘Thank you Sakura!’ Tomoyo whispered. Sakura smiled and held her girlfriend and now lover close to her chest.
  234.90 +‘Happy birthday Tomo-chan!’ Sakura whispered, lightly kissing Tomoyo’s forehead.
  234.91 +
  234.92 +End
  234.93 +
  234.94 +Sakura blushed, and looked down on her bed. ‘Did we actually do that? On my bed?’ she thought. Her blush brightened.
  234.95 +Then she looked over at her desk. There sat her very own video camera.
  234.96 +She picked it up and looked at the little screen as she pressed the play button.
  234.97 +She blushed as she saw herself standing in front of the camera, naked.
  234.98 +‘Are you sure you want to do this Tomoyo-chan?’ came her voice.
  234.99 +Then Tomoyo walked into view, in an equal state of undress.
 234.100 +Tomoyo nodded and they started kissing and feeling each other’s bodies.
 234.101 +She blushed even brighter when she heard moaning and saw what they were doing.
 234.102 +She switched it off and went to see Tomoyo. She knew how she felt about the pale girl and she needed to tell her.
 234.103 +
 234.104 +Tomoyo hugged her pillow tightly wishing that it were Sakura.
 234.105 +It had been almost a week since Sakura had woke up and she had lost the brunettes’ love, possibly for good.
 234.106 +‘Why couldn’t it be me?’ she asked herself, for the millionth time.
 234.107 +There came a gentle knock on the door and Sakura walked in. ‘Hi Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura said, walking up to the pale girl.
 234.108 +‘Hi Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo whispered, wiping away her tears.
 234.109 +‘I’ve remembered something important Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura whispered as she hugged Tomoyo.
 234.110 +‘What’s that Sakura-chan?’ Tomoyo asked. Sakura smiled and leaned closer and lightly kissed Tomoyo on her lips.
 234.111 +Sakura leaned back smiling dreamily, Tomoyo looked at her for an explanation. ‘How much I love you!’ she whispered.
 234.112 +Tomoyo smiled before starting to cry again. Sakura hugged the pale girl, tight.
 234.113 +‘I love you Sakura-chan!’ she whispered, rubbing her lovers back.
 234.114 +‘I love you too Tomo-chan! I love you too!’ Sakura whispered back. Then they kissed again and again.
 234.115 +
 234.116 +End
 234.117 +
 234.118 +‘I remembered something that told me that Tomoyo-mama meant more to me than anything!’ Sakura said.
 234.119 +Kumiko smiled brightly. ‘I’m glad you remembered Sakura-papa!’ Sakura smiled slightly.
 234.120 +‘Me too Kumi-chan!’ Sakura said.
 234.121 +‘Do you want to hear about the time Tomoyo-mama thought I was going to leave her for her greatest rival?’ Sakura asked.
 234.122 +Kumiko looked at Sakura, ‘Were you really?’ she asked, her stromy blue eyes shimmering with tears.
 234.123 +Sakura smiled, ‘Shall we find out?’ she asked as Kumiko nodded furiously.
 234.124 +
 234.125 +Tomoyo’s story
 234.126 +
 234.127 +Another day had ended and many students walked slowly out of the school.
 234.128 +It had been another day in a very long running heat wave.
 234.129 +There were two students in particular that walked away from the school only seeing themselves and no one else or the heat.
 234.130 +Tomoyo and Sakura walked way from the school hand in hand.
 234.131 +There were a few more layers to these students then there should be.
 234.132 +On the outer most layer they were best friends and students in their local junior high school.
 234.133 +On the second layer was Card Captor Sakura, mistress of the cards and her intrepid sidekick always ready with a video camera and a newer and better costume.
 234.134 +On the inner most layer they were a pair of maturing teenagers who were very much in love.
 234.135 +Only a few people really knew that Sakura and Tomoyo had become romantically involved.
 234.136 +But to those that knew them; it wasn’t a big surprise.
 234.137 +They were a little excited because they were going to go on their first official date.
 234.138 +Sakura had thought that they had been dating for over 5 years, with Kero as their chaperone at times of course.
 234.139 +Tomoyo had agreed when she found out that Sakura was in love with her that they had been dating for awhile, but they decided that now she knew they were dating, that night should be their first official date. ‘I can’t wait for tonight Tomoyo-chan!’ Sakura said quietly, leaning closer to her pale girlfriend. ‘Neither can I Sakura-chan!’ she replied, smiling dreamily. They walked together in silence. As they walked Tomoyo had started to think about why Sakura loved her and couldn’t think of anything. They looked around and saw that they stood outside of Sakura’s house.
 234.140 +Tomoyo sighed as they entered.
 234.141 +When Sakura shut the door and turned to face Tomoyo, she could see the pale girl was wearing a dismal expression.
 234.142 +This worried Sakura. ‘What’s wrong Tomoyo-chan?’ she asked.
 234.143 +She had rarely seen her pale girlfriend even look like this. ‘What about Li-kun?’ Tomoyo asked.
 234.144 +‘What about him?’ Sakura asked as a reply. ‘Sakura-chan, Li-kun said he would come back for you!’ she said.
 234.145 +‘But we don’t know that he will!’ Sakura said, smiling lovingly at her girlfriend.
 234.146 +Tomoyo sighed and looked straight at Sakura, making their eyes meet.
 234.147 +‘I just want to know why you love me!’ Sakura looked at her best friend and girlfriend and smiled.
 234.148 +‘I love you because you’re smart and beautiful. You can make me laugh when everything seems hopeless. Whenever a problem is too tough to solve, you give me the inspiration I need to solve it!’ Sakura told her, gently stroking her cheek. Tomoyo looked at her and smiled.
 234.149 +‘Did you think that when Li-kun does come back that I’d leave you for him?’ she asked softly. Tomoyo nodded sadly. She knew that this might end when Syaoran returned, but she had a pretty good idea where Sakura was going in this conversation.
 234.150 +‘That won’t happen Tomoyo-chan! I promise!’ she whispered, before lightly kissing Tomoyo on the lips. When she leaned back she could see a few tears escape Tomoyo’s eyes, she smiled as she wiped them away. Tomoyo smiled and hugged Sakura tightly.
 234.151 +‘I love you Sakura-chan!’ she whispered into Sakura’s clothes. Although the words were muffled, Sakura heard them loud and clear.
 234.152 +‘I love you too Tomoyo-chan!’ she whispered back, kissing the top of Tomoyo’s head.
 234.153 +
 234.154 +Intermission
 234.155 +
 234.156 +‘Why did you think that Tomoyo-mama?’ Kumiko asked. Sakura and Tomoyo sweat dropped at the question.
 234.157 +Their daughter was developing a habit of asking very insightful yet awkward questions.
 234.158 +‘Well, I knew Li-kun liked your father as well, so I thought that I was only going to be her girlfriend as long as he didn’t come back.’ Tomoyo explained.
 234.159 +Kumiko wore a blank expression after her mothers’ explanation.
 234.160 +Tomoyo giggled slightly, Kumiko was just like her father in a lot of ways.
 234.161 +‘Silly Tomoyo-mama!’ Sakura whispered, drawing out a giggle from her daughter. Tomoyo smiled before continuing her story.
 234.162 +
 234.163 +Back to the story
 234.164 +
 234.165 +Days later they found out that Li-kun had returned as he had promised Sakura.
 234.166 +Sakura, true to her word, told Li-kun that she was in love with someone else.
 234.167 +This was after Li-kun attempted to kiss her. Tomoyo had been right next to them when it happened.
 234.168 +She had been surprised that her girlfriend had been able to keep her cool when she saw it happen.
 234.169 +
 234.170 +Earlier that day:
 234.171 +Sakura and Tomoyo were walking to school arm in arm, smiling happily.
 234.172 +‘Sakura-chan!’ someone yelled from behind them. When they turned around they could see it was Syaoran running up to them.
 234.173 +He had returned like he had promised. When he caught up to them, he took Sakura into a bone-crushing hug.
 234.174 +‘Um.. Li-kun! You’re hurting me!’ she said, her voice sounding really strained.
 234.175 +‘Oh! Sorry Sakura-chan!’ he said, ‘It’s just that I missed you!’
 234.176 +When he looked at her, his eyes were screaming out his intentions.
 234.177 +He leaned closer until his lips were only half and inch away from Sakura’s.
 234.178 +Just then Sakura stopped him and looked at him apologetically.
 234.179 +‘I’m sorry Li-kun but.. I.. I’m in love with someone else!’ she said, looking away. ‘Who?’ he asked.
 234.180 +‘All I can tell you is that you know her!’ Sakura told him.
 234.181 +When she looked at Tomoyo, she could tell that Sakura had given him a huge hint.
 234.182 +But Syaoran seemed like he didn’t get it. ‘Her? You mean you’re in love with another girl?’ he asked sceptically.
 234.183 +‘Yes! Is that a problem?’ she asked. He smiled slightly and shook his head.
 234.184 +‘To me? No it’s not. It might be to a lot of other people though!’ he said.
 234.185 +Sakura and Tomoyo smiled at him. ‘Thank you Li-kun’ they said in unison. He nodded and headed towards the school.
 234.186 +The looked at him as he headed off into the distance. ‘I think he took it well!’ Sakura said. Tomoyo nodded.
 234.187 +‘I think he took it very well!’ Tomoyo said. They smiled at each other, leaned closer and kissed.
 234.188 +When they leaned back they continued to look at each other.
 234.189 +‘We’d better hurry or we’re going to be late!’ Tomoyo said, giggling. ‘Yeah!’ Sakura said, giggling as well.
 234.190 +Taking Sakura’s hand in her own, they started to run, laughing as they went.
 234.191 +
 234.192 +End
 234.193 +
 234.194 +‘Did they really happen?’ Kumiko asked.
 234.195 +‘Well.. your mother’s story did, I made mine up to make you feel better!’ Sakura said.
 234.196 +Kumiko smiled slightly. ‘Do you feel better Kumi-chan?’ Tomoyo asked.
 234.197 +Kumiko nodded, hugging her mother before leaving the room. Sakura looked at her pale wife and smiled.
 234.198 +She slipped her arms around the other woman’s shoulders.
 234.199 +‘I love you Tomo-chan!’ she whispered, lightly kissing Tomoyo’s cheek.
 234.200 +‘I love you too Sakura-chan!’ Tomoyo whispered back.
 234.201 +‘When do you think she’ll realise that both stories aren’t true?’ Tomoyo asked.
 234.202 +‘I don’t know! But at least she’s feeling better now!’ Sakura said.
 234.203 +They smiled at each other before they kissed lightly.
 234.204 +Years later Sakura, Tomoyo and their youngest daughter watched as Kumiko went on her date with her girlfriend.
 234.205 +They smiled; watching the same kind of love they had show in their daughter and her lover.
 234.206 +
 234.207 +-----------
 234.208 +Author's notes:
 234.209 +I hope you enjoyed it! This one I hope fills in what happened before Sakura and Tomoyo got married!
 234.210 +Don't worry though I'll write a real one later!
 234.211 \ No newline at end of file

   235.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   235.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_theoneyoulove.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   235.3 @@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
   235.4 +Find out the one you love
   235.5 +By Radar
   235.6 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   235.7 +
   235.8 +-----------
   235.9 +DISCLAIMER:
  235.10 +These characters belong to CLAMP! This is a Yuri story so if it
  235.11 +offends you please don't read!
  235.12 +
  235.13 +Sakura Kinomoto was in a bad mood. And she didn't know why. Getting
  235.14 +out of bed, she quickly got dressed and went downstairs. 'Watch out
  235.15 +Kaijuu!' Touya said as Sakura almost bumbed into him. Sakura ignored
  235.16 +his teasing and made her breakfast. She and Tomoyo had been very
  235.17 +busy. The older cheerleaders and the older members of the choir had
  235.18 +graduated and left for university. Tomoyo was now helping the newer
  235.19 +members fit in as was Sakura. She felt lonier then she did when
  235.20 +Syaoran and her had drifted apart from his time in Hong Kong.
  235.21 +Standing up, she quickly left and walked to school.
  235.22 +
  235.23 +Tomoyo Daidouji stood at the school gates waiting for Sakura. She'd
  235.24 +been hoping to ask her auburn haired friend about the mood she'd been
  235.25 +in recently. She had asked her mother about it. Sonomi had smiled at
  235.26 +her daughter and reassured her that things would return to normal.
  235.27 +'Daidouji-sempai!' a voice called out, interrupting her trail of
  235.28 +thought. Turning around she saw a small Blonde haired girl jogging
  235.29 +towards her. 'Good Morning Emi-chan!' Tomoyo said, once the smaller
  235.30 +girl was closer. 'How are you Daidouji-sempai?' Emi asked. 'I'm
  235.31 +alright Emi-chan!' Tomoyo replied. 'Have you seen Saura-chan?' Emi's
  235.32 +featured darkened slightly when Sakura's name was mentioned. 'Not
  235.33 +today Daidouji-sempai!' Emi replied. Tomoyo smiled slightly at the
  235.34 +younger girl. She'd known for a while how the other girl felt about
  235.35 +her. It hurt a little when she couldn't return the other girls
  235.36 +feelings. 'Emi-chan!' a voice called out, attracting the younger
  235.37 +girls attention. Turning around, she smiled when she saw a blue
  235.38 +haired girl jogging up to her. 'Miyuki-chan!' Emi squealed and ran up
  235.39 +to her friend. Looking at Tomoyo the blue haired girl took her
  235.40 +friends hand and lead her to their homeroom. Tomoyo sighed softly,
  235.41 +watching the girls leave. She knew how Miyuki felt about her blonde
  235.42 +haired friend. Miyuki had told her when she saw the girl leave Choir
  235.43 +with tears in her eyes. Soon after she saw that Miyuki had joined the
  235.44 +cheerleading squad. 'Tomoyo-chan!' another voice broke her trail of
  235.45 +thought. Spinning around, her smile grew upon seeing her auburn
  235.46 +haired best friend. She could see that Sakura's mood had become her
  235.47 +usual cheerful mood. 'Hi Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo said, meeting her
  235.48 +friend. Taking Sakura's hand with ease they walked to their homeroom,
  235.49 +passing Emi and Miyuki on their way. Sakura noticed that Emi gave her
  235.50 +a dirty look as they passed. 'Is Emi-chan ok?' Sakura asked. 'I think
  235.51 +so!' Tomoyo replied. Sitting down at their desks, Tomoyo realised why
  235.52 +Sakura was not her usual self... it was like she was jealous. Quickly
  235.53 +Tomoyo wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to
  235.54 +Sakura just as their teacher walked in. Opening the note Sakura read
  235.55 +it and reread it. Looking at her friend, she nodded slightly before
  235.56 +starting to pay attention to their lesson.
  235.57 +
  235.58 +Miyuki looked at her friend sitting at the desk beside her. She felt
  235.59 +a stab of jealousy. 'Why Emi-chan?' she thought. 'Why her and not
  235.60 +me?' She lowered her head and concentrated on her work. She knew Emi
  235.61 +was worried about her, having noticed some suspicious marks on her
  235.62 +body and the way she had been acting. 'Are you ok Miyuki-chan?' Emi
  235.63 +whispered, looking at her friend. Nodding Miyuki kept her
  235.64 +concentration on her work, her shoulder length blue hair obscuring
  235.65 +her eyes. 'Really?' Emi asked. Again Miyuki nodded gripping her pen a
  235.66 +little tighter. Emi shook her head slightly. She worried about her
  235.67 +friend. Miyuki was mysterious about many things. Especially about the
  235.68 +way she had been acting lately. Emi looked at Miyuki again. The blue
  235.69 +haired girl had become so withdrawn. 'Kino-san!' their teachers voice
  235.70 +made her jump in her seat. 'Hai sensai?'
  235.71 +'Please pay attention!' Emi blushed slightly. 'Hai sensei!' she
  235.72 +replied, shifting her attention from her friend to her class work,
  235.73 +every few minutes looking over at her friend.
  235.74 +
  235.75 +Sakura stretched and yawned. It had been a long day, and it wasn't
  235.76 +over yet. She watched some of the newer cheerleaders go through the
  235.77 +routines. Only Miyuki seemed distracted. Gently Sakura pulled Miyuki
  235.78 +to one side. 'Miyuki-chan are you ok?' she asked. The blue haired
  235.79 +girl nodded, not looking up. 'Hai Kinomoto-sempai!' she whispered,
  235.80 +before going in the locker room to change. 'I just wish Emi-chan
  235.81 +didn't love your girlfriend!' she muttered once out of earshot of
  235.82 +Sakura. Sakura watched her go, very concerned. She had seen the marks
  235.83 +on Miyuki's body and she had started to wonder where they had come
  235.84 +from. Meanwhile Tomoyo was getting ready to meet with Sakura. Slowly
  235.85 +Emi walked up to Tomoyo. 'Um... Sempai?' the shorter girl asked.
  235.86 +'Hai?' Tomoyo said, turning around. 'I.. er...' Emi stuttered,
  235.87 +suddenly feeling very shy. She fumbled with her hands, so intent on
  235.88 +telling Tomoyo how she felt, she failed to notice Miyuki standing in
  235.89 +the door way. 'I really like you Daidouji-sempai!' Emi finally said.
  235.90 +'No!'
  235.91 +'Miyuki-chan?' Emi asked, seeing her best friend standing by the
  235.92 +door, tears in her eyes and falling down her cheeks. Before Emi could
  235.93 +say anything else the blue haired girl ran.
  235.94 +
  235.95 +Closing the door, Miyuki cried heavily. She'd been to late, now she
  235.96 +was scared she'd lost everything. Slowly she walked to the edge of
  235.97 +the roof, tears still falling. 'Nothing left!' she whispered,
  235.98 +climbing onto the edge. The pain she felt when she heard Emi tell
  235.99 +Tomoyo she liked her had gone, replaced only with a dull throb where
 235.100 +her heart was. 'Miyuki-chan?' a voice asked. 'No! Please just leave
 235.101 +me alone!' she thought as she carefully turned around. 'Please
 235.102 +Kinomoto-sempai!' she whispered, 'Leave me alone!'
 235.103 +'No..!' Sakura said walking closer very slowly. She'd heard
 235.104 +everything, and saw Miyuki run off crying heavily. Turning to face
 235.105 +her friend she saw utter confusion on Emi's face and Tomoyo's was
 235.106 +unreadable. Sakura was close enough to grab the younger teen, but
 235.107 +stopped before she did. 'Why?' Miyuki whispered, 'Why her?'
 235.108 +'Miyuki-chan?' Sakura asked. 'Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo's soft voice
 235.109 +asked, causing Sakura to turn around. 'Stay back Tomoyo!' Sakura
 235.110 +said, before turning back to Miyuki. Tomoyo noted that Sakura had
 235.111 +dropped the "chan" suffix. 'She's serious?' Tomoyo asked herself.
 235.112 +'Come on Miyuki-chan!' Sakura said, extending her hand. The blue
 235.113 +haired girl shook her head, shuffling her feet backwards slightly.
 235.114 +Again Sakura slowly eased forwards. 'Why do you want to do this
 235.115 +Miyuki-chan?' Sakura asked. Miyuki mumbled something incoherent, not
 235.116 +noticing a third person stepping on to the roof. 'Miyuki-chan...
 235.117 +please!' Sakura said, holding her hand out to the blue haired girl.
 235.118 +Again Miyuki shook her head. Slowly she fell backwards, extending her
 235.119 +arms. However Sakura was already in motion. She grabbed the smaller
 235.120 +girl by the waist and pulled her off the edge. They hit the ground,
 235.121 +hard. 'Why?' Miyuki asked, crying heavily and hitting Sakura's chest
 235.122 +with her free hand. 'Miyuki-chan?' a soft voice asked. Miyuki gasped,
 235.123 +her eyes opening wide. Emi was here? She wasn't supposed to see her
 235.124 +now. Sakura looked up, and saw Emi kneeling next to them with tears
 235.125 +in her eyes. Carefully, she took her blue haired friend into her
 235.126 +arms. After seeing her friend run from her and Tomoyo looking so hurt
 235.127 +she realised that it was Miyuki she cared for more then Tomoyo. 'I'm
 235.128 +so sorry Miyuki-chan!' she whispered. The slightly smaller girl
 235.129 +looked at her friend. Why was Emi apologising to her? Carefully Emi
 235.130 +hugged Miyuki tighter. Standing up, Sakura gently led Tomoyo off the
 235.131 +roof, sensing the other girls need for privacy. Carefully Emi helped
 235.132 +Miyuki to her feet, still hugging her. 'Emi-chan....' Miyuki
 235.133 +whispered. 'I'm so so sorry Miyuki-chan!' Emi whispered, gently
 235.134 +hugging the other girl tighter. Slowly Miyuki turned around in her
 235.135 +friends hug. Looking up Emi lightly kissed her friends cheek, before
 235.136 +looking down again. 'I don't want to loose you Miyuki-chan!' Emi
 235.137 +whispered. Slowly Miyuki put her arms around the smaller girl. Gently
 235.138 +she kissed the blonde haired girls cheek. 'I don't want to loose you
 235.139 +either Emi-chan!' Miyuki whispered. Looking up, the smaller girl
 235.140 +blushed slightly. Leaning closer she gently pressed her lips to her
 235.141 +friends. Leaning away Miyuki blushed brightly. 'Why did you do that
 235.142 +Emi-chan?' Miyuki asked. Emi blushed brightly and gently pressed her
 235.143 +face into the taller girls breast. 'Because when you ran off, I
 235.144 +realised that it is you that I really like Miyuki-chan!' Emi replied.
 235.145 +When Emi looked up again, Miyuki saw something in the other girls
 235.146 +eyes: hope. The taller girl smiled slightly and gently pressed her
 235.147 +lips to Emi's again.
 235.148 +
 235.149 +Sakura sighed softly as she rubbed her right shoulder. 'Are you ok
 235.150 +Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo asked, seeing Sakura rub her shoulder again.
 235.151 +'I'll be ok Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura replied, smiling at the pale girl.
 235.152 +Tomoyo smiled herself as Sakura gently wrapped an arm around her.
 235.153 +Gently she put a hand on Sakura's right shoulder, only to pull it
 235.154 +away an instant later when she saw Sakura wince in pain. 'Please show
 235.155 +me Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo said. Looking into Tomoyo's stormy blue eyes,
 235.156 +Sakura knew she couldn't refuse. Undoing the top buttons on her shirt
 235.157 +she gently moved the right shoulder of her shirt down to reveal a
 235.158 +large bruise. Gently Tomoyo started to rub Sakura's injured shoulder.
 235.159 +'Isn't this one of the places my foot hit when we were....'
 235.160 +'Hai!' Sakura said, cutting the pale girl off. Turning her head, she
 235.161 +blushed slightly remembering that night. Carefully Tomoyo pressed her
 235.162 +lips to Sakura's shoulder before the auburn haired teen could fasten
 235.163 +her shirt up. 'I'll be gentle next time Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo
 235.164 +whispered, gently kissing Sakura's cheek. She giggled softly noticing
 235.165 +Sakura blushing deeper. Wrapping her arm around Tomoyo's waist again,
 235.166 +they walked out of the school building, followed soon after by Miyuki
 235.167 +and Emi. The elder couple knew what the smiles on the younger girls
 235.168 +faces meant.
 235.169 +
 235.170 +YEARS LATER
 235.171 +
 235.172 +Sakura smiled slightly as she put away the last book. Slowly she
 235.173 +looked down at the baby in her arm. 'Should it be the fourth grades
 235.174 +assignments or the third grades?' she whispered. The baby gurgled
 235.175 +slightly and yawned. 'Third grade it is!' Sakura said, looking at the
 235.176 +young girl sitting opposite her writing something in her book. The
 235.177 +baby gurgled again letting her know that as long as she was
 235.178 +comfortable she was happy with what ever Sakura decided. Slowly
 235.179 +Sakura grabbed the top book with her free hand and looked at the
 235.180 +young girl again. 'Yuki-chan, are you ok?' The young girl nodded and
 235.181 +went back to her work. Yuki looked exactly like Tomoyo when she was
 235.182 +that age, except for her emerald eyes and streaks of white in her
 235.183 +hair. The baby gurgled again softly as she flexed her hands for what
 235.184 +Sakura presumed was for her own amusement. Yuki looked at what her
 235.185 +baby sister was doing and smiled slightly. 'Mihoshi-chan liked to do
 235.186 +that doesn't she papa?' she asked, going back to her homework. Sakura
 235.187 +smiled as she set her pen down and watched her youngest daughter.
 235.188 +'Hai, she does!' Sakura whispered, gently adjusting the baby in her
 235.189 +arm. She looked up and smiled at her eldest daughter before picking
 235.190 +her pen up again. It was no secret that most girls in Yuki's class
 235.191 +had asked why she had streaks of white in her dark hair. Many had
 235.192 +started to tease her when she had said they were natural. 'Hello
 235.193 +Sempai!' a voice said. Looking up they saw Emi walking towards them,
 235.194 +with an arm full of books. 'Hi Kino-sensei!' Yuki said. 'Hi Emi-
 235.195 +chan!' Sakura said, as Mihoshi gurgled again. 'Mama?' a young girl
 235.196 +whispered, gently tugging on Emi's shirt. Emi smiled as she looked at
 235.197 +her daughter. 'Hai Hotaru-chan?' Emi asked. Setting her books on the
 235.198 +table, Emi kneeled down so the young girl could whisper something
 235.199 +into her mothers ear. Emi giggled softly. 'You were that small as
 235.200 +well Hotaru-chan!' At that time Mihoshi started crying loudly. Yuki
 235.201 +looked at her blue haired friend as she slowly backed away from the
 235.202 +crying child in Sakura's arms. Sakura looked up and smiled at the
 235.203 +young girl. 'It's all right Hotaru-san!' she said, 'This is her
 235.204 +hungry cry.' Turning around Sakura un buttoned her shirt and
 235.205 +manoeuvred the baby closer to her breast. Whenever Tomoyo was asleep
 235.206 +or busy with her company's paper work Sakura often breastfed Mihoshi
 235.207 +when she needed to be fed. She was thankful that her magic allowed
 235.208 +her to lactate when the baby needed feeding. It was the same when
 235.209 +Yuki was a baby. Emi leaned down again as Hotaru whispered something
 235.210 +into her ear again. Yuki smiled slightly, having guessed what Hotaru
 235.211 +had asked. 'She feeding the baby Hotaru-chan!' Yuki said, smiling
 235.212 +slightly at her best friend. Taking the blued haired girls hand, Yuki
 235.213 +led her friend to her room to show Hotaru her collection. Slowly
 235.214 +Mihoshi stopped feeding and Sakura buttoned her shirt up. 'Hotaru's a
 235.215 +nice girl!' Sakura said, sitting back down. Emi smiled saddly. 'But
 235.216 +she's very shy!' Sakura looked at the younger woman confused. Still
 235.217 +smiling sadly Emi decided to explain everything.
 235.218 +
 235.219 +Yuki smiled at the other girl as she showed her the collection of
 235.220 +stuffed animaled she'd gotten from her papa. However the other girl
 235.221 +had simply sat on the bed, just listening to her. 'What's wrong
 235.222 +Hotaru-chan?' Yuki asked, sitting next to the blue haired girl. She
 235.223 +was surprised when Hotaru slowly moved away from her. 'You don't want
 235.224 +to touch me!' the other girl whispered, 'I'm dirty!'
 235.225 +'No you're not!' Yuki said, scooting closer to her friend. 'Yes I
 235.226 +am!' Hotaru said, with tears in her eyes. 'I'm dirty because my papa
 235.227 +is dirty!' Curling up into a ball she started to cry. 'Papa hurt mama
 235.228 +lots! Okaa-san and mama don't talk about it but I know that I
 235.229 +happened after he hurt her!' the girl said as tears ran down her now
 235.230 +pale cheeks. 'Everyone stares at me because they know my real papa
 235.231 +hurt my mama...' Slowly Yuki hugged her blue haired friend, not
 235.232 +letting go as Hotaru struggled to get away. 'Please let me go! I
 235.233 +don't want you to be dirty as well!' Yuki shook her head. 'You aren't
 235.234 +dirty Hotaru-chan!' Yuki whispered. Hotaru managed to get loose of
 235.235 +her friends hug and scurried away towards the door. 'I'm so sorry
 235.236 +Yuki-chan! I got you dirty to!' the girl whispered before running out
 235.237 +of the room. 'Hotaru-chan!' Yuki called out, before running after her
 235.238 +friend.
 235.239 +
 235.240 +She sat crying under the king penguin slide. 'She's just like me
 235.241 +now!' she thought sadly. 'I made her dirty!' That made her cry
 235.242 +harder. 'Hi!' a soft voice said. Looking up she saw a pale woman
 235.243 +kneeling near her. 'It's her mama!' Hotaru thought. The pale woman
 235.244 +smiled at slowly sat near the young blue haired girl. Tomoyo had just
 235.245 +arrived home when Hotaru had bumped into her when she ran out of her
 235.246 +home. 'Yuki-chan told me why you ran away!' Tomoyo whispered. 'I ran
 235.247 +because I'm dirty!' Hotaru whispered. Slowly Tomoyo scooted closer.
 235.248 +'Why do you think that?'
 235.249 +'Because my papa is dirty!' Hotaru whispered, 'He hurt my mama!' The
 235.250 +pale woman smiled sadly at the young girl. 'I don't think you're
 235.251 +dirty Hotaru-chan!' Tomoyo whispered. Hotaru looked up sharply, her
 235.252 +eyes, red from crying, met Tomoyo's. 'You don't?' Tomoyo shook her
 235.253 +head. 'And I know Yuki and Sakura doesn't think you're dirty.' Tomoyo
 235.254 +paused and caught her breath, 'And your parents have never thought
 235.255 +you are dirty!' Hotaru shuddered as she tried to stop crying. 'Hotaru-
 235.256 +chan?' another voice said. 'Mama?' Hotaru asked, looking up at her
 235.257 +mother kneeling near Tomoyo. The blue haired woman smiled as her
 235.258 +daughter scooted closer to her. Carefully she whipped the girls tears
 235.259 +away. 'I'm sorry mama!' the girl whispered, hugging Miyuki. 'What for
 235.260 +Hotaru-chan?' Miyuki asked. 'For running away!' the girl whispered,
 235.261 +crying into her mothers chest. Carefully Miyuki wrapped her arms
 235.262 +around the young girl. She had been told why Hotaru had ran off. 'How
 235.263 +long has she felt this way?' she asked herself. Gently she kissed the
 235.264 +top of her daughters head. 'I'm sorry Hotaru!' Miyuki whispered. The
 235.265 +girl looked up at her mother, their eyes meeting. 'Why mama?' the
 235.266 +girl asked, whipping her eyes. Miyuki smiled at the girl rubbing her
 235.267 +own eyes. 'I'm sorry because I didn't make you feel better when I
 235.268 +should have.' Miyuki whispered. Slowly the girl hugged her mother
 235.269 +again. Slowly Tomoyo left the two alone, not wanting to interupt what
 235.270 +was going on. She sighed softly as she sat on one of the swings. 'Is
 235.271 +everything alright now?' a soft voice asked. Looking to her left she
 235.272 +saw Yuki and Sakura, Sakura holding a wrapped up Mihoshi, standing
 235.273 +near her. They smiled as they watched Hotaru and her parents leave,
 235.274 +knowing things would be alright.
 235.275 \ No newline at end of file

   236.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   236.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_thewedding.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   236.3 @@ -0,0 +1,281 @@
   236.4 +The wedding
   236.5 +
   236.6 +By Radar
   236.7 +simon_mcnestrie@hotmail.com
   236.8 +
   236.9 +---------------
  236.10 +
  236.11 +WARNING! this is a yuri story!
  236.12 +these characters aside from the ones I created are the property of
  236.13 +clamp!
  236.14 +
  236.15 +Sakura sighed softly, her emerald eyes half closed as Tomoyo
  236.16 +snuggled agaisnt her.
  236.17 +'Sakura-chan? Are you ok?' the pale girl asked, noticing Sakura's
  236.18 +unusual lack of interest in the movie.
  236.19 +'Yeah.. just a little tired I guess!' the auburn haired girl
  236.20 +replied. True she'd been a little tired lately but what could be
  236.21 +expected when she was helping to plan her own wedding with Tomoyo.
  236.22 +Tomoyo smiled slightly, kissing Sakura's cheek. 'Your having
  236.23 +difficultly keeping up with me in our plans aren't you?' Tomoyo asked.
  236.24 +'Hai!' Sakura replied, mid yawn. 'But you've been planning this
  236.25 +since we were 10 years old!'
  236.26 +Tomoyo giggled softly, bringing a smile to Sakura's face. 'Sakura-
  236.27 +chan..' Tomoyo started, before a loud explosion eminated from the TV.
  236.28 +'I know.. you want our wedding to be perfect!' Sakura finished,
  236.29 +lightly kissing the pale teenager.
  236.30 +'And it will be!' Tomoyo smiled brightly. Never had she thought that
  236.31 +she'd marry Sakura.
  236.32 +Always had she thought that the auburn haired cardmistress would run
  236.33 +off with Syaoran Li.
  236.34 +'What are you thinking about?' Sakura asked. 'What Sakura-chan will
  236.35 +look like in her wedding dress!' Tomoyo replied, a mental image of a
  236.36 +blushing Sakura in a wedding dress instantly coming into her
  236.37 +imagination.
  236.38 +'Hoe.. Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura whined, blushing brightly. Tomoyo
  236.39 +giggled again, resting her head on Sakura's shoulder. Slowly Sakura
  236.40 +feel asleep, her head lightly resting against Tomoyo's.
  236.41 +
  236.42 +'Sakura?' a voice called out to her. 'Who's there?' she called back
  236.43 +before a figure appeared a short distance from her.
  236.44 +'Who are you?' Sakura asked, approaching the figure. 'I can't tell
  236.45 +you now.. but if you continue your plans to marry Tomoyo it will head
  236.46 +to disaster!'
  236.47 +'No it won't!' Sakura countered. 'We love each other!' The figure
  236.48 +laughed.
  236.49 +'I know.. but if you get married now you'll face a terrible fate!'
  236.50 +
  236.51 +Sakura opened her eyes, gasping. Looking up she saw her older
  236.52 +brother standing over her.
  236.53 +'About time Kaijuu!' he said. 'Go away Onii-chan!' Sakura said.
  236.54 +Touya raised an eyebrow.
  236.55 +Sakura hadn't even repsonded to his teasing this time. 'What's the
  236.56 +matter Sakura?' he asked, just noticing Tomoyo standing at the door.
  236.57 +'Bad dream!' Sakura replied. 'Again?' Sakura nodded. 'This person
  236.58 +says I shouldn't marry Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura said, 'I want to! But if
  236.59 +tell her I don't want to I'll hurt her! And I don't want to do that!'
  236.60 +Touya sighed softly.
  236.61 +'Did this person say it was a mistake to marry her?'
  236.62 +'Yeah!' Sakura replied. Touya smiled slightly. 'Wierd!' Sakura
  236.63 +thought, having only seen her older brother smile on a few occansions.
  236.64 +'It might be a mistake Sakura.. but it's your mistake to make!'
  236.65 +Touya said, before notiing Sakura's confused look.
  236.66 +'You should marry her if it's what you want Sakura! No one can tell
  236.67 +you other wise!' Touya said. Sakura smiled slightly.
  236.68 +'Arigatou Onii-chan!' she said, before pausing for a moment. 'And
  236.69 +I'm not a Kaijuu!' she added, raising her voice.
  236.70 +'She's back to normal now!' Touya thought leaving the room. 'You can
  236.71 +come in now Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura said, laying back on her pillow.
  236.72 +'Are you ok Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo asked, laying next to Sakura. 'Hai!
  236.73 +And I've come to a decision!' Sakura said.
  236.74 +'You want to call the wedding off don't you?' Tomoyo said sadly.
  236.75 +Sakura smiled brightly. 'Nope! I want to marry you right now!' Sakura
  236.76 +said, turning to face Tomoyo.
  236.77 +'R... Really?' Tomoyo asked, unsure if she heard her girlfriend right.
  236.78 +'Hai!' the auburn haired girl said, hugging the pale girl with one
  236.79 +arm.
  236.80 +'But I haven't even made your dress yet! I haven't even thought of
  236.81 +making the cake!' Tomoyo said, counting down what still had to be
  236.82 +done.
  236.83 +Sakura smiled slightly before stopping Tomoyo by placing a finger
  236.84 +over the pale girls lips.
  236.85 +'I know what still needs doing Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura said, 'But I
  236.86 +think you should know something!'
  236.87 +Suddenly she stood up and walked to her closet. Carefully she pulled
  236.88 +out 2 dresses. Tomoyo gasped.
  236.89 +'You made these?' she asked. 'Um.. no! This was my mothers wedding
  236.90 +dress!' Sakura said, raising the dress in her left hand, 'And this
  236.91 +was your mothers!' Sakura finished raising her right hand.
  236.92 +Tomoyo stood up and slowly walked towards Sakura and gently felt the
  236.93 +dresses that their mothers had woren when the had gotten married.
  236.94 +'Wow!' Tomoyo whispered. 'Where'd you get them?' Rarely was she
  236.95 +surprise by what Sakura could do but this time she was.
  236.96 +Sakura laughed nervously. 'Um.. Sonomi-sama would only let me borrow
  236.97 +this is if she could see you in it Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura said. Tomoyo
  236.98 +smiled slightly.
  236.99 +'But it might not fit me!' she said, 'It looks like it'd fit you!'
 236.100 +Sakura nodded slightly, 'It might!'
 236.101 +'But what about school?' Tomoyo asked. It was their final year and
 236.102 +she didn't want either to fail their exams because they skipped a day
 236.103 +to get married.
 236.104 +'Don't worry Tomoyo-chan.. we'll do it after school!' Sakura said,
 236.105 +putting the dresses back in the closet.
 236.106 +Tomoyo sighed softly and smiled. Sakura's impulsiveness was one of
 236.107 +the many things the pale hairess loved about her.
 236.108 +'Let's do it Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo said. It wasn't often she went
 236.109 +along with Sakura's impulsivness, but this one time she felt it was
 236.110 +the right thing to do.
 236.111 +'Did you find somewhere on such short notice Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo
 236.112 +asked, as Sakura carefully put their dresses away.
 236.113 +'Hai! Its a small temple in Tokyo!' Sakura replied. She sighed
 236.114 +softly having gone almost everywhere else she could think of only to
 236.115 +be turned down the instant she mentioned she was marrying another
 236.116 +girl.
 236.117 +She'd been surprised to find the owner of the temple agreeing to
 236.118 +hold the wedding 'It won't be the first time for that kind of
 236.119 +ceremony!' the old man had said.
 236.120 +This was Tomoyo's first clue. 'She's been planning this for a
 236.121 +while!' she thought. Her smile grew slightly.
 236.122 +Sakura sat next to Tomoyo and smiled slightly. 'Are you ok with
 236.123 +this?' she asked.
 236.124 +'Of course Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo replied. Sakura had concerned about
 236.125 +Tomoyo's happiness since they had started dating, having realised the
 236.126 +pain she'd unintentionally caused Tomoyo.
 236.127 +'Girls!' a voice called out, 'Breakfast!' The girls smiled and left
 236.128 +the room.
 236.129 +
 236.130 +As they walked to school, the reality set in. They were going to get
 236.131 +married.
 236.132 +'Sakura-chan.. Tomoyo-chan! Wait up!' a couple of voices called out.
 236.133 +They stopped and turned around to see Rika, Naoko and Chihiru running
 236.134 +towards them.
 236.135 +'You walk too fast!' Naoko said, when they caught upto them. 'Sorry
 236.136 +about that!' Tomoyo said. Sakura smiled slightly.
 236.137 +'Have you set a date yet?' Rika asked. 'Yep!' Sakura replied.
 236.138 +'When?' Chihiru asked. 'Today!' Sakura asked.
 236.139 +'After school!' Sakura added, noticing the confused look on her
 236.140 +friends faces. 'Today?' Chiharu asked.
 236.141 +'Hai Chiharu-chan!' Sakura replied. 'Where?' Naoko asked. 'It's a
 236.142 +small temple in Tyoko!' Tomoyo said.
 236.143 +Their three friends looked at each other with mixed emotions. 'Have
 236.144 +you told your parents yet?' Rika asked.
 236.145 +'We told Sonomi-sama!' Sakura said, 'I just have to tell Onii-chan
 236.146 +and my father!' Sakura sighed softly.
 236.147 +She had no idea how she was going to tell Touya and her father that
 236.148 +the wedding plans had changed on such short notice.
 236.149 +'Wow!' Chiharu said. 'Do you have your dresses?' Tomoyo asked. The
 236.150 +girls nodded, and smiled. As they walked into the school building
 236.151 +they talked about where they were meeting.
 236.152 +
 236.153 +They stood outside the school, wondering why Sakura had asked them
 236.154 +to meet her here.
 236.155 +Slowly Sakura walked out of the school. 'Hi!' She called out,
 236.156 +jogging upto them. 'Why'd you call us her Kaijuu?' Touya asked.
 236.157 +'I'm not a Kaijuu!' Sakura yelled, kicking him in the shins. He
 236.158 +whinched, it wasn't that bad when Sakura was younger, but now he
 236.159 +wondered if it was a good idea to continue to tease his sister.
 236.160 +'Sakura-chan..' Fujitaka said, attracting her attention. Sakura
 236.161 +looked at him blankly for a moment, the reason she'd asked them to
 236.162 +meet her forgoten.
 236.163 +'Oh.. the date's changed!' she said. 'To when Sakura-chan?' her
 236.164 +father asked.
 236.165 +'Today.. after school!' Sakura replied, handing the a piece of paper
 236.166 +with the temples address on it.
 236.167 +'Oh!' She looked up and smiled slightly. She turned and walked back
 236.168 +into the school. Fujitaka smiled slightly, before looking at the note.
 236.169 +'Looks like I'll have to tell Yuki!' Touya said, as they walked
 236.170 +away. Fujitaka smiled as he watched Sakura vanish from sight.
 236.171 +Soon she'd marry the person she loved.
 236.172 +
 236.173 +Sakura sighed, lightly poking her food. In a few hours she'd be
 236.174 +married to the person she loved more then anything.
 236.175 +'Sakura-chan.. are you ok?' a soft voice asked, bringing her out
 236.176 +thoughts. 'Hai?' she smiled slightly.
 236.177 +Being with Tomoyo always had a calming effect on her. Tomoyo smiled
 236.178 +at her, obviously hiding her own nervousness.
 236.179 +Sakura sighed softly. Marriage, what if they wanted children? She'd
 236.180 +never thought of that before.
 236.181 +'What are you thinking about Sakura-chan?' Tomoyo asked. Sakura
 236.182 +looked up into Tomoyo's stormy blue eyes.
 236.183 +'What if you want to have a child Tomoyo-chan?' Sakura asked softly.
 236.184 +What if the pale girl wanted a child.
 236.185 +She certainly couldn't give her one. 'We'll deal with that when the
 236.186 +time comes Sakura-chan!' Tomoyo replied. Sakura smiled.
 236.187 +She'd asked Kero-chan if he knew how 2 girls could have a child. He
 236.188 +had smiled and said it was simple and went off into a complicated
 236.189 +explaination.
 236.190 +'Hi Sakura-chan!' a voice said, from behind them. Slowly turning
 236.191 +they saw Meiling and Syaoran Li.
 236.192 +Syaoran's scowl vanished into a small smile for a moment before it
 236.193 +returned. Sakura moved slightly, allowing Syaoran and Meiling to sit
 236.194 +down.
 236.195 +Quickly Meiling sat next to Sakura before her cousin could. Syaorans
 236.196 +scowled again, sitting next to Meiling.
 236.197 +'How's the wedding plans coming Tomoyo?' Meiling asked, taking a
 236.198 +bite of her food.
 236.199 +The pale girl smiled and lauched into a lengthy expaination of the
 236.200 +progress of the wedding plans, inclueding the change in dates.
 236.201 +At the end Meiling sat looking at her food, utterly confused. 'All I
 236.202 +asked was how the wedding plans coming!' she thought.
 236.203 +Sakura smiled slightly at her, knowin full well how much this was
 236.204 +confusing. 'So they're going well then?' Syaoran asked bluntly.
 236.205 +'Hai!' Sakura replied. Meiling smiled. 'Good!' she said. Syaoran
 236.206 +looked at her, shocked.
 236.207 +'How can this be good?' he asked himself. His jealousy grew. Hadn't
 236.208 +Sakura been in love with him?
 236.209 +He was sure of this when he'd had to return to China. Suddenly
 236.210 +Sakura and Tomoyo had become a couple and were about to get married.
 236.211 +When had this happened? Meiling looked at her cousin and smiled.
 236.212 +She'd right all along.
 236.213 +Sakura turned to them, a slight blush covering her cheeks. 'Would
 236.214 +you like to come to the wedding?' she asked.
 236.215 +Meiling nodded, her smile growing slightly. She turned to Syaoran,
 236.216 +who remained silent until she jabbed him with her elbow.
 236.217 +Slowly he nodded. 'Arigatou!' Sakura said.
 236.218 +
 236.219 +A few hours later, she stood a the entrance of the shrine. Tomoyo
 236.220 +was inside waiting for her, as was everyone else.
 236.221 +'This is it Sakura!' she whispered to herself. She was looked down
 236.222 +at herself, dressed in Sonomi's wedding dress, she closed her eyes
 236.223 +visualising Tomoyo in Nadeshiko's.
 236.224 +Opening her eyes, she slowly walked into the shrine ready to marry
 236.225 +the person she loved and face their future.
 236.226 +
 236.227 +YEARS LATER
 236.228 +
 236.229 +'Papa!' a small voice said, before someone hugged her legs tightly.
 236.230 +Looking down she smiled brightly at her young daughter.
 236.231 +'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' she said. It was a few moments before the young
 236.232 +girl let her legs go to look up
 236.233 + Getting on her knees, Sakura was surprised at the tightness of the
 236.234 +young girls hug. 'Are you ok Nadeshiko-chan?' Sakura asked, holding
 236.235 +the girl as she slowly stood up.
 236.236 +Nadeshiko nodded, looking up and smiling at her. 'How are you
 236.237 +feeling Nadeshiko-chan?' Sakura asked, carefully resting her free
 236.238 +hand on her daughters forehead.
 236.239 +'Much better!' The pale girl said. 'Sakura-san?' a voice came from
 236.240 +behind her. 'Megumi-chan!' Nadeshiko whispered, her smile growing
 236.241 +slightly as Sakura set her down.
 236.242 +'Hi Nadeshiko-chan!' Megumi said, blushing as Nadeshiko hugged her
 236.243 +tightly, her new found feelings for her friend making her blush
 236.244 +brighter.
 236.245 +Sakura giggled softly. 'How are you Megumi-chan?' a soft voice
 236.246 +asked, coming from the living room.
 236.247 +Nadeshiko smiled slightly as Megumi blushed again. 'I.. I'm ok
 236.248 +Tomoyo-san!' the blonde haired girl replied.
 236.249 +'Can I show you something Megumi-chan?' Nadeshiko asked. As soon as
 236.250 +the young blonde nodded her head, Nadeshiko took hold of her hand and
 236.251 +lead her away.
 236.252 +Sakura smiled as she watched the girls go, knowing what her young
 236.253 +daughter was showing her friend.
 236.254 +She blushed when she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her
 236.255 +waist. 'How was school Daidouji-sensei?' a soft voice asked.
 236.256 +'It went well Daidouji-san!' Sakura replied. 'Are you sure this is
 236.257 +ok Nadeshiko-chan?' they heard Megumi ask.
 236.258 +'Hai!' Nadeshiko replied. 'Hi papa!' Nadeshiko said, looking towards
 236.259 +the door. Tomoyo smiled slightly, seeing their youngest daughter and
 236.260 +her friend in hers and Sakura's wedding dresses.
 236.261 +'What do you think?' the pale gil asked, slowly turning around. 'You
 236.262 +look very pretty Nadeshiko-chan!' Sakura said.
 236.263 +Nadeshiko smiled brightly. 'Arigatou Sakura-papa!'
 236.264 +'Who'd you marry Nadeshiko-chan?' Tomoyo asked, picking a camera up
 236.265 +from her bedside table.
 236.266 +Nadeshiko giggled softly before hugging Megumi. 'Megumi-chan!' she
 236.267 +replied, smiling as the blonde haired girl blushed brightly.
 236.268 +'Why is Nadeshiko-chan doing this?' she asked herself. She smiled as
 236.269 +Nadeshiko hugged her while Tomoyo took their picture.
 236.270 +Nadeshiko smiled again while Megumi blushed brighter. 'Is that going
 236.271 +next to Onii-chan's?' Nadeshiko asked.
 236.272 +Tomoyo nodded slightly. The pale girl smiled and hugged her mother
 236.273 +tightly before they changed out of the wedding dresses and left the
 236.274 +room.
 236.275 +Sakura smiled slightly, looking at the wall she saw 3 similar
 236.276 +pictures. Her and Tomoyo on their wedding day, Kumiko and Hikaru at
 236.277 +Nadeshiko's age dressed in their wedding dresses, and another of
 236.278 +Kumiko and Hikaru on their wedding day.
 236.279 +Sakura smiled slightly, remembering the small children she and
 236.280 +Tomoyo had brought home. 
 236.281 +They've grown so quickly!' she thought. She turned to see Tomoyo
 236.282 +smile at her, knowing what she was thinking.
 236.283 +Slowly they left the room, letting some memories rest. At least, for
 236.284 +now.
 236.285 \ No newline at end of file

   237.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   237.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_tomoyosmagic.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   237.3 @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
   237.4 +Tomoyo's Magic
   237.5 +by rphjas
   237.6 +rphjas@yahoo.com
   237.7 +
   237.8 +---------------
   237.9 +
  237.10 +Dear Diary.. 
  237.11 +
  237.12 +It has been several months since I began living with her and Sonomi-
  237.13 +sama. That fateful night..the night I discovered I was her special
  237.14 +someone.. started a whole new chapter in my life. I was surprised by
  237.15 +my family's reaction to our proposal that I live with her. Father was
  237.16 +not upset ,but relieved that I would not be by myself
  237.17 +anymore..especially with his long hours and Onii-chan's part-time
  237.18 +jobs keeping them from home so much. Sonomi-sama was thrilled with
  237.19 +the idea. She was very excited that her beloved Nadesico's daughter
  237.20 +would be living in her large home. Likewise, all of the staff and
  237.21 +bodyguards have been so warm and kind to me. Tomoyo and I share the
  237.22 +same room and large bed. It seems like everyone has been supportive
  237.23 +with the move all the way around. Even my usually gruff Onii-chan is
  237.24 +pleased.. now that Syaoran is out of my heart. And of course, Tomoyo
  237.25 +and I still keep my sorceress affairs secret..even though all of the
  237.26 +Cards have been captured long ago. 
  237.27 +
  237.28 +Each day has been so wonderful and filled with great joy. We
  237.29 +sometimes study together after classes in Penguin Park or cheer for
  237.30 +each other as we participate in our different clubs. School days are
  237.31 +spent like before the move, except I hold hands with her more. If
  237.32 +there is nobody around though, playful mischievous Tomoyo encircles
  237.33 +my waist with her tiny arms and kisses me with her soft lips. Even
  237.34 +now, she still adores my looks of surprise and my blushing cheeks. 
  237.35 +
  237.36 +Tonight, I write in you after another session of love-making. In the
  237.37 +moon light, Tomoyo's bare shoulder peeks above the sheets. She sleeps
  237.38 +on her side facing mine, and the bed looks gigantic with only her in
  237.39 +it. Her hands are together..fingers clasped as if in prayer. From the
  237.40 +open window, a gentle breeze moves her long black hair. Her face
  237.41 +wears a smile now..a smile I can always see. It is no longer forced.
  237.42 +Her grief and sadness forever gone, she has thrown all of her masks
  237.43 +away. With each breath, a strand of her hair floats skyward. Her
  237.44 +mouth soundlessly utters my name. I know because she now wears that
  237.45 +special smile..the one that is just for me. Her fingers automatically
  237.46 +seek me..drawn to the warmth of my vacated portion of the mattress. A
  237.47 +troubled look crosses her face, and I quickly summon Mirror to kindly
  237.48 +take my place. Mirror copies my image and quickly gets into the bed.
  237.49 +Tomoyo's questing fingers find her, and her special smile once again
  237.50 +lights her face. 
  237.51 +
  237.52 +With relief, I return to my thoughts and writing..while Mirror holds
  237.53 +Tomoyo close..stroking her hair..and holding her close. Snuggling,
  237.54 +Tomoyo sleeps peacefully again. I should hurry this entry, though.
  237.55 +Mirror can not fool her heart for long. I may be the sorceress, but
  237.56 +Tomoyo has an even greater power. Tonight, I see it..a powerful
  237.57 +aura..an aura that should consume her porcelain doll-like body. She
  237.58 +loves me so completely and so intensely that I worry she will break
  237.59 +one day. I feel a knot of fear in my belly.. a fear of the unknown
  237.60 +future. What would I do if I woke up one morning..only to kiss cold
  237.61 +lips..and discover her lifeless? 
  237.62 +
  237.63 +During nights of worry, I have been trying to create a magic of my
  237.64 +own. Tomoyo has always been frail. So, I want to create a Card of
  237.65 +Health and Healing..one I can use for her when she is ill. But so
  237.66 +far, I have had no success. I have always relied on her, but I
  237.67 +understand now that it would be unbearable for me to lose her. I
  237.68 +crave her soft lips and her lavender eyes..the warmth of her
  237.69 +body..and the bath her love prepares for me..that always cleanses my 
  237.70 +heart.. 
  237.71 +
  237.72 +During my first days with her, I was always apologizing. I felt
  237.73 +guilty for being so slow to perceive her love for me..and mine for
  237.74 +her..for all of those lonely tear-filled nights she lived through. I
  237.75 +cried from all of the scars I cut into her heart. But, with her usual
  237.76 +tenderness, she would only kiss me and bid me to worry about that no
  237.77 +more. All of those nights lived only in her past, and she looks now
  237.78 +only to our future. Even with the Return Card, I could never undo
  237.79 +those wounds. The paradox of Time prevents me. So, reluctantly, I
  237.80 +complied with her wishes. 
  237.81 +
  237.82 +With my own voice, Mirror whispers across the room to me. Tomoyo
  237.83 +frowns and stirs restlessly. With my quiet thanks, Mirror and I
  237.84 +switch places. I kiss Tomoyo's upturned cheek and once more see her
  237.85 +special smile. Her mystical aura of love envelops us both in its
  237.86 +protective blanket..covering our unclothed bodies..soothing us into a
  237.87 +deep and peaceful sleep...burning all my concerns away..
  237.88 \ No newline at end of file

   238.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   238.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_woman-girl.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   238.3 @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
   238.4 +The woman is a girl again
   238.5 +
   238.6 +By: Radar
   238.7 +Carole@mcnestrie.wanado.co.uk.hsphere.us
   238.8 +
   238.9 +-----------
  238.10 +DISCLAIMER:
  238.11 +These caracters belong to CLAMP! this is a Yuri story so if it offends you please don't read!
  238.12 +
  238.13 +
  238.14 +They stood there, just looking at each other.. or so it would seem. The younger of the 2 finally broke the silence.
  238.15 +‘I don’t think I can do this Sakura-papa!’ she said softly. ‘Don’t worry Kumiko-chan! I know you can, besides if anything goes wrong, I’ll be here to help put it right!’ Sakura said, reassuring the younger girl. Kumiko nodded slightly and turned to face a tree. Then she started whispering the words the spell Sakura had taught her. Towards the end, unknown even to her or Sakura, she mispronounced the final word of the spell. Then 2 flashes of light appeared. One hit the tree, the other hit Sakura. It was so bright she had to close her eyes. She soon felt a tingling sensation all over her body. Soon the light dimmed enough so she could open her eyes. when she did she marvelled at how big every was now, especially Kumiko. ‘Kumi-chan.. what happened?’ she asked, jumping at the sound of her voice. It seemed a little higher then it had been a few minutes ago. ‘I don’t know Sakura-papa!’ Kumiko replied. ‘How could this have happened?’ she asked herself. ‘Sakura, Kumiko-chan!’ someone called out. They turn to see Tomoyo running up to them holding a young child. Then she saw Sakura. She was the same age as their eldest daughter. The 5 year old Nadeshiko giggled slightly, before being set on the grass. It felt great to have done that with her mother, as she didn’t know what had happened minutes before they had arrived. Sakura smiled slightly. ‘At least someone’s carefree!’ she thought. ‘Hi Sakura-papa!’ the young girl called out, waving to Sakura. Sakura returned the wave before looking at Tomoyo. Her now older wife was just as confused as Kumiko and she was. ‘How do I look Tomoyo?’ Sakura asked. ‘I think you look cute!’ Tomoyo replied, giggling at the blush that started to consume Sakura’s cheeks. ‘Tomoyo.. how old do I look?’ Sakura whispered. ‘You look like a 12 year old again Sakura!’ Tomoyo said softly, then noticed the tears in Sakura’s eyes. Then Sakura ran into Tomoyo’s arms. 12 years old. She was no longer a woman anymore she was just a child, she could no longer do the things she once enjoyed doing, she couldn’t make love to Tomoyo now. She wrapped her arms around Tomoyo and pulled her closer. She didn’t even reach Tomoyo’s breasts now. Her body shook as she tried to stop crying, but no matter how hard she tried the tears kept coming. ‘Just let them come Sakura-chan! Just let them come!’ Tomoyo whispered, lightly rubbing Sakura’s back. She knew what Sakura was thinking, and after all the years they’d been together it was that much easier to do so. She hated to see Sakura so sad. ‘I love you Sakura, no matter how old you are!’ Tomoyo said getting down so she was face to face with Sakura. ‘I love you too Tomoyo!’ Sakura whispered as her tears slowly stopped. They moved towards each other slowly until their lips met. Sakura closed her eyes and pretended everything was normal again: she was a grown up and with the woman she loved. Kumiko blushed at her parents’ display of affection, before turning her attention to her younger sister. ‘Hi Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko said, handing her a flower.
  238.16 +‘Hi Kaijuu!’ Kumiko replied, taking the flower. She winced slightly when Nadeshiko kicked her in the shin.
  238.17 +‘I’m not a Kaijuu!’ Nadeshiko yelled.
  238.18 +Sakura and Tomoyo leaned away from each other and looked at their daughters and smiled slightly.
  238.19 +‘At least something’s haven’t changed!’ they thought.
  238.20 +
  238.21 +‘Hello! My name is Sakura Daidouji! I’m Kumiko-chan’s cousin! It’s nice to meet you!’ Sakura said, bowing politely to the class. the teacher, who happened to be Sakura’s old friend Rika, smiled at her. ‘There’s a seat next Kumiko if you want it!’ she said. ‘Arigatou sensei!’ Sakura replied before taking her seat from a lifetime ago. She sat in the same seat she had sat all those years before when she had met Tomoyo, the girl she would fall in love with and eventually marry. ‘Hi Sakura-chan!’ Kumiko whispered, being very careful not to call the other girl her father. Many of the other students looked at them, before Rika started the lesson. Sakura smiled slightly, although she didn’t need to go to school, she felt she had too. Looking at the girl next to her, she almost thought she was going to see Tomoyo sitting next to her, occasionally looking back at her smiling. She shook her and tried to concentrate. Soon the lesson was over and Sakura was the only one left. ‘Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, class is over!’ Rika said softly. Sakura looked at her and blushed, not realising this sooner. ‘Gomen nasai sensei!’ she softly said before running out of the classroom, hurrying to her next lesson. Rika shook her head. ‘This Sakura is a lot like the Sakura I knew!’ she thought. As she rushed to her next class, she thought about what had happened in the last few weeks. Having been changed back into a child she decided to find a way to reverse whatever had happened. This meant spending a lot of time pouring through the books she had collected over the years. Many times Tomoyo would find her slumped over a book fast asleep during the wee hours of the morning.
  238.22 +She had started to obsess over her research so much that she had moved into a spare room as not to disturb anyone else. Once Tomoyo had walked into Sakura’s room wearing only a nightgown. She lay next to Sakura and lightly kissed her. Being half asleep at the time all she thought about doing was kiss back. It was then when she noticed that Tomoyo had slipped under the cover and as quite naked. Sakura smiled at her and gently reminded her that there would be more then enough time for them to make love once she was an adult again. Tomoyo’s reply was to smile, lightly kiss her again and gently hold her before they fell asleep in each other’s arms. ‘I wish you were here with me Tomoyo-chan!’ she whispered, holding her books tighter against her chest whilst looking towards the floor. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice someone walking towards her. They collided and their books were scattered on the floor. ‘Gomen nasai!’ they said together, before picking up their books. ‘Hi Hikaru-chan!’ Sakura said, once she saw who it was she had bumped into. The other girl was shocked. ‘How do you know me?’ Hikaru asked, moving some of her dark brown hair behind her ear. Sakura sweat dropped at the question. She knew the other girl well as Tomoyo had pointed out that there was something more then friendship between Hikaru and Kumiko. ‘Oh, Kumiko-chan mentioned you in some of her letters and she pointed you out to me before the end of class! You’re even cuter then she described you in her letters!’ Sakura said, hoping the other girl would buy her explanation. ‘That was nice of her!’ Hikaru said, smiling slightly. So this was friends’ cousin. ‘She’s weird!’ Hikaru thought, before remembering that Kumiko’s mother and grandmother were eccentric, it would make sense that her cousin was as well. ‘Well we’d better get to class!’ Sakura said. Hikaru nodded before walking by Sakura’s side. Hikaru smiled slightly, before noticing a picture that had been taken long before she had been born. In it was a girl who looked exactly like the girl who was walking beside her. What was strange about it was that the girl in the photo was holding a pale girl of the same age, close to her. She shook her head. ‘Just a coincidence!’ she thought, as they entered the classroom. But it had started her thinking deep thoughts.
  238.23 +
  238.24 +Lunch was usually a peaceful time for most students attending Tomoeda Elementary, however this lunch would affect the lives of 2 students profoundly. Sakura sat by herself, eating the lunch that Tomoyo had made for her. ‘My cute card mistress has to keep up her strength!’ the pale woman had whispered to her when she handed her the lunch box. She looked up and saw Kumiko walking towards her. ‘Are you ok Sakura-papa?’ Kumiko asked when she sat down. ‘Hai! I keep thinking that your mother’s going to be here!’ Sakura said, smiling slightly. Kumiko nodded. Earlier Hikaru had asked her if she thought her cousin was weird. At the time she didn’t know how to answer the question. ‘Hi Sakura-chan! Kumiko-chan!’ a voice said from a short distance behind them. They turned to see Hikaru slowly walking towards them, holding a tray full of food. ‘Hungry Hikaru-chan?’ Kumiko asked as Hikaru set the tray down. ‘A little!’ Hikaru relied, before giggling. Kumiko giggled herself, she knew how hungry Hikaru got, which was one of the many things she liked about the brown haired girl. Kumiko blushed slightly when she thought about how much she liked Hikaru. The blush did not go unnoticed by Sakura. Even though she knew there might be more then just friendship between them, she did wonder if they had admitted their feelings towards each other. They continued eating in silence until they went their separate ways. Sakura caught up to Kumiko and started to walk beside her. ‘Kumi-chan, how do you feel when Hikaru-chan’s with you?’ she asked. ‘Really happy!’ Kumiko replied, sighing happily as she thought of Hikaru. ‘You know, I felt that was around your mother for years before I realised that I was in love with her!’ Sakura said. Kumiko stopped in her tracks. How had Sakura worked it out? Sakura looked back to see her daughter look at the floor. She knew. She really knew. Her love for Hikaru was her little secret, she’d told no one, not even her mother. She’d heard the rumours about her parents, about how they weren’t normal. The person who had told her about them was Hikaru, not because she was being mean or because she was trying to hurt her. ‘No! She had told me because she thought I had a right to know about them!’ Kumiko thought. Every time Hikaru had told her one of the rumours, she had smiled and thanked her for telling her, even though the rumours had tore at her heart. She had to smile for Hikaru, if she didn’t then Hikaru would know there was something wrong and eventually fine out. So she had to smile for the other girl. She had to just so she didn’t fine out her little secret. ‘Kumiko-chan?’ Sakura asked, slowly approaching the other girl. ‘Sakura-papa..’ Kumiko whispered. ‘What is it Kumiko-chan?’ Sakura asked. Kumiko looked up, tears slowly falling down her cheeks. ‘Please don’t tell her how I feel about her! Please!’ Kumiko begged, her tears falling even faster. Sakura smiled, and hugged Kumiko, feeling her daughter shuddering with every sob. ‘Don’t worry Kumiko! I won’t tell her!’ Sakura whispered, wiping away the remains Kumiko’s tears. ‘Really?’ Kumiko asked. ‘Really!’ Sakura replied. Kumiko smiled and they walked away. However unknown to them Hikaru revealed herself from behind a corner. ‘She loves me..?’ she whispered. Slowly a small smile crossed her lips. ‘She loves me!’ she repeated. She repeated them again, marvelling at how right those words sounded. She’d loved the other girl for years, and had a good feeling about how Kumiko felt about her. Finding out that Kumiko loved her too, it was just too much. Then something Sakura had said replayed in her mind. I felt that way around your mother for years before I realised I was in love with her! ‘Could she be that girl from the photograph? Could she be Kumiko-chan’s father?’ she asked herself. It certainly seemed like it. Then she realised that she had to get to class.
  238.25 +
  238.26 +As the day drew to a close, many students left the confines of the school building. Sakura, Kumiko and Hikaru slowly walked away from the school with Kumiko and Hikaru tightly holding hands. ‘Is it ok if I sleep over tonight Kumi-chan?’ Hikaru asked. Kumiko looked at Sakura, who nodded slightly. ‘Sure Hikaru-chan!’ Kumiko replied. ‘Sakura-chan, I just have one question for you!’ Hikaru said suddenly. ‘How old are you?’ she asked, innocently. ‘Well, I’m 12!’ Sakura said. ‘Really? Because I heard Kumiko-chan refer to you as Sakura-papa!’ Hikaru said. Sakura and Kumiko were shocked, Hikaru had heard her. ‘There’s no point in hiding it any longer Kumiko-chan!’ Sakura said sadly. Kumiko nodded slightly. ‘I am Kumiko-chan’s father!’ Sakura said softly. ‘How? I mean your only 12!’ Hikaru said. ‘Well, something we were working on went wrong and I ended up like this!’ Sakura said. Kumiko nodded, backing up what Sakura had said. ‘Ok!’ Hikaru said, smiling at the other girls. ‘Now Kumiko-chan, I have something to tell you!’ Hikaru said. ‘I love you Kumiko-chan!’ Hikaru said softly. Kumiko smiled slightly, thinking Hikaru meant the kind of love between friends. ‘I love you too Hikaru-chan!’ Kumiko replied. ‘Er.. Kumiko-chan I think she loves you like I love Tomoyo!’ Sakura whispered. ‘Really?’ Kumiko asked. Hikaru nodded. ‘I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same about me!’ she said sadly. ‘Hikaru-chan, I love you like you love me!’ Kumiko said before lightly kissing the other girl. Sakura blushed. She and Tomoyo had been teenagers when they had admitted that they loved each other. When they broke apart, Hikaru hugged the dark haired girl, and rested her head on Kumiko’s shoulder. ‘Let’s go home!’ Sakura said softly to the other girls. They nodded and walked in silence.
  238.27 +
  238.28 +Weeks later Sakura lay face down on her bed. Little did she know a change was happening in side of her. Kumiko and Hikaru had left for their first date, thanking Tomoyo for arranging every thing. ‘Are you ok Sakura-chan?’ a soft voice asked from behind her. Then she felt the mattress move as Tomoyo sat next to her. ‘Yeah!’ she whispered, not looking up. ‘Don’t worry Sakura you’ll find a way to get back to normal!’ Tomoyo whispered. Sakura rolled over and smiled. ‘You’re right Tomoyo!’ Sakura whispered, her hand slowly reaching up to Tomoyo’s cheek. Tomoyo smiled as Sakura lightly stroked her cheek. When Sakura’s hand left her cheek, she lay next to Sakura, taking her in her arms, holding her close. Then Tomoyo noticed that there was a change in Sakura, she seemed a little bigger and seemed to grow with each passing second. ‘Are you sure you’re ok?’ Tomoyo asked. Sakura smiled and nodded then her growth stopped. She was back to her normal age, and her school fuku had grown with her, just as her clothes had shrunk. ‘Sakura, you’ve changed!’ Tomoyo whispered. Sakura smiled, guessing as much, before lightly kissing the other woman. ‘But how?’ she asked. ‘I don’t really know! But I think when Kumiko and Hikaru admitted they had feelings for each other, that allowed me to go back to normal!’ Sakura said. Tomoyo’s smile grew, then she stood up. Slowly she removed her clothes and presented herself to Sakura. Sakura blushed realising that what Tomoyo wanted. ‘You did promise Sakura!’ Tomoyo said, helping Sakura take her clothes off. Sakura nodded, as she stood quite naked as Tomoyo pulled her card mistress into a tight hug before they fell on to the bed kissing passionately. Outside the room 2 teenage girls blushed. ‘Grandma Tomoyo looks really happy!’ the pale girl said. ‘Yeah she does, so does grandpa Sakura.. now she’s back to normal!’ the other girl said. ‘Yeah.. Sakura-chan, when can we do something like that?’ ChibiTomoyo asked, as they heard moaning coming from the open window. Their blushes deepened as more they heard Sakura and Tomoyo call out for each other. ‘When we get home Tomoyo-chan! I promise!’ ChibiSakura replied. ChibiTomoyo smiled, lightly kissing the other girl before they disappeared.
  238.29 +
  238.30 +8 YEARS LATER
  238.31 +
  238.32 +‘Congratulation Kumiko-chan!’ Sakura said, hugging her daughter. ‘Arigatou Sakura-papa!’ Kumiko replied, before someone pulled her into a tight hug. ‘Oh Kumiko-chan!’ some whispered from behind her. ‘What are we going to do on own honeymoon?’ Kumiko blushed. ‘Well.. we can do anything you want Hikaru-chan!’ Kumiko replied, slowly turning to face her new wife. ‘Really?’ Hikaru asked. Kumiko nodded and smiled slightly. ‘So I if wanted to..?’ Hikaru said. ‘Yes!’ Kumiko replied quickly, blushing profusely. Sakura and Tomoyo giggled at their daughters’ embarrassment. ‘Hey Onii-chan!’ Nadeshiko said, lightly pulling on her sisters wedding dress. ‘What is it Kaijuu?’ Kumiko asked. ‘I’m not a Kaijuu!’ Nadeshiko yelled kicking Kumiko in her shin. ‘Stop that Nadeshiko-chan!’ Sakura said, lightly putting her hand on her youngest daughters head. ‘Ok! When are you going to throw the bouquets?’ Nadeshiko asked. ‘Should we throw them towards you and Megumi-chan?’ Hikaru asked. Nadeshiko blushed. It was no secret that Nadeshiko and Hikaru were dating, despite their best efforts to keep their relationship a secret. ‘Er... Megumi-chan, would you like to dance?’ she asked the blonde girl. Megumi smiled brightly ‘Hai Nadeshiko-chan!’ she replied, before Nadeshiko almost dragged her onto the dance floor. Sakura and Tomoyo laughed softly. It was nice to see their youngest daughter so wrapped up in the person she loved. Their smiles grew as they watched Nadeshiko hold Megumi close as they danced. ‘Megumi-chan, you’re a really good dancer!’ Nadeshiko said, as Megumi rested her head against her shoulder. ‘You’re a good dancer too Nadeshiko-chan!’ Megumi replied, leaning away and looking deeply into Nadeshiko’s eyes. Nadeshiko smiled dreamily, before leaning closer to the other girl. Megumi smiled and leaned closer herself. Their lips met softly at first before becoming more passionate. She didn’t care who was watching them, she just wanted to tell the world that she was Megumi’s Nadeshiko-chan. ‘They make a really cute couple, don’t you think so Sakura?’ Tomoyo asked. Sakura nodded and smiled. Kumiko had grown up so fast and was now married, now Nadeshiko had found the person she loved. Her smile grew slightly. She’d realised that she’d returned to her normal age due to some outside force, not Kumiko and Hikaru admitting their feelings for each other and she had a pretty good idea who had helped her get back to normal, all she had to do was wait a little while before meeting them and she couldn’t wait.
  238.33 +
  238.34 +
  238.35 +Authors notes:
  238.36 +Well this story explains some of the things in my last one! Halleluiah! that's a lot of typing there!
  238.37 +Well i hope you enjoyed it!
  238.38 \ No newline at end of file

   239.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   239.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   239.3 @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
   239.4 +Yoru No Uta
   239.5 +Chapter 1
   239.6 +
   239.7 +By: somnambulated
   239.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   239.9 +
  239.10 +And you can tell everybody
  239.11 +this is your song… 
  239.12 +
  239.13 +_____________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  239.14 +
  239.15 +I’ve always loved her. It was just one of those things, simple as my bedroom ceiling. It was the last thing I saw each night, the first thing to flood into me each morning. It was a part of me, living in my blood and weaving through my thoughts as randomly as each instant I’ve lived through.
  239.16 +
  239.17 +Life, I’ve come to believe, is a collaboration of the moments we’ve experienced. Because of my mother, silence does not make me uneasy. Not even if it’s in one of the biggest houses on the street; And because of her I know that there are secrets in everyone, beyond the recluse that seems to linger between parents and their children. Every parent who pays the slightest instances of attention will step back in surprise the first time their child proves to them that they can speak, can form an opinion, can be more than the baby that came from a pre-conceived notion of fantasy. Likewise, every child’s blood will go just the least bit cold to see that their parents can produce tears, can be more than what is expected of them—which, really, is nothing but pleasantries.
  239.18 +
  239.19 +I learned much of this from my father. He is a blurry green-eyed smear in my most concentrated memories. He returns to me when I am in an office, or I can smell the ink of the printers in the school computer room. The swishy flashing light of the scanner, photocopy machine. He bought me my first camera when I was four, a white plastic Kodak with a disposable film-reel.
  239.20 +
  239.21 +Those are the most tangible things, at least. He is also the thing that makes my mother’s skin pale—he haunts her softly, in the slow-tempo songs. He’s a star in her eye, melting down to a single tear that she never thinks I catch. He’s gone now, though he’s made us who we are, and has taught me many things. Because of him, I’m an Observationalist; I’ve learned more through simply watching, being, breathing the air, than I have through asking questions. 
  239.22 +
  239.23 +And then there’s her. 
  239.24 +
  239.25 +Because of her, I’m a poet. More words come to me while I’m looking at her face, her hair, her eyes (like the sun through bright green treetops) than anywhere else. I’ve learned the soft cool touch of another girl, the palm of her hand like a mid-afternoon breeze we could walk through on our way home from school. Because of her, I gather myself each night to the language of the unsaid. Because of her, I have learned how strange, how very silent love can be. 
  239.26 +
  239.27 +We are nothing if we are not the moments we’ve lived. If not for the time I’ve spent with her, I cannot guarantee I would even be a person I would have liked. Perhaps the desire to cling to detail—my father’s trait—would have dissolved without such a fascination, asphyxiation. And the silence taught by my mother would have gone cold and turned to loneliness. The things I know, the things I love, would be gray ghosts suspended in the dark hallways that lead to the rooms my mother and I never use now.
  239.28 +
  239.29 +I faced my ceiling every night with no aspirations. I was happy to linger, to evolve beside her. She was a part of me, of course. Like all other things that undertook my nature, I’d never dreamed of making her entirely my own (though, yes, I’d have loved if she asked me to.) But I hadn’t ever imagined how drastically my thoughts, my life could change if, instead of my ceiling, the last thing I saw was her sleeping face. I hadn’t ever imagined how warm the rest of her skin could be beyond her cool hands. And never did I let myself think—even if only for the span of a night’s short moment—that she could love me too…
  239.30 \ No newline at end of file

   240.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   240.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   240.3 @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
   240.4 +Yoru No Uta
   240.5 +Chapter 1
   240.6 +
   240.7 +By: somnambulated
   240.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   240.9 +
  240.10 +He goes along just as a water lily
  240.11 +Gentle on the surface of his thoughts his body floats
  240.12 +Un-weighed down by passion or intensity
  240.13 +Yet unaware of the depth upon which he coasts
  240.14 +And he finds a home in me
  240.15 +For what misfortune sows, he knows my touch will reap
  240.16 +All my armor falling down, in a pile at my feet,
  240.17 +And my winter giving way to warm, as I’m singing him to sleep…
  240.18 +
  240.19 +
  240.20 +_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
  240.21 +
  240.22 +If she squinted, the white banner hanging over the school’s front doors was almost invisible to the flying snow. Tomoeda Winter Festival was grafted across it in amateurishly-neat teal print beside some hand-painted snowflakes.
  240.23 +
  240.24 +This was one of Tomoyo’s favorite times, when the early weeks in December all felt like Christmas Eve, and everyone around her was jumbled with anticipation for Winter Break amidst festival preparations and the last-minute-rush to buy Christmas presents. 
  240.25 +
  240.26 +The hallways were cluttered between classes. Students and teachers carrying boards, pushing racks of costumes, dropping and gathering scripts, painting paper signs taped along the walls for a fast dry. Everything was a blur of color and sound. And she was there, thriving as the rest of them did. She was lucky to make it past lunch without the paint from a banner or mural in her hair or on her cheek. 
  240.27 +
  240.28 +By five in the evening, though, most of this was gone. The hallways were dull gray, paint in bright assorted colors almost glowing through the pastel atmosphere from their places on the walls. The floors were clear, all the chairs in all the classrooms upturned on their desks. The only traces of the day that lingered were bright strips of un-sewed fabric jutting behind the black velvet curtain in the Drama room, or a forgotten manuscript on a desk. 
  240.29 +
  240.30 +And the only sound came from the un-lit music hall. He liked the light that came from the windows, he said; he didn’t know if the day was beginning or ending. If it was the moon, or just the sun buried under all of that gray snow. 
  240.31 +
  240.32 +He played most beautifully in those darker colors, wedged between pre-dawn and the rising of the moon. It was just the way he moved his fingertips over the piano keys that made the days end the way they did. Drizzling, lingering, easy as wind-chimes on an abandoned window. Something about the way her eyes saw the night would just be better than the days. It was a part of her now, sliding away like a lost memory in her sleep and spilling back into her blood likcloucloud each evening. 
  240.33 +
  240.34 +They’d been doing this for over a year now, since the first day of high school—she remembered—when he was playing Madame Butterfly. She’d already suspected that things would be different from elementary school and junior high, when she could steal away to the music room after everyone had gone home. 
  240.35 +
  240.36 +While he played, that first time, she was frozen in the doorway. Unaware even of herself, as though a spider’s web had tangled her there before she could struggle. Black folder of choir songs pulled to her chest like a prayer, she could not deny the strange and sudden interest drizzling over her skin. 
  240.37 +
  240.38 +He ascended and withdrew his notes gracefully before he had acknowledged her. His eyes were an ethereal brown, humming rhythms of violent drama through the irises; cool as a haunted evening. Strange and dizzying. So much so that she forgot herself and stared too long. His smile took her by surprise. 
  240.39 +
  240.40 +Noting the thing she held, he said, “So you sing? Lets hear it.” 
  240.41 +
  240.42 +Enter Etsuya, the boy she almost believed to be a poem. Just that and nothing more. He was not her love story—she was incapable of having one that could be told anyway. But he could have been—she thought—if it had been another place, another time. If she had been another girl. They were just there: untold, unromantic. He played and she sang. Late into the evening, while the halls were empty and the desks were upturned. 
  240.43 +
  240.44 +He was a different creature in the day, but his eyes never changed. They were dark, and they neither absorbed nor rctedcted sunlight. Tomoyo couldn’t remember the exact day—or month for that matter—when his arm started frequenting her shoulder, her hip, the edges of her hair. 
  240.45 +
  240.46 +But it was a the the same time she started leaning into his touch. 
  240.47 +
  240.48 +He made her disappear, she was hollow, she was wind. For hours, they dissolved into these worlds of piano strings post-crescendo—the melody coming down, almost banging but then turning into a linger; like the narrative of leaves sailing over a water’s surface. Pushing, pulsing wind. Their skin was the color of ashes—thin, the turn of knuckles traced beneath fingers that soared in all the same rhythms. And her voice, rising and dropping like a sigh when she sang, descending as the piano keys ended. He said, I love you. She smiled and took his hands in both of hers. You don’t, she said. 
  240.49 +
  240.50 +And he didn’t. She had already decided so.
  240.51 \ No newline at end of file

   241.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   241.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   241.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   241.4 +Yoru No Uta
   241.5 +Chapter 1
   241.6 +
   241.7 +By: somnambulated
   241.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   241.9 +
  241.10 +I saw your face
  241.11 +Elegant and tired
  241.12 +Cut up from the chase
  241.13 +Still I so admired
  241.14 +Bloodshot your smile
  241.15 +Delicate and wild.
  241.16 +Simply put, I saw your love stream flow.
  241.17 +
  241.18 +________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  241.19 +
  241.20 +She smelled like strawberries most days. This started last year in the ninth grade, when she and Syaoran orbited towards a “different direction”—as Sakura called it. Tomoyo of course knew what this really meant.
  241.21 +
  241.22 +At the lunch table, for instance, the two were locked in separate conversations. On the surface looking different ways, almost ignoring each other completely. Under the table they were always holding hands. His thumb traced the apex of hers, and she squeezed in response every time. 
  241.23 +
  241.24 +They loved each other, though it was—for them—a very quiet love. 
  241.25 +
  241.26 +They smiled typical greetings in the morning walk to school, and they traveled with comfortable space between their shoulders. His apartment came first on the walk home, and then Sakura would take his hands, their palms pressed clumsily together between their chests. Andy woy would create a goodbye kiss so brief that anyone who blinked would have missed it.
  241.27 +
  241.28 +Tomoyo seldom received her clues (as least as given by the two.) Most were educated guesses, though she had more advantage than most; they knew her, trusted her. Sometimes she was absorbed in traces of their finite affection. The three of them gathered in study-clusters in the library,on son someone’s bedroom floor. And she would see firsthand how easily Sakura settled on his shoulder, how unaware he was of the way he twirled the fringe of her hair on his knuckles.
  241.29 +
  241.30 +They were nonchalant and casual, modest in public. Like something from the pages of a romance novel, Tomoyo once saw them kiss. Gray silhouettes on the other side of a pale green curtain—the bedroom window of his apartment. It was entrancing, and they circled each other, hands on cheeks and shoulders before the thing happened. And with each second that passed, their bodied pressed closer and closer, until there was no space between them and they had to break away. He pushed the hair from her face, she broke away to grab her backpack and maybe they exchanged some kind of secret smile as she tumbled out of the apartment in her hurry home. Sorry I made you wait, she’d said to her best friend, so unlike the girl she’d been in the window.
  241.31 +
  241.32 +It all came with high school, Tomoyoposeposed. Thoughts tainted with intimate curiosity. Stolen kisses, fingertips touching under a crowded table. Barely sixteen and flooded with the open doors of the adult world—the world no parent was comfortable to discuss. In the case of Tomoyo’s mother, they simply weren’t discussed. She wasn’t a secretive woman, but for years her daughter had been master of the few secrets she did keep. In scraps and fragments, she’d learned what green eyes in a picture frame meant, learned of her father’s similarities to such things. He wasn’t—Tomoyo suspected—the one her mother had ever truly loved. But rather a replica, a reminder. It was a separate love entirely, or fear, or guilt, that made the woman act the way she did at mention of his name. Slow sips of tea and a thoughtful half-nod to nothing. Tomoyo remembered too little of him to experiment with conversation. And now that so many years had passed, he was never spoken of. Like dust. She was the only proof he’d ever been there at all.
  241.33 +
  241.34 +Because of this, thoughts of Sakura were always a breath of new air. This was the second generation of a story that still had yet to be written. She wasn’t entirely unlike her mother. She had her eyes, bright and almost wildly innocent, and her smile—gentler than warm skies.
  241.35 +
  241.36 +But where her mother had been elegant, she was sweet. Casual, modern. Not eloquent, but bright. She was the less-Victorian grace, comically clumsy and clueless in her own right. Whether or not she was aware of it, she had been w int into a plan as of yet unknown. Tomoyo sometimes suspected that Sakura’s mother had known more than even she did at present. Knew just how amazing her little girl would grow to become long after her death. Knew of the things she’d see, the things she’d possessed since her months spent tangled in the intrinsic womb, oblivious but sage as all unborn things were thought to be. 
  241.37 +
  241.38 +And still, there she was, a world of phantasm, an incredible and unspoken story. She was almost too amazing to belong to such a dnantnant and harmful world. And she was so fiercely d, cd, commonly adored. Her mother, the life that lived and ended before her own had grown, was still swirling in her eyes like the aftermath of ocean waves. 
  241.39 +
  241.40 +But that was still her, leaning on Syaoran’s shoulder while staring boredly into the pages of someone else’s history. Giggling from her desk at someone’s joke before class, the prettiest smile in existence.
  241.41 +
  241.42 +“It looks scary,” Sakura said. Tomoyo blinked back into reality.
  241.43 +
  241.44 +“I bet it is,” Chiharu said anxiously. “The Scarlet Letter—it sounds like a twisted love story, doesn’t it?” She was standing over Sakura’s desk, both of them looking at the same paperback black book. “And scarlet, like blood, you know?” 
  241.45 +
  241.46 +Sakura slumped, barely stifling a whimper of disapproval. 
  241.47 +
  241.48 +“Actually!” Another voice interjected from somewhere behind them. “It’s about a woman who commits a serious sin, and is forced to…” 
  241.49 +
  241.50 +“Here it comes…” Syaoran was murmuring as he dropped into his seat behind them. Tomoyo—from her desk at the side—was flipping through the pages of her own copy for scrof tof truth. 
  241.51 +
  241.52 +“…And so for years she has to wear this scarlet letter on her chest to mark what she’s done.” 
  241.53 +
  241.54 +“Uh-huh,” Chiharu regarded him with sagely narrow eyes. “And that was what exactly?” 
  241.55 +
  241.56 +He pointed anxiously at nothing to emphasize his knowledge (as he called it.) “She started a war. The face that sunk a thousand ships, they called her.” 
  241.57 +
  241.58 +Sakura blinked perplexedly. “But wasn’t that Helen of Troy?” 
  241.59 +
  241.60 +“It’s just a spin-off of that story. See, back in the days that books like these were written, there was something called a ‘pre-renaissance.’ Peasants would hold contests to see who could recapture history most accurately. They would sit at desks for hours, not allowed to leave their place. And judges would wear these big white wigs—” 
  241.61 +
  241.62 +“Y’know, we’re gonna find out just how hard you’re lying when we read this,” Chiharu said. 
  241.63 +
  241.64 +Sakura blinked twice. “Wait—you mean none of that was true just now?” 
  241.65 +
  241.66 +Yamazaki shrugged precariously and Chiharu nudged him out of focus with her elbow. “Haven’t you learned by now that you’re his favorite target?” 
  241.67 +
  241.68 +“But, but…” 
  241.69 +
  241.70 +Their voices faded away as Tomoyo watched Etsuya slip soundlessly though the door. He dropped his backpack onto his desk—across the room—and she looked quickly at the book when he caught her staring at him. Thoughts of rain thundered into her mind and she swallowed an imperishable mound in her throat. Piano keys flowed through her like the lingering phantasms of someone else’s memories. Sometimes it didn’t feel that it was happening to her at all, and she couldn’t decide whether or not she wanted to sink into that illusion. 
  241.71 +
  241.72 +She pretended to read, and in turn found fragments of the actual story. Hester Prynne and a child she called Pearl. Lust in the earlier years of a sacrilegious century, punishable by public exposure. These were Hawthorne’s ideas on sin she concluded, as she wondered numbly about her own. 
  241.73 +
  241.74 +She knew this: His hair felt like feathers, and his hands were always soft in correspondence. But in the late hours of the night, his breath was rough. And for him, she was different than she seemed now: Neair air pulled back, cordial and composed—which she’d learned as a child watching her mother. She was daylight. In love with what she’d never attain, musing at those clueless expressions, filled with thoughts of her: daylight. 
  241.75 +
  241.76 +“Morning,” he said to her. When had he gotten so close? His shadow brushed her hair and her blood went fluttering like butterflies. “Good morning,” she sweetly replied, forcing eye-contact. He was so different in these lights, the color of his skin obvious and beige opposed to what she knew best as gray beneath the unblinking moon. But his eyes were the same, and the black-brown way he looked at her: the same.
  241.77 +
  241.78 +When he turned away, she was almost relieved, though left with less to admire. Sakura was turning ambitiously though the pages as he greeted the other two girls. Sakura’s response: “So… is it a scary story after all?”
  241.79 +
  241.80 +Chiharu said, “Let it go already.” 
  241.81 +
  241.82 +
  241.83 +_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
  241.84 +
  241.85 +“I think there should be more snowflakes higher up,” Sakura said, gesturing to the empty wall over her head. The auditorium was filled with students, beginning with the high school kids who were mostly standing on ladders and hanging banners from the ceiling, or else painting the designs on banners; then the junior-high kids who were lingering along the edges of the walls, painting the words on the banners to soon be dried and then placed with the others. The elementary school had scattered everywhere, some of them tagging along to the older kids and seeking menial tasks, some of them walking the sidewalks to hang flyers on trees and poles. A few teachers from either grade could be seen, guiding the younger students and keeping them busy mostly. The entire school district had decided to hold this year’s festival in one place, and the noise from the crowd was throwing Syaoran into an irritated daze.
  241.86 +
  241.87 +Sakura—unaffected—shifted her weight, squinting at the empty space before her like an artist with a vision. There was a smear of pink paon hon her cheek—three more on her arm, and she was holding a stack of barely-dried paper snowflakes. Most of them had been painted blue, as a look around the room would have confirmed, but she trekked against tradition for what she called a “festive change.”
  241.88 +
  241.89 +“Just put them on the wall as high as you can reach.” Syaoran said. The snowflakes he held were pale blue. “There aren’t any ladders free.”
  241.90 +
  241.91 +She tucked her bottom lip under her teeth and made a clicking noise with her tongue.
  241.92 +
  241.93 +“Pick me up.” She said.
  241.94 +
  241.95 +“Huh?”
  241.96 +
  241.97 +“You’re taller than me. I can reach higher if you pick me up.”
  241.98 +
  241.99 +He shot her a strange look, and she glittered with hope as his eyes narrowed.
 241.100 +
 241.101 +“No. You’re clumsy, you’ll make us both fall.”
 241.102 +
 241.103 +“Am not,” she interjected. “Have you ever heard of a clumsy cheerleader?”
 241.104 +
 241.105 +He flicked her forehead in a gesture of hidden affection. “Dropping a baton on your head five times a week is grace?”
 241.106 +
 241.107 +“Hey! I haven’t done that since I was twelve.”
 241.108 +
 241.109 +“You did it yesterday.”
 241.110 +
 241.111 +She huffed. 
 241.112 +
 241.113 +“Fine.” He said, setting the stars on the ground and holding out his hands like a footstep. “But don’t fall.”
 241.114 +
 241.115 +Smirking, she wielded a roll of tape between her lips for easy storage and took his offer. She wobbled for the first second in his hold, and then steadied herself by leaning against the wall.
 241.116 +
 241.117 +
 241.118 +“They’re cute.” Etsuya said over his paintbrush. He was sitting on the floor, creating an almost lifelike mural of angels glittering snow over the flawlessly-done festival logo. A hobby of his was collecting books on renaissance art. He was the class-proclaimed artist, though Tomoyo knew his only passion in the world was the piano, and that he would credit his mother for any artistic talent he possessed. 
 241.119 +
 241.120 +He must have seen the way Tomoyo was watching the two from across the room. The half-smile she wore surprised even her, and it popped like a soap bubble at his words.
 241.121 +
 241.122 +“How long has it been for them?”
 241.123 +
 241.124 +“Since fifth grade.” she said, and returned to her own work: painting the letters he drew around. She offered little else to the conversation, as her mind relayed the days where Sakura’s name inspired ten-minute sessions of chatter.
 241.125 +
 241.126 +“They’re very lucky.” He said, softly. “To be so in love.”
 241.127 +
 241.128 +“Yes.”
 241.129 +
 241.130 +If he knew the true story, he wouldn’t have called it luck so much as a well-deserved happiness. He’d traveled a long way, and she’d foughhundhundred battles. Etsuya didn’t know about the teddy bears, the twisting confusion, the long-distance letters and phone calls severed by tight budgets. The battles began for them years ago, while most of the people in the room were still too young to fathom such things, and days like these—full of smirks and pink snowflakes—were precisely what they fought for.
 241.131 +
 241.132 +
 241.133 +
 241.134 +Sakura lost her balance and fell with a short shriek, only to be caught by his all-too-expecting arms. She’d toppled backwards and he caught her against his chest, windswept. The remaining snowflakes in her hand dropped to the ground, but not before leavinstrestreak of bright pink down the sleeve of Syaoran’s uniform. She was giggling violently, and he stifled an I-told-you-so grunt.
 241.135 +
 241.136 +She twisted in his still-firm grasp so that their chests touched (hers fluctuating rapidly with the childish sound on her lips) and her laughter died. Her voice was so soft as she spoke that only he could have heard it, and suddenly he was brushing the hair from her face in slow sweeps.
 241.137 +
 241.138 +This was their language, soft and alien to the world around them. She hooked her arms over his shoulders, their foreheads together, and smiled until he returned the gesture.
 241.139 +
 241.140 +Two seconds later, they were picking up the snowflakes, and she obligingly placed them only as high as she could manage.
 241.141 +
 241.142 +Tomoyo and Etsuya had been watching, holding paintbrushes in winter shades. Her eyes were soft, lips mute. His eyes were stone and soundless, his mouth parted.
 241.143 +
 241.144 +“Tomoyo?”
 241.145 +
 241.146 +She flinched at the sound.
 241.147 +
 241.148 +“You’re jealous.” He said.
 241.149 +
 241.150 +“No.” She hummed, graceful as her brushstroke. “No, I’m happy for them.”
 241.151 +
 241.152 +This was the truth. Though she loved to watch, she had no desire to belong to what they had. Not exactly.
 241.153 +
 241.154 +She was suddenly very aware of Etsuya’s hand on her shoulder, sweeping away her hair. For the third time that minute, she said “No...” But it was a fleeting sound. His fingertips were as wings, jarring the fine hairs on the back of her neck to rise in a wave of cold. Then she closed her eyes in a deliriously long blink and felt the brush slip from her hands, ruining a small corner of their work. He eased his hand between her shoulder-blades like an alluring rhythm. The piper’s song, carrying her away.
 241.155 +
 241.156 +Her eyelids could not remove the image of her irises, hazy green when they got so close to his. Sakura would never look at her that way. But she was such a wonderful image, if anything had to haunt her so constantly. 
 241.157 +
 241.158 +Those simple gestures could make her do anything. She’d die just for a moment of her skin, to feel her body stretch and retract like hilltops of beige, to push the wispy autumn-leaf hair from her eyes. It was Tomoyo’s secret that she entertained such ideas, and in her own dark moments she pictured the girl beneath his body. He had no face, no presence as she would slide against the mattress, beyond that green bedroom curtain. The subtle parting of her lips, the small cry she must have made. And he would kiss it away from her mouth, cradled in her thighs. She’d surrender to him, desperate and dizzy-eyed. Slow as snowflakes descending to the cotton ground, she would come.
 241.159 +
 241.160 +“Tomoyo…”
 241.161 +
 241.162 +She nodded to Etsuya’s hopeful touch, barely. His breath was warm on her cheek. Aromatic strawberries shushed through her chest with every long breath she drew, she she was too numb to refuse. Like her mother’s expressions regarding her absent husband, Tomoyo did not know if she could call this guilt, or love.
 241.163 +
 241.164 +“Okay,” she whispered this time, soaking in a desire to which she had no rights. “Okay...”
 241.165 +
 241.166 +Nobody saw theip oip out of the crowded room.
 241.167 \ No newline at end of file

   242.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   242.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   242.3 @@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
   242.4 +Yoru No Uta
   242.5 +Chapter 4
   242.6 +
   242.7 +By: somnambulated
   242.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   242.9 +
  242.10 +
  242.11 +There’s blood in my mouth ‘cause I’ve been biting my tongue all week. And the talking leads to touching and the touching leads to sex. And then there is no mystery left. 
  242.12 +
  242.13 +
  242.14 +______________________________________________________
  242.15 +Tomoyo was perfect, and it was that simple. He hadn’t been looking for her, and when she appeared in that music room doorway all those months ago, his heart buzzed with premonitions, hopes and notions that were as surprising as they were delightful. He knew, just knew, that she would prove to be as she appeared. Her mind was a lullaby, her intelligence a subtle rhythm as were the chords she breathed upon. There wasn’t a thing that could be said that she wouldn’t understand. 
  242.16 +
  242.17 +Every emotion he expressed, ever word he said to her, she proved to already be a master of. She was warm, and her voice was the most intimate part of her. Her eyes—when she sang—faded into things that he was sure he would never see. She hit the high notes as though her soul had burst from her skin and was lingering just south of her own personal heaven. He was always left on earth, making the music that set her into flight. 
  242.18 +
  242.19 +Sometimes he believed that she would never return. That she would never belong to anyone—not even him. But then the song was through, her feet were back on the ground, and she was no more or less his than ever before in her life. 
  242.20 +
  242.21 +She was daydreaming with both hands on the steering wheel and her head canted just barely to the right. The radio was on, lulling her with distant soft rock, faded as a t-shirt. Snow fell around and past her on the other side of the window, and it left flecks of mobile white in her eyes—blue as the night sky they reflected. This was when he loved her the most: When it took her hours to descend, taking the clouds like stepping-stones until they became s. > For a moment she leaned against the door, her hands still on the knob behind her, and listened to the silence. She could hear the grandfather clock ticking from the top of the staircase; her head still buzzed from the long noisy hours spent in the school auditorium. And Etsuya. 
  242.22 +
  242.23 +The familiar hurt of days with him surfaced between her thighs. It was always there now, buried beneath a pleated gray skirt, or whatever else she chose to wear. It was her secrShe She took it to bed at night, hiding it beneath pages of thoughts unrelated. 
  242.24 +
  242.25 +She was taking off her gloves and smoothing the snrom rom her braid as she climbed the stairs. To the left of the hallway’s threshold there was a short span of orange light. There she found her mother, cheek to the curl of her arm, slumped and sleeping over a stack of papers on her desk. 
  242.26 +
  242.27 +It was rare that the woman looked so calm or so quiet. Only like this could Tomoyo see traces of herself in her mother’s features. When she was still, when her eyes—the same blue—were closed, and her breaths were even. They had the same eyelashes, strange as that may have sounded: thick and elegant like an oil painting. The same defined chin, arching like a narrow bridge and poising all else of their faces perfectly. Refined, but childish in their own separate rights. 
  242.28 +
  242.29 +She stood in the doorway for a while, observing, thinking, fondling her gloves in her hands. When she left—and returned a few moments later—she was sliding a blanket over her mother’s shoulders. 
  242.30 +
  242.31 +This was the foundation of her story. A woman—once a girl—filled with memories that she would never say. Her heart was still swollen and bruised from stories she would not tell. What had it done to her, to be in love with someone who would never know the truth, carrying a child that came from a place without desire? 
  242.32 +
  242.33 +“Tomoyo?” There was a slight stir in the blanket when Sonomi raised her head, dizzy with sleep, blearily checking her watch. “Are you just getting home? It’s almost ten.” 
  242.34 +
  242.35 +“Yes…” Tomoyo kept her voice low, as though sleep was still resting somewhere in the room. “I stayed late to set up for the festival; I left a message on your voicemail.” 
  242.36 +
  242.37 +Sonomi sat upright slowly, blinking at the sleek black flip-phone just inches from where her cheek had been. Off. 
  242.38 +
  242.39 +“The calls have just been non-stop today,” she blurted tiredly, “I’m sorry.” 
  242.40 +
  242.41 +In the moment Tomoyo’s mind drifted to the mild throbbing beneath her skirt, she caught her mother staring at her. Sonomi stood, idly draping the blanket over the chair though not seeming to notice it. And she took her daughter’s face in her hands, gently, her touch warm as the lamplight. 
  242.42 +
  242.43 +“How are you? Are you okay?” 
  242.44 +
  242.45 +Tomoyo blinked away everything that was or could have been a secret thing ir. Wr. When she was small, and she was ill, voiceless, or otherwise distressed, her mother had a way of seeing through her attempts to hide it. I know because I am your mother, she would say, and I’m worried about you. 
  242.46 +
  242.47 +Regardless, she gave her sweetest smile. “Of course,” she said, “just tired.” 
  242.48 +
  242.49 +It was impossible to tell if her mother believed her. Her expressions were either unreadable, or foreign to anyone else’s logic. She was vague. Energetic most days, but vague. 
  242.50 +
  242.51 +“What do you think of spending Christmas in Toyama?” 
  242.52 +
  242.53 +“Christmas? Why?” 
  242.54 +
  242.55 +Sonomi dropped back into her seat, and absently rearranged the papers she had disarrayed in her sleep. “I thought we could go skiing.” 
  242.56 +
  242.57 +“But Christmas?” 
  242.58 +
  242.59 +“You could say no.” She wasn’t looking at her anymore, opening her phone and scrolling through the voicemail alerts. “Just think about it?” 
  242.60 +
  242.61 +Christmas after the festival. Away from all the noise and excitement. 
  242.62 +
  242.63 +Tomoyo closed her eyes in a long blink. The silence huffed in her ears like a virus. The ladders, pink snowflakes. And the music room, where he swept the hair from her face and kissed her, unaware of the green-eyed-wishes she held so tightly that it hurt. Hurt like the muscles between her thighs. This year, between the anticipation and the solace of the music room, she did not know which she would miss the most, or which she wouldn’t mind escaping for a while. She didn’t even feel her mind drifting away from thoughts of Christmas. 
  242.64 +
  242.65 +“…Mother?” 
  242.66 +
  242.67 +This was a habit, a frame. She’d loved Sakura since the third grade, when she smiled at her. All her cute little things, like erasers shaped like animals and wings on her backpack. None of that had faded, though she was older now and her thoughts had grown with her heart. She was in love with the boy who chided her when she fell but caught her nonetheless, and she was happy with him, high in her world of pink paper snowflakes. 
  242.68 +
  242.69 +“Hm?” 
  242.70 +
  242.71 +Tomoyo wasn’t jealous; she wasn’t. Hers was a different world, quiet and strange. It was gray and full of moonlight, and there was always a piano to coincide with the music sheets. Sometimes she thought she would die before the truth ever came out of her. So would that give her a wedding ring someday, and a child that came from a world without snowflakes? A child too observant not to see the very faint glimmer of loss in her mother’s eyes. 
  242.72 +
  242.73 +Just Sakura’s smile had been enough, all of these years. Until Etsuya kissed her, and the body of the piano was smooth on her arms when she leaned back. Then the thoughts that had been hiding for maybe a hundred months cameblinbling through her like red blood cells, and she saw the things Sakura must have known for so long. Bedsheets—a cafeteria lunch table, holding hands—a green curtain and the things they hid from the world. 
  242.74 +
  242.75 +There was so much more to love than love. There were kisses, fingertips triggering neurons that splashed and roused the still waters of an Observationalist. There was magic, there was sex. There were things about her that Tomoyo would never know. 
  242.76 +
  242.77 +She wasn’t jealous. But did that really mean that she was okay? 
  242.78 +
  242.79 +Her mother was one of the few things left in the world to both perplex and amaze her. The only person she’d ever genuinely loved was gone. Not shadowing another bedroom, not keeping a home in a distant town. Not in Toyama or the clouds, but truly gone. And the only one who could have possibly stood in her place was gone now too. But her eyes were no less blue. She’d always been vibrant, and if Tomoyo wanted for anything, it wasn’t her mother’s affection. 
  242.80 +
  242.81 +But she couldn’t imagine herself to be so strong, not if Sakura was absolutely nowhere to be touched or seen or heard from. She wouldn’t have the will to sing anymore, and didn’t dare wonder what her first thoughts would be at daybreak. There would be nothing left in her, least of all the courage to raise a child. 
  242.82 +
  242.83 +She could only admire her, and pray never to be tested in the same ways. 
  242.84 +
  242.85 +“Nothing,” she finally said, realizing she never had any intention to speak at all. “I’ll be in my room.” 
  242.86 +
  242.87 +“Are you hungry?” 
  242.88 +
  242.89 +“I ate on the way home from school. I really should start working on patterns for the play anyway. Casting just went up.” 
  242.90 +
  242.91 +Her mother looked at her, suddenly bright-eyed. “Will you be making Sakura’s costume again this year?” 
  242.92 +
  242.93 +That got a sincere and wistful smile out of Tomoyo, and she said, “Of course.” 
  242.94 +
  242.95 +“Show me your designs when you’re finished?” 
  242.96 +
  242.97 +Again, “Of course.” She turned to leave, but her mother touched her hand and she stopped. 
  242.98 +
  242.99 +“There isn’t anything on your mind? You’re really okay?” 
 242.100 +
 242.101 +She summoned back her costume smile. “Yes.” 
 242.102 +
 242.103 +She hoped that the lies she told in those few minutes would not be the first of many. 
 242.104 +
 242.105 +________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 242.106 +
 242.107 +“But still, she’s been quiet, don’t you think?” Sakura had the visor-mirror down on the passenger side of the car, and she was rubbing at the dried paint on her cheek. 
 242.108 +
 242.109 +He shrugged, eyes forward over ste steering wheel. “She’s always quiet. I haven’t noticed anything.” 
 242.110 +
 242.111 +“But more than usual,” she pressed. And, “You didn’t tell me I had paint on my face.” 
 242.112 +
 242.113 +“I wasn’t paying attention.” 
 242.114 +
 242.115 +“You’re just full of observation, aren’t you?” There was jest to her tone, but he could feel her distant traces of worry. Before he could have added to or changed the subject, she said, “Stay over tonight. I don’t like being alone in the house when it’s so empty.” 
 242.116 +
 242.117 +She was shifting though her topics too quickly tonight, and—admittedly—he wasn’t paying much attention. Until that last line, to which he cleared his throat. 
 242.118 +
 242.119 +“My dad’s gone until the week before Christmas.” She flipped the mirror back into place overhead. “He took most of his class to Egypt for winter break.” Getting no immediate answer from him, she folded her arms and slumped in her seat. “I thought field trips stopped after high school, but I guess I was wrong.” 
 242.120 +
 242.121 +“So the house is yours for the entire month?” The thought appealed to him, for more reasons than those blatantly obvious. He’d been living alone for years. This excluded Meiling’s random and unannounced visits, or the obligatory return to Hong Kong every once in a while. 
 242.122 +
 242.123 +But then, quiet and solitude had never bothered him. Sakura was the one—when she spent the night—who filled each silence with conversations that became rhythmic to her nature, who was always finding something to do. He couldn’t remember a time she was ever able to sit still, and she was the only person alive who could carry on that way without just irritating the hell out of him. 
 242.124 +
 242.125 +“Mhm,” she hummed in response. She doubled forward to unzip her backpack on the car floor, but she didn’t appear to be looking for anything in particular. “Oniichan’s still moving his stuff to his new apartment, but he’s gone most of the time, really.” 
 242.126 +
 242.127 +He let one eye stray from the road to cast her a skeptical glare. 
 242.128 +
 242.129 +She looked up from her rummaging. “Really.” 
 242.130 +
 242.131 +The first thing Sakura heard when she opened the front door was: “Where have you been?” 
 242.132 +
 242.133 +Her brother was coming out of the kitchen with a half-devoured sugar cookie in his hand, and his eyes narrowed at the brown-eyed boy standing over the threshold. He could only hope that the scene did not answer his question. 
 242.134 +
 242.135 +She sighed, unable to decide between being uneasy or irritated while the dark pairs of eyes exchanged vicious sparks. “What are you doing here?” 
 242.136 +
 242.137 +“Asking you where you’ve been. It’s past ten.” 
 242.138 +
 242.139 +She hesitated, shifting on her heels and toes respectively, gnawing her lower lip and trying to decide on an answer. Finally, she matched his narrow eyes with a like expression of her own. This was frustration, not guilt. Offering nothing, she nudged Syaoran back outside, followed him, and closed the door. 
 242.140 +
 242.141 +“Good to know he’s really gone,” he said. 
 242.142 +
 242.143 +“Quiet.” She pressed her forehead against his, standing on the tips of her shoes to meet his height. And she gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” 
 242.144 +
 242.145 +Her eyes were bright with stars and streetlights, ethereal celestial green, watermarked by the moon. 
 242.146 +
 242.147 +It was only when they were this close that their magic could merge, gentler than the faded stars over their heads. Her birthright. There was snow on her shoulders, he felt it crinkling against his gloves as he pushed the hair from her face. She fluttered at the touch, closing her eyes and taking a long gasp of a breath. 
 242.148 +
 242.149 +I love you, he wanted to say. But the frozen air that clouded between their mouths only made her skin seem that much warmer, and he pushed forward to kiss her instead. 
 242.150 +
 242.151 +She settled on his chest and coiled her arms around his shoulders. The cotton knuckles of her gloves swept the hairs on the back of his neck, and everything but the snowflakes sto aro around them. 
 242.152 +
 242.153 +I love you… 
 242.154 +
 242.155 +Her honey-amber crown of hair rustled under his chin; she settled her forehead to the rough shoulder of his black coat. And as her lungs selfishly drew all they could of the dry sweet aroma and her arms tightened on him in a desperate and grateful squeeze, he tried to steal all he could of the moment in his mind. 
 242.156 +
 242.157 +Her lips and tongue were warm on his skin; she was kissing his jaw-line, then—slowly—drawing away until instead of embracing him she was holding his wrists under her red gloves. She smiled a closed-mouth smile, radia the the notions of a child. She was a rush of a lover’s colors and warm blurs one moment, and just an innocent smile the next. 
 242.158 +
 242.159 +“Be careful driving home.” Her red glove swept some of the snow from his hair. “I mean it; the roads are horrible.” 
 242.160 +
 242.161 +Over her shoulder, the window blinds were parting and a narrow pair of dark eyes were staring them down. She, somehow sensing her brother’s ever-glaring presence, twisted away to return his less-than-happy gaze. The two of them weren’t very alike, as siblings went. Different stances and eyes and mannerisms. She was wonderful and he was… starting to get on Syaoran’s last nerve. 
 242.162 +
 242.163 +But sometimes, whether she was aware of it or not, Sakura was so like bro brother that it gave him a chill. This, as the two of them threw back and forth immature glances of annoyance. 
 242.164 +
 242.165 +“I’m sorry,” she said, turning back to him, “I really did want you to stay tonight.” 
 242.166 +
 242.167 +“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. Because her brother was still watching, she did not give him a last kiss goodbye. They both shared a secret grin before he stepped free of her hand, and somehow that was enough. She hugged her arms to her chest; the winter burned her wispy red cheeks and snowflake hair. 
 242.168 +
 242.169 +She bit back her lip in a smile that her brother—still spying—didn’t see. And as she watched him drive away, ghosts of a fleeting ecstasy traveled like waves between her thighs.
 242.170 \ No newline at end of file

   243.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   243.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-05.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   243.3 @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
   243.4 +Yoru No Uta
   243.5 +Chapter 5
   243.6 +
   243.7 +By: somnambulated
   243.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   243.9 +
  243.10 +
  243.11 +The real mystery is why I just won't accept the truth That I've been resenting red for not being blue Like I’ve been resenting him for not being you 
  243.12 +
  243.13 +________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  243.14 +Hester Prynne spent three hours of her life on a scaffold wearing the scarlet A, and the rest of her life in her own chains. The only person in the world who didn’t convict her was the child she carried. A black-eyed creature that she named Pearl for her priceless worth. Her pearl.
  243.15 +The text was thick and wordy, and the Japanese translation made each lengthy paragraph of a sentence just that much harder to follow. It was a simple story, Tomoyo thought, with too many descriptions and interruptions. It was only a woman who’d given birth to the child of an unknown father.
  243.16 +Etsuya said it was hypocritical to judge someone in the name of a God who also said not to judge, and suggested that religion was bullshit. 
  243.17 +“Most things we can’t understand seem that way,” Sakura retaliated from across the table in the library, “I think, anyway.”
  243.18 +He pointed at her with his pen. “I like how you think.”
  243.19 +Syaoran in the meantime was highlighting things religiously in bright yellow. Trademarks of an avid student. As usual, the kanji frustrated him. “No,” he said, not looking up. “Sakura, it’s bullshit.”
  243.20 +She ignored him, though not before nudging his arm and creating an awkward streak of bright yellow on his page. He stared; she grinned and turned her head towards her best friend. “Tomoyo?”
  243.21 +She raised her eyes from her reading, blinking. Her high ponytail barely swished in its yellow ribbon. “Hm?”
  243.22 +“What about you? What do you think?”
  243.23 +From her distracted expression it could be gathered that Tomoyo’s mind had been somewhere else throughout the impromptu discussion. But she said, “I think it’s about fear.”
  243.24 +“Where do you see that?” Syaoran turned pages absently.
  243.25 +“I don’t,” she said. “I mean.” She paused, staring at her open book as though to collect her thoughts. “I mean that these people haven’t ever experienced a life without following guidelines. They don’t have laws—all they have are their Bibles. She’s done something to compromise everything that they’ve ever known, and there’s nothing in the Bible about it, except to say that it’s wrong.” She nodded to nothing, proud of her presentation. “They’re afraid.”
  243.26 +Sakura blinked, intimidated and blank-faced for a moment before she twirled her pink pencil between her knuckles—a motion she’d been going on about unconsciously for most of the afternoon. “That… makes sense, actually.”
  243.27 +Etsuya said, “Afraid of what?”
  243.28 +“The unknown…”
  243.29 +Her voice trailed and she subtly exited the conversation. Across the room, one of the elementary school teachers was sitting at a table with a girl from her class. They were leaning over the same stack of festival flyers, sorting the pink pages from the white in respective piles. A black backpack by the girl’s chair was decorated with a keychain of a teddy bear. She was crossing and uncrossing her ankles uneasily. He didn’t seem to notice.
  243.30 +“I think there’s a dictionary with better translations by the index wheel.” Etsuya said.
  243.31 +“Even for these run-ons?”
  243.32 +“Yes. Here, I’ll show you.”
  243.33 +When Tomoyo looked back to her own table, both boys were gone, and Sakura was looking over her shoulder at them with a sympathetic twist in her mouth.
  243.34 +“Poor Syaoran,” she said, turning back, “he really has a hard time with lengthy translations.”
  243.35 +Tomoyo was half-reading, semi-contemplating the thesis for an upcoming paper, and barely listening. Every thought she’d had for days had been distracted. Though if she closed her eyes, she could feel it all so clearly—
  243.36 +“Hey…” Sakura’s voice was softer than the snowflakes dropping outside of the window. She reached across the table and tapped the edge of Tomoyo’s notebook with the winged eraser of her pen. “Are you okay?”
  243.37 +Suddenly, Tomoyo couldn’t stop staring at Rika’s backpack from across the room. Just how long had that teddy bear keychain been there? Years.
  243.38 +Finally, Tomoyo said, “You still have that bear Li-kun gave you, don’t you?”
  243.39 +“Um.” Sakura recoiled her pen and sat more upright. “From fifth grade? Yeah, I think it’s on the shelf over my bed.” She opened her mouth to say more, but in the same moment Tomoyo looked at her and smiled. “Sorry,” she half-sang, half-spoke. “Yes; I’m alright.”
  243.40 +Sakura, unsure what to make of the entire day, followed Tomoyo’s expired gaze across the school library for clues. But she saw nothing worth noticing.
  243.41 +
  243.42 +____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  243.43 +
  243.44 +
  243.45 +
  243.46 +“It’s so cold!” Sakura jumped behind Syaoran when he opened the door, as though he could barricade the swirling snowflakes from her skin. She squeaked at a gust of bitter wind. Everything was layered in frosty fluffy white beyond the school’s front steps. The sky was gray, tinged wine-yellow and dull blue behind bare black treetops. 
  243.47 +“Tomoyo’s crazy for saying she’ll walk home.” Sakura decided as she climbed into the passenger side of his black car, breathing clouds of misty white and rubbing her gloves together for warmth. “I’m sure Takahashi will give her a ride.” He said, twisting the key in the ignition. A wonderful spray of warm air came shooting through the dashboard vents and Sakura took a breath of relief. “Etsuya-kun?” She was brushing the snow from her hair. “Do you think they spend a lot of time together?” 
  243.48 +He shifted gears and two thin black arms shoved a layer of fresh snow from the windshield. “I think it’s none of my business.” 
  243.49 +She raised her shoulders and looked at her hands. “That isn’t what I mean.” A few flecks of white still clung to the red fibers of her gloves, and she brushed at them idly. “Never mind,” she muttered. Her voice was almost lost in the shushing of the warm vents. “I can’t explain it.” 
  243.50 +Still, it was strange that she was always capable of getting a ride, but she so often said she’d walk. 
  243.51 +Sometime past the first stoplight, the heat flowed under her skin and she closed her eyes. “It’s still early,” her voice was almost a whisper, “You can stay over until the snow settles.” 
  243.52 +“And risk your brother not being there again?” He was more aware of her fatigue than she was, and he kept his voice down. “Thanks, but no.” 
  243.53 +She sighed her faded disappointment, blurting a delirious something about her brother doing things for the sole purpose of her annoyance. 
  243.54 +The car ride was made all the longer by the sight-impairing snow, and Sakura spent most of it drifting through loose dreams. Images without color. Thoughts without justification. Scarlet A’s and a crowded library. All of them ended with something unidentifiable in Tomoyo’s expression that afternoon. Maybe it wasn’t her business, but… 
  243.55 +“…Sakura…” 
  243.56 +Her eyes fluttered open, and her ears were flooded with the consonant rhythm of the heat, perfect and wonderful on her cheeks. The car appeared like a jigsaw puzzle coming together. Her confusion was dispelled by the familiar smell of leather and warmth and cotton. Syaoran was holding the steering wheel with one hand, and brushing the frame of her face with the other. His gloves tickled her nerves, and she caught herself swooning. 
  243.57 +“You’re home,” he said. 
  243.58 +“No~” she closed her eyes, burying her tired smirk. “Five more minutes.” 
  243.59 +The wind whistled, literally, and she forced herself into coherency. “It’s getting bad out,” she said, and looked at him with worry-darkened eyes. “I don’t want you driving in this.” 
  243.60 +“It’s fine,” he said, “I’m less than five minutes away.” 
  243.61 +“No,” her voice was flat and anxious. She took his hand in both of hers and leaned so close to him that their foreheads almost touched. “Please. I have a bad feeling.” 
  243.62 +This had stopped becoming an attempt to spite her brother long ago. After their years in the footsteps of Clow’s magic, any sentence containing ‘I have a feeling’ had become a thing not to be used or taken lightly. He frowned past her shoulder, through the angry white storm, at her doorstep. But there was no arguing now. 
  243.63 +
  243.64 +She rushed her key in the door, and they were both met with a dark and empty house. “What time is it?” She had already kicked off her shoes and was taking the stairs ahead of him by the time he glanced at his watch. “After seven.” 
  243.65 +“Maybe he’s—” she checked the window at the top of the stairs; she hadn’t noticed his car in the driveway yesterday, maybe she’d made the same mistake today. “…not here.” His bedroom door was open, moving boxes arranged in a way that Sakura could only call ‘freakishly neat.’ Organization was a recessive gene that she hadn’t inherited. But when she heard stories of her mother’s clumsy disorganized charm, she was strangely grateful about the whole thing. 
  243.66 +“Probably called it a day.” Syaoran was standing beside her suddenly, and his voice made her jump. She drew a steadying breath and closed her eyes in a long blink. 
  243.67 +“…But his door’s wide open.” 
  243.68 +The nagging premonition, earlier rooted in her stomach, was gone. But she watched the exposed space over her shoulder as she turned for the staircase again. And she couldn’t deny the ghosts of its nature, telling her that something was sorely out of place. 
  243.69 +
  243.70 +She found Kero sleeping on the kitchen table, next to an empty bowl that was easily the size of his entire body. He was contentedly hugging a spoon and murmuring about ice cream. So much for asking him. 
  243.71 +Anyway, her brother had scribbled the number to the apartment on the back of an index card and stuck it to the fridge. He would answer, she told herself as she leaned against the kitchen wall and dialed, and everything would be fine. 
  243.72 +He did. 
  243.73 +“Don’t go anywhere tonight,” he said. “It’s supposed to get worse; you probably won’t have school tomorrow.” 
  243.74 +She didn’t tell him about Syaoran. If it had been snowing balls of lava, her brother still would have insisted that he leave, and probably would have risked his life to go over there and be sure he did. But just the same, she hoped that having to lie wouldn’t become a pattern. 
  243.75 +“Do you need anything over there?” He said. “Will you be okay alone?” 
  243.76 +“Sure. Kero’s here.” 
  243.77 +“Forgive me if that doesn’t ease my mind.” 
  243.78 +She wanted to argue, but that was about the same moment that her guardian flopped to his stomach in his sleep and murmured ‘oh no, I couldn’t eat another bite… strawberry frosting’ 
  243.79 +She shrunk a little. “I’ll keep him out of trouble.” 
  243.80 +After she hung up, a nagging darkness settled inside of her stronger than before. Her brother was alright. The open bedroom meant nothing, and now Syaoran wouldn’t have to leave. They’d all be safe tonight. 
  243.81 +
  243.82 +So what felt so wrong? 
  243.83 +It followed her through the livingroom, up the stairs and past the threshold of her bedroom, where she belly-flopped onto her bed and coiled her arms around a pillow. “So tired,” she murmured. 
  243.84 +Syaoran was standing by the window, looking out at the snow. “You were right,” he said. There was no seeing anything past the sheet of glass between her bedroom and the outside. His car was invisible in the white street. 
  243.85 +“Oniichan said there probably won’t be school tomorrow.” Her voice was muffled. 
  243.86 +He said nothing, but she felt his weight shift the edge of the mattress and she blindly moved towards him until her head was in his lap. “Maybe we should turn on the weather.” 
  243.87 +But nothing happened, and she breathed in. Wooden tables and the lingering papery smell of the library were still fresh in the fibers of his uniform. She wrapped her arm around his hip and buried her forehead in his lowest stomach. “You’re so warm,” she mumbled, content and sleepy. 
  243.88 +He was slowly tugging the pink elastics from her pigtails and brushing her hair back into place with the roots of his fingers. “You’re so strange.” His voice was like orange embers. 
  243.89 +She yawned. “But you love me.” 
  243.90 +In the lazy gray of her bedroom, with all of their skin patched like quilts by the yellow streetlights and lacey snowflakes, she drew a breath that echoed in his head. Sweet as her strawberry hair, slower than the white frozen-rain parade. He could see only half of her cheek peering out from a fold in his black shirt; her lower back rose and fell in deep lulling rhythms. 
  243.91 +Asleep, she did not hear his whispered reply. 
  243.92 +“Yes… I do.” 
  243.93 +
  243.94 +____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
  243.95 +
  243.96 +Sometimes she felt that he was still composing. His hands, the same to play that strange and wonderful music, chose her as a home. It was like an Indie celebrity’s smile, or a dream of talking to an angel. 
  243.97 +She was his lighthouse past the port without terra firma, a subtle place of return as he came from the east of the night. 
  243.98 +Nobody else lingered over her bed so deep into the darkness. Nobody else murmured her name on that chord of desperation. Nobody else had ever been inside, though she often dreamed of it. 
  243.99 +And he was so careful, rippling over her like a reflection in a puddle, not missing an inch of her arms in his cautious grace. His skin was of the moon beyond her window, freckled with the shadows of snowflakes. “Let your hair down?” He kissed the words behind her ear. And she, delirious but still logical, reached behind her head with bare arms and burning fingers to slide the yellow ribbon from her ponytail. 
 243.100 +“I love you,” he said. He was pushing his hands through the endless waves, like black roadmaps in the pale room. 
 243.101 +She saw her thigh rise against his hip, and for a second she couldn’t tell which skin was his and which was her own. 
 243.102 +“No you don’t,” she murmured. A gasp tumbled from her mouth when she felt him slide into her. She braced, holding his forearms and pushing her eyebrows together as though in thought. 
 243.103 +He said he loved her, she told him that he didn’t. And then she let him come inside of her, and everything was okay. 
 243.104 +His kisses were thorns on her rosebush of a body. She was the unattainable, the beautiful. He was the undertaker, the risk. She put her arms up around his shoulders and pressed her hands into his skin until she was inside of him. As inside of him as he was her. 
 243.105 +Their breathing clashed; they did not ever appear in sync. His fast, hers slow. Who knew where he was all those times, pushing into her like ripples on the surface of a quiet pond in the summer. There was a pond not far from her house without any fish in it. As a child, Sakura waved her festival fan over the surface and tried to teach them how to tell fortunes. Well, it didn’t work anymore if it ever had, because the girl was no more or less aware of how dramatically she was loved. Still loved. 
 243.106 +He came first, with a panicked whisper of her name. There wasn’t a second for her to react. The fishless pond shook violently in her head, and she tried to find Sakura again but there wasn’t enough time there wasn’t enough time— 
 243.107 +Her back curled off of the mattress and she exhaled, tremulous and light. Her hands relented and her thighs eased on his hips and slid down, numb. Her body glistened with festival water. The roots of her hair were dark and moist. 
 243.108 +When it was through, she was never caught basking. He would lie over the sheets like a puddle and watch her with glassy eyes. She was standing, gathering the gray and black pieces of her uniform from the floor and separating them from his. All this while wrapped in the lavender sheet from her bed. 
 243.109 +She busied herself, brushing her hair, evening out the disheveled wrinkles and slinking into pajamas. She wouldn’t leave the room until she was certain that she had left no clues for her mother to find. This didn’t matter, though; she wasn’t home and wouldn’t be until maybe morning. 
 243.110 +Nobody could ever know about this, while they were sitting in the school library reviewing for a quiz, while the snow was soft and cold on their skin. And while she had pins in her mouth, fitting all the girls for their costumes with red measuring tape. She would have no teddy-bears over her bed, no key-chains on her backpack. She would forever be the bearer of silent things. 
 243.111 +As Tomoyo passed the moonbright window again, her gray silhouette revealed a single hair that hadn’t been tamed in her hurried attempt to hide it. Stealing a secret delight of his own, Etsuya smiled. 
 243.112 +
 243.113 +____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
 243.114 +
 243.115 +Sakura woke in the middle of the night, frantically untangling herself from a violent ocean of a dream, the memory of which fading away as her pupils swelled. It was dark, and the clock ticking over her bed was the only proof that time still existed. 
 243.116 +The fresh gray sheet of snow on her dark window reminded her of the day; she could remember little after hanging up with her brother and retreating to her room. Maybe she’d fallen asleep. 
 243.117 +She was still in her uniform, which was suddenly unbearably thick on her skin. It caught the blankets when she moved, hindering her from the smooth freedom of limbs she was accustomed to. 
 243.118 +Syaoran was next to her, which she didn’t realize until she tried to slip out of bed and instead bumped into him. She blinked, a secret confusion. Reality was seeping back in through her ears, forced to register through the throbbing silence. It was too dark to clearly see his face, but still she admired what she could. Even his sleep was marked with the certain care and masculine graces that made him what he was in the day. He looked—she thought—like he was the kind to highlight every other line, and to write with flawless penmanship. 
 243.119 +Or maybe she just knew him too well. 
 243.120 +Forgetting the itchy heat of her uniform against her dream-rashed and damp skin for a few seconds, she traced his jaw with her index finger. He was her secret like this; on his back with his cheek to his shoulder, breathing long rhythms through his chest, distant in dreaming. His most beautiful moment. 
 243.121 +She swept her palm across his forehead and smiled in the dark before finally climbing over him and coming to a stand. 
 243.122 +Even after she slid the heavy gray skirt from her legs and traded everything for a wispier ensemble, she still couldn’t bring herself to feel settled. Something still itched, beyond the turtleneck and knee-socks. 
 243.123 +She paced her room for a while, using the mediocre gleam of the streetlight to fold her clothes and stack them on the chair at her desk. She was considerately quiet about everything, although for a while she thought of waking him. But he hadn’t done the same for her, though she must have fallen asleep just minutes after she returned to the room that evening. 
 243.124 +How long had he watched? When did he settle beside her and fall asleep himself? She knew him never to be awake after midnight (unless there was a paper to be written or something similar) so the current time couldn’t have been before twelve. But it was too dark and blurry to see the clock without having to crawl over him again, and she no longer wanted to risk disturbing him. 
 243.125 +An unexpected blast of yellow light spilled into her eyes when she opened the door. Kero, no doubt, had been here. Maybe he’d taken the closed door as some risqué sign of denied access and returned downstairs. Sakura didn’t know and had no intention of asking. She fumbled for the light switch until it was off again, only slightly irritated and blinking rapidly to readjust. 
 243.126 +Nothing was happening anywhere. No glow from the television somewhere at the bottom of the stairs, no lingering kitchen lights or muffled conversations from her brother’s room—juxtaposed her own. Nothing. It was uncommon and comforting at the same time to know that she bore no true responsibility. No chores would be in any hurry to get themselves done in the morning. There would be no breakfast-table comments from her brother in the morning, no battle to kick at him in retaliation. 
 243.127 +She took the stairs slowly, letting the pallid moonlight from the windows mark her path. Thanks to all the ghost stories her brother filled her head with as a child, her heart always pounded for the first few seconds of any dark entrance. But she wasn’t afraid anymore. Well… not as afraid. 
 243.128 +She stopped at the window by the front door. The snow was still falling, though in flecks so distant and faint that she had to compare their flight to the streetlights to see them at all. The yellow blobs lining the street looked like snow-globes, while the space outside of their glow was black as a bruise. If she squinted she could see Syaoran’s car, its tires lost in the white mounds. The snow on the roof of it looked like a hat. 
 243.129 +The same worry as earlier twisted in her stomach, borderline nauseating. She folded her arms over her stomach and raised her shoulders at an unstoppable chill. Then she found herself hoping that Tomoyo had made it home alright.
 243.130 \ No newline at end of file

   244.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   244.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   244.3 @@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
   244.4 +Yoru No Uta
   244.5 +Chapter 6
   244.6 +
   244.7 +By: somnambulated
   244.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   244.9 +
  244.10 +
  244.11 +If I could read your mind, Love
  244.12 +what a tale your thoughts could tell
  244.13 +just like a paperback novel—
  244.14 +the kind the drugstores sell.
  244.15 +And you won’t read that book again
  244.16 +because the ending’s just too hard to take.
  244.17 +
  244.18 +
  244.19 +________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  244.20 +
  244.21 +The thick snow delayed festival preparations, not to mention classes for half of the week that passed. By Monday, things were back to normal; classes were postponed until noon so that everyone could make up for lost time. It was late morning now, and a smooth layer of white hovered in the bare treetops like ice-sculptures. The roads were less attractive, though commutable. 
  244.22 +
  244.23 +“I think we should put wings on either side, so the words look like they’re flying.” Sakura beamed at her own idea, holding a drippy blue paintbrush high in her hand. They were knelt on the gymnasium floor. “That’ll look Christmas-y, right? Like angel wings.” 
  244.24 +
  244.25 +Tomoyo didn’t think so, but she smiled anyway and said, “yes.” Though they were older now, and Sakura carried just a little more grace than she had as a child, there were still moments like this; when she was so adorable, beaming her closed-mouth smile and almost bouncing at new thoughts of her very unique self-expression. Tomoyo could still see the little wisps of amber hair that used to curl over the girl’s bangs like antennae, though they were gone now and had been replaced with a more combed look. 
  244.26 +
  244.27 +Even the bangs were half of what they used to be, leaving more of her face to be displayed. Not to mention adored. A few years ago, she was the energetic and skinny fifth-grader doing backhand sprints at school events; the older boys would watch when she ran the track and say she was strong for her size. But now she was taller, bristling a little past five feet; she had mastered her thin build seamlessly with slight curves. And it was the cheerleading that the boys paid most attention to now. 
  244.28 +
  244.29 +Tomoyo resisted the urge to reach across the banner that lay on the floor between them, and pinch her cheek like a crazy aunt at a family picnic. 
  244.30 +
  244.31 +They—the boys—would say,’ Li, you’re lucky as hell.’ And he would blush and shrug and try to avert the conversation—and their eyes—to something else. 
  244.32 +
  244.33 +Sakura was looking back at the roll of paper again, frowning awkwardly at her best friend’s perfect calligraphy. “But I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said, “I’ll probably ruin your work.” 
  244.34 +
  244.35 +“I’m sure whatever you do will look lovely.” Tomoyo assured, believing her answer this time. 
  244.36 +
  244.37 +Across the room, Syaoran was almost hidden by the crowd of mixed-age students, curled in the shadows and studying The Scarlet Letter. There was a highlighter in his hand, and Sakura caught the sight with bemused eyes. “He’s the only person in the world who would try to avoid simple work for more work.” 
  244.38 +
  244.39 +“Is he still having a hard time with the kanji?” Finding there was little left for her to do, Tomoyo busied herself with her own paintbrush and tried to darken the letters. 
  244.40 +
  244.41 +“Yes.” Sakura must have heard Tomoyo’s assurance on the wings, because she began with a slight blue curl on the side of the first letter. It was a thicker line, boldly arguing with the slender letters. “And I mean it isn’t like I haven’t tried to help,” she continued, her eyes on her brush. “This is my native language, and I can’t even get these translations. What does that say about me?” 
  244.42 +
  244.43 +Tomoyo had been watching her speak, the rise and fall of her tone, the way her mouth turned to a circle when she emphasized her words. She suppressed a fond smirk. “Here,” she wistfully offered, gently taking the heavy brush from her best friend’s hand and replacing it with the thinner medium. 
  244.44 +
  244.45 +Sakura blinked, then unmindfully resumed. Though still lined with her semi-sloppy charm, the change of brush made the lines that much more graceful. 
  244.46 +
  244.47 +Rika was on the other side of the gymnasium, laughing barely at something Chiharu said as they taped decorations to the wall. But her eyes—dark brown like coffee—kept wandering away to the teacher who was leaning over the elementary school kids and commenting on their designs. 
  244.48 +
  244.49 +“Tomoyo?” 
  244.50 +
  244.51 +“Hm?” 
  244.52 +
  244.53 +Sakura seemed suddenly so aware of how she was staring at the banner. Her eyes were filled with more intent than she needed, and they both knew it. 
  244.54 +
  244.55 +“He isn’t hurting you, right?” 
  244.56 +
  244.57 +It was Tomoyo’s turn to blink, though less confused. “Li-kun?” 
  244.58 +
  244.59 +“No.” That was all that needed to be said. Sakura was tracing the same line over and over again, back and forth with the brush. The paper was growing thin and damp under her strokes. 
  244.60 +
  244.61 +Tomoyo closed her eyes until she exhaled her next breath. “Oh,” she said. “No, quite the opposite of that.” 
  244.62 +
  244.63 +“Because,” Sakura interjected, “He’s nice, and I like him a lot.” She raised her eyes, and hid her timid uneasiness in a bright green determination that came out matter-of-fact. “But I love you.” 
  244.64 +
  244.65 +The words burned in Tomoyo before they turned warm. Love was not a word Sakura let go of casually. She made this a fact, and the words were the first of many more that were hidden in the underlay. 
  244.66 +
  244.67 +This wasn’t a threat, or even an ill-intended promise, Tomoyo knew. Sakura had the power in her to ravage the world, to melt the snow when it got in her way as it had last week, to freeze time and make more of it for herself. She could sweep Etsuya away in a great wind and erase him from sight forever if she wanted to. 
  244.68 +
  244.69 +But she never did, and never wanted to. 
  244.70 +
  244.71 +She’d already said it was selfish and unfair to use her magic to alter the natural order of things. She hesitated to throw her skills around, even if it was something as simple as using her Bubble card for laundry. 
  244.72 +
  244.73 +“Sakura…”
  244.74 +
  244.75 +“I’m sorry.” She blushed and raised her shoulders to her cheeks. A nervous smile faded as suddenly as it had appeared. “It’s wrong to accuse him of anything when I’m obviously wrong.” Having almost painted through the paper, she moved on to elongate her line. It only looked a little bit like a wing. “But…” She drew the feathers like half-ovals at the bottom. “You’ve been a little strange lately, and I can’t think of anything else it would be.” 
  244.76 +
  244.77 +She didn’t know. She didn’t know about the music room or the scattered pages from the songbook that spilled to the ground. She didn’t know about the moonlight, the hidden smiles that Etsuya didn’t know she was aware of. Or the skin, or the sheets, or that the only times she locked her bedroom door were when he kissed her. 
  244.78 +
  244.79 +And still, Sakura trusted her with everything. Though the red in her face was almost painful, she’d twisted her hands a thousand times in her lap last summer and said ‘It was the most incredible feeling…’ 
  244.80 +
  244.81 +Suddenly, the ducts behind her eyes swelled and burned, and Tomoyo wanted nothing more than to cry. 
  244.82 +
  244.83 +She said, “I promised I’d look at some of the new fabrics in the stage room.” 
  244.84 +
  244.85 +Sakura followed with her eyes when Tomoyo stood. “Want me to come? I don’t really have your eye for that stuff,” she crinkled her nose, “but…”
  244.86 +
  244.87 +Tomoyo offered her kindest smile. It made Etsuya melt every time, she knew. But more importantly, it made Sakura believe her. “You should finish those before the paint dries.” She gestured to the lumpy blue lines, which just slightly resembled wobbly wings. 
  244.88 +
  244.89 +“You really think they look okay?” 
  244.90 +
  244.91 +“They’re pretty.” 
  244.92 +
  244.93 +She sighed. “I ruined the whole thing.” 
  244.94 +
  244.95 +“You didn’t. I’ll be right back.” 
  244.96 +
  244.97 +Her steps were quick, and she blindly navigated her way through the crowded room of paint and paper decorum. Her heart was thick with guilt and the hallway was blurry when she pushed across the empty floor, free from the noise at last. 
  244.98 +
  244.99 +Sakura was the last person in the world she’d ever intended to lie to. 
 244.100 +
 244.101 +___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 244.102 +
 244.103 +“What’re those supposed to be?” She felt his familiar shadow darken the paper over her, and when she raised her head she saw Syaoran standing directly behind her. The frustration that earlier marked his face was gone, leaving dark residues of irritation in his irises; the book and highlighter were in his hand. 
 244.104 +
 244.105 +Sakura slumped; her voice was dry. “Wings.” 
 244.106 +
 244.107 +“Are you sure you aren’t ruining—”
 244.108 +
 244.109 +“Shut up.” It was less than a playful tone she used. Another parallel to her brother that she would deny later. He knelt beside her, for the first time able to see the frustration narrowing her eyes. “What is it?” 
 244.110 +
 244.111 +She didn’t answer him; but she did close her eyes and stop her brushstroke. 
 244.112 +
 244.113 +“Sorry,” she whispered, and resumed what she was doing. “I’m sorry.” 
 244.114 +
 244.115 +He put his hand on her shoulder and held it there until she turned her head to him. Her eyes were starry and sharp with worry. “I have the worst feeling,” she murmured, softly. The tears were filling her eyes like rain in a gutter, and she didn’t know why. She bit back her lower lip at the first sob. He helplessly thumbed the tears from her cheeks. 
 244.116 +
 244.117 +“Okay, come here…” his voice was a whisper, and Sakura realized he had taken the brush from her hand. She was on her feet, and her fists were salty and damp against her face. She could feel his fingertips against the small of her back, both guiding her out of the room and comforting her at once. She realized how dazedly she was walking when they stopped, and she was suddenly finding herself in the shadowy corner of the hall. They were by the fire exit, where nobody had any reason to pass by. 
 244.118 +
 244.119 +“I’m sorry,” she sniffled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I don’t know what’s wrong…”
 244.120 +
 244.121 +He traced her arms with the palms of his hands, and she fell against him, instantly locked in the warm comfort of his presence. The thick collar of his uniform inched against her cheek, and his neck smelled distantly like the white soap on the metal rack in his shower. He was the essence of those late mornings, when they talked to each other still half-dreaming, when their skin was weightless in the cool crisp sheets, laden with their sweat; and the clouds outside left everything gray as a watercolor painting. 
 244.122 +
 244.123 +Entranced with those airy memories, she still couldn’t will the tears away. They shook her chest until it was sore, and her lungs were dry and ragged from sucking in the fibers of his cotton. But it was she who would not relent, pulling herself nearer to him. His arms locked around her hips, and one of his hands was bunching her hair in mesmerizing waves of comfort. 
 244.124 +
 244.125 +There was nothing she loved more than being lost in his arms, and there was nothing he hated more than to listen to her cry. 
 244.126 +
 244.127 +A few more moments of this passed. They could have been seconds or hours, for all Sakura’s present comprehension was worth. When she finally drew back, there was a dark saline puddle on his chest, and her hands were shaking. 
 244.128 +
 244.129 +He was blurry, pushing the hair from her face and brushing the remaining tears from her cheeks. 
 244.130 +
 244.131 +“Feel better now?” 
 244.132 +
 244.133 +She closed her eyes; bracing; steadying. “It feels like something’s pulling on me.” Her voice was loose and congested. She sniffled again and then blinked her eyes up at him, dim with eerie confusion. “My dreams have been all tangled up. It’s like I just can’t clear my head.” She cupped her forehead in her hand and dropped her face to the ground. “This is so embarrassing. I’m sorry.” 
 244.134 +
 244.135 +But he didn’t seem to have heard the last thing she said, and he was trying to be reassuring by rubbing her back and silently drawing conclusions—of which there were none that he could find. 
 244.136 +
 244.137 +She raised her head, suddenly bright again. He could see pale ghost-streaks on her skin, but that may have been because he knew she’d been crying. “I’m okay now,” she grabbed his hand, easy as anything. “Let’s go back.” 
 244.138 +
 244.139 +____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 244.140 +
 244.141 +Chiharu squirmed, standing on the scuffed wooden crate. The dress fell across her legs like open green wings, glittering and catching the overhead lights like stars. The wire-woven tiara was too big, and it kept sliding forward on her head. 
 244.142 +
 244.143 +Tomoyo was constantly moving circles around her, measuring things, pinning tufts of extra fabric. ‘Don’t worry,’ she’d said, ‘we’ll make it fit.’ And Chiharu believed her, because every year she managed to do exactly as promised. 
 244.144 +
 244.145 +She pursed her lips and slid the tiara back into place for the tenth time. “You should have tried out for the lead,” she told Sakura, who was sitting on the floor with an open notebook and a pink pen. She was recording the measurements in hasty scribbles of numbers. “You get it every year.” 
 244.146 +
 244.147 +“Put twenty centimeters for sleeve width,” Tomoyo said, muffled over the silver pins between her lips. 
 244.148 +
 244.149 +Sakura hid her blush as she wrote. “That’s just the thing,” she said, “I don’t really like being the center of attention.” 
 244.150 +
 244.151 +“But you’re so good at it!” Chiharu insisted, squirming when the silky green waistline of her dress was pulled from behind. “And you have the skin for these lights.” 
 244.152 +
 244.153 +The blush grew wild, and Sakura opened her mouth to respond with another timid answer, but was interrupted by a loud spark on the other side of the room. It rang like a gunshot, flashing small lightning. The lights over their heads flickered. 
 244.154 +
 244.155 +Five of the boys from their class, and a few from Junior High, were standing over a pile of wires that pooled from the stage floor to the oversized stereo system and metal ceiling rafters. Among them, Yamazaki—holding a red plug in his hand—suppressed a nervous laugh. 
 244.156 +
 244.157 +“He’s such a clown,” Chiharu narrowed her eyes as she turned forward again. “I’ll be amazed if they don’t burn down the school.” 
 244.158 +
 244.159 +The tiara tumbled forward and hit the ground with a cold thunk. 
 244.160 +
 244.161 +“Don’t worry,” Tomoyo said. “The night of the play, we can just pin it to your hair.” 
 244.162 +
 244.163 +“Does that really work?” 
 244.164 +
 244.165 +“Of course it does. You just can’t lean too far to any one side…”
 244.166 +
 244.167 +Their voices faded away. Syaoran was one of the boys trying to configure the wiring, and Sakura caught his stare from across the stage. Dark concern blurred in her perception like a lighthouse leading ships at sea, and she stood to go to him. 
 244.168 +
 244.169 +“Don’t go too far,” Tomoyo sang, not looking away from her work. “You’re next.” 
 244.170 +
 244.171 +“Er…” Sakura stopped mid-step and looked to the neatly folded peasant dress on the ground by where she had been sitting. It was bright yellow and wild, but hauntingly elegant all at once. Wearing it over her plain gray and black uniform felt almost like lying. “I’ll be right back.” 
 244.172 +
 244.173 +She skittered across the stage room. It was mostly the high school students who stayed this late, because the only junior high kids involved with the play were working backstage. Syaoran watched her approach, motionless; she smiled brightly, bouncing to a stop just inches from him. “Did you want me for something?” 
 244.174 +
 244.175 +His expression softened. He lowered his face to better study her. “Are you okay?” 
 244.176 +
 244.177 +Her smile contorted to something of appreciation, and she put her hands on his shoulders. “Don’t worry about this morning,” she said, “please. I don’t know what got into me.” 
 244.178 +
 244.179 +“I don’t know either.” He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. It took all of her will not to sink into his arms just then. Simple touches had the greatest affects on her. 
 244.180 +
 244.181 +“I love you,” she said it so softly that nobody around them could hear. “And if you don’t believe that I’m okay now, you can stay over tonight.” 
 244.182 +
 244.183 +His pupils dilated at the thought of the first night last week that they’d attempted this. This time he would look for her brother’s car—or its absence—in the driveway before he so much as touched the doorknob. 
 244.184 +
 244.185 +“Sakura~” Tomoyo’s soft voice was surprisingly clear given the acoustics of the room. Sakura turned in the general direction, to see Chiharu folding her own dress; the crate/pedestal was empty. 
 244.186 +
 244.187 +“I have to go back,” she walked her middle and index finger up the buttons of his uniform and then flicked him in the forehead. She was gone before he could react. 
 244.188 +
 244.189 +He believed her, but there was something about the day that he didn’t trust. 
 244.190 +
 244.191 +Sakura was used to this, and despite her nature she had grown accustomed to standing so still. It was better than being stuck by the pins in her dress, which there weren’t many of, because most of Tomoyo’s guesses were accurate. Even the lacey black gloves were perfect, though they itched. 
 244.192 +
 244.193 +“Etsuya-kun isn’t going to do any of the lighting or backstage stuff?” Sakura asked. 
 244.194 +
 244.195 +“I think I saw him go into the music room,” Chiharu was picking her black messenger bag up from the ground. The school emblem—bright red embroidery—shined in the lights. 
 244.196 +
 244.197 +“Mhm,” Tomoyo took a step back to contemplate the length of the sleeves. They were longer than she’d expected, but they achieved a childish effect that she liked. “He’s working on a new song. I’m going there next to rehearse with him.” She pinned the hem a few centimeters shorter on the left sleeve and stood back again to compare. Reading signals, Sakura flared her arms. Strawberries came tumbling from her underlying uniform like a breeze; Tomoyo drew a breath that was deeper than necessary. 
 244.198 +
 244.199 +“The song you’re going to sing, right? Can I hear it?” 
 244.200 +
 244.201 +Tomoyo shook her head softly. The sleeves looked better lengthy. “Maybe I should have made cuffs.” 
 244.202 +
 244.203 +“I don’t know how you do it, Tomoyo.” Chiharu edged the black strap over her shoulder. She waved her arm to Yamazaki, who was already approaching. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” 
 244.204 +
 244.205 +“Bye.” 
 244.206 +
 244.207 +“Take care.” 
 244.208 +
 244.209 +There were no windows in the stage room, but Sakura could feel that it was dark outside. Hopefully it wasn’t snowing again; she wanted no more perilous drives home. 
 244.210 +
 244.211 +“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home with us?” She said. 
 244.212 +
 244.213 +“Thanks. But I really need to get this solo down.” Tomoyo smiled sweetly from floor-level, reminding Sakura of how much taller she was when she stood on this thing. It emphasized her uneasiness. 
 244.214 +
 244.215 +“Tomoyo?” 
 244.216 +
 244.217 +“Hm?” 
 244.218 +
 244.219 +“If something was wrong, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?” 
 244.220 +
 244.221 +“Lift your arms again. I think I’m going to measure for cuffs after all.”
 244.222 \ No newline at end of file

   245.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   245.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   245.3 @@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
   245.4 +Yoru No Uta
   245.5 +Chapter 7
   245.6 +
   245.7 +By: somnambulated
   245.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   245.9 +
  245.10 +
  245.11 +I’ll just make you braver than you are
  245.12 +I will paint your eyes a prettier green
  245.13 +I will watch you fall
  245.14 +violently
  245.15 +for me…
  245.16 +
  245.17 +
  245.18 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  245.19 +
  245.20 +
  245.21 +The prettiest notes she sang were sad. And in the palest light, her eyes could not have been brighter. She was tracing the edge of the piano with her fingertips in absence as she stood there, and the smooth black surface duplicated her reflection. For a moment it looked like her soul was trapped in the body of the piano and she was making contact. 
  245.22 +
  245.23 +The music had stopped by then, and she was watching the half-moon through the giant window on the wall. Etsuya was sitting on the black bench over the keys, turning the square pages of notes. He tapped a high key and the sound made Tomoyo raise her shoulders and draw a quick breath, startled. 
  245.24 +
  245.25 +“Sorry.” He said, but she was already lost again, somewhere beyond the snowy treetops. “I think a few notes are out-of-tune.” 
  245.26 +
  245.27 +“Oh…” Her voice was white as her skin; it flittered through him like a ghost. “I think there’s a tuner in the closet.” She nodded her head at the closed wooden door a few feet behind them. 
  245.28 +
  245.29 +She took a step to move, but stopped. Etsuya blinked. 
  245.30 +
  245.31 +“What’s wrong—”
  245.32 +
  245.33 +“Shh.” She put her index finger over her lips and raised her head. “I heard something,” she whispered. 
  245.34 +
  245.35 +“Probably a janitor.” 
  245.36 +
  245.37 +“This late?” 
  245.38 +
  245.39 +It was almost eleven, as the clock over the door said. The rest of the school had been gone for at least two hours; costumes were shoved back into trunks or onto racks, the wires were left neatly coiled on the floor, and all of the lights were off. 
  245.40 +
  245.41 +Without really thinking, she walked for the door. By the time she’d put her hand on the knob, Etsuya heard it too. It dragged like a chair across the tiled floor. 
  245.42 +
  245.43 +“Well, wait,” he said, and was standing so close that she could smell his uniform; festival paint went through her senses like a wind-chime. 
  245.44 +
  245.45 +They took slow steps down the hallway, but they didn’t need to go very far. The noise came again. It was a chair being dragged against the floor, Etsuya concluded. “I think it’s—”
  245.46 +
  245.47 +Before he could finish the thought, Tomoyo grabbed his arm and tugged him to a kneel. He barely caught himself with his hand on the wall. Inches from his face, her eyes were bright and anxious. “Quiet,” she hushed, her words a breath. As she slowly rose, she motioned with her hand for him to follow. 
  245.48 +
  245.49 +They stopped short at the glass window on a classroom door, no more than two pairs of curious eyes blinking from the bottom of focus. 
  245.50 +
  245.51 +The classroom was dark, but far from empty. One of the girls from their class was sitting on the teacher’s desk with her back against the podium and her socked feet inches above the ground. Tomoyo recognized her instantly as Rika; her messenger bag was slung on the ground not far from her feet, teddy-bear keychain and all. Her cheeks were deep red in the weak darkness, and she was smiling at the man standing before her. He was an elementary school teacher—an elementary school teacher that Tomoyo remembered from fourth grade, most recently to be found drifting around festival preparations or folding flyers in the library. 
  245.52 +
  245.53 +Now he was dark and serious, unlike she’d ever seen him. And at first he was only touching; it was a suggestion. Palms and fingertips rubbed imaginary veins up her thighs and his hand disappeared beneath her skirt like a wanderer into the great beyond. As he moved in there, a feathery white mound of panties slid down her knees, a puddle on the classroom floor. She soon lay beside it, no more to her watchers than a skinny, windy body with a skirt that kept bunching higher and higher towards her stomach. The white buttons of her gray vest came undone; the black tie slid from her neck like a serpent. 
  245.54 +
  245.55 +“Isn’t that Terada-sempai?” Etsuya drew a shaky breath. “Isn’t she in our—” Tomoyo put her hand over his mouth, then moved it shakily to her own. “…Shh.” 
  245.56 +
  245.57 +“We shouldn’t be watching.” he whispered. 
  245.58 +
  245.59 +“No.” she agreed. 
  245.60 +
  245.61 +But neither drew their eyes away. 
  245.62 +
  245.63 +Terada was crawling over her, and they were kissing like crazy. Fast, rough, almost violent in its right. The way their eyes met—melting in the secret starlight and staring—made Tomoyo certain that there was more to this than merely lust. Professional brown khakis lay in a pile beside the small white lump of cotton. Etsuya went pallid, Tomoyo held her breath. 
  245.64 +
  245.65 +“They’ll see us…” he whispered. 
  245.66 +
  245.67 +But neither moved, overcome with the same blunt perversion and twisted curiosity. They were the first ones to come upon this, Tomoyo concluded; or else he would have no career and she no amiable reputation. Their kisses were splashing in the meantime, their legs moving like ropes and pulleys. Their bodies rocked like a boat on their own waves. They were looking right at each other’s eyes. 
  245.68 +
  245.69 +They’re in love…
  245.70 +
  245.71 +The words would never leave Tomoyo’s mouth. Her breath, like all things, had stopped. Her heart was pummeling like mad. 
  245.72 +
  245.73 +There was nothing else in the world to do but watch. Morbidly fascinated, watch. 
  245.74 +
  245.75 +Without sound, the two connected. Raw and open for their unknown onlookers to see. This was the edge of reality, the brink of moments in which things would be forever changed. These were things that surfaced in romance novels and midnight fantasies—not in actual classrooms, not in Tomoeda. 
  245.76 +
  245.77 +Rika’s short, dark hair fanned in a wavy circle around her head, a dusty crown. 
  245.78 +
  245.79 +It became so hypnotically fast after that. Tomoyo felt her balance tipping; she was rubbing her hands against her skirt to rid them of sweat; her mouth was open and dry. She watched. 
  245.80 +
  245.81 +On the classroom floor, the girl rose like a snake to its charmer and cried something that couldn’t be heard through the door. He held her face in his hand, pressing the cold tiles with the other. They settled. He propped himself on top of her, and they kissed for a while. 
  245.82 +
  245.83 +Etsuya let go of a breath he’d been holding until his knuckles had gone white. Tomoyo was breathing strawberries. 
  245.84 +
  245.85 +The spell was broken. 
  245.86 +
  245.87 +“She always seemed so shy.” Etsuya whispered. “She has such an innocent face.” 
  245.88 +
  245.89 +Tomoyo closed her eyes in a long blink, considering. So did Sakura, she thought; were her nights like this, too? Did her bright eyes fill with gray steam; did she look so impossibly adult in his arms? 
  245.90 +
  245.91 +Though she was her best friend, and though Sakura softly volunteered her own blushy confessions with twisting hands, Tomoyo would never know. She would never see her in moments like these, never hear that sighing breath. She would always be wiser than those who only knew Sakura as daylight energy, but she would always also be miles from the truth that Syaoran knew. 
  245.92 +
  245.93 +Etsuya touched her wrist, and her thoughts shattered like glass. “They’ll see us,” he repeated from before, “come on.” 
  245.94 +
  245.95 +They fluttered away like birds, silent as the darkness. 
  245.96 +
  245.97 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  245.98 +
  245.99 +She could have stayed like this forever. He was semi-dozing, touching the edges of dreams that were floating half-alive in Sakura’s bedroom. 
 245.100 +
 245.101 +Outside, the snow had settled, crystallized at the edges and reflecting stars and streetlights in orange freckles. In seven hours, the distant tick, tick, tick of the clock would scream and wake them. 
 245.102 +
 245.103 +But for now the house was placid, and the atmosphere was just a sheet of gray. It was perfect with his arm around her back and her stomach pressed against his ribs. She could hear each breath he drew, loud like thunder but faint as the rustle of sheets when she moved her legs. He was warm, and his presence swirled in her like honey in tea to ease her worrying premonitions. They nagged relentlessly, but they had nothing on the way she felt when he put his fingers through her hair. 
 245.104 +
 245.105 +She closed her eyes and tightened her arm around his stomach. It was the perfect match, not even a pinprick crevice between her arm and his body. He slept in thick cotton shirts that itched on her face. They were a comfort to her now, filling her lungs with his dry, clean, organized essence. Always strong, always in order, always doing things so perfectly that she felt like a child in comparison. He was hers. She took a deep breath to confirm. 
 245.106 +
 245.107 +“Syaoran?” 
 245.108 +
 245.109 +He drew an awkward breath; the dream in his head came undone. He murmured something incoherent. 
 245.110 +
 245.111 +“I love you,” she whispered into the dark collar of his shirt, “even though you aren’t paying attention.” 
 245.112 +
 245.113 +Absently, he trailed his hand from the axis of her spine to her hair, and her nerves rushed like fireflies. She rolled out a dizzy breath, for a moment weightless. 
 245.114 +
 245.115 +“I hear you,” he murmured, “and I’m ignoring you because I’m sleeping.” 
 245.116 +
 245.117 +“But I’m awake.” 
 245.118 +
 245.119 +“Shh.” 
 245.120 +
 245.121 +She looked at him lopsidedly, but his eyes were closed. It wasn’t until she twisted from his arm and uprighted herself that he murmured any kind of protest. His eyebrows drew near and he murmured something she couldn’t make out. 
 245.122 +
 245.123 +He didn’t feel it. There was a sudden energy glittering through her head and body like pins-and-needles. How could he sleep, when these feelings existed? How could he sleep, while the snow was falling and the house was empty and there was so much energy inside of her? How could he sleep, when she loved him so much? 
 245.124 +
 245.125 +“I’m not tired.” She broke the whispers they’d been speaking in, and slid her knees around his waist. She put her hands on the mattress around his shoulders and leaned so close to his face that he could feel her bright-eyed stare and he opened his eyes. Despite himself—half sleeping and disarrayed and maybe just a little bit annoyed—he had to smile at her. She was childish and wild and painfully innocent all at the same time. She was his. He took a deep breath to confirm. 
 245.126 +
 245.127 +She touched the side of his neck. Her fingertips were cool and soft against his skin; she smelled like strawberries and the soap in the bathroom. He could make out little of her face in the dark; smooth beige-white. Her eyes were gray-green-glowing. She was grinning, and just before she kissed him he predicted that she would. 
 245.128 +
 245.129 +Something about her mouth tasted different in the middle of the night. He could never understand why, but she flooded him with copper and skin, free from the lingering aloe of her Very Cherry lip-gloss. 
 245.130 +
 245.131 +He liked her better this way, unsweetened, sugarless. She looked the same, and only he could know. As they pulled away, he murmured, “You’ll be hell to wake up in the morning.” 
 245.132 +
 245.133 +She giggled. The sound faded away like wind chimes, and she sat up. She was the moonlight, sitting on his hips. Everything of her movements was traced in silver white, while the inlay was all black and gray. 
 245.134 +
 245.135 +She hugged her sleeves for a half-second before pulling her nightgown over her head. It bunched and slid up her arms, over her neck, fluttered to the ground. He could see her smile at him. Time slowed; it was unreal to look at her, a gradient of skin and midnight. Endless curls, muscles, slides and slopes. She was smooth, shaded-in by the snowy window. 
 245.136 +
 245.137 +She came down to him again, and he found he’d been hurting for it. He moved his hands up her hips, across her back like satin sheets. He could feel her expanding and retracting as she breathed, could see the slight muscles of her back pulling beneath her skin. Her lips were warm and slow on the side of his neck. “You’ll be hell in the morning…” He murmured. 
 245.138 +
 245.139 +“Quiet.” But he could feel her laugh on his skin. There was no hiding anything like this. He was both wide awake and deliriously light-headed now. She weighed nothing on him, and his hands meant nothing other than to take away his clothes. 
 245.140 +
 245.141 +Sakura planned for these moments, with anticipation, in her top desk drawer. That was where she kept the oval-shaped plastic shell of blue and white and pale green pills that she said looked like a mosaic—right before she swallowed them with a glass of water each morning. 
 245.142 +
 245.143 +She was his autumn in a heavy black coat. She was summer in a red miniskirt, green pom-poms in her hands. She was spring, pale pink, flying from the treetops and in circles around his feet. She was his winter, cool to the touch, kissing him until he could not breathe. He hesitated to tell her that he loved her; the words were so small that they almost seemed an insult. But they had nothing else to speak. 
 245.144 +
 245.145 +“Sakura…”
 245.146 +
 245.147 +He could feel her stomach brushing his like feathers. She kissed his forehead and pushed all the hair from the sides of his face. The blankets hung from her hips like dark water. He took her thighs in his hands, and moved his fingers between them. 
 245.148 +
 245.149 +She spat out a breath, shoulders high, and dropped her head like a peasant before some Greek god or goddess. She was listening to his movement, and he could feel her getting damp. He knew inside her, understood the open skin and the little piece of her that rose to his touch like a flower bud. He circled it, and her breaths were rough on his chest. Like the pink petals that fell each spring, and like the wind that carried them, he moved quickly, then sharply—like the cold air outside—until the crown of her head looked like a halo in the starlight, and she choked out a hard breath, and came in his hand. 
 245.150 +
 245.151 +He nudged her chin with his knuckle so that he could see her eyes, glossy like the surface of the snow. She smiled at him when he pushed the hair from her face. Sometimes she looked so much like the child of herself that it made him forget who they were, how far they’d come. And then, on the same whim, reminded him. And he loved her so much that it hurt. 
 245.152 +
 245.153 +Her chest was still heaving—a flutter like hummingbird wings—and there were simple lucid drops sliding from her forehead. Her cheeks were red in the grainy gray, and she shook the hair from her face. 
 245.154 +
 245.155 +Of course, Sakura knew him just as easily as he knew her. She slid on his waist, raising herself just enough to help him glide inside of her. Smooth and warm. It was his turn to go dizzy and draw a long breath. They kissed, and he held her shoulders in his hands, still bristling with her liquid touch. It made a smear on her skin like paint, lucid in the nightglow. 
 245.156 +
 245.157 +He rose in her, and it sent a familiar distant burn of pain down her spread thighs. But she wanted to push towards it, feel him rock against the nerves that lay in her shadows. 
 245.158 +
 245.159 +They lingered for a while, slow and sliding and breathing—just being. When his motions got faster, and he could feel her blood moving like ripples on water, they looked to each other. She was watching his irises tumble like clouds across the moon, and the desperation in his breath made her tense and rugged about her own. He was so honest like this, she thought, so vulnerable and eager. She wanted to feel him, he could see it in her eyes; she was begging herself to. 
 245.160 +
 245.161 +Her expression was thought and interest, and she read each signal so well that she could summon the same moment for herself. He grabbed her hips, and she pressed her hands into the mattress until the sheets bunched between her fists. Her small breasts dragged over his chest for an instant before she arched herself over him. She rose like a flower in bloom, and he could see all of her, down until where she faded to black in the blankets at their pushing waists. 
 245.162 +
 245.163 +For one moment, all the stars beyond Sakura’s window blurred and spun and reflected in her eyes. He could see nothing but her green cordite irises, her lips getting tight and eager. All around them, the night was still. Their skin turned to sweat and their thighs to thick water. He was breathing like a train—her tiny breaths rattled soft chords in response—and he pushed so violently that he worried she would break in his arms. But she was shoving back, baring on her lower lip, drawing her eyebrows tight in humming anticipation. Quickly she threw forward—her shoulders arched—and stifled her cry in his shoulder. He let his go to the free air, a shushed murmur drifting away like a balloon over a carnival tent. 
 245.164 +
 245.165 +Her bare shoulders gleamed and then blurred like the northern horizon in his eyes. She left a dizzy teardrop of a kiss on the side of his neck. Her hands moved up the length of him, and then her arms wrapped between his shoulders and the mattress and she squeezed him closer. 
 245.166 +
 245.167 +Reverberations of a dying energy panged through her like chords on a guitar string, and she sighed deeply; for the first time in days, calm. He floated in her like driftwood, and her open thighs around his waist said she wanted to keep him for a while longer. 
 245.168 +
 245.169 +“Syaoran?” 
 245.170 +
 245.171 +“Hm?” His breath moved her hair like tall grass and evening breezes. 
 245.172 +
 245.173 +“Do you think that things are perfect? Like this.” 
 245.174 +
 245.175 +He closed his eyes and buried a yawn. “I don’t believe in perfect,” he said. “There’s always something, somewhere, that isn’t.” 
 245.176 +
 245.177 +She raised herself from his chest and looked at him, blinking. He was drifting the edges of sleep. “You said the same thing about religion. What do you believe in?” 
 245.178 +
 245.179 +He simply answered: “You.” 
 245.180 +
 245.181 +She was frozen in the response for a breathtaking moment, and then she melted to a smile and resettled her cheek to his chest. She could hear his heart in her ear. 
 245.182 +
 245.183 +“That’s because you don’t need two dictionaries at the library to understand me.” 
 245.184 +
 245.185 +He opened his eyes just to stare at the crown of her head. “No,” he said, “I need a lot more than that.” 
 245.186 +
 245.187 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 245.188 +
 245.189 +She didn’t hear Tomoyo’s voice the first three times she said her name. The fourth got her attention, and Sakura raised her forehead from her desk, blinking. Her eyes were hollow green, she was barely aware of the classroom around her. 
 245.190 +
 245.191 +“Are you alright?” Tomoyo’s voice went right though her. “You look a little pale…” She touched her forehead, and Sakura closed her eyes. Skittering fragments of last night’s energy ran up her spine. 
 245.192 +
 245.193 +She didn’t see Syaoran’s frown from the desk behind her. He’d warned her that she would be tired, and he was right. He’d literally grabbed her hands and pulled her from the warmth and comfort of her blankets, while the alarm was screaming over her head. She tipped when she walked, leaning against the wall as she trudged the stairs; she slept in the car. 
 245.194 +
 245.195 +It didn’t usually last this long. 
 245.196 +
 245.197 +“Sakura…” Tomoyo’s voice popped her undulating dream and she forced herself to blink. “I’m okay.” She tried to make energy of her tone, but her voice was so dull that she couldn’t be sure it had left her mouth at all. Her legs hurt, her head was numb and full of sand. 
 245.198 +
 245.199 +
 245.200 +
 245.201 +“Open your books to page thirty-seven.” 
 245.202 +
 245.203 +
 245.204 +
 245.205 +The next voice to interrupt her was not as kind. Their teacher was tall and thick, and he had the kind of voice that caught the white in the walls. It made for an instant headache, and she straightened her back. Her book was upside down on the desk until Tomoyo deftly reached over to fix it for her. Sakura sunk in her chair, too exhausted to even blush. 
 245.206 +
 245.207 +She thought her eyes were open, but maybe she was wrong. Reality blurred at the edges and turned to an awkward dream. She was sinking into her bed again, ignoring the alarm while it read to her in a loud voice. Each shift in pitch played with her consciousness. 
 245.208 +
 245.209 +—and it has been theorized that Hester Prynne was a martyr for rebellion. 
 245.210 +
 245.211 +…she decorated her scarlet A with lace and trim; she did not believe it a punishment because she did not believe she had committed any sin—
 245.212 +
 245.213 +
 245.214 +
 245.215 +When the human mind feels guilt, it will punish itself. 
 245.216 +
 245.217 +
 245.218 +
 245.219 +Everything disappeared for a while after that. The melody of the bell returned as her alarm clock, and Sakura blinked at the clock with no recollection of her whereabouts for the past hour. Everyone around her was standing, loading their messenger bags, exiting. She was still on page thirty-seven. 
 245.220 +
 245.221 +“Maybe you should take her home,” she heard Etsuya say. Whatever the reply was, she didn’t hear it. 
 245.222 +
 245.223 +“No, I’m okay.” She stood, weightless for a moment in time. Three pairs of concerned eyes met her, standing like a circle around her desk. She smiled, embarrassed. “I just really need to get more sleep is all.” She was walking for the door. Tomoyo tucked back her lower lip and hesitated, looking back at Syaoran, who offered little more than a worried stare. Sakura would do what she wanted to do—they both knew it. 
 245.224 +
 245.225 +The girls had their next class together, and they were walking slowly through a dissipating crowd of gray and black uniforms. Tomoyo was busy staring at her best friend’s face, two shades paler than normal. Her eyes weren’t even as bright as they should have been, her footsteps dragged. 
 245.226 +
 245.227 +“Tomoyo?” Her voice was fading. “I’m sorry about yesterday.” They stopped walking mutually, and Sakura hugged her notebook to her chest and turned to face her. “It was horrible and stupid of me to accuse Etsuya-kun of anything, and to make you so uncomfortable.” 
 245.228 +
 245.229 +Tomoyo’s blood went cold, but she couldn’t decide why. The warm I love you was still tumbling around inside of her somewhere like the unborn. It would never be more than that, she feared, and she stepped closer to take one of Sakura’s hands in her own. They’d done this so frequently since their childhood that it seemed nothing but natural when it happened now. Her skin was cold, though, and this unsettled Tomoyo silently. 
 245.230 +
 245.231 +“Don’t be sorry,” she said, her voice bristles against kindness and gratitude. “I was happy.” 
 245.232 +
 245.233 +Sakura blinked. “Huh? Why?” 
 245.234 +
 245.235 +Tomoyo shook her head gently, amused. “It’s nothing,” she said. The hallway had emptied around them. “We’ll be late.” 
 245.236 +
 245.237 +Their eyes met accidentally. Sakura was dizzied by motion and illusion. Energy rushing through her mind and skin and blood, waking her from midnight dreams. Snowflakes. Blue paint on the gymnasium floor, angel wings. On the other side of the blue, there were music notes. Moonlight and a yawning endless window. Hard kisses on cold tiles, secret lust in whispers through the classroom. 
 245.238 +
 245.239 +Neither of them knew how it happened. They must have closed their eyes in the same moment, because Sakura didn’t feel her back slide against the wall, and Tomoyo didn’t see her own hand touching the wall past her shoulder. Leaning forward, leaning in. They kissed. 
 245.240 +
 245.241 +And it was long and confusing. The first time either of them could taste anything but the mouths they knew so well. It was a rainy warm splash of cherries and skin and the wintry cold air of the school hallway. The hands they were holding lasted and lingered, and their fingers played their own games amongst each other’s. 
 245.242 +
 245.243 +Sakura felt her shoe dragging up from the ground and raising like a spider on the wall behind her. And she could feel her heart pounding in her mouth as she kissed her, dizzy; and she kissed back, unafraid.
 245.244 \ No newline at end of file

   246.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   246.2 +++ b/stories/ccs_yoru-08.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   246.3 @@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
   246.4 +Yoru No Uta
   246.5 +Chapter 8
   246.6 +
   246.7 +By: somnambulated
   246.8 +thefreeair@aol.com
   246.9 +
  246.10 +
  246.11 +she turns out the light, anticipating night falling
  246.12 +tenderly around her
  246.13 +and watches the dusk;
  246.14 +the words won't come.
  246.15 +She carries the act so convincingly the fact is
  246.16 +sometimes she believes it,
  246.17 +that she can be happy the way things are
  246.18 +be happy with the things she's done
  246.19 +
  246.20 +
  246.21 +________________________________________________________
  246.22 +The girls didn’t say much for the rest of the day—a pattern that spread through the days that followed. Like black oil in water that had always been clear. 
  246.23 +
  246.24 +After the kiss, they were both left staring at the ground, fingertips on their own mouths. Guilt and confusion tumbled through Sakura in an almost nauseating frame. Tomoyo waited to be woken. They carried the taste on their tongues for days. 
  246.25 +
  246.26 +They’d walked to class in silence, they sat beside each other in silence. They avoided eyes in silence. 
  246.27 +
  246.28 +The conversation sat always on Sakura’s lips, un-had. It was new and disturbing to imagine the distance between them. They were, to each other, an escape from what they’d now become. Tomoyo couldn’t count the hours she’d spent listening, while Sakura murmured her thoughts like sleepover secrets in the bedroom of a little girl, twisting her skirt in her hands and sometimes trembling if there were tears on her face. The good things or the bitter things, or all between; they all came out eventually. 
  246.29 +
  246.30 +Or, they used to. 
  246.31 +
  246.32 +And Tomoyo knew there was something lurking inside of her, some kind of uncried tears because Sakura—for the first time—had nowhere to go with these things. These broken things. 
  246.33 +
  246.34 +It hurt to watch her, mumbling formalities as though they were strangers. 
  246.35 +
  246.36 +It didn’t take long for Etsuya to notice; he eyed the girls strangely and Tomoyo straightened across the classroom and looked away. She was grateful when he didn’t ask. 
  246.37 +
  246.38 +By midweek, the silence was so tight that the boys were itching under their skin. The girls were parallel at the table in the library, because neither would acknowledge that there was no reason to carry about as normal. The tops of their heads were staring each other down while their eyes busily pretended to read. Tomoyo was hiding in her notes, Sakura’s chair was unnaturally far from Syaoran’s. Her taste was fresher on Tomoyo’s lips than his; she’d been inching from his subtle touches. He reached for her hand under the table and she made a fist, meekly rebelling. Her neck was permanently arched toward the ground even when she walked. 
  246.39 +
  246.40 +“Okay…” Etsuya’s voice was soft, but it sent dark lines down Sakura and Tomoyo. He set The Scarlet Letter on the table before him with a definite slam. Sakura raised her shoulders uneasily; Tomoyo was just brave enough to look at him, but his eyes were moving between the two. Sakura refused to look up. 
  246.41 +
  246.42 +“Here’s a question I never thought I’d ask.” he said. “Are you two having some kind of a fight?” 
  246.43 +
  246.44 +It seemed the whole library had stopped to listen. Sakura darted her eyes to the right just to be sure it wasn’t so. And both of them must have been hoping for the other to answer, because nothing got said. It should have been an easy question, Tomoyo thought; why hadn’t Sakura answered it? Why hadn’t she answered it? 
  246.45 +
  246.46 +There was something chemically wrong with the concept. She couldn’t imagine bringing herself to feel any ill-intended emotions for Sakura. Or worse, the other way around. She looked at her notebook. 
  246.47 +
  246.48 +pp. 37-38: When the human mind feels it has committed a sin, it will punish itself 
  246.49 +
  246.50 +She heard the chair drag against the floor, and her head filled with images that she shot down instantly. In a blur through the corner of her vision, she saw Sakura stand. Before there was time to blink she was gone. 
  246.51 +
  246.52 +Etsuya looked to Syaoran, who was easily as confused though nowhere near as surprised. Nothing was said, and he followed her. Wherever she’d gone. 
  246.53 +
  246.54 +Tomoyo narrowed her eyes at the paper, and didn’t understand the throbbing pain behind her eyelids until the page started to blur. She was on the brink, and dangerously close to tears. But she wouldn’t show him, and she would deny that he already knew. 
  246.55 +
  246.56 +Syaoran caught up to Sakura in the hallway, but she ignored his calls. She was pacing, almost running, with her eyes on her shoes. Her skirt fluttered and panicked with the movement, twirling like there was some great wind. 
  246.57 +
  246.58 +She was fast but he was faster. He stole her wrist in his hand, forgetting to consider how heavily she’d been walking when he stopped. Her body jerked to a halt, and he cringed at the squeal her shoes made against the floor. 
  246.59 +
  246.60 +“Did I hurt you?” Was the first thing out of his mouth when he let go. She swallowed hard and shook her head. The tears had been in her eyes long before he touched her—they must have been; they were already tumbling from her chin like rain on the edge of a slanted roof. 
  246.61 +
  246.62 +“No,” she whispered. Her voice was eerily placid. “No, you didn’t.” 
  246.63 +
  246.64 +He waited in vain for the moment that she would put her forehead against his chest, or blurt words incoherently through a rage of sobs. She did neither; she wouldn’t even look at him. 
  246.65 +
  246.66 +“What did I do?” There was an uncharacteristic desperation in his voice. He grabbed her hands, and for the first time in days she didn’t pull herself free. “Why won’t you tell me?” 
  246.67 +
  246.68 +She looked at him for one gratifying instant, bleary-eyed, blinking, but beautiful as a blue Renoir in a way that only she could be. And then he was looking at the top of her head again, staring at the pale blue ribbon that held her half-ponytail. The jagged amber forefronts covered her eyes that way. 
  246.69 +
  246.70 +“I just need to be alone.” she murmured. 
  246.71 +
  246.72 +“You’ve been alone,” he pressed. “You haven’t talked to me—you haven’t talked to anyone, not even Daidouji. You haven’t eaten, you don’t even look like you’ve slept.” Suddenly his hands tightened around hers, and he leaned so close that she could almost hear his heart. He stuttered on an empty syllable and his cheeks turned red. 
  246.73 +
  246.74 +“You aren’t pregnant, are you?” 
  246.75 +
  246.76 +She raised her head sharply at that. The tears were dissipating now, sticking to her cheeks half-dry. She was looking right at him with bright, incredulous eyes. Her mouth twisted unpredictably, and finally she blurted out a laugh. He ignored the bright red blush throbbing in his cheeks. 
  246.77 +
  246.78 +“No—” she crinkled her nose, “—but thanks. I needed that.” 
  246.79 +
  246.80 +He shrunk. His heart pummeled and settled in the same instant, relief and confusion tumbling though his blood—but it was mostly relief. His cheeks hurt. 
  246.81 +
  246.82 +“Then what?” 
  246.83 +
  246.84 +And they were back to silence. She looked at her shoes, shuffling them on the smooth tiles. She couldn’t imagine his reaction well enough to fear it. He would never hurt her, she knew; but the damage this could do for him—for them—scared the hell out of her. And would he even be jealous? It was Tomoyo after all—Tomoyo, the least threatening being alive. And it was only a kiss, wasn’t it? She’d been under-slept and, dazed. It didn’t mean anything; they didn’t have those feelings for each other. They didn’t. 
  246.85 +
  246.86 +So why couldn’t she just tell him? Maybe he would even laugh. 
  246.87 +
  246.88 +“I’m hungry,” she finally said. 
  246.89 +
  246.90 +He blinked. “What?” 
  246.91 +
  246.92 +“I’m sick of studying.” She looked at him, suddenly smiling the close-mouthed half-moon that secretly drove him wild. “…and I’m hungry.” Her eyes were bright, and she broke away from his touch to rub away the dead tears. “Lets just go somewhere.” 
  246.93 +
  246.94 +He was just staring at her, expressionless. She knew he was observing. “Will you talk to me?” he said. 
  246.95 +
  246.96 +“We’re talking now.” She affectionately tightened her hand around his. 
  246.97 +
  246.98 +He sighed, disheartened, and he buried his agitation under a near unbearable mound of worry. He did not like her this way. But she was working so hard to hide whatever it was, in desperation smiling at him and hoping for it all to go away. She was hiding from him, which he was anything but used to. 
  246.99 +
 246.100 +“Sakura.” 
 246.101 +
 246.102 +Her smile faded like the eraser-lines of an artist who changed moods too often; her eyes darkened a little. 
 246.103 +
 246.104 +They had an otherworldly moment. There was no true word to describe it. Wordless thoughts and intangible tips of emotions that denied truth to their owners. He could see through her, understand her efforts and words but not her motives. Their presences mingled like ice in a wine glass on a hot day. Perspiring glass, their skin. And all those nights they spent together, the swell and stretch and shrink of their irises at the highest chords of physical lust. 
 246.105 +
 246.106 +She was unreal, so unfathomably ethereal that when he looked at her sometimes he didn’t believe she was human. Didn’t believe she could be molded like all the other girls, sharing their uniforms, their gestures. But she gave him the secret grins, her ribs like wings beneath her skin in the moonlight, and her mouth like copper. 
 246.107 +
 246.108 +He was worried. He loved her, didn’t she know? 
 246.109 +
 246.110 +He’d lost her eyes. They were asphyxiated with the ground again. She drew imaginary shapes with the tip of her shoe and traced them with her irises. Her weight shifted a few times. 
 246.111 +
 246.112 +“What are you thinking about?” He asked. 
 246.113 +
 246.114 +She said, “Fried shrimp.” 
 246.115 +
 246.116 +It wasn’t true, but knowing her he’d almost believe it. 
 246.117 +
 246.118 +“I like the way you make it,” she trailed, idly twisting her hips, “with the seasonings and stuff.” 
 246.119 +
 246.120 +He stared at her for a while, hoping to get her attention. She didn’t look up. Really, she was thinking of telling him about the other day. Only a kiss. 
 246.121 +
 246.122 +She remembered the first time she’d kissed him—it felt like forever ago, though it had only been a few short years back. The way they leaned into it and awkwardly withdrew to settle their nerves. Their foreheads were close and their hands were fidgeting. 
 246.123 +
 246.124 +Then it just happened, as though some great outside force pushed them together. And it was so easy, a nature that had always been inside of them though unacknowledged. If it had lasted just two seconds longer, she’d have married him. The edge of thirteen years old, the back of her mind listening cautiously for her brother’s unwanted approach from somewhere in the house. Those first few seconds meant more to her than words, more than rainy windows and thunder and sex. She’d changed so swiftly but so subtly from that moment, and now she frightened herself sometimes when she considered just how much she loved him. 
 246.125 +
 246.126 +Only a kiss? How could she think such a thing? 
 246.127 +
 246.128 +“Okay,” he finally said. “Let’s go; I’ll make dinner.” 
 246.129 +
 246.130 +Somehow, Syaoran ended up with the task of getting their books from the library. Sakura waited in the hall, fondling the edge of her skirt and counting the pleats. 
 246.131 +
 246.132 +Syaoran said nothing, carefully but quickly stuffing Sakura’s things into her messenger bag—slumped against the table leg until he grabbed it. 
 246.133 +
 246.134 +This time, Etsuya didn’t ask. He watched, which was more than Tomoyo would bring herself to do. She feared being looked to for an explanation, and she could feel the question marks sprouting like flowers from the corners of his mouth. She couldn’t tell him that this was her fault; it wasn’t her right to tell him that she still harbored the taste, that she drew it into her senses like a hurricane. She wouldn’t tell the story of the wall against the palm of her hand—its grainy texture on her nerve-endings still. The cherry explosion, candy-striped with a tongue that tasted pink. Or the warm breath in her mouth. Or the hot thoughts in her head. 
 246.135 +
 246.136 +She wouldn’t tell him that the girl he slept beside, whose hand he tangled in his own beneath the table… was the very same girl she loved more than anything. More than Etsuya—who she was trying to hate when he sat so close. More than the pre-Christmas-festival-delirious school. More than her voice, which meant less and less to her in these tight silences. 
 246.137 +
 246.138 +Nobody knew those things; not even Sakura. 
 246.139 +
 246.140 +“If she talks to you…” Syaoran’s voice interrupted her thought process, and Tomoyo knew he was looking at her. She forced herself to do the same, and found that the look in his eyes was a heartache. Serious and worried—so worried—and brown. His voice shrunk by half, “try and find out what’s really on her mind.” 
 246.141 +
 246.142 +A cold pain shot up her spine, and dissolved down like a melting glacier offering no comfort. She opened her mouth to speak, and a tenth of a syllable came out, but she decided against it and nodded in its place. 
 246.143 +
 246.144 +He didn’t suspect anything of her, Tomoyo knew. He had a way with those things. For one, his eyes would have been sharp and she would have felt them burning through her like paper under a magnifying glass in the sun. Instead, he was firm with concern, but soft at the core with compassion. 
 246.145 +
 246.146 +But that meant a lot, as anyone who knew him would have concluded, because—when it came to Sakura—he trusted no one. 
 246.147 +
 246.148 +When Syaoran was gone, Etsuya said, “Since when did Sakura-san get so high maintenance?” 
 246.149 +
 246.150 +“She isn’t.” Tomoyo didn’t miss a beat. She was taking notes from her open book now, though there were none left to take without being redundant. “She doesn’t ask for anything.” 
 246.151 +
 246.152 +“He’s acting like her slave,” he insisted. Tomoyo was certain he was only pressing her for conversation with a notion he only vaguely considered to venture. He knew the topics she was unable to resist replying to, and it was almost enough to frustrate her. 
 246.153 +
 246.154 +“Sakura doesn’t ask him for anything.” she repeated, simply. Her voice was always like song, though her eyes had nothing of optimism right then, filled with gray pages and black words. She could see the scarlet letter, hemmed and trimmed with bright white lace. She could see the stares, but she couldn’t feel the satisfaction of proving it to be something without shame. 
 246.155 +
 246.156 +She could, however, feel Etsuya’s soft stare. With his index finger he moved a lock of hair from her face and tucked it over her shoulder. She paused, closing her eyes in a long blink. “What?” she whispered. 
 246.157 +
 246.158 +“Are you mad at me?” 
 246.159 +
 246.160 +“No.” It was an easy enough question, one of the few without hurdles or paralleling answers. “I just want to get this done.” 
 246.161 +
 246.162 +His eyes were dark, and no matter which part of the page she stared at she could feel them. Un-accusing, but there. It would have been so much easier to hate him. If he could just do one thing wrong, one unforgivable thing to give her just cause to close her book and walk away. But she knew he wouldn’t; she knew that he would hand her the keys and they would drive home through the snow in his secondhand grass-green car. She knew, with or without denial, maybe just a little too much, she would miss him when he left her at the door. 
 246.163 +
 246.164 +He touched her cheek with the back of his hand, and she softly placed her own over it, and guided it away from her. Now he knew, and he wouldn’t touch her for the rest of the afternoon. 
 246.165 +
 246.166 +“I worry about you.” But he would talk. “Don’t.” she softly answered. “I’m quiet because I’ve got a lot of exams to study for. And, before you ask: no, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep, but I don’t need much.” 
 246.167 +
 246.168 +That quieted him long enough to make her feel guilty. She hadn’t yelled—she replayed the words in her head a dozen times to be sure she remembered correctly. Then he leaned close to her, and his voice cooled. He spoke in ribbons of blue. 
 246.169 +
 246.170 +“Are you pregnant?” 
 246.171 +
 246.172 +An equal silence passed. She was frozen in time. Sitting there with her open book. 
 246.173 +
 246.174 +…and the child she called Pearl. …and the child she called Pearl. …and the child she called Pearl. 
 246.175 +
 246.176 +Her hair swung past her shoulder when she finally remembered to look at him. “What?” 
 246.177 +
 246.178 +“Well…” It was his turn to look away, and he shrunk just a little under her gentle but incredulous stare. 
 246.179 +
 246.180 +She blinked twice at his uneasy slump. Then she tucked back her lower lip, and giggled. 
 246.181 +
 246.182 +He looked up, met with her eyes—suddenly gleaming starlight grins. “No?” he timidly ventured. 
 246.183 +
 246.184 +She dipped her head in a soft laugh, and he lowered his gaze to follow her, still wary. Finally she stood, closing both book and notebook and neatly sliding them into her messenger bag. She was still laughing. 
 246.185 +
 246.186 +He watched dumbly. “Tomoyo? Where are you going?” 
 246.187 +
 246.188 +She patted the top of his head, still breathing in giggles. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 
 246.189 +
 246.190 +It wasn’t until she was almost at the door that he thought to follow her. And he did, in quick tripping steps. “Wait,” he was saying, “that was a ‘no,’ right? Tomoyo? Tomoyo!” 
 246.191 +
 246.192 +______________________________________________________________________________________ 
 246.193 +
 246.194 +“…and for tomorrow, the forecast will be cloudy, with just mild snowfall—” 
 246.195 +
 246.196 +The sudden silence was what woke her. Sakura opened her eyes, flooded with orange lamplight. The upholstery of the couch was pressed against her cheek. 
 246.197 +
 246.198 +“I was watching that…” she mumbled. 
 246.199 +
 246.200 +Her brother was standing over the now dead television, remote in hand. “The only thing you were watching was the inside of your eyelids.” he assured her, “I could hear you snoring from the kitchen.” 
 246.201 +
 246.202 +She sulked, her voice half its normal weight. She snuggled into the thick collar and sleeves of her uniform and tightened her fetal curl on the cushions. Her mind was sore from struggling through its nightmares; she tried, but could not remember them. That was a good thing, she decided. “I don’t snore.” 
 246.203 +
 246.204 +Touya was looking at her, she could feel it though she’d closed her eyes again. “Monsters…” he said coolly, “are natural-born noisemakers. Even if they’re asleep.” 
 246.205 +
 246.206 +“What did I ever do to you?” She sat up, groggy. Her hair was flat from the nap she’d taken; it was thin through her raking fingers. “Do I follow you around all day thinking it’s hilarious to annoy you?” Her eyes were tired, but burning. In the rare instances when she was upset, annoyed, or otherwise irritated, she looked even more like a child than when she smiled. It was almost cute, he thought. Almost. 
 246.207 +
 246.208 +“What’s wrong with you?” He said, simple. He was trying to sound casual, but Sakura suspected that she’d hit a worry-nerve in him. And she wasn’t as mad as she’d made herself to be. She stood, absently straightening the wrinkles in her skirt. She’d fallen asleep in her uniform. “Did you make dinner?” She said. 
 246.209 +
 246.210 +“A few hours ago. Yours is in the fridge.” He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said the Brat fed you.” 
 246.211 +
 246.212 +She glared at that, running both hands through her hair to even its fall above her shoulders. “Don’t call him that. And he did, but I’m hungry again.” 
 246.213 +
 246.214 +He opened his mouth for another unwanted remark, but she was in front of him now, and she poked him firmly in the shoulder. “Shut up.” 
 246.215 +
 246.216 +At that, he did, and he watched her breeze past him for the kitchen. He hadn’t missed how pale her skin was, though his sister seemed unaware of it herself as she rummaged through the fridge, oblivious to his worried stare. 
 246.217 +
 246.218 +______________________________________________________________________________________ 
 246.219 +
 246.220 +In the moon, it was pale yellow. The room was filled with starlight, drizzling like rain frozen mid-air from a window as high and as wide as the wall. The curtain was half drawn and it looked black in the dim. The desk was cluttered with scraps of fabric, loose threads, an open pair of scissors and a white strip of tape with numbers on it curled up like a snake. A project as-of-now abandoned. 
 246.221 +
 246.222 +Was this what a fight would feel like? 
 246.223 +
 246.224 +Tomoyo’s mind drifted in and out of a half-sleep that was lulled by the cool filmy gray, her own atmosphere. Etsuya was wrong to call it a fight. But she couldn’t remember a time she’d been away from Sakura for so long in spirit, and she let the illusion of squabbling lovers delude her. In her dreams, tangled and half-living, the kiss became endless, un-invaded by the bell. The halls became the thick cotton planes where she could feel her skin. And her eyes would be endless and green and bright, and the lights would be down and cool blue. And she would grin. 
 246.225 +
 246.226 +The cloth shuffled in her arms and she jarred at the ghost of a sound, flinching unwillingly back into reality. Her bed had never seemed so empty, and it hurt when she truly believed that she would only need to turn over to find Sakura sleeping there. 
 246.227 +
 246.228 +She swallowed something heavy and dry in her throat and pressed the dress close to her mouth. In the moon, it was pale yellow. She gave it a brief impassive kiss, and closed her eyes, and dreamt in thin ribbons of strawberry redolence.
 246.229 \ No newline at end of file

   247.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   247.2 +++ b/stories/ccsadults.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   247.3 @@ -0,0 +1,455 @@
   247.4 +Hello! ^-^ This is a CCS fic set an indefinite amount of time in the
   247.5 +future. All 
   247.6 +characters are copyright CLAMP except for Bara-chan. I really hope
   247.7 +you enjoy 
   247.8 +the fic. ^-^ Please tell me what you think if you get the chance.
   247.9 +
  247.10 +
  247.11 +
  247.12 +Final Heaven
  247.13 +by Amazoness Duo
  247.14 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  247.15 +
  247.16 +
  247.17 +
  247.18 +	“Tomoyo-chan...”
  247.19 +	“But Sakura-chan like’s pink,” Tomoyo chides gently, as if reminding 
  247.20 +me of something I had forgotten. I just blush fiercely in response.
  247.21 +She’s always 
  247.22 +had this affect on me, from when we were young girls. She has a way
  247.23 +of getting 
  247.24 +me to go along with whatever it is she thinks. Yes, I do like pink.
  247.25 +And I trust 
  247.26 +Tomoyo-chan’s judgement with things like that. I mean, she probably
  247.27 +knows me 
  247.28 +better than I do. But the cloth is so ethereal. It almost sparkles
  247.29 +in her hands. And 
  247.30 +I can see right through it. After all these years, I know what she
  247.31 +must be 
  247.32 +thinking. Tomoyo-chan has a dirty mind. These days she makes almost
  247.33 +all of my 
  247.34 +clothes. But I can only think of one place where I’d wear something
  247.35 +made out of 
  247.36 +that. And it probably wouldn’t stay on for long at that. 
  247.37 +	Hoe... I’m blushing even deeper now. And she knows it. Sometimes I 
  247.38 +think she can read my mind. I wouldn’t be surprised. She seems to be
  247.39 +able to 
  247.40 +pick up on everything. It’s her own kind of magic. I have no idea
  247.41 +how she 
  247.42 +knows so much. But that really doesn’t help me right now because
  247.43 +that just 
  247.44 +makes it even more embarrassing. And I know she’ll get me to wear
  247.45 +whatever 
  247.46 +she’ll make from that cloth, too. 
  247.47 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” I say again, helplessly. I know it won’t change 
  247.48 +anything. I’ve known her far too long to think that. I’m just no
  247.49 +good at arguing 
  247.50 +anything with her. She has this sweet way of always getting me to go
  247.51 +along with 
  247.52 +what she has in mind. She always seems to know what she’s doing. And
  247.53 +with 
  247.54 +her soft voice and her pretty blue eyes, she can be so persuasive.
  247.55 +It’s like with 
  247.56 +her costumes. I can’t help going along with her when she looks so
  247.57 +determined. 
  247.58 +	Tomoyo pauses for a moment, her stormy blue eyes closed. She looks 
  247.59 +so deep in thought. It takes me a moment before I realize that I’m
  247.60 +leaning closer, 
  247.61 +curiously. I sweatdrop and stand back up, still watching her. What
  247.62 +could she be 
  247.63 +thinking? Her eyes flutter open, locking with mine. “Even Bara-chan
  247.64 +likes it. 
  247.65 +She’s kicking for you, Sakura.” She smiles that sweet, loving smile
  247.66 +that she’s 
  247.67 +been showering on me since I was young. I smile back excitedly,
  247.68 +feeling a thrill 
  247.69 +shoot through me. 
  247.70 +	“She is? Really?!” I ask anxiously, my body wanting to go in
  247.71 +different 
  247.72 +directions all at once. Tomoyo-chan takes my hand gently and places
  247.73 +it on the 
  247.74 +growing swell of her stomach. She’s right. I can feel our little
  247.75 +daughter kicking 
  247.76 +inside of her. I can’t contain myself at that. It’s just so...
  247.77 +right. My blush fades 
  247.78 +quickly, my mind focussing on our daughter. Our daughter. The symbol
  247.79 +of our 
  247.80 +love. Well, that miracle took a little push from my magic, but she’s
  247.81 +still our 
  247.82 +daughter. I blush again at Tomoyo’s loving gaze and return it,
  247.83 +smiling happily at 
  247.84 +my wife. Oh, my knees are feeling week. This whole thing is just...
  247.85 +hanyaa. I 
  247.86 +almost lunge forward at the growing warmth in my heart, hugging my
  247.87 +very 
  247.88 +pregnant best friend as tightly as I can. 
  247.89 +	“I love you, Sakura-chan,” she says in that gentle, sweet voice of
  247.90 +hers. 
  247.91 +It sounds like she’s singing to me. I always feel so happy when I
  247.92 +hear her say 
  247.93 +that. I always have. I just didn’t always understand them. But now I
  247.94 +do.
  247.95 +	“I love you, too,” I say, pouring my whole heart into those few
  247.96 +words. 
  247.97 +
  247.98 +	I think the baby is finally resting. She has so much energy. Just
  247.99 +like her 
 247.100 +mother. I can’t wait to see her. I have to wonder if she’ll take
 247.101 +more after me or 
 247.102 +Sakura-chan. I took a lot after Sakura’s mother and she took a lot
 247.103 +after mine, 
 247.104 +which is a little strange if you don’t realize how much the cousins
 247.105 +missed each 
 247.106 +other. So we were there way of remembering each other. But it
 247.107 +doesn’t matter to 
 247.108 +me who Bara-chan looks like or which of us she takes after. I’m very
 247.109 +happy to 
 247.110 +know that she’s our daughter. I’ll be happy as long as Sakura-chan
 247.111 +and I can 
 247.112 +raise her together. I’m sure she’ll grow up to be a remarkable girl.
 247.113 +Just like her 
 247.114 +mother. 
 247.115 +	I continue to sing softly to the unborn child within me. I want her
 247.116 +to 
 247.117 +feel safe, to feel loved. So I’ll continue singing to her, hoping
 247.118 +that she can hear 
 247.119 +me somewhere in there. I want her to know how happy I am to be
 247.120 +carrying her, 
 247.121 +our sweet daughter. To have something that’s ours, the product of my
 247.122 +love for 
 247.123 +Sakura and hers for me, grow and develop inside of me. It’s a
 247.124 +wonderful feeling. 
 247.125 +I have to admit that I never really thought about it much before. I
 247.126 +just never 
 247.127 +thought I would wind up pregnant. I know mother was lonely when she
 247.128 +had me 
 247.129 +and that I helped alleviate some of that, but I never thought that
 247.130 +I’d wind up 
 247.131 +having a child of my own. That she could be Sakura’s. So despite the
 247.132 +morning 
 247.133 +sickness and the mood swings and all of the doctor’s appointments,
 247.134 +I’m 
 247.135 +deliriously happy to be having her. 
 247.136 +	My hands rest on my stomach as I whisper soothingly to my baby girl. 
 247.137 +“I think you’ll like it here, Bara-chan. Sometimes it can be a
 247.138 +little cold and a 
 247.139 +little lonely, but there is such beauty out there if you can only
 247.140 +find it. And it will 
 247.141 +capture your entire soul. It’s breathtaking to behold. That
 247.142 +something so perfect 
 247.143 +can exist is almost unbelievable. Please look for the beauty that’s
 247.144 +out there, 
 247.145 +Bara-chan. I think you’ll be surprised. Especially if it looks back
 247.146 +at you.” I smile 
 247.147 +at the thought, my eyes falling closed for a second. I’ve been much
 247.148 +too tired 
 247.149 +lately. But I’m sure it’s easier for Bara to rest if I’m not busy
 247.150 +running around. 
 247.151 +And why follow Sakura-chan around when she can come to me? Almost as
 247.152 +if on 
 247.153 +cue, Sakura enters the room carrying a small bowl of soba. She looks
 247.154 +so 
 247.155 +adorable in the floral design apron she has on with the big, pink
 247.156 +house slippers 
 247.157 +on her feet. We have a chef for such things, of course, but Sakura
 247.158 +insists on 
 247.159 +cooking herself from time to time. Even more so lately. I can't tell
 247.160 +which of us is 
 247.161 +more anxious about the baby.
 247.162 +	“Singing to the baby again, Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asks with a warm 
 247.163 +smile as she kneels next to the bed, blowing on the soba to cool it
 247.164 +down. “She 
 247.165 +must love when you do that. It’s always so pretty.”  She finally
 247.166 +helps me up, 
 247.167 +handing me the bowl of soba. The sparkle in her emerald eyes hasn’t
 247.168 +decreased 
 247.169 +in the slightest from when she was a child. In fact, sometimes it
 247.170 +seems even 
 247.171 +brighter these days. 
 247.172 +	I smile in return, glad to have her help with anything as I lean
 247.173 +back 
 247.174 +against the head of the bed. “Arigato gozimasu, Sakura. I want her
 247.175 +to know that 
 247.176 +we’re waiting for her. And that she has much to look forward to.” I
 247.177 +reach out 
 247.178 +and stroke Sakura’s cheek softly. She blushes a bit but doesn’t
 247.179 +avert her gaze. I 
 247.180 +can see all of the love I’ve always wanted to pour into her
 247.181 +reflected back at me. 
 247.182 +That feeling warms me more than the soba possibly could. She takes
 247.183 +the 
 247.184 +chopsticks and brings a bit to my mouth. It’s still a little hot,
 247.185 +but it goes down 
 247.186 +well. “It’s delicious, Sakura-chan. I’m sure Bara-chan would like to
 247.187 +thank you, 
 247.188 +too. She must be getting hungry. And what better than a dish cooked
 247.189 +with 
 247.190 +Sakura’s special ingredient?”
 247.191 +	Sakura giggles at that, nodding as she takes another bit of the
 247.192 +soba with 
 247.193 +the chopsticks and brings it back to my mouth. “A healthy dose of
 247.194 +love for my 
 247.195 +sweet best friend and our cute little daughter. That’s why I sent
 247.196 +the chef home 
 247.197 +for the day. I used to cook for my family back home a lot, even if
 247.198 +it was a chore. 
 247.199 +So now I want to cook for my family here.” A happy smile crosses her
 247.200 +lips, 
 247.201 +along with that spectacularly determined look in her eyes that I’ve
 247.202 +always loved 
 247.203 +seeing. When Sakura-chan finally gets her mind set on something, she
 247.204 +throws 
 247.205 +her whole heart into it. I’m so happy to be the focus of that
 247.206 +determination now.
 247.207 +	“I’d be delighted to eat Sakura’s cooking for as long as she’ll
 247.208 +make it. 
 247.209 +Or as long as you keep feeding it to me,” I state with another
 247.210 +smile. She looks a 
 247.211 +little flustered as she gets another biteful and brings it up to my
 247.212 +mouth. She’s so 
 247.213 +easy to embarrass. And she’s so kawaii when she blushes. I wonder if
 247.214 +she knows 
 247.215 +that. I’ve told her enough by now that she has to. She blushed a
 247.216 +whole lot back 
 247.217 +when we were dating. Whereas it doesn’t happen quite as much
 247.218 +anymore, it’s 
 247.219 +still easy enough to bring a flush to her cheeks. 
 247.220 +	“If you say so, Tomoyo. I still think the chef is better, but I
 247.221 +wanted to 
 247.222 +make something for you and the baby myself. It may not be as good,
 247.223 +but I feel 
 247.224 +better that way.” Sakura looks so emotional as her jade eyes watch
 247.225 +me on the 
 247.226 +bed. I haven’t seen her this emotional since the morning of our
 247.227 +wedding. And 
 247.228 +that’s quite a bit for her because she’s always a rather emotional
 247.229 +woman. Which 
 247.230 +is one of the many, many things I love about her. I try to pick out
 247.231 +all of the 
 247.232 +emotions I see in her at the moment. Joy, anticipation, anxiety,
 247.233 +fear, happiness, 
 247.234 +contentment, wonder. All of them performing their wild dance through
 247.235 +Sakura. I 
 247.236 +stroke her cheek again, my fingers trailing across the silky smooth
 247.237 +skin. I smile 
 247.238 +up at her reassuringly, brushing back a lock of her brunette hair
 247.239 +behind one cute 
 247.240 +ear. I always loved her ears. They’re just so kawaii. My fingers
 247.241 +linger behind her 
 247.242 +left ear for a moment, her body relaxing slightly. 
 247.243 +	“I love you, Sakura. I’m glad that you’d cook for the baby and me. 
 247.244 +That’s so sweet of you.” I watch her for a long time, her hands
 247.245 +taking one of 
 247.246 +mine, giving it a squeeze. She leans down after a moment’s
 247.247 +hesitation and kisses 
 247.248 +me. It’s a short but entirely sweet kiss and like always, it leaves
 247.249 +me a little 
 247.250 +breathless with its implications. Her love is much more potent to me
 247.251 +than 
 247.252 +anything I’ve ever felt. It laps at my soul like gentle waves. It’s
 247.253 +just the way she 
 247.254 +is, a kind and gentle soul that tries so hard even when she has no
 247.255 +idea what to 
 247.256 +do. That determined, genki spirit of hers has always quenched my
 247.257 +thirsty soul. 
 247.258 +How could I not love her. My fingers slip from her cheek, but my
 247.259 +eyes never 
 247.260 +leave her own. 
 247.261 +	“Aishiteru, Tomoyo. I’m really happy that you like it. I’ll try to
 247.262 +make 
 247.263 +some dessert in a bit.” Sakura scoots down across the bed as I start
 247.264 +to take a few 
 247.265 +bites myself. Her hands run down my pale legs before stopping at my
 247.266 +feet, 
 247.267 +making little swirls with her fingers before gently massaging them.
 247.268 +It feels so 
 247.269 +perfect, having the Card Mistress right here with me, throughout all
 247.270 +of this. We 
 247.271 +were trying to decide who should have the baby for a while when we
 247.272 +first 
 247.273 +decided we wanted one. At first, we’d thought that it should be
 247.274 +Sakura-chan. 
 247.275 +After all, she’s not as busy at Daidouji Toys as I usually am and it
 247.276 +would be a 
 247.277 +wonderful experience. But the more we thought about it, the more I
 247.278 +thought that 
 247.279 +I should carry our baby. It’s Sakura-chan’s magic at work, so I’d
 247.280 +rather she use 
 247.281 +it on me anyway. And it gives her a chance to learn more about the
 247.282 +company, 
 247.283 +even though mother still wants me to take it over when she retires.
 247.284 +Besides all 
 247.285 +that, I’m overjoyed to be able to have this experience. To feel our
 247.286 +baby inside of 
 247.287 +me fills me with a wonderfully indescribable feeling. It’s similar
 247.288 +to the warmth 
 247.289 +that I feel from Sakura. 
 247.290 +	I yawn tiredly, Sakura’s nimble fingers starting to relax me more
 247.291 +than 
 247.292 +I’d realized. I move my foot in her hand, marveling at the feel of
 247.293 +her soft fingers 
 247.294 +against my skin. “I’m sure Bara-chan will love dessert. But I’d
 247.295 +rather have you 
 247.296 +here with me for now.” My eyes meet hers again. She crawls up along
 247.297 +the bed as 
 247.298 +I set the soba bowl down, her arms wrapping around me. Her head
 247.299 +rests on the 
 247.300 +pillow next to mine, dark gray hair right next to sweet brunette. My
 247.301 +heart skips a 
 247.302 +beat at having my one, True Love so close to me. It yearns for her,
 247.303 +as always, 
 247.304 +and so she complies, her warm heart beating next to my own.
 247.305 +	“Okay, Tomoyo-chan. I’ll wait until after you fall asleep before I
 247.306 +go 
 247.307 +start on dessert. Just promise me you won’t come downstairs to try
 247.308 +and 
 247.309 +videotape me this time. You need your rest. And I’ll go pick up some
 247.310 +more 
 247.311 +videos to record more of the pregnancy when I go out tomorrow.”
 247.312 +Sakura looks 
 247.313 +thoughtful for a moment, trying to go over anything she might be
 247.314 +missing in her 
 247.315 +head. I disturb her thoughts with a quick kiss. 
 247.316 +	“I promise, Sakura.” Her bright smile is all of the reward I need to 
 247.317 +convince me to stay in bed. Gazing into those beautiful emerald
 247.318 +eyes, I slowly 
 247.319 +slip off to sleep, dreaming of our beautiful baby girl and my
 247.320 +gorgeous wife.
 247.321 +
 247.322 +	“But I don’t wanna be in the play. I’ll forget my lines and
 247.323 +everyone will 
 247.324 +laugh.” I sigh, brushing some dark brown hair from my eyes. This is
 247.325 +just awful. 
 247.326 +Awful. I don’t wanna be part of some stupid play at school. Why
 247.327 +can’t I just 
 247.328 +help backstage where I don’t have to be out in front of everybody? I
 247.329 +get stage 
 247.330 +fright too easily.
 247.331 +	“Bara-chan, you shouldn’t worry about that. I can help you learn
 247.332 +your 
 247.333 +lines if you want. And I’m certain that you’ll do perfectly well in
 247.334 +the play. Your 
 247.335 +mother made a spectacular prince in a play back when she was your
 247.336 +age.” 
 247.337 +Tomoyo-mama smiles sweetly, that same smile she always has when
 247.338 +talking 
 247.339 +about Sakura-mama. “It doesn’t matter if anyone laughs. I won’t. And
 247.340 +I’ll be 
 247.341 +videotaping the whole thing.” She kneels down next to me, forgetting
 247.342 +whatever 
 247.343 +it was she was sewing for the time being. Her pale hands brush my
 247.344 +messy hair 
 247.345 +from my eyes where it had fallen again. “And Sakura will be there,
 247.346 +too. We’ll be 
 247.347 +cheering for you.”
 247.348 +	I smile a bit at that. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be all bad. They
 247.349 +would be 
 247.350 +there for the whole thing and at least I’d have help learning the
 247.351 +lines. I sigh in 
 247.352 +defeat. “Hai, I know. I’m just so scared about being in front of
 247.353 +everyone.”
 247.354 +	Tomoyo-mama smiles again, standing up. “You’ll do just fine, Bara-
 247.355 +chan. How about after dinner we’ll start practicing your lines and I
 247.356 +can try to 
 247.357 +give you some tips on stage fright? I was in choir for years and
 247.358 +Sakura was in 
 247.359 +cheerleading, so maybe we can help.” She tilts my chin up so I meet
 247.360 +her gaze, 
 247.361 +still smiling. 
 247.362 +	I nod, more hair getting in my eyes. “That sounds good, Tomoyo-
 247.363 +mama. Thanks! I’ll go get my script for the play.” With an approving
 247.364 +nod from 
 247.365 +my mom, I dart off to my room at a slight limp. I’m still a little
 247.366 +nervous about 
 247.367 +the whole thing, but maybe she’s right. It can’t be all bad,
 247.368 +especially if I have 
 247.369 +people to do it for. And now that I’m not in dance class until my
 247.370 +ankle heals, it 
 247.371 +would be nice to have something to show them. It’s just so much
 247.372 +easier when 
 247.373 +I’m dancing. You don’t have to think about anything. You just dance.
 247.374 +It doesn’t 
 247.375 +matter who’s watching.  Too bad I hadn’t noticed Chisa dancing so
 247.376 +close. Oh 
 247.377 +well. The doctor said it should just be a few weeks until my ankle’s
 247.378 +back to 
 247.379 +normal. 
 247.380 +	Grabbing my bookbag from my bed, I start sifting through it. It has
 247.381 +to 
 247.382 +be in here somewhere. Plenty of notebooks, some pictures I drew in
 247.383 +class, a few 
 247.384 +notes... 
 247.385 +	“What are you looking for?” a voice asks from behind me. I turn 
 247.386 +quickly, startled. Why does she always have to surprise me like
 247.387 +that? I face my 
 247.388 +mirror image for a moment and smile brightly before going back to
 247.389 +searching. 
 247.390 +It’s nice to see her at least. I was wondering where she’d gone off
 247.391 +to. I’m a little 
 247.392 +awkward at school and I’m shy so it’s hard for me to make friends.
 247.393 +At least with 
 247.394 +normal girls my age. Then again, I guess I’m not really normal with
 247.395 +my parents. 
 247.396 +The head of the Daidouji Corporation and the world’s strongest
 247.397 +magician. It’s so 
 247.398 +much easier to make friends with mom’s Sakura Cards. 
 247.399 +	“Just the script for the play. Tomoyo-mama said we could go through
 247.400 +it 
 247.401 +after dinner and she could help me with it,” I explain as I finally
 247.402 +find the stapled 
 247.403 +together script. “Found it!”
 247.404 +	My ‘twin’ looks thoughtful for a moment as she sits down next to me. 
 247.405 +She has the same dark brown hair and lavender eyes that I do. She’s
 247.406 +even 
 247.407 +wearing my school uniform, though I changed out of that a few
 247.408 +minutes ago. 
 247.409 +“Oh yeah, that was today, wasn’t it? I could always go for you if
 247.410 +you want. I 
 247.411 +wouldn’t want you to get too nervous about it.”
 247.412 +	“That’s okay, Mirror. I’d hate to disappoint Sakura-mama and 
 247.413 +Tomoyo-mama if they’re going to come to it. I could use the help
 247.414 +going over my 
 247.415 +lines for the next few days, though,” I explain, sitting on my bed.
 247.416 +She sits next to 
 247.417 +me after a moment. The only real difference in her appearance is
 247.418 +that she 
 247.419 +doesn’t have the cast on her ankle. I sigh, flipping through the
 247.420 +pages. 
 247.421 +	“I’d love to help,” Mirror says with a smile, reading bits and
 247.422 +pieces 
 247.423 +over my shoulder. “I hope I can go and watch you, too. I’m sure
 247.424 +you’ll be 
 247.425 +great.”
 247.426 +	A knock on the door grabs my attention before I can reply. Sakura-
 247.427 +mama sticks her head in, her brunette hair near her shoulders. “It’s
 247.428 +dinner time, 
 247.429 +Bara-chan.” She waits for me as I tuck the script under my arm and
 247.430 +hurry over. 
 247.431 +“And Tomoyo said that you got a part in the play. I can’t wait to
 247.432 +see it.”
 247.433 +	I nod quickly, holding out the script. “I get to be Juliet. But
 247.434 +they must 
 247.435 +have picked the wrong person. Misato or Ming Pha would both make much 
 247.436 +better Juliets.”
 247.437 +	Sakura-mama shakes her head, helping me down the stairs. “I don’t 
 247.438 +think so. Sometimes we get surprised by things like that, but it
 247.439 +doesn’t mean 
 247.440 +we’re wrong for the part.”
 247.441 +	“Hai. Like Sakura as the prince. She made an absolutely darling
 247.442 +prince 
 247.443 +at that,” Tomoyo-mama adds, sparkles in her eyes. Something tells me
 247.444 +I’ll be 
 247.445 +watching a tape of the whole play tonight. I smile and nod, taking
 247.446 +my seat. 
 247.447 +Yeah, if Sakura-mama made a good prince, maybe I can make a good
 247.448 +Juliet. 
 247.449 +	“Thanks, Tomoyo-mama, Sakura-mama. I’d really appreciate the help.” 
 247.450 +I take a bite of the meal that Tomoyo-mama made for dinner, feeling
 247.451 +more at 
 247.452 +ease. I spot Mirror watching me from the stairs and wave at her. She
 247.453 +blushes a 
 247.454 +bit when she realizes I spotted her and waves back. I still don’t
 247.455 +really know how 
 247.456 +it will all turn out, but maybe that doesn’t matter. There’s still
 247.457 +so much waiting 
 247.458 +for me. I just know it.

   248.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   248.2 +++ b/stories/ccsakutomo.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   248.3 @@ -0,0 +1,319 @@
   248.4 +Candid Camera
   248.5 +
   248.6 +by the Amazoness Duo
   248.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
   248.8 +
   248.9 +	“Ohayo, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo said happily, 
  248.10 +smiling at the other girl as Sakura entered her room. 
  248.11 +	“Hi, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said as she set her
  248.12 +backpack and her rollerblades by Tomoyo’s bed. Sakura 
  248.13 +looked curiously at Tomoyo. The dark haired girl was setting 
  248.14 +up her video camera on a tripod. Sakura was a little nervous. 
  248.15 +She didn’t know what Tomoyo was doing, but earlier she had 
  248.16 +agreed to go along with whatever it was the dark haired girl 
  248.17 +was planning. 
  248.18 +	Tomoyo was watching something while she was 
  248.19 +setting up. Sakura followed Tomoyo’s gaze. She was watching 
  248.20 +one of the tapes she’d recorded of Sakura. But this wasn’t one 
  248.21 +of the videos of her as Card Captor Sakura. It was normal 
  248.22 +Sakura on the screen, talking about her day and slowly 
  248.23 +rollerblading along. She could hear Tomoyo’s voice as well 
  248.24 +from behind the camera. 
  248.25 +	Sakura sweatdropped and sat on the bed. She’d 
  248.26 +always found it strange that Tomoyo videotaped her, but 
  248.27 +Tomoyo just said that she was the most beautiful thing to 
  248.28 +watch. It was flattering, but Sakura still thought it was a little 
  248.29 +weird nonetheless. Tomoyo had been videotaping her for years 
  248.30 +now, but Sakura thought she’d never get entirely used to it.
  248.31 +	A young woman of fifteen, Tomoyo was no longer a 
  248.32 +little girl. Her long dark hair reached down past the small of 
  248.33 +her back. The elegance and grace she always had were still 
  248.34 +there in everything she did. Sakura shook herself from her 
  248.35 +thoughts when Tomoyo turned around, her long hair sweeping 
  248.36 +behind her. Her stormy blue eyes lit up at the sight of her love.
  248.37 +	Sakura had grown as well. She had filled out rather 
  248.38 +nicely over the years, turning many eyes her way. Her soft 
  248.39 +curves and her lean form granted the young woman an almost 
  248.40 +hypnotic beauty, which Tomoyo found herself getting lost in 
  248.41 +often. 
  248.42 +	Tomoyo sat down beside Sakura. She laid her hand 
  248.43 +atop Sakura’s and smiled gently at her brown haired lover. 
  248.44 +“I’m really glad you could stay over tonight.”
  248.45 +	“Me too. I’m glad you’re mom let me even though 
  248.46 +she knows we’re going out and all,” Sakura said, blushing a 
  248.47 +little as she looked at Tomoyo. Tomoyo had been her best 
  248.48 +friend for the longest time, but now she was so much more 
  248.49 +to Sakura. 
  248.50 +	“Yes. She was really understanding about it when 
  248.51 +I asked her,” Tomoyo said, nodding.
  248.52 +	“That’s good that she trusts us, then.” Sakura 
  248.53 +smiled. Shortly after they had started going out years ago, 
  248.54 +Sonomi had given them her blessing, apparently very happy 
  248.55 +about her daughter’s love life.
  248.56 +	“Especially since she isn’t going to be here,” 
  248.57 +Tomoyo said nervously. Her mother had seemed to understand
  248.58 +all too well. Tomoyo could still remember the conspiratorial
  248.59 +wink her mother had given her when she’d talked about 
  248.60 +being gone when Sakura was over. Sometimes Tomoyo 
  248.61 +thought that her mother saw them as what could have been 
  248.62 +with herself and Nadeshiko.
  248.63 +	“Oh…..” Sakura’s blush deepened. She and 
  248.64 +Tomoyo had made love for the first time about a month ago. 
  248.65 +The idea of spending the night with the other girl brought up 
  248.66 +some vivid memories. “Umm… What about your 
  248.67 +bodyguards?”
  248.68 +	“They’re still here,” Tomoyo said, smiling 
  248.69 +reassuringly. She realized Sakura was probably nervous. 
  248.70 +	“Oh, that’s good,” Sakura said unconvincingly.
  248.71 +She’d gotten to know Tomoyo’s bodyguards pretty well after 
  248.72 +she started going out with Tomoyo. It was embarrassing, but 
  248.73 +they often accompanied the two girls on some of their dates to 
  248.74 +keep an eye on Tomoyo. They were all really nice, if not a 
  248.75 +little intimidating at times.	
  248.76 +	Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by the feel of 
  248.77 +Tomoyo’s hand on her cheek. She turned to see the other girl 
  248.78 +gazing lovingly at her. “Aishiteru, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said 
  248.79 +happily.
  248.80 +	Sakura smiled back at her. “I love you too, Tomoyo-
  248.81 +chan.” The two girls leaned closer. Sakura lost herself in 
  248.82 +Tomoyo’s deep, dark blue eyes. Their lips touched gently at 
  248.83 +first. Tomoyo’s usually pale cheeks were flushed as they 
  248.84 +kissed deeper. After what seemed an eternity, the two girls 
  248.85 +pulled away. Tomoyo smiled happily as she sat next to 
  248.86 +Sakura. She held the brown haired girl’s hand on her lap. 
  248.87 +	“Tomoyo?”
  248.88 +	“What, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo shook her head. She 
  248.89 +was a little dazed. She’d been thinking of many other quiet 
  248.90 +times spent with Sakura.
  248.91 +	“What exactly did you want to do? You were so 
  248.92 +excited about it when we were on the phone.” Sakura’s 
  248.93 +curiosity had been gnawing at her since she’d gotten off the 
  248.94 +phone with Tomoyo earlier. The feeling had increased when 
  248.95 +she had gotten to Tomoyo’s house. 
  248.96 +	Tomoyo sat nervously. “Well, I wanted to…” The 
  248.97 +dark haired girl sighed, not knowing how to continue. “I 
  248.98 +wanted to videotape us.”
  248.99 +	Sakura blinked. “Sure. You do that all the time 
 248.100 +anyway.” She smiled, relieved that it hadn’t been anything 
 248.101 +big. 
 248.102 +	“No, I mean I want to videotape us making love,” 
 248.103 +Tomoyo finally said. 
 248.104 +	Sakura blushed deeply as she stared at the other girl. 
 248.105 +It was already strange for her when Tomoyo videotaped her, 
 248.106 +but this? “But.. but its such a private thing.”
 248.107 +	“So is you’re being Card Captor Sakura and I 
 248.108 +videotape that,” Tomoyo pointed out. “And I’m the only one 
 248.109 +who watches the videos, so no one else sees them.”
 248.110 +	“But why?” Sakura asked 
 248.111 +	This time it was Tomoyo’s turn to blush. “I just think 
 248.112 +it would be interesting.”
 248.113 +	Sakura looked at her more intently. “Is that it?” she 
 248.114 +prodded.
 248.115 +	Tomoyo sighed. “I really love videotaping you and 
 248.116 +when I got to thinking about it, I had videos of you doing just 
 248.117 +about everything. I really wanted one of us, though. I really 
 248.118 +wanted to capture this on video. I love being able to record 
 248.119 +what you do and being able to catch a moment with you on 
 248.120 +video has been stuck in my mind for a while now.”
 248.121 +	“Like me wearing the costumes you make in bed?” 
 248.122 +Sakura asked. Tomoyo just nodded. “I don’t know, Tomoyo,” 
 248.123 +she said uneasily. Their love life certainly wasn’t boring, but 
 248.124 +Sakura was still a little shy about these things. 
 248.125 +	“Please, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo pleaded. 
 248.126 +	After a moment of silence Sakura answered. “Okay, 
 248.127 +Tomoyo-chan. I’m still not so sure about this.”
 248.128 +	Tomoyo smiled happily. “Thank you, Sakura-chan.” 
 248.129 +She kissed the lighter haired girl briefly before getting up to 
 248.130 +check the video camera on its tripod. 
 248.131 +	“I don’t have to wear a costume do I?” Sakura asked 
 248.132 +wearily.
 248.133 +	Tomoyo’s eyes lit up for a second as she thought 
 248.134 +about it. “That would be great, but I don’t think I have a 
 248.135 +costume ready yet.” 
 248.136 +Sakura sweatdropped. As she watched her girlfriend 
 248.137 +try to get the camera positioned correctly, she thought about 
 248.138 +all the times when they were younger when Tomoyo used to 
 248.139 +videotape her. How Tomoyo had always  tried to record her 
 248.140 +adventures as Card Captor Sakura. And even when she wasn’t, 
 248.141 +the dark haired girl would often follow her around with her 
 248.142 +video camera. ‘By now,’ she thought to herself, ‘I should be 
 248.143 +used to her recording me. But then again, I never imagined I’d 
 248.144 +fall in love with her either, so maybe her filming us isn’t quite 
 248.145 +the same thing after all.’
 248.146 +	Tomoyo took one last look through the camera lens 
 248.147 +before standing up.  “There. That should be it.” She hugged 
 248.148 +the other girl warmly. “Thanks again, Sakura-chan.”
 248.149 +	“Don’t mention it,” Sakura said. ‘How did I let her 
 248.150 +talk me into this?’ She asked herself.
 248.151 +	Tomoyo sat down next to Sakura on the bed. Sakura 
 248.152 +stared at her for a minute nervously. She tried not to look at 
 248.153 +the camera. That only made her feel more nervous. She knew 
 248.154 +only Tomoyo would see the video so she didn’t know why she 
 248.155 +was so worried. She tried to concentrate on Tomoyo, but the 
 248.156 +butterflies in her stomach only seemed to get worse. She 
 248.157 +waited for the dark haired girl to say something, but Tomoyo 
 248.158 +seemed content to just watch her. “What now?” Sakura finally 
 248.159 +asked. 
 248.160 +	Tomoyo thought about it for a second. She got up to 
 248.161 +change the camera’s position a last time. “You could take off 
 248.162 +your clothes while I finish this,” she suggested.
 248.163 +	Sakura turned around before starting to shyly 
 248.164 +unbutton her shirt. When she finished she turned around to see 
 248.165 +Tomoyo standing behind her wearing nothing but a smile. 
 248.166 +Sakura blushed as she looked at Tomoyo’s creamy white skin. 
 248.167 +“You’re so cute, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo smiled 
 248.168 +warmly as she crawled up next to Sakura. She started pulling 
 248.169 +Sakura’s shirt off, leaving the other girl’s bare shoulders 
 248.170 +exposed at first. She finally had Sakura’s shirt off while 
 248.171 +Sakura unzipped her skirt before sliding it off. Sakura’s blush 
 248.172 +deepened as she sat clad only in her undergarments.  She felt 
 248.173 +Tomoyo’s hand on her own and turned to the other girl. 
 248.174 +Tomoyo kissed Sakura softly at first. Sakura felt her heart 
 248.175 +beating quickly as she kissed back. The kiss hit Sakura like a 
 248.176 +tidal wave. Emotions flooded her as the soft kiss grew 
 248.177 +between them. It felt as if her whole life had led up to this 
 248.178 +point. The nervousness started fading in her mind. This was 
 248.179 +right. The camera didn’t matter. Being in Tomoyo’s arms, 
 248.180 +here with her, that mattered. 
 248.181 +Sakura heard the girl she loved moan gently as she 
 248.182 +placed a hand on her bare breast. Tomoyo started unclasping 
 248.183 +Sakura’s bra as they kissed. The two finally separated, gasping 
 248.184 +for air. 
 248.185 +“Sakura-chan…” Tomoyo sighed happily. Her hand 
 248.186 +stroked Sakura’s warm, flushed cheek before drawing her 
 248.187 +closer for another kiss. The two girls embraced tightly. Sakura 
 248.188 +was surprised to feel Tomoyo’s breasts press against hers. The 
 248.189 +sensation of the other girl’s flesh against her own was 
 248.190 +invigorating. She kissed Tomoyo back passionately as she 
 248.191 +pushed her back on the bed. The camera was by now long 
 248.192 +forgotten in her mind. The room was filled with soft moans as 
 248.193 +both girls’ hands started roaming the others body. Sakura 
 248.194 +delighted at the sounds coming from Tomoyo as her hands 
 248.195 +passed over Tomoyo’s sensitive womanhood before heading 
 248.196 +back up along her stomach. Sakura’s coos counterpointed 
 248.197 +them as Tomoyo’s gently caressed Sakura’s firm breasts. 
 248.198 +Their hands continued moving, exploring the soft curves of 
 248.199 +the other. Their lips met again and again as they continued thei 
 248.200 +passionate dance.  
 248.201 + Tomoyo was in heaven. She never felt more alive 
 248.202 +than when she was with Sakura, wherever that may be. She 
 248.203 +was happy just being around the other girl. Feeling Sakura’s 
 248.204 +body against her own played havoc on her senses. The sweet 
 248.205 +smell of her short hair, the wonderful taste of her lips, the 
 248.206 +sounds she could hear from Sakura’s beautiful voice, her soft 
 248.207 +touch, and the perfect sight of the other girl looking back at 
 248.208 +her with those big green eyes. 
 248.209 +Sakura ran her hand through Tomoyo’s long, dark 
 248.210 +hair and then down along Tomoyo’s smooth back. She felt 
 248.211 +Tomoyo’s hand slide into her panties, past her light brown 
 248.212 +curls. She moaned the other girl’s name as Tomoyo started 
 248.213 +rubbing Sakura’s entrance. Sakura whimpered when Tomoyo 
 248.214 +started slowing down before heading up again. “Tomoyo….” 
 248.215 +She said breathlessly, craving the dark haired girl’s soft touch. 
 248.216 +Tomoyo’s fingers hooked Sakura’s panties and slid them 
 248.217 +down past her legs. Sakura’s now bare legs spread out in front 
 248.218 +of her. The sight of Tomoyo sitting there long hair flowing 
 248.219 +across her shoulders left Sakura breathless.
 248.220 +Tomoyo shifted on top of Sakura and moved so her 
 248.221 +legs were on either side of the other girl’s face. She gently 
 248.222 +pushed Sakura’s legs apart and leaned down, enjoying the 
 248.223 +musky sent. Sakura shuddered as she felt Tomoyo’s warm 
 248.224 +breath against her sensitive skin. Tomoyo moved closer, 
 248.225 +gasping when she felt Sakura’s tongue flick across her nether 
 248.226 +lips. Sakura waited in anticipation for Tomoyo, still feeling the 
 248.227 +other girl’s breath against her. She moved her legs farther 
 248.228 +apart as she waited. Finally she felt Tomoyo’s finger gently 
 248.229 +tracing her entrance. She moaned at the feeling. She went back 
 248.230 +to what she’d been doing, her tongue gently moving over 
 248.231 +Tomoyo's womanhood.  
 248.232 +Tomoyo used her free hand to spread Sakura’s petals, 
 248.233 +supporting herself with the other hand. Sakura squirmed under 
 248.234 +her. She smiled as she leaned forward, tasting Sakura. It was 
 248.235 +intoxicating to her. Every little movement Sakura made 
 248.236 +reverberated through Tomoyo’s being. Every sound brought a 
 248.237 +smile to her lips.
 248.238 +“Tomoyo…” Sakura vaguely heard herself say, lost 
 248.239 +in the moment. Her tongue pushed into Tomoyo, her passion 
 248.240 +filled mind spurring her on. The moans of the two lovers 
 248.241 +mingled in the quiet room. Sakura felt the feelings within her 
 248.242 +build as Tomoyo’s tongue stroked against her pearl. Tomoyo 
 248.243 +brushed against it again and again with her tongue before her 
 248.244 +lips closed around the tiny nub. “Tomoyo-chan… Yes, 
 248.245 +Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura moaned as Tomoyo suckled on her 
 248.246 +pearl. Sakura’s head moved back between Tomoyo’s legs, a 
 248.247 +voice in the back of her mind telling her to keep it up, that it 
 248.248 +was almost done. She tried to concentrate as the waves of heat 
 248.249 +passed through her body.  
 248.250 +Tomoyo shifted her legs as she felt Sakura’s tongue 
 248.251 +inside her again. This feeling of utter bliss encompassed her. 
 248.252 +She wouldn’t last much longer. She felt Sakura squirming 
 248.253 +under her again, moaning softly. Both girls were close to 
 248.254 +climax. Tomoyo placed a hand on Sakura’s thigh, the soft skin 
 248.255 +enticing her to continue. Sakura moaned one last time before 
 248.256 +her muscles contracted. She took a shuddering breath as she 
 248.257 +reached orgasm. Her world was set on fire for one brief 
 248.258 +moment. She closed her eyes tightly, her world dissolving 
 248.259 +around her as she floated on a hazy cloud of pleasure. She 
 248.260 +barely remembered to keep up her pace with Tomoyo, wanting 
 248.261 +the other girl to reach the little piece of heaven as well. 
 248.262 +Tomoyo arched her back as the sensations spread 
 248.263 +through her whole body. She panted, her heart racing as she 
 248.264 +neared her own climax. Her breathing quickened as every 
 248.265 +muscle in her body seemed to tense up. It was all too much for 
 248.266 +her. Sakura’s body moving beneath her, the warmth growing 
 248.267 +between her legs that the other girl tended to, the small sounds 
 248.268 +they both made, mixing together. The feelings of love and 
 248.269 +passion rushing between the two girls. It quickly built up for 
 248.270 +Tomoyo. “Sakura-chan!” She got out before she was rocked 
 248.271 +by her own orgasm. As the sudden crashing wave slowly wore 
 248.272 +off, she rolled off of Sakura and curled up beside her.
 248.273 +“Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura whispered breathlessly. Her 
 248.274 +fingers lovingly traced the dark haired girl’s lips. She rolled on 
 248.275 +top of Tomoyo. She moved so she could see Tomoyo’s face, 
 248.276 +and look into those beautiful eyes. She kissed the other girl as 
 248.277 +she lay on top of her. What had she been so worried about to 
 248.278 +begin with? She tried to think, but nothing came to mind. She 
 248.279 +yawned as Tomoyo’s arms wrapped around her. Right now, 
 248.280 +she just wanted to lie there. She didn’t want to think or to 
 248.281 +move. Just lie there with Tomoyo. 
 248.282 +Tomoyo smiled softly and kissed Sakura’s forehead 
 248.283 +as they lay on the bed. Her long dark hair draped across her 
 248.284 +upper body. Her head gently nuzzled Sakura’s neck as they 
 248.285 +started to slip off to sleep. A soft warm glow filled the two of 
 248.286 +them.
 248.287 +
 248.288 +Sakura woke up to the sound of moaning. She 
 248.289 +blushed and sat up, looking around nervously. She saw 
 248.290 +Tomoyo and herself in the midst of their love making. 
 248.291 +Tomoyo was playing it back again from the video. 
 248.292 +“Tomoyo!” Sakura hit the other girl with a pillow.  
 248.293 +The dark haired girl laughed and leaned against Sakura.
 248.294 +“What?”
 248.295 +“Do you have to watch that now?” Sakura asked, 
 248.296 +blushing. It was strange seeing everything happen all over 
 248.297 +again on the screen. Her blush reddened as she watched the 
 248.298 +events unfold. She turned to Tomoyo and noticed the other girl 
 248.299 +was entranced by the video. Sakura sweatdropped. “Tomoyo-
 248.300 +chan?”
 248.301 +“Yes?” The dark haired girl asked after a moment.
 248.302 +“Are you happy now?” Sakura looked down at the 
 248.303 +bed when she heard herself call Tomoyo’s name in the middle 
 248.304 +of it all.
 248.305 +Tomoyo nodded and smiled brightly. “Thank you, 
 248.306 +Sakura-chan.” 
 248.307 +Sakura smiled a bit herself. She did love the intimate 
 248.308 +moments she spent with her love, and she did make Tomoyo 
 248.309 +happy. So maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. All’s well that ends 
 248.310 +well. Her smile grew as she looked over at Tomoyo. She saw 
 248.311 +Tomoyo looking at something behind her. She slowly craned 
 248.312 +her neck around to see what it was. One of the battle costumes 
 248.313 +Tomoyo made for her lay unused on the dark haired girl’s 
 248.314 +desk. Sakura turned quickly to see Tomoyo still looking at the 
 248.315 +costume and thinking about something. “Tomoyo-chan…” 
 248.316 +Sakura said wearily. 
 248.317 +Tomoyo smiled again and tilted her head to the side. 
 248.318 +“But Sakura-chan, I’d be the only one to see it. You would be 
 248.319 +so cute in it. And I would love to videotape that.”
 248.320 +Sakura sighed. She knew where this was going. 
 248.321 +
 248.322 +

   249.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   249.2 +++ b/stories/ccsfieldday.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   249.3 @@ -0,0 +1,756 @@
   249.4 +"Sakura-chan and Okaa-sama's Track and Field Adventure"
   249.5 +(Written on the videotape in Tomoyo’s delightfully Kawaii script*)
   249.6 +
   249.7 +
   249.8 +
   249.9 +I. 
  249.10 +Sakura was all eagerness when she arrived at the Daidouji residence.
  249.11 +Shouldering a yellow and white athletic bag she buzzed the gate for
  249.12 +admittance. Shortly after it opened, she saw Sonomi sama racing
  249.13 +towards her with Tomoyo chan trailing behind.
  249.14 +
  249.15 +"Yo-ho, Sakura-chan!" Sonomi sang out. She was dressed in bright red
  249.16 +shorts with a crimson jacket trimmed in black. Tomoyo had a similar
  249.17 +outfit, but in navy blue. Both wore matching black running shoes.
  249.18 +Sakura smiled to see them; the beautiful mother and daughter running
  249.19 +together. Sonomi was quickly upon her, seemingly invigorated by the
  249.20 +long run from the mansion. Tomoyo, breathless but all smiles, finally
  249.21 +caught up. 
  249.22 +
  249.23 +Sakura bowed as she said, "Sonomi sama, Tomoyo chan, thank you for
  249.24 +having me."
  249.25 +
  249.26 +Beaming at the little girl, Sonomi replied, "It's always a pleasure
  249.27 +to have you with us. Would you like to change in the field house?"
  249.28 +
  249.29 + "Field house?" Sakura answered with a puzzled look.
  249.30 +
  249.31 +As the three began walking past a row of trees, Tomoyo, still
  249.32 +catching her breath, giggled, "Mother had some changes made to the
  249.33 +yard so she could coach you properly."
  249.34 +
  249.35 +Sonomi put her finger on her cheek thoughtfully and said, "It really
  249.36 +isn't what I wanted at all, but Tomoyo chan wouldn't let me cut down
  249.37 +the plum trees to make room for the oval."
  249.38 +
  249.39 +Topping a little rise, Sakura saw what had once been a grassy yard
  249.40 +and stopped short. A new 100 meter track stretched into the distance,
  249.41 +bulldozer tread marks testifying to its recent completion. Nearby was
  249.42 +a small white field house for showering and changing, and even a set
  249.43 +of stands for who-knew-what spectators. Sakura turned to Sonomi, who
  249.44 +could barely contain her delight, and exclaimed,
  249.45 +
  249.46 +"Oh, you shouldn't have done this just for me. Your poor, pretty
  249.47 +yard!"   
  249.48 +
  249.49 +Sonomi leaned over, placed her hand on the girl's cheek, and smiled
  249.50 +sweetly.
  249.51 +
  249.52 +"Don't worry, dear. It's something I'd always wanted myself since I
  249.53 +was young. Besides, if you do something, you do it right, and I can't
  249.54 +be a good coach without proper facilities.” 
  249.55 +
  249.56 +Sakura bowed her thanks again, and Tomoyo ushered her into the field
  249.57 +house. After changing into her Tomoeda P. E. outfit, she rushed out
  249.58 +to warm up with Sonomi and Tomoyo. Somehow, she was not surprised to
  249.59 +find a camera and tripod already filming the proceedings. Sonomi then
  249.60 +had her run some short sprints off the starting block. watching
  249.61 +carefully all the while. Then the woman called her over, took off her
  249.62 +crimson jacket, and adjusted the wood and metal blocks with careful,
  249.63 +practiced precision. 
  249.64 +
  249.65 +Standing behind the blocks she nodded to Tomoyo, who called out,
  249.66 + 
  249.67 +“Go to your marks,”
  249.68 +
  249.69 +Sonomi placed her left leg in the far block, and her right on the
  249.70 +block a few inches to the front. Her left knee touched the ground,
  249.71 +and her hands, fingers forming little arches, rested on the track.
  249.72 +Sakura could see by the sure and economical movements that this was a
  249.73 +routine executed thousands of times. As the woman settled in, Tomoyo
  249.74 +called out again,
  249.75 +
  249.76 +“Set,”
  249.77 +
  249.78 +Like a cat crouching to pounce, Sonomi took a deep breath and arched
  249.79 +her body forward and up. Head down, she wore an expression of deepest
  249.80 +concentration. Her lithe body was perfectly still, balanced, coiled,
  249.81 +relaxed, and waiting. Sakura flinched when Tomoyo fired the starting
  249.82 +gun, and nearly missed the amazing sight of the runner’s start. She
  249.83 +looked in horror as Sonomi pitched forward, certain to fall on her
  249.84 +face. But instead of falling she rocketed ahead, her first stride
  249.85 +long and her body low to the ground. In the blink of an eye she had
  249.86 +run 5 or 6 strides and was racing down the field before slowing her
  249.87 +pace and walking back, hands on hips. Sakura stood and marveled,
  249.88 +whispering,
  249.89 +
  249.90 +“Sugoi.”
  249.91 +
  249.92 +Then she ran to Sonomi, starry-eyed and gasping,
  249.93 +
  249.94 +“That was wonderful! I was so afraid you would fall!"  
  249.95 +
  249.96 +The woman laughed, and explained how the physics of gravity and
  249.97 +front leg thrust combined to produce the fastest possible start. She
  249.98 +adjusted the blocks for Sakura, fine tuning them as the girl
  249.99 +practiced. Sakura was amazed how the tiniest changes of form and
 249.100 +position could make such a difference in speed. Sonomi patiently
 249.101 +observed, corrected, and praised Sakura's efforts. When they broke
 249.102 +for a light lunch of cucumber sandwiches and tea, both were exhausted
 249.103 +but excited, and eager to start again.   
 249.104 +
 249.105 +For Tomoyo, it was her favorite spring. Almost every Saturday, and
 249.106 +some weeknights when she had no chores or homework, Sakura came over
 249.107 +to practice. Sometimes Tomoyo would run with her, just to give her a
 249.108 +sense of running against a competitor. Trying her hardest, she
 249.109 +invariably fell far behind the auburn haired-sprinter, though it
 249.110 +bothered her not in the least. To see Sakura run was a joy beyond
 249.111 +telling, for she ran with a wild exuberance that thrilled the heart.
 249.112 +Her mother slowly shaped and channeled that raw energy, and Sakura
 249.113 +gloried in the changes that came over her. Most of all, Tomoyo just
 249.114 +loved to watch, to see her working with her mother, and to film her
 249.115 +sprints.
 249.116 +
 249.117 +That spring, Tomoyo's relationship with Sakura began to change in
 249.118 +ways she was only vaguely aware of. She rarely thought about her love
 249.119 +for the girl, for she loved Sakura as naturally and unselfconsciously
 249.120 +as breathing. Love was part of the morning as she brushed her long
 249.121 +hair in the dappled sunlight of her room. It was with her at school
 249.122 +while reciting a lesson, or singing in the choir, or just sitting
 249.123 +across from Sakura, watching her read and study. Love filled her
 249.124 +nights when she sewed, or studied, or sat gazing at a moon carved out
 249.125 +of bright steel. Only rarely did it occur to her that this boundless
 249.126 +love was unusual, and that she was quite unlike the others around
 249.127 +her. For Tomoyo, the real wonder was not her own intense passion, but
 249.128 +the curious fact that everybody did not love Sakura as she did. In
 249.129 +part, this explained her utter lack of jealousy and possessiveness.
 249.130 +She saw Syaoran’s awkward, blossoming love for her friend as
 249.131 +completely natural and right, for how could a person not love Sakura
 249.132 +with all their heart? For her, that was the inexplicable mystery. And
 249.133 +yet, though her own love had never changed in all the time she had
 249.134 +known her friend, Tomoyo herself was deeply affected by something
 249.135 +completely unforeseen. The pale, dark-haired girl had been sweetly
 249.136 +shaken by Sakura's own love for her.
 249.137 +
 249.138 +Tomoyo, usually so perceptive, had been pained and baffled by her
 249.139 +friend's unusual moodiness after the true nature of Yue had come to
 249.140 +light. Upon collection of the final Clow Card Sakura had seemed
 249.141 +fragile and edgy, nothing like her usual happy self. Tomoyo thought
 249.142 +her fatigued, or perhaps let down by the apparent end of the quest.
 249.143 +Once they even fought, or, rather, Sakura had rounded on her angrily
 249.144 +before fleeing in tears. Tomoyo was left stunned and shattered,
 249.145 +painfully hurt in a way she never thought possible. That night was
 249.146 +agony as she called and called on the little pink cell phone,
 249.147 +desperate to apologize for whatever she had done, waiting for an
 249.148 +answering voice that never came. She nearly left to go see Sakura, to
 249.149 +beg forgiveness and try to understand why. So thankful now that she
 249.150 +had stayed in her room, waiting, and singing sadly to herself. There
 249.151 +the Mistress of the Cards found her after a long and trying journey.
 249.152 +In what still seemed a miracle, Sakura then confessed her love for
 249.153 +Tomoyo.
 249.154 +
 249.155 +Those sweet, stammering words of love still echoed in Tomoyo's
 249.156 +heart. That her friend had finally discovered Tomoyo's secret love,
 249.157 +hidden so well for so long, was surprise enough. But when they
 249.158 +embraced, and kissed, Tomoyo first felt Sakura's own love for her.
 249.159 +Unlooked for, desired beyond hope or prayer, that love had changed
 249.160 +her forever. Like a pale moon, Tomoyo had circled Sakura's life with
 249.161 +faithful constancy. But now, like twin stars in a cosmic dance, the
 249.162 +lives of the two lovers revolved around each other. It was joyous, it
 249.163 +was thrilling, and, for Tomoyo, it was a little scary. Admiring the
 249.164 +beautiful girl from afar, Tomoyo was safe among the shadows. But when
 249.165 +Sakura's loving gaze fell upon her, she feared falling far short of
 249.166 +what the remarkable girl deserved. Looking inward, Tomoyo wondered if
 249.167 +fear was a reason, secret even from herself, that she had encouraged
 249.168 +Sakura's relationships with Yukito and Syaoran. She could see through
 249.169 +others so easily, but her own heart was sometimes shrouded in mystery. 
 249.170 +
 249.171 +Sitting in the viewing stands, Tomoyo caught the delicate scent of
 249.172 +plum blossoms as Sakura exploded again from the starting block. She
 249.173 +felt a twinge of guilt for begging the trees be spared, but her
 249.174 +mother said the girl was a natural sprinter, and the oval track would
 249.175 +be more for her use than Sakura's anyway. She resolved to bake her
 249.176 +mother a plum pie when the fruits were ripe. Sonomi was working with
 249.177 +Sakura's form as she emerged from her start. Carefully her mother
 249.178 +demonstrated the transition to a full run, while Sakura watched,
 249.179 +nodding, and then tried it herself. Her mother said the girl was a
 249.180 +quick learner, and Tomoyo ruefully knew how true that was. It was
 249.181 +just like the cards. 
 249.182 +
 249.183 +At first, Sakura seemed baffled, even intimidated by the complexity
 249.184 +of Clow's creation. But she proved relentless, and against all hope
 249.185 +saw it through to the very end. In time she penetrated their secrets
 249.186 +and made them her own, and the Cards seemed to love her all the more
 249.187 +for it. Just like me, Tomoyo thought with a blush. 
 249.188 +
 249.189 +Once she had charmed Sakura with a mask of happiness, her friend
 249.190 +blithely unaware of Tomoyo's hidden love and loneliness. But now
 249.191 +Sakura loved her, and was no longer content with shimmering
 249.192 +reflections on the water's surface. Sakura as the Mistress of the
 249.193 +Cards devoured secrets, and burned with a fiery will to know. Now
 249.194 +that will was turned towards her, and Sakura impatiently brushed
 249.195 +aside the veils that hid Tomoyo's true feelings. When Tomoyo was
 249.196 +happy Sakura was, too, and when she was not the girl consoled her and
 249.197 +shared the grief and pain. At first this had horrified Tomoyo,
 249.198 +devastated that her own unhappiness should so affect her friend. But
 249.199 +Sakura seemed none the worse for it, her irrepressible spirit and
 249.200 +energy washing away hurts and fears as her gentle fingers brushed
 249.201 +away tears.
 249.202 +
 249.203 + Tomoyo felt closer to the girl than ever before. That closeness
 249.204 +came not from her own love, which was as vast and unchanging as ever,
 249.205 +but from Sakura's. Sakura's love was a beacon that lit the darkness
 249.206 +of Tomoyo's world and a hammer that shattered the barriers around her
 249.207 +heart. Tomoyo had painstakingly designed her own prison, a citadel of
 249.208 +loneliness to seal her love away. But when the Mistress of the Cards
 249.209 +realized her friend's isolation, she came like a hurricane and tore
 249.210 +the walls apart. Then, shy and gentle once more, Sakura begged leave
 249.211 +to stay, forever. And Tomoyo, blinking in the unexpected sunlight,
 249.212 +said yes. 
 249.213 +
 249.214 +As time unwound in it's own way, she slowly realized that Sakura
 249.215 +would have no walls between them. Tomoyo could love from afar, but
 249.216 +not Sakura. The girl's eager enthusiasm demanded she know Tomoyo's
 249.217 +innermost self, and be ever close to her heart.  And despite
 249.218 +misgivings, for she still feared bringing pain or hurt in some
 249.219 +unknown way to her friend, Tomoyo found herself yielding. Besides,
 249.220 +all her art and artifice availed her nothing in the face of Sakura's
 249.221 +direct and relentless innocence. Even for the sake of her beloved,
 249.222 +Tomoyo found it increasingly impossible to meet those shimmering
 249.223 +green eyes with anything less than the truth. With a sigh, Tomoyo
 249.224 +looked up and saw Sakura at the far end of the track, waving in
 249.225 +exaltation at a new personal best time. Tomoyo waved back, smiling,
 249.226 +and glanced at the plum branches swaying in the spring breeze. She
 249.227 +knew she would rather die, would rather have never existed at all,
 249.228 +than bring any hurt to Sakura. But the little zephyr laughed at her
 249.229 +worries, whispering "It's all right, everything will be all right."
 249.230 +Blossoms rained down from above, covering her gray-black hair in a
 249.231 +pink and purple crown. A sweet, intense longing gripped her as she
 249.232 +leapt from the stands. With her heart afire, she dashed wildly down
 249.233 +the track towards Sakura.
 249.234 +
 249.235 +II. 
 249.236 +Just by watching her posture Sonomi could tell. She laughed to
 249.237 +herself as Sakura fiddled with the starting blocks. If Tomoyo had not
 249.238 +been her own child, she would have despaired of ever knowing her at
 249.239 +all. But Sakura was an open book, her moods and thoughts there for
 249.240 +all the world to see. Something was troubling her, something she
 249.241 +wanted to talk about but could not. Sonomi stood to the side and
 249.242 +spoke in a loud voice,
 249.243 +
 249.244 +"Go to your marks."
 249.245 +
 249.246 +Sakura settled into position, awaiting the next call. But Sonomi was
 249.247 +silent, watching the girl's arched figure with intensity. A runner
 249.248 +should be able to hold that stance for several minutes with no
 249.249 +fatigue, but the girl was already trembling from the strain. Sonomi
 249.250 +walked over and gently laid her hand on Sakura's shoulder. In a
 249.251 +soothing, motherly voice she said,
 249.252 +
 249.253 +"Sakura chan, your shoulders are tight, and your body seems very
 249.254 +tense. Are you feeling well? Is there something the matter?"
 249.255 +
 249.256 +Sakura looked up in surprise, mouth open, as if to say, "How did you
 249.257 +know?" But instead of answering, she looked away in embarrassment.
 249.258 +Sonomi gently nudged her into a standing position, and said,
 249.259 +
 249.260 +"Let's sit over by the trees for a bit, all right?"
 249.261 +
 249.262 +Sakura followed morosely and plopped down in the grass. Sonomi
 249.263 +stretched out under the tree and let silence do its work. Sakura
 249.264 +fidgeted, played idly with the grass, finally looked up with moist
 249.265 +eyes and blurted out,
 249.266 +
 249.267 +"Sonomi sama, I feel so bad. I ran so badly and it was just awful!
 249.268 +I'm so sorry..." Her voice tailed off as she fought back the tears
 249.269 +with a halting sob. 
 249.270 +
 249.271 +"Well, there's no reason to feel sorry if you tried your best. You
 249.272 +can't win every race, you know. Do you feel like telling me what
 249.273 +happened?" Sonomi's tone was gentle and reassuring, urging the child
 249.274 +to continue. Sakura looked at the ground as she spoke, an
 249.275 +undercurrent of anger edging her voice,
 249.276 + 
 249.277 +"It was the qualifying races for Field Day. I finished second, so I
 249.278 +qualified for the final race next week, but I ran so poorly."
 249.279 +
 249.280 +Sonomi spoke in a cheerful but restrained tone,
 249.281 +
 249.282 +"Oh, my, second is no cause for shame, especially if you made the
 249.283 +cut for the final race. Who finsihed first?"
 249.284 +
 249.285 +Through clenched teeth, her anger rising, Sakura mumbled, 
 249.286 +
 249.287 +"Li-kun."
 249.288 +
 249.289 +"Ah, Tomoyo told me he is a very good runner. She said he almost
 249.290 +beat you in the race last year."
 249.291 +
 249.292 +Sakura turned abruptly to look at her, anger and pain and tears all
 249.293 +jumbled together. In a stammering rush she exclaimed,
 249.294 +
 249.295 +"He was so mean. He said I couldn't run as fast as him, that girls
 249.296 +were slower than boys, and that...that..."
 249.297 +
 249.298 +Sonomi watched Sakura carefully, and felt deep sympathy for the poor
 249.299 +girl, so obviously wounded. With a kindly look she nodded, waiting
 249.300 +for her to continue.
 249.301 +
 249.302 +"He...he said I shouldn't be around Tomoyo so much and that she was,
 249.303 +she was clumsy and couldn't run or anything and that, that she was
 249.304 +just an anchor around my head or my neck or something stupid like
 249.305 +that and I was so angry and I wanted to win so bad and I couldn't and
 249.306 +he beat me just like he said and I'm sorry I wanted to run my best
 249.307 +for you and Tomoyo and I didn't and I'm sorry I'm so so sorry!"
 249.308 +
 249.309 +With that, she collapsed into Sonomi's arms, crying at the shame of
 249.310 +it all. The woman held her tightly, cooing reassurance as she rocked
 249.311 +gently back and forth. With a fearful look Tomoyo came running, but
 249.312 +Sonomi shooed her away. Looking down at the auburn-haired girl she
 249.313 +smiled, knowing that what stung her the most were the taunts aimed at
 249.314 +Tomoyo. Sakura was a gentle, cheerful little spirit, but a protective
 249.315 +tigress when roused. She's like me, Sonomi mused. Odd, because she
 249.316 +had always seen Nadesico in the girl since their first meeting a year
 249.317 +ago, never herself. But when it came to those dearest to them, both
 249.318 +were as quick to anger as to love. And then memory took Sonomi,
 249.319 +memory from long ago.
 249.320 +
 249.321 +She heard the sneering voice first, coming from behind a corner of
 249.322 +the school. Then the mocking words, "clumsy", "baka", "watch where
 249.323 +you're going". Curious, she walked around the wall and heard a
 249.324 +muffled voice stammering out apologies. There stood Nadesico-chan,
 249.325 +bowing low, her long hair nearly sweeping the ground. Above her
 249.326 +towered a sempai, red-faced, hands on hips, his books in the dirt.
 249.327 +Letting loose another stream of disparaging abuse, he contemptuously
 249.328 +pushed her shoulder, knocking the slender girl off balance as she
 249.329 +continued to apologize in her soft, sweet voice. With that, Sonomi
 249.330 +snapped.
 249.331 +
 249.332 +She rushed towards him, screaming, "Stop it!". He turned to look,
 249.333 +his face contorted in the strangest combination of surprise and
 249.334 +anger. Without thinking, Sonomi clenched her fist and swung in a
 249.335 +swift, arcing uppercut. She caught him square under the chin, his
 249.336 +open mouth quickly shutting, teeth clattering. Leaning her onrushing
 249.337 +body into the blow, she staggered him nearly off his feet and up
 249.338 +against the red brick wall. He slammed into it, head banging back
 249.339 +with a solid thunk, then slumped into a heap in the dirt. Shaking in
 249.340 +rage and shock, Sonomi stood above him, waiting for the boy to rise.
 249.341 +But he was deathly still, and the fury that gripped her quickly
 249.342 +drained away. She was startled by Nadesico, who rushed past her to
 249.343 +see if the boy was all right. With a worried look, she touched his
 249.344 +forehead with loving tenderness. Groaning, he opened his eyes, and
 249.345 +Nadesico took Sonomi's hand and whispered, "Let's go."
 249.346 +
 249.347 + Later that morning they passed him in the hall, but he studiously
 249.348 +ignored them. After lunch, the two friends sat on the grass in the
 249.349 +shade of a big oak tree. Nadesico watched Sonomi intently as the red
 249.350 +haired girl gingerly covered one hand with the other. She reached
 249.351 +out, gently laying her own hand on Sonomi's, and asked,
 249.352 +
 249.353 +"Did you hurt your hand?"
 249.354 +
 249.355 +Turning, Sonomi saw the fearful concern in her shimmering, green
 249.356 +eyes. Blushing, she looked away and stammered,
 249.357 +
 249.358 +"N-no, I'm fine, it's nothing". 
 249.359 +
 249.360 +Nadesicio squeezed the hand ever so slightly, and Sonomi winced at
 249.361 +the pain. Nadesico drew her hand back in horror and gasped, 
 249.362 +
 249.363 +"You did hurt yourself. Oh, Sonomi chan, I'm so sorry. You hurt
 249.364 +yourself because of me." 
 249.365 +
 249.366 +Sonomi shook her head vigorously, short red hair flying back and
 249.367 +forth,
 249.368 +
 249.369 +"No, no, it's nothing, really, just a sprain, I think. It happens
 249.370 +all the time in gymnastics". 
 249.371 +
 249.372 +At this, Nadesico looked more upset than ever. 
 249.373 +
 249.374 +"Gymnastics? But Sonomi chan, don't you have a meet this weekend
 249.375 +with the gymnastics club?"
 249.376 +
 249.377 +Sonomi had forgotten, but not Nadesico, who attended every meet to
 249.378 +cheer her on. With her dearest friend in the stands, Sonomi loved the
 249.379 +competition. Before each event, she silently dedicated herself: May I
 249.380 +be blessed with strength and beauty to perform for her delight.
 249.381 +Fiercely competitive, Sonomi hated to lose even more than she loved
 249.382 +to win. But such things seemed trivial when she was watched by
 249.383 +Nadesico. Performing was sheer joy, and the dark haired girl's eager
 249.384 +enthusiasm drove Sonomi to do her very best. With a smile she said,
 249.385 +
 249.386 +"It's no big thing if I miss one meet."
 249.387 +
 249.388 +Nadesico looked at the ground, then at the sky, watching a little
 249.389 +white cloud scudding across the blue. She brushed the gray-black hair
 249.390 +from her eyes and glanced at her friend. In a soft, sweet voice she
 249.391 +whispered,
 249.392 +
 249.393 +"Thank you, Sonomi chan". She carefully reached out for the girl's
 249.394 +good hand, and took it in her own. She caressed her hand gently,
 249.395 +fingers lovingly tracing every curve and contour. Sonomi caught her
 249.396 +breath and blushed, staring straight ahead, not daring to face those
 249.397 +wide, emerald eyes for fear of what she might say, or do, here in the
 249.398 +schoolyard. Nadesico whispered again,
 249.399 +
 249.400 +"But," Sonomi looked up quizically, waiting for her to continue. "
 249.401 +you know, sempai was right. I really am very clumsy." She smiled
 249.402 +brightly as she spoke. Sonomi suppressed a grin and wore a mock frown
 249.403 +instead as she replied,
 249.404 +
 249.405 +"Yes, I know. But I'm the only one allowed to say that, ne?"
 249.406 +Nadesico giggled, and Sonomi laughed out loud. Hand in hand, the two
 249.407 +cousins rose and ran off to their next class.
 249.408 +
 249.409 +Sakura had stopped crying, but still lay nestled in Sonomi's arms.
 249.410 +Wiping away her tears the woman said,
 249.411 +
 249.412 + "That race is all over now. Let's get ready for the next one."
 249.413 +
 249.414 +Sakura sat up, eyes red and puffy. Slowly the anger returned,
 249.415 +pushing out the hurt and filling her voice as she spoke,
 249.416 +
 249.417 +"This time I'll beat him. I'll beat him so bad!"
 249.418 +
 249.419 +Replying in her soft Mother's voice Sonomi answered,
 249.420 +
 249.421 +"If that's the way you feel, Sakura chan, then you'll lose again,"
 249.422 +
 249.423 +Stung by these gently spoken but cutting words, the auburn-haired
 249.424 +girl looked up in surprise. Sonomi smiled nonchalantly and continued,
 249.425 +
 249.426 +"When you sprint, emotions like anger just slow you down. Remember
 249.427 +how I told you to be when you take your mark?"
 249.428 +
 249.429 +Sakura nodded as she spoke, "Relaxed but concentrating". 
 249.430 +
 249.431 +Sonomi nodded and continued, "That's right. It's very hard to do,
 249.432 +because when we concentrate we usually strain to keep our focus. But
 249.433 +when you strain like that your body isn't relaxed, you tense up like
 249.434 +you did today. But when we relax, we tend to lose focus, our mind
 249.435 +wanders, and we're distracted by whatever comes along."
 249.436 +
 249.437 +Confused, Sakura blurted out, "But then, what do I do? How can I do
 249.438 +both at once?"
 249.439 +
 249.440 +"Sakura, usually when you run, you do both at once, you're just not
 249.441 +aware of it. But when you have strong thoughts and feelings that
 249.442 +affect you, you lose focus, or your relaxation, or even both. During
 249.443 +practice, when you hear the starting gun, what are you thinking about?"
 249.444 +
 249.445 +Puzzled, Sakura tried to remember. Finally she looked up in
 249.446 +bafflement and said, "I don't know. I don't remember thinking about
 249.447 +anything. I'm just waiting for the gun."  
 249.448 +
 249.449 + Sonomi smiled, "And in the qualifying race, what were you thinking?"
 249.450 +
 249.451 +"That I wanted to beat Li-kun so bad. That I was so mad for what he
 249.452 +said about Tomoyo."
 249.453 +
 249.454 +"And how was your start?"
 249.455 +
 249.456 +Sakura stared at the ground and mumbled, "Awful. I missed the gun
 249.457 +and came out of the blocks last."
 249.458 +
 249.459 +Sonomi lifted the girl's downcast chin with gentle fingers. Verging
 249.460 +on tears again, she looked up into Sonomi's soft, blue eyes. Suddenly
 249.461 +the woman swept her up, hugging her tightly as she spoke,
 249.462 +
 249.463 +"Sakura chan, I know perfectly well how you want to protect Tomoyo,
 249.464 +and I love you for it. But," stooping by the standing girl, she
 249.465 +studied her face carefully, "you can't let thoughts and feelings
 249.466 +hamper you when you sprint, or you'll never run well. You have to let
 249.467 +them go, like dropping a heavy stone. Do you know when I ran my best
 249.468 +ever?"
 249.469 +
 249.470 +Sakura brightened, "Was that when you won the Nationals?"
 249.471 +
 249.472 +Sonomi nodded and smiled, "That's right. It was after your Mother
 249.473 +was married." At that thought, the smile left her, and she struggled
 249.474 +to keep her composure. "Sakura, when your Mother married, I
 249.475 +was...very, very sad. I felt I'd lost the one most precious to me. I
 249.476 +thought about her all the time."
 249.477 +
 249.478 +To herself she sighed, "I still do."
 249.479 +
 249.480 +"The only time I didn't think of her was when I ran. For just a few,
 249.481 +precious seconds, I forgot everything. There was only the running.
 249.482 +
 249.483 +Sakura, when you run, you can't think about Tomoyo, or what Li-kun
 249.484 +said, or anything else. You have to let everything go. When the gun
 249.485 +sounds, your body starts instinctively, without a trace of thought or
 249.486 +feeling. A sprint is over too quickly to let yourself be clouded by
 249.487 +emotions. My coach told me that when you run, your mind should be an
 249.488 +empty mirror in a dark room. Then the running happens all by itself,
 249.489 +and there is nothing to slow you down."
 249.490 +
 249.491 +She stood and smiled at the beautiful daughter of Nadesico, who
 249.492 +smiled back ever so sweetly. A gentle spring breeze swept past them,
 249.493 +their short hair teased in the sudden wind. There were times when
 249.494 +Sonomi sensed her cousin's presence in the things she had loved: rain
 249.495 +drops running in little rivers down the window, birds circling high
 249.496 +in a cloudless sky, and a breeze like this, playfully tossing her
 249.497 +long, gray-black hair. 
 249.498 +
 249.499 +"Sakura, let's work on your transition to a full run. I think your
 249.500 +final stride is a bit too long."
 249.501 +
 249.502 +The girl nodded eagerly, and the two walked away from the tree and
 249.503 +back to the track. The breeze died down as fast as it had come,
 249.504 +leaving Sonomi with a terrible longing. "Someday", she thought with
 249.505 +an aching heart, "someday. Wait for me, Nadesico, please wait for me."
 249.506 +
 249.507 +III.
 249.508 +When Sakura first caught a glimpse of Li kun she struggled with her
 249.509 +feelings and  pondered what to do. Afraid of upsetting herself before
 249.510 +the race, she decided to ignore him, and continued her warm ups in
 249.511 +the grassy field by the track. But the boy stood close by her, and
 249.512 +then coughed loudly, twice, all but demanding an audience. Sakura
 249.513 +turned towards him, waiting for his latest remarks. Instead, he
 249.514 +looked at the ground, obviously struggling with himself. Puzzled, she
 249.515 +said,
 249.516 +
 249.517 +“LI kun?”
 249.518 +
 249.519 +The boy clenched his fists tightly and forced the words out,
 249.520 +
 249.521 +“I….I’m sorry. Sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it.”
 249.522 +
 249.523 +He stood silent, waiting for whatever abuse she might hurl. But her
 249.524 +voice was gentle, overflowing with happiness,
 249.525 +
 249.526 +“Li kun, I know you didn’t mean what you said. It’s all right. But
 249.527 +thank you so much for telling me.”
 249.528 +
 249.529 +He looked up at her with pained eyes and saw that comforting smile.
 249.530 +A terrible burden suddenly and miraculously lifted from his
 249.531 +shoulders, he teeterd on the verge of tears. He almost smiled, but
 249.532 +flustered and obviously out of words, quickly ran off instead. Sakura
 249.533 +watched him go, and felt her own blessing of relief. Now she would
 249.534 +not have to run this race against anyone. But she would still run the
 249.535 +race for someone. With that realization, she heard Tomoyo’s voice on
 249.536 +the loudspeaker announcing the start of the 5th grade 100 meter dash.
 249.537 +
 249.538 +She walked to the starting line, scanning the crowd for familiar
 249.539 +faces. With delight she saw Oniichan, Yukito san and her father
 249.540 +waving from the stands. She waved back wildly, and then saw Sonomi
 249.541 +sama as well, and waved to her. Noticing the other runners, she
 249.542 +quickly went to her starting block and adjusted it. She felt a great
 249.543 +excitement, but also a wonderful sense of peace. Beaming, she turned
 249.544 +to Syaoran who was preparing in the lane next to her and said,
 249.545 +
 249.546 +“Li kun, let’s do our best, OK?”
 249.547 +
 249.548 +He blushed, and nodded silently while he fiddled with his blocks.
 249.549 +Terrada sensei, in his white and black stripped official’s uniform,
 249.550 +stood to one side and nodded. The eight runners stepped into their
 249.551 +lanes in front of the starting blocks. Sakura closed her eyes and
 249.552 +said a silent prayer,
 249.553 +
 249.554 +“Tomoyo chan, if I forget you, just for this race, please don’t ever
 249.555 +forget me.”
 249.556 +
 249.557 +With a deep breath, Sakura began to let everything go: the spring
 249.558 +sky, the other runners, the expectant audience. All things faded from
 249.559 +her mind: the fight with Li kun, the hours of training, her brother's
 249.560 +taunts, Yukito's kindness, her father's gentleness. Last was Tomoyo,
 249.561 +pale, serene, and ever smiling, her long, black hair blowing in some
 249.562 +distant wind. 
 249.563 +
 249.564 +"Go to your marks!"
 249.565 +
 249.566 +At Terrada sensei's booming call, she went to her position. Her left
 249.567 +leg rested on the ground, her right leg the power leg, brought
 249.568 +forward. Both feet set lightly on the starting blocks, and  her
 249.569 +fingers and thumbs formed little bridges on the white chalk starting
 249.570 +line. With her head down, her field of vision was reduced to a few
 249.571 +square inches of dirt. Her body felt utterly relaxed but alert,
 249.572 +awaiting the next call.
 249.573 +
 249.574 +"Set"
 249.575 +
 249.576 +In an instant, everything changed. She took a deep, quick breath as
 249.577 +her body arched up, hips raised slightly above the level of her
 249.578 +shoulders. Her weight shifted forward, head and neck leaning over the
 249.579 +white line. Her back foot lifted up slightly with only her toes on
 249.580 +the block, but her right, forward foot was flush to the block for
 249.581 +maximum thrust. She was still calm and relaxed, but the muscles in
 249.582 +her body sang out in electric expectation. Her concentration was
 249.583 +absolute, waiting, waiting, waiting...
 249.584 +
 249.585 +A deafening bang.
 249.586 +
 249.587 +At the retort of the gun her body pitched forward, fingers leaving
 249.588 +the ground and forming fists, one arm sweeping and one thrown back.
 249.589 +The muscles in her right leg exploded and thrust her body forward and
 249.590 +up. Her strides were short but powerful as her body gradually
 249.591 +straightened, while her eyes rasied and focused on the long, narrow
 249.592 +lane. By the fourth stride she was at a full run, arms moving piston-
 249.593 +like in quick, sharp bursts, stride lengthening as her leg speed
 249.594 +approached its limits. Her form was liquid smooth and flawless,
 249.595 +without extraneous motion to detract from the efficiency of her run.
 249.596 +Her head was straight and still, her knees lifting high to the front,
 249.597 +giving her the delightful look of a prancing horse. She saw only the
 249.598 +finish line, almost halfway there now, narrowing in a long, dark
 249.599 +tunnel. The darkness enveloped her as she reached her fastest speed,
 249.600 +then splintered in a shattering fountain of light.
 249.601 +
 249.602 +She saw her own body running, as though viewed from outside herself.
 249.603 +But not quite her body, for it was a luminous, pulsating figure that
 249.604 +illumined the darkness. Great strands of blue light flowed through
 249.605 +her arms and coiled through the air, pulling her ahead. Torrents of
 249.606 +yellow energy flooded through her legs with every stride.  Her body
 249.607 +hurtled forward, straining its earthly bounds as if taking flight. It
 249.608 +was exhilarating, captivating, and liberating. Ahead she saw the
 249.609 +finish line, bathed in a luminous white light. The radiance shimmered
 249.610 +with a gentle warmth, and she longed for it. In a sudden burst of
 249.611 +speed she accelerated, drawing closer and closer to the sparkling
 249.612 +brilliance. Nearly engulfed by the blazing light she suddenly
 249.613 +thought, what is it? And with that, great luminous shards fractured
 249.614 +about her as the world of Tomoeda tumbled back into place. 
 249.615 +
 249.616 +Blinking incomprehensibly, Sakura saw she had crossed the finish
 249.617 +line and was nearly at the end of the track. Dimly aware of the
 249.618 +tumult behind her she looked and saw the crowd of parents and
 249.619 +children jumping, clapping, and screaming. Dazed, she looked for a
 249.620 +familiar face and saw Mizuki-sensei with a stopwatch, comparing it
 249.621 +with a timer from another teacher. Terrada sensei jogged up from the
 249.622 +starting line, examined the stopwatches, then glanced at Sakura
 249.623 +incredulously. Again he looked, and shook his head in disbelief. The
 249.624 +other runners were congratulating Sakura, regarding her with
 249.625 +excitement and awe. Timidly, she made her way to Mizuki sensei, who
 249.626 +smiled and placed her hand gently on Sakura’s head. She felt a sudden
 249.627 +flash of the glow at the finish line, and a warm, bubbling happiness.
 249.628 +Tomoyo’s voice, with barely suppressed excitement,  came over the
 249.629 +loudspeaker, 
 249.630 +
 249.631 +“First place, 5th grade 100 meter dash, Kinomoto Sakura, 12.6
 249.632 +seconds, a new Tomoeda record. Second place Li Syaoran…”
 249.633 +
 249.634 +The wild cheering and clapping of the audience began again, drowning
 249.635 +out the rest of the announcement. Terrada sensei looked at her in
 249.636 +wonder and laughed, 
 249.637 +
 249.638 +“12.6, amazing. That would be a good time for a high school girl.
 249.639 +Nice run, Kinomoto.”
 249.640 +
 249.641 +Embarrassed, Sakura bowed her thanks. She scanned the crowd, looking
 249.642 +for family, and Sonomi, to invite her and Tomoyo for lunch.
 249.643 +
 249.644 +Lunch, prepared by her father, was wonderful. He brought a triple
 249.645 +portion for Yukito, who still finished his before anyone else,
 249.646 +including some of Tomoyo’s portion, which was graciously offered and
 249.647 +gratefully accepted. Sonomi, sitting by Sakura (and as far away from
 249.648 +her father as possible), looked askance and declared in an irritable
 249.649 +voice, 
 249.650 +
 249.651 +“Just as I would have expected, sensei. It’s excellent.” 
 249.652 +
 249.653 +After her father left for work and her brother and Yukito for class,
 249.654 +Sakura talked to Sonomi while Tomoyo went to wash up. When she
 249.655 +thanked her for all the time and effort, Sonomi smiled and shook her
 249.656 +head,
 249.657 +
 249.658 +“Sakura chan, it was delightful to be your coach. Your sprint today
 249.659 +was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. You did so well,
 249.660 +and I’m so proud.” 
 249.661 +
 249.662 +Sakura gazed up at her and felt the tears welling. She threw her
 249.663 +arms around Sonomi and hugged her tightly, as if she were fearful the
 249.664 +woman might suddenly vanish. Startled at first, Sonomi smiled and
 249.665 +hugged her back, fighting off tears of her own. At last Sakura
 249.666 +released her and bowed, asking in a trembling voice,
 249.667 +
 249.668 +“Sonomi sama, I… I don’t want to be a bother, and, if it wouldn’t be
 249.669 +too much trouble I’d understand, but if…if…could you please keep
 249.670 +being my coach?” 
 249.671 +
 249.672 +Sonomi laid her hand on the girls shoulder and spoke in a loving
 249.673 +voice,
 249.674 +
 249.675 +“Sakura chan, I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”
 249.676 +
 249.677 +Sakura’s smile was radiant.
 249.678 +
 249.679 +Walking home from school, Tomoyo spoke adoringly of Sakura’s
 249.680 +marvelous sprint. Sakura walked in silence as her friend talked
 249.681 +nonstop,
 249.682 +
 249.683 +“I only wish I had been able to design a special running outfit for
 249.684 +you. It was such a beautiful run! You were like an angel flying to
 249.685 +the stars, or a cheetah springing through the plains, or…”
 249.686 +
 249.687 +“Tomoyo chan.”
 249.688 +
 249.689 +“…or maybe a dolphin, but that would be swimming. Oh, you should
 249.690 +join the swim club, too! There are such wonderful patterns for cute
 249.691 +swimsuits, but I don’t know if…”
 249.692 +
 249.693 +“Tomoyo chan?”
 249.694 +
 249.695 +“…if you could wear them on the team. But I could, oh, I’m sorry,
 249.696 +Sakura chan.” Tomoyo covered her mouth as she giggled. Glancing up to
 249.697 +see Sakura’s troubled and uncertain look, Tomoyo suddenly stopped
 249.698 +short. Before she could ask, Sakura blurted out in a teary voice,
 249.699 +
 249.700 +“Tomoyo chan, I forgot about you today. Sonomi sama said I should
 249.701 +let everything go, and I did, and you were the last thing I thought
 249.702 +about, but I feel so bad that I forgot you like that. I know you
 249.703 +would never forget about me. I’m so sorry.” 
 249.704 +
 249.705 +Watching her sobbing friend and pained by her anguish, Tomoyo gently
 249.706 +took the girl’s hands and spoke with angelic sweetness,
 249.707 +
 249.708 +“Sakura chan, you don’t have to think about me all the time. There
 249.709 +are lots of wonderful things to think about. And I know that no
 249.710 +matter what you’re thinking, you love me, and that’s all that
 249.711 +matters.” 
 249.712 +
 249.713 +Breathing raggedly, Sakura gazed into Tomoyo’s luminous eyes. She
 249.714 +felt a sudden torrent of longing, the same that had drawn her to the
 249.715 +brilliant white light at the race’s finish. Sakura fell into Tomoyo’s
 249.716 +arms, the two girls clasped together amid smiles and tears. 
 249.717 +
 249.718 +And there they stood while the world spun round, two perfect lovers
 249.719 +in an ardent embrace. 
 249.720 +
 249.721 +
 249.722 +
 249.723 +
 249.724 +
 249.725 +
 249.726 +
 249.727 +
 249.728 +
 249.729 +
 249.730 +
 249.731 +
 249.732 +*Thanks to Heather of Amazoness Duo for the title
 249.733 +
 249.734 +
 249.735 +
 249.736 +
 249.737 +  
 249.738 +.
 249.739 +
 249.740 +
 249.741 +  
 249.742 +
 249.743 +
 249.744 +
 249.745 +
 249.746 +
 249.747 +
 249.748 +
 249.749 +
 249.750 +
 249.751 +   
 249.752 +
 249.753 +
 249.754 +
 249.755 +
 249.756 +
 249.757 +
 249.758 +
 249.759 +

   250.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   250.2 +++ b/stories/ccsnewlyweds.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   250.3 @@ -0,0 +1,783 @@
   250.4 +                         Kero-chan's Newlywed Game
   250.5 +                     As transcribed by Yukito no Miko
   250.6 +
   250.7 +           ------------------------------------------------------
   250.8 +
   250.9 +           Don't look for continuity, plot, or other things of
  250.10 +           that nature. Yes, I know the Newlywed Game is
  250.11 +           supposed to have four couples. I didn't feel like
  250.12 +           adding a fourth.
  250.13 +
  250.14 +           All things Sakura belong to CLAMP and Kodansha,
  250.15 +           though eventually they'll belong to the demon Mixx as
  250.16 +           well. Don't expect me to give them any credit.
  250.17 +           Bastards.
  250.18 +
  250.19 +           ------------------------------------------------------
  250.20 +
  250.21 +           Kero-chan: Konyanyachiwa!! This is a very special
  250.22 +           Kero-chan ni omakase no corner!! We're going to play
  250.23 +           Kero-chan's Newlywed Game, a very fun game invented
  250.24 +           by me, Cerberus! Of course, since I invented it, it'd
  250.25 +           have to be fun, right? I'm so cool! Now, let's meet
  250.26 +           our contestants!! Couple number one, come on down!
  250.27 +
  250.28 +           Yukito: Are? I thought the term was "Go down..."
  250.29 +
  250.30 +           Touya: *o_o*
  250.31 +
  250.32 +           *Yukito and Touya sit down*
  250.33 +
  250.34 +           Kero-chan: o_o;; Err. . . thank you, couple number
  250.35 +           one. Couple number two, come join us!
  250.36 +
  250.37 +           *Sakura and Tomoyo come out and sit down, amidst
  250.38 +           cheers from the yuri fangirls and boys and screams of
  250.39 +           horror from the Sakura/Syaoran fans. Tomoyo pulls out
  250.40 +           a video camera and starts recording*
  250.41 +
  250.42 +           All: ^_^;;
  250.43 +
  250.44 +           Sakura: Tomoyo-chan... this is already being recorded
  250.45 +           by the TV cameras...
  250.46 +
  250.47 +           Tomoyo: I know, but they might focus on someone other
  250.48 +           than Sakura-chan! ^_^
  250.49 +
  250.50 +           Sakura: ^.^;;
  250.51 +
  250.52 +           Kero-chan: Right! Let's put that aside! Couple number
  250.53 +           three, join us!
  250.54 +
  250.55 +           Syaoran: We are not a couple!!!
  250.56 +
  250.57 +           Eriol: Come on, koibito. ^_^
  250.58 +
  250.59 +           Syaoran: I am not your koibito! Let go of me!
  250.60 +
  250.61 +           *Eriol drags Syaoran to the third set of chairs and
  250.62 +           ties Syaoran to one of them, then cheerfully sits in
  250.63 +           the last chair*
  250.64 +
  250.65 +           Syaoran: Rai tei shou rai kyuu kyuu nyo ritsu ryo RAI
  250.66 +           GEKI!! *lightning travels from his sword to the
  250.67 +           chair, frying the ropes. Unfortunately, it also fries
  250.68 +           Syaoran. Eriol takes the opportunity to re-tie him.*
  250.69 +
  250.70 +           Eriol: If you don't wake up, we can't win the contest
  250.71 +           for the most loving newlyweds! ^_^
  250.72 +
  250.73 +           Syaoran: We're not married!!
  250.74 +
  250.75 +           Eriol: Of course we are, anata! ^_^
  250.76 +
  250.77 +           Syaoran: We're not, we're not!!
  250.78 +
  250.79 +           Eriol: Not even for the grand prize? ^_^
  250.80 +
  250.81 +           Syaoran: NO!!
  250.82 +
  250.83 +           Sakura: Ne, Kero-chan, what is the grand prize?
  250.84 +
  250.85 +           Kero-chan: An all-expense paid trip to China!
  250.86 +
  250.87 +           Syaoran: *freezes* You mean... I could finally find
  250.88 +           the Spring of Drowned Boy and end this terrible
  250.89 +           curse?!
  250.90 +
  250.91 +           All: O_o;;;;
  250.92 +
  250.93 +           Syaoran: Never mind... >_> <_<
  250.94 +
  250.95 +           Kero-chan: Err. . . right! Let's put that aside!
  250.96 +           First question is for the men!
  250.97 +
  250.98 +           *silence*
  250.99 +
 250.100 +           Kero-chan: *pause* Hmm. . . I guess that's a bit of a
 250.101 +           problem, isn't it? Okay! People on the left are the
 250.102 +           wives!
 250.103 +
 250.104 +           Eriol: I guess that's you, itoshii. ^_^
 250.105 +
 250.106 +           Syaoran: We're not married!!
 250.107 +
 250.108 +           Yukito: Does this mean you're going to wear a dress
 250.109 +           for me, To-ya? ^_^
 250.110 +
 250.111 +           Touya: . . . . . maybe later. . . . . .
 250.112 +
 250.113 +           Kero-chan: . . . Okay! First question! "What is your
 250.114 +           wife's biggest turn-on?" Couple number one, you can
 250.115 +           start us out!
 250.116 +
 250.117 +           Yukito: Oh, that's easy! It's when I wear my bunny
 250.118 +           suit! ^_^
 250.119 +
 250.120 +           Kero-chan: Wife number one?
 250.121 +
 250.122 +           *Touya holds up sign that says, "When Yuki wears his
 250.123 +           bunny suit."*
 250.124 +
 250.125 +           Kero-chan: Good job! Couple number one has one point!
 250.126 +           Couple number two?
 250.127 +
 250.128 +           Sakura: Umm... recording us--
 250.129 +
 250.130 +           Kero-chan: That's enough of an answer!! Wife number
 250.131 +           two?
 250.132 +
 250.133 +           *Tomoyo holds up a sign that says, "When Sakura-chan
 250.134 +           wears my costumes." Sakura looks crestfallen*
 250.135 +
 250.136 +           Kero-chan: Oh, that's too bad! But we still have lots
 250.137 +           of questions to go, so don't lose hope yet! Couple
 250.138 +           number three, what turns your wife on the most?
 250.139 +
 250.140 +           Eriol: Feathers. ^_^
 250.141 +
 250.142 +           Kero-chan: Wife number three?
 250.143 +
 250.144 +           *Syaoran holds up a sign that says, "I'm not his
 250.145 +           wife. (feathers)"*
 250.146 +
 250.147 +           Kero-chan: Good job! Next question! "Which of
 250.148 +           Sakura's battle costumes is cutest?"
 250.149 +
 250.150 +           Yukito: Her whats?
 250.151 +
 250.152 +           *Touya holds up sign: "Her whats?"*
 250.153 +
 250.154 +           Kero-chan: I guess that counts. . . Couple number one
 250.155 +           has two points! Couple number two?
 250.156 +
 250.157 +           Sakura: All of them.
 250.158 +
 250.159 +           *Tomoyo holds up a sign that reads, "All of them are
 250.160 +           cute when Sakura-chan wears them!"*
 250.161 +
 250.162 +           All: ^_^;;
 250.163 +
 250.164 +           Kero-chan: I guess couple number two has one point!
 250.165 +           But doesn't anyone think my costumes are the cutest?
 250.166 +           Couple number three, what's your answer?
 250.167 +
 250.168 +           Eriol: If I say your costumes, will we get an extra
 250.169 +           point? ^_^
 250.170 +
 250.171 +           Kero-chan: Yes.
 250.172 +
 250.173 +           Sakura: Kero-chan, that's not fair!!
 250.174 +
 250.175 +           Kero-chan: Yeah, well that's why it's my show and not
 250.176 +           yours. Couple number three?
 250.177 +
 250.178 +           Eriol: Kero-chan's costumes. ^_^
 250.179 +
 250.180 +           *Syaoran holds up a sign that says, "The rubber kitty
 250.181 +           suit"*
 250.182 +
 250.183 +           Kero-chan: Well, you got it wrong but you get a point
 250.184 +           anyways! Good job!
 250.185 +
 250.186 +           Eriol: *smirk* ^_^
 250.187 +
 250.188 +           Sakura: *scowl*
 250.189 +
 250.190 +           Kero-chan: Going onto question three, couple number
 250.191 +           one has two points, couple number two has one point,
 250.192 +           and couple number three has two points! Question
 250.193 +           three is "I like a girl who has a sense of humor.
 250.194 +           Tell me your favorite joke."
 250.195 +
 250.196 +           *silence*
 250.197 +
 250.198 +           Kero-chan: Oops! Wrong questions!! Hahahahaha. . .
 250.199 +           *throws cards backstage* The real question number
 250.200 +           three is around here somewhere. . .
 250.201 +
 250.202 +           *Spinel hands him a set of cards*
 250.203 +
 250.204 +           Kero-chan: Thanks! Okay, question number three: "I'm
 250.205 +           a fool and I consort with goat--" HEY!! These aren't
 250.206 +           the questions!!
 250.207 +
 250.208 +           Suppi: *smirk*
 250.209 +
 250.210 +           *Kero-chan digs around backstage and finally comes up
 250.211 +           with some questions, hopefully the right ones*
 250.212 +
 250.213 +           Kero-chan: Okay! I think these are the right ones!
 250.214 +           "If your wife was an alarm clock, how would she wake
 250.215 +           you up?" Couple number one?
 250.216 +
 250.217 +           Yukito: I'm not sure that I want to say it on
 250.218 +           television...
 250.219 +
 250.220 +           Kero-chan: You have to or you don't get the point.
 250.221 +
 250.222 +           *Yukito walks over to Kero-chan and the panel of
 250.223 +           judges and starts whispering to them. Time passes.
 250.224 +           More time passes. Nakuru, the backstage crew, falls
 250.225 +           asleep*
 250.226 +
 250.227 +           Kero-chan: Okay, that's enough. **O_O** Wife number
 250.228 +           one, what did you put?
 250.229 +
 250.230 +           *Touya hands him a thick stack of paper*
 250.231 +
 250.232 +           Kero-chan: What the. . . this is the Starr report!
 250.233 +
 250.234 +           Touya: Stapled underneath is the kama sutra.
 250.235 +
 250.236 +           Kero-chan: ***O_O***
 250.237 +
 250.238 +           Kero-chan: Ahem. Judges, will we accept those
 250.239 +           answers?
 250.240 +
 250.241 +           Terada-sensei: Yeah, I guess so.
 250.242 +
 250.243 +           Kero-chan: What about the other judges?
 250.244 +
 250.245 +           *no answer. Sonomi is still taking notes and Fujitaka
 250.246 +           has his hands over his ears*
 250.247 +
 250.248 +           Fujitaka: You're talking about my SON!!
 250.249 +
 250.250 +           Kero-chan: *sweatdrop* I guess we'll count it, then.
 250.251 +           . . Couple number two?
 250.252 +
 250.253 +           Sakura: She'd let me sleep and record it.
 250.254 +
 250.255 +           Kero-chan: I'm afraid that's not a valid answer.
 250.256 +
 250.257 +           Tomoyo: But that's what I put. . . *holds up sign
 250.258 +           that says, "Let Sakura-chan rest and record her
 250.259 +           sleeping face"*
 250.260 +
 250.261 +           All: ^_^;;
 250.262 +
 250.263 +           Kero-chan: Judges?
 250.264 +
 250.265 +           *the judges confer, with Sonomi doing most of the
 250.266 +           talking*
 250.267 +
 250.268 +           Terada-sensei: She's--
 250.269 +
 250.270 +           Sonomi: WE've.
 250.271 +
 250.272 +           Terada-sensei: We've decided to accept that answer.
 250.273 +
 250.274 +           Sonomi: Good. Couple number three?
 250.275 +
 250.276 +           Kero-chan: Hey, I'm supposed to say that! Couple
 250.277 +           number three?
 250.278 +
 250.279 +           Eriol: If he found me sleeping he'd take the
 250.280 +           opportunity to try and kill me. ^_^
 250.281 +
 250.282 +           Kero-chan: Maybe he's not as dumb as I thought. Well,
 250.283 +           kid? How would you wake him up?
 250.284 +
 250.285 +           *Syaoran holds up a sign that says, "With a mallet"*
 250.286 +
 250.287 +           Kero-chan: We'll accept that answer because I like
 250.288 +           it. Round two after these commercial messages!
 250.289 +
 250.290 +           *silence*
 250.291 +
 250.292 +           Kero-chan: Nakuru! Run the commercials!
 250.293 +
 250.294 +           Nakuru: *wakes up* Hmm?
 250.295 +
 250.296 +           Kero-chan: The commercials, the commercials!!
 250.297 +
 250.298 +           Nakuru: Oh, right!! ^_^
 250.299 +
 250.300 +           Kero-chan: -_-;;
 250.301 +
 250.302 +           *fade to commercial*
 250.303 +
 250.304 +           <eyecatch>
 250.305 +
 250.306 +           ********************
 250.307 +
 250.308 +           Kaho: Hello. Have you been feeling down? Like you
 250.309 +           don't know where your life is going?
 250.310 +
 250.311 +           Yamazaki: *dramatically* How did you know?!
 250.312 +
 250.313 +           Kaho: I know everything. Which is why you should call
 250.314 +           Kaho's Psychic Hotline. We'll tell you your destiny
 250.315 +           in convoluted half-truths that you'll later convince
 250.316 +           yourself were useful predictions and not a waste of
 250.317 +           399 yen a minute.
 250.318 +
 250.319 +           Yue: Kaho told me that my destiny would soon come to
 250.320 +           an impasse. I realize now that she was talking about
 250.321 +           Yukito getting mad when I got with Touya.
 250.322 +
 250.323 +           Ruby Moon: Kaho told me that the inner battle between
 250.324 +           the ying and yang of masculinity and femininity
 250.325 +           causes an imbalance in the psyche. Boy, was she
 250.326 +           right!
 250.327 +
 250.328 +           Kaho: So call today, and spend hours trying to puzzle
 250.329 +           out your destiny!
 250.330 +
 250.331 +           1-800-ASK-KAHO
 250.332 +
 250.333 +           Yamazaki: *even more dramatically* How DOES she DO
 250.334 +           it?!
 250.335 +
 250.336 +           ********************
 250.337 +
 250.338 +           *a blond girl in jeans and a t-shirt with "YnM"
 250.339 +           emblazoned across the chest comes out. Needless to
 250.340 +           say, it's YnM in her one and probably only
 250.341 +           self-insertation ever.*
 250.342 +
 250.343 +           YnM: Hello, everyone. I just wanted to say support me
 250.344 +           in my hostile takeover of the universe. YnM for
 250.345 +           empress. Yay.
 250.346 +
 250.347 +           *walks off*
 250.348 +
 250.349 +           Tamahome: I support her!
 250.350 +
 250.351 +           Duo: That's because she paid you, dude.
 250.352 +
 250.353 +           *fade out*
 250.354 +
 250.355 +           <eyecatch>
 250.356 +
 250.357 +           Kero-chan: Konyanyachiwa!! Have you been brushing
 250.358 +           your teeth? Good! If you haven't your parents might
 250.359 +           not let you keep watching the hit new show,
 250.360 +           Kero-chan's Newlywed Game! We're back with out three
 250.361 +           couples! Now it's time for the wives to answer the
 250.362 +           questions. Our first question is, "What is the
 250.363 +           strangest place you have ever--" *turns red* Who
 250.364 +           worded this?
 250.365 +
 250.366 +           *Nakuru waves*
 250.367 +
 250.368 +           Kero-chan: -_-;; "What is the strangest place you
 250.369 +           have ever *mumbles*
 250.370 +
 250.371 +           Sakura: I didn't even know that was a term for it...
 250.372 +
 250.373 +           Tomoyo: I did.
 250.374 +
 250.375 +           All: ^_^;;
 250.376 +
 250.377 +           Kero-chan: o_o; Husband number one, what do you think
 250.378 +           wife number one put?
 250.379 +
 250.380 +           Touya: *thinks* In King Penguin?
 250.381 +
 250.382 +           Kero-chan: >_< Now that that image is in our heads,
 250.383 +           what did wife number one put?
 250.384 +
 250.385 +           *Yukito holds up a sign that says, "In the meat
 250.386 +           freezer at the supermarket." Everyone who had meat in
 250.387 +           the previous month starts gagging*
 250.388 +
 250.389 +           Yukito: I thought we weren't going to tell anyone
 250.390 +           about King Penguin, To-ya...
 250.391 +
 250.392 +           Touya: We weren't going to tell anyone about the
 250.393 +           freezer thing either.
 250.394 +
 250.395 +           Yukito: Oops... but at least neither of us mentioned
 250.396 +           the--
 250.397 +
 250.398 +        2  *Touya claps a hand over his mouth. Yukito bites him*  6
 250.399 +
 250.400 +           Touya: Ow! Don't do that!
 250.401 +
 250.402 +           Yukito: You started it...
 250.403 +
 250.404 +           Touya: I want you to touch me gently...
 250.405 +
 250.406 +           Yukito: Later, when we're alone.
 250.407 +
 250.408 +           *rose petals blow across the stage*
 250.409 +
 250.410 +           All: o_O;;
 250.411 +
 250.412 +           Kero-chan: Moving onto couple number two... as
 250.413 +           quickly as possible...
 250.414 +
 250.415 +           Tomoyo: Hoeeeee...
 250.416 +
 250.417 +           Kero-chan: What?
 250.418 +
 250.419 +           Tomoyo: That's what Sakura-chan put.
 250.420 +
 250.421 +           *Sakura holds up a sign that simply says, "HOEEEEE!"
 250.422 +           and has a drawing of a furiously blushing Sakura*
 250.423 +
 250.424 +           Kero-chan: Judges, will we accept that answer?
 250.425 +
 250.426 +           *Sonomi and Terada-sensei confer. Fujitaka's still
 250.427 +           covering his ears*
 250.428 +
 250.429 +           Terada-sensei: She says we should.
 250.430 +
 250.431 +           Kero-chan: Next time I want unbiased judges...
 250.432 +
 250.433 +           Sonomi: I'm not biased.
 250.434 +
 250.435 +           Kero-chan: Err... of course not. Let's put that
 250.436 +           aside. Couple number three, dare I ask?
 250.437 +
 250.438 +           Syaoran: *slightly green* We NEVER [censored]!!!
 250.439 +
 250.440 +           Nakuru: Wow, even I didn't know that was a term for
 250.441 +           it.
 250.442 +
 250.443 +           Tomoyo: I did.
 250.444 +
 250.445 +           All: o_o;
 250.446 +
 250.447 +           *Eriol holds up his "He'll deny our many nights of
 250.448 +           passion. ^_^" sign*
 250.449 +
 250.450 +           Sakura: Eriol-kun, you're really good! I bet you make
 250.451 +           your wife very happy!
 250.452 +
 250.453 +           Syaoran: I'm not his wife!!
 250.454 +
 250.455 +           Kero-chan: -_-;; Let's move on to the next question,
 250.456 +           shall we? This one's multiple choice, so we don't
 250.457 +           have to worry about inappropriate answers. "How would
 250.458 +           you describe your honeymoon: Relaxing, Exciting, or
 250.459 +           Boring?"
 250.460 +
 250.461 +           Audience: Ooooooooo...
 250.462 +
 250.463 +           Kero-chan: Couple number one, start us off.
 250.464 +
 250.465 +           Touya: Relaxing.
 250.466 +
 250.467 +           *Yukito's sign: "Relaxing. Very"*
 250.468 +
 250.469 +           Kero-chan: *breaths a sigh of relief* Thanks for not
 250.470 +           elaborat--
 250.471 +
 250.472 +           Yukito: After all, we didn't leave bed all week...
 250.473 +
 250.474 +           Kero-chan: Too much information!
 250.475 +
 250.476 +           Touya: We realized the dangers of the hot tub pretty
 250.477 +           quickly...
 250.478 +
 250.479 +           Kero-chan: *attempts to cover ears* Ack!
 250.480 +
 250.481 +           *Touya and Yukito shrug*
 250.482 +
 250.483 +           Kero-chan: Next! Next!
 250.484 +
 250.485 +           Tomoyo: Exciting.
 250.486 +
 250.487 +           *Sakura holds up a sign with "Exciting" written in
 250.488 +           big letters*
 250.489 +
 250.490 +           Kero-chan: Moving on before you try and explain your
 250.491 +           answer...
 250.492 +
 250.493 +           Sakura: *blushes* It's not like THAT! We traveled
 250.494 +           around and ate lots of oishii cakes and things.
 250.495 +
 250.496 +           Kero-chan: Ack! Too much-- *pause* I guess that's
 250.497 +           okay... *pause again* Without me?! ;_;
 250.498 +
 250.499 +           Sakura: We weren't going to tell you about it...
 250.500 +
 250.501 +           Kero-chan: Couple number three! Please end this
 250.502 +           question!
 250.503 +
 250.504 +           Syaoran: We had no honeymoon because WE'RE NOT
 250.505 +           MARRIED!!!!
 250.506 +
 250.507 +           Eriol holds up his sign, which says, "He'll deny the
 250.508 +           very existence of our honeymoon, including the nights
 250.509 +           of endless pleasure we spent, sweaty bodies
 250.510 +           intertwined--" and brakes off where he ran out of
 250.511 +           room to write*
 250.512 +
 250.513 +           *Syaoran turns bright green and rushes for the
 250.514 +           bathroom. After having lost the better part of his
 250.515 +           lunch, he returns and sits back down*
 250.516 +
 250.517 +           Sakura: Syaoran-kun, why didn't you take that
 250.518 +           opportunity to escape?
 250.519 +
 250.520 +           Syaoran: O_O! <--- didn't think of it
 250.521 +
 250.522 +           *Eriol, by this time, has re-tied him*
 250.523 +
 250.524 +           Syaoran: >:/
 250.525 +
 250.526 +           Eriol: There, there, muffin. They know you just don't
 250.527 +           want to leave my side.
 250.528 +
 250.529 +           Sakura: Yeah, that'd be a good reason.
 250.530 +
 250.531 +           Syaoran: But... but...
 250.532 +
 250.533 +           Eriol: Why else would I risk untiing him so he could
 250.534 +           deal with his morning sickness?
 250.535 +
 250.536 +           Syaoran: Wha...?
 250.537 +
 250.538 +           Tomoyo: *claps hands* Syaoran-kun will make a
 250.539 +           wonderful mother!
 250.540 +
 250.541 +           Syaoran: I'M NOT PREGNANT!!
 250.542 +
 250.543 +           Eriol: If it's a boy we'll name him Clow.
 250.544 +
 250.545 +           Syaoran: AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! *passes
 250.546 +           out*
 250.547 +
 250.548 +           Eriol: *pats his hand* There, there, love. *to
 250.549 +           others* His constitution is a bit frail. Please, feel
 250.550 +           free to move onto the next question.
 250.551 +
 250.552 +           Kero-chan: Thanks. Final question: *pause* *shudder*
 250.553 +           "What bedroom fantasy have you acted out that should
 250.554 +           have remained a fantasy?" ...couple number one,
 250.555 +           please answer as briefly and undescriptively as
 250.556 +           possible.
 250.557 +
 250.558 +           Touya: Well, there was this one time when Yuki wanted
 250.559 +           to try it while skydiving-- wait, I want to change my
 250.560 +           answer. When we tried it underwater. He almost
 250.561 +           drowned and there were all these fish staring at
 250.562 +           us...
 250.563 +
 250.564 +           Kero-chan: *begins twitching* No more... no more...
 250.565 +
 250.566 +           Yukito: They're your questions. *holds up sign that
 250.567 +           says simply, "Star Wars"*
 250.568 +
 250.569 +           Touya: That wasn't THAT bad, was it?
 250.570 +
 250.571 +           Yukito: Oh, it was FINE for you. YOU didn't have to
 250.572 +           be Leia.
 250.573 +
 250.574 +           Touya: Gomen ne, Yuki. I didn't know. *clasps
 250.575 +           Yukito's hand*
 250.576 +
 250.577 +           Yukito: *big dewey eyes* To-ya...
 250.578 +
 250.579 +           *they start necking*
 250.580 +
 250.581 +           Audience: Wooooooooooooooooooo!!
 250.582 +
 250.583 +           Kero-chan: Not on the air! Not on the air! This is
 250.584 +           network television!! Couple number two, at least get
 250.585 +           the cameras off them!
 250.586 +
 250.587 +           Tomoyo: Well, one time we used the Clow Cards to--
 250.588 +
 250.589 +           Kero-chan: I think that's enough of an answer.
 250.590 +           Sakura?
 250.591 +
 250.592 +           *Sakura holds up a sign that says "Clow Cards" on it*
 250.593 +
 250.594 +           Kero-chan: Good job, couple number two. That puts you
 250.595 +           up to five points. Couple number one has four points,
 250.596 +           and couple number three has five or six points,
 250.597 +           depending on whether or not they get this one right.
 250.598 +           Couple number three?
 250.599 +
 250.600 +           Syaoran: *slowly regaining consciousness* Bedroom
 250.601 +           fantasies my @$$!!
 250.602 +
 250.603 +           Eriol: Careful, darling. They say babies can hear
 250.604 +           what you say even before they're born. We don't want
 250.605 +           our bundle of joy to grow up with a potty mouth. ^_^
 250.606 +
 250.607 +           Syaoran: WHAT bundle of joy?!
 250.608 +
 250.609 +           Kero-chan: Hey, husband number three! Sign!
 250.610 +
 250.611 +           *Eriol holds up his sign, which quoth, "He'll be too
 250.612 +           embarrassed about how he looked as a meter maid even
 250.613 +           to mention it. ^_^"*
 250.614 +
 250.615 +           Kero-chan: Judges?
 250.616 +
 250.617 +           Fujitaka: I get to decide since I listened to this
 250.618 +           one!
 250.619 +
 250.620 +           *the other judges shrug*
 250.621 +
 250.622 +           Fujitaka: Okay... it counts.
 250.623 +
 250.624 +           *silence*
 250.625 +
 250.626 +           Fujitaka: I don't get applause?
 250.627 +
 250.628 +           All: -_-;;
 250.629 +
 250.630 +           Kero-chan: Now, since that's resolved... Going into
 250.631 +           the bonus round, couple three is in the lead,
 250.632 +           followed by couple two and couple one. The bonus
 250.633 +           question is worth five points, so any of our
 250.634 +           contestants could win. The bonus question is: "If
 250.635 +           your husband had to sum up your sex drive in one
 250.636 +           word, it would be [blank]" *pause* Oh, I can't WAIT
 250.637 +           to hear these answers. *wince*
 250.638 +
 250.639 +           Touya: Slow.
 250.640 +
 250.641 +           Kero-chan: You expect me to believe that after what
 250.642 +           I've heard today?
 250.643 +
 250.644 +           Touya: Well, compared to his...
 250.645 +
 250.646 +           *Yukito holds up a sign that says, "Well, it is kind
 250.647 +           of slow...", which isn't really one word. Did
 250.648 +           everyone catch that? Good! The judges didn't, and
 250.649 +           they got a point anyways*
 250.650 +
 250.651 +           Kero-chan: Couple number one is now in the lead with
 250.652 +           9 points, though that's not conclusive in the least,
 250.653 +           since no one else has answered the bonus question.
 250.654 +           Couple number two, your move.
 250.655 +
 250.656 +           Tomoyo: Creative!
 250.657 +
 250.658 +           *Sakura holds up her sign: "Kinky"*
 250.659 +
 250.660 +           Kero-chan: Judges?
 250.661 +
 250.662 +           *brief but amusing judge conference, which includes
 250.663 +           Sonomi jumping on the table and demanding justice*
 250.664 +
 250.665 +           Kero-chan: Have you reached a decision?
 250.666 +
 250.667 +           Terada-sensei: We'll accept it. *cowers under
 250.668 +           Sonomi's glare*
 250.669 +
 250.670 +           Kero-chan: Okay! Couple number two is now in first
 250.671 +           place! Couple number three, final question, final
 250.672 +           answer. How would your husband sum up your sex drive?
 250.673 +
 250.674 +           Syaoran: When it comes to him, non-existent.
 250.675 +
 250.676 +           *Eriol holds up his sign: "Since he's embarrassed
 250.677 +           about the fact that he likes to [censored] like
 250.678 +           bunnies...*
 250.679 +
 250.680 +           Nakuru: Oooh, more new vocabulary! *writes down*
 250.681 +
 250.682 +           Yukito: Is that a personal remark?
 250.683 +
 250.684 +           *"...he'll pretend that he's as innocent as a
 250.685 +           schoolgirl"*
 250.686 +
 250.687 +           *Everyone looks at Terada-sensei*
 250.688 +
 250.689 +           Terada-sensei: *o_o* Schoolgirl! Right! Innocent!
 250.690 +           *cough cough* That's what he said, all right! That
 250.691 +           answer counts! Moving on, moving on!!
 250.692 +
 250.693 +           Kero-chan: Then, I guess couple number three wins.
 250.694 +           Congratulations, kid, you're going to a fabulous
 250.695 +           second honeymoon in China!
 250.696 +
 250.697 +           Syaoran: But I LIVE in China! How is that a vacation?
 250.698 +
 250.699 +           Announcer (Yamazaki-kun): You've won an all-expense
 250.700 +           paid trip to the beauuuuuutiful land of China, where
 250.701 +           you'll enjoy--
 250.702 +
 250.703 +           Syaoran: Who says I'll enjoy it?!
 250.704 +
 250.705 +           Yamazaki-kun: The announcement.
 250.706 +
 250.707 +           Syaoran: Why should I believe it?
 250.708 +
 250.709 +           Yamazaki-kun: Because it was written by Kaho's
 250.710 +           Psychic Hotline.
 250.711 +
 250.712 +           Syaoran: Really?
 250.713 +
 250.714 +           Yamazaki-kun: Of course! Would I lie to you?
 250.715 +
 250.716 +           Syaoran: Then. . . I guess. . . I should go? *looks
 250.717 +           disgusted*
 250.718 +
 250.719 +           Yamazaki-kun: Of course! Kaho's Psychic Hotline is
 250.720 +           never wrong! You know, psychic hotlines were first
 250.721 +           invented in ancient Greece, when too many people
 250.722 +           wanted to use the Oracle.
 250.723 +
 250.724 +           Syaoran: Really?
 250.725 +
 250.726 +           Chiharu-chan: *twitch twitch* Hey. . .
 250.727 +
 250.728 +           Yamazaki-kun: Time to go! *runs away, followed
 250.729 +           closely by Chiharu-chan*
 250.730 +
 250.731 +           Chiharu-chan: Get back here, you!...
 250.732 +
 250.733 +           Syaoran: I don't know about this...
 250.734 +
 250.735 +           Eriol: Come on, dear. The vacation will relive
 250.736 +           stress, and everyone knows future mothers should
 250.737 +           avoid stress.
 250.738 +
 250.739 +           Syaoran: *grumbles*
 250.740 +
 250.741 +           *Eriol drags him offstage to go catch their plane.
 250.742 +           Touya and Yukito are still sucking face. Nakuru
 250.743 +           throws a blanket over them. Tomoyo is videotaping
 250.744 +           Sakura*
 250.745 +
 250.746 +           Tomoyo: Your sad face is kawaii too!
 250.747 +
 250.748 +           Sakura: ^.^;;
 250.749 +
 250.750 +           Kero-chan: Well, it seems we ended a little earlier
 250.751 +           than expected. But that's okay, because--
 250.752 +
 250.753 +           Meiling: I'll be singing for you! Everyone agrees
 250.754 +           that I have the best singing voice!
 250.755 +
 250.756 +           Kero-chan: That wasn't quite--
 250.757 +
 250.758 +           Meiling: *sings* ~David Duchovny, why won't you love
 250.759 +           me~
 250.760 +
 250.761 +           Kero-chan: Just roll next week's previews.
 250.762 +
 250.763 +           ~~Next time on Kero-chan's Newlywed Game~~
 250.764 +
 250.765 +           Kero-chan: "If you didn't exist and your wife had to
 250.766 +           choose one of these people to marry, who would they
 250.767 +           choose?"
 250.768 +
 250.769 +           *Dr. J and Relena walk out*
 250.770 +
 250.771 +           Duo: *looks nauseated* I think he'd choose Relena...
 250.772 +
 250.773 +           Heero: That's the purpose of the self-destruct
 250.774 +           system.
 250.775 +
 250.776 +           ~~end clip~~
 250.777 +
 250.778 +           Meiling: ~I hold it in as best I can / I know I'm
 250.779 +           just another fan~
 250.780 +
 250.781 +           Kero-chan: See you next week, everyone! Honana!
 250.782 +
 250.783 +           Meiling: ~And I can't wait anymore for him to
 250.784 +           discover me / I've got it bad for David Duchovny!...~
 250.785 +
 250.786 +           *fade out*
 250.787 \ No newline at end of file

   251.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   251.2 +++ b/stories/ccssmile.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   251.3 @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
   251.4 +Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. They are the property of their respective owners (CLAMP...etc.).
   251.5 +   The song is by Lonestar and the lyrics belong to the songwriters. PLEASE do not post my fan fics without my
   251.6 +                                           permission!
   251.7 +
   251.8 +                                          Songfic: Smile
   251.9 +                                          by samuraiheart
  251.10 +
  251.11 +Notes: This is from Tomoyo's point of view. The song lyrics are in italics
  251.12 +
  251.13 +
  251.14 +
  251.15 +I still remember the night we met
  251.16 +You said you loved my smile 
  251.17 +
  251.18 +I've known Sakura for so long. I can't imagine what my world would be like without her. Somehow I always imagined we'd be
  251.19 +together forever. I love her very much and I hope she understands that. I've told her a thousand times in the way I look at her,
  251.20 +the things I say to her, the things I do for her and the way I smile. She's always loved my smile. 
  251.21 +
  251.22 +But your love for me was like a summer breeze
  251.23 +Oh it lasted for a while 
  251.24 +
  251.25 +We went through so much together as she fought to save the world from disaster. I was always there by her side - cheering her
  251.26 +on. I cherish every moment I've spent in her presence. It's a shame that videotape can't always capture it all, but I remember. I
  251.27 +could never forget - the thrill of being near Sakura just for a few moments is enough to last a lifetime. It is enough for me just to
  251.28 +have those memories. At least I can keep telling myself that. I know a part of her will always love me even if she never says it.
  251.29 +We are best friends and we can never lose that special bond. It's hard for me to admit that it will never grow into more than
  251.30 +that. 
  251.31 +
  251.32 +I could hold on a little tighter I know
  251.33 +But when you love someone
  251.34 +You gotta let em go 
  251.35 +
  251.36 +I know she loves Shaolan and I don't want to stand in her way. I want her to be happy more than anything else and I know
  251.37 +they belong together. Sakura promises me that we will never lose touch and I believe her. I would follow her to the ends of the
  251.38 +earth to make sure of it. I will always be the one she can come to when she needs a friend. Her friendship means so much to
  251.39 +me that I can push aside my broken heart so she won't see the tears. 
  251.40 +
  251.41 +So I'm gonna smile
  251.42 +Cause I wanna make you happy
  251.43 +Laugh so you can't see me cry
  251.44 +I'm gonna let you go in style
  251.45 +And even if it kills me
  251.46 +I'm gonna smile 
  251.47 +
  251.48 +I smile when I see them together. I can't help it. Making Sakura happy matters more to me than any ache in my own soul. I can
  251.49 +shed my tears alone in the darkness, but I can never let Sakura see. Mine are tears of emptiness and loneliness, but not
  251.50 +sadness. I am happy for Sakura and I smile so that she will know this. I want nothing more than to make Sakura happy and I
  251.51 +don't think could live with myself if I was ever responsible for a single tear on her beautiful cheek. I know that if I told her how
  251.52 +much I loved her she would have to make a horrible choice and I'm not sure I could live with her decision. It's better this way.
  251.53 +I can hold it inside and she can go on with her life. 
  251.54 +
  251.55 +Kiss me once for the good times baby
  251.56 +Kiss me twice for goodbye 
  251.57 +
  251.58 +I stand before her now not sure what to do. I must say goodbye and let go of all my hopes and dreams. It's just another day to
  251.59 +her. We will see each other tomorrow at school she reminds me as I struggle with the word goodbye. My voice cracks and
  251.60 +shakes a little. Yes. I know I say, but my thoughts echo with the words it will never be the same. I blink back tears and hope
  251.61 +she doesn't notice. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I know I have to do it for her. Everything I do is for her.
  251.62 +As she turns away a sudden impulse hits me and I shout "SAKURA!" She turns around and looks at me puzzled. I run to her
  251.63 +and throw my arms around her hugging her tightly. She returns the hug as I whisper in her ear "thanks for everything" Sakura
  251.64 +pauses for a moment as our eyes meet. I try to hide my sadness, but I see my reflection in her sparkling eyes. For a moment I
  251.65 +wonder if she understands as she kisses me softly on the cheek. "Goodbye Tomoyo... I'll see you in school." Two hands part
  251.66 +and mine remains outstretched reaching for something I can never have. 
  251.67 +
  251.68 +You can't help how you don't feel
  251.69 +And it doesn't matter why
  251.70 +Give me a chance to bow out gracefully
  251.71 +Cause that's how I want you to remember me 
  251.72 +
  251.73 +I watch her walk away and let out a deep breath I didn't realize I was holding in. This is for the best, I remind myself. We will
  251.74 +always be friends and I will always be hers even if she can't be mine. 
  251.75 +
  251.76 +I'm gonna smile
  251.77 +Cause I wanna make you happy
  251.78 +Laugh so you can't see me cry
  251.79 +I'm gonna let you go in style
  251.80 +And Even if it kills me
  251.81 +I'm gonna smile 
  251.82 +
  251.83 +At the end of the street she turns around. At first I am embarrassed that I am still standing there, but my patience earns me a
  251.84 +precious gift as Sakura smiles brightly and waves at me before turning around and rushing home. I smile and return the wave.
  251.85 +The image will stay with me always as an unspoken acceptance of my hidden promise to her. I will always love you, but you
  251.86 +must find your own love. Go and be happy Sakura. You deserve it more than anyone else in this world. More than me. 
  251.87 +
  251.88 +I'm gonna smile
  251.89 +So you can find the courage
  251.90 +Laugh so you won't see me hurting
  251.91 +I'm gonna let you go in style
  251.92 +And even if it kills me
  251.93 +I'm gonna smile 
  251.94 +
  251.95 +Please ignore the tears on my cheeks because I am smiling.

   252.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   252.2 +++ b/stories/ccstomodfinl.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   252.3 @@ -0,0 +1,272 @@
   252.4 +Hello everyone! ^-^ This is our first Card Captor Sakura and its also our first 
   252.5 +real depressing story, but please stick it out till the end. ^^; We really hope you 
   252.6 +enjoy this. ^^ We’d love to know what you think so please e-mail us at:
   252.7 + amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
   252.8 +We’d like to write more CCS stories (we’re working on a more lighthearted one
   252.9 +already) so hopefully we’ll actually get around to them sometime soon. ^^; 
  252.10 +Tomoyo and Sakura are just so cute together. ^=^ 
  252.11 +
  252.12 +
  252.13 +Fallen Horses
  252.14 +
  252.15 +By Amazoness Duo
  252.16 +
  252.17 +
  252.18 +Tomoyo clutched the blade tightly in her hand. She was happy for Sakura. She 
  252.19 +was always happy for Sakura. No matter what. She loved her, but what did 
  252.20 +that matter? If Sakura was in love with someone else, then she'd be happy 
  252.21 +for Sakura. How could she be selfish? She'd never been selfish about Sakura 
  252.22 +before. Why start now?
  252.23 +
  252.24 +Sakura meant everything to Tomoyo. She was her life. What else did 
  252.25 +she have now? She knew she'd end up like her mother, losing the one person 
  252.26 +she truly loved. She'd grow older alone, maybe having a daughter and 
  252.27 +continuing the cycle that had begun with her mother.  
  252.28 +
  252.29 +Tomoyo looked around her dark room again. The curtains were drawn tightly, 
  252.30 +leaving the room heavily shadowed. She saw her video camera lying on her 
  252.31 +dresser. How many times had she used that to record her love? How many times 
  252.32 +had she watched Sakura over and over from the tapes she'd recorded?
  252.33 +The dark haired girl sighed sadly and switched off the TV that had been 
  252.34 +playing the flickering images of the one she loved. Making the costumes Sakura 
  252.35 +had worn and videotaping her wearing them had been some of the happiest 
  252.36 +times in her life. Happy times she knew she'd no longer have.
  252.37 +
  252.38 +She had seen Sakura kiss him. That had hurt her more than any physical 
  252.39 +thing ever could. It cut deeply into her soul. She'd tried not to let it get 
  252.40 +to her too badly, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. He had won. He had 
  252.41 +gotten Sakura. She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. She loved 
  252.42 +Sakura and she'd be happy as long as Sakura was happy. And Sakura was 
  252.43 +definitely happy. Tomoyo couldn't handle it anymore. She loved the other 
  252.44 +girl so much. It felt like her life was over now that Sakura had fallen in 
  252.45 +love with someone else.
  252.46 +
  252.47 +Tomoyo had told Sakura that she was in love with her before. But Sakura 
  252.48 +thought she was talking about the love of a friend. That had hurt to some 
  252.49 +extent, too. She had intended to tell Sakura when she thought the brown haired 
  252.50 +girl was mature enough to understand, but now it seemed she was too late.  
  252.51 +Would it have changed anything had she explained to Sakura earlier? Would 
  252.52 +things have still turned out this way? What would Sakura think if she knew 
  252.53 +Tomoyo was in love with her? It could destroy the only thing still important to 
  252.54 +Tomoyo, their friendship.
  252.55 +
  252.56 +Tomoyo was left with a difficult decision to make. She paced nervously as 
  252.57 +she held the blade. She could try to tell Sakura so the other girl would at 
  252.58 +least know. Or she could end things now before she destroyed their 
  252.59 +friendship. 
  252.60 +
  252.61 +Tomoyo looked at the picture of Sakura she kept on her nightstand. She was the 
  252.62 +most beautiful thing Tomoyo had ever seen. She winced as she felt 
  252.63 +the biting edge of the knife pressed against her wrist. Tears ran down her 
  252.64 +cheeks as she slumped to her knees, unsure of what to do, her mind filled 
  252.65 +with conflicting thoughts. What about everyone else? Could she really leave 
  252.66 +them all behind? What would they think if she was gone? But it hurt so much. 
  252.67 +She loved Sakura so much. She would always love her. She didn't want to go 
  252.68 +on if she knew Sakura would never love her. She'd tried to be happy for
  252.69 +Sakura, but that didn't keep the emptiness from filling her. There was a void 
  252.70 +inside her that seemed to grow everyday. She'd tried to talk to her mom, but 
  252.71 +her heart had sunk further when she'd heard of her mother's own tragic love for 
  252.72 +Nadeshiko. She could try to tell Sakura, but what good could it do now? Wasn't 
  252.73 +it too late? How could she compete? Sakura loved him, didn't she?
  252.74 +
  252.75 +Tomoyo gasped as the knife pushed deeper against her pale skin. 
  252.76 +"Sakura-chan," she said, her voice cracking. "I love you, Sakura-chan."
  252.77 +
  252.78 +********
  252.79 +
  252.80 +Sakura weeped over the grave of her best friend. Her shaking hand set down 
  252.81 +some flowers on the cold, damp ground. 'If only I'd told you earlier,' Sakura 
  252.82 +thought to herself. 'Would you still be here now if I'd told you how I 
  252.83 +felt?' The girl was wracked by sobs as she stared at the tombstone. This was 
  252.84 +unfair. She was the Card Mistress. Things weren't supposed to end up like 
  252.85 +this. She'd do anything to bring the dark haired girl back. Hot tears fell from 
  252.86 +her chin to the cold dirt below. "Tomoyo," she cried sadly.
  252.87 +
  252.88 +****** 
  252.89 +
  252.90 +Sakura woke up drenched in sweat, her sheets tangled around her. Her heart was 
  252.91 +beating heavily in her chest, as if trying to escape. She gasped for breath, trying 
  252.92 +to think, trying to get rid of the horrid images still invading her mind. ‘It was 
  252.93 +just a dream,’ she told herself over and over. Tomoyo was just a phone call 
  252.94 +away. She’d see her the next day at school. Everything was fine. She sat 
  252.95 +uncomfortably in bed, kicking the sheets off of her. Was everything really fine? 
  252.96 +
  252.97 +When she’d finally found out how Tomoyo felt about her, she’d acted scared, 
  252.98 +uncertain. Tomoyo had just smiled and told her that she was glad to get to tell 
  252.99 +her, but the smile hadn’t reached her eyes. They had lost the sparkle they’d held 
 252.100 +moments before. They seemed empty, sad. Had she acted too harshly? She 
 252.101 +hadn’t meant to, but she’d been so shocked. She had no idea her best friend was 
 252.102 +in love with her. What was she supposed to do? What could she say? Tomoyo 
 252.103 +had left, but she hadn’t gone after her. She’d just sat there as the dark haired girl 
 252.104 +walked away. When she’d worked up the courage later, she tried to call 
 252.105 +Tomoyo, but her mother said she wouldn’t answer. 
 252.106 +
 252.107 +Sakura realized Tomoyo must have been scared to tell her. The dark haired girl 
 252.108 +had no idea how Sakura would react if she knew. Yet she’d told her anyway. 
 252.109 +Tomoyo must have been scared of what would happen next but she had told her. 
 252.110 +And Sakura had hurt her friend with her reaction. She had hurt her friend badly.
 252.111 +
 252.112 +As she stared straight ahead in the darkness, she remembered how Tomoyo had 
 252.113 +told her before, when they were younger. And how she hadn’t understood what 
 252.114 +the dark haired girl had meant. Tomoyo said she’d tell Sakura when they were 
 252.115 +older and she did. In retrospect Sakura wondered how she could have been so 
 252.116 +blind to Tomoyo’s affections. So much made since now that she knew. It was 
 252.117 +like a fog had been lifted. 
 252.118 +
 252.119 +Why had she acted the way she did when Tomoyo had told her? Because she 
 252.120 +was scared, she told herself. She was scared because she didn’t understand. How 
 252.121 +could she be in love with her? They were both girls. They’re mothers were 
 252.122 +cousins. They were best friends. Because she just was afraid. She was afraid of 
 252.123 +what might happen. They’d been best friends ever since Sakura had given 
 252.124 +Tomoyo an eraser in class. They had been best friends for so long. What would 
 252.125 +happen now? Would that change between them if Tomoyo loved her? No, she’d 
 252.126 +felt that way for a long time so the only thing that would change would be 
 252.127 +Sakura. Would things change if they were in love? Perhaps that thought had 
 252.128 +frightened Sakura the most. The thought that maybe she echoed Tomoyo’s 
 252.129 +feelings. After some soul searching over the past few days, she knew how she 
 252.130 +felt. She was in love with Tomoyo as well. 
 252.131 +
 252.132 +But now what could she do? Tomoyo wouldn’t even talk to her. What if she did 
 252.133 +go as far as in the dream? Now, when Sakura realized how she felt about the 
 252.134 +dark haired girl, the reality that Tomoyo could be stripped from her so easily 
 252.135 +chilled her to the bones. She tried to think of what Tomoyo was doing at this 
 252.136 +instant, but none of the thoughts eased her mind. She was filled with dread as 
 252.137 +she remembered some of the premonitions she’d had in dreams before. Could 
 252.138 +this be one of them? She couldn’t lose Tomoyo now. She just couldn’t. 
 252.139 +
 252.140 +Sakura stood up in bed, the soft sheets rustling against her bare feet. She 
 252.141 +climbed off onto the carpet and looked around for her staff. She clutched it 
 252.142 +tightly and headed for the window. Cold air blew into her room as she opened 
 252.143 +the window. Her sweat drenched pajamas clung to her. She shivered and 
 252.144 +climbed outside. She knew what she had to do. She had to see Tomoyo. She had 
 252.145 +to know she was all right. She had to tell her how she felt before it was too late. 
 252.146 +
 252.147 +“Fly!” She yelled as she invoked the power of the Clow Cards. Two angel wings 
 252.148 +appeared on her back. Hopping into the air, she flew as fast as she could towards 
 252.149 +Tomoyo’s house. She willed herself to go faster, hoping she wasn’t too late, 
 252.150 +praying it was just a dream. The landscape beneath her blurred from the speed 
 252.151 +she was going and her own tears. She blinked them back, trying to concentrate. 
 252.152 +Her pajamas rustled against the biting wind. 
 252.153 +
 252.154 +She almost missed the luxurious house Tomoyo and her mother shared because 
 252.155 +of her frantic hurry. She flew closer to the house, trying desperately to spot 
 252.156 +Tomoyo’s window. She made a silent prayer that the light would be on, that the 
 252.157 +dark haired girl was still awake watching a video or sewing a costume. 
 252.158 +Something, anything. She finally spotted Tomoyo’s window. The light was off 
 252.159 +and her blinds were closed. The pit in Sakura’s stomach doubled in size. Her 
 252.160 +heart thundered as she reached out to the window. She rapped on it heavily, 
 252.161 +trying to wake the dark haired girl up, hoping she could wake up. The wind blew 
 252.162 +past her again as she waited for some response. Even Tomoyo being angry with 
 252.163 +her would be better than this…silence. She prepared to knock again, louder this 
 252.164 +time, when the window opened. 
 252.165 +
 252.166 +Tomoyo groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She pulled her blanket tighter 
 252.167 +around herself as the wind blew inside. “Sakura-chan?” she asked sleepily.
 252.168 +
 252.169 +“Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura practically bolted into the room. Her arms went around 
 252.170 +the unprepared dark haired girl and dragged her close. “Oh, Tomoyo,” she 
 252.171 +sobbed.
 252.172 +
 252.173 +Tomoyo abruptly got worried at the sound of Sakura’s voice. She felt the other 
 252.174 +girl’s warm tears on her bare shoulder. “Sakura? What’s wrong?” Sakura 
 252.175 +shuddered against her, relief flooding into her. “Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. 
 252.176 +It’s okay. Please tell me.”
 252.177 +
 252.178 +The comforting tone in Tomoyo’s soft voice carried through Sakura. The tears 
 252.179 +slowly trickled to a stop. “Tomoyo, I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried.” 
 252.180 +Her voice wavered as she spoke.
 252.181 +
 252.182 +“Me?” Tomoyo asked surprised. “Sakura, I’m fine.”
 252.183 +
 252.184 +“Are you?” Sakura asked quietly. The dark haired girl looked away. She tried to 
 252.185 +say something, but nothing came out when she tried. She didn’t know what to 
 252.186 +say to Sakura. “Tomoyo, look at me. Please?” Sakura’s pleading voice broke in 
 252.187 +through Tomoyo’s thoughts. She slowly turned back to face the other girl. “I 
 252.188 +was so scared. I’d thought…. I thought you were gone. I thought I’d never see 
 252.189 +you again. That scared me more than anything ever has.”
 252.190 +
 252.191 +“You mean… No, Sakura-chan, I wouldn’t do anything like that,” Tomoyo 
 252.192 +smiled reassuringly. Sakura’s gaze went to a knife on Tomoyo’s nightstand. The 
 252.193 +dark haired girl laughed nervously. “That’s for cutting some threads on your 
 252.194 +outfits I’m making.”
 252.195 +
 252.196 +“Tomoyo, I don’t want to live without you,” Sakura said sadly. “I couldn’t live 
 252.197 +with myself if anything ever happened to you. Please don’t leave me like that. I 
 252.198 +know I hurt you, but I’m sorry.” Tears started to fill her eyes again as she looked 
 252.199 +directly at Tomoyo. 
 252.200 +
 252.201 +Tomoyo couldn’t meet Sakura’s gaze. “Sakura…” she said weakly. She loved 
 252.202 +the other girl more than her own life. She’d been heartbroken when Sakura had 
 252.203 +reacted frightened to her confession of love. She just wanted Sakura to know, to 
 252.204 +understand how she felt. Sakura’s fingers on her chin brought her eyes up to 
 252.205 +meet Sakura’s. “Sakura, I…”
 252.206 +
 252.207 +“I love you,” Sakura said before the dark haired girl got the chance. She leaned 
 252.208 +in and kissed Tomoyo softly on the lips. She felt a warmth in her heart as they 
 252.209 +kissed. The dark haired girl’s lips were heaven.
 252.210 +
 252.211 +Tomoyo’s eyes went wide and her hands fell to her sides. She was completely 
 252.212 +caught off guard by Sakura’s sudden words. Her spirits soared as the realization 
 252.213 +of Sakura’s words hit her. Her eyes closed halfway and tears slowly slid down 
 252.214 +her cheeks. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to do. 
 252.215 +Tomoyo kissed Sakura back, a dream she’d long held fulfilled in the space of 
 252.216 +one blissful moment. 
 252.217 +
 252.218 +Blushing after they pulled apart, Sakura looked deeply into Tomoyo’s eyes. 
 252.219 +“Tomoyo-chan, I love you,” she said again. She waited nervously for the other 
 252.220 +girl’s reply. What if Tomoyo was still mad at her for earlier? What if she 
 252.221 +decided she didn’t need Sakura? What would happen to the two of them? Sakura 
 252.222 +banished the thoughts from her mind. She was scared about what might happen 
 252.223 +now that she’d admitted how she felt, but she pushed those feelings back. She 
 252.224 +wasn’t going to let it control her. Love was more important than fear. She 
 252.225 +couldn’t let it stop her.
 252.226 +
 252.227 +“Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo’s arms wrapped around the other girl. She’d dreamed 
 252.228 +of hearing those words over and over for years in her dreams, practicing what 
 252.229 +she’d say in her mind when she was awake. She just wanted to hold Sakura, to 
 252.230 +be in her arms forever. “Sakura, I love you so much.”
 252.231 +
 252.232 +Sakura smiled. Things would be fine. She and Tomoyo had gotten through so 
 252.233 +much since they were little kids. They’d always been there for each other. They 
 252.234 +could make it through this, too. They would together. “Tomoyo-chan, just 
 252.235 +promise me. Promise me you’ll never leave me,” she said, trying to shake the 
 252.236 +last images from her dream.
 252.237 +
 252.238 +Tomoyo’s heart ached at the serious look on Sakura’s face. She had never 
 252.239 +wanted to make her sad. “I promise. I love you, Sakura. Forever.”
 252.240 +
 252.241 +“Forever,” Sakura repeated, a smile spreading on her lips. She leaned in and 
 252.242 +kissed Tomoyo again, this time more passionately. The two stayed that way for 
 252.243 +a long time, kissing and holding each other, neither wanting to let go. After what 
 252.244 +seemed like an eternity, they finally parted.
 252.245 +
 252.246 +“Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly. “Don’t go.”
 252.247 +
 252.248 +Sakura looked hesitantly back at Tomoyo. Those big dark blue eyes beckoned 
 252.249 +her to stay. She turned her gaze back to the window. She knew her father and 
 252.250 +brother would get worried if she wasn’t there when they woke up. And 
 252.251 +Tomoyo’s mother would probably want an explanation of what she was doing 
 252.252 +here. Yet, she wanted to stay. Let everything come in the morning,. They could 
 252.253 +deal with it then. After everything that had happened, she didn’t want to up and 
 252.254 +leave Tomoyo alone right now. After telling the other girl she was in love with 
 252.255 +her, there was so much they both wanted to say, to know. She again turned back 
 252.256 +at Tomoyo. The dark haired girl looked at her hopefully. Sakura reached over 
 252.257 +and closed the window. Tomoyo smiled brightly. 
 252.258 +
 252.259 +As the two lay whispering to each other on Tomoyo’s bed, they let everything 
 252.260 +poor out. Feelings and emotions, dreams and worries. All the tension from the 
 252.261 +past few days drained away as the two lay in a tight embrace. They slowly 
 252.262 +drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning. 
 252.263 +
 252.264 +The dim outline of Nadeshiko smiled approvingly at the two sleeping girls. An 
 252.265 +ethereal hand gently brushed through her daughter’s hair. Sakura’s dream had 
 252.266 +been a frightening one, but in the end it had brought her together with the one 
 252.267 +she loved. Slowly backing away from the bed, Nadeshiko felt a twinge of guilt 
 252.268 +for having to put Sakura through that. She had sent the dream as a way to 
 252.269 +motivate Sakura into revealing her true feelings. She hadn’t wanted to scare her 
 252.270 +like that, but for Sakura to be happy she had to accept how she felt. She was 
 252.271 +glad it had wound up so well. She knew her daughter would be fine. She had 
 252.272 +always looked out for her and now she knew someone else would, too. She 
 252.273 +smiled to herself as she started to fade away. “Sleep well, Sakura,” she said, her 
 252.274 +voice hardly above a whisper, before she disappeared. 
 252.275 +

   253.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   253.2 +++ b/stories/ccsxmas.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   253.3 @@ -0,0 +1,428 @@
   253.4 +
   253.5 +
   253.6 +Sakura-chan is Coming to Town
   253.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   253.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   253.9 +
  253.10 +
  253.11 +“Isn’t Santa Claus supposed to be fat?” Kero asked skeptically.
  253.12 +
  253.13 +“Sakura-chan can be a cute, skinny Santa Claus,” Tomoyo offered,
  253.14 +pulling her camcorder down for a second.
  253.15 +
  253.16 +“Hoe...” stated the jolly Cardmistress in question, dressed up like
  253.17 +Father Christmas himself. Once again, she knew this was Tomoyo’s
  253.18 +idea. And just like always, she wasn’t quite sure how the dark haired
  253.19 +girl had talked her into it. But Tomoyo always did, somehow. The fact
  253.20 +that Sakura couldn’t say no to her best friend also played a part in
  253.21 +it. So now she found herself outside of Tomoyo’s house in the dead of
  253.22 +night, dressed up like Santa Claus while Tomoyo watched on in barely
  253.23 +concealed bliss.
  253.24 +
  253.25 +The Seal Beast nodded thoughtfully, his arms crossed. “Yeah, I guess
  253.26 +so. But if Sakura-chan is Santa Claus and I’m Rudolph,” he paused for
  253.27 +a moment to show off the cute little antlers and shiny nose Tomoyo
  253.28 +had gotten him for a costume, “then who are you supposed to be?”
  253.29 +
  253.30 +“I’m Mrs. Claus, of course,” Tomoyo said matter of factly. 
  253.31 +
  253.32 +Sakura’s face went a bright shade of crimson. She waved her arms
  253.33 +swiftly. “To..Tomoyo-chan!” she whined in embarrassment. The
  253.34 +implications of that were blatant enough that even she got it. Her
  253.35 +cheeks burned as she busied herself with picking up the large bag of
  253.36 +presents near her feet. 
  253.37 +
  253.38 +Tomoyo giggled at Sakura’s embarrassment, pulling up her camcorder
  253.39 +to catch Sakura’s scarlet blush on videotape. “And if I’m Mrs. Claus,
  253.40 +then I want nothing more than to videotape my dashing husband’s
  253.41 +midnight ride.” She sighed dreamily, a hand on her cheek. 
  253.42 +
  253.43 +The flustered Cardmistress could only blush under the loving gaze of
  253.44 +Tomoyo and her camcorder. She shifted about, trying to find a
  253.45 +comfortable way to carry the bulky bag, but failing. “So.. Tomoyo-
  253.46 +chan, what are we doing again?” Sakura asked in confusion, blinking
  253.47 +off her earlier embarrassment. “You said you wanted me to come and
  253.48 +play Santa for some kids. Shouldn’t you get onii-chan or someone
  253.49 +who’d make a better Santa for this? I don’t think they’ll believe I’m
  253.50 +Santa.” Looking down at Tomoyo’s take on the Santa Claus costume that
  253.51 +she was wearing, she shifted a foot around, hearing the slight jingle
  253.52 +of bells attached. 
  253.53 +
  253.54 +“But Sakura-chan’s the perfect Santa Claus!” Tomoyo insisted,
  253.55 +letting the camcorder fall gingerly to her side for a moment. She
  253.56 +stepped closer, helping adjust Sakura’s hat, moving the fluffy ball
  253.57 +on the tip over her shoulder. Her fingers brushed back some of
  253.58 +Sakura’s hair back underneath, lingering there for a moment. “You’re
  253.59 +sweet and giving and adorable. And you have so much energy. I can’t
  253.60 +think of anyone else who could handle Santa-san’s job.” She smiled
  253.61 +brightly at the Cardmistress, her heart aflutter. Sakura made a
  253.62 +darling Santa Claus. This was the perfect way to spend her Christmas
  253.63 +Eve, out amidst the snow and moonlight with Sakura. It was so much
  253.64 +better than unwrapping a present or even watching the Christmas
  253.65 +lights. It was her very own Sakura, all dressed up festively and
  253.66 +about to make children’s dreams come true. As well as her own.
  253.67 +“Besides, the children probably won’t even see you. So you don’t need
  253.68 +to look the part.” Tomoyo brought her pink gloved fingers up to
  253.69 +Sakura’s ear, tracing the intricate snowflake earrings that she’d
  253.70 +given Sakura as both a Christmas gift and a part of the costume. She
  253.71 +should’ve waited for Christmas day, but she wanted Sakura to have
  253.72 +them for their trip that night. She had such cute ears. The heiress
  253.73 +sighed dreamily.
  253.74 +
  253.75 +Sakura’s mind had gone blank, her emerald eyes lost in the stormy
  253.76 +blue eyes that were gazing deeply into her own. Tomoyo definitely
  253.77 +wasn’t like any of her other friends. And no one could embarrass her
  253.78 +the way Tomoyo did. But then, no one made her feel the way Tomoyo
  253.79 +did. All warm and fuzzy and dizzy inside all at the same time. She
  253.80 +knew she should say something, but words failed her. Her mouth
  253.81 +opened, but little more than a tiny sound came out. She could feel
  253.82 +the soft cloth of Tomoyo’s gloves caressing her ears. She felt weak,
  253.83 +as if she might collapse against Tomoyo if she kept this up. And part
  253.84 +of her wanted to. She knew Tomoyo wouldn’t mind. She’d hold her there
  253.85 +as long as she wanted. “I...” Sakura finally tore her gaze away,
  253.86 +staring down at her feet. Her cheeks burned even against the cold
  253.87 +wind that raked past them. Just what had that been all about? She
  253.88 +shook her head, her auburn hair getting thrown out from under the cap
  253.89 +despite Tomoyo’s earlier efforts to tuck it in. She could hear the
  253.90 +heiress giggle, almost in her ear with how close they still were. 
  253.91 +
  253.92 +Looking up at last, Sakura tried to fight off her blush, but it
  253.93 +stubbornly refused to go. She smiled weakly. “So you really want me
  253.94 +to play Santa Claus? To give these presents to some children?”
  253.95 +
  253.96 +“Hai. There are so many sad children without much for Christmas. I
  253.97 +went singing to lots of them with the choir. I thought that we could
  253.98 +bring them a bright Christmas after all. With Sakura-chan as my Santa
  253.99 +Claus.” The dark haired girl sighed dreamily, clasping her hands
 253.100 +together. “And they’ll wake up on Christmas morning to find wonderful
 253.101 +surprises.”
 253.102 +
 253.103 +Sakura nodded determinedly, balling her fists up. She wouldn’t have
 253.104 +even thought of that on her own. It was so sweet of Tomoyo to want to
 253.105 +help those poor children. And if she could help her best friend with
 253.106 +it at all, even as a substitute Santa Claus, she would do her very
 253.107 +best. “They’ll have a beautiful Christmas, Tomoyo-chan. I promise!”
 253.108 +
 253.109 +Tomoyo took a step forward, hugging Sakura warmly. “I knew I could
 253.110 +count on you, Sakura-chan!”
 253.111 +
 253.112 +Sakura wrapped her arms back around Tomoyo, standing there with the
 253.113 +other girl pressed against her for a long moment. They both knew
 253.114 +Sakura would have agreed to practically whatever idea Tomoyo had. But
 253.115 +she was still glad to have made the heiress so happy. She hugged her
 253.116 +friend tighter as snow fell slowly around them. This was so nice and
 253.117 +warm.
 253.118 +
 253.119 +Tomoyo stayed that way for a long time, reluctant to leave the
 253.120 +glorious embrace of Sakura’s arms. After a moments thought, she
 253.121 +rested her head on Sakura’s shoulder, her long dark hair spilling
 253.122 +across Sakura’s back. She knew they had to go start delivering
 253.123 +presents soon, but if she could just stay this way a little longer...
 253.124 +But Christmas would not wait for them. She slowly, gently pulled away
 253.125 +from Sakura. 
 253.126 +
 253.127 +They stood there for a moment under the stars, silence enveloping
 253.128 +the two girls. Sakura shuffled her foot in the snow for a moment
 253.129 +before looking up. “Where did you get all of the presents?” she asked
 253.130 +curiously, trying to break the silence. 
 253.131 +
 253.132 +“From my mother. She runs a toy company, after all. She thought it
 253.133 +would be a wonderful idea to give out presents this way,” Tomoyo
 253.134 +explained. “And she was delighted to hear you’d be Santa Claus.”
 253.135 +
 253.136 +Sakura blinked rapidly. “Sonomi-san knows I’m doing this?”
 253.137 +
 253.138 +Smiling and nodding, Tomoyo continued. “She loved the thought of you
 253.139 +delivering all those presents. She just made me promise to let her
 253.140 +see the videotape and she gave me all the gifts we’d need.”
 253.141 +
 253.142 +“Sonomi-san’s going to be watching this, too? Hoe...” Sakura
 253.143 +clutched the bag nervously as Tomoyo pulled up the camcorder again. 
 253.144 +
 253.145 +“Like mother like daughter, I guess,” Kero added.
 253.146 +
 253.147 +Tomoyo giggled, stepping to the side. “We’re going to watch it
 253.148 +together when I get home. ‘Sakura-chan’s White Christmas’. It will be
 253.149 +much better than any Christmas specials.”
 253.150 +
 253.151 +Sakura blushed. This was going to be a long night.
 253.152 +
 253.153 +
 253.154 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 253.155 +
 253.156 +
 253.157 +Meanwhile, their not-so-mysterious benefactor was finishing a few
 253.158 +last minute decorations at the Daidouji mansion. 
 253.159 +
 253.160 +“There.” The businesswoman hopped off of the stepstool she had been
 253.161 +on, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “Much better.” Her eyes
 253.162 +followed the string of mistletoe. Mistletoe was placed at just about
 253.163 +every convenient spot in the house. She’d picked it up as much as she
 253.164 +could on the way home and had spent the next few hours putting it up
 253.165 +personally. She had to make sure it was perfect. It had to cover
 253.166 +every possible way Sakura could go through the house when she and her
 253.167 +daughter got home late that night. 
 253.168 +
 253.169 +“She’s going to kiss my little girl,” Sonomi said determinedly. One
 253.170 +of the maids sweatdropped as she passed, but said nothing. Such
 253.171 +things were typical in that household. Both Sonomi and her daughter
 253.172 +were rather eccentric, after all. Just to be safe, the maid hurried
 253.173 +out from under the mistletoe. 
 253.174 +
 253.175 +Sighing, Sonomi sat down in the couch. Her daughter would be out at
 253.176 +that moment with Sakura, giving gifts to a lot of needy children. She
 253.177 +was glad to be able to help, and they way the two girls were going
 253.178 +about it was even better. She couldn’t wait to see her daughter’s
 253.179 +videotape of the evening. It would be so cute. Seeing Nadeshiko’s
 253.180 +daughter play Santa, watching her own daughter’s eyes light up at the
 253.181 +sight.
 253.182 +
 253.183 +In the meantime, she’d been working on a gift for Tomoyo. Or, more
 253.184 +accurately, a gift from herself and Sakura to Tomoyo. Sakura just
 253.185 +didn’t know she was involved yet. But all she had to do was get the
 253.186 +brunette under the mistletoe with her daughter. Which shouldn’t be
 253.187 +too difficult with how much she had put up. She thought the world of
 253.188 +Sakura, but Nadeshiko’s daughter could be so dense sometimes. She was
 253.189 +just going to give her a helpful push in her daughter’s direction. 
 253.190 +
 253.191 +Closing her eyes, the auburn haired businesswoman rested on her side
 253.192 +on the couch. She was exhausted. It had been a long day at work. This
 253.193 +was the busiest time of the year for her, after all. But she’d made
 253.194 +absolutely sure to get all the gifts she could for Tomoyo’s little
 253.195 +Christmas endeavor and had hurried home as soon as she could. Her
 253.196 +sweet little daughter had been very grateful. So sweet and polite,
 253.197 +just like Nadeshiko. 
 253.198 +
 253.199 +A smile crossed Sonomi’s lips as she lay sleepily on the couch. Her
 253.200 +thoughts were drifting back to a time long ago, back when she had
 253.201 +been able to spend this time of year with her very own Christmas
 253.202 +angel. And in her tired mind, she forgot about the present. Nadeshiko
 253.203 +was alive again. Shimmering radiantly, excited by the prospect of
 253.204 +Christmas. Sonomi sighed, hugging herself. Yes, her dearest Nadeshiko
 253.205 +had loved this time of year so much. Nadeshiko had even kissed her
 253.206 +under the mistletoe once. It was still Sonomi’s favorite present of
 253.207 +all. “Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered, curling up like a child.
 253.208 +
 253.209 +
 253.210 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 253.211 +
 253.212 +
 253.213 +Sakura crept quietly through the silent house. She squinted to try
 253.214 +to see better in the darkness. The only light came from the Christmas
 253.215 +lights twinkling on the tree. She could barely hear Tomoyo tiptoeing
 253.216 +behind her. How Tomoyo could walk in this darkness and videotape at
 253.217 +the same time was beyond Sakura. 
 253.218 +
 253.219 +“Cookies!” Kero’s eyes widened hungrily. The little mock reindeer
 253.220 +zipped over to the plate of cookies left for Santa. This job wasn’t
 253.221 +so bad after all.
 253.222 +
 253.223 +“Shhh!!” Sakura chided the Seal Beast. But he was already too busy
 253.224 +munching on the cookies to care. Sighing, she made her way to the
 253.225 +Christmas tree. He was going to wake someone up on one of these
 253.226 +trips, she just knew it. She was lucky he hadn’t already. 
 253.227 +
 253.228 +Kneeling down, Sakura rummaged through her large red bag, searching
 253.229 +through the presents. She squinted to see the nametag on it. “Which
 253.230 +presents am I looking for, Tomoyo-chan?” the Cardmistress whispered,
 253.231 +holding up two different packages. 
 253.232 +
 253.233 +"Megumi-chan,” Tomoyo replied, zooming in on Sakura. She made such
 253.234 +an adorable Santa, sitting there underneath the tree. Oh, how she
 253.235 +wished she could be sitting there with her under the pretty lights.
 253.236 +But they didn’t have time for that even if she could.
 253.237 +
 253.238 +Sakura crawled forward with the gift, trying to find a good place to
 253.239 +put it under the tree. She finally placed it behind one of two gifts
 253.240 +that had already been there. “How’s that?” Looking over her shoulder,
 253.241 +she saw Tomoyo still videotaping her. She slowly followed where the
 253.242 +camcorder was pointing. Her face red, she sat back quickly. 
 253.243 +
 253.244 +The camcorder immediately went back up to Sakura’s face. Tomoyo
 253.245 +smiled brightly, covering her embarrassment. She must have been out
 253.246 +of it that night. Sakura usually didn’t catch her when she’d catch
 253.247 +little glimpses like that. “That’s perfect, Sakura-chan,” the heiress
 253.248 +reassured the still embarrassed brunette.
 253.249 +
 253.250 +‘It’s dark. She didn’t see anything. She didn’t know she was
 253.251 +recording up my skirt,’ Sakura rationalized, though the excuses
 253.252 +sounded lame even to her. She blinked, slowly realizing that Tomoyo
 253.253 +was holding a hand out to her. She took the pale girl’s gentle hand,
 253.254 +getting to her feet. ‘She didn’t really..’ Sakura was thinking.
 253.255 +Distracted by her thoughts, she didn’t realize her foot was around
 253.256 +the cord to the Christmas lights, stepping forward, she stumbled into
 253.257 +Tomoyo, the two girls falling together. 
 253.258 +
 253.259 +Tomoyo opened her eyes slowly, having shut them instinctively as
 253.260 +they had been falling. “Are you okay, Sakura-chan?” she asked
 253.261 +quickly, worried about the brunette. She sighed inwardly in relief as
 253.262 +Sakura nodded into her shoulder, giving a muffled ‘hai’. She squeezed
 253.263 +her hand, making sure the camcorder was still all right as well.
 253.264 +Having checked the important things, she finally went about seeing to
 253.265 +her own condition. Sakura had landed on top of her, her head buried
 253.266 +against her shoulder. The back of her shoulder hurt, but it would go
 253.267 +away soon enough. She simply laid there with Sakura for a moment,
 253.268 +looking down at the auburn hair spilling our of Sakura’s red Santa
 253.269 +hat.
 253.270 +
 253.271 +“What was that?” a girl in a nightgown asked, stepping out of one of
 253.272 +the back rooms. 
 253.273 +
 253.274 +“It was probably nothing, Kumiko-chan,” a blonde girl replied,
 253.275 +hugging the other girl from behind. “Let’s go back to bed. Tomorrow’s
 253.276 +Christmas. You just want to sneak a peak of the present I got you.”
 253.277 +
 253.278 +Kumiko raised an eyebrow. “You mean you want to sneak a peak of me
 253.279 +wearing your present. I still can’t believe you bought me lingerie.
 253.280 +My parents will kill me if they find out.”
 253.281 +
 253.282 +Giggling, Megumi nodded. “Can I? It is Christmas Eve, after all. You
 253.283 +can open one present. And then you could wear it back to bed,” the
 253.284 +blonde suggested, nuzzling Kumiko’s neck. Kumiko blushed darkly, but
 253.285 +that just brought a delicious sigh from Megumi. She was so happy to
 253.286 +have Kumiko over for Christmas. Her parents were both gone, working
 253.287 +again. To afford her treatments that didn’t seem to work anyway. She
 253.288 +was just getting sicker and sicker as it was. But at least she could
 253.289 +spend Christmas with the one she loved. 
 253.290 +
 253.291 +Kumiko blinked, ignoring Megumi’s warm and insistent nuzzling. No
 253.292 +small feat considering how she usually melted under such an assault.
 253.293 +But something seemed wrong. The Christmas lights on the tree were
 253.294 +out. She walked over, Megumi still hanging onto her. What she didn’t
 253.295 +know was that Megumi was having trouble standing on her own at the
 253.296 +moment. 
 253.297 +
 253.298 +Tomoyo lay there, still stuck underneath Sakura. Sakura had frozen
 253.299 +against her, unsure of what to do. If they stood up, they’d be
 253.300 +caught. But if they stayed where they were, the two girls would
 253.301 +probably find them, too. They weren’t in a very good position. Well,
 253.302 +they were, Tomoyo had to admit, holding Sakura closer. But it
 253.303 +wouldn’t be good if they got caught. She could feel Sakura blushing
 253.304 +against her. Apparently she had heard the girls’ conversation. But it
 253.305 +wasn’t anything new. She dressed Sakura up all the time with her
 253.306 +costumes, including matching undergarments at times. But then, Sakura
 253.307 +had never thought about it in that context before.
 253.308 +
 253.309 +“Kumi-chan, can we go back to bed?” Megumi asked quietly, resting
 253.310 +her head against the braided haired girls back. She suddenly wasn’t
 253.311 +feeling very well at all. She would drag Kumiko back to bed, but she
 253.312 +didn’t think she could even keep standing if she let go for a moment.
 253.313 +
 253.314 +“Just a second, Megumi-chan,” Kumiko replied distractedly, following
 253.315 +the unplugged Christmas light cord in the dim light. Her eyes went
 253.316 +wide as she spotted a boot. And then a shadowy figure lying on the
 253.317 +floor. “Ahhhhh!” she screamed, reeling back. There was a dead body on
 253.318 +the floor! In Megumi’s house. 
 253.319 +
 253.320 +Sakura stood up quickly, her heart pounding in her chest. “No, wait!
 253.321 +It’s all a mistake!” She waved her arms in front of herself, trying
 253.322 +to stop the braided girl’s scream.
 253.323 +
 253.324 +Following Sakura’s lead, Tomoyo got to her feet as well. She bowed,
 253.325 +smiling softly. “We’re sorry for the trouble. We were just dropping
 253.326 +off a present. Now If you’ll excuse us, our sleigh is waiting. Right,
 253.327 +Santa?” She wrapped her arms around Sakura’s, pulling her gently
 253.328 +towards the chimney. 
 253.329 +
 253.330 +“Santa?” Megumi asked, watching the two from over Kumiko’s shoulder.
 253.331 +Well, they were certainly dressed the part. And they didn’t look like
 253.332 +they were here to cause any harm. Just two girls their own age. It
 253.333 +didn’t make any sense why they were here, but she didn’t feel like it
 253.334 +was a bad thing.
 253.335 +
 253.336 +“Hai...” Sakura replied, laughing nervously, a hand behind her head.
 253.337 +“Merry Christmas!!” She waved quickly, pulling out a Sakura Card to
 253.338 +make a hasty retreat. Tomoyo hurried back to her side after plucking
 253.339 +Kero away from the cookies.
 253.340 +
 253.341 +Blinking, Kumiko shook her head. “But..!” A finger pressed against
 253.342 +her lips, silencing her. 
 253.343 +
 253.344 +“Shhh... Just ignore it, dear,” Megumi whispered. “Now go ahead and
 253.345 +open your present.” 
 253.346 +
 253.347 +“Megumi-chan...” Kumiko blushed. Maybe Megumi was right. She should
 253.348 +just ignore any of this had happened. Even if she did want to know
 253.349 +who those two girls were. And why they were in her girlfriend’s house.
 253.350 +
 253.351 +Megumi giggled. “I love you, Kumi-chan.” She kissed the other girl’s
 253.352 +cheek. 
 253.353 +
 253.354 +
 253.355 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 253.356 +
 253.357 +
 253.358 +Tomoyo slid her window open as she hung in the air, held aloft in
 253.359 +Sakura’s arms. The Cardmistress was holding onto her waist tightly,
 253.360 +her angelic wings flapping to keep them up. The window finally open,
 253.361 +Tomoyo slid inside before helping Sakura follow. Sakura’s angel wings
 253.362 +dissipated in a burst of feathers. She let go of the empty sack that
 253.363 +had held the gifts, stretching tiredly. It had been a long night. She
 253.364 +saw Tomoyo smiling sweetly at her as she yawned. She covered her
 253.365 +mouth quickly, blushing faintly. 
 253.366 +
 253.367 +“Thank you, Sakura-chan. You made tonight a perfect Christmas. For
 253.368 +all of those girls. And for me.” Tomoyo stepped forward, taking one
 253.369 +of Sakura’s hands in both of her own. “It was the best Christmas I’ve
 253.370 +ever had. Thank you.” She kissed Sakura’s hand gently. She was so
 253.371 +happy. She didn’t want the night to end, but she knew she could go
 253.372 +right back and watch it all over on videotape. Her beautiful
 253.373 +Christmas Eve with Sakura. She sighed contentedly.
 253.374 +
 253.375 +“It was fun, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura replied, shifting about. She
 253.376 +wanted to say more, but the whirlwind of feelings inside of her
 253.377 +refused to translate into words. She bit her lip in frustration.
 253.378 +There had to be some way to explain, to say something, to let it all
 253.379 +out. Now was the time where they said goodbye and she left for home
 253.380 +to have Christmas the next day with her father and brother. But she
 253.381 +didn’t want to go. She felt like she’d regret it if she didn’t say
 253.382 +something, if she left now. 
 253.383 +
 253.384 +Tomoyo stroked Sakura’s hand gently, comfortingly. Something was
 253.385 +obviously bothering the Cardmistress. Sakura almost looked ready to
 253.386 +cry. Tomoyo’s heart broke at the sad look in Sakura’s eyes. The
 253.387 +Cardmistress was so intent, but she was having trouble with
 253.388 +something, as if it refused to come to her. Sakura had looked so
 253.389 +happy before. What had gone wrong? All she could do was be there with
 253.390 +her. She squeezed Sakura’s hand gently.
 253.391 +
 253.392 +Her mind a swirling mess, Sakura took a shuddering breath. This had
 253.393 +been such a perfect night. So why was she on the verge of tears? It
 253.394 +wasn’t fair. Not to Tomoyo. But such a perfect Christmas Eve deserved
 253.395 +a perfect ending. But nothing she could say sounded right. Something
 253.396 +up above finally caught her eye. She looked up, trying to discern it
 253.397 +in Tomoyo darkened room. Mistletoe, she finally decided. But what was
 253.398 +it doing in Tomoyo’s room? It didn’t matter. She shouldn’t be
 253.399 +thinking about such things right now anyway. She should be thinking
 253.400 +about how to say goodbye. Blink. She looked back at the mistletoe and
 253.401 +back at her Mrs. Claus. She swallowed nervously. She shouldn’t. She
 253.402 +should. She was too embarrassed. But it was the best way to end the
 253.403 +night. Their beautiful Christmas night, sealed with a kiss. ‘Hoe...’
 253.404 +she thought. Steeling herself. She closed her eyes, wrestling with
 253.405 +her embarrassment at the idea and the burning need within her. It
 253.406 +finally one out, burning away her reluctance. Blinking, she looked
 253.407 +back into Tomoyo’s worried blue eyes. Leaning forward, she kissed her
 253.408 +best friend. Her lips inexpertly brushed against Tomoyo’s taking a
 253.409 +moment to finally press against them in a kiss. The world seemed to
 253.410 +tilt and tumble around her, her cheeks ablaze. 
 253.411 +
 253.412 +Tomoyo was for once completely taken by surprise by her beautiful
 253.413 +Cardmistress. She didn’t always know exactly what Sakura would do,
 253.414 +but she was rarely surprised by it. Now she was completely thrown
 253.415 +off, the delicate balance of all of her careful planning sent
 253.416 +spinning. For a moment, she had no idea what to do. But she quickly
 253.417 +pushed past her disorientation, returning the kiss. Sakura’s delicate
 253.418 +lips were softer than freshly fallen Sakura blossoms that Tomoyo has
 253.419 +so often kissed, imagining this moment. Her arms wrapped around
 253.420 +Sakura’s shoulders, pulling the auburn haired Santa Claus close. Her
 253.421 +heart was near bursting with the love eager to get out to her friend.
 253.422 +I love you, she tried to say through their kiss.
 253.423 +
 253.424 +Sakura finally broke the kiss, blushing furiously. Tomoyo was still
 253.425 +rubbing her back. She couldn’t work up the will to pull away. She
 253.426 +didn’t want to be apart from Tomoyo. Resting her head on the other
 253.427 +girl’s shoulder, she sighed happily. “Merry Christmas, Tomoyo-chan.”
 253.428 +
 253.429 +
 253.430 +
 253.431 +

   254.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   254.2 +++ b/stories/cera1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   254.3 @@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
   254.4 +Untitlted
   254.5 +
   254.6 +                                             by Cera
   254.7 +meikosama@hotmail.com
   254.8 +
   254.9 +
  254.10 +"Hoe!!! I'm going to be late again.. Kero-chan why didn't you wake me??" Sakura shouted at Kero-chan frustrated as she
  254.11 +grabbed her hat off the back of the chair. She was out the door before Kero-chan even had a chance to remind her that last
  254.12 +time he tried to wake her up, he was almost seriously injured by her. "Ohayou onii-san. Where's papa?" Sakura asked as she
  254.13 +shoveled her breakfast into her mouth.. 
  254.14 +
  254.15 +"He left this morning for his business trip remember?" Touya reminded her trying not to piss her off this morning. 
  254.16 +
  254.17 +"Oh.." Sakura said sounding dissapointed. "Wah! I'm going to be late. I'm suposed to be there early today." Sakura yelled
  254.18 +towards Touya as she rushed to put on her roller blades and took off towards school. Sakura sighed as she skated towards
  254.19 +school taking in the sight of the flowers that are begining to bloom now that spring has come again. 
  254.20 +
  254.21 +"Yo! Sakura-chan. Chotto matte." Yukito yelled as he saw Sakura skating in front of him. She turned around and slowed down
  254.22 +waiting for him to catch up. "Ohayou, Sakura-chan." Yukito said smiling at Sakura. She tried not to blush but failed and could
  254.23 +only manage to mutter "Ohayou, Yukito-san" back at him. Feeling shy around Yukito, Sakura couldn't think of anything to talk
  254.24 +about so she just decided to enjoy riding to school with him. 
  254.25 +
  254.26 +As Sakura's school came into view she started saying goodbye to Yukito and turned into her school where Tomoyo was
  254.27 +waiting for her. She stopped to watch as Yukito rode on towards his school and he turned around throwing something at her.
  254.28 +"A present for you." He said as he rode out of sight tossing a piece of candy to her. Sakura blushed again and Tomoyo noticed.
  254.29 +
  254.30 +"He always has something for you doesnt he Sakura-chan." Tomoyo said as she watched Sakura blush even more. "Come on
  254.31 +now, we can't be late to class." 
  254.32 +
  254.33 +"Hai!" Sakura shouted for no reason. Taking Tomoyo's hand into her own she took off towards class. Tomoyo just looked
  254.34 +down at her hand that was holding on to Sakura's reminding herself that Sakura is just to young to understand. "When your
  254.35 +older. I'll tell you again so you can understand...Just how much I love you Sakura-chan," she thought to herself. 
  254.36 +
  254.37 +
  254.38 +
  254.39 +During their break Tomoyo and Sakura sat outside watching as Meiling chased Li-kun around trying to get him to be her
  254.40 +boyfriend. The two girls giggled as they discussed how persistant she is. "Ne, Tomoyo-chan. Would you like to come over
  254.41 +after school? Papa-san is away on a business trip and Touyo is going to Yukito's tonight to study so I'd be all alone and it'd be
  254.42 +nice to have your company for a while," Sakura concluded looking at her best friend. 
  254.43 +
  254.44 +"Of course!" Tomoyo smiled at Sakura and sighed to herself. "This becomes more difficult every day. Now I know how
  254.45 +okaa-san felt when she was in love with Sakura's mom. It is depressing when the other is completly oblivious to your feelings." 
  254.46 +
  254.47 +Sakura noticed the change of expression on Tomoyo's face and asked her if something is wrong. Tomoyo just forced a smile
  254.48 +trying to convince Sakura. "Why dont we go help Li-kun get away from Meiling for a little bit? All she does is chase him
  254.49 +around. It must get tiring." Tomoyo suggested trying to get her thoughts of Sakura out of her mind. Sakura nodded and the two
  254.50 +took off after Li-kun. 
  254.51 +
  254.52 +
  254.53 +
  254.54 +"Tadaima Kero-chan!" Sakura shouted as she entered her home tugging Tomoyo behind her. "Eh, where's Kero-chan? He
  254.55 +usually comes to the door to greet me." 
  254.56 +
  254.57 +"Didn't you say you have a fight with him the other night?" 
  254.58 +
  254.59 +"Yeah, but I thought he got over it. Maybe he's just up in my room sleeping or playing that new game he got." Tomoyo nodded
  254.60 +at her friend and they headed upstairs to Sakura's bedroom. As Sakura opened the door and stepped inside her room her jaw
  254.61 +dropped to the floor. "KERO-CHAN," Sakura said trying to keep her temper in check. "What have you done to my stuff?"
  254.62 +She asked looking at pricless contents of one of her desk drawers. She noticed all the notes that Tomoyo had given her were
  254.63 +laying on the floor along with other keepsakes. 
  254.64 +
  254.65 +Tomoyo placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder calming her down and went to pick the stuff up off the floor. She noticed that
  254.66 +Sakura had kept the notes from her and blushed slightly. "Maybe there is hope," she thought to herself. She decided to take a
  254.67 +chance, and asked Sakura why she kept all of them. 
  254.68 +
  254.69 +"Because they are from my best friend and they are very important to me. Just like you Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said giving
  254.70 +Tomoyo a warm smile. 
  254.71 +
  254.72 +Tomoyo blushed again and looked at the desk. "So where'd all this stuff come from?" Sakura pointed at the drawer Kero-chan
  254.73 +removed them from and Tomoyo tapped on the drawere. "It's safe to come out Kero-chan," Tomoyo whispered. 
  254.74 +
  254.75 +Kero-chan poked his head out of the drawer and looked at Sakura. "Gomen nasai Sakura-chan. I only wanted to have some
  254.76 +space for myself." 
  254.77 +
  254.78 +"Daijoubu Kero-chan." Sakura said finally after calming down. Just ask next time you do something like that, ne?" Kero-chan
  254.79 +nodded his agreement and the trio went downstairs to fix something to eat. 
  254.80 +
  254.81 +As Sakura was preparing some food Tomoyo was videotaping Kero-chan and finally turned the camera on Sakura. "Aww..
  254.82 +Sakura your so cute when you cook," Tomoyo said drawing Sakura's attention. When Sakura noticed she was being taped a
  254.83 +rather large sweat drop appeared on her head. "If only she knew how much I meant it." 
  254.84 +
  254.85 +"Arigatou Tomoyo-chan," Sakura smiled at her friend and went back to cooking. After their food was done the girls along with
  254.86 +Kero-chan sat down to eat and talked about school and their friends. Tomoyo frinally brought up how she thought Li-kun was
  254.87 +starting to get a crush on Sakura even though Meling was after him. 
  254.88 +
  254.89 +"Hontou?" Sakura asked blushing. "Do you really think he likes me?" 
  254.90 +
  254.91 +Tomoyo only nodded that he does like her. Then she felt like kicking herself for bringing it up. She felt herself slipping into a
  254.92 +depression over it. "Can something really hurt so much? But I have to keep torturing myself. Why???" she thought silently.
  254.93 +Sakura noticed the change in Tomoyo's facial expressions and asked her friend if she was alright. 
  254.94 +
  254.95 +"Yeah, I'm fine." Tomoyo tried to convince Sakura. It seemed her best friend knew her better than she thought. Sakura still
  254.96 +wasn't satisfied though. 
  254.97 +
  254.98 +"Thats why I asked you here Tomoyo-chan." 
  254.99 +
 254.100 +"Huh? I dont get it." 
 254.101 +
 254.102 +"You seem...distant lately. Like there's something on your mind all the time. And I just want you to know, if there's anything
 254.103 +wrong, or anything you need to talk about I'm here for you." Sakura said smiling gently at Tomoyo. "Actually, why dont you
 254.104 +stay here tonight? Tomorow we dont have school and we could go on that picnic we were suposed to have a while ago." 
 254.105 +
 254.106 +"Are you sure?" Tomoyo asked not wanting to be a bother to anyone. Sakura nodded at her friend and took one of Tomoyo's
 254.107 +hands into hers. 
 254.108 +
 254.109 +"Let's go shopping ne?" Sakura suggested. They both cleaned up after eating and decided to go out for a while. 
 254.110 +
 254.111 +
 254.112 +
 254.113 +Once the girls returned from their shopping trip is was already dark outside and they were both exhausted from their busy trip
 254.114 +shopping. "I can't believe you spent a whole months allowance already Sakura-chan. But that shirt will look so good on you."
 254.115 +Tomoyo said complimenting Sakura for the millionth time that day. 
 254.116 +
 254.117 +"Why dont we go to bed now Tomoyo-chan? I'm so exhausted." Sakura said leading the two upstairs. When they entered the
 254.118 +room they found Kero-chan still playing his new game and yelling at the tv screen. They both laughed at him getting his
 254.119 +attention. 
 254.120 +
 254.121 +"Did you two get me anything?" He asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. 
 254.122 +
 254.123 +"Gomen ne Kero-chan. Not this time." 
 254.124 +
 254.125 +"Oh well. I guess I'll just go to sleep then he said saving his game. 
 254.126 +
 254.127 +"Ano.. Sakura-chan. I came here right after school so I dont have anything to sleep in." 
 254.128 +
 254.129 +"It's okay Tomoyo-chan. You can wear something of mine." Sakura looked through her clothes and found something that
 254.130 +would be good for Tomoyo to sleep in. After the two girls changed Tomoyo began to head downstaris when she felt Sakura
 254.131 +take hold of her hand. "Its always when she touches my hand that makes me hurt the most." Tomoyo thought quickly. 
 254.132 +
 254.133 +"Where are you going Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked her friend. 
 254.134 +
 254.135 +"I was going to sleep on the couch." 
 254.136 +
 254.137 +Sakura just smiled at her for a moment. "Baka, your sleeping in my room with me." Sakura told her not giving Tomoyo much
 254.138 +choice. "Great. Being that close to her. Watching her sleep. I wont sleep at all tonight." Tomoyo only smiled and followed
 254.139 +Sakura to her bedroom. 
 254.140 +
 254.141 +The two crawled into Sakura's bed and Kero-chan turned off the lights after they were situated. 
 254.142 +
 254.143 +"O-yasumi" He said to the two girls as he layed down in his new bed in Sakura's desk drawer. As the two girls lie there in the
 254.144 +dark they talked until almost midnight. Sakura moved so that she was now laying on her back and as she resituated herself her
 254.145 +hand brushed up against Tomoyo's. "What is that weird feeling I just got?" she asked herself. Tomoyo had stopped talking and
 254.146 +Sakura just laid there not bothering to move her hand away from Tomoyo's. 
 254.147 +
 254.148 +As Tomoyo tried to think of anything in the world other than the fact that Sakura's hand was touching her (and trying to
 254.149 +remember to breathe) Sakura was deep in thought. She was thinking about her relationship with Tomoyo and all the things they
 254.150 +had done together. She thought about all the comments Tomoyo had given her. And then one incident stuck out in her mind. "I
 254.151 +love you Sakura." then later. "I'll tell you when your older." Sakura thought as much as she could trying to figure out what that
 254.152 +meant. 
 254.153 +
 254.154 +Finally she figured it out. But could Tomoyo really like her..like that? No, thats not the problem. She knew Tomoyo liked her.
 254.155 +She just pretended not to.. But the problem was..Did she like Tomoyo back? Yes. she did. She loved Tomoyo too. "Hoe.
 254.156 +What am I going to do?" Sakura thought to herself. "What do I do now? Do I tell Tomoyo I love her? No, I wont tell her. Then
 254.157 +what?" Sakura's mind was whirling as she lay next to Tomoyo frozen in place. "That's it. I'll show her." she concluded. 
 254.158 +
 254.159 +Sakura moved her hand ever so slightly so that it was resting on top of Tomoyo's. She held on to Tomoyo's hand and
 254.160 +entertwined their fingers. "Sakura-chan?" Sakura didn't say anything to Tomoyo leaving her best friend full of questions. Sakura
 254.161 +then rolled over wrapping one of her arms around Tomoyo's waist and fell to sleep. Tomoyo, not daring to move a muscle, was
 254.162 +wondering what was going on here. "Is this a joke? Could it be, that she likes me? No, she'd never feel like that. She's to young
 254.163 +to understand." 
 254.164 +
 254.165 +
 254.166 +
 254.167 +When morning came Tomoyo's mind was still at work wondering why Sakura was holding on to her so tightly. She hadn't slept
 254.168 +one bit. Sakura woke up in Tomoyo's arms and smiled to herself. She held on to Tomoyo a little tighter letting Tomoyo know
 254.169 +she was awake. Sakura looked up at her friend innocently and asked, "Sleep well?" 
 254.170 +
 254.171 +Tomoyo could only mumble a few words that didn't make sense. "Your so cute Tomoyo-chan," Sakura smiled at her and got
 254.172 +out of bed. "Evil. She is evil," Tomoyo thought. "Tomoyo-chan, after we shower lets go on our picnic, ne?" Tomoyo could only
 254.173 +nod at her friend, as she still lay paralized. 
 254.174 +
 254.175 +A few hours passed and the girls had gotten dressed and they were just finishing with packing their lunch. "Todays the day. I'll
 254.176 +tell Tomoyo-chan how I feel today at our picnic." Sakura told herself. "Are you ready Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked and the
 254.177 +two girls headed out the door. 
 254.178 +
 254.179 +"Ano..Kero-chan isnt coming Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. 
 254.180 +
 254.181 +Sakura thought back to when Tomoyo was in the shower earlier and how she bribed Kero-chan not to come along today.
 254.182 +"Onegai Kero-chan? I'll make you a whole cake just for you if you just stay behind today. There's something I have to tell
 254.183 +Tomoyo and there can't be anyone around when I tell her." Sakura pleaded with the guardian beast. 
 254.184 +
 254.185 +"What do you have to tell her?" 
 254.186 +
 254.187 +"You'll see soon enough. Just trust me." 
 254.188 +
 254.189 +"Fine, but I get a whole cake tommorow. All to myself." He demanded crossing his arms. 
 254.190 +
 254.191 +"Arigatou Kero-chan!" Sakura exclaimed hugging him. Sakura laughed as she was remembering the conversation and turned to
 254.192 +Tomoyo. "He said he wanted to stay home and finish his new game today," Sakura informed her friend. "Well, you ready?" 
 254.193 +
 254.194 +The girls headed to the park and Sakura's heart was racing. "This isn't going to be easy. I can't believe this. What if something
 254.195 +goes wrong? At least I know she wont reject me." Sakura's mind was going a mile a minute and she couldn't wait to get to the
 254.196 +park and get this off her chest. 
 254.197 +
 254.198 +They found a nice spot under a tree to place their blanket and sat down. Tomoyo began to unpack their lunch when she felt
 254.199 +Sakura take hold of her hand. Tomoyo stopped and looked at Sakura. "What is it Sakura, is something wrong? You look
 254.200 +scared." 
 254.201 +
 254.202 +"No nothings wrong," Sakura shook her head and conintued. "Its just, there's something I have to tell you. You see, it's that,
 254.203 +I...I.." Sakura paused, looking at Tomoyo's eager face. She was sure Tomoyo knew what she was going to say but she was
 254.204 +still scared to admit it out loud. 
 254.205 +
 254.206 +"Hey, Sakura have you seen Li-kun around her?" Meling shouted as she saw two of her friends. "Must kill," Sakura thought
 254.207 +looking at Meiling with an evil smile. "What's with the evil look Sakura? Something wrong?" Meiling asked innocently. 
 254.208 +
 254.209 +"I'm trying to have a private conversation with Tomoyo at the moment." Sakura retorted. 
 254.210 +
 254.211 +"Oh? What about?" Meiling was being persistant and was getting on Sakura's nerves. "Oh food, mind if I have some?" she said
 254.212 +already with food in her hands almost to her mouth. 
 254.213 +
 254.214 +"Meiling, could you please leave us. I need to talk to Tomoyo privatly." Sakura was on her last nerve and about to use one of
 254.215 +her clow cards to dispose of Meiling. 
 254.216 +
 254.217 +"Tell me whats so important first." 
 254.218 +
 254.219 +"No." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. 
 254.220 +
 254.221 +"Yes." 
 254.222 +
 254.223 +"No." Sakura now extremly pissed and losing her temper. 
 254.224 +
 254.225 +"Yes." 
 254.226 +
 254.227 +"I'm trying to tell Tomoyo I love her okay? Now leave me alone and go chase Li-kun. Do whatever you want. But let me tell
 254.228 +Tomoyo I'm in love with her okay?" Tomoyo and Meiling's jaws were dropped to the floor. Meiling could practicaly see flames
 254.229 +coming from Sakura's head and decided to quickly make her exit. 
 254.230 +
 254.231 +"Excuse me for a moment. I think I have to go umm.. Chase Li-kun for a while or umm.. something." Meiling said as she ran
 254.232 +from Sakura. Sakura smiled proudly at herself for getting rid of Meiling and then frowned. "Great, it was supposed to be
 254.233 +special when I told her I love her," Sakura thought out loud. 
 254.234 +
 254.235 +"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo startled Sakura out of her thoughts. "If you really do mean that, it was very special just hearing you say
 254.236 +it." 
 254.237 +
 254.238 +"I did mean it Tomoyo-chan. I'm in love with you, not Li-kun or Yukito-san. Your the one who makes me feel special. Who's
 254.239 +always trying to make me happy. I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize it. Last night, when I was laying in bed..." Sakura
 254.240 +trailed off thinking how nice it was to be laying with Tomoyo. "Last night you held me in your arms. I know you didn't sleep at
 254.241 +all, and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I just needed to be sure. But when I was laying, listening to your heart beat, feeling
 254.242 +your arms around me. I felt happier than I had ever been in all my life. I love you Tomoyo-chan." Sakura finished and looked at
 254.243 +her best friend. Tomoyo had tears in her eyes and Sakura wiped them away. 
 254.244 +
 254.245 +Tomoyo tried to speak, but once again no words would come out. All she could do was throw herself into Sakura's arms and
 254.246 +hold on to her with all her might. "I love you Sakura. I always have" Tomoyo said as she released her hold on Sakura. She
 254.247 +looked up at Sakura who was now crying tears of joy. Tomoyo smiled at her and leaned in so she was only a few inches from
 254.248 +Sakura's face. "I promise I'll make you happy Sakura-chan," she said. 
 254.249 +
 254.250 +"You already do silly." Sakura closed the distance between them and kissed her friend on the lips. "Now what do you say to
 254.251 +eating all this food you brought?" Sakura suggested as they broke apart. Tomoyo smiled and began to eat. After they finished
 254.252 +the two spent the rest of the day at the park. Sakura was leaning back against a tree holding Tomoyo in her arms. Neither
 254.253 +spoke much, but instead enjoyed the others warm embrace and they both knew, nothing would ever be able to come between
 254.254 +them from now on. 
 254.255 +
 254.256 +End 
 254.257 +
 254.258 +Yada Yada....So that was it..My turn to rant now.. How was the story? To long? To short? Comments welcome at
 254.259 +meikosama@hotmail.com 
 254.260 +
 254.261 +Japanese Terms: 
 254.262 +
 254.263 +1) Ohayou - good morning 
 254.264 +
 254.265 +2) onii-san-brother 
 254.266 +
 254.267 +3) Yo -kinda obvious but it's a greeting in case there's some baka people out there 
 254.268 +
 254.269 +4) chotto matte - wait a minute, hold on 
 254.270 +
 254.271 +5) hai - yes 
 254.272 +
 254.273 +6) Tadaima - I'm home 
 254.274 +
 254.275 +7) Gomen nasai - I'm sorry 
 254.276 +
 254.277 +8) Daijoubu - It's okay 
 254.278 +
 254.279 +9) Arigatou - Thanks 
 254.280 +
 254.281 +10) Hontou - Really? 
 254.282 +
 254.283 +11) ne - basically asking for agreement.. like putting 'okay?' at the end of a sentance 
 254.284 +
 254.285 +12) Ano.. - ummm 
 254.286 +
 254.287 +13) Baka - silly, stupid...a million things really..all depends on the context 
 254.288 +
 254.289 +14) O-yasumi - goodnight 
 254.290 +
 254.291 +15) Onegai - please 
 254.292 +

   255.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   255.2 +++ b/stories/cera2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   255.3 @@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
   255.4 +Untitlted
   255.5 +
   255.6 +                                             by Cera
   255.7 +meikosama@hotmail.com
   255.8 +
   255.9 +
  255.10 +Sakura...Daisuki... 
  255.11 +
  255.12 +As I sit in class my mind wonders off. I find that all I can think about now is her. I simply write her name over and over again.
  255.13 +It's a beautiful name. It suits her. Next week we'll be graduating and she'll be leaving me to go away to college. Although she
  255.14 +still doesn't know my feelings for her, I've still never been apart from her before. How can I live apart from her? Perhaps I do
  255.15 +love her too much. But she'll never feel the same... 
  255.16 +
  255.17 +Tomoyo's thoughts were interupted by the last bell going off indicating school was over for the day. A single tear escaped from
  255.18 +her eye as she grabbed her books. Sakura looked at her best friend with confusion as she noticed the sadness in her eyes. She
  255.19 +chased after Tomoyo and took hold of her arm stopping her. 
  255.20 +
  255.21 +"Whats going on Tomoyo? Why are you so sad lately?" Sakura asked her friend without hesitation. Tomoyo put forth a smile
  255.22 +and denied anything was wrong. She just claimed something was in her eye back in class. Sakura knew better than that but
  255.23 +decided not to push it. 
  255.24 +
  255.25 +"Sakura, did you want to come over for dinner tonight? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about for quite a
  255.26 +while now and haven't had the chance." Tomoyo asked sounding sounding cheerful once again. In reality she had never been so
  255.27 +scared in all her life. 
  255.28 +
  255.29 +"Yeah. I'll be there around six if that's okay. I still have a little packing I'd like to get done at home." Sakura told her best friend.
  255.30 +Tomoyo agreed and the two went their seperate way. 
  255.31 +
  255.32 +The whole way home Tomoyo was in a panic. "Am I really going to tell her tonight? What if she hates me? What have I gotten
  255.33 +myself into?" When Tomoyo reached her house the first thing she did was colapse on her bed and ponder how to go about
  255.34 +telling Sakura her true feelings. 
  255.35 +
  255.36 +When six o'clock came she still had no clue what to say to Sakura. She heard the doorbell and jumped off her bed. "Of all the
  255.37 +times for her to be on time, why can't she be late like usual?" Tommoyo thought as she went to the front door. 
  255.38 +
  255.39 +"Konban wa, Tomoyo" Sakura smiled as Tomoyo opened the door for her. As Sakura entered Tomoyo's house Tomoyo led
  255.40 +Sakura up to her bedroom. The two sat down at a table in Tomoyo's room and Tomoyo's face became serious. 
  255.41 +
  255.42 +"Sakura," Tomoyo began to speak trying to get this over with as soon as possible. "When we were little there was something I
  255.43 +told you that I'd tell you again when we were older." Tomoyo paused looking at her friend. "Actually, I've told you this a million
  255.44 +times, but you've still never gotten the real meaning of it. You see Sakura, I... I love you." Sakura started to say something but
  255.45 +Tomoyo stopped her. "Yes, I know you love me too Sakura. You are my best friend. But you see, I'm in love with you."
  255.46 +Tomoyo finished trying to hold back the tears that threatened her eyes. 
  255.47 +
  255.48 +Sakura looked at Tomoyo with wide eyes as her words sunk in. What could she possibly say at a time like this? "I know you
  255.49 +probably hate me now Sakura, but I figuered I might as well tell you before you left for college. I hope one day you will forgive
  255.50 +me though." 
  255.51 +
  255.52 +"No, Tomoyo. I don't hate you. You'll always be my best friend forever. Who else will I turn to if not you? I dont share your
  255.53 +feelings, I'm sorry. But I always want to be your friend." Sakura hugged her best friend and Tomoyo cried on her shoulder. A
  255.54 +few minutes later they broke their embrace and Tomoyo apoligised for crying so much. "Don't worry Tomoyo, I wont ever
  255.55 +think any less of you. I just think right now I need to be alone for a while and think about this if you dont mind." 
  255.56 +
  255.57 +"It's okay for you to leave. I guess I'll just see you at school tommorow then?" Sakura nodded and headed out of Tomoyo's
  255.58 +house. As she was walking down the street she looked back at Tomoyo's house. "Gomen ne Tomoyo. I just don't love you like
  255.59 +that...Do I?" Sakura thought suddenly not sure of her feelings towards her best friend. "Hoee!!" Sakura exclaimed. 
  255.60 +
  255.61 +
  255.62 +
  255.63 +That night Sakura found it impossible to sleep. She had a million emotions running through her mind. "Tomoyo has always been
  255.64 +there for me. She is the one who I've always turned to. I can depend on her for everything. She is beautiful. But is this that kind
  255.65 +of love? Can I possibly love her like that?" 
  255.66 +
  255.67 +Sakura stared at her phone. Her hands unconsciously reached for it and started dialing Tomoyo's number. She had no clue
  255.68 +what she was doing but decided not to hang the phone up. When she heard Tomoyo's voice on the other line she became
  255.69 +frozen and unable to speak. Finally she snapped out of it. "Gomen Tomoyo. I didn't mean to call so late, but I couldn't sleep." 
  255.70 +
  255.71 +"Daijoubu Sakura. I couldn't sleep either. Are you okay?" 
  255.72 +
  255.73 +"Yeah, I'm fine I guess. Just a little confused. It's weird though. I've always come to you with all my problems, without you who
  255.74 +would I have to talk to? But this is something that I can't come to you about. That I need to figure out on my own." 
  255.75 +
  255.76 +"Figure out?" Tomoyo asked. "I thought you said you were okay with..my feelings," she trailed off scared of what may happen
  255.77 +between them. 
  255.78 +
  255.79 +"I am fine with how you feel. It's just that.." Sakura paused for a moment. She didn't know if she should tell Tomoyo she
  255.80 +thought she might be in love with her too. What if she decided she wasn't? That would crush Tomoyo and she never wanted to
  255.81 +hurt the girl. 
  255.82 +
  255.83 +"Just what?" Tomoyo questioned. 
  255.84 +
  255.85 +"Nevermind," Sakura said trying to laugh it off. "I know it's really late, but can you meet me at the park? This would be easier in
  255.86 +person I think." 
  255.87 +
  255.88 +"Yeah, I'll be there in a half hour." Tomoyo said still confused. 
  255.89 +
  255.90 +"Arigatou. Ja na." Sakura said hanging up the phone. 
  255.91 +
  255.92 +
  255.93 +
  255.94 +Tomoyo arrived at the park exactly a half hour later and found Sakura sitting near King Penguin. Sakura noticed her and invited
  255.95 +her to sit down next to her. "Remember when we were little, how we'd come play here almost every day?" Sakura asked
  255.96 +Tomoyo. 
  255.97 +
  255.98 +"Yeah. It was nice when we were little." 
  255.99 +
 255.100 +"Have you always been in love with me?" Sakura caught Tomoyo by suprise and Tomoyo didn't quite know what to say. 
 255.101 +
 255.102 +"Yes. Ever since we were little I have been in love with you. Thats why I always video taped you. I know you thought I was
 255.103 +weird following you around all the time with the camera. But I wanted to have as many memories of you as possible. Because I
 255.104 +knew someday you'd leave me like you are next week after graduation." Tomoyo stared off into the sky looking at the stars not
 255.105 +daring to look at Sakura's face. She knew if she did she'd probably start crying again. 
 255.106 +
 255.107 +"Have I caused you a lot of hurt?" Sakura stunned Tomoyo again. 
 255.108 +
 255.109 +"No, you haven't. Sometimes it was frustrating because you didn't understand my feelings but you never hurt me." 
 255.110 +
 255.111 +"If I never hurt you, why is it so hard for you to keep from crying. I've caused you to cry. I'm sorry." Sakura took Tomoyo's
 255.112 +hand into her own causing Tomoyo to finally look at her. "I want to make it up to you." 
 255.113 +
 255.114 +Tomoyo just gave her friend a confused look. She wasn't quite sure what was going on anymore. Sakura seemed different now.
 255.115 +More grown up. "What do you mean?" 
 255.116 +
 255.117 +"You see. I think, I'm not sure, but I think I'm in love with you too Tomoyo. I'm just not exactly sure yet." Tomoyo was out of
 255.118 +words. Never had she expected to hear that she may actually have a chance with Sakura. She dreamed of it plenty, but never
 255.119 +thought it was possible. "Can I stay with you tonight? I dont feel like being alone." Tomoyo could only nod at Sakura's request. 
 255.120 +
 255.121 +As the two started on their way back to Tomoyo's house Sakura once again took hold of Tomoyo's hand. Tomoyo still
 255.122 +couldn't believe this was happening and was still speechless. Sakura just looked at her and smiled as the two walked back in
 255.123 +silence. 
 255.124 +
 255.125 +
 255.126 +
 255.127 +"Here," Tomoyo said to Sakura finally being able to speak agian. "You can wear this to bed if you like." Sakura took the
 255.128 +clothes from her friend and after the two had changed they got into Tomoyo's bed. "I'm going to miss you when you leave
 255.129 +Sakura," Tomoyo told her friend suddenly shy about saying such things. 
 255.130 +
 255.131 +Sakura found Tomoyo's hand underneath the blankets and held onto it again. "Its funny. I've held your hand so many times, but
 255.132 +I've never gotten butterflies in my stomach from it. It's never meant as much as it does now. You see, I realized something while
 255.133 +I was waiting for you tonight. I love you Tomoyo. I love you the same way you love me. I was just scared to admit it so I didn't
 255.134 +say anything. But I want to be with you. That's why I've decided not to go away to college. I'm going to stay here for college so
 255.135 +we can be together. That is, if you still want to be with me." 
 255.136 +
 255.137 +Tomoyo didn't bother to hide her tears this time. This time they were tears of joy. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
 255.138 +Tomoyo asked. 
 255.139 +
 255.140 +Sakura was sure alright. She slowly bent down and brushed her lips against Tomoyo's. Tomoyo wasn't sure if this was for real
 255.141 +but when Sakura pressed her lips more firmly against hers she kissed her love back. When the kiss ended Sakura layed down
 255.142 +and wrapped her arms around Tomoyo. 
 255.143 +
 255.144 +"I've dreamed of you holding me like this for so long. Of being able to tell you how much I really love you." Tomoyo confessed
 255.145 +as she held tightly onto Sakura. 
 255.146 +
 255.147 +"I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it. But I love you very much Tomoyo." 
 255.148 +
 255.149 +"Ai shiteru Sakura." 
 255.150 +
 255.151 +The two didn't speak after that. They enjoyed the feel of being in each others arms and fell asleep peacfully knowing both their
 255.152 +dreams had come true. Tomoyo got the one and only person she would ever love and Sakura found someone who loved her
 255.153 +more than anyone else in the world and couldn't wait to spend forever with her. 
 255.154 +
 255.155 +-End

   256.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   256.2 +++ b/stories/chbmn-satpt3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   256.3 @@ -0,0 +1,839 @@
   256.4 +
   256.5 +All of our stories (including the Sakura & Tomoyo stories I’ve written) along 
   256.6 +with all the other ChibiUsa & Hotaru/Sakura & Tomoyo stories I’ve managed to 
   256.7 +find are up at http://fly.to/moonlit_nights as well as hopefully a few other things. 
   256.8 +^-^ It’s a fanfiction shrine to two of the most wonderful yuri couples. Please 
   256.9 +check it out. ^-^
  256.10 +
  256.11 +
  256.12 +Tears and Rain (I know it was gonna be Rainbow Connection, but I changed my 
  256.13 +mind. ^-^;; You should know that I change my mind a lot by now. ^-^;; *l* The 
  256.14 +old title just didn’t fit as well.)
  256.15 +By the Amazoness Quartet
  256.16 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
  256.17 +
  256.18 +Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute:
  256.19 +
  256.20 +"Ever since I first met you 
  256.21 +I've been shining in my heart
  256.22 +My love causes so much sorrow
  256.23 +I broke off my glance so quietly
  256.24 +
  256.25 +Your insignificant gestures
  256.26 +And your ordinary words
  256.27 +Every time
  256.28 +I think of them I feel like I'm going to cry
  256.29 +
  256.30 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart
  256.31 +I'm just all alone now
  256.32 +Lonely lonely heart
  256.33 +All the joy and pain I feel, I'm always
  256.34 +Dreaming it by myself
  256.35 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart
  256.36 +But I know that someday it will come
  256.37 +While I'm being held in your strong arms
  256.38 +Wanting to be together with you... 
  256.39 +
  256.40 +Right at your side, I'm standing there
  256.41 +I'm always waiting for you
  256.42 +But you don't return my advances
  256.43 +I've been disappointed so many times
  256.44 +
  256.45 +When I fall in love with someone
  256.46 +Why does it cause me so much pain
  256.47 +All alone, by myself
  256.48 +It's like I've fallen sick
  256.49 +
  256.50 +And now it's baby baby love 
  256.51 +Please, I beg of you 
  256.52 +Baby baby love 
  256.53 +When I feel I am going to lose to this loneliness 
  256.54 +I have to look into my hand mirror 
  256.55 +And now it's baby baby love 
  256.56 +Seems like every day I'm crying through the night 
  256.57 +I long for the past, smiling to myself 
  256.58 +Wanting to be together with you... 
  256.59 +
  256.60 +Nobody knows about these 
  256.61 +Secret tears 
  256.62 +The one to wipe them away is 
  256.63 +Only 
  256.64 +Not just myself 
  256.65 +Wanting to be together with you... 
  256.66 +
  256.67 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart 
  256.68 +I'm just all alone now 
  256.69 +Lonely lonely heart 
  256.70 +All the joy and pain I feel, I'm always 
  256.71 +Dreaming it by myself 
  256.72 +Love brings a lonely lonely heart 
  256.73 +But I know that someday it will come 
  256.74 +While I'm being held in your strong arms 
  256.75 +Wanting to be together with you..."
  256.76 +
  256.77 +A dark haired girl with odangos sighed miserably as she and her pink 
  256.78 +haired companion stood outside the Outer Senshi’s mansion, waiting under a 
  256.79 +tree as the storm continued. "Why are we even here? We could be at home right 
  256.80 +now, warm and dry, in the Crystal Palace. We could just tell Hotaru-mama and 
  256.81 +ChibiUsa-mama about us and not have to worry about all this." The storm had 
  256.82 +shown signs of slowing for a moment, but only a moment. It was already 
  256.83 +starting to pick up again, pelting the two girls with cold rain. They were about 
  256.84 +the same age as ChibiUsa and Hotaru, coming from further in the future than 
  256.85 +their younger selves.
  256.86 +	Shisa shivered, Selene’s body leaning against her own the only warmth 
  256.87 +she felt. "Because we need to make them understand, Selene. They have to know 
  256.88 +we’re in love. We have to prove that to them, make them realize that that’s the 
  256.89 +most important thing to us."
  256.90 +	"And why can’t we do that in the warmth of our own home? Why did 
  256.91 +we travel back in the past for all this?" Selene asked. She was already starting to 
  256.92 +feel homesick. She missed the room they shared; waking up to breakfast with 
  256.93 +their whole family; their parents gentle prodding when it came to their being 
  256.94 +princesses.
  256.95 +	Shisa looked down at the damp grass. "We’d already talked about all 
  256.96 +that. They wouldn’t understand if we only told them. We have to prove it. We 
  256.97 +have to test them, show just how important their love is, so they’ll know how 
  256.98 +important ours is."
  256.99 +	"Maybe they already know," Selene said hopefully. "Maybe they know 
 256.100 +and they’re fine with it."
 256.101 +	Shisa shook her head skeptically. "Remember a year ago? You were 
 256.102 +wondering why I was acting so strange around you. You kept wanting to know 
 256.103 +what was bothering me. You just wouldn’t leave me alone about it. And finally I 
 256.104 +told you. I looked you in the eyes and told you I was in love with you. There 
 256.105 +was no mistaking it. I think you know me better than I know myself sometimes. 
 256.106 +You didn’t need to ask, or to pretend you didn’t understand. And do you 
 256.107 +remember what happened?"
 256.108 +	The rain kept pouring over the two girls as they pushed further against 
 256.109 +the tree, trying to stay out of the soaking rain. Selene let out a deep sigh before 
 256.110 +answering. She looked away from Shisa when she did, not being able to meet 
 256.111 +the pink haired girl’s gaze. "I freaked out. I didn’t talk to you for a while. I 
 256.112 +thought you were sick. I kept telling you to leave me alone when I’d say 
 256.113 +anything at all.." the maroon haired girl trailed off. 
 256.114 +	Shisa nodded sadly, pushing back the depression that always tried to 
 256.115 +overwhelm her at those memories. "It took a long time before I could even get 
 256.116 +you to even look at me again. ChibiUsa-mama and Hotaru-mama would 
 256.117 +probably react even worse."
 256.118 +	Selene thought for a moment, holding onto the other girl for comfort. 
 256.119 +"But I did eventually wind up falling in love with you. I got over how I 
 256.120 +originally thought of it. Maybe our parents will grow to accept it, too."
 256.121 +	The dark night, lit only by occasional bolts of lightning, left the two 
 256.122 +princesses in shadows. Shisa pulled her glasses off, trying to wipe the water 
 256.123 +from the rain off on her blouse. Turning to Selene, she shook her head somberly. 
 256.124 +"It took you time, Selene. It took a lot of time to fix things. Before our parents 
 256.125 +could take the time to realize that, they probably would try to pull us apart. 
 256.126 +They’d forbid us being together. We might wind up not seeing each other if they 
 256.127 +decide to put us in different places to keep us apart. Who knows what else 
 256.128 +they’d do." Shisa closed her eyes, shivering again. This time it wasn’t 
 256.129 +just from the wind and rain. 
 256.130 +	"Oh, Shisa.." Selene wrapped her arms tighter around her lover, kissing 
 256.131 +her cold cheek. "I don’t ever want to lose you. You’re right. We can’t take any 
 256.132 +chances. We’ll do whatever it takes."
 256.133 +	"Whatever it takes," Shisa repeated, determination lighting up her pale 
 256.134 +violet eyes.
 256.135 +
 256.136 +	Biting cold and freezing droplets of ice water hit ChibiUsa as she 
 256.137 +opened the door for whoever had been knocking. Her pink hair was thrown 
 256.138 +around by the strong surging winds. She shivered as the cold wind got to her, 
 256.139 +standing there only in Hotaru’s nightgown. “Hello?” She called out into the 
 256.140 +storm. The harsh rain and wind nearly blinded her as she tried to make out the 
 256.141 +figure in the doorway. Why couldn’t she be back in bed with Hotaru right now? 
 256.142 +What had possessed her to come downstairs in the first place? “Hello?” she 
 256.143 +called again, barely hearing herself as a thunderclap shook the house. She 
 256.144 +shuddered at the sudden sound, hugging herself as she waited for it to pass. As 
 256.145 +she slowly managed to open her eyes and peer out past the doorway, a figure 
 256.146 +slowly took shape. “Oh!” gasped the princess as she took a step back.
 256.147 +	The figure smiled slightly and bowed. “It’s a pleasure, Princess 
 256.148 +Serenity. You look surprised. I hope I haven’t come at an inopportune time.”
 256.149 +	The pink haired girl shook her head slowly, at a loss for words. “I… 
 256.150 +No, its just that… Why are you here?” she finally blurted out in confusion.
 256.151 +	Taking another step forward, the figure’s smile broadened. “There is 
 256.152 +much I must tell you, Princess.”
 256.153 +
 256.154 +
 256.155 +	Momoko cinched the towel around herself tighter and closed the door 
 256.156 +behind her as she entered her room. No one was home, but force of habit made 
 256.157 +her shut the door anyway. She had just taken a long relaxing shower after she 
 256.158 +had finally gotten home from shopping with Ruruna and Naruru. Momoko rolled 
 256.159 +her eyes. Those two were really hard to deal with. She could see why Hotaru 
 256.160 +didn’t like them very much. They were good friends of ChibiUsa’s, though, so 
 256.161 +she put up with them. The pink haired girl had been supposed to come along, but 
 256.162 +she had called at the last moment saying she couldn’t make it.
 256.163 +	Stretching luxuriously, the lavender haired girl reflected on the past few 
 256.164 +days. She had learned from ChibiUsa and Diana that not only had ChibiUsa’s 
 256.165 +younger sister shown up, but her future daughters as well. That news had been 
 256.166 +rather shocking. She’d had no idea the two girls could have a child, let alone 
 256.167 +twins.
 256.168 +	A by now familiar scratching sound at her window grabbed Momoko’s 
 256.169 +attention. She smiled broadly before turning to look, pushing her other thoughts 
 256.170 +aside at the arrival of her lover. “Diana!” Momoko quickly ran over and opened 
 256.171 +the window. A small grayish purple kitten hopped down into the room, landing 
 256.172 +gently on the floor.
 256.173 +	“Hi, Momo-chan!” Diana said happily. The kitten purred as Momoko 
 256.174 +bent down to pet her. 
 256.175 +	“Where were you?” Momoko asked, scratching under the kittens chin. 
 256.176 +“I missed you, Diana.” She pouted for a second before smiling again, picking 
 256.177 +her up in her arms.
 256.178 +	“I was being played with by Small Lady and Hotaru-chan’s kids,” 
 256.179 +Diana replied, obviously frustrated.
 256.180 +	Momoko couldn’t help but giggle. “Children love kittens, Diana. 
 256.181 +Especially cute talking kittens like you.”
 256.182 +	After a shimmer of light, Diana stood before Momoko in her human 
 256.183 +form. The beautiful cat girl’s short dark hair was done up in four odangos. She 
 256.184 +wore a lavender dress with matching stockings that reached her thighs. Her 
 256.185 +catlike eyes gazed deeply into Momoko’s. She took a step forward, her arms 
 256.186 +wrapping around Momoko’s waist as she hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Momo-
 256.187 +chan. You’re sweet.” Leaning forward, she gave the lavender haired girl a peck 
 256.188 +on the lips. She sighed as she leaned against her lover’s soft body, the scent of 
 256.189 +Momoko’s hair already starting to relax her. “Those kids are hard to keep up 
 256.190 +with, even when they’re dragging you around. They have a bundle of energy.”
 256.191 +	Momoko smiled, running a hand through Diana’s soft hair. “Sounds 
 256.192 +like it. Maybe you should stay with me for a while. I mean, my mother knows 
 256.193 +you stay around here a lot, as a kitten at least. And ChibiUsa doesn’t always 
 256.194 +need you there. Like you said, the Quartet can watch over them.” Her voice had 
 256.195 +a hopeful tone to it.
 256.196 +	Diana squealed giddily and hugged the other girl again. “Really? 
 256.197 +Thanks! No more little kids pulling my tail. And I’d get to stay with you. That 
 256.198 +would be great, Momo-chan!”
 256.199 +	“Yeah, I’d love if you could stay.” Momoko’s hands moved down 
 256.200 +Diana’s back before arriving at her tail. “As for the not pulling your tail…” 
 256.201 +Giving a playful tug on the other girls’ tail, Momoko laughed as Diana tensed up 
 256.202 +in her arms. “At least you won’t have to pack anything,” she said thoughtfully 
 256.203 +before sitting on the edge of her bed.
 256.204 +	Diana sat down next to her, placing a hand on the lavender haired 
 256.205 +girls’. “I’ve been thinking about you so much lately, Momo-chan. I love you,” 
 256.206 +Diana said happily, her tail moving back and forth behind her.
 256.207 +	“I love you, too,” Momoko smiled back. “My little kitten,” she added. 
 256.208 +She slowly leaned forward, Diana turned to her, as if to speak. Momoko caught 
 256.209 +Diana’s lips with her own, kissing her passionately. Diana was caught by 
 256.210 +surprise. Her mouth fell open, Momoko’s tongue pushing inside. Diana quickly 
 256.211 +regained herself, kissing the other girl back.
 256.212 +	Momoko sat forward, lost in their kiss. She felt Diana’s tail wrap 
 256.213 +around her hand, the soft fur against her skin. As their tongues danced, Momoko 
 256.214 +felt a warm feeling pouring through her. Her eyes widened as she felt Diana’s 
 256.215 +hand on her right breast. She moaned softly into Diana’s mouth. The lavender 
 256.216 +haired girl was paralyzed. She didn’t know what to do, but Diana continued. 
 256.217 +They had been dating for several months now, but they had only gone so far, not 
 256.218 +actually having made love. Momoko’s worries were quickly drowned out by the 
 256.219 +feelings flooding through her. She continued to kiss the other girl back, her 
 256.220 +tongue brushing against the other girl’s. She moaned again when Diana lightly 
 256.221 +squeezed her breast. She gasped, arching her back as Diana’s other hand went to 
 256.222 +her left breast. Her now hard nipples pressed against Diana’s soft palms.
 256.223 +	Both girls were breathing heavily when the kiss finally ended. “Diana-
 256.224 +chan,” Momoko whispered huskily. She pushed the cat girl backwards on the 
 256.225 +bed, a quick yelp of surprise coming from Diana. Lying atop Diana, Momoko 
 256.226 +kissed down her jawline to her neck. Diana shuddered deliciously underneath 
 256.227 +her. Momoko started pulling the top of Diana’s dress down, baring her soft 
 256.228 +breasts. The lavender haired girl kissed down her shoulder hungrily. Lightening 
 256.229 +shot through Momoko’s body as Diana’s hands began to caress her own chest 
 256.230 +again.
 256.231 +	Almost as if coming out of a trance, Momoko could vaguely hear a 
 256.232 +ringing sound. “Not now…” she muttered, finally recognizing the doorbell. She 
 256.233 +tried desperately to ignore the now grating noise, reveling in the new 
 256.234 +experiences playing out before her. Her mind focussed solely on Diana and the 
 256.235 +sensations the cat girl was arousing within her. Sitting up, she ran a hand 
 256.236 +through her sweat dampened lavender hair. “Diana,” she tried to say. She 
 256.237 +shuddered lightly as Diana continued her ministrations. With great reluctance, 
 256.238 +she finally disentangled herself from her lover. 
 256.239 +	Diana let out a small whimper as Momoko stood up. Her passion filled 
 256.240 +eyes traveled up and down Momoko’s nude body. “Momo-chan, don’t go,” the 
 256.241 +cat girl pleaded, reaching out for the lavender haired girl.
 256.242 +	Taking Diana’s hand in her own, Momoko brought it to her flushed 
 256.243 +cheek. “I’m sorry, Diana. I’ll be back in a minute. Wait right here,” she 
 256.244 +commanded, ignoring the cat girl’s crawling towards her. Heading to the closet, 
 256.245 +Momoko quickly pulled out a Chinese dress and pulled it on, eager to get rid of 
 256.246 +the visitor. She wasn’t in the mood to deal lightly with whomever it was. A 
 256.247 +glance back at her bed weakened her resolve to go check the door. The sight of 
 256.248 +Diana sitting on her bed with the top of her dress down with a slightly 
 256.249 +bewildered look in her eyes greeted Momoko. Blushing profusely, Momoko 
 256.250 +averted her eyes and headed through her door. This was the first time she’d ever 
 256.251 +done anything like this. It was an almost overwhelming sensation. She wanted to 
 256.252 +get rid of the intruder as quickly as possible and get back to it. 
 256.253 +	The site that greeted her when she opened the door was a tired and 
 256.254 +traumatized looking pink haired girl flanked by three younger girls. A worried 
 256.255 +Hotaru was holding onto ChibiUsa’s hand, looking up with concern in her deep 
 256.256 +violet eyes at her one true love. On the other side of the future princess were the 
 256.257 +twins, Shisa and Selene. Shisa bowed first, her sister following suite seconds 
 256.258 +later. “Ohayo, Momohara-san,” Shisa said politely. “Hi, Momoko-san,” Selene 
 256.259 +said seconds afterward. She giggled and whispered something to her sister. 
 256.260 +Apparently the other girl thought it was funny as well. 
 256.261 +	Momoko shook her head, looking back up at the miserable pink haired 
 256.262 +girl. She knew that ChibiUsa must be taking that accident that changed Hotaru 
 256.263 +into a child pretty badly, despite Diana having told her that she seemed to be 
 256.264 +doing well. “ChibiUsa-chan, looks like you brought the entire family. Well, 
 256.265 +except your little sister.”
 256.266 +	“Aunt Kousagi is still back at grandma Usagi’s house. ChibiUsa-mama 
 256.267 +spent the night with Hotaru-mama," Selene supplied helpfully. Shisa nodded a 
 256.268 +little shyly from her place slightly behind ChibiUsa,. 
 256.269 +	A sigh escaped the future princesses lips before she looked up. She 
 256.270 +gave Hotaru’s small hand a squeeze before plastering on the fake smile she’d 
 256.271 +worn all the way there. It wasn’t enough to fool Hotaru, but she hadn’t known 
 256.272 +what to ask her girlfriend. What could have happened that morning to upset her 
 256.273 +so? “Momo-chan, I’m really, really sorry about this, but would you mind 
 256.274 +watching the kids for a bit? There’s someone I need to talk to and its kinda 
 256.275 +urgent. My mother sent her and there’s some things we need to talk about and 
 256.276 +I’d feel bad just leaving Hota-chan, Shisa-chan, and Selene-chan all alone,” 
 256.277 +ChibiUsa asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.
 256.278 +	That much was true, Hotaru could tell, but what wasn’t she saying? 
 256.279 +And why was she so afraid to ask? She knew that they could tell each other 
 256.280 +anything, so all she had to do was ask the pink haired girl. But every time she 
 256.281 +tried, the knots in her stomach would just get worse. ChibiUsa had seemed so 
 256.282 +hopeful the night before and now… 
 256.283 +	Momoko looked back inside the house. Her parents were gone for the 
 256.284 +day and she had Diana back waiting for her in her room for a day they could 
 256.285 +spend in each other’s arms. They could pick up where they left off and see 
 256.286 +where it went from there. With a sigh, she turned back to her friend. So much 
 256.287 +for that idea. There was always some other time. Smiling a bit, she nodded. 
 256.288 +“Sure thing, ChibiUsa-chan. I’d be glad to help.”
 256.289 +	ChibiUsa let out her breath in relief. At least she wouldn’t have to 
 256.290 +worry about the children while dealing with things. And it was probably better if 
 256.291 +Hotaru stayed here for now. Maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad if Hotaru 
 256.292 +didn’t already have so much to worry about. Hotaru’s enhanced aging had been 
 256.293 +jump started, but it would still be a while before she was back to her normal self. 
 256.294 +Whether that meant days or weeks, ChibiUsa had no idea. “Thanks, Momo-
 256.295 +chan. I owe you one.” She smiled a little weakly as she led the younger girls 
 256.296 +towards the door. 
 256.297 +	Laughing, Momoko shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You can 
 256.298 +just babysit for me and Diana if we ever have a kid,” the lavender haired girl 
 256.299 +joked.
 256.300 +	“You mean Isis-chan?” Shisa asked curiously. 
 256.301 +	Momoko stared at the younger girl for a moment before she began to 
 256.302 +sweatdrop. They did have a child? Before she could think about it anymore, 
 256.303 +Selene slipped past her, dragging Shisa behind. 
 256.304 +	“Will you be okay, ChibiUsa-chan?” Hotaru asked softly, not managing 
 256.305 +to hide the concern in her voice.
 256.306 +	Smiling down at the dark haired girl, ChibiUsa nodded. “Hai, I’ll be 
 256.307 +fine, Taru. You just try not to worry about things, okay? We’ll get it all worked 
 256.308 +out soon enough.” ‘I hope,’ she added to herself. 
 256.309 +	Hotaru didn’t feel very reassured, but she slowly let go of ChibiUsa’s 
 256.310 +hand and took a step towards Momoko. She didn’t want to leave the pink haired 
 256.311 +girl, but she didn’t know what to say. Everything was so confusing. Looking up 
 256.312 +at the pink haired girl, she tried desperately to say something, anything, but 
 256.313 +nothing came to her. But she didn’t need words. ChibiUsa met her gaze with a 
 256.314 +warm smile, comforting her a little. 
 256.315 +	“I’ll be back soon, Hota-chan,” ChibiUsa promised, kneeling down. 
 256.316 +She gave Hotaru a hug, something she needed as much as the other girl to quell 
 256.317 +the storm in her heart. 
 256.318 +	“I’ll be waiting for you,” Hotaru said softly before they parted. 
 256.319 +Blinking back tears she didn’t know had been there, she watched as the pink 
 256.320 +haired girl turned around and left. She knew that she’d be back, so why did it 
 256.321 +feel like this would be the last time they’d see each other?
 256.322 + 
 256.323 +
 256.324 +	“It isn’t fair.”
 256.325 +Hotaru sat quietly on the couch, hugging her legs tightly to her chest. 
 256.326 +The small, lonely girl was propped up on a cushion, her chin resting on her 
 256.327 +knees. She shivered, her pale skin forming thousands of goose-bumps. It wasn't 
 256.328 +the cold that bothered her so much. No, she was used to that. She had always 
 256.329 +been cold. It didn’t matter how warm it was outside. Inside, she always felt cold. 
 256.330 +Now was no different. The only warmth she’d felt in her cold body was when 
 256.331 +she was being held in ChibiUsa’s arms, losing herself in the sensation. It was as 
 256.332 +if she was somehow absorbing the heat from the pink haired girl’s body. But she 
 256.333 +knew that just had to be her mind playing tricks on her. She was always cold 
 256.334 +because she had always been a weak and sickly girl. Maybe it wasn’t as bad this 
 256.335 +time around as it had when she had been growing up the first time, but she still 
 256.336 +wasn’t as healthy as most of the other children.
 256.337 +	Her dark violet eyes reflected the flickering flames from the fire 
 256.338 +Haruka had started not that long ago. The large house she shared with her 
 256.339 +surrogate parents was slowly warming up. She wanted to get off the couch and 
 256.340 +sit right in front of the fire, but she stubbornly stayed where she was. She didn’t 
 256.341 +feel like trying to warm herself. Hugging her legs tighter to herself, she blinked 
 256.342 +stinging watery eyes as the bright flames finally won their staring match. 
 256.343 +	ChibiUsa had come upstairs that morning with a trinket from Crystal 
 256.344 +Tokyo that had jumpstarted Hotaru’s advanced aging. She should be her normal 
 256.345 +self within a few weeks. In the meantime, she was still stuck in the body of a 
 256.346 +child and she would have to slowly re-age back to her normal self within the 
 256.347 +course of the next few weeks. But rather than being overjoyed by the prospect, 
 256.348 +ChibiUsa had been quiet and withdrawn, not at all the normally outgoing person 
 256.349 +she usually was. The pink haired princess had been preoccupied by something, 
 256.350 +but despite Hotaru’s concern, ChibiUsa had just tried to convince her that 
 256.351 +nothing was wrong. And afterwards, ChibiUsa had taken Hotaru and their future 
 256.352 +twin daughters to Momoko’s house so she and Diana could keep an eye on them 
 256.353 +while ChibiUsa thought. ‘About what? What’s she keeping from me? We’re 
 256.354 +supposed to tell each other everything. Why would she hide this from me? She’s 
 256.355 +treating me like a child,’ she thought despairingly to herself. ‘Could it be that 
 256.356 +just maybe you’ve been acting like one?’ a voice within herself countered. She 
 256.357 +silenced it quickly, curling up tighter. ‘I’m not acting like a child. I’m not… My 
 256.358 +body’s just younger, not my mind…’ she reassured herself. 
 256.359 +	“It isn’t fair.”
 256.360 +	“What isn’t fair, Hime-chan?” Michiru asked gently, gracefully 
 256.361 +entering the living room with a tea tray. She kneeled next to the table in front of 
 256.362 +the couch Hotaru was on. 
 256.363 +	“Nothing…” Hotaru trailed off, looking down miserably. Strands of her 
 256.364 +short, dark hair fell into her eyes.  Even the momentary blindness made her feel 
 256.365 +worse. She brushed the hair from her eyes with her small hand, looking up 
 256.366 +slowly to see Michiru’s soothing smile. 
 256.367 +	“Would you like some tea, Hime-chan? You need something to warm 
 256.368 +you up before you freeze.” Michiru began pouring the tea into several cups even 
 256.369 +before the younger girl’s response. “Sitting there all stern and thoughtful. One 
 256.370 +might think you’re a piece of gothic architecture. We have enough art around the 
 256.371 +house. We need more lively little girls.” 
 256.372 +	Hotaru giggled softly, a small smile beginning to light up her young 
 256.373 +features. “Hai, Michiru-mama. I’d like that.” She missed the note of childish 
 256.374 +exuberance in her own voice as she slid off the couch and gratefully accepted 
 256.375 +the offered cup of tea. “Arigato, Michiru-mama.” The first sip of the warm 
 256.376 +liquid did make her feel a little better as it slowly warmed her inside. Michiru 
 256.377 +had to warn her about drinking it too quickly, lest she burn her throat. She 
 256.378 +sighed softly before taking another sip. If she asked, she knew ChibiUsa would 
 256.379 +tell her. They could tell each other anything. But what scared her was when 
 256.380 +ChibiUsa did tell her. If this was enough to affect the usually bright and 
 256.381 +optimistic pink haired girl…
 256.382 +	Sitting in front of the fire, the mug held in both hands, the young 
 256.383 +Senshi of Death and Rebirth counted off all of her blessings despite the 
 256.384 +condition she was in. And prayed that she wasn’t about to lose them all.
 256.385 +
 256.386 +
 256.387 +
 256.388 +	ChibiUsa sighed miserably as she searched through the refrigerator for 
 256.389 +something else to eat. She was feeling empty in more ways than one. She steered 
 256.390 +clear of the carrots, scavenging for anything that looked edible cold. ‘There we 
 256.391 +go,’ the pink haired princess thought to herself as she found some chocolate near 
 256.392 +the back. Usually she would be a little more weary of who’s it was, but she 
 256.393 +wasn’t in the mood to worry about that at the moment. Putting the chocolate bar 
 256.394 +in her mouth to hold for a moment, she smoothed down her pajamas before 
 256.395 +returning to her seat at the table, a space she hadn’t vacated for the past two 
 256.396 +hours. Taking a bite of the chocolate, she winced. It was still hard. She set it 
 256.397 +down to wait for it to thaw a bit before trying to polish it off. Looking into her 
 256.398 +half empty glass of water, she gazed at the dim reflection she could make out 
 256.399 +from the single light that was on in the room. Her normally vibrant crimson eyes 
 256.400 +seemed faded, they’re usual sparkle missing. She ran a hand through her pink 
 256.401 +hair, let down from her odango hair style. “Not quite the pristine princess I’m 
 256.402 +supposed to be, right, mom?” she asked quietly into the empty room. She 
 256.403 +laughed bitterly. “But then, why should you care? Just how much of a 
 256.404 +disappointment am I to you?”
 256.405 +	Picking up the candy bar, ChibiUsa took a bite out of the still hard 
 256.406 +chocolate. It was supposed to be comfort food, but it didn’t feel very comforting. 
 256.407 +So technically, she should stop. But who would care whether or not she did? 
 256.408 +Hotaru. She wouldn’t mind if Hotaru was doing this, if the pale girl got a little 
 256.409 +chubby. Then she wouldn’t have to worry so much about the poor girl never 
 256.410 +eating. Besides, she’d look cute even then. 
 256.411 +	ChibiUsa shook her head as she realized her thoughts were wandering. 
 256.412 +But was that a bad thing? At least it would get her mind off of things. She didn’t 
 256.413 +want to have to think right now, to have to relive thoughts over and over. It only 
 256.414 +made things worse, it seemed. Thoughts lived and died, other darker thoughts 
 256.415 +rising from their ashes as the night pushed inexorably onward towards the 
 256.416 +coming dawn. There was no silver lining for her to search for, no shelter in this 
 256.417 +storm. Sleep escaped her as if it were running from her frenziedly. Biting her 
 256.418 +lower lip, she wondered if she could ask Elios if there were something he could 
 256.419 +do about that. He was the priest of Elysian, the land of dreams, after all. But then 
 256.420 +she’d still probably have nightmares all night long. That wouldn’t be any better 
 256.421 +than this waking nightmare. And talking to him would just remind her of her 
 256.422 +mother’s plans.
 256.423 +	‘How could she do this to me?’ ChibiUsa thought to herself. ‘She made 
 256.424 +it sound like she had faith in us. I always thought she was such a wonderful lady. 
 256.425 +I wanted to be just like her. Now… I don’t know what to think. Why us? 
 256.426 +Hotaru’s already had such a difficult life. Why can’t she have some happiness? I 
 256.427 +love her. How can my mother dictate that? Is love so weak that she can decide 
 256.428 +its fate? She thinks our love is nothing more than puppy love, that I was 
 256.429 +experimenting back here and got with my best friend because of that. It took me 
 256.430 +long enough to figure it out, but I do love Hotaru. I always knew it deep down. I 
 256.431 +always worried about what the future would bring when I had to return, but I 
 256.432 +knew things would work out. We’d think of something. Love would find a way. 
 256.433 +But now I find out that my mother had it set from the beginning that this 
 256.434 +couldn’t be. And what about the twins? Were they just told to say that Hotaru 
 256.435 +and I were their parents so that we wouldn’t realize what was going to happen? 
 256.436 +Are they Elios’ and my children?’ 
 256.437 +The pink haired princess buried her face in her hands, tears running down 
 256.438 +her cheeks when she thought she had none left. ‘I thought we’d be together 
 256.439 +forever. My birthright destroyed everything. How can I face Hotaru with this? I 
 256.440 +just wanted to make her happy, and now I can’t even do that. I hate you, mother. 
 256.441 +I’ll never forgive you for this. I want to curl up and die. Maybe I should. Prove 
 256.442 +to you that you can’t rule my life. That I won’t follow in your footsteps if it 
 256.443 +means leaving behind the girl I love. If it means leaving behind the other half of 
 256.444 +my soul, what type of life is that? Its not even life. And I won’t live it. I’d rather 
 256.445 +die than be her puppet. Than ever hurt Hotaru. I’ll be with Hotaru again in the 
 256.446 +afterlife. You’ll never keep us from each other. I’d move heaven and earth to be 
 256.447 +with her.’ The princess stood up, pulling back the drawn curtains to look up into 
 256.448 +the moonlit sky. A renewed determination burned in her eyes. ‘I won’t let you 
 256.449 +keep us apart. I’ll fight to be with her, give up my birthright, even die. Whatever 
 256.450 +it takes.’ She drew a tiny picture on the damp glass with her finger. ‘I love you 
 256.451 +too much, Hotaru. I’ll never give up on you. I won’t let it end this way. I 
 256.452 +promise.’
 256.453 +
 256.454 +
 256.455 +
 256.456 +	“Are you alright, Kyusuke-kun? You’ve been out of it all afternoon. 
 256.457 +You’ll make me think I’m too boring for you,” Hikaru chided the green haired 
 256.458 +boy.
 256.459 +	“Huh? Oh.. Sorry, Hikaru-chan. I was just lost in thought. And boring 
 256.460 +is definitely not a word I’d use to describe you. You may be a lot of things, but 
 256.461 +boring’s not one of them,” Kyusuke replied.
 256.462 +	Hikaru paused for a moment, considering whether or not to take that as 
 256.463 +a compliment before smiling back at the boy. “Just try not to get lost again. I 
 256.464 +might not be able to find you.”
 256.465 +	“I’ll be careful,” Kyusuke promised. Glancing sidelong at his 
 256.466 +companion, he smiled to himself. Her short auburn hair fell past beautiful brown 
 256.467 +eyes almost to the point of obscuring her vision, but she never seemed to have a 
 256.468 +problem knowing exactly where she was going. With everything. A large 
 256.469 +oversized sweater and a pleated skirt adorned the girl that chilly evening, her 
 256.470 +arms still clutching the stuffed bear he’d bought her just a short time beforehand. 
 256.471 +Kyusuke had known Hikaru for years now and they’d always been good friends, 
 256.472 +but it hadn’t been until a few months ago that they’d finally started dating. The 
 256.473 +girl was a little odd, but he loved all those little things about her. 
 256.474 +	“You’re grinning like an idiot again. Wanna tell me what about?” 
 256.475 +Hikaru asked with a wink, once again shaking Kyusuke from his thoughts. 
 256.476 +	“Nothing.. I’m just thinking about things,” the green haired boy said 
 256.477 +lamely. He was about to try again before something caught his eye. Across the 
 256.478 +street he could make out ChibiUsa along with three younger girls heading into a 
 256.479 +store. “ChibiUsa-chan must be babysitting.”
 256.480 +	Hikaru followed his gaze to the pink haired girl and nodded. “Looks 
 256.481 +like it. That’s the girl who dates the gothic girl at your school, right?”
 256.482 +	Sweatdropping profusely, the green haired boy nodded. “Yeah, but 
 256.483 +Momoko said she’d beat the crap out of me if I told anyone. She only told me 
 256.484 +because I was joking about it.”
 256.485 +	“Looks like she’s gotta kill you then, because you told me.” Hikaru 
 256.486 +grinned and stuck her tongue out at the boy. “You really are scared of that girl, 
 256.487 +aren’t you?”
 256.488 +	“Hey, as long as Momoko doesn’t find out, I don’t wind up very very 
 256.489 +dead. And sense you go to a different school, I figure the rules don’t apply.” 
 256.490 +Proud of his explanation, Kyusuke watched ChibiUsa and the girls disappear 
 256.491 +into the building. Slowly, the pair begin walking again. 
 256.492 +	“You always run up to your friends to talk to them except when I’m 
 256.493 +around.” Hikaru turned and pouted cutely at Kyusuke. “Why is that?”
 256.494 +	Sighing and rolling his eyes, the green haired boy kept walking. “Come 
 256.495 +on, Hikaru-chan. Don’t do that.”
 256.496 +	“I only do it because it always works,” the auburn haired girl said with 
 256.497 +a giggle.
 256.498 +	“Well, it’s just that… They’re all… And when you think about it…. 
 256.499 +You know…”
 256.500 +	Hugging the stuffed bear against her chest, Hikaru turned to Kyusuke. 
 256.501 +“But what’s the big deal? The pink girl and that other one are in a lesbian 
 256.502 +relationship and your friend Momoko obviously seems fine with it. So there 
 256.503 +shouldn’t be a problem if they met me. Its not like they’d find out.”
 256.504 +	“I know, I know… It’s just…” Kyusuke began nervously.
 256.505 +	“Now don’t start that. We both know why you don’t want me to meet 
 256.506 +them. You don’t need to cover it up. Fine.” She shrugged, walking forward 
 256.507 +again. Brushing some hair back, she placed a withering glance on the green 
 256.508 +haired boy as he tried to keep up. “It doesn’t matter if you pretend I don’t exist.”
 256.509 +	A sigh of defeat marked the end of Kyusuke’s resistance. Nodding, he 
 256.510 +looked up at her. “Alright, you win. But don’t expect it to be a big thing. 
 256.511 +They’re just my friends. Momoko’s kind of intimidating sometimes, but that’s 
 256.512 +usually just to me. ChibiUsa’s sort of… perky. And Hotaru pretty much just 
 256.513 +follows her around, not saying much.”
 256.514 +	Hugging her boyfriend warmly, Hikaru smiled. “Thanks, Kyusuke-kun! 
 256.515 +I knew you’d understand.”
 256.516 +	Returning the hug, Kyusuke sweatdropped. He hoped he wasn’t making 
 256.517 +a mistake.
 256.518 +
 256.519 +
 256.520 +
 256.521 +	“What about this?” ChibiUsa asked as she lifted the small frilled dress 
 256.522 +up for the younger girls to see.
 256.523 +	“ChibiUsa-chan…”
 256.524 +	“But it’s cute. You’d look adorable in it, Hota-chan,” the future 
 256.525 +princess argued. Looking from the small dark haired girl to the dress and back, 
 256.526 +she nodded, pleased. “Besides, Puu gave me some money and told me to buy 
 256.527 +you some clothes. You do need some, Taru. The rest of your wardrobe’s still for 
 256.528 +a sixteen year old girl.”
 256.529 +	“I know, ChibiUsa-chan. But don’t you think it’s a little too...” Hotaru 
 256.530 +trailed off as she stared skeptically at the dress.
 256.531 +	“Cute?” Shisa supplied helpfully, startling the shy raven haired girl.
 256.532 +	“Hai. Its more like something that you would wear, ChibiUsa-chan...” 
 256.533 +Hotaru looked up at ChibiUsa with her dark violet eyes for a long moment. It 
 256.534 +was strange, looking up at her like that. She remembered it the other way around 
 256.535 +when they’d first met, when she had to look down to see the little pink haired 
 256.536 +girl. The last time she herself had been this small and in a situation like this had 
 256.537 +been several years ago shopping with her surrogate parents. Looking up at their 
 256.538 +smiling faces, she’d been thrilled when they had let her pick out a particular 
 256.539 +sundress she liked. Michiru had said it would only get dirty anyway but Haruka 
 256.540 +had said that was the point. Now she was looking up at a different smiling face 
 256.541 +with a different kind of love in those eyes than in those of her parents’. It left her 
 256.542 +a little disoriented, the new mixing with the old, nostalgia mixing with anxiety, 
 256.543 +all performing a jumbled orchestra in her heart.
 256.544 +Selene giggled and nodded. “I think you should get it, Hotaru-chan. It 
 256.545 +would look nice.” Dark purple odango bobbed up and down as she nodded 
 256.546 +enthusiastically. 
 256.547 +ChibiUsa smiled at her future daughter’s attempt at helping. She had 
 256.548 +noticed the twins had quickly dropped the use of ‘mama’ for Hotaru when 
 256.549 +they’d found out she was their age. She hoped it was only because of their 
 256.550 +similarity in age rather than Hotaru not really being their mother. If Elios really 
 256.551 +was the father... Hotaru’s insistent tug on her hand brought her back to reality. 
 256.552 +“I’ll get it if you want, ChibiUsa-chan,” Hotaru said with a shy smile.
 256.553 +	ChibiUsa smiled down at her and shook her head, something catching 
 256.554 +her eye. “No, you’re right, Taru. Its not exactly you. Besides, this is soooo much 
 256.555 +cuter.” Pulling up a little yellow sundress to Hotaru, she grinned happily. The 
 256.556 +younger girl looked simply adorable. “Now we just need to find you a good 
 256.557 +wide-brimmed hat for that and it will be perfect.” Standing up and still holding 
 256.558 +her girlfriend’s small hand, she looked around for the next object in her quest.
 256.559 +	“ChibiUsa-mama? When we’re done getting Hotaru-chan clothes, I 
 256.560 +want something to!” Selene stated so her future parent would be absolutely sure 
 256.561 +not to leave her out of the day’s events.
 256.562 +	“Me too!” Shisa added. “I’ll have the one you were gonna get for 
 256.563 +Hotaru-chan if she doesn’t want it.”
 256.564 +	Hotaru let her eyes wander as they walked through the enormous racks 
 256.565 +of clothes. Everything was so huge now. She’d never been a tall girl, but the 
 256.566 +sheer difference in size from a few days before and now was colossal. Brushing 
 256.567 +back her dark hair, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were being 
 256.568 +watched. But by who? She glanced around worriedly, unable to keep the 
 256.569 +sensation from getting worse. To keep the disorientation welling up inside her 
 256.570 +from becoming too much to bear, she squeezed ChibiUsa’s hand tightly. The 
 256.571 +future princess squeezed back gently, reassuring Hotaru. A sigh escaped 
 256.572 +Hotaru’s lips as she tried to convince herself that it was all in her mind. Smiling 
 256.573 +to herself, she slipped away from ChibiUsa while the older girl was checking the 
 256.574 +hats.
 256.575 +	“This one looks really cute, but this one’s really good, too. Hmm... 
 256.576 +What do you think, Hota-chan?” ChibiUsa looked up as she held the two hats 
 256.577 +for the raven haired girl’s inspection, but Hotaru was nowhere to be seen. Right 
 256.578 +as she began to fear the worst, a small voice piped up near her.
 256.579 +	“What about this one, ChibiUsa-chan? I really like it!” Hotaru said 
 256.580 +happily as she ran back up to the three other girls. She was clutching a beautiful 
 256.581 +white wide-brimmed hat offset with a midnight black ribbon encircling it before 
 256.582 +trailing off the back. Placing it on her head, the pale girl demonstrated for her 
 256.583 +future princess. Her short dark hair fell out from underneath the hat, framing her 
 256.584 +ivory skin. She giggled as she tilted her head to the side.
 256.585 +	“Its really pretty, Hota-chan. I think you should get it.” ChibiUsa 
 256.586 +smiled at her counterpart, her soulmate, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief that 
 256.587 +nothing had happened. Before she could further comment, the two hats she had 
 256.588 +been holding were snatched from her grasp.
 256.589 +	“What about me? I look pretty, too, right?” Selene asked quickly, 
 256.590 +wearing the hat that had been in ChibiUsa’s right hand. 
 256.591 +	“Can I get this one? Please?” Shisa asked, blinking huge puppy dog 
 256.592 +eyes upwards at her currently overwhelmed future pink haired parent. 
 256.593 +	Hotaru watched as the other two girls fought over their mother’s 
 256.594 +attention through blurry eyes. It had looked so perfect, sitting there all alone. 
 256.595 +She wanted so much to show it to ChibiUsa, to see what she thought. All alone... 
 256.596 +She’d known ChibiUsa would like it as much as she did, but now... A tear 
 256.597 +dropped down to the cold floor, quickly joined by another. It wasn’t fair... 
 256.598 +“Hotaru? Hotaru-chan, what’s wrong?”  she heard pierce through the shroud of 
 256.599 +sadness around her. A hand went to her shoulder as another brushed the hair 
 256.600 +away from her eyes. Concerned crimson eyes met her own tearful violet ones. 
 256.601 +She lunged forward with a choked sob and clasped onto ChibiUsa. Comforting 
 256.602 +whispers brushed past her ears as the older girl held her tightly. She could see 
 256.603 +the twins watching worriedly from behind ChibiUsa but her torn heart kept the 
 256.604 +tears flowing. She buried her head against ChibiUsa’s shoulder, wanting 
 256.605 +everything to go back to the way it had been. ‘Why am I doing this?’ she asked 
 256.606 +herself. ‘It’s not a big deal. It’s alright. I know she loves me, so if she pays 
 256.607 +attention to them, why does it hurt so much? Why am I so sad? I’m a big girl, I 
 256.608 +shouldn’t be crying about this. This doesn’t matter. But.. I just wanted to show it 
 256.609 +to her.. I wanted to ask her what she thought.. I wanted to be the only one...’
 256.610 +	“Shhh... It’s okay, Hota-chan. Cry all you want. It’s okay.” ChibiUsa 
 256.611 +stroked Hotaru’s back as the other girl sobbed against her. What had happened? 
 256.612 +She wanted to ask, to make sure that the dark haired girl was all right, but she 
 256.613 +just needed comfort right now. There would always be later to worry about such 
 256.614 +things. Hotaru had been trying so hard to pretend that she was fine, but this had 
 256.615 +taken a rather heavy emotional toll on her. She was just a little girl now. 
 256.616 +ChibiUsa had been so worried about what she’d heard from the future and what 
 256.617 +would become of them that she hadn’t been worrying enough about what Hotaru 
 256.618 +was going through now. Things would work out, they would find a way. But for 
 256.619 +now, Hotaru needed her. She never should have left her side since this had 
 256.620 +happened. Closing her eyes, she realized what a mistake she had made. She 
 256.621 +could only hope that she could make it up to the pale girl in her arms.
 256.622 +	
 256.623 +	“Poor Hotaru-mama,” an older Selene said as she watched the scene 
 256.624 +unfolding before her. Her long dark hair was swept back behind her as familiar 
 256.625 +fingers brushed through it. She smiled as she turned her attention to the 
 256.626 +spectacled girl next to her. “I was wondering where you’d disappeared off to.”
 256.627 +	“Just making sure we had one of grandfather Tomoe’s Daimon Eggs 
 256.628 +ready,” the teenage Shisa explained. She lifted up the small object in her hand 
 256.629 +for the dark haired girl to see. 
 256.630 +	Selene frowned as she looked from it to the embracing forms of their 
 256.631 +parents. “Are you sure about this? Aren’t they already in enough pain? 
 256.632 +ChibiUsa-mama just heard that she’s marrying High Priest Elios and Hotaru-
 256.633 +mama’s no more than a child.” She shakes her head sadly. “But we have to. We 
 256.634 +have to or they’ll never accept us. We must test them.”
 256.635 +	Shisa nodded in agreement. “We must make them hurt. To try to tear 
 256.636 +them from each other. To make them suffer. Only then will they understand...” 
 256.637 +She clutched the Daimon Egg tightly as her mind started to shift back to painful 
 256.638 +memories. 
 256.639 +	“Shisa, no, don’t think about it. We’re both here. I’m here with you. 
 256.640 +Please don’t worry.” Selene placed her hand on the other girl’s cheek gingerly. 
 256.641 +She offered a small smile. “You can’t just give up on me now. What would I do? 
 256.642 +If we’re gonna pull this off, we need to be together on it. I need you.”
 256.643 +	Placing her hand atop Selene’s, Shisa nodded, smiling herself. “Hai, 
 256.644 +Selenity. Besides, it should be fun.”
 256.645 +	Selene grinned. “Most definitely. We’ll see just how well our beloved 
 256.646 +parents can handle what we throw at them.”
 256.647 +
 256.648 +	“There you go,” ChibiUsa said softly as she wiped the last of Hotaru’s 
 256.649 +tears away. She smiled as she looked into the raven haired girl’s deep violet 
 256.650 +eyes. “Is that better?” She got a shy nod from Hotaru in return. Smiling a little 
 256.651 +more as relief spread through her body, she placed the wide brimmed hat on 
 256.652 +Hotaru. 
 256.653 +The pale girl looked at ChibiUsa for a long moment before smiling a little 
 256.654 +herself. She was being childish, she admonished herself. But she had to admit 
 256.655 +deep down that it was worth it if it meant ChibiUsa was there to take care of her. 
 256.656 +She gave the bigger girl a warm hug. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan.” After a 
 256.657 +second’s pause, she added almost inaudibly, “I love you.”
 256.658 +Whether the older girl heard her or not would never be known, because at 
 256.659 +that moment an arm whipped out and grabbed at Hotaru. A yelp escaped the 
 256.660 +raven haired girl as she got pulled backwards suddenly, her hat falling to the 
 256.661 +floor. As the terrified Senshi of Death and Rebirth turned around, she saw what 
 256.662 +she had sworn was a mannequin just a few moments earlier with an evil grin on 
 256.663 +its face. 
 256.664 +“Hotaru-chan!” ChibiUsa yelled as she watched in confusion. A Daimon! 
 256.665 +Just like the one they’d fought a few days ago when Hotaru had been tied up. So 
 256.666 +it wasn’t an accident after all. Someone was after them. But why? There was no 
 256.667 +time to waste on the answers but she’d see that they didn’t get away with 
 256.668 +whatever it was. Lunging forward, she grabbed Hotaru’s forearm. 
 256.669 +Unfortunately, the Daimon was much stronger than it had appeared and 
 256.670 +ChibiUsa had never been very strong to begin with, so both the dark haired girl 
 256.671 +and the future princess got dragged through a few racks of clothes. Trying to 
 256.672 +catch her bearings, ChibiUsa noticed that the twins were left unprotected as they 
 256.673 +watched the whole thing. She could only hope that this thing was only after her 
 256.674 +and Hotaru. “Hotaru-chan, hang on!” she screamed as she felt her grip 
 256.675 +loosening. The Daimon laughed maniacally and lashed the smaller girl in her 
 256.676 +grasp. ChibiUsa lost her grip and lay sprawled against a cosmetics display. 
 256.677 +Disoriented, frightened, and now very angry at seeing the girl she loved 
 256.678 +being hurt like that, Hotaru struggled with the much stronger Daimon. 
 256.679 +"ChibiUsa-chan!” The Saturn symbol flashed on her forehead as the Daimon 
 256.680 +laughed evilly. An aura of light started glowing around the young girl, her short 
 256.681 +hair whipping around as if she were in a storm. “Don’t hurt her!” Hotaru cried, 
 256.682 +grabbing the Daimon’s attention. The energy around the girl grew in size and 
 256.683 +strength within seconds, ripping through the Daimon’s hand that had been 
 256.684 +holding onto her arm. Screaming in pain, the mannequin daimon stumbled 
 256.685 +backwards. Swaying back and forth after the serge of energy had drained her, 
 256.686 +Hotaru fell to her knees. She was quickly pulled back to her feet by two arms 
 256.687 +around her. Looking around in fright, the dark haired girl’s frantically beating 
 256.688 +heart started to slow when she looked up into crimson eyes framed by cotton 
 256.689 +candy pink hair. “ChibiUsa-chan!” 
 256.690 +ChibiUsa smiled reassuringly. “Hai, it’s me. I’m just fine. You did a great 
 256.691 +job, Hota-chan, but I want you to get out of here with the twins. I’ll henshin and 
 256.692 +deal with the Daimon while you three get out of here.” She grabbed her broach 
 256.693 +absentmindedly as she watched the injured Daimon. 
 256.694 +Hotaru shook her head adamantly, her violet eyes worried. “I don’t want to 
 256.695 +leave you…” she said softly. She couldn’t leave ChibiUsa to face this thing 
 256.696 +alone. “Wait for the Sailor Quartet at least,” she pleaded, holding tightly onto 
 256.697 +ChibiUsa’s white skirt. 
 256.698 +The pink haired girl bit her lower lip as she watched the Daimon start to 
 256.699 +regroup. She really hadn’t fought on her own before. Besides, when Hotaru had 
 256.700 +returned to her it was so they could fight together. But now, on her own… She 
 256.701 +would have to fight anyway. She was a Sailor Senshi and she couldn’t stand by 
 256.702 +and let this thing hurt anyone else, let alone Hotaru or her future daughters. 
 256.703 +Clutching her broach, she took a step away from the worried dark haired girl. 
 256.704 +“Gomen nasai, Taru-chan. I promise we’ll fight together again.” Another soft 
 256.705 +smile went the younger girl’s way before being replaced with a more serious 
 256.706 +look. Holding her broach in the air, feeling her own Pink Crystal inside of it, she 
 256.707 +braced herself for what could be the toughest fight of her life. 
 256.708 +But before she had the chance to utter another word, another voice rang out 
 256.709 +into the pandemonium that had become the mall. “From a distant horizon, a new 
 256.710 +day is dawning. I am the future. Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon.” Landing 
 256.711 +gracefully a few yards in front of the shocked would be Sailorchibimoon, 
 256.712 +another Sailor Senshi stood, her long dark hair done up with four odango, the 
 256.713 +thick pigtails draped across her back not quite reaching past her waist. She had a 
 256.714 +light pink skirt with a purple bow on the front and back. Her long boots reached 
 256.715 +just below the knee. Her broach, a highly decorated scarlet and pink heart, was 
 256.716 +offset by a small gold half moon. Her shoulders were clad in a pink sphere, 
 256.717 +similar to Eternal Sailormoon. Long gloves went past her elbows, an odd scepter 
 256.718 +in her gloved hands.
 256.719 +Not knowing what was going on, but not wanting to keep the younger girls 
 256.720 +in harms way any longer than necessary, ChibiUsa backed off from the new 
 256.721 +senshi towards a clothes rack, hoping to find some sort of cover if anything 
 256.722 +happened. It took her a moment to realize that she’d taken Hotaru’s hand in her 
 256.723 +own in reflex. She looked curiously down at the other girl, but Hotaru’s simple 
 256.724 +shrug was enough to see that the dark haired girl had no more of an idea than 
 256.725 +she did about what was going on. She did know that the senshi sure looked 
 256.726 +awfully familiar... 
 256.727 +Hotaru squeezed ChibiUsa’s hand, looking for some reassurance in what 
 256.728 +had quickly become a shopping trip from hell. She knew that the monster that 
 256.729 +had attacked them was a Daimon, but she couldn’t figure out how or why it 
 256.730 +would be here. Her father’s laboratory was gone, the Daimon Eggs wouldn’t be 
 256.731 +easy to produce. But obviously someone had gotten a hold of them. And they 
 256.732 +were sending them after her. She brought her other hand to ChibiUsa’s as well. 
 256.733 +She’d never been this frightened before of an attack. But she had never been this 
 256.734 +helpless before either. 
 256.735 +Ribbons whipped out from the mannequin at the new Sailor Senshi, but 
 256.736 +before they reached her, they hit right into a glowing barrier. Another Senshi 
 256.737 +stood in front of the first, this one holding a very familiar looking weapon. The 
 256.738 +Silence Glaive. Short, wavy pink hair graced her head along with a large pair of 
 256.739 +glasses that accentuated the soft curves of her face. She had a dark purple skirt 
 256.740 +and a light pink bow on the front and back. Her long laced up boots reached a 
 256.741 +little lower than her counterpart’s. She had the sharp crystal shards that Saturn 
 256.742 +had had on her original fuku for a broach, this time in a heart shape. Her 
 256.743 +shoulders had the odd ripped look of Saturn's old costume as well. 
 256.744 +“Sailorsaturn,” Hotaru gasped. Shaking her head, the raven haired girl watched 
 256.745 +the two. But that couldn’t be right. She was Sailorsaturn. Or, Saturn resided 
 256.746 +within her at least. This was all becoming more and more unnerving. 
 256.747 +“Amazoness Jungle Arrow!!” With the Daimon distracted, the just arriving 
 256.748 +Sailor Quartet wasted no time in attacking. Unable to dodge, it dissipated after 
 256.749 +the combined blast of the four ripped through it. 
 256.750 +“Well, that sure was easy. We’re getting good at this protecting the princess 
 256.751 +thing,” JunJun said thoughtfully as she took a few steps towards who she 
 256.752 +suspected were the Saturn and Chibimoon that they knew. Whirling around, the 
 256.753 +short pink haired one stuck the Silence Glaive inches from the tanned member 
 256.754 +of the Quartet’s face. Suddenly not feeling quite as friendly with the sharp object 
 256.755 +pointed in her face, Sailorjuno backed off.
 256.756 +“What the hell?” VesVes asked as she watched the two new Sailor Senshi 
 256.757 +suspiciously. “Hey, this is our job. Find yourself your own princess.” Out of the 
 256.758 +corner of her eye, she could see Sailorceres and Pallas standing protectively near 
 256.759 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru. She averted her eyes before she could alert the two 
 256.760 +intruders.
 256.761 +The two girls laughed a little as they looked at each other. “Thanks, but no 
 256.762 +thanks. We’ve got our own reasons for being here. We just decided that rather 
 256.763 +than having them all get killed now, we’d let them know that we’re keeping an 
 256.764 +eye on them,” the dark haired one answered, brushing her fingers through one of 
 256.765 +her dark pigtails. 
 256.766 +“Though they shouldn’t expect us to save them next time,” the shorter 
 256.767 +haired one said, adjusting her glasses as she looked pointedly at the two girls in 
 256.768 +question, ChibiUsa still clutching onto the younger Hotaru protectively. 
 256.769 +“PallaPalla didn’t know there were anymore Sailor Senshi. Especially not 
 256.770 +any that looked like Small Lady or Hotaru,” the blue haired Sailor Quartet 
 256.771 +member whispered to CereCere. 
 256.772 +“Neither did I. It’s starting to get difficult keeping track of everybody. Just 
 256.773 +remember that nobody else matters besides the princess. It’s much easier to 
 256.774 +remember that way,” CereCere explained, irritated at the newcomers 
 256.775 +appearance. This would definitely mean more work for them. As if they didn’t 
 256.776 +have enough as it was! ChibiUsa was pretty good at getting herself in trouble 
 256.777 +with these sorts of things and they had to protect her as Hotaru had decided for 
 256.778 +them when she’d awakened them as Sailor Senshi. Maybe if she wasn’t so 
 256.779 +overprotective, they wouldn’t have to worry about this sort of thing. 
 256.780 +“Who are you?” ChibiUsa asked as she stood up, looking over at the two. 
 256.781 +“Why are you here?” She took a step forward toward the Sailor Senshi. “Are 
 256.782 +you here to fight with us? Is there a new threat on the way?” Her innocent 
 256.783 +questions were cut short as the Silence Glaive slashed through the bow on her 
 256.784 +blouse. Startled, the pink haired girl stumbled backwards before falling. 
 256.785 +“We’re here to test you,” the dark haired one answered with a sad smile. In 
 256.786 +the background, a strange whistling music could be heard at that. 
 256.787 +ChibiUsa swallowed nervously as the new Sailorsaturn looked down at her 
 256.788 +with glassy, cold eyes, still holding the Silence Glaive ready. She remembered 
 256.789 +not to let her fear show through as she shifted on the cold floor. “Test us? 
 256.790 +How?”
 256.791 +“You’ll see,” the pink haired one said simply. With that, the two were off. 
 256.792 +ChibiUsa wanted to follow, wanted to know what was going on here and 
 256.793 +why they’d saved them, but Hotaru’s arms around her made her give up on the 
 256.794 +idea instantly. Kneeling down next to her, she looked into those infinitely deep 
 256.795 +violet eyes. “Are you okay, Hota-chan?” She hugged the younger girl to her, 
 256.796 +glad the whole thing was over. 
 256.797 +Hotaru knew that ChibiUsa was hiding how worried she was about all this 
 256.798 +but she let it drop. ChibiUsa always tried to hide her feelings, pretending to be 
 256.799 +happy when something was wrong so no one would worry about her. It wasn’t 
 256.800 +very difficult for Hotaru to see through it, though. She wasn’t very good at 
 256.801 +pretending to be happy herself, but she could still spot the differences in 
 256.802 +ChibiUsa’s behavior when the pink haired girl tried it. “ChibiUsa-chan, I think I 
 256.803 +know who they are,” Hotaru whispered to the older girl. 
 256.804 +“What? Who?” ChibiUsa asked, startled. She hadn’t begun to think about 
 256.805 +that yet, still confused by their very appearance to wonder who these mysterious 
 256.806 +senshi could be. 
 256.807 +Maybe she was wrong. How would she know? Maybe she was just looking 
 256.808 +too hard. She shook her head. No, it made too much sense. Casting a sidelong 
 256.809 +glance at the still worried twins, she quickly looked back at ChibiUsa. Leaning 
 256.810 +closer, she whispered again. “ChibiUsa-chan, I think it’s the twins. I don’t know 
 256.811 +how yet.”
 256.812 +ChibiUsa could barely restrain her surprise at that. She cautiously took a 
 256.813 +look at the two younger girls, still embracing in fear as PallaPalla and CereCere 
 256.814 +tried to calm them down. One with long dark pigtails, the other with slightly 
 256.815 +shorter pink hair and glasses. Hotaru shook her head, silencing ChibiUsa’s 
 256.816 +questions for the two girls before she could ask them. ChibiUsa just nodded, 
 256.817 +biting her lower lip. This was most definitely getting bizarre. She wished for her 
 256.818 +magical city of the future where things at least made sense. “Oh boy...”
 256.819 +
 256.820 +
 256.821 +~Fin~
 256.822 +
 256.823 +Next time on Quant… err… the ChibiUsa & Hotaru series of stories: I 
 256.824 +really have no clue. ^-^ Maybe a few vague ones (which I’m currently keeping 
 256.825 +tabs of in an outline for the next story) but otherwise I’m as clueless as you are. 
 256.826 +^-^;; Maybe if I didn’t keep switching from story to story (I’m working on nine 
 256.827 +at last count) I’d have some idea of where I was going with all this. O_o I’m 
 256.828 +really sorry I’m so slow, but when it rains it pours. ^-^;; Things have been really 
 256.829 +messed up lately, as everyone who knows me has surely heard about. But as far 
 256.830 +as everything goes, you never can have too much time traveling right? ^-^ Okay, 
 256.831 +maybe. ^^;; I’ll try to lay off the time traveling next time so I don’t cramp the 
 256.832 +story with so many characters. I should be concentrating on ChibiUsa & Hotaru 
 256.833 +more as it is. ^-^;; Anyway, I’m ranting now, so please ignore me. If any of you 
 256.834 +would like to contact me for any reason at all (liked the story, caught any in-
 256.835 +jokes, noticed I screwed up somewhere from my bad habit of only writing when 
 256.836 +I should be asleep, have any ideas for the next story, etc.), my e-mail address is 
 256.837 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com and my ICQ name is ChibiUsa Tomoe. I have 
 256.838 +AIM, but I’m not on it half as much. ^^;; Anyway, thanks so much for reading. 
 256.839 +^-^ *hugs and kisses* 
 256.840 +
 256.841 +
 256.842 +

   257.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   257.2 +++ b/stories/chbmn_amp_amp_satpt4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   257.3 @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
   257.4 +Killing Me Softly 
   257.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   257.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com  
   257.7 +
   257.8 +“Who am I?” a small dark haired girl asked herself as she looked at her  image in the mirror. Deep violet eyes met her own from underneath raven bangs,  reflecting the loneliness in her heart. “Who am I?” she asked again, this time  placing a hand on the cold glass. The girl in the mirror looked to be about  thirteen or fourteen. But all mirrors lie. They distort the truth, showing you how  reality seemingly is, not the actual reality itself. Even her Michiru-mama’s  mirror didn’t tell the whole truth. She was in fact a sixteen year old Sailor  Senshi. 	Hotaru sighed as she brushed her long hair back again for the hundredth  time that day. Her enhanced aging didn’t seem to be running as smoothly this  time around as it did when Saturn had increased it. That’s what you get for  toying with faulty 30th century technology rather than ageless incarnations of  Death and Rebirth. Her hair was past her shoulders now, growing much too  quickly for her liking. She considered asking her Setsuna-mama to cut her hair  again that afternoon but decided against it. By the time she woke up again I  would all be back, if not longer. The only good part about this was that she’d  soon be ChibiUsa’s age again. The past few weeks had been rather difficult,  what with her in a much younger body than that of her lover. The young twins  that had come from the future saying they were their daughters had gone back  home along with ChibiUsa’s younger sister, Kousagi. The two mysterious senshi  that had shown up had not been seen again, but Hotaru had the uneasy sense that  she was being watched from time to time. But ChibiUsa had stuck with her  through it all, making it all seem better when by all rights it was pretty awful.  But then, ChibiUsa always had that affect on her.  	‘But am I the same person that fell in love with her all those years ago  when we met in the park?’ Hotaru asked herself. Both hands on the mirror, she  looked at the pale girl being reflected back at her almost as if she expected an  answer. 'We’re all a collection of memories. Thousands upon thousands running  through our minds as we go about our lives, what happened in the past  sometimes taking more precedence than that which is happening now. Good,  bad, happy, sad. Joyous and sorrowful, grieving and enraptured. All playing out  over and over again like a tape caught in a loop. But what happens when you  lose all of your memories? When you lose all that you are? When you no longer  have those memories coursing through your veins alongside your blood, when  you have to start living from new ones that you build up to replace them, are you  really the same person you were? Or did you replace yourself when you  replaced the memories with new ones, you as new as the memories that now fill  you?’ 	Tracing the image of a certain pink haired girl in the mirror nearly  perfectly from memory, the wisp of a girl absentmindedly went back to her thoughts.  ‘I’ve lived three different lives now. But am I the same person each time? I’ve  regained some of my memories from those past lives, but in some instances it’s  like they’re someone else’s. The memories I have from this life, I can just think  back on and relive them. The ones from my other lives... they’re more distant,  almost as if I’m trying to remember something I’ve heard from someone else. So  am I the same girl that fell in love with ChibiUsa-chan? I had some very vague  memories of her when I was growing up this time, but I clung on to them,  cherished them because I only knew that they were important. They made me  happy. This time around, I’ve practically been in love with her my entire life.  It’s strange. There are a few things she’ll mention from when we first met that I  can’t remember. For me, it was a lifetime ago since it was before I was reborn.  For her, there wasn’t much of a change. She tells me that she can see some  differences between the way I am now and the way I was then, but that she sees  underneath it all that I’m still me and that’s what’s important, whether or not I  have my memories of back then.’ A small smile graced soft lips as the dark  haired girl forgot her worries for an all too brief moment.  	‘What’s even more disturbing for me than that is Sailorsaturn. This  woman, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, very nearly frightens me. I don’t even  know if I’m her or if I’m just a vessel for her. When I henshin into Saturn, it’s  like someone else is talking and acting. I’m there, but it’s as if I’m merely  watching from within my own body. I’m an observer while she handles  everything. Am I just stronger and more in control as Sailorsaturn or is she  altogether a different person than I? I don’t think ChibiUsa-chan understands.  She sees us as one and the same person, but I can’t be so sure sometimes. Am I  her nightmare or is she mine? I don’t know anymore. I don’t like the idea of  being the vessel of such a powerful, dangerous entity. But I don’t like the idea  of being the one who decides when all must begin anew anymore.’ Hotaru sighed  as she let her violet eyes fall closed for a moment. Almost on impulse, she checked  the window and smiled when she saw her pink haired counterpart heading toward the  house, a cute red sweater hugging her body on the cold day. ‘When it all comes down  to it, she’s about all I can be sure of.’   	Leaving her shoes by the door, ChibiUsa smiled up at her friend from  the future. “Thanks for letting me in, Puu. Is Hota-chan home? I brought her  some cookies to make her feel better.” She lifted the small, embroidered napkin  with the cookies inside for the green haired woman to see.  	“That’s very thoughtful of you, Small Lady. She should be upstairs.  She didn’t feel like going anywhere today so she’s been there for most of the  afternoon.” Looking back towards the stairwell, Setsuna wished there were more  she could do about the situation, but as it was all she could do was wait and see.  She wasn’t even very sure of what would happen herself. If only there wasn’t so  much unsupervised time travel things wouldn’t be in such a mess. But that was  exactly why she was going to relax. Too much thinking about the infinite  possibilities and chances of things going freakishly wrong was beginning to give  her a headache. “Good luck with her, Small Lady. You always seem to cheer her  up.” Returning the pink haired girl’s cheerful smile with one of her own, the  Senshi of Time grabbed her coat.  	“So you’re going out with Seiya again?” ChibiUsa asked before she  could get out the door, her voice teasing. “I hope you have fun, Puu.” She  smiled brightly, clearly enjoying herself. 	Slightly flustered, the older woman shook her head. “No. We’re just  going for some coffee. Too much has happened recently and I need to get out for  a while. And out does not mean the Time Gate. So he’s taking me a few places  tonight. It should be relaxing.” Satisfied with her explanation, she picked up her  purse.  	“Oh, all right, Puu. Sounds like fun.” Still smiling, the pink haired girl  took a few steps into the house before turning back around. “Didn’t they stop  pretending to be guys a while back?” 	Setsuna sighed. Yes, she most definitely needed a chance to relax.  “Small Lady...” 	Giggling in response, ChibiUsa took a few steps backward as she  continued to watch her old friend. “You should get going before she wonders  where you are. And don’t worry about Hota-chan. I’ll keep an eye on her.” A  wink preceded another giggle from the pink haired teenager. 	“You better, princess. Your mother likes to know what you’re up to and  I could always let something slip the next time she asks,” Setsuna mock warned  as she opened the door.  	“Awww... but I’m a good girl, Puu. You know that,” ChibiUsa said  with a sweet, innocent smile.  	“Sure you are. Just keep that up and I’m sure your mother will believe  you. Ja ne, Small Lady!” 	“Ja, Puu!!” ChibiUsa waved to Setsuna as the older woman left.  	Spotting ChibiUsa from the top of the stairs, Hotaru smiled happily.  “ChibiUsa-chan!” Making her way down the stairs with speed she didn’t have  the first time she’d been that age, she quickly met the pink haired girl in a tight  embrace. Her earlier worries were washed away as she stood in the other girl’s  arms.  	“Hota-chan, you’ve gotten big,” ChibiUsa remarked as she looked over  the girl in her arms. “I guess I won’t be able to pick you up anymore,” she  teased. With a giggle, she kissed the top of Hotaru’s head. “Looks like I’ll still  be taller than you for a bit longer at least.” 	“You haven’t been able to pick me up for weeks,” Hotaru pointed out,  not making a move to break the warm embrace. ‘When you’re with the one you  love, does anything else matter?’ she asked herself. Standing near the doorway  with her head nestled on ChibiUsa’s chest, she sure didn’t think so.  	“Well, it’s still been cute watching you grow up again, anyway. Even if  it’s been tough sometimes.” ChibiUsa’s statement got a sigh and a nod of  agreement from Hotaru at the memories of the past few weeks. The two stood  there for a while in the silence, but it wasn’t a bad thing at all. If anything,  it was just more soothing as the two star crossed lovers held onto each other.  “Oh, and I brought you cookies.” Raising the bag, ChibiUsa smiled. “I was hoping  you’d have more of an appetite than you normally do sense you’ve been growing up  so fast.”  The smile changed to a grin as she brushed back some of Hotaru’s hair.  “You’re just too cute, Hota-chan.” 	The firefly blushed slightly and fidgeted in her girlfriend’s grasp. It was  embarrassing when she’d say things like that. But she had to admit that she was  glad ChibiUsa thought so, even if she did want to reach her normal age again.  “Hai, I am a little hungry.” A grumbling stomach gave the pale girl’s  understatement away. She blushed a little deeper and sweatdropped. Her body  had been going through a lot in its rapid reaging over the past few weeks. Part of  that had made her much hungrier than she usually was. Never being one to eat  much, ChibiUsa had worried that she wasn’t eating enough countless times over  the years. But lately she had actually been hungry enough to eat what the pink  haired girl offered. Another side affect of her reaging was sometimes painful.  Her body just wasn’t ready to go through so many years so quickly. The strain  took its toll on her, sometimes in the form of migraines and sometimes as deep  pains throughout her weak body. The past few days had been particularly  difficult as her body went through puberty. Again. But ChibiUsa had been with  her through most of it, holding onto her when the strains on her abused body  were too much, when the pains were at their worst. The past few weeks would  have been unbearable without her. “Oh, I should get us some tea,” Hotaru said  as she remembered the most vital part of any cookie eating experience.  	“No, I’ve got it, Hota-chan. I think I know my way around the house  enough by now.” The future princess gave Hotaru a wink, setting the pouch with  the cookies down on the table. Before the dark haired girl could argue the point,  she was already on her way to the kitchen. ‘Poor Taru. This is the third time  she’s had to grow up. It must be horrible having to go through her childhood  again. Especially with the painful things that happened when I first met her.  Well, hopefully she doesn’t remember that childhood very well. And it has been  awfully cute to watch her. But I can’t wait till she’s back to normal again.’  While she was thinking to herself, she absentmindedly started the tea. ‘At least  she’s had Haruka-san, Michiru-san, and Puu here for her when I’m not. I may be  older than her, but I need to be older than that.’ A frustrated sigh escaped her  lips as she sat on the counter. ‘Then I could take her back home with me to the  palace and we could live happily ever after without any interruptions from nosey  parents that think they know what’s best for me.’ 	‘She looks so sad. She’s so good at hiding how she feels that  sometimes she almost even tricks me. Why does she do that? Why does she  pretend? I was never any good at it. People always saw right through me. No,  people always saw what they wanted to see. She was the only one who could  really see me.’ Hotaru took a few tentative steps into the kitchen, but ChibiUsa  didn’t really seem to notice. The older girl was startled out of her thoughts when  Hotaru’s arms went around her waist, her head resting on ChibiUsa’s lap. “They  were really good, ChibiUsa-chan. Arigato gozimasu.” Violet eyes closed when  she felt ChibiUsa’s hands gently rubbing her back.  	“Good. I’m really glad that you like them. I probably should have been  finishing my homework, but it was more fun. I kept thinking about you  whenever I tried anyway, so it wasn’t worth not making them.” Brushing her  fingers past where Hotaru’s now longer hair ended just below her shoulders,  ChibiUsa smiled to herself. She was starting to feel better. It had been a bad idea  leaving the other girl, even if it was only to make some tea. They needed each  other right now.  	“Then I’ll have to finish aging soon so I can help you catch up on all  the homework you’ve missed while helping me,” Hotaru stated decidedly, her head  still resting on her lover’s lap.  	A sweatdrop formed on ChibiUsa’s head as she continued lightly  stroking along Hotaru’s shoulders. She hadn’t said anything about it, but she had  been skipping a good deal of her homework lately. She just couldn’t help it.  Between her mother’s betrothing her to the High Priest Elios in the future, her  sister and future daughters' short visits, the anxiety over what the new  Sailormoon and Saturn wanted, and worrying about Hotaru going through  eleven years in a few weeks time, she hadn’t really had the will to do much of it.  Her teachers had been warning her lately that she might fail a few classes if she  didn’t shape up. ChibiUsa wasn’t the best student, but she did try to throw  herself into things, whether she was good at them or not. So being scolded about  that only made everything else seem worse. “I could probably use the help,” she  admitted. “And I wouldn’t waste any time if you were the one offering it.” 	There was a moment’s pause while the dark haired girl shifted on her  lap. “I love you, ChibiUsa-chan.” Big violet eyes met the princess’s crimson  ones. She hugged the older girl tighter, wanting so much to pour out what was in  her soul but not knowing how. All the feelings swirling around inside her that  she couldn’t name, all the pieces of her soul wanting to burst through. But all  she could do was hug her.  	ChibiUsa just watched the pale girl holding onto her for a long  moment. She felt so warm inside, as if the little patches of cold in her heart were  melting away. This girl meant everything to her. Hotaru was so much more than  her best friend. A sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with,  to hold onto, someone who made life worth living. There were things that they  both needed in the other, things that only came out because of the other. “I love  you so much,” she whispered softly, her eyes closing as her lips pressed softly  against her lover’s. In the background, the teapot whistled, but neither girl  noticed.  	Diana’s tail darted back and forth as her paws kept swiping at the St.  Tail keychain Momoko had on her backpack. The little bell around her neck  rang as she did so, alerting the lavender haired girl to her presence. “Diana- chan? Is that you?” Momoko called from the bathroom, fixing her hair into a  single bun on top of her head. She had just gotten back from school a short  while ago to an empty house. She was grateful that Diana didn’t eat much as a  kitten because there wasn’t much left in the refrigerator.  	“Hai, it’s me, Momo-chan. I got restless waiting for Small Lady to get  home and when she finally did, she let me help with some cookies before going  to Hotaru-san’s house. I wanted to come but she wouldn’t let me. She suggested  going to the Quartet’s place but...” The kitten paused for a moment as she  shivered. “PallaPalla scares me. And I wanted to see you anyway. I missed you,  Momo-chan.” Diana smiled up at Momoko from the bathroom door. Blushing  slightly, she looked away when she saw that Momokowas only in her skirt and bra.  	Not noticing Diana’s blush, Momoko knelt down and picked up the  kitten. “I’m glad you came to see me. It’s been pretty lonely here lately.”  Momoko sighed as she stood back up, still holding Diana. She couldn’t quite  place it, but something had felt wrong recently. She only hoped the feeling  would go away. 	Diana smiled happily in Momoko’s grasp, purring as the lavender  haired girl pet her. “I could come by more often if you like, Momo-chan. I  always like being with you.” She titled her head to the side as Momoko’s long  fingers began scratching under her chin. “But I am a little curious. Where have  your parents been? I don’t think I’ve seen them once since I started coming  here.” Momoko stopped immediately, eliciting a frown from Diana who had  been enjoying the attention. ChibiUsa was always off with Hotaru these days, so  she didn’t get pet as often as she used to. And besides, she liked it better  when Momoko did it anyway. “Momo-chan? Are you alright? Did I say something  wrong?” 	Shaking her head, Momoko was silent. There was that strange feeling  again. Everything seemed off. But she couldn’t make any sense of it. What was  going on? Confusion tinged with a bit of fear started to build up inside of her,  but she pushed it away for the time being. “Out. I guess,” she replied after a bit,  not sounding all there. Where were they? They had to be somewhere. When was  the last time she’d seen them? Who were they, for that matter? 	Diana was starting to get concerned. She took a few cautious steps  towards the lavender haired girl, nuzzling her bare leg with her nose. “I’m very  sorry, Momo-chan. I didn’t mean to say anything to hurt you,” the kitten said  softly, her worry escalating at the near frantic look in Momoko’s eyes.  	“No... No, they’re somewhere. Mother and father. And...” Momoko  shook her head almost violently, lavender hair whipping at her face as it fell out  of the neat bun it had been in on the top of her head. Was there anyone else?  Why couldn’t she think? Was she an only child? Why couldn’t she remember  anything? Her heart began beating faster as panic began to set in. A whole part  of her life seemed completely blank. She could remember meeting ChibiUsa,  playing with friends, getting attacked by the Amazoness Quartet, and on and on.  But nothing that fit what she was looking for. ‘I just can’t think right now. It’s  been a long day. I’m stressed out and I’m probably mad at my parents for  something. That’s it. Just calm down. I can handle this.’ Taking a few deep  breaths, the Chinese girl shook her head slowly. “No, it’s fine. I’m not feeling  well, Diana-chan. Could you come back later? I think I’m going to take a nap or  a shower or something. Anything. I just need to not think right now.” 	Now a little hurt and even more worried about Momoko, Diana shifted  into her human form. The silence between them became nearly unbearable as  seconds ticked away. “Are you sure I can’t help, Momo-chan? I’m worried  about you. You looked so scared for a moment. I..”  	“No, I’m fine,” Momoko said sternly. Her tone of voice managed to  startle herself as well as Diana. The cat girl winced as if burned, looking down  sadly. The ache in Momoko’s heart began to grow as she watched for a moment.  “I’m sorry, Diana. I just need to be alone for a while,” she whispered  apologetically, hugging Diana warmly. “You know I love you, but right now I  think it’s best if I don’t come off as completely insane.” Sighing, she felt the  soft fabric of Diana’s dress between her fingertips as she held her closely. “I’m  sorry.” 	Diana gave a soft, understanding smile before kissing the lavender haired  girl for a brief second. “I really hope whatever it is that you’re trying to  figure out will come to you, Momo-chan. You should be happy again. I want to  be with you soon. Please call me as soon as you want me.” 	Sighing confusedly, Momoko shook her head. “I want you with me  now, but I can’t. Soon. I’ll see you soon, Diana-chan. Please just forget about  today. I don’t know what’s come over me. Hopefully it’ll be gone by  tomorrow.” 	“I hope so...” Diana replied softly. Giving Momoko another soft kiss,  she shifted back into a kitten and smiled. “Please feel better soon, Momo-chan.”  With a ring of the bell around her neck, she was off, leaping out the window.  	“I hope so, too...” Momoko slumped down the wall to her knees, her  hands buried in her hair. She whimpered softly as her head began to ache in  protest, unyielding in it’s hold on what she was looking for.   	“How’s this look?” Twirling around, auburn hair falling around her  shoulders, a girl modeled holding the dress in question in front of her for her  boyfriend. “Kyusuke-kun?” 	“Huh?” The green haired boy brought his attention back to the present.  “Looks pretty. You should get it, Hikaru-chan.” He had been answering more or  less the same thing for well over an hour now. It wasn’t that she didn’t look cute  in all of the things she picked out, it’s just that he hated shopping. Being here  after school was mind numbing enough, but spending the whole night there was  starting to worry him. He sighed as he leaned back against a rack of clothes,  rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “You’re almost as bad looking for clothes as a  real girl.” The hurt look in her eyes before she turned around told him he had  said the wrong thing. He immediately realized why Momoko hit him so often.  He had a big mouth. “Oh... I’m sorry, Hikaru-chan. I didn’t mean it like that...” 	Hikaru didn’t turn around, taking a step away when he advanced. How  could he say that? He knew how much this meant to her. What if he really didn’t  care about it at all? She loved him, but sometimes he could be so insensitive.  “I’m going home,” she stated darkly as she grabbed her purse.  	Kyusuke grasped her arm but she pulled away from him. “Hikaru-chan,  wait, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean anything by it. I wasn’t thinking.”  Hikaru didn’t seem to be listening to him as she continued towards the store  entrance. Sighing, the green haired boy followed.   	“See? Look how fragile relationships can be. This should be a piece of  cake,” Shisa remarked, readjusting her glasses. They glinted in the store’s harsh  light. “All we have to do is hit the right place and they’ll fall apart.” 	“This is sooooo pretty, Shisa. It’s kind of retro, don’t you think? I  mean, it is years and years before we’re born so it’s kind of out of date, but I still  think it’s really cute,” Selene said thoughtfully. She held the dress up to her  sister for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.  	Shisa sweatdropped. “Selene...” 	“What? We need clothes from this era if we’re going to fit in, you  know. That is why we came here. Besides, it looked like they just had a fight.  Do you really think it would be that easy to break up ChibiUsa-ma... ChibiUsa  and Hotaru?” Putting the dress in the basket she was holding, she went back to  scanning the racks for anything else suitable. 	“Well, maybe not that easy. But it’s only a matter of looking for the  breaking point and pushing hard enough. If they really love each other, we  won’t be able to break them anyway.” Turning around, she finally caught sight  of her sister making her way towards another style of clothes. “So we just have  to make sure we keep at them.” 	Walking past two girls looking for dresses themselves, she stopped  when she saw a short haired brunette sweatdropping profusely while her friend,  a pale girl with long dark hair, was crooning over which dresses she thought the  brunette should try on. “You would look so cute in this, Sakura-chan!” she said  in awe, a floral background behind her. “You like ribbons,” she explained before  the brunette could argue.  Deciding the dress was cute but not her style, Selene  continued on. 	“If you’re sure, Shisa. I’m starting to think it would just be easier to  brainwash them or something. These Daimons are trickier than I thought. How  many Daimon Eggs do we have left anyway?” Selene asked conversationally,  feeling the fabric of a blouse between her fingers. 	After going over it in her mind, Shisa shook her head. “Enough. I don’t  think we’ll run out before we’re done. And you know how much Hotaru hates to  henshin into Sailorsaturn, so she must think it’s important if she has been when  we’ve attacked.” 	“Of course she does. She’s trying to protect ChibiUsa-m... her  girlfriend. Wouldn’t you? I mean, the Quartet are good, but I wouldn’t put all of  my trust in them to protect ChibiUsa,” Selene pointed out. “We’re getting this,”  she said finally as she put a sweater in with the rest of the clothes.  	Having had no intention of arguing the point when she liked her sister’s  taste in clothes for her anyway, Shisa just nodded. “Yes, I would. But I thought  she only became Saturn when something big happened.” 	“And we’re not big enough?” Selene giggled, wrapping her arms  around the pink haired girl.  	Shisa raised an eyebrow behind her round glasses. “I wouldn’t exactly  classify us as big.” 	“Then you’re going to have to start thinking differently. They’ll never  forget we were here when all is said and done.” The maroon haired girl smiled  exquisitely before kissing Shisa.  	Returning the kiss, Shisa leaned against Selene. “I guess you’re right.  In which case, we should make sure we give them a little reminder that we’re  still here soon.” 	Selene grinned mischievously. “That’s exactly what I had in mind.”  	“You’re so cute,” Hotaru whispered softly as her fingers ran through her lover’s  cotton candy pink hair. ChibiUsa blushed lightly in response, Hotaru’s soft  voice filling her already fuzzy mind. Enjoying the soft feel of the hair  underneath her fingertips, the pale girl lost herself in her companion’s pretty  crimson eyes. She felt warm inside, safe here with her. This was all she wanted.  Her little slice of heaven. If she could just make this moment with her little  rabbit last forever... 	ChibiUsa sighed contentedly, loving the attention she was getting from  the dark haired girl. It was always nice being with her, but when she could be all  alone with her, when they were both the only thing in the others world, it was so  wonderful. Hotaru’s gentle touch felt so soothing, like cool waves lapping over  her soul. Everything else seemed so far away. Time seemed to stand still for the  two of them. The princess could remember Pluto having mentioned something  like that before, but it was in relation to time travel. Elapsed zero. Or something  like that. Whatever the case, the dark haired girl in front of ChibiUsa had  managed to capture every facet of her mind. From her soft fingers to the endless  pools of violet that looked deep into her soul. Her soft breathing and her ivory  skin. The way she sat there in front of her almost shyly out of habit. The way her  dark stockings hung in stark contrast to the pale skin she knew was underneath.  The way her short, raven hair framed such a beautiful face effortlessly. Leaning  ever closer, the future princess lightly brushed her lips against Hotaru’s own  soft, red lips. 	A little taken by surprise by the sudden motion, Hotaru blushed as  ChibiUsa kissed her. She had been lost in thought with the pink haired girl  before her, but that quickly brought her back to the here and now. Petal soft lips  met her own again and again, sending little shocks through her whole body. Her  hands slowly coming out of her lover’s hair without her conscious knowledge,  they found their way to ChibiUsa’s flushed cheeks. The warm skin felt silky to  the touch, just another small addition to the kiss that held possession of all that  she was. Fingers questing for more, she found her hands on ChibiUsa’s shoulders.  The pink haired girl leaned further into the kiss, eliciting a gasp from  her best friend. She took the opportunity in kind, her tongue moving into  Hotaru’s mouth. Hotaru’s fingers clutched ChibiUsa closer to her as she  returned the kiss as best she could. The future princess’s body against her own,  the feel of their lips pressed together, the sweet sound of her muffled voice all  rolled together to hit her like a ball of lightening.  	“I love you, Hota-chan,” ChibiUsa said, out of breath as she finally  broke the kiss. Her arms wrapped around Hotaru’s waist as she smiled brightly  into those all knowing violet eyes. She felt so warm, so safe in those arms. Not  like anywhere else in the world, but peaceful and... She couldn’t describe it. Not  exactly happy or ecstatic but more a mix of the two. Exciting yet calming at the  same time. She just wished that she’d never have to leave the gentle embrace.  	Dark eyelashes fluttered as soft lips parted again. “I love you, too,  ChibiUsa-chan. I’ll always love you. I need you." Hotaru looked back at her most  cherished possession. Much better than any of her lamps, ChibiUsa lit up the darkness  inside her soul. She counted her blessings to have been able to meet the  girl in front of her.  	“Oh, Hota-chan,” ChibiUsa whispered softly, kissing her cheek. “I need  you, too. I wanna be with you forever. And we’ll make that happen. I promise.”  	That alluring smile was almost impossible to resist. ChibiUsa nuzzled  Hotaru’s neck, a lock of her dark hair between ChibiUsa’s fingers. Sitting up so  she was once again eye level with her, ChibiUsa leaned forward. The future princess's kiss left the younger girl breathless. “ChibiUsa-chan...” Her hands went  under the back of ChibiUsa’s blouse, caressing up and down her back.  ChibiUsa let out a soft moan. It was always so easy to lose herself  when she was with Hotaru. To forget that there was anything outside of her  sweet caress. Her right hand slid under Hotaru’s skirt, causing the raven haired  girl to blush darker as she found where the raven haired girl’s stocking ended on  her thigh. Traveling down the cloth along the length of Hotaru’s long leg,  ChibiUsa smiled when she saw Hotaru’s reaction to her touch.  	Her eyes closed and her head tilted back and to the side, Hotaru  relished the feelings running through her. One of her hands moved to  ChibiUsa’s stomach, her other hand still rubbing the princess’s back. She  blushed a bit as she remembered talking to ChibiUsa about that very thing.  ChibiUsa had told her she liked seeing her in stockings. Which was strange  because she herself preferred ChibiUsa’s legs bare. But she often wore  stockings anyway so knowing ChibiUsa liked them was an added bonus.  ChibiUsa gentle touch and sweet kisses were quickly becoming more feverish.  Bringing her hands up, she pulled the blouse up over ChibiUsa’s head, missing  the feel of ChibiUsa against her for a moment. She giggled as the blouse got  caught on her oddly styled pink hair. “Gomen, ChibiUsa-chan.” 	Giggling herself, ChibiUsa wriggled free from the shirt. “Sometimes it  seems like a good idea to have shorter hair. Like yours.” Her fingers brushed  through Hotaru’s shorter, dark hair. She blushed herself as Hotaru kissed her and  began unclasping her bra.  	“I like your hair. It’s cute the way it is. I’ll just have to be more careful  next time. Or you could start wearing more with buttons,” Hotaru suggested.  Lithe fingers trailed across ChibiUsa’s now bare torso, bringing forth a gasp from  the rabbit. “You’re beautiful, ChibiUsa-chan.”  	“Thanks, Hota-chan.” Smiling, ChibiUsa placed her hands atop  Hotaru’s. “So are you. It’s nice to have you near your normal age again.” She  sweatdropped as she thought of all of the aging and reaging Hotaru had done. “Well,  as close to your normal age as you can be, under the circumstances. Whatever  normal means.” That word had soon lost its meaning to the future princess.  Time traveling and falling in love with a girl that not only existed before her  birth but was the human incarnation of death and rebirth did that to you. Her  thoughts soon faded as Hotaru’s hands playfully shifted under ChibiUsa’s,  reaching just below the soft swells of her breasts. “This isn’t very fair, you  know.”  	Hotaru giggled as ChibiUsa raised a pink eyebrow. “Oh? And why is  that, my princess?” She smiled innocently at the pink haired girl as the other girl  fought to maintain a mock serious look. Shortly thereafter, Hotaru found herself  only wearing her stockings, her legs crossed under her. Her arms down by her  sides, she blushed terribly. ChibiUsa slipped off her own skirt and panties before  joining her on the bed. Hotaru was about to comment when ChibiUsa placed a  soft kiss on her lips. Comment forgotten, she lost herself in the arms of her  lover.  	The two girls held each other for a long time, trading kisses and  caresses as they did so. ChibiUsa’s hand returned to Hotaru’s thigh at the end of  Hotaru’s stockings. Moving upwards, her fingers slid across the creamy white skin  of the dark haired girl’s behind. Hotaru’s toes wriggled in the confines of the  dark stockings as ChibiUsa’s touch made her body yearn for more. “Mmmm...  Hota-chan...” ChibiUsa let out a short gasp as Hotaru’s hands found their way to  her breasts again. Hotaru’s hands gently massaged the soft skin, her ever  soothing touch eager to please her pink haired lover. A moan escaped ChibiUsa’s  lips as those fingers began to caress one of her hardening nipples.  	Hotaru was soaking up all of the wonderful sensations the pink haired  girl was causing inside of her. ChibiUsa’s moan sent shivers through her body.  It was all swirling through her now. She felt warm and complete being there  with ChibiUsa. Like the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly. And having  her there like -that- was just exhilarating. “I love you, ChibiUsa-chan,” she  whispered as her fingers once again returned to ChibiUsa’s hair. Their naked  bodies slid together as they kissed again. Tongues brushed together in their  dance. Hotaru nearly yelped as she felt ChibiUsa’s fingers trace her entrance.  Her moan was muffled by their kiss. She shifted under her lover as ChibiUsa’s  fingers continued to rub between her legs.  	ChibiUsa kissed down Hotaru’s neck, basking in the warm glow slowly  gaining strength inside of her. Parting Hotaru’s petals as she continued her  kisses, the pink haired girl slid a finger into the Senshi of Death and Rebirth.  Her other hand went down Hotaru’s thigh, caressing the soft skin. She felt  Hotaru shudder under her ministrations as she was kissing the crook of her neck.  Hotaru’s moans increased in frequency while she pulled ChibiUsa closer to her.  The moans were like music to the pink haired princess, spurring her on. She  picked up the pace, sliding faster into Hotaru’s velvety womanhood. Half on top  of the dark haired girl, ChibiUsa kissed back to her lips. Watching Hotaru like  that was stirring her heart. She loved being able to be so intimate with her. The  two of them together, so close.  	Another moan escaped Hotaru’s lips as she writhed under ChibiUsa,  clutching the bed sheets tightly. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer with  the rate things were going. “ChibiUsa...!” The feelings inside were becoming far  too much for her to control. Looking at ChibiUsa through hazy eyes, she  watched as the girl she loved continued pushing into her, her free hand running  up Hotaru’s side. By now thoughts of the future were long gone, only the  present occupying her mind. If this could last forever... Her sweet pink haired  bunny could do such things to her. She moaned ChibiUsa’s name again as she  felt quick kisses on her breasts. Tensing on the bed, she moaned one last time as  she arched her back. She was soaring. For that one moment, everything was  truly bliss. She was with the girl she loved, sheltered from all of the pain and  hatred of the world. Her whole body felt truly alive. It took her a moment to  realize that ChibiUsa was kissing her again. Returning the kiss weakly, her arms  went to either side of her waist. “Mmmm... You’re too good to me, ChibiUsa- chan.” 	A soft giggle and another kiss were the reply as both girls cuddled on  the bed. “Not at all. You deserve more than I can give you. But that won’t stop  me from trying.” ChibiUsa winked at her lover as she held her  close.  	Hotaru seemed to think about it for a moment. “If you say so, but as long as  I’m with you, I’m more than happy.” Placing a kiss on ChibiUsa’s cheek, she  snuggled closer. “I love you, ChibiUsa-chan.” 	ChibiUsa smiled and rested her head on Hotaru’s shoulder. Everything  felt right. This was the way things were meant to be. “I love you, too, Hotaaa...”  The pink haired princes gasped as Hotaru’s fingers brushed past her curly pink  pubic hair. Her cheeks started to redden at such an intimate touch.  	“Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama aren't coming back from Paris until later  tonight and Setsuna-mama won’t be back for another couple hours at the least,”  Hotaru whispered quietly, kissing ChibiUsa’s nose. The slightly younger dark  haired girl rolled on top of her best friend. “We have all of the time in the  world, ChibiUsa.”	  	It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. What was going on? Was  she going insane? Had she been insane? Tears streamed down Momoko  Momohara’s face as she sat in a heap of papers and pictures on the floor. She  had gone through everything she could think of, dressers and drawers, closets  and rooms alike, in an attempt to find something, anything, to tell her about her  family.  	Nothing. 	There was nothing whatsoever pointing to anyone else living in the  house besides her. The refrigerator was almost bare. Just enough for a single girl  to get by. And she always did the shopping. The only pictures she had were the  ones friends had given her. She picked up one with her and ChibiUsa at the  Infinity amusement park. She’d had such a fun time there. Not a care in the  world. But now it was one of the few pictures she could find in the whole house.  No loving parents or family photos were to be found anywhere. Her parents’  bedroom was sparsely furnished and didn’t look lived in at all. For all intents  and purposes, she was very much alone. 	Her mind reeled at the implications of that fact. She was losing her  mind. If she hadn’t lost it already. The room seemed to be spinning around her.  Tears rolled down red cheeks before plunging to the photos below. What was  wrong with her? She couldn’t remember her parents, but so often she could  remember just knowing that they were there. Memories from times not so long  ago came forward as proof, as if they should prove her parents very  existence in some way.  	“I’d love to go, ChibiUsa-chan, but I have to call my mom. She always  freaks out if I’m not home on time.” The lavender haired girl sighed.  	“Just a second. I think my dad’s home. I’ll be ready to go in a minute.”  Momoko smiled as she picked up her school bag and went inside.  	Sitting on the phone with a friend from school, Momoko laid back on  her bed. “I’ll have to call you back. My mom needs the phone. Bye!!”  	Momoko clutched her shoulders until her fingernails dug painfully into  the flesh. Her choked sobs wracked her body as she curled up on the floor.  Confusion and fear were mixing inside her body like a hurricane, picking up  force as she found no answers and more questions. Her parents had been there.  But why couldn’t she remember them? She had known they were there, but what  happened after that? Her body froze as the memories came flooding back to her.  	Momoko picked up the phone and dialed her home number. The phone  rang and rang with no answer. Momoko smiled. “Hi, mom. Yeah. I know. Can I  go shopping with a few friends?” She sighed as the phone continued to ring, still  believing her mother was talking to her. “I know. I promise I’ll be home in time  for dinner. Thanks, mom!”  	Entering the empty home, the Chinese girl turned to a barren chair.  “Oh, you’re home. I’m just about to go out with some friends. Have a good  night, daddy!” She waved to the empty chair and ran back to her room.  	Hanging up the phone, Momoko turned to the space next to her bed.  “Okay, I’m done, mom. Here’s the phone.” She reached out with the phone and  let go, it dropping to the floor with a thud. The lavender haired girl just smiled.   	Momoko’s hand went to her mouth. Her whole body was shaking and  she felt sick. They weren’t there. They had never been there. She had been all  alone for years. “What... What the hell is wrong with me?” Momoko cried out,  burying her face in her hands. Alone. All alone. The eerie silence that seemed so  natural to her now seemed deafening, closing in on her from all sides. She  needed to get out, but she didn’t know where to go. There was nowhere to go.  Because this would be all that was waiting for her to come back to. An empty  house with no memories and no loved ones. A cold place where she’d been  staying on her own for quite a while. Nothing made sense to the distraught girl  anymore. All of the pieces of the puzzle were scattered on the floor and she  couldn’t find the right ones. How could she have been on her own for this long  and not know? How could she think that her parents were right there when they  weren’t? 	The phone ringing startled the girl sobbing on the floor. The phone  continued it’s cruel, maddening trill as she lay there. With some effort, she  pushed herself up to her knees. The phone continued its onslaught on her. Her  hand reached out longingly. “Mom...? Dad..? Is... is that you? Where... where  are you?” When she finally grasped the still ringing phone, fear shot through her  pained heart. What if it was like before, when she thought she was talking to her  parents but they hadn’t been there at all? Just how far gone was she? What if it  started happening again? With an anguished scream, the tormented girl threw  the phone as hard as she could against the wall, the ringing slowly coming to a  halt. “Leave me alone... Just leave me alone...” The feeling of icy cold fingers  brushing across her shoulder sent cold shivers ran down her spine. Turning  around quickly, she watched the open window as the cold air swept into the  room, the drapes fluttering like spirits.  	When you’re losing your mind, what is real and what is imagined?  What is the difference between them? If it’s simply a matter of perception, then  it is all just as real as the reality everyone else is subject to. Which only served  to frighten Momoko even further, worried that her grasp on reality was slipping.  The thought that she hadn’t had it for a good long time wasn’t at all comforting.  “No, just leave. I don’t want to hear it... Just go away!!” Momoko screamed as  she threw the answering machine against the door. Shadows... Shadows... She  was here for a purpose. A single reason that had led her all the way to Japan  from very far away. That had led her to ChibiUsa back when the pink haired girl  had first arrived. “No... I don’t want to...” Cruel faces, sad faces, dying faces, all  staring at her expectantly, hopefully. She shivered and clutched herself tighter,  ignoring the blood starting to drip under her fingernails. “Diana-chan... Please,  help me..” Whimpering, Momoko fell back to the floor, praying that her plea  would be answered but knowing deep inside that nothing could help her. Fate  was cold and heartless. 	 	ChibiUsa frowned up at the cloudy skies above. It wasn’t exactly park  weather. The weather had been rather nasty for the past month or so. But she  didn’t mind. She was glad to be able to get Hotaru out of the house. The other  girl had been so worried lately about the future senshi and her reaging that she  hadn’t been out much. She was worried about people from school seeing her for  good reason. Healing was somewhat easier to explain than her change in age and  her healing hadn’t gone over well the last time she’d been that age. Still wearing  the red sweater she’d had on earlier, she couldn’t help but shiver at the cold  breeze that brought along a smell of rain. She hated the rain. It was always so  sad.  	Pulling the sleeves of her oversized dark bluish gray jacket up, Hotaru  finally managed to get her pale hand free. Most of her clothes were still for an  older girl so it was still a little too big. Her white skirt fit well other than being a  little too small despite the fact that she had only bought it a week prior. Dark  stockings jutted out underneath, covering her long legs. She sighed as she leaned  closer to ChibiUsa, both of her arms around one of the pink haired girl’s. “This  is really nice, ChibiUsa-chan. Thanks for taking me.” 	“I think so, too. I’m glad you came with. Otherwise I’d have had to  drag you.” ChibiUsa giggled as the two walked along the mostly empty park.  “You need some sunlight every now and then. Mako-chan says that about every  pretty flower, so I have to take her advice.”  	Pale cheeks flushed at that. She had been confused as of late about the  way ChibiUsa acted about their relationship but it seemed that lesbianism hadn’t  been much of a factor other than her mother’s possible disapproval with her  needing an heir, but the fact that she was in a relationship. From what ChibiUsa  had told her, Crystal Tokyo was much better about that sort of thing than the  present day. But ChibiUsa had never been in a real relationship before Hotaru  and that was somewhat embarrassing for her. “I would have gone anywhere you  asked me to. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we go.” Hotaru leaned  against the older girl, feeling warm inside.  	“You’re so sweet, Hota-chan,” ChibiUsa said with a bright smile. “I  wish I’d dragged you out earlier, though. We should probably start home soon  before it gets too dark.” The long shadows of the two girls preceded them as the  now deserted park stretched out all around them. 	“You’re right.” The dark haired girl shivered from the cold, holding  closer to her future lover. “But then, I did like being home with you, too, so  maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.” 	ChibiUsa blushed furiously at that, remembering exactly what they had  been doing at Hotaru’s house. “No, that was definitely not a bad thing. But I still  need to get you out again soon.” 	“Get me out tomorrow then. I promise I won’t make a fuss. Just hold  me tonight. Please promise you’ll hold me all night,” Hotaru whispered softly as  she held ChibiUsa’s arm through the cotton of her sweater. Her eyes closed  softly for a moment. “I think being in your arms would make me forget about  everything else. You’re the only thing worth remembering.” Big violet eyes  blinked up at the future princess with unbridled emotion. 	“Oh, of course I will, Hota-chan. I promise. That would make me  happy, too.” ChibiUsa kissed Hotaru’s cheek softly, pulling her closer. “I don’t  want to go home tonight. I just want to stay with you. And to never let go.”  	“Then don’t,” Hotaru’s soft voice answered, meeting ChibiUsa’s  crimson eyes with her own. She could feel the princess’s heartbeat, soothing and  full of life.  “I love you, ChibiUsa. I don’t care what happens. I want to be in  your arms forever.” 	ChibiUsa blushed slightly, fingers running lightly through Hotaru’s  dark hair. “I’d like that very much. I love you, too.” Cupping Hotaru’s chin, she  leaned in and kissed her softly. Hotaru’s arms around her prodded her forward,  the younger girl’s hands lost in the sleeves of the oversized jacket. Her fingers  traced Hotaru’s soft skin along her cheeks to back behind her ear. The rest of the  world, the dark skies and the darkening park, all faded away as the dark haired  girl in her arms demanded her full attention. She felt so happy just being with  her, like everything she was worrying about was pointless. Why did any of it  matter when she had such a wonderful girl to share her life with? The pitfalls  and promises thereof, it was all wonderful as long as she got to share it with  Hotaru. Her free hand slid down past the ivory skinned girl’s shoulder blades,  Hotaru shifting against her as she did so. The kiss lasted for a bit longer until  neither girl could hold their breath anymore. 	“Oh, ChibiUsa-chan...” Hotaru’s pale cheeks were a rosy pink as she  looked up at her pink haired lover. Snuggling against her, her thoughts were a  jumble of images and feelings, none of them making any sense. She just smiled  and snuggled closer. It was a happy kind of confusion, one that she didn’t mind  having in the least. It was how the other girl completely turned her world upside  down.  	ChibiUsa giggled as her fingers played with Hotaru’s dark hair. “You  do want to go home, don’t you, Taru?” 	The pale girl didn’t answer for a moment, just looking up at the future  princess, long pink pigtails framing her lovely face. ‘She’s so beautiful. And so  sweet and cheerful and kind and... She’s perfect. She’s so perfect. I’m so lucky  to have her. I never feel lonely with her. She makes things seem so much better.’  She blushed deeper as she rested her head on ChibiUsa’s chest. “Not really. I  just want to be with you.” 	“Maybe we can wait a little bit before we start heading back, then,”  ChibiUsa said softly, brushing back the bangs from Hotaru’s eyes. She smiled at  the deep violet eyes looking up at her. Kissing the tip of Hotaru’s nose, the  girl from the future worked her way to the soft lips anxiously waiting for her. Her  crimson eyes closed as the two kissed passionately in the moonlight. The cold  wind that made her skirt flutter remained unnoticed as she held out the kiss. 	“Oh, how cute! The princess and her lovely fiancée,” a voice broke  through the silence, startling the two girls. Thousands of possibilities shot  through ChibiUsa’s mind as she searched for the source of the voice. Someone  from the future? An emissary of her mother? Another enemy? 	“But that’s not her fiancée, Shisa. The horse boy is. Oh, how naughty.  She’s cheating on him, ‘Ne-chan,” another voice added. The future Sailormoon  smiled as she brushed back long, dark hair.  	ChibiUsa released a sigh of relief. These two had saved them from a  rogue Daimon the last time they had met. But still, what they had said stung.  Just when she had managed to forget about her mother’s betrothing her to High  Priest Elios, they had to bring it up. She managed a smile, not letting any of the  pain show through. “Where have you two been? We didn’t have a chance to  thank you last time.” 	Watching the two girls warily, Hotaru held onto ChibiUsa tighter,  protectively. They frightened her, though she couldn’t quite figure out why.  Something was just horribly wrong about them being there. The cold night air  and eerie shadows didn’t make the situation feel any better. Fingers running  gently down her back soothed her slightly, but she didn’t take her eyes off the  two new arrivals.  	“Maybe we didn’t want your thanks. It was a shame that you couldn’t  handle the Daimon yourselves. It sure would have made things easier.” The dark  purple haired girl tilted her head to the side, smiling oddly. “But then we  couldn’t have introduced ourselves, so it’s really just as well.” 	“It took us by surprise. We didn’t have a chance to stop it with all of  the kids there,” ChibiUsa argued. Shisa ignored her. Her glasses reflected the streetlights, making her  eyes seem more haunting. “What? No Sailor Quartet? Isn’t that a touch risky? If  you can’t stop a Daimon in the middle of a shop without help, how can you  protect yourselves from someone out in the middle of a deserted park?”  	The wind picked up, whipping past the four girls and rustling through  the trees. By now, ChibiUsa was starting to feel uneasy, but she didn’t let it go  very far. If they meant them any harm, they would have let the Daimon hurt  them weeks ago. She swallowed nervously, her mouth suddenly going dry as she  realized the two were already their Sailor Senshi selves. “Who are you? What do  you want?” She took a step away from Hotaru, looking hopefully from one girl  to the other for answers.  	“Who are we?” Shisa repeated, smiling sweetly as she quickly  diminished the distance between them until she was right in front of the future  princess. ChibiUsa’s slow nod amused her. It meant she was frightened. Before  ChibiUsa could react, her fingers snagged the red material of her sweater,  pulling her close into a deep kiss. The kiss turned painful as she bit down into  ChibiUsa’s soft flesh, the taste of blood filling both of their mouths. It took the  pink haired girl a moment to overcome her confusion and shock to attempt to  struggle free. “You don’t remember me, mama?” Shisa asked with a sad tone in  her voice, pushing her glasses back up. ChibiUsa shook her head, trying to speak  but nothing came out. Shisa’s predatory grin sent more shivers through her.  	“Leave her alone!” Hotaru yelled angrily, forgetting her own fear for  the moment. She could get fiercely jealous when push came to shove. After all,  she had been all alone before ChibiUsa came into her life. And a strange future  daughter of hers was no exception. Seeing ChibiUsa hurt like that... This whole  thing seemed to be getting worse. She changed her mind, she did want to go  home.  	Meanwhile, the pink haired girl in question was still reeling from the  kiss. “Wha... Shisa?! You’re Shisa!? What the hell is going on?” she demanded,  now utterly confused at the situation she found herself in. Nothing seemed to be  making any sense at all. Her hand went to her mouth, coming away with the  deep crimson of her blood.  	“Get her,” Shisa stated simply, motioning to Hotaru. Selene nodded and  stepped forward. Hotaru’s face drained as she saw the girl heading towards her,  any possible reasoning for that seeming anything but good.  	“No!!” ChibiUsa stood in front of the younger girl, her arms out. Blood  was still dripping down her chin, but that was long forgotten in her mind. “What  do you want?” 	Shivering behind the future princess, Hotaru couldn’t believe what was  going on. What did they want from her? Why were they doing this? They were  out here all alone and she didn’t even know if she could henshin, let alone if she  should when those against her claimed to be her daughters. She didn’t know  what she might do as Saturn. What might be deemed necessary.  	“Your death, if you keep interfering.” The pink haired Sailorsaturn  raised her Glaive above her head swiftly. The blunt end came crashing down  into ChibiUsa’s ribcage. “Now stay out of our way.” 	“ChibiUsa!!” Hotaru yelped, grabbing onto the older girl from behind,  wanting to help her. 	ChibiUsa swayed as she tried to maintain her balance through the pain.  “I don’t want to fight you. Just tell me what you want. Why do you want Hota- chan?” 	Stepping up beside her sister, Selene shook her head. “Would you give  her to us if we told you?” ChibiUsa’s silence answered her better than any  exclamation would. “Exactly. Besides, we don’t answer to you. You’re not even  out mother yet. Now be a good princess and hand her over. While you're at it, go  honor your mother’s wishes and get married.” Her tone grew icy, her eyes  locking with those of her pink haired mother. 	“No. It’s my life and I’m going to do what I have to do. I’m going to do  what my heart tells me to,” ChibiUsa replied defiantly. She shook her head  sadly. “I don’t know why you two are doing this. Why can’t you tell me what’s  going on?” Her only answer was another blow from the blunt end of Shisa’s  Silence glaive, catching her in the shoulder. She grimaced as she reeled back.  Hotaru’s arms were still around her waist as the dark haired girl peeked out at  the going ons. 	“Stop it! I’ll go with you, just leave her alone!” Hotaru held tighter  onto the older girl, her violet eyes shut tight. She couldn’t stand to see them  tormenting ChibiUsa any longer. She didn’t care what happened to her as long  as they left her alone. If ChibiUsa’s life would be easier without her... She shook  her head, tears welling up in her eyes. This was no time to think about that. 	“No, don’t, Hotaru. Henshin. We’ll fight back if we have to. But I’m  not going to let them have you.” ChibiUsa watched the duo warily as she tried to  remember where she’d placed her broach. Hotaru’s reply shocked her as the  dark haired girl shook her head against her back. 	“I can’t... I can’t henshin... ChibiUsa-chan, I’m sorry...” There was no  way she could explain it at the moment. Hotaru couldn’t muster the strength.  She was too afraid of what she was as Saturn. She was only supposed to become  Saturn in the most dire of circumstances. Had she been misusing that lately?  	“Need a chance to work up a new plan?” Shisa asked thoughtfully,  taking another step forward. “I’m afraid you won’t have the chance. If you’re  not going to be peaceful about it, then we’ll have to use force to take what we  want.” 	Selene’s eyes darted from her sister to her future parents and back. This  whole thing wasn’t quite going the way she’d planned it. But in the end, she  knew where her loyalties lay. Chanting, she pulled up her wand. With a few  intricate motions, she summoned the powers deep within her. Careful to keep it  from being too strong, it still blew the two girls in front of her several meters  away. 	The first thing that entered Hotaru’s mind as she weakly opened her  eyes was the sudden realization that she wasn’t dead. She hurt far too much to  be dead. When Selene had attacked, she’d been sure that was the end. Rolling on  her side, pain shot through her small body. Hotaru winced in agony. Fear bubbled up  inside her when she noticed that she’d only taken a small portion of the attack.  ChibiUsa had taken the brunt of it. "ChibiUsa...” She managed weakly, her eyes  scanning frantically for any wisp of pink. Finally catching sight of her injured  girlfriend, she crawled over as quickly as she could through the pain. The fear  mixed with a burning panic as she got closer. All of her hopes and dreams lay  within the beautiful future girl. Without her, how could she go on? Her rapid  heartbeat slowed slightly when she saw the slow rise and fall of ChibiUsa’s  chest. “ChibiUsa-chan..” The red of her sweater masked the blood. Cold tears  dripped down Hotaru’s cheeks as she reached out for her.  	A hand snaked out and grabbed Hotaru’s arm before she had the  chance, pulling her roughly to her feet. “Good job, Selene. I would have hit  them harder, of course.” 	The dark haired Sailormoon shrugged calmly. “Yeah, but you’re a  sadist, Shisa.” Smiling over at her companion, they both turned from ChibiUsa’s  prone form. 	Hotaru struggled against the painful grip Shisa held on her arm,  desperate to get back to her lover. “ChibiUsa-chan! Please be okay...” If  anything happened to her, please just let her die right now. Because if ChibiUsa  was gone, she had no reason to go on. Suddenly, Shisa’s grip released, Hotaru  dropping to her knees as she did so. 	Shisa screamed at the sudden distraction as Diana attempted to sink her  claws into one of the causes for her mistress’s pain. “Isis!!” she yelled. 	When Diana hit the floor, she got ready to pounce back up at the girl.  She had been on her way back home, still worried about Momoko’s odd  behavior, when she caught sight of the two attacking Small Lady. Before she got  the chance to pounce again, something furry slammed into her. Another cat, this  one spotted with pink, grappled onto her.  	“I’m sorry,” the kitten whispered softly as she attempted to restrain  Diana.  	Shisa’s glove wiped her face, smearing the warm blood. She winced in  pain, looking at the dark stains on her glove. Selene gently pushed her sister’s  glasses back up into place. “Poor Shi-chan,” she whispered softly. The shorter  haired girl winced again as Selene’s fingers tried to wipe some of the blood  away. “You’re right. Someone’s always trying to hurt us. I don’t want to see you  hurt, Shisa. I’ll fight with you. To the death if I have to. I won’t let anyone take  me from you, no matter the consequences.” Her forehead pressed against her  sister’s, her arms pulling the injured girl closer.  	“Arigato, Selene. That’s why we have to fight. So we can be together.  The outcome doesn’t matter. Because I’ll always be with you.” Shisa smiled  softly as she placed a gentle kiss on Selene’s lips. Her very slightly older twin sister  closed her eyes tightly as they kissed. “Which is why we have to put an end to  this. I promise I’ll never let go, Selene.” 	The dark haired princess was quiet for a long moment, shaking her  head as she rested it against her partner’s shoulder. She tried to speak, but her  throat was starting to ache, the words dying before they could reach her mouth.  Tears started to form unbidden in her eyes. She was still afraid. She was still too  afraid. “I... I can’t, Shisa... Not yet. I’m not ready yet..” 	The conversation between the two future Sailor Senshi went unnoticed  by Hotaru as she fell to her knees in front of the huddled form of her lover. Her  breathing was ragged as she pressed her hands to ChibiUsa’s blood soaked side.  A pained moan came from the pink haired girl as she tried to roll over, barely  conscious. “ChibiUsa-chan... It’s going to be alright, ChibiUsa-chan... Please  tell me it’s going to be alright... I don’t know if I can believe that on my own..  Please, I need you...” Her eyes fell closed as she tried to concentrate all of her  healing energies into the crumpled girl in front of her. She was lost and cold and  alone without her, but she needed to focus all that she was if she was going to be  able to keep the one thing that meant the most to her. The surge of pain from  ChibiUsa cut through her like a knife, an icy breath barely escaping her lungs at  the touch. It burnt her soul when she touched the pain inside. Part of her mind  wanted to end her suffering, to never let ChibiUsa suffer that way ever again.  That thought scared her. What type of cold Soldier was she? But she also knew  that she just couldn’t stand to let ChibiUsa hurt like that. The other part of her  knew that she couldn’t go on without her. Her life would have no meaning. Why  live a lie without her love? No, she couldn’t let her go. Even if it was selfish, she  was too afraid of going on without her, of having to wait for her own death to  see those beautiful crimson eyes again. She concentrated harder, cold tears  rolling one after another down her cheeks. “Please, ChibiUsa-chan... Stay with  me...”  	“Space Sword Blaster!!” 	Hotaru could barely hear the sounds behind her as her surrogate parents  arrived. Everything was growing colder. Her body was beginning to feel numb  as ice started to pour through her veins. “ChibiUsa...” Her hands still drenched  with her lover’s blood, the dark haired girl collapsed onto the incapacitated  future princess.	   	'She doesn't love you. She doesn't love you. She  could never love you. Who could? You're lucky she's  been your best friend for this long. Soon that will  be gone, too, and you'll be lucky if she even  remembers who you are. What you shared. To her,  you'll just be a tiny fragment of the past. But your  entire life is built up around that fragment. Of that  tiny piece of now. When it's all over, what will  become of you? Who will care?' Hotaru shifted in her  fitful sleep, her small body tossing and turning in  the dim light. Ever so slowly, deep violet eyes began  to open. She lay there for a long moment as she often  did when she'd wake up, lacking the willpower to do  anything but stay where she was. What lie outside of  her bed, of her room, was unknown, frightening. The  future was shrouded with uncertainty, the past filled  with its own sorrow. The words from her dream kept  running through her head, but she was out of tears.  	She just felt... empty. As if the life had been taken  right out of her. As if she were dead all over again.  She shuddered at the thought, a cold chill working  it's way through her body. Some of the few memories  about her past life were that she had been more or  less a living corpse. She had been trapped in a dying  body that hadn't been allowed to die. Brushing back  her dark bangs, the pale girl tried to block the  memories from her mind but she couldn't escape them.  Not entirely. She felt like a shell. The feelings of  pain and potential abandonment were still there, but  diluted. No joy, no sorrow, just the long steady  pulse of loss. Like there was nothing she could do to  stop it. You can't fight the future. But that didn't  mean she had to be there for it. Without ChibiUsa...  What was she thinking? She hadn't lost her yet.  ChibiUsa was still there with her. Wasn't she? Hotaru  gasped, the memories of the fight finally surfacing  in her still awakening mind. "ChibiUsa-chan!"  	Slipping out of bed, she barely managed to stay on  her feet as the world seemed to tilt on it's side.  Her body ached tremendously. Somehow focussing past  all of that, she headed out of her bedroom door in  her nightgown. Panic gripped her heart as she headed  down the stairs, looking for anyone who could tell  her that the pink haired girl was alright. Or... 'No!  Don't think like that. You can't. She has to be okay.  She promised that everything would be just fine.  ChibiUsa-chan would never break her promise.' Her  eyes fell upon her three surrogate parents. They  stopped their conversation abruptly when they saw  their weary daughter. 	 	"Hime-chan! You shouldn't be up yet. You still  need to rest," Michiru cautioned as she walked  towards her.  	Hotaru shook her head, dark hair swaying from  side to side. "Where's ChibiUsa-chan? What happened  to her? The last thing I remember was the fight  and..." Blood. Her hands had been covered in blood.  That of her lover. Suddenly she wasn't so empty  anymore. A blade of ice had been wedged into her  heart. Tears began to well up in her dark, endless  eyes as she looked at each of her parents' quiet  faces. No, it wasn't supposed to be that way.  ChibiUsa was supposed to be happy, even if that  eventually meant they would go their separate ways.  If one of them was to die, why couldn't it be her?  She had nothing to live for. The pink haired girl had  every reason to. Why was Fate so cruel? Why couldn't  it show compassion for once? "Where is she?" Her  voice trembled as cold tears fell past her chin.  	"In Crystal Tokyo," Setsuna offered after a  moment's hesitation. "The depth of her injuries  couldn't be healed here. She needed medical attention  from her own time."  	Hotaru lost the feeling in her legs but before she could sink to her  knees, Michiru had caught her. The older woman hugged her gently. The dark  haired girl felt her world crashing down around her. She had been so worried  about where their future may lead, especially with ChibiUsa belonging in a  different time. But she had always been able to put it off. Now... Now she may  have lost ChibiUsa. What if she couldn’t come back? How could she wait that  long to see her again? What if she never saw her again? Burying her face against  her surrogate mother, icy tears started streaming down her cheeks. It couldn’t  end this way.   
   257.9 \ No newline at end of file

   258.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   258.2 +++ b/stories/choices.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   258.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1058 @@
   258.4 +Choices: Part 1
   258.5 +
   258.6 +Authors: Holly, Heather, and Aimie (Hotaru, ChibiUsa, and Usagi)
   258.7 +Rated: H-hentai 
   258.8 +This story contains sexual scenes between lesbian characters. If you are 
   258.9 +under the age of 18 or are offended by this material, please do not read 
  258.10 +this story. Also, we do not own any part of Sailor Moon. Any characters 
  258.11 +that do not already exist in Sailor Moon were created by us so please 
  258.12 +ask permission to use our characters. We will say yes if you ask nicely 
  258.13 +more than likely. The original characters and Sailor Moon were created 
  258.14 +by Naoko Takeuchi.
  258.15 +E-mail us at: amazonessduo@hotmail.com , firefly_hotaru@hotmail.com or 
  258.16 +Sweet16Serenity@hotmail.com (try sending to firefly_hotaru first. Thanx!
  258.17 +Enjoy!
  258.18 +
  258.19 +	"Oh my gosh, Odango-chan is going to be here soon and I'm still 
  258.20 +not ready!" Hotaru thought to herself. She had spent all afternoon 
  258.21 +cleaning the house, setting up candles, and cutting fresh roses from the 
  258.22 +back yard to create a perfect romantic atmosphere.
  258.23 +	"Today's the day." Hotaru said to herself nervous yet excited
  258.24 +	"The day for what?" Michiru asked as she entered the room. "Mmm . 
  258.25 +. . the roses smell wonderful, and everything looks so nice and 
  258.26 +romantic. What's the occasion?"
  258.27 +	"You'll find out soon enough. For now why don't you and Haruka-
  258.28 +papa go Christmas shopping? You DID say you were going shopping RIGHT?" 
  258.29 +Hotaru hinted.
  258.30 +	"Oh, ok, I guess we'll leave you and your girlfriend alone for the 
  258.31 +night. Actually, we won't be home tonight. We're going to visit a friend 
  258.32 +out of town and we'll be staying there. We'll be back tomorrow around 
  258.33 +noon." Haruka said wrapping her arm around Michiru's waist.
  258.34 +	"Just don't burn the house down with all these candles." Michiru 
  258.35 +teased. "Well we better get going before it gets too late. Have fun 
  258.36 +Taru!" 
  258.37 +	"Bye Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa! Have fun at your friend's 
  258.38 +house!" Hotaru yelled as the pair walked out the door.
  258.39 +	"Phew . . . safe at last." Hotaru sighed as she placed the last 
  258.40 +rose in place on top of a card adressed to ChibiUsa. 
  258.41 +	Hotaru was waiting in the living room when she heard ChibiUsa's 
  258.42 +soft footsteps outside the front door. Hotaru rushed to the door and 
  258.43 +opened it just as ChibiUsa reached it.
  258.44 +	"Taru-chan!" ChibiUsa squeeled as she threw herself into Hotaru's 
  258.45 +arms.
  258.46 +	"Calm down munchkin, you're gonna break me in two!" Hotaru teased. 
  258.47 +"I have something very special planned for us tonight. You DID get 
  258.48 +permission to stay over right?"
  258.49 +	"Of course I did Taru-chan, would I ever let you down? So what's 
  258.50 +the plan?" ChibiUsa asked curiously.
  258.51 +	"You'll see my Odango-chan. I can't tell you or it won't be a 
  258.52 +surprise. For starters, why don't you follow that trail of rose petals?" 
  258.53 +Hotaru said.
  258.54 +	"Oh Taru, you didn't have to do all this for me." ChibiUsa replied 
  258.55 +as she followed the trail of rose petals. "Ohhhhh . . . it's so 
  258.56 +beautiful. You did all this yourself Taru-chan? Just for me? You're so 
  258.57 +sweet!" ChibiUsa exclaimed absorbing the beautiful candlelight and 
  258.58 +roses.
  258.59 +	"I thought you would like it." Hotaru replied wrapping her arms 
  258.60 +around ChibiUsa and kissing her on the neck. "There's a card for you 
  258.61 +there on the table."
  258.62 +	ChibiUsa opened the card and read it:
  258.63 +
  258.64 +To my forever love on this special day.
  258.65 +My every thought and dream is of nothing but you.
  258.66 +I spend the hours of the day wishing for the day to come
  258.67 +When you and I can live together hand in hand, side by side,
  258.68 +As lovers, lifelong partners, and most of all the best of friends
  258.69 +For an eternity in our gorgeous realm.
  258.70 +That day when we can walk together beside a sparkling blue stream
  258.71 +And make love in the meadows surrounding it.
  258.72 +Watching butterflies flutter from flower to flower 
  258.73 +Drinking the sweet nectar found within.
  258.74 +Similar to the way you and I drink of eachothers love and passion.
  258.75 +I want to hold you and kiss you and touch you, 
  258.76 +But most of all I want to love you
  258.77 +With every last inch of my soul.
  258.78 +
  258.79 +Love always,
  258.80 +Taru-chan
  258.81 +
  258.82 +	Hotaru saw the tears well up in ChibiUsa's eyes. As one tear 
  258.83 +trickled down the pink-haired girl's cheek, Hotaru caught it with her 
  258.84 +finger and then licked it off. She turned ChibiUsa around to face her, 
  258.85 +and without a word, she placed a gentil kiss on ChibiUsa's pouting lips. 
  258.86 +"I love you Odango-chan."
  258.87 +	ChibiUsa smiled and her face lit up as she answered, "I love you 
  258.88 +too my Taru-chan!"
  258.89 +	"Did you like the card my love?" Hotaru asked.
  258.90 +	"Like??? I LOVED it!!!!! You're so sweet! I don't know what to say 
  258.91 +. . ." ChibiUsa trailed off as Hotaru spoke.
  258.92 +	"Don't say anything, just kiss me." Hotaru said.
  258.93 +	ChibiUsa pulled Hotaru closer and kissed her with more passion and 
  258.94 +love than ever before.
  258.95 +	Hotaru moaned noticing ChibiUsa's extreme wave of emotion. She had 
  258.96 +never seen ChibiUsa this passionate, and she liked it. Hotaru lost 
  258.97 +herself in ChibiUsa's embrace and before she knew it her skirt was on 
  258.98 +the floor along with her shirt and she was holding a naked ChibiUsa in 
  258.99 +her arms.
 258.100 +	ChibiUsa reached a hand behind Hotaru's back and unsnapped her bra 
 258.101 +while her lips were still locked in a sweet kiss. Her hand then cupped 
 258.102 +one of Hotaru's perfectly shaped breasts and squeezed gently. 
 258.103 +	Hotaru whimpered wanting more so ChibiUsa broke the kiss and, 
 258.104 +pulling the raven-haired girl to the floor, placed her mouth on Hotaru's 
 258.105 +rosey pink nipple. She began to suck Hotaru's nipple as she pinched and 
 258.106 +rubbed the other with her delicate fingers.
 258.107 +	"Oh, Odango-chan! I love you so much!" Hotaru exclaimed, trailing 
 258.108 +a finger down ChibiUsa's belly all the way to her center.
 258.109 +	ChibiUsa shivered with pleasure as Hotaru's finger brushed her 
 258.110 +clitoris. In response, she squeezed Hotaru's breasts and thrust her hips 
 258.111 +forward causing the raven-haired girl's whole hand to rub against her 
 258.112 +pearl. 
 258.113 +	Hotaru slipped a finger inside Hotaru's love channel and felt the 
 258.114 +velvety lining. 
 258.115 +	ChibiUsa held tight to Hotaru as she released her love juices.
 258.116 +	Hotaru laid down on the ground and pulled ChibiUsa over her so 
 258.117 +that she could lick the cum from ChibiUsa's love tunnel.
 258.118 +	At the same time, ChibiUsa reached over and rubbed Hotaru's cunt 
 258.119 +while running her tongue along the edges of her lover's belly button. 
 258.120 +	Hotaru moaned and her muscles contracted as ChibiUsa's kisses 
 258.121 +trailed closer to her woman's center. "Oh, Odanago-chan, taste me!"
 258.122 +	ChibiUsa ran her tongue down the length of Hotaru's intimate place 
 258.123 +between her legs. Hotaru gasped as ChibiUsa's tongue entered her vagina 
 258.124 +and flickered in and out.
 258.125 +	Hotaru continued to lick the cum off of ChibiUsa as she rubbed her 
 258.126 +lover's clit with her fingers.
 258.127 +	Meanwhile, ChibiUsa was gently nipping at Hotaru's clitoris.
 258.128 +	The two girls reached their high and just before their orgasm, 
 258.129 +they sat up and rubbed their pearls against eachother. They both came at 
 258.130 +the same time, feeling eachothers' love juices trickle down their legs.
 258.131 +	"Mmmmmm . . ." ChibiUsa moaned, holding Hotaru tight.
 258.132 +	"That was nice!" Hotaru exclaimed with passion in her voice and 
 258.133 +love in her eyes.
 258.134 +	"Yes it was. I love you Taru-chan!" ChibiUsa replied as she pulled 
 258.135 +Hotaru closer.
 258.136 +	"I love you too Odango-chan." Hotaru said just before she was 
 258.137 +pulled into a kiss by ChibiUsa.
 258.138 +	As their lips parted, the girls both felt a new feeling. A feeling 
 258.139 +of passion and eternal love that was deeper than anything they had 
 258.140 +experienced before.
 258.141 +	Hotaru held ChibiUsa tight against her chest. Being careful not to 
 258.142 +let ChibiUsa notice, Hotaru stuck a ring in her own mouth. Without a 
 258.143 +word, Hotaru kissed ChibiUsa once more transferring the beautiful 
 258.144 +diamond ring into her lover's mouth. 
 258.145 +	ChibiUsa broke the kiss and took the object out of her mouth. As 
 258.146 +she held it up to look at it, Hotaru asked, "Will you marry me Odango-
 258.147 +chan?"
 258.148 +	ChibiUsa couldn't speak. She could only look at Hotaru with love 
 258.149 +filling her beautiful red eyes. Her smile itself was enough to show what 
 258.150 +her answer was. A tear fell from the pink-haired girl's eyes as she held 
 258.151 +out a beautiful sapphire ring and slipped it on her lover's ring finger. 
 258.152 +	Hotaru took the diamond ring ChibiUsa was holding and slipped it 
 258.153 +on her pink-haired lover's finger. "I'm gonna take that smile and the 
 258.154 +beautiful sapphire ring you gave me as a yes!" Hotaru teased.
 258.155 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru kissed passionately once more, both letting 
 258.156 +their tears of joy come forth. "I love you so much Taru-chan!" ChibiUsa 
 258.157 +breathed.
 258.158 +	"I love you too my little Odango-chan." Hotaru said still holding 
 258.159 +her lover tightly against her.
 258.160 +	The two girls held eachother for what seemed an eternity before 
 258.161 +they finally headed towards the bed.
 258.162 +
 258.163 +	The next morning ChibiUsa awoke to a glorious breakfast and a kiss 
 258.164 +from her lover. Hotaru had brought her breakfast in bed and was still 
 258.165 +completely naked.
 258.166 +	ChibiUsa blushed as she noticed that she too was still naked. 
 258.167 +"You're so sweet for making me breakfast Taru-chan!" ChibiUsa said 
 258.168 +thankfully.
 258.169 +	"It's my pleasure Odango-chan." Hotaru answered.
 258.170 +	ChibiUsa started to pick up a piece of toast, but it was snatched 
 258.171 +away by her lover. "I'm going to feed you. Don't lift a single one of 
 258.172 +those beautiful fingers."
 258.173 +	ChibiUsa did as she was told and waited for her lover to feed her.
 258.174 +	Hotaru lifted a piece of toast to ChibiUsa's lips.
 258.175 +	As ChibiUsa took a bite, Hotaru felt a wave of passion rush 
 258.176 +through her. "Damn, she can turn me on just by eating!" Hotaru thought.
 258.177 +	Hotaru continued to feed her lover until the plate was cleaned 
 258.178 +off. She then set everything aside and craweled over on top of ChibiUsa 
 258.179 +with passion in her eyes.
 258.180 +	ChibiUsa pulled Hotaru down to her in a passionate kiss.
 258.181 +	"Mmmmmmmmm . . . you read my mind Odango-chan!" Hotaru purred.
 258.182 +	"Taru-chan, we need to go talk to my mother about our engagement. 
 258.183 +She'll probably have some issues to talk to us about. Besides, I'm 
 258.184 +anxious to announce the news to everyone." ChibiUsa said.
 258.185 +	"Good idea, my love. We can go talk to her today. Haruka-papa and 
 258.186 +Michiru-mama are getting home at noon. That's only in an hour. We should 
 258.187 +probably get dressed and clean up so we'll be ready to go when they get 
 258.188 +here." Hotaru replied.
 258.189 +	"Okay as long as I get to dress you!" ChibiUsa agreed.
 258.190 +	"You can do whatever you want to sweetie" Hotaru teased.
 258.191 +	"Oooooooo" ChibiUsa grinned. "So I can do this?" ChibiUsa asked as 
 258.192 +she squeezed Hotaru's breasts.
 258.193 +	"Mmmmmmmm . . . as long as you don't mind me doing this" Hotaru 
 258.194 +replied with a finger teasing her lover's clitoris.
 258.195 +	"You're so naughty Taru-chan." ChibiUsa teased.
 258.196 +	"Yeah, well you started it!" Hotaru teased back.
 258.197 +	"Okay, okay! Let's get dressed then." ChibiUsa replied as she 
 258.198 +slipped Hotaru's bra over her lover's arms and hooked it between her 
 258.199 +breasts.
 258.200 +	"You like that don't you?" Hotaru asked, watching the pink-haired 
 258.201 +girl's fingers linger between her breasts.
 258.202 +	"Can you blame me?" asked ChibiUsa smiling.
 258.203 +	"I guess not" Hotaru answered as she raised one hand to ChibiUsa's 
 258.204 +breasts.
 258.205 +	ChibiUsa purred as Hotaru's fingers stroked her delicate nipple. 
 258.206 +"Taru-chan, you certainly know how to turn me on!"
 258.207 +	"Yes, but we better save that for later. Haruka-papa and Michiru-
 258.208 +mama will be home anytime now." Hotaru answered kissing her lover on the 
 258.209 +forehead.
 258.210 +	ChibiUsa nodded reluctantly and the girls continued to dress.
 258.211 +
 258.212 +	When Haruka and Michiru walked into the house, they saw Hotaru and 
 258.213 +ChibiUsa wrapped in an intimate embrace. Haruka cleared her throat in 
 258.214 +amusement and watched as the girls pulled away from eachother in 
 258.215 +embarassment.
 258.216 +	"Oh come on you two! It's not a secret that you girls are a 
 258.217 +couple. It's so obvious. We only tease you because you respond to it." 
 258.218 +Haruka said laughing.
 258.219 +	"Even though everyone knows we're a couple, we prefer to keep our 
 258.220 +intimate moments private. You don't have to spy on us!" Hotaru said 
 258.221 +aggrivated. She was used to Haruka teasing her about her girlfriend, but 
 258.222 +she had always been hardheaded and hated to be beaten in a teasing match 
 258.223 +by anyone, especially Haruka.
 258.224 +	"Oh, sorry, next time we'll kick a hole in the wall to our bedroom 
 258.225 +so we don't take a chance on walking in on you two." Haruka replied 
 258.226 +sarcastically.
 258.227 +	Hotaru glared at Haruka as ChibiUsa spoke, "Michiru, we're going 
 258.228 +to go talk to my mother today about our engagement."
 258.229 +	Michiru smiled and said, "So you two finally decided to tie the 
 258.230 +knot huh?"
 258.231 +	"Yes we did, we exchanged rings last night." Hotaru replied 
 258.232 +holding out her hand to display her beautiful sapphire engagement ring.
 258.233 +	Haruka and Michiru gasped as they examined the ring. "It's 
 258.234 +beautiful!" the two older girls said in unison.
 258.235 +	Michiru turned and asked "How does yours look ChibiUsa?"
 258.236 +	ChibiUsa held out her hand and Haruka and Michiru examined it with 
 258.237 +awe. "It's gorgeous!" Haruka said. 
 258.238 +	Michiru nodded in agreement. "So you two are going to talk to your 
 258.239 +mother."
 258.240 +	"Yes we want to receive her blessing and I'm sure she will have 
 258.241 +some issues to discuss with us. She doesn't exactly know that Hotaru and 
 258.242 +I were planning to marry." ChibiUsa replied.
 258.243 +	"I see" Michiru said. "Well, have fun and tell your mother I said 
 258.244 +hello!"
 258.245 +	"I will!" ChibiUsa answered.
 258.246 +	"Are you going to stay the night with ChibiUsa?" Michiru asked 
 258.247 +Hotaru.
 258.248 +	"Yes, of course!" Hotaru grinned.
 258.249 +	"Okay then. We'll see you girls tomorrow." Michiru answered.
 258.250 +	"Bye Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa!" Hotaru shouted as she headed 
 258.251 +out the door with ChibiUsa in tow.
 258.252 +	"Bye" Haruka and Michiru shouted back.
 258.253 +	
 258.254 +	Queen Serenity looked up from her papers as her maid announced her 
 258.255 +daughter and Hotaru.
 258.256 +	"Thank you Aichiru, I will see them now."
 258.257 +	Princess Serenity entered holding Hotaru's hand. Queen Serenity 
 258.258 +motioned for the girls to take a seat, and they did.
 258.259 +	"What was it you wanted to see me about, Small Lady?"
 258.260 +	"Mother, we need to have a serious talk." ChibiUsa replied.
 258.261 +	"Has something happened???," the queen asked with concern.
 258.262 +	"Sort of. Actually, I wanted to tell you that . . . well . . . I'm 
 258.263 +in love with Hotaru, and she has proposed to me." ChibiUsa said with 
 258.264 +hesitation.
 258.265 +	"That's impossible Small Lady, you must produce an heir when you 
 258.266 +take over the throne. I cannot allow you to marry a female." the queen 
 258.267 +replied firmly.
 258.268 +	"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," ChibiUsa replied, 
 258.269 +"Hotaru and I are in love mother, I want to marry her, but I wanted to 
 258.270 +ask you if you knew of any way we could marry and still produce an heir. 
 258.271 +I really want this mother. Hotaru is the only love I've ever had and 
 258.272 +ever will have. Please help us mother."
 258.273 +	"Well, there IS a way to make this work, but it's going to be 
 258.274 +difficult and it will take alot of thinking on your part. I found out 
 258.275 +not long ago, that I was cloned from my mother's genes. Ami might be 
 258.276 +able to help you find a way like that. There're many other options along 
 258.277 +with that particular one, but they will be very difficult, and may bring 
 258.278 +on major changes to your lives. One option is to find a man who is 
 258.279 +willing to donate his sperm in order to impregnate you. You may not like 
 258.280 +that option, because it will be part of anothers blood instead of the 
 258.281 +one you love. Yet another option is to adopt a child, but that won't 
 258.282 +really work out because your heir must be of your blood in order to bear 
 258.283 +the family symbol. These are the only options I know of . The choice is 
 258.284 +yours. Why don't you and Hotaru think hard and let me know your 
 258.285 +decision. Choose wisely, this decision will determine the future," 
 258.286 +replied the queen.
 258.287 +	"Thank you mother, we will choose very carefully. May we be 
 258.288 +excused?" asked ChibiUsa.
 258.289 +	"Yes, of course, my child." the queen smiled.
 258.290 +	"Goodbye." the two girls shouted in sync.
 258.291 +	"Goodbye." the queen replied in deep thought.
 258.292 +
 258.293 +	Five minutes later the two girls rushed into ChibiUsa's bed 
 258.294 +chamber.
 258.295 +	"Please see that no one disturbs us today." ChibiUsa said to her 
 258.296 +maid.
 258.297 +	"Yes, your highness." the maid replied humbly and left the 
 258.298 +chambers.
 258.299 +	The girls sat on ChibiUsa's bed and looked at eachother. 
 258.300 +	ChibiUsa looked down and said, "Well, we need to decide what we 
 258.301 +want to do about this heir thing. I don't think I'd like you as a guy. 
 258.302 +I'm too used to you being a girl."
 258.303 +	"Yeah, I know what you mean" replied Hotaru. "Well, I definately 
 258.304 +don't want another person's sperm inside you."
 258.305 +	"I know, I don't like that idea either. Adoption's out of the 
 258.306 +question. All we have left is cloning." ChibiUsa said in a mature voice.
 258.307 +	"You know, I would love to have a daughter that looked just like 
 258.308 +you" Hotaru said while staring at her true love.
 258.309 +	"That would be kind of strange having a daughter just like me 
 258.310 +though. Why don't we have her look like you?" ChibiUsa asked.
 258.311 +	"Because I have a Saturn symbol on my forehead and the moon 
 258.312 +heiress must have a crescent moon symbol. She either has to look like 
 258.313 +you, or be a combination of both of us." Hotaru explained.
 258.314 +	"That's a good idea! Why don't we do the combination clone? Then 
 258.315 +it would be as if we had the baby together as a man and woman would. 
 258.316 +That way we'll have a unique and beautiful daughter!" ChibiUsa replied 
 258.317 +excitedly.
 258.318 +	Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa and then pulled her lover to her in a 
 258.319 +passionate kiss.
 258.320 +	"I love you." Hotaru said lovingly as she held ChibiUsa in her 
 258.321 +arms.
 258.322 +	"I love you too, Taru-chan" ChibiUsa answered.
 258.323 +	Hotaru started to caress ChibiUsa's back and then ran a finger up 
 258.324 +her neck , behind her ear, down the front of her throat, and finally 
 258.325 +down to the neckline of her shirt. Hotaru looked into ChibiUsa's eyes 
 258.326 +and then kissed her as she began undoing the buttons on her lover's 
 258.327 +shirt. ChibiUsa kissed back just as passionately and did the same to 
 258.328 +Hotaru's shirt. The girls continued to undress eachother and then fell 
 258.329 +into eachother's naked bodies.
 258.330 +	"You're beautiful." Hotaru whispered before ducking her head in 
 258.331 +order to take a nipple into her mouth. She began circling ChibiUsa's 
 258.332 +nipple with her tongue, and then took it into her mouth and suckled on 
 258.333 +it until it became rock hard. ChibiUsa moaned and moved her hips upward 
 258.334 +with passionate force.
 258.335 +	"Taru-chan!!!" ChibiUsa cried out. "I want to give you pleasure as 
 258.336 +well." ChibiUsa's hand ran down Hotaru's chest and stomach and came to a 
 258.337 +halt at Hotaru's center. She started to stroke Hotaru's clit with her 
 258.338 +index finger. A moan escaped from Hotaru's lips as she brought them down 
 258.339 +to kiss ChibiUsa. Hotaru felt a finger slip inside of her and it filled 
 258.340 +her with unexplainable pleasure. Her kiss grew deeper and more 
 258.341 +passionate as ChibiUsa's finger began to move inside of her.
 258.342 +	"Odango-chan, you have no idea how sexy and beautiful you are." 
 258.343 +Hotaru whispered as their lips parted. "I want to taste you."
 258.344 +	"Oh, Hotaru-chan, I want to taste you too." ChibiUsa answered. 
 258.345 +"How bout we taste eachother together?"
 258.346 +	"Mmmmmm . . . good idea." Hotaru agreed.
 258.347 +	ChibiUsa straddled Hotaru so that she would have easy access to 
 258.348 +her sex. She then bent down and licked Hotaru's petals as Hotaru did the 
 258.349 +same to her. ChibiUsa cried out as Hotaru thrust her tongue deep inside 
 258.350 +her. Noticing Hotaru's moistness she began to suck on her clit. 
 258.351 +	Hotaru moaned as ChibiUsa slipped two fingers inside her love 
 258.352 +tunnel while at the same time still paying attention to her clit. In 
 258.353 +response, Hotaru gently nipped at ChibiUsa's petals and clitoris and 
 258.354 +then gently licked her opening.
 258.355 +	ChibiUsa shivered with a flood of pleasure as she held back her 
 258.356 +orgasm. "Oh Taru-chan, I don't think I can hold it for much longer with 
 258.357 +you doing that!" ChibiUsa whispered. 
 258.358 +	Hotaru took the whole of ChibiUsa's sex into her mouth and 
 258.359 +swallowed every last drop of her love juices. "Odango-chan, you taste so 
 258.360 +sweet and you're sooo sexy!" Hotaru cried just as ChibiUsa plunged her 
 258.361 +tongue deep into her lover's wetness.
 258.362 +	The girls were both dripping with desire as they grew closer to 
 258.363 +ecstasy. Hotaru plunged three fingers into ChibiUsa's love channel 
 258.364 +while, at the same time, rubbing her clit rapidly.
 258.365 +	ChibiUsa cried out and rubbed Hotaru's clit rapidly as well while 
 258.366 +plunging her tongue into Hotaru's velvety pink sex.
 258.367 +	Both girls shivered and moaned as they reached their climax.
 258.368 +	"Taru-chan! I want you to cum with me!" ChibiUsa shouted.
 258.369 +	"I'm ready!" Hotaru answered.
 258.370 +	The girls began to shiver as they came together, and then panting, 
 258.371 +collapsed in eachothers arms.
 258.372 +	"Mmmmmm . . . that felt so good." ChibiUsa said in a loving tone.
 258.373 +	"Yes it was. We'll have to continue later after we've gotten our 
 258.374 +strength back." Hotaru replied.
 258.375 +	"My love, we're finally going to be married! We'll have a child of 
 258.376 +our own! We'll rule this queendom together! Isn't it wonderful?" 
 258.377 +ChibiUsa asked excitedly.
 258.378 +	"Yes it will be perfect. You and I together forever. The way it 
 258.379 +was meant to be. I love you Odango-chan." Hotaru stated tenderly as she 
 258.380 +placed a kiss on the top of ChibiUsa's head.
 258.381 +	"I love you too Taru-chan. With all my heart." ChibiUsa replied.
 258.382 +	Hotaru held ChibiUsa to her chest as she spoke, "So the problem of 
 258.383 +an heir is solved. Nothing can stand between us now. Let's announce our 
 258.384 +decision to OUR mother." <3
 258.385 +
 258.386 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru were sitting while Ami continued to explain to 
 258.387 +them what it was she was working on. They were both bored because they 
 258.388 +didn't understand a thing Ami was saying. They'd come to her for help on 
 258.389 +how exactly they could have a child. ChibiUsa had moved from the 
 258.390 +uncomfortable chair she had been sitting on, to Hotaru's lap, which she 
 258.391 +thought was much more comfortable in the first place. Ami hadn't seemed 
 258.392 +to notice as she continued on with her explanation.
 258.393 +	"Umm.... Ami?" ChibiUsa spoke up, interupting Ami. 
 258.394 +	Ami looked over to ChibiUsa. "Yes, ChibiUsa?" 
 258.395 +	"Could you help us? We're trying to find a way so Taru-chan and I 
 258.396 +can... so we can have a child," ChibiUsa finally got out. 
 258.397 +	"Oh...." Ami said, trying to suppress her surprise at their 
 258.398 +request. "I'll see what I can do to help."
 258.399 +	"Thank you Ami!" Hotaru said gratefully. "We really appreciate 
 258.400 +it."
 258.401 +	ChibiUsa nodded. "Yeah. We needed some help on this."
 258.402 +	"Don't mention it. I'd love to help. Let me think about it for a 
 258.403 +little bit. There are a couple things the two of you could do."
 258.404 +	"We thought about that. We want the baby to be ours, though," 
 258.405 +Hotaru said.
 258.406 +	"Okay. That rules out artificial insemination. Well, if one of you 
 258.407 +was a male, you could have the child that way. Similar to how we thought 
 258.408 +the Sailor Starlights could change. They wound up just being women, 
 258.409 +though, so we'd have to find some way to do that." Ami said. "Whichever 
 258.410 +one of you became male would most likely have to pass on your Sailor 
 258.411 +Crystal to the baby, assuming its a girl. I can see this being pretty 
 258.412 +complex."
 258.413 +	"Don't worry about that being too complex then. We'd rather both 
 258.414 +stay girls anyway," ChibiUsa said nervously. She didn't like how their 
 258.415 +options were sounding.
 258.416 +	"Hmmm...." Ami looked deep in thought.
 258.417 +	"Usa-chan and I were thinking about cloning. Is there anything we 
 258.418 +could do about that?" Hotaru asked hopefully.
 258.419 +	"Cloning? Yeah, that would work. But who would you have as a 
 258.420 +daughter? You or ChibiUsa?" Ami asked.
 258.421 +	The two younger girls looked at each other. ChibiUsa shrugged 
 258.422 +helplessly. Hotaru stared at her for a moment. ChibiUsa sighed and spoke 
 258.423 +up. "We were kinda hoping that maybe our daughter could be a clone of 
 258.424 +both of us instead of just one."
 258.425 +	Ami thought about it for a moment. "I guess that would work. I'd 
 258.426 +have to check into it, but I'll see what I can do. We should be able to 
 258.427 +combine your genes and Hotaru's so the child can be a part of both of 
 258.428 +you."
 258.429 +	ChibiUsa & Hotaru both looked over to Ami. "Really?" Hotaru 
 258.430 +smiled. "Thank you, Ami-chan."
 258.431 +	"Yes. Thanks, Ami," ChibiUsa said happily.
 258.432 +	"Don't mention it, you two. I'll try my best. It should be easy 
 258.433 +enough. I'll get back to you both pretty soon. I just want to go over a 
 258.434 +few things before you go through with it." Ami walked the two girls to 
 258.435 +the door.
 258.436 +	"Don't work too hard Ami-chan," ChibiUsa said.
 258.437 +	"And tell Mako-chan we said hi," Hotaru added.
 258.438 +	"Okay you two. Now I've got some work to do if you want to have a 
 258.439 +child, so I'll see you later." Ami waved to Hotaru and ChibiUsa as they 
 258.440 +walked off.
 258.441 +
 258.442 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru were eating in the Crystal Tokyo Mall 
 258.443 +foodcourt when Makoto and Minako walked up and sat down.
 258.444 +	"Hey girls! What's happening?" Makoto asked as she slapped a hand 
 258.445 +on ChibiUsa's shoulder. "Ami told me you all were asking her for some 
 258.446 +help, but she wouldn't tell me what it was all about. Do you mind 
 258.447 +filling us in?" Makoto asked puzzled.
 258.448 +	"Ummmmmm . . . heheh . . . well . . ." ChibiUsa stuttered.
 258.449 +	"Well what? You're just like your mother used to be. Always 
 258.450 +keeping secrets and so obvious when you're hiding something." Makoto 
 258.451 +teased.
 258.452 +	A sweat drop formed behind ChibiUsa's head as she remembered what 
 258.453 +a ditz her mom was when she went back to the past. "Well . . . I'm not 
 258.454 +gonna keep this a secret for long, Hotaru and I are gonna tell everybody 
 258.455 +at the next scout meeting. I promise. Isn't that right Hotaru?" ChibiUsa 
 258.456 +looked at Hotaru hopefully.
 258.457 +	"Of course ChibiUsa. We wouldn't keep this a secret for the 
 258.458 +world!" Hotaru said anxiously.
 258.459 +	"Cool!" Makoto said stealing a fry from ChibiUsa.
 258.460 +	Everyone covered their ears as ChibiUsa let out an ear peircing 
 258.461 +wail, "Mako! You little thief!!! Nobody takes my fooooooood!!!!!!!" 
 258.462 +	ChibiUsa started chasing Makoto around the table while Minako ate 
 258.463 +more of ChibiUsa's fries.
 258.464 +	"Minako, that's not very nice stealing ChibiUsa's fries while 
 258.465 +she's distracted. It's an unfair advantage. Besides you know how 
 258.466 +monstrous her appetite is." Hotaru said as she switched fries with 
 258.467 +ChibiUsa. "Now leave those fries alone, you can have some of mine."
 258.468 +	ChibiUsa had Makoto on the ground and was sitting on her back 
 258.469 +trying to pull her legs up so she couldn't try to get up.
 258.470 +	"ChibiUsa, are you amusing yourself? I swear you and your mother 
 258.471 +are one of a kind. It's amazing. The resemblence I mean." Minako said 
 258.472 +with a smirk.
 258.473 +	ChibiUsa stuck her tongue out at Minako and Minako did the same 
 258.474 +back.
 258.475 +	"Okay you two, quit it and let me go!" Makoto yelled.
 258.476 +	"Yes mam" ChibiUsa teased and got off of Makoto.
 258.477 +	"You ready to do some serious shopping Makoto?" Minako asked 
 258.478 +excitedly as she pulled Makoto behind her toward Victoria's Secret.
 258.479 +	"Oh geez . . ." Makoto remarked. "Bye Hotaru! Bye ChibiUsa! Have 
 258.480 +fun you two!"
 258.481 +	"Bye!" the girls said simultaneously.
 258.482 +	"Oh Hotaru, this is the moment we've been waiting for. To spill 
 258.483 +the beans to the whole gang! I can't wait till the next scout meeting." 
 258.484 +ChibiUsa said excitedly. 
 258.485 +	"I know." Replied Hotaru, "I'm so happy. We're going to have a 
 258.486 +child together. I've always wanted to marry you and have a child with 
 258.487 +you."
 258.488 +	"We have to make wedding plans and then we have to make plans for 
 258.489 +the baby! We have a lot to do!!!! Let's go talk to Ami tomorrow and see 
 258.490 +what she's found out." ChibiUsa said.
 258.491 +	"That's a good idea, but I don't want you to stress out about this 
 258.492 +my love. We have as much time as we need to get everything done. You are 
 258.493 +much prettier when you're worry-free and in bed with me." Hotaru hinted 
 258.494 +with a mischievious grin.
 258.495 +	"Allright honey, I won't worry about it. Let's go home." ChibiUsa 
 258.496 +replied. "That's what I'm talking about!" Hotaru answered as both girls 
 258.497 +ran towards the mall exit holding hands.
 258.498 +
 258.499 +	ChibiUsa & Hotaru kissed passionately as they entered the room 
 258.500 +they shared. They stopped when they noticed one of ChibiUsa's 
 258.501 +handmaidens cleaning up the room. They both blushed when she turned to 
 258.502 +look at them. She stared at the lovers for a couple seconds before 
 258.503 +hurriedly finishing up what she was doing. She picked up all her things 
 258.504 +and started out of the room. She paused near the two of them before 
 258.505 +leaving. She put a hand on one of ChibiUsa's shoulders. "Go get 'em, 
 258.506 +princess," she said. ChibiUsa blushed a deep crimson as the other girl 
 258.507 +giggled and left.
 258.508 +	The two girls stood in silence for a minute before Hotaru spoke 
 258.509 +up. "What was that about?" she asked. 
 258.510 +	"That was Suki. I've known her for years now. I guess she knew 
 258.511 +what we were planning on doing," ChibiUsa explained.
 258.512 +	"Don't get the room too messy. I just cleaned it," Suki said 
 258.513 +teasingly from the doorway.
 258.514 +	ChibiUsa blushed again. "Suki....." 
 258.515 +	"I know, I know. I'll leave you two alone," the maid said. She 
 258.516 +waved to Hotaru before closing the door behind her. 
 258.517 +	Hotaru laughed and kissed ChibiUsa again, burying her fingers in 
 258.518 +the other girl's hair, slowly letting it out of her odango hairstyle. 
 258.519 +"Well, I hope we don't get the room too messy then. I don't want her mad 
 258.520 +at me."
 258.521 +	ChibiUsa laughed a bit herself. Her hands went around Hotaru's 
 258.522 +waist. She smiled at the raven haired girl as she led her to the bed. 
 258.523 +"You let me worry about that."
 258.524 +	Hotaru leaned forward and kissed the pink haired girl's soft lips 
 258.525 +as she was pushed onto the bed. ChibiUsa's hands went up from her sides 
 258.526 +and started slipping Hotaru's shirt over her head. She tossed Hotaru's 
 258.527 +shirt to the side while Hotaru pulled her skirt down her legs. Both 
 258.528 +girls continued to undress each other.
 258.529 +	"Taru-chan?" ChibiUsa asked distractedly. She slid her hand over 
 258.530 +Hotaru's bare stomach. "Which one of us is going to have the baby?"
 258.531 +	Hotaru was relishing the sense of ChibiUsa's touch across her bare 
 258.532 +skin. "We'll decide that later, Usa-chan." She unclasped ChibiUsa's bra 
 258.533 +to reveal the sensuous skin underneath. ChibiUsa moaned lightly as 
 258.534 +Hotaru's hands caressed her breasts. Hotaru moaned as well when 
 258.535 +ChibiUsa's hand snuck under her panties, the pink haired princess' 
 258.536 +fingers pushed tightly against the sensitive skin between Hotaru's legs. 
 258.537 +"So that's how you want it," Hotaru said breathlessly. ChibiUsa smiled 
 258.538 +at her evilly and nodded. Hotaru let out a small gasp as ChibiUsa's 
 258.539 +fingers started rubbing up and down against her vagina. She shuddered as 
 258.540 +she felt ChibiUsa's hand run down her back before stopping at Hotaru's 
 258.541 +rear. Hotaru brought her hand up between ChibiUsa's bare legs. ChibiUsa 
 258.542 +spread her legs on either side of Hotaru as she bent down and kissed the 
 258.543 +dark haired girl. 
 258.544 +	"Taru..." ChibiUsa moaned. The dark haired girl always drove her 
 258.545 +crazy. Hotaru gently pinched one of her princess' light pink nipples. 
 258.546 +ChibiUsa slowly pushed a finger into Hotaru. The raven haired girl 
 258.547 +started panting as ChibiUsa slowly slid her finger in and out of the 
 258.548 +other girl's most secret of places. Hotaru continued to rub between 
 258.549 +ChibiUsa's legs. She pulled ChibiUsa down further, almost urgently, 
 258.550 +bringing her lips to the pink haired girl's other nipple. The two lovers 
 258.551 +kept up their pace feverishly. 
 258.552 +	Hotaru slid under ChibiUsa so they were face to face. She ran her 
 258.553 +free hand across ChibiUsa's face. She was the most beautiful thing in 
 258.554 +the world to Hotaru. Violet eyes met crimson as Hotaru captured 
 258.555 +ChibiUsa's lips with her own. 
 258.556 +The raven haired girl moaned again as her pink haired lover increased 
 258.557 +the pace. She arched her back, wrinkling the soft sheets she was lying 
 258.558 +on top of. Hotaru tried to match the tempo ChibiUsa had set.  
 258.559 +	Hotaru's ivory skin glistened with sweat. Her pale cheeks were 
 258.560 +flushed. 'She's like an angel,' ChibiUsa thought. 'My angel.' ChibiUsa 
 258.561 +gasped as she felt Hotaru's fingers around her jewel. The heat in 
 258.562 +ChibiUsa grew from the other girl's touch. ChibiUsa continued her own 
 258.563 +ministrations while her free hand roamed over Hotaru's soft skin. 
 258.564 +Hotaru's panting became faster and she started thrusting her hips 
 258.565 +against her lover's fingers. Hotaru tried to concentrate as her 
 258.566 +forefinger and thumb caressed ChibiUsa's clitoris. The musky scent she 
 258.567 +could smell intoxicated her. The two girls continued their passionate 
 258.568 +love making, oblivious to everything but each other. 
 258.569 +	ChibiUsa could feel herself nearing her climax. She pushed her 
 258.570 +fingers further into Hotaru's vagina as she reached her orgasm, bringing 
 258.571 +Hotaru over the edge shortly after her. ChibiUsa collapsed on top of the 
 258.572 +raven haired girl. Hotaru put her arms around the other girl, kissing 
 258.573 +her lightly. They both rolled over on the bed. 
 258.574 +	Hotaru sighed contentedly as they held each other. She smiled to 
 258.575 +her princess. "I love you, Usa-chan."
 258.576 +	"I love you too, Taru," ChibiUsa said happily. She placed her head 
 258.577 +on Hotaru's shoulder, feeling a little tired. Her hand went back down to 
 258.578 +Hotaru's stomach. "I'm really excited about us having a baby, Hotaru."
 258.579 +	"Me too," the dark haired girl replied, gently stroking her 
 258.580 +lover's soft pink hair. 
 258.581 +	"Taru? Who's going to..." ChibiUsa began.
 258.582 +	Hotaru silenced her with a kiss. "We'll talk about that later, 
 258.583 +ChibiUsa," she said when she finished.  
 258.584 +	The pink haired girl smiled and held Hotaru closer. The two girls 
 258.585 +drifted off to a peaceful sleep in each other's arms. 
 258.586 +
 258.587 +	
 258.588 +	The next morning, the two girls awoke by eachother's sides. They 
 258.589 +kissed softly and then started to dress.
 258.590 +	"Well Taru, today's a busy day. We have to tell everyone about our 
 258.591 +engagement. And then we have to decide what will happen with the wedding 
 258.592 +and the baby." ChibiUsa said.
 258.593 +	"So, my little munchkin finally decided to tell everyone the we're 
 258.594 +engaged, huh? I knew ya could do it Odango-chan!" Hotaru replied 
 258.595 +excitedly. "Did you already call a meeting?"
 258.596 +	"Yes, I sent a message to all the scouts last night. We're meeting 
 258.597 +at Rei's temple." ChibiUsa grinned.
 258.598 +	"So, when does this meeting take place my little love muffin?" 
 258.599 +Hotaru asked teasingly.
 258.600 +	"At lunch time of course. When else?" ChibiUsa laughed.
 258.601 +	"Of course! I should have known. My little piggy!"
 258.602 +	A pillow smashed the back of Hotaru's head.
 258.603 +	"Ouch, what was that for?"
 258.604 +	"For calling me piggy!"
 258.605 +	"Well excuse me!" Hotaru said teasingly as she leapt at Hotaru and 
 258.606 +sent her flying onto her back on the bed. "Hmm . . . I think I like that 
 258.607 +position Odango-chan." Hotaru said seductively.
 258.608 +	Before ChibiUsa could get out a single word she felt a hand 
 258.609 +between her legs. She let out a purr of pleasure. Hotaru placed her lips 
 258.610 +over ChibiUsa's and kissed her passionately. 
 258.611 +	"OH, Taru-chan! I love you!" ChibiUsa shouted as the kiss was 
 258.612 +broken.
 258.613 +	"I love you too Odango-chan!" Hotaru glanced at the beautiful ring 
 258.614 +on ChibiUsa's left ring finger and then at her own. "This is gonna be a 
 258.615 +great life." She thought to herself. Hotaru kissed ChibiUsa softly once 
 258.616 +more and then helped her up. "We're gonna be late if we don't hurry and 
 258.617 +finish getting ready."
 258.618 +	ChibiUsa sighed, "You're right Taru-chan. Our intimate moment will 
 258.619 +just have to wait till later. By then the anxiety will be so built up, 
 258.620 +you won't be able to control me." ChibiUsa grinned wickedly.
 258.621 +	"Oh, Odango-chan, you're such a little minx!" Hotaru teased.
 258.622 +	
 258.623 +
 258.624 +	Ami looked over the files that had all the information she needed 
 258.625 +to go over for cloning ChibiUsa & Hotaru a daughter. She'd done a few 
 258.626 +tests on Usagi to get a little more data as well. Ami was fascinated by 
 258.627 +the whole idea. Maybe she and Makoto... Ami's thoughts were cut off when 
 258.628 +she heard a rap on her door. She looked up, adjusting her reading 
 258.629 +glasses. "Come in," she said. 
 258.630 +	The door opened and Hotaru walked in with a nervous looking 
 258.631 +ChibiUsa. "Odango-chan, its not like they're going to do the procedure 
 258.632 +today. There's nothing to worry about," Hotaru said soothingly. ChibiUsa 
 258.633 +didn't look convinced. 
 258.634 +	"It's okay, ChibiUsa. We're going to have the operation later. 
 258.635 +Right now I just wanted to go over a few things with you and Hotaru," 
 258.636 +Ami smiled reassuingly. 
 258.637 +	ChibiUsa smiled back, still a little nervous. "That sounds good." 
 258.638 +She sat down in one of the chairs in front of Ami's desk. Hotaru took 
 258.639 +the seat beside her and put a hand on ChibiUsa's leg. She squeezed 
 258.640 +lightly, letting the pink haired girl know she was there for her, hoping 
 258.641 +she'd feel better before the actual procedure came around. 
 258.642 +	"Congratulations on the engagement, you two. We're all happy for 
 258.643 +you," Ami said. "You two are perfect for each other." 
 258.644 +	ChibiUsa blushed. "Thanks, Ami." Hotaru said excitedly. She was 
 258.645 +still surprised that she and ChibiUsa were getting married. She'd never 
 258.646 +felt this good before. Hotaru could see that ChibiUsa was relaxing now. 
 258.647 +The pink haired girl was looking at her engagement ring, no longer 
 258.648 +looking as worried.
 258.649 +	"I think I have everything just about set up," Ami stated. "We 
 258.650 +just need to make sure everything's set up. You want this to be a mix of 
 258.651 +the two of you, right?" 
 258.652 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru nodded. "We want it to be our baby," ChibiUsa 
 258.653 +said, smiling at Hotaru. 
 258.654 +	"Which one of you is going to be pregnant with the baby?" Ami 
 258.655 +asked.
 258.656 +	Hotaru looked over at Ami. "Me." She knew ChibiUsa was nervous 
 258.657 +about the whole thing. She'd gladly do it for the other girl.
 258.658 +	"Hotaru," ChibiUsa spoke up. "We already talked about this. You 
 258.659 +were so frail when you were younger. I don't want anything to happen to 
 258.660 +you or the baby. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened." The 
 258.661 +pink haired girl looked over at Ami. "I'll have the baby."
 258.662 +	Hotaru sighed. ChibiUsa was right. It was safer for the baby this 
 258.663 +way. Their baby. She laid her hand atop ChibiUsa's. "I know."
 258.664 +	"Are you sure?" Ami asked.
 258.665 +	ChibiUsa nodded. "I'm sure." She felt Hotaru squeeze her hand. She 
 258.666 +smiled at her dark haired lover, trying to ignore the butterflies in her 
 258.667 +stomach. 
 258.668 +	"Okay. We need to come up with a few more details, but that just 
 258.669 +depends on your schedule and when we can get you down here for the 
 258.670 +procedure." Ami looked up and smiled at the younger women. "You should 
 258.671 +start picking out a name soon."
 258.672 +	"Or two," ChibiUsa said with a slight smile. Ami looked puzzled.
 258.673 +	"Ami, we were wondering if we could have twins, instead," Hotaru 
 258.674 +said after exchanging a glance with her lover. 
 258.675 +	"You both want to have one? I don't think that's such a good idea. 
 258.676 +This will be a difficult experience for the two of you and I think 
 258.677 +you'll need a lot of support from the other. It would be better if one 
 258.678 +of you isn't dealing with all this right now," Ami explained. 
 258.679 +	"No, I'll still have both of them," ChibiUsa said quickly. "We 
 258.680 +just wanted to know if we could have twins."
 258.681 +	"Is that what you want?"
 258.682 +	Hotaru nodded. "We stayed up talking about it. That's what we 
 258.683 +want."
 258.684 +	Ami marked a few things down. "Alright, you two. I'll probably see 
 258.685 +you around the palace later to see when you can come in for this."
 258.686 +	"Thanks, Ami-chan!" ChibiUsa said happily.
 258.687 +	"Arigatou, Ami," Hotaru said smiling. 
 258.688 +	"Don't mention it. You two have a lot of work ahead of you, so I 
 258.689 +wish you luck." Ami smiled brightly at the two women. "We still need to 
 258.690 +get the DNA from both of you, so we need to find out when we can do 
 258.691 +that. It'll still take a while to get everything ready, and we can hold 
 258.692 +off till after the wedding, but I'd like to get started with your DNA at 
 258.693 +least."
 258.694 +	"Okay, Ami-chan. We'll call soon," ChibiUsa waved at the blue 
 258.695 +haired genius. Hotaru was still holding ChibiUsa's other hand while she 
 258.696 +waved back. The two giddily exited Ami's office. 
 258.697 +
 258.698 +	Ami smiled to herself after the door closed. Those girls were 
 258.699 +taking on a lot, but they didn't mind as long as it was together. She 
 258.700 +sighed and looked at the picture of herself and Makoto on her desk. Her 
 258.701 +fingertips gently brushed the cold glass of the frame. She looked up at 
 258.702 +the clock. She had plenty more work she could do. She looked back down 
 258.703 +at the picture. There were far more important things in life. She 
 258.704 +quickly picked up her things and headed out the door. 
 258.705 +
 258.706 +	"You're what?!" Diana asked, surprised. She hopped off of Momoko's 
 258.707 +head, landing in front of Hotaru and ChibiUsa, and changed into her 
 258.708 +human form. The now human Diana looked from one girl to the other with 
 258.709 +curiousity brimming in her large, cat-like eyes. 
 258.710 +	Hotaru smiled at Diana's enthusiasm and squeezed ChibiUsa's hand 
 258.711 +in encouragement. ChibiUsa squeezed back before replying. She'd already 
 258.712 +told her mother about the wedding and she'd be telling the others soon 
 258.713 +enough. Right now she had to tell Diana, Momoko and her guardians, the 
 258.714 +Sailor Quartet. These were some of her closest friends. She willed the 
 258.715 +cold pit in her stomach to disappear as she prepared to answer Diana. 
 258.716 +	"We're getting married," she repeated. 
 258.717 +	"Married?" Momoko looked shocked. 
 258.718 +	"Its about time," VesVes grinned.
 258.719 +	"Wow! Really?" PallaPalla asked excitedly. She took a step 
 258.720 +forward, eager to hear more.
 258.721 +	"So you two are finally tying the knot? Why didn't any of us see 
 258.722 +this coming?" JunJun shook her head.
 258.723 +	CereCere smiled sweetly. "Small Lady, we're all so happy for you." 
 258.724 +The pink haired member of the Sailor Quartet turned to Hotaru. "I'm sure 
 258.725 +you'll take good care of our princess."
 258.726 +	Hotaru laughed. "Trust me, I intend to." Hotaru smiled inwardly. 
 258.727 +She felt like she'd burst from the feelings building within her. Was 
 258.728 +anyone ever supposed to be this happy? The support and warmth from their 
 258.729 +friends just added to this perfect moment. She felt like her whole life 
 258.730 +had led up to this. All that pain and loneliness she'd suffered through 
 258.731 +when she was younger was all made worth it. She felt like the scars on 
 258.732 +her soul had finally healed. The other girl had turned her whole life 
 258.733 +upside down and she wouldn't have had it any other way. She was finally 
 258.734 +going to marry the woman that meant more to her than life itself. That 
 258.735 +thought alone filled her with pure happiness.  She resisted the urge to 
 258.736 +hold the other girl tightly and tell her exactly how much she loved her, 
 258.737 +instead opting for her arm around ChibiUsa's waist with her body leaning 
 258.738 +against the pink haired princess. 
 258.739 +	ChibiUsa smiled brightly as she leaned in and kissed the dark 
 258.740 +haired girl softly in front of the small crowd of friends. 
 258.741 +	"Awww... That's so cute," Diana said, breaking the silence. The two 
 258.742 +women blushed and cut the kiss short. Diana turned to Momoko. "Momo-
 258.743 +chan, when are we going to get married?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. 
 258.744 +	Momoko laughed nervously. "Soon, soon. Don't worry about it, 
 258.745 +Diana."
 258.746 +	"So when's the wedding going to be?" JunJun asked.
 258.747 +	"Pretty soon. We just need to start working everything out," Hotaru 
 258.748 +said happily. 
 258.749 +	"I can help with the floral arrangements if you want," CereCere 
 258.750 +offered. 
 258.751 +	"If she does, you'll find a lot of pictures of her all over your 
 258.752 +wedding," VesVes said in a stage whisper. CereCere lightly nudged her in 
 258.753 +the side. 
 258.754 +	"PallaPalla wants to help!" PallaPalla spoke up. "It sounds like 
 258.755 +fun. I wanna help with anything you need me to." 
 258.756 +	"Thanks, PallaPalla," ChibiUsa said smiling. "Thank you all." Her 
 258.757 +voice faltered while she spoke with the deep emotion underneath.
 258.758 +	"We just want the two of you to be happy. We're your friends," 
 258.759 +Momoko said. "And besides, I could use the support for whenever Diana 
 258.760 +and I get married." The lavender haired girl laughed and winked at the 
 258.761 +two lovers.
 258.762 +	"You need to get engaged first," JunJun mentioned.
 258.763 +	Diana's attention turned to the engagement rings Hotaru and 
 258.764 +ChibiUsa had on. She lifted up both of their hands to look at the two 
 258.765 +rings. "They're so pretty," she said, admiring the engagement rings.  
 258.766 +ChibiUsa sighed happily, remembering how Hotaru had proposed to 
 258.767 +her. 'She's so sweet,' she thought to herself. She looked at the dark 
 258.768 +haired girl and managed to catch her gaze. The two smiled at each other 
 258.769 +while everyone else talked. 'I love you,' ChibiUsa mouthed to Hotaru. 'I 
 258.770 +love you, too,' Hotaru mouthed back.
 258.771 +
 258.772 +
 258.773 +	The scouts were waiting at Rei's shrine for ChibiUsa and Hotaru to 
 258.774 +show up when they heard a loud noise outside the door. Rei got up and 
 258.775 +opened the door to see what had happened. Sprawled out on the ground in 
 258.776 +front of the temple was Rei's grandpa. From the ladder on top of her 
 258.777 +grandpa, Rei concluded that his grandpa had seen Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
 258.778 +walking towards the shrine while he was fixing the leak in the roof. 
 258.779 +Rei's grandpa had always been a horney old man who liked to check out 
 258.780 +young shapely girls. This happened every time. He'd be checking out a 
 258.781 +girl while he was doing something, such as fixing the roof, and he'd end 
 258.782 +up hurting himself in his distraction. Rei chuckled to herself before 
 258.783 +approaching her grandfather.
 258.784 +	"Grandpa, why are you always so clumsy? You remind me of Usagi!" 
 258.785 +Rei scolded her grandfather as she moved the ladder off of him. "You saw 
 258.786 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru didn't you?" Rei laughed.
 258.787 +	"Boy, did I." Her grandpa answered wide eyed and red in the face.
 258.788 +	"Uhoh, it's worse than I thought." Rei said to herself. "What were 
 258.789 +they doing?" she asked her grandpa.
 258.790 +	"They were over in the wooded area and ChibiUsa had her shirt off" 
 258.791 +grandpa gulped, "and Hotaru was touching ChibiUsa's breasts. Beautiful 
 258.792 +breasts I must say . . . very perky. . ." Rei's grandpa trailed off.
 258.793 +	Laughter came from behind and Rei turned around to see all of the 
 258.794 +scouts standing right behind her. They had obviously heard the 
 258.795 +conversation between Rei and her grandpa. Rei blushed and then laughed 
 258.796 +along with the rest of them.
 258.797 +	"Oh grandpa, what are we gonna do with you. We'd have to lock you 
 258.798 +in a cage to keep you from hurting yourself every time you see a girl 
 258.799 +walk by." Rei teased.
 258.800 +	Rei's grandpa just sat on the ground wide eyed and mumbling to 
 258.801 +himself. He obviously hadn't heard a word Rei had just said. 
 258.802 +	All of the scouts went inside the temple and took their seats. 
 258.803 +King Endymion arrived just as everyone was getting settled.
 258.804 +	"So what's this news I've been hearing about all week?" King 
 258.805 +Endymion asked cheerfully as he walked through the door.
 258.806 +	ChibiUsa ran up and gave her father a big hug, "I'm so happy 
 258.807 +you're here daddy!"
 258.808 +	King Endymion hugged his daughter back, "I'm glad I'm here too 
 258.809 +Small Lady. I haven't seen you in a while. How's your mother?"
 258.810 +	Just as King Endymion finished his sentence, Usagi (Neo Queen 
 258.811 +Serenity) walked into the room from Rei's chamber. 
 258.812 +	"Hello Mamo-chan, we were hoping you could make it. I know how 
 258.813 +busy you've been lately." Usagi said.
 258.814 +	"Now that everyone is here, why don't we get started." Hotaru 
 258.815 +said.
 258.816 +	Everyone looked toward ChibiUsa and Hotaru, anxious to hear the 
 258.817 +news.
 258.818 +	ChibiUsa cleared her throat and started talking,"As some of you 
 258.819 +already know, Hotaru and I are engaged to be married!" Hotaru said 
 258.820 +excitedly and then continued, "There was a question of how I would have 
 258.821 +an heir if I married a female, so Hotaru and I talked it out for a good 
 258.822 +while and finally came up with an idea. We have talked with Ami-chan and 
 258.823 +she told us of a process she knows of to where she can artificially 
 258.824 +combine Hotaru and I's genes and then implant the fertilized egg in my 
 258.825 +womb."
 258.826 +	Everyone was in awe as ChibiUsa spoke. There was a mixture of 
 258.827 +emotion throughout the room,uncertainty, surprise, and joy.
 258.828 +	"We have decided that we would like to have twins however, so Ami-
 258.829 +chan is going to fertilize two eggs, one of mine, and one of ChibiUsa's 
 258.830 +with the other's genes. ChibiUsa's going to carry both babies however. 
 258.831 +We are very excited to get everything started. We're going to need alot 
 258.832 +of help with the wedding plans." Hotaru added
 258.833 +	ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru and said excitedly, "I was hoping you 
 258.834 +could make the food!"
 258.835 +	"Of course." Makoto said sweatdropping. "I should have guessed you 
 258.836 +would want food."
 258.837 +	The other scouts burst into laughter.
 258.838 +	"I wanna make the invitations!" shouted Minako.
 258.839 +	"That would be nice, we'll need alot of those!" ChibiUsa answered.
 258.840 +	"I'll help Minako with the invites!" Ami added. "We can use my 
 258.841 +computer software to create a design and then print the invitations. My 
 258.842 +printer will print 5000 sheets of paper before running out of ink!"
 258.843 +	"Sounds great! So who wants to help us design our wedding gowns?" 
 258.844 +Hotaru looked over at Makoto.
 258.845 +	"How do I get the feeling that I'm going to get stuck with the job 
 258.846 +whether I want it or not?" Makoto asked sweatdropping.
 258.847 +	"I knew you would do it!" ChibiUsa shouted as she threw her arms 
 258.848 +around the tall girl.
 258.849 +	Makoto sweatdropped even more. "Yeah, yeah."
 258.850 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa's eyes met smiling. They both seemed to be 
 258.851 +saying, "I love you" silently.
 258.852 +	"So what should I do?" Rei asked feeling left out.
 258.853 +	"Well, why don't you supply the candles for the ceremony? We're 
 258.854 +going to need some really neat ones." Hotaru said.
 258.855 +	Rei brightened up, "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, I can 
 258.856 +make my traditional home-made wedding candles!"
 258.857 +	"Since both of us are girls, we'll both be brides. So we figured 
 258.858 +we'll need two maids of honor, twelve brides maids and two flower 
 258.859 +girls." ChibiUsa said
 258.860 +	"We think the wisest and older women in the group should be the 
 258.861 +maids of honor. So we're going to choose Setsuna since she's the oldest 
 258.862 +of the scouts, and Luna since she's the wisest and one of the oldest 
 258.863 +women in the group. So Luna, you'll have to transform into a human for 
 258.864 +the wedding." ChibiUsa said anxiously.
 258.865 +	Luna looked back at ChibiUsa lovingly,"I'm glad to know that I'm 
 258.866 +loved and appreciated." Luna said softly. "I'd be glad to be your maid 
 258.867 +of honor."
 258.868 +	Setsuna looked pleased as well and agreed with Luna that it would 
 258.869 +be an honor.
 258.870 +	"Then it's settled, you'll be my maid of honor Setsuna, and Luna 
 258.871 +will be ChibiUsa's" Hotaru stated.
 258.872 +	"Artemis, you'll be the ring bearer." ChibiUsa added
 258.873 +	Artemis grinned and said,"I can handle that. I suppose you'll want 
 258.874 +me to be a human huh?"
 258.875 +	"Yes, it would make alot more sense that way, don't you think?" 
 258.876 +Luna answered.
 258.877 +	"Now for the brides maids" Hotaru said, "Haruka, Michiru, Cere 
 258.878 +Cere,Rei,Makoto, and Palla-Palla will be my brides maids." 
 258.879 +	"Diana, Minako, Ami, Jun-Jun, Ves-Ves, and Mamoko will be my 
 258.880 +brides maids." ChibiUsa added. "And of course, Mom and Dad will be there 
 258.881 +to lead us down the aisle." 
 258.882 +	"I'm so happy for you Small Lady." King Endymion said as he hugged 
 258.883 +his daughter tightly. "You take good care of my daughter Hotaru." he 
 258.884 +smiled at Hotaru.
 258.885 +	"Oh I will." Hotaru nodded.
 258.886 +	"What about your flower girls Small Lady?" Neo Queen Serenity 
 258.887 +asked her daughter.
 258.888 +	"Oh yes, well I was going to have Kusagi and her friend Mishu be 
 258.889 +the flower girls. What do you think?" ChibiUsa asked her mother.
 258.890 +	"I'm sure they'd be more than happy to be flower girls" the queen 
 258.891 +smiled.
 258.892 +	"Good, then now that everything is settled, how bout we all eat?" 
 258.893 +ChibiUsa asked excitedly.
 258.894 +	Everyone sweatdropped.
 258.895 +	"I suppose I'll serve lunch now." Makoto said standing up and 
 258.896 +walking toward the kitchen.
 258.897 +	ChibiUsa and Neo Queen Serenity's stomachs growled simultaneously 
 258.898 +and everyone burst out laughing.
 258.899 +	"They haven't changed a bit!" Luna said sweatdropping.
 258.900 +
 258.901 +
 258.902 +	"I know you love her, but are you sure this is going to work?" Neo 
 258.903 +Queen Serenity asked her daughter. The wind rustled the queen's elegant 
 258.904 +dress as she stood with her child on the balcony.
 258.905 +	"Mom, of course I'm sure. Like you said, I love her," ChibiUsa 
 258.906 +said emphatically. 
 258.907 +	"But you're a princess. You're expected to marry someone of royal 
 258.908 +birth," Serenity continued.
 258.909 +	"Hotaru is. She was the princess of Saturn," ChibiUsa smiled at 
 258.910 +the thought of the dark haired girl.
 258.911 +	"You and Hotaru are going to have daughters that are cloned from 
 258.912 +both of you."
 258.913 + 	"Yes. I know I have to have an heir. And I want it to be ours. 
 258.914 +Hotaru and I are really having our own daughters. I love her and she 
 258.915 +loves me. This is like a way of showing it. It feels good to know 
 258.916 +they'll be a little bit of both of us," ChibiUsa said.
 258.917 +	Serenity thought about it for a moment. "That's true. And she's a 
 258.918 +very responsible girl. I'm sure you'll both handle the things well when 
 258.919 +I pass down the crown. But are you sure the two of you can handle twins? 
 258.920 +That's going to be a lot of work for both of you."
 258.921 +	"I'm sure. We talked about it for a long time. We want to have 
 258.922 +twins. I know it will be a lot of work, but I know Hotaru will be able 
 258.923 +to raise them. Just like how you raised me." ChibiUsa turned to look at 
 258.924 +her mother. 
 258.925 +	"But you're going through with all this so quickly. You're getting 
 258.926 +married and you're already getting ready to have children," Serenity 
 258.927 +said helplessly.
 258.928 +	"Mom, don't worry. Hotaru and I will have an heir. And we love 
 258.929 +each other." ChibiUsa stressed the point. "That's all that matters, 
 258.930 +right?"
 258.931 +	The Queen nodded. "Yes. Yes, that is all that matters. Small Lady, 
 258.932 +I'm glad you've found someone you love so much. I'm just worried. My 
 258.933 +little girl's getting married. You're going to have a baby. It feels 
 258.934 +like you're growing up so fast."
 258.935 +	"Mom..." ChibiUsa said softly. She hugged her mother. "Is that it? 
 258.936 +You're worried about me? I'll be fine. As long as I've got Hotaru by my 
 258.937 +side, I'll be fine. You've taught me so much. The most important thing 
 258.938 +I've learned from you has to be to follow your heart. And I know where 
 258.939 +that leads me. I'll be fine. And I'll always be you're little girl."
 258.940 +	Serenity hugged her daughter back tightly. "Small Lady, I'm happy 
 258.941 +for you," she said as she held back some warm tears. The moisture 
 258.942 +gathered on the tips of her eyelashes as she blinked them away. Her 
 258.943 +little girl had grown up into a beautiful woman before her eyes and she 
 258.944 +hadn't noticed. She'd thought that ChibiUsa would wait when she'd told 
 258.945 +her she needed to have an heir, but she wasn't a child anymore. She'd 
 258.946 +moved on and was now ready to start a family of her own. 
 258.947 +	"Thanks, mom. That means a lot to me." ChibiUsa smiled and closed 
 258.948 +her eyes. She remembered how her mother had always been there for her 
 258.949 +when she needed help. She knew that she'd still be there, no matter what 
 258.950 +happened. 
 258.951 +
 258.952 +	"What did you want to talk about, Onii-chan?" Kousagi asked. She 
 258.953 +smiled politely at her sister's girlfriend. The two were both nice to 
 258.954 +hang around with. She ate some more of her ice cream, enjoying the sweet 
 258.955 +taste. She noticed that ChibiUsa still hadn't touched hers. As usual, 
 258.956 +Hotaru hadn't ordered much. She took another sip of the soda she'd 
 258.957 +bought.
 258.958 +	ChibiUsa thought for a moment, taking a taste of her melting ice 
 258.959 +cream. She made a face before eating some more. "You know how Hotaru-
 258.960 +chan and I have been going out for a long time now, right?" she started 
 258.961 +nervously. 
 258.962 +	Kousagi nodded. "Yeah. It keeps you busy. You two are always going 
 258.963 +out on dates or disappearing off together."
 258.964 +	ChibiUsa turned to Hotaru before continuing. The raven haired girl 
 258.965 +smiled reassuringly. "Hotaru means a lot to me. I love her more than 
 258.966 +anything."
 258.967 +	Turning to Hotaru, Kousagi grinned. "You really are good for my 
 258.968 +sister."
 258.969 +	A smile lit up Hotaru's face as she took ChibiUsa's free hand in 
 258.970 +her own. "Thank you."
 258.971 +	"She's always really happy when you're around. And when you're not 
 258.972 +around, she's always talking about you," the younger girl said.
 258.973 +	"Kousagi..." ChibiUsa blushed. Kousagi just giggled. Hotaru smiled 
 258.974 +to herself. She loved these family moments. She learned to cherish them 
 258.975 +when she'd grown up with Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru because they'd 
 258.976 +come few and far between when she'd been living alone with her father. 
 258.977 +That lonely life had only been interrupted by ChibiUsa's appearance into 
 258.978 +her world. 
 258.979 +"I have something important to tell you," ChibiUsa said after a 
 258.980 +minute.
 258.981 +	Kousagi looked at the pink haired girl, her eyes bright with 
 258.982 +curiosity. "What is it?" she asked.
 258.983 +	ChibiUsa took a deep breath. She'd already told some of her 
 258.984 +closest friends and her mother. There weren't too many people she had to 
 258.985 +tell. This was her sister, she'd understand. Kousagi already knew 
 258.986 +ChibiUsa was in love with Hotaru. This was just the next step in that. 
 258.987 +"Hotaru and I are getting married."
 258.988 +	The younger girl nearly fell, stumbling forward after what she'd 
 258.989 +heard. Her ice cream dropped to the concrete. "You're getting married?" 
 258.990 +She looked at the two lovers holding hands next to her. 
 258.991 +	Hotaru nodded. "We just got engaged. We should be getting married 
 258.992 +very soon." The dark haired girl looked happier than Kousagi had ever 
 258.993 +seen her.
 258.994 +	"But.. but you can't get married!" Kousagi protested, emotions 
 258.995 +bubbling over within her. She thought frantically. "I thought mom said 
 258.996 +you needed an heir."
 258.997 +	"I do, but Hotaru and I already have that set up. Thanks to Ami 
 258.998 +and her help with some cloning, I'll be pregnant with twins after Hotaru 
 258.999 +and I get married," ChibiUsa said happily.
258.1000 +	Tears welled up in the younger girl's eyes. "But you can't get 
258.1001 +married."
258.1002 +	"Kousagi-chan, what's wrong? Why not?" ChibiUsa asked worriedly. 
258.1003 +Her sister had sounded hurt just now.
258.1004 +	"I don't want you to move out," Kousagi sniffled. "I'd miss you 
258.1005 +too much." She wiped at her tears.
258.1006 +	"Oh, Kousagi." ChibiUsa took a step forward and hugged her little 
258.1007 +sister. "Its alright."
258.1008 +	"You won't be around anymore. Before, even if you were spending 
258.1009 +the night at Hotaru's, I knew Onii-chan would be back. Now you'll be 
258.1010 +living with her," Kousagi said sadly. "I don't want you to go."
258.1011 +	"I'll still see you a lot. I'll visit all the time. You can't get 
258.1012 +rid of me that easy. You and mom will see plenty of me. Hotaru and I 
258.1013 +will still live in the palace," ChibiUsa said soothingly. She kneeled by 
258.1014 +the younger girl and wiped a tear away from her cheek.
258.1015 +	"Really?" Kousagi said shakily.
258.1016 +	"Really. Tell you what, you can come visit us whenever you want." 
258.1017 +ChibiUsa held her sister at arms length and smiled gently at her. 
258.1018 +Kousagi returned the smile weakly.
258.1019 +	Hotaru put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, 
258.1020 +Kousagi. I'm not trying to steal your sister. I just love her so much. I 
258.1021 +want to be with her. But we'd be happy if you'd visit us a lot."
258.1022 +	Kousagi slowly nodded. "I'd like that," she said quietly. "I'd 
258.1023 +like that a lot."
258.1024 +
258.1025 +	As the three girls walked back to the palace, Hotaru sighed. 'It 
258.1026 +looks like Odango-chan's family wasn't quite ready to give her up yet. 
258.1027 +All in all, it seems to be going pretty well, otherwise. We're finally 
258.1028 +getting married.' The raven haired girl smiled to herself. 'Soon we'll 
258.1029 +be married.'
258.1030 +
258.1031 +	The scouts were waiting at Rei's shrine for ChibiUsa and Hotaru to 
258.1032 +show up when they heard a loud noise outside the door. Rei got up and 
258.1033 +opened the door to see what had happened. Sprawled out on the ground in 
258.1034 +front of the temple was Rei's grandpa. From the ladder on top of her 
258.1035 +grandpa, Rei concluded that his grandpa had seen Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
258.1036 +walking towards the shrine while he was fixing the leak in the roof. 
258.1037 +Rei's grandpa had always been a horney old man who liked to check out 
258.1038 +young shapely girls. This happened every time. He'd be checking out a 
258.1039 +girl while he was doing something, such as fixing the roof, and he'd end 
258.1040 +up hurting himself in his distraction. Rei chuckled to herself before 
258.1041 +approaching her grandfather.
258.1042 +	"Grandpa, why are you always so clumsy? You remind me of Usagi!" 
258.1043 +Rei scolded her grandfather as she moved the ladder off of him. "You saw 
258.1044 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru didn't you?" Rei laughed.
258.1045 +	"Boy, did I." Her grandpa answered wide eyed and red in the face.
258.1046 +	"Uhoh, it's worse than I thought." Rei said to herself. "What were 
258.1047 +they doing?" she asked her grandpa.
258.1048 +	"They were over in the wooded area and ChibiUsa had her shirt off" 
258.1049 +grandpa gulped, "and Hotaru was touching ChibiUsa's breasts. Beautiful 
258.1050 +breasts I must say . . . very perky. . ." Rei's grandpa trailed off.
258.1051 +	Laughter came from behind and Rei turned around to see all of the 
258.1052 +scouts standing right behind her. They had obviously heard the 
258.1053 +conversation between Rei and her grandpa. Rei blushed and then laughed 
258.1054 +along with the rest of them.
258.1055 +	"Oh grandpa, what are we gonna do with you. We'd have to lock you 
258.1056 +in a cage to keep you from hurting yourself every time you see a girl 
258.1057 +walk by." Rei teased.
258.1058 +	Rei's grandpa just sat on the ground wide eyed and mumbling to 
258.1059 +himself. He obviously hadn't heard a word Rei had just said. 
258.1060 +
258.1061 +

   259.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   259.2 +++ b/stories/coldnight.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   259.3 @@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
   259.4 +
   259.5 +          Even in the Cold Night
   259.6 +          Tomoyo shortfic
   259.7 +          by Meimi
   259.8 +ksainttail@aol.com
   259.9 +
  259.10 +          ---------
  259.11 +
  259.12 +              I shut the door to my room softly...I don't like being interrupted when I'm watching my 
  259.13 +          videos.
  259.14 +              What videos, you ask?
  259.15 +              If you know anything about me, that should be obvious.
  259.16 +              But maybe you don't, so I'll just tell you.
  259.17 +              They're not any kind of movie title you can buy in a store...though I watch as many of 
  259.18 +          those as the next girl. But these are much more special. These are things I treasure; I always 
  259.19 +          know I'll smile when the screen flickers to life out of the darkness...
  259.20 +              Because they're of the person I love.
  259.21 +              Hm? Who? Not a movie star, no.
  259.22 +              Sorry. It's a secret.
  259.23 +              Too much of a secret for even my own good...because even she doesn't know; doesn't 
  259.24 +          realize.
  259.25 +
  259.26 +          ---
  259.27 +          ne, does everyone become this lonely when they fall in love?
  259.28 +          ---
  259.29 +
  259.30 +              It's funny that way, isn't it? How I record her every movement on videotape...so I can 
  259.31 +          take it home with me, and relive every second I'm with her. I can push pause, and just watch her 
  259.32 +          smiling face...forever. A moment in her life is an eternity for me. And just with this, I'm 
  259.33 +          content.
  259.34 +              So...isn't it funny, how while my eyes never leave her face...never wanting to waste a 
  259.35 +          second with her...and how I notice every detail...
  259.36 +              And yet she never figures it out?
  259.37 +              Un. I love her.
  259.38 +              But she'll never know.
  259.39 +
  259.40 +          --
  259.41 +          ne, even more than the black darkness, does deep pain embrace you?
  259.42 +          --
  259.43 +
  259.44 +              A slight smile tugs at my lips as I toy with a strand of my hair...the hair grown out 
  259.45 +          long like my mother wanted...
  259.46 +              My mother was in love too, once. Ever since she was young...
  259.47 +          But her heart was slowly, slowly broken over the years. Slowly shattering as she sank into 
  259.48 +          jealousy.
  259.49 +              She couldn't stand watching her loved one be happy with someone else.
  259.50 +
  259.51 +          --
  259.52 +          all of it was only for our sake, so that we could shine, i'm certain
  259.53 +          --
  259.54 +
  259.55 +              ...my mother's become bitter about it over the years. I look at her, seeing how she 
  259.56 +          hasn't moved on at all after Nadeshiko-san's death, and I can feel my heart aching. Each time I 
  259.57 +          notice that faraway look in her eyes...her gaze shifting to that chest where a bouquet is locked 
  259.58 +          away...the flowers dried and dead.
  259.59 +          Like my mother. Those flowers...they're where my mother's life stopped, when she pushed 
  259.60 +          pause.
  259.61 +              Ever since I can remember, I've grown up watching my mother thinking of "what-if"s over 
  259.62 +          all these years. She won't allow herself to forgive, to forget...and she still says angrily that 
  259.63 +          Nadeshiko-san was stolen away, still glares at Fujitaka-san with eyes like ice.
  259.64 +              But she doesn't understand. Nadeshiko-san was happy, really happy because she fell in 
  259.65 +          love.
  259.66 +              I love my mother so much.
  259.67 +              But she was so selfish.
  259.68 +              And somethimes, it makes me wonder, did she ever really, I mean *really*, love 
  259.69 +          Nadeshiko-san at all?
  259.70 +              Because...when I see my loved one's face lighting up with joy...her emerald eyes 
  259.71 +          sparkling...a smile making everyone's day brighter...
  259.72 +
  259.73 +          --
  259.74 +          you, i love you, i'm watching you in my heart
  259.75 +          --
  259.76 +
  259.77 +              It makes my heart fill up with joy in those moments, and I'd do anything at all to keep 
  259.78 +          her smiling forever.
  259.79 +              Even giving her up?
  259.80 +          Of course. I won't let heartache kill me bit by bit. Every time I catch a glimpse of 
  259.81 +          longing in my mother's eyes when she mentions Nadeshiko-san's name...I think to myself, promise 
  259.82 +          myself, that I won't let myself become like her. I'll be so happy for the one I love, my heart 
  259.83 +          will continue overflowing with these feelings always...so that I can always keep an honest smile 
  259.84 +          on my face; never even think of the word "regret".
  259.85 +              Because, ne, she has someone she loves, too.
  259.86 +              Someone she can confide in...someone who knows her...someone who'll be able to 
  259.87 +          understand her feelings as well as me.
  259.88 +
  259.89 +          --
  259.90 +          you, i believe in you, even in the cold night
  259.91 +          --
  259.92 +
  259.93 +              ...maybe she doesn't even know she loves him herself, yet. But I can tell. She trusts 
  259.94 +          him, it's just the way she looks at him. These days, she's ever so slowly moving away from 
  259.95 +          me...going to him with her problems...he's her shoulder to cry on now.
  259.96 +          Not me.
  259.97 +
  259.98 +          --
  259.99 +          with my eyes, i call out to you now
 259.100 +          --
 259.101 +
 259.102 +              And why I don't say this bitterly, in a voice tainted with anger and regret? So cold to 
 259.103 +          the world, because she has Li-kun always...and I only have her smiling face on videotape to 
 259.104 +          console me when I feel heartbroken?
 259.105 +          There are times when I do wonder; why do I always shove them together? Why don't I try to 
 259.106 +          get between them? I could. If I did...I could play make-believe...she could be mine 
 259.107 +          forever...and then...
 259.108 +          ...and then I'd be exactly like my mother was. Always in denial of what was meant to be.
 259.109 +          I won't ruin this.
 259.110 +          I'll watch her quietly from the sidelines- never getting too close, too involved in her 
 259.111 +          love. I won't stand between the two of them.
 259.112 +          Why?
 259.113 +              Because she'll be happy, of course.
 259.114 +
 259.115 +
 259.116 +              "I..." I hesitate for just a moment, looking away. "I want the one I love to be happy, 
 259.117 +          more than to love me in return."
 259.118 +              I turn my gaze back to her...her sweet eyes staring into mine...so full of innocent 
 259.119 +          confusion.
 259.120 +              "...are you saying, you don't even care if the one you love doesn't love you?"
 259.121 +              I shut my eyes, replying softly.
 259.122 +              "Of course, I would be happy if that person returned my love."
 259.123 +              I open them, smiling at her.
 259.124 +              It's not a forced smile, it's genuine and real.
 259.125 +              I can't be bitter, because...
 259.126 +              "Because...the one I love being happy...is the greatest happiness of all."
 259.127 +              She blinks, the thought taking a moment to register for her...she seems completely in 
 259.128 +          the dark.
 259.129 +              But for one moment, I see understanding flickering inside those emerald gems...
 259.130 +              And then it's gone as she smiles at me.
 259.131 +              "...I'm sure, the one Tomoyo-chan loves is really happy."
 259.132 +              I gaze at her...and for a moment, it's just like I've pushed pause on the video; I feel 
 259.133 +          like I could live inside this moment forever...
 259.134 +              And she turns away, and it's gone.
 259.135 +
 259.136 +
 259.137 +              ...I hope you're right, Sakura-chan.
 259.138 +              That you're happy.
 259.139 +
 259.140 +          --
 259.141 +          i don't want your promises
 259.142 +          with my eyes, i reach out to you now
 259.143 +          even in the cold night

   260.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   260.2 +++ b/stories/conjure.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   260.3 @@ -0,0 +1,668 @@
   260.4 +---------------------------------------------
   260.5 +Conjure Me 1/1
   260.6 +by Meredith Bronwen Mallory
   260.7 +mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com
   260.8 +---------------------------------------------
   260.9 +
  260.10 +
  260.11 +DECEMBER 5th 2009
  260.12 +
  260.13 +
  260.14 + They walked hand in hand; though hers was cold as ice to him and she found
  260.15 +his to be uncomfortably sweaty. Heat rising from a swamp, ready to smother.
  260.16 +Her hands were strong, well formed and colored like light brushing against
  260.17 +a peach. Capable. Somehow, Sakura felt all that go away, when he wrapped
  260.18 +his calloused fingers around her hand; she thought perhaps he was drawing
  260.19 +the magic out of her, a little bit at a time. That was silly, of course;
  260.20 +they were just holding hands. Boyfriend and girlfriend, walking out under
  260.21 +the cold winter stars as their breaths released in little clouds. Snow
  260.22 +whirled about, caught in her auburn hair and pressed against her red coat
  260.23 +with the golden buttons. She laughed and, taking the opportunity to
  260.24 +disengage her hand, ran ahead, twirling when she reached a fork in the
  260.25 +path. Head tilted back, she opened her mouth like a child waiting for a
  260.26 +spoonful of powered sugar. The moon was a pale sliver, the delicate
  260.27 +crescent of a fingertip.
  260.28 +
  260.29 +
  260.30 +
  260.31 + Tomoyo blazed before her eyes, an inadvertent thought, but somehow more
  260.32 +real. The moon was a bright distant point of light in her best friend¹s fey
  260.33 +eyes. She thought about last night, Tomoyo¹s soft, cool hand in Sakura¹s
  260.34 +own, smiling as they turned and turned, making the world move on their own
  260.35 +axis. Then, rather than falling apart, they had pulled together and sunken
  260.36 +to their knees in the soft snow. Hands coming together, Tomoyo¹s face
  260.37 +pillowed on Sakura¹s shoulder. And then, for some reason, Sakura buried her
  260.38 +face in her best friend¹s hair, lost in an endless river of ebony and
  260.39 +violet.
  260.40 +
  260.41 +
  260.42 +
  260.43 + ³Hoe,² a soft, incredulous breath, coming in time with the color rising to
  260.44 +her cheeks. She realized belatedly that she had been standing still for
  260.45 +quite some time, and now Syaoran stood ahead of her waiting. Flashing him
  260.46 +an apologetic smile, she hurried to catch up. A cloud draped itself over
  260.47 +the moon, making the shapes in the park less familiar. When Sakura was
  260.48 +close enough, Syaoran took her hand again.
  260.49 + ³Let¹s do something different tonight,² Syaoran suggested, turning to
  260.50 +Sakura with eyes that looked empty in the moonlight.
  260.51 + ³Nani? What do you mean?² absently, she looked at her watch. The hand and
  260.52 +shadow fell to nine o¹clock.
  260.53 + ³I don¹t know,² he said in a tone that meant he did, ³Do you want to come
  260.54 +to my apartment? You could  call your dad, tell him you¹ll be a little
  260.55 +late.² There was something, something in her chest, dark and slithering.
  260.56 +She didn¹t know what it was.
  260.57 + ³Alright,² her voice was quiet. They continued in a different direction,
  260.58 +still holding hands.
  260.59 + She was sixteen years old.
  260.60 +
  260.61 +
  260.62 +~
  260.63 +
  260.64 +
  260.65 + Tomoyo walked carefully in the snow, feeling transported. Trees rose
  260.66 +against the star-filled sky, looking like twisted, polished question marks.
  260.67 +Not even the lights of the city could change the strange, alien feeling
  260.68 +that dipped like a scythe against her ribs. The people sharing the sidewalk
  260.69 +seemed somehow more removed, colorless almost,  though she told herself
  260.70 +that was only her loneliness seeping through. It bled like that, spreading
  260.71 +outward like a flower, anti-survival, pulling thorns inward. Shivering,
  260.72 +Tomoyo pulled her coat and moon-spangled scarf closer. Her dress, long and
  260.73 +red velvet, brushed against the backs of her legs, in time with the soft
  260.74 +click of her shoes. That was the rhythm, sudden and very overwheliming:
  260.75 +click - clack, click- clack, click - clack. Up beat, down beat. She paused,
  260.76 +oblivious to the pedestrians that pushed around her. Slim, china-white
  260.77 +fingers pressed against her temples, massaging there for a moment before
  260.78 +she continued onward. She thought about Sakura; Sakura¹s hair sliding
  260.79 +through the brush, Sakura¹s slim shoulders encased in green that matched
  260.80 +her eyes. Sakura, smiling, saying she had a date with Syaoran tonight, but
  260.81 +tomorrow she would take Tomoyo down town and they¹d have fun shopping.
  260.82 +
  260.83 +
  260.84 + Yesterday with Sakura, walking through a corridor of ebony trees, snow
  260.85 +dripping off their branches like strings of glass beads. They had not
  260.86 +seemed like question marks then, but rather totems raised for Sakura,
  260.87 +supporting a palace that had never been built. The wind had moved around
  260.88 +the two of them like a river current, rising against Tomoyo¹s cheek bones--
  260.89 +a longed-for touch-- pushing the clouds across the moon and then away
  260.90 +again. Sakura had turned towards Tomoyo, smiling, her emerald eyes like the
  260.91 +depths of the ocean in the darkness. Glory had pushed up through Tomoyo
  260.92 +then, sung in her veins, and as always there was no where for it to go. It
  260.93 +cycled through her, refined each time it passed through her heart, the same
  260.94 +as the blood in her veins. Her throat tightened miserably, all the words
  260.95 +that tangled there seemed stupid and inexpressive. She¹d searched Sakura¹s
  260.96 +face for understanding, some hint of... there were no words for what she
  260.97 +was looking for. Her hands had gripped Sakura¹s and then, by some unspoken
  260.98 +agreement, they began to turn, round and round, never getting anywhere, but
  260.99 +pulling in towards each other. When they fell to the ground, Tomoyo had
 260.100 +laid her head on her friend¹s shoulder, gripping the other girl¹s coat with
 260.101 +hands that felt like they would break.
 260.102 + She¹d said, ³Sakura...²
 260.103 +
 260.104 +
 260.105 + ³Silly, jealous girl,² she murmured to herself.  She forced herself to see
 260.106 +Sakura, happy and smiling on her wedding day, veil thrown over her face
 260.107 +like whatever it was that kept her from seeing the truth.  Syaoran would
 260.108 +stand just-so beside her, not smiling because he never smiled, but still
 260.109 +looking like he was happy, looking like he would take care of Sakura. And
 260.110 +herself, somewhere in the background; the one who organized everything, the
 260.111 +one who wiped tears off Sakura's face when she said she was scared and
 260.112 +didn't know if she could go through with the wedding. Always, Tomoyo held
 260.113 +this vision out to herself, but whether it was a promise or a threat even
 260.114 +she didn't know. Presently, the wind pushed the snow against her in a gush,
 260.115 +like the tiny frozen wings of butterflies. Tomoyo breathed deeply, and the
 260.116 +pinch of the scythe became just a little bit stronger.
 260.117 +
 260.118 +
 260.119 +~
 260.120 +
 260.121 + Her coat was tossed haphazardly in the easy chair, her shoes --black
 260.122 +patenleather with dainty straps-- sat patiently like twin dogs beside
 260.123 +Syaoran's thick sneakers. Sakura saw none of these things, but later she
 260.124 +would remember the placement of everything in the room as one remembers the
 260.125 +stillness of the world before a tornado. She waited for the windows to blow
 260.126 +inward, glass shards like knives ready to cut to the quick. Instead, the
 260.127 +color simply drained from the room; no more blue sofa, brown coffee-table,
 260.128 +green carpet, black-yellow-brown-blue-red pictures of relatives from China.
 260.129 +Only Syaoran's hands retained their color, looking somehow like menacing
 260.130 +claws as they hang suspended before her chest.
 260.131 + "Ano..." he said, and his hands shook with the words. She realized she
 260.132 +hadn't been looking at his face. How strange this felt, like someone else's
 260.133 +life. He wanted her to say something, but there didn't seem to be anything
 260.134 +inside her anymore-- not even a voice. Wasn't she supposed to feel like she
 260.135 +was flying, like she was going to come apart if he didn't touch her and
 260.136 +kiss her? Wasn't that in all the movies and the books and the pictures of
 260.137 +pretty shoujo heroines in the final panels of manga? This was it, the rose
 260.138 +petals would fall across the screen, the hero and heroine would tumble
 260.139 +gracefully onto the bed, like dancers. Perhaps, she thought, it takes a
 260.140 +little while to build up. So she lifted her lips like she did when she
 260.141 +smiled and nodded her head. He moved his fingers to the neckline of her
 260.142 +dress-- the pink one with the red ribbons that Tomoyo had made-- and
 260.143 +carefully slipped a button loose while he made a little breathy noise that
 260.144 +sounded like "Sakura" or the brush of dried leaves on cold stone.
 260.145 +
 260.146 +
 260.147 + Tomoyo had laid her head on Sakura's shoulder, lips pressed into Sakura's
 260.148 +scarf as she breathed words there. There was something rhythmic to it, an
 260.149 +ancient chant, and Tomoyo's body had moved with it, arms snaking around
 260.150 +Sakura's waist.
 260.151 + "Daijobu?" Sakura could not remember asking the question, but a small
 260.152 +flower of warm air bloomed in the cold, and Tomoyo's body stiffened, so she
 260.153 +must have said something like that.
 260.154 + "I want to tell you something," Tomoyo had said, "I want to..." Her breath
 260.155 +had shuddered, even as Sakura stroked her hair, "but I can't."
 260.156 + "Naze?" a little broken word. Tomoyo slipped gracefully from Sakura's
 260.157 +arms, her violet-ebony hair falling about her like folded wings. She smiled
 260.158 +and it looked painful, and her body was like something that could not be
 260.159 +held. Fragility. There was steel underneath, though; it was the color of
 260.160 +Tomoyo's eyes. She offered her hand, white as the moon on snow, and helped
 260.161 +Sakura stand.
 260.162 + One of them said, "let's go get something to eat"; as if nothing had
 260.163 +happened.
 260.164 +
 260.165 +
 260.166 + Now they were moving towards the bedroom, Syaoran lifting Sakura into his
 260.167 +arms. Her legs were polished and long-- too long, apparently-- and she had
 260.168 +a hard time shifting her weight against Syaoran's chest. He was down to his
 260.169 +boxers, she clad only in the creamy silk shift with its lace of growing,
 260.170 +virginal flowers.
 260.171 +
 260.172 +~
 260.173 +
 260.174 + Tomoyo tested out a smile, looking at the reflection of her face in the
 260.175 +display window. Behind her ethereal image, there cookies, pies and delicate
 260.176 +pastries, festive and brightly lit. The smile faltered, then died
 260.177 +altogether as Tomoyo attempted to brush away the warm image that rose like
 260.178 +a seductress from a bed of silk. Her mind held out the possibility,
 260.179 +impossibility, of a table spanned with candles and good food, set before
 260.180 +herself and Sakura as they reclined in one another's arms. Her mask
 260.181 +crumbled momentarily, her mouth pouted and her eyes closed to hold back
 260.182 +tears, but it was gone so quickly that Tomoyo was able to tell herself it
 260.183 +hadn't happened. Her heart fluttered weakly within its cage, its protests
 260.184 +lost as she pushed the thoughts from her mind. Things that happened without
 260.185 +Sakura were in parentheses, and there for didn't count. Instead, Tomoyo
 260.186 +turned on her heel and headed into the shop, entering with the cold breeze
 260.187 +as her fanfare. She didn't even noticed as her blood ebbed more slowly in
 260.188 +her veins.
 260.189 +
 260.190 +~
 260.191 +
 260.192 +
 260.193 + It took only three of Syaoran's heavy steps down the hallway and they were
 260.194 +there, poised in the threshold of his room. She tried to smile up at him,
 260.195 +but he wasn't even looking at her, and when he tried to move he ended up
 260.196 +ramming her hip into the doorframe. Now he was looking at her, lukewarm
 260.197 +brown eyes narrowing in concern. Sakura bit her lip so hard she tasted her
 260.198 +own bitter wine, but muttered a 'don't worry' to his apology. He put her
 260.199 +down on the bed, moving her legs so that they were uncrossed, situating her
 260.200 +like a china doll. His hands, big, calloused and sweaty, reached for the
 260.201 +hem of her slip, lifting it ever so slightly before she cried out.
 260.202 +
 260.203 +~
 260.204 +
 260.205 + "Can I get you something, miss?"
 260.206 + "Just a cup of tea, with honey, and..." Tomoyo raised her hand
 260.207 +instinctively to cover her mouth, then coughed delicately into the white
 260.208 +fabric on her palm. She put her hand down quickly, "and a few of those
 260.209 +chocolate chip cookies." The tea was in a little china cup lined with gold,
 260.210 +the cookies laid on a paper doily; three of them. Syaoran and Sakura and
 260.211 +Tomoyo. She carried them carefully to a little round table, crossing her
 260.212 +legs as she sat, trying to quell another cough. Raising the cup to her
 260.213 +lips, she thought of a dress design like poetry, seams fitting together in
 260.214 +careful black, green and gold, silently complimenting the depths of
 260.215 +Sakura's shadowed, jungle eyes. Another idea swept away the last, this time
 260.216 +a great embroidered gold dragon curling about Sakura's neck line. The
 260.217 +images were vivid, making her fingers itch, so that Tomoyo did not see the
 260.218 +blood she coughed up into her glove.
 260.219 +
 260.220 +~
 260.221 +
 260.222 +
 260.223 + Syaoran's eyes were narrowed until it looked like he couldn't see anything
 260.224 +at all, but Sakura kept her face determined and her hands hard as she
 260.225 +loosened his grip on the slip.
 260.226 + "Something wrong?" His words were blunt, cutting.
 260.227 + "Iie..," Sakura shook her fire-brown locks, "but we can do..." there were
 260.228 +words for it, of course, but she somehow couldn't bring herself to use any
 260.229 +of them, "without taking this off."
 260.230 + "Alright," he said, and she smiled because she somehow wanted to protect
 260.231 +herself from him. In the next moment, she turned her lips down, remembering
 260.232 +the long monologues of praise in the romance novels-- how the heroine
 260.233 +wanted her man to have everything of her, that she wanted to share with
 260.234 +him, her whole self. She couldn't hold onto it, any of it, so detached was
 260.235 +she. Syaoran took off his boxers, dropping them beside the bed; she slipped
 260.236 +off her underwear then tossed them, trying to be decadent, to celebrate her
 260.237 +loss, and the white scrap of cloth flew through the air like a kamikaze
 260.238 +bird.
 260.239 +
 260.240 +
 260.241 +
 260.242 + 'Someone', Tomoyo thought suddenly, wildly, 'is ripping me open and sewing
 260.243 +me back up'. An ill tide rose in her being, so swift and powerful that all
 260.244 +at once she couldn't remember what it was like to not have pain. There was
 260.245 +pain, everywhere, the bright, functional needles of a sewing machine.
 260.246 +
 260.247 +
 260.248 + His breathing was the sound of metal on metal, sword on sword. Sakura
 260.249 +moved backwards, feeling the pillows pressing into her back, hands offering
 260.250 +her up for sacrifice. Syaoran's nails were rough on her skin, cutting
 260.251 +without leaving a mark. Now the pillows would give way no more and her head
 260.252 +was pressed against the merciless wall. She had a sudden, insane image of
 260.253 +her mother like this: cornered and crying inside.
 260.254 + "This isn't it," Sakura imaged her saying, her long hair moving to cover
 260.255 +her body in vain, "this isn't, isn't it."
 260.256 +
 260.257 +
 260.258 +
 260.259 + She was being pressed in the gears, drawn out like a piece of thread and
 260.260 +pinned down again and again. Tomoyo's pretty, gloved hands rose, like the
 260.261 +fluttering of doves wings, to touch her burning cheeks. She felt the damp
 260.262 +palm of her right fingers, looked down to see them colored in red. As if
 260.263 +Sakura had kissed them with lipstick, her traitorous mind supplied. A sound
 260.264 +devoid of happiness burst from Tomoyo's lungs; she laughed because she knew
 260.265 +she was dying, knew that Sakura would never touch her and now and forever
 260.266 +there was really no chance. Strange, how she'd never really admitted it.
 260.267 +
 260.268 +
 260.269 + Sakura said the words, over and over; "this isn't it, this isn't it". They
 260.270 +were heavy on her tongue and quick to fly, she was crying without shedding
 260.271 +any tears.
 260.272 + Syaoran said, "I'm not going to hurt you." As if he hadn't already.
 260.273 +
 260.274 +
 260.275 + Tomoyo's laugh rose, filled the small cafe until she felt the gazes of
 260.276 +strangers slithering over her body. Biting down on her lip and swallowing
 260.277 +her voice, she tasted her own blood and a touch of the ocean. Salt water;
 260.278 +her tears. Fingers, stained and trembling felt against her face as though
 260.279 +she was a blind woman. The world blurred and blurred with her pain (God,
 260.280 +she didn't even know what was happening), and at last the beating of her
 260.281 +lungs forced her to open her mouth. Tomoyo coughed, and blood fell from her
 260.282 +lips like grotesque rain.
 260.283 +
 260.284 +
 260.285 +
 260.286 +
 260.287 + Now the glass did break; windows pushing inward like bubbles released from
 260.288 +a child's summer hand. The shards flew wildly, vengeful faeries, and Sakura
 260.289 +reared back, watching Syaoran lift his arms in defense. She slipped past
 260.290 +him like she was made of nothing.
 260.291 + "Tomoyo," she whispered, so pained that she could not remember ever having
 260.292 +happiness. The new red kisses of blood on her skin and the crimson river
 260.293 +falling between her legs did not concern her, instead she raised her hands
 260.294 +to hold the emptiness tearing through her body like a tiger; she looked in
 260.295 +Syaoran's dull brown eyes and saw fear there.
 260.296 + 'You!' she wanted to scream, to pour accusation on him, but Sakura was too
 260.297 +full of her own sick guilt to blame anyone else. Instead, she turned and
 260.298 +fled, silken camisole moving against her body like a dozen concerned hands.
 260.299 +Down the stairs, her bare fee pounding mercilessly until they were too numb
 260.300 +to feel the cold as she ran into the winter night. It was as if someone had
 260.301 +taken her hands, was leading her, and indeed she ran with them
 260.302 +outstretched, ignorant of her final destination. The star-key dropped
 260.303 +against her chest in time with her heart beat, ringing against her ribcage
 260.304 +with finality. Then her hand was on a cold metal bar-- she was pushing open
 260.305 +a glass door and hurrying into a place filled with bright lights and the
 260.306 +sound of Tomoyo dying. Pushing through the crowd with hands that chilled
 260.307 +all she moved aside, Sakura saw her best friend laid out of the blue and
 260.308 +gold and white pattern tile, a sprawled and broken china doll. She was on
 260.309 +her knees without thinking about it, Tomoyo's pale form closed within her
 260.310 +arms. The still girl stirred, turning her wide snow-touched star-light eyes
 260.311 +on the Card mistress,  and Sakura almost cried; for Tomoyo's face was
 260.312 +filled with joy at seeing her.
 260.313 + "Sa..." Tomoyo's labored breathing swallowed the rest of the sound. Her
 260.314 +eyes slipped closed momentarily as sheer red flowed to her lips. They were
 260.315 +in a sea of red, Sakura realized, their blood mingling and staining
 260.316 +everything around them.
 260.317 + "Tomoyo-chan," Sakura managed, holding the other girl's delicate fingers.
 260.318 +"Don't die," she said the dark-haired girl's name over and over again, as
 260.319 +if the chant could call her back into her body. "I'm so sorry. I was trying
 260.320 +to be something I'm not...," Sakura breathed in her tears until her throat
 260.321 +hurt with them, "Forgive me, I'll make it up to you."
 260.322 + "I told you to," Tomoyo's smile was pale as coral, but it was real; the
 260.323 +pieces of Sakura's heart dove in their own suicide to realize just how much
 260.324 +of a facade her friend's happiness had been. In death's gentle embrace, her
 260.325 +eyes were filled with unconditional love, "I said to Sakura-chan, 'Li-kun
 260.326 +loves you'. It's my fault." The words buried themselves in Sakura-- it was
 260.327 +the truth when neither of them knew it. Tomoyo's soft, cool hand was
 260.328 +against Sakura's cheek, and then tracing softly over her lips. "And I," she
 260.329 +managed to raise her head, lips so close to her friend that he Card
 260.330 +mistress more felt the confession than heard it;
 260.331 +
 260.332 + "And I love Sakura."
 260.333 +
 260.334 +
 260.335 +==============
 260.336 +
 260.337 +DECEMBER 6th 2009
 260.338 +
 260.339 +
 260.340 + It was snowing again, falling through the window and collecting in
 260.341 +Sakura's lap. She knelt in her pajamas on the window seat, watching the
 260.342 +moon move through the clouds and feeling the cold slowly work is way into
 260.343 +her veins. The light behind her was dim, coloring her room a brown antique
 260.344 +photo; and the shadows seemed to move when they thought she wasn't looking.
 260.345 + "Sakura," Cerberus' two fine saber teeth lodged in her shirt, trying to
 260.346 +pull her away from the window; she only loosened his grip and absently
 260.347 +stroked his golden coat, barely registering sensation. A soft knock at the
 260.348 +door; no response, then a shaft of light annihilating the darkness.
 260.349 + "Imouto-chan..." this from another voice, and Sakura raised her head just
 260.350 +barely to meet her brother's gaze. Touya held the phone in his hand,
 260.351 +towards her and away from him. "It's Sonomi-san. She wants to talk to you."
 260.352 +Sakura allowed the phone to be placed in her still hands, her green eyes
 260.353 +like emerald windows that had been pulled tightly closed against the world.
 260.354 +"Ano..." Touya said, "Syaoran was here, earlier. I told him to come back
 260.355 +later."
 260.356 + For a moment, Sakura moved her lips without sound, before her voice
 260.357 +sounded like the high string on a cello-- sweet, but strangely low. "When
 260.358 +he comes again," she seemed ageless, eternity shivering by the window,
 260.359 +"tell him he knows why I will not see him, and shall never see him again.
 260.360 +Tell him I give him no blame, that it is not his fault. Tell him, also, to
 260.361 +go home and marry Meiling, that he might keep his honor and make her
 260.362 +happy." She turned her hand away, gazing at he bright round buttons of the
 260.363 +telephone, before raising it to her ear. Touya stood for a moment, stunned
 260.364 +by the chill in his little sister's eyes and voice, before pressing his
 260.365 +wide hand against her shoulder and retreating.
 260.366 +
 260.367 + For a moment, there was only breathing on the line.
 260.368 + "Konbanwa, Sonomi-san," Sakura said, pressing her free hand to her mouth,
 260.369 +swallowing sob after sob.
 260.370 + "Oh, Sakura-chan," the voice of Tomoyo's mother was soothing and
 260.371 +discomforting at once. "I wanted to ask you, could you... would you please
 260.372 +speak at Tomoyo's funeral tomorrow?" Tears came like static on the line,
 260.373 +"She did love you so... I think it would make her happy."
 260.374 + "Of course, Sonomi-san," Sakura drew in a breath that caught in her
 260.375 +throat, "I would be honored. Tomoyo is..," her eyes closed to combat the
 260.376 +truth, "was so... very precious to me."
 260.377 + "Hai," they were both crying now, words distorted and raw, "There are
 260.378 +things here I think she would want you to have."
 260.379 + "I can't take anything from you, Sonomi-san," Sakura said honestly, her
 260.380 +hands fisting in Cerberus' fur. The seal beast rested his head in her lap,
 260.381 +making small feline noises of comfort. "Tomoyo was your daughter-- you
 260.382 +should have her things."
 260.383 + "But she would have wanted you to have something," Sonomi insisted, "She
 260.384 +cared about you so much." Sakura felt sure she'd been cut, sliced from
 260.385 +breast bone o navel with hurt. <What can I say?> she wondered. She wanted
 260.386 +to tell Sonomi the truth, to say, 'it is my hand that caused your
 260.387 +daughter's death-- it was I who loved her, and with my unconscious magic
 260.388 +bound her to me. It was also I who betrayed her with another, and killed
 260.389 +her.' Sakura strained her eyes in the dim light, focusing on the row of
 260.390 +dolls near her bed. She gazed at an ebony-haired, silken-bronze clad doll
 260.391 +with a suddenly watery memory of a smile; the doll has been a gift from
 260.392 +Tomoyo.
 260.393 + Drawing a breath, she whispered into the phone; "I will take only what you
 260.394 +want me to have."
 260.395 + "Thank you," said the older woman, "Sakura-chan, if you need to talk, I am
 260.396 +here. When my Nadeshiko died, I should have liked to have had someone to
 260.397 +confide in... I am here if you need me."
 260.398 + Sakura bit her lip, "You are in so much pain, and yet yu're trying to ease
 260.399 +mine. I hope I can return the favor."
 260.400 + "Just go on to be whatever it is Sakura is destined to be," the tiny,
 260.401 +disembodied voice entreated, "Tomoyo-chan wanted to see you shine."
 260.402 + It was a while before Sakura could speak past the blinding agony, "I will.
 260.403 +I promise. Good night, Sonomi-san."
 260.404 + "Good night, and thank you," the other voice returned, before the air was
 260.405 +still and dead. Sakura held the phone in both hands, looking down into
 260.406 +Cerberus' deep brown eyes.
 260.407 +
 260.408 + "I did kill her, didn't I, Kero-chan?" Sakura's voice was soulless.
 260.409 + "You didn't mean to," the seal beast insisted.
 260.410 + "No," a sigh, "Everyone said to me, 'Syaoran loves you', and so I thought
 260.411 +I must love him too. I wanted so badly not to disappoint anyone. But..."
 260.412 +Sakura flung the phone away, watching it slide across the hard-wood floor
 260.413 +and spiral there. "I loved Tomoyo. I *love* Tomoyo," she breathed in the
 260.414 +present tense and all the hope it held. "I never let myself realize, I was
 260.415 +so scared of disappointing everyone."
 260.416 + "You were given a power you don't understand," Cerberus pointed out, "How
 260.417 +were you to know that your love for her bound you together?"
 260.418 + "I'm the one that cut the cord! Why did I go with Syaoran?" Sakura reached
 260.419 +blindly for the doll Tomoyo had given her, "The whole time I was there, I
 260.420 +knew everything was wrong. If I had left, or said no, Tomoyo-chan would
 260.421 +still be alive." Slowly, Sakura climbed to her feet, approaching her desk
 260.422 +on shaky legs. Her hands traced the rich cover of the book of Clow, and
 260.423 +Sakura Cards resting within.  "Now I see why Clow wanted to be rid of this
 260.424 +power." Her hand reached for the small over-head lamp as she opened the
 260.425 +book, eyes roaming over the beautiful illustrations of power; all beautiful
 260.426 +lines and careful coloring. The thought was so sudden that Sakura stood
 260.427 +with the force of it, feeling the world fall away beneath her feet. "Clow
 260.428 +cheated Death," she murmured.
 260.429 + "Hai," said Cerberus without thinking. A low tiger chuckle emerged between
 260.430 +his teeth, "Death came to see Clow, once or twice. Knocked on the door--
 260.431 +nice and polite," he smiled at the memory, "but Clow was the most powerful
 260.432 +sorcerer ever. He only died when he was tired of his power." The seal beast
 260.433 +gazed at Sakura, suddenly aware of the present, "The most powerful
 260.434 +sorcerer, save you of course."
 260.435 + "I had never thought about living forever," Sakura's words drifted, "or
 260.436 +close to forever, anyway." She turned the pages of the book, faster and
 260.437 +faster until it was the sound of birds rustling. With awe, she touched over
 260.438 +the beautiful faces of the Light and the Dark, "I can save her."
 260.439 + Cerberus stared at his Mistress for a moment, before venturing, "You'll
 260.440 +have wait, a very long time."
 260.441 + "I can learn to wait," Sakura murmured. Her hand was on the key, which
 260.442 +swiftly became her staff; she was bounding towards the open window. Her
 260.443 +toes touched the windowsill and she leapt out into the night with the Fly
 260.444 +card giving her staff wings. Raising her eyes to the moon, Sakura cried her
 260.445 +happiness. Tomoyo had waited so long for her, without ever expecting
 260.446 +fulfillment-- could not Sakura do the same?
 260.447 +
 260.448 +
 260.449 +
 260.450 +
 260.451 + The mortician had curled Tomoyo's hair loosely, draping the deep lavender
 260.452 +near the girl's neck to cover the scars from the autopsy. Reverently,
 260.453 +Sakura touched the corpse's pale cheek, feeling the void left by Tomoyo's
 260.454 +soul. Without the shimmer of the girl inside, the body was husk, a poor
 260.455 +imitation. With a hiss, she bit her lip, remembering what the doctors had
 260.456 +officially reported. A rare disease-- the collection of blood in the lungs.
 260.457 +Tomoyo had drowned to death in her own blood; but the doctors didn't know
 260.458 +the real reason why. A sob locked in Sakura's throat; Tomoyo didn't look
 260.459 +like she was sleeping, or even alive at all, only empty, empty. Moving the
 260.460 +lid of the casket away, Sakura reached for her key.
 260.461 + "Oh key that holds the power of the Stars," she chanted, hanging ont the
 260.462 +words with her sanity, "reveal to me thy true form. By the pledge between
 260.463 +us, Sakura doth command! RELEASE!" The breeze settled, and Sakura felt
 260.464 +oddly alone-- always, Tomoyo had been by her side, taping and observing her
 260.465 +magic. Swallowing her sickness, she lifted the first of the cards.
 260.466 +"CREATE-- make for me a box worthy of holding Tomoyo's heart!" A deep
 260.467 +breath, and she set the new silver chest aside. "FREEZE-- keep Tomoyo's
 260.468 +body young forever!" Finally, she raised her right hand high, "SWORD!"
 260.469 + With her eyes firmly fixed on the empty visage of her beautiful best
 260.470 +friend, Sakura lifted the sword.
 260.471 + "I love you, Tomoyo."
 260.472 + And she drove the blade in next to Tomoyo's heart.
 260.473 +
 260.474 +
 260.475 +
 260.476 +=================
 260.477 +
 260.478 +DECEMBER 5th, 2109
 260.479 +Tomoeda, Japan
 260.480 +
 260.481 + Once, the area had been the site of an amusement park in bright colored
 260.482 +plastics, with children laughing loud into the wind. Before that-- though
 260.483 +no one in Tomoeda had a memory extending that far-- an old, towering
 260.484 +mansion had rested on the land. Now both were long gone, bull-dozed in turn
 260.485 +for progress, and for some twenty years, wild vines and trees had retaken
 260.486 +the place. The earth easily forgets humanity. In recent years, it had
 260.487 +become the site of a new building project that had the citizens of Tomoeda
 260.488 +talking; even the children that climbed the old and faded King Penguin had
 260.489 +whispered amongst each other.  Gradually, a house seemed to grow from the
 260.490 +ground; yellow, with a porch that circled it and turrets as fine for any
 260.491 +castle. It became the home of a rich young heiress by the name of Kinomoto
 260.492 +Sakura, and if there had ever been another young girl with bright green
 260.493 +eyes, a cheerful spirit and whispering brown hair... well, there was no one
 260.494 +around to remember her. She looked not a day over sixteen, this young
 260.495 +woman, though she insisted she was twenty-two, and as far as anyone knew,
 260.496 +she lived in the house by herself. Sometimes, people said they heard voices
 260.497 +drifting down from the house, but that was just talk. At first, the towns
 260.498 +people  resented Kinomoto-san in a way, but she gave generously to the
 260.499 +drill team and cheer-leading club at the elementary school, and she seemed
 260.500 +to love the town as much as they did. Gradually, she became a regular
 260.501 +fixture, and people felt free to wave or greet her on the street. However,
 260.502 +only children really seemed at ease with her; perhaps because, despite her
 260.503 +powerful baring, she was still so much a child herself.
 260.504 +
 260.505 +
 260.506 +
 260.507 +
 260.508 + It was there on the calendar in thick, neat Kanji, some of it spilling
 260.509 +over into the next neatly lined square.
 260.510 + "December 5th," Cerberus read what his mistress had written, standing on
 260.511 +his hunches to see, "Tomoyo died. Please come back, Tomoyo." The name was
 260.512 +in friendly Hirigana, a little school-girl style heart draw cradled in the
 260.513 +'to'. "Todays the day," he said, padding across the kitchen tile towards
 260.514 +his companion, "Think she'll realize it when she wakes up?"
 260.515 + Perched on a stool near the counter, Yue tossed a lock of moon-white hair
 260.516 +and snorted, "Of course she knows, my furry friend. As if she hasn't been
 260.517 +watching the calendar like a hawk."
 260.518 + "Hai, hai," there was a flash, and Cerberus flitted into his smaller form,
 260.519 +alighting on Yue's shoulder. "I'm just a little worried, though. She hasn't
 260.520 +even mentioned it."
 260.521 + Yue rolled his eyes, "This is a very big thing-- very personal. She's
 260.522 +probably nervous. I think maybe we should..."
 260.523 + "Ohayo, Yue-san," the Card Mistress' voice rang clear in the cool winter
 260.524 +kitchen. She smiled just a little bit, standing in the doorway with the
 260.525 +rainbow lights of the sun catcher playing over her body. With a practiced
 260.526 +air, she plucked Cerberus from the air, "Ohayo, Kero-chan." Ignoring the
 260.527 +looks her friends gave her, Sakura padded towards the cupboard, pulling on
 260.528 +her silken pajama top. Cutlery and china began to chime together-- the
 260.529 +sounds of breakfast being made.
 260.530 + "Ohayo, Sakura-sama," Yue offered, stretching his wings and barely
 260.531 +managing not to over turn the stool. "Kero-chan and I were just talking. We
 260.532 +thought perhaps we would let you have the house to yourself today and check
 260.533 +out the old haunts-- the temple, the park..."
 260.534 + "Hey," Kero back stroked in the air, "As long as we buy some of that
 260.535 +really good Pocky from the corner store, I'm happy." Yue batted at him
 260.536 +absently, watching as his Mistress turned away from the oven.  There were
 260.537 +tears back-lighted emerald by her eyes, just barely swimming over her
 260.538 +lashes.
 260.539 + "Arigato, Yue-san," her smile was gentle and thankful, "That's very kind
 260.540 +of you."
 260.541 + "Don't mention it," Kero accepted the small pancakes Sakura offered out,
 260.542 +"It was my idea." Expertly, he dodged Yue's hand, holding out a slice of
 260.543 +pancake to the young man.
 260.544 + "I detest food," Yue returned, before turning back to Sakura, "Anyway, I
 260.545 +think we'll go right now." Sakura nodded softly and watched her two
 260.546 +companions drift out into the hallway. A moment later, she heard the door
 260.547 +close, and her body slumped against the counter. Gathering her strength,
 260.548 +she moved to sit at the table, picking at her food with a hopeless,
 260.549 +disinterested chop-sticks. Around her, the world was a comfortable new day
 260.550 +yellow-- outside the window, the sun touched the morning sky opal, and the
 260.551 +bare trees rose beautiful. Finally, Sakura pushed herself away from the
 260.552 +table and moved towards the back door on unsteady legs.
 260.553 +
 260.554 + Outside, the winter are was crisp and real on Sakura's skin-- she breathed
 260.555 +and watched small white air-flowers bloom. Trotting down the cobble stone
 260.556 +path, she moved into the green house, her hands touching lightly on the
 260.557 +roses, nadeshikos and lilies that grew there. In truth, she felt a little
 260.558 +silly, a little too much like Eriol-- living in her mansion house and
 260.559 +playing the recluse. She loved the people of her home town and tried to
 260.560 +mingle with them when she could, but they always seemed a little wary. As
 260.561 +she plucked a yellow rose to match the morning, Sakura supposed she didn't
 260.562 +blame them. She had left scarcely a year after Tomoyo's death, wanting her
 260.563 +memories of home to be pleasant, and not back-dropped with odd glances and
 260.564 +whispers of suspicion as she failed to age or change. She returned only
 260.565 +briefly for her father's funeral, and then for Sonomi-san's and, in the
 260.566 +mean time, she traveled. She had been to London, to New York, Paris and
 260.567 +even back to Hong Kong for the wedding of Syaoran and Meiling's
 260.568 +grand-daughter, Shaiming. Staying in one place for very long was never an
 260.569 +option, but she grew to enjoy the different landscapes of her life, all the
 260.570 +while longing for the day when the mystery aboard each boat or train or jet
 260.571 +she took would not be "who is that pretty young woman?", but "did you see
 260.572 +that beautiful pale woman and her friend? I wonder who they are". In a way,
 260.573 +she feared her hundred years of living would make her feel separate from
 260.574 +Tomoyo-- put distance between them, that they would no longer be able to be
 260.575 +friends. Still, the words of her gentle best friend ("There is no one I
 260.576 +want to be with more thn Sakura-chan") would come to her at night, and she
 260.577 +would dream of adventures for the both of them. Tomoyo had always seemed
 260.578 +ageless-- perhaps she and Sakura had finally caught up.
 260.579 +
 260.580 + Smiling lightly, Sakura carried her armful of flowers back to the house,
 260.581 +waving at the young school girls as they passed.
 260.582 + "Ohayo, Kinomoto-san!" one voice raised itself above the rest, and the
 260.583 +owner lingered by the hedge.
 260.584 + "Good morning to you, too, Asahi-san," Sakura greeted, patting the girl's
 260.585 +ebony braids with affection, "How are you?"
 260.586 + "I'm fine," Asahi chirped, her lop-sided red winter coat making her look
 260.587 +like a robin, "You look very happy, Kinomoto-san. How are you?"
 260.588 + "I'm well," Sakura felt a slight blush, "and I am happy. A friend of mine
 260.589 +will be returning today. It has been a long time since I've seen her."
 260.590 + "Really?" Asahi enthused, "Can I meet her?"
 260.591 + "I hope so..." Sakura looked away, "though perhaps she may not want to
 260.592 +stay. I have wronged her in the past, and hope to make up to her."
 260.593 + "Why didn't you see her earlier?" the younger girl inquired.
 260.594 + "Ah," Sakura laughed, mostly at herself, "We've had to wait-- I do miss
 260.595 +her so much."
 260.596 + "Well," Asahi pressed a finger to her lip, considering, "Even if my mother
 260.597 +says you are strange, Kinomoto-san, I don't see how any one could not like
 260.598 +you. I am sure your friend will stay!"
 260.599 + "Thank you, Asahi-san," Sakura murmured, selecting a yellow rose and
 260.600 +several small white flowers from her load. "That makes me feel a lot
 260.601 +better." Handing the small bouquet over the hedge, Sakura suggested, "Why
 260.602 +don't you take these to put in your class room. It'll help brighten up
 260.603 +winter."
 260.604 + "Thank *you*, Kinomoto-san!" Asahi clasped the blooms to her heart, "It's
 260.605 +the last day before break! I can't wait! Winter break is magic!" With that,
 260.606 +the young girl turned and ran pell-mell down the street, pausing at the
 260.607 +corner to look back and wave.
 260.608 + "Don't forget to button your coat!" Sakura called after her, "It's cold
 260.609 +out!"
 260.610 + "Look who's in their nightgown!" Asahi shouted in return, giggling. Their
 260.611 +laughter rang the bare tree branches.
 260.612 + "Winter break is magic," Sakura murmured, sobering. Turning, she went back
 260.613 +into the house, knowing she could not make herself wait any longer.
 260.614 +
 260.615 +
 260.616 + In Tibet, Sakura had met a young woman who painted other people's sadness,
 260.617 +so that they might look at it objectively. The Card Mistress kept her
 260.618 +painting in a large, unused bedroom, mounted over a table on which stood a
 260.619 +fine silver box. The canvas was coated with both longing and beauty; it was
 260.620 +a portrait almost identical to Tomoyo, a young woman with long
 260.621 +black-lavander hair standing by a window, cloak wrapped around her and
 260.622 +gazing out to the winter sea. There were other things Sakura kept in the
 260.623 +bedroom as well. A video camera, tapes, sewing supplies, and stacks upon
 260.624 +stacks of journals and sketchbooks-- those things given to her by Sonomi
 260.625 +after Tomoyo's funeral. Without realizing she was crying, Sakura placed the
 260.626 +flowers in a vase on the nightstand, smoothing the coverlet on the bed.
 260.627 +There were fine velvet draps over the windows, rows of beautiful dolls on
 260.628 +the wall, waiting for an owner. On the dresser, there were baubles of every
 260.629 +kind, jewlery and trinkets selected for someone special. All these things,
 260.630 +Sakura had collected, always thinking of Tomoyo-- and yet, now all she
 260.631 +wanted was to run through the street with her friend, to play ring around
 260.632 +the rosy in the park and fall down upon each other.
 260.633 +
 260.634 + "Oh, key that hides the power of the stars," Sakura began, lifting the lid
 260.635 +of the silver box and gazing in on the thing preserved so perfectly in ice.
 260.636 +A heart, the most perfect one-- for it was Tomoyo's. "I call upon Dark and
 260.637 +Light, I call upon Life! Give form to the woman who's heart has waited so
 260.638 +long! Give life to someone who was robbed of it so young! I call upon the
 260.639 +heavens-- once more give body to the spirit of Daidouji Tomoyo!"
 260.640 +
 260.641 + There was a moment when the room seemed terribly vacant-- as void as the
 260.642 +corpse Sakura had watched buried so long ago. Then, an impossible breeze,
 260.643 +brushing her short hair against her chin, and... Tomoyo. The pale girl
 260.644 +stood still and bare, marveling at her hands, her long arms; her hair moved
 260.645 +about her like a thing alive. Someone gasped, someone else cried out--
 260.646 +Tomoyo's gray gaze met Sakura's own.
 260.647 + "Sakura-chan," Tomoyo's voice was clear and distinct, a perfect crystal
 260.648 +note, "You brought me back. Your magic," there was a smile, and that joy
 260.649 +Sakura thought she'd never see again-- Tomoyo was happy to see her! "I
 260.650 +didn't think... after I told you..."
 260.651 + Sakura swallowed painfully, "Tomoyo-- it was my fault... it wasn't just
 260.652 +your love, it was mine!" Tears now, ringing with laughter, and still they
 260.653 +stood apart. Neither dared to touch the other, each watching, each sure her
 260.654 +hand would find a ghost. "My love tried to keep you with me. I was
 260.655 +selfish--"
 260.656 + "I wanted Sakura-chan to be happy," Tomoyo confessed, " I thought Syaoran
 260.657 +would do that for you."
 260.658 + "I know," Sakura reached out her shaking fingers, finally tangling them in
 260.659 +Tomoyo's soft hair, "It's okay. Even I didn't know what I really wanted."
 260.660 +Stepping forward, Sakura stood in the circle of Tomoyo's open arms,
 260.661 +bringing her mouth close the other girl's ear to deliver the words. A
 260.662 +whisper, "I love you, Tomoyo. Maybe we won't always be happy---"
 260.663 + "I have only wanted Sakura to be happy," Tomoyo cradled the other girl's
 260.664 +cheek, "but I would be happy, sad or anything in between with my Sakura."
 260.665 +Embracing the other woman, Sakura began to cry in earnest, pressing her
 260.666 +lips to Tomoyo's stainless palms.
 260.667 +
 260.668 +
 260.669 +OWARI
 260.670 +
 260.671 + 
 260.672 \ No newline at end of file

   261.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   261.2 +++ b/stories/cuh-amara.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   261.3 @@ -0,0 +1,633 @@
   261.4 +My username, Amara
   261.5 +My e-mail, keriisgo@hotmail.com
   261.6 +my story,
   261.7 +
   261.8 +I have made this story for enjoyment but some may find it offensive. 
   261.9 +Also, I 
  261.10 +don’t own these characters and they belong to Naoko Takeuchi…you know 
  261.11 +the 
  261.12 +rest.
  261.13 +
  261.14 +
  261.15 +“That’s it” Usa smiled evilly.
  261.16 +“Aww, not again.” Hotaru said exasperated. Usa had just beaten her 
  261.17 +(again) 
  261.18 +at cards.
  261.19 +“How do you always manage to beat me Usa-Chan?” Hotaru asked.
  261.20 +“I don’t know, I just can.” Usa said.
  261.21 +“OW!” Hotaru suddenly shouted out in pain, dropping all her cards. Usa 
  261.22 +moved 
  261.23 +forward to her friend.
  261.24 +“What is it?” she asked concerned. Hotaru closed her eyes and then 
  261.25 +opened 
  261.26 +them again.
  261.27 +“Nothing, don’t worry.” Hotaru answered. Usa did worry but could see 
  261.28 +that 
  261.29 +Hotaru didn’t want to talk.
  261.30 +“I have to go.” Hotaru said and got up. Usa got up too.
  261.31 +“I’m sorry.” Usa said. Hotaru looked shocked.
  261.32 +“Why are you apologising?”
  261.33 +“Well, if I didn’t insist you stay, you wouldn’t have been hurt.”
  261.34 +“Usa, I am not hurt.” Hotaru smiled at her friend and left the house. 
  261.35 +Hotaru 
  261.36 +ran down the driveway and turned slightly to wave at her friend. Usa 
  261.37 +waved 
  261.38 +back.
  261.39 +“Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong Hotaru-Chan?” Usa thought to 
  261.40 +herself.
  261.41 +Usa went inside and looked at the mass of cards that Hotaru had dropped 
  261.42 +in 
  261.43 +her sudden pain. Usa started to pick up the cards but stopped as she 
  261.44 +saw one 
  261.45 +of Hotaru’s schoolbooks. Usa flicked through it and saw something on 
  261.46 +the 
  261.47 +middle page, which should have been blank.
  261.48 +
  261.49 +It was in Hotaru’s handwriting and was slightly messy.
  261.50 +Usa hesitated but read it anyway.
  261.51 +It said:
  261.52 +
  261.53 +I know it is useless to write this down but it is better than keeping 
  261.54 +it 
  261.55 +inside me.
  261.56 +I have been having terrible seizures again, worse than ever, and they 
  261.57 +always 
  261.58 +follow an incredibly sharp pain that tears through my body.
  261.59 +
  261.60 +Usa looked up and remembered Hotaru shouting out in pain. She put two 
  261.61 +and 
  261.62 +two together and knew she left because she was going to have a seizure.
  261.63 +“HOTARU-CHAN!” Usa cried out as she ran out of the house and down the 
  261.64 +street 
  261.65 +calling Hotaru’s name. She didn’t know where she was going so she just 
  261.66 +let 
  261.67 +her feet lead her. Down alley after alley she ran. She skidded to a 
  261.68 +halt and 
  261.69 +looked down a dead end alley, it was Hotaru!
  261.70 +“Hotaru-Chan!” Usa cried and ran up to her friend. Hotaru was kneeling, 
  261.71 +breathing heavily. She looked at Usa shocked and cried out as the pain 
  261.72 +grew 
  261.73 +inside her.
  261.74 +“Help me Odango-Chan!” Hotaru cried. Usa was slightly shocked; Hotaru 
  261.75 +hadn’t 
  261.76 +ever called her that before. She felt her heart beat even harder.
  261.77 +“How, Hotaru-Chan?! How can I help you?!” Usa cried in despair.
  261.78 +“I Don’t Know.” Hotaru cried out between breaths.
  261.79 +Usa took out her ginzuishou and tried to help Hotaru but she was 
  261.80 +resisting 
  261.81 +the power of the ginzuishou somehow.
  261.82 +“I can’t help you!” Usa cried in complete despair. Hotaru started to 
  261.83 +gain 
  261.84 +control again and between deep breaths she asked
  261.85 +“How did you know where to find me?”
  261.86 +“I don’t know, my legs just took me here.” Usa replied.
  261.87 +“How did you know to come looking for me?” Hotaru asked and Usa looked 
  261.88 +away.
  261.89 +“Usa?”
  261.90 +“I am sorry Hotaru, I read that note in the middle of your work book.” 
  261.91 +Usa 
  261.92 +cried.
  261.93 +“Oh, Please don’t cry, my Odango-Chan.” Hotaru said gently. Usa looked 
  261.94 +up at 
  261.95 +her.
  261.96 +“Odango-Chan?” Usa whispered.
  261.97 +“Oh, Usa, I love you!” Hotaru cried, tears now staining both their 
  261.98 +faces. 
  261.99 +Usa just stared in shock but Hotaru thought that Usa was angry and ran 
 261.100 +away 
 261.101 +shouting
 261.102 +“Gomen Usa, Gomen (sorry).” Hotaru stopped when she reached the park 
 261.103 +and 
 261.104 +noticed that it was the same spot in which she had first met Usa.
 261.105 +“Gomennasai, Usa, and Domo Arigatou (I’m sorry, Usa, and thank you).” 
 261.106 +Hotaru 
 261.107 +said aloud and then fainted. Usa skidded round the corner just in time 
 261.108 +to 
 261.109 +hear what Hotaru had said.
 261.110 +“Hotaru-Chan! Don’t say things like that!” She ran forward and 
 261.111 +supported her 
 261.112 +friends head, She noticed how pretty Hotaru was as she saw her black 
 261.113 +hair 
 261.114 +mask her closed eyes,
 261.115 +“It sounds to much like a goodbye.” Usa looked over her friend and 
 261.116 +noticed 
 261.117 +that she wasn’t breathing,
 261.118 +“So, it was a good bye.” Usa cried. She leaned over her friend and 
 261.119 +kissed 
 261.120 +her softly on the lips and then again, but deeper, and more passionate.
 261.121 +“Aishiteru, Hotaru.” Usa cried and kissed her again. Hotaru’s chest 
 261.122 +started 
 261.123 +once again to rise and fall.
 261.124 +“Hotaru!” Usa cried.
 261.125 +“YOUR O.K!”
 261.126 +“Domo Arigatou.” Hotaru said.
 261.127 +“Iie, Domo Arigatou.” Usa replied and they kissed again, with the love 
 261.128 +of 
 261.129 +futures and pasts, also the present time, which they wished could last 
 261.130 +forever.
 261.131 +
 261.132 +Later, Hotaru and Usa were at Hotaru’s house; Hotaru’s Mama’s and Papa 
 261.133 +were 
 261.134 +out.
 261.135 +“They won’t be back until tomorrow evening. So, we have all tonight and 
 261.136 +tomorrow alone.” Hotaru said slyly. Usa smiled but then became serious.
 261.137 +“Are you sure you are O.K?” She asked looking at Hotaru. Hotaru avoided 
 261.138 +her 
 261.139 +eyes and said
 261.140 +“Of course Usa, I am always fine around you. Would you like something 
 261.141 +to 
 261.142 +eat? It is getting to be about 9:00 (pm).” Usa sensed that her friend 
 261.143 +was 
 261.144 +lying but didn’t say anymore.
 261.145 +“Yeah! I am sooo hungry.” Usa replied. Hotaru tilted her head to one 
 261.146 +side 
 261.147 +and smiled at her friend.
 261.148 +“I will make dinner, you can go and watch T.V.” Hotaru said.
 261.149 +“Oh, can’t I help?” Asked Usa enthusiastically. Hotaru knew she only 
 261.150 +wanted 
 261.151 +to help but to put it bluntly; Usa didn’t mix well with the kitchen.
 261.152 +“That’s O.K Usa; I can do it.” Hotaru said. Usa looked sad but smiled 
 261.153 +and 
 261.154 +turned around, and then walked out.
 261.155 +Hotaru cooked a feast, A roast dinner that was fit for a king. Chicken, 
 261.156 +potatoes, parsnips, carrots and all sorts of side dishes.
 261.157 +
 261.158 +She called Usa and as she came in her eyes widened.
 261.159 +“You made all this?!” Usa asked in disbelief.
 261.160 +“Yes.” Hotaru said quietly and indicated to a chair. Usa sat down and 
 261.161 +started. Hotaru didn’t eat much but Usa didn’t notice, Hotaru smiled as 
 261.162 +Usa 
 261.163 +ate her weight in food.
 261.164 +“MMMMMMM” Usa muffled through her last mouthful.
 261.165 +“Where did you learn to cook like that?”
 261.166 +“I often watch Setsuna-Mama when she cooks and she helps me to cook 
 261.167 +sometimes too.” Hotaru smiled at the awestruck look on Usa’s face.
 261.168 +“Wow!” Hotaru said
 261.169 +“What?”
 261.170 +“It’s ten o’clock!”
 261.171 +“So?”
 261.172 +“It’s time for bed…” Hotaru finished and was wearing a sly and playful 
 261.173 +smile.
 261.174 +“Oh, O.K” Usa said.
 261.175 +“You go ahead while I clean up.” Hotaru said.
 261.176 +“O.K then, I’ll be waiting…” And with that Usa left the kitchen and 
 261.177 +went to 
 261.178 +Hotaru’s room. Hotaru finished clearing up and went upstairs. She got 
 261.179 +half 
 261.180 +way up the stairs when she had to stop. She backed up a few paces 
 261.181 +holding 
 261.182 +her chest in pain. She gasped for air and tried to call for Usa’s help 
 261.183 +but 
 261.184 +nothing came out. She tried to get to her room but as soon as she got 
 261.185 +her 
 261.186 +door she felt as if she was going to die of pain. She fell forwards 
 261.187 +into the 
 261.188 +door, it opened and Hotaru fell into her room.
 261.189 +“Hotaru-Chan!” Usa cried in shock.
 261.190 +“Why does this keep happening?!” Usa asked.
 261.191 +“I don’t know!” Hotaru cried out in pain.
 261.192 +“Please Usa, Call Michiru-Mama and Haruka-Papa and Setsuna-Mama!” 
 261.193 +Hotaru 
 261.194 +cried between breaths.
 261.195 +“I don’t know their number.” Usa said helplessly.
 261.196 +“On the dresser by the phone.” Hotaru managed before her attack got 
 261.197 +even 
 261.198 +worse, hardly allowing her to breath.
 261.199 +“I can’t leave you.” Usa cried.
 261.200 +“PLEASE!” Hotaru screamed in pain as it got worse and worse. Usa ran 
 261.201 +downstairs and picked up the phone, she was very scared but her hand 
 261.202 +was 
 261.203 +still steady as she dialled the number on the pink note.
 261.204 +“Hello?” It was Michiru.
 261.205 +“MICHIRU!”
 261.206 +“Usa?! What’s wrong?!”
 261.207 +“It’s Hotaru! She’s having a really bad fit! Please help us!”
 261.208 +“Hold on just a while longer, go to her, we will be there shortly 
 261.209 +thanks to 
 261.210 +Setsuna.”
 261.211 +“HURRY!”
 261.212 +Usa hung up and sprinted upstairs as fast as she could.
 261.213 +“HOTARU-CHAN! THEY ARE COMEING! HOLD ON!” Usa shouted and burst into 
 261.214 +her 
 261.215 +room, Hotaru was on her hands and knees.
 261.216 +“Usa-Chan…” Hotaru said and then everything around her went black.
 261.217 +“HOTARU-CHAN?!” Usa cried in complete despair.
 261.218 +“We’re here!” Setsuna said and they burst into the room, they saw Usa 
 261.219 +lying 
 261.220 +there holding the unconscious form of Hotaru.
 261.221 +“Let go, Usa.” Setsuna said and Usa did as she was told, Haruka picked 
 261.222 +Hotaru up and went to lie her on the bed but Hotaru’s body began to 
 261.223 +glow and 
 261.224 +powered up, Haruka was thrown backwards by the force of Hotaru’s light. 
 261.225 +Michiru ran to Haruka’s side. Setsuna transformed into Sailor Pluto 
 261.226 +“Pluto 
 261.227 +planet power, make up!” and grabbed Usa by the back, She held her 
 261.228 +talisman 
 261.229 +at arms length and it glowed. She pushed Usa back to Michiru and Haruka 
 261.230 +who 
 261.231 +held her tight. Setsuna’s Talisman set up a shied around them just as 
 261.232 +Hotaru’s Power exploded and everything in the room was demolished, 
 261.233 +except 
 261.234 +what was in the shield.
 261.235 +“What’s happening?” Usa cried. Setsuna ignored the question from Usa 
 261.236 +and 
 261.237 +Shouted at the outers.
 261.238 +“TRANSFORM!”
 261.239 +“Uranus planet power, make up!”
 261.240 +“Neptune planet power, make up!”
 261.241 +They transformed and so did Usa.
 261.242 +The four were unable to move the shield and didn’t have the power to 
 261.243 +hold 
 261.244 +the shield as well as prepare the sailor teleport and Setsuna couldn’t 
 261.245 +hold 
 261.246 +the shield as well as teleport them so they were stuck.
 261.247 +“We can’t keep this up forever!” Uranus exclaimed.
 261.248 +“What is happening to her?” Neptune asked Pluto.
 261.249 +“I don’t know.” Pluto said solemnly. The power emanating from Hotaru 
 261.250 +suddenly grew massively and the four senshi cried out in pain as they 
 261.251 +tried 
 261.252 +to hold the barrier. In a bright flash of light, Hotaru transformed 
 261.253 +into 
 261.254 +Sailor Saturn, without her transformation stick and without saying 
 261.255 +‘Saturn 
 261.256 +planet power, Make up!’
 261.257 +The four other senshi were completely confused.
 261.258 +“We can’t just stand here and let her destroy us!” Uranus shouted.
 261.259 +“But what can we do?! She is our daughter!” Setsuna cried out in pain 
 261.260 +as 
 261.261 +another power surge hit the shield.
 261.262 +“She wouldn’t want us to be destroyed, even if that meant her own 
 261.263 +demise.” 
 261.264 +Neptune said quietly, but even though it was quiet, everyone heard. 
 261.265 +Silent 
 261.266 +tears fell down Usa’s face but she knew that Michiru was right.
 261.267 +“O.K. Ready, and remember, we don’t want to destroy her, just knock her 
 261.268 +so 
 261.269 +she can’t use her powers.” Uranus said.
 261.270 +“O.K!” came the reply from the other three senshi. All at once they 
 261.271 +broke 
 261.272 +the shield and fired their attacks. All four attacks went forward and 
 261.273 +just 
 261.274 +as they were about to hit Sailor Saturn, they were all dispersed by her 
 261.275 +power. The same surge of power that destroyed the attacks was about to 
 261.276 +destroy the senshi when…
 261.277 +“MOON CRYSTAL POWER!!” Sailor moon arrived and set up a new shield to 
 261.278 +protect the senshi.  The shield was put up just in time as the surge 
 261.279 +hit and 
 261.280 +Sailor moon was forced back.
 261.281 +“Usa! I know there is something special between you and Hotaru!” Sailor 
 261.282 +moon 
 261.283 +cried.
 261.284 +The three outers were shocked.
 261.285 +“You can use your love to get through to her!” Sailor moon said and was 
 261.286 +forced back a few more steps as another surge hit her shield.
 261.287 +“How can we help?” The three outers asked.
 261.288 +“You are to drained to help, any further fighting may cause you more 
 261.289 +harm 
 261.290 +than good, I can keep up this barrier on my own for now, but Usa, 
 261.291 +please 
 261.292 +hurry. Usa nodded and sat down. She closed her eyes and concentrated on 
 261.293 +Hotaru. She heard Hotaru screaming, arguing with someone or something 
 261.294 +inside 
 261.295 +her head.
 261.296 +“GET OUT AND LEAVE THEM ALONE!” Hotaru cried.
 261.297 +“You don’t command me, I command you, and you will obey, you have no 
 261.298 +choice.” Said a creepy, old voice.
 261.299 +“You can no longer inhabit me if I am dead, and if that is the only way 
 261.300 +then 
 261.301 +so be it!” Hotaru said boldly and at that point Usa was forced out. 
 261.302 +Back in 
 261.303 +the real world:
 261.304 +“She’s getting stronger! I can’t hold it back!” Sailor moon had tears 
 261.305 +rolling down her cheeks from the pain.
 261.306 +“Usa? What happened? Why is her power growing?” Sailor moon asked 
 261.307 +worriedly.
 261.308 +“She was arguing with someone, I don’t know who, She said… She said…” 
 261.309 +Usa 
 261.310 +burst out crying and Michiru hugged her to comfort her.
 261.311 +“What did Hotaru say?”
 261.312 +“She said if the only way to get rid of that thing and save us was to 
 261.313 +kill 
 261.314 +herself then…  she said  she would do it, Oh Michiru! She’s going to 
 261.315 +kill 
 261.316 +herself!” Usa buried her face in Michiru’s stomach and cried. Michiru 
 261.317 +rubbed 
 261.318 +Usa’s back reassuringly. Sailor moon turned round to look at Usa and 
 261.319 +was 
 261.320 +caught off guard by a power surge. She screamed in pain as a black 
 261.321 +lightning 
 261.322 +whipped around her.
 261.323 +Pluto instantly stood up to reinitiate her shield and try to help 
 261.324 +sailor 
 261.325 +moon. Sailor moon looked down and saw what Pluto was trying to do. She 
 261.326 +shouted to Pluto not to and Pluto was shocked, therefore she stopped. 
 261.327 +Sailor 
 261.328 +moon screamed again as she was entangled in the lightning and it 
 261.329 +shocked her 
 261.330 +harshly. Pluto had got over her temporary shock and continued to try to 
 261.331 +activate her talisman, but she was too weak and it wouldn’t activate, 
 261.332 +neither would the other outers so they were all helpless.
 261.333 +“Mama!!” Usa cried out to see her past mother in so much pain. She ran 
 261.334 +towards Sailor Moon but Sailor Moon held out her hand to stop her.
 261.335 +“Don’t you dare get yourself hurt Usa!” Sailor moon said sternly. The 
 261.336 +silver 
 261.337 +crystal flickered and went blank. Sailor Moon’s eyes seemed to do the 
 261.338 +same.
 261.339 +“MAMA!! NO!!” Usa cried out as she watched a silent tear roll down 
 261.340 +Usagi’s 
 261.341 +cheek.
 261.342 +Sailor Saturn seemed to stir from the powerful state she had been in. 
 261.343 +She 
 261.344 +called forth the Silence Glaive and stared at Usa until her feet softly 
 261.345 +touched the floor. Her eyes changed, they were no longer empty and 
 261.346 +cold, now 
 261.347 +they were filled with love and guilt.
 261.348 +“I am sorry Usa, I had no control.” Sailor Saturn said as she let Usagi 
 261.349 +down 
 261.350 +from the lightning.
 261.351 +“Wait! She is still alive!” Sailor Saturn exclaimed. Sailor Saturn ran 
 261.352 +forward and pressed her hand on Usagi’s heart, She poured her Ki into 
 261.353 +Usagi 
 261.354 +and Usagi’s eyes flicked open.
 261.355 +“Thank you.” Usagi said.
 261.356 +“Do not thank me, Sailor Moon, It is I who needs to thank you for 
 261.357 +saving 
 261.358 +them from my power.” Sailor Saturn answered.
 261.359 +“O.K Sailor Saturn, You can stop now, I am healed.” Usagi said.
 261.360 +“Don’t even try to lie to me, I can feel that you are still really low 
 261.361 +on 
 261.362 +energy.” Sailor Saturn said and poured even more of her energy into 
 261.363 +Usagi’s 
 261.364 +body, Usagi’s Broach began to glow and she transformed into Sailor 
 261.365 +Moon. 
 261.366 +Sailor Saturn removed her hand.
 261.367 +“There, that’s better.” Sailor Saturn said.
 261.368 +“Thank you.” Sailor Moon said again. Sailor Saturn smiled and turned to 
 261.369 +face 
 261.370 +the outers and Usa.
 261.371 +“I must also return your energy.” Sailor Saturn said. She held her 
 261.372 +hands out 
 261.373 +in front of her and made a ball of her energy. She smiled and the 
 261.374 +energy 
 261.375 +started to spiral around the room and restored everything, while 
 261.376 +returning 
 261.377 +the others power to normal. Sailor Saturn changed back into Hotaru.
 261.378 +“Hotaru! Please stop!” Usa cried.
 261.379 +“I can’t.” Hotaru said solemnly.
 261.380 +“Why on earth not?!” Usa asked.
 261.381 +“Because if I stop then I will live, and if I live then I will end up 
 261.382 +killing you all.”
 261.383 +Usa started to cry all over again, she ran forward and hugged Hotaru, 
 261.384 +She 
 261.385 +looked up at the slightly taller girl and said
 261.386 +“Please, Hotaru, if you die, then I will have to die with you, 
 261.387 +Aishiteru.” 
 261.388 +Hotaru was shocked but then recovered herself and said
 261.389 +“Aishiteru Usa. But this is for me alone to do, I will be re-born and 
 261.390 +therefore we will meet again. I am sorry Usa.”
 261.391 +“What are you sorry for?” Usa asked.
 261.392 +“For this.” Hotaru said and pushed Usa back to the outers and Sailor 
 261.393 +Moon.
 261.394 +“Hotaru! What are you doing?!” Hotaru ignored the question. She 
 261.395 +transformed 
 261.396 +once again into Sailor Saturn and called forth the Silence Glaive.
 261.397 +“DEATH REBORN REVOLUTION!” She shouted, the others were so shocked and 
 261.398 +scared to hear her signature move. They thought she was going to kill 
 261.399 +the 
 261.400 +world with her, but they were wrong. Ribbons shot out from her Silence 
 261.401 +Glaive first and made a bubble around her, it was containing her power. 
 261.402 +The 
 261.403 +ribbons stopped coming forth and the light began to emanate from her 
 261.404 +Silence 
 261.405 +Glaive. The glow got brighter until Usa was the only one still able to 
 261.406 +see 
 261.407 +Hotaru. Hotaru gave a weak smile to Usa.
 261.408 +But just at that moment her eyes started to change again. She spoke in 
 261.409 +a 
 261.410 +voice that wasn’t her own.
 261.411 +“Hotaru! Do you think that you will really keep yours and my power 
 261.412 +cooped up 
 261.413 +in this pathetic shield??” The words came from her mouth but she wasn’t 
 261.414 +saying it. Everyone was shocked to hear a voice and then the light 
 261.415 +became 
 261.416 +stronger.
 261.417 +“We should set up the shield, just in case.” Sailor Pluto said.
 261.418 +“O.K” the others agreed. Usa saw the silhouette of Sailor Saturn, She 
 261.419 +fell 
 261.420 +to the ground in pain and shouted out as her shield was destroyed by 
 261.421 +the 
 261.422 +power coming from her own body. The power hit the shield with full 
 261.423 +force and 
 261.424 +then died down a little. The 3 outers and Usagi held the shield but Usa 
 261.425 +was 
 261.426 +crying to see Hotaru in so much pain. She made up her mind in a split 
 261.427 +second 
 261.428 +and stopped crying, she ran out of the shield, to the absolute despair 
 261.429 +of 
 261.430 +the others but there was nothing they could do except watch. Usa 
 261.431 +struggled 
 261.432 +forward into the light and fell over something on the floor. She looked 
 261.433 +behind her and realised it was Hotaru!
 261.434 +“HOTARU! Are you O.K? What a stupid question, of course your not O.K.” 
 261.435 +Usa 
 261.436 +was in hysterics and crying over Hotaru.
 261.437 +“Please wake up Hotaru-Chan!” Usa pleaded. Hotaru’s eyelids flickered 
 261.438 +but 
 261.439 +still didn’t open.
 261.440 +“Hotaru?” Usa asked worriedly. Hotaru’s head fell to one side but Usa 
 261.441 +wasn’t 
 261.442 +that worried because she heard Hotaru inhale. Hotaru didn’t move her 
 261.443 +face 
 261.444 +from her sideward position but still said
 261.445 +“Usa-Chan, thank you for believing in me. But we have to get out of 
 261.446 +here.”
 261.447 +“Why?” Usa asked. Hotaru looked up.
 261.448 +“That power, it is a type of spirit, I can’t keep it under control. I 
 261.449 +am 
 261.450 +sorry Usa, I tried to stop it but it overpowered me, but I promise…” 
 261.451 +Hotaru 
 261.452 +was stopped as Usa put her finger on Hotaru’s lips. Hotaru pushed it 
 261.453 +away 
 261.454 +and continued.
 261.455 +“I promise, I won’t let any harm come to you Usa.” Hotaru finished and 
 261.456 +smiled up at Usa. But just at that moment she saw a powerful blast 
 261.457 +heading 
 261.458 +their way and in a split second she got up and threw Usa into the 
 261.459 +shield.
 261.460 +“HOTARU!!” Usa cried as she looked up. She saw Hotaru being blasted and 
 261.461 +in 
 261.462 +her weak form she evolved into Sailor Saturn and tried to withstand it 
 261.463 +using 
 261.464 +the Silence Wall. It didn’t work and her Silence Glaive was smashed to 
 261.465 +pieces, she tried to stand against the attack for as long as she could…
 261.466 +
 261.467 +
 261.468 +
 261.469 +But she was overpowered and the all to familiar black lightning that 
 261.470 +nearly 
 261.471 +killed Sailor Moon whipped around Sailor Saturn. She was electrocuted 
 261.472 +as it 
 261.473 +concentrated on her…
 261.474 +
 261.475 +
 261.476 +She thought of all the good times she had shared with Chibi-Usa…
 261.477 +
 261.478 +
 261.479 +
 261.480 +They seemed so long ago…
 261.481 +“Usa… I am so…Sorry…” Hotaru cried and fell to the floor motionless. 
 261.482 +But as 
 261.483 +she had said, when she died, the spirit died with her…
 261.484 +All things seemed to be undone as a light spread from the now unmoving 
 261.485 +Sailor Saturn. She turned back to Hotaru and floated for a few seconds 
 261.486 +before hitting the floor and raising dust. The light faded and the 
 261.487 +Sailor 
 261.488 +Soldiers shield was let down.
 261.489 +Usa ran forward to her friend and hugged her in a tight embrace; all 
 261.490 +the 
 261.491 +lamps in Hotaru’s now restored room lit and a warm glow spread over 
 261.492 +them 
 261.493 +all.
 261.494 +“Lets leave Usa alone.” Michiru said tenderly. She left quietly and the 
 261.495 +others followed suit. Setsuna didn’t want to leave and gave a sad look 
 261.496 +at 
 261.497 +Usa and her ‘daughter’ before shutting the door. Usa sat next to 
 261.498 +Hotaru’s 
 261.499 +body and held her hand.
 261.500 +“Wake up! Don’t you dare be dead! I forbid it as the princess of the 
 261.501 +Future 
 261.502 +Crystal Tokyo!” Usa was crying. She watched as the lamps glow 
 261.503 +illuminated 
 261.504 +Hotaru’s face and noticed something, not for the first time,
 261.505 +<She is so pretty, why did she do it?>
 261.506 +“Hotaru, why? I can’t live without you… Please, don’t leave me all 
 261.507 +alone!” 
 261.508 +Usa cried.
 261.509 +“Your not alone.” Usa was shocked and looked at Hotaru but Hotaru was 
 261.510 +still 
 261.511 +quite motionless. She looked up and saw an image of Sailor Saturn.
 261.512 +“Oh, Hotaru.” Usa said quietly.
 261.513 +“Don’t worry, you have lots of friends, my Odango-Chan. And please 
 261.514 +forgive 
 261.515 +me.”
 261.516 +“For what?” Usa asked.
 261.517 +“Hotaru, my human form, is still alive…”
 261.518 +“SHE IS?!” Usa asked shocked and shook Hotaru but stopped as soon as 
 261.519 +she saw 
 261.520 +that she was causing the Sailor Saturn pain. Usa tore her eyes from 
 261.521 +Hotaru 
 261.522 +and met Sailor Saturn’s eyes. They were Hotaru’s, but they only held 
 261.523 +pain.
 261.524 +“Yes, but she shouldn’t be, I am only still here because she is, and 
 261.525 +she is 
 261.526 +only here because you are. I am sorry Usa, I can’t allow you to do 
 261.527 +anything 
 261.528 +to get in the way.” And with that Usa was teleported downstairs and 
 261.529 +appeared 
 261.530 +in front of the others. They stared.
 261.531 +“What happened?” Asked Michiru.
 261.532 +“Hotaru!” Was the best Usa could manage and ran upstairs, closely 
 261.533 +followed 
 261.534 +by the others. She hesitated outside the door because she felt Sailor 
 261.535 +Saturn’s power building. She opened the door and the four burst in. 
 261.536 +They 
 261.537 +just stared at the sight that met their eyes:
 261.538 +Hotaru was on her feet and so was the image of Sailor Saturn. They each 
 261.539 +had 
 261.540 +a hand touched together, their right hands entwined and as Hotaru faded 
 261.541 +slightly, the image of Sailor Saturn got more solid until they were 
 261.542 +both 
 261.543 +solid. All the others could do was watch.
 261.544 +“I love you, Usa.” Hotaru said and Sailor Saturn called forth her 
 261.545 +Silence 
 261.546 +Glaive and swung it out in a circular motion, ending at her side. For a 
 261.547 +few 
 261.548 +tense moments nothing happened, but then Hotaru fell to her knees 
 261.549 +clutching 
 261.550 +her chest. She was not having a seizure, Usa knew that much, she was in 
 261.551 +pain. Usa ran forward and removed Hotaru’s hand from her chest. Usa saw 
 261.552 +her 
 261.553 +hand covered in blood and turned to face Sailor Saturn.
 261.554 +“You killed her!” Usa yelled.
 261.555 +“No, I am only her, I am her spirit and so am controlled by her, she 
 261.556 +killed 
 261.557 +herself, but needed someone to actually strike her down, she knew you 
 261.558 +wouldn’t allow anyone else, so I obliged.
 261.559 +“YOU AREN’T SAILOR SATURN!!” Usa shouted, causing the others to jump to 
 261.560 +their senses. Sailor Saturn smirked.
 261.561 +“True, but she really did make the decision. And I have to admit, I am 
 261.562 +glad 
 261.563 +to go down with her, because now I can make her after-life hell!” 
 261.564 +Sailor 
 261.565 +Saturn turned into smoke and was absorbed by Hotaru. Usa stared and 
 261.566 +then 
 261.567 +turned back to Hotaru.
 261.568 +“Please don’t leave me alone.” Usa said in a barely hear-able whisper.
 261.569 +“I have to.” Hotaru said and a silent tear ran down her pale cheek. She 
 261.570 +turned her head and she breathed in Usa’s sweet smell.
 261.571 +But just as she lost her heartbeat she realised…
 261.572 +Usa, She is my reason to live. That is why the spirit was trapped in 
 261.573 +me! I 
 261.574 +wanted to die; I had no reason to live! But now I can’t die!
 261.575 +“Usa…” Hotaru whispered.
 261.576 +“I don’t want to die!”
 261.577 +“Oh, Hotaru!” Usa cried and hugged her friend. Hotaru’s eyes closed and 
 261.578 +all 
 261.579 +went black; nothing moved but then, out of this nothing; there was 
 261.580 +light…
 261.581 +“Usa?” Hotaru asked. She opened her misty eyes and noticed she was in 
 261.582 +her 
 261.583 +bed. She also saw a new lamp, with a few words painted on, she moved 
 261.584 +forward, ignoring the pain from her chest and saw it was in Usa’s 
 261.585 +writing. 
 261.586 +It read:
 261.587 +‘Hotaru and Usa together forever.’
 261.588 +Hotaru started to get up and realised just how much pain she was in. 
 261.589 +She 
 261.590 +looked down and saw a blood-soaked bandage. She moved along the wall 
 261.591 +for 
 261.592 +support until she reached the doorway. She quietly opened the door and 
 261.593 +walked quicker down the hall, wanting to see Usa. She went down the 
 261.594 +stairs 
 261.595 +two at a time but made no sound at all. She turned the corner and put 
 261.596 +her 
 261.597 +ear to the living-room door:
 261.598 +Haruka: She is really weak, she may not pull through.
 261.599 +Usa: Don’t say such things! She is going to be fine! She has to be!
 261.600 +Michiru: Oh, Usa, you know that the wound was meant to kill her don’t 
 261.601 +you? 
 261.602 +She knew it was strong enough.
 261.603 +Setsuna: But she wanted to die then, I think the fact that she wants to 
 261.604 +live 
 261.605 +will make a difference. But not even I can see the outcome of this.
 261.606 +Usa: I know she will be O.K! She has to be!
 261.607 +
 261.608 +Hotaru heard Usa running to the door and tried to move back but still 
 261.609 +collided with Usa as she ran at high speed from the room.
 261.610 +“HOTARU!!” Usa exclaimed.
 261.611 +“Oww, Hi.” Hotaru rubbed her chest. The others had heard and come 
 261.612 +running 
 261.613 +out to see what had happened.
 261.614 +“Hotaru?!” They all stared.
 261.615 +“Yes?” Hotaru asked innocently, laughing at their awestruck faces.
 261.616 +“Oh, It’s so nice to hear you laugh again, we have missed it.” Michiru 
 261.617 +smiled.
 261.618 +“Missed it? How long have I been there?” Hotaru asked.
 261.619 +“About 3 weeks.” Setsuna finally said after a long silence.
 261.620 +“Wow, thank you for looking after me you guys.” Hotaru said.
 261.621 +
 261.622 +(A/N: I am now referring to Chibi-Usa as Usagi, seeing as they are both 
 261.623 +about 20 now.) Hotaru and Usagi were walking through the park.
 261.624 +“This is the exact spot we met, Usa.” Hotaru said and got down on one 
 261.625 +knee,
 261.626 +“Usagi, Princess of the Future Crystal Tokyo…will you marry me?” Hotaru 
 261.627 +asked and showed Usagi a ring with their Sailor Soldier Symbols 
 261.628 +imprinted 
 261.629 +and entwined with each other, Hotaru’s side was a purple and Usagi’s 
 261.630 +was a 
 261.631 +golden-white.
 261.632 +“Oh, Hotaru! Of course I will marry you!” Usagi cried.
 261.633 +
 261.634 +And they walked down the road, hand in hand, nothing ever to tear them 
 261.635 +apart 
 261.636 +again.
 261.637 \ No newline at end of file

   262.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   262.2 +++ b/stories/cuh-complicated.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   262.3 @@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
   262.4 +Disclaimer: Heylas. Yes, this is yet another songfic. O__o I’ve gotten addicted. I don’t own what I don’t own, and the song is by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Lovely, by the way. Please enjoy the fanfic! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   262.5 +
   262.6 +Complicated~~A Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Fanfiction
   262.7 +
   262.8 +By Forever3330
   262.9 +
  262.10 +	“You’ve been acting weird lately.” A small, calm voice, curious in itself, from near the girl who was packing her school bag, slowly.
  262.11 +
  262.12 +<I'm so scared that the way I feel
  262.13 +Is written all over my face.>
  262.14 +
  262.15 +	Stopping her movements, the rose-haired girl glanced up at the tiny gray kitten sitting on her bed, and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
  262.16 +
  262.17 +	“Mama says that nothing is *always* something.” Diana spoke with a tone of utmost wisdom, looking as noble as was possible for a kitten. “And you’ll be late.”
  262.18 +
  262.19 +	Chibiusa gave her friend a small smile, still thinking, and scratched Diana behind her ears for a moment, before slinging her pack over one shoulder and leaving, not saying anything else.
  262.20 +
  262.21 +	The kitten watched.
  262.22 +
  262.23 +<When you walk into the room
  262.24 +I wanna find a hiding place.>
  262.25 +
  262.26 +	“Can you believe it?”
  262.27 +
  262.28 +	Hotaru spared a moment to glance at Momo, before turning back to look down the street, hands clasped in front of her. Ruruna or Naruru were bound to be able to hold up the gossip-inclined conversation. It really was too bad she’d never been one for such things, or she’d have something to occupy her mind with now.
  262.29 +
  262.30 +	Anything besides all these *thoughts*. Why was it they could never just leave her, that she could never just be able to engage in silly activities like gossip without thinking about this and that, and whatever else came at her.
  262.31 +
  262.32 +	“Guys!” There she was. The raven-haired girl relaxed, letting her eyes follow the girl running up the street, stopping beside them. “Sorry I'm late.”
  262.33 +
  262.34 +	“You missed the *funniest* thing, Chibiusa!!!” Ruruna or Naruru, Hotaru’s half-asleep mind didn’t bother to try and tell them apart, ran up and squeezed the other girl’s arm.
  262.35 +
  262.36 +	When Chibiusa turned to greet her, Hotaru wished she’d mastered the well-known and longed for ability to turn invisible.
  262.37 +
  262.38 +<We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.>
  262.39 +
  262.40 +       “Are you okay, Hotaru?” Ruby eyes, worried. Normally the other girl would smile and hug her or take her hand and they would walk to school. “You look pale.”
  262.41 +       
  262.42 +	“She is pale.” This was pointed out by Naruru in the background, who was promptly hit by Momo.
  262.43 +
  262.44 +	“Paler then normal, dummy!!”
  262.45 +
  262.46 +	“Owww…no need to kill me.”
  262.47 +
  262.48 +	“You’re not dead.”
  262.49 +
  262.50 +	Chibiusa tuned out the argument, giving Hotaru a questioning smile, reaching out to take her hand. “’Taru?” Chibiusa missed her friend.
  262.51 +
  262.52 +<But now, a smile and a touch of your hand
  262.53 +Just makes me come unglued.>
  262.54 +
  262.55 +       The other girl stepped forward, and gave Chibiusa a smile. “Nothing.” Avoiding the offered hand, she shivered slightly, and looked over at Momo, who was now being double teamed.
  262.56 +       
  262.57 +       “We should get going, Chibiusa. We don’t want to be late.”
  262.58 +
  262.59 +<Such a contradiction, do I lie or tell the truth.>
  262.60 +
  262.61 +       “Yeah…” Chibiusa gave a weak smile in return, looking hurt. What was happening lately? “Guys, stop fighting!” She turned to the other three, raising her eyebrows. “We need to get a move on.”
  262.62 +       
  262.63 +       “Yes, mother!” Ruruna’s voice was plastered with sugar, and Naruru took the oppurtunity to thwack her upside the head.
  262.64 +
  262.65 +<Is it fact or fiction,
  262.66 +Oh the way I feel for you.>
  262.67 +
  262.68 +	Chibiusa. Hotaru shook her head, and followed the other girls, quietly. Maybe all of this was an illusion. It…was possible. Wasn’t it?
  262.69 +
  262.70 +	That within itself was pure folly. She’d lived long enough to know herself. She just wished she’d have picked someone else. Anyone else. Not her best friend, with all her perfection and her flaws and herself, whom she didn’t want to loose.
  262.71 +
  262.72 +	At least knowing what to say would help. Anything.
  262.73 +
  262.74 +<So complicated, I'm so frustrated.>
  262.75 +
  262.76 +       “Chibiusa.” Hotaru came up from behind her, and gave a small smile. When was the last she’d been this quiet…? “Sorry. I'm not myself today, is all.”
  262.77 +       
  262.78 +       “You don’t need to apologize.” The princess smiled, slightly. “You don’t need to. It’s not like we got into a fight.”
  262.79 +       
  262.80 +       “I do.”
  262.81 +
  262.82 +<I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away,
  262.83 +I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.> 
  262.84 +
  262.85 +       “If I didn’t…” Hotaru looked ahead. “Then you would think things that aren’t true.”
  262.86 +       
  262.87 +       Chibiusa looked away. Things like what? What was she supposed to think or not think? “’Taru…”
  262.88 +       
  262.89 +       The other girl was looking down. Why was it she had been able to destroy everything in existance from her birth, and had done so, but could not decide what it was she wanted now? Why was it she was here against all reasons, all laws, and why was it she did not think she could carry out her mission were it given to her?
  262.90 +       
  262.91 +       “I'm sorry.” The words were meant for more then one thing, and Hotaru looked back at her friend.
  262.92 +
  262.93 +<Should I say it? Should I tell you how I feel?>
  262.94 +
  262.95 +       “Don’t be.” How silly was that to say? You can’t tell someone not to feel sorry. Why should that stop them? How could it?
  262.96 +       
  262.97 +       “…..”
  262.98 +       
  262.99 +       “I'm sorry.” Chibiusa felt like laughing, insane laughter, because she had no idea what was going on. Was there something else here? Something besides the words? “Hotaru.”
 262.100 +       
 262.101 +       “Usa…” Chibiusa looked up, into very violet eyes, the urge to laugh gone. “I…”
 262.102 +       
 262.103 +       “You?”
 262.104 +       
 262.105 +       “Nothing.” Hotaru cut herself off, shaking her head. “We’re late.”
 262.106 +
 262.107 +<Oh, I want you to know.
 262.108 +But then again, I don't. It's so complicated.>
 262.109 +
 262.110 +       She wondered, following the princess she’d promised to protect, if she knew what it was she wanted anymore. If she even wanted anything or if she could stand the confusion and all of the pulling, tearing, breaking apart.
 262.111 +
 262.112 +<Oh…just when I think I'm under control.
 262.113 +I think I finally got a grip.>
 262.114 +
 262.115 +       She wouldn’t ask. Chibiusa would never ask what it was that her friend treasured so, the words and thoughts she wouldn’t share, the thing she’d never speak of. She couldn’t.
 262.116 +       
 262.117 +       The fear of doing so was so overwhelming, so consuming. How could she? How could she risk herself?
 262.118 +       
 262.119 +       But she did that everyday. She was here, wasn’t she?
 262.120 +       
 262.121 +       Chibiusa secretly thought herself weak.
 262.122 +
 262.123 +<Another friend tells me that
 262.124 +My name is always on your lips.>
 262.125 +
 262.126 +       How long had she known the hint of something that might be? How long had she imagined it? Was she imagining it or was it real, not herself and her lies any longer?
 262.127 +       
 262.128 +       So many times.
 262.129 +       
 262.130 +       “Hotaru never stops talking about you.” Usagi’s loud, cheery voice, laughing.
 262.131 +       
 262.132 +       “She’d do anything for you. It’s so sweet.” Minako, smiling.
 262.133 +       
 262.134 +       “She promised to protect you.”
 262.135 +       
 262.136 +       “She’s always there.”
 262.137 +       
 262.138 +       “You’re always together.”
 262.139 +       
 262.140 +       “Did you know…”
 262.141 +       
 262.142 +       “Don’t you know…”
 262.143 +       
 262.144 +       “Can’t you tell she loves you, Chibiusa?” Momo’s voice, so steady, her eyes, and that understanding that made the girl wonder if she wasn’t a heroine of a different sort. Something better then the senshi.
 262.145 +       
 262.146 +       All Chibiusa knew was that she’d thought maybe Hotaru did. Maybe. But then there had been the soft dream, the wishing to be a lady. To be something, for once, that Usagi was not.
 262.147 +       
 262.148 +       She wished she’d never had the dream of Helios, nor seen the hurt in her sweet best friend’s eyes, to make such pain.
 262.149 +       
 262.150 +       All she knew was that she couldn’t believe it, couldn’t risk it, couldn’t have it. She couldn’t.
 262.151 +
 262.152 +<They say I'm more than just a friend, 
 262.153 +they say I must be blind.>
 262.154 +
 262.155 +       “How could you do that to her?”
 262.156 +       
 262.157 +       “You know what it is that’s happening, Chibiusa.”
 262.158 +       
 262.159 +       “Stop denying it!”
 262.160 +       
 262.161 +       “Don’t pretend.”
 262.162 +       
 262.163 +       “Stop making wishes and games and save both of you!”
 262.164 +       
 262.165 +       “Chibiusa.”
 262.166 +       
 262.167 +       “Please.”
 262.168 +       
 262.169 +       Momo, always there, always talking, and Diana’s soft, curious voice as to why her princess was crying.
 262.170 +       
 262.171 +       “You know what you want to do, don’t you Chibiusa?”
 262.172 +
 262.173 +<Well, I admit that I've seen you watch me 
 262.174 +from the corner of your eye.>
 262.175 +
 262.176 +       Looks. Long gazes, and she knew what she saw in them, that endless storm, something she couldn’t let exist.
 262.177 +       
 262.178 +       There were dreams and reality.
 262.179 +       
 262.180 +       Dreams were the memories, the moments that were long and had almost no place in time, the times when the world closed to a smaller view, just Chibiusa and Hotaru and Hotaru and Chibiusa and it was a circle that spun ‘round and ‘round until there was neither one nor the other.
 262.181 +       
 262.182 +       Laughter, games, words that she held more dear then she’d like.
 262.183 +       
 262.184 +       Reality was that it couldn’t be.
 262.185 +       
 262.186 +       I couldn’t.
 262.187 +       
 262.188 +       It wasn’t *supposed* to be.
 262.189 +       
 262.190 +       “You’re lying to yourself, Chibiusa.”
 262.191 +       
 262.192 +       “Why do you care so much?”
 262.193 +       
 262.194 +       “It’s not as if…”
 262.195 +       
 262.196 +       “The world would end…”
 262.197 +       
 262.198 +       “If you told the truth.”
 262.199 +       
 262.200 +       But it would. Wouldn’t it?
 262.201 +
 262.202 +<Oh, It's so confusing. I wish you'd just confess.> 
 262.203 +
 262.204 +       Hotaru saw it in her friend. The same things she thought and felt. And she wondered why she didn’t come out and say it when she knew that they were the same, those feelings.
 262.205 +       
 262.206 +       But she couldn’t.
 262.207 +       
 262.208 +       Because no matter how true that was, even if she was the person made for Chibiusa and Chibiusa was made for her, the world wasn’t made for them to be together.
 262.209 +       
 262.210 +       Why should that have any effect on her?
 262.211 +       
 262.212 +       She could destroy this world. It would all end, and begin.
 262.213 +       
 262.214 +       Why the hell should she follow these rules set by time, by blood, by simple origin?
 262.215 +       
 262.216 +       Because she knew duty.
 262.217 +
 262.218 +<But think of what I'd be losing, 
 262.219 +if your answer wasn't yes.>
 262.220 +
 262.221 +       It was the same twisted fate that her princess was caught in that she could not escape. Destined to walk these lines. And destiny didn’t let go, did it?
 262.222 +       
 262.223 +       It hadn’t let them go, all this time, any of the senshi.
 262.224 +       
 262.225 +       But had they tried to get free?
 262.226 +       
 262.227 +       Couldn’t she try to free the two of them?
 262.228 +       
 262.229 +       Couldn’t she kill destiny?
 262.230 +       
 262.231 +       But if she could…
 262.232 +       
 262.233 +       …Would Chibiusa even give her the answer she wanted? The truth?
 262.234 +
 262.235 +<So complicated I'm so frustrated.>
 262.236 +
 262.237 + 	Was there a truth anymore?
 262.238 +
 262.239 +	It was there, but for how long?
 262.240 +
 262.241 +	How long?
 262.242 +
 262.243 +	“You know the truth!! You’re killing each other.”
 262.244 +
 262.245 +	“Momo, please. Be quiet. You don’t know…you don’t…”
 262.246 +
 262.247 +	“Chibiusa…I know what you need…you’re my friend…”
 262.248 +
 262.249 +	“…And you’re killing me.”
 262.250 +
 262.251 +	“Momo…”
 262.252 +
 262.253 +<I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away,
 262.254 +I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.>
 262.255 +
 262.256 +       Perhaps.
 262.257 +       
 262.258 +       Maybe she wouldn’t hold to duty.
 262.259 +       
 262.260 +       If Chibiusa didn’t…
 262.261 +       
 262.262 +       …Then Hotaru would follow her, always, to the end.
 262.263 +       
 262.264 +       And they wouldn’t need to obey destiny.
 262.265 +       
 262.266 +       “Chibiusa…” And then…
 262.267 +       
 262.268 +       …Hotaru wouldn’t be covered in all these tears.
 262.269 +
 262.270 +<Should I say it, should I tell you how I feel.>
 262.271 +
 262.272 +       How many days had it been? How many weeks?
 262.273 +       
 262.274 +       Dancing around the truth.
 262.275 +       
 262.276 +       Flirting with the lies.
 262.277 +       
 262.278 +       “I can’t.”
 262.279 +       
 262.280 +       “Can’t you?”
 262.281 +       
 262.282 +       “I…can’t…there’s too much…”
 262.283 +       
 262.284 +       “Too much what? Look at yourself, please. Just look. You’re walking and you’re dead like this. You need to live.”
 262.285 +       
 262.286 +       “If I live, they’ll all die.”
 262.287 +       
 262.288 +       “Why?”
 262.289 +       
 262.290 +       “…It’s all entwined.”
 262.291 +       
 262.292 +       “You know the truth.”
 262.293 +       
 262.294 +       “I don’t need it.”
 262.295 +       
 262.296 +       “Don’t you?”
 262.297 +
 262.298 +<Oh I want you to know, but then again I don't, It's so complicated.>
 262.299 +
 262.300 +       Just tell her. Speak up. Say something, anything. Just tell her the words she needs to hear.
 262.301 +       
 262.302 +       Does she need to hear them?
 262.303 +       
 262.304 +       Does she?
 262.305 +       
 262.306 +       How do you know anymore?
 262.307 +       
 262.308 +       Duty.
 262.309 +       
 262.310 +       There was always duty.
 262.311 +
 262.312 +<Oh, I hate it. 'Cuz I've waited.
 262.313 +So long for someone like you>
 262.314 +
 262.315 +       When she was younger, in that cursed life…she had been dead and alive all at once and she had known nothing but the pain and her flesh wasn’t flesh.
 262.316 +       
 262.317 +       But she wasn’t so lonely. There was the soft smile, the laughter.
 262.318 +       
 262.319 +       In the first life, the life where she was alone in the vast empty spaces and lonely beauty of the planet of Death…
 262.320 +       
 262.321 +       …There was only her.
 262.322 +       
 262.323 +       There was no dream of someone else.
 262.324 +       
 262.325 +       She knew no one else, and yet she knew all she must do, and all her mission.
 262.326 +       
 262.327 +       She watched the fateful love grow between Moon and Earth.
 262.328 +       
 262.329 +       She was cold, detatched, and then she killed all.
 262.330 +       
 262.331 +       The next time she came…
 262.332 +       
 262.333 +       …There was hesitation.
 262.334 +       
 262.335 +	There was the dream of someone else.
 262.336 +
 262.337 +<Oh, what do I do.
 262.338 +Oh should I say it.>
 262.339 +
 262.340 +       “Momo.” It was raining, the sky was crying, and she thought maybe she was crying too, this princess of the moon and earth who didn’t want her blood or duty of any of it.
 262.341 +       
 262.342 +       “Chibiusa…! You’re getting wet. What are you…”
 262.343 +       
 262.344 +       “Momo, I want to tell you something.”
 262.345 +       
 262.346 +       “Are you…going to tell her? You don’t need to tell me that.”
 262.347 +       
 262.348 +       “I want to tell you something.”
 262.349 +
 262.350 +<Should I tell you how I feel.
 262.351 +I want you to know, but then again I don't.>
 262.352 +
 262.353 +	“I'm going away. Far away.”
 262.354 +
 262.355 +	“You can’t run from this!”
 262.356 +
 262.357 +	“Momo…”
 262.358 +
 262.359 +	“Chibiusa, listen to me!” Momo was crying, Momo who only ever wanted to know who she was and have her friends and maybe grow up.
 262.360 +
 262.361 +	“I'm not running.”
 262.362 +
 262.363 +	“What do you call it, then?!”
 262.364 +
 262.365 +<It's so complicated...>
 262.366 +
 262.367 +       “We can’t stay.” Hotaru wasn’t crying. She was soft and dark and strong and she would follow always.
 262.368 +       
 262.369 +       “Both of you…why…” Momo was on her knees, and her friends were leaving her. They were going and going and the world was dark.
 262.370 +       
 262.371 +       “We’ll be fine, Momo. But you need to take care of Diana for me, okay? She won’t understand.” Chibiusa, bending down, rocking with her best friend, her lover standing back, watching, looking back out into the empty streets.
 262.372 +       
 262.373 +       “We have to go.”
 262.374 +       
 262.375 +       “Don’t…” Momo was holding the sleeping kitten, crying, and everything was crying and it was gray.
 262.376 +       
 262.377 +       “Don’t worry, Momo.” Chibiusa smiled, and Hotaru smiled too.
 262.378 +
 262.379 +<It's so complicated...>
 262.380 +
 262.381 +	“We’re going to the stars. And we won’t ever come back…they might chase us, but we can’t come back ever.”
 262.382 +
 262.383 +	“I…”
 262.384 +
 262.385 +	“You know already, don’t you?” And Hotaru was soft and she understood and she smiled.
 262.386 +
 262.387 +	“…Be happy.” And the human girl was quiet and she smiled and she was crying.
 262.388 +
 262.389 +	“We will. And we have friends…I'm my own now.”
 262.390 +
 262.391 +	Four girls, smiling, one laughed.
 262.392 +
 262.393 +	And she was alone and the kitten mewled.
 262.394 +
 262.395 +<It's so complicated.>
 262.396 +
 262.397 +       “Impossible.”
 262.398 +       
 262.399 +       “Did you really think she would obey your so-called Destiny forever?” The soldier of wind, angry fierce, sad and broken. “Neither of them would. They loved.”
 262.400 +       
 262.401 +       “We would have understood…We could have…” The moon was lost, and she knew it couldn’t be true because of who they were and she secretly wanted to destroy destiny as well, because destiny had lost her her daughter and it controlled her.
 262.402 +       
 262.403 +       “We’ll follow them.”
 262.404 +       
 262.405 +       “We can’t. They’re stong…and we need to make sure your Chibiusa doesn’t do this.”
 262.406 +       
 262.407 +       “But it’s already been done.”
 262.408 +       
 262.409 +       “Change it!”
 262.410 +       
 262.411 +       “We need her.”
 262.412 +       
 262.413 +       “Because she’s your blood. And she must rule.”
 262.414 +       
 262.415 +       “No!” The moon shook her head, and she looked like the queen she would be. “She’s happy now. She’s…” Tears, “Dead to us. Both of them are.”
 262.416 +       
 262.417 +       “You’re stupid. Stupid! We need the power.”
 262.418 +       
 262.419 +       “It is my word.” And she knew and she wished her daughter happiness, and she cried.
 262.420 +       
 262.421 +       “They can be replaced.”
 262.422 +
 262.423 +<Ohh…>
 262.424 +
 262.425 +       “They can’t.” Soft, soft Mercury her eyes level. “Usagi can have another heir, and other planetborn will come, but you’ve lost us two we loved. I…hate this.”
 262.426 +       
 262.427 +       Her voice was venom.
 262.428 +       
 262.429 +       “Love is lost…Love…just because of duty…” And Venus was laughing and crying and strong, and Mercury looked at her sadly and they were quiet.
 262.430 +       
 262.431 +       “You know what the future must be!”
 262.432 +       
 262.433 +       Did cats lie?
 262.434 +       
 262.435 +       Sometimes, Usagi thought they might.
 262.436 +       
 262.437 +       “We know.” Uranus spat the words.
 262.438 +       
 262.439 +       “I'm not so sure I do…anymore.” The moon quieted, and they began to leave. They couldn’t change this.
 262.440 +       
 262.441 +       Venus who knew her duty and would place it before all but didn’t want to always looked at the sky, and quietly, quietly whispered prayers.
 262.442 +
 262.443 +END
 262.444 +
 262.445 +Authors Notes: O____o; Weeeeeeeell. That turned out different then expected. Maybe the cotton candy had something to do with it…

   263.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   263.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_cruc.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   263.3 @@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
   263.4 +Title: Crucifixion. 
   263.5 +
   263.6 +By Jerry-rose 
   263.7 +
   263.8 +Email: sleeping.soul@hotmail.co.uk 
   263.9 +
  263.10 +<AN: I'm still saying it xD But the Sailor soldiers aren't mine,
  263.11 +their Naoko's. And blah blah blah blah etc o.o Ok, this was inspired
  263.12 +by a dream I had. It's probably a little violent as per usual, so my
  263.13 +apologies but eh, you should be used to it by now :P Anyway feel free
  263.14 +to mail me with comments, criticism, compliments (ha yeah right x3)
  263.15 +or hey, flame me >3 anyways enjoy ^^> 
  263.16 +
  263.17 +Sailor Saturn was leaning against the roof door of the crystal
  263.18 +palace, her eyes narrowed as she shifted so her ear was pressed to
  263.19 +the door. She waited in silence and then sighed, nothing. 
  263.20 +"We're safe for now minna, it didn't follow us here." A few of the
  263.21 +Senshi nodded, but the others were leaning over King Endymion and
  263.22 +Queen Serenity. The king was kneeling on the ground with the Queen in
  263.23 +his arms, leaning over her protectively. She had a smile on her face,
  263.24 +however it was pained. As the King leant back it was obvious why,
  263.25 +half a broken off arrow was protruding from her chest, hampering her
  263.26 +breathing. Sailor Saturn stepped forward and the other Senshi cleared
  263.27 +a path to let her through, the King looked up as she knelt beside
  263.28 +them and rested Serenity flat of the floor as Sailor Saturn
  263.29 +signalled. She was not as good as she used to be at healing, as she'd
  263.30 +learnt well under Setsuna's teachings. Her healing took longer now,
  263.31 +but it meant she was able to recover quickly the energy lost. Her
  263.32 +hands reached out over Serenity and she hovered a hand over the
  263.33 +arrow. 
  263.34 +"Gomen ne, my queen, but I'll need to pull this out from beneath, so
  263.35 +the head isn't left inside…" Serenity nodded and Endymion took her
  263.36 +outstretched hand. Sailor Chibi-moon was standing behind Endymion and
  263.37 +looking over the three. Sailor Saturn looked up to her briefly and
  263.38 +then smiled encouragingly. Chibi-moon nodded and looked away as
  263.39 +Saturn dug her fingers deep into the wound, clasping the point of the
  263.40 +arrow and pulling it back the way it had come. She cried out in pain
  263.41 +and Saturn felt a pang of guilt, throwing the arrow aside she quickly
  263.42 +put her blood soaked hand over the wound, against the flesh, then her
  263.43 +clean over that one. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
  263.44 +With a quick flash of white light and then a soft glow she began the
  263.45 +long process of healing her Queen. A heavy bang against the door told
  263.46 +her that her time was almost up. She clenched her eyes tighter and
  263.47 +tried to focus as the banging became louder. Sailor Pluto put a hand
  263.48 +on her shoulder gently and squeezed. 
  263.49 +"Don't rush, Saturn, you know the consequence. Take the time you
  263.50 +need, we'll hold it off." Sailor Saturn nodded and unclenched her
  263.51 +eyes, relaxing as she went back to her focus. If she was interrupted
  263.52 +now, both she and the Queen could be in danger of loosing their
  263.53 +lives. The Outer Senshi knew the danger, as did Chibi-moon, and took
  263.54 +their stances in front of the door, the Inner Senshi taking places in
  263.55 +front of the King, Queen and Saturn. Sailor Saturn continued working
  263.56 +as the doors burst open, reducing the solid oak to kindling. The
  263.57 +Outer Senshi and Chibi-moon sprung into action, launching their
  263.58 +attacks simultaneously. The three Outer Senshi's combined as one and
  263.59 +hit it hard, the bright light blinding them before receding to show a
  263.60 +smoking youma. Chibi-moon's attack hit after and in a pink light the
  263.61 +youma was forced back out the door and sent spiralling down the large
  263.62 +marble staircase. Everyone stayed put, they knew it was a bad idea to
  263.63 +leave their protective circle, and so stuck close to the three behind
  263.64 +them. Sailor Saturn was almost finished, the wound reduced to a small
  263.65 +bleed. With a sigh she felt Serenity relax beneath her but knew it
  263.66 +wasn't over yet. They needed just a little more time. 
  263.67 +With an almost demonic scream the youma rose from its fallen place
  263.68 +and ran up the stairs at full speed, not allowing the Outer Senshi to
  263.69 +throw their attacks as they were all knocked aside. The Inner Senshi
  263.70 +quickly began and threw it back once more down the stairs. They all
  263.71 +stood tightly in place, resisting the urge to run to their friends.
  263.72 +This time the youma seemed to stay down, but its body was pulsating
  263.73 +ominously. The four Inner Senshi took the opportunity to run to their
  263.74 +friends, Mars to Neptune, Mercury to Uranus, Venus to Pluto and
  263.75 +Jupiter to Chibi-moon. With a hand the four girls stood and rested on
  263.76 +the supporter's shoulders, watching as Hotaru finished and leant
  263.77 +back, the wound gone and the hole in her gown repaired. Serenity
  263.78 +smiled thankfully and Endymion hugged her tight. The three Outer
  263.79 +Senshi and Chibi-moon all smiled and they looked down to the youma.
  263.80 +The body was still in spasm and kept jerking worryingly. The Senshi
  263.81 +took their opportunity and ran down the steps, moving past it and
  263.82 +moved into the corridor. Serenity raised her crystal above her head
  263.83 +and without a word bright white light as pure as silk stretched
  263.84 +forward and illuminated the youma, causing it to scream its demonic
  263.85 +scream, making the girls all cover their ears. The ones who didn't
  263.86 +were the King and Queen, Saturn and Pluto. The King and Queen had
  263.87 +their own reasons, they had faced many demons in their time, and
  263.88 +Saturn and Pluto also faced demons on a daily basis when they guarded
  263.89 +the time gate. Frowning, Saturn looked into the glow to see the body
  263.90 +disintegrate into numerous pieces, then the pieces all seemed to feed
  263.91 +of the silver crystal's energy, growing to be the same size as the
  263.92 +youma was before. However these all had a pentagram over their left
  263.93 +eyes. Sailor Saturn grabbed Serenity's wrist to stop her 
  263.94 +"What are you doing, Saturn?" Venus asked but got her answer as she
  263.95 +was blasted away with a youma's energy. Suddenly many blasts came
  263.96 +their way and the Senshi all ran through the corridor, turning into
  263.97 +the thrown room and stopping. Dead end, no way out. Silently cursing
  263.98 +themselves the Senshi all formed battle positions and faced the door,
  263.99 +but as the youma came into sight they all backed up. So many had been
 263.100 +made from the single youma, and they seemed to keep on multiplying.
 263.101 +More and more surged into sight until their numbers were well into
 263.102 +the hundreds. Saturn ran forward and slammed the doors shut, grabbing
 263.103 +into the air to catch a small metal point which somewhat resembled a
 263.104 +stake, only was metal with a hook on the end. She grabbed four
 263.105 +smaller ones of perhaps ten inches in length and then a larger one of
 263.106 +fifteen. She held them in her left hand and grabbed a hammer in her
 263.107 +right, holding them out to Uranus. 
 263.108 +"You're the strongest, do it." They all froze. Each one of the
 263.109 +Senshi knew what she intended, but none wanted to be the bearer to
 263.110 +make the sacrifice. Saturn pulled the wooden rod over the door just
 263.111 +as the youma slammed into it and turned urgently around the group.
 263.112 +"Someone has to do this! Do you all want to die?!" Serenity had her
 263.113 +head bowed, likewise did Endymion. Their hearts were too pure for
 263.114 +sacrifice to be an option. Saturn could almost see the cogs turning
 263.115 +to find another way. Bangs came hard and fast on the door and Saturn
 263.116 +turned over the Senshi, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune, and Pluto. Not
 263.117 +strong enough physically. She turned to Uranus and Jupiter. "One of
 263.118 +you two! You know you're the only ones strong enough!" They both
 263.119 +shook their heads, but another smash on the door and one of the
 263.120 +bottom hinges broke off. Saturn cried out in frustration and glared
 263.121 +around the group. "Will you sacrifice everyone for weakness of the
 263.122 +heart?! Someone!!" She stopped abruptly as the room went black, the
 263.123 +power was out. Another clink of a hinge blowing. Saturn felt someone
 263.124 +take the things from her and smiled, hugging them tightly. Her heart
 263.125 +stopped. "Chibi-moon…" It etched deep into her soul as her lover took
 263.126 +her hand and walked her to the slowly falling door. Soon it would be
 263.127 +down and the Senshi would be destroyed. Chibi-moon had thought it
 263.128 +only right she do it. Who else should suffer so much? She'd be the
 263.129 +one to crucify her love. The room was in dire silence as Saturn stood
 263.130 +with her back to the door, then spoke hoarsely. 
 263.131 +"I need to be off the floor…" Chibi-moon nodded, both seeming
 263.132 +emotionless as the others looked on. Uranus felt silent tears run
 263.133 +down her cheeks before she stepped forward, taking her daughter in
 263.134 +her arms and holding her to the door, her feet off the floor. Chibi-
 263.135 +moon clenched one of the smaller rods tightly and put it to Saturn's
 263.136 +palm. She took a deep breath and slammed the hammer into the end,
 263.137 +driving it deep into Saturn's hand up to the hook, which held it in
 263.138 +place. She heard a small noise as Saturn bit back a cry of pain, and
 263.139 +grimaced as she moved to the other side. Saturn's hand was clenched
 263.140 +into a fist by her side, shaking slightly. Chibi-moon felt her heart
 263.141 +crack as she took her hand and put it into place, finding no
 263.142 +resistance she silently cursed herself and Saturn. This would be so
 263.143 +much easier if only she'd lash out and hurt her. Another hard smash
 263.144 +with the hammer and the pole was driven deep into her palm and into
 263.145 +the door. Uranus had her head to Saturn's chest and felt her suppress
 263.146 +another scream. She stayed quiet, in silent admiration of her
 263.147 +daughter. Chibi-moon felt her own hands shake beyond control as she
 263.148 +raised another short pole to Saturn's wrist, hammering it once.
 263.149 +However she felt it crack into the bone of her wrist, but not pass
 263.150 +through to the door. Bracing her heart she struck again and felt it
 263.151 +enter through, feeling Saturn's blood seep over her fingers. The
 263.152 +second blow caused Saturn to let a small cry of pain escape her lips
 263.153 +and the whole room seemed to close around them, everyone's very
 263.154 +hearts tightening. Chibi-moon moved again and with two swift hits the
 263.155 +fourth smaller pole was in place on her other wrist. The youma were
 263.156 +still banging on the door, yet it was holding out just about. A few
 263.157 +hinges left here and there to hold it in place. With each hit Saturn
 263.158 +felt the poles move and had to suppress a cry. She had to hide this
 263.159 +pain from the others. She had to. She looked down to the silhouette
 263.160 +of Uranus and whispered as softly as she could. "Haruka-papa, you
 263.161 +must let go now…" Her voice broke at the end and she just barely held
 263.162 +her tears inside. With a tighter hug, Uranus let her gently go. As
 263.163 +Saturn's weight fell onto the poles she flinched and bit deep into
 263.164 +her bottom lip. She was determined to stay silent. Uranus stepped
 263.165 +back and Saturn saw Neptune hold her tightly, and smiled slightly.
 263.166 +She looked down to see Chibi-moon kneeling before her, pulling her
 263.167 +legs in position with her right ankle in front of the other. Hotaru
 263.168 +smiled slightly and enjoyed the touch of her lover's hands before she
 263.169 +felt the small touch of the cold metal contact her skin. She watched
 263.170 +as Chibi-moon's silhouette swung her arm back and then clenched her
 263.171 +eyes shut tight, not able to hold back the scream of pain as the pole
 263.172 +sunk deep into her right ankle, but barely touched her left. Her
 263.173 +heart wrenched and she tried to struggle, only causing herself more
 263.174 +agony as she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. She couldn't do
 263.175 +this. It hurt too much; she was only a girl after all. Barely 18 she
 263.176 +shouldn't have to endure this pain. She tried to pull her legs away,
 263.177 +but Chibi-moon held them tightly in place with shaking fingers. 
 263.178 +"O-onegai… U-usagi… I can't take it… S-stop…" Chibi-moon's heart
 263.179 +splintered as she heard the frail girl's plea, but knew it was the
 263.180 +pain talking. Saturn knew of this when she began to summon forth the
 263.181 +crucifix poles. Chibi-moon pulled her arm back for the last time and
 263.182 +hammered the pole hard into place, piercing into Saturn's ankles and
 263.183 +through into the door. The bones cracked to make way for the pole and
 263.184 +the sound filled the chamber, echoing off the high walls along with
 263.185 +Saturn's screams. Her scream silenced as Chibi-moon kissed her
 263.186 +deeply, and a purple glittering spread over the room, creating a
 263.187 +barrier over the door and illuminating them all. All the Senshi fell
 263.188 +to their knees, their heart's breaking. The sight was not meant to be
 263.189 +theirs. 
 263.190 +Sailor Saturn's blood was streaking down the wooden door and to the
 263.191 +floor; the metal prongs that held her captive were spreading crimson
 263.192 +down her pure white gloves. Tears streaming down her face to meet an
 263.193 +expression of such pain, yet through the blurred vision and tears
 263.194 +falling there was Chibi-moon. With their lips and hearts entwined
 263.195 +nothing could hurt Saturn. Nothing. Screaming was heard down the
 263.196 +corridor as the youma were dusted, the hall falling silent once more.
 263.197 +After what seemed like an eternity the lights returned and knocks
 263.198 +were heard on the other side of the door, it was the palace staff,
 263.199 +all calling out to their protectors in praise. 
 263.200 +"Onegai, Minna, Step away from the door and go back to your
 263.201 +business." Serenity's voice was soft as usual but tears were running
 263.202 +down her face. Chibi-moon and Saturn broke the kiss, their
 263.203 +transformations disappearing to reveal their usual forms as Hotaru
 263.204 +and Usagi. Usagi quickly leaned down and pulled the pole from her
 263.205 +ankles. Hotaru made no sound, her head bowed and her eyes concealed
 263.206 +behind that beautiful raven hair. Usagi pulled out the poles from her
 263.207 +palms in one go and threw them aside. As they skidded across the
 263.208 +floor they left a trail of blood. With one last yank Usagi pulled the
 263.209 +remaining two poles from Hotaru's wrists, threw them aside, and
 263.210 +caught her in her arms before she touched the floor, throwing the
 263.211 +doors open and running down the halls with her. Neptune and Serenity
 263.212 +moved to follow, but Uranus and Endymion grabbed their upper arms and
 263.213 +pulled them back. 
 263.214 +
 263.215 +Back in their shared room with wounds bound, Usagi sat on the side
 263.216 +of the bed, watching over Hotaru as she had her eyes closed, her
 263.217 +fingers playing delicately through Hotaru's hair. Usagi was smiling
 263.218 +softly and leant down, kissing Hotaru on the lips. She felt the kiss
 263.219 +returned and smiled, wrapping her arms around Hotaru's back and
 263.220 +pulling her off the bed slightly. As they broke the kiss and Usagi
 263.221 +leaned back and smiled warmly. 
 263.222 +"You OK Taru-chan?" Hotaru nodded softly and returned the smile. 
 263.223 +"As long as I have you, I'll always be just fine."
 263.224 \ No newline at end of file

   264.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   264.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_grownchange.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   264.3 @@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
   264.4 +Jerry-rose
   264.5 +keriisgo@hotmail.com
   264.6 +
   264.7 +Title: Growing and changing
   264.8 +
   264.9 +-----------
  264.10 +
  264.11 +<a/n: Nothing really to say, sorry for the long break in stories, I haven't really been writing much. And Sailor Moon and the others aren't mine yada yada yada, you've heard it all before. have fun! ^^> 
  264.12 +
  264.13 +
  264.14 +"You suck. Stop that." Hotaru was in a particularly foul mood and it showed. Chibiusa stared at her and then laughed; finding it funny how her best friend was sitting all huddled up against the wall as if trying to get away. 
  264.15 +"Shut up Chibiusa!" Hotaru's voice was harsh, her words cold with no feeling behind them at all. Something Chibiusa wasn't used to hearing. Even when she was in a bad mood Hotaru had never spoken to her like that before. Chibiusa stared blankly at her, something seeming to ache inside just by looking into the Raven-haired girls deep purple orbs. They weren’t their usual deep and knowing selves, just shallow and unreadable. 
  264.16 +Little did Chibiusa know, Hotaru was trying to keep it from her friend that she was in pain. But not from the average things a sailor Senshi suffers from. Well… an average girl does so Senshi must too? That curse that brings pain along with joy, the time of the month when you are on your period. Hotaru had long since started but Chibiusa remained young and flat chested. Hotaru envied the small pink-haired Odango sitting in front of her, and yet couldn’t help blushing whenever they joined eye contact. It was no secret among the other Senshi, and even very well known that Hotaru had feelings for the young girl. Chibiusa however, remained completely oblivious to this. Hotaru didn’t like to treat her friend so horribly but the pain was so great in her body and in her heart. Not knowing what to do about either. She looks up as the door clicks shut and looks around the room. Chibiusa had left. She rolled over to face the wall and snuggled under her bedcovers, glad she couldn’t shout at her anymore but feeling awful. She’d make up to her friend somehow. 
  264.17 +“Hey, Hotaru?” A soft voice came from outside the door, followed by a small knock. She knew at once it was Michiru. 
  264.18 +“Hai mama?” Hotaru called weakly to the wooden door and turned round to face it. It slowly creaked open a crack and Michiru’s head slid into view. 
  264.19 +“What’s the matter Hotaru-Hime? Chibiusa said you weren’t yourself.” Hotaru turned back to the wall and cuddled into a tight ball, not wanting to be seen like this by the people who mean most to her. 
  264.20 +“It’s just my period mama…” Hotaru heard her door click shut once again and sighed; only realizing she was still in the room when she turned around. 
  264.21 +“Hai mama?” Hotaru asked again. Michiru walked over to the bed and sat down gently, a hand caressing Hotaru’s hair lovingly. 
  264.22 +“I remember when I used to get really bad period pains. I’d be curled up in a ball in my bed for a whole week.” Hotaru seemed to perk up a little at hearing this, turning her whole body to Michiru and coming out of her covers and into Michiru’s waiting arms. 
  264.23 +“Really mama? What happened?” Hotaru looked up into Michiru’s face, from the soft glow of the lamps she looked so beautiful, but of course she always was anyway. 
  264.24 +“Well, after a time it just went away, though I have some tips to help you through it, ok?” 
  264.25 +“Hai mama! Tell me?” Michiru nodded and set her back on the bed, placing Hotaru’s hands over her own abdomen and her legs spread apart and bent, as if having a baby. 
  264.26 +“Mama… this looks really weird!” Hotaru tried to object over and over but Michiru just smiled and said it’d help a little. 
  264.27 +“I’ll go on out and get you some special things, stay put ok? It’ll help you.” Hotaru nodded, smiling warmly as Michiru left the room. She looked up to the ceiling, up to the shadows dancing over the floor and walls as the curtain that fluttered loosely in the breeze of the open window, covered her only lit lamp. The soft knock comes back to Hotaru’s ears and she looks at the door, smiling and wondering what her mama had in store for her. 
  264.28 +“Hai! Come on in mama!” Michiru entered with a material thing cradled in one arm and the other hiding something behind her back. Hotaru looked at her curiously as she sat down and slipped something under the bed, placing the material thing on Hotaru’s abdomen. Hotaru sighed, it was warm and soft through her silk nightie and she enjoyed the feeling as it washed over her. As she was enjoying it she didn’t notice Michiru picked up the thing she hid and unwrap it. 
  264.29 +“This is the best remedy by far!” Michiru smiled and handed Hotaru a few pieces of milk chocolate. Hotaru smiled back and took them gratefully, chewing on the ends. 
  264.30 +“Hey… mama?” Hotaru asked between mouthfuls. 
  264.31 +“Yes Hime?” Michiru looked at her questioningly with a warm and loving smile on her face. 
  264.32 +“Has Chibiusa gone home?” Hotaru was blushing lightly, feeling incredibly guilty for being mean to someone she loved so dearly. 
  264.33 +“Hai Hotaru-Hime. Chibiusa-Chan has gone home.” Michiru watched as the girl’s expression changed subtly, no matter how unnoticeable it seemed Michiru picked up on it, but said nothing to let on she had, still speaking in a casual manner. 
  264.34 +“I can get Haruka to catch up to her if you like.” Hotaru perked up and nodded enthusiastically. Michiru laughed, standing and walking from the room, pulling the door softly shut behind her. She stepped down the stairs and into the living room where Setsuna and Haruka were sitting, Setsuna eating a hasty bowl of cereal before leaving for the time gate, Haruka with her head buried in the daily newspaper. As Michiru came to sit beside her she noticed it was the sports page, as usual. 
  264.35 +“Love…” Haruka instantly looked up, she knew that tone of voice… 
  264.36 +“What do you want?” Michiru laughed. 
  264.37 +“That’s a nice way to say I love you. Anyway will you go and catch up with Chibiusa-Chan please?” Haruka looked at her questioningly. 
  264.38 +“But the racing is on in five minutes!” Michiru now wore a subtle grin. 
  264.39 +“Then can I have the keys?” Michiru’s voice was altogether too innocent for Haruka’s liking; she’d rather miss racing than loose the car down a grass verge or off a bridge. 
  264.40 +“Ok, ok. I’ll go get the Kitten.” Michiru smiles triumphantly and took the paper from Haruka in a pointed way, meaning for her to go now. Haruka begrudged got to her feet and picked up her keys, throwing the towel that was round her shoulders over the door, her hair still somewhat damp as she walks out of the house, getting the car out of the garage. She drove for a while in the direction Chibiusa usually took to get home and found no sight or sound of her. 
  264.41 +“Where are you, Chibi kitten?” With that question to herself a shout was heard behind her and she immediately whipped round. 
  264.42 +“HARUKA!!!” Chibiusa came running round the corner, closely followed by a large and very ugly Youma. Haruka didn’t have the time to transform and apparently neither had Chibiusa. 
  264.43 +“Jump in Chibiusa!” Haruka shouted and Chibiusa vaulted over the door, thankful for the yellow car being a convertible. As soon as the pink haired girl was in the front seat, albeit head first, Haruka stepped hard on the accelerator. A small wheel spin later and they were away, the Youma running fast behind them, catching up. Chibiusa had managed to get into her seat and do up her seatbelt, looking behind to see the Youma closing in. 
  264.44 +“Faster Haruka! Faster!” Haruka looked in the back mirror, he foot pressing down further on the pedal as they rocketed forward, already at 80 miles per hour she glanced in her mirror once again, the Youma looking as if it was jogging quite happily. Her lips pulled back into a slight grin as she shouted out. 
  264.45 +“You want to see what I can do in this car Youma? Eat my dust!” Her foot pressed down to the floor hard, speeding them far and away from the Youma who couldn’t catch up, even as it ran it’s fastest. 
  264.46 +“Of course it can’t go this fast. Stupid Youma, we’re at 150 miles an hour.” She muttered to herself as she glanced in her back mirror. Chibiusa was sat back in her seat, a look of horror on her face at the speed, her insides feeling like they were being compressed to a quarter their original size. 
  264.47 +“Haruka! Slow down!” She shouted out and Haruka looked to her, shaking her head and shouting back over the road noise. 
  264.48 +“If we slow down, it could catch up. I won’t take that risk with you here. Don’t worry.” Chibiusa looked altogether uncertain, and as if she was about to be sick to boot. Haruka looked at her for a second and felt sorry for her. She herself was a racer, used to the extremes put on ones body at the extensive speed that came with car racing. She silently cursed the Youma and sped round corner after corner until she reached the mansion, she pulled up and drove into the garage, picking Chibiusa up out of the car as she looked to unwell to stand herself. She smiled, remembering when Hotaru had first come racing with her, she had been much the same but wanted to keep coming, and so she did, and now she was as good at the stamina as Haruka, and was learning in secret lessons with her how to drive the cars. Haruka shut the garage and walked into the house, Chibiusa held tenderly in her arms. Upon entering Hotaru was there in a flash, as was Michiru, both looks of worry on their faces. 
  264.49 +“You were gone ages!” Michiru stated, but then took note of Chibiusa’s condition. Hotaru also saw and looked up to the windswept Haruka suspiciously. 
  264.50 +“What happened to you two?” Haruka walked past them and set Chibiusa on the sofa, who smiled weakly before putting her hand over her mouth and running to the toilet. 
  264.51 +Haruka groaned and sat down, wondering how to explain this. 
  264.52 +“Haruka?” Michiru asked gently and sat behind her, placing a hand on her thigh. Haruka smiled and looked to her, then to Hotaru and sighed. 
  264.53 +“Right, well I went out to get Chibiusa like you asked, Michiru, and then she came running round the corner with a Youma following close behind her…” Haruka paused as shocked expressions spread over the two in front of her, waiting for their gasps to pass before continuing. “Right, and she jumped into the car and we floored it back here, unluckily Chibiusa doesn’t have that racing stamina that Hotaru and I have so… the journey hasn’t gone so well. But I’d rather have got her home in this state than risked slowing down. It was just so fast, it caught up to us easily while we were doing 80 and I had to push it to get away, we were over 150 by the time it was out of sight.” Hotaru and Michiru were gob smacked, and would have thought it was a joke of Haruka’s had she not sounded, and looked so serious… then there was Chibiusa. 
  264.54 +“So there’s a Youma running around out there?” Hotaru asked, to the surprise of her parents. They thought she’d be worried about Chibiusa. 
  264.55 +“We should call Usagi and the others.” The two nodded and Chibiusa entered the room once again, looking a little better but still not 100%. She had heard about calling Usagi and nodded, flipping open her wrist communicator. Luckily for them the girls were having a meeting. 
  264.56 +“What would you like Chibiusa?” Usagi asked, her voice mild and motherly for once. 
  264.57 +“Ma-Usagi! There’s a Youma somewhere around. Can Ami trace it?” Usagi smiled, noticing her falter at calling her Usagi instead of mama. She nodded, turning to Ami. 
  264.58 +“Think you can do it?” Ami nodded and started to tap into her mini-computer. As they waited Chibiusa and Haruka explained about the Youma encounter. The five girls were worried and wanted to meet up as soon as possible. 
  264.59 +“Haruka, think you’d be ok driving the four of you down here to Rei’s place?” Haruka nodded behind Chibiusa’s shoulder. 
  264.60 +“Should we call Setsuna?” Michiru asked but they got the answer, a portal appearing by the door as Sailor Pluto stepped into view, she had a few rips in her uniform, blood seeping into the white fabric of her fuku on her stomach. Haruka ran forward, catching her as she started to fall forward. 
  264.61 +“Sailor Pluto! What happened?!” But she was no longer Sailor Pluto, a pained expression on her face as Haruka lifted her, laying her on the sofa. Hotaru ran to her mama’s side, her heart beating hard in her chest as she knelt beside her. 
  264.62 +“Hold on Mama, I’ll stop it…” Hotaru closed her eyes, her hands over the wound on her stomach. A soft light glow spread over her palms, moving over Setsuna’s wound and concealing it from view, drawing back and revealing the healthy skin, no wound visible. Hotaru took her hands away, looking up to her face. Setsuna smiled warmly, embracing Hotaru in a tight hug. 
  264.63 +“Thanks Hime.” Hotaru nodded and returned the hug lovingly. 
  264.64 +“What happened mama?” Setsuna shook her head. 
  264.65 +“I don’t know. I was standing guard over the gates when someone came through the mists. A human. I had no idea what their intension or who they were so naturally I stopped them, they seemed casual about everything but didn’t answer a single on of my questions. I remember asking what their business was and then a searing pain in my back and stomach… then waking up and being alone, but being wounded I had to come back here, I was no use there as I was… I have failed in my duty.” Hotaru broke their hug and looked deep into her mother’s eyes. 
  264.66 +“Iie Mama. You haven’t failed. You couldn’t have seen it coming and at the end of the day were tricked. Nothing can be done except find out what happened and who they were. But now you’re here, we also have something to tell you…” And then Haruka went on to explain; by the end Usagi was very impatient and shouting at Rei once more. Hotaru was gradually loosing her temper, she was in pain and wanted nothing more than to hug Chibiusa and sleep in her arms. She turned to the communicator on Chibiusa’s wrist and snapped loudly at Usagi to hush, which of course she did, not expecting it to come from Hotaru of all people. 
  264.67 +“Whatever we’re doing lets do it. The more time we waste here the longer the Youma has the chance to hurt innocent people. Lets go!” Everyone was silent. No one expected the outburst from possibly the shyest one of the group. Hotaru blushed heavily and Haruka came to her rescue. 
  264.68 +“Right, Usagi I’ll bring this lot to the shrine, try not to start anything until we get there, ok?” Usagi nodded enthusiastically. 
  264.69 +“Hai! Call us if anything happens!” Usagi waved and the communicator went dead. Chibiusa shut her own and they all walked out the house to the garage, a sound came to their ears just as they were about to get into the car and the sound of something moving at a speedy pace rang in their ears. Haruka recognised it immediately and ran to shut the garage, whispering more to herself than to the others. 
  264.70 +“The Youma…” She turned to the others, her finger over her lips, indicating for them to be quiet. They all nodded, silently getting into the car for comforts sake. But Haruka stayed put, silently listening as the sound came closer and stopped. She stepped back from the door; it was right outside. Slowly she turned to the others, whispering so quietly they had to strain their ears to listen. 
  264.71 +“If it attacks us… stay down and silent…” Under her breath she added something else but no one heard as she’d turned back to the door. Michiru got out of the car and wrapped her arms round Haruka’s stomach lovingly, hugging her from behind. Despite the tense situation Haruka couldn’t help but relax a little at her lovers touch. Michiru smiled, noticing her muscles loosen up. The sound started up again as if a motor and they all sighed, accept Haruka and Hotaru. From their time on the track they knew the noise was a bad omen. Louder than before and not having moved from it’s position. Hotaru ran from the car, her hand gripping Haruka’s arm as if to double-check her thoughts. 
  264.72 +“Papa… It’s going to…” Haruka nodded and Hotaru ran to the side of the car, pulling Setsuna and Chibiusa out of the back seats, pushing them behind the many piles of boxes in the hope they wouldn’t be seen, Haruka had done the same with Michiru and Haruka and Hotaru took the front seats of the car. 
  264.73 +“Stay here. Don’t move or talk until you can hear nothing but the nights natural noises.” Haruka warned to the three behind them and they nodded. The two adults knew what Haruka and Hotaru were planning, they were to stay and protect Chibiusa should the need arise. Haruka and Hotaru were aiming to be a lure. Taking the danger away from those they wanted to protect the most. 
  264.74 +“Take care…” Michiru whispered softly as Haruka Started the engine. She stepped hard on the accelerator and ran strait through the garage door, ramming it open and aiming strait for the Youma. It sneered, standing and waiting for the impact, apparently it knew it wouldn’t hurt. Haruka steered away at the last possible moment, veering to the right and speeding away down the road. Hotaru was sitting quite calmly beside Haruka, a casual expression on her face as if she did this every day. Haruka smiled to her daughter and turned the corner out of the street, carefully keeping to speeds that the Youma could follow. When they were clear Haruka nodded to Hotaru and she flicked open her communicator, apparently having no trouble with the pressure that had made Chibiusa feel like she was being compressed. Michiru answered. 
  264.75 +“Hotaru? Are you two OK?” She sounded worried and was looking over her as if expecting to see mortal wounds, which made Hotaru laugh. 
  264.76 +“Hai mama, we’re both fine and everything’s working out fine. Get going now, take the bikes, you two use your own and Chibiusa can use mine, go to the shrine and then with Ami’s help you’ll be able to see when we’re headed to the temple. Be ready for when we get there OK?” Hotaru’s voice was clear and serious and Michiru nodded, smiling to Hotaru. 
  264.77 +“Good luck!” With that she hung up. Hotaru nodded to Haruka and they sped up a little, the Youma having to use more energy to keep up with them. 
  264.78 +“This is great papa, we get a nice drive together and get to wear the Youma down at the same time.” Haruka nodded, smiling to Hotaru warmly. 
  264.79 +“Yes…” She paused, checking one of the many gauges on the dashboard. “However…” Hotaru looked to her, wondering what the however could be. “We can only drive for the next 15 minutes or so, we’re low on gas.” Hotaru nodded, understanding but not seeming too worried. 
  264.80 +“That’s fine. The shrine is under that. We’ll get there ok.” Haruka nodded but just then the Youma gave out a flash out light that was sent towards the car. Haruka skidded to avoid it and it narrowly missed Hotaru’s door. 
  264.81 +“Sorry Hotaru, hold tight. It looks like this could get rougher than we planned. We’d best start heading towards the shrine, Michiru, Setsuna and Chibiusa will be there by now.” Hotaru nodded, looking behind to check on the Youma. She looked back to the road and another light blasted towards them, Haruka swerved round the corner, the blast sweeping her right arm. She swore quietly, feeling the burn as blood started to seep from the wound, dripping off her elbow. She looked to Hotaru who was watching her worriedly. 
  264.82 +“Don’t worry… It’s fine…” Haruka nodded, not sure of her words herself. Hotaru didn’t buy them for a second; she knew the problem and climbed into the backseat. From there she reached forward and held her hand over Haruka’s arm, her fingers glowing bright as the wound healed. Haruka stepped down hard on the accelerator, Hotaru sat back in the rear seat and breathed heavily. Healing two big wounds in such a sort time span taking its toll. Haruka looked in her rear-view mirror and frowned. 
  264.83 +“Hime, come back into the front seat where I can keep an eye on you.” Hotaru nodded, climbing back into the seat as told, the massive speed not seeming to hinder her movement at all. Haruka glances at her worriedly, pushing the accelerator down to the floor and speeding towards the shrine. The Youma seemed to have got faster and kept up with them, despite the car moving it’s fastest. As the shrine steps came into view Haruka wondered how they were to go about this. 
  264.84 +”Hime. We’re going to have to run up those… think you can make it?” Hotaru nodded silently, she’d have too. The car slowed and Haruka didn’t have the chance to let it slow enough for them to jump out, the Youma throwing a massive blast their way, the blast the size of the car. As it hit the boot the car surged forward and was shattered from back to front, Hotaru and Haruka were thrown from the car and sent sailing into the concrete steps. Hotaru’s body wouldn’t move, nothing responding to her calls. Haruka slowly knelt up and looked over to her daughter, both of them covered in many cuts and bruises. Haruka noticed a small thin line of blood running down from Hotaru’s hairline and over her cheek. 
  264.85 +“Hotaru-Hime…” Haruka put a hand out and tried to wipe away the blood but more just kept coming. She hoisted Hotaru up onto her back and started to run up the steps. Where were the others? She got to the top and arrived just in time to see Sailor Moon dusting another Youma that looked exactly the same. They all saw her and ran forward, Sailor Jupiter taking Hotaru from Haruka to let her rest. She sank to the ground, her body aching not only from the injuries but also from the long run up the stairs, she was glad Hotaru didn’t weight too much. 
  264.86 +“Haruka…” Michiru touched a long thin cut moving across her cheek and Haruka flinched, it was apparently from slamming into the edge of one of the steps. The others were wondering what had happened to them, Sailor Jupiter holding Hotaru as Chibiusa shook her, trying to wake her. She didn’t even stir. Sailor moon was about to ask when the Youma that had been chasing Haruka and Hotaru appeared at the top of the steps, a wild look in its vivid yellow eyes. The other looks on in surprise as it glares at Hotaru and Haruka. A ball of energy in each hand it fires them both forward, one for Hotaru and Sailor Jupiter, one For Haruka and Michiru. Haruka immediately stepped in front of Michiru to protect her and Chibiusa Stood stubbornly in front of Sailor Jupiter and Hotaru. Hotaru’s eyes snap open and she jumps from Sailor Jupiter’s arms, transforming in an instant and screaming out. 
  264.87 +“Silence wall!!” The wall flared up and deflected the balls. Haruka sighed and turned to hug Michiru, who returned it lovingly. Sailor Saturn stood determinedly, her eyes gleaming dangerously in the now dark sky, the full moon shining behind the temple. The Youma’s eyes narrowed on the girl standing before her, how it longed to kill her. Sailor Saturn laughed, knowing it wanted to and not giving it the satisfaction. Her hands tightened around her Silence Glaive and she bought it strait above her head. Sailor Moon stepped forward to interfere but Haruka put a hand to her shoulder, shaking her head. 
  264.88 +“This is Hotaru’s fight now.” Sailor Moon nodded, saddened at the thought of her doing it alone but she stepped back all the same. 
  264.89 +“Silence Glaive…” Sailor Saturn chanted, a glow emitting from her Glaive as the words start to unleash a power so great. Chibiusa went to run forward but was grabbed by several arms, all holding her back. 
  264.90 +“Surprise!” Sailor Saturn shouted out and bought her Glaive down, the massive energy blast disintegrating the Youma on contact. As it was destroyed a Human came forth, stepping up to Sailor Saturn quietly and looking into her eyes. Sailor Saturn straitened her posture and despite being younger than the woman, their eye line was level and she looked blankly back. Setsuna now stepped forward. 
  264.91 +“You’re..!” She was interrupted. 
  264.92 +“Correct Senshi of Time. I am that human. I see your wound is no more, I presume we have this beautiful Senshi of Death and Rebirth to thank, don’t we?” All were silent. 
  264.93 +Sailor Saturn’s face was one of disgust, she would have liked nothing better than to slice deep into the flesh of this woman just so she could get her out of the way and go home to bed. The woman laughed, a hand moving up and resting on Sailor Saturn’s head. A clash was heard as Sailor Saturn’s Glaive collided with a sword the woman had materialised from nowhere, both their expressions one of pain. Sailor Saturn and the woman stumbled backwards, a slash moving horizontally across each of their necks. The woman rubbed her neck, inspecting the blood. 
  264.94 +“You’re a better fighter than I thought. I judged from your fitness you’d put up a much shorter fight. Indeed, you have trailed me round half of Tokyo and defiantly given me a run for my money.” She bows slightly. “And you are of a noble and loving heart. Please accept my apologies for my methods but I had to be sure… My name is Sammy. I am here to collect you Hotaru, come back to Saturn with me.” Everyone gasped; they couldn’t believe what they were hearing, least of all Chibiusa. She ran forward and clenched onto Sailor Saturn’s arm. 
  264.95 +“Don’t go! Please stay with me!” Sailor Saturn ignored Chibiusa; she was intrigued by this stranger, wondering if what she said was true. 
  264.96 +“Come back..? You mean you have been there?” Sailor Saturn stepped forward, dislodging Chibiusa from her arm, her eyes wide with hope. Sammy reached up and rested her hand on Sailor Saturn’s head, this time no objection came and without the interruption a warm glow spread from her head to her toes, as she looked down she realised she was now Princess Saturn. She stepped back, unsure what it meant. 
  264.97 +“Come Princess, and guide our planet once again.” Saturn’s head turned to her parents and friends as if asking what she should do. No answer came. Everything was silent. They all knew this was her choice, something she alone had to choose. She looked over each of them, then over Sammy. 
  264.98 +“Why now?” She asked, her voice uncertain and close to tears. 
  264.99 +“Because, there is now a colony back on Saturn, the elders gathered and decided the best leader for our world would be you, Princess, you are the rightful heir to the throne… and now we have the kingdom back on track and have people and land and a way of life… we need a Princess to guide us… You are our first and only choice… Join us, Princess Saturn!” Saturn stepped back, turning fully to face her friends and family, her gown fanning out then settling once more, her Glaive still held in her hand like a long sceptre. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of leaving them, but her planet needed her… She went forward, hugging each of them gently and kissing Chibiusa softly on the cheek. 
 264.100 +“Don’t forget me guys, if you ever need me call me, if earth ever needs the help call me… I’ll come.” With that she stepped back, never letting her gaze stray from Chibiusa’s eyes. No one said a word, silent tears falling from everyone’s faces. Sammy touched her shoulder and they both glowed brightly before disappearing. Chibiusa collapsed to her knees and Usagi embraced her gently. Haruka held Michiru tightly as she cried. The others changed back to normal, Mako hugged Ami tenderly and Rei embraced Mina. Setsuna was looking suspicious and stepped to the place they had disappeared, looking at the sky curiously. The others slowly let go of each other and noticed her. 
 264.101 +“Setsuna?” Haruka asked, stepping forward, if Setsuna didn’t feel right about something it was bound to be wrong. 
 264.102 +“No… nothing. Let’s go home…” Setsuna said softly and turned, but Haruka coughed. 
 264.103 +“My car was disintegrated, just how do you intend to get back home?” Saturn’s voice seemed to come on the wind, as loving and gentle as if she were there. 
 264.104 +“Don’t worry papa, you’re car is where you left it, with a few extra speed options now too… take care.” And it was gone. Haruka ran to the top of the steps and sure enough there was her yellow convertible completely untouched at the bottom, as if nothing had happened at all. A smile crept over her lips. 
 264.105 +“Thank you… Hime…” She stepped down the first step and held a hand out to Michiru “Lets go home then?” 
 264.106 +“Haruka? Michiru? Setsuna?” They all turned to look at the pink-haired girl that called their names so sweetly. 
 264.107 +“Can I please stay with you guys tonight?” Haruka and Michiru smiled, Setsuna nodded and walked down the steps. 
 264.108 +“If it’s ok with Usagi.” Usagi nodded and Chibiusa ran after the three, climbing into the backseat with Setsuna. She waved goodbye to Usagi and the girls, keeping to herself on the drive home. As they pulled into the garage Haruka noted the door was fixed and smiles once again, unlocking the door and letting the others in first. Chibiusa went to go upstairs and the three looked to her. 
 264.109 +“Don’t you want something to eat Chibiusa?” Setsuna asked tenderly, but Chibiusa shook her head. 
 264.110 +“Iie… arigato.” She continued walking up the stairs and the others walked into the living room. 
 264.111 +“Let’s leave her alone…” Michiru stated softly and the others nodded, sitting down and finding it all too easy to sit in silence, not doing anything apart from reflecting on that night’s events. 
 264.112 +
 264.113 +“Oh Taru… Why’d you have to go?” Chibiusa sobbed into her delicate, purple-silk bed sheets. “Why’d you have to leave me alone?” She stood up, tears rolling down her cheeks. She walks to the wardrobe, opening one of the doors and pulling out a purple and black silk nightie. She smiled fondly; Hotaru would always wear this when they had a sleep over. Chibiusa didn’t understand the appeal of the smooth silk and so decided to wear it, to see what it was like. She slipped out of her clothes and shoes, taking off her underwear and slipping the delicate nightie on. She sighed, it felt beautiful against her skin and as she looked into the mirror she thought for a second she saw Hotaru smiling at her, but as she whipped round to see, she was gone. 
 264.114 +“Taru…” Chibiusa took one last look in the mirror before pulling back the lovely sheets of Hotaru’s bed and settling down, crying silent tears onto the purple pillow. 
 264.115 +“Goodnight Taru… Sleep well…” She closed her eyes and fell into a shallow sleep. 
 264.116 +
 264.117 +
 264.118 +As Usa looked into that same mirror she smiled, still thinking she saw Hotaru looking over her, as she did each day and each night. She was now a beautiful teenager of 15.  years had passed since Hotaru had gone away, and not one day had passed where Usa hadn’t thought of her. She walked to the wardrobe, picking out a beautiful black dress that was fitting up to the waist, where a thick purple belt laced round before the black fabric trailed out, reaching just past her knees. The sleeves were long and just passed her fingertips, a purple strip at the ends. It had a boat neck and went from one shoulder to the other, a purple strip around that also. Usa smiled; she had never fitted into this dress before. The torso clenched round her now large breasts and the belt would be tied just right, showing off her slim hourglass figure. She places her hands on her hips, thinking it’s nice sometimes to be shapely. She had only ever once seen Hotaru in this dress. It was at a presentation of some kind, Usa never remembered anything about that evening apart from how beautiful Taru was. She smiled to the mirror and nodded, walking out of the room and down the stairs. As she entered the kitchen she was greeted by a tired Setsuna who waved a hand. 
 264.119 +“Morning Usa. I’m off to bed.” 
 264.120 +“Hard night Pu?” Setsuna shrugged. 
 264.121 +“It’s getting worse and worse with each day, I’ll need help soon.” And with that she got up from the table and left the kitchen. Usa sighed, for the last few months Setsuna had been coming home at all hours because there was so much that needed doing at the time gate. Apparently so many beings were trying to force their way through it was getting harder and harder to contain. Usa walked to the cabinet and picked out the bread, sticking two slices in the toaster and getting out the butter and jam. Now she lived with the outer senshi. She didn’t want to go back to the future knowing there was even less chance of her seeing Hotaru, so instead she waited here in case she ever came back, she works with Michiru in the fashion industry part time and went driving with Haruka on Saturdays, going to the time gate with Setsuna on Sundays. Everything worked out fine and they lived just fine. Usa often wore Hotaru’s clothes as they now fitted her; Hotaru’s room hadn’t changed at all apart from a single shelf of stuffed rabbits of varying shapes, sizes and colours. As Usa removed her toast from the toaster her communicator beeped and she opened it up, exasperated. It went almost 24-7 now, hardly ever having a break. She was a lot stronger than she used to be, though still not as powerful as Usagi. 
 264.122 +“Hai? Usa here.” Usagi’s voice rang out over the kitchen, tired and as exasperated as Usa felt. 
 264.123 +“Hey Usa, come down to the park for me? Another three Youma.” Usa nodded and hung up, running from the house and leaving her breakfast there. Haruka and Michiru had already gone out to take care of a Youma on the edge of town. Usa ran to the park at high speed, transforming as she did so. As Usagi had said there were three Youma, all of them looking unbeatable as usual, but every time they were dusted. All the inners were present and Mercury was already down, Jupiter kneeling by her side. The two had long since been an item and now fairly much inseparable. Usa was fading out again, thinking about Hotaru and if they ever would have stood a chance if she’d stayed… 
 264.124 +“Usa move it!” Usagi cried out and Usa snapped back to life just in time to jump out of the way. She landed delicately on her toes a few feet away from the singed grass. 
 264.125 +“I got this one Usagi!” 
 264.126 +“I got your back.” Usagi replied and Jupiter stood up, Ami leaning on her shoulder for support. 
 264.127 +“And we’ve got yours Usagi.” They had become accustomed to fighting groups; no longer having a problem with it they worked as a perfectly formulated team. Usa lined up with the Youma who had tried to fire her into eternity and lifts her hands above her head, the silver crystal appearing and turning a light pinkish purple, the light unfurling into a flower shape as wings sprout from her back. Pink wings with the occasional purple feather. Her fuku also new, a purple bow in place of the pink one she used to have. Her aura glowed a bright pink as she unleashed the energy from the flower, no words, and no movement, just the energy firing forwards. On impact the Youma was dusted. At it’s comrades downfall one of the other Youma went for Usa’s back and Usagi powered up, her silver crystal glowed bright and pure white, no special effects apart from her pure aura glowing as her attack thundered down and crashed into the Youma, dusting that one also. Both girls looked to each other and the around them for the last Youma. It was nowhere to be seen. 
 264.128 +“Damn… where is it?” Sailor Jupiter said and looked round. She automatically turned to Mercury and she shrugged, it wasn’t showing up on the computer. 
 264.129 +“What do we do now then? Wait around for it?” Mars asks, the question directed to either Usagi or Usa. Both of who shrugged dismissively. 
 264.130 +“Can I go eat my breakfast now?” Usa asked and everyone nodded. She changed back into her normal form and turned to head home. Just as she got round the corner she was faced with the very angry looking Youma and screamed out loudly as it fired a massive beam at her, hitting her squarely in the chest. She flew backwards and hit a wall, sending cracks like webbing around her before falling to the floor in a heap, her head spinning. 
 264.131 +“Usa!” She could hear the shouts and running footsteps but no one would reach her. The Youma was already holding its hands out to her, a massive ball of light in its hands. As the massive beam fires Usa braces for impact, her eyes opening at the last second because of a warm feeling that fills her heart. She looks up and sees the beam whipping round a shield, firing off and dissipating harmlessly. She sat up slowly, her head aching as she wondered why the other Senshi had gone silent and stopped in their tracks. A bright flash of purple light lit up the road and then dimmed down, the Youma no more. Usa looked to the floor in front of her and saw the end of a long purple dress, as she moved her gaze higher she noticed the pale skin and Silence Glaive in her right hand, raven hair sparkling beautifully in the light of the midday sun. 
 264.132 +“Taru…” Usa whispered, her voice breaking as tears rolled down her cheeks. As the girl turned to face her she was taken aback, her face was still as beautiful as ever but her eyes showed more pain, more experiences, more time away from those she loved. 
 264.133 +“Taru..?” Usa whispered once again, not even sure it was her. A long, slender and ladylike hand extended down to her and she smiled, taking it and being pulled to her feet. 
 264.134 +“I see you fit my dress perfectly. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long how beautiful you are Usa…” Her hand moved forward, stroking over Usa’s cheek gently. 
 264.135 +“I’ve always watched over you, my beautiful Odango… and now…” She turned to the other Senshi who were standing, shocked and silent. “I have come to aid you in the battle for the time gate.” They all gasped, including Usa. Princess Saturn looked shocked, biting her bottom lip and clenching her Glaive tightly. 
 264.136 +“You didn’t know… about the time war. Haruka and Michiru are there already. Come.” Saturn waved a hand and a black portal appeared. Usa recognised it as the one that Sailor Pluto used to get to the time gate and went to step in, but Saturn grabbed her elbow. “Not you first Princess.” Usa looked surprised and Saturn smiled, holding her hand out to Usa so she could take it, she stepped inside the portal, followed behind by Chibiusa. Princess Saturn knew the fate of the first to step through the portal and was fully prepared for it, not wishing to endanger her other friends she went first. As soon as her foot-touched solid ground a sword came down over her, slashing down from her right shoulder to her left hip, a deep cut of a few centimetres. She knew an attack would come, but not in what shape or form. She falls back onto Usa who catches her and holds her, thinking she just fell, the attacker not having shown themselves, only their blade visible for a split second. 
 264.137 +“You ok Taru?” Saturn nods, hoping to ignore it at least until she got the others with Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru. She placed her arm over some of the wound, pressing hard to stem the bleeding a little. Her other hand shot out to her right side, the bright beam of purple light causing a scream in the mists, another Youma dusted. Everyone was in and looking mildly surprised she knew where it was. She shrugged, closing the portal behind them to stop any Youma escaping. 
 264.138 +“Follow me please.” Saturn said and glances over her shoulder to the sailors before jumping forward, moving about twenty feet in one jump. “Watch your backs.” She stated softly and ran on, thinking jumping too fast for them to keep up. They all followed, her jogging pace being their sprint. She frowned; they weren’t as strong as she remembered them to be… She reached a small chasm and over the other side was the time gate surrounded by hundreds of Youma trying to get through the gate, the only thing stopping them was Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto, all three in quite a battered condition. Princess Saturn sped up, feeling her vision blurring due to her injury, her left arm still holding tightly over it. She ran through the Youma, blasting a path through with one of her larger energy blasts, clearing the way to let the others through as well. She ran up to her three respective parents and signalled for them to move back, the other Senshi moved back against the gate with them. She moved her hands in front of her chest and put them palm-to-palm she sneered at the approaching Youma. She pulled her palms about an inch apart it seemed as if a lightning storm was going on between her hands. She waited until the Youma were mere inches away before she threw her arms forward, the lightning spreading over a wide radius and whipping at the Youma, any that were touched were immediately dusted. She got rid over half, her knees giving way from under her as she fell, doubling over in pain. That attack was the last of her energy. She knew it would be no use to her while she was injured like she was and wanted to help, finding that the most effective way. She hit the floor in a kneeling position, then falling backwards and being caught by Usa. 
 264.139 +“T-Taru!” Her voice was thick with tears, her eyes clouded as she looked down into the Raven-haired girls face. “Taru… Don’t leave again…” The other Sailor Senshi ran in front of them, ready as the remaining Youma charged forward. They were all fighting but for Usa and Princess Saturn time seemed to stand still. Saturn’s hand came up and stroked Usa’s cheek softly. 
 264.140 +“Don’t cry… everything will be just fine…” Usa took her hand and kissed it gently, surprised by the taste of blood on her lips. She looked over Saturn’s body, finally noticing the deep wound and the rip in the dress. 
 264.141 +“Oh my god… Taru… How could I have not noticed? I’m so sorry!” She leant down; her arms wrapped round Princess Saturn gently.  Saturn’s foggy eyes slowly closed, her breathing slowing but not stopping. Usa picked her up in her arms, tears running down her cheeks and landing over Princess Saturn’s torso. A bright pink glow surrounded Usa, her long pink Odango blowing in a non-existent wind, her Sailor fuku changing into her Princess dress. The pink glow resonating around her joined with Princess Saturn and the aura’s seemed to mix, the purple surrounding Saturn merged with the pink surrounding Princess Usa. 
 264.142 +“I love you. Please don’t go now, see you can’t go…” Princess Usa cuddles her tighter and she stirs, the wound shrinking before disappearing. 
 264.143 +“I love you too…” Saturn smiled as Usa looked down to her, setting her feet back on the floor. The two joined hands, their colours merging to become a pinkish purple, and their Princess gowns flowing in the wind along with their hair. Saturn took Usa’s other hand and they stood, watching each other’s eyes. As Saturn leaned forward, Usa did so too, their lips meeting in a strong but gentle kiss, their pain shared and love doubled. Unknown to them they were already off the floor, lifted high into the air as their power sparkled down below them in strong beams of love and power. Pinkish purple rays light that dusted the Youma on contact, not a single one left standing by the time they touched back on the floor. Cheers greeted them from the other Senshi and both beamed, Hotaru opening the portal to lead them back to the outer’s mansion. 
 264.144 +“Princess Usa…” Usa looked at her, turning her back on the portal. 
 264.145 +“Yes Princess Saturn?” Usa giggled lightly but Saturn’s face was serious. 
 264.146 +“I have decided to leave Sammy in charge on Saturn. If she needs help she’ll call… So I can stay here with you… if you’ll have me.” Usa beamed at this, pulling Saturn into another deep kiss as they stood, the portal behind them shifting to drop them into Hotaru’s old room or Usa’s current one. Still standing, their lips joined in the kiss, one thing that could never last long enough.
 264.147 \ No newline at end of file

   265.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   265.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_iwonder.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   265.3 @@ -0,0 +1,500 @@
   265.4 +Title: Space for hope. 
   265.5 +Author: Jerry-rose
   265.6 +E-mail: sleeping.soul@hotmail.co.uk No flames please but critisism
   265.7 +i'd love ^^ And yes i know my spelling and grammer are terrible =P
   265.8 +<AN: just something i pulled together recently. Really short yes but
   265.9 +eh, i'm supposed to be working xD Enjoy>
  265.10 +
  265.11 +"Say, Hota-chan?" Hotaru turned in the pink bed covers to face the
  265.12 +girl that said her name with such affection. The girl had long black
  265.13 +hair that reached her lower back, but had pink highlights in the
  265.14 +fringe, and adoring pink eyes that were staring in her direction.
  265.15 +Hotaru tilted her head so her black air fell over her face slightly,
  265.16 +then pushed her fringe aside with a finger.
  265.17 +"Hai, Chi-chan?" Hotaru had moved closer and put an arm over her
  265.18 +lovers flat stomach, then her head against her chest. Usagi was
  265.19 +sitting up in bed, her back against the head post.
  265.20 +"What's out there?" Hotaru blinked and sat up to look at her.
  265.21 +"Out where..?" She asked suspiciously and Usagi held her hands up in
  265.22 +a form of surrender or self-defense, laughing slightly.
  265.23 +"Well, out in the universe. I mean can you blame me for wondering?
  265.24 +All our enemies came from there with the exception of very few... Is
  265.25 +there a bad influence or something that creates these people or their
  265.26 +hatred?" Hotaru smiled warmly and leaned forward, pressing her
  265.27 +forehead gently to the other's.
  265.28 +"All very wise things to want to know. And because you're so special
  265.29 +to me, I'll let you into a little secret, but you have to promise not
  265.30 +to tell anyone else. ok?" Usagi nodded and leaned forward slightly,
  265.31 +as if enthusiastic and in need to hear.
  265.32 +"Well, you know lately i haven't been around as much as i used to
  265.33 +be?" Usagi blushed lightly and the other girl stopped. "What did
  265.34 +Haruka-papa tell you?" Her tone was serious but also slightly amused
  265.35 +so Usagi figured she'd say, she wanted to ask a few questions about
  265.36 +it anyway. Like if it was true for one thing.
  265.37 +"She said you were taking stripping lessons." Hotaru blushed a deep
  265.38 +crimson and leapt out of the bed, vaulting her suitcase and then
  265.39 +Usagi's as if they were hurdles and flung the door open, running into
  265.40 +the bedroom opposite them, who's door was open, and yelled inside.
  265.41 +"HARUKA-PAPA!!!"
  265.42 +
  265.43 +Michiru laughed and Haruka blinked nervously, turning slowly to face
  265.44 +the living room door.
  265.45 +"I'm dead when she gets down here! Michiru, you have to hide me!"
  265.46 +Michiru laughed harder and shook her head.
  265.47 +"Not on your life. This one's been coming your way since you started
  265.48 +telling Usagi-chan that." Haruka sweat dropped and dashed for the
  265.49 +kitchen... too late. Hotaru flew through the closed door and slammed
  265.50 +Haruka from behind in a rugby tackle. Haruka fell forward into the
  265.51 +floor and Hotaru laughed, her fingers finding her papa's most tender
  265.52 +tickling spots as her delicate fingers spidered over her skin.
  265.53 +"You shall pay, oh ticklish one!" Haruka laughed and squirmed on the
  265.54 +floor, but was too weak to get up as she laughed harder and harder
  265.55 +until Michiru intervened.
  265.56 +"Come on now Hotaru, we need Haruka alive to drive us all to the
  265.57 +shopping center." Hotaru slowed to a stop and sighed.
  265.58 +"I guess you're right, mama." Michiru nodded and Hotaru got up off
  265.59 +Haruka, letting her recover and then sit up, watching as she ran a
  265.60 +hair through her short blonde hair.
  265.61 +"You're getting too strong for my own good, kiddo." Hotaru waggled a
  265.62 +finger at her, winking and laughing.
  265.63 +"No papa, i just know you're tender areas!" Haruka raised an eyebrow
  265.64 +suggestively and Michiru laughed, she knew what was coming next.
  265.65 +"Actually i think you'll find only Michi knows my tender area's."
  265.66 +Haruka laughed as Hotaru pulled a face and then ran to the door,
  265.67 +turning happily. Haruka and Michiru looked at their 16 year old
  265.68 +daughter, with her shoulder length black hair and her plain purple
  265.69 +shirt reaching her thighs. She had a shapely body, a real hourglass
  265.70 +figure if ever there was one, and a pale complexion. Her deep purple
  265.71 +eyes glittered happily as she waved a hand and set off up stairs,
  265.72 +back to her Chi-chan.
  265.73 +Hotaru stepped back into her room to see Usagi with her elbows on
  265.74 +the balcony railing. She shut the door gently so she didn't bring the
  265.75 +slightly smaller girl out of her daydream and smiled at her back.
  265.76 +Times sure had changed. If anyone had shown her this future only a
  265.77 +few months ago she would never have believed it. She walked out and
  265.78 +leant on the balcony fence beside Usagi.
  265.79 +"Chi-chan?" Usagi looked up to her and smiled warmly, cuddling her
  265.80 +tight and pointing up to the clouds.
  265.81 +"That one rminds me of you." Her finger lined up with a smaller
  265.82 +cloud that had furry edges, it was wispy and very spread out, almost
  265.83 +like mist. Hotaru laughed.
  265.84 +"I'm small, wispy, rough around the edges and spacey. Yes i know."
  265.85 +Usagi also laughed, but then moved in front of Hotaru and took her
  265.86 +hands, winding them around her and leaning back onto the taller girl.
  265.87 +"That's what others might see, yes. But me... I see a soft skinned
  265.88 +cloud with a wonderful look to it, not tense and tight, but
  265.89 +wonderful, so if I might touch it, my hand would be welcomed and
  265.90 +absorbed, not pushed away, I also see a cloud that doesn't look like
  265.91 +it's all there, but when you get deeper intoit, it seems to never
  265.92 +end. Hota-chan, that is what i see. And I love that cloud very much
  265.93 +now." Hotaru was smiling warmly and kissed the back of her head,
  265.94 +twirling her around and out of her grip so they were facing each
  265.95 +other. 
  265.96 +"And I'm sure that cloud loves you too." Usagi smiled warmly and the
  265.97 +two embraced, together in a world of their own.
  265.98 +Hotaru was bought back into reality as she thought.
  265.99 +"Chi-chan, did i ever tell you that secret?" Usagi shook her head
 265.100 +and laughed.
 265.101 +"No, i believe you went off to slaugter Haruka-san before you said
 265.102 +anything." Hotaru nodded and leant back on the balcony once more,
 265.103 +looking up into the sky.
 265.104 +"Well, you know i haven't been around much lately?" Usagi took the
 265.105 +spot just to Hotaru's right and smiled, nodding gently and looking at
 265.106 +her. Hotaru was leaning over the balcony, facing out, and Usagi was
 265.107 +sitting on the fence, facing in.
 265.108 +"Well, that's because I've been doing research. I've been taking
 265.109 +small trips into the stars to check things out. I've found nothing in
 265.110 +the majority of this solar system, there is nothing here to endanger
 265.111 +anyone, the sailor scouts have done very well in protecting it, so i
 265.112 +could take you out into the stars and show you, if you like. You can
 265.113 +see for yourself what's there." Usagi had been listening with
 265.114 +seemingly no interest, but when Hotaru finished and silence met her,
 265.115 +she looked up and straitened, coming off the balcony fence to look
 265.116 +into Usagi's face and see a small tear fall down her cheek. Hotaru
 265.117 +moved forward and hugged her tightly.
 265.118 +"Let's go tonight, ne?" Usagi nodded into her chest and smiled.
 265.119 +"I'd like that more than anything in the world." Hotaru smiled in
 265.120 +return and hugged her tighter for a few seconds before stepping back. 
 265.121 +"In that case, i need to go and make the arangments, please wait
 265.122 +here until i get back." Usagi nodded and leant back over the balcony.
 265.123 +"Please hurry, Hota-chan." Hotaru nodded and walked from the balcony
 265.124 +into the bedroom, then on through the door and down the stairs into
 265.125 +the living room.
 265.126 +
 265.127 +"Haruka-papa. Usagi would very much like to acompany me on tonights
 265.128 +journey. Haruka bought her head out of the newspaper and stared at
 265.129 +Hotaru.
 265.130 +"You told her?" Hotaru nodded guiltily
 265.131 +"Hai papa, she was so... she wanted to see what's out there so much,
 265.132 +I couldn't help but tell her. I can make her dreams come true..."
 265.133 +Haruka shook her head and Setsuna walked in.
 265.134 +"And if you two get hurt?" Hotaru shook her head defiantly
 265.135 +"No, mama, I've been hundreds of times into the safe parts of this
 265.136 +solar system, and in fact the galaxy too... I don't see how anything
 265.137 +threatening could move in so fast. And anyway, i'll protect her, as i
 265.138 +have already sworn I will." Hotaru seemed so sincere and her heart
 265.139 +was in the right place so Setsuna shrugged and moved back into her
 265.140 +study. Michiru peeked out of the kitchen and smiled to Haruka, who
 265.141 +sighed.
 265.142 +"I think it's a great idea, Ruka, she should go and have fun. Why
 265.143 +not take her to see the moon or even Saturn? I'm sure she'd enjoy
 265.144 +both." Hotaru nodded and ran from the room, opening the front door to
 265.145 +look into the twillight. She stuck her head into the living room and
 265.146 +smiled.
 265.147 +"We'll be leaving in a few minutes, we should be back by morning!"
 265.148 +Haruka stood and ran to the door as Hotaru shot up the stairs.
 265.149 +"You had better be back by morning! Else you'll be fried!" Hotaru
 265.150 +laughed and ran out of sight, bursting into her room and out onto the
 265.151 +balcony. usagi turned and smiled at her. Hotaru took her hands gently
 265.152 +and jumped daintily onto the balcony railing.
 265.153 +"Come... Chi-chan." Usagi took her hand and smiled warmly as she was
 265.154 +lifted onto the balcony railing, then into the air. Joining their
 265.155 +other hands, they made a loop, then vanished into the oncoming
 265.156 +darkness.
 265.157 +Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna stood on the roof and watched a shooting
 265.158 +star sail across the darkening sky.
 265.159 +"The wind is blowing in the scent of fear, something is not right."
 265.160 +"The waters of the earth are disturbed, i agree."
 265.161 +"Time sees a distortion, we must set this right." The three parents
 265.162 +joined hands, with Setsuna in the middle, and dissapeared to follow
 265.163 +their daughter and her girlfriend.
 265.164 +
 265.165 +"Chi-chan, you'll catch stars if you don't close your mouth." Hotaru
 265.166 +giggled and Usagi closed her mouth, which had been gaping widely as
 265.167 +she looked around the stars and planets.
 265.168 +"G-gomen." Hotaru smiled warmly and looked straight ahead, she
 265.169 +intended to take Usagi to the Moon. She turned away from the other
 265.170 +planets and headed towards the moon. It was full and shined
 265.171 +beautifully into the darkness surrounding it, it was easy to see how
 265.172 +it's light spread to the earth and gave its people hope. Usagi
 265.173 +noticed they were heading towards it and sqeezed Hotaru's hand
 265.174 +tightly.
 265.175 +"We're going to the moon?" Hotaru nodded and smiled.
 265.176 +"We are." Usagi was smiling to herself and Hotaru looked at her
 265.177 +curously.
 265.178 +"Chi-chan... What's that smile for?" Usagi smiled openly to her and
 265.179 +leaned forward, kissing Hotaru gently on the lips.
 265.180 +"You said before, about the catching the stars? Well, I already have
 265.181 +one... It's you." Hotaru blinked gently and reached out, unlinking
 265.182 +their hands to touch her cheek and return the kiss.
 265.183 +"Chi-chan..." Usagi broke the kiss and smiled warmly, placing her
 265.184 +free hand over Hotaru's stomach. Hotaru smiled softly and kissed her
 265.185 +once more.
 265.186 +"Are you sure about this? It's not my place." Usagi put a finger to
 265.187 +her lips and Hotaru hushed.
 265.188 +"Hotaru-Chan, i've never been more sure about anything in my life."
 265.189 +Hotaru put her hand to Usagi's stomach and smiled back.
 265.190 +"You know... If we both go through with this, then we'll have to
 265.191 +find someone else to watch over us." Usagi nodded and looked towards
 265.192 +the moon, which was getting dramatically bigger with each passing
 265.193 +second. Their hands reclaimed the others and they held tightly as
 265.194 +they flew down through the bright glow of the moon.
 265.195 +"Chi-chan, i have been working on a gift for you for some timje now.
 265.196 +I hope you like it." Usagi moved to enquire about the gift but Hotaru
 265.197 +shook her head. As they appraoched the surface, Hotaru pulled back
 265.198 +and they slowed down, making them land gently on top of the uneven
 265.199 +earth. Hotaru moved towards a long white pillar in the middle of a
 265.200 +ruined castle and Usagi looked around in awe. Her mother had told her
 265.201 +of this, the ruins on the moon. The moon kindom lived and prospered
 265.202 +here until queen beryll attacked. Hotaru took her hand and led to
 265.203 +stand by the pillar, then whispered softly.
 265.204 +"My Queen Serenity, please show yourself to your grand-daughter..."
 265.205 +Usagi's eyes widened as a white haze filled the air, then
 265.206 +concerntrated in the shape of a woman, Queen Serenity. She smiled
 265.207 +warmly as she gained a solid body, though she still gave off a gently
 265.208 +white glow. Hotaru stepped back out of respect and dropped to one
 265.209 +knee, bowing low. Queen Serenity smiled down to her and lifted a hand.
 265.210 +"Rise, Saturn.n You have no reason to kneel before me." Hotaru rose
 265.211 +slowly to her feet and stepped back out of their hearing range,
 265.212 +turning and walking around the ruins, to give them their space and
 265.213 +time to aquaint themselves.
 265.214 +
 265.215 +"Usagi... Welcome home." Usagi ran forward and hugged her tightly.
 265.216 +"Grandma..." Serenity laughed and hugged her back.
 265.217 +"I can't stay long, Usagi, but i wanted you to know how proud of you
 265.218 +i am, how proud of you we all are. You are very mature, moreso than
 265.219 +your mother was at your age. You will rise to be a wonderful queen of
 265.220 +tokyo." Usagi had tears in her eyes.
 265.221 +"Grandma... I am not who you are proud of. I have disgraced your
 265.222 +family. I am having children with Hota-" Queen serenity interupted
 265.223 +gently.
 265.224 +"No, Usagi. You have not disgraced us. It's the complete opposite...
 265.225 +You are the rightful leader of the new world. Now, let me see you and
 265.226 +your future wife together." Usagi smiled warmly and ran in the
 265.227 +direction Hotaru had gone. She paused as she came to a standing part
 265.228 +of the castle and wandered inside. She came to a set of large white
 265.229 +marble doors, now dulled to grey with age and dust. There was a set
 265.230 +of bright white marks where someones fingers had pushed them open
 265.231 +such a small amount that they could only just squeeze through. Usagi
 265.232 +knew it had to be Hotaru and walked through, silently walking through
 265.233 +the large ballroom, her shoes leaving a set of golden and white
 265.234 +trails behind her, following on in Hotaru's footsteps.
 265.235 +"Hota-chan?" Her soft voice echoed throughout the chamber as she
 265.236 +looked around for a sign of the other girl. There was no sign and the
 265.237 +other end of the ballroom was open to the air, the rubble from the
 265.238 +caved in roof littering the floor. Amongst the rubble were the
 265.239 +remains of tables and plates and goblets. She strode into the rubble,
 265.240 +following Hotaru's footsteps perfectly.
 265.241 +"Hota-chan?" She repeated. Peering around rocks and rubble she
 265.242 +frowned slightly, the footsteps had vanished and Hotaru was no where
 265.243 +to be seen. Usagi pouted into the darkness.
 265.244 +"Hota-chan!" Usagi's voice was shaking, panic starting to set in as
 265.245 +she searched frantically through the rubble. "Hota-chan! Hota-chan!"
 265.246 +Tears started to form in her eyes as she ran back to where Queen
 265.247 +Serenity was sitting, tears streaming down her face.
 265.248 +"Grandma! It's Hotaru, she's gone!" Queen Serenity smiled softly and
 265.249 +hugged her gently, pointing up into the sky above the ruins Usagi had
 265.250 +just ran out of. Hotaru had transformed into sailor saturn and her
 265.251 +hair and fuku were blowing in the gentle breeze. She was facing the
 265.252 +earth and looking down onto it with concerntration.
 265.253 +"Listen to your heart, Usagi, can it feel something?" Usagi blinked
 265.254 +slightly and then closed her eyes, focusing. She thought she heard
 265.255 +the sounds of many screams and then Neo Queen Serenity's call for
 265.256 +power.
 265.257 +"What is it..?" Queen serenity looked towards earth
 265.258 +"It means it is time for you to return and help your mother. Sorry
 265.259 +we couldn't spend longer together..." Usagi nodded and hugged her
 265.260 +tightly, running towards Sailor Saturn and tranforming. Sailor Saturn
 265.261 +looked down to her and jumped off the roof, landing before her and
 265.262 +holding out her free hand, the other holding her Silence Glaive.
 265.263 +"Come." Sailor Moon took her hand and they jumped off of the
 265.264 +surface, moving much quicker than they had on their way there. The
 265.265 +stars whipped by as blurs and the moon was soon only a white sphere
 265.266 +once more. Sailor Moon closed her eyes to the sharp cold hitting her
 265.267 +face and Sailor Saturn noticed, moving into a hug and making her put
 265.268 +her head into her chest, shielding her. They came to a sudden stop
 265.269 +and Sailor Moon looked up. Sailor Saturn had her mouth back in an
 265.270 +evil grin and Sailor Moon looked around, seeing a large ship in the
 265.271 +air above crystal tokyo. Beneath it was the large silver glow of neo
 265.272 +Queen Serenity's power, then each of the colours of the inner and
 265.273 +outer senshi around that. Sailor Saturn was looking thoughtful, the
 265.274 +glow beneath the ship was flickering, the senshi were weakening.
 265.275 +Sailor Saturn pulled away from Sailor Moon and smiled softly.
 265.276 +"Remember to be careful, what you hold inside you is something that
 265.277 +can be killed easily... But they need you down there. I will try and
 265.278 +find a weak spot in the ship, please protect my parents and yours,
 265.279 +and of course the other senshi and people of the earth." Sailor Moon
 265.280 +moved to object but Sailor Saturn had already swung her away in the
 265.281 +direction of the earth, Saturns power surrounding her in a puple glow.
 265.282 +
 265.283 +"Hold on everyone! We cannot give up!" The senshi were all on their
 265.284 +knees, their power flickering greatly. They were all in a circle
 265.285 +around Neo Queen Serenity and King Endimion. They were the only two
 265.286 +standing, his arms tightly around her shoudlers. Her arms were
 265.287 +outstretched, her fingers surrounding the silver crystal, which was
 265.288 +glowing silvery white. The light was strong and warm, the power
 265.289 +radiating stronger than anything else, yet it was weakening fast.
 265.290 +Above them the ship was looming, beams of darkness slamming into the
 265.291 +shield. Each blast caused the shield and the ground beneath them to
 265.292 +shake greatly. The king and queen fell to their knees as a
 265.293 +particularly strong blast hit and the silver light flickered and
 265.294 +died, Serenity falling to her front. The senshi cried out to her and
 265.295 +the king reached to her
 265.296 +"Usako!" A purple flash filled the space between the other senshi's
 265.297 +beams of light and them was replaced by another silver light. Sailor
 265.298 +Moon landed before her mother and held the silver crystal above her
 265.299 +head.
 265.300 +"Please Minna! We need to finish this now!" All the senshi nodded
 265.301 +and struggled to their feet, as did the king and queen. Neo Queen
 265.302 +Serenity smiled to her daughter and her silver crystal flickered into
 265.303 +a glow. The power of the eight senshi lit up the sky and the ship
 265.304 +backed a few feet before creating more blasts, more powerful than
 265.305 +before. Sailor Moon's eyes filled with tears, looking past the
 265.306 +fighting beams to the ship above. "Hurry... Hota-chan."
 265.307 +
 265.308 +Sailor Saturn had entered into the ship through a cargo hold and was
 265.309 +walking silently down the coridoors. She met no one, and so started
 265.310 +to run to the control room. As she entered into the room, expecting
 265.311 +it to be empty she jumped slightly to see a young girl sitting at the
 265.312 +controls in front of the large window. The girl had long black hair
 265.313 +that reached her lower back, her clothes seemed like pyjama's. Soft
 265.314 +white fabric covered her torso and legs in a simple short sleeved
 265.315 +tshirt and trousers.
 265.316 +"Who are you..?" Sailor Saturn asked, shocked at the age of the
 265.317 +young girl. She turned around to face Saturn and smirked.
 265.318 +"I am the thing that lurks in space. The thing that you missed on
 265.319 +your rounds." Saturn's eyes widened and she stepped forward, the
 265.320 +glaive glittering ominously in the light of the battle outside the
 265.321 +window.
 265.322 +"What are you here for?" The girl laughed so softly it seemed she
 265.323 +couldn't possibly be evil.
 265.324 +"I am here to get rid of you all! You cause war and hatred
 265.325 +throughout the whole solar system. You are the reasons for war on
 265.326 +earth. Humans destory everything! I'm here to set the world free from
 265.327 +your hatred" The girl lunged forward and aimed to punch Saturn, who
 265.328 +simply jumped aside and took her Glaive in both hands. 
 265.329 +"You're wrong. The people of Crystal Tokyo try to save this planet!
 265.330 +They protect this world from everything that tries to destory it!"
 265.331 +The girl lunged forward again and punched her hard in the stomach.
 265.332 +Saturn cried out and fell to her knees, preying to all she held dear
 265.333 +for the safety of the life growing inside her. Looking out of the
 265.334 +window she saw all the senshi on their knees, then watched in horror
 265.335 +as Sailor Moon and Neo Queen Serenity fell likewise. With a shout of
 265.336 +anger she dug the Glaive deep into the control panel of the ship, the
 265.337 +sparks of elecricity flying out over the room. Yanking the Glaive
 265.338 +from the controls she smashed it into the window, shattering it and
 265.339 +letting the air get sucked out. The girl behind her screamed as she
 265.340 +was sucked towards the window, crying out and drawing a dagger. As
 265.341 +she was pulled off her feet and towards the window she whipped the
 265.342 +dagger out and it sliced down the length of Sailor Saturns right arm,
 265.343 +slicing deep into her flesh and leaving a deep wound from her
 265.344 +shoulder to her wrist. Saturn cried out and pulled back, however
 265.345 +after catching a glimpse of her eyes she instinctivly jumped from her
 265.346 +position and out of the window to follow her. Her Glaive caught
 265.347 +either side of the window and she was pulled back, the only piece of
 265.348 +the girl that Saturn could reach was the end of her dagger. Closing
 265.349 +her eyes tightly she grabbed the dagger and held it tightly, the
 265.350 +blade slicing into her palm and fingers. Her blood dripped down the
 265.351 +blade and down the girls arm. The young girls eyes widened as she
 265.352 +shouted out.
 265.353 +"Don't!" Saturn was surprised and pulled her closer, the dagger
 265.354 +digging deeper into her fingers.
 265.355 +"Why shouldn't I? No one deserves to die!" The girl was crying and
 265.356 +shook her head.
 265.357 +"Leave me! Look at what you're doing to your hand!" Saturn shook her
 265.358 +head, looking down to the glow of the Senshi. The black blasts had
 265.359 +stopped and the glow was reducing slightly as the senshi all powered
 265.360 +down.
 265.361 +"I won't let you fall! Look how far it is, you'll die!" Saturn was
 265.362 +still trying to pull back but the dagger sliced into her skin deeply
 265.363 +and slipped from her grasp. The girls shrill scream filled the air
 265.364 +and Saturn made the choice in a matter of a few seconds, letting go
 265.365 +of her glavie, leaping from the ship window and diving down towards
 265.366 +her. The ship behind them creaked loudly and the same sparks as the
 265.367 +control panel lit up on the outer ship. It started to fall with them
 265.368 +and Saturn made herself more streamlined, grabbing the girl's hand in
 265.369 +her right and pulling her close, into a hug. The girl's eyes widened
 265.370 +and she held on tightly to Saturn. Saturn smiled softly to her as the
 265.371 +wind swept past them.  Saturn looked up to the ship to see it falling
 265.372 +after them towards Tokyo and lifted her left hand.
 265.373 +"Saturn planet..... power!" Her cry echoed into the atmosphere and a
 265.374 +purple light erupted from her, the ship being absorbed and slowed
 265.375 +down. With a quick sweep of her Glaive the ship was fired out into
 265.376 +space harmlessly. Saturn was gasping for breath but smiling warmly,
 265.377 +the earth was safe. The girl in her arms was watching her and Saturn
 265.378 +smiled down to her. 
 265.379 +"Are you all like this on earth?" Saturn nodded slightly and smiled
 265.380 +warmly.
 265.381 +"The sailor Senshi are yes. Likewise the people of the earth. And
 265.382 +especially the king, queen and princess. They would all give anything
 265.383 +they have, their lives included, for the safety of this world." The
 265.384 +girl rested her head on Saturn's chest and sighed.
 265.385 +"I didn't realise..." Saturn nodded gently
 265.386 +"No one does." They were getting evercloser to the surface of the
 265.387 +earth and Saturn was starting to glow purple once more.
 265.388 +"If you have any power at all that would be helpful." The girl shook
 265.389 +her head and looked sorrowful.
 265.390 +"Are we going to die?" Sailor Saturn shook her head and smiled
 265.391 +slightly.
 265.392 +"No, we won't die. So what's your name?" The girl smiled in return
 265.393 +and hugged her gently.
 265.394 +"Well, my name's Emily... And incase you were wondering I'm 16.
 265.395 +Saturn looked surprised and tilted her head down to the small girl.
 265.396 +"No offense, but you don't look a day over 9." The girl nodded and
 265.397 +sighed
 265.398 +"I know. It's a disease. I won't grow anymore than i have now."
 265.399 +Saturn blinked
 265.400 +"Tough break." the girl nodded and looked down to Sailor Saturn's
 265.401 +arm. The blood was soaking quickly into the girls clothes as she was
 265.402 +being held and Saturn was slowly loosing the feeling there, finding
 265.403 +it a nice change from the pain that was there before. The small
 265.404 +purple glow around them had grown and they were within a few hundred
 265.405 +metres of the earth surface. From the ground Sailor Moon noticed the
 265.406 +purple glow streaking to earth and shouted out to the senshi,
 265.407 +pointing up to her.
 265.408 +"Please, Minna!" They all nodded and got to their feet, their hands
 265.409 +raised. They could help her down, but she had to get within their
 265.410 +power circle. As they all powered up the circle gradually formed,
 265.411 +colour by colour. in the centre was the two white beams of the
 265.412 +imperial silver crystals.
 265.413 +"Hota-chan!!" Sailor Moon was screaming out into the sky, she knew
 265.414 +there was no way she would hear, but hopefully she'd feel. ""Move to
 265.415 +the middle of our power! We can help you down!!" Sailor Saturn hadn't
 265.416 +heard, as suspected, but she had felt the power surge and seen the
 265.417 +light. As she looked towards the tube of light, Sailor Moon's words
 265.418 +echoed in her head. She moved her left arm out, her right embracing
 265.419 +the girl tightly. With a quick burst of power they started moving
 265.420 +towards the beam. The girl's eyes were wide as she watched the
 265.421 +spectrum of colours approaching. Saturn held her tighter as
 265.422 +encouragment and the girl smiled, burrying her head in Saturn's fuku.
 265.423 +The two came within touching distance of the beam and Saturn held out
 265.424 +her hand, touching the blue beam of Sailor Mercury. They passed
 265.425 +through the power and a sudden wind hit them, parting them. Saturn
 265.426 +grabbed the girls hand in her right and flinched, reaching to take he
 265.427 +same hand in her left also. Looking up the girl was terrified, but
 265.428 +Saturn smiled warmly. She was reminded of the time passage she
 265.429 +patrolled with Sailor Pluto occasionally.
 265.430 +"Don't worry, Emily-san! Nothing bad can happen as long as you're
 265.431 +with me." Emily nodded and they both pulled closer, so they had both
 265.432 +hands joined. They fell until they could see the Senshi below them in
 265.433 +enough detail to recognise their expressions. Saturn looked to the
 265.434 +worry on Sailor Moon's face and found she had to look away. What if
 265.435 +she had lost the baby? As she averted her gaze she found herself
 265.436 +looking up into a streak of blood drops falling from her arm. She
 265.437 +found mild interest in them and them before they were hit with the
 265.438 +sensation one gets when stopping in an elevator, their feet touching
 265.439 +the floor gently. Saturn fell to her knees, as did the other girl,
 265.440 +their legs now unacustomed to the gravity of the earth from space to
 265.441 +falling. Everyone ran forward and Saturn smiled up to them all, they
 265.442 +were all ok. After a few seconds, however, a rain of crimson started
 265.443 +to fall over them, and looking up they realised it was the blood that
 265.444 +had fallen from Saturn's arm. Saturn looked down to it and held the
 265.445 +wound tightly. Sailor Moon knelt beside ehr and kissed her gently.
 265.446 +"Don't worry, we'll get it cleaned up." Saturn nodded and held her
 265.447 +hands out to the girl, who took them gently.
 265.448 +"This is Emily-san. Please minna, may she stay here with us?"
 265.449 +Everyone smiled and nodded, waving greetings. Neo Queen Serenity
 265.450 +stepped forward and the senshi cleared her path, moving aside so she
 265.451 +could see the small girl.
 265.452 +"I see," the queen started, putting a hand to the girls head "You
 265.453 +are unlucky to have this disease. But in this palace you will be
 265.454 +treated your true age as everyone else. You will always be welcome
 265.455 +here, so feel free to stay as long as you desire." Emily seemed
 265.456 +mildly surprised and bowed low.
 265.457 +"H-hai! Arigato." Saturn stood and Sailor moon did likewise, taking
 265.458 +her good hand. The rain slowed, then stopped altogether, and everyone
 265.459 +seemed to be favouring red clothing. They all shared a laugh as they
 265.460 +took in each others appearences, before Saturn and Moon left for
 265.461 +their room in the palace. Emily watched after them and smiled softly.
 265.462 +"Arigato..."
 265.463 +
 265.464 +"Sheesh Hota-chan. Anyone would think you let her hack you apart."
 265.465 +they both laughed and Usagi dabbed a cotton wool pad gently over her
 265.466 +upper arm. She got a new piece and dabbed downwards to the elbow,
 265.467 +then down again to the wrist. She sighed and leaned back, wiping hair
 265.468 +from her face. "It's no good, Hota-chan. It won't stop bleeding long
 265.469 +enough for me to clean it all and put a bandage on. Lets go to the
 265.470 +medical room." Hotaru shook her head.
 265.471 +"Just wrap it. I will be fine, i promise." Usagi nodded gently and
 265.472 +took the plastic from a bandage, wrapping it tightly around her arm
 265.473 +and smiling warmly.
 265.474 +"Thank you, Hota-chan. We wouldn't have been able to do it without
 265.475 +you." Hotaru smiled and hugged her gently.
 265.476 +"Iie. You would have managed just fine, Chi-chan. I'm glad you're
 265.477 +ok." Hotaru suddenly jumped and lept off the chair, runnning out of
 265.478 +the room. Usagi followed her at a sprint but still the slightly older
 265.479 +girl pulled away. She turned a sharp corner and Usagi had to skid to
 265.480 +make the turn. She watched as Hoatru made turn after turn, finally
 265.481 +bursting through a door and into a dark room.
 265.482 +"Setsuna-mama!!!!" She shouted into the room and Setsuna came out of
 265.483 +her bedroom into the living area.
 265.484 +"Hai, Hotaru-hime?" Hotaru was panting slightly from the run and
 265.485 +shut the door behind her, Usagi was hiding around the corner and put
 265.486 +her ear to the door.
 265.487 +"Setsuna-mama! I need to know if it's ok!" Setsuna understood and
 265.488 +indicated for her to take a seat by the fire. Hotaru nodded and
 265.489 +accepted the seat, sitting on the edge uncomfortably. Setsuna took a
 265.490 +seat opposite Hotaru and moved to begin, but Hotaru held a hand out.
 265.491 +"Chi-chan. Come on in would you? No need to hide." An embarrest
 265.492 +Usagi moved into the room and shut the door behind her. Usagi took
 265.493 +Hotaru's hand and knelt before her, resting her head on Hotaru's
 265.494 +knees.
 265.495 +"Hotaru, Usagi. You will have two healthy children. You need not
 265.496 +worry. Time favours you both, and althouhg many challenges lie ahead,
 265.497 +you will defeat all problems as long as you face them together. Just
 265.498 +as our King and Queen had to, you two must overcome the same
 265.499 +hardships. Go now, you need not hear any more. But you will each have
 265.500 +a healthy baby girl." The two girls nodded and stepped out of the
 265.501 +room, tears in each of their eyes. They shared a hug and moved
 265.502 +together as one back to their room. They would hace anything sent
 265.503 +their way. They were sure of it.
 265.504 \ No newline at end of file

   266.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   266.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_newtitles.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   266.3 @@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
   266.4 +Title: New titles.
   266.5 +Author: Jerry-rose
   266.6 +Email: sleeping.soul@hotmail.co.uk Emails always appreciated ^^
   266.7 +<AN: Well, I was inspired for this story by "I don't know what's going to 
   266.8 +happen, so i have to do what i can, right now." And this came out. Sorry sad 
   266.9 +ending >.< Very very sorry, don't read if you don't like sad endings!!!>
  266.10 +
  266.11 +
  266.12 +"Onegai,Temu-chan!" The small girl of 15 was on her knees in front of 
  266.13 +another girl 16 years of age, her hands drawn together in begging. The one 
  266.14 +standing had long black raven hair which reached her lower back, a horrified 
  266.15 +efpression on her face as she grabbed the other girl's wrist and pulled her 
  266.16 +to her feet, running around the corner into a quiet alleyway and out of 
  266.17 +prying eyes. She sighed and the slightly shorter girl with shoulder length 
  266.18 +pink hair. Her raven haired girl shook her head and looked out into the 
  266.19 +crowded street.
  266.20 +"Iie! Definatly not, no way no how! You know what Mama Taru and Mama Usagi 
  266.21 +said!" The younger girl pouted and put a hand behind her head.
  266.22 +"You're no fun, Temu-chan." Temura laughed and poked the pink haired girl's 
  266.23 +nose gently
  266.24 +"Well I wouldn't be a spoil sport either if you didn't suggest such 
  266.25 +ridiculous things." She let go the smaller girls wrist and sighed slightly, 
  266.26 +catching sight of her watch and swearing violently.
  266.27 +"Kuso! We're late, come on!" They sprinted from the alley, barely missing a 
  266.28 +passer by as they did so, running out into the street and shouting a hurried 
  266.29 +appology over their shoulders.
  266.30 +
  266.31 +Within ten or so minutes they were standing outside Hino Shrine, panting 
  266.32 +heavily and walking in. As they entered they took of their purple and pink 
  266.33 +coats, hanging them on the rack and moving down the hall to their usual 
  266.34 +room. As soon as they stepped in the door the older senshi looked up.
  266.35 +"You're late" Serenity stated, and Rei laughed
  266.36 +"You're one to talk! You only just got here yourself" Serenity pouted and 
  266.37 +laughed, putting a hand behind her head
  266.38 +"Eheh... Gomen Rei-chan." Usagi rolled her eyes at her mother, who was now 
  266.39 +coming up 80, yet her figure had hardly become old, just matured to be more 
  266.40 +feminine, her eyes now holding a wiser glow. On Serenity's right side sat 
  266.41 +Mamouru, and on her left was Usagi. Beside Usagi was Hotaru, both now gone 
  266.42 +30, yet still looking 20 or so. Temura took her place beside Hotaru, and 
  266.43 +Skaie took her place beside Temura. Next to her was Ami, then Makoto, then 
  266.44 +Rei, Minako, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and back to Mamouru. Serenity stood 
  266.45 +from the circle and bowed a greeting.
  266.46 +"So, now we're all present, we can begin. Usagi, Hotaru, if you will?" They 
  266.47 +both nodded and rose as Serenity sat down. The two younger girls got onto 
  266.48 +one knee as their respective parents stood before them. Hotaru held out a 
  266.49 +henshin stick in both hands, holding it out for Skaie to take. It had a pink 
  266.50 +handle and a pink sphere on the top, inside was the symbol of Saturn 
  266.51 +standing out against a cresent moon. Usagi did likewise to Temura, her being 
  266.52 +exactly the same as Skaie's but with a purple sphere. The two reached out 
  266.53 +and placed their right hand on top of the sticks, bowing their heads.
  266.54 +"With these you are entrusted the power of a sailor senshi, and are bound by 
  266.55 +duty to protect this earth from all wrongdoers. Do you accept this mission?" 
  266.56 +Hotaru and Usagi spoke together.
  266.57 +"We accept this mission" echoed the two younger girls in unison. The two 
  266.58 +girls took the wands in their right hand and held it to their chests, 
  266.59 +waiting. The senshi stood and the two moved to the centre of the circle, the 
  266.60 +others moving to fill the gap. The senshi all transformed, Serenity and 
  266.61 +Mamouru transforming into the king and queen of future Crystal Tokyo. Hotaru 
  266.62 +and Usagi transformed, expecting to become their princess forms now their 
  266.63 +positions had been filled, but instead they found themselves in their usual 
  266.64 +sailor fuku's. The others also seemed slightly surprised and watched the two 
  266.65 +girls in the centre for their change. The two opened their eyes and raised 
  266.66 +their heads, chanting together.
  266.67 +"Saturn star power!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn exchanged a glance, they 
  266.68 +were supposed to use different transormation phrases. One was supposed to be 
  266.69 +of the moon. They all continued to watch as their transformations revealed 
  266.70 +themselves. The two were standing in sailor fuku's like the the others. Her 
  266.71 +gloves were short, only covering her wrists, and a rim of purple followed 
  266.72 +the white. Temura's skirt was purple and she wore purple knee high boots 
  266.73 +with no fastenings, a rim of white at the top. Her bow was lilac and a star 
  266.74 +shape covered the centre of it. The body of the fuku was white like the 
  266.75 +other's and her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail held by a purple 
  266.76 +ribbon. Her tiara had a purple cresent moon on it and her earrings were 
  266.77 +plain purple studs, her chocker also plain and purple. As she came out of 
  266.78 +her transformation she called her speech.
  266.79 +"In the name of the power of silence, Sailor Saturn!" Again Saturn and Moon 
  266.80 +exchanged looks, two sailor Saturns? They continued to watch as Skaie came 
  266.81 +out of her transformation. A plain white fuku as the others, with a deep 
  266.82 +pink skirt and boots reaching her thighs, fastened at the front with laces. 
  266.83 +Her bow was baby pink and a circle covered the centre, her glowes reaches 
  266.84 +aboce her elbows and had a pink rim, studs from her ears holding a chain 
  266.85 +which lead to a cuff on the top of her ear and her choker plain pink, her 
  266.86 +hair loose and ehr tiara with a pink cresent moon on it. She too spoke her 
  266.87 +speech as she completed the transformation.
  266.88 +"In the name of the power of death and rebirth, Sailor Moon!" There was a 
  266.89 +stunned silence. As if the first transformation hadn't stunned them enough, 
  266.90 +there were two. Two Sailor Moons. Two Sailor Saturns. And the two younger 
  266.91 +ones used the same power phrase to come out with different transformations, 
  266.92 +yet despite their given name they each had only a portion of the power of 
  266.93 +Sailor Saturn. One silence, one death and rebirth. Saturn and Moon once more 
  266.94 +exchanged glances, but no one spoke. In the end it was Ami who spoke up.
  266.95 +"Welcome to the team, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Moon." They all rushed in to hug 
  266.96 +the new recruits except Mamouru, Saturn and Pluto.
  266.97 +"This is a bad omen." Pluto stated quietly so the others wouldnt overhear, 
  266.98 +and the two nodded their agreement.
  266.99 +"Why would this happen, is it because two soldiers came together of 
 266.100 +unnatural means?" Mamouru shook his head to Saturn.
 266.101 +"Regardless of means used or senshi by senshi, it shouldn't happen that 
 266.102 +there be more than one senshi of a planet. Usagi and Serenity are the only 
 266.103 +exception to the rule, but they aren't both Sailor Moon any longer. When 
 266.104 +they did coinside, it was Chibi-moon and Moon anyway. So what does the omen 
 266.105 +mean?" They both looked to Pluto and she frowned, shrugging slightly.
 266.106 +"I'm afriad I have no clue. I'll go and research into it right away." The 
 266.107 +two nodded and covered for her as she stepped back into a black hole.
 266.108 +"Where's Pluto going guys?" Serenity called over and Mamoru answered.
 266.109 +"She just went to get supplies, love, that's all." Serenity seemed fine the 
 266.110 +with the answer and went back to yacking happily with the others, but Uranus 
 266.111 +and Neptune didn't accept it and moved over to the two.
 266.112 +"What is it?" Uranus asked, and Saturn shrugged.
 266.113 +"We just don't know. It should be immpossible to have more than one senshi 
 266.114 +for a single planet. These transformations propose a bad omen which not even 
 266.115 +Pluto forsaw, so she's gone to research. In the meantime we can only wait 
 266.116 +and see what else presents itself to us.
 266.117 +Neptune and Uranus nodded, joining hands and exchanging a heartfelt glance 
 266.118 +before sitting down in front of the table and sighing. Sailor Moon moved 
 266.119 +over to Saturn and hugged her tightly, kissing her softly on the lips. 
 266.120 +Saturn returned the kiss and smiled warmly.
 266.121 +"Usa-chan. Do you realise what has happened here today?" Sailor moon nodded 
 266.122 +and shrugged, shockingly like Saturn had done.
 266.123 +"I'm well aware that there is meant to be only the one senshi yes, but 
 266.124 +regardless of what the rules were, they wouldn't have been broken for no 
 266.125 +reason, so stop worrying and be happy. Now lets start the food!" Sailor Moon 
 266.126 +drooled over the table full of cooking and Saturn laughed as they all took 
 266.127 +their place around the table, leaving a space for Pluto's return.
 266.128 +After an hour or so of scoffing food, chatting and laughing, Pluto returned 
 266.129 +through the now familiar black hole, and took her seat at the table. The 
 266.130 +remaining outer scouts and Mamoru looked up to her, and with a quick nod it 
 266.131 +was obvious there was something that had to be said. But it would have to 
 266.132 +wait, and they all continued as if nothing was wrong until the end of the 
 266.133 +party. As they were all standing to tidy up Pluto caught Rei's arm and 
 266.134 +pulled her outside the door, hushing her to quiet as she moved to object.
 266.135 +"Rei, this is important, I need a fire-reading." Rei blinked and rolled her 
 266.136 +eyes.
 266.137 +"Can't it wait, Pluto? And why are you outers still in your Fuku's? And 
 266.138 +Mamouru for that matter. Go tell them to change." Rei moved to walk back 
 266.139 +into the room, but Pluto grabbed her elbow tightly and Rei looked up to her 
 266.140 +to see urgency in her eyes. She stood for a while before nodding and sliding 
 266.141 +open the door. "Fine, after we've tidyed up and everyone's gone home." Pluto 
 266.142 +nodded and as they walked back in Saturn caught her eye, and she nodded.
 266.143 +After yet another hour or so the room was finally cleared, and people began 
 266.144 +to filter out. Saturn caught Usagi outside and kissed her neck softly from 
 266.145 +behind, wrapping her arms around ehr waist.
 266.146 +"Ne, Usa-chan, Can you take the girls home tonight? I want to hang around 
 266.147 +with Setsuna-mama, Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa a while." Usagi nodded and 
 266.148 +kissed her gently, smiling as she walked away, calling the girls to follow 
 266.149 +her. Saturn smiled to their backs and turned back into the Shrine. Minako 
 266.150 +and Rei were kissing softly behind the door and Saturn smiled before moving 
 266.151 +past. Minako and Rei broke apart and Rei waved as Minako left the shrine. 
 266.152 +Serenity took Mamouru's hand and smiled.
 266.153 +"You're staying right?" Mamouru nodded slightly and they too kissed before 
 266.154 +Serenity left, pausing only to wait for Makoto and Ami to catch up to her. 
 266.155 +Rei shut the door softly behind them and sighed.
 266.156 +"Would you guys at least come out of your fuku's? It makes me nervous. They 
 266.157 +all nodded and in seconds were returned to their usual selves, and followed 
 266.158 +Rei into the fire chamber, Setsuna at the front, then Mamoru, Hotaru, Haruka 
 266.159 +and Michiru. Rei sat down in front of the fire and glanced behind her at the 
 266.160 +others before rolling her eyes and beginning to chant quietly. After half an 
 266.161 +hour they were all still silent, not one of them having moved. They all had 
 266.162 +their heads bowed in silent contemplation of their situation when Rei 
 266.163 +screamed out and was thrown backwards into Setsuna, who caught her and held 
 266.164 +her tightly.
 266.165 +"Rei-chan? Hold yourself together! Rei-chan!" The others ran forward as 
 266.166 +Rei's wide eyes closed, uttering a single word.
 266.167 +"Abunai..." Setsuna yelled over her shoulder to whoever was closest to the 
 266.168 +door.
 266.169 +"Someone call Ami here now!"
 266.170 +
 266.171 +"We don't know, there was silence, then she screamed and fell back, said 
 266.172 +"Abunai" and left..." Hotaru was explaining and Ami nodded slightly, taking 
 266.173 +Rei's pulse and sighing to find it average.
 266.174 +"This is a good sign. She appears to be healthy, maybe she just pushed 
 266.175 +herself too hard."
 266.176 +"Or maybe she was looking at something she wasn't supposed to see." Setsuna 
 266.177 +suggested, Hotaru agreed, nodding slightly.
 266.178 +"But how do we find out what it was?" Setsuna shrugged and they all sighed 
 266.179 +together, Mamouru standing up.
 266.180 +"We should call a meeting. Let the other girls know." They all nodded and 
 266.181 +within a few minutes, and with courtesy of the communicators, all the senshi 
 266.182 +were gathered at the Shrine. Temura and Skaie had come too, and were looking 
 266.183 +low in spirit as they took their place at the table, two empty chairs where 
 266.184 +Rei and Minako should be sitting. Mina was leaning over Rei and tending to 
 266.185 +her, putting a damp cloth on her forehead.
 266.186 +"What can do Minna?" Serenity came out it and none of them had an answer.
 266.187 +"All we know it there's a reason to be careful, aside from that what else is 
 266.188 +there to know? It's impossible to tell from one word." Usagi was off on a 
 266.189 +tangent and everyone was beginning to tone her out when Hotaru spoke over 
 266.190 +her.
 266.191 +"Temura, Skaie, please follow me?" The two nodded and Hotaru took Usagi's 
 266.192 +hand, leading her to the fire chamber. The others followed behind the four. 
 266.193 +As they entered the fire was burning as always, and as Hotaru and Usagi 
 266.194 +stepped forward it remained calm, but as they each held their hands out to 
 266.195 +the two girls and they stepped forward, it spat and spewed sparks over the 
 266.196 +floor by their feet. The two younger girls stepped back and it quieted once 
 266.197 +more. Hotaru turned to the others, taking Usagi's hand once more.
 266.198 +"You two seem an anomalie." They both looked at each other and Hotaru 
 266.199 +proceeded to shrug, she knew no more or less than that. They didn't belong.
 266.200 +Suddenly the fire whipped up and hit the ceiling before reducing to be 
 266.201 +normal size, though spiralling around dangerously as if a whirl pool of 
 266.202 +flame. The two younger girls stepped further back but Usagi and Hotaru 
 266.203 +stayed where they were.
 266.204 +"Out the way minna!" Minako called and the other parted from the door. Rei 
 266.205 +was leaning on Minako's shoulders, Mina supporting her weight steadily as 
 266.206 +they stepped forward.
 266.207 +"Out!" Rei shouted to the two younger girls, then to the rest. "Get out!" 
 266.208 +They all stood silent for a second before a heavy wind blew from no where, 
 266.209 +spiralling the flames out of control. They lashed at the walls and ceiling, 
 266.210 +yet the shrine didn't seem to burn at all. The senshi braced themselves 
 266.211 +against the wind and flames, closing their eyes. The flames whipped through 
 266.212 +them all, not touching one before rearing together above them and heading 
 266.213 +straight down for Hotaru and Usagi. Hotaru had her eyes open and saw it 
 266.214 +coming, diving forward and grabbing Usagi around the waist, rolling out of 
 266.215 +hrams way. She looked up to see the flames begginning again, and transformed 
 266.216 +in an instant, feeling Usagi do the same beneath her. With a flick of her 
 266.217 +wrist the silence glaive appeared just in time, allowing her to part the 
 266.218 +flames away to keep them safe. Saturn grimaced slightly, her hands smoking 
 266.219 +painfully. She took a few deep breaths and stood, grabbing Sailor Moon's 
 266.220 +hand and running from the building, out into the courtyard. Skaie and Temura 
 266.221 +followed them, transforming as they went. This time Sailor Saturn had a 
 266.222 +small purple wand in her hand, a plain purple handle with the frame of a 
 266.223 +heart, no centre at all. Sailor Moon also had a weapon, but instead of a 
 266.224 +wand she held a staff like Sailor Saturn's Silence Glaive, only with a full 
 266.225 +circle blade with the centre missing.
 266.226 +"We've distorted the flow of time!" Saturn shouted over the noise of the 
 266.227 +increasing wind. The others had also transformed and were runing out into 
 266.228 +the courtyard.
 266.229 +"What the hell are we fighting?" Sailor Jupiter hollared, but no one had an 
 266.230 +answer. The wind began to blow stonger and Saturn and Moon joined hands, 
 266.231 +looking over to their daughters. If only this had never happened. Suddenly a 
 266.232 +crack appeared in the earth between Saturn and Moon and Sailor Moon slipped 
 266.233 +down, Saturn grabbing her wrist tightly.
 266.234 +"Clutz!" Sailor Moon heard Saturn joke over the roar of the wind and laughed 
 266.235 +slightly, but felt Saturn's grip weaken and looked up worriedly. Saturn's 
 266.236 +expression was one of pain, and Sailor Moon realised the burns over her 
 266.237 +gloved hands.
 266.238 +"Gomen ne Saturn!" Saturn shook her head and yanked hard on her arm, pulling 
 266.239 +Sailor Moon to safety. They sat together for a second to regain their breath 
 266.240 +as the fire broke out of the shrine, whirring through the halls and doors in 
 266.241 +a long spiral to head towards Saturn and Moon. They both jumped to their 
 266.242 +feet and Saturn began to spin her glaive, but Sailor Moon stopped her, 
 266.243 +grabbing her wrists. "If you do that. You'll destroy your hands!" Saturn 
 266.244 +shrugged her off and began again.
 266.245 +"I see no alternative!" Suddenly there was a cry from across the clearing.
 266.246 +"Death star!" A purple flash of light illuminated the clearing as Sailor 
 266.247 +Saturn fired off her attack, the end of her staff disattatching to become a 
 266.248 +ball of purple light, which smashed into the fire spiral and dissipated it. 
 266.249 +As the attack hit the top of the staff returned to its rightful place. They 
 266.250 +all watched Sailor Saturn surprised and then fell to their knees as the 
 266.251 +ground began to shake beneath them.
 266.252 +"I figured it out!" Pluto shouted across the yard. "The disruption of the 
 266.253 +balance of nature! Too many sailors! It's unbalanced! We're fighting nature! 
 266.254 +The elements!" A look of realisation lingered over the senshi and Saturn and 
 266.255 +Moon shared a serious look before Saturn opened up a portal, taking Moon's 
 266.256 +hand and jumping into it, sealing it behind them. As soon as they left the 
 266.257 +air became still and the ground ceased shaking, everything becoming eerily 
 266.258 +quiet. Silence reigned over the senshi also, as they watched the two younger 
 266.259 +girls get their feet. It dawned on them that they had to go and find the two 
 266.260 +women, and immediatly they all jumped into action. They must have gone 
 266.261 +somewhere.
 266.262 +
 266.263 +"Hotaru-chan?" Hotaru looked to the young women sitting beside her on the 
 266.264 +top of a hill that overlooked the moon's ruins.
 266.265 +"Hai, Usagi-chan?" Usagi wrapped her arms around Hotaru's waist and burryed 
 266.266 +her head in her shirt.
 266.267 +"I'm scared..." Hotaru hushed her softly and rubbed her hair with her hand.
 266.268 +"It's ok, Usagi-chan. I'll never leave your side. SO you never have anything 
 266.269 +to fear." Hotaru held Usagi closer as she cried, tears falling down her own 
 266.270 +cheeks as well. "Are you ready?" Usagi nodded gently and closed her eyes as 
 266.271 +Hotaru summoned her Glaive, pulling Usagi into a hug with one hand and 
 266.272 +kissing her gently. Usagi took her hand in her own and their fingers 
 266.273 +entwined as Hotaru positioned the glaive behind Usagi's heart, pushing it 
 266.274 +through hard, piercing through them both and then pulling out, dropping it 
 266.275 +and gripping Usagi tightly. They fell side by side in silence, and shared a 
 266.276 +deep kiss as their eyes closed, passing into the flow of death and rebirth 
 266.277 +once again.
 266.278 +
 266.279 +Uranus and Neptune appeared at the bottom of the hill and sprinted to the 
 266.280 +top. Michiru gasped loudly and Uranus grabbed her shoulders, pulling her 
 266.281 +close so she could no longer see. Although they were surrounded by blood, 
 266.282 +Uranus found it peaceful to be there. The sun was slowly rising and their 
 266.283 +hands were entwined lovingly. A look of calm and love over their faces, 
 266.284 +their foreheads touching.
 266.285 +"Michi, lets go home." Michiru shook her head and moved as if to grab 
 266.286 +Hotaru, tears streaming down her cheeks, but Haruka grabbed her arm tightly 
 266.287 +and Michiru looked up to her to see tears falling.
 266.288 +"They did this so their children can live. And look, they're at peace. 
 266.289 +Together." Michiru nodded slightly, it was true. Their expressions were 
 266.290 +peaceful. They linked hands and walked back into a time hole, wiping away 
 266.291 +their tears. Now was the hard part, telling everyone.
 266.292 +
 266.293 +Tears were shed, but not one was sad. They left in peace to love each other 
 266.294 +forever. So they would remain together. No one could find in their hearts to 
 266.295 +be sad.
 266.296 +

   267.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   267.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   267.3 @@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
   267.4 +Ra's Daughters
   267.5 +By Black Rose
   267.6 +Chapter Two
   267.7 +Storm of Fire
   267.8 +Moonpower02@Hotmail.com
   267.9 +
  267.10 +A/N: Alright Diana will be introduced in this chapter, but her name
  267.11 +here is Sanura: she is also a human, not a cat. Anyway, I hope I got
  267.12 +the tenses right this time… eheehhe- Black Rose
  267.13 +
  267.14 +                     Ra's Daughters
  267.15 +                     By Black Rose
  267.16 +
  267.17 +                     Chapter Two- Storm of Fire
  267.18 +
  267.19 +    Ra sat on his throne petting his phoenix, which was pearched
  267.20 +above him on the back of his gilded, golden throne. His eyes had a
  267.21 +glazed look to them, as he was currently deep in thought. The phoenix
  267.22 +had its eyes completely closed, and is was singing a haunting tune
  267.23 +that, though quiet, filled the enitre room. 
  267.24 +"I think that they are going to need help, what do you think?" Ra
  267.25 +asked the phoenix, looking up at the brid as he broke out of his
  267.26 +thoughts. His phoenix just moved its head a little in response. 
  267.27 +"I believe you're right, my husband; they well need help", replied
  267.28 +Selkhet as she walked up to him. The goddess Selkhet was the wife of
  267.29 +Ra, the beautious goddess of the Moon. She was as fair and silver as
  267.30 +her husband was radient and golden, and her moonlit skin emitted an
  267.31 +almost eerily white glow. Her eyes shone mysteriously as she fixed
  267.32 +her husband in her enigmatic gaze. 
  267.33 + Ra looked back at her, seeing his golden features reflected in her
  267.34 +silver pools, and smiled as she sat down next to him.
  267.35 +"What do you think we should do about it?" he asked.
  267.36 +"I will have one of my own Priestesses watch over them, and if need
  267.37 +be send your pet down as well," came the reply.
  267.38 +Ra thought about what she said and looked at his pet. The phoenix
  267.39 +just nodded its head and took off flying around them.
  267.40 +"I believe she is saying yes to your idea, Selkhet."
  267.41 +Selkhet smiled and the both watched the beautiful bird fly around
  267.42 +happily.
  267.43 +"But which of your followers do you think you will be able to
  267.44 +entrust with this task?" Ra asked his wife. "Surely not one of the
  267.45 +High Priestesses; they have too much to handle at this time of rain."
  267.46 + "No," Selkhet replied. "I actually never had the High Priestesses
  267.47 +in mind. In fact, I know exactly who could carry out this task: her
  267.48 +name is Sanura. She is only young, but she has served my order her
  267.49 +entire life… though I must say, she also seems to have an affinity to
  267.50 +Bastet, the cat mother. Perhaps her soul was that of a cat in her
  267.51 +past life."  
  267.52 + Ra nodded; the girl seemed to be one whom he could trust; after
  267.53 +all, the sacred cat was only drawn to those who were pure of heart,
  267.54 +and it was one with a pure heart who was needed to guide the
  267.55 +Pharaoh's daughter and her companion at this time.
  267.56 +"Selkhet, pleases let Priestess Sanura know that she needs to watch
  267.57 +over those two. If she asks, tell her that I will be sending help,
  267.58 +and send my phoenix to her" he told her. With that, he got up from
  267.59 +his throne and walking to the golden doors with the eye of Ra on
  267.60 +them. He opened the door and his phoenix flew out, all the while
  267.61 +singing a joyus and melodic tune. Selkhet walked over to him, kissed
  267.62 +him on the cheek, and walked out of the room. Before he followed her,
  267.63 +he looked back and thought 'this should be good'. Then he left and
  267.64 +closed the door behind him. 
  267.65 +                                              *******
  267.66 +Down on Earth, Priestess Sanura was walking around in the temple,
  267.67 +wondering what she was to do. All the higher members of the order of
  267.68 +Selkhet were busy either in prayers to their goddess to stop the rain
  267.69 +before a disatorous flood came, or they were busy preparing for the
  267.70 +feast of Al-Selk-Ha, the mother goddesses feast, which was always
  267.71 +held around the time the great river burst its banks. However, one of
  267.72 +them was always needed to keep watch over the temple, and Sanura -
  267.73 +being one of the youngest of their order - had been selected to do
  267.74 +just that.
  267.75 + As Sanura strolled around, she took time to fully observe her
  267.76 +surroundings. She was tired and, in truth, all she wanted to do was
  267.77 +sleep. She knew, however, that sleep was a luxury denied to her at
  267.78 +the moment; she had a job to do, and, she supposed, why not enjoy it?
  267.79 +She gazed around the room once more, not bothering to conceal her
  267.80 +amazement. Even after all these years, her surroundings astounded
  267.81 +her; there were statues of the goddess Selkhet all around the room:
  267.82 +statues that, Sanura was sure, were made of nothing less than pure,
  267.83 +solid gold. The statues, however, weren't even the height of the
  267.84 +room's beauty; in the very center of the room stood a grand fountain
  267.85 +that, even in times of drought, spouted clean, cold water, as it was
  267.86 +connected to an underground river. It was because of the rivers that
  267.87 +the temple was here, as rivers were a key symbol of the moon goddess,
  267.88 +though no one knew exactly why that was.
  267.89 + Sanura specualted that it was because Ra had created Selkhet from
  267.90 +the waters of the Nile itself, then built the moon for her as a
  267.91 +glorious palace: hence her assosiation with both the Earth and Moon.
  267.92 +This was reflected in the design of the fountain, as it was of two
  267.93 +huge hands that held the eye of Ra between them.
  267.94 +Sanura stopped for a while besides the fountain and gazed at her
  267.95 +mirror image as it appeared in the fountain.
  267.96 +  "What do you think I should do?" she asked her reflection.
  267.97 +"I believe that you should take care of something for me" replied
  267.98 +her reflection.
  267.99 +Sanura shocked by that, and even more so when she saw her own
 267.100 +reflection turn into the beautiful goddess Selkhet. Sanura bowed down
 267.101 +to her goddess, who in turn smiled and nodded her head.
 267.102 +"Priestess Sanura, you can get up, my child; I have things to tell
 267.103 +you and very little time."
 267.104 + Sanura got up and nodded. 
 267.105 +"What can I do?" she hoped it would be something she could handle.
 267.106 + "Believe, me I know you can," replied Selkhet.
 267.107 +"Did she just read my mind?" she asked herself.
 267.108 +"Yes."
 267.109 +Sanura was so astounded that she couldn't move; it was not so much
 267.110 +the fact that her mighty goddess had read her mind as the fact that
 267.111 +the goddess had spoken to one of their order… to her.
 267.112 +"Oh phoenix", Selkhet's face turned away from Sanura for a moment,
 267.113 +"could you help our dear friend here, please?" then the reflection
 267.114 +despaired and a beautiful bird flew right through the water and out
 267.115 +the other side, where it landed next to Sanura.
 267.116 +The phoenix moved its head and pecked at her. Sanura turned her head
 267.117 +and looked back at the water were her goddess was smiling at her.
 267.118 +"I'm sorry, my goddess, what can I do for you?"
 267.119 +"Well, it's not really what you can do for me; it's more for what
 267.120 +you can do for Ra. You see, he has a plan to help the Pharaoh's
 267.121 +daughter with something that she asked him for, and in this plan is
 267.122 +this other girl by the name of Nikia; I would like you to watch over
 267.123 +them because by the time the Pharaoh's daughter become of age they
 267.124 +will need one another."
 267.125 +"Yes, I will do what I can to help, my goddess" she replied bowing;
 267.126 +she was glad that there was something that she could do to aid her
 267.127 +patron.
 267.128 +"Before, I go Ra has left his pet phoenix with you. He will help you
 267.129 +to to help those girls," Selkhet said pointing to the bird next to
 267.130 +her. Sanura looked down at the bird and bowed to it. It bowed back in
 267.131 +return. She looked back to the water and her goddess was gone. 
 267.132 +"Will, its look like I'm going to have to find them, doesn't it?"
 267.133 +she asked the phoenix. It just nodded its head, took off flying
 267.134 +around her and out of the side window. Sanura thought about it, then
 267.135 +it hit her like lightning. 
 267.136 +"Ra's Temple" she thought. She ran out of the temple and through the
 267.137 +dunes and rain. It was so strange for her to be outside. Indeed, she
 267.138 +knew that the sisterhood would punish her for leaving her duty when,
 267.139 +no if, she returned; they would not believe that Selkhet had spoken
 267.140 +to a pristess as lowly as her. Sanura, however, did not care; she
 267.141 +merely continued to run through the desert rains and follow the
 267.142 +phoenix to the temple of Ra, wherever that may have been. 
 267.143 + She then saw the phoenix flying around the top of a grand building,
 267.144 +a building far more ornate and beautiful than even the temple of her
 267.145 +goddess, Selkhet. It was then that she finally realised; this was
 267.146 +Ra's temple, the place she had been searching for. Sanura smiled and
 267.147 +ran to the bird. She then walked inside and saw two young women lying
 267.148 +on the floor with the symbols of the eye of Ra on their foreheads.
 267.149 +The phoenix flew in and landed next to her. She looked down and the
 267.150 +bird nodded its head.
 267.151 +"Will now it begins, and I will do my best to help" she thought and
 267.152 +looked back at the young girls. 
 267.153 +The wind was blowing hard now, but she could almost swear that she
 267.154 +had heard a voice whisper 'thank you' before it was swept it away
 267.155 +forever. 
 267.156 +
 267.157 +
 267.158 +A/N: Thanks for reading my story. I'm sorry that this chapter was so
 267.159 +short, but I need to get something out of the way. I hope to have the
 267.160 +next chapter up soon. --- Black Rose
 267.161 \ No newline at end of file

   268.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   268.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   268.3 @@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
   268.4 +Ra's Daughters
   268.5 +By Black Rose
   268.6 +Chapter Three
   268.7 +Three Light of Rain
   268.8 +Moonpower02@Hotmail.com
   268.9 +
  268.10 +
  268.11 +                 Ra's Daughters
  268.12 +                 By Black Rose
  268.13 +
  268.14 +               Chapter Three Light of Rain
  268.15 +
  268.16 +Sanura stood looking down at the two the young ladies, and a small
  268.17 +smile came to her face. She looked over to the Pharaoh's daughter,
  268.18 +walked over to her, bent down, and shook her gently to rouse her.
  268.19 +"Princess, can you hear me? Princess?" 
  268.20 +Ramla open her eyes a little and saw a young woman about her age
  268.21 +next to her. She was looking at her and then over her to something
  268.22 +else. Ramla turned over a little and saw Nakia lying on her side with
  268.23 +her eyes closed. Ramla's eyes widened in shock and fear.
  268.24 + Sanura could clearly see the fear in her eyes, so she reached out
  268.25 +to comfort the girl, but before she could say anything Ramla got up
  268.26 +very fast and ran over to her friend, who was still unconscious.
  268.27 +"Nakia! Are you alright? Can you hear me? Please wake up! Nakia? 
  268.28 +Nakia?" she yelled in panic as she reached out and shook her friend.
  268.29 +Nakia opened her eyes to see Ramla next to her, her strange red eyes
  268.30 +overflowing with tears. 
  268.31 +"Is she crying?" she thought: Ramla's eyes looked so sad, she
  268.32 +couldn't bear it. "I'm fine, Ramla, so please don't cry" she smiled,
  268.33 +reaching out and brushing the tears from the other girl's face.
  268.34 +Sanura just watched the two: she then turned her head to the phoenix
  268.35 +and saw it doing a little dance: well it looked like a dance to her.
  268.36 +She started to giggle slightly in amusment at the phoenix's antics.
  268.37 +
  268.38 +Ramla and Nakia heard someone giggle, turned there heads to see the
  268.39 +young woman that woke Ramla giggling at the phoenix: both girl's eyes
  268.40 +flashed white just as lighting hit the ground somewhere out side.
  268.41 +Their eyes went back to normal. They looked at one and other and back
  268.42 +to the bird, and woman.
  268.43 +Sanura saw the young ladies looking at her and the phoenix. She
  268.44 +stopped giggling and walked over to them, then bowed down to her
  268.45 +Princess.
  268.46 +"Good evening Princess, my name is Priestess Sanura, I am here to
  268.47 +help you along with Ra's phoenix. I believe that you have meet it
  268.48 +before," she said, looking up at them.
  268.49 +Ramla looked into her eyes and could tell that she was friendly. She
  268.50 +smiled and looked over to her dark haired friend.  She saw that Nakia
  268.51 +was a little worried about something.
  268.52 +"Nakia, are you alright?.... you seem a little sad."
  268.53 +"I'm fine, Ramla, I just trying to take all this in" she sighed as
  268.54 +she sat down. The Phoenix hopped over to her and sat on her lap. She
  268.55 +smiled at the bird and started to pet it.
  268.56 +Sanura got up, walked over to one of the golden bowls and waved her
  268.57 +hand. In a fraction of a second a fire had come to life. Then she
  268.58 +went to the others and repeated the process.
  268.59 +"There, nice and warm," she said walking back over to them.
  268.60 +"I think it would help, if we have a place for you to stay while
  268.61 +you're here Nakia. We should also talk to your mother, Princess;
  268.62 +after all, she cannot become part of your serving or guard without
  268.63 +your parent's approval, can she?"
  268.64 +"I believe that is a good idea, Sanura" replied Ramla turning her
  268.65 +head to the Priestess and then back to Nakia. She saw her dark haired
  268.66 +friend nod at her and went back to the Phoenix in her lap. 
  268.67 +Ramla smiled, got up, walked over to her cat, picked it up and
  268.68 +started to pet it.
  268.69 +"Well have to wait for the eye of the storm to pass before we can
  268.70 +walk over to the palace in safety," the Priestess as she stared in
  268.71 +worry out of the window.
  268.72 +Ramla walked back over to Nakia and sat next to her.
  268.73 +"So Nakia, what would you like to talk about? I really don't know
  268.74 +you; I would love to know you better. If you don't mind, that is…"
  268.75 +she asked with a little smile. She was little worried that she would
  268.76 +wanted to talk to her, or stay her with her. She felt that she needs
  268.77 +her and didn't know why.
  268.78 +Nakia looked up and saw something in her new friend's eyes that made
  268.79 +her feel, well, she couldn't really tell what kind of feeling it was,
  268.80 +but she knew that if she was going to help she was going to know a
  268.81 +lot of things.
  268.82 +"What would you like to know Ramla?" Nakia replied with a smile.
  268.83 +Ramla's heart jumped when she saw that smile; she could die now and
  268.84 +she wouldn't care, for if she did she was going to die in sheer bliss.
  268.85 +"Let me see...oh, how old are you?"
  268.86 +"I'm sixteen, you?"
  268.87 +"I'm going to be sixteen in three days" she replied in a sad voice.
  268.88 +Nakia looked at her and could tell there was something wrong with
  268.89 +this. She looked over to the Priestess and saw she was thinking the
  268.90 +same thing.
  268.91 +"Ramla, I have a feeling that you need tell us something. You know
  268.92 +that we can only help you if we know what is going on." Sanura said,
  268.93 +walking back over to them with a kind smile on her face, where she
  268.94 +stopped and sat down across from them.
  268.95 +Ramla nodded and turned to Nakia who wore the same, calm expression
  268.96 +as Sanura, but her eyes told her a different story: her eyes were
  268.97 +dark, distant, broken. Ramla was very worried, and hope that she
  268.98 +could help. With that she nodded and began to explain the situation. 
  268.99 +"I have to marry the High Priest of God Anubis on my birthday,"
 268.100 +Ramla sighed. "My father believes that he is right for me, and will
 268.101 +rule his kingdom in a fair and just way after my father's death. For
 268.102 +along time I have been having this feeling that something isn't right
 268.103 +about him."
 268.104 +"Your father or the high priest?" asked Nakia
 268.105 +"The high priest; his eyes tell me he is up to something; they're so
 268.106 +unnaturally pale… like a substance colder than anything ever to be
 268.107 +found in this kingdom; colder than the great river on a desert night…
 268.108 +It's as though he can see right into your thoughts; your emotions:
 268.109 +your soul to find your deepest secrets and use them to manipulate
 268.110 +you. 
 268.111 +"Also there is nothing genuine about him. I have watched how he
 268.112 +treats those that are lower down the hierarchy than him, and let me
 268.113 +tell you, I feel sorry for them. He is so unimaginabley cruel to the
 268.114 +slaves that it makes me sick to think about it… But when he is with
 268.115 +me, or my mother and father he appears to be the nicest man you could
 268.116 +ever meet. I knew that he is not the right person for me, or for the
 268.117 +good of this kingdom. You have to believe me," she told them, hoping
 268.118 +they would understand.
 268.119 +Ra's pet jumped up and walk over to her and bow to her. Then walked
 268.120 +back over to Nakia and lay down in her lap. 
 268.121 +"Well, it looks like she believes you, Princess, and I knew that I
 268.122 +feel the same way about him, and so I trust you and believe you,"
 268.123 +answered Sanura, whoe bowed again and went over to the window. Ramla
 268.124 +slowly looked over to Nakia. Her eyes were closed and for the first
 268.125 +time saw the symbol on her forehead: it was Ra's symbol and it was
 268.126 +glowing.
 268.127 +"Nakia," she said in a worried voice.
 268.128 +Nakia opened her eyes and smiled at her. "Princess, I believe you. I
 268.129 +will help you any way I can, but I still don't know why Ra asks me, a
 268.130 +peasent girl from another kingdom, of all people," she answers.
 268.131 +The Phoenix started to sing a bright yet ethereal melody: the power
 268.132 +coming from its song was making everyone calm: all of them were now
 268.133 +deep within their own thoughts.
 268.134 +In Ramla was looking at Nakia, studying her unusual-looking friend
 268.135 +as strange thoughts began to gnaw their way into her mind.
 268.136 +"I don't knew why Ra ask you to help me Nakia, but I very glad he
 268.137 +did…I wonder what her lips feel like…No, what am I thinking; I can't
 268.138 +think like that. Women cannot love other women; the Gods decreed it
 268.139 +to be this way… didn't they?"  Ramla's face became very red and she
 268.140 +turns her head to look out the window hoping that her dark-haired
 268.141 +friend didn't see her blush.
 268.142 +Nakia was in deep thought: she was looking at her new friend, and
 268.143 +was trying to find out why she had been chosen for such a task. So
 268.144 +many questions had come into her mind that she felt like her head
 268.145 +might soon burst.
 268.146 + "Why did she turn to look out the window, and is she blushing too?
 268.147 +Why do I have this feeling in me, what is it, and why do I feel it's
 268.148 +what will help her? What can I do to help a princess; goddess I wish
 268.149 +I had some answers." Nakia's eerie, violet eyes scanned the room and
 268.150 +then turned back to the princess.
 268.151 + Sanura was just looking out the window and into the coming storm.
 268.152 +The strangely cold wind whipped across her face as she sat there deep
 268.153 +in thought.
 268.154 +"Goddess, I now see why Ra chose that young woman to help the
 268.155 +princess, but they need more time, I don't knew what I can to do to
 268.156 +help them; I fear that they may have her killed if she is with the
 268.157 +princess. I will try to think of something in the meantime."
 268.158 +She turned around and looked at the two girls: one was looking out
 268.159 +the window and the other was watching her. A smile came to her face. 
 268.160 +"Well, I think we need to make a plan first of all."
 268.161 + "A plan?"
 268.162 + "Yes, we have to plan what we're going to tell your mother, Ramla.
 268.163 +Any ideas?" she asked them.
 268.164 +They sat there thinking off ideas: after about fifteen minutes they
 268.165 +looked at one another and sighed.
 268.166 +"I got nothing, couldn't lie to my mother about anything at all, and
 268.167 +she would knew if I was lying to her," Ramla said, laughing quietly.
 268.168 +"Yes, I would do a bad job at lying too; it wouldn't feel right to
 268.169 +lie to my Queen" replied Sanura with a grin.
 268.170 +Nakia did say anything, but she knew that lying would not get them
 268.171 +anywhere, so she just nodded.
 268.172 +"I have a feeling that your mother will understand if you just tell
 268.173 +her what is going on," replied Nakia. The phoenix got up, turned,
 268.174 +nodded at Nakia, and took off out the window.
 268.175 +"I think someone thinks the same thing," replied Sanura, who was
 268.176 +looking out the window watching the bird fly to the palace as the eye
 268.177 +of the storm crept ominously closer into view.
 268.178 +
 268.179 +
 268.180 +A/N- I hoped everyone like this chapter. I hope to have the next
 268.181 +chapter up soon. And a new character will be introduced eheeeheh.
 268.182 +Just thought I ask people to review little more and thanks to those
 268.183 +that do it helps. And thanks again to my beta Silver Sailor Ganymede
 268.184 +you rock!
 268.185 \ No newline at end of file

   269.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   269.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   269.3 @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
   269.4 +A/N- Serena comes into the story; her name has been changed to Neith.
   269.5 +Thanks for reading- Black Rose
   269.6 +
   269.7 +             Ra's Daughters
   269.8 +                  By
   269.9 +               Black Rose
  269.10 +
  269.11 +
  269.12 +               Chapter 4
  269.13 +            The Eye of the Storm
  269.14 +
  269.15 +   A woman with long blonde hair was pacing around her daughter's
  269.16 +room as she waited for her to return. She was Neith, the Queen of
  269.17 +Egypt: she was a kind and loving person, a fair ruler whom her people
  269.18 +loved. At the moment, Neith was very worried; she didn't know were
  269.19 +her daughter was. 
  269.20 + Neith put all thoughts of how terrified her duaghter must have been
  269.21 +out of her mind as she saw that the eye of the strom was directly
  269.22 +above her; she could only watch and wait for now.
  269.23 +"Ramla" she whispered to herself. As she looked up into the sky she
  269.24 +saw bird fly towards her. She had never seen such a beautiful bird:
  269.25 +nor indeed a bird that even remotely resmebled the one that was now
  269.26 +flying towards her. It was lager than the majority of the birds in
  269.27 +their land, and its plumage was as gold as the sands and as red as
  269.28 +the sun. It was beautiful, yes, but there was something ominous about
  269.29 +its presence… something unearthly. As the bird got closer, it landed
  269.30 +right in front of her and bowed. Neith's eyes widened as realisation
  269.31 +struck her.
  269.32 +"Is that a Phoenix?" she wondered and, to her shock, the bird nodded
  269.33 +its head as if it had heard her thoughts. She looked into its eyes
  269.34 +and saw Ra's symbol. She covered her mouth with her hands as she
  269.35 +gasped in shock. The bird began to sing a sweet, enchanting melody,
  269.36 +and Neith, who now felt more tranquil than she could ever remember
  269.37 +feeling before, closed her eyes and sat down next to it. She started
  269.38 +to hum along with it: the two together produced such beautful harmony
  269.39 +that it could be heared it all over the kingdom. A ray of light
  269.40 +landed on them, but Neith did not notice: she simply sat there, deep
  269.41 +within her own thoughts.
  269.42 +"So, this is Ra's Phoenix, I have this feeling in my heart that its
  269.43 +here to help, the song that its singing… I feel it's trying to tell
  269.44 +me something."
  269.45 +Images began to flash through her mind: she saw her daughter and
  269.46 +another woman talk to Ra himself, she also saw the Ra talking to his
  269.47 +wife, Selkhet: then it moved to Selkhet talking to what looked like
  269.48 +one of her Priestesses, and then it moved to that Priestesses talking
  269.49 +to her daughter and that other woman. 
  269.50 + Neith opened her eyes to see that the Phoenix was set in her lap
  269.51 +sleeping.
  269.52 +"Well, at less I knew she is well," she said, petting the bird and
  269.53 +smiling slightly. Then something caught her eye, something that made
  269.54 +her jump: her daughter, Ramla, and her dark-haired friend had come
  269.55 +into view, and when she looked again she realised that the Priestess
  269.56 +of Selkhet was also with them.
  269.57 +                                                            ********
  269.58 +The great Pharaoh sat on his throne, hearing nothing within his mind
  269.59 +but a song that spoke of utter peace and tranquility. His eyes were
  269.60 +closed and he was also in deep thought.
  269.61 +"Is that my wife, and is that also a bird singing with her, what is
  269.62 +going on here?"
  269.63 +As the Pharaoh was thinking, a young man in a priest's outfit that
  269.64 +bore the symbol of Anubis walked into the throne room. He was
  269.65 +strangely colourless, his hair and even his eyes being eerily white
  269.66 +of hue, even at his young age. He walked to the foot of the Pharaoh's
  269.67 +throne and bowed. 
  269.68 +The Pharaoh opened his eyes and saw the high priest of Anubis bowing
  269.69 +to him. He sat up stiffly and gave the younger man a look of utter
  269.70 +venom.
  269.71 +"What do you want, Priest? I did not call for you, so why do you
  269.72 +present yourself to me?"
  269.73 +The Priest didn't look up, merely stayed in his bowed down position,
  269.74 +averting his colourless gaze away from the Pharaoh's darker orbs. 
  269.75 +"I'm sorry, my Pharaoh, but I need to tell you something," he said,
  269.76 +a malicious smirk forming on his face, though his voice was grave in
  269.77 +tone so the Pharaoh realised nothing of his true intentions.
  269.78 +The Pharaoh was beginning to get agitated now; he could have done
  269.79 +without interruption from the Priest. He just looked over at one of
  269.80 +his guards and nodded darkly. The guard bowed back to his Pharaoh;
  269.81 +then walked over to the priest and kicked hard in the side so that he
  269.82 +fell to the floor in a heap. The priest cried out in pain and
  269.83 +clutched his side. The guard looked up to his Pharaoh, and saw him
  269.84 +nod. He kicked him one more time and walked back to his post.
  269.85 +The pharaoh was not happy; the song of trasnquility had stopped. He
  269.86 +sat back down on his throne, his expression bitter and steely.
  269.87 +"Well, High Priest of Anubis, what do you wish to tell me that is so
  269.88 +important that it cannot wait until I summon you into my presence,"
  269.89 +he asked, the anger clearly audible in his voice
  269.90 +The colourless young man got ahold of himself and answered his
  269.91 +pharaoh, trying his best to keep both emotion and pain from his voice
  269.92 +as he spoke.
  269.93 +"My Pharaoh, it is about you daughter the Princess," he said,
  269.94 +knowing that that would get him what he wanted.
  269.95 +The Pharaoh eyes widened, and he stared down at this priest that was
  269.96 +going to soon be married to his one and only daughter.
  269.97 +"What has happened to her? Because if anything has happened to her
  269.98 +it will be you life," the Pharaoh hissed in a voice laced with pure
  269.99 +malice. He may have never been open to his feeling for his daughter
 269.100 +or for his wife for that matter, but deep down he loved them both
 269.101 +very much.
 269.102 +  The priest just smiled; this was just what he had wanted to happen.
 269.103 +"Great Pharaoh, your daughter is fine, as is your wife: at least for
 269.104 +now. However I had a vision recently that showed that a woman with
 269.105 +black hair and strangely violet eyes will will come to take both your
 269.106 +daughter and this kingdom from you. I also saw a birdlike fire with
 269.107 +her," he told, keeping the laughter in his mind completely separate
 269.108 +from his voice.
 269.109 +"Well, this should be good, very soon I will be the greatest
 269.110 +Pharaoh, and you will be dead along with that wife of yours." His
 269.111 +face retained only seriousness, but inside he was laughing.
 269.112 +  The Pharaoh toke this information in and closed his eyes. "You may
 269.113 +go, Priest," he said with a wave of his hand. The Priest bowed and
 269.114 +left, back to the temple of Anubis, smiling the whole time. When he
 269.115 +was gone the Pharaoh opened his eyes again and looked around his
 269.116 +throne room.  Something about this Priest was just didn't feel right:
 269.117 +he closed his eyes again and fell into his own thoughts.
 269.118 +                                                 ******
 269.119 +In Ra's Temple, three young ladies were looking out the window that
 269.120 +the phoenix had flown out of the day before. They looked at one
 269.121 +another and nodded, then ran out of the temple and followed the
 269.122 +phoenix's course to the Palace. As they ran, Nakia stopped and looked
 269.123 +up in the Eye of Ra. Ramla stopped when she saw that Nakia wasn't
 269.124 +running with her: instead of continuing, she turned around and saw
 269.125 +her friend looking up at something. The sun was hitting her hair in
 269.126 +such a way that it made her look as if she were not a mere mortal but
 269.127 +a goddess. Ramla's heart was betting very fast now, and couldn't keep
 269.128 +her eyes off Nakia…
 269.129 +"She's so beautiful: I have never felt like this before; a part of
 269.130 +me just wants to run in her arms and never leave them," she thought.
 269.131 +Nakia felt the warm of the sun on her face, but she could also feel
 269.132 +someone watching her, and it was making her uncomfterble. She turned
 269.133 +her head to see Ramla's garnet orbs transfixed on her, then felt a
 269.134 +blush creep into her pale cheeks as she noted her friend's almost
 269.135 +ethereal beauty in that light. As their eyes met, she saw that the
 269.136 +princess was staring at her in longing… no, not longing; the
 269.137 +expression in her eyes was too warm for that to have been the case.
 269.138 +The emotion she could see in Ramla's eyes was something far deeper
 269.139 +thanl longing…
 269.140 +"I feel something, something that I have not felt in along time. A
 269.141 +part of me wants to hold her, and never let go."
 269.142 +The two stood there looking at one another, then Sanura ran up to
 269.143 +Palace to see her Queen sitting there: the phoenix resting in her
 269.144 +lap. Then she heared it, the song, a joyus melody to which seemed the
 269.145 +epitome of bliss itself. She walked closer towards the Palace and saw
 269.146 +that not only was the phoenix singing: so was the Queen. She moved to
 269.147 +the Queen's side just as her eyes opened and the melodious singing
 269.148 +ended. Sanura looked over to where the Queen was staring, and saw
 269.149 +what it was that had interested her so. Two beautiful young ladies
 269.150 +were staring at eachother in an emotion no less than pure love… two
 269.151 +beautiful young ladies that they both knew...
 269.152 +
 269.153 +Ramla and Nakia felt someone looking at them; they turned to see
 269.154 +Ramla's mother and Sanura looking at them and smiling at them. Ramla
 269.155 +turned back Nakia, smiled and held out her hand to her friend. Nakia
 269.156 +felt her heart jump when she saw this: she walked up to her and took
 269.157 +her hand in her own. They smiled at each other and walked over to the
 269.158 +two women that were waiting for them.
 269.159 +
 269.160 +
 269.161 +
 269.162 +A/N- Hope you like this chapter eheheh; I hope to have the next one
 269.163 +up soon.
 269.164 \ No newline at end of file

   270.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   270.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-05.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   270.3 @@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
   270.4 +  A/N- Let's see I think this is the last person that I need add into
   270.5 +this story eheheh, Momo's name will be Layla in the story. Enjoy the
   270.6 +this chapter ehehe- Black Rose
   270.7 +
   270.8 +                          Ra's Daughters
   270.9 +                          By Black Rose
  270.10 +
  270.11 +                          Chapter Five
  270.12 +                         The Heart of Ra
  270.13 +
  270.14 +
  270.15 +As Nakia and Ramla walked up to Ramla's mother they bowed and smiled
  270.16 +at her.
  270.17 +"Well, this Phoenix showed me everything so I knew what is going
  270.18 +on," she told them with a kind smile.
  270.19 +"What is your name, young lady?" she asked, looking at the black
  270.20 +haired girl who stood next to her daughter. Ramla looked over to her
  270.21 +new friend and saw fear in Nakia's eyes, so she took her friends hand
  270.22 +in her own.
  270.23 +Nakia didn't know what do say, she couldn't tell if she was coming
  270.24 +or going. She then felt someone take her hand and a sudden clam came
  270.25 +over her. She turned her head a little and saw Ramla smiling at her.
  270.26 +Nakia smiled slightly in return and nodded to her, then she looked
  270.27 +back to the Queen and saw her smiling in the same way her daughter
  270.28 +had been.
  270.29 +"My name is Nakia, it's nice to meet you," she said with a little
  270.30 +bow to the Queen.
  270.31 +"It's nice to meet you Nakia, I'm Queen Neith," she said as she
  270.32 +stood up and - to Nakia's surprise - embracing the dark haired girl.
  270.33 +  As Neith let go of Nakia, she whispered in her ear,"Take care of
  270.34 +her, she'll need you, and from what it looks you need her too." 
  270.35 +As the Queen laughed slightly when she saw how red the girl's pale
  270.36 +face had become. The Queen walked over to her daughter and hugged her
  270.37 +as well: then whispered,  "Ramla, no madder what your father says,
  270.38 +she needs to stay here with you; take care of her." She smiled at the
  270.39 +two and walked back into the room, where she stopped and called back
  270.40 +to them: "Oh, don't let your father or the dratted priest see you two
  270.41 +holding hands, even if I don't mind."
  270.42 +Ramla and Nakia looked at one another, then at their hands, and then
  270.43 +back to each other. They let go of each other's hand and started to
  270.44 +blush again. Sanura watched them, and smiled slightly.
  270.45 +"Very nice Ra, very nice, I can't wait to see we're your going with
  270.46 +this," she thought. "Come on you two, it looks like the rains going
  270.47 +too started again," Sanura told them while walking into the room.
  270.48 +Ramla and Nakia nodded, walked in and saw Neith sitting down on a
  270.49 +chair petting the Phoenix.
  270.50 +Sanura walked up to her Queen and bowed to her.
  270.51 +"I'm sorry my Queen I forgot to intruduce myself: I am Sanura, a
  270.52 +priestess of Goddess Selkhet."
  270.53 +Her Queen smiled and nodded. She looked over to her daughter and
  270.54 +Nakia, who had just come in. They walked over to the other chairs and
  270.55 +sat down, while Sanura walked over to the bed and sat down on it.
  270.56 +"Layla, could you bring some water and food for my daughter's
  270.57 +friend?" she asked the queen to someone out side the other door way.
  270.58 +A young woman in her teens walked in. She had on a nice looking
  270.59 +dress, and had purple hair pulled back in a bun, though strands still
  270.60 +flew loose around her face. She walked over to her queen and bowed,
  270.61 +and then looked around the room. When she saw Sanura, her heart
  270.62 +jumped.
  270.63 +Sanura felt someone watching; she turned and saw the young woman the
  270.64 +queen had called for looking at her.
  270.65 +"Is there something wrong?" Sanura asked looking back with a smile.
  270.66 +Layla blushed, shook her head and left to get food and water for them.
  270.67 +The rain out side started to come down hard. The wind was picking
  270.68 +up. Sanura walked over to the windows in the room and closed them.
  270.69 +She turned around and saw that everyone else wore glazed expressions
  270.70 +on their faces as they sat still and deep in thought.  She then
  270.71 +walked back to her seat and waited, though what she was waiting for
  270.72 +she did not know.
  270.73 +                                                         *******
  270.74 +While Layla was walking to kitchen, her mind kept going to back to
  270.75 +the priestess.
  270.76 +"Why is my heart beating so hard? What is going on with me?" she
  270.77 +spoke to thin air, wondering if anyone would answer: of course no
  270.78 +answer came, so Layla was left wondering and slightly scared.
  270.79 + She walked very slowly into the kitchen. Her head was spinning: she
  270.80 +was about to fall but someone caught her before she hit the ground.
  270.81 +She turned her head to see the High Priest of the god Anubis. He
  270.82 +smiled maliciously at her and thrust her away from him as though she
  270.83 +was a poisonous spider or something else that may have contaminated
  270.84 +him.
  270.85 +"Well, what do we have here, a little slave all by her self," he
  270.86 +hissed in a venom-laced voice. Layla felt a pang of horror in her
  270.87 +chest as she saw his eyes turn black as obsidian and start to glow.
  270.88 +Flashes of her mother being beaten by the same man in front of her
  270.89 +swam through her mind. Layla saw her mother give her life for her
  270.90 +when he had tried to kill her; she was about four years old at the
  270.91 +time. Layla fell to the floor, clutching her head and trying
  270.92 +desparately to get the images out of her mind.
  270.93 +"Stop it! Please stop it! Make it stop!" she pleaded to him, tears
  270.94 +running down her face.  He just smiled evilly at her and kicked her
  270.95 +over to the door. She lay there, holiding her brusided side and
  270.96 +crying freely now.
  270.97 +"I'll make it stop when you put this poison in the princess' new
  270.98 +friend's water," came the reply. 
  270.99 +Layla wanted this flash to stop, but something in back of her head
 270.100 +told her to hold on; help was on the way. She screamed as she saw her
 270.101 +mother laying dead, her eyes lifeless, her corspe soaked in her own
 270.102 +blood.
 270.103 +The Priest was just enjoying the show as he put more images in to
 270.104 +Layla mind. What he didn't know was that a beautiful woman was
 270.105 +watching the whole thing in the rain. Of course no one would have
 270.106 +noticed her; it was as though she was part of the rain; you couldn't
 270.107 +tell if she was there or not. Her eyes started to flash redder and
 270.108 +redder until they had attained the hue of garnets. She had seen all
 270.109 +she needed to: she disappeared.
 270.110 +                                                  ******
 270.111 +She appeared in Ra's Throne room and saw her husband sitting on his
 270.112 +throne with his eyes closed. She knew that his plan was already in
 270.113 +motion, but what she had seen told her that she needed to stop it,
 270.114 +regardles of her husband's wishes. 
 270.115 +"Anubis!" she yelled, walked over to her throne, and sat down. Ra
 270.116 +opened his eyes to see a very angry wife sitting next him. He knew
 270.117 +what had happened and had already sent a message to his phoenix.
 270.118 +Things were moving faster then he hoped, but nevertheless he was
 270.119 +confident that his plan would work.
 270.120 +The Great door opened and in walked the god Anubis. He bowed to them
 270.121 +and waited to to hear why he had been summoned. 
 270.122 +"Anubis, could you tell me why your High Priest is trying to kill
 270.123 +Nakia?" asked Selket with anger in her voice. Ra didn't say a thing:
 270.124 +he just waited to what his son said.
 270.125 +"I have just seen what was happening, and was about to do something
 270.126 +about it," came the swift reply. "But, you must have known that he
 270.127 +has been doing this for years now, and I can't see why you would stop
 270.128 +him now of all times, because of one pathetic human."
 270.129 +Selket's eyes flashed red. "Anubis, be careful what you say, I love
 270.130 +all of my daughters, and will care for them always; what your Priest
 270.131 +did to that girl's mother was wrong: so I blanked out the memory from
 270.132 +her mind so that she would never have to feel that again, and then
 270.133 +your damn Priest revived it and subjected that poor girl to pain you
 270.134 +could probably never imagine."
 270.135 +"Forgive me for saying this, Selket, but out of the entire human
 270.136 +woman in the world you seem to be fondest of these three," Anubid
 270.137 +said, and with a wave of his hand had summoned images of Nakia,
 270.138 +Sanura, and Layla into the air around the them.
 270.139 +"I don't see the differences of the ones I'm fond of?" he asked.
 270.140 +Selket knew he was right, even her husband had humans to protect
 270.141 +above all others, and that was Ramla and her mother, Neith.
 270.142 + Ra watches them and had a hidden smile; he knew his plan would
 270.143 +work. What his wife and son didn't know was that there was more to
 270.144 +Nakia and Ramla then meets the eye. Once their feelings for each
 270.145 +other hit its maximum point, not even Anubis Priest could stop them.
 270.146 +He loved all of his people and will not have any evil run around his
 270.147 +world, causing peace to fall into utter chaos. 
 270.148 +"Anubis, think about what you're doing, and dear wife, Anubis is
 270.149 +right; we gods and goddess have certain humans that we are most fond
 270.150 +of," he told them
 270.151 +"Anubis that is all, you may go, and thank you" Ra told him and
 270.152 +waved his hand.
 270.153 +Anubis bowed to them, and then returned to his own halls. He closed
 270.154 +the door behind him then his parents began, once again, to speak.
 270.155 +"Ra, I wont let that Priest kill her or any human woman," she told
 270.156 +her husband.
 270.157 +Ra smiled at his wife, and kissed her on the lips.
 270.158 +"Don't worry my dear Selkhet, I always have a back up plan: I have
 270.159 +sent a message to my pet, and I believe that you might soon see
 270.160 +something really... what is the word the humans use, oh yes, cool."
 270.161 +He told her with a little laugh. Selket just held on to him and knew
 270.162 +he would help; he always had a big heart.
 270.163 +                                                            *******
 270.164 +In Ramla's quarters the four women sat there waiting for Layla. No
 270.165 +conversation passed between them, as all were still deep within their
 270.166 +own thoughts. Ramla was trying to find something say to Nakia.
 270.167 +"Why, why do I just wanted her to hold me, and never let go, what
 270.168 +can I say do show that . . . Ra help please what do I do?"  She kept
 270.169 +looking over to her black haired friend, who was looking out the
 270.170 +window.
 270.171 +Nakia was also in deep thought as she looked out the window at
 270.172 +nothing in particular.
 270.173 +"I have felt this feeling before, but it's a little different.
 270.174 +Goddess, I know you're watching me, could you please show me a sign
 270.175 +that will help me understand this feeling, and why it's coming from
 270.176 +Ramla every time?" She turned her head little to see Ramla looking at
 270.177 +her. Her mouth kept opening and close like she wanted to say
 270.178 +something. Nakia started to giggle.
 270.179 +"Ramla is there something on your mind, because if you keep opening
 270.180 +and close you mouth you might catch a fly."
 270.181 + Ramla blush at be caught doing that, and smiled at her friend. 
 270.182 +"I was trying think of something to talk about, that's all," she
 270.183 +replied.
 270.184 +"Why don't you tell me about things you like to do, and I will do
 270.185 +the same," Nakia replied. As the two young girls talked about things,
 270.186 +Neith watched them and thought.
 270.187 +" My, My, Ra you have out done yourself this time, and the power
 270.188 +coming from them is very great, I just hope they tell each other how
 270.189 +they feel before something bad happens." 
 270.190 +Neith was happy that her one and only daughter was happy and may
 270.191 +have found someone to be with, but was also little sad to let her
 270.192 +daughter go, but she knew it need to happen.
 270.193 +Sanura was watching the door that Layla left out of; she had a
 270.194 +feeling that something wasn't right.
 270.195 +"Something wrong, I just knew it, could it be him." She then heard
 270.196 +someone scream and looked around the room, startled. Ramla and Nakia
 270.197 +were talking, and the queen was watching them: none of them seemed to
 270.198 +have heard the scream.
 270.199 +She looked over to Ra's Phoenix, which had its eyes closed.
 270.200 +The Phoenix in Neith's lap opened it eyes and took off very fast,
 270.201 +screaming its song the whole time. All four women stopped what they
 270.202 +were doing, looked at one anther, and took off to find out what was
 270.203 +going on. As they ran down hall they heared someone screaming: but
 270.204 +whom it was they still had yet to find out.
 270.205 +
 270.206 + A/N- I hope you like this chapter; I hope to have the next chapter
 270.207 +up soon.
 270.208 \ No newline at end of file

   271.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   271.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   271.3 @@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
   271.4 +A/N- Thanks for reading - Black Rose.
   271.5 +
   271.6 +Ra's Daughters
   271.7 +By
   271.8 +Black Rose
   271.9 +
  271.10 +Chapter Six
  271.11 +Ra's Pet Dragon
  271.12 +
  271.13 +The Phoenix flew very quickly down the hall, its eyes glowing redder
  271.14 +and get redder as it went. The flames its wings began to increase in
  271.15 +size and flare out on either side of it.  Layla felt something
  271.16 +powerful coming her way, closer and closer with every passing second;
  271.17 +she knew she should have been terrified, but whatever it was couldn't
  271.18 +be worse than the memories she was seeing, could it? The flashes of
  271.19 +her mother stopped and Layla slumped forward, gasping for breath as
  271.20 +though she had been saved from drowning. Anubis' Priest saw a glow
  271.21 +golden flame coming down the hall and narrowed his eyes.
  271.22 +"Well, it looks like time's up" he thought as he tried to walk to
  271.23 +the side door, but found that he couldn't move. The Phoenix dove into
  271.24 +the room, landed behind Layla and put its flaming wings around her to
  271.25 +shield her. Layla felt so safe and warm that she fell asleep, all
  271.26 +worries banished from her mind. The bird didn't take her eyes off the
  271.27 +priest: it so wanted to attack him, but it had to make sure that the
  271.28 +human was alright until other humans came… then he was going to feel
  271.29 +what Hell's fire really was. The Phoenix began once more to sing, but
  271.30 +this time it was a scream of pure rage and hatred, so loud that the
  271.31 +very palace itself began to shake. The Priest fell to the floor with
  271.32 +his hands to his ears so as to somewhat block out the infernal noise. 
  271.33 +"I believe that I have made it mad, will this should be fun," he
  271.34 +smirked, got back on his feet and began to concentrate: quite
  271.35 +suddenly his eyes turned black.
  271.36 +"So Ra sends his only pet to stop me; I'm not scared of you, so
  271.37 +let's play!" he yelled at it and laughed evilly.
  271.38 +The phoenix knew that he was up to something, but couldn't tell
  271.39 +what. She could hear someone enter from the left and then more from
  271.40 +the right. She saw the Great Pharaoh to the left: he was standing
  271.41 +there looking shocked and a little scared as to what was happening.
  271.42 +His eyes showed a different story; it showed power and it had the
  271.43 +eyes of a loving father. She then felt the humans behind her. She
  271.44 +removed her wings and took off towards Anubis' priest with anger. The
  271.45 +priest just saw the pharaoh and the women enter the room. He smirked
  271.46 +has Ra's pet came towards him: he let the firebird hit him and they
  271.47 +both went through the wall and out into the storm. His body rolled
  271.48 +around on the ground like a rag doll. He finally stopped when his
  271.49 +body hit one of the columns near the palace. The rain and wind wasn't
  271.50 +helping much with this, he noted: he slowly got up and looked around
  271.51 +for the damned bird. It was hard to see with this rain coming down
  271.52 +like it was, and the wind was trying to push him around. He finally
  271.53 +saw it and it was coming right at him. He could steam where the rain
  271.54 +had hit the Phoenix's flaming wings.
  271.55 +"Well, it looks like it's going to try to kill me, how quaint; it
  271.56 +will never truly be able to do that, but oh well, it seems that I
  271.57 +must kill it instead. I knew that I can't really kill you, my dear
  271.58 +Phoenix, but we're in darkness and that is my element." He thought as
  271.59 +he moved into the shadow of the columns and made his eyes glow black
  271.60 +again: then he disappeared into the shadows themselves. He moved very
  271.61 +fast in the shadows and got right beside the bird. He just smiled
  271.62 +evilly as a sword appeared in his hand and attacked the Phoenix. 
  271.63 +As the phoenix saw him disappear, she thought about where would he
  271.64 +attack. Then she saw something moving in the shadows. 
  271.65 +It was the High Priest; he was moving throughout the shadows in such
  271.66 +a way that she could have sworn he had become a part of them: still
  271.67 +she didn't have much time to think about that as he attacked. She
  271.68 +moved out of the way just before the sword hit her side. Golden
  271.69 +feathers shot from her left wing at him as she rolled to her side,
  271.70 +then he moved back into the shadow and disappeared.
  271.71 +The priest looked around and saw the feathers that came out of the
  271.72 +bird burst into flames.
  271.73 +"Well I didn't see that one coming, I believe it's time to disappear
  271.74 +for now, I can't win with the weather like this - it slows me down to
  271.75 +much. I will have other chance soon enough," he thought. He stepped
  271.76 +out into the open and saw the young women and the Pharaoh, who was
  271.77 +holding his wife. They were looking out into the rain watching what
  271.78 +had happened between himself and the phoenix.
  271.79 +"Well, it looks like I can take care of one problems before I go" he
  271.80 +thought evilly, then he moved as fast as he could through the rain,
  271.81 +trying to keep from be seen by Ra's little toy.
  271.82 +As the Pharaoh held this wife, his mind went back to what had
  271.83 +happened before all of this.
  271.84 +
  271.85 +(Flashback)
  271.86 +The Pharaoh entered the room to see a fire-like bird shielding
  271.87 +something with its wings then he looked behind the animal and saw
  271.88 +this wife, daughter, and the two young ladies. One looked like she
  271.89 +was a priestess - he could tell by the clothes she was wearing - but
  271.90 +the other woman, the one with black hair, was wearing a tattered
  271.91 +dress that looked very old and worn. As they stopped behind the bird,
  271.92 +it opened it wings to reveal one of its wounds, she looked like she
  271.93 +was in bad shape. The bird had then taken off and attacked the
  271.94 +priest. With the power behind the flying firebird they both went
  271.95 +flying through the wall and out into the rain. The priestess walked
  271.96 +over to the young girl on the floor to see if she was alright. She
  271.97 +picked up her and as they left he saw his daughter holding on to the
  271.98 +other woman with black hair. His wife was just standing there with a
  271.99 +worried look on her face. He walked over to them. 
 271.100 +"I believe, my wife, that you have some things to tell me," he said:
 271.101 +it was not so much a question as a statement.
 271.102 +His wife just nodded and told her everything that she thought was
 271.103 +important. He believed what she told him; why would she lie? He then
 271.104 +looked over to his daughter and smiled at her. He walked over to the
 271.105 +hall with his wife to see what was going on. His daughter and friend
 271.106 +were close by and were still holding one another.
 271.107 +((End Flashback)
 271.108 +
 271.109 +The Priest moved up to the Queen and Pharaoh with his sword ready to
 271.110 +attack. The Pharaoh just saw the man run right at him; he knew what
 271.111 +was happening, so he pushed his wife to the side, and took the hit
 271.112 +hard. The sword went through his heart like a knife through butter.
 271.113 +Lightning hit the ground as his body fell, never to get back up
 271.114 +again. The three women just looked on with shock. Neith saw her
 271.115 +husband mouth 'I love you' before he died. She slowly crept over to
 271.116 +him and closed his eyes. She looked over to her one and only daughter
 271.117 +and started to cry. 
 271.118 +Ramla saw her father fall and her mother crying. She looked up to
 271.119 +Nakia and saw a glowing like she never saw before. The feeling coming
 271.120 +from her friend was a deep sadness. She just held her with all the
 271.121 +power that she had. Nakia saw it again and again and knew that no
 271.122 +matter what pain she felt she knew that, for Ramla it must have been
 271.123 +a thousand times worse.
 271.124 +Her thoughts kept flashing back to that what had just happened
 271.125 +before for her and what had happen to her father. It was the same
 271.126 +thing, her mother crying over her husband with her little girl
 271.127 +looking on.
 271.128 +"Ramla, it's happing again, he needs to be stopped now," she told
 271.129 +her with a harder and sadness in her voice. She moved away from her
 271.130 +and started to walk to the priest, who was just grinning. She then
 271.131 +couldn't take it anymore and ran right into him; they both fell over
 271.132 +in the sand, which had by then been permeated with water and had
 271.133 +begun to turn to mud. The priest looked up to what pushed him over,
 271.134 +and saw that it was the black haired girl. He just grinned: he could
 271.135 +get rid of her sooner than he had thought. 
 271.136 +"Well, well, what do we have here? It looks like someone wants die
 271.137 +today," he thought. He got up, grabbed his sword and made another one
 271.138 +appeared in his other hand.
 271.139 +"So you want to play has well? Come on then, my dear," he snarled to
 271.140 +her.
 271.141 +Nakia slow got up, the rain and wind was now at its peak: the eye of
 271.142 +the storm was approaching, that much was obvious. She couldn't stand
 271.143 +straight because of the ferocity of the wind. She then felt someone
 271.144 +holding onto her. She looked to her side and saw Ramla looking up at
 271.145 +her with a smile and nodded. Nakia just nodded back: they both turned
 271.146 +to the priest with their eyes flashing white as his glowed black. 
 271.147 +  The thunder roared on in the background, but through the thunder
 271.148 +you could hear a song. They looked around trying to find out were it
 271.149 +was coming from. Ramla then spotted it: it was the phoenix. She was
 271.150 +on top of a nearby column and her red eyes were glowing with such
 271.151 +power that it started to scare them both. She was going to kill him:
 271.152 +first he killed the pharaoh, and the wanted to kill her human and her
 271.153 +human's lover. She spread her wings high into the air and started to
 271.154 +grow to a monstrous size until she was about as big as a dragon. The
 271.155 +flames coming off her were causing rays of light to break through the
 271.156 +clouds all around them. She cried out into the storm then she took
 271.157 +off and shot two golden feathers at the priest.
 271.158 +He was looking right at the phoenix in shock: he started to shake,
 271.159 +then he saw the two feathers coming right at him, and the gigantic
 271.160 +bird was right behind them. He flinched away in anticipation of the
 271.161 +blow but in never came. The feathers went past him to the two females
 271.162 +that were looking on. The bird flew behind them and landed.
 271.163 +"What is going on, the power coming from them is so great that it
 271.164 +making my head spin," he wondered.
 271.165 + Ramla and Nakia watched the phoenix grow and shot something at
 271.166 +them. They could feel a power in them and it kept on growing: then
 271.167 +the two feathers stopped right in front of them and the gigantic
 271.168 +firebird land behind them. The two feathers started to change into
 271.169 +two beautiful swords. Both swords had the symbol of Ra on them and a
 271.170 +white flower going spiraling all the way down the polished steel
 271.171 +blades.
 271.172 +Ramla and Nakia closed their eyes and held out heir hands: it was as
 271.173 +if the swords were calling to them. The two swords disappeared from
 271.174 +where they were floating in the air and then reappeared in their
 271.175 +hands. The dragon-like phoenix covered them with its wings. Then a
 271.176 +flash of flames came from within the wings: it was so bright that the
 271.177 +priest had to shield his eyes, as did Neith. Then it died down and
 271.178 +the bird removed its wings: and there stood Ramla and Nakia in
 271.179 +Egyptian princess dresses with the symbol of Ra on their foreheads
 271.180 +and their eyes glowing eerily white.
 271.181 +
 271.182 +
 271.183 +A/N- I hope everyone like this chapter, the next chapter will be
 271.184 +about Ramla and Nakia as they take on the high Priest of Anubis. Oh
 271.185 +and if you have time could you review? I would really appreciate it.
 271.186 +Thanks-Black Rose
 271.187 \ No newline at end of file

   272.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   272.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   272.3 @@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
   272.4 +Ra's Daughters
   272.5 +By
   272.6 +Black Rose
   272.7 +
   272.8 +Chapter Seven 
   272.9 +The Maidens and the Jackal
  272.10 +
  272.11 +
  272.12 +      There was a flash of flames coming from within the phoenix's
  272.13 +wings. The priest had to shield his eyes, as did Neith. When it died
  272.14 +down the bird removed this wings and there stood Ramla and Nakia in
  272.15 +Egyptian princess dresses with the symbol of Ra on their foreheads,
  272.16 +and their eyes glowing white. The looked at one another and then down
  272.17 +at what they were wearing.
  272.18 +"Wow, Nakia you look great it that," Ramla said walking in front of
  272.19 +Nakia and smiling at her. Nakia just blushed at what she said and was
  272.20 +taken way by what Ramla was wearing.
  272.21 +"You don't look too bad yourself, princess," she replied.
  272.22 +Ramla just looked at Nakia's lips and then her eyes and then back to
  272.23 +her mouth. Nakia saw this and didn't know what to do: Ramla knew that
  272.24 +she would have to make the first move and see were it got her. She
  272.25 +got closer to Nakia's lips, bent her head a little and puts her lips
  272.26 +on the other girls. Nakia closed her eyes as the princess lips
  272.27 +touched hers. She slowly put her arm around the princess' neck. As
  272.28 +the two kissed, the power coming from them was so great that it was
  272.29 +making shock waves around them and the surrounding area. They,
  272.30 +however, couldn't feel anything but each other.
  272.31 +Neith was in shock; the power coming from was so great that it was
  272.32 +making everything around them shake. 
  272.33 +"Well, I knew that they would get together in the end, and I have a
  272.34 +feeling that Ra knows what he was doing, but lets hope that it's
  272.35 +stronger then whatever power that priest has," she thought with a
  272.36 +smile.
  272.37 + The Priest of Anubis couldn't believe his eyes, the power and love
  272.38 +coming from them was getting more powerful as time went by. Then he
  272.39 +saw his opening: he took his swords and ran right at them. The
  272.40 +princess had her back to him, as he was about to impale her, but then
  272.41 +a golden sword blocked it. He tried the other sword but it was
  272.42 +blocked by another golden sword.
  272.43 +  The two girls pulled apart from eachother and smiled. They knew
  272.44 +what needed to be done. They threw a shockwave at the Priest: it hit
  272.45 +him and knocked him to the ground. They turned and looked at him,
  272.46 +then nodded to each other and disappeared. The Priest didn't know
  272.47 +what just happened but he know where they would strike, and put this
  272.48 +swords on each side of him. The next he saw was two golden swords hit
  272.49 +the other swords. He hissed through his teeth and disappeared.
  272.50 +Nakia knew that look, and it meant that it was just about to get
  272.51 +even harder. She looked over to the princess looking around for him.
  272.52 +Ramla looked at her and winked at her, then disappeared as well.
  272.53 +Nakia didn't know what that was about, but she soon found out. She
  272.54 +felt it, then turned around just in time to see two blades hit, one
  272.55 +trying to kill her and the other saving her. She moved back a little
  272.56 +and saw them disappear again with looks of anger on their faces.
  272.57 +Nakia looked around for them, but they were moving so fast that only
  272.58 +the clash of metal on metal allowed her to follow this duel. She
  272.59 +closed her eyes and then disappeared herself.
  272.60 +Ramla was glad that she got to Nakia in time, but this was getting
  272.61 +out of hand; she alone can't take him down. He was stronger then her,
  272.62 +and the only thing keeping her alive right now was the fact that she
  272.63 +was little bet faster. She knew, however, that she couldn't keep this
  272.64 +up for much longer. 
  272.65 +Then she saw something in the corner of her eye, it was Nakia and
  272.66 +she looked ready for anything. The both looked at one another and
  272.67 +then knew that this was going to take both of them. The Priest was
  272.68 +getting madder by the minute. It was taking everything he had to try
  272.69 +and kill them, but it was like taking on Ra him self. He moved into
  272.70 +the shadows and tried to attack from behind, but the girls saw right
  272.71 +through him. He blocked both golden swords and jumped out of the away
  272.72 +of them. He knew he was stronger than them, but they were faster than
  272.73 +he was, and with them working as a team it wasn't helping.
  272.74 +"There's got to be away to stop them; I have idea, but I will have
  272.75 +to wait for the right time," he thought and smiled evilly.
  272.76 +He then moved to the right and worked with both of his swords, swung
  272.77 +them at the same time, and then moved the ends of the swords and put
  272.78 +them together to makes a very long, bow-like weapon.
  272.79 +"Now, take this!" he yelled, trying to stab both of them at the same
  272.80 +time.
  272.81 +The princess just looked on with shock and tried to move out of the
  272.82 +way but a part of the weapon hit her arm
  272.83 +She screamed: the priest just smiles and moves it in a little
  272.84 +deeper. Then out of nowhere a golden blade came down and broke that
  272.85 +part of the weapon off. The priest looked up and saw a very angry
  272.86 +Nakia.
  272.87 +"What did I do something wrong?" he asks sarcastically.
  272.88 +Nakia moved over to Ramla very fast. She bent down and removed the
  272.89 +piece of weapon from her arm.
  272.90 +"Ramla, are you alright?" she asked with a very worried voice.
  272.91 +Ramla smiled up at her.
  272.92 +"I'll be alright; here take my sword and finish him off," she told
  272.93 +Nakia and handed her the sword.
  272.94 +Nakia took her sword and turned her head to look at the priest. She
  272.95 +then disappeared.
  272.96 +Ramla just smiled and looked up, and the Priest looked back at her.
  272.97 +"What are you looking at you?" he asked angrily.
  272.98 +She doesn't say anything, just kept looking up at him. Her eyes were
  272.99 +full of love and hate; the love was for her Nakia, and the hate was
 272.100 +for him.
 272.101 +He couldn't stand it anymore; those eyes were burning into his soul.
 272.102 +Then it hit him; she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at…..
 272.103 +He tried to look up but it was too late, he blocked the first sword
 272.104 +just as the other one came right through him. His body turned into a
 272.105 +mist of some kind and disappeared. Nakia and Ramla just looked on
 272.106 +with shock and didn't understand what happened. They then saw the
 272.107 +dragon-like phoenix move over to them and start to change back into
 272.108 +its usual form. After it was done, the phoenix hopped over to Ramla's
 272.109 +lap and healed her arm with its tears, then lies down on her lap and
 272.110 +closes its eyes. The storm was lighting up by that time. Nakia walks
 272.111 +over to Ramla and sits next to her, not caring that her dress was
 272.112 +getting muddy.
 272.113 +"Ramla and Ramla's lover, can you hear me?" asked a voice in heir
 272.114 +heads.
 272.115 +Ramla and Nakia look at one and other, and then close their eyes.
 272.116 +"Yes, we can hear you, who is this?" Ramla questioned.
 272.117 +"Ramla, I'm Ra's pet, the Phoenix in your lap," it answers. "Now
 272.118 +listen to me; that person that we just fought was a shadow of the
 272.119 +real person, I don't know why or how he did that, but I wanted you to
 272.120 +know that I'm very happy to fight along side you. Also Ra sent word
 272.121 +that the real priest won't be showing his face anytime soon, and to
 272.122 +take it easy for now."
 272.123 +The two looked over to at Ramla's mother and saw her smiling as
 272.124 +well. They walked over to her and then back into the house, each
 272.125 +wondering what was going to happen to them.
 272.126 +
 272.127 +A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you like it. Sorry that it was so
 272.128 +short but I need to get this out of the way. Thanks to everyone whose
 272.129 +reviewed so far.
 272.130 + 
 272.131 + 
 272.132 +

   273.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   273.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras-08.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   273.3 @@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
   273.4 +Ra's Daughters
   273.5 +By
   273.6 +Black Rose
   273.7 +
   273.8 +Chapter Eight- Hope of Ra
   273.9 +
  273.10 +Two days had gone by with no sign of the Priest. The city was very
  273.11 +lively after the rain had come: the market was full of people and you
  273.12 +could see fishing bouts out on the great river. Sanura was staring
  273.13 +out of her bedroom window, smiling at the people below her.
  273.14 +"Why do I get this feeling that he's not coming back for a long
  273.15 +time?" she asked herself, somewhat relieved that the Priest was
  273.16 +finally gone.
  273.17 +The door to her room opened: she turned and saw Layla caring a try
  273.18 +of food. Layla put the food on the table next to the bed then turned
  273.19 +and wait for orders. The Priestess just smiled at her in return.
  273.20 +"Layla, why don't you sit down? I'm not going to give you any orders."
  273.21 +Layla bowed and sat on a chair next to the door then waited for
  273.22 +something to do for the Priestess. Sanura walked over to her desk,
  273.23 +sat down and started to write on some scrolls. Ra's Phoenix flew in
  273.24 +through the window and landed on Layla's lap.
  273.25 +"Well hello there," replied Layla as she smiled at the animal that
  273.26 +saved her life.
  273.27 +The three set in peaceful silence. You could hear the people talking
  273.28 +out side.
  273.29 +After a while the phoenix looked up at Layla.
  273.30 +"Why don't you tell her how you feel?" the phoenix mentally asked her.
  273.31 +Layla looked down at the bird and smiled a little,"I don't think
  273.32 +that's a good idea; she's a Priestess and I'm just a low class
  273.33 +worker."
  273.34 +"I have a feeling that it won't matter to her; I believe she feels
  273.35 +that same."
  273.36 +Layla looked up at Sanura and then back to the bird in her lap.
  273.37 +"Maybe, butr right now I'm happy to be with her this way."
  273.38 +The firebird just nodded its head and looked over to the Priestess.
  273.39 +Sanura felt that someone was watching her: she turned her head a
  273.40 +little to see Layla looking at her and Ra's pet sitting on her lap.
  273.41 +Her heart was betting very fast when she looked into Layla's eyes.
  273.42 +Layla saw that the Priestess was looking at her and a blush rose in
  273.43 +her cheeks.
  273.44 +"Do you need something, Priestess Sanura?" she asked, hoping that
  273.45 +she could do something for her.
  273.46 +The Priestess smiled and thought about it but nothing came to mind.
  273.47 +She put down what she was writing then got up and walked over to
  273.48 +Layla.
  273.49 +"Layla, could I ask you why you're by my side?" she asked kindly as
  273.50 +she sat down on the bed facing her.
  273.51 +Layla didn't know what to make of this; part of her was scared, but
  273.52 +the other part of her always wanted to be with the Priestess. Tears
  273.53 +began to fill her eyes and her face contorted into a mask of pain.
  273.54 +"I'm sorry Priestess, I just… I just…" she couldn't keep from crying.
  273.55 +Sanura turned to her, a sad yet understanding smile on her face.
  273.56 +The next thing they knew, a beautiful song had filled the air. The
  273.57 +women looked down and saw Ra's pet on the floor singing to them. The
  273.58 +Phoenix wonderous song made the whole kingdom feel at peace. The
  273.59 +people in the market stopped what they were doing and instead began
  273.60 +to look for where the song was coming from. The birdsong was silenced
  273.61 +as quickly and mysteriously as it had begun. In the Priestess' room
  273.62 +two young ladies were looking at one and other. Their eyes were
  273.63 +looking deep into each other's, and neither one of them knew what to
  273.64 +do: one part of them wanted to run to each other arms and never
  273.65 +leave… but then there was the other part, the part that was scared of
  273.66 +being faced with rejection.
  273.67 +As the two stared at one another, the firebird just kept looking
  273.68 +back and forth: it couldn't take it anyone. The next thing the two
  273.69 +women heard in their minds was laugher. They looked down at the bird
  273.70 +and saw it on the floor, laughing in amusment at something that
  273.71 +seemed to have escaped them both.
  273.72 +"What are you laughing about?" Sanura asked.
  273.73 +The Phoenix got back on its feet, flew onto the bed with them and
  273.74 +then spoke.
  273.75 +"Humans are so amusing, especially when two of them have feelings
  273.76 +for each other, and neither has any idea what to do about"
  273.77 +"What?" both women spoke at the same time, shocked by the Phoenix's
  273.78 +revealtion. 
  273.79 +They looked at one another, started to blush and turned away from
  273.80 +each other. Ra's pet phoenix laughed and flew out of the window in
  273.81 +order to find her human and her human's lover.
  273.82 +After a while, the Phoenix heard its master calling: it began to fly
  273.83 +to Ra's Temple, taking a shortcut through Sanura's room, where the
  273.84 +two women were still not looking at one another. Finally Layla looked
  273.85 +over to the other girl and saw that she was looking out of the
  273.86 +window. Layla got up then walked over and sat down next to the
  273.87 +Priestess, who turned and looked at her.
  273.88 +Sanura was in deep thought when she felt something on the bed with
  273.89 +her. She turned her head and saw the very person she had been
  273.90 +thinking about. She smiled at Layla, who smiled back in return.
  273.91 +Layla was about to say something, but Sanura never give her a chance
  273.92 +to, as she quickly kissed her. Layla was very shocked, never having
  273.93 +expected that to really happen, but the shock soon wore off and she
  273.94 +kissed the Priestess back.
  273.95 +*
  273.96 +   The Phoenix fleq into the temple and landed on the floor next the
  273.97 +eye of Ra. The eye started to glow and with a giant flash of light
  273.98 +the firebird disappears. Ra was sitting on his throne with his wife
  273.99 +next to him. Then a white flash of light appeared and his pet flew
 273.100 +into the room and then landed on his shoulder. 
 273.101 +"You need to speak to me, my lord?" the Phoenix asked.
 273.102 +"Thank you for coming; I know that you wanted to be with your human,
 273.103 +but I have information about the Priest."
 273.104 +His pet just nodded to show that she understood what he was saying.
 273.105 +"It seems that he used a dark spell to put his soul into a black
 273.106 +crystal, and sent it somewhere out of my land."
 273.107 +"What about Anubis, doesn't he know were it is?" asked his pet.
 273.108 +"It would seem that Anubis knew what he was doing, but he will not
 273.109 +give any information," Ra's wife sighed.
 273.110 +The Phoenix just turns its head to her and bows.
 273.111 +"So what do we do? If it was a spell and his soul is in a crystal
 273.112 +it's only a matter of time before he comes back to life."
 273.113 +"That may be true true, but I have a plan," Ra looked at his pet and
 273.114 +his wife and smiled.
 273.115 +"To make sure that the people of the time have the power to stop
 273.116 +him, we will be sending you and those two swords."
 273.117 +Selkhet thought this through and looked back at her husband.
 273.118 + "I think it would be a good idea if we left a little bit of your
 273.119 +soul behind to help as well," she spoke up.
 273.120 +"What do you have in mind, my dear?" Ra asked.
 273.121 +"Well, I get this feeling that these girls have had more than one
 273.122 +life together: if that's true then I would say that if we left some
 273.123 +information down on earth them it could help them."
 273.124 +Ra thought about it and then it came to him.
 273.125 + "How about this? We leave a little bit of ourselves in a animal and
 273.126 +that animal would watch over the person."
 273.127 +"That's a great idea," replied his wife.
 273.128 +"What do you think, my pet?" Ra asked the phoenix.
 273.129 +"That will work: I will be off now and get those swords," she told
 273.130 +them and with a flash of light she was gone
 273.131 + Ra and Selkhet looked at one and other and smiled, then began to
 273.132 +think about what animal they would use.
 273.133 +*
 273.134 +Back on Earth, Ramla was looking around for Nakia. After a while she
 273.135 +found standing on one of the many balconies that overlooked the
 273.136 +kingdom.
 273.137 +"So this is where you have been hiding?" she laughed slightly as she
 273.138 +spoke to her newfound lover.
 273.139 +Nakia turned her head a little to see her princess looking at her
 273.140 +with a loving smile. She was wearing one of her princess dress with a
 273.141 +small crown with the symbols of Ra on it.
 273.142 +She turned to the princess and bowed.
 273.143 +" And why have you been looking for me, princess?" she asked, a hint
 273.144 +of playfulness in her voice.
 273.145 + Ramla giggled, "Well I woke up from my nap and couldn't find you,
 273.146 +when I could have sworn that you were sleeping with me."
 273.147 +Nakia blushed when she caught the double meaning in the princess'
 273.148 +words.
 273.149 +Ramla walked over to Nakia and kissed her. The kiss lasted a while,
 273.150 +and when they broke apart the saw a beautiful bird fly up to them.
 273.151 +They knew who it was- Ra's pet Phoenix.
 273.152 +The firebird landed on the railing and bowed to her human and her
 273.153 +human's lover. She then told them what their plan is now that they
 273.154 +must deal once again with the priest. The two smiled and nodded. They
 273.155 +then summoned their swords and handed them over to the bird. She
 273.156 +thanked them and flew off into the sun. Nakia and Ramla smiled at one
 273.157 +another and walked back into the Palace, thankful for this peace,
 273.158 +even if it was destined only to last a short time.
 273.159 +
 273.160 +A/N-Well I finally got this story done, yay! I hope everyone liked
 273.161 +it. I left it like that because I have idea for a new story that goes
 273.162 +along with my Dark Rainbow Crystal story. I hope you liked the ending
 273.163 +to this. Thanks again to all that read and reviewed this story. If
 273.164 +you have time could you review this chapter? I'd really like to know
 273.165 +what you think. Thanks--- Black Rose
 273.166 \ No newline at end of file

   274.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   274.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_ras.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   274.3 @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
   274.4 +(Before I started this story I will have to tell you the names of Rini and Hotaru will change. Rini well be known as Ramla and Hotaru will be known as Nakia. I thought of this story when it was raining, so a lot of the story will take place with in a rainstorm. Thanks for your time and now to the story... Black Rose)
   274.5 +Ra’s Daughters
   274.6 +By Black Rose
   274.7 +Chapter One
   274.8 +Rain of Ra
   274.9 +Moonpower02@Hotmail.com
  274.10 +
  274.11 +--------------
  274.12 +
  274.13 +The rain drummed noisily outside the temple of the sun god Ra. The people were happy that the rain had come; that would mean a good year for crops, and the great river would have fish. A young woman with pink hair was watching the rain, as was the kitten she held in her arms. The young woman’s name was Ramla and she was the daughter of the Great Pharaoh, the ruler of all Egypt.
  274.14 + Unlike her tyrannical father, Ramla was kind and caring… perhaps a little too much so. 
  274.15 +
  274.16 + Ramla kept her unusual, garnet coloured eyes fixed on the rain outside. The rain was such a strange thing to Ramla, especially as it almost never rained in Egypt. Maybe it was a gift from the gods, but maybe it was a curse. She had heard of times when, in the ancient past, the river had flooded Egypt and brought about the deaths of many, but that, Ramla reminded herself, was just anicent legend and nothing for her to worry about. 
  274.17 +No, she had more pressing matters on her mind at that time than the rain; on her coming birthday she would have to marry the high priest of the god Anubis. To say that she didn’t like the high priest would have been a lie, 
  274.18 +but she knew in her heart that she didn’t love him: no, she didn’t love him at all.  
  274.19 +Ramla looked away from the rain and turned to face the interior of the temple in which she then stood. The temple was a temple of Ra, the god of the sun. Ramla had always seen him as her patron and protector, ever since her childhood when she had had those strange dreams… That was why she was there then; Ra had come to her in a dream the night before, just before the rains had come, and told her to come to him for the guidance she needed. 
  274.20 +She walked slowly to the centre of the temple, set the kitten down on the floor, then kneeled down herself and began to pray. Why, with all the golden statues and the eye of Ra here, Ramla could almost swear that Ra himself was present in the temple. There was a raised dais at the end of the room, on which the eye itself stood, where only the priest and priestess of Ra would pray.
  274.21 + Ramla looked once more at the eye of Ra, then bowed her head and began to pray.
  274.22 +In her mid she chanted “Oh mighty Ra, please hear my call. I ask you to help me find the answers I seek. I do not know if it is my place to say, oh mighty lord, but I do not believe that either the high priest or my father do or shall rule fairly over your people as they should. Please, mighty Ra, send me guidance: send me one who will rule over us, your people, with a fair hand and a wise mind. I beg this of you, mighty Ra, please hear my call.”
  274.23 + As Ramla finished her praying, she heard someone enter the temple. She quickly jumped to her feet and spun around to see a person standing near her. This person wore a strange, dark coloured, hooded cloak, so Ramla couldn’t see her face. At least Ramla assumed the person was a she, as they were little taller than she in height and even slighter in stature. It was obviously not one of her father’s guards, nor was it a slave… perhaps this person was not even from Egypt…
  274.24 +*
  274.25 +The storm was only getting worse, the young woman mused as the rain continued to pour down endlessly from the heavens. The rain scared her; it was so rare, she could not remember the last time it had rained in her own lands. She squinted her amethyst coloured eyes and tried to see where she was going. This was worse than sandstorms, much worse. The worst thing, she told herself, was the humidity in the air that was literally soaking into her black robes.
  274.26 + The young woman had travelled far to look for work and with every step she took through the rain, she felt more and more drained, both in mind and soul. 
  274.27 + “Goddess help me,” she said, speaking the tongue of the kingdom she was in but with a heavy, strange accent. She brushed her chin length black hair away from her eyes and pulled the hood of her robe closer over her face. She narrowed her eyes further against the torrential rain 
  274.28 +and continued to swiftly walk along the great river that ran through the place they called ‘Egypt’, towards three great structures that dominated the skyline. 
  274.29 +She had heard them mentioned before… pyramids they were called. They were the tombs of the past rulers of this kingdom, she knew. 
  274.30 +Such grand tombs, she mused, it was almost as though the rulers of this place were the incarnations of the goddesses themselves. No, not the goddesses, the gods; this society was patriarchal; women had almost no value here.
  274.31 +Soon she came to a building in which lights still blazed; she was not sure what the building was, but she knew that it was probably the only place where she could find shelter from the storm for a while. The wind had picked up and sand was now mixing with the puring rain, making it almost imnposible for her to see where she was going. 
  274.32 +She quickly entered the building and realised she was in a temple; the temple of Ra. She could see the eye, the eye of the god Ra. The eye glowed red and then back to the way it was before, simply solid gold. 
  274.33 +She blinked and looked at it again but nothing happend. 
  274.34 +“What was that?” she asked herself as she walked into the temple. As she fully entered the prayer chamber, she saw a young woman with long pink hair kneeling in front of the dais above which the eye was held.  The young woman turned around, startled, and look at her in fear, her strange, garnet coloured eyes wide with amazement.
  274.35 +The young woman smiled at the frightened looking girl in front of her and removed her hood so that the other could see her face.
  274.36 +“Who are you?” the pink haired girl asked.
  274.37 +The other woman didn’t answer at first; she simply looked back into the girl’s garnet eyes and saw her own amethyst ones reflected in them.
  274.38 +“My name is Nakia”, the black haired one said, giving a slight smile that didn’t reach her cold eyes, trying to show the pink-haired one kindness even though she was nervous in her presence. “I was trying to get out of the storm. I sorry to disturb you; I didn’t knew someone was in here.”
  274.39 +“Nice to meet you Nakia, my name is Ramla,” the pink haired girl said, returning Nakia’s smile.
  274.40 +“I sorry about coming in here and bothiering you: I will leave” Nakia said, bowing to Ramla and turning around very slowly.
  274.41 +“No! You don’t have to go; stay here and warm up,” Ramla yelled, running in front of her to stop her. For some reason she didn’t want the other woman to leave, and it wasn’t just because of the strom that was raging outside. No, there was something else…
  274.42 + Nakia stopped and looked right at Ramla: she could see deep sadness in her eyes, and it was making her heart break. Nakia closed her eyes and then reopened them.
  274.43 +“Thank you, Ramla” Nakia said, moving slowly to one of the fires in the temple.
  274.44 +Ramla watched her, then walked over to a kitten and picked it up.
  274.45 +“May I ask why you were outside in this weather?” she asked petting her kitten.
  274.46 +Nakia looked over to her and then back to the fire.
  274.47 +“I was heading to the next city to find work, but the rain started before I could get there.  Besides, it was night so I knew that I needed to find somewhere to sleep, though I’m nor familiar with this place so I didn’t know where else to go” she replied.
  274.48 +“Then that is why you came here? Because it was a place out of the storm?”
  274.49 +“Yes”
  274.50 +The two women just stood there, one trying to get warm and the other watching her.
  274.51 +The eye of Ra began once more to glow a deep shad of red. The kitten in the Ramla’s arms jumped down and started hissing at the eye. Ramla stared at the eye, her own red eyes wide; she had never seen it do this before, never, and it worried her. Ramla looked away from the eye and over to Nakia, who was also staring at the glowing eye. 
  274.52 +“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” asked Ramla as she edged closer to it.
  274.53 +“I believe I am” Nakia replied, also walking close to it.
  274.54 +They both stopped in front of it and stared wide eyed. The thunder outside was get louder and closer. The wind started to pickup, and all the fire in the temple blown out. The only light in there was from the eye of Ra.
  274.55 +The two women looked over to each other, their eyes meeting. They were both too afraid to move. They just looked into one anothers eyes and back at the eye of Ra.
  274.56 +“Close your eyes,” Ramla heard a voice say, and she did so without even wondering who had said that or why. Nakia had heard the same thing.
  274.57 +In their minds they saw man and a very beautiful bird with blazing red and gold wings. The bird flew next to the man, who was walking closer towards them. He stopped in front of Nakia and Ramla and smiled kindly.
  274.58 +“Welcome my daughters; it is time for you to begin to find your destinies. It will not be easy, but know this, I will be watching over you at all times.”
  274.59 +Nakia was about to say something but before she could he put his hands up to stop her.
  274.60 +“My dear Nakia, in time you will see why you are here: you also, my dear Ramla.”
  274.61 +Nakia and Ramla looked at each other and then back at him. He just smiled at them and then turned around walked back to his throne where he sat with the bird pearched on him shoulder.
  274.62 +“I do not have time right now to tell you everything, but you will find out the truth in good time,” he said, laughing a little.
  274.63 +Ramla could not take it any more; she was dying to ask him the one thig she needed to know.
  274.64 +“Who are you, and are we dead?”
  274.65 +The man smiled at her and thought about it for a while. He then look at the bird and nodded.
  274.66 +“To answer your question I would have to say no, you are not: and you know who I am.”
  274.67 +Ramla though about it for little awhile then it hit her like a rock. She put her hand to her mouth and gasped.
  274.68 +“You’re Ra.”
  274.69 +Ra smiled and nodded his head. He then looked over at Nakia, who looked about as shocked as Ramla was.
  274.70 +“Now I believe you were asking for help: will here it is,” Ra said pointing at Nakia.
  274.71 +“Me?” asked Nakia. “And what am I to help her with?”
  274.72 +“Yes, you Nakia; I believe you will help the princess out very much.”
  274.73 +Ramla looks at Nakia and smiles, thinking to herself, “If Ra says she can help me, it must be true.”
  274.74 +Nakia just looked confusedly at Ra and then back at Ramla.
  274.75 +“Mighty Ra, what can I do?” Nakia asked. “I would like to help but I am just a poor woman, I don’t know how much help I can be to Ramla, if any at all.”
  274.76 +Ra stood up and walked over to them: then he smiled at both Nakia and Ramla.
  274.77 +“Your time is up here, I am afraid that I must send you back now: but knew that I’m always here if you need me,” he said and he kissed them on the foreheads.
  274.78 +The next then they knew they passed out. Inside the temple two females were laying on the floor with the symbols of the eye of Ra on their foreheads. Nakia and Ramla had been right; the rain had been a warning from the gods and goddesses, and things were soon to happen that no one on Earth could ever have expected.
  274.79 +
  274.80 +(AN: This was a lot of fun to write, I hope to have the next chapter done soon. - Black Rose)
  274.81 +

   275.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   275.2 +++ b/stories/cuh_somerise2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   275.3 @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
   275.4 +Some Rise 2
   275.5 +by Sataan Kishi
   275.6 +saturn_knight@hotmail.com
   275.7 +
   275.8 +---------------
   275.9 +
  275.10 +	“What the….?” Haruka mumbled under her breath as she stared at the emptiness of the night, the rain still coming down in sheets, soaking both her and her lover as they stood out in the cold. Neither of the two could understand what had just happened. Had they just not seen the man before? Had he just stepped back into the dark? That was impossible, he had vanished, she was sure of it. 
  275.11 +	“Come on, let’s get inside… standing out here will do no good. We’ll clean this mess up tomorrow.” Michiru spoke quietly to the blonde, idly taking her hand and giving it a very soft pull in the direction of the front door.
  275.12 +	“Yeah… inside…” she repeated, allowing herself to be guided out of the frigid night and into the warmth of their home. Once the door was shut, everyone dripping water onto the foyer floor, Haruka made sure that every lock was secured, just in case… “Who was that?” 
  275.13 +	“I… am not sure. I have not seen that person before… have either of you?” Michiru turned her gaze down at both of the girls in turn, getting a shake of her head from the pair. “Perhaps we should phone Usagi… this could be something serious.” Out of habit, and of course relation, all the three turned to look at Chibi-Usa who immediately turned her eyes down to the ground and gave a shake of her head.
  275.14 +	“What’s wrong?” Hotaru asked quietly, more whispering in her ear than speaking aloud, but before she could even get a response, she could tell by the look on her young friend’s face that something was very wrong.
  275.15 +	“Chibi-Usa?” Michiru spoke, stepping closer to the pink haired child before kneeling by her side, a hand setting on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her if even just a bit. “What is it? We don’t have to call Usagi right now if you don’t want us to.” The enthusiastic nod that she received as a reply made her wonder just what the story was. 
  275.16 +	“They already know about us,” Hotaru whispered to her friend, low enough that only Chibi-Usa and Michiru could hear, though it wasn’t an attempt to leave Haruka out of the circle. “It’s ok… I promise…” the dark haired girl added quietly, arms tightly circling the smaller girl. 
  275.17 +	“They do?” the surprised Chibi questioned, a bit shocked to know that the normally very private Hotaru had already told her parents that the two were now in a relationship, what brought it about? 
  275.18 +	“Yes, we do,” Haruka responded for the pair, smirking lightly as both of the girls were too sheepish to look at her in the eye, a blush starting to glow on their cheeks. “We’re fine with it, but until you tell us what’s wrong, we can’t help you, can we?” The blonde leaned her back against the door frame next to her, arms crossing loosely over her chest while her lover returned to her side.  
  275.19 +	“Whatever it is, you can tell us. Hotaru felt comfortable enough to tell us that you and she were an item now,” Michiru’s smooth voice helped ease Chibi’s anxiety, the arms of her now girlfriend did even more to coax out the reason for her nervousness and tears. Hotaru could feel the small body in her embrace shivering and trembling, and she did all she could to try to calm her. Soft strokes of her fingertips ran along her back, and a gentle kiss planted on the smaller girl’s cheek. It was nothing new for the two to hug, as it was often a goodnight gesture, and even a kiss on the cheek was given on a birthday, or to stop one’s tears, but that was all in the name, or perhaps guise, of friendship. This was not. 
  275.20 +	Chibi stopped shaking almost immediately, a soft, final, sniffle was given and her dark red eyes raised to view the violet irises of her girlfriend, who offered a quiet smile and a nod, as well as a gentle, “It’s ok…”
  275.21 +	“I…. I was…. I was writing a letter on the computer,” Chibi-Usa began to confess, gaze cast down at her feet since she suddenly lacked the will to look any of the others in the eye. “And… it was a letter to Hotaru, telling her that… that I loved her…” she stuttered through her statement, licking her lips nervously, “And… Usagi snuck up on me and read it over my shoulder…” That was all she had to say, the others knew immediately the ramifications of that, Haruka more than the others, as she’s dealt with Usagi’s homophobia before. 
  275.22 +	That led to nothing but silence.
  275.23 +
  275.24 +	
  275.25 +	It was late the next morning before, just before noon, when Usagi phoned Haruka to ask if anyone there had seen Chibi-Usa. Deciding to try to get more information from Usagi about just what had went on, she delayed answering the question to pose one of her own.
  275.26 +	“She’s not with you? What happened?” Haruka asked, her eyes turning from the phone’s cradle to the couch in the living room where Hotaru and Chibi-Usa sat, one reading and one watching TV, on low volume, as to not disturb the other. This response got a bit of a sigh from Usagi, though it wasn’t one of sadness or helplessness, but rather of irritation as if she were annoyed that her daughter had disappeared. 
  275.27 +	“I caught her on the computer last night writing a love note to your kid.” Usagi had a snip in her voice, “This is your guys fault for making it seem like that life style is ok.” She refused to accept the fact that her daughter naturally felt that way; it had to be a result of spending too much time around a lesbian couple. They confused her as to what a real relationship was. That had to be the answer. 
  275.28 +	“Excuse me?” Haruka was shocked by Usagi’s accusation, knowing she was homophobic, but this was just too much. “You don’t CATCH lesbianism, or LEARN to become attracted to the same gender. If anything, you spend time trying to UNLEARN it, to try to fit in with society, and not have things that are beyond control to be blamed on you by close minded, arrogant, and ignorant people like YOU,” Haruka growled into the phone, hearing the receiver creaking under the increasing pressure of her grip.
  275.29 +	“Whatever,” Usagi hissed angrily, unable to think of an appropriate counter to the woman’s argument, instead demanding, “Have you seen her or not?” 
  275.30 +	“No,” Haruka replied before adding, “and you should have gone out and looked for her, not slept all damned morning. You’re more worried about her being in love with a girl rather than what could happen to her if she were lost, hit by a car, or some stranger picking her up and running off with her. So good to see you have your priorities straight, kid.” She purposely played on the age difference between them as an insult to the increasingly irritated Usagi on the other end of the line.
  275.31 +	“Then call me if you do!” the long haired blond yelled into the phone before slamming down the receiver and cutting off the line, too angry and flustered to be able to think of any retort to what she was told. She didn’t think of something bad happening to Chibi-Usa, she was too angry to think about something like that going on. But then, fear began to creep into the back of her throat as she thought about what Haruka had said to her. Trying her best to dismiss it with a shake of her head and another few thoughts of Chibi-Usa hiding from her just to be a pest, Usagi picked up her car keys and hurried to the door to look for her daughter, much like she should have done the night before.
  275.32 +	“My god…” Haruka mumbled to herself as she hit the talk button on the phone, shutting it off with a distasteful sigh. By this time, both of the girls had been looking up at the short haired blonde, wondering why she got angry with the person on the other end of the phone, They could guess by context who it was, even though Usagi’s name was not mentioned.
  275.33 +	“She’s still mad…” Chibi-Usa said while looking down at the floor, and added “But I can’t go home now...” The small pink haired girl seemed on the verge of tears, her arms wrapped around herself for comfort, and Haruka placed a hand on her shoulder for a moment before Hotaru’s arm’s slipped around her friend’s torso from behind. 
  275.34 +	“You can stay here with us,” Hotaru offered without even thinking of what her parents would say, nor if they even wanted her here at all. She doubted her parents would send her home to a mother who instead of immediately going out to look for her slept in all morning while she was missing. Rather than accept right away, Chibi’s bloodshot eyes rose from the well kept floor up to the blonde who had a hand on her shoulder. 
  275.35 +	“Of course you can stay with us,” Haruka replied before she really even thought about it. It’s not like she had much of a choice, but it still wasn’t a chore. “I’m going to go have a talk with Michi about all of this, you two get some lunch, it’s almost noon.” A hand set on each girl’s head and their hair was ruffled, both of them looking relieved. 
  275.36 +	“ ‘Kay,” The dark haired one answered, taking Chibi’s hand and leading her out of the living room, “Thanks Haruka-Papa,” she added quickly before making her way into the kitchen with her smaller friend in tow.
  275.37 +	“Yes, Thank you very much,” Chibi spoke quietly, not looking up at the blonde as she’s pulled out of the room, and out of earshot.
  275.38 +	“Here we go again,” Haruka sighed and shook her head, looking towards the kitchen sadly, wondering why they had to bear the brunt of Usagi’s close mindedness. And with that, she headed back into their bedroom to speak to Michiru while rubbing her temples with her fingertips.
  275.39 +							
  275.40 +
  275.41 +(You know, when I started writing this last half of the “Star Crossed” trilogy, I had every intention of making it quite a bit longer. However, after the continued complete lack of feedback, even when I’ve specifically asked for it multiple times, I’ve decided that it’s not going to be finished. For all I know, I’m using my time to write something that no one even reads, when I could be using my energies elsewhere. For the, perhaps, three or four of you who have read and gave feedback like I asked, I apologize, but this is the last fic I’m going to write. -SK.)
  275.42 \ No newline at end of file

   276.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   276.2 +++ b/stories/cunpnk1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   276.3 @@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
   276.4 +Author's notes: ^_^
   276.5 +
   276.6 +        Ohayou, konnichiwa, konbanwa, mina-sama.  Thank you for trying
   276.7 +out my fanfic. ^_^  This isn't my first Sailormoon fanfic, it's my
   276.8 +second. ^^;  But I wrote my first one two years ago, and it wasn't
   276.9 +very good, so... ^^;;;  Anyway, if nothing else it gave me some
  276.10 +experience.
  276.11 +
  276.12 +        This fanfic is based on the manga storyline and mostly takes
  276.13 +place in the future (except for this part).  I've planned out four
  276.14 +parts, the other three being longer than this one, but sometimes
  276.15 +authors end up changing outlines completely, so who knows? ^_^;  You
  276.16 +won't really have had to read the manga to understand this story, but
  276.17 +it does help with little tiny details (okay, some big ones, too).  I
  276.18 +tried to stay as close to the storyline as possible and use the
  276.19 +correct dates, so this can be thought of fitting very nicely into the
  276.20 +story.
  276.21 +
  276.22 +        I say that, but there's one point which I'd like to make
  276.23 +clear.  As you read farther into this story you might say, "That would
  276.24 +*never* happen!  There's no evidence for that!"  Well, you'd be right,
  276.25 +sort of.  There is some very subtle evidence in the manga, especially
  276.26 +in the artbooks.  Not enough to definitely say it's true, mind you,
  276.27 +but enough to create a fanfic around it. ^_^;  Isn't that what fanfics
  276.28 +are for?  To explore possibilities? :)
  276.29 +
  276.30 +        By now I'm sure you're all going "Huh?  What is she talking
  276.31 +about?"  Well, you'll find out in later chapters.  I didn't want to
  276.32 +spoil it for you here. ^^;
  276.33 +
  276.34 +        I'm tending to use a fair amount of Japanese in this fanfic,
  276.35 +just because I imagine them speaking totally in Japanese with
  276.36 +subtitles in my mind. ^^;  Most of it's fairly straight forward, and
  276.37 +you should be able to tell what's going on even if you don't know any
  276.38 +Japanese at all.
  276.39 +
  276.40 +        I'm rating this fanfic R.  Not all of it is worth an "R"
  276.41 +rating (this part, for example, is at most PG), but some of it is.
  276.42 +It's mostly because of the sexual scenes and situations that will
  276.43 +happen later on.  It's not a hentai fic, though (not that I have
  276.44 +anything against hentai fics ^=^;).  No one really pays attention to
  276.45 +ratings anyway, do they?
  276.46 +
  276.47 +        Special thanks to all my favourite fanfic authors!  Jackie
  276.48 +Chiang, LeVar Bouyer, Tim Nolan (he's the man ^_-), Greenbeans, and
  276.49 +everyone else I'm forgetting!  You're fanfics are great, and have
  276.50 +given me a lot of inspiration for this one. ^_^  Doumo arigatou!
  276.51 +
  276.52 +        And, of course, I thank the megami Takeuchi Naoko for writing
  276.53 +and drawing such an interesting and compelling story.  Sailormoon has
  276.54 +changed my life, and it makes me very happy.  It's a part of ME.
  276.55 +
  276.56 +        Anyway, I'm sure you've all had enough of by babbling.  On
  276.57 +with the fanfic!
  276.58 +
  276.59 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  276.60 +Chibiusa no PYUA na kokoro
  276.61 +(Chibiusa's Pure Heart)
  276.62 +Part 1
  276.63 +By Andrea Doolan <ajhd@king.igs.net>
  276.64 +"Sailormoon no ichiban daifan"
  276.65 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  276.66 +
  276.67 +~*~*~*~*~
  276.68 +
  276.69 +        The mid-summer sun was just starting to set over the rolling
  276.70 +hills of the Japanese countryside.  If one listened closely, one could
  276.71 +hear the faint cry of seagulls a few kilometres to the east, where the
  276.72 +Pacific Ocean stood.  The wind was ever so gentle as it washed the
  276.73 +cresting waves ashore.
  276.74 +
  276.75 +        One would never guess that a site as peaceful as this would
  276.76 +even exist five months after the fierce battle in the river delta of
  276.77 +Tokyo occurred.  The Silence had fallen upon the Earth, but thanks to
  276.78 +the ever-shinning light of the Messiah, she rose to resurrect the
  276.79 +souls and structures which inhabited the blue-green sphere.
  276.80 +
  276.81 +        Out of this a child was born, or rather reincarnated.  With it
  276.82 +came hope for a bright future and happiness for everyone.  No one
  276.83 +would have recognised this child if they saw it today.  Instead of a
  276.84 +five-month-old baby, the body of a five-year-old stood in its place.
  276.85 +Tonight she was being put to bed by her mother in a 19th century
  276.86 +western style house on the grassy hills beside the sea.
  276.87 +
  276.88 +        "Ne, Michiru-mama," said Hotaru as she was tucked under the
  276.89 +covers, "what's love?"
  276.90 +
  276.91 +        The woman with long aqua green hair giggled a little bit.  She
  276.92 +had a caring smile on her face and looked lovingly at the black haired
  276.93 +child.  "I wonder what made you ask that, Hotaru-chan."
  276.94 +
  276.95 +        "Nothing, really...  I was just wondering."  Hotaru looked at
  276.96 +her inquisitively.
  276.97 +
  276.98 +        The graceful woman sighed, still smiling.  "Well, love is the
  276.99 +most powerful force in the world.  It can heal all wounds and brings
 276.100 +joy and happiness to everyone."  Hotaru looked at her mesmerised, and
 276.101 +pleaded with her eyes to be told more.  "There are lots of different
 276.102 +kinds of love, each one of them wonderful.  For example, Haruka-papa,
 276.103 +Setsuna-mama, and I love you very much.  You're our very precious
 276.104 +daughter."
 276.105 +
 276.106 +        Hotaru smiled happily at this and replied, "Hai!  I love you
 276.107 +all, too!"
 276.108 +
 276.109 +        Michiru continued, "And then there's the type of love you feel
 276.110 +for a friend, such as myself with Setsuna."  Hotaru just gave a
 276.111 +knowing nod.  "And then...  At one point in your life you'll meet one
 276.112 +person whom you want to spend the rest of your life with.  This
 276.113 +person, you will realise, is the other half of you and part of your
 276.114 +soul.  You'll become unable to think of being with anyone else.  This
 276.115 +person will fill your thoughts and your heart.  Together, you will
 276.116 +make a complete package."
 276.117 +
 276.118 +        "Like you and Haruka-papa, ne!" said the child happily.
 276.119 +
 276.120 +        Michiru just smiled.  "I think it's time for little girls to
 276.121 +get to sleep."
 276.122 +
 276.123 +        "Ohhh..."
 276.124 +
 276.125 +        "Sa, turn off your lamp."  The little girl complied, which
 276.126 +left the volume of Yeats' poems in shadow.  Thus far, she had
 276.127 +memorised about half the book.  In actuality, the room was full of
 276.128 +ornately decorated lamps, but the one by the bed was the only light
 276.129 +source for the room at that time.
 276.130 +
 276.131 +        Michiru bent over and kissed Hotaru goodnight.  "Oyasumi
 276.132 +nasai."
 276.133 +
 276.134 +        "Oyasumi."
 276.135 +
 276.136 +        Michiru shut the bedroom door still with the loving smile on
 276.137 +her face.
 276.138 +
 276.139 +~*~*~*~*~
 276.140 +
 276.141 +        The bell struck 3:25 at Juuban Elementary School.  A rush of
 276.142 +students started to run towards the shoe lockers.  A girl with pink
 276.143 +hair walked over to a desk at the opposite end of class 6-B.  Her oval
 276.144 +shaped odango had a more than passing resemblance to a certain animal.
 276.145 +
 276.146 +        "Ho * ta * ru * chan!" she said teasingly.  "Kaeru yo."
 276.147 +
 276.148 +        "Hai, Chibiusa-chan!  Ne, why don't we stop at Fruit Parlor
 276.149 +Crown and get some milkshakes?"
 276.150 +
 276.151 +        "Okay!"
 276.152 +
 276.153 +        The two girls walked hand-in-hand out of the school and along
 276.154 +the streets of Juuban.  They idly chatted about the on-again
 276.155 +off-again relationship between Kyuusuke and Momoko.  Before long they
 276.156 +were sitting at a booth in the soda shoppe giving their orders to
 276.157 +Furuhata Unazuki.
 276.158 +
 276.159 +        "Chibiusa-chan, we'll always be friends, right?"
 276.160 +
 276.161 +        This made the pink haired girl look up from her strawberry
 276.162 +milkshake.  She put on the biggest smile and said, "Un!  Forever and
 276.163 +ever!"
 276.164 +
 276.165 +        But the cheery exterior didn't fool Hotaru.  "Then if you're
 276.166 +my friend, why are you leaving?"  There were almost tears in her eyes.
 276.167 +
 276.168 +        Chibiusa's smile faded away.  "Gomen ne.  But I have to go
 276.169 +home.  This isn't my time, and I have to tell mama all that's happened."
 276.170 +
 276.171 +        Hotaru looked dreadfully disappointed.  She didn't like the
 276.172 +thought of losing her best friend for any reason.  "But...when you go
 276.173 +back, I'll be there, right?  The older me, I mean."
 276.174 +
 276.175 +        At this Chibiusa could barely hold back her tears.  She wasn't
 276.176 +allowed to tell anybody that she had never seen Uranus, Neptune, or
 276.177 +Saturn in Crystal Tokyo.  She had sworn Pluto.  She never really
 276.178 +understood why, and no one would tell her.  But to make her friend
 276.179 +happy, a little white lie couldn't hurt.  "Of course you'll be there!"
 276.180 +she tried to say as cheerfully as she could.  Anything for friendship.
 276.181 +
 276.182 +        Suddenly Hotaru got very serious.  "We have to make a pact."
 276.183 +
 276.184 +        "Nani?" asked Chibiusa.
 276.185 +
 276.186 +        "A pact.  We have to promise we'll always be together no
 276.187 +matter what.  Friends forever."
 276.188 +
 276.189 +        Chibiusa smiled.  She liked the idea a lot, so at the joining
 276.190 +of their two pinkie fingers, their pact was sealed.  "Forever."
 276.191 +
 276.192 +~*~*~*~*~
 276.193 +
 276.194 +        Hotaru was lying face down on her bedding crying more than she
 276.195 +had ever cried in her life.  The past few days had not been easy for
 276.196 +her.  It had come the time to see Chibiusa off to the future, and she
 276.197 +didn't like it one bit.  In her mind's eye she could still see herself
 276.198 +hugging the pink haired girl, tears streaming down her face.  Chibiusa
 276.199 +wasn't any less emotional.  But it was time for her to go.  Everyone
 276.200 +said their goodbyes; Usagi was taking it pretty hard herself.  Finally
 276.201 +the pink beam of light carried Chibiusa up to the sky and then faded
 276.202 +out.
 276.203 +
 276.204 +        Hotaru had been a complete wreck afterwards.  She didn't even
 276.205 +go to school the next day.  Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna were worried
 276.206 +about her, but knew she needed at least some time to herself.
 276.207 +
 276.208 +        Suddenly there was a knock at the door.  "Hotaru, may I come
 276.209 +in?" asked the slightly low voice.
 276.210 +
 276.211 +        "Hai," answered a weak voice.
 276.212 +
 276.213 +        The tall woman came into the dimly lit room and sat on the
 276.214 +bed.  She started to stroke the crying girl's hair.  "Shhh...  It's
 276.215 +all right."  Hotaru looked up at Haruka and flung herself into her arms.
 276.216 +
 276.217 +        "Oh, Haruka-papa!  I miss her so much!  I miss her so much!"
 276.218 +
 276.219 +        "I know, I know," she said in a calming tone.  "We all miss
 276.220 +her, but I don't think we can even begin to imagine what you're
 276.221 +feeling.  You just have to believe in your friendship."
 276.222 +
 276.223 +        "Believe?"
 276.224 +
 276.225 +        "Sou, shinjiteru yo.  Your friendship is very strong.  It
 276.226 +can't be broken by the waves of time or anything else.  You will
 276.227 +always be friends, and you know that.  That's what's important."
 276.228 +
 276.229 +        Hotaru stopped her crying.  She remembered their pact.  "Sou
 276.230 +yo ne.  We'll be friends forever, we swore it.  I believe...  I
 276.231 +believe we'll meet again, Chibiusa-chan."
 276.232 +
 276.233 +        At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the sky above
 276.234 +the house.
 276.235 +
 276.236 +~*~*~*~*~
 276.237 +
 276.238 +To be continued in part 2! ^_^
 276.239 +
 276.240 +        Wow, that was kind of short.  This was more of a prologue than
 276.241 +anything else, really.  The other three parts should be much longer, I
 276.242 +hope. ^_^;
 276.243 +
 276.244 +        Well, this is usually the part where fanfic authors ask for
 276.245 +email and feedback.  If you have anything at all to say, just email me
 276.246 +at ajhd@king.igs.net.  Though I am kind of swamped with email, so
 276.247 +don't expect a reply right away. ^^;;
 276.248 +
 276.249 +<shameless plug>
 276.250 +And visit my page:  http://www.king.igs.net/~ajhd ^_^
 276.251 +</shameless plug>
 276.252 +
 276.253 +	Extra special thanks to Jay Dee Archer (aka Jupiter Knight)
 276.254 +for proof reading my fanfic for me!  Arigatou gozaimashita!  Go see 
 276.255 +Jupiter Knight's fanfic archive, he has lots of great stories. ^_^
 276.256 +
 276.257 +http://www.dragonfire.net/~JupiterKnight/
 276.258 +
 276.259 +        If anyone is interested, I wrote this while listening to the
 276.260 +Sailormoon S Music Fantasy CD.  I especially like Fly me to the Moon.
 276.261 +
 276.262 +Completed: Aug 19th 1998.
 276.263 \ No newline at end of file

   277.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   277.2 +++ b/stories/cunpnk2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   277.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1167 @@
   277.4 +Author's notes: ^_^
   277.5 +
   277.6 +        Most of the important stuff can be found in part one, so I won't
   277.7 +bore you with it here again.  This is where the fanfic starts to earn
   277.8 +it's R rating, just as a reminder.  This is also where you'll start to
   277.9 +understand why a certain plot point may or may not be a part of the
  277.10 +actual manga. :)
  277.11 +
  277.12 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  277.13 +Chibiusa no PYUA na kokoro
  277.14 +(Chibiusa's Pure Heart)
  277.15 +Part 2
  277.16 +By Andrea Doolan <ajhd@king.igs.net>
  277.17 +"Sailormoon no ichiban daifan"
  277.18 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  277.19 +
  277.20 +~*~*~*~*~
  277.21 +
  277.22 +        A scream rang out in the halls of Crystal Palace.  This was in
  277.23 +stark contrast to the blue skies and singing birds outside the building.
  277.24 +For a few seconds there seemed to be silence all around, and the sun
  277.25 +seemed to shine just a little bit brighter.  Then the cheers could be
  277.26 +heard all around the planet, or the solar system for that matter.  The
  277.27 +date was June 30.  2001.
  277.28 +
  277.29 +        A child was born.
  277.30 +
  277.31 +~*~*~*~*~
  277.32 +
  277.33 +        A solemn dark figure stood at the door where the celebrations
  277.34 +were taking place.  The girl's features betrayed her overall appearance,
  277.35 +though, as she had a rather large smile on her face.  A single tear
  277.36 +trickled down her cheek in both sorrow and happiness.
  277.37 +
  277.38 +        "Sayounara, Chibiusa-chan."
  277.39 +
  277.40 +        A gloved hand reached out and touched her on the shoulder.  It
  277.41 +belonged to a blond haired women.  Beside her stood a women in a green
  277.42 +fuku.
  277.43 +
  277.44 +        "It's time."
  277.45 +
  277.46 +        Without another word, Saturn stepped back from the door and
  277.47 +followed her parents down the corridor.  They had already said their
  277.48 +goodbyes to the other Senshi, but had stayed behind just long enough to
  277.49 +see the miracle occur.
  277.50 +
  277.51 +        Saturn didn't think it fair that she, Uranus, and Neptune had to
  277.52 +leave Crystal Tokyo and Earth, but she knew exactly the reason why. 
  277.53 +During the time Small Lady was growing up, all 901 years worth, she
  277.54 +hadn't seen a single one of them.  Only when she travelled to the past
  277.55 +for the second time did she meet these Senshi.  Pluto had explained the
  277.56 +timeline to Saturn very well, so she understood perfectly, but it still
  277.57 +almost felt as if she was losing a piece of her heart.
  277.58 +
  277.59 +        Uranus had also explained it to her in terms of duty.  They were
  277.60 +the Senshi of the outer planets, and their mission was to protect
  277.61 +Crystal Tokyo and Earth from threats outside the solar system.
  277.62 +
  277.63 +        Still, leaving the only home you had ever known and your newly
  277.64 +born best friend was a little too much for a seventeen-year-old to
  277.65 +handle.  The tears starting streaming down her face without her control.
  277.66 +
  277.67 +        Neptune looked back at the Senshi that quite possibly held the
  277.68 +most power of any of them, besides the Queen herself.  She sighed
  277.69 +inwardly, and held her only daughter in an embrace.  For a moment she
  277.70 +thought about using a name they had abandoned a few years before, but
  277.71 +thought better of it.  She spoke in a slightly forceful voice, but not
  277.72 +one without compassion.  "Saturn."
  277.73 +
  277.74 +        The black haired Senshi looked at Neptune with her purple eyes
  277.75 +full of sorrow.  She blinked, and almost magically they appeared full of
  277.76 +duty and honour.  "Hai, I know."  She broke off the embrace reluctantly,
  277.77 +and continued with her parents down the long corridor.
  277.78 +
  277.79 +        At the end was a fairly large chamber decorated as if it held a
  277.80 +special purpose.  Pluto was waiting for them there, Garnet Rod in
  277.81 +hand.  The three just looked at her and nodded knowingly.  The goddess
  277.82 +of time nodded back, but took special care to smile at the purple clad
  277.83 +Senshi.  Without a word, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn vanished from Earth
  277.84 +for the better part of the millennium.
  277.85 +
  277.86 +~*~*~*~*~
  277.87 +
  277.88 +        It wasn't as if Titan was a lonely place.  Far from it.  She got
  277.89 +frequent visits from Uranus and Neptune, and she visited them frequently
  277.90 +as well.  If it wasn't a visit in person, they were always talking over
  277.91 +the monitors at least once a day.  And about once a month, one or two
  277.92 +Senshi from Earth would come visit them (without the princess'
  277.93 +knowledge, of course) to see how they were doing.  Sometimes the Queen
  277.94 +herself would come.  One could tell Serenity felt more than a little
  277.95 +guilty for sending them out there, but Titan's Senshi stood proud and
  277.96 +was always pleasant.  This made the Queen feel better, after all, which
  277.97 +was important.
  277.98 +
  277.99 +        It certainly didn't seem lonely, anyway.  But for Saturn she
 277.100 +always had the thought of a certain pink haired girl in the back of her
 277.101 +mind.  Her duty came first, but the memory of her dear friend could
 277.102 +still sometimes bring tears to her eyes.  Even after all these years. 
 277.103 +Though when this happened she always reminded herself of a pact they had
 277.104 +made when she was only twelve years old.  She laughed sometimes when she
 277.105 +thought about it.  It was a little childish, but somehow the knowledge
 277.106 +of it filled her heart with strength, and let her carry on.
 277.107 +
 277.108 +        Saturn walked over to the largest monitor in Titan's observation
 277.109 +room.  She touched a control pad, and an image of the planet Saturn
 277.110 +appeared before her.  Kirei, she thought.  The swirling pieces of cosmic
 277.111 +dust and ice converging in a ring-like structure around the planet was
 277.112 +truly a sight to see.  Sometimes she could just watch this for hours on
 277.113 +end, letting her mind flow into the planet's energies.  Sometimes she
 277.114 +tried to replicate the effect using a technique similar to when she
 277.115 +would simulate the big bang as a child.  It always had a calming effect
 277.116 +on her.
 277.117 +
 277.118 +        "I wonder what she's doing now..." she said aloud
 277.119 +absentmindedly.  She shook her head and tried to get the thought out of
 277.120 +her mind.  Thinking about it always made her depressed.  How many more
 277.121 +years would it be? she thought.  A few hundred more, she reminded
 277.122 +herself.  She sighed.  Being depressed was getting her no where.  She
 277.123 +still had lots of great friends whom she saw often, and loving parents.
 277.124 +Plus she was a Senshi.  A Senshi of death, she joked to herself, but a
 277.125 +Senshi of rebirth as well.  Really, she was quite content right now. 
 277.126 +And one day she would get to return to that blue-green sphere.  To that
 277.127 +cheerful girl who brought so much joy into her life.
 277.128 +
 277.129 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.130 +
 277.131 +        A faint pink beam of light shone briefly on a hill overlooking
 277.132 +Crystal Tokyo, and then flickered out as silently as it had come. 
 277.133 +Standing there in its place was a girl in a blue and white sei-fuku
 277.134 +[school uniform].  The bright sun flickered off the royal buildings,
 277.135 +just as it always had.  The girl smiled briefly in appreciation.  She
 277.136 +then looked forward, and her smile grew even wider.  She saw her
 277.137 +parents, of course, and Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus.  Pluto was
 277.138 +standing beside them as well.  As good as it was to see those people,
 277.139 +something else caught her eye right away.
 277.140 +
 277.141 +        "Masaka...  Hotaru-chan!  Hotaru-chaaaan!!"  For a moment she
 277.142 +just stood there in disbelief, but then started running as fast as she
 277.143 +could.  She ran into the slightly taller Senshi and hugged her closely.
 277.144 +Then she drew back and looked into her eyes.  They seemed to be smiling
 277.145 +at her.  "Hota-" she cut herself off, blushing slightly.  "Gomen,
 277.146 +Sailorsaturn.  Doushite?"
 277.147 +
 277.148 +        The other just kept looking at her, happiness filling every pore
 277.149 +in her body.  She choked back some tears.  "Okaerinasai."
 277.150 +
 277.151 +        By this time everyone had evidence of strong emotions on their
 277.152 +features.  Chibiusa glanced beside Saturn at another welcome sight. 
 277.153 +"Uranus!  Neptune!"  She could barely hold back her shock.
 277.154 +
 277.155 +        "Yo, Chibi-chan," said the blond playfully.
 277.156 +
 277.157 +        "It's been too long," said the Senshi of the sea.
 277.158 +
 277.159 +        Chibiusa felt like she was in a dream state.  Was she really
 277.160 +home?  Had the future been changed somehow?  She looked over at Pluto
 277.161 +who just had a smile on her face.  This was all very confusing for her.
 277.162 +Finally she let go of Saturn, and walked over to her parents.  She bowed
 277.163 +respectfully.  "Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity and Diana reporting
 277.164 +home from the 20th century.  If it pleases the court, we would like to
 277.165 +return and live again in the 30th century."
 277.166 +
 277.167 +        Neo Queen Serenity just smiled.  How proud she was of her
 277.168 +daughter.  She had certainly come a long way over the last few years,
 277.169 +and was on her way to becoming a wonderful Lady and future Queen.  "It
 277.170 +does please the court.  Welcome home."
 277.171 +
 277.172 +        Chibiusa flung herself into her mother's arms and was then
 277.173 +greeted by everyone in turn.  She wanted answers, of course, but right
 277.174 +now it was just good to be home.
 277.175 +
 277.176 +~*~*~*~*~ (from now on, I won't refer to her as Chibiusa)
 277.177 +
 277.178 +        "So, all those years...  You were alone?"  Small Lady was still
 277.179 +in shock and was trying to sort out some confusing feelings.  She just
 277.180 +couldn't believe that all this time Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn had
 277.181 +been alive.  She wasn't sure what had happened to them, but she knew she
 277.182 +had never seen them.  She thought they must have died somehow, but
 277.183 +nobody would tell her.  Now she understood why.
 277.184 +
 277.185 +        Saturn laughed a little bit.  "No, I was far from alone.  Uranus
 277.186 +and Neptune were there and the rest of the Senshi came to visit. 
 277.187 +Besides, orbiting Saturn in Titan Castle was a wonderful experience.  I
 277.188 +had forgotten what it was like to be so near my namesake.  At first it
 277.189 +was overpowering.  From my previous life, before I was reincarnated for
 277.190 +the first time, back in the Silver Millennium, I had very faint memories
 277.191 +of it.  And even then I hadn't awakened, so I was in a dream-like state.
 277.192 +It took a little getting used to being away from Earth and everyone
 277.193 +here, but it was fine in the end.  Now it's a very dear place in my
 277.194 +heart."
 277.195 +
 277.196 +        Small Lady's eyes looked as if they were going to shed tears,
 277.197 +but they were held back as best as they could.  Right now it was just
 277.198 +her and Saturn on a grassy hill overlooking the ocean.  There had been a
 277.199 +very big celebration when Small Lady returned, and everything was
 277.200 +explained to her.  It was still that same night, but it was very late. 
 277.201 +Her and Saturn had decided to take a walk and talk a bit.  "But you did
 277.202 +all this just for me, and to protect Earth?  I would have been so
 277.203 +scared."
 277.204 +
 277.205 +        "You're exactly the same as I remember you, Small Lady.  Which
 277.206 +isn't surprising, as you just saw me less than twenty four hours ago." 
 277.207 +Saturn tried to comfort her as best as she could.  "Yes, we did it for
 277.208 +you and to protect the kingdom.  *Any* Senshi would have done the same
 277.209 +thing.  I'm not going to pretend that I didn't miss Earth...that I
 277.210 +didn't miss you, because I did."  It was Saturn's turn to hold back her
 277.211 +tears.  "But everyone's love filled me, and made me strong.  There's
 277.212 +something else, too.  I remembered the pact we made...to always be
 277.213 +friends.  It kept me going.  Whenever I remembered I would see you
 277.214 +again, it made me happy."
 277.215 +
 277.216 +        Both women lost control and tears started coming down their
 277.217 +cheeks.  They hugged each other tightly; a hug that told of the 909
 277.218 +years they had spent apart.
 277.219 +
 277.220 +        "I can't believe you remembered," said Small Lady between sobs.
 277.221 +
 277.222 +        "Of course I did, baka," she joked back.
 277.223 +
 277.224 +        "So, even after all this time, we're still best friends?"
 277.225 +
 277.226 +        "Mochiron!  Zutto zutto!  Eien ni."
 277.227 +
 277.228 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.229 +
 277.230 +        The years passed in Crystal Tokyo as they always did.  The
 277.231 +unpleasantness brought about by Sailorgalaxia in the 20th century was
 277.232 +far behind them.  Crystal Tokyo thrived again as the seat of power for
 277.233 +the solar system.  Neo Queen Serenity brought back the greatness that
 277.234 +was once the Silver Millennium.  The Earth, now free from evil, was
 277.235 +united and stood like a glistening Christmas ball in the blackness of
 277.236 +space.  The other planets were now thriving, too.  The great cities that
 277.237 +were held inside the planets' castles started to revive and were
 277.238 +prosperous once again.  A princess was coming into her full glory and
 277.239 +beauty, and now had the appearance of an eighteen-year-old.  She was
 277.240 +actually 910.
 277.241 +
 277.242 +        And two friends were enjoying life together.
 277.243 +
 277.244 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.245 +
 277.246 +        "Small Lady, hayaku!"
 277.247 +
 277.248 +        "Hai!  Ikimashou ne!"
 277.249 +
 277.250 +        For the moment, these two girls weren't an heir to the royal
 277.251 +throne and a Senshi who could destroy the universe with one swipe of her
 277.252 +Glaive.  They were two friends going on a little trip together.
 277.253 +
 277.254 +        "You sure you know how to drive this thing?"
 277.255 +
 277.256 +        "Well, Uranus taught me, so I shouldn't be too bad."
 277.257 +
 277.258 +        The transport started off with a jolt.  It left a slightly
 277.259 +startled expression on the younger girl's face, but it was quickly
 277.260 +replaced by a smile.  They were taking a long needed vacation.  The two
 277.261 +had hardly seen each other for the past couple of months with the many
 277.262 +diplomatic missions both had to go on.  Now was their time to relax.  As
 277.263 +evidence, both were wearing casual clothing.  Sometimes it felt good to
 277.264 +get out of the sailor fuku and princess gowns they were always wearing.
 277.265 +
 277.266 +        Though even in her lose fitting pants and pullover top Princess
 277.267 +Serenity looked regal and glowing.  She had really turned into quite the
 277.268 +lady.  The tresses that flowed from her two odango had grown down to her
 277.269 +knees, and were now missing the "poofy" look they once had.  Indeed,
 277.270 +from the shoulders up she looked like a certain Black Lady the 20th
 277.271 +century Senshi had fought all those years ago.  Not that the princess
 277.272 +remembered any of that.  She had also grown quite a bit over the past
 277.273 +couple of years.  She now stood at 155 centimetres, just a hair less
 277.274 +than Saturn.  Her body was, of course, proportionately built, just like
 277.275 +her mother's.
 277.276 +
 277.277 +        For Saturn's part, she hadn't aged in the past 905 years.  Well,
 277.278 +not on the outside at least.  She still had her purple-black hair cut
 277.279 +just above her shoulders, but her deep purple eyes told the whole story,
 277.280 +and let people know her true age.  She had stopped her growth spurt at
 277.281 +the age of 22, growing into a lovely woman.  I guess that's something we
 277.282 +have in common, thought Saturn.  We both grew up in a rather odd way. 
 277.283 +Today she was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt. 
 277.284 +Very normal, indeed.
 277.285 +
 277.286 +        It was Sunday, and the pair made their way to the Northeast of
 277.287 +Crystal Tokyo, about 120 kilometres from the centre of the city.  The
 277.288 +transport they were in was a sleek new model, and was designed for
 277.289 +speeds of 200 km/h for normal travel.  It could go much faster, if need
 277.290 +be.  It also had a very good shock system, which made the trip through
 277.291 +the air especially smooth.
 277.292 +
 277.293 +        "What's our ETA?" asked Small Lady.
 277.294 +
 277.295 +        "A little over half an hour," replied her friend.
 277.296 +
 277.297 +        "I can hardly wait!  I haven't been to your beach house in so
 277.298 +long!"
 277.299 +
 277.300 +        The older girl laughed.  The mini palace the Outer Senshi
 277.301 +shared was situated on the shores on the Pacific Ocean.  The appearance
 277.302 +of the outside of the building had all the earmarks of the modern
 277.303 +buildings in Crystal Tokyo.  It's fundamental element was crystal, with
 277.304 +some stone and glass thrown in just the right places for good measure. 
 277.305 +It's sleek angles shimmered in the sun as it made it's arc across the
 277.306 +sky.  The inside, however, was remarkably different.  It's most
 277.307 +prominent architectural style was from the Victorian times in England. 
 277.308 +Though one could also make out some 20th century designs and some modern
 277.309 +ones as well.  They all blended together to form an elegant structure
 277.310 +that most designers cited as a wonderful example of architecture from
 277.311 +any time.  Even though this was a mini palace, with the building and
 277.312 +grounds covering about 50 hectares of land, the Senshi still refered to
 277.313 +it as the "beach house."  For the obvious reason that it was on the
 277.314 +beach.
 277.315 +
 277.316 +        "Ne, will Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto be there, too?" asked the 
 277.317 +younger girl farther into their trip.
 277.318 +
 277.319 +        "Ee.  Uranus and Neptune will be there for sure, and I think
 277.320 +Pluto's going to try and stop by, too."
 277.321 +
 277.322 +        "Good, I've hardly seen any of them lately."  Small Lady sighed. 
 277.323 +"It seems like our lives are just getting more and more hectic."
 277.324 +
 277.325 +        The other girl smiled.  "That's why we're taking this vacation. 
 277.326 +Sometimes it's good just to sit back and watch the world go by.  Kami
 277.327 +knows the Senshi deserve it."
 277.328 +
 277.329 +        "Yeah, even though it's just for a week, it's better than
 277.330 +nothing."
 277.331 +
 277.332 +        The computer in the transport beeped slightly and then said,
 277.333 +"Incoming message for Princess Serenity.  Sailorvesta from Crystal
 277.334 +Palace is on com channel 5."
 277.335 +
 277.336 +        With a little laugh Small Lady pressed the button that would
 277.337 +receive the call and put Vesta on the view screen. "Hai, moshi moshi. 
 277.338 +Small Lady desu."
 277.339 +
 277.340 +        "Konnichiwa, Small Lady," said the red haired girl in a sailor
 277.341 +fuku.  "I know you just left, but we just got a request from the colony
 277.342 +of Africa for you to visit there late next month."
 277.343 +
 277.344 +        Small Lady looked slightly annoyed.  "This couldn't have waited
 277.345 +until I got back?"
 277.346 +
 277.347 +        "Gomen, they asked for a reply right away.  Besides, the Prime
 277.348 +Minister there is a friend of mine, and I owed him a favour..."
 277.349 +
 277.350 +        "Okay, okay.  I see where this one is going."  Vesta looked
 277.351 +slightly embarrassed.  "Of course I'll go.  Hmm, I really like Africa in
 277.352 +the fall.  But, Vesta, no more calls, please.  Not unless it's really
 277.353 +important."
 277.354 +
 277.355 +        "Hai, wakateru.  Enjoy your trip!"  With that the communication
 277.356 +ended and the screen went black.
 277.357 +
 277.358 +        "Honestly, I still think the Quartet needs more training." said
 277.359 +Small Lady.
 277.360 +
 277.361 +        "Maybe you could send them back to the past," kidded Saturn. 
 277.362 +Both girls started to laugh at the idea.
 277.363 +
 277.364 +        "Ah!  Mite!" said the princess excitedly.  The transport slowed,
 277.365 +and came to a stop in a garage of sorts beside the beach house.  "Sugoi! 
 277.366 +It's just like I remember it."  Both girls got their luggage from the
 277.367 +transport and walked to the front doors of the "house."
 277.368 +
 277.369 +        "Tadaima!" said Saturn as she walked into the front hall.
 277.370 +
 277.371 +        "Okaeri." came a voice from one of the rooms off the main hall.
 277.372 +
 277.373 +        "Ohayou," came the greeting from Small Lady.
 277.374 +
 277.375 +        A head popped out from one of the doorways.  "Ara, Small Lady. 
 277.376 +Ohayou.  Saturn told us you'd be coming."  Neptune looked elegant as
 277.377 +always in a flower print sundress.
 277.378 +
 277.379 +        "I'm going to take her upstairs," said Saturn with a smile. 
 277.380 +"We'll be back down for lunch."  The two girls took the staircase up to
 277.381 +Saturn's bedroom and got their luggage settled.  Really, there were many
 277.382 +free rooms that Small Lady could have used, but both wanted to spend 
 277.383 +their vacation together.  The bed was more than large enough to fit two 
 277.384 +people, and they liked to tell stories and play games before they fell
 277.385 +asleep.  Someone might have mistaken them for actual teenagers, if they
 277.386 +didn't know better.
 277.387 +
 277.388 +        "It's such a pretty room," said Small Lady.  "You've still got
 277.389 +all your lamps."  The room was done in purple colourings.  The walls
 277.390 +were a very light purple, while her curtains and bedspread were much
 277.391 +darker.  Most of the furniture in the room including her desk and
 277.392 +dressers were white.  It made for a very interesting effect with the
 277.393 +lamps turned on at night.
 277.394 +
 277.395 +        "Yeah, every now and then I'll even pick up a new one, if I like
 277.396 +it."  She smiled at the younger girl.
 277.397 +
 277.398 +        Small Lady walked towards her and held her hand.  Let's make
 277.399 +this a vacation to remember.  With so much going on, we have to make our
 277.400 +time together count!"
 277.401 +
 277.402 +        The other girl agreed.  They had to make the most of their
 277.403 +friendship when they had the chance.  This was going to be one of the
 277.404 +best weeks of their lives!
 277.405 +
 277.406 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.407 +
 277.408 +        The sun shone brightly on a Wednesday afternoon in August.  It
 277.409 +was about 35 degrees C, which made the warm Pacific waters even more
 277.410 +inviting.  The calmness of the waves washing ashore and the gentle sea
 277.411 +breeze was only interrupted by the happy cries of two friends having a
 277.412 +good time.
 277.413 +
 277.414 +        "I'm going to get there first!" cried the pink haired girl.
 277.415 +
 277.416 +        "Oh no you're not!  I'm a better runner than you, and you know
 277.417 +it!" exclaimed her black haired companion.
 277.418 +
 277.419 +        There was a temporary splash as both girls reached the water at
 277.420 +the same time, and then began laughing.  Their adventurous attitude was
 277.421 +accompanied by a brief, if not large, water fight.  Afterwards, the two
 277.422 +just stood in the water happily, but out of breath.
 277.423 +
 277.424 +        "I would have beat you if I still had Neptune's mirror," said
 277.425 +the princess slyly.
 277.426 +
 277.427 +        "Ha!  She's my mama, she would do anything to protect me,"
 277.428 +replied the other with a defiant expression on her face.  The charade
 277.429 +didn't last long, though.  Both girls immediately broke out laughing
 277.430 +again.  They started to swim normally in the water, both under and on
 277.431 +top.  It really had a calming effect, and was a place anyone would feel
 277.432 +at peace.  No wonder Neptune loves it so much, they both thought.
 277.433 +
 277.434 +        An hour or so later they both reluctantly started to emerge from
 277.435 +the water.  Both were pretty tired, but it was a great swim, and it
 277.436 +relaxed a lot of the built-up tension in their muscles due to Senshi
 277.437 +duties.
 277.438 +
 277.439 +        Saturn was a few steps behind Small Lady, and was almost out of
 277.440 +the water.  Unfortunately, she tripped on a rock she didn't see,
 277.441 +crashing into Small Lady, and sending them both to the sandy ground. 
 277.442 +The scene was a pretty big mass of tangled limbs.  Saturn ended up
 277.443 +straddling Small Lady's torso, with her arms on either side of her head. 
 277.444 +She managed to stop herself a few centimetres before she flattened the
 277.445 +girl.
 277.446 +
 277.447 +        There was silence as both girls just looked into each others
 277.448 +eyes.  Their breathing was hard, and they could feel each others hot
 277.449 +breath on their cheeks.  Several moments passed where no one moved at
 277.450 +all.  The calming sound of waves on the shore could be heard again. 
 277.451 +Then, ever so slightly, they both moved at the same time.  Their lips
 277.452 +met in a kiss that was timid at first, but grew into something more
 277.453 +passionate quickly.
 277.454 +
 277.455 +        As if something snapped in both their brains, the kiss came to a
 277.456 +crashing halt.  Saturn retreated off of the princess with a terrified
 277.457 +expression on her face.  Small Lady's features almost matched hers, with
 277.458 +her eyes displaying great shock.
 277.459 +
 277.460 +        Small Lady was the first to speak.  "Sa..turn..."  But as soon
 277.461 +as she started, Saturn was already up, and running towards the house,
 277.462 +tears streaming down her face.  "SATURN!!!" yelled the princess after
 277.463 +her, but she didn't look back.  "Saturn..." said the princess again as
 277.464 +she started to cry.  She tried make any sense she could out of the
 277.465 +situation.
 277.466 +
 277.467 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.468 +
 277.469 +        Saturn reached her bedroom and shut the door with a slam.  Thank
 277.470 +kami Uranus and Neptune weren't home, she thought.  She flung herself on
 277.471 +the bed and started to sob.  A million confusing emotions were running
 277.472 +through her head.  Not the least of which was the total rush she felt
 277.473 +when Small Lady's lips touched her own.  Kami, kami, that had been so
 277.474 +stupid, she scolded herself.  She tried to remember why she had done it,
 277.475 +but she couldn't.  It was like a big blur in her mind.  The tears kept
 277.476 +streaming down her face.  Had she really sacrificed all those years of
 277.477 +friendship, all those years of waiting?  Small Lady was her first friend
 277.478 +and her best friend.  She was someone who would be friends with her when
 277.479 +no one else would.  No one was forcing the princess, she *wanted* to be
 277.480 +friends with her.  That had been a first for Saturn, all those years
 277.481 +ago.  Now Saturn thought she had thrown it all away, that her best
 277.482 +friend in the world hated her and no longer wanted to be her friend.
 277.483 +
 277.484 +        "Damn these lamps!" she screamed.  "Damn these lonely lamps!"
 277.485 +
 277.486 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.487 +
 277.488 +        Small Lady was really no better off.  She was still down at the
 277.489 +beach.  She just couldn't find the energy to stand up.  She kept going
 277.490 +over and over the events that had happened.  She still didn't understand
 277.491 +any of it.  Besides the kiss itself, she was mostly terrified of
 277.492 +Saturn's reaction.  She just ran away, she thought.  And that look she
 277.493 +gave me...  Is she really disgusted with me?  It was all so confusing. 
 277.494 +The worst part was she didn't know if they were still friends.  The
 277.495 +thought of not being friends with Saturn chilled her to the bone.  She
 277.496 +didn't know if she could live without her.  But what had the kiss meant? 
 277.497 +Was is just a kiss?  Or was it something more...?  Small Lady tried to
 277.498 +think about it, but it was like her brain turned to mush.  She just
 277.499 +wasn't sure of anything anymore.
 277.500 +
 277.501 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.502 +
 277.503 +        A sporty looking transport pulled into the garage of the beach
 277.504 +house.  It's three occupants got out, and started taking in groceries.
 277.505 +
 277.506 +        "With all this technology, you'd think they be able to sell ripe
 277.507 +tomatoes, wouldn't you?" complained Neptune.
 277.508 +
 277.509 +        Uranus just laughed.  "Maybe something else in here needs a
 277.510 +little ripening, ne?"
 277.511 +
 277.512 +        Neptune threw a sultry glance her way.  "Maybe you're right. 
 277.513 +You can never tell until you feel the softness..."
 277.514 +
 277.515 +        Pluto, being used to similar exchanges for centuries, virtually
 277.516 +ignored them, and started to put away the groceries.  Young love, she
 277.517 +thought absentmindedly.  Suddenly she realised Saturn and Small Lady
 277.518 +weren't there to greet them.  "Saturn to Small Lady wa?" she asked the
 277.519 +couple who were now in an embrace.
 277.520 +
 277.521 +        "E?" asked a puzzled Neptune.  "Maybe they're still down by the
 277.522 +beach.  Saturn mentioned something about going for a swim today.  Maybe
 277.523 +you better call them, dinner will be ready in half an hour."
 277.524 +
 277.525 +        Pluto nodded, and walked out the patio doors onto the deck.  She
 277.526 +couldn't see anyone on the beach, so she decided to look through the
 277.527 +house instead.  She heard some soft humming coming from one of the rooms
 277.528 +down the hall, so she went to check it out.  There, sitting in a
 277.529 +darkened room, she found Small Lady listening to some music with a head
 277.530 +set.
 277.531 +
 277.532 +        "Oh, hello, Puu," she said calmly.  "I didn't hear you guys get
 277.533 +back."
 277.534 +
 277.535 +        "Small Lady," asked Pluto cautiously, "is there something
 277.536 +wrong?"
 277.537 +
 277.538 +        "Hmm?  Oh no.  Nandemonai."  She just smiled.
 277.539 +
 277.540 +        The older Senshi looked at her strangely, then decided just to
 277.541 +tell her when dinner would be ready.  The princess said she'd be there
 277.542 +on time.
 277.543 +
 277.544 +        The Senshi of time had a similar experience when she found
 277.545 +Saturn in her room.  She just sat there calmly on her bed reading a
 277.546 +book, acting as if nothing was wrong.
 277.547 +
 277.548 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.549 +
 277.550 +        Dinner was an interesting experience to say the least.  Both
 277.551 +Small Lady and Saturn got there at the same time, but didn't seem to
 277.552 +look at each other.  Their faces showed signs of considerable stress,
 277.553 +and they bowed their heads while they ate.  The other three Senshi tried
 277.554 +to strike up conversations with them the whole time, but the most either
 277.555 +would give were one word replies.  The three, knowing something was
 277.556 +wrong, could just look at each other and shrug.  If this kept up, they
 277.557 +would have to do something, but right now it was best left alone.
 277.558 +
 277.559 +        Small Lady stared down into her rice bowl and tried to imagine
 277.560 +it as a snowy mountain in the winter, and skiing down it with the wind
 277.561 +blowing through her hair.  It would be better than being here, she
 277.562 +thought. God, anywhere would be better than here right now.  She...she
 277.563 +won't even look at me.  She must hate me.  The sight of chopsticks in
 277.564 +the bowl brought her back to reality again.  She just sighed.  Baka,
 277.565 +baka, baka.  I'm such a baka.
 277.566 +
 277.567 +        Atashi no baka, thought Saturn.  How could I just throw away
 277.568 +years of friendship for a kiss?  It's funny how something as simple as a
 277.569 +kiss can change one's life so drastically.  The memory kept tearing away
 277.570 +at Saturn's heart.  The thought of losing Small Lady...  She just
 277.571 +couldn't handle it.
 277.572 +
 277.573 +        The dishes were beginning to get washed up.  "Don't forget your
 277.574 +baths tonight, you two."  Sometimes Neptune forgot just how old they all
 277.575 +were.  Saturn just nodded and headed up the stairs.  Small Lady's heart
 277.576 +ached as she watched the other leave.  She waited until she was out of
 277.577 +sight before she went up, too.
 277.578 +
 277.579 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.580 +
 277.581 +        Saturn warmed the bath water, and settled in for a nice relaxing
 277.582 +soak.  She hoped some of the worries of the day would somehow just wash
 277.583 +away.  She was wrong.  Somehow her mind wouldn't let her think of
 277.584 +anything else.
 277.585 +
 277.586 +        Small Lady stood in the toilet room just outside the shower/bath
 277.587 +room.  She was ready for a bath, and was just wearing a robe.  She
 277.588 +sighed.  Part of her wanted to run in and make up with Saturn right
 277.589 +there.  The other half wanted to run as far away as possible.  She went
 277.590 +over her options.  If this was all a big misunderstanding, she could go
 277.591 +in and talk to Saturn about it and work things out.  On the other hand,
 277.592 +if Saturn hated her she could be told to get out and go back to Crystal
 277.593 +Tokyo.  Was the pain of not knowing worse than being rejected as a
 277.594 +friend?  Small Lady didn't know, but she did know that she needed
 277.595 +answers.  So far the night had been awful...  It couldn't really get
 277.596 +much worse.  That's when she decided.  For better or for worse, at least
 277.597 +they were going to talk about it.
 277.598 +
 277.599 +        The door to the shower room slid open, and Small Lady stepped
 277.600 +in.  Saturn was caught completely off guard, and instinctively lowered
 277.601 +herself in the tub to hide her body.
 277.602 +
 277.603 +        "We used to bathe together all the time.  Are you really that
 277.604 +ashamed now?"  Small Lady chanced a smile.
 277.605 +
 277.606 +        "Small Lady, I..."  Saturn trailed off.  She couldn't think of
 277.607 +the words to say.
 277.608 +
 277.609 +        "Look, Saturn...  We, we have to talk about this!  I can't go on
 277.610 +if things are going to be like tonight.  It's killing me!  I couldn't
 277.611 +stand it if you weren't my best friend!"  Both girls were sobbing.
 277.612 +
 277.613 +        "Then...  You don't hate me?"  Saturn looked so timid.
 277.614 +
 277.615 +        "Hate you?  Me?  I could never hate you!  You're my best
 277.616 +friend!"  Small Lady walked up to her, and sat on the edge of the tub. 
 277.617 +"I thought you hated *me*..."
 277.618 +
 277.619 +        "No!  Never!"  Saturn looked away from the girl.  "I'm sorry for
 277.620 +the way I acted.  I had no right to kiss you.  Then I was so afraid of
 277.621 +what you were going to say, that I just ran away.  I was scared."
 277.622 +
 277.623 +        "So that's why..."  Small Lady wiped away a few of her tears. 
 277.624 +"I thought you were disgusted because I kissed you..."
 277.625 +
 277.626 +        Saturn laughed.  It felt like the first laugh in a very long
 277.627 +time.  "I guess there was a little misunderstanding between the both of
 277.628 +us.  So...we're still friends?"
 277.629 +
 277.630 +        "Always and forever, right?"  Small Lady smiled.  Something was
 277.631 +still tearing at her mind.  "But I don't think we can just leave it at
 277.632 +that.  Something...happened between us.  I think we need to figure out
 277.633 +why."
 277.634 +
 277.635 +        Saturn looked depressed again.  "I couldn't get passed it
 277.636 +either.  The kiss, how did it make you feel?"
 277.637 +
 277.638 +        The other girl blinked.  "Nani?"
 277.639 +
 277.640 +        "How did it make you feel?  Inside?"
 277.641 +
 277.642 +        Small Lady thought back to the moment her lips touched Saturn's.
 277.643 +It was like someone had set a fire in her body.  Her head felt light,
 277.644 +and all she knew was that she wanted to continue...  "I can't lie.  It
 277.645 +felt good.  Very good.  But I don't want you to be scared away!  Just
 277.646 +staying friends is good enough for me."
 277.647 +
 277.648 +        Saturn looked at her, gratitude in her eyes.  "You'd do
 277.649 +something like that for me...  The truth is, I enjoyed it. too.  I'm
 277.650 +just not sure what that means.  Small Lady, why don't you come in?  The
 277.651 +water's nice and warm."
 277.652 +
 277.653 +        She hesitated a bit, but undid her robe, and then stepped into
 277.654 +the tub.  She submerged herself until her breasts were covered by the
 277.655 +soothing water.  "I don't know what it means, Saturn.  But I know I
 277.656 +can't just ignore my feelings!  Whatever...whatever happens between us,
 277.657 +I don't want our friendship to be affected.  I think that scares me more
 277.658 +than anything else."
 277.659 +
 277.660 +        "Atashi mo.  Today I've done a lot of thinking.  I don't think I
 277.661 +realised how strong my feelings were towards you.  It scared me.  It
 277.662 +scared me a lot."
 277.663 +
 277.664 +        Small Lady moved over to her friend to comfort her.  "Don't be
 277.665 +scared, Saturn.  We'll always have each other."  The princess leaned in
 277.666 +closer and kissed the black haired girl.  She expected the other might
 277.667 +back away, but she didn't.  Instead she returned the kiss with the same
 277.668 +vigour.  When they broke the kiss no one ran away.  There were no broken
 277.669 +hearts.
 277.670 +
 277.671 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.672 +
 277.673 +        Later that night in Saturn's bed, both girls laid on their
 277.674 +backs, and looked at the ceiling.  They were holding hands.
 277.675 +
 277.676 +        "It's almost as if someone removed a cloud from my mind," said
 277.677 +Small Lady.  "I think my feelings for you have been more than just
 277.678 +friendship for some time.  I didn't realise it before, though.  It's
 277.679 +like we were such good friends that our friendship grew into love."
 277.680 +
 277.681 +        The other girl looked over in surprise.  "Love?"
 277.682 +
 277.683 +        The princess blushed.  "Hai, love.  I love you, I really do. 
 277.684 +With all my heart and soul."
 277.685 +
 277.686 +        Saturn just gasped.  "I think it was the same for me.  Our
 277.687 +friendship was just so strong that it sort of mutated into love.  Now
 277.688 +that I see it, it all looks so clear."  Saturn looked Small Lady
 277.689 +straight in the eye.  "I do love you.  More than I will ever be able to
 277.690 +tell you."  Both girls smiled.  Saturn went on.  "I think...  I remember
 277.691 +being on Titan and thinking of you sometimes.  Sometimes I would think
 277.692 +of holding you, of being close with you.  But I buried the feelings so
 277.693 +deep that I didn't recognise them.  Until now."
 277.694 +
 277.695 +        Both girls got closer to one another so that they were almost in
 277.696 +an embrace.
 277.697 +
 277.698 +        "I don't ever want to let you go."
 277.699 +
 277.700 +        "Me neither."
 277.701 +
 277.702 +        They moved closer again, and touched lips for the third time. 
 277.703 +Their hands travelled up and down each others bodies, exploring the new
 277.704 +feelings they had.  They stopped for a moment and looked into the
 277.705 +other's eyes.  The both smiled as they saw the love and caring in them. 
 277.706 +They whispered "aishiteru" to each other, and went back to kissing and
 277.707 +trying to remove their partner's clothes.
 277.708 +
 277.709 +        A special night followed for both of them.  Special because of
 277.710 +the fact it was the first time for both of them, and because they were
 277.711 +glad to finally share how they felt with someone they loved more than
 277.712 +life itself.  Not just their bodies, but their souls touched that night. 
 277.713 +When their souls touched, they fused together as one, making the
 277.714 +partners two beings of one whole.  Forever, they would always be united 
 277.715 +as one.
 277.716 +
 277.717 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.718 +
 277.719 +        Birds chirped, and the sun cast a ray of light over the land
 277.720 +signalling the beginning of another day.  A body stirred slightly in a
 277.721 +bed.  The figure's eyes slowly opened, and were greeted with a welcome
 277.722 +sight.  She moved forward slowly, and kissed the other girl.  Her
 277.723 +friend's eyes fluttered open, and a smile crept across her face.
 277.724 +
 277.725 +	"Ohayou, Saturn."
 277.726 +
 277.727 +	"Ohayou, Small Lady."
 277.728 +
 277.729 +	They both just laid unmoving for several minutes.  They couldn't
 277.730 +take their eyes off of each other.  They would look up and down the
 277.731 +other person's body, all the time breathing in their wonderful sent.  It
 277.732 +was like a dream state, and neither one wanted to leave.
 277.733 +
 277.734 +	"I suppose we should get up, ne?" said the princess in a voice
 277.735 +that told she really didn't want to.
 277.736 +
 277.737 +	"I suppose," the other replied.
 277.738 +
 277.739 +	Several more minutes passed where neither one moved.
 277.740 +
 277.741 +	"Although..." chanced Saturn, "we *are* on vacation..."
 277.742 +
 277.743 +	Small Lady's eyes lit up.  "Sou ne...  It's not like we have any
 277.744 +official business we have to do..."  She leaned forward, and their lips
 277.745 +met again in a passionate kiss.  "After all, we're here to have fun." 
 277.746 +Now a wicked smile crossed her face, which made the other girl laugh.
 277.747 +
 277.748 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.749 +
 277.750 +	Small Lady and Saturn were late coming down for breakfast.  The
 277.751 +others were worried because of the way the two had acted last night. 
 277.752 +They weren't sure what was going on.  They were beginning to think they
 277.753 +might never come.  Needless to say, they were shocked when the two girls
 277.754 +came bounding down the stairs happily, while holding hands.
 277.755 +
 277.756 +	"Ohayou gozaimasu!" chimed Saturn.
 277.757 +
 277.758 +	"O- Ohayou," replied Neptune.  She had a look of confusion on her
 277.759 +face.
 277.760 +
 277.761 +	"What's for breakfast?" asked Small Lady.  Then she saw the eggs
 277.762 +and rice already laid out for them.  "Ah!  Arigatou.  Gomen, omatase." 
 277.763 +She stuck her free hand behind her head to show her slight
 277.764 +embarrassment.
 277.765 +
 277.766 +	The rest of breakfast went fairly normal for everyone.  Uranus was
 277.767 +reading the paper, Pluto was sipping her coffee, and Neptune was reading
 277.768 +a good book she had started last night.  Small Lady and Saturn happily
 277.769 +talked away while consuming their meal.  The only strange thing was they
 277.770 +never stopped holding hands the entire time.
 277.771 +
 277.772 +	Uranus threw a glance over to Neptune, who raised an eyebrow.  But
 277.773 +neither said anything.  It was when the plates were being put away that
 277.774 +Pluto finally spoke up.
 277.775 +
 277.776 +	"Saturn, Small Lady, can we talk to you for a minute?"
 277.777 +
 277.778 +	The two girls just looked at each other with puzzled expressions
 277.779 +on their faces, and nodded.  The five made their way over to the living
 277.780 +room, and sat down.  At first there was only silence.
 277.781 +
 277.782 +	Uranus was the first to speak.  "We're...concerned about you two. 
 277.783 +Yesterday it seemed like you didn't want to have anything to do with one
 277.784 +another, but today you're close again.  Even closer than before."
 277.785 +
 277.786 +	Neptune jumped in.  "Don't get us wrong, we don't want to invade
 277.787 +your privacy.  If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. 
 277.788 +You're both adults; you can handle you're own problems, but we just want
 277.789 +to let you know we're here if you wanted to talk."
 277.790 +
 277.791 +	Pluto decided to add something.  "We love you both dearly.  We
 277.792 +don't like seeing you hurt.  Sometimes it helps to talk to other
 277.793 +people."  She smiled at them.
 277.794 +
 277.795 +	Small Lady looked at her friend, and smiled slightly.  Saturn
 277.796 +smiled back and squeezed her hand reassuringly.  "There's really no
 277.797 +sense in keeping it a secret.  I think we should tell them everything."
 277.798 +
 277.799 +	Saturn nodded.  "There shouldn't be secrets in a family.  I guess
 277.800 +we should just get it out in the open first.  Small Lady and I are
 277.801 +partners.  We're in love."  The two sat closer together, and held each
 277.802 +other protectively.
 277.803 +
 277.804 +	The three glanced at one another, and blinked a couple of times. 
 277.805 +There was no denying the shock they felt.  Then large smiles crept
 277.806 +across their faces.
 277.807 +
 277.808 +	"We're glad for you," said Neptune.  "It's always wonderful to
 277.809 +find someone you love."  She looked over at Uranus who was already
 277.810 +looking at her.
 277.811 +
 277.812 +	Saturn and Small Lady let out a sigh of relief.  Well, the worst
 277.813 +part was over.  "Arigatou," said Saturn.  "Your blessing means a lot to
 277.814 +us."
 277.815 +
 277.816 +	"I knew it," said Uranus half jokingly.  "It's too bad all the
 277.817 +pretty girls are already taken."  She winked at Small Lady, who had a
 277.818 +very large blush across her cheeks.
 277.819 +
 277.820 +	"Uranus!" scolded Saturn.  They all laughed.  The family was back
 277.821 +together.
 277.822 +
 277.823 +	"But," broke in Pluto, "that still doesn't explain the way you
 277.824 +were acting yesterday.  Why were you both so depressed?"
 277.825 +
 277.826 +	Small Lady sighed.  It still brought pain to her heart to think
 277.827 +about it.  "Up until yesterday, we weren't sure of how we felt. 
 277.828 +Actually," she laughed a little, "we weren't even really aware of it."
 277.829 +
 277.830 +	Saturn jumped in, sensing her friend was having a hard time. 
 277.831 +"There was a misunderstanding.  Our feelings were confused.  During
 277.832 +dinner we weren't sure what to say to each other, and we were ashamed. 
 277.833 +Both of us were afraid of losing a friend.  But," Saturn looked Small
 277.834 +Lady in the eye, "we talked about it, and we managed to work it all out. 
 277.835 +That's when we revealed how we truly felt."  She left out the details
 277.836 +about the kiss, and the night that followed, but it was enough to make
 277.837 +her parents understand.  Besides, they were probably filling in the
 277.838 +details for themselves anyway.
 277.839 +
 277.840 +	"Are you going to tell the others?" asked Uranus.
 277.841 +
 277.842 +	"Hai," said Small Lady.  "Actually, we plan on discussing it with
 277.843 +my parents first.  Mama's been bugging me to find a koibito for the last
 277.844 +little while, so we'll see how that goes.  Then we'll tell the others."
 277.845 +
 277.846 +	"So," said Saturn, "before we have to go back on Saturday, we plan
 277.847 +on enjoying the last few days.  No worries, no troubles.  Just a couple
 277.848 +enjoying their time together."  They both smiled.  The next few days
 277.849 +would be bliss.
 277.850 +
 277.851 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.852 +
 277.853 +	Later that day Saturn was alone in the kitchen trying to find
 277.854 +something to snack on.  She didn't hear anyone come up behind her.
 277.855 +
 277.856 +	"Saturn," said a woman with long aqua hair.
 277.857 +
 277.858 +	"Ah, Neptune," said Saturn as she turned around.  "Doushitano?"
 277.859 +
 277.860 +	Neptune didn't say anything, but showed how she felt with her
 277.861 +actions.  She hugged the younger girl and held her in her arms.
 277.862 +
 277.863 +	"Neptune?"
 277.864 +
 277.865 +	"Gomen," said the woman, still holding her.  "Saturn, I really
 277.866 +want you to know how happy I am, how happy we all are about you and
 277.867 +Small Lady.  And I want to let you know that we'll support you in any
 277.868 +way."  She laughed a little.  "But why do I feel like I'm losing you?"
 277.869 +
 277.870 +	"Mama," Saturn said in almost a whisper.  "I'm 915 years old.  I
 277.871 +think it's time you let go."
 277.872 +
 277.873 +	The other laughed.  "I suppose you're right.  But you'll always be
 277.874 +my little girl.  I hoped you'd find someone to love and be loved by. 
 277.875 +Now you have.  I hope you become very happy, musume."
 277.876 +
 277.877 +	"Arigatou, mama.  I love you."
 277.878 +
 277.879 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.880 +
 277.881 +	Saturday morning rolled around far too quickly for the happy
 277.882 +couple.  They wanted to stay at the beach house for all eternity,
 277.883 +without having to face the real world, but they couldn't do it, and they
 277.884 +knew it.  The morning was being spent packing up luggage and saying
 277.885 +goodbye.  It could be months until they got to see these Senshi again. 
 277.886 +It surprised them when Uranus offered to drive them back to Crystal
 277.887 +Tokyo.  They accepted, of course, but they sensed a motive behind her
 277.888 +asking.
 277.889 +
 277.890 +	Pretty soon they were on the road, or the sky, actually.  With
 277.891 +Uranus driving it would probably take them twenty minutes to arrive at
 277.892 +their destination.  Or it would, if she drove as fast as she usually
 277.893 +did.  Today it seemed almost as if she was holding back.  Neither girl
 277.894 +knew why, but they were just content to sit in the back seat holding
 277.895 +hands.  They would get to Crystal Tokyo soon enough.
 277.896 +
 277.897 +	"I have a little story to tell you," said Uranus, which slightly
 277.898 +surprised the girls.  "It goes back quite a ways, but I think it's
 277.899 +important."
 277.900 +
 277.901 +	Saturn winced slightly.  She knew what was coming.  She didn't
 277.902 +know all that much about Uranus or Neptune before they became her
 277.903 +parents, except the little bits they told her.  She knew for a fact that
 277.904 +it was very painful for both of them, so she never pressed the issue. 
 277.905 +She was a little scared, so she squeezed Small Lady's hand.  The other
 277.906 +looked at her slightly confused, but smiled at the same time.
 277.907 +
 277.908 +	"It's about Neptune and I...when we were young."  She seemed to
 277.909 +pause for a bit.  "When I first laid eyes on her, I couldn't believe
 277.910 +how beautiful she was.  She was like a shimmering angel trying to pull
 277.911 +me out of the darkness of my existence.  I had been having dreams about
 277.912 +her and the mission for some time.  So while I was overjoyed at meeting
 277.913 +her in real life, I pushed her away, because I was afraid of the
 277.914 +mission, and all I would have to give up.  But she wouldn't give up. 
 277.915 +She always has been persistent."  She stopped and laughed.  "Actually
 277.916 +she told me she had been following my F1 career long before she knew
 277.917 +about the mission.  She would always watch from a distance...
 277.918 +
 277.919 +	"Anyway, I eventually gave into her.  I couldn't help myself, I
 277.920 +had fallen in love.  For the next little while we were very concerned
 277.921 +about the mission.  It meant saving the world from the silence, so we
 277.922 +had to stay focused.  But at the same time...  At the same time we grew
 277.923 +closer as a couple.  I began to wonder how I ever lived my life without
 277.924 +this woman.  Before any of this had happened I had already left home. 
 277.925 +Being at home was just too painful.  After I left I vowed to make *my*
 277.926 +family life a happy one."  Uranus winked at Saturn, who smiled.  "But
 277.927 +Neptune was still living at home.  She was distant from her parents,
 277.928 +they really didn't seem that interested in her, and I think they fought
 277.929 +a lot.
 277.930 +
 277.931 +	"Something happened that I'll regret for the rest of my life.  Her
 277.932 +parents were on vacation.  I think it was Hawaii or some such place. 
 277.933 +So, Neptune invited me over.  It was a very special night.  We ate by
 277.934 +candle light, and played a lovely duet afterwards.  It was almost
 277.935 +magical.  I should have went home right then, but I didn't.  Her scent
 277.936 +intoxicated me, and drew me in.  I couldn't leave her arms."  Uranus
 277.937 +coughed a bit, sensing the blushes on the other girls' cheeks.  "To make
 277.938 +a long story short, her parents came home unexpectedly that night.  They
 277.939 +were none too pleased when they found me sharing a bed with their
 277.940 +daughter...  They said some horrible things to Neptune, to us both. 
 277.941 +Needless to say we left that night and never looked back, thereby
 277.942 +severing our family contacts forever."
 277.943 +
 277.944 +	Uranus looked back at the couple, they had slightly pained
 277.945 +expressions on their faces.  "Gomen, I didn't tell you that story to
 277.946 +scare you.  Far from it.  Small Lady, you're mother is a very caring
 277.947 +woman, you have nothing to worry about.  But you have to be prepared for
 277.948 +the reaction of the masses.  You're Princess Serenity, heir to the
 277.949 +throne of the Moon Kingdom, wielder of the most power force in the
 277.950 +galaxy.  You have to expect some sort of negative reaction to your
 277.951 +decision."
 277.952 +
 277.953 +	"Uranus, this is Crystal Tokyo.  We're in an age of peace and
 277.954 +love.  People's opinion's have changed over the past 900 some years."
 277.955 +said the princess in a calm voice.
 277.956 +
 277.957 +	The blond woman tried to smile.  How naive she is, she thought. 
 277.958 +"That's true.  You'll have an easier time than Neptune and I ever had,
 277.959 +but you have to expect some resistance.  Some of the fringe religious
 277.960 +groups are still around, and they can get quite opinionated."
 277.961 +
 277.962 +	By this time Small Lady was slightly angry.  "So what do you want
 277.963 +me to do, Uranus?  Just give Saturn up?  I can't do that!  I'm not going
 277.964 +to bow to any sort of public pressure!"
 277.965 +
 277.966 +	"No, no, please don't get me wrong, princess.  You know how I feel
 277.967 +about your partnership.  If anything I'll be the first to protect you if
 277.968 +any controversy comes of your announcement."  She sighed.  How could she
 277.969 +make the younger girl understand?  "I just don't want this to be a shock
 277.970 +for you.  I want you to stand strong if any resistance does come up."
 277.971 +
 277.972 +	Saturn had been sitting quietly for some time, but now spoke up. 
 277.973 +"Uranus," she said in a loving voice, "believe me, we appreciate your
 277.974 +concern.  We understand what you're trying to say.  But Small Lady and I
 277.975 +have a force stronger than any resistance we might come up against.  We
 277.976 +have love.  If we stand together, no harm will come, ne?"
 277.977 +
 277.978 +	"Sou," said Small Lady.  "All we need is each other.  It might be
 277.979 +a little selfish view, but it's true.  We'll be together, and that's all
 277.980 +that matters."
 277.981 +
 277.982 +	Uranus smiled.  "Yokata na.  Forgive me, I just wanted to make
 277.983 +sure that you were ready.  Now there's no doubt that you are."
 277.984 +
 277.985 +	The transport picked up speed, and zoomed along to Crystal Palace,
 277.986 +which was just starting to appear in the distance.
 277.987 +
 277.988 +~*~*~*~*~
 277.989 +
 277.990 +	"Serenity-sama," said a servant, "you have visitors."
 277.991 +
 277.992 +	"Thank you, Naomi-san.  Please show them in."
 277.993 +
 277.994 +	Neo Queen Serenity sat in one of her private chambers overlooking
 277.995 +a spectacular view of Crystal Tokyo.  Of course, any room in the palace
 277.996 +had a spectacular view since it was situated in the centre of the city.
 277.997 +This particular room, however, was facing the south, which held a
 277.998 +dazzling view of the Tokyo Tower.  After all these years it was still
 277.999 +standing.  King Endymion was in the adjoining room attending to some
277.1000 +paper work.  Serenity herself was just about to start work on answering
277.1001 +the many communiques she had received over the past day.
277.1002 +
277.1003 +	The door to the room opened slowly, and in stepped Small Lady in
277.1004 +her full princess gown and Sailorsaturn in her star fuku, Silence Glaive
277.1005 +in hand.  Both women bowed respectfully, which slightly surprised the
277.1006 +older woman who wasn't used to such formal treatment by her daughter and
277.1007 +close friends.
277.1008 +
277.1009 +	"Small Lady, Sailorsaturn.  Please come in and have a seat."
277.1010 +
277.1011 +	"Mama, we're sorry to disturb you, but we would like to talk to
277.1012 +you about something important.  I'd like papa to come in, too."  The two
277.1013 +sat down on the couch and held hands.
277.1014 +
277.1015 +	"Small Lady, I'm never too busy for you," she said with a smile. 
277.1016 +She called to the other room.  "Endymion, Small Lady and Saturn are
277.1017 +back.  They'd like to talk to us."
277.1018 +
277.1019 +	A man in a lavender tuxedo entered the room with a smile on his
277.1020 +face.  "Okaerinasai.  My, don't we look formal today?"  He gave a little
277.1021 +wink.
277.1022 +
277.1023 +	"I hope you both enjoyed your vacation, ne?" asked the queen.
277.1024 +
277.1025 +	The two couldn't help but smile.  "Hai, it was the best week of
277.1026 +our lives, Serenity," spoke Saturn.
277.1027 +
277.1028 +	"Now, what would you like to talk to us about?"
277.1029 +
277.1030 +	Saturn squeezed Small Lady's hand.  It was a bit harder than
277.1031 +telling Uranus-tachi, but they couldn't back down now.  Small Lady
277.1032 +squeezed back, and had a look of confidence on her face.
277.1033 +
277.1034 +	"Mama, while I was on vacation...I fell in love."  Saturn beamed. 
277.1035 +So far, so good.
277.1036 +
277.1037 +	Happiness and shock seemed to express themselves on the king and
277.1038 +queen at the same time.  "That's wonderful, Small Lady," said the queen. 
277.1039 +"Who's the lucky person?"
277.1040 +
277.1041 +	"She's right here.  Mama, I fell in love with Sailorsaturn."
277.1042 +
277.1043 +	"Queen, King, before you say anything," spoke Saturn with clear
277.1044 +devotion in her eyes, "please listen to what I have to say.  I love your
277.1045 +daughter.  I lover her dearly.  As you know, we've been friends for a
277.1046 +long time.  Long ago we swore we'd never be apart.  Over time, and
277.1047 +partly without our knowledge, that devotion and friendship turned into
277.1048 +love.  It's a deep love and we cherish it dearly.  Please, you have to
277.1049 +see that we're taking this very seriously."  Saturn was looking the
277.1050 +queen straight in the eye, trying to look as sincere as possible.
277.1051 +
277.1052 +	"Saturn," said the queen softly, "daijoubu yo.  I know you would
277.1053 +not make an announcement like this without thinking it through
277.1054 +thoroughly.  I can see how deeply you care for one another."
277.1055 +
277.1056 +	Small Lady and Saturn didn't quite know what to think at this
277.1057 +point.  Was that a blessing, or was there going to be a "but" to this
277.1058 +statement.  Waiting was killing them.
277.1059 +
277.1060 +	The queen surprised them slightly by getting up from her chair and
277.1061 +walking over to them.  She surprised them even more when she began to
277.1062 +give them both a big hug.  "Omedetou ne!  I'm so happy for you both!"
277.1063 +
277.1064 +	"So, you're okay with it?" asked Small Lady hesitantly.
277.1065 +
277.1066 +	"Okay with it?  I'm overjoyed!  We both want to see you happy
277.1067 +with someone, and now it's come true.  We're glad you could find love in
277.1068 +such a close friend."  The queen looked like she was glowing.
277.1069 +
277.1070 +	"Small Lady, Saturn, Serenity and I wish you all the best.  We
277.1071 +love you both." spoke the king with clear emotion in his voice.
277.1072 +
277.1073 +	"Papa, mama," said the princess with tears in her eyes. 
277.1074 +"Arigatou."  She held Saturn in an embrace and hugged her tightly.
277.1075 +
277.1076 +	"Do you plan to tell the others?" asked Serenity, while wiping the
277.1077 +tears from her face.
277.1078 +
277.1079 +	"Hai.  Uranus-tachi already know, and we'll tell the other Senshi
277.1080 +whenever we can get them all together.  And...I know I'll have to make
277.1081 +an announcement to the world soon.  It'll just get leaked to the press
277.1082 +anyway.  I'm prepared, mama.  We both are.  But we're also both strong
277.1083 +enough to get through any hard times.  Love conquers all, ne?"
277.1084 +
277.1085 +	"Sou ne," spoke her mother.  "Love is everything."
277.1086 +
277.1087 +~*~*~*~*~
277.1088 +
277.1089 +To be continued in part 3. ^_^;
277.1090 +
277.1091 +	Well, that was a whole lot longer than part 1, eh?  Parts 3 and 4
277.1092 +may not be as long.  I don't really know. ^_^;
277.1093 +
277.1094 +Okay, there will be fairly long author's comments this time.  Yay! :P
277.1095 +
277.1096 +	Chibiusa and Hotaru as a couple.  Some of you may be thinking, "Is
277.1097 +this girl out of her mind?"  But it interested me, and I thought it
277.1098 +would make a good fanfic. :)  There's only circumstantial evidence to
277.1099 +support it in the manga, but those few pictures were enough to peek my
277.1100 +interest.  Stay tuned for the next two parts, though.  They may just
277.1101 +surprise you (ooh, plot twist! :P).
277.1102 +
277.1103 +	It took all my will power not to call Saturn "Hotaru" and Small
277.1104 +Lady "Chibiusa."  Or to use Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna's names, for
277.1105 +that matter.  Never in the manga do we see them using their human names
277.1106 +in Crystal Tokyo, so it's fairly safe to assume that they never do. 
277.1107 +And, of course, we *know* Chibiusa was a 20th century invention and that
277.1108 +everyone in the future calls her Small Lady.  Still, it was hard.  I had
277.1109 +to hit backspace more than a few times, lemme tell ya. ^_-
277.1110 +
277.1111 +	Now a note about all the ages and dates I threw at you.  Some of
277.1112 +them may not seem to make sense, so I'll go over them in detail. 
277.1113 +Remember, this is canon as per the manga. :)
277.1114 +
277.1115 +* June 30 2001 - this should be when Usagi turns 22, if we assume she
277.1116 +turned 17 in June 1996 (this is when the fifth series manga came out,
277.1117 +and Usagi was in second year high school (Grade 11) at the time).  The
277.1118 +second series manga establishes she rises to power and gives birth to
277.1119 +Chibiusa when she turns 22 (since Usagi and Chibiusa share the same
277.1120 +birthday, this seems to be the only plausible date).  Plus it makes
277.1121 +sense since 2001 is the first *real* year of the new millennium.
277.1122 +
277.1123 +* Hotaru at twelve-years-old - I meant in appearance.  She'd actually be
277.1124 +about a year old at this point (since the reincarnation).
277.1125 +
277.1126 +* Small Lady at 910-years-old looking 18 - If we assume she turns 904 in
277.1127 +1996 (she turned 902 in '94 in an enikki), and since she looked 12 in
277.1128 +'96, we can assume, if she continues to age normally, that she'll look
277.1129 +18 when she turns 910.  In the 30th century, the year would be 2911
277.1130 +(2001 plus 910).
277.1131 +
277.1132 +* Saturn not ageing for 905 years and stopping her growth at age 22 - We
277.1133 +know Usagi stopped ageing at 22, so it's probably the same for the
277.1134 +others.  By 22 I mean the appearance of age 22.  Saturn would have
277.1135 +actually been 11-years-old, and the year would be 2006.  Subtract 2006
277.1136 +from 2911 and you get 905 years.
277.1137 +
277.1138 +* Saturn at 916-years-old - 2911 subtract 1995 (when she was
277.1139 +reincarnated) equals 916.
277.1140 +
277.1141 +If there are any other dates that I missed, they should all fit this
277.1142 +timeline in a similar fashion.
277.1143 +
277.1144 +	If any details don't make sense, like who Sailorvesta is, or what
277.1145 +Titan Castle is, you'll have to read the manga to understand fully.  It
277.1146 +doesn't make much sense to go into a long explanation here. :)
277.1147 +
277.1148 +	Yes, I know I based Uranus' speech on anime events, but nothing is
277.1149 +mentioned about it in the manga, so I took a little artistic license. ;) 
277.1150 +And I think I kept it general enough that it probably fits the manga
277.1151 +anyway. :)
277.1152 +
277.1153 +	Okay, feedback time. ;)  If you have any questions or comments,
277.1154 +just email me at ajhd@king.igs.net.  And if you don't, but liked the fic
277.1155 +anyway, arigatou.  I know I never email people even when I like their
277.1156 +fanfics. ^_^;;  Well, that's not true.  I did email Tim Nolan once. ^_^;
277.1157 +
277.1158 +	Extra special thanks to Jay Dee Archer (aka Jupiter Knight) for
277.1159 +proof reading my fanfic for me!  Arigatou gozaimashita!  Go see Jupiter 
277.1160 +Knight's fanfic archive, he has lots of great stories. ^_^
277.1161 +
277.1162 +http://www.dragonfire.net/~JupiterKnight/
277.1163 +
277.1164 +	Music I was listening to when I wrote this: Disc 1 & 2 from the
277.1165 +Memorial Music Box (first season BGM).  Actually, by pure coincidence,
277.1166 +I was listening to the same BGM that played during the end of ep 88 when
277.1167 +I was writing the 'Chibiusa returns home' scene.  Any similarities can
277.1168 +be blamed on that. :P
277.1169 +
277.1170 +Completed: Aug 20th 1998.
277.1171 \ No newline at end of file

   278.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   278.2 +++ b/stories/cunpnk3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   278.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1357 @@
   278.4 +Author's Notes: ^_^
   278.5 +
   278.6 +	There's nothing much to say here, really.  Trust me, you're going
   278.7 +to start hating me around the middle of this part...  But keep going
   278.8 +until the end! ^_^
   278.9 +
  278.10 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  278.11 +Chibiusa no PYUA na kokoro
  278.12 +(Chibiusa's Pure Heart)
  278.13 +Part 3
  278.14 +By Andrea Doolan <andrea.doolan@utoronto.ca>
  278.15 +"Sailormoon no ichiban daifan"
  278.16 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  278.17 +
  278.18 +~*~*~*~*~
  278.19 +
  278.20 +	The large, ornately decorated doors to the main Sailor Senshi
  278.21 +conference room shut with a bang.  This particular room of the palace
  278.22 +was situated on one of the top levels of the grand structure.  It
  278.23 +boasted a marble conference table, which seated 20 comfortably, and all
  278.24 +the architectural and design earmarks that made the Crystal Palace so
  278.25 +famous.  It was an eclectic atmosphere combining ancient Greek and
  278.26 +traditional Japanese designs.
  278.27 +
  278.28 +	Sailormars, the person who shut the doors, was the last of the
  278.29 +Senior Sailor Senshi to be gathered in the room.  With their hectic
  278.30 +schedules, it was unusual to see all of them together, but this was a
  278.31 +special occasion.
  278.32 +
  278.33 +	As Mars took her seat, Neo Queen Serenity spoke.  "Minna, thank
  278.34 +you for coming here on such short notice.  I apologise for the formal
  278.35 +atmosphere, because what will be said here today isn't meant for a
  278.36 +formal occasion.  We're all friends here; friends sharing some great
  278.37 +news.  I'll now pass things over to my daughter and Sailorsaturn."
  278.38 +
  278.39 +	As the Queen sat back down, she passed Small Lady, and gave her a
  278.40 +small squeeze on her shoulder.  It was enough for a smile to creep
  278.41 +across the younger woman's face.  It was getting easier, she thought.
  278.42 +This would be the third time telling people, and it definitely felt
  278.43 +easier.  Of course, maybe it was just because they were telling the
  278.44 +parents before, and now it was just friends.
  278.45 +
  278.46 +	Small Lady and Saturn stood up at the head of the table.  All eyes
  278.47 +were focused on them.  Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter looked at them
  278.48 +inquisitively.  Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto looked at them with love and
  278.49 +support.  They were really only there for comfort and encouragement.
  278.50 +The Queen and King looked at them with smiles on their faces.  Serenity
  278.51 +nodded her head for them to start.
  278.52 +
  278.53 +	"Arigatou, minna.  Some of you know what we're about to say, and
  278.54 +some of you don't.  Before we start, we just want to say what good
  278.55 +friends you've all been to us.  We cherish you all dearly."  Small Lady
  278.56 +stopped and smiled at them.
  278.57 +
  278.58 +	Saturn took Small Lady's hand, and continued.  "Something special
  278.59 +has happened in our lives, and we think it's only fair to share it with
  278.60 +all of you.  Small Lady and I have fallen in love.  We care for each
  278.61 +other deeply.  We...we want to spend the rest of our lives together.  We
  278.62 +want to be together forever."
  278.63 +
  278.64 +	Small Lady jumped in.  "We know this may come as a shock to some
  278.65 +of you.  I know it certainly did for us."  She laughed a little at this.
  278.66 +"But we both hope you'll give us your blessing.  It really means a lot
  278.67 +to us.  We've already discussed this with our parents, and they've been
  278.68 +very supportive.  But no pressure, of course."  She gave them a little
  278.69 +wink.
  278.70 +
  278.71 +	There was silence for several moments, but then Sailorjupiter was
  278.72 +the first to speak.  "So, you left us until last, did you?  Seems kind
  278.73 +of unfair to me."  She stuck her tongue out a little to show she was
  278.74 +kidding.  "Small Lady, Saturn, personally I think this is great.  I wish
  278.75 +you all the best in the future."  She had a very sincere smile on her
  278.76 +face.
  278.77 +
  278.78 +	"I knew it!" cried Venus.  "My predictions of love are never
  278.79 +wrong!"  The rest of the group facefaulted.  "Hehe, the goddess of love
  278.80 +and beauty, the reincarnation of Aphrodite herself gives you her full
  278.81 +blessing!  You two make a cute couple."  She flashed them a "V" sign.
  278.82 +
  278.83 +	"I always said we didn't need boys to have fun."
  278.84 +
  278.85 +	"Mars, are you feeling playful?"
  278.86 +
  278.87 +	"We'll have to save it until later, Venus."
  278.88 +
  278.89 +	"Ohhh..."
  278.90 +
  278.91 +	"Anyway, the point I was trying to make was you two go really well
  278.92 +together.  I can feel it from your spirits, it's coming through very
  278.93 +strongly.  I think you two were made for each other."
  278.94 +
  278.95 +	Small Lady and Saturn blushed a little at this.
  278.96 +
  278.97 +	Sailormercury was sitting quietly at the end of the table.  She
  278.98 +was just waiting patiently for her turn to speak.  "I still find it hard
  278.99 +to believe in a red string of destiny, but after seeing so many real
 278.100 +life examples, I think I'll have to rewrite the laws of physics.  You
 278.101 +two are a shinning example of proof that it does exist.  Omedetou ne."
 278.102 +She gave a caring smile to them.
 278.103 +
 278.104 +	"Minna..." said Small Lady, tears forming in her eyes.
 278.105 +
 278.106 +	"Arigatou," said Saturn while she gave her lover a quick hug.
 278.107 +
 278.108 +	Everyone got up from their seats and proceeded to give Small Lady
 278.109 +and Saturn hugs and words of congratulation.  Indeed, it was a joyous
 278.110 +occasion.  Saturn and Small Lady were so glad everyone had been very
 278.111 +accepting of their relationship; it really meant a lot to them.  They
 278.112 +weren't really worried, though.  They had both known everyone for so
 278.113 +long, and they were such close friends.  But now, deep in their hearts,
 278.114 +there still laid a seed of worry.  It was because of the upcoming
 278.115 +announcement to the kingdom which would follow in a few days.  In some
 278.116 +respects, it was terrifying to them, but in others they wanted to share
 278.117 +the good news with all the people of the kingdom.  They knew they might
 278.118 +not get the same reception that the Senshi had given them.  They
 278.119 +accepted that fact, but any way they could, they were going to get
 278.120 +through it.  Together.
 278.121 +
 278.122 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.123 +
 278.124 +	"Mina-san, please be aware that an official announcement from
 278.125 +Crystal Palace will take place at 13:00 today, Japan Standard Time.
 278.126 +Please try to avoid crowding the streets around the palace, as public
 278.127 +safety in always a concern.  The official Crystal Tokyo network, Terebi
 278.128 +Takeuchi, will be covering events, as will most of the other major
 278.129 +networks and satellite feeds to the planets.  Arigatou gozaimasu."
 278.130 +
 278.131 +	That was the official press release the palace had given at 9
 278.132 +o'clock that Wednesday morning.  It had thrown every single news agency
 278.133 +in the solar system into mass confusion.  If it was an announcement from
 278.134 +the palace, it was big news.  Everyone was rushing trying to get an
 278.135 +early scoop, but none of their sources seemed to know anything, and the
 278.136 +palace was being very tight-lipped.  Really, the only thing they could do 
 278.137 +was wait and see.  That didn't stop the rumours, though.
 278.138 +
 278.139 +	"I heard the king and queen were getting a divorce!"
 278.140 +
 278.141 +	"What?  Are you crazy?  After being together for so long?  It's
 278.142 +much more serious.  I heard Nemesis was making a comeback."
 278.143 +
 278.144 +	"Another war?  That would be awful..."
 278.145 +
 278.146 +	"But if it was a war, wouldn't a state of emergency be declared or
 278.147 +something?"
 278.148 +
 278.149 +	"Only if the fighting had already broken out.  They could just be
 278.150 +in negotiations."
 278.151 +
 278.152 +	"No, no, you're all wrong!  I hear Diana-sama is getting married!"
 278.153 +
 278.154 +	"To that prince from Mau?  I thought she hated him."
 278.155 +
 278.156 +	"Maybe Luna-sama is pregnant again."
 278.157 +
 278.158 +	"Could be...  Hey, what if one of the Senshi were pregnant!"
 278.159 +
 278.160 +	"Um, that would be kind of hard, wouldn't it?  Considering who
 278.161 +their partners are...  And those that don't have partners don't seem to be
 278.162 +attached to anyone."
 278.163 +
 278.164 +	"Oh, right."
 278.165 +
 278.166 +	It went on like this for the four hours between the press release
 278.167 +and the announcement.  It seemed anybody and everybody had a theory as
 278.168 +to what the palace was about to announce.  Though no one could have
 278.169 +guessed what was actually happening.
 278.170 +
 278.171 +	12:56 JST
 278.172 +
 278.173 +	"How are you doing?"
 278.174 +
 278.175 +	"Okay.  How about you?"
 278.176 +
 278.177 +	"I'm a nervous wreck."
 278.178 +
 278.179 +	"To tell you the truth, I am, too."
 278.180 +
 278.181 +	Two lovers embraced and shared a long kiss.
 278.182 +
 278.183 +	"Better?"
 278.184 +
 278.185 +	"Hai."
 278.186 +
 278.187 +	They walked hand in hand to the doors which led out to the
 278.188 +balcony.  It was from there that they would make their announcement, and
 278.189 +the world would know the truth.
 278.190 +
 278.191 +	"Small Lady?"
 278.192 +
 278.193 +	The pink haired woman stopped and looked to her side.  She saw
 278.194 +Diana and the Sailor Quartet standing there.  After she had told the
 278.195 +Inner Senshi, her and Saturn talked to Luna, Artemis, Diana, and the
 278.196 +Quartet privately.  After all, Diana was her closest friend next to
 278.197 +Saturn, and the Quartet were her personal protectors.  They had all
 278.198 +taken the news with similar reactions to the Senior Senshi.
 278.199 +Sailorpallas said she knew all along, but Sailorjuno reminded her she
 278.200 +thought Saturn was falling for the king of Mermaid.  Everyone laughed at
 278.201 +that, including Pallas herself.
 278.202 +
 278.203 +	"Diana-tachi!"
 278.204 +
 278.205 +	"We're coming out with you."
 278.206 +
 278.207 +	"You don't have to..."
 278.208 +
 278.209 +	"We're your friends!  You're going to get all the support you
 278.210 +can!"
 278.211 +
 278.212 +	"Princess, we are your protectors.  It's our duty and wish to help
 278.213 +you," said Sailorceres with a smile.
 278.214 +
 278.215 +	"Arigatou," said Saturn.  "It means a lot to us."
 278.216 +
 278.217 +	"Jikan da," said the King.  "The crowds are even larger than I
 278.218 +expected."
 278.219 +
 278.220 +	The doors to the balcony opened, and the crowd roared.  Out
 278.221 +stepped Princess Serenity, looking regal as ever, holding hands with the
 278.222 +Princess of Saturn, who looked equally gorgeous in her purple gown.
 278.223 +They walked to the front of the balcony and waved at the spectators.
 278.224 +Directly behind them stood the princess' personal guard and Diana.  Off
 278.225 +to the side the Senior Sailor Senshi stood, all of whom were wearing
 278.226 +their royal gowns.  The king and queen stood in the doorway, watching
 278.227 +how everything progressed.
 278.228 +
 278.229 +	Saturn held Small Lady's hand a little tighter, and whispered
 278.230 +something to her which was incomprehensible to everyone else.
 278.231 +
 278.232 +	A few minutes later, after the announcement had been made, the crowd 
 278.233 +cheered even louder, if that was possible.
 278.234 +
 278.235 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.236 +
 278.237 +	The next few days were spent sorting through the public's reaction
 278.238 +to the announcement.  Generally, it had been very positive, with the
 278.239 +palace receiving millions of cards, flowers, and gifts all meant to
 278.240 +congratulate the happy couple.  Small Lady and Saturn had been fairly
 278.241 +surprised at the outpouring of support they had received.  Headlines
 278.242 +like, "A Match Made in Heaven,"  "A Happy Day for the Kingdom of
 278.243 +Serenity," and "Light and Dark United by the Bonds of Love" boosted
 278.244 +their confidence even more.  Though, while looking at the last one,
 278.245 +Saturn wondered why people always forgot she was the Senshi of death
 278.246 +*and* rebirth.  Oh well, it made for a good headline at any rate.
 278.247 +
 278.248 +	While most reactions had been positive, there had been some
 278.249 +negative ones as well.  The religious right, even though their hold on
 278.250 +society had greatly decreased over the centuries, could still be very
 278.251 +vocal.  They posted their opinions over the information network linking
 278.252 +the entire solar system, and wrote to news organisations.  But their 
 278.253 +reaction was expected; they had been saying the same things for years about 
 278.254 +other prominent same-sex couples.  No one paid much attention to them
 278.255 +anymore, including the level-headed religious organisations.
 278.256 +
 278.257 +	The main cause for concern in the palace's eyes were several
 278.258 +editorials written for the news agencies' publications.  While accepting
 278.259 +of the relationship, and pointing out how happy everyone was for them,
 278.260 +there was one common thread through them all.  How would the line of the
 278.261 +moon kingdom continue?  Through all of science's advances, it was still
 278.262 +impossible for two women to conceive.  That left several options:
 278.263 +adoption - which wouldn't work, because they obviously needed someone
 278.264 +with royal blood; artificial insemination - which lead to the question,
 278.265 +who would donate the sperm?; and cloning - which meant their baby would
 278.266 +have the same genes as the princess, which really wouldn't be a bad
 278.267 +thing, except that in order for humanity as a whole and the royal
 278.268 +family specifically to advance, there had to be a mixing of the gene
 278.269 +pool.  It was certainly a valid point to bring up, one Small Lady and
 278.270 +Saturn hadn't thought through completely.
 278.271 +
 278.272 +	Some, more opinionated people, jumped on the chance, and called it
 278.273 +the end of the Moon Kingdom.  Others were less extreme in their views,
 278.274 +but voiced concern about the inability to have a child.  Gay couples
 278.275 +around the kingdom fought back, and pointed to their own families to
 278.276 +prove the princess and Saturn could bear children, even if Saturn's
 278.277 +genes weren't included.  It wouldn't mean she would love the child any
 278.278 +less.  It was good that same sex couples composed about 50% of the
 278.279 +population.  Small Lady and Saturn needed all the support they could get
 278.280 +on this issue.
 278.281 +
 278.282 +	The child-bearing issue, and the news of the partnership was hot
 278.283 +news over the next month.  The press knew its boundaries, but still was
 278.284 +able to get pictures of the couple together at every opportunity.
 278.285 +Saturn and Small Lady played along very well.  They didn't feel as if
 278.286 +the press was hounding them, plus they knew what good public relations
 278.287 +could mean for them.  However, like all hot news, the fervour eventually
 278.288 +died down, and the couple was bumped down to monthly updates on the
 278.289 +news.
 278.290 +
 278.291 +	Small Lady felt overjoyed with the amount of love and support her
 278.292 +subjects had given her.  Their opinions and happiness really did mean a
 278.293 +great deal to her.  She was a bit saddened with some of the objections
 278.294 +they had received, but it was expected, and with Saturn at her side they
 278.295 +were able to deal with it.  Saturn...she had been such a pillar of love
 278.296 +for the pink haired woman.  Even when things looked a bit rocky, she was
 278.297 +right there by her side.  Small Lady brought her hands to her heart, and
 278.298 +sighed.  She was the luckiest person alive.
 278.299 +
 278.300 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.301 +
 278.302 +	The next five years seemed to pass quickly for everyone.  They
 278.303 +were glorious years.  The Moon Kingdom was at it's strongest, and
 278.304 +flourished under new treaties made with other kingdoms in other parts of
 278.305 +the galaxy.  The physical destruction from the Black Moon attack had
 278.306 +been gone for decades.  The emotional toll for the population who had
 278.307 +lost so many lives, was recovering, and moving on.  They were certain
 278.308 +that nothing similar would ever happen again.
 278.309 +
 278.310 +	For Small Lady's part, she grew into a lovely woman of 915 years,
 278.311 +who still had the appearance of a 22-year-old.  Since her 910th birthday
 278.312 +she had been given ever increasing responsibilities by her mother.
 278.313 +Rumour had it Serenity was going to pass the throne down to her daughter
 278.314 +soon.  When that was going to happen, no one was sure, but the people
 278.315 +knew it would be soon.
 278.316 +
 278.317 +	 At her side through all this stood Sailorsaturn.  It was a very
 278.318 +happy time for the couple.  Even when they had to be apart because of
 278.319 +official responsibilities, they were still together in spirit.  The time
 278.320 +that they did have together was precious, and they used every second of
 278.321 +it to the fullest.  They gave each other strength, and received lots of
 278.322 +love.  They were truly two halves to one whole.
 278.323 +
 278.324 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.325 +
 278.326 +	It was another beautiful day in Crystal Tokyo.  The sun cascaded
 278.327 +off the crystal buildings, forming tiny rainbows all around town.  The
 278.328 +sky was as blue as Sailormercury's fuku and the moon's outline could
 278.329 +faintly be seen in the skies above.  Everyone seemed just a little
 278.330 +happier today.
 278.331 +
 278.332 +	Unfortunately, things weren't like this for Small Lady.  She was
 278.333 +in her worst mood in months, and was feeling very depressed.  All
 278.334 +morning she moped around the palace trying to keep herself occupied.
 278.335 +The truth was, she only had one thing on her mind.  Saturn.  The Senshi
 278.336 +of Death and Rebirth was on another diplomatic mission.  This time it
 278.337 +was to Kinmokusei to work out trade relations.  Saturn would be gone for
 278.338 +six months, which was the longest they had ever spent apart after
 278.339 +becoming a couple.  But it just couldn't be avoided; they both knew
 278.340 +that.
 278.341 +
 278.342 +	So, Small Lady continued to mope around the palace looking for
 278.343 +anything interesting to do.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw
 278.344 +Sailorpluto walking towards Serenity's chambers.
 278.345 +
 278.346 +	"Puu!"
 278.347 +
 278.348 +	"Ah, Small Lady," said Pluto has she turned around to see the pink
 278.349 +haired woman bound up behind her.
 278.350 +
 278.351 +	"Are you going to talk to mama?"
 278.352 +
 278.353 +	"Hai.  We still have some things to discuss about today's royal
 278.354 +guest."
 278.355 +
 278.356 +	"Royal guest?"  Small Lady looked at her in a questioning way.
 278.357 +
 278.358 +	"Did you forget already?  We have a very prestigious guest coming
 278.359 +today all the was from Elysion."
 278.360 +
 278.361 +	"Gomen, I guess I forgot."  Small Lady smiled.
 278.362 +
 278.363 +	Pluto coughed.  "I think you've had other things on your mind."
 278.364 +She gave her friend a wink.
 278.365 +
 278.366 +	Small Lady blushed.  "Have you noticed, too?  My mind hasn't been
 278.367 +where it should be lately.  It's just...hard.  I know I'll see Saturn
 278.368 +again, but waiting seems like an eternity."
 278.369 +
 278.370 +	Pluto put her hand on the younger woman's shoulder.  "Don't forget
 278.371 +that we're all here for you, Small Lady.  You know you can come talk to
 278.372 +me whenever you want.  It will be just like old times."
 278.373 +
 278.374 +	"Arigatou, Puu."  The princess hugged the taller woman.  Pluto was
 278.375 +almost like a second mother to her.
 278.376 +
 278.377 +	"Just don't forget about our guest.  We will be meeting him at
 278.378 +15:00 in the throne room."
 278.379 +
 278.380 +	"I won't forget.  Mata ne, Puu!"  Small Lady smiled and ran off.
 278.381 +It was really great to have such good friends.  Her spirits were
 278.382 +definitely lifted now.
 278.383 +
 278.384 +	Elysion, she thought.  Where have I heard that name before?  It
 278.385 +seems so familiar...  I'll have to remember to look it up before I meet
 278.386 +our guest.  It's always good manners to know something of a guest's
 278.387 +country.
 278.388 +
 278.389 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.390 +
 278.391 +14:54
 278.392 +
 278.393 +	I'm late.  I'm late.  I'm late.  It was the only thing Small Lady
 278.394 +could think of as she ran down the hallway to the throne room.  Oh kami,
 278.395 +how did I let this happen?  How is it that I have all the time in the
 278.396 +world, and then suddenly it's gone!  This is no way for the future queen
 278.397 +to act.  Oh, what will mama say!  It is incredibly rude to show up late
 278.398 +to greet a guest.  Maybe I can still make it...
 278.399 +
 278.400 +14:58
 278.401 +
 278.402 +	Small Lady rounded a corner, but slowed down just before she got
 278.403 +to the doors of the throne room.  She walked in calmly, almost as if she
 278.404 +hadn't been running at all.  She got several stern looks from the
 278.405 +Quartet and one from her mother as she took her place beside her, but
 278.406 +other than that, no one seemed to notice.  It looked like she got there
 278.407 +just in time.
 278.408 +
 278.409 +	A loud voice rang out.  "Now presenting our highly esteemed guest
 278.410 +of honour...."
 278.411 +
 278.412 +	Ah!  I completely forgot to look up Elysion, thought Small Lady.
 278.413 +
 278.414 +	"...We are most glad he was able to take time from his busy
 278.415 +schedule to meet with us..."
 278.416 +
 278.417 +	But it sounds so familiar...  Elysion, Elysion, where have I heard
 278.418 +that before?
 278.419 +
 278.420 +	"...His absence on Earth has been centuries, but his protection of
 278.421 +everyone's dreams has never been overlooked..."
 278.422 +
 278.423 +	Dreams?  Elysion?  It's right on the tip of my tongue.  Oh my god,
 278.424 +it's...
 278.425 +
 278.426 +	"...The High Priest of Elysion, Elios-sama."
 278.427 +
 278.428 +	Elios...
 278.429 +
 278.430 +	Clapping could be heard all around the throne room as a man
 278.431 +dressed almost entirely in white stepped into the room.  He had soft,
 278.432 +wavy white hair which flowed over the red jewel on his forehead.  He
 278.433 +walked forward and kneeled in front of Neo Queen Serenity.
 278.434 +
 278.435 +	"My Queen, it is so good to see you again.  And the King also.  I
 278.436 +trust you have both been well?"
 278.437 +
 278.438 +	"Yes, thank you, Elios."  Serenity bowed politely to him.  "We are
 278.439 +so glad you could make it.  It's really been too long."  She gave him a
 278.440 +warm smile.
 278.441 +
 278.442 +	Elios smiled back, and then looked over to the Queen's right where
 278.443 +a woman with pink hair stood.  Her eyes seemed to be displaying shock
 278.444 +and happiness at the same time.
 278.445 +
 278.446 +	"Chiisana otome yo."  He looked at her again.  "Iya, you're not
 278.447 +chiisana anymore.  Just a beautiful otome."  The image of the girl he
 278.448 +saw now overlapped the image he saw in his dreams so many years ago.
 278.449 +
 278.450 +	"Elios..."  Small Lady was a little more than shocked.  She never
 278.451 +dreamed she'd be meeting him here today.
 278.452 +
 278.453 +	"Otome, I sense your dream has changed, but you still carry the
 278.454 +most beautiful dream."
 278.455 +
 278.456 +	The princess blushed.  "Arigatou."  She bowed to him in greeting.
 278.457 +
 278.458 +	He then turned and proceeded to greet everyone there.  The Senshi
 278.459 +who were present were excited to meet him again after all the time that
 278.460 +had passed.  Those times seemed like a lifetime away.  And indeed they
 278.461 +were.
 278.462 +
 278.463 +	Small Lady continued to watch the events like she was in a dream
 278.464 +state.  She didn't know what to make of this situation.  Here was
 278.465 +someone who she had once had feelings for, even if she was in the body
 278.466 +of an eleven-year-old at the time.  It had been less than 15 years since
 278.467 +she had last seen him, but for Elios it must have been centuries.
 278.468 +Though she wasn't exactly sure how time passed in Elysion.  She thought
 278.469 +it amazing that he remembered her after all these years as if they had
 278.470 +parted yesterday.  At that moment, she wished Saturn was with her more
 278.471 +than ever.  She felt like holding her hand for support.
 278.472 +
 278.473 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.474 +
 278.475 +	After the festivities that followed the official welcoming were
 278.476 +over, the excitement had died down somewhat.  Now just some of the Senshi
 278.477 +were left to talk to Elios privately about old times.  Small Lady had
 278.478 +been very proper during the festivities, and filled her role as princess
 278.479 +to a T.  But now she just felt exhausted, and wanted some quiet time to
 278.480 +herself.  She had barely talked to Elios at all.  Was she trying to
 278.481 +avoid him on purpose?  She didn't really know.  It was such a strange
 278.482 +feeling for her to see him like this now.  All she knew was a walk
 278.483 +through the palace gardens would do her good.
 278.484 +
 278.485 +	She began by passing by some pink rose bushes.  She stopped to
 278.486 +admire their beauty and scent.  She held one gently in her hand and
 278.487 +lifted it to her nose.  The fragrant aroma filled her senses and
 278.488 +alleviated a lot of the stress she was feeling, both from Saturn being
 278.489 +away and Elios' arrival.  She was away in a world all her own now, so
 278.490 +much so that she didn't notice a form approaching her.  She was so
 278.491 +startled when she heard a sound from behind that she forgot what she was
 278.492 +doing and accidentally pricked herself on one of the rose's thorns.
 278.493 +
 278.494 +	"Gomen," said the figure as it stepped into the light.  "I didn't
 278.495 +mean to startle you."
 278.496 +
 278.497 +	"Oh, Elios.  I didn't hear you come up." Small Lady said with a
 278.498 +smile.
 278.499 +
 278.500 +	"You're injured," he said while pointing to her hand.
 278.501 +
 278.502 +	"This?  It's nothing.  Just a little scratch."
 278.503 +
 278.504 +	Then he did something very unexpected.  He brought her hand up to
 278.505 +his mouth and kissed what little blood there was away.  The princess was
 278.506 +shocked, and pulled her hand away.
 278.507 +
 278.508 +	"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" asked Elios.
 278.509 +
 278.510 +	Small Lady looked ashamed.  "No, I'm the one who should apologise.
 278.511 +I've done nothing but avoid you since you got here.  I guess I thought
 278.512 +if I didn't see you, then I wouldn't have to deal with the past.  The
 278.513 +truth is, I have something important to tell you."
 278.514 +
 278.515 +	"Well, why don't we sit down over there on that bench?  I have a
 278.516 +feeling we'll be here for awhile."
 278.517 +
 278.518 +	Small Lady nodded her head in agreement, and followed him to the
 278.519 +bench.
 278.520 +
 278.521 +	She began with a sigh.  "All those years ago, I'm not sure what it
 278.522 +was we shared.  Was it just a childhood infatuation, or something more?
 278.523 +I remember thinking about you for a very long time after you left.  I
 278.524 +promised myself that I would see you again someday, though I had no idea
 278.525 +it would be like this."  Elios just sat patiently listening.  She
 278.526 +continued, "After a while, my memory of you started to fade, and my
 278.527 +feelings, however childish, were pushed to the back of my mind.  In
 278.528 +time, I developed feelings for another person.  In fact, I fell deeply
 278.529 +in love with them.  So deeply in love that I have a great pain on my
 278.530 +heart every time we're apart even for a little while.  Elios, I fell in
 278.531 +love with Sailorsaturn."
 278.532 +
 278.533 +	She looked at him waiting for his reaction.  She felt like this
 278.534 +was harder than telling the entire kingdom.  Somehow she still hadn't
 278.535 +gotten over that part of her life.
 278.536 +
 278.537 +	He waited several moments, and then spoke with a smile.  "Did you
 278.538 +think I didn't know?"
 278.539 +
 278.540 +	Small Lady practically facefaulted.  "Nani?"
 278.541 +
 278.542 +	"Otome, I am the protector of everyone's dreams.  Your one dream
 278.543 +for the past few years has been to spend the rest of your life with
 278.544 +Sailorsaturn.  I realise that.  I have special memories of the times we
 278.545 +spent together many years ago, but I am happy just to see you live out
 278.546 +your beautiful dream.  I wish you all the luck in the world."
 278.547 +
 278.548 +	The princess was shocked.  "You knew all along?  Then I was
 278.549 +worrying for nothing?  I feel a little silly now."  She looked at him.
 278.550 +"Thank you, Elios.  Thank you for understanding."
 278.551 +
 278.552 +	He smiled at her, and the two proceeded to talk long into the
 278.553 +night.
 278.554 +
 278.555 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.556 +
 278.557 +	Somewhere, deep in the blackness of space, far away from Earth's
 278.558 +solar system, a scream of terror rang out.  And then Silence.
 278.559 +
 278.560 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.561 +
 278.562 +Chinmoku.
 278.563 +
 278.564 +	Small Lady woke up with a start.  Sweat was pouring down her face.
 278.565 +"Yume...ka?"  Chinmoku.  She was breathing hard.  Gasping for air.
 278.566 +Chinmoku.  She grasped at a pain in her chest.  Her eyes flung open in
 278.567 +realisation.  "Sa..Sa..turn.  SATURN!!!!!!!!!!"
 278.568 +
 278.569 +Chinmoku.
 278.570 +
 278.571 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.572 +
 278.573 +	This rainy morning in Crystal Tokyo was greeted with a group of
 278.574 +solemn, tear streaked faces.  They had all woken up very early in the
 278.575 +morning hours.
 278.576 +
 278.577 +	"Ja...then it's true?" asked Sailormars.
 278.578 +
 278.579 +	"The report from Kinmokusei doesn't look good," responded Mercury.
 278.580 +"Apparently there was a very sudden violent storm.  The lightening
 278.581 +caused severe damage to a large part of Kakyuu-hime's palace, then an
 278.582 +explosion, and then..."  She pressed a few more buttons on the pad she
 278.583 +was holding.  "Saturn was in that part of the palace.  Her Silence Wall
 278.584 +held up for a long time, and saved hundreds of lives.  She could have
 278.585 +saved herself as well, but a few people were helplessly trapped, and I
 278.586 +guess she just wasn't going to leave them there.  The storm got more
 278.587 +violent, and it became impossible for her to continue.  The casualty
 278.588 +report lists five dead, including Sailorsaturn."  Mercury couldn't
 278.589 +continue reading after that.  She was sobbing too hard.
 278.590 +
 278.591 +	After a period of silence, someone spoke.  "Uso da.  Uso da yo!!
 278.592 +Saturn can't be dead!  She can't be!  I can't believe we're not doing
 278.593 +anything.  We have to help her!  She's not dead!  She's not!"  Small
 278.594 +Lady was red with anger.  Her night-gown was wet with tears.
 278.595 +
 278.596 +	"Small Lady," Neo Queen Serenity put her hand on her child's
 278.597 +shoulder.  "There's nothing more we can do.  Her Sailor Crystal is gone.
 278.598 +I can no longer feel her at all.  I'm so sorry, Small Lady.  I'm sorry."
 278.599 +She went to hug her grown-up daughter, but was pushed away.
 278.600 +
 278.601 +	"I don't believe you!  Use the maboroshi no ginzuishou!  Bring her
 278.602 +back to life!  Mama...mama...you can do it!  You can save her!  Save her
 278.603 +like you've saved all of us before!  SAVE HER!!!"
 278.604 +
 278.605 +	This time Uranus spoke with anger.  "Don't you understand?!  She
 278.606 +can't!!  Saturn ga...  Saturn ga...  Saturn is dead!  Stop acting like
 278.607 +you're still that small child, and grow up!  Stop being so selfish!
 278.608 +Don't you think we'd be doing something if we could?  Don't you think
 278.609 +*I'd* go to Kinmokusei right now if it would mean anything?  SHE'S
 278.610 +GONE!!  She's...gone."  Uranus' emotions got the better of her, and she
 278.611 +surrendered to the tears.  Neptune softly stroked her lover's hair as
 278.612 +her own tears fell into it.
 278.613 +
 278.614 +	Small Lady was on the floor shaking slightly.  Her legs were too
 278.615 +weak to hold her weight.  Through her river of tears, a small voice
 278.616 +could be heard.  "Iya da.  Iya da yo.  Minna ga...kirai da.  Daikirai."
 278.617 +
 278.618 +[translation of last line:  "No.  No.  Everyone...I hate you.  I really 
 278.619 +hate you."]
 278.620 +
 278.621 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.622 +
 278.623 +	There wasn't much happiness in Crystal Tokyo after the news was
 278.624 +released.  It was known that Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto went to their
 278.625 +beach house to live for an undisclosed amount of time.  The Inner Senshi
 278.626 +were generally unavailable to do anything outside their normal duties,
 278.627 +and even then a lot had been delegated to other staff members.  Neo
 278.628 +Queen Serenity tried to put on a brave face for her people, but it was
 278.629 +well known the pain she felt.  She could never hide it completely.  She
 278.630 +was a strong woman, though, and never failed to please her public.  The
 278.631 +princess was another story.  She had taken the news hard.  Everyone knew
 278.632 +that.  She hadn't been seen for months, and it was generally thought
 278.633 +that she spent her days locked in her room.  Though it's to be expected
 278.634 +when one loses half their soul.
 278.635 +
 278.636 +	It was indeed a bleak time.  Not only the Senshi suffered, but
 278.637 +the public as well.  They had lost one of their most admired protectors,
 278.638 +and the mourning was well shown throughout the solar system.  Purple
 278.639 +flowers and ribbons adorned the streets for quite some time, and there
 278.640 +was also a shrine around the large statue of Sailorsaturn that was
 278.641 +erected for the memorial.  It wasn't clear how long it would take to
 278.642 +mend these deep wounds.  Or if they ever would be.
 278.643 +
 278.644 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.645 +
 278.646 +	<<jingle jingle>>  <<hop>>  <<jingle jingle>>
 278.647 +
 278.648 +	"Small Lady.  Small Lady!  Me wo samashite.  Small Lady!"
 278.649 +
 278.650 +	"Uhh?  Dare?"  Small Lady slowly opened her eyes and looked beside
 278.651 +her on her bed.  "Ara, Diana.  What are you doing here?"
 278.652 +
 278.653 +	"Small Lady, it's been seven weeks.  You're going to have to come
 278.654 +out of your room at some point."
 278.655 +
 278.656 +	"Why?  What's the point of anything anymore?  Do I have a reason
 278.657 +to live?  Should I even go on at all?  Do I exist for a purpose?  Or
 278.658 +should I just...end it?"
 278.659 +
 278.660 +	"Small Lady!  Don't talk like that!"  The poor grey cat was
 278.661 +starting to tear up.  "Don't you realise we all love you?  Please, don't
 278.662 +shut yourself off from us.  We want to help you.   We..."
 278.663 +
 278.664 +	"Mou ii yo."  She rolled over and faced the wall.  "You don't have
 278.665 +to feel sorry for me.  Just leave me alone and I'll be happy."
 278.666 +
 278.667 +	By this time the tears were coming down Diana's face at a constant
 278.668 +rate.  "Chikushou!  Why won't you let us help you?  We're all your
 278.669 +friends, right?  I thought we were close friends.  Perhaps I was
 278.670 +wrong..."  The cat got up and started to leave.
 278.671 +
 278.672 +	"Wait.  Diana, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to hurt you.  Please,
 278.673 +don't go.  I'm tired.  I'm tired of crying.  I'm tired of having this
 278.674 +pain in my heart.  I'm tired of living.  I don't think that feeling will
 278.675 +ever go away.  I don't know if you can help."
 278.676 +
 278.677 +	"Small Lady, I won't pretend to know how you're feeling.  I've
 278.678 +never lost someone close to me like you have.  I can only imagine what
 278.679 +it might feel like.  Demo, we've been friends since the day you were
 278.680 +born.  I'd like to think that I know you quite well.  I do think I can
 278.681 +help.  I'm not saying that I'll make the pain go away, but maybe I can
 278.682 +help you focus on some of the good things in your life.  Please, let me
 278.683 +help you."
 278.684 +
 278.685 +	"Diana," Small Lady brought her friend into a hug.  "Arigatou.  I
 278.686 +don't know if I can face going outside yet, but I won't shut you out
 278.687 +anymore.  You're my very dear friend, and it's been good of you to put
 278.688 +up with me for these past weeks.  I'm sorry, it wasn't fair of me."
 278.689 +
 278.690 +	"That's okay.  I hope you don't mind, but I brought some more
 278.691 +friends along."
 278.692 +
 278.693 +	Her bedroom door opened revealing four women in sailor suits.
 278.694 +Sailorvesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas walked in slowly.
 278.695 +
 278.696 +	"Minna!"
 278.697 +
 278.698 +	"Princess," said Ceres, "I hope you know that we're here for you,
 278.699 +too.  We really want to help."
 278.700 +
 278.701 +	"Sailorpallas doesn't like to see you cry," said Pallas, in
 278.702 +typical third person speech.
 278.703 +
 278.704 +	"Our whole existence revolves around protecting you.  Lately I
 278.705 +don't think we've been doing a very good job," said Juno with her head
 278.706 +down.
 278.707 +
 278.708 +	Sailorvesta was the last to speak.  "Turn us away if you want to,
 278.709 +but I just wanted to be sure that you knew we were here for you.  Seeing
 278.710 +you suffer alone isn't fair.  It's not just our "job" to help you, it's
 278.711 +our beautiful dream."
 278.712 +
 278.713 +	"Minna..."  Small Lady felt the tears glide down her face again.
 278.714 +"You're all my dear friends.  I didn't mean to hurt anyone else.  It was
 278.715 +the farthest thing from my mind.  But it appears I did anyway.  Oh, I
 278.716 +wish you wouldn't worry about me.  You all care for me too much."  Then
 278.717 +she smiled.  A smile?  How long had it been since she used those
 278.718 +muscles?  It felt...nice.
 278.719 +
 278.720 +	With everyone in tears, there was a big group hug.
 278.721 +
 278.722 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.723 +
 278.724 +	A woman brought her hand in front of her eyes to shield them from
 278.725 +the midday sun.  Her pupils were adjusting slowly, as she hadn't seen
 278.726 +natural light in over two months.  Sounds started to become apparent to
 278.727 +her.  Birds chirping.  People talking.  Transports gilding by.  It was
 278.728 +almost like experiencing everything for the first time.  She sighed.
 278.729 +Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.
 278.730 +
 278.731 +	She began to walk away from the palace and into one of the many
 278.732 +parks in Crystal Tokyo.  She looked around at all the children, friends,
 278.733 +and couples eating and playing.  Everyone looked so happy.  She
 278.734 +flashbacked to a time she used to come to this very park with her
 278.735 +parents to have lunch.  Those were fun times.
 278.736 +
 278.737 +	She continued walking until she came to an open clearing.  There
 278.738 +weren't very many people in this part of the park, but it seemed like a
 278.739 +lot of people must have visited everyday for there were large amounts of
 278.740 +flower bouquets everywhere.  Then the woman realised where she was.  She
 278.741 +opened her eyes wide to the warm sunlight and looked up at a tall stone
 278.742 +statue.  The figure had shoulder length hair and was carrying a long
 278.743 +staff with a sharp blade on the end.  This was the first time Small
 278.744 +Lady had been to the park since the memorial service.  It was a little
 278.745 +bit of a shock.
 278.746 +
 278.747 +	She went to the base of the statue and read the inscription on the
 278.748 +plaque.  "From the star of silence, being protected by the planet
 278.749 +Saturn, the Senshi of death and rebirth, Sailorsaturn.  She was loved
 278.750 +and will be remembered by all."
 278.751 +
 278.752 +	She studied the face of the frozen statue.  It was serious and
 278.753 +determined, but there was also a kind and gentle quality.  It was as if
 278.754 +the eyes of the statue were looking straight into Small Lady's heart.
 278.755 +It wasn't a scary experience; it made Small Lady feel warm inside.  Was
 278.756 +this Saturn giving her strength?  Strength to move on with her life?  Or
 278.757 +had she simply been cooped up in her room too long and was beginning to
 278.758 +imagine things?  It didn't matter to Small Lady.  This was the first
 278.759 +time she had felt this good since Saturn had left for Kinmokusei.
 278.760 +
 278.761 +	"Saturn....  Watashi no taisetsu na hito.  You've left me all
 278.762 +alone.  You promised we'd be together forever and now I have quite a
 278.763 +number of years ahead of me.  Years I thought I'd be spending by your
 278.764 +side.  Oh, I wish I could hold you right now.  I wish I could feel the
 278.765 +softness of your touch, the gentleness of your kiss, the sweetness of
 278.766 +your voice.  I've longed for that feeling.  I miss you so much.  So very
 278.767 +much.  Please, I don't want you to think that I blame you.  There were
 278.768 +times I did in the blackness of my room, but I've done quite a bit of
 278.769 +thinking and growing in the last little while.  What you did was
 278.770 +incredible.  To tell you the truth, I would have done the exact same
 278.771 +thing, which would have left you all alone.  It was the right choice.
 278.772 +It's just..."  A drop of wetness splashed on the plaque.  "Tears?  I
 278.773 +thought I was done crying.  I didn't think I had any tears left.  I'm
 278.774 +sorry, I told myself I wasn't going to cry anymore, but I can't help it.
 278.775 +It's just there's a giant hole in my heart and I don't know what to do.
 278.776 +I love you.  I will always love you."  More tears splashed on the
 278.777 +plaque.
 278.778 +
 278.779 +	There was a gentle breeze, and someone laid a hand on her
 278.780 +shoulder.  "Otome..."
 278.781 +
 278.782 +	Small Lady turned around quickly in surprise.  "Elios?"  A look of
 278.783 +confusion crossed her face.
 278.784 +
 278.785 +	"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.  I just wanted to make
 278.786 +sure you were all right.  I'll leave you now."  He bowed and started to
 278.787 +walk away.
 278.788 +
 278.789 +	"Matte!  It's okay.  You weren't disturbing me.  What are you
 278.790 +still doing here, anyway?  I would have thought you had long since
 278.791 +left."
 278.792 +
 278.793 +	He shook his head.  "It seems my visit coincided at a very
 278.794 +inopportune time.  I thought I could be of some help counselling the
 278.795 +population, and Her Majesty granted me a longer stay."  He laughed.
 278.796 +"Actually, she said I didn't need to ask and was welcome anytime.  Plus
 278.797 +I wanted to make sure you were okay.  You gave us all quite a scare, and
 278.798 +I was worried."
 278.799 +
 278.800 +	"Arigatou, but I'm okay now.  I'm sorry to have troubled you."
 278.801 +
 278.802 +	"Try not to shut us out, Otome.  We just want to help you.  None
 278.803 +of us want to rush you or force you to do anything, but we're still
 278.804 +concerned."
 278.805 +
 278.806 +	"I know, with the help of Diana-tachi I was able to finally get
 278.807 +out of bed.  If it weren't for such caring friends, I don't think I'd be
 278.808 +standing here right now."  She smiled at him.
 278.809 +
 278.810 +	"Then let me ask you something.  You can turn me down if you want
 278.811 +to, but I think you need to experience some happiness, if only for a
 278.812 +day.  The last time you were in Elysion it wasn't exactly the best of
 278.813 +times.  It's so beautiful there now, and I'd like to show you
 278.814 +everything.  I can get my dear friend Pegasus to give us a tour.
 278.815 +Please, let me try to cheer you up."
 278.816 +
 278.817 +	She thought for a while.  She thought about her blackened room and
 278.818 +how lonely it had been without the brightness of the lamps.  She thought
 278.819 +about how nice the sun had felt when she went out today.  She thought
 278.820 +about not letting the hole in her heart consume her.  Then she made up
 278.821 +her mind.  "Okay.  What time shall we meet at?"
 278.822 +
 278.823 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.824 +
 278.825 +	The wind blew around Small Lady's casual floral print sun dress as
 278.826 +she waited near a fountain just outside the Crystal Palace.  She could
 278.827 +hear the strong wind rustle through the trees as she watched a flock of
 278.828 +birds in formation high above her.  The wind had picked up quite a bit
 278.829 +this day, but it was still sunny and warm.
 278.830 +
 278.831 +	The thing that had probably changed the most about Small Lady over
 278.832 +that last two months would probably be her face.  No longer were there
 278.833 +dark circles around her eyes, evidence of sleepless nights and constant
 278.834 +crying.  She had also regained the pinkish colour in her cheeks.  For a
 278.835 +while she almost looked like someone had sucked all the energy from her
 278.836 +body.  She was slowly regaining her strength, and just looking at her
 278.837 +face proved that.
 278.838 +
 278.839 +	Suddenly there was a bright flash in the sky, and a magnificent
 278.840 +winged horse came flying down, a man with white hair on his back.  Small
 278.841 +Lady could only gasp at the beauty of the scene as leaves and flower
 278.842 +petals swirled around the horse and rider.  The man held his hand out to
 278.843 +help her climb on.  Once she was safely on the back of the steed, the
 278.844 +horse rose with a great flapping of his wings, and disappeared just as
 278.845 +quickly as he came.
 278.846 +
 278.847 +	Small Lady had closed her eyes in fright, but slowly began to open
 278.848 +them.  She looked in shock as the scenery around her had completely
 278.849 +changed, revealing a mystical world full of great forests, lakes, and
 278.850 +many animals.  She could just make out a palace of sorts coming into
 278.851 +view over the horizon.  As she got closer, she marveled at its Greek
 278.852 +style architecture, which consisted of a good many arches, stairways,
 278.853 +and pillars that formed a perfectly cylindrical structure.  She also
 278.854 +noticed that it was in the middle of a lake, with no apparent ways of
 278.855 +getting to it, short of flying or teleporting.
 278.856 +
 278.857 +	Two figures with long flowing white hair done up in odango style
 278.858 +smiled and waved at her.  She waved back and smiled brightly at them. 
 278.859 +Her memories were really starting to come back to her now.  She
 278.860 +remembered this place.  It was once the Kingdom of which her Father was
 278.861 +the Prince.  He still was, really, but he trusted Elios to take care of
 278.862 +things while he helped rule the Kingdom of the Moon.
 278.863 +
 278.864 +	"Mind if we go down for a bit?" her companion asked.
 278.865 +
 278.866 +	Small Lady suddenly realised she hadn't talked this whole time. 
 278.867 +She was just taken in by the beauty of it all.  "No, not all."
 278.868 +
 278.869 +	Pegasus circled the palatial structure once before coming in for a
 278.870 +landing.  As Small Lady got off, she was greeted by the two miko.  They
 278.871 +bowed to her and Elios, and she politely bowed in return.  She looked
 278.872 +around her and became aware of many blossoming pink roses.  Their scent
 278.873 +was very sweet, yet subtle at the same time.
 278.874 +
 278.875 +	"It's so nice to see you again," she said to the miko. 
 278.876 +"Everything is bright and beautiful, and everyone seems so happy here."
 278.877 +
 278.878 +	"Well," said one of the miko, "this is the place where beautiful
 278.879 +dreams come true.  It's only natural that the beauty of the place
 278.880 +reflects the beauty of the dreams."
 278.881 +
 278.882 +	"And we have you to thank for that," said Elios.
 278.883 +
 278.884 +	"Me?  But it was Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion who sealed
 278.885 +off the power of Neherenia."  She looked at her shoes.  "I don't think I
 278.886 +did much."
 278.887 +
 278.888 +	"On the contrary!  It was your beautiful dream that lead me to you
 278.889 +in the first place.  Without that, everything would still be as it was
 278.890 +after the Dead Moon Circus destroyed everything."
 278.891 +
 278.892 +	Small Lady shuddered as she remembered how dark and full of
 278.893 +destruction this place had once been.  "It's so good to know that
 278.894 +nothing like that will ever happen again.  I swear it, as future Queen."
 278.895 +
 278.896 +	Elios smiled at her, and began to show her around the palace.  All
 278.897 +through the day Small Lady was laughing and smiling, and actually
 278.898 +enjoying her time there.  She made good friends with the two miko, and
 278.899 +promised to come back and see them again.  After a long and tiring day,
 278.900 +Small Lady returned to the palace happy and content.  She had good
 278.901 +dreams that night.  The first good dreams she had had in two months.
 278.902 +
 278.903 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.904 +
 278.905 +	The next year passed quickly for everyone.  Small Lady was dragged
 278.906 +slowly but surely out of her protective shell by her friends and family. 
 278.907 +They were all healing, too, so it was hard, but no one had taken the
 278.908 +news of Saturn's death worse than Small Lady.  Everyone was such a great
 278.909 +help to her, but she had one person in particular to thank for going
 278.910 +above and beyond the call of duty.  Especially considering he hadn't
 278.911 +even known her for very long.  Elios was such a great friend to her.  He
 278.912 +really let her enjoy life again, and made a point of always trying to
 278.913 +get her to laugh or smile.  He wanted her to feel happy, and like a
 278.914 +whole person again.  Small Lady had responded well to his encouragement,
 278.915 +and after a few months, resumed her regular duties as Princess of the
 278.916 +Moon.
 278.917 +
 278.918 +	She owed a great debt to Elios, and really considered him a true
 278.919 +friend.  The hole in her heart was still there.  She knew it would
 278.920 +always be there no matter what, but the severe pain and constant
 278.921 +loneliness she had felt before were greatly reduced.  She enjoyed his
 278.922 +company and spent a lot of time with him, including having him go with
 278.923 +her to official royal functions.  She had also spent her vacation in
 278.924 +Elysion this year, and came back from that feeling better than ever. 
 278.925 +Yes, Small Lady was building her life back up, and although she would
 278.926 +never completely be healed, it was Elios who she had to thank for a
 278.927 +large part of it.
 278.928 +
 278.929 +~*~*~*~*~
 278.930 +
 278.931 +	A pink haired women stared out a window, and looked at the many
 278.932 +evening lights shinning down on Crystal Tokyo harbour.  Everything was
 278.933 +so calm and peaceful and beautiful.  The scene held her gaze until a
 278.934 +voice brought her out of her reverie.
 278.935 +
 278.936 +	"Otome...  Otome..."
 278.937 +
 278.938 +	"Huh?"  Suddenly she snapped back into reality, and realised where
 278.939 +she was.  They had gone to one of the fancier restaurants in Crystal
 278.940 +Tokyo that evening.  The room was decorated in a 17th century France
 278.941 +design, with gold chandeliers hanging from high ceilings, ornate
 278.942 +carvings in the walls, many hanging tapestries, and blazing fireplaces
 278.943 +around the room.  The restaurant was pretty full tonight, and many
 278.944 +couples were dancing to one of Mozart's symphonies being played by the
 278.945 +orchestra.
 278.946 +
 278.947 +	"Are you all right?  You looked a little dazed there for a few
 278.948 +moments."
 278.949 +
 278.950 +	"Hai," she said smiling.  "I was just admiring the beauty of this
 278.951 +city.  I really love it here."
 278.952 +
 278.953 +	"Well, we haven't gone anywhere really nice in a while, so I
 278.954 +thought it would be good to come here tonight."
 278.955 +
 278.956 +	"Shitsurei shimasu," said the waiter as he cleared their dinner
 278.957 +plates.  "Will you be having desert this evening?"
 278.958 +
 278.959 +	A joyous gleam came into Small Lady's eyes as she ordered for both
 278.960 +her and Elios.
 278.961 +
 278.962 +	"Would you like to dance for a while?  I think this is one of your
 278.963 +favourites."
 278.964 +
 278.965 +	"Sure," replied Small Lady as she got up and took his offered
 278.966 +hand.
 278.967 +
 278.968 +	The two friends danced gracefully for the rest of the song.  Some
 278.969 +of the other couples stared in awe as their Princess glided past them. 
 278.970 +For most of them, this was the first time seeing her in person.  Small
 278.971 +Lady realised her mother's genius in sending her to the past for her
 278.972 +formidable years.  At least now she didn't have an inflated ego from all
 278.973 +this extra attention.
 278.974 +
 278.975 +	After the song ended, the pair sat back down at their table. 
 278.976 +Their deserts had arrived while they were dancing, and Small Lady didn't
 278.977 +want to waste any time.  She began quickly, but daintily, eating her
 278.978 +tiramisu.  Elios just sat and smiled as he watched her eat.
 278.979 +
 278.980 +	Small Lady smiled happily as she finished off the last bite of her
 278.981 +desert and took a sip of wine.  She looked across the table, and
 278.982 +realised she was being watched.  A blush formed across her cheeks. 
 278.983 +"Nani?" she asked hesitantly.
 278.984 +
 278.985 +	Elios shook his head.  "Nandemonai."  Several moments of silence
 278.986 +passed between the two.  "Jitsuwa...  There was something I wanted to
 278.987 +talk to you about."
 278.988 +
 278.989 +	"Okay, you know I'm always here to listen."
 278.990 +
 278.991 +	"Otome," said Elios looking her sincerely in the eyes, "you have
 278.992 +the most beautiful spirit of anyone I've ever met.  Truly, you fill me
 278.993 +with happiness every time I meet you.  Our time together over this past
 278.994 +year has been truly wonderful.  I hope I've always been there when you
 278.995 +needed me to be.  You have a right to know that....I've fallen in love
 278.996 +with you."  Visible signs of shock could be seen in Small Lady's eyes. 
 278.997 +"I don't want this to ever end, so I would be honoured if you would take
 278.998 +my hand in marriage."  At that he produced a box from his pocket, and
 278.999 +handed it to Small Lady.
278.1000 +
278.1001 +	Small Lady stared at the box for several seconds before opening
278.1002 +it.  Slowly she lifted the lid up, and revealed a single, brilliantly
278.1003 +cut diamond in a setting on top of a gold ring.  "Oh, Elios, I..."
278.1004 +
278.1005 +
278.1006 +	"Please, you don't have to give me your answer now.  I can just
278.1007 +imagine the million emotions that must be going through you right now. 
278.1008 +I just want to let you know that I didn't plan this all along.  But it
278.1009 +just came to the point several months ago where I couldn't ignore my
278.1010 +feelings any longer.  I love you and want to make you my wife.  I don't
278.1011 +want you to feel pressured at all.  I want you to make a decision true
278.1012 +to your heart, and I'm prepared to wait however long that takes. 
278.1013 +Please, just think about it."  Elios smiled at her one last time, and
278.1014 +then left Small Lady alone at the table.  A single tear slowly fell down
278.1015 +her face and onto the tablecloth.
278.1016 +
278.1017 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1018 +
278.1019 +	Small Lady paced nervously as she waited for them to arrive.  She
278.1020 +was waiting in one of her private chambers off from her room.  She
278.1021 +especially liked this one to read in.  Most of the decor was pure white,
278.1022 +with a few arrangements of flowers from the royal garden.  It was a cozy
278.1023 +room, but big enough to fit a dozen people conformably.
278.1024 +
278.1025 +	The door opened, and in stepped her closest friends.  The Sailor
278.1026 +Quartet, followed by Diana in human form, Sailorpluto, and her parents. 
278.1027 +It was the day after the proposal, and she needed advice.
278.1028 +
278.1029 +	"Small Lady?" asked Diana.  "What's wrong?  You look as if
278.1030 +something terrible has just happened."
278.1031 +
278.1032 +	"Well, I didn't get much sleep last night," she explained. 
278.1033 +"Something *did* happen yesterday.  That's why I've called all of you
278.1034 +here.  Please, sit down.  I've made tea."
278.1035 +
278.1036 +	"Small Lady," said her mother sensing something different about
278.1037 +her daughter, "what's the matter?  You know we'll all help you with any
278.1038 +problem you have."
278.1039 +
278.1040 +	Small Lady began to cry.  "Elios...yesterday at dinner...he...he
278.1041 +asked me to marry him."
278.1042 +
278.1043 +	Looks of shock were displayed around the room.  Sailorceres looked
278.1044 +crestfallen.
278.1045 +
278.1046 +	"And how did you respond?" asked Diana carefully.
278.1047 +
278.1048 +	"I haven't yet.  He told me to think about it.  Minna, doushiyou?" 
278.1049 +She ran up to Sailorpluto.  "What should I tell him?  You have to tell
278.1050 +me, please?"  She buried herself into Pluto's lap.
278.1051 +
278.1052 +	"Small Lady," said Pluto as she stroked her hair, "we can't tell
278.1053 +you what the right answer is.  Only you know that."
278.1054 +
278.1055 +	"Demo, demo, I don't know what to say," she said between sniffles.
278.1056 +
278.1057 +	"Do you love him?" asked her father.
278.1058 +
278.1059 +	"Love?  I never even thought about it before with Elios.  I've
278.1060 +always enjoyed his company, and I'm very grateful to him for helping me
278.1061 +get my life back together.  But do I love him?  Not in the same way that
278.1062 +I love Saturn."
278.1063 +
278.1064 +	"Do you feel like you would betray Saturn if you said yes?" asked
278.1065 +Diana.
278.1066 +
278.1067 +	That stopped Small Lady almost cold.  That was the key to
278.1068 +everything, she realised.  That was why she was so upset in the first
278.1069 +place.  She didn't want to betray Saturn's trust.  She didn't want to
278.1070 +just throw away the love they shared.  "How can I betray Saturn like
278.1071 +this?" she asked with her tear-streaked face.  "I can't!  I just can't!"
278.1072 +
278.1073 +	"Gomen, Small Lady," said Sailorvesta, "but wouldn't Sailorsaturn
278.1074 +want you to be happy?  I know she loved you so much that she cared about
278.1075 +your happiness above all else.  A life with Elios, depending on how you
278.1076 +truly feel about him, could bring you much happiness.  Living the rest
278.1077 +of your life alone simply because of guilt could lead you into
278.1078 +depression again."
278.1079 +
278.1080 +	"We're not going to push you either way," said the Queen.  "We
278.1081 +want you to make the decision that's right for you.  If you feel
278.1082 +strongly that Saturn wouldn't approve of the relationship, then you have
278.1083 +every right to say no.  But if you come to the conclusion that you do
278.1084 +love Elios, and think you would be happy sharing your life with him,
278.1085 +then we would equally support you if you said yes.  I've been told that
278.1086 +you never feel the same type of love twice, so it's probably natural
278.1087 +that you feel differently about Elios than you did about Saturn."
278.1088 +
278.1089 +	Small Lady stood up and nodded.  "Arigatou, minna.  You've all
278.1090 +given me a lot to think about.  Now I know that no one can make this
278.1091 +decision for me.  I have to do that for myself.  It may take some soul
278.1092 +searching, but I'm sure I can make the right decision."
278.1093 +
278.1094 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1095 +
278.1096 +	"Yoshi!" said Small Lady as she finished packing a picnic lunch
278.1097 +for herself.  She loved how cute the bentou boxes looked tied up in
278.1098 +handkerchiefs.  As she left the palace, she said, "itte kimasu" to no
278.1099 +one in particular, and made her way to a near-by park.
278.1100 +
278.1101 +	It was a bit overcastted in Crystal Tokyo this day, but there were
278.1102 +still plenty of people out and about having fun.  Small Lady followed
278.1103 +the now familiar path to a certain part of the park.  When she got
278.1104 +there, she was relieved to find that no one else was around.  She went
278.1105 +over to the base of the statue, and polished up the plaque.  She
278.1106 +breathed in a deep breath.  This wasn't going to be easy.
278.1107 +
278.1108 +	"So, you probably already know why I'm here."  She appeared to be
278.1109 +talking to herself, but she was really talking to the statue.  Or
278.1110 +rather, the spirit she believed resided in the statue.  "I've come here
278.1111 +to think out some confusing emotions.  I love you.  I always will love
278.1112 +you.  Nothing will *ever* change that.  You're my taisetsu na hito.  I
278.1113 +don't want to betray you.  That's my biggest fear.  If I thought you
278.1114 +would be against this, I would say no to Elios right this second.  But
278.1115 +I'm not sure you would be.  I do remember that conversation we had
278.1116 +several years ago.  I think it ended in me getting very upset, and
278.1117 +saying that neither of us would ever die, and that we'd be together
278.1118 +forever.  Shows how wrong I was, eh?  I remember you telling me to be
278.1119 +happy no matter what.  And I've done a lot of thinking, and I think I
278.1120 +can be happy with Elios.  He was such a great friend to me after you
278.1121 +died, and we became very close.  Though I must admit that romantic
278.1122 +thoughts about him never even popped into my mind until he proposed.  I
278.1123 +guess it was at that point where I realised that I really did care for
278.1124 +him.  Kami, that thought scared me out of my skin.  After all, how could
278.1125 +I care about anyone but you?  In my long hours of thinking, I've come to
278.1126 +the conclusion that I do love him, but in a very different way than I
278.1127 +love you.  He will never overshadow you in my heart.  So, I guess I've
278.1128 +made my decision.  It was a very difficult one, but I think I've looked
278.1129 +at all the issues and done what my heart has told me.  Above all else, I
278.1130 +hope I've done what you would have wanted me to do.  Aishiteru eien ni."
278.1131 +
278.1132 +	At those last words, Small Lady picked up her finished bentou
278.1133 +boxes, and headed back to the palace.
278.1134 +
278.1135 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1136 +
278.1137 +	Elios stared out his window at the rain pelting down this dreary
278.1138 +night.  He ran a hand through his while hair and sighed.  It had been a
278.1139 +week since he had proposed to Small Lady.  What her answer would be, he
278.1140 +really wasn't quite sure.  He knew they had grown close over the past
278.1141 +year, but he could never quite tell what she was thinking.  He hoped he
278.1142 +hadn't ruined their friendship by proposing.  But as the days dragged
278.1143 +on, it seemed to him like he did just that, because he hadn't seen Small
278.1144 +Lady at all since that night.  He knew he must be patient, but this
278.1145 +waiting was killing him.
278.1146 +
278.1147 +	A soft knock at the door sounded.
278.1148 +
278.1149 +	"Hai!" he said, getting up in the process.  He walked over to the
278.1150 +door, and said a silent prayer that it would be who he hoped.  He opened
278.1151 +the door.
278.1152 +
278.1153 +	It was.
278.1154 +
278.1155 +	"Yes."
278.1156 +
278.1157 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1158 +
278.1159 +	The wedding was one of the most extravagant events the Kingdom had
278.1160 +seen in a few hundred years.  People from all over the kingdom came to
278.1161 +the event as well as some citizens of allied kingdoms.  Billions of
278.1162 +people lined up along the streets of Crystal Tokyo hoping to catch a
278.1163 +glimpse of the happy couple, while billions more watched at home.  The
278.1164 +day was declared a kingdom wide holiday.  After all, getting to work was
278.1165 +quite impossible, and no one was going to do any business that day
278.1166 +anyway.
278.1167 +
278.1168 +	Flowers were absolutely everywhere.  Pictures of the couple
278.1169 +adorned billboards, video screens, newspapers, and countless other
278.1170 +places.  It got so bad that one couldn't turn around without seeing at
278.1171 +least one picture of the couple.  Of course, it was like this at every
278.1172 +royal wedding.
278.1173 +
278.1174 +	The ceremony was grand, and was performed by Neo Queen Serenity
278.1175 +herself.  It was held inside, but in one of the palace's large gardens. 
278.1176 +Aspects of a traditional Shintou wedding were still there, but wedding
278.1177 +ceremonies had evolved from religion over the century, and were quite
278.1178 +secular in nature.
278.1179 +
278.1180 +	The bride wore a stunning white dress trimmed in lace and lilacs. 
278.1181 +It was off the shoulder and had a long veil and train.  Her hair was out
278.1182 +of its usual odango, and was allowed to hang long.  It was done in
278.1183 +flowing waves with lilacs interlaced in certain places to match her
278.1184 +dress.
278.1185 +
278.1186 +	The groom had on a dark blue tuxedo with tails.  His vest and bow
278.1187 +tie were both black.  In his lapel there was a single pink rose.
278.1188 +
278.1189 +	The maid of honour and the bride's maids had on matching light
278.1190 +blue dresses.  They were strapless flowing gowns that were also
278.1191 +accentuated with lilacs.  Diana, in her human form, looked stunning as
278.1192 +the maid of honour, and the Quartet looked equally good as her bride's
278.1193 +maids.
278.1194 +
278.1195 +	The other Senshi wore their formal gowns to the occasion, and
278.1196 +stood just off to the side.  Behind them in rows of chairs sat one
278.1197 +hundred invited guests.  So, in a way, this was a very private ceremony,
278.1198 +while at the same time being a very public one.	Small Lady and Elios
278.1199 +wrote their own vows, which also gave the ceremony a very personal
278.1200 +touch.
278.1201 +
278.1202 +	It was rumoured that the honeymoon was going to be on the
278.1203 +continent of Europe, but some people said it might be Australia, India,
278.1204 +or even the moon.  The palace wanted to keep the location a secret to
278.1205 +let the couple have a little time to themselves.
278.1206 +
278.1207 +	The wedding presents the couple had received had been plentiful. 
278.1208 +>From cards and drawings sent in by the kingdom's populace to very
278.1209 +personalised gifts given to them by the Senshi.  The biggest surprise,
278.1210 +though, had to be the gift the Queen and King gave their daughter and 
278.1211 +new husband.  Before the ceremony was completed, the Queen proclaimed
278.1212 +that she had one more announcement to make the wedding complete.  She
278.1213 +passed down the title of Queen of the Moon Kingdom to her daughter, and
278.1214 +officially crowned her Queen Usagi Small Lady Serenity, Neo Queen
278.1215 +Serenity II.
278.1216 +
278.1217 +	Neo Queen Serenity, looking regal as ever, said to her daughter,
278.1218 +"You have demonstrated unconditionally that you are ready to receive
278.1219 +such a burden.  You are full of love, life, compassion, understanding,
278.1220 +and trust.  You will make a wonderful queen.  I'm so proud of you, my
278.1221 +daughter."
278.1222 +
278.1223 +	"Arigatou, mama," said the younger woman as tears of joy shed from
278.1224 +her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her mother.  Her youth was now
278.1225 +officially over.  Not only was she married, but she was the leader of
278.1226 +her people, ruler of her kingdom, and the most powerful person in the
278.1227 +galaxy.
278.1228 +
278.1229 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1230 +
278.1231 +(Small Lady will now be referred to as Serenity.)
278.1232 +
278.1233 +	The next year was a very interesting one.  Not only did Serenity
278.1234 +have to adapt to married life, but she also had to adapt to ruling a
278.1235 +kingdom.  She had watched her mother do it for centuries, of course, and
278.1236 +she had been skilfully schooled on the subject, but she had also hit her
278.1237 +share of rough spots.  She often sought reassurance from the Quartet,
278.1238 +Pluto, or her husband.  She didn't want to bother her mother and father, 
278.1239 +now in retirement, with such things.  Although, to her amazement,
278.1240 +everything seemed to be going just fine.  Trade was up with neighbouring
278.1241 +kingdoms, and she had even negotiated an agreement of allegiance with
278.1242 +the Torag people, a kingdom notorious for rejecting any sort of ties
278.1243 +with the Moon Kingdom.
278.1244 +
278.1245 +	Yes, things seemed to be going quite well for her.  Except for
278.1246 +that day in early September when she got unbelievably ill and had to
278.1247 +stay in for most of the day.  The royal team of doctors, headed by
278.1248 +Sailormercury, examined her and told her the good news.  She was
278.1249 +pregnant.
278.1250 +
278.1251 +	Joy absolutely filled the kingdom at this news.  After all, it had
278.1252 +been nearly 918 years since the last successor to the Moon Kingdom was
278.1253 +born.  Serenity was excited, but very apprehensive at the same time. 
278.1254 +What did she know about raising children?  The thought crossed her mind
278.1255 +to send her daughter (she knew it was going to be a daughter; it had to
278.1256 +be a daughter) back to the past to be raised by her formal self or even
278.1257 +farther into the past to have it raised by Tsukino Usagi, but that
278.1258 +thought was brief, and she knew it would be impossible.  Well, she
278.1259 +thought, all new mothers must think the same thing.  I'm just lucky to
278.1260 +have such a supportive group of people around me to help out.
278.1261 +
278.1262 +	Nine months later on June 30, 2919 a scream rang out in the halls
278.1263 +of Crystal Palace.  Another miracle had occurred.  A chubby miracle
278.1264 +weighing 3.2 kg, with pinkish skin, and silver hair.
278.1265 +
278.1266 +	Princess Usagi Hotaru Serenity was born.  No one minded that
278.1267 +Hotaru, and ancient and almost forgotten name, was used as one of the
278.1268 +Princess' middle names.  It was seen as a dedication to one of the
278.1269 +kingdom's most powerful and valiant warriors.  Serenity was content. 
278.1270 +Now the memory wouldn't die away.
278.1271 +
278.1272 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1273 +
278.1274 +	"Mezame yo!  Your time is now.  Hametsu to tanjou no Senshi!"
278.1275 +
278.1276 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1277 +
278.1278 +	A figure slowly started to open her eyes.  She realised she was
278.1279 +lying down in a patch of grass and that it was night-time around her. 
278.1280 +The stars twinkled around her and the moon shone ever so brightly in the
278.1281 +sky.  She blinked a few times, stood up, and started walking in the
278.1282 +general direction she thought would lead her where she wanted to go.
278.1283 +
278.1284 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1285 +
278.1286 +	It had only been a week since Serenity gave birth to Princess
278.1287 +Usagi.  She was *not* used to these midnight feedings yet.  The amount
278.1288 +of sleep she had lost had been astounding.  Elios was great, but he
278.1289 +couldn't get up all the time.
278.1290 +
278.1291 +	"There there, Usagi-chan," she said soothingly.  She began to sing
278.1292 +softly.  "GOMEN ne sunao ja nakute, yume no naka nara ieru, shikou kairu
278.1293 +wa SHOOTO sunzen, ima sugu aitai yo..."  The baby stopped her soft
278.1294 +crying and went back to her restful slumber.  "Yokkata na.  Yoshi
278.1295 +yoshi."  She laid her daughter back into her crib.  She turned around to
278.1296 +go back to the near-by bed when she sensed something wasn't right.
278.1297 +
278.1298 +	The overwhelming feeling brought her down the corridor adjoining
278.1299 +her room, through the palace's many hallways, and out of the palace
278.1300 +completely and into the cool night air.  She sensed someone was close.
278.1301 +Someone familiar.
278.1302 +
278.1303 +	"Dare yo!" she almost demanded.
278.1304 +
278.1305 +	A figure stepped out from behind some bushes with a very weary
278.1306 +look on her face.  She was faintly glowing purple.
278.1307 +
278.1308 +	"Small Lady..."
278.1309 +
278.1310 +	Serenity brought a hand to her mouth and went white as a ghost. 
278.1311 +"Uso.  Saturn..."
278.1312 +
278.1313 +~*~*~*~*~
278.1314 +
278.1315 +How's that for an evil cliff-hanger, eh? ^_-  Part 4 ni tsuzuku!
278.1316 +
278.1317 +	Wow, so, um, this was a long time coming.  Sorry about that.  I
278.1318 +started writing it in August (of '98) and continued to write bits and
278.1319 +pieces throughout the year.  Today, though, I gathered up my resolve and
278.1320 +attacked the rest of it.  I wrote about 1/3 today in about seven hours.
278.1321 +
278.1322 +	Some of you are going to wonder, so I might as well say it right
278.1323 +now.  Yes, in Mars & Venus and Jupiter & Mercury are lovers.  Takeuchi-
278.1324 +sensei actually gives a lot more evidence for these pairings than she
278.1325 +does for Chibiusa and Hotaru, and I like them, so I included them. ^_^
278.1326 +
278.1327 +	Some more of you might be thinking, "why did she go to all that
278.1328 +trouble to put Hotaru and Chibiusa together and then have Chibiusa marry
278.1329 +Elios anyway?!?"  Well, you'd have a point, but this was the way I had
278.1330 +pictured the story, so this is the way I wrote it.  And I may not like
278.1331 +this fact anymore than you do, but a story has to have conflict, right?
278.1332 +^_^;;
278.1333 +
278.1334 +	Oh, just a note about Neo Queen Serenity handing down the throne
278.1335 +to Princess Serenity.  She didn't do this just because the princess was
278.1336 +getting married.  I, as a feminist, find that prospect abhorrent.  She
278.1337 +did it at the wedding because it was convenient, and also because she
278.1338 +thought it would make a good wedding gift.  She would have handed down
278.1339 +the throne regardless of whether the princess got married.
278.1340 +
278.1341 +	Well, I hope you liked this chapter of the fanfic.  You may have
278.1342 +started to hate me as soon as I killed off Saturn (gya, that sounds
278.1343 +really bad...), but I hope the story remained interesting.  All I have
278.1344 +to say is that you'll probably like the next and final chapter a whole
278.1345 +lot better.  Yakusoku yo!
278.1346 +
278.1347 +	Special thanks to the Amazoness Duo (er, Quartet?) for keeping me
278.1348 +motivated while writing this.  I know you disagree with certain plot
278.1349 +points, but I hope you liked the story anyway. ^^;;  For good Hotaru and
278.1350 +Chibiusa fanfiction, check them out at A Sailor Moon Romance (sure,
278.1351 +they're lemons, but they're happy lemons ^^). ^_^
278.1352 +
278.1353 +	Contact information: andrea.doolan@utoronto.ca
278.1354 +
278.1355 +	Music I was listening to while writing this: a whole bunch of
278.1356 +stuff.  For the last seven hours, though, I've been listening to Shoujo
278.1357 +Kakumei Utena OST 2.
278.1358 +
278.1359 +Completed:  June 25, 1999.
278.1360 +

   279.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   279.2 +++ b/stories/cunpnk4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   279.3 @@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
   279.4 +~*~*~*~*~
   279.5 +
   279.6 +	With a thud, the figure fell to the ground.  The purple aura 
   279.7 +around her began to fade and finally disappeared.  Serenity ran across
   279.8 +the lawn to where the figure lay.  As she approached, she could make 
   279.9 +out more detail.  Black hair.  Pale skin.  Purple fuku.
  279.10 +
  279.11 +	Without hesitation she picked the figure up, and carried her 
  279.12 +inside the palace.  Serenity implemented emergency status right away, 
  279.13 +which alerted all the Senshi immediately.  As she looked down at the 
  279.14 +figure she was carrying, she could hear faint moans of disorientation.  
  279.15 +A million emotions were filling her consciousness at this moment, and 
  279.16 +above all else she felt the need to break down completely and cry.
  279.17 +
  279.18 +	She was calling out now.  For someone, anyone to come help her.  
  279.19 +Several palace workers came to her aid, and momentarily she could hear 
  279.20 +the clicks of Senshi heels running down the hall.
  279.21 +
  279.22 +	"Serenity-sama!" exclaimed Sailorjuno.
  279.23 +
  279.24 +	"Minna," said Serenity in a controlled, but grief-stricken voice, 
  279.25 +"Sailorsaturn needs medical attention."
  279.26 +
  279.27 +	Looks of surprise, horror, and shock came over everyone's 
  279.28 +faces.
  279.29 +
  279.30 +~*~*~*~*~
  279.31 +
  279.32 +	Serenity paced nervously outside the room where Saturn was being
  279.33 +examined.  She looked over at the other Senshi who all reacted to the
  279.34 +news in different ways.  Most were crying, or had cried when they found
  279.35 +out.  Some looked deeply confused and distraught, while others were
  279.36 +beaming with joy and excitement.  She then looked over at her husband
  279.37 +who had baby Usagi with him.  He gave her a smile of reassurance.
  279.38 +
  279.39 +	Serenity then reflected on her own feelings of the situation.  Of
  279.40 +course, she just couldn't believe that Saturn was back.  How was that
  279.41 +even possible?  Was it the real Saturn?  Could she have been brought
  279.42 +back somehow?  Millions of questions swam through her head.  As hard as
  279.43 +it was, she just couldn't deal with the emotional side of the situation
  279.44 +right now.  She had to push her personal feelings to the side, and lead
  279.45 +by example as the Queen.
  279.46 +
  279.47 +	Just as she was contemplating her next course of action,
  279.48 +Sailormercury emerged from the room looking haggard and emotionally
  279.49 +drained.  Despite that, she managed to smile.
  279.50 +
  279.51 +	"It looks like she'll be okay.  It was nothing serious.  Her
  279.52 +energy was just a little drained, but it seems to be coming back to her
  279.53 +more and more every minute."
  279.54 +
  279.55 +	"Mercury," asked Venus cautiously, "is it...is it really her?"
  279.56 +
  279.57 +	"From what I can tell, yes."
  279.58 +
  279.59 +	"But how can that be?!" yelled an exasperated Sailoruranus
  279.60 +between sobs.
  279.61 +
  279.62 +	"Uranus," offered Sailorjupiter, "do you really need to ask that
  279.63 +question?  How many times have you seen a miracle occur?  How many
  279.64 +unexplained things do we still, even today, not know about about the
  279.65 +power of the ginzuishou or even the universe?"
  279.66 +
  279.67 +	"Jupiter wa yutoorii da wa," said Mercury.  "And whatever the
  279.68 +answer, I'm sure we'll come to understand it in due time."
  279.69 +
  279.70 +	"Mercury," asked Serenity, "may I see her?  Alone?"
  279.71 +
  279.72 +	The Senshi of Suisei smiled.  "Of course.  She's not asleep, just
  279.73 +resting."
  279.74 +
  279.75 +	Serenity turned to see if Elios was okay with baby Usagi.  He
  279.76 +nodded to her, and she back at him.  She closed her eyes, and balled
  279.77 +her hands up to try and gather the courage she needed.  A voice inside
  279.78 +her head said, 'yuuki wo dashite!', which gave her the motivation she
  279.79 +needed to go into the room.
  279.80 +
  279.81 +	The room was dark, the only light being the faint glow of the
  279.82 +moon filtering down through the window.  Serenity saw a figure laying
  279.83 +in the bed, her gentle breathing the only sound.  She looked so
  279.84 +peaceful, thought Serenity.  Like she was a child without a care in the
  279.85 +world.  That was particularly ironic, considering the childhood Saturn
  279.86 +had lived.
  279.87 +
  279.88 +	"Saturn," said Serenity softly, as she didn't feel the need to
  279.89 +wake her if she actually was asleep.
  279.90 +
  279.91 +	The figure stirred a little bit, and then two eyelids opened to
  279.92 +reveal two shining purple orbs.  She looked over at the woman standing
  279.93 +over her bed, and smiled.
  279.94 +
  279.95 +	"Small Lady," said Saturn in a somewhat groggy voice, "finally I
  279.96 +can see you again.  It seems like we've been apart so long.  I missed
  279.97 +you so much."
  279.98 +
  279.99 +	All Serenity could do was try and choke back the tears that were
 279.100 +welling up inside of her.  "Do you remember what happened, Saturn?"
 279.101 +
 279.102 +	"I..." Saturn looked away as if in deep thought.  "I remember we
 279.103 +had been apart for some time.  I was...on Kinmokusei, wasn't I?  Yes,
 279.104 +that's right.  I was on a diplomatic mission.  There was...a storm.  A
 279.105 +huge storm, the likes of which the planet had never seen.  I tried to
 279.106 +save everyone that I could...but there were a few people trapped under
 279.107 +mounds of rubble.  I held out as long as I could, but then..."  She
 279.108 +returned her gaze to the pink-haired woman.  "It was all over.  My last
 279.109 +memory, before waking up here, was hearing your voice call out my name. 
 279.110 +I remember feeling warm and happy at that moment."
 279.111 +
 279.112 +	Serenity couldn't help it anymore.  Streams of tears were running
 279.113 +down her face.  "Yokatta na.  I'm so happy you're back.  I'm so happy. 
 279.114 +You must have a million questions you want to ask, as I'm sure everyone
 279.115 +here wants to ask you lots of questions, too.  But you look exhausted. 
 279.116 +Why don't you try and get some sleep, and we'll gather again in the
 279.117 +morning?"
 279.118 +
 279.119 +	Saturn smiled and nodded, already half back into a deep slumber.
 279.120 +
 279.121 +~*~*~*~*~
 279.122 +
 279.123 +	When the morning came, most of the Senshi looked as if they hadn't slept at all.  Serenity was no exception.  She stayed up all night, sitting beside Usagi's crib, deep in thought about the implications Saturn's return brought.  Her eyes had circles of worry, and her heart shook with fear.
 279.124 +
 279.125 +	Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were the first to greet Saturn when she woke up.  They actually hadn't gone to bed at all, and had watched over their daughter all night.
 279.126 +
 279.127 +	"Papa...mama...mama..."  Saturn's voice cracked a bit, and she was obviously still very tired.
 279.128 +
 279.129 +	Uranus held her daughter's hand tightly.  "Daijoubu, hime-chan?" she asked with concern.
 279.130 +
 279.131 +	Saturn smiled.  "I will be soon."  She closed her eyes and concentrated.  Soon the purple mark of Saturn appeared on her forehead, and she glowed.  After a few seconds, Saturn opened her eyes, the mark dissapearing.  She sat up in the bed, smiling.  "It's good to see you all again."
 279.132 +
 279.133 +	Neptune took her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly.  "You gave us such a scare.
 279.134 +
 279.135 +	"Even I could not predict...  We're so glad to have you back." said Pluto with obvious affection.
 279.136 +
 279.137 +	"How long has it been?"
 279.138 +
 279.139 +	The three looked at each other.  "A little over three years..." replied Uranus.
 279.140 +
 279.141 +	"Where's-"
 279.142 +
 279.143 +	Just as she started, Saturn got cut off by the door opening, and a figure rushing in.
 279.144 +
 279.145 +	"Saturn!" Serenity cried, still not quite believing what was happening.  "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier.  But I had to take care of-"  She had to stop, she was so out of breath.  She breathed in a few deep breaths.  A look of panic was still on her face.
 279.146 +
 279.147 +	"We'll leave you alone."  The two others followed Neptune, hugging their daughter one last time, and nodding to Serenity before leaving the room.
 279.148 +
 279.149 +	"Small Lady," said Saturn, leaving the bed clad in loose-fitting comfortable clothes.  She walked over to the shocked woman who was stitting at the end of the bed, still breathing hard.  Saturn sat beside her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.
 279.150 +
 279.151 +	"I'm sorry."
 279.152 +
 279.153 +	"No!" said Serenity with a force that shocked even herself.  "Kami, no..."  She shut her eyes, the tears she was trying so hard to hold at bay threatening to overwhelm her.  After a few escaped her long lashes, more and more fell until they came in an unending stream.
 279.154 +
 279.155 +	Saturn pulled her partner into an embrace, also sobbing quietly, unable to help herself.
 279.156 +
 279.157 +	"Oh, Saturn..."  She was starting to gain some control again.  "So much has happened.  They're so much I need to tell you, but..."  The little control she had back was beginning to slip away.  "I don't know if I can..."
 279.158 +
 279.159 +	Saturn pulled away from the embrace slightly, looking her best friend in the eye.  "Small Lady, you know you can tell me anything."
 279.160 +
 279.161 +	"I, well, the first thing is I'm not really Small Lady anymore.  I...I'm Queen."  Saturn's eyes widened at this.  "I was named...mama..." she broke off, not knowing quite how to continue.  The next part would be the hardest thing she had ever done in her life.  The prospect of saying it, of destroying her former lover was breaking her heart.  How could she possibly do it?  But not telling her would not only be unfair, but would hurt Saturn even more.  She sighed, and plowed forward.  "I was crowned Queen at my wedding."
 279.162 +
 279.163 +	Saturn reeled.  It was almost the same as being hit with a physical blow.  Except this hurt more.
 279.164 +
 279.165 +	Serenity saw the hurt in her eyes, and her entire being almost died.  She disentangled herself from Saturn who was too stunned to protest.  She looked down at the floor, her hands gripping the sheets.  "You deserve to know everything.  I owe you that much at least.  When you...when you died, I felt like I had died, too.  I was so alone.  The blackness consumed me for a very long time.  Almost.  There...there was a man.  Elios.  Do you remember him?  I had forgotten at the time.  He helped me.  He brought me back to the light.  There's no doubt in my mind that he saved my life.  We were friends for over a year before.....he proposed to me.
 279.166 +
 279.167 +	"At the time I couldn't believe it.  I thought if I married him, if I even admitted my feelings for him were more than friendship, that I would be betraying you."  She looked up at Saturn, not quite knowing what the expression on the other woman's face meant.  "Somehow I convinced myself that you wouldn't mind -- even that you'd want me to...god, I'm so stupid.  I had his child."
 279.168 +
 279.169 +	"You have a baby?" was all Saturn could manage.
 279.170 +
 279.171 +	Serenity nodded.  "Usagi Hotaru Serenity.  Saturn," she said, suddenly with more conviction in her voice, "I never stopped loving you.  I know that will never make up for what I did.  But I never once loved you any less."  Wiping some of her tears away, she got up.  "I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry."  She glaced at Saturn once more before fleeing the room.
 279.172 +
 279.173 +	Blackness seemed to rush towards Saturn without warning, and she fell back onto the bed.  "Small...La..dy...."
 279.174 +
 279.175 +~*~*~*~*~
 279.176 +
 279.177 +	"Puu!" cried Serenity as she ran up to her old friend.  The Senshi of revolution, however, just kept walking.
 279.178 +
 279.179 +	"Puu!" she cried again.  "Matte, Puu!"
 279.180 +
 279.181 +	Suddenly the green haired women turned and fixed Serenity with a glare she had never seen come from her.  "What do you want?" came the angry reply.
 279.182 +
 279.183 +	Serenity could only stop and stare.  Why was Puu acting like this?  "I...I need to talk to you..."
 279.184 +
 279.185 +	Soft, disturbing laughter came from the other woman.  "You think I'd talk to you after what you did?"
 279.186 +
 279.187 +	"What?  What did I do?"
 279.188 +
 279.189 +	"You betrayed her."
 279.190 +
 279.191 +	"No, I..."
 279.192 +
 279.193 +	"You BETRAYED HER!!"
 279.194 +
 279.195 +	Serenity felt a fist smash into her cheek, sending her to the ground.  Uranus stood above her, smirking.
 279.196 +
 279.197 +	"That's for killing our daughter, bitch!"
 279.198 +
 279.199 +	Neptune appeared beside Uranus and swiftly kicked Serenity in the side.  The pick haired woman let out a painful gasp as the shoe came in contact with her rib cage.
 279.200 +
 279.201 +	"How did I kill-  Ahh!"  Another kick to the ribs.  She struggled to get up.  "Please!  Listen to me!"
 279.202 +
 279.203 +	"Why should we?  Why should we trust you at all?  You betrayed one of us.  You LIED and CHEATED!  Why should we trust *you*?" cried Neptune.
 279.204 +
 279.205 +	Serenity was too shocked to speak.  To her left another figure appeared.
 279.206 +
 279.207 +	"That's right.  You dumped your little girlfriend because you liked fucking me better."
 279.208 +
 279.209 +	<Andrea> o.O;;;;;;;;;;; </Andrea>
 279.210 +
 279.211 +	"Elios!?!"
 279.212 +
 279.213 +	"Hn."  He forcefully grabed her chin.  "You liked it better, didn't you?" he practically spat.
 279.214 +
 279.215 +	"Small Lady."
 279.216 +
 279.217 +	She turned and saw a woman is a purple fuku.  "Saturn!  Please, hel-"
 279.218 +
 279.219 +	A curved blade pointed at her face, cutting her off.  "You don't *deserve* to be helped.  You BETRAYED ME!  You planned it all along, didn't you?  As soon as I was out of the picture, you jumped into bed with the closest warm body?!  You're disgusting!"
 279.220 +
 279.221 +	Serenity felt tears on her cheeks, and realised she wasn't crying before.  "Sa-"
 279.222 +
 279.223 +	The blade touched her chin.  "You don't deserve my love.  In fact," said woman with a sneer, "I don't know how I *ever* could have loved you.  Or maybe I didn't love you from the beginning, and only thought I did.  Yes, that's it.  I never loved you at all.  I NEVER LOVED YOU!!"
 279.224 +
 279.225 +	The words echoed in Serenity's head as she saw the blade move up, and then down with deadly accuracy towards her neck.
 279.226 +
 279.227 +	"SATURN!!!!!"
 279.228 +
 279.229 +~*~*~*~*~
 279.230 +
 279.231 +	She bolted up to a sitting position, sweating and breathing hard.  She raised a hand in front of her face and stared at it for a moment.  "I'm...not dead?"  The dream had felt so real.  It still held her rigid with fear, words still running through her mind.  She looked over at the figure beside her on the bed.  He was watching her with concern clearly visable on his face.
 279.232 +
 279.233 +	"Otome..."  He layed a hand on her shoulder.  "I saw it.  It wasn't real, don't worry, please..."  He brought her into an embrace, slowly stroking her back.  "None of it was real.  They weren't real, the words weren't real.  I wasn't real.  And she wasn't real."
 279.234 +
 279.235 +	Serenity clung to her husband, unwilling and unable to let go for a long time.
 279.236 +
 279.237 +~*~*~*~*~
 279.238 +
 279.239 +	"Yes, of course.  If you need my supervision..."
 279.240 +
 279.241 +	"It would be appreciated."
 279.242 +
 279.243 +	She smiled.  "It's no problem, Venus.  I'll be there later this week.  Tell Prime Minister Kinomoto to go ahead with the plans.  She'll need to start the construction soon if we want to have the space station in operation by the time Omicron Theta is colonised."
 279.244 +
 279.245 +	"Thank you."  Vensus looked into the other woman's eyes from her position on the other side of the screen.  She hesitated for a moment, and then cautiously started.  "Serenity, maybe-"
 279.246 +
 279.247 +	"I'm sorry, I have to get going," said the Queen with forced cheerfullness.  "I'll talk to you later."  She pressed a button on her desk, and the picture of Sailorvenus was replaced with a crescent moon with "Crystal Palace" written underneath it.  She sighed.  It had been a week since Saturn's miraculous return.  So far, after their last meeting in the medical ward, Serenity had managed to avoid the black haired woman by emerging herself in work and taking care of Usagi.
 279.248 +
 279.249 +	She knew she was making things harder, both for herself and for Saturn, but she truly thought this was for the best.  It just wasn't her place anymore.  She had made her decision two years ago, and she would have to live with that choice.  Yes, she did still love Saturn.  She loved her just as much as when they first admitted their feelings for each other.  But she had a commitment to Elios that she just couldn't recind on.  She had married him, had a child, and loved him.  And she still did love him, but was incredibly confused about it.  Didn't she want more than anything to run into Saturn's arms, and continue right where they left off?  Yes, she admitted.  She repremanded herself.  How unfair that would be to Elios!  She wouldn't dream of hurting him in that way.  And besides, Saturn...  Saturn hated her now anyway, so there was really no point...
 279.250 +
 279.251 +	Serenity shook her head.  These were exactly the type of thoughts she was trying so hard to keep at bay.  She refocused on her paperwork, burrying the thoughts as she did so.
 279.252 +
 279.253 +~*~*~*~*~
 279.254 \ No newline at end of file

   280.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   280.2 +++ b/stories/cunpnk5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   280.3 @@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
   280.4 +Author's Notes:
   280.5 +
   280.6 +        This is the final chapter to my fanfic "Chibiusa no PYUA na
   280.7 +kokoro."  You may think this a bit strange, though, because I'm only 2/3
   280.8 +finished chapter 3 and I haven't even started chapter 4. ^^;;  So I
   280.9 +guess this can be thought of as sort of a spoiler in that respect.
  280.10 +
  280.11 +        For those of you that haven't read the other chapters, that's
  280.12 +okay.  You'll have no trouble at all understanding this.  But I'll give
  280.13 +you a few general details, just so you know what I'm talking about.
  280.14 +
  280.15 +        This story takes place near the end of the 30th century, and stars
  280.16 +Chibiusa and Hotaru.  However, since this is the future, and they have
  280.17 +become adults, they refer to each other with their real names (Serenity
  280.18 +and Saturn, respectively).  I've stuck with manga continuity while
  280.19 +writing this story (with a little creative license, of course ^_-).
  280.20 +
  280.21 +        I guess I should put the "warning" here now.  This is a lemon
  280.22 +fanfic.  It fairly graphically depicts two woman who love each other
  280.23 +having sex (yay!).  So, if you have problems with that sort of thing,
  280.24 +leave now yadda yadda yadda. :)  (In case you're wondering, the other
  280.25 +parts of my fanfic aren't lemons.)
  280.26 +
  280.27 +        I'd like to thank the Amazoness Duo who gave me the motivation to
  280.28 +finally *write* something. ^^;;  Check out their stories; they're pretty
  280.29 +good. ^_^
  280.30 +
  280.31 +        On with the fanfic!
  280.32 +
  280.33 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  280.34 +Chibiusa no PYUA na kokoro
  280.35 +(Chibiusa's Pure Heart)
  280.36 +Part 5 (Epilogue)
  280.37 +By Andrea Doolan <ajhd@king.igs.net>
  280.38 +"Sailormoon no ichiban daifan"
  280.39 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  280.40 +
  280.41 +~*~*~*~*~
  280.42 +
  280.43 +        The door to the bedroom closed with a click.  The lights in the
  280.44 +room were dim, which cast long shadows over everything.  There was a
  280.45 +figure lying on the bed dosing peacefully.  She stirred when she heard
  280.46 +light footsteps cross the floor to the bed.
  280.47 +
  280.48 +        "Mmm...did she finally go to sleep?" asked the sleepy figure.
  280.49 +
  280.50 +        "Yes, but it took five lullabies and a good amount of cradling.
  280.51 +Little Usagi-chan is almost too genki.  But it's easy to see where she
  280.52 +got that from."
  280.53 +
  280.54 +        The other woman laughed.  "I suppose I used to be quite energetic.
  280.55 +But I don't think this old body is up to it anymore."
  280.56 +
  280.57 +        "Oh, I don't know.  I think you have a lot of energy left in you."
  280.58 +She had an evil grin on her face, and shifted her body so she was
  280.59 +directly over the other woman.
  280.60 +
  280.61 +        "Is that a challenge?  If so, then I accept."  She lifted her head
  280.62 +to meet the other woman's lips.  The two stayed like this for some time,
  280.63 +just savouring the taste of each other.
  280.64 +
  280.65 +        "Looks like you proved me right," she said with a smile on her
  280.66 +face.  "You're always one to meet a challenge, Serenity."
  280.67 +
  280.68 +        "Saturn, I have a feeling you like making the challenges," said
  280.69 +Serenity with an equally bright smile.
  280.70 +
  280.71 +        "Oops, guess I've been found out.  Well, then why don't I make
  280.72 +another one?  Let's try not to wake poor Usagi-chan tonight.  She really
  280.73 +hasn't been getting enough sleep lately..."
  280.74 +
  280.75 +        "Sou ne.  It's hard enough getting her to sleep.  She doesn't need
  280.76 +us, um, upsetting her."
  280.77 +
  280.78 +        Saturn giggled.  "But that doesn't mean we still can't have fun!"
  280.79 +With that she went back to kissing Serenity deeply.  Their tongues met
  280.80 +and duelled, each trying to explore every part of their partner's mouth.
  280.81 +While this was going on, Saturn took the initiative, and started to
  280.82 +unbutton Serenity's white night-gown.  There were four buttons at the
  280.83 +front of the garment.  Saturn took her time unfastening each one.  She
  280.84 +drew gentle circles over the cloth of the night-gown, careful to touch
  280.85 +Serenity in just the right places.
  280.86 +
  280.87 +        Once the buttons were done, she removed the straps from Serenity's
  280.88 +shoulders, and pushed the top part down over her breasts.  From her
  280.89 +position she got a wonderful view of two erect nipples on top of two
  280.90 +fairly large mounds.  Her hands went to work right away kneading the
  280.91 +flesh.  Serenity moaned into Saturn's mouth, practically begging for
  280.92 +more.  Saturn responded by gently rubbing and pinching the nipples.
  280.93 +This produced more moans from Serenity, who then decided to take a less
  280.94 +passive role in the night's affairs.
  280.95 +
  280.96 +        Serenity surprised Saturn by shifting position, making Saturn role
  280.97 +under her.  Serenity kicked off the remainder of her gown, and smiled
  280.98 +down at Saturn.  She decided that the casual clothes Saturn had been
  280.99 +wearing just wouldn't do.  Without a break in rhythm, she pulled off
 280.100 +Saturn's shirt over her head, and slid off her pants.  Her eyes lit up
 280.101 +in excitement.  Saturn was wearing her black lace bra!  She *loved* that
 280.102 +black lace bra!  Serenity's hands cupped Saturn's breasts, while her
 280.103 +thumbs worked the nipples.  After Saturn seemed sufficiently aroused,
 280.104 +Serenity reached for the clasp, and undid the lovely bra.  At this point
 280.105 +Serenity stopped kissing Saturn, and instead started sucking on her
 280.106 +erect nipples.  Saturn threw her head back in delight, but remembered
 280.107 +only to moan lightly, as to not wake Usagi-chan.
 280.108 +
 280.109 +        Serenity could feel a growing heat rising inside her, and she
 280.110 +could feel one emanating from Saturn as well.  She rubbed her thigh
 280.111 +against Saturn's panties, and could feel the intense wetness.  Saturn
 280.112 +raised her hips to meet Serenity's thigh.  It seemed something else was
 280.113 +now in need of Serenity's attention.  She took one final suck on the
 280.114 +left breast, and repositioned herself between Saturn's legs.  She could
 280.115 +smell the wonderful sweet scent already.  She made short work of the
 280.116 +drenched panties, and dove in.  She was careful to lick around the labia
 280.117 +first before attacking the clitoris.  Saturn's clit was red and
 280.118 +throbbing.  Serenity soft, supple tongue was just what it craved.
 280.119 +Saturn couldn't help it.  She started to let out quick moans of pleasure
 280.120 +in response.  She could feel her vagina becoming tight, and she spread
 280.121 +her legs even further to increase the feeling.  She was close to orgasm,
 280.122 +but wasn't at the edge yet.  She loved this part the best.  This was the
 280.123 +moment when she wished all time would stop, and she could just stay
 280.124 +there forever.  It was almost like she was experiencing a moment of Zen;
 280.125 +a moment where she seemed almost to lose consciousness, and was only
 280.126 +aware of the intense feelings of pleasure given to her by the woman she
 280.127 +loved.  That moment, however, was unfortunately brief, as it always is.
 280.128 +She realised she was going to orgasm, and spread her legs as far as they
 280.129 +could go.  After the fifth or sixth spasm, Serenity brought the pace
 280.130 +down to a slow lick, and eventually stopped.
 280.131 +
 280.132 +        "You, my dear, are amazing," said Saturn between breaths.
 280.133 +
 280.134 +        "No, you're the amazing one."  Serenity got up from her position
 280.135 +and was again over top of Saturn.  She kissed her again, unintentionally
 280.136 +smearing love juices on Saturn's face.
 280.137 +
 280.138 +        Saturn brushed a long pink pigtail out of her line of sight.  "I
 280.139 +guess it's someone else's turn now, ne?" she asked with a smile.
 280.140 +
 280.141 +        Serenity smiled back, and obligingly got on her back.  Saturn used
 280.142 +her two index fingers to trace lines down Serenity's body.  She started
 280.143 +at the shoulders, and ran circles around her breasts and naval.  When
 280.144 +she got to the top of Serenity's panties, she paused, hooked the
 280.145 +material around her fingers, and slowly pulled them off.  Saturn enjoyed
 280.146 +seeing Serenity squirm under her loving touch.  She always took her time
 280.147 +when making love.
 280.148 +
 280.149 +        Using her fingers, Saturn parted Serenity's labia.  She could see
 280.150 +the welcome sight of shimmering juices underneath.  She began to rub the
 280.151 +labia, alternating between them and tracing around the entrance to
 280.152 +Serenity's vagina.  After a little while of this, Saturn pushed one
 280.153 +finger into the entrance, and began pumping.  Serenity matched her speed
 280.154 +and rhythm.  Then Saturn added another finger, and then a third, each
 280.155 +time increasing the speed.
 280.156 +
 280.157 +        "Uhh, please Saturn....uhh!  Please massage my clit....please!!"
 280.158 +
 280.159 +        Serenity's request seemed urgent, and Saturn wasn't about to
 280.160 +disappoint her lover.  With her other hand she found the throbbing clit,
 280.161 +and began to rub it between her fingers.  Serenity's love juices served
 280.162 +as a handy lubricant, and greatly increased the pleasure she was
 280.163 +feeling.  Serenity's hips bucked almost wildly now, seeking the climax
 280.164 +she so desperately needed.
 280.165 +
 280.166 +        Just a few more thrusts, she thought.  Ahh!  There, Saturn, there!
 280.167 +That's the spot!  Oh, yes, please, yes!
 280.168 +
 280.169 +        Serenity felt as if her brain had just exploded, and everything
 280.170 +was crashing down around her.  Her thrusts slowly decreased, and Saturn
 280.171 +eventually drew her hand out.  She got up and lied down beside the pink-
 280.172 +haired girl, holding her tightly.
 280.173 +
 280.174 +        After several minutes of heavy breathing, Saturn spoke.  "Well, I
 280.175 +guess we managed not to wake Usagi-chan up."
 280.176 +
 280.177 +        "See," said Serenity, "I always win a challenge.  Though if she
 280.178 +did wake up, I'm sure she'd be calling 'kaa-chan' anyway."
 280.179 +
 280.180 +        "Oh no," laughed Saturn, "I got up last time.  I'm *positive*
 280.181 +she'd be calling 'mama'."
 280.182 +
 280.183 +        The two laughed a little more.  "Saturn," said Serenity seriously,
 280.184 +"aishiteru yo.  Watashi-tachi no ai wa eien da ne."
 280.185 +
 280.186 +        "Watashi mo.  Anata wa watashi no taisetsu na hito desu.
 280.187 +Aishiteru eien ni."
 280.188 +
 280.189 +        Sleep claimed the two lovers, and brought them many, many happy
 280.190 +dreams.
 280.191 +
 280.192 +OWARI
 280.193 +
 280.194 +~*~*~*~*~
 280.195 +
 280.196 +        Well, I hope you enjoyed the story. ^_^  I suppose I should
 280.197 +translate the last few lines of dialogue, in case you have no idea what
 280.198 +was said. ^^;;
 280.199 +
 280.200 +Serenity:  Saturn, I love you.  Our love is eternal.
 280.201 +Saturn:  Me too.  You are my special person.  I'll love you forever.
 280.202 +
 280.203 +        If you're interested in reading the first two parts of this story
 280.204 +(which are non-lemon, sorry ^^), just send me an email and I'll point
 280.205 +you in the right direction. ^_^
 280.206 +
 280.207 +        Music I was listening to while writing this:  Memorial Song Box
 280.208 +Disc 3 (songs like I am Sailormoon, Route Venus, Sailorteam no Theme, Ai
 280.209 +no Senshi, etc).
 280.210 +
 280.211 +Completed:  May 13th 1999.
 280.212 +
 280.213 +

   281.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   281.2 +++ b/stories/cusahota1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   281.3 @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
   281.4 +Title: Everlasting Love
   281.5 +Author: Minako Star*
   281.6 +Rating: PG-13
   281.7 +Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of it's characters,
   281.8 +please, don't sue me.^.~
   281.9 +Author's Note: This is my first yuri fic, so it might suck ass, but
  281.10 +if you don't like female/female fics, don't read this fic, it's Hotaru/Chibi-Usa,
  281.11 +I have no sex in it though, so don't freak out or flame me, kay?
  281.12 +***
  281.13 +
  281.14 +"How 'bout a ponytail?" asked Hotaru, who was standing behind Chibi-Usa, while Chibi-Usa
  281.15 +was sitting in front of a little mirror. They were trying out cute hairstyles. 
  281.16 +"Sure!" answered Chibi-Usa. Hotaru pulled her hair up into a pony tail. "Your hair is
  281.17 +very pretty, Chibi-Usa." said Hotaru. "Turn around, I'll put on some make-up." Hotaru said.
  281.18 +"Okay!" Chibi-Usa turned around. Hotaru picked up a brush to apply blush on her face,
  281.19 +but instead, she pulled Chibi-Usa's face towards hers, and kissed her. Chibi-Usa didn't pull 
  281.20 +her head back though, she didn't feel like she should. 
  281.21 +***
  281.22 +"I'm going to the park!" said Chibi-Usa to Usagi. *That felt good, I wish I could see Hotaru again* Chibi-Usa thought.
  281.23 +At the park Chibi-Usa sat down on a bench. There were cherry trees all around, and the bench was isolated
  281.24 +from the rest of the park." Can I sit down?" asked a voice from behind the bench; It was Hotaru.
  281.25 +Chibi-Usa felt like getting up and hugging her, but she didn't. "Sure." Chibi-Usa said. *I wonder if she hates me now*
  281.26 +thought Hotaru, while she sat down. "Look, Chibi-Usa, I'm sorry for what..." Hotaru couldn't say it. She wasn't sorry,
  281.27 +she enjoyed it, and wanted to kiss her again, but thought better of it. "That's okay, Hotaru, I don't hate you." said Chibi-Usa.
  281.28 +"You don't?" said Hotaru. "Of course not!" was Chibi-Usa's reply.
  281.29 +*** 
  281.30 +That's all I can write now, If you like it, please R & R and I'll finish it.
  281.31 +~Minako Star* <3 
  281.32 \ No newline at end of file

   282.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   282.2 +++ b/stories/cusahota2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   282.3 @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
   282.4 +Silent Star
   282.5 +By: MoonbeamDancer
   282.6 +
   282.7 +Author's Note's- This story is mine. It's a Yuri fic that means it has a 
   282.8 +female/female couple. If you don't like that sort of thing, please leave now. I 
   282.9 +don't own Sailor Moon; send comments to Jellicle_Vamp@hotmail.com. In this fic, 
  282.10 +Chibi-Usa (Rini in the dub, and I'll just call her Usa in here.) is 18 and 
  282.11 +Hotaru is 20.
  282.12 +
  282.13 +Usa was walking home school lost in thought.
  282.14 +"Hey Usa!" she heard someone call behind her. She turned around to see who was 
  282.15 +calling her name, and her heart did a double thump.
  282.16 +It was Hotaru.
  282.17 +Hotaru ran up to her. "I've been calling your name forever, didn't you hear me?"
  282.18 +A blush strained Usa's cheeks as she shook her head.
  282.19 +"Gomen ne. I was lost in thought." she said "Thinking about how much I love 
  282.20 +you." she thought.
  282.21 +Hotaru smiled. "That's okay. Hey, would you like to go to the park on Saturday 
  282.22 +for a picnic?"
  282.23 +Usa nodded yes.
  282.24 +"Great! I'll pick you up around noon." Hotaru said at Usa's doorstep.
  282.25 +"Alright. I'll see you then." Usa said, watching Hotaru leave.
  282.26 +Usa walked to the house and up to her room. Sitting on her window seat, Usa 
  282.27 +wrapped her arms around her knees and stared out the window, thinking of Hotaru. 
  282.28 +Usa's love for her had started as that of a friend. Hotaru had been one of the 
  282.29 +first friends Usa had made when she arrived here and Usa loved her dearly for 
  282.30 +it. When the Senshi found out that Hotaru was Sailor Saturn, that love grew to 
  282.31 +that of a teammate. But lately, it had grown into romantic love.
  282.32 +Usa sighed. "I want to tell her so much, but I don't want to scare her off." She 
  282.33 +whispered to herself.
  282.34 +Hotaru walked into her house, setting her bag on the island in the kitchen. She 
  282.35 +grabbed an apple and looked around for Setsuna and Michiru. She didn't find 
  282.36 +them, but did find Haruka in the music room.
  282.37 +"Haruka-papa?" she asked, sitting next to Haruka on the piano bench, a leg on 
  282.38 +each side. "May I ask you a question?"
  282.39 +Haruka stopped playing and looked at Hotaru.
  282.40 +"Sure honey. What is it?"
  282.41 +Hotaru's voice caught in her throat. "I...I'm..."
  282.42 +"What is it Hotaru-hime? Guy problems? Girl problems?"
  282.43 +Hotaru blushed and ducked her head.
  282.44 +"Who is it?"
  282.45 +"It's Usa." Hotaru whispered.
  282.46 +"Have you told her?"
  282.47 +"I'm afraid to."
  282.48 +"Don't be. Maybe she feels the same way."
  282.49 +"But what if she doesn't? What if she hates me for it? What if I scare her off 
  282.50 +and she doesn't want to be my friend anymore?" Hotaru rattled off, becoming a 
  282.51 +little panicked.
  282.52 +"What if, what if, what if. What if you tell her and she loves you back?" Haruka 
  282.53 +asked.
  282.54 +"Tell her." she said, smoothing away Hotaru's hair. "Whatever happens after 
  282.55 +that, happens."
  282.56 +Hotaru smiled. "You're right. Arigoto Haruka-papa."
  282.57 +That Saturday, Hotaru drove to Usa's and picked her up. Their eyes widened when 
  282.58 +they saw what the other was wearing.
  282.59 +Usa was wearing a white tank top, blue jean shorts and light blue, strappy 
  282.60 +sandals. Around her throat was a thin silver chain with a small crescent moon 
  282.61 +made of rose quartz. on the end. Her hair was up in a ponytail. Her hair and 
  282.62 +necklace framed her throat and made Hotaru ache to kiss her.
  282.63 +Hotaru was wearing a spaghetti strap purple shirt, white shorts, and tennis 
  282.64 +shoes. Usa got into the car and they went to the park.
  282.65 +Hotaru and Usa had enjoyed themselves at the park and were watching the sunset.
  282.66 +"Usa?"
  282.67 +"Yeah Hotaru?"
  282.68 +"I have something I want to tell you."
  282.69 +"Me too."
  282.70 +Hotaru looked into Usa's blood red eyes, her hands shaking slightly.
  282.71 +"Okay, I'm just gonna go for broke and tell you." Hotaru swallowed. "I'm in love 
  282.72 +with you." She looked down and said, "I'll understand if you don't feel the same 
  282.73 +way. I'll understand if you don't want to see me ever again. I'll-"
  282.74 +Hotaru's rant was cut off as Usa tilted her chin up and kissed her.
  282.75 +Usa's lips were warm and soft. They tasted like strawberries to Hotaru. Usa 
  282.76 +gently parted her lips and ran the tip of her tounge against Hotaru's mouth. She 
  282.77 +gasped and Usa slipped her tongue into Hotaru's mouth. Their tongues danced and 
  282.78 +played in each other's mouths for dominance. They broke it off and pulled back a 
  282.79 +little bit.
  282.80 +"I love you too Hotaru." Usa whispered, smiling.
  282.81 \ No newline at end of file

   283.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   283.2 +++ b/stories/darkrainbowcrystals01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   283.3 @@ -0,0 +1,339 @@
   283.4 +Hi everyone, I thought  tell eveyone that I'm very sorry about how I
   283.5 +wrote the last four chapter of Dark Rainbow Crystals so
   283.6 +I went back and rewrote all four chapters so now it will make
   283.7 +secemes. I hope^^ So pleasce have fun reading the same but 
   283.8 +better story. Thanks agian
   283.9 +
  283.10 +              The Dark Rainbow Crystals ONE
  283.11 +                   By Black Rose aka moonpower
  283.12 +
  283.13 +
  283.14 +With the rising of the sun the Crystal Palace sparkled brilliantly,
  283.15 +spilling morning light though the palace windows. A more mature
  283.16 +Princess Rini was walking around looking for her guardian cat Diana. 
  283.17 +She walked into the rose garden to find her cat sleeping in Momoko's
  283.18 +lap. They were both sleeping next to one of the many big oak trees in
  283.19 +the gardens. 
  283.20 +The pink haired princess walked up to them kneeled down, and gently
  283.21 +awakened the two lovebirds. 
  283.22 +They opened their eyes to their princess looking down at them.
  283.23 +
  283.24 + "Princess, sorry we must have dozed off," said Momoko getting up.
  283.25 +
  283.26 +"That's all right," responded Rini, smiling at them.
  283.27 +
  283.28 + "Well, come on you two, the meeting is about to start," she said
  283.29 +walking away towards the meeting. While walking they heard feet
  283.30 +approaching them, it was Rini's mother and father. 
  283.31 +
  283.32 +"Rini, there you are. We have been looking for you," her mother
  283.33 +asked her. The three stopped, and bowed their heads to the King and
  283.34 +Queen of Crystal Tokyo.
  283.35 +
  283.36 +"We apologize, Momoko and I fell asleep in the rose garden," replied
  283.37 +Diana.
  283.38 +
  283.39 +"It all right, we just worried that's all," The Queen said.
  283.40 + 
  283.41 +"We need to head to the meeting, we have friends and family waiting
  283.42 +for us," The King said turning, and heading back.
  283.43 +
  283.44 +"Right," they all replied at the same time, and followed suit.
  283.45 +
  283.46 +As the Queen and King entered the room, everyone got up, and bows
  283.47 +their heads.  "You may be seated," replied the Queen smiling at all
  283.48 +them. Luna pulled her daughter to the side to speak to her. 
  283.49 +
  283.50 +"Diana, where have you been," her mother asked? "I have been worried
  283.51 +sick about you." 
  283.52 +
  283.53 +"Sorry about that, my girlfriend needed to speak to me," Diana
  283.54 +answered.
  283.55 +
  283.56 +"Why? Did she need to speak to you," asked Luna?
  283.57 +
  283.58 +"Well mother, if you must know, she asked me to marry her," Diana
  283.59 +said showing her the engagement ring. Her mother couldn't be happier.
  283.60 +Everyone turned their heads to the Queen and King when they heard
  283.61 +clapping.
  283.62 +
  283.63 + "My Queen, what is going on?" asked Mars. The Queen smiled at Diana
  283.64 +and announced, "I believe Diana has something to say to us," Everyone
  283.65 +looked right at Diana, and it made her very uncomfortable. Momoko saw
  283.66 +this, walked over, and stood next to her.
  283.67 +
  283.68 +"Well, we're," Diana said in a shy voice. Momoko took her hand, and
  283.69 +smiled at her. She smiled back "We're engaged," she told them. While
  283.70 +everyone was congratulating them, Saturn walked out of the room and
  283.71 +into the front yard. She thought that know one saw her leave, but
  283.72 +Darien did.
  283.73 +
  283.74 +"I'll be right back," he told his wife. Serena just looked up at him
  283.75 +and nodded. When he approached the door, a dark green hair woman
  283.76 +stopped him.
  283.77 +
  283.78 +"Pluto, is there something that you need? He asked 
  283.79 +
  283.80 +"Yes, she's my daughter after all," she replied. He nodded and they
  283.81 +both left. Serena watched has they left. 
  283.82 +
  283.83 +"Please be alright, Saturn," she though.
  283.84 +
  283.85 +   Outside, Saturn was sitting under a tree. "Why am I the only one,
  283.86 +not married?" she though. She hared feet coming towards her. She
  283.87 +looked up to see one of her mothers and the King. When they
  283.88 +approached her, she got up, and bowed her head.
  283.89 + 
  283.90 +"My King, mother, I thought that no one saw me Leave," she said.
  283.91 +Pluto walked up to her, and gave her a hug.
  283.92 +
  283.93 +"Saturn, why did you levee?" asked The King.
  283.94 +     
  283.95 +Saturn just looked at them, she closed her eyes and reopened them "I
  283.96 +got upset, because everyone is getting married," she told them.
  283.97 +
  283.98 +"I would you be worried about that, Saturn?" asked her mother.
  283.99 +
 283.100 +"I just feel left out." "You and Seiya just got married about a
 283.101 +month ago, the King and Queen have been married for years, and their
 283.102 +daughter will be getting married to Helios in few months, and now
 283.103 +Diana and Momoko are getting married. Not to mention the fact that
 283.104 +everyone else is married,"
 283.105 + she said. Saturn started to cry, her mother just held her, telling
 283.106 +her that it would be alright. 
 283.107 +The King just watched on with sad eyes. 
 283.108 +Ten minutes later Saturn stopped crying, and fell asleep in her
 283.109 +mother's arms.
 283.110 +
 283.111 +"You better take her to her room," the King suggested. Pluto nodded
 283.112 +and toke her.
 283.113 +When he reentered, Amara, and Michelle looked at him. He toke them a
 283.114 +side and told them what happen. Then they toke there sets again.
 283.115 +
 283.116 + "Before we started, Amara, Michelle if you would like to go see
 283.117 +your daughter, it would be alright; I'll talk you later about what is
 283.118 +going on," Serena told them.
 283.119 +
 283.120 +"Thank you, my Queen," they both said, and then left.
 283.121 +
 283.122 +"I will get right to the point; we just found out that there is a
 283.123 +new set of rainbow crystals; we have no idea were they came from or
 283.124 +what kind of power they hold," said Serena looking around the room.
 283.125 +
 283.126 +"Well these crystals be in humans, like the last ones?" asked Mars.
 283.127 +
 283.128 +"We can only assume that, hope for the best, because I have a feel
 283.129 +this time things are going to get a lot worse," replied The King.
 283.130 +
 283.131 +In Saturn's room, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto were watching over
 283.132 +there daughter.
 283.133 +"Pluto, do you knew who she's going to marry?" asked Neptune.
 283.134 +
 283.135 +"I really don't know," replied Pluto.
 283.136 +
 283.137 + "Well that doesn't help much now dose it," replied Uranus.
 283.138 +
 283.139 +"If it helps, we'll all find out soon," replied Pluto smiling at
 283.140 +them. The three outer scouts sat in silence has there daughter slept.
 283.141 + 
 283.142 +While walking around Hotaru could see were she was going because of
 283.143 +all the fog. The wind was blowing her hair around.
 283.144 +
 283.145 +"Where am I?" she asked herself.  
 283.146 +
 283.147 +"Sailor Saturn," someone called out to her. She looked around for
 283.148 +what called her name. As she started to walk, she ran into some
 283.149 +stairs. She looked up to see a person.
 283.150 +
 283.151 +"Saturn, Please find the Dark Rainbow Crystals, I need to be with
 283.152 +you," said the mystery person. Hotaru couldn't tell who the person
 283.153 +was. 
 283.154 +
 283.155 +"Who are you, what do what with me?" Hotaru yelled.
 283.156 +
 283.157 +"Pl….ea….se find them," said the mystery person. As she finish
 283.158 +specking the ground around Hotaru started to shake, and open up. She
 283.159 +could stop herself from falling in. She sat up and was in a cold
 283.160 +sweet.
 283.161 +
 283.162 +"What a weird dream," she said looking around her room; she knew
 283.163 +what she needed to do.
 283.164 +
 283.165 +
 283.166 +"Are you ok, Hotaru?" asked her pink haired friend. Hotaru looked
 283.167 +across the bed to see her best friend setting in a chair.
 283.168 +
 283.169 +"I think so, how long have I been asleep?" she asked.
 283.170 +
 283.171 +"I think about two days, I have been really worried," Rini said
 283.172 +wiping away the sweat with a cloth.
 283.173 +
 283.174 +"Sorry to worry you, how long have you been here?" asked Hotaru  
 283.175 +"Let me see, I think it's been a hold day now," replied Rini smiling
 283.176 +at her.
 283.177 +
 283.178 +"Why would she stay here," Hotaru thought, just then there was a
 283.179 +knock at the door.
 283.180 +
 283.181 +"Come in," Hotaru said to whom ever was behind the door. The door
 283.182 +open, Amara came in, and smiled to the two young ladies.
 283.183 +
 283.184 +"Hello Amara-pa," said Hotaru.
 283.185 +
 283.186 +"Hotaru, look I have to get going, I have to meet up with Helios,
 283.187 +He's taking me out for dinner; so all talk to you later," replied
 283.188 +Rini walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. 
 283.189 +
 283.190 +"Have fun," Hotaru yelled back.
 283.191 +
 283.192 +"How are you feeling, Kitten," Amara asked her little girl even if
 283.193 +she was 24 years old,  
 283.194 +but to Amara she will always be her kitten.
 283.195 +
 283.196 +"I'm feeling better, other then I had there weird dream, and I don't
 283.197 +knew what it means," Hotaru told her.
 283.198 +
 283.199 +"What happen?" asked Amara as she sat next to her.
 283.200 +
 283.201 +"Will, I'm walking around in what seems to be fog, I hear someone
 283.202 +calling my name I started to walk in the direction of the voice. I
 283.203 +walked into some stairs, I look up to see a person, and I can't tell
 283.204 +who it is," Hotaru told her.
 283.205 +
 283.206 +"What did he or she look like?" asked her mother.
 283.207 +
 283.208 +"I couldn't tell who he or she was, but they keep asking me to bring
 283.209 +them something called the Dark Rainbow Crystals, what ever that
 283.210 +means, and then I woke up," she finished telling. 
 283.211 +Amara looked shocked. 
 283.212 +
 283.213 +"Papa, is everything all right? It was just a dream," Hotaru asked
 283.214 +as she got out of bed and headed of the bathroom.
 283.215 +
 283.216 +"Hotaru, all be right back ok," she told her thought the door.
 283.217 +
 283.218 +"Ok, I'll be out in about five to ten minutes, Hotaru called back.
 283.219 +She heard the door close to her bedroom. Amara, walked down the hall
 283.220 +to her room that she shared with her wife. As she entered the room
 283.221 +she saw Michelle, and Trista talking about something.
 283.222 +They turned when she entered.
 283.223 +"Amara, how is our young lady doing?" Michelle asked.
 283.224 +
 283.225 +"She alright, But it's the dream that she had that is making me
 283.226 +worry," replied her wife.
 283.227 +
 283.228 +"What dream?" asked Trista looking at both of them.
 283.229 +
 283.230 +"Someone asking her to being them the crystals," Amara said.
 283.231 +
 283.232 +"I that sounds a lot like the dreams that The King had back in the
 283.233 +past," Trista though.
 283.234 +
 283.235 +"I think we should talk to her and see if there are anything less
 283.236 +that she mitt have missed," suggested Michelle.
 283.237 +"That a good idea," replied Trista. The three walked back to
 283.238 +Hotaru's room.
 283.239 +
 283.240 +
 283.241 + Back in her room, Hotaru just got out of the shower, put a towel
 283.242 +around her, and went into her room. She opened her closet and polled
 283.243 +out a purple dress that her mother made for her 24th birthday. As she
 283.244 +put the dress on there was a knock on the door.
 283.245 +
 283.246 +"Who is it?" she asked. 
 283.247 +
 283.248 +'It's your mothers," answered Michelle.
 283.249 +
 283.250 +"Come in," Hotaru replied as she sat down in front of the mirror
 283.251 +brushing her hair. The door opened and three older women came in.
 283.252 +Uranus closed the door behind her.
 283.253 +
 283.254 +"My, don't we look cute today," Michelle told her daughter.
 283.255 +
 283.256 +"Thanks," replied Hotaru getting up and giving her mother a hug.
 283.257 +
 283.258 +"Hotaru, would you please tell us about your dream?" Amara asked.
 283.259 +
 283.260 +"Alright," answered Hotaru. After she told them what happen to her
 283.261 +in her mind. Her parents just looked at her.
 283.262 +
 283.263 +"What?" asked Hotaru now trying to think of what she did wrong?
 283.264 +
 283.265 + "Well, you see the Queen asked all of us to find the very same
 283.266 +crystals," replied Trista.
 283.267 +
 283.268 +"If the Queen asked us to find the crystals, then we need to obey
 283.269 +her." Even if my dreams are saying the same thing," replied Hotaru
 283.270 +smiling at them. She sat down on the bed and thought about what she
 283.271 +just said; she wanted to help the Queen, but she also wanted to know
 283.272 +how that person was.
 283.273 +
 283.274 +"I have in idea why don't we talk to the Queen and King about this,
 283.275 +I feel that they may knew what to do," suggested Trista. The other
 283.276 +three nodded there heads, walked to the door, and into the hallway.
 283.277 +As they got closer to the King and Queen's study, they saw Rini and
 283.278 +Helios taking about something.
 283.279 +
 283.280 +"Ah, you two, what are up too?" asked Hotaru
 283.281 +
 283.282 +"Oh, hello Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and you too Pluto," replied
 283.283 +Helios.
 283.284 +
 283.285 +"We're trying to think of a place to go for dinner," replied Rini.
 283.286 +
 283.287 +"I would suggest the restaurant on south 11th street, I forgot what
 283.288 +it was called, sorry," replied Hotaru.
 283.289 +
 283.290 + "That's ok, Thanks, by the way were you guys off too?" asked their
 283.291 +Princess.
 283.292 +
 283.293 +"We have a meeting with your mother, about a dream Hotaru had,"
 283.294 +answered Pluto, walking past the two of them followed by the rest of
 283.295 +them.
 283.296 +
 283.297 +
 283.298 +"What dream?" asked Rini looking at Hotaru walking away.
 283.299 +Helios just toke her hand and lead her to his car. As the two walked
 283.300 +outside, Hotaru looked back and smiled a little. Her mothers looked
 283.301 +on with worried eyes.
 283.302 +
 283.303 +"Hotaru, its time,' Michelle said.
 283.304 +Hotaru just nodded.
 283.305 +
 283.306 +The Queen was in her study looking over some papers. Some times, she
 283.307 +would just glance over to what Luna and Diana were doing. She then
 283.308 +heard a knock at the door.
 283.309 +
 283.310 +"You may enter,' she responded. The door open and four young ladies
 283.311 +walked in, and bowed their heads "You four may be seated," the Queen
 283.312 +afforded. The four sat down.
 283.313 +
 283.314 +"Now, what was it that you need to see me about that was so
 283.315 +important," asked the Queen?
 283.316 +
 283.317 +"Well, it's about Hotaru," said Michelle.
 283.318 +
 283.319 +"What about her," asked the Queen turning her head towards Hotaru?
 283.320 +
 283.321 +"Well, your majesty, I had this dream" Hotaru went on about the dream.
 283.322 +
 283.323 +"It sound a lot like the dreams I used to have," replied the King
 283.324 +walking into the study from outside. The four bowed there heads.
 283.325 +
 283.326 +"What do you think, your majesty," asked Hotaru.
 283.327 +
 283.328 +"I believe that we all need to help her out, I would have like
 283.329 +someone to have helped me when I had those kinds of dreams," answered
 283.330 +the King.
 283.331 +
 283.332 +"Would have to agree with you my husband, I well notify the other
 283.333 +scouts of the situation in the morning," the Queen said.
 283.334 +
 283.335 +"Thank you, your majesties," said Trista getting up and walking to
 283.336 +the door. The other three followed suit. They said there goodnights
 283.337 +and went to there own rooms.
 283.338 +
 283.339 +After about and hour later everyone was asleep with the exception of
 283.340 +a young pink haired princess. She was looking out her window,
 283.341 +starring at the moon and stars. "I hope you're alright Hotaru, I...I.
 283.342 +at the same time a shooting star went by.
 283.343 \ No newline at end of file

   284.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   284.2 +++ b/stories/darkrainbowcrystals02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   284.3 @@ -0,0 +1,342 @@
   284.4 +                    The Dark Rainbow Crystals Chapter 2
   284.5 +                             By Black Rose aka moonpower
   284.6 +
   284.7 +Early the next morning, Hotaru was already up and starring out her
   284.8 +window. "It's so beautiful," she thought looking at the sunrise. She
   284.9 +walked over to the bed got her cloths, put them on, and left her
  284.10 +room. She considered that sitting in the rose garden would be the
  284.11 +best pleases to view the rest of the sunrise. 
  284.12 +She would sometime spin time with the Queen and her mother working
  284.13 +in the garden. 
  284.14 +When she got to her distention she sat down on the bench. 
  284.15 +She looked at the pink rose that Rini and she planted the other day.
  284.16 +"I wish she was here with me," She thought with a sigh. As if on
  284.17 +que, she heard someone running up to her. She turned her head to see
  284.18 +a pink haired woman running towards her.
  284.19 +  As Rini ran up to the Palace she saw her best friend setting by
  284.20 +herself.
  284.21 +"What is Hotaru doing?" she wondered as she stopped in front of her.
  284.22 +"Good morning, Hotaru," Rini said.
  284.23 +"Oh, good morning Princess,"Hotaru answered getting up and bowing to
  284.24 +her.
  284.25 +"What are you looking at?"She inquired has she scanned the area for
  284.26 +the point of inertest.
  284.27 +"I'm watching the sunrise. Would you like to join me? She asked
  284.28 +moving over to the side so there is room for her to set down. The
  284.29 +princess just nodded and sat down. The two young ladies just sat here
  284.30 +is silence watching the beauty in the sky. The sun was making all the
  284.31 +roses sparkle like a light hitting a chandelier.
  284.32 +
  284.33 +"My ladies, your breakfast is ready," voiced the maid gazing down
  284.34 +into the gardens. The two looked up and smiled.
  284.35 +"Thank you, we'll be right in," replied Rini then glanced over at
  284.36 +her friend.  "She has really pretty eyes," she thought. Hotaru got
  284.37 +up, turned to the Princess, and noticed that she was being looked at. 
  284.38 +"Why, is she starring at me like that?" she wondered just then they
  284.39 +hared a rumble.
  284.40 +Rini looked down at her tummy, then back at Hotaru, and smiled. They
  284.41 +both started to laugh.
  284.42 +"Oh, sorry come on lets get going," the Princess replied walking
  284.43 +back into the Palace.
  284.44 +Hotaru just followed beside her. They stopped once at Rini's room,
  284.45 +so she could put some different pair of clothes on. As she was
  284.46 +putting on her clothes her thought stated to wander. ("Why was I
  284.47 +starring at her like that"?) She when walked out of her room.
  284.48 +On the way to the dinning room they ran into Diana and Momoko coming
  284.49 +out of the library with their hair all messed up. The girls stopped
  284.50 +and looked at the lovebirds. 
  284.51 +"What were you guys up to?" asked Rini trying to keep a straight
  284.52 +face. Diana and Momoko got very red.
  284.53 +Hotaru and Rini couldn't keep it in any longer they busted out in a
  284.54 +fit of laughter. About a minute later the two friends stopped
  284.55 +laughing, and looked back at the newly engaged pair.
  284.56 +"Sorry about that," apologize Hotaru.
  284.57 +"I'm sorry, too. Come on, we need to get to the dinning room before
  284.58 +all the food is gone," replied Rini.
  284.59 +"Ya, before our sweet lovely Princess gets really hungry gets really
  284.60 +hungry," Hotaru voiced with a little smile to the princess, started
  284.61 +to walk past her, and down the hall.
  284.62 +Diana and Momoko just giggled walking past Rini, who had very
  284.63 +schlock face. She so followed her friends.
  284.64 +"Why dose Hotaru make me blush when she says things like that," Rini
  284.65 +thought.
  284.66 +As they entered the dinning room, they took their sets and started
  284.67 +to eat their breakfast. As everyone was talking amongst, Rini was in
  284.68 +deep thought.
  284.69 +"Why is this bothering me, it's not like she likes me," "Or is it
  284.70 +that I like her? Why are my thoughts so consumed by her?"  She
  284.71 +sighed. Her mother caught it and turned to her daughter.
  284.72 +"Rini is everything alright?"
  284.73 +Rini just gave a little smile saying that she was fine.
  284.74 +                                     
  284.75 +After breakfast Rini, Diana, and Trista went to the study to look
  284.76 +over some paper work dealing with the crystals. As they entered, they
  284.77 +saw Amy peering at the some book.
  284.78 +"Hello Amy," Diana said going up to her
  284.79 +"Hello," Amy said not looking up from her book. Rini sat down,
  284.80 +grabbed a book, and started to look through it.
  284.81 +"From what we knew, they have side affects, and that Hotaru is
  284.82 +having dreams about them," Trista informed them.
  284.83 +"Are you saying that my best friend is having dreams similar to the
  284.84 +ones that my father had previously?" asked Rini looking up at Trista.
  284.85 +"Yes" 
  284.86 +                     
  284.87 +While walking around to the mall, Hotaru, Michelle, and Darien were
  284.88 +trying to think of something to get Rini and Helios for there wedding.
  284.89 +"I can't believe that our little princess is getting married,"
  284.90 +Michelle said.
  284.91 +"I knew, am so happy for them," Hotaru replied.
  284.92 +"I don't know, I think that Helios isn't supposed to marry my
  284.93 +daughter," replied the King.
  284.94 +"Why?" asked Michelle while looking at a dress in the window display
  284.95 +walked by.
  284.96 +"I just have this feeling in my soul that there is someone better
  284.97 +then Helios," he replied.
  284.98 +"How could that be?" Hotaru asked.
  284.99 +"I have an idea, that it's someone very close to her."
 284.100 +"Well anyway I think we better get to the mall before it gets too
 284.101 +late," Michelle suggested.
 284.102 +"Right," the other two said.
 284.103 +As they got closer to the mall, Hotaru was thinking, flashes of her
 284.104 +dream went though her head. "Hotaru help me!" someone yelled in side
 284.105 +her head. At the very same time, Hotaru screamed in pain holding her
 284.106 +head. Her body started to fall to the ground, but Darien caught her. 
 284.107 +"Hotaru, are alright?" Michelle asked with a worried tone.
 284.108 +A man in his late twenties came out of the one of the stores, and
 284.109 +ran into them. People started too gathered around.
 284.110 + "Oh, I'm sorry about that," he replied with a little bow, then
 284.111 +walked away. Hotaru gazed up and saw the crystal in his eyes. The
 284.112 +crystal was a dark red, like blood.
 284.113 +"Mother, he…. has… a…. crystal," she whispered before she passed out.
 284.114 +Darien and Michelle looked over to the man that just walked in to
 284.115 +them. They looked at one another, and nodded.
 284.116 +"Michelle, take her back to the palace, and then tell my wife what
 284.117 +happened here," Darien ordered her, and started to walk off in the
 284.118 +direction the man went.
 284.119 +She nodded, picked up her daughter, and turned towards the palace.
 284.120 +When she got to the palace she put Hotaru in her room, and then went
 284.121 +to tell the Queen.
 284.122 +
 284.123 +Hotaru was looking around. "Where am I?"
 284.124 +"Hotaru, you alright?" asked a soft voice. Hotaru looked around, and
 284.125 +found the person that was talking to her. It was Sailor Saturn.
 284.126 +Hotaru couldn't do anything; she just sat there looking at herself.
 284.127 + "It's ok Hotaru, I won't heart you," holding her hand out to help
 284.128 +her up. Hotaru took her hand and got up.
 284.129 +"What's going on here, why do you look like me?"
 284.130 +"I look like you because I am you; your sailor part."
 284.131 +"Oh…. Why? Did I pass out?"
 284.132 + "I think it was the crystal, but from what I can tell we're alright."
 284.133 +"Well, that's good." Hotaru said looking around to see were she was.
 284.134 +"Hotaru!" a voice was heard. Saturn looked around trying to find out
 284.135 +were the voice was coming from. She held Hotaru protectively.
 284.136 +"It's Rini." with shock in her voice
 284.137 +"Yes, the Princess, I think you have better get up, see what is
 284.138 +going on, and remember if you need to talk just think of me and I'll
 284.139 +be here."
 284.140 +"Right"
 284.141 +"Don't worry, Rini, she'll wake up soon," Trista said.
 284.142 +"It's mother," Hotaru said.
 284.143 +"We need to wake up," replied Saturn hugging Hotaru. They both
 284.144 +closed their eyes. When she opened her eyes this time she saw that
 284.145 +she was in her room. She looked around to see Trista, and Princess
 284.146 +Rini talking about something at the end of her bed.
 284.147 + The Princess turn her head to the right to see her friend getting
 284.148 +off her bed, she walked really fast over to her ,and gave her a hug,
 284.149 +She was thanking God that she was safe, healthy, and awake.
 284.150 +"Taru-Chan, are you feeling better?"
 284.151 +She nodded, "What's up with the nickname?"  Hotaru thought as she
 284.152 +hugged back
 284.153 +
 284.154 +At the other end of the city, Darien followed the man to the beach
 284.155 +were he stopped.
 284.156 +"What do you what?" he asked
 284.157 +"What is you name?" Darien asked taking out a red rose from is coat.
 284.158 +"Zack" turning around to see a while flash, he closed his eyes from
 284.159 +the light.
 284.160 +When the light dimmed down, The King of Crystal Tokyo was standing
 284.161 +there.
 284.162 +"My King" he said bowed down.
 284.163 +"Zack, there is something I need form you."
 284.164 +I knew what you asking of me," (he pauses for a moment) "the crystal."
 284.165 +The King just looks on in shock. "How do you..."
 284.166 +"My mother told me, before she died, she said that she been having a
 284.167 +repeating dream," (he turned back around) "There's this woman with
 284.168 +long pink hair standing next to my mother and telling her that her
 284.169 +son will have one of the seven Dark Rainbow Crystals, but only
 284.170 +Princess Saturn could have it."
 284.171 +The King pondered. The realization that Rini and Hotaru could both
 284.172 +be connected to possession of the crystals began to set in his mind.
 284.173 +The sickening feeling that his only daughter could be in peril seeped
 284.174 +into the king's soul; the link between Rini and Hotaru, to the
 284.175 +crystals alluded and deeply troubled him.
 284.176 +"Honey!" someone yelled from behind them. They turned around to see
 284.177 +the queen running up to them, with Neptune, Uranus, and Mercury just
 284.178 +behind her.
 284.179 +"Darien, are you alright?" "I came as soon as I heard from Neptune."
 284.180 +"I'm fine, but we have a problem, Saturn is the only one that can
 284.181 +have the crystal."
 284.182 +"Why Hotaru?" asked Neptune. She could feel sadness deep down in her
 284.183 +that her only daughter is in danger again.
 284.184 +"From what I can tell; Saturn is linked to this crystal, I'm certain
 284.185 +of that," Darien said.
 284.186 +"He's right, we need Saturn here, or we would able to get it,"
 284.187 +Mercury said while tipping on her mini computer.
 284.188 +"Are you certain, Mercury?" asked the Queen.
 284.189 +"Very certain," she replied.
 284.190 +"I'll call her," the King said taking is cell out.
 284.191 +
 284.192 +Hotaru was in her office looking out the window. She just got done
 284.193 +talking to the King, saying that they need her to come to the beach
 284.194 +on the west side of the city. She didn't know why, but said that she
 284.195 +would be there as soon as she could.
 284.196 +  "Why me?" she though at the sometime there was a knock at the door
 284.197 +taking. This took her out of her thoughts.
 284.198 +"Come in." The door opened, and a woman about 28 years old came in.
 284.199 +She had a greenish-black dress on, with black hair and a long ponytail
 284.200 +"Hello, Seiya,"
 284.201 +"Ya, How is very thing going?" as she sat down. The room was about
 284.202 +the size of a small classroom. It had two big windows on both sides
 284.203 +of the room, and about eighty different lamps.
 284.204 +I'm alright; I got a call from the King. He asked me to come to the
 284.205 +west side of the city, something about the crystal."
 284.206 +Seiya looked a little worried about this, she had heard about the
 284.207 +crystals from Trista, and didn't like were this was going. What mad
 284.208 +this even more upsetting was the idea that she couldn't help.
 284.209 +"I'm not sure what to say."
 284.210 +"You don't have to worry Seiya-mama, but if you would like to come
 284.211 +with me, I wouldn't mind."
 284.212 +She was glad that she could help with something.
 284.213 +"Well take our car, if you would like," a voice said from behind
 284.214 +them. The two turned around to see who it was.
 284.215 +"Thanks mother," replied Hotaru with a smile, she was happy to have
 284.216 +a caring family. She walked over to her desk to get her coat and back
 284.217 +to her mothers. Then the trio went out the door.
 284.218 +As the three to the car, a white convertible rolled up next to them.
 284.219 +The doors opened, Rini and Helios came out.
 284.220 +"Where are you guys off too?" asked Rini walking around the car a
 284.221 +stand next to her fiancé.
 284.222 +"Your father called and need to see Hotaru right away," Trista told
 284.223 +her, then got it to the front seat of the car.
 284.224 +"Later guys," Seiya said while getting into the driver seat and
 284.225 +closed the door. Hotaru just got in and closed the door, and they
 284.226 +took off. As soon as the car was out of sight, Rini let go of Helios.
 284.227 +He looked at her.
 284.228 +"I'm going; I need to speak with my mother about something." She
 284.229 +kisses him and walking in to the Palace. He just nodded, got back
 284.230 +into the car, and drove off.
 284.231 + As Rini walked down the hall to her mother's office, she ran into
 284.232 +Venus, and her little girl.
 284.233 +"Well, hello Venus, and you too Dainae" Dainae was eight year old.
 284.234 +She has blond hair like her mother. She is wearing a blue spaghetti
 284.235 +strap dress with little pink rose all around it.
 284.236 +"Hello Princess, we're you off too?" asked Venus holding onto
 284.237 +Dainae's hand.
 284.238 + "I'm on my way too see my mother, I need to speck to her."
 284.239 +"Oh, I think your mother told me that she heard from Neptune that
 284.240 +they were going to the west side beach."
 284.241 +"Why did she go there?"
 284.242 +"I think it was because they found the first crystal." "I think its
 284.243 +time for a nap," Venus said in low voice looking down at a tired
 284.244 +little girl, who was falling asleep. "I'm going to get this little
 284.245 +one to bed, I'll talk to you later Princess," She said walking way.
 284.246 +
 284.247 +Rini just stand there thinking to herself. Then it hit her, wasn't
 284.248 +that were Hotaru was going with Trista, and Seiya. She ran to her
 284.249 +room, got her keys, got on her motorcycle, and drove off as fast as
 284.250 +she could go.
 284.251 +"I'm coming Taru-chan." At the same time she transformed into her
 284.252 +sailor uniform.
 284.253 +
 284.254 +  Darien turned his head when he heard a car stop. Three females got
 284.255 +out of the car and approached them.
 284.256 +"Is that they guy?" asked Trista looking right a Zack.
 284.257 +"Yes" 
 284.258 +Zack turned around, looked right at Hotaru, "I knew she come."
 284.259 +He walked up to her and held his hand out to her. Hotaru just looked
 284.260 +at him then at the hand, and back at him.
 284.261 +"Please, take my hand Saturn, it's the only way."
 284.262 +She nodded and slowly gave him her hand. As she took his hand his
 284.263 +body started to get very hot, it was even turning sand into to glass.
 284.264 +Then with a blinding light the body was gone and the blood crystal
 284.265 +fell into Hotaru's hand. At that very moment Rini rode up, she
 284.266 +shielded her eyes form the light, as she got off her bike, and ran
 284.267 +over to her parents.
 284.268 +"What happened." She asked approaching them.
 284.269 +"I don't know," answered her mother.
 284.270 +As the light dimmed down, they all say that Hotaru was on her knees.
 284.271 +Rini toke off to see if her friend was alright.
 284.272 +"Taru-chan, you alright?"
 284.273 +"Rini, we're you, I can't see you?" she asked looking left and right.
 284.274 +"What are you talking about?" "I'm right in front of you." Then she
 284.275 +scanned her friend's body for any ingress, and notices at that her
 284.276 +eyes were a milky white color.
 284.277 +Hotaru moved her hands and touched her friends face. Rini just
 284.278 +looked at her, she couldn't take it any more.
 284.279 +"Mercury, get over here now!" The other ran over to them. Rini help
 284.280 +Hotaru to her feet.
 284.281 +"What happened?" asked Mercury looking at Hotaru
 284.282 +"Well, other then I can't see a thing, I feel find," Hotaru said
 284.283 +turning her head to everyone. The shock went though everyone.
 284.284 +"Would you stop panicking, you're starting to scare me."
 284.285 +"Kitten…." Uranus started then stops.
 284.286 +"I can feel you guys looking at me," she answered
 284.287 +"Mercury, what do you think?" asked the King
 284.288 +"It's the side effect from the crystal, I tell you that much." She
 284.289 +said scanning the crystal in Hotaru's hand.
 284.290 +"Do you knew how long it will last?" asked the Queen.
 284.291 +"It's hard to tell, I don't have all the information at this time to
 284.292 +say," she replied.
 284.293 +"Well, we better get you home Hotaru," said Neptune taking her
 284.294 +daughter to the car and driving home.
 284.295 +"You coming Rini?" asked her mother
 284.296 +"I think I'm going to stay here a while ok," she replied turning
 284.297 +started to walk down the beach
 284.298 +"Alright, but done be to long dear," and walked back to her car.
 284.299 +
 284.300 +  As Rini walked down the beach, she could feel the wind blowing
 284.301 +past her. She stops and looked out at the sea. The feel she was
 284.302 +getting was different and new to her. 
 284.303 +"What is this feeling?"
 284.304 +"What are you doing out her, by yourself?" asked a person. Rini
 284.305 +looked beside her; it was a little girl about ten years old with dark
 284.306 +eyes, and long black hair. She wears a blue dress with a white hat.
 284.307 +"What are you doing?" she asked again.
 284.308 +"Just thing"
 284.309 +"About what?"
 284.310 +"You're a curious little kitten, aren't you?" The little girl just
 284.311 +looked up and smiled.
 284.312 +"You look upset?"
 284.313 +"You could say that" she kneeled down "What's your name?"
 284.314 +"Oh, sorry about that, my name is Sierra," she answered with a
 284.315 +little curtsy.
 284.316 +"Well Sierra, I have a friend that just lost her sight."
 284.317 +"Oh, is she alright?"
 284.318 +"I hope so."
 284.319 +"Shouldn't you be with her, it's seem that you really care about her."
 284.320 +"I wanted to, but…"
 284.321 +"What are you afraid of, it's not like you're in love with her?" "I
 284.322 +mean you have Helios." "Do you really need her in your life?"
 284.323 +"What did you just say?" Rini asked turning her head to Sierra, but
 284.324 +she wasn't there.
 284.325 +Rini looked around but couldn't find her.
 284.326 +"Where did she go?" After about a minute she got back on her bike,
 284.327 +and rode home.
 284.328 +
 284.329 +  On the other side of the city, Sierra walked in to the park, and
 284.330 +sat next to the lake, and looked up at the stars. They looked like
 284.331 +little fireflies dancing around.
 284.332 +"There really pretty aren't they?" A woman said walking up to
 284.333 +Sierra. She looked to be in her middle twenties with long hair, and
 284.334 +violet eyes. She sat down, and looks up at the stars with Sierra.
 284.335 +"They say that if you see a shooting star and the first person that
 284.336 +you think of will become your soul mate."
 284.337 +"Do you really believe that mother?" she asked as she lied down on
 284.338 +her mother's lap.
 284.339 +Her mother didn't say any thing just looked up at eh stars. Sierra
 284.340 +looked up; she could see the pain in her mother's eyes, as if a knife
 284.341 +was digging into her heart really slowly. She knew her mother has
 284.342 +been trying for years to see a shooting star. A tear hit her face.
 284.343 +She looked up and saw her mother crying. It was something that she
 284.344 +had to get use to. She that is way she sworn that she would kill them
 284.345 +for what they did. 
 284.346 \ No newline at end of file

   285.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   285.2 +++ b/stories/darkrainbowcrystals03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   285.3 @@ -0,0 +1,349 @@
   285.4 +                   The Dark Rainbow Crystal Chapter Three
   285.5 +                          by Black Rose
   285.6 +
   285.7 +  Serena stared out the window watching the rainfall, as long as it
   285.8 +wasn't thundering; it was one of her favorite thing to do. She turned
   285.9 +her head to see her husband reading at his desk. They were in their
  285.10 +study. The room had a big window that looked out the backyard. The
  285.11 +room had high shelves stacked with many books. 
  285.12 +He glanced up and smiled at her, she smiled back.
  285.13 + She walked over to her desk and sat down.
  285.14 +"Darien, are Trista and Hotaru going to stop in today?"
  285.15 +"Yes, around ten." His wife looked at the clock that read nine-forty-
  285.16 +five.
  285.17 +"I hope Hotaru is alright, she's been taking this blindness really
  285.18 +well," she though while looking over some papers.
  285.19 +
  285.20 + In one of the gardens, Hotaru was standing in the rain with one of
  285.21 +her mother; who is working on planting some carnations. "Mother that
  285.22 +smells really sweet," she said while holding the blossoms in her
  285.23 +hands.
  285.24 +"I know and this rain is helping them get healthy and strong,"
  285.25 +Michelle replied.
  285.26 +"Hotaru, it's time to go talk to the Queen and King," someone yelled
  285.27 +form behind.
  285.28 +She turned when she heard Trista call her name.
  285.29 +"Coming!"
  285.30 +Michelle gazed up at her, "Go on, I can finish up here."
  285.31 +"Thanks Michiru-mama." Her daughter said while getting her talking
  285.32 +cane and slowly she started to step to the door.
  285.33 +As the two started to walk to the Queen and King were talking about
  285.34 +different things.
  285.35 +"I see you're becoming accustomed to walking with the cane,"
  285.36 +"Yap, it didn't take me that long to learn how to use it."
  285.37 +She could sense that her mother was worried about something, but
  285.38 +didn't know what was occupying her mind. "Mother, is there something
  285.39 +wrong?"
  285.40 +"Oh, I just have this feeling that something is wrong with the
  285.41 +timeline, you see about four days ago, I was working in my study,
  285.42 +talking to Rini and Helios. I got this feeling something came out of
  285.43 +gate; but when I went to inspect it, I found absolutely nothing wrong
  285.44 +with it." They stopped in front of the door to the Queen's study.
  285.45 +"I don't feel any evil," Hotaru though. Trista knocked on the door;
  285.46 +she could hear the Queen beckoning them to come in. Trista opened the
  285.47 +door, and closes the door behind them.
  285.48 +
  285.49 +  In a different part of the Palace, Rini, Helios is talking with
  285.50 +Luna and Diana.
  285.51 +They were sitting in the living room. A fire had let in the faire
  285.52 +place and the warmth radiating heat through out their bodies. The
  285.53 +room was large and comfortable. Overstuffed chairs and long formal
  285.54 +couches were placed in clusters. Pretty pillows of coordinating
  285.55 +materials were on all of the pieces of furniture. 
  285.56 +The comfort of the room led the friends to start discussing the
  285.57 +details of the impending wedding. Mental pictures of the ceremony and
  285.58 +reception led to dreams of future children, homes, and places the
  285.59 +couple would share as they grew older, still enjoying each others
  285.60 +company.
  285.61 + "So are you guys considering on having kids, because you know your
  285.62 +mother counting on you to have an heir?" asked Luna
  285.63 +Rini just blushed real red. The thought of having Helios' children
  285.64 +made her feel nervous and excited at the same time.
  285.65 +"Well, I don't have to worry about having kids, because I'm getting
  285.66 +married to the hottest babe in the hold kingdom," Diana replied with
  285.67 +a big grin.
  285.68 +"I can see it now your kids asking why they have a tale," Helios
  285.69 +said with a glint of sarcasm. They all laughed, as Diana got red
  285.70 +faced.
  285.71 +"How is Hotaru doing?" asked Luna turning from looking out the window.
  285.72 +"Amy said the blindness has a time limit, it toke her all night but
  285.73 +she knew that much," replied the pink princess.
  285.74 +"Well that's good right?" questioned Diana
  285.75 +"I don't know, but her eyes may never be the same," Luna said
  285.76 +setting down next to her daughter.
  285.77 +"Well, its better then being blinded forever," Helios replied
  285.78 +holding on to Rini.
  285.79 + Rini loved the feeling she was getting from the way her fiancé was
  285.80 +holding her. The laughing and talking went on. No one notice a young
  285.81 +lady outside was watching them from window in the rain.
  285.82 +"Don't get to comfortable my Queen and King, for your time is about
  285.83 +up." she said
  285.84 +"What are you doing out here, in the rain?" a little voices from
  285.85 +behind her.
  285.86 +She turned around a young girl with blond hair, and wearing a bright
  285.87 +pink raincoat and hat. She seemed care free and friendly. 
  285.88 +"My name is Dainae, what is yours?" she asked.
  285.89 +"Sierra, what are you doing out here?"
  285.90 +"Mother said I could play in the rain, do you want to play with me?"
  285.91 +she asked holding her out her hand.
  285.92 +Sierra just looked at her, slowly reached out and touched her hand.
  285.93 +As their hands meet the two felt a powerful connection to one
  285.94 +another. The feeling of sadness came into Sierra's heart, but didn't
  285.95 +show it. Finally, Dainae tried to pull her new friend into one of the
  285.96 +puddles. The pair of paint-sized girls played, Dainae's mother
  285.97 +watched from the kitchen. "She looks so happy with her new friend,
  285.98 +but were did she come from?" 
  285.99 +She turned back to the girls, in the corner of her eyes she saw a
 285.100 +woman standing in the rain. "How and the hell did she get there, and
 285.101 +why is she standing in the rain with out a raincoat, or an umbrella."
 285.102 +Mina got her umbrella, and walked outside. "Would you like something
 285.103 +to keep you out of the rain?"
 285.104 +The other woman turned around to see the Queen of the Planet Venus,
 285.105 +holding an umbrella over both of there heads. She then looked back to
 285.106 +the girls playing in the rain.
 285.107 +"Is that your daughter?" asked Venus pointing to the girl with short
 285.108 +black hair.
 285.109 +"Yes, that's Sierra."
 285.110 +"May I ask your name?"
 285.111 +"Oh, sorry about being rude, I'm name is Gaia," with a little bow.
 285.112 +"I'm….."
 285.113 +"I knew how you are Princess Venus, or as your friend call you Mina
 285.114 +and little one playing with my daughter is Dainae," with little nod.
 285.115 +Venus was just looking at her and nodded as well. 
 285.116 +"Would you like to come in and warm up?"
 285.117 +"Thank you that would be nice."
 285.118 +Venus turned her head to the girls "Girls we'll be inside if you
 285.119 +need us."
 285.120 +The girls looked over said ok and went back to what they were doing.
 285.121 +The two ladies walk into the palaces, and closed the door behind them.
 285.122 +"What do you think they're going to talk about, Sierra?" Dainae asked.
 285.123 +"I really don't knew"
 285.124 +"Ha, do you want to see my room? Dainae begged holding her friend's
 285.125 +hand.
 285.126 +Sierra couldn't help but smile at this, "It's been a very long time
 285.127 +since I've felt like this," she though. She felt a hand pulling on
 285.128 +hers.
 285.129 +"Come on!"
 285.130 +"I'm coming, keep your shirt on," with a playful tune. This made
 285.131 +Dainae blush a little.
 285.132 +They walk pasted their mothers and down the hall to Dianae's room.
 285.133 +The mothers were in the living room were Rini, Helios, Luna, and
 285.134 +Diana were already gone. So it was just the two of them. 
 285.135 +"I'll have a maid get you some dry closes,"
 285.136 +"Thanks you."
 285.137 +"You're welcome Gaia"
 285.138 +"Venus are you in their?" asked a voice coming from the great hall.
 285.139 +"Yes, I'm," she responded smiling at Gaia.
 285.140 +A woman with ocean green hair entered with a flowing satin gown. The
 285.141 +material shimmered in the light revealing a lavender tint to the
 285.142 +fitted gown. The dress was lovely. The gorgeous figure of the woman
 285.143 +was highlighted by the cut of the gown and flowing material from the
 285.144 +shawl. Her shiny aqua hair was pulled back with a bow made of the
 285.145 +same material as the dress. Earring hung from her ears and showed off
 285.146 +her beautiful black eyes and exotic neckline.
 285.147 +"Oh, I didn't know that you were having company," Neptune said
 285.148 +taking a look at the other woman in the room. A wave of recognition
 285.149 +overcame Neptune as she gazed into the stunning woman's eyes. "This
 285.150 +woman has the same sadness in her eyes has my daughter," she though.
 285.151 +At the same moment, Gaia look at her, "Is there something wrong?"
 285.152 +"No"
 285.153 +"Neptune this is Gaia, her daughter is playing with Dainae in her
 285.154 +room," said Venus
 285.155 +"Hello," she replied holding out her hand.
 285.156 +"Pleased to meet you" shaking her hand.
 285.157 +"Princess Venus, close you asked for," said the maid walking up to
 285.158 +them and handing it to her. It was pale pink with spaghetti strap
 285.159 +dress. There was a beautiful sheen to the material. The A line cut of
 285.160 +the dress would show all of the curves and the two ties for her dark
 285.161 +hair would make the outfit magnificent.
 285.162 +"Thank you for the gift, Princess Venus, is there some were that I
 285.163 +could change," Gaia asked.
 285.164 +"You can use my room, oh and Venus, the Queen would like to see
 285.165 +you," Neptune said.
 285.166 +"I will keep your friend company, in tell you return,"
 285.167 +"Is this ok with you?" asked Venus
 285.168 +Gaia just nodes her head and then Venus walk out of the room.
 285.169 +"Well, we better get you into those close, please come this way,"
 285.170 +replied Neptune show her the way. As both were in deep thought as
 285.171 +they walked down the hall. They ran into Rini and Helios. They both
 285.172 +stopped, and bow.
 285.173 +"Neptune, who's your friend," Rini requested.
 285.174 +"This is Gaia, she is a friend of Venus's," she replied.
 285.175 +"We're you from?" asked Rini with a smile.
 285.176 +"I'm sorry, I can't give that information out, I'm truly sorry
 285.177 +Princess, I'll just get my daughter and go,' she said with sadness.
 285.178 +She walked pass them, and headed to Diane's room. The three just
 285.179 +looked at one another, then Neptune walk after her.
 285.180 +"Did I say something wrong?" Rini though.
 285.181 +"I think we better let Hotaru's mother deal with it," Helios said
 285.182 +taking Rini's hand and led her to the living room. Rini looked down
 285.183 +the hall one more time.
 285.184 +
 285.185 +  In Diane's room the two girls were looking at a new wedding dress
 285.186 +book. Diane found it next to the Princess's room. "What do you think
 285.187 +of this one," she asked pointing to a woman in a white silk dress
 285.188 +with shimmers, with a white rose in front and a little bow in the
 285.189 +back.
 285.190 +"I like it too," replied Sierra. As she turned the page, they heard
 285.191 +a knock on the door.
 285.192 +"Who is it?" asked the girls at the same time, they both looked at
 285.193 +one another, and laughed.
 285.194 +"It's me Gaia, my I come in?"
 285.195 +"Come in," she heard someone say, so she opened and walked in.
 285.196 +From the look in her mother's eyes, Sierra knew that something was
 285.197 +wrong.
 285.198 +"Mother, you ok?" she asked getting off the floor.
 285.199 +"I would like know the same thing?" asked a woman standing behind
 285.200 +Gaia.
 285.201 +Gaia turned around to see Neptune standing there with a worried face.
 285.202 +"I sorry about that, I don't like to talk about were I'm from," Gaia
 285.203 +told her.
 285.204 +"That is alright, the Princess sometimes doesn't think before she
 285.205 +speaks," Michelle said with a shrug of understanding.
 285.206 +The two girls laughed when they heard this. The two older women
 285.207 +started to laugh with the girls. After they stopped laughing Sierra
 285.208 +saw a dress in her mother hand.
 285.209 +"Mother, why do you have a dress?"
 285.210 +"Oh, this?" looking down at it. "I got this from Mina's maid because
 285.211 +I'm wet."
 285.212 +"Dainae, would it be alright, if I used your room to change?"
 285.213 +"Sheer," replied Dainae. The three of them walked out of the room,
 285.214 +and closed the door behind them. As the three waited in the hall
 285.215 +Michelle looked at the two girls talking.
 285.216 +"What is your name?" asked Michelle looking at Dainae's friend.
 285.217 +"Who me?" asked Sierra. Michelle just nodded her head.
 285.218 +"I'm Sierra," she said with a bow.
 285.219 +"It's nice to meet you, Sierra, I'm….."
 285.220 +"I knew how you are Princess Neptune, your one of the mothers to
 285.221 +Princess Saturn, and your wife is Princess Uranus," interrupt Sierra.
 285.222 +Michelle was shocked.
 285.223 +"How did this girl know so much about her," she thought.
 285.224 +The door opened, and Gaia came out. 
 285.225 +"You look very nice," Michelle said. The girls just smiles and
 285.226 +nodded in agreement.
 285.227 +"Thanks for the compliment," replied Gaia.
 285.228 +"Mother, you're smiling, it's been a while," her daughter said.
 285.229 +"I think your right,"
 285.230 +
 285.231 +    Venus walked into the Queen and King's study, and sat down.
 285.232 +"Venus, I asked you here, because I need to know if anything was out
 285.233 +of place?" asked The Queen.
 285.234 +"From what we knew, about four days ago, the weather went a little
 285.235 +wacky, it started to rain, and snow, then it stopped. What is really
 285.236 +weird is that no one knew noticed it, but us," said Trista.
 285.237 +"About four days ago," the King thought.
 285.238 +"Darien, is there something wrong? His wife asked.
 285.239 +He was in deep though, has he got up and walked to the window, he
 285.240 +looked out side.
 285.241 +He was thinking about what Zack said "My mother told me. Before she
 285.242 +died, she said that she been having a repeating dream. "There's this
 285.243 +woman with long pink hair standing next to my mother tell her that
 285.244 +her son will have one of the seven Dark Rainbow Crystals, but only
 285.245 +Princess Saturn could have it."
 285.246 +The Queen walked over to him and hugs him from behind.
 285.247 +"Honey, what's wrong?"
 285.248 +"Trista didn't the time gate act up about four days ago?" he asked.
 285.249 +"Yes, it did but what dose…." Then it donned on her, that it was the
 285.250 +same time that they found out about the crystals.
 285.251 +"My King, are you saying that the crystals may have come though the
 285.252 +gate?"
 285.253 +"Yes," then turning around, smiled at his wife, and then looked at
 285.254 +Hotaru. The Queen followed his gaze, then it hit her, she knew what
 285.255 +her husband was thinking. He looked back at his wife, and nodded.
 285.256 +Hotaru could feel that they were looking at her.
 285.257 +"Hotaru, when did you start having the dreams?" asked The Queen.
 285.258 +  Hotaru thought about it for a minute, "It was about four days
 285.259 +ago," she told them.
 285.260 +"For the gate to act up like that, there had to be more then a few
 285.261 +little things," Trista mentioned. Venus was thinking about Gaia, and
 285.262 +her daughter.
 285.263 +"May Queen," Venus said getting up, and waking to the door.
 285.264 +"Where are you going?" asked The Queen. Venus turns around "I met
 285.265 +this young lady, and her daughter." "I need to get back to them" as
 285.266 +she walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.
 285.267 +"What was that about?" asked Trista as she walks over to Hotaru.
 285.268 +"I don't know, why we don't call it good for now," the King said
 285.269 +setting back down in his chair. The other three just looked at one
 285.270 +another and smiled. Hotaru and Trista went to the kitchen to get
 285.271 +something to eat.  As Venus walk to her daughter's room, she had this
 285.272 +bad feeling, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Venus put the
 285.273 +troubling thoughts out of her mind as she came down the hall.
 285.274 +"I have a feeling that you're right," said a woman in front of her.
 285.275 +"Oh, hello Michelle, so you also have a feeling that something is
 285.276 +not right?"
 285.277 +"I just got done talking to your new friend; she doesn't say much,
 285.278 +but I get this feeling that I knew her from some were, and I think
 285.279 +she knew what's going on."
 285.280 +"So, what do you think we should do?"
 285.281 +"I really don't knew, I really don't knew"
 285.282 +"That give me an idea," Venus though as she walk pass Neptune and
 285.283 +down the hall.
 285.284 +"Later!"
 285.285 +Michelle smiled and went to find the Queen. "Oh, I should ask Venus
 285.286 +were she is?"
 285.287 +She turned around, and yelled to Venus.
 285.288 +"Venus, where is the Queen?!"
 285.289 +Venus yelled back "She said she was going to speck to the Princess!"
 285.290 +"Thank you"
 285.291 +
 285.292 +  "What was that all about momma?" asked Dainae.
 285.293 +"Nothing, anyway I was think, if it's alright with your mother, how
 285.294 +would you like to have a sleepover," suggested Venus.
 285.295 +The girls heard the word (sleepover) and began the pleading and
 285.296 +bargaining.
 285.297 +The look that they gave here mother was one of the really cute large
 285.298 +eyed looks only pretty little girl can pull off while still being
 285.299 +cute. Gaia rolled her eyes and thought that if she doesn't let them,
 285.300 +she'll never hear the end of it. So she just nodded her head.
 285.301 +The girls scream in excitement, ran back into Dainae's room. 
 285.302 +"Thank you," Venus said bowing.
 285.303 +Gaia though for a moment, then walks into the room. "Sierra, I need
 285.304 +you to promise that you wouldn't do anything."
 285.305 +Sierra knew what her mother was talking about, for how much she
 285.306 +wanted too, she nodded to her mother saying she wouldn't.
 285.307 +"Thank you, sweetie" hung her and walked out of the room.
 285.308 +Dainae and Mina looked at one another.
 285.309 +"I think it's about time I left," 
 285.310 +"Would you like to stay in one of the gusted rooms," offered Venus.
 285.311 +"Thank you for the offer, but I would feel much better at the
 285.312 +hotel." She said bowing and turning to Sierra.
 285.313 +"Sierra, all be back around one o'clock tomorrow" she said.
 285.314 +Her daughter just nodded her head and went back to playing the video
 285.315 +game.
 285.316 +"She'll be fine" Venus told her. Gaia just nodded.
 285.317 +
 285.318 +  On the other side of the Places Serena and Rini were walking
 285.319 +around the gardens.
 285.320 +"How do you feel about what happen to Saturn?" Serena asked.
 285.321 +Rini had flashes of yesterday came running through her head.
 285.322 +("What are you afraid of, it's not like you're in love with her?" "I
 285.323 +mean you have Helios, Do you really need her in your life?")
 285.324 +"Rini, is there something wrong?"
 285.325 +Her mother's intuition was screaming. Just the look in her
 285.326 +daughter's eyes gave her shivers. "Would you like to talk about it?"
 285.327 +"I won't judge what you say."
 285.328 +"A mother never wants to see her children unhappy."
 285.329 +"Your right about that my Queen," someone said.
 285.330 +They turned around seeing Michelle walking up. "I love the smell of
 285.331 +rain," she said.
 285.332 +"Hello Michelle, what brings you out here?" the Queen inquired.
 285.333 +"May I speak with you privately, my Queen? With a nod of her head,
 285.334 +she knew that the Queen had granted her permission to retire to the
 285.335 +bench off the path. It was recessed enough to provide the privacy
 285.336 +required to allow the pair to talk. Rini just looked on as the two
 285.337 +talked.
 285.338 +"I've been having this feeling to a person I met today, her name is
 285.339 +Gaia, she is new to this area and I feel like I've know her all my
 285.340 +life." "I think the feeling maybe due to the fact that Gaia has such
 285.341 +a strong resemblance to my own daughter. Needless to say, I feel a
 285.342 +connection to this woman and her child." Michelle told her.
 285.343 + The Queen had a strong inclination that his new figure held great
 285.344 +significance, but she was at a loss as to who this woman was. Her
 285.345 +head was reeling with questions about this Gaia person. Serena
 285.346 +couldn't help but wonder who this woman was and how she enters the
 285.347 +Kingdom without her knowing. She was perplexed. 
 285.348 +
 285.349 +"My Queen, I know this must sound crazy. Before she could finish her
 285.350 +thought, a blood curdling scream pierced the serene garden. "That
 285.351 +sounds like Hotaru!" yelled Rini running toward the screaming. The
 285.352 +both mother run after her. 
 285.353 \ No newline at end of file

   286.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   286.2 +++ b/stories/darkrainbowcrystals04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   286.3 @@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
   286.4 +Hi everyone here is the last of the rewriten of my story so I should
   286.5 +have chapter five up soom and A new story. 
   286.6 +Hope veryone has fun readign it.
   286.7 +
   286.8 +               The Dark Rainbow Crystals chapter Four
   286.9 +                           by Black Rose
  286.10 +
  286.11 +
  286.12 +  A young woman in about her early teens was looking around the city
  286.13 +near the mall. People were laughing with one another; something she
  286.14 +wasn't used tool. A swimsuit caught her eyes. She looked at the
  286.15 +price. "Man, that is a lot, on will" "My Mistress told me to go
  286.16 +outside and have a look around, but this feels wired." 
  286.17 +   A dress cot her eyes in the next window "That looks a lot like
  286.18 +the one my aunt has." She walked up to the window; puts her hand on
  286.19 +it, and short flashes of what happed to Hotaru ran though her head.
  286.20 +She heard screaming coming form the Palace. Everyone stopped and look
  286.21 +around and then began on there marry way. "Well, looks like the spell
  286.22 +that my Mistress put on the city is working, now to see about that
  286.23 +screaming, it sounds like Little Mistress." 
  286.24 +She sprint into the park, she looks around, closes her eyes, and
  286.25 +then her jacket turns into a pair of angelic wings, and takes off.
  286.26 +    
  286.27 +   In front of the Palaces, Hotaru screamed in pain. There was red
  286.28 +smock coming out of her eyes. "What is happing to me?" she though.
  286.29 +She could feel the wind blowing past her really fast. She thought
  286.30 +that she heard a footstep.
  286.31 +"Are you all alright?" asked a voice next to her. Hotaru turned her
  286.32 +head she could tell that this person wasn't evil.
  286.33 +"Here let me help you," she removed Hotaru's hands from her eyes and
  286.34 +put her own on them. Her hands started to shine like the moonlight.
  286.35 +"Get your hands off her!" yelled Rini running up to them, with
  286.36 +Michelle and Serena right behind her. The young woman just smiled up
  286.37 +at them. She toke her hands off of Hotaru and got up and bowed to the
  286.38 +Princess, Queen, and Michelle.
  286.39 +"Forgive me, I heard a scream, I thought I could help, and it as if
  286.40 +I did," she said pointing. Hotaru how was now looking around.
  286.41 +Michelle looked on in shock that her daughter was starring up at them.
  286.42 +"Mother is that you, I can see you" she said with a single tire
  286.43 +running down her face. Her mother just walked up to her and hugged
  286.44 +her, the Queen looked on. 
  286.45 +"My Queen!"
  286.46 +The Queen turned around and saw all of the scouts running up too them.
  286.47 +Michelle looks up at the young woman that helped her only daughter.
  286.48 +"Thank you, who ever you are."
  286.49 +"Your welcome" she turns and looks at Rini dead in the eyes. A cold
  286.50 +shiver when down Rini's spin "Princess, why weren't you here for
  286.51 +her?" she said turning and walking always.
  286.52 +In a flash of light her wings were gone, and a blue jacket was in
  286.53 +its places. They all just looked on. Rini was in deep though "What
  286.54 +was that all about?"
  286.55 +Amy walked over to Hotaru and looked over her real fast. 
  286.56 +"We better get you check out, alright Hotaru?"
  286.57 +Hotaru just nodded and walk to the sick hall with her mothers, and
  286.58 +Amy. The other just walked back into the Palaces.
  286.59 + 
  286.60 +   As the young lady neared the gate, she saw something in the
  286.61 +shadows, she stopped, and smiled. "You can come out, I knew you're
  286.62 +there" emerging from the shadows a man in a tuxedo walks into the
  286.63 +light, He smiles at her "Not mean knew when I'm following them," he
  286.64 +told her.
  286.65 +"What do you want?'
  286.66 +"I just wanted to know you name?"
  286.67 +She smiled and turned, "You don't have to worry about that, you
  286.68 +should be more worry about finding the other six crystals," walking
  286.69 +and disappearing into the crowd.
  286.70 +The King was in deep thought. "Why do I have this feeling that
  286.71 +something bad is going to happen?" with that thought in mind, he
  286.72 +turned walked back into the Palaces.
  286.73 +
  286.74 + As the young woman walked, she thought "I think that I better let
  286.75 +my Mistress what happen" As she got closer to the hotel she heard
  286.76 +someone calling her name. She stopped, looked around and saw two
  286.77 +young ladies running up to her.
  286.78 +"Little Miss!" she said with shock. As the two stopped in front of
  286.79 +her, she smiled at them.
  286.80 +"Devika, what are you doing?" asked one of them. A woman with long
  286.81 +blond hair with a red bow in it came behind them.
  286.82 +"Girls! Why did you take off like that?" she asked in a motherly
  286.83 +tone. The two young ladies turned on there high endless and gave her
  286.84 +the sad puppy eyes they could muster.
  286.85 +"Don't you give me those looks young ladies, you knew better" with a
  286.86 +hand on her hip.
  286.87 +"But, mother, Sierra knows this lady, it's that right," Diane said
  286.88 +looking at her friend for help. Sierra looked up at Devika for help.
  286.89 +Devika just smiled and looked at the other woman.
  286.90 +"She is right, Princess Venus," "I'm Sierra's care taker, my name is
  286.91 +Devika,"
  286.92 +"It's nice to meet you; I'm Diane's mother..."
  286.93 +"I know"
  286.94 +'I have to get these two back to the Palace," The two girls looked
  286.95 +up at Devika and smiled, They wanted to stay, and talk to her, but on
  286.96 +the other hand Sierra knew that she needed to keep and eye on the
  286.97 +Queen and King. Diane glanced to the side and nosiest a dark oar
  286.98 +coming from her. Devika also nosiest and knew from living with her
  286.99 +most of her life, that she hated the Queen and King. She would do
 286.100 +anything to stop them. She put a hand on Sierra's shoulder, and
 286.101 +smiled at her.
 286.102 +"It's alright, go and have fun while you can"
 286.103 +Sierra nodded, toke Diane's hand and toke off to cache up with Venus.
 286.104 +"It's about time they meet again," Devika thought walking in the
 286.105 +hotel.
 286.106 +She shared a room with her Mistress. They were on the third floor,
 286.107 +room 334. She opens the door, walks in and closes the door behind her.
 286.108 + "I'm back" as she sets her coat down and looks around. She hears
 286.109 +water coming from the bathroom. She smiles. "I'm glad that she's
 286.110 +alright"
 286.111 +The door opens and her Mistress looks right at her.
 286.112 +"Back so soon?" she said looking for some socks.
 286.113 +"I ran into the scouts, and Hotaru, her side effect from the blood
 286.114 +crystal has left"
 286.115 +Her Mistress just looks at her and says nothing; she walks over to
 286.116 +her bed and sets down. Devika just waits. 
 286.117 +"Thank you, for the information, oh and thank you for helping her,"
 286.118 +"Did anyone see you?" 
 286.119 +Devika just nodded and went to the bathroom. Gaia just lay down and
 286.120 +thought "Six more to go" and went to sleep.
 286.121 +In her office Rini was looking at a letter that she just got. "How
 286.122 +can this be, who would send this to me now?" she thought as she
 286.123 +reread it.
 286.124 +
 286.125 +     Moon Princess,
 286.126 +   
 286.127 +                In this time of great a bliss, I would like to say
 286.128 +that by the time you get this letter, I will have already been died
 286.129 +along with your mother and father. The way of their death is by you.
 286.130 +Can you open your eyes to see what is going on with your best friend
 286.131 +or will fight her for the one you love most?
 286.132 +Sorry for the bad news, but it's your entire fault.
 286.133 +                                                           The Queen
 286.134 +of the Earth:
 286.135 +                                                                 
 286.136 +The Neo Queen.
 286.137 +Rini dropped the letter and started at it as it landed on the floor.
 286.138 +A wave of nausea overtook her as she fell back into her chair. She
 286.139 +leaned forward and cupped her head in her hands. "How can…. No…This
 286.140 +isn't possible… this isn't…" she mumbled out loud as she covered her
 286.141 +eyes as if not to let anyone see her tears. Hastily ripped it from
 286.142 +the floor and read it again. 
 286.143 +"By the time you get this letter. I will have already been died…."
 286.144 +The line struck at her like a thousand needles being put in her head
 286.145 +one at a time.
 286.146 +"Mother, Father, you can't die… you're not dead!" She yelled in her
 286.147 +mind. Through misty eyes, she read the rest of the letter. "It's your
 286.148 +entire fault." The words repeated over and over in her mind like a
 286.149 +broken record.
 286.150 + "My fault?" "What is my fault?" "This is not making any sense! She
 286.151 +yelled and threw the letter away, knocking her tea across her desk.
 286.152 +The vagueness of the letter toyed with her mind and she broke down.
 286.153 +As she looked at the mesas on the desk, there was a nock on the door. 
 286.154 +"Just a minute, she said to who ever were on the other end. She
 286.155 +tried to get her office back the way it was. When it was done she
 286.156 +told the person to come in. The door open and Diana walked in.
 286.157 +"Oh, Hello Diana, what can I do for you?" trying to hide her pain.
 286.158 +"Princess, Hotaru would like to see you." 
 286.159 +"Thank you" she moved to the door when Diana looked at her.
 286.160 +"What?"
 286.161 +"Momoko and I are going to the mall, what would you like for your
 286.162 +wedding present?"
 286.163 +Rini just looked at her, and smiled "How about being one of my
 286.164 +brides maddens?"
 286.165 +Rini noticed her eyes were tearing up; she bent down and hugged her. 
 286.166 +After that Diana ran to tell Momoko the good news. Rini smiled and
 286.167 +walked. As she approached Hotaru's room she could hear two young
 286.168 +ladies laughing with one another in Diane's room. She looked into the
 286.169 +room and saw the two young ladies having a pillow fight.
 286.170 +"There you are Princess," said a woman from be hind her. She turned
 286.171 +around to see Hotaru looking at her.
 286.172 +"Taru-Chan, I was…." 
 286.173 +Hotaru just smiled "There is that nick-name again" she thought.
 286.174 +She looked into the room to see the girls playing.
 286.175 +"Remember, when we used to do that?"
 286.176 +"That was a long time, we used to stay up late and talk about
 286.177 +everything," Oh by the way, what did you need to see me about, Taru-
 286.178 +Chan," She asked looking at her.
 286.179 +"Oh, I thought that you would like to talk about your wedding dress,
 286.180 +and when we were going to look at some?"  Rini was in thought
 286.181 +"Why do I keep saying that nick-name," she looked back and their
 286.182 +eyes meet. A feeling was coming over then; it felt like they were in
 286.183 +a hot shower together just as it come it was  gone just as fast
 286.184 +because they were hit by a pillow. They turn their heads to the
 286.185 +pillow and then into the room. They saw the young ladies laughing.
 286.186 +"I think that worked," said someone behind them. They jumped into
 286.187 +the room, they like the just saw a ghost, and turned around to see a
 286.188 +laughing Mina.
 286.189 +"That wasn't funny" Hotaru told her.
 286.190 +"Sorry Hotaru, but the look on your faces was priceless,"
 286.191 +"Mother?" asked her daughter looking at her.
 286.192 +"It's time for bed you two," she told them
 286.193 +"Alright, come on Sierra, let's go take a bath" she said taking her
 286.194 +hand and ran down the hall and into the bathroom.
 286.195 +"Their taking a bath together?" asked Rini looking at the girls
 286.196 +running.
 286.197 +"Rini, we toke bath together when we were there age, remember?" told
 286.198 +Hotaru. Rini face turned red.
 286.199 +"I'm going to my room, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow" Rini said
 286.200 +walking away.
 286.201 +"I'm going to go check on the girls," she told Hotaru and walking to
 286.202 +the bathroom. Hotaru just went back to her room. 
 286.203 +Latter that night Sierra and Diane were sleeping. Sierra opened her
 286.204 +eyes. She saw the one thing that she wishes she didn't. There was a
 286.205 +fight going on in the air. She looked around to see that she was back
 286.206 +at the same spot in happened she saw Diane setting down on the round.
 286.207 +She walked up to her. Diane didn't knew were she was or what was
 286.208 +going on; all she knew was that her mother wasn't moving. 
 286.209 +She looked on and saw Sierra yelling at someone. She looks as if she
 286.210 +was holding someone. 
 286.211 +She felt two arms rap around her. She turned her head and saw
 286.212 +Sierra's face. She turned back to scan in front of them. 
 286.213 +"Sierra, what is going on?" "Why are there two of you?" "Why is my
 286.214 +mother not moving?" now holding her friend like her life was in her
 286.215 +hands. 
 286.216 +Sierra just looked on head and said nothing, she just embraced her
 286.217 +more then ever, she knew what was about to happen.
 286.218 +"I'm sorry," was all she could say in a low voice. She put her head
 286.219 +down, and pointed at something. Diane looked at what she was pointing
 286.220 +at. A woman in a black suit with a little pink in it was looking
 286.221 +right at the other Sierra with an evil smile, and shot something at
 286.222 +her, then out of knew were a young lady in her teen's steps in and
 286.223 +shields the other Sierra from the blast. Her eyes got large as a
 286.224 +baseball.
 286.225 +"That woman that shielded the other Sierra is…is…m...e...e." she
 286.226 +thought. In the time that she thought that, the young women hit the
 286.227 +ground and stop moving. The other Sierra was crying and tried to get
 286.228 +the other woman to wake up, but it was too late. She screamed
 286.229 +"NOOOOOOOO…..."
 286.230 +At the same time they both sat up in bed screaming. Out of knew were
 286.231 +the Queen and Mina ran into the room, trying to see what happen and
 286.232 +see if they were alright. They took the girls into their arms, and
 286.233 +tried to clam the down.
 286.234 +"What happened?" asked Diana walking into the room with Rini and
 286.235 +Hotaru behind her.
 286.236 +"It's alright, they just had a nightmare," said the Queen looking
 286.237 +back to Sierra how was in her arms.
 286.238 +"Alright then, I'm going back to bed then," said Rini. Diana looking
 286.239 +at the young ladies ones more and walked back to her room. Hotaru
 286.240 +just looked on and thought.
 286.241 +"I knew what happen, I saw it too,"
 286.242 +"That is right, some how Diane died by saving Sierra's life, and
 286.243 +that Diane looked older," said Sailor Saturn.
 286.244 +"Saturn, I think here is more going on here then just those crystals,"
 286.245 +"I think your right; we need to look out for them," The feeling pf
 286.246 +pain came over her, the heart of seeing someone die like that, is not
 286.247 +right. As she looked on a person in the great hall was looking in and
 286.248 +smiling at what was happing and walked away.
 286.249 \ No newline at end of file

   287.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   287.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-00.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   287.3 @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
   287.4 +Author’s Note for “Dear Sakura”
   287.5 +
   287.6 +Aside from a brief sentence or two, I’ve never done author’s notes
   287.7 +before. I’m also still new to fan fiction, so your patience really is
   287.8 +appreciated. Thanks seem to be in order, so we’ll start there.
   287.9 +
  287.10 +Thank *you* for reading the story. It’s a bit long, and it’s coming
  287.11 +out in several parts over a period of time, so Faithful Reader’s
  287.12 +dedication is very much appreciated by the authors. We didn’t plan on
  287.13 +it being this long, but then we didn't plan on it being any shorter,
  287.14 +either. We just wrote, and tried to let the story tell itself. It
  287.15 +did. We hope you like it.
  287.16 +
  287.17 +Collaborating with Heather of Amazoness Duo is a delight. Creatively
  287.18 +speaking, we make a very harmoniuos pair. We share a similar
  287.19 +viewpoint on a lot things, and both got on very well in our work. She
  287.20 +was the reason I began to do fan fiction last year. I was inspired by
  287.21 +her work and thought, “I would love to be able to write like that.”
  287.22 +Well, I still can’t write like she does, and don’t expect I ever
  287.23 +will. I have experience in non-creative writing, but she has genuine
  287.24 +talent. As she gains experience, she pushes the limits of her
  287.25 +ability. It’s astonishing to see what she’s done in just the year
  287.26 +I’ve known her. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to assist her in
  287.27 +writing this series. Thank you very much, Heather. It really means
  287.28 +more to me than I can say.
  287.29 +
  287.30 +Finally, thank you, Clamp. Card Captor Sakura is a luminous series,
  287.31 +filled with magic and passion, humor and adventure, and tinged with
  287.32 +the sadness of ephemeral beauty that is so distinctly Japanese. Their
  287.33 +work is a beautiful creation, a rare gift for readers lucky enough to
  287.34 +discover it. The characters are vivid and alive, so real they attract
  287.35 +our thoughts, stir our feelings, and fill our dreams. Fan fiction
  287.36 +covers a lot of imaginative ground, but we wanted the characters to
  287.37 +be true to Clamp's original vision. Thre story takes place six years
  287.38 +after the end of the manga, and about 3 months after Sakura has
  287.39 +married Syaoran and moved to Hong Kong. It begins when Tomoyo writes
  287.40 +a letter to her friend, who is settling into a new life in a far away
  287.41 +place.
  287.42 +
  287.43 +G.P.
  287.44 +
  287.45 +
  287.46 +Hello, minna-san! ^-^ The story you are about to begin reading has
  287.47 +taken something around half a year to write, countless e-mails sent
  287.48 +back and forth to develop, and many a sleepless night. And it's
  287.49 +longer and much more satisfying than a story that took me two years
  287.50 +to write on my own. I've had a lot of fun being a part of this and I
  287.51 +hope you'll have as much fun reading it. ^-^ I've always found
  287.52 +collaborations with other authors exciting. But there are so many
  287.53 +problems with it. If one of you loses interest, the entire series can
  287.54 +collapse. If you have a conflict of interest, then the story can
  287.55 +suffer. If you're writing styles are too dissimilar, then the whole
  287.56 +thing looks painfully welded together. But none of that happened with
  287.57 +this. I got to cowrite a story with my favorite CCS fanfic author and
  287.58 +it went unbelievably smoothly. Through our e-mails, we managed to
  287.59 +work out the direction of the story and more than that, we managed to
  287.60 +delve deeper into the characters and the situations they found
  287.61 +themselves in, getting a deeper look at Clamp's masterpiece as we
  287.62 +went along. G.P. and I both view writing as more watchful than
  287.63 +forceful, so I believe our styles went hand in hand. This was the
  287.64 +most enjoyable time I've had writing since I started years ago. I'm
  287.65 +extremely happy with how things have turned out. I never could have
  287.66 +done this story on my own. The sheer scope alone would have been
  287.67 +daunting, but G.P. always kept me inspired and eager to continue
  287.68 +forward towards the stories inevitable conclusion. I didn't want it
  287.69 +to be over, but all good things must come to an end. Even if no one
  287.70 +reads this at all, I was simply delighted to have worked on it. G.P.
  287.71 +is a magnificent writer and I hope that we can collaborate on another
  287.72 +story in the not so distant future. This story was very emotional for
  287.73 +me and even I had no real idea where it was going at times. I found
  287.74 +myself crying while writing parts of it, lost in the swirling
  287.75 +emotions surrounding our lead characters. This is Tomoyo's story.
  287.76 +This is Sakura's story. I never wanted to impose my will upon it. I
  287.77 +simply wanted to document it. I hope that we've done them proud. The
  287.78 +turning points in the story, and even the ending were surprises for
  287.79 +me. The characters wanted to go their own way and I was more than
  287.80 +happy to see where they would lead. I hope they'll surprise you as
  287.81 +much as they surprised me. 
  287.82 +
  287.83 +Heather of the Amazoness Duo
  287.84 \ No newline at end of file

   288.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   288.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   288.3 @@ -0,0 +1,558 @@
   288.4 +
   288.5 +Dear Sakura
   288.6 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   288.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   288.8 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   288.9 +
  288.10 +
  288.11 +Dear Sakura-chan,
  288.12 +	I hope my letter reaches you well. It must be thrilling to be
  288.13 +starting off on your new life with Li-kun in Hong Kong. I’m sure that
  288.14 +the two of you will have many joyous days ahead as you explore your
  288.15 +wedded bliss. Li-kun is truly a lucky man to have captured the heart
  288.16 +of my beautiful best friend. I’m sending along a copy of the
  288.17 +videotape I took of the wedding along with this letter. I’m sorry I
  288.18 +didn’t catch the very end. I wasn’t feeling very well so I had to
  288.19 +hurry home. But I 
  288.20 +think I caught the best parts of the wedding. Thank you again for
  288.21 +letting me design your dress for your most important of days. You
  288.22 +looked simply gorgeous. I think I can die a happy woman now that I’ve
  288.23 +finally designed your wedding dress. But now that the honeymoon has
  288.24 +been over for a while, how is life in Hong Kong? What are your plans?
  288.25 +Do you think there are any children on the way? If you need any help 
  288.26 +with anything, please remember that I’m only a phone call away. I
  288.27 +could always take a few weeks off of work if you do wind up needing
  288.28 +any help 
  288.29 +with children anytime in the near future. But I’m sure that won’t be
  288.30 +necessary. Li-kun has a lot of family there to begin with, so you
  288.31 +would probably have more than enough help. I’m sure any children the
  288.32 +two of you do have in the coming years would be wonderful, shining
  288.33 +images of their mother. 
  288.34 +	Not much has been happening here in Tomoeda. It’s been much too 
  288.35 +quiet without my favorite Card Mistress’s genki energy filling
  288.36 +life’s everyday experiences. I’ve gone to work for my mother at
  288.37 +Daidouji Toys and that has been going very well. I’m working as the
  288.38 +head of design for a few different projects. One of the dolls we have
  288.39 +planned is based a little on my sketches of you and some of your
  288.40 +costumes. I hope Sakura-chan doesn't mind. I’ll send you one of the
  288.41 +dolls as soon as we start producing them. Mother has been joking
  288.42 +about retiring early and handing over control of the company to me,
  288.43 +but I really don’t think I have enough experience yet. I get to see
  288.44 +her more often now, so 
  288.45 +that’s a joy that makes going to work every morning very worthwhile.
  288.46 +I still have some time to sing, but usually when I’m at home at night
  288.47 +alone. It’s nice to lose myself in the music. It usually helps me
  288.48 +relax after work. Sometimes I find myself sewing a design I had in my
  288.49 +mind, but I all too soon remember that you’re not here to model it.
  288.50 +My mind must be traveling too much to do such a silly thing. I can
  288.51 +almost imagine you giggling behind me when I finally realize what I’m
  288.52 +doing. 
  288.53 +	I’d like to tell you what happened to your other friends, but I’m
  288.54 +afraid I really haven’t kept in touch very well with Rika-chan and
  288.55 +the others. The last I had heard, Chiharu-chan was going to get
  288.56 +married to Yamazaki-kun. They must have decided to follow in your
  288.57 +footsteps, Sakura-chan. I had heard a strange rumor that Nakuru-san
  288.58 +had been dating Naoko-chan, but I can’t tell if it’s just a rumor or
  288.59 +not. Though it certainly would be nice to know that everyone’s
  288.60 +finding someone these days. 
  288.61 +	I’m sure you already know about Touya-san and Tsukishiro-san and 
  288.62 +your father, so I won’t go into all of that, though I try to keep in
  288.63 +touch occasionally. I tried to explain to Touya-san why you and Li-
  288.64 +kun belong together, but I don’t think he understood. I’m sure he’ll
  288.65 +come around in time. And please ignore whatever he has said about me
  288.66 +recently. I’m sure Touya-san’s just overexaggerating. He and
  288.67 +Tsukishiro-san seem to be doing quite nicely. They both think of you
  288.68 +fondly and often. And you’re always in my thoughts, Sakura-chan. So
  288.69 +remember that you’re always well thought of. 
  288.70 +	How have you been doing with your magic? Have you been practicing?
  288.71 +Now that Sakura-chan is the most powerful magician on the planet, I’m
  288.72 +sure she has all sorts of things to do with it all. I’ve been
  288.73 +thinking that you should get an atelier for your work or at least to
  288.74 +keep the Sakura Cards. Because you could always use your own
  288.75 +magician’s workshop. But then, your special brand of magic never did
  288.76 +have to do with the Cards. It was how your warm and loving heart
  288.77 +always opened up the hearts of those around you. I hope the Cards are
  288.78 +all doing well. But with Sakura-chan as their mistress, I’m sure
  288.79 +they’re all doing spectacularly. And please tell Kero-chan that I
  288.80 +said hello and that I hope he has been eating well. It must be nice
  288.81 +for him to be back home again in China, even if it has been a while.
  288.82 +Please know that everything will always be all right. Because I
  288.83 +believe in you, Sakura-chan. So I know it will. You’re just too sweet
  288.84 +for things to go any other way. I miss you quite a bit, but I can
  288.85 +always pop in one of my 
  288.86 +videotapes of you whenever I want to see your smiling face again.
  288.87 +I’m very glad I captured all of those images of you when I had the
  288.88 +chance. But I’m very happy to know that Sakura-chan is now a blushing
  288.89 +bride and with her one, true love. I hope all is going well and that
  288.90 +you are endlessly happy, Sakura-chan! And please send pictures!! 
  288.91 +
  288.92 +With all my love,
  288.93 +Daidouji Tomoyo
  288.94 +
  288.95 +
  288.96 +
  288.97 +
  288.98 +Dear Tomoyo chan,
  288.99 +
 288.100 +Nihao! Thank you so much for your letter. I have been studying
 288.101 +Chinese, and it is soooo hard. It looks like kanji, but is very
 288.102 +different. It's like being back at Tomoeda Elementary all over again.
 288.103 +Even English wasn't this hard. So, it was great to get your letter
 288.104 +and read someething in Japanese.It really is nice to hear from you.
 288.105 +Oh, I forgot to say that Nihao means Konichiwa. This is one of the
 288.106 +few words in Chinese that I know.
 288.107 +
 288.108 +I am still in a daze after the wedding and honeymoon. Your dress was
 288.109 +so beautiful, and I got so many compliments. Thank you for working so
 288.110 +hard on it. It must have been so much work, especially with all those
 288.111 +bows. Syaoran-chan  liked it too. He said it saved a lot of money.
 288.112 +He's always thinking about finances these days, and I guess that's
 288.113 +important now that I'm out on my own. Anyway, I was worried when I
 288.114 +didn't see you at the wedding reception, but Father told me you were
 288.115 +not feeling well. So, that's why I sent you my bouquet. I wanted you
 288.116 +to have it, just like Sonomi-sama got my Mother's bouquet. I thought
 288.117 +the sakura blossoms and roses would go nicely with the nadeshiko
 288.118 +flowers in your little box.
 288.119 +
 288.120 +Remember when we found the shield card in your box? I still remember
 288.121 +how mad Kero-chan got when he thought he was missing out on the cake.
 288.122 +He says Chinese deserts are not as good as those in Japan. I don't
 288.123 +really have much time for the Cards these days, what with housework
 288.124 +and all. It is a big house, and I am trying to help as much as I can.
 288.125 +Syaoran-chan is working hard at the family business. I thoought I
 288.126 +might find a job there too, but he says I really couldn't do much,
 288.127 +which is true, I guess. So, I do a lot of dusting, and cleaning, and
 288.128 +washing. Maybe I could use the Erase Card to help out! Syaoran-chan's
 288.129 +Mother does most of the cooking. I did a big family meal last week,
 288.130 +but I don't think it went over too well. I guess his family is not
 288.131 +really used to Japanese style cooking. They were much to nice to say
 288.132 +so, of course, but there were a lot of leftovers. Tomoyo-chan, do you
 288.133 +know much about Chinese-style cooking? Maybe you could send me a
 288.134 +recipe that's not too hard, or some tips on what to do, if that
 288.135 +wouldn't be too much trouble?
 288.136 +
 288.137 +Do you remember the Li mansion from our trip before? Most of Hong
 288.138 +Kong is very crowded, but we live on Victoria Peak, which has fewer
 288.139 +people. Much of the city is surrounded by hills and mountains, though
 288.140 +parts in the north are flatter. Sunrise on the Bay is quite
 288.141 +beautiful, with the little junks bobbing on the water and the sea
 288.142 +birds circling in the sky. With spring almost over it's getting very
 288.143 +warm, and sometimes the pollution is so bad it's better to just stay
 288.144 +inside. But the City is exciting, especially at night. Syaoran-chan
 288.145 +and I went out dancing last week at a big Disco. It was really nice
 288.146 +of him, because he is so tired from work all the time.
 288.147 +
 288.148 +I was very happy to hear about your job. I'm sure you'll make a
 288.149 +wonderful designer. The costumes you made for me were always so
 288.150 +interesting. It's funny, but now I sort of miss wearing them. I never
 288.151 +knew what you would come up with next. But I'm so glad you're happy.
 288.152 +And I'm glad that you're still singing. I always felt so peaceful
 288.153 +hearing you sing. Do you think you could send me a cassette tape of
 288.154 +your singing? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, that is. I 'd like
 288.155 +to hear you sing again. 
 288.156 +
 288.157 +It certainly sounds like a lot is going on at Tomoeda. Chiharu-chan
 288.158 +and Yamazaki-kun should make a wonderful couple. Yamazaki-kun is so
 288.159 +smart, and knows about so many interesting things. And that is so odd
 288.160 +about Naoko-chan seeing Nakuru-san like that. Umm, I think they must
 288.161 +just be very good friends, don't you? Oh, and I heard from Oniichan
 288.162 +just the other day. He calls all the time, and writes every week.
 288.163 +He's always teasing me about something. I'm not sure what you mean
 288.164 +when you said in your letter about ignoring what he has said about
 288.165 +you recently. It's funny you should mention that, because about a
 288.166 +week after we announced our engagement, Onnichan said he wanted to
 288.167 +have this serious talk with me about something. I was really nervous,
 288.168 +I thought he might want to talk about, umm, what married couples do
 288.169 +and things like that. But all he said was that you love me. I told
 288.170 +him I knew that, and he got really mad. He was practically yelling,
 288.171 +"No, baka, she really loves you!" Well, of course you do, you've
 288.172 +always been my best friend. Does he think I don't know my best friend
 288.173 +better than anyone in the whole world? I think he was just so upset
 288.174 +about Li-kun. But I'm sure you're right; he'll get to like him in
 288.175 +time. And I don't think he spilled his drink on Syaoran-chan at the
 288.176 +wedding on purpose, do you?
 288.177 +
 288.178 +Tomoyo-chan, being married is really wonderful! I'm with my one true
 288.179 +love almost all the time. I'm really so very very happy. Someday I
 288.180 +hope to come to your wedding. Are you seeing anybody that you like? I
 288.181 +was sort of thinking that maybe you and Eriol would make good
 288.182 +friends. I think maybe he even likes you, because he was always
 288.183 +watching you. Just a thought. I know you told me that what you most
 288.184 +want is for your special love to be happy, and I'm sure that if he is
 288.185 +loved by you he must be very happy, indeed. 
 288.186 +
 288.187 +I really miss you, too, Tomoyo-chan. I could never have a better
 288.188 +friend than you. I already told Syaoran-chan that if we have a girl,
 288.189 +I'm naming her after you. He was kind of grumbly, so I told him he
 288.190 +gets to name the boy. Aiyaa, but it's not like we are having a child
 288.191 +anytime soon! I mean, not that I know about. But I guess you never
 288.192 +know about these things. Anyhow, thank you again for your sweet
 288.193 +letter. I think about you when I see the soft, pale light of the
 288.194 +moon. It reminds me of my beautiful friend back home.
 288.195 +
 288.196 +Sayonara,
 288.197 +
 288.198 +Kinomoto Sakura
 288.199 +
 288.200 +PS- I enclosed some pictures for you. There is Syaoran-chan and me
 288.201 +on our honeymoon at the pool of the hotel, and Syaoran-chan and me on
 288.202 +bicycles we rented, and Syaoran-chan and me in front of the house.
 288.203 +
 288.204 +PPS- What is an atelier? I couldn't find the word in my dictionary.
 288.205 +
 288.206 +PPSS?- Kero sends his love, and Syaoran-chan sends his regards.
 288.207 +
 288.208 +
 288.209 +
 288.210 +
 288.211 +
 288.212 +Dear Sakura-chan,
 288.213 +	I’m very happy that you received my letter well and that 
 288.214 +everything seems to be falling in place for you. I knew that you 
 288.215 +would be just fine in Hong Kong, what with a new husband and 
 288.216 +your entire life ahead of you. I know many wondrous surprises 
 288.217 +must await Sakura-chan in her new life. Thank you so much for 
 288.218 +sending me the pictures. I’ve watched all of my videotapes through 
 288.219 +again, so it was nice to see some new images of you. I have them 
 288.220 +framed on the nightstand next to my bed. You looked so joyous on 
 288.221 +your honeymoon. I gazed at your smile for hours after I found the 
 288.222 +enclosed pictures. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that happy 
 288.223 +before. I’m so pleased that Li-kun can bring out that sweet smile in 
 288.224 +you. It always makes me happy to see you smile, so I’ll keep the 
 288.225 +pictures very close to me. That way I will know that my sweet 
 288.226 +Sakura-chan is happy out there in Hong Kong. I would love to see 
 288.227 +anymore pictures if you ever accidentally order extra prints. 
 288.228 +	Gomen nasai! I guess I’ve been thinking about the old days 
 288.229 +too much recently. An atelier is a magician’s workshop, a place to 
 288.230 +refine their magic and to write about their accomplishments and 
 288.231 +their work. I was in the library and I started thinking about Sakura-
 288.232 +chan with her own atelier and I thought it might be nice for the 
 288.233 +world’s most powerful magician to have her own. But it sounds 
 288.234 +like you’re already so busy with everything else. Yes, I think that 
 288.235 +you should definitely use your magic around the house. I’m sure 
 288.236 +the Sakura Cards would love to help their mistress clean house. It 
 288.237 +reminds me of when you couldn’t come to our picnic because of 
 288.238 +your chores. But now I’m an ocean away so I can’t just stop by to
 288.239 +help. 
 288.240 +I’m sure you’d make such a cute housewife cleaning up with the 
 288.241 +Sakura Cards. And I’m sure Kero-chan would love to offer his help 
 288.242 +as well, if he’s not busy trying to eat you out of house and home. 
 288.243 +Please give him a hug for me. And give Li-kun a kiss filled with 
 288.244 +your love.
 288.245 +	I’m so sorry to hear about the troubles you’ve been having. 
 288.246 +But I know that if you believe in yourself, you’ll manage to 
 288.247 +overcome anything. Nothing ever stood in Sakura-chan’s way for 
 288.248 +long. With a little work, I’m certain that you’ll learn Chinese 
 288.249 +quickly enough. Just remember, don’t let yourself get too nervous. 
 288.250 +It’s like when you were cheerleading. Sakura-chan was the most 
 288.251 +graceful, nimble cheerleader when she was throwing herself into it, 
 288.252 +but whenever you started thinking about other things or started to 
 288.253 +get nervous you would have a lot of difficulty. I still think you 
 288.254 +were cute when you would make little mistakes like that, but that’s 
 288.255 +not the point. The point is that Sakura-chan will look cute no 
 288.256 +matter what she does. Wait, that's another point altogether. The
 288.257 +point is that you will undoubtedly work everything out if you give it
 288.258 +your all. Please remember that you’ll always have my love and
 288.259 +support, no matter what happens or where you are. 
 288.260 +	As far as the cooking goes, I’ve enclosed several recipes 
 288.261 +that I looked up and one that I always enjoyed. I went to our chef 
 288.262 +and asked her to explain it all to me and went through it step by 
 288.263 +step so it should be easy enough to make. Li-kun’s family seems 
 288.264 +very warm from what I remember, or at least interested in cute 
 288.265 +things, so Sakura-chan should have no problem. Li-kun’s mother, 
 288.266 +Ieran-sama, seemed to be rather strict, but she was a very 
 288.267 +perceptive woman. I had a chance to talk with her while you were 
 288.268 +saving everyone else back in our trip to Hong Kong. I was 
 288.269 +surprised she had picked up on so much. Please don’t let her 
 288.270 +intimidate you. She really is a wonderful woman underneath it all, 
 288.271 +even if Li-kun seems a little scared of her.
 288.272 +	Thank you so much for sending me your bouquet! I wish I 
 288.273 +could have been there to catch it, but I started to feel a very sharp 
 288.274 +pain near the end and had to leave. I’m eternally grateful to be able 
 288.275 +to hold it close to me now. It really is beautiful, just like the
 288.276 +bride. I’ll keep it safe in my little box right next to your mother’s
 288.277 +bouquet and the eraser you gave me when we first met. The flowers
 288.278 +really do compliment each other. I think that it fits perfectly. You
 288.279 +and your mother seem to share the same fate the same way that I seem 
 288.280 +to with my mother. You and Li-kun looked very happy together. 
 288.281 +I’m really so sorry that I couldn’t be there for all of your wedding. 
 288.282 +I tried and I told myself that I would stay, but I just wasn’t
 288.283 +feeling 
 288.284 +well enough at all near the end. If I can ever make it up to 
 288.285 +you, I will do all in my power to, Sakura-chan. I’m sure it was all 
 288.286 +lovely. Touya-san videotaped the rest of it for me, but I have yet to 
 288.287 +watch it. I guess I’ve just been too busy. 
 288.288 +	Hong Kong is such a beautiful place. So it’s the perfect 
 288.289 +place for Sakura-chan to live with her beloved. You must be so 
 288.290 +happy there. I was watching ‘Sakura-chan’s Trip to Hong Kong’, 
 288.291 +the video I took when we went all those years ago, and it was 
 288.292 +absolutely stunning. I can just imagine Sakura-chan living there 
 288.293 +now. I hope it’s even more wonderful. I wasn’t really paying 
 288.294 +attention to the scenery all that much at the time, although it made
 288.295 +a 
 288.296 +wonderful backdrop. I’m glad that the city is exciting enough for 
 288.297 +you. It’s all so much bigger than Tomoeda so there must be much 
 288.298 +more to do. I can see you and Li-kun dancing in my mind. That 
 288.299 +does sound like fun. Mother knows of a restaurant near here with a 
 288.300 +very nice dance floor. I’ve gone with her several times and I 
 288.301 +always like watching the people dance. I hope Li-kun has more 
 288.302 +free time soon to take you out more. It sounds like Sakura-chan 
 288.303 +really enjoyed herself.
 288.304 +	Sakura-chan misses my costumes? I giggled when I read 
 288.305 +that. You always looked so embarrassed when I’d unveil a new 
 288.306 +costume for you. But you always wore them for me. Thank you for 
 288.307 +putting up with the constant wardrobe changes. You were always 
 288.308 +my inspiration. I had actually started designing costumes for you 
 288.309 +four months before I found out you were a magical girl. That’s how 
 288.310 +I had a van full of them by the next night. Most of them were 
 288.311 +already finished, it’s just that I finally had an excuse to get you
 288.312 +to 
 288.313 +wear them. You really did look cute in all of them. I still have one 
 288.314 +of your costumes half finished on my desk. I should put it away, 
 288.315 +but I haven’t had the heart to. It seems to cry out for me to finish
 288.316 +it, but I can’t quite get myself to work on it. Maybe I’m not meant
 288.317 +to 
 288.318 +finish it. It does make a good reminder of things for me. I haven’t 
 288.319 +really videotaped anything recently either. You were always the 
 288.320 +most beautiful thing for me to videotape, so there hasn’t been a 
 288.321 +reason to. I put my camcorder and a few other old things I don’t 
 288.322 +need anymore up in the attic. If you do wind up pregnant anytime 
 288.323 +soon, I can always send it to you so you can videotape everything. 
 288.324 +I’d love to see you throughout your pregnancy and when you finally
 288.325 +have a child. I still have my old videos of you, so I can always
 288.326 +watch them 
 288.327 +if there isn’t anything new to videotape. So please just ask me if 
 288.328 +you need it. You’ve seen me videotape enough that I’m sure 
 288.329 +Sakura-chan would be a natural with it! And you would make such 
 288.330 +cute home movies. I know it. 
 288.331 +	Work has been busy as of late, but it can’t be helped. Our 
 288.332 +new doll needs to be out in the next few months so I need to finish 
 288.333 +my final designs on her. Mother tells me not to worry about it, but 
 288.334 +I’m just glad to be able to work on it. It’s fun to toy with
 288.335 +different 
 288.336 +ideas and sketches and talk to all of the people working on the 
 288.337 +project about what would or wouldn’t work for the doll. I’ve 
 288.338 +already changed the design several times, but now I’m mostly 
 288.339 +refining it. I’ll send along a copy of my latest sketches to see what 
 288.340 +you think. Again, I’m sorry if she looks too much like Sakura-
 288.341 +chan. I’m still trying to decide what to do with the hair, so that’s 
 288.342 +not quite the final look of the doll yet. 
 288.343 + 	This letter’s going to be heavy with all of the things I need 
 288.344 +to send! I’ll have to start shipping Sakura-chan’s letters off in 
 288.345 +boxes. I added the cassette tape you asked for. I haven’t sung in 
 288.346 +front of anyone for quite a while now, so I found myself getting a 
 288.347 +little nervous when I made it. I’ve only been singing to myself 
 288.348 +lately, so it’s different knowing that Sakura-chan will hear it 
 288.349 +sometime after she gets this letter. But after I got into singing, I 
 288.350 +think it went by much too quickly. It was nice to have someone to 
 288.351 +sing for. I tried to add all of the songs I know that you like. The 
 288.352 +last one is a little sad, though, but I thought it was a nice ending
 288.353 +to 
 288.354 +the tape. I really hope you like it!
 288.355 +	I wish I could help more with telling you what is going on 
 288.356 +here in Tomoeda, but I really don’t know for sure other than the 
 288.357 +few times I’ve met up with the others in a shop or from hearing 
 288.358 +what someone else said, so I guess you’ll have to rely on Touya-
 288.359 +san mostly for that. I’m really not sure what is going on with 
 288.360 +Nakura-san and Naoko-chan, but it would be nice if everyone’s 
 288.361 +finding their special someone. I’m glad that Touya-san’s keeping 
 288.362 +in contact with you. He’s a very good big brother. Hai, I think
 288.363 +Touya-san was just worried about the wedding when he said all that.
 288.364 +Don’t 
 288.365 +worry about it. Sakura-chan will always be my best friend so 
 288.366 +there’s nothing for him to worry about. And Touya-san and Li-kun 
 288.367 +are both very protective of you, Sakura-chan, so that is probably 
 288.368 +what causes most of the conflict between the two of them. When 
 288.369 +Touya-san sees how happy you are, he’ll have to realize how good 
 288.370 +you and Li-kun are for each other, just like I always knew you 
 288.371 +would be. 
 288.372 +	It makes me so happy to hear that you’re enjoying married 
 288.373 +life so much. You make such a wonderful blushing bride and Li-
 288.374 +kun makes a perfect husband for you. This is what I always 
 288.375 +wanted, to know that Sakura-chan was happy and taken care of 
 288.376 +by her true love. I would love for Sakura-chan to come to my 
 288.377 +wedding, but I’m not sure if I’ll be having one. I’m just content 
 288.378 +knowing that my love is out there happy, even if I can’t be with 
 288.379 +them. Thank you for your suggestion, Sakura-chan. I’m glad 
 288.380 +you’re thinking about me. Eriol-kun and I do have a few things in 
 288.381 +common, but I think he understands that we wouldn’t work out in 
 288.382 +the end. And I believe that he left with Mizuki-sensei as well, so 
 288.383 +I’m sure they’re quite content back in England. Please don’t worry 
 288.384 +about me. I’ve never been any good at relationships. And I’ve been 
 288.385 +keeping rather busy with work and all as it is.
 288.386 +	I am very honored, Sakura-chan. Arigato gozimasu! I 
 288.387 +would love to know that you had a daughter named after me. You 
 288.388 +always were an amazing best friend. And I hope we always can be. 
 288.389 +I hope that you and Li-kun are blessed with a child, boy or girl, 
 288.390 +sometime soon. I know you would be a perfect mother. Your 
 288.391 +gentle, warm heart would truly help with rearing a child. And 
 288.392 +thank you again for thinking about me. It makes me happy 
 288.393 +knowing that we may sometimes be thinking of each other at the 
 288.394 +same time, even across the ocean. 
 288.395 +	Thank you for writing me back so quickly, Sakura-chan. I 
 288.396 +always look forward to hearing from the cute Card Mistress. I was 
 288.397 +so thrilled to receive your letter. I can almost hear your voice when 
 288.398 +I read through it. 
 288.399 +	If I don’t finish this up, I’ll be late for work! I’m sending 
 288.400 +along the cassette you asked for, several Chinese recipes, and the 
 288.401 +design for the doll I’m working on. I hope that everything is 
 288.402 +perfect for Sakura-chan!
 288.403 +
 288.404 +Your eternal friend,
 288.405 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 288.406 +
 288.407 +
 288.408 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
 288.409 +
 288.410 +Thank you so much for your wonderful letter, and all the things you
 288.411 +sent. I'm sorry it took almost a week for me to reply. I was sort of
 288.412 +busy, and a lot of things have been happening. I was also very tired.
 288.413 +But now, I have so much to talk to you about that I don't quite know
 288.414 +where to start. I guess I'll start with that. Tomoyo-chan, I am so
 288.415 +happy to have you to write to! There really is no one here in Hong
 288.416 +Kong that I can talk to the way I can talk with you. Poor Syaoran-
 288.417 +chan is so busy at work that he usually goes straight to sleep when
 288.418 +he comes home. When we do have time to talk, well, I do most of the
 288.419 +talking and he does most of the listening. He really never did talk
 288.420 +much, as you probably remember. And I know that a  lot of what I want
 288.421 +to talk about is silly, though he is always very nice about putting
 288.422 +up with me. Sometimes I talk with his sisters, and they are a lot of
 288.423 +fun, but of course there are things I cannot tell them about. Then
 288.424 +there is Ieran-sama, but I will mention this later.
 288.425 +
 288.426 +Thank you thank you thank you for the wonderful recipes and all the
 288.427 +cooking tips! I made dinner for the family last Tuesday and this time
 288.428 +there were almost no leftovers at all. I was very nervous with the
 288.429 +new dishes, especially the shredded pork, but with all your helpful
 288.430 +hints and loving support I felt as if Tomoyo-chan was at my side the
 288.431 +entire time. I got many compliments, even one from Ieran-sama. When
 288.432 +she asked me where I got the recipes, I told her they were from you.
 288.433 +She said, "Ah, that explains why they are so good." I think she
 288.434 +remembers you fondly. 
 288.435 +
 288.436 +Oh, and I have enclosed a picture of the main dish, so you can see
 288.437 +how it turned out. Doesn't it look yummy? I am very glad you enjoyed
 288.438 +the pictures I sent. I felt sort of sad that you put your video
 288.439 +camera away. It seems odd to think of you without it. Anyhow, they
 288.440 +say here in China that a picture is worth one thousand words, so I
 288.441 +decided to buy a camera and make my letters longer. I went shopping
 288.442 +last weekend and bought a Japanese camera, a Canon, and the price was
 288.443 +very low compared to back home. Syaoran-chan helped me to figure out
 288.444 +how it worked. Unfortunately I ruined a few rolls of film before I
 288.445 +got the hang of it. So from now on, I will try to have pictures so
 288.446 +you can see what is going on with your friend from accross the seas.
 288.447 +
 288.448 +I'm so happy that you liked the bouquet from my wedding. Hopefully
 288.449 +someday you will be able to see the whole wedding when you watch
 288.450 +Touya's videotape. Unfortunately, he isn't very good at videotaping.
 288.451 +There are a lot of shots of me in his film, but not many of Syaoran-
 288.452 +chan. Tomoyo-chan, I wanted to ask you about your not feeling well at
 288.453 +my wedding. I was really scared when you talked about a "sharp pain".
 288.454 +Are you OK? Have you seen a doctor? Is it anything serious? Please
 288.455 +tell me the truth about this. I have been worried about you ever
 288.456 +since I read that. I almsot called you. If anything were to happen to
 288.457 +you, I don't know what I would do. Please take very good care of
 288.458 +yourself. Even though you are far away, you are so important to me,
 288.459 +and I think about you often. Oh, and why is there an eraser in your
 288.460 +box of special things? I vaguely remember giving you an eraser when
 288.461 +we first met. I thought you were so very pretty, but looked so lonely
 288.462 +on your first day in class. 
 288.463 +
 288.464 +Someday I would like to go to that restaurant by your house with you
 288.465 +and your mother and Syaoran-chan. Then you could watch us dance! I'll
 288.466 +bet Sonomi-sama is a wonderful dancer. Does she ever dance there?
 288.467 +Tomoyo-chan, I'll bet you would be a wonderful dancer, too. When I
 288.468 +went to buy my camera, I had lunch in a hotel restaurant. It was very
 288.469 +high up and overlooked a large dance hall. There was a ballroom
 288.470 +dancing contest going on, and all the couples were swirling around so
 288.471 +beautifully down below. With their gorgeous dresses and elegant
 288.472 +dancing I thought of you. Aiyaa, I guess you are not the only one
 288.473 +thinking of the old days lately, ne? To tell the truth, I am thinking
 288.474 +about you a lot for some reason. That's why, even though I am still a
 288.475 +bit sleepy, I wanted to write to you before another day was gone.
 288.476 +
 288.477 +Oh, please don't worry about me, though. Let me tell you why I am so
 288.478 +tired lately. After reading your letter, I thought it would be fun
 288.479 +just to talk to the Cards, because it has been such a long time. But
 288.480 +when I finally found the box and opened it up, some of the cards had
 288.481 +gone to sleep. It was very surprising, and I felt bad for ignoring
 288.482 +them for so long. I have been using my magic to wake them all up, and
 288.483 +am all finished except for Fight and Power. I saved those for last
 288.484 +because it will be exhausting to wake them up. I thought perhaps
 288.485 +Sleep or Dream were behind everything, but when I talked to them they
 288.486 +said they did not do anything, and the cards have never lied to me
 288.487 +before. I spoke with Kero about all this, and he seemed puzzled.
 288.488 +Well, I suspect it is because I was ignoring them for so long. I will
 288.489 +try very hard to talk with all of them more often. So, there is
 288.490 +nothing to worry about with me being a little tired.
 288.491 +
 288.492 +I thought the drawings of your doll were very pretty. And so many
 288.493 +different costumes! I'm sure you'll think of a beautiful hairstyle
 288.494 +for her. You always did such wonderful things with your own hair. It -
 288.495 +does- look like me, but I guess that makes sense, since I was always
 288.496 +wearing your designs. Daidouji Toys is very lucky to have such a
 288.497 +wonderful designer working for them. I would love to have a doll when
 288.498 +they come out, so I can show everyone here what my best friend does
 288.499 +back home.
 288.500 +
 288.501 +As for Irean-sama. Tomoyo-chan, I don't think she likes me very
 288.502 +much. Syaoran-chan says she is still mad about our getting married in
 288.503 +Japan without her permission. I know I do a lot of things wrong, and
 288.504 +have much to learn about being a good wife. She is critical, and I
 288.505 +know that she is like this because she wants the best for Syaoran-
 288.506 +chan and the family. . I know that if you say she is a good person it
 288.507 +must be true, because Tomoyo-chan knows more about people than
 288.508 +anyone. But when she does look at me she seems so angry, although
 288.509 +when I was cooking the shredded pork dinner she looked at me as if
 288.510 +she were very sad, and felt sorry for me. I don't know what to do but
 288.511 +try my very hardest to be a good wife, and hope that someday she will
 288.512 +like me just a little. I do wish you were here with me. I always felt
 288.513 +so much better when I could talk with you about things like this. I
 288.514 +miss you, Tomoyo-chan.
 288.515 +
 288.516 +I got a very sweet letter from Naoko-chan. It was so odd, because we
 288.517 +were just talking about her. She is attending Tokyo University, and
 288.518 +is sharing an apartment in the city with Nakuru-san. She is doing
 288.519 +well, making straight A's, which is what you would expect. She was
 288.520 +always so smart. She said she got the apartment because there was
 288.521 +some gruesome murder there, and hoped it would be haunted. Hoeee! She
 288.522 +also said she is very much in love with Nakuru-san. It is sort of
 288.523 +confusing, but I was glad to hear she is so happy, and seems to have
 288.524 +found her special someone. 
 288.525 +
 288.526 +Tomoyo-chan, this reminds me that there is something I wanted to
 288.527 +talk with you about. I know you said to me once that what makes you
 288.528 +happiest is knowing the person you love is happy. But Tomoyo-chan,
 288.529 +don't you think that person would be even happier knowing that you
 288.530 +loved them? I have never known anybody quite like you. I always
 288.531 +thought you were the kindest, smartest, sweetest, prettiest, most
 288.532 +talented person I've ever met. If I was the man you loved, I would
 288.533 +want to know that! It would make me so very happy to have someone
 288.534 +like you. Do you think that maybe they do not love you? I can't
 288.535 +imagine anyone who would not love Tomoyo-chan! You really should tell
 288.536 +them, and you might be surprised. Just because you have never been in
 288.537 +a relationship is no reason to think you are not any good at them. I
 288.538 +was never in a relationship before, but now Syaoran-chan and I are so
 288.539 +very happy together. So, I really think you should consider telling
 288.540 +your special person just how you feel. Besides, I want to go to
 288.541 +Tomoyo-chan's wedding and take pictures with my new camera!
 288.542 +
 288.543 +And thank you so much for the cassette tape with your singing on it.
 288.544 +Your voice is as beautiful as ever. It brings back so many memories
 288.545 +of you. Please don't get upset, but hearing you made me cry. I guess
 288.546 +when we were together, I always thought it would be like that. I
 288.547 +always thought Tomoyo-chan would be there to talk with, to help me,
 288.548 +and to cheer me up. Now that you are so far away, I know better what
 288.549 +I have lost. I am so happy with Syaoran-chan, but I miss my Tomoyo-
 288.550 +chan so very much. 
 288.551 +. 
 288.552 +
 288.553 +Thank you again for all the lovely things you sent.
 288.554 +
 288.555 +
 288.556 +Love, 
 288.557 +
 288.558 +Sakura
 288.559 +
 288.560 +
 288.561 +PS: Thank you for telling me what an atelier is
 288.562 \ No newline at end of file

   289.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   289.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   289.3 @@ -0,0 +1,866 @@
   289.4 +Dear Sakura
   289.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   289.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   289.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   289.8 +
   289.9 +Dear Sakura-chan,
  289.10 +	You don’t have to be in any rush to get back to me. I’m always
  289.11 +happy to receive any letters from you, but don’t worry about how long
  289.12 +it takes. I understand how busy Sakura-chan’s life must be with
  289.13 +starting all over in China and with a new husband and family. So
  289.14 +please don’t worry yourself, Sakura-chan. And if you ever need to
  289.15 +call me, please don’t hesitate. I would always love to hear your
  289.16 +voice again and if you need someone to talk to about anything, you
  289.17 +know you can always trust me. I can pay the bill for any calls you
  289.18 +make as well. It would be worth it just to hear you. I don’t think
  289.19 +anything you ever talk 
  289.20 +about is silly. Sakura-chan’s mind moves around a lot like a
  289.21 +meandering ocean breeze, moving through all sorts of wonderful
  289.22 +thoughts. I’ve always found whatever you want to talk about
  289.23 +fascinating because I love just being able to talk with you, to be
  289.24 +able to hear your thoughts and feelings on things. Some of my fondest
  289.25 +memories are of when we were together, talking about the most trivial
  289.26 +of things, without a care in the world. You looked so free. I wished
  289.27 +I could be that free. That you could teach me to soar. But it was
  289.28 +enough to watch you. I hope that freedom of a gentle breeze never
  289.29 +leaves you, Sakura-chan.
  289.30 +	I’m very happy that Sakura-chan liked all of the things I’ve sent.
  289.31 +I was hoping you would. I have an idea or two for the doll’s hair
  289.32 +that I’m working into the design so that hopefully little girls will
  289.33 +be able to play with her hair the way they want to more. I always
  289.34 +enjoyed trying out new hairstyles myself, so I want to keep that with
  289.35 +the doll. She still needs a name, but we don’t need to worry about
  289.36 +that yet. I’m thinking something like Hanako. ‘Flower Child’. That
  289.37 +would be pretty. She does look a lot like you, but you were always
  289.38 +the girl I sketched when I was making my designs. You were just so
  289.39 +pretty. So I think 
  289.40 +she looks cute, sharing some of your features. Maybe she can even be
  289.41 +a magical girl. I’ll send you one of the first dolls we produce for
  289.42 +all of the inspiration you have always given me. And it meant so much
  289.43 +to me to hear that you liked the cassette I sent you. I haven’t sung
  289.44 +to anyone but myself in so long that I wasn’t sure how it would come
  289.45 +out. I’m so very sorry that it made you cry, but I’m glad that it
  289.46 +managed to touch you. Maybe I shouldn’t have added that last song
  289.47 +after all. It was pretty sad. I know what you mean about thinking
  289.48 +things would 
  289.49 +always stay the way they were, Sakura-chan. I always knew that you
  289.50 +would leave me someday, but I hadn’t expected it so soon. I guess it
  289.51 +took me by surprise. I knew we’d have to part ways one day, but I
  289.52 +always wanted it to be tomorrow, never today. Sometimes it’s hard for
  289.53 +me to remember that you aren’t the same little girl that I first met.
  289.54 +You’re still the same vibrant, loving soul, but you’ve grown up. And
  289.55 +I’m so proud of you. You’re starting your own family now, starting a
  289.56 +new life in China with the one you love. I hope all of your dreams
  289.57 +come true. But sometimes I can’t help but look out at the stars at
  289.58 +night and think that the heavens are crying, missing Sakura-chan as
  289.59 +much as I 
  289.60 +do.
  289.61 +	That’s great that the recipes worked out so well for Sakura-chan!
  289.62 +You can do such wonderful things when you put your mind to it. I knew
  289.63 +it would turn out perfectly for you. It really did look delicious. It
  289.64 +got me thinking about if you had anymore trouble cooking because I
  289.65 +know you can’t just use the same recipes over and over again. So I
  289.66 +went and got my camcorder out from the attic and decided to put
  289.67 +together a few more recipes for Sakura-chan. What you said about me
  289.68 +by your side sent a trill through my heart. We have a very good chef
  289.69 +so I had her teach me some more recipes. I went through the entire
  289.70 +recipe on video and taped myself making the successful dishes. I’ll
  289.71 +try to send more when 
  289.72 +I have more time to cook. I really hope they help. I thought it
  289.73 +would be a good job for my old camcorder. It isn’t capturing images
  289.74 +of the most beautiful object I could find for it, but I can still
  289.75 +send you these videotapes with me in them. Hopefully they’ll help
  289.76 +with your cooking. And so you won’t forget me. I’m glad that Ieran-
  289.77 +sama still thinks of me fondly. I think she understood some things I
  289.78 +was dealing with when we were in Hong Kong.
  289.79 +	Thank you for sending more pictures! I think it was a good idea for
  289.80 +you to get a camera. With all that’s going on in your life, it needs
  289.81 +to be taken down for posterity. And since I can’t do that anymore,
  289.82 +Sakura-chan can. I would love to see any pictures you take, no matter
  289.83 +what they’re of. It makes me smile to see what’s going on with my
  289.84 +favorite magical girl and her new life in China. I think that you
  289.85 +would make a very good photographer. I’m going to start making a
  289.86 +picture album to put by my old videotape collection once I have 
  289.87 +enough photos. Mother used to have a camera when she was younger and
  289.88 +she took many beautiful pictures with it. I know that if Sakura-chan
  289.89 +keeps practicing, she'll take many beautiful pictures herself.
  289.90 +	I tried watching the videotape of your wedding when I got off of
  289.91 +work a few days ago. Touya took some wonderful shots of you. You
  289.92 +looked so stunning in your wedding dress. I had a hard time seeing
  289.93 +you through the tears at the time. I was just so happy that Sakura-
  289.94 +chan was finally getting married. It was really a beautiful wedding.
  289.95 +I still haven’t made it to the end. I got a little busy and haven’t
  289.96 +quite reached past where I left. I’ll try to again soon. Maybe I’ll
  289.97 +have more free time after I finish the designs for the doll. No,
  289.98 +please don’t worry 
  289.99 +about me Sakura-chan. I’m just fine. I just started feeling a pain
 289.100 +in my chest near the end of it, but I don’t think it’s anything to
 289.101 +worry about. I’ve been healthy and there’s nothing for you to worry
 289.102 +about. It went away after I fell asleep back at home for the most
 289.103 +part. Just please don’t worry. I know it’s nothing to see a doctor
 289.104 +about. And that is the truth. I promise that I’ll take good care of
 289.105 +myself, Sakura-chan. For you. 
 289.106 +	Your bouquet is very important to me. Whenever I hold it, I see you
 289.107 +right before the wedding, when I was helping you into your wedding
 289.108 +dress. I see that happy smile and the bright glow in your emerald
 289.109 +eyes and I know that you’ll be just fine. That you’re finally happy.
 289.110 +It’s kind of strange. That’s what I’ve worked my whole life for, to
 289.111 +see you happy. Now that you’re finally married off and that’s
 289.112 +accomplished, I don’t know what to do anymore. Silly, isn’t it? I’ll
 289.113 +need to come up with a new plan, I guess. But now I don’t have to
 289.114 +worry because Li-kun is taking good care of you.
 289.115 +	I’m so glad that you remembered! Hai, that was the eraser you gave
 289.116 +me the first day we met. I was so lonely and nervous about
 289.117 +everything. I was never any good at making friends and the classroom
 289.118 +seemed so big with all of those faces I didn’t know. But then this
 289.119 +really sweet girl sitting next to me offered me her eraser when I
 289.120 +needed one. When I looked at her, at you, it all seemed okay. I
 289.121 +didn’t feel so lonely anymore. You’ve always had that affect on me.
 289.122 +So that 
 289.123 +eraser has been very important to me, my very first memento of
 289.124 +Sakura-chan.
 289.125 +	My spirits sing to know that you’ve been thinking about me a lot 
 289.126 +lately. You’re always close to my thoughts. So I’m happy to know
 289.127 +that I’ve been in yours as well. But please don’t let it make you
 289.128 +sad. I’ll always be your friend and you should be smiling a lot now
 289.129 +in your new life. You have a lot to be happy about. It makes me happy
 289.130 +to know that you are. So the next time you think of me, please smile
 289.131 +knowing that your old friend wants only the best for you. I would
 289.132 +love to watch you dancing. I think it would be a very beautiful thing
 289.133 +to witness. It reminds me of watching you dance with the Flower Card.
 289.134 +Yes, mother is a very good dancer. She doesn’t dance very often
 289.135 +because she says that ‘her dance card is already filled’. She said
 289.136 +she’s waiting for a specific dance with the wind. But she did teach
 289.137 +me to dance a bit when I was younger. It can be fun with the right
 289.138 +partner, I’m sure. So I’m sure Sakura-chan must have a lot of fun
 289.139 +when she does dance. 
 289.140 +	Poor Sakura-chan! I’m so sorry that you think Ieran-sama doesn’t
 289.141 +like you. I’m sure that isn’t true. She may seem like she does, but
 289.142 +she seems like she’s always like that. Just try to look past the
 289.143 +strict exterior. She probably is still a little angry about the
 289.144 +wedding, what with Li-kun being engaged to Meiling-chan, but she’ll
 289.145 +have to realize what a good wife Sakura-chan is soon enough. Your
 289.146 +warm heart will melt whatever resistance she has before long. It
 289.147 +always does. Remember, Li-kun didn’t like you much to begin with
 289.148 +either, but now he’s your husband! So you can touch anyone’s heart in
 289.149 +enough time. I know you touched mine. I wish I was there, too, Sakura-
 289.150 +chan. But it’s probably 
 289.151 +better that I’m not. I’m certain Li-kun would get tired of me after
 289.152 +I kept videotaping your married life. But you can always talk to me
 289.153 +about anything, even if I am an ocean away. I’m always here for you
 289.154 +when you need me. 
 289.155 +	That’s very sweet that Naoko-chan’s doing so well. I should really
 289.156 +go see how she and Nakuru-san are doing sometime. They sure do make
 289.157 +an interesting couple, don’t they? That sounds just like the type of
 289.158 +place Naoko-chan would want to live. I wonder how she convinced
 289.159 +Nakuru-san it was a good idea. It’s great to hear that the two of
 289.160 +them are so happy. Love has a way of surpassing so much. It really is
 289.161 +a strong thing. It seems everyone’s finding their special someone
 289.162 +these days. I bet Kero-chan’s next. 
 289.163 +	Please don’t mind the parts of this letter that used to be wet. I
 289.164 +spilled some droplets of water on it on accident and tried my best to
 289.165 +dry it. Thank you for being so concerned about my love life, Sakura-
 289.166 +chan. You’ve always been such a wonderful friend. Mother found me
 289.167 +reading this part of your letter and after we talked for a while, she
 289.168 +said that there was one person I reminded her of. She said that your
 289.169 +mother acted the same way sometimes. That’s strange, isn’t it? But I
 289.170 +guess it’s the way mother raised me. Nadeshiko-san was very important
 289.171 +to her. I’m glad you think I should tell my special someone, but I 
 289.172 +don’t think I can anymore. I thought I had all the time in the
 289.173 +world, but as time went on I started thinking it would be better for
 289.174 +them if I didn’t say anything. So I changed my mind about telling
 289.175 +them a long time ago and have kept it to myself. Sakura-chan, what if
 289.176 +the person I love already had someone? If they’re happy now, I
 289.177 +wouldn’t want to ruin that. I’m happy as long as they are. Yes, I
 289.178 +think maybe they don’t love me. But I’ve accepted that. So as long as
 289.179 +they can be happy, that’s enough for me. I don’t think they’d be any
 289.180 +happier knowing about my feelings. They’re much better kept deep
 289.181 +inside, where I can hold them close to my heart. They can’t do any
 289.182 +harm that way and I can still love them from afar. If you were the
 289.183 +man I loved, Sakura-chan, I would love to lie in your arms and fall
 289.184 +asleep knowing that you would be with 
 289.185 +me in the morning. And I would love to tell you how much I love you.
 289.186 +But I couldn’t. Because your love belongs to another. So I hope that
 289.187 +makes this easier to understand, even if it is a rather strange
 289.188 +analogy. I would love to tell my special someone how much I love
 289.189 +them, to finally be able to let that love escape the bonds I’ve
 289.190 +created for it, but I can’t. So I’ll just be happy for them. And
 289.191 +that’s enough for me. It brings a smile to my lips when I know that
 289.192 +they’re smiling because it means they’re truly happy. That’s much
 289.193 +more important 
 289.194 +than having them know my feelings. I would love to have you come
 289.195 +back to Japan and take pictures of my wedding, but I don’t need one.
 289.196 +I’ll be fine without. Thank you, Sakura-chan.
 289.197 +	Please take care of yourself! I hope everything goes well for you.
 289.198 +Please take many, many more pictures! I need more for my scrapbook.
 289.199 +Tell everyone that I said hello. And please do get some rest. You
 289.200 +really need it. I miss you, too, Sakura-chan. I hope I can hear from
 289.201 +you soon. Try to have some fun soon with the Sakura Cards!
 289.202 +
 289.203 +
 289.204 +To the best prince in the fourth grade,
 289.205 +From Daidouji Tomoyo
 289.206 +	
 289.207 +
 289.208 +
 289.209 +
 289.210 +
 289.211 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
 289.212 +
 289.213 +It was so wonderful to hear your voice again! Talking on the phone
 289.214 +was a good idea, and looking forward to our regular Sunday calls is a
 289.215 +real treat. There is so much to talk about each week, and even when
 289.216 +there isn't I just love to hear you. It's funny, because I had never
 289.217 +realized how beautiful your voice is. Not your singing, because I
 289.218 +already knew that was wonderful, but just your voice. When I talk to
 289.219 +you, I feel so at ease, so happy and content. For all those years, I
 289.220 +didn't really know how important it was for me just to listen to you.
 289.221 +But being apart made me realize how lucky I was when we were
 289.222 +together. So now I treasure every second with you. 
 289.223 +
 289.224 +Still, there are some things I don't feel comfortable talking about
 289.225 +on the phone. Some things are better written, I think, so I decided
 289.226 +to start writing letters again. I hope you don't mind, because I know
 289.227 +Tomoyo-chan is very busy with her work. If you don't have time to
 289.228 +reply, please don't worry about it. Just writting to you is pleasure
 289.229 +enough. Oh, and I insist on paying for half the calls. You work very
 289.230 +hard, too, and I would not feel right if you paid for them all. I
 289.231 +think from now on, I should pay when I call, and you should pay when
 289.232 +you call, and we can take turns calling. Does that sound all right?
 289.233 +At least we won't do like last week, where we were each calling and
 289.234 +calling at the same time, and kept getting busy signals!
 289.235 +
 289.236 +I am drinking English Breakfast tea just now. I bought it while
 289.237 +shopping in the city last Saturday. Did you know that Hong Kong was
 289.238 +once a colony of Great Britain? There are many funny little English
 289.239 +things here. I am sure Eriol-kun would feel right at home. Ieran-sama
 289.240 +says that tea is an art. This surprised me. I know back home there is
 289.241 +the tea ceremony, which is an art, but I never thought that just tea
 289.242 +was an art by itself. It's funny, though, because I remember when we
 289.243 +were looking for the Jump card at the Twin Bells Shoppe. Do you
 289.244 +remember? The Lady told me afterwards that you were talking about tea
 289.245 +before she feinted. She said you were the most knowledgeable girl
 289.246 +about tea that she had ever met. So I guess you knew all along.
 289.247 +Anyway, I asked Ieran-sama if she could show me some of the things
 289.248 +she knows about tea. She looked quite surprised, and then told me she
 289.249 +might as well, since the family would have to drink what I brewed,
 289.250 +and it might as well be done right. I have learned many things from
 289.251 +her, and am very grateful. You would be surprised at how much better
 289.252 +my tea is now! Even if Ieran-sama does not like me, she does seem to
 289.253 +like my tea, which is a start. 
 289.254 +
 289.255 +She now asks me to prepare tea for her, which she never did before.
 289.256 +The first time I made it, I was very nervous. She drank the tea with
 289.257 +a frown, and looked at me with a very scary look. She said if I did
 289.258 +not do better, then I would have something to be nervous about. So
 289.259 +the next time, I pretended Tomoyo-chan was with me, and that we both
 289.260 +brewed tea together. That was such a help, because whenever things
 289.261 +were hard and you were with me, I always felt confident that
 289.262 +everything would be all right. So thank you for helping, Tomoyo-chan! 
 289.263 +
 289.264 +And speaking of help in the kitchen, please keep sending me your
 289.265 +wonderful videos. I know your video camera must be very happy to be
 289.266 +with you again. It must have been sad and lonely up in the attic. I
 289.267 +have made almost all the recipes you have sent me, as you can see
 289.268 +from some of the pictures of the family dinners I have prepared
 289.269 +(Look, even Ieran-sama is smiling in one of them!). But sometimes I
 289.270 +just like to watch Tomoyo-chan on the videos. You always filmed me,
 289.271 +and almost never yourself. But you look sooooo cute in your apron,
 289.272 +with your beautiful hair in braids, bustling about the kitchen,
 289.273 +patiently explaining each recipe in your sweet, gentle voice,
 289.274 +hanyaaaan! 
 289.275 +
 289.276 +I had to stop writting. It is hard to write when you are blushing.
 289.277 +Anyway, thank you, and any videos you send are very appreciated in
 289.278 +many ways. 
 289.279 +
 289.280 +Tomoyo-chan, may I tell you about a dream I have had? I have had
 289.281 +this dream twice now, and  talked about it with Kero-chan. He says he
 289.282 +does not understand it, but that it sounds important. In the dream I
 289.283 +am back in Japan, and it is night. It is chilly and windy, and I am
 289.284 +starriing off into the distance trying to see something. Finally, off
 289.285 +in the distance, I can make out Tokyo Tower. That is when  I wake up.
 289.286 +Kero chan says that is why it is an important dream, because of Tokyo
 289.287 +Tower, which was in so many of my dreams when I was still capturing
 289.288 +the Cards. I remember the one dream I had about Yue that was revealed
 289.289 +to me little by little over many nights. It was a prophetic dream,
 289.290 +about his judgement. So, maybe this funny dream is like that, and it
 289.291 +will be more clear later.
 289.292 +
 289.293 +Did you know that Yue is a Chinese word? It means "moon". I have
 289.294 +been doing pretty well with my Chinese lessons. Syaoran-chan's
 289.295 +sisters help me a lot, though they giggle at my accent. I offered to
 289.296 +teach them Japanese, but only Fanren-san was interested. She says she
 289.297 +would like to go to Japan someday, so we have a little lesson every
 289.298 +week. In fact, my Chinese has gotten good enough so that I now have a
 289.299 +job! This is how I can afford to pay for the phone calls, by the way.
 289.300 +I will start next week as a Physical Education teacher at the Fung
 289.301 +Kai Liu Yun Sum Memorial Primary School. Fortunately, I do not need
 289.302 +to know much Chinese for the position, though I had to learn 12 new
 289.303 +characters for the school name. The Principal of the school saw me
 289.304 +when I was practicing my gymnastics in the courtyard. She called me
 289.305 +over and we talked. It turns out she knows Japanese, but rarely has a
 289.306 +chance to practice with the language. So, I will be giving lessons to
 289.307 +her, too. Syaoran-chan was not very happy with the idea, but I
 289.308 +promised I would still be able to do my housework as well as
 289.309 +teaching. I'll bet you never thought your friend would be a sensei! I
 289.310 +know I never did. I am very nervous, but will try my best.
 289.311 +
 289.312 +I never quite know where to put bad news in a letter, so I guess it
 289.313 +will go here. Syaoran-chan and I had our first fight last Tuesday. It
 289.314 +was my fault, because he was tired and said things he did not mean. I
 289.315 +got very angry, and I guess I yelled at him. He even slept in the
 289.316 +living room, he was so mad. I couldn't sleep at all. But in the
 289.317 +morning I apologized, and so did he, so things are OK now. I guess
 289.318 +sometimes these things happen with loving couples, although when I
 289.319 +told Oniichan about this, he said he never remembered Mother and
 289.320 +Father fighting like that. I was sort of mad too because I don't see
 289.321 +him all that often. That is very selfish, because he has to work
 289.322 +hard, and I know he would rather be with me if he could. But
 289.323 +sometimes I feel lonely, even when he is around. It's odd, because I
 289.324 +never felt like that before. Lonely, I mean. But then, I was always
 289.325 +around so many friends and family, and especially you, Tomoyo-chan. I
 289.326 +really miss you so very much. It feels like something isn't quite
 289.327 +right, somehow. I am so happy in my new life, though, and I shouldn't
 289.328 +feel like that. Maybe I am just a little homesick at times.
 289.329 +
 289.330 +That is the end of the bad news. Oh, I did have another dream. It
 289.331 +was very weird, and I almost don't want to tell you about it. You
 289.332 +were in the dream, and so was I, sort of. You were Tomoyo-chan, of
 289.333 +course, but I was the boy that you love, and never told. But in this
 289.334 +dream, you did tell me, when we were very young. We had grown up
 289.335 +together, and were on a date at Tokyo Tower. Tomoyo-chan, you were -
 289.336 +so- beautiful! You wore a flowing, white and lavendar chiffon dress,
 289.337 +and your hair was bedecked in purple ribbons. You had a snow-white
 289.338 +gardenia corsage that filled my dream with the sweetest scent. I was
 289.339 +so very nervous in the dream, because, well, because I was going to
 289.340 +ask you to marry me. Because you were so kind and gentle I was able
 289.341 +to stammer out the words and offer you a golden ring. Your amythyst
 289.342 +eyes filled with tears, and I was very afraid of your answer. But
 289.343 +then you said yes, and my heart sang.  We embraced and hugged, and
 289.344 +danced together under the pale moonlight. You were so happy, and I
 289.345 +have never been happier to see you like that.
 289.346 +
 289.347 +I am sorry if you cannot let him know of your love. It makes me very
 289.348 +sad to think about this. I was so unhappy when Li-kun left for Hong
 289.349 +Kong. If it hadn't been for you, and Yukito-san, and Rika-chan, and
 289.350 +Oniichan, and everybody, I might never have seen him on the bus, and
 289.351 +told him I loved him. It was hard to wait, but I knew he loved me,
 289.352 +and that he knew I loved him. And someday, I knew we would finally be
 289.353 +together. Tomoyo-chan, it makes me cry to think of you, that you
 289.354 +can't even tell your special person of your love. It must be so awful
 289.355 +to have no hope, and you are so brave about it. I wish I had known
 289.356 +back then, and maybe I could have helped you the way you helped me.
 289.357 +You helped me so many times, and I didn't even know you needed help.
 289.358 +I was so stupid about so much. Gomennasai. I don't think I was a very
 289.359 +good friend for you. I feel so ashamed. Gomennasai, Tomoyo-chan. If I
 289.360 +could, I would sacrafice all of my happiness for yours.
 289.361 +
 289.362 +Aiyaa, I've gotten tears all over the place and the letters are all
 289.363 +smeary. I know you are happy to have your beloved happy, but it's not
 289.364 +fair that everybody gets their special someone except Tomoyo-chan.
 289.365 +Tomoyo-chan, I promise that you will be all right, that everything
 289.366 +will be all right. I don't know how, but I swear with all my heart
 289.367 +that you will be with your special person. 
 289.368 +
 289.369 +After your last letter, I talked about you with some of the Cards.
 289.370 +Somehow, I ended up  talking with Flower about the place you and your
 289.371 +mother went to dance. Aiyaa! Tomoyo-chan, before I knew it, -we- were
 289.372 +dancing. At first it was a little weird, because we are both girls
 289.373 +and all. But it was so nice, and I felt so wonderful afterwards. She
 289.374 +gave me a beautiful purple and white orchid. For some reason, it
 289.375 +reminded me of you. When I said that, she just smiled, and then we
 289.376 +danced some more. I guess she is always ready for fun things. When
 289.377 +Syaoran chan came home, he was puzzled by the scent, and kept looking
 289.378 +around for the flowers. I was too embarrassed to tell him what
 289.379 +happened. 
 289.380 +
 289.381 +I'm sorry, my thoughts are wandering here. This always happens when
 289.382 +I'm thinking about Flower. In your wonderful letter you said I am
 289.383 +like a meandering ocean breeze, so I don't feel quite so foolish.
 289.384 +Arigato, Tomoyo chan. Anyway, I will do everything I can to help you
 289.385 +with your special person. I don't know how, but I promise that Tomoyo-
 289.386 +chan will be all right.
 289.387 +
 289.388 + I promise.
 289.389 +
 289.390 +
 289.391 +
 289.392 +Your friend forever,
 289.393 +
 289.394 +Kinomoto Sakura
 289.395 +
 289.396 +PS- I have enclosed some more pictures for your album. It must be a
 289.397 +very beautiful album if you are designing it. There is one of me in
 289.398 +my P.E. coach's uniform. Fanren-san took the picture. 
 289.399 +
 289.400 +PPS- If it is not too much trouble, could you please send me another
 289.401 +casette tape of your singing? I think I have almsot worn this one out
 289.402 +from playing it so much.
 289.403 +
 289.404 +PPSS- I keep forgetting to tell you that Kero-chan sends his love,
 289.405 +and Syaron-chan says hello.
 289.406 + 
 289.407 +
 289.408 +
 289.409 +
 289.410 +
 289.411 +
 289.412 +Dear Sakura-chan,
 289.413 +	I was thrilled to hear you again on the phone. I’ve been watching
 289.414 +my videos a lot recently, so I’ve still been hearing you, but it was
 289.415 +nice to actually know that you were there and could answer me. I’m
 289.416 +always happy to talk to you and it was as close as I’ve been able to
 289.417 +come in the past few months to actually being there by Sakura-chan’s
 289.418 +side. You’ve always been a very emotional woman, but it’s even more
 289.419 +evident hearing your voice than just the words. But even in your
 289.420 +letters, I can hear your sweet voice. Sakura-chan, I’m very happy 
 289.421 +that you like hearing my voice. Sometimes we take the most important
 289.422 +things for granted until it’s too late and we no longer have them.
 289.423 +I’m glad that I took all of the footage of you I did so that I can
 289.424 +still watch you. So even if you’re far away from me, I can still lose
 289.425 +myself in memories of the past. You always were such a cute girl. And
 289.426 +you’ve grown into a very lovely woman. I’m lucky to have been able to
 289.427 +stay by your side for as long as I could. I always knew it would end 
 289.428 +one day. So I wanted to capture everything on videotape, a beautiful
 289.429 +record of you that I could always keep close to my heart. So I’m
 289.430 +happy as long as I can curl up and watch your cute adventures all
 289.431 +over again, Sakura-chan. You were always so amazing! No matter what
 289.432 +you were doing, you always captivated me. 
 289.433 +	I understand if there are certain things that you would rather not
 289.434 +talk about on the phone. In a way, letters can be more private. You
 289.435 +don’t have to worry about anyone coming in or saying something
 289.436 +confusing when you can’t look them in the eye and explain what you
 289.437 +mean. More letters from you are always a good thing. Work can be
 289.438 +busy, but I like taking your letters with me and reading them when I
 289.439 +have some spare moments. Now that you’re sending new ones again, I’ll
 289.440 +be happy to get back to them all as soon as I can. We can split the
 289.441 +cost of the calls if you want, Sakura-chan. It just makes my heart
 289.442 +swell 
 289.443 +to hear you on the other line, so I would be more than willing to
 289.444 +pay anything for that gift. I will call you this Sunday, then. And
 289.445 +every other Sunday I will wait patiently by my phone for you. That
 289.446 +should keep us from getting too many busy signals. I was so worried
 289.447 +that someone else was using the phone or that something had gone
 289.448 +wrong with the phone lines when I couldn’t get through. It’s easier
 289.449 +to panic now because I won’t be seeing you the next day to see what
 289.450 +happened. But I should have known that it wasn’t anything too
 289.451 +problematic for you. After all, there’s nothing Sakura-chan can’t
 289.452 +handle!
 289.453 +	 One of these days, when I come out and visit you (hopefully 
 289.454 +to help when you're pregnant or with a little one) I would love to
 289.455 +try some of your tea. I’m sure it must be very good by now,
 289.456 +especially after Ieran-sama’s help. And please don’t let her scare
 289.457 +you. It sounds like you’re slowly starting to warm her up to you. She
 289.458 +holds much back so as to remain a figure of authority, but she must
 289.459 +be coming to a slow realization that Sakura-chan really is the
 289.460 +perfect wife for her son. From the sounds of things, she’s already
 289.461 +helped you on the way to making your own tea an art form. Then again,
 289.462 +everything you did always seemed like art to me. Now that you mention
 289.463 +it, I really wish I had  gotten more footage of you capturing the
 289.464 +Jump Card (you were so brave when you faced it’s giant, cute doll
 289.465 +form!), but I’m glad that I could help by distracting Maki-san. I
 289.466 +told her everything I knew about tea and then everything I knew about
 289.467 +videotape. She was a very good listener. I was always happy to help
 289.468 +you. Though I think it surprised you when I took the guard schedule
 289.469 +from the museum when we were looking for the Silent Card. Oh, you
 289.470 +made such a cute thief! I loved capturing 
 289.471 +all of your adventures on videotape, but I was glad when I could
 289.472 +help you, too. But you and Li-kun always made such a good team. He
 289.473 +was a great sidekick to Cardcaptor Sakura. So it fits that you would
 289.474 +go on your happy marriage journey together. But I’m glad that you
 289.475 +still think of me being there with you when you’re nervous. Whenever
 289.476 +you think about that, just know that I am with you because you’re
 289.477 +always in my thoughts. So whatever Sakura-chan’s doing, I’m right
 289.478 +beside her, knowing that she’ll do an excellent job.
 289.479 +	Oh, you must have looked so kawaii when you were blushing! 
 289.480 +Everytime I reread that part of the letter, I could see you blushing
 289.481 +in my mind. You always looked so adorable when I dressed you up in
 289.482 +one of my costumes and you’d blush. Or when you’d blush after I’d say
 289.483 +something about you. Please remember that I was always telling the
 289.484 +truth! I was still happy to bring a blush to your cheeks, though. I
 289.485 +think it helps show that sweet innocence of yours even more. I’ll
 289.486 +have to go find a videotape of you blushing when I’m done now. But
 289.487 +that shouldn’t be too difficult because the costumes did a good job
 289.488 +of bringing that out. I always filmed you because you were the most
 289.489 +beautiful thing I could possibly film. There was no reason for me to
 289.490 +film anything else. But I think my camcorder is still happy to be
 289.491 +back at work because she knows the videos will go to you. My
 289.492 +camcorder and I are both excited that Sakura-chan likes the videos.
 289.493 +I’ll make sure I send more soon. I’ll need to try some more desserts.
 289.494 +Your new family should like that. And I’ll have to try new outfits
 289.495 +and hair styles now that I know Sakura-chan is watching the tapes to
 289.496 +see me. I’m so glad 
 289.497 +that you think I look cute in them. That’s the sweetest compliment I
 289.498 +could possibly have hoped for. Thank you so much, Sakura-chan.
 289.499 +	I’ve been thinking about your prophetic dream since I first read
 289.500 +about it. I’m sorry to say that I can’t think of what it could mean.
 289.501 +But I do think that you should listen carefully to it. I think you’re
 289.502 +right, that with time it will grow clearer. Sakura-chan’s dreams are
 289.503 +very trustworthy. Keep your heart open, but try not to worry too
 289.504 +much. I’m sure that you’ll figure it out when it’s time. Maybe you
 289.505 +and Li-kun have to come back to Japan soon to finish something up
 289.506 +with the Sakura Cards. Then I could videotape Sakura-chan’s older
 289.507 +Cardmistress adventures! But this makes me think of something else
 289.508 +that’s a little strange. The Dream Card gave premonitory dreams,
 289.509 +didn’t it? The dream if gave me before you caught it was filming lots
 289.510 +and lots of Sakura-chan’s. I guess it just meant that I would
 289.511 +continue to videotape you for a long time to come. Which was very
 289.512 +accurate because now I have many videotapes of you in my personal
 289.513 +collection. Hmm... Your dream sounds pretty vague now, but I’m sure
 289.514 +that given time it will make 
 289.515 +full sense to you. You always did make a good prophet. Maybe you
 289.516 +could try to do a Tarot reading with the Sakura Cards to figure out
 289.517 +more of what it meant.
 289.518 + 	Sakura-chan looks so pretty in her P.E. teacher’s uniform! 
 289.519 +The album is coming along gorgeously. I’ve been putting all of the 
 289.520 +pictures you’ve been sending to me in it, from the ones of the 
 289.521 +dinners you make to the ones of you and Li-kun and the family. I’m 
 289.522 +having a lot of fun arranging it. Your students must be very lucky
 289.523 +to have you as their teacher. I know I would have been entranced to
 289.524 +have a teacher like you. It would definitely make me want to try my
 289.525 +hardest. Sakura-chan’s students must be very eager for her. I never
 289.526 +really thought that you would be a sensei, but now that you are, it
 289.527 +sounds perfect for you. Especially of Physical Education. Sakura-chan
 289.528 +was always so athletic. So now it just sounds right that you would
 289.529 +be. I’m glad that your Chinese is coming along so well. It should
 289.530 +help with your students and with Li-kun’s family. You’ll have to
 289.531 +speak to me in it the next time we talk on the phone. And it’s great
 289.532 +that you are 
 289.533 +giving Fanren-san and the Principal Japanese lessons. So Sakura-
 289.534 +chan’s being a very busy sensei indeed! I’m sure that Li-kun will 
 289.535 +find it nice to have you out working so hard with your students. 
 289.536 +	I’m so sorry for you about the fight. That must have been 
 289.537 +horrible for you. I know how easily you can get hurt by things like 
 289.538 +that. I really wish I had been there afterwards to help you. But it 
 289.539 +sounds like it all worked out rather well. Please don’t worry about 
 289.540 +the fight. It depends on who the people are, Sakura-chan. Your 
 289.541 +father is a very calm man and from what my mother told me about 
 289.542 +your mother, Nadeshiko-san was always a caring, gentle person, no 
 289.543 +matter what was going on. So they really wouldn’t get into any 
 289.544 +fights. You are a very emotional girl. Emotions don’t have to be 
 289.545 +logical. Love rarely ever is. So all that matters is how you felt.
 289.546 +And 
 289.547 +Li-kun can be stubborn. So with him working so much and you 
 289.548 +being lonely and homesick, it makes sense that there would be some 
 289.549 +conflict. I’m sure you were both devastated by the argument and 
 289.550 +that you were eager to make up. Sometimes love can be painful, but 
 289.551 +it can also be heavenly. Don’t let the little slips disturb your
 289.552 +little 
 289.553 +slice of heaven. I know it must be difficult with you, out on your 
 289.554 +own in a different country with a completely different family and 
 289.555 +none of your old family or friends around. No one can fault you for 
 289.556 +being homesick, Sakura-chan. If I could pack everyone up and 
 289.557 +move them out there to keep you happy, I would. Then Sakura-
 289.558 +chan wouldn’t have to be lonely anymore. But I’m sure as you 
 289.559 +make new friends and as you get closer to Li-kun’s family, you’ll 
 289.560 +start feeling better. As long as you try your best, everything will 
 289.561 +work out. It feels lonely back here without your lovely presence, 
 289.562 +but I know that my wonderful best friend is living her exciting new 
 289.563 +life on the other side of the ocean, so there’s nothing for me to be 
 289.564 +lonely about.
 289.565 +	Kawaii!!! I’m so happy that you told me about that dream, Sakura-
 289.566 +chan. I can only imagine you with a deep blush, wearing cute boy’s
 289.567 +clothes and holding a ring. You must have been so embarrassed in the
 289.568 +dream to be asking something like that. But if Sakura-chan went
 289.569 +through all that trouble, I would find it very difficult to turn
 289.570 +‘him’ down. That does sound like a strange dream, but it sounds
 289.571 +beautiful, too. To think that anyone would care that much about me,
 289.572 +that things really could have turned out so well. It must have been a
 289.573 +very odd dream for you to have. It must be from you worrying about my
 289.574 +love life so much lately. It would make me so happy to have my True
 289.575 +Love propose to me 
 289.576 +like that. It sounded so romantic, too. Part of me wishes that
 289.577 +things could have worked out that happily with the one I love. But
 289.578 +instead, I’ll just think of your dream fondly as a what might have
 289.579 +been. If Sakura-chan was the boy I loved but never told, I would be a
 289.580 +very lucky girl. Please don’t cry for me, Sakura-chan. It makes me
 289.581 +sad to 
 289.582 +think of you in tears, especially over me. Love can hurt and love 
 289.583 +can be a very lonely feeling, but I would never give up the love in 
 289.584 +my heart even if it meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about any 
 289.585 +of that. My love for them will never change, even if they don’t
 289.586 +know. So I’ll love them from afar, glad to see them during the
 289.587 +happiest years of their life. I’m happy, Sakura-chan. Please don’t
 289.588 +worry about me.
 289.589 +Your happiness means so much to me. I wouldn’t want you to give up
 289.590 +any of it for my sake. Remember, it makes me happy when you are. So
 289.591 +you have to be happy for me. Don’t be ashamed. You were the best
 289.592 +friend that I could ever ask for. You never knew that I needed any
 289.593 +help to begin with and I was always eager to help you when I could.
 289.594 +Besides, I don’t think Fate ever intended for me to have my love, so
 289.595 +there was nothing you could do even had you known. But I accepted
 289.596 +that a long time ago. How can you be sad when the one you love is
 289.597 +happy? If you really, truly love them, then that should be enough. To
 289.598 +know that 
 289.599 +they’re happy in ways you could never make them. When you close your
 289.600 +eyes, you can feel them close to your heart, and your love just grows
 289.601 +knowing what a special person you’ve found. I’m very lucky to have
 289.602 +found my special person, Sakura-chan. It doesn’t matter whether or
 289.603 +not they love me. I’ll always love them regardless, so it doesn’t
 289.604 +change that in the least. Thank you so much for wanting to help me.
 289.605 +You really are a perfect best friend.
 289.606 +	Mother has been a little confused lately, I think. She says she
 289.607 +doesn’t want to see me alone and to end up like her. She’s angry with
 289.608 +my special someone for leaving me alone like this but she cares for
 289.609 +them as well. So I think it’s difficult for her to sort out her
 289.610 +emotions. I’m trying to convince her not to be angry because I’m
 289.611 +happy with how things have turned out, but mother can be a very
 289.612 +stubborn woman. She was, on the other hand, very pleased with the
 289.613 +doll I finished designing. I’ll send the finished designs along with
 289.614 +this. 
 289.615 +Soon enough, the doll itself should be in production. Cutecaptor
 289.616 +Haneko will be the first toy that I was the head of the designs for.
 289.617 +I’m very excited about it. If the sales go well, there may even be an
 289.618 +anime tie in. I guess mother liked the backstory I came up with for
 289.619 +Haneko-chan. I’ll be going to the Toy Fair in a few weeks with the
 289.620 +prototype doll along with mother for the showcasing of many other
 289.621 +Daidouji toys. 
 289.622 +	It seems that Flower has the same preferences as mother. I really
 289.623 +can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to dance with Sakura-chan.
 289.624 +That must have been a lot of fun. You really did need something to
 289.625 +relax you after worrying about everything. I can understand why 
 289.626 +you wouldn’t want to tell Li-kun. That might seem a little strange
 289.627 +to him. But I’m glad that you’re still talking to the Sakura Cards.
 289.628 +They all loved you so much. 
 289.629 +	Magic or not, I know that your beautiful spirit will always shine 
 289.630 +through. You made a wonderful magical girl, but that was never what
 289.631 +was 
 289.632 +important to me. It was you. It was seeing the genki, bright girl
 289.633 +that you always were and getting to be close to you. That was always
 289.634 +more important to me than any magic. You spin your own magic, Sakura-
 289.635 +chan. Thank you again, my sweet friend. But you really don’t have to
 289.636 +worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m sure that everything will always be
 289.637 +all right. It’s your power phrase, after all. So I have to believe
 289.638 +it. Because I believe in you. And I always knew that you’d rescue me.
 289.639 +I will be all right. I am all right. You don’t have to worry. I would
 289.640 +never want to worry you, Sakura-chan. 
 289.641 +	Give Kero-chan another hug for me and please distribute my love 
 289.642 +among everyone and the Cards, but be sure to keep a huge chunk for
 289.643 +yourself. I sent along the cassette you asked for. I tried to put in
 289.644 +some variety to the music so that there should be plenty to listen to
 289.645 +on it. I kept from anything sad this time. I always love singing for
 289.646 +you, Sakura-chan. So I'm very happy to have you as my delayed
 289.647 +audience. 
 289.648 +
 289.649 +
 289.650 +Your friend in Tomoeda,
 289.651 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 289.652 +
 289.653 +
 289.654 +
 289.655 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
 289.656 +
 289.657 +Things are so hectic here that it is just a pleasure to sit down and
 289.658 +write a letter to my very best friend across the sea. I usually wake
 289.659 +up around 5:00 AM and do some housework before catching the 6:20 bus
 289.660 +for Fung Kai Liu Yun Sum Memorial Primary School. But I woke up
 289.661 +especially early today so I could write to you. I am so glad we are
 289.662 +still in touch with each other, Tomoyo-chan. The thought occurred to
 289.663 +me that because we are not together all the time as we used to be, we
 289.664 +might drift apart somehow. When I thought this, I became very
 289.665 +worried, and gathered together all of my letters from you, and your
 289.666 +videos, and the cassettes of your singing. But if this was all I had
 289.667 +of you, if this was all that was left, I don't know what I would do.
 289.668 +I feel bad asking this, because in a way I left you to come to Hong
 289.669 +Kong. So, I have no right to say this. But Tomoyo-chan, please don't
 289.670 +ever leave me. If I did not have you to talk with, to listen to, and
 289.671 +if I did not think you remembered me, I just don't know how I could
 289.672 +get through even one day. 
 289.673 +
 289.674 +Gomenesai. This is supposed to be a happy letter. There have been
 289.675 +many happy things going on since last I wrote. I have made friends
 289.676 +with a teacher at work, and I told her about you, and how much you
 289.677 +meant to me. She is older than I am, and very smart. Hoeee, she
 289.678 +teaches mathematics, and knows so many things! She told me she once
 289.679 +had a friend like you, when she was growing up. She said she had
 289.680 +fallen in love with that friend, and thought they would always be
 289.681 +together. But after high school, her friend moved away to England.
 289.682 +For a while they wrote letters, and talked on the phone. But
 289.683 +eventually, she says they drifted apart, and even stopped writing.
 289.684 +She was crying. She apologized for being so foolish, and said it felt
 289.685 +odd to still care so much. Tomoyo-chan, I don't want us to ever drift
 289.686 +apart like that. I was so afraid after I talked to her. I thought,
 289.687 +what if there was no Tomoyo-chan in my life? I am so happy here with
 289.688 +my new family in Hong Kong, but if I lost you, I don't think I could
 289.689 +live anymore. 
 289.690 +
 289.691 +Gomenesai. All right, let me tell you about all the happy things
 289.692 +that have been happening. My job is a lot of work, but it is
 289.693 +wonderful! I am the girl's P.E. teacher, and teach 5 classes a day,
 289.694 +one for each grade. Thank you so much for sending the books on P.E.
 289.695 +instruction that I asked for on the phone. They have been a big help.
 289.696 +I never knew there was so much to teaching! So far, I have shown the
 289.697 +students fundamentals of exercise. Next week, we will begin a unit on
 289.698 +gymnastics. "Lessons must be adjusted to the grade level, individual
 289.699 +level of development, and personal level of motivation and perceived
 289.700 +capability". Hoeee, sometimes reading the books makes my head dizzy,
 289.701 +but I am trying my best. At least I am not teaching mathematics! And
 289.702 +I know you said you will pay for the books and the shipping costs,
 289.703 +but I did want to do something in return. So, I sent you a book
 289.704 +entitled, "The Flora of Hong Kong and Surrounding Areas". It is in
 289.705 +English, so I do not know much of what is says. But I thought the
 289.706 +pictures were beautiful, and hope that you like it. I got the idea
 289.707 +from Flower, by the way. She sends her love. She remembers you
 289.708 +fondly, and was wondering if you like to dance, or just to film
 289.709 +dancing? 
 289.710 +
 289.711 +I went shopping in the City after school let out early last Monday.
 289.712 +I bought a tea set, with a little purple teapot and 2 lavender cups.
 289.713 +For some reason, they reminded me very much of you, although the set
 289.714 +is from Great Britain, and of course you are from Japan. Anyway, I
 289.715 +decided to save it for when you came to visit. It will be my special
 289.716 +Tomoyo chan tea set. Maybe after you have finished work on the Haneko
 289.717 +chan doll, you might be able to come and visit? Tomoyo-chan, I would
 289.718 +dearly love to see you again. And we could go shopping together.
 289.719 +There are many wonderful stores here, and now that I am making my own
 289.720 +money to spend, I appreciate the prices!
 289.721 +
 289.722 +I was blushing when I read about me blushing in your letter. Thank
 289.723 +you, Tomoyo-chan. You always made me feel so special with your
 289.724 +unusual costumes, and kind words, and all the little things you have
 289.725 +always done for me. Talking about capturing Jump and Silence brought
 289.726 +back many memories, especially of you. And thank you so very much for
 289.727 +the wonderful videotapes. Kero-chan was very excited at the prospect
 289.728 +of dessert videos. I play them a lot lately, and not just for help in
 289.729 +cooking, though that is very much appreciated. You are so beautiful
 289.730 +that sometimes my heart aches to see you in them. I have a picture of
 289.731 +Mother on the dresser in my room. I'd never really realized how much
 289.732 +the two of you look alike. And from everything Oniichan and Father
 289.733 +have told me, you sound so much like her: sweet, gentle, patient, and
 289.734 +loving. I think Sonomi-sama is very perceptive and wise when she says
 289.735 +you remind her of Mother. If it would not be too much trouble, could
 289.736 +you send me a picture of you? I would like to put in on the dresser,
 289.737 +so I can see you both before I sleep.
 289.738 +
 289.739 +I had that dream again, the one where I can see Tokyo Tower. Last
 289.740 +night, there was more of the dream. I could see a figure on the
 289.741 +Tower, but was not able to make out who it was. Kero-chan will not
 289.742 +say anything about it, because he says only I can understand the
 289.743 +dream's true meaning. He says it may take time for the dream to
 289.744 +ripen, so I must be patient. Thank you for the suggestion about the
 289.745 +Dream Card. I talked with her about it, but she only smiled, and said
 289.746 +it sounded like a very interesting dream. If I did come back to Japan
 289.747 +because of this, then I could see you again. That would be so
 289.748 +wonderful! And I did do a reading with my cards, but not about the
 289.749 +dream. About something more important. It was very exhausting, and I
 289.750 +will tell you about it later in the letter.
 289.751 +
 289.752 +As for the other dream I had, the one with you in it, umm, Tomoyo-
 289.753 +chan, how did you know it was me dressed in boy’s clothes? After you
 289.754 +wrote that, I remembered that in my dream the boy looked like me, and
 289.755 +really was me. I guess that is because I didn’t know who he really
 289.756 +is.  But how did you know that? Anyway, I was very nervous and
 289.757 +embarrassed in the dream, but it was still a beautiful moment.
 289.758 +Syaoran-chan told me that proposing marriage was the hardest thing he
 289.759 +had ever done, much worse than any of his battles, or even training
 289.760 +with Ieran-sama. I don’t know how boys do it. I guess it is sort of a
 289.761 +test, to offer up your heart to the one you love. You may be
 289.762 +rejected, and that would be terribly painful, but you must offer
 289.763 +yourself as a sacrifice to your beloved. I remember the dream most
 289.764 +vividly. I guess you are right, that I had the dream because I was
 289.765 +worrying so much about you.  And thank you for the kind words about
 289.766 +me as your friend. I know you would never blame me for anything, even
 289.767 +if I was at fault. But I can’t help but feel that somehow I have
 289.768 +failed you, my very best friend. I think your love is such a precious
 289.769 +thing, and am glad it is close to your heart. But I do wish your true
 289.770 +love was with you. I know he would be, if he knew, and he could. 
 289.771 +
 289.772 +Thank you for the kind words on my first fight. You are so wise
 289.773 +about people, and it helped to read your observations about Syaoran-
 289.774 +chan and me. It really was so awful. It felt as if our love was no
 289.775 +longer there, just anger and regret. I am so happy that we made up
 289.776 +the next morning. I never, ever want to fight like that again.
 289.777 +Syaoran-chan is my one, true love, and I should be thankful for him
 289.778 +no matter what happens. But we almost had another fight just two
 289.779 +nights. Syaoran-chan was very late from work, but I missed him so
 289.780 +much that I stayed up until 1 AM, even though I must be up so early
 289.781 +to go to work. He was surprised to see me, and did not seem very
 289.782 +happy.  I asked him how work was, and he mumbled something I could
 289.783 +not understand. I told him I had tried to call, but there was no
 289.784 +answer in his office. He got angry, and accused me of prying. Tomoyo-
 289.785 +chan, I did not mean it like that at all. I just wanted him to know
 289.786 +that I cared about him, and wanted to talk with him. He said he had
 289.787 +gone out with some people in his office for beers. He said that was a
 289.788 +part of his job. I was very hurt, because I felt he cared more for
 289.789 +going out with other people than seeing me. But I did not say
 289.790 +anything because I did not want another fight. Syaoran-chan went to
 289.791 +bed, but I was too upset to sleep, so I called Oniichan. He was
 289.792 +sleeping, but I told him all that had happened, and I guess I cried a
 289.793 +lot. He told me that salarymen have to do this a lot, and not to
 289.794 +worry about it. That made me feel better. 
 289.795 +
 289.796 +So, the next morning, when I served Syaoran-chan his breakfast, I
 289.797 +gave him a note asking if we could talk about something when he got
 289.798 +home that night. I think he was afraid I was still upset about the
 289.799 +night before, but I really wasn’t. Well, not a lot, anyway. So, he
 289.800 +was home very early that night, and we talked about our day, which
 289.801 +was nice. I told him that I was sorry about being angry the night
 289.802 +before, and that Oniichan had told me this was a part of his job, and
 289.803 +I shouldn’t feel hurt. He seemed surprised that Oniichan had said
 289.804 +this, but was happy that everything had been resolved. Then I told
 289.805 +him about the dream with Tokyo Tower. He seemed concerned, and I know
 289.806 +he will do all he can to help. I feel he will somehow protect me, as
 289.807 +he always has. I am so glad that everything turned out well.I really
 289.808 +am lucky to have found my true love. 
 289.809 +
 289.810 +I did a card reading Sunday, after our phone call. I was surprised
 289.811 +at how difficult it was, and how very tired it made me. Tomoyo chan,
 289.812 +please do not be angry with me, but I wanted to know who your special
 289.813 +person is. I knew you would not tell me if I asked, so I asked the
 289.814 +cards instead. I asked them just to give me a hint, since it did not
 289.815 +seem right to ask without your permission. Well, the important cards
 289.816 +that came up were Loop and Illusion. Illusion showed me an image of
 289.817 +myself, and when I added that to Loop, it seemed to me that your
 289.818 +special someone is very close to me. In fact, I am certain that this
 289.819 +is true. So, I have been thinking about all you have said about your
 289.820 +special someone. I think I know who it is.
 289.821 +
 289.822 +This person is very close to me. This person is someone who does not
 289.823 +know that you love them. It must be a very wonderful person for you
 289.824 +to have given your heart to them, for the person that Tomoyo-chan
 289.825 +loves must be very special, indeed. You have known this person a long
 289.826 +time.  You were going to tell them of your love, but hesitated when
 289.827 +they found someone else. Now you are happy for them, and do not wish
 289.828 +to intrude on their happiness. 
 289.829 +
 289.830 +Tomoyo-chan, do you love Oniichan?
 289.831 +
 289.832 +It makes sense to me now that you were blushing the first time you
 289.833 +saw him. And I think that Oniichan also likes you. Remember when I
 289.834 +told you Oniichan was talking about you when Syaoran-chan and I
 289.835 +announced our engagement? Tomoyo-chan, he was saying the most
 289.836 +wonderful things about you. He said you were bright, and sweet, and
 289.837 +caring, and pretty, and would be a wonderful companion for life. I
 289.838 +guess I am sort of dense about these things, and I did not understand
 289.839 +what he was saying. I did not know that he liked you, -like that-.
 289.840 +But you are right, he is very happy with Yukito-san, and I don’t know
 289.841 +what to say or do. Perhaps he likes you, and also Yukito-san? Maybe
 289.842 +you are right that it is best if you keep your love silent. But I am
 289.843 +still sad that I will never get to see you at your wedding.  I wish
 289.844 +there was something I could do. If you would like, I can talk to
 289.845 +Oniichan. Somehow it is too sad that Tomoyo-chan’s precious love must
 289.846 +be kept in the beautiful cage of her heart.
 289.847 +
 289.848 +Tomoyo-chan, I don’t quite know how, but somehow you will be all
 289.849 +right.
 289.850 +
 289.851 +I must run to my bus soon, but I wanted to thank you for the
 289.852 +beautiful songs. I listen to them very often. I think with my next
 289.853 +paycheck I will but a cassette tape player, so I can hear you on the
 289.854 +way to work. When I listen to your voice, I feel that my best friend
 289.855 +will always be with me. Thank you so much Tomoyo chan.
 289.856 +
 289.857 +Love, 
 289.858 +
 289.859 +
 289.860 +Kinomoto Sakura
 289.861 +
 289.862 +PS- Aiyaaa, I am always forgetting to put this in the letter. Kero-
 289.863 +chan sends his love. Oh, and he made me promise to ask for the cake
 289.864 +recipe with the strawberries. I am sorry. Syoaran-chan sends his
 289.865 +regards. 
 289.866 +
 289.867 +PPS- Please give Sonomi-sama my love. I know she wants only the best
 289.868 +for her precious daughter. And I think she is right. I don’t see how
 289.869 +anybody who leaves you could be happy. 
 289.870 \ No newline at end of file

   290.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   290.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   290.3 @@ -0,0 +1,674 @@
   290.4 +Dear Sakura
   290.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   290.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   290.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   290.8 +
   290.9 +Dear Sakura-chan,
  290.10 +	How are you? I didn’t want to wait for our phone call this week so
  290.11 +I tried to get back to you as quickly as I could. Though I’ll
  290.12 +probably hear from you on the phone before I can get a reply anyway.
  290.13 +But that’s all right because I’m just happy to write you. I like 
  290.14 +knowing that as soon as I send this off it will be on its way to
  290.15 +Sakura-chan’s door, that the letter I wrote will end up in her hands
  290.16 +before too long. So I always have plenty of motivation to write you
  290.17 +back. I’m writing this in my office at work while I’m waiting for a 
  290.18 +phone call. I hope I can finish it all in one sitting. I have a
  290.19 +picture of you in my office. You’re only eleven or twelve in the
  290.20 +picture, but you have the cutest smile on your face. So I see you
  290.21 +smiling with me at work while I try to finish Hanako-chan. Meishi-
  290.22 +chan, a coworker, joked that you were my girlfriend because she has a
  290.23 +picture of her fiancee on 
  290.24 +her desk and because of how much I talk about you. We laughed for a
  290.25 +bit about that. She’s getting married next month so we want to finish
  290.26 +the project in time for her honeymoon. Hanako-chan still has a bit to
  290.27 +go before she’s finished, so that means she’ll need extra hard work
  290.28 +for the next few weeks. But I’m really happy with how she’s coming
  290.29 +along. I finally decided on long violet hair for the doll so that
  290.30 +little girls can style it however they want. I hope she gets the love
  290.31 +of many young girls. I want them to have lots of fun with her, just
  290.32 +like I had lots of fun dressing and videotaping Sakura-chan. If I can
  290.33 +get even a portion of that fun into the doll, then I know it will be
  290.34 +perfect.
  290.35 +	Oh, Sakura-chan, I’m sorry things have been so hectic for you
  290.36 +lately. I know how that can be what with all of the deadlines we’ve
  290.37 +been having lately. It almost reminds me of when we were studying for
  290.38 +the high school entrance exams. But I really enjoyed spending all
  290.39 +that time studying with you. My camera tripod got a lot of use that
  290.40 +year when we’d sit in your room and go over everything. I was so
  290.41 +proud of you when it was all over. So sometimes hectic can be a very
  290.42 +happy thing. I hope that your hectic life is like that or that thing
  290.43 +slow down for you soon. Don’t work yourself too hard or poor Sakura-
  290.44 +chan 
  290.45 +won’t be able to show off all of the wonderful energy she has
  290.46 +inside. It really does sound like you’ve been busy lately, so don’t
  290.47 +worry about getting back to me or calling if you need the rest. So
  290.48 +make sure that you get plenty of rest. That way you can still be the
  290.49 +pretty, genki woman that I last saw. 
  290.50 +	I’m so sorry for your mathematics teacher friend. That sounds so
  290.51 +awful. To lose touch with your special someone like that after all
  290.52 +that time has to be heart wrenching. I feel so sorry for her. I can
  290.53 +see why she’s still hurt about it. When love grips onto your heart,
  290.54 +it’s impossible to ever completely get rid of it’s tugging. Mother
  290.55 +still thinks about Nadeshiko-san every day, so I guess she went
  290.56 +through something similar to your friend. I wish that people didn’t
  290.57 +have to go through things that painful, especially such sweet people
  290.58 +as mother and your friend. I was really worried that we would drift
  290.59 +after you married Li-kun as well. I thought that now that you have a
  290.60 +new family and a loving husband and a life of your own that I
  290.61 +wouldn’t be as necessary anymore. Now that Sakura-chan’s in Hong
  290.62 +Kong, I’m not as much a part of her life anymore. Even with all of my
  290.63 +videotapes and pictures of you, it wouldn’t be enough for me if we
  290.64 +lost touch. The only thing that makes it enough to bear is the
  290.65 +thought that you’re happy out there. So I know you’ll be all right
  290.66 +with or without me. And I know everything will work out. So even if
  290.67 +you’re so far away, I’m happy. 
  290.68 +	Sakura-chan, I promise I will always be here for you as long as you
  290.69 +need me. And I will always remember you. Nothing could ever take the
  290.70 +beautiful memories of you from my heart. I promise. So please don’t
  290.71 +feel sad. It makes me feel awful to know that Sakura-chan is sad. I
  290.72 +promise that I’ll stay as long as you need me. I’ll always think of
  290.73 +you as my very best friend. I can’t get Sakura-chan out of my mind
  290.74 +for even a minute, so I don’t think I could ever forget my sweet
  290.75 +Cardmistress. 
  290.76 +	You must make a wonderful P.E. teacher. I’ll need to watch you some
  290.77 +day when you’re teaching one of your classes. You should teach them
  290.78 +all a little something about cheerleading someday, too. They could
  290.79 +use a few lessons from the best cheerleader in Tomoeda. And it would
  290.80 +be so kawaii with Sakura-chan giving lessons these days. But I’m sure
  290.81 +that all of those girls are very lucky to have you as their teacher.
  290.82 +Some must feel the same way about you that Rika-chan felt towards
  290.83 +Terrada-sensei. It would be easy to enjoy learning from Sakura-
  290.84 +sensei! I’m sure you make them all very eager for class. I would have
  290.85 +loved to have you as my P.E. teacher when I was younger. And with
  290.86 +your loving heart, you’ll be able to reach out to the girls and draw
  290.87 +the best out of them.
  290.88 +Thank you very much for the book, Sakura-chan. It’s very pretty and
  290.89 +I’ve already gone through it twice. Its must be gorgeous to see it
  290.90 +all up close in Hong Kong. The photography was really nice throughout
  290.91 +the whole book. The Engrish can be a little tricky at times, but it’s
  290.92 +still nice to go through. Flower has wonderful choices in gifts.
  290.93 +Thank you 
  290.94 +again for sending it. I think I like videotaping people dancing a
  290.95 +little more than dancing myself because I love how cute Sakura-chan
  290.96 +looks while she’s dancing. The look on her face is just adorable and
  290.97 +the way she moves is very dreamlike. Dancing can be fun, too, but I’d
  290.98 +much rather videotape it. The prom was fun, but I spent most of it
  290.99 +videotaping Sakura-chan and Li-kun dancing. 
 290.100 +	The tea set you bought sounds very pretty. And with you working on
 290.101 +your tea making, I’m certain that it will be wonderful to have tea
 290.102 +with Sakura-chan. I’m glad that it reminds you of me. But you really
 290.103 +shouldn’t leave it just for me. I’m sure Li-kun and Ieran-sama and
 290.104 +the others would enjoy it very much if you used it for them. But I
 290.105 +would 
 290.106 +love to have tea with you and the tea set when I come to visit.
 290.107 +After I finish Hanako-chan should be perfect. I’ll have to ask mother
 290.108 +about it, but I don’t see why not. Mother should know of some good
 290.109 +hotels in Hong Kong because of all of her business trips, so I’ll
 290.110 +need to start looking for information so I can come out and visit
 290.111 +Sakura-chan. Maybe I could bring my camcorder with us while we went
 290.112 +shopping and I could make sure to get lots of souvenirs of my trip to
 290.113 +visit you. And here I thought that I would have to wait for Sakura-
 290.114 +chan to have a baby to have an excuse to come see her. 
 290.115 +	I’m very glad that you like the videotapes. I’ll make sure that I
 290.116 +keep making more. If you ever have any requests, please just ask. We
 290.117 +have a very well trained chef and she says that she would be more
 290.118 +than happy to help me learn how to make whatever dishes I need to for
 290.119 +my videos. I finished the cake with strawberries tape last night so
 290.120 +I’ll be sure to add that to the package I send. I can even make
 290.121 +copies of some of my old tapes if you would ever like to see your
 290.122 +adventures for the past eight years. I’m so very glad that you think
 290.123 +I look pretty in the cooking tapes. Thank you very much for saying
 290.124 +so. That means 
 290.125 +so much to me coming from you. And I’m glad you think I’m a lot like
 290.126 +your mother. With all that my mother has said about Nadeshiko-san, I
 290.127 +take that as one of the highest compliments I could receive. Mother
 290.128 +said that you and I must have been switched at birth because I seem
 290.129 +to take more after Nadeshiko-san than her. I’ll send a photo along
 290.130 +with the letter, but it will probably be about a year old or so. I
 290.131 +haven’t had many pictures taken recently. But I’ll be happy to know
 290.132 +that I’ll be by Sakura-chan’s bedside, watching over her. 
 290.133 +	Oh, I need to get going. It looks like I have to get back to work
 290.134 +now that I know when the meeting is. And I can’t finish this right
 290.135 +after work because I’m giving my mother’s secretary’s daughter
 290.136 +singing lessons. But that shouldn’t be more than an hour or two, so
 290.137 +I’ll finish this tonight and send everything to you as soon as I can. 
 290.138 +
 290.139 +	Hello again, Sakura-chan! I’m writing this in the limousine, so I
 290.140 +apologize if my writing looks messy. Megumi-chan has a very beautiful
 290.141 +voice. I’m very glad that she decided to take singing lessons. I
 290.142 +think the only thing she’s lacking is someone or something to sing
 290.143 +for. Once she finds that, she’ll be alluring to listen to. She’s only
 290.144 +a little 
 290.145 +older than I was when I started singing, so it’s interesting
 290.146 +watching her as she works on her singing. Megumi-chan is very earnest
 290.147 +about learning to sing. I wonder if there’s a special someone out
 290.148 +there that she’s learning for. We have lessons on Mondays,
 290.149 +Wednesdays, and Fridays, and every other Saturday.
 290.150 +	I’m glad that your dream is slowly starting to reveal itself to
 290.151 +you. I knew with time it would begin to unfold. It sounds like it’s
 290.152 +still too vague for you to understand now, but I think that soon
 290.153 +enough it will begin to make sense. I hope it means you'll be coming
 290.154 +back to Japan sometime soon. And the person on the Tokyo Tower could
 290.155 +be Sakura-chan’s daughter. I could be wrong, not being a magical girl
 290.156 +and all, but I think that would all be a very nice way for the dream
 290.157 +to turn out. 
 290.158 +	I was pretty sure that it was Sakura-chan dressed in cute boy’s
 290.159 +clothes. You’ve been so worried about me with not having a koibito
 290.160 +and you’ve heard me talking about my special someone for a very long
 290.161 +time. So you already saw yourself close to the situation. And what
 290.162 +better way to see things end happily for your best friend than as
 290.163 +Sakura-chan the boy? Then you get a perfect glimpse of things because
 290.164 +you’re right in the middle of it all. So I thought that it was you.
 290.165 +I’m sure you looked remarkably handsome. Hai, proposing must be a
 290.166 +very difficult thing to do. It took Li-kun three weeks after buying
 290.167 +your wedding ring to finally ask you to marry him and that was after
 290.168 +quite a bit of convincing, so it must be very tough. I think the most
 290.169 +frightening part of it all must be the thought of rejection. Whenever
 290.170 +you bare your feelings to the world, you have a chance of getting
 290.171 +hurt and rejected. Holding out your love to your special someone is a
 290.172 +very dangerous thing. What if they don’t feel the same way about you
 290.173 +or if it hurts them to hear it or if it changes things? So I can
 290.174 +understand why he was so worried and why cute boy Sakura-chan must
 290.175 +have been worried in the dream. But if my one True Love proposed to
 290.176 +me, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. And if I had to sacrifice
 290.177 +myself for my love, as you said it, Sakura-chan, I would gladly do
 290.178 +that, too. Sometimes it’s just safer to keep your love close to your
 290.179 +heart, protecting it from the pain that rejection or the hurt could
 290.180 +cause. So it’s very brave for Li-kun and you in the dream to propose.
 290.181 +You really are a wonderful best friend, Sakura-chan, and you have
 290.182 +never failed me. You’ve always saved me when I needed it with the
 290.183 +Cards and have been so sweet to me over the years. I’ll always keep
 290.184 +my love close to my heart, where I know it will be safe. I’ll always
 290.185 +love my special someone. And please don’t worry. I don’t mind if my
 290.186 +true love is with me or not. It would make me happy, but that’s not
 290.187 +half as important to me as whether or not they are happy. And they
 290.188 +seem to be, so I’m perfectly content. 
 290.189 +	You have such a warm, loving heart that it’s always so sad for me
 290.190 +to read about you in pain. I’m so sorry about the fight and that you
 290.191 +almost got into another. I can see you sitting up sweetly, waiting
 290.192 +for your love to come through the door. I don’t see how anyone could
 290.193 +leave you waiting. You and Li-kun have been dating for years, but
 290.194 +life as a 
 290.195 +married couple is different. It must be the difficulties you’re both
 290.196 +experiencing as you’re adjusting to it that’s causing the trouble.
 290.197 +I’m sure that Li-kun knows that you care about him and love him very
 290.198 +much. He just has a lot of trouble expressing his emotions sometimes,
 290.199 +Sakura-chan. I’m glad you had Touya-san to talk to about it. He’s
 290.200 +right, those 
 290.201 +types of jobs often require a lot of socialization like that. If you
 290.202 +ever need to talk like that again, you can call me at any time. I’m
 290.203 +always here for you, Sakura-chan. It sounds like Li-kun is very
 290.204 +protective of you. That’s a wonderful quality for your husband to
 290.205 +have 
 290.206 +because I know he’ll keep you safe. I know that he’ll protect you,
 290.207 +no matter what happens. 
 290.208 +	Sakura-chan, I’m very glad that you’re concerned about me, but I
 290.209 +don’t ever want you to be sad for me. That just makes me sadder. I
 290.210 +want to know that my Sakura-chan is happy. I’m sorry that I can’t
 290.211 +tell you who my special person is. I want to. I would love to. But I
 290.212 +can’t. I think you should probably stop looking, Sakura-chan. I think
 290.213 +it could only make things more difficult if you found out and I would
 290.214 +hate myself for ever causing you anything to worry about. Please,
 290.215 +Sakura-chan... You’re my best friend. I don’t think you should look
 290.216 +any closer. Just know that I’m happy as long as my special person is
 290.217 +happy. 
 290.218 +I’m sorry for my writing getting worse. We’re going over some tough
 290.219 +road. But please, Sakura-chan, don’t worry about it. It really
 290.220 +doesn’t matter who I love anymore. I don’t think I’m ever going to
 290.221 +tell them now. It’s just not worth causing the trouble it would take
 290.222 +to tell them. I'm happy with the way things are. I really am. It
 290.223 +doesn't matter who they are because my love won’t change. But I think
 290.224 +that it would be a bad idea to pursue it, Sakura-chan. You don’t want
 290.225 +to know who it is. Please...
 290.226 +	It’s not Touya-san. He’s a wonderful person and he really does look
 290.227 +out for you. I think he and Yukito-san are a wonderful couple. They
 290.228 +look so happy together. I think he knows who I love. We’ve talked
 290.229 +several times and it sounds like he does. But even for all of his
 290.230 +great qualities, they only serve to remind me of my beloved. And I
 290.231 +always blushed when I watched him at soccer practice because he
 290.232 +reminded me of you, Sakura-chan. You both have the same ears. It's
 290.233 +very cute. Hai, it’s much better if I keep my love silent. Close to
 290.234 +my heart, it can do no harm. It doesn’t matter if I have a wedding.
 290.235 +They’re beautiful events, but I’m content being Daidouji Tomoyo as
 290.236 +long as my love is out there with the one they truly love. Even if I
 290.237 +have to keep my love locked away for all eternity, it will always be
 290.238 +all right. You can’t force someone to love you. All you can do is
 290.239 +love them. So doesn’t it make sense to let them love who they shall,
 290.240 +always holding on to that warm feeling the thought of them causes in
 290.241 +your heart? You’re right, I’ll be all right. I always have been. I’ll
 290.242 +be just fine, Sakura-chan. Trust me. 
 290.243 +	I’m sorry to end this so abruptly, but I really must go. Mother
 290.244 +needs me to help with something. Sakura-chan, I’ll always treasure
 290.245 +the time I got to spend with you. You were the best friend I could
 290.246 +possibly have. Thank you for that. I hope everything is well in China
 290.247 +and that this letter gets to you safely.
 290.248 +
 290.249 +
 290.250 +All my love,
 290.251 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 290.252 +
 290.253 +
 290.254 +
 290.255 +
 290.256 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
 290.257 +
 290.258 +I was so excited to read in your letter that you will be able to
 290.259 +come to Hong Kong soon to visit. Did you ask your Mother yet? When do
 290.260 +you think Haneko-chan will be done? She sounds very lovely, by the
 290.261 +way. I am planning on taking her to school, so that my students can
 290.262 +see the beautiful work my best friend does in far away Japan. When I
 290.263 +read that you were looking for a hotel, I went to Ieran-sama, to beg
 290.264 +her to let you stay here. The house is quite large, and there are
 290.265 +several guest rooms. I was afraid she would say no, but when I told
 290.266 +her she actually smiled and said it would be an honor to have you
 290.267 +stay. I asked her if I could prepare your room, and she said yes.
 290.268 +It's a beautiful room overlooking the garden, and I am already fixing
 290.269 +it up special just for Tomoyo-chan. There is a lovely red and gold
 290.270 +brocade Chinese rug in the room, which Ieran-sama says is very
 290.271 +ancient. I have been dusting and cleaning, thinking about you while I
 290.272 +work. After reading that you might come soon, I can barely sleep at
 290.273 +night. Waiting for you makes every day seem so long. 
 290.274 +
 290.275 +I am so very happy that you have a picture of me on your desk at
 290.276 +work. One reason I was always smiling was that you were so close to
 290.277 +me. I always felt good when you were around, sort of peaceful and
 290.278 +content. Everything just seemed so right when we were together.
 290.279 +Please tell Meishi-san that your girlfriend in the picture sends
 290.280 +congratulations on the upcoming wedding. I hope and pray she will be
 290.281 +very happy. I hope Haneko-chan is finished in time. So Meishi-san is
 290.282 +another reason for the doll to be finished quickly, and then you can
 290.283 +come to visit. Oh, but I do not mean to rush you or anything like
 290.284 +that. I am sure you are under great pressure as it is, so I hope
 290.285 +everything goes well. Designing a doll sounds like a lot of work, but
 290.286 +I'm sure it will be delightful when it is finished. I think you made
 290.287 +a good choice with the hair, and am certain little girls will have a
 290.288 +wonderful time playing with it. I know that I loved brushing and
 290.289 +braiding your beautiful lavender hair when we were young. It's kind
 290.290 +of funny, but I dreamt of this not too long ago. We were back in the
 290.291 +5th grade, and you were sleeping over at my house. We were both in
 290.292 +our nightclothes in my room, and I was brushing your hair with long,
 290.293 +careful strokes. Only the little nightlight was on, but your hair
 290.294 +glistened in the soft, pale glow of the moon. You were silent, and
 290.295 +sitting away from me, so I couldn't see your face. The only sound was
 290.296 +the soft swish of the brush. Then I made two long braids, and tied
 290.297 +them together with pink ribbons. When I finished, you started to turn
 290.298 +around, and my heart beat faster. I felt such an intense love for you
 290.299 +that it woke me up. And sitting in bed, with Sayoran-chan asleep next
 290.300 +to me, I missed you so much. My heart ached for you to be with me so
 290.301 +I could hold my Tomoyo-chan close again.
 290.302 +
 290.303 +  I talked with my sensei friend yesterday and told her about
 290.304 +missing you so much. She smiled, and said she looked forward to
 290.305 +meeting you. She said no matter what we do or where we are, our
 290.306 +special person follows us like a gentle little ghost haunting our
 290.307 +hearts. She quoted from a poem in English, and translated it for me.
 290.308 +It was:
 290.309 +
 290.310 +"Parting is all we know of Heaven,
 290.311 +And all we need of Hell."
 290.312 +
 290.313 +She said that is how she always feels about her special person being
 290.314 +gone. She said that person is still with her, and that there is no
 290.315 +pain greater or sweeter. I feel very sad for her, and for your
 290.316 +Mother, and for my Father. I guess it's something you can never get
 290.317 +over.
 290.318 +
 290.319 +I'm glad you liked the book on local flowers. We can go and see some
 290.320 +of the gardens and wildflowers on the islands when you come. I told
 290.321 +Flower you liked the book, and she was very pleased. When I said her
 290.322 +you were coming to visit, she said she wanted to dance with you. I
 290.323 +think that would be a very sweet to see. Oh, and the tea set is for
 290.324 +you, a "Welcome Back to Hong Kong" present, I guess. Sorry it's not a
 290.325 +surprise, but I was so excited I couldn't keep it secret. It is in
 290.326 +the room now on a little mahogany table, waiting for you. And thank
 290.327 +you for the videotapes. The strawberry cake was a bit of a problem.
 290.328 +It was so good there was none left over for Kero-chan, and he was
 290.329 +quite put out about that. I had to promise to make one just for him.
 290.330 +Tomoyo-chan, you looked so beautiful in that video. I loved the
 290.331 +costume you wore, and the apron with little strawberry designs was so
 290.332 +kawaii. And thank you also for the lovely picture. I bought a little
 290.333 +silver frame so now I can see your smile every night. It really makes
 290.334 +me feel so much better to have you there, and to know that maybe you
 290.335 +are thinking sweet thoughts about me from far away.
 290.336 +
 290.337 +I liked your ideas about cheerleading at the school. Cheerleading is
 290.338 +not as popular in Hong Kong as back home, though it is catching on.
 290.339 +Some of the girls I talked with were very enthusiastic and want to
 290.340 +start a club. I told them I would be happy to be their advisor. A
 290.341 +father of  one of the girls is a tailor, and offered to make the
 290.342 +uniforms for a good price, but said we need some sort of design. I
 290.343 +told the girls about the outfits you designed for me, and they got
 290.344 +very excited. I know you are busy with Haneko-chan, but would it be
 290.345 +possible when you are finished with the project to design an outfit
 290.346 +for the club? We would not need the design until late summer. Of
 290.347 +course, I know you are very busy with work, and do not want to impose
 290.348 +on you, so please tell me if it would at all be a bother. Of course,
 290.349 +we would pay you whatever you thought a fair price for the work. The
 290.350 +girls are already planning ways to raise money. They really are very
 290.351 +cute.
 290.352 +
 290.353 +One of the girls reminds me of you, Tomoyo-chan. She is very quiet
 290.354 +and sweet, and one of the best students in the 4th grade. She has
 290.355 +long hair that curls at the end, and is as pretty as can be. She is
 290.356 +not particularly athletic, so I have worked with her extra so she can
 290.357 +pass all of her tests. Sometimes she comes after school for practice,
 290.358 +so I stay and take a later bus. In return, she insists on helping me
 290.359 +with my Chinese, which is just like her. I noticed that she is always
 290.360 +looking very dreamily at one of the other 4th grade girls, but that
 290.361 +the other girl does not seem to notice. It is so kawaii to see her
 290.362 +all -hanyaan-
 290.363 +
 290.364 +Tomoyo-chan, please don't ever think that you are not an important
 290.365 +part of my life anymore, or not necessary, or that I would be all
 290.366 +right without you. It's really the very opposite, because I need you
 290.367 +more than ever. Or, maybe, I just never realized before how much my
 290.368 +best friend meant to me. I love Sayoran-chan so very much. But, I
 290.369 +can't really talk with him about many things. He is very busy, and
 290.370 +even when he is home he is such a private person. We are not together
 290.371 +as much as I would like, but then, I guess we never could be, since
 290.372 +there are not enough hours in the day. But for the first time since I
 290.373 +met you, I feel lonely. 
 290.374 +
 290.375 +When it started, I thought I was just homesick, and missed
 290.376 +everybody. And I do miss everyone, in a way. But not the way I miss
 290.377 +you. Not being with you hurts me. I don't want to make you sad, so
 290.378 +please don't worry. But Tomoyo-chan, not having you to talk with, to
 290.379 +see, and to hold is so much more painful than I ever thought. It's
 290.380 +like breathing. You don't think about the air until it's gone, and
 290.381 +then you are desperate. When I was with you, I felt that everything
 290.382 +was all right. I -knew- it was. Tomoyo-chan, I don't think I feel
 290.383 +that way anymore. I feel so apart from you, and sometimes I miss you
 290.384 +so much I just start to cry. I don't understand this at all. I am
 290.385 +with the man I love in a beautiful new place on my life's adventure.
 290.386 +But I feel so sad. I feel just like sensei, like my special person is
 290.387 +far away. And I don't want to tell you this, because it makes me so
 290.388 +ashamed, but when you told me that Oniichan was not your special
 290.389 +person, part of me was happy. I hate myself for feeling that way, and
 290.390 +am so, so sorry. But I had to tell you, because I do not want to keep
 290.391 +any secrets. Part of me was happy that you are not with your special
 290.392 +person. I -hate- that part of me. I do so want you to be happy, and
 290.393 +would do anything I could for you. So why do I feel this way? I
 290.394 +should be happy if you could be with your special someone. It's so
 290.395 +sad you are not, and that your love must be kept deep within your
 290.396 +heart. But if you were with someone else, I would feel farther away
 290.397 +from you than ever. It's almost as if you -were- my special person,
 290.398 +which of course must be ridiculous. But it's just how I feel, no
 290.399 +matter how many times I tell myself I don't. Gomenesai, Tomoyo-chan. 
 290.400 +
 290.401 +Last night something strange happened. It was the dream again, the
 290.402 +one in Tokyo. It was so windy that I could barely stand. I was
 290.403 +straining to see the figure on Tokyo Tower. The figure on the tower
 290.404 +was still vague, and I do not know who it was. The wind howled, and
 290.405 +almost knocked me off the roof of the building we were on. In fact,
 290.406 +just then a real wind woke me up, and I was surprised to find I was
 290.407 +not in my bed at all. I had wandered in my sleep, and awoke on the
 290.408 +edge of a steep cliff overlooking the ocean. I was facing east,
 290.409 +toward Japan, and the moon was setting over the water. I was scared,
 290.410 +and then very embarrassed, being in my nightgown outdoors.
 290.411 +Fortunately nobody was around so I was able to sneak back home. On
 290.412 +the way back I ran into Kero-chan, who noticed I was gone and came to
 290.413 +look for me. I told him about the dream, and he seemed quite
 290.414 +concerned. He said I should tie a string around my finger when I
 290.415 +sleep and attach it to a little bell or something so I don’t wander
 290.416 +in my sleep anymore. But that seemed silly, and I would probably just
 290.417 +get all tangled up. Fortunately, Sayoran-chan slept through the whole
 290.418 +thing. 
 290.419 +
 290.420 +I have been visiting with the Cards a lot lately. I had a long
 290.421 +conversation with Light-sama and Dark-sama Sunday night. Tomoyo-chan,
 290.422 +they are so sweet together. I never knew. They are a beautiful
 290.423 +couple, and even though they are so different, they are very much in
 290.424 +love. Dark-sama is more quiet and shy, but very tender and gentle.
 290.425 +Light-sama is funny sometimes, though she is always very dignified. I
 290.426 +talked with them about many things, and felt so much better
 290.427 +afterwards. I told them you are coming to visit, and they both looked
 290.428 +very pleased and wish to meet you. Tomoyo-chan, I also asked them
 290.429 +about you, and your special someone. Dark-sama almost seemed to
 290.430 +blush, and Light-sama laughed in her Lady-like way. They said I
 290.431 +should trust more in my special power, and then everything will be
 290.432 +all right.  
 290.433 +
 290.434 +Gomenesai, Tomoyo-chan. I will stop asking about who your special
 290.435 +person is. I had no right to try and find out. I would never, ever
 290.436 +want to hurt you. Even though a part of me would miss you so very
 290.437 +much, I do wish you could be with your beloved. I know you are happy
 290.438 +for him, and I do hope that makes you happy, too. I have never known
 290.439 +anybody quite like you, Tomoyo-chan. You are kind, gentle, loving,
 290.440 +and caring. You were always the smartest person I ever knew. Even
 290.441 +though Naoko-chan read more books, you were smart about -everything-,
 290.442 +like sewing and people and tea. And you are so beautiful. Seeing you
 290.443 +in those videos sometimes takes my breath away. I read in a magazine
 290.444 +once that angels are celestial visitors who come to Earth. They bring
 290.445 +love and peace to all the fortunate people they touch. It's funny,
 290.446 +because when I read this, I thought of you. I thought, maybe Tomoyo-
 290.447 +chan is an angel, because she is not like anyone else. She is so
 290.448 +special. So, I believe that someday, somehow, you will be with your
 290.449 +special person. Everything -cannot- be all right if you are alone. If
 290.450 +I could have one wish, it would be that you and your love would be
 290.451 +together, forever.
 290.452 +
 290.453 +
 290.454 +Love,
 290.455 +
 290.456 +
 290.457 +Sakura
 290.458 +
 290.459 +
 290.460 +PS- Kero chan says thank you for the strawberry cake recipe, but
 290.461 +please make the recipes bigger next time. He made me write this.
 290.462 +
 290.463 +PPS- Syaoran-chan says hello.  
 290.464 +
 290.465 +PPSS- I have enclosed some more pictures for you. One is of the
 290.466 +school from the front, and one is of the gym where I teach. Fanren
 290.467 +took the picture of me baking the strawberry cake. It looks a bit
 290.468 +messy, but the cake really did turn out well. 
 290.469 +
 290.470 +  
 290.471 +
 290.472 +Dear Sakura-chan,
 290.473 +	I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to reply to your 
 290.474 +wonderful letter. I always love hearing from you and writing to you 
 290.475 +makes me very happy. But the past week and a half have been very 
 290.476 +hectic. Hanako-chan is just about finished. It took a lot of work, 
 290.477 +but I’m very happy with her. I think she’s a doll that young girls 
 290.478 +will be able to love dearly. It’s my gift to all of the poor little
 290.479 +girls out there who don’t have their own Sakura-chan to dress in cute 
 290.480 +costumes and play with. We had a lot of meetings lately so that we 
 290.481 +could solve all of the problems with Hanako-chan so that she would 
 290.482 +come out smoothly. I have one of the prototypes for her on my 
 290.483 +desk right now. I’m going to send her to you along with this letter. 
 290.484 +I really hope that you like her. I know that she’ll be happy to be 
 290.485 +with Sakura-chan. 
 290.486 +	Meishi-san had her wedding early, so I went to that several 
 290.487 +days ago. It was a beautiful ceremony. She and her husband are 
 290.488 +very much in love. I’m very happy for them to be spending the rest 
 290.489 +of their lives together. They had an enormous cake that Kero-chan 
 290.490 +would have loved to see. I would get the recipe, but it looked too 
 290.491 +big for me to bake. The wedding reminded me of Sakura-chan’s, so 
 290.492 +I thought of you throughout the ceremony. I think Meishi-san and 
 290.493 +her husband are already planning on children. She’ll make an 
 290.494 +excellent mother. The smile on her face looked so joyous. It was 
 290.495 +the same as yours at your wedding. It must be such a wonderful 
 290.496 +feeling to know that you will forever be with your true love. I’m 
 290.497 +very happy for the both of you. Meishi-san asked me when I was 
 290.498 +going to ask my girlfriend in the photo to marry me. She’s always 
 290.499 +joking about those sorts of things. I told her I would as soon as I 
 290.500 +knew she would say yes. We laughed a bit and went back to the 
 290.501 +party. Meishi-san left for her honeymoon that night, so she’s still 
 290.502 +gone right now. After all of the hard work on Hanako-chan, she 
 290.503 +deserves the rest with her beloved.
 290.504 +	I’ve been practicing longer with Megumi-chan after work. 
 290.505 +She really has a lovely voice. And she certainly has the 
 290.506 +determination to be a very good singer. All she needs is a little 
 290.507 +patience and it will come perfectly to her. I brought up her singing 
 290.508 +in a competition a short time ago, but she seemed a little nervous. 
 290.509 +She asked me about the awards I’d won, but I told her that that was 
 290.510 +never what mattered to me when singing. Singing lets you express 
 290.511 +the feelings in your soul. It lets you serenade your one, true love, 
 290.512 +even if they can’t hear you. Singing is a way to say what you cannot 
 290.513 +with simple words. Megumi-chan seemed a little surprised by that, 
 290.514 +so I asked her why she wanted me to teach her to sing. She 
 290.515 +couldn’t answer right away so I told her to think about the answer 
 290.516 +until our next lesson. When our next lesson finally arrived, she came 
 290.517 +out to meet me in front of her house. She smiled a very sweet smile 
 290.518 +and told me that she wanted to sing because she always loved to 
 290.519 +and that she wanted to sing like an angel for her special someone. 
 290.520 +I’m very proud of her. I think before long, her angelic voice will 
 290.521 +reach out to whoever it is she’s singing for.
 290.522 +	I’ve spoken with my mother and I have my flight information ready.
 290.523 +I should be leaving for Hong Kong late next week. Please tell me if
 290.524 +that’s a bother at all. I can always book a different flight. Now
 290.525 +that Hanako-chan is done with her design phase, mother said it would
 290.526 +be perfectly all right for me to take a break and go visit Sakura-
 290.527 +chan. She tried to convince me to go with her on a trip to the
 290.528 +mountains instead, but I had to refuse. I know she has the best of
 290.529 +intentions, but I would like to see Sakura-chan again in her new
 290.530 +married life. Mother sends her love, even if she can’t deliver it
 290.531 +herself. Are you sure that it’s all right if I stay at the Li house?
 290.532 +There are several hotels around there that I could check into. Though
 290.533 +if Sakura-chan has gone through all the trouble, I would most
 290.534 +graciously accept your hospitality. Thank you for going through so
 290.535 +much trouble just for me, Sakura-chan. The room sounds lovely and it
 290.536 +will be very nice to look out on the same garden that Sakura-chan
 290.537 +wanders through. I’m sorry that your days seem longer because of
 290.538 +this. I’ll have to come out there very soon so that you won’t have to
 290.539 +worry anymore. And I would absolutely 
 290.540 +love to have tea with you and the wonderful tea set while I’m there. 
 290.541 +Please tell Flower that if she would love to dance, I would be most 
 290.542 +pleased to. It has been a very long time since I’ve last danced. 
 290.543 +	Sakura-chan sure has been dreaming a lot lately. I’m always 
 290.544 +very happy to hear about your dreams. There’s always a very sweet 
 290.545 +quality about them. Maybe it’s the air in Hong Kong that’s giving 
 290.546 +you so many of them. Or your new life. But they seem very nice. I 
 290.547 +remember you braiding my hair like that. I was very happy to have 
 290.548 +you doing that for me. It’s completely different having Sakura-chan 
 290.549 +do your hair. Not at all like fixing my hair myself. Your hands were 
 290.550 +so gentle and warm. You were so careful with your brush strokes. I 
 290.551 +wish I had caught that on videotape, but I’m pleased to hold the 
 290.552 +memory in my heart for as long as I can. I’m really glad that 
 290.553 +Sakura-chan remembered it. You were so sweet that night. We 
 290.554 +stayed up late talking about all kinds of things. And I was so happy 
 290.555 +when you agreed to fix my hair. Thank you so much for that, 
 290.556 +Sakura-chan. You don’t have to worry about missing me anymore. 
 290.557 +I’ll be in Hong Kong soon enough and we can spend some time 
 290.558 +together like we used to. Of course, I don’t want to interfere with 
 290.559 +your new life, so I’ll be very careful about that. But 
 290.560 +there’s no reason to be lonely, Sakura-chan. You have many people 
 290.561 +who love you very much. And you don’t have to miss me. You’re 
 290.562 +always in my thoughts and you always have my love. I’m very sorry 
 290.563 +that you’ve been feeling so lonely lately. I’ll be happy to try and 
 290.564 +cheer Sakura-chan up while I visit. I’m very happy that you always 
 290.565 +felt good when I was around. I always wanted Sakura-chan to be 
 290.566 +happy, so it was a spectacular award to see you smile. I wanted to 
 290.567 +make you as happy as I could, so that Sakura-chan wouldn’t have 
 290.568 +to worry. But now that’s Li-kun’s job, so I should be glad that it’s 
 290.569 +in good hands.
 290.570 +	It is so horrible that people like your sensei friend and my 
 290.571 +mother and your father all have to go through so much pain. It must 
 290.572 +hurt unbearably to lose your special someone. But your sensei 
 290.573 +friend is right. Even if you are far apart or separated, they will 
 290.574 +forever dwell in your heart, the impressions of their soul always 
 290.575 +bringing back the sweetest of memories and the deepest of regrets. 
 290.576 +But I think as long as you know you have that sliver of their soul, 
 290.577 +and that your love can encompass it with a warm glow, then you 
 290.578 +have nothing to fear. No matter how much it hurts, you will always 
 290.579 +carry slivers of their soul. 
 290.580 +	Your students sound eager and determined just like their 
 290.581 +sensei. It just seems like fate that Sakura-chan would help them get 
 290.582 +into cheerleading. I’m sure they will all be adorable. And with you 
 290.583 +helping them, it will turn out wonderfully. I stayed up a little
 290.584 +late a 
 290.585 +few nights this week and worked on the designs for the uniform. I’ll 
 290.586 +send it along with this letter. I hope that it works well enough. I 
 290.587 +think Sakura-chan’s students would look very kawaii in it. Please 
 290.588 +don’t worry about paying me. As long as Sakura-chan takes some 
 290.589 +pictures of her students practicing in the uniforms, I’ll be very 
 290.590 +pleased. Seeing some of your old costumes gave me inspiration for 
 290.591 +the design. I wanted to make sure that everyone who sees them will 
 290.592 +know that they’re Sakura-chan’s super cute cheerleaders! I think 
 290.593 +it’s fitting that the last costume I made for you was your wedding 
 290.594 +dress, but I’m very glad to be able to help with this. I’m very 
 290.595 +excited about their efforts. 	
 290.596 +	Thank you very much for helping out the girl that reminds 
 290.597 +you of me. I would have been so thrilled to have Sakura-sensei’s 
 290.598 +help back in P.E. so I’m certain that she is in good hands. She’s 
 290.599 +very lucky to have a teacher like you. It sounds like the girl who 
 290.600 +manages to capture her attention reminds me of someone else. 
 290.601 +That’s so sweet to hear. I hope that she can improve with Sakura-
 290.602 +sensei’s help and that hopefully the other girl will notice the way 
 290.603 +she looks at her. 
 290.604 +	Sakura-chan, please know that I’ll always be here for as 
 290.605 +long as you need me. If you ever need someone to talk to or if Li-
 290.606 +kun’s just not around or for any reason, you can always talk to me. 
 290.607 +I don’t want you to ever have to feel lonely. I’m sure that as time 
 290.608 +goes by, Sakura-chan won’t feel so lonely anymore as she gets new 
 290.609 +friends and grows closer to her new family. Please don’t cry over 
 290.610 +me. It makes me sad knowing that my best friend is sad across the 
 290.611 +sea. Sakura-chan, I always wanted to comfort you as best I could, 
 290.612 +to make sure that you knew that everything would be all right. But 
 290.613 +that was never my doing. Things are all right because I believe in 
 290.614 +you. And they’ll continue to be. Just believe in yourself. I’ll
 290.615 +always 
 290.616 +be your friend, but you don’t need me to know that things will 
 290.617 +work out. Everything will always work out for you. I know it will. 
 290.618 +Please don’t be sad. We’ve been best friends for a very long time. 
 290.619 +And you’ll always remain my best friend. You shouldn’t feel like 
 290.620 +sensei when your special person is right next to you. Maybe you 
 290.621 +need to spend some more time with Li-kun to get your mind off of 
 290.622 +your worries. Someone needs to cheer you up and if I can’t, then 
 290.623 +someone else will have to. Sakura-chan, please don’t feel bad about 
 290.624 +being happy that Touya-san isn’t my special person. If you’re glad 
 290.625 +for that, then I think that’s a good thing. If it worries you about
 290.626 +me 
 290.627 +being more distant if I did get with my special person, then there’s 
 290.628 +nothing to concern yourself with. I’m happy as long as they are, so 
 290.629 +I’m quite content on my own. With Sakura-chan’s friendship and 
 290.630 +okaa-sama’s support, I know I won’t be alone. You’re the most 
 290.631 +important person in my life, Sakura-chan, so you don’t have to 
 290.632 +worry about me putting anyone above you. If I were your special 
 290.633 +person, then I would want very much for you to smile and laugh 
 290.634 +again. I would be a very lucky person if I were your special 
 290.635 +someone. Just like Li-kun. 
 290.636 +	I never knew that Sakura-chan was a sleep walker. It must 
 290.637 +have been very cute to see you walking around with your eyes 
 290.638 +closed out there. I’m sure Li-kin would worry if he found out, but I 
 290.639 +don’t think you would be any danger from that. It’s probably part 
 290.640 +of your dream. I’m definitely starting to think that it’s pointing to 
 290.641 +Japan, but I don’t understand why. Maybe there still is some 
 290.642 +unfinished business with the Cards. My camcorder would be so 
 290.643 +happy to go back to videotaping Sakura-chan’s adventures! Even if 
 290.644 +it was only for a short time. But the dream is slowly unfolding to 
 290.645 +you. I’m sure soon enough it will be clear. 
 290.646 +	I really wish I could tell you who my special someone is, but 
 290.647 +I think that it would be much better if I didn’t say their name. But 
 290.648 +I’m very lucky to warrant Sakura-chan’s concern. That’s extremely 
 290.649 +sweet of you to worry about me like that, Sakura-chan. You make 
 290.650 +such a perfect best friend. But don’t let it worry you, because that 
 290.651 +will only make me sad. I need to know that you’re smiling for me. 
 290.652 +And you don’t ever have to feel lonely over my special someone. 
 290.653 +Nothing could take you from my thoughts. You’ve burned your 
 290.654 +cute image into my mind forever. Thank you so much for all of the 
 290.655 +kind words, Sakura-chan. Hearing you say all that was very 
 290.656 +flattering. I’m makes me very happy to know that you think about 
 290.657 +me that way. And it does make me happy when my special someone 
 290.658 +is happy, so you don’t have to worry about me. If I were an angel, I 
 290.659 +would want to be Sakura-chan’s guardian angel, to watch over her 
 290.660 +forever and to take care of her. I heard a sad story some time ago 
 290.661 +about how angels cannot fall in love with humans because their love 
 290.662 +could never be. But what a beautiful love it is. As long as the angel 
 290.663 +can feel that love for the human they gave their heart to, does it 
 290.664 +really matter that they can’t be together? Even if the red string of 
 290.665 +fate isn’t wrapped around your finger, it doesn’t mean that you 
 290.666 +can’t love with all your heart. You may not get their love in return, 
 290.667 +but you get back so much just being able to have experienced them 
 290.668 +in your life. So I have no regrets. I wouldn’t take away a single day 
 290.669 +that I got to spend in the presence of my beloved. And my love will 
 290.670 +flourish in memories and dreams. Everything can still be all right if 
 290.671 +I’m alone. Because I am blessed to have been able to touch my 
 290.672 +special person’s life in some small way. Thank you so much for 
 290.673 +everything, Sakura-chan. I love you very much. You are my sweet, 
 290.674 +genki best friend. 
 290.675 +
 290.676 +I’ll see you soon,
 290.677 +Daidouji Tomoyo 
 290.678 \ No newline at end of file

   291.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   291.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   291.3 @@ -0,0 +1,363 @@
   291.4 +Dear Sakura:
   291.5 +On Angel's Wings
   291.6 +by The Amazoness Duo
   291.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   291.8 +
   291.9 +
  291.10 +
  291.11 +	“Tomoyo-chan, are you sure you won’t come with me? The cabin will
  291.12 +be lonely without you. You could bring some of your videotapes and we
  291.13 +could watch them while we’re up there. And the weather is going to be
  291.14 +gorgeous. We could go for a picnic,” Sonomi Daidouji suggested to her
  291.15 +daughter as the younger of the two continued packing. 
  291.16 +	“I would love to come with, Okaa-sama, but I couldn’t stand to
  291.17 +disappoint Sakura-chan. You should have heard her on the phone last
  291.18 +night. She sounds so excited. I haven’t heard her like that since the
  291.19 +night she told me that Li-kun had proposed to her.” What she didn’t
  291.20 +have to add was that she and Syaoran had been planning to for weeks
  291.21 +but he couldn’t work up the courage or make up his mind so she had to
  291.22 +follow him around and nudge him ever closer into finally proposing.
  291.23 +It had been one of the most heartbreaking things she had done for
  291.24 +Sakura’s happiness, but it had to be done. What if he hadn’t proposed
  291.25 +otherwise? Tomoyo smiled her trademark smile as she placed in some
  291.26 +more clothing. Sakura had told her to pack light clothes, so she was
  291.27 +going for a slightly different style than the usual dresses she wore.
  291.28 +Her camcorder was already packed up in it’s case, ready for the long
  291.29 +trip to Hong Kong.
  291.30 +	Sonomi sighed exasperatedly. Even if she could see past her
  291.31 +daughter’s almost impenetrable emotional masks, she still wished that
  291.32 +she would let them down more often around her. And that she would
  291.33 +listen to reason. “I just don’t think this is a good idea. Sakura-
  291.34 +chan already went off and got married right in front of you. Does she
  291.35 +really need to throw it in your face? No good can come from this.
  291.36 +Just tell her that as your mother and your boss, I forced you to come
  291.37 +along to the mountains with me.” The older woman took out the blouse
  291.38 +Tomoyo had just placed in the suitcase, laying it back on the bed. 
  291.39 +	Looking back to her mother, Tomoyo smiled cheerfully again as she
  291.40 +repacked the offending blouse. “Sakura-chan wouldn’t do that. She’s
  291.41 +lonely up in Hong Kong all by herself. She needs some help getting
  291.42 +settled. So I’ll go and help her. I think she’ll be happy to get a
  291.43 +little piece of home in her new life. It will help her to move on
  291.44 +with her life.” Tilting her head to the side thoughtfully, she
  291.45 +glanced around for anything she may be missing.
  291.46 +	Her lithe hands taking her daughter’s shoulders, Sonomi turned the
  291.47 +younger woman to face her. “But what about you, Tomoyo-chan? Maybe
  291.48 +Sakura-chan does need this. But I really don’t think you do. It’s not
  291.49 +wise for you to go back for more pain. Darling, don’t you think she’s
  291.50 +hurt you enough? Do you need to see her with him now? For the past
  291.51 +few years I’ve seen you suffer in silence as you watched them
  291.52 +together. I don’t want you going off so she can blindly break my
  291.53 +little girl’s heart again.” She frowned, brushing away some of
  291.54 +Tomoyo’s lavender hair from her stormy blue eyes. Her heart was
  291.55 +tearing itself in two. She knew first hand how painful it was to
  291.56 +watch one’s true love marry another. And there had been nothing she
  291.57 +could do about it. And now she was equally helpless to stop the pain
  291.58 +in her daughter. Through the weak smile Tomoyo was keeping up, she
  291.59 +could see the shimmer of tears in her daughter’s eyes and the deep
  291.60 +pain behind it. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan...” Pulling the smaller woman
  291.61 +closer, the businesswoman held onto her tightly, stroking her back
  291.62 +the way she had when she was little. 
  291.63 +	Tomoyo closed her eyes as her mother held onto her, letting the
  291.64 +comforting embrace relax her. “Please don’t worry about me, Okaa-
  291.65 +sama. I’ll be fine. I really will be happy to see Sakura-chan again.
  291.66 +I’ve missed her so much lately. Hearing her on the phone and writing
  291.67 +her isn’t enough. I need to see her. To be with her. Even if it’s for
  291.68 +the last time,” her musical voice whispered softly, barely
  291.69 +restraining the emotion underneath. She hugged her mother back, her
  291.70 +eyes still shut. This whole visit had brought up so many mixed
  291.71 +emotions in her. She dearly wanted to see her precious Sakura again,
  291.72 +but the prospect of interrupting her new life with her husband was
  291.73 +painful. She knew that Syaoran was probably taking good care of
  291.74 +Sakura and providing her with things she never could. And in turn, he
  291.75 +was rewarded with something Sakura could never give her. Her sweet,
  291.76 +innocent love. And what a reward at that. But if he could make her
  291.77 +happy, then he more than deserved it. But going in and seeing her
  291.78 +beloved with her husband was a painful thought indeed. And after
  291.79 +Sakura got settled, there really wouldn’t be much of a need for her
  291.80 +anymore. Syaoran had already replaced her at Sakura’s side as the
  291.81 +most important person in her life. He would love and support her the
  291.82 +way she always had. She would go to him with her problems. And Sakura
  291.83 +could forget about her. So in that sense, this trip was extremely
  291.84 +bittersweet for the young heiress. This truly could be the last time
  291.85 +she ever saw Sakura. But she had to. For Sakura’s sake. As well as
  291.86 +her own. If this was her last chance to spend time with Sakura, she
  291.87 +would have to treasure the moments for eternity. 
  291.88 +	When Tomoyo finally stepped away from her mother, she smiled
  291.89 +softly, composed once again. “I’ll be fine, Okaa-sama. I’ll give
  291.90 +Sakura-chan your love.”
  291.91 +	Sonomi seemed to consider that for a moment. Did she really want
  291.92 +Sakura even hearing from her after the hell she had been forcing her
  291.93 +daughter through? Not that there was any use arguing the point with
  291.94 +Tomoyo. The younger Daidouji already had enough to worry about
  291.95 +without her mother’s anger at Sakura. Sighing, she crossed her arms.
  291.96 +“But promise that you’ll call me while you’re up there. Everyday. I
  291.97 +want to know how things are going.”
  291.98 +	Tomoyo giggled softly and  nodded. “Hai, Okaa-sama. I’ll be sure to
  291.99 +call you. Please have fun on your vacation, too.” A melodious beeping
 291.100 +interrupted the two from Tomoyo’s watch. Pink and cute with intricate
 291.101 +and colorful designs on it, it was most obviously a product of
 291.102 +Daidouji Toys. “I’m going to be late if I don’t hurry.” She glanced
 291.103 +back at her mother after picking up her small bag with the camcorder
 291.104 +in it. Two darkly clad bodyguards picked up her two other suitcases.
 291.105 +“Everything will be fine. Please don’t worry. You’ve been so busy
 291.106 +with work that you really need to relax on this vacation. And how can
 291.107 +I enjoy my time with Sakura-chan if I know Okaa-sama’s busy worrying
 291.108 +about me?”
 291.109 +	The older woman couldn’t help but smile. Just like Nadeshiko. Her
 291.110 +daughter had always been such a sweet girl, much like her cousin. But
 291.111 +that concern for her loved ones came from Sonomi herself, even if
 291.112 +Tomoyo managed to be more subtle about it. “Let’s hurry. The
 291.113 +limousine’s waiting.” 
 291.114 +	Taking one last look at her room, Tomoyo tried to spot anything
 291.115 +that she might be missing. She was usually very good at organizing
 291.116 +things, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing
 291.117 +something. Her eyes finally settled on the half-finished costume she
 291.118 +had once been working on for Sakura. Folding it over her arm, she
 291.119 +hurriedly followed her mother out the door.
 291.120 +
 291.121 +	Stormy blue eyes watched with a mild curiosity as the lighter blue
 291.122 +skies slowly filtered past outside the window. It wouldn’t take too
 291.123 +long before she was in Hong Kong. But Tomoyo hadn’t fully sorted out
 291.124 +her feelings on the situation. Which was very difficult for her. She
 291.125 +knew how she should feel about the whole thing. She should be happy
 291.126 +for Sakura, that she was with the one she loved and that she was
 291.127 +happily on the road to her new life. But it hurt her terribly that
 291.128 +their roads had veered from one another’s. Her heart longed for
 291.129 +Sakura. Her determined spirit, her genki attitude, her sweet smile.
 291.130 +Everything about her. So it was with some delight that she had gotten
 291.131 +the chance to fly out to see her so soon. And without the pretext of
 291.132 +Sakura being with child as well. But how did she fit into Sakura’s
 291.133 +new life? As nothing more than a relic from the past, sadly. And this
 291.134 +trip was just making her realize that cold fact more and more. The
 291.135 +trip was not much more than an attempt to curb Sakura’s homesickness
 291.136 +so that she could move on with her new life. Seeing Sakura would be
 291.137 +both the most pleasant part of the trip and the most painful. Part of
 291.138 +her had wanted to accept her mother’s offer to go on vacation with
 291.139 +her at a cabin in the mountains. But she needed to see Sakura again.
 291.140 +To see that she had done the right thing in getting her beloved with
 291.141 +another. Of that she was fairly certain, but she wanted to see Sakura
 291.142 +happy with her special person. Seeing that making Sakura happy would
 291.143 +make it all worth it. The she could go back to Japan and Sakura could
 291.144 +forget all about her. But her final memories of Sakura, the knowledge
 291.145 +that Sakura was finally happy would carry her through it. 
 291.146 +	Tomoyo needed to see Sakura if for no other reason than to be with
 291.147 +her true love just once more. She needed to see the girl that she had
 291.148 +fallen in love with all those years ago. Sakura always filled her
 291.149 +heart with such warmth just being near her. That had been missing
 291.150 +from her life for too long now. Her heart soared at the thought of
 291.151 +seeing her dear Sakura again, of being able to experience those
 291.152 +wonderful sensations without the aid of videotape or her own
 291.153 +memories. To feel the sheer and utter warmth she had for this girl at
 291.154 +its strongest, the way she always was when she was in Sakura’s
 291.155 +presence. 
 291.156 +	“Don’t you make me happy... Don’t you have a good time...” Tomoyo
 291.157 +sung softly as she watched the clouds outside. One big fluffy one
 291.158 +looked just like Kero-chan. And in another wispier one, she could see
 291.159 +Sakura on her old staff. Smiling softly, she took a small bite of her
 291.160 +meal. It was nice, but she wasn’t very hungry. 
 291.161 +	“Can I get you anything, ma’am?” the waitress asked pleasantly.
 291.162 +Tomoyo just smiled in response and shook her head politely. 
 291.163 +	After months and months of struggling, Tomoyo had finally managed
 291.164 +to watch the videotape of the wedding ceremony all the way through.
 291.165 +She had left right near the end, unable to stay and watch the entire
 291.166 +event. That fact weighed heavily upon her. She had wanted to stay for
 291.167 +Sakura, but watching her love get married off and taken away from her
 291.168 +for good was too much for her to bear. And that had been the last she
 291.169 +had seen of Sakura. They had left for their honeymoon after that and
 291.170 +then to Hong Kong. She was truly grateful that Sakura had sent her
 291.171 +the bouquet from her wedding. She had felt devastated for not being
 291.172 +there near the end, but it made her feel better to have the pretty
 291.173 +flowers that symbolized Sakura’s new union. Now it was right next to
 291.174 +her mother’s bouquet from Nadeshiko’s wedding. It really made her
 291.175 +wonder if maybe it was Fate at work. Her mother obviously loved
 291.176 +Nadeshiko with the same passion that she held for Sakura, yet she was
 291.177 +denied that love. Just as she was denied the chance to be with
 291.178 +Sakura. Even though they both went about their love in very different
 291.179 +ways. But it was all right. Her mother might not understand exactly,
 291.180 +but it really was more important that Sakura be happy than with her.
 291.181 +That your loved one was happy, even if you weren’t together, truly
 291.182 +was the most vital thing. 
 291.183 +	That fact had been what she had tried to explain many times to
 291.184 +Sakura. But what she hadn’t told Sakura was that even if she was
 291.185 +pleased for her special someone to be happy with someone else, there
 291.186 +was also a lot of hurt inside. Yes, she was happy for Sakura. That
 291.187 +was the truth. It was also true that she cried herself to sleep at
 291.188 +night, lonely and sad that she would never be able to let her
 291.189 +feelings for Sakura out of the cage of her heart. But sometimes
 291.190 +Sakura only needed the half truth. Especially when the whole truth
 291.191 +would hurt her. And Tomoyo had been very careful in all the time that
 291.192 +she had known Sakura to not hurt her. Even if it meant being creative
 291.193 +about the truth at times and not always showing her true feelings. 
 291.194 +	A mixture of pain and warmth, longing and loneliness filled the
 291.195 +young businesswoman’s heart. Her own heart used to be so open to her.
 291.196 +She had understood it implicitly. But now it was so confused by all
 291.197 +the conflicting thoughts and emotions that she didn’t know if she
 291.198 +could fit some of the conflicting emotions together. Which meant she
 291.199 +had to be even more careful while in Hong Kong. She needed to be
 291.200 +happy for Sakura. She couldn’t let Sakura see that she was hurting or
 291.201 +it might ruin things. At the very least, it would make Sakura sad and
 291.202 +she couldn’t have that. 
 291.203 +	Tomoyo smiled gently as she closed her eyes, envisioning the cute
 291.204 +brunette. “I love you, Sakura-chan. Let’s enjoy this trip. There will
 291.205 +be time for tears later.”
 291.206 +
 291.207 +	Sakura sighed as she stared blankly at the magazine on her lap. Her
 291.208 +mind was refusing to concentrate on anything. Tomoyo’s flight was
 291.209 +overdue and she was starting to get worried. She had gotten to the
 291.210 +airport early in her enthusiasm to see her sweet friend again. A yawn
 291.211 +escaped her lips which she tried to cover quickly. Sleep hadn’t been
 291.212 +very generous in coming for the past few nights. And the closer it
 291.213 +got to Tomoyo’s arrival, the more difficult it became for her to get
 291.214 +any rest. Last night had seemed like an eternity. Sleep had eluded
 291.215 +her for hours. She spent most of it in the room she had prepared for
 291.216 +Tomoyo, tidying things up one last time. When she had finally fallen
 291.217 +asleep, she had found herself passed out at the desk in that room.
 291.218 +Embarrassed and still a little sleepy, she had slipped back into bed
 291.219 +with her husband, but sleep once again taunted her. All sorts of
 291.220 +memories kept coming to her when she was about to nod off. The dress
 291.221 +Tomoyo had made her for one of the school dances had come to mind.
 291.222 +Then the lavender haired girl had asked her to the dance when she
 291.223 +found out that Syaoran couldn’t be there to take her. That had been a
 291.224 +lot of fun, even if it had seemed a little awkward at the time. When
 291.225 +Tomoyo had practiced with her for her auditions in Drama Club, which
 291.226 +had been the dark haired angel’s idea in the first place, had also
 291.227 +drifted into her head. When Tomoyo had shown her the videotape of her
 291.228 +flying on her magic staff and had found out that she was a magical
 291.229 +girl played over and over again in her mind.
 291.230 +	Oddly enough, the one memory that stuck out the most was when
 291.231 +Tomoyo had been explaining the custom of making a teddy bear for the
 291.232 +person you like and them naming it after you. When Sakura had asked
 291.233 +the beautiful heiress about why she wasn't going to make one, Tomoyo
 291.234 +had smiled at her and explained that she would be happy as long as
 291.235 +her special person was. At the time, she had seen it as nothing more
 291.236 +than Tomoyo’s usual eccentricity, but for some reason it was
 291.237 +bothering her now. Why couldn’t Tomoyo make it for her special
 291.238 +someone? That wasn’t fair that she’d have to be alone like that, not
 291.239 +even being able to take part in such a cute little tradition. But
 291.240 +before she could make any sense of the whole thing, she had hurried
 291.241 +off to the airport.
 291.242 +	The plane was still late. Sakura bit her lip anxiously. Her stomach
 291.243 +was starting to feel sick from all of the anxiety of waiting. She
 291.244 +kept seeing her pale friend in her mind’s eye, and it just made her
 291.245 +impatience grow. She missed Tomoyo terribly. They had been best
 291.246 +friends for years and years now and suddenly she was without her in a
 291.247 +new country. She was happy to be with her new husband, but the
 291.248 +loneliness she felt being away from Tomoyo continued to grow while
 291.249 +she was gone. And that confused her. Now that she was starting her
 291.250 +new life with Syaoran, she had expected that to diminish as time went
 291.251 +by. But it had only grown worse. So Tomoyo’s visit came as quite a
 291.252 +relief. It thrilled her to know that her friend would soon be with
 291.253 +her again. There was so much to do! So much to say! Her heart pounded
 291.254 +in her chest in excitement. She couldn’t wait to see the beautiful
 291.255 +woman again, to laugh with her and know that she was there by her
 291.256 +side. She hadn’t been this excited since the honeymoon. 
 291.257 +	Sakura paused for a moment, setting the magazine aside. Tomoyo had
 291.258 +been her best friend for what felt like a lifetime. They had only
 291.259 +been apart for several months. And she was married to her loving
 291.260 +husband and living her wonderful new life. Sure, it was great to be
 291.261 +able to spend time with Tomoyo again, but was that really anywhere on
 291.262 +par with a honeymoon with the man she had vowed to spend the rest of
 291.263 +her life with? Oh, it didn’t matter. She missed her friend so dearly
 291.264 +that it would be great to see her again. Why did it matter if she was
 291.265 +so exited to see her or not? Tomoyo was very important to her. More
 291.266 +than she’d ever realized before. But now that she was gone, Sakura
 291.267 +missed her daily. The dark haired woman’s nigh constant comforting
 291.268 +presence and warm words were no longer there except in the presence
 291.269 +of phone calls and letters. And that just wasn’t the same thing. She
 291.270 +needed the pale woman there with her so that she could feel whole
 291.271 +again. She knew Tomoyo believed in her, but sometimes she had trouble
 291.272 +believing in herself. And sometimes it was so hard adjusting to her
 291.273 +new life. But Tomoyo had always helped her through everything.
 291.274 +Somehow she knew that it would all be better if her incredibly
 291.275 +perceptive friend was there to help her. 
 291.276 +	Standing up excitedly, Sakura watched an airplane taxiing up. Was
 291.277 +that hers? Could that be...? It was!! Sakura clasped her hands
 291.278 +together happily as she watched it move slowly forward. It moved
 291.279 +achingly slow in her mind. ‘If only this wasn't for just a visit’.
 291.280 +That thought saddened her for a moment, but it quickly passed as her
 291.281 +excitement built to a crescendo. All of the waiting had built up to
 291.282 +this moment. All of that time apart would be over. At least for now.
 291.283 +Tomoyo would have to leave again soon enough. That thought alone left
 291.284 +a pain in her heart. Just like what Tomoyo had said about knowing
 291.285 +they couldn’t be together forever. The same was true now. They’d only
 291.286 +be here for a short visit. But that wasn’t for a while yet. And they
 291.287 +would see each other again in the meantime. Her heart nearly stopped
 291.288 +as she saw a pale figure walk out of the plane. Long, lavender hair
 291.289 +was done up in elegant braids, draped past her shoulders, sharply
 291.290 +contrasting her pale skin. Her short blue and aquamarine dress was
 291.291 +simple but beautiful. Tomoyo was stunningly beautiful, even more so
 291.292 +than Sakura had last remembered her. How her special someone could
 291.293 +ignore her, Sakura could not even begin to comprehend. Joy bubbled up
 291.294 +in her heart at the very sight of her best friend. It was a far cry
 291.295 +from their first meeting in class eight years prior. “Tomoyo-chan !!
 291.296 +Tomoyo-chan!” 
 291.297 +	Tomoyo turned to find the source of the voice. Her smile brightened
 291.298 +immeasurably as she spotted the brunette running towards her. “Sakura-
 291.299 +chan!” She stepped to the side, trying to get away from the rest of
 291.300 +the passengers and to her eager friend. “Sakura-chan, I’m so...” The
 291.301 +breath was knocked out of her as Sakura leapt into an embrace. The
 291.302 +athletic girl pulled her close, hugging her with all the energy she
 291.303 +could muster. Tomoyo felt her own heart surge at being so near Sakura
 291.304 +again. She had been right. Being near her did fill her heart near
 291.305 +bursting as the love inside struggled to be released. “It’s so good
 291.306 +to see you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said sweetly when Sakura finally
 291.307 +released her grasp ever so slightly. Her eyes lingered on Sakura’s
 291.308 +shining emeralds. Sakura had grown into quite a pretty young woman.
 291.309 +She was still Tomoyo’s image of perfection. The bags under Sakura’s
 291.310 +eyes concerned her, but she knew that the Cardmistress hadn’t been
 291.311 +sleeping much because of her impending visit. 
 291.312 +	“I’m so happy to see you, too, Tomoyo-chan! I was starting to worry
 291.313 +that you had been swept up on your way to see me. I couldn’t wait for
 291.314 +you to get here.” Giving Tomoyo another tight hug, Sakura finally let
 291.315 +go. “I still can’t believe you’re here.” It had felt like an eternity
 291.316 +since she had last seen Tomoyo, but now that the dark haired girl was
 291.317 +here, it felt like it had only been the day before that they had last
 291.318 +seen each other. This trip was going to be wonderful. She could just
 291.319 +feel it. 
 291.320 +	Tomoyo giggled softly and shook her head. “Nothing could keep me
 291.321 +from my Sakura-chan. I had to get here. I’m very sorry to keep you
 291.322 +waiting.” She hefted the camcorder case up, adjusting the strap. “I
 291.323 +wanted to come out and record you again but they won’t let me until I
 291.324 +have it checked with security. It would have been the perfect first
 291.325 +shot for my ‘Sakura-chan and the Dream Vacation’ videotape!”
 291.326 +	Now it was Sakura’s turn to laugh. “We’ll have to get you some
 291.327 +better shots than that. And I’m just glad to see you. I’ve missed you
 291.328 +so much, Tomoyo-chan. You don’t know how happy I am to have you here
 291.329 +in Hong Kong. I’ve been waiting the longest time for your visit.”
 291.330 +	“I missed you, too, Sakura-chan. Nothing’s the same without your
 291.331 +cute presence to make everything exciting.” Tomoyo couldn’t take her
 291.332 +eyes off of Sakura. It was like she had been dying of thirst and had
 291.333 +just found her oasis. She drank up Sakura hungrily, burning her
 291.334 +precious image into her mind at that very moment as best she could.
 291.335 +She felt like she had been kept in the dark, blind and deaf to the
 291.336 +world and that she had just now been returned her senses. For now her
 291.337 +worries were far away. They hardly seemed to matter in the face of
 291.338 +the girl she loved. 
 291.339 +	Sakura blushed softly at Tomoyo’s compliment, but smiled. “We
 291.340 +better go get your bags. There’s so much I need to show you. And I
 291.341 +can’t wait for you to see your room. I really think you’ll like it.
 291.342 +I’ll help you unpack.” Taking Tomoyo’s hand, she couldn’t get rid of
 291.343 +her smile. Not that she wanted to. She was too happy to have her
 291.344 +friend back with her again. Things finally felt all right.
 291.345 +	Tomoyo was a little surprised by Sakura’s hand holding her own, but
 291.346 +she didn’t complain. Squeezing Sakura’s hand gently, she nodded. “I’m
 291.347 +sure it will be lovely. Anything that Sakura-chan spent so much time
 291.348 +and effort into must be perfect. I’ll love being able to see it
 291.349 +without the need of a picture this time.” 
 291.350 +	“I really hope you think so when you see it. I think it’ll be very
 291.351 +nice for you. I tried to think like Tomoyo-chan while I was fixing up
 291.352 +the room. I’m afraid it’s not much like your old room, but I still
 291.353 +think it looks nice. So I’m not sure how good a job I did as you.”
 291.354 +Sakura looked outside and sweatdropped. Rain plastered the windows
 291.355 +all around them, casting the girls in shifting shadows.  “I hope you
 291.356 +brought an umbrella. I was hoping things would at least clear up when
 291.357 +you arrived.”
 291.358 +	Leading Sakura towards the baggage check out, Tomoyo’s worries felt
 291.359 +like they had been left back in the airplane. Being with Sakura again
 291.360 +really did feel wonderful. “Hai, I did. I tried to pack as best I
 291.361 +could from what you told me. And I already know that I’ll love the
 291.362 +room Sakura spent so much time putting together for me. I’m much
 291.363 +happier than I could be with any hotel room I could have.”
 291.364 +	Sakura smiled happily and squeezed Tomoyo’s soft hand in return.
 291.365 +“Good. We’ll need to hurry so that we don’t waste any of your time
 291.366 +here!”

   292.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   292.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-05.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   292.3 @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@
   292.4 +Tomoyo's Hong Kong Visit
   292.5 +Day 2
   292.6 +Shopping in the City
   292.7 +
   292.8 +
   292.9 +I.
  292.10 +Sakura woke with a start, nearly tumbling out of bed. It was still
  292.11 +dark outside, with Sayoran already gone. And Tomoyo? She felt a
  292.12 +sudden pang of disbelief that her dearest friend was really here in
  292.13 +the same house. Jumping out of bed she threw on her green robe and
  292.14 +padded down the hallway to the door of the guest room. There she
  292.15 +hesitated, worrying about knocking so early. The night before they
  292.16 +talked until well past midnight, remembering old friends, family, and
  292.17 +teachers, laughingly reliving the dances, picnics, and all the
  292.18 +wonders and adventures of their childhood years. After parting,
  292.19 +Sakura found she was simply too excited to sleep and crept to the
  292.20 +kitchen for tea. On her way she found Tomoyo equally awake, and the
  292.21 +two giggled like guilty schoolgirls at a slumber party. Over Oolong
  292.22 +tea they again talked for hours before giving in to exhaustion and
  292.23 +sleep. Surely she’s not awake after all that, Sakura thought. But the
  292.24 +urge to see that her friend was actually here was overwhelming, and
  292.25 +she tapped lightly on the mahogany door. A quick rustle and a
  292.26 +whispery voice told her that Tomoyo was already up, too,
  292.27 +
  292.28 +“Yes, who is it?”
  292.29 +
  292.30 +She whispered back, “Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan, it’s me, Sakura.”
  292.31 +
  292.32 +The door swung open, revealing the beaming face of Tomoyo. She
  292.33 +ushered the auburn-haired woman in with barely suppressed excitement.
  292.34 +
  292.35 +“Ohayo, Sakura-chan. You’re up early.”
  292.36 +
  292.37 +Sakura smiled as she sat on a red plush pillow and replied, “I guess
  292.38 +I’m used to waking up for work. And I guess I’m sort of excited that
  292.39 +you’re here, too.”  Knowing that Tomoyo was in the same house, she
  292.40 +couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than with her. Glancing at the
  292.41 +dark-haired woman who regarded her with gentle eyes, Sakura shivered
  292.42 +sweetly. She had missed her beautiful friend so much that just seeing
  292.43 +her seemed a miracle.  Looking up, the first rays of dawn glinted
  292.44 +through the garden window, crowning Tomoyo with a golden halo of
  292.45 +light. Sakura smiled at this beatific vision and thought: like an
  292.46 +angel. Just like an angel. Tomoyo tilted her head quizzically and
  292.47 +smiled back. The auburn-haired woman could only grin, silently
  292.48 +laughing with pure joy. She hadn’t been this happy since, since when?
  292.49 +Since we were last together, she thought with a start. Not the
  292.50 +wedding, or the honeymoon, or life in Hong Kong, not any of it; I
  292.51 +haven’t felt like this since I was with her. Somehow this thought was
  292.52 +disturbing, and she quickly stood up as if shaken from a dream. But
  292.53 +the shadow passed as quickly as it had come, and Sakura clapped her
  292.54 +hands together and spoke in a voice bursting with excitement, 
  292.55 +
  292.56 +“Sayoran-chan had to go to work today, and said he was sorry that he
  292.57 +couldn’t join us. But I made him write an itinerary of where to go.
  292.58 +Do you want to get ready now?”
  292.59 +
  292.60 +Tomoyo nodded and rose as Sakura bolted out the door yelling, “I’ll
  292.61 +be ready in a minute!” The dark-haired girl closed her eyes tightly
  292.62 +and clasped her hands together. The months of loneliness that haunted
  292.63 +her since the wedding seemed like a life belonging to someone else.
  292.64 +With a deep breath she steadied herself, heart racing wildly from
  292.65 +being so deliriously close to her secret love. Fighting back tears
  292.66 +she smiled and thought, I could live a hundred years alone to be with
  292.67 +her for just a single day.  Opening the heavy cedar chest to pick out
  292.68 +a dress, she was overcome by the scent of a thousand memories.
  292.69 +
  292.70 +II.
  292.71 +Sakura felt a delightfully cool breeze as she leaned against the
  292.72 +railing of the Wan Chai ferry. The little boat was packed with
  292.73 +commuters traveling from the New Territories to Hong Kong, but the
  292.74 +two women had arrived early and enjoyed an unrestricted view of the
  292.75 +passing islands. The hem of Tomoyo’s lavender skirt fluttered in the
  292.76 +wind as she scanned the junks and boats that dotted the water. Sakura
  292.77 +touched her, and pointed out a sea bird circling above them. Tomoyo
  292.78 +blushed as the delicate fingers lightly graced her shoulder. She
  292.79 +gazed at her friend adoringly, hand resting on one cheek as she
  292.80 +sighed deeply. Whether it was birds in the sky, or baking a cake, or
  292.81 +falling in love, Sakura’s enthusiasm gushed forth in a sparkling
  292.82 +flood of innocent excitement. Tomoyo struggled to contain her
  292.83 +emotions lest the beautiful woman notice. It was all she could do to
  292.84 +keep from passionately hugging Sakura right there on the boat.
  292.85 +Fascinated by the turning gulls, Sakura let go of Tomoyo's shoulder
  292.86 +and sought her hand. Tomoyo blushed again as their fingers delicately
  292.87 +interlaced. Sakura squeezed gently, as if for reassurance that her
  292.88 +friend was truly there. Tomoyo drew a quick breath, felt her
  292.89 +heartbeat quicken, and softly squeezed back. Though she had learned
  292.90 +that it was customary in Hong Kong for female friends to hold hands,
  292.91 +the girl’s touch was nearly overwhelming. As the ferry neared the
  292.92 +shore and the buildings of the Convention Center loomed large, Sakura
  292.93 +turned and exclaimed,
  292.94 +
  292.95 +"Sayoran-chan says the best shopping in the city is the Causeway.
  292.96 +I've only been there once. They even have Japanese department stores
  292.97 +just like home, but he said there are better bargains on the back
  292.98 +streets."
  292.99 +
 292.100 +Tomoyo nodded and smiled, and heard a loud clang as the gangway
 292.101 +dropped to the dock. The two women were swept along with the mass of
 292.102 +people as the ferry emptied out. Holding a map in one hand and Tomoyo
 292.103 +with the other, Sakura plowed forward through the throng. After a
 292.104 +brief walk down Flemming Drive they took an immaculate subway and got
 292.105 +off by the Daimaru department store. Walking along Great George
 292.106 +Street, Tomoyo was dazzled by the variety of stores and goods for
 292.107 +sale. It was like Tokyo, only even more dense and crowded. Finally,
 292.108 +Sakura suggested they enter the Matsuzakaya, which was just opening
 292.109 +for business.
 292.110 +
 292.111 +They passed the rows of impeccably dressed store employees bowing
 292.112 +for their first customers. The massive department store was much like
 292.113 +it's Japanese counterpart, though stocked with local Chinese goods
 292.114 +that would have seemed oddly out of place back home. Wending their
 292.115 +way through the first floor they came to a display of the fall
 292.116 +fashion line. There they saw scarves, hats, blouses and dresses in
 292.117 +subdued earth tones and rich, dark greens. Tomoyo fancied a long,
 292.118 +chiffon, copper-russet dress, while a pleated, flowing, pumpkin-
 292.119 +colored skirt entranced Sakura. Impulsively, the auburn-haired woman
 292.120 +slipped into a changing room to try it on. Upon emerging she sweat
 292.121 +dropped as Tomoyo gleefully met her with the video camera. But
 292.122 +somehow, despite the embarrassment, it secretly thrilled her to be
 292.123 +filmed once again. Tomoyo's love was effusive, and came out in so
 292.124 +many curious little ways: the costumes, the camera, and the funny
 292.125 +little remarks. Sakura realized how painfully she missed her friend's
 292.126 +eccentricities, these odd little tokens of her affection. Of course,
 292.127 +Sayoran loved her, too, in his way. And so did her father, and
 292.128 +brother. But somehow, she felt herself a treasured part of Tomoyo's
 292.129 +life, a unique receptacle of the pale woman’s effusive love. The girl
 292.130 +had always made her feel special, filling her with a confidence and
 292.131 +courage that she otherwise lacked. Holding the hem of the skirt she
 292.132 +twirled like a dancer, delighting Tomoyo and earning stares from the
 292.133 +other customers. Stopping in mid-pirouette, she caught her breath and
 292.134 +gazed at the camera and her dear friend behind it. She smiled,
 292.135 +curtseyed, and then quickly dashed into the changing room. For some
 292.136 +reason she was crying. Sitting on the little bench and dabbing her
 292.137 +eyes with the skirt, she shook her head in bewilderment. 
 292.138 +
 292.139 +"Baka, why are you crying?” she thought. "Because, because I don't
 292.140 +feel like this with anyone else. Because I'm never this happy unless
 292.141 +I'm with her. Because I can only be with her for a few more days, and
 292.142 +then she'll be gone again". Sakura sat with her fists clenched, tears
 292.143 +trickling down her cheeks. She wiped them away, desperately
 292.144 +struggling to regain her composure. She heard a soft voice outside
 292.145 +the door, tinged with concern,
 292.146 +
 292.147 +"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
 292.148 +
 292.149 +"Hai", she gasped out, breathing raggedly, "I'll be out in just a
 292.150 +minute."
 292.151 +
 292.152 +Sakura emerged with a smile, easing the worry on Tomoyo's pale face.
 292.153 +The Mistress of the Cards fiddled with the price tag on the skirt,
 292.154 +looked at the money in her handbag, and then stared again at the
 292.155 +price. Finally, she looked at Tomoyo uncertainly. Her companion
 292.156 +smiled and said, "It looks very pretty on Sakura-chan". That was good
 292.157 +enough, and a saleslady was soon wrapping the purchase into a tidy,
 292.158 +tied up bundle.
 292.159 +
 292.160 +After buying the skirt, the two perused the dishes and china sets.
 292.161 +They were entranced by the exquisitely beautiful Haviland
 292.162 +collections, with Sakura declaring the strawberry pattern her
 292.163 +favorite, while Tomoyo favored a serving tray with little fishes
 292.164 +playing around the rims. Sakura noticed a crowd gathering, and with
 292.165 +Tomoyo in tow went to see what was going on. By the bridal section a
 292.166 +fashion show had begun, featuring Western and Chinese wedding
 292.167 +dresses. Sakura oohh-ed and ahh-ed at the dazzling display of satin
 292.168 +and lace. The traditional red and gold brocade of a Chinese costume
 292.169 +was exotically beautiful, and she glanced over to see Tomoyo's
 292.170 +reaction. The lavender-haired was smiling, but it was an odd, frozen
 292.171 +smile, as if she wore it to hold back some secret distress. Sakura
 292.172 +felt a sudden stab of pain in her chest as she remembered Tomoyo's
 292.173 +unspoken love for her special person, and the heartbreaking line in
 292.174 +one of her letters, "It doesn't matter if I have a wedding." She
 292.175 +gripped Tomoyo's hand tightly and whispered, "Let's go," practically
 292.176 +yanking her friend away. Sakura avoided the startled woman's face,
 292.177 +for fear those glistening blue eyes might start her crying all over
 292.178 +again. She tugged Tomoyo along, nearly running out of the store and
 292.179 +into the mid-day heat. Finally, Sakura paused in the shade of a
 292.180 +building and looked at Tomoyo, who was breathless but smiling. Sakura
 292.181 +smiled, too, and asked,
 292.182 +
 292.183 +“Are you hungry? Sayoran-chan says there’s a great noodle restaurant
 292.184 +not far from here, the Dai Pai Dong.” 
 292.185 +
 292.186 +Tomoyo smiled and replied, “That would be nice. I love noodles. ”
 292.187 +
 292.188 +Walking hand in hand down Jardine's Bazaar, the women threaded their
 292.189 +way past street merchants and hawkers with every imaginable ware for
 292.190 +sale. There were booths laden with jade and gold, silks and luxurious
 292.191 +fabrics, and odd potions and medicinals. Finally they worked their
 292.192 +way to the Night Market and, between Tomoyo’s English and Sakura’s
 292.193 +Chinese, were seated in a more-or-less quiet table in a darkened
 292.194 +corner. After pointing out their orders on a tray of plastic replicas
 292.195 +of the daily specials, the two friends chatted about the beautiful
 292.196 +clothing and jewelry they had seen, and all the places they would go
 292.197 +on Sayoran’s little list. When the noodles arrived they were
 292.198 +surprised at the bounteous feast, and knew they could never finish.
 292.199 +Once the dishes were cleared, Sakura poured the tea and pondered what
 292.200 +to say. Tomoyo looked at her and sensed that something was amiss. Her
 292.201 +gentle smile, silently reassuring, urged the reticent brunette to
 292.202 +speak. Finally, Sakura burst out in an agitated voice, 
 292.203 +
 292.204 +“Tomoyo-chan, do you think you can love someone besides your one,
 292.205 +True Love?”
 292.206 +
 292.207 +Tomoyo was startled by the woman’s sudden fervor. She looked down at
 292.208 +the clear, pale green liquid that billowed in her little teacup.
 292.209 +Finally she looked at Sakura, saw the urgency of her expression, and
 292.210 +asked in as matter-a-fact a voice as she could manage, 
 292.211 +
 292.212 +“Sakura-chan, I’m not quite sure what you mean. Surely a person
 292.213 +would still love their parents, and their brothers and sisters, even
 292.214 +if they had found their one, True Love.”
 292.215 +
 292.216 +Sakura frowned and looked at the table, slowly shaking her head,
 292.217 +searching for the right words,
 292.218 +
 292.219 +“I know that…that you would still love your family, but…Tomoyo-chan,
 292.220 +you love your special person very much, don’t you?”
 292.221 +
 292.222 +Tomoyo felt her thudding heart as she gazed at Sakura’s beautiful
 292.223 +face. If only she could speak her true feelings, just once! Instead,
 292.224 +she smiled and spoke in a clear, musical voice,
 292.225 +
 292.226 +“I love them with all my heart, and all my life.”
 292.227 +
 292.228 +Sakura stared, wild emotions tearing at her self-control. In a
 292.229 +halting voice she whispered,
 292.230 +
 292.231 +“Tomoyo-chan, could you….could you ever love anybody else?”
 292.232 +
 292.233 +Tomoyo looked at her friend and desperately struggled to maintain
 292.234 +her mask. Why was she asking this? What could she mean? Why is she
 292.235 +doing this? Her mind raced through all the possibilities: she wants
 292.236 +me to meet someone, she wants to help me somehow.  Tomoyo wished she
 292.237 +had never come, that she were back with Sonomi in the far away
 292.238 +mountains. Or even that Sakura had just forgotten all about her,
 292.239 +forever. But that thought stung, and brought her to the verge of
 292.240 +tears. Forcing a smile to hide her fraying heart, Tomoyo spoke
 292.241 +truthfully, for she was too shaken to lie,
 292.242 +
 292.243 +“Sakura-chan, I could never, ever love anyone but my special person.”
 292.244 +
 292.245 +Crestfallen, Sakura sank back into her chair. Her smile was shaky,
 292.246 +but sincere. Breathing deeply, she said,
 292.247 +
 292.248 +“ I guess I knew that already.” She glanced away, staring at the
 292.249 +restaurant’s red carpet as if it held all the great secrets of the
 292.250 +world. “I don’t even know why I was asking.” With teary eyes she
 292.251 +gazed at Tomoyo and took both her hands. “Your special person is so
 292.252 +very lucky to have your love. I only wish they knew.”
 292.253 +
 292.254 +Tomoyo felt the soft, warm hands tenderly holding her own. She
 292.255 +closed her eyes tightly, but darkness brought no relief.  Sadly she
 292.256 +thought to herself,  “I wish you knew too, Sakura-chan. But I can’t
 292.257 +ever let you know.”
 292.258 +
 292.259 +III.
 292.260 +The westering sun lit up the city in a golden glow as the electric
 292.261 +tram slowly climbed the heights of Victoria Peak. In a strange
 292.262 +transition, the dense, urban world gave way to a mountainous jungle.
 292.263 +Only the occasional mansion dotted the landscape as the little tram
 292.264 +pulled it's way ever higher. The two women were burdened with bags
 292.265 +and packages, but Sakura was determined to see the sunset that
 292.266 +Sayoran called, "the most beautiful sight in all of Hong Kong." She
 292.267 +knew they could stop off at the Li mansion, but that would cost
 292.268 +precious time. The Peak was the highest point in the area, and
 292.269 +overlooked the city and all the little islands of the bay. When they
 292.270 +finally reached the top, they were greeted by still more stores,
 292.271 +museums, and restaurants. Sakura's face lit up when she saw a set of
 292.272 +rental lockers, which they used to store the day's accumulation of
 292.273 +bargains. Then, Sakura took out her husband's crudely drawn map and
 292.274 +stared at it in puzzlement.
 292.275 +
 292.276 +"He's such an awful map maker," she frowned. Tomoyo giggled and said,
 292.277 +
 292.278 +"The streets are very well marked, not like back home. I guess maps
 292.279 +aren't as necessary here."
 292.280 +
 292.281 +"Mmmmm," Sakura replied distractedly. Finally, pointing to the west
 292.282 +in triumph she exclaimed, "There. That's the way. I think." Sakura
 292.283 +strode forward into the great unknown, and Tomoyo smilingly followed.
 292.284 +
 292.285 +The path was twisty, and the climb somewhat steep. The Peak rose
 292.286 +almost 2,000 feet from sea level, and was covered in thick,
 292.287 +subtropical foliage, broken only by parks, gardens, and commercial
 292.288 +buildings at the top. The two stopped at a bench to catch their
 292.289 +breath, but Tomoyo sensed her friend's impatience, and said they
 292.290 +should press on before the sun could set. Sakura happily agreed, and
 292.291 +the pair again began to climb. The pale woman marveled at her
 292.292 +friend's stamina, her sure-footed ease on the difficult trail. While
 292.293 +walking, Tomoyo thought about the day, the thousand treasured moments
 292.294 +spent with Sakura. It was a blessing beyond hope to be with her, to
 292.295 +see her new life and happiness first hand. Though exhausted from the
 292.296 +vigorous climb, Tomoyo found new energy in just being with her
 292.297 +beloved. Suddenly the leaves and trees gave way, and the two women
 292.298 +stood in awe at the view of the city below them. The great
 292.299 +skyscrapers of Central were like little models below, the golden
 292.300 +yellow sunlight catching their sharp angles for the last time in the
 292.301 +day. The great city of commerce was slowly changing into a mecca of
 292.302 +entertainment as evening approached. Sakura took Tomoyo's hand and
 292.303 +spoke earnestly,
 292.304 +
 292.305 +"Sayoran-chan said we should see the sunset over Lamma Island, and
 292.306 +then catch the city at night." Tomoyo nodded, and the two plunged
 292.307 +back on the path into the green world of trees and vines. The trail
 292.308 +was steeper now, but cooler as shade darkened their way. Sakura was
 292.309 +in her determined mode, and nothing would keep her from the sunset.
 292.310 +When her mind was set like this, she was almost a little scary.
 292.311 +Tomoyo was secretly thankful that she seemed to have given up her
 292.312 +quest to discover the identity of her True Love. Struggling up a
 292.313 +broken part of the trail, Tomoyo knew that in the end all her masks
 292.314 +would avail her nothing if Sakura truly wanted to know. At times, she
 292.315 +thought it might be better if they parted forever, lest the Mistress
 292.316 +of the Cards find that she herself was at the center of Tomoyo's
 292.317 +heart. That would be tragic for both of them, which was why this
 292.318 +might be the last time they would be together. If I drop out of her
 292.319 +life she'll forget about me and still have all the memories, Tomoyo
 292.320 +resolved wistfully. But how could I possibly do such a thing? How
 292.321 +could I live without hope of ever seeing her again? She knew the
 292.322 +answer already: because it would make her happy. And that was worth
 292.323 +any pain, no matter how long, or how cruel. Tomoyo was breathing
 292.324 +hard, from the climb as well as her secret thoughts, when suddenly
 292.325 +they stopped.
 292.326 +
 292.327 +The sun was just beginning to set. The shredded clouds hung on the
 292.328 +horizon, pink and orange in the fading light. Lamma Island shone like
 292.329 +an emerald on fire, wrapped in a golden glow. The two women,
 292.330 +exhausted from the vigorous pace of the climb, plopped onto the
 292.331 +grass, still hand in hand. A great cruise ship slipped out of the
 292.332 +harbor and blasted a mournful farewell that rose all the way to the
 292.333 +top of the Peak. The pair sat entranced as the sun painted the world
 292.334 +in a riot of red and purple color. Darkness came slowly, soft, sweet
 292.335 +and tender. Sakura pointed out the first star high in the sky, and
 292.336 +closed her eyes to make a silent wish. Tomoyo saw the waxing moon;
 292.337 +nearly full now, nestled in black velvet like some luscious tropical
 292.338 +fruit. 
 292.339 +
 292.340 +She gazed at Sakura, her fairy-tale face touched by the moonlight.
 292.341 +She's like the Lunar Princess come to earth, Tomoyo thought. She
 292.342 +can't stay with me, and my heart will long for her all my days. But
 292.343 +this moment will be memory, a comfort and a solace to turn away the
 292.344 +pain. Sakura's dark lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. Her wish
 292.345 +complete, she smiled sweetly at her dark-haired friend. Her green
 292.346 +eyes shone like far away stars, and Tomoyo felt her heart shudder and
 292.347 +break. Wracked by a flood of joy and sadness, Tomoyo let her mask go
 292.348 +and laid her head on Sakura's shoulder. The lavender hair tumbled
 292.349 +down in a luminous cascade, and her soft body cuddled against her
 292.350 +beloved friend. Sakura felt a wave of longing, her heart buoyed by
 292.351 +the magical presence of Tomoyo. She reached out and encircled the
 292.352 +woman with her arm, pulling her closer. High above, the stars wheeled
 292.353 +their way through the endless dark, but Tomoyo and Sakura were silent
 292.354 +and still. All that night the two sat side-by-side, nestled in
 292.355 +starlight and moon glow, like a statue of lovers from long ago.   
 292.356 +
 292.357 +

   293.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   293.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   293.3 @@ -0,0 +1,872 @@
   293.4 +Dear Sakura:
   293.5 +Together Again
   293.6 +by The Amazoness Duo
   293.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   293.8 +
   293.9 +	“Damn it!” Sonomi screamed into the empty expanses of the vacation
  293.10 +home up in the mountains. It was supposed to be a retreat from the
  293.11 +pain of everyday life, a place of refuge that she could take her
  293.12 +darling daughter to and escape for a few days. It was a comfortable
  293.13 +little place up in the mountains that she had picked out with Tomoyo
  293.14 +years earlier. But this visit was anything but relaxing. Her retreat
  293.15 +had betrayed her, leaving her just as pained as if she were right in
  293.16 +the middle of things. It offered little escape this time, the
  293.17 +knowledge that Tomoyo was off in Hong Kong with the woman that had
  293.18 +broken her heart firmly in Sonomi’s overworked mind. Yet even with
  293.19 +that knowledge, she still expected to see her dark haired daughter
  293.20 +out in the garden, videotaping the beautiful flowers and butterflies
  293.21 +or on the balcony watching Sakura-shaped clouds in the sky. And each
  293.22 +time, she was profoundly disappointed to find her little girl absent
  293.23 +from her usual charming activities. 
  293.24 +	Puffing on her cigarette, Sonomi leaned against the balcony
  293.25 +railing, watching the garden where she and Tomoyo would have picnics
  293.26 +on their visits. Normally, smoking wasn’t a habit she kept up with.
  293.27 +Back when she had first picked it up in high school, it was rather
  293.28 +short lived after Nadeshiko’s insistence that she stop. And she had.
  293.29 +Despite it’s ability to help her relax when things were too
  293.30 +stressful, she would do anything for her gentle goddess. Who needed
  293.31 +such a thing when they had a sweet cousin like Nadeshiko by their
  293.32 +side? It would be bad for her running, after all, just like Nadeshiko
  293.33 +had said. Even if HE could beat her at track. But he was the only one
  293.34 +who could beat her. He always was. But somehow, he managed to beat
  293.35 +her at everything. At racing and at love. He had stolen her beloved
  293.36 +Nadeshiko’s heart away from her, even though she had promised
  293.37 +Nadeshiko that she would protect her from people like him. Part of
  293.38 +Sonomi had died that day, at the wedding. More of her had died after
  293.39 +Nadeshiko’s death some years later. Sometimes she thought that the
  293.40 +only reason any of her was still alive at all was because of Tomoyo.
  293.41 +Her darling daughter was another sweet angel in her life. And Tomoyo
  293.42 +didn’t like it when she smoked either, telling her that it made her
  293.43 +sad to see Sonomi doing such things to herself. So she had quit again
  293.44 +for the sake of her little daughter, deciding that she was worth any
  293.45 +sacrifice. 
  293.46 +	But right now, neither Nadeshiko nor Tomoyo were there with her.
  293.47 +And she was feeling self-destructive. She wanted to breathe smoke.
  293.48 +She wanted to throw away all of her professional success in the past
  293.49 +few years. She wanted to destroy every one of her racing trophies.
  293.50 +What did any of it mean anymore? She had been twice blessed to have
  293.51 +angels come into her life, but one had left it painfully and the
  293.52 +other was being torn apart in front of her eyes. And as always,
  293.53 +Sonomi, the brash and protective woman that she had always been, was
  293.54 +completely helpless to stop it. That made this all the more painful.
  293.55 +The memory of watching Nadeshiko during her dying days haunted her.
  293.56 +She had promised to protect her little cousin and she had been
  293.57 +powerless to hold back death’s embrace from whisking her away. And
  293.58 +now it was all happening again. Her angelic daughter was dying in her
  293.59 +own way. And once again she was forced to watch. She couldn’t force
  293.60 +that pain away with a glance, hold her daughter close and protect her
  293.61 +from the cold knives of pain the world was intent on throwing at her.
  293.62 +Yet Tomoyo smiled through it all. An angel to the bitter end, she
  293.63 +tried so hard to keep her mother happy while her own soul was being
  293.64 +cut into. 
  293.65 +	“Agh!!” Sonomi hit the railing she was leaning against fiercely
  293.66 +with her right hand. The pain that shot through her clenched fist
  293.67 +just sought to anger her even more. “Nadeshiko-chan, why does it have
  293.68 +to be this way? Why does she have to get hurt as well? Am I cursed?
  293.69 +Is she destined to relive my pain?” The business woman’s voice
  293.70 +lowered as her blue eyes closed, imagining her darling cousin’s image
  293.71 +in her mind's eye, speaking directly to her as she often did when she
  293.72 +was hurting. “Please tell me, Nadeshiko-chan. I don’t understand.” 
  293.73 +	The wind whispered in her ear, blowing about Sonomi’s short
  293.74 +brunette hair as if in answer, but she was still left all alone. A
  293.75 +slender hand went to her mouth, deep breaths escaping her lips as she
  293.76 +tried to calm herself. The breaths were shaky at best, barely holding
  293.77 +back the onslaught of rage and loss that threatened to overcome her.
  293.78 +But Sonomi was a strong woman. She had survived this long.
  293.79 +Unfortunately, the waves always seemed to get higher in her life,
  293.80 +threatening to drown her in sorrow. She could almost hear Nadeshiko
  293.81 +chiding her about the cigarette. A small, pained laugh left her as
  293.82 +she put it out. “She’s so very much like you, Nadeshiko-chan. I could
  293.83 +never stand to see you suffer at all. I promised I’d always protect
  293.84 +you. Why do I have to watch her follow the same path I went through?
  293.85 +Why can’t I take away her pain?” Her eyes opened slowly, looking out
  293.86 +across the garden. Her heart dropped when what she thought was either
  293.87 +Nadeshiko or her daughter’s lovely gray hair happened to be nothing
  293.88 +more than some dust being thrown around by the wind. “Sometimes I
  293.89 +swear our daughters must have gotten switched at birth, Nadeshiko-
  293.90 +chan. She’s so kind and gentle like you. And she has such a loving
  293.91 +heart. She holds in so much pain and it’s killing me to watch her in
  293.92 +it, pretending it’s not even there. Please... Please, Nadeshiko-chan.
  293.93 +Don’t let this happen again. Don’t let what happened to us happen to
  293.94 +our daughters. I love you so much. I can’t stand to see my little
  293.95 +girl go through the same pain.” 
  293.96 +	Sonomi slumped to her knees on the balcony, her body feeling weak
  293.97 +beyond its years. Her memories of Nadeshiko were all too vivid, all
  293.98 +too painful in her mind. Every glimpse, every touch, it all came back
  293.99 +with surprising force. Her heart longed for her dearly departed
 293.100 +cousin, missing her more and more with each passing day. Not a day
 293.101 +went by when her thoughts weren’t consumed with the woman she loved.
 293.102 +Her death had only served to separate them even farther. And if it
 293.103 +hadn’t been for Tomoyo, Sonomi would have been quick to join her.
 293.104 +“Nadeshiko-chan, I need you. Why did you leave me? You’re everything
 293.105 +to me.” Even with her eyes open, she could still see the haunting
 293.106 +afterimage of Nadeshiko, her smile tugging at the business woman’s
 293.107 +heart. “You always said I was strong. But damnit, Nadeshiko-chan, I
 293.108 +was strong for you. Because I wanted to protect you. Because I wanted
 293.109 +to make you happy. If I couldn’t do that for you and if I can’t for
 293.110 +Tomoyo-chan, then what good is any of it? Why does my pain have to
 293.111 +live on through my daughter? This can’t happen.” She sighed weakly,
 293.112 +running her hands through her hair. Her jumbled emotions were all
 293.113 +calling for attention, leaving her feeling burnt out inside. She felt
 293.114 +so weak and helpless, unable to change anything. The river of life
 293.115 +had her caught tragically in it’s current and she could cause little
 293.116 +more than ripples in the water. 
 293.117 +“I’m sorry for being angry with your Sakura-chan, but I can’t help
 293.118 +it. Tomoyo-chan’s so much like you and seeing the pain in her eyes
 293.119 +that Sakura-chan causes in her is unbearable for me. I can’t help but
 293.120 +see some of Fujitaka-sensei in her now that I see her hurting Tomoyo-
 293.121 +chan so much. And I’m sorry about that. I know she’s your little
 293.122 +girl, but seeing my daughter in pain...” She sighed, shaking her head
 293.123 +as Tomoyo came to mind. What was happening to her over in Hong Kong
 293.124 +right now? Why couldn’t she have come with her? It would have been
 293.125 +better for the both of them. “But Tomoyo-chan wouldn’t want me mad at
 293.126 +Sakura-chan either. She would say it wasn’t her fault and that she
 293.127 +was happy for her. But I can see underneath those words at the pain
 293.128 +underneath and it tears me up inside. She’s so sad and she won’t let
 293.129 +it out. Because she doesn’t want me to worry about her. I guess I
 293.130 +shouldn’t be mad at Sakura-chan. It’s the same thing that happened
 293.131 +with you. You went off and got married, too. But that just makes this
 293.132 +even worse because I know exactly what hell Tomoyo-chan is going
 293.133 +through. And I can’t tell her it will get any better because I still
 293.134 +miss you.”
 293.135 +	Her blue eyes falling closed again, Sonomi could swear she felt
 293.136 +Nadeshiko’s gentle fingers brush past her cheek reassuringly. “Please
 293.137 +don’t let this happen, Nadeshiko-chan...”
 293.138 +
 293.139 +	An exhausted pale woman plopped down onto a guestroom’s futon bed
 293.140 +in a flurry of dark hair. The day had been long for Daidouji Tomoyo
 293.141 +and she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. But all of that
 293.142 +hardly mattered to the young heiress. Smiling to herself, Tomoyo
 293.143 +brought a hand up to her mouth and yawned. She had almost forgotten
 293.144 +how much energy it took to keep up with Sakura. The brunette seemed
 293.145 +to be nearly inexhaustible in whatever she did. And that mixture of
 293.146 +determination, enthusiasm, and pure loveable spirit always managed to
 293.147 +draw Tomoyo along afterward in awe. Never having been as energetic as
 293.148 +Sakura, the other woman’s presence managed to revitalize her. 
 293.149 +	Being with Sakura again was like a beautiful dream. But like all
 293.150 +dreams, she knew that she would eventually have to awaken from it.
 293.151 +That thought brought her back to reality, her hand instinctively
 293.152 +reaching for her camcorder. If she had to leave her beloved Sakura,
 293.153 +she needed to have every precious second on videotape. Checking to
 293.154 +make sure that it had new film, she gently placed it on the large
 293.155 +Victorian style desk. Those memories of Sakura might be the last she
 293.156 +would have after this visit. She would slowly allow herself to fade
 293.157 +from Sakura’s life completely after returning home. It would make
 293.158 +things easier for Sakura who had already started a new life that she
 293.159 +couldn’t be a part of. Eventually, Sakura would forget about her,
 293.160 +happily living out her new life in wedded bliss. 
 293.161 +	“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo whispered sadly as she sat back on the bed.
 293.162 +Her stormy blue eyes clouded over, tears threatening to break through
 293.163 +her carefully orchestrated masks, ready to spill past her ivory
 293.164 +cheeks. How can you give up the one you love? How can you let
 293.165 +yourself become nothing more than a memory? Because you love them.
 293.166 +Because you must set them free to live their life without you. Tomoyo
 293.167 +knew that she would forever be bound to her love for Sakura, but the
 293.168 +emerald eyed woman would soon have no need for her. Staying in her
 293.169 +life would just be painful for the both of them. She had told Sakura
 293.170 +that the most important thing in her life was that her beloved was
 293.171 +happy. Even if they couldn’t be together. “I know you don’t
 293.172 +understand, Sakura-chan. And hopefully you’ll never have to. When I’m
 293.173 +gone, I’ll be happy knowing that you’re smiling.” 
 293.174 +	So if this was going to be her last time with Sakura, every single
 293.175 +moment had to be treasured fully in Tomoyo’s heart. The dark haired
 293.176 +designer smiled a bit, wiping the tears from her eyes. That part was
 293.177 +easy, Sakura’s warm aura lifting her heart up. To be with Sakura
 293.178 +again was truly a vacation from the loneliness and sleepless nights
 293.179 +that she had been dealing with since the wedding. Her aching heart
 293.180 +felt like it would burst to be near the Cardmistress again. Sakura
 293.181 +was just as cute and sweet as always. She was becoming a gorgeous
 293.182 +young woman. Sakura truly was the perfect bride. Li-kun was very
 293.183 +lucky to be blessed with Sakura’s presence. Though curiously enough,
 293.184 +Tomoyo hadn’t seen an awful lot of him. She would have thought that
 293.185 +he would be there near Sakura during the entire visit, bathing in her
 293.186 +glorious nature the same way Tomoyo herself did. Yet she’d barely
 293.187 +seen the Chinese Sorcerer at all. That coupled with Sakura’s
 293.188 +increased outpouring of affection had her confused. If Sakura’s
 293.189 +letters were any indication, she really had missed the company of her
 293.190 +best friend. And Tomoyo could agree with that notion wholeheartedly.
 293.191 +She missed Sakura terribly every day that she was without her. So she
 293.192 +would be happy to be by Sakura’s side for the duration of the visit.
 293.193 +This one day alone had been worth all of the months of loneliness and
 293.194 +pain to be able to enjoy the beauty of Hong Kong right alongside her
 293.195 +gorgeous Sakura.
 293.196 +	Wincing slightly at the weariness in her body, Tomoyo began looking
 293.197 +through the cedar chest in her room for a nightgown. Memories of the
 293.198 +day and her time with Sakura kept racing through her mind, bringing a
 293.199 +smile to her lips. Sakura really hadn’t changed much during her time
 293.200 +in Hong Kong. She was still the same wonderful woman that Tomoyo had
 293.201 +fallen in love with years before. And her presence still made
 293.202 +Tomoyo’s heart flare up with love for the brunette. Sakura’s sweet
 293.203 +voice still rang in her ears like a beautiful song, making her feel
 293.204 +peaceful and calm. 
 293.205 +Singing softly to herself, Tomoyo finally picked out a cyan
 293.206 +nightgown and set it down gently on the bed. She didn’t sing in front
 293.207 +of people the way she had back when she was on the choir club, but
 293.208 +she still sang often when she was alone. It was something she had
 293.209 +always enjoyed doing. It was a way of letting herself drift, letting
 293.210 +her thoughts flow free. Her mind could wander along to the rhythm of
 293.211 +the music, but it always invariably settled on one thing in
 293.212 +particular; Sakura.  And that’s where her mind had settled now as she
 293.213 +let her hair down from the ponytail it had been in all day, long dark
 293.214 +hair pooling about her shoulders. Her clothes were laid neatly on the
 293.215 +bed before she pulled the nightgown over her head. Getting ready for
 293.216 +bed in Hong Kong again brought back memories of her first trip there
 293.217 +with Sakura. She had even spent the night at this very house while
 293.218 +she had been there, though that time she had shared a bed with
 293.219 +Sakura. This time Sakura would be sharing a bed with her husband. So
 293.220 +some things had changed since her last visit. Her heart wavered for a
 293.221 +moment, but she forced the saddening thought away. At least Sakura
 293.222 +was here. That’s why she had returned to this house, after all.
 293.223 +Because Sakura had gotten married. And other than a few moments that
 293.224 +day when Sakura had been rather emotional, she seemed to be happy. So
 293.225 +she should be glad for her. The only reason Sakura was overemotional
 293.226 +was because of her visit anyway. Sakura wouldn’t need to hide her
 293.227 +tears in dressing rooms after she was gone. 
 293.228 +	Tomoyo closed her eyes, taking an unsteady breath. “Sakura-chan...”
 293.229 +
 293.230 +	Meanwhile, the subject of Tomoyo’s thoughts was getting ready for
 293.231 +bed herself. Sakura had already changed into her pajamas and was
 293.232 +sitting next to Syaoran on the bed. Her poor husband looked so tired.
 293.233 +She had been talking about her day with Tomoyo ever since she had
 293.234 +gotten back home and he had quietly listened the whole time. He was
 293.235 +lying on the bed, his eyes half open. Sakura giggled softly and
 293.236 +brushed some hair from her eyes. “Gomen, Syaoran-chan.” She leaned
 293.237 +forward and gave her husband a brief kiss. “Work must have been tough
 293.238 +today. Maybe we can talk about it later.”
 293.239 +	Syaoran nodded, his eyes half closed as he suppressed a yawn.
 293.240 +“Sure.” He stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep his eyes open.
 293.241 +“It was a long day. We should get some sleep.” His eyes opened after
 293.242 +slipping closed for a second when he felt Sakura’s head on his chest.
 293.243 +	Sakura sighed softly. Even after all that she had done that day,
 293.244 +she still wasn’t feeling tired. She was too excited to be tired.
 293.245 +After being Tomoyo-less for months and months, her best friend was
 293.246 +only a few rooms away. Her mind wouldn’t shut off long enough for her
 293.247 +to sleep. Tomoyo stirred so many feelings inside of her. It was
 293.248 +difficult to comprehend. “Hai, you’re right. I think I’m going to go
 293.249 +check on Tomoyo-chan first before I go to sleep,” she said
 293.250 +thoughtfully.
 293.251 +	“Daidouji’s like Meiling,” Syaoran stated matter-of-factly, his
 293.252 +concentration blurring as sleep began to prey on his mind.
 293.253 +	“Hoe?”
 293.254 +	Syaoran yawned again, resting his head back. “Yeah. They both like
 293.255 +to say embarrassing things.” 
 293.256 +	A giggle escaped Sakura’s lips at that. “I guess that’s true. I
 293.257 +never really thought about it. But it’s nice when she says them.”
 293.258 +Kissing Syaoran’s cheek, she sat back up. Tomoyo might already be
 293.259 +asleep, but she thought it would be okay if she just peeked in to
 293.260 +check up on her. Or to at least catch a glimpse of her best friend.
 293.261 +She felt like a little girl trying to get a last glimpse at the
 293.262 +Christmas Tree before being forced off to bed. “I’ll be back in a
 293.263 +little bit. Go ahead and go to sleep. I’ll join you soon.” She smiled
 293.264 +sweetly at her husband as she slid off the bed. He watched her for a
 293.265 +moment, offering a half smile of his own before rolling over and
 293.266 +closing his eyes. 
 293.267 +	Padding silently out of the room, Sakura made her way down the hall
 293.268 +towards Tomoyo’s guestroom. Tomoyo had nearly fallen asleep with her
 293.269 +head on Sakura’s shoulder earlier, so Sakura doubted she would still
 293.270 +be awake. But it would be nice to see her again before going to sleep
 293.271 +herself.  The door opened slowly after she grasped the doorknob. 
 293.272 +	“Hello, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said warmly from inside. 
 293.273 +	Sakura sweatdropped as she entered, closing the door quietly behind
 293.274 +her. “Gomen nasai, Tomoyo-chan. I thought you were asleep. I hope you
 293.275 +don’t mind.” She returned the pale woman’s warm smile. “I just wanted
 293.276 +to see you again.”
 293.277 +	Tomoyo shook her head, her dark hair swaying with the motion. “No,
 293.278 +I’m glad you came, Sakura-chan. I was hoping you would. I’m always
 293.279 +happy to see you.” Patting the bed next to her, Tomoyo made room for
 293.280 +her hostess. Thoughts of seeing Sakura again had filled her mind for
 293.281 +the last few minutes, but she hadn’t actually thought that Sakura
 293.282 +would stop by before the morning. Seeing Sakura now got rid of the
 293.283 +sadness tinged thoughts associated with the visit. It really was
 293.284 +great to see her. There was the same sparkle in Sakura’s emerald eyes
 293.285 +that had always sent a thrill through her heart and the same smile
 293.286 +that always warmed her. Tomoyo giggled softly and tilted her head to
 293.287 +the side. “No matter how much you change, you’re still my cute Sakura-
 293.288 +chan.”
 293.289 +	Accepting the proffered seat, Sakura looked back at Tomoyo
 293.290 +thoughtfully. She was glad that Tomoyo was awake. It was much better
 293.291 +than just catching a glimpse of her sleeping friend. Tomoyo’s musical
 293.292 +voice and the  sweet things she said still embarrassed her at times,
 293.293 +but she was happy to hear them. For so long she had been missing
 293.294 +those little remarks of Tomoyo’s, reading them over and over in her
 293.295 +letters and waiting for every Sunday to hear her on the phone. It
 293.296 +really did make her feel good inside. “I hope I can always be your
 293.297 +cute Sakura-chan,” she replied, blushing slightly. Tomoyo always had
 293.298 +a way of getting to her that way. 
 293.299 +	“You will. Because I’ll always have my memories of you. And I have
 293.300 +a lot of it down on videotape, captured moments of your youth ready
 293.301 +to be watched again and again and again as I reminisce about my days
 293.302 +with Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo explained, still smiling sweetly. Her
 293.303 +clasped hands were in her lap. She had always known that one day
 293.304 +Sakura would have to leave her and that she would be left with
 293.305 +nothing but her memories. So she had videotaped everything she could,
 293.306 +wanting to capture as much of Sakura as she could. There was so much
 293.307 +more to the brunette, but all she had was a library of videotape now
 293.308 +that Sakura was in Hong Kong. And she was glad for it. Now that she
 293.309 +couldn’t spend time with Sakura anymore outside this little trip, the
 293.310 +videos were all she had left. There would be no more new moments with
 293.311 +her, no more happy times spent together. But all of the old ones were
 293.312 +ready for her to replay when she was lonely or to watch through when
 293.313 +she was sad. 
 293.314 +	Sakura reached out slowly, her fingers gently brushing through
 293.315 +Tomoyo’s long lavender hair. She had let it grow from the last time
 293.316 +Sakura had seen her, now reaching well past her waist. She always had
 293.317 +the most gorgeous hair, trying it in all sorts of styles. It was
 293.318 +always a wonder to Sakura how she managed to be so creative with it.
 293.319 +The soft hair felt wonderful underneath her fingers. “Umm... Tomoyo-
 293.320 +chan? Would you mind if I fixed your hair again? Like when we were
 293.321 +younger?” Sakura sweatdropped a bit and looked down. She felt
 293.322 +childish for asking such a thing. Tomoyo was a full grown woman now,
 293.323 +no longer the delicate child she remembered. It seemed awkward to be
 293.324 +asking it, but after the dream she had, she longed for the old days.
 293.325 +Tomoyo’s captivating smile dissipated her worries.
 293.326 +	Tomoyo’s heart had stopped when Sakura’s fingers began playing with
 293.327 +her hair. Sakura’s magic touch entranced her more than any of her
 293.328 +Cards could. It took her a moment to reply to Sakura’s request for
 293.329 +fear of reacting at all and breaking the moment. “I’d like that very
 293.330 +much, Sakura-chan. I always loved when you would be the one to fix my
 293.331 +hair.” Her voice had almost gotten caught in her throat, her cheeks
 293.332 +darkening slightly as Sakura’s fingers continued through her hair.
 293.333 +Oh, it was perfect! Her hands were so gentle as they continued on
 293.334 +their path. Tomoyo felt so peaceful, so complete inside. Yes, this
 293.335 +was love. Having her hair fixed by Sakura. Even if it was just
 293.336 +reliving old times for Sakura, she would play this over and over
 293.337 +again in her mind for years to come. For a brief moment, she could
 293.338 +even pretend this was the way things were. That after a long day at
 293.339 +work, she had come home to her dearest Sakura and that she had
 293.340 +offered to fix her hair for her, lovingly teasing with her fingers.
 293.341 +Even if the illusion didn’t last long, the warm feelings in her heart
 293.342 +grew considerably. If this was to be her last visit with Sakura, it
 293.343 +certainly was turning out well at this rate.
 293.344 +	Giggling happily, Sakura crawled up onto the bed behind Tomoyo, her
 293.345 +fingers still running through the lavender trusses. “Arigato, Tomoyo-
 293.346 +chan! It’s kind of like with Hanako-chan. Whenever I fix her hair, I
 293.347 +think about you. It was always so beautiful, no matter what style you
 293.348 +had it in.” For a brief moment, the woman in front of her was a
 293.349 +blushing girl of ten again, sitting in barely hidden anticipation.
 293.350 +Sakura shook the mental image off, but she smiled in spite of
 293.351 +herself. Gathering up Tomoyo’s hair, she looked at it thoughtfully.
 293.352 +Tomoyo scarcely moved an inch aside from a blissful sigh. Nodding to
 293.353 +herself, Sakura began braiding Tomoyo’s hair, enjoying the feel of
 293.354 +the silky strands between her fingers. For the moment, her only
 293.355 +concern was how to fix Tomoyo’s hair. And she found that simple task
 293.356 +relaxed her in ways that she hadn’t been able to in months. The sweet
 293.357 +scent of Tomoyo’s lavender hair was lovely. She leaned closer,
 293.358 +burying her face into the hair for a moment. It really was wonderful.
 293.359 +Just like Tomoyo, it was sweet and calming. She couldn’t see the
 293.360 +deepening blush on Tomoyo’s pale cheeks as she finally continued
 293.361 +braiding. 
 293.362 +	“I have some ribbons if you would like to use them, Sakura-chan,”
 293.363 +Tomoyo offered helpfully, scooting back so that she could be closer
 293.364 +to the Cardmistress. This had to be a glimpse of what Heaven was
 293.365 +like. Her heart skipped a beat as Sakura’s fingers brushed some hair
 293.366 +past her shoulder, the fingers lingering there for a brief second
 293.367 +before moving on. If only this one moment could last for an eternity.
 293.368 +Her heart sang out to Sakura, reaching out for her, bursting with her
 293.369 +love for the brunette. But she sat still as Sakura’s fingers fixed
 293.370 +her hair, content in this moment. ‘I love you, Sakura-chan. And
 293.371 +moments like these just remind me of how eternally grateful I am to
 293.372 +have met you,’ she thought to herself. 
 293.373 +	“Oh, right! Those ones you bought during the shopping trip. They
 293.374 +should be around here somewhere.” Sakura looked around thoughtfully
 293.375 +before Tomoyo handed a bag to Sakura. Inside were several deep green
 293.376 +silk ribbons. She ran her fingers over them as she pulled them out,
 293.377 +looking back at Tomoyo’s hair for where to place them. They were
 293.378 +beautiful and soft to the touch, but she found herself enjoying the
 293.379 +feeling of Tomoyo’s hair much more. Her fingers went back to work,
 293.380 +tying them in with careful movements. “You look so pretty, Tomoyo-
 293.381 +chan.”
 293.382 +	Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes fluttered open slowly, smiling happily.
 293.383 +The past few months seemed insignificant and far away. They didn’t
 293.384 +matter. All that mattered was this moment alone with Sakura. It was
 293.385 +perfect. “Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. You don’t know how happy
 293.386 +that makes me. Being here with you like this, hearing your voice and
 293.387 +knowing you’re right here with me, I don’t think I could be happier.
 293.388 +I’m so lucky to be here with you. I’ll always remember this trip,”
 293.389 +she said cheerfully. 
 293.390 +	Sakura giggled. She could almost see the stars in Tomoyo’s eyes. It
 293.391 +was just the way she remembered her. This trip had been exactly what
 293.392 +she needed. She didn’t feel so lonely or out of place anymore now
 293.393 +that Tomoyo was back with her. Her heart swelled to hear the sweet
 293.394 +remarks Tomoyo always showered her with. Their time together had
 293.395 +always been important to her, but it wasn’t until recently that she
 293.396 +had realized just how important. Not having Tomoyo with her was like
 293.397 +losing a part of herself. She didn’t feel as confident or as sure
 293.398 +about herself without the dark haired woman’s love and support.  Now
 293.399 +that the heiress was here, she felt even more sure of it. That’s what
 293.400 +had been missing in her life since she had moved to Hong Kong. But it
 293.401 +confused her because she didn’t quite understand what it was that she
 293.402 +had been missing. She missed Touya and her father, too, but it wasn’t
 293.403 +the same. She knew that was just homesickness, but this... This she
 293.404 +wasn’t so sure of. Tomoyo had been her best friend for so long and
 293.405 +she’d always made her feel like everything would turn out for the
 293.406 +best, that life really was an exciting and wonderful journey. And
 293.407 +with Tomoyo by her side, it always had been. Now she was continuing
 293.408 +that journey without Tomoyo, but with her husband by her side. That
 293.409 +thought hurt her. Because she missed the pale woman’s impact on her
 293.410 +life. The way she was always there for her no matter her problems or
 293.411 +what was going on in. The way she made her feel so warm and special.
 293.412 +The way she gave her all of her attention even if she didn’t need it.
 293.413 +But it didn’t make sense. She had her husband now and a new life.
 293.414 +Tomoyo was very important to her, but her priority now was her
 293.415 +husband and her new family. “I’m really happy to have you here, too,
 293.416 +Tomoyo-chan.”
 293.417 +	Tomoyo sensed the uneasiness in Sakura’s voice, as if she was
 293.418 +confused about something. She had heard that tone in her so often
 293.419 +before, on the phone or when they were together. It was usually when
 293.420 +Sakura was trying to understand something, to make sense out of
 293.421 +things with her innocent determination. Tomoyo leaned back against
 293.422 +her, her bare feet touching Sakura’s knees. Sakura’s fingers paused
 293.423 +for a brief moment before returning to the task of braiding her hair.
 293.424 +“Sakura-chan, you’re happy here in your new life, aren’t you?” her
 293.425 +musical voice asked softly.
 293.426 +	“Hmm?” Sakura asked distractedly. It took her a moment to shake off
 293.427 +her thoughts and return to the here and now. It had been so hypnotic,
 293.428 +the action of fixing Tomoyo’s hair, the wonderful scent, the warmth
 293.429 +in her heart at being here with her best friend. She had gotten
 293.430 +caught up in her thoughts. A smile crossed her lips. She didn’t even
 293.431 +have to think about that one. What a silly question! “Of course I am,
 293.432 +Tomoyo-chan. I’m very happy here. Syaoran-chan’s sisters are all very
 293.433 +nice and I finally get to be with my husband. It’s wonderful here.
 293.434 +The city’s beautiful. Though sometimes I get a little homesick. And I
 293.435 +really don’t think Ieran-sama likes me very much. And I really do
 293.436 +miss you a lot, Tomoyo-chan.” Her fingers grasped more of Tomoyo’s
 293.437 +hair as she leaned closer to the dark haired woman. Letters and phone
 293.438 +calls just weren’t a good enough substitute for actually being with
 293.439 +her best friend. She brushed past Tomoyo’s neck, playing with the
 293.440 +silky strands in her grasp. 
 293.441 +	“I’ll always be there for you, Sakura-chan. For as long as you need
 293.442 +me. So please don’t feel lonely. It makes me feel sad that I would
 293.443 +lessen your happiness here in your new life. You have so much here to
 293.444 +be happy about. You have Li-kun now to make you happy. You don’t ever
 293.445 +have to feel lonely because my heart is always with you. My thoughts
 293.446 +are always filled with you.” Tomoyo was sure glad that Sakura
 293.447 +couldn’t see her face because she barely had the will to put up her
 293.448 +mask this time. Her stormy blue eyes were downcast, looking at the
 293.449 +clasped hands in her lap. She was glad that Sakura missed her, but it
 293.450 +just made it hurt all the more that she would have to fade out of her
 293.451 +life. She no longer had a part in Sakura’s life and she was trying to
 293.452 +come to grips with that. Sakura was happy in her new life. She didn’t
 293.453 +need Tomoyo anymore.
 293.454 +	Frowning, Sakura shook her head. She felt a little frightened at
 293.455 +the way Tomoyo put that. It was as if Tomoyo thought that there would
 293.456 +come a time when she wouldn’t need her anymore. “But I’ll always need
 293.457 +you, Tomoyo-chan. You’re my best friend. You always help me so much.”
 293.458 +Her arms wrapped around her second cousin’s waist, pulling her into a
 293.459 +warm hug. She felt Tomoyo relax slowly into it. Sakura let her eyes
 293.460 +fall closed, trying to understand the tumultuous feelings inside of
 293.461 +her. Part of her wanted to break down and cry and to ask Tomoyo never
 293.462 +to leave her side again while the other part knew that she had to let
 293.463 +her go when the time came. Their lives were going down different
 293.464 +paths now. She held Tomoyo tighter, unsure of what to say. 
 293.465 +	Tomoyo let her eyes fall closed as she leaned back into Sakura’s
 293.466 +embrace. She felt safe in Sakura’s arms, like nothing could come to
 293.467 +pull her away. This was where she wanted to be, more than anywhere
 293.468 +else in the world. But she knew that Sakura was wrong. One day, the
 293.469 +brunette would no longer need her anymore. And she would silently
 293.470 +fade from her life, until all that was left was a memory. The thought
 293.471 +felt like a jagged icicle through her heart, but her love for Sakura
 293.472 +slowly melted it. She had to. For Sakura’s sake. All she could do was
 293.473 +love her from afar. “Arigato gozimasu, Sakura-chan,” she whispered
 293.474 +softly, forgetting her worries as she lost herself in Sakura’s arms.
 293.475 +Out of all of their contact, holding hands and even Sakura fixing her
 293.476 +hair, what she loved the most was when Sakura would hug her. Her
 293.477 +gentle yet strong arms always gripped her so warmly, even when Sakura
 293.478 +would hug her seeking comfort. It was a wonderful sensation, being
 293.479 +able to get so close to Sakura, to feel her heart beating against
 293.480 +her. It was times like this that she almost feared her own heart
 293.481 +would give her away as it pounded in her chest. 
 293.482 +	Resting her head against Tomoyo’s back, Sakura’s cheek pressed
 293.483 +against the silky hair that fell past Tomoyo’s shoulders. It tickled
 293.484 +her cheek , causing her to shift more against the fragile woman in
 293.485 +her arms. The rest of the world seemed far away whenever they hugged,
 293.486 +gaining in distance for as long as they did. Her husband wasn’t much
 293.487 +for emotional displays, but she knew that Tomoyo would always shower
 293.488 +her with warmth, comfort, support, and love. Her soul always felt so
 293.489 +soothed when they were together, like Tomoyo’s gentle fingers were
 293.490 +stroking through her soul, making everything all right. She really
 293.491 +couldn't ask for a better best friend. Pulling Tomoyo closer, her
 293.492 +mind spun. There was so much she wanted to say to her, so much she
 293.493 +wanted to do, but she couldn’t make sense of any of it. She couldn’t
 293.494 +phrase any of what she wanted to say. It felt like it was all pure
 293.495 +emotion, swirling in her heart. For a moment, she forgot where she
 293.496 +was. The feelings inside her were so strong, urging to be let out.
 293.497 +Tomoyo’s soft hair against her, the rhythmic movement of her
 293.498 +breathing, the scent of her hair and the delightful little movements
 293.499 +she made all made her feel so... hanyaan. Her eyes blinked rapidly a
 293.500 +few times as she tried to sort out the thoughts that were attached to
 293.501 +that. “I.. umm... Tomoyo-chan, would you like to go out to the
 293.502 +garden? It’s really nice at night,” she asked quietly after a moment.
 293.503 +She felt Tomoyo’s hair brush against her as the dark haired woman
 293.504 +nodded.
 293.505 +	“Hai, I’d like that, Sakura-chan. I’m sure it’s gorgeous,” Tomoyo
 293.506 +said sweetly. She made no attempt to move, remaining in Sakura’s
 293.507 +embrace for several long seconds until the brunette finally pulled
 293.508 +away and slipped off the bed. Her stormy blue eyes followed Sakura’s
 293.509 +movements, brimming with love for the Cardmistress. Sakura blushed a
 293.510 +bit at the look in her eyes and looked away. Tomoyo smiled gingerly
 293.511 +and took Sakura’s hand after joining her near the doorway. She held
 293.512 +it between both of her own hands for a minute, savoring the feeling.
 293.513 +Her fingers slowly intertwined with Sakura’s. Of course, she would go
 293.514 +anywhere with Sakura. She was far more gorgeous than any garden could
 293.515 +ever be. But if Sakura wanted to see the flowers, she would be happy
 293.516 +to watch her Sakura. 
 293.517 +
 293.518 +	The two women tiptoed outside, not wanting to wake any of the
 293.519 +occupants in the large mansion as they made their way outside. The
 293.520 +beautiful moonshine cast them both in a dim glow as they stepped out
 293.521 +into the garden. The garden itself was stunning, as befitting the
 293.522 +House of Li. A large fountain sat in the center, water cascading down
 293.523 +into it like a tropical waterfall. Wonderfully scented exotic flowers
 293.524 +were placed all around the spacious garden, making it seem like a
 293.525 +magical place in the moonlight. The sight reminded Tomoyo of helping
 293.526 +to pick out the flowers for her mother’s garden back home and felt a
 293.527 +sliver of homesickness wash over her at the thought. But her mother
 293.528 +was probably fine. Sonomi always managed to handle things. “It’s very
 293.529 +pretty Sakura-chan. Do you come out here often?”
 293.530 +	Sakura nodded, smiling over at the pale woman. She seemed to
 293.531 +shimmer in the moonlight, convincing Sakura even further that her
 293.532 +best friend had to be some angelic visitor. “Sometimes. I like to
 293.533 +come out here when I have the time. It kind of reminds me of when we
 293.534 +all used to go for picnics in the park. It’s not a lot like the park
 293.535 +but it’s just really nice out here.” Her emerald eyes flashed for a
 293.536 +second as they reflected the moonlight before falling closed. It was
 293.537 +still warm out, despite a slight breeze and she found the peaceful
 293.538 +serenity of the garden to be overwhelming. 
 293.539 +	Giggling softly, Tomoyo brought her free hand up to her cheek. “You
 293.540 +look so cute when you’re being nostalgic. I should loan you some of
 293.541 +my videos and watch you watching them.” Had they been apart at all?
 293.542 +It felt like they had been back home in Tomoeda just the day before,
 293.543 +like they had never been apart in the first place. It felt so nice to
 293.544 +be together again. Tomoyo had to remind herself to be careful. Sakura
 293.545 +was a married woman now. And this visit would probably be their last
 293.546 +time together. So she had to keep her displays in check. She couldn’t
 293.547 +just pour out her feelings for Sakura the way she used to. 
 293.548 +	Blushing despite Tomoyo’s attempt at controlling her usual
 293.549 +energetic love of Sakura, Sakura looked back at her old friend. “As
 293.550 +long as you keep sending the cooking videos. They’ve been a great
 293.551 +help. It feels like you’re right there with me when I’m watching
 293.552 +them. And it’s great to be able to see you after reading your
 293.553 +letters. I miss you so much sometimes that I can sit and watch them
 293.554 +over and over. You always look so pretty in them. Each time I see
 293.555 +them, it’s breathtaking.”
 293.556 +	Tomoyo looked back at Sakura, her stormy blue eyes, looking deep
 293.557 +into her in the cool night air. Her soul sang out to her, but she
 293.558 +knew it went unanswered. She wanted so much to tell her how she felt,
 293.559 +to let her know how much that meant to her. That she dressed as
 293.560 +prettily as she could for Sakura in her videos. That she wanted to be
 293.561 +there with her while she was cooking. That she longed for her with
 293.562 +all her heart and soul. But all she could do was smile. “Thank you
 293.563 +very much, Sakura-chan. That makes me very happy.” The two walked in
 293.564 +silence for a moment as Tomoyo tried desperately to get a hold of the
 293.565 +runaway feelings burgeoning inside of her. Sakura was everything to
 293.566 +her, but she couldn’t let out her feelings. She had to keep them
 293.567 +locked up in her heart. Sakura had the key, but Tomoyo couldn’t tell
 293.568 +her. Sakura could never use the key. Her own heart already belonged
 293.569 +to another. So Tomoyo continued to smile, wanting so much to lose
 293.570 +herself once more in Sakura’s arms. 
 293.571 +	Sighing softly, Sakura fidgeted, trying to force her thoughts into
 293.572 +coherency. She wouldn’t have the lavender haired woman in Hong Kong
 293.573 +much longer and there was still so much left unsaid. But try as she
 293.574 +might, her feelings refused to clarify themselves to her. It was
 293.575 +frustrating, being here with her best friend and unable to voice the
 293.576 +emotions that were playing with her. Tomoyo slowly sat down on a
 293.577 +bench near the fountain, drawing Sakura down next to her. Sakura
 293.578 +looked into the stormy blue eyes greeting her and quickly looked
 293.579 +away. She couldn’t meet them. They held so much within their depths
 293.580 +that it almost scared her. It was like they could see deep inside of
 293.581 +her, at the feelings that even she couldn’t understand. And yet they
 293.582 +were extremely warm and gentle, filling her with strength. But they
 293.583 +held a touch of pain in them that she had never noticed in Tomoyo
 293.584 +before. It brought a dark cloud over her heart. What could hurt her
 293.585 +like that? Behind Tomoyo’s smile, there was something exquisitely
 293.586 +painful dwelling in her heart. Now that she looked closer, the
 293.587 +smiling stormy blue eyes had cracks in them, painful shards that only
 293.588 +hinted at the torment of the girl they belonged to. Which all served
 293.589 +to confuse Sakura even more. “Tomoyo-chan, are you still happy with
 293.590 +your decision? With not telling the person you like? I mean, when you
 293.591 +told me about it, I was so sure that you were right. That the person
 293.592 +you liked must be really happy so that should make you happy. But
 293.593 +now...” She took a breath, looking up to gaze directly into Tomoyo’s
 293.594 +eyes. “Tomoyo-chan, I’m not sure anymore. It can’t be right. You said
 293.595 +you would be happy about it, but you never said anything about it
 293.596 +hurting you. I should have known earlier. But you must be so lonely,
 293.597 +watching your special someone happy with someone else. It’s not fair.
 293.598 +You can’t be alone. You just can’t. You’re too important to me to be
 293.599 +alone forever. I can’t let you. You will have your wedding. I
 293.600 +promise. Because it’s too sad if Tomoyo-chan never gets to be a
 293.601 +blushing bride.” She shook her head, trying to focus through her
 293.602 +tears. She hadn’t even noticed them until then. Her heart broke at
 293.603 +the look in Tomoyo’s blue eyes. She looked scared and hurt, the mask
 293.604 +that had been covering them slipping off. For a brief second, Sakura
 293.605 +could see the true extent of the pain that Tomoyo was in. It ran deep
 293.606 +through her soul, like a deep ravine. She was colder and more alone
 293.607 +than Sakura could ever truly realize. But before she could comment,
 293.608 +it was covered up as if it had never been there at all. And Tomoyo
 293.609 +was smiling again.
 293.610 +	“You’re so sweet, Sakura-chan. I’m lucky to have such a wonderful
 293.611 +best friend. I’m glad you’re worried, but you really shouldn’t be,”
 293.612 +Tomoyo said softly, her delicate fingers brushing away Sakura’s
 293.613 +tears. The brunette looked on in confusion. Had it just been the
 293.614 +lighting? Tomoyo seemed completely fine now. Her smile still strong
 293.615 +and bright, her eyes covering over the cracks she had seen in
 293.616 +Tomoyo’s soul. Had she been mistaken? “I’m sure. I would live my
 293.617 +whole life alone if it would make my special person happy. When you
 293.618 +love someone enough that their own happiness means so much more to
 293.619 +you than your own, then you know that it truly is love. I know I love
 293.620 +my special person with all my heart and soul. I would do anything for
 293.621 +them. I would be happy to be with them, but if I can’t make them
 293.622 +happy, doesn’t it make sense that they should be with whoever can
 293.623 +make them happy? It would be selfish to try to keep them all to
 293.624 +myself. I won’t weigh them down. For me, it’s a joy to see them
 293.625 +soaring in the air, happy and free. I could never deprive them of
 293.626 +their happiness. So in a way, I am making them happy. And that brings
 293.627 +a song to my heart. If I could keep them all to myself or give them
 293.628 +up to be with whoever would make them happy, I would let them go.
 293.629 +Because I love her so much that I would do anything, sacrifice
 293.630 +anything, to make sure that she lives a happy life. And if I can’t be
 293.631 +a part of it, then that’s okay. Because my heart will always belong
 293.632 +to my special person.” The sweet musical voice had begun to falter
 293.633 +near the end, her stormy blue eyes shimmering wetly in the moonlight,
 293.634 +yet her smile remained constant. They remained focussed on Sakura’s
 293.635 +emerald orbs, as if whispering ‘I love you’. 
 293.636 +	“But Tomoyo-chan, doesn’t it feel lonely that way? Don’t you feel
 293.637 +sad?” Sakura asked, grabbing Tomoyo’s hands with her own. She had to
 293.638 +know. She knew that she couldn’t do the same thing if she were in
 293.639 +Tomoyo’s position. It sounded too painful, too sad. How could she be
 293.640 +happy like that?
 293.641 +	Tomoyo nodded slowly, the wind playing with her long hair. “Hai, it
 293.642 +can get lonely sometimes. And I do feel sad, too. But Sakura-chan,
 293.643 +you have to understand. Sometimes you love something so much that you
 293.644 +have to set it free. Like a child. You love your child so much but
 293.645 +one day they have to leave you. But you love them so much that you
 293.646 +have to let them. I love my special person with all my heart. But I
 293.647 +can’t hold on because I can’t interfere with their happiness. So I
 293.648 +have to let them go out and live their own beautiful life. Because I
 293.649 +love them.”
 293.650 +	Shaking her head, Sakura held onto Tomoyo’s hands tightly. What
 293.651 +Tomoyo said was sounding suspiciously familiar with what she had
 293.652 +often said about Sakura herself. “I still don’t understand. It’s just
 293.653 +too sad. I don’t see why you can’t make your special person happy.
 293.654 +Anyone would be lucky to have you, Tomoyo-chan. It’s not right for
 293.655 +you to be alone like this. I don’t want you to be alone. You make me
 293.656 +so happy that I can’t imagine any man who's heart you couldn't win.
 293.657 +Seeing you alone hurts me, Tomoyo-chan.”
 293.658 +	Biting back tears, Tomoyo tried in vain to hold herself together.
 293.659 +“No, please don’t say that, Sakura-chan. It shouldn’t make you sad.
 293.660 +I’m fine. I’ll always be fine as long as my special person is happy.
 293.661 +Please, Sakura-chan... I have to be alone. My special person already
 293.662 +has someone. They’re already happy. I can’t interfere with that. And
 293.663 +I wouldn’t. I need you to be happy, Sakura-chan. Please be happy or
 293.664 +it’s all been for nothing. I know I can’t have my special person.
 293.665 +I’ve known that for years. But I can’t stop loving them because my
 293.666 +heart belongs to them, even if they’ll never know. You have to be
 293.667 +happy for me, Sakura-chan. I don’t think I can hold on if you take
 293.668 +that away from me.” Her voice was strained, tears streaking her pale
 293.669 +cheeks. Her mother had warned her about this trip and now she wished
 293.670 +she had agreed to call it off. Sonomi had been through the same
 293.671 +thing, after all. But she had thought that she had to come. Her
 293.672 +carefully orchestrated masks had finally proven worthless,
 293.673 +splintering into pieces at Sakura’s words. It was a paradox that
 293.674 +Sakura couldn’t see. She loved Sakura, but Sakura couldn’t love her.
 293.675 +And Sakura wanted her to be with her true love so that she could be
 293.676 +happy. Which brought her back to the beginning, where Sakura couldn’t
 293.677 +love her. It would ruin everything. But she couldn’t explain it to
 293.678 +Sakura, couldn’t make her realize that she had to be happy for her
 293.679 +even if she was alone. She dimly felt Sakura pulling her into her
 293.680 +arms, holding onto her dearly. Tomoyo let herself collapse in
 293.681 +Sakura’s embrace. She had tried so hard to keep her pain hidden from
 293.682 +Sakura for all these years but the past few moments had ruined all of
 293.683 +it. 
 293.684 +	Sakura was amazed at the sudden change in Tomoyo’s behavior, from
 293.685 +smiling and calm to wracked with sobs. So she hadn’t been mistaken
 293.686 +after all. She stroked Tomoyo’s back gently, the same way Tomoyo used
 293.687 +to whenever she would cry in her arms. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan,” she
 293.688 +whispered softly. The dark haired woman was more hurt by her special
 293.689 +person than she had ever let on. Sakura’s heart felt ready to break
 293.690 +as she pulled her pale best friend closer. She didn’t know what to
 293.691 +say. But a new resolve grew within her. She would find a way to make
 293.692 +Tomoyo happy. Somehow. She couldn’t let Tomoyo stay in so much pain. 
 293.693 +	The two woman stayed that way for a long time. Neither were sure of
 293.694 +how much time had finally passed when Tomoyo stopped crying on
 293.695 +Sakura’s shoulder. “Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said weakly.
 293.696 +“I’ve been so tired lately with working on Hanako-chan and all and I
 293.697 +haven’t really slept much since I got here.” She felt horrible. How
 293.698 +much damage had she caused? She had never meant for Sakura to see her
 293.699 +like that. Crying like that, thinking that way was only for when she
 293.700 +was all alone. She never wanted to hurt Sakura, especially with the
 293.701 +burden of her own terrible loneliness. And what if this spurred her
 293.702 +on to find out who her special person was? A shiver went through her
 293.703 +body at the thought. It suddenly felt very cold.
 293.704 +	Smiling softly, Sakura shook her head. “No, it’s okay, Tomoyo-chan.
 293.705 +I’m glad. I really don’t think I’ve seen you cry often. I’m your best
 293.706 +friend. I want to help you. And if you feel bad about this, then I
 293.707 +want to know about it.”
 293.708 +	Resting her head against Sakura’s shoulder, Tomoyo tried to calm
 293.709 +herself. In Sakura’s embrace, she found it remarkably easy to do.
 293.710 +“No, I don’t feel bad about it, Sakura-chan. Sometimes I just wish
 293.711 +that I could be with my special person. But I know it can’t be. I
 293.712 +hope you understand. It truly does mean everything to me that they’re
 293.713 +happy. I love them dearly and to see them delighted means that I’ve
 293.714 +helped to make sure that their life will be a joyous one. It hurts
 293.715 +sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. And being with you
 293.716 +makes me happy, Sakura-chan. In your arms, I feel like it’s all
 293.717 +perfectly fine. Being with Sakura-chan makes it all worthwhile.” She
 293.718 +sighed softly, her nose brushing past Sakura’s neck. “I’m so happy to
 293.719 +be with you, I don’t need anything else. Hearing your warm, joyous
 293.720 +heartbeat makes my heart want to beat in rhythm with it.” Her eyes
 293.721 +closed as she held onto Sakura. “Treasured moments like these
 293.722 +reassure me that what I did was the right thing. Because I know that
 293.723 +I had to make sure my true love was the happiest.”
 293.724 +	Sakura sat in silence, feeling the rise and fall of Tomoyo’s
 293.725 +breathing. Her own eyes were closed, listening to the toy designer’s
 293.726 +beautiful voice. “Tomoyo-chan,” the brunette finally spoke at last.
 293.727 +“I don’t ever want you to go. I want to be with you always. I want to
 293.728 +know that my best friend is always close by when I need her. I do
 293.729 +need you. You act like one day I’ll just stop needing you and that’s
 293.730 +not true at all. Tomoyo-chan, I can’t imagine life without you. From
 293.731 +the day we’ve met, you’ve always been so wonderful to me. And I want
 293.732 +you to have the same happiness I have. I want you to be married and
 293.733 +happy.”
 293.734 +	Giggling softly, Tomoyo sat up against Sakura, looking into her
 293.735 +jade eyes. “But Sakura-chan, I am happy. You make me happy. All of
 293.736 +the time I’ve spent with you, all of the memories you have given me,
 293.737 +I treasure them close to my heart.” Taking Sakura’s hand, she placed
 293.738 +it gently over her heart, which was still beating rapidly. “You’re
 293.739 +why I know that I can do this. Because you make me so happy that I
 293.740 +know it’s worth making my special person as happy as they can be,
 293.741 +even if we can’t be together. Seeing you smile, hearing about you
 293.742 +being in love with your new husband, it all makes me think ‘Sakura-
 293.743 +chan is so happy. I know that no matter what happens, Sakura-chan
 293.744 +will live a wonderful life’. Everything has a price, Sakura-chan. But
 293.745 +I know that my special person’s happiness is worth any sacrifice. I
 293.746 +would do anything for them. Because I love them so much that I want
 293.747 +to give them all of the happiness of the world. And if I can’t give
 293.748 +it to them, at least I know someone else can.” Her stormy blue eyes
 293.749 +never left Sakura’s, her heart still pounding against Sakura’s palm.
 293.750 +	Blushing deeply, Sakura nodded slowly. “But still... I.. I want to
 293.751 +make you happy, Tomoyo-chan. I want to..” She trailed off, unsure of
 293.752 +what she wanted to say. It almost sounded like Tomoyo was talking
 293.753 +about her. But that was silly. How could she be Tomoyo’s special
 293.754 +person? “If I was your special person,” she began softly, the blush
 293.755 +tinting her cheeks crimson, “I would want so much to make my Tomoyo-
 293.756 +chan the happiest person in the world.” Glistening like an angel in
 293.757 +the pale light, Sakura was rewarded with a genuine smile from Tomoyo.
 293.758 +She was gorgeous, her heart so earnest with the happiness of her true
 293.759 +love. It was awe-inspiring. Tomoyo had such a loving soul that it
 293.760 +surprised Sakura sometimes with the strength of the love Tomoyo could
 293.761 +pour out. That, too, was something she had missed.
 293.762 +	“Then Sakura-chan understands,” Tomoyo said quietly, her eyes
 293.763 +finally closing. She felt relief wash through her at that. Sakura
 293.764 +finally understood. After all this time. She didn’t let go of
 293.765 +Sakura’s hand at first, still holding it to her heart, wanting to
 293.766 +convey that the beating was for her alone. When she finally let go,
 293.767 +Sakura’s hand stayed on it’s own. Her stormy blue eyes opened to
 293.768 +Sakura’s still looking into their depths. 
 293.769 +	“You’re heart’s beating so fast,” Sakura whispered after a moment.
 293.770 +Her feelings weren’t confusing her so much anymore. She did
 293.771 +understand, like Tomoyo had said. So that was true love, wanting more
 293.772 +than anything for your true love to be happy. Loving them so much
 293.773 +that your heart would always belong to them. When she thought about
 293.774 +it that way, it did make sense. Her emotions slowed in their swirl in
 293.775 +her heart. 
 293.776 +	Tomoyo smiled softly, holding Sakura’s gaze. “It’s because I’m very
 293.777 +happy right now. I love being here with you, Sakura-chan. You make my
 293.778 +heart pound in joy. Sakura-chan’s cute, genki spirit fills me with
 293.779 +energy. So much energy that it doesn’t know where to go and it gets
 293.780 +all trapped inside. It’s saying Sa Ku Ra. Sa Ku Ra.” She knew that
 293.781 +this type of thing was exactly what she had planned on holding back
 293.782 +from during her trip, but she couldn’t help herself. Sakura’s
 293.783 +presence warmed her heart, filling up the emptiness that had existed
 293.784 +within her while they were apart. Living without Sakura was
 293.785 +infinitely more painful than she had originally thought. 
 293.786 +	“Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura couldn’t look away, her eyes focussed on the
 293.787 +brilliant blue orbs in front of her. The pale woman’s essence seemed
 293.788 +to wrap itself around her heart, pulling her closer. “Tomoyo-chan,
 293.789 +you make me happy, too,” she finally got out, barely above a whisper.
 293.790 +“You make me feel so special. You make me feel... loved.” That
 293.791 +realization hit her with a sudden impact. Tomoyo did make her feel
 293.792 +all those things and more. She filled her up with all sorts of warm
 293.793 +feelings inside. 
 293.794 +	“That’s all I want, Sakura-chan. I want you to be happy,” Tomoyo
 293.795 +whispered softly, leaning nearer to Sakura. Her fingers lightly
 293.796 +brushed through Sakura’s considerably shorter hair. 
 293.797 +Sakura rested her head against Tomoyo’s hand, her eyes half closed
 293.798 +as she tried to make sense out of the sudden realizations. Her mind
 293.799 +was having a difficult time following as Tomoyo drew ever nearer. It
 293.800 +took a moment for her to notice that she was leaning closer as well.
 293.801 +Once again, it seemed like pure emotions were driving her. For a
 293.802 +brief moment, it didn’t matter if any of it made sense. It just was.
 293.803 +“Tomoyo-chan,” she got out silently. The two were finally inches
 293.804 +apart. She could feel Tomoyo’s soft breath against her. She really
 293.805 +was stunningly gorgeous. She had known that for a long time, but she
 293.806 +had never quite seen her in this light. 
 293.807 +Watching Sakura’s bright emerald eyes, Tomoyo could see the same
 293.808 +shining determination that had always captivated her about them.
 293.809 +Their glimmer seemed to draw her forward. Sakura had grown into such
 293.810 +a pretty young woman, always managing to draw Tomoyo’s attention. She
 293.811 +was still amazingly cute, but she had gained a very pretty look to
 293.812 +her as well. Tomoyo had begun mentioning that as well over recent
 293.813 +years, whereas when they had been younger she had always embarrassed
 293.814 +Sakura about how cute she was. But right now she was content to bathe
 293.815 +in that beauty, in the shining light from Sakura’s heart that she
 293.816 +could feel radiating from her. Tomoyo’s masks were broken for the
 293.817 +time being, left behind. She couldn’t hide the glimmer of her own
 293.818 +heart. It was impossible to keep it back, nearly blinding her with
 293.819 +the love she felt for the woman in front of her. Sakura’s own heart
 293.820 +was beating furiously against her as she drew the brunette closer in
 293.821 +her arms. “Sakura-chan.” Sakura was her entire world. Nothing existed
 293.822 +beyond the pretty Cardmistress. Her fingers played across Sakura’s
 293.823 +ear. She had always found her ears incredibly cute when they were
 293.824 +younger. She still did. Everything about her was perfect. Tomoyo
 293.825 +loved all of her, even her flaws, the few she had. They were all part
 293.826 +of what made her love Sakura so dearly. The few inches between them
 293.827 +beckoned, Sakura’s lips seeming ever closer. Before she quite knew
 293.828 +what had happened, her lips brushed lightly against Sakura’s. To her
 293.829 +surprise, Sakura didn’t move back in the slightest. In fact, Sakura
 293.830 +moved closer to her dark haired best friend, her lips pressing back
 293.831 +against Tomoyo’s. Sakura’s eyes fell closed, but Tomoyo’s remained
 293.832 +open, wanting to see Sakura the entire time. Dream or not, this
 293.833 +moment would forever remain in her heart. 
 293.834 +Sakura blushed feverishly as she felt herself returning Tomoyo’s
 293.835 +kiss. Tomoyo's lips were petal soft and inviting, drowning out all
 293.836 +conscious thought from Sakura. Her hands rested at the small of
 293.837 +Tomoyo’s back as the eccentric heiress’s fingers kept playing with
 293.838 +her hair. This felt perfect. Her entire body and soul ached for
 293.839 +Tomoyo. She could feel her heart going out to the dark haired woman,
 293.840 +begging for her warmth and love. And Tomoyo happily gave that with
 293.841 +all that she was. Tomoyo’s tongue slowly pushed between her lips
 293.842 +after a time, and Sakura graciously accepted, thrilled at the feeling
 293.843 +of Tomoyo’s tongue in her mouth. She kissed back with all of her
 293.844 +heart, her fingers clasping together as she pulled Tomoyo tighter.
 293.845 +For the first time since she had come to Hong Kong, and possibly for
 293.846 +the first time in her life, she felt complete. It was like a circuit
 293.847 +was completed within her, love pouring through her entire body. It
 293.848 +was different from the kisses she got from Syaoran. This was gentler,
 293.849 +sweetly exploring all that there was to offer. Tomoyo kissed slowly
 293.850 +but passionately, giving of herself completely to Sakura. His were a
 293.851 +little more forceful, more to the point. Forgetting all about that as
 293.852 +the kiss grew more passionate, she held on tightly to her best
 293.853 +friend. The feelings rushing through her felt stronger than any magic
 293.854 +she had ever experienced. Tomoyo didn’t need magic to touch her soul.
 293.855 +Her kiss was magical enough. 
 293.856 +When the kiss finally ended, the two woman held very close in the
 293.857 +cool night air. Peaceful silence surrounded them, the only sound that
 293.858 +of the flowing water. ‘The love in your heart has to flow, just like
 293.859 +water,’ Tomoyo thought to herself as she held onto Sakura, her head
 293.860 +resting on the brunette’s shoulder. Her hands went gently up and down
 293.861 +Sakura’s back as Sakura lightly toyed with her hair. The two stayed
 293.862 +that way for a long while, Sakura finally falling asleep in Tomoyo’s
 293.863 +arms.
 293.864 +
 293.865 +Watching from the deck where she had concealed herself, Ieran
 293.866 +watched the entire scene unfold. Yes, she had been right after all.
 293.867 +This would require quite a bit of thought. Turning from her daughter-
 293.868 +in-law and her friend, Ieran faded into the night.
 293.869 +
 293.870 +	
 293.871 +	
 293.872 +
 293.873 +
 293.874 +
 293.875 +

   294.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   294.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   294.3 @@ -0,0 +1,876 @@
   294.4 +Dear Sakura
   294.5 +The Banquet
   294.6 +by G.P. and Amazoness Duo
   294.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   294.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   294.9 +
  294.10 +
  294.11 +Sakura’s Feathery wings ached as she struggled to stay aloft in the
  294.12 +howling wind. Buffeted by a frigid gust, she grimaced and tried to
  294.13 +steady herself on the unsteady currents. Scanning the nightscape of
  294.14 +the great city, she spied Tokyo Tower alight, a blazing beacon in the
  294.15 +dark, moonless night. Squinting to focus, she made out a familiar
  294.16 +figure, long hair tossed about by the fierce wind. The girl’s flowing
  294.17 +dress fluttered crazily as she teetered unsteadily on the edge of a
  294.18 +platform high above the ground. Standing with arms folded, hands
  294.19 +against her chest, she clutched something tightly to her breast. In
  294.20 +horror, Sakura realized who it was and screamed her name,
  294.21 +
  294.22 +"Tomoyo-chan!!"
  294.23 +
  294.24 +She woke with a start and stared out at the gray-blue garden, dimly
  294.25 +lit by the early dawn. With a cold shiver she realized it was that
  294.26 +dream again. But this time, she knew who the figure on the Tower was.
  294.27 +But what was she doing there, and why was it Tomoyo-chan? Realizing
  294.28 +she was still entwined with Tomoyo, Sakura released a little sigh of
  294.29 +relief. She snuggled against the sleeping woman, taking comfort in
  294.30 +her warm presence. Gazing at the pale face, so peaceful and calm,
  294.31 +Sakura felt the fear in her heart vanish. Fingers playing with a lock
  294.32 +of lustrous lavender hair, she watched the woman cradled in her arms
  294.33 +breathe softly in a gentle slumber.
  294.34 +
  294.35 +Sakura felt an ocean of love welling within, buoying her heart like
  294.36 +a little cork. Yesterday was a dream of moonlight and mountains,
  294.37 +gardens and fountains, and a magical kiss that swept her soul up into
  294.38 +the velvety night. She blushed at the memory of that kiss, but more
  294.39 +out of passionate remembrance than embarrassment. Never had anything
  294.40 +affected her like this. The treacly-hot sweetness lingered still, the
  294.41 +scent and taste and touch of Tomoyo flooding back as she closed her
  294.42 +eyes. Her body shivered and her heart thudded with an aching longing.
  294.43 +She wanted to cry and laugh and hug the beautiful, still form
  294.44 +drowsing in her arms. On the edge of tears she whispered hoarsely,
  294.45 +
  294.46 +“Tomoyo-chan, I love you.”
  294.47 +
  294.48 +It was true. This visit had stirred up feelings that Sakura only
  294.49 +dimly suspected. At first, Tomoyo’s absence had been masked by the
  294.50 +excitement of married life in Hong Kong. But over the weeks, being
  294.51 +away from her constant companion had begun to erode her confidence,
  294.52 +her happiness, and her very soul. Sakura’s bright world was slowly
  294.53 +spinning out of balance, becoming dark and shrouded in shadows. When
  294.54 +Tomoyo called and said she was coming to visit, Sakura felt a rush of
  294.55 +sheer joy. And now, after just two days together, she felt utterly
  294.56 +reborn. But why? Tomoyo was her best friend, but the love that
  294.57 +gripped Sakura now was like nothing she had ever felt. Wasn’t this
  294.58 +how she was supposed to feel with her True Love? Then why didn’t she
  294.59 +feel like this with Syaoran? Of course she loved him dearly- but not
  294.60 +like this. But why not? He was her husband, her special someone. He
  294.61 +had risked his life and given her the power to fight against the
  294.62 +darkness unleashed by Eriol. Without his help, those shadows might
  294.63 +have engulfed the world in a pall of forgetting. Everyone knew they
  294.64 +were fated to be together; in fact, Sakura was one of the last to
  294.65 +know. She smiled, remembering the time she ran after Syaoran’s bus
  294.66 +with her little teddy bear. But for all the kisses they had shared as
  294.67 +newlyweds, there had never been one like last night. Why?
  294.68 +
  294.69 +Syaoran’s kisses were strong and demanding, blunt and forceful like
  294.70 +the man himself. Sometimes she felt delightfully swept away when he
  294.71 +took her in his arms like some imperious warrior. But Tomoyo’s kiss
  294.72 +was tender, tantalizing, sensuous, and oh-so-slow. While Syaoran was
  294.73 +always in a hurry to get somewhere, Tomoyo seemed to be lingering,
  294.74 +delighted to share those intimate seconds together. Remembering the
  294.75 +moment, Sakura blushed deeply, lightly holding her fingers to her
  294.76 +lips. But it was more than that. Syaoran kissed as if to prove his
  294.77 +love. When Tomoyo kissed, it was Love itself that poured from her
  294.78 +heart and filled Sakura’s being. Nobody had ever loved her like
  294.79 +Tomoyo-chan. Everything she did flowed from the depths of her love:
  294.80 +the costumes, the quirky comments, and now the kiss. Sakura marveled
  294.81 +at this, for if she loved her best friend so, then what was Tomoyo’s
  294.82 +love for her special someone like? It seemed awful that they did not
  294.83 +know of her love, for if they did surely they would feel it as the
  294.84 +greatest of blessings. Surely they would rescue her from the
  294.85 +loneliness that haunted her. And after seeing the pain etched on her
  294.86 +face last night, Sakura was determined that her friend must not live
  294.87 +a life in cruel isolation. 
  294.88 +
  294.89 +But Tomoyo's effusive love was not the only thing that made the kiss
  294.90 +special, for Sakura's intense reaction when their lips first touched
  294.91 +had set them both soaring. Her entire being inflamed with fire and
  294.92 +light, she returned Tomoyo’s ardent passion with her own. And this
  294.93 +brought her back to the original puzzle: Why was her love for the
  294.94 +woman in her arms so deep and powerful , more so even than for her
  294.95 +husband? Sakura's face mirrored her confusion as she grappled for an
  294.96 +answer that would not come. "Hoeeee", she thought, "this would be so
  294.97 +much easier if I could do something. But I just don't know what to
  294.98 +do." At that moment, a light tap on her shoulder freed her from her
  294.99 +confusion. She glanced up and saw Syaoran standing by her, dressed
 294.100 +for work. She smiled brightly and whispered,
 294.101 +
 294.102 +"Can you help me get Tomoyo-chan to her room?"
 294.103 +
 294.104 +He rolled his eyes and returned the smile, then carefully took the
 294.105 +woman from his wife's arms and carried her to the guest room. She was
 294.106 +surprisingly light, and he gently eased her onto the futon, still
 294.107 +asleep. Sakura, who had followed along, knelt beside the sleeping
 294.108 +girl and tucked her in with all the care and concern of a loving
 294.109 +mother. Leaning over, she brushed the dark hair from her pretty face,
 294.110 +and kissed the pale cheek. Tomoyo smiled in response, as if all the
 294.111 +beautiful dreams in the world were hers. The husband and wife tiptoed
 294.112 +out of the room, and Sakura carefully latched shut the great mahogany
 294.113 +door.   
 294.114 +
 294.115 +Tomoyo slowly awoke in the plush comfort of a silken quilt. She
 294.116 +rolled onto her side, breathing in the sweet scent of cut lilies that
 294.117 +Sakura had placed in her room the day before. The light from the
 294.118 +garden shone brightly, as if the sun had already reached its zenith.
 294.119 +Propping herself up on one elbow, she stared at the clock and was
 294.120 +startled to see the hands approaching noon. Still awakening, she
 294.121 +remembered the garden from last night, illumined not by the noisy
 294.122 +yellow sun as it was now, but bathed in moonlight. Swiftly the jumble
 294.123 +of recollections fell into place: breaking down in front of Sakura,
 294.124 +sobbing uncontrollably, the woman clasping her tightly. And then, she
 294.125 +blushingly remembered the kiss.
 294.126 +
 294.127 +Suddenly sitting up, she held a hand to her breast and felt her
 294.128 +heart beat wildly. Never had she felt such bliss. Her body trembled
 294.129 +as she remembered how their lips lightly touched, how they embraced,
 294.130 +how her tongue slipped delicately into Sakura’s honey-sweet mouth.
 294.131 +Wide-eyed, she shivered as the lingering passion gripped her slender
 294.132 +frame. Holding herself tightly, she closed her eyes, begged her heart
 294.133 +be still, and tried to think.
 294.134 +
 294.135 +Her first thought came on a little ripple of fear, “What did I do?
 294.136 +She saw me cry, she saw me lonely and in pain. Now I’ve hurt her. Oh,
 294.137 +I’ve hurt my Sakura-chan.” In all their time together, Tomoyo had
 294.138 +labored to hide her secret agony from Sakura’s sparkling eyes, lest
 294.139 +she tarnish that bright, genki spirit. Why had she broken down now,
 294.140 +why had the carefully contrived masks fractured in her hands?
 294.141 +Frantically she tried to remember what she had said and done. All she
 294.142 +could recall was Sakura’s unceasing worry about Tomoyo’s loneliness,
 294.143 +about the special person she could never have, or even tell of her
 294.144 +love. She had felt trapped like an animal, unable to say that her
 294.145 +special person was right there with her, in front of her, as she
 294.146 +always had been. With nothing to say and nowhere to run, her heart
 294.147 +shattered, the jagged shards rending her soul. And then her tears, so
 294.148 +long held back, were unleashed in an uncontrollable torrent. Yet what
 294.149 +happened next was utterly astonishing.  
 294.150 +
 294.151 +When Sakura pulled her close and embraced her, Tomoyo’s pain was
 294.152 +washed away. She remembered with awe the warmth and love that poured
 294.153 +into her, healed her, and made her whole again. Here was something
 294.154 +far beyond the Cards, which made their powers seem mere tricks and
 294.155 +trifles. In the blink of an eye, Tomoyo had gone from a bitter grief
 294.156 +that would welcome death to joy and peace enough for all eternity.
 294.157 +Pain and woe and fear had no home when she was in her arms. And
 294.158 +Sakura’s own spirit, rather than being dimmed by Tomoyo’s pain,
 294.159 +blazed forth and brought comfort and elation to them both. Here was a
 294.160 +mystery, for Sakura had actually seemed glad to know of Tomoyo’s
 294.161 +distress, as if knowing brought her more solace than not knowing.
 294.162 +Almost like a Doctor-sensei who exults in her capacity to heal the
 294.163 +hurts of others. Shaking off this thought, Tomoyo resolved never to
 294.164 +let it happen again, lest Sakura be burdened with a pain she could
 294.165 +not mend. As for her own pain, it was beyond the reach of all
 294.166 +healing, save for being with her one, true love. And that, of course,
 294.167 +was impossible.
 294.168 +
 294.169 +Sakura had found her true love in Li-kun, and Tomoyo could not, must
 294.170 +not, sully that happiness. To sacrifice her happiness for that of her
 294.171 +loved one seemed a small price, indeed. But the kiss she had shared
 294.172 +with her beautiful friend bewildered her, for the love she had felt
 294.173 +from Sakura matched her own unrestrained ardor. Sakura did not return
 294.174 +the kiss out of surprise or pity, but with a stunning passion, as if
 294.175 +she craved a love long denied her. Tomoyo had resolved on her flight
 294.176 +to Hong Kong to bottle up her feelings, lest it burden her friend, or
 294.177 +damage their wonderful relationship. But in that garden she was
 294.178 +enraptured by the scent of tropical flowers, hypnotized by the beauty
 294.179 +and voice of the radiant brunette, and bewitched by the luminous
 294.180 +moonlight. Her love slipped the iron chains she had forged, and flew
 294.181 +to freedom, flew to her. She remembered slowly leaning into the kiss,
 294.182 +and Sakura reaching out like a plant welcoming the sun. And this was
 294.183 +what baffled her. Sakura should have reacted with embarrassment,
 294.184 +should have laughed nervously or made light of what was happening.
 294.185 +But her love was as strong and compelling as Tomoyo's own. 
 294.186 +
 294.187 +Tomoyo sat in bed, fingers distractedly caressing a little crease in
 294.188 +her cyan nightgown. She smiled and thought, it was as if we were
 294.189 +really lovers. I’ve been granted a vision of life together, both of
 294.190 +us madly in love, with only ourselves in the whole, wide world.
 294.191 +Tomoyo closed her eyes and thanked the spirits of the garden who had
 294.192 +brought her these wondrous moments. Arigato gozaimasu, she thought,
 294.193 +I'll treasure them forever. Opening her eyes she noticed a single
 294.194 +braid entwined with green ribbons, and remembered Sakura doing her
 294.195 +hair in this very bed. She put her hand to her cheek and felt a hot
 294.196 +crimson flush creeping up her neck and shoulders. Such a marvelous
 294.197 +day and night it had been! She could bear anything for memories like
 294.198 +these. But even in the tender glow of felicity she gently chided
 294.199 +herself. She had now been given something unhoped for, a pearl of
 294.200 +great price to hold in her heart forever. But she must not distress
 294.201 +her friend with her own private longings. Sakura’s fragile feelings
 294.202 +were precious, and Tomoyo would not let anything harm them. From now
 294.203 +on, she would be more careful. She would bind Love with adamantine
 294.204 +chains and keep her feelings under control. But when the smiling face
 294.205 +of the delightful brunette came to her, her heart fluttered
 294.206 +helplessly in response. It was as if Love playfully rattled those
 294.207 +adamantine chains, sweetly mocking Tomoyo’s futile efforts to bind
 294.208 +her. 
 294.209 + 
 294.210 +
 294.211 +The dark-haired girl arose, and stretched languidly. Today is the
 294.212 +banquet, she thought with a start. I have to get ready. They may need
 294.213 +me to help. And with that, she rushed to the cedar chest to get
 294.214 +dressed, and to see Sakura.
 294.215 +
 294.216 +But Sakura had already left for work, leaving a little note on
 294.217 +stationary bordered with lilacs that she had to attend a meeting at
 294.218 +school, and would be back in the early afternoon to help prepare the
 294.219 +night's banquet. Tucking away the kawaii little note, Tomoyo wandered
 294.220 +the great house, looking for the kitchen. Finally, by the dinning
 294.221 +hall she found it, and entered in through the double doors. There she
 294.222 +saw six chefs and numerous assistants, busy with preparations. Ieran-
 294.223 +sama stood among them like a general, calm and assured amidst the
 294.224 +chaos of the battlefield. The woman saw her approach, and Tomoyo
 294.225 +bowed low and held her bow until it was returned, though by a much
 294.226 +shallower bow as befitted their respective stations. Amid the clatter
 294.227 +and clang of the busy kitchen Tomoyo had to strain and raise her soft
 294.228 +voice to be heard,
 294.229 +
 294.230 +"Good day, Ieran-sama. May I be of any help to you?"
 294.231 +
 294.232 +The woman looked down at her sternly, but Tomoyo noticed the
 294.233 +slightest smile as she answered,
 294.234 +
 294.235 +"A guest does not help with her own banquet, Daidouji Siuje. That
 294.236 +would be bad fortune." She had used Siuje, the Chinese form for Miss.
 294.237 +Tomoyo sensed she had been accorded a singular honor, and bowed
 294.238 +slightly in recognition. Ieran-sama smiled again, and turned to the
 294.239 +men in the kitchen, issuing a series of rapid orders in Cantonese.
 294.240 +She then asked,
 294.241 +
 294.242 +"Would you care for some tea?"
 294.243 +
 294.244 +Tomoyo nodded and followed her out of the kitchen and into the
 294.245 +dinning room. The older woman scanned the area, and then said matter-
 294.246 +of-factly,
 294.247 +
 294.248 +"It's such a lovely day. Would you like to have tea in the garden?"
 294.249 +Ieran-sama watched her intently.
 294.250 +
 294.251 +"Yes, thank you, that would be very nice," Tomoyo replied, her face
 294.252 +a mask.
 294.253 +
 294.254 +Ieran-sama led the way down the dark halls, nodding to a servant as
 294.255 +she walked. They sat at a table under a mimosa tree dotted with soft,
 294.256 +puffy, pink blossoms. The table was made of a pale gray stone, old
 294.257 +and weather-stained. Presently a servant arrived with two small red
 294.258 +cups and a little red and green pot. Ieran-sama nodded her away, and
 294.259 +poured the young woman a steaming cup of strong, black tea. Tomoyo
 294.260 +thanked her, and sipped the hot, pungent liquid.
 294.261 +
 294.262 +"Delicious," she smiled. The older woman gazed at her, carefully
 294.263 +studying her face. Sipping from her own cup, Ieran-sama sighed,
 294.264 +
 294.265 +"You know, if I had your beauty there would be no need of magic."
 294.266 +
 294.267 +Tomoyo blushed at the compliment, and the steady eyes that beheld
 294.268 +her. Closing her eyes, Ieran-sama asked,
 294.269 +
 294.270 +"Are you enjoying Hong Kong?"
 294.271 +
 294.272 +"Yes, very much so. It's really a beautiful city. I'm seeing so much
 294.273 +more than the last time I was here."
 294.274 +
 294.275 +"Beautiful, but old, though they seem to delight in tearing down
 294.276 +everything they can," She grimaced slightly as she spoke. "But I am
 294.277 +happy you are finding your stay pleasant."
 294.278 +
 294.279 +They chatted about the city, shopping in the Causeway, and the view
 294.280 +from Victoria Peak. Finally, Ieran-sama asked,
 294.281 +
 294.282 +"Daidouji Siuje, you care very much for Sakura-san, don't you?"
 294.283 +
 294.284 +Again Tomoyo felt the penetrating gaze fall upon her. She put down
 294.285 +her cup and nodded.
 294.286 +
 294.287 +"You could have had her for yourself; you have the power. But you
 294.288 +encouraged Syaoran instead. Why?"
 294.289 +
 294.290 +Tomoyo paused, and drew a deep breath. There was no sense in trying
 294.291 +to hide or conceal anything from her. She saw too much. Smiling, the
 294.292 +young woman replied, 
 294.293 +
 294.294 +"I wanted her to be happy. That was most important. I didn't think I
 294.295 +could make her happy, but I think Li-kun can."
 294.296 +
 294.297 +The woman was silent, her dark eyes locked with Tomoyo's. Finally
 294.298 +she looked away and spoke in a cold, aloof tone,
 294.299 +
 294.300 +"Daidouji Siuje, you are perceptive for your years, but have much to
 294.301 +learn about human hearts. When next you play matchmaker, be certain
 294.302 +before you act."
 294.303 +
 294.304 +Ieran-sama rose and fixed Tomoyo with a hard stare. But then her
 294.305 +face softened, as if bright memories of girlhood called to her with a
 294.306 +giggle. She smiled a sad, wistful smile and spoke in a whispery,
 294.307 +feminine lilt,
 294.308 +
 294.309 +"Daidouji Siuje, I know you would do anything for her. Anything. But
 294.310 +this time, please be sure of what you do. Some things done fly far
 294.311 +beyond recall."
 294.312 +
 294.313 +She turned and walked away, leaving a pensive Tomoyo behind. Ieran-
 294.314 +sama felt a shadow of fear as she strode down the halls to the
 294.315 +kitchen.  Something about Tomoyo troubled her. There was a sense of
 294.316 +brittle strength, a terrible fragility under that calm and placid
 294.317 +surface. She closed her eyes and spoke a silent blessing, a spell of
 294.318 +watchful protection on the troubling girl. It bothered her that she
 294.319 +liked Tomoyo, for such feelings could prove a distraction. The girl
 294.320 +was more than useful; she was somehow vital to the House of Li. And
 294.321 +that, Ieran-sama thought to herself, is more important than my
 294.322 +trifling human emotions.
 294.323 +
 294.324 +Sakura hurried down the street that led to the Li residence. Having
 294.325 +to go for a teacher's meeting was exasperating, but it was her duty
 294.326 +to go, so she went. Besides, Tomoyo needed to sleep, though hopefully
 294.327 +she was up now. Sakura was visibly excited at the prospect of seeing
 294.328 +her again. She wanted to see and be with Tomoyo as much as possible
 294.329 +while she was still here. Her heart caught in her throat at this
 294.330 +thought, realizing the woman would soon leave for Japan. Sakura
 294.331 +practically ran up the hill, the house soon looming into view.
 294.332 +Standing outside was Tomoyo, scanning the street as if looking for
 294.333 +her. Sakura shouted out her name and waved, and as the dark-haired
 294.334 +woman caught sight of her she waved back. Running breathlessly,
 294.335 +Sakura charged up the walkway and threw herself into Tomoyo’s arms,
 294.336 +nearly toppling her over. 
 294.337 +
 294.338 +Tomoyo gasped in surprise and delight as she felt the reassuring
 294.339 +warmth of her beloved friend. She thought to herself, Sakura-chan’s
 294.340 +away for a few hours and I can’t stand it. How can I possibly leave
 294.341 +her? She fought back the tears and held on tightly. Finally,
 294.342 +reluctantly, the two parted, though Sakura took the pale woman’s
 294.343 +hands in hers as she spoke,
 294.344 +
 294.345 +“Tomoyo-chan, I’m so sorry I had to go. I really missed you, isn’t
 294.346 +that silly? I was only gone a little bit, but I missed you so much.
 294.347 +How are you feeling? Did you get enough sleep? You must have been
 294.348 +awfully tired.” 
 294.349 +
 294.350 +Tomoyo basked in the sparkling glow of Sakura’s smile and replied
 294.351 +cheerfully,
 294.352 +
 294.353 +“Sakura-chan doesn’t have to worry about me. I had a lovely sleep,
 294.354 +and beautiful dreams of my best friend, and I’ve even had tea and a
 294.355 +conversation with Ieran-sama. But I’m very glad to see you again. I
 294.356 +missed you, too.”
 294.357 +
 294.358 +Sakura hugged her tightly again and half-whispered,
 294.359 +
 294.360 +“I don’t know what I’m going to do when you’re gone.” 
 294.361 +
 294.362 +Tomoyo’s body stiffened at the words. She thought, I don’t know what
 294.363 +I’m going to do, either, Sakura-chan. I just don’t know. But calming
 294.364 +her thudding heart, she gently pulled away and smiled,
 294.365 +
 294.366 +“All the more reason to enjoy the time we still have together. I
 294.367 +think Ieran-sama has work for you in the kitchen. She won’t let me
 294.368 +help, because she said it wouldn’t be good luck for the guest to work
 294.369 +for her own banquet. But maybe if you ask her you could do some of
 294.370 +the preparations in the dinning room, where we could talk?”
 294.371 +
 294.372 +Sakura nodded, and the two walked hand-in-and through the house
 294.373 +before Sakura disappeared into the kitchen. She emerged shortly
 294.374 +thereafter, carrying a large pot full of vegetables. She set things
 294.375 +up on a table, and carefully began slicing radishes and carrots,
 294.376 +greens and bell peppers. Though not particularly fond of the peppers,
 294.377 +Tomoyo politely ignored their presence. When Sakura began to weep
 294.378 +cutting the onions, Tomoyo found a black lacquer bowl and filled it
 294.379 +with water. She placed it by the little chef, saying her Mother swore
 294.380 +it helped when cutting onions. The two talked away the afternoon as
 294.381 +Sakura chopped and sliced while an entranced Tomoyo simply watched.
 294.382 +Finally, Ieran-sama found them, and asked Tomoyo if she would like to
 294.383 +prepare herself for the banquet. Later Sakura too was dismissed from
 294.384 +her culinary chores, and went to her room to dress.
 294.385 +
 294.386 +Syaoran was already in the bedroom getting ready. Sakura greeted him
 294.387 +with a kiss and began looking through her closet, She settled on a
 294.388 +black silk cheongsam, a birthday present from her husband. Typical of
 294.389 +the style, it had a fairly high collar and fastened diagonally along
 294.390 +the right front. The front, collar, and sleeves had a colorful floral
 294.391 +border trimmed in gold. The long hem was also trimmed, but only in
 294.392 +gold. The skirt was slit slightly above the knee, and Sakura decided
 294.393 +to wear black stockings and heels. Standing in front of the mirror,
 294.394 +she turned left, then right, waiting expectantly for a comment from
 294.395 +Syaoran. But he was too busy with his tie to notice, so Sakura sat
 294.396 +down at the vanity. Thinking about how to do her hair, she was
 294.397 +reminded of the night before, when she had brushed and braided
 294.398 +Tomoyo's beautiful, black-gray tresses. She closed her eyes as the
 294.399 +sensations echoed in her mind: the soft, silken feel of the lustrous
 294.400 +hair, the flowery-sweet scent, the way it caught the light and
 294.401 +shimmered darkly. Breathless, she opened her eyes and swallowed,
 294.402 +feeling a hot flash over her shivering body. As she picked up the
 294.403 +brush, her hand trembled. Nervously she glanced behind her, but
 294.404 +Syaoran was preoccupied and didn’t notice. She brushed in quick,
 294.405 +short strokes, trying to calm down. 
 294.406 +
 294.407 +As the brush shooshed through her short, auburn hair, Sakura again
 294.408 +tried to understand her volatile feelings for Tomoyo. The only thing
 294.409 +remotely close to this was Yukito-san, but that had been different.
 294.410 +She loved him, but gave it up because despite his affectionate
 294.411 +nature, she knew he did not love her in the same way. She knew he
 294.412 +loved her brother, and that Touga loved him. She had always been glad
 294.413 +of their happiness, despite her pain at the time.  Yet for all the
 294.414 +intensity she felt for him, it was different than her feelings for
 294.415 +her best friend. It had been more than a crush, but was still just
 294.416 +the love of a young girl. Her feelings for Tomoyo were stronger,
 294.417 +deeper, and more compelling. But why was she wracked by these
 294.418 +feelings all of a sudden? Why had she never felt this way before?
 294.419 +Because I’ve never been away from her, she thought. We were always
 294.420 +together; I can’t think of a day we didn’t see each other, or talk on
 294.421 +the phone. Things haven’t felt right since I’ve arrived in Hong Kong.
 294.422 +Until now. Now that she is with me. I was away from Syaoran for
 294.423 +almost two years, and missed him terribly. But I’ve only been apart
 294.424 +from Tomoyo for three months, and it’s an eternity of heartbreak. I
 294.425 +don’t think I can live without her. I don’t know if I want to live
 294.426 +without her. But she’s my friend. Why do I feel like this for my
 294.427 +friend? Confused and frustrated, Sakura turned in her chair and
 294.428 +blurted out,
 294.429 +
 294.430 +“Syaoran-chan, was Meiling-chan your best friend when you were young?”
 294.431 +
 294.432 +Syaoran regarded her with a surprised look, and then replied slowly,
 294.433 +
 294.434 +“I don’t know. I guess so. I never had many friends.”
 294.435 +
 294.436 +“Did you like her?” Sakura’s voice sounded nervous and agitated.
 294.437 +
 294.438 +Syaoran rolled his eyes and answered impatiently, “I guess I did. I
 294.439 +mean, she was a pain, sometimes, but I suppose she was all right.”
 294.440 +
 294.441 +“Did you love her? Do you still love her?” Sakura asked, wide-eyed
 294.442 +and breathless.
 294.443 +
 294.444 +Syaoran frowned and looked away as he mumbled his response, “Why are
 294.445 +you asking me that? Are you jealous or something? We didn’t have to
 294.446 +invite her tonight, you know.”
 294.447 +
 294.448 +Sakura shook her head wildly and sputtered, “No, I didn’t mean it
 294.449 +like that. I’m not jealous at all. But I just wondered if, if best
 294.450 +friends could love each other.”
 294.451 +
 294.452 +Syaoran snorted derisively as he slipped on his jacket, “Are you
 294.453 +about ready? The guests will be arriving soon, and I don’t want to be
 294.454 +late.”
 294.455 +
 294.456 +Sakura smiled sheepishly, “You go on ahead. I’m almost done; I’ll be
 294.457 +there in a minute.”
 294.458 +
 294.459 +Syaoran nodded and slipped out the door, leaving Sakura feeling
 294.460 +somehow foolish. With a little sigh she opened her jewelry box and
 294.461 +chanced upon the little flower hair pin Yukito-san had given her on
 294.462 +their trip to Hong Kong so many years ago. She picked it up and
 294.463 +smiled, remembering. Then she fixed it in her hair and tilted her
 294.464 +head in contemplation.
 294.465 +
 294.466 +“Mmm,” she murmured approvingly, then stood and walked through the
 294.467 +door to meet the guests and find Tomoyo-chan.
 294.468 +
 294.469 +Tomoyo heard the buzz of conversation through the large wooden door.
 294.470 +Feeling nervous, she remembered the techniques she had used in public
 294.471 +performance with the choir. She closed her eyes and slowed her
 294.472 +breathing, allowing her body to gradually relax. Tomoyo felt a hand
 294.473 +gently touch her shoulder, and looked up to see Fanren at her side.
 294.474 +With her fluency in Japanese, Ieran-sama had selected Fanren to
 294.475 +escort Tomoyo through the complexities of the banquet. Her eyes
 294.476 +sparkled as she spoke excitedly to the young Japanese woman,
 294.477 +
 294.478 +“Aiyaaaaa, Tomoyo-san, you look gorgeous! I’d give you a kiss for
 294.479 +good luck but I don’t want to muss you up.  I *knew* that cheongsam
 294.480 +would be a perfect fit.” She stood back and gazed admiringly. The
 294.481 +long, red silk dress was embroidered in golden thread with two
 294.482 +lovebirds snuggling together. The high collar and tight fit
 294.483 +accentuated Tomoyo’s willowy figure, giving her the look of a goddess
 294.484 +who deigned to dally awhile with mortals before ascending back to the
 294.485 +heavens. And if Tomoyo’s natural beauty made such a look possible,
 294.486 +several hours of meticulous work had gone into its perfection.
 294.487 +
 294.488 +The four Li sisters had argued bitterly over who would get to dress
 294.489 +the Japanese beauty for her banquet. Finally they decided on a
 294.490 +division of labor that would give them all a chance to show their
 294.491 +skills. Fanren would select the clothing, Fuutie would do the make-
 294.492 +up, and both Feimei and Shiefa would work on the hair, as that would
 294.493 +be the most complex task of all. Fuutie sulked that Tomoyo’s beauty
 294.494 +made her job all too easy.  Studying the woman’s flawless alabaster
 294.495 +skin, she shook her head in amazement. With a deft touch the Chinese
 294.496 +woman used a powdery crimson blush to highlight her cheeks, and a
 294.497 +plum colored eye shadow that complimented Tomoyo’s remarkable
 294.498 +amethyst eyes. She finished with a delicate pink lipstick, and smiled
 294.499 +as the other sisters gasped in delight. Fuutie giggled,
 294.500 +
 294.501 +“Who needs a banquet? She looks delicious enough to eat!” The women
 294.502 +laughed as Tomoyo’s blush complimented Fuutie’s handiwork.
 294.503 +
 294.504 +Before the makeup, Feimei and Shiefa had begun preparations on
 294.505 +Tomoyo’s hair. They protectively wrapped their work-in-progress with
 294.506 +white silk, waiting until Fuutie had finished before applying their
 294.507 +finishing touches. Huddled with an array of jewelry, flowers, and
 294.508 +accessories they worked with nimble fingers and a sharp eye for
 294.509 +beauty. When they had finally finished, Tomoyo looked in the gilded
 294.510 +mirror they held before her and stared in wonder. The hairstyle was a
 294.511 +genuine work of art, adroitly combining a traditional Chinese
 294.512 +coiffure with more modern styling. Her lavender hair was spun into
 294.513 +delicate locks and ringlets with two long, curling tresses in the
 294.514 +front that tumbled freely to her waist. The hair was entwined with
 294.515 +ornate red and gold jewelry that tinkled prettily as she walked, or
 294.516 +bowed, or turned her head. Finally, three snow-white gardenias
 294.517 +provided a fragrant contrast with the dark, shimmering hair. Tomoyo
 294.518 +stood and bowed deeply, thanking the women for their labors.  The
 294.519 +sisters giggled and returned the bow as Shiefei replied,
 294.520 +
 294.521 +“It was our pleasure. The doll designer herself makes a most
 294.522 +wonderful doll to play with.”
 294.523 +
 294.524 +Now Fanren looked at Tomoyo and whispered, “Remember, if you get
 294.525 +stuck or aren’t sure what to say or do, press my hand twice and just
 294.526 +follow my lead. Ready?” Tomoyo smiled and nodded, and the two entered
 294.527 +arm in arm into the crowded reception room. They were met with a wall
 294.528 +of sound as the guests chatted loudly and enthusiastically. But when
 294.529 +the pair entered a hush quickly swept the crowd, followed by excited
 294.530 +whispers and astonished, occasionally envious, looks. Fanren
 294.531 +carefully navigated her charge through the innumerable Li’s and
 294.532 +assorted guests, starting with the most revered and prestigious,
 294.533 +calculating her bows and words with practiced precision. As if
 294.534 +choreographed, Tomoyo followed Fanren and listened as the Chinese
 294.535 +woman translated,
 294.536 +
 294.537 +“The most honorable Coordinator of Clinical Services at the Prince
 294.538 +of Wales Hospital, Dr. C. Y. Li, offers his humble greetings to the
 294.539 +friend of his kinsman’s wife, Kinomoto Sakura. He wishes the
 294.540 +exquisite Daidouji Tomoyo to know that her presence at this banquet
 294.541 +brings great honor to the House of Li, and that her consummate beauty
 294.542 +must make the Lady Moon weep with helpless frustration for being so
 294.543 +outshone.”
 294.544 +
 294.545 +Tomoyo answered with graceful solemnity,
 294.546 +
 294.547 +“Please inform the most honorable Coordinator of Clinical Services
 294.548 +at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Dr. C. Y. Li, that I am sadly
 294.549 +unworthy of the sumptuous magnanimity of the august House of Li, and
 294.550 +that I thank him for his kind generosity in receiving me with a
 294.551 +veneration for which I am utterly undeserving.”
 294.552 +
 294.553 + And so it went, from guest to honored guest. Tomoyo quickly
 294.554 +realized that she was the center of interest, and found herself
 294.555 +blushing as many of the younger men, and not a few women, proved
 294.556 +particularly attentive. Fanren was the perfect escort, explaining who
 294.557 +was who and what was said, fixing a loose golden bell in her hair
 294.558 +that was dangling on her forehead, and even slipping her a refreshing
 294.559 +watermelon juice drink. Tomoyo was sipping the cool, pink liquid when
 294.560 +she heard Fanren intone,
 294.561 +
 294.562 +“The most honorable first son of the House of Li, Li Syaoran, and
 294.563 +his wife, who hails from the land of the Rising Sun, Kinomoto Sakura,
 294.564 +present their greetings and felicitations…”
 294.565 +
 294.566 +Tomoyo whirled about, nearly dropping her drink in surprise. With a
 294.567 +hasty bow, she smiled joyfully and gazed adoringly at Sakura. The
 294.568 +cinnamon-haired woman stood as if in shock. With her mouth open and a
 294.569 +hand on her breast, Sakura stared in breathless astonishment.
 294.570 +Coloring visibly, she blurted out when Fanren had finished,
 294.571 +
 294.572 +“Tomoyo-chan, you look so beautiful!”
 294.573 +
 294.574 +Syaoran rolled his eyes and Fanren giggled behind her hand as Tomoyo
 294.575 +bowed and answered in Japanese,
 294.576 +
 294.577 +“I thank the devoted wife of the admirable Li Syaoran of the
 294.578 +esteemed House of Li for her kindness, hospitality, and gracious
 294.579 +indulgence of so unworthy a guest as myself. Furthermore, I assure
 294.580 +her that if there is anything pleasing about my humble appearance it
 294.581 +is due solely to the magnificent skills of the resourceful women of
 294.582 +the august House of Li. Yet I am saddened that all of their diligent
 294.583 +work shall be for naught, for the eyes of all the worthy guests who
 294.584 +attend this sumptuous banquet will see only the radiant splendor of
 294.585 +Kinomoto Sakura, and that all hearts will be forevermore hers.”
 294.586 +
 294.587 +Suppressing a smile, Fanren then introduced Tomoyo to her
 294.588 +approaching host. Elegantly attired in traditional Chinese dress,
 294.589 +Ieran-sama glowed with a magical beauty. Utterly enchanted, Tomoyo
 294.590 +bowed and exchanged greetings, and then arm in arm accompanied her
 294.591 +host to the doors that led to the dinning room. Ieran-sama indicated
 294.592 +that she should enter, but Tomoyo hesitated and began the ritual that
 294.593 +Fanren had carefully outlined. As the guest, she was honored with
 294.594 +being the first to enter. But custom dictated that to do so without
 294.595 +lengthy remonstrance would be the worst of manners, implying an
 294.596 +intolerable arrogance. For several minutes the two women gently
 294.597 +besought the other to enter first, as the guests listened
 294.598 +approvingly, if a bit hungrily. Finally, Tomoyo graciously consented
 294.599 +and entered, and the others followed in a pre-arranged hierarchy of
 294.600 +importance and prestige.
 294.601 +   
 294.602 +With high ceilings and picture windows that overlooked the gaudily
 294.603 +illuminated city below, the dinning room gave an appearance of
 294.604 +spacious grandeur. Decorations were tastefully few, so as not to
 294.605 +detract from the real attraction: the food. Set in the center of the
 294.606 +room were five round tables of darkly polished and ornately carved
 294.607 +mahogany. Ieran indicated the seat of honor for Tomoyo, and again the
 294.608 +two enacted a minuet of humility and praise before finally sitting.
 294.609 +Ieran took the seat directly across form her, the chair closest to
 294.610 +the kitchen doors from whence the servers would bring the various
 294.611 +dishes of the feast. This was also a calculated gesture, for such a
 294.612 +seat was considered the lowliest of all, and demonstrated the host’s
 294.613 +high regard for all the other guests. Tomoyo’s heart soared as she
 294.614 +saw Sakura and Syaoran sitting at the same table, as well as the Li
 294.615 +sisters, Fanren as always by her side. She glanced at the table, set
 294.616 +with priceless porcelain bowls, plates, and spoons, beautifully
 294.617 +decorated in delicately wrought patterns of blue, white, and gold.
 294.618 +She marveled at the ivory chopsticks set with golden filigree, and
 294.619 +the elaborately engraved golden cups. Seeing that all were seated and
 294.620 +everything was in readiness, Ieran gave two sharp claps and the
 294.621 +kitchen doors instantly swung open. At long last, the banquet was
 294.622 +ready to begin.
 294.623 +
 294.624 +Bursting out from the door were several uniformed servers, dressed
 294.625 +in bright red and yellow silks, carrying large trays of multi-colored
 294.626 +delicacies. Fanren explained that these were the cold dishes to begin
 294.627 +the meal. Great silver platters were swiftly arranged on every table,
 294.628 +as Ieran-sama moved gracefully through the hall, apologizing for the
 294.629 +meager fare, her guests in turn delightedly protesting that they were
 294.630 +unworthy of such an abundance of delicacies. When she returned to the
 294.631 +table, she served Tomoyo with elegant ease before finally sitting
 294.632 +down. A second wave of servers then appeared, displaying aged and
 294.633 +dusty earthenware urns, which brought gasps of surprise from the
 294.634 +guests, and a joyous buzz that swept the room. Fanren leaned and
 294.635 +whispered into Tomoyo’s ear, 
 294.636 +
 294.637 +“It’s Shao Xing rice wine, well over 50 years old. I hope you come
 294.638 +back here more often,” she giggled.
 294.639 +
 294.640 +As the seals were broken a powerful aroma wafted over the entire
 294.641 +room. Servers filled the small golden cups with the dark amber
 294.642 +liquid. Ieran arose, and the other guests quickly followed. The woman
 294.643 +held her glass high as her eyes surveyed the audience, finally
 294.644 +settling intently upon Tomoyo. In a musical voice that carried
 294.645 +strongly over the hall, Ieran made her opening toast,
 294.646 +
 294.647 +“To all who have come I offer a thousand thanks and ten thousand
 294.648 +blessings, for you honor the House of Li with your presence. To
 294.649 +Daidouji Tomoyo, honored guest from across the waters, I wish you
 294.650 +life as long as the Yangtze River, as full of happiness as the
 294.651 +springtime flood of the Pearl River Delta, and pray that Love may
 294.652 +come to you as swiftly as the rapids of the mountain born Nan-p’an.
 294.653 +Gan Bei!”
 294.654 +
 294.655 +At this, the guests drained their cups, savoring the heady scent of
 294.656 +the priceless wine. The first toast done, all turned their attention
 294.657 +to the bounteous feast before them. The cold dishes were colorful and
 294.658 +varied, carefully arrayed on the large, heavy silver platters. Fanren
 294.659 +identified the various little dishes, and pointed out her favorites,
 294.660 +
 294.661 +“That’s Boiled Pork Tongue, that’s Century Egg with Peppers, though
 294.662 +it’s really only a few months old, so don’t worry. This is Sichuan
 294.663 +Cucumber with Dried Prawn over on the left, and the red one is Five-
 294.664 +Spice Yellow River Carp, a very lucky dish!”
 294.665 +
 294.666 +Tomoyo sampled and nibbled, mindful of Fanren’s advice to eat
 294.667 +lightly lest she be full before the main courses arrived. The flavors
 294.668 +were cold and crisp, designed to sharpen the palate for the hot
 294.669 +dishes to come. Somewhat to her surprise, Ieran-sama served the food
 294.670 +at the table, and assisted the servers at the other tables. Despite
 294.671 +the alluring repast, Tomoyo kept stealing little glances at Sakura,
 294.672 +who reacted with delight to each and every dish. She saw Tomoyo and
 294.673 +grinned, giving a cute little wave. Tomoyo felt her heart race at the
 294.674 +sight of her beautiful friend, but this private reverie was
 294.675 +interrupted when the next wave of servers swept into the noisy
 294.676 +dinning hall. 
 294.677 +
 294.678 +These were the first of the hot dishes, exquisitely prepared,
 294.679 +steaming aromatically as they covered the massive tables. Again
 294.680 +Fanren was her guide through this culinary odyssey as Tomoyo gazed in
 294.681 +wonder at the mosaic of colors and scents. There was Stir-Fried
 294.682 +Triple-Winter, a savory mix of autumnal vegetables. The Shredded Duck
 294.683 +with Mango was piquant and breezily tropical. The Stir-Fried Liver
 294.684 +with Cloud Ears was surprisingly smooth, the tender liver contrasting
 294.685 +with the crunchy, earthy flavor of the Cloud Ear fungus.  The Hot and
 294.686 +Sour Cabbage was simple, but perfectly done, and went well with the
 294.687 +Spicy Tea Eggs that had the appearance of rich marble. Fanren touched
 294.688 +her sleeve lightly and whispered, “Remember, these are only the
 294.689 +appetizers. It is said that you must guard your appetite well against
 294.690 +these skirmishers that precede the main battle line!” Tomoyo nodded,
 294.691 +and wondered how she could possibly keep up. As the dishes were taken
 294.692 +away, she saw Ieran nudging Syaoran, who rose, blushing, to make the
 294.693 +next round of toasts. Standing unsteadily, almost cringing from the
 294.694 +eyes upon him, Syaoran stumbled through his pre-written piece.
 294.695 +Finally, he looked at Tomoyo and smiled genuinely as he finished,
 294.696 +
 294.697 +“It is said by the sages that those who play the game do not see it
 294.698 +as clearly as those who watch. To the most watchful and perceptive
 294.699 +person I know, the honorable and esteemed Daidouji Tomoyo. Gan bei!”
 294.700 +
 294.701 +Before the drinks were drained, more of the red-clad servers
 294.702 +appeared, hoisting huge, meticulously carved winter melons. The one
 294.703 +at Tomoyo’s table was carved in the fantastic shape of a dragon
 294.704 +chasing a crescent moon. The top was removed, and the steamy scent of
 294.705 +winter melon and expensive Kinka ham soup drifted over the table.
 294.706 +Fanren whispered that the melon was very yin, and served to clear and
 294.707 +cleanse the palate for the meaty, yang courses to come. And in short
 294.708 +order they did, plates and bowls beyond counting, with a wild variety
 294.709 +of colors and flavors. At the center of every table was Peking Roast
 294.710 +Duck, specially prepared by a Master Chef of Hong Kong who did
 294.711 +nothing but this classic, who had served Kings and Presidents
 294.712 +throughout the world. Fanren described several of the dishes, but her
 294.713 +hungry eyes moved Tomoyo to beg her to eat and talk later. Tomoyo
 294.714 +winced at the sharp tang of Crystal Boiled Pork with Garlic Sauce,
 294.715 +and smiled at the sweet Fujian Lychee Pork. The Sweet-As-Honey
 294.716 +Venison was just as the Emperor Qian Long had described the recipe
 294.717 +200 years ago. So tender was the Chicken and Red Date Stew that Ieran-
 294.718 +sama pulled the soft flesh from the bird with just her chops\ticks.
 294.719 +But most sublime was the duck. Glistening reddish-brown in it’s
 294.720 +coating of malt sugar, the crispy-sweet skin held the meltingly
 294.721 +flavorful meat within. The skin and meat were eaten in delicate
 294.722 +little pancakes, with a Tian Mian Jiang sauce made from a jealously
 294.723 +guarded, secret Imperial recipe. Fanren whispered to Tomoyo, who
 294.724 +leaned over to hear,
 294.725 +
 294.726 +“They say the in the 1930’s a chef was tortured to death by a
 294.727 +warlord rather than divulge the secret recipe.”
 294.728 +
 294.729 +Tomoyo looked at the sauce with great respect, and gravely spoke a
 294.730 +silent little prayer of thanks to the brave chef. Finally the tables
 294.731 +were cleared and hot towels distributed as the toasts began again,
 294.732 +this time with 70 year-old wine. Tomoyo sipped carefully, worried
 294.733 +that she might grow silly with too much of the potent drink. She
 294.734 +noticed several male guests playing guessing games with fingers, the
 294.735 +loser draining a cup that was instantly refilled. Again the doors
 294.736 +burst open, and now bowls of soup were displayed, with the legendary
 294.737 +Braised Shark’s Fin soup holding center stage. The soup glittered and
 294.738 +sparkled, a liquid treasure of incomparable worth. Yet the other
 294.739 +soups were hardly outshone, forming a rainbow of glimmering colors
 294.740 +and flavors. After sampling the soups (and the Braised Shark Fin
 294.741 +twice), Fanren smiled and nudged Tomoyo, indicating Ieran-sama, who
 294.742 +was standing at the table and waiting while the bowls were cleared
 294.743 +away. Suddenly through the doors came enormous oval platters, so huge
 294.744 +they were carried by two straining men at each end. The platters were
 294.745 +laid at each table, and as was customary,  the one at Tomoyo’s was
 294.746 +placed with the head pointing to the guest of honor. All she could do
 294.747 +was stare incredulously at the sight. 
 294.748 +
 294.749 +Upon each platter was a giant fish, seared crisply, laid upon a bed
 294.750 +of mossy green seaweed and delicately cut scallions that looked for
 294.751 +all the world like the waves of the sea. But what fixated Tomoyo’s
 294.752 +attention was a singular movement, which gave the impression of the
 294.753 +tremendous fish swimming in the rolling ocean waves. And what made
 294.754 +this possible, Tomoyo realized with a creeping horror, was that the
 294.755 +fish was still alive. It’s eyes looked about in confused terror, and
 294.756 +it’s mouth gasped for the water that it would never breathe again. It
 294.757 +took all of Tomoyo’s years of practice with Sakura to wear a smiling
 294.758 +mask, as if she were enchanted by the piteous spectacle. And poor
 294.759 +Sakura, she noticed, was woozy and looked as if she might pass out as
 294.760 +Syaoran vigorously shook her arm. Tomoyo then saw Ieran-sama take two
 294.761 +large silver knives from a bowing server who presented them in a red-
 294.762 +velvet lined wooden box. Standing by her pale guest, she lifted them
 294.763 +high above her head and took a deep breath. Swift as lightning she
 294.764 +struck, wielding the knives like short-swords. In an instant the two
 294.765 +cheeks of the mighty fish had been neatly carved and placed perfectly
 294.766 +on Tomoyo’s plate. The hall roared and clapped its approval, and
 294.767 +Tomoyo bowed deeply in thanks for these choicest portions of the
 294.768 +opulent offering. With that, the other servers attacked the fish at
 294.769 +their tables and served the excited guests. Tomoyo silently
 294.770 +apologized to the poor fish that had suffered so for her sake, and
 294.771 +courteously ate the delicacy, though the exquisite flavor gave her
 294.772 +little pleasure.
 294.773 +
 294.774 + The other fish and seafood dishes were delicious, though happily
 294.775 +less dramatic. The Chao Zhou Zheng Chang Yu was a delicately steamed
 294.776 +pomfret fish, subtly accented with slivers of celery, salt plum, and
 294.777 +tomato. The Crispy Fried Mandarin fish and the enormous Stir-Fried
 294.778 +Lobster with Chicken in Hot Sauce provided a spicy, crunchy contrast.
 294.779 +The Baby Slipper Lobsters and Fujian Fried Chili Crabs were balanced
 294.780 +nicely by the squid with bamboo shoots, the squid sliced and scored
 294.781 +to look like some delicate flowers from a lost kingdom of the sea.
 294.782 +Tomoyo barely managed to nibble one of the tasty Shrimp-stuffed
 294.783 +Lychees when she turned to Fanren and whispered in a worried tone,
 294.784 +
 294.785 +“Fanren-san, gomenesai, but I don’t know how much more I can eat.
 294.786 +It’s wonderfully delicious, but I am so very full.”  
 294.787 +
 294.788 +Fanren giggled and whispered back,
 294.789 +
 294.790 +“Aiyaaa, for someone so charmingly petite you’ve done very well,
 294.791 +Tomoyo-chan. Don’t worry, the cai foods are done, now all that’s left
 294.792 +are the fan courses: grains, noodles, and rice. And it would be
 294.793 +insulting to at the rice, as that would mean there wasn’t enough food
 294.794 +to fill you up!”
 294.795 +
 294.796 +At this Tomoyo looked relieved, especially as the next round of
 294.797 +toasts ended and numerous noodle dishes were spread over the table.
 294.798 +Tomoyo noticed that, despite the inviting aroma and magnificent
 294.799 +presentation, most of the guests merely picked and nibbled.  Much to
 294.800 +the surprise and delight of the Li family, Tomoyo ate a goodly
 294.801 +portion of the Fried Noodles Xiamen and the curiously named, “Wealth
 294.802 +and Good Deeds” with Yi noodles, which Fanren explained was made of a
 294.803 +rare hair moss that grew only in the northernmost reaches of the
 294.804 +country. Tomoyo asked Fanren to provide a translation for something
 294.805 +she whispered, which the Chinese woman laughingly gave, Then the
 294.806 +honored guest spoke haltingly to the table in Cantonese,
 294.807 +
 294.808 +“I am very fond of noodles.”   
 294.809 +
 294.810 +This brought laughter all around as everyone regarded the beautiful
 294.811 +woman with warmth and affection. Tomoyo realized that conversation at
 294.812 +the banquet was sparse, yet there existed a glowing sense of
 294.813 +communion among all the guests. She remembered Fanren saying before
 294.814 +the banquet that food in China was a form of communication that
 294.815 +rendered mere words unnecessary. She thought about this now, as the
 294.816 +dishes were cleared away yet again.  She fondly remembered school
 294.817 +lunches with Sakura, where the girl’s silent presence was more than
 294.818 +enough to fill her heart. She gazed at her now, a beautiful, married
 294.819 +woman, terra-cotta hair catching the light of the chandeliers above.
 294.820 +For all the joyous opulence of the banquet, she yearned most of all
 294.821 +for a quiet moment with her beautiful friend. Memories of the night
 294.822 +before in the moonlit garden suddenly filled her heart. With a sweet
 294.823 +shiver she thought, my Sakura-chan is a dream come to life. How lucky
 294.824 +I have been to be with her. Finally, Tomoyo noticed the nudging of
 294.825 +Fanren, who pointed to the little wine cup before her. With a look of
 294.826 +recognition, Tomoyo smiled and rose to give her toast.
 294.827 +
 294.828 +The guests were stunned at the wine that was now presented, for it
 294.829 +was of Imperial vintage, still bearing the seal of the Great Dowager
 294.830 +Empress from over a hundred years ago. As the priceless liquid was
 294.831 +poured, all eyes turned to Tomoyo, who rose and held her cup prettily
 294.832 +with one hand on the side and one on the bottom. She then began the
 294.833 +speech she and Fanren had prepared the night before.
 294.834 +
 294.835 +In imperfect but earnest Cantonese, Tomoyo thanked all who had come
 294.836 +to honor her with this splendid banquet. She protested her
 294.837 +unworthiness for so great an homage, and her great fortune in
 294.838 +experiencing a feast whose memories would bring her joy all the years
 294.839 +of her life. She wished happiness and long life to all, especially
 294.840 +the esteemed members of the House of Li that had so graciously
 294.841 +extended their incomparable hospitality. Finally, she bowed deeply to
 294.842 +Ieran-sama, and thanked her host for the beauty, bounty, and
 294.843 +brilliance of an unforgettable evening. 
 294.844 +
 294.845 +“Gan bei,” Tomoyo spoke out in her musical voice as all present
 294.846 +downed their drinks, utterly enchanted by the charming, pale beauty
 294.847 +from Japan. With that, the symbolic bowls of rice were placed and
 294.848 +quickly removed with not a grain consumed. Finally, a dizzying array
 294.849 +of luscious desserts was placed before the protesting guests, as well
 294.850 +as Iron Goddess of Mercy tea, brewed from the uppermost bud and twin
 294.851 +leaves of the finest plants from Fujian. When the final cup of tea
 294.852 +had been drained, Ieran-sama rose and thanked the guests profusely,
 294.853 +signaling the end of the banquet. Effusive appreciation was showered
 294.854 +on the Li family by the departing company, who protested Ieran-sama’s
 294.855 +humble apologies by declaring the banquet as the most memorable in
 294.856 +years. Some left tipsy, most left stuffed, but all left happy to have
 294.857 +been a part of so memorable an occasion. In the dark of the nearly
 294.858 +empty reception room, Fanren stood before Tomoyo and gently took her
 294.859 +by the hand.
 294.860 +
 294.861 +Tomoyo’s azure eyes sparkled as she spoke,
 294.862 +
 294.863 +“Fanren-san, thank you so very much for helping me with my dress,
 294.864 +and my toast, and serving as my escort. I don’t know how I would have
 294.865 +made it through without you. I’m ever in your debt.”
 294.866 +
 294.867 +The woman smiled, and lightly rested her palm on Tomoyo’s soft, pale
 294.868 +cheek. Her voice betrayed the emotion that welled up inside her,
 294.869 +
 294.870 +“I am the one thankful for sharing this magical evening with such an
 294.871 +enchanting princess. I know by your eyes where your heart’s desire
 294.872 +lies. But if ever your precious heart should find room for another,
 294.873 +forget me not, Diadouji Tomoyo-chan, whose beauty in truth outshines
 294.874 +Lady Moon.”
 294.875 +
 294.876 +With a final caress of her delicate hand, Fanren leaned over, and
 294.877 +lightly kissed the blushing cheek of the honored guest. With that she
 294.878 +was gone, leaving Tomoyo breathless, but smiling.
 294.879 +

   295.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   295.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-08.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   295.3 @@ -0,0 +1,392 @@
   295.4 +Dear Sakura
   295.5 +After the Banquet
   295.6 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   295.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   295.8 +
   295.9 +
  295.10 +
  295.11 +Tomoyo stood alone for a long moment, looking for all the world like
  295.12 +a beautifully dressed up china doll. Her body was tired, sleep
  295.13 +tugging at her weary soul with the help of a full stomach. But her
  295.14 +mind was still busily going over things. The banquet really had been
  295.15 +spectacular. It would have been nice to be closer to Sakura, but she
  295.16 +looked very happy next to her husband. If only she had been able to
  295.17 +bring her camcorder... Those would have been images she would have
  295.18 +enjoyed watching again and again. Not only had Sakura been enjoying
  295.19 +herself, something Tomoyo always loved to see, but she had looked
  295.20 +simply gorgeous. With a sharp pang, she could remember the last time
  295.21 +Sakura had looked so stunning. At her wedding. Tomoyo had taken hours
  295.22 +to prepare Sakura for the big day. So she had thrown her all into
  295.23 +making sure that Sakura looked perfect for her wedding. The dress had
  295.24 +been of her design, the last complete costume she had made for
  295.25 +Sakura. Part of her had been overjoyed to be a part of Sakura’s
  295.26 +wedding, but the other part had felt like she was giving Sakura away.
  295.27 +Like she was stepping away from her life. That Syaoran would now be
  295.28 +the one to help the Cardmistress with all of her problems and joys.
  295.29 +To protect her and give her the happiness that she never could.
  295.30 +During those long hours that she had readied Sakura she had felt like
  295.31 +she was saying goodbye. Yet here she was. 	A soft giggle lit the
  295.32 +empty room. She should have known that escaping Sakura wouldn’t be
  295.33 +quite so easy. Sakura had infiltrated her heart and soul, filling her
  295.34 +thoughts and dreams completely. Everything she did, she did for
  295.35 +Sakura. And now... Could she ever say goodbye again? Could she ever
  295.36 +completely slip out of Sakura’s life? She had thought that it would
  295.37 +be for the best. Sakura didn’t need her, after all, so it seemed less
  295.38 +painful for everyone if she faded from Sakura’s life. It was too
  295.39 +painful watching it all, knowing that the brunette could never know
  295.40 +her heart’s desire. But now, after this visit to Hong Kong, she
  295.41 +wasn’t so sure that she could fade from Sakura’s life so completely.
  295.42 +She needed Sakura. Like a flower without sunlight, she would die
  295.43 +without the warmth her best friend bestowed upon her. And after the
  295.44 +miraculous kiss the night before, it seemed that Sakura’s feelings
  295.45 +were more entwined with her own than she had thought. She still
  295.46 +hadn’t completely understood why Sakura had shared in it as deeply as
  295.47 +she had, but Sakura’s love had been unmistakable. What that love
  295.48 +meant, Tomoyo wasn’t fully sure of either, but it seemed that she was
  295.49 +still important to Sakura. And that knowledge made the idea of
  295.50 +leaving Sakura’s life unbearably painful. She felt like a puppet,
  295.51 +caught up in the strings Sakura had wrapped tightly around her soul.
  295.52 +Everything Sakura did tugged at her, drawing her one way or another,
  295.53 +making her dance for the amusement of her audience, always hoping
  295.54 +that it would make the brunette happy. And so everything she did was
  295.55 +for Sakura, but her smiling doll exterior hid the pain in her heart.
  295.56 +	For a brief moment, the lavender haired designer considered what
  295.57 +Fanren had said. Loneliness consumed her, a constant companion that
  295.58 +haunted her every waking moment and often caught her in the midst of
  295.59 +even her happiest dreams. For once, it would be so nice not to wake
  295.60 +up alone, crying in bed in a haze of lavender curls. Someone to talk
  295.61 +to, to hold on to, to be able to share her inner turmoil. The idea
  295.62 +was certainly tempting. Sakura would never be hers, of course. So why
  295.63 +was she still giving her heart to a married woman that would never
  295.64 +know her feelings? Everyone she knew was falling in love, finding
  295.65 +their special someone. She had already fallen in love before any of
  295.66 +them. But she was denied her special person. So while they were all
  295.67 +building their relationships, Tomoyo was very much alone. The
  295.68 +beautiful heiress to the Daidouji fortunes, wasting away as she kept
  295.69 +her heart locked up and away from view.
  295.70 +	As Fanren had shown, it wasn’t impossible for her to find someone.
  295.71 +A relationship would not be impossible. Besides, with her masks and
  295.72 +perception she could easily manage a relationship. And for once she
  295.73 +wouldn’t be completely alone. Fanren herself was an extremely pretty
  295.74 +woman, and she was very kind. Spending time with her would be
  295.75 +infinitely better than being alone. But there was one thing she
  295.76 +couldn’t offer the Chinese beauty. Her heart. It didn’t matter if she
  295.77 +could manage a relationship or not. Or even if she could find someone
  295.78 +to be with. It was that her heart, her soul already belonged to
  295.79 +another. She could never love her, or anyone else for that matter,
  295.80 +with the same fervor, the same boundless passion that she held for
  295.81 +Sakura. The Cardmistress was what made an eternity of loneliness seem
  295.82 +livable. The very thought of her sent a surge through Tomoyo’s body,
  295.83 +her hands going over her heart as the feeling that she always had
  295.84 +when she was around Sakura shot through her. Yes, another
  295.85 +relationship would never be anything more than an escape from the
  295.86 +loneliness and a need for comfort. Her heart would always belong to
  295.87 +Sakura. A small smile crossed the dark haired woman’s lips. If she
  295.88 +had to be alone, it was worth it to be in love with her sweet best
  295.89 +friend. “Sakura-chan...” she whispered lovingly. 
  295.90 +
  295.91 +	Watching Tomoyo from the doorway, Sakura found herself entranced by
  295.92 +the almost ethereal beauty of her best friend. She really didn’t know
  295.93 +how long she had been standing there. Blushing a bit, she realized
  295.94 +that she had been staring the entire time. But oddly enough, Tomoyo
  295.95 +didn’t seem to notice. The pale woman seemed lost in thought, far
  295.96 +away from the dark banquet room in Hong Kong. Some of the thoughts
  295.97 +seemed to be troubling her. Sakura wondered if Tomoyo was once again
  295.98 +thinking about her special someone. The young designer thought about
  295.99 +them often. They had to be an extremely lucky person to be in her
 295.100 +thoughts so often. 
 295.101 +	A soft sigh escaped Sakura as she leaned against the door frame.
 295.102 +She couldn’t help being a little jealous about Tomoyo’s special
 295.103 +person. When they were younger, it seemed that she was the one who
 295.104 +was always in Tomoyo’s thoughts. She had been the lead in the play of
 295.105 +Tomoyo’s life, always the center of attention to the slightly odd
 295.106 +dark haired girl. And it had been very embarrassing at times. But she
 295.107 +had enjoyed it immensely, knowing because of that that she was
 295.108 +important to her best friend. It had always made her feel good.
 295.109 +Special. Loved. She knew that she couldn’t be as important to Tomoyo
 295.110 +anymore. After all, she was married herself and knew how important
 295.111 +finding one’s love was. But she loved being so important to Tomoyo.
 295.112 +Was she being selfish still wanting that? Tomoyo had grown up. Her
 295.113 +special person was the most important person to her now. And whoever
 295.114 +that person was, they were making Tomoyo sad. Which made the whole
 295.115 +thing even worse for Sakura. The brunette had rarely ever seen Tomoyo
 295.116 +sad. It was like those stormy blue eyes were always glowing warmly.
 295.117 +The thought of Tomoyo being so sad like this left Sakura feeling weak
 295.118 +and helpless. There had to be something, anything that she could do.
 295.119 +	Thinking back on things, it now looked like Tomoyo had planned on
 295.120 +being alone from the beginning. That thought sent a chill down
 295.121 +Sakura’s spine. How could such a loving, gentle girl like Tomoyo be
 295.122 +alone forever? What had been the first clue? When they had bought
 295.123 +materials to make teddy bears for someone special. Rika had made one
 295.124 +(that she now knew had been for Terrada-sensie) and Tomoyo had
 295.125 +explained how you were supposed to make one for the person you like.
 295.126 +Sakura had been overjoyed at the prospect and hurried to get the
 295.127 +materials. Strangely enough, Tomoyo didn’t buy any to make one for
 295.128 +the person she liked. That had surprised Sakura who had thought
 295.129 +Tomoyo would finally get to show her special person her feelings for
 295.130 +them. But Tomoyo had explained that what she wanted the most was for
 295.131 +her love to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her. Sakura hadn’t
 295.132 +understood at the time, but Tomoyo was telling her that she couldn’t
 295.133 +be with her special person so she couldn’t make them a teddy bear
 295.134 +because she didn’t think they could return her feelings. The pale
 295.135 +girl had only been ten at the time. Only ten years old. She should
 295.136 +have been dreaming about when she would marry her true love, sure
 295.137 +that everything would work out in the end. But Tomoyo had always been
 295.138 +a little odd, and much of what she did only made sense to Sakura in
 295.139 +hindsight. Tomoyo had known back then that she would be all alone.
 295.140 +And Sakura hadn’t had a clue. Her heart sank in her chest at the
 295.141 +painful realization. Was there anything she could have done? Was
 295.142 +there a way she could have helped Tomoyo? It was heartbreaking to see
 295.143 +Tomoyo alone after all these years. If the love that she showed
 295.144 +Sakura was anything like the love for her special someone, then it
 295.145 +must tear Tomoyo apart inside to be without them.
 295.146 +Later, when everyone started dating, Chiharu once asked why Tomoyo
 295.147 +wasn’t dating anyone. Tomoyo replied that she couldn’t date the
 295.148 +person she wanted to so she felt that dating wouldn’t be right. Then
 295.149 +she quickly added that it left in more time to videotape Sakura.
 295.150 +Sakura had blushed at the time and had brushed it off, but now she
 295.151 +felt horrible. Everyone had been so busy trying to balance
 295.152 +relationships back then but Tomoyo had always been with her. She had
 295.153 +been happy about that, but now she saw that she had been pouring
 295.154 +herself into her own relationship right in front of Tomoyo, glad to
 295.155 +have Tomoyo there, but not seeing how lonely it must have made her. 
 295.156 +Now Sakura had a dilemma. More than ever, she wanted to find
 295.157 +Tomoyo’s true love and help her with it. It wasn’t right that
 295.158 +Tomoyo’s beautiful love be kept locked away. But Tomoyo didn’t want
 295.159 +her to find out for some reason. And Sakura wasn’t sure she wanted to
 295.160 +know who it was. After that kiss they had shared in the garden, the
 295.161 +thought of all of Tomoyo’s love going to another frightened her.
 295.162 +Feeling that warmth encompass her, the kiss, the embrace, the gentle
 295.163 +immersion in Tomoyo’s love, she didn’t want to let that go. She
 295.164 +wanted it all for herself, not to see it all given to someone who
 295.165 +couldn't appreciate her lovely best friend.
 295.166 +Her emerald eyes shot open when she heard Tomoyo whisper her name.
 295.167 +The sound of Tomoyo’s melodious voice quickly brought her back to her
 295.168 +senses. Had Tomoyo seen her? A blush crept across her cheeks. She had
 295.169 +just been standing there and staring for a while now. No, it looked
 295.170 +like Tomoyo had just said it. But why? Maybe she wasn’t thinking
 295.171 +about her special someone at the moment. Stepping forward, Sakura
 295.172 +smiled. “You look so gorgeous, Tomoyo-chan! Syaoran’s sisters really
 295.173 +did a great job. Not that you aren’t always pretty. You’re probably
 295.174 +the most beautiful woman I know,” the brunette said quickly.
 295.175 +Tomoyo smiled giddily as she saw the object of her thoughts
 295.176 +approaching. “Sakura-chan must not look in mirrors very often,” she
 295.177 +stated softly. She delighted in the blush it brought upon Sakura. No,
 295.178 +there was no way she could truly love anyone besides the woman in
 295.179 +front of her. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. To love Sakura
 295.180 +was both the most wonderful feeling in the world and also the most
 295.181 +painful. She had thought the pain would lessen as she grew older, but
 295.182 +the loneliness only became more acute as time went by, her longing
 295.183 +for Sakura growing stronger by the day. And now she had actually
 295.184 +kissed Sakura. It had been Tomoyo’s first real kiss. That intimate
 295.185 +moment with the Cardmistress had thrown off everything she had been
 295.186 +sure about. Her visit to Hong Kong was supposed to help her distance
 295.187 +herself from Sakura so she could fade away from her life. Now she
 295.188 +felt even more attached. She had come with the intention of hiding
 295.189 +her feelings for Sakura now that she was married, but they had burst
 295.190 +forward in a torrential outpouring. She had been drowning without
 295.191 +Sakura. She needed her just as surely as she needed air. Living
 295.192 +without her was becoming more and more difficult. That all too brief
 295.193 +moment with Sakura had been a tantalizing piece of Heaven.
 295.194 +Giggling slightly, Sakura brushed some hair back from her shimmering
 295.195 +jade eyes. “Most people save that sort of thing for the banquet,
 295.196 +Tomoyo-chan.”
 295.197 +“But if it’s equally true during the banquet and after, I should be
 295.198 +sure to let Sakura-chan know,” Tomoyo pointed out. It took every
 295.199 +ounce of her remaining strength to stand still as Sakura took both of
 295.200 +her hands in her own. For a moment’s time, Tomoyo wondered feverishly
 295.201 +if Sakura was going to kiss her again. Sakura was very close to her.
 295.202 +The pale woman’s heart stopped in her chest as eternity seemed to
 295.203 +stretch on endlessly before her. She ultimately dismissed the thought
 295.204 +as wishful thinking. She had been lucky that Sakura hadn’t acted
 295.205 +adversely to the first kiss. The fact that Sakura kissed back with
 295.206 +nearly the same passion in Tomoyo’s heart made the event one she
 295.207 +would both treasure and try to understand. Why had Sakura given so
 295.208 +freely of herself? Why had she kissed back so lovingly? Perhaps she
 295.209 +had misjudged how important she was to Sakura. If Sakura’s letters
 295.210 +were any indication, the brunette missed her greatly. So was the kiss
 295.211 +merely Sakura returning it with all of the love she held for her best
 295.212 +friend and nothing more? But there had been so much behind the kiss.
 295.213 +The entire thing sent Tomoyo’s head spinning. Sakura still didn’t
 295.214 +seem to know that she was the object of Tomoyo’s affections, so she
 295.215 +must not have understood completely why the toy designer had kissed
 295.216 +her in the first place. Tomoyo understood Sakura better than anyone
 295.217 +else did, but this was confusing her. She didn’t know how to act
 295.218 +about it or what masks she should wear. If she could manage the
 295.219 +strength to wear any at all.
 295.220 +Sakura watched Tomoyo intently. Was the pale woman shivering? It was
 295.221 +hard to tell in the dark. Squeezing Tomoyo’s soft, ivory hands
 295.222 +gently, Sakura asked, “Tomoyo-chan, are you cold? Maybe we should go
 295.223 +get you a blanket or something.”
 295.224 +“No, I’m not cold at all. I feel very warm being here with you,
 295.225 +Sakura-chan. You’re the bright, shining sun that lights up my world,”
 295.226 +Tomoyo explained, her soft voice barely above a whisper. She brought
 295.227 +her hands up, Sakura’s hands still holding onto them as she rested
 295.228 +them on Sakura’s cheeks. She could feel the hot blush under the
 295.229 +brunette’s cheeks and the soft feel of her skin. Tomoyo sighed
 295.230 +happily, meeting Sakura’s eyes with her stormy blue ones. Yes, it was
 295.231 +certainly nice to be with Sakura again, even if Sakura was married
 295.232 +now. She was happy just to be there with her best friend. 
 295.233 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura said quietly, unsure of what to say. Her
 295.234 +heart was pounding in her chest like a drum, her feelings swirling
 295.235 +inside her like a tornado. Why couldn’t there be some way for her to
 295.236 +make Tomoyo happy? Tomoyo said she was happy as long as her special
 295.237 +someone was happy, but there had to be some way to make Tomoyo happy
 295.238 +herself. If she were the boy that Tomoyo loved, she would never be
 295.239 +able to leave her all alone. She would be overjoyed to be the focus
 295.240 +of all the love in Tomoyo’s heart. The chiming of an old grandfather
 295.241 +clock nearby rang a reminder through her head. “Oh! I need to call
 295.242 +one of the girls from the cheerleading club. I promised I would give
 295.243 +her mother some information about it tonight.”
 295.244 +Nodding, Tomoyo smiled sweetly at Sakura as her hands slowly trailed
 295.245 +away from the brunette’s cheeks. “All right, Sakura-chan. Those girls
 295.246 +are all very lucky to have you as their sensei. You were always so
 295.247 +cute when you were cheerleading. I loved to watch you when I didn’t
 295.248 +have choir practice. They’ll all look so kawaii training with you.” 
 295.249 +“Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. You always say such nice things. I’m really
 295.250 +sorry for leaving like this. I’ll try not to take too long. I don’t
 295.251 +want to waste any of the time we have together,” Sakura said
 295.252 +hurriedly as she walked backwards towards the door. The two said
 295.253 +goodbye before Sakura made her way back to her room.
 295.254 +
 295.255 +Tomoyo looked up at the stars sparkling in the sky above, like
 295.256 +sparkling pearls resting on a huge velvet cloth. Yet for all of their
 295.257 +beauty, they paled in comparison to her spirited best friend. Her
 295.258 +thoughts kept returning to Sakura as she walked out in the garden
 295.259 +under the moonlight. Thoughts of the night before continued to course
 295.260 +through her, the sweet scent of Sakura and the warm feel of her lips
 295.261 +lingering like a ghost in her mind. That sent another smile across
 295.262 +her lips. She didn’t know if she should thank Touya or not for
 295.263 +frightening Sakura about ghosts. She always loved how Sakura would
 295.264 +grab onto her for comfort when she was scared of ghosts. These days
 295.265 +she must do that with Syaoran. 
 295.266 +Thinking about Syaoran made her feel a little uneasy. Not because of
 295.267 +him. She had grown used to him long ago. And she had chosen him as
 295.268 +the one Sakura’s heart must belong to. But now she was starting to
 295.269 +wonder about that, as well as Ieran’s words. Could it be that she had
 295.270 +been wrong? Had she misjudged Sakura’s heart? She had taken into
 295.271 +account that Syaoran had liked Sakura very much and that he would be
 295.272 +able to take care of her and give her a child. And she seemed rather
 295.273 +close to him. But had she made a terrible mistake? Syaoran always had
 295.274 +difficulty with his emotions and that made things difficult with
 295.275 +Sakura, who was a very emotional woman. She had been surprised to
 295.276 +hear that Sakura had to leave to talk to one of the girls from school
 295.277 +and not to go be with Syaoran. He hadn’t been around very much during
 295.278 +her visit, but whether that was normal or because he didn’t want to
 295.279 +get in the way during the trip, she wasn’t quite sure. And the kiss...
 295.280 +The sounds of heavy breathing up ahead grabbed Tomoyo’s attention.
 295.281 +Stepping forward past a tree, she spotted a Chinese woman around her
 295.282 +age, still dressed in her beautiful dress as her legs whipped through
 295.283 +the air as if fending off invisible attackers. “Hello, Meiling-chan,”
 295.284 +she said pleasantly as she approached the black haired woman. Tomoyo
 295.285 +could tell that the night's festivities had not sat well with her.
 295.286 +Meiling looked rather upset, probably at seeing Syaoran and his new
 295.287 +bride again. She knew how painful that could be. She and Meiling had
 295.288 +been in the same boat, pouring out their heart to the one they loved
 295.289 +but unable to have them. Of course, Meiling had taken a much more
 295.290 +aggressive route than she had. And she had known that she couldn’t
 295.291 +have Sakura for a very long time. It wasn’t until after Sakura had
 295.292 +captured all of the Clow Cards that she realized she wouldn’t be the
 295.293 +one to make Sakura happy. Meiling didn’t seem to realize that, at
 295.294 +least not consciously. 
 295.295 +“Why do you put up with it?” Meiling asked, her leg sweeping through
 295.296 +the shadows. The slit in her long dress shifted again as she kicked
 295.297 +out. She was still upset about the dinner. She had been Syaoran’s
 295.298 +fiancee for years, always by his side when he needed her, there to
 295.299 +love him always. And then he ran off with some girl he met in Japan.
 295.300 +She had not wanted to come tonight at all. Were they trying to rub it
 295.301 +in her face? The only reason she had come was because Ieran told her
 295.302 +to personally. Otherwise she was sure she could find something better
 295.303 +to do than to spend all night watching Syaoran and his bride. Just
 295.304 +about anything. “I mean, all this time you’ve loved her and now she’s
 295.305 +married to my Syaoran and you’re still all smiles and warmth to her.
 295.306 +I don’t get it. If you loved her back then, then why are you
 295.307 +pretending like it’s no big deal?”
 295.308 +“I still love her. I always will. I’m sorry about Li-kun, but I just
 295.309 +want Sakura to be happy. Now that she’s married and starting a new
 295.310 +life, I want her to know that I still care for her. I don’t want her
 295.311 +to have to worry about how the marriage affected me or how I feel
 295.312 +about her.” Tomoyo sighed as she steadied herself against a tree.
 295.313 +“Besides, I can’t be angry with her. Or with him. As long as he takes
 295.314 +care of Sakura, then I’m glad that they got married. Sakura deserves
 295.315 +a happy marriage.”
 295.316 +Meiling finally stopped her assault on the shadows, trying to catch
 295.317 +her breath. She shook her head, clenching her fists. “But she hurt
 295.318 +you. She ran off with some boy from Hong Kong. Leaving you all alone.
 295.319 +How can you sit back and take it? I can’t believe Syaoran did it. He
 295.320 +promised me...” Her amber eyes closed for a moment as she tried to
 295.321 +calm down. She was not going to cry in front of Tomoyo. Today was bad
 295.322 +enough without breaking down in the garden. Indulging her anger a
 295.323 +bit, she found it easier to push the tears away. “Why is it all right
 295.324 +for them to be happy when neither of us can be? Did things really
 295.325 +work out the right way? I loved Syaoran so much and you loved Sakura
 295.326 +and now we’re both left alone like discarded playthings. It feels
 295.327 +like things worked out the wrong way. Why did we both have to get
 295.328 +hurt in the end? Why couldn't we all be happy with the ones we love?”
 295.329 +The garden was silent for a full minute. The pale heiress didn’t
 295.330 +have an answer to Meiling’s question. There had been times when she
 295.331 +was all alone that she found herself asking it to the sky above.
 295.332 +There was never an answer. “I don’t know,” she said at last. Fate had
 295.333 +done a pretty painful job of patching things up, leaving too many
 295.334 +loose ends that refused to heal. She and Meiling seemed to be two
 295.335 +more casualties in Fate’s work.
 295.336 +	Sighing, Meiling toyed with a large bracelet she had on. “Neither
 295.337 +do I. I still don’t see how you can be happy for the both of them.
 295.338 +I’m still pissed about the whole thing. I really did love him,
 295.339 +Tomoyo. I can’t believe that he’d do this to me. Sakura didn’t know
 295.340 +how you felt, but I made sure Syaoran knew everyday just how I felt
 295.341 +about him. And he still went through with it. It’s not right that we
 295.342 +both got left behind like this.” She smiled a little in the dark,
 295.343 +pushing a pigtail over her shoulder. “I wish you had gotten Sakura.
 295.344 +Then neither of us would be in this mess.”
 295.345 +	Returning the smile, Tomoyo hugged herself as the cold began to
 295.346 +settle into her pale body. Meiling was suffering through the same
 295.347 +pain she was, but like always, she was handling it differently.
 295.348 +Almost like her mother. She smiled more at the thought. Of course,
 295.349 +her mother never could have been angry at Nadeshiko. “Sometimes I
 295.350 +wish I could have, too. Thank you, Meiling-chan. I’m very sorry about
 295.351 +how everything turned out.”
 295.352 +	“Me too,” Meiling answered, looking out across the garden. Her eyes
 295.353 +darted around the dimly lit area when she heard someone running
 295.354 +towards them. It was Sakura, hurrying along. She crossed her arms and
 295.355 +frowned.
 295.356 +	“Tomoyo-chan! There you are! I finally finished. I was wondering
 295.357 +where you had gone off to. Oh, hello, Meiling-chan!” Sakura smiled
 295.358 +politely as she reached the two dark haired women. From the distance,
 295.359 +Sakura hadn’t been quite sure which was which. She had almost thought
 295.360 +that Mirror had gone off as Tomoyo. 
 295.361 +	“Hello, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said happily, smiling at the young
 295.362 +bride. “I wanted to come back and take a walk in the garden. It looks
 295.363 +like Meiling-chan had similar ideas.” 
 295.364 +	Meiling brushed past Sakura as she headed for the door. “I really
 295.365 +must be going. I should get home before it gets too late. I have some
 295.366 +things I need to do tomorrow. Goodbye, Tomoyo! Enjoy your visit!”
 295.367 +With that, she disappeared inside the house, leaving Sakura blinking
 295.368 +after her.
 295.369 +	Watching the bewildered look on Sakura’s face, Tomoyo let out a sad
 295.370 +sigh. She could understand Meiling’s pain and her anger, but she
 295.371 +could never be angry at Sakura. Taking one of Sakura’s hands, she
 295.372 +quickly smiled again. “Please don’t worry about it, Sakura-chan. 
 295.373 +Meiling-chan is in a lot of pain and she doesn’t know what to do
 295.374 +about it.”
 295.375 +	Sakura nodded slowly. Meiling hadn’t been very pleased with her at
 295.376 +all during her stay in Hong Kong. But Tomoyo was right. There was no
 295.377 +reason to worry about it. “I’m glad I found you. I was wondering
 295.378 +where you were.”
 295.379 +	“I’ll always be there if you know where to look, Sakura-chan. Even
 295.380 +if it doesn’t seem like I am.” Tomoyo’s smile disappeared for a
 295.381 +moment, her voice sounding earnest. A cloud seemed to pass over her
 295.382 +stormy blue eyes for a moment before it faded away to be replaced
 295.383 +with her nearly ever present smile. 
 295.384 +	Standing with Tomoyo in the dark, Sakura felt her fingers
 295.385 +intertwine with the toy designer’s. Tomoyo’s pale skin seemed to
 295.386 +shine in the luster of the moonlight. “I found some photos you might
 295.387 +like for your photo album, Tomoyo-chan.”
 295.388 +	Tomoyo smiled again happily. “I would love that, Sakura-chan. They
 295.389 +are little frozen moments in Sakura-chan’s life that I can flip
 295.390 +through whenever I want to see her again.”
 295.391 +	“Oh good! I hope you like them. Syaoran-chan and I were going to
 295.392 +make an album ourselves some time, but we haven’t gotten around to
 295.393 +it. I’d be happier if you had the pictures instead of them going to
 295.394 +waste.” Squeezing Tomoyo’s hand, she led her best friend back inside.
 295.395 + 

   296.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   296.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-09.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   296.3 @@ -0,0 +1,511 @@
   296.4 +Dear Sakura
   296.5 +by G.P.
   296.6 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   296.7 +
   296.8 +I.
   296.9 +
  296.10 +Walking slowly down the hallway of the now quiet mansion, Sakura and
  296.11 +Tomoyo finally arrived at the guest room. The two stood face-to-face,
  296.12 +hand-in-hand, smiling silently at each other. Captivated by the
  296.13 +beautiful woman gazing lovingly at her, Sakura was unable to say good
  296.14 +night. Tomoyo was tired, but her enchanted friend simply couldn’t
  296.15 +tear herself away. Finally, as if groping for some excuse to keep the
  296.16 +night alive, she stammerd out,
  296.17 +
  296.18 +“Tomoyo-chan, ummu, would you like to meet Dark-sama and Light-sama?
  296.19 +I know it’s late, and if you’re tired we can go to bed, but…”
  296.20 +
  296.21 +Tomoyo squeezed the brunette’s hands and sweetly replied,
  296.22 +
  296.23 +“I’d love to, Sakura-chan. I’m never sleepy when I’m with my
  296.24 +favorite Cardmistress.” Then, with a little frown of concern, she
  296.25 +added, “But is Sakura-chan too tired? I know that she has written her
  296.26 +magic is sometimes fatiguing, and I would not want her to be
  296.27 +exhausted for my sake.”
  296.28 +
  296.29 +Sakura smiled brightly, shaking her head, “No, I’m fine, really”.
  296.30 +With that, she spun about and ran down the hall, then turned
  296.31 +sheepishly and started to yell. Suddenly covering her mouth at the
  296.32 +realization of how late it was, she rushed back and whispered
  296.33 +excitedly that she would return quickly with the cards. As she
  296.34 +disappeared down the dark hallway, Tomoyo giggled, then took a slow,
  296.35 +deep breath, struggling with her tumultuous emotions. She was indeed
  296.36 +desperately tired, but sleep seemed trivial when she could be with
  296.37 +her perpetually genki friend. After a few moments Sakura reappeared,
  296.38 +Clow Book in hand, and the two entered the room.
  296.39 +
  296.40 +Sakura carefully laid the book down on the old desk and pulled a
  296.41 +little gold chain from her cheongsam as Tomoyo busied herself with
  296.42 +something in the corner of the room. Sakura undid the chain and slid
  296.43 +the Key off, cradling it in her hands. Puzzled, she looked about the
  296.44 +room for Tomoyo, and saw her already filming with the video camera.
  296.45 +Despite a sweat drop, Sakura basked in the warmth of Tomoyo’s
  296.46 +attention. Holding the Key to her breast, she chanted the words of
  296.47 +power,
  296.48 +
  296.49 +"Key of the Star,
  296.50 +with powers burning bright, 
  296.51 +reveal the staff, 
  296.52 +and shine your light.
  296.53 +Release!" 
  296.54 +
  296.55 +A swirl of yellow light arose, and the floor glowed with the the
  296.56 +Star Seal. Sakura felt a pulsating power rush through her body.
  296.57 +Leaning over the desk, she carefully picked up The Light card, and
  296.58 +flicked it into the air. Twirling her staff, she nimbly brought it
  296.59 +down with a splash of bright, white light. As the light slowly
  296.60 +coalesced into a feminine form, she awoke The Dark, and black shadows
  296.61 +poured into the room. Within seconds, two beautiful women, clad like
  296.62 +queens from a fairy tale, stood before the two friends. The woman
  296.63 +with long, straight dark hair looked smilingly at Tomoyo, and then
  296.64 +shyly averted her eyes. But the other, her golden hair curling to the
  296.65 +floor and floating in the air, gazed lovingly at the unknown dark-
  296.66 +haired girl. Bowing slightly, she greeted her melodiously in sing-
  296.67 +song Chinese. Wishing Fanren was with her, Tomoyo bowed deeply and
  296.68 +replied,
  296.69 +
  296.70 +“Nihao. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t speak Chinese”. Dark
  296.71 +looked at her in surprise. Light hid her tittering behind a slender
  296.72 +hand, and spoke, 
  296.73 +
  296.74 +“I’m sorry. I thought perhaps I was addressing a Princess of the
  296.75 +Imperial House. Sakura-chan, would you please introduce us to this
  296.76 +lovely girl?”
  296.77 +
  296.78 +Sakura shook her head, suddenly remembering her manners,
  296.79 +
  296.80 +“Oh, gomenesai! Dark-sama, Light-sama, this is my very best friend
  296.81 +from Japan, Daidouji Tomoyo.”
  296.82 +
  296.83 +The shimmering figures smiled and bowed, as did Tomoyo. She watched
  296.84 +in awe as shadows and light swirled languidly through the room. The
  296.85 +two women from the cards held hands, their fingers lightly
  296.86 +interlaced. Light's voice was soft and glowing,
  296.87 +
  296.88 +“Sakura-chan has told us so much about you. Sometimes you’re all she
  296.89 +talks about.” Turning to her shadowy friend, she spoke earnestly,
  296.90 +
  296.91 +“She reminds me a little of you: sweet, gentle, and beautiful as
  296.92 +twilight.” They were slowly drawn to one another, and for a
  296.93 +breathless second Tomoyo thought they might actually kiss. But Light
  296.94 +laid her hand on Dark’s blushing cheek, then turned slowly again to
  296.95 +Tomoyo. In a voice like bright sunshine she said,
  296.96 +
  296.97 +“And like you, Dark-chan, I think she has many secrets, don’t you,
  296.98 +Tomoyo-chan?”
  296.99 +
 296.100 +Tomoyo colored as Light’s sparkling eyes regarded her with measured
 296.101 +care. Bowing slightly, Tomoyo replied,
 296.102 +
 296.103 +“None that I could ever keep from you, Light-sama.”
 296.104 +
 296.105 +With lady-like laughter, Dark’s delicate fingers touched her
 296.106 +companion’s alabaster shoulder. In a voice like willows whispering in
 296.107 +the night, she gently chided,
 296.108 +
 296.109 +“Secrets are yours to reveal, Light-chan, but mine to keep. Some
 296.110 +hearts abide in darkness, lest they shatter in the light of day. When
 296.111 +she wishes her secrets known, she will seek you. Till then, let her
 296.112 +rest with me.”
 296.113 +
 296.114 +Dark leaned closer, her hand carefully brushing a stray lock of
 296.115 +lavender hair from Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes. Tender as a mother, or
 296.116 +a lover, she caressed the girl’s pale, crimson-flushed cheek. Tomoyo
 296.117 +was shrouded in the shadowy-black hair that drifted serenely about
 296.118 +her. Eveloped by a fragrance of night flowers and wisteria, of
 296.119 +sandalwood and incense, Tomoyo stood breathless as the beautiful,
 296.120 +pale face hovered over her. Dark lightly kissed her forehead. The
 296.121 +young woman from Japan swooned as a peaceful wave washed over her, a
 296.122 +tranquil blessing that calmed the thudding in her breast. All the
 296.123 +knotted fears and worries wound so tightly round her heart were
 296.124 +loosed, and for an instant her unfettered soul soared free. She
 296.125 +slumped into Dark’s arms, tears flowing, hugging her tightly.
 296.126 +Surprised, the Dark figure smiled and hugged the trembling young
 296.127 +woman, whispering reassurance as she gently carressed her. Tomoyo’s
 296.128 +hair came magically undone, the shimmering tresses cascading like a
 296.129 +black waterfall. The red and gold jewelry that had adorned her hair
 296.130 +tinkled to the floor as her body grew limp. She fell into a deep
 296.131 +slumber, and Dark laid the little body gently on the futon and wiped
 296.132 +away the sparkling tears with her fingers. The emeralds encircling
 296.133 +the darksome woman's slender throat shone brightly, illuminating the
 296.134 +room in a magical, green glow. With sad, black eyes she turned to
 296.135 +Sakura and spoke in a solemn whisper,
 296.136 +
 296.137 +“Everything will be all right, if you take care of her. For now, let
 296.138 +her sleep.” Sakura nodded silently. Dark and Light smiled and bowed,
 296.139 +and Sakura returned them to their card forms. She carefully laid them
 296.140 +in the book, then gazed at the still figure asleep on the futon.
 296.141 +Sakura knelt and lovingly straightened her friend's shimmering
 296.142 +lavender hair, slipped off the drowsing beauty's shoes, then loosened
 296.143 +the red cheongsam. She finished by covering her with the silken 
 296.144 +quilt, but still could not will herself to leave. Tomoyo’s face was
 296.145 +calm and placid, and she smiled sweetly at some delightful dream.
 296.146 +Sakura looked at her with longing, glad that Dark-sama had apparently
 296.147 +lifted some great burden from her heart, but secretly wishing she
 296.148 +were still awake. There was so much she wanted to say, so much to do.
 296.149 +But what? Sakura creased her brow and sorted through a jumble of
 296.150 +thoughts and feelings. 
 296.151 +
 296.152 +What exactly did she want to say, or do? 
 296.153 +
 296.154 +She wanted to wipe away all the pain and hurt she had seen in
 296.155 +Tomoyo’s azure eyes. Her chest tightened with the memory of Tomoyo
 296.156 +sobbing in her arms just the night before. Looking at her now, that
 296.157 +pain seemed so far away. But when she awoke, whatever had caused it,
 296.158 +her loneliness, her lost love, or something else, would still be
 296.159 +there to haunt her. It wasn’t fair that so gentle a spirit as Tomoyo
 296.160 +should bear such agony. Sakura felt her will harden to a steely
 296.161 +resolve as she thought, I will not let her suffer. I will not.
 296.162 +
 296.163 +But what else did the Mistress of the Cards want? She wanted to know
 296.164 +why she loved Tomoyo more than her husband, her family, or her own
 296.165 +life. This feeling confused her greatly, but she knew it to be true.
 296.166 +Her love for her friend was boundless, like a glimpse of eternity, or
 296.167 +a taste of the infinite. This realization had been long and slow in
 296.168 +coming, but shook the foundations of Sakura’s little world when it
 296.169 +finally arrived. Tomoyo was not her special person, or her true love.
 296.170 +Nor was she a brother, or father, or Mother. Sakura loved them all
 296.171 +dearly, but not like this. Sakura was happily married to a wonderful
 296.172 +man. Tomoyo was not the love of her life, she couldn’t be. But that
 296.173 +was exactly how it felt. There was nowhere on earth she would rather
 296.174 +be but in this room, by her side. Sakura shook her head as she
 296.175 +thought, how can I love her more than my own husband? Fighting back
 296.176 +the tears she whispered, 
 296.177 +
 296.178 +“I don’t know, but I do.”
 296.179 +
 296.180 +Finally, a cold emptiness gripped her as she realized that in three
 296.181 +days Tomoyo would be gone. She clenched her fists into tight little
 296.182 +balls as the thought sunk in. A metallic desperation seized Sakura as
 296.183 +she contemplated life without her best friend. Being apart after the
 296.184 +wedding had been hard, bringing her at times to tears. But now it was
 296.185 +worse, for she had again shared life with her beautiful best friend.
 296.186 +To see her, to hear her voice, to touch her and hold her and- and to
 296.187 +kiss her. Sakura blushed and trembled, shaken by memories too sweet
 296.188 +for words. She wanted to be with her not just tonight, not just in
 296.189 +her visit to Hong Kong, but forever and ever and ever.
 296.190 +
 296.191 +But it was all impossible. Tomoyo had her own life now, and would
 296.192 +soon return to it. She also had her own true love, a thought that
 296.193 +pained Sakura, even as she determined that this heart’s desire of her
 296.194 +friend would not go unfulfilled. And, for that matter, she herself
 296.195 +had a new life with the man she loved. Sighing heavilly, Sakura lay
 296.196 +down beside her sleeping friend, watching the quilt rise and fall
 296.197 +with each sweet, slow breath. Nothing made any sense at all, and she
 296.198 +was hopelessly confused. All she knew for certain was her love for
 296.199 +Tomoyo. Wrapping an arm round the sleeping figure in the soft, downy
 296.200 +quilt, the Mistress of the Cards quietly cried herself to sleep.
 296.201 +
 296.202 +II.
 296.203 +
 296.204 +With a flutter of dark lashes, Tomoyo slowly awoke. Dawn crept into
 296.205 +the guest room, painting a warm yellow triangle on the wall opposite
 296.206 +the garden window. Laying on her back, she began to stretch, but
 296.207 +found herself tightly swaddled in the silken quilt. She noticed an
 296.208 +arm wrapped around her, and, with a puzzled expression looked over to
 296.209 +her side. There was Sakura, still dressed in the black cheongsam,
 296.210 +fast asleep and holding her tightly. Tomoyo smiled, luxuriating in
 296.211 +embrace of her dearest friend. Staring at the heavy wooden beams of
 296.212 +the ceiling, she felt a tranquil sense of peace, a peace unknown for
 296.213 +a very long time. She remembered Dark-sama's haunting presence,
 296.214 +washing the aches and fears from her heart in a peaceful, shadowy
 296.215 +wave. Maybe everything really would be all right. Somehow, it was
 296.216 +impossible to think otherwise, here in her arms.
 296.217 +
 296.218 +She carefully shifted onto her side to better see Sakura. Is this
 296.219 +what it would be like, to be with her all the time? To awaken every
 296.220 +morning and see her, to putter about in the kitchen making breakfast,
 296.221 +to come home at night and greet her, and then sleep together,
 296.222 +entwined in her arms? Tomoyo sighed at this sweetest of sweet
 296.223 +thoughts. She was fascinated by Sakura's face, so close to her own.
 296.224 +Placid and happy, she was cute and adorable in her innocent slumber.
 296.225 +It struck Tomoyo as odd that she had spent the night here, rather
 296.226 +than with her husband. But she must have been too exhausted to make
 296.227 +it back to her bedroom. Even Sakura's genki energy has it's limits,
 296.228 +she giggled to herself. Well, if she had to go to sleep, this was as
 296.229 +good a place as any. The young guest lay enfolded in her true love's
 296.230 +arms for several blissfull minutes until she felt Sakura slowly begin
 296.231 +to awaken. Smiling as Sakura yawned and stretched, one eye open and
 296.232 +the other still closed, Tomoyo watched her intently. Half-asleep for
 296.233 +sure, she giggled to herself. Softly she spoke to her still sleepy
 296.234 +friend,
 296.235 +
 296.236 +"Ohayo, Sakura-chan."
 296.237 +
 296.238 +Sakura looked at her, eyes blinking in wonder. Realizing she had
 296.239 +wrapped her arm around her friend, Sakura quickly sat up and
 296.240 +spluttered,
 296.241 +
 296.242 +"Oh, ohayo, Tomoyo-chan. Gomenesai, I guess I fell asleep. I didn't
 296.243 +mean to..."
 296.244 +
 296.245 +Tomoyo shook her head and smiled as she sat up, "No, no, it was
 296.246 +wonderful laying here with you. I haven't slept so well in a very
 296.247 +long time."
 296.248 +
 296.249 +Sakura smiled back, her hand behind her head in embarrassment. But
 296.250 +then she put her hands in her lap, bowed her head so she didn't have
 296.251 +to meet  Tomoyo's gaze, and said,
 296.252 +
 296.253 +"I guess I didn't want to leave you, Tomoyo-chan. I just wanted to
 296.254 +be with you."
 296.255 +Sakura looked up, her emereald eyes shimmering. Tomoyo felt her
 296.256 +heart stop at  the sight. Suddenly, Sakura hugged her tightly, nearly
 296.257 +squeezing the breath out of her startled friend. Tomoyo felt the
 296.258 +soft, silk-clad form nestled against her, and a shiver of passion
 296.259 +flowed through her body. She hugged back, resting her head on the
 296.260 +brunette's shoulder. Finally they parted, slightly dazed but smiling.
 296.261 +Sakura suddenly  gushed forth with barely suppressed excitment,
 296.262 +
 296.263 +"Do you still want to see the school today? I thought maybe we could
 296.264 +stop by before we went to the beach."
 296.265 +
 296.266 +"Yes, Sakura-chan, I'd love to see your school. I think it's so
 296.267 +wonderful that Sakura-chan is a sensei."
 296.268 +
 296.269 +"Thank you Tomoyo-chan. I feel so wonderful today, not tired at all
 296.270 +like I sometimes am after using the Cards. I'll meet you in the
 296.271 +kitchen and we can have breakfast!"
 296.272 +
 296.273 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo again before rushing out the door. She left the
 296.274 +pale girl huddled in the comforter, hand on her cheek, gazing
 296.275 +adoringly.
 296.276 +
 296.277 +III.
 296.278 +
 296.279 +As Tomoyo clambered off the bus, she saw the modern looking, white,
 296.280 +six-story building that formed the main structure of the Fung Kai Liu
 296.281 +Yun Sum Memorial School. It was different from the traditional
 296.282 +Japanese schools that she was used to. Large Chinese characters were
 296.283 +written from top to bottom on the right side of the building. There
 296.284 +were beautiful trees in front, and the grounds and building were
 296.285 +impeccably maintained. Sakura took her by the hand and led her
 296.286 +through the empty halls. Sakura had mentioned the school was on
 296.287 +holiday, so she was able to get time off. Finally they went through a
 296.288 +set of double doors into a small-sized gymnasium. Sakura scanned it
 296.289 +to make sure that her gym was in proper shape, and then said,
 296.290 +
 296.291 +"We can leave our things in my office. It's over there, in the back."
 296.292 +
 296.293 +They walked accross the wooden parquay floor. Sakura pointed out the
 296.294 +door to the dance studio, and then used a little brass key to open
 296.295 +her office. The office was quite small, but Sakura had arranged
 296.296 +things nicely without it seeming to be cramped. On her desk Tomoyo
 296.297 +saw three pictures: one of Sakura and Syoaran from their wedding, and
 296.298 +one of Fujitaka, Touya, and Yukito, all clad in their summer yukata.
 296.299 +The other was of her, the same as the one she had sent Sakura for her
 296.300 +nightstand at home. Sakura saw her looking and laughed,
 296.301 +
 296.302 +"I had a copy made so there would be one of you here at work, too. I
 296.303 +have to have a picture of my girlfriend, after all."
 296.304 +
 296.305 +Tomoyo blushed and giggled, and made a mental note to send another
 296.306 +picture. With that, Sakura began her guided tour of the school,
 296.307 +pointing out classrooms and  labs and the teacher's lounge. There,
 296.308 +she was delighted to find her sensei friend, Wei Jun. Introducing
 296.309 +Tomoyo, Sakura begged to be excused to attend to something with the
 296.310 +cheerleading club. The older woman poured a cup of tea for her guest
 296.311 +as the two sat down in the empty lounge. Her eyes lit up as she spoke
 296.312 +in impeccable Japanese,
 296.313 +
 296.314 +"Ah, so this is Daidouji Tomoyo. I almost feel as if I know you,
 296.315 +from all that Sakura-san has said.You're even prettier than her
 296.316 +descriptions, which seems nearly impossible."
 296.317 +
 296.318 +Tomoyo blushed and bowed again as she spoke in her musical voice,
 296.319 +"Thank you, Jun-sama, both for your kind words, and for helping
 296.320 +Sakura with her new job."
 296.321 +
 296.322 +The older woman smiled wistfully as she replied, "It's been a
 296.323 +pleasure to have her at the school. She's done a wonderful job.
 296.324 +Besdies, she reminds me of someone from long ago. Oh, and so
 296.325 +energetic! Sometimes even the girls have a hard time keeping up with
 296.326 +her."
 296.327 +
 296.328 +The two talked about the school, and Hong Kong, and Japan, but
 296.329 +somehow the topic always managed to return to again to the genki new
 296.330 +P.E. teacher. With a twinkle in her eye, Jun asked,
 296.331 +
 296.332 +"Tomoyo-san, how long have you known Sakura-san?"
 296.333 +
 296.334 +This triggered another stream of reminisence from the young dark-
 296.335 +haired woman, who recalled picnics and festivals, dances and
 296.336 +contests. Immersed in visions of her adorable friend, the starry-eyed
 296.337 +Tomoyo failed to see Jun's barely suppressed smile. Finally, the
 296.338 +Chinese woman gently asked,
 296.339 +
 296.340 +"You still love her very much, don't you?"
 296.341 +
 296.342 +Tomoyo stopped and gazed at the kindly face of the teacher. She
 296.343 +smiled and nodded, her alabaster cheeks touched with a crimson blush.
 296.344 +After a moment of silence, the older woman continued,
 296.345 +
 296.346 +"But you've never told her, or if you did, she didn't quite
 296.347 +understand you, yes?"
 296.348 +
 296.349 +Again, Tomoyo nodded solemnly. With a worried look she asked in a
 296.350 +plaintive voice,
 296.351 +
 296.352 +"Sensei-sama, please don't say anything about this. I don't want to
 296.353 +trouble her. She's found her own special soemone, and she's married
 296.354 +to him. Everything is as it should be, and I'm happy that way."
 296.355 +
 296.356 +Tomoyo's words rang hollow in her ears, and the look on Jun's face
 296.357 +showed how easilly the woman saw through her faltering mask. Her look
 296.358 +held knowledge of Tomoyo's hidden hurt, and a sympathy that only
 296.359 +mutually shared pain could bring. The Chinese woman looked out the
 296.360 +window and sighed,
 296.361 +
 296.362 +"We're always happy that our loved ones are happy. If they really
 296.363 +are happy, that is. But that doesn't ease the pain all that much,
 296.364 +does it, Tomoyo-san? I remember Ming Xia's wedding. It was so
 296.365 +beautiful, and I was so, so happy for her. But all the same, I wanted
 296.366 +to die. I really did. To see her with him, knowing she was gone from
 296.367 +my life, forever. But I couldn't tell her that, and ruin her
 296.368 +happiness, too. I thought the years would be kinder, that someday I
 296.369 +might forget. But it doesn't happen like that. Not when it's your
 296.370 +true love. That kind of love isn't affected by time, or distance, or
 296.371 +anythng at all. Before she died last year, she sent me a little
 296.372 +letter. She wanted me to visit her in England. After all these years,
 296.373 +she was lonely. She said she missed me.  But I didn't make it. She
 296.374 +never knew I loved her. Maybe she knows know, somehow. I don't know."
 296.375 +
 296.376 +On the brink of tears, Jun looked at Tomoyo with a sad smile and
 296.377 +spoke in a broken whipser,
 296.378 +
 296.379 +"Don't worry, Tomoyo-san. I won't say anything to Sakura. I'm sorry,
 296.380 +I..."
 296.381 +
 296.382 +She suddenly stood up and rushed to the door. Tomoyo rose to go to
 296.383 +her, but she waved the young woman away. As the door closed, Tomoyo
 296.384 +stood with her hands to her breast, azure eyes misted with tears.
 296.385 +Poor, poor Jun-sama. How strong she must be to have lived through all
 296.386 +those years of pain. How could she do it? How could anyone do it?
 296.387 +Clutching her chest she felt a cold stab of pain at the thought: how
 296.388 +can I do it? I don't know how I've survived for four months. How can
 296.389 +I go on like this for years? She sat on the chair and struggled to
 296.390 +calm herself before Sakura arrived. Somehow, when her friend at last
 296.391 +burst through the door, she once again wore her very sweetest smile.
 296.392 +
 296.393 +"Hello, Tomoyo-chan, I'm sorry I was gone so long. Oh, did Jun-sama
 296.394 +leave?"
 296.395 +
 296.396 +"Yes, she had to go. But we had some tea, and a very nice
 296.397 +conversation. so please don't worry." 
 296.398 +
 296.399 +Sakura smiled, though to Tomoyo's practiced eye she looked as if she
 296.400 +were hiding something. Obviously in a hurry, the little P.E. teacher
 296.401 +blurted out,
 296.402 +
 296.403 +"Umm, would you like to go out and see the athletic field now?"
 296.404 +
 296.405 +Sakura's eager face betrayed her as Tomoyo smiled in reply,
 296.406 +
 296.407 +"Yes, I'd love to."
 296.408 +
 296.409 +When they arrived, Sakura placed her friend in a little folding
 296.410 +chair by the edge of the soccer pitch. A few boys were playing a game
 296.411 +at the far end, though the late morning heat slowed their game to a
 296.412 +crawl. Sakura suddenly blew a whistle, and out of the gym rushed
 296.413 +eight girls attired in the uniforms Tomoyo had designed, followed by
 296.414 +one in school shorts and a T-shirt, carrying a clipboard and running
 296.415 +behind. Amid much giggling and blushing, the uniformed girls shyly
 296.416 +formed up in front of Tomoyo. The small girl in T-shirt and shorts,
 296.417 +her beribboned hair in two long, black braids, stood close to Sakura,
 296.418 +warilly eyeing the mysterious friend from Japan through large, thick
 296.419 +glasses. Tomoyo smiled and waved at her, and the little face quickly
 296.420 +dissappeared behind the clipboard. Sakura blew the whistle again, and
 296.421 +the girls formed up in two ranks of four. They bowed in unison as
 296.422 +Sakura announced,
 296.423 +
 296.424 +"The Fung Kai Liu Yun Sum Memorial School Cheerleading Club thanks
 296.425 +Daidouji Tomoyo for her wonderful uniform designs, and dedicates this
 296.426 +performance to her honor." With another blow on the whistle, they
 296.427 +began their routine. 
 296.428 +
 296.429 +Tomoyo watched the splendid show with delight. The uniforms really
 296.430 +did look adorable, and Sakura had trained the girls well in a
 296.431 +remarkeably short time. One girl in particular caught her eye. She
 296.432 +was nimble and quick, jumping over her teamates and spinning through
 296.433 +the air like Jump or Dash from the Clow Cards. Tomoyo noticed that
 296.434 +the girl with glasses had emerged from behind her clipboard and was
 296.435 +watching the little acrobat with a look of utter rapture. Tomoyo
 296.436 +giggled to herself and thought, that must be Chang Jung, the girl
 296.437 +Sakura-chan mentioned. Finally, the girls formed a pyramid, with the
 296.438 +object of Jung's affection perched on top. She stood fearlessly with
 296.439 +arms raised high, then leaped into a summersault as Tomoyo gasped in
 296.440 +surprise. The landing was perfect, and the dark-haired woman clapped
 296.441 +her approval as the cheerleaders took their bows. Then they swarmed
 296.442 +over her, chattering in an indescribably rapid Cantonese, eager to
 296.443 +see sensei's legendary friend from accross the seas. A beleagured
 296.444 +Tomoyo giggled as Sakura arrived, trying to bring order to the merry
 296.445 +chaos. At that moment, her Jun arrived to the rescue, cheerfully
 296.446 +translating the questions about toys and clothing design and life in
 296.447 +Japan. Finally, Sakura sheparded her flock back to practice,
 296.448 +demonstrating various moves with the easy grace that marked her
 296.449 +gymnastics, and had captivated Tomoyo's heart. As she watched
 296.450 +adoringly, Tomoyo noticed little Jung by her side. 
 296.451 +
 296.452 +When she smiled, the little girl bowed, and spoke in a endearingly
 296.453 +soft voice,
 296.454 +
 296.455 +"Ohayo, Daidouji-sama."
 296.456 +
 296.457 +Tomoyo returned her bow and greeting. She asked Wei-sama to
 296.458 +translate, and thanked the girl for being such a helpful assistant to
 296.459 +Sakura. The little girl blushed, replying that it was because she
 296.460 +wasn't very good at athletic things, and that sensei-sama was kind
 296.461 +enough to let her help as best she could. But when Tomoyo asked the
 296.462 +name of the nimble little girl who had topped the pyramid, Jung's
 296.463 +face lit up. 
 296.464 +
 296.465 +"Ah, that is Ling Xiao. Isn't she wonderful!" The child clasped her
 296.466 +hands and looked up starry-eyed. Tomoyo smiled and nodded as Jung
 296.467 +gleefully told her all about her marvelous friend. Finally, the
 296.468 +Japanese woman knelt down, gazed into the girl's eyes and asked,
 296.469 +
 296.470 +"You like very very much, don't you, Jung-chan?" She smiled and
 296.471 +nodded. Tomoyo then asked,
 296.472 +
 296.473 +"Does she like you the same way?"
 296.474 +
 296.475 +Jung suddenly became thoughtful, and her pretty face almost sad as
 296.476 +she replied, "No, I don't think so. We are very best friends, but I
 296.477 +don't think she likes me the same way."
 296.478 +
 296.479 +Tomoyo felt a stab in her heart. Fighting to keep her composure, she
 296.480 +asked in a whisper,
 296.481 +
 296.482 +"Does Xiao-chan know how you feel?"
 296.483 +
 296.484 +Again, the little girl looked solemn beyond her years, "No, I don't
 296.485 +think so. I don't think she would understand. But some day, I want to
 296.486 +tell her how I feel."
 296.487 +
 296.488 +Tomoyo nodded as she fought back the tears. Her voice was trembling
 296.489 +as she replied,
 296.490 +
 296.491 +"That's good. Tell her how you feel, Jung-chan, and soon. Even
 296.492 +though it may be hard to do, it's very important that she know. OK?"
 296.493 +
 296.494 +The little girl nodded and smiled brightly, then ran off to help
 296.495 +Sakura. Tomoyo stood up and hugged herself tightly. The Chinese
 296.496 +teacher stood by her side, gazing with pity. There was nothing to
 296.497 +say, so the older woman remained silent. Finally, Sakura made sure
 296.498 +the girls had drunk their fill the of water before dismissing them to
 296.499 +the showers. Then she bounced up to the two women, towling herself
 296.500 +off and grinning. Tomoyo smiled as she spoke,
 296.501 +
 296.502 +"It was wonderful, Sakura-chan. Thank you so very much."
 296.503 +
 296.504 +Sakura smiled, "No, no, thank you! They wanted to do something for
 296.505 +you, because of the uniform design. It really did turn out great. No
 296.506 +wonder you're a professional designer, Tomoyo-chan. Are you ready to
 296.507 +go to the beach?"
 296.508 +
 296.509 +Tomoyo nodded, then bowed to the older woman by her side, "Arigato
 296.510 +gozaimasum, Jun-sama. I hope we will meet again."
 296.511 +
 296.512 +With a bow, the older woman smiled her goodbye, then silently
 296.513 +watched the two friends hold hands and walk away.
 296.514 +

   297.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   297.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-10.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   297.3 @@ -0,0 +1,358 @@
   297.4 +Dear Sakura
   297.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   297.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   297.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   297.8 +
   297.9 +
  297.10 +	“When was the last time we went to the beach together?” Sakura
  297.11 +asked curiously. Sand crunched underneath her sandals as she and
  297.12 +Tomoyo looked for a nice spot on the beach. She turned to make sure
  297.13 +the dark haired woman was still there, even though they were holding
  297.14 +hands. Tomoyo’s snow white skin looked so out of place on the beach.
  297.15 +Sakura was almost afraid the poor woman would get burnt to a cinder
  297.16 +in the bright late morning sun. The toy designer smiled back happily
  297.17 +to Sakura, seeming far removed from any such worries. Tomoyo wore a
  297.18 +simple white sundress, her bathing suit underneath. A wide-brimmed
  297.19 +hat lay atop her head, a blue ribbon trailing from it. Her hair
  297.20 +underneath was done up in buns. She wore large sunglasses tinted a
  297.21 +rosy pink color. They looked cute on Tomoyo, but Sakura was a little
  297.22 +disappointed that she couldn’t catch the enticing stormy blue of her
  297.23 +best friend’s eyes because of them. Sakura was already in her bathing
  297.24 +suit, a red two piece that she was currently wearing a blue jacket
  297.25 +with. 
  297.26 +	“A year and a half ago when mother invited you to come with us out
  297.27 +to the beach house,” Tomoyo replied without a moment’s hesitation, as
  297.28 +if all facts regarding Sakura were relevant to keep track of at all
  297.29 +time. She pushed the sunglasses up from the tip of her nose, smiling
  297.30 +cheerfully at the Cardmistress. Despite being able to embarrass
  297.31 +Sakura with some of the things she said and did, it always delighted
  297.32 +her to know that Sakura was completely at ease with her. If it
  297.33 +weren’t for that, she would have quit making such embarrassing
  297.34 +comments years ago. But Sakura took it all in stride, blushing
  297.35 +considerably but never feeling awkward in Tomoyo’s presence. That had
  297.36 +allowed her to remain close to Sakura over the years, to treasure the
  297.37 +brunette’s company like the finest wine and the world’s greatest
  297.38 +riches. It had also given her best friend status some perks as well.
  297.39 +She knew firsthand how beautiful Sakura had grown over the years,
  297.40 +never actually outgrowing the cuteness about her, but gaining a
  297.41 +completely new aspect as well. Though at the moment, Tomoyo didn’t
  297.42 +need years of close hand study to know such on obvious fact. “You
  297.43 +look gorgeous in that, Sakura-chan,” her musical voice practically
  297.44 +sang, followed quickly by a happily contented sigh. “I can’t wait to
  297.45 +start videotaping you.”
  297.46 +	Blushing faintly, Sakura smiled in return. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan.
  297.47 +I’m glad you think so.” Brushing fingers back through her brunette
  297.48 +hair, Sakura scanned the area for a nice place to put their towel and
  297.49 +basket. A picnic lunch had been Tomoyo’s idea. Seeing Tomoyo standing
  297.50 +with the basket reminded her of all the picnics they used to go on
  297.51 +when they were younger. She felt a pang in her heart at the thought.
  297.52 +Now these picnics were such a special occasion, something that
  297.53 +happened only very rarely now that they no longer lived in the same
  297.54 +country. Once upon a time she had taken those wonderful moments
  297.55 +together for granted, assuming that they, like Tomoyo, would simply
  297.56 +always be there. Something she could always enjoy. She knew now that
  297.57 +that wasn’t the case and that she would have to burn these memories
  297.58 +into her soul while she could. 
  297.59 +	“Right here looks nice, Sakura-chan.” Drawing the cute gym
  297.60 +teacher’s attention, Tomoyo motioned towards a fairly empty section
  297.61 +of beach. Of course, that wasn’t Tomoyo’s main reasoning for
  297.62 +selecting it. The light was perfect at that spot to videotape Sakura.
  297.63 +And she just so happened to have brought her camcorder along with
  297.64 +lunch. Her poor, abused camcorder had been relegated to the attic for
  297.65 +quite some time, Tomoyo having lost the will to videotape anymore
  297.66 +after Sakura’s departure. It had gained renewed life when she had
  297.67 +pulled it out to use in her cooking lessons for her friend. But this
  297.68 +was what it existed for, in much the same way Tomoyo existed for
  297.69 +these special moments with Sakura. A hand went absentmindedly to her
  297.70 +right cheek as she watched Sakura start to spread out the beach
  297.71 +blanket. Love was a cruel mistress, but she wouldn’t give it up for
  297.72 +the countless stars in the sky. She couldn’t live without the
  297.73 +wonderfully sweet caress that thoughts of Sakura sent fluttering
  297.74 +across her heart. 
  297.75 +	When Sakura was finished with the beach blanket, Tomoyo knelt down
  297.76 +gingerly on it, placing the basket next to her before smoothing out
  297.77 +the skirt of her sundress. Sakura sat next to her, the white jacket
  297.78 +hanging from around the Cardmistress’s shoulders. Sakura watched
  297.79 +Tomoyo for a long moment, her legs curled up under her. The dark
  297.80 +haired woman always told her how pretty she was or how beautiful she
  297.81 +looked or any number of other things. But Tomoyo was truly stunning,
  297.82 +her elegant beauty always shining through whatever myriad styles she
  297.83 +used. Tomoyo always kept her hair long for her mother’s sake, who
  297.84 +treasured it as a reminder of Sakura’s own mother’s beautiful long
  297.85 +hair. But even keeping it long, Tomoyo always seemed to have
  297.86 +something she could do with it, as the pretty buns they were in now
  297.87 +attested to. As the almost deathly pale woman began to take off her
  297.88 +sundress, Sakura stared transfixed. Tomoyo looked like the goddess
  297.89 +Venus ascending from the waves, her white sundress that fell next to
  297.90 +her feet the sea foam around her. She was clad in a black and gray
  297.91 +one piece bathing suit. Her stormy blue eyes seemed to sparkle when
  297.92 +she finally pulled away the rose sunglasses and laid them next to her
  297.93 +hat. Realizing that she had been staring, Sakura turned abruptly,
  297.94 +pretending to busy herself with... anything. She stared at the ocean
  297.95 +while she tried to sort through her tousled thoughts. Unbeknownst to
  297.96 +Sakura, Tomoyo had noticed her friend’s gaze. She was a little
  297.97 +surprised by it, but thrilled nonetheless. To capture Sakura’s
  297.98 +attention so was truly a wonderful prize. She smiled happily, even
  297.99 +more thrilled to be there with the one person who was always in her
 297.100 +thoughts.
 297.101 +	Turning her gaze back to Tomoyo, Sakura looked up as the dark
 297.102 +haired woman sat down next to her. Memories from times long forgotten
 297.103 +came flooding back to her. Not just of trips to beaches or picnics.
 297.104 +But of all the wonderful times they had spent together. They weren’t
 297.105 +the little girls they had once been. Sakura was married now and a gym
 297.106 +teacher. Tomoyo was becoming a successful toy designer. But at the
 297.107 +moment, none of that mattered. Tomoyo was still the sweet and gentle
 297.108 +best friend that had always been by her side. They were still just
 297.109 +out for the day to spend time together and to enjoy themselves. For a
 297.110 +brief moment, the hands of time ticked backwards. They were sitting
 297.111 +in a park in Tomoeda discussing the recent events at school while
 297.112 +Tomoyo videotaped her with her camcorder, the future blissfully out
 297.113 +of the way. The moment evaporated as quickly as it had arrived
 297.114 +despite Sakura’s attempts at grasping onto it. What had Eriol told
 297.115 +her long ago? Something about a long absence showing her true
 297.116 +feelings. She couldn’t quite remember exactly. She had always
 297.117 +expected Tomoyo to be there, but now this was an all too brief visit
 297.118 +before Tomoyo was gone once again. And Tomoyo’s absence was pulling
 297.119 +at her heart, making her realize just how much she needed the
 297.120 +beautiful heiress. It seemed Eriol had been right after all. 
 297.121 +	Tomoyo searched through the picnic basket, finally uncovering the
 297.122 +suntan lotion. She didn’t get out very often except when she was with
 297.123 +Sakura and she had always had an extremely pale complexion. Without
 297.124 +some form of protection, she would easily bake out in the hot sun. 
 297.125 +	“I’ll get that for you, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura offered helpfully. At
 297.126 +Tomoyo’s soft thanks, she took the bottle and began to rub some into
 297.127 +her hands. She knelt next to her best friend as Tomoyo lay down on
 297.128 +her back, her stormy blue eyes slipping shut. Sakura got a little
 297.129 +more of the lotion in her hands before trying to decide where to
 297.130 +start. Watching Tomoyo lying in front of her with her eyes closed,
 297.131 +images of the dark haired woman’s sleeping form filled Sakura’s mind.
 297.132 +So peaceful and calm, as if all of her dreams were beautiful. Tomoyo
 297.133 +looked that way now, except for a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
 297.134 +She definitely looked happy. 
 297.135 +	Trying to lie perfectly still, Tomoyo felt her heart pounding
 297.136 +rapidly in her chest, ignoring her attempts to stay calm. She tried
 297.137 +to tell herself that this was just a kind act on Sakura’s part and
 297.138 +that it didn’t mean anything, but she didn’t care. She was too happy
 297.139 +to worry about such trivial things. It was Sakura, that’s all that
 297.140 +mattered. And she would be more than happy to have Sakura apply the
 297.141 +suntan lotion if it only meant she could feel her touch. For a
 297.142 +moment, Tomoyo felt like a teenager again, anxiously waiting during
 297.143 +some of the awkward moments she and Sakura had while growing up.
 297.144 +Though Sakura would never have known, there were some times when
 297.145 +Tomoyo had found herself equally as embarrassed as her brunette
 297.146 +friend. One time she had almost kissed Sakura during a festival. They
 297.147 +could only have been twelve or thirteen at the time. Sakura’s eyes
 297.148 +had been closed as they sat facing each other, a content look across
 297.149 +her features. Tomoyo’s heart had pounded much as it was now as she
 297.150 +watched that cute face for what had felt like an eternity. Her hand
 297.151 +finally going to Sakura’s cheek, she had drawn closer, caught more
 297.152 +deeply by Sakura than she could by any Syren’s call. Their lips
 297.153 +almost touching, Tomoyo had finally pulled away, blushing
 297.154 +considerably herself at what had almost happened. Sakura had smiled
 297.155 +when her eyes opened, unaware of the kiss she had almost received
 297.156 +from her best friend. And so on through the years as they grew up
 297.157 +together, Tomoyo’s love for Sakura barely hidden. And now she was
 297.158 +once again nearly overcome by the surge of emotions the Cardmistress
 297.159 +always managed to lure out of her. She idly wondered if Sakura could
 297.160 +see her beating heart or feel the heat of her blush. She had to ask
 297.161 +herself if Sakura had even the slightest idea of how even these
 297.162 +simple little moments with her were like pieces of heaven. 
 297.163 +	Reaching out slowly, Sakura began to massage the suntan lotion into
 297.164 +Tomoyo’s right shoulder, marveling at the exquisitely soft feeling of
 297.165 +the skin under her touch. Syaoran’s skin wasn’t nearly so soft and
 297.166 +enticing. Sakura shoved the thought away. Of course it wasn’t. This
 297.167 +was a completely different situation anyway. When she felt his skin,
 297.168 +it meant they were usually going to sleep or... She was glad that
 297.169 +Tomoyo still had her eyes closed as she slowly forced her blush away.
 297.170 +Her fingers followed along Tomoyo’s shoulder, trailing over the silky
 297.171 +smooth skin again and again as she rubbed the lotion in. After
 297.172 +watching Tomoyo’s elegant form for years, Sakura found it a pleasant
 297.173 +experience to actually feel the silken skin and soft contours of her
 297.174 +limbs. Her fingers slowly moved down the dark haired woman’s arm,
 297.175 +careful to cover every inch of her. A soft smile played at her lips
 297.176 +as she looked down at Tomoyo’s resting form. She wanted to gather up
 297.177 +the other woman in her arms and hold her tightly, just to enjoy her
 297.178 +presence as much as she could. That lost and lonely feeling that had
 297.179 +enveloped her for the past several months had all but disappeared
 297.180 +since the dark haired woman’s arrival. Tomoyo brought out feelings in
 297.181 +her heart that she thought had faded away since her arrival in Hong
 297.182 +Kong. Being with her again was like the sweetest dream imaginable.
 297.183 +Sakura’s hand finally stopped at Tomoyo’s. She merely held onto it
 297.184 +for a long moment. Tomoyo’s hand turned in her grasp, gently clasping
 297.185 +Sakura’s hand. Sakura smiled again as the surprise wore off. She felt
 297.186 +Tomoyo’s thumb slowly rubbing her palm. Watching Tomoyo with her own
 297.187 +heart tangled in a web of confusion, Sakura tried to decide what to
 297.188 +say. Once again, her mind returned to something she felt ashamed of
 297.189 +for hoping. Could Tomoyo love someone else? There had to be someone
 297.190 +who could make her happy if her special person couldn’t know of her
 297.191 +feelings. But was that Sakura’s real reason behind wanting to know so
 297.192 +badly? She couldn’t possibly think that she could take all of
 297.193 +Tomoyo’s love. What a silly idea. She laughed off the thought, but it
 297.194 +stubbornly refused to leave her completely. She was getting jealous.
 297.195 +Tomoyo’s special person was the most important person to her. Sakura
 297.196 +had at one time held that spot, she knew. And Tomoyo’s special person
 297.197 +was hurting her, no less. It wasn’t fair that he could be her most
 297.198 +important person and cause her so much agony. “Tomoyo-chan? What type
 297.199 +of boys do you like?”
 297.200 +	Blinking in confusing, Tomoyo squinted in the bright light to catch
 297.201 +sight of Sakura, the beautiful brunette sitting by her side in the
 297.202 +cool ocean breeze. Her eyes closed again as the light got too bright
 297.203 +for her. “I don’t think I understand, Sakura-chan. There’s only one
 297.204 +person I’ve ever been in love with. I don’t think I could describe
 297.205 +any specific type. Because even someone similar to my special person
 297.206 +wouldn’t be able to take my heart from them.”
 297.207 +	Sakura considered this for a moment before nodding. That should be
 297.208 +answer enough. It wasn’t like she knew of any boys to try to set up
 297.209 +Tomoyo with anyway. Maybe Touya, but he was already with Yukito. But
 297.210 +the question still lingered in Sakura’s mind. “Un, I understand. You
 297.211 +must love him very much. But if you had a type of boy, what would it
 297.212 +be?” she asked curiously. Who could be deserving of Tomoyo’s
 297.213 +seemingly boundless love? What man could possibly be wonderful enough
 297.214 +for her?
 297.215 +	A melodious giggle escaped the ivory skinned woman as she lay next
 297.216 +to Sakura. One of Sakura’s letters came to mind as she finally
 297.217 +answered. “If I had a type of boy I liked, I would want a boy just
 297.218 +like Sakura-chan. I would want him to be cute and brave and very
 297.219 +energetic. He would have to be warm and very emotional. He would have
 297.220 +to be a little shy, too, because blushing is a very cute habit and
 297.221 +it’s always fun to embarrass Sakura-chan if it means I’ll get a blush
 297.222 +out of it. But even then, he would still want to make others happy,
 297.223 +wearing kawaii costumes or enduring me videotaping him even if he
 297.224 +thought it was strange.” Her smile grew as she moved her head towards
 297.225 +where she new Sakura to be, her dark hair fluttering softly in the
 297.226 +light breeze. “And even if he could be rather dense sometimes, I
 297.227 +would love him all the more for it, because he would be my cute
 297.228 +Sa...” Tomoyo trailed off for a moment, correcting herself. The last
 297.229 +few days had been extremely difficult on keeping up her masks. “The
 297.230 +boy I liked.”
 297.231 +	Sakura blushed yet again as she tried to make sense of Tomoyo’s
 297.232 +description. It didn’t exactly sound like the manliest of men. A boy
 297.233 +like her? Sakura couldn’t think of any boys like her. It was
 297.234 +extremely flattering of Tomoyo to say. The dream she had had months
 297.235 +ago tugged at her mind, an image of herself in boys clothes sharing
 297.236 +an intimate moment with Tomoyo seeming to fit with the dark haired
 297.237 +woman’s explanation. ‘If I were a boy, would I have married Tomoyo-
 297.238 +chan?’ Sakura asked herself. A crimson blush began to flare across
 297.239 +her cheeks as she imagined the idea, coming home to her gorgeous wife
 297.240 +every night, sharing her life with her enigmatic best friend. Her
 297.241 +heart began to beat faster in her chest. She almost felt dizzy as she
 297.242 +tried to get a grasp on her thoughts. She stood up a little shakily,
 297.243 +having finished with the suntan lotion during Tomoyo’s explanation.
 297.244 +“Thanks, Tomoyo-chan,” she got out less sure of herself than she
 297.245 +would have liked. She was still confused by all this. If she had been
 297.246 +born a boy, would Tomoyo be her bride right now? Would they be on
 297.247 +this beach as husband and wife instead of as best friends? “I think
 297.248 +I’m going to take a swim.” That would be nice. It would clear her
 297.249 +thoughts. Glancing back at Tomoyo sent another image through her
 297.250 +mind, the two of them in bed after a long day. Wait, she wasn’t a boy
 297.251 +in this one. “Hoe...” Yes, a swim would definitely help. She heard
 297.252 +Tomoyo sitting up behind her, pulling her camcorder out dutifully to
 297.253 +record the Cardmistress’s swimming. Sakura waved to her pale friend
 297.254 +as she reached the water’s edge. Tomoyo’s voice called out to Sakura
 297.255 +from years earlier when Sakura had asked why she didn’t videotape
 297.256 +more interesting things than the brunette. ‘There’s nothing more
 297.257 +interesting or prettier than Sakura-chan.’ Sakura felt a smile cross
 297.258 +her lips at the memory. Tomoyo was always so sweet about things like
 297.259 +that. She decided that that was the reason she let Tomoyo videotape
 297.260 +her. Not because she felt she had to. But because Tomoyo was always
 297.261 +so enthusiastic about it and honestly believed that she was the best
 297.262 +thing to videotape. Now, that thought that had long ago confused her
 297.263 +so utterly sent a small thrill through her. 
 297.264 +	Watching from the beach blanket, Tomoyo zoomed in with her
 297.265 +camcorder. Sakura seemed to lose whatever she had been thinking about
 297.266 +as she began to swim through the gentle waves. From experience,
 297.267 +Tomoyo knew that probably wouldn’t last long. Sakura often got
 297.268 +sidetracked by things, but it often caught back up with her. Like
 297.269 +when she used to be on cheerleading. A soft giggle joined the ocean
 297.270 +breeze as she kept the camcorder trained on Sakura. She hoped that
 297.271 +Sakura still occasionally got sidetracked while teaching her
 297.272 +cheerleading club. It would be nice for them to see her like that,
 297.273 +even if it did mean flying pompoms. Two beautiful pink dolphins leapt
 297.274 +into the air some distance behind Sakura. The wonderful creatures
 297.275 +were new to Tomoyo. “They must live in Hong Kong. Just like Sakura-
 297.276 +chan. Hong Kong has some cute residents.” Her free hand went to her
 297.277 +cheek as she continued to watch her best friend in the lapping waves.
 297.278 +“Kawaii...”
 297.279 +	“Tomoyo-chan!! Come swim with me, Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura yelled from
 297.280 +waist deep in the water. She had come back closer to shore after
 297.281 +thoroughly drenching herself in the ocean. Now that she was thinking
 297.282 +more clearly, she knew that she would be much happier to be spending
 297.283 +her time at the beach with Tomoyo than swimming alone. 
 297.284 +	Putting away her camcorder, Tomoyo quickly walked across the hot
 297.285 +sand to meet up with the energetically waving brunette. The cool
 297.286 +water felt nice against her feet after the hot walk. She moved her
 297.287 +toes around in the water, enjoying the soothing feeling on her pale
 297.288 +skin as she drew closer to Sakura, her dark bathing suit clinging to
 297.289 +her as it got wet. "I would love to swim with you, Sakura-chan, but I
 297.290 +never learned how. I can watch you from here, though. As long as I
 297.291 +don’t go too deep, I’ll be fine.” She smiled at the other woman. She
 297.292 +was happy to get a closer vantage point, even if it did mean leaving
 297.293 +her camcorder behind. Being close to Sakura seemed more important
 297.294 +than getting the other woman alone on video. It surprised Tomoyo at
 297.295 +how little she had actually videotaped of her visit. It wasn’t for
 297.296 +lack of wanting to. She still loved catching the Cardmistress on
 297.297 +video. But rather, it was that she wasn’t behind the camera lens as
 297.298 +much during her trip. She had always managed to videotape Sakura
 297.299 +while she was doing other things, but now she was busy doing things
 297.300 +with Sakura. Now that she thought about it, she had expected to
 297.301 +videotape Sakura with Syaoran during her trip, once again a
 297.302 +background character in her own life. But Sakura hadn’t allowed that,
 297.303 +dragging her out from behind the camera’s lens and into what was
 297.304 +happening. So even if she didn’t have much videotape of this visit
 297.305 +(which she would still pour over what little she had religiously), it
 297.306 +was hardly a waste. It meant that she would have to hold certain
 297.307 +lovely events solely as memories, but that was more than enough for
 297.308 +the experiences. But still, a videotape of the kiss had to be worth a
 297.309 +king’s ransom...
 297.310 +	“Oh, that’s right.” Sakura frowned, disappointed. Tomoyo had never
 297.311 +learned to swim and apparently she hadn’t gotten around to it anytime
 297.312 +recently. Though her lack of ability to swim hadn’t stopped her from
 297.313 +trying to jump into a lake after Sakura when she had been tricked by
 297.314 +Illusion, Kero had later told her. She had been surprised that Tomoyo
 297.315 +was so ready to risk her life for her, even thought she very well
 297.316 +could have died. If Yukito hadn’t happened along, they both could
 297.317 +have died. A shiver went through her at the thought, but she quickly
 297.318 +suppressed it, imagining it as nothing more than the breeze. Her
 297.319 +frown deepened. She had really wanted to go out swimming with her,
 297.320 +not to leave her near the beach. But just because Tomoyo couldn’t
 297.321 +swim didn’t mean they couldn’t still go together. A smile replaced
 297.322 +her frown quickly. “I can take you with me. It might be a little
 297.323 +scary, but I promise that I’ll hold on real tight.”
 297.324 +	“That sounds wonderful, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo’s soft voice said
 297.325 +happily. It sounded like a great idea to her. Instead of only
 297.326 +watching Sakura swimming from a distance, she could actually be apart
 297.327 +of it. Sakura’s arms went around her waist, holding her close. Tomoyo
 297.328 +sighed happily in the near lover’s embrace and wrapped her own arms
 297.329 +around Sakura. As Sakura began to swim with the added weight, Tomoyo
 297.330 +could feel the sandy floor drop away from her. “Sakura-chan is a very
 297.331 +strong swimmer,” Tomoyo remarked enthusiastically, still holding on
 297.332 +tightly. It wasn’t out of fear that she held on. She knew that Sakura
 297.333 +would hold on to her. It was because she just wanted to be near her. 
 297.334 +	Sakura pushed further out into the water, it’s gentle caress
 297.335 +passing over the two women. Tomoyo’s heartbeat felt steady and calm
 297.336 +against her chest, her hands firmly holding onto her, but not
 297.337 +clutching at all. The pale woman wasn’t afraid in the least. She had
 297.338 +no more fear of drowning here than she had on the beach. The thought
 297.339 +surprised Sakura. She had expected something, but Tomoyo seemed
 297.340 +completely peaceful, happy to be out there with her. Another
 297.341 +statement of Tomoyo’s rang in her ears. ‘I knew you would save me.’
 297.342 +That belief had never wavered during the years. Tomoyo still held on
 297.343 +with the same faith she had all those years ago. ‘She’s not scared
 297.344 +because she has faith in me,’ Sakura thought to herself in sudden
 297.345 +realization. She had the thought that if she were holding onto Tomoyo
 297.346 +from above some ledge that Tomoyo’s attitude would be much the same.
 297.347 +There simply wasn’t anything for her to be afraid of because they
 297.348 +were together. Sakura held Tomoyo closer, hugging her as they swam.
 297.349 +It was amazing that she could still have that much faith after all of
 297.350 +those years. Tomoyo’s gentle form against her was a testament to her
 297.351 +belief in the Cardmistress. Sakura had never grasped the full extent
 297.352 +of that faith in her until now.  She swam deeper, but Tomoyo’s
 297.353 +heartbeat didn’t flutter. It amazed Sakura that the dark haired girl
 297.354 +could feel so safe in her arms. ‘I knew you would save me,’ the words
 297.355 +echoed again. Did she deserve that unwavering faith? Tomoyo was still
 297.356 +lonely, her love bound in a cage. ‘I’ll make things all right, Tomoyo-
 297.357 +chan. I will save you. I promise,’ Sakura vowed to herself, before
 297.358 +letting the sweet feelings Tomoyo was projecting encompass her.
 297.359 +
 297.360 +
 297.361 +

   298.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   298.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-11.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   298.3 @@ -0,0 +1,650 @@
   298.4 +Dear Sakura
   298.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   298.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   298.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   298.8 +	 
   298.9 +“It’s beautiful, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo’s melodious voice said as they
  298.10 +both paused in front of the Jumbo restaurant. Her words were an
  298.11 +understatement to the surreal view of the floating restaurant ahead
  298.12 +of the two women. Water splashed around it as the many lights played
  298.13 +across Tomoyo’s pale skin. 
  298.14 +	“Hoe...” The sight before them was a pleasant surprise to Sakura as
  298.15 +well. She had been to a number of restaurants with Syaoran when they
  298.16 +had first come to Hong Kong, but this hadn’t been one of them. Which
  298.17 +was part of her decision to take Tomoyo to it now that it was her
  298.18 +last night in Hong Kong. That thought lay over her soul like a heavy
  298.19 +cloak, it’s weight almost unbearable. But she tried to force it off,
  298.20 +wanting to enjoy what little time they had left. She had wanted to
  298.21 +take Tomoyo out for dinner, just the two of them. A chance to be
  298.22 +alone together one last time. Now she was glad for her decision. The
  298.23 +restaurant looked majestic with the waves crashing around it. 
  298.24 +	Watching her spirited friend, Tomoyo smiled happily to herself. For
  298.25 +all of it’s splendor, the restaurant ahead of them was nothing in
  298.26 +comparison to Sakura. She was simply gorgeous in the beautiful blue
  298.27 +Chinese dress she was wearing. Her soft brunette hair framed her
  298.28 +pretty face perfectly, her expression still one of surprise.
  298.29 +Squeezing Sakura’s hand lightly, her eyes sparkled when she saw
  298.30 +Sakura turn to her. This was wonderful, standing with Sakura together
  298.31 +while they waited to be seated at a restaurant as if they were on
  298.32 +some sort of magical date. Only being able to have the whole thing on
  298.33 +videotape could make it any better. Or perhaps if it were a real
  298.34 +date... But Tomoyo was pleasantly thrilled just to be there with
  298.35 +Sakura on something that came close enough to a date for her liking. 
  298.36 +	Sakura found herself blushing slightly at the way Tomoyo was
  298.37 +looking at her. It was the same warm and loving expression that
  298.38 +Tomoyo had always given her when she had the dark haired woman’s full
  298.39 +attention. Which was more often than not. She averted her gaze after
  298.40 +a few seconds, once again busying herself with the beautiful
  298.41 +establishment in front of them. She wasn’t sure what she’d say if she
  298.42 +kept looking into those stormy blue eyes. They were almost hypnotic.
  298.43 +“Well, we better get going before they decide to give away our
  298.44 +seats.” Tomoyo agreed enthusiastically and the two finally entered
  298.45 +the restaurant. 
  298.46 +	
  298.47 +	True to its gorgeous exterior, the inside was just as exquisite.
  298.48 +And completely packed. For a while, Sakura worried that even with her
  298.49 +reservations she wouldn’t be able to get a table. But the Li family
  298.50 +was very important in Hong Kong, and Sakura Li was treated no
  298.51 +differently. Before too long, she and her dark haired best friend had
  298.52 +been seated and their orders taken. “Are you sure that’s all you
  298.53 +want, Tomoyo-chan? You can get more if you want,” Sakura said upon
  298.54 +realizing how little the pale woman had ordered. Then again, Tomoyo
  298.55 +had never eaten a considerable amount, her slim figure almost seeming
  298.56 +frail. 
  298.57 +	Tomoyo smiled politely and shook her head, her beautiful lavender
  298.58 +tresses swaying behind her. “No, I’m fine, Sakura-chan. I think I’m
  298.59 +still full from the banquet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much
  298.60 +food in one place before. Poor Kero-chan must have been very
  298.61 +disappointed not to be invited.” Both women giggled softly, the
  298.62 +tension fading away somewhat. This was Tomoyo’s last night in Hong
  298.63 +Kong and though neither woman had spoken it directly, it was
  298.64 +lingering unsaid between the two of them. This was their last chance
  298.65 +together, and Tomoyo still hadn’t decided how she should react to it.
  298.66 +Her initial decision about the whole trip had been to hide her
  298.67 +feelings for Sakura, to tone down her endless affection for the
  298.68 +brunette in fear that it would be unwelcome with her marriage. 
  298.69 +But Sakura had baffled her upon her arrival. It was like returning
  298.70 +to a loved one after years of absence. She could imagine it was
  298.71 +similar to when Syaoran had returned to Sakura. She had greeted
  298.72 +Tomoyo with such warmth and affection, staying nearby during the
  298.73 +trip, her love almost seeming to echo Tomoyo’s own. It was eerie and
  298.74 +not at all what she had expected, but it had grasped onto her heart
  298.75 +quickly and wouldn’t let go. Sakura had always been very loving with
  298.76 +her, but this went beyond all of her own expectations. It was almost
  298.77 +as if Sakura’s love mirrored her own. It rattled the locked cage of
  298.78 +her heart, drawing her love and adoration out from behind the masks
  298.79 +she had erected. Hiding her love from Sakura was impossible, she knew
  298.80 +that now. It was all she could do to keep from blatantly telling
  298.81 +Sakura of her feelings, something she knew would certainly be
  298.82 +disastrous. If Sakura knew how she felt, it would cause endless
  298.83 +turmoil for her marriage and their friendship. She simply couldn’t
  298.84 +allow that. Sakura’s happiness meant everything to her. But still, it
  298.85 +was almost impossible to deny the feelings she was getting from the
  298.86 +brunette, the way she had kissed back, the way she was acting. When
  298.87 +was the last time she had seen Sakura acting like this? With Yukito?
  298.88 +No, this didn’t have the same trappings of a crush that her behavior
  298.89 +with Yukito had indicated to Tomoyo early on. Which led up to some
  298.90 +very confusing conclusions for the dark haired designer. She was
  298.91 +having a much harder time telling herself that there was nothing
  298.92 +there. Looking into Sakura’s eyes, seeing those bright emerald orbs
  298.93 +looking back into hers, she could see something that both thrilled
  298.94 +and frightened her. 
  298.95 +There was something there that was growing inside Sakura. Just what
  298.96 +it was, Tomoyo was still left a little unsure. Her mind kept
  298.97 +returning to the kiss and moments before when Sakura had been holding
  298.98 +her. The one thing Tomoyo could be sure of was that she would soon
  298.99 +begin to disrupt Sakura’s life if she allowed these feelings of the
 298.100 +Cardmistress’s to continue. Sakura had a husband, a new life in Hong
 298.101 +Kong. Tomoyo was an anchor tying her down to the past. Perhaps now
 298.102 +more than ever. She had wanted to come to Hong Kong as a way to help
 298.103 +Sakura let go of the past, but it seemed that she was making it
 298.104 +worse. It was painful being so near Sakura, loving her so completely
 298.105 +while knowing that she was still married to her true love. So close,
 298.106 +yet so far. Look, but don’t touch. It felt as if she were an infinite
 298.107 +distance away from Sakura at times when they were only feet apart.
 298.108 +But her love could travel that distance. Even if Sakura couldn’t see
 298.109 +it. Was Syaoran really Sakura’s true love? The dark haired woman had
 298.110 +been so intent on finding the person that could make Sakura happy
 298.111 +that she had truly believed it was Syaoran. Now she wasn’t so sure.
 298.112 +After Ieran’s words and her time spent with Sakura, she couldn’t be
 298.113 +so certain that he was anymore. But it was too late for any of that.
 298.114 +He had to be the one for Sakura. He had to. And Tomoyo could do
 298.115 +nothing but disrupt that, tearing apart Sakura’s happiness by staying
 298.116 +with her. 
 298.117 +That was why she had decided late the night before, through many
 298.118 +tears and much heartache, that this was goodbye. Not that she could
 298.119 +come out and tell Sakura that, of course. Or that she would even act
 298.120 +on it all at once. No, this was their last time together. She would
 298.121 +never return to Hong Kong after this trip. She was now more sure than
 298.122 +ever that the only way to keep Sakura truly happy was to fade out of
 298.123 +her life. Staying would be too painful for the brunette as her
 298.124 +feelings became more confusing and as Tomoyo remained an ever present
 298.125 +reminder of her past. She had to admit that part of her reasoning was
 298.126 +that she couldn’t handle it herself. After being so close to Sakura,
 298.127 +feeling her heart in a new way and sharing her first kiss with her
 298.128 +best friend, it was too painful to remain in her life knowing that
 298.129 +she was no longer necessary to it. So she would fade away. Slowly at
 298.130 +first, until she could slip out of Sakura’s life. By then she would
 298.131 +be nothing more than a memory in Sakura’s happy life. A memory that
 298.132 +would not be missed. 
 298.133 +Smiling her sweet, happy smile that she always managed to keep up
 298.134 +for Sakura's sake, she managed to smile a little brighter at the
 298.135 +brunette. She wanted to leave on a happy note. A glorious note. One
 298.136 +that would leave Sakura with good memories of her friend’s visit. So
 298.137 +she would not let her pained feelings inside get a foothold again
 298.138 +like she had the night of the kiss. No, this time she would be all
 298.139 +smiles for Sakura. She would be everything for Sakura. Because she
 298.140 +loved her. 
 298.141 +Returning Tomoyo’s smile, Sakura brushed back a lock of hair from
 298.142 +her eyes. The restaurant was gorgeous. She must have done more
 298.143 +sightseeing in her time during Tomoyo’s visit than she had during her
 298.144 +entire time prior in Hong Kong. Oh, the wonderful things she had
 298.145 +seen! It was truly a beautiful city. But the best part had been that
 298.146 +she had been able to see it with her best friend. Such things were
 298.147 +always infinitely more amazing when you could experience them with
 298.148 +someone important to you. “It was a lot of fun, Tomoyo-chan. Thank
 298.149 +you for everything." The light on Tomoyo almost made her look like a
 298.150 +part of the surreal design of the restaurant, adding to its beauty. 
 298.151 +Tomoyo looked a little surprised, something she rarely was. Shaking
 298.152 +her head, she quickly came back to the present, tilting her head to
 298.153 +the side. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Sakura-chan. I
 298.154 +had a lovely time. I always have fun when I’m with Sakura-chan. And
 298.155 +anything is a great excuse to spend more time with you. I just like
 298.156 +to be around you.” 
 298.157 +They were words that Sakura had heard thousands of times before by
 298.158 +this very same woman, but all the same they brought an embarrassed
 298.159 +blush to the brunette’s cheeks. Most likely, she thought, because she
 298.160 +knew they were absolutely true on Tomoyo’s behalf. The tone in her
 298.161 +soft, gentle voice sent a trill through Sakura’s mind. There was so
 298.162 +much underlying it, so much that she never truly understood yet
 298.163 +always made her happy to hear. But what caught her attention was
 298.164 +something else entirely. Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes once again looked
 298.165 +frozen, out of place with the beautiful smile on her face. It was as
 298.166 +if those shining windows had been boarded up to hide something deep
 298.167 +inside. Sakura shook her head. It must be her mind playing tricks on
 298.168 +her. Now that Tomoyo was leaving, she felt a deep well of sadness
 298.169 +inside. She didn’t want Tomoyo to leave. Her presence had made the
 298.170 +past few days some of the happiest in Sakura’s life. But knowing that
 298.171 +it was all coming to an end made it almost impossible to enjoy what
 298.172 +little time they had left together. She didn’t know what to do. The
 298.173 +Cardmistress felt so lost and alone now that Tomoyo would be going
 298.174 +back to Tomoeda. She needed Tomoyo. She needed to see her smiling
 298.175 +face, to hear her loving voice, to feel her gentle embrace, to feel
 298.176 +those soft lips... Sakura shook her head, trying to concentrate. She
 298.177 +wanted Tomoyo to stay, to know that her best friend would always be
 298.178 +there. But she had her own life back home. Like she had said, they
 298.179 +had gone down different roads now. This was merely a brief detour. 
 298.180 +The waitress finally arrived with their food, interrupting both
 298.181 +women from their thoughts. “It looks delicious, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo
 298.182 +took a small bite of her meal before looking back to Sakura. “Oishi,”
 298.183 +she said, smiling at the brunette. Despite all of Hong Kong’s
 298.184 +elegance and beauty, Sakura still stood out amongst all of it for
 298.185 +Tomoyo. It all paled in comparison to the young Japanese bride that
 298.186 +Tomoyo was lucky enough to have the pleasure of calling her best
 298.187 +friend. Even sitting across from her with a slightly quizzical look
 298.188 +as she tasted a certain cuisine for the first time, she was utterly
 298.189 +gorgeous. Tomoyo smiled brighter as she watched Sakura take a sip of
 298.190 +her meal. “You can have some of mine if you’d like, Sakura-chan,” the
 298.191 +dark haired girl offered. 
 298.192 +Sakura smiled happily at the offer. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan! Next time
 298.193 +I’ll be a little more careful about what I order. It sounded like a
 298.194 +good thing.” Her smile turned sheepish as she looked back at her own
 298.195 +meal before meeting gazes with Tomoyo again. To her surprise, Tomoyo
 298.196 +brought her own chopsticks up to Sakura’s mouth. The brunette blinked
 298.197 +for a second before opening her mouth. With delicate precision,
 298.198 +Tomoyo fed her the bite of food. 
 298.199 +“Sakura-chan looks so cute when she’s being fed,” Tomoyo said simply
 298.200 +as she took another bite up to Sakura’s mouth. Her eyes seemed to
 298.201 +sparkle as she watched the Cardmistress intently, earlier thoughts
 298.202 +lost in her current state of bliss that being near Sakura always
 298.203 +managed to affect her with. Sakura’s blush faded slowly as she
 298.204 +continued to eat from Tomoyo’s chopsticks. The two sat in relative
 298.205 +silence, but there wasn’t anything awkward about it. It was pleasant
 298.206 +and warm, drowning out the noise that all the other patrons were
 298.207 +making. Before long, Tomoyo had fed Sakura all of her plate. 
 298.208 +Sitting back, Sakura finally realized that she had been leaning
 298.209 +forward the entire time. No doubt for Tomoyo to feed her. She felt
 298.210 +giddy and bubbly, excited and content all at once. This was
 298.211 +wonderful, being here with Tomoyo, spending their time together this
 298.212 +way. It felt like they had never been apart. Like it had always been
 298.213 +this way, the two of them. Tomoyo had always been there for her, but
 298.214 +it felt nice to be alone with her, to be able to concentrate solely
 298.215 +on the toy designer for once. On the cute little things she did and
 298.216 +said. On the feelings that coursed through her at just being there
 298.217 +with her. It was nice to be going out to dinner with her. It was
 298.218 +almost like her dates with Syaoran. But it was so different in many
 298.219 +aspects. There wasn’t that embarrassing uneasiness that usually went
 298.220 +along with her dates or the unsteady silence as she tried to come up
 298.221 +with what to say. It just didn’t matter. She didn’t have to say
 298.222 +anything at all and it was perfectly all right. Tomoyo’s eyes seemed
 298.223 +to be able to read her perfectly. It was a wonderful sensation. And
 298.224 +after all of Tomoyo’s trip, it was difficult to think of anything to
 298.225 +say that didn’t have to do with their parting soon. So it was a
 298.226 +blessing to be able to just cherish their time together. The two
 298.227 +women chatted pleasantly about certain things, none of any great
 298.228 +significance. It was enough to know that the other was there.
 298.229 +After a brief silence, Sakura looked down, struggling to put her
 298.230 +feelings into words. Being with Tomoyo had such a tremendous affect
 298.231 +on her, as she had recently been aware of, but the flurry of emotions
 298.232 +was difficult to pin down. She knew they were of love. A strong and
 298.233 +powerful love that swept her off her feet and nearly pulled her along
 298.234 +in the cyclone of her feelings. But such a love for her best friend
 298.235 +seemed so strange, that it would be so much more encompassing than
 298.236 +even her love for her husband. It left her dizzy in its wake, unsure
 298.237 +of what to say to the beautiful lavender haired woman. The love that
 298.238 +she experienced from Tomoyo felt equally as powerful, though it
 298.239 +seemed to have much more direction than Sakura’s own confused
 298.240 +feelings. It was all encompassing yet direct at the same time, never
 298.241 +leaving her whenever Tomoyo was present. In all that the pale woman
 298.242 +did, Sakura could feel that same love that Tomoyo so delicately took
 298.243 +care of. Her body shuddered lightly at even the feel of Tomoyo’s hand
 298.244 +encompassing her own on the table, the fingers slowly entwining with
 298.245 +her own. “Tomoyo-chan,” she began, nervously. “When I’m with you,
 298.246 +I... Sometimes I feel like my heart’s pounding in my chest and I feel
 298.247 +breathless like I’ve been running for miles even though I’ve been
 298.248 +standing still. I feel like... Like there’s magic in the air, like
 298.249 +it’s in everything that you touch. I feel so happy when we’re
 298.250 +together. Sometimes I feel dizzy, like it’s too much. But then I know
 298.251 +that you’ll catch me if I fall. So I’m never afraid. Even when it
 298.252 +feels like my heart will burst from too much inside, it just seems to
 298.253 +grow and grow. I don’t know how to talk to Syaoran-chan about any of
 298.254 +this. But I guess that’s okay. I’ve heard you say things like this
 298.255 +before and I think I’m starting to understand them. Not all of it,
 298.256 +but some. I just... I’m really glad you’re here.” 
 298.257 +Tomoyo watched Sakura for a long moment, playing her words over and
 298.258 +over again in her head. Sakura almost looked like a scared puppy,
 298.259 +unsure of how Tomoyo would react. Tomoyo was still a little surprised
 298.260 +herself. The brunette’s words were so earnest, so heartfelt, that
 298.261 +Tomoyo was having difficulty writing off the feelings Sakura had
 298.262 +expressed. A soft smile crossed her lips. Bringing Sakura’s hand up,
 298.263 +she kissed it softly, delicately. “Sakura-chan, you always make me
 298.264 +feel very special. You really don’t know how much happiness you have
 298.265 +given me over the years. Hearing you say that makes me very glad for
 298.266 +the time we’ve been able to spend together. You’re very important to
 298.267 +me, Sakura-chan. Hearing what’s in your precious heart is a thrill to
 298.268 +me because I’ve always wanted to know that it was beating happily. It
 298.269 +sounds like Sakura-chan’s heart is very much like mine.”
 298.270 +“But, Tomoyo-chan, I don’t want your heart to burst from all of that
 298.271 +love locked up inside of you. Please tell me who has the key. I know
 298.272 +that your love for your special someone must be very strong. I don’t
 298.273 +know how you can handle it,” Sakura shook her head sadly, her hand
 298.274 +still holding onto Tomoyo’s as their eyes met from across the table.
 298.275 +Tomoyo just smiled, perhaps a little sadly. Slowly standing up, she
 298.276 +brought Sakura up with her. Dinner was done and there was no reason
 298.277 +to stay. “Sometimes I wonder if the key is still out there, Sakura-
 298.278 +chan. Or maybe it’s already been lost. But it doesn’t matter. The
 298.279 +feelings inside of you are happy, aren’t they, Sakura-chan? So are
 298.280 +mine. Because when I close my eyes, my special someone is smiling.
 298.281 +And it is the most beautiful, shining smile that I have ever seen.”
 298.282 +Her eyes never left Sakura as she stood close to the Cardmistress,
 298.283 +their hands held. Yes, Sakura’s smile was like the gentle touch of
 298.284 +angels. It would forever soothe her aching heart as long as she knew
 298.285 +it was there. 
 298.286 +Sakura sighed, but she quickly brightened visibly. “Would you like
 298.287 +to dance, Tomoyo-chan? I think Fanren-chan mentioned a place nearby
 298.288 +before we left. I remember you said that you liked to dance, even if
 298.289 +you haven’t in a long time. And I know you can’t with your special
 298.290 +person, but I’d still be happy to dance with you.”
 298.291 +A soft giggle came from Tomoyo as she nodded. “I would love to dance
 298.292 +with you, Sakura-chan. More than anything. I can’t think of a better
 298.293 +way to end the night.” With that, the two made their way quickly out
 298.294 +of the restaurant towards a night of dancing. 
 298.295 +
 298.296 +The two woman glided across the slightly crowded floor to
 298.297 +romantically slow music playing all around them. Tomoyo was currently
 298.298 +leading the pair as they began a new dance. Her long, lavender hair
 298.299 +swayed around her, moving along with Tomoyo’s own elegant movements.
 298.300 +The rest of the dancers hardly seemed to exist for the two friends.
 298.301 +How long they had been there remained a mystery, but it didn’t
 298.302 +matter. Acknowledging the time would be a step closer to ending the
 298.303 +night, and neither was in any hurry for that. So instead they
 298.304 +continued to dance, entangled in the almost hypnotic quality the
 298.305 +music had as it kept them dancing together. 
 298.306 +Sakura was not an accomplished dancer by any means, but she had
 298.307 +certainly enjoyed whatever chances she had to do so, whether that be
 298.308 +with Flower or with her husband. But never had she caught herself
 298.309 +enjoying it as much as she did now, Tomoyo’s fluid grace seeming to
 298.310 +pull her in further and further. Sakura was much more athletic, but
 298.311 +Tomoyo still had a certain elegance to her that always seemed to
 298.312 +shine through in such things, whether it be art or singing or even
 298.313 +editing videotape. And like everything else, Sakura found herself
 298.314 +being dragged along by Tomoyo’s sweet albeit persistent nature. She
 298.315 +gave herself up to it, letting it lead where it would. She followed
 298.316 +along as Tomoyo continued to slow dance with her, wishing that the
 298.317 +song would continue on for just one more minute. That was all she
 298.318 +wanted. Just another minute.
 298.319 +Once again Tomoyo found herself wishing she had brought her
 298.320 +camcorder along for the night’s activities. This was perfect, dancing
 298.321 +along with Sakura as the night marched inexorably forward. She had
 298.322 +ignored any semblance of a clock, much happier with the seemingly
 298.323 +eternal moment they seemed trapped in together. The feel of Sakura
 298.324 +near her would linger in her mind long after it was gone, she knew.
 298.325 +Sakura’s sweet scent, the way she felt through the soft fabric of her
 298.326 +dress, the way her eyes sparkled in the dim light while they danced,
 298.327 +it would all remain with her. But if only she could have it on
 298.328 +videotape! Even asking a complete stranger to videotape the two of
 298.329 +them sounded perfectly reasonable at the moment. Then she could watch
 298.330 +this tape of their date over and over again when she returned home.
 298.331 +Well, their almost date, anyway. But it was close enough. It
 298.332 +certainly felt more than romantic enough to the lavender haired girl
 298.333 +at any rate, who shifted to let Sakura lead as the next song began.
 298.334 +If she could have one wish, it would be to stop time here, to let
 298.335 +this moment stretch out for an eternity. She could think of no better
 298.336 +way to spend it than in Sakura’s arms, dancing happily with her.
 298.337 +Well, perhaps she could think of several others, but they would
 298.338 +require far more than a simple wish. For the time being, Tomoyo would
 298.339 +be quite content if the music would just roll on forever, allowing
 298.340 +her all of that time to be with her beloved. She enjoyed the dancing
 298.341 +immensely. It afforded her the chance to not think about anything.
 298.342 +Her thoughts were far from the forefront of her mind, leaving only
 298.343 +her feelings and Sakura to take up her full attention. There were no
 298.344 +words or questions spinning through her mind now. It was only love
 298.345 +and joy and the rhythmic moves of dancing as she and Sakura carried
 298.346 +on.
 298.347 +How long had they been dancing? Sakura had no idea anymore. Nor did
 298.348 +she care. The night had been wonderful. Dancing had been a sweet
 298.349 +icing on the cake. The Cardmistress smiled to herself as Tomoyo
 298.350 +rested her head on her shoulder, their bodies swaying lightly
 298.351 +together to the music. Bringing her hand up, Sakura’s fingers lightly
 298.352 +brushed through the silken strands, feeling them slip between her
 298.353 +fingers. Tomoyo sighed softly against her. It was a happy, contented
 298.354 +sound. Sakura’s heart swelled to hear it and she held on tighter to
 298.355 +Tomoyo, still moving lightly as the music continued playing. After a
 298.356 +brief moment’s hesitation, Sakura brushed some of the dark hair away
 298.357 +from one of Tomoyo’s ears. “Tomoyo-chan, I don’t want you to be
 298.358 +lonely. You’re so pretty, and kind, and gentle, and loving. You just
 298.359 +can’t be alone. I love you too much to see you alone.”
 298.360 +“I’m not lonely when I’m with you,” Tomoyo replied softly, snuggling
 298.361 +closer against Sakura, her head shifting on the brunette’s shoulder.
 298.362 +“When I’m with you, nothing else seems to matter. I’m just so happy
 298.363 +that I can be with Sakura-chan that everything else fades into the
 298.364 +background. I’m very pleased that you think of me so highly. Hearing
 298.365 +you say things like that makes my heart beat faster. I love you,
 298.366 +Sakura-chan,” she whispered at last, closing her eyes. Today had been
 298.367 +an emotional rollercoaster. No, the entire trip had been. But little
 298.368 +moments like this revitalized her, reminding her in a gentle voice
 298.369 +that this was exactly why she loved Sakura. 
 298.370 +	“I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura whispered in return, holding
 298.371 +onto Tomoyo tightly. She didn’t want to let her go. She never wanted
 298.372 +to let her go. Never again. It didn’t feel right to be without her.
 298.373 +She needed Tomoyo. This feeling, this peaceful feeling that
 298.374 +encompassed her body and soul was missing whenever Tomoyo was gone.
 298.375 +Her heart begged for the toy designer to stay, but she dared not ask
 298.376 +that of her. She couldn’t.
 298.377 +	Tomoyo giggled again, her voice softly muffled against Sakura’s
 298.378 +shoulder. Her dark hair was spilt over Sakura and herself now, her
 298.379 +body leaning against Sakura’s. ‘Oh, how I wish that were true. I
 298.380 +would give anything to know that with all certainty. I would live my
 298.381 +entire life to make you happy, Sakura-chan. I love you so much,’ she
 298.382 +thought to herself. Aloud, she said, “I still think my love and your
 298.383 +love are different things, Sakura-chan.” This time she left off the
 298.384 +offer to explain when she was older. No, there would be no
 298.385 +explanation, she had decided. It would only make things more
 298.386 +difficult for Sakura. And for herself. Her love was best kept hidden.
 298.387 +Even if it did hurt terribly sometimes. But that’s why she would
 298.388 +always treasure moments like these.
 298.389 +	“How can you be sure?” Sakura asked, her voice questioning. She
 298.390 +could remember Tomoyo saying that before, but for some reason it was
 298.391 +troubling her. Why would their love be any different? Why wouldn’t it
 298.392 +be the same? She almost felt surrounded by the feelings in her heart,
 298.393 +all of them attached like strings to the woman in her arms.
 298.394 +	“I’m not so sure sometimes,” Tomoyo whispered back quietly. Her
 298.395 +head slowly pulled off of Sakura’s shoulder, her stormy blue eyes
 298.396 +shimmering as they met Sakura’s jade orbs. Her fingers gently cupped
 298.397 +Sakura’s chin as a phantom of a smile played across her lips. Her
 298.398 +whole body ached for the feel of those lips just one more time. For
 298.399 +that passionate embrace, for the flood of emotions she had received
 298.400 +from Sakura. But her fingers slowly slipped away, falling back to her
 298.401 +side. Her head rested once again on Sakura’s shoulder. No, if she was
 298.402 +going to fade away, then that memory would be what would burn in her
 298.403 +heart forevermore. She would savor that one kiss always. She closed
 298.404 +her eyes once more and lost herself in Sakura’s warm embrace.
 298.405 +	Sakura held her gently, lovingly. She still didn’t understand what
 298.406 +the dark haired woman had meant by all that, but right now she didn’t
 298.407 +feel like asking her. She just wanted to hold her until the morning
 298.408 +came. Maybe it never would. Maybe if she held on tight enough, Tomoyo
 298.409 +would never have to leave her side again. After Tomoyo’s visit,
 298.410 +returning to life without the gentle presence of the toy designer was
 298.411 +utterly inconceivable. Sakura couldn’t imagine life without her, not
 298.412 +knowing she was right there, not being able to be with her. Now that
 298.413 +she had seen Tomoyo again, she knew what it was that had been missing
 298.414 +since she had moved to Hong Kong. Not her family or friends, although
 298.415 +she missed them dearly. But Tomoyo herself. The feelings inside her
 298.416 +that expanded in joy when they were together, that felt so cold and
 298.417 +alone when they were apart, told her this much. Even if she couldn’t
 298.418 +quite name it, she knew it to be true. 
 298.419 +	A feeling welled up in Sakura’s anxious heart that she could only
 298.420 +vaguely remember feeling quite some time ago. It was a devastating
 298.421 +mix of pain, fear, abandonment, and loss all bundled up inside of
 298.422 +her. These weren’t the feelings she’d had when Syaoran had left,
 298.423 +though she had missed him terribly. These were the feelings she could
 298.424 +only remember as if from a dream when her mother had been taken away
 298.425 +from her. She had only been three years old at the time, still a
 298.426 +young child. But the feelings were as potent as the day she had found
 298.427 +out what had happened to her mother. It tore at her heart with a
 298.428 +vicious ferocity, like some caged beast that had finally escaped.
 298.429 +Sharp claws raked at her soul as tears begin to drip down her cheeks.
 298.430 +She held onto Tomoyo tighter, her body shaking ever so slightly. Why
 298.431 +was she feeling this way? It wasn’t like Tomoyo was going away for
 298.432 +good. She would see her again. They would still write letters and
 298.433 +talk on the phone. They would still be best friends forever. But some
 298.434 +of what Tomoyo said had been haunting her, refusing to completely
 298.435 +leave. Thoughts of an aching void in her life where Tomoyo had once
 298.436 +been were teasing her mind. She didn’t want the morning to come. It
 298.437 +would come and snatch Tomoyo away from her like the talons of some
 298.438 +ancient dragon. And she would be left alone. Yes, she would have her
 298.439 +prince. But was that enough? She felt like her heart was being torn
 298.440 +asunder in her chest. Choked sobs escaped her lips as she grasped
 298.441 +desperately onto her pale friend. 
 298.442 +	A warm tear dropped down onto Tomoyo’s neck, startling her out of
 298.443 +the daze she had fallen into. Holding onto Sakura, swaying in the
 298.444 +music had brought time to a standstill. There was no tomorrow. There
 298.445 +was no yesterday. There was only now. A bright spot in her life that
 298.446 +she would forever hold dear the same as she held onto Sakura at that
 298.447 +very moment. But Sakura’s shaky sobs quickly brought her back to the
 298.448 +slightly crowded dance floor. She was instantly concerned, but part
 298.449 +of her knew the problem already. This was it. This was their
 298.450 +farewell. Sakura didn’t know it, but this was the last time they
 298.451 +would ever see each other. Sakura was a very emotional woman. Parting
 298.452 +must be hell for her. Tomoyo knew how painful it was. She couldn’t
 298.453 +bear the thought of being away from Sakura anymore than she could
 298.454 +quit breathing. She needed Sakura. All of her. She was the lifeblood
 298.455 +of Tomoyo’s life. But at the same time, she knew that she had to go.
 298.456 +Oh, she could always pack up and move to Hong Kong. Her mother
 298.457 +wouldn’t be happy about it, but it would be easy enough. She could
 298.458 +stay nearby and visit Sakura every day. But then she would be
 298.459 +dangerously close to throwing away all that she had worked for to
 298.460 +make Sakura happy. That would risk damaging her marriage to Syaoran
 298.461 +if Tomoyo got too involved and also could ruin their friendship if
 298.462 +things progressed any further than they already had. She couldn’t
 298.463 +risk Sakura’s happiness for her own selfishness. And she also knew
 298.464 +that being so close to Sakura, watching her from such a short
 298.465 +distance, her heart pounding every second for her, it would kill her.
 298.466 +Just as surely as any knife’s blade. That pain would be even worse
 298.467 +than never seeing Sakura again. At least if she left, she knew that
 298.468 +Sakura’s happiness would be safe and that she would always have her
 298.469 +memories. She could live with that. She had to. But staying would be
 298.470 +a form of exquisite torture, slowly tugging and battering the cage in
 298.471 +her heart. “Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo whispered softly, her lithe
 298.472 +fingers stroking the other woman’s back through the thin fabric of
 298.473 +her dress. Her head lifted off of Sakura’s shoulder, her eyes meeting
 298.474 +Sakura’s as she stood pressed against the Cardmistress. Gentle
 298.475 +fingers went up over Sakura’s shoulders, up her neck, and along her
 298.476 +cheeks, wiping away Sakura’s warm tears. Tomoyo’s kind, loving gaze
 298.477 +penetrated Sakura’s emerald green eyes as she continued to wipe her
 298.478 +tears away. “Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. No matter how far apart
 298.479 +we are, I’ll always be with you. My heart will always be tied to
 298.480 +yours.”
 298.481 + The last of her strength crumbling away from her, Sakura clutched
 298.482 +onto Tomoyo, sobbing quietly against her. Her heart cried out to her,
 298.483 +those feelings returning stronger, more urgent, but she couldn’t make
 298.484 +them out. She didn’t understand. It was like her heart was speaking
 298.485 +another language. All she knew was that she didn’t want Tomoyo to go
 298.486 +away. The world would be too dark a place. Too bland. Too real.
 298.487 +Tomoyo added a dreamlike quality to life, one that always enveloped
 298.488 +Sakura. Her days would be too normal without Tomoyo’s eccentric
 298.489 +activities and her embarrassing remarks. She would be too weak
 298.490 +without Tomoyo’s constant affection and support. She had Syaoran to
 298.491 +lean on, but Tomoyo made that unnecessary. She brought up a strength
 298.492 +and courage inside Sakura that wasn’t there without her. The thought
 298.493 +of never seeing Tomoyo again, disappearing from her life as her
 298.494 +mother had so long ago again pierced the chaos inside of her. “Please
 298.495 +don’t ever leave me, Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura sobbed. 
 298.496 +Tomoyo froze at Sakura’s words, unable to do much more than hold
 298.497 +onto the grief-stricken Cardmistress. It was as if Sakura had heard
 298.498 +her thoughts from earlier that night. Words escaped Tomoyo, eluding
 298.499 +her tongue as she tried desperately to think. She had never been able
 298.500 +to lie to Sakura. It was nearly impossible to her. She could omit
 298.501 +details or hide the truth if she thought it would hurt Sakura, but
 298.502 +she could never bring herself to lie to the brunette. ‘Sakura-chan,
 298.503 +it’s for the best. I have to leave. I have to fade out of your life,’
 298.504 +she thought to herself, not daring to speak the words lest they cause
 298.505 +even more pain for either of them. Her fingers brushed away still
 298.506 +more tears that fell past Sakura’s emerald eyes before pushing away
 298.507 +some of Sakura’s hair. The lavender haired woman’s voice was soft and
 298.508 +comforting as she gazed deeply into Sakura’s tear stained eyes.
 298.509 +“Sakura-chan, please don’t cry. It makes me feel bad to see you so
 298.510 +sad. I promise that I’ll always hold you close to my heart. Wherever
 298.511 +I am and wherever you are, I’ll always see Sakura-chan when I close
 298.512 +my eyes.” Her voice dropped to a low whisper as she continued, her
 298.513 +fingers gently stroking through Sakura’s hair. Her heart ached at the
 298.514 +sight of Sakura’s tear streaked face. She wanted to take all of that
 298.515 +pain in Sakura’s eyes and take it for herself. Seeing Sakura in pain
 298.516 +hurt her infinitely worse than her own suffering. “Sakura-chan, I had
 298.517 +a wonderful time with you. Thank you so much for these golden
 298.518 +memories. I will treasure them always, even when I’m looking down on
 298.519 +the earth from above. Because nothing could be more beautiful than
 298.520 +the moments I’ve spent with you, Sakura-chan. They will always fill
 298.521 +my heart with joy when I look back on them. It’s exactly why I always
 298.522 +videotaped you. So I could always watch those captured moments of
 298.523 +you, so I could hold those little pieces close to my heart. I could
 298.524 +never leave you, Sakura-chan. Not completely. I may go back home and
 298.525 +things might get busy in your life. But my heart will always be
 298.526 +singing to you. Because I’m wrapped up in the ribbons that trail from
 298.527 +Sakura-chan’s heart.” A small smile blossomed on her lips as her
 298.528 +hands slowly stroked Sakura’s cheeks. 
 298.529 +Looking back into Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes, Sakura could feel the
 298.530 +lightening behind them. It was warm, encompassing, and made her whole
 298.531 +being tingle. Her fear and panic began to dissipate. She was still
 298.532 +worried about Tomoyo’s trip home, but it felt so far away now. So
 298.533 +very far away. “I just want to be with you,” Sakura whispered softly,
 298.534 +hugging the nearly frail woman in her arms. 
 298.535 +“That’s all I want, too, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, her fingers
 298.536 +trailing past Sakura’s ear. She continued to gaze into Sakura’s eyes
 298.537 +lovingly, her free hand going back to rubbing the brunette’s back.
 298.538 +“You’ve given me the most wonderful moments in my life. I don’t think
 298.539 +I can ever repay you. Sakura-chan, you the most beautiful, genki,
 298.540 +sweet, and amazing person that I have ever met. I don’t think I’ll
 298.541 +ever know how I was lucky enough to meet you. It’s always been easy
 298.542 +for me to see how you could capture hearts with more ease than you
 298.543 +can capture Cards.” Her smile grew softly, her dark hair teasing
 298.544 +Sakura’s own. “You mean the world to me, Sakura-chan. No matter what
 298.545 +happens, just please be happy. Wherever life takes you, I want it to
 298.546 +be a spectacular trip for you, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo barely managed to
 298.547 +hold up her mask as her mind retread over Sakura’s words, over how
 298.548 +scared and worried she had looked. Could she leave Sakura? Could she
 298.549 +fade out of her life? She knew she had to, for both of their sakes,
 298.550 +but could she really bring herself to? Especially when she could see
 298.551 +so clearly into those beautiful emerald jewels? A part of her told
 298.552 +her that she had been wrong, that she had been blinded by her belief
 298.553 +that she couldn’t make Sakura happy, that Sakura needed her every bit
 298.554 +as much as she needed Sakura. That thought frightened her deeply.
 298.555 +Because if it was right, then what had she done by helping to get
 298.556 +Sakura with Syaoran?
 298.557 +“But I want you to be happy, Tomoyo-chan. Why can’t we both be
 298.558 +happy?” Sakura asked, genuinely curious. She sounded much calmer now,
 298.559 +almost relaxed in their shared embrace. This whole thing was like a
 298.560 +riddle. It was stuck in her brain but she couldn’t quite make sense
 298.561 +of it. Though the answer was on the tip of her tongue. Tomoyo’s
 298.562 +special person was so lucky to have the love in Tomoyo’s bound heart.
 298.563 +But why couldn’t he just wake up and notice how much she needed him?
 298.564 +How hurt her love was making her? Sakura couldn’t understand how
 298.565 +anyone could not return Tomoyo’s love with the same impassioned
 298.566 +fervor that the dark haired woman herself was capable of. It bathed
 298.567 +Sakura in its gentle glow, sheltering her from the cold and
 298.568 +loneliness. Again the urgent howl of feelings inside her almost made
 298.569 +her jump. It was as if they were struggling to break free. But still,
 298.570 +Sakura couldn’t understand. They grew fiercer in her heart, trying
 298.571 +desperately to bubble out of the Cardmistress. Tomoyo was the focus
 298.572 +of them, she new that. Strong, heated, deep feelings that ran
 298.573 +throughout her were boiling in her heart. They were nearly screaming
 298.574 +at her. She felt like she only had one chance. But one chance for
 298.575 +what? 
 298.576 +Tomoyo smiled softly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She held onto
 298.577 +Sakura warmly, her hand still moving from the small of Sakura’s back
 298.578 +up to her shoulder blades. “I’m happy as long as Saku...” Sakura cute
 298.579 +her off, her lips meeting Tomoyo’s in a delightful peck that took
 298.580 +Tomoyo by complete surprise. She had certainly not been expecting
 298.581 +that from the brunette. Her own feelings had become such a mystery to
 298.582 +her as of late and Sakura’s increased affection ever since her
 298.583 +arrival had made things even more difficult for her to decipher. Her
 298.584 +pale cheeks darkened as she felt the lips against her own again, this
 298.585 +time kissing longer. The young woman pulled her magical best friend
 298.586 +into a closer embrace, returning the kiss herself. It tasted sweeter
 298.587 +than anything the banquet or the restaurant had to offer. The silky
 298.588 +touch of Sakura’s lips was softer than any fabric she had ever
 298.589 +handled. It was magical, a brief moment where she got more than just
 298.590 +images or momentos of Sakura. She had a piece of her soul. 
 298.591 +Thinking back on it, Sakura couldn’t say exactly why she had kissed
 298.592 +Tomoyo. Only that she had to. That every ounce of her being had been
 298.593 +wholeheartedly for the idea and that she had merely carried through
 298.594 +with it. The single kiss she and Tomoyo had shared several nights
 298.595 +before had been the most powerful kiss Sakura had ever felt in her
 298.596 +life. Not for the way Tomoyo kissed, no. Tomoyo’s kisses were
 298.597 +delicate, like sweet butterflies, gentle and slow. But it was the way
 298.598 +it grasped onto her heart and soul and burned through her with a
 298.599 +strength that made her feel truly alive. More alive than she had ever
 298.600 +felt in her life. Right there. With Tomoyo. The kiss lengthened,
 298.601 +Tomoyo’s petal soft lips parting her own ever so slightly as it
 298.602 +continued. Sakura could do nothing but hold tightly onto the dark
 298.603 +haired woman, hoping once more that the morning would never come. Her
 298.604 +fingers found themselves at home in Tomoyo’s luxurious lavender hair,
 298.605 +brushing through the soft curls. “Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered as
 298.606 +she finally gasped for breath. Her body was nearly shuddering but not
 298.607 +from lack of air. Tomoyo’s pale cheeks had reached a beautiful
 298.608 +crimson hue that she was sure her own were probably matching at the
 298.609 +moment. “Hanyaa...”
 298.610 +A musical giggle escaped Tomoyo at that. She was still a little
 298.611 +surprised by Sakura’s sudden action, but she was glad for it. If only
 298.612 +she could save kisses in her scrapbook as easily as she could store
 298.613 +photos. But this was something she was sure her memory would never
 298.614 +forget, even if it would be nice to have videotaped the event. It got
 298.615 +rid of any doubts she may have had about Sakura’s involvement in the
 298.616 +previous kiss. This time there had been no prompting. Sakura was the
 298.617 +one who had kissed her. She felt delightedly thrilled at that. Sakura
 298.618 +had kissed her. What a wonderful way to bring her last night in Hong
 298.619 +Kong to a close. With a kiss from Sakura. Time may not be able to
 298.620 +stop on a single moment, but those moments were forever carried
 298.621 +forward as long as they were held onto by a loving heart. “Thank you
 298.622 +again for everything, Sakura-chan. I’ll never forget any of this.
 298.623 +You’ve made me happier than I ever thought I could possibly be.”
 298.624 +Smiling sweetly, she kissed Sakura’s cheek. A dreamy sigh escaped her
 298.625 +lips as she tilted her head to the side. “Sakura-chan is a such a
 298.626 +fantastic kisser. So genki.”
 298.627 +Sakura felt herself blushing at Tomoyo’s words. But it hardly seemed
 298.628 +to matter. She hugged her best friend tightly, feeling fuzzy and
 298.629 +peaceful and content again, though her frazzled thoughts still longed
 298.630 +for more, to feel those creamy lips again. She shook her head,
 298.631 +blushing darker. She had no idea why kissing Tomoyo affected her so
 298.632 +deeply, but she loved the way it felt, both during the kiss and in
 298.633 +her arms afterwards. If only... Her eyes widened after they finally
 298.634 +fell upon her watch. Just how long had they been dancing? “Tomoyo-
 298.635 +chan, we need to get home if we’re going to get you packed in time
 298.636 +for your flight and if you’re going to get any sleep.”
 298.637 +“I can always sleep on the plane, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said sweetly,
 298.638 +stroking Sakura’s cheek with gentle fingers. “I want to spend the
 298.639 +last of my time with you.” This was it. Her last few hours with
 298.640 +Sakura. She wanted to do anything but sleep at the moment, her heart
 298.641 +racing as she enjoyed the close proximity to her friend. All she
 298.642 +wanted was to be with Sakura for as long as she could. To be with her
 298.643 +Cardmistress until she was finally pulled away. Her eyes sparkled as
 298.644 +she watched Sakura, each gentle caress whispering her love to the
 298.645 +brunette. 
 298.646 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo tightly and nodded. Sleep seemed to be the
 298.647 +furthest thing from her mind as well. She had finally gotten Tomoyo
 298.648 +up to Hong Kong and she wanted to hold onto her forever. “Would you
 298.649 +like to dance again?” Sakura asked curiously.
 298.650 +“With all my heart, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered in reply, her
 298.651 +eyes never leaving Sakura’s. There was only now. And in this now,
 298.652 +there was only herself and Sakura. Tomorrow could wait.
 298.653 +

   299.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   299.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-12.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   299.3 @@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
   299.4 +Dear Sakura
   299.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   299.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   299.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   299.8 +
   299.9 +“I’m sorry I kept you up all night dancing, Tomoyo-chan. I hope
  299.10 +you’re not too tired.”  Sakura cast a concerned look as she unlocked
  299.11 +the front door. Tomoyo smiled a cheerful response, 
  299.12 +
  299.13 +“Oh, no, Sakura-chan, I feel absolutely wonderful. Thank you for
  299.14 +such a lovely evening, and such a lovely visit.”
  299.15 +
  299.16 +As the door swung open Sakura nodded distractedly and thought,
  299.17 +“That’s right, the visit is almost over now.” She hid her grimace
  299.18 +from Tomoyo and tried to bring her emotions under control. Buffeted
  299.19 +all evening long, swinging between the sheer bliss of being with
  299.20 +Tomoyo and the black despair of knowing she would soon be gone,
  299.21 +Sakura felt sickeningly dizzy. Sakura sensed the turmoil deep within
  299.22 +her stirring again, but sealed it away and ignore it. She didn’t want
  299.23 +to break down again in front of Tomoyo. It wasn’t fair to ruin her
  299.24 +beautiful trip by making her sad. After all, Tomoyo bore the weight
  299.25 +of her secret love without complaint. Rather than trouble the one she
  299.26 +loved, the pale girl chose to silently suffer for the sake of their
  299.27 +happiness. In all their years together, Sakura could never remember a
  299.28 +complaint, an accusation, or an angry question from Tomoyo about the
  299.29 +true love that neglected her so. She carried her pain with an easy
  299.30 +grace, as if it were a burden lighter than a feather. Sakura felt a
  299.31 +flash of anger at whoever it was that ignored her best friend’s love.
  299.32 +How could they be so blind? How could they live in ignorance of that
  299.33 +vibrant, overflowing love? It seemed terribly unfair that someone so
  299.34 +sweet and good should be condemned to a life of loneliness. But never
  299.35 +a word did Tomoyo speak against them, or even about her pain. “Well”,
  299.36 +Sakura resolved, “if she can do it for years, I can do it for a few
  299.37 +hours. Until she leaves.” But that thought brought a new wave of
  299.38 +distress that pushed her to the brink of tears. She glanced at Tomoyo
  299.39 +as they neared the guest room door, then blurted out in a tense voice,
  299.40 +
  299.41 +“Tomoyo-chan, I need to go to my room for a minute, but if you need
  299.42 +help packing…”
  299.43 +
  299.44 +Tomoyo looked at the woman who stood by her and sensed an inner
  299.45 +torment. She longed to be with her for just a few moments more, but
  299.46 +instead smiled and politely replied,
  299.47 +
  299.48 +“I’ll be fine, Sakura-chan. I’m nearly packed as it is. I’ll see you
  299.49 +a little later, then.” Sakura gazed at her with a haunted look,
  299.50 +nodded quickly, and then all but ran down the hall. Tomoyo stood
  299.51 +alone in the dark and trembled. Breathing deeply, she prayed her
  299.52 +heart be still, then opened the door and turned on the light. She
  299.53 +rested her hand on the dark wood of the wall, fingers lightly tracing
  299.54 +the exquisite carvings of birds and flowers. With a little sigh she
  299.55 +pulled her suitcase from the closet and opened it up on the floor.
  299.56 +Raising the lid of the little chest that held her clothing, she
  299.57 +breathed in the sweet scent of cedar. “Cedar is for memory,” she
  299.58 +whispered aloud. Where was that quote from, she wondered? Shaking her
  299.59 +head and smiling, she thought of all the memories she would carry
  299.60 +back to Japan from her wonderful second trip to Hong Kong. 
  299.61 +
  299.62 +She packed away the dress she had worn when Sakura greeted her at
  299.63 +the airport, practically bowling her over with enthusiasm. Holding
  299.64 +onto Sakura in that busy throng, she felt as if the rest of the world
  299.65 +had ceased to exist. To see her again after four long months, months
  299.66 +that dragged on like years, had been a dream fulfilled. She carefully
  299.67 +tucked away the gorgeous red cheongsam that Ieran-sama had insisted
  299.68 +she keep. She felt the fine silk and traced the little bumps of
  299.69 +embroidered gold with her fingertip. Tomoyo had earnestly protested
  299.70 +that such a gift was priceless, and she could not possibly accept it.
  299.71 +But Ieran-sama only laughed, and told her that no one could ever look
  299.72 +as good in it as she. On top of the dress in a little plastic bag she
  299.73 +placed a few golden trinkets that had adorned her hair, and
  299.74 +blushingly remembered the look in Fanren’s eyes as she bid her
  299.75 +goodnight after the banquet. Contemplating the gray and black
  299.76 +swimsuit, finally dry on its hanger, Tomoyo giddily recalled swimming
  299.77 +with Sakura. She closed her eyes as her mind echoed with the
  299.78 +sensation of Sakura's firm but gentle arms holding her as they swam
  299.79 +in the warm water. She peeked at her little clock to check the time,
  299.80 +and wondered where her friend was. “Maybe she’s fallen asleep,”
  299.81 +Tomoyo giggled to herself, “I guess even genki Card Mistresses have
  299.82 +to rest sometime.” 
  299.83 +
  299.84 +Still, the room felt empty without her, and Tomoyo wished she were
  299.85 +there. Gazing at the clothing in her half-packed suitcase, she
  299.86 +wondered if these memories were truly enough. Can I live with just
  299.87 +memories, but not her? Before this trip she would have replied with a
  299.88 +resounding yes. To have such precious moments to savor would have
  299.89 +seemed a bounty beyond compare. But now, they were pale reminders of
  299.90 +the indescribable joy of simply being with her. She had seen such
  299.91 +wonderful sights on this trip, but none of them compared to sitting
  299.92 +by Sakura and holding her hand. 
  299.93 +
  299.94 +Out of the fragrant cedar chest came her cyan nightgown. She held it
  299.95 +up and recalled Sakura brushing her hair with long, sensuous strokes,
  299.96 +delicate fingers lightly caressing her shoulder and neck. She
  299.97 +remembered sitting in the garden, gazing at Sakura’s face glowing in
  299.98 +the moonlight, and how her eyes caught that glow and shone with an
  299.99 +emerald fire. She remembered crying in her arms, the pain and longing
 299.100 +finally too much to bear without tears. And with feverish intensity
 299.101 +she remembered their kiss, her very first kiss, and the flood of
 299.102 +tender, passionate love between them. For an electric instant her
 299.103 +soul joined with Sakura’s in that magical garden under the August
 299.104 +moon. Tomoyo felt Sakura’s love there as never before. It surprised
 299.105 +and delighted her then, and confused and delighted her now. And
 299.106 +sitting on the floor in the guest room, holding that soft cyan
 299.107 +nightgown to her breast, a realization struck Tomoyo with forceful
 299.108 +suddenness: Sakura had changed.
 299.109 +
 299.110 +In all their years growing up together, Sakura had been much the
 299.111 +same as the sweet, genki girl she first met in third grade. True, she
 299.112 +had developed into a beautiful woman, and perhaps was a bit less
 299.113 +hyper as she grew older. But all in all, she was still Sakura. Yet
 299.114 +something now was very different, and Tomoyo searched her heart to
 299.115 +understand just what. There had been hints in the letters and the
 299.116 +phone calls. Sometimes she sensed a loss of confidence, a hesitant
 299.117 +uncertainty. But Sakura had seen her way through moments like that
 299.118 +before, always emerging triumphantly with captured Clow Card, or
 299.119 +husband, in hand. Sometimes in her writing Sakura had seemed sad and
 299.120 +lonely, but surely this was natural as she adjusted to a new life in
 299.121 +a strange city, far away from family and friends. No, it was not
 299.122 +until they sat together in the garden that Tomoyo had really noticed.
 299.123 +Sakura had always liked her, and treasured her as a best friend. But
 299.124 +there, in that garden, the pale woman felt Sakura’s love as never
 299.125 +before. It was not a mere kiss, or a touch, or a glance that was
 299.126 +different, for these were but outward signs. What had changed was her
 299.127 +love. What was once a tender affection was now a passionate longing
 299.128 +that seemingly knew no bounds. Tomoyo felt exhilaration and
 299.129 +apprehension as she realized what had once seemed impossible. Closing
 299.130 +her eyes, she shuddered sweetly at the thought: her love is like my
 299.131 +love.
 299.132 +
 299.133 +Her heart raced as she carefully folded the nightgown and placed it
 299.134 +in the suitcase. Long ago Eriol had remarked on her perceptive
 299.135 +nature, and she knew he was right. She could read hearts as if they
 299.136 +were open books, with all their fragile secrets hers to see. Her kind
 299.137 +and loving nature blended well with this gift, for she would never
 299.138 +bring harm to another, or use her knowledge to manipulate and
 299.139 +control. Sometimes, though, she would gently nudge, or drop a hint,
 299.140 +or help a heart along the path it yearned for. She had seen Sayoran's
 299.141 +love for Sakura bloom like a trembling flower, and helped nurture it
 299.142 +when she realized Sakura's love for the Chinese Sorcerer. Such a
 299.143 +course carried no small onus of pain, but for Sakura's sake she
 299.144 +persevered, and was rewarded with the Card Mistress' joy on her
 299.145 +wedding day. Not that she had seen all of it, of course. But Sakura
 299.146 +was happy, and what else mattered? But then, if she was now happily
 299.147 +married, how to explain her wonderful, baffling love for Tomoyo? 
 299.148 +
 299.149 +Gazing out the window of the garden and listening to birds greeting
 299.150 +the morning sun, Tomoyo frowned thoughtfully. At first, she had
 299.151 +dismissed Sakura's love as simple nostalgia for her life in Japan. It
 299.152 +was hard to grow up, to leave behind the easy joys of childhood. But
 299.153 +Sakura's love went far beyond the bounds of anything that Tomoyo had
 299.154 +sensed before. Either it was something entirely new, or something
 299.155 +long buried that had recently been uncovered. What would cause such a
 299.156 +thing? Sakura seemed happy in her marriage, though Sayoran's absence
 299.157 +during her visit seemed odd. Tomoyo was puzzled by the man’s
 299.158 +behavior. How could anyone be married to such a bright and lovely
 299.159 +spirit and not want to be with her all the time? Even the few times
 299.160 +she had seen him around her, he seemed distant, appearing more out of
 299.161 +obligation than choice. Of course, that was Syaoran. He was reserved
 299.162 +and painfully shy. But surely, underneath it all, he loved her. He
 299.163 +had to. How could anyone not love her? Perhaps he loved her, but not
 299.164 +the same way as Tomoyo. But then, could anyone love Sakura the way
 299.165 +she did? That wasn't fair to Sayoran, to compare his love to hers.
 299.166 +Shaking her head, Tomoyo suddenly felt exhausted. With a smile she
 299.167 +thought, "Around her, I'm never tired. She has enough energy for both
 299.168 +of us."
 299.169 +
 299.170 +Tomoyo returned to packing. With a sigh, she gently placed the dress
 299.171 +from her almost-date into the suitcase. Dancing with Sakura! Did it
 299.172 +really happen, or was it just the sweetest of dreams? Holding her
 299.173 +close, swaying softly to the music, feeling the soft warmth of her
 299.174 +body under the shimmering silk. Tomoyo blushed scarlet and hugged
 299.175 +herself tightly. And then, that kiss. Tomoyo's fingers rested lightly
 299.176 +on her lips as she remembered the eager longing of Sakura's sudden
 299.177 +passion. Even the memory of it left her breathless. If I never see
 299.178 +her again, she thought, I’ll always have that kiss. 
 299.179 +
 299.180 +With a little sigh, she snapped shut the suitcase and glanced at the
 299.181 +clock. Done, and it’s almost time to leave. Her heart ached with the
 299.182 +finality of it all. But she had resolved that this must be their
 299.183 +final parting. Being together would only lead to pain for them both.
 299.184 +She wondered if she would see Sakura again before leaving, or if
 299.185 +woman had fallen fast asleep. Her heart soared when she heard a light
 299.186 +tapping at the door, and she rushed to open it. In an elated voice
 299.187 +she cried out, “Sakura-chan!”
 299.188 +
 299.189 +She opened the door, and there stood Ieran-sama and Fanren. Hastily
 299.190 +bowing, she felt somehow flustered as the two women entered the room.
 299.191 +As she began her apology, Ieran-sama gently interrupted,
 299.192 +
 299.193 +“I’m certain Sakura-san will be here shortly. Do you need help with
 299.194 +your bags?”
 299.195 +
 299.196 +Tomoyo smiled and shook her head, “No, thank you. I’m all finished
 299.197 +packing now. Oh, but I did have something to give you, if I may.”
 299.198 +Tomoyo took seven perfectly wrapped packages from a little table. One
 299.199 +she gave to Ieran-sama, and one to Fanren. She explained that the
 299.200 +others were for the remaining Li sisters, Syaoran, and Sakura. “They
 299.201 +are nothing special, just little thank-yous for having me here, and
 299.202 +for all of your help and kindness. I’ve had such a wonderful time.”
 299.203 +
 299.204 +Ieran took her package, studying the beautiful wrapping paper and
 299.205 +the intricate bow Tomoyo had tied. She looked at Tomoyo and smiled
 299.206 +warmly as she thanked the young designer, then slipped the package
 299.207 +into the folds of her silken gown. Fanren, with less patience, had
 299.208 +eagerly torn open the wrapping of her own present and was admiring a
 299.209 +beautiful jade pin in the shape of a dragonfly. With child-like glee
 299.210 +she exclaimed,
 299.211 +
 299.212 +“Tomoyo-chan, it’s lovely! Thank you so very much!” With that she
 299.213 +hugged Tomoyo tightly, practically sweeping the slender woman off her
 299.214 +feet. Tomoyo blushed, then smiled and hugged back. Finally, she bowed
 299.215 +and spoke in her musical voice, 
 299.216 +
 299.217 +“Thank you again for everything. But perhaps I should finish
 299.218 +dressing before the limousine arrives?”
 299.219 +
 299.220 +Ieran smiled and bowed, then gently tugged on Fanren’s sleeve,
 299.221 +bringing the woman out of her Tomoyo-induced fog. Closing the door,
 299.222 +Ieran turned and walked down the dark hallway. Fanren followed, and
 299.223 +in a rueful voice whispered, 
 299.224 +
 299.225 +“Mother, I think I’m in love.”
 299.226 +
 299.227 +Ieran-sama suppressed a grin at her daughter’s half-kidding
 299.228 +confession. Signaling a servant to go help Tomoyo carry her bags, she
 299.229 +wondered to herself, “Who could possibly know that girl and not fall
 299.230 +in love?”    
 299.231 +
 299.232 + Tomoyo, dressed in the long, chiffon, copper-russet dress she had
 299.233 +bought at Matsizakaya, waited by the driveway as the limousine pulled
 299.234 +up. She felt a twinge of disappointment as she scanned the house for
 299.235 +Sakura. Looking at the mansion one last time, she entered the
 299.236 +spacious back seat of the limousine and heard a voice shout out,
 299.237 +
 299.238 +“Wait! Tomoyo-chan, don’t go yet!” As a breathless Sakura tumbled
 299.239 +into the car beside her, Tomoyo felt a surge of exhilaration. She
 299.240 +looked at her panting friend and spoke in a merry voice,
 299.241 +
 299.242 +“Sakura-chan, I was afraid you might have fallen asleep.” Then,
 299.243 +noticing the numerous band-aids on her hands, Tomoyo gasped out, “Oh,
 299.244 +Sakura-chan, are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?”  Gently took
 299.245 +her friend’s hands in her own and stared at with fearful eyes.
 299.246 +Looking embarrassed, Sakura replied with forced laughter,
 299.247 +
 299.248 +“Oh, hah-hah, it’s nothing, really. Just my usual clumsy self. I’m
 299.249 +fine, really I am.” But despite her protestations, she happily left
 299.250 +her hands in Tomoyo’s. Tomoyo calmed down, but still regarded her
 299.251 +friend with a worried look. Sakura smiled and apologized,
 299.252 +
 299.253 +“I’m sorry I wasn’t with you. But I had to do something before you
 299.254 +left. Oh, and Ieran-sama wanted me to give you this.” Sakura gave her
 299.255 +a small package, which Tomoyo slipped into her carry-on bag. Sakura
 299.256 +slumped back into the plush seat of the limousine, still holding her
 299.257 +hand. With a gentle squeeze, Tomoyo spoke in a cheery voice,
 299.258 +
 299.259 +“It’s all right, Sakura-chan. I’m just happy you’re here now. Thank
 299.260 +you so much for having me. It was the most wonderful vacation I could
 299.261 +ever have had.”
 299.262 +
 299.263 +Sakura gazed back, smiling, brushing away her auburn hair with
 299.264 +bandaged fingers. With a happy sigh, she replied,
 299.265 +
 299.266 +“This was the most wonderful time I’ve ever had, Tomoyo-chan. But
 299.267 +the best thing about it was just being with you.”
 299.268 +
 299.269 +Tomoyo felt a warm glow in her heart as Sakura spoke. Her voice
 299.270 +masked her emotions as she spoke again liltingly, “I’m sure Sakura-
 299.271 +chan will have many more wonderful times in all the magical years to
 299.272 +come.” For several minutes there was only silence as the limousine
 299.273 +snaked it’s way through the heavy traffic. The pale woman felt the
 299.274 +grip on her hand tighten, and sensed her companion’s edginess.
 299.275 +Finally, Sakura spoke up in a quiet voice,
 299.276 +
 299.277 +“Tomoyo-chan, I hope you’ll be able to come again sometime. Sometime
 299.278 +soon.”
 299.279 +
 299.280 +Tomoyo felt a chill as she thought, no, please Sakura, please don’t.
 299.281 +We can’t. Staring straight ahead, she responded with forced
 299.282 +casualness,
 299.283 +
 299.284 +“I hope so, too.”
 299.285 +
 299.286 +Silence. Sakura turned and looked out the window at the city
 299.287 +skyline, or the other cars, or perhaps nothing much at all. In a
 299.288 +hesitant, whispery voice she asked,
 299.289 +
 299.290 +“When do you think you might be able to come again?”
 299.291 +
 299.292 +“Sakura-chan, I’m really not sure. It will be busy before the
 299.293 +Christmas season, and then there are all the projects for the New
 299.294 +Year, and….”
 299.295 +
 299.296 +Her voice trailed away as she fought back the tears. It sounded so
 299.297 +awful, as if her work was more important than Sakura. How could she
 299.298 +say such a thing? But she couldn’t do this again, she just couldn’t.
 299.299 +Seeing Sakura was tearing her soul apart, and could ruin Sakura’s
 299.300 +marriage and beautiful new life. For Sakura’s sake, and her own, she
 299.301 +had to say good-bye. She had to. Tomoyo turned to the window and
 299.302 +choked back a sob. Then she felt Sakura squeeze her hand tightly, and
 299.303 +heard a wistful voice,
 299.304 +
 299.305 +“It’s all right Tomoyo-chan, I understand. I’m sorry. I know that
 299.306 +we’ll be together again someday.”
 299.307 +
 299.308 +As the limousine pulled up to the airport’s departing area, Tomoyo
 299.309 +felt queasy and weak. She didn’t want to end her trip like this. She
 299.310 +didn’t want this to be the final memory seared into her heart. But
 299.311 +her masks were lost, and the words wouldn’t come. It was all she
 299.312 +could do to keep from crying. Then she heard a voice, genki and
 299.313 +strong, that filled the cold parts of her with summer sunshine,
 299.314 +
 299.315 +“We’re here, Tomoyo-chan. Come on, you don’t want to miss your
 299.316 +flight!”
 299.317 +
 299.318 +Startled, she turned around and saw Sakura’s bright, beaming smile.
 299.319 +Relieved, she smiled back, and the two rushed hand-in-hand down the
 299.320 +JAL concourse. Arriving at the gate, Sakura bowed and spoke in a
 299.321 +voice that was happy and sad all at once,
 299.322 +
 299.323 +“Arigato gozaimasu, Tomoyo-chan. I was so happy to see you again.
 299.324 +Have a wonderful flight back, and give my love to your Mother.”
 299.325 +
 299.326 +Tomoyo bowed and resisted the urge to embrace her beautiful friend,
 299.327 +“Arigato gozaimasu, Sakura-chan. Thank you for everything. Sayonara.”
 299.328 +
 299.329 +As she turned reluctantly to go, she heard a whispery voice calling
 299.330 +her back, “Tomoyo-chan. Please.”
 299.331 +
 299.332 +She turned and saw Sakura with her head bowed, offering a hastily
 299.333 +wrapped package tied with lavender ribbons. Her voice brimming with
 299.334 +emotion, Sakura said,
 299.335 +
 299.336 +“Tomoyo-chan, I’ve felt so bad for so long that you were never able
 299.337 +to have this from your special someone. I’m sorry it’s not very good.
 299.338 +I’m not very good at sewing, and I was sort of in a rush. I know your
 299.339 +true love, if he knew, would do so much better. But since he can’t, I
 299.340 +wanted to give you this from him.”
 299.341 +
 299.342 +Stunned, Tomoyo stood motionless. Finally, she reached out and took
 299.343 +the soft package from Sakura’s trembling hands. Then she took the
 299.344 +woman into her arms, her own tears flowing freely. Holding one
 299.345 +another, the two friends clung together in their own world of grief
 299.346 +and joy. Tomoyo desperately wanted to speak, to tell Sakura just how
 299.347 +much she really loved her. But it would be too cruel, so she wept in
 299.348 +silence. Finally, Sakura whispered raggedly,
 299.349 +
 299.350 +“Tomoyo-chan, you…you don’t want to miss your flight.”
 299.351 +
 299.352 +Tomoyo slowly let go, though she yearned to hold her just a little
 299.353 +bit longer. Instead, she spoke in a voice that sounded so very far
 299.354 +away, “Hai. Sayonara, Sakura-chan.” She moved away and turned to go,
 299.355 +forcing every step that took her farther and farther away from her
 299.356 +one, true love. She glanced back and saw Sakura, smiling through a
 299.357 +tear-streaked face, waving goodbye. Tomoyo paused, hesitant, her
 299.358 +heart pounding wildly. She nearly ran back to those gentle arms, but
 299.359 +instead rushed down the boarding ramp, fumbling for her ticket in a
 299.360 +haze of tears. 
 299.361 +
 299.362 +Sakura watched her go, then walked to a picture window overlooking
 299.363 +the runway. Somehow, she made it until Tomoyo was gone. She stood in
 299.364 +shock as the boarding ramp slowly swung away from Tomoyo’s plane.
 299.365 +Dimly she heard the engines roar to life. Pressing her face against
 299.366 +the glass, she whimpered like a forgotten child, “Please don’t go.
 299.367 +Please, Tomoyo-chan. Please don’t go.” 
 299.368 +
 299.369 +As if in a dream, the enormous jet slowly began to pull away. Sakura
 299.370 +gazed up at the blue sky and whispered, “In a few minutes she’ll be
 299.371 +there, in a beautiful place in the sky.” The odd words echoed in her
 299.372 +head, and suddenly a deluge of memories burst upon her: a little
 299.373 +child sobbing in bed, a frighteningly empty chair at a dinning table,
 299.374 +and a brother, her brother, quietly explaining, 
 299.375 +
 299.376 +“She’s up there now, in a beautiful place in the sky.”
 299.377 +
 299.378 +Slowly shaking her head, Sakura moaned softly and began to cry
 299.379 +again. Her brave front finally collapsed in a torrent of weeping as
 299.380 +she covered her face with bandaged hands. Heads turned to the wailing
 299.381 +young woman who sobbed hysterically and staggered into the Ladies’
 299.382 +Room. Her hapless cries reverberated as Tomoyo’s plane, aloft at
 299.383 +last, gained altitude for the long flight home. 
 299.384 +
 299.385 +
 299.386 +
 299.387 +
 299.388 +
 299.389 +        
 299.390 +   
 299.391 +
 299.392 + 
 299.393 +
 299.394 + 
 299.395 +
 299.396 +  
 299.397 +
 299.398 +
 299.399 +

   300.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   300.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-13.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   300.3 @@ -0,0 +1,456 @@
   300.4 +Dear Sakura
   300.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   300.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   300.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   300.8 +
   300.9 +
  300.10 +	Life is a mixture of good and bad. Delightfully joyous
  300.11 +circumstances plagued by the most exquisite pain. Biting cold and
  300.12 +burning heart. In some ways, the very talons of sorrow and defeat
  300.13 +were what made joy taste all the sweeter to the lips, a fruit that
  300.14 +one was lucky to find but was gone all too quickly. While in the
  300.15 +shadows, waiting and lurking was the despair, eager to reclaim its
  300.16 +prize once delight and happiness had all but faded. Happiness was an
  300.17 +escape that faded all too quickly in the dim lights that filled one’s
  300.18 +life. That was not to say that they were any less spectacular. It
  300.19 +served to make them even more treasured in the hearts of those who
  300.20 +knew how rare such things really were. How cherished they should be
  300.21 +for simply being there. The sweetest joys were often tinged with the
  300.22 +bittersweet aftertaste of sadness. And through it all, life continued
  300.23 +it’s inexhaustible march forward. As a lone toy designer waited
  300.24 +patiently for the giant metal beast she was riding to make its way
  300.25 +back to Japan, her thoughts were filled with musings on her own
  300.26 +recent joy and pain.
  300.27 +	 Tomoyo found herself staring into the eyes of the teddy bear that
  300.28 +Sakura had made her. It was beautiful, if a little messy. But that
  300.29 +was something the dark haired woman loved about it. It was obviously
  300.30 +Sakura’s doing. She remembered one time when Sakura had made a yukata
  300.31 +for Syaoran. She had spent so long working on it, despite her
  300.32 +difficulty with sewing. And even if it hadn’t been the best looking
  300.33 +yukata, it had been crafted carefully and delicately with Sakura’s
  300.34 +warm and loving heart. Tomoyo understood this all too well. After
  300.35 +all, every costume she made and all of the outfits she would sew for
  300.36 +the brunette came from the bottom of her heart. The level of one’s
  300.37 +skill with thread and needle didn’t matter; it was what lay in one’s
  300.38 +heart while creating that truly brought out the beauty within. And
  300.39 +Tomoyo saw that reflecting back at her through the violet eyes of the
  300.40 +teddy bear she was holding. The bear was pink and white with a large
  300.41 +purple bow. It was stained with Tomoyo’s tears as she had held it
  300.42 +tightly to her, Sakura’s scent still clinging stubbornly to it. 
  300.43 +	Turning the bear over in her hands, the pale heiress ran her
  300.44 +fingers over a small dark patch that she had identified as some of
  300.45 +Sakura’s blood. She knew very well that Sakura had difficulty with
  300.46 +such tasks and the bandages on her fingers had been testament to
  300.47 +this. The thought of Sakura pricking herself while making the bear
  300.48 +was both sad and heartwarming at the same time. Knowing that Sakura
  300.49 +was in pain, physical or emotional, had always hurt Tomoyo infinitely
  300.50 +more than her own pain. Seeing Sakura hurting and knowing that she
  300.51 +was helpless to stop it dug into her heart. She would give anything
  300.52 +to take all of the brunette’s pain for herself, to suffer with all of
  300.53 +it if only it meant that Sakura would no longer feel it’s heavy
  300.54 +burden. But knowing that despite hurting herself, Sakura had
  300.55 +continued to pour her genki heart out into the teddy bear almost left
  300.56 +Tomoyo breathless. Surely she wasn’t worthy of such shining devotion.
  300.57 +It made the bear in her arms a truly wonderful gift, one that came
  300.58 +from the deep spring of love that Tomoyo had nearly tumbled into
  300.59 +during her visit. And just like in real water, she couldn’t swim in
  300.60 +it. She had found herself floundering, awash in the waves of
  300.61 +confusion that kept pushing her under. But that was one sea that she
  300.62 +would have been happy to drown in, the deep ocean of Sakura’s love.
  300.63 +Her fingers passed once more over the small dried patch of blood, a
  300.64 +small sacrifice from Sakura that left itself as a tiny badge on the
  300.65 +bear.
  300.66 +	Sakura. That’s what she had named the bear. The name had flown into
  300.67 +her mind the instant she had received it. After all, you were
  300.68 +supposed to name your teddy bear after the one you loved. If you were
  300.69 +lucky, it meant that they would fall in love with you as well. Tomoyo
  300.70 +had explained that to Sakura years earlier. Sakura had been about to
  300.71 +make one for Yukito when she asked why Tomoyo wasn’t making a bear
  300.72 +for her special someone.  The dark haired woman had replied that she
  300.73 +only wanted the one she loved to be happy. But she had wanted so
  300.74 +dearly to make a bear for Sakura, to give it to her along with her
  300.75 +love. Instead, she had sat by while Syaoran made one for Sakura and
  300.76 +Sakura eventually gave hers to the Chinese boy. She had never made a
  300.77 +bear for anyone and she found herself regretting that. Even if Sakura
  300.78 +hadn’t been able to understand, even if she had never known why,
  300.79 +Tomoyo wished that she had been able to make one for her beautiful
  300.80 +friend. But her love had to be locked away, unable to come forth in
  300.81 +such an obvious display. Not that she hadn’t been obvious enough at
  300.82 +other times, now that she thought about it, but after explaining the
  300.83 +bear in relation to her special someone, even dense Sakura would have
  300.84 +been able to figure out that she was the one who held Tomoyo’s heart
  300.85 +by strings. And up till now she had never received a teddy bear. Not
  300.86 +that she had minded at all. Just like the boys she had turned down in
  300.87 +high school when they had asked for dates, it just didn’t matter. Her
  300.88 +one, true love was the only one in her heart. She was all right if
  300.89 +that meant never getting flowers, or teddy bears, or chocolates as
  300.90 +tokens of love. She could be happy as long as she knew her true love
  300.91 +was. Even if she wasn’t with her.
  300.92 +	But now Sakura had gone back and made her a teddy bear, something
  300.93 +that Tomoyo had long given up on back in her youth. The gesture had
  300.94 +surprised and amazed her. It was supposed to be from her special
  300.95 +someone, Sakura had said. It _was_ from her special someone. It was a
  300.96 +gift that she had never even allowed herself to hope for. The very
  300.97 +thought that Sakura had made it specifically for her, that she had
  300.98 +given her such an incredible gift was almost too much to handle. She
  300.99 +hoped that Sakura would find her final costume soon after she left.
 300.100 +She had left it on the bed in the small room she had occupied. It was
 300.101 +still unfinished, but she wanted Sakura to have it regardless. She
 300.102 +didn’t think she would make another costume after the wedding dress,
 300.103 +so she would leave it unfinished for Sakura to do with as she pleased.
 300.104 +	Hugging the bear closer, Tomoyo hardly seemed to notice the
 300.105 +turbulence that suddenly began to buffet the plane. Such things were
 300.106 +trivial and didn’t matter much to her in her current frame of mind.
 300.107 +Part of her cried out, hoping that the plane would crash into the
 300.108 +waves beneath them, slipping into the rough waters below. It would be
 300.109 +a fitting end to her visit. The image of herself still strapped to
 300.110 +her chair, eyes closed serenely, her hair fluttering about in the
 300.111 +water as she held the bear beneath the waves entered her mind. She
 300.112 +took the thoughts in stride, the dark imagery failing to worry her.
 300.113 +If she were to die in such a way, then she would be happy. She would
 300.114 +have seen her darling Sakura one last time in life and would be ready
 300.115 +to fade from her life. But her mother was still waiting for her back
 300.116 +home and Sakura would undoubtedly hear about such a disaster. No, she
 300.117 +would have to find a quieter way to slip out of Sakura’s life. She
 300.118 +knew that she had to fade away. And soon. This trip had been a
 300.119 +blessing, but it had frightened her at times. Her continued presence
 300.120 +in Sakura’s life could have drastic consequences if Sakura were to
 300.121 +ever discover who her special someone was. The love that she had felt
 300.122 +from Sakura had been intoxicating, wrapping around her like silk
 300.123 +spider webs, unable and unwilling to get free from their hold. But if
 300.124 +that love were to continue developing, it could be disastrous not
 300.125 +only for Sakura’s marriage, but her entire new life as well. It was
 300.126 +too dangerous. And far too painful. Being so close to Sakura, feeling
 300.127 +the warmth in her heart, it was maddening for Tomoyo. So close yet so
 300.128 +far. She knew that she could never be with the smiling brunette,
 300.129 +could never love her the way she wanted to. Being so close was an
 300.130 +exquisitely delightful torture, giving her secret thrills at sharing
 300.131 +so much with Sakura, but with a heavy undercurrent of frozen icicles
 300.132 +of pain slashing mercilessly at her heart. Her masks had become
 300.133 +ineffectual, leaving her completely defenseless in Sakura’s presence.
 300.134 +Watching Sakura’s marriage so closely, never being able to truly be a
 300.135 +part of Sakura’s happiness, it would quickly destroy her. She was
 300.136 +already broken. Tomoyo knew that. The cracks were becoming evident in
 300.137 +her surface, the underlying structure starting to buckle. She would
 300.138 +not last much longer in Sakura’s life, especially after the moments
 300.139 +they had shared. The pain, the loneliness would quickly consume her.
 300.140 +Watching Sakura and smiling, trying so hard to pretend that she was
 300.141 +all right, she couldn’t keep it up anymore. She was tired. Oh, so
 300.142 +tired. Her masks lay heavy on her shoulders and she could no longer
 300.143 +work up the will to wear them as she once had. Yet she would continue
 300.144 +to as well as she could for Sakura’s sake… until she could fade away.
 300.145 +She was nothing more than a specter from Sakura’s past. It was about
 300.146 +time that she made her exit. 
 300.147 +	Her current train of thought sent fresh tears streaming down her
 300.148 +ivory cheeks, falling helplessly to the teddy bear in her arms. She
 300.149 +didn’t want to leave Sakura. She didn’t want to fade out of her life.
 300.150 +After this trip, all she wanted was to be with her, to hold on to the
 300.151 +woman she loved with all of her heart. But she knew she couldn’t. And
 300.152 +she wouldn’t last much longer in Sakura’s life. Her pain had built up
 300.153 +intensely inside of her for years now, growing steadily as she kept
 300.154 +it all inside, never once showing her friend the torment in her
 300.155 +heart. And it was rapidly becoming too much for her. Staying in
 300.156 +Sakura’s life was making it grow stronger, the longing for Sakura
 300.157 +becoming more painful, the pain as she watched Sakura’s marriage even
 300.158 +more acute. She had to fade away. For herself and for Sakura. It was
 300.159 +the only way. Staying would only bring more heartache and pain. There
 300.160 +was still a chance that she could survive with only her memories of
 300.161 +Sakura. Her mother had lasted all these years with memories of
 300.162 +Nadeshiko. Perhaps she could do the same. The pain would never lessen
 300.163 +in her heart and her love would never fade in the slightest, but she
 300.164 +would know that Sakura was happy and that she was only a distant
 300.165 +memory to her. No matter how much that hurt Tomoyo, she knew it was
 300.166 +quickly becoming the only way out. 
 300.167 +	Wiping her tears away with shaking fingers, Tomoyo smiled softly
 300.168 +and politely turned down a flight attendants offer of help. Looking
 300.169 +out the small window near her seat, the dark haired woman watched the
 300.170 +clouds beneath them. The sun gleamed brightly from behind them,
 300.171 +coloring the sky in beautiful oranges and pinks as it slowly began to
 300.172 +fade away. “The sun is the most beautiful before it disappears,”
 300.173 +Tomoyo whispered softly to the teddy bear. “That is what this trip
 300.174 +was for. My beautiful memories of Sakura-chan before I fade away. At
 300.175 +least we got to be together one last time. I’ll always cherish those
 300.176 +memories and the time we spent together.” A soft smile crossed her
 300.177 +lips. It was a heartfelt smile. Yes, this would be the last time she
 300.178 +would see Sakura, but like the setting sun, it was gorgeous. Tomoyo
 300.179 +had no regrets about the trip or her time spent with Sakura. It had
 300.180 +been a beautiful gift that was bestowed upon her and she thanked
 300.181 +whoever it was that had blessed her with Sakura’s friendship in the
 300.182 +first place for the wonderful memories that would always be etched
 300.183 +into her soul. Every second with Sakura had reminded her of just how
 300.184 +much she loved the brunette. It had shown her once again that all she
 300.185 +really wanted was for Sakura to be happy. Each magical moment had
 300.186 +been like the sweetest dream, even down to their parting. It had been
 300.187 +terribly painful to leave Sakura. Her legs had nearly refused to take
 300.188 +her away from the other woman. But even then, Sakura’s gift had
 300.189 +shined through the darkness of the moment. It had been as if Sakura
 300.190 +had wrapped her battered heart gently in a soft quilt, cradling it
 300.191 +from the pain. Yes, she would always treasure this trip and the
 300.192 +pieces of Sakura’s heart that she held close to her own. When they
 300.193 +were together, it had felt like all of the pieces to the puzzle had
 300.194 +been brought together. Sakura had fit all of the missing pieces in
 300.195 +her heart and soul. Tomoyo had felt complete. The loneliness was
 300.196 +gone, the void in her heart was answered. She felt happy when she was
 300.197 +with Sakura. Even if she couldn’t be the one to make Sakura happy,
 300.198 +Sakura certainly was the one who made her happy. 
 300.199 +	“I could never thank you enough for this trip, Sakura-chan. It was
 300.200 +the most wonderful time of my life. Being with you must be a glimpse
 300.201 +of Heaven,” Tomoyo whispered as she held the teddy bear in her lap.
 300.202 +For a moment, she saw it as her own child, coming with her on some
 300.203 +business trip. Is that what would happen? Would she find herself with
 300.204 +a child to ease her loneliness and to try to fill the void in her
 300.205 +life as her mother had? She knew that her mother had been happy to
 300.206 +have her, Tomoyo’s young life giving her own meaning. The idea was
 300.207 +very tempting, to raise a child of her own. Perhaps she could even
 300.208 +convince Touya to supply the sperm for the child. She could get a
 300.209 +very skilled doctor for the procedure. After all, she didn’t need to
 300.210 +be with anyone to have a child. There were other procedures for that.
 300.211 +In Vitro-Fertilization. And if half of it was coming from Touya, then
 300.212 +it would be very close to the child she and Sakura would have had
 300.213 +they been able to conceive one. A faint smile crossed her lips at the
 300.214 +thought, images of Sakura in boys’ clothes once again filling her
 300.215 +mind. A cute little girl. A child all her own. Yes, she’d have to
 300.216 +look into it. She held the teddy bear closer. 
 300.217 +	 The entire trip had left her small and relatively weak body
 300.218 +exhausted, but sleep seemed light years away. Tomoyo’s mind was far
 300.219 +too consumed by the trip itself and it’s implications to worry about
 300.220 +such things as sleep. It had fulfilled one of her fondest dreams, to
 300.221 +kiss Sakura with all of the love she could muster. And even more
 300.222 +surprisingly, Sakura had returned it with a fervor she never would
 300.223 +have imagined in the brunette. It had been a magical, fairy tale like
 300.224 +kiss and that alone stood out as a symbol in her mind of the
 300.225 +affection Sakura had showered upon her during her visit. She still
 300.226 +found herself confused by it, but now there was nothing she could do
 300.227 +about it. She would soon be back home in Japan, far away from the
 300.228 +beautiful bride and her sweet and soul stirring kisses. But it left
 300.229 +Tomoyo a little uneasy. Behind the confusion surrounding Sakura’s
 300.230 +love, she saw something that resembled her own love remarkably. Like
 300.231 +a crystal clear mirror, it seemed to reflect her own love, beaming
 300.232 +from within Sakura. As if the Red String of Fate that was heavily
 300.233 +knotted around her heart also tugged at Sakura’s. This gave Tomoyo
 300.234 +pause, considering Sakura’s words on the night before she left. Even
 300.235 +Sakura’s confession had sounded like one confessing a secret love.
 300.236 +More than anything, she wanted to take that love and nurture it with
 300.237 +her own, delighting in its shimmering radiance. 
 300.238 +	Tomoyo wasn’t used to being confused. In fact, she very rarely was.
 300.239 +Her mother loved her dearly, but she was gone often with her work so
 300.240 +Tomoyo had relied heavily on her keen perception of people and their
 300.241 +hearts for most of her life which is why she was having such a
 300.242 +difficult time lying to herself that Sakura’s love was anything else.
 300.243 +Tomoyo was a terrible liar, especially to herself. But if it was
 300.244 +love, then what could she do? She had already wasted her chance to be
 300.245 +with Sakura. Sakura was already married and in a new life. She
 300.246 +couldn’t interfere. She just wanted Sakura to be happy and getting
 300.247 +involved would just make things difficult for the poor magical girl.
 300.248 +Her thoughts were finally interrupted by the pilot announcing their
 300.249 +descent into Tokyo. Tomoyo was glad for the distraction. She held her
 300.250 +teddy bear close as the plane made its way towards the airport below.
 300.251 +“I love you, Sakura-chan,” she said out loud, half hoping that it
 300.252 +would be heard and answered from across the sea.
 300.253 +
 300.254 +	Sonomi Daidouji looked down at her watch impatiently. “It’s been
 300.255 +half an hour. What if something’s happened to my darling little
 300.256 +Tomoyo-chan?” she asked no one in particular. Her voice held a tinge
 300.257 +of mania in it, an overprotective quality within her that had only
 300.258 +grown stronger since the loss of her beloved Nadeshiko. Her daughter
 300.259 +was the only person that mattered in her life anymore and she
 300.260 +couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to the pale girl. “I
 300.261 +knew I should have sent the bodyguards with her.” 
 300.262 +	Looking down at her laptop, the businesswoman sighed. She was too
 300.263 +flustered to attempt to get any work done. Her mind was concentrating
 300.264 +on other things. Her finger lingered over the shut down command, her
 300.265 +attention on the picture of Nadeshiko that she used as a background.
 300.266 +Though Nadeshiko had been a model for a number of years, this picture
 300.267 +was one of a kind. Nadeshiko had sent it explicitly to her around the
 300.268 +time she had been pregnant with Tomoyo. It was almost as if she’d
 300.269 +known. There was a sweet, simple letter attached.  It mentioned
 300.270 +nothing of the man Sonomi had come to hate, Nadeshiko’s husband,
 300.271 +Fujitaka, or even of the birth of Sakura that must have been near at
 300.272 +the time. It was merely a few words that Sonomi had read over and
 300.273 +over until the ink had gotten smeared with her fingerprints and even
 300.274 +then, they were vivid in her memory. ‘Thank you for always looking
 300.275 +out for me, Sonomi-chan. Even if I don’t see you much anymore, I
 300.276 +still hear your voice when I’m going about my day. You’ll always be
 300.277 +in my heart.’ Three years later, she had died. Sonomi had never
 300.278 +gotten to ask her why she had sent the letter. It just hadn’t seemed
 300.279 +important while she was in the hospital. Sonomi’s mind had latched
 300.280 +onto other things at the time. Her failure to protect Nadeshiko and
 300.281 +the knowledge that she would soon lose her dearest cousin in this
 300.282 +life was unbearable. It made everything else seem trivial. It was
 300.283 +ironic that the only thing able to bring her back to Nadeshiko after
 300.284 +the marriage to Fujitaka was her impending death. And she had once
 300.285 +again been left without her. 
 300.286 +	But, as Nadeshiko had said, she was always in her heart. The
 300.287 +picture that Sonomi kept on her desktop and by her nightstand was not
 300.288 +one of Nadeshiko the model, Nadeshiko the mother, or Nadeshiko the
 300.289 +bride. It was simply her beloved Nadeshiko, her sweet little cousin.
 300.290 +And that was all Sonomi ever really wanted. She had other pictures of
 300.291 +Nadeshiko around the house and at her office, but this was her
 300.292 +favorite. The words always followed in Nadeshiko’s gentle voice when
 300.293 +she would look upon it. “Nadeshiko-chan, please look out for my
 300.294 +daughter,” she said softly. 
 300.295 +	Sonomi had spent the entire trip to the mountains in the vacation
 300.296 +house plagued by worries and concerns for her daughter. She felt a
 300.297 +little ashamed at what Tomoyo would think if she knew she had been
 300.298 +smoking the entire time. But she couldn’t help it. Her mind had been
 300.299 +in shambles, a hopelessness that had shrouded her soul sneaking up
 300.300 +like a curse to strike down her only daughter. It hardly seemed fair.
 300.301 +And Sonomi, the athletic and overprotective woman she was, once again
 300.302 +failed to save those close to her. Just like she had been unable to
 300.303 +protect Nadeshiko from HIM, she was unable to protect Tomoyo from the
 300.304 +pain that had enveloped her own life. Her mind had been consumed with
 300.305 +thoughts of her poor Tomoyo in Hong Kong, painfully aware of the boy
 300.306 +that had married Sakura. She knew that she herself couldn’t have
 300.307 +handled seeing Nadeshiko during her marriage to Fujitaka. It must
 300.308 +have been terrible for Tomoyo. Which is why she had tried to get
 300.309 +Tomoyo to come up with her to the mountains. She only wanted to
 300.310 +protect her daughter from the sorrow and the hurt. Her dreams had all
 300.311 +been nightmares during her restless sleep at the vacation home,
 300.312 +always reliving either Nadeshiko’s wedding or her funeral. She would
 300.313 +wake up screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks to an empty
 300.314 +vacation home filled with smoke, silent except for the ghost of her
 300.315 +daughter’s musical voice playing at the edge of her thoughts. 
 300.316 +	Tomoyo’s return to Japan filled her with a sense of relief,
 300.317 +although an afterthought of dread followed it. She really had no idea
 300.318 +what had happened during Tomoyo’s trip and was afraid that her
 300.319 +daughter had been thoroughly crushed by it all. Knowing she was
 300.320 +coming back let her rest a bit easier because now she could once
 300.321 +again keep an eye on the younger woman, trying to help however she
 300.322 +could. She needed to know that her baby was all right, that she had
 300.323 +survived the painful ordeal. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan, I wish you had come
 300.324 +with me instead. I can’t stand to know that Sakura-chan is hurting
 300.325 +you.” A sigh escaped her. If there was one thing that Sonomi hated
 300.326 +(Fujitaka), it was (Fujitaka) not being able to protect the ones
 300.327 +dearest to her. It was that feeling of utter helplessness that held
 300.328 +her bound while she desperately wanted to make things better.  And it
 300.329 +had struck first with Nadeshiko and now with her own daughter. It
 300.330 +drove her crazy to be unable to keep her darling daughter safe from
 300.331 +the pain and torment she had lived through. Her long fingers wrapped
 300.332 +around the last cigarette in her purse. She rolled it over between
 300.333 +her fingers thoughtfully. No, being self-destructive certainly
 300.334 +wouldn’t help Tomoyo. She could almost hear her daughter’s voice
 300.335 +asking her politely not to use the little paper stick. Sighing, she
 300.336 +tossed it into the nearest trash can. 
 300.337 +	“Okaa-sama?” a tired voice asked behind her. Sonomi whirled around,
 300.338 +eyes settling on the visage of her exhausted daughter. Tomoyo had
 300.339 +dark bags under her eyes and her body seemed nearly too tired to walk
 300.340 +another step. Her smile was soft and sweet, her stormy blue eyes
 300.341 +sparkling with a mixture of emotions. Sadness, loss, joy, relief. She
 300.342 +seemed far too tired to struggle with her masks, though Sonomi could
 300.343 +see through her daughter’s charades easily enough. It looked like the
 300.344 +dark haired woman had been crying, her cheeks puffy and red and her
 300.345 +eyes bloodshot. She was holding a pink and white teddy bear and one
 300.346 +bag she had carried on with her. Sonomi’s arms wrapped around the
 300.347 +younger girl, pulling her nearly off her feet. Despite Tomoyo’s
 300.348 +exhaustion, the heiress nearly flew into her mother’s arms,
 300.349 +collapsing moments afterwards. “Okaa-sama... It’s so good to see
 300.350 +you,” she whispered. Her voice was near breaking. 
 300.351 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” Sonomi began smoothing down her daughter’s lavender
 300.352 +hair as she held onto the weak figure in her arms. “I was starting to
 300.353 +worry. I was starting to think something happened to your plane.”
 300.354 +Choking back tears that suddenly threatened the businesswoman, she
 300.355 +shook her head, smiling. “I’m just glad to see you, Tomoyo-chan.
 300.356 +Here, let the bodyguards get the rest of your bags and we’ll head
 300.357 +straight home. You look like you haven’t slept in days. We’ll get you
 300.358 +right in bed as soon as we’re home.” Standing back to get a better
 300.359 +look at her daughter, Sonomi couldn’t help but smile wider. Her worry
 300.360 +seemed to evaporate now that Tomoyo was back in Japan. Now she could
 300.361 +protect her again. Now she would be safe. “I’m so glad to have you
 300.362 +back, Tomoyo-chan.” Giving her daughter another quick hug, Sonomi
 300.363 +finally stepped back. 
 300.364 +	A soft sigh escaped Tomoyo’s lips. She was home now. The whole trip
 300.365 +was behind her now. But it still felt fresh and alive in her memory,
 300.366 +as if she was reliving it at the very moment. Seeing her mother took
 300.367 +away the edge to her pain. It was still there, but much more distant.
 300.368 +She always felt safe when her mother was nearby. Her indomitable
 300.369 +spirit was something Tomoyo had always admired about her mother, and
 300.370 +it always made things feel better when she was there. "Arigato
 300.371 +gozaimasu,” Tomoyo said, bowing. One of the darkly dressed women
 300.372 +standing behind her mother took her bag, though she held tightly onto
 300.373 +the teddy bear. Two others returned with the rest of her luggage. 
 300.374 +	Sonomi led the way towards the limousine, standing very near
 300.375 +Tomoyo, half afraid that her daughter would simply collapse. “If
 300.376 +you’re too tired, I can carry you the rest of the way,” Sonomi
 300.377 +offered, watching her daughter out of the corner of her eyes. “I used
 300.378 +to all the time when you were younger, Tomoyo-chan.” A bright smile
 300.379 +played across her lips at the memories. Her tiny little daughter
 300.380 +asleep in her arms as she would carry her off to bed. She still did
 300.381 +that occasionally when she found Tomoyo asleep while watching her
 300.382 +videotapes of Sakura. The young woman she saw next to her seemed to
 300.383 +be replaced by the tiny daughter of yesteryear, happy to see her
 300.384 +mother again after a business trip. But the look in her eyes brought
 300.385 +Sonomi back to the present. There was something in those eyes that
 300.386 +was far too old for the young woman, an ancient pain and knowledge.
 300.387 +She was mature for her years.  She always had been. She had always
 300.388 +surprised Sonomi, brightening up her otherwise lonely and busy life. 
 300.389 +	Tomoyo smiled at the offer, but shook her head politely. Long dark
 300.390 +hair fluttered from side to side. “No, that’s all right, Okaa-sama. I
 300.391 +think I can make it on my own.” She was happy to see that her mother
 300.392 +was still as sweetly overprotective as ever. It had always been
 300.393 +something she could rely on when she was younger. When she was tucked
 300.394 +away in bed, she had always known that her mother would keep an eye
 300.395 +on her. And that if anything went wrong, Sonomi would be the first to
 300.396 +her rescue. It was a comforting thought. Of course, Tomoyo tried
 300.397 +extra hard not to worry her mother because of that overprotective
 300.398 +nature. In the same way Tomoyo didn’t want Sakura to feel bad because
 300.399 +of her, she tried to do the same for her mother. But Sonomi always
 300.400 +foiled her attempts by seeing straight through her masks, looking
 300.401 +directly into her soul. She still didn’t know how her mother managed
 300.402 +it when no one else seemed capable, but the only answer her mother
 300.403 +ever supplied was simply that: She was her mother. 
 300.404 +	The two women and their small entourage finally made it to the
 300.405 +limousine out in the airport parking lot. One of the bodyguards
 300.406 +opened the door for the two of them and they slid inside the
 300.407 +comfortable interior. “How was your trip, Tomoyo-chan?” Sonomi asked
 300.408 +at last, almost afraid of the answer. To her surprise, Tomoyo giggled
 300.409 +softly, smiling brightly in response. 
 300.410 +	“It was wonderful, Okaa-sama. It was absolutely amazing. Seeing
 300.411 +Sakura-chan again was like a fairy tale. She was a beautiful
 300.412 +princess, capturing me away in a small tower in her heart during my
 300.413 +visit. I don’t think I’ve ever had dreams nearly so pleasant. It was
 300.414 +perfect, mother. I thought after so long, I would be in the way while
 300.415 +I was there, that I should try to distance myself during the trip.
 300.416 +But I couldn’t. Not with Sakura-chan. She pulled me out from behind
 300.417 +the curtains and wouldn’t let me go. We talked for hours and hours,
 300.418 +her voice is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, and we held
 300.419 +onto each other. She did my hair like she used to when we were little
 300.420 +girls and we danced late into the night together, all alone amidst
 300.421 +the crowd.” Her stormy blue eyes closed as she tilted her head to the
 300.422 +side, her cheeks flushing slightly at the memories. “We kissed under
 300.423 +the moonlight. She has incredibly soft lips. Sakura-chan is a very
 300.424 +good kisser.”
 300.425 +	Sonomi clasped her hands together, very nearly startling Tomoyo out
 300.426 +of her reverie. Her eyes shone like diamonds, an electric thrill
 300.427 +coursing up her spine. “Tomoyo-chan, you kissed Sakura-chan?” She
 300.428 +couldn’t have been happier if she’d been told that she had kissed
 300.429 +Nadeshiko. In fact, it felt almost the same. She saw so much of
 300.430 +herself and Nadeshiko in the two girls. These little things between
 300.431 +their daughters almost felt like she herself was living through it.
 300.432 +For a second, she saw Nadeshiko sitting beside her, a small smile on
 300.433 +her lips and beautiful black ribbons in her hair. She looked quite a
 300.434 +bit like Tomoyo at that age, actually. And Sakura even resembled
 300.435 +herself in some small ways. Sonomi hugged her daughter tightly,
 300.436 +delight dancing through her. “Tomoyo-chan, that’s fantastic! You’ll
 300.437 +have to tell me every single detail!”
 300.438 +	Tomoyo giggled softly and nodded. So often she kept her love for
 300.439 +Sakura to herself, locked up in her heart. She was very happy to be
 300.440 +able to share that with her mother. Her mother was nearly as obsessed
 300.441 +with Sakura as she herself was, being Nadeshiko’s daughter and all,
 300.442 +and it was wonderful to have someone to talk about it with. If anyone
 300.443 +understood her love for Sakura, it was her mother who had gone
 300.444 +through much the same thing with Nadeshiko. Smiling happily, Tomoyo
 300.445 +added, “And I have plenty of videotape from the trip. Not as much as
 300.446 +I would have liked, but I have some nice footage.” 
 300.447 +	“I can’t wait to see it all, Tomoyo-chan,” Sonomi said eagerly. She
 300.448 +felt delightfully giddy at the prospects of what had happened during
 300.449 +Tomoyo’s trip. There was even a trill of hope in her heart, one she
 300.450 +hadn’t felt in an incredibly long time. In a way, her hopes and
 300.451 +dreams had been passed on to Tomoyo. She knew that Tomoyo obviously
 300.452 +wasn’t with Sakura, but the idea of a kiss was a gripping thought.
 300.453 +"But first, you’re going to get some sleep. Then you can tell me all
 300.454 +about it.”
 300.455 +	“I would like that very much, mother,” Tomoyo replied, hugging the
 300.456 +bear named Sakura to her chest. Yawning tiredly, she felt her mother
 300.457 +pull her closer. Before long, she was asleep with her head on
 300.458 +Sonomi’s shoulder.
 300.459 +

   301.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   301.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-14.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   301.3 @@ -0,0 +1,376 @@
   301.4 +Dear Sakura
   301.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   301.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   301.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   301.8 +
   301.9 +
  301.10 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
  301.11 +
  301.12 +Thank you so much for coming to visit! It was wonderful to see you
  301.13 +again, and to be with you. I really had such a lovely time going to
  301.14 +places in the city, and just talking about things. Tomoyo-chan, being
  301.15 +with you means so much to me. When we’re together, I feel so content,
  301.16 +as if my life is all full and doesn’t need anything else. It’s almost
  301.17 +as if you’re a missing part of me, that I’m not quite complete
  301.18 +without you. I’m sorry if sometimes I get sort of emotional. You’re
  301.19 +so kind and patient. I always feel safe around you, and sometimes I
  301.20 +guess my feelings just sort of spill out. But it’s always been such a
  301.21 +help to talk with you, because I always seem to understand things
  301.22 +better afterwards. So thank you, Tomoyo-chan, both for the trip and
  301.23 +for all the years you have been my very best friend.
  301.24 +
  301.25 +The house seems terribly empty now without my pretty designer from
  301.26 +Japan. I was going to clean up your room yesterday, but somehow I
  301.27 +just got lost there, as if your sweet presence still lingered. There
  301.28 +really wasn’t much to do, since you left everything so neat and tidy.
  301.29 +But I guess I didn’t want to change anything. Not yet, anyway. So,
  301.30 +the guest room is still Tomoyo-chan’s room. It will have to be
  301.31 +patient for your return, even though it must be very sad that you
  301.32 +have gone.
  301.33 +
  301.34 +Fanren-san and I had a really nice talk over tea yesterday. It
  301.35 +seemed no matter where our conversation wandered, we always ended up
  301.36 +talking about Tomoyo-chan. She wanted to know all about you from when
  301.37 +we were growing up together. It was fun talking about all our
  301.38 +adventures with the Clow Cards, and the school projects we worked on,
  301.39 +and the field trips and just all sorts of things. When I think about
  301.40 +all we went through together, it really is quite amazing.  I tried to
  301.41 +find some pictures of you to show her, but most of them were of me,
  301.42 +or Syaoran. She was a little disappointed, and I promised to ask if
  301.43 +you might have any pictures of yourself you could send. I would be
  301.44 +happy to pay for any copies, because I would like to have them
  301.45 +myself. Fanren-san says you are an exceptional person, and anyone who
  301.46 +could capture your heart would be very fortunate, indeed. I told her
  301.47 +about your special someone, and that seemed to upset her quite a bit.
  301.48 +I almost thought she wanted to talk about something, but was keeping
  301.49 +it to herself. Anyway, we both agreed that it would be wonderful to
  301.50 +be Tomoyo-chan's true love!
  301.51 +
  301.52 +I was helping Ieran-sama with dinner last night, and she was very
  301.53 +quiet. I thanked her for the beautiful banquet she held for you. It
  301.54 +really was an amazing feast, and I know she thinks very highly of
  301.55 +you. She looked at me, and I could tell that something was bothering
  301.56 +her. I'm not sure what. She didn't say anything, except that I was
  301.57 +cutting the cabbage too thinly. But I think that she misses you, too.
  301.58 +At dinner, she had on the prettiest jade and gold earrings. I had
  301.59 +never seen them before, and told her how nice they looked on her. She
  301.60 +looked at me for the longest time, and finally said that, "Sometimes
  301.61 +we don't notice the most beautiful things in our life." She was very
  301.62 +angry, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I messed up something else in the
  301.63 +kitchen. But after dinner I made a pot of her favorite tea, and also
  301.64 +baked some almond cookies that I know she likes. She actually smiled
  301.65 +at me when I served them, though it was sort of a sad smile. Tomoyo-
  301.66 +chan, I think maybe you are right about Ieran-sama. I know she is
  301.67 +unhappy about the marriage, but it doesn't quite feel like she
  301.68 +dislikes me. I really did think at first that she hated me. But
  301.69 +Tomoyo-chan, you wouldn't smile like that at someone you hate, would
  301.70 +you? Sometimes it almost seems that she likes me a little, just not
  301.71 +as her son's wife. I wish I knew people's hearts like Tomoyo-chan.
  301.72 +You were always so wise about people, and how they felt. If it hadn't
  301.73 +been for you, I don't think I ever would have been with Sayoran like
  301.74 +this. If it hadn't been for you and everyone telling me, I don't
  301.75 +think I ever would have known that I love him. Isn't that funny, that
  301.76 +a person can love someone and not know it until everyone points it
  301.77 +out? I guess I am pretty stupid about things sometimes. Gomenasai.   
  301.78 +
  301.79 +I've been working on preparations for the new school year. There is
  301.80 +so much to be done when you are starting out a new quarter. There are
  301.81 +lesson plans, and assignments, and grading schemes, and you have to
  301.82 +look over the medical records and past performance of the girls to
  301.83 +figure out what they are capable of. And I never knew soccer was so
  301.84 +complicated. Playing it was a lot easier than coaching. Our season
  301.85 +starts in the spring, but I will do some practices with the team this
  301.86 +fall. I have a notebook of plays from last year, but trying to figure
  301.87 +out the diagrams with all of the X's and O's makes me sort of dizzy.
  301.88 +Little Jung-chan said she would help, because she knew all the plays
  301.89 +from her friend being on the team last year. She is a very bright
  301.90 +little girl, and really has helped me a lot as an assistant.  
  301.91 +
  301.92 +I wasn't going to mention this, because I don't want to bother you.
  301.93 +But I have to talk about it with someone, because it still really
  301.94 +upsets me. Something funny happened with Sayoran the night after you
  301.95 +left. He was in a real bad mood, and very angry. I've noticed that
  301.96 +when he is emotional about something, he gets short-tempered and
  301.97 +moody. I guess we make sort of a funny pair, because he has trouble
  301.98 +expressing his feelings, and I have trouble knowing mine. Anyhow, we
  301.99 +sort of got into a fight again. I really, really hate that,
 301.100 +especially with him. What he said I know he didn't really mean, but
 301.101 +it still hurt to hear. I didn't want to cry, but I just couldn't help
 301.102 +it. That made him even more mad, and he was yelling about me being a
 301.103 +stupid woman and to stop crying. That's when I ran out.
 301.104 +
 301.105 + I walked around for a long time, but just couldn't stop crying.
 301.106 +Then I noticed I had wandered into your room, and sat in the chair to
 301.107 +calm down. The moon was up, and your little quilt just glowed in the
 301.108 +beautiful, silvery light. It's odd, because it was as if you were
 301.109 +still with me in that room. Tomoyo-chan, I could feel you there,
 301.110 +comforting me and holding me close. I stopped crying, though my heart
 301.111 +still hurt terribly. Then I saw something tucked under the quilt. You
 301.112 +are going to laugh, but my first thought really was, "Oh, Tomoyo-chan
 301.113 +left some of her clothing behind. I had better fly to Tomoeda right
 301.114 +away and take it back to her!" But looking closely, I saw it was not
 301.115 +finished. Also, it didn't look like it would fit you. That is when I
 301.116 +realized it was a costume for me. 
 301.117 +
 301.118 +Arigato gozaimasu, Tomoyo-chan. I know you meant to leave it,
 301.119 +because it was folded so neatly, and tucked into your bed so
 301.120 +carefully. It is so beautiful, even if it isn't done. I remembered
 301.121 +all the funny little costumes you made for me when we were younger,
 301.122 +and all the love that was stitched into them. Back then, I really
 301.123 +didn't understand how special they were. Now, they are all my
 301.124 +precious memories, because you made them for me. It was a beautiful
 301.125 +present, and thank you for leaving it. But the most wonderful gift I
 301.126 +have ever received was you, Tomoyo-chan. Maybe because we were so
 301.127 +close for so long I didn't know. But now that you're gone again, I
 301.128 +understand. I know the most amazing thing to happen to me wasn't the
 301.129 +Cards, or all the magic, or even marrying Sayoran-chan. It was being
 301.130 +with you.
 301.131 +
 301.132 +I fell asleep in your bed, hugging the dress you made for me. I felt
 301.133 +better in the morning, so please don't feel sad. It was almost as if
 301.134 +you were there with me, sharing sweet dreams all night long.
 301.135 +Sometimes when I think about you, I get all hanyaan. And sometimes, I
 301.136 +feel such a soothing peace that everything seems all right. Last
 301.137 +night, your gentle spirit took away all the hurt in my heart. I guess
 301.138 +this is what you meant when you said you would always be with me,
 301.139 +even when we were apart. Thank you, Tomoyo-chan.
 301.140 +
 301.141 + 
 301.142 +  
 301.143 +With all my love,
 301.144 +
 301.145 +
 301.146 +
 301.147 +Kinomoto Sakura
 301.148 +
 301.149 +
 301.150 +Dear Sakura-chan,
 301.151 +	I was so delighted to receive your wonderful letter in the mail.
 301.152 +Now that you’re so far away, I find myself watching my videos of you
 301.153 +even more often just so I can see you again. Your letters are always
 301.154 +such a great gift because they let me know how you are doing now. I
 301.155 +can hear Sakura-chan’s voice speaking whenever I read them, as if you
 301.156 +were telling me these things in person. It’s very difficult not to
 301.157 +look around the room to spot you. I have all of your letters placed
 301.158 +carefully in the box with the eraser you gave me and your mother’s
 301.159 +bouquet and your own for safekeeping. I’m afraid I’ll need a bigger
 301.160 +box soon! Though they never stay in the box very long because I
 301.161 +reread your letters nearly as much as I watch my videos of you. They
 301.162 +have that wonderful feel of Sakura-chan that always managed to
 301.163 +entrance me so. It never mattered to me that you were a girl.
 301.164 +Everything about you was always so amazing that I couldn’t keep
 301.165 +myself from falling under your spell even if I tried. Which I would
 301.166 +never want to try anyway. Being near you, being your best friend was
 301.167 +the happiest time of my life. You bring an energetic joy to the world
 301.168 +that must be contagious. You’re the sun and the moon in my life,
 301.169 +granting your beautiful light even in the darkest of nights. I’m so
 301.170 +very glad for the time I could spend with you and I’m very grateful
 301.171 +to have been a part of your life. Now that I watch through your life
 301.172 +again, captured on videotape in the same way you captured Cards, I
 301.173 +wonder if things might have happened differently if... But no, that
 301.174 +really doesn’t matter. Like an excellently scripted shoujo manga,
 301.175 +Magical Girl Sakura-chan has managed to not only save the love of
 301.176 +everyone, but to capture the heart of the cute lead boy. I always
 301.177 +thought the romance in those manga were the best parts, so I’m happy
 301.178 +that Sakura-chan can have a fairy tale marriage. You have a beautiful
 301.179 +life, Sakura-chan. I hope the next installment is even more amazing
 301.180 +than the pieces I have in my VCR. 
 301.181 +	Thank you so much for the exciting visit to Hong Kong. You were by
 301.182 +far the best part of it. Even with it’s beautiful scenery and places
 301.183 +to go, it still couldn’t compare to the splendor that is Sakura-chan.
 301.184 +It was a very lovely trip and I don’t know how I could ever thank you
 301.185 +for it. The memories will forever remain deep in my heart, filling me
 301.186 +with joy when I look back on them. It was like a gorgeous dream to be
 301.187 +able to see you again, to actually be a part of your new life for a
 301.188 +short while. And here I thought I would have to wait till you were
 301.189 +pregnant to come see it. Thank you again for such a lovely
 301.190 +experience. I will carry it with me always.
 301.191 +	Now that I’m back in Japan, I find myself thinking of your smiling
 301.192 +face constantly. But that’s not very different from how I used to be,
 301.193 +so no one notices anything unusual. I told mother all about my visit
 301.194 +and she was very excited about it. It was wonderful to relive all of
 301.195 +the memories while I told her what had happened. I showed her some
 301.196 +videotape of the trip, but I really hadn’t filmed much while I was
 301.197 +there. That had surprised me because I had gone expecting to take
 301.198 +quite a bit of video sense I wouldn't be able to see you again. Ieran-
 301.199 +sama kindly gave me a videotape before I left so I was very happy
 301.200 +about that. It shows more of me than of Sakura-chan, but mother
 301.201 +didn’t seem to mind at all. She says I’m beginning to look quite a
 301.202 +bit like your mother, Sakura-chan. I can tell from some of the
 301.203 +pictures. She says that with how you and I act, we must have been
 301.204 +switched at birth. She’s still a little angry at the person in my
 301.205 +heart, but I know that she misses seeing you. You aren’t just
 301.206 +Nadeshiko’s daughter, though she was always happy about that, but
 301.207 +you’re a truly amazing person and she could see that as well as I
 301.208 +could. I know my mother would love to talk to you again. If she ever
 301.209 +says anything... Please don’t worry about her. Mother has been
 301.210 +through a lot. I know that she thinks very highly of you. She always
 301.211 +agreed with me that you were very pretty, genki, and sweet. I guess I
 301.212 +shouldn’t worry about it because you probably won’t see each other
 301.213 +again, but please know that you will always shine in her eyes as well
 301.214 +as my own. 
 301.215 +	Thank you for keeping the room as I left it, Sakura-chan. That’s
 301.216 +very nice of you. It was such a lovely room. I think a piece of me
 301.217 +will always reside there, a part of my heart remaining in Hong Kong
 301.218 +to watch over you. But please don’t worry about keeping it as I left
 301.219 +it. Life is full of change and I’m sure the room will serve other
 301.220 +purposes someday. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back for quite a
 301.221 +while as well, so you don’t have to keep it for me. I’m so glad you
 301.222 +found the dress. I wanted to give it to you, but I didn’t know what
 301.223 +to say about it. Words can be such a difficult thing sometimes. It’s
 301.224 +so much easier when you speak your heart. Which is something that I
 301.225 +always loved about you. You always did speak your heart, even when
 301.226 +you didn’t fully understand its intentions. It was always so cute to
 301.227 +see you when you were speaking passionately about one thing or
 301.228 +another. That fiery blush of yours always matched the fiery
 301.229 +determination in your eyes, making you look almost ethereal in your
 301.230 +beauty. And you would always come through, accomplishing what you set
 301.231 +your heart to, even if it wasn’t exactly what you’d intended. Sakura-
 301.232 +chan, I’m so glad you’re married. I’m so glad that you have embarked
 301.233 +on this new voyage in your life. I wish you only the best throughout
 301.234 +it all. I hope that you can have beautiful children and that your
 301.235 +life is long and fulfilling and blessedly happy. That is my fondest
 301.236 +wish and one that I will always pray for. Even if I become nothing
 301.237 +more than a distant memory in your life, I will still pour my heart
 301.238 +into those wishes for you. Please be happy, Sakura-chan. Because even
 301.239 +this far away, I never want you to ever have to be sad. 
 301.240 +	But back to the costume, I just didn’t think it was right to finish
 301.241 +it. I wanted your wedding dress to be the last costume I made for
 301.242 +you. It felt more fitting that way. So I apologize for leaving you
 301.243 +with a half finished costume. But I wanted you to have it. Perhaps as
 301.244 +a reminder or when you used to run around as my pretty Cardcaptor.
 301.245 +You always looked so gorgeous in the costumes, but you were what
 301.246 +brought out the beauty in them. They came alive when you wore them.
 301.247 +You were already so beautiful that the costumes were just an
 301.248 +accessory to the image. I hope you like the dress, even if it isn’t
 301.249 +finished. Please take good care of it. And yourself, Sakura-chan.  
 301.250 +	I enclosed some pictures of myself along with another videotape to
 301.251 +help with your cooking. The recipe on this tape is a little more
 301.252 +complicated, but I made sure to explain everything as well as I could
 301.253 +in it. I’m sure by now you will be able to make it perfectly. Just
 301.254 +remember to throw in a pinch or two of love to give it a little of
 301.255 +your own touch. If you go at it with the same burning determination
 301.256 +I’ve seen in you countless times before, then I know this will taste
 301.257 +exquisite. The camera angles might be a little awkward because
 301.258 +Chiyomi (one of my bodyguards) hasn’t used a camcorder before, but
 301.259 +she’s a quick learner, so it gets much better a few minutes into it.
 301.260 +I looked around for some pictures of myself to send, but it turns out
 301.261 +that most of my pictures are of Sakura-chan. I finally went and had
 301.262 +some pictures taken and I’ve put those with the letter. Mother teased
 301.263 +me about becoming a model like your mother, but I think I’ll stick
 301.264 +with toy designing. I always enjoyed being behind the camera much
 301.265 +more than being in front of it. Like with the plays we were a part of
 301.266 +and your Card capturing, I felt much more comfortable either behind
 301.267 +the camera’s lens or working on the costumes. Even with my singing,
 301.268 +the crowds were never my favorite part. But I just loved being able
 301.269 +to pour out my feelings in song. Which is probably why I used to sing
 301.270 +to myself when I would work on your costumes. Anyway, I hope that you
 301.271 +and Fanren-san can use the pictures. Writing about this has reminded
 301.272 +me of a few pictures I carry of you in my purse. I’m looking at the
 301.273 +one I took of you holding the King Penguin statue right now. You were
 301.274 +so adorable in it!
 301.275 +	I’m glad that you and Fanren-san could talk. She is a very
 301.276 +straightforward person, so I’m a little surprised that she didn’t
 301.277 +tell you what she meant. She helped quite a bit with the banquet and
 301.278 +my time in Hong Kong in general. She is a very warm and very kind
 301.279 +woman. I received a letter from her a short time ago which I’m going
 301.280 +to get back to tonight (I’m writing this during my lunch break.
 301.281 +Mother and I are having lunch at a very nice restaurant. She’s on her
 301.282 +cell phone right now so I decided to write back). She and I had a lot
 301.283 +to talk about. She must get her perceptiveness from her mother, even
 301.284 +if they don’t act much alike. I would say she’s like the older sister
 301.285 +I never had, but I don’t think she’d like the example. That doesn’t
 301.286 +exactly fit either. I’m very glad that she and I managed to talk
 301.287 +while I was there. 
 301.288 +	Yes, the person I love is an extremely amazing person. I’m very
 301.289 +happy that everything has worked out for them. I’ve come to a few
 301.290 +difficult decisions lately. I don’t think I’m going to see them
 301.291 +anymore, Sakura-chan. I love them so much that being around them is
 301.292 +almost overwhelming. Being a part of their life and watching them in
 301.293 +love is very difficult. I should be happy for them. And I am happy
 301.294 +for them. But part of my heart longs for them terribly at times. If I
 301.295 +stay in their life, I think it will be too much for me. I don’t think
 301.296 +I could handle it. And if they find out my feelings, then it will
 301.297 +ruin things. Both their memories of me and the life they have now. So
 301.298 +I’m going to quietly slip from their life. I will always love them
 301.299 +with every bit of my heart and soul, but I don’t think I can stay any
 301.300 +longer. It’s a very painful decision, but I think it’s all I can do
 301.301 +now. I will always have my memories of this wonderful person. And one
 301.302 +day I would like to be their guardian angel, to watch over them as
 301.303 +they continue forward in their life. 
 301.304 +	I know that Ieran-sama can seem a bit harsh and distant at times,
 301.305 +but she is a very loving woman. She wants what is best for her family
 301.306 +and for those she cares about. You have to remember that she intended
 301.307 +for Li-kun to marry Meiling-chan. And with the structure of the Li
 301.308 +Clan and life in Hong Kong, that has caused her some difficulty. And
 301.309 +aside from that, she has other concerns as well. I talked to her for
 301.310 +a bit and it seems that she worries quite a bit about you. But she
 301.311 +doesn’t hate you, Sakura-chan. I can’t think of anyone who could ever
 301.312 +hate you. I think she’s merely concerned about you. As time goes by,
 301.313 +I’m sure she will warm up to you as a member of her family. Li-kun
 301.314 +was always afraid of her, but his sisters seem to think of her very
 301.315 +differently. Sense you are Li-kun’s wife, you are placed in a similar
 301.316 +position to Li-kun. But as time goes by, I’m sure that the two of you
 301.317 +will grow much closer. She seems to have a very loving relationship
 301.318 +with her daughters. In time I believe she will come to see you as one
 301.319 +of them. 	By the way, how is Meiling-chan doing? The last I had seen
 301.320 +of her was at the banquet. I hope that she is doing better now. She
 301.321 +must still be upset about Li-kun. I can understand, even if she and I
 301.322 +took different paths in regards to the ones we love. She reminds me a
 301.323 +bit of my mother, so I worry about her. Both are very strong,
 301.324 +outspoken women who let their emotions show through easily. That also
 301.325 +worries me about you, Sakura-chan. I know how angry my mother is with
 301.326 +your father and I don’t want Meiling-chan to be that angry with you. 
 301.327 +	The new school year must be very busy for you, especially if you’ll
 301.328 +be doing cheerleading as well as your normal classes. But I’m very
 301.329 +excited about it, even if I won’t be seeing it. The thought of Sakura-
 301.330 +chan teaching talented young girls about cheerleading warms my heart.
 301.331 +I always loved watching you when you were in your cute little
 301.332 +cheerleading uniform, practicing all sorts of moves and chants. The
 301.333 +little show your girls put on for me was amazing. It reminded me of
 301.334 +all the wonderful things you used to do. I’ll have to go watch my
 301.335 +videotape of you cheerleading when I get home. I’m sure that with
 301.336 +Jung-chan’s help everything will flow nicely. Her interest in soccer
 301.337 +is probably based on her friend, but my interest in cheerleading was
 301.338 +based on you, so I’m sure she paid plenty of attention to what her
 301.339 +friend did, at the very least. Please be careful with her, Sakura-
 301.340 +chan. I think she’s very much in love herself. I’m very glad that
 301.341 +you’ve been keeping an eye out for her. I think she may need it,
 301.342 +especially as time goes by. 
 301.343 +	Oh, Sakura-chan, I am so sorry that you got into another fight with
 301.344 +Li-kun! I feel so awful every time the two of you argue. And I’m
 301.345 +afraid that this might be my fault. I know that Li-kun can get very
 301.346 +jealous about things, like with you and your brother when it came to
 301.347 +Yukito and Eriol-kun when it came to you. I noticed that the two of
 301.348 +you didn’t spend much time together during my visit. You see Li-kun
 301.349 +everyday, but this had been the first time you had seen me in quite
 301.350 +some time, so it made sense that you would spend time with me. But he
 301.351 +must have felt like I was trying to take you away from him or that I
 301.352 +was wasting all of your time. I’m very sorry, Sakura-chan. I never
 301.353 +wanted to cause any trouble for the two of you. I can send him an
 301.354 +apology if you would like. I want the two of you to be as happy as
 301.355 +possible. I don’t want there to be any waves in your beautiful
 301.356 +marriage. I’m very glad that I could help, even if I wasn’t there.
 301.357 +You’re very important to me, Sakura-chan. You’ll always be in my
 301.358 +thoughts and in my heart. I wish I could have been there with you,
 301.359 +holding you all night long. But I’m glad your dress was there
 301.360 +instead. Even if it’s unfinished, it’s still filled with love and
 301.361 +care. 
 301.362 +	I’m so happy to hear you say that I was the most wonderful gift you
 301.363 +have received. That makes my heart sing and makes me feel so warm
 301.364 +inside. Thank you so very much, Sakura-chan. Meeting you was the best
 301.365 +thing that has ever happened to me. You were a sparkling angel in my
 301.366 +life that lit my life with the brightness of your heart. I could
 301.367 +never forget you or imagine a life without the fond memories that you
 301.368 +have bestowed upon me. Sakura-chan, thank you for being a part of my
 301.369 +life. Thank you for all of the wonderful moments that I can dream
 301.370 +about. Thank you for being you, Sakura-chan. Even if we’re far apart,
 301.371 +even if our letters suddenly stopped, I will always be with you.
 301.372 +Because my heart will always call out to you. 
 301.373 +
 301.374 +You friend forever,
 301.375 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 301.376 +
 301.377 +
 301.378 +
 301.379 +

   302.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   302.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-15.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   302.3 @@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
   302.4 +Dear Sakura
   302.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   302.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   302.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   302.8 +
   302.9 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
  302.10 +
  302.11 +Thank you so much for the beautiful dragonfly pin! I really love it.
  302.12 +It's just like you to pick out such a thoughtful and charming gift. A
  302.13 +job as a designer suits you well, because you have a wonderful
  302.14 +aesthetic. It shows through in so many wys: how you dress, the ways
  302.15 +you wear your hair, and even in your most delightful manner of
  302.16 +conversation. This House has not been so blessed with lovliness since
  302.17 +Sakura first came home as Sayoran's bride. With the two of you here
  302.18 +together under this one roof, it was quite a spectacle of beauty! I
  302.19 +know all here were very thankful to have had the pleasure of your
  302.20 +company during an all too brief stay.
  302.21 +
  302.22 +Please pardon my halting attempts at Japanese. I have been hard at
  302.23 +work on the language ever since Sakura came to live here.. Of course,
  302.24 +I learned the language in college, and sometimes have had recourse to
  302.25 +it at work. But unless one speaks a laguage regularly with a native,
  302.26 +it is difficult to master all of the nuances, yes? Sakura has been
  302.27 +very kindly helping me, and I think she also enjoys conversing in
  302.28 +Japanese now and then. I know it has helped me quite a lot!
  302.29 +
  302.30 +Also, thank you for coming for Sakura's sake. I think she sometimes
  302.31 +gets a little lonely here, so far away from friends and family and
  302.32 +her first home in Tomoeda. After I first saw you, I could understand
  302.33 +why she feels that way! She talks about you all the time lately. She
  302.34 +is quite terribly sad about your departure, but will, I am certain,
  302.35 +treasure the memories of you forever. Tomoyo-chan, she is really very
  302.36 +fond of you. I think perhaps even more than she knows? She is in some
  302.37 +ways a simple girl, and sometimes does not see subtle things. But she
  302.38 +has a marvelously big heart, and it is so full of love. Sometimes I
  302.39 +wonder about certain aspects of the wisdom she has had in marrying my
  302.40 +brother. I love little oniichan very much, but there are times when
  302.41 +one wonders about certain things, yes? Being a boy, he was always
  302.42 +very mysterious to me. I know that he cares for her, but about her
  302.43 +love, well, I am not sure if he quite knows what to do with it all? 
  302.44 +
  302.45 +There is an old saying in China, that a full heart is an empty
  302.46 +heart. What that paradoxical thing means is that the more you love,
  302.47 +the more you yourself need love. That is, the love of a girl like
  302.48 +Sakura is so vast and great, but in turn she also must be loved
  302.49 +greatly. Her heart is big and full of love, but it also needs to be
  302.50 +filled with an equal measure of the precious love of another. I have
  302.51 +sometimes wondered if my brother is capable of such love for his most
  302.52 +gorgeous bride from Japan. Is that a terrible thing for a sister to
  302.53 +say? I am sorry. I am not so subtle as my Mother, a thing she has
  302.54 +reprimanded me forever since I was a very little girl. I tease her
  302.55 +that she never seemed to reprimand me very hard, though, and this is
  302.56 +why I am so outspoken and such an embarrassment to the family. She
  302.57 +says she should have hit me more often, but I know she is kidding.
  302.58 +Anyway, Tomoyo-chan, I think you know what I am talking about here,
  302.59 +because I sense that you, too, have a vast heart that is loving, but
  302.60 +also needs love.
  302.61 +
  302.62 +Oh, please do not think that because I am outspoken I cannot keep a
  302.63 +secret within my heart. I must say in honesty that I thought about
  302.64 +telling someone your true feelings. They say that eyes cannot lie, or
  302.65 +even hide the truth. Anyone who has seen your beautiful eyes, which
  302.66 +are like a stormy sea, azure and deep, knows who heaven has favored
  302.67 +with your love and affection. But even though this fortunate one has
  302.68 +somehow not seen herself, I will not tell her, though in some ways my
  302.69 +heart breaks for both of you. It is like some sad story from long
  302.70 +ago. It is like watching a play, where tragedy is happening, but you
  302.71 +are in the audience and can do nothing. Well, please know that I will
  302.72 +not speak of all this with her. But perhaps, you might consider who
  302.73 +should speak to her about your true feelings? Aiyaaa, there I go
  302.74 +again, being outrageously outspoken. If Mother were here, she would
  302.75 +no doubt rap me most smartly on the head with her fan. And I would no
  302.76 +doubt deserve it!
  302.77 +Well, I most certainly enjoyed your visit. It was a delight and a
  302.78 +pleasure and a blessing to be with you as much as I was, though it
  302.79 +was not as much as I would have liked. Please do consider returning
  302.80 +to our home again someday, provided of course you can bear our
  302.81 +shamefully humble hospitality. I would love to take you out to see
  302.82 +more of the city. 
  302.83 +
  302.84 +Sakura-chan told me you are a most wonderful dancer. I know some
  302.85 +very fun and exciting clubs where one can dance, and forget. Oh, and
  302.86 +perhaps Sakura-chan could come also, yes? Gomenesai, I am very
  302.87 +wicked, for I thought that perhaps she would be too busy to go. But
  302.88 +truly, it would be a joy to see you again, Tomoyo-chan. I pray that
  302.89 +someday I will.
  302.90 +Thank you again for the beautiful pin. It is my treasure.
  302.91 +
  302.92 +Your translator friend in Hong Kong,
  302.93 +
  302.94 +Li Fanren
  302.95 +
  302.96 +
  302.97 +
  302.98 +Dear Fanren-san,
  302.99 +	It was a pleasant surprise to find a letter from you shortly after
 302.100 +Sakura-chan wrote me. And please don’t worry about your Japanese. I
 302.101 +wish I had learned some Chinese when I was younger myself. It sure
 302.102 +would have helped now that Sakura-chan is living in Hong Kong. I was
 302.103 +thoroughly delighted to visit. You have such a wonderful home and I
 302.104 +was very happy to see Sakura-chan once more. You and your sisters are
 302.105 +all extremely beautiful, which you must all get from your mother.
 302.106 +Such a lovely household was very pleasant place to stay during my
 302.107 +visit. I cannot thank you enough for your help, especially during the
 302.108 +banquet. I have gone to several important banquets here in Japan with
 302.109 +my mother, but none as grand as the one at your home. I would have
 302.110 +been completely lost without your help. And not just your help at the
 302.111 +banquet. Talking to you helped me quite a bit as well. Being around
 302.112 +Sakura-chan was a joy, but it toyed with my heart at times. I’ve been
 302.113 +in love with her for so long now. Seeing her like that, married to
 302.114 +your brother, it was very bittersweet. I’m very happy that she
 302.115 +married him. He can keep her safe and love her and give her a child.
 302.116 +But at the same time, I miss her very dearly. My heart will always
 302.117 +belong to her, even if she doesn’t know that. Being near her, loving
 302.118 +her, is the most joyful pain that I know of. I know I can never have
 302.119 +her, that her heart belongs to another, but these days it isn’t as
 302.120 +much comfort as it was when I was a little girl. I think I had
 302.121 +mistaken myself into thinking it would become easier as I grew older. 
 302.122 +	I agree that Sakura-chan must have been lonely before my visit. I
 302.123 +could tell in her letters that she was getting homesick at times. She
 302.124 +was always very close to her family and friends, so it must have been
 302.125 +very painful for her to move away from all of them. I hope that I
 302.126 +managed to help that with my visit. I really want her to feel better.
 302.127 +She has her new family now and it sounds like she’s already making
 302.128 +new friends. She’s a bright spot that other’s can’t help but gather
 302.129 +around. It was the same when she was back here in Tomoeda. I think
 302.130 +Sakura doesn’t quite understand all of her feelings even now. That’s
 302.131 +part of what made it so difficult to leave. I almost ran back to her
 302.132 +waiting arms instead of boarding my plane. But I knew if I couldn’t
 302.133 +leave then, I could never truly leave her life. And I think in the
 302.134 +end, that is the best for both of us. If I quietly fade from her
 302.135 +life, then I will leave the beautiful memories intact, and her
 302.136 +happiness will be assured. She is married to the man she loves and
 302.137 +has a wonderful life. All I can do is ruin that. If she found out my
 302.138 +feelings, she would undoubtedly try to fix things. Sakura-chan always
 302.139 +wants to make things better, especially for those she cares about.
 302.140 +She could never simply reject me, and that would cause problems with
 302.141 +her husband. There is no solution to this problem. She couldn’t fix
 302.142 +things. So I can’t let her know. I had my chance to tell her years
 302.143 +ago. But I never did. And so I don’t think she ever will know. And
 302.144 +that’s probably for the best. If I stay, I don’t think I could
 302.145 +survive. My heart would shatter in its attempts to be near her,
 302.146 +watching her happy life from inside the play. It’s much safer for me
 302.147 +to be in the audience. It always has been. But I can’t do that
 302.148 +anymore. If I stay, I’ll be too close to things. And my heart can’t
 302.149 +bear that anymore.
 302.150 +	‘A full heart is an empty heart’. That is a very wise saying. I
 302.151 +have seen it time and time again. I think that is why I can’t stay.
 302.152 +That’s what makes my heart so brittle the longer I stay in Sakura-
 302.153 +chan’s life. The more you love someone, the more you give of your
 302.154 +heart, the more painful it becomes as your love is left unreturned.
 302.155 +But you can’t force someone to love you. Who you love, who takes the
 302.156 +most important spot in your heart, it seems to be Fate who decides
 302.157 +such things. Our hearts reach out to those that we love, giving them
 302.158 +all that we are. Whether Sakura loves me or not was never something
 302.159 +that mattered in my love for her. I simply do. And if she doesn’t see
 302.160 +my love, then that’s just fine. I only want her to be happy. If the
 302.161 +one you love is happy, then shouldn’t that be the best realization of
 302.162 +your love? Isn’t that what you truly want for them above all else?
 302.163 +Sakura-chan has a very warm, loving heart. I hope that in time, Li-
 302.164 +kun can fill her heart to the brim so that hers will never be empty.
 302.165 +It’s an interesting paradox. The more I love Sakura-chan, the more I
 302.166 +need love myself from the saying’s wisdom. But I cannot have her
 302.167 +love. Nor could I ever quit loving her. For a short time, I actually
 302.168 +considered what you said after the banquet. You are a beautiful
 302.169 +woman, Fanren-san, and very kind and loving. Anyone who manages to
 302.170 +capture your heart in coming years will be very lucky indeed. The
 302.171 +thought of having someone as wonderful as yourself  to hold close and
 302.172 +to weather life’s many storms with was incredibly tempting. And
 302.173 +something I had never dealt with before. My own love life has never
 302.174 +been one of my biggest concerns, so I haven’t devoted much thought to
 302.175 +it. Sakura-chan’s love life was always much more important to me.
 302.176 +Thank you very much for your kind words. They lifted my spirits when
 302.177 +I was starting to stumble. I finally decided that it wouldn’t be fair
 302.178 +to you. My heart is bound to Sakura-chan’s with beautiful red ribbons
 302.179 +that I could not hope to unwind. You deserve someone who can love you
 302.180 +with all of their heart. Thank you again. You have helped me so much.
 302.181 +I am very grateful to have had the chance to know you. On my first
 302.182 +visit to Hong Kong, I was still just a child so we didn’t have much
 302.183 +of a chance to speak. I’m very glad we got to this time. So yes, my
 302.184 +heart is empty as its love is all poured forth to Sakura-chan. But it
 302.185 +seems I can’t have it any other way. 
 302.186 +	Thank you for the kind offer. If you ever find yourself in Tomoeda,
 302.187 +I would be most pleased to take you up on it. I don’t know of as many
 302.188 +clubs around here, but I do know of a wonderful place to dance that
 302.189 +my mother goes to occasionally. Thank you again for everything,
 302.190 +Fanren-san. It’s very nice to have someone to talk to about these
 302.191 +things. And please don’t worry about wanting to tell Sakura-chan how
 302.192 +I feel. I’ve been telling her for years and there have been many
 302.193 +times that I’ve wanted to explain to her what I meant. I hope
 302.194 +everything works out wonderfully for you.
 302.195 +
 302.196 +Forever in your debt, 
 302.197 +Daidouji Tomoyo 
 302.198 +	 
 302.199 +
 302.200 +
 302.201 +
 302.202 +
 302.203 +
 302.204 +
 302.205 +
 302.206 +

   303.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   303.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-16.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   303.3 @@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
   303.4 +Dear Sakura
   303.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   303.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   303.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   303.8 +
   303.9 +
  303.10 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
  303.11 +
  303.12 +
  303.13 +Thank you for the beautiful letter. It means so much to me when you
  303.14 +write. I wanted to tell you about your letters. I guess that sounds
  303.15 +sort of silly, because you write them and know all about them. But
  303.16 +what I mean to say is, let me tell you why they are so special to me.
  303.17 +When I am expecting one, everyday I rush to the mailbox, or to the
  303.18 +little whicker basket where the servants deposit the mail, hoping it
  303.19 +has come. It was like this waiting for Syaoran-chan's letters all
  303.20 +those times he was away in Hong Kong. Except his letters were pretty
  303.21 +short now that I think about it, and were mainly special because he
  303.22 +wrote them. Anyhow, when I do see one of your letters I know it right
  303.23 +away. The envelopes are very distinctive, with a heavy paper and
  303.24 +creamy color. When I see one, my heart dances with joy, because I
  303.25 +know that your precious thoughts and feelings are sealed inside.
  303.26 +Sometimes I am so excited I read it there in the hallway, or outside
  303.27 +by the little black mailbox. But sometimes it is like Christmas Eve,
  303.28 +when it is more exciting to wait and unwrap the beautiful presents at
  303.29 +just the right time. So, sometimes I wait for a special moment when I
  303.30 +am alone and can read in silence. I read the last letter you wrote at
  303.31 +midnight, in the garden, by moonlight. 
  303.32 +
  303.33 +When I open the envelope I feel all excited, and sometimes have to
  303.34 +calm down before reading. Tomoyo-chan, your letters have a wonderful
  303.35 +scent, like lilacs. I am not sure if you use scented stationary, or
  303.36 +if it is just you. Sometimes if I close my eyes it is like having you
  303.37 +with me again, so close. Then I start to read. Your calligraphy is
  303.38 +exquisite. Your scriot always amazed me when we were going to school.
  303.39 +I was just happy to get the strokes right, but your writing flowed
  303.40 +like a shimmering river. But what you write to me is even lovelier
  303.41 +than the beautiful characters. When I am sad, you cheer me up, and
  303.42 +when I am confused about something, you help me understand. You know
  303.43 +and understand so much. All of my life you have been there to help me
  303.44 +along. When I thought about this, I realized your letters are just
  303.45 +like you. They are beautiful, and kind, and brimming with love.
  303.46 +Gomenesai, Tomoyo-chan. For all the years we were together, I don't
  303.47 +think I quite understood. About you, I mean. Because you were always
  303.48 +with me, and were so close, I don't think I understood how important
  303.49 +you are to me. Lately there is an odd, empty feeling I have, as if
  303.50 +something is missing from my body. Something I long for, something to
  303.51 +fill and complete me. I never felt this way before. Even all the
  303.52 +times Syaoran was gone, I missed him, but not like this. When I read
  303.53 +your letters, for a few golden moments I feel whole again. When you
  303.54 +were here for your visit, I was happier than I have been since
  303.55 +leaving home. Because you were with me. 
  303.56 +
  303.57 +Your letters are like little whispers from far away. When they come,
  303.58 +I listen with all my heart. They mean so very much to me. I keep them
  303.59 +in a little folder close to the bed, although your last letter is
  303.60 +under my pillow when I sleep. Sometimes I take them to school, and re-
  303.61 +read them during the day. Once my sensei-friend, Jun-sama, found me
  303.62 +reading them during lunch. She says she called my name several times
  303.63 +before I noticed her standing there. I bowed and apologized for my
  303.64 +rudeness, but she laughed and said it was charming that a married
  303.65 +woman was still receiving love letters. That made me blush terribly,
  303.66 +and she laughed even more when she found out the letter was from you.
  303.67 +We talked after that, and I told her how much I miss you. She said
  303.68 +that you probably miss me just as much, which was amazing because
  303.69 +I've never thought of it like that. She said friends and lovers are
  303.70 +both sad when they are separated. The difference is that friends can
  303.71 +gradually become used to distance, but that the hearts of lovers
  303.72 +always suffer when they are apart. I told her this seemed odd,
  303.73 +because it was the opposite with me. When Syaoran-chan was gone all
  303.74 +those years, I eventually got used to things. But I told her that
  303.75 +with you, my friend, it has gotten worse everyday. She looked sort of
  303.76 +sad and sighed when I said this. I told her it must have been very
  303.77 +difficult for her, losing her love the way she did. Jun-sama said her
  303.78 +heart has never healed, and never will. Tomoyo-chan, I felt so sad
  303.79 +for her because her love is gone from the world. I started to cry.
  303.80 +She hugged me, like a mother would to reassure a child. But she
  303.81 +didn't tell me everything would be all right, because she was crying,
  303.82 +too. And it won't ever be all right for her, because her love is dead.
  303.83 +
  303.84 +Gomenesai, I'm crying again. I'm crying a lot lately, and I'm not
  303.85 +sure why. I feel awful for Jun-sama, and your Mother, and my Father.
  303.86 +Their hearts must be so lonely all the time. I feel like this because
  303.87 +you are gone, and we are best friends. How can they live when their
  303.88 +true love has left them forever? And I know I will see you again, and
  303.89 +soon I hope. But they will never be with the one they love. That's
  303.90 +why it makes me so sad when you wrote that you will never see your
  303.91 +special someone again. I am so very sorry I never knew how much pain
  303.92 +not being with your true love has brought you. Gomenesai, until that
  303.93 +night in the garden, I never knew. In my heart it feels like this is
  303.94 +all my fault. Maybe if I had understood, I could have helped. Why
  303.95 +didn’t I know when we were so close? I was so caught up in the Cards,
  303.96 +and Li-kun, and so many trivial things while my best friend needed
  303.97 +me. How could I have been so stupid?  I was your best friend, and I
  303.98 +failed you.Gomenesai.Gomenesai, Tomoyo-chan.
  303.99 +
 303.100 +It's morning now and I'm writing this on the bus to work. I couldn’t
 303.101 +write anymore last night. I was still sad when I woke up, but now
 303.102 +know what to do now. I can never make up for all the pain in your
 303.103 +heart. I am more sorry than I can say, yet all the apologies that can
 303.104 +be made won't fix things. But I will. I swear it. I am certain that
 303.105 +anyone would be blessed and honored by your love. I know I would!
 303.106 +Even if they are married, or with someone else, there has to be room
 303.107 +in their heart for your love. There has to be. It's just too horrible
 303.108 +if they don't know about you.  If they never know of your love, it is
 303.109 +almost as if they were dead. Please don’t worry, Tomoyo-chan, because
 303.110 +everything will be all right. I cannot live and be happy if you are
 303.111 +sad.
 303.112 +
 303.113 +Now, as for the rest of your wonderful letter. Thank you so much for
 303.114 +the beautiful photographs! Your Mother is right. You would make a
 303.115 +delightful model. I am looking at one of the pictures now, the one
 303.116 +where you are in the blue sundress, with your hand holding onto your
 303.117 +hat. It reminds me of our trip to the beach. I get very hanyaan when
 303.118 +I see you in this picture. It was so incredible to swim with you, to
 303.119 +hold you close in the warm water. Aiyaaa! Tomoyo-chan, sometimes I am
 303.120 +surprised at how I feel about you. It's funny, because we are both
 303.121 +girls and all, but when we kissed I was in another world, another
 303.122 +place that I wanted to be in forever. Just remembering the garden
 303.123 +makes me dizzy and faint and filled with joy. Oniichan said once that
 303.124 +a kiss is how two souls meet. He doesn't usually say such nice
 303.125 +things, but I think it is true. I never felt so close to you as that
 303.126 +night. 
 303.127 +
 303.128 +I hope no one sees me blushing like this on the bus. Thinking about
 303.129 +people seeing me blush is making it worse. But anyway, thank you
 303.130 +again for the pictures. Oh, and Fanren says thank you, too. She was
 303.131 +very excited to get the photographs. She really likes you. I also
 303.132 +love my Tomoyo-chan cooking video. I was going to make the recipe
 303.133 +yesterday afternoon, but I couldn't stop watching you. Tomoyo-chan is
 303.134 +like a pretty ballerina in the kitchen, so cute and fun to watch. I
 303.135 +will try and concentrate on the recipe this weekend. 
 303.136 +
 303.137 +Thank you for talking about Syoaran-chanand me. It really helps so
 303.138 +much. You are so perceptive, and it is always wonderful to be able to
 303.139 +talk about things. I have never been very good about understanding
 303.140 +people. So often they say one thing, and mean something else. So,
 303.141 +hearts are very mysterious to me. I thought I knew all about Syaoran-
 303.142 +chan, but I didn't. Oniichan says that you only begin to know someone
 303.143 +when you are living together. Sugoi, another thing Oniichan said that
 303.144 +isn't stupid! Anyway, I wonder sometimes if Syaoran is the same
 303.145 +person I married. When I told him this he just got more angry, and
 303.146 +said I was imagining things. But maybe it is true. He says things to
 303.147 +me now that he never did before. And he seems distant, somehow. I
 303.148 +know he loves me, and I still love him with all my heart, of course.
 303.149 +Well. Anyway, please do not think that you are the reason for certain
 303.150 +things between Syaoran and me lately. Tomoyo-chan, we don't see each
 303.151 +other a lot anyway, because he is so busy. Our being together cannot
 303.152 +have bothered him all that much. I really don't think our being
 303.153 +together was what upset him. I guess he has a lot on his mind with
 303.154 +work and all. 
 303.155 +
 303.156 +I do feel bad about Meiling-chan. I don't think she wants to see me,
 303.157 +or I would have talked to her before. Not long ago I asked Fanren-san
 303.158 +about it, and she said that Meiling-chan has always been quick to
 303.159 +anger and slow to forget. She said that Syaoran-chan and Meiling-chan
 303.160 +had been matched at birth as a most propitious couple by her
 303.161 +grandfather, who was a revered Master of the Chinese magic concerned
 303.162 +with beginnings and endings. I thought I should apologize to him, so
 303.163 +I visited his grave at the family cemetery. The cemeteries in Hong
 303.164 +Kong are even more crowded than those in Tokyo. Most of the graves
 303.165 +are very small, but his was large and quite elaborate, which is no
 303.166 +doubt a mark of great respect. I left flowers, and said prayers of
 303.167 +apology. But I did not feel good afterwards, and came down with quite
 303.168 +a cold. When Ieran-sama found out how I came to be sick, she said
 303.169 +this was what happens to those who meddle with angry ghosts. I was so
 303.170 +scared by what she said that it was hard to sleep that night. Do you
 303.171 +think I should try and talk to Meiling-chan? 
 303.172 +
 303.173 +Tomoyo-chan, I miss you so much. I wish I had back all the time we
 303.174 +were together, to live again knowing what I know now. I wonder if
 303.175 +things would different? I pray we can be together soon. It’s so hard
 303.176 +not to be with you.
 303.177 +
 303.178 +Love,
 303.179 +
 303.180 +Kinomoto Sakura
 303.181 +
 303.182 +PS Please give my best wishes to your Mother. I have been thinking a
 303.183 +lot about her lately.
 303.184 +
 303.185 +
 303.186 +  
 303.187 +
 303.188 +
 303.189 +Dear Sakura-chan,
 303.190 +	I hope this letter finds you well. I hope you are curled up with
 303.191 +your husband, happy and loved, content with the wonders that life has
 303.192 +bestowed upon you. My one wish for you is that you will spend the
 303.193 +rest of your days in endless joy. That your laugh will echo through
 303.194 +the Li home, that your smile will light up the lives of everyone who
 303.195 +is blessed with your presence. That you and your husband can forever
 303.196 +travel the moonlit seas of eternity. If I know that you are happy, it
 303.197 +will always bring a smile to my face. What would make me happiest
 303.198 +would be to know that my darling Sakura-chan is shining brightly. If
 303.199 +you could grant me a single wish, Sakura-chan, that is what I would
 303.200 +like the most. You don't need to find my True Love or even grant me
 303.201 +the boundless thrill of your presence. All I want is to know that you
 303.202 +will always be happy, that you will face this life with a beautiful
 303.203 +smile. If I know that, then I can smile as well. I'll forever watch
 303.204 +over your beautiful emerald eyes and you pretty smiling lips. And
 303.205 +that will be my greatest joy. I'm sure you will have a gorgeous life,
 303.206 +Sakura-chan. Your story isn't over yet. I want Sakura-chan to have
 303.207 +the happiest ending. 
 303.208 +	Sakura-chan, thank you so much for being my best friend for all of
 303.209 +these years. You befriended me when no one else would, showing me
 303.210 +from the start how kind and sweet you are. I will always love you for
 303.211 +that. You were always so cute and genki. Being around you always made
 303.212 +my days a little taste of the heavens. I will forever treasure the
 303.213 +beautiful gift of friendship that you have given me. You will never
 303.214 +know how much it meant to me. Having a best friend like you was
 303.215 +almost too much to bear at times. It was like a lovely dream that I
 303.216 +never wanted to wake up from. Just like the eraser you gave me my
 303.217 +first day of school, I'll keep your friendship in a little locked
 303.218 +box, this one deep inside my heart. It was the most precious gift
 303.219 +anyone has ever given me. 
 303.220 +	You were an amazing girl and you've grown up to be an even more
 303.221 +amazing woman. All of the videotape in the world couldn't catch every
 303.222 +bit of you. I can only settle for the slivers that I've managed to
 303.223 +capture on tape, beautiful moments suspended forever. Time has been
 303.224 +very generous to you, Sakura-chan. I'm glad that I've been able to
 303.225 +see its affect. But time also leaves many endings in it's wake. It's
 303.226 +not something to fear, though. With endings come new beginnings.
 303.227 +Those whose stories have ended can watch those whose stories are just
 303.228 +beginning. In time, I'm sure that you will have a beautiful child. I
 303.229 +can already see her. Very cute, and very energetic, just like her
 303.230 +mother. I know you'll make an excellent mother. You have so much love
 303.231 +in your heart. I know she will never be left wanting.
 303.232 +	Sakura-chan, I'm very sorry, but I'll be going away soon. I don't
 303.233 +know where yet. I just think that there are things I should do with
 303.234 +my life now. I'll be leaving Tomoeda shortly, though I haven't
 303.235 +decided on a destination. Mother doesn't want me to leave, but I
 303.236 +think she understands that it's for the best. I want her to be happy,
 303.237 +too, but like you said about Jun-san, I'm not sure if she ever can be
 303.238 +without Nadeshiko-san. That has always broken my heart because I know
 303.239 +mother sees some of Nadeshiko-san in me and it must be painful for
 303.240 +her. She has been hurt quite a bit, but she has always moved forward.
 303.241 +She is a very strong woman. She really did think you were a wonderful
 303.242 +girl, Sakura-chan. She still does, I know it. 
 303.243 +	I'm sorry. I spilled some droplets of water on the paper again. I
 303.244 +must be getting clumsy these days. Sakura-chan, it's so hard to say
 303.245 +goodbye. I never understood how difficult it would be. Even when you
 303.246 +left for Hong Kong in the first place it wasn't this bad. I think
 303.247 +it's because I knew that you would still be there, in some small way.
 303.248 +That tiny hope flickered in my heart, shining in the darkest of
 303.249 +nights. But now, I don't have that lighting my path. But that's all
 303.250 +right. Because I'll always be with you. My heart will always look
 303.251 +back to yours. Thank you so much for being the best friend I could
 303.252 +ever have dreamed for. Thank you for letting me dress you up in
 303.253 +costumes and for letting me videotape you and for just letting me
 303.254 +stay by your side. Thank you for the beautiful memories you have
 303.255 +granted me. And thank you for the warmth in my heart that I would
 303.256 +never have found if I hadn't met you. Please remember that even if
 303.257 +I'm far away, even if you don't hear from me, I will always be right
 303.258 +by your side. You will never be far from my thoughts or my heart.
 303.259 +Goodbye, Sakura-chan. Please smile for me.
 303.260 +
 303.261 +Your friend for all time,
 303.262 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 303.263 \ No newline at end of file

   304.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   304.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-17.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   304.3 @@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
   304.4 +Dear Sakura
   304.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   304.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   304.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   304.8 +
   304.9 +
  304.10 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
  304.11 +
  304.12 +At our house there is a vine in the garden. It has been there for
  304.13 +many years, since I was a child. Most people do not pay attention to
  304.14 +it, for it looks like a dead bush, and is overshadowed by the many
  304.15 +gaudy flowers around. it. It is called a "peniocereus gregii", or
  304.16 +Night-Blooming Cereus. When I was six, my Mother told me about this
  304.17 +flower. She told me because I was not happy so much about my
  304.18 +appearance. I did not feel as pretty as my sisters at the time, and
  304.19 +was sad. So, Mother took me into the garden and showed me this most
  304.20 +pathetic looking little plant. I remember this surprisingly well. She
  304.21 +asked me, "Fanren, what do you see here?" I told her I saw a plain
  304.22 +looking plant. She answered, "You see with the eyes of a fool, who
  304.23 +looks once and knows nothing. Watch this plant at night". In our
  304.24 +family, when Mother speaks it is wise to listen. This is true in many
  304.25 +Chinese households, you know, but is especially true in ours. I could
  304.26 +tell you many amusing stories about this. 
  304.27 +
  304.28 +So, in the middle of summer, with no school to worry about, I went
  304.29 +into the garden each night to watch the plant. There was nothing much
  304.30 +to see, but I was not only obedient, but also very curious. Then one
  304.31 +night, a thing most amazing happened. I had nearly fallen asleep when
  304.32 +I noticed the little buds on the twiggy stems seemed to have moved.
  304.33 +To my wonder and astonishment, they blossomed that night into the
  304.34 +most beauteous flowers I have ever seen. They were like pale stars
  304.35 +with a golden center, delicate and intricate with a fragrant scent
  304.36 +that wafted over the entire garden. I stared at them all night, at
  304.37 +that beauty which had been hidden during the day. How easy it would
  304.38 +have been to miss them entirely. It was magical to share that warm
  304.39 +summer night with the beautiful flowers, but with the first ray of
  304.40 +light at dawn the petals withered and the blossoms dropped to the
  304.41 +ground. That morning I talked to Mother, and told her of the wonder I
  304.42 +had seen. I asked her if it would bloom again that night, for I very
  304.43 +much wanted to see it once more. She shook her head, and said the
  304.44 +plant only bloomed one night every year. She said that sometimes the
  304.45 +most radient beauty is hidden away, and can only be seen by those
  304.46 +with patient hearts.
  304.47 +
  304.48 +This was a good lesson for me, as I was not a patient girl. I am
  304.49 +still not the most patient of women, as my family would no doubt tell
  304.50 +you. So perhaps this lesson did not work as well as Mother may have
  304.51 +intended. But what I have always remembered is the surprise of seeing
  304.52 +such beauty so unexpectedly. I felt that delightful surprise when I
  304.53 +first saw you and Sakura-chan at our house those many years ago.
  304.54 +Aiyaaa, I do not think I have ever seen such adorable girls in all of
  304.55 +my life. And then, to my astonishment, there was Sakura's brother and
  304.56 +his most attractive companion. Such splendor was enough to break
  304.57 +one's heart. I felt like this again during your most recent visit. I
  304.58 +knew from the picture that Sakura-chan showed me that you were very
  304.59 +beautiful. I thought surely you were a model, or perhaps an actress.
  304.60 +But I was not quite prepared for you in person. Tomoyo-chan, I was
  304.61 +enchanted. 
  304.62 +
  304.63 +Mother can be very cruel, for when I told her this she said I am
  304.64 +always being enchanted. She is maybe perhaps right, I suppose. Mother
  304.65 +says I am too fickle, and like a bee dance about from flower to
  304.66 +flower, never working hard enough to gather any pollen. Or perhaps
  304.67 +she is frustrated that I have never married. But you are a flower
  304.68 +this little bee has been unable to forget. You are of course a most
  304.69 +beautiful woman. I do not have skill enough with words in this
  304.70 +language to speak of it properly. But seeing you kept me up at night,
  304.71 +and I longed to be with you. I have known many beautiful girls and
  304.72 +women, but most of them are tedious. Often their attractiveness is
  304.73 +dimmed by their vanity, and I quickly grow tired of their
  304.74 +companionship. But your company was delightful. You are bright, and
  304.75 +charming, and most witty. Your loveliness is so natural, as if you
  304.76 +were blithely unaware of it. Somehow that only makes you more
  304.77 +attractive. 
  304.78 +
  304.79 +I am sorry. I have been writing this while looking at pictures of
  304.80 +you Sakura has given me. They are quite terribly distracting, and I
  304.81 +should put them away so that I may finish this letter. But I will
  304.82 +not, because they are wonderful to look at. Thank you so very much
  304.83 +for them. Anyway, I quite fell under your spell. I appreciate that
  304.84 +you are telling me that you are bound to Sakura-chan. However, I
  304.85 +could see this for myself, as you look at her with such tender
  304.86 +regard. It is curious, because from the way Sakura-chan talked about
  304.87 +you, I had assumed the two of you were once lovers. She speaks of you
  304.88 +with such affection and awe. But oddly, she later seemed quite
  304.89 +perplexed by what I was hinting at. She is most deliciously cute when
  304.90 +she is confused about things, is she not? I was even further baffled
  304.91 +myself when I saw the two of you together during your visit. Your
  304.92 +love was most charmingly evident, but she did not seem to quite
  304.93 +understand it all. It was very baffling to me, though perhaps I
  304.94 +understand more now after your letters. Yet I wonder if anyone really
  304.95 +knows Sakura-chan's heart just now? 
  304.96 +
  304.97 +Thank you for your most forthright honesty. Though it is beautiful,
  304.98 +it saddens me somewhat that your love is so constant. I myself feel a
  304.99 +longing for you, and know your presence would brighten life up quite
 304.100 +a bit. But most of all I am sad for your heart that has no rest, and
 304.101 +knows such pain. Sakura herself is in a turmoil these days. She is
 304.102 +always talking about you, and sighs when she speaks your name. I have
 304.103 +heard her crying at night, in the kitchen and the garden. She misses
 304.104 +you so, and is much like a little lost child without her mother. I
 304.105 +hope that all goes well with your plan to fade away from her life.
 304.106 +What you say is very logical indeed, and must certainly be true. But
 304.107 +hearts are strange, and sometimes what we think does not seem to
 304.108 +matter to them. They are impertinent, and have their own way of
 304.109 +things. Maybe I am sympathetic with hearts, for they are like me bit,
 304.110 +yes?   
 304.111 +
 304.112 +Being with you was a most delightful surprise, for if our meeting
 304.113 +was as brief as the Cereus blossom, it was also as beautiful. I will
 304.114 +pray for you and Sakura-chan at the temple today. May all the gods
 304.115 +and spirits protect your hearts.
 304.116 +
 304.117 +
 304.118 +My best regards,
 304.119 +
 304.120 +Fanren
 304.121 +
 304.122 +PS- I will be in Tokyo next year, and will most gladly accompany you
 304.123 +to the local clubs in Tomoeda. Aiyaaa, I cannot wait to dance with
 304.124 +you!        
 304.125 +
 304.126 +
 304.127 +Dear Fanren-san,
 304.128 +	What you said about the Night-Blooming Cereus was beautiful. Ieran-
 304.129 +sama is a very wise and knowledgable woman. It's true that if your
 304.130 +heart is patient enough, you can find the most stunning beauty. I'm
 304.131 +very lucky that it didn't take me long to find it. But it certainly
 304.132 +caught me by surprise. I had never dreamed that I would discover such
 304.133 +a gorgeous creature on this planet, not just in her appearance, but
 304.134 +also in her shining spirit. It was almost too much for me at the
 304.135 +time. I remember coming home and lying in my bed, staring up at the
 304.136 +ceiling in amazement, my heart lost in confusion at the sheer bliss
 304.137 +that the cute girl at school had stirred within me. I didn't get much
 304.138 +sleep that night. Actually, I haven't gotten much sleep since that
 304.139 +night. There have always been costumes I have designed just so I
 304.140 +could see her in them, videotapes to watch her actions from times
 304.141 +long since passed, and thoughts of her to keep me from sleep's gentle
 304.142 +embrace. 
 304.143 +	But you are right. Patience is necessary to see the beauty that is
 304.144 +so often hidden right in front of us. I know that patience certainly
 304.145 +helped with Sakura-chan. Sometimes it takes her a while to understand
 304.146 +things, but I was happy to wait for realization to dawn upon her,
 304.147 +helping her gently along the way. You're also right about how cute
 304.148 +Sakura-chan can be when she's confused. I always loved seeing her
 304.149 +like that. In the end, Sakura-chan always wound up fixing things. She
 304.150 +has an awe-inspiring determination that is really unstoppable when it
 304.151 +comes out. I don't know if you've had a chance to see it, but her
 304.152 +eyes sparkle like emeralds when it takes hold of her.
 304.153 +	Thank you for letting me tell you all this. I can't tell Sakura-
 304.154 +chan because I don't want to burden her with any of it. It has helped
 304.155 +quite a bit to be able to talk to you. I don't think you're fickle at
 304.156 +all. I think that your heart wanders. But when you find the right
 304.157 +person, the one who holds your heart, then it will stop its journey.
 304.158 +I hope that you find this person soon. You are a very delightful
 304.159 +woman and I think anyone would be extremely lucky to have your
 304.160 +company.   
 304.161 +	I'm sending this at the same time as I send my final letter to
 304.162 +Sakura-chan. It pains me so much to do so, but I know I have to. The
 304.163 +thought that I'll never see her again tears at my heart. It was so
 304.164 +hard to see through the tears while I wrote it. I'm lucky I didn't
 304.165 +have to tell Sakura-chan in person because I don't think I could
 304.166 +have. I already miss her terribly. My heart will always belong to
 304.167 +her, no matter where she is. Please keep an eye on her for me. Her
 304.168 +happiness means everything to me. I can't stay or I'll ruin that
 304.169 +happiness. If she continues looking, she may unravel her new life
 304.170 +because of me. I couldn't bear to see her lose all of that. And even
 304.171 +if she quit searching, I don't think my heart would last much longer
 304.172 +if I stayed in her life. I wanted to fade out slower, to disappear so
 304.173 +that I would only be a distant memory to her. But I can't. I'm afraid
 304.174 +that everything is too close to the edge. I have to leave her life
 304.175 +now before it's too late. But it hurts so badly. It feels like I'm
 304.176 +leaving a piece of myself behind. I will always love her. That's why
 304.177 +I have to fade away. 
 304.178 +	Fanren-san, thank you again for all of your help. I look forward to
 304.179 +seeing you in Japan someday. Perhaps you can tell me what has become
 304.180 +of Sakura by then. Right now I would love to dance. I'll always
 304.181 +remember it as such a beautiful activity, a song of hearts. Thank you.
 304.182 +
 304.183 +Sincerely,
 304.184 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 304.185 \ No newline at end of file

   305.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   305.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-18.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   305.3 @@ -0,0 +1,469 @@
   305.4 +Dear Sakura
   305.5 +Darlest Before the Dawn
   305.6 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   305.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   305.8 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   305.9 +
  305.10 +	Like a dolphin emerging from crystal blue water, Sakura exited a
  305.11 +small changing room with her usual energetic spirit. She smiled
  305.12 +beautifully into the camcorder capturing her image, looking only
  305.13 +mildly embarrassed. Her cheeks reddened ever so slightly as she
  305.14 +twirled with all of the grace that years of athletics had granted
  305.15 +her, her pumpkin colored pleated skirt twirling with her. Like a
  305.16 +professional dancer, her movement was smooth and captivating. The
  305.17 +camera angle remained constant, a memory frozen in time. Sakura
  305.18 +paused at last, smiling once again into the camera. Diamond tears
  305.19 +sparkled nearly imperceptibly at the corners of her emerald eyes.
  305.20 +After curtsying cutely, the brunette excused herself back into the
  305.21 +cramped changing room. The camcorder fell to the side as its owner
  305.22 +hurried near the small room concernedly. It had only been for a brief
  305.23 +second, possibly nothing more than a trick of the mind. But if there
  305.24 +was a single thing that Tomoyo could claim to be an expert in, it was
  305.25 +the usually genki brunette on the other end of the door.
  305.26 +	“Sakura-chan, are you all right?” the camcorder’s owner asked
  305.27 +worriedly, only a short distance from the door that separated them.
  305.28 +Pale fingers moved in front of the camera’s line of sight, touching
  305.29 +briefly on the wood frame, wishing that she could dismiss it to get
  305.30 +to the girl inside. No, the woman inside. They weren’t children
  305.31 +anymore. And she was no longer the one to share in Sakura’s feelings.
  305.32 +If Sakura didn’t wish to tell her, then she had no right to pry.
  305.33 +	“Hai,” a shaky voice replied from inside, one obviously trying to
  305.34 +cover recent tears. “I’ll be out in just a minute.”
  305.35 +	
  305.36 +	With a touch of a button, the images before her dispersed into
  305.37 +darkness. Tomoyo sat in her dimly lit room, still staring at the now
  305.38 +blank screen that had held the vision of her darling Sakura. It was
  305.39 +from one of her last tapes, one she had taken during her trip to Hong
  305.40 +Kong. And one of the most disturbing. What had gotten to Sakura? What
  305.41 +had brought her sudden tears? It had only been the second day of
  305.42 +Tomoyo’s visit and they had spent many hours talking the night before
  305.43 +so it could very well have been a mixture of sleep deprivation and
  305.44 +the shock of finally being with her best friend again. But Tomoyo had
  305.45 +slowly begun to suspect something else as the cause of the tears. It
  305.46 +had to do with her videotaping Sakura again, of that she was certain.
  305.47 +Sakura had always been embarrassed when she would videotape her, but
  305.48 +this time there had been something else as well. Almost a sense of
  305.49 +relief from the gorgeous brunette, as if she was glad to be the focus
  305.50 +of Tomoyo’s camcorder once more. The tears had looked so sad, so
  305.51 +lonely. It tore at Tomoyo’s heart to know that they had to grace the
  305.52 +Cardmistress at all. So what did this mean? On it’s own, perhaps
  305.53 +nothing. But adding to it what had happened since and the sense of
  305.54 +longing that had been present in Sakura’s letters as of late, Tomoyo
  305.55 +could begin to make assumptions. She was on the verge of ruining
  305.56 +Sakura’s life. And she had to jump ship before that happened or she
  305.57 +would drag Sakura under with her. 
  305.58 +	Sakura’s understanding of her feelings for Tomoyo had always been
  305.59 +simple. Tomoyo was a good friend, someone she could trust with
  305.60 +anything, someone she could always count on, someone who would always
  305.61 +be there for her. In a way, she had never really seen Tomoyo. She
  305.62 +hadn’t looked at her, seen her for who she really was. Tomoyo had
  305.63 +always been behind the camera, and because of it, Sakura had never
  305.64 +truly understood her eccentric best friend or the feelings that went
  305.65 +along with her. But now it looked like Sakura was dangerously close
  305.66 +to understanding those feelings in an entirely new light. Tomoyo had
  305.67 +been dragged out from behind the camera by Sakura and could no longer
  305.68 +hide. Sakura had finally seen Tomoyo, had finally really looked at
  305.69 +her. That thought was deliciously exiting to Tomoyo, but it also set
  305.70 +her on the verge of tears because she knew what deeper meaning it
  305.71 +held. If Sakura began to see the love Tomoyo had held for her all
  305.72 +these years, or worse, in some way returned these feelings, it would
  305.73 +ruin her beautiful marriage and the wonderful new life she had begun.
  305.74 +She would never be able to simply reject Tomoyo. Sakura could never
  305.75 +bear to hurt her like that. It would slowly tear apart everything
  305.76 +Tomoyo had prayed for in Sakura’s life. And so Tomoyo had decided
  305.77 +long ago that it was best not to tell Sakura, that despite that
  305.78 +promise from years long past, she would not explain to Sakura when
  305.79 +they were older. It would only burden the brunette and cause
  305.80 +difficulty for her, even more so now that she was married. 
  305.81 +	Darkness surrounded Tomoyo, deep and all encompassing. She honestly
  305.82 +didn’t know whether or not her eyes were open, only that they stung
  305.83 +with fresh tears. A huge dilemma lay before her, and it had taken all
  305.84 +of her strength to try and come to a decision. Her heart and soul
  305.85 +argued over which course of action to take, about where her path
  305.86 +should take her. For a time, she had found it nearly impossible, lost
  305.87 +in the possibilities, surrounded by bittersweet memories that
  305.88 +beckoned her to join them. Slowly, shakily, she had reached out and
  305.89 +finally grasped onto her decision. Now all that was left was to see
  305.90 +it through to the end. In the end, it came down to the most important
  305.91 +thing in her life: Sakura’s happiness. And Tomoyo would gladly die
  305.92 +for it. She would suffer whatever was necessary to safeguard the
  305.93 +happiness of the one she loved. 
  305.94 +But this was the most difficult thing she had ever done in her life.
  305.95 +Helping to get Sakura with Syaoran in the first place had offered her
  305.96 +a momentary distraction from the depth of her own feelings, allowing
  305.97 +her to concentrate on Sakura’s best interests alone. The marriage had
  305.98 +been incredibly painful for her, but it had been tinged with the
  305.99 +knowledge that Sakura would be embarking on a new life with the one
 305.100 +she loved, and that had eased her pain. But this offered no solace.
 305.101 +There was no escape from the pain this time. She merely knew that it
 305.102 +had to be done. For Sakura’s sake, and for her own. Her gingerly
 305.103 +crafted masks were beginning to betray her. Cracks had begun to
 305.104 +spiderweb through her many masks after her recent contact with
 305.105 +Sakura. They were slowly becoming undone right in front of her eyes.
 305.106 +When Sakura had seen her, had actually looked at the girl that hid
 305.107 +behind the normally smiling portrait of Tomoyo Daidouji, the masks
 305.108 +she had hidden herself behind had slowly but surely begun to shatter,
 305.109 +leaving her defenseless to the unbridled passion of her own love and
 305.110 +unable to hide it from Sakura’s curious eyes. She could no longer
 305.111 +handle the pain of watching the woman she loved happily married.
 305.112 +Sakura’s happiness meant the world to her, but watching Sakura’s
 305.113 +marriage was beginning to take its toll on the pale ghost of a woman.
 305.114 +How could she have fooled herself into thinking she could sit by and
 305.115 +watch it? Had she really thought she could quell the feelings in her
 305.116 +own heart? It would have been easier to still her heart from beating
 305.117 +than to keep the love inside at bay. She had been a fool to think
 305.118 +that her masks would be able to hide her from the pain, to think that
 305.119 +she could remain simply Sakura’s friend in a far off land as Sakura’s
 305.120 +new life took her further and further away. Not just physical
 305.121 +distance either. The dark haired girl was simply no longer necessary.
 305.122 +At one point in time, Sakura had always come to her no matter what
 305.123 +the circumstances. She had trusted Tomoyo with her fragile heart and
 305.124 +Tomoyo had done her best to take good care of it, trying to set it on
 305.125 +the right path. But now she had another to go to when she ever wanted
 305.126 +for something. Her husband was now the most important person in
 305.127 +Sakura’s life. Even then, Sakura still came to Tomoyo with surprising
 305.128 +frequency. It was yet another reason for Tomoyo’s decision. She was
 305.129 +standing in the way of Sakura’s marriage. She was an unnecessary link
 305.130 +to Sakura’s past, holding the brunette back in the face of her own
 305.131 +marriage. Syaoran was the one she should go to now. He was the one
 305.132 +that should share her pain and heal her heart. It was no longer
 305.133 +Tomoyo’s right to do so. 
 305.134 +Walking through the nearly pitch black room, Tomoyo hardly noticed
 305.135 +the fire that shot through her hip as she struck something in the
 305.136 +dark while walking. Ignoring it, the pale girl moved forward through
 305.137 +the shadows. Had anyone seen her then, they may very well have
 305.138 +mistaken her for a phantom, her pale features and tear streaked face
 305.139 +appearing almost translucent in the dim moonlight. Her room,
 305.140 +practically a shrine to her darling Sakura, now felt more like a
 305.141 +tomb. Her delicate hands finally found what she was searching for,
 305.142 +settling on the desk that had served her so well in the past. Whether
 305.143 +making costumes, labeling videotapes, or simply practicing for choir,
 305.144 +it had been a patient companion. These days, there were no more
 305.145 +costumes to be made, no more videotapes to label, and no more choir
 305.146 +to practice for. It held several slips of paper and a picture frame
 305.147 +on it vast expanses.
 305.148 +Collapsing weakly into the chair, Tomoyo burst into fresh tears,
 305.149 +sobbing quietly in the darkness as she was assaulted by a fresh wave
 305.150 +of agony. Was this the only way? Could she possibly find another
 305.151 +solution? No, this was her last option. She had to go through with
 305.152 +it. She couldn’t risk Sakura’s future any longer through her own
 305.153 +selfishness. If she truly loved the other woman, she would have to
 305.154 +see this through. That finally slowed her aching sobs, though it did
 305.155 +nothing for her shredded heart. With intentional care, Tomoyo slowly
 305.156 +continued to write the address on the envelope that lay before her,
 305.157 +concentrating as best she could on each and every character. Sakura
 305.158 +had told her that her writing was beautiful. She had to make sure
 305.159 +that it was lovely for Sakura’s sake. Because Sakura deserved no less
 305.160 +and she needed to make sure that Sakura didn’t think anything was
 305.161 +wrong. If she was going to succeed, then she had to make sure that
 305.162 +the letter didn’t worry her dear friend.
 305.163 +Memories are such fragile things. They lay tentatively on the edge
 305.164 +of one’s mind. Sometimes they would fade to protect their owner.
 305.165 +Other times, time itself would take its toll on them, wearing them
 305.166 +down into nothing. But there was something that existed beyond
 305.167 +memories, not simply the images and feelings that were conjured about
 305.168 +things from the past, but a deeper flame that could never be
 305.169 +extinguished. Memories of the heart. Tomoyo knew that she could never
 305.170 +forget Sakura, that the love in her heart would never fade away. But
 305.171 +in many ways, that made it so much harder to continue forward. Even
 305.172 +then, she would never want any of it to disappear. Her tapes of
 305.173 +Sakura left her with a wonderful look back at the past, crystalline
 305.174 +moments that she could treasure. They were an extensive documentary
 305.175 +on the beautiful brunette spanning nine glorious years. Tomoyo was
 305.176 +only sorry that they had to end now. She watched her tapes over and
 305.177 +over, reliving the time spent with her beloved Sakura. And for an all
 305.178 +too brief moment, they would be together again. 
 305.179 +Picking up an old costume design that she had never finished, Tomoyo
 305.180 +began to write on the back, the words gushing forth as a dam inside
 305.181 +of her finally burst open.
 305.182 +
 305.183 +‘Dear Sakura-chan,
 305.184 +As I sit here writing this, I see your beautiful face in my mind’s
 305.185 +eye, your sweet smile sending ripples throughout the stormy ocean of
 305.186 +my soul. I know that you may hate me for this, and though I could
 305.187 +hardly bear the thought of you ever hating me, I know that I must go
 305.188 +through with this. I’m not sure if I can explain why, but it doesn’t
 305.189 +really matter. Please know that you have always been the most
 305.190 +treasured thing in my life. I would never wish to hurt you. That’s
 305.191 +why I have to say goodbye.
 305.192 +Our time together in Hong Kong was like a gorgeous dream that I
 305.193 +never wished to wake up from. Even though I must finally awaken, I
 305.194 +will carry that dream with me always. Being with you was more magical
 305.195 +than any of the Cards you have in your possession. Your true power
 305.196 +doesn’t come from your magic or the Sakura Cards. It comes from the
 305.197 +indomitable force in your heart. That power has always pushed you
 305.198 +forward in life, and I was happy to be pulled along in its wake.
 305.199 +Nurturing it and helping it grow inside of you always brought a smile
 305.200 +to my lips. But now you have outgrown me. You no longer need my
 305.201 +helpful hand in the way. Like a mother watching her child venture out
 305.202 +into the world, it’s time that I let you go forth on your own. Please
 305.203 +don’t worry. I know that you must be thinking it isn’t so, that
 305.204 +there’s still some use for me. But I have seen you grow and mature
 305.205 +into a beautiful woman. Strong, confident, courageous. Sweet,
 305.206 +innocent, gentle. All of the qualities that so enamored me with you
 305.207 +for all of these years. You no longer need my love and support to go
 305.208 +forward. These are now within your own heart. When you need that
 305.209 +extra bit of love and encouragement, I know you will be able to find
 305.210 +it in your husband. So though tears dot this letter, please know that
 305.211 +I leave you in capable hands. I have always trusted you with all my
 305.212 +heart. I know that wherever your path in life leads, you will be able
 305.213 +to handle the roads ahead with ease. Nothing can hold back the lovely
 305.214 +and unstoppable Sakura-chan!
 305.215 +I know that I promised you long ago that I would explain what I
 305.216 +meant about the differences in our love when you were older. I’m
 305.217 +sorry that I never did. I thought that it would only interfere with
 305.218 +your life, with your feelings for Syaoran. I knew that you wouldn’t
 305.219 +be able to reject me outright. Your heart is too kind for that. And
 305.220 +in doing so, you may have ruined your chances at the marriage you now
 305.221 +find yourself in. So I will explain right here, where there is no
 305.222 +fear of the rejection you wouldn’t have put me through or the damage
 305.223 +it could have caused. All is already said and done, so this is merely
 305.224 +an afterthought, an explanation so perhaps you may understand your
 305.225 +best friend a little better and why I acted the way I did for all of
 305.226 +the years you’ve known me. Years ago, you were only a child of ten at
 305.227 +the time, I told you that I loved you. You said that you loved me,
 305.228 +too. It was so cute to hear you say that. You always were an
 305.229 +extremely sweet girl, Sakura-chan. My heart swelled to hear your
 305.230 +words, even though I knew you didn’t understand what I meant. I told
 305.231 +you that our love was different, that I would explain when you were
 305.232 +older. I’m sorry for taking so long to deliver my promise to you.
 305.233 +Love is such a vast and varied thing. There are so many depths and
 305.234 +intricacies that sometimes make it almost impossible to discern. I
 305.235 +know that you yourself have had difficulty understanding the
 305.236 +different forms of love in the past. Our love is very different from
 305.237 +each other’s love. You love Syaoran as your prince, your one True
 305.238 +Love, as your other half. You love me as your friend, your confidant,
 305.239 +and as a sister. I love you as my prince, my one True Love, my other
 305.240 +half. That is why I always wanted you to know how much I cared about
 305.241 +you, why I tried to show my love for you in everything I did, even if
 305.242 +you loved another. You are my special someone, Sakura-chan, the one
 305.243 +who captured my heart so long ago. Videotaping you, designing
 305.244 +costumes for you, even simply watching you filled my heart with joy.
 305.245 +Love can be an extremely strong force and it has had me in its grasp
 305.246 +for quite a long time now. I am lost to it, but I would never wish to
 305.247 +be found if it meant giving up the warmth and delight that it offers
 305.248 +me. Being in love with you has always been my fondest wish come true.
 305.249 +To love someone so charming, so enchanting, is something that most
 305.250 +people can only dream about. The way I looked at you, the way I
 305.251 +fawned over you, it was always with love in my eyes. It never once
 305.252 +mattered to me that you were a girl, though I know you didn’t
 305.253 +understand such things with the puzzled look you gave me when I tried
 305.254 +to explain my mother’s preferences. Sakura-chan is Sakura-chan.
 305.255 +Brave, beautiful, generous, genki. I love you for who you are. I
 305.256 +would never want to change you in the least. Images of you fill my
 305.257 +mind, swirling like pictures in a kaleidoscope. I love you, Sakura-
 305.258 +chan.
 305.259 +Everyone loved Sakura-chan, so I was not at all surprised that
 305.260 +someone else would eventually win your heart. I told you that I
 305.261 +wanted my special someone to be happy even if they couldn’t be with
 305.262 +me and I meant that. Your happiness means everything to me. If you
 305.263 +truly love someone, if your heart belongs completely to them, then
 305.264 +their happiness is truly your heart’s desire. Because you want the
 305.265 +person you love to be filled with joy, to live a life that will be
 305.266 +thrilling and fulfilling to them. I told you that I would be happy if
 305.267 +my special someone returned my feelings, but that their happiness was
 305.268 +what I wanted above all else. And that’s exactly how I feel. If you
 305.269 +could be happier with someone else, if someone else could bring out
 305.270 +the love in your heart, then that’s what I wanted for you. Even
 305.271 +mother feels this way, though she doesn’t entirely understand it.
 305.272 +When you were here, she explained that your father made your mother
 305.273 +happy. Mother has strong feelings against your father because he took
 305.274 +Nadeshiko-san away from her, but when she looks at you, she truly
 305.275 +knows that Nadeshiko-san was happy and that calms her spirits.
 305.276 +Because she loved Nadeshiko-san as much as I love you. Which is why I
 305.277 +know she understands my feelings for you. What she didn’t understand
 305.278 +is why I tried to push you towards Li-kun. I don’t know if you
 305.279 +understand that or not, so I will try to explain. I wanted you to be
 305.280 +happy above all else. I wanted you to fall in love with your prince,
 305.281 +to have a happy marriage, to have beautiful children, to live your
 305.282 +life to the fullest. I could tell that Li-kun was falling in love
 305.283 +with you and that the two of you got along very well. You really were
 305.284 +cute together. I wanted him to tell you and I tried to help him
 305.285 +along, to get him to express his feelings to you. I know it wasn’t
 305.286 +fair that I told him to tell you his feelings while I was silent
 305.287 +about my own, but I thought that you could be happy with him. I
 305.288 +thought he could be your one true love. As Kero-chan has said before,
 305.289 +there’s no such thing as coincidence. He was your partner, your
 305.290 +helper in Cardcapting. He protected you and was there alongside you
 305.291 +while I was hidden away behind a camera, watching it all happen. He
 305.292 +could give you a child, protect you, and love you. I thought that you
 305.293 +felt something for him as well, so I tried my hardest to help the two
 305.294 +of you along. My goal was to see Sakura-chan happily in love. I’m
 305.295 +glad that I managed to help see that come to pass. Perhaps that was
 305.296 +my part in Clow Reed’s grand plan, to help your heart grow and mature
 305.297 +and to find the love you so deserved. You’re now the most powerful
 305.298 +magician on the planet with a loving husband and an exciting new
 305.299 +life. That makes me happy. I knew my wonderful Sakura-chan could
 305.300 +accomplish anything.
 305.301 +So now I must fade away from your life, my mission finally complete.
 305.302 +Please know that I will always love you, Sakura-chan. That love will
 305.303 +never fade. I will always be by your side, my heart and soul yours to
 305.304 +command. They will always offer you their love and support. Please
 305.305 +don’t cry for me. It makes me sad when Sakura-chan’s sad. Please
 305.306 +smile and greet the new day knowing that your best friend got her
 305.307 +dearest wish in just watching you. As long as you’re happy, I will
 305.308 +be, too. Thank you so much for being my best friend, for letting me
 305.309 +into your life. Leaving it is the hardest thing I have ever done, but
 305.310 +I do so content in the knowledge that my sweet Sakura-chan is well
 305.311 +taken care of.
 305.312 +
 305.313 +Farewell,
 305.314 +Daidouji Tomoyo
 305.315 +
 305.316 +I’ll miss you so much, Sakura-chan.’
 305.317 +
 305.318 +	
 305.319 +	Stars sprinkled into Tomoyo’s room with barely visible pinpricks of
 305.320 +light, vaguely illuminating the half finished costume design on the
 305.321 +paper she had used to write her letter to Sakura. “Sakura-chan...”
 305.322 +her broken voice choked out, another sob wracking her small body. Her
 305.323 +hands went to her face, dark hair draping around her like a death
 305.324 +shroud as strangled sobs escaped her lips. Her heart felt like broken
 305.325 +glass, an antique accidentally knocked off a table by an overzealous
 305.326 +child, unsalvageable except for several jagged fragments. Despair
 305.327 +brushed its fingers through her hair, bringing its chilling shadow
 305.328 +across her heart. “Sakura-chan...” she whimpered again, tears falling
 305.329 +unheeded to the desk and the letter it held. What was she to do? How
 305.330 +could she live without Sakura? A midnight black thought entered her
 305.331 +mind in reply; how could she live her life with Sakura? She was close
 305.332 +to shattering completely, the cracks in her façade already becoming
 305.333 +evident. If she stayed in Sakura’s life, watched her love in her new
 305.334 +life and marriage, it would undoubtedly kill her. She hadn’t
 305.335 +understood how painful it would be as a child, hope still clinging
 305.336 +desperately to her heart at the time. ‘I knew that Sakura-chan would
 305.337 +come and rescue me,’ she had once said. No, this wasn’t her fairy
 305.338 +tale. It was Sakura’s. Which is why she had to leave it so that
 305.339 +Sakura could have her fairy tale ending and live happily ever after.
 305.340 +No matter how much it hurt her to do so, she had to go through with
 305.341 +it.  For Sakura to live, she had to die. Her stormy blue eyes fought
 305.342 +back another wave of tears as her body shook painfully. Her heart
 305.343 +ached for Sakura, images of the brunette appearing vividly in her
 305.344 +mind. “Don’t you make me happy,” her musical voice got out weakly
 305.345 +before it broke. 
 305.346 +	Numb fingers reached out slowly, grasping the letter in shaking
 305.347 +hands. “No... I can’t send this to Sakura-chan. I can’t send this to
 305.348 +her,” her gentle voice, no more than a whisper, seemed to disappear
 305.349 +before it even reached the young heiress’s ears. She held it up in
 305.350 +the dim light, barely able to make out the picture of Sakura in a
 305.351 +costume or the painstakingly crafted characters in her letter. It was
 305.352 +too sad. It would worry Sakura. She had to fade away from Sakura’s
 305.353 +life painlessly, leaving the brunette as simply as a dream that
 305.354 +disappeared when one tried to recall it. She held the letter tightly
 305.355 +to her chest as she choked back another sob. Leaving the now crumpled
 305.356 +letter on the side of her desk, Tomoyo pulled out a fresh piece of
 305.357 +paper and began to start all over again. 
 305.358 +	The thought that she would never see Sakura again cut into her
 305.359 +heart like a knife, each breath burning her further. She had known
 305.360 +this time would come for years now, but now that it was finally
 305.361 +happening, its crushing weight made any step forward seem impossible.
 305.362 +“I’ll never forget you, Sakura-chan,” she whispered, placing a soft
 305.363 +kiss on a picture frame that graced her desk. The picture of Sakura
 305.364 +smiled back happily, frozen forever in her expression of joy. With a
 305.365 +swift movement that almost scared Tomoyo, she shattered the picture
 305.366 +frame against the side of the desk. Glass fell quietly to the carpet,
 305.367 +Sakura’s picture fluttering free to lay atop them. Tomoyo reached
 305.368 +down, picking up the memory from years long past. She set it gingerly
 305.369 +on the desk, her fingers trailing Sakura’s features in the
 305.370 +photograph. How she wished she could step into the picture, to turn
 305.371 +back all these years so she could spend them with Sakura once more.
 305.372 +Even if things had to turn out this way, she would love to spend even
 305.373 +one slim moment with Sakura before she slipped away forever. Her hand
 305.374 +reached down again, picking up the biggest shard of glass off of the
 305.375 +floor. She barely noticed as it cut into her palm, the warm blood
 305.376 +trickling out over it seeming to be nothing more than a daydream. She
 305.377 +had to leave Sakura’s life, she knew that. But how could she just
 305.378 +tell Sakura that she was leaving her? How could she possibly write
 305.379 +Sakura a farewell letter? The warmth of her blood slipping through
 305.380 +her fingers felt so much nicer than the bitter cold that was wrapped
 305.381 +tightly around her heart. She had to escape Sakura’s life for both of
 305.382 +their sakes. She had to. Shaky fingers clutched the shard of glass
 305.383 +tighter, it’s sharp edge driving deeper into the soft flesh of her
 305.384 +hand. “Sakura-chan...” she whispered miserably. She couldn’t write
 305.385 +the letter. She could never tell Sakura goodbye like that. It was too
 305.386 +painful. She would just escape Sakura’s life now. It would be less
 305.387 +painful for them both that way. Sakura would forget about her soon
 305.388 +enough. She would be able to watch Sakura as her guardian angel,
 305.389 +could keep an eye on her beautiful life from up above. 
 305.390 +	“Forgive me, Sakura-chan. Please forgive me. I love you so much.”
 305.391 +Her stormy blue eyes shut tightly, Tomoyo brought the jagged glass to
 305.392 +her wrist and concentrated on the brunette as she felt the wet shard
 305.393 +press against soft skin. Tendrils of darkness and despair snaked out,
 305.394 +wrapping tightly around her heart. This was the only way. Sakura
 305.395 +would wake up from her dream named Tomoyo soon enough. And she would
 305.396 +be happy in her new life. If she didn’t do this, Sakura’s beautiful
 305.397 +life would come tumbling down, crushing the girl that Tomoyo loved so
 305.398 +dearly. Her pain was almost over. Just another few minutes...
 305.399 +	The shard of glass fell silently to the floor, a small trail of
 305.400 +blood following it. Some crimson ran down Tomoyo’s wrist, pooling on
 305.401 +her desktop. Her head slumped to the desk as she began to cry again.
 305.402 +She couldn’t. Not yet. The thought of her mother finding her, cold
 305.403 +and dead had hit her like a shockwave. She couldn’t put her mother
 305.404 +through that. Sonomi had already lost so much. That would be terribly
 305.405 +cruel to her loving mother. Even worse, the knowledge that Sonomi
 305.406 +would call Sakura to the funeral sent a terrible chill through her.
 305.407 +She wanted to die to protect Sakura, to escape this pain, but that
 305.408 +would only serve to hurt Sakura even more. No, she had to wait. She
 305.409 +would be moving out in several days. She would go someplace far away
 305.410 +and disappear from Sakura’s life forever. 
 305.411 +
 305.412 +	“So there you are, Tomoyo-chan. I was beginning to think you’d
 305.413 +fallen asleep in front of another of your videos again,” Sonomi
 305.414 +teased, smiling at her lavender haired daughter. Tomoyo looked paler
 305.415 +than usual this morning for some reason. Her stormy blue eyes looked
 305.416 +distant, their normal sparkle gone. The head of the Daidouji
 305.417 +household gasped when she saw the bandage around Tomoyo’s right hand
 305.418 +and left wrist. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan! What happened?” Bolting up, the
 305.419 +normally overcautious mother hurried to her daughter’s side. Patches
 305.420 +of red shown through the bandages covering her daughter’s delicate
 305.421 +hand. Tomoyo was still a little shorter than Sonomi but it took all
 305.422 +of the older woman’s self-restraint not to kneel down as she had when
 305.423 +Tomoyo had been a little girl. 
 305.424 +	Tomoyo smiled softly, but the smile didn’t meet her eyes. The dark,
 305.425 +stormy eyes looked dead, their depths dark and unyielding. Part of
 305.426 +that frightened Sonomi. Her daughter hid so much but she had always
 305.427 +managed to see past her masks and into those very emotional blue
 305.428 +eyes. They were the same as Sonomi’s own eyes, part of the reason she
 305.429 +suspected that she could see through to her daughter’s true feelings.
 305.430 +But this time it was as if there was nothing behind them or as if
 305.431 +they were completely cut off to her. “It’s all right, okaa-sama. I
 305.432 +just hurt myself last night. I was trying to clean up some glass
 305.433 +after I accidentally knocked over a picture frame in my room. I
 305.434 +shouldn’t stay up so late watching my Sakura-chan videos. I get so
 305.435 +tired that I have a hard time concentrating.” 
 305.436 +	Inspecting the hand, Sonomi bit her lower lip. There was something
 305.437 +about all of this that worried her, but she couldn’t quite put her
 305.438 +finger on it. Sighing, she let go of Tomoyo’s injured hand at last.
 305.439 +Her fingers brushed back some of Tomoyo’s lavender hair. “All right,
 305.440 +but I want you to go see a doctor about that later. I don’t want
 305.441 +anything bad to happen to your lovely hand because of some glass.”
 305.442 +	Nodding in agreement, Tomoyo held the letter in her other hand
 305.443 +tighter. “Hai, okaa-sama. I’ll go to the doctor later today then.” 
 305.444 +	Sonomi watched with growing unease as Tomoyo walked out to the
 305.445 +mailbox with the strange letter held tightly in her other hand. It
 305.446 +didn’t seem like Tomoyo to be so out of it. Her eyes usually had a
 305.447 +beautiful sparkle in them, her beautiful smile an entrancing quality
 305.448 +to it. Just what had happened to her little girl? 
 305.449 +	Tomoyo stood in front of the mailbox with the letter half in. Her
 305.450 +pale fingers refused to let go of the letter they held. Her heart
 305.451 +argued painfully against her still unsure mind. This was it. This was
 305.452 +the last contact she and Sakura would ever share. After this, she
 305.453 +would be all alone. Forever. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo
 305.454 +whispered. Her heart screamed out in agony as the letter fell in.
 305.455 +Closing her eyes, the dark haired heiress held herself tightly. Her
 305.456 +body shook lightly as she stood there. The midmorning sun should have
 305.457 +felt refreshing, but her body felt like it was encased in ice. She
 305.458 +had to wonder if she had done the right thing. As long as Sakura was
 305.459 +happy, it wouldn’t matter. Arms wrapped around her cold body gently,
 305.460 +pulling her tightly into a hug. “Okaa-sama...?” she asked weakly. It
 305.461 +wasn’t until she felt Sonomi’s fingers brushing away her tears that
 305.462 +she realized she was crying again. “Mother..!” She grabbed onto
 305.463 +Sonomi with all of her strength, breaking down in tears in the
 305.464 +embrace of her mother. 
 305.465 +Sonomi held Tomoyo, whispering soothingly as she patted the younger
 305.466 +woman’s back. “Oh, my baby girl... My poor baby girl,” the
 305.467 +heartbroken mother whispered. She held Tomoyo’s head on her shoulder,
 305.468 +closing her eyes as she continued to rub the lavender haired girl’s
 305.469 +back. Tomoyo’s body shook against her as her daughter was wracked
 305.470 +with sobs. ‘Oh, Nadeshiko-chan... This can’t be how things have to
 305.471 +turn out. This can’t be. Why my baby girl? Please... Please give me
 305.472 +an answer, Nadeshiko-chan...’
 305.473 \ No newline at end of file

   306.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   306.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-19.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   306.3 @@ -0,0 +1,861 @@
   306.4 +Dear Sakura
   306.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   306.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   306.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   306.8 +
   306.9 +I.
  306.10 +Sakura felt the tickling caress of little wavelets as she plowed
  306.11 +through the gentle waters of the bay. Glancing at a wetly glistening
  306.12 +Tomoyo, she was met with azure eyes that regarded her with
  306.13 +affectionate trust. With her odd costumes and curious remarks, the
  306.14 +dark-haired girl kindled a half-blush, half-heartache that thrilled
  306.15 +and confused the Mistress of the Cards. But there was no confusion
  306.16 +now, only a sunny glow that lit Sakura's entire being as she held the
  306.17 +soft, supple presence of her friend so delightfully close. Gazing
  306.18 +into the deep water, she was amazed by the strange, colorful fish
  306.19 +darting about. With mild surprise she scanned the horizon, and
  306.20 +realized the shore was lost to view. But it didn't seem to matter;
  306.21 +nothing mattered but being here with Tomoyo. She closed her eyes and
  306.22 +pulled through the water with slow, leisurely strokes. I could swim
  306.23 +like this forever, she thought languidly. Her friend’s lustrously
  306.24 +dark hair was streaming in the water as they swam, and the girl’s
  306.25 +pale skin sparkled in the dazzling sunlight. Sakura felt a sweet,
  306.26 +overwhelming longing for the delicate girl by her side, and hugged
  306.27 +her tightly, entranced by her delightful nearness. Her gaze caught
  306.28 +the horizon, the seam between sea and sky that sparkled in the far
  306.29 +distance. Staring at that razor's edge where blue met blue, Sakura
  306.30 +felt love as she never had before. Yet somehow these feelings had
  306.31 +always been with her, ever since she had been a child too young to
  306.32 +know that such love can be. Perplexed by this tangle of emotions, she
  306.33 +turned to ask her friend to explain this puzzling contradiction. But
  306.34 +Tomoyo was gone.
  306.35 +
  306.36 +Blinking in disbelief, Sakura circled in the water, expecting the
  306.37 +girl to be bobbing on the shimmering surface nearby. But there was
  306.38 +nothing, only sea and sky brilliantly lit by the tropical sun.
  306.39 +Suddenly Sakura remembered, and her heart tightened and froze, "She
  306.40 +can't swim". She thrashed in the water as panic swept her. But there
  306.41 +was nothing save the disturbance of her wild swimming on the ocean’s
  306.42 +placid film. Filling her lungs with air, Sakura dove deep into the
  306.43 +water. The fish scattered as she swam, leaving her alone as she
  306.44 +surged forward. The salty brine stung her eyes as she strained to
  306.45 +see. But there was only water: empty, endless, and vast. Her lungs
  306.46 +ached as each stroke pulled her deeper. The sea was now cold and dark
  306.47 +as she left the dappled sunlight extinguished and plunged into a
  306.48 +black nothingness. Completely disoriented, she lost all sense of
  306.49 +direction and dimension. As the seconds swept by her heart, starved
  306.50 +for oxygen, beat wildly out of control. Finally, her body panicked
  306.51 +and sucked in lungfuls of burning seawater. The darkness spread from
  306.52 +her vision to her mind as consciousness faded. When she died, the
  306.53 +pain and panic gave way to a whispering sadness. Her final thoughts
  306.54 +were of Tomoyo, and how she had failed to save her from drowning.   
  306.55 +
  306.56 +Sakura lurched out of bed as her lungs desperately gasped for air.
  306.57 +Her heart hammered in her chest as she slowly came to, eyes
  306.58 +discerning the dim outlines of her room in the pale starlight. With a
  306.59 +hand held tightly to her breast, she remembered the dream that
  306.60 +started so beautifully, and ended so horrifically. Still shaken, she
  306.61 +slipped out of bed, opened the door, and stood in the hallway.
  306.62 +Slumping to the floor, she pulled herself into a little ball and sat
  306.63 +deep in thought. Part of her wanted to forget the awful dream. Surely
  306.64 +it was nothing more than that; a night terror that dissipated with
  306.65 +the coming of day. But Kero-chan once said that the dreams of a
  306.66 +Cardcaptor were often prophetic, and thus important. The very idea
  306.67 +that this dream held any glint of the future brought a shiver of
  306.68 +fear. Sakura closed her eyes and forced herself to think. The dream
  306.69 +had seemed so real. Worse than her own death was failing to save
  306.70 +Tomoyo. Ever since that night in the garden, the pain in her best
  306.71 +friend’s eyes had haunted Sakura. Somehow it seemed her fault that
  306.72 +the dark-haired woman was suffering so. Never did the pale woman
  306.73 +utter a single reproach, or even a plea for help. But those beautiful
  306.74 +lavender eyes had betrayed her, and now Sakura knew that something
  306.75 +was terribly wrong. Sakura also sensed that her friend was faithfully
  306.76 +waiting for help.  Tomoyo's trust was touching, but it  frightened
  306.77 +her. 
  306.78 +
  306.79 +Helping her friend wasn't a matter of capturing cards or fighting
  306.80 +with magical forces. All that seemed simple compared to the problem
  306.81 +of Tomoyo's heart. The person her friend loved she could not have,
  306.82 +and despite efforts to conceal it, loneliness was a burden that bore
  306.83 +heavily upon her. Tomoyo would not say who this special someone was,
  306.84 +and Sakura felt a brief flash of anger. The least they could do is be
  306.85 +aware of such a wonderful love, and to gently thank Tomoyo for it,
  306.86 +even if they were unable to return her precious feelings. But then,
  306.87 +what if they did know? Would that really help her, if they knew of
  306.88 +her love but did not love her? Frustrated, Sakura rose and walked
  306.89 +down the hall. She had to do something, anything. She had to help.
  306.90 +But how? This was like fighting with shadows, dim outlines that she
  306.91 +could barely perceive. In order to help, she needed to know. Sakura
  306.92 +had to know who Tomoyo's special someone was. At this, she blushed
  306.93 +and stopped pacing. Part of her asked mockingly, "And just why do you
  306.94 +want to know? Are you jealous?" She shook her head, frustrated and
  306.95 +disturbed by the confused feelings that gripped her. She knew she
  306.96 +shouldn't feel bad that Tomoyo had her own true love. She knew in her
  306.97 +heart that she desired Tomoyo’s happiness. But somehow, it hurt not
  306.98 +to be that special someone. Tomoyo's affection was something she had
  306.99 +grown up with, as much a part of her life as breathing. That this
 306.100 +affection now caressed someone else was bittersweet, for while she
 306.101 +was glad that love lit Tomoyo's gentle heart, it saddened her that
 306.102 +she was not the one. This realization brought a new storm of
 306.103 +frustration, and Sakura threw on a skirt and blouse, slipped on a
 306.104 +pair of sandals, and walked out of the house. 
 306.105 +
 306.106 +The auburn-haired girl followed the road for a while, and then left
 306.107 +it for the trail that led to the top of Victoria Peak. The air was
 306.108 +cool on her face, and it felt good to walk the steep, snaking
 306.109 +pathway. Through the trees she caught a glimpse of the city below,
 306.110 +brightly lit and no doubt raucous even now in the early morning. She
 306.111 +was glad the weekend was approaching, for she needed time. Surely
 306.112 +this frustrating ignorance was worse than finally discovering who
 306.113 +Tomoyo's love was. But part of her resisted, as if unwilling to know.
 306.114 +In fact, part of her simply didn't want Tomoyo to be in love with
 306.115 +someone else. This brought a blush, and a reprimand as Sakura scolded
 306.116 +herself for such selfishness. But it was true, and she knew it. She
 306.117 +had finally realized, during Tomoyo’s trip to Hong Kong, that she
 306.118 +wanted Tomoyo's love for herself. To be the focus of Tomoyo's
 306.119 +attention was an ecstasy beyond words. She remembered Tomoyo filming
 306.120 +in the Matsukaya, remembered twirling and dancing for her friend's
 306.121 +delight. This brought another blush, for those memories were
 306.122 +intensely sweet and stirring. Sakura walked far along the pathway in
 306.123 +this blissful state before her wandering mind returned to the task at
 306.124 +hand. It occurred to her that her own feelings were part of the
 306.125 +problem. They clouded her understanding, her ability to solve the
 306.126 +riddle of Tomoyo's special someone. Until she first understood her
 306.127 +own feelings, she would never understand Tomoyo’s. This was all so
 306.128 +complicated, and made the capturing of the Cards seem almost easy.
 306.129 +
 306.130 +The Cards were really no more than puzzles to be solved. As time
 306.131 +went by, she had grown to love them. But at first, they were things
 306.132 +to be captured, a job to be done. Tomoyo wasn't like that at all.
 306.133 +Sakura cared deeply for her, and ironically this made it more
 306.134 +difficult to help. Had she loved the Cards then as she did now,
 306.135 +capturing and binding them would have been more difficult. She was so
 306.136 +tangled in her emotions for Tomoyo that she nearly felt overwhelmed.
 306.137 +And overwhelmed people, as her brother once remarked, are not very
 306.138 +useful. Somehow, she had to understand her own feelings for the girl
 306.139 +before she could help her.
 306.140 +
 306.141 +Sakura suddenly realized she was nearly at the top of the peak. And
 306.142 +there, just outside the heavy foliage flanking the trail, was the
 306.143 +spot they had watched the moonrise together. Sakura walked on the
 306.144 +soft grass, dew tickling her sandal-clad little feet. She sat down
 306.145 +and gazed at the islands of the bay shrouded in the dark night. She
 306.146 +stretched out on her back, hands behind her head, and stared up into
 306.147 +the sky. The crescent moon was a tiny boat in a sea of stars, the
 306.148 +vast emptiness illumined by thousands of brightly burning hearts.
 306.149 +Sometimes she felt their power, her power, the power of the stars.
 306.150 +When the Cards were all transformed, and Eriol’s final challenge
 306.151 +overcome, she had never wondered what was next. Her love for Syaoran
 306.152 +bloomed, thanks to the tender care of her friends. Sakura now
 306.153 +realized that Tomoyo had helped her friend have a happy marriage that
 306.154 +she would never have. That would be just like her, Sakura thought
 306.155 +with a trace of sadness. She remembered the look in her eyes as they
 306.156 +watched the parade of wedding dresses at the department store. "She
 306.157 +must have felt that pain for a long time, but she hid it from me.
 306.158 +Why? Why would she hide something like that? Because she didn't want
 306.159 +me to feel bad. I was so happy to be married, and she didn't want to
 306.160 +spoil my happiness with her feelings. I just ignored her all those
 306.161 +years. It's like I didn't care at all."
 306.162 +
 306.163 +Sakura sat up, damp from the dew and fighting back tears. She stared
 306.164 +at the hands folded on her lap and whispered miserably, "I'm so
 306.165 +sorry, Tomoyo-chan. I didn't know. I should have, but I just didn't
 306.166 +know". She clenched her fists angrily. That was no excuse then, and
 306.167 +it was no excuse now. Tomoyo was suffering, and needed her. Somehow,
 306.168 +she had to help. She had to find Tomoyo's special someone and tell
 306.169 +them. At least then Tomoyo's love would be appreciated, even if this
 306.170 +person could not be with her. But would this really be any
 306.171 +consolation? Poor Tomoyo would love this person with all her heart,
 306.172 +but she would have nobody to love her. It all seemed so wrong and
 306.173 +unfair. Tomoyo's love was like nothing Sakura had ever experienced.
 306.174 +Even as just a friend, the joy and bliss of being loved by this
 306.175 +wonderful girl was staggering. Through the years Sakura had been
 306.176 +unaware of how luminous Tomoyo’s love was. "Only when I moved to Hong
 306.177 +Kong," she thought, "did I really know what it would mean to be away
 306.178 +from her". She tried to explain this to Tomoyo when they danced the
 306.179 +night before she left for Japan, but words failed her as surely as
 306.180 +she had failed Tomoyo. She stumblingly groped for words because she
 306.181 +herself did not fully understand. Even now, all she really knew was
 306.182 +that she missed Tomoyo desperately and longed to be with her. And if
 306.183 +she did not know her own feelings, how could she possibly hope to
 306.184 +help Tomoyo? Sakura stood up and hugged herself as a chill breeze
 306.185 +swept the grassy swale. The sky had turned a pale gray. Dawn.
 306.186 +
 306.187 +Sakura smiled, for if resolution would not absolve her of the hurt
 306.188 +she had caused, it would at least set her guilt aside until she
 306.189 +finished this important task. She would help Tomoyo, but to do so she
 306.190 +must first know her own feelings. Until then, it would be impossible
 306.191 +to find her way. Her feelings were inextricably bound with the
 306.192 +beautiful dark-haired girl, but once they were unraveled she would
 306.193 +see her way more clearly. But how could she know her own heart? She
 306.194 +faced that riddle when Syaoran was leaving for Hong Kong. Then she
 306.195 +was lucky, for friends told her what her heart desired. But now she
 306.196 +was frighteningly alone, and did not know where to go for help. The
 306.197 +one person she could trust ultimately was far away in Japan Besides,
 306.198 +Sakura thought, even if she were at my side I couldn't ask her about
 306.199 +this. The thought of the pale girl again at her side was a pleasant
 306.200 +one, and brought back memories in a flood. Here they snuggled
 306.201 +together, Tomoyo resting her head on Sakura’s shoulder while the moon
 306.202 +sailed a velvet sky. Sakura longed to have those moments back, to
 306.203 +live them again and again for all eternity. But sweet memories would
 306.204 +not heal the hurts she had caused, and the Mistress of the Cards
 306.205 +purged them from her mind. Clenching her fists, Sakura looked out at
 306.206 +the dawn with determined eyes. Her voice was firm as she said out
 306.207 +loud, 
 306.208 +
 306.209 +"I'll ask Dark-sama and Light-sama about my feelings. I'll make them
 306.210 +tell me."
 306.211 +
 306.212 +And for the instant these words were uttered, she looked like what
 306.213 +she truly was: the most powerful being on earth. And her countenance
 306.214 +was terrible to behold.
 306.215 +
 306.216 +II.
 306.217 +All through the day that followed that dawn, Sakura thought about
 306.218 +the task ahead. At dinner Ieran-sama asked if she felt all right,
 306.219 +"You are unusually quiet tonight, Sakura."
 306.220 +
 306.221 +Sakura looked slightly surprised and bowed, "I'm fine, Ieran-sama.
 306.222 +Thank you for your concern." 
 306.223 +
 306.224 +Fanren chirped in with a giggly voice, "Quiet, hmm? Maybe you've
 306.225 +been around Syaoran-chan too long. Next thing you'll be all dour and
 306.226 +grumpy, too."
 306.227 +
 306.228 +Syaoran scowled and poked at his rice. But that only brought a fresh
 306.229 +storm of teasing from Fanren, eager to see her little brother stalk
 306.230 +off in a huff. Ieran-sama ended the game when she ordered the dishes
 306.231 +cleared, and after helping to clean up Sakura worked on papers from
 306.232 +school. After kissing Syaoran goodnight, she waited until the house
 306.233 +was silent, and stole into the guest room. Or, as she now called it,
 306.234 +Tomoyo’s room.
 306.235 +
 306.236 + She took the Cards from the drawer of the old colonial desk, and
 306.237 +decided Shield would seal her off from the rest of the household.
 306.238 +Looking at her skirt and blouse, she wished they were not quite so
 306.239 +plain. Kero always said the Cards preferred a proper looking
 306.240 +Mistress, and Tomoyo's creations had seemingly charmed and impressed
 306.241 +them. Certainly Kero had approved, Sakura thought ruefully,
 306.242 +especially when he got to share in the sartorial splendor. Well, what
 306.243 +she now wore would have to do. She pulled the chain around her neck
 306.244 +from her blouse and spoke the chant of power. In a blinding flash
 306.245 +Shield came to life, barring the doors and windows with golden
 306.246 +chains. Holding her staff in one hand, Sakura picked up The Dark and
 306.247 +The Light and flicked them into the air. With a twirl and a flourish
 306.248 +she awakened them amid a gale of shadow and blaze. They stood before
 306.249 +her shimmering with power, beautiful and majestic. Instinctively she
 306.250 +bowed, and they returned her bow with graceful solemnity. Light
 306.251 +smiled cheerfully and spoke while Dark waited pensively, 
 306.252 +
 306.253 +“Konbanwa, Sakura-chan. How are you this lovely evening”? Despite
 306.254 +her earnestness, Sakura smiled in sheer delight. The beauty of the
 306.255 +two was always such a joy to behold. They stood together,
 306.256 +affectionately holding hands, long, lustrous hair floating as if they
 306.257 +were underwater. They were a perfect contrast, yet a perfect pair,
 306.258 +and Sakura’s heart ached to see them together. She was always careful
 306.259 +to place the two cards next to one another, for which Light had
 306.260 +laughingly thanked her, but said it was unnecessary, “We have always
 306.261 +been together, and ever shall be.” But Sakura now tried to look
 306.262 +serious, for she knew the two could be cryptic, playfully hiding the
 306.263 +knowledge she desired. In a commanding voice, edged with the power of
 306.264 +the Mistress of the Cards, Sakura spoke,
 306.265 +
 306.266 +“Thank you, Light-sama. I am well. But there is something I need
 306.267 +from you.”
 306.268 +
 306.269 +The response was so different from the young woman’s normal tone
 306.270 +that Light-sama was taken aback and did not reply. Dark-sama spoke in
 306.271 +a voice like rustlings in the shadows, “Speak, Mistress, for all we
 306.272 +have is yours to ask for”. 
 306.273 +
 306.274 +Uncomfortable with such a formal reply, Sakura shifted her stance.
 306.275 +She was never like this with the Cards, and it all seemed very out of
 306.276 +place. But she had to find out for Tomoyo’s sake, so again she spoke
 306.277 +up firmly, “I need to know my feelings for Tomoyo-chan”.
 306.278 +
 306.279 +Sakura thought she detected the briefest hint of a smile on Dark-
 306.280 +sama’s normally impassive face. But it was Light-sama that answered
 306.281 +back in a ringing, almost angry, challenge,  “We cannot do what you
 306.282 +ask”.
 306.283 +
 306.284 +Sakura looked down at the floor, wishing she had one of Tomoyo’s
 306.285 +impressive costumes to make her feel more imperious than she felt.
 306.286 +Suddenly a flash of anger energized her, and in a stern voice that
 306.287 +shook the room she shot back, “I can command you to answer”.
 306.288 +
 306.289 +Light-sama looked surprised, and a nearly imperceptible trace of
 306.290 +fear darkened the light that glowed all around her. She quickly
 306.291 +recovered, fixing Sakura with a haughty stare. She began to reply,
 306.292 +but Dark-sama gently touched her shoulder, calming her at a glance
 306.293 +with dark, gentle eyes. The shadowy figure then turned to Sakura and
 306.294 +stepped forward. She knelt down and bowed low, forehead touching the
 306.295 +floor, black hair forming a darkly radiant pool on the floor. Her
 306.296 +feathery voice was mild and meek,
 306.297 +
 306.298 +“It is your right as Mistress of the Cards. You may command us, if
 306.299 +that is truly your wish.”
 306.300 +
 306.301 +Sakura’s heart sank. It felt so awful, as if she were forcing them
 306.302 +to do her bidding like servants, or even slaves. She knew that was
 306.303 +how Clow Reed had dealt with them; even Yue and Kereberous never
 306.304 +dared address him as other than “Master”. But Sakura loved her Cards,
 306.305 +not as their Master but as their friend, and it hurt her to see Dark-
 306.306 +sama bowing like this. Trembling, she realized she could never force
 306.307 +them against their will, even if she did have the right. Her
 306.308 +shoulders slumped and she lowered the staff, defeated by the gentle
 306.309 +submission of Dark-sama. Verging on tears she answered haltingly,
 306.310 +“Gomenesai, Dark-sama, Light-sama. I don’t want to be like that with
 306.311 +you. I can’t.” She looked up, her emerald eyes wet with tears. Light-
 306.312 +sama again stared in surprise, but this time with pity, not defiance.
 306.313 +Dark-sama smiled as she rose gracefully from her bow, then leaned
 306.314 +over and placed her hands on the woman’s shoulders. Her tranquil
 306.315 +voice was melodious and calming,
 306.316 +
 306.317 +“That is why the Cards love you so, Sakura-chan. We would do
 306.318 +anything for you, because you do not command us. But we cannot tell
 306.319 +you your feelings for Tomoyo. We cannot tell you, because only you
 306.320 +can know what is in your heart.”
 306.321 +
 306.322 +Sakura again remembered agonizing over Syaoran’s departure to Hong
 306.323 +Kong. How would she have known what was in her own heart if her
 306.324 +friends had not helped her, nudged her, and all but told her that
 306.325 +Syaoran was her true love? As if reading her thoughts, Light-sama
 306.326 +spoke up brightly, 
 306.327 +
 306.328 +“Others cannot know such things, and though they mean to help they
 306.329 +bring confusion, not light. Sakura-chan, you have never really known
 306.330 +your own heart, or these feelings would not be a mystery to you.  You
 306.331 +must do this yourself if you would know the truth”.
 306.332 +
 306.333 +Sakura looked hesitant and uncertain. She was confident in many
 306.334 +things, but not this. Not knowing her own feelings. They had always
 306.335 +been baffling, an emotional web that frustrated and bound her. She
 306.336 +had been so thankful when everyone had helped her before. But if this
 306.337 +was something she must do alone, then she would try her hardest. For
 306.338 +Tomoyo’s sake she could not fail. Sakura felt a surge of strength
 306.339 +that steeled her determination. She bowed low to the wise and
 306.340 +beautiful women. Her smile was bright and confident as she spoke with
 306.341 +an enthusiastic but steady voice, “Thank you so very much, Dark-sama
 306.342 +and Light-sama. I promise I will try my best.”
 306.343 +
 306.344 +
 306.345 +The two women shimmered before her, smiles filling her with peace
 306.346 +and strength. She resisted the urge to hug them, and instead bowed
 306.347 +again and returned Shield to its card form. As Sakura turned to go,
 306.348 +Light-sama approached her. Breathless, she saw the glowing figure
 306.349 +lean over her, golden hair waving in the air like seaweed in an ocean
 306.350 +swell. She met Sakura’s forehead with a tender kiss and the words,
 306.351 +“To help light your way, Mistress”. Sakura felt a surge of warmth and
 306.352 +hope, and smiled radiantly as she bowed her thanks. With that the
 306.353 +young woman was gone, leaving Dark and Light to linger awhile,
 306.354 +content in the eloquent silence of each other’s company.
 306.355 +
 306.356 +III.
 306.357 +Sakura stirred her coffee with absent-minded detachment. The quaint
 306.358 +little café overlooked the Bay, offering a scenic vista of ferryboats
 306.359 +and seagulls. But Sakura’s attention was far away, in another time
 306.360 +and place altogether. She had wandered the landscape of childhood all
 306.361 +day long, and like an explorer returning home came bearing strange
 306.362 +and exotic memories. She realized now that her time as a child had
 306.363 +been like the nursery-rhyme song so dimly remembered: “Merrily,
 306.364 +merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream”. It was as if she had
 306.365 +dreamt away her years in Tomoeda, and now awakened to the marvels
 306.366 +that filled her pleasant slumber. 
 306.367 +
 306.368 +Above all else was the extraordinary love of her best friend,
 306.369 +Tomoyo. This love had been sweetly present all through her life. As
 306.370 +she meandered through memory she saw it in places unsuspected and
 306.371 +unlooked for. Love was there in all the girl did and all that she
 306.372 +was. Love was sewn into the elaborate costumes Sakura had worn in
 306.373 +capturing the Cards. At the time, their excess of kawaii had caused
 306.374 +the Cardcaptor no end of embarrassment. Yet Tomoyo sewed them with
 306.375 +meticulous care, and if they were playful and carefree, they also
 306.376 +marked Sakura in a singular way as the new Cardcaptor. But most of
 306.377 +all they reflected the glowing love that Tomoyo held for her. The
 306.378 +girl was ecstatic when her friend wore them, and that crazy, innocent
 306.379 +delight was something Sakura painfully missed. No longer embarrassed,
 306.380 +she longed once again be the focus of the rapturous love. 
 306.381 +
 306.382 +Tomoyo’s love embraced her in a comforting cocoon of blissful
 306.383 +contentment, yet it also tossed her into the sky, deliriously free to
 306.384 +soar beyond limits she would never have dared on her own. Tomoyo’s
 306.385 +love was vast and deep, a mysterious ocean that gently rocked and
 306.386 +swayed Sakura’s heart. Tomoyo gave her strength and hope, help and
 306.387 +solace, and the delightful charm of her shinning presence. “And what
 306.388 +did I give her?” Sakura thought in a  hot flash of shame. “I took all
 306.389 +my problems to her, and she helped me every time. But I didn’t help
 306.390 +her. I didn’t even know about her special love. She did so much for
 306.391 +me, and I never even let her know. I didn’t even know myself.” This
 306.392 +last thought seemed particularly bitter. 
 306.393 +
 306.394 +Sakura realized that Tomoyo had paid a dear price for her friend’s
 306.395 +denseness. “She supported me, and I ignored her. I took her for
 306.396 +granted, like she would always be there, just for me. How could I
 306.397 +have been so selfish?” So powerful and ever-present was Tomoyo’s love
 306.398 +that Sakura simply grew used to it. It pained her to think so, but it
 306.399 +could not be denied. Like air and water, Tomoyo’s love was something
 306.400 +Sakura needed, and unconsciously came to expect. She had taken her
 306.401 +marvelous friend for granted. She knew this now because Tomoyo was
 306.402 +far away, and that love and affection were no longer a part of
 306.403 +Sakura’s daily life. This knowledge made the memories of her time in
 306.404 +school with Syaoran especially hard to face. When Syaoran returned
 306.405 +from Hong Kong, she had flown to his arms, losing herself in the
 306.406 +Chinese magician.  Enamored by his stoic strength and charmed by his
 306.407 +stingily given attentions, she had been oblivious to all else. She
 306.408 +remembered the time they sat in swings at the park while she spoke
 306.409 +about her feelings for Yukito. She was deeply moved as he silently
 306.410 +listened to her, but now she wondered if his silence was more a lack
 306.411 +of interest than concern.  But how many times had Tomoyo listened to
 306.412 +her problems and worries, really listened with all her heart and
 306.413 +spirit? She was always there, sympathetic and caring, listening to
 306.414 +confessions and sobs until dawn chased the stars away. Even now it
 306.415 +was Tomoyo she went to with all of her problems, as well as her
 306.416 +delights and joys. But Sakura had hardly given Tomoyo’s fragile heart
 306.417 +a second thought. She always assumed the girl was happy, for the dark-
 306.418 +haired girl never spoke of the pain and hurt that Sakura had seen so
 306.419 +recently in her eyes. 
 306.420 +
 306.421 +Was this pain new?  Had her friend sailed blithely through childhood
 306.422 +without worry or care? It was comforting to think, but Sakura sensed
 306.423 +it was not so. No, Tomoyo must have had some sadness and
 306.424 +disappointment throughout the years they were together. But she had
 306.425 +never said a word, and Sakura had never asked. She kept whatever
 306.426 +troubled her to herself, but why? The answer, Sakura thought as she
 306.427 +sipped her cold coffee, was stark and obvious: for me.
 306.428 +
 306.429 +Not only was Tomoyo always there for her, but she carefully kept her
 306.430 +own problems from Sakura as well. The toll these years of sacrifice
 306.431 +must have cost her friend seemed staggering. On the brink of tears,
 306.432 +Sakura thought to herself, “She was always there for me, and happy
 306.433 +for me, and silent for me. And I never even knew”. Hurriedly leaving
 306.434 +money on the table, she began headed into the center of the busy
 306.435 +city. Walking usually eased her heart, but not today. She thought of
 306.436 +those last years in High School where her world revolved around
 306.437 +Syaoran. Sometimes he was all she could think about. When he was in
 306.438 +Japan they were always together, and when he was absent she talked
 306.439 +and thought and dreamed about him, and little else. Never did she ask
 306.440 +about Tomoyo’s crushes, or dates, or cherished hopes. There weren’t
 306.441 +any, of course; only a hopeless love from afar that left her lonely,
 306.442 +a shattered heart her only confidante. Ever since Tomoyo explained
 306.443 +the reason for not buying a teddy bear for her special someone,
 306.444 +Sakura had assumed her odd friend was content with unrequited love.
 306.445 +She thought of her reply at the time, “I know Tomoyo’s special person
 306.446 +must be very happy”. Now it sounded shallow and ridiculous, and the
 306.447 +memory of her remark made her physically ill.
 306.448 +
 306.449 +“Baka.” Sakura felt a rare anger welling up inside, an anger that
 306.450 +accused her of a cruel disregard, “It’s a wonder she can stand to be
 306.451 +around me.” Yet this was one of the many miracles of her dearest
 306.452 +friend. Never once, in any way, did Tomoyo betray a trace of anger or
 306.453 +reproach. Not a word, or a gesture, or a sign did she give of the
 306.454 +wrong that Sakura had done her through a carefree and foolish
 306.455 +neglect. She hid her pain, and all those years Sakura did not see.
 306.456 +But what she did see, despite the hurt done her, was Tomoyo’s
 306.457 +astonishing love. That was no mask. Her love had sweetly shaken
 306.458 +Sakura’s heart, and was as real as the warmth of the sun. With Tomoyo
 306.459 +gone that love was now distant, and for four months Sakura felt the
 306.460 +ache of loneliness. Slowly she realized what it meant when that love
 306.461 +was absent from her everyday life. Sakura felt on the edge of
 306.462 +collapse before Tomoyo came to Hong Kong, and it was this finally
 306.463 +opened her eyes to what the dark-haired woman meant to her. But poor
 306.464 +Tomoyo had endured years of such desolation, alone, without even the
 306.465 +hope of being with her true love. “She should hate me,” Sakura
 306.466 +thought as she sobbed, “but she still loves me.” Oblivious to the
 306.467 +curious stares and embarrassed glances from people passing buy,
 306.468 +Sakura cried her way to the bus stop that would take her to Silver
 306.469 +Strand Beach.
 306.470 +
 306.471 +When the bus boarded the ferry, Sakura stepped out and stood on the
 306.472 +bow of the little boat chuffing over the water. The sea breeze eased
 306.473 +her distress, and the salt spray cleansed and refreshed her. Gulls
 306.474 +circled and dipped in the late morning sun, greedy for scraps and
 306.475 +tidbits from the tiny humans below. They set up a noisy chorus when a
 306.476 +young boy and his mother hurled pieces of sandwich high into the air.
 306.477 +As the birds pirouted and swooped, snatching the bread in mid-flight,
 306.478 +Sakura remembered flying, remembered the dizzy, dancing joy of
 306.479 +cleaving the air with magical wings. In the air you were free, but
 306.480 +that was a different sort of freedom than what she embraced in Hong
 306.481 +Kong.  Here she had her new life, free from the family and friends of
 306.482 +her old life. She was free, but miserable. Now, far away from
 306.483 +Tomoyo’s affection, she felt a leaden burden that weighed heavier
 306.484 +upon her with each passing day. Worse, by flying away to a life with
 306.485 +the man she loved, she forgot her obligations to her dearest friend.
 306.486 +Sakura remembered a tearful confession in one of her letters, an
 306.487 +apology for not knowing sooner how hard it was for Tomoyo to be
 306.488 +without her true love. The woman replied in soothing tones; you
 306.489 +didn’t now, it’s all right. But she should have known, and it wasn’t
 306.490 +all right at all. Unaware of Tomoyo’s needs, Sakura had proven a
 306.491 +selfish and insensitive friend. She burned with shame at the very
 306.492 +thought of her neglect But all this would change, and it would change
 306.493 +now. She would discover Tomoyo’s special person, and talk to them.
 306.494 +She would tell them of Tomoyo’s precious feelings. And then, she
 306.495 +thought excitedly as she again boarded the bus, Tomoyo would have her
 306.496 +happy ending. Unless, of course, that special person did not love
 306.497 +Tomoyo. What then?
 306.498 +
 306.499 +Sakura slumped in her seat as the bus left the ferry and wound it’s
 306.500 +way up the east coast to the beach. What if this mysterious person
 306.501 +did not share Tomoyo’s feelings, or was already with someone else?
 306.502 +Tomoyo had said as much in her letters, pleading with Sakura to let
 306.503 +things be. Sakura’s hesitation was brief. Her resolution to make up
 306.504 +for past failings drove her forward with staunch determination. She
 306.505 +would help heal the sadness reflected in Tomoyo’s hauntingly
 306.506 +beautiful eyes. There would never be any chance for Tomoyo if this
 306.507 +true love never knew her feelings. And if they did not love her? This
 306.508 +seemed inconceiveable, so Sakura decided to worry about it if it
 306.509 +happened. It felt good, finally knowing what to do. Her mind made up,
 306.510 +Sakura sensed something like contentment as she turned to the
 306.511 +difficult question that had to be answered before she could begin:
 306.512 +just what were her feelings for Tomoyo? 
 306.513 +
 306.514 +When the bus let off the passengers at the beach, Sakura was
 306.515 +relieved to see that there were relatively few people enjoying the
 306.516 +water. She had a towel to lay on, but no swimsuit. She simply wanted
 306.517 +to be here, where they had shared part of an all too brief day
 306.518 +together. Slipping off her sandals, Sakura felt the hot sand beneath
 306.519 +her bare feet. Walking to the water’s edge, she traced the line
 306.520 +between sea and shore, warm water tickling her feet, delightedly
 306.521 +digging her toe into the dark, wet sand. Finally, she found a spot
 306.522 +and laid out the colorful towel, then sat and watched the other
 306.523 +beachgoers. A boy run up to the oncoming waves, squeeled, and then
 306.524 +run back laughing to his mother. The sun was bright and reflected off
 306.525 +the water with a glare, so Sakura closed her eyes and began to try
 306.526 +and understand her feelings for Tomoyo.
 306.527 +
 306.528 +Tomoyo was her best friend, and had been ever since the gift of a
 306.529 +little eraser in third grade. Sakura remembered that first day in
 306.530 +class surprisingly well. Daidouji Tomoyo had been introduced as a
 306.531 +transfer student, bowing shyly as all eyes in the class appraised
 306.532 +her. She was given the seat next to Sakura, and as the new girl
 306.533 +unpacked her books, the brunette gazed at her in wonder. Dressed in a
 306.534 +brand new uniform, lustrous lavender hair covering her back and
 306.535 +shoulders, she was the prettiest girl Sakura had ever seen. When the
 306.536 +Daidouji girl glanced her way, the genki girl flashed a radiant
 306.537 +smile. This brought a crimson blush that graced the new girl’s
 306.538 +strikingly pale skin. Later in the day she saw a distressed Tomoyo
 306.539 +frantically looking in her book bag. Sakura cheerfully gave her an
 306.540 +eraser to correct her mistake, a gift the girl accepted with surprise
 306.541 +and delight. Later they sat together for lunch, talking about family
 306.542 +and food and all the little things so important to children. Sakura
 306.543 +liked her from the very first, and they quickly became best friends.
 306.544 +They were inseparable, sharing moments and memories while the years
 306.545 +passed by like a slow, melodious song. 
 306.546 +
 306.547 +
 306.548 +Everything a best friend should be the pale, kindly girl had been.
 306.549 +She was kind and caring, always there with love and support. Sakura
 306.550 +now wondered if she could ever have gone through the trials of
 306.551 +childhood and adolescence without her. All through the capturing of
 306.552 +the Cards, their transformation, and the final battle with Eriol,
 306.553 +Tomoyo had been by her side. The dark-haired girl filled her with a
 306.554 +confidence she often lacked, and made it possible to meet challenges
 306.555 +that would otherwise have been overwhelming. Tomoyo meant a shoulder
 306.556 +to cry on, a reassuring hug, and words of sympathy and solace. She
 306.557 +adored her friend, and Sakura basked in that glowing adoration. It
 306.558 +was odd to think of it like this, but it was almost as if she were
 306.559 +Tomoyo’s special someone. Tomoyo affection for her best friend made
 306.560 +Sakura feel unique, exceptional, and loved. In turn, she loved Tomoyo
 306.561 +as her best friend. There was a quiet contentment in her presence.
 306.562 +Sometimes they would just sit together, watching a sunset, or leaves
 306.563 +blown in the wind. There was no need for words. Their friendship
 306.564 +found comfort in the intimate silence they shared. Just to be with
 306.565 +her made Sakura’s heart glad. Sakura carried the knowledge that
 306.566 +Tomoyo would always be there for her. She could always rely on Tomoyo
 306.567 +her help, advice, and insight. Sakura passed through childhood
 306.568 +virtually free of fear or anxiety, save for ghosts, of course, There
 306.569 +was no place for fear with Tomoyo as her friend.
 306.570 +
 306.571 +Sakura opened her eyes and squinted against the brilliant sunlight.
 306.572 +She scanned the horizon and saw a small fleet of junks bobbing in the
 306.573 +water, nets hauling in a sparkling catch of fish that glittered like
 306.574 +silver. She loved to eat fish, but was happy not to have to catch
 306.575 +them. The thought of the poor things thrashing helplessly about as
 306.576 +they were hauled out of the water reminded her of last night’s dream,
 306.577 +and she shivered despite the heat. Like the fish, this is how she
 306.578 +felt living in Hong Kong: stunned, disoriented, and desperate.
 306.579 +Struggling to cope with this distress, she slowly discerned its
 306.580 +cause. It was because she missed Tomoyo. She missed the constant,
 306.581 +sparkling presence of the tender girl in far-away Tomoeda. Slowly
 306.582 +Sakura began to fathom the depths of her feelings for her best
 306.583 +friend. She had always liked her, more than any of her other many
 306.584 +friends. But it was more than just liking her that she felt. It was
 306.585 +love. Sakura knew she was terribly dense about human feelings. It was
 306.586 +so very hard to understand her emotions, let alone those of others.
 306.587 +This ignorance caused pain and embarrassment, and even now was the
 306.588 +reason for her curious odyssey. Being away from Tomoyo had thrown her
 306.589 +into an emotional storm, yet all the agony it caused her eyes were
 306.590 +finally opened. She missed Tomoyo so terribly because she loved her. 
 306.591 +
 306.592 +Of course, She missed her other friends, like Naoko, and Chisato,
 306.593 +and Rika. But not like this, not like Tomoyo. Being away from the
 306.594 +azure-eyed girl left her lonely and frantic, teetering on a despair
 306.595 +that should have had no place in her happy married life. So powerful
 306.596 +were her feelings that it no longer made sense to think she simply
 306.597 +“liked” her best friend. She experienced emotions somewhat like this
 306.598 +with Syaoran and Yukito, but nowhere near as deep and intense. In the
 306.599 +time away from Tomoyo, she finally came to understand that she loved
 306.600 +her best friend. But just what did this love mean? At first, she
 306.601 +decided it was the love of friendship. She remembered a moving story
 306.602 +of the ancient Greeks.  It told of a man condemned to death, but
 306.603 +given his freedom to attend a sister’s wedding on the condition that
 306.604 +should he fail to return at the appointed time, his best friend would
 306.605 +die in his place. The man fought through incredible hazards and
 306.606 +hardships, but in the end returned and faced death for the love of
 306.607 +his friend. Sakura cried when she read this tale, and for the first
 306.608 +time understood that love bound friends as surely as it did lovers.
 306.609 +She even wrote about this in a letter to Tomoyo, asking if someone
 306.610 +could be more than a best friend, could be a  “special friend”. But
 306.611 +listening now to waves crashing on the beach, and random cries of
 306.612 +children playing, Sakura knew the love she bore Tomoyo lay beyond the
 306.613 +bounds of friendship.
 306.614 +
 306.615 +
 306.616 +She heard the playful screech of a little girl who was tagged, and
 306.617 +now ran after her former persuer to make them “it”. The sun was
 306.618 +lowering towards the western horizon, bathing the hills of the New
 306.619 +Territories in a fiery orange glow. She suddenly realized she had
 306.620 +forgotten to put suntan lotion on her face and arms. Gingerly the
 306.621 +young woman touched her skin, hoping the burn would not be too
 306.622 +severe. This triggered memories of Tomoyo stretched out on the towel,
 306.623 +Sakura rubbing the cool lotion into her creamy, alabaster skin. The
 306.624 +woman on the beach caught her breath and felt a crimson flush spread
 306.625 +over her neck and cheeks. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on the
 306.626 +question of just how she loved Tomoyo. There was an intimacy between
 306.627 +the two, more like sisters than best friends. Sakura recalled
 306.628 +frantically phoning Tomoyo late one night when she was barely
 306.629 +thirteen.  Suspended between mortified embarrassment and utter
 306.630 +terror, she was sure she had been stricken with some dread disease,
 306.631 +but could not bring herself to ask her brother or father for help.
 306.632 +Only Tomoyo would do. After calming the panicky girl with her soft,
 306.633 +melodious voice, Tomoyo spoke with her mother and quickly returned a
 306.634 +diagnosis was as old as girls and women themselves. In minutes Tomoyo
 306.635 +arrived at the Kinomoto residence to comfort and be with her friend.
 306.636 +Of all the people Sakura had ever known, there was no one she felt
 306.637 +safer with in sharing her most private thoughts and secrets. There
 306.638 +was that special trust of family between them, though without the
 306.639 +irritation she so often felt with her brother. The bond between the
 306.640 +two girls felt deep and ancient, as indeed it was.
 306.641 +
 306.642 +Sakura wondered sometimes about the blood ties between them. Their
 306.643 +Mothers had been cousins, and grew up together in cherished intimacy.
 306.644 +It seemed that Sonomi had loved Nadeshiko, and the two were
 306.645 +inseparable until Fujitaka came between them. It was funny that their
 306.646 +mothers had been so close, just like their daughters. But Marriage
 306.647 +tore them apart, and Sakura now grieved for Sonomi. She was sad, and
 306.648 +even a bit guilty, for if Nadeshiko had blossomed in her marriage,
 306.649 +Sonomi had never quite recovered from her lost love. Tomoyo hinted in
 306.650 +a letter that Sonomi was a bit like Sakura’s sensei friend, and this
 306.651 +comparison cut like a razor. She had seen Jun-sama’s suffering first
 306.652 +hand, and the thought that the kind and beautiful Sonomi shared this
 306.653 +pain was unbearable. 
 306.654 +
 306.655 +Yet as Tomoyo had once laughingly observed, things were curiously
 306.656 +mixed up. While the daughters were, like their mothers, somehow
 306.657 +connected, it was as if Sakura and Tomoyo had been switched at birth.
 306.658 +Each looked and acted much like the other’s mother. Like Sonomi,
 306.659 +Sakura was athletic, hot-tempered, and determined to succeed in all
 306.660 +she did. Tomoyo, like Nadeshiko, was quiet, quirky, and brimming with
 306.661 +love. In an odd way, physical and psychological aspects of the
 306.662 +Amamiya cousins had been blended together in their children. But no
 306.663 +matter how she considered her relationship to Tomoyo, Sakura realized
 306.664 +there was a deeper connection between them than mere friendship.
 306.665 +Although unaware of each other for eight years, the two girls fell
 306.666 +instantly fell together like long lost siblings. For Sakura, Tomoyo
 306.667 +felt like a lost part of her very being. This special affinity for
 306.668 +the dark-haired girl had almost sisterly quality to it. Yet there was
 306.669 +still more to their relationship than that. Even if they had been
 306.670 +sisters, how to explain that awful parting at the airport?
 306.671 +
 306.672 +As Tomoyo boarded her plane, Sakura was swept by a despair she never
 306.673 +thought possible. It dredged up horrific memories from long ago,
 306.674 +memories the shattered woman did not even know existed. When Tomoyo
 306.675 +left, it was as if her Mother had died all over again. But this time,
 306.676 +Sakura did not see with the eyes of an innocent three year old, a
 306.677 +child who could be told that mommy was in a beautiful place in the
 306.678 +sky. This time, she knew Tomoyo was gone, and could not shake the
 306.679 +irrational fear that they might never be together again. Her mother’s
 306.680 +early death did not seem to affect her much in large part because of
 306.681 +Fujitaka. Her father devoted his life to filling the gaping hole left
 306.682 +by the tragic absence of Nadeshiko. Sakura sometimes heard tales of
 306.683 +other fathers from her friends in school. Many fathers were often
 306.684 +absent , seemingly indifferent to their own families. They spent long
 306.685 +hours at grinding jobs, and were too exhausted to take part in family
 306.686 +affairs when they did return. Busy with overtime and obligatory
 306.687 +drinking bouts with the boys, these were the fathers that forgot
 306.688 +birthdays and teacher’s names, who never went to school plays, fairs
 306.689 +or parent’s days. Their sole purpose of winning the bread left little
 306.690 +time to enjoy it. Sometimes Sakura wondered if this was the sort of
 306.691 +father her own husband would prove to be, and this troubled her
 306.692 +greatly. Her father was so very different from all the others. He was
 306.693 +gentle, encouraging, and loved with a mother’s unconditional love. He
 306.694 +had mastered the domestic arts that ironically escaped Nadeshiko
 306.695 +herself: cooking, cleaning, sewing, and the myriad little details
 306.696 +that make a household run properly. But for all his dedicated effort,
 306.697 +the loss of a mother might still have affected Sakura more had it not
 306.698 +been for Tomoyo.      
 306.699 +
 306.700 +Growing up, Sakura loved Tomoyo as the mother she never had. The
 306.701 +very fact she looked like the pictures of Nadeshiko may have
 306.702 +reinforced the girl’s imperceptible feelings. The Daidouji girl’s
 306.703 +nature was very much as Fujitaka had described his wife: sweet,
 306.704 +gentle, placid, and loving. He once remarked that in all their years
 306.705 +together, he had never seen even a trace of anger on her luminous
 306.706 +face. Tomoyo was exactly the same: ever smiling, kind, and caring.
 306.707 +With maternal affection, Tomoyo had nurtured Sakura through the
 306.708 +trials of childhood and adolescence. She was there to ease the hurts
 306.709 +and soothe the pains of growing up. She encouraged the first,
 306.710 +tentative steps towards love with Yukito-san and Li-kun. Sakura often
 306.711 +found herself crying in the arms of Tomoyo, who hugged her back with
 306.712 +in a motherly embrace. In the arms of its mother, a child always
 306.713 +feels that everything will be all right. Even as they whirled
 306.714 +together on the dance floor, when Sakura burst into tears at the
 306.715 +harrowing prospect of Tomoyo’s imminent return to Japan, the dark-
 306.716 +haired woman enfolded her in her arms and brought soothing
 306.717 +reassurance with nothing more than her gentle presence. Yukito might
 306.718 +have said this parental affection was the key to Sakura’s love for
 306.719 +Tomoyo, as it had been for him. Years ago, he told Sakura she loved
 306.720 +him because he was like her beloved father. She agreed, but not
 306.721 +because she believed he was right. She knew her that Touya loved him,
 306.722 +so she said yes, and stepped aside. But if her feelings for Yukito
 306.723 +were not quite true love, they were still more than a schoolgirl
 306.724 +crush. It was painful to let the gentle boy go, but she did. And
 306.725 +Sakura now knew that her love for Tomoyo was no more easily explained
 306.726 +this way than her feelings for Yukito. She had loved Yukito more than
 306.727 +a father figure, and loved Tomoyo more than the mother she never
 306.728 +knew. The kiss in the garden had shattered that explanation for
 306.729 +Sakura’s love. For all her maternal kindness, Tomoyo stirred up
 306.730 +passionate feelings in Sakura that no daughter ever had for her
 306.731 +mother.   
 306.732 +
 306.733 +
 306.734 +Watching a slender, gorgeous, woman preparing to leave the beach
 306.735 +reminded Sakura of Tomoyo slipping out of her white sundress. This
 306.736 +memory summoned a fiery longing that gripped her heart, and the
 306.737 +feverish desire that haunted her recent dreams. She trembled in
 306.738 +remembrance of braiding the long, lavender tresses, the silken feel
 306.739 +of pale skin, the sweet, flowery scent that wafted like a heavenly
 306.740 +little cloud. Tomoyo’s visit awakened a sensuous craving for this
 306.741 +achingly beautiful woman, a desire that previously hovered only on
 306.742 +the rim of Sakura’s awareness. Tomoyo always seemed to her the
 306.743 +prettiest of girls. There was a delicate loveliness about her that
 306.744 +Sakura found irresistible. As childhood passed into adolescence, her
 306.745 +feelings changed with her body, imperceptibly at first, but in the
 306.746 +end irrevocably. So captivated by Syaoran was she that this change in
 306.747 +her feelings almost went unnoticed. Only little hints were left, odd
 306.748 +moments that puzzled her when they happened, and were quickly
 306.749 +forgotten as meaningless puzzles. But now, in the grip of memory,
 306.750 +these puzzles seemed more like keys to resolving the sweet confusion
 306.751 +that played havoc with her heart.
 306.752 +
 306.753 + Most vivid was a memory from the 8th grade, in a gym class where
 306.754 +Tomoyo gamely struggled with a difficult floor exercise. The other
 306.755 +students left for home, but Sakura stayed to help her friend master
 306.756 +the complicated pattern. She spotted for Tomoyo, holding her closely,
 306.757 +guiding her with a sure, firm touch. Slowly at first, the dark-haired
 306.758 +girl caught the rhythm of the movements, and her natural grace and
 306.759 +charm moved Sakura’s heart. For some reason her very nearness
 306.760 +flustered Sakura, distracting her from the lesson she was trying to
 306.761 +impart. Sakura blushed fiercely while Tomoyo, still as a fawn,
 306.762 +daintily arched her supple body and gazed up with trusting eyes.
 306.763 +Breathing raggedly, Sakura stood by her, their faces nearly touching,
 306.764 +utterly enraptured by the wan beauty of the delicate girl. From
 306.765 +nowhere she felt a mad desire to embrace her, caress her, and shower
 306.766 +her with kisses. The brunette leaned closer, heart hammering as their
 306.767 +lips nearly touched. Suddenly she blushed crimson and pulled quickly
 306.768 +away. Tomoyo seemed pleasantly baffled, and then worried as her
 306.769 +friend turned her back and trembled. Sakura stammered out something
 306.770 +about a pulled muscle, and struggled to calm her racing heart. Had
 306.771 +Tomoyo come to her then, with a kindly touch or a concerned hug,
 306.772 +Sakura was unsure just what might have happened. But the odd little
 306.773 +whirlwind passed quickly, and Tomoyo returned to being just a best
 306.774 +friend. Yet this was not the only time that some unseen passion had
 306.775 +seized Sakura’s heart. Tomoyo’s presence had sometimes captivated and
 306.776 +enthralled her in ways she could not fathom. Confused, even
 306.777 +frightened, part of Sakura had succeeded in forgetting these strange,
 306.778 +overpowering little moments. But delving into the depths of her
 306.779 +feelings, Sakura found that these hidden memories now came flooding
 306.780 +back. And these feelings she remembered were the identical to those
 306.781 +in the garden, where she was swept away by an overwhelming love for
 306.782 +Tomoyo. 
 306.783 +
 306.784 +
 306.785 +Sakura stood up and stretched, drained but oddly exhilarated. As day
 306.786 +gave way to night, she gathered her things and walked to board the
 306.787 +approaching bus. She was tantalizingly close now, sensing a
 306.788 +revelation that would make her feelings clear at last. Though she
 306.789 +appeared charmingly normal at first glance, the genki young woman was
 306.790 +unusual in many ways, not least in her utter honesty. Most people shy
 306.791 +away from such  ruthless examinations of their inner feelings. As the
 306.792 +saying goes, they prefer not to stir muddy waters and cause
 306.793 +difficulties. Or, they cling to comfortable illusions, rejecting
 306.794 +thorny and painful realities. As Fanren observed, Sakura was in many
 306.795 +ways a simple girl. She wanted to know what was true, and could not
 306.796 +abide to live a life that was false. Her desire to know had
 306.797 +inexorably driven her to gather the Cards, and then transform them.
 306.798 +In doing so she jeopardized not only her life, but also those most
 306.799 +precious to her. Now she was on a journey to know her true feelings
 306.800 +for Tomoyo, and after that the identity of her best friend’s true
 306.801 +love. Where this journey led, or how it was resolved, did not concern
 306.802 +her at all. Indeed, she was frighteningly innocent of the havoc and
 306.803 +pain such discoveries might unleash. But had she known, she would
 306.804 +have plunged forward regardless, for her determination to understand
 306.805 +was implacable. After a long ride over the ferry and into the City,
 306.806 +she boarded the last electric tram up Victoria Peak. When she exited
 306.807 +the tram and began walking, the exhausted little P.E. teacher caught
 306.808 +a second wind, and raced up the hill to the mansion. Preparing for
 306.809 +bed in her room, Ieran-sama saw her daughter-in-law dashing into the
 306.810 +house, and wondered what she was doing out running at such an hour. 
 306.811 +
 306.812 +Tip-toeing into her room, Sakura retrieved the Cards from their
 306.813 +resting place. For a moment she stood over the sleeping Syaoran,
 306.814 +smiling. Then she slipped away, latched the door, and walked down the
 306.815 +hall to Tomoyo's room. She sat on a chair by the window and gazed at
 306.816 +the garden, dark and silent in the still of night. What happened in
 306.817 +that garden changed everything forever. Never had her love for Tomoyo
 306.818 +felt so strong and all-encompassing. Never had she felt so
 306.819 +deliriously close to another human being. Oddly, it all started with
 306.820 +Tomoyo's wrenching pain. Sakura had seen little slivers of her secret
 306.821 +hurt before, in letters and during the trip to the Matsukaya. But
 306.822 +sitting in the garden, Tomoyo was unwilling or unable to conceal the
 306.823 +torment of life without her special someone. She broke down, sobbing
 306.824 +in Sakura's arms. Sakura's heart was riven as she hugged her tightly,
 306.825 +wishing with all her power that Tomoyo would be all right.
 306.826 +Miraculously, she was. While embraced by Sakura, the pale girl seemed
 306.827 +healed of her terrible hurt. In this blinding moment Sakura realized
 306.828 +the agony of loneliness that her best friend lived with everyday. But
 306.829 +the Mistress of the Cards also saw that in her arms, Tomoyo's pain
 306.830 +was assuaged. She said that with Sakura she was happy, and the full
 306.831 +truth of this at last opened her emerald eyes. Here was yet another
 306.832 +revelation, for Tomoyo needed her as surely as she needed Tomoyo. She
 306.833 +longed to hold and comfort her pale friend, to take away the pain
 306.834 +forever. If indeed she had such power, Sakura vowed now to use it,
 306.835 +regardless of cost or consequence. 
 306.836 +
 306.837 +That night in the garden, Sakura and Tomoyo were like two castaways
 306.838 +washed up on a foreign shore, gazing on a world and each other made
 306.839 +marvelous and new. It was as if Sakura saw Tomoyo, the girl she grew
 306.840 +up with, for the very first time: fragile, vulnerable, and
 306.841 +breathtakingly beautiful. When that enchanting woman came so
 306.842 +enticingly close, a surge of desire swept Sakura’s body and shook her
 306.843 +heart. In that magical kiss, two souls met for the very first time.
 306.844 +Sakura touched her cheek as a sweet warmth enfolded her. The memory
 306.845 +of that kiss lingered still, echoing in her heart, tingling through
 306.846 +every cell of her body. She loved Tomoyo as a friend, a sister, and a
 306.847 +mother. But after they kissed, she knew her love was unimaginably
 306.848 +vast and unbounded, a door to infinite space, a precipice on the edge
 306.849 +of forever. If she had hesitated to step over that awesome threshold,
 306.850 +it was only because the luscious shock of that kiss had left her
 306.851 +utterly enchanted. 
 306.852 +
 306.853 +But now, following her road to the very end, she was awakening. The
 306.854 +meaning of her love for Tomoyo was finally clear. Sitting quietly in
 306.855 +the shimmering night, a gentle rain of tears falling on her folded
 306.856 +hands, Sakura at last understood her feelings. Perhaps deep within a
 306.857 +part of her had suspected or known, all along. But now the splendid
 306.858 +truth resounded throughout her entire being. Sakura could sing, or
 306.859 +cry, or shout this truth, but her steady heartbeat bore a more
 306.860 +eloquent testimony. In her heart nestled a precious knowledge, a
 306.861 +knowledge gained through pain, joy, and time. And what her heart knew
 306.862 +would change her forever.
 306.863 +
 306.864 +Daidouji Tomoyo was her one, True Love. 

   307.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   307.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-20.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   307.3 @@ -0,0 +1,417 @@
   307.4 +Dear Sakura
   307.5 +Fireflies and Cherry Blossoms
   307.6 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   307.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   307.8 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   307.9 +
  307.10 +
  307.11 +	“This is just what I needed. Work has been so busy lately, hasn’t
  307.12 +it, Tomoyo-chan? I think we both needed a chance to finally relax for
  307.13 +once,” Sonomi observed as she and her daughter walked around all of
  307.14 +the booths that had been set up at the shrine. The two Daidouji women
  307.15 +were resplendent in their kimonos. Sonomi had become more and more
  307.16 +concerned about her daughter’s welfare after finding her crying near
  307.17 +the mailbox several days earlier. But as usual, Tomoyo had tried
  307.18 +desperately not to worry her. And if Sonomi couldn’t get Tomoyo to
  307.19 +tell her what was wrong, how could she help? Of course, she had a
  307.20 +fairly good idea of what was bothering Tomoyo. Sakura. Sonomi
  307.21 +mentally twitched at the thought. Sakura was such a wonderful girl,
  307.22 +but the business woman was having a very difficult time keeping her
  307.23 +anger in check when it came to the Cardmistress. Seeing her daughter
  307.24 +in so much pain was heart wrenching to the distraught mother. Ever
  307.25 +since Tomoyo had returned from Hong Kong, something heavy had been
  307.26 +weighing down on the dark haired girl’s soul. Sonomi had been
  307.27 +thrilled to hear about Tomoyo’s experiences with Nadeshiko’s
  307.28 +daughter, but it seemed that her daughter had brought back something
  307.29 +other than happy memories from her trip. Something dark that had
  307.30 +wrapped around Tomoyo’s heart, it’s thorns piercing the gentle
  307.31 +object. So Sonomi had tried to get Tomoyo away from it all by taking
  307.32 +her out to a festival. The business woman dealt with her own pain by
  307.33 +focusing on other things, whether it be work or athletics or her
  307.34 +daughter. It helped her to forget that she had lost the one most dear
  307.35 +to her. It allowed her to be distracted from the ice cold anguish
  307.36 +that languished in her heart. She only hoped that the same thing
  307.37 +would help her precocious daughter.
  307.38 +	“Hai, okaa-sama. It’s been very busy lately with the new deadline
  307.39 +coming up. But I’m sure that even with the added pressure, you’ll
  307.40 +have everything perfectly wrapped up in time. You always do such a
  307.41 +wonderful job of keeping things under control,” Tomoyo’s soft voice
  307.42 +replied. Pale fingers brushed back her braided hair from her eyes as
  307.43 +she looked forward. Noticing that Sonomi was watching her carefully,
  307.44 +she plastered on her typically charming smile and shined it at her
  307.45 +mother, though it felt fake and see through to her. She hadn’t wanted
  307.46 +to go and would have protested, but she didn’t want to worry her
  307.47 +mother. Poor Sonomi had been through enough without seeing the pain
  307.48 +in Tomoyo’s shattered heart. She needed to hold on long enough so as
  307.49 +not to concern the older woman. But it was so difficult to keep a
  307.50 +grasp on her masks. They felt brittle, translucent. Her inner turmoil
  307.51 +was making it impossible to hide the pain for much longer. So this
  307.52 +would be her last performance. When this show was over, she would
  307.53 +once and for all throw her masks away, tossing away the once
  307.54 +cherished mental barriers that had up till now protected those she
  307.55 +loved from her own pain. After all, there would be no one to worry
  307.56 +about hurting after that so they wold no longer be necessary. But for
  307.57 +now, she would perform her best for her mother. The thought reminded
  307.58 +her of when she was a child, how she had always sang her best when
  307.59 +Sakura had been in the audience or when Sonomi had managed to sneak
  307.60 +away from work long enough to listen to her daughter’s singing on
  307.61 +stage. It brought a small, sad smile to her lips. She always had
  307.62 +performed the best for those two, whether it be singing or hiding her
  307.63 +feelings. Unfortunately, it worked a lot better on Sakura than it did
  307.64 +with Sonomi. Her mother always managed to see through her to the
  307.65 +feelings inside.
  307.66 +	Sonomi nodded in agreement, her stormy blue eyes settling on the
  307.67 +beautiful visage of her daughter. ‘Oh my God, she looks so much like
  307.68 +Nadeshiko-chan... I swear that she and Sakura-chan must have been
  307.69 +switched at birth. She’s so much like her. So loving. So gentle. So
  307.70 +sweet. Nadeshiko-chan always went out to care for animals and
  307.71 +anything that looked like it was in pain. Tomoyo-chan has done the
  307.72 +same with the hearts of others. She’ll never know how much she’s
  307.73 +helped ease the pain in my own heart. But it’s not fair that no one
  307.74 +can take away her pain,’ Sonomi thought to herself, still half in
  307.75 +shock at seeing Tomoyo in the moonlight. The younger girl could have
  307.76 +passed herself off as Nadeshiko at that age perfectly. Her pale skin
  307.77 +and dark hair, her sweet smile, they all painted a picture from long
  307.78 +ago. Sonomi smiled brightly, brushing away some of Tomoyo's dark hair
  307.79 +from her face. “You look so gorgeous, Tomoyo-chan! You’ve grown into
  307.80 +such a lovely young woman. I always knew that you’d surpass Goddesses
  307.81 +in their beauty.” Sonomi watched her daughter as she dug through her
  307.82 +purse for her camera. When was the last time the mother and daughter
  307.83 +had gone to a festival together? She had to have a picture of this.
  307.84 +Tomoyo was practically shining in her kimono. The picture would look
  307.85 +perfect right next to a picture of Nadeshiko in a kimono just a year
  307.86 +or two younger. “I’m going to take a picture, Tomoyo-chan. I want to
  307.87 +be able to look back on tonight.” ‘Especially if you’re leaving,’
  307.88 +Sonomi added glumly as an afterthought. She already knew that Tomoyo
  307.89 +was moving out, but she suspected that her reasons were far more
  307.90 +complex than simply wanting to get out on her own. The pain in
  307.91 +Tomoyo’s eyes was a fairly good indicator to Sonomi of that. She had
  307.92 +come to the conclusion that her daughter wanted to escape the pain,
  307.93 +that she was leaving to try and put it behind her. Sonomi couldn’t
  307.94 +fault her baby girl with that. She had done the same thing when
  307.95 +Nadeshiko had married Fujitaka, leaving shortly after the wedding and
  307.96 +breaking all her ties with the only person she had ever loved. It was
  307.97 +the only way she could survive. She would never have been able to
  307.98 +stay near her cousin while she was happily married to the man who had
  307.99 +stolen her away. She guessed that it was the same for Tomoyo, that
 307.100 +she hoped to outdistance the pain. If only it were that easy. But
 307.101 +Sonomi knew that it may be the only way for Tomoyo to handle the
 307.102 +agony of never having her love returned. 
 307.103 +	Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, clasping her hands in front of
 307.104 +her as she smiled sweetly. The camera clicked and whirred as Sonomi
 307.105 +took her picture. Time froze in that instant, a single memory frozen
 307.106 +forever on film. The picture of a shattered girl hiding behind her
 307.107 +tattered and unraveling masks, crying helplessly underneath the smile
 307.108 +that she shined out at the camera. Despite her smile, Sonomi would
 307.109 +forever find the picture disturbing, never quite sure what was wrong
 307.110 +with the beautiful picture. When she looked at it long enough, she
 307.111 +would almost be able to see her daughter’s tears, the agony on her
 307.112 +face and the pain in her torn heart. But after a cold chill would
 307.113 +pass down her spine, the image would be gone, replaced once again
 307.114 +with the slightly disturbing picture of Tomoyo smiling in her kimono.
 307.115 +	And with that, time continued along its inevitable path. Tomoyo
 307.116 +continued to hold her hands in front of her as she and her mother
 307.117 +glanced around curiously at the decorations and the festival goers.
 307.118 +Tomoyo was wearing a delicate teal kimono with dark blue flower petal
 307.119 +designs across it, like flowers floating on a calm ocean. Sonomi’s
 307.120 +kimono was a rust red, multicolored flowers adorning its design as if
 307.121 +bouquets had been sewn into the red fabric. The two Daidouji women
 307.122 +turned several heads as they continued along under the moonlight,
 307.123 +though neither paid any attention. 
 307.124 +	Sighing inwardly, Sonomi wished that there was some way that she
 307.125 +could take away her daughter’s hurt, that she could assume all of the
 307.126 +dark haired girl’s suffering for herself. Watching Tomoyo slowly
 307.127 +splinter apart was maddening for the already overprotective mother.
 307.128 +It was much more painful to see the most important piece of her life
 307.129 +begin to crack and break apart than it was to deal with her own pain.
 307.130 +With the loss of Nadeshiko she could mourn or fume in anger over the
 307.131 +man who had stolen her precious cousin away from her. But there was
 307.132 +nothing she could do for her delicate daughter. She felt trapped by
 307.133 +her own helplessness, and it was suffocating her. As Tomoyo’s mother,
 307.134 +it was impossible for her not to feel the torment of her baby girl.
 307.135 +Having lived through the same pain herself, Sonomi would give
 307.136 +anything to take it away from her daughter. Then she would have
 307.137 +something to fight, something that she could actually do to fix the
 307.138 +situation. It wasn’t fair that Tomoyo’s heart was just as doomed as
 307.139 +her mother’s to an eternity of loneliness. What had the young woman
 307.140 +done to deserve such an agonizing fate? Who had she ever wronged?
 307.141 +Tomoyo had been nothing but selfless in her love for Sakura. She
 307.142 +deserved her storybook ending and it tore at Sonomi’s heart to see
 307.143 +that denied to her little girl. 
 307.144 +	What made the situation all the more unbearable for the head of the
 307.145 +Daidouji household was that it was Sakura behind her daughter’s
 307.146 +suffering. Cute, genki, innocent Sakura-chan. Sonomi had only the
 307.147 +highest regards of Sakura for years. The sweet little schoolgirl had
 307.148 +brightened her life nearly as much as she had brightened Tomoyo’s.
 307.149 +And the fact that she was Nadeshiko’s daughter was not lost on
 307.150 +Sonomi. Even if there were more similarities between Nadeshiko and
 307.151 +Tomoyo than between Nadeshiko and her actual daughter, Sonomi had
 307.152 +always managed to catch a glimpse of Sakura’s mother in her. And she
 307.153 +had always been such a delight to have around. Sonomi understood
 307.154 +completely how her daughter had fallen in love with the spirited and
 307.155 +somewhat naïve woman. So it pained her all the more to know that
 307.156 +Sakura was the one that caused her daughter’s tears again and again.
 307.157 +It was almost a contradiction that such a sweetly lovable girl like
 307.158 +Sakura would be capable of the brutal pain that battered Tomoyo’s
 307.159 +heart. This same contradiction was what confused Sonomi’s own
 307.160 +thoughts. She thought very highly of Sakura. Cared very much for the
 307.161 +young woman, in fact, as Nadeshiko’s daughter, the one Tomoyo loved,
 307.162 +and as a wonderful girl in her own right. But Sonomi was also
 307.163 +fiercely protective of those she cared about, and with Nadeshiko
 307.164 +gone, the one that took highest priority on her list was her gentle
 307.165 +daughter, Tomoyo. And seeing Sakura causing such devastation to her
 307.166 +daughter was something that she simply couldn’t forgive. Yet she
 307.167 +couldn’t bring herself to hate Sakura. Not in the same way that she
 307.168 +hated Fujitaka, the girl’s father. She genuinely liked Sakura and was
 307.169 +always pleasantly charmed by her company. She had been nearly as
 307.170 +captivated by the brunette as her daughter always was. So it was very
 307.171 +difficult for her to sort out these conflicting feelings. 
 307.172 +	But seeing the painful shards in Tomoyo’s usually deep and soulful
 307.173 +indigo eyes had pushed Sonomi to reevaluate her feelings towards the
 307.174 +Cardmistress. How could Sakura treat her daughter’s heart as if it
 307.175 +was some mere trinket? Something that she could ignore and take for
 307.176 +granted? Such an act showed just how terribly Sakura had failed her
 307.177 +best friend and Sonomi’s one and only daughter. Anyone who could
 307.178 +bring tears to Tomoyo’s lovely eyes was guilty of a terrible sin to
 307.179 +the dark haired beauty. Yet Tomoyo could never bring herself to be
 307.180 +angry with Sakura, could never fault the brunette’s naivete for the
 307.181 +pain it caused her. On the other hand, her mother wasn’t quite as
 307.182 +forgiving. ‘Sonomi-chan, you’re not still mad at him, are you?’
 307.183 +Nadeshiko’s voice gently chided, deep from within Sonomi’s memories.
 307.184 +As always, it was accompanied by the most dazzling of smiles, of
 307.185 +which one always graced Nadeshiko’s beautiful features. Nadeshiko was
 307.186 +so much like her daughter in that way. Never one to get angry, even
 307.187 +when she had every right to be, always having such a remarkably
 307.188 +touching faith that things would turn out all right. But Sonomi was
 307.189 +starting to fear that her daughter was losing that faith. And with
 307.190 +it, her daughter’s soul began to crumble like a house of cards.
 307.191 +‘Yes... Yes, I’m still angry with him, Nadeshiko-chan... But not just
 307.192 +for beating me at track the time when you said that. No, I will never
 307.193 +forgive him for stealing everything from me. Most importantly, for
 307.194 +taking you away. And now his daughter’s doing the same thing to my
 307.195 +baby girl,’ Sonomi mentally replied to her cousin’s question from
 307.196 +years long past. Her eyes narrowed as she once again saw the familiar
 307.197 +features of the man that had managed to single handedly ruin her
 307.198 +life. To her surprise, his face shifted into someone else entirely.
 307.199 +Tilting her head to the side, Sakura smiled sweetly.
 307.200 +	Nearly backpedaling from the sight, Sonomi was relieved to see that
 307.201 +it had only been her imagination. A young girl stared at her
 307.202 +awkwardly for a moment before running off to find her mother. Placing
 307.203 +her hand on her chest, the business woman began to breathe deeply,
 307.204 +trying to relax her thunderously beating heart. It had only been her
 307.205 +already overworked mind playing along with her thoughts. Not that she
 307.206 +needed that at the moment. She was too busy trying to... “Tomoyo-
 307.207 +chan?” Turning around, Sonomi tried to catch a glimpse of her
 307.208 +daughter but to no avail. While she had been lost in her thoughts,
 307.209 +Tomoyo had disappeared. Panic gripped at the business woman’s heart
 307.210 +as she scanned the crowds for any sign of pale skin or lavender hair.
 307.211 +Though Tomoyo was a young woman now and capable of taking care of
 307.212 +herself, Sonomi felt the irrational fear that she would never see her
 307.213 +cherished daughter again. Her mind quickly reassured her that it
 307.214 +simply wasn’t the case, but it was cold comfort. And she was
 307.215 +generally one to listen to her feelings over her thoughts. And her
 307.216 +feelings were telling her that something was terribly wrong. That she
 307.217 +had to hurry to her daughter’s side before it was too late. But what
 307.218 +would she be too late for?
 307.219 +
 307.220 +	Tomoyo walked silently out into a clearing, devoid of anything but
 307.221 +the soft sparkle of fireflies as they lit the sky around her. A
 307.222 +small, sad smile crossed her lips in remembrance of watching Sakura
 307.223 +catch the Glow Card out on a similar night. Those tiny little
 307.224 +floating lights in the air were so similar to the Clow Card’s own
 307.225 +gentle glow. Sakura had been so happy that night, spending time with
 307.226 +her crush at the time, Yukito Tsukishiro, under the moonlight. And
 307.227 +Tomoyo had been more than happy to watch the two of them from the
 307.228 +safety of some bushes, delighting in Sakura’s cute blush and the
 307.229 +brunette’s ecstasy of spending time with the snow rabbit. Why wasn’t
 307.230 +that enough for her anymore? Why couldn’t she be content to watch
 307.231 +Sakura’s life through a camcorder lens the way she always had? 
 307.232 +	Fanren’s words returned to Tomoyo in answer to her unspoken
 307.233 +question. Because her own heart was always pouring out love to
 307.234 +Sakura, it was empty inside. And her brittle heart was collapsing
 307.235 +under its own weight. She couldn’t continue to watch Sakura married
 307.236 +and living a life that really didn’t need her. Tomoyo was only human.
 307.237 +Even she couldn’t handle watching the one she loved forever in love
 307.238 +with someone else. It only made her own lonely heart cry out even
 307.239 +more into the moonlight, making it ache incessantly more. It had been
 307.240 +what she wanted, to make Sakura happy by any means necessary. And she
 307.241 +had given up Sakura to Syaoran in the hopes that he could make her
 307.242 +happy. “As long as the one I love is happy, it doesn’t matter if they
 307.243 +love me,” Tomoyo whispered, repeating words from a happier childhood.
 307.244 +And it was true, she wanted Sakura to be happy above all else. But
 307.245 +seeing it, actually watching Sakura’s new happy life unfold, it only
 307.246 +made the loneliness in Tomoyo’s heart more poignant, more acute. Her
 307.247 +love for Sakura actually made it infinitely worse for her because it
 307.248 +just reinforced the emptiness in her heart. Knowing that the most
 307.249 +important person in her life no longer needed her, that she was no
 307.250 +longer necessary was a chilling revelation. With that, all purpose
 307.251 +from her life seemed to disappear like mist on a sunny morning. She
 307.252 +had devoted so much of her life to Sakura that the prospect of no
 307.253 +longer being useful to the brunette was devastating. But even then,
 307.254 +at least she would be able to watch Sakura. But even that was beyond
 307.255 +her now. Every time that Sakura came to her about her husband, about
 307.256 +her happy new life, it hurt her. It hurt her to know that she was not
 307.257 +a part of it, that she could never be a part of it. To see the two of
 307.258 +them in love, to know that Sakura’s love was for someone else alone,
 307.259 +it left her frail and weak. She now knew why her mother had left when
 307.260 +Nadeshiko had gotten married. It was simply too painful to stay and
 307.261 +watch the one you love while they love another. 
 307.262 +	Tomoyo had wrestled with her feelings about leaving for quite a
 307.263 +while before that, so she understood what lay behind them. Her fear
 307.264 +of ruining Sakura’s happy life and her need to get away from the pain
 307.265 +that haunted her while she remained in Sakura’s life had all played a
 307.266 +part in her decision. She already regretted her decision terribly,
 307.267 +but knew that she really had no other choice. To stay in Sakura’s
 307.268 +life would be to invite disaster. If she didn’t ruin the brunette’s
 307.269 +marriage when Sakura discovered her feelings, her heart would die
 307.270 +from remaining to watch it all. So this was for the best. But somehow
 307.271 +that knowledge did little to comfort the lavender haired heiress. She
 307.272 +would never see Sakura again, even if it was the only way out. Tears
 307.273 +began to trickle down her cheeks as she held herself in the cold
 307.274 +night. That was the way it always was. She was all alone, holding her
 307.275 +feelings inside. And it was the way things always would be. A life
 307.276 +devoid of Sakura felt incredibly empty, like life in a vacuum. But
 307.277 +wasn’t that what her videotape collection was for? Somehow those
 307.278 +collections of frozen images and captured memories felt poorly
 307.279 +inadequate now. She wanted the real Sakura. She longed for her touch,
 307.280 +for her soft voice and her beautifully hopeful eyes. The videotapes
 307.281 +were now a painful reminder of what she could never have, of what she
 307.282 +would never again behold. Yet they were her only taste left of
 307.283 +Sakura. Her last great treasure. Even if they were bittersweet, they
 307.284 +were beautiful moments with Sakura, captured forever on videotape. So
 307.285 +she would always have them to drown in, beautiful memories to
 307.286 +surround herself with. They would make a wonderful coffin, one of
 307.287 +cute moments, dizzying costumes, and the always energetic Sakura. And
 307.288 +she could bury herself in them. 
 307.289 +	That had felt like her only means of escape, her only way to
 307.290 +survive without Sakura. But now she had to wonder if even that would
 307.291 +be enough. Her life felt woefully empty without the captivating
 307.292 +brunette. And she knew that nothing, not even her videotapes, could
 307.293 +ever truly replace her. Of course, that was never what the videos
 307.294 +were intended for. They were her documentary of Sakura, her footage
 307.295 +of time long ago, more like memories than anything else. And just
 307.296 +like memories, they paled in comparison to the real thing. 
 307.297 +So just how could she survive a life without Sakura? Her stormy blue
 307.298 +eyes closed, her braided hair fluttering around in the biting breeze
 307.299 +as she tried to concentrate on just what a life might entail. The
 307.300 +wind whispered in her ear as the fireflies continued their endless
 307.301 +dance up above her. Sound could be heard in the distance as the
 307.302 +festival continued for those merry enough to join in. Nothing... She
 307.303 +could see nothing. It was as if her life’s journey ended once she was
 307.304 +without Sakura. And even if she continued on with such a life, what
 307.305 +meaning would their be to it? What possible purpose could it serve?
 307.306 +Like a clock that had wound down, it would be cold and meaningless.
 307.307 +Just like her masks, it would be pretty, but absolutely false. It
 307.308 +would be empty. Is a life lived merely for the sake of living really
 307.309 +worth living at all? Would it not be better to join Sakura’s mother
 307.310 +up in the skies above, to watch down on Sakura and her mother rather
 307.311 +than to continue forward helplessly alone and lost in the dark?
 307.312 +“Tomoyo-chan!! There you are!” Sonomi called out as she hurried to
 307.313 +meet her daughter in the clearing. She smiled in relief, glad to see
 307.314 +that her daughter was in no trouble after all. But a closer glance
 307.315 +made her rethink that. She could see wet tears on her daughter’s
 307.316 +cheeks, though the pale girl quickly wiped them away with the sleeve
 307.317 +of her kimono. Perhaps she was in no physical danger, but Sonomi was
 307.318 +beginning to think that was the least of her problems. “Tomoyo-chan,
 307.319 +what’s wrong?” she asked quietly, her hands resting on the dark
 307.320 +haired woman’s shoulders. 
 307.321 +Tomoyo didn’t meet her mother’s gaze for a long moment, and it took
 307.322 +all of her strength to attempt a smile as she finally turned to look
 307.323 +at Sonomi. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, okaa-sama,” she said quietly. But
 307.324 +she knew at once that she had failed miserably. Sonomi didn’t look
 307.325 +the least bit swayed by her words, concern etched on her face. 
 307.326 +	“Tomoyo-chan, I’m your mother. I know that’s not true. Please, tell
 307.327 +me what’s wrong. I need to know,” Sonomi whispered. She cupped
 307.328 +Tomoyo’s chin when the younger girl tried to avert her gaze, stormy
 307.329 +blue eyes meeting stormy blue eyes. 
 307.330 +	The dark haired girl balked at first, unsure of what to say to her
 307.331 +mother. Explanations popped to mind, all specifically tailored to
 307.332 +diffuse her mother’s worry. But she felt too weak to use any of them.
 307.333 +With a sobbing breath, Tomoyo let go of her masks, their remains
 307.334 +shattering uselessly in the wind. “I don’t know how to say goodbye,”
 307.335 +the pale heiress whispered as fresh tears made their way down her
 307.336 +cheeks and past Sonomi’s waiting hand. Her whole body felt consumed
 307.337 +with despair, eating away at every bit of her soul. She had failed at
 307.338 +protecting those she cared about with her masks, first in front of
 307.339 +Sakura and now with her mother. She could only hope that her masks
 307.340 +had held when writing her last letter to Sakura, but the brunette was
 307.341 +probably still angry with her or at least confused about why Tomoyo
 307.342 +would leave. And Tomoyo would understand if Sakura was angry with
 307.343 +her. As long as Sakura was happy in her new life, it didn’t matter.
 307.344 +But she didn’t have that same safeguard with her mother. She knew
 307.345 +that leaving could very well hurt her mother terribly. And when she
 307.346 +left, her mother wouldn’t have the one she loved and a happy new life
 307.347 +to fall back on. Which is why she had tried so hard not to worry her
 307.348 +mother with her departure. She had never wanted to hurt the older
 307.349 +woman. It’s just that she couldn’t stay any longer. She was too
 307.350 +consumed with grief. She had to get away. It would only hurt her
 307.351 +mother if she stayed. 
 307.352 +	Sonomi smiled softly, her own eyes glittering with tears as her
 307.353 +hands moved to Tomoyo’s tear stained cheeks. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... Is
 307.354 +that what this is about?” She shook her head, laughing slightly. It
 307.355 +was a pained sound, but it was honest. “I understand, my little girl.
 307.356 +I know you have to put all of this behind you. I know that you can’t
 307.357 +stay and let the pain devour you. I did the same thing when I left
 307.358 +Nadeshiko-chan when she got married. I couldn’t stay. Even now, I
 307.359 +have so many regrets about that. I only saw her for such a brief time
 307.360 +before she died. I missed out on so many years of her life. But I
 307.361 +don’t think I could have survived if I had stayed there with her
 307.362 +during her marriage to Fujitaka. The human heart just isn’t made to
 307.363 +handle that kind of pain. I don’t think I would have survived at all
 307.364 +if it hadn’t been for you, Tomoyo-chan. You gave me a reason to live.
 307.365 +You were my sweet little girl. You were the one person that I could
 307.366 +always love and cherish, who I knew would forever be a part of me.”
 307.367 +Tears of her own fell down her cheeks, though she continued to smile
 307.368 +at her quietly sobbing daughter. “And I thank you so much for that.
 307.369 +You gave me so much in life that I thought had been lost forever. I
 307.370 +was so consumed by sorrow and anger that I had forgotten the things
 307.371 +that make life worth living. You brought them all back to me. So I
 307.372 +understand if you have to flee all of this. I was happy to try and
 307.373 +keep you with me as long as I could, even if I knew this was
 307.374 +inevitable. You have to let a baby bird fly free some day. Just like
 307.375 +my angel, Nadeshiko-chan. I couldn’t protect her forever. And even
 307.376 +though I wish dearly that I could always protect you, Tomoyo-chan, I
 307.377 +know that I can’t.” 
 307.378 +	Tomoyo’s mind spun as she considered the similarities between
 307.379 +herself and her mother’s cousin. ‘I want to be an angel,’ she thought
 307.380 +to herself. Oh, to be able to soar above this mortal coil, to escape
 307.381 +the anguish that now seemed a permanent aspect of life, to be able to
 307.382 +watch Sakura and protect her, it all sounded like a dream. But there
 307.383 +was a darker side to her mother’s words. And Tomoyo felt them
 307.384 +instantly. She hugged her mother tightly, still crying weakly against
 307.385 +the slightly taller woman. “But I don’t want to leave you like that.
 307.386 +I know how much it hurt you when you lost her. I would never want to
 307.387 +hurt you like that, okaa-sama... Sometimes I think you’re the only
 307.388 +person who ever really knew me.” She closed her eyes tightly, trying
 307.389 +to stop the onslaught of fresh tears. “You always understood how I
 307.390 +felt about Sakura-chan. You know how much it hurts not to be with the
 307.391 +one you love. I don’t want to leave you, but...”
 307.392 +	Silencing her daughter with a kiss on her forehead, Sonomi hugged
 307.393 +Tomoyo tightly. “Shhh... I know. I know.” The older woman smiled
 307.394 +softly. “Not that you didn’t make it difficult enough to know you.
 307.395 +You always did have a tendency to hide your feelings when you didn’t
 307.396 +want to burden someone. But you’re my little girl, so I had to see
 307.397 +through it.” She paused, brushing Tomoyo’s hair out of her eyes. “I
 307.398 +don’t want you to hurt like this, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t want to see
 307.399 +you so heartbroken. And if leaving is the only way that you can heal
 307.400 +your broken heart, then I have to accept that. But please... If you
 307.401 +can ever come back, or even if you could just write me a letter to
 307.402 +know what my darling daughter has been up to...” Her voice trailed
 307.403 +off.
 307.404 +	Tomoyo burst into pain wracked sobs, clutching onto her mother. She
 307.405 +couldn’t even promise that she could send her a letter. How could she
 307.406 +just abandon her mother like that? But Sonomi was right. She couldn’t
 307.407 +stay. She had to fade away. She had to disappear before it was too
 307.408 +late for everyone. “I’m so sorry, okaa-sama...” Tomoyo got out
 307.409 +between sobs, her head resting on Sonomi’s shoulder.
 307.410 +Standing there, holding onto her daughter, Sonomi finally made her
 307.411 +decision. She hated Sakura. She hated the girl for all she had done
 307.412 +to her daughter, for all of the anguish she had caused her only
 307.413 +child. Holding Tomoyo tightly, Sonomi could only rock back and forth,
 307.414 +humming a gentle lullaby that she used to sing to Tomoyo when she was
 307.415 +only a child. She only wished that it still held the same power to
 307.416 +put the dark haired girl into a peaceful slumber. Standing in the
 307.417 +moonlight, surrounded by fireflies, the mother and daughter cried
 307.418 +together. Over lost love, over the end of the beginning, and over the
 307.419 +death of hope.  
 307.420 +

   308.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   308.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-21.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   308.3 @@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
   308.4 +Dear Sakura
   308.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   308.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   308.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   308.8 +
   308.9 +In the garden, Sakura sat on the stone bench and gazed up into the
  308.10 +night sky. She was ineffably happy, but couldn't stop crying. At last
  308.11 +she understood. The auburn-haired woman loved Tomoyo more than anyone
  308.12 +in the world. She always loved her, but never knew. So many things
  308.13 +finally made sense: embarrassed feelings around her adoring friend,
  308.14 +the tortured longings suffered since arriving in Hong Kong, and the
  308.15 +sheer joy of seeing the lavender-haired woman again. And then, there
  308.16 +was the kiss that filled her soul with fire and light. No, kisses,
  308.17 +she thought blushingly. Tomoyo kissing her on this very spot, and
  308.18 +Sakura kissing the lovely girl as they danced. Kisses. She touched
  308.19 +her lips with trembling fingers. When they kissed the world melted
  308.20 +away, leaving only the two of them. Opening her eyes, Sakura felt a
  308.21 +crimson blush creep up her neck, coloring her delicate cheek. I want
  308.22 +to kiss her again, she thought. Again, and again, and again.
  308.23 +
  308.24 +Most people lucky enough to realize their true love begin to
  308.25 +consider how their feelings fit into the complex calculus of human
  308.26 +relations. They worry about other lovers, wives or husbands, jobs and
  308.27 +money, threats and opportunities. Had Sakura considered all this, it
  308.28 +might have shaken her gentle, genki spirit. She was married and far
  308.29 +away from her true love. Tomoyo, she thought, was in love with
  308.30 +someone else entirely, traveling a path that took her further and
  308.31 +further away. Were she to cast a cold, clear eye on the situation,
  308.32 +her trickling tears of happiness might quickly become a river of
  308.33 +grief and regret. But Sakura's greatest power, that everything would
  308.34 +be all right, was no mere facade, or posture, or consolation. It was
  308.35 +who she was. So, sitting on the bench she felt joy and elation, not
  308.36 +worry and fear. Only knowing the agony that Tomoyo was even then
  308.37 +enduring might have shaken the heart of the little Cardmistress. But
  308.38 +of that pain, she was unaware, save for the dim echoes of a distant
  308.39 +dream. For Sakura true love, once unlocked, was a source of utter
  308.40 +bliss.
  308.41 +
  308.42 +She stayed in that spot for hours, as if some magic lingered from
  308.43 +her discovery of love. She marveled that in all those years with
  308.44 +Tomoyo it had never occurred to her before. She shook her head and
  308.45 +smiled, feeling slightly foolish, as she always did when something
  308.46 +simple that had eluded her finally came clear. But for all that, it
  308.47 +was she who had finally realized her own feelings. How strange that
  308.48 +the love in her heart was so different from what she and everyone
  308.49 +else had thought her love should be. Her friends had nudged her in
  308.50 +the direction of Syaoran, and she had accepted the rightness of their
  308.51 +wisdom. Not that she blamed them. If fault there was it was hers, for
  308.52 +not knowing what she should have known in the first place. And she
  308.53 +did like Syaoran; loved him, even. But it was more like the love felt
  308.54 +for a friend. Her love for Tomoyo was unique, unlike anything else in
  308.55 +her life. No joy or happiness could compare to the exquisite
  308.56 +sweetness of this realization. And Sakura felt a tiny light of pride
  308.57 +that she herself had come to understand what no one else did. But
  308.58 +then, she really owed this new found knowledge to Dark and Light-
  308.59 +sama's insistence that only she could solve the riddle of her
  308.60 +feelings. Remembering this, she felt a sickening shame for arrogantly
  308.61 +demanding they reveal her true feelings. Glancing up at the stars
  308.62 +dotting the velvet sky, she sensed for the very first time the dread
  308.63 +burden of her distant ancestor, Clow Reed. A burden she now shared.
  308.64 +
  308.65 +By capturing and transmuting the Cards, Sakura possessed an
  308.66 +incalculable power. Confronting Light and Dark, she had threatened
  308.67 +the use of that power to cow the will of another. She came perilously
  308.68 +close to forcing the beautiful but haughty Light sama to do her
  308.69 +bidding. Even then, poised on the brink, she sensed the unease and
  308.70 +fear that her power commanded. What would have happened had Dark-sama
  308.71 +not intervened? Here was the night's second realization, but it felt
  308.72 +very different form the joy of discovering her true love. Gazing at
  308.73 +the garden, Sakura watched the beautiful plants and flowers
  308.74 +shimmering in the moonlight. Once she had complimented her father on
  308.75 +his garden, and asked him how he made the plants so pretty. Smiling,
  308.76 +he told her that he couldn't make them do anything, and would only
  308.77 +hurt them if he tried, 
  308.78 +
  308.79 +"They want to grow and be lovely all by themselves. I just have to
  308.80 +be here and help them do what they want." As with flowers, so with
  308.81 +magic. Sakura swore never again to use her power to dominate another
  308.82 +will. She vaguely sensed where this dark path would lead, and the
  308.83 +realization chilled her. Closing her eyes, she vowed never again to
  308.84 +take a single step along so frightful a path. In fact, she would
  308.85 +start by apologizing again to Dark and Light-sama, thanking them for
  308.86 +allowing her to make her own discovery of love.
  308.87 +
  308.88 +When she had returned to the room and summoned them forth, Dark and
  308.89 +Light regarded her stumbling apologies with smiling grace. Finally,
  308.90 +Light spoke up in a glowing voice that lit Tomoyo's guestroom,
  308.91 +"Sakura-chan has learned two wonderful things tonight! Remember this
  308.92 +lesson, but do not allow it to dim your bright spirit."
  308.93 +
  308.94 +Gently brushing back Sakura's hair, much as a mother would do, the
  308.95 +glimmering woman kissed her softly on the cheek. Sakura blushed and
  308.96 +glowed, and Dark-sama tittered merrily behind her hand. In a
  308.97 +whispering voice the shadowy beauty asked the little Cardmistress,
  308.98 +"Now that you know of your love for Tomoyo-chan, what are you going
  308.99 +to tell her?"
 308.100 +
 308.101 +Sakura looked thoughtful and then shook her head. With a radiant
 308.102 +smile she replied, "I don't really know. I want to tell her. Aiyaaa,
 308.103 +I have to tell her! I couldn't keep something like this a secret. But
 308.104 +I don't want to do it over the phone, or in a letter. I don't know
 308.105 +when she is coming back to Hong Kong . Oh, oh, maybe I could go back
 308.106 +home for a visit, back to Tomoeda, I mean. I really miss my family,
 308.107 +and was hoping to visit for Christmas, anyway. I could tell her
 308.108 +then!" 
 308.109 +
 308.110 +Sakura remembered all the wonderful Christmases of the past. She
 308.111 +remembered decorating the tree, perched precariously on a ladder as
 308.112 +her pink-robed friend plugged in the lights. The tree blazed forth a
 308.113 +rainbow of light, bathing the girls in multicolored hues as they
 308.114 +snuggled together and sipped hot cocoa. She remembered hearing
 308.115 +Tomoyo's beautiful voice in the Christmas Concerts, sweet and strong.
 308.116 +Though Tomoyo said she sang for the one she loved, everyone shared in
 308.117 +the blessing of hearing her glorious voice. Finally, Sakura thought
 308.118 +of all the delightful presents the dark-haired girl had given her.
 308.119 +Each was carefully chosen, an offering of love from her very best
 308.120 +friend, brightly wrapped with beautiful paper, skillfully tied up
 308.121 +with satiny bows and ribbons.  
 308.122 +
 308.123 +"This will be my Christmas present to her," Sakura said happily, "so
 308.124 +she knows that someone loves her more than anyone else in the world."
 308.125 +She blushed as she thought of the two of them under the mistletoe.
 308.126 +She longed to kiss Tomoyo, and caught her breath at the memory of
 308.127 +those petal-soft lips. Opening her eyes, Sakura felt a crimson flush
 308.128 +of embarrassment blending with her blushing desire, and smiled
 308.129 +sheepishly as Dark and Light laughed and smiled. 
 308.130 +
 308.131 +The three talked long into the night, Sakura gaily recounting her
 308.132 +adventures with Tomoyo while the two regal women listened and giggled
 308.133 +like little girls, their hearts thrilled at the sheer joy of their
 308.134 +Mistress' discovery. Finally, after recounting the wonderful night
 308.135 +she dined and danced with her friend on the eve of her departure,
 308.136 +Sakura jumped up in a burst of inspiration. Chanting the words of
 308.137 +power, she summoned forth Flower, who appeared amidst a burst of
 308.138 +scented blossoms. Grinning, Sakura bowed low, and Flower graciously
 308.139 +accepted the offer to dance. 
 308.140 +
 308.141 +The two swirled about the guest room, magically expanded to a dance
 308.142 +floor that stretched to infinity. Holding Flower close, Sakura cried,
 308.143 +half in joy and half in longing, remembering the pale girl nestled in
 308.144 +her arms. In memory was pain and promise, a world that lingered in
 308.145 +her heart. Sakura's tears dotted the air like sparkling diamonds.
 308.146 +Tomoyo was far away, yet with her still, and ever would be. As she
 308.147 +danced, Sakura felt the delicate softness of Flower's supple body
 308.148 +underneath the taffeta frills of her elaborate costume. She ached to
 308.149 +hold her pale friend close, to kiss her and caress her and unlock all
 308.150 +of Love’s secrets. She yearned for Tomoyo, for that perfect intimacy
 308.151 +they shared when they were together. She loved Tomoyo beyond words,
 308.152 +thought, and life itself. As she hugged Flower tightly, the sweet
 308.153 +pain of separation tore at her heart. Twirling in a storm of petals,
 308.154 +Sakura danced to remember, and to forget, and for the sheer joy of
 308.155 +music and motion. She caught the eyes of her partner, and they
 308.156 +shimmered like the trembling dew that clings to a rose in early morn.
 308.157 +Suddenly, a wave of love crashed over Sakua, drowning her as she
 308.158 +cried for a woman far across the sea. 
 308.159 +
 308.160 +"Tomoyo-chan," she sobbed, over and over, "Tomoyo-chan, Tomoyo-
 308.161 +chan." The ecstasy and pain of a longing heart was hers at last.
 308.162 +Sakura wept until Dark-sama gently caressed her brow and brought the
 308.163 +peace of sleep. She slumbered dreamily on the silken quilt that had
 308.164 +graced her beloved friend. The three women stood around their
 308.165 +Mistress, watching over her, and smiling through their magical
 308.166 +tears.  
 308.167 +
 308.168 +Sakura awoke entangled in dreams, slow to realize just where she
 308.169 +was. Catching the faint, lingering scent of Tomoyo, she blushingly
 308.170 +realized the place she had slept. Smiling, she stretched and rose,
 308.171 +looking out the window into the bright light of day. It's so late,
 308.172 +she thought with a start, and then remembered with relief that it was
 308.173 +Saturday. Her mind wandered to the night before, to her wonderful
 308.174 +discovery, and the delightful night with Dark-sama, Light-sama, and
 308.175 +Flower. As the luscious ache of love gripped her again, she felt
 308.176 +unbearably happy and unbearably sad. Hugging herself tightly, she
 308.177 +whispered the name, "Tomoyo-chan", just to hear the sound of it.
 308.178 +Smiling, she sang to herself, "The mail should have come by now.
 308.179 +Maybe there's a letter!" 
 308.180 +
 308.181 +Jumping up, she raced down the hallway and saw white envelopes
 308.182 +stuffed in the little whicker basket. Excitedly rifling through them,
 308.183 +she recognized with joy and delight the creamy color that marked
 308.184 +Tomoyo's letters. With trembling hands she opened it, eager to hear
 308.185 +the voice of her friend within. Too thrilled to wait, she began
 308.186 +reading where she stood. But one word changed her blithe happiness to
 308.187 +a terrible uncertainty: goodbye.  She read it over and over, but
 308.188 +could not comprehend. Goodbye. She stared at the paper, as if it was
 308.189 +written in some indecipherable language: "Sakura-chan, I'm very
 308.190 +sorry, but I'll be going away soon. ...Goodbye, Sakura-chan."
 308.191 +Finally, the meaning wound it's way to her heart, and she dropped to
 308.192 +the floor, stunned. 
 308.193 +
 308.194 +On her knees she closed her eyes and whispered shakily, "No." Tomoyo
 308.195 +was leaving her, forever. She wanted to scream, but so deep was the
 308.196 +shock that she could only whimper. Her body tensed as a spasm of
 308.197 +terror shook her. Goodbye. Desolation welled up within, and her
 308.198 +vision grayed and narrowed, as if she were falling into a long, dark
 308.199 +tunnel. She teetered on the brink of fainting, but was suddenly drawn
 308.200 +back. Clenching her fists, a determined heart pounding in her chest,
 308.201 +she whispered again, but this time in a firm and steely voice,
 308.202 +
 308.203 +"No."
 308.204 +
 308.205 +She stood up, swaying and unsteady, gripping the armoire for
 308.206 +support. Seeing the nearby phone, she walked over and dialed a number
 308.207 +she knew by heart. A woman's voice answered,
 308.208 +
 308.209 +"Daidouji residence, may I help you?"
 308.210 +
 308.211 +Sakura's voice was precise and even, "Is Daidouji Tomoyo home?"
 308.212 +
 308.213 +"No, Ma'am, she is out. May I take a message for her when she
 308.214 +returns?"
 308.215 +
 308.216 +Sakura lowered the phone, which disconnected with a click. She
 308.217 +hesitated but a second, and then called the airport, booking the
 308.218 +first flight to Tokyo. Then she called her brother, and after the
 308.219 +briefest hello requested a ride. He was too startled to tease her,
 308.220 +let alone ask what was going on. After she confirmed her flight and
 308.221 +time, he scowled after she hung up with a curt goodbye. The final
 308.222 +call was for a taxi, which would arrive in a few minutes. Sprinting
 308.223 +to her room, she threw a few things into her duffle bag from school,
 308.224 +and began to rush out. But her eyes fell on the half-finished costume
 308.225 +Tomoyo had left, and impulsively she grabbed it and placed it gently
 308.226 +in the bag. The brassy honking of a car echoed down the hallway as
 308.227 +she ran. One of the maids stood in a doorway and gaped as she flew
 308.228 +by. With a sudden stop, she pivoted and ran back to the startled
 308.229 +girl. Sakura realized with embarrassment that she had forgotten her
 308.230 +name. With a smile she bowed and said all in a rush, 
 308.231 +
 308.232 +"Please tell Ieran-sama I had to fly to Japan. I'll call when I
 308.233 +arrive. Thank you!"
 308.234 +
 308.235 +With that, she burst out the door to the waiting taxi, leaving the
 308.236 +speechless maid behind. 
 308.237 +
 308.238 +
 308.239 +
 308.240 +

   309.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   309.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-22.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   309.3 @@ -0,0 +1,320 @@
   309.4 +Dear Sakura
   309.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   309.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   309.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   309.8 +
   309.9 +
  309.10 +	“Where the hell is she?” Syaoran scowled as he found himself at the
  309.11 +starting point of his search, his empty bedroom. He had awoken to
  309.12 +find Sakura missing, her side of the bed barely slept in. His
  309.13 +brunette wife was almost always there when he got ready for work. He
  309.14 +had thought that she had been downstairs making breakfast or waiting
  309.15 +for him, but Sakura hadn’t been there either. His concern escalating,
  309.16 +the Chinese sorcerer had made his way through the entire house,
  309.17 +twice, to no avail. Sakura was nowhere to be found. 
  309.18 +	Sighing, Syaoran once again poured over the room he and his wife
  309.19 +shared. One of her small bags was gone. It was the one Tomoyo had
  309.20 +given her as a going away present when Sakura had agreed to come back
  309.21 +to Hong Kong with him. The only reason he remembered was because the
  309.22 +sickeningly cute bag held most of Sakura’s things for her gym class,
  309.23 +so it was often next to their bed so it would be readily available
  309.24 +for her in the morning. But her school supplies lay next to the bed
  309.25 +in disarray, as if Sakura had dumped them all out before taking the
  309.26 +bag. That didn’t make any sense. What good would an empty bag do?
  309.27 +	Continuing his search, the frustrated man scoured the room for
  309.28 +anything else that might be a clue to his wife’s whereabouts. He
  309.29 +couldn’t tell if anything else was missing, but he found enough of
  309.30 +her things hurriedly tossed to the side that he could guess that
  309.31 +there were. His eyes slowly scanned the room before stopping on the
  309.32 +desk that lay against the far wall. On top of it lay his Lazan Board,
  309.33 +but there was a curious empty spot next to it. "The Sakura Book!” he
  309.34 +nearly yelled out. The familiar pink book was nowhere to be seen.
  309.35 +Sakura sometimes took it with her when she wanted to speak to the
  309.36 +Cards or when she simply wanted it nearby, but it always wound up on
  309.37 +that desk. A terrible sense of foreboding swept through the Chinese
  309.38 +sorcerer.
  309.39 +	Running down the stairs, Syaoran forced past his older sister,
  309.40 +Shiefa, brusquely. He hardly paid attention to her as he continued
  309.41 +through the house. Where had Sakura gone off to? Why would she leave
  309.42 +so suddenly? Was there some new danger? He paused for a moment in
  309.43 +front of the door to the garden. He had to relax. He had told Sakura
  309.44 +time and time again that if she cried it would keep her from getting
  309.45 +anything done. It was the same as this situation. If he panicked, he
  309.46 +wouldn’t be able to resolve the situation. Nodding to himself, he
  309.47 +tried to clear his thoughts. Sakura obviously hadn’t had time to grab
  309.48 +more than a few things, so she was obviously in a hurry. She had
  309.49 +taken the Book of Sakura with her, so it could have something to do
  309.50 +with the Cards. Hadn’t she mentioned some dream that had concerned
  309.51 +her lately? He couldn’t recall what it had been about exactly. So
  309.52 +perhaps she had rushed off to whatever this new magical emergency
  309.53 +was. But then why hadn’t she told him? He may not be as powerful as
  309.54 +she, but he had vowed to protect her.		Tomoyo had made him promise
  309.55 +that the night before their wedding. It had been an unexpected visit
  309.56 +from the dark haired girl, one he hadn’t quite understood. Why would
  309.57 +the Daidouji girl come to him rather than to Sakura the night before
  309.58 +their wedding? She was obsessed with his bride to be, after all. But
  309.59 +she had come to him that night. Her normal smile hadn’t been on her
  309.60 +face and that had immediately worried him that it might have
  309.61 +something to do with Sakura. But after he had finally allowed her
  309.62 +inside, Tomoyo had watched him carefully for what felt like an
  309.63 +eternity, studying his very soul. When she finally spoke, her soft
  309.64 +voice sounded extremely far away, as if she had traveled the world
  309.65 +over and was too exhausted to take another step. They had spoken for
  309.66 +a short time, mostly about Sakura, though Syaoran had been uneasy the
  309.67 +entire conversation. Finally, Tomoyo had walked up to him and looked
  309.68 +him straight in the eyes. For someone who had faced countless
  309.69 +hardships and numerous battles, Syaoran had thought he was prepared
  309.70 +for anything. But Tomoyo’s infinite gaze, her stormy blue eyes seeing
  309.71 +deep past all that he was... Syaoran had flinched. He had barely
  309.72 +heard her speak and it took him a moment to piece together what he
  309.73 +had heard. She wanted him to promise that he would take care of
  309.74 +Sakura, that he would make her happy. Her words had irritated him,
  309.75 +and he had grown angry with her at the time. “What are you talking
  309.76 +about? Of course I’ll take care of her,” he had said.
  309.77 +	Tomoyo had merely stared at him, her deep eyes never losing their
  309.78 +hold on his. His anger seemed to pass through her as if she hadn’t
  309.79 +even noticed it. “I want you to promise that you will always make
  309.80 +Sakura happy. I want you to keep her safe,” she said in her gentle
  309.81 +voice, but there had been no questioning her. Despite her gentle
  309.82 +façade, her words were laced with steel. He would protect her, he
  309.83 +would make her happy, or... He didn’t even want to know the
  309.84 +consequences. He tried to laugh at the thought now, of this pale and
  309.85 +weak girl doing anything to him if he didn’t fulfil his promise, but
  309.86 +he couldn’t bring himself to find any humor in the situation. He knew
  309.87 +in his heart that Tomoyo had been dead serious that day, that there
  309.88 +was no falling short on his side of the deal. There was something
  309.89 +about the dark haired girl that had frightened him. He had agreed
  309.90 +with her demands quickly, hoping she would leave him alone. But she
  309.91 +had waited a moment longer, still staring at him. Brushing back some
  309.92 +hair, she offered him a small smile and a nod before turning around.
  309.93 +He hadn’t seen her leave and he had almost convinced himself that she
  309.94 +had merely been a ghost before he finally got a hold of himself.
  309.95 +	Finding himself in the garden, Syaoran walked out into the chilly
  309.96 +morning, holding himself as the bitter wind rushed past him. That
  309.97 +promise felt as if it had been made a lifetime ago. But still, a
  309.98 +promise is a promise. And even more than that, this was his wife. He
  309.99 +was supposed to protect her. So where had she gone to without him? If
 309.100 +it was something to do with her magic, then why wouldn’t she bring
 309.101 +him along? It didn’t make any sense. A small spring of anger welled
 309.102 +up inside him as he fought against the cold. She needed him, didn’t
 309.103 +she? Of course she did. But then why hadn’t she told him of whatever
 309.104 +this was? Why would she run off without him? He was her husband. He
 309.105 +was the one that she was supposed to come with for everything. But
 309.106 +recently, she had spent all of her time talking about that Daidouji
 309.107 +girl. He had gotten so sick of hearing ‘Tomoyo’ all around the house.
 309.108 +Even Fanren had started talking about her! He knew she was Sakura’s
 309.109 +friend, but he hated seeing the one he loved talking about another
 309.110 +all the time, even if it was just another girl. He had gotten angry
 309.111 +at her over it, but he thought that had been resolved. Besides, he
 309.112 +didn’t talk about other people all the time, so why should she? 
 309.113 +	Shaking his head, Syaoran once again tried to clear his thoughts,
 309.114 +but the jealousy and anger wouldn’t go away. Even if Sakura was the
 309.115 +most powerful magical being on the planet, why would she hurry off
 309.116 +without him? Did she think she didn’t need him for this? What if
 309.117 +something terrible happened that she needed him to save her from?
 309.118 +Tomoyo sure as hell couldn’t save her. For all Sakura had talked
 309.119 +about her recently, the pale girl could never help her with some
 309.120 +magical problem. That was why she needed him for something like this.
 309.121 +It was foolish to rush off on her own. Now he would have to find her,
 309.122 +and, most likely at the last possible instant, save her. 
 309.123 +Syaoran’s scowl grew darker as he stepped out among the flowers. He
 309.124 +was liking this less and less. What the hell could Sakura be up to?
 309.125 +He was her husband. He had a right to know, even if this didn’t have
 309.126 +anything to do with the Cards. They were married and he was the one
 309.127 +she should be going to with her problems so he could fix them. But
 309.128 +instead, she always turned to Tomoyo, crying out her problems in
 309.129 +letters and telephone conversations that cost a big chunk of Sakura’s
 309.130 +paycheck because she wouldn’t get off the phone until it was pitch
 309.131 +black outside. But could Tomoyo ever fix her problems? No. She was
 309.132 +merely a shoulder to cry on. But somehow, Sakura always felt better
 309.133 +about everything. And that made Syaoran even more jealous about the
 309.134 +attention that someone else was receiving from his wife. Sakura would
 309.135 +crawl back into bed after writing a long letter or after she had been
 309.136 +on the phone with Tomoyo for entirely too long and she would smile
 309.137 +happily, as if she were completely refreshed and wrap her arms around
 309.138 +him before falling asleep. He was glad to see Sakura happier, even if
 309.139 +it puzzled him, but he was angry that it was through someone else. He
 309.140 +knew that he didn’t think Sakura needed to talk about everything and
 309.141 +that he didn’t always feel like listening after a hard day at work,
 309.142 +but he was still frustrated that he wasn’t the one making her feel
 309.143 +better.
 309.144 +Tomoyo’s visit had proven even worse for the Chinese sorcerer. She
 309.145 +had managed to captivate the hearts of his family, in particular his
 309.146 +older sister, Fanren. Even his mother seemed to take favor with the
 309.147 +pale beauty! How could she get Ieran-sama’s attention when even he
 309.148 +failed under her scrutiny? That had infuriated him. His wife had been
 309.149 +so obliviously happy during the Japanese girl’s stay, spending every
 309.150 +conceivable moment with her. The thing that had gotten to him the
 309.151 +most was that Sakura had looked happier during Tomoyo’s brief stay
 309.152 +than he could ever remember her, even during the honeymoon. He hadn’t
 309.153 +been able to wait for Tomoyo to leave so things could get back to
 309.154 +normal again. But they hadn’t been able to. Sakura had seemed even
 309.155 +more distant lately, her conversations invariably leading back to the
 309.156 +dark haired girl. He had lost his temper several times and though he
 309.157 +regretted it now, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He just didn’t
 309.158 +want to hear about her anymore in his house. Sakura was his wife,
 309.159 +damn it! No one else’s. No one else had claim to her. He was the one
 309.160 +she should always come to for help. He was the one who should always
 309.161 +make her happy. He should be the one she was always talking about! 
 309.162 +So wrapped up in his burning jealousy was Syaoran that he barely
 309.163 +noticed the rustle of leaves in a tree above and the sound of
 309.164 +branches shifting as someone leapt out. He felt the wind whip past
 309.165 +his face as he narrowly dodged the leaping form. His eyes quickly
 309.166 +focused on his attacker, his body shifting to a fighting stance.
 309.167 +“Meiling?!” he blurted out in surprise. His beautiful cousin stood
 309.168 +before him in a short, blue Chinese dress that barely fell past her
 309.169 +thighs. Intricate lavender flowers lay entwined across the deep blue.
 309.170 +Her amber eyes met his with an anger that sent ripples through him.
 309.171 +In a fluid movement that looked more like a dance than an attack, her
 309.172 +fist lunged for him. Syaoran ducked it easily. “What the hell are you
 309.173 +doing?” he shouted at her, blocking a kick. He tried to sense any
 309.174 +magic coming from her to see if she had been enchanted, but he could
 309.175 +feel nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. All he had to do was glance
 309.176 +at those burning amber eyes to see the fury that held her. 
 309.177 +Meiling kicked again, driving Syaoran back with her strong legs.
 309.178 +This man had once been her fiance, the man that she had loved with
 309.179 +all of her heart. The man that she still loved. Which is why she was
 309.180 +still so angry with him. How he could have left her for some Japanese
 309.181 +girl was completely beyond her. Had he simply been infatuated with
 309.182 +Sakura’s magic? That was part of why he fell for the white haired
 309.183 +boy, so it was reasonable. And as Sakura had grown in magical power,
 309.184 +so had Syaoran’s feelings for her, as if the two ideas were linked
 309.185 +firmly together. Whatever the reason, he had spurned his cousin’s
 309.186 +affections and instead married the Cardmistress. To say that Meiling
 309.187 +had been distraught was an understatement. Dreams of marrying her
 309.188 +beloved Syaoran had been with her since childhood. The bitter taste
 309.189 +of defeat, of having the once she loved so callously toss her aside
 309.190 +had been maddening. How he could dare do that to her when she had
 309.191 +given him everything had picked at her heart the same way a
 309.192 +thoughtless person pulls away a butterflies wings. Her wings had been
 309.193 +stolen from her and she could no longer soar. All because some hussy
 309.194 +had come along and stolen the attention of the only one she had ever
 309.195 +loved. She would never forgive Sakura for taking away her Syaoran.
 309.196 +But at the same time, she couldn’t forgive Syaoran either. ‘But I
 309.197 +gave you everything,’ she had whispered when she had learned of the
 309.198 +wedding. Syaoran had tried to explain it to her, but she ran off. She
 309.199 +hadn’t let him see her tears. But as soon as she was alone, they came
 309.200 +bitterly and with a vengeance. ‘I loved you and I gave you
 309.201 +everything. I gave you my heart. Why couldn’t you accept it? Is there
 309.202 +something wrong with it? Is it not good enough?’ she had asked
 309.203 +herself in the midst of her tears. But no answers had ever come to
 309.204 +her, from her own heart or from Syaoran. 
 309.205 +Though the marriage had only been half a year ago at the most,
 309.206 +Meiling could have sworn it had been an eternity. Forced to watch her
 309.207 +beloved cousin and his blushing bride had driven her near the
 309.208 +breaking point. To see the man she loved with another woman, to know
 309.209 +that her lonely heart would never receive his attention was too
 309.210 +sickeningly cruel. How Tomoyo dealt with it, she couldn’t begin to
 309.211 +fathom. All she knew was the pain. It was her constant companion, a
 309.212 +travel guide to life that she had been unlucky enough to come across.
 309.213 +And all the while, Syaoran had never once shown any sympathy, any
 309.214 +remorse for breaking her heart. How thoughtless! How cruel! How dare
 309.215 +he!?! Meiling renewed her assault with further vigor, her rage
 309.216 +fueling her near dance-like attacks.
 309.217 +	Syaoran kept on the defensive, but he was beginning to tire.
 309.218 +Meiling had gone crazy. That was the only explanation. Why else would
 309.219 +she fight him like this? It made no sense. He decided that the only
 309.220 +way to finish this battle would be to take her out. She seemed in no
 309.221 +mood to give up. With a sigh, he lunged forward. He felt bad for what
 309.222 +he had to do, but it had to be done. He and Meiling had sparred often
 309.223 +enough in the past and he nearly always won. So he would have to
 309.224 +defeat her here and find out just what was going on. He waited
 309.225 +patiently for her to collapse, but to his surprise, his fist missed
 309.226 +her entirely. His eyes widened as he saw her leg dart out. A painful
 309.227 +realization hit him seconds before her leg did. She was a whole lot
 309.228 +faster than he had ever imagined. This fight had been hers from the
 309.229 +beginning. Pain blossomed through him like a sudden and unexpected
 309.230 +supernova. The wind rushed out of him in a frenzied path to escape
 309.231 +his burning lungs. His stomach called out in agony as he first
 309.232 +hunched over and then collapsed to the ground altogether. “How..?” he
 309.233 +got out weakly.
 309.234 +	Meiling crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she
 309.235 +watched the man lying in pain on the grass below her. “Didn’t think I
 309.236 +could beat you, huh? You thought I’d always settle for second place
 309.237 +with you, is that it? I always got second and you always got first as
 309.238 +children. You always came in ahead of me.” Brushing a dark pigtail
 309.239 +over her shoulder, she knelt next to her prone cousin. “I let you
 309.240 +win. I loved you, so I was happy to let you win as long as I could be
 309.241 +the one to finish next to you. I loved how happy it made you, how
 309.242 +exhilarated you always were when you succeeded. You always had this
 309.243 +thirst for victory, for winning. And I was pleased to let you drink
 309.244 +its nectar from my hands.” She shrugged absently as she stood up,
 309.245 +stretching. “And let’s face it, Syaoran. Martial Arts was never your
 309.246 +thing. You were always better at magic anyway.”
 309.247 +	Trying to catch his breath, Syaoran struggled with what she was
 309.248 +telling him. So all those times that he had beaten her as a child,
 309.249 +every sparring match he had won, they were because she had let him?
 309.250 +This girl who had been there for almost all of the life he could
 309.251 +remember, who had always trailed just behind him, had allowed him to
 309.252 +pull ahead simply because of her feelings for him? Memories came back
 309.253 +in a flood, of her making careless mistakes when they were sparring
 309.254 +or slowing just enough when they were sprinting to allow him to pass.
 309.255 +He sighed painfully. It seemed that not only his stomach would
 309.256 +bruise, but his ego as well. “What were you thinking?” he asked
 309.257 +angrily, forcing himself up on his hands. He turned his firey gaze on
 309.258 +her, but she didn’t look like she was in a mood for it. Her own
 309.259 +smoldering eyes made his feel like simmering coal in comparison.
 309.260 +	“I won. I refuse to live in your shadow anymore, Syaoran. I refuse
 309.261 +to let you continue hurting me like this. I won't lie down and let
 309.262 +you force your damned marriage in my face.” Meiling began to walk
 309.263 +away from him, the wind playing idly with her hair. “So I’m finished.
 309.264 +I’m not going to let myself stick around and wait for things to work
 309.265 +out. I’m leaving, Syaoran. My life is my own. I just took it back
 309.266 +from you. I gave you my heart and if it’s not good enough for you,
 309.267 +then I might as well leave.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned
 309.268 +to face him one last time. “I love you, Syaoran. And I always will.
 309.269 +But I won’t let you hurt me anymore. Goodbye.” And with that, she
 309.270 +leapt into the trees.
 309.271 +	“Meiling! Meiling!!” Syaoran cried out after her. But it was too
 309.272 +late. She was already gone. “Damn it!” Struggling to his knees, the
 309.273 +Chinese sorcerer winced as pain shot through his belly. “What else
 309.274 +could go wrong today?” he muttered to himself, walking back towards
 309.275 +the house. Just what was he supposed to tell his mother, the
 309.276 +matriarch of the Li family? He dreaded the thought. She would not be
 309.277 +pleased about Meiling’s sudden decision. ‘Probably like she wasn’t
 309.278 +pleased with my decision to marry Sakura-chan instead of Meiling,” he
 309.279 +thought disparately. 
 309.280 +	“Sakura-chan’s gone!!” 
 309.281 +	“Ack!!” Syaoran reeled back, getting ready to attack the demon that
 309.282 +had leapt out at him. His heart finally slowed as the Seal Beast came
 309.283 +into view, concern etched all over it’s small yellow head. Syaoran
 309.284 +pushed past him, not in the mood to deal with Kero’s antics at the
 309.285 +moment.
 309.286 +	“Hey, brat, I said ‘Sa-ku-ra-chan-is-gone’. What, you don’t speak
 309.287 +Japanese all of a sudden?” Kero asked irritably. He never did much
 309.288 +like the Chinese sorcerer and Sakura’s marriage to him hadn’t changed
 309.289 +the situation. Syaoran wouldn’t even let him sleep in the same room
 309.290 +as Sakura like he used to! 
 309.291 +	“I know that! I’ve been looking for her all morning,” Syaoran
 309.292 +replied angrily, wishing that the stuffed animal could be busy doing
 309.293 +anything besides pestering him at the moment. “I’ve looked
 309.294 +everywhere.” He sighed resignedly.
 309.295 +	“Everywhere, huh?” The Seal Beast smirked proudly, crossing his
 309.296 +arms. “I guess you need to get glasses, boy, because you missed
 309.297 +something.” Producing a letter out of nowhere, Kero grinned
 309.298 +triumphantly. He was always happy to outwit people he didn’t like and
 309.299 +Syaoran ranked very highly on his list. 
 309.300 +	Syaoran snatched the letter away from the flying teddy bear
 309.301 +instantly, skimming through it. He knew that style too well. He had
 309.302 +seen Sakura reading these when he had been drifting off to sleep. It
 309.303 +had to be from Tomoyo. And sure enough, it was. The letter was polite
 309.304 +and explained to Sakura that she had to say goodbye, that she would
 309.305 +be going away. “Crap!” Syaoran tossed the letter, hurrying upstairs,
 309.306 +Kero in hot pursuit.
 309.307 +	“So what is it? Do you know where she is?” Kero asked impatiently.
 309.308 +He didn’t know what the letter meant, only that it was important. The
 309.309 +fact that it said that Tomoyo was leaving and that it had been found
 309.310 +near where Sakura kept her keys worried him.
 309.311 +	“Sakura-chan’s gone back to Japan. She’s trying to stop Daidouji-
 309.312 +san,” Syaoran said over his shoulder, cramming clothes into a
 309.313 +suitcase. It all made sense now. Why Sakura had been so hellbent on
 309.314 +Tomoyo for the past few weeks, why she had been so happy to see
 309.315 +Tomoyo during her visit, why she had needed the dark haired girl so
 309.316 +much. And he wasn’t about to let some rich girl steal his wife away
 309.317 +from him. Sakura was his and he was going to make sure it stayed that
 309.318 +way, no matter what happened. Slamming the clasps on his suitcase, he
 309.319 +stood up and scanned the room one last time for anything he might
 309.320 +need.
 309.321 +	“So we’re going back to Japan to find Sakura-chan? Oh yeah!!” Kero
 309.322 +exclaimed, bringing his small arm down in an excited gesture. “Let’s
 309.323 +get goin’, kid!!”

   310.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   310.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-23.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   310.3 @@ -0,0 +1,249 @@
   310.4 +Dear Sakura
   310.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   310.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   310.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   310.8 +
   310.9 +Waiting for the taxi to take him to the airport, Syaoran worked up
  310.10 +the courage to tell his mother about the trip. Since he was a small
  310.11 +child, the Illustrious Head of the August House of Li had frightened
  310.12 +him. He grew up secretly envious of his sisters, whom Ieran indulged
  310.13 +extravagantly. His portion of love seemed meager and sparse, and
  310.14 +nothing he did could satisfy or please her. Her training in the
  310.15 +martial and magical arts was harsh and exacting. Though not so
  310.16 +thorough as to enable him to beat his cousin, he thought through his
  310.17 +pain with a wince. Once he had asked her in tears why she was so mean
  310.18 +to him. For a brief instant he saw her face soften with pity, but
  310.19 +then the aloof and impassive countenance returned. She told him he
  310.20 +was the successor to the House of Li, the most noble and powerful
  310.21 +family in all of Hong Kong. Therefore, he must be strong, or the
  310.22 +House would suffer when he rose to lead it. At first he had hated the
  310.23 +training, and the pain, and the constant sense that what he did was
  310.24 +never quite enough.  Why couldn't he be like his sisters, enjoying
  310.25 +the tender affection of a Mother, instead of a scorned and neglected
  310.26 +son? In the end, he realized that only by measuring up to her lofty
  310.27 +standards could he please her, and win her love. So, he dedicated his
  310.28 +young life to perfecting the requisite skills to become the most
  310.29 +powerful of sorcerers. When she sent him to Japan to investigate the
  310.30 +presence of Clow Reed's long lost cards, he went determined to
  310.31 +succeed. But did not. He had failed.
  310.32 +
  310.33 +Looking at the bed he shared with his wife, he felt a spasm of pure
  310.34 +anger. She had bested him, capturing the Cards with ridiculous ease.
  310.35 +A girl. A Japanese schoolgirl had turned out to be the successor to
  310.36 +the mightiest magician in the entire world. Nearly overmastered by
  310.37 +his fear of failure, he dreaded returning to Hong Kong. But instead
  310.38 +of rage he met indifference, as if she regarded the turn of events as
  310.39 +unsurprising and trivial. Indeed, when the girl showed up in Hong
  310.40 +Kong his mother treated her as an honored guest, even bestowing a
  310.41 +farewell kiss. It shocked and irritated him, but he knew enough to
  310.42 +see that his mother now recognized the girl as Mistress of the Cards.
  310.43 +Before leaving again for Japan, he asked her why she had conceded so
  310.44 +much to such a silly girl. She looked at him with a rare fury, and
  310.45 +for a moment he thought she would actually strike him. Angrily she
  310.46 +told him never again to show such disrespect to the Mistress of the
  310.47 +Cards. He was fortunate beyond his worth to act as her servant, she
  310.48 +said, and from now on should remember his proper place. Crushed at
  310.49 +first, he came to accept his role as Sakura's helper, and even found
  310.50 +himself attracted to the girl. His love for the mysterious, fair-
  310.51 +haired Yukito waned as he and Sakura captured and transmuted the
  310.52 +Cards. The more the two Cardcaptors were together, the stronger his
  310.53 +love waxed. It pleased him that she accepted his help, and he gloried
  310.54 +in the knowledge that without him she would have failed time and
  310.55 +again. It was obvious she needed him, and her frantic race to deliver
  310.56 +the teddy bear before he flew back to Hong Kong showed her love as
  310.57 +well. 
  310.58 +
  310.59 +As love grew across the distance, he felt for the first time in his
  310.60 +life the power he had always desired. Unlike his mother, Meiling, or
  310.61 +even his teasing older sisters, Sakura depended on him. Yet it wasn't
  310.62 +until the Daidouji girl mentioned marriage that the thought of making
  310.63 +her his wife occurred to him. She was right, of course, for they were
  310.64 +meant to be together. With that, the Mistress of the Cards was his,
  310.65 +and everything came full circle. This marriage was right, despite
  310.66 +what Meiling and their Grandfather and even his Mother thought. H had
  310.67 +captured the heart of Clow Reed's successor. This was the mark of his
  310.68 +true power. Of course, it had still been, well, difficult to break
  310.69 +the news to his Mother. Thus, the marriage took place in Japan, with
  310.70 +no notice given to his own kin. After a month's honeymoon, he
  310.71 +returned to Hong Kong to face his Mother's wrath. Surprisingly, she
  310.72 +showed no sign of anger; seemingly regarding what was done as done.
  310.73 +She treated Sakura with the same cold aloofness as her son, which
  310.74 +was, he thought, a fitting and proper relationship for a mother-in-
  310.75 +law and her unworthy daughter-in-law. All seemed well until that
  310.76 +meddlesome Daidouji girl had come and upset everything. The
  310.77 +nondescript girl was at everyone's center of attention, and even
  310.78 +merited a grander banquet than his own bride. Not that his clueless
  310.79 +spouse would care about such things, he brooded. When he asked his
  310.80 +sister why Mother had put on such a splendid banquet for some little
  310.81 +rich girl from Japan, Fanren looked at him with a shocked contempt he
  310.82 +had never seen her show. She said that Mother had done a long and
  310.83 +complex water prophecy, and that the woman was of overwhelming
  310.84 +importance to the House of Li. She asked him sharply that if Mother
  310.85 +had so determined, did he think she deserved any less? He snorted his
  310.86 +derision, remaining baffled by his family's treatment of a mere
  310.87 +friend of his wife. But now he wondered about her importance, because
  310.88 +it seemed she was at the root of his flighty wife's sudden
  310.89 +disappearance. That would cast her in a new light entirely, for
  310.90 +whoever stood in the way of the Heir to the House of Li was an enemy
  310.91 +to be struck down without mercy.
  310.92 +
  310.93 +The righteous anger he had worked up vanished like a morning mist as
  310.94 +he stood on the threshold of his Mother's study. Swallowing his fear
  310.95 +as best he could, he knocked softly. After informing the idiotic
  310.96 +flying teddy bear that he had to tell his Mother he was leaving, the
  310.97 +so-called Beast of the Seal laughingly promised to rescue him if he
  310.98 +didn’t return in half an hour. From deep within he heard his mother's
  310.99 +silken, iron voice answer his knock,
 310.100 +
 310.101 +"Come in."
 310.102 +
 310.103 +Syaoran entered, eyes adjusting to the dim candlelight that
 310.104 +illuminated the windowless room. She was hunched over a yellowed
 310.105 +scroll etched in odd, shimmering characters. He felt his stomach
 310.106 +tighten with the realization he was interrupting her research.
 310.107 +Clearing his throat, he managed to stammer out,
 310.108 +
 310.109 +"Sakura is gone."
 310.110 +
 310.111 +His Mother slowly turned to face him, taking off a pair of delicate
 310.112 +spectacles as she carefully regarded him. In a calm, quiet voice that
 310.113 +demanded attention, she asked, "What do you mean, gone?"
 310.114 +
 310.115 +He looked at the floor, feeling the helplessness of childhood wash
 310.116 +over him again. Trying to sound like a concerned husband baffled by a
 310.117 +hopeless wife, he answered, "I don't know for sure, but I think she
 310.118 +went back to Japan. I think it has something to do with the Daidouji
 310.119 +girl."
 310.120 +
 310.121 +He peeked up and saw his Mother smiling at him. Like a snake ready
 310.122 +to strike, he thought, and felt anger and fear at his helplessness.
 310.123 +Smiling, she purred, 
 310.124 +
 310.125 +"Yes, I know."
 310.126 +
 310.127 +Startled, he blurted out, "Then why didn't you tell me? Why did she
 310.128 +go like that?"
 310.129 +
 310.130 +Gazing at him like a long-suffering teacher with a particularly
 310.131 +dense pupil, she replied flatly, "As for the latter, I don't know,
 310.132 +exactly. As for why I didn't tell you, it is for the good of the
 310.133 +House that you not interfere. And for your good, too, for that
 310.134 +matter."
 310.135 +
 310.136 +His anger overmastered his caution, and in a demanding voice he shot
 310.137 +back, "How can she do this to me? She can't leave me like this."
 310.138 +
 310.139 +His Mother regarded him silently, letting his anger surge, and then
 310.140 +dissipate, leaving him flustered and faintly ridiculous. She spoke in
 310.141 +a neutral tone, again the patient teacher, "Syaoran, she should never
 310.142 +have been here in the first place. If that woman can undo the damage
 310.143 +you have wrought, a thousand banquets would not suffice for my
 310.144 +gratitude."
 310.145 +
 310.146 +Syaoran starred with wide eyes and open mouth. Utterly at a loss for
 310.147 +words, he slumped into the nearest chair, forgetting the etiquette of
 310.148 +standing in the presence of the Head of the House. Had he not been so
 310.149 +stunned, the trembling young man might have detected a trace of pity
 310.150 +in her voice as she continued,
 310.151 +
 310.152 +"You thought you never asked for my permission to wed because I
 310.153 +would have said no, as indeed I would have. But you yourself also
 310.154 +knew it was wrong, or you would have stood up to me for what was
 310.155 +right. That is how I raised you, and for all your flaws that is how
 310.156 +you are. Your courage comes from doing what is right, but you married
 310.157 +secretly, like a coward. That in itself doomed you both, but it was
 310.158 +even worse than that. You were graced by fortune to be servant to the
 310.159 +Mistress of the Cards. For someone of your meager strength, that was
 310.160 +a far better portion than you deserved. But you wanted more. You
 310.161 +lusted for power you could not have. That explains your attraction to
 310.162 +Yue in his false form, and your selfish desire to make Clow Reed’s
 310.163 +noble successor your humble wife. All this without a single thought
 310.164 +of the consequences for her, or this House, or even yourself. It is
 310.165 +said there is nothing more dangerous than a weak fool. You have
 310.166 +proved the sage wise by your reckless actions."
 310.167 +
 310.168 +Syaoran burned with humiliation at his Mother's words. He stared at
 310.169 +the floor, and replied in a voice laced with anger, "She loves me.
 310.170 +And I love her."
 310.171 +
 310.172 +The cold fury of his Mother's rejoinder shook him, "Don't speak to
 310.173 +me of 'love'. You have no conception of what you are saying. Sakura
 310.174 +loves everyone. That is her nature. But you love her power, not her.
 310.175 +That “Daidouji girl”, as you call her, could teach you a lesson in
 310.176 +what real love is. She cheerfully sacrificed her life for the one she
 310.177 +loves. What did you sacrifice? Like a greedy miser, you could only
 310.178 +take what you longed for, without a thought or care for anyone but
 310.179 +yourself." 
 310.180 +
 310.181 +Ieran sighed, feeling the mounting weight of years and
 310.182 +responsibilities. Her whispery voice was almost plaintive, "Why
 310.183 +didn't you ask me? You at least owed me that much, though perhaps it
 310.184 +would not have mattered in the end. How can a blind man see the cliff
 310.185 +that approaches?'
 310.186 +
 310.187 +The two sat silent in the near dark for several long minutes.
 310.188 +Syaoran fought back tears as he finally whispered, "I know she loves
 310.189 +me."
 310.190 +
 310.191 +Ieran's voice was surprisingly gentle, "Pray that she knows her
 310.192 +heart at last, and that it is not to late for all of us." 
 310.193 +
 310.194 +Watching her son carefully, the woman rose and walked lightly to the
 310.195 +door, locking it with a heavy metallic chungk. Striding to the center
 310.196 +of the room, she stood in front of a golden bowl filled with water.
 310.197 +Gesturing for her son to stand by the bowl across from her, she
 310.198 +softly began to sing and chant. Syaoran, recognizing the words of a
 310.199 +powerful and dangerous spell, felt a ripple of fear as his Mother
 310.200 +waved her hands above the shimmering surface. The bowl began to
 310.201 +vibrate and sing in odd harmony with her voice. The young man stood
 310.202 +silent, in awe of the magic that billowed through the room. He felt
 310.203 +an odd metallic tang in his mouth, and caught an overripe scent of
 310.204 +something both sweet and foul. His eyes made out vague shapes in the
 310.205 +water, flickering images like projections on a liquid movie screen.
 310.206 +He strained to see the figures as they coalesced, and was startled to
 310.207 +see Sakura dressed all in white, like mourner. Her sudden wailing
 310.208 +chilled him, as if she were some mindless animal in agony. Like a
 310.209 +madwoman she beat her hands bloody on a dark gravestone, and then he
 310.210 +saw himself pulling her away as she keened and sobbed. The image
 310.211 +shifted and blurred, and next he saw the Card Mistress dressed in an
 310.212 +odd, half-finished costume, like that girl used to sew for her. The
 310.213 +Cards danced about her, chained with iron, howling in pain as she
 310.214 +swept the air with her staff. The staff had become a monstrous
 310.215 +scythe, fiery and alive, infused with a cruel and vengeful will. Her
 310.216 +magic roiled and blossomed in an obscene wave of sheer power. The
 310.217 +emerald eyes were blank and dull, but amidst the terrible storm he
 310.218 +heard her lifeless voice,
 310.219 +
 310.220 +"Bring her back to me."
 310.221 +
 310.222 +This vision swiftly gave way to a horrifying vista of destruction,
 310.223 +as the house he had grown up in was torn apart by the furious
 310.224 +tempest. Soon other buildings were swept into the maelstrom, and the
 310.225 +entire City was consumed in a holocaust of wind and fire. The last
 310.226 +image was a graveyard, stones and bodies torn from the groaning earth
 310.227 +and swept into the throbbing, black sky. He fell back, faint and
 310.228 +sick, staggering to the wall where he slumped to the floor and
 310.229 +cowered in fear. His Mother struggled with the spell, and in a
 310.230 +supreme effort banished the awful images to wherever they had come.
 310.231 +Pale drained, she managed to walk imperiously and confront her son.
 310.232 +Her voice was shaky but still commanding,
 310.233 +
 310.234 +"Since your ill-begotten marriage I have lived with this nightmare.
 310.235 +Pray to all the spirits of our illustrious ancestors that it remains
 310.236 +but a dream. Now, leave me."
 310.237 +
 310.238 +As her son walked unsteadily out the door, the woman dropped to the
 310.239 +chair and held her head with shaking hands. Blanketed by the
 310.240 +throbbing pain of a merciless headache, her mind was consumed in
 310.241 +black hatred,
 310.242 +
 310.243 +"Damn you, Clow Reed. Damn you for all you have done."
 310.244 +
 310.245 +Syaoran walked down the hallway, the shock of what he had seen
 310.246 +slowly wearing off. His anger surged anew, fed by a righteous rage at
 310.247 +his abandonment by Sakura, and by the Daidouji woman's stealing her
 310.248 +away. Under his breath the defiant husband resolved,
 310.249 +
 310.250 +"I'll bring her back. She loves me. She's mine."     
 310.251 +
 310.252 +   
 310.253 \ No newline at end of file

   311.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   311.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-24.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   311.3 @@ -0,0 +1,386 @@
   311.4 +Dear Sakura
   311.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   311.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   311.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   311.8 +
   311.9 +
  311.10 +	Bbbrrrrinnng.... Bbbrrrriiinnng.... Bbbbrrrrriiiinnng....
  311.11 +	Tomoyo rolled over in her sleep, her long dark hair covering her
  311.12 +pale form like a sinuous shadow. She stirred as the phone continued
  311.13 +to ring at her in the silence, finally sitting up in the darkened
  311.14 +room. She was lying on the couch in her little home theater room, a
  311.15 +video of Sakura still playing in the background. She was still
  311.16 +wearing her busines clothes from the day before, not having had the
  311.17 +will to change out of them. Her tired mind quickly located the source
  311.18 +of the ringing and she slowly reached out for the phone. Who could be
  311.19 +calling her at this hour? Her fingers paused just before touching the
  311.20 +phone as if it had suddenly become a venomous snake, its ringing the
  311.21 +deadly rattle of a beast about to lunge out and bite her. She was
  311.22 +filled with a deep and foreboding dread at who may be on the other
  311.23 +end. 'Leave it. You can pretend that you were asleep. It's late and
  311.24 +no one will mind,' she thought to herself. But she knew that she
  311.25 +couldn't do that. Whoever would be calling this late at night must
  311.26 +have a terribly urgent reason. She couldn't just ignore it. 
  311.27 +	"Moshi moshi..." Tomoyo heard herself say, but the voice didn't
  311.28 +sound like her own. It was cracked and pained, as if it still held
  311.29 +countless unshed tears. Her fingers trembled as she held the phone to
  311.30 +her ear, brushing back dark hair that got in the way. Her dread was
  311.31 +growing by the second as she waited for what felt like an eternity
  311.32 +for an answer. For a second, she felt the beginnings of relief begin
  311.33 +to brush lightly at her bruised and battered soul. It must have been
  311.34 +a wrong number. But her relief quickly turned to mute horror as an
  311.35 +all too familiar voice answered her.
  311.36 +	"Tomoyo-chan!!" an uberly genki voice called out. "Tomoyo-chan, I
  311.37 +was so worried. I couldn't get through earlier and I didn't know if
  311.38 +you would be there or not. I just... You see, I was in the garden
  311.39 +and... Well, remember how you kissed me?" A giggle before she
  311.40 +continued. "Well, I finally... Ummm... Can I come over?" Sakura
  311.41 +sweatdropped on the other end of the phone. She felt like a guilty
  311.42 +schoolgirl asking permission to go over to a friend's house to do
  311.43 +anything but study. That thought was silly and awkward for her, but
  311.44 +she couldn't help it. Being back home had felt almost like she had
  311.45 +travelled back in time. She hadn't been in the house more than a few
  311.46 +minutes before calling the Daidouji household. She could hear Touya
  311.47 +making tea in the kitchen and silently thanked her older brother for
  311.48 +all of his help.
  311.49 +	The phone clattered to the floor, dropping from Tomoyo's numb
  311.50 +hands. She stared at the deadly viper that had indeed reached out and
  311.51 +bit her. How could it be Sakura? Her letter couldn't have gotten to
  311.52 +her already, could it? Tomoyo wasn't even completely packed yet. She
  311.53 +hadn't planned on moving out for another two days. And how could
  311.54 +Sakura be in Tomoeda? She should be in Hong Kong at that very moment,
  311.55 +snuggling with her husband. This was wrong. This was all wrong. It
  311.56 +completely shattered Tomoyo's painstakingly crafted plans to fade
  311.57 +from Sakura's life as well as her mother's. She felt trapped, caged
  311.58 +in on all sides by imposing iron bars. How could she escape her
  311.59 +torment if Sakura would not allow it?
  311.60 +	"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura's voice asked, concern tinging her exuberance. 
  311.61 +	Tomoyo realized only dimly that Sakura had been waiting on the
  311.62 +other end while the phone had lain uselessly on the floor. She
  311.63 +reached out slowly, picking up the cold plastic once more. Her eyes
  311.64 +flickered to the screen that was still showing her beautiful second
  311.65 +cousin flying through the air like an angel. The angel had finally
  311.66 +come for her, and she had nowhere to flee. She searched desperately
  311.67 +for her soft voice, one that had served her well for years as a
  311.68 +member of the choir, but was frustrated to find it having suddenly
  311.69 +gone missing. What disturbed her even more was that she had begun
  311.70 +crying moments earlier and hadn't even realized it. Wet tears slipped
  311.71 +past her cheek and against the telephone as she held it tightly. She
  311.72 +briefly remembered the cute pink cell phones that she had gotten from
  311.73 +her mother to stay in contact with Sakura. They had been a wonderful
  311.74 +tether for the two girls, offering Sakura with a constant link to her
  311.75 +loving and supportive friend and giving Tomoyo a link to the
  311.76 +beautiful girl of her dreams. It had been a wonderful thing for both
  311.77 +of them, giving Sakura a way to always turn to her best friend and
  311.78 +Tomoyo a way to bask in Sakura's presence even when they were far
  311.79 +apart. It had worked so well, in fact, that Tomoyo had given Syaoran
  311.80 +one of the cute cell phones so that he and Sakura may be able to
  311.81 +share that same bond. Hadn't that been the start of all this? No,
  311.82 +no... The start of all this had been the gift of a small eraser a
  311.83 +lifetime ago.
  311.84 +	"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura repeated, this time listening intently for
  311.85 +her best friend. She thought she could hear short, ragged breaths, as
  311.86 +if someone was short of air, and what sounded like sniffling. "Tomoyo-
  311.87 +chan?"
  311.88 +	'She can't hear me like this. It will ruin everything. She'll never
  311.89 +let me go if she knows how I feel. And it will destroy Sakura-chan's
  311.90 +fairy tale. Her beautiful new life will crumble. All because of me. I
  311.91 +can't do that to Sakura-chan. I can't stay because I... can't...
  311.92 +handle... it....' Tomoyo thought frantically, her shaking fingers
  311.93 +quickly wiping her tears away. It did little to soothe the cold and
  311.94 +broken shards of her heart. 'If I stay, it'll kill both of us, Sakura-
  311.95 +chan. I can't be a part of your life anymore. Seeing you, loving you,
  311.96 +knowing that I can't be a part of your heart, it's killing me. It's
  311.97 +killing me and I won't let it kill you, too.' When she finally spoke,
  311.98 +her voice came out weakly, a pale shadow of it's normal gentle self.
  311.99 +It sounded sorrowful in Tomoyo's ears and she immediately cut herself
 311.100 +off, closing her lavender eyes tightly. 'Hang up!' part of her cried,
 311.101 +but she knew she couldn't. Sakura was like the Syren from long ago,
 311.102 +luring her towards grave dangers that she couldn't force herself to
 311.103 +escape from. She needed to answer Sakura. And soon. But she didn't
 311.104 +know how. If Sakura heard her crying, then her farewell letter would
 311.105 +be for naught. Sakura would know the pain that resided in her heart
 311.106 +and they would both be doomed. With a supreme effort, the pale ghost
 311.107 +of a girl gathered the splintered shards of her masks, cutting her
 311.108 +soul in the process as she pulled them up for one final act. But
 311.109 +would they be enough? Were these tiny shards enough to hide the pain
 311.110 +she was in? "Sakura-chan..." her soft voice whispered into the phone.
 311.111 +The pain was still glaringly evident in Tomoyo's ears, but she hoped
 311.112 +that the brunette wouldn't hear it. The ocean of tears underneath her
 311.113 +voice's surface wasn't gone exactly, but it was muted, as if a large
 311.114 +tarp had been thrown over it.
 311.115 +	The auburn haired girl on the other end of the line sighed in
 311.116 +relief. She had thought that the line had disconnected or that, even
 311.117 +more irrationally, Tomoyo had finally made good on her words.
 311.118 +'Goodbye,' echoed through Sakura's mind in Tomoyo's sweet voice,
 311.119 +surrounding her like a sad song from long ago. It anchored Sakura's
 311.120 +heart with painful chains and hooks. But Sakura struggled forward
 311.121 +despite the immense weight on her heart. She was here now. Tomoyo
 311.122 +couldn't leave or fade away. She would finally fulfill her promise.
 311.123 +'I knew Sakura-chan would come and rescue me,' Tomoyo had said an
 311.124 +eternity before. And Sakura had finally come to rescue her fair
 311.125 +skinned damsel in distress. "I'm here, Tomoyo-chan," she said again,
 311.126 +not noticing that she was speaking out loud. She blushed slightly,
 311.127 +but continued on. "I'm glad to hear you. I was so worried about you.
 311.128 +I got your letter in the mail today... well, yesterday... Anyway, I
 311.129 +got your letter and I had to come see you. Tomoyo-chan..." her voice
 311.130 +caught in her throat as she blinked back crystal tears. "I don't want
 311.131 +you to go. I need you, Tomoyo-chan. I need to talk to you. Right now.
 311.132 +I'm going to be over in a few minutes, okay? Just unlock your window
 311.133 +and I'll be there as soon as I can," the Cardmistress said quickly. 
 311.134 +	Sakura was too flustered to sleep, her heart's recent revelation
 311.135 +too much to keep inside for herself. It longed to be offered up as a
 311.136 +gift to the woman who had been there for Sakura every step of the way
 311.137 +through her life. But she couldn't do that over the phone. Words
 311.138 +weren't Sakura's strong point. She always went on her emotions. She
 311.139 +couldn't even understand her emotions half the time. But she knew
 311.140 +that the woman on the other end of the phone knew her emotions
 311.141 +perfectly, as if she could read Sakura the same way others read a
 311.142 +good book. She had the eye of an artist, but one that was attuned to
 311.143 +the human soul. No one else understood her like Tomoyo. No one else
 311.144 +could hope to. But there was one thing that even Tomoyo hadn't been
 311.145 +able to uncover. The glistening love that lay shrouded in the curious
 311.146 +mists of Sakura's heart. Now that Sakura had finally understood it,
 311.147 +she wanted to go to her gentle best friend and to tell her the
 311.148 +deliscious secret she had learned. 
 311.149 +	Of course, she didn't know if Tomoyo would accept her tentative
 311.150 +offering of love or even how she would react. The eccentric young
 311.151 +woman held so much love in her heart that its depth felt endless and
 311.152 +all encompassing, like a warm, deep ocean. She knew that much from
 311.153 +the love Tomoyo had always showered on her. It may have been
 311.154 +embarrassing at times, but Sakura would never have wished it away. In
 311.155 +fact, being without it during her months in Hong Kong had felt like
 311.156 +she had been exiled to a barren and empty desert. She knew that
 311.157 +Tomoyo's warm and giving heart had a very special someone at it's
 311.158 +core, but she knew not who that person was. She only knew that if
 311.159 +they couldn't love her dear, sweet Tomoyo, then they were undeserving
 311.160 +of the lavender haired woman's boundless love. And Sakura would try
 311.161 +her hardest to take away all of Tomoyo's pain, to love her with all
 311.162 +of her heart. She may not be Tomoyo's special someone, but she would
 311.163 +more than try to make up for it. She would love Tomoyo with all of
 311.164 +her heart and soul and try to make everything, for once, all right.
 311.165 +	Tomoyo didn't know how much time had gone by as she sat on the
 311.166 +floor of her room in the dark, her legs curled under her and her
 311.167 +tearstained eyes still focused on the moving images of Sakura on the
 311.168 +screen in front of her. Panic consumed her, a viscious monster that
 311.169 +had snagged her in it's fangs. Her clothes were only half packed, her
 311.170 +airplane tickets not for another two days. Sakura had caught her in
 311.171 +the midst of her plan to fade away from her life, and like a breath
 311.172 +on a house of cards, it all came tumbling down. Sakura couldn't come
 311.173 +now, not with the state she was in. It was all Tomoyo could do to
 311.174 +clutch onto the few remaining shards of the illusions she used to
 311.175 +hide her pain from those she loved. If Sakura saw her.... "Sakura-
 311.176 +chan...  I can't see you... Not now. Today was such a long day and I
 311.177 +can't keep my eyes open much longer." And it was true. She couldn't
 311.178 +keep her eyes open without tears cascading down her pale cheeks.
 311.179 +	Blinking in confusion, Sakura listened to Tomoyo words once again
 311.180 +in her mind. That didn't sound like her happily eccentric best
 311.181 +friend. She knew that Tomoyo had stayed up quite often on costumes or
 311.182 +videotapes and the like. Besides, Sonomi was the businesswoman in the
 311.183 +family. She was the one who threw herself into her work. And even
 311.184 +then, she would throw that aside when her daughter needed her. And
 311.185 +there was something else as well, as if there were little broken ice
 311.186 +crystals in Tomoyo's voice, threaded through the lavender haired
 311.187 +woman's melodious voice. This took Sakura completely by surprise. She
 311.188 +hadn't thought of the possibility that Tomoyo might not be ready for
 311.189 +her to visit as soon as she reached Tomoeda. She was almost as
 311.190 +shocked by the lack of Tomoyo's usual embarrassing comments. No
 311.191 +'Sakura-chan's lovely voice is like a dream', 'All of Tomoeda must be
 311.192 +ecstatic to know that Sakura-chan is back again', or even 'Isn't Hong
 311.193 +Kong missing Sakura-chan's beautiful face?'. They had always caused
 311.194 +such a flurry of emotions in her, but the lack of her best friend's
 311.195 +adoring remarks left her in silence.
 311.196 +	Covering the phone as she choked back a sob, Tomoyo tried
 311.197 +desperately to think. She couldn't let Sakura see her like this,
 311.198 +teary eyed and broken. It would crush the energetic Cardmistress's
 311.199 +spirits. She was like a shattered China doll lying upon the floor.
 311.200 +Wasn't it better for Sakura to think that her favorite China doll was
 311.201 +simply elsewhere than finding it broken and smashed? Pulling together
 311.202 +the last bit of her strength, Tomoyo could feel her tears burning at
 311.203 +her eyes as she kept her voice as level and soft as she could. Her
 311.204 +tattered heart heaved in her chest as she hung onto her crystalline
 311.205 +mask shards until her soul cried out. "Sakura-chan needs her beauty
 311.206 +sleep so that she will be gorgeous and genki when the morning comes,"
 311.207 +she said at last, and was relieved to hear it sound as obsessive and
 311.208 +adoring as ever. 
 311.209 +	That seemed to relax Sakura on the other end of the phone, calming
 311.210 +some of her worries for her dark haired friend. Sakura sighed,
 311.211 +hugging her knees to her chest as she held onto the phone. "Are you
 311.212 +sure, Tomoyo-chan? I... I really want to see you." She had been
 311.213 +waiting so long. Ever since they had said farewell at the airport,
 311.214 +Sakura had been longing to see her friend again, to hold her, to love
 311.215 +her, and to kiss her. To make sure that things would truly be all
 311.216 +right. That feeling had become even stronger since discovering the
 311.217 +love within her for her blue eyed friend. Tomoyo had been all she had
 311.218 +thought about on the flight out and the ride home. Things like her
 311.219 +marriage and what would happen when they met failed to concern her.
 311.220 +All she knew was that she had to be with Tomoyo again. To lose
 311.221 +herself in the sweet scent of her long, luscious hair. To feel her
 311.222 +gentle embrace, and her warm lips. She wanted to give Tomoyo her
 311.223 +entire heart, to offer it on a beautiful platter of silver and
 311.224 +emeralds. What Tomoyo would do with her gift was entirely up to her.
 311.225 +But Sakura knew that she had to give her most precious Christmas
 311.226 +present to Tomoyo soon.
 311.227 +	The dark haired woman waited in silence for a long moment, trying
 311.228 +to regulate her breathing. This was even more difficult than when
 311.229 +Sakura had complained about the butterflies in her stomach while
 311.230 +Tomoyo had helped her into her wedding gown. That had been a very
 311.231 +traumatic experience for the young heiress. Helping Sakura into the
 311.232 +intricately designed and lovingly crafted dress, her own heart
 311.233 +pouring out to the auburn haired woman as she tried to soothe
 311.234 +Sakura's worries over marrying someone else had been one of the
 311.235 +hardest moments in her life. Part of her had wanted to confess her
 311.236 +love right then, to stand up after helping Sakura with her stockings,
 311.237 +to look her in the eyes and tell her 'You don't have to be afraid,
 311.238 +Sakura-chan. I love you.' But even that now seemed like nothing
 311.239 +compared to this bitter struggle with her emotions. She knew that she
 311.240 +had strings around Sakura, that she had since they had been small
 311.241 +children. Sakura was so loving, so trusting, and she had such faith
 311.242 +in Tomoyo. Tomoyo knew that she could use that to manipulate Sakura
 311.243 +like a marionette on it's strings. Sakura would listen to whatever
 311.244 +she had to say, always trusting her dark haired friend. But Tomoyo
 311.245 +had never used that for her own gain. Well, aside from getting Sakura
 311.246 +into her costumes and videotaping her. Tomoyo's gentle heart would
 311.247 +not allow her to use Sakura in such a way. So she had merely used her
 311.248 +influence on the brunette to gently nudge her heart in the right
 311.249 +direction, to help her through all of the obstacles life placed
 311.250 +before the Cardmistress. She now had to try and keep Sakura from
 311.251 +coming to her, though the longing in the brunette's voice broke
 311.252 +Tomoyo's already shattered heart into further pieces. Taking a deep
 311.253 +breath, Tomoyo fought back her tears as she continued. "It really has
 311.254 +been a long day, Sakura-chan, especially if you've been on a plane
 311.255 +for so long. Please get some rest. When next I see Sakura-chan, I
 311.256 +want to see her emerald eyes sparkling happily as she laughs with
 311.257 +joy."
 311.258 +	Sakura smiled softly as she held the phone to her ear. Just hearing
 311.259 +Tomoyo's voice made her feel better. "Yeah, I guess you're right,
 311.260 +Tomoyo-chan. I can wait till the morning. That would probably be
 311.261 +better anyway. I have a lot I need to tell you." Slumping back on the
 311.262 +bed, Sakura moved an athletic leg into the air as she yawned. It
 311.263 +really had been a long flight. And it would probably be better if she
 311.264 +could actually decide what she wanted to say to Tomoyo. Not that she
 311.265 +was ever very good with such things. As Tomoyo had told her before,
 311.266 +she should simply speak her heart. She nodded in silent agreement to
 311.267 +her best friend. She would speak her heart when she saw Tomoyo the
 311.268 +next day. "Okay. Thanks, Tomoyo-chan. I'm so glad to hear you again.
 311.269 +I really missed you. Please sleep well, okay? I'll see you early
 311.270 +tomorrow."
 311.271 +	"Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan. Dream of the most beautiful angels,"
 311.272 +Tomoyo's soft voice whispered quietly on the other end. And with a
 311.273 +slow click, she was gone.
 311.274 +	Lying back in bed, Sakura stared straight up. She wasn't looking at
 311.275 +the ceiling so much as she was looking through it, as if it wasn't
 311.276 +there. She had wanted to see Tomoyo that night, but the lavender
 311.277 +haired woman had made sense. Besides, it was better for Tomoyo to
 311.278 +hear what Sakura had to say when she was rested. Sakura, on the other
 311.279 +hand, was pretty sure that she couldn't sleep. She had slept off and
 311.280 +on during the plane ride and in the car with Touya. On top of that,
 311.281 +her mind was still buzzing with excitement over being back in
 311.282 +Tomoeda, of being so close to realizing her hearts secret desires.
 311.283 +The thoughts of once again basking in that sweet love that she had
 311.284 +taken for granted during the years she and Tomoyo had been friends
 311.285 +sounded exhilerating. She let out a warm sigh. "Hanyaan..." It had
 311.286 +always been there, but she had overlooked it as something that would
 311.287 +forever be a part of her life. Now she knew that Tomoyo was its
 311.288 +source, the reason behind so many of her happy childhood memories,
 311.289 +and throughout her adolescence. Tomoyo had bloomed like a gorgeous
 311.290 +flower, and like a beautiful gardener had coaxed Sakura into becoming
 311.291 +a very pretty young woman, always nurturing her heart and soul with a
 311.292 +warmth that Sakura could search the world over for and never find
 311.293 +again. Sakura felt blessed to have grown up with such love in her
 311.294 +life. 
 311.295 +	But if Tomoyo's heart belonged to another, to her special someone,
 311.296 +then how would she react to Sakura's declaration of love? Would it
 311.297 +bother her? Would Tomoyo put her down gently? Or would she be happy
 311.298 +to simply be loved by someone for once in her life? And just who was
 311.299 +this special person anyhow? Tomoyo had first mentioned them when they
 311.300 +had only been ten year olds. And yet she still spoke of them with the
 311.301 +same passionate fervor she had always shown for this mysterious
 311.302 +person. So it had to be someone that Tomoyo had known for years.
 311.303 +Someone who had been close to her, always there in her life
 311.304 +throughout all of that time. Someone who Tomoyo thought could never
 311.305 +love her back. 
 311.306 +	Sakura sat bolt upright in bed, her emerald eyes wide as a sudden
 311.307 +realization hit her. She ran down the stairs two at a time, almost
 311.308 +running full tilt into her older brother as he finished up the tea.
 311.309 +"Oniichan!! I know who Tomoyo-chan's in love with!"
 311.310 +	Touya turned around in surprise. He hadn't expected Sakura to find
 311.311 +out so suddenly on her own. Especially after all the hints Tomoyo had
 311.312 +dropped over the years and the one's he himself had been dropping
 311.313 +since the two had turned fourteen. That she would finally come to
 311.314 +that conclusion after all of this time stunned him. "You do?" he
 311.315 +asked curiously, holding the two tea cups with the grace that years
 311.316 +as a waiter, among other things, had afforded him.
 311.317 +	Sakura nodded energetically, her short hair flying about her face.
 311.318 +The young woman looked seriously focused, as she could often get when
 311.319 +faced with a particularly difficult problem. She sighed, blinking her
 311.320 +emerald green eyes. She wasn't too happy about it, but at least she
 311.321 +knew. "Tomoyo-chan's in love with one of her bodyguards," she said at
 311.322 +last, her shoulders slumping. 
 311.323 +	Staring at Sakura for endless minutes, Touya slowly raised an
 311.324 +eyebrow. Handing Sakura her cup of tea, he ruffled the younger
 311.325 +woman's hair. "Good try, monster, but you're going to have to try a
 311.326 +lot harder than that if you're going to figure out who she's in love
 311.327 +with." Sighing, the sleep deprived older sibling made his way
 311.328 +upstairs. 
 311.329 +	"Hoe.... Why is this so hard?" Sakura asked herself in the empty
 311.330 +kitchen. Figuring out Tomoyo was certainly a lot more difficult than
 311.331 +understanding the Sakura Cards. She would have argued with her
 311.332 +brother, but she simply wasn't in the mood. Taking a sip of the
 311.333 +flavorful tea, she wondered idly just what she was supposed to do for
 311.334 +the next... five hours, if she left at eight in the morning. A sudden
 311.335 +idea struck her like a lightening bolt. Grinning, the Mistress of the
 311.336 +Cards made her way upstairs. 
 311.337 +	"Not where is it?" she asked no one in particular as she sifted
 311.338 +through her bag. She smiled at the Cardcaptor Sakura keychain that
 311.339 +Tomoyo had had made for Sakura's thirteenth birthday that lay hanging
 311.340 +on the side. It was one of a kind, the design of the superdeformed
 311.341 +Sakura completely Tomoyo's while Sonomi had it crafted by her
 311.342 +company. She pushed it with a finger, watching it swing back and
 311.343 +forth like a pendulum. Shaking her head, she went back to searching
 311.344 +and within moments pulled out the object of her search. Tomoyo's half
 311.345 +finished costume lay unfurled before her, it's dazzling design
 311.346 +obvious even in that early state of completion. Tomoyo had always
 311.347 +been making such beautiful things for her. It seemed a shame that
 311.348 +Tomoyo's final costume design was never to be finished. She
 311.349 +understood that Tomoyo had wanted her last design for Sakura to be
 311.350 +the wedding dress, so the lavender haired woman thought it
 311.351 +unnecessary to finish this final costume. So if Tomoyo couldn't
 311.352 +finish it, Sakura could. 
 311.353 +	Smiling to herself, Sakura ran to the other room to get the
 311.354 +supplies she would need. Sewing wasn't exactly her forte, but she had
 311.355 +sewn a yukata for Syaoran and she knew that if she tried hard enough,
 311.356 +she could finish what Tomoyo had begun. It wouldn't be as lovely as
 311.357 +Tomoyo's delicate work, but it would finally be finished, putting to
 311.358 +rest at least one of Sakura's worries. This was their work, both
 311.359 +Tomoyo's and Sakura's. She wanted to show it to her best friend.
 311.360 +After all of those years of wearing Tomoyo's costumes, blushing all
 311.361 +different shades of red with the bizarre yet captivating designs,
 311.362 +this would be a combination of both of their hearts, every stitch
 311.363 +lovingly etched into the beautiful fabric. Clasping her hands
 311.364 +together determinedly, Sakura got to work. 
 311.365 +
 311.366 +
 311.367 +	Clutching onto the teddy bear Sakura had sewn for her as a farewell
 311.368 +present, Tomoyo rocked gently back and forth, whispering a lullaby
 311.369 +that her mother used to sing to her when she was a little girl. Icy
 311.370 +tears dripped down her chin, falling onto her little stuffed bear
 311.371 +named Sakura. She held it tightly, sobbing quietly as the phone lay
 311.372 +haphazardly a few feet away from her. "I love you so much, Sakura-
 311.373 +chan... Please forgive me... I don't know what to do, Sakura..." she
 311.374 +whispered tearfully into bear Sakura's ear. Her whole body felt cold,
 311.375 +torn apart by countless thorns that snaked around her heart. "Please
 311.376 +help me..." But no one would come and save her. Not even her darling
 311.377 +Sakura could save her from the darkness that surrounded her now. If
 311.378 +the brunette came for her, they were both doomed. Sakura's happy life
 311.379 +would be ruined and Tomoyo would never be able to survive watching
 311.380 +Sakura so closely like that, unable to be with her.
 311.381 +	An even darker thought that crossed her mind was about what Sakura
 311.382 +had been struggling to say on the phone. What feelings did Sakura
 311.383 +have for her? What feelings did the Cardmistress understand now? Did
 311.384 +she know of Tomoyo's love for her? Which meant that Sakura's
 311.385 +marriage, her beautiful marriage, the child she hadn't yet had, the
 311.386 +whole life that lay before her was in peril. And all because Tomoyo
 311.387 +had failed to fade out of Sakura's life properly. 
 311.388 +	"Sakura-chan, what am I to do?" Tomoyo asked hopelessly, pressing
 311.389 +her tearstreaked cheek into the soft material of the teddy bear.  

   312.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   312.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-25.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   312.3 @@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
   312.4 +"Ouch!" Sakura shook her finger in the air and then sucked on the
   312.5 +fingertip, tasting the salty tang of her own blood. How did Tomoyo do
   312.6 +all that sewing without ending up like a pincushion? Smiling
   312.7 +ruefully, she realized that her sewing skills were lacking because
   312.8 +she always depended on Tomoyo, her father, and even her brother for
   312.9 +most thread and needlework. She could mend a tear and put on a patch,
  312.10 +but the tailoring that her best friend did was simply beyond her. She
  312.11 +remembered early on as a Cardcaptor peeking into a company van and
  312.12 +seeing the spectacular wardrobe Tomoyo had prepared for her.  At the
  312.13 +time, she concluded the massive resources of the Daidouji household,
  312.14 +or even Daidouji Toys, Ltd., had been marshaled and deployed to clad
  312.15 +her in a parade of kawaii regalia. Only later did she learn that
  312.16 +Tomoyo did every stitch herself. Through the years that followed, the
  312.17 +two girls spent hours together, talking and drinking tea while Tomoyo
  312.18 +fitted and altered the amazing creations. Being with the little
  312.19 +seamstress made precious an experience that would otherwise have been
  312.20 +tedious as Sakura stretched and posed while Tomoyo snipped and sewed.
  312.21 +For the Card Mistress it was a chance to talk about her loves and
  312.22 +fears and joys while the dark-haired girl listened, solemn and cheery
  312.23 +in turn. Tomoyo was as careful with her heart as with the delicate
  312.24 +fabrics that made up the costumes, and her carefully considered
  312.25 +advice and reassurance helped Sakura through many a difficult time.
  312.26 +As she sewed a strip of satin to trim the hem of the little yellow
  312.27 +dress Tomoyo had left in Hong Kong, Sakura began to grasp the
  312.28 +countless hours of labor that the quiet, pale girl had spent just to
  312.29 +make her look special.
  312.30 +
  312.31 +Again she remembered that truck full of outfits Tomoyo unveiled
  312.32 +before they went to capture the Shadow card. There was a spectacular
  312.33 +array of over 50 costumes that ranged from the cute to the dramatic,
  312.34 +with the occasional practical piece thrown in for good measure. After
  312.35 +the terrifying exertions of capturing Shadow, Sakura had asked Tomoyo
  312.36 +how she got so many costumes ready so quickly. Tomoyo smiled
  312.37 +enigmatically and replied,
  312.38 +
  312.39 +"Oh, I've been working on them for over a year".
  312.40 +
  312.41 +Sakura gave the girl a baffled look and blurted out, "But you only
  312.42 +found out about me and Clow Cards a few days ago."
  312.43 +
  312.44 +Tomoyo tilted her head, lavender hair blending into the dark,
  312.45 +moonless night as she answered in a musical voice, "I've always known
  312.46 +Sakura-chan was a magical girl.”
  312.47 +
  312.48 +Sakura merely sweatdropped, dismissing this as one of her adoring
  312.49 +friend's many eccentricities. But now, years later, she was quietly
  312.50 +astonished. Long before the creations of Clow Reed had found her,
  312.51 +Tomoyo saw her as magical. Not for her power, or the cards she
  312.52 +captured, but for herself. Sakura smiled as she worked the needle
  312.53 +carefully through the gossamer material. From the day they met in
  312.54 +that third grade classroom, Tomoyo's love had been ever-present,
  312.55 +wrapped around Sakura’s heart like a comforting cocoon. She was
  312.56 +always special to the sapphire-eyed girl, long before she was the
  312.57 +Mistress of the Cards. Sakura paused, puzzled, the silver needle
  312.58 +poised in midair as she softly whispered,
  312.59 +
  312.60 +"It's as if I was always her special person". She felt her face
  312.61 +flush scarlet: that wonderful flustery feeling of being loved by
  312.62 +Tomoyo. How she missed that in Hong Kong. The longing grew worse
  312.63 +every day without her. The ache in her breast was finally assuaged by
  312.64 +that enchanting visit, but her heart shattered watching the aircraft
  312.65 +spirit Tomoyo away. Her special person. Sakura stared at the fabric
  312.66 +in her lap, the last, unfinished design of her best friend. With a
  312.67 +grin, she shook her head and thought a little sadly, oh, to be her
  312.68 +special person for just one day! Sakura had been slow to realize the
  312.69 +depths of Tomoyo's love. Only distance, which clove the two friends
  312.70 +as nothing before, revealed how cruel separation could be. Without
  312.71 +the constant presence of that fulsome love, Sakura felt hopelessly
  312.72 +adrift. She tumbled into dark despair, with only her unrealized love
  312.73 +to light the way. Glowing like a little candle in the blackest night,
  312.74 +that love for Tomoyo finally blazed forth when she at last understood
  312.75 +her heart. And though she was not Tomoyo's special someone, that did
  312.76 +not affect her own love in the least. Even if Tomoyo did end up
  312.77 +happily with her special person, Sakura's love would shine forth like
  312.78 +a beacon through the pain of not having her. I'll love her no matter
  312.79 +what, she thought to herself. But I'll die if she leaves me.  
  312.80 +
  312.81 +Remembering the chilling farewell in Tomoyo’s last letter, Sakura
  312.82 +teetered on the brink of tears. If she leaves me. Taking a deep
  312.83 +breath, Sakura buried the thought, for she could not face such a
  312.84 +wretched possibility. "Buttons", she said suddenly, "I need buttons
  312.85 +for this dress".  Rising, she carefully placed the dress on the desk,
  312.86 +slipping off the thimble and absent-mindedly massaging her pin-
  312.87 +pricked hands. Stretching, she felt the fatigue fall from her body as
  312.88 +muscles tensed and relaxed. The buttons would be upstairs, in the
  312.89 +attic, with the sewing supplies she had packed away before moving to
  312.90 +Hong Kong. She walked from the room, down the hall past her sleeping
  312.91 +brother, and climbed the ladder to the trap door. Emerging into the
  312.92 +darkness, she carefully felt her way along the wall and then
  312.93 +hesitated as a fear of the dark bubbled up from long ago. Slowly
  312.94 +letting out a breath she grimaced, ashamed at such a childish worry.
  312.95 +Inching her way forward, her nimble fingers finally brushed against
  312.96 +the light switch and clicked it on. The naked bulb starkly
  312.97 +illuminated the maze of tightly stacked boxes and trunks. Sakura
  312.98 +realized her father or brother had rearranged things since she left,
  312.99 +for the sewing things were nowhere to be seen. 
 312.100 +
 312.101 +With a shrug she began to move boxes, coughing in the billowing
 312.102 +dust. Finally, on the verge of giving up, she uncovered a small
 312.103 +shoebox with the word, "notions" written on the side. The writing
 312.104 +puzzled her, for she did not recognize the almost childish script.
 312.105 +With a tug, she pulled it out from the little nook it was wedged
 312.106 +into. Opening the lid, she found a box full of buttons- perfect! She
 312.107 +smiled and carried the little treasure over to the light, examining
 312.108 +the varied circles and squares of plastic and metal. Spilling some
 312.109 +out onto the lid, she nodded happily. These would do just fine. Then,
 312.110 +Sakura's attention was caught by something at the bottom. She poured
 312.111 +more buttons out in a little pile, and gingerly pulled out a faded
 312.112 +photograph. 
 312.113 +
 312.114 +The colors had washed out over the years, but the figures were
 312.115 +instantly recognizable. Tomoyo’s mother was dressed in a schoolgirl's
 312.116 +sailor suit. Draped over the young Sonomi was Sakura's mother,
 312.117 +similarly clad in a dark blue dress, a red bow around her collar.
 312.118 +With one arm she embraced her cousin, while the other was held up,
 312.119 +triumphantly showing two bandaged fingers in a little "V" for
 312.120 +victory. Both girls were smiling merrily, surrounded by the supplies
 312.121 +and equipment of what looked like a Home Economics classroom. Sakura
 312.122 +turned the picture over, and written in that same childish
 312.123 +handwriting that adorned the box were four lines:
 312.124 +
 312.125 +"Hiroji-sensei's class
 312.126 +7th grade
 312.127 +I passed!
 312.128 +Thank you, Sonomi-chan"
 312.129 +
 312.130 +The back was decorated with odd little doodles of hearts and
 312.131 +flowers. Sakura looked again at the picture and smiled, thanking her
 312.132 +mother for the little present that had waited so patiently. Tomoyo's
 312.133 +costume could have no better buttons than these. Emptying them back
 312.134 +into the box, the auburn-haired woman carefully placed the photograph
 312.135 +on top and replaced the lid, tucking the package under her arm.
 312.136 +Turning off the light, she moved to the entranceway of the attic and
 312.137 +climbed down to the hall. Returning to her room, she placed the
 312.138 +shoebox on the desk, took up the fabric and began to sew again. She
 312.139 +was startled when a familiar voice called out from the shadows behind
 312.140 +her,
 312.141 +
 312.142 +"What are you doing?"
 312.143 +
 312.144 +She turned quickly, and saw Syaoran standing up against the wall,
 312.145 +arms crossed and scowling. She rose and took one step towards him,
 312.146 +but something in his manner froze her. In a meek tone she answered,
 312.147 +
 312.148 +"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before I left, but I had to hurry. I
 312.149 +called Ieran-sama when my flight arrived. Didn't she tell you"?
 312.150 +
 312.151 +Syaoran looked away with barely suppressed anger, as if he were
 312.152 +addressing a hopelessly slow child. Then he nodded to the pile of
 312.153 +fabric on the floor and impatiently repeated himself, "What-are-you-
 312.154 +doing"?
 312.155 +
 312.156 +"Oh", Sakura glanced at the dress she had dropped to the floor. She
 312.157 +scurried to pick it up, and held it in front of her husband. Her
 312.158 +smile faltered as he recoiled in horror at the unfinished costume he
 312.159 +had seen in his Mother’s magic. He yelled at her,
 312.160 +
 312.161 +“Put that damn thing away. Where did you get it? What is it?”
 312.162 +
 312.163 +Neatly folding the costume, she placed it back on the desk, then
 312.164 +faced Syaoran, her hands held to her breast as she replied,
 312.165 +
 312.166 +"I, I wanted to make something for Tomoyo-chan. Well, actually, she
 312.167 +made it, the design, I mean, I could never do something like this.
 312.168 +And she started it, but because of the wedding dress being the last
 312.169 +thing she would make for me she didn't finish, and I thought I could,
 312.170 +well, finish it for her, and I found some of mother's buttons in the
 312.171 +attic and..." Her voice trailed off into silence. Caught by her
 312.172 +husband's withering stare, she felt small and foolish.
 312.173 +
 312.174 +As he calmed down, Syaoran struggled to keep his sense of gravity.
 312.175 +As if impressed by his own cleverness, he sneered, “I knew that crazy
 312.176 +girl had something to do with all this. All right, get your things
 312.177 +together and let’s go.”
 312.178 +
 312.179 +But instead of compliance, Sakura stood with her hands clasped and
 312.180 +head bowed. Syaoran stepped towards her, irritated at this unusual
 312.181 +hesitation. In a soft but firm voice she broke the silence, “I’m not
 312.182 +going. I have to see Tomoyo-chan”.
 312.183 +
 312.184 +He stopped short, flabbergasted. All he could manage was a hoarse,
 312.185 +“What”?
 312.186 +
 312.187 +Sakura looked up at him, jade eyes flashing a fiery determination he
 312.188 +had rarely seen since the days of card capturing. But her voice was
 312.189 +calm as she continued, “Tomoyo-chan said she is going to leave. I
 312.190 +have to see her.”
 312.191 +
 312.192 +The future Head of the House of Li frowned, struggling to suppress
 312.193 +his anger. He snapped at the woman within arm’s reach, “You can call
 312.194 +her on the phone, or write one of your silly letters. We’re going
 312.195 +home- now”. 
 312.196 +
 312.197 +Sakura looked at the floor and slowly shook her head. He felt a wild
 312.198 +urge to strike her, to slap the defiance out of her. Barely in
 312.199 +control of his raging emotions he spluttered, “I can’t believe I’m
 312.200 +hearing this. What kind of garbage did she fill your head up with”?
 312.201 +He paused, and drew a deep breath. This was not like his complacent
 312.202 +wife at all. Very well. The chivalrous husband would try a new tack
 312.203 +and forgive his erring wife. He pronounced in a patronizing and
 312.204 +reassuring tone, “Now let me help you with your bags and we can talk
 312.205 +about it on the plane.”
 312.206 +
 312.207 +But Sakura looked up at him, earnestly gazing at his face. Finally,
 312.208 +she said simply, “No”.
 312.209 +
 312.210 +Fists clenched, shaking with fury, he turned his back on her,
 312.211 +shaking with rage. How dare she defy him! After running off to Japan,
 312.212 +wasting money they did not have, and now refusing to obey. Unable to
 312.213 +contain his anger, he slammed his fist into the door, nearly rattling
 312.214 +it off the hinges. “Damn it!” he yelled, “Who do you think you are?”
 312.215 +
 312.216 +Whirling to face her, falling into a fighting stance, his mind raced
 312.217 +out of control. But the young woman simply stood before him, calm and
 312.218 +unafraid.  Suddenly there came a knock on the door, and a male voice
 312.219 +called out, “Sakura-chan, what’s going on?” The door opened, and a
 312.220 +pajama-clad Touya peered into the room. Seeing Syaoran, he frowned,
 312.221 +and then looked carefully at his younger sister. In as neutral a
 312.222 +voice as he could manage he asked, 
 312.223 +
 312.224 +“Do you need any help”?
 312.225 +
 312.226 +Sakura relaxed, smiled, shook her head and answered sweetly, “No,
 312.227 +everything is fine. I’m sorry we woke you up. We’ll be more quiet”. 
 312.228 +
 312.229 +Touya shot another warning look at his least favorite brother-in-law
 312.230 +before sizing up the seemingly unconcerned young woman. “OK”, he
 312.231 +spoke in his usual laconic voice, as if such domestic squabbles
 312.232 +around the house at 3 A.M were the norm, “But you call me if you need
 312.233 +me. Goodnight.”
 312.234 +
 312.235 +When the door closed, the two stood silent, facing each other for
 312.236 +the longest time. Finally, with an exasperated sigh Syaoran fixed his
 312.237 +wayward wife with a hard stare. His voice was commanding, even
 312.238 +patronizing, as if he would no longer brook her exasperating
 312.239 +insolence, 
 312.240 +
 312.241 +“Sakura, you have to make choices in life. You have to have
 312.242 +priorities. You’re a big girl now, married to the future Head of the
 312.243 +House of Li. I can’t have you running off every time some loopy girl
 312.244 +from the past calls you on the phone. You just can’t do this sort of
 312.245 +thing. It makes me look ridiculous. Tomoeda was nice, but it’s all
 312.246 +over now. You have a new life, with me You’re going to have to choose
 312.247 +between your friend and your true love. Now, go get your things and
 312.248 +we’ll forget all about this”. 
 312.249 +
 312.250 +At first Sakura looked at him with surprise, and then stared at the
 312.251 +floor. The Chinese sorcerer smiled as he detected the glint of tears
 312.252 +welling in her eyes. She looked deep in thought, and after a moment
 312.253 +looked up at him with wet and sparkling eyes. Her voice was brimming
 312.254 +with emotion as she spoke,
 312.255 +
 312.256 +“I’m sorry, Syaoran-chan. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I
 312.257 +guess I knew the choice would come someday soon, just not this soon.
 312.258 +If only I’d known. I’m so sorry.”
 312.259 +
 312.260 +The tears coursed down her cheeks as she stood miserably before him.
 312.261 +Well, he thought, at least she’s speaking sense now. He almost felt
 312.262 +pity for her, though his anger was still too fresh and raw for that.
 312.263 +He did care for her, though at times like this love was an ordeal.
 312.264 +Still, he would find it in his heart to forgive her. But he would
 312.265 +make sure she never saw or talked or wrote to that crazy Daidouji
 312.266 +woman ever again. Syaoran’s quiet voice brimmed with magniminity for
 312.267 +a defeated foe, “Come on Sakura-chan. Let’s go home.”
 312.268 +
 312.269 +But the woman did not move, looking at him sadly as she spoke, “I’m
 312.270 +not going.”
 312.271 +
 312.272 +Too baffled to be angry, he gawked at her, mouth open as if his
 312.273 +words were frozen in mid-sentence. Sakura shook her head and spoke
 312.274 +almost pleadingly,
 312.275 +
 312.276 +“It’s my fault. I should have known my own feelings. If I had, all
 312.277 +this would never have happened. I’ve hurt so many people: you, your
 312.278 +mother, Meiling-chan, Tomoyo-chan. All because I was too stupid to
 312.279 +know what was in my heart.”
 312.280 +
 312.281 +Syaoran could only stare in disbelief as the woman hugged herself
 312.282 +tightly for reassurance before continuing, 
 312.283 +
 312.284 +“Syaoran-chan, you were always one of my very best friends. I
 312.285 +couldn’t have done what I did with the cards without you. It meant so
 312.286 +much to me that we were together. And I do love you, as a friend
 312.287 +forever in my heart. But now I know my true love is Tomoyo-chan. I’ve
 312.288 +loved her all along, but just didn’t understand. Not until last
 312.289 +night. Last night. That’s only a day ago.” The woman looked stunned
 312.290 +as she said this, as if an entire life had been lived in only 24
 312.291 +hours. After a brief smile, she spoke again,
 312.292 +
 312.293 +“Last night I finally realized who I love. My one, true love. My
 312.294 +special person. She was so close for so long that I never knew until
 312.295 +she was gone. I could have saved everyone so much pain if I knew.” 
 312.296 +
 312.297 +Pain. Syaoran felt it in a wave, as helpless as when Meiling
 312.298 +connected with his solar plexus earlier that day. Staring at his wife
 312.299 +in dumb incomprehension, he managed to croak out,
 312.300 +
 312.301 +“But Sakura, I love you.”
 312.302 +
 312.303 +She looked at him, and he had the uncomfortable sensation that with
 312.304 +her magic she could see straight to his heart. She smiled and asked
 312.305 +gently, “Do you really love me Syaoran, like that? It really hasn’t
 312.306 +felt that way. Not like I thought it would. Not like what I feel from
 312.307 +her.”
 312.308 +
 312.309 +Indignant and righteous, he made ready to protest. But the auburn-
 312.310 +haired woman held up her hand and commanded his silence. A sudden
 312.311 +wave of something ineffable washed over them both, a shuddering,
 312.312 +prickly sensation that enveloped him like a living fog. He stared at
 312.313 +his wife, for somehow she was changed. It was as if all the magic
 312.314 +were drained out of her like water in broken crockery. She stood
 312.315 +before him, not the Mistress of the Cards, but as little Kinomoto
 312.316 +Sakura, sweet, genki, and horribly ordinary. Her voice was the same
 312.317 +he had heard on a playground long ago, when the Cards were in the
 312.318 +air, and a Japanese schoolgirl had just begun her long journey,
 312.319 +
 312.320 +“You loved Yukito once, like I did. But when my powers grew greater
 312.321 +than his, then your affection for me did, too. Do you really love me,
 312.322 +Syaoran-chan? If I was just plain old Sakura, would you still love me
 312.323 +then?”
 312.324 +
 312.325 +He recoiled at the sight. Stripped her magical glamour she seemed
 312.326 +small and weak. Where was the enchanting woman he had married? Where
 312.327 +was the successor to the famed Clow Reed? Was this some illusion, a
 312.328 +doppelganger that had abducted his precious wife and substituted some
 312.329 +bland and pathetic double? He began to speak, to accuse and threaten
 312.330 +this alien presence, when he heard Sakura’s voice, distant yet
 312.331 +familiar. She stared at him, his mind hers to know. Sadly shaking her
 312.332 +head, she quietly spoke,
 312.333 +
 312.334 + “ I’m not an illusion. It’s just me. It’s just me without my magic.
 312.335 +It’s who I really am. But I don’t think it’s who you really love. Do
 312.336 +you? Do you really love me, Syaoran-chan?”
 312.337 + 
 312.338 +He felt sick as he looked at her. She was nothing, a nobody. In a
 312.339 +bitter tone he declared, “You sound just like Mother.”
 312.340 +
 312.341 +Sakura let out a little sigh and the two stood silent. Finally, she
 312.342 +spoke in a voice etched with the pain of a new found knowledge,
 312.343 +“Ieran-sama is very wise. For all my power, she is much wiser than
 312.344 +me. She was right, Syaoran-chan. We don’t belong together. Now I know
 312.345 +that she didn’t really hate me. She just wanted what was best for
 312.346 +everyone. Even me.”
 312.347 +
 312.348 +With that he looked up and saw her as he knew her, energy flooding
 312.349 +back, filling her pure power. In fear and awe he beheld her, once
 312.350 +again the dread Mistress of the Cards. He reeled backwards, confused
 312.351 +and frightened, his mother’s mocking voice blaring inside his head.
 312.352 +He held his hands to his temples as her piecing words echoed, “You
 312.353 +don’t love her. You love her power.” He felt helpless, a rag doll in
 312.354 +the hands of a blind and savage Fate. Struggling to regain his calm,
 312.355 +he leaned against the wall and whimpered. Sakura stood with her hands
 312.356 +at her side, unable to comfort her shattered husband. Finally he
 312.357 +composed himself enough to turn and face her. He was no man’s fool.
 312.358 +He was not to be trifled with. Trembling, he took an envelope from
 312.359 +his pocket, opened it, and placed a ticket on the nearby dresser. His
 312.360 +face was blank as he spoke,
 312.361 +
 312.362 +“I’m leaving. If you are not on this plane when it departs, then
 312.363 +don’t bother coming back again. Ever.” He felt a surge of power, as
 312.364 +if he, and not this stupid and dangerous woman, was in control. She
 312.365 +bowed low, her sad, verdant eyes locked with his as she answered
 312.366 +softly,
 312.367 +
 312.368 +“Hai, Syaoran. Sayonara.”
 312.369 +
 312.370 +He strode for the door, and then stopped. Turning quickly, he gaped
 312.371 +at her, his face twisted with loathing. He spat out the bitter words,
 312.372 +“I don’t love you. I hate you.” Then he walked through the door and
 312.373 +shut it firmly.
 312.374 +
 312.375 +For a long time, Sakura stared at the closed door. Syaoran’s parting
 312.376 +words stung her, even though she knew they were not true. Consumed
 312.377 +with anger, his words spilled, tainted and colored by out-of-control
 312.378 +emotions. But part of what he said was true: he did not love her. Or,
 312.379 +rather, he loved her as a friend, and no more. Oddly, this was great
 312.380 +consolation for the shattered woman, who saw her marriage of months
 312.381 +implode in minutes. Had Syaoran truly loved her, she would have been
 312.382 +chained to a marriage that was a terrible mistake. For thousands of
 312.383 +years, women have borne loveless matches, and Sakura would have been
 312.384 +one among millions of sad and broken hearts.  Perhaps she could have
 312.385 +found some happiness in children, or teaching, or even magic, all
 312.386 +while her heart longed for her true love. Or she might have died
 312.387 +slowly, longing for a love she could never have. Even leaving him
 312.388 +later was a stark possibility, and could only have made things worse
 312.389 +with the passage of time. 
 312.390 +
 312.391 +
 312.392 +With a sigh, Sakura sat at her desk and again took up sewing. The
 312.393 +rhythm of needle and thread calmed her heart, for there was stillness
 312.394 +in the motion of every stitch. Suddenly she flinched as the needle
 312.395 +pricked her finger. Gazing at her hand, she put her work on the table
 312.396 +and slipped off the golden wedding ring. Placing it by the ticket on
 312.397 +the desk, she thought, I'll send it to him later. She stared at her
 312.398 +now bare finger. The ring came off so easily, as if their marriage
 312.399 +had never been. But that was not quite true either, for much had
 312.400 +happened in married life  she did not regret, and would never forget.
 312.401 +Picking up the yellow dress and sewing again, she recalled the
 312.402 +exquisite anticipation of her wedding day, and the mystery of the
 312.403 +night that followed. To be in Syaoran’s company, if not quite love,
 312.404 +was pleasant, the companionship of two good friends. "It was my fault
 312.405 +for wanting it to be more, for not knowing my own feelings", she
 312.406 +whispered sadly. Curiously, Sakura felt no regret for the end of her
 312.407 +marriage. But she did feel sorry for the pain she brought Sayoran,
 312.408 +and knew that regret would never leave her.  
 312.409 +
 312.410 +Paradoxically, the greatest gift of her marriage was the misery of
 312.411 +being without Tomoyo. Growing up with the girl, she came to take her
 312.412 +amazing presence for granted. Being so close to that dazzling spirit
 312.413 +had blinded Sakura to her own true feelings. Only in Hong Kong did
 312.414 +she learn the hard lesson of what Tomoyo meant to her. When marriage
 312.415 +pulled them apart, she finally saw that life without the azure-eyed
 312.416 +girl was simply impossible. Accepting Syaoran's proposal, she prayed
 312.417 +marriage would bring her love. It did, but in a way completely
 312.418 +unforseen. Marriage was a strange path leading her far away, yet
 312.419 +bringing her back to where she started. But oh, how diffreent things
 312.420 +were now! When she left, Tomoyo was her friend. But tonight, as her
 312.421 +marriage ended, Tomoyo was her one, true love. And tommorow she would
 312.422 +see her again.
 312.423 +
 312.424 +Sakura felt awash in giddy anticipation. Freedom swept her soul like
 312.425 +a gentle zephyr, a whipsering wind of possibilities and hope. Soon
 312.426 +she would see Tomoyo, lay her love at the dark-haired girl's feet,
 312.427 +and beg her to stay. She gigled, wondering about the woman's reaction
 312.428 +to so stunning a revelation. Perhaps she could never take the place
 312.429 +of that special someone in her friend's gentle heart. But just to be
 312.430 +with her, to feel Tomoyo's love again was enough. Even more, Sakura
 312.431 +wanted to make her happy, to heal the pain in those azure eyes. "I'll
 312.432 +give her everything I have", she thought, stitching the last button
 312.433 +into place, "though she already has my heart." 
 312.434 +
 312.435 +With that, she held up the costume, admiring the work. Well,
 312.436 +admiring Tomoyo's work, anyway, perfect as always. Her own
 312.437 +contribution was flawed: an uneven line here, a too-big button hole
 312.438 +there. But it was her work, and now the costume was theirs. Lovingly
 312.439 +she folded the silken fabric, and suddenly felt very, very  tired.
 312.440 +Resting her head on the desk she whispered dreamily, "Tommorow.
 312.441 +Tommorow  I'll see her. I'll see my angel."
 312.442 +
 312.443 + And so, sleep came at last.  
 312.444 +
 312.445 +

   313.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   313.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-26.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   313.3 @@ -0,0 +1,377 @@
   313.4 +Dear Sakura
   313.5 +Dream Angel
   313.6 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   313.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   313.8 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   313.9 +
  313.10 +	Sakura hopped lithely from cloud to cloud, wearing only her
  313.11 +pajamas. But somehow they seemed like a fittingly appropriate attire
  313.12 +for the task at hand. Her bare feet were tickled by the soft and
  313.13 +fluffy clouds, their material similar to some of the clothes Tomoyo
  313.14 +had had her in over the years. Beautiful pastel blue skies surrounded
  313.15 +her on all sides as she continued walking along the clouds. A dove
  313.16 +darted past Sakura’s shoulder, drawing the Cardmistress’s attention.
  313.17 +It arched through the air gracefully, without a care in the world.
  313.18 +Sakura giggled in amazement as she watched the beautiful creature
  313.19 +soaring high above the clouds. 
  313.20 +	But it wasn’t flying above the clouds anymore. And it didn’t appear
  313.21 +to be a dove any longer, either. Gentle waves rocked the boat she was
  313.22 +on as passengers looked out at the stunning vista of Hong Kong
  313.23 +beyond. “Mr. Seagull!” an energetic young voice yelled out as the
  313.24 +former dove turned seagull teased the water playfully. Sakura glanced
  313.25 +around for the voice. It sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t quite
  313.26 +place it. Her emerald eyes finally fell upon a small brunette that
  313.27 +was looking out at the captivating ocean and the brave little seagull
  313.28 +with a bright earnestness. She was being playfully teased by her
  313.29 +older brother as a white haired boy with glasses looked on with a
  313.30 +smile. 
  313.31 +	“Hoe..?” Sakura took a few awkward steps forward, her mind
  313.32 +swirling. This had happened years ago, hadn’t it? This was her first
  313.33 +trip to Hong Kong, when she had been but a child. What had happened
  313.34 +to the clouds and the beautiful blue sky? Not that this was any less
  313.35 +gorgeous, but just what was going on? 
  313.36 +	Sakura’s questing eyes finally came to a stop when they reached a
  313.37 +not so familiar part of this fateful voyage. There was Tomoyo, ever
  313.38 +vigilant to capture every precious memory of their time together on
  313.39 +videotape. Sakura could remember that vaguely. She had known Tomoyo
  313.40 +was videotaping her, but her mind had been on other things. And quite
  313.41 +frankly, she had gotten so used to the lavender haired girl
  313.42 +videotaping her back then that sometimes she simply didn’t realize
  313.43 +when she was being taped and when she wasn’t. Sakura felt a pang of
  313.44 +guilt at having taken those little eccentricities for granted. She
  313.45 +missed the knowledge that her beautiful friend was catching her on
  313.46 +videotape. But that wasn’t what surprised Sakura. What the brunette
  313.47 +couldn’t remember at all was the pair of gorgeous, ethereal angel
  313.48 +wings that graced her dark haired friend’s young back. More beautiful
  313.49 +than Sakura’s own wings when she used the Fly Card, these wings
  313.50 +shimmered with their own inner light. They almost looked out of
  313.51 +place, surreal in this foreign landscape. But on Tomoyo, they fit
  313.52 +perfectly. The young heiress’s pale features and long spools of hair
  313.53 +just made her look even more angelic. Like a little lost angel, she
  313.54 +watched Sakura closely, with a heartfelt intensity that Sakura never
  313.55 +would have noticed back when the memory had first taken place. The
  313.56 +cute little angel smiled serenely as she continued videotaping her
  313.57 +clueless best friend, the iridescent wings on her back moving slowly
  313.58 +and gracefully. 
  313.59 +	Entranced by the spectacle before her, Sakura continued forward,
  313.60 +her bare feet moving quietly across the bottom of the boat. “Tomoyo-
  313.61 +chan..?” she whispered softly, almost afraid that the quiet angel
  313.62 +would fly away if she made too much noise. After all, such things
  313.63 +were always fleeting, weren’t they? It was best that she treat the
  313.64 +situation as delicately as possible lest her skittish angel leave her
  313.65 +side. The eighteen year old Sakura continued quietly towards the ten
  313.66 +year old vision of an angelic Tomoyo. 
  313.67 +	Turning gracefully, the young angel smiled sweetly at the older
  313.68 +woman, pulling down the camcorder for a moment. “An older Sakura-chan
  313.69 +is also very cute,” she said in her soft, harmonious voice. She
  313.70 +giggled softly as Sakura nearly fell back in fright. Her camcorder
  313.71 +came up swiftly, to forever catch the shocked look on her beloved’s
  313.72 +face. “Sakura-chan is so gorgeous when she’s older.” A delicious sigh
  313.73 +escaped her flushed cheeks as she rested a hand on one of them.
  313.74 +Camcorder still glued tightly to one lavender eye, this ethereal
  313.75 +sprite watched Sakura’s forward advance. “My beautiful Sakura-chan,
  313.76 +growing lovelier and wiser as the years grace her lovely form.”
  313.77 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura repeated, now inches from Tomoyo. Her
  313.78 +hesitant fingers reached out slowly, almost afraid that they would go
  313.79 +straight through this sparkling apparition. This was all from her
  313.80 +memory, what had happened back on her first trip to Hong Kong. All of
  313.81 +it except for the charming angel in front of her. Tomoyo had been
  313.82 +there, of course, but she certainly didn’t remember her with angel
  313.83 +wings. And besides, she was the only part of this memory that seemed
  313.84 +to acknowledge that she was there. So just what was going on?
  313.85 +	Before Sakura could touch the phantom of Tomoyo in front of her,
  313.86 +the younger girl hopped gracefully backwards. Sakura’s Tomoyo was
  313.87 +certainly not athletic, but she didn’t have big shimmering wings
  313.88 +either. The angel Tomoyo smiled at Sakura as she pulled up her
  313.89 +camcorder. The brunette felt as if she was being drawn into the
  313.90 +camcorder, as it seemed to see her for all that she was. The feeling
  313.91 +was disconcerting. She had about made her way to the angel’s new
  313.92 +location before her wings lifted up into the air. With a giant flap,
  313.93 +sparkling feathers surrounded Sakura, dancing around her in exotic
  313.94 +combinations before they finally faded away.
  313.95 +	Looking around, the Mistress of the Cards found that she was no
  313.96 +longer on the boat in Hong Kong. Her emerald orbs searched intently
  313.97 +for the small yet elegant angel, but at first there was no trace. It
  313.98 +took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. She was still mildly
  313.99 +confused as to what was going on, but she was far more concerned with
 313.100 +important matters like finding Tomoyo to worry about the details.
 313.101 +“Tomoyo-chan?” It was dark around her, but she soon discovered the
 313.102 +reason. She was outside, at a festival back home in Japan. People
 313.103 +dressed up in a myriad of different designs and colors of kimonos
 313.104 +walked through the dimly lit festival, all contributing to the cheery
 313.105 +atmosphere. 
 313.106 +	Walking through the crowd of people, Sakura searched valiantly for
 313.107 +her pale angel, moving past the unseeing throng of people. They paid
 313.108 +her no mind as she continued forward, her pajamas looking oddly out
 313.109 +of place in contrast to the dazzling kimonos passing her. A sudden
 313.110 +flash hit Sakura as she reached the center of the festivities. She
 313.111 +remembered this night. Tomoyo had taken her someplace away from all
 313.112 +of this, all of the crowds and busy people trying to enjoy
 313.113 +themselves. Had taken her someplace quiet and romantic. As if drawn
 313.114 +by some unseen force, Sakura hurried to the place of memories and
 313.115 +dreams, to one of many sweet and precious moments that she had
 313.116 +forgotten over the years but that she would give anything to relive.
 313.117 +With the sculpted speed of an athlete, the auburn haired woman made
 313.118 +her way through the trees. The sounds of the festival grew more
 313.119 +distant as she followed the traces of her memory like a treasure map.
 313.120 +And sure enough, she found her treasure at the center. There they
 313.121 +were, a younger Sakura and Tomoyo, sitting together in pretty kimonos
 313.122 +on the grass under the moonlight. They were leaning against each
 313.123 +other, alone except for the cheshire cat smile of the moon. Sakura
 313.124 +remembered that Tomoyo had made that kimono for her; had in fact
 313.125 +given it to her that very day. Their small, sandalled feet brushed
 313.126 +together as they sat together in a comfortable silence. The two girls
 313.127 +had been thirteen at the time. Little moments like this with Tomoyo
 313.128 +were the few times that she had completely forgotten about Syaoran
 313.129 +during his absence. They were precious little moments that had been
 313.130 +like tiny diamonds sewn into her life. They had made the potentially
 313.131 +painful time during Syaoran’s absence a joyous part of her life. 
 313.132 +	The older Sakura blushed as she watched Tomoyo gently placing a
 313.133 +flower in her short auburn hair, her fingers caressing her ear.
 313.134 +Sakura remembered that vividly, Tomoyo’s delicate touch burned into
 313.135 +her senses. She could still feel it even now, soft fingers running
 313.136 +through her hair and gently tracing her ear. Sakura shuddered at the
 313.137 +strength of the memory. It was as if she was the younger Sakura,
 313.138 +leaning against her gorgeous dark haired friend. She crept forward,
 313.139 +her eyes never leaving the two girls from years long past. This whole
 313.140 +memory played out exactly as she remembered it. Well, with one
 313.141 +noticeable exception. Cute and blossoming Tomoyo once again had long,
 313.142 +glimmering angel wings. They sparkled like thousands of energetic
 313.143 +fireflies, shifting behind her elegantly in the night breeze. Sakura
 313.144 +knelt behind the two girls, watching them eagerly as they sat
 313.145 +together, bathed in moonlight and warm feelings that washed over them
 313.146 +like an ocean current. Not to her surprise, her younger self had a
 313.147 +scarlet blush across her cheeks as Tomoyo’s fingers played with her
 313.148 +ear. It had been a wonderful escape, that night. They had been lost
 313.149 +in each other. Sakura had forgotten all of her cares, all of her
 313.150 +worries as Tomoyo’s sweet and loving presence had almost a hypnotic
 313.151 +affect on her. Even now, Sakura felt her cheeks warm at the memory.
 313.152 +How long had they spent out there that night? It had been late, the
 313.153 +festival long finished when the two had finally shaken the trance
 313.154 +that settled over them and had gone home. 
 313.155 +	Even now, Sakura could remember that sweet caress. She could feel
 313.156 +Tomoyo’s light but sensuous touch gently following the curves of her
 313.157 +face. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t just memory, but
 313.158 +that the delicate angel was tracing her face in her smaller hands.
 313.159 +She blushed deeply as she watched the younger Tomoyo smile her
 313.160 +trademark smile, both pale hands resting on the older Sakura’s
 313.161 +cheeks. “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered quietly, as if afraid she
 313.162 +would awaken her younger self from her near trance. She had
 313.163 +remembered that one of the few thoughts that had gone through her
 313.164 +head that night had seemed entirely nonsensical. As they sat together
 313.165 +in an all encompassing silence, lost to each other, Sakura had
 313.166 +wondered if Tomoyo was going to kiss her. She had almost asked the
 313.167 +other girl that same question, but had been too embarrassed to say
 313.168 +anything. Besides, why would Tomoyo do such a thing? But now Sakura
 313.169 +found that same thought running through her mind as she watched the
 313.170 +younger angel before her, soft palms pressed against her cheeks. She
 313.171 +could smell Tomoyo’s intoxicating lavender scent that had entranced
 313.172 +her that night, holding her spellbound in a way her magic was
 313.173 +incapable of. 
 313.174 +	Tomoyo giggled softly as she watched the bewildered look on
 313.175 +Sakura’s face. “If my darling Sakura-chan wants a kiss, she only
 313.176 +needs but ask for one,” her soft voice sang out like a charming song.
 313.177 +The older woman’s blush deepened considerably, which only seemed to
 313.178 +further the warm smile on Tomoyo’s face. The ethereal ghost’s fingers
 313.179 +ran up her cheeks and through Sakura’s still short auburn hair,
 313.180 +brushing through her soft strands. Sakura didn’t realize she was
 313.181 +holding her breath until the gentle spirit's fingers began to trace
 313.182 +the curves of her ears. “I always liked your ears, Sakura-chan. They
 313.183 +were always so adorable. Just like you.”
 313.184 +	Taking a quick gasp of air, Sakura felt as if she were drowning in
 313.185 +the deep blue pools of Tomoyo’s eyes. She certainly didn’t remember
 313.186 +this part of that night, no matter how romantic it had been. Their
 313.187 +first kiss had not been with a thirteen year old Tomoyo, but an
 313.188 +eighteen year old Tomoyo back in Hong Kong not that long ago. But the
 313.189 +delightfully sweet apparition didn’t seem to plan on playing her
 313.190 +allotted part in these memories, changing the script as she pleased.
 313.191 +Tomoyo’s words burned through her mind like chain lightening, blazing
 313.192 +forth even in the darkness. To her surprise, Sakura found herself
 313.193 +nodding slowly, her cheeks a bright stripe of crimson. Even as this
 313.194 +younger angel, Tomoyo did an excellent job of embarrassing her.
 313.195 +“Un... I want to kiss you, Tomoyo-chan..” she whispered above the
 313.196 +soft rustle of the trees. Her own younger self sat silently next to
 313.197 +Tomoyo, the wind playing with her hair as the angelic Tomoyo
 313.198 +continued to play with the older Sakura’s ears. 
 313.199 +	Smiling serenely, Tomoyo leaned forwards, her wings spreading out
 313.200 +behind her in all of their glorious wingspan. Her smaller, soft lips
 313.201 +pressed against Sakura’s like freshly fallen cherry blossoms. Her
 313.202 +pale hands continued to trail through Sakura’s hair lovingly. The
 313.203 +long sleeves of her kimono fell against Sakura’s shoulders,
 313.204 +blanketing the pajama top in the expensive cloth. Her dark hair, done
 313.205 +up in two buns on top of her head, fell luxuriously past her own
 313.206 +small shoulders as Sakura’s fingers undid the delicate hairstyle. The
 313.207 +dark hair fell about her like streaks of midnight, draping Tomoyo
 313.208 +like a second garment. 
 313.209 +	Sakura kissed the angelic Tomoyo back with all of the passion that
 313.210 +she wished she could have kissed Tomoyo with on that same night years
 313.211 +ago. It felt a little differently from her recent kisses with Tomoyo,
 313.212 +but it was still deliciously Tomoyo. There was that same gentle, slow
 313.213 +feeling to it as the dark haired angel kissed her back. It was so
 313.214 +different from Syaoran’s brusque kissing style. It was so drawn out,
 313.215 +as if Tomoyo wished to savor every possible second, drawing it into
 313.216 +something very near heavenly bliss. Sakura held the younger girl
 313.217 +tightly as they continued to kiss in the moonlight, her hands on
 313.218 +Tomoyo’s slender shoulders. The soft fabric yielded to her fingers,
 313.219 +her fingertips pressing against the soft flesh underneath. The fabric
 313.220 +seemed to give more as Sakura’s lips brushed again against Tomoyo’s
 313.221 +feathery kisses. Then the soft lips seemed to tickle her own lips.
 313.222 +Sakura’s eyes blinked lazily open as the dark haired girl disappeared
 313.223 +in a flutter of feathers, blinding her in a storm of the iridescent
 313.224 +objects. “Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura called out, struggling to her feet as
 313.225 +she hurried through the glittering feathers. Her heart pounded as she
 313.226 +gazed desperately for her elegant specter. 
 313.227 +	She was on a bridge, with sounds far in the distance, but she
 313.228 +couldn’t make them out. Her eyes finally landed on Tomoyo who was
 313.229 +standing on the edge of the bridge, holding tightly to her cell
 313.230 +phone. The memory came back slowly to Sakura. “Illusion... So that
 313.231 +means younger me is in the water. And Illusion is pretending to by my
 313.232 +mother.”
 313.233 +	“Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo cried out, her eyes widening as she heard the
 313.234 +Cardcaptor struggling for breath underwater. She ran to the railing,
 313.235 +getting her leg over the side, her dark hair trailing behind her in
 313.236 +the night’s breeze.
 313.237 +	Sakura had never seen this side of things before. She had been
 313.238 +underwater at the time, passing out from inhaling too much water. She
 313.239 +never knew that her pale friend had tried to rescue her. It had never
 313.240 +crossed her mind. Tomoyo couldn’t swim and still hadn’t learnt how
 313.241 +even in Sakura’s time, yet the delicate little heiress had been ready
 313.242 +to jump in after Sakura even then. Sakura yanked her small, delicate
 313.243 +friend away from the edge, her heart pounding in her chest as she
 313.244 +held the ten year old Tomoyo. Her fingers brushed down the ruffled
 313.245 +feathers of Tomoyo’s angel wings, the one constant in this trip
 313.246 +through her memories. Yukito leapt over the bridge railing seconds
 313.247 +later, and if Sakura remembered correctly, she would wake up at his
 313.248 +house to hear that Tomoyo had been worried about her. But she would
 313.249 +never discover that the dark haired girl had been about to follow her
 313.250 +to the depths. The sheer selflessness of the young girl’s act
 313.251 +startled Sakura. Tomoyo hadn’t waited before getting ready to jump in
 313.252 +after Sakura, hadn’t paused to worry about her inability to swim. If
 313.253 +Yukito hadn’t jumped in before Tomoyo, Tomoyo would have quickly
 313.254 +joined her. Sakura simply held the younger girl, fingers trailing
 313.255 +over satin soft feathers. “Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered, unsure of
 313.256 +what to say.
 313.257 +	“My life’s nothing without you, Sakura-chan. I would do anything
 313.258 +for you. I didn’t know if I could save you, but I knew I had to try,
 313.259 +even if I would have drowned,” Tomoyo explained, looking up at the
 313.260 +older girl. A small, beautiful smile appeared on her lips. “Besides,
 313.261 +you saved me countless times. I’m still happy you saved me in Hong
 313.262 +Kong instead of everyone else. I thought that was very romantic, like
 313.263 +my very own Prince Charming come to the rescue,” her gentle voice
 313.264 +said happily. 
 313.265 +	“Oh, Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered, hugging the younger girl.
 313.266 +She felt a vague blush creeping on her cheeks. Tomoyo had always been
 313.267 +such a cute girl, always saying such embarrassing things to her. That
 313.268 +had never changed about her eccentric friend and for that she was
 313.269 +happy. Even if it embarrassed Sakura, it warmed her heart to hear.
 313.270 +This dark haired girl had given so much to her, always sweetly
 313.271 +supportive by her side. In all of her memories, she could remember
 313.272 +the young heiress behind her, gently pushing Sakura to give
 313.273 +everything her all, from Card capturing to love to school work. Like
 313.274 +a loving mother, she had been their to bolster Sakura’s heart, to
 313.275 +give her a lap to cry on, and an ear to turn to when she needed
 313.276 +advice. She could see why Sonomi said that Tomoyo was a lot like
 313.277 +Nadeshiko. But there was something far deeper than just that.
 313.278 +Tomoyo’s love and support bathed Sakura’s soul in a brilliant light,
 313.279 +giving Sakura the energy to tackle whatever got in her way. With the
 313.280 +exception of ghosts. But even then, Tomoyo was her ghost buster,
 313.281 +protecting her from the shadows and whatever lay in their depths. She
 313.282 +still remembered Tomoyo pulling a sheet off of her teacher when he
 313.283 +had tried to scare her in a cave. And another time when Tomoyo hadn’t
 313.284 +told her about a ghost at the school for fear of worrying her. And
 313.285 +who knew how many times Sakura had gripped onto the pale girl for
 313.286 +dear life at the thought of ghosts while Tomoyo merely smiled and
 313.287 +comforted her. Sakura had to wonder if perhaps Tomoyo was the Prince
 313.288 +Charming. Tomoyo was everything for Sakura, her all encompassing love
 313.289 +something that Sakura knew she couldn’t live without any longer. Even
 313.290 +if Tomoyo loved another, Sakura merely wanted the opportunity to love
 313.291 +her gentle and giving friend. 
 313.292 +	But before Sakura could voice her spiderweb of thoughts to the
 313.293 +young angel in her grasp, Tomoyo disappeared once again in a flurry
 313.294 +of feathers and light. Sakura sighed, not wanting to lose her grasp
 313.295 +on Tomoyo again. Without a look back at the last memory, Sakura
 313.296 +hurried headlong into the storm of feathers, once again seeking out
 313.297 +the pretty heiress. 
 313.298 +	And she found herself in a hallway. Sakura glanced one way and the
 313.299 +other, trying to figure out where she was. It was a very nice
 313.300 +hallway, if that said anything. Then it struck her with all the
 313.301 +suddenness of the shot at the beginning of a race. This was where she
 313.302 +had gotten married. This hadn’t been more than half a year earlier.
 313.303 +Sakura took a moment to catch her bearings before pushing open the
 313.304 +door that she hoped was her own. She sighed with relief as she saw
 313.305 +herself in the enrapturing wedding dress that Tomoyo had designed for
 313.306 +her. Tomoyo was kneeling in front of her, slowly pulling a lacy white
 313.307 +stocking up along Sakura’s long bare leg. Sakura would have been
 313.308 +blushing terribly at the act by her friend, but Tomoyo had been
 313.309 +helping her dress in her costumes for so many years that it was
 313.310 +second nature. Of course the fact that Tomoyo had designed everything
 313.311 +right down to the white lace panties had been a bit embarrassing at
 313.312 +first. But there had been other, more pressing issues on the
 313.313 +Cardmistress’s mind, like her own impending marriage. 
 313.314 +	“I can’t believe it’s today, Tomoyo-chan. It’s all so sudden. I
 313.315 +didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Hoe...” The only slightly
 313.316 +younger Sakura clasped her hands nervously as she looked down at her
 313.317 +prettily dressed dark haired friend. Tomoyo wore an elegant white
 313.318 +dress of her own, though it in no way matched the spectacular garment
 313.319 +Sakura wore. It looked like it had come out of a dream, and it had.
 313.320 +Tomoyo’s dreams. Tomoyo had made Sakura promise many years ago to let
 313.321 +her make her wedding dress when the day finally came. Sakura had
 313.322 +agreed nervously, having been rather embarrassed at the mention of
 313.323 +marriage at the time. Tomoyo had been simply delighted and Sakura
 313.324 +couldn’t have asked for a prettier wedding dress. It had been
 313.325 +Tomoyo’s last complete design for Sakura.
 313.326 +	The observing Sakura smiled a bit to herself. The wedding dress was
 313.327 +no longer Tomoyo’s final costume for her. Sakura had finished
 313.328 +Tomoyo’s unfinished costume just a short time before. She had pricked
 313.329 +her fingers enough while working on the costume, but it had been
 313.330 +worth it to work on the beautiful garment, to seal it with stitches
 313.331 +from the both of them. Her friend had such an artistic eye, and it
 313.332 +showed through in everything she did. From her costumes to her
 313.333 +videotape editing, her singing, and even down to her declarations
 313.334 +about Sakura herself, she was an ardent admirer of such beauty,
 313.335 +Sakura’s in particular.
 313.336 +	The slightly distracted Cardmistress watched Tomoyo helping her
 313.337 +ever so slightly younger self dress. She noticed that Tomoyo’s wings
 313.338 +were jet black this time, like the large and shadowy wings of a
 313.339 +raven. The wings accented the gorgeous woman’s pale features
 313.340 +perfectly, Tomoyo’s high ponytail falling just above the wings. The
 313.341 +engaged Sakura seemed to take no notice of the wings, acting exactly
 313.342 +according to the script of Sakura’s memories.
 313.343 +	“Sakura-chan shouldn’t worry so much. This is supposed to be the
 313.344 +most beautiful day of your life.” Tomoyo placed a hand on her own
 313.345 +cheek as if to emphasize the point. “You’ve known Li-kun ever since
 313.346 +you were ten years old. I was wondering when he would finally ask you
 313.347 +to be his gorgeous, blushing bride.” Tomoyo’s gentle fingers followed
 313.348 +along Sakura’s strong, smooth legs as she helped Sakura into her
 313.349 +thigh high stockings. Her fingers ducked under the lace as they
 313.350 +finished adjusting the delicate cloth. Tomoyo sat back with a soft
 313.351 +sigh, looking up at her stunning friend. Her eyes sparkled as she
 313.352 +looked up at her. Tears of happiness and sorrow mingled in her eyes
 313.353 +like raindrops ready to fall from deep, dark storm clouds. 
 313.354 +	Holding her long white dress, Sakura sweatdropped at the attention
 313.355 +Tomoyo lathered on her. It managed to soothe her shaken insides. “How
 313.356 +do I look, Tomoyo-chan?” she asked tentatively.
 313.357 +	Tomoyo smiled brightly, her angel wings fluttering softly behind
 313.358 +her. “You look gorgeous, Sakura-chan. You look like my very
 313.359 +definition of beauty. To be married to Sakura-chan must be a dream
 313.360 +come true. Li-kun will wonder how life was breathed into his sweetest
 313.361 +dreams.” Her angelic voice was soft, almost like a prayer. Her dark
 313.362 +eyes never left the dazzling brunette who stood before her. 
 313.363 +	The pajama clad Sakura felt a little out of place compared to her
 313.364 +ornately decorated counterpart, but she forged forward, her heart
 313.365 +surging at the sight of her pale angel again. Her own heart had been
 313.366 +so confused, so flustered on her wedding day. Tomoyo had soothed her
 313.367 +frayed and nervous heart. Just like always, the dark haired woman had
 313.368 +been there to help her when she herself wasn’t strong enough. She was
 313.369 +braver with Tomoyo, she was more energetic with Tomoyo, she was
 313.370 +better because of Tomoyo. Sakura knelt behind the sitting angel, her
 313.371 +arms wrapping around her waist. The Mistress of the Cards rested her
 313.372 +head on Tomoyo’s back, Tomoyo’s long black wings pressing against her
 313.373 +body. “Tomoyo-chan...”
 313.374 +	“Sakura-chan...” The dark haired woman whispered softly, leaning
 313.375 +back into the brunette. 
 313.376 +	“I love you, my sweet angel,” Sakura murmured against Tomoyo’s
 313.377 +back. As Tomoyo had wished in their conversation not too long before,
 313.378 +Sakura was indeed surrounded by beautiful angels. Beautiful, lavender
 313.379 +haired angels. As she held onto her beautiful best friend, Sakura
 313.380 +continued to dream.
 313.381 \ No newline at end of file

   314.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   314.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-27.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   314.3 @@ -0,0 +1,477 @@
   314.4 +Dear Sakura
   314.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   314.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   314.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   314.8 +
   314.9 +Sakura smiled at her brother as he drove in front of the Daidouji
  314.10 +mansion. The young woman nervously gathered up her purse and a bag
  314.11 +with the newly finished costume inside. Her brother eyed her
  314.12 +carefully and asked,
  314.13 +
  314.14 +“You have my cell phone number?” She nodded, and he answered in his
  314.15 +big-brother-casual voice, “Call me when you need a ride back. Or for
  314.16 +whatever. I took the day off” 
  314.17 +
  314.18 +Sensing her mood, his voice softened and he spoke quietly, “Don’t be
  314.19 +so worried. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. And tell her I say
  314.20 +hello.” 
  314.21 +
  314.22 +Sakura seemed ready to cry, but instead leaned over and wrapped her
  314.23 +arms around him. He squeezed back as she whispered, “Thank you”, and
  314.24 +slipped out the door without looking back. He watched her run up to
  314.25 +the gate, his eternal little sister. Driving there in the car he
  314.26 +almost told her about Tomoyo's love. But Sakura loved surprises, and
  314.27 +this figured to be the biggest one in her life. Besides, Tomoyo had
  314.28 +waited all these years, so she should be the one to tell. He shook
  314.29 +his head as he drove away, secretly thrilled that his sister had
  314.30 +finally found love. 
  314.31 +
  314.32 +Sakura’s hand shook as she rang the buzzer of the intercom. The last
  314.33 +time she felt so nervous was the wedding. Tomoyo was there, too,
  314.34 +guiding her every step of the way, consoling and calming, a mother
  314.35 +and sister and confidante. But this was something she would have to
  314.36 +do on her own. She was thrilled, excited, and scared to death. What
  314.37 +would Tomoyo say? Would she be embarrassed, or amused, or upset?
  314.38 +Tomoyo would never say or do anything to hurt her. But she worried
  314.39 +that this revelation might be bothersome for her friend, who would
  314.40 +bear her feelings in silence as she had born the pain of her special
  314.41 +someone for years. Maybe there was no place for Sakura’s love in her
  314.42 +heart. The pale woman already had her special someone, and Sakura
  314.43 +could no more take the place of that person than anyone could replace
  314.44 +Tomoyo in her own heart. Sakura sighed and shook her head, and then
  314.45 +was startled by a voice bursting from the intercom,
  314.46 +
  314.47 +“Daidouji residence”.
  314.48 +
  314.49 +Sakura recovered from her surprise and answered, “Oh, hello, yes,
  314.50 +I’m sorry. This is Kinomoto Sakura. I’m here to see Tomoyo-chan, I
  314.51 +mean, Daidouji Tomoyo”. 
  314.52 +
  314.53 +During the lengthy pause her thoughts returned to Tomoyo. Since
  314.54 +realizing her love for the beautiful woman, Sakura had slowly
  314.55 +determined what to do. She would tell Tomoyo of her love. She could
  314.56 +no more keep that a secret than she could stop breathing. Just last
  314.57 +night on the phone she nearly blurted out, “Tomoyo-chan, I love you!”
  314.58 +So she had to tell her. But what then? If Tomoyo-chan’s special
  314.59 +someone would not have her, well... Well what? Well, she thought,
  314.60 +distracted at her own uncertainty, she can have me. A surge of
  314.61 +determination rippled through her body as she clenched her fists.. I
  314.62 +may not be her True Love, but at least I love her. I can be with her,
  314.63 +and make her as happy as I can. It’s the least I can do, after all
  314.64 +she’s done for me. And after what I did to her. Sakura felt heartsick
  314.65 +about the way she had ignored her friend for all those years. She
  314.66 +could not change the past, but she could be a loving part of Tomoyo’s
  314.67 +future. She smiled and whispered to herself, “I’ll live my life for
  314.68 +her, if she’ll have me”.
  314.69 +
  314.70 +Finally, the intercom spoke up in a metallic, somewhat officious
  314.71 +voice, “You may enter”. As the buzzer sounded, she pushed the gate
  314.72 +open and walked onto the grounds of the mansion. There were so many
  314.73 +memories that lingered here, but she was too caught up by the thrill
  314.74 +of being close to Tomoyo to feel them. The pathway seemed terribly
  314.75 +long, and Sakura’s excitement mounted with every step. It was as if
  314.76 +her entire life had led up to this one point, to three simple words:
  314.77 +I love you. Near the end of the walkway she was running, desperate to
  314.78 +close the last remaining distance between her and the woman she
  314.79 +loved. Sakura wanted to hold the lavender-haired beauty in her arms,
  314.80 +to comfort and be comforted. Nearing the door, she felt a wave of
  314.81 +delirious happiness as she dashed forward in a final burst of speed.
  314.82 +Nothing mattered but Tomoyo; not the past, or the future, not her
  314.83 +failed marriage or the magic or even life itself. Catching her
  314.84 +breath, she knocked excitedly on the door, her heart flooded with a
  314.85 +giddy mix of joy, anticipation, and desire. When the door opend she
  314.86 +let out a curious little yelp, and nearly flew into the arms of a
  314.87 +waiting Sonomi.
  314.88 +
  314.89 +At the last second she pulled back, nearly tumbling backwards. Still
  314.90 +staggering, she grinned sheepishly, bowing low and apologizing,
  314.91 +“Gomenesai, Sonomi-sama. I, I thought you were Tomoyo-chan. Ohayo.
  314.92 +Ohayogozaimasu”.
  314.93 +
  314.94 +Sakura looked up cheerfully and saw Sonomi regarding her with quiet
  314.95 +reserve. For the longest time she was silent as Sakura stood and
  314.96 +smiled. Finally, the woman bowed politely and spoke in a flat tone of
  314.97 +voice, “Come in”.
  314.98 +
  314.99 +Sakura entered, feeling a warm glow at the sight of Tomoyo’s
 314.100 +gorgeous mother. She remembered their delightful talks about life at
 314.101 +school, her friendship with Tomoyo, and her own mother. She was a
 314.102 +supurb cook, and delighted in having the daughter of Nadeshiko over
 314.103 +for luncheons and dinners. Sakura always felt a maternal love and
 314.104 +concern from Sonomi that wrapped her like a blanket, happy and snug.
 314.105 +With an odd pang, she thought how lucky Tomoyo was to have had such a
 314.106 +wonderful mother. Sonomi indicated a seat, and they both sat down.
 314.107 +Smoothing her skirt, Sakura glanced at her host, wondering why she
 314.108 +was so silent. Nervously, the young woman peeked at her watch and
 314.109 +looked up, smiling and speaking anxiously,
 314.110 +
 314.111 +“I’m sorry. I hope I’m not too early?” 
 314.112 +
 314.113 +Sonomi glared in righteous anger at the Cardmistress. Finally, the
 314.114 +older woman broke the uneasy silence. “How could you do that to my
 314.115 +baby girl? How could you hurt her so terribly? She trusted you! She
 314.116 +loved you!” Sonomi turned on the younger woman, her dark blue eyes
 314.117 +looking like the sky before a terrifying storm hits. “My little girl
 314.118 +gave you everything and you disregarded her as nothing more than a
 314.119 +plaything that you had grown tired of! She sacrificed her happiness
 314.120 +for you, but even that wasn’t good enough! You couldn’t even thank
 314.121 +her for that!” The business woman was now shaking with fury, hatred
 314.122 +boiling up at this spawn of Fujitaka. The man had managed to ruin her
 314.123 +life and now his daughter was having a delightful time ruining the
 314.124 +life of her own child. “Get the hell out of my house, Sakura. And if
 314.125 +I ever see you again...” She balled up her fists, her whole body
 314.126 +shaking. Her soul felt scalded by the rage boiling over inside of
 314.127 +her. “You stay away from my daughter!” Part of her cried out in pain,
 314.128 +in regret for saying such things to the girl her daughter loved, to
 314.129 +the child of her own love, to this sweet and naïve girl. But her
 314.130 +anger had finally gotten the best of her. She could no longer sit by
 314.131 +while Sakura slowly killed her daughter. She wasn't about to let the
 314.132 +Cardmistress hurt her darling Tomoyo any longer. It no longer
 314.133 +mattered to her that Sakura was Nadeshiko’s daughter or that Tomoyo
 314.134 +wanted her to be happy. “Tomoyo-chan always wanted you to be happy,
 314.135 +but what about her happiness? She suffered and strived so that you
 314.136 +would be happy, Sakura, and what did you do? Nothing. You never
 314.137 +thanked her. You never tried to return the favor. It was as if you
 314.138 +simply expected it of her. She devoted herself to you, but you gave
 314.139 +her nothing in return. You never once concerned yourself with her
 314.140 +happiness. You’re selfish, Sakura-chan. You went off to live your
 314.141 +happy life without a look back to see if Tomoyo was equally happy, if
 314.142 +your best friend was also living a happy life. Tomoyo-chan needed you
 314.143 +and you abandoned her. You failed her. She always thought you would
 314.144 +come back and save her, but you never did. And I hate you for that.”
 314.145 +Her voice was laced with venom, tears falling unnoticed down her
 314.146 +cheeks. Sonomi was crying, but it hardly concerned her. “You
 314.147 +destroyed her just as surely as your father destroyed me all those
 314.148 +years ago. I never wanted Tomoyo-chan to live through what I have. I
 314.149 +never wanted her to feel the pain of losing the only one she could
 314.150 +ever love. But you dashed my baby girl’s hopes and dreams right in
 314.151 +front of me. And I did nothing. I let you hurt her because I thought
 314.152 +that it was just like my love for Nadeshiko, that it was the way
 314.153 +things were. But you’re just like your father. You smile, happy in
 314.154 +what you have, but you disregard the pain you bring to others,
 314.155 +ignoring what you have taken from them. Whether it be my dearest
 314.156 +Nadeshiko or Tomoyo-chan’s loving heart, it doesn’t matter. You have
 314.157 +what you want, so why should you care that you hurt others through
 314.158 +your ignorance? You can smile blissfully while Tomoyo-chan cries
 314.159 +herself to sleep. I will never forgive you for that.”
 314.160 +
 314.161 +Sakura was dumbstruck, caught completely off guard by Sonomi’s
 314.162 +sudden outburst. Her mouth opened and closed as words escaped her.
 314.163 +Tears began to trickle down her cheeks at Tomoyo’s mother’s words.
 314.164 +The look that Sonomi was giving Sakura broke her heart. This woman
 314.165 +had always looked at her with such love and kindness. But now, that
 314.166 +warmth was completely missing, replaced instead by a burning anger
 314.167 +that seared Sakura in her seat. Sonomi’s words played over and over
 314.168 +again in her head, a haunting chorus of guilt and anger as Sakura
 314.169 +realized her own voice was mixed into the painful truths. “I.. I
 314.170 +didn’t mean to..” Sakura got out weakly. 
 314.171 +
 314.172 +Getting out of her seat, Sonomi brushed back some dark hair from her
 314.173 +eyes with the same irritated presence of mind one might use to crush
 314.174 +a fly. Sakura’s tears, something that would at one time have brought
 314.175 +a deep and motherly sympathy from her, now only managed to fuel the
 314.176 +rage inside her battered and broken heart. “My baby girl has suffered
 314.177 +through hardships unnumbered for you. She has sailed a sea of
 314.178 +loneliness all by herself simply because she wanted to for her
 314.179 +princess. You don’t deserve all that she’s given you. You’re a
 314.180 +pathetic excuse for a friend. And if you don’t get out of my home,
 314.181 +Sakura-chan, I swear I’ll make you regret ever meeting my daughter.”
 314.182 +Her voice was low and menacing and it was with a measure of
 314.183 +satisfaction that she noted Sakura tremble. All the years of pent up
 314.184 +frustration, anger, and pain finally seemed to find a single focal
 314.185 +point. Nadeshiko had left her all those years ago for a man that had
 314.186 +taken everything from a younger Sonomi. But there had been nothing
 314.187 +she could do. She had only been able to run away. Run away and try to
 314.188 +mend her own broken heart. Part of that had been having a daughter of
 314.189 +her own. But she had been forced to watch her daughter also lose the
 314.190 +one she loved. It had all been maddening to Sonomi, a woman who
 314.191 +generally liked to take action. Now she finally had the object of her
 314.192 +current frustration, the person who had caused such terrible anguish
 314.193 +in her daughter’s heart. It wasn’t Fujitaka, but it sure was a good
 314.194 +enough second. All of her righteous fury was brought to bear upon the
 314.195 +Cardmistress and Sakura found her defenses against Sonomi severely
 314.196 +lacking. 
 314.197 +
 314.198 +Shaking her head, Sakura tried to swallow back her tears, her fists
 314.199 +balling at her sides as she tried to get a grip on the situation. She
 314.200 +couldn’t go now. If she left, then how could she ever tell Tomoyo
 314.201 +before she left? How could she finally fix things? How could she make
 314.202 +amends for her terrible mistake? “Sonomi-sama... Please, don’t... I
 314.203 +need to see Tomoyo-chan,” she pleaded desperately, getting to her
 314.204 +feet as well. She was less than an inch smaller than Sonomi, no
 314.205 +longer the little girl she once was. Yet even then, Sonomi still
 314.206 +towered over her, the pillar of strength that she had always been in
 314.207 +Sakura’s eyes. Part of her felt sick at a sudden realization. Tomoyo
 314.208 +had always said that Sakura would protect her, but now that wasn’t
 314.209 +the case. Tomoyo’s mother had come to her rescue, and she had come to
 314.210 +protect her from any more pain that Sakura could deliver. This role
 314.211 +reversal didn’t sit well at all with the Cardmistress. She wanted to
 314.212 +be the one protecting Tomoyo’s precious heart, not the one it was
 314.213 +being protected from. 
 314.214 +
 314.215 +With a swift motion of her head, Sonomi cut Sakura’s request short.
 314.216 +“I’m not about to let you go hurt her anymore than you already have,
 314.217 +Kinomoto-san. Now if you’ll excuse me, I had some work I must attend
 314.218 +to. Good day.” Turning curtly on her heel, Sonomi took a few steps
 314.219 +towards the entrance to the room. She decided to give Sakura several
 314.220 +minutes to leave before she had one of her bodyguards escort the
 314.221 +younger woman off the premises. Her heart regretted having to be so
 314.222 +cold to Sakura, but deep down she felt immense relief to finally be
 314.223 +able to affect the situation. She wasn’t idly sitting by while her
 314.224 +daughter crumpled in front of her. She would make this up to Tomoyo.
 314.225 +Somehow. She would piece her daughter back together, piece by piece
 314.226 +if need be. Her baby girl would be happy again one day. And if she
 314.227 +had anything to say about it, Sakura would never again be able to
 314.228 +pain her daughter anymore. 
 314.229 +
 314.230 +“Sonomi-sama!” Sakura yelled out, stumbling a few feet towards the
 314.231 +business woman. Her heart felt as if it had been torn out and left to
 314.232 +bleed on the floor. Tears dripped down her chin to the floor below,
 314.233 +some falling down to Sakura’s shaking hands. Despite the severity of
 314.234 +Sonomi’s words, Sakura couldn’t argue with the conviction behind
 314.235 +them. Deep down, she realized that they were right, that she had
 314.236 +slighted her best friend horrifically over the years. Tomoyo had
 314.237 +suffered immeasurably in her wake. She couldn’t blame Sonomi at all.
 314.238 +The woman was just trying to protect her precious daughter. Moreover,
 314.239 +she was correct. That realization sent Sakura reeling. She had
 314.240 +suspected for some time that she had hurt Tomoyo, that her ignorance
 314.241 +had pained her best friend. Ever since discovering her love for the
 314.242 +pale girl, that thought had gained strength. But never before had she
 314.243 +seen such furious intensity, such a glimpse into the pain that she
 314.244 +had unwittingly caused. And it was frightening. Not in her darkest
 314.245 +nightmares had she suspected that she could have done such damage.
 314.246 +The pure, unadulterated joy that had coated Sakura’s heart such a
 314.247 +short time before was now replaced with a deeply disturbing sorrow
 314.248 +that encompassed her soul. If she had broken her poor best friend
 314.249 +then she simply couldn’t leave. There had to be some way that she
 314.250 +could fix the damage she had done. She had to at least try to make up
 314.251 +for what she had done. If she left... “I can’t leave, Sonomi-sama...
 314.252 +I have to apologize to Tomoyo-chan..”
 314.253 +
 314.254 +Turning back to face the younger woman, Sonomi’s face held a mixture
 314.255 +of hatred and pity for the brunette. She could hear the anguish in
 314.256 +Sakura’s voice, the pain that now gripped the Cardmistress. But
 314.257 +Sonomi couldn’t leave it that easily. She was quick to anger and slow
 314.258 +to forgive. Especially when it came to the few that she allowed
 314.259 +herself to love so completely. Her daughter and Nadeshiko were the
 314.260 +only women she allowed such a high place in her heart. She had seen
 314.261 +firsthand the pain Sakura had caused her only child and no amount of
 314.262 +apology could ever make up for that. “Get out, Kinomoto. I never want
 314.263 +to see you again,” she said coldly, her finger pointing to the door. 
 314.264 +
 314.265 +Sakura’s head drooped on her shoulders, sniffles coming up from the
 314.266 +crying brunette. She had caused everyone such trouble by her
 314.267 +naivette. Syaoran through their failed marriage, Sonomi by forcing
 314.268 +her to relive her own pain, and most of all, Tomoyo for taking her
 314.269 +for granted for all these years. All because she had failed to find
 314.270 +the love in her heart so many years ago. She had left a trail of bad
 314.271 +feelings and broken hearts in her wake. But there had to be some way
 314.272 +that she could make it all better. That she could somehow make things
 314.273 +all right. “I didn’t mean to...” Sakura sobbed weakly. ‘If you cry,
 314.274 +you won’t be able to solve anything,’ a voice whispered in Sakura’s
 314.275 +heart. ‘Sakura shouldn’t look so sad. That just makes me sad,’
 314.276 +another voice added. Sakura blinked through her tears, her vision
 314.277 +slowly clarifying as she looked up to Sonomi. “I never wanted to hurt
 314.278 +Tomoyo-chan. She’s the last person I ever wanted to hurt. I’m so, so
 314.279 +sorry, Sonomi-sama... I never wanted to hurt Tomoyo-chan. I love
 314.280 +her... I just want to make her happy...” she got out weakly. 
 314.281 +
 314.282 +Sonomi froze at Sakura’s words, her arm falling slowly to her side.
 314.283 +Those words that she had long ago wished to hear from a woman named
 314.284 +Nadeshiko played through her mind amidst Sakura’s sobs. ‘I love her,’
 314.285 +the younger woman had said. There had been genuine regret in her
 314.286 +voice, along with something else. Something that Sonomi knew full too
 314.287 +well. The unrequited love from the depths of one’s heart. The
 314.288 +business woman’s cold glare softened and finally melted away
 314.289 +altogether as she watched the crying form of her own love’s daughter.
 314.290 +Standing there, her fists clenched and head bowed, she looked like
 314.291 +the child that Sonomi remembered so vividly. The girl that had
 314.292 +captured her own daughter’s heart so many years ago. It was with some
 314.293 +surprise that Sonomi realized Sakura wasn’t here for a simple apology
 314.294 +or to take anything else from her daughter. She was here to give of
 314.295 +herself. The brunette may not be able to fix the damage she had
 314.296 +caused, but that didn’t matter. She had come to offer of herself for
 314.297 +the sake of the future, not for the ruins of the past. 
 314.298 +
 314.299 +Tears fell quietly to the floor as Sakura choked back her sobs, her
 314.300 +athletic body shaking with each attempt. How could she have been so
 314.301 +careless with the greatest gift she had ever received? Tomoyo had
 314.302 +given so much to her, but she had taken such a wonderful gift for
 314.303 +granted. She had ignored her darling friend and now she deserved
 314.304 +Sonomi’s anger. She deserved far worse than that. How could Tomoyo
 314.305 +accept her heart after what she had done? A hand on her shoulder
 314.306 +slowly drew Sakura’s attention. Was it a maid or a bodyguard to lead
 314.307 +her away? A hand on her chin rose her tear streaked eyes slowly until
 314.308 +she met Sonomi’s dark blue orbs. The older woman smiled gently at
 314.309 +her, soothingly. With a small hiccup as she suppressed another sob,
 314.310 +Sakura through herself into the older woman’s arms. Sonomi held onto
 314.311 +her like her own mother had an almost forgotten amount of time
 314.312 +before. Sakura’s heart felt some of the pain flutter away, though
 314.313 +some of it continued to cling deep inside of her. The knowledge of
 314.314 +just how badly she had hurt Tomoyo refused to give up the refuge of
 314.315 +her heart. But at least Sonomi wasn’t angry with her anymore. Maybe
 314.316 +there was still hope that she could make things all right after all.
 314.317 +
 314.318 +Standing with the younger brunette in her arms, Sonomi let her own
 314.319 +eyes fall closed. “You’re not like your father. I was wrong. You’re
 314.320 +like Nadeshiko. You didn’t see the love your friend held for you and
 314.321 +didn’t realize what it would do. But you’re also like me, Sakura-
 314.322 +chan. You follow your impulses. You act on instinct. And sometimes
 314.323 +that hurts people. Neither of us give it enough time to really think
 314.324 +things through before we jump into action. We can only hope that it’s
 314.325 +not too late to fix our mistakes.” Standing at arms length, the
 314.326 +business woman smiled softly. “So I want to apologize. You’re a sweet
 314.327 +girl, Sakura-chan. And I’m sorry for letting myself forget that.”
 314.328 +Sonomi had mixed feelings about admitting to herself that Nadeshiko
 314.329 +herself had hurt her, that it hadn’t simply been Sakura’s father that
 314.330 +had caused her such pain, but she was glad to see that perhaps all
 314.331 +wasn’t lost with Nadeshiko’s daughter. She realized that she must
 314.332 +have known more how Tomoyo felt than she had realized. Sakura had
 314.333 +hurt Tomoyo in the same way that Nadeshiko had hurt her, through
 314.334 +ignorance and naivette. But Sonomi had never allowed herself to see
 314.335 +any of the pain Nadeshiko had caused her, unable to place any such
 314.336 +blame on her sweet and kind cousin. Just as Tomoyo could never blame
 314.337 +Sakura for the pain in her heart. Had that been part of the
 314.338 +frustration in Sonomi’s heart at watching Sakura so blatantly hurting
 314.339 +her daughter? It didn’t matter. Even in death, Sonomi could never
 314.340 +quit loving Nadeshiko. Something so trivial may explain a few things,
 314.341 +but it didn’t affect her feelings in the least. It only served to
 314.342 +make the business woman even more lonely for her cousin’s presence.
 314.343 +But if she couldn’t be reunited with her darling Nadeshiko at the
 314.344 +moment, at least she could help bring their daughters together. “I
 314.345 +was a bit hasty about you leaving. I couldn’t let you go without
 314.346 +seeing Tomoyo-chan. She should be in her room right now.”
 314.347 +
 314.348 +Nodding eagerly, Sakura wiped away the last remnants of tears from
 314.349 +her eyes. “H..Hai!!” she said quickly, smiling at the head of the
 314.350 +Daidouji household. Her heart began to pound again as she followed
 314.351 +behind the older woman. She once again realized just how close she
 314.352 +was to seeing Tomoyo again, to being once again in her best friend’s
 314.353 +presence. It was a delightful feeling, but it was agonizing at the
 314.354 +same time. Would Tomoyo even be happy to see her? Would she accept
 314.355 +her heart when she offered it up? Sakura almost felt dizzy at the
 314.356 +possibilities as Sonomi led her upstairs. 
 314.357 +
 314.358 +“Tomoyo-chan? You have a visitor,” Sonomi said cheerfully from the
 314.359 +doorway. She waited a moment, expecting a response from her
 314.360 +introverted daughter. When none came, she frowned and knocked on the
 314.361 +door. Perhaps Tomoyo had fallen asleep watching one of her videos
 314.362 +again. But as no answer seemed forthcoming, Sonomi began to worry
 314.363 +that that wasn’t the case. Her naturally protective instincts finally
 314.364 +got the best of her and she pushed the door open, hurrying inside her
 314.365 +daughter’s room. Sakura followed right behind her. The business
 314.366 +woman’s stormy eyes darted across the room for any sign of her pale
 314.367 +daughter, but the dark haired girl seemed to have gone missing. Her
 314.368 +eyes settled on Tomoyo’s bags for a second, but the items were still
 314.369 +there, half packed. Tomoyo hadn’t been scheduled to leave for another
 314.370 +few days at the least. Sonomi’s eyes frantically scanned the large
 314.371 +room for any sign of her child. Pictures of Sakura adorned the room
 314.372 +like a religious shrine, the occupant having grown only more
 314.373 +obsessive in recent years. That didn’t particularly surprise Sonomi,
 314.374 +as she had seen Tomoyo’s room often enough over the years to know
 314.375 +just how much of it was dedicated to the brunette. Something on
 314.376 +Tomoyo’s desk finally caught the worried mother’s eye and she hurried
 314.377 +over, Sakura just steps behind. “Oh God...” Sonomi got out weakly.
 314.378 +Her knees felt like they were about to collapse, the blood slowly
 314.379 +draining from her body. On Tomoyo’s desk lay a bloody shard of glass,
 314.380 +dried blood covering the wood finish of the desk. Nearby rested a
 314.381 +crumpled costume design. Sonomi’s heart felt like it had stopped with
 314.382 +all the suddenness of an explosion. Her mind raced back to just
 314.383 +several days earlier, to her daughter’s carefully bandaged hand. Her
 314.384 +head shook slowly in shock as she picked up the shard of glass. “No,
 314.385 +Tomoyo-chan...” ‘I want you to see a doctor about that,’ her own
 314.386 +voice rang in her ears. And Tomoyo had agreed, but she had looked
 314.387 +so... different. As if a part of her had been missing. Or killed.
 314.388 +Sonomi continued to shake her head, holding the blood stained shard
 314.389 +of glass to her chest. “Tomoyo-chan...” Her heart felt like the glass
 314.390 +shard had been wedged inside of it. Not now. Not when Sakura had
 314.391 +finally come to rescue her baby. She couldn’t be too late to rescue
 314.392 +her child. But all of the signs were pointing to that. Images of her
 314.393 +broken child plagued Sonomi’s mind like a horrific vision of the
 314.394 +future. Her sweet, darling child lying broken and lifeless on the
 314.395 +floor. What made it all the worse was that Sonomi could remember her
 314.396 +own failed suicide attempt from years earlier. How close had she
 314.397 +herself come to dying back then? And Tomoyo was a much more
 314.398 +meticulous planner than she herself had been. If Tomoyo intended to
 314.399 +go through with it, she would very well go through with it. Tomoyo
 314.400 +had been the only thing that had made Sonomi’s life worth living for
 314.401 +so many years. The idea of losing her only child in such a violent
 314.402 +fashion froze her heart. Her mind tried desperately to locate her
 314.403 +child, but nothing came to mind. She was blank. 
 314.404 +
 314.405 +Sakura looked from the distraught Sonomi to the desk and back. Her
 314.406 +fingers traced slowly over the blood stains on Tomoyo’s desk, her
 314.407 +heart pounding desperately in her chest. Part of her didn’t want to
 314.408 +admit that anything was wrong, the idea of Tomoyo disappearing
 314.409 +completely from her life seeming as absurd as a life without water or
 314.410 +air. Her trembling fingers grappled around the crumpled costume
 314.411 +design when her eyes caught sight of Tomoyo’s handwriting on the
 314.412 +back. She quickly smoothed out the piece of paper on top of the
 314.413 +bloodstained desk, her mind frantically searching for any clues to
 314.414 +her friend’s sudden disappearance. Suddenly Tomoyo’s aversion to
 314.415 +meeting her last night began to make sense. She hadn’t intended on
 314.416 +ever seeing Sakura again. She had played her final part the night
 314.417 +before, pretending to be her happy and pleasant best friend one last
 314.418 +time. Sakura silently cursed herself for not having seen through
 314.419 +Tomoyo’s cracks, to seeing the lost and lonely little girl
 314.420 +underneath. 
 314.421 +
 314.422 +
 314.423 +‘Dear Sakura-chan,
 314.424 +As I sit here writing this, I see your beautiful face in my mind’s
 314.425 +eye, your sweet smile sending ripples throughout the stormy ocean of
 314.426 +my soul. I know that you may hate me for this, and though I could
 314.427 +hardly bear the thought of you ever hating me, I know that I must go
 314.428 +through with this. I’m not sure if I can explain why, but it doesn’t
 314.429 +really matter. Please know that you have always been the most
 314.430 +treasured thing in my life. I would never wish to hurt you. That’s
 314.431 +why I have to say goodbye.’
 314.432 +
 314.433 +Swallowing painfully, Sakura forced her way through the rest of this
 314.434 +unsent letter, forcing back tears as she tried to make out Tomoyo’s
 314.435 +beautiful strokes. Every word struck her with deadly precision, every
 314.436 +revelation shaking the beliefs she had once held in her heart. But
 314.437 +despite the truths they revealed, Sakura could find no comfort in
 314.438 +them. They only seemed to add up to a desperate and frantic Tomoyo
 314.439 +who was determined to escape Sakura’s life for Sakura’s sake and her
 314.440 +own. That Tomoyo had been so hell bent on Sakura’s happiness even to
 314.441 +the bitter end both astonished and frightened Sakura. It seemed that
 314.442 +Tomoyo was always proving just how deep her love ran. Halfway through
 314.443 +the letter, Sakura read and reread through the dark haired girl’s
 314.444 +confessions in a near delirious frenzy. “She loves me...” Sakura
 314.445 +whispered, her eyes skimming the passage again. “She loves me. That’s
 314.446 +why she left. She left... for me..” She shook her head, as if unable
 314.447 +to comprehend the logic behind such an action. But in Tomoyo’s
 314.448 +eccentric way, it made perfect sense. Tomoyo had left to save
 314.449 +Sakura’s marriage, to protect Sakura’s new life. She had no way of
 314.450 +knowing that Sakura had thrown it all away for her, had perhaps left
 314.451 +to keep that from happening. The brunette felt a chill run up and
 314.452 +down her spine. Because she had been too late, she may have lost
 314.453 +Tomoyo forever. In a final desperate attempt to save everything,
 314.454 +Tomoyo had left after Sakura’s phone call the night before. Where she
 314.455 +was now, Sakura couldn’t hope to guess. She had been too late to
 314.456 +rescue her princess after all. She had failed Tomoyo. Tears stung her
 314.457 +eyes like liquid fire, her body begging her to collapse as the
 314.458 +strength drained away from her. 
 314.459 +
 314.460 +“Everything will always be all right,” Sakura whispered to herself.
 314.461 +Sonomi turned to look at her in confusion, but Sakura stood up as
 314.462 +strength rushed in to fill the vacuum. With a thought, brilliant blue
 314.463 +wings unfurled from Sakura’s back, nearly sending Sonomi sprawling.
 314.464 +There had to be time. Sakura could still find Tomoyo. She could still
 314.465 +put things right. She had to. This was her final test, the test of
 314.466 +her heart. Tomoyo believed in her. She believed that Sakura would
 314.467 +come and save her. Sakura couldn’t disappoint her. She couldn’t fail
 314.468 +Tomoyo. “I love her,” Sakura whispered determinedly, her long wings
 314.469 +spreading behind her. 
 314.470 +
 314.471 +Sonomi watched in awe as an angelic Sakura darted out the window,
 314.472 +glass shards glinting in the early morning light like shooting stars.
 314.473 +“Sakura-chan...” Sonomi watched as Sakura flew away, as angelic as
 314.474 +she had always imagined Nadeshiko’s angel. “Find her, Sakura-chan.
 314.475 +Find my baby girl before it’s too late. Please help her be on time,
 314.476 +Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi pleaded as she clutched onto the blood
 314.477 +sullied piece of glass that warned of a tragic fate for her daughter.
 314.478 +Exhausted, the business woman collapsed to her knees, praying
 314.479 +desperately that her daughter wouldn’t be joining the woman she loved
 314.480 +so soon. 

   315.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   315.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-28.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   315.3 @@ -0,0 +1,728 @@
   315.4 +Dear Sakura: Broken Dreams
   315.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   315.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   315.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   315.8 +
   315.9 +
  315.10 +
  315.11 +	It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Tomoyo’s carefully constructed
  315.12 +plans had all collapsed in such a short time. The wreckage of her
  315.13 +hopes and dreams, of her well planned efforts for Sakura, had her
  315.14 +lonely heart pinned helplessly to the floor. She was lost and afraid,
  315.15 +alone in an endless maze of despair that she had no hope of escaping.
  315.16 +Sakura’s beautiful new life was on the verge of ending tragically
  315.17 +because of Tomoyo’s recent trip to Hong Kong. She had given into her
  315.18 +feelings for Sakura and now the woman she loved was about to lose
  315.19 +everything because of it. Her plan to leave Sakura’s life quietly, to
  315.20 +fade away from Sakura over time had also been dashed by the
  315.21 +Cardmistress’s sudden appearance in Tomoeda. Everything Tomoyo had
  315.22 +done, she had done for Sakura. But it had all been for nothing, her
  315.23 +effort and prayers amounting to little more than broken dreams.
  315.24 +Despite how hard she had tried, how much she had given, it hadn’t
  315.25 +been enough. She hadn’t been able to safeguard Sakura’s beautiful
  315.26 +life that she herself had played a part in orchestrating. After all,
  315.27 +had she not played such an integral part in getting Sakura with her
  315.28 +prince, Syaoran, would they have come together on their own? But now
  315.29 +it all teetered on the brink, threatening to crush both Tomoyo and
  315.30 +Sakura underneath its weight. 
  315.31 +	All the dark haired heiress had ever wanted with all of her heart
  315.32 +had been Sakura’s happiness. Everything she had done had been for
  315.33 +those ends. From pushing Syaoran to tell Sakura his feelings and
  315.34 +later helping Sakura understand her feelings for the Chinese boy.
  315.35 +Fading out of Sakura’s life had been just another part of her plan
  315.36 +for Sakura’s happiness. To leave so that she couldn’t threaten the
  315.37 +wonderful life Sakura was leading with her beloved. But Fate had
  315.38 +cruelly stepped in right when things seemed to be perfect. Tomoyo had
  315.39 +finally crafted the beautiful life she had always envisioned for
  315.40 +Sakura. The woman she loved was happily married and protected and
  315.41 +would one day have a gorgeous child. It had all been set up. All
  315.42 +Tomoyo had to do was to slip away from Sakura’s life and hope that it
  315.43 +would always be joyous for the Mistress of the Cards. Tomoyo had
  315.44 +tried so hard, but it seemed that her hard work had never mattered at
  315.45 +all. Her remaining presence in Sakura’s life had possibly damaged it
  315.46 +beyond repair, had left Sakura’s shimmering future in doubt. The
  315.47 +lavender haired girl hadn’t even been able to escape before the
  315.48 +damage became too great, Sakura reaching Japan before she could
  315.49 +disappear forever. 
  315.50 +	“All I want is for the person I like to be happy. If they can be
  315.51 +happy, then that would be my greatest wish,” Tomoyo whispered to
  315.52 +herself, as if she were once again repeating to Sakura her reasoning
  315.53 +for not going after the one she loved. But now the words sounded
  315.54 +empty, hollow. If she didn’t have the knowledge that Sakura was
  315.55 +happy, then what did she have? The heart of her beloved Mistress of
  315.56 +the Cards couldn’t possibly survive the death of her happy life,
  315.57 +could it? So Tomoyo was left with nothing at all, not even the hope
  315.58 +for her friend’s future. Her lonely heart was stripped of even that,
  315.59 +the one thing that had made her life worth living, that had given her
  315.60 +empty life some substance. The heiress had gambled and lost. She had
  315.61 +placed her bets and now was the time that debts must be paid. Her
  315.62 +gamble for Sakura’s happiness had fallen through. So in a way, it was
  315.63 +her own fault that the brunette was on the brink of losing her new
  315.64 +and wonderful life in Hong Kong. She had been one of the driving
  315.65 +forces behind Sakura’s marriage to Syaoran, to her moving to Hong
  315.66 +Kong. And ironically, she had been the one to bring it so close to
  315.67 +ruin. 
  315.68 +	Bare feet shifted on cold metal as a pale ghost of a woman looked
  315.69 +out into the cold night sky. Above lay the sparkling stars in the sky
  315.70 +while below lay the shining lights of the many buildings that
  315.71 +stretched out endlessly into the dark horizon. Wet tears dripped down
  315.72 +her chin, falling past her feet, tiny diamonds dropping from up above
  315.73 +like rain drops. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had never gone
  315.74 +to Hong Kong if this whole thing could have been avoided. Maybe she
  315.75 +could have slipped from Sakura’s life without hurting her darling
  315.76 +brunette. Maybe the beautiful life that lay before Sakura could have
  315.77 +been saved. Not that it mattered what might have been. That possible
  315.78 +future now lay in ruins and the future awaiting Sakura and Tomoyo
  315.79 +looked to be a dark and stormy one indeed. Involuntarily, the dark
  315.80 +haired girl’s mind went back to her cherished kiss with Sakura. What
  315.81 +had been a secret dream she had held dear from the time she had been
  315.82 +a child now seemed like the beginning of the end. What had begun as a
  315.83 +farewell trip with her friend had become something much more. Tomoyo
  315.84 +had intended to try and distance herself from Sakura so it would be
  315.85 +easier to part from her life, but the brunette hadn’t allowed it.
  315.86 +They had instead been closer, more intimate than they ever had in the
  315.87 +days when Sakura had been back in Tomoeda. This had, for once, taken
  315.88 +Tomoyo by complete surprise. So off guard had she been that she had
  315.89 +made the mistake of giving into the love that her heart was always
  315.90 +drowning in, kissing Sakura that one night in the garden. It had been
  315.91 +one of her fondest wishes come true, to hold Sakura close and to be
  315.92 +able to kiss her friend with all the fire that burnt in her heart.
  315.93 +And the night had felt so magical, so dreamlike. It had been her one
  315.94 +chance to give her heart to Sakura. But now it seemed that it had
  315.95 +condemned the two, slowly but surely destroying everything Tomoyo had
  315.96 +worked so hard for. But even then, Tomoyo couldn’t fully blame the
  315.97 +sweet kiss they had shared, the tender moment locked deep within her
  315.98 +heart. 
  315.99 +	Wind whipped long lavender hair around almost violently in the dark
 315.100 +night. Tears sparkled dimly as they fell past the dark locks of hair.
 315.101 +Tomoyo felt trapped, boxed in, trapped as surely as any of Sakura’s
 315.102 +Cards had been. She was crushed by the enormous weight of the mistake
 315.103 +she had made. Stealing Sakura’s kiss held with it a high sentence. It
 315.104 +held with it the power to destroy both Sakura’s life and her own. And
 315.105 +the pale heiress couldn’t live with the thought of her dream,
 315.106 +Sakura’s happiness being obliterated because of her giving in to her
 315.107 +heart. It hardly seemed fair that such a small thing had caused so
 315.108 +much damage. Why should Sakura suffer because of Tomoyo’s longing? A
 315.109 +long time ago, Tomoyo had thought that she could just be happy as
 315.110 +long as Sakura was. Now she realized that wasn’t true. She wanted
 315.111 +desperately for Sakura to be happy, but it left her so lonely and
 315.112 +cold inside. That realization had come with a terrible price. Giving
 315.113 +into that pain, giving into her loneliness had brought about an end
 315.114 +to the happy life she had always wanted for Sakura. It reminded the
 315.115 +lavender haired phantom of an ancient myth she had once heard long
 315.116 +ago. It was of a man who fought his way to Hades to bring back the
 315.117 +woman he loved. He had come with such bravery, such courage that he
 315.118 +had been allowed to take her back on one condition, that she follow
 315.119 +behind him and that he couldn’t look back to her until they reached
 315.120 +the surface. And so the pair traveled all the way back to the surface
 315.121 +together like that, the woman right behind him. So happy was he to
 315.122 +see the light, to finally have the woman he loved back, the man
 315.123 +turned to see her. But to his horror, she had not fully gotten to the
 315.124 +surface. In moments, she was returned the Hades. The man, distraught
 315.125 +by his lover being torn from him after nearly having her back, was
 315.126 +left alone and tormented. He killed himself shortly thereafter.
 315.127 +Sakura had been terrified by the dark tale, but Tomoyo had found it a
 315.128 +sad example of the pain love could cause. Now she saw herself in the
 315.129 +same situation. She had led Sakura to her happy life, had finally
 315.130 +left her with the happiness she always wanted for Sakura. But having
 315.131 +been so close to leaving Sakura with this happiness, Tomoyo had
 315.132 +allowed herself to look back, to give in to her feelings. And in that
 315.133 +brief moment, she had ruined it all. Sakura’s happiness was being
 315.134 +stripped from her, right in front of Tomoyo’s eyes.
 315.135 +	But did Sakura have to suffer for Tomoyo’s mistake? No, the heiress
 315.136 +had decided. She had come to the conclusion that the only way to save
 315.137 +Sakura’s happiness was to leave her life, to disappear from the
 315.138 +brunette’s thoughts. But before she could fade from the only one she
 315.139 +could ever love, Sakura had rushed to Japan to stop her. Now Tomoyo
 315.140 +was trapped, unable to do anything to stave off the ruin that awaited
 315.141 +them. Her careful plans lay useless at her feet, leaving her with
 315.142 +nothing. Or did it? She had wanted to fade from Sakura’s life
 315.143 +quietly, to slip away in the least painful way possible. Now that
 315.144 +wasn’t an option with Sakura here in Japan for her. But that didn’t
 315.145 +mean that she couldn’t still save the brunette’s happy life. Tomoyo
 315.146 +knew that she herself was the catastrophe facing Sakura. If she
 315.147 +remained, the Mistress of the Cards could lose everything. Her
 315.148 +husband, the baby that Syaoran could grant her, the life and family
 315.149 +in Hong Kong that she now had. Tomoyo had sacrificed so much for
 315.150 +Sakura’s happiness, ignoring the pain and loneliness in her own heart
 315.151 +as long as Sakura’s genki heart was fulfilled. The thought that she
 315.152 +was what could ruin that horrified her. It was such a sickening
 315.153 +twist. Staying could only hurt Sakura, bringing an end to her life in
 315.154 +Hong Kong. So Tomoyo would have to leave it, to escape before she
 315.155 +could cause anymore damage. Maybe Sakura could still keep her happy
 315.156 +life, could still hold onto it if Tomoyo wasn’t there to confuse her.
 315.157 +It pained Tomoyo that she couldn’t leave quietly, slipping away into
 315.158 +the night like she had planned. Sakura would undoubtedly find out
 315.159 +about her suicide, especially with her in Japan. But Tomoyo saw no
 315.160 +other options open to her. In order for Sakura to live, she had to
 315.161 +die. Her own life held nothing but pain in her future if her
 315.162 +beautiful Cardmistress were to lose everything. And she wouldn’t let
 315.163 +Sakura be punished for Tomoyo’s own innocent sin. This was her only
 315.164 +way to escape Sakura’s life and save her friend’s happiness. Sakura
 315.165 +allowed her no other options. The auburn haired girl wouldn’t let her
 315.166 +go otherwise. If the heiress was dead then Sakura wouldn’t be so
 315.167 +confused about the feelings in her heart, seeking solace in her
 315.168 +husband. Eventually her memories of the lavender haired girl would
 315.169 +fade away, leaving her with nothing more than a faint remembrance of
 315.170 +her guardian angel from long ago. And she would grow happy and old
 315.171 +with her husband and as many children as Fate would bless them with.
 315.172 +Away from the pain, safe from the loneliness, Tomoyo prayed that she
 315.173 +would be able to watch Sakura from up above, to see the happy life
 315.174 +that her death would ensure. It was a high price, one that had to be
 315.175 +paid in blood. But it was one that the lavender eyed woman would
 315.176 +gladly pay if it meant she could stop the catastrophe awaiting her
 315.177 +dearest Sakura. 
 315.178 +	Clutching the teddy bear Sakura had made for her against her chest,
 315.179 +Tomoyo gazed into the darkness, the dim lights blurring into streaks
 315.180 +through her tear filled vision. Her numb, slender fingers grasped
 315.181 +onto a slightly bloodied picture of Sakura. It had been the same
 315.182 +picture that her picture frame had held before she had smashed the
 315.183 +frame to jagged shards. Her beautiful Sakura smiled happily, frozen
 315.184 +forever in that simple image. She had fled her house with only these
 315.185 +two possessions in the early hours of the morning. Sakura’s sudden
 315.186 +appearance had struck her like the blade of a knife, wedged deep into
 315.187 +her heart. It had shattered everything. Curled up in the darkness,
 315.188 +Tomoyo had cried for hours while holding onto the teddy bear she had
 315.189 +named Sakura. The pale woman had thought desperately of a way to fix
 315.190 +things, but nothing but despair had managed to penetrate her troubled
 315.191 +mind. So she had ran. Just as she had planned on doing before with
 315.192 +her planned out escape from Sakura’s life, she had run. She hadn’t
 315.193 +known at first where she was running to, how she would escape the
 315.194 +Mistress of the Cards, but she had finally found herself here. It
 315.195 +seemed fitting, to end up where some of Sakura’s most important
 315.196 +moments had been. If anyone had noticed the distraught barefoot girl,
 315.197 +they hadn’t said anything. How she had made her way to Tokyo Tower,
 315.198 +even Tomoyo wasn’t exactly sure. But she stood there nonetheless,
 315.199 +soft bare feet dirty and bloody from all of her walking. Her
 315.200 +nightgown fluttered in the increasing wind, her dark hair seeming
 315.201 +alive as it moved about her. 
 315.202 +	“Sakura-chan wouldn’t even recognize me, would she?” Tomoyo
 315.203 +whispered softly into the teddy bear’s ear. She held it gently,
 315.204 +lovingly, her tears rolling onto the soft cloth of its head. This
 315.205 +gift from Sakura was all she had left, the only thing she could hold
 315.206 +onto. It was her only companion at the end of her long and painful
 315.207 +road. There was some measure of relief in that, in knowing that it
 315.208 +was almost over. The cold, tangible pain inside of her was
 315.209 +unbearable. It cut through her viciously, tearing at her weak and
 315.210 +fragile soul. Her heart was pierced deeply, her love for Sakura
 315.211 +making the pain only more acute. She had to wonder if Sakura would
 315.212 +recognize this wretched, lonely girl about to throw herself off of
 315.213 +Tokyo Tower. Sakura had always seen what Tomoyo had portrayed for
 315.214 +her. In all the years they had known each other, Tomoyo had tried to
 315.215 +never show Sakura her fears, her pain, or her tears. And certainly
 315.216 +not her loneliness. She had always been happy for Sakura, always
 315.217 +offering her a smile. Sakura didn’t know what lay beneath that
 315.218 +smiling exterior. The Cardmistress hadn’t been allowed to see beneath
 315.219 +Tomoyo’s masks. Tomoyo had worn them for her, had always smiled for
 315.220 +Sakura’s sake. She had never wanted to burden Sakura with her
 315.221 +problems, with her own pain and tears. Only the briefest of glimpses
 315.222 +had been given to Sakura of the inner turmoil that lay beneath her
 315.223 +happy façade. But that had been part of the problem. Discovering
 315.224 +Tomoyo’s loneliness that night in the garden when they had shared a
 315.225 +kiss had sparked Sakura’s indomitable determination, forcing the
 315.226 +energetic brunette to try and find out who Tomoyo loved and to fix
 315.227 +the pain she had seen. Tomoyo had burdened Sakura after all in a way
 315.228 +she had never wished to. And she hated herself for that, for allowing
 315.229 +herself to let Sakura see her that way. It had been one of the
 315.230 +deciding factors in what had begun to ruin Sakura’s life. So she had
 315.231 +tried to hold onto her masks for as long as she could, to hide the
 315.232 +shadows from Sakura. She had been doing that since she had been a
 315.233 +child, always keeping up a mask of happiness for Sakura, never
 315.234 +letting her see the cold, lonely child beneath their constraints. But
 315.235 +now she was entirely without her masks, having left the broken shards
 315.236 +behind. She felt naked, unable to hold back the grief that held her
 315.237 +heart in a viselike grip.  They had finally broken, and with them, so
 315.238 +had the girl underneath. Tomoyo had only been able to handle so much
 315.239 +before her soul began to splinter just like the glass in the picture
 315.240 +frame. She had tried to write Sakura a goodbye note on the back of
 315.241 +the picture she held, to try not to worry her with her death, but it
 315.242 +was impossible for her. Her masks were entirely gone. She couldn’t
 315.243 +hide her pain any longer. Sobbing in frustration, Tomoyo had finally
 315.244 +given up, leaving only a half written apology on the back of the
 315.245 +picture of Sakura. 
 315.246 +	Hugging the teddy bear in her arms as tightly as she could against
 315.247 +her trembling skin, Tomoyo sobbed against the bear named Sakura’s
 315.248 +head, her hair draped over the two of them as the wind grew eerily
 315.249 +calm for a moment. “I’ll miss you, Sakura-chan. Please take care of
 315.250 +her for me. I want... I need Sakura-chan to be happy. So I have to go
 315.251 +away for that. I need to fade away from her life. I don’t want to
 315.252 +hurt her like this. I wanted to move away before I did this so it
 315.253 +wouldn’t hurt Sakura-chan or mother. But there’s nothing else I can
 315.254 +do. I need to do this for Sakura-chan. It’s my last chance to save
 315.255 +her happiness,” she whispered quietly, tears soaking into the bear’s
 315.256 +head. Gingerly kissing the top of the teddy bear’s head, Tomoyo set
 315.257 +it down gently near the edge. The small bear seemed to be looking out
 315.258 +at the city spreading out below them, its tiny ribbon flowing in the
 315.259 +returning breeze. 
 315.260 +	“I love you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said louder as she stood up. Her
 315.261 +pale skin glimmered softly in the moonlight, her lavender hair
 315.262 +falling about her like tendrils of the night itself. Clasping her
 315.263 +hands together in front of her, the pale woman looked like a grieving
 315.264 +angel. She had stood by in Sakura’s life for years, always content
 315.265 +with loving her friend from afar. She had done so not because she had
 315.266 +been embarrassed to say anything and not because she wasn’t brave
 315.267 +enough to tell the brunette. No, it had been something much deeper
 315.268 +than that. She had done it precisely because she loved Sakura. She
 315.269 +had watched her grow closer to Syaoran, had watched the one she loved
 315.270 +with all of her heart giving her heart to another. Tomoyo hadn’t
 315.271 +burdened Sakura with her own feelings, had instead tried to nurture
 315.272 +Sakura’s heart towards another. Because she believed that the
 315.273 +Mistress of the Cards, her sweet auburn haired best friend, had
 315.274 +chosen her princess long ago. Just like in the play they had done so
 315.275 +long ago, Sakura was the noble and determined prince. Syaoran was her
 315.276 +princess. And Tomoyo wouldn’t, couldn’t fight that. She had no wish
 315.277 +to. As long as Sakura could be happy, that was all that mattered. So
 315.278 +she had stayed in the background, watching as Sakura had fallen in
 315.279 +love with a little push from herself, had watched as the two had
 315.280 +begun a relationship. When you love someone so much it hurts, that
 315.281 +they become your entire world, then it becomes their happiness, not
 315.282 +your own, that matters. Maybe she could have had Sakura with the
 315.283 +amount of control she could wield over the brunette. But it would
 315.284 +never be worth having Sakura if she wasn’t happy. So if someone else
 315.285 +could have Sakura’s love, could thrill her and fill her with joy at
 315.286 +the world, then that would be Tomoyo’s goal in life. And so even if
 315.287 +it hurt, Tomoyo had given her all to make sure that Sakura would be
 315.288 +happy with Syaoran. And she would safeguard that now. Forever.  	
 315.289 +	Alone. In one way or another, Tomoyo had always been alone. Sakura
 315.290 +had never really seen her, never looked past her masks. They had
 315.291 +always been close, but Sakura had never looked through to the girl
 315.292 +beneath her cheerful exterior. And besides Sakura, Tomoyo really
 315.293 +hadn’t had any other friends. Chiharu, Naoko, and Rika had all been
 315.294 +Sakura’s friends. Friends by the common association with Sakura
 315.295 +maybe, but nothing more. It had been so easy for Sakura to make
 315.296 +friends with her warm and loving nature. But it had always been
 315.297 +something difficult for the more introverted heiress. Sakura had been
 315.298 +her first real and best friend. And she had cherished that deeply.
 315.299 +But it left her so alone because of how in love she had fallen with
 315.300 +Sakura. Because she could never show her everything that lay in her
 315.301 +heart. And though her mother cared about her deeply, the
 315.302 +businesswoman had always been so busy with work. Tomoyo had always
 315.303 +loved the times they could spend together, but they had been few and
 315.304 +far between at times. But now that loneliness would finally come to
 315.305 +an end. She could slip away. She had always been in the background,
 315.306 +so no one should notice after a while that she was even gone. It was
 315.307 +finally over. 
 315.308 +	Taking a step forward, Tomoyo looked up at the stars above. She
 315.309 +wondered where Nadeshiko was up above. The beautiful woman was almost
 315.310 +certainly an angel now. She would have to ask her to keep an eye on
 315.311 +her mother. Maybe she could be Sakura’s angel. She had always wanted
 315.312 +nothing more than to watch her beautiful best friend smile joyously.
 315.313 +If she could keep an eye on Sakura after her death, she could watch
 315.314 +all that she would be missing in life. To see Sakura live her happy
 315.315 +life, to see her have children and grow old with the one she loved,
 315.316 +that would be all she could hope for. If she could be Sakura’s angel,
 315.317 +she could always be with her. And Sakura could finally be happy.
 315.318 +There would be no more danger of her ruining her dearest
 315.319 +Cardmistress’s gorgeous life. Death held no fear for the lavender
 315.320 +haired woman. It held release in it’s grasp, and salvation for the
 315.321 +happiness she wished to protect. She could finally escape her
 315.322 +loneliness and torment, leaving them as well as her masks behind. 
 315.323 +	Dark tresses waved in front of Tomoyo, nearly blinding the quiet
 315.324 +phantom as the wind began to pick up violently again. Tomoyo took no
 315.325 +notice of the gale, her hands held tightly to her chest. Her battered
 315.326 +heart whispered it’s endless love to Sakura amidst the rustling of
 315.327 +the wind. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, taking a last
 315.328 +glance at the steadfast teddy bear. It was time to go. But her love
 315.329 +would never leave her. Eternity awaited, calling to her. Turning back
 315.330 +to the city lights that continued to shine like beacons in the
 315.331 +darkness, Tomoyo stepped forward onto the edge of the structure. The
 315.332 +wind threatened to throw off the small toy designer, angrily shaking
 315.333 +her with all its might. But the girl waited patiently, tears still
 315.334 +dripping below. Pulling up her bloodstained picture, Tomoyo’s fingers
 315.335 +gently traced over the smiling Sakura. Behind her tears, Tomoyo
 315.336 +returned the smile to her beloved. In an instant, the picture
 315.337 +disappeared. The lavender haired woman’s heart skipped a beat as her
 315.338 +tear streaked eyes darted for the small object. It floated a few feet
 315.339 +away from her, fluttering in the heavy wind.  “Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo
 315.340 +called out, reaching out for the picture, her frozen moment of
 315.341 +Sakura. Tired, bare feet pushed against metal as she grasped for the
 315.342 +metal. And with that, the world gave away beneath her. The pale woman
 315.343 +plummeted from Tokyo Tower, falling for what felt like an eternity,
 315.344 +but seeming like nothing more than precious seconds. Releasing a weak
 315.345 +sob, Tomoyo clutched her hands to her chest. Dark hair streaked
 315.346 +behind her as the angel took flight, diving to the world below. Her
 315.347 +soul had been broken a short time ago. Now her body would join it,
 315.348 +broken on the pavement below. It would finally be over. Her eyes
 315.349 +closing, her mind shifted through countless images of her beloved.
 315.350 +She was going to die, but her thoughts went immediately to the woman
 315.351 +she loved. ‘Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you
 315.352 +cry,’ she begged the brunette as the pavement rushed up at her like a
 315.353 +bullet train. 
 315.354 +	A cry reached Tomoyo’s ears, but it was indistinguishable over the
 315.355 +howl of the wind. It roared like an angry beast, fighting merely to
 315.356 +prove it’s existence. Her eyes closing tightly, Tomoyo saw Sakura’s
 315.357 +cute face smiling softly at her. “Sakura, I love you,” Tomoyo
 315.358 +whispered seconds before plowing into the concrete below. 
 315.359 +	“TOMOYO-CHAN!!!” Sakura screamed as she alighted next to her
 315.360 +friend’s lifeless body. Her wings disappeared in a storm of feathers
 315.361 +as she collapsed next to the broken and bloody body of the gentle
 315.362 +heiress. Horrified, Sakura reached out with shaky fingers, turning
 315.363 +Tomoyo over. The sight immediately made her wish she hadn’t. Tomoyo
 315.364 +had always been the most gorgeous woman Sakura had ever known, her
 315.365 +graceful beauty always touching Sakura’s heart. But now she lay
 315.366 +broken, shattered. Her best friend was gone, and what was left behind
 315.367 +was a painful reminder. With shaking hands, Sakura brushed back
 315.368 +fluttering lavender hair from Tomoyo’s face. Stormy blue eyes looked
 315.369 +at her lifelessly, their sparkle completely vanished. Tears burst
 315.370 +forth from Sakura as she shook her head violently. “No!! Please,
 315.371 +no..” Tears spilt down her cheeks, dripping to the broken woman
 315.372 +beneath her. She had been too late. She had been flying the entire
 315.373 +day, searching in a frenzy to find Tomoyo, her mind single mindedly
 315.374 +set on finding her best friend. It had taken her forever to finally
 315.375 +find her, and it had only been at the last possible moment when she
 315.376 +had seen Tomoyo’s body tumbling through the air. She had lost. She
 315.377 +hadn’t been fast enough. Bitter sobs wracked her body as she held
 315.378 +onto what was left of Tomoyo. Bloody lavender hair pressed against
 315.379 +her face as she continued to cry. The pale woman’s words echoed
 315.380 +through her mind like an accusation. ‘I wasn’t afraid because I knew
 315.381 +Sakura-chan would save me.’ Yet for all of that faith, Sakura had
 315.382 +failed once again to save her best friend. Had, in fact, failed for
 315.383 +the last time. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura cried weakly into Tomoyo’s
 315.384 +hair. “I love you.. Please don’t leave me alone..” Just like always,
 315.385 +she had been too late, and Tomoyo had paid the price. Too late...
 315.386 +Sakura blinked back a fresh surge of tears as she weakly got to her
 315.387 +feet. No, not too late. She couldn’t be. She wouldn’t let herself be.
 315.388 +“I’ll save you, Tomoyo-chan. Just like you always said I would. I
 315.389 +promise,” Sakura whispered as she numbly pulled out her staff. She
 315.390 +had once chance. She was too exhausted to use much more of her power.
 315.391 +So she would have only one chance at this. The staff twirled in her
 315.392 +hands as she tossed a Sakura Card into the air. “Return!! Bring me to
 315.393 +before Tomoyo-chan fell!” She cried out above the bestial howl of the
 315.394 +wind. She wouldn’t let this be the end. 
 315.395 +
 315.396 +
 315.397 +	Dark tresses waved in front of Tomoyo, nearly blinding the quiet
 315.398 +phantom as the wind began to pick up violently again. Tomoyo took no
 315.399 +notice of the gale, her hands held tightly to her chest. Her battered
 315.400 +heart whispered it’s endless love to Sakura amidst the rustling of
 315.401 +the wind. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, taking a last
 315.402 +glance at the steadfast teddy bear. It was time to go. But her love
 315.403 +would never leave her. Eternity awaited, calling to her. Turning back
 315.404 +to the city lights that continued to shine like beacons in the
 315.405 +darkness, Tomoyo stepped forward onto the edge of the structure. The
 315.406 +wind threatened to throw off the small toy designer, angrily shaking
 315.407 +her with all its might. But the girl waited patiently, tears still
 315.408 +dripping below. Pulling up her bloodstained picture, Tomoyo’s fingers
 315.409 +gently traced over the smiling Sakura. Behind her tears, Tomoyo
 315.410 +returned the smile to her beloved. In an instant, the picture
 315.411 +disappeared. The lavender haired woman’s heart skipped a beat as her
 315.412 +tear streaked eyes darted for the small object. It floated a few feet
 315.413 +away from her, fluttering in the heavy wind.  “Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo
 315.414 +called out, reaching out for the picture, her frozen moment of
 315.415 +Sakura. Tired, bare feet pushed against metal as she grasped for the
 315.416 +metal. And with that, the world gave away beneath her. The pale woman
 315.417 +plummeted from Tokyo Tower, falling for what felt like an eternity,
 315.418 +but seeming like nothing more than precious seconds. Releasing a weak
 315.419 +sob, Tomoyo clutched her hands to her chest. Dark hair streaked
 315.420 +behind her as the angel took flight, diving to the world below. Her
 315.421 +soul had been broken a short time ago. Now her body would join it,
 315.422 +broken on the pavement below. It would finally be over. Her eyes
 315.423 +closing, her mind shifted through countless images of her beloved.
 315.424 +She was going to die, but her thoughts went immediately to the woman
 315.425 +she loved. ‘Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you
 315.426 +cry,’ she begged the brunette as the pavement rushed up at her like a
 315.427 +bullet train. 
 315.428 +A scream hit her ears, taking her by surprise. Dark lashes fluttered
 315.429 +open, sending diamond tears into the wind. It took her a moment to
 315.430 +see the source, a small angel rushing up towards her, shimmering
 315.431 +wings beating rapidly behind her. The angel’s beauty left Tomoyo
 315.432 +breathless as the distance between then dropped away. The lavender
 315.433 +haired woman idly wondered if the angel was Nadeshiko, coming to meet
 315.434 +her. It was hard to make out the winged woman in the darkness. Still
 315.435 +stunned by the ethereal beauty that darted her way, Tomoyo let out a
 315.436 +final prayer. ‘Please let me be Sakura’s angel,’ she pleaded. 
 315.437 +	But Tomoyo’s wish lay incomplete, the air knocked out of her as she
 315.438 +stopped short of the ground below. The angel held onto the lavender
 315.439 +haired woman tightly, her grasp actually bruising the pale flesh
 315.440 +beneath her nightgown. Wings beat heavily as they tried to stop the
 315.441 +pair’s downward momentum. Struggling desperately, Sakura slowly began
 315.442 +to slow their descent. Her eyes closed tightly as she tried to focus
 315.443 +on nothing but the task at hand. With Tomoyo in her arms, she found
 315.444 +that extremely difficult, especially with the nature of how she had
 315.445 +found the woman. But somehow everything managed to fade away. There
 315.446 +was nothing but the moment, the action at hand. Emerald eyes opening,
 315.447 +Sakura looked forward, pouring out everything she had in one last
 315.448 +ditch effort. Wind whipped at her, pounding into the two woman,
 315.449 +weakening Sakura’s wings as they struggled to stay aloft. Her heart
 315.450 +pounding thunderously against the pale woman in her arms, Sakura felt
 315.451 +her wings falter briefly as she tried to push forward. Sweat burned
 315.452 +at her eyes as fatigue slowly sapped at her body. Panic began to
 315.453 +overwhelm her, but she forced it away with all of her might. She
 315.454 +could see a bright light ahead of her, awaiting them. It was
 315.455 +gorgeous, deep and illuminating. She struggled to reach the light,
 315.456 +forcing herself forward despite the pain that gnawed at her weakening
 315.457 +body. She thought she saw someone in the light, a woman with long,
 315.458 +dark hair and angel wings. ‘Tomoyo?’ Sakura thought weakly to
 315.459 +herself. But that couldn’t be. Tomoyo was still in her arms. Sakura’s
 315.460 +eyes widened after a moment. ‘Mama?’ The woman watched her intently
 315.461 +as Sakura desperately fought to reach the light and the ledge of the
 315.462 +Tower. She could see the teddy bear she had given Tomoyo resting on
 315.463 +the ledge, watching out along with her mother. Almost... Sakura
 315.464 +strained the last of her strength into a final push to reach the
 315.465 +ledge. The world pushed away beneath them as she flew upwards. One
 315.466 +hand shot out, reaching for the metal. It slowly edged closer. Her
 315.467 +fingers brushed the cold, but blessed metal of the Tower. With some
 315.468 +sort of handhold, she could force her tired wings to get them the
 315.469 +rest of the way up. Her fingers grappled for a better handhold. To
 315.470 +Sakura’s horror, the tower seemed to pull away from her questing
 315.471 +fingers. A sudden gust of wind had caught her wings and forced her
 315.472 +away from the tower. With no strength left, the two woman plummeted
 315.473 +once more. 
 315.474 +	Air buffeted a fatigued and despondent Sakura as she clutched
 315.475 +desperately onto Tomoyo. It wasn’t fair. She almost had it. She had
 315.476 +almost saved Tomoyo. Just like Tomoyo had said long ago, that Sakura
 315.477 +would always come and save her. She had almost been able to. But just
 315.478 +like always, Sakura had failed her. And so she paid for that failure
 315.479 +with her life as well as Tomoyo’s. Her arms clenched onto the cold,
 315.480 +pale woman, tears sparkling in her eyes. She had thought that she
 315.481 +could save her this time. But at least, she thought, she could be
 315.482 +with Tomoyo this time. She wouldn’t die by herself. They would go
 315.483 +together, in each other’s arms. But even with that, Sakura couldn’t
 315.484 +help but feel defeat grip her soul. She had promised she would save
 315.485 +her, had wanted to come and save her best friend once and for all.
 315.486 +She couldn’t fail. It wasn’t right. She had finally come to save
 315.487 +Tomoyo from her pain and loneliness, had finally understood that
 315.488 +their hearts were entwined with red ribbons. But she hadn’t been able
 315.489 +to offer up her heart to the gorgeous dark haired woman, hadn’t been
 315.490 +able to make up for the years of neglecting just how important Tomoyo
 315.491 +was to her. Tears fell scattered to the stormy wind as they both
 315.492 +dropped. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura called out as she clung to the dark
 315.493 +haired woman. No, things couldn’t end this way. Not when she finally
 315.494 +understood her heart. Not when she finally understood who she loved.
 315.495 +She couldn’t let her terrible mistake from years before end like
 315.496 +this. She had caused Tomoyo such pain through her confusion about her
 315.497 +own feelings and her marriage to Syaoran. But she had vowed to make
 315.498 +that up to her, to love Tomoyo with all of her heart, to heal her
 315.499 +lonely heart. She had to offer her heart to the dark haired woman, to
 315.500 +finally truly save her. 
 315.501 +	Tomoyo’s heart had nearly stopped in her chest. Sakura was here?
 315.502 +Sakura had found her? No, that wasn’t how it was supposed to be.. She
 315.503 +was supposed to die, to free Sakura from the burdens that lay over
 315.504 +her. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she stayed in the brunette’s arms.
 315.505 +Sakura wouldn’t let her leave. She wouldn’t let her escape. No matter
 315.506 +how hard she tried, everything kept moving towards the inevitable
 315.507 +destruction of Sakura’s happy life. Tomoyo hadn’t even been allowed
 315.508 +to kill herself, to end the pain and to save Sakura. What was she to
 315.509 +do now? How could she hope to fix things now? Despair flooded through
 315.510 +her in a wave, her sobs shaking her against the auburn haired woman.
 315.511 +If Sakura saved her, then she would be trapped here to see the loss
 315.512 +of Sakura’s happiness and to deal with her own pain. But if Sakura
 315.513 +didn’t save her, they would both die. That wasn’t what she wanted at
 315.514 +all. She was supposed to be the one who died, not Sakura. The
 315.515 +Mistress of the Cards had so much awaiting her. She couldn’t die now. 
 315.516 +	Feeling the dark haired woman shuddering in her arms, Sakura felt
 315.517 +her own heart twinge in pain. This woman, the best friend she had
 315.518 +ever had, her support when things were too much for her, her bravery
 315.519 +when she had couldn’t force up any, her mother when she had none, her
 315.520 +confidante when she had secrets that no one else could here. Tomoyo
 315.521 +had always been everything for her. The pale woman had given her
 315.522 +everything she could ever ask for, never thinking at all that Sakura
 315.523 +should ever repay her for the love and support that she had always
 315.524 +poured out to Sakura so constantly. Sakura had to make up for that.
 315.525 +She had to finally make amends for what she had done. And more
 315.526 +importantly, she had to let her heart go free. “Windy!! Please stop
 315.527 +our fall!!” She called out, her staff hitting into the Sakura Card.
 315.528 +Her power was still weak after using the Return Card and having used
 315.529 +Fly all day long so she didn’t know if it would be strong enough to
 315.530 +carry them to the ground. 
 315.531 +	Flying through the air, the magical woman that was Windy shifted
 315.532 +past Sakura and Tomoyo, slowing the fall against the strong gale that
 315.533 +fought back against her. The two tumbled through the air, reaching
 315.534 +ever nearer to the ground. Windy struggled against the wind as the
 315.535 +two fell together, exerting what power she could. Their descent
 315.536 +slowed, but they continued to fall. 
 315.537 +	Sakura felt the ground rushing up to meet her and shifted under
 315.538 +Tomoyo. The two hit the ground hard, the wind sliding them along
 315.539 +across it for a second. Pain burst through Sakura’s shoulder and
 315.540 +lower back in a dazzling display of fire and ice. Flame burned at her
 315.541 +weary muscles as she lay under her best friend, panting heavily. It
 315.542 +took her a moment to realize that she had succeeded. She had saved
 315.543 +Tomoyo after all. Well, not necessarily. But they were both alive, so
 315.544 +it was a start. Taking a deep breath, she released it into Tomoyo’s
 315.545 +hair. Burying herself against the lavender haired woman, Sakura felt
 315.546 +hot tears fall down her cheeks, sliding down Tomoyo’s neck. “Oh,
 315.547 +Tomoyo-chan!! I thought I was going to lose you...” she cried out.
 315.548 +After her failure before, it seemed a miracle that she was here with
 315.549 +her friend. It was almost as if Tomoyo had been brought back to life.
 315.550 +The fact that she was sitting there, holding onto Tomoyo beneath the
 315.551 +Tokyo Tower just as she had been before when Tomoyo had died hit her
 315.552 +with a startling suddenness, bringing fresh tears spilling down her
 315.553 +face as she cried against the pale woman. 
 315.554 +	Tomoyo shifted in Sakura’s embrace, holding onto the sobbing woman.
 315.555 +Her own cold tears fell bitterly to the floor below. Escape had been
 315.556 +snatched from right in front of her. There was no way she could kill
 315.557 +herself now. It would hurt Sakura too much, especially after that.
 315.558 +But she felt profound despair eating away at her. She had failed and
 315.559 +now Sakura’s happy life would come collapsing around the both of
 315.560 +them. And there was absolutely nothing she could do but drown in her
 315.561 +own sorrow. “Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo whispered, her soft voice
 315.562 +cracking. “Please don’t cry..”
 315.563 +	Shaking her head as she sat back to look at Tomoyo, Sakura wiped at
 315.564 +her tearful emerald eyes with the backs of her hands. “Oh, Tomoyo-
 315.565 +chan.. I thought... I thought..” A shuddering breath escaped the
 315.566 +brunette as she looked long and hard at the dark haired woman in
 315.567 +front of her. Tomoyo looked beyond despair. Her stormy blue eyes were
 315.568 +bloodshot, her tears still falling from her chin. Her deep eyes
 315.569 +looked hollow, weak. As shattered as Tomoyo had been when Sakura had
 315.570 +found her the first time. That realization sent a chill down Sakura’s
 315.571 +spine. She had never seen Tomoyo like this before. She had caught a
 315.572 +glimpse of it back before they had kissed, but this was utter
 315.573 +hopelessness. “Tomoyo-chan..!!” Sakura cried out as she grappled onto
 315.574 +the dark haired woman again, burying her head against the crook of
 315.575 +Tomoyo’s neck. Just what had she done to Tomoyo? The woman looked
 315.576 +lost, alone. Shattered. Was it her fault? Had she slowly done that to
 315.577 +Tomoyo? The thought terrified her. How could she have caused such
 315.578 +damage? No wonder Tomoyo had been about to die. For her, she reminded
 315.579 +herself. Tomoyo had been trying to protect her to the bitter end.
 315.580 +“Tomoyo-chan, I know. I know how you feel.” She felt Tomoyo tense in
 315.581 +her arms at her words, but she just held onto her tighter. “I know
 315.582 +what I’ve done. And I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Tomoyo-chan. I
 315.583 +had no idea. But that doesn’t make up for what I did. I never knew
 315.584 +how important you were to me. But I do now. I know why you were going
 315.585 +to.. to k..” Sakura trailed off, unable to continue that thought.
 315.586 +Images of a dead Tomoyo returned unbidden in her mind. She blinked
 315.587 +back burning tears. “And if you still want to, I won’t stop you,”
 315.588 +Sakura whispered. She felt Tomoyo’s head shift against her at that,
 315.589 +Tomoyo’s own tears falling against her. “But if you do, please hold
 315.590 +your hand out to me. Because I won’t be without you anymore. If
 315.591 +you’re going to die, I want to die with you. Because I can’t live a
 315.592 +life without you. I’m sorry it took me so long to understand that.”
 315.593 +Moving back slightly, she looked into Tomoyo’s tear filled, stormy
 315.594 +blue eyes. Her own emerald eyes looked back at her with a firey
 315.595 +determination. She meant every word of what she said. Forcing Tomoyo
 315.596 +to live for her sake wasn’t right. If the pain was too much for her,
 315.597 +then.. “I’ll follow right behind you, whatever you decide,” Sakura
 315.598 +continued. 
 315.599 +	Choking back a sob, Tomoyo looked away. She couldn’t keep staring
 315.600 +into those emerald orbs any longer. Her body shuddered as her fists
 315.601 +clenched up. Sakura knew? Panic began to grow in her heart, but
 315.602 +Sakura’s words played over again and again in her mind. Part of her
 315.603 +still wanted to die, to escape the pain and her own lonely heart.
 315.604 +Sakura would allow her to leave? But how could she if Sakura herself
 315.605 +would be following? “Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered softly, her voice
 315.606 +barely audible above the wind. “I just want you to be happy.”
 315.607 +	Sakura ventured a weak smile, reaching out shaky fingers to brush
 315.608 +away some of Tomoyo’s tears. “You make me happy,” she whispered in
 315.609 +reply. Jade eyes blinked back tears as she met Tomoyo’s eyes once
 315.610 +more. “Tomoyo-chan, I’m sorry for all of the pain I’ve caused you.”
 315.611 +Tomoyo began to argue the point, but Sakura shook her head, cutting
 315.612 +the lavender haired woman off. “I’m sorry for not knowing my own
 315.613 +heart. I let everyone else tell me who I loved without looking
 315.614 +myself. And I didn’t realize the damage it caused. I thought everyone
 315.615 +else knew my heart better than I could. But I know now that that
 315.616 +isn’t true. No one could tell me who I loved. I had to find it out
 315.617 +for myself. And I finally did. I finally figured it all out.” The
 315.618 +brunette smiled a little more proudly. “Tomoyo-chan, I love you. I
 315.619 +know that now. You’ve always been the one who made me happy. When
 315.620 +you’re not there, I.. It isn’t like when I’m with you. I don’t feel
 315.621 +strong enough. I don’t have all of Tomoyo-chan’s love and support to
 315.622 +back me up. So how can I keep going?” The Cardmistress took a deep
 315.623 +breath as she watched Tomoyo. “I can’t be happy without you. So I
 315.624 +want to be with you, wherever you go. I love you, Tomoyo-chan.”
 315.625 +	Shock crossed Tomoyo’s face as her lavender hair fluttered in the
 315.626 +wind. Her mouth opened slowly, but nothing came out. Never had she
 315.627 +believed she would hear those words. They were a fantasy, something
 315.628 +that had been a vivid and beautiful dream but nothing more. To hear
 315.629 +Sakura utter them, to see those emerald eyes looking at her with all
 315.630 +honesty. It seemed that her whole life had been built around her love
 315.631 +for Sakura. But she had always been in the background, loving her but
 315.632 +never being loved. Helping her to find the love that she herself
 315.633 +could not have. She had no doubt that she herself would do anything
 315.634 +for Sakura, but the thought that Sakura would do the same, follow her
 315.635 +even in death, simply astounded her. Releasing a pent up sob,
 315.636 +Tomoyo’s pale body shook lightly. This was all too much. She didn’t
 315.637 +know what she was supposed to do. She held her head weakly, her eyes
 315.638 +shutting out the world around her. But it was Sakura’s words that
 315.639 +finally shattered her confusion. ‘You make me happy’. ‘I want the one
 315.640 +I like to be happy,’ Tomoyo had said long ago. “Sakura-chan!!” Tomoyo
 315.641 +got out as she held onto Sakura tightly, dark hair draping over the
 315.642 +both of them. “I’ve always loved you,” the lavender haired woman
 315.643 +whispered into Sakura’s ear as she poured all of her remaining
 315.644 +strength into simply holding onto the Cardmistress. 
 315.645 +	Resting her head against Tomoyo’s, Sakura let her eyes fall closed.
 315.646 +She felt drained from everything, but the pale woman’s embrace
 315.647 +comforted and soothed her weary spirit. She buried her face in
 315.648 +Tomoyo’s lavender hair, delighting in the intoxicating scent. It was
 315.649 +over. She had finally managed to save Tomoyo after all. After all
 315.650 +those years of waiting, she had finally reached her princess. No, it
 315.651 +wasn’t over. Not in the least. Things were just beginning. Sakura
 315.652 +didn’t know where things would go or what would happen, but it hardly
 315.653 +seemed to matter. If Tomoyo was with her, she could overcome
 315.654 +anything. “Everything will always be right. I promise, Tomoyo-chan.”
 315.655 +	Silence reigned for long moments, the only sound the howling of the
 315.656 +wind. Tomoyo shifted against Sakura, her broken heart rejoicing.
 315.657 +Maybe.. Maybe she wasn’t all alone. And maybe she could make Sakura
 315.658 +happy after all. Besides, she knew Sakura better than anyone else.
 315.659 +And devoting her life to Sakura sounded like the most delicious
 315.660 +punishment for nearly leaving Sakura’s life. Her nose brushed
 315.661 +Sakura’s ear as she moved against the other woman, content to immerse
 315.662 +herself in their embrace. “Sakura-chan makes a very cute angel.” The
 315.663 +two giggled together, laughing into the dark night. Everything had
 315.664 +been so painful and so desperate for so long. It felt so nice to let
 315.665 +it all leak away, to let go. Tomoyo’s heavy eyelids fell closed. She
 315.666 +felt exhausted from the long night and the emotional torment that had
 315.667 +held her tightly in its grasp. It felt peaceful in Sakura’s arms,
 315.668 +warmer than she can imagine being in a long time. “I’ll make you
 315.669 +happy, Sakura-chan,” the lavender haired woman vowed in her soft,
 315.670 +gentle voice. 
 315.671 +	“I know, Tomoyo-chan. I know,” Sakura replied, finally allowing
 315.672 +herself to relax. All of the chaos of the past few days had nearly
 315.673 +been too much for her to handle, especially without Tomoyo’s support
 315.674 +to make it through it all. It felt so nice to know that it was
 315.675 +finally gone. Her princess was rescued and all was right with the
 315.676 +world. Not a bad days work. Her old life may be left behind, but
 315.677 +Sakura felt a thrill at the new life that lay ahead of her. Whatever
 315.678 +promise or perils it held, the brunette would be happy to face them. 
 315.679 +	Watching Sakura silently, Tomoyo sighed in contentment. The girl
 315.680 +she had loved for so long was now right in front of her. Her love
 315.681 +wasn’t hidden any longer. She smiled lovingly at Sakura, cupping the
 315.682 +slightly surprised brunette’s chin. Licking her dry lips, Tomoyo
 315.683 +allowed herself to repeat what had shortly before felt like a
 315.684 +grievous mistake. It was a slow, soft kiss that warmed Tomoyo’s heart
 315.685 +and soul. It felt like all of the unfinished feelings and the
 315.686 +uncertainty of their last kiss was finally washed away. It wasn’t a
 315.687 +farewell kiss, or even a gesture between friends. This was a new
 315.688 +beginning. Tomoyo’s hands rested gently on Sakura’s warm cheeks while
 315.689 +Sakura’s arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel Sakura’s blush
 315.690 +fade away as Sakura began kissing her back. Sitting back, Tomoyo’s
 315.691 +hand went to her own cheek as disappointment colored her expression.
 315.692 +“Oh no...”
 315.693 +	Sakura looked at Tomoyo hazily, her lips still warm from Tomoyo’s
 315.694 +brief presence. She wanted to lean forward and continue the
 315.695 +delightful action, but the lavender haired girl’s expression shook
 315.696 +her out of her stupor. “Huh? What’s wrong Tomoyo-chan?” Her heart
 315.697 +began to beat in panic. She had thought everything was finally
 315.698 +resolved.
 315.699 +	Tomoyo’s fingers reached out and tugged lightly on the costume
 315.700 +Sakura was wearing. “Sakura-chan finished my last costume? And wore
 315.701 +it? And I didn’t get to get any of it on video?” she said in utter
 315.702 +despair.
 315.703 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura tilted her head to the side. She should have
 315.704 +seen that coming. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura blushed slightly as she
 315.705 +leaned towards Tomoyo, her lips halting inches away from the pale
 315.706 +woman’s. “I’ll let you videotape me as much as you want in it.
 315.707 +Later.” Leaning the rest of the way, Sakura kissed the gentle
 315.708 +heiress, all the anguish from the time they had first been apart
 315.709 +months ago melting away at the slow but luxurious kiss. 
 315.710 +	Tomoyo returned the kiss with all of the pent up love that had been
 315.711 +buried in her heart for over nine years. Sakura made a soft sound as
 315.712 +the kiss became more passionate, only spurring Tomoyo forward. Seeing
 315.713 +Sakura in her last costume, seeing it finished, it all made the
 315.714 +moment even more perfect. She had felt so sad when she realized she
 315.715 +wouldn’t be making anymore costumes for Sakura anymore. But Sakura
 315.716 +had come to her rescue wearing it, having finished it some time
 315.717 +before. Sakura had saved her body and her lonely, broken soul. Tomoyo
 315.718 +lost herself to the kiss, to Sakura’s sweet embrace. The Tokyo Tower,
 315.719 +the surging wind, the night sky, it all faded away as surely as
 315.720 +Tomoyo had intended to. But she no longer had such drastic desires.
 315.721 +All she wanted was to stay there with Sakura, to love her. Pulling
 315.722 +away slowly from their kiss, Tomoyo smiled happily. But this time,
 315.723 +she hid nothing from the brunette. Sakura held onto her on the cold
 315.724 +ground, but neither seemed to notice. They had both reached this
 315.725 +point from such different places. Tomoyo had always known the love in
 315.726 +her heart, but had hid it to protect the one she loved. Sakura hadn’t
 315.727 +known her own heart until it was almost too late, but she hadn’t been
 315.728 +able to hide it in the least. Despite the different roads traveled,
 315.729 +it didn’t matter. Because from now on, they would be travelling the
 315.730 +same road together. 
 315.731 +	
 315.732 \ No newline at end of file

   316.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   316.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-29.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   316.3 @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
   316.4 +Dear Sakura
   316.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   316.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   316.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   316.8 +
   316.9 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
  316.10 +
  316.11 +When angels descend and dreams come to earth, our hearts are touched
  316.12 +with a heavenly fire. At your most lovely wedding, I was blessed with
  316.13 +a greater happiness than ever seemed possible. There I saw a sight
  316.14 +even the Seven Sages might envy: surely the two most beautiful brides
  316.15 +to ever grace so solemn a betrothal. Sakura-chan was delightfully
  316.16 +nervous at first, making a most exquisite blushing bride. But seeing
  316.17 +her beloved, she glowed with a luminous ecstasy that seemed somehow
  316.18 +out of place so far away from the Celestial Realms. Her happiness
  316.19 +warmed the hearts of all who witnessed it, and left us with the
  316.20 +precious hope that perhaps someday, some portion of such bliss might
  316.21 +be ours. Mother once told me this is Sakura-chan’s true magic: that
  316.22 +she gently touches the innermost feelings of all those blessed with
  316.23 +meeting her. I felt that enchantment as never before when she gazed
  316.24 +into the eyes of her adoring Tomoyo-chan.
  316.25 +
  316.26 +How sad that all the great poets of all time, and all the great
  316.27 +artists that ever were, could never hope to capture the resplendence
  316.28 +of the unearthly woman I saw with Sakura-chan. Your loveliness had
  316.29 +lingered in my heart since last we met, but so dazzling was the
  316.30 +beauty before me that I could only stare, transfixed in wonder. Words
  316.31 +are my sorry servants, who clumsily convey to you the sweet pain it
  316.32 +was to gaze upon so gorgeous a bride. It is said that to view a
  316.33 +goddess on earth is to be struck with a passionate longing that no
  316.34 +worldly joy can quench. I have seen two such divinities, and if the
  316.35 +price I pay is a yearning heart that will not heal, still I deem
  316.36 +myself graced with the memories. When bride kissed bride, I was
  316.37 +lifted on shimmering wings to a rapture beyond all care and pain.
  316.38 +That moment shall be a remembrance: a treasure to carry for all of my
  316.39 +life.
  316.40 +
  316.41 +So, thank you for inviting me to your wedding. I was honored to
  316.42 +attend as representative of the House of Li, and very much pleased to
  316.43 +come as your friend. Please thank Sonomi-sama for her gracious
  316.44 +hospitality. I was a little nervous at first, knowing there had been
  316.45 +much hurt brought about by my family to yours. But her charming
  316.46 +consideration as a hostess made me feel as if I were the long lost
  316.47 +Daidouji Fanren. And thank you for taking me out with your family.
  316.48 +That night of dancing was like a dream. I think your Mother is the
  316.49 +finest dancer of us all, for she blends the energy and enthusiasm of
  316.50 +Sakura-chan with the effortless grace of Tomoyo-chan. To be in the
  316.51 +presence of such loveliness as the three of you was sweetly
  316.52 +overwhelming, and an evening I shall always remember.
  316.53 +
  316.54 +Please know that Syaoran-chan seems quite content in his new life
  316.55 +with Meiling-chan. I would not mention this during my trip, lest it
  316.56 +bring bad luck for your cherished union, but they are now engaged and
  316.57 +shall be married next spring. Slow to forgive and slow to learn, he
  316.58 +has finally come to see that all has been for the best, and that his
  316.59 +ending will now be happier than ever he could have imagined. Though
  316.60 +he will not speak the words, he knows you will give to Sakura what he
  316.61 +could not, and in his heart wishes both of you well. Mother delighted
  316.62 +in the video of the wedding, and my sisters are frightfully jealous
  316.63 +that I went, which has pleased me to no end. 
  316.64 +
  316.65 +Thank you again for all your kindness and consideration during my
  316.66 +visit. Finally, I understand the wise words in your letters, and
  316.67 +seeing your happiness brings happiness to me as well. If ever a
  316.68 +gentle heart deserved such bliss, it is yours, dear Tomoyo-chan. You
  316.69 +and Sakura-chan will always be cherished in my heart. May your new
  316.70 +life be prosperous and long, and may the blessings and joys of the
  316.71 +Nine Heavens be with you all of your days.
  316.72 +
  316.73 +Love,
  316.74 +
  316.75 +Li Fanren 
  316.76 +

   317.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   317.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-30.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   317.3 @@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
   317.4 +Dear Sakura
   317.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
   317.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   317.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
   317.8 +
   317.9 +Dear Fanren-chan,
  317.10 +	I'm dreadfully sorry that it has taken me so long to reply to your
  317.11 +beautiful letter, but things have been very hectic here as of late.
  317.12 +I'm writing this in the limousine on the way to work. Sakura-chan
  317.13 +feel back to sleep with her head on my lap. You really should see
  317.14 +her. She looks so adorable. We were up late last night, so neither of
  317.15 +us were eager to get out of bed. I know that I should probably wake
  317.16 +her up because she's just messing up her gorgeous auburn hair, but I
  317.17 +can't bring myself to take her from the land of dreams. Mother gave
  317.18 +her a job at Daidouji Toys, so Sakura's been very busy trying to
  317.19 +learn how things work at the business. It was a little difficult for
  317.20 +her at first, but Sakura-chan really has an endless amount of
  317.21 +determination inside of her. You can see it burning inside when you
  317.22 +gaze into her emerald eyes. So even with the difficulty it's posed
  317.23 +for her, Sakura-chan has been throwing her all into it. She looks
  317.24 +very cute in business suits. Mother keeps joking that with Sakura-
  317.25 +chan here she could retire and leave the company with me but then I'd
  317.26 +never get any work done because my mind would always been on Sakura-
  317.27 +chan. But that's just silly. My mind is always on Sakura-chan as it
  317.28 +is. 
  317.29 +	Mother wanted me to thank you for your kind words about her
  317.30 +dancing. She really is a wonderful dancer. I know that she enjoyed it
  317.31 +quite a bit when she was younger and still does when she has a
  317.32 +chance, though she's very particular about her dance partner. She's
  317.33 +waiting for one dance in particular. But I think her partner won't
  317.34 +mind if she dances with me or Sakura once or twice until then. You
  317.35 +were an extremely good dancer yourself. For some reason I had thought
  317.36 +as much. Ieran-sama must have raised you for such things, but I think
  317.37 +a lot of it was your own giddy spirit shining through. It was a
  317.38 +wonderful night of dancing. I feel bad for keeping Sakura-chan mostly
  317.39 +to myself, but I was far too intoxicated by her presence to let go of
  317.40 +her. It was a lovely night and if you're ever in Tomoeda again, I
  317.41 +would love to go and experience it all again. 
  317.42 +	We were both very happy to have you here. The house was always very
  317.43 +quiet with just mother and myself, so we're both so happy to get an
  317.44 +exuberant burst of energy to liven up the house. I was very happy to
  317.45 +see you again. Thank you so much for coming. You were such a great
  317.46 +help during my stay in Hong Kong and your letters helped me
  317.47 +tremondously. It was a pleasure to be the subject of Li Fanren's
  317.48 +attention, even if for such a short period of time. I can't thank you
  317.49 +enough for your friendship throughout all of this. Thank you very
  317.50 +much. I hope that you one day find someone that will fill up your
  317.51 +heart with the unending joy that Sakura-chan grants me. I really do
  317.52 +love her with all my heart and she makes me so incredibly happy. I
  317.53 +hope one day you can have that as well. But with how loving you are,
  317.54 +I'm certain that that day isn't far off. 
  317.55 +	I'm very glad that Meiling-chan finally has Li-kun. I could always
  317.56 +tell that she loved him dearly. I felt sorry for her when Sakura-chan
  317.57 +got with Li-kun, because she and I were both in very similar
  317.58 +positions, but I guess neither of us have to worry about that
  317.59 +anymore. I bet their wedding will be a very beautiful one indeed.
  317.60 +I'll have to give Meiling-chan all my best hopes for her happy wedded
  317.61 +future. I think she'll do well with Li-kun. From what I had seen and
  317.62 +what Sakura tells me, he can be stubborn at times, but that shouldn't
  317.63 +be a problem for Meiling-chan. It's nice to know that they'll have
  317.64 +their happy ending as well. I know I'm enjoying mine immensely.
  317.65 +Knowing Li-kun has found his prince will delight Sakura-chan, I'm
  317.66 +sure. 
  317.67 +	Sakura-chan and I are looking for our own place now, though I know
  317.68 +mother wouldn't mind if we keep staying with her indefinitely.
  317.69 +Sometimes I think she adores Sakura's presence as much as I do.
  317.70 +Wherver we go, we'll definitely need to have plenty of space. It
  317.71 +turns out that Sakura brought a shimmering gift with her from Hong
  317.72 +Kong. We just found out several days ago when Sakura woke up and
  317.73 +wasn't feeling very well. It took us a while to find out why, but we
  317.74 +were both thrilled when we found out. It almost looked like Sakura-
  317.75 +chan was going to faint at first so I held onto her as tightly as I
  317.76 +can, though I couldn't quite keep from shaking myself. Sakura is
  317.77 +pregnant, Fanren-chan. We were both so surprised at first, but we're
  317.78 +overjoyed at the prospect of a little child to raise. I'm sure she'll
  317.79 +look just like her mother. Don't worry at all about the baby. I'm
  317.80 +going to try to pamper Sakura as much as possible throughout her
  317.81 +pregnancy and I want to do the same to the baby as soon as she comes
  317.82 +to join us. Looking at my poor sleeping Sakura-chan like this, you'd
  317.83 +never know she was pregnant. But it fills my heart with joy to know
  317.84 +that she has a little life growing inside of her. Sakura says that if
  317.85 +it's a girl, she's going to name her after me. I teased her that it
  317.86 +isn't fair that she gets to name a child after me but I only got to
  317.87 +name a teddy bear after her. If our daughter is chibiTomoyo, then I'm
  317.88 +going to have to let her sleep with Sakura Bear in her crib, so that
  317.89 +our little Sakura and Tomoyo can have wonderful dreams together. 
  317.90 +	I once said that I would be happiest as long as the one I loved was
  317.91 +happy. But I learned that my lonely heart longed for Sakura's genki
  317.92 +warmth to soothe it. I can't begin to describe how happy my new
  317.93 +auburn haired wife has made me. The wedding was very likely the
  317.94 +single greatest day of my life, surpassing even the treasured day
  317.95 +when I first met her. To join our hearts like that, to have
  317.96 +everything fall into place so perfectly, to see everyone there for us
  317.97 +as we pledged our love... It was all hanyaan. I hope Sakura-chan
  317.98 +doesn't mind me stealing her word, but it really is the only thing
  317.99 +that fits how I feel even now as I look back on it. I'm surprised she
 317.100 +hasn't gotten tired of me watching the wedding video yet. Thank you
 317.101 +so much for videotaping it for me. The angles were all perfect and
 317.102 +when Sakura-chan steps into the frame my heart begins to melt. My
 317.103 +sweetest dreams pale in comparison to actually standing there with
 317.104 +Sakura in wedding gowns, gazing into her eyes and knowing that we'll
 317.105 +never be alone again. If these days never end, I know I have found
 317.106 +heaven. 
 317.107 +	My lovely Sakura-chan sleeps so peacefully even as we near work, as
 317.108 +if such trivial things are of no consequence to my dreaming angel. I
 317.109 +love her so much, Fanren-chan. With all my heart and soul. With all
 317.110 +that I am. And this love for her grows with every passing day, just
 317.111 +as it always has. It has become a thrilling ache throughout me as I
 317.112 +spend my days and nights with the Mistress of the Cards, and bask in
 317.113 +her energetic and kawaii presence. This delicious ache always grows
 317.114 +stronger, almost painfully so, but I would never wish to be without
 317.115 +it. I used to watch every little adventure she had through the lens
 317.116 +of my camcorder. Now everyday is an adventure, but rather than
 317.117 +watching it, Sakura pulls me into it, giving me a taste of the
 317.118 +wondrous things life has to offer. Raising a daughter, finding a
 317.119 +house, and wherever else this delightful path takes us, I will be
 317.120 +more than happy to follow as long as my beautiful bride is there to
 317.121 +light up my world.
 317.122 +	The limousine has stopped. I'll have to wake Sakura-chan up soon.
 317.123 +But I hope no one ever wakes me up from this dream. I want it to go
 317.124 +on forever. 
 317.125 +
 317.126 +Your friends in Japan,
 317.127 +Tomoyo and Sakura Daidouji
 317.128 \ No newline at end of file

   318.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   318.2 +++ b/stories/dedication.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   318.3 @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
   318.4 +i wrote a poem...it took me a whole week to write it though because
   318.5 +i kept losing my inspiration...
   318.6 +
   318.7 +but i regained it just yesterday, and remembered why i was writing
   318.8 +it...if anyone has ever watched CCS...this is a poem with Tomoyo's
   318.9 +heart to Sakura...
  318.10 +
  318.11 +~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  318.12 +
  318.13 +My Dedication to You
  318.14 +by Hitomi
  318.15 +hitomi_heartilly@hotmail.com
  318.16 +
  318.17 +I live in my delusions. They are my reality.
  318.18 +I live in this world. It is my delusion.
  318.19 +When I live I am dead, the world continues to spin
  318.20 +but life itself passes me by.
  318.21 +I belong in this world. It is my second delusion.
  318.22 +I belong nowhere. That is the truth.
  318.23 +
  318.24 +You who are beautiful. I love you.
  318.25 +Do you notice me? I wish you did.
  318.26 +Do I seem lonely when I speak of my reality?
  318.27 +because the truth is we are all alone.
  318.28 +I belong in this world. I belong with you.
  318.29 +I belong nowhere, for I am not with you.
  318.30 +
  318.31 +I live in my dreams. But they aren't real.
  318.32 +I want to live in my dreams. But it can't happen.
  318.33 +Don't worry though, I am not really lonely,
  318.34 +because I have you.
  318.35 +I belong in this world because of you.
  318.36 +I belong nowhere except with you.
  318.37 +
  318.38 +Believe in me and let me live, because i believe in you,
  318.39 +The truth in life is my love, and this my dedication to you.

   319.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   319.2 +++ b/stories/desolation.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   319.3 @@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
   319.4 +Hi!
   319.5 +Words written like _this_ are in Italics.
   319.6 +This is kind of an epilogue to the trilogy Hotaru's Pain. It makes 
   319.7 +more sense if you read that one first, but what do I care about 
   319.8 +what you do. I kinda like this story.
   319.9 +
  319.10 +
  319.11 +	Letters from Desolation Row
  319.12 +	 By the Ghost of 'lectricity
  319.13 +
  319.14 +
  319.15 + Prologue
  319.16 + Tangled up in Blue
  319.17 +
  319.18 +So now I'm goin' back again
  319.19 +Got to get to her somehow
  319.20 +We always did feel the same
  319.21 +We just saw it from a different point of view
  319.22 +
  319.23 +Bob Dylan
  319.24 +
  319.25 +
  319.26 + Part 1
  319.27 + Desolation Row
  319.28 +
  319.29 +  A young woman was sitting under a massive tree atop a hill. It 
  319.30 +was a strong and a very old tree; it must have stood there for 
  319.31 +ages. The leaves of the mighty tree were filtering the warm 
  319.32 +sunlight as it shone down in golden blots upon the woman. A warm 
  319.33 +summer breeze was blowing up the hill, tangling the woman's black 
  319.34 +hair with little tongues of air licking past her face. Tufts of her 
  319.35 +hair were swirled about and danced around her neck while the wind 
  319.36 +relieved a bit of the heat of the summer afternoon.
  319.37 + In the valley below the hill, spread before the woman, lay the 
  319.38 +city of Crystal Tokyo, home of Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion 
  319.39 +- and their daughter.
  319.40 + The woman looked about twenty, twenty-five at best. As young as 
  319.41 +her body seemed, her eyes told a whole different story. Her dark 
  319.42 +jewels lost the glow of youth a long time ago. Her eyes were that 
  319.43 +of an old woman, a woman who has seen generations go by, who has 
  319.44 +seen lives of people that grew close to her wither away like the 
  319.45 +leaves of this mighty tree do every year. A woman who has witnessed 
  319.46 +horrors other people never dare to think of, let alone imagine 
  319.47 +them.
  319.48 + The only one who could still smile genuinely after all those years 
  319.49 +was the queen. And how couldn't she... She had someone to love her, 
  319.50 +someone as immortal as they all were. And she had a beautiful 
  319.51 +daughter.
  319.52 + Oh, had she have never met her, how different her life would be. 
  319.53 +She would have died long ago, the torture of immortality would have 
  319.54 +been spared to her. Her loneliness would have lasted only a 
  319.55 +lifetime, her object of desire would have stayed hidden from her 
  319.56 +eyes. But now she must face eternity alone, with her princess just 
  319.57 +within reach, yet so unattainable. 
  319.58 + People regarded them as angels, avatars, or something similar yet 
  319.59 +she was already broken, long before the sky will ever open for her. 
  319.60 +Forsaken she was sinking beneath the flood of tears that dried out 
  319.61 +centuries ago.
  319.62 + How she wished she could be as strong as this tree was. But she 
  319.63 +wasn't. She was weak. Who would want someone as weak as her? Why 
  319.64 +does a princess want someone as weak as her? 
  319.65 +
  319.66 +
  319.67 + Part 2
  319.68 + Blood in my Eyes
  319.69 +
  319.70 + A young woman was heading up a hill to the north of Crystal Tokyo. 
  319.71 +The hill was off grounds for the citizens of Crystal Tokyo. The 
  319.72 +hill was off grounds even for the members of the Royal Family and 
  319.73 +the Senshi. The hill had a concentrated amount of negative energy. 
  319.74 +Many fatal accidents happened here in the recent past, the few 
  319.75 +suicides that were committed in this city of angels were committed 
  319.76 +here.
  319.77 + The hot summer afternoon was already turning into evening but the 
  319.78 +heat was still unbearable. The hands and knees of the young woman 
  319.79 +were bleeding as she fell to the ground more than once - the heat 
  319.80 +and the negative karma taking their toll. And yet she continued 
  319.81 +walking the path that led her to the top. For someone was waiting 
  319.82 +at the top. Someone who has been waiting there for a long time.
  319.83 + Once she had already walked this path in vain. The one atop the 
  319.84 +hill sent her away... But why? They had sworn each other love. But 
  319.85 +that was a long time ago for the one atop the hill. Did she tire of 
  319.86 +waiting? But why is she still up there then? It just doesn't make 
  319.87 +sense...
  319.88 + The young woman's eyes filled with tears each time she thought 
  319.89 +about walking this path down alone _again_. But this time the dark 
  319.90 +beauty on the hill had a promise to keep. She smiled at how easily 
  319.91 +and without thinking she gave away that promise. She couldn't help 
  319.92 +but wonder if she regrets that promise now. Why was it so simple 
  319.93 +then and why is it so hard now? If she walks this path down alone, 
  319.94 +this time she'll at least know why. Although she doubted she'd ever 
  319.95 +get over it.
  319.96 + Her feet were hurting tremendously, her knees were bleeding as 
  319.97 +well as her hands. The sweat from her forehead was dripping into 
  319.98 +her eyes, already sore from her crying. She needed a rest badly. 
  319.99 +She wanted to stop right then and there but something drove her on.
 319.100 + _Again_. She fell to the rocky ground again. Leaving some blood 
 319.101 +and her wish to stop behind she rose to her feet and continued her 
 319.102 +journey through the thorns. For if there was one thing she ever 
 319.103 +learned from her mother it was to have faith in love. And to fight 
 319.104 +for love. Because love _will_ find a way.
 319.105 +
 319.106 +
 319.107 + Part 3
 319.108 + Shot of Love
 319.109 +
 319.110 + There she is. She just scaled the crest and now she's standing 
 319.111 +there as if stricken by lightning. I knew she'd come. That spoiled 
 319.112 +brat. Can't she understand there are certain things she cannot 
 319.113 +have? As soon as I heard she went back I knew she'd come sooner or 
 319.114 +later. When I woke up this morning with this new memories inside my 
 319.115 +head it was as clear as day to me. And the promise. The promise she 
 319.116 +forced out of my 20th century self. But if I'm honest I have to 
 319.117 +admit that she didn't force it. She couldn't do that. She's too 
 319.118 +good to do that. If I had felt in any way unsure about it she 
 319.119 +wouldn't pursue it further. I was so naive then. Then she was only 
 319.120 +my lover. Now she's the princess.
 319.121 + She's still standing there. Watching me. Watching me watching her 
 319.122 +watching me. Her white royal gown with the golden rings over her 
 319.123 +chest. The wind is playing with her pigtails and the ends of her 
 319.124 +dress. Her pigtails are slightly different than her mother's. They 
 319.125 +are a bit puffier at their base and reach only to her knees at 
 319.126 +best. But basically the same impossible hairstyle only the two 
 319.127 +manage to pull off without looking silly. Her arms are hanging 
 319.128 +helplessly at her sides, the golden rings over her chest are being 
 319.129 +lifted and dropped by her heavy breathing. But something is wrong. 
 319.130 +I didn't notice it at first - I admit that her sight entranced me. 
 319.131 +Her dress is stained with blood, her eyes are red. Her hair is in a 
 319.132 +mess, the golden rings aren't perfectly in place... But actually 
 319.133 +they never are. She is probably the messiest princess there ever 
 319.134 +was.
 319.135 + And yet she's so graceful - a sight to behold.
 319.136 + Now she has finally overcome the fear and she's walking up to me. 
 319.137 +Slowly and unsure. The path leading to the top is rocky, but up her 
 319.138 +grass is growing. I stand up; she's right in front of me. How long 
 319.139 +will she be able to meet my gaze like that? Not even a second. She 
 319.140 +fell down on her knees and now her deep crimson eyes full of tears 
 319.141 +are looking anxiously up into mine. I have to be strong - for her.
 319.142 + "I'll keep my promise... I do still love you." Cool and collected. 
 319.143 +I'm sorry... "But that doesn't matter. You mustn't love me!"
 319.144 + "Wha- What are you saying?"
 319.145 + "You will become the Queen of Crystal Tokyo one day. You have 
 319.146 +obligations too keep. For one thing you have to have heirs."
 319.147 + "I don't care if... if our love is fruitless."
 319.148 + "No! You are already spoken for. Your marriage date with Prince 
 319.149 +Helios is all but set!"
 319.150 + "That's not true! I don't love him!"
 319.151 + Can't she understand? I sit down in front of her, her eyes still 
 319.152 +fixed on mine. "You are the future queen! You cannot love another 
 319.153 +woman." This was the final blow. Needless to say I stressed each 
 319.154 +word to make sure she'd understand. Now it's over. I always thought 
 319.155 +I'd be relieved when I finally close this book. Anyway, now I can 
 319.156 +go on with my life and find myself a girl with pink pigtails to 
 319.157 +remind me of her. Maybe I'll even manage to love her through the 
 319.158 +course of time.
 319.159 + Her face convulsed in a childlike manner when she heard these 
 319.160 +words and she slumped down into my lap. I feel the fabric of my 
 319.161 +dress soaking up her tears. I feel her heavy ragged breathing 
 319.162 +against it. I can _feel_ her... For the first time in almost a 
 319.163 +thousand years I can feel her again. I haven't realized how much I 
 319.164 +missed the feeling of her hair between my fingers. I take a deep 
 319.165 +breath to inhale her calming scent. Just like I remember it.
 319.166 + She's unlike any other person I ever met. I fail every time I try 
 319.167 +to describe her. Angel. That is the only word that comes close. Yet 
 319.168 +it doesn't touch her essence. It only manages to scratch the 
 319.169 +surface. She's so much more.
 319.170 + I can hear her words, but they come to me from a distance.
 319.171 + "But I do love you. And I couldn't live without your love..."
 319.172 + "Why? Why don't you just let go?"
 319.173 + I can feel her arms tighten around my waist as she speaks into my 
 319.174 +dress.
 319.175 + "I love you Hotaru-chan... I love you, I want to marry you, I want 
 319.176 +to spend the rest of eternity with you."
 319.177 + At this point she raises her head and looks into my eyes. And when 
 319.178 +is see her eyes now - for the first time so clearly - I know she 
 319.179 +didn't lie. If I would send her away she would wither away like a 
 319.180 +flower without water. She needs love as much as other people need 
 319.181 +air.
 319.182 + Now I understand.
 319.183 +
 319.184 +
 319.185 + Epilogue
 319.186 + Series of Dreams
 319.187 +
 319.188 + "ChibiUsa, how is this possible?"
 319.189 + ChibiUsa. Nobody except her calls me that any more. I guess I'm 
 319.190 +not that chibi any more.
 319.191 + "Sit down over here, ChibiUsa." She steers me into that oversized 
 319.192 +armchair we sometimes spend the evening cuddling in. She sits down 
 319.193 +opposite to me on a chair and pierces her eyes into mine.
 319.194 + "Listen carefully, ChibiUsa. You are a woman. I am a woman. You 
 319.195 +can't possibly be pregnant from me." She treats me as if I had some 
 319.196 +kind of a disease or something. But she never doubts my loyalty to 
 319.197 +her.
 319.198 + "I think it was the Ginzuishu."
 319.199 + "...I don't understand." Of course she doesn't, I can see it in 
 319.200 +her eyes. She's so cute when she doesn't understand.
 319.201 + "A few weeks ago it was glowing slightly when I woke up in the 
 319.202 +morning. It was so subtle that I didn't know if it was for real or 
 319.203 +were my eyes just playing tricks on me. I'm sure it happened that 
 319.204 +night." A few moment pass before a tear trickles down her face. A 
 319.205 +tear of joy surely because she's smiling. She reaches out her left 
 319.206 +hand and touches my cheek. Oh, I didn't know I was crying also. You 
 319.207 +always do that to me. Around you I always forget about myself. She 
 319.208 +sits down beside me in our armchair and kisses my bare shoulder.
 319.209 + "Hotaru-chan, I'm already pregnant. You don't have to make 
 319.210 +passionate love to me."
 319.211 + "I love you, ChibiUsa."
 319.212 + "I love you too, Hotaru."
 319.213 +
 319.214 +
 319.215 +
 319.216 +The End
 319.217 +
 319.218 +
 319.219 +The titles for each part are titles of Bob Dylan songs. I don't own 
 319.220 +the copyright to them as well as I don't own the copyright for 
 319.221 +Sailor Moon.
 319.222 +
 319.223 +Peter Dobaj
 319.224 +The Ghost of 'lectricity
 319.225 +lectricity@email.si

   320.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   320.2 +++ b/stories/destiny.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   320.3 @@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
   320.4 +By Yohann DeSabrais
   320.5 +
   320.6 +
   320.7 +Destiny`s Plan
   320.8 +
   320.9 +
  320.10 +The song of birds outside the window gently stirred Hotaru from her
  320.11 +light sleep. She felt a throbbing headache as she usually did in the
  320.12 +morning, inevitable consequence of the difficulty she always had in
  320.13 +getting a good night`s sleep. Between the poor health and the bad
  320.14 +dreams induced by her traumatic past, peaceful slumber was little
  320.15 +more than wishful thinking for her.
  320.16 +
  320.17 +Then something made her smile. Turning her head to the side, she
  320.18 +saw the huddled figure of the most beautiful woman in the world.
  320.19 +She had a gentle smile on her face as her sleepy mind wandered in
  320.20 +some delicious dream only she knew about. Her long locks of silky
  320.21 +pink hair were strewn about on the matress like long rivers of
  320.22 +the purest water. Hotaru looked at her with a smile, thinking that
  320.23 +even if her sleep was to be torture for the rest of her life, her
  320.24 +waking moments of heaven with Chibi-Usa would be more than enough
  320.25 +to make her happy about her existance.
  320.26 +
  320.27 +A sparkle around Chibi-Usa`s finger caught her attention, another
  320.28 +identical glimpse glittering around her own finger. Two golden rings
  320.29 +symbolizing their undying love for each other as well as their mutual
  320.30 +promise to hold and protect that love always.
  320.31 +
  320.32 +Hotaru brushed softly Chibi-Usa`s face with her hand, eliciting a
  320.33 +gentle smile and a sigh of content from her sleeping lover.
  320.34 +
  320.35 +"You`re so beautiful, Chibi, whatever did I do to deserve your
  320.36 +love, my precious one?" she whispered.
  320.37 +
  320.38 +Chibi-Usa chose this moment to open her eyes and take Hotaru`s hand
  320.39 +in her own.
  320.40 +
  320.41 +"You filled a void in my heart I didn`t even know was there until
  320.42 +I met you." she said, smiling.
  320.43 +
  320.44 +"How long have you been awake, Chibi?" asked Hotaru as she moved
  320.45 +closer to Chibi-Usa and cuddled to her, placing her arms around her
  320.46 +and feeling the gentle warmth of her naked flesh.
  320.47 +
  320.48 +"Long enough to hear your words and feel your touch." she replied
  320.49 +just before placing a tender kiss on her cheek.
  320.50 +
  320.51 +Hotaru sighed when she felt Chibi-Usa`s hands caress her body. If 
  320.52 +there was any better way in this world to wake up every morning,
  320.53 +she didn`t want to know what it was. The dark haired girl wanted
  320.54 +to hear nothing that could lessen the wondrous bliss that was the
  320.55 +love of her dream girl.
  320.56 +
  320.57 +Chibi-Usa could see how much Hotaru was enjoying her caresses. It
  320.58 +made her feel good to see her lover smile, and she knew every
  320.59 +way that Hotaru liked being touched, every single spot of her skin
  320.60 +that responded to the touch of her lips... every little way to
  320.61 +tentalize her senses and make her reach heaven.
  320.62 +
  320.63 +Moving her lips to Hotaru`s neck, she kissed the satin skin of her
  320.64 +beautiful lover while her slender hand made its way to her perfect
  320.65 +breasts, her fingers teasing her small nipple until it became
  320.66 +hard under her touch.
  320.67 +
  320.68 +"You like this?" Chibi-Usa asked softly, knowing the answer from
  320.69 +the way Hotaru`s breathing was getting deeper and louder.
  320.70 +
  320.71 +"Yes... that feels so good..." Hotaru replied, her eyes closed as
  320.72 +she licked her lips in delight.
  320.73 +
  320.74 +"I`m happy you like it..." whispered Chibi-Usa as her fingers
  320.75 +pinched and pulled gently on her nipple, each little flick creating
  320.76 +a small spark of pleasure in her body. Hotaru hands grew more
  320.77 +fidgety, and she ran her fingers through the long pink hair of
  320.78 +her lover as her mouth moved to her chest and began sucking on her
  320.79 +flesh mounds.
  320.80 +
  320.81 +"Ooooh, yes... I love you Chibi..." she moaned as Chibi-Usa`s
  320.82 +tongue flicked on her hard nipples, twisting around in circles.
  320.83 +
  320.84 +The pink haired girl was in heaven as well. There was nothing
  320.85 +more delicious to her than the sweet taste of Hotaru`s flawless
  320.86 +skin, except the thought of all the pleasure she was giving her.
  320.87 +While she licked her, she moved her hand down to her stomach,
  320.88 +rubbing tenderly as she made her way to Hotaru`s most sensitive
  320.89 +spot.
  320.90 +
  320.91 +The dark haired girl suddenly opened her eyes and tried to let
  320.92 +out a yelp of surprise, but her voice was silenced by the sudden
  320.93 +jolt of pleasure she felt as Chibi-Usa`s slender fingers caressed
  320.94 +the moist folds of her secret garden. She breathed faster, her
  320.95 +body shaking in delight.
  320.96 +
  320.97 +"Oh yes, please don`t stop my goddess!" whispered Hotaru. She felt
  320.98 +like every nerve in her body was being overloaded with electricity,
  320.99 +threatening to push her over the edge, but at the same time she
 320.100 +wanted nothing else but plunge over that edge into the deep end.
 320.101 +
 320.102 +Sensing that her lover was ready, Chibi-Usa moved her lips away
 320.103 +from her breasts, but only to move them lower and give Hotaru the
 320.104 +most intimate and delicious kiss two lovers can share. As her
 320.105 +tongue touched Hotaru`s wet outer lips, the dark haired girl 
 320.106 +cringed her teeth to try and keep herself from screaming out loud.
 320.107 +
 320.108 +The fire in her womanhood grew even hotter as she felt Chibi-Usa`s
 320.109 +tongue darting inside her, reaching as deep as it could and 
 320.110 +prodding her inner mysteries with all the love that the pink haired
 320.111 +girl had for her. She grinded her hips in her face as she felt the
 320.112 +pleasure intensify even further, like her whole body was reaching
 320.113 +critical mass.
 320.114 +
 320.115 +When Chibi-Usa finally decided to go for the kill and grabbed her
 320.116 +precious jewel in between her lips, it was to much to bear and she
 320.117 +exploded in a massive orgasm that even the senshi of death didn`t
 320.118 +have the strength to resist, her throat letting out a loud and
 320.119 +vibrant yell. As the scream died, her body released the strangle
 320.120 +hold over her mind, Hotaru once again in possession of her ability
 320.121 +to move on her own free will. Her desires had been satisfied and
 320.122 +her hunger for Chibi-Usa`s body sated... for now at least.
 320.123 +
 320.124 +"I love you, Chibi. I would die for you... again." she said,
 320.125 +kissing her lover and tasting her own honey on Chibi-Usa`s lips.
 320.126 +
 320.127 +"I love you more than anyone or anything, Hotaru. I know now that
 320.128 +it was destiny to get us together in the end..." said Chibi-Usa,
 320.129 +smiling. "I`m hungry!" she added.
 320.130 +
 320.131 +"Of course you are! Let`s take care of that, then!" offered Hotaru.
 320.132 +
 320.133 +The End. 

   321.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   321.2 +++ b/stories/different.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   321.3 @@ -0,0 +1,698 @@
   321.4 +Title: The Different Path
   321.5 +Author: Matthias Engel aka MysticMew
   321.6 +Feedback: Solarsenshi@gmx.de
   321.7 +Status: Alpha
   321.8 +Fandom: Card Captor Sakura (manga)
   321.9 +Rating: PG(-13) (Nothing serious, really)
  321.10 +Category: Romance, Darkish and Drama (at the beginning)
  321.11 +Pairing: Sakura/Tomoyo
  321.12 +Timeline: Hard to pinpoint, begins years after the manga and then... 
  321.13 +well, you'll see.
  321.14 +Summary: When you realize your feelings too late, there is nothing you 
  321.15 +can do. No force in existence can undo what is fixed in time... Or is 
  321.16 +there?
  321.17 +Distribution: MSD (www.catstrio.de), Shoujo Ai.com (www.shoujoai.com), 
  321.18 +ff.net (www.fanfiction.net), Mediaminer (www.mediaminer.org), others 
  321.19 +may follow. If you like this fic for your story, please tell me, I'm 
  321.20 +not likely to put stones in your way, but I like to know where it 
  321.21 +goes.
  321.22 +Legal Disclaimer: This story features two females romantically 
  321.23 +involved. If that is illegal where you are or entirely not your thing, 
  321.24 +turn around and leave now.
  321.25 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and assorted 
  321.26 +companies, I claim no right on the characters and original storyline.
  321.27 +Story Disclaimer: The Different Path(c)2003 by Matthias Engel
  321.28 +
  321.29 +******************************
  321.30 +
  321.31 +Foreword
  321.32 +
  321.33 +Hi, there. And another new fandom for me. :) It has taken me awhile to 
  321.34 +get around and finally get into CCS. I am not sure myself anymore why 
  321.35 +I never was interested in it before since I do love CLAMP's work (a 
  321.36 +big Rayearth fan after all). But now I finally did read the manga (at 
  321.37 +least a fan-translated version) and I think I am rather addicted now. 
  321.38 +;)
  321.39 +This story follows the plot of the manga. I have only seen the first 
  321.40 +six episodes of the anime so far (local, German dub) and quite frankly 
  321.41 +I tend to stick to the original most of the time anyway with facts. 
  321.42 +Often anime leaves out so many important things. This is important 
  321.43 +because there is a card in this story that I know exists in the anime 
  321.44 +but not in the manga. Try to forget what you know about the additional 
  321.45 +cards in the anime, it won't be the same.
  321.46 +Bear with me, I finished the manga recently and have read a couple of 
  321.47 +CCS fics. Compared to my knowledge about other anime/manga, I am still 
  321.48 +trying to get a clear grasp on the characters, their feelings and 
  321.49 +thoughts (an aspect rather important to my style of writing), so it 
  321.50 +might seem a little rough here and there. I hope you still like it. 
  321.51 +This has been produced in more or less one day... if I count together 
  321.52 +the hours. I began Friday morning and finished it later today, 
  321.53 +Saturday. It's hard to give a clear writing time as I tend to do with 
  321.54 +my other rare short stories since it hasn't been done in one session - 
  321.55 +so I won't.
  321.56 +This might become part of a series. MIGHT.
  321.57 +Now enough with the intro notes. Enjoy!
  321.58 +
  321.59 +******************************
  321.60 +
  321.61 +The Different Path
  321.62 +Based on the works of CLAMP
  321.63 +Story Concept by Matthias Engel
  321.64 +
  321.65 +******************************
  321.66 +
  321.67 +A lone raven was steadily crowing, the sharp, barking sounds almost 
  321.68 +like a fierce protector, a fierce protector of what lay beyond the 
  321.69 +metal fence on which he was perched atop. His eyes were gleaming - 
  321.70 +malevolent one might say - eying the trio in its guarded sanctuary 
  321.71 +with wary eyes. It probably thought no less of us than the usual 
  321.72 +disturbances that had taken a hold of not only this lonely place of 
  321.73 +eternal rest but the entire world... and probably much more. That was 
  321.74 +most likely of little interest to the raven as it sat, guarding, alone 
  321.75 +but never lonely, the spirits always a detached company...
  321.76 +	I met the ruby eyes of the raven and held his gaze for a couple 
  321.77 +of seconds, satisfied only when the small creature nodded sharply 
  321.78 +once, emitting a low screech, turning away once again to look out for 
  321.79 +more... intruders. I smiled but the smile lacked emotion, bitter and 
  321.80 +twisted, barely even a ghost of what it had once been anymore. Where 
  321.81 +was no purpose for that smile anymore. For what would you smile if 
  321.82 +there was nothing left?
  321.83 +	I glanced up into the midnight sky and the angry black and 
  321.84 +crimson-tainted clouds overshadowing every light. It had been this way 
  321.85 +for a long time now. And ever since a few days ago, that was all the 
  321.86 +world would ever see. Walking silently past the rows and rows of 
  321.87 +stones, marking the resting places of those that left this world 
  321.88 +already, I could not deny the thought that maybe those that already 
  321.89 +left before everything started were better off. They had left in 
  321.90 +relative peace, most of them probably content with their time spent 
  321.91 +here. I knew that sounded rather harsh but it didn't feel particular 
  321.92 +illogical.
  321.93 +	I never quite liked graveyards. I think in my youth it was a mix 
  321.94 +of the silent longing for my mother whenever we visited her grave and 
  321.95 +the very atmosphere itself. Oniichan had forever sealed my fear of 
  321.96 +ghosts in place. Now, years later, I still felt a tiny shudder albeit 
  321.97 +knowing now that ghosts were not something you had to worry about - 
  321.98 +there were far more dangerous and scarier things out there. Now, 
  321.99 +leaving behind the neatly arranged rows of graves - the flowers 
 321.100 +everywhere already starting to wither and die from the lack of 
 321.101 +sunlight these days - I decided that I hated graveyards even more. I 
 321.102 +guess I never was someone who liked to say goodbye and this place had 
 321.103 +taken too much from me to feel even neutral about it.
 321.104 +	I passed by my parents' graves, side by side, stopping for a 
 321.105 +moment to pay my respect and make sure that Flower's magic was still 
 321.106 +working. Continuing on I did the same with Touya's. Glancing to the 
 321.107 +side my more or less monotone features softened into an expression of 
 321.108 +compassion. Yue stood in silence, not moving, as if in prayer. Maybe 
 321.109 +he was, I couldn't quite tell.
 321.110 +	Quietly slipping past him I went to the end of the row, two 
 321.111 +beautifully decorated tombstones were left, sustained by magic and 
 321.112 +protect from the darkness engulfing the world, like a tiny spot of 
 321.113 +light in an ocean of shadows...
 321.114 +	
 321.115 +	Syaoran Li
 321.116 +	1982 - 2001
 321.117 +	Brave and courageous, he protected his loved ones until the end.
 321.118 +
 321.119 +	A spot of light that in the end wasn't much more than an echo, 
 321.120 +just like the light of the distant stars that reached us was an echo 
 321.121 +of a long time ago. You can see but you can't reach for it, because 
 321.122 +the moment you do, you only realize it is long gone already.
 321.123 +
 321.124 +	Daidouji Tomoyo
 321.125 +	1982 - 2001
 321.126 +	
 321.127 +	A light in the darkness, always there, always giving. She was 
 321.128 +our heart, taking the burdens we could not. Her rest shall be 
 321.129 +peaceful, for if anyone, she deserves it most.
 321.130 +	A tear slipped past my eyelids, down my cheeks, before dropping 
 321.131 +to the ground at my feet unhindered. I thought I'd lost the ability to 
 321.132 +cry long ago, the endless pool finally drained dry. Yet, it still 
 321.133 +wasn't enough. The human heart was not made for that kind of torture, 
 321.134 +especially not such a young one, I mused. I could feel it even now, 
 321.135 +the soundless cry, like a crescendo bubbling to the surface to be 
 321.136 +finally released without sound because sound was incapable of doing 
 321.137 +the emotions inside justice.
 321.138 +	For days I had cried myself to sleep afterwards, asking myself, 
 321.139 +wondering where it had gone wrong, what we had done to deserve this. 
 321.140 +Nothing, I suppose. We were all just pawns in the big game after all. 
 321.141 +It was our fate. Everything would surely be alright... as long as it 
 321.142 +was convenient.
 321.143 +	I knelt down to trace the letters on the cold... dead... stone. 
 321.144 +One after another. Every word bringing a new emotion, a new memory. I 
 321.145 +let them wash over me. Years spend so innocently, without care, 
 321.146 +without the knowledge that everything would eventually be gone, far 
 321.147 +sooner than we could ever imagine. I had been so naïve back then. A 
 321.148 +part of me didn't want to regret it, but another part was filled with 
 321.149 +immeasurable guilt of the decisions I made so totally in disregard of 
 321.150 +the effect they had for those around me. These last nights I had 
 321.151 +contemplated, theorized what I could have done. But in the end, there 
 321.152 +was no simple solution. Even if I had known back then, I would have 
 321.153 +had to make a decision, people I cared about would still be hurt. It 
 321.154 +would just have been... a different path.
 321.155 +	A happier path?
 321.156 +	I didn't know. Even though the situation called for it lately, I 
 321.157 +never invoked the power to see the future. If I had known, I was sure, 
 321.158 +it would have been far more brutal. Clow had known his own death and 
 321.159 +could do nothing about it. Knowing the future was not the same as 
 321.160 +standing above it, of being untouchable. You could know everything but 
 321.161 +in the end, you also knew it would happen this way or another. And 
 321.162 +knowing that and being unable to do anything about it had to hurt far 
 321.163 +worse.
 321.164 +	Losing Syaoran and Tomoyo had been the most painful thing that 
 321.165 +ever happened to me. I was sure I would follow them soon enough, but 
 321.166 +now a different option had presented itself and I clung to it with the 
 321.167 +same fierce determination that had sparked me, driven me onwards in 
 321.168 +capturing the Clow Cards as a child, the same determination that 
 321.169 +fueled every remotely important task in my life. I thought I lost it 
 321.170 +and maybe that was true in some sense. The feeling now was... 
 321.171 +different. Tainted, desperate. It wasn't the kind of belief anymore 
 321.172 +that everything would be alright because I wished it to be. This 
 321.173 +feeling was far more... radical I suppose is the best way. I would 
 321.174 +make everything alright, no matter the cost.
 321.175 +	All that was left now was to make a choice. Then again, maybe it 
 321.176 +wasn't as much a choice anymore as it had become a decision already. I 
 321.177 +never thought I'd ever be forced to choose between them and ironically 
 321.178 +I never had to until now. But now it was inevitable... as was the 
 321.179 +decision I made.
 321.180 +	Standing up, I fingered the tiny key chain and unclasped it from 
 321.181 +around my neck. "I'm sorry, Kerberos, Yue," I said softly as I turned 
 321.182 +away from the graves to face them. The two guardians looked at me 
 321.183 +startled, not quite understanding. I expected as much. Yue seemed 
 321.184 +impassive as he studied me, but he had turned away from Touya's grave 
 321.185 +to face me, silently trying to perceive the nature of my words. 
 321.186 +Kero-chan floated in place for a moment, obviously not quite sure how 
 321.187 +to react. He was confused, that much I could tell. I was never any 
 321.188 +good with reading emotions but I was sure he had to be wondering why I 
 321.189 +would apologize.
 321.190 +	Well, he would know soon.
 321.191 +	The tiny key flared in my hands. I didn't bother to call its 
 321.192 +power just yet. "Light, Dark," I said in a firmer voice, "come forth." 
 321.193 +Two cards appeared in the air before me. One exploding into bright, 
 321.194 +yet soft light and the other into dark, calming darkness, before both 
 321.195 +formed tiny, sprite-like figures, female in nature - though I never 
 321.196 +quite asked if they really HAD a gender.
 321.197 +	The two souls of the cards knelt on one knee, heads bowed for a 
 321.198 +moment before glancing up to regard me respectfully with a compassion 
 321.199 +that always managed to warm my heart even in the darkest hour. They 
 321.200 +were bound to my heart, I knew as much. From all the cards, Light and 
 321.201 +Dark were closest to me. That is why I almost expected them to know 
 321.202 +the reason of their summon.
 321.203 +	"What do you wish of us, Mistress?" Light asked in a musical 
 321.204 +tone that was comforting but sad at the same time. They knew what was 
 321.205 +going on inside me, I was sure of that. They always seemed to know my 
 321.206 +heart, probably better than I did myself. The turmoil in my heart and 
 321.207 +soul seemed to be as evident to the two sprites as if it was the most 
 321.208 +simple thing in the world. They never told me though, making sure that 
 321.209 +I realized my own feelings rather than making the decisions for me. 
 321.210 +That was for my best, I knew, but still I wished they would have 
 321.211 +helped me realize one thing earlier. Maybe I could have at least 
 321.212 +changed that tiny, yet so important aspect of our lives.
 321.213 +	The graveyard was enveloped in silence, even the crow had 
 321.214 +stopped its shrill voice filling the area in almost periodically 
 321.215 +fashion.
 321.216 +	"Take me to Time."
 321.217 +	And the words shattered the silence like a thunderclap that had 
 321.218 +split Earth itself apart. Agitated the lone graveyard's guardian began 
 321.219 +crowing violently as if somehow completely understanding the impact of 
 321.220 +these words. I could swear Yue almost tumbled backwards, his eyes 
 321.221 +flashing in fearful understanding and... I didn't know, I was never 
 321.222 +really good with emotions, after all.
 321.223 +	Kero-chan on the other hand was ready to explode, a myriad of 
 321.224 +emotion playing over his tiny face I didn't even try to categorize. He 
 321.225 +opened his mouth to speak, probably a lecture already on his lips, but 
 321.226 +closed it again at the desperately pleading look I send him. I could 
 321.227 +see a silent war going on inside of him and it was showing outside as 
 321.228 +well in the tremors shaking the tiny body.
 321.229 +	"How do you know about...?" Yue trailed off, his voice with a 
 321.230 +note of anguish. Surely this had to seem like a déjà vu to him. Just 
 321.231 +like Clow, now me. The circumstances were different but in the end 
 321.232 +he... they would lose me as they lost their previous master.
 321.233 +	I had a dream last night. I hadn't had prophetic dreams in quite 
 321.234 +some time, not even when the true horror begun. The dream hadn't been 
 321.235 +really prophetic either, more like a revelation, the key to a door, 
 321.236 +the last door, the final way out. A tempting way, wrought with more 
 321.237 +perils and hardships as seemed to be worth the trouble. But there was 
 321.238 +nothing left that would make it a risk. This WAS my last chance.
 321.239 +	That is not what I said, I don't think the how really mattered 
 321.240 +to them anyway. Instead I focused on the two sprites again, wishing 
 321.241 +that I wouldn't have to explain my reasoning. I had never seen them as 
 321.242 +startled and frightened before which left me to believe that they 
 321.243 +hadn't exactly known my intent after all. But even though they didn't 
 321.244 +know the intent, the reasoning behind it was not lost on them. And 
 321.245 +while they denied me a lot of things they believed not to be in favor 
 321.246 +of my happiness, there was not a sliver of resistance now, as they 
 321.247 +spoke as one, "As you wish, Mistress."
 321.248 +	I felt the power swirling around me. A beautiful twilight 
 321.249 +wrapping me in a cocoon. Reality was being bend all around me as 
 321.250 +ancient seals and powerful wards were unlocked by the duo's powers. It 
 321.251 +was as my dream had told me. Alone I would have never been able to 
 321.252 +break through, only Light and Dark held the key.
 321.253 +	"Wait, let me go with you!" I heard Kero-chan shouting as the 
 321.254 +world slowly faded out around me.
 321.255 +	"I will go as well!" added Yue fiercely.
 321.256 +	I smiled, sadness and joy mingling. They had been so loyal to 
 321.257 +me. Especially Yue who had always seemed to regret choosing a new 
 321.258 +master albeit caring a lot about me. They had always been by my side, 
 321.259 +supporting me, no matter what. That was why I couldn't accept that 
 321.260 +offer.
 321.261 +	"I'm sorry, Kerberos, Yue. The consequences would be to dire for 
 321.262 +anyone else to experience." I looked at them through the haze of now 
 321.263 +multi-colored light and managed - for a tiny moment - to bring 
 321.264 +conviction to the smile in my face as I wiped away a tear from my 
 321.265 +face. "Don't worry," I almost whispered, "everything will surely be 
 321.266 +alright."
 321.267 +
 321.268 +******************************
 321.269 +
 321.270 +	The shift was rather swift and I was surprised by how gentle the 
 321.271 +method of transport had been. Somehow, from the importance indicated 
 321.272 +by the heavy warding I had felt, I had expected a far rougher ride 
 321.273 +than that. Opening my eyes I mused that one without magic sight or 
 321.274 +senses would probably think they were still... in-between. But I could 
 321.275 +tell we had long left the pathway to this ancient chamber where one of 
 321.276 +the most powerful forces lay hidden, concealed, sealed so that it 
 321.277 +could never be used by anyone or anything. The repercussions were far 
 321.278 +too dangerous.
 321.279 +	"Are you certain that is what you wish," asked Light, her voice 
 321.280 +thick with emotion as she stared ahead into the swirl of colors that 
 321.281 +seemed to be everywhere, making up every tiny inch of the chamber. I 
 321.282 +could feel the edges but I couldn't quite perceive it.
 321.283 +	"Even Clow deemed Time to dangerous to ever be used," Dark added 
 321.284 +softly. "He couldn't destroy the card after creating it, so he sealed 
 321.285 +it away." Dark turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes 
 321.286 +were unusually thick with emotion. "Even if you are stronger than he 
 321.287 +ever was, there is no guarantee your wish will be granted. Time will 
 321.288 +choose whether to obey or not. You cannot force it."
 321.289 +	I smiled ruefully. "If all that I've done so far was not enough 
 321.290 +to prepare me for this moment, then I have no right to be your 
 321.291 +Mistress." Closing my eyes, I held onto a single image from not long 
 321.292 +ago, the one thing that motivated me to do this, that left me no 
 321.293 +choice in the matter. "She's always believed in me," I said quietly. 
 321.294 +"They all did. I will put this right. I HAVE TO put this right. If it 
 321.295 +means sacrificing myself in the process, so be it."
 321.296 +	I felt Dark pull away and opened my eyes to see her join Light a 
 321.297 +few steps ahead. "Very well," her opposite said and I could swear I 
 321.298 +saw a few tears glitter in her eyes. A small pang in my heart made me 
 321.299 +shudder. They loved me so much. Not out of respect or fear of my power 
 321.300 +as with Clow, but because I had always treated them as friends. They 
 321.301 +felt my sadness, my anguish at the loss I experienced and even more 
 321.302 +so... I knew without a doubt that they would support my decision 
 321.303 +without hesitation. This would be my biggest challenge. But I wasn't 
 321.304 +completely alone after all.
 321.305 +	Suddenly the kaleidoscope of colors seemed to shift and then 
 321.306 +parted, like a giant veil pulled back. My senses flared violently, 
 321.307 +overloaded with the onslaught of reactions, the enormous power I felt 
 321.308 +from the presence floating in midair before me was hard to actually 
 321.309 +grasp. I could feel the magic radiating with a magnificence in which 
 321.310 +even Light and Dark, even Kerberors and Yue, simply paled.
 321.311 +	Firming my resolve I stepped forward, the key still clasped in 
 321.312 +my right hand floated upwards over my outstretched palm. An almost 
 321.313 +eerie calm began to settle in my heart and even when the sprite-like 
 321.314 +figure above me turned a challenging gaze towards me, I only shortly 
 321.315 +stilled to return the gaze. We both knew why I was here and we both 
 321.316 +knew that I would not turn back now.
 321.317 +	"Key," I started to chant the familiar phrase, my voice firm and 
 321.318 +strong, "that hides the power of the stars! Reveal your true power to 
 321.319 +me! I, Sakura, command you by contract! RELEASE!"
 321.320 +	With a flare of power the key expanded, grew in size until it 
 321.321 +became a staff longer than myself, a golden star rested on top of it. 
 321.322 +I could feel the magic running through it. If there was one thing that 
 321.323 +I had really gotten good at over the years, then it was mastering the 
 321.324 +power inside of myself. Yet it had not been enough at the moment it 
 321.325 +mattered. This time I would succeed though. I would not fail, I could 
 321.326 +not fail. I had to succeed!
 321.327 +	Time didn't bother asking questions or trying to scare me away. 
 321.328 +I barely had time to erect a defense but felt it torn to pieces by 
 321.329 +forces far beyond my comprehension. I staggered as my whole body was 
 321.330 +assaulted by waves of temporal magic, threatening to literally tear me 
 321.331 +apart. I sank to one knee, stunned, grasping tightly onto the staff. 
 321.332 +It was hard to concentrate, hard to form a plan of attack. How could I 
 321.333 +have been so foolish? I should have made a plan, I should have 
 321.334 +anticipated that Time couldn't be beaten by willpower alone. Time was 
 321.335 +a force nearly untouchable. What could the worldly elements at my 
 321.336 +disposal do against it?
 321.337 +	Memories began crashing into my mind, too many to count or pick 
 321.338 +out a single one. Fond memories, sad memories, happy times, hard 
 321.339 +times. One moment though stood out like a brightly-lit Tokyo Tower 
 321.340 +over nighttime Tokyo. Tomoyo in my arms, dying. Syaoran was already 
 321.341 +gone, protecting us heroically but at the end even that was in vain. I 
 321.342 +hadn't had much time to grief for him but the memory still stung 
 321.343 +painfully, yet the memory of Tomoyo was simply overwhelming because 
 321.344 +too many emotions were caught up in it.
 321.345 +	*I am glad to die in Sakura's arms...*
 321.346 +	I hadn't been quite sure if I had really heard those words at 
 321.347 +first because the shock was too big and my disbelief to great. 
 321.348 +However, they had been there. And it had been that moment I 
 321.349 +understood. It had been that moment I understood everything. The 
 321.350 +realization had slammed into me like a bullet train at full speed and 
 321.351 +it HURT. Kami-sama, it still hurt and would never stop hurting. My 
 321.352 +mind had been weighed down and drowned by the feelings of shame and 
 321.353 +guilt, the terrible injustice I had done my best friend. I had been 
 321.354 +ignorant, even when I grew up, I never saw it.
 321.355 +	Maybe I never wanted to see it. Tomoyo continued giving and 
 321.356 +giving. I knew something was bothering her but she'd never let me 
 321.357 +know, always brushed it aside. And what had I done? I had lived out my 
 321.358 +fairytale - that Tomoyo had so carefully helped crafting - right in 
 321.359 +front of her eyes. Whenever I had a problem with Syaoran I went to 
 321.360 +her, not knowing what I did to her. Yes, she wanted me happy and 
 321.361 +sincerely thought I was. I wasn't even disagreeing. I was happy. I 
 321.362 +loved Syaoron. But was that fair to Tomoyo? Was it even necessary to 
 321.363 +ask that question?
 321.364 +	I could not give up! I had to make this right again!
 321.365 +	The pressure began to dim and my eyes snapped open. All the 
 321.366 +Sakura Cards were surrounding me in a circle, even Light and Dark had 
 321.367 +joined them again. They were struggling to hold Time's power back and 
 321.368 +I could feel their struggle but also their souls joining with mine, 
 321.369 +fueling my determination as much as they shared my pain. Struggling to 
 321.370 +stand again, I focused my will, staring up at Time who impassively 
 321.371 +stared back, yet there was something... expectant.
 321.372 +	*Time cannot be forced.*
 321.373 +	Did that mean the card had to willingly choose to grant my 
 321.374 +request? How was I supposed to do that? Was there some key? Some 
 321.375 +particular aspect that needed to be met? Was it even worth pondering? 
 321.376 +I had made my decision and I would go through with it. I was the 
 321.377 +strongest mage in the world, I had to be able to do it!
 321.378 +	"Everything will surely be alright."
 321.379 +	That was my magic phrase. However, it had been Tomoyo who had 
 321.380 +fueled it. It was ironic actually. Only now that she was gone, I 
 321.381 +realized that it held little meaning without her here. How could 
 321.382 +everything be alright with Tomoyo gone? That had been another of the 
 321.383 +bittersweet realizations at that moment when I held her dying form in 
 321.384 +my arms. I did love Syaroan, Tomoyo hadn't been wrong there. However, 
 321.385 +she had made one crucial mistake. I did love her too. Not as a best 
 321.386 +friend but more. I needed her to be there, support me whenever I 
 321.387 +needed it. And I could always count on her to actually be there. Even 
 321.388 +after the engagement was official and the wedding announced, she still 
 321.389 +staid. Regardless of how it must have pained her.
 321.390 +	Yet, while I loved Syaroan, there was simply no way he could 
 321.391 +compare to Tomoyo. No, I didn't mean that I loved him less because I 
 321.392 +certainly didn't. The feelings for the two of them were different and 
 321.393 +couldn't just be compared. However, there was one thing that set them 
 321.394 +apart. While I loved Syaroan and he loved me, he didn't need me. 
 321.395 +Tomoyo did need me. And - as bitter as it sounded - I didn't need 
 321.396 +Syaoran nearly as much as I needed Tomoyo. I never wanted to make a 
 321.397 +choice between them, however, this simple and at the same time 
 321.398 +astonishing realization made it all so much easier this morning, when 
 321.399 +I made my decision after the dream. It was hard and I wished I 
 321.400 +wouldn't have to, yet there was only that one path to take now.
 321.401 +	The different path.
 321.402 +	This would hurt people, it would hurt Syaoran and it hurt me 
 321.403 +already to do this to him. However, there simply was no other 
 321.404 +alternative. I could try to do it all again, preventing their deaths, 
 321.405 +but that wasn't fair to them either. Especially not to Tomoyo. She 
 321.406 +would continue to give and give, completely missing in her selfless 
 321.407 +love the one possibility that her own happiness might have had a 
 321.408 +chance to be fulfilled in the process.
 321.409 +	A memory of Tomoyo with a look of utter faith in her eyes, 
 321.410 +telling me that she knew I would always be there to save her, flashed 
 321.411 +through my mind.
 321.412 +	Rooting my wand firmly into the ground, I stood unyielding 
 321.413 +against the magical storm of temporal energy around the circle of 
 321.414 +cards. I didn't need words now. Without a single command uttered the 
 321.415 +cards spread out. The non-element cards formed a wider outer circle. 
 321.416 +Woody, Earthy, Fiery, Windy and Watery positioned themselves at the 
 321.417 +edges of the outer ring, thin lines of magic binding them together in 
 321.418 +a five-pointed star. Finally Light and Dark settled to my left and 
 321.419 +right, completing the perfect circle.
 321.420 +	A white flare of magic engulfed the circle and expanded, pushing 
 321.421 +back against the enormous energies as I stared up at Time, trying to 
 321.422 +focus all my feelings in one last action. I wouldn't need more. Just 
 321.423 +this one thing. I had been so selfish already in my life, especially 
 321.424 +compared to Tomoyo. This wasn't for me. This was for her. I needed to 
 321.425 +set this right, to give back the happiness I had so carelessly taken 
 321.426 +without ever asking for the price.
 321.427 +	"RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL FORM..."
 321.428 +	The star on the wand flared brighter than I've ever seen it do 
 321.429 +before. Time had been always in motion ever since I laid my eyes on 
 321.430 +it, flowing through shapes, positions, ages... Now it stilled for a 
 321.431 +short moment, purple eyes gazing at me in now unconcealed expectation.
 321.432 +	"And grant me this one wish," I whispered even though my voice 
 321.433 +still echoed clear and loud in the surreal chamber.
 321.434 +	"CLOW CARD!"
 321.435 +	White and golden light mingled, turning into a thick pillar of 
 321.436 +magical energy as I thrust my staff upwards, the wand touching the 
 321.437 +sprite form of the card. I closed my eyes at the brightness of the 
 321.438 +light and so I could only hear the whisper, like the wind rustling 
 321.439 +through leaves or water gently flowing in a lake, yet as vivid and 
 321.440 +passionate as an inferno of flames or as shattering as an earthquake.
 321.441 +	"Granted."
 321.442 +	And then everything fell into darkness.
 321.443 +
 321.444 +******************************
 321.445 +
 321.446 +	Gradually I became aware of sounds and other sensations around 
 321.447 +me. My head was still spinning as if I was on a sugar overdose or 
 321.448 +something. There was the soft, somewhat familiar ticking sound of a 
 321.449 +clock and the light in the room was still rather dim, so it had to be 
 321.450 +early morning, probably before dawn. I was sitting on the ground for 
 321.451 +some reason and my body felt stiff, tired and something was really off 
 321.452 +about it...
 321.453 +	I blinked my eyes slowly, channeling a bit of magic to relieve 
 321.454 +the fuzziness in my mind enough to get my bearings.
 321.455 +	My room.
 321.456 +	My old room.
 321.457 +	I glanced down at myself, noticing an almost finished teddy in 
 321.458 +my tiny hands.
 321.459 +	Oh.
 321.460 +	Well, I guess it worked. I was baffled though why exactly I 
 321.461 +actually... remembered. My initial plan had been to move back to that 
 321.462 +moment and act as something like a... guide for my younger self. Then 
 321.463 +again, I have no idea how time travel really is supposed to work - and 
 321.464 +there probably are not many people you can ask about it. Also, I knew 
 321.465 +there would be consequences - this might be just one of them - and I 
 321.466 +had learned that every Clow Card had had a different idea of how to 
 321.467 +use their magic in their own special way.
 321.468 +	It... worked.
 321.469 +	The realization came a bit slowly. My mind still a little 
 321.470 +detached as the reality sank in. A soft smile tugged at my lips.
 321.471 +	It really did work!
 321.472 +	Alright, maybe not exactly as I planned but... I had been given 
 321.473 +a second chance.
 321.474 +	"Sakura?"
 321.475 +	I whipped my head around and saw Kero floating behind me a 
 321.476 +little uncertainly. He must have sensed something was off, probably 
 321.477 +the card's magic. As if on cue, there was a burst of light in front of 
 321.478 +me, startling Kero and making me look back. It was the Clow Card that 
 321.479 +fell out of midair into my waiting hands. Well, a Sakura Card now. The 
 321.480 +design had changed. I hadn't even tried to transform it but judged by 
 321.481 +the amount of magic I put into it...
 321.482 +	"Sakura?" Kero floated over my shoulder, looked down at the card 
 321.483 +and almost fainted.
 321.484 +
 321.485 +******************************
 321.486 +
 321.487 +	I'm not sure how long I stood there, letting my mind drift. I 
 321.488 +had barely ever seen Tomoyo practice since choir and cheerleading 
 321.489 +clubs usually crossed and also later in Junior High and High School I 
 321.490 +never really seemed to manage. I decided that was a real shame and 
 321.491 +from now on I would make it a habit whenever I could find the time. 
 321.492 +Entering the music hall of our school I had stopped, nearly freezing 
 321.493 +in the doorframe before remembering to close the door behind me in 
 321.494 +order to not disturb the practice. I had come in right in the middle 
 321.495 +of a slow, almost melancholic song and my eyes had sought out Tomoyo 
 321.496 +like a moth drawn to the flame.
 321.497 +	It had only been a couple of days in my old time that I lost her 
 321.498 +and Syaoran but it felt like a small eternity. I had always known that 
 321.499 +Tomoyo was flat out beautiful and thought it a shame that she didn't 
 321.500 +seem to have many suitors or always kindly refused them - due to 
 321.501 +reasons I was to blind to see. But God forgive me, she is gorgeous. 
 321.502 +Even now as a child the sight was breathtaking and somewhat ethereal. 
 321.503 +It didn't seem to be normal for such an angel to walk among us.
 321.504 +	And her voice, her voice. I had always loved her singing. 
 321.505 +Whether it was a slow, emotional song or something faster, more... 
 321.506 +vivid, Tomoyo somehow managed to meet the expectations perfectly.
 321.507 +	It was becoming a torture. I wanted to close my eyes and lose 
 321.508 +myself in the music, in the sweet voice of my best friend... and now 
 321.509 +suddenly so much more. Yet, I could not bring my eyes to leave her 
 321.510 +form for a single moment. I wondered if my reaction was a little silly 
 321.511 +but discarded the thought quickly. It had been living hell without 
 321.512 +Syaoran and Tomoyo there the last days.
 321.513 +	Speaking to Syaoran had been painful. At least I didn't have 
 321.514 +trouble with getting to him at the last possible second this time. 
 321.515 +What Kero-chan had told me a couple of years ago - relatively seen of 
 321.516 +course - was proving to be true. The strength of one's magic was bound 
 321.517 +to the spirit, the heart, and was fueled by the soul. The transition 
 321.518 +into this younger body would probably only have the side effects that 
 321.519 +my body would have to accustom to the strain of channeling the kind of 
 321.520 +magic I had developed over the years.
 321.521 +	Syaroan had been... understanding. Hurt... no, disappointed, but 
 321.522 +still understanding. I'm not sure if he knew about Tomoyo's feelings 
 321.523 +but considering how much everyone around me seemed to know such things 
 321.524 +before I could even begin to suspect something was there, I thought it 
 321.525 +a distant possibility. Saying "no" was still difficult to do because I 
 321.526 +hated to lie, I didn't even really lie to him. All that I could say 
 321.527 +was that I did love him but that there was someone else who I loved 
 321.528 +equally and who needed me more. We had promised to stay in contact and 
 321.529 +that was it. I would always treasure the memories of the future that I 
 321.530 +left behind, the times spent together, but I had made my decision. I 
 321.531 +had been living out most of my fairytale and I couldn't help but think 
 321.532 +it selfish after the recent events and after realizing Tomoyo's 
 321.533 +feelings. This time I vowed to be the selfless one.
 321.534 +	Tomoyo had been so lost in singing that now, nearing the end of 
 321.535 +the song, she almost stumbled over a note as her gaze briefly gazed 
 321.536 +up. Her blue eyes briefly blinked in wonder - probably wondering why I 
 321.537 +was here and not at the bus station, seeing Syaroan off. I held her 
 321.538 +gaze until the final lyrics were sung. For once I could clearly read 
 321.539 +Tomoyo. She was confused. Usually she always had been able to read me 
 321.540 +like a book. However, now Tomoyo had virtually no idea what was going 
 321.541 +on. I had to suppress a giggle.
 321.542 +	The song ended and a pause was called, giving me the opportunity 
 321.543 +I waited for. Waiting by the door, I followed Tomoyo's every step as 
 321.544 +she slowly approached my position. I admit I was a little nervous, 
 321.545 +tiny butterflies were doing flip flops in my stomach but I managed to 
 321.546 +control my nervousness. This is why I had begun this after all. To set 
 321.547 +things right. Time had granted me the opportunity, now it was up to me 
 321.548 +to use it. But had I really interpreted all this right? What if I 
 321.549 +ended up making a terrible mistake and once again totally understood 
 321.550 +someone's feelings for what they were not? What if Tomoyo really just 
 321.551 +loved me as a devoted friend? What if...?
 321.552 +	Gah! Get a grip, girl!
 321.553 +	I couldn't have been wrong. I never felt so completely sure 
 321.554 +about something. Besides, even if for some weird reason I had 
 321.555 +misjudged the other girl's feelings, I wasn't doing this out of pity. 
 321.556 +I would NEVER do that to anyone. Tomoyo wouldn't want that and I 
 321.557 +didn't think I could live a lie. This decision was based on the 
 321.558 +newfound knowledge just as much as on my own jumbled feelings that had 
 321.559 +finally began to make sense even to my usually dense mind. It had 
 321.560 +taken losing Tomoyo but I did understand now and Tomoyo was here. So, 
 321.561 +even if I had gotten her feelings wrong, I would love her nonetheless, 
 321.562 +unconditionally. Even if I had to be a selfless, supporting friend. 
 321.563 +Because that is what she had been to me all this time and she deserved 
 321.564 +no less from me now.
 321.565 +	Mind and heart set, I pushed away from the wall, to meet the 
 321.566 +lavender-haired girl who still wore an expression of extreme 
 321.567 +puzzlement. But now there was also worry and something else I couldn't 
 321.568 +quite decipher.
 321.569 +	"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked tentatively, sounding as if she 
 321.570 +wasn't sure if it was really me. Then it hit me. She wasn't sure. As I 
 321.571 +said before Tomoyo always seemed to know me better than I did myself 
 321.572 +and she must have noticed the change. Physically I might still have 
 321.573 +been a ten-year old but mentally...
 321.574 +	I met her eyes again, not bothering to try and hold back 
 321.575 +anymore. A moment of silence followed, neither daring to broach the 
 321.576 +subject. I was certain she knew that despite the difference I still 
 321.577 +was Sakura, otherwise she would have said so already. Finally Tomoyo's 
 321.578 +gaze turned worried again. "Did you see Li-kun? I tried to call you 
 321.579 +but..."
 321.580 +	"I did," I said simply.
 321.581 +	Tomoyo smiled that sweet smile of hers that with what I knew now 
 321.582 +left me wondering how much of it was fake and how much genuine. She 
 321.583 +was still a kid but even at this age Tomoyo always had been mature far 
 321.584 +beyond her years. "I'm glad. So, did you tell him your feelings?"
 321.585 +	"I did," I answered again. Taking a deep breath I stepped a 
 321.586 +little closer to the other girl, my hands still hid behind my back, so 
 321.587 +that the young heiress couldn't see what I was holding. "And I do love 
 321.588 +him." Tomoyo's smile faltered for a very, very tiny moment. I would 
 321.589 +have never seen it if I hadn't known what to look for. I was certain 
 321.590 +now. "But there's someone I love just as much and who needs me more 
 321.591 +than he does."
 321.592 +	Tomoyo tilted her head, again looking confused, there was a 
 321.593 +glimmer of... hope in her eyes but it instantly vanished again. Well, 
 321.594 +not for long, I would make sure of that. "Who's that?"
 321.595 +	Ah, I didn't know that my friend could be so cute when she was 
 321.596 +baffled about something. Probably because I had rarely ever seen her 
 321.597 +like this. She almost never was surprised by anything. I smiled at 
 321.598 +her, for the first time in days - maybe even weeks or months - a 
 321.599 +radiant smile was brought to my lips and it was all directed at 
 321.600 +Tomoyo. I could swear the other girl nearly fainted. "You see," I 
 321.601 +continued, wishing nothing more than to plunge ahead and confess but 
 321.602 +needing to clear this up, "if it comes down to it, it hurt knowing 
 321.603 +that Syaoran-kun left but both of us eventually can live without the 
 321.604 +other. Syaoran doesn't necessarily need me to give his life meaning 
 321.605 +and neither do I need him for that. However," I fixed the girl in 
 321.606 +front of me with an intent gaze, "I don't think I can live without 
 321.607 +you. Can you?"
 321.608 +	Tomoyo's voice was thick with emotion and I could see tears 
 321.609 +glistering in her eyes, a rather rare thing but I was certain they 
 321.610 +were more joyful than sad. "What... What do you mean?" she whispered 
 321.611 +softly.
 321.612 +	Finally bringing around my hands I held out the neatly-crafted 
 321.613 +bear to her. My skills in sewing had improved a little and so I had 
 321.614 +found it easier to finish it... not to mention I did it a lot faster, 
 321.615 +leaving me enough time to talk to Syaroan and get here. Trying to 
 321.616 +convey all the honesty and emotion that I had tried to understand for 
 321.617 +so long and now finally did, I answered earnestly. "It means I decided 
 321.618 +that I want you to be my special person, Tomoyo-chan."
 321.619 +	For a long moment the other girl just stood there, stunned and 
 321.620 +lost for words. When she finally reached out to take the bear from my 
 321.621 +hands, her own hands were trembling and I felt myself almost drowning 
 321.622 +in the swirl of blue eyes, moist with tears, resembling a whirlpool of 
 321.623 +emotions. I have never seen such joy in my friend's eyes. Not once. 
 321.624 +"Can... Can I name it Sakura?"
 321.625 +	I smiled at her warmly. "No, you can't. I insist on it." And 
 321.626 +with that I stepped forward, nearly crushing my new namesake as I 
 321.627 +enveloped Tomoyo in a crushing embrace, full of all the love, the 
 321.628 +intensity of how much I had missed her. It was a little awkward for me 
 321.629 +at first since I was still trying to get used to being ten years again 
 321.630 +but I quickly relaxed in the close contact, cherishing the relief and 
 321.631 +the incredible joy crashing through me like a tidal wave.
 321.632 +	"I love you, Tomoyo-chan," I whispered, my head buried in the 
 321.633 +silky, lavender hair I had always adored and envied a little.
 321.634 +	Tomoyo sniffled a few times before she managed to reply. "I love 
 321.635 +you, too. Even if you are not exactly my Sakura-chan."
 321.636 +	I smiled faintly and a bit rueful, pushing her away gently to 
 321.637 +hold her on arm's length. Making sure she was looking at me, I softly 
 321.638 +said, "I am your Sakura. A bit older than I should probably be, but 
 321.639 +being here with you makes me happier than I have been in a long time. 
 321.640 +Because of you, I can smile again. You are right, I am not totally the 
 321.641 +innocent girl you knew anymore but one thing I will always be..." 
 321.642 +Leaning forward I planted a feather-light peck on the lips of a 
 321.643 +pleasantly surprised Tomoyo who looked like she was going to light the 
 321.644 +entire building soon, judged by the bright glow of utter bliss in her 
 321.645 +face. I knew more wouldn't seem quite right. We were still kids, 
 321.646 +physically, after all. "I will always be yours, as long as you want to 
 321.647 +have me and even if you don't."
 321.648 +	This time it was Tomoyo who pulled me into a hug without meeting 
 321.649 +much resistance. "I will always be yours as well. I never doubted you 
 321.650 +were Sakura and in the end it doesn't matter that you are a little 
 321.651 +different. I love everything about you, that never has been a 
 321.652 +question. Younger or older, it doesn't matter."
 321.653 +	We stood there, right next to the door, locked in a tight 
 321.654 +embrace, not caring about the world around us or the stares of some of 
 321.655 +the other students. It didn't matter right now. Our hearts were one 
 321.656 +for this timeless moment, finally at peace and where they always 
 321.657 +longed to be. Yes, my decision had been the right one after all. I 
 321.658 +hadn't lied to Tomoyo either. I knew that with her by my side, I could 
 321.659 +gain back some of the innocence and freedom of my youth and with time 
 321.660 +the memories of the last days would dwindle to nothing more than a 
 321.661 +long nightmare that faded away gradually after waking. There would be 
 321.662 +consequences for my actions. I knew that much and Kero-chan had 
 321.663 +reminded me again and again after he found out but I was sure with my 
 321.664 +best... my girlfriend - another honest smile - by my side, together, 
 321.665 +we could face it all. After all, WE had a magic phrase.
 321.666 +	Everything will surely be alright.
 321.667 +
 321.668 +THE END
 321.669 +(will possibly be continued)
 321.670 +
 321.671 +Author's Notes
 321.672 +
 321.673 +Well, that was fun. I seem to be getting better at short stories 
 321.674 +lately. Again, as I said in the beginning, it might be a little rough. 
 321.675 +A lot of my impression on the characters (especially Sakura since its 
 321.676 +her POV) came from reading the manga once and from some fanfics. I am 
 321.677 +still trying to build a clear picture of the charas in my mind.
 321.678 +I want to thank Heather (from Amazoness Duo) and G.P. again for their 
 321.679 +wonderful story "Dear Sakura". That had been the first CCS fic I read 
 321.680 +with almost the full knowledge of the manga in mind and I believe it 
 321.681 +will always influences my opinion of the characters in a way. I 
 321.682 +wouldn't say this was what prompted me to write this, but it helped 
 321.683 +immensely.
 321.684 +
 321.685 +Anyway, I am aware that there are a lot of open questions. Like, what 
 321.686 +did happen in the original timeline? Or what are the consequences for 
 321.687 +using/capturing Time? Why has it been sealed away in the first place? 
 321.688 +I did leave all those unanswered. First of all it would have been too 
 321.689 +much to fit into a short story and then... it leaves me opportunities 
 321.690 +for sequels. :) *looks over shoulder* Maia (my muse) is probably 
 321.691 +already planning... *sigh*
 321.692 +
 321.693 +That's it then. Feedback is always appreciated. Email is in the header 
 321.694 +(or probably linked anyway wherever you find this). I appreciate 
 321.695 +constructive criticism, positive or negative, but will never refuse 
 321.696 +simple feedback (like, "Liked the story").
 321.697 +
 321.698 +Ja ne, yours
 321.699 +
 321.700 +Matthias
 321.701 +

   322.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   322.2 +++ b/stories/disbeauty1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   322.3 @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
   322.4 +Welcome fellow Sakura/Tomoyo fans, or non fans if you're reading this for
   322.5 +the hell of it.  Thanks for coming to read my story, but first, yep, I've
   322.6 +got notes.  Here we go.  All characters copyright CLAMP, Kodansha,
   322.7 +TOKYOPOP, Mad House, Nelvana and Pioneer.  Did I miss any?  Other than
   322.8 +that, the only thing that I think really needs to be mentioned, is that
   322.9 +there are two terms at the beginning that you probably never heard of.
  322.10 +Both refer to carnival games that you may have seen in certain anime.  The
  322.11 +first is kingyo-sukui, which is basically the goldfish catching game.  The
  322.12 +second is shateki.  In this game, people use a pop gun filled with little
  322.13 +corks and fire it at a couple of shelves with different prizes on them.  If
  322.14 +the person firing knocks down a prize, it's theirs.  Alright, enough of the
  322.15 +notes, it's time for the story.  I hope you enjoy it.
  322.16 +>
  322.17 +>
  322.18 +>Discovering Beauty
  322.19 +>
  322.20 +>By: James Brown
  322.21 +mebrown@dubuque.net
  322.22 +
  322.23 +>	The sun had just begun to set over Tomoeda's horizon as music filled the
  322.24 +air and the ears of the festival crowd.  One of the city's shrine festivals
  322.25 +was fully underway as the people began enjoying the activities of the late
  322.26 +afternoon: talking in a friendly conversation, playig a game at one of the
  322.27 +festival booths, or, as Sakura Kinomoto was doing, taking a casual stroll.
  322.28 +Sakura was walking by herself as she observed the sights around her.  She
  322.29 +decided to stop at a kingyo-sukui booth to see if anyone had caught any
  322.30 +gold fish.  The brown haired girl was at the booth earlier, but she had
  322.31 +come up empty handed in her attempts to catch anything.  Right now, she was
  322.32 +more content with seeing if anyone else had better luck.  Once she finished
  322.33 +watching, Sakura decided to walk a little more, but it wasn't long until
  322.34 +she noticed her best friend Tomoyo coming towards her.
  322.35 +>	"Hey Tomoyo!" Sakura called out.
  322.36 +>	"Oh, hello Sakura," Tomoyo said once Sakura ran up to her.  "I didn't
  322.37 +know you were here as well.  Are you here by yourself?"
  322.38 +>	"No.  Actually, I was with my brother and my dad earlier, but we decided
  322.39 +to separate for now."  It wasn't until this moment that Sakura noticed
  322.40 +Tomoyo holding an orange stuffed elephant in front of her.  As soon as she
  322.41 +saw it, the topic of conversation quickly changed.  "Hey Tomoyo, where did
  322.42 +you get that cute little elephant?"
  322.43 +>	"Do-o you like it?" Tomoyo asked as she began to blush.
  322.44 +>	"I think it's adorable."
  322.45 +>	"I won it a couple of minutes ago at the shateki booth."
  322.46 +>	"Wow, really? Isn't that kind of hard?"
  322.47 +>	"Not really. All a person really needs is some patience and a little
  322.48 +concentration.  To tell you the truth, I'm going to give this to someone as
  322.49 +a gift."
  322.50 +>	"Are you giving it to someone I know?"
  322.51 +>	"Well, yes.  I think you've meet this person."
  322.52 +>	"Say, I hope whoever you give it to likes it," Sakura commented with a
  322.53 +bright smile.
  322.54 +>	"I'm sure of it.  Hey, you want to go get something to eat?"
  322.55 +>	"Sure."  As the two girls went in search for food, Sakura couldn't help
  322.56 +but think about Tomoyo and who she would give the gift to.  "Tomoyo sure is
  322.57 +happy about all this, but, I wonder who is making her smile so much?"
  322.58 +>
  322.59 +>	That evening, after Tomoyo returned home from the festival, the girl
  322.60 +entered her room while she held the stuffed elephant close to her.  The
  322.61 +dark haired girl laid down on her bed, holding the elephant up in front of
  322.62 +her as a small laugh emitted from her closed mouth.  "Hmm. Once Sakura
  322.63 +realizes that this elephant is really for her, she's going to be so
  322.64 +thrilled.  I just know it, I just know it."  The elephant was more that
  322.65 +just a simple gift between best friends, to Tomoyo, it represented a
  322.66 +confession, a confession of love.  Tomoyo held the stuffed animal close to
  322.67 +her chest as she began to think about presenting it to Sakura.  Her smile
  322.68 +began to enlarge as the thoughts flooded her mind.  But suddenly, a thought
  322.69 +of a different kind came into her mind.  "Wait a minute, what if she
  322.70 +doesn't understand?  What if she doesn't get it right away?"  Tomoyo began
  322.71 +to think about what she could include with the elephant in order to get her
  322.72 +message across.  Once the idea came to her, Tomoyo went through the house
  322.73 +to get paper, a pencil and an envelope.  When the needed supplies were
  322.74 +gathered, the young girl returned to her room.  She sat down on her bed and
  322.75 +began to write a letter.  In it, she began to inscribe her true feelings.
  322.76 +All of the emotions in her heart were being put on to paper.  Tomoyo's
  322.77 +hopes and dreams counted on what she wrote in the letter.  Her true hope
  322.78 +was that Sakura understood how much she meant to her, and her greatest
  322.79 +dream was that somehow, Sakura felt the exact same way about her.  As soon
  322.80 +as the letter was finished, Tomoyo placed it inside the envelope and took
  322.81 +it along with the elephant to her book bag.  After she packed the items
  322.82 +inside, she went back to her room with a cheerful smile on her face.
  322.83 +>
  322.84 +>	The following Friday morning, school began at Tomoeda Elementary and
  322.85 +Tomoyo had all the necessary items to make her gift to Sakura complete.
  322.86 +Tomoyo decided to wait until all the day's classes were done until she
  322.87 +presented the gift.  After school had ended and the afternoon finally
  322.88 +arrived, Sakura and Tomoyo walked home together.  The entire time they
  322.89 +walked, Tomoyo kept thinking about when would be the perfect moment to
  322.90 +unveil her surprise.  Once the two were a block away from Sakura's home,
  322.91 +Tomoyo decided to speak up.
  322.92 +>	"Hey Sakura.  Can we stop for a moment?"
  322.93 +>	"Why?  Is something the matter?"
  322.94 +>	"No, I'm okay.  I just have something that I want to show you."  As
  322.95 +Tomoyo took her book bag off, Sakura became extremely curious as to what
  322.96 +she was going to see. As Tomoyo opened her bag, Sakura's eyes began to
  322.97 +widen once she saw a familiar orange color.  As soon as she recognized the
  322.98 +elephant's shape, her entire face lit up.
  322.99 +>	"Hey, isn't...isn't that the elephant from last night?"
 322.100 +>	"Yes."
 322.101 +>	"But you still have it with you.  I thought...wait.  Do you mean that the
 322.102 +friend you're giving it to is me?"
 322.103 +>	"That's right Sakura.  This gift belongs to you."
 322.104 +>	"Oh thank you Tomoyo!  Thank you so much!"
 322.105 +>	"I decided to wait until today to give it to you so I could surprise you."
 322.106 +>	"I understand, and thanks again."  As Sakura accepted the gift and held
 322.107 +it close to her, Tomoyo smiled as she watched her friend spin in a
 322.108 +delightful mood.  The moment was uplifting to her, and she knew now, as
 322.109 +Sakura began to ask her a question, it was time for her to present the
 322.110 +letter.  "But, why are you giving this to me?  Is it because I did
 322.111 +something recently?"
 322.112 +>	"Well, I think this well help to answer your question."  Sakura was
 322.113 +puzzled as Tomoyo reached into her bag a second time and pulled out the
 322.114 +letter.  When the letter was handed to her, she put down the elephant and
 322.115 +examined the envelope.  After finding nothing to read on the envelope
 322.116 +itself, Sakura opened it and began to read the letter out loud.
 322.117 +>	"Sakura, we have been good friends for a long time now, and as friends,
 322.118 +we have been through a lot of incredible situations together.  And through
 322.119 +the time we've known each other, I consider you to be my greatest friend.
 322.120 +Whenever I see your smile, it makes me feel happy even if I am already in a
 322.121 +good mood.  When I am with you, I know I can tell you any of my secrets
 322.122 +without the fear of having anyone else knowing.  But the secret I want to
 322.123 +tell you now is much different than any I've told and it concerns you as
 322.124 +well."  At this point, Sakura's interest in what she was reading grew in a
 322.125 +vast amount.  "My secret is one that I have carried with me for a while
 322.126 +now.  I hope that you understand how I feel and that perhaps, you feel the
 322.127 +same way as well.  What I want to tell you is that I..." Sakura continued
 322.128 +reading the letter, but found the news to be a total shock for her.  So
 322.129 +much so that she was unable to find a voice to read the letter out loud.
 322.130 +When Sakura had finished reading the letter, she looked up to Tomoyo with
 322.131 +an expression on her face, to which Tomoyo acted surprised and concerned.
 322.132 +Sakura's expression was almost one of fear and confusion.  She then
 322.133 +realized she didn't finish reading the letter out loud.  As she continued
 322.134 +reading where she left off, her tone of voice changed.  From anticipation,
 322.135 +to a tone that was more dreary.  "I love you.  In all honesty and with all
 322.136 +of my heart, I love you.  My feelings are more than just what common
 322.137 +friends share.  They are very much in the romantic sense.  You mean
 322.138 +everything to me and I hope you will stay with me for a long time."  Sakura
 322.139 +didn't feel any different after reading Tomoyo's confession.  She didn't
 322.140 +know what to say.  She didn't know what to think.  She didn't know what to
 322.141 +do.  Tomoyo finally decided to break the silence with her voice.
 322.142 +>	"Sakura, w-what's the matter?"
 322.143 +>	Sakura tried to say something right away, but found it difficult with all
 322.144 +the thoughts in her head.  "I...I...I..."  Everything about this situation
 322.145 +was just making her nervous.  "I...have to go."  Sakura ran toward her
 322.146 +house and didn't look back.  The letter slowly drifted out of her hands and
 322.147 +landed in front of Tomoyo.  Tomoyo was shaken by what had happened.  She
 322.148 +never considered this as the result of her actions.
 322.149 +>	"Sakura?  Wait!  Why are you running?"  She reached out to the distant
 322.150 +girl but found it to be of little help.  Alone and heartbrokne, the girl
 322.151 +stood there as bitter sadness flooded her senses.  Everything she hoped for
 322.152 +collapsed in front of her.  Tomoyo looked at the items that represented her
 322.153 +gift as her eyes began to tear up.  "But...but why?"
 322.154 +
 322.155 + 
 322.156 +
 322.157 +      
 322.158 \ No newline at end of file

   323.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   323.2 +++ b/stories/disbeauty2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   323.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   323.4 +	There was no feeling of joy in the dark haired girl's senses afterwards.
   323.5 +Tomoyo spent the entire evening inside her room and refused human contact
   323.6 +from anyone else in the house.  She laid down on top of her bed with her
   323.7 +head embedded in her pillow.  She began to weep as her sobs were muffled by
   323.8 +the thick cushion.  There was no way for her to understand why Sakura
   323.9 +rejected her without any clear motive.  Tomoyo couldn't stop thinking about
  323.10 +why things went wrong for her.  She lifted her head up and glanced across
  323.11 +the room at the camcorder.  She had recorded many images with it and had
  323.12 +captured many memories, but the subject of a vast majority of those
  323.13 +memories was Sakura.  Whether it was getting footage of the capture of a
  323.14 +Clow Card, or taking shots while walking through the park, Tomoyo would
  323.15 +always playback anything that had her best friend in it.  The thought of
  323.16 +Sakura use to shine a beacon of joy within Tomoyo's heart, but tonight,
  323.17 +sadness was the only feeling that rested in her heart.  Tomoyo didn't think
  323.18 +she would ever watch any of her videos again, or even use the camcorder
  323.19 +again.  The dark haired girl placed her head on her pillow and cried as
  323.20 +heartache overtook her senses.
  323.21 +>
  323.22 +>	The whole situation was still confusing for Sakura.  After spending
  323.23 +almost an entire day's time thinking about it, Sakura decided to do some
  323.24 +rollerblading to clear her head.  But gliding down the sidewalk in the
  323.25 +early afternoon didn't make any difference.  'What did she mean by it?'
  323.26 +Sakura thought to herself.  'And why did she do it?  I still don't
  323.27 +understand.'  Sakura fully understood Tomoyo's intention for writing the
  323.28 +letter, what she didn't understand was how it could be natural for Tomoyo
  323.29 +to feel that way.  'Was she just joking about it?  Hmm...no, that's
  323.30 +probably not it.  She wouldn't have done anything like that to me.  But how
  323.31 +could she say all that and mean it?'  As Sakura continued skating, her
  323.32 +thoughts went to what was actually said in Tomoyo's letter.  Sakura
  323.33 +recalled the feelings of emotion that the letter tried to convey.  She
  323.34 +didn't think much of it at first, but the more she thought about it, the
  323.35 +more she related it to all of the moments she was with Tomoyo.  She thought
  323.36 +about all of the times that Tomoyo looked up to her and gave her support
  323.37 +when she was a card captor.  She thought about the times when the two of
  323.38 +them would just hand out together.  The one thing that Sakura rememberd the
  323.39 +most about Tomoyo was the way she looked at her.  Tomoyo's eyes were always
  323.40 +full of cheerfulness and affection, and now that Sakura had read the
  323.41 +letter, she understood why Tomoyo always had that look of affection.  The
  323.42 +brown haired girl's thoughts began to effect how fast she was moving on her
  323.43 +rollerblades.  Her speed decreased until she came to a stop at a street
  323.44 +corner.  As Sakura stood motionless, she thought about how much Tomoyo
  323.45 +cared for her, about how much her heart went out to Sakura.  Then her mind
  323.46 +went back to how she treated Tomoyo the other day, the way she abandoned
  323.47 +her best friend without telling her how she felt.  She was beginning to get
  323.48 +mad at herself for reacting that way and she was starting to imagine how
  323.49 +Tomoyo was feeling about all of this.  Sakura was afraid of committing the
  323.50 +crime she hoped never to commit, breaking the feelings of her best friend.
  323.51 +Tomoyo's bright smile was something that the brown haired girl loved to see
  323.52 +and it got to her that she might not see it again.  But as guilt was making
  323.53 +its way into the girl, another feeling came in that was even stronger.  The
  323.54 +feelings that Sakurta had for Tomoyo were tremendous.  Sakura had always
  323.55 +felt that she wanted to help out her friend if she felt sad or worried.
  323.56 +Her desire to help was greater than it had ever been, even while she knew
  323.57 +that she was the cause of the problem.  It was now she realized that she
  323.58 +cared about her friend so much, that she loved her.  This new discovery
  323.59 +shocked Sakura as well as added to her confusion.  It was hard for her to
  323.60 +think that she could feel that strongly toward another girl.  There was
  323.61 +nothing that seemed logical in the situation that Sakura was in.  The brown
  323.62 +haired girl was lost in the thoughts of her mind until she heard something
  323.63 +approach.  As she looked forward to see what brought her back to reality,
  323.64 +she saw that a black car was coming down the street.  It didn't take Sakura
  323.65 +long to recognize the vehicle.  "That's Tomoyo's car," she said.  As the
  323.66 +car passed her, Sakura was able to get a good look inside.  Sakura noticed
  323.67 +the driver and Tomoyo's bodyguards and, for a brief instant, saw that
  323.68 +Tomoyo was riding along with them.  But it was the expression on Tomoyo's
  323.69 +face that got Sakura's attention.  The dark haired girl had her head hung
  323.70 +low with a lok of utter depression.  It was obvious to Sakura how her
  323.71 +friend felt as the car drove by.  Sakura watched until the vehicle was out
  323.72 +of sight.  The girl became concerned over what she had seen.  But even as
  323.73 +she felt sorry for her best friend, she cringed after seeing the results of
  323.74 +her actions firsthand.

   324.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   324.2 +++ b/stories/disbeauty3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   324.3 @@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
   324.4 +	Later that evening, after Sakura returned home, the girl spent most of
   324.5 +her time inside her room.  The entire time though, she laid down on her bed
   324.6 +staring up at the ceiling.  Her sight was observing dead space with her
   324.7 +eyes watching nothing in particular.  Somewhere deep within the back of her
   324.8 +mind, thoughts of herself and of Tomoyo were piling up: thoughts of love,
   324.9 +thoughts of confusion and thoughts of discovery.  There were moments when
  324.10 +these thoughts would race through Sakura's mind and there were others when
  324.11 +they would be too much for her, causing her mind to run dormant.  All of
  324.12 +the girl's questions had been answered except for one, and there was no way
  324.13 +for her to know how to answer it.  As Sakura continued laying motionless on
  324.14 +her bed, her guardian, Kero, came out of the top desk drawer where he had
  324.15 +been sleeping for most of the day.  He looked around and found the room to
  324.16 +be pitch black.  The small guardian groaned as he flew up to turn on the
  324.17 +nearby lamp.  "Sakura, did you forget to wake me up again?  I'm so hungry."
  324.18 + Kero's attitude changed from crankiness to concern once he saw Sakura's
  324.19 +lifeless body on the bed.  "Hey Sakura, are you okay?"  Kero floated to his
  324.20 +friend's side to console her and try to help her out.  "Hey is there
  324.21 +something the matter?"
  324.22 +>	"Oh.  Hey Kero," Sakura responded glancing at her friend.  "I'm sorry I
  324.23 +forgot to wake you up".
  324.24 +>	"Sakura, it appears to me that something's been bothering you since
  324.25 +yesterday.  Is it alright if I ask what's wrong?"
  324.26 +>	"Well...sure, but I don't think you'll understand."
  324.27 +>	"Hey, I'm here to help, and I'll do my best to help you out in any way
  324.28 +that I can," Kero said in a calm, reassuring tone.
  324.29 +>	"Okay.  Well, basically it's about Tomoyo.  Yesterday after school, she
  324.30 +gave me a letter that...well, she said that...her letter said..." It was
  324.31 +hard for Sakura to talk about something she hardly understood at all.
  324.32 +>	"Take it slow and easy Sakura.  You can go at your own pace."
  324.33 +>	"Okay," Sakura responded.  She sat quietly for a few seconds, then took
  324.34 +in a deep breath and spoke once again.  "In her letter, Tomoyo told me
  324.35 +that...she has feelings of love for me."  Sakura stayed quiet after that as
  324.36 +she anticipated criticism from Kero just for saying such a thing.
  324.37 +>	"Keep going, I'm listening," Kero said, sounding a little impatient but
  324.38 +still williing to help Sakura out.
  324.39 +>	Sakura was a little bit surprised to hear Kero say that, and it was then
  324.40 +she realized that he could understand her situation better than she could.
  324.41 +"Well, after I read Tomoyo's letter, I was unsure of what to say to her
  324.42 +that I just ran off."
  324.43 +>	"What?  Wait a second!  Did you just say that you ran away from her?"
  324.44 +>	"Y,yeah, but I..."
  324.45 +>	"Sakura," Kero was upset at Sakura's description of her past misjudgment,
  324.46 +"when someone tells you their feelings like that, you don't just run away
  324.47 +from them and not come back to resolve the siutation!  You're going to hurt
  324.48 +someone deep inside by doing that!"
  324.49 +>	"I understand that now Kero," Sakura quickly responded.  "But yeserday,
  324.50 +it was all so sudden and shocking to me that I had no idea what to do!"
  324.51 +>	After Sakura's reaction of defense, Kero couldn't help but apologize for
  324.52 +his harsh outburst.  "I'm sorry Sakura, I just wasn't sure how well you
  324.53 +understood the situation you're in."
  324.54 +>	"No," Sakura said as she let feeling of guilt engulf her.  "Don't
  324.55 +apologize Kero.  I deserve to be yelled at for what I've done yesterday.
  324.56 +It's all my fault that I'm in this mess."
  324.57 +>	"Don't say that.  The fact that you want to resolve this problem the
  324.58 +right way shows that you're a caring person.  So try not to take it out on
  324.59 +yourself.  You'll get through this alright."
  324.60 +>	The little girl felt comforted as her friend patted her head, and her
  324.61 +mouth formed a small smile, but it wasn't large enough to show that she was
  324.62 +truly happy.  "Anyway," Sakura continued, "I thought about the letter again
  324.63 +today, and how Tomoyo described her feelings.  As I was thinking, I began
  324.64 +to feel something within me surface.  The more I thought, I began to
  324.65 +realize that I also had feelings of love.  These feelings I have for Tomoyo
  324.66 +are real.  I guess I kinda had these feelings all along, but after reading
  324.67 +Tomoyo's letter and understanding how she felt, I was able to discover them
  324.68 +for the first time.  But, I don't even see how all of this is possible."
  324.69 +>	"What do you mean by that?" Kero asked.
  324.70 +>	"It, it just doesn't sound right.  I don't understand how any of this can
  324.71 +be normal.  Tomoyo and I are both girls and we both share a desire of love
  324.72 +for each other, but when I think about it, it just sounds weird.  I never
  324.73 +even knew that I could fall in love with another girl.  Being in this
  324.74 +situation scares me a lot.  That's the reason why I ran away from Tomoyo."
  324.75 +Sakura's tone of voice showed that she was starting to act hysterical.  "I
  324.76 +don't even understand how the love between two girls can be real!  This is
  324.77 +something that's been on my mind for an entire day and I feel like I'm
  324.78 +going crazy!  It sounds unnatural and uncommon!  Kero, I love Tomoyo, but
  324.79 +can this really be called love?"
  324.80 +>	After hearing everything that his friend had to say, Kero thought long
  324.81 +and hard to come up with a solution for Sakura's perplexing problem.  He
  324.82 +delivered his reply once he believed he found the right choice of words.
  324.83 +"I can understand that at your age, you would find all of this to be really
  324.84 +confusing.  Okay Sakura, I think I know of a way to explain this.  Now you
  324.85 +know that your father loves you, right?"
  324.86 +>	"Well, yeah."  Sakura was very curious as to what Kero would say in order
  324.87 +to help her out.
  324.88 +>	"And your father also loves your brother, even though they're both the
  324.89 +same gender.  As you know, that type of love is not considered romantic."
  324.90 +>	"Right."
  324.91 +>	"Now, keep in mind the relationship between your father and your brother
  324.92 +as I continue.  The love that your parents shared with each other was the
  324.93 +romantic type of love.  The love between yourself and Tomoyo is also
  324.94 +romantic.  If you think about it, there are different types of
  324.95 +relationships between the two genders.  Many of them, even the one you have
  324.96 +with Tomoyo, are considered by a lot of people to be real love.  I hope you
  324.97 +no longer think of your situation being strange, because I certainly don't
  324.98 +see a problem with it."
  324.99 +>	Sakura listened to every word that was told to her, and it took a while
 324.100 +for her to understand.  She kept the relationship of her father and her
 324.101 +brother in her mind the whole time.  At one point, she came across the fact
 324.102 +that since they were family, they cared about each other and it didn't
 324.103 +mater that they were both male.  As soon as Sakura realized this, she
 324.104 +compared it to her relationship with Tomoyo.  Her realization was that even
 324.105 +though they were both girls, her emotions of love mattered the most between
 324.106 +them.  Sakura discovered that gender was not an important factor when the
 324.107 +feelings between two people were true.  Soon, a smile came across Sakura's
 324.108 +face.  It finally made perfect sense to her.  "I...I understand. I actually
 324.109 +understand it now.  Incredible.  But, the whole thing sounds so simple now
 324.110 +that I've had it explained to me.  I can't believe that I was just worrying
 324.111 +over nothing the whole time."
 324.112 +>	"It's okay Sakura.  A lot of people have problems with this sort of
 324.113 +thing, but you've found the answer to this situation.  I think you should
 324.114 +be proud with yourself."
 324.115 +>	"Yeah.  I am proud, and I'm happy about it too.  I didn't really think
 324.116 +I'd be able to...oh!  I still haven't said a thing to Tomoyo since
 324.117 +yesterday.  She's probably so heart broken, or mad that she doesn't want to
 324.118 +speak to me.  Now what am I suppose to do?"
 324.119 +>	"Well first of all, I think you should call Tomoyo on the phone."
 324.120 +>	"Huh?"
 324.121 +>	"Sure.  Arrange to meet with her sometime tomorrow so you can fully
 324.122 +discuss your feelings with her."
 324.123 +>	"Do...you think she will agree to do so?"
 324.124 +>	"If you ask in an appropriate manner, she will forgive you."
 324.125 +>	"Should I call her right now?"
 324.126 +>	"Uh...not yet.  There's something more important that you need to take
 324.127 +care of first."
 324.128 +>	"What?  Something more important?"
 324.129 +>	"Yeah.  I still haven't been feed in a while.  Could you please do that
 324.130 +first?"
 324.131 +>	"Oh!  Hm.  You bet Kero.  Wait right here."
 324.132 +>	"Thanks Sakura," Kero said as he watched his friend leave the room in a
 324.133 +joyful mood.  "Sakura and Tomoyo huh?  Well, who would have guessed?  Then
 324.134 +again love and life hardly turn out the way we expect it to.  I think those
 324.135 +two girls are going to be just fine together."
 324.136 +
 324.137 + 
 324.138 +
 324.139 +      
 324.140 \ No newline at end of file

   325.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   325.2 +++ b/stories/disbeauty4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   325.3 @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
   325.4 +	As the birds chirped and flew through the sky, a calm breeze from the
   325.5 +late morning air passed through the trees.  The sun projected its rays of
   325.6 +light upon Sakura's face as she gazed up at it.  The two girls had agreed
   325.7 +the previous night to meet by the penguin slide at the park.  The brown
   325.8 +haired girl felt so joyful as she was about to meet the one she had fallen
   325.9 +in love with.  She took her time as she walked to her destination, causing
  325.10 +her heart to swell with anticipation.  Her choice of speed felt natural in
  325.11 +this situation for the fact that if she went too fast to see Tomoyo, she
  325.12 +would be unable to savor the time it would take to get there.  Sakura
  325.13 +envisioned her meeting with her best friend, telling her how much she loved
  325.14 +her and especially seeing her smile again.  Sakura had missed Tomoyo's
  325.15 +smile so much that seeing it would grant her an unexplainable amount of
  325.16 +happiness.  Each step brought her closer to that feeling of happiness.  As
  325.17 +the penguin slide came into full view, Sakura stopped walking and quickly
  325.18 +noticed that Tomoyo was not in her vantage point.  Once she began to walk
  325.19 +around the slide counterclockwise, she found the dark haired girl waiting
  325.20 +for her.  At first, Sakura began to advance toward her, but halted once she
  325.21 +saw her face.  With her head hung low, Tomoyo had a somewhat dismal look on
  325.22 +her face which indicated that she still had sadness within her heart.  'I
  325.23 +wonder, could she still be thinking of how I left her all alone the other
  325.24 +day?' Sakura thought to herself.  'I suppose that could be it.  She did
  325.25 +sound a little uncomfortable about coming when I spoke to her last night.
  325.26 +I'm starting to feel like I forced her to come.  I can't see her like this.
  325.27 + It wouldn't work.  Even if I did tell her, she might feel nervous if she
  325.28 +thinks I'm going to hurt her again.  I need to lighten the mood and make
  325.29 +her feel at ease.  But how can I do that?'  Sakura began to think as to
  325.30 +what she could do.  For a while she was stumped for an idea and wasn't sure
  325.31 +if she could come up with anything.  But she kept cool and didn't rush in
  325.32 +her thinking process.  After a few minutes, she finally came up with an
  325.33 +idea.  Once it came to her, she was positive that it would help in her
  325.34 +situation.  She smiled as she dashed in the direction opposite the slide,
  325.35 +putting her plan into motion.
  325.36 +>
  325.37 +>	Nervousness was what Tomoyo was feeling.  Nervousness mixed in with fear.
  325.38 + She was fearful because she didn't know what would happen to her.  This
  325.39 +feeling of fear was with her since the phone call last night.  Hearing
  325.40 +Sakura's voice through the earpiece came as a surprise to her and she could
  325.41 +hardly believe that the girl would even contact her.  The phone
  325.42 +conversation had hardly begun when Sakura asked to meet with her.  Tomoyo
  325.43 +wasn't pressured in any way to see Sakura, but the moments when the two
  325.44 +last saw each other came back into the dark haired girl's mind.  She didn't
  325.45 +know what Sakura would do if she went, she couldn't even find any logic in
  325.46 +going back to the person who hurt her so much.  All she knew was that she
  325.47 +needed to see the person she fell in love with.  That, beyond anything
  325.48 +else, was all that mattered in Tomoyo's mind.  Afrter agreeing to meet with
  325.49 +Sakura, the nervousness quickly rushed in and overtook her senses.  What
  325.50 +Sakura would say to her was beyond her grasp.  Would she apologize, or
  325.51 +would she make Tomoyo feel bad about herself?  This thought put the
  325.52 +greatest amount of fear into her.  If Sakura rejected her, she would have
  325.53 +her feelings and opinions rejected.  Tomoyo's opinions made up who she was,
  325.54 +they were what made her human.  If her opinions were rejected, then her
  325.55 +right to be human was rejected.  Tomoyo would not be able to handle hearing
  325.56 +it.  As Tomoyo patiently sat by the slide awaiting her confrontation with
  325.57 +Sakura, she held on to the stuffed elephant that was meant to be Sakura's
  325.58 +gift.  Tomoyo had brought it along hoping that the brown haired girl would
  325.59 +be more understanding and would want to accept it.  Tomoyo clutched the
  325.60 +elephant to her chest recalling the moment when she had presented it to her
  325.61 +friend.  In that brief instant of time, the two girls both shared a moment
  325.62 +of happiness toghther.  The elephant was used by Tomoyo in order to bring
  325.63 +out not only Sakura's happiness, it brought out her warmth and youthful
  325.64 +charm as well.  Tomoyo would have given anything if she could see Sakura in
  325.65 +a joyful mood once again.  But something within Tomoyo, a feeling deep
  325.66 +within her heart, was telling her that things would not be as she had
  325.67 +hoped.  Everything she planned, everyhing she dreamed about could be gone
  325.68 +in an instant.  She wanted everything to turn out right for her.  She just
  325.69 +needed something to tell her that she could end the day feeling happy, that
  325.70 +there was no reason to be afraid, that the love she hoped for would be there.
  325.71 +>
  325.72 +>	Tomoyo continued to clutch onto the elephant when a gentle gust of wind
  325.73 +blew past her.  The cool air brushed onto her face and gave her a slight
  325.74 +chill.  This feeling distracted Tomoyo for a brief moment before she went
  325.75 +back to her previous train of thought.  She was distracted once again when
  325.76 +she noticed something descend from the sky and land beside her right leg.
  325.77 +It was a leaf from a cheery blossom.  Tomoyo was very surprised to see one
  325.78 +because it wasn't the right time for them to come out and none of the trees
  325.79 +close to Tomoyo had any cheery blossoms on them.  She raised her head and
  325.80 +noticed that more chery blossom petals were falling to the ground, almost
  325.81 +like a pink snow shower.  The question of how this occurrence could be
  325.82 +possible entered the girl's mind as she raised her head higher.  The sight
  325.83 +she witnessed overwhelmed her system as amazement caused her to smile.
  325.84 +Hundreds of cheery blossom petals were drifting high up above Tomoyo,
  325.85 +flowing like a river, and fell around where she sat.  The sight of beauty
  325.86 +caused Tomoyo to stand up and greet it with her smile.  As more of the
  325.87 +petals fell to the Earth, Tomoyo held out her hand and caught a few in her
  325.88 +palm.  She picked up one of the petals with her left thumb and finger ande
  325.89 +began to examine it up close.  Tomoyo knew that the occurrence above her
  325.90 +could not be considered possible by any normal means of reasoning.  The
  325.91 +petals that Tomoyo collected felt as real as any other cheery blossom petal
  325.92 +she ever held, but these petals felt very different.  Within them she felt
  325.93 +a bright source of energy that resonated through her body, making her feel
  325.94 +like she was floating on air.  Tomoyo closed her eyes and let the
  325.95 +sensations run around and take over.  Her realization as to how his
  325.96 +phenomenon could happen came to her as the feelings of pleasure continued
  325.97 +to flow.  Once she knew the casue of this event, she became even happier.
  325.98 +
  325.99 + 
 325.100 +
 325.101 +      
 325.102 \ No newline at end of file

   326.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   326.2 +++ b/stories/disbeauty5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   326.3 @@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
   326.4 +	As soon as the final petal had reached the ground, the wind took up all
   326.5 +of the petals and gathered them into a cluster.  The petals continued
   326.6 +flowing with the breeze while remaining in the same area above ground.
   326.7 +Tomoyo stared at the pink mass with a curious look in her eyes, wondering
   326.8 +what would happen next.  Suddenly, the petals began to inch their way
   326.9 +toward a section of the park with trees surrounding the entire area.
  326.10 +Tomoyo quickly reacted by picking up the elephant and following the cheery
  326.11 +blossom petals toward their destination.  The wind picked up speed and
  326.12 +carried the petals faster, making the girl run in order to try and catch
  326.13 +up.  Once the petals reached the trees, they escaped from Tomoyo's sight.
  326.14 +After Tomoyo reached the first row of trees, she began to walk past them
  326.15 +wondering where she would find the assortment of petals.  The girl wandered
  326.16 +around searching for her destination, but she had no idea where that was.
  326.17 +As she pasted more of the trees, she started to get lost in her search,
  326.18 +noticing that each new tree looked exactly like the one she just past.  She
  326.19 +was beginning to wonder if she would ever find the petals at all.  But
  326.20 +suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Tomoyo spotted them, almost missing
  326.21 +them completely.  The petals had formed a circle around one of the trees as
  326.22 +they began to orbit around it in a clockwise motion.  Tomoyo smiled again
  326.23 +once she had finally found where she needed to be.  She was happy not only
  326.24 +because she had found the petals, but also because she was in anticipation
  326.25 +of what would happen next.  As she crept forward toward the tree, the
  326.26 +circumference of the petals began to increase in size as they spread out
  326.27 +away from the tree.  Tomoyo stopped in her advancement toward the tree as
  326.28 +the petals broke its formation; brushing past the girls chest and
  326.29 +connecting again behind her.  The girl glanced at the pink circle and
  326.30 +watched its movement until it stopped a couple feet away from her.  When
  326.31 +Tomoyo realized that the petals would refrain from moving, she turned her
  326.32 +head towards the tree again as she awaited the next event to unfold.  With
  326.33 +only a few seconds of waiting, the young girl's hopes would be fulfilled in
  326.34 +a manner that she thought she could only imagine.  Revealing herself from
  326.35 +behind the tree, with her right hand holding something behind her back and
  326.36 +her left resting the Clow staff on her shoulder, Sakura gave Tomoyo a very
  326.37 +pleasant smile.  Tomoyo knew that Sakura would be waiting at the end of her
  326.38 +search, but seeing the brown haired girl again put a vast amount of joy
  326.39 +into her heart.  "Sakura!"  Tomoyo shouted in ecstatic jubilation as she
  326.40 +ran toward the other girl and gently wrapped her arms around her neck.
  326.41 +Sakura placed her left hand on Tomoyo's back while still holding onto the
  326.42 +staff.  She then turned the staff back into its key form, letting the chain
  326.43 +attached to it dangle in between the spaces in her fingers.  Her left hand
  326.44 +was now free to give Tomoyo her soft, comforting touch.
  326.45 +>>	"I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to see you again," Tomoyo said, her
  326.46 +voice showing that she was close to breaking into tears.
  326.47 +>>	"I know, and I'm very sorry that I did that to you," Sakura explained,
  326.48 +having regret in her voice but still indicating that she was happy things
  326.49 +had come around for the two.  "I would never intend to hurt you like I did,
  326.50 +but, well I wasn't sure if how the way you felt for me...and now the way I
  326.51 +feel for you, was even possible.  But I've thought about it and now I
  326.52 +realize I was just being foolish."  Sakura removed her hand from Tomoyo's
  326.53 +back and placed it on her shoulder, as she looked into her eyes.  "It makes
  326.54 +more sense to me than ever.  And now that I realize that what we share is
  326.55 +beautiful, I want to make sure it lasts as long as possible."  The brown
  326.56 +haired girl leaned in toward the other girl and whispered in her ear with a
  326.57 +voice that made Tomoyo feel cool and with the words she had been hoping to
  326.58 +hear.  "I love you more than anything else in this world and I want to hold
  326.59 +on to that feeling forever."  After hearing those words, Tomoyo's face lit
  326.60 +up as she knew that everything would be alright, even better than she had
  326.61 +hoped.  Once Sakura brought her attention back to the girl she loved, the
  326.62 +two spent the time gazing at each other's beauty.  Then, without any
  326.63 +warning from either of the two, as the situation presented them with the
  326.64 +same idea, Sakura and Tomoyo leaned toward each other for a kiss.  As their
  326.65 +lips meet, the kiss was light and tender, but the meaning within it was
  326.66 +very passionate.  After the two broke off their physical sign of love, they
  326.67 +smiled and continued to look into each others' eyes, feeling content that
  326.68 +they werte together.  Then a thought suddenly came to Tomoyo's mind.
  326.69 +>>	"Oh, I just realized.  I haven't given you your gift yet."  Tomoyo
  326.70 +exclaimed, almost forgetting she was holding on to the elephant this whole
  326.71 +time.  She then presented the elephant to Sakura with outstretched hands.
  326.72 +"I hope you still want it."
  326.73 +>>	Sakura took the elephant in her left hand, examined it, and clutched it
  326.74 +to her chest.  "Thank you Tomoyo.  Your gift really means a lot to me."
  326.75 +>>	"I'm glad that you still like it."
  326.76 +>>	"Do you know the reason why I really like it?" the brown haired girl
  326.77 +calmly asked.
  326.78 +>>	"It's because you said it was cute, isn't that right?" Tomoyo said with
  326.79 +a slight hint of confusion in her voice.
  326.80 +>>	"I did say that," Sakura responded as she loosened the grip on the plush
  326.81 +figure and gently held it at her side, "and I still think it's cute, but
  326.82 +there is a different reason as to why I like it now.  I like it because it
  326.83 +came from you.  The fact that you gave it to me really means something.  If
  326.84 +anyone else had given it to me, it would just be another stuffed animal to
  326.85 +add to my collection.  But I can tell that you gave this to me because you
  326.86 +love me.  You put so much thought into giving this to me.  It holds all of
  326.87 +your feelings and that's why I like it.  And besides, the elephant is cute,
  326.88 +but it could never replace your natural beauty."
  326.89 +>>	The final set of words that Sakura said connected with the dark haired
  326.90 +girl effectively as she began to blush.  "Th-thank you," she said.  "And
  326.91 +thank you for understanding my intentions.  I had hoped that you would."
  326.92 +>>	"Oh, and there's something else I wanted to say," Sakura began as she
  326.93 +moved her right hand from behind to reveal what she had been hiding.  "As
  326.94 +far as putting thought and emotion into one's gift, that's what I had done,
  326.95 +when I made these for you."  The gift Sakura held out to Tomoyo, in a
  326.96 +slightly proud, but still cheerful manner, was a pair of fresh roses from
  326.97 +the Flower Card.
  326.98 +>>	Tomoyo smiled once she saw her gift.  She took the two pieces of floral
  326.99 +beauty and smelled them to find they emitted a heavenly aroma.  "They're
 326.100 +very beautiful.  Thank you Sakkura."
 326.101 +>>	"And each of those roses both symbolize something."
 326.102 +>>	"Really?"  Tomoyo asked as she looked up to Sakura.  "What do they mean?"
 326.103 +>>	"Hm, one represents all the feelings I have for the girl I love, and the
 326.104 +other is for the hope that the two of us will always be together."
 326.105 +>>	A warm feeling went through Tomoyo as she embraced the other girl again,
 326.106 +and a gentle sigh escaped through her lips before she spoke.  "I would
 326.107 +really like to see that hope realzed."  As the unnoticed minutes drifted
 326.108 +by, the thoughts and desires of the two girls for each other went through
 326.109 +their minds, while the comfort of the two close together physically
 326.110 +acknowledged all of them.  A cool gust of wind went by as Sakura and Tomoyo
 326.111 +found themselves looking into each other's eyes again.
 326.112 +>>	"Well," Sakura began as she flashed a joyful smile, "I think now that
 326.113 +we've found our way into each others hearts, we should probably celebrate
 326.114 +our union.  Is there anything that you want to do?"
 326.115 +>>	The dark haired girl gave the other girl a light kiss as well as her
 326.116 +answer.  "Just being here with you is fine with me.  It doesn't really
 326.117 +matter what we do."
 326.118 +>>	"Alright then."  As Tomoyo took Sakura's arm, the two of them led each
 326.119 +other toward one of the trees.  They sat next to one another at the base of
 326.120 +the tree while a feeling of calmness and serenity found its way into both
 326.121 +of them.  Tomoyo rest her head on her girlfriend's shoulder, and Sakura
 326.122 +returned the gesture of affection by placing her hand on her girlfriend's
 326.123 +head.  Nothing felt out of place as the cherry blossom petals were freed
 326.124 +from their dormant position above ground and were carried by the wind as a
 326.125 +sign to anyone who saw them that two people had fallen in love.
 326.126 +>>
 326.127 +>>	After another school day had come and gone, Tomoyo stood by the entrance
 326.128 +waithing for Sakura to meet with her.  The two girls had decided to buy a
 326.129 +snack after school and share it with each other.  To keep herself occupied,
 326.130 +she took scenery shots of the school grounds with her camcorder.  She only
 326.131 +got a few minutes worth of footage before Sakura came out and greeted her.
 326.132 +>>	"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sakura said a little bit embarrassed.
 326.133 +>>	"Oh it's no trouble at all.  I'm just glad you came, and I knew you
 326.134 +would be here," Tomoyo answered while recording Sakura on film.  Since the
 326.135 +two were closer than ever, Sakura no longer felt shy or embarrassed about
 326.136 +being in front of Tomoyo's camcorder, especially now that she knew why she
 326.137 +was he dark haired girl's favorite thing to record.
 326.138 +>>	"So, do you still like the gift that I gave you?" Sakura said as she
 326.139 +struck a pose for the machine's lens.
 326.140 +>>	Tomoyo responded with a smile as she took the camera away from her face
 326.141 +to look at her girlfriend with her own eyes.  "Being with you has always
 326.142 +been a gift, and I will always enjoy that."
 326.143 +>>
 326.144 +>>
 326.145 +>>So what did you think?  Did you like it?  Dislike it?  Or are you just
 326.146 +indifferent?  Anyway, please tell me what you think.  I will take comments
 326.147 +and criticism of any kind.  Just send it to me at mebrown@dubuque.net, I
 326.148 +would really appreciate it.  Thanks a bunch.

   327.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   327.2 +++ b/stories/dojo.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   327.3 @@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
   327.4 +Relax at the Dojo
   327.5 +
   327.6 +	Chibi-usa stood at one end of the dojo with a karate stance.  She started 
   327.7 +to inch a bit to the left maintaining her focus and concentration.  A quick 
   327.8 +action and she stumbled forward and dodged an incoming flying kick, she 
   327.9 +flipped up and ran forward with a running punch but it was parried and 
  327.10 +dodged.  Her third punch was caught and she was taken down by a hip toss.  
  327.11 +She retaliated with a sweep kick.
  327.12 +
  327.13 +	"Chibi-usa, I think that's enough practice today."  Chibi-usa lowered her 
  327.14 +guard and bowed down to Hotaru who was on the floor.  She extended her hand 
  327.15 +and helped Hotaru up.
  327.16 +
  327.17 +	"Rei, how come we end early today?"
  327.18 +
  327.19 +	"I got to visit my aunt to pick up grampa."
  327.20 +
  327.21 +	"We've almost refined our skill Rei, come'on let us just close up when 
  327.22 +we're done.  We'll take care of the dojo."  Hotaru looked at Rei with puppy 
  327.23 +dog eyes.  Chibi-usa then joined in.  "Please Rei, not that long we'll be 
  327.24 +practicing and we're gonna be as strong as you and Makoto.
  327.25 +
  327.26 +	"Please Rei, you always say we need to get better.  Pretty please, please, 
  327.27 +please."
  327.28 +
  327.29 +	Rei sighed and reached into her pocket and tossed the key to the two 
  327.30 +teenagers.  "You two behave now, if Usagi and Setsuna hears about this I 
  327.31 +won't let you stay over longer alright."
  327.32 +
  327.33 +	"Sure thing, thanks Rei."
  327.34 +
  327.35 +	"Take care of the place alright, remember, it'll just be the two of you 
  327.36 +here, so if you need help don't hesitate to transform alright."
  327.37 +
  327.38 +	"We'll be fine Rei."
  327.39 +
  327.40 +	"Alright take care, I'll be back in about three hours.  Aunty never lets 
  327.41 +us 
  327.42 +go with out atleast two hours of talking."
  327.43 +
  327.44 +	Rei left the dojo and headed to her car.  She drove off in her red hot 
  327.45 +fire 
  327.46 +convertible.  Chibi-usa sat down at the corner of the dojo and grabbed a 
  327.47 +towel.  She was wet from perspiration, she and Hotaru had spent the entire 
  327.48 +morning training.  It was now three in the afternoon and time to take a 
  327.49 +break.  Hotaru walked up to Chibi-usa and handed her a cold can of juice.
  327.50 +
  327.51 +	"Thanks Hotaru."  Hotaru sat next to Chibi-usa and the two drank and 
  327.52 +rested.
  327.53 +
  327.54 +	"Think we got any better from last week?"
  327.55 +
  327.56 +	"I think so.  I've developed a new combination today."
  327.57 +
  327.58 +	"Me too, plus I think I got more height in my jump kick."
  327.59 +
  327.60 +	The two continued to talk and rested up, after a fifteen minute break they 
  327.61 +sat up and disposed with their cans.  "Well back to training Hotaru."  The 
  327.62 +two stood a few feet from each other and bowed to each other.  They got into 
  327.63 +their fighting stance once again.  Chibi-usa started the offense with a hop 
  327.64 +kick to Hotaru but Hotaru evaded.  The sparing continued on with each 
  327.65 +exchange their hits and blows lightly.  Chibi-usa started to get the edge, 
  327.66 +she tried to for a pounce attack and pin down Hotaru but when they both hit 
  327.67 +the floor Hotaru used her legs and reversed it and pinned Chibi-usa down.
  327.68 +
  327.69 +	"Ha, I learned that from the lion king."
  327.70 +
  327.71 +	"No fair."
  327.72 +
  327.73 +	"I win."  The two sat up and just caught their breath.  "I think we train 
  327.74 +too much Chibi-usa.  I'm really tired now."
  327.75 +
  327.76 +	"It's for the good, soon we'll be even better than the others."
  327.77 +
  327.78 +	"As if that'll happen.  Well I'm pooped, shall we call it a day."
  327.79 +
  327.80 +	"Okay but we still got two hours left."
  327.81 +
  327.82 +	"What do we do for the next two hours."
  327.83 +
  327.84 +	"I don't know, well, let's just stay here for awhile, I need to rest."  
  327.85 +The 
  327.86 +two leaned up against a wall and just rested.  "Rei won't be back for 
  327.87 +another two hours.  Well, I think I see an up to this."
  327.88 +
  327.89 +	"And what is that."
  327.90 +
  327.91 +	"We barely have anytime to spend with each other.  So well we got time 
  327.92 +now."
  327.93 +
  327.94 +	"Yeah so what do we do now?"  There was a cricket that chirped a bit, the 
  327.95 +two turned with strange anime look and the cricket stopped   "Some gags 
  327.96 +never die out.  So um Hotaru what do you wanna do now?"
  327.97 +
  327.98 +	"Well what do you wanna do?"
  327.99 +
 327.100 +	"Take a shower, I'm sticky."
 327.101 +
 327.102 +	"Okay."  And the two took of their karate gi and headed in to the dojo's 
 327.103 +sauna room.  They took off all their clothes as they walked in and hung them 
 327.104 +up on the clothe rack.  Chibi-usa looked at Hotaru.
 327.105 +
 327.106 +	"Hotaru, you look pretty bruised up."
 327.107 +
 327.108 +	"Well it's your fault, you hit hard."  The two started to laugh.  "And I 
 327.109 +wouldn't talk, look at yourself, your pretty bruised up yourself.  Look at 
 327.110 +that one right above your lovely ass."
 327.111 +
 327.112 +	"Your mean!  You got a few bruises around your tits."
 327.113 +
 327.114 +	"Smart ass with the bruises."
 327.115 +
 327.116 +	"Nice ass with the curves."  They laughed a bit more as they got into the 
 327.117 +pool of hot water.  It felt good, massaged their bruises, aches, and pains.  
 327.118 +They both sighed and sat next to each other.  "This feels good.  Hotaru, 
 327.119 +could you give me a massage."
 327.120 +
 327.121 +	"Okay, just give me one too okay."  Chibi-usa sat on Hotaru's lap as 
 327.122 +Hotaru 
 327.123 +started to touch and feel Chibi-usa's body.  Feeling at the shoulders first, 
 327.124 +massaging and relieving some tensed up muscles.  Chibi-usa started to moan 
 327.125 +just a bit.  "Food good?"
 327.126 +
 327.127 +	"Very, go on."  Hotaru continued on, touching around Chibi-usa's shoulder 
 327.128 +then moving around down.  Down to where her breasts where.  Hotaru gave a 
 327.129 +squeeze that made Chibi-usa shriek.  She then startled to tick them.
 327.130 +
 327.131 +	"Hey that tickles."
 327.132 +
 327.133 +	"Relax."  Hotaru continued on, Chibi-usa fussed a bit, it felt good, both 
 327.134 +tickling and seducing her.  Hotaru started to get serious and started to 
 327.135 +pinch at Chibi-usa's nipples and made them hard.  She felt and touched them, 
 327.136 +making Chibi-usa feel good.
 327.137 +
 327.138 +	"Hotaru . . . what are you doing to me?"
 327.139 +
 327.140 +	"Making you feel good."
 327.141 +
 327.142 +	"Yeah, go on."  Hotaru continued, squeezing and touching at Chibi-usa's 
 327.143 +breasts.  Rubbing them up and down, squeezing them, pinching them, anything 
 327.144 +that she could do with them.  Chibi-usa started to moan a bit more, she felt 
 327.145 +the pleasure started getting higher in her.  A tank of pleasure starting to 
 327.146 +fill up.  Chibi-usa leaned herself back right on Hotaru, she felt Hotaru's 
 327.147 +breasts on her back, she was hard too.  "Hotaru, let me massage you now."
 327.148 +
 327.149 +	"Okay."  They switched positions now Hotaru was on Chibi-usa's lap.  
 327.150 +Chibi-usa felt hot all over and it was just because of the sauna.  She 
 327.151 +reached for Hotaru's breasts and gave a quick squeeze.
 327.152 +
 327.153 +	"Oooooohhhhh, hey that felt good."
 327.154 +
 327.155 +	"It'll only get better."  And with that Chibi-usa went to work.  She 
 327.156 +repaid 
 327.157 +everything she felt from Hotaru, double.  She rubbed her lovers breasts and 
 327.158 +made her feel good all over.  Up and down her hands traveled, touching her 
 327.159 +nipples, squeezing them.  It made Hotaru squirm a bit at each pinch, 
 327.160 +chanting Chibi-usa's name.
 327.161 +
 327.162 +	"Oh good, oh I love the way you touch me."
 327.163 +
 327.164 +	"I love the way you touch me too."  Hotaru couldn't stand it any more, she 
 327.165 +turned around and straddled Chibi-usa and wrapped her legs around her.  They 
 327.166 +both started to kiss and mix their tongues together.  They embraced and 
 327.167 +rubbed their chests against one other.  The moved their bodies grinding it 
 327.168 +with one other, a hand reached down below and touched Chibi-usa.  It 
 327.169 +surprised Chibi-usa but it felt good.  Hotaru touched down below at 
 327.170 +Chibi-usa's neither lips and started to finger her.  Chibi-usa moaned out 
 327.171 +with lovely pleasure she felt.  Touching as the finger went in her and went 
 327.172 +out of her and then back in again.
 327.173 +
 327.174 +	"Hotaru, Hotaru, that feels good.  Hotaru.  Hotaru."
 327.175 +
 327.176 +	"Chibi-usa, touch me too.  Please let me feel it too."  Chibi-usa's hand 
 327.177 +descended and touched Hotaru.  Hotaru started to squirm more as Chibi-usa 
 327.178 +used not one but two fingers on her.  It felt good, Hotaru felt herself 
 327.179 +starting to get real warmed up and her tank full of pleasure ready to burst.
 327.180 +
 327.181 +	"Chibi-usa, I think I'm gonna, gonna, yes gonna, CCCCUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!!!!!"  
 327.182 +Hotaru felt an orgasm reach her and she used two fingers on Chibi-usa.
 327.183 +
 327.184 +	"Hotaru.  Oh Hotaru, I'm join YOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!"  And they both came with 
 327.185 +great pleasure surging through their bodies.  After the last of the spasms 
 327.186 +faded the two walked out of the sauna and laid out a few towels on the 
 327.187 +floor.  The continued on with Chibi-usa laying down and Hotaru right on her, 
 327.188 +straddling her once again.
 327.189 +
 327.190 +	"Chibi-usa, I'm gonna make you feel good all over."  She reached for 
 327.191 +Chibi-usa's tender breasts and started to massage them and lowered herself 
 327.192 +to lick and taste them.  She started to chew on her nipples lightly and suck 
 327.193 +at her.  Chibi-usa cried out in pleasure as it went on.  She reached right 
 327.194 +where Hotaru's neither lips were and started to finger her once again.  
 327.195 +Hotaru doubled her effort feeling this.  She could feel herself started to 
 327.196 +build up to another orgasm.  It was reaching her.
 327.197 +
 327.198 +	"Hotaru, ohhhhhh the feels good.  Hotaru are you gonna cum?"
 327.199 +
 327.200 +	"I am. . . I am . . . I am.  I AAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!  Hotaru released her 
 327.201 +orgasm 
 327.202 +out loud.  Chibi-usa felt pleasure just hearing it.  When Hotaru's spasms 
 327.203 +faded Chibi-usa flipped over so now it was her turn to straddle Hotaru.  
 327.204 +Hotaru smiled at Chibi-usa repaid Hotaru the exact same way.  Hotaru reached 
 327.205 +for Chibi-usa's neither lips and fingered her with three fingers.  She then 
 327.206 +used her other hand to finger self, to masturbate so they could cum together 
 327.207 +again.
 327.208 +
 327.209 +	"Hotaru, Hotaru, I'm gonna cum . . . I'M GONNA CUM . . . YESSSSS 
 327.210 +YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
 327.211 +
 327.212 +	"CHIBI-USAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"  The two hit an orgasm at the exact 
 327.213 +same 
 327.214 +time.  It surged through their bodies stronger than the others they felt.  
 327.215 +After it faded they laid next to each other relaxing.
 327.216 +
 327.217 +	"Hotaru, next time I'm gonna make you cum twice as much more."
 327.218 +
 327.219 +	"Chibi-usa, hope you have the stamina to cum seven times for what I have 
 327.220 +planned."

   328.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   328.2 +++ b/stories/dontmake.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   328.3 @@ -0,0 +1,246 @@
   328.4 +The opening and certain segments are from a CCS radio drama. I need
   328.5 +to listen to it again one of these days simply because I adore Junko
   328.6 +Iwao’s voice. ^=^ Anyway, this is a Valentine’s Day story that came
   328.7 +from me jotting down little segments at a time in a notebook. If you
   328.8 +have any comments, I would absolutely love to hear them. ^-^
   328.9 +
  328.10 +
  328.11 +Don’t You Make Me Happy
  328.12 +by Amazoness Duo
  328.13 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  328.14 +
  328.15 +
  328.16 +‘Today is Valentine's day. It is the day to give chocolates to the
  328.17 +one you love. The one I love the most, the person the most important
  328.18 +to me... because I love her, I just want to see her smile. Even if
  328.19 +she would be happier being with somebody else, I would be happy just
  328.20 +to see it. So, the chocolates I'm offering are not to say "I love
  328.21 +you", but to say "I want to make you happy". Today is the day to
  328.22 +share what is inside your heart.’
  328.23 +
  328.24 +	Sakura sighed miserably as she walked out of class. Valentine’s Day
  328.25 +was turning out to be rather depressing for her. It was doing an
  328.26 +excellent job of reminding her of how alone she was. All the other
  328.27 +girls were busy giving sweets to the ones they loved. Chiharu had
  328.28 +given some chocolates to Yamazaki (before hitting him when he
  328.29 +explained where chocolates came from), Rika had given hers to Terrada-
  328.30 +sensei, and even Naoko seemed to be waiting to give her chocolates to
  328.31 +someone special. But poor Sakura had no one to give chocolates to.
  328.32 +Syaoran had broken up with her a while back and Yukito was dating her
  328.33 +brother. She had thought that she had gotten over the two of them for
  328.34 +the most part, but seeing everyone so happy to give away their heart
  328.35 +was making her feel terribly lonely. She just wanted to day to end so
  328.36 +she could forget about it all. 
  328.37 +	“Sakura-chan!” a melodious voice called out as Tomoyo swiftly
  328.38 +joined her dejected friend. “I saw you leaving from the music room
  328.39 +window, looking like a sad and lonely Sakura-chan. I didn’t want you
  328.40 +to have to go home alone like that, so I got out of choir early
  328.41 +today,” Tomoyo explained as she fell into step beside her magical
  328.42 +best friend. “You should never have to be sad or lonely. Your
  328.43 +beautiful face looks so much more stunning with a brilliant smile
  328.44 +attached.”
  328.45 +	Smiling a bit at Tomoyo’s words, Sakura nodded. “Un! Thank you,
  328.46 +Tomoyo-chan. I’ll try to smile more today. I got so caught up in
  328.47 +watching everyone else giving their chocolates to the ones they love
  328.48 +that I started to feel lonely. But I wasn’t looking at it the right
  328.49 +way. I still have Tomoyo-chan, so I can’t feel lonely, even if I
  328.50 +don’t have anyone to give chocolates to.” She was already feeling
  328.51 +better with Tomoyo next to her. The pale girl always had that affect
  328.52 +on her, both soothing and warm. That she would skip choir practice
  328.53 +simply to walk her home because she looked sad was a testament to how
  328.54 +lucky she was to have such a kind friend. She still felt a little sad
  328.55 +that she had no one this Valentine’s Day, but the feeling wasn’t as
  328.56 +strong now that Tomoyo was with her. “Oh, while were on the subject,
  328.57 +who did you give your Valentine’s Day chocolates to?” Sakura asked
  328.58 +curiously. Now that she thought about it, she had never seen Tomoyo
  328.59 +with a crush on anyone before, had never heard her talking about any
  328.60 +boy that she liked. Which was strange because she had heard that
  328.61 +quite a bit lately from most of the other girls she knew. But then
  328.62 +again, Tomoyo was rather... eccentric. So even if it was unusual, it
  328.63 +wasn’t entirely out of place. Maybe her best friend was simply too
  328.64 +busy with other things. Like choir and Sakura herself. But Sakura was
  328.65 +still very curious about who Tomoyo would give her chocolates to.
  328.66 +Perhaps her mysterious special someone that Tomoyo had mentioned
  328.67 +before? She had no idea who they were, but she was sure that whoever
  328.68 +they were must be very lucky to have Tomoyo’s gentle heart.
  328.69 +	“Actually, I was planning on giving them now,” Tomoyo replied,
  328.70 +smiling sweetly. She dug in her bookbag for a second and produced two
  328.71 +objects. She held a small package tied with a pink ribbon and a small
  328.72 +silk cloth tied like a bag with a rose red ribbon. “Here you go!”
  328.73 +	Sakura blinked in surprise as she took the small bag of homemade
  328.74 +chocolate and the videotape shaped present, looking from one to the
  328.75 +other in her hands. “Tomoyo-chan...? Is this all for me? You really
  328.76 +shouldn’t have. You should give this to the one you love.”
  328.77 +	“And that is why I am giving them to you, Sakura-chan! I want to
  328.78 +give Sakura-chan my heart for Valentine’s Day. It may not be much,
  328.79 +but it’s all yours,” Tomoyo said, tilting her head to the side as she
  328.80 +smiled. Dark hair fell past her eyes, but she quickly brushed it
  328.81 +away. She had stayed up late the night before editing the videotape
  328.82 +in Sakura’s hand. She knew how lonely Sakura had felt since her
  328.83 +breakup with Syaoran and had made the video as a way to show Sakura
  328.84 +how loved she was. It was a gift that she hoped would soothe Sakura’s
  328.85 +lost heart. It had taken her over a week to sort through all of her
  328.86 +videos and edit in all of the scenes she wanted onto the tape, but it
  328.87 +had been a job she had thoroughly enjoyed. Besides being able to look
  328.88 +back through her many images of Sakura, she had been overjoyed at the
  328.89 +prospect of finding the most romantic scenes of the Cardmistress, as
  328.90 +well as the best scenes that showcased how important she was to
  328.91 +everyone, especially Tomoyo. She had made the chocolate herself,
  328.92 +spending extra care to make sure they came out perfectly. Her mother
  328.93 +had enjoyed the Dutch chocolate when she had offered her a piece, so
  328.94 +she hoped Sakura would like them. The bag that carried them was a
  328.95 +beautifully embroidered kerchief and the ribbon was also a bow for
  328.96 +Sakura’s hair. It had been difficult to sit through the school day
  328.97 +with her precious gifts, waiting for the perfect time to give them to
  328.98 +her fair mistress. 
  328.99 +	Sakura blushed deeply at Tomoyo’s words. She hadn’t expected
 328.100 +receiving any chocolates on Valentine’s Day. That was a day for girls
 328.101 +to give chocolates to the ones they loved. White Day was when boys
 328.102 +did the same. So this came as a complete surprise to her. Candy,
 328.103 +gifts, and warm declarations of love. Had Tomoyo been a boy, Sakura
 328.104 +would have been certain that Tomoyo was confessing her love this
 328.105 +Valentine’s Day. That made Sakura blush deeper as she watched her
 328.106 +smiling best friend. Tomoyo was so sweet and gentle and oh so caring.
 328.107 +She was always there for Sakura, even now. She always managed to find
 328.108 +a way to warm Sakura’s heart, to calm her fragile emotions. If Tomoyo
 328.109 +were a boy, if she did love her that way... But try as she might, she
 328.110 +couldn’t visualize Tomoyo as a boy. It felt somehow wrong anyway.
 328.111 +Tomoyo was Tomoyo. A gorgeous, talented, and loving girl. But Sakura
 328.112 +couldn’t completely shake her thoughts of what might have been, even
 328.113 +if she couldn’t see Tomoyo as male. Between all of that and how
 328.114 +cutely romantic Tomoyo was being, she would have thrown herself into
 328.115 +her arms. So Sakura did it anyway. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan!” Her arms
 328.116 +wrapped around the pale girl’s slender waist, hugging her tightly.
 328.117 +Tomoyo seemed a little surprised by her sudden movement, but quickly
 328.118 +relaxed into the hug, her gentle hands sliding up and down Sakura’s
 328.119 +back as she returned the hug. Sakura’s earlier anguish about the day
 328.120 +felt very far away now, as if it had happened to some other girl
 328.121 +entirely. She had received chocolates from a very special person,
 328.122 +even if she hadn’t been able to give any, so maybe it wasn’t such a
 328.123 +bad thing after all. Sakura giggled, her emerald eyes smiling into
 328.124 +the vast stormy blue ocean of Tomoyo’s eyes. “I got chocolates from
 328.125 +the cutest girl in school. All of the boys are going to get jealous,
 328.126 +Tomoyo-chan.”
 328.127 +	Tomoyo smiled happily, her fingers still trailing up and down
 328.128 +Sakura’s back through her school uniform. “The boys must already be
 328.129 +getting jealous just to see Sakura-chan giving out one of her
 328.130 +wonderful hugs like this. I’m very glad that you like them, Sakura-
 328.131 +chan. I made them just for you.” She was so happy to see Sakura
 328.132 +smiling so brightly, to feel her so close, to be able to gaze into
 328.133 +those jade plates. Her heart beat maddeningly. Its thunderous beats
 328.134 +were the music that symbolized her love for the brunette. “Sakura-
 328.135 +chan is like the goddess Aphrodite on Valentine’s Day, capturing
 328.136 +everyone’s heart with her beauty and grace. I had to get you my
 328.137 +Valentine’s Day chocolate before you got drowned in chocolates from
 328.138 +others.” Tomoyo smiled her trademark smile. It made perfect sense to
 328.139 +her that people would be lining up to give Sakura chocolates. The
 328.140 +brunette was just too cute, too enticing not to.
 328.141 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura blushed deeper, sweatdropping. Tomoyo
 328.142 +always said the strangest things, albeit the sweetest. “Maybe on
 328.143 +White Day, but I really don’t think so,” Sakura said quickly,
 328.144 +disentangling herself from the warm embrace and walking along with
 328.145 +her best friend once more.
 328.146 +	Tomoyo continued on calmly, still smiling at the Cardmistress.
 328.147 +“Then I’m surprised that more girls didn’t give you chocolates. Even
 328.148 +if Sakura-chan’s a girl, it’s easy to see just how amazing she is.
 328.149 +Watching her day in and day out, it’s impossible not to feel your
 328.150 +heart race when she is around. I know okaa-sama would love to give
 328.151 +you chocolates if she had the chance.” Her eyes followed Sakura’s
 328.152 +every movement, even though they were half lidded. It was easy to get
 328.153 +lost in the combination of a romantic Valentine’s Day and the
 328.154 +powerful allure that Sakura held. She just wanted to reach out and
 328.155 +hug the brunette again, to bask in that warm feeling once more.
 328.156 +	Blushing a deep shade of scarlet, Sakura placed a hand behind her
 328.157 +head as the two left the school far behind. She knew that she should
 328.158 +be used to the strange things that Tomoyo said by now, but the dark
 328.159 +haired heiress still managed to surprise her. She idly wondered if
 328.160 +she would be more surprised if Tomoyo hadn’t said something strange.
 328.161 +“Are you sure, Tomoyo-can? Shouldn’t you give them to a boy you
 328.162 +like?” she asked, holding the small bag and package to her chest. Her
 328.163 +mind quickly reasoned that she hoped that wasn’t the case. It may be
 328.164 +embarrassing when Tomoyo said and did such things, but she always
 328.165 +loved the attention and warmth that Tomoyo paid her. Those feelings
 328.166 +always gushed forth from the pale girl in a tsunami that left Sakura
 328.167 +pleasantly confused and more often than not with a blush coloring her
 328.168 +cheeks. She didn’t want some boy taking that away from her, taking
 328.169 +her place at the center of Tomoyo’s attention. It may have been
 328.170 +selfish, but she couldn’t help it. It was just too wonderful a
 328.171 +feeling, to be the focus of such a devoted girl.
 328.172 +	Tomoyo nodded assuredly. “I gave it to Sakura-chan because I like
 328.173 +her. There’s no one else that I would rather give my heart to on
 328.174 +Valentine’s Day.” She titled her head to the side thoughtfully for a
 328.175 +moment before continuing. “Or any other day, for that matter.” She
 328.176 +glanced back to Sakura, delighting in the cute blush that spread
 328.177 +across Sakura’s soft cheeks. Wave after wave of adoration washed
 328.178 +through her as they walked together under the shadow of some tall
 328.179 +trees. She could practically see the pink ribbons of love that Sakura
 328.180 +held, reaching out from her hands and wrapping tightly around
 328.181 +Tomoyo’s heart, binding her more strongly than any spell. She was
 328.182 +like a marionette, dancing to the rhythm of her love for Sakura. And
 328.183 +Tomoyo wouldn’t have it any other way. She took Sakura’s free hand
 328.184 +with her own, entwining her fingers with Sakura’s. A delicious
 328.185 +ecstasy filled her as she felt Sakura squeeze her hand. “Sakura-
 328.186 +chan... Tomoyo whispered softly as the pair came to a halt. 
 328.187 +	Gently placing a sakura blossom that had been falling down to earth
 328.188 +behind Sakura’s ear, Tomoyo’s fingers lingered in the Cardmistress’s
 328.189 +soft, short hair, trailing through the beautiful strands. Her eyes
 328.190 +were set on Sakura’s pretty face, the blush having faded shortly
 328.191 +before. Sakura was growing into a captivating young woman and she had
 328.192 +only managed to take an even greater hold on Tomoyo’s heart as time
 328.193 +went by. The two stood in silence, a light breeze jostling through
 328.194 +hair and fabric alike. At that moment, it felt like they were far
 328.195 +away from the distant land of Tomoeda, in a place that welcomed only
 328.196 +the two school girls. Tomoyo watched Sakura lovingly, her eyes never
 328.197 +leaving Sakura’s beautiful face.
 328.198 +	Sakura closed her emerald eyes, silently waiting. Her lips pressed
 328.199 +together as she stood there, the breeze lightly toying with her hair,
 328.200 +though not so much as Tomoyo’s fingers were. Her heart was  a raging
 328.201 +cacaphony in her heart, the only other sounds the soft breeze and the
 328.202 +rustling fabric of her skirt. She waited patiently, wondering
 328.203 +excitedly about what would happen, about where this would lead. She
 328.204 +felt intoxicated from the love pouring out of Tomoyo, unable to think
 328.205 +clearly. She only knew that if she waited... A soft, warm feeling
 328.206 +encompassed her lips, turning her heart upside down. Tomoyo’s lips
 328.207 +brushed lightly against her own, tentatively at first before she
 328.208 +kissed her fully. Sakura felt the anxiety that had filled her as she
 328.209 +had waited drain out of her, replaced instantly by the longing that
 328.210 +gripped her heart, by the sea of emotions that filled her as they
 328.211 +kissed. She hadn’t known quite what she expected, only that she had
 328.212 +expected something. But now that Tomoyo was kissing her, it felt
 328.213 +completely right, as if this was what she had been waiting for the
 328.214 +entire time. For her entire life. Tomoyo’s gentle lips sealed with a
 328.215 +kiss Sakura’s final Valentine’s Day present.
 328.216 +	Tomoyo hadn’t known what to do at first when presented with the
 328.217 +patiently waiting Sakura in the small sanctuary they found themselves
 328.218 +in. Her mind had curiously pondered why Sakura would wait like that,
 328.219 +her eyes closed almost dreamily. But her mind kept returning to the
 328.220 +same answer. And standing there with Sakura in the gentle breeze,
 328.221 +watching her as they stood alone and yet together, Tomoyo had known
 328.222 +where her heart was leading. And she thought that Sakura’s was
 328.223 +already there waiting for her. Kissing Sakura softly, she was
 328.224 +overcome by the emotions that coursed through her. What had been a
 328.225 +small trickle before, a tiny stream, was now a raging river. It
 328.226 +crashed and collapsed against the rocks, pushing Tomoyo ever forward
 328.227 +along its path. As Sakura’s arms wrapped around her, she continued to
 328.228 +kiss her beautiful best friend, her heart crying out in joy as the
 328.229 +brunette returned her kiss eagerly. The two stayed that way for quite
 328.230 +some time, locked in what seemed to be a never ending cycle of kisses
 328.231 +that passed between the two. Tomoyo felt her masks melt away as they
 328.232 +continued their sweet dance. This was perfect, like a kiss from an
 328.233 +angel. And in a way, that was exactly what it was. A kiss from her
 328.234 +angel, Sakura.
 328.235 +	“Hanyaa...” Sakura said quietly as the two finally halted their
 328.236 +continued kissing. It had been a gradual thing as it came to a halt,
 328.237 +just as it had built up gradually. Now that it was over, Sakura found
 328.238 +herself blushing immensely. She felt as if she had been lost and
 328.239 +alone in a dark and frightening forest and that a beautiful princess
 328.240 +had come along and rescued her. Her heart swelled as she looked into
 328.241 +the glittering stars that were Tomoyo’s eyes. 
 328.242 +	“Happy Valentine’s Day, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered happily, her
 328.243 +fingers still in Sakura’s hair. Closing her eyes, the two kissed
 328.244 +again, holding close. Even in the cool breeze, the pair felt warm,
 328.245 +wrapped in a blanket of the love they felt surrounding them. It
 328.246 +hadn’t been quite what either had expected, but throughout the years
 328.247 +Sakura would treasure it as her favorite Valentine’s gift.
 328.248 +	
 328.249 +	
 328.250 \ No newline at end of file

   329.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   329.2 +++ b/stories/dreamerstory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   329.3 @@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
   329.4 +
   329.5 + The crystal palace was a beautiful place. A kingdom that rose out 
   329.6 +of the earth like a splintered silver diamond, glittering magically 
   329.7 +in the distance and cold and barren to the looks.
   329.8 + The kingdom had come into existence a few years after the defeat 
   329.9 +of the Chaos. On a far away and distant planet, a tribe of natives 
  329.10 +who honored Queen Beryl as their goddess, used an evil spell to 
  329.11 +bring her back from the dead.
  329.12 + Angered and divern by madness, the wicked Queen thundered off to 
  329.13 +Earth and encased it in a ice shell putting the Earth's people into 
  329.14 +sleep for thousands of years before the Sailor Soldiers could 
  329.15 +attack her. But if it wasn't for the supreme power of Sailor Moon, 
  329.16 +who, on the anniversary of the Moon Kingdom's destruction, 
  329.17 +magically thundered out of the ice that covered the Earth and 
  329.18 +reawaked it with the power of the silver crystal, the planet and 
  329.19 +it's people would still be sleeping. With herself alone, Sailor 
  329.20 +Moon destroyed the evil Queen and thus she becomes the new ruler of 
  329.21 +the Earth, Neo-Queen Serenity.
  329.22 + Her days as Sailor Moon were over.
  329.23 + So now she and Darien ruled over the Earth as King and Queen, the 
  329.24 +people excepting their rein as thanks for being saved from the ice.
  329.25 +But under the royal facade however, a young girl, a Princess, felt 
  329.26 +loneness, as she had never felt before.  Silent, Princess Rini sat 
  329.27 +on the steps of the palace gardens, watching the rainfall down 
  329.28 +around her, and listening to the wind howl.
  329.29 + "Rini?" came her mother's voice.
  329.30 + The girl looked slightly over her shoulder at the appearance of 
  329.31 +her mother, than looked away. "Yes," she replied, dreamingly, 
  329.32 +sadly.
  329.33 + "What is it mother?"  In her white silk gown, the older woman with 
  329.34 +long gold hair walked up to her child and joined her on the steps.
  329.35 +She sighed, smiled and looked out at the rain.
  329.36 + "It's beautiful isn't it?" she gestured to the rain.
  329.37 + "Before the crystal palace I don't believe I ever saw rain as 
  329.38 +beautiful and clean as this." Rini didn't answer, just looked away 
  329.39 +sadly, sighing under her breath.
  329.40 + "Mother," she asked finally, looking up at her parent with sad 
  329.41 +eyes.
  329.42 + "When I was living in the past, I---I," she laughed softly.
  329.43 + "I missed you and daddy so much." 
  329.44 + "I can understand that darling." Said her mother warmly, hugging 
  329.45 +her child.
  329.46 + Muttering a sob, the young girl accepted the motherly grasp, 
  329.47 +letting herself be rocked back and forward in her mother's lap.
  329.48 +Tears formed at the younger girl's eyes, the next time she spoke it 
  329.49 +all came out in a rush.
  329.50 + "But now I miss Hotaru!" she burst into tears, and her mother 
  329.51 +continued to rock her, soothing her as a mother should. 
  329.52 + "Oh, my darling I understand. You miss your friend,"
  329.53 + "A huh!" breathed the girl, now letting her tears freely flow.
  329.54 + "I---I want to see her again mother, I---" 
  329.55 + "Shosh," Rini's mother handed her a locket, a little pink and red 
  329.56 +locket.
  329.57 + "What's this?" asked Rini entranced, sitting upwards and looking 
  329.58 +over the thing in wonder. Even though she wanted her daughter to 
  329.59 +stay with her so much, Serena knew she must let her walk her own 
  329.60 +path.
  329.61 + "It's your way back into the past!" she said, trying to smile and 
  329.62 +not to cry.
  329.63 +
  329.64 + Alone in her room, Hotaru sat on her bed quiet, legs pressed up 
  329.65 +against her chest, hands grasping her knees and rocking back and 
  329.66 +forward.
  329.67 + Hot tears glittered down her checks.
  329.68 + "I miss her," the horse whisper shivered frightfully past the 
  329.69 +girl's lips.
  329.70 + Looking away, the younger girl felt her heart cry out at the lost 
  329.71 +of a friend, maybe more--
  329.72 + "I miss Rini…" Suddenly there was a burst of light in her room and 
  329.73 +a vortex opened before her. Gasping, Hotaru nearly fell off her bed 
  329.74 +startled. Finally regaining her pose, the young girl grasped her 
  329.75 +Saturn wand ready to defend herself when a familiar figure 
  329.76 +stepped outwards from the vortex….
  329.77 +
  329.78 + Hotrau gasped.
  329.79 + Rini gasped.
  329.80 + For what seemed forever to the two girls stared at each other 
  329.81 +shocked, than screamed and ran to each other.
  329.82 + "Hotaru!" 
  329.83 + "Rini!" Racing into each other's arms the two girls kissed.
  329.84 + Unexceptionally the kiss came, but neither girl came to break it.
  329.85 +Soon their tongues began to entangle, hands began to creep around 
  329.86 +their bodies.
  329.87 + Parting for a moment, the two girls looked at each other panting, 
  329.88 +slightly shocked.
  329.89 + But after a moment they kissed again, passionately and lovingly.
  329.90 +They fell onto the bed, delicately but delicately running their 
  329.91 +hands over each other's body, unwrapping one another like china 
  329.92 +dolls of their clothes.
  329.93 + They kissed again, a kiss of fire, of ice. Muttering breaths of 
  329.94 +delight, Hotaru ran her fingers here and there throughout Rini's 
  329.95 +hair. Lying under her new lover, Rini smiled and trembled 
  329.96 +anxiously.
  329.97 + "---Hotaru!" she yelped.
  329.98 + Leaning very close to her, Hotaru whispered darkly in the other 
  329.99 +girl's ear.
 329.100 + "Let me pleasure you, my friend…." She licked her. Running her 
 329.101 +tongue in a slippery motion around Rini's ear. Rini jerked, 
 329.102 +shuddered and smiled.
 329.103 + "Ahh---yes, keep---keep going my---my friend…." 
 329.104 + Hotaru ran her tongue down onto the other girl's chest. Leaning on 
 329.105 +top of her lover, Hotaru rubbed her womanhood hungrily against 
 329.106 +Rini's as she ran her tongue in circles round Rini's perk breasts.
 329.107 +Rini startled to cry out, "Ahh---yes!" her voice was frantic.
 329.108 +In desire, she arched her head far back.
 329.109 + "Keep going," she hoarsely whispered.  "Keep going."
 329.110 + Panting, Hotaru ran her out-stretched hands down Rini's chest, 
 329.111 +causing Rini to jerk once more, than shudder. Hotaru began to lick 
 329.112 +with her tongue again, kissing Rini's womanhood at first in soft 
 329.113 +little kisses, than licking at it furiously, diving her tongue deep 
 329.114 +into it's warm flesh, swirling it around and around. Both girl's 
 329.115 +soon began to scream, reaching upwards to hug and kiss each other 
 329.116 +hungrily. Calling out each other's name the two girls's held each 
 329.117 +other close, their naked flesh wet with sweat, and pressed hard 
 329.118 +against each other. For a long moment they were both silent, tears 
 329.119 +of pure joy glittering down their checks.
 329.120 + Leaning forward, Hotaru softly whispered in Rini's ear.
 329.121 + "I love you." Hugging close to her friend---her lover, Rini smiled 
 329.122 +and tried not to cry out in tears of happiness.
 329.123 + "And I've always loved you Hotaru." 
 329.124 +
 329.125 +Written by Lady dreamer. 
 329.126 +
 329.127 +

   330.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   330.2 +++ b/stories/dreamingof.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   330.3 @@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
   330.4 +Dreaming of Sakura
   330.5 +by Rich "Li"
   330.6 +
   330.7 +
   330.8 +Author's Prelude to a Fanfictional Quest:  Konnichi waaaa!!!  My real name is Richly, but you can call me  Rich "Li".  Kinda confusing eh? Sounds the same...(and no, I'm not related to the "Li" family in any form.  It just sounds interesting).  Anyhow, this is my first fanfic ever, let alone my first CCS fic.  I'm a big fan of the series, although I've only seen the first eight episodes of the series. (Go ahead, laugh.  Pioneer releases those DVD's too damn slow.  And I don't wanna deal with the manga.  I'm not into manga very much.)  However, I know alot about this series, and I would like to give my insight through my writing.  I'm all for a Sakura and Tomoyo relationship.  It just seems right for them to be together, even though fate won't allow them. (Fate as in CLAMP.)  So, I myself will do something about that through imagination and wishful thinking. So basically, the story will be a yuri fic between Tomoyo and Sakura. If you're offended by romance between two girls, I suggest you stay away.  I don't want  to deal with you shallow-minded people (and Sakura-Syaoran fans.) The fic will be rather short, so you won't suffer too long.  Anyway, arigato and I'll see you in the end of the story.  BTW, comments are welcome at ultima@inreach.com.
   330.9 +
  330.10 +Legal disclaimer: These are not my characters.  They are owned by their respective owners (CLAMP, Kodansha, etc.) So don't try to sue and/or annihilate me.  I'm only borrowing them for non-diabolical reasons.  Otherwise, don't bother.  I have nothing.
  330.11 +
  330.12 +___________
  330.13 +
  330.14 +	Tomoyo holds a picture of Sakura and Tomoyo together in a zoo they once went to from a field trip, the time  when their innocence was fully realized.  She gazes at the picture, thinking about Sakura, letting out her feelings out in the open-to herself.
  330.15 +
  330.16 +	   "I love you with all my heart and soul.  And yet, you don't love me the same way I love you.  Is it because you're too young to understand my feelings for you, or you just don't want to love me?  You love him, don't you?  I will understand if you do.  If he makes you happy, then you should be with him.  Don't let me become a burden on your happiness.  Your happiness is more important to me than anything.  I just... wish I could be happy with you. I want to experience everything you experience, as ones bound by love.   But, this is my wish...my dream.  The dream I won't be able to realize until my feelings for you are divulged.  I'm just too afraid...that you won't accept my feelings.  I just need to know...if you will  accept my feelings.  All I could do now is just express my feelings for you when you're not here...*sigh*.  Well good night, Sakura chan...and aishiteru."
  330.17 +	
  330.18 +	Tomoyo places the picture back on her desk, and turned the lights down to eventually fall asleep on her bed, as the moon's melancholy light illuminated her room through Tomoyo's satin curtains.
  330.19 +
  330.20 +___________
  330.21 +
  330.22 +
  330.23 +	
  330.24 +	Tomoyo finds herself in a forestation of sakura trees.  A plethora of sakura petals lavish Tomoyo as she stands and gazing at the aww-inspiring scene.  "This place is so beautiful," Tomoyo said to herself.  "But, where am I?"
  330.25 +	
  330.26 +	Tomoyo is both in fascination and bewilderment.  She finds herself in a beautiful forest of sakura trees, yet she doesn't know where she is.  She further explores her unknown surroundings.  Tomoyo, to her amazement, finds another living soul, sitting under a tree alone, as if she was waiting for someone.  Tomoyo then walks up the girl, asking if she knows anything about the 'place' she is in.
  330.27 +
  330.28 +	Tomoyo walks to up to her.  "Hello miss," said Tomoyo.  The girl turns around.  "Excuse me but-"
  330.29 +	Tomoyo was startled by the fact the girl was Sakura; suprised to her best friend in the most  unusual of places.  
  330.30 +	"Sa...Sakura?" Questioned Tomoyo.
  330.31 +	"Yes, Tomoyo, it is me," replied Sakura
  330.32 +	"Sakura, what are you doing here? Although I don't understand why I'm here too."	"I'm waiting for you," replied Sakura.  I've waiting for you, so I can tell you."
  330.33 +	
  330.34 +	"Tell me what Sakura chan?  Tomoyo can't comprehend the fact that herself is here, let alone her best friend here, telling her something she says is very important.	
  330.35 +	"I've wanted to tell you this ever since I've realized how important you are to me.  Observing how you always by my side as I captured the Clow Cards; how you always cared about my feelings, and how you always wanted to be with me. It made me see the light you handed me.  The support you gave me, unlike no one else has given me.  You are special to me...so special in fact, I couldn't stop thinking about you.  I...love you Tomoyo chan."
  330.36 +
  330.37 +	Hearing those words from Sakura brought tears of exultation to Tomoyo.  She has been waiting to hear those words from her best friend for so long.  She quickly embraced her friend as she wept on her shoulder.  
  330.38 +	
  330.39 +	Tomoyo broke to embrace the reveal her feelings to her, once and for all.  With tears flowing from her eyes, she finally spoke.
  330.40 +	
  330.41 +	"Sakura chan...I've been waiting so long to hear you say those words to me.  I want to make you happy forever, and be with you just as long.  Then Tomoyo let out an emphatic "I LOVE YOU too Sakura chan!"  Tomoyo then embraced Sakura again, but not as friends, but as lovers.  
  330.42 +	
  330.43 +	They remained in their arms for a long time.  Sakura then broke the embrace to give Tomoyo a soft kiss on her smooth lips for the first time.  Tomoyo's heart mended as Sakura gave her this loving kiss.  A moment she always dreamed of.  A feeling that remained a dream...
  330.44 +
  330.45 +
  330.46 +
  330.47 +______________
  330.48 +
  330.49 +
  330.50 +
  330.51 +	
  330.52 +	Tomoyo awoke in the sun's radiant light.  The vision was gone...and Sakura was gone.  The feelings Tomoyo experienced were all a dream.  The feelings her friend divulged...all a dream.  It felt so real...yet so it was nothing more than a apparition.  Tomoyo quickly got off her bed and looked into the town of Tomoeda, recalling her dream.
  330.53 +
  330.54 +	"Why did it have to end now?" Tomoyo thought. " I want to with her forever, but I can only be with her forever in a fantasy world.  She told me her feelings, and I told her mines.  It just felt so real, even the kiss seemed like it just happened.  But, dreams can seem real, but their not, and it wasn't Sakura, it was Sakura the way I wanted her to be.  It was only my desires  that were shown.  Sakura couldn't possibly have those feelings for me..can she?"  
  330.55 +
  330.56 +	Tomoyo then heard the ring of her phone, suprised someone calling this early in the morning.
  330.57 +
  330.58 +	"Hello, Daidouji residence."
  330.59 +	"Tomoyo chan, I'm glad it's you." 
  330.60 +	"Sakura chan?  Why are calling so early? Is something wrong?"
  330.61 +	" No, nothing's wrong Tomoyo chan...It's just that I need to tell you something."
  330.62 +	"What is it Sakura chan?"  
  330.63 +	"Um...could you just meet me later in King Penquin Park...I need to tell you person.  It's very important." 
  330.64 +
  330.65 +	"Ok, Sakura chan what time?"  Tomoyo hopes it would be really soon.
  330.66 +
  330.67 +	"I'll be there at 9:00"
  330.68 +
  330.69 +	(Not soon enough.  That's two hours from now...) " Ok Sakura chan, I'll meet you there.  Is there anything else you need?"
  330.70 +
  330.71 +	"No, nothing else.  Thank you Tomoyo chan.  This is why you're my best friend.  You're always there for me.  You're so special to me...
  330.72 +
  330.73 +	"Sakura chan..."
  330.74 +
  330.75 +	"Well bye Tomoyo chan.  I'll see you later."
  330.76 +
  330.77 +	"Bye..."  Sakura hangs up the phone.  "Did you really mean that Sakura chan?  Am I really that special to you?"  
  330.78 +
  330.79 +____________
  330.80 +
  330.81 +
  330.82 +
  330.83 +	Tomoyo is escorted the park by her bodyguards.  They stay behind while Tomoyo walks towards King Penquin himself.  There she sees Sakura, sitting next to it, while the trees lavish the ground with falling leaves as a zephyr blows gently, causing Tomoyo's hair to flow to one side.
  330.84 +	
  330.85 +	Tomoyo walks up to Sakura, waiting diligently for her.  Sakura then stands to face Tomoyo, and gazing into her eyes to tell her the "important proposal".
  330.86 +
  330.87 +	"Tomoyo chan, there is something I've been meaning to tell you.  *Sigh*, it's just so hard for me to say."
  330.88 +
  330.89 +	"What is it Sakura chan?  Don't be afraid, you can tell me.  Nothing bad will come of this from anything you say."
  330.90 +
  330.91 +	"Tomoyo chan, what I'm trying to say is that...I..."
  330.92 +
  330.93 +	"You what Sakura chan?"
  330.94 +
  330.95 +	"I...love you Tomoyo chan.  I love with you with all of my heart.  I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time.  I just couldn't bear to tell you, until now.  Something last night told me I had to tell you.  I had this feeling that you also loved me...and that I had to tell you..."
  330.96 +
  330.97 +	Tomoyo couldn't believe what she is hearing.  Her dreams became reality.  Sakura loved her.  She has anticipating this day, a day she thought would never be realized.
  330.98 +
  330.99 +	"Sakura chan, I love you too.  I've loved you ever since that day we met when you gave me that eraser.  My love for you grew for each passing day.  I just couldn't tell you...because I too was also afraid.  I was afraid because I thought you wouldn't accept my love for you.  I thought it would hurt our friendship.  But, all these thoughts are gone, I'm not afraid anymore.  Because you have removed  my darkest thoughts when you revealed your inner light Sakura chan."
 330.100 +
 330.101 +	"Tomoyo chan...I didn't know you had these feelings for me.  I should've known, but I've been preoccupied with my duty as a Card Captor.  I'm sorry I didn't realize before."
 330.102 +
 330.103 +	"There is no need to apologize Sakura chan.  I'm just happy you were able to tell me that you love me.  Better late than never," Tomoyo said with her beautiful smile.  Now, I want to be with you forever; to marathon across the skies with you, and to have dreams in unison with you forever, as ones bound by love."
 330.104 +
 330.105 +	"Oh...Tomoyo chan..."  With these words, Sakura embraced her newfound lover with her permeated with tears of joy as she finally found her true love. Tomoyo also found herself shedding tears to release her joy of finally obtaining her desire.  They remained in that position for what seemed like hours.  Eventually Tomoyo broke the embrace and gazed into Sakura beautiful green eyes.  Tomoyo kissed her deeply as Sakura followed suit. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, finally ending it, to say the words that brought them together.
 330.106 +
 330.107 +	"I love you Sakura chan," said Tomoyo in an almost hypnotic trance, but with everything from the heart.
 330.108 +		
 330.109 +	"I love you too Tomoyo chan," Sakura replied, stroking Tomoyo's long, black hair.
 330.110 +
 330.111 +	From there, they walked together, hand-in-hand, approaching a new reality, changed by fate  This is all made possible by one's desire to keep dreaming and to finally have that dream become her ultimate reality.
 330.112 +
 330.113 +
 330.114 +-Owari
 330.115 +
 330.116 +________
 330.117 +	
 330.118 +
 330.119 +	Author's Editorial: Thanks for reading all of that.  I really appreciate it.  I hope my first effort was a decent one.  If you liked it, I would gladly write more, as long ideas just keep popping in my VAST mind.  I'm not at all familiar with the settings of CCS completely, so if I made any errors in place names, let me know please.  Anyhow, I'm currently in the process of more CCS fics, and even Steel Angel Kurumi 'fics and some other miscellaneous ones.  Mostly Sakura and Tomoyo related ^_^.  They will be much longer in the future, I promise.  I just don't have the time create an epic.  However, if I get some decent feedback, I'll feel more compelled to write more.  If I don't, I'll still write alot!  I just have so many scenarios of Sakura and Tomoyo in my mind and in my dreams,  I have to let others know.  They are, in fact, the perfect couple if only they could be with each other.  Well, I guess this is it.  Wait until next time!  Up Next: "My Eyes on You" (CCS). 	
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   331.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   331.2 +++ b/stories/dreams2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   331.3 @@ -0,0 +1,599 @@
   331.4 +Dreams Part 2
   331.5 +
   331.6 +	Megumi shivered as the cold night wind lightly blew against her and
   331.7 +Kumiko. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, Kumi-chan. It’s late, it’s
   331.8 +cold, and I’m tired. My parents are going to expect to see me in bed
   331.9 +in..”, as she looked at her wrist, Megumi remembered that she
  331.10 +actually didn’t wear a watch. She could hear Kumiko giggle slightly
  331.11 +as if she knew that would happen. “Well, I need to be there in a few
  331.12 +hours.” Not like they’d actually be home, but she wasn’t feeling very
  331.13 +well and that pain in her chest was getting stronger again. It was a
  331.14 +good enough excuse at any rate. At least, she hoped it was.
  331.15 +	Kumiko sighed. “I know. I really don’t want to be here either, but
  331.16 +I just have to learn something about those people in the tape.
  331.17 +Remember, in the tape? That Sakura girl said that she always was
  331.18 +recording her. So, if there was a tape in the camera, maybe there was
  331.19 +another tape? Maybe there are a lot of other tapes. Maybe that could
  331.20 +explain why I felt so..” she shook a bit, not wanting to think about
  331.21 +it. “Maybe that could explain why I felt so attached to those girls
  331.22 +in the video. That wasn’t just some normal deja vu. That was
  331.23 +something.. special. What do you think, Megumi-chan?”
  331.24 +	“Hmm?” Megumi looked up from the lamp she was toying with. “Well, I
  331.25 +think that we shouldn’t be digging through some rich person’s trash
  331.26 +can. That’s what I think.”
  331.27 +	Kumiko stuck her tongue out at her. “Oh sure. I’m having lots of
  331.28 +fun digging through the trash. Luckily, they’ve only seem to have
  331.29 +thrown away most of the yard sale stuff so far. Seriously, what do
  331.30 +you think? About the tape?”
  331.31 +	“I.. I don’t know. I feel so many things about the tape. I feel the
  331.32 +pain from falling, I feel the happiness from being with her, and so
  331.33 +much more. It seems so sad when I think about it, though. Like
  331.34 +something tragic happened to those people. Even though I don’t know
  331.35 +them, and don’t even know what happened, it hurts. Like I lost
  331.36 +something dear to me, but found it again. Like if you moved away and
  331.37 +then came back, I guess.” Megumi ran her arm under across her eyes
  331.38 +and was surprised to find that her eyes were wet.
  331.39 +	Kumiko looked concerned and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s
  331.40 +okay, Megumi. I feel pretty much the same way.  It’s really confusing
  331.41 +to feel that way about someone you don’t know. I wish I had the
  331.42 +answers, but I don’t. So, I’m looking for them. Do you think we’ll
  331.43 +find anything? If we do, should we even look at it? With how one tape
  331.44 +was, I couldn’t  imagine how a collection of them would be.” Kumiko
  331.45 +slowly pulled away from Megumi. With a deep dramatic sigh, she threw
  331.46 +her arms down in defeat. “Well, I give up. I’m not going to find
  331.47 +anything digging around in the trash in the dark.” Kumiko started
  331.48 +forward, but tripped and fell into Megumi’s arms, knocking them both
  331.49 +off balance and sending them into the cold hard ground.
  331.50 +	Both girls just looked into each other’s eyes, curious if the other
  331.51 +was thinking the same thing they were. Kumiko opened her mouth in an
  331.52 +attempt to say something, but stopped herself. After a few seemingly
  331.53 +everlasting moments of silence, Megumi spoke up. “Are you okay Kumi?
  331.54 +Aww.. you scraped your knee. Should I kiss it and make it better?”
  331.55 +Kumiko blushed and nodded weakly. Megumi ever-so-slowly leaned
  331.56 +forward and kissed the slightly injured knee. “There. All better? I
  331.57 +really can’t stand to see you hurt, you know, Kumi-chan.” Megumi
  331.58 +smiled proudly at the dark blush on Kumiko’s face. Quickly, she stood
  331.59 +up and offered out her hand. Kumiko grasped her hand and squeezed
  331.60 +reassuringly and let Megumi help her to her feet.
  331.61 +	“I’ll come over to your house early tomorrow, okay, Kumi? Do you
  331.62 +think the library will be open on the weekend?” Megumi asked
  331.63 +curiously. She regretted saying the words shortly after they were out
  331.64 +of her mouth. She -really- wasn’t feeling good. She needed to get
  331.65 +home soon. And she really didn’t know if she’d be up to checking out
  331.66 +a library the next day. The blonde was thankful for the darkness in
  331.67 +masking her increasingly pale features. 
  331.68 +	Kumiko nodded thoughtfully, brushing back a lock of brown hair
  331.69 +behind an ear. “Yeah, it should be. We’ll head there in the morning
  331.70 +and see what we can find. There has to be something on the girls in
  331.71 +that video. Or at least I hope so.” Sighing, the teenager yawned
  331.72 +exaggeratedly. “For now I’m gonna get some sleep. Do you think you
  331.73 +could stay for a bit? I need to sneak back in anyway. Mom and dad
  331.74 +still think I’m sleeping.” She smiled over at the blonde girl
  331.75 +hopefully. “I always sleep better after I talk to you.”
  331.76 +	Megumi returned the smile weakly and shook her head. “I’d love to,
  331.77 +Kumi, but I’m not sure how appreciative your mother would be of me
  331.78 +teaching her daughter all sorts of strange things this late at night.
  331.79 +And I already know she likes me, so I can’t jeopardize that.” A laugh
  331.80 +accompanied the hug she gave Kumiko. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kumi-
  331.81 +chan. You have beautiful dreams in the meantime. I know you’ll be in
  331.82 +mine.”
  331.83 +	The wind picked up slightly, blowing Kumiko’s hair around as she
  331.84 +returned the hug. “Okay. Maybe some other time then. I’ll be thinking
  331.85 +about you, Megumi-chan. Sleep we...” Before she could finish that
  331.86 +thought, Megumi’s lips pressed tightly against her own. Her cheeks
  331.87 +darkened as her eyes fell closed and she kissed back. 
  331.88 +	“Goodnight, Kumi.” And with that, Megumi was off.
  331.89 +
  331.90 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  331.91 +
  331.92 +	Wet tears spilt down Megumi’s cheek to the bathroom tile beneath
  331.93 +her. The tile was cold against the bare skin of her legs peeking out
  331.94 +beneath her jumbled nightgown, but she’d long since given up on
  331.95 +caring about such trivial discomforts. Her whole body was screaming
  331.96 +at her, fire burning maliciously at all of her senses. Even taking
  331.97 +her medicine hadn’t helped in the least. She should be in bed, but
  331.98 +she couldn’t make it the short distance back to her bedroom. So she
  331.99 +knelt on the floor in the bathroom, her head leaning against the
 331.100 +cabinets under the sink. Her skin was deathly pale, nearly as white
 331.101 +as the tiles underneath her.
 331.102 +	“Daddy... Mommy... Somebody... please...” Her voice barely reached
 331.103 +her own ears, seeming no more than a whisper. More cold tears fell
 331.104 +down her face. Her parents weren’t there. Again. They were always
 331.105 +working these days. To get away from her. No, that wasn’t true. That
 331.106 +couldn’t be. They were both working to afford all of the medicine and
 331.107 +the treatments and the doctors. Megumi shuddered violently at the
 331.108 +memories. It always hurt so much. And the doctors had been pretty
 331.109 +grim whenever they talked to her parents. She didn’t need to be a lip
 331.110 +reader to know that she was dying. A cold hand was gripping her soul,
 331.111 +frightening the poor girl even more. She didn’t want to die. She
 331.112 +didn’t want to leave Kumiko. Kumiko... Of course she hadn’t told the
 331.113 +other girl about any of this. It would only make her worry. And
 331.114 +Megumi had long ago found out that there was nothing that she could
 331.115 +do about it. So why worry Kumiko when it was so much nicer to see her
 331.116 +smiling, happy face? 
 331.117 +	A sudden fit of coughing shook the blonde girl’s small body as she
 331.118 +reached up to her trembling lips. When she pulled them away, they
 331.119 +were wet with fresh blood. The sight sent her into more tears. She
 331.120 +was so scared but there was no one who would come comfort her. If
 331.121 +Kumiko found out, she would be right over, but then she’d worry
 331.122 +herself to death. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, so she was all
 331.123 +on her own. Be a big girl, her mother had told her, several years
 331.124 +before. Be a big girl and you’ll make it through this. Megumi didn’t
 331.125 +want to be a big girl. It hurt too much. 
 331.126 +
 331.127 +	Kumiko yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep from her violet eyes. Her
 331.128 +long, dark brown hair was done up in braids today. Sleep had not been
 331.129 +easy in coming to her the night before. Her mind kept going back to
 331.130 +the girls on the tape and why it had seemed so familiar. Had
 331.131 +something similar happened with her and Megumi, explaining the shared
 331.132 +sense of deja vu? Or was there something deeper behind all of it? “I
 331.133 +really hope we can find something here. And soon. I’m hungry. I
 331.134 +didn’t get any breakfast before we left.” Megumi winced at the
 331.135 +mention of food. The blonde girl really didn’t look very good this
 331.136 +morning. Her skin was paper white and her lips were drawn tight. The
 331.137 +sunglasses she wore looked cute on her and they hid her bloodshot
 331.138 +aquamarine eyes well, but Kumiko could see them occasionally as the
 331.139 +sunglasses almost slipped off. She sighed as they entered the
 331.140 +library. Megumi looked like she was getting sick, but she looked like
 331.141 +that so often these days. Her lover would always deny that anything
 331.142 +was wrong besides a slight cold when Kumiko would ask her about it. 
 331.143 +	Megumi shivered in the air conditioned building, rubbing her arms
 331.144 +as she tried to keep warm. “It’s freezing in here. Let’s just try to
 331.145 +get the information and get out of here. Mom wants me home early
 331.146 +today so I can’t be out long.” It always pained her to lie to Kumiko,
 331.147 +but she really didn’t feel like being out of bed at all today. She
 331.148 +kind of doubted her mother would be home at any rate.
 331.149 +	“Well, if you’re tired, you can always take a nap at my place when
 331.150 +we’re done with all this, Megumi-chan.” Kumiko smiled brightly as she
 331.151 +took her best friend’s cold hand.  A sigh escaped her lips as she
 331.152 +looked for a good place to begin their search. “Something tells me I
 331.153 +should have just tried to look up all this stuff on my computer
 331.154 +anyway.  At least then I could go make some lunch.” Another uneasy
 331.155 +look on Megumi’s face told her to drop the subject of eating. But she
 331.156 +was sooooo hungry. “Here we go.” Finding a free terminal, she began
 331.157 +searching for relevant information.
 331.158 +	Pulling up a chair, Megumi relished the feeling of being off her
 331.159 +feet. The entire way there, she had felt ready to collapse. Her body
 331.160 +was still aching from the night before, but she couldn’t let it show
 331.161 +through. She didn’t want Kumiko to start worrying about  this,
 331.162 +especially when her heart was so set on finding out who the people on
 331.163 +the videotape were. The sick girl wasn’t really sure she wanted to
 331.164 +know, herself. It was all just too freaky. Who cared who some people
 331.165 +on an old, dated video were? All she needed was Kumiko. As long as
 331.166 +she had the other girl nearby, everything would always be all right.
 331.167 +“Find anything?” she asked after realizing she had nodded off for a
 331.168 +bit. She tried to suppress a yawn, but to no avail.
 331.169 +	Giggling at her friend, the brown haired girl nodded. “Yeah, I
 331.170 +think so. Apparently the mansion had been owned by the Daidouji
 331.171 +family previously.”
 331.172 +	Megumi gasped. “Daidouji? The Daidouji Company kind of Daidouji”
 331.173 +	Nodding again, Kumiko grew more serious. “Yeah, it looks like the
 331.174 +place belonged to the Daidouji family for quite a while, but recently
 331.175 +it had been sold by Daidouji Maya, the current head of the company.
 331.176 +She went there to move out some of the things that were important,
 331.177 +but it looks like some of it got left behind and the new occupants
 331.178 +are getting rid of it.”
 331.179 +	“So does that mean that one of the girls on the videotape was from
 331.180 +that family line? Is there any information on them? Maybe we could
 331.181 +find some pictures.” Megumi’s heart was pounding in her chest. Part
 331.182 +of her wanted to reach over and turn off the power on the computer,
 331.183 +to tell Kumiko it didn’t matter who was on some stupid videotape and
 331.184 +that she was the only one that mattered to her, but she was
 331.185 +paralyzed. She didn’t want to know. She was too afraid to find out.
 331.186 +But she couldn’t get herself to keep from hearing more.
 331.187 +	“Yeah, that’s what I’m checking right now. They’re a pretty
 331.188 +powerful family, so there should be a fair amount about them. I think
 331.189 +one of them is in our class. That Sumire girl? The one with the
 331.190 +glasses and the scary looking dark haired girl that’s always
 331.191 +following her?” Glancing back at Megumi, she saw the blonde nod in
 331.192 +response.  “Come to think of it, she does look a bit like the girls
 331.193 +in the video. Though I can’t tell which she looks more like, so I
 331.194 +don’t know who she’s related to. And I don’t know how she could
 331.195 +possibly be related to both.” Oddly enough, the idea sounded right.
 331.196 +She shook her head and kept looking at the screen. “Here it is.” A
 331.197 +list was on the screen, showing the family line back for quite some
 331.198 +time. “Yep, there’s Sumire. It looks like the first Daidouji on
 331.199 +record is Daidouji Sonomi and she founded the company. She had a
 331.200 +daughter, Daidouji Tomoyo. Apparently she had a daughter named Bara.
 331.201 +And she had a daughter named Maya, the current head of the Daidouji
 331.202 +Company. And she has a daughter named Sumire. Yeah, she’s in our
 331.203 +class. There’s her picture.” Kumiko pointed at the picture of a
 331.204 +frustrated looking girl in big glasses with dark hair done up in
 331.205 +pigtails. 
 331.206 +	Megumi nodded slowly, not sure if she could take much more of this.
 331.207 +The anticipation was maddening. The sunglasses had slipped off her
 331.208 +nose, but she hardly noticed. “Can you find any other pictures? What
 331.209 +about the rest of them?”
 331.210 +	Typing in another command, Kumiko looked back up at the screen.
 331.211 +Pictures began appearing by the names, as well as links for more
 331.212 +information on each member of the family. First a determined looking
 331.213 +businesswoman with a slant style hair cut and then a beautiful pale
 331.214 +woman with long dark hair that ended in curls with the same stormy
 331.215 +blue eyes as her mother. The braided girl stopped there. “That’s
 331.216 +her!! That’s the one from the videotape!” Her violet eyes went wide
 331.217 +in shock as she stared at the screen. She was much older in the
 331.218 +picture, a full grown woman as opposed to the teenager in the video,
 331.219 +but it was obviously the same person. 
 331.220 +	Feeling sick to her stomach, Megumi heard her ask a question she
 331.221 +was dreading. “Does it have any information on her? Or who that
 331.222 +brunette might have been?”
 331.223 +	“Let me see...” Biting her lower lip, Kumiko continued looking
 331.224 +through the information. A summary of the woman’s entire life up on
 331.225 +the next page was briefly skimmed through as her whole body
 331.226 +threatened to shake. Being so close to all of this was exciting. She
 331.227 +knew that what she was looking for was near, an answer to the
 331.228 +question posed by the videotape. “Kinomoto Sakura! Right here. It
 331.229 +says that she got married to Daidouji Tomoyo. Wait, that can’t be
 331.230 +right. Yeah, it says that they got married and had a daughter. That’s
 331.231 +bizarre. But here she is.” The slightly shorter girl moved to the
 331.232 +side to give her lover a better look. On screen was a woman with
 331.233 +fairly short brunette hair and a happy smile, looking out with
 331.234 +emerald green eyes. It had to be the other girl from the videotape. 
 331.235 +	“How’d they die?” Megumi blurted out. “Maybe it was really tragic
 331.236 +and they possessed the videotape or something. I thought they
 331.237 +wouldn’t have lasted much longer past the videotape if it seemed so
 331.238 +important.”
 331.239 +	Skimming the information, Kumiko shook her head. “It looks like
 331.240 +they lived long, happy lives by all accounts. Daidouji Sakura... Oh,
 331.241 +she must’ve changed her name when they got married. Anyway, she fell
 331.242 +down the stairs when she was a grandmother. Daidouji Tomoyo died a
 331.243 +few days later of no explained cause. Her daughter seems to have
 331.244 +thought it was heartache over the loss of Sakura.”
 331.245 +	Megumi shook her head, running hands through her curly blonde hair.
 331.246 +“None of this makes any sense. We know who these people are now, but
 331.247 +that still doesn’t explain anything. Why do we know them at all?
 331.248 +Maybe it was the camera angle. Maybe we just got so caught up in
 331.249 +watching the old thing that we started thinking there was more to
 331.250 +it.” She was shaking now, afraid. This was all too strange for her.
 331.251 +	Kumiko took Megumi’s soft hand, trying to comfort her. “Megumi...
 331.252 +There has to be something to all of this. I know there is. It’s just
 331.253 +too much to be a coincidence.”
 331.254 +	“How do you know, Kumi? Maybe that’s all it is...” Megumi’s voice
 331.255 +was unsteady and she couldn’t meet the braided girl’s gaze. She
 331.256 +squeezed Kumiko’s hand. 
 331.257 +	“Then why do I know things about them that I shouldn’t? Things that
 331.258 +video couldn’t have told me. That they came up with the baby’s name
 331.259 +while strolling through a rose garden. That Tomoyo loved to sing to
 331.260 +Sakura. That Sakura liked to cook for Tomoyo even though they had
 331.261 +people who could do that for them. That the world looked all tumbly
 331.262 +when she fell down the stairs.” Kumiko shuddered at the unbidden
 331.263 +images in her mind. It all looked so real. Like she was reliving old
 331.264 +memories. Even slipping down the stairs...
 331.265 +	“Stop it!!” Megumi stood up suddenly, tears starting to form in her
 331.266 +eyes. “Just stop it, Kumi! You’re scaring me...” Her voice went from
 331.267 +a scream to a barely audible whisper in seconds. Shaking hands wiped
 331.268 +at her eyes as she took a few weak steps back. Kumiko reached for her
 331.269 +seconds before she collapsed. 
 331.270 +
 331.271 +	
 331.272 +	“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Kumiko demanded of the
 331.273 +prone girl in her room.
 331.274 +	“I didn’t remember..?” Megumi ventured after a moment’s hesitation,
 331.275 +trying to smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.
 331.276 +	“Hmph...” Turning away from her, the slightly shorter girl crossed
 331.277 +her arms. Megumi could tell that she was fuming.
 331.278 +	“How did you find out?” the blonde asked quietly, almost ashamed.
 331.279 +	“Your mother told me when I called and told her that you had
 331.280 +collapsed at the library. I thought you’d just fainted from too much
 331.281 +shock. But she said you’ve been sick off and on for the past three
 331.282 +years. And that you’re getting worse.”
 331.283 +	“That’s technically inaccurate. I’ve been sick since I was a little
 331.284 +girl. It’s just been getting progressively worse for the past three
 331.285 +years.” Megumi tried another smile, but it seemed to have no affect
 331.286 +on Kumiko’s back. Sighing, she shook her head. She felt defeated. “I
 331.287 +didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about all
 331.288 +this. I know how hard it is to know that you’re dying and that no one
 331.289 +can help. I know how bad that feeling of helplessness is. And I would
 331.290 +never want you to have to experience it. It makes you feel all sick
 331.291 +and twisted up inside. Besides, your smiles have always been the best
 331.292 +therapy for me. I don’t want them to be tainted with worry whenever
 331.293 +you look at me.” Closing her eyes, the wind from the fan rustled the
 331.294 +blankets over her. “It’s not like I could have hid it from you much
 331.295 +longer anyway. It’s starting to get to the point where I can barely
 331.296 +hide the pain sometimes. You would have found out sooner or later.”
 331.297 +	“But you’re supposed to tell me everything! I’m your girlfriend! I
 331.298 +love you! I can’t...” The anger in Kumiko’s voice drained away as she
 331.299 +released a choked sob. “I don’t want to lose you... I... I need
 331.300 +you... Megumi...” She collapsed to her knees, burying her face
 331.301 +against Megumi’s side as she clung to her raggedly. “I love you... I
 331.302 +love you too much to let you go..”
 331.303 +	Megumi couldn’t hold back her own tears as she gently stroked
 331.304 +Kumiko’s back. “Kumi...” she whispered softly. This was exactly what
 331.305 +she’d feared would happen if Kumiko found out, but she found herself
 331.306 +oddly relieved to know that her love finally knew of her personal
 331.307 +pain. It felt so much freer. Like it was finally all right to cry. To
 331.308 +stop being a big girl.  
 331.309 +
 331.310 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 331.311 +
 331.312 +	Sitting in the tree adjacent to the window, a woman watched the two
 331.313 +girls in silence. She had been there for some time, but no one seemed
 331.314 +to notice her presence. Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses as
 331.315 +she continued her silent vigil. She had a keen interest in the
 331.316 +futures of the two girls inside the small room. But revealing herself
 331.317 +would be troublesome. They weren’t supposed to know about her.
 331.318 +Especially not yet. 
 331.319 +	Lavender eyes fell upon the sleeping form of Megumi. “Tomoyo-
 331.320 +chan...” the mysterious girl whispered softly. She had this all
 331.321 +planned out, but now it was almost impossible to continue on. Her
 331.322 +heart ached too much to continue on this way. But it was because of
 331.323 +her that this was happening. Well, most of it. She had never planned
 331.324 +on Megumi getting sick. Or the girls finding out about their pasts.
 331.325 +They were supposed to be oblivious to what was really going on. That
 331.326 +was their single goal in life that she had set out for them. To eke
 331.327 +out lives for themselves, together. They weren’t supposed to get
 331.328 +involved. But seeing her lying there, being held by the brunette was
 331.329 +almost too much for her. How she longed to go inside there and take
 331.330 +Kumiko’s place. She had been so sure of her plans when she’d set
 331.331 +everything in motion years before. But now after all that she had
 331.332 +endured, she was having second thoughts. It wasn’t fair that she was
 331.333 +supposed to be alone. That she was only here for a very specific
 331.334 +purpose. And the most painful part of it all was that she had brought
 331.335 +it all upon herself. 
 331.336 +	“Tomoyo-chan... I miss you.” Long fingers wiped at the tears
 331.337 +building in her eyes behind the glasses. It was a bad idea to come
 331.338 +back. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Why
 331.339 +had she come after all? Because she had to see her again. But
 331.340 +watching her in the arms of the other girl, dying, was just too much
 331.341 +to bear. A mournful sigh escaped her lips. This was stupid. She never
 331.342 +should have come. Standing on the branch she had been sitting on,
 331.343 +long wings unfurled from her back. “Sleep well, Tomoyo. I’m sorry for
 331.344 +hurting you.” Blowing a kiss through the window, she got ready to
 331.345 +push off when Kumiko turned around. Her heart skipped a beat. No, she
 331.346 +hadn’t noticed her. Her magic was still shrouding her. There was
 331.347 +nothing to worry about. Then their eyes locked.
 331.348 +	
 331.349 +	Kumiko stared wide eyed at the red haired angel floating outside
 331.350 +the window. An uneasy feeling had been building in her chest for the
 331.351 +past few minutes and it had just reached a deafening crescendo. Her
 331.352 +instincts had finally taken over at the feeling of being watched. But
 331.353 +she certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Kumiko had led a rather
 331.354 +normal life for the short time she had been alive. Nothing stranger
 331.355 +than a slightly eccentric girlfriend. But now there were videotapes
 331.356 +of long dead girls and deja vu from some past life and strange
 331.357 +feelings she couldn’t pinpoint. And now this. Her heart seized up at
 331.358 +the sight, as if her mind wanted to deny the very existence of this
 331.359 +girl. ‘No, she’s not there! Ignore her! Pretend that you’ve never
 331.360 +seen her and everything will go back to normal,’ her mind screamed to
 331.361 +her. And part of her knew that it was true. Everything could be the
 331.362 +way it used to be. All of this craziness could be forgotten. But as
 331.363 +she watched the girl outside her window, she found herself being
 331.364 +drawn closer. The angel knew. She knew all about what was going on.
 331.365 +And Kumiko needed answers. She bolted to the window. 
 331.366 +	The angel could easily have flown away by now, but she stayed where
 331.367 +she was, perched atop the branch and peering in. Her eyes followed
 331.368 +Kumiko’s every movement. The large, white wings moved ever so
 331.369 +slightly behind her as she shifted her balance. “You weren’t supposed
 331.370 +to see me, Kumiko. You weren’t supposed to see any of this. I should
 331.371 +make you forget about all of it.” Her voice was calm, even. Her eyes
 331.372 +narrowed through the glasses, giving her a slightly menacing look. 
 331.373 +	The whole thing sent a shiver through Kumiko. She knew that the
 331.374 +angel in the tree could very well back up her claim. “Who are you?
 331.375 +What’s going on? Why is all of this happening?” she asked, heedless
 331.376 +of whatever danger she was putting herself in. It didn’t matter. She
 331.377 +couldn’t sit back while all of this washed over her. The only girl
 331.378 +she had ever loved lay dying in her bed and she was still so confused
 331.379 +about everything. And the firey haired angel was the key to it all. 
 331.380 +	The angel looked back at Kumiko through her glasses, lavender eyes
 331.381 +meeting violet in an intense stare that neither was willing to back
 331.382 +down from. The angel finally sighed, shifting to the side as her
 331.383 +wings stretched out behind her. “Kumiko-chan, you really aren’t ready
 331.384 +for any of this. Just go back inside and hold onto Megumi tightly.
 331.385 +Love her. Hold her. Comfort her. That is why you exist.” 
 331.386 +	“So I can watch her die?!” Kumiko shouted, rage burning in her
 331.387 +heart. Her hands shook as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
 331.388 +Her violet eyes were ablaze with the pain and anger that clung to her
 331.389 +heart like needles. “I exist so that I can watch my only love slip
 331.390 +away from me?! So that I can be there for her while she dies so
 331.391 +young?” Hot tears fell past her chin as she shook her head intensely.
 331.392 +“No!! That’s not it!! That’s not how things are supposed to work!”
 331.393 +	The angel’s beautiful face turned cross as she flew up next to the
 331.394 +window in one long, graceful movement. The wings beat slowly,
 331.395 +luxioriously as she remained aloft in front of the startled brunette.
 331.396 +“Will you please be quiet? You’re going to worry Tomoyo-chan. She
 331.397 +needs her sleep right now.“ Closing her eyes, she chanted something
 331.398 +under her breath before motioning with her hand. 
 331.399 +	Kumiko watched in shock as a gentle blue wave surrounded Megumi
 331.400 +before fading away. “What the hell did you do to Megumi-chan!?!” she
 331.401 +demanded furiously. She reached out and grabbed hold of the angel’s
 331.402 +blouse, holding on tightly.  “You leave her alone!!”
 331.403 +	The angel just watched Kumiko for a silent moment, her lavender
 331.404 +eyes betraying a deep loneliness in her heart. “I was simply putting
 331.405 +her to sleep. She’s in enough pain as it is. Now she’s dreaming, far
 331.406 +away from the pain. She doesn’t need you waking her up and
 331.407 +frightening her about all of this. All she wants is to be with you.
 331.408 +Don’t you understand? That’s all she ever wanted. And that‘s what I
 331.409 +gave her.”
 331.410 +	Kumiko’s hands fell uselessly to her sides as she took a half step
 331.411 +backwards. “You... You planned all of this... You know what’s going
 331.412 +on, don’t you..? So, you know all about the videotape and the
 331.413 +memories and everything... Right?” The angel nodded slowly,
 331.414 +thoughtfully. “Then... Then you have to tell me! I need to know
 331.415 +what’s happening!! I have to!” She asked anxiously, her eyes welling
 331.416 +up as she collapsed against the window sill, barely supporting her
 331.417 +weight on her hands. “Please...?” she asked pathetically, her eyes
 331.418 +begging the silent angel. “You have to...”
 331.419 +	Closing her lavender eyes, the angel sighed, shaking her head. “It
 331.420 +wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t meant to find out. You
 331.421 +were simply supposed to live your lives, to be happy.” Her eyes
 331.422 +fluttered open, looking directly into Kumiko’s soul. She could see
 331.423 +every nuance of the girl before her, everything that made her what
 331.424 +she was. In a way, it was like looking into a mirror. Of course, her
 331.425 +life had changed certain things, forcing her to grow up very
 331.426 +differently than the girl before her.
 331.427 +	Kumiko waited nervously through the scrutiny she was receiving from
 331.428 +the angel. It was with some surprise that she realized the angel was
 331.429 +younger than her. She looked no more than fourteen years old. But
 331.430 +even then, it still frightened her to see those piercing lavender
 331.431 +eyes focused so intently on herself. “You said... You said that it’s
 331.432 +why I exist... What do you mean?” she ventured, hoping that  her
 331.433 +pleas wouldn’t go unheard this time.
 331.434 +	Sighing, the angel pushed up her glasses, her red hair moving
 331.435 +slowly as the wind caressed it. In the blink of an eye, she
 331.436 +disappeared, Sakura blossoms floating gently to the grass below.
 331.437 +	“No! No! Come back!! Please come back!!! There’s so much I need to
 331.438 +know!” Verging on panic, Kumiko leaned out the window and called
 331.439 +again and again for the firey haired angel. A tap on her back
 331.440 +startled her, almost to the point of falling out the window. Her
 331.441 +heart pounded in her chest in shock as she finally turned around. The
 331.442 +angel stood before her without a trace of her beautiful wings. Kumiko
 331.443 +blushed in embarrassment, staring at the floor. “I thought that you’d
 331.444 +left...” she admitted sheepishly. 
 331.445 +	To the brunette’s amazement, the angel smiled softly. “Don’t worry.
 331.446 +I probably would have done the same. Which is why I know that I can’t
 331.447 +leave. You can’t hide from the truth, even if it is safer that way.
 331.448 +You would continue relentlessly pursuing it until it finally consumed
 331.449 +you.”
 331.450 +	“You make that sound like a bad thing to be a little determined now
 331.451 +and then,” Kumiko said, frowning as she crossed her arms. This girl
 331.452 +knew all the right buttons to push.
 331.453 +	“It can be. Especially when others are trying to protect you from
 331.454 +the truth. You don’t understand how brutal it can be.” The angel
 331.455 +looked over at the blonde asleep in the bed. “But you’re beginning to
 331.456 +get a taste.” Her glasses glinted in the sunlight as she turned
 331.457 +around. “My name is Meishi. I am the reincarnation of the sorceress
 331.458 +Sakura Daidouji.” She smiled again, gesturing to the mirror. 
 331.459 +	Kumiko’s eyes traveled quickly to it. Rather than the firey haired
 331.460 +angel, the girl Kumiko had seen on the computer earlier that day took
 331.461 +her place. She looked to be about the same fourteen years as the
 331.462 +angel. Confusion gripped her heart as she tried to make sense out of
 331.463 +what was going on. “But I thought... I thought that I was Sakura,”
 331.464 +she said quietly, her voice no more than a ghost. Wasn’t that what
 331.465 +her memories were telling her? What she had seen in the video? Wasn’t
 331.466 +she that girl?
 331.467 +	“You are a dream. Born from my love for the girl that you know as
 331.468 +Megumi. You are here to love her always, to be with her throughout
 331.469 +all her life. That is your lot in life. And I would give anything to
 331.470 +trade places with you.” Her small body shuddered almost imperceptibly
 331.471 +as she closed her eyes. When they opened, her lavender eyes shimmered
 331.472 +with unshed tears. Kumiko couldn‘t utter a word in response. A dream?
 331.473 +She was only a dream? Some sort of puppet? “I knew that one day I
 331.474 +would have to set things in motion, that I would need to return to
 331.475 +finish what started with the Cards. But I also knew how difficult
 331.476 +that would be. I knew that I couldn’t leave Tomoyo behind. She means
 331.477 +everything to me. But I didn’t want to get her caught up in what I
 331.478 +needed to do. Too often she was nearly hurt because of my
 331.479 +carelessness. Her heart suffered the worst because of me. I wasn’t
 331.480 +going to let that happen again.” She took the brunette’s hands and
 331.481 +pulled her gently closer until they were both in front of the mirror.
 331.482 +To Kumiko’s surprise, neither were present in the mirror. There were
 331.483 +instead two Sakura’s standing there, in the same positions that she
 331.484 +was in with Meishi. “So I created you to take care of her, to love
 331.485 +her, to be with her while I handled the magical side of things. It’s
 331.486 +something that I’ve come to regret now.” Her eyes once again settled
 331.487 +on the peacefully sleeping form of the blonde girl. “I never expected
 331.488 +her to get sick. I didn’t think she would die like this.”
 331.489 +	As if snapping out of a trance, Kumiko took a step forward. She
 331.490 +couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So even though she’s your
 331.491 +Tomoyo, you’re still going to let her die? With all the magic at your
 331.492 +command, your not even going to try and save her life?” All the fear
 331.493 +and worry that had entered her heart at the mention that she was
 331.494 +created of a dream for Sakura’s purposes dissipated in an instant as
 331.495 +fury returned. “How could you say you love her if you aren’t willing
 331.496 +to do anything for her? How could you stick her with a dream and then
 331.497 +leave her to die?” Her voice was frantic, pained, but she forced out
 331.498 +the words.
 331.499 +	Meishi slumped to her knees at Megumi’s bedside, holding her pale
 331.500 +hand tightly. Kumiko’s brazen words had cut her deeper than any knife
 331.501 +could. “You don’t understand. I’m the one who brought her back. My
 331.502 +magic is too strong. I can’t die. Not completely. But Tomoyo-chan...
 331.503 +She can die. She did die. So I brought her back. I reincarnated her.
 331.504 +Because I got scared. I couldn’t bear to be without her. She’s always
 331.505 +been there for me. Without her love and support, I’m nothing. I
 331.506 +couldn’t go on if she wasn’t there. So when I died and was
 331.507 +reincarnated, I brought her with me. I didn’t let her move on. I took
 331.508 +her with me. It was selfish. I came back in two bodies. This one,”
 331.509 +her free hand indicated herself before motioning towards Kumiko. “And
 331.510 +that one. You were supposed to find Tomoyo-chan’s soul in whichever
 331.511 +body it wound up in so that we could be together once more. I was
 331.512 +supposed to put everything in order with the Cards. But Tomoyo... She
 331.513 +came back in this body, but now it’s dying. I have to wonder if it’s
 331.514 +my fault. If she wasn’t meant to come back like this. I used my magic
 331.515 +to bind her here, to bring her back to life. She wasn’t allowed to
 331.516 +move on. Because I couldn’t go on without Tomoyo-chan...” Tears fell
 331.517 +down from under her glasses as she watched the sleeping girl
 331.518 +intently. “So now she’s hurting because of me. Now she’s dying all
 331.519 +over again because of my selfishness. So I can’t try and make her
 331.520 +better. Part of me wonders if I should let her live in such pain.”
 331.521 +	“No!!” Kumiko shouted, reaching Megumi’s side in seconds. “I won’t
 331.522 +let you take her away form me! I know she’s in pain, but I...” Her
 331.523 +voice trailed off as it hit her. She was saying the exact same thing.
 331.524 +“I... need her...” she whispered, her eyes still wide. “I’m... I’m
 331.525 +doing the same thing... I’m hurting her, too...”
 331.526 +	“Because we’re the same,” the red haired girl finished.  “You can’t
 331.527 +live without her anymore than I could. The thought of going on
 331.528 +without Tomoyo-chan by your side doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a
 331.529 +world without love or without air. It would be completely desolate.
 331.530 +Her heart warms you up that way, brightening everything in your life
 331.531 +to the point that you take her wonderful light for granted, not
 331.532 +seeing just how wonderful she makes it. Her love and support keep you
 331.533 +going when you would rather give up in defeat. It’s just the way she
 331.534 +is. Just as it’s the way we are to need her.” She sighed, looking
 331.535 +infinitely older than the young girl that rested against the side of
 331.536 +the bed. “If I end her pain, I would send you along with her.” She
 331.537 +shook her head quickly at the look Kumiko gave her. “You wouldn’t
 331.538 +want to live without her. Trust me. The last fourteen years have been
 331.539 +like a nightmare. My only happiness was knowing that the two of you
 331.540 +were out here. Besides, I wouldn’t want Tomoyo-chan to be lonely on
 331.541 +the other side.”
 331.542 +	A cold chill traveled up Kumiko’s spine at Meishi’s words. Despite
 331.543 +her confusion and her own fear of seeing Megumi in any more pain, she
 331.544 +steeled her resolve. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you did make me
 331.545 +for this reason or if you screwed up when you brought Megumi back. I
 331.546 +won’t let you take her from me. She’s here now. That’s what matters.
 331.547 +I won’t let you or anyone else take her away from me. I love her too
 331.548 +much.” Determination glittered in her violet eyes, her gaze never
 331.549 +wavering as the sorceress looked back at her.
 331.550 +	Giggling softly, Meishi stood up. “I’d almost forgotten what that
 331.551 +looked like. You really do have all of her love and support, don’t
 331.552 +you? I remember that determination from long ago. It took me a long
 331.553 +time to understand that she was the cause.” Her fingers trailed
 331.554 +gently along Megumi’s pale cheek before brushing back some of her
 331.555 +curly blonde hair. Her heart seized up as she looked down at the
 331.556 +sleeping girl. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... I miss you so much...” A half sob,
 331.557 +half sigh escaped her lips. Her head nodded weakly. “All right. I’ll
 331.558 +leave her with you. But you better make sure that she’s happy. She’s
 331.559 +already in enough pain. I want her to die happily.”
 331.560 +	“But... I don’t want her to die...” Kumiko whispered. She silently
 331.561 +berated herself. Her vision blurred as burning tears stung her eyes.
 331.562 +She clenched her fingernails into her palms in an effort to focus
 331.563 +past the tears. Meishi was right, the thought of living a life
 331.564 +without Megumi was a bleak as walking through an endless desert.
 331.565 +Megumi was her best friend, the girl that she loved. They were
 331.566 +partners. Neither was complete without the other. 
 331.567 +	“I don’t want her to, either. Please take good care of her for me.”
 331.568 +Hesitating for only a second, Meishi leaned down and kissed the
 331.569 +sleeping beauty, her firey red hair kissing Megumi’s beautiful blonde
 331.570 +hair. Her heart surged as she felt Tomoyo in the all too brief kiss.
 331.571 +She smiled sadly down at her love, her fingers trailing gently over 
 331.572 +the blonde’s cheek as aquamarine eyes slowly blinked open. 
 331.573 +	Megumi strained to make out the blur in front of her as she finally
 331.574 +woke up. “Kumi?” her groggy voice asked. As her vision slowly
 331.575 +cleared, the figure that had been above her faded away. If she didn’t
 331.576 +feel so sick, she may have thought there had been someone over her a
 331.577 +moment before. “Kumi-chan?” she asked tiredly, trying to keep the
 331.578 +panic out of her voice as she searched desperately for the brunette.
 331.579 +	“I’m right here!” Kumiko said quickly, taking Megumi’s cold hand as
 331.580 +she sat next to her on the bed. The jealousy she had felt when the
 331.581 +sorceress had kissed her best friend quickly faded away, replaced
 331.582 +with concern for her slowly awakening friend. “I’m right here, Megumi-
 331.583 +chan. I’ll always be right here for you.” She still didn’t know quite
 331.584 +what was going on with Meishi or what she had in mind, but that
 331.585 +hardly mattered at the moment. It didn’t even matter if she was
 331.586 +Sakura or just a dream. All that mattered was her best friend and
 331.587 +what lay before her.
 331.588 +	Megumi offered a weak smile before coughing  for a few moments. “I
 331.589 +know, Kumi. It’s part of why I love you so much.” She didn’t know
 331.590 +what had happened, but at least Kumiko wasn’t mad at her anymore. She
 331.591 +didn’t know how much more of that she could have taken before just
 331.592 +dying of a broken heart. Wet, cold tears splattered against her
 331.593 +cheeks from up above. Her arms wrapped around the brunette’s waist,
 331.594 +even though they felt like overcooked noodles. 
 331.595 +	Leaning down on top of her best friend, Kumiko kissed Megumi softly
 331.596 +again and again, sobbing quietly as she did. “I love you so much...
 331.597 +I’ll always love you... I promise... I promise we’ll always be
 331.598 +together... No matter where we are...” she whispered, giving Megumi’s
 331.599 +lips more feathery kisses.
 331.600 +	“I know... I know, Kumi. Always.”
 331.601 +
 331.602 +	

   332.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   332.2 +++ b/stories/dreams3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   332.3 @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
   332.4 +Dreams 
   332.5 +Part 3
   332.6 +by Amazoness Duo
   332.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   332.8 +http://fly.to/moonlit_nights
   332.9 +
  332.10 +
  332.11 +
  332.12 +
  332.13 +
  332.14 +Pushing her door open, an exhausted Kumiko led Megumi into her room. "You're lucky you quit cheerleading when you did. Coach has been running us ragged lately. I think she decided that she's a sadist." "If you want a sadist, Kumi, I wouldn't mind spanking you now and then," Megumi remarked, sitting gingerly on the edge of the brunette girl's bed. A smile lit up her face at the embarrassed look that Kumiko wore. "I.. You could... I mean, I wouldn't..." Kumiko stammered, blushing. Looking desperately for a retreat, the braided girl switched back to the previous topic. It was much safer that way. "Asahi-chan doesn't seem to mind. But she thinks coach can walk on water.""Have you ever seen her try? Maybe she can," Megumi mused. "Asahi's in love. Coach can do no wrong in her eyes. It's one of the many beautiful things about love."Kumiko blinked. "Denial is a beautiful thing about love? Since when?" Heading to her closet, she began to change out of her uniform. Pulling her braided hair out of the way, she glanced back over her shoulder. "And name another of the beautiful things about love. I wanna know what this list of yours is."
  332.15 +
  332.16 +Laughing softly, Megumi watched the other girl. Kumiko's beauty always captivated her. "Yes, but I wouldn't call it denial. More an understanding of how wonderful someone is. It's been part of the beautiful things about love since last Tuesday, I believe." Resting a hand on her chin, the blonde tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Another one from my list? You, of course. You're the most beautiful thing about love."
  332.17 +
  332.18 +Unable to hide her smile, Kumiko turns to the girl on her bed. A flick of her head sends her braided hair back in place. "You must have been such a Cassanova in your last life. You always say the sweetest things. I can't imagine anyone not falling for things like that. I know I always do." A few steps transported her to the edge of the bed. Aquamarine eyes gazing lovingly down into their violet counterparts, Kumiko's arms wrapped around the frail blonde. 
  332.19 +
  332.20 +"I think it's just that I'm very much in love with you. And it's true. I'm glad you'd fall for the truth." Megumi's hands rubbed up and down Kumiko's sides, glad to have her friend so near. It was always comforting to feel the brunette close to her. Kumiko was her liferaft, keeping her afloat in the choppy sea of her world. All the pain seemed to melt away when they were together. Out of all the medicines that had been forced on Megumi, Kumiko was always the most effective balm she could think of.
  332.21 +
  332.22 +Giggling softly, Kumiko rest her head against Megumi's. The blonde's pale skin felt warm against her own. "I like that explanation." Her lips brushed over Megumi's, savoring the feel of the warm lips against her own. Her heart always felt deliriously dizzy in these moments. Holding the one you love, being able to kiss them over and over... Was anything better than that? She doubted it. This was her taste of heaven, her slice of bliss.
  332.23 +
  332.24 +"I thought you would," Megumi said with a grin. Taking Kumiko's waist, she dropped back onto the bed, pulling the taller girl with her. Curling against the bruntte, she melted against Kumiko's continued kisses. 'Don't let me go, Kumiko. Ever. I want to stay like this forever.' Everything that bothered her seemed so far away in Kumiko's arms. The brunette was her knight, protecting her from the harsh realities of the outside world. That retreat into Kumiko's arms, the warm, safe barrier was what kept her sane even as she knew everything else was falling apart. Feeling Megumi's hands roaming up and down her back, Kumiko kissed the smaller girl again and again before finally pulling back enough to look into her eyes. Oh, how she loved those eyes! They seemed to sparkle only for her, those beautiful puppy dog eyes that called to her. She was helpless to do anything but comply whenever she was lost in their depths. Her fingers began to stroke through Megumi's beautiful, luxorious blonde hair. It was like the finest silk, begging to be touched. She loved how it felt under her fingers while gazing into her friend's violet orbs. She sighed dreamily, pulling Megumi closer with her free arm. 
  332.25 +
  332.26 +Shifting her head so she could let Kumiko get at more of her hair, Megumi smiled. Leaning forward, she nuzzled the brunette's nose and got out a fair copy of a purr. "Whenever you do that, I want to be your kitten. To curl up on your lap and feel your fingers rubbing through my fur... It would be wonderful." 
  332.27 +
  332.28 +"You're so sweet. But I like my life-size kitten much better. She's such a good girl." Kumiko let her fingers scritch behind Megumi's ear, delighting in the purr that Megumi gave. Giving her another kiss, Kumiko let her hands return to her girlfriend's hair. "I like you this way. So soft and pretty." Sighing again, Kumiko buried her head against Megumi's blonde hair. She could feel Megumi's foot pushing playfully against hers and rubbed back against it. "I love you, Megumi-chan." She whispered softly.
  332.29 +
  332.30 +"I love you, too, Kumi." If she could just die now, she'd be happy. Why couldn't life always be like this? So warm and comfortable. It was as if her body had been made to be cradled in Kumiko's arms, snuggled close to the girl she loved. There was no more comfortable place on earth. And none that felt safer than the brunette's embrace.
  332.31 +
  332.32 +"Megumi-chan?" Kumiko propped herself up on an elbow, looking down at the pale girl. "Why didn't you tell the other girls why you left cheerleading? They don't know why you quit. They all think you just didn't feel like it anymore. I'm sure they'd want to know what's wrong.""But I didn't want them to know." Megumi sighed, sliding onto her back and closing her eyes. "They'll just worry if they know I'm sick. It's better this way. I don't want them to feel bad for me. I just want to be friends while I still have the chance. If they don't know, we can make the best of the time we have left. They won't have to suffer knowing about it."Kumiko's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you didn't tell me? So we could just pretend nothing was wrong? So everything would be just fine until you ended up leaving me?"
  332.33 +
  332.34 +Megumi's eyes blinked open slowly, looking up to the brunette. Maybe she'd given the wrong answer for her refusal to tell her friends that she was dying. Kumiko was still hurt that she hadn't told her. But what should she have done? "I don't know how much time I have left, Kumi. But I wanted to forget about that in your arms. I didn't want you to worry about it. That just puts a dark shroud over everything we do. I wanted us to enjoy the time I have left as much as we can. And you can't do that if in the back of your mind you're hurting because of this," Megumi tried to explain. "Before you knew, it didn't hurt, did it? You were happy. You weren't afraid of the future, were you?"
  332.35 +For a moment, Kumiko was silent. Her mind played through her emotions, the way things were now, that constant specter of fear that hid within her heart. Sitting up, she clenched her fists until they hurt, pushing them deep into her thighs. Her back was to the blonde. "Everytime I see you, I'm afraid. Everytime we're together, part of me wants to cry. Because I know someday I won't be able to hold you. That someday I'm going to be standing over your grave. And I can't handle that. I don't want it to happen that way. And it tears me up inside. You say I'm your knight, but how can I be when I can't protect you from this? It makes me feel small and worthless. You're in the biggest trouble of your life, and I'm too insignificant to do a damned thing about it. And yet you take it all with a smile. You don't let anyone see your pain. Not even me. You're so much stronger than me. Because I don't know if I can live without you. I can't take that this is happening to you. I go to sleep crying at night, clinging to my pillow and praying that something, anything will stop this."
  332.36 +
  332.37 +Sitting up, Megumi rested a hand on Kumiko's shoulder. The other girl yanked her shoulder away, shaking lightly. The blonde's heart sunk. "That's why I didn't want to tell you, Kumi. It does hurt. But I didn't want it to hurt you, too. I wanted us to be happy while we still have the chance to be. You make me happy. That's more important than whether or not you can protect me from this. We all die. I can accept that. But I just want to be with you while I can."Kumiko stood up, stepping away from Megumi. She was breathing icey flames now, feeling them sear her lungs with each breath. Tears rolled relentlessly down her cheeks, mocking her. Since they were young, she had always been Megumi's hero. She'd stood up for her to bullies, had been there for her all night on the phone the first time both her parents had left her alone in the house while on business trips. But now she was completely helpless. Helplessness and frustration and fear all welled up inside her, creating a whirlpool that sucked away all of her strength. Whirling about, she started on Megumi. "You had no right to keep that from me! You had no right to lie to me that everything was fine! I love you, Megumi. How could you keep this from me?! How could you let me delude myself that we'd have our whole lives together? I made plans... We were gonna go to college together... I wanted to marry you...
  332.38 +I can't do any of that now!!" Tears came faster and faster, blurring her vision until it was all a surreal painting, blobs of color all that she could make out of her girlfriend. 
  332.39 +
  332.40 +Standing up slowly, Megumi had to stop herself from going to Kumiko. She wanted to, but she knew that Kumiko wouldn't let her. The knowledge of Megumi's impending death had finally overwhelmed the brunette. "I wanted all those things, too, Kumi. I wanted to be with you always. But life doesn't work that way. These are the cards we're dealt. And I wanted to play mine the best I could. I love you. I might not have long here, but that will never, every change. I love you. And I always will. If I could, I would be right there beside you every day of your life. I'd be there for grandkids and great grandkids.""This is all... This happened before." Kumiko looked at the old camcorder lying on her desk. She walked to it, clutching it to her chest. "Back when you were that other girl. Tomoyo. We died before. But we met each other again in this life. It's the same thing. You were Tomoyo last time. I'll find you next time. Even if I have to search the world over. You'll get born again. And I just have to find you..." That glimmer of hope helped keep her aloft over the dark abyss that threatened to consume her. Loneliness and madness licked at her from that infinitely dark pit. But if she could find Megumi in her next life... "Kumi! I don't want to think about other lives. Whoever we were, it doesn't matter. Whoever we might be hasn't even happened yet. I have no idea what that's all about, but it isn't important. I like the idea that we've been together before, too. And that we'll be together again someday. But I can't surround myself with that right now. Because right now is the important thing. Right now is where I have to live. I don't know who we were or who we might be someday. But I do know that right now, at this very instant, I love you. With all my heart and soul. I want to live in the present because I know I don't have much of a future. I can't lose myself in a past I can't remember. I don't need fairytales to keep me going. All I need is you." Walking over, the pale girl took Kumiko's hand. "Right here. Right now. Forget the past. Forget the future. Just be with me. Now. Love me. While we still can. I want to make the most of the time I have left. I love you. I want to surround myself with that love for as long as I can. Every moment with you, that's what keeps me going. The future can't hurt me as long as I live in the moment, in every moment that I'm with you. Now is important, Kumi. Everything else will happen when it comes."
  332.41 +
  332.42 +Kumiko yanked away from Megumi, shaking her head. Her tiny strand of hope snapped, sending her sprawling headfirst into the abyss. Darkness surrounded her heart, ice pumping through her veins. She was lost. "How can I live right now when I know it will go away? What does it matter if we're together right now when I'll be all alone soon? If you're gonna die and I'll never see you again, then what's the point of any of this?!" Why fight? Why try if it meant nothing in the end? If you were destined to lose, what did it matter if you tried or not? They could be together now, but soon Megumi would be a blackhole in her life, ripped from her, leaving her incomplete for the rest of her life. Megumi stared at Kumiko for a long moment, her heart breaking. Closing her eyes, she turned and walked out, letting the door swing closed behind her.
  332.43 +
  332.44 +All she could do was watch the love of her life leave. The brunette was too angry, lost, afraid, and depressed to force herself after Megumi. What could she do now? What did it matter. Her heart felt like a giant chunk of glass, cutting into her body with every heartbeat. Clutching the camcorder tightly, she hurled it against the wall, only dimly hearing something shatter. She could barely breath as her sobs wracked her body. 
  332.45 +
  332.46 +"Honey? Are you okay? I just saw Megumi leaving. She was crying. Did you two get into a fight?" Kumiko's mother asked from the other side of the door. Hearing nothing but broken sobs, she swiftly opened the door to find her daughter crying profusely. "Oh, baby, what happened?" Hurrying to her daughter's side, she pulled Kumiko close. Her daughter clung tightly to her, unable to get out any words. "Shhh... It's okay, baby. It will be okay..."But how could it be? How could it ever be okay?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  332.47 +
  332.48 +How could Kumiko think that? How could she say it wasn't worth it? Wasn't their love worth fighting for, no matter what the cost? Death shouldn't stop that. Death wasn't strong enough to destroy love. At least, Megumi had thought it wasn't. But the brunette had already given up on her...Tears spattered the ground as she ran, wanting to get as far away as she could. She had lost her sanctuary, her one safe spot in the storm that was her life. Knowing she would die didn't hurt half as much as that knowledge. Kumiko's words echoed through her head. 'What's the point?' Indeed. What was the point without Kumiko? If she couldn't live with Kumiko's love and support, what was the point in lasting until her disease took her? Why even wait? Wasn't that the entire reason she had been hanging on, after all? So that she could be with Kumiko just a little longer? But Kumiko didn't think that was enough anymore. 
  332.49 +
  332.50 +There was no place left to run. Her parents had distanced themselves from their daughter's impending death. They had thrown themselves into their work, paying for what medication she needed and what operations, but losing themselves in business trips and long hours in the process. It was less painful if they didn't have to watch, wasn't it? Even Kumiko felt hopeless about her. She should just die and get it over with. There was no one to run to. No one who would help her. She had wanted a happy end to her life, spending it with the girl she loved. Now it seemed like she couldn't even have that. No future. And only a lonely end. What a waste.
  332.51 +
  332.52 +Pain was erupting in her heart. Megumi stumbled forward, feeling sick. Everything hurt. Her medication came to mind as a reflex. But the medication wasn't there. It was back at Kumiko's house, where she'd left her bag. Each step felt like a thousand needles in her skin. The world was tilting this way and that. Her broken heart was being ground into dust by the roiling torment within her. Her foot tried in vain to make the next step, but the ground seemed to drop out from underneath her. The world upended as Megumi crashed onto the pavement. 
  332.53 +
  332.54 +The world wavered around the sick blonde girl, seeming to fade further and further away. It was ironic. In a way, it felt fitting. Everything else was falling apart, so why shouldn't her body follow suit? She was probably better off without her medication. It wouldn't have been worth taking anyway. At least now the pain would stop. She wouldn't be hurting Kumiko anymore. It would finally be over. 
  332.55 +
  332.56 +Tears slipped down her cheek onto the ground. This wasn't what she wanted. All she wanted, all she'd ever wanted, was to be with Kumiko. What would Kumiko think when they found her body? Would she feel like she'd been right about it not being worth it? All she wanted... Her eyes closed, Kumiko's image filling her mind. Another weak sob escaped her. She loved Kumiko. She wanted to be with her. But even that was denied to her. Why did she have to leave on this note? Why couldn't she have died knowing Kumiko loved her, that she always would? She would have been better off dying the night before. Her body spasmed, the pain reaching a crescendo as she blacked out. 
  332.57 +
  332.58 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  332.59 +"Tomoyo-chan!" Dropping her school books, a red haired girl ran to Megumi's side, dropping to her knees beside her. Her short, fiery hair got into her eyes, but hse ignored it, checking on the fallen girl. The pale girl was unconscious, but she looked like she was in tremondous pain. "No... Not now. Damn it!" Meishi placed her hands on Megumi, focusing all of the healing magic she could into the sickly girl. She knew it wasn't enough to fix her mistake, but she hoped it would be enough to heal Megumi for the time being. The blonde's body slowly relaxed, her breathing slow and ragged. "Tomoyo-chan..." 
  332.60 +
  332.61 +Honestly, she shouldn't have even been in the area. She went to a different school altogether. And she didn't even need to go to school. She had all of her memories from her past life, so it was a bit redundant. She guessed that she went in order to keep from losing her mind. But on her way home, she had taken an unexpected turn. Meishi had hoped that she'd get a glimpse of Tomoyo. She told herself she wouldn't say anything or let Megumi know she was watching her. She only wanted to see her again, to see the woman she loved in her new life. She knew she shouldn't get involved in Megumi's life. It was better that way. But she had to. Megumi needed her. 
  332.62 +
  332.63 +Wrapping her arms around the frail blonde, large wings sprang from Meishi's back. Casting a spell to keep any passersby from noticing, she took to the sky. "Please be okay, Tomoyo-chan..."
  332.64 +
  332.65 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  332.66 +
  332.67 +Megumi lay unconscious on the large bed in the center of Meishi's room. Meishi paced nervously, glancing back to the pale girl every few seconds. Despite the different appearance, she could still see through to Tomoyo. She was still the girl Meishi loved, despite the different body. And the lack of memories. But Meishi had all of those memories of their life together. Which was why the house she stayed in was a magical recreation of the home she had lived in with Tomoyo. The bed Megumi laid in was a replica of the one that she had once held her wife in. 
  332.68 +
  332.69 +"She's fine, Meishi-sama. As fine as she can be, under the circumstances. She may even have another month or two left in her. Are you sure you shouldn't have her wake up in her own bed? If she sees you, it might complicate things. Afterall, isn't it Kumiko-san's role to look after her?" Yue asked. The pale, dark haired woman was a far cry from the previous Yue. She had created her during this life as an assistant, her version of Yue. And she had been wonderful at the job. Unfortunately, Meishi had designed her a bit too much after Tomoyo. The magical creature was a constant reminder of her love. It made it very difficult to keep from going to see Tomoyo sometimes. 
  332.70 +
  332.71 +Back when she had still been Sakura, Meishi had sealed away Yukito's powers so that he may live and die with her older brother. That way Touya and Yukito could always be together. The same way she had tried to be together with Tomoyo. But Tomoyo's soul didn't have the magic that her own did, so it wasn't taking reincarnation well. It was meant to have passed on, so it was only a matter of time before Megumi's body failed. 
  332.72 +
  332.73 +"I know, Yue-chan. But... I..." Meishi trailed off. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to look into Tomoyo's eyes again. She swallowed the lump in her throat painfully. "Sometimes I wish I'd switched places with Kumiko. I like her job much better. She's only here to love Tomoyo."
  332.74 +
  332.75 +"But your job is very important, too, Meishi-sama," Yue replied, smiling softly. "You need to end things with the Cards. Only you can stop the cycle from repeating." 
  332.76 +
  332.77 +Meishi pushed her glasses up, her eyes growing cold. "I hate this magic sometimes. I hate how it keeps me alive. I hate how it keeps this cycle going. Sometimes I wish I'd never found the Book of Clow.""I'm sure Clow Reed thought the same thing. That's why he delegated the responsibility to you. So he could finally die and escape the immense power of that magic," Yue said thoughtfully. "You could always find a replacement, Meishi-sama. Then you could leave with Tomoyo-san." Sighing, the redhead shook her head. "I can't do that. It wasn't right when Eriol stuck me with this power and it wouldn't be right for me to let anyone take up this burden. I need to end this once and for all. I need to set the Cards free. And then I need to get rid of enough of my magic so I can finally die." Sitting next to Megumi on the bed, she carressed the older girl's cheek. It was weird seeing Tomoyo older than her. "So I can be with you." It took her a moment to realize tears were forming in her eyes. Having Tomoyo so close was affecting her. Usually she managed to keep focussed on her goal of setting things right. But with Tomoyo right there, that seemed so distant. Brushing some hair away from Megumi's pretty face, Meishi let herself get sidetracked. "I almost want to try to make her two people, too. Like me and Kumiko. Then we could both be with her. But I've already hurt her enough.""Maybe Kumiko wouldn't mind sharing her," Yue suggested. "After all, you and she are the same person. And I'm sure Megumi-san would be unable to resist you, Meishi-sama.""I wish." Meishi stuck her tongue out at the magical creature. "Kumiko is probably more like the Sakura Tomoyo loved than I am. I have all of the memories of my past life and all of the magic and the body of a fourteen year old. You can't go through all that and still be the same." Looking down at Megumi, she sighed deeply, her glasses sliding down her nose."I don't think that would bother her. You still love her despite her living a completely different life, don't you? She's been waiting her whole life for you.""And she found me. As Kumiko. So she doesn't need me," the Cardmistress said sadly, her eyes never leaving her sleeping love."Then become one with Kumiko again. If Megumi is dying, then Kumiko's job is almost over anyway. Then you could be with her while you have the chance. If you keep Kumiko's life and appearance, then she won't notice a thing." Yue took the washcloth off of Megumi's head, dipping it in some fresh water."Don't tempt me, Yue-chan! I miss her too much as it is. I'm trying to be strong about this and leave things alone," Meishi whined. After a hesitant moment, she took Megumi's hand in her own, intertwining their fingers. Bringing Megumi's hand to her lips, kisses rained upon the soft skin. "I want Meishi-sama to be happy. You would obviously be much happier if you could be with Tomoyo-san again." The dark haired guardian raised an eyebrow. "Besides, you've already taken a step in that direction. You did bring her here, didn't you?""But that was... I was just... Hoe...." Meishi sighed. Yue was right too often for her liking. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have dragged Tomoyo-chan into this life to begin with. If I get closer to her new life, I'll just hurt her more. I don't want to get her involved with all of this magic. I almost got her hurt enough in her last life." Her heart dropped further as she played out the rest of the scenario. "And she's dying to begin with. I should just let her die in peace. She doesn't need more trouble from me. I should just leave her in Kumiko's hands. It's why I made her, anyway.""Maybe you could create a magical body and place Tomoyo-san's soul in it if her own body is failing. Or if you're right about her lack of magic meaning she should have died, you can remedy that by giving her some magic. Much like the last Yue being part of Yukito, you could make me a part of Megumi-san. I could keep her safe from any of the magical problems you're afraid of and I could slumber until you require my services," the dark haired woman offered. She was always happy to serve her creator. And if this could solve Meishi's problems, she'd gladly go through with it. "But I don't want anyone to hurt. Anyone at all. Not you, not the Cards, not anyone. I wouldn't want to do that to you. I don't even know if it would work. I'm scared to try again. Look at her. She's dying. Because of me. How do I know that she won't start dying again no matter what I try?" Meishi asked, finally looking up at Yue."You can't know that. You can see much of the future, Meishi-sama, but those sorts of things are cloudy even to you. I'm sorry." Yue bowed her head."I should just let her die in Kumiko's arms. I'll see her soul when it's set free anyway. My magic lets me see the dead. So I'll be able to stay close to her when she dies. Then she won't be suffering anymore," Meishi reasoned, glancing back down at the lightly slumbering blonde."But deep down, you're fighting with yourself. You want to find a way to save her, just like Kumiko-san. You desperately want to be in her arms again," the dark haired woman said softly. Meishi pulled her glasses off, rubbing at her eyes. Yep. It had been a bad idea to give Yue the same powers of perception that Tomoyo had held. It meant that her servant knew far too much about things she hid even from herself sometimes. "I don't know what to do anymore... I'm so damn weak. I promised I'd stay away from her, that I wouldn't drag her into all this. And look at me. I'm trying to convince myself to do it, just so I can be near her again. I'm selfish. She'd never, ever do this to me. She was the most selfless person I ever knew. I obviously didn't learn from her." She sighed wetly, blinking back the threat of tears."You aren't weak, Meishi-sama. You just love her. Isn't love supposed to be a little selfish? I think she'd want you to be selfish about her. It would make her happy." Yue could see the indecision in her mistress. Meishi had relied on her advice often in the past and she could see that the redhead was trying to figure out how she should take it now. Sakura had always been strong, but her strength was always somehow stronger and better focused when she had Tomoyo by her side to help her figure out what she should do. Yue had tried her best to provide that during the years, but she knew it wasn't the same. Besides, she was simply a facsimile of the real Tomoyo, a magical construct designed to have some of the other womans attributes. A fake was never as good as the real thing. In some ways, she had been hoping Meishi would agree to let her become one with Megumi. Then she would be part of the real Tomoyo instead of being nothing more than a ghost of Tomoyo.
  332.78 +
  332.79 +Meishi gazed back down at the slumbering Megumi, holding the blonde's hand to her chest. Her mind spun in a chaotic hurricane, thoughts rebounding off each other. She couldn't make up her mind. She longed for Tomoyo, but it wasn't her place anymore. She'd granted that gift to Kumiko. She had loved Tomoyo all her life, every single day she could remember. She had been born with that love, a memory of the life they had shared together. Every day without her felt wrong, as if it never should have been that way. And now, the woman she loved was so close, and yet she was dying and in love with her other self. So close, yet so very far. 
  332.80 +
  332.81 +For a long moment, Meishi could do nothing but sit and watch the girl she loved, her mind in shambles. She was the Cardmistress. Her responsibility was to make sure this magical nightmare ended. For the Cards' sake, for her own, as well as for Tomoyo's. But all she really wanted at that moment was to cuddle in Tomoyo's arms, to hear her love whispering once more in her ear. No matter how much she knew she should stay out of Tomoyo's new life. 
  332.82 +
  332.83 +Almost unconsciously, the redheaded Cardmistress found herself leaning forward. 'Just one kiss,' she told herself. That was surely all right. A simple kiss. A reminder of what she was fighting for. Just a single moment with the woman she loved. 
  332.84 +
  332.85 +Pausing just over Megumi's lips, she watched her beautiful best friend from a lifetime past. Her heart swelled at the sight. Licking her lips, she kissed Megumi's soft lips, their touch like the first drink of water after years in a desert. Her simple kiss grew out of the longing in her heart, her kiss becoming more drawn out. She could imagine the way Tomoyo had kissed her so very long ago. The way those kisses made her feel sprung up like a fountain in her heart, washing over her. Warm and loved and happy. Deliriously happy. Tears slipped past her chin, dripping onto the pale girl beneath her. She missed that so much. Her wife, her love, her best friend. She kissed more, wanting desperately to hold onto that moment, to the love of her life, all of her lives. After a moment, she felt the lips awaken against her own, moving to capture them again and again. Meishi nearly cried out in joy and surprise. This was it exactly. Those lips pressed against her own, that love coursing through her like an electric current. Her arms wrapped around the pale girl. 
  332.86 +
  332.87 +It was a moment before Megumi realized that she wasn't kissing Kumiko. Her mysterious partner was shorter, for one thing. And her lover's usual long braids or ponytail was gone, replaced by much closer cropped, messy hair. But the bizarre thing was that it still felt like she was kissing Kumiko. Despite the tactile differences, it still held the same heart and soul behind it. Which is why it took Megumi a while to pull away. It felt so right to be in that kiss. It was as if she belonged there. Finally pulling away, she looked up at the needy, teary eyed younger girl. "My, aren't you friendly?" she asked, smiling faintly. "Tomoyo-chan!" Meishi threw herself against Megumi, clutching on tightly. She knew she should cast a spell, make Megumi fall asleep again, but she couldn't. She needed her, damn it. Even more than she'd been able to admit. 
  332.88 +
  332.89 +Megumi held the younger girl, her weary mind spinning. She was too exhausted to figure things out. Maybe she had died and heaven was much more confusing than she'd guessed. But this girl... she felt like Kumiko. She felt warm and safe and loved in that embrace. She knew she shouldn't, but she let herself relax into it. Her body was still exhausted. For now, she needed to rest. There would be time for answers later. 
  332.90 \ No newline at end of file

   333.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   333.2 +++ b/stories/dreamsthatwontdis1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   333.3 @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
   333.4 +Title: Dreams That Won't Disappear When I Open My Eyes, Chapter 1
   333.5 +Author: Princess
   333.6 +Author's Email: hime_sama@email.com
   333.7 +Rating: Hentai
   333.8 +
   333.9 +Moshimoshi everyone. I'm sorry this is a week late... but my
  333.10 +"creative flow" got quite impended for awhile. I'm debating making a webpage
  333.11 +to put my stories on that will be updated more quickly than ASMR, but don't
  333.12 +count on it. ^-^ And one more reminder- this story is based on both anime
  333.13 +and manga, so there will be chunks from both. Enough rambling. On with the
  333.14 +story. - Princess
  333.15 +
  333.16 +Disclaimers: There's a reason why there's a banana in my ear. I'm trying to
  333.17 +lure the monkey out of my head.
  333.18 +
  333.19 +-----------
  333.20 +
  333.21 +
  333.22 +"Dreams that won't disappear when I open my eyes.."
  333.23 +Chapter One
  333.24 +-----------
  333.25 +
  333.26 +        "Hotaru-chan!!"
  333.27 +        
  333.28 +        ChibiMoon's eyes were wide as she saw, for the first time in
  333.29 +forever, it seemed, the raven-haired soldier of Saturn. Strange glass youma
  333.30 +had attacked... and had captured all of the inner senshi. ChibiUsa had
  333.31 +thought they wouldn't win... when the Outer Senshi had shown up. With
  333.32 +Saturn.
  333.33 +
  333.34 +        "Hello, ChibiUsa-chan.." It sounded so light, so formal, but a
  333.35 +shiver tremored down the pink-haired girl's spine at the melodic sound of
  333.36 +Hotaru's voice. She could never tire of hearing it. 
  333.37 +
  333.38 +        "World Shaking!" "Deep Submerge!" "Dead Scream.." Sailoruranus,
  333.39 +Sailorneptune, and Sailorpluto shattered the demons that appeared to be made
  333.40 +out of mirrors. But as they began to re-form, Sailormoon and the inner
  333.41 +soldiers began to ask questions... when Saturn spoke.
  333.42 +
  333.43 +        "A crisis is approaching the Princess. We must give her our power."
  333.44 +With that, she simply bowed her head and a deep purple aura suddenly
  333.45 +radiated from her. The other guardian soldiers quickly followed suit.... and
  333.46 +to ChibiUsa's amazement, Sailormoon called out "Moon Eternal... Make-up!"
  333.47 +and transformed into a new uniform with.... wings?!
  333.48 +
  333.49 +        "This is Sailormoon's true form," Hotaru spoke once more. "I have
  333.50 +come to tell you this."
  333.51 +        
  333.52 +-----------
  333.53 +
  333.54 +        Those words echoed in ChibiUsa's mind now. Brief words, yes, but
  333.55 +everything Hotaru had said was played over and over in her thoughts now as
  333.56 +she readied for bed. She looked at herself solemnly in the mirror as she
  333.57 +slowly brushed out her candy-pink hair.
  333.58 +
  333.59 +        What was going on? What is the new danger? Is Usagi in trouble? How
  333.60 +did Hotaru get big again so fast? Does she still.... care? All of these
  333.61 +questions rampaged unanswered in ChibiUsa's heart, and with a weary sigh she
  333.62 +turned off her lamp and slid into bed. Despite her troubled thoughts, she
  333.63 +fell into a deep, dreamless sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
  333.64 +        
  333.65 +        Hours later, something woke ChibiUsa. She didn't know what, or why,
  333.66 +she just sat with her eyes half-open, staring at the bedspread though not
  333.67 +really focusing on it. The Sandman's clouded dreams still hovered over her
  333.68 +mind, and she half-smiled, content to linger where she was rather than think
  333.69 +about why she was awake in the middle of the night.
  333.70 +        
  333.71 +        But this was short-lived, for a shadow fell over the bunny-dappled
  333.72 +bedspread, and slowly she blinked and looked up toward the window. Hotaru
  333.73 +sat on the open windowsill, the moonlight reflecting purple on her raven
  333.74 +hair. Her slender body was clothed in a simple white cotton dress that was
  333.75 +thin enough to pass for a nightgown. As her eyes met ChibiUsa's, she smiled.
  333.76 +"You're awake."
  333.77 +
  333.78 +        "Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa mumbled as her mind cleared. "Hotaru-chan...
  333.79 +why... how long have you been here?" She blushed a bit, realizing Hotaru
  333.80 +could have been watching her for some time.
  333.81 +        
  333.82 +        "For a while," Hotaru answered noncommitally.
  333.83 +
  333.84 +        "What... were you doing?" Chibiusa asked, slowly sitting up in bed.
  333.85 +As she did, the thick strap of the white tank-top she wore slid down her
  333.86 +shoulder, causing the pinky fuzzy rabbit emblazoned on the front to wrinkle.
  333.87 +
  333.88 +
  333.89 +        "Watching you." Slowly Hotaru unfolded her legs that had been pulled
  333.90 +to her chest and stood, walking gracefully to sit on the edge of ChibiUsa's
  333.91 +bed, one leg pulled beneath her as she faced the pink-haired girl. "It's
  333.92 +nice to be able to do that again. It's been so long."
  333.93 +
  333.94 +        "I know," ChibiUsa replied. She smiled suddenly and, to Hotaru's
  333.95 +surprise, threw her arms about her, laying her head on her chest as she
  333.96 +pulled her close. "I've missed you, Hota-chan."
  333.97 +
  333.98 +        Blushing, Hotaru smiled brightly even as she felt a bit of moistness
  333.99 +build up in her eyes. Returning the embrace, she murmured, "I've missed you
 333.100 +too, ChibiUsa-chan.." 
 333.101 +
 333.102 +        For a few long moments they stayed in that position, lost to the
 333.103 +world. But ChibiUsa suddenly noticed that the softness beneath her cheek was
 333.104 +Hotaru's breasts... and that realization prompted her to sit up straight as
 333.105 +an arrow, reddish eyes wide, cheeks aflame.
 333.106 +
 333.107 +        "ChibiUsa...?" Hotaru's eyes blinked open and then she hesitated
 333.108 +when she saw the look on her friend's face. They both sat, once more frozen
 333.109 +as a dozen emotions seemed to pass between them. It was as if they were
 333.110 +linked... both feeling the love, and confusion, and passion that the other
 333.111 +felt. 
 333.112 +
 333.113 +        Hotaru's eyes suddenly closed and she leaned forward, pulling
 333.114 +ChibiUsa in close. For a moment ChibiUsa's eyes widened and she inhaled
 333.115 +sharply, but the moment Hotaru's lips touched hers a sense of calm and peace
 333.116 +flowed through her, and her eyes slowly closed.
 333.117 +
 333.118 +        It was like no kiss she had ever recieved before. True, she had only
 333.119 +been kissed once... but it was not like this. Everything in the world seemed
 333.120 +to be wiped away and the only thing she knew was Hotaru... her touch, her
 333.121 +scent, her warmth, her love. It was overwhelming... it felt like the time at
 333.122 +the beach when a wave had crashed over her head and taken her under,
 333.123 +disorienting her until she didn't know how to come back up. But this time,
 333.124 +she wasn't sure she -wanted- to come back up. 
 333.125 +
 333.126 +        After only a moment, though it had seemed like forever, they broke
 333.127 +apart and sat with their noses only inches from each other, staring into
 333.128 +each other's eyes. Each wondered what the other was thinking, what to do
 333.129 +next. It was ChibiUsa who spoke first.
 333.130 +
 333.131 +        "Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa whispered breathlessly. Their was a strange
 333.132 +burning light in her eyes that Hotaru couldn't quite place. "Hotaru... don't
 333.133 +leave. Stay here tonight."
 333.134 +
 333.135 +        The implications of that statement took a moment to reach Hotaru's
 333.136 +mind. Stay... the night? She knew ChibiUsa didn't just mean an innocent
 333.137 +sleep-over. The thought that -ChibiUsa- would suggest such a thing astounded
 333.138 +her. "C-ChibiUsa.." she stammered, "...are you, I mean.... are you
 333.139 +sure...?"
 333.140 +
 333.141 +        A firm nod was her reply. "Don't leave, Hota-chan." 
 333.142 +        
 333.143 +        Hotaru blinked, watching her in silence for a moment. Right and
 333.144 +wrong danced in her mind- what should she do? But in the end, it was her
 333.145 +emotions, her heart that won.
 333.146 +
 333.147 +        "Okay."
 333.148 +----------
 333.149 +
 333.150 +        That's it for now, minna. Sorry I had to give another cliff-hanger,
 333.151 +but I wanted to finish it for this week and it's hard to do that with my
 333.152 +classes and all! More to come!
 333.153 +-Princess-
 333.154 +
 333.155 +
 333.156 +
 333.157 +</HTML>

   334.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   334.2 +++ b/stories/dreamsthatwontdis2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   334.3 @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
   334.4 +
   334.5 +Author: Princess
   334.6 +Author's Email: AuroraMorn@aol.com
   334.7 +Title: Dreams that won't disappear when I open my eyes: Prelude
   334.8 +Rating: Hentai
   334.9 +
  334.10 +    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  334.11 +Moshimoshi, minna-san! It's me again, the Princess! I know, it's foolish of
  334.12 +me to start three stories at once... but I can't help it! I mean, I can't
  334.13 +just leave the darling Saturn and Chibimoon out of my plans... after all,
  334.14 +SailorSaturn is my favorite! Now, quick notes before you read this. This
  334.15 +story is a mix of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon manga, anime, and my own
  334.16 +personal spice. It takes place shortly after the sailor senshi have defeated
  334.17 +the Dead Moon Circus. The poem that ChibiUsa hears in her dream is Saturn's
  334.18 +prologue for her Sailorstars poem, called "The Second Coming." Standard
  334.19 +disclaimers apply. And, on to the story....
  334.20 +
  334.21 +"Dreams that won't disappear when I open my eyes.."
  334.22 +Prelude
  334.23 +
  334.24 +----------
  334.25 +
  334.26 +      ChibiUsa stirred faintly in her sleep, giving out a
  334.27 +small moan. After the defeat of the Dead Moon Circus, her nightmares had
  334.28 +ended, and she had thought happily that they would stay at rest. But they
  334.29 +had returned full force this night, as was shown by her bedsheets that had
  334.30 +long since tangled around her sweat-damped body, twisted by her shifting
  334.31 +movements.
  334.32 +
  334.33 +        In her dream, every mirror and reflective surface throughout Tokyo
  334.34 +mirrored the silhouette of Nehelinia, and her evil laughter reverbrated
  334.35 +throughout the city. A quick flash revealed another brief picture of an
  334.36 +entranced Mamoru in the Dark Queen's arms, as Usagi watched, wounded and
  334.37 +helpless. Tears stung at the corner of ChibiUsa's eyes as she whimpered
  334.38 +within her deep sleep, despair welling in her heart.
  334.39 +
  334.40 +        But, suddenly, all pictures of evil and despair vanished into a dark
  334.41 +violet vortex. It was as if the fabric of the dream itself had been sucked
  334.42 +down a drain until nothing was left until darkness and silence. Unknowingly,
  334.43 +ChibiUsa's breath and pulse stopped completely, until a lilting voice slowly
  334.44 +spoke them back to life. The voice was cold, like someone who had been long
  334.45 +hurt, and yet beautiful, and it filled the silence with a music of it's
  334.46 +own.
  334.47 +
  334.48 +Surely some revelation is at hand;
  334.49 +Surely the Second Coming is at hand."
  334.50 +
  334.51 +      The sleeping pink-haired girl's lips moved in an
  334.52 +unspoken name, but the beautifully spoken poem continued heedless in her
  334.53 +mind's ear.
  334.54 +
  334.55 +</P><P ALIGN=CENTER>"The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
  334.56 +When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
  334.57 +Troubles my sight: .."
  334.58 +
  334.59 +      Within the violet vortex a dark figure became
  334.60 +apparent. But, unlike that of Nehelinia, this one betrayed not an evil aura,
  334.61 +but one of intense, fear-inducing power, as well as wisdom and age. The
  334.62 +slight figure's sensuous curves could be seen, held in a brief skirted fuku,
  334.63 +slender legs ending in knee-length boots. The dark figure raised a delicate
  334.64 +hand, and a wickedly curved polearm appeared in it. 
  334.65 +
  334.66 + "Somewhere in sands of the desert
  334.67 +A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
  334.68 +A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
  334.69 +Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
  334.70 +Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds."
  334.71 +
  334.72 +      Suddenly, like a camera on zoom, ChibiUsa could see
  334.73 +the figure's face. The countenance was pale and delicately boned, framed by
  334.74 +raven hair, dark lashes resting on flawless cheeks. A shiver rushed
  334.75 +ChibiUsa's body as those lashes lifted, revealing depthless violet orbs that
  334.76 +were soul-touching even in her dreams.
  334.77 +
  334.78 +"The darkness drops again; but now I know
  334.79 +That twenty centuries of stony sleep
  334.80 +Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle... "
  334.81 +
  334.82 +      With a gasp, ChibiUsa was suddenly hurled from the
  334.83 +dream world into the waking one, and found herself sitting up in bed,
  334.84 +panting, drenched with sweat, her crimson eyes wide. In the yellowish glow
  334.85 +of the streetlights that filtered through her window, she stared down at her
  334.86 +trembling hands, looking surprised as tears fell on them, her lips slowly
  334.87 +moving. "The darkness drops again..." she repeated the line, mesmerized at
  334.88 +the thought of it.
  334.89 +
  334.90 +        "Twenty centuries," she continued, her gaze slowly shifting to look
  334.91 +at a picture on her night table. "Of stony sleep..." The picture was of a
  334.92 +frail ebony-haired girl, eyes closed as she held a bouquet of beautiful pink
  334.93 +flowers to her nose. "Vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle..."
  334.94 +
  334.95 +        Drawing her legs beneath her, she moved slowly toward the table,
  334.96 +extending a hand to brush two fingers tenderly over the photograph. "Oh,
  334.97 +Hotaru-chan," she whispered into the still night. "You're coming back to
  334.98 +me..."
  334.99 +
 334.100 +----------
 334.101 +
 334.102 +      There you go. I think this is going to be a good
 334.103 +story... Hotaru and ChibiUsa are my passions in Sailormoon, I'm going to
 334.104 +thoroughly enjoy writing this story about them. Please send all comments and
 334.105 +criticism you have to me, I'd love to hear it! Until next time, keep your
 334.106 +eyes on the moon!
 334.107 +
 334.108 +~Princess~

   335.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   335.2 +++ b/stories/dreiseranth.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   335.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   335.4 +
   335.5 +
   335.6 +Letting Go
   335.7 +
   335.8 +By: Dreiser
   335.9 +
  335.10 +
  335.11 +	The cool night air touches my skin and I shiver under its soft
  335.12 +assault. Clasping my hands on the thick marble of the balcony I study
  335.13 +the night sky.
  335.14 +	The sky is black. Black reminds me of death. Death reminds
  335.15 +me of myself.
  335.16 +	A slight wind kicks up and I hug myself for warmth as I watch
  335.17 +the steady lap of the waves hitting the beach. Since I was little I've
  335.18 +loved the ocean.
  335.19 +	It reminds me of the comforts and safety of childhood. When
  335.20 +things were much more simple.
  335.21 +	As a child I knew what I wanted and I asked for it. It may
  335.22 +have taken me awhile to work up the courage to ask but nevertheless
  335.23 +I asked. And when I did I was usually rewarded by receiving
  335.24 +whatever I had asked for.
  335.25 +	I'm now an adult and have since realized that simply asking for
  335.26 +something doesn't always insure that you'll get it.
  335.27 +	Over the years I've always longed for one thing and one thing
  335.28 +only but I've yet to ask for it.
  335.29 +	I doubt very much that I'll ever be able to work up the
  335.30 +courage to ask for it. As painful as it is sometimes you have to realize
  335.31 +that some things will remain unattainable.
  335.32 +	And for me she will always remain unattainable.
  335.33 +	"Aren't you cold out here?"
  335.34 +	My eyes close at the irony of the situation. I simply think of
  335.35 +her and she appears. The Kami must enjoy to torture me because I
  335.36 +can find no other explanation for the horrible string of luck in my life.
  335.37 +	I look to her and give a small smile.
  335.38 +	"I don't mind the cold. I was looking at the stars. They're
  335.39 +pretty, aren't they?"
  335.40 +	She walks closer and stops next to me. Her gentle hands rest
  335.41 +on the balcony as she tilts her head back to stare into the night sky
  335.42 +that once preoccupied me so.
  335.43 +	"They're very pretty."
  335.44 +	Her gaze locks with my own and she adds softly.
  335.45 +	"Just like you."
  335.46 +	I duck my eyes and I can feel my cheeks flush from her
  335.47 +words. Why must she always tease me so? I know that nothing can
  335.48 +come from it. She's much too good for me and I know it. Her strength
  335.49 +is amazing and it is because I've seen that strength with my own eyes
  335.50 +that I know she would never want an emotional weakling like me.
  335.51 +	"Thank you."
  335.52 +	"For what? All I did was tell the truth."
  335.53 +	There's a hint of rage in her voice and I meet her eyes upon
  335.54 +hearing it. She studies me closely and I shrink under her gaze. It has
  335.55 +always bothered me... the attention of others.
  335.56 +	She suddenly sets her jaw and questions.
  335.57 +	"You don't believe me do you? You think I was just being
  335.58 +nice when I said that you were pretty."
  335.59 +	I blink at the anger in her words and I can only stare at her
  335.60 +helplessly as she continues on.
  335.61 +	"I wouldn't lie about something like that! Why would I? What
  335.62 +purpose would it serve?"
  335.63 +	In a movement of obvious frustration she shakes her head and
  335.64 +runs her fingers through tousled bangs. She gives a ragged sigh and
  335.65 +looks to me.
  335.66 +	"You're the only one who can do this to me, you do know
  335.67 +that right? I've had to learn perfect diplomacy over the years but as
  335.68 +soon as I talk to you..." She rolls her eyes and says wryly, "It seems
  335.69 +to fly right out the window."
  335.70 +	There is a long moment of silence and I study her through
  335.71 +lidded eyes before I offer my defense.
  335.72 +	"I'm sorry."
  335.73 +	Her gaze drops to the railing of the balcony and she slumps
  335.74 +onto it burying her head in her arms. She sighs once again and says in
  335.75 +muffled tones.
  335.76 +	"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything. You never do
  335.77 +anything. It's always me."
  335.78 +	My body goes numb when I hear this. I never do anything?
  335.79 +She doesn't know just how right she is. After all, I've let countless
  335.80 +years pass without ever doing anything about my feelings for her.
  335.81 +While she keeps trying... for some reason she keeps trying to be
  335.82 +friends with me.
  335.83 +	I lock my gaze onto her. She has lifted her head and her chin
  335.84 +rests on her arms as she stares out into the ocean. I desire her... I
  335.85 +want her... I love her...
  335.86 +	It's about time that I told her that.
  335.87 +	"It embarrasses me when you give me compliments. It
  335.88 +embarrasses me because of how they make me feel."
  335.89 +	She looks up at me in quiet disbelief.
  335.90 +	"How... how do they make you feel?"
  335.91 +	"Loved."
  335.92 +	"Loved?"
  335.93 +	"Yes. I know you don't love me--"
  335.94 +	"Of course I do! You're my best friend! I--"
  335.95 +	I shake my head at this and interrupt her with gentle words
  335.96 +laced with steel.
  335.97 +	"No. I meant that you don't love me as I love you. I know that
  335.98 +you care for me as a friend but I no longer care for you that way."
  335.99 +	In a smooth graceful movement she pushes herself up to stand
 335.100 +at her full height across from me. She reaches out to take my hand
 335.101 +tenderly into her own.
 335.102 +	"I don't understand what you're saying."
 335.103 +	My eyes remain focused on the cold marble of the balcony
 335.104 +floor. Slowly I lift my gaze to meet hers and swallowing the lump in
 335.105 +my throat I say simply.
 335.106 +	"I'm in love with you. I love you not as a friend but as a lover.
 335.107 +I have for quite some time now and that's why I've pushed you away
 335.108 +these past few years. It hurts too much to be with you and to still...
 335.109 +not be with you."
 335.110 +	She releases my hands and turns from me. I watch as her
 335.111 +shoulders tense while she grips the railing to the balcony.
 335.112 +	"You're in love with me?"
 335.113 +	Before I can reply she faces me and her eyes are glowing with
 335.114 +a ferocity I've never seen in her.
 335.115 +	"You've been in love with me for years now and you never felt
 335.116 +the need to tell me before now? Didn't you think that this is something
 335.117 +I'd like to know about?"
 335.118 +	I blink at this. I never expected her to be indignant or angry at
 335.119 +me. Disgust or pity were the emotions that I had been expecting to
 335.120 +see from her. I meet her eyes then offer my oldest and most used
 335.121 +defense.
 335.122 +	"I'm sorry."
 335.123 +	"You're sorry? Is that all you can say?!"
 335.124 +	She gives a sudden cry of frustration and looking up to the
 335.125 +heavens she mutters to herself. When she lowers her eyes to meet
 335.126 +mine she sighs and says.
 335.127 +	"Idiot. I'm in love with you too."
 335.128 +	My eyes go wide at this and I whisper.
 335.129 +	"Really?"
 335.130 +	At this she laughs lightly and walks to me. She gently cups my
 335.131 +face in her hands and I shiver as I feel her hot breath on my skin. Our
 335.132 +lips are millimeters apart as she replies.
 335.133 +	"Really."
 335.134 +	We draw together in a searing embrace and when we pull
 335.135 +apart from the need of air I can feel myself smiling. Her head rests on
 335.136 +my chest and I pull her closer. Hoping it isn't a dream I say her name.
 335.137 +	"Chibiusa."
 335.138 +	She lifts her head and warm scarlet eyes smile at me. The tips
 335.139 +of her fingers lightly caress my face and she says my name softly like it
 335.140 +was a prayer.
 335.141 +	"Hotaru."
 335.142 +	Our smiles deepen and as we move in for another passionate
 335.143 +embrace I can feel myself let go of my fears from the past because
 335.144 +now I have everything I've ever wanted.
 335.145 +	And everything I could've ever asked for.
 335.146 +
 335.147 +-End-
 335.148 +
 335.149 +Both characters from this fanfiction are from Sailor Moon. I came up
 335.150 +with this fanfic because some friends asked me to try a hand at this
 335.151 +couple. I normally don't think of Chibausa and Hotaru in romantic
 335.152 +terms but since reading the fanfics by the Amazoness Duo I've
 335.153 +changed my mind. Please don't write to me saying that these
 335.154 +characters are much too young for this sort of thing. I realize that and I
 335.155 +did age them appropriately in this story so nothing scandalous would
 335.156 +be going on. Now I'm off to listen to the Key: The Metal Idol
 335.157 +soundtrack.
 335.158 +
 335.159 +Send comments to: Dreiser1@ix.netcom.com
 335.160 +
 335.161 +"Hanging onto the past, it only stands in the way. We have to go for a
 335.162 +love that lasts."
 335.163 +-Tina Turner-
 335.164 +
 335.165 +
 335.166 +

   336.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   336.2 +++ b/stories/durimu.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   336.3 @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
   336.4 +“Dream”
   336.5 +By Sarah F.
   336.6 +
   336.7 +BLAB:
   336.8 +Sakura and Tomoyo are NOT ten years old in this fic! They’re about 17, so I’M NOT A DAMN PEDO! :)
   336.9 +‘Nother thing: LI SYAORAN IS A PRICK AND TOMOYO’S MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE DESERVING OF SAKURA! XD
  336.10 +
  336.11 +
  336.12 +
  336.13 +     Sakura held Tomoyo in her arms; Tomoyo’s back leaning against Sakura’s front. Sakura’s nose was slightly nuzzled in Tomoyo’s hair, sniffing her sweet scent while kissing the top of her head. Tomoyo sighed a Sakura cradled her, her arms wrapped around Tomoyo’s waist.
  336.14 +     Tomoyo leaned her head back, letting it rest on Sakura’s shoulder. Sakura smiled and let her head rest against Tomoyo’s. Sakura’s hands lazily roamed Tomoyo’s body, caressing her skin so softly, almost tickling. Sakura’s hands reached Tomoyo’s shoulders, gently messaging her neck and shoulders, relieving all the tension. Tomoyo was completely relaxed now, lost in the moment, sharing the sweet contentment and joy of the each other’s company. 
  336.15 +     Sakura turned Tomoyo around, holding her close, their bodies caressing, the soft fabric of their clothing caressing the other’s skin. Sakura’s hand caressed Tomoyo’s cheek, drawing her into a tender kiss that lasted a lifetime in a few sweet moments. Tears began forming, holding place below Tomoyo’s eyes. She’d always dreamt of Sakura holding her like this, dreamt of sharing such tender and intimate moments together, more than just friends share.
  336.16 +     When they broke the kiss, Sakura noticed Tomoyo’s tears and kissed them away. The other girl’s smile broadened, “Sakura...aishiteru.” she murmured. Sakura ran her fingers through Tomoyo’s hair, holding her close. “I love you, too, Tomoyo.” Sakura whispered in her lover’s ear.
  336.17 +
  336.18 +     Tomoyo woke up in her bed, alone. She looked around; the room was dark and still. It was a dream, though it was so beautiful, these dreams teased her. More and more, the dreams convinced her that having Sakura as a lover was just wishful thinking. Tomoyo whimpered, beginning to cry. “Alone again...”
  336.19 +    As soon as Tomoyo let out a slight sob, her bedroom door opened. “Tomoyo? What’s wrong?” Sakura asked, closing the door behind her and running to Tomoyo’s side. “S-Sakura...?” Tomoyo sniffled, swallowing hard. “I just got up to use the bathroom, what happened?” Sakura embraced the other girl. “Sakura, it...it wasn’t just a dream?”
  336.20 +“What wasn’t?”
  336.21 +“Sakura, what happened tonight...?”
  336.22 +“Your mom is at a meeting out-of-town, and she said it’d be okay if I spent the night while she was gone.” Sakura kissed Tomoyo’s forehead, “Did you have a bad dream...?”
  336.23 +“I had a dream about us, ...you were so sweet...”
  336.24 +“And when you woke up, you thought we were just friends?”
  336.25 +“Hai...”
  336.26 +“Tomoyo, it wasn’t just a dream.” Sakura smiled, cuddling her love.
  336.27 +Tomoyo sighed with relief, cuddling up to Sakura.
  336.28 +Sakura giggled, “Don’t tell me you forgot earlier.”
  336.29 +Tomoyo’s cheeks flushed, “Ano ... I guess not...”
  336.30 +Sakura smirked and lay back on the bed, holding Tomoyo close.
  336.31 +“If we go back to sleep, Tomoyo... you can’t have any more bad dreams.”
  336.32 +“I won’t, Sakura-chan... as long as you don’t get up again.”
  336.33 +Sakura giggled and snuggled Tomoyo closer. “Aishiteru, Tomoyo”
  336.34 +“Aishiteru, Sakura-chan...”
  336.35 +Sakura smiled, watching her love sleep in her arms. “My Tomoyo-chan...”
  336.36 \ No newline at end of file

   337.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   337.2 +++ b/stories/earth-heaven.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   337.3 @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
   337.4 +Title: Earth back to heaven
   337.5 +Anime: Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
   337.6 +Spoilers: A few
   337.7 +A/N: This starts from Sasami's POV, then switches to Misao's POV
   337.8 +Author: Washu
   337.9 +E-mail: otakushoujo@amaonline.com
  337.10 +
  337.11 +I remember the day when I first met Misao, she was crying all alone
  337.12 +in the
  337.13 +girl's locker room. She said she felt sick. So I did what any decent
  337.14 +person
  337.15 +would do, I helped her to the nurse's office. When we got there she
  337.16 +told me
  337.17 +thank you in that sweet voice of hers, and smiled at me. I said
  337.18 +nothing more
  337.19 +as I left. But I couldn't stop thinking about her.
  337.20 +
  337.21 +We became so close after that, best friends, and more. I loved to go
  337.22 +sleepover at her house because she would always ask to hold hands. I
  337.23 +felt
  337.24 +safe, lying there with Misao.
  337.25 +
  337.26 +I noticed how she oftened looked lost at school, the other girls
  337.27 +ridiculed
  337.28 +her, especially Haida. And she taunted her even more by flirting with
  337.29 +Hiroto, the very boy that Misao. . .
  337.30 +
  337.31 +The boy that Misao had a crush, the boy, not me. It was a bit
  337.32 +difficult to
  337.33 +face up to this. but I love Misao so much, I'd help her along. I
  337.34 +tried to
  337.35 +show Hiroto what a great girl she was. But I always held back a
  337.36 +little,
  337.37 +because I didn't want to lose my Misao.
  337.38 +
  337.39 +And then, I almost did
  337.40 +*-*
  337.41 +It was like some horrible nightmare. I was Pixy Misa? I was the girl
  337.42 +who had
  337.43 +been reeking havoc in the city these past few months? And to make
  337.44 +matters
  337.45 +worse I discovered Sasami and Sammy were one in the same.
  337.46 +
  337.47 +All this time I had been harming Sasami. I hated myself for it. I
  337.48 +had hurt
  337.49 +her, I had hurt my family. I wanted to dissappear. I hid out in the
  337.50 +place
  337.51 +where Sasami and I first met, but she found me. I knew she would.
  337.52 +
  337.53 +She said she wasn't mad, and I cried so hard. It felt good to have
  337.54 +her near.
  337.55 +I wanted to hold her forever. We left together, thinking everything
  337.56 +would
  337.57 +work out fine.
  337.58 +
  337.59 +When I once again became Misa, I knew exactly what I was doing. I
  337.60 +was able
  337.61 +to fight beside Sammy, my love Sasami, and help her defeat the bad.
  337.62 +I felt
  337.63 +terrible when I learned that Rumiya had feelings for me, he said he
  337.64 +loved me
  337.65 +and almost died for me. Could I divert my feelings for him? No, not
  337.66 +when he
  337.67 +lived on another planet.
  337.68 +
  337.69 +After I learned of Hiroto's feelings for me, I was even more
  337.70 +surprised. And
  337.71 +a bit embarrassed. Now thanks to Haida's magic, he only had eyes for
  337.72 +her.
  337.73 +Her dream true. Sneaky, but it worked.
  337.74 +
  337.75 +Seven years
  337.76 +*-*
  337.77 +It's been seven years since Misao and I first met. Seven years since
  337.78 +we
  337.79 +saved the world, and said goodbye to our friends on Juraihelm.
  337.80 +*-*
  337.81 +Rumiya. I wonder what he's up to?
  337.82 +*-*
  337.83 +Ryo-ohki. Does he still think about me?
  337.84 +
  337.85 +Still, even. . .
  337.86 +*-*
  337.87 +If he does still love me. And I can't love him back. I love only
  337.88 +Sasami.
  337.89 +*-*
  337.90 +Only Misao.
  337.91 +*-*
  337.92 +From heaven to ocean
  337.93 +*-*
  337.94 +Ocean to earth
  337.95 +
  337.96 +
  337.97 +Earth back to heaven
  337.98 \ No newline at end of file

   338.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   338.2 +++ b/stories/emeraldeyes.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   338.3 @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
   338.4 +Untitled
   338.5 +by Shangri-la
   338.6 +
   338.7 +Heyyo people. This is a poem I wrote (as of yet untitled) I was hoping you could respond with who you think the cloud is, the emerald-eyed star is, whose point of view is, and anything or anyone else that may seem to appear. And if anything comes to you maybe even a title. Please reply at Shangri_La6@hotmail.com 
   338.8 +Ja ne!
   338.9 +
  338.10 +All I have is tears and loneliness
  338.11 +Frommy spirit was taken away the things of happiness
  338.12 +They say I have but days to live
  338.13 +Sun is gone, moon is gone, so is my precious star
  338.14 +And so my reign of rain shall continue
  338.15 +Until to me she is returned
  338.16 +He took her from me and she to he
  338.17 +O precious star glowing as strongly as the sun
  338.18 +Now hidden always by some distant cloud
  338.19 +I pushed in front of you
  338.20 +But to me it is worse for I am no longer shined upon
  338.21 +Sun is gone, moon is gone, so is my presious star
  338.22 +Hidden by a cold cruel cloud
  338.23 +O kind Mistress of the Heavens bonds
  338.24 +I beg smile upon me once again
  338.25 +Can my heart take it any more?
  338.26 +Can my heart take it anymore?
  338.27 +O Heavenly Mistress with emerald green eyes
  338.28 +I beseech, I implore, I who worship you
  338.29 +Break free from behind the cold distant cloud
  338.30 +Shine upon me once more
  338.31 +I tire of this reighn of rain
  338.32 +To hear but a whisper of your words
  338.33 +Would send away this madness
  338.34 +Can my heart truly take it any more?
  338.35 +Can my heart break but once more?
  338.36 +Come to me from your cruel master
  338.37 +Come from behind that cloud
  338.38 +Back to my arms
  338.39 +I am unworthy of such and angel
  338.40 +But he is even more
  338.41 +He who hides you away fromme
  338.42 +Your, friend, Your confidant, Yourlover
  338.43 +But the last you do not know yet
  338.44 +O beloved of the Great Mothers wombs
  338.45 +Come to me from your cruel cloud
  338.46 +I will wait for you on the morrow
  338.47 +If you do not come then
  338.48 +I shall wait each morrow after the next morrow
  338.49 +And so when you come to me
  338.50 +The sorrow will be gone from my heart
  338.51 +And so goes the reign of my rain
  338.52 +Can my heart take that much more?
  338.53 +Can it truly break any more?
  338.54 +...Yes it can take it much much longer
  338.55 +Yes it can break so many times over
  338.56 +Butonly for you my precious star
  338.57 +My darling precious emerald-eyed star.
  338.58 \ No newline at end of file

   339.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   339.2 +++ b/stories/empty_coffin.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   339.3 @@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
   339.4 +Author's note: Hello, everyone! ^-^ This is the second poem type thing
   339.5 +I've written and it's also from Tomoyo's point of view. I admit it's 
   339.6 +a little strange, but I was in an awkward mood while I was writing it.
   339.7 +^-^;;; Anyway, I really hope you all enjoy it at the least. ^-^ If 
   339.8 +you have the time, please e-mail me what you think. ^-^
   339.9 +
  339.10 +Empty Coffin
  339.11 +By Amazoness Duo
  339.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  339.13 +
  339.14 +When the lights go out, you go to sleep.
  339.15 +And I’m free to finally be myself.
  339.16 +By myself.
  339.17 +But even I don’t know who I am. 
  339.18 +I’m left wondering who this person is.
  339.19 +And why she always seems so sad. 
  339.20 +Always on the edge of chaos.
  339.21 +Just a tiny push...
  339.22 +
  339.23 +No one sees the little girl.
  339.24 +No one sees the tears.
  339.25 +That’s not how I want it. 
  339.26 +But is it my fault? 
  339.27 +Are the masks I wear too good?
  339.28 +Do they hide me from you so well that you can’t see me?
  339.29 +I demand that you see me for who I am. 
  339.30 +That you look past the masks, past the layers to the girl underneath.
  339.31 +That you finally see the tears. 
  339.32 +But I know that you can’t.
  339.33 +Because I won’t allow you to.
  339.34 +I stand in the shadows as you pass, letting them envelope me.
  339.35 +Caress me.
  339.36 +Consume me. 
  339.37 +
  339.38 +I am happy, quirky, thoughtful, helpful.
  339.39 +I am sad, lonely, depressing, suicidal.
  339.40 +I am two halves of one whole. 
  339.41 +But I am not complete. 
  339.42 +What you see, what you think you see, is not what is in front of you.
  339.43 +You see what I want you to see, what you want to see.
  339.44 +And that girl is not me. 
  339.45 +I hate her. 
  339.46 +And I know that she hates me.
  339.47 +The same way you would hate me, if you only knew.
  339.48 +
  339.49 +Do you know that my smiles are tinged with fear?
  339.50 +That my laughs are covering tears?
  339.51 +That my words cover silence deeper than the rips in my soul?
  339.52 +No, because for you it’s not there. 
  339.53 +No one sees me. 
  339.54 +No one hears my screams or my sobs. 
  339.55 +But that’s all right, I guess.
  339.56 +Because they would never understand. 
  339.57 +Because even I don’t understand the girl in the mirror.
  339.58 +
  339.59 +I don’t want to be alone.
  339.60 +But I always am.
  339.61 +Even in a crowded room. 
  339.62 +A crowd is not company.
  339.63 +They are a gallery of faces.
  339.64 +Just as I am merely a painting, showing only what they want to see,
  339.65 +Hiding the fear, the pain, and insecurities from plain view.
  339.66 +
  339.67 +I’m nailed to the floor, calling out a name.
  339.68 +The pain, the heartache, gnaws at my soul as I struggle to escape.
  339.69 +But everyone gets mad, they all get angry when I try. 
  339.70 +No one wants me to leave, but no one cares if I stay. 
  339.71 +I don’t understand at all. 
  339.72 +I don’t want to go, but I have to get out. 
  339.73 +I’m trapped in this dungeon, unable to flee the stares that haunt me.
  339.74 +If I stay here much longer, I don’t think I’ll be able to hold up this lie.
  339.75 +I want to be the truth, I want to fly free.
  339.76 +So why won’t anyone let me soar?
  339.77 +
  339.78 +If I died tomorrow, no one would notice I was gone.
  339.79 +Just like a shadow, no one ever saw me in the first place.
  339.80 +And they would bury my empty coffin, never thinking to look at the girl who 
  339.81 +was never there.
  339.82 +So in the end, I have to wonder if I ever was.
  339.83 +Am I just an afterthought? 
  339.84 +Here to give a little shading to the surroundings?
  339.85 +Or was I just never finished?
  339.86 +I’m incomplete, an unfinished product.
  339.87 +All sorts of broken pieces and insecurities and half finished characteristics 
  339.88 +hastily thrown together.
  339.89 +I’m in the bargain bin, the finished product will be shipped next Tuesday.
  339.90 +I don’t make sense at all.
  339.91 +I’m contradictory to my very existence.
  339.92 +
  339.93 +Icy cold rivers guide my way through a dense forest. 
  339.94 +I can’t see my way, the current leading me further and further through the 
  339.95 +darkness.
  339.96 +Where am I going and why?
  339.97 +Will I ever know?
  339.98 +Will someone ever tell me?
  339.99 +I want to be your angel. 
 339.100 +I want you to hold me, to know me for who I truly am.
 339.101 +But I’m too covered in shadows, draped in darkness.
 339.102 +My dreams are too close to nightmares now. 
 339.103 +I’m afraid of myself, afraid of who or what I am. 
 339.104 +But I smile. 
 339.105 +And still everyone walks past, not seeing me anymore than if I was never there.
 339.106 +And I wonder if that just means I’m successful at masking who I am.
 339.107 +So successful that I can hide from everyone. 
 339.108 +That no one will ever know who I really am. 
 339.109 +That nothing can touch my cold, shredded heart.
 339.110 +Lucky me.
 339.111 +I’m so happy.
 339.112 +So I’ll cry.
 339.113 +
 339.114 +Everyone has secrets that they long to hide.
 339.115 +They forever keep them locked away, hoping that no one will unearth them.
 339.116 +Burying them in the backyard, keeping them hidden by flowers and meaningless 
 339.117 +conversation and barbecues.
 339.118 +I am the secret and I’m struggling to get free. 
 339.119 +I want you to know me. 
 339.120 +I want to get rid of the girl that pretends she’s me,
 339.121 +Smiling and sweet, kind and gentle.
 339.122 +The one you forget while she’s still in the same room as you.
 339.123 +My sweet little twin that makes all of her appearances the few times I’m around 
 339.124 +people.
 339.125 +I watch the whole thing from the shadows, unseen by all, but seeing her trying 
 339.126 +so hard to please.
 339.127 +If I killed her, would anyone notice? 
 339.128 +Of course not.
 339.129 +But then I could be your nightmare. 
 339.130 +
 339.131 +In the end, what is more real?
 339.132 +The me that everyone sees all day, or the me that only I know?
 339.133 +Seeing is believing and that demon that only appears when the lights are out or 
 339.134 +the doors are all closed
 339.135 +Is nothing more than a myth to all those that ‘know’ me.
 339.136 +In that case, believe what you will. 
 339.137 +I’ll always be that girl for you.
 339.138 +Smiling and sweet, kind and forgettable. 
 339.139 +But inside my empty coffin, I’ll continue to scream into the darkness.
 339.140 +And only I will hear it, through my laughter.

   340.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   340.2 +++ b/stories/eye-1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   340.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1005 @@
   340.4 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity II Alternate
   340.5 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter One
   340.6 +by AmazonessDuo
   340.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   340.8 +
   340.9 +
  340.10 +	As the afternoon sun beat down, a lone girl made her way home. The
  340.11 +dark stockings and midnight-black hair almost helped her blend into
  340.12 +the shadows. But the lonely girl didn’t need them for that purpose.
  340.13 +She was used to being ignored, used to fading away into shadows. It
  340.14 +was so much better if to others if she didn’t exist. To exist meant
  340.15 +for them to torment her, to hate her. Why did they hate her? Why did
  340.16 +everyone hate her? What had she done? All she wanted was to be left
  340.17 +alone. Why was this impossible to allow her? And so she hid. In plain
  340.18 +sight, she hid. She was the quiet girl; the shy girl. The lonely
  340.19 +girl. But only when she was lucky. When she wasn’t, she was the
  340.20 +freak. That thing that was only to be hated, not pitied. A witch. No
  340.21 +one knew her. No one cared to. 
  340.22 +	Her eyes downcast, she walked slowly home, keeping to the shadows,
  340.23 +wishing she could fade away into them. As she passed a group of
  340.24 +students around her age on the sidewalk, she gripped the strap to her
  340.25 +school bag nervously. She silently prayed to go unnoticed, and as the
  340.26 +small group left her behind, talking and laughing happily, she
  340.27 +sighed.  But her relief was short-lived, as two girls walking to
  340.28 +their next class spotted her and began to talk, just loud enough for
  340.29 +her to hear.
  340.30 +	"That's the 6th grader, Tomoe-san," says one, as they catch up to
  340.31 +her.  "She's carrying her bag.  Is she leaving early again?"
  340.32 +	"Isn't she really weak?" responds the other.  "She's been wearing
  340.33 +those long tights all year."
  340.34 +	Hotaru closed her eyes, hoping the two would just go away and leave
  340.35 +her alone.  "She's such a dark person," they continued. "Her
  340.36 +expression is always so empty.  It's well known that she's a bit
  340.37 +strange."
  340.38 +	"Naturally.  Her father's a mad scientist."  This insult cut into
  340.39 +her.  She was used to being taunted and tormented herself, but
  340.40 +resorting to attack her father..?  The pain grew until it was almost
  340.41 +unbearable.  "Doesn't she have any friends?"
  340.42 +	The lonely girl collapsed, her bag and its contents spilling out
  340.43 +onto the pavement.  Coughing and trying to see through the haze of
  340.44 +pain, the suffering girl reached out to gather her tin pencil case. 
  340.45 +The girls, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to torture her,
  340.46 +quickly approached, one stepping on the pencil case to attract her
  340.47 +attention.  "What's wrong, Tomoe Hotaru-sempai?" she said, grinning
  340.48 +down at the poor girl condescendingly.  "You tired, need some help?"
  340.49 +	Hotaru simply pulled the pencil case out from under the girl's
  340.50 +foot, and stood, having picked up everything else already.  Glaring
  340.51 +at the two girls, she holds up the tin pencil case and crushes it in
  340.52 +her fist, dropping the now-useless scrap to the ground and continuing
  340.53 +her walk home.  As she left, she heard the girls behind her gasp in
  340.54 +astonishment and continue talking: "W.. what??  She crushed it!  Just
  340.55 +like that!!" "She looked so mad.. like a completely different person!"
  340.56 +	Every day it was the same, and this was no different..  By now she
  340.57 +had grown used to it. One lonely day to the next, she dealt with her
  340.58 +classmates taunts, the emptiness inside of being truly alone even
  340.59 +amidst so many people. She was an outcast, an outsider to which
  340.60 +everyone, even other outcasts, looked down on her. 
  340.61 +	The fact that the school day was over brought little comfort to the
  340.62 +raven haired girl. The cycle would begin again the next day, or after
  340.63 +the weekend. It was unending, a constant in her life that she
  340.64 +couldn’t escape. She darkly contemplated what to do once she got
  340.65 +home. Her father would probably be in his lab, as usual. She hoped
  340.66 +his assistant, Kaolinite, would be as well. She would probably go
  340.67 +back to her room, close the curtains and try to escape her painful
  340.68 +existence in one of the many books she was reading. Maybe she could
  340.69 +even forget, at least for a short time. Or maybe she could come up
  340.70 +with a more permanent escape….
  340.71 +	The dark haired girl gasped and froze in place at the sight ahead
  340.72 +of her. Her heart nearly stopped at the shock that washed over her. A
  340.73 +girl with beautiful pink hair stood with her hands clasped in front
  340.74 +of her near the front gate to the mansion Hotaru lived at with her
  340.75 +father. Hotaru brushed some dark strands of hair from her eyes and
  340.76 +blinked. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her. No one would ever
  340.77 +come see her. She knew that much. The pink haired girl couldn’t have
  340.78 +come back to see her. Nothing like that had ever happened to her. No
  340.79 +one cared that much to come see her. Her pulse raced as she stood
  340.80 +nervously, completely unsure of what to think or do.  She wanted to
  340.81 +shrink back into the shadows, to disappear. Then this couldn’t
  340.82 +confuse her like this. It wouldn’t be able to scare her as it did.
  340.83 +But something deep inside stopped her from leaving. 
  340.84 +
  340.85 +~~~~~~ 
  340.86 +
  340.87 +	ChibiUsa stood nervously in front of the imposing iron gate. She
  340.88 +felt a knot in her stomach as she waited. And waited. And waited. She
  340.89 +had been thinking more and more of the pale, dark haired girl lately.
  340.90 +She had to see her again. She’d bought a new handkerchief to give
  340.91 +Hotaru since the other one had been stained with the blood from her
  340.92 +wound. Oddly enough, ChibiUsa treasured the cloth, keeping it hidden
  340.93 +behind some of the bunny dolls she collected. She would take it out
  340.94 +when no one was around, a reminder of Hotaru. She was a bit glad that
  340.95 +it had been stained, both to remind her of the dark haired girl’s
  340.96 +soft healing touch, and so she could keep the handkerchief for herself.
  340.97 +	Releasing a sigh of defeat, ChibiUsa turned to leave. She gasped,
  340.98 +startled by the sudden appearance of the girl she’d been thinking of.
  340.99 +She wasn’t sure what to do, whether she should go to the dark haired
 340.100 +girl or stay and wait for her to walk up. ChibiUsa didn’t have to
 340.101 +worry about that decision because her sudden shock had taken her mind
 340.102 +from the task at hand. Her forward momentum kept her going, but her
 340.103 +feet weren’t moving. Before she knew what had happened, she tripped,
 340.104 +falling face first. She managed to land on her arm, the same arm that
 340.105 +had been cut by the Daimon. Pain coursed through it as she collapsed
 340.106 +to the ground.
 340.107 +	The pink haired girl could dimly hear Hotaru yell something before
 340.108 +running over to her. It wasn’t so much the pain she felt as the
 340.109 +embarrassment that really got to her. It wasn’t exactly the first
 340.110 +impression she wanted to have on the dark haired girl when they met
 340.111 +again. ‘Why am I always so clumsy?’ ChibiUsa asked herself angrily.
 340.112 +‘I’ll never be like my mother. Some graceful princess I am.’ Letting
 340.113 +herself be helped into a sitting position, she met Hotaru’s gaze with
 340.114 +difficulty, her cheeks still a flustered shade of red. One glance
 340.115 +into the violet eyes looking back at her completely rid ChibiUsa of
 340.116 +the embarrassment she’d felt seconds before. There was nothing but
 340.117 +concern in those large beautiful eyes. 
 340.118 +	“Does it hurt?” Hotaru asked, rolling up ChibiUsa’s long sleeves to
 340.119 +get a better look at her arm. She gently ran her hands across the
 340.120 +pink haired girl’s creamy skin.
 340.121 +	ChibiUsa sat silently for a moment. Hotaru’s fingers caressing her
 340.122 +arm was sheer bliss. The dark haired girl’s soft touch pushed all
 340.123 +conscious thought from her mind. She looked back at Hotaru, not
 340.124 +saying anything, just enjoying the silence and the feel of her touch.
 340.125 +Finally noticing the other girl’s concerned stare, ChibiUsa shook
 340.126 +herself from that strange moment. ‘What just happened? I feel so
 340.127 +strange. How does she keep making me feel this way? Even when she’s
 340.128 +not there, she’s all I can think about. And now that she is here, I
 340.129 +can’t think,’ she thought to herself. She smiled and laughed
 340.130 +nervously. “Its nothing. I’m not exactly as graceful as I could be.
 340.131 +I’m used to it by now.”
 340.132 +	A smile tugged at the corner of Hotaru’s lips. “Its cute,” she said
 340.133 +quietly. 
 340.134 +	ChibiUsa smiled broader. Hotaru thought it was cute? She’d always
 340.135 +wanted to be graceful, elegant, worried that she’d never be. But the
 340.136 +other girl actually thought her clumsiness was cute? She tried to say
 340.137 +something but all that came out was a quiet, “Thank you.” Still
 340.138 +feeling the gentle brush of fingertips against her skin, ChibiUsa
 340.139 +brought her gaze down to her arm. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about
 340.140 +that. I’m fi…” She winced as the dark haired girl’s fingers pressed
 340.141 +against a small place on her arm. 
 340.142 +	“You’re fine, are you?” Hotaru asked, starting to smile. “If you’re
 340.143 +normally like this, then at least someone’s benefiting from my
 340.144 +healing powers.” Her hands started to glow as she concentrated. The
 340.145 +pain began to recede from ChibiUsa’s arm.
 340.146 +	The pink haired girl giggled as the warm glow healed her arm.
 340.147 +“That’s why I’m not scared of you. I could use the help when I get
 340.148 +hurt like that,” she joked. She noticed that though she hadn’t known
 340.149 +this girl for long, she felt completely at ease with her. A warm
 340.150 +feeling spread through her at the thought.
 340.151 +	A small laugh escaped Hotaru’s perfect lips. “I’m glad I could
 340.152 +help.” Standing up, she offered her pink haired companion a hand,
 340.153 +which the other girl eagerly accepted. Brushing the grass from her
 340.154 +skirt, Hotaru looked sidelong at ChibiUsa. Now that the fall was over
 340.155 +with, she was back to wondering why the pink haired girl was here. No
 340.156 +one ever came to see her. What was going on? Was this a joke? No,
 340.157 +this couldn’t be. She knew the pink haired girl was incapable of
 340.158 +doing anything so cruel. As an uneasy silence set in, both girls
 340.159 +laughed nervously. Thinking for a minute, Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa’s
 340.160 +hand. ‘Dad’s gone for at least a couple more hours and Kaolinite’s
 340.161 +probably with him, so I should be able to talk to her.’ “Would you
 340.162 +like to come inside?”
 340.163 +	Nodding, the pink haired girl flashed a smile at Hotaru. “I’d love
 340.164 +to.” 
 340.165 +	That sweet voice and those warm crimson eyes sent tingles down
 340.166 +Hotaru’s spine. She couldn’t shake the feeling as she led ChibiUsa
 340.167 +inside the mansion. “Come with me.” Finally, the two entered Hotaru’s
 340.168 +room. 
 340.169 +	ChibiUsa let out a small ‘oh’ as she glanced around the dark room.
 340.170 +“There are lamps everywhere. Your room’s so romantic, Hotaru-chan.”
 340.171 +The room was filled with lamps of every size and description. They
 340.172 +were all placed around the room neatly keeping them from making the
 340.173 +room look cluttered.
 340.174 +	Hotaru blushed, turning on a few of the lamps, though the room
 340.175 +remained fairly dark. In the darkness the lights shined like
 340.176 +fireflies, seeming to cast a faint glow on Hotaru. “I prefer
 340.177 +obscurity.. The quiet and the dark.” She said softly.  "Would you
 340.178 +like something to drink?" the mysterious girl quickly asked, trying
 340.179 +to get off the subject.
 340.180 +	The pink-haired girl nodded enthusiastically.  "Hai, that sounds
 340.181 +good."  Hotaru silently slipped out, leaving ChibiUsa alone in the
 340.182 +dimly-lit room.  Ever curious, ChibiUsa couldn't help but wonder why
 340.183 +the girl was so shy, so lonely.. so mysterious.  Her wonderings were
 340.184 +cut short when the door opened to reveal Hotaru, now clad in a simple
 340.185 +black dress complete with tights, and carrying a tray with two
 340.186 +teacups on it.  “Do you like dark clothes, too?” she asked,
 340.187 +indicating the dress. 
 340.188 +	Hotaru nodded slowly. “Hai. I feel better in the shadows.”
 340.189 +	“Hotaru-chan… Why do you always cover up so much? I mean, with
 340.190 +sweaters and long sleeves and stockings,” ChibiUsa asked.
 340.191 +	“I had an accident a long time ago. I have many wounds from it,”
 340.192 +Hotaru said simply, looking away. To change the subject, she asked
 340.193 +what had been on her mind all along. “Why are you here?”
 340.194 +	ChibiUsa smiled sheepishly, almost having forgot. She handed Hotaru
 340.195 +the new handkerchief she bought. “I wanted to give it back to you,
 340.196 +but the blood wouldn’t come out of the old one. So here’s a new one.”
 340.197 +	Hotaru blinked at the handkerchief in ChibiUsa’s outstretched hand.
 340.198 +“You came all this way to see me… just to give me back my
 340.199 +handkerchief?” She was astonished. This girl had come to see her over
 340.200 +something as insignificant as a strip of cloth, something no one else
 340.201 +would ever have worried about with her involved. Before she could ask
 340.202 +the pink haired girl why she did it, she started coughing
 340.203 +uncontrollably. Her heart beat faster as she slumped to her knees. 
 340.204 +The tray clanged to the floor, spilling tea and cups alike, forgotten
 340.205 +by the two in this moment of crisis.
 340.206 +	“Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa ran to her side as Hotaru suffered another
 340.207 +of her fits. “Hotaru-chan!!!” she yelled worriedly, clutching onto
 340.208 +the raven haired girl. The look of excruciating pain on Hotaru’s
 340.209 +beautiful face tore through her heart like a knife. Her mind raced
 340.210 +desperately to find a way to help. 
 340.211 +	“My…medicine…” Hotaru barely managed to get out. A shaky hand
 340.212 +reached towards her desk, too far out of reach. 
 340.213 +	ChibiUsa’s eyes frantically searched the desk, but she couldn’t
 340.214 +find the medicine Hotaru had mentioned. Hearing Hotaru say something
 340.215 +about an amulet, she fumbled for her broach. “It’ll be okay, Hotaru-
 340.216 +chan. I’ll help you, I promise,” she whispered soothingly.
 340.217 +	‘You can’t help me. No one can help me,’ Hotaru thought sadly.  Her
 340.218 +eyes closed, trying to block out the immense pain. "No.. don't come
 340.219 +closer... you shouldn't.. be near me.." she managed to whisper
 340.220 +between gasps for breath, wishing she would pass out. Or worse…
 340.221 +	Finally getting at her broach, the pink haired girl pulled out the
 340.222 +Silver Crystal, the one from the future that her mother had given her
 340.223 +to take care of when she’d come back to train as Sailor Chibimoon.
 340.224 +Her breath caught in her chest as she watched the dark haired girl
 340.225 +writhe in pain. She brushed wisps of pink hair from her own tear
 340.226 +streaked eyes, praying this would work. A soft glow slowly began to
 340.227 +emanate from the crystal, quickly growing brighter.
 340.228 +	Hotaru gasped as a warm glow blanketed her body. The wonderful
 340.229 +feeling spread through her. The pain ebbed away, her body once again
 340.230 +her own. Her pain had never disappeared so quickly, vanished so
 340.231 +completely in such a short time. The room was silent for a moment,
 340.232 +the only sound was the breathing of the two girls. Hotaru could do
 340.233 +nothing but look at ChibiUsa’s worried face. She had wanted to
 340.234 +express her gratefulness, but her voice caught in her throat as her
 340.235 +violet eyes gazed into ChibiUsa’s glittering crimson ones. ‘She looks
 340.236 +so worried,' Hotaru thought to herself. A sudden realization shocked
 340.237 +her. ‘About me? She’s worried about me? But how? No one worries about
 340.238 +me…’ The raven haired girl’s pale cheeks flushed as crimson as
 340.239 +ChibiUsa’s eyes. She tried to say something, but her mind was having
 340.240 +trouble locking onto anything than the fact that this girl could be
 340.241 +worried about her. “Thank you…” she managed quietly.
 340.242 +	ChibiUsa sat down on her knees in front of Hotaru. She smiled
 340.243 +happily. “I’m just really glad you’re okay, Hotaru-chan. You had me
 340.244 +so worried for a moment.” A strange feeling filled her as she looked
 340.245 +into those lonely violet eyes.  The intensity of the gaze, the way
 340.246 +she was looking at her, part of it scared her. Yet an odd excitement
 340.247 +coursed through her as their eyes met. She sat completely still, half
 340.248 +scared of what might happen next, but anxiously hoping something
 340.249 +would. She swallowed nervously as her eyes slowly traced Hotaru’s
 340.250 +beautiful features. From her soft lips, down to her elegant chin, to
 340.251 +her dark eye lashes, to the slight blush coloring her pristine
 340.252 +cheeks. ChibiUsa’s lungs ached for air as she quietly waited.
 340.253 +	Hotaru slowly brought a hand up towards ChibiUsa’s. The pink haired
 340.254 +girl started reaching for Hotaru’s hand instinctively, as if it was
 340.255 +exactly what she should do. Releasing her grip on the Silver Crystal,
 340.256 +it fell from her grasp. Time seemed to slow as the glittering crystal
 340.257 +dropped towards the ground. Hotaru barely caught the crystal before
 340.258 +it hit the ground. “Your amulet, it's wonderful,” the raven haired
 340.259 +girl said at last, breaking the silence.
 340.260 +	ChibiUsa finally released her breath. She wasn’t sure if she was
 340.261 +glad or disappointed that nothing had happened. ‘What was I thinking
 340.262 +might happen, anyway?’ she asked herself. Try as she might, she
 340.263 +couldn’t come up with an answer to that. Looking back up at Hotaru,
 340.264 +she couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and take her hand in her
 340.265 +own. The raven haired girl almost flinched at the sudden contact of
 340.266 +the warm hand against her skin, but ChibiUsa continued to hold her
 340.267 +hand gently. “Oh, that? Yeah, I guess you can call it my amulet.” She
 340.268 +laughed a bit, lightening the moment. “It used to be my mother’s but
 340.269 +she gave it to me, sort of as a going away present until I returned.”
 340.270 +	“Return where?” Hotaru asked, as if picking up on the pink haired
 340.271 +girl’s thoughts of home. She started to relax, greatly enjoying
 340.272 +ChibiUsa’s gentle touch. 
 340.273 +	ChibiUsa laughed again, nervously this time. “Well, its kinda hard
 340.274 +to explain.”
 340.275 +	Handing the crystal back to ChibiUsa, Hotaru smiled softly. “I
 340.276 +won’t tell anyone your secret, Chibimoon.” Her eyes widened as she
 340.277 +remembered something. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know your name.”
 340.278 +	ChibiUsa grinned broadly. She felt good that the other girl wanted
 340.279 +to know her name. “I’m ChibiUsa Small Lady Tsukino. Well, my real
 340.280 +name's Usagi, but while I’m here everyone’s calling me ChibiUsa.”
 340.281 +	Hotaru brushed some dark hair from her eyes, looking intently at
 340.282 +the other girl. She couldn’t help but giggle. “Little Rabbit. That
 340.283 +fits you perfectly.”
 340.284 +	ChibiUsa couldn’t help but laugh as well. “You really think so?”
 340.285 +	“Yes. It's cute. It really seems to fit you.” Hotaru blushed and
 340.286 +looked away.
 340.287 +	Tilting to the side, ChibiUsa managed to catch Hotaru’s gaze again.
 340.288 +She wanted to see those beautiful violet eyes pointed her way again,
 340.289 +looking out from that gorgeous face. “Thanks,” she said, feeling her
 340.290 +own cheeks blush slightly. “Hotaru’s a really pretty name. Firefly.
 340.291 +It makes you sound kinda mysterious.”
 340.292 +	Hotaru sighed and shook her head. “No. People want to know about
 340.293 +the mysterious. I just frighten them.”
 340.294 +	Taking Hotaru’s hand with both of her own, ChibiUsa kept gazing
 340.295 +intently into the mysterious girl’s dark eyes. “I want to know about
 340.296 +you. And you don’t frighten me. I don’t know how anyone could see you
 340.297 +like that.”
 340.298 +	Hotaru tried to look away, these new feelings threatening to
 340.299 +overwhelm the poor girl, her mind already lost in confusion. Those
 340.300 +crimson eyes captivated her. Escape from them seemed impossible. This
 340.301 +was too good to be true. She had never had a friend before, someone
 340.302 +who wanted to know about her, who cared for her. No one cared about
 340.303 +her, right? Hadn’t life seemingly banned her from having a single
 340.304 +soul that could be her friend? So why was this pink haired girl here?
 340.305 +She flinched away from the contact of the other girl’s hands against
 340.306 +her own, but ChibiUsa held tight, not letting go. “But you don’t know
 340.307 +me,” she said quietly.
 340.308 +	“I want to,” came ChibiUsa’s earnest reply. She looked pleadingly
 340.309 +into Hotaru’s violet eyes. “Please let me get to know you.”
 340.310 +	Hotaru was silent for a long moment. This caught her by surprise.
 340.311 +All sorts of emotions ran through her. Happiness that ChibiUsa could
 340.312 +care that much, fear that this might all be a dream or that ChibiUsa
 340.313 +would change her mind when she did learn more about her,  hope that
 340.314 +her loneliness could finally come to an end. “Thank you.” She slowly
 340.315 +smiled, a broad genuine smile. “ChibiUsa-chan.”
 340.316 +	ChibiUsa smiled happily. She had managed to see that beautiful
 340.317 +smile again. “Hotaru-chan, you’re the most interesting, most
 340.318 +beautiful person I’ve met since I came here. I really want to be your
 340.319 +friend.” ‘That’s all I want to be, right? What else would I want to
 340.320 +be?’ ChibiUsa shrugs off the thoughts, leaning forward and hugging
 340.321 +Hotaru. 
 340.322 +	The dark haired girl’s eyes went wide as she felt the pink haired
 340.323 +girl against her. She relished in the sensation. She tentatively
 340.324 +placed her arms around ChibiUsa, hugging her back.
 340.325 +	The two girls stayed that way for a long time, both enjoying the
 340.326 +companionship and warmth. ChibiUsa glanced up from Hotaru’s shoulder
 340.327 +and noticed how dark it had gotten. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.
 340.328 +It’s getting late and I don’t want Ikuko-mama to worry." Releasing
 340.329 +the embrace, ChibiUsa frowned reluctantly. “I wish I didn’t have to,
 340.330 +but she doesn’t know where I am. I really want to see you again.”
 340.331 +	Hotaru blushed again, standing up as well. “You do? ChibiUsa-chan,
 340.332 +you’re sweet. I really hope I can see you again, too.” She smiled a
 340.333 +little shyly at the pink haired girl.
 340.334 +	ChibiUsa grinned brightly, her hands placed behind her back.
 340.335 +“Really? Then you will. I’ll try to see you soon.”
 340.336 +	Brushing a few strands of dark hair from her eyes, Hotaru stood in
 340.337 +front of the pink haired girl awkwardly. She smiled softly. “I’d like
 340.338 +that.”
 340.339 +	“Me too.” ChibiUsa gave Hotaru another hug before following her to
 340.340 +the door.
 340.341 +
 340.342 +
 340.343 +
 340.344 +~~~~~~ 
 340.345 +
 340.346 +
 340.347 +	It was near the end of the day at Minato Ku Juuban Elementary, and
 340.348 +ChibiUsa's mind wandered from her teacher to hey shy, mysterious
 340.349 +friend.  'She's got such pretty pale skin..' she thought, tuning
 340.350 +everything else out. 'Like new-fallen snow..' Momoko poked her,
 340.351 +whispering that she should pay attention to what her teacher was
 340.352 +saying as she explains that all the clay works they did recieved
 340.353 +compliments from the other classes.  "But, it's time now to take your
 340.354 +sculptures home.  Give them to someone important to you, like your
 340.355 +mom or best friend, in gratitude."
 340.356 +	ChibiUsa took her jeweled chalice from the display, holding it up
 340.357 +to the light and silently cursing. 'Do I really have to give this up?
 340.358 +I worked so hard on it..'  She turned to Momoko and verbalized the
 340.359 +thought.  "Momochan, what will you do with yours?"
 340.360 +	"My mom's birthday is coming up in a few days," the other girl
 340.361 +replied.  "I'll give mine to her."  Just then, one of the clay cups
 340.362 +found its way to ChibiUsa's desk.  It had a profile of Sailormoon
 340.363 +worked into the side.  "That's a nice design, Kyosuke.  But why are
 340.364 +you giving it to Chibiusachan?"
 340.365 +	The somewhat annoying boy put his hand behind his head as he
 340.366 +laughed nervously, blushing a little.  "Well.. I've been a really bad
 340.367 +friend.  So I thought this might make up.  Kind of a sign of
 340.368 +friendship."  Immediately upon those words, ChibiUsa's mind pops up
 340.369 +with a picture of Hotachan.
 340.370 +	"A sign of friendship!  That's it!  I'll give it to Hotaru-chan!!"
 340.371 +	Momoko groaned.  "Isn't that the Mugen student?"  ChibiUsa nodded
 340.372 +and began to explain. "Yeah!  She's my new friend, and she's really
 340.373 +pretty, but she's kinda lonely, and mysterious too!"  Momoko snorted,
 340.374 +replying semi-sarcastically. "You're so obsessed with her, what is
 340.375 +she, your girlfriend?"
 340.376 +	The commotion of the class leaving as the bell rings served to hide
 340.377 +ChibiUsa's deep blush.
 340.378 +
 340.379 +~~~~~~ 
 340.380 +
 340.381 +
 340.382 +	By the time she got home, Momoko’s comment had faded to the back of
 340.383 +ChibiUsa’s mind, replaced by much more urgent things. Like seeing
 340.384 +Hotaru again. The fact that it was starting to rain heavily outside
 340.385 +hardly seemed to matter to the future princess. The thought of seeing
 340.386 +her lonely friend was all consuming. ‘Is she okay? Does she miss me?
 340.387 +What’s she doing?’ she thought to herself as she dropped her book bag
 340.388 +on her bed and hurried downstairs. Her mind was hazy with the
 340.389 +thoughts of her new friend swirling through her mind. She wasted no
 340.390 +time in getting an umbrella and pulling on her shoes. There wasn’t
 340.391 +any thunder, so she might be able to make it there despite the rain.
 340.392 +A cold pit formed in her stomach at the thought of thunder and
 340.393 +lightening along the way, but she pushed it aside. She’d see Hotaru
 340.394 +soon enough and then it wouldn’t matter what she went through to get
 340.395 +there. A sudden burst of cold, wet air made ChibiUsa look up towards
 340.396 +the opening front door. 
 340.397 +Usagi stood there for a moment, her blonde pigtails glistening with
 340.398 +the raindrops from walking in the rain. She took in the scene before
 340.399 +her, her ‘cousin’ obviously ready to leave. Again. ‘Why is she always
 340.400 +leaving to see that girl?’ Usagi asked herself. ‘Hotaru Tomoe might
 340.401 +be part of The Enemy. Her father’s in charge of them. ChibiUsa might
 340.402 +be in danger and she doesn’t even realize it.’ Feeling herself begin
 340.403 +to get a bit angry at whatever ChibiUsa was keeping from her, she
 340.404 +demanded the smaller girl tell her where she was going.
 340.405 +	"Hotaru-chan’s," ChibiUsa said simply, standing up and moving to
 340.406 +get past Usagi. Her future mother barred her exit. ChibiUsa frowned
 340.407 +as she pulled the umbrella up against her shoulder.
 340.408 +	Usagi shook her head stubbornly, droplets of water flying about.
 340.409 +"Not on your own you aren’t."
 340.410 +	"But..." ChibiUsa began indignantly.
 340.411 +	"It's raining really hard and its already getting dark. I’m going,"
 340.412 +Usagi argued obstinately. "You’ve been going to see this girl for a
 340.413 +while now and this time I’m coming with."
 340.414 +"That’s not fair! She’s my friend!" ChibiUsa replied angrily. 
 340.415 +"Well, if you want to see her this time, I’m going, too." The blonde
 340.416 +girl crossed her arms in front of her.
 340.417 +
 340.418 +Earlier that day, Usagi had been with Luna and Artemis under the
 340.419 +Crown Arcade at the computer they used to gather information. They’d
 340.420 +been trying to find research on The Enemy in the hopes that they
 340.421 +could use it to their advantage. Nothing had come up on the two
 340.422 +mysterious Sailor Senshi and whether they were friends or foes.
 340.423 +Nonetheless, Usagi couldn’t help but wonder about the tall,
 340.424 +intriguing woman, Sailor Uranus. The kiss they’d shared in the
 340.425 +forest...
 340.426 +Luna’s voice shook her from her thoughts as an image of a white
 340.427 +haired man with glasses appeared on the screen. A star took the place
 340.428 +of where one of his eyes should be. 
 340.429 +"The Delta Area is where all the abnormal energy has been coming
 340.430 +from. Especially the Infitity Zone. It seems all of our problems are
 340.431 +coming from there. The Enemy must be situated there. This has to have
 340.432 +something to do with their plan."
 340.433 +"That’s the guy who owns the Infinty Zone and Mugen Gakuen. He looks
 340.434 +suspicious," Artemis added. 
 340.435 +Usagi sat down and began reading the data on the screen. His name
 340.436 +was Souichi Tomoe and he was indeed owner of the prestigious school
 340.437 +and the surrounding area. His field of expertise was genetic
 340.438 +engineering. He lived at the Tomoe Research Labs with his daughter,
 340.439 +Hotaru Tomoe.  Usagi paused for a moment, rereading the name. It
 340.440 +sounded familiar, as if on the tip of her lips, but she couldn’t
 340.441 +quite remember where she’d heard that name before. A small
 340.442 +description of Hotaru popped up on the screen next to the
 340.443 +Professor’s. Usagi’s eyes went wide when she saw the picture. It was
 340.444 +the girl who had healed ChibiUsa. That’s where she’d heard the name!
 340.445 +ChibiUsa had been mentioning her all the timelately. She gasped, her
 340.446 +hand going to her mouth at the implications. She very well could be
 340.447 +with The Enemy. "ChibiUsa’s been becoming really good friends with
 340.448 +her lately. She’s been going over to her house all the time for the
 340.449 +past few weeks to see her. I hope ChibiUsa’s okay..."
 340.450 +
 340.451 +As the two girl’s entered Hotaru’s home at the Tomoe Research Labs,
 340.452 +Usagi berated ChibiUsa in a harsh whisper. “We can’t just barge in
 340.453 +like this! It’s rude. And who knows what they’ll do if we get caught?
 340.454 +You’re a princess, aren’t you?”
 340.455 +ChibiUsa stuck her tongue out at the older girl, her thoughts still
 340.456 +elsewhere. “I couldn’t find the intercom anyway. Besides, Hotaru-chan
 340.457 +probably already knows I’m here so she won’t mind.” After a moment’s
 340.458 +pause, the pink haired girl smiled politely and managed a “Hello.”
 340.459 +Usagi looked at ChibiUsa puzzled for a moment. The younger girl
 340.460 +seemed to be looking behind her oddly. Turning around, Usagi almost
 340.461 +jumped when she noticed the red haired woman in a lab coat watching
 340.462 +them both coldly. Her heart pounded worriedly in her chest. This
 340.463 +woman had to be part of The Enemy. 
 340.464 +“What business do you have here? You’re trespassing. This is private
 340.465 +property. If you don’t leave now..” Kaolinite began before being
 340.466 +interrupted by a soft, but sweet voice.
 340.467 +	“They are my guests,” Hotaru said, glaring at Kaolinite as she
 340.468 +walked out of one of the rooms. She once again was clad all in black,
 340.469 +her pale skin the only contrast against the tight black clothes and
 340.470 +her own raven hair. Her gaze shifting to the pink haired girl, her
 340.471 +deep violet eyes gained a sparkle to them. Her heart swelled as she
 340.472 +looked at her visitors. She almost felt sick from the sudden anxiety
 340.473 +that washed over her at their arrival. It was as if she could sense
 340.474 +some sort of great aura from the blonde haired girl, but her
 340.475 +attention was still riveted to the kind pink haired girl whose
 340.476 +crimson eyes smiled back at her. The aura might not be as strange,
 340.477 +but everything about ChibiUsa captivated her. Why had she rescued her
 340.478 +heart from its lonely prison? Why had she become her friend? Her head
 340.479 +swam in circles as she tried to answer these questions, but for now
 340.480 +she had to attend to her guests.
 340.481 +	“Hotaru-chan!” ChibiUsa exclaimed happily at the sight of their
 340.482 +mysterious savior. 
 340.483 +	Kaolinite turned from the small group and left, thinking to
 340.484 +herself. ‘She has guests? But no one ever wants to see her. This is
 340.485 +odd..’
 340.486 +	
 340.487 +	The pale wisp of a girl bent down ever so slightly to pour some tea
 340.488 +for the two visitors. She shyly brushed back some dark hair from her
 340.489 +eyes as she felt their eyes baring down on her. She wasn’t used to
 340.490 +this. Without knowing what to say, she asked the first thing that
 340.491 +came to mind. “Why did you both come here?”
 340.492 +	ChibiUsa smiled broadly and set the chalice she’d brought with her
 340.493 +on the table. “I made this at school. Well, after school with Usagi
 340.494 +and Mamo-chan’s help. But I want to give it to you as a present. It’s
 340.495 +supposed to be the Holy Grail.”
 340.496 +	Usagi’s eyes go wide as she turns to the younger girl. “What? But
 340.497 +Mamo-chan and I worked so hard on that for you to just give it away.”
 340.498 +The blonde girl frowned as she remembered all the time she and her
 340.499 +boyfriend had put into working on the chalice when ChibiUsa had come
 340.500 +to them for help on the art project. It seemed like such a waste for
 340.501 +her to give it to this girl who very well may be part of The Enemy.
 340.502 +ChibiUsa just ignored Usagi as if she weren’t even there. Her smile
 340.503 +grew warmer, her crimson eyes never wavering from the darkly dressed
 340.504 +frail girl across the room. She felt butterflies in her stomach as
 340.505 +she kicked her legs almost nervously. “We were supposed to give our
 340.506 +projects to someone special to us this week. To someone very
 340.507 +important to us. Well, I was just thinking about how much you mean to
 340.508 +me and I wanted to give it to you as a sign of friendship.” Why was
 340.509 +it so hard to tell the other girl she wanted her to have it because
 340.510 +of their friendship? It felt different somehow than with her other
 340.511 +friends. This girl was so…. so….  amazing, wonderful, pretty, kind,
 340.512 +sweet, mysterious, sad, and so much more. Hotaru intrigued ChibiUsa.
 340.513 +She’d never met anyone like her. The pink haired girl always felt a
 340.514 +warm feeling inside when she was with Hotaru. She felt safe with her.
 340.515 +Her homesickness for Crystal Tokyo and her parents always faded away.
 340.516 +The quiet raven haired girl was so shy, but it just made her want to
 340.517 +get through to her all the more.
 340.518 +“Why aren’t you giving it to Mamo-chan, then?” Usagi questioned the
 340.519 +pink haired girl. She still thought of ChibiUsa as her rival for
 340.520 +Mamoru’s attention. 
 340.521 +ChibiUsa looked down at her kicking feet, her hands on either side
 340.522 +of her on the couch. Why did Usagi have to come with her? It just
 340.523 +made everything more difficult. Besides, she wanted to be alone with
 340.524 +Hotaru, not arguing the point with Usagi. “You and Mamo-chan helped
 340.525 +make it together, so I couldn’t give it just to him anyway.”
 340.526 +A tiny smile started spreading across Hotaru’s lips. She felt so
 340.527 +honored to be the one this cheerful pink haired girl thought was
 340.528 +important enough to give the chalice to. The shock and surprise of
 340.529 +the gift along with the other girl’s presence was a little
 340.530 +overwhelming. It was strange enough having a friend, but one that
 340.531 +thought so highly of her was such a foreign concept to her. It seemed
 340.532 +an utter impossibility. Everytime she saw ChibiUsa it seemed more and
 340.533 +more as if it had to be a dream. A wonderful dream. But the pale girl
 340.534 +hadn’t had any good dreams in years. That seemed almost as impossible
 340.535 +as if it were real. Whatever it was, she prayed it would never end.
 340.536 +“You made this for an important person, ChibiUsa-chan? But I… I
 340.537 +shouldn’t be the one to have this. You should be the one to keep it.
 340.538 +Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan,” she spoke up in her quiet voice. Glancing
 340.539 +at the Holy Grail ChibiUsa had given her on the table, she began to
 340.540 +think of where in her dark room to place it. It was already
 340.541 +significant to her. She wanted to make sure it had an important place
 340.542 +amongst her lamps. She smiled shyly as she turned back to the other
 340.543 +two girls.
 340.544 +Usagi leaned forward ever so slightly, her curiosity increasing
 340.545 +about this mysterious girl. Was she part of The Enemy? Was she using
 340.546 +ChibiUsa? What was she up to? She feels a cold chill run down her
 340.547 +spine as she gets a good look into those infinitely sad, dark eyes.
 340.548 +‘Its like I’m being drawn in. Her eyes seem to know everything,’ she
 340.549 +thinks. The cold feeling grows worse before she realizes the room has
 340.550 +been utterly silent for a long moment. Laughing nervously, the blonde
 340.551 +girl stands up, eager for a moment’s respite to think. “Could you
 340.552 +tell me where the bathroom is?”
 340.553 +	The dark haired girl turns and points out of the room. “Its right
 340.554 +down that hall.”
 340.555 +	“Thanks,” Usagi says quickly, leaving the room, confused. The pale,
 340.556 +raven haired girl was even more of a mystery to her now. And her
 340.557 +seemingly mystical hold over ChibiUsa baffled her. She resolved to
 340.558 +get to the bottom of things, no matter what. 
 340.559 +
 340.560 +~~~~~~~~~
 340.561 +
 340.562 +"Hotaru-chan!?" I watch as Hotaru collapses into a fit on the floor.
 340.563 +I run over, fear coursing through my entire body. I’ve only seen this
 340.564 +happen once before, but I kneel beside the dark haired girl, my heart
 340.565 +racing. "Hotaru-chan!?"  I feel so helpless, seeing this happen to
 340.566 +her. Why can’t I do anything? Isn’t there some way I can help her?
 340.567 +Why did this have to happen now? 
 340.568 +
 340.569 +Clutching her chest, she looks up at me with pain-filled eyes. My
 340.570 +heart goes out to her. I want to go to her, to stop her suffering,
 340.571 +but I don’t know how. Her shaky hand slowly reaches out, touching my
 340.572 +broach. 
 340.573 +
 340.574 +"..it’s better.. when I touch your amulet... I’m being filled with
 340.575 +power..." she says softly. Her body seems to relax as the fit finally
 340.576 +comes to an end. Her breathing slowly returns to normal. She looks up
 340.577 +at me with a strange look in her dark eyes.  
 340.578 +
 340.579 +I smile slightly, relief flooding through me. "Really? Then I’m
 340.580 +glad, Hotaru-chan." It feels good to be able to help her. She’s
 340.581 +already healed me a few times, I’m glad to repay the favor. And to
 340.582 +see her in such pain… I’m just glad she’s alright now. 
 340.583 +
 340.584 +The dark, distant, pale girl echoes my smile, still looking up at me
 340.585 +with that odd look in her eyes. "Your amulet... it has great power..
 340.586 +what power is it..?" Something isn’t quite right… but does it matter?
 340.587 +She’s alright now, that’s all that matters. I sigh, relieved that her
 340.588 +pains gone, if only for now. I smile again, a hand going to my
 340.589 +broach. "It’s the Mystical Silver Crystal," I say, telling of the
 340.590 +crystal inside my broach.
 340.591 +
 340.592 +"Mystical Silver Crystal.." Hotaru repeats. Everything about her is
 340.593 +different, somehow. The voice, its not the soft, sweet voice I’m used
 340.594 +to. Her eyes, seeming even darker than before. Its like she’s a
 340.595 +totally different person now. Suddenly the frail girl recoils in
 340.596 +horror, her eyes widening as she draws back from me, raising a shaky
 340.597 +hand to her mouth. 
 340.598 +
 340.599 +"Hotaru-chan?" I pull my hand from my broach, forgetting about it as
 340.600 +concern gets the better of me. "Are you alright?" I take a nervous
 340.601 +step forward. What happened? Why is she so scared? The frightened
 340.602 +look in her eyes chills me. I shudder, not knowing why. Is she afraid
 340.603 +of me? Did I do something wrong? I frantically want to reach out to
 340.604 +her, to make sure its okay, to know why she’s so scared. I don’t ever
 340.605 +want her to be scared again. I know that its probably foolish to
 340.606 +think that I could do something like that. But I can try.
 340.607 +
 340.608 +Hotaru stays back from me, still seated on the floor. "I.. I... I’m
 340.609 +sorry.. I didn’t mean,,,! It’s like.. it wasn’t me..." Her soft voice
 340.610 +sounds almost desperate, pleading. Does she think I would leave? I’d
 340.611 +never leave her like that, not now. 
 340.612 +
 340.613 +I take another nervous step forward, smiling reassuringly at the
 340.614 +obviously grief stricken pale girl. I want to hug her, hold her
 340.615 +close, make her know that its all okay, but I’m afraid she’d run away
 340.616 +from me. She’s so delicate, so fragile, like a china doll. "It’s
 340.617 +okay, Hotaru-chan. Don’t worry," I says soothingly, trying to get the
 340.618 +mysterious girl to relax.
 340.619 +
 340.620 +She grants me just a bit of a nervous smile. I feel relieved again.
 340.621 +I was so worried that she might flee her own room to get away from
 340.622 +me. I know it’s a silly thing to worry about, but she looked so
 340.623 +frightened. My heart flies just to see that hint of a smile. She
 340.624 +manages a tiny nod, not saying a word.
 340.625 +
 340.626 +Seeing her visibly relax, I take a sigh of relief. This beautiful
 340.627 +girl in front of me should never have to be hurt again. "I’m just
 340.628 +glad you’re feeling better, Hotaru-chan. I hate seeing you in pain
 340.629 +like that. I want to help you." And I do. I just don’t know how.
 340.630 +
 340.631 +"..thank you.. ChibiUsachan.." A small smile plays across her thin
 340.632 +lips. She looks more confident as she tries to speak. “..you’re the
 340.633 +only one who’s ever cared... it’s like..." her soft, whisper-like
 340.634 +voice trails off. Like what? What are you trying to tell me? She
 340.635 +seems to withdraw from me again, nervous. 
 340.636 +
 340.637 +I frown as I walk closer to her, closing the distance between us
 340.638 +quickly. There’s so much I want to know. There’s so much I want to
 340.639 +say. But what, exactly? I wish I knew. "I don’t know why I’m the only
 340.640 +one who seems to notice how great you are, Hotaru-chan. I can’t see
 340.641 +why anyone would ever be mean to you, why anyone would ever want to
 340.642 +hurt you." Because I can’t stand to see you suffer, firefly.
 340.643 +
 340.644 +Her deep violet eyes gaze up at me, working their magic on me. How
 340.645 +can I hope to keep from losing myself in their depths? I find myself
 340.646 +being drawn further into those beautiful dark eyes. I see tears start
 340.647 +to form in those perfect violet spheres. Please don’t cry, firefly. I
 340.648 +don’t ever want you to hurt. "I.. don’t know.. but... It doesn’t
 340.649 +matter.. as long as I have you..." 
 340.650 +
 340.651 +I feel my cheeks burning as I begin to blush. Had the raven haired
 340.652 +girl really said that? But… what did she mean by it? She didn’t
 340.653 +mean... "I.. I... Thanks, Hotaru-chan." My mind swims in confusion.
 340.654 +Why would she say that? Do I really mean that much to her? I kneel
 340.655 +next to her, smiling. As long as she has me... but how does she have
 340.656 +me? I’m not so sure myself.
 340.657 +
 340.658 +The quiet girl blushes as well, her pale cheeks darkening as she
 340.659 +looks at me. I look into those beautiful eyes for a long moment. She
 340.660 +just looks at me silently. This moment, so much like the last time.
 340.661 +It ended off so... I don’t know. What had I been expecting that time?
 340.662 +A kiss? I almost laugh aloud. But then what Momoko said comes back to
 340.663 +me as well. My girlfriend? A kiss? How did I really feel about this?
 340.664 +Her blush deepens and she looks away from me.
 340.665 +
 340.666 +I tilt my head, trying to catch her gaze. A soft sigh escapes my
 340.667 +lips. Why won’t she look at me again? Did I say the wrong thing?
 340.668 +Please let me see those beautiful violet eyes again. I try to meet
 340.669 +her gaze, to see those dark eyes. 
 340.670 +
 340.671 +Hotaru quietly looks up slightly. Its obvious she’s nervous. Why?
 340.672 +Why are you nervous, firefly? Don’t you know I’d never do anything to
 340.673 +harm you? Her eyes look at me questioningly, almost as if she’s so
 340.674 +shy that she may flee from me at the hint of anything at all. The
 340.675 +silence envelops us. I want to break the silence, but my mind can’t
 340.676 +think clearly with this mysterious girl in front of me. She invades
 340.677 +my thoughts, making it impossible for me to think of anything but
 340.678 +her. But is that so bad? 
 340.679 +
 340.680 +"Hotaru-chan, you’re so pretty," I hear myself breath softly. I
 340.681 +smile at her, once again losing myself in those violet pools. It’s
 340.682 +the truth. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. Yet so
 340.683 +timid. Please let me get close…
 340.684 +
 340.685 +The dark haired girl blushes profusely, as if no one had ever said
 340.686 +that to her before. Is the world that blind? She’s,,, heavenly. She
 340.687 +seems like she’s trying to reply, but nothing comes out. She looks so
 340.688 +afraid still.
 340.689 +
 340.690 +"I would never want to hurt you, Hotaru-chan. I want to be your
 340.691 +friend. I want to be.. I don’t know." This time, I’m the one to look
 340.692 +away. I don’t know what I had meant to tell her. That thought scares
 340.693 +me. "I just want to make you happy." And I know I do. Oh, how I want
 340.694 +her to be happy. To see another one of those beautiful smiles...
 340.695 +
 340.696 +Though she smiles at me in relief, I can see disappointment in the
 340.697 +mysterious girl’s violet eyes. She seems to relax at what I said,
 340.698 +though. "..I.. I wish I could be half as good a friend to you.. I
 340.699 +don’t know... I’m not really good at it, ne.. inexperience..."
 340.700 +
 340.701 +I gaze into those eyes, wanting to know what caused her
 340.702 +disappointment, but quickly losing myself in them. "No, you’re
 340.703 +perfect, Hotaru-chan," I whisper softly. Everything about her fills
 340.704 +me with wonder. I so want to tell her, but I don’t know how. I don’t
 340.705 +even know what I want to tell her.
 340.706 +
 340.707 +A slight blush colors her pale cheeks as she looks back up at me.
 340.708 +She seems more sure about something now, but I can’t tell what.
 340.709 +"..no.. I can't be.. but... Chibiusachan... Chibimoon.. when did you
 340.710 +fall from heaven..?  I want to know.. so I can give you a gift before
 340.711 +you have to return..." her soft voice whispers to me.
 340.712 +
 340.713 +I blush hotly, looking down, averting my eyes. I laugh nervously,
 340.714 +trying to relax. I’m so happy she thinks of me that way, but to hear
 340.715 +her say it… "Oh, I’m no angel," I assure her quickly. "Your
 340.716 +friendship’s the best gift I ever could have received."
 340.717 +
 340.718 +"..but.. you have to be... you're a magical soldier.. you had to be
 340.719 +from the gods... and.. you're the only one that ever noticed me, and
 340.720 +didn't call me a witch..." The words pour out, one after the other as
 340.721 +she tries to tell me it all.
 340.722 +
 340.723 +"I... I'm glad you think that, Hotaru-chan. Thank you." I feel the
 340.724 +blush return, my cheeks burning even more as I replay her words in my
 340.725 +mind. I smile brightly at her. She’s sooooo sweet. No one’s ever said
 340.726 +something like that to me before. The smile disappears after a
 340.727 +moment. The only one, she said. How could the world be so cruel to
 340.728 +this beautiful girl? Isn’t there more I can do for her? I want to
 340.729 +make the whole world leave her alone. No, I want the whole world to
 340.730 +realize how great she is. "I could never call you that. And how could
 340.731 +I not notice you? You're so beautiful. And nice. And mysterious.
 340.732 +And..." I trail off, finding it far too hard to think as I look into
 340.733 +those endless violet orbs. That feeling… that same feeling I had the
 340.734 +first time I was in her room, the feeling that left unfinished, it
 340.735 +returns to me now. I don’t want to leave it this time. I want to see
 340.736 +it through. But what is this feeling? 
 340.737 +
 340.738 +The blush on Hotaru’s cheeks darkens as she looks less certain about
 340.739 +something. "Thank you.. for everything... ChibiUsachan.... I..." She
 340.740 +cuts off the words at that. Please tell me, Hotaru. I want to know so
 340.741 +badly. You can tell me anything, do you know that? I’d never judge
 340.742 +you, never berate you. I just want to hear. I want to help. I want to
 340.743 +know how you feel about me...
 340.744 +
 340.745 +"You’re welcome, Hotaru-chan. You deserve it, though. I really want
 340.746 +to get to know you better. To be closer to you..." I sigh a little,
 340.747 +unsure of myself.  I feel so confused. What do I want, exactly? To be
 340.748 +her friend, right? Then why is this all so awkward? Why do I want to
 340.749 +say something more? She’s so important to me, whether she knows it or
 340.750 +not. I want her to be there with me, always. I want… Why does this
 340.751 +have to be so hard? Why can’t I just tell her. I sigh inwardly. Tell
 340.752 +her what? I don’t know, but I want to. I know that much. She makes my
 340.753 +heart melt. I feel so warm inside just being with her. I want to hug
 340.754 +her close, to make all her pain disappear forever.
 340.755 +
 340.756 +"..that's... that's what I want..." Hotaru says softly. She seems so
 340.757 +nervous, everything she says as if she can barely manage to tell me.
 340.758 +She blinks her long, dark lashes, blushing just a bit. 
 340.759 +
 340.760 +"You do?" I ask quietly, hopefully. It fills my heart with a warm
 340.761 +joyous feeling to know that she want’s to get closer to me, too. I
 340.762 +sit in front of her, entranced by this mysterious girl. I find myself
 340.763 +wanting to lean forward and… And what? I feel all anxious inside.
 340.764 +We’re both dancing around what we want to say, aren’t we? Neither of
 340.765 +us knows exactly how to say it, though. And I’m still not quire sure
 340.766 +what ‘it’ is. But I have a funny feeling that she does. "That's
 340.767 +great, Hotaru-chan. You already mean a lot to me. You're all I can
 340.768 +think about." It’s true. She’s been on my mind practically all the
 340.769 +time since I’ve met her. And this mysterious girl is already so very
 340.770 +important to me.
 340.771 +
 340.772 +"..but.. you..." She blinks those dark lashes again and shakes her
 340.773 +head. I follow her gaze to the table where the chalice I’d given her
 340.774 +still sits. My sign of friendship. Right? I blush when I remember
 340.775 +what Momoko had said. I really did want Hotaru to have it, so I could
 340.776 +show her… What would it be like if she was my girlfriend? I’d been
 340.777 +thinking about it all afternoon after Momoko had said that. I’m a
 340.778 +princess, I shouldn’t be thinking about such things. But I don’t
 340.779 +care. "..only Himitsu knows how much you mean to me..." She turns
 340.780 +back to me, looking as if there’s more she wants to say, but she
 340.781 +keeps it from me, afraid. Why is she afraid of telling me? What could
 340.782 +it be? But… the way she said that, do I really mean that much to her?
 340.783 +
 340.784 +"It makes me happy that I mean so much to you." I brush some pink
 340.785 +hair from my eyes, feeling my cheeks flush. To mean so much to this
 340.786 +beautiful girl, that’s wonderful.  I smile nervously at her, so much
 340.787 +left unsaid between us. But what can I do? What can I say? If I
 340.788 +said.... Would this mysterious girl be happy? Or would she be
 340.789 +frightened?
 340.790 +
 340.791 +A small smile crosses the dark haired girl’s thin lips. "..as long
 340.792 +as you’re happy.. I’m happy.." But her voice, there’s a sad tone
 340.793 +underlying it, as if she doesn’t truly mean it, as if there’s
 340.794 +something more. I want to coax it out of her, but I’m afraid she’ll
 340.795 +back away again if I try.
 340.796 +
 340.797 +"Hotaru-chan..." I sigh as I look away from her again, confusion
 340.798 +threatening to overwhelm me. Does she really know just how important
 340.799 +she is? "You mean so much more to me. Since I met you, I haven’t been
 340.800 +able to stop thinking about you. When I’m away, I want to see you
 340.801 +again. When I’m with you.. its just perfect." 
 340.802 +
 340.803 +Hotaru shyly raises a hand up towards my face, but after she makes
 340.804 +it halfway, she seems to realize what she’s doing and draws back,
 340.805 +only making it about halfway between us. I wish she’d keep going. Why
 340.806 +did she have to stop? "..it's the same... I thought it was...." She
 340.807 +shakes her head slightly before continuing. "..but you're a friend of
 340.808 +a million.. so it couldn't be..." But it is, Hotaru. It is.
 340.809 +
 340.810 +I smile softly, reassuringly at this beautiful frail girl in front
 340.811 +of me. Leaning forward, I bring my hand up to her pale cheek,
 340.812 +enjoying the soft feel of her skin. It feels so warm. So...
 340.813 +wonderful. "But you’re special, Hotaru-chan. I feel... differently
 340.814 +about you. You mean more to me than all those others," I try to
 340.815 +explain, feeling as though I’m failing miserably at it.
 340.816 +
 340.817 +I hold my breath, waiting to see what she’ll do. She almost pulls
 340.818 +back at my touch. My heart stops. No! Please, just grant me this.
 340.819 +Finally, she starts to relax into it, blushing again. "..then... then
 340.820 +I wasn't wrong..? ..I thought.. that I was wrong... because...." She
 340.821 +stops, her soft voice choked up with emotions. I see tears beginning
 340.822 +to form in her eyes as she looks at me silently. 
 340.823 +
 340.824 +I shake my head emphatically, trying to get rid of that notion. Of
 340.825 +course she’s not wrong. How could she be? How could this shy angel
 340.826 +ever be? My heart aches as I see those tears in her gorgeous violet
 340.827 +eyes. "No, you weren’t wrong, Hotaru-chan. I just.. you..." I gaze
 340.828 +intently at her, trying to gather up my courage for what I want to
 340.829 +tell her, what I so want to say. "You’re very special to me," I
 340.830 +finally get out. 
 340.831 +
 340.832 +The frail girl looks taken aback at my words. Its true, firefly. You
 340.833 +are so special to me. How do you feel, my firefly? In a hushed,
 340.834 +almost fearful whisper, I get my answer. "..I love you, ChibiUsa..."
 340.835 +
 340.836 +I blush deeply, her words running through my head over and over
 340.837 +again. Those lovely words, spoken by this lovely girl. I feel like a
 340.838 +veil’s been lifted. Everything seems clear now. I never thought about
 340.839 +those words, not like this. And I’ve certainly never, ever heard them
 340.840 +spoken of me. It fills me with a warm feeling to here her say that, a
 340.841 +warmth I’ve never felt before. I feel so fuzzy, so giddy. I feel like
 340.842 +laughing and crying and jumping for joy all at the same time. For a
 340.843 +brief second I wonder what my parents would think. I’m the Princess
 340.844 +of the Royal Family of Crystal Tokyo. But I shake it off. It doesn’t
 340.845 +matter. I know in my heart of hearts that this is right. "I love you,
 340.846 +too, Hotaru-chan." I feel like a weights been lifted from my
 340.847 +shoulders. No more mincing of words, no more hiding our secrets. How
 340.848 +we felt was out in the open between the two of us now. This frail
 340.849 +girl... she truly means that much to me. That much and more. Gazing
 340.850 +over at the raven haired girl, seeing myself reflected in her violet
 340.851 +pools, before I know it I lean forward, ever so slightly at first.
 340.852 +Even I don’t realize it until my lips gently brush hers. I blush
 340.853 +deeper as I feel those warm soft lips against my own. It feels…
 340.854 +wonderful. My first kiss… Hers too, I realize. But that just makes it
 340.855 +all the more wonderful in this quiet moment.
 340.856 +
 340.857 +The sad, shy girl looks at me sadly, apologetically. "I’m sorry…
 340.858 +I’ll only cause trouble for you..."
 340.859 +
 340.860 +I shake my head quickly, not wanting her to ever have to worry about
 340.861 +something like that. "Even if you did cause trouble for me, I’d
 340.862 +gladly take it." Over and over again, forever, just so I could be
 340.863 +near her. To emphasize my point I lean forward, kissing her gently
 340.864 +again. It tastes better than the best candy I’ve ever had back home
 340.865 +in Crystal Tokyo, much sweeter than the best they could offer. I’d
 340.866 +give anything to just stay like this.
 340.867 +
 340.868 +A small giggle escapes her lips, a smile gracing her delicate
 340.869 +features. "..I've never even had a real friend before.. and now I
 340.870 +have you... it's so wonderful, so perfect...." It means so much to me
 340.871 +to be that for her, to be that and more. I never want her to have to
 340.872 +suffer ever again. I don’t know if I can help it or not, but I’ll try
 340.873 +my hardest to keep her happy. Forever.
 340.874 +
 340.875 +I find myself smiling brightly back at her, my hand still pressed
 340.876 +gently against Hotaru’s cheek. I giggle softly myself, glad to see
 340.877 +that smile on her face again.  "Hai, perfect. Just like you, Hotaru-
 340.878 +chan. I want to be everything for you. I want you to be happy. I want
 340.879 +to be able to see your smile." I look deeply at her, wishing I could
 340.880 +just tell her everything here and now, but not knowing where to start.
 340.881 +
 340.882 +"How can I not be happy... if I’m with you..?" she says in that soft
 340.883 +voice of hers that I can’t help but imagine whenever there’s silence
 340.884 +around me. A faint smile appears on her lips. "It’s like... like...."
 340.885 +She trails off, at a loss for words. But I know exactly what she
 340.886 +means. Everything about this is perfect, magical. Its too hard to put
 340.887 +into words. So why bother, when I can just be here with her?
 340.888 +
 340.889 +~~~~~
 340.890 +
 340.891 +	Usagi stared at ChibiUsa oddly as they made their way home. The
 340.892 +younger girl had been acting strangely all night and now she seemed
 340.893 +to be off in her own little world, barely noticing what was happening
 340.894 +around her. The blonde girl sighed inwardly. This whole thing just
 340.895 +seemed to be getting more and more confusing.
 340.896 +	Had ChibiUsa heard those thoughts she would wholeheartedly agreed.
 340.897 +Her fingers absentmindedly went to her lips, her mind drifting back
 340.898 +to her first kiss just moments before. She felt a sudden wave of
 340.899 +dizziness wash over her as she relived the moment. What had happened
 340.900 +back there? She swallowed nervously as she walked along. That strange
 340.901 +feeling refused to leave her. She had never thought something like
 340.902 +this would happen. Her mother had told her to be ready for anything
 340.903 +when she came back to the past, but this was beyond anything she
 340.904 +could have imagined. Falling in love had not been one of the things
 340.905 +she’d thought her mother had meant. And with her… ChibiUsa’s cheeks
 340.906 +started to flush and her heart beat faster as the odd feeling in her
 340.907 +stomach increased in intensity. She felt like she needed to sit down
 340.908 +soon, but she didn’t want Usagi’s already paranoid mind to have
 340.909 +anything to work off of. 
 340.910 +	The mysterious dark haired girl had quickly drawn her in. Those
 340.911 +violet, pain filled eyes seemed to look deep into her soul whenever
 340.912 +she gazed into them. This almost deathly pale girl had invaded her
 340.913 +every thought. How could she have become so important to her? Did it
 340.914 +matter? The whole idea of falling in love this way had been so
 340.915 +foreign to her. The thought of falling in love with this girl was
 340.916 +almost frightening to begin with. But Hotaru needed her, didn’t she?
 340.917 +She wanted to do everything she could to make her happy. This whole
 340.918 +thing was so new to her. But it was exhilarating, the feeling that
 340.919 +encompassed her at the very thought of the raven haired girl. It
 340.920 +scared her a bit, but she pushed that to the back of her mind. She
 340.921 +wouldn’t let that get in her way. She couldn’t just run away from
 340.922 +Hotaru. The other girl had already woven a spell deep into ChibiUsa’s
 340.923 +soul. Maybe this was destiny. She had heard her mother say that so
 340.924 +many times about her father. This wasn’t quite the same, but it sure
 340.925 +felt like destiny had brought her to Hotaru. 
 340.926 +	“What are you daydreaming about?” Usagi asked after a long moment
 340.927 +of silence. “You haven’t said a word since we left Hotaru’s house.
 340.928 +What’s gotten into you? All thoughtful and dreamy all of the sudden.”
 340.929 +A sudden pang of worry spread through Usagi. Her suspicions about
 340.930 +Hotaru began to grow. The mysterious girl very well could be part of
 340.931 +The Enemy. And ChibiUsa would be completely unreasonable about things
 340.932 +if she mentioned the possibility to her. So for now it was best if
 340.933 +she just kept an eye on the younger girl. A silent sigh escaped her
 340.934 +lips. What would the pink haired girl do without her?
 340.935 +	ChibiUsa almost didn’t hear Usagi’s question at first. Shaking her
 340.936 +head, she tried to clear her thoughts but found that nearly
 340.937 +impossible. “I.. Nothing. I’m just thinking about… home. And my room.
 340.938 +And stuff…” There. That sounded convincing enough, ChibiUsa thought
 340.939 +with a satisfied smile. She did get homesick a lot, so Usagi
 340.940 +shouldn’t get too suspicious over that. 
 340.941 +	Usagi seemed to consider it for a moment before finally deciding to
 340.942 +let it drop. ChibiUsa was acting strangely, but pushing her probably
 340.943 +wouldn’t get her anywhere. She knew how stubborn the pink haired girl
 340.944 +could be and she didn’t feel like arguing with her for once. There
 340.945 +was too much to think about after meeting the Professor and his
 340.946 +daughter. She had to see what the others thought. 
 340.947 +	Glancing sidelong at Usagi, ChibiUsa contemplated saying something
 340.948 +for a long moment. This woman would one day become her mother, the
 340.949 +woman she held in the highest regard. Her mother meant a lot to her.
 340.950 +And she dearly wished she could talk with her about what was going
 340.951 +on, about Hotaru. She bit her lip thoughtfully. Opening her mouth to
 340.952 +speak, nothing came out. The nervousness that overtook her was too
 340.953 +strong to quell. Usagi may be her mother in the future, but now…
 340.954 +Maybe this just wasn’t the time to say anything. She couldn’t bring
 340.955 +herself to bring it up now as it was. Finally deciding to tell the
 340.956 +blonde girl later, if ever, she turned her attention back to what
 340.957 +really mattered. Hotaru.
 340.958 +
 340.959 +	Hotaru gazed longingly out her window. How long had she been
 340.960 +sitting there? Minutes? Hours? She honestly couldn’t tell. The
 340.961 +conversation she had had with the pink haired girl kept playing over
 340.962 +and over again in her mind. It was too much to believe. How could
 340.963 +something so wonderful happen to her? That such a sweet girl would
 340.964 +actually care for her? Her? No one cared about her. Those that didn’t
 340.965 +hate her or try to actively hurt her saw her as an oddity, something
 340.966 +that had no real significance. But ChibiUsa was different from
 340.967 +everyone else. She had looked beyond everything and had stayed. She
 340.968 +hadn’t ran away or decided that Hotaru was an object of derision.
 340.969 +Instead she had come again and again to her, always as her friend. A
 340.970 +friend… Hotaru had never had a friend before. That alone seemed
 340.971 +inconceivable. But that the pink haired girl could love her?
 340.972 +Impossible. How could anyone? Yet ChibiUsa had been perfectly honest.
 340.973 +She had seen that in those beautiful crimson eyes. 
 340.974 +	Finally lying back on her bed, Hotaru stared up at the roof. Her
 340.975 +lamps lit her dim room like fireflies in the darkness. Romantic, the
 340.976 +pink haired girl had called it. She allowed herself a soft smile.
 340.977 +This was her only place of escape from the pain of the world. This
 340.978 +was her sanctuary. The atmosphere helped her try and forget
 340.979 +everything, much as her books let her attempt escape into the life of
 340.980 +another. But she was always brought back to reality, or taken from
 340.981 +the safety of her room. The cold harsh pain would always come
 340.982 +flooding back in after her short reprise. Her escape was always too
 340.983 +short. Much too short. There had never been anything in this life
 340.984 +worth returning to. Until now. There was something for her to hang on
 340.985 +for now.  She had a reason to go on.
 340.986 +	It had been so easy for her to fall for the pink haired girl. She
 340.987 +was so sweet and caring. There was never any doubt in ChibiUsa’s mind
 340.988 +that everything would turn out right in the end. Even with Hotaru.
 340.989 +That outlook on life was so different from Hotaru’s own. Everything
 340.990 +about her was like a bright light in Hotaru’s life, lighting up the
 340.991 +darkness that threatened to engulf her. The thought that falling in
 340.992 +love with the pink haired girl was wrong had briefly crossed her mind
 340.993 +on several occasions, but she couldn’t help it. And what was one more
 340.994 +mistake for someone like her? 
 340.995 +	The fear that this would all be snatched from her as quickly as it
 340.996 +had appeared to her was nearly overpowering at times. This could all
 340.997 +be some sick joke by the heavens. A way to taunt her with what she
 340.998 +desired with all her heart only to have it taken away. How could a
 340.999 +witch like her, a freak, be granted this? If ChibiUsa knew… her body
340.1000 +went numb at the thought. If ChibiUsa knew everything about her,
340.1001 +would her mind change swiftly? Would she decide that everyone else
340.1002 +had been right about Hotaru? 
340.1003 +	The raven haired girl almost felt like crying at that. Hugging her
340.1004 +pillow tightly to her chest, she wondered how this would all turn out
340.1005 +in the end. Her life didn’t matter. She would let this play out the
340.1006 +way it was intended. It seemed safer to keep things as friends, to
340.1007 +not risk losing what little she had. But for ChibiUsa’s sake, and the
340.1008 +yearning in her own heart, she would see where this took her. 

   341.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   341.2 +++ b/stories/eye-2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   341.3 @@ -0,0 +1,821 @@
   341.4 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate
   341.5 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Two
   341.6 +by AmazonessDuo
   341.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   341.8 +
   341.9 +~~~~~~~ 
  341.10 +
  341.11 +“Witch!” 
  341.12 +A group of three girls gathered near Hotaru, taunting her yet again.
  341.13 +She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore the viscous
  341.14 +things they said. 
  341.15 +	“So what are you up to this time, Tomoe?” One of the girls asked,
  341.16 +her voice full of venom.
  341.17 +	“Nothing…” Hotaru said meekly, clutching the book she had been
  341.18 +reading to her chest. She was having trouble breathing as her heart
  341.19 +beat faster. Why wouldn’t they ever just leave her alone? Why
  341.20 +wouldn’t they let her fade into the background? All she asked for was
  341.21 +to not be noticed. Had she ever done anything to hurt them? No. So
  341.22 +why couldn’t they ignore her?
  341.23 +	“What’s this, Tomoe?” The girl on the right asked, ripping the book
  341.24 +from Hotaru’s grasp. She flipped through the dog-eared pages before
  341.25 +shutting the book. “You studying some more witchcraft?”
  341.26 +	“What else could she be doing reading all the time like that?” The
  341.27 +girl on the left replied. 
  341.28 +	Hotaru released a shuddering breath. She had no more tears to cry
  341.29 +over this. It happened often enough. The constant teases and taunts
  341.30 +were by now a way of life from her classmates.
  341.31 +	“If you don’t want to be here, Tomoe, get on your broomstick and
  341.32 +leave.” The three girls snickered at the dark haired girl, one of
  341.33 +them tossing her book to the ground.
  341.34 +	“Why don’t you all leave her alone?!” a sweet voice yelled angrily.
  341.35 +The girls turned to see a pink haired girl about their age run up to
  341.36 +stand beside Hotaru. Her crimson eyes burned with an unseen fire from
  341.37 +the anger she felt, her small hands balled up in fists. “What has she
  341.38 +ever done to you?!” ChibiUsa demanded.
  341.39 +	The middle girl glared at Hotaru. “She was born.”
  341.40 +	Hotaru normally would have shrank back from the other girl’s
  341.41 +statement, but she was still in shock. ChibiUsa was here? Defending
  341.42 +her? The thought made her head spin. 
  341.43 +	“If that’s her only crime against you, you oughtta think of
  341.44 +something better because I can think of plenty more you’ve done to
  341.45 +her just from what I saw,” ChibiUsa said, stepping forward a little
  341.46 +ahead and to the side of Hotaru.
  341.47 +	“How would you know? She’s a witch,” one of the girl’s said,
  341.48 +pointing at Hotaru.
  341.49 +	“If she is a witch, I’d rather spend an eternity with her than a
  341.50 +second with you cold hearted bitches.” ChibiUsa stared at each of the
  341.51 +three girls. 
  341.52 +	The girls glared back at this strange pink haired girl.
  341.53 +	“She is a witch! We’ve all seen her. When people get hurt, they pop
  341.54 +up without a trace of it after she touches them,” The girl on the
  341.55 +right began.
  341.56 +	“And what’s wrong with that? She did the same to me, and I’m
  341.57 +grateful,” ChibiUsa said absentmindedly rubbing her arm where her
  341.58 +injury had been.
  341.59 +	“She’s always off on her own. Usually she’s reading something. She
  341.60 +always wears black. And she has those strange seizures,” The girl in
  341.61 +the middle finished.
  341.62 +	“How can you all stand here and say that? You’re all so blinded by
  341.63 +hatred for what you don’t understand that you can’t see what she
  341.64 +really is,” the pink haired girl argued. 
  341.65 +	“And what’s that?” The middle girl asked with a smirk.
  341.66 +	“The sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. If she
  341.67 +is a witch, then she’s a great one. And everything you all see wrong
  341.68 +with her, I wouldn’t want to change. She’s smart and gentle and has a
  341.69 +wonderful shining heart. And if none of you can see that, then I pity
  341.70 +you. I was wondering why she was so shy and reserved, but now I know.
  341.71 +Because of people like you.” ChibiUsa took Hotaru’s hand in her own
  341.72 +without taking her eyes from the three girls in front of her.
  341.73 +	All three stared back at the pink haired girl that had interrupted
  341.74 +what would have otherwise been a normal day for them. “What are you?
  341.75 +Her girlfriend?” one of the three asked.
  341.76 +	“What if I am?” ChibiUsa asked back, tightening her grip on
  341.77 +Hotaru’s hand, feeling the slight tremble in her lover’s hand.
  341.78 +	“Oh my god…” The middle girl turned her gaze to Hotaru. “Tomoe’s a
  341.79 +lesbian.” The other two gasped as well, looking back and forth from
  341.80 +to the pink and raven haired girls. After whispering with each other
  341.81 +for a moment, the three girls finally turned to leave. 
  341.82 +	ChibiUsa looked in shock after the three girls. They were
  341.83 +retreating as if they had some kind of disease. “And what’s wrong
  341.84 +with that?!” the pink haired girl yelled after them, half expecting a
  341.85 +response, but not being surprised when none came. Her free hand going
  341.86 +to her forehead, she sighed deeply. A tug on her wrist caught her
  341.87 +attention. Turning her attention back to the dark haired girl, she
  341.88 +saw Hotaru kneeling to pick up her book that they’d so carelessly
  341.89 +thrown to the ground. “Oh, Hotaru-chan, I’m so sorry. I was just so
  341.90 +angry when I saw them treating you like that. I had no idea… I’ve
  341.91 +probably just made things worse for you now, haven’t I?”
  341.92 +	Hotaru shook her head softly. “There have been plenty of rumors
  341.93 +about me before. Everyone already thinks of me as a witch. This won’t
  341.94 +change things.” Glancing down at her book, Hotaru wiped some of the
  341.95 +dirt from the cover.
  341.96 +	“Then why’d they leave like that?” ChibiUsa asked, confused.
  341.97 +	Hotaru allowed herself a slight smile. “They were probably afraid
  341.98 +of my girlfriend.”
  341.99 +	ChibiUsa laughed and drew the dark haired girl into a warm embrace.
 341.100 +Hotaru’s pale cheeks turned a bright red as she felt the other girl
 341.101 +holding her lovingly. ChibiUsa’s expression suddenly turning serious,
 341.102 +she said, “I’m sorry those girls were acting like that.”
 341.103 +	Looking away, Hotaru wouldn’t return her gaze. “Its not just them.”
 341.104 +	“Hotaru-chan… I’m sorry,” ChibiUsa said sadly, at a loss for words.
 341.105 +	Hotaru smiled softly. “Don’t be. You’re the best thing that’s ever
 341.106 +happened to me, ChibiUsa-chan. Its not your fault if they all act
 341.107 +like that. You more than make up for it with the warmth and kindness
 341.108 +you show me.”
 341.109 +	ChibiUsa looked intently into Hotaru’s violet eyes. “Don’t worry
 341.110 +about them. Just remember that I love you no matter what. It doesn’t
 341.111 +matter what they think. I’ll always love you.”
 341.112 +	Hotaru’s blush worsened as she lost herself in the crimson pools of
 341.113 +the pink haired girl’s eyes. “And I you, ChibiUsa-chan.” Before she
 341.114 +knew what was going on, she was sharing a kiss with her lover right
 341.115 +where they stood. Hotaru remembered all the cruel comments and
 341.116 +torture she endured from her classmates. ‘What’s it matter what they
 341.117 +think?’ she thought to herself. ‘This moment of bliss is worth more
 341.118 +than every single thing they’ve ever done combined.’ 
 341.119 +
 341.120 +~~~~~~~~
 341.121 +
 341.122 +	Hunched over a computer, Mamoru rubbed his palms against his eyes,
 341.123 +trying to focus. He had been looking up information on Professor
 341.124 +Tomoe and the events surrounding him for the past several hours and
 341.125 +everything was rapidly becoming a blur. Between the studying for
 341.126 +college classes he needed to catch up on, running around in a top hat
 341.127 +and tuxedo, and doing research for running around in said tuxedo, he
 341.128 +had to wonder when he had time for anything at all relaxing these
 341.129 +days.  Even going to see the talented violinist, Michiru Kaioh, with
 341.130 +ChibiUsa, Usagi and her friends had turned out disastrously. And
 341.131 +ChibiUsa had seemed awfully distracted about something. The tedious
 341.132 +work over the past few hours had finally yielded some results,
 341.133 +thankfully, so maybe he’d have a chance to relax after all.
 341.134 +Stretching in the chair, he turned back to tell ChibiUsa the good
 341.135 +news. 
 341.136 +The pink haired girl was nodding off in a chair near him, her head
 341.137 +tilted to the side as she sat leaning back. After a moment or so, the
 341.138 +future princess stirred and blinked. Noticing that Mamoru had had
 341.139 +seen that she had nearly fallen asleep, she grinned sheepishly and
 341.140 +pointed toward the computer. “Did you find anything, Mamo-chan?” 
 341.141 +Turning back towards the computer, the older man sighed. “No matter
 341.142 +where I looked, I couldn’t find anything of interest on Professor
 341.143 +Souichi Tomoe. Just a few minutes ago, I finally accessed something
 341.144 +on him. His life’s work has been on genetic research. It’s been an
 341.145 +obsession for him his entire career, even to the point where he was
 341.146 +considered an outcast by the scientific community for his bizarre
 341.147 +experiments on animals. He put up his knowledge on the subject out
 341.148 +for sale to continue funding his research and was bought up by the
 341.149 +Infinity district. Apparently they didn’t mind whether or not his
 341.150 +work was inhumane and hired him anyway.”
 341.151 +“So that’s why Hotaru-chan lives there,” ChibiUsa said thoughtfully.
 341.152 +A few more pieces of the puzzle started to fit into place, but she
 341.153 +didn’t say anything. She had promised Hotaru that she wouldn’t tell
 341.154 +that her father had done that sort of thing. But it seemed that
 341.155 +Mamoru had found out on his own. 
 341.156 +Mamoru nodded, his tone growing more grave. “During the construction
 341.157 +of some of the buildings, a fire broke out under some unknown
 341.158 +circumstances while he and his family were there.” Scooting to the
 341.159 +side, he let ChibiUsa get a good look at the screen. 
 341.160 +There was a picture of a smiling woman there with the words: Wife,
 341.161 +Keiko, Age 32, Deceased. ChibiUsa gasped. That was how Hotaru’s
 341.162 +mother had died when she was younger. But what was even more
 341.163 +surprising were the picture of a young dark haired girl and the words
 341.164 +that followed: Daughter, Hotaru, Age 8, Critical Condition. Not only
 341.165 +had Hotaru lost her mother in the fire, but she herself had been
 341.166 +caught in it, too. But what had happened to her? How had she survived
 341.167 +the fire? 
 341.168 +“They say that after that incident, all life left the Professor’s
 341.169 +face,” Mamoru said, breaking the uneasy silence that had spread
 341.170 +through the room. “The loss of his wife and the near loss of his
 341.171 +daughter must have changed him.” ‘I can understand why he’d grow cold
 341.172 +after that. I don’t know that I wouldn’t do the same if I lose Usako
 341.173 +and ChibiUsa. And we haven’t even had ChibiUsa yet,’ he thought to
 341.174 +himself.
 341.175 +“ChibiUsa-chan, you should keep a careful watch on Hotaru-chan. It’s
 341.176 +your duty as a Sailor Senshi to find the enemy and eliminate them. If
 341.177 +we don’t stop them soon, it may be too late to stop their invasion.
 341.178 +All could be lost. Professor Tomoe seems even more suspicious now,
 341.179 +and if he’s Hotaru-chan’s father, you should keep an eye out for
 341.180 +anything.” Luna looked up at ChibiUsa seriously.
 341.181 +The pink haired girl nodded eagerly. Any excuse to stick close to
 341.182 +the firefly was good enough for her. She wouldn’t believe that Hotaru
 341.183 +had anything to do with this but she felt very uneasy about the raven
 341.184 +haired girl’s father. “Hai, I understand, Luna. I’ll do my best. I
 341.185 +won’t let Hotaru-chan out of my sight.” She had a hard time trying to
 341.186 +conceal a large smile.
 341.187 +Luna sweatdropped. For some reason she didn’t think they meant the
 341.188 +same thing.
 341.189 +
 341.190 +
 341.191 +~~~~~~~~
 341.192 +
 341.193 +
 341.194 +	Where is she? We were supposed to meet here to go to the movies.
 341.195 +We’d been planning it all week so we’d be able to have some fun this
 341.196 +weekend. Hotaru couldn’t have forgotten, could she? I hope that’s all
 341.197 +it is. I can wait a while longer before I go looking for her. What if
 341.198 +she shows up and I’m off looking for her? No, its safer to stay here
 341.199 +for now.
 341.200 +	Brushing back some pink strands of hair from my eyes, I glance
 341.201 +around the park, searching for any sign of midnight black hair or
 341.202 +ivory skin. Hoisting my book bag over my shoulder, I stand up on the
 341.203 +bench I had been sitting on to get a better view. I can’t suppress my
 341.204 +anxiety. Maybe something really has happened to her. I could never
 341.205 +forgive myself if Hotaru got hurt coming here to see me.
 341.206 +	You’re making too big a deal out of this, I scold myself. Just
 341.207 +relax. She’ll get here sooner or later. Its all a matter of time,
 341.208 +just like Puu had said so long ago. I grin a bit at that. I wonder if
 341.209 +she had any idea about this back when she first let me go back in
 341.210 +time. The grin fades as I remember that glimpse of dark green hair in
 341.211 +a crowd after I’d left Hotaru’s house with Usagi a while back. Could
 341.212 +Pluto still be alive? But why wouldn’t she come tell me? There are
 341.213 +too many unanswered questions. My head hurts just from trying to
 341.214 +think of all the questions, let alone the answers. Hotaru’s the focus
 341.215 +of most of them. She’s so mysterious. There’s a lot that I don’t know
 341.216 +about her or her family. But I don’t want to pry into things that are
 341.217 +better left alone. She seems so fragile that I worry about what
 341.218 +digging too much could do to her. And besides, I’m content just
 341.219 +knowing she’s there. I smile a bit. She’s so…. intoxicating? The more
 341.220 +I’m with her, the more I want to be with her. Forever. 
 341.221 +	Fifteen minutes go by and still no sign of her. I’m really starting
 341.222 +to get worried. It’s been over an hour now and she’s still missing.
 341.223 +My heart starts to beat quicker as panic begins to set in. Hotaru’s
 341.224 +okay, I assure myself. To prove that to my yearning heart, I decide
 341.225 +to go look for her. Her house isn’t too far from here so I decide to
 341.226 +check there first.
 341.227 +
 341.228 +	A surge of excitement runs through me as I walk towards where I
 341.229 +remember Hotaru-chan’s room to be from the outside. I know I’m not
 341.230 +supposed to be here, but what if she’s hurt? She could’ve fallen down
 341.231 +after having another one of those fits and no one could know. Her
 341.232 +father barely pays any attention to her as it is and Hotaru obviously
 341.233 +doesn’t like that weird lady that works as his assistant. I barely
 341.234 +notice myself picking up speed as I nearly break into a run,
 341.235 +desperate to make sure the firefly’s okay. If anything’s happened to
 341.236 +her... Pushing the thought out of my mind, I stop worrying about
 341.237 +whether or not anyone saw me sneak into the house and bolt towards
 341.238 +Hotaru’s room. Be okay, be okay, be okay, please just be alright and
 341.239 +I promise I’ll make everything better... You’ll never have to cry
 341.240 +again, just please be alright... Out of breath and exhausted from
 341.241 +making it here in a much shorter time than it’s ever taken me before,
 341.242 +I slump to my knees a few meters from Hotaru’s window. Ignoring the
 341.243 +burning inside as I gasp for breath, I half walk and half stumble
 341.244 +over to the windowsill. 
 341.245 +	“How do those new parts feel?” I hear Hotaru’s father ask from
 341.246 +inside as I make my way to the window. Well, if he was spending time
 341.247 +with her then it was worth her being late. He’s all she has for her
 341.248 +family so it’s good he’s not buried in his work right now. He seems
 341.249 +to care a lot about her when he does show it and my firefly misses
 341.250 +him. 
 341.251 +	“They feel fine, dad. I think I’m getting used to them already,”
 341.252 +Hotaru lied. I don’t know what she’s lying about, but whatever it is,
 341.253 +it sounds like she’s faking it. For her father’s sake? Or because
 341.254 +she’s late? Whatever it is, her father doesn’t seem to notice. I try
 341.255 +to catch her attention from the window, but she’s looking over at the
 341.256 +clock in her room. I smile a bit. At least she’s okay. And now I get
 341.257 +to surprise her. 
 341.258 +	“The parts incorporate a new development in masons and neurons that
 341.259 +I came across. They were used as part of a rather interesting
 341.260 +experiment. I’m still waiting to hear more of the results.” Her
 341.261 +father shakes his head, extremely pale purple hair moving from side
 341.262 +to side as he does. “But that’s besides the point. All the technology
 341.263 +is state-of-the-art and made from the best materials available.” He
 341.264 +places a hand on her cheek. I wonder what they were busy with. Hotaru
 341.265 +shivers slightly at his touch. A while back, she had told me that his
 341.266 +hands felt very cold. I guess it has something to do with his
 341.267 +research. “Very soon you won’t have anymore fits, Hotaru-chan.” I
 341.268 +smile at that. It has to be some new kind of medication then. This
 341.269 +means Hotaru-chan will get better! My smile fades after I see the
 341.270 +look on Hotaru’s face. I don’t think she believes him that she’ll get
 341.271 +better. My poor firefly. It’ll get better, I promise. He finally
 341.272 +picks up a few things that I can’t quite pick out as medical
 341.273 +instruments or tools and leaves the room. 
 341.274 +	“I have to hurry,” Hotaru-chan says worriedly, brushing back dark
 341.275 +hair from her eyes. The poor girl almost seems frantic. Awww...
 341.276 +That’s so cute that she wants to see me so much. Hmm... How should I
 341.277 +surprise her? “ChibiUsa-chan might have already gone home by now. I’m
 341.278 +really late. That took longer this time.” She sighs sadly. What took
 341.279 +longer? I want to ask her. Bending up her arm, her skin begins to
 341.280 +glow brightly. Underneath, I can see wires holding her muscles
 341.281 +together and other strange parts in the part of her arm I can see.
 341.282 +She picks now to turn around and spot me.  I am Jack’s nervous
 341.283 +breakdown. Her oddly hypnotic silver eyes catch mine before I can
 341.284 +dare to look away. Caught like my namesake in headlights, I can only
 341.285 +stare back for a long moment. I don’t know what to think. If only I’d
 341.286 +waited this never would have happened. Fear and shock quickly fill
 341.287 +those infinitely deep silver eyes, mirroring my own as I take a step
 341.288 +back. What.. What was that? What happened? “ChibiUsa-chan?!” she
 341.289 +calls out, her soft voice wavering. 
 341.290 +I’m caught. I don’t know what to do. What can I say to her? There’s
 341.291 +no way I can fix this right now. I should’ve waited at the theater
 341.292 +and then... “I’m sorry, Hotaru-chan... I... I shouldn’t have barged
 341.293 +in here...” I turn around and start to run away, unable to sort out
 341.294 +everything that’s going through my head. “I’m sorry,” I repeat as I
 341.295 +run as far as I can, away from it all. She probably hates me now for
 341.296 +seeing that. My poor firefly...
 341.297 +“ChibiUsa-chan!” I can barely hear her call again.
 341.298 +	
 341.299 +	
 341.300 +
 341.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 341.302 +
 341.303 +
 341.304 +	I fall to my knees where I’m standing, unable to even make it the
 341.305 +rest of the way to my bed. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as her
 341.306 +fleeing image remains seared in my mind. Why? Why did this have to
 341.307 +happen? Why did I finally find a friend only to have her taken away
 341.308 +from me? My body is wracked with pain even as my heart and soul are
 341.309 +wracked with guilt and fear. I’ve lasted this long on my own but now
 341.310 +that I’ve had a taste of what it was like to have her care about me I
 341.311 +don’t think I can go back to the way things were. I don’t want to be
 341.312 +alone anymore. It hurts too much. 
 341.313 +	The pain inside my battered shell of a body grows more intense as
 341.314 +my thoughts get darker. It’s as if the physical pain is mirroring the
 341.315 +pain in my heart. I collapse forward onto the floor, clutching at my
 341.316 +chest. My sobs are starting to hurt more and more as ice cold shoots
 341.317 +through my veins, followed seconds later by the searing hot pain.
 341.318 +Maybe… Maybe I’m dying. Maybe whoever’s out there decided to take
 341.319 +pity on me, to finally end my suffering. Maybe the cruel trick that
 341.320 +was played on me, letting me finally find a friend and someone to
 341.321 +love, will be the last. My head against the floor, my tears stream
 341.322 +down my cheeks. A shaky hand reaches out to my amulet in the hopes
 341.323 +that it can heal me, but the image of ChibiUsa’s horrified face when
 341.324 +she saw me for what I am seizes up my body. My hand falls back down
 341.325 +to the floor, even the will to live completely drained from my body. 
 341.326 +I deserve to die. My life has served no purpose. I’ve only been a
 341.327 +burden to my father. He’s usually too busy to worry about me anyway.
 341.328 +He has to have Kaolinite keep an eye on me. Everyone else I’ve known
 341.329 +has made it painfully clear that they don’t want me here. They’re all
 341.330 +afraid of me. Even.. Even she’s afraid of me. 
 341.331 +Harsh, painful sobs wrack my body as my pain begins anew. “ChibiUsa-
 341.332 +chan…” I whisper hoarsely. I curse my horrible, dead body. I curse
 341.333 +myself for still being here for this to have happened. If I’d died a
 341.334 +few months ago, this never would have happened. She’d never have been
 341.335 +afraid of me and I never would have... I never would have met her.. A
 341.336 +lump forms in my throat as I try to look through my blurry, tearful
 341.337 +vision to the Holy Grail she gave me. It sits in a very special spot
 341.338 +near my bed, right near several of my favorite lamps. She somehow saw
 341.339 +past what everyone else hated about me, she wasn’t afraid of me when
 341.340 +she found out I could heal with a touch, but now that she’s seen what
 341.341 +I am, she’s frightened of me. And I don’t think I can live with
 341.342 +myself for that. I should have known that it was too good to be true,
 341.343 +that she could really accept me. Who could? I’ve been half dead for
 341.344 +so long.. My eyes fall closed as the pain starts preying on my
 341.345 +consciousness. I can only hope it won’t last much longer, that I’ll
 341.346 +finally be able to be free. Free of this prison of a body. Free of
 341.347 +all the loneliness and the hate.
 341.348 +I don’t want to live anymore. This painful life has taken everything
 341.349 +from me. First my mother, then my body, and now the only person who’s
 341.350 +ever cared about me. Not too mention all of the other countless
 341.351 +things that have been ripped away from me. How could this have
 341.352 +happened? I had thought that if she just didn’t know about it that
 341.353 +maybe… just maybe things would work out. How could I have fooled
 341.354 +myself into such childish dreams? I had thought I was past that, past
 341.355 +deluding myself with any form of hope. But looking into her shining
 341.356 +eyes made me forget about that, it made me grasp onto those thin
 341.357 +shreds of hope and cherish them with all of my being. 
 341.358 +She made me feel alive again. After so many years of being dead, of
 341.359 +being a breathing dead girl, it felt so wonderful to feel alive
 341.360 +again. Dad keeps my body alive… barely… but she had brought my soul
 341.361 +back to life. And now it was all gone. All taken from me within a few
 341.362 +brief seconds. Such an inconsequential amount of time that brought my
 341.363 +life to a deafening crescendo of pain and tears. Really, nothing has
 341.364 +happened. Things will go back to the way they were before I met her.
 341.365 +Everyone will still hate me and I’ll be all alone again. I shake my
 341.366 +head in torment. I can’t live like that! I can’t be alone again!
 341.367 +Tendrils of fear grip my ice cold heart as the thought of having to
 341.368 +endure through it all with the painful memories of her sends more
 341.369 +tears rolling down my cheeks. I’ve lasted through everything else
 341.370 +because I’ve never had a choice. What else could I do but move on?
 341.371 +Even when everything hurt, I was too apathetic to do anything but cry
 341.372 +to myself and hide in the shadows. But I can’t stand it any longer.
 341.373 +The thought of moving on knowing that I lost the only person that
 341.374 +ever meant anything to me is just too much to bear. 
 341.375 +“Agghh…..” I wince painfully as I stagger to my feet, leaning
 341.376 +heavily against a dresser. The pain inside and out seems to contort
 341.377 +my body in some sick rhythm. A symphony of silence. Making a few half
 341.378 +steps forward, barely able to make out anything through my blurred
 341.379 +vision, I grasp onto one of my favorite lamps. It’s a beautiful lamp.
 341.380 +Small silver designs encircle the midnight black lamp in a
 341.381 +neverending dance. But right now I can barely even see the object in
 341.382 +my hand as I concentrate on it. Fire shoots through my arm as the
 341.383 +muscle seems to threaten to just rip apart on it’s own. I cry out but
 341.384 +keep going. This is nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt. My
 341.385 +favorite lamp cracks and shatters as that small burst of cyborg
 341.386 +strength finally wins out over my dead body. Collapsing to the floor
 341.387 +again, I weakly watch the shattered pieces of the lamp, so much like
 341.388 +the shattered pieces of my life. Things had seemed so perfect before
 341.389 +mother died and everything started slipping away from me. Now even
 341.390 +the last shred of hope I had held onto has been taken away into the
 341.391 +darkness of the night. 
 341.392 +My pale hands search the floor for the right piece. I barely flinch
 341.393 +at the cuts I get as I grasp at them, blinded by my grief and self-
 341.394 +pity. A long jagged piece of porcelain finally catches my attention
 341.395 +to my right. Clutching it tightly, I can feel it bite into my skin,
 341.396 +the blood dripping much the same way my tears are. I shake my head as
 341.397 +I bring it towards my wrist, almost hoping someone will stop me,
 341.398 +praying that no one will. “Oh, ChibiUsa-chan… I’m so sorry…. I’ll
 341.399 +never hurt you again…. Because I don’t want to hurt again either...”
 341.400 +I get out between sobs as I push into my wrist. This is the only way
 341.401 +to escape. This is the only way I’ll ever stop the pain. It hurts too
 341.402 +much to go on. I only hope that ChibiUsa will forgive me. But by now
 341.403 +she’s probably already forgotten me... Shaking all over, I slide in
 341.404 +across my wrist, a grimace spreading across my face as the pain
 341.405 +becomes even more intense. As I wait to die and be rid myself of this
 341.406 +worthless body and life, I look down to my wrist. Torn flesh and
 341.407 +pouring blood greet my eyes, but also something more sinister. Metal
 341.408 +cords going to my hand jut out from the injury, a painful reminder of
 341.409 +how little of me is still human after the fire.  Shivering on the
 341.410 +floor, whimpering, the darkness finally claims me and all is silence. 
 341.411 +
 341.412 +Silver eyes blinked slowly and painfully into consciousness. Hotaru
 341.413 +immediately regretted opening her eyes as a harsh white light burned
 341.414 +into her vision. “Dad?” she asked weakly, his dim outline barely
 341.415 +visible through the haze of pain settling throughout her body. Yet
 341.416 +even then, it didn’t hurt at all in comparison to the pain in her
 341.417 +heart. Blinking back bitter tears, she rolled to her side, towards
 341.418 +her father. It was gone. It was all gone. There was a terrible
 341.419 +emptiness inside of her that could never be filled. It wasn’t just
 341.420 +that something was missing, that things could go back to the way they
 341.421 +were before, but that it had been ripped forcibly from her, the torn
 341.422 +edges of her soul impossible to mend. Shaking lightly as the tears
 341.423 +came more freely, she wondered where her father had gone. This man in
 341.424 +his place only cared that she lived, that her body was all right. He
 341.425 +didn’t offer any comfort to the pitiful girl lying on her bed.
 341.426 +Instead, he kept checking a sheet of paper in his hands. 
 341.427 +Hotaru cursed herself as his cold hands checked to make sure the
 341.428 +wires in her arms were undamaged. She couldn’t even do that right.
 341.429 +Her only escape had been ruined. She couldn’t even kill an already
 341.430 +dead body. 
 341.431 +“Good morning, Hotaru-chan. You’re awake,” he stated as he moved
 341.432 +around to get a better look of the repairs he’d done to his cyborg
 341.433 +daughter. The cords and pieces in her wrist had been easy enough to
 341.434 +fix, although that most certainly wasn’t one of the things he’d been
 341.435 +worried about before then. He thought if anything endangered that
 341.436 +which was within his daughter’s body, it was that the girl was weak
 341.437 +and dying. He should have seen this coming. Of course, it didn’t
 341.438 +change anything. The time was near, making this only a very minor
 341.439 +setback. “How are you feeling?”
 341.440 +The sound of it was that of a doctor asking a patient, Hotaru could
 341.441 +tell. He was wondering how she was feeling physically, not how torn
 341.442 +apart she felt inside. “Papa...” the dark haired girl whispered
 341.443 +sadly. She was truly all alone now. Her father had gone somewhere far
 341.444 +away, leaving only this.. this person in his place. And now the only
 341.445 +person who had ever cared about her had run away in fear of her. Why
 341.446 +had she survived and her mother died? Why couldn’t she have taken her
 341.447 +mother’s place? She could barely remember her anymore, but she knew
 341.448 +that she’d been a wonderful mother. She didn’t deserve to die in a
 341.449 +horrible fire. Her life would have been much more worthwhile than
 341.450 +Hotaru’s own. Like she often did, but never with as much regret that
 341.451 +she couldn’t make it a reality, the dark haired girl wished that she
 341.452 +could have taken her mother’s place. They’d both nearly been burned
 341.453 +to death but she had somehow survived. Now more than ever she
 341.454 +wondered why. 
 341.455 +Dimly hearing her father repeat the question, she simply nodded. She
 341.456 +could feel a burning inside of her as the wires and cords and parts
 341.457 +all worked at a more desperate pace to keep her body alive. She
 341.458 +wanted to rip it all out. She was a mockery of life. Not truly alive,
 341.459 +but not allowed to die. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already
 341.460 +dead. There was no way this was any sort of life. She only had to
 341.461 +wait for when her body would finally give out on her. And she knew
 341.462 +that wouldn’t be a long wait. Her father finally left the room. “Why
 341.463 +did she have to find out? Everyone hates me for being able to heal
 341.464 +others. They think I’m some kind of witch. It was hard enough with
 341.465 +them knowing that. I didn’t want anyone to know about this dead body
 341.466 +of mine. I’ve been all alone for so long now. All by myself even when
 341.467 +drowning in a sea of humanity. Dad doesn’t care anymore. His research
 341.468 +is the only important thing to him. I don’t even know why he tries to
 341.469 +keep me alive. Doesn’t he see I’d be better off that way? I knew I
 341.470 +was going to die alone. It was a sad fact of life. But then... I
 341.471 +finally met her. She wasn’t afraid of me. She didn’t hate me. She
 341.472 +wanted to be my friend. She wanted.. to love me...” She sobbed
 341.473 +painfully, tears starting to fall anew down her still damp cheeks. “I
 341.474 +should have known. How could anyone love a monster like me? She’s an
 341.475 +angel and I’m a demon. I could only drag her into darkness. But
 341.476 +without her, why should I go on? I have nothing now. Why should I
 341.477 +live anymore? Is there any point to my life? Mama... why couldn’t I
 341.478 +come with you?”
 341.479 +	An intense pain in her head makes her double over, clutching at the
 341.480 +searing fire within. “It... it hurts...” Her labored breathing
 341.481 +faltered for a moment, her physical and mental pain becoming an
 341.482 +uncontrolled beast within. “My forehead.. it’s… it’s like it’s on
 341.483 +fire...”
 341.484 +	Through the knife’s blade that felt lodged in her forehead, the
 341.485 +deathly pale girl could make out three figures watching her. “Who are
 341.486 +you?! Are you... are you Death? Please... why are you torturing me?
 341.487 +Please just let it all go away... Please let me die..” The figures
 341.488 +just watched as if taunting her. Hurling her amulet out past them,
 341.489 +the figures vanished, leaving her all alone once more. Her face
 341.490 +against her pillow, she wept as it seemed to get even worse. The
 341.491 +darkness inside her was growing as her sense of loss intensified,
 341.492 +images of the pink haired girl from the past few weeks filling her
 341.493 +thoughts. 
 341.494 +	Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone anymore. And that frightened her
 341.495 +as she tried to look around the room. “It hurts so much...
 341.496 +Everything.. everything hurts.. Like someone’s trying to burst out of
 341.497 +me...” She looked up as thoughts that weren’t her own began to invade
 341.498 +her fading mind. “Someone’s taking over my body...” She tried
 341.499 +desperately to cling onto her last vestige of consciousness as icy
 341.500 +cold fear shot through her veins, her will crumbling quickly.
 341.501 +“ChibiUsa-chan...”
 341.502 +
 341.503 +	The pink haired girl in question was leaning against a brick wall a
 341.504 +few blocks away, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.
 341.505 +Brushing back sweat dampened hair, she looked back the way she had
 341.506 +come. She felt sick from all of that running and the torrent of
 341.507 +thoughts swirling like a storm cloud in her head. Her insides felt
 341.508 +tied in knots. She pulled her legs to her chest, her short, crystal
 341.509 +blue dress in disarray. The harsh bricks scraped her back even
 341.510 +through the thin fabric. 
 341.511 +	Shaking her head, the pink haired girl sighed miserably. What she
 341.512 +had seen of the raven haired girl entered her mind every time she
 341.513 +closed her eyes. Wires and cords holding her beautiful frame
 341.514 +together, keeping her alive. The girl she loved was barely alive.
 341.515 +“What should I do? Oh, Hota-chan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have seen
 341.516 +that. I should have waited for you.”
 341.517 +	“I had an accident a long time ago. I have many wounds from it,”
 341.518 +Hotaru had said to her what felt like years before but could only
 341.519 +have been less than a month before. ‘So that’s what she meant,’
 341.520 +ChibiUsa thought to herself, pulling her legs closer. “That surprised
 341.521 +me. But what should I do now? When I ran away from Hota-chan, did I
 341.522 +hurt her? What have I done?” She stood up, finally managing to breath
 341.523 +more normally. “We all have our secrets, Hotaru-chan. I’m over nine
 341.524 +hundred years old and I never told you. I can see why you wouldn’t
 341.525 +want to tell me about that. But I want to make it up to you. I love
 341.526 +you no matter what. This doesn’t change anything.” With renewed
 341.527 +determination, the pink haired girl gathered herself up and began to
 341.528 +turn back the other way. A sharp pain on the side of her head
 341.529 +elicited a yelp from the young looking pink haired girl. 
 341.530 +Taking a half step backward, she felt a biting cold feeling where
 341.531 +the pain had been. Curiously, she brushed her hand over the spot. It
 341.532 +now felt wet and the cold began to be replaced by a burning feeling
 341.533 +at her touch, making ChibiUsa wince. Bringing her hand back, she saw
 341.534 +some blood on her fingers.  “What?” A gasp escaped her lips as she
 341.535 +felt as if she’d been bitten above her calf. Looking up at the dark
 341.536 +sky gave her a better understanding of what was going on. A few fat
 341.537 +droplets of rain hit the future princess. “What’s going on? It
 341.538 +shouldn’t be hailing in this season. This is just...” She stumbled
 341.539 +forward, having a hard time concentrating as that cold feeling that
 341.540 +had been on the side of her head started to spread through her body.
 341.541 +“This isn’t normal hail. I’ve gotta get out of it while I still can.”
 341.542 +She hugged herself tightly as she tried to keep warm, heading off
 341.543 +through the rain and hail. “I have to get back to Hotaru-chan. She
 341.544 +needs me.” Her weary mind still guilty from before, ran over the
 341.545 +possibilities as she raced back the way she’d come, hoping that she
 341.546 +could make things all right. 
 341.547 +
 341.548 +Was this what dying was like? That had to be it. She was dying. It
 341.549 +was worse than any of the fits she had ever suffered before. Her
 341.550 +whole body was aching horribly, like ice cold knives had been raked
 341.551 +across her body.  Making out anything through her blurry vision was a
 341.552 +chore that she couldn’t waste the time on, her nausea just making it
 341.553 +even worse. Every bit of her pain wracked body screamed out in agony
 341.554 +as she tried to get up.  Had her father’s attempts at keeping her
 341.555 +corpse-like body alive finally failed? Was she finally going to do?
 341.556 +Fresh tears started to sting her already bloodshot eyes. It was over.
 341.557 +Finally, this sick joke was over. 
 341.558 +“No...” she whispered, her raw throat aflame. There was something
 341.559 +else there. Something with her. Something... evil. That presence she
 341.560 +felt earlier, it was gaining in strength even as she was starting to
 341.561 +slip further and further away. She didn’t want to be here anymore, no
 341.562 +longer up for playing the part of the hated, wretched witch. But
 341.563 +still, the fear of dying was deep within her. And she knew that even
 341.564 +if she died, this thing would be released. And it would hurt... “No!”
 341.565 +she managed to get out louder. It was preying on her thoughts. It had
 341.566 +already picked its first target. Because of her. “You can’t have her.
 341.567 +No...” Pale hands gripped her burning forehead as she tried to force
 341.568 +it out, tried to change its mind, anything. If she’d been allowed to
 341.569 +kill herself, she would have been able to get rid of it along with
 341.570 +herself. Instead, it would hurt the only person that meant anything
 341.571 +to her. 
 341.572 +Silver eyes sparkled as Hotaru’s gaze was drawn to the window. A
 341.573 +large pillar of light flared in the growing storm, energy sweeping
 341.574 +through it. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
 341.575 +Like part of her could remember something much like it from long ago.
 341.576 +No, it wasn’t her. Someone else remembered it. Someone deep inside of
 341.577 +her. “The power..! It should be more than enough to replace the
 341.578 +Taioron Crystal. Master Pharaoh 90 will be pleased. That must be the
 341.579 +true power of Sailormoon. The Ginzuishou.” It wasn’t her own voice,
 341.580 +but someone using her to speak. The thought sent shivers through her
 341.581 +weak body.  Tears plunged to the sheets beneath her as Hotaru’s whole
 341.582 +body began to shake. She was afraid of what would happen now. 
 341.583 +Her hand lifted of its own volition, picking up the amulet her
 341.584 +father had given her. The crystal twirled back and forth as it hung
 341.585 +from its string. Something began to coalesce in the crystal, some
 341.586 +sort of image. She recognized the person immediately, her stomach
 341.587 +turning in on itself as it became clearer. Kaolinite, her father’s
 341.588 +assistant. The person who never failed to make things worse. She
 341.589 +wanted to drop the amulet, to get away from her, but she couldn’t let
 341.590 +go. 
 341.591 +“Soon, I will become the master’s partner. I won’t fail him. Unlike
 341.592 +the Witches 5, I won’t let the Sailor Senshi get in the way,”
 341.593 +Kaolinite said through the crystal. Despite being startled, Hotaru
 341.594 +clung unto the string, the crystal swinging back and forth. 
 341.595 +Again, the dark haired girl’s mouth opened without her permission.
 341.596 +“Yes, Magus, the time has come. You will take your place as the
 341.597 +master’s partner. Just remember your duty.” Magus? What was she
 341.598 +talking about? Who was their master? Why was all of this happening to
 341.599 +her? As the image vanished, she dropped the amulet to the floor, it
 341.600 +making little sound as it rolled across the carpet. Her hands went to
 341.601 +her head, light sobs escaping her.
 341.602 +
 341.603 +“Get in the car,” a voice said sternly as a car pulled up beside
 341.604 +ChibiUsa. The pink haired girl was shivering badly now as the storm
 341.605 +was only getting worse. Her eyes caught site of Haruka, Michiru, and
 341.606 +“Puu! It is you!” She wasted no time climbing into the back with her
 341.607 +old friend. Hundreds of questions raced through her mind, but she
 341.608 +couldn’t force any out. Instead, she just watched her old friend for
 341.609 +a long moment. The car sped up quickly, throwing her against the seat
 341.610 +as Haruka chose to ignore the traffic laws. “What happened?” she
 341.611 +asked finally.
 341.612 +“We screwed up,” Haruka offered in reply. 
 341.613 +Michiru frowned and turned back to face the future princess.
 341.614 +“Sailormoon has powered up with the power of all of the Senshi. It’s
 341.615 +all focussing on her with the help of the Holy Grail. The Enemy has
 341.616 +undoubtedly noticed this.”
 341.617 +Looking out the window, it took a moment for ChibiUsa to think
 341.618 +clearly again. “So that’s what that feeling was. Usagi’s more
 341.619 +powerful now. But isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t that help if the
 341.620 +Enemy’s close?” Her crimson eyes burned with curiosity as she looked
 341.621 +at the aqua haired woman. Her mind couldn’t drop what she’d intended
 341.622 +to do in the first place, still worrying about the raven haired girl
 341.623 +even with this crisis so close.
 341.624 +“It’s not that simple. The Princess can’t handle this mission, even
 341.625 +if she has powered up,” Setsuna explained, trying to find the best
 341.626 +way to explain to her young friend from the future. She had only
 341.627 +recently regained her memories so it was awkward seeing the pink
 341.628 +haired girl in this life. “The Soldier of Ruin has been awakened. Our
 341.629 +coming together has awakened her because of our talismans. They have
 341.630 +called her from the deep slumber she had been in up until now. The
 341.631 +final soldier from the forbidden planet, Saturn. She is the Soldier
 341.632 +of Silence, the one who must not be allowed to awaken. We know that
 341.633 +the end is nigh. This world will come to an end unless we can stop
 341.634 +it. When we Senshi, stronger than the Sailor Team, cannot handle a
 341.635 +problem, then it is up to Sailorsaturn to end everything. We watched
 341.636 +as she brought down her glaive, ending the Silver Millenium. If we
 341.637 +don’t act quickly, she’ll do the same to this world.”
 341.638 +ChibiUsa gasped. To think that such a soldier existed was horrific.
 341.639 +Why would there be a need for such a last ditch effort? Something
 341.640 +that ended all. Could she really be a Sailor Senshi? She had never
 341.641 +heard of her in the future. But then, she had never heard of the
 341.642 +Outer Senshi either. 
 341.643 +	“We were so stupid. Without all of our memories, we didn’t realize
 341.644 +what chaos we’d be causing. We had intended to stop the Enemy, but
 341.645 +instead we’ve brought about an even greater danger to this world.”
 341.646 +Haruka’s driving became more erratic as her frustration grew. She
 341.647 +calmed only slightly at Michiru’s reassuring hand on her thigh. 
 341.648 +	“We didn’t know. Someone had been calling for the talismans to be
 341.649 +gathered in out dreams. We hadn’t yet remembered what the outcome
 341.650 +would be,” Michiru said comfortingly, thought she didn’t know if it
 341.651 +was more for Haruka’s benefit or her own. She once again turned to
 341.652 +the young princess. “Sailorsaturn appears when all is lost. At the
 341.653 +end of the battle, she is the one who brings all to nothing. It is
 341.654 +her duty to bring an end to everything.”
 341.655 +	“Kind of like a cosmic reset button. If we screw up in our job to
 341.656 +protect this solar system, she takes over and wipes it all out so it
 341.657 +can begin all over again,” Haruka explained, narrowly missing a
 341.658 +pedestrian. 
 341.659 +	ChibiUsa really wasn’t liking the sound of this. How would that
 341.660 +solve anything? Well, it would solve the battle rather quickly, but
 341.661 +so many lives would be lost. That wasn’t what Sailormoon was about at
 341.662 +all. She was supposed to protect lives. The smaller princess had
 341.663 +thought that was what all the Senshi were supposed to do, even if the
 341.664 +Outer Senshi resorted to some rather cutthroat tactics at times.
 341.665 +	Setsuna cut in, grabbing the pink haired girl’s attention. “Saturn
 341.666 +is the guide to death. She brings all to the afterlife with her. But
 341.667 +she is normally asleep because her power is too deadly to be allowed
 341.668 +to work in conjunction with the other Senshi. She is awakened when
 341.669 +our three talismans come together, shattering her sleep and calling
 341.670 +her to her sacred duty. We are the guardians of the talismans, only
 341.671 +to awaken her in the most dire of circumstances. When Saturn awakens,
 341.672 +the planet will die.”
 341.673 +	ChibiUsa let all this sink in, the wet air from the storm, playing
 341.674 +with her oddly styled hair. “Then why did you bring them together?
 341.675 +How did it happen?”
 341.676 +	“We’re supposed to defend this solar system from outside attack.
 341.677 +The others are supposed to protect from inside threats along with the
 341.678 +princess. We didn’t often meet back during the Silver Millenium, and
 341.679 +never when all three of our talismans would be together.  When they
 341.680 +were all brought together during the battle against the Dark Kingdom,
 341.681 +Saturn ended the Silver Millenium and all of the planets that had
 341.682 +been a part of it. On this world, we were reincarnated with out
 341.683 +mission still intact. We met up so that we could find the Enemy that
 341.684 +had invaded from outside while we had slept and put a stop to them.
 341.685 +Little did we know that we’d bring about a larger problem.” Michiru
 341.686 +sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “We weren’t supposed to meet
 341.687 +here. Saturn has been reborn.”
 341.688 +	ChibiUsa sat forward, trying to make out the swirling image in
 341.689 +Michiru’s mirror as it showed the face of the final soldier. “Oh my
 341.690 +God...” Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. She knew
 341.691 +that face. She knew it all too well. “That’s... is that Hotaru-chan?
 341.692 +Is she Sailorsaturn?” Her mind raced with the implications of that,
 341.693 +fitting it in with everything the Outer Senshi had told her.
 341.694 +	“Saturn is awakening. That girl’s body is already going through the
 341.695 +stages of her reawakening. Soon Saturn will be upon us,” Haruka added.
 341.696 +	“Saturn’s soul was the voice calling out for the talismans in our
 341.697 +dreams. We had no idea it would come to this. She must realize the
 341.698 +severity of the situation and used us to bring her back so she could
 341.699 +put a stop to this.”
 341.700 +	“But we can’t allow that. Small Lady, you have a future. This is
 341.701 +all wrong. None of it is what is supposed to happen. Saturn can’t end
 341.702 +things now. Somewhere, time has gone awry. If it continues along this
 341.703 +path, your future will cease to be. Small Lady, you may cease to be,”
 341.704 +Setsuna explained softly.
 341.705 +	What had caused time to slip so much from its original path? Was it
 341.706 +her fault? Chibimoon hadn’t been there the first time around. Was it
 341.707 +Setsuna? She had been guarding the Time Gate rather than being
 341.708 +reincarnated like she had been this time. Was it something else
 341.709 +altogether? “Why is this happening?”
 341.710 +	Haruka shook her head. “Whatever the case, we mustn’t give Saturn
 341.711 +the chance to bring everything to ruin. We can’t let her wake up.”
 341.712 +	Her stomach taking a dive, ChibiUsa finally managed to ask the
 341.713 +determined Senshi what was on her mind. “How are you going to stop
 341.714 +her?”
 341.715 +	“We have to kill her.”
 341.716 +	“What?!” ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes went as wide as saucers at the
 341.717 +statement. Haruka had been dead serious. “You’re kidding, right? You
 341.718 +don’t really mean you’d kill Hotaru-chan. She’s an innocent.” She had
 341.719 +to ask, even though there had been no doubt in her mind that Haruka
 341.720 +had meant every word of it.
 341.721 +	Michiru sighed and gave Haruka’s thigh a none to gentle squeeze,
 341.722 +eliciting a yelp from the blonde. “I thought we weren’t going to tell
 341.723 +her that. You can explain it all to your ‘Odango’, but she’s just a
 341.724 +little girl. And that other girl’s friend no less.” Giving Haruka a
 341.725 +disapproving frown, it melted away as she turned back in her seat to
 341.726 +face ChibiUsa again. “We have to kill her so that Saturn can’t
 341.727 +awaken. Then we can seal her away permanently.”
 341.728 +	“But.. But she’s one of you! She’s another Sailor Senshi! Why would
 341.729 +you kill another Sailor Senshi?!” 
 341.730 +	“She’s not another Sailor Senshi yet,” Haruka explained. “Besides,
 341.731 +just because she’s one of us doesn’t mean we can sit by and let her
 341.732 +destroy our world. We have to stop her. Then we’ll go after the
 341.733 +enemy. She may be an innocent, but a lot less innocents die without
 341.734 +her.”
 341.735 +	“The talismans have already called Supersailormoon. They’re full of
 341.736 +power, vibrantly giving it off. Just like when she.. They acted the
 341.737 +same way when they called Saturn to end the Silver Millenium. The
 341.738 +time is near when they will fully awaken her.” Michiru shuddered at
 341.739 +the memories. “This world shouldn’t have to go through that horror.”
 341.740 +	“That’s still no reason to kill her! There has to be another way
 341.741 +without sacrificing Hotaru-chan. You can’t throw people’s lives
 341.742 +around! Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? Isn’t that her
 341.743 +job?” ChibiUsa wiped at her eyes, her heart aching at their words.
 341.744 +She looked to Setsuna for support but got nothing more than an
 341.745 +apologetic look. 
 341.746 + 	“It’s not like this is our first plan of action. But there’s
 341.747 +nothing else we can do. If we don’t kill her, this world will come to
 341.748 +ruin. And then everyone will die. One life isn’t worth the lives of
 341.749 +billions. She would die as well. So this way, only she will die. We
 341.750 +don’t have long before Saturn returns. You’ve seen her body, haven’t
 341.751 +you, Small Lady? She should have died years ago from an accident that
 341.752 +took her mother’s life and rightfully should have taken hers. But
 341.753 +Professor Tomoe rebuilt her body, keeping her alive through a mixture
 341.754 +of machinery and his genetic research. She only came out of her coma
 341.755 +because he sold his soul to Pharaoh 90. Her small, weak body, it
 341.756 +can’t last much longer. She has been dying for a long time, Small
 341.757 +Lady. If we weren’t to kill her and Saturn didn’t, then she would
 341.758 +still die. Soon,” Setsuna tried 
 341.759 +to explain. She wished there was an easier way, especially with the
 341.760 +pain she saw in her young friend’s eyes, but knew this was how things
 341.761 +had to be.
 341.762 +	“There has to be a way to save Hotaru-chan. She can’t be a lost
 341.763 +cause. I won’t believe that,” ChibiUsa said stubbornly. 
 341.764 +	Haruka frowned, turning a corner. “The only way to save her body
 341.765 +would be to let her fully awaken as a Sailor Senshi. That would be
 341.766 +strong enough to bring her body back to life. But letting that happen
 341.767 +would be foolhardy. She’d be dead moments later when Saturn wiped
 341.768 +everything out.”
 341.769 +	The future princess was starting to feel sick. The girl she’d seen
 341.770 +not more than an hour ago was going to destroy the world. And more
 341.771 +importantly, these people were going to kill her. She couldn’t let
 341.772 +that happen. “I won’t let you kill Hotaru-chan! Even if it’s to seal
 341.773 +off Saturn, I won’t let you do it! There has to be another way.
 341.774 +You’re Sailor Senshi! You’re supposed to protect lives, not end them!”
 341.775 +	“If we can save this world by killing that child, we will. After we
 341.776 +kill her, we’ll stop the Enemy. If we let her live, she’ll kill us
 341.777 +all. Do you think we’d just sit by and let that happen? Just because
 341.778 +she’s an innocent?” Haruka closed her eyes, still keeping the car
 341.779 +from plowing into anything miraculously. “This isn’t what I wanted
 341.780 +when I joined up. But it has to be done. We can’t let this world end.
 341.781 +It’s our mission to stop her. She is a threat and we have to kill her.”
 341.782 +	“ChibiUsa-chan, her life has been tough and full of hardship. The
 341.783 +poor girl never had any friends. She’s always been alone. She’s
 341.784 +always been in pain. It is time for her to rest. She’ll be much
 341.785 +happier in the afterlife,” Michiru said soothingly, switching tactics. 
 341.786 +	“I’m her friend now! I’ll make sure her life gets better. I won’t
 341.787 +let her be alone again. I’ll make sure that this life gets better for
 341.788 +her,” ChibiUsa protested. She had to cling onto the hope that she
 341.789 +could fix things. She had to believe.
 341.790 +	Haruka chuckled, opening her eyes as she passed another stop sign.
 341.791 +“Those are strong words for one so young, princess. Are you really
 341.792 +willing to devote your life to fixing her problems? That’s a lot of
 341.793 +commitment.” Setsuna’s sweatdrop went unnoticed. The Senshi of Time
 341.794 +was the only one out of the three of them that knew that ChibiUsa was
 341.795 +over nine hundred years old.
 341.796 +	“Yes! I don’t care. Hotaru-chan’s very important to me. I’d do
 341.797 +anything to make sure she’s all right.” There was so much more the
 341.798 +pink haired girl wanted to say, but it was all so confusing. She just
 341.799 +sighed.
 341.800 +	“It doesn’t matter. So your future can exist, so this world can
 341.801 +have a future, we have to kill her. She’s even more of a threat than
 341.802 +the Enemy at this point. We might not even have time to stop her. But
 341.803 +we have to try.”
 341.804 +	“No!! I won’t let you kill her! We can save her, I know it! We just
 341.805 +need to try! I know my future exists, so she won’t destroy it. The
 341.806 +world will be fine. Just trust in Sailormoon and let me deal with
 341.807 +Hotaru-chan. I promise that everything will be okay.” ChibiUsa’s
 341.808 +pleading voice broke, more tears building up in her crimson eyes. 	
 341.809 +	Michiru shook her head firmly. “We can’t fight with Sailormoon. She
 341.810 +feels the same way about sacrificing innocent lives. So we have to do
 341.811 +this on our own. The Sailor Team is too weak. We have to be the ones
 341.812 +to save this world. And we will.”
 341.813 +	The car came to an abrupt halt and before the smaller senshi knew
 341.814 +it, she was standing there on the curb while the car drove off. It
 341.815 +took her a moment to catch her balance as her weary body begged for a
 341.816 +rest. The cold droplets were starting to pelt her with more force
 341.817 +now, the occasional hail stinging her soft skin badly. “Hotaru-chan
 341.818 +is Sailorsaturn. Sailorsaturn will end the world,” she whispered to
 341.819 +herself, her thoughts muddled. “Hotaru-chan... You always look so
 341.820 +sad. Your eyes seem to know everything. Even when you’d laugh, you
 341.821 +still looked so depressed and alone. I won’t leave you alone. I
 341.822 +promise.” Clutching her broach, the pink haired girl took off towards
 341.823 +the large house where Hotaru lived, praying that she’d get there
 341.824 +before the Outers.

   342.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   342.2 +++ b/stories/eye-3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   342.3 @@ -0,0 +1,731 @@
   342.4 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate
   342.5 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Three
   342.6 +by AmazonessDuo
   342.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   342.8 +
   342.9 +
  342.10 +
  342.11 +	The future Senshi of the moon raced against time to reach Hotaru
  342.12 +before it was too late. Her fuku was soaked from the rain and hail,
  342.13 +her pink hair a mess. “I have to save Hotaru-chan! I can’t let them
  342.14 +kill her. I can’t let them get to her. I have to protect her.” Her
  342.15 +long gloves wiped away the tears and rain from her eyes as she
  342.16 +spotted the fence to the Tomoe residence. Her heart sped up its
  342.17 +chaotic tempo in her chest. “I won’t run away from her this time.
  342.18 +Whatever form she’s in, whoever she is, whatever her destiny is, it
  342.19 +doesn’t matter. I love her...” Her body kept moving, despite her
  342.20 +mixed thoughts. She leapt over the fence and headed for Hotaru’s
  342.21 +room, ready for anything this time.
  342.22 +	Setsuna’s eyes followed the young Senshi’s movements from the tree
  342.23 +she was waiting in with Haruka and Michiru. “Is that
  342.24 +Sailorchibimoon?! She’s not supposed to be here!” Pluto immediately
  342.25 +jumped down from the tree, followed closely by Uranus and Neptune.
  342.26 +She raced for the ‘younger’ girl in an attempt to stop her. If
  342.27 +anything happened to her...
  342.28 +	“Hotaru-chan?” ChibiUsa crawled through the window, unaware of the
  342.29 +Outers close behind. She looked awful, some dirt streaks on her fuku
  342.30 +and some scrapes from when she’d slipped in on the street on the way
  342.31 +there. 
  342.32 +	“ChibiUsa-chan?” came Hotaru’s weak voice from the bed, unable to
  342.33 +believe her eyes. The other girl had come back? But... why? After
  342.34 +what she’d seen earlier, Hotaru had been certain that she would never
  342.35 +see the pink haired girl again. “Sailorchibimoon, why..?”
  342.36 +	ChibiUsa didn’t say anything as she sat down next to the pale girl.
  342.37 +Her heart pounded in her chest. Nothing sounded right. She wanted to
  342.38 +tell her everything that was in her heart, but she knew the Outers
  342.39 +were intent on killing her. She had to protect her above all else at
  342.40 +the moment. Her arms wrapped tightly around the dark haired girl,
  342.41 +Hotaru shivering in her arms. She looked awfully sick. Holding the
  342.42 +other girl close, she let her eyes fall closed, trying to regain her
  342.43 +composure. “I’m so sorry, Hotaru-chan. I didn’t mean to run away.
  342.44 +You’re everything to me. I just got scared. Seeing you like that just
  342.45 +brought up everything I’d been frightened about in the first place
  342.46 +about falling in love with you. But I’ll never leave you again. I’m
  342.47 +here to make sure you never have to be alone again.” Her crimson eyes
  342.48 +sparkled as she pulled just enough away from Hotaru to meet her
  342.49 +silver eyes. “Hotaru-chan, I love you. I really meant that when I
  342.50 +told you earlier. I do love you. And I won’t let them hurt you.”
  342.51 +Brushing back some of Hotaru’s dark hair, she hesitated only
  342.52 +momentarily before kissing her. 
  342.53 +Hotaru returned the kiss slowly, her body still shaking as salty
  342.54 +tears spilt down her ivory cheeks. Her heart latched onto this one
  342.55 +moment, everything else being too much for her to handle. As long as
  342.56 +she was in her princess’s arms, she would be safe. “I love you...”
  342.57 +she whispered softly. She swallowed painfully. Hotaru knew what she
  342.58 +had to say, but she couldn’t get herself to let go of ChibiUsa. “You
  342.59 +have to go, ChibiUsa-chan..”
  342.60 +Wet hair swung about as ChibiUsa shook her head. “I can’t go. If I
  342.61 +go, they’ll hurt you. I’m lucky I got here in time. I promise I won’t
  342.62 +let them do anything to you,” she said soothingly, stroking Hotaru’s
  342.63 +back through the dark cloth. She could actually feel some of the
  342.64 +wires underneath her flesh, but she didn’t care. Her poor firefly.
  342.65 +There had to be something she could do for her.
  342.66 +Hotaru shook her head. Everything was getting more distant, as if
  342.67 +she was watching it all from far off. “But if you don’t go... she’ll
  342.68 +hurt you..” It didn’t matter if someone was going to do something to
  342.69 +her. It was too late for her. But ChibiUsa had to get away. 
  342.70 +	ChibiUsa was confused by Hotaru’s words. The dark haired girl
  342.71 +sounded so tired, so weak. She wasn’t making sense. The princess
  342.72 +turned Sailor Senshi had come here to protect her from someone, not
  342.73 +the other way around. “What?”
  342.74 +	Hotaru’s deep silver eyes opened again, their depths seeming
  342.75 +clouded by something. It wasn’t that sad look the depressing girl
  342.76 +usually had, but something entirely different. Something frightening.
  342.77 +The door slammed shut, startling the younger looking girl in her
  342.78 +arms. Before ChibiUsa knew what was happening, a hand snaked out from
  342.79 +Hotaru, wrenching the broach from Chibimoon’s chest. 
  342.80 +	Her eyes wide in shock, ChibiUsa slumped against Hotaru. Her fuku
  342.81 +reverted back to her normal clothes as everything started to grow
  342.82 +dark. Her last thoughts before she lost consciousness were a painful
  342.83 +understanding that she had been far too late to save Hotaru.
  342.84 +	“Small Lady?! Damn it!” Pluto cursed herself for not being there
  342.85 +sooner to save the princess. 
  342.86 +	“ChibiUsa!!” Usagi cried as she and Mamoru ran to their future
  342.87 +daughter. 
  342.88 +	Hotaru’s conscious faded out at about the same time as ChibiUsa’s,
  342.89 +something more sinister taking over. Her hair grew past her
  342.90 +shoulders, pooling on the floor as her body grew stronger. A grin
  342.91 +creased her lips as her young body rapidly grew to a more suitable
  342.92 +age. Glaring at the Senshi imposing themselves upon her, they were
  342.93 +all forced back out of the room by a tremendous power. 
  342.94 +	Usagi held ChibiUsa’s cold hand as she looked back in at the girl
  342.95 +that had been Hotaru. “Is that Saturn? Are we too late? Is she
  342.96 +already awake?”
  342.97 +	Haruka shook her head, keeping an eye on the new threat. “No, the
  342.98 +talismans haven’t been activated. Saturn hasn’t been called yet. So
  342.99 +that has to be something else.” The blonde shook her head, at a loss.
 342.100 +	A black star began shining on what had been Hotaru’s forehead.
 342.101 +“What a stupid girl. But she really did come in handy after all. Now
 342.102 +I have the Ginzuishou. I’ve awakened! And soon I have a gift for you,
 342.103 +Master Pharaoh 90!” Her grin broadened as she clutched onto
 342.104 +ChibiUsa’s broach.
 342.105 +	“ChibiUsa?!” Mamoru held onto the princess’s unconscious body
 342.106 +protectively. 
 342.107 +	“ChibiUsa!! ChibiUsa, wake up!” Usagi called frantically. “She’s so
 342.108 +cold, Mamo-chan... She’s not breathing!” She held ChibiUsa’s cold
 342.109 +hand tighter. 
 342.110 +	
 342.111 +	She was going to kill that little bitch. That’s all there was to
 342.112 +it. This wasn’t just business anymore. It wasn’t just her duty. She
 342.113 +had gotten careless, sloppy. But what could be expected of her? She
 342.114 +had only been a Senshi for little over a week. She hadn’t been
 342.115 +reawakened as Sailor Pluto until very recently. But she’d had enough
 342.116 +time to puzzle over her memories. And Setsuna knew damn well that the
 342.117 +young princess had been her only friend in the future when she’d been
 342.118 +locked away guarding the Time Gate. And yet she had failed her. She
 342.119 +hadn’t been quick enough to save her. And now Small Lady was dying
 342.120 +because of that girl. Telling herself that the girl was possessed by
 342.121 +a powerful Daimon didn't help her in the least. She had to find her.
 342.122 +She didn’t even know why they were bothering to discuss all of this.
 342.123 +Time was of the essence.
 342.124 +	“She’s gone into cardiac arrest. I’m afraid she’s dying. And
 342.125 +there’s nothing I can do to help,” Dr. Mizuno said hopelessly. There
 342.126 +was no way she could sugar coat this diagnosis. The girl was so
 342.127 +young, too. She always felt a pang in her heart at seeing children
 342.128 +taken from their parents. It worried her about her own daughter. Ami
 342.129 +hovered close to her side, as if mirroring her mother’s sentiments. 
 342.130 +	“No... That’s wrong... This is all wrong...” Setsuna shook her head
 342.131 +slowly as she watched her little princess dying in the arms of her
 342.132 +future mother. This wasn’t the way the time stream was supposed to go
 342.133 +at all. Time had taken a freakish twist, taking with it the life of
 342.134 +Princess Small Lady. She couldn’t help blaming herself, thinking that
 342.135 +there must have been something she could have done, some way she
 342.136 +could have prevented this. It felt like a nightmare that she couldn’t
 342.137 +wake up from. 
 342.138 +	“Small Lady...” Diana looked up at her mistress with tear streaked
 342.139 +eyes, nuzzling her cold side gently. She almost expected to feel the
 342.140 +gentle hand of the girl she was supposed to watch scratching under
 342.141 +her chin. This was worse than when she’d gone off into the past
 342.142 +without her in the first place. Much, much worse. ChibiUsa felt so
 342.143 +cold. Licking her unresponsive hand for a moment, Diana pressed her
 342.144 +head against it, her heart sinking as ChibiUsa’s arm slumped
 342.145 +lifelessly next to her.
 342.146 +	Dr. Mizuno silently left the room, leaving the grieving family and
 342.147 +friends. She wished that she could do more to comfort them, but she
 342.148 +knew from experience that there wasn’t anything she could do. This
 342.149 +was the part of the job she hated the most. And seeing Ami with
 342.150 +them... She wanted to just quit for the day and take her dear
 342.151 +daughter home with her. To know that she was safe. But Ami was a big
 342.152 +girl now. The look in her eyes had told her that Ami would like
 342.153 +nothing better than to go home with her, safe and sound. But she had
 342.154 +other things she needed to take care of. And if that was the way
 342.155 +things had to be, so be it. Dr. Mizuno said a quick prayer for her
 342.156 +daughter’s safety, hoping that she would never have to be in the
 342.157 +situation that those poor people were in at the moment.
 342.158 +	Clutching ChibiUsa’s cold body tightly, Usagi tried to suppress the
 342.159 +sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. “She’s dying... Hotaru-chan..
 342.160 +No, Sailorsaturn killed ChibiUsa-chan..” Even in her deep, tortured
 342.161 +sleep, the pink haired girl’s face looked oddly serene. Usagi had to
 342.162 +wonder if she had been wrong, if maybe there had been no other way
 342.163 +than to kill Hotaru. That maybe her future daughter would have
 342.164 +survived.
 342.165 +	“Her soul was ripped from her body,” Setsuna explained quietly as
 342.166 +she brushed ChibiUsa’s cheek in a motherly manner. At the puzzled
 342.167 +look she received from all but Haruka and Michiru, she continued.
 342.168 +“It’s been the Death Busters’ plan from the beginning. They’ve been
 342.169 +stealing souls the entire time that we’ve been fighting them. From
 342.170 +Mugen Gakuen and other places. The bodies are mere constructs for
 342.171 +them, being used like so many spare parts for a machine. They plan on
 342.172 +using them to build a body for Pharaoh 90. To convert them all into
 342.173 +one. So he can be reborn here on earth. I’m surprised they didn’t
 342.174 +take Small Lady’s body as well.”
 342.175 +	Usagi shook her head in confusion. “But if that’s what they’re
 342.176 +after and Hotaru-chan was helping... So that wasn’t Sailor Saturn we
 342.177 +saw over ChibiUsa-chan?” 	
 342.178 +	Michiru shook her head, aquamarine hair swinging to either side.
 342.179 +“No, the talismans have yet to activate. When they do, then Saturn
 342.180 +will awaken. Had it been Saturn, we would all be dead now. So this
 342.181 +might be out last chance.” 
 342.182 +	“We failed to plan for this. We were only worried about the girl
 342.183 +awakening as Saturn, but she has been used by the enemy for years.
 342.184 +That Daimon has been sleeping within her frail body from the very
 342.185 +beginning of Pharaoh 90’s gamble for earth. It isn’t even Hotaru any
 342.186 +longer. She died when Mistress 9 took over her body. At the same
 342.187 +time, she killed ChibiUsa. Or will. When she stole ChibiUsa’s
 342.188 +Ginzuishou, she dragged her soul along as well.”
 342.189 +	“Then... What will happen to ChibiUsa-chan and Hotaru-chan?” Usagi
 342.190 +asked worriedly. She squeezed the young girl’s cold hand. There
 342.191 +wasn’t even the reassurance that ChibiUsa was there with her anymore.
 342.192 +It was just a body.
 342.193 +	Setsuna felt a burning in her throat, but she refused to let it
 342.194 +through as she looked up at her future queen. Even if it pained her,
 342.195 +she couldn’t change the reality of what was happening. “The souls the
 342.196 +Death Busters have gathered are used to bolster Pharaoh 90 while he
 342.197 +waits for something stronger to sustain him. They keep him alive in
 342.198 +the meantime until he can be reborn. But even if he is reborn, the
 342.199 +souls will be utilized as Daimons. It would be impossible to save
 342.200 +them at that point. Their only salvation would be death and the
 342.201 +afterlife that awaits them.” The thought of Small Lady languishing as
 342.202 +a Daimon tormented her. She knew if that happened, she would have to
 342.203 +kill her personally, to save the princess from that life. 
 342.204 +	The Sailor Team was shocked by this revelation. “So all of the
 342.205 +Daimons we’ve fought up till this point...” Minako began. She was
 342.206 +starting to feel sick. “They were humans before?” How could they have
 342.207 +killed so many unknowingly? So many innocent lives had been
 342.208 +sacrificed already.
 342.209 +	“You did them a favor. They were trapped in those Daimon bodies.
 342.210 +You have released them. For all intents and purposes, they had died
 342.211 +when their souls had been taken. You just allowed them to move on,”
 342.212 +Michiru explained coldly. She had to remain cold. This was her duty.
 342.213 +Too many people would die if she didn’t. Too many more innocents. She
 342.214 +wouldn’t let that happen. She glanced at Haruka for support but found
 342.215 +Haruka doing the same. Yes, she had to stay strong. 
 342.216 +	“ChibiUsa-chan... Hotaru-chan... If we don’t save them soon,
 342.217 +they’ll be changed into Daimons?” Usagi looked up to stare pointedly
 342.218 +at the Outer Senshi. Her mouth had gone dry. 
 342.219 +	“It’s too late for Hotaru,” Haruka explained, crossing her arms.
 342.220 +“She’s already been overcome by the Daimon that’s possessed her for
 342.221 +years. It’s a wonder that it took this long to break loose. Or it was
 342.222 +just biding its time. Whatever the case, we won’t allow Hotaru to
 342.223 +suffer. We’ll kill her before she can. We’ll release her from the
 342.224 +torment she’s in and send her on her way to the afterlife. It’s too
 342.225 +late for her in this life.” She didn’t mention that it might well be
 342.226 +too late for the princess as well. 
 342.227 +	Usagi gasped, standing up in protest. How could they be so cold?
 342.228 +How could they call themselves Sailor Senshi? “But you can’t..!”
 342.229 +	Setsuna’s gaze grew angry as she drew herself up to her full
 342.230 +height. Her own heart was crying out at this injustice done to her
 342.231 +friend, but she wasn’t going to sit back and idly debate what they
 342.232 +could do to save everyone. This wasn’t all or nothing, it was a fight
 342.233 +to merely survive. They couldn’t be bothered by choosing a course of
 342.234 +action where everything worked out perfectly and everyone survived.
 342.235 +It just didn’t work that way. And if she had a chance to save her
 342.236 +princess, she was going to take it. The quiet little time guardian
 342.237 +inside of her snapped under the pain pushing on her heart. “Damn it,
 342.238 +Serenity! She has Small Lady’s soul and the Ginzuishou! What the hell
 342.239 +do you expect us to do?! What can we do?! If you want to save Small
 342.240 +Lady, you have to fight them and take it back! If we don’t kill
 342.241 +Hotaru, she’ll kill us. And ChibiUsa will die. If we don’t act
 342.242 +quickly, there won’t be anything left of this planet worth saving,
 342.243 +let alone your daughter. Even if Sailorsaturn doesn’t awaken, this
 342.244 +planet will crumble around your feet. We have to stop Saturn -and-
 342.245 +Pharaoh 90 -and- save your daughter. And yet you still want to go
 342.246 +that extra step and save everyone. We can’t do that! We can’t sit
 342.247 +around and hope for everything to be perfect! We have to fight! Which
 342.248 +would you choose, my Queen?” Setsuna didn’t wait for an answer.
 342.249 +Turning on her heal in a rage, she began to henshin into Sailor
 342.250 +Pluto. “We’re going. Not just for Small Lady, but for this planet! I
 342.251 +won’t sit back and watch you let it suffer any longer.”
 342.252 +	Usagi sat back in silence as Setsuna stormed out of the room,
 342.253 +followed closely by Haruka and Michiru. Setsuna had been so serious.
 342.254 +Usagi felt like she had been slapped. “If we don’t save the planet...
 342.255 +Everyone we’ve fought up till this point, all the innocents... And
 342.256 +now Hotaru-chan’s one of them.. But I don’t want to hurt anyone...”
 342.257 +She looked down at the girl in her arms, her heart crying out. What
 342.258 +could she do?
 342.259 +	Lifting the small girl in his arms, Mamoru began to walk for the
 342.260 +doors. “At this rate, ChibiUsa-chan’s going to die. We need to save
 342.261 +her. Let’s take her back to my apartment. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
 342.262 +He tried not to think about the lifeless body in his arms, the body
 342.263 +slowly shutting down as it had no soul inhabiting it. Nothing to keep
 342.264 +it alive. 
 342.265 +	“We’re running out of time. We can’t wait any longer or we’ll lose
 342.266 +ChibiUsa-chan. And maybe everyone else. We need to do something,”
 342.267 +Usagi mumbled to herself, trying to keep up as the rest of the Sailor
 342.268 +Team followed. 
 342.269 +
 342.270 +	Back at Mamoru’s apartment, Diana stood a silent vigil over her
 342.271 +mistress. The kitten didn’t take her eyes away from the pink haired
 342.272 +girl, still feeling guilty about not being with her earlier. Luna and
 342.273 +Artemis had tried to console her, but she was too distant, lost in
 342.274 +her own thoughts. She could smell death in the air. It was all around
 342.275 +her. And she was afraid that death would be a rather punctual visitor. 
 342.276 +	“ChibiUsa-chan’s body is linked with mine now. I’ll keep her body
 342.277 +alive as long as I can. But it’s still nothing without her soul.”
 342.278 +Mamoru held his future daughter’s hand, a faint glow starting to
 342.279 +envelope them as he felt the strain of her body drawing strength from
 342.280 +his own. 
 342.281 +	Luna fretted as she paced back and forth. Her daughter, Diana, was
 342.282 +still unmoving a short distance from her. “But the burden on your
 342.283 +body will grow tremendously the closer to death her body gets. I
 342.284 +don’t know how long you can hold it up.”
 342.285 +	“We have to try something. I’m sure Minako and the others will get
 342.286 +her soul back soon.” Artemis tried a smile, but his voice sounded
 342.287 +doubtful. Luna leant against him with a sigh.
 342.288 +	Mamoru could already feel his breathing growing labored, but
 342.289 +ChibiUsa’s body was starting to feel a little warmer. He smiled
 342.290 +softly, trying to keep the worry from his features. “It will be just
 342.291 +fine. I know it’s just her body, but I can keep it alive for the time
 342.292 +being. If you can find her, she’ll have a body to return to.” The bed
 342.293 +shifted as Usagi sat next to him, watching ChibiUsa’s soft breathing.
 342.294 +He looked up at the nervous expressions on the four girls in the room
 342.295 +with them. “Could we have some time alone for a moment?” 
 342.296 +	“Sure,” Rei said with a nod. The four girls took another quick
 342.297 +glimpse at ChibiUsa before leaving the room. Ami resolved to call her
 342.298 +mother before they left. Rei had faith that her grandfather would be
 342.299 +all right while they handled the situation. Minako had a certain
 342.300 +police chief that she needed to call before heading off. Makoto just
 342.301 +followed the others silently, her mind already running in circles.
 342.302 +	Usagi sat in silence for a long moment, paying close attention to
 342.303 +the shallow breathing from her future daughter. “ChibiUsa-chan...”
 342.304 +she whispered softly, brushing some of her damp hair away from her
 342.305 +face. “ChibiUsa-chan, Hotaru-chan, the whole planet. I can’t just
 342.306 +abandon them! I can’t give up on anyone as hopeless. I can’t believe
 342.307 +that it’s all a lost cause. I can’t choose between any of them. Won’t
 342.308 +it just lead to ruin in the end whichever path we take? Isn’t there a
 342.309 +way to save everyone?”
 342.310 +	Usagi held ChibiUsa’s hand, feeling the warmth slowly pulsing
 342.311 +through it. “Mamo-chan’s doing it. He’s managing to keep her body
 342.312 +alive. But what should I do? I feel so confused...”	
 342.313 +	“Usa,” Mamoru whispered softly. He could see the tension in her
 342.314 +eyes. Those blue, innocent eyes were clouded. He leaned forward and
 342.315 +gave her a kiss.
 342.316 +	Usagi was taken by surprise at first, but she quickly relaxed into
 342.317 +the kiss. It got her mind off of how bad things seemed, albeit
 342.318 +briefly. She noticed that the kiss gave her the same breathless
 342.319 +feeling that Haruka’s kisses had given her. She chided herself for
 342.320 +thinking of that at a moment like this. Haruka already had a
 342.321 +girlfriend. And she was a girl. And Usagi already had Mamoru. And it
 342.322 +did feel nice to be with him. Especially with how awful she felt at
 342.323 +the moment. “Thanks, Mamo-chan,” she said, smiling weakly. 
 342.324 +	Mamoru wasn’t listening. His vision faded for a second to be
 342.325 +replaced by the image of a ravaged city, corpses strewn about like
 342.326 +the toys of a girl who was finished playing with them. A woman stood
 342.327 +in shadows, draped in ethereal garb as she stood atop a broken
 342.328 +pillar. He tried to make her out, to see past the shadows, but the
 342.329 +vision began to fade away. He’d seen this before. “We’ll get them
 342.330 +back, Usa. ChibiUsa-chan’s soul and the Ginzuishou. I’m sure we’ll
 342.331 +get them back soon enough. I believe in you. Don’t ever lose hope,”
 342.332 +he said, trying to concentrate on the here and now. She leaned her
 342.333 +head against his chest. ‘I had that vision again. But who is that
 342.334 +woman? The Messiah? Or the Goddess of Ruin?’ he asked himself. No
 342.335 +answers seemed forthcoming.
 342.336 +
 342.337 +	Ami put the phone back down after she finished. Her mother was
 342.338 +worried about her, but she hadn’t asked many questions. Ami was glad
 342.339 +for that, because she really didn’t know how she could explain any of
 342.340 +it. Minako grabbed the phone seconds after it was down, already
 342.341 +dialing. Sweatdropping, Ami walked away from the blonde. Rei
 342.342 +concentrating, probably in prayer for what was to come. But Makoto
 342.343 +was nowhere in sight.
 342.344 +	It took the blue haired girl a minute to locate the taller Sailor
 342.345 +Senshi. She finally found Makoto on the balcony, looking out at the
 342.346 +dark city below. Smiling sweetly, Ami approached the brunette, about
 342.347 +to ask what she was looking for. A sudden detail she had failed to
 342.348 +notice stopped her short. Crystalline tears dripped past Makoto’s
 342.349 +chin, falling countless stories to the streets below. Ami knew that
 342.350 +this was a rather stressful time, but there was still hope. They had
 342.351 +to cling on to that. She took a cautious step forward.
 342.352 +	Makoto whirled around at the sudden noise behind her. Ami froze in
 342.353 +front of her, a concerned look on her face. The brunette wiped
 342.354 +clumsily at her tears, trying to force them away, to pretend that
 342.355 +everything was all right. She wasn’t sure whether to try a smile or a
 342.356 +frown. She just wanted to be left alone. “Ami...”
 342.357 +	Ami took a few steps forward. “Mako-chan, what’s wrong? You look so
 342.358 +sad... I know that things look down, but I’m sure that we can solve
 342.359 +them. Just because things look dark doesn’t mean we can give up.
 342.360 +We’ve triumphed even when the odds were against us before.” But even
 342.361 +as she said it, she doubted that it was the reason that Makoto looked
 342.362 +so crestfallen. At least not the reason in its entirety. 
 342.363 +	“Yeah.. You’re right, Ami-chan.” Makoto turned back on the railing,
 342.364 +glancing down at the city below. She held back the anguish inside
 342.365 +that kept threatening to spill over. 
 342.366 +	“What’s wrong?” Ami asked, trying again. She licked her lips as she
 342.367 +watched, hoping for an answer but unsure of whether or not she would
 342.368 +get one. Anxiety washed over her as she waited for infernally long
 342.369 +seconds. She had almost given up hope and had turned to reenter the
 342.370 +apartment when Makoto finally spoke.
 342.371 +	“Sometimes I wonder why I’m fighting, Ami-chan. I don’t have my
 342.372 +parents. I’m all alone. I don’t have a boyfriend who will stick with
 342.373 +me through it all. I don’t have a child to fight for, to hold dearly.
 342.374 +In the end, I have my tiny little apartment that I can go back to.
 342.375 +All alone.” Makoto paused for a moment, the tears starting up again.
 342.376 +It took a strong effort on her part to keep talking. “I know it’s my
 342.377 +duty. I know I have to do it. But I don’t know why. I know that Usagi
 342.378 +is important. I know that the earth is important. But I don’t have a
 342.379 +reason for why I fight. Maybe that makes me a liability to the team.
 342.380 +Throughout all of this fighting, I can’t find my reason for enduring
 342.381 +it all. I can’t reach inside myself and know what I’m fighting for.”
 342.382 +Another pause as she swallowed painfully. Why was she doing this? And
 342.383 +with Ami watching her, no less? It hurt too much to keep it bottled
 342.384 +up inside. “No, I guess I’m fighting for my friends. I’m fighting
 342.385 +because the rest of you are and because I can’t let you down. But
 342.386 +still... Sometimes..” Her voice cut off as a sob broke free. 
 342.387 +	A smaller body pressed against Makoto’s as Ami hugged her from
 342.388 +behind. She didn’t know what to say. She had no idea that this had
 342.389 +been troubling Makoto. It hadn’t occurred to her to think about her
 342.390 +own reasons, but she knew they were there. Because her friends were
 342.391 +important to her. Because she knew it was right. Because she believed
 342.392 +in the greater good of things. Because she wanted to protect her
 342.393 +mother who had to strive so hard to raise Ami all by herself. Makoto
 342.394 +shivered against her as she held tightly to the railing. Ami felt her
 342.395 +soul shudder in response. There was silence for a long moment. “I’ll
 342.396 +be your reason,” Ami said in a voice barely above a whisper.  	
 342.397 +
 342.398 +	Mistress 9 scowled as she cut off some of her incredibly long raven
 342.399 +hair. “It doesn’t matter how much I cut it because it keeps growing
 342.400 +back. Crappy hair. This vessel is worthless. It was far too young for
 342.401 +me but it handled the enhanced aging poorly. I can’t wait until I can
 342.402 +be rid of it.” 
 342.403 +	Professor Tomoe burst into the room, followed shortly thereafter by
 342.404 +an excited Kaolinite. He knelt in front of the body that had once
 342.405 +belonged to his only daughter. “Mistress 9!! You’re finally here.
 342.406 +We’ve been awaiting your arrival for a long while now. We
 342.407 +transplanted your egg into Hotaru years ago. I was starting to fear
 342.408 +that you wouldn’t awaken.”
 342.409 +	“Not that it hasn’t gone without problems. But I have finally
 342.410 +arrived. And not a second too soon, it seems. We need to revive
 342.411 +Master Pharaoh 90. He mustn’t be kept waiting any longer.” She turned
 342.412 +to the red head, barely suppressing an inner urge to kill the woman
 342.413 +for years of torment and abuse. She shrugged it off. Must be some
 342.414 +after affects from the previous owner of the body. “Kaolinite, you
 342.415 +have done very well in your service to Master Pharaoh 90. Unlike
 342.416 +those that have failed up to now, you survive. I am the master’s
 342.417 +partner from the old world. I will handle his resurrection and this
 342.418 +world’s glorious rebirth. You must handle another task for our
 342.419 +master. Eliminate the Enemy. They wish to end our very way of life,
 342.420 +and that of our master. They are ruthlessly interfering with a
 342.421 +magnificent process that has been repeated thousands of times in the
 342.422 +past. This world my shake in the throws of birth as it begins anew,
 342.423 +but it will be a glorious new birth for this planet. You must stop
 342.424 +them. I will not tolerate failure, Kaolinite.”
 342.425 +	“Yes, Mistress 9. As you wish.” Kaolinite faded away to begin her
 342.426 +preparations.
 342.427 +	Turning from the man who had once been Hotaru’s father, the ancient
 342.428 +woman made her way to an intricate stone hall, the place where they
 342.429 +contacted their master from the vast distances of time and space.
 342.430 +	“Mistress 9, you have awakened. I have been waiting for this! I
 342.431 +knew your arrival would coincide with the rebirth,” a booming voice
 342.432 +said from everywhere in the large room.
 342.433 +	The woman smiled as she bowed graciously. It had been so long since
 342.434 +she had heard that voice, since she had truly felt alive. “Master
 342.435 +Pharaoh 90! I bring you a gift.” Raising the broach she had acquired
 342.436 +from the young Sailor Senshi earlier, energy began to flow across the
 342.437 +tesseract that linked the two spaces. The small, silver crystal grew
 342.438 +brightly as it gushed forth waves of energy through the gate. 
 342.439 +	“You’ve only just awakened and you’re already bringing me such
 342.440 +power. I knew I could count on you, Mistress 9. But what is this
 342.441 +power? It’s more potent than any of the souls you have gathered
 342.442 +before,” the booming voice said, intrigued but pleased by this
 342.443 +offering.
 342.444 +	The body that had once been Tomoe Hotaru grinned, pleased with
 342.445 +herself. “Master Pharaoh 90, this is not from the light of souls. It
 342.446 +is the Ginzuishou. The very light of the moon and the heart of a
 342.447 +precious young warrior. I’ve managed to get a hold of it thanks to a
 342.448 +rather beneficial situation I found myself in. And we can keep this
 342.449 +great power to speed up the process. We can use it’s limitless
 342.450 +strength to facilitate the rebirth, to bring this planet new life as
 342.451 +we remake it.”
 342.452 +	Leaving her master satisfied for the time being, Mistress 9
 342.453 +returned to Hotaru’s room to think. “This beautiful light... It’s the
 342.454 +same as the light the courses through the Tau system’s Taioron
 342.455 +Crystal. Such a holy relic does not belong in the hands of such dirty
 342.456 +creatures. I will take excellent care of it, just like it deserves.
 342.457 +It’s like something is dwelling inside of it, holding on. Peeking out
 342.458 +as it glimmers and sparkles. It’s relaxing, putting my mind at ease.
 342.459 +I know things will work out. We will change this world for the
 342.460 +better.” She held the crystal in her hands, feelings it’s warm glow
 342.461 +wash over her. Something caught her attention as she felt a flicker
 342.462 +run through the crystal. “I should have known it would be protected
 342.463 +by that girl’s pure, beautiful soul. She must have come along for the
 342.464 +ride. She’ll soon be part of something much grander than she ever
 342.465 +could have before.” 
 342.466 +	A chill shot through her entire being, unease beginning to build
 342.467 +through the raven haired woman, the crystal almost slipping out of
 342.468 +her hands. “Who’s there?” she demanded, a note of fear in her voice.
 342.469 +It felt like something was trying to push her out. No, it couldn’t
 342.470 +be. She was dead. It was just the crystal’s power. “It’s giving me
 342.471 +strength. With the Ginzuishou, our ideals will soon be realized.” She
 342.472 +felt the soul protecting the Silver Crystal offer resistance, but it
 342.473 +was too weak to impede her. She laughed. It was a cute little thing,
 342.474 +protecting the crystal so diligently even when it was pointless.
 342.475 +“Don’t worry, little girl,” she cooed, reassuringly. “Everything will
 342.476 +be all right. Soon your world will be an entirely new place and
 342.477 +you’ll be there to see it all.” Smiling gently, she felt the soul
 342.478 +waver for a moment. 
 342.479 +	“Mistress 9!!” Professor Tomoe hurried into the room, a look of
 342.480 +concern etched on his brow. “We’re running out of Daimon Eggs. After
 342.481 +Viluy’s death, a lot of the machines she’d programmed have been
 342.482 +shutting down and the Daimon egg production has stopped entirely. The
 342.483 +bitch must have planned for this if she didn’t get her sister
 342.484 +returned. She probably intended to use it as leverage when our new
 342.485 +world order was about to get underway. But I can’t start on the new
 342.486 +eggs in time for the utilization. There’s no way I can get a large
 342.487 +enough batch in time. But planting the eggs and using spirit energy,
 342.488 +it’s our only way to survive in this world.” 
 342.489 +	Mistress 9 laughed softly, still sending soothing impulses to the
 342.490 +soul in the palm of her hands. “That doesn’t matter in the slightest.
 342.491 +It has no affect on our plans. The utilization is useless now. We
 342.492 +have an entirely new source of power that far outweighs what we could
 342.493 +get with the Daimon eggs. The birth of our new world is right around
 342.494 +the corner. Soon, this old planet will be reborn as a shining goddess.”
 342.495 +
 342.496 +	Setsuna leapt from rooftop to rooftop, silently landing and
 342.497 +hurrying through the shadows. She knew that Uranus and Neptune were
 342.498 +following, but she couldn’t hear them and it was difficult to make
 342.499 +anything out in the darkness. She, more than anyone else, knew that
 342.500 +time was truly of the essence. And so the Guardian of Time hurried as
 342.501 +quickly as she could, knowing that the princess’ life hung in the
 342.502 +balance. 
 342.503 +	A short time ago, the most stressful thing in her life had been her
 342.504 +college midterms. And she had known she could pass them easily
 342.505 +enough. But now she knew who she truly was. Sailor Pluto. And she
 342.506 +knew that the very earth hung in the balance of this one night. And
 342.507 +there was one soul in particular that her heart pushed her to save.
 342.508 +Her body ached from the nigh constant running. But she knew that she
 342.509 +might already be too late. No! She couldn’t think like that. There
 342.510 +were no second chances. This was the last dance. She would throw her
 342.511 +all into this. It wasn’t just her life. She would sacrifice it in an
 342.512 +instant. She felt more loyalty for the little princess than she ever
 342.513 +could for her queen. But it was whether her sacrifice would buy
 342.514 +anything. She had died before. And she knew, most likely, she would
 342.515 +die again before the night was through. A shiver shot through her
 342.516 +tanned body, but she didn’t slow a bit. 	
 342.517 +	“I’m coming, Small Lady. Be strong. It won’t be much longer.”
 342.518 +
 342.519 +	Mamoru sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position on the
 342.520 +bed. His future daughter stirred slightly in his grasp. He held her
 342.521 +closer, wanting to reassure her that everything would be all right,
 342.522 +but he knew there was nothing he could do. What he held was merely
 342.523 +her body. 
 342.524 +	Another sigh escaped the young man, his eyes heading for the
 342.525 +window. Out there somewhere was the girl he loved in a fight that
 342.526 +would determine the fate of the planet. And more importantly, the
 342.527 +fate of his future daughter. He had often said he cared about Usagi
 342.528 +and ChibiUsa the same and he meant that. But now, he was very close
 342.529 +to losing them both. It was a maddening blow to see the girl he would
 342.530 +one day have dying in his arms while his girlfriend was out trying to
 342.531 +save the entire planet. And there was nothing he could do to help but
 342.532 +sit there and keep the body alive. 
 342.533 +	Holding the cold hand tighter in his own, Mamoru brushed back the
 342.534 +pink hair covering ChibiUsa’s eyes. She looked so peaceful, like she
 342.535 +was asleep. But he knew that beneath those eyelids lay lifeless eyes,
 342.536 +the soul out there somewhere in the night. How painful it was to know
 342.537 +that he couldn’t protect her. What type of father was he? All he
 342.538 +could do was sit back and wait. 
 342.539 +	Diana was sharing that same desolate feeling that Mamoru was
 342.540 +experiencing. She hadn’t moved from her position near ChibiUsa’s head
 342.541 +for over an hour. The tiny kitten still blamed herself for this whole
 342.542 +thing. The position of guarding and advising the princess had fallen
 342.543 +upon her and she had gladly agreed, happy to follow her friend back
 342.544 +to the past. But now Diana felt like she had failed her, having
 342.545 +arrived too late to even see what had happened.
 342.546 +	But what would she have been able to accomplish had she been there
 342.547 +when it happened? Was there anything she could have done? Had she
 342.548 +lost her best human friend? The one thing she was certain of was that
 342.549 +ChibiUsa’s body was losing it’s grip on life. The body was nothing
 342.550 +more than a shell and it wouldn’t last much longer. The stench of
 342.551 +death was beginning to grow overpowering, even though Mamoru didn’t
 342.552 +seem to be able to smell it at all. The kitten kept fearing that
 342.553 +Death would come to take the girl’s soul off at any moment. But then
 342.554 +she remembered that her soul had already been taken away, being used
 342.555 +for God knows what. So really, did it matter if the body died? Soon,
 342.556 +Death would be off to take ChibiUsa’s soul away. And that’s what
 342.557 +Diana was really afraid of. Not for ChibiUsa, but for herself. She
 342.558 +didn’t want to be left without a mistress. Or a friend. The kitten
 342.559 +yawned, but resolved not to sleep. She would keep her silent vigil on
 342.560 +the girl’s body until Death came. And she would fend him off herself
 342.561 +if she could. Little did she know that Death was female. And would be
 342.562 +coming much sooner than the kitten could anticipate.
 342.563 +	
 342.564 +	Mistress 9 frowned to herself as she watched the events going on as
 342.565 +the Sailor Senshi continued to try to impede their progress. These
 342.566 +ruthless killers had just blown away Magus Kaolinite and were trying
 342.567 +to get to their inner sanctum, no doubt in an attempt to kill them as
 342.568 +well. They were the army of the other side, Sailor Senshi bent on
 342.569 +killing all that did no fit their ideals or beliefs. They loathed all
 342.570 +that was not their own. But Mistress 9 was not about to let these
 342.571 +vicious soldiers put an end to her beloved Pharaoh 90’s plan to
 342.572 +restart the life of their people on this planet. It would be a new
 342.573 +golden age. “She’s found her way to the fortress. It won’t be long
 342.574 +now. Supersailormoon, I won’t let you stop us. It’s time for this
 342.575 +Omega Area to become the Sacred Land, to transform into what it was
 342.576 +always meant to be. There’s no longer anything to fear.” Her fingers
 342.577 +stroked over the warm feeling of the Ginzuishou, feeling the tiny,
 342.578 +brave soul inside as it tried to protect the crystal. “There’s
 342.579 +nothing to fear,” she repeated soothingly to the fearful little soul.
 342.580 +Smiling softly, she lifted up the Ginzuishou. “The time is now. This
 342.581 +world will be reborn and so will you. Won’t you come watch the
 342.582 +rebirth with me?” The soul seemed to skitter away, still a little
 342.583 +frightened, but she was patient with it, like the mother of a
 342.584 +newborn. If there was one thing that Mistress 9 had gotten extremely
 342.585 +good at, it was being patient. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you with the
 342.586 +transition, little one.” 
 342.587 +	Lifting the Ginzuishou higher, she concentrated it’s power to the
 342.588 +one being that could truly utilize it the way it was meant to be. She
 342.589 +felt a sense of peace inside, despite her growing excitement. Soon
 342.590 +she would be alongside Pharaoh 90 in their Promised Land. The crystal
 342.591 +lit up spectacularly, bathing the entire surrounding area in bright
 342.592 +crystalline light. Energy began to pour through her body, increasing
 342.593 +exponentially with each second. The energy surged along the weak link
 342.594 +from ChibiUsa’s soul to her body. It was only a single strand keeping
 342.595 +her tied at all with her body, but the energy raced along it, forcing
 342.596 +itself into the dying body. 
 342.597 +	
 342.598 +	ChibiUsa’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, the crimson orbs
 342.599 +flashing for a brief second. Her entire body began to glow brightly.
 342.600 +	“ChibiUsa-chan!!”
 342.601 +	“Small Lady!!”
 342.602 +
 342.603 +	“Ohhh... The strength.. It’s... almost overwhelming!” Mistress 9
 342.604 +closed her eyes, feeling the steady pulse of the Ginauishou’s energy
 342.605 +as it filled her body with it’s gentle glow. The power of this
 342.606 +amazing crystal simply enthralled her. The sense of peace deep within
 342.607 +her grew with the energy coursing through her. 
 342.608 +	“I can feel it! That mystical power!” The booming voice echoed in
 342.609 +the room, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. “It’s light
 342.610 +is so similar to the Taioron Crystal. You have unleashed the
 342.611 +floodgate. This truly is the power of the Ginzuishou! And it will
 342.612 +recreate this entire world! It must have been preordained. Life
 342.613 +begets life. Such is the power of the Crystal.”
 342.614 +	Mistress 9 smiled broadly and finally allowed herself to feel
 342.615 +something that had diminished in her for all of those grueling years
 342.616 +as they struggled to find a new home, a new place for their own
 342.617 +survival. She finally allowed herself to hope once more. “Master
 342.618 +Pharaoh 90, I acquired the Ginzuishou for you, to bring you here. I
 342.619 +will bring you it’s power.” Closing her eyes, the woman in what had
 342.620 +once been a young girl’s cyborg body lifted into the air, floating up
 342.621 +towards a large stone palace. Everything was almost complete. Their
 342.622 +battle was almost over. She felt the soul protecting the Ginzuishou
 342.623 +grow restless again as she neared her destination. Soothingly rubbing
 342.624 +the crystal in her hands, she let herself imagine the world to come.
 342.625 +The frozen flame in her hands flickered with the power surging
 342.626 +through her.
 342.627 +	“It’s light is pure and untainted. Brilliantly lighting
 342.628 +everything,” the booming voice shot out. “It’s thousands of times
 342.629 +more powerful than the human souls! And it’s an unlimited source of
 342.630 +energy! The time has finally come. I will return to resurrect our
 342.631 +world here. It will become our second mother world! Now is the time
 342.632 +for my utilization. Hurry, Mistress 9! So close... I need more power!”
 342.633 +	Mistress 9 gratefully offered it up to the once great ruler,
 342.634 +focussing as much energy as she could. “Open up your powers,
 342.635 +Ginzuishou! Show what you are truly capable of!” 
 342.636 +
 342.637 +	ChibiUsa’s body began shaking on the bed as if she were having a
 342.638 +seizure. Diana started growling anxiously as she watched the poor
 342.639 +girl shuddering in front of her. Mamoru continued to hold the small
 342.640 +princess close, trying to keep her from getting worse, but there
 342.641 +wasn’t much he could do. Diana feared the worst. Death must be on his
 342.642 +way. The bright light outside in the darkness only made her feel even
 342.643 +less at ease. “Small Lady...”
 342.644 +
 342.645 +	“No!!” Hotaru screamed into the darkness. “I have to hold it in...
 342.646 +I can’t let you use the Ginzuishou like this. Not ChibiUsa-chan’s
 342.647 +pure heart. It’s power mustn’t be sent out like this. It shouldn’t be
 342.648 +opened up! I won’t let you!” Even all alone, even in the darkness,
 342.649 +even stripped of her body, Hotaru Tomoe clung desperately to the
 342.650 +memories that kept her going, through sheer will managing to brush
 342.651 +consciousness with the woman who had stolen her body. 
 342.652 +	Mistress 9 let out a cry of pain. Something inside her wasn't
 342.653 +feeling the same peace that she had, obviously. Her head hurt badly,
 342.654 +her vision blurring as she tried to concentrate. The poor, scared
 342.655 +soul protecting the Ginzuishou was starting to act fearful. Whatever
 342.656 +it was that was affecting Mistress 9 seemed to be affecting her as
 342.657 +well. “It hurts... Something’s trying to get control from inside of
 342.658 +me! But... I have to last a little longer... I’m almost done, Master
 342.659 +Pharaoh 90... And then I won’t need this body anymore. We’ll be able
 342.660 +to revolutionize this world! It will be a paradise! And we’ll finally
 342.661 +be together again!” She forced back the mental assault as best she
 342.662 +could, clinging to her hopes and dreams. Only a few more minutes
 342.663 +now... It would be all over soon enough.
 342.664 +	“I won’t let that happen!” A voice yelled in her head.
 342.665 +
 342.666 +	Everything was nothing. Everywhere she looked, there was darkness.
 342.667 +No, not quite darkness. Darkness was something. This was the utter
 342.668 +lack of anything and everything whatsoever. She was floating in the
 342.669 +nothing. And fear started to grip her shaken soul. 
 342.670 +	“Where am I? I’m all alone... I’m scared! Please, somebody help
 342.671 +me!” ChibiUsa yelled into the nothingness, but the shallow sound to
 342.672 +it did nothing to help her state of mind. She felt all alone, lost
 342.673 +and lonely in the void. She tried not to panic, but she couldn't help
 342.674 +the rising fear inside of her. What had happened? Was she dead? A
 342.675 +frightened part of her mind seemed to confirm that she was, indeed,
 342.676 +dead. But that still didn’t explain why she was here. Why hadn’t she
 342.677 +moved on? Unless, there was still need for her here. She could
 342.678 +vaguely remember the Ginzuishou. She had to protect it. Her mother
 342.679 +had given it to her, trusted her to keep it safe. But how could she
 342.680 +do that from here? Wherever here was, of course.
 342.681 +	“ChibiUsa-chan...” A soft, shy voice called out through the void. 
 342.682 +	“Hotaru-chan?!” ChibiUsa looked around hurriedly, trying to spot
 342.683 +the girl somewhere near her. Her heart grasped at notion that she was
 342.684 +there as well. She needed her. She needed to hold onto her and know
 342.685 +that she wasn’t alone. A brilliant light caught her eye. A shining
 342.686 +crystal very near her. “Oh! My Ginzuishou!” She slowly floated down
 342.687 +near the shimmering gem, taking it gingerly in her hands. “I was so
 342.688 +worried when I lost it. My body couldn’t take the strain. It’s a part
 342.689 +of me.” She sighed as she held it close, feeling warmer as it’s light
 342.690 +cast over her nude body, or at least the image her soul cast of her
 342.691 +body. Her body was still in Mamoru’s apartment, but she had no idea
 342.692 +of knowing that.
 342.693 +	“That’s right, ChibiUsa-chan. It’s the symbol of your pure heart.”
 342.694 +Hotaru’s laid her hand on ChibiUsa’s chest. “You can’t live without
 342.695 +it. Which is why you shouldn’t show it so easily to people. You’re
 342.696 +too trusting. You need to protect your pure heart. And I’ll protect
 342.697 +you.” Her arms wrapped around the younger girl, holding her close in
 342.698 +the emptiness that surrounded them. She held ChibiUsa closely,
 342.699 +comfortingly.
 342.700 +	ChibiUsa blushed faintly as she rested her head on Hotaru’s
 342.701 +shoulder. It felt different from her mother’s embrace. It was warmer
 342.702 +and made her heart jump. But it still had the same soothing quality
 342.703 +to it. She felt safe in Hotaru’s arms. “Hotaru-chan...”
 342.704 +	“Everything will be alright,” Hotaru whispered in her soft voice,
 342.705 +holding ChibiUsa reassuringly. “I’ll protect you, no matter what. I
 342.706 +won’t let them get your beautiful, pure soul. And I won’t let them
 342.707 +get the Ginzuishou. ChibiUsa-chan, I’ll be sure to save you. I
 342.708 +promise.” Determination built inside of her as she now knew what she
 342.709 +had to do. Her soft lips kissed ChibiUsa’s forehead, right above her
 342.710 +crescent moon. Even though neither was in their physical body, the
 342.711 +gesture still registered as gentle and pleasant. “I won’t let
 342.712 +anything hurt you.”
 342.713 +	ChibiUsa nodded slightly, her head buried against the crook of
 342.714 +Hotaru’s neck. 
 342.715 +	
 342.716 +	“The Ginzuishou’s power’s weakening!!” Mistress 9 yelled in
 342.717 +frustration. How could this be happening? When they were so close?
 342.718 +Something was ebbing the flow of power from the crystal, keeping her
 342.719 +from fulfilling her duty. Her slivers of hope began to collapse, but
 342.720 +she latched on to one, not willing to give up just yet. Not when they
 342.721 +had come so far. She would just have to find another way to bring her
 342.722 +beloved here. And then the world would begin anew.
 342.723 +
 342.724 +	“ChibiUsa-chan?!” Mamoru watched as his daughter slowly stopped her
 342.725 +rhythmic motions on the bed. “The convulsions... They’ve stopped.”
 342.726 +Reaching out gently, he took her hand in his own and felt that it was
 342.727 +warm to the touch. His heart began to pace. “Does this mean...
 342.728 +Someone’s protecting her soul? But who?” He let himself relax
 342.729 +slightly, glad that someone was watching the part of his daughter
 342.730 +that really counted.
 342.731 +	Diana sat warily, not quite as certain as the man who would one day
 342.732 +be king. She was still worried that Death was visiting ChibiUsa’s
 342.733 +soul even as they waited. And it looked like there was no way for her
 342.734 +to help.

   343.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   343.2 +++ b/stories/eye-4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   343.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1180 @@
   343.4 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate
   343.5 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Four
   343.6 +by AmazonessDuo
   343.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   343.8 +
   343.9 +
  343.10 +
  343.11 +	Tomoe laughed the laugh of a madman, someone who has started to
  343.12 +lose grip on reality. The man had lived a harsh, painful life and his
  343.13 +sanity had begun to slip years ago. The loss of his wife and near
  343.14 +death of his daughter had thrown him over the brink, from a place
  343.15 +that he could not recover from in this life. “It appears that they’re
  343.16 +already on their way down. But it’s a death sentence for them. They
  343.17 +can’t possibly hope to understand what awaits them here. The time is
  343.18 +nigh! My entire life has built up to this very moment. All of my work
  343.19 +will finally pay off, my dreams will finally come true. The
  343.20 +superhuman hybrid I have designed will be hundreds of times stronger,
  343.21 +smarter, and faster than any average man. It’s life span will be
  343.22 +equally lengthened, making normal humans completely obsolete. Not
  343.23 +that they’d survive the planets rebirth as it is.” He shrugged, as if
  343.24 +the matter didn’t concern him in slightest. Nor did he notice that he
  343.25 +was talking to himself. Again. But then, everyone has their own
  343.26 +little quirks. And it was his way of thinking things through. His
  343.27 +wife had gently teased him about it in what seemed like a lifetime
  343.28 +ago. “I just need to finish a little more research on genetic
  343.29 +manipulation and mechanical adaptations and I will be ready to
  343.30 +construct a perfect cyborg. The perfect form of life. A hybrid. No
  343.31 +one ever understood my genius, but soon my children will flourish.
  343.32 +Just as they were meant to. I’ve been given a second chance since the
  343.33 +accident. A second chance to prove myself. The first testing wound up
  343.34 +being on my own daughter’s body when I had to reconstruct what was
  343.35 +left of her after the fire. That was the birth of my dream, to make a
  343.36 +perfect being, a superhuman.” He paused for a moment, checking his
  343.37 +work as he heard the elevator making it’s way down to him. 
  343.38 +	“Then they came to me, coming from another world. They brought
  343.39 +their eggs, another species altogether from humans. One that was
  343.40 +highly adaptable. And God chose me to be the one to assimilate our
  343.41 +races, to create a superhuman hybrid that took the best of both and
  343.42 +increased it a thousand fold.” He adjusted his glasses, double
  343.43 +checked his findings, and continued. “I had made a mistake while
  343.44 +reconstructing Hotaru. She wouldn’t live after all. But they promised
  343.45 +me that she would survive if I utilized one of their eggs along with
  343.46 +her cyborg body. And there the egg slept inside my beautiful daughter
  343.47 +until the egg finally reached maturity and Mistress 9 became the sole
  343.48 +occupant of that body.” He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.
  343.49 +“I’m surprised Hotaru lasted as long as she did.” Shaking his head,
  343.50 +he pushed onward. “But I had finally found the chance to use these
  343.51 +eggs to further my research. I managed to create beautiful, perfect
  343.52 +beings from my tests, leaving them to fulfill their original
  343.53 +objectives. The Daimons succeeded quite admirably, even with the
  343.54 +Sailor Senshi involved. I won’t regret those failures at all, for
  343.55 +they helped me further my knowledge and to create even better things.
  343.56 +And when our master’s utilization is complete and he is brought into
  343.57 +this world, I will surely survive. And then I can create others like
  343.58 +myself, perfect beings to repopulate the earth. I am the god of a new
  343.59 +creation, the superhuman.” Again he laughed, a dark, twisted version
  343.60 +of the gentle, kind laugh that he once had. 
  343.61 +
  343.62 +	“Dad..” Hotaru closed her silver eyes sadly. 
  343.63 +
  343.64 +	The elevator moved slowly. Too slowly, for Setsuna. She was usually
  343.65 +much more patient, but she couldn’t help but fear that time was
  343.66 +running out. When the night was through, this would all be over. But
  343.67 +who would be victorious? Who would survive? And were they already too
  343.68 +late to save the princess? Setsuna clutched her Time Staff closer,
  343.69 +wishing that she could know the outcome of all this already.
  343.70 +	Michiru offered a small, reassuring smile to the green haired
  343.71 +woman, but it didn’t seem to be of much help. She sighed and crossed
  343.72 +her arms. Usagi had finally regained her Super Sailormoon
  343.73 +transformation, but she wasn’t sure if that would be enough in the
  343.74 +coming battles. And she still had the feeling that she would get in
  343.75 +the way. Usagi still wanted to save everyone and that just wasn’t
  343.76 +possible. But she was tagging on whether or not she liked the idea,
  343.77 +so there really wasn’t anything she could do about it. She cast a
  343.78 +withering glance at Haruka as she noticed the two blondes flirting
  343.79 +again. The flirting abruptly stopped and Michiru had to suppress a
  343.80 +smile of triumph. 
  343.81 +	Haruka frowned, leaning against the back wall, her hands behind her
  343.82 +head. This whole situation was bothering her. They were rushing
  343.83 +headlong into a situation that could very well mean their deaths.
  343.84 +And, hey, that was all well and good. They’d done it often enough
  343.85 +lately. But did they have to be in this damned elevator? She was
  343.86 +starting to feel claustrophobic. Haruka had always liked wide open
  343.87 +spaces and the wind against her face. Stuffy little compartments with
  343.88 +God knows what on the other side wasn’t quite her cup of tea. She
  343.89 +smiled softly at Michiru and released a breath she didn't know she
  343.90 +was holding when the aqua haired woman smiled back. She hoped they
  343.91 +lived through this so she could make it up to the other girl. She
  343.92 +just couldn’t resist a little more flirting with Usagi before their
  343.93 +possible deaths. 
  343.94 +	As the door began to slide open ever so slowly, Setsuna held her
  343.95 +Time Staff in front of her defensively, leaping out as soon as the
  343.96 +doors were open wide enough. The other three Senshi followed shortly.
  343.97 +Haruka was to her right with Michiru on her left. Usagi was standing
  343.98 +a little behind her. 
  343.99 +	“It sure took you girls long enough. But welcome to my lab,
 343.100 +nonetheless,” Professor Souichi Tomoe said from the other side of the
 343.101 +room. “You don’t know how much I’ve been waiting for this moment. You
 343.102 +girls have really been a bother lately, killing my pretty Daimons and
 343.103 +my Witches 5. But this batch of Daimons is feeling hungry, so I
 343.104 +suppose it’s feeding time.”
 343.105 +	All around the room, shadows seemed to shift, low snarls coming
 343.106 +from them. Michiru could barely make out the shapes of the Daimons
 343.107 +hiding in the shadows. They were ugly, vicious looking creatures. And
 343.108 +they were all ready to pounce. “Watch out!!” she yelled as the first
 343.109 +few came bounding towards them. Her elegant form barely dodged large,
 343.110 +swiping claws. It took her a moment to realize that it was just
 343.111 +distracting her. The other two had headed for.. Usagi! “Super
 343.112 +Sailormoon!! Get out of the way!”
 343.113 +	Usagi stood like a dear caught in headlights. The large brutal
 343.114 +looking creature moved much faster than she thought possible as it
 343.115 +eliminated the distance to her. 
 343.116 +	“Chronos Typhoon!” Setsuna’s attack tore through one of the Daimons
 343.117 +just as it was about to swipe Usagi in two.
 343.118 +	The second Daimon had moved around to Usagi’s left and she barely
 343.119 +backed out of the large swiping distance of it’s claws.
 343.120 +	“Submarine Reflection!” Michiru called out before her attack came
 343.121 +crashing into the next Daimon.
 343.122 +	“Do you really think that’s all I’ve got? I can make an infinite
 343.123 +amount of my precious Daimons for you to play with! Yes, play with my
 343.124 +precious!” The professor laughed maniacally. 
 343.125 +	Usagi took a step forward, holding her hands out. “Stop it!! We
 343.126 +don’t want to fight you. We know that you’re Hotaru-chan’s papa. We
 343.127 +just want to know where she is.”
 343.128 +	“My former daughter, Hotaru? Oh, she’s busy. She can’t come out and
 343.129 +play with you now. She’s up at the holy sanctuary, devoting all of
 343.130 +the energy from that mockery of the Taioron Crystal, the Ginzuishou,
 343.131 +to Master Pharaoh 90,” the professor stated matter-of-factly. 
 343.132 +	“Pharaoh 90?!?” Setsuna exclaimed. Damn, maybe they really were too
 343.133 +late. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t try. If only they could get
 343.134 +there in time..
 343.135 +	Souichi nodded. “Yes, the master had very nearly arrived. And when
 343.136 +he does, this world will cease to exist as you know it. I’m sure
 343.137 +you’d love the results if you could live through it. It’s too bad you
 343.138 +won’t see it for yourselves, but this place is to be your graveyard.”
 343.139 +His skin began to ripple as if something was moving under it, pushing
 343.140 +it out and deforming it. His glasses cracked and shattered,
 343.141 +splintering as the pieces fell to the floor. His skin ripped apart as
 343.142 +his body shifted to a monstrous form. “I’m no longer Souichi Tomoe. I
 343.143 +am Gelmatoid!!” 
 343.144 +	“He’s a Daimon?!” Haruka exclaimed as the beast stood up to it’s
 343.145 +full height.
 343.146 +	“No, not a Daimon. I am infinitely beyond those creatures. I am a
 343.147 +hybrid superhuman!! The first of my kind. The perfect union of humans
 343.148 +and life from the outer reaches of the universe. Now, die!!” The
 343.149 +creature that had once been Souichi Tomoe fired off a powerful blast
 343.150 +at the Senshi, but they all dodged. 
 343.151 +	“That.. That thing was Hotaru-chan’s papa! We can’t just kill it!”
 343.152 +Usagi frets, barely dodging another attack. 
 343.153 +	“He isn’t human! He’s a Daimon, Super Sailormoon! An Enemy! We have
 343.154 +to kill him!” Haruka leapt out of the way of another blast of energy,
 343.155 +making her way towards the large monster. She kept glancing back to
 343.156 +Usagi. This wasn’t the time for her to be worried about who they
 343.157 +could fight. She knew that she should have stayed behind. But there
 343.158 +was no time for that now. Moving closer, she pulled up her sword.
 343.159 +“Space Sword Blaster!!” The monster ducked the attack and knocked her
 343.160 +away violently. Pain shot through Sailoruranus as she felt the claws
 343.161 +slash through some of the flesh on her side, throwing her to the
 343.162 +floor. 
 343.163 +	“Uranus!!” Usagi screams as she watches the taller blonde roll
 343.164 +along the floor, a slight trail of blood behind her. Pain shot
 343.165 +through the younger girl at seeing her hurt like that. She lifted her
 343.166 +Heart Moon Rod, concentrating on the beast as Neptune and Pluto
 343.167 +continued to hold its attention. It was moving slower now, the Space
 343.168 +Sword wedged deep in it’s chest. 
 343.169 +“Rainbow Moon Heartache!!” Energy flew from Supersailormoon to the
 343.170 +superhuman, tearing it apart as it gave an unearthly howl.	
 343.171 +	Hotaru watched the battle, invisible to the participants without
 343.172 +her body. “Papa.. My gentle papa from before mama’s death.. The papa
 343.173 +that came to save me in the fire.. He died that day. That wasn’t my
 343.174 +papa anymore. Goodbye, papa. I’ll see you soon.” Hotaru closed her
 343.175 +eyes. She couldn’t die just yet. ChibiUsa still needed saving or
 343.176 +they’d both die. But she knew she didn’t have much time left. And she
 343.177 +didn’t even have a body to use for what she needed to do.
 343.178 +	“Who’s that?” Usagi asked suddenly, staring directly at Hotaru. “It
 343.179 +felt like someone was right there..” She shook her head, trying to
 343.180 +focus on the spot, but nothing appeared.
 343.181 +	Haruka had finally gotten to her feet with Michiru’s help, but it
 343.182 +hurt to breath, like her entire chest was on fire. Nothing serious,
 343.183 +but the pain shot through her with every breath. 
 343.184 +	Setsuna looked up from Haruka and Michiru as the ground began to
 343.185 +shake. “Something’s coming! Garnet Ball!” An orb of light surrounded
 343.186 +the four Senshi as the ceiling began to cave in.
 343.187 +	“What’s going on?” Usagi yelled above the cacophony of noise.
 343.188 +“They’re up there! The rest of the Senshi are up there!” Squinting
 343.189 +through the dust and debris still hanging in the air, she tried to
 343.190 +get a better view of her Sailor Senshi. Before she could get a good
 343.191 +look, her entire body felt like it had taken a sudden hit. Ribbons
 343.192 +played across her sailor suit as the energy that had filled her
 343.193 +started to dissipate. Looking down in shock, she realized that she
 343.194 +had changed back to normal Sailormoon. “What happened? Why am I not
 343.195 +Super Sailormoon anymore? Something must have happened to the others.
 343.196 +Our souls aren’t connected anymore.” Usagi got back to her feet,
 343.197 +straining again to see the Sailor Team. She had become Super
 343.198 +Sailormoon through the combined powers of the Sailor Senshi. If she
 343.199 +had changed back, what did that mean about them? Were they... No,
 343.200 +that couldn’t be.
 343.201 +	“Damn it.” Haruka watched Usagi for a moment before turning back to
 343.202 +Michiru. Her sense of loss was evident. She had finally put her faith
 343.203 +in Sailormoon and now it looked like she wouldn’t be of any help.
 343.204 +This whole situation was getting worse and worse. It would probably
 343.205 +be up to them after all. It only took a look from Michiru to realize
 343.206 +what had to be done. If Super Sailormoon couldn't provide victory,
 343.207 +they would have to do things their way. Which meant killing Hotaru.
 343.208 +Or whatever it was she was calling herself now. The planet was the
 343.209 +important thing. They had to save what they could. A sigh escaped the
 343.210 +blonde’s lips, but she nodded to the violinist. She would do whatever
 343.211 +was necessary, even if the cost had to be paid in blood.
 343.212 +	“Small Lady... Please hold on. I’m coming,” Setsuna whispered,
 343.213 +unheard by the others. Her eyes caught on something other than the
 343.214 +Sailor Senshi. Long, dark hair, a silhouette in the sky. That was
 343.215 +her. She was the one that had nearly killed her little friend. And if
 343.216 +she didn’t act quickly, she wouldn’t be able to retrieve the
 343.217 +princess’s soul. Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated her energy,
 343.218 +the orb they were all in lifting through the hole in the roof. As the
 343.219 +Guardian of Time, she was in a unique position to understand what it
 343.220 +was they were dealing with and the future that would not be if they
 343.221 +were to fail. And the gentle princess that would be lost if they
 343.222 +didn’t hurry. 
 343.223 +	Darkness swirled in the sky above, a black tempest that grew
 343.224 +harsher as they rose higher into the air. It was quickly devouring
 343.225 +the skyline of Tokyo, a dark cloak ready to drop over the city below.
 343.226 +It cast the entire area in shadows, grasping out in surreal patterns
 343.227 +along everything. It increased the sense of urgency, as if showing a
 343.228 +picture of what was to come. A dark dream that was ever ready to
 343.229 +lunge out and consume the planet itself. 
 343.230 +	The main building in the center of the Delta Area lay in wait in
 343.231 +front of the four. Ominous silence fell upon attentive ears, the only
 343.232 +sounds that of their own boots upon the concrete as they drew nearer.
 343.233 +A glass room stood at the entrance, it’s slightly reflective surfaces
 343.234 +showing the dark skies above. Inside, they could see a figure
 343.235 +shrouded by a dark haze. As she moved, the haze slid over her,
 343.236 +finally showing itself as long, raven hair.
 343.237 +	“Hotaru-chan?” Usagi asked after a moment of silence. The woman
 343.238 +turned around, long hair flowing behind her like a cape. She looked
 343.239 +directly at the champion of love and justice, her dark eyes glinting
 343.240 +in the dim light. She grinned slowly, joyously. As if all was right
 343.241 +with the world. Or that it soon would be. The thought chilled Usagi.
 343.242 +She didn’t seem to see the Sailor Senshi as any possible threat to
 343.243 +the completion of years and years of work. It was only a matter of
 343.244 +time for her... Usagi shook her head. “No, that’s a daimon. She’s
 343.245 +using Hotaru-chan.” Holding up her rod, she begin heading for the
 343.246 +dark haired woman. 
 343.247 +	Michiru felt her heart clench up as she followed right behind
 343.248 +Usagi. Now it was the moment of truth. They had come all this way,
 343.249 +through long and twisted paths that had led them throughout their
 343.250 +lives to this single moment. The road hadn’t been entirely
 343.251 +unpleasant. After all, she had met Haruka, a partner and lover
 343.252 +throughout all of this madness. But now they had reached the point of
 343.253 +no return, if they had ever had a choice in the matter in the first
 343.254 +place. Here they would see what would become of them and of the
 343.255 +planet and it’s people. They would see if they really could turn back
 343.256 +the tide. She walked determinedly towards the woman in the glass
 343.257 +room. Even her mirror wouldn’t tell her the outcome of all this, but
 343.258 +she would give her all. She had made her decision long ago. 
 343.259 +	Before the four could reach the room, the ground in front of them
 343.260 +lurched violently, nearly throwing them off their feet. The building
 343.261 +began to rip apart in front of them, exposing the center of the Delta
 343.262 +Area. The glass room shattered into thousands of tiny glass shards,
 343.263 +the woman standing in it’s center calm amidst the destruction. Into
 343.264 +the air she floated, followed by the reflecting pool that had been in
 343.265 +the room with her, her link back to Pharaoh 90. Four balls of light
 343.266 +followed close behind, the bodies of the Sailor Senshi barely visible
 343.267 +through the light. 
 343.268 +	“No! Come back!! That’s them! She has the others! Mercury! Jupiter!
 343.269 +Mars! Venus!” Usagi cried out, trying to follow her fallen soldiers.
 343.270 +Her head sank seeing them all lying so still in the balls of light.
 343.271 +She had almost reached the lowest of them when she was thrown back by
 343.272 +the energy surrounding it. It felt like a giant had knocked her back
 343.273 +down to the floor the same way someone would swat away a fly. She got
 343.274 +uneasily to her feet, watching the floating forms of the Sailor
 343.275 +Senshi and Mistress 9 up ahead of her. “No... I can’t get near!
 343.276 +Please, wake up! Everyone!!”
 343.277 +	But Haruka wasn’t paying attention to the prone Sailor Team. Her
 343.278 +vision was instead on the aquamarine haired girl who had suddenly
 343.279 +gone pale. And then she knew why. The sea was wild, an untamed beast
 343.280 +howling in anguish. And the wind was following suit. She could hear
 343.281 +it all around her in the harsh winds blowing past. “Are we too late?
 343.282 +It feels like the planet’s coming apart at the seams.”
 343.283 +	Mistress 9 landed slowly, her eyes opening up as if she had just
 343.284 +awakened from a deep sleep. The grin returned to her face as she
 343.285 +looked at the Sailor Senshi facing her. “No, you’re wrong. The planet
 343.286 +is ready to be born. It has spent long enough as this lonely egg out
 343.287 +in space. Now that the energy has been gathered, Master Pharaoh 90
 343.288 +can bring about the utilization. He will assimilate the planet. This
 343.289 +planet will be born anew soon enough. Thank you for keeping it safe
 343.290 +this long. But you are no longer needed.” She frowned slightly. She
 343.291 +could no longer feel the scared little soul that had been flitting
 343.292 +about the Ginzuishou. The Crystal’s power was probably just
 343.293 +interfering. She shrugged it off and prepared to face whatever these
 343.294 +gnats had to say regarding the fate of what had used to be their
 343.295 +planet. 
 343.296 +	“Assimilate the planet?” Usagi asked worriedly. 
 343.297 +	Mistress 9 sighed. Why were they acting like school children?
 343.298 +Didn’t they understand that greatness was about to fall upon this
 343.299 +world? No longer would it be the scared, sick little child out all
 343.300 +alone by itself that it was. It would become something much greater,
 343.301 +the resurrection of a once great world. “When all is said and done,
 343.302 +this world will be one with Master Pharaoh 90. It will become the
 343.303 +second Tau star and spread it’s light throughout the cosmos. This
 343.304 +planet will become our new mother world, and our proud legacy will
 343.305 +never be forgotten!” She was really getting into this. How long had
 343.306 +it been since she had really been able to bask in what they were
 343.307 +doing? Too long. So she had that to thank the school girls for. It
 343.308 +gave her a chance to look at it all again. A wave of anxiety swept
 343.309 +through her. It was almost done. After all these years... ‘Master,
 343.310 +we’ll be together again soon,’ the dark haired woman thought to
 343.311 +herself.
 343.312 +	Michiru ignored the last of what the harbinger of the chaos that
 343.313 +was surrounding them had to say, turning instead to her mirror and
 343.314 +then out to sea.
 343.315 +	“Neptune?” Haruka asked, noticing the nearly panicked look in her
 343.316 +partner’s eyes. Of course she never panicked, but right at that
 343.317 +instant it sure looked close enough. 
 343.318 +	“The sea, it’s subsiding all at once. It could be the signs of a
 343.319 +tsunami. The sea itself is being thrown into a frenzy from all of
 343.320 +this,” Michiru explained, still gazing towards the ocean.
 343.321 +	Haruka felt it, too. The sky was growing darker, the winds fiercer.
 343.322 +The smell of rain was in the air. She could feel the uncertainty in
 343.323 +the wind. “Is it a storm? Or is something else coming?”
 343.324 +	“The planet’s facing a catastrophe. It’s being ripped apart by this
 343.325 +power. We need to protect it.” Haruka saw Michiru nod in agreement.
 343.326 +She clutched the Space Sword closer but paused for a moment. Where
 343.327 +was Setsuna?
 343.328 +	Mistress 9 laughed as she watched the Sailor Senshi in front of
 343.329 +her. It was like watching small animals. Poor, confused animals that
 343.330 +had absolutely no idea what was going on. “Why did you girls come
 343.331 +here? To die? Why can’t you accept the Fate of this planet? It’s
 343.332 +meant for greater things than this. We’ll see to that. Whether or not
 343.333 +you had come here tonight, it changes nothing. This was destined long
 343.334 +ago.”
 343.335 +	“I like to think I know a thing or two about destiny. And this...”
 343.336 +Setsuna’s voice, a mere whisper, reached Mistress 9’s ears. She was
 343.337 +very close. Right behind her. “This is not destiny. Dead Scream.” A
 343.338 +bolt of purple energy shot out of Pluto’s Time Staff, tearing into
 343.339 +the body that had once belonged to Tomoe Hotaru. Setsuna watched with
 343.340 +a measure of grim satisfaction. She knew that Usagi had come here to
 343.341 +save everyone, but that was now an impossibility. They were on the
 343.342 +verge of losing their planet. The Time Guardian wasn’t about to make
 343.343 +anymore mistakes that might cost the life of her future friend or the
 343.344 +planet. Letting Hotaru live was no longer an option. “How dare you
 343.345 +come here and expect us to lie down and let you succeed? How dare you
 343.346 +take what’s dear to us and think that we won’t fight with every part
 343.347 +of our being to get it back?”
 343.348 +	Usagi gasped in mute horror as Mistress 9 fell forward, slumping to
 343.349 +her knees. Blood was dripping down her sides from her injuries. Her
 343.350 +dark eyes were wide in shock. She was trembling, obviously in pain.
 343.351 +“Pluto!!” Weren’t they going to save Hotaru? Wasn’t that the plan?
 343.352 +Had the Senshi from the Outer planets been listening to her at all?
 343.353 +“No!!”
 343.354 +	“You... bitch.. You think I don’t know what it’s like to lose
 343.355 +everything?! To see everyone dying right before your eyes? Why do you
 343.356 +think I’m here!? Stop being so self-righteous. You’d be doing the
 343.357 +exact same thing in my position.” Mistress 9 forced herself to her
 343.358 +feet, still shaking as pain wracked her small frame. Tears fell down
 343.359 +her pale cheeks as anger and sadness mixed together through her. She
 343.360 +had come too far to let some pathetic soldiers stand in her way.
 343.361 +	“That may be true. But you would be trying just as hard to stop
 343.362 +me,” Setsuna said, her voice still quiet yet forceful. She barely saw
 343.363 +the hair whip out and wrap painfully around her neck, yanking her off
 343.364 +her feet. Her heart sank as she felt the hair start crushing around
 343.365 +her throat. No, this wasn’t fair. She was supposed to save the
 343.366 +princess. She couldn’t have failed. 
 343.367 +	“You foolish woman. Now that the utilization has begun, I don’t
 343.368 +need this worthless body. Attacking me was pointless. After I discard
 343.369 +it, you won’t be able to touch me. And don’t worry about what’s
 343.370 +precious to you. I’ve already been taking very good care of it.”
 343.371 +Mistress 9 closed her eyes, ready to cast off the body she was in.
 343.372 +Nothing. Her eyes shot open. “I can’t get out! Something’s holding me
 343.373 +here!!” Fear shot through her as she felt the slick blood under her
 343.374 +fingertips. Her hair wrenched more painfully at Pluto’s neck. She
 343.375 +most certainly wasn’t going to die in this stupid body alone. 
 343.376 +	“I won’t let you escape!” a voice rang out through Mistress 9’s
 343.377 +head. 
 343.378 +	“Who are you?! Get out of my head!” Mistress 9 screamed, struggling
 343.379 +to get free of the body that was quickly becoming her tomb. 
 343.380 +	“This is still my body, not yours. You won’t get out of it! I’ll
 343.381 +never let you be free!” Hotaru soul flashed defiantly inside the
 343.382 +pained Mistress 9. 
 343.383 +	“I thought you were dead after I took over. Your soul should have
 343.384 +passed on by now. Your weak, pathetic soul isn’t necessary to any of
 343.385 +this. I have the Ginzuishou now. There’s no more reason for you at
 343.386 +all. I’ll cast off this worthless body and tear it apart. Now let me
 343.387 +go!!” Mistress 9 growled angrily at the young girl inside of her.
 343.388 +Everything was falling apart. Her beautiful dream was fading because
 343.389 +of these frustrated girls. The anger boiled within her. They weren’t
 343.390 +the only ones who would try their all. 
 343.391 +	“You can tear my body to pieces! You can ruin it, break it apart if
 343.392 +you wish. It doesn’t mean anything in the end. But I won’t let you
 343.393 +get ChibiUsa-chan’s soul or her shining crystal!	Whatever happens,
 343.394 +I’ll protect them! I’ll gladly give my body away for that. I don’t
 343.395 +care what you do to me.” Hotaru’s voice was sad but determined. She
 343.396 +had mixed feelings about losing her body. It had always been so
 343.397 +horrible, a corpse kept alive by machinery. It had been her prison
 343.398 +for so many years. But now she had already lost it. No, that was all
 343.399 +right. It was better now. It had died years ago. There was no reason
 343.400 +to keep it. What really saddened her was that it also meant she was
 343.401 +going to die. She had somehow managed to hold on for the moment, but
 343.402 +she knew she couldn’t for much longer. She was a soul without a body.
 343.403 +It was only a matter of time. And even that held some relief in it.
 343.404 +The pain would soon be over. But she didn’t want to leave ChibiUsa.
 343.405 +She didn’t want to go away yet. She finally had a reason to live. But
 343.406 +that wasn’t really her choice anymore. She closed what passed for
 343.407 +eyes in her spirit form. If she had to die, she wouldn’t let ChibiUsa
 343.408 +go with her just yet. It didn’t matter if she herself died, but she
 343.409 +couldn’t let that happen to her sweet princess. So she would protect
 343.410 +the pink haired girl.
 343.411 +	“Impudent humans! Why do you insist in making yourselves such a
 343.412 +nuisance? No one can stop this! You’re already too late!!” Mistress 9
 343.413 +forced herself forward, Setsuna’s struggles growing weaker and weaker
 343.414 +by the second. 
 343.415 +	“Moon Spiral Heart Attack!” Usagi yelled, trying to focus her
 343.416 +powers on the injured woman making her way towards her. She felt
 343.417 +awful doing it, but she didn’t know what else to do. Maybe the others
 343.418 +had been right about not being able to save Hotaru. But nothing
 343.419 +happened. The Ginzuishou was growing brigher, having blocked Usagi’s
 343.420 +attack. Raising a hand, Mistress 9 sent Usagi sprawling back, her
 343.421 +body skidding across the ground.
 343.422 +	“I won’t be stopped now! Too much is riding on this for me to give
 343.423 +up! I already have the full power of the Ginzuishou! Ruined body or
 343.424 +not, you can’t take that from me.” Mistress 9’s eyes darkened as she
 343.425 +watched the Sailors of Wind and Sea ready to attack. Damn them. Why
 343.426 +were they all struggling so much? Couldn’t they make this easy on
 343.427 +themselves? She would see to her Master’s revival. She had promised
 343.428 +the tiny spirit that had been protecting the Ginzuishou that she
 343.429 +would show her the wonders that the new world had to offer. And she
 343.430 +would not be made a liar. “Their souls. I need more power. The Sailor
 343.431 +Senshi’s souls should be abundant with it.” The floating bodies
 343.432 +dropped lifelessly into the reflecting pool as tiny orbs of light
 343.433 +left their bodies, hurrying towards Mistress 9.
 343.434 +	“No!! Mars! Mercury! Jupiter! Venus! No!!! Give them back!” Usagi
 343.435 +screamed, struggling to her feet.
 343.436 +	Setsuna kicked weakly, still trying to get free. By now she was
 343.437 +fairly sure that it was pointless. The hair was just growing tighter
 343.438 +around her throat and she was growing weaker. Her vision was starting
 343.439 +to fade and there was a pounding in her ears. Visions of her last
 343.440 +death kept coming to mind, slipping away after using her final
 343.441 +attack, Dark Dome Close, to help save the future. But this time, she
 343.442 +had failed miserably. She would die, as would the princess. If only
 343.443 +she hadn’t been so careless... She could only hope that her sacrifice
 343.444 +hadn’t been in vain. 
 343.445 +“Space Sword Blaster!” Uranus slashed forward, the energy blade
 343.446 +shooting through the air. It missed Mistress 9’s barrier, instead
 343.447 +cutting through the thick raven hair that clung to Setsuna’s throat.
 343.448 +The older Senshi dropped to the ground, Neptune catching her and
 343.449 +dragging her away from the injured Mistress 9. 
 343.450 +	In the vast emptiness, Hotaru spotted the light of the Sailor Team.
 343.451 +She was already holding a single glowing orb close to her heart.
 343.452 +Reaching out, she grabbed the other four as they rushed deeper into
 343.453 +Mistress 9. Clutching all five orbs of light, she tried desperately
 343.454 +to hold on to them. “I have them, ChibiUsa-chan,” she whispered to
 343.455 +the original ball of light she had been carrying. 
 343.456 +	“Let go!!” Mistress 9 yelled in rage, trying to utilize the power
 343.457 +of the souls inside of her to accomplish her mission. 
 343.458 +	Hotaru cried out as the mental assault on her grew worse. Mistress
 343.459 +9 was trying to drag the souls away. But she had to hold on. If they
 343.460 +slipped through her fingers... “I want to protect ChibiUsa-chan and
 343.461 +her shining crystal and the four soldiers... But I don’t even have my
 343.462 +body. My soul’s all that’s left. I’m already dead. So how can I save
 343.463 +them? My dad is gone, my body dead long ago... I have nothing left.
 343.464 +I’m all alone. So why do I still have enough power to hold onto them
 343.465 +like this? How can I hold her off? I’ve always been so weak... But
 343.466 +somehow I can still fight her, even without my body. And inside me, I
 343.467 +feel someone else. Not like when she was taking over my body. It’s
 343.468 +another me. A stronger me. She’s telling me to keep these lives, to
 343.469 +save everyone. But I don’t know how. I can’t save everyone. But I can
 343.470 +take these five souls and ChibiUsa’s crystal and escape from this
 343.471 +terrible prison. I don’t need my body anymore.” Hotaru clutched the
 343.472 +orbs tighter. “Let’s go, ChibiUsa-chan.”
 343.473 +	A glowing ball of violet light tore out of Mistress 9, pulling away
 343.474 +from her. Mistress 9 fell back to her knees. “Damn! The souls have
 343.475 +been taken away.” A slight grin crossed her lips. “But now I’m free.”
 343.476 +The fear that she had come so far for nothing slowly began to
 343.477 +dissipate. She had been right in the first place. These pathetic
 343.478 +soldiers were beneath her notice.
 343.479 +	“That light...” Usagi watched as it flew past. Four lights
 343.480 +splintered from it, flowing to the bodies of the Sailor Team. Slowly,
 343.481 +one by one, their eyes opened again. “Minna-san!!” The blonde magical
 343.482 +girl ran to their side. Her eyes fainly caught a glimpse of Hotaru
 343.483 +standing beside her, smiling softly. Before she could say anything,
 343.484 +the younger girl had disappeared in a ball of light. “Hotaru-chan?”
 343.485 +
 343.486 +	Mamoru yawned as he opened his eyes. Getting up, he went over and
 343.487 +felt ChibiUsa’s forehead. “I must have dozed off.” He sighed as he
 343.488 +looked down at his future daughter, lying so still. “ChibiUsa-
 343.489 +chan...” There had to be more he could do. It was so painful to watch
 343.490 +her as she lay dying. His eyes finally caught on Diana. She was
 343.491 +sitting at the edge of the bed, ready to pounce. She was hissing at
 343.492 +something. He followed her gaze and saw a dark haired girl sitting in
 343.493 +his window. She looked like a ghost, not quite there. Her eyes never
 343.494 +left ChibiUsa’s prone body. “Who are you?”
 343.495 +	Two lights shot into the room past the girl’s head, one going into
 343.496 +ChibiUsa’s body and the other forming the Ginzuishou. ChibiUsa’s
 343.497 +crimson eyes opened slowly, her body starting to move again. Where
 343.498 +had she just been? She felt so disoriented. Hadn’t she been with
 343.499 +Hotaru? Oh good. The Ginzuishou was right there. She’d been afraid
 343.500 +that she had lost it. She was in her body again. So that meant...
 343.501 +	“ChibiUsa-chan!!” 
 343.502 +	“Mamo-chan!” ChibiUsa sat up. Her body felt like she had just
 343.503 +awoken from a nap. Her gaze went past her future father to the spirit
 343.504 +sitting in the window. She scrambled over, hurrying to the spirit’s
 343.505 +side.
 343.506 +	Hotaru smiled gently, her silver eyes looking deep into the big
 343.507 +crimson ones of the princess. “Good.” Her ethereal fingers played
 343.508 +through ChibiUsa’s cotton candy hair. It was a huge relief to her to
 343.509 +know that the younger girl was finally safe. She felt a burden lifted
 343.510 +now that she saw her up and about. It had worked after all.
 343.511 +	“Hotaru-chan...” ChibiUsa whispered softly. She wasn’t really
 343.512 +there. At least, her body wasn’t. But she could almost feel her
 343.513 +fingers brushing through her hair. Hotaru’s reassuring presence had
 343.514 +comforted her throughout the whole ordeal she’d just gone through.
 343.515 +That feeling was still there with the girl in the window.
 343.516 +	“I was able to save you, ChibiUsa-chan. I’m happy. It’s good. We’re
 343.517 +both girls, but it’s strange. It must have been fate that we met.”
 343.518 +Hotaru had spent most of her life alone, crying in the shadows. Pain
 343.519 +and loneliness had been constant companions. But that had all changed
 343.520 +because of this genki little girl. She wasn’t alone anymore. She
 343.521 +wasn’t in pain anymore. Her entire life, she had been pushed away
 343.522 +from everyone. So she hid from them all, wanting the cold solace of
 343.523 +the shadows. ChibiUsa was the only one to ever reach out for her, to
 343.524 +pull her from her hiding place and actually embrace all that she was. 
 343.525 +	“I thought that, too,” ChibiUsa said quietly, still looking up into
 343.526 +Hotaru’s eyes. “Hotaru-chan...” The two girls held hands as best they
 343.527 +could with one of them not quite being there. Hotaru leaned down and
 343.528 +kissed the princess. ChibiUsa’s eyes closed after seeing the dark
 343.529 +haired girl’s face right next to hers. Even if she wasn’t fully
 343.530 +there, ChibiUsa thought she felt a feathery kiss before Hotaru pulled
 343.531 +away. Her eyes fluttered open at the realization that it was a
 343.532 +goodbye kiss. Her heart began to pound in her chest, too many things
 343.533 +she wanted to say fighting to be said, but her throat felt too
 343.534 +painful to say anything.
 343.535 +	Hotaru cried out in pain, the last links with her body being
 343.536 +destroyed as it was torn apart by Mistress 9’s escape from it. It was
 343.537 +gone. There was no going back. But it was all right. ChibiUsa was
 343.538 +safe. And she would never be alone again. 
 343.539 +	“Hotaru-chan?!”	
 343.540 +	Hotaru smiled weakly, her fingers hovering over ChibiUsa’s cheek.
 343.541 +“It’s good we met. I’m glad we became friends, ChibiUsa-chan. Thank
 343.542 +you.” She paused a moment, silvery eyes sparkling sadly. “Goodbye.”
 343.543 +‘I promise I’ll always watch over you, ChibiUsa-chan,’ she thought as
 343.544 +she faded away.
 343.545 +	“Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out, grasping for the spirit that
 343.546 +had been there moments before. Tears began spilling down her cheeks
 343.547 +as she hugged herself. She barely felt Mamoru pulling her away from
 343.548 +the window, holding onto her. “No... Don’t go, Hotaru-chan..” She
 343.549 +shook her head, tears falling to the floor. “It’s not fair! Why
 343.550 +should she have such a sad fate? Where’s her happy ending? How come I
 343.551 +got to come back but not her? There are people who must live that
 343.552 +fate?” She wiped at her eyes with balled up fists. She felt so empty,
 343.553 +so alone. It felt like a piece of herself had been ripped away. When
 343.554 +she closed her eyes, she could see Hotaru as if she was still there
 343.555 +with her. Hotaru had protected her, just as she had promised, but
 343.556 +ChibiUsa hadn’t thought that meant she’d leave when she was through. 
 343.557 +	Mamoru pulled ChibiUsa at arms’ length, looking down at the young
 343.558 +Sailor Senshi. “ChibiUsa-chan, can you fight with me? To help
 343.559 +Sailormoon? She needs you now.”
 343.560 +	ChibiUsa looked up, sniffling. She nodded quickly, determination
 343.561 +overcoming the sadness in her eyes. “I can fight. I won’t cry
 343.562 +anymore. I’m a Sailor Senshi, too. I can help the others. With the
 343.563 +life Hotaru-chan returned to me, I’ll fight with everything I have! I
 343.564 +won’t let it be wasted. Moon Prism Power! Make Up!” The pink haired
 343.565 +girl appeared in her Sailor fuku, clutching her moon rod in one hand.
 343.566 +With the other, she wiped her eyes again. She had to do this. For
 343.567 +Hotaru. Now that she was back, she had to put a stop to all this.
 343.568 +“Thank you, Mamo-chan! You protected my body while Hotaru-chan was
 343.569 +protecting my soul. We might not be as strong as Sailormoon or the
 343.570 +others, but let’s go fight together!” ChibiUsa turned and ran out of
 343.571 +the room, Mamoru close behind.
 343.572 +	‘I feel like I’d just given my wife a daughter,’ Mamoru thought to
 343.573 +himself while changing into Tuxedo Kamen. ‘She’s so full of energy
 343.574 +now. It’s like Hotaru-chan’s power did more than bring her back, she
 343.575 +revitalized her as well. But then, it was a strange visit, so
 343.576 +ChibiUsa-chan obviously has a lot of emotion involved in all this.
 343.577 +Hang on, Usa. We’re coming!’
 343.578 +	Diana sighed in relief as she watched the two hurry off. It seemed
 343.579 +that Death had been merciful on this trip. When Diana had spotted
 343.580 +her, she had been sure that Death, the dark haired girl that she was,
 343.581 +had been there to end ChibiUsa. Instead she had brought her back.
 343.582 +Diana whispered a silent thank you as she finally let herself fall
 343.583 +asleep after all the hours of watching her mistress.
 343.584 +
 343.585 +	The monstrous form of Mistress Nine screamed out as it rose high
 343.586 +above the Sailor Senshi. She was no longer under the constraints of
 343.587 +Hotaru’s body, what was left of it lying torn and shattered
 343.588 +underneath her. Now was the time she had waited so long for, the time
 343.589 +of their resurrection. And she could not allow these bothersome and
 343.590 +blind soldiers hinder her progress. The three Outer Senshi had gone
 343.591 +to the three main points of the Delta Area and had set up a barrier
 343.592 +with their remaining power, barely holding back her master. But she
 343.593 +knew it couldn’t last long. Gathering her strength, she lunged forward.
 343.594 +	“What the hell is that thing?” Makoto asked in shock at what had
 343.595 +looked to be a human woman moments before she had left the bonds of
 343.596 +the body she had been inhabiting. “It sounds like it’s in pain.”
 343.597 +Glancing to Ami, she saw the blue haired senshi nod in agreement.
 343.598 +Makoto smiled briefly as she braced herself for the monster. She had
 343.599 +found her reason to fight. And in a way, that was much more important
 343.600 +than the fight itself. 
 343.601 +Usagi held up her wand, trying to concentrate on the demonic figure
 343.602 +heading towards her. Her mind was in so many places at once. She had
 343.603 +failed Hotaru. The Outers methods had disgusted her, but she had
 343.604 +proven inept at doing any better with her own way of doing things.
 343.605 +She had failed in saving the dark haired girl and quite possibly had
 343.606 +lost ChibiUsa in the process. Working up the strength to continue
 343.607 +onward was almost impossible. “Pink Sugar Heart Attack!!” came a
 343.608 +sweet voice from behind her. Energy shot out past her, forcing
 343.609 +Mistress Nine back before she could get any closer to Sailormoon.
 343.610 +“Chibimoon?” Blue eyes lanced around for the source of the voice and
 343.611 +finally latched onto the pink haired Sailor Senshi. Her eyes sparkled
 343.612 +as hope returned to her heart. “But... How?”
 343.613 +	Swallowing the lump in her throat, ChibiUsa forced back the tears
 343.614 +that were still just under the surface. Strong. She had to be strong.
 343.615 +There would be time to cry later. Her returned life was a gift from
 343.616 +Hotaru. She couldn’t let it go to waste. Hotaru’s sacrifice wouldn’t
 343.617 +be in vain. “Hotaru-chan rescued me. She protected me in the
 343.618 +darkness. She gave her life for me.”
 343.619 +“Gave her life?” Usagi repeated. Then it was true. Hotaru was gone.
 343.620 +She hadn’t been able to save her after all. Maybe the Outers had been
 343.621 +right the entire time. But she had saved ChibiUsa. They were wrong
 343.622 +about killing her. “Arigato, Hotaru-chan,” she whispered. 
 343.623 +	“What are you waiting for?” Tuxedo Kamen yelled over to Sailormoon,
 343.624 +still standing beside Chibimoon. “Hurry! You have to henshin into
 343.625 +Supersailormoon!”
 343.626 +	“Tuxedo Kamen-sama!”
 343.627 +	“If you don’t act quickly, the entire planet will die! Those three
 343.628 +are expending an enormous amount of power sustaining their barrier.
 343.629 +You have to hurry and defeat it, Sailormoon!” Tuxedo Kamen watched
 343.630 +the blonde girl intently. His faith was always with her. And
 343.631 +sometimes all he could offer was his belief in her. He hoped it would
 343.632 +be enough. Pulling out a rose, he tossed it to Sailormoon. “For all
 343.633 +it’s beauty, a rose is still painful to those who misuse it.
 343.634 +Sailormoon, show them that the same is true of the earth and it’s
 343.635 +pretty sailor suited protectors.”
 343.636 +	Usagi nodded, holding the rose close to her heart. “For our
 343.637 +beautiful planet. I have to save everyone.” Determination coursed
 343.638 +through her as her hands reached up in the air. “Holy Grail! Please
 343.639 +appear before me! I need your help! Gather the sacred power of the
 343.640 +Holy soldiers to protect this planet!” The shining chalice appeared
 343.641 +above her, shimmering with light. The Inner Senshi held hands,
 343.642 +concentrating their power to the one they believed to be the Messiah. 
 343.643 +	“Sailormoon... You really are everyone’s mother. Someday I’ll be
 343.644 +like you. I’ll be strong. I’ll protect everyone, too. Because
 343.645 +everyone needs a protector. There’s still hope for our world filled
 343.646 +with lonely hearts. If even for a moment our hearts can touch
 343.647 +another, we aren’t truly alone after all,” ChibiUsa said, watching
 343.648 +Usagi intently. Her heart burned fiercely as the thoughts raced
 343.649 +through her mind. She had learned so much in her short time back in
 343.650 +the past. There was so much pain that she had never known existed.
 343.651 +Her own loneliness in the future even made more sense now that she
 343.652 +had met Hotaru. But it had also taught her that there was hope. That
 343.653 +even in the darkness, even when surrounded by loneliness, there was a
 343.654 +heart shining out there, waiting. And she couldn’t let this world end
 343.655 +all of those hopes and dreams. A gasp escaped her lips as a golden
 343.656 +crescent moon began shining on her own head seconds after one lit up
 343.657 +on Usagi’s. The air shimmered in front of her as a chalice took
 343.658 +shape. “The Holy Grail? Two Holy Grails?!” 
 343.659 +	“Crisis Make Up!!” Usagi and ChibiUsa shouted in unison. The two
 343.660 +Sailor Senshi carried with them the love and courage of the present
 343.661 +as well as the hopes and dreams of the future. Ribbons of light
 343.662 +surrounded the two of them as their Sailor Fukus shifted into their
 343.663 +super forms. 
 343.664 +	“Supersailorchibimoon,” Mamoru whispered as he watched the two.
 343.665 +Something had happened to ChibiUsa in those moments after she had
 343.666 +awoken. She was stronger now, truly a Sailor Senshi as opposed to the
 343.667 +Senshi in training she had been. A memory of Usagi stabbing him
 343.668 +before stabbing herself with his sword back in the fight against the
 343.669 +Dark Kingdom while he was brainwashed ran through his mind. ChibiUsa
 343.670 +truly was her daughter. The pain of losing a loved one brought out
 343.671 +the strength in their hearts and the will to fight.
 343.672 +	Usagi and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a long moment before
 343.673 +crossing their moon rods together. They both knew that they had to
 343.674 +end this now. This pain couldn’t be allowed to continue any longer.
 343.675 +“Let’s go, Supersailorchibimoon! We have to join our power together!”
 343.676 +Usagi yelled out as they flew towards the monstrous form of Mistress
 343.677 +Nine. 
 343.678 +Mistress Nine watched the two as they sped towards her. The power
 343.679 +was incredible. And that soul of the pink haired one was the same
 343.680 +that had been protecting the Ginzuishou when she had possessed it.
 343.681 +Why did they insist on stopping the beautiful Fate that lie in wait
 343.682 +for their world?
 343.683 +	“Rainbow Double Moon Heartache!!” The two Senshi of the Moon yelled
 343.684 +in unison. Energy lashed out from their entwined moon rods at
 343.685 +Mistress Nine. ChibiUsa felt a twinge of regret as she poured herself
 343.686 +into the attack. She knew that they had to protect the future, her
 343.687 +future, but she could still remember Mistress Nine’s soothing words
 343.688 +while she had been protecting the Ginzuishou. But she had to stop
 343.689 +her. For Hotaru’s sacrifice. For her mother. For all of the lonely
 343.690 +hearts that had yet to meet the one who would release them from their
 343.691 +cold prison. ‘Thank you, Hotaru-chan... You saved me in more ways
 343.692 +than you know.’
 343.693 +	On their three separate buildings, energy surrounding them as they
 343.694 +continued to hold up their barrier despite the onslaught of power
 343.695 +against it, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka held up their Talismans. The
 343.696 +monster that had been Mistress Nine grew larger as Chibimoon and
 343.697 +Sailormoon continued to attack it. “No! It’s being exposed to the
 343.698 +light of both the Ginzuishou of the present and of the future and
 343.699 +it’s still growing! It’s not working!” Setsuna yelled in frustration.
 343.700 +Her heart had been relieved to see the ‘young’ princess again, but
 343.701 +she didn’t want to see her get hurt against the Enemy. Nothing seemed
 343.702 +to be working. What would it take to stop them?
 343.703 +	“More power! We need to hit it with enough to shatter it!” Minako
 343.704 +called out. There had to be something they could do. She refused to
 343.705 +sit back and watch as her world was torn asunder around her. Her
 343.706 +entire being would go into this. ‘I guess this might be the last time
 343.707 +Sailor V is in action, Natsuna-san. I hope you’re watching. This will
 343.708 +be my finest performance,’ she promised mentally to a certain police
 343.709 +chief. “We’ll do it, too! We have to stop that thing’s growth! We’ll
 343.710 +defend this planet till our dying breaths! Venus Wink Chain Sword!!”
 343.711 +	“We’ve come so far. We’ve fought through so much. Our world’s dream
 343.712 +isn’t ready to end. Mars Snake Fire!!” Rei shouted as she
 343.713 +concentrated her energy.
 343.714 +	“Jupiter Coconut Cyclone!!”
 343.715 +	“Mercury Aqua Mirage!!” 
 343.716 +	The two attacks came at the same time, almost a counterpoint to the
 343.717 +other. The fight was far from over for them. Even if they lost, they
 343.718 +would know that they had fought to the end for their own special
 343.719 +reasons. The girls symbolizing Jupiter and Mercury couldn’t see each
 343.720 +other through the haze of battle, but knowing the other was their
 343.721 +bolstered them to throw everything into their attacks. This couldn’t
 343.722 +be the end. It was just the beginning for them.
 343.723 +	“Tukishido La Smoking Bamba!!” Mamoru yelled out, his heart and
 343.724 +mind focussed on the two girls that were fighting for the life of the
 343.725 +planet. They were both incredibly important to him. He would do his
 343.726 +best to help.
 343.727 +	Mistress Nine bathed in the power that was being focussed on her.
 343.728 +Silly humans. They had no idea what they were doing. This power was
 343.729 +only helping her to grow stronger. But what better way for them to
 343.730 +continue their struggle than to actually help bring about the new
 343.731 +world that awaited them? “Mmmm... This energy, it’s the power of the
 343.732 +carriers of the planets’ protection! Such wonderful, glorious power!
 343.733 +Give me all of your power! Open up the gateway for me!”
 343.734 +	Minako gasped in shock. “It’s not affected? No...” Her spirits
 343.735 +dropped as the realization hit her. ‘I’m sorry, Natsuna-san. I tried.
 343.736 +I really did. It looks like this really is Sailor V’s last adventure.’
 343.737 +	“She’s absorbing our power! It’s only making her stronger!” Ami
 343.738 +yelled out, her eyes wide. Why hadn’t she seen it before? The Death
 343.739 +Busters had been trying to gather power to bring about the
 343.740 +assimilation the entire time. Now Mistress Nine was using the very
 343.741 +power they were attempting to use against her. 
 343.742 +	“You will all be assimilated along with the planet. You will be
 343.743 +reborn along with it. Don’t you understand? You have no reason to
 343.744 +blow me apart. You should welcome my Master with open arms,” Mistress
 343.745 +Nine explained. Things seemed to be going very well indeed. Soon
 343.746 +enough it would all be... “What?! I can’t move! The barrier...!!”
 343.747 +	“We won’t let you outside the Delta!” Michiru called out, her eyes
 343.748 +focussed on the floating Daimon. After all she had been through, it
 343.749 +came down to this. All of the sacrifices, all of the hard work. All
 343.750 +of the blood and tears. Now was the time when she would see the
 343.751 +results of all she had strived for. She didn’t even regret getting
 343.752 +Haruka involved in all this anymore. She could ask for no better
 343.753 +partner. If she was to die, then so be it. But she wasn’t about to go
 343.754 +alone and let these invaders take away all that she had fought so
 343.755 +hard for.
 343.756 +	“This will be your graveyard!” Haruka added, brilliant gold light
 343.757 +outlining her as she continued to pour her energy into the barrier.
 343.758 +The blonde tomboy had come a long way in the short time she had been
 343.759 +a Sailor Senshi. It had eaten her up for so long, knowing the dark
 343.760 +path she had to travel. But with such a traveling companion, even the
 343.761 +darkest roads of hell had seemed cheerful enough. ‘I’ll always follow
 343.762 +you, Michi. No matter where you lead.’
 343.763 +	The sky above began to fade and swirl, black gathering through the
 343.764 +shadows. Pinpricks of stars shone through to the Senshi below. 
 343.765 +	Ami recognized the layout of the stars immediately from her run in
 343.766 +with Viluy Yuri of the Witches 5. “The Tau Star System!! The gateway
 343.767 +is opening!”
 343.768 +	Mistress Nine watched the stars with a mix of nostalgia and hope.
 343.769 +“The long forgotten distant mother stars, the Tau Star System! After
 343.770 +all of this time, this planet will finally be our second home! Our
 343.771 +society will be revived! For all of those wandering souls, their
 343.772 +homecoming is nigh.”
 343.773 +	“I can’t allow you to do that! I won’t let you have this planet!”
 343.774 +Usagi clutched her moon rod tighter, unsure of how to stop the
 343.775 +catastrophe that was approaching, but unwilling to give up.
 343.776 +	“I can’t...” ChibiUsa whispered, her crimson eyes fluttering as she
 343.777 +tried to concentrate. She felt weak, tired. Unconsciousness was
 343.778 +beginning to pray on her mind, defeating every attempt she made to
 343.779 +fight it off. Her power was waning quickly, the strain too much for
 343.780 +her. As her Super Sailor Fuku disappeared, she plummeted from the sky.
 343.781 +	“ChibiUsa!!!” Mamoru barely managed to catch the pink haired
 343.782 +soldier. She was already passed out. 
 343.783 +	“Master Pharaoh 90! I will be your partner! I will do all I can for
 343.784 +this planet, the master, and the utilization!” Mistress Nine shouted,
 343.785 +the light of her home world spurring her forward. Her heart beat for
 343.786 +her master. She would not fail him. And they would be together for
 343.787 +all eternity. Darkness burst out of her forehead as she fell from the
 343.788 +sky, crashing down amongst the rubble below. “Wha..? What happened to
 343.789 +me... my body.. I can’t... No, not now...”
 343.790 +	Setsuna wobbled precariously, dropping her staff as she collapsed
 343.791 +to her knees. Michiru and Haruka quickly followed suit, clattering to
 343.792 +the floor themselves, their Talismans dropping from their fingers.
 343.793 +The light from the barrier above flickered and shattered into a
 343.794 +million slivers of light, quickly fading away. . 
 343.795 +	“Their force field.. It’s gone!” Usagi watched in horror as the
 343.796 +only thing keeping back the gateway disappeared. “Uranus! Neptune!
 343.797 +Pluto!”
 343.798 +	“No... I can’t put out anymore power... I don’t have anything
 343.799 +left..” Setsuna said as she gasped for breath. Her eyes closed, pain
 343.800 +tearing at her. She had given up her previous life as a college
 343.801 +student to protect the world as Sailorpluto and she had failed. She
 343.802 +had thought that she could make a difference. “I’m sorry, Small Lady.”
 343.803 +	“Damnit!” Haruka beat her fist into the concrete under her. “We’ve
 343.804 +come too far to lose now... This can’t be the end...”
 343.805 +	The shining light of stars from a far away system loomed over the
 343.806 +Sailor Senshi, sparkling above them hauntingly. “The earth, it’s
 343.807 +dying... Will this be the new home to the Enemies?! No!! I won’t let
 343.808 +you take away our home! You’re uninvited visitors! Get out!! Rainbow
 343.809 +Moon Heartache!!” Usagi focussed her power again, fighting till the
 343.810 +end. Her four Sailor Senshi attacked along with her, throwing
 343.811 +themselves fully behind her. All of their power swirled into the vast
 343.812 +darkness that was building. 
 343.813 +	“Our power... Drawn into the darkness... It’s all gone..” Minako
 343.814 +stated weakly before she and the other three collapsed. 
 343.815 +	“Everyone...” Usagi looked over the battlefield. The three Outer
 343.816 +Senshi could barely move, her own Inner Senshi too weak to go on.
 343.817 +Mamoru held onto Chibimoon’s limp body. She looked pale from Usagi’s
 343.818 +viewpoint. Everyone was falling. They had given their all and it
 343.819 +still wasn’t enough. When would they wake up from this nightmare?
 343.820 +“They all pushed themselves past their limits. They have no power
 343.821 +left to fight anymore. No... That’s not true. There’s still some
 343.822 +left. Everyone’s power is still inside me as Supersailormoon. It was
 343.823 +all of them together that gave me this strength. So I will fight on
 343.824 +for them. I’ll show their power to the fullest extent. I can fight
 343.825 +with their dreams in my heart. Sleep well, my friends. I’ll carry
 343.826 +your dreams with me until you wake up. Only me. Alone. No, with your
 343.827 +dreams in my heart, I will never fight alone! With the Ginzuishou and
 343.828 +the Holy Grail, I’ll keep fighting! Holy Grail, please lend me more
 343.829 +strength. Fill me with the final power of the nine Sailor Senshi!”
 343.830 +	Mamoru watched Sailormoon up above as she gathered up all the power
 343.831 +she could. He held onto ChibiUsa’s unconscious form as the wind
 343.832 +whipped past him. "Usako, what are you planning on?!”
 343.833 +	Usagi smiled in reply, clutching the Holy Grail in front of her.
 343.834 +Pure white light was lashing around her, illuminating her in the dark
 343.835 +sky. Dropping from the sky, she headed for the ruins below.
 343.836 +	“Usako!!” Mamoru watched in horror as he finally understood what
 343.837 +she was doing. The nine Sailor Senshi watched on helplessly. 
 343.838 +	Falling through the air, Usagi smiled softly. “There’s only one
 343.839 +chance left. I’m going to show it the true power we have to offer.
 343.840 +I’m going to open the full power of the Ginzuishou and the Holy Grail
 343.841 +inside that thing!”
 343.842 +	“Usako!!!!” Mamoru screamed as he watched her plummet towards the
 343.843 +gathering darkness. This couldn’t be happening. After all that they
 343.844 +had fought through, she couldn’t sacrifice herself for this. She was
 343.845 +the world’s only hope, but his world would still be lost if she was
 343.846 +gone.  
 343.847 +ChibiUsa gasped in Mamoru’s grip as she watched, finally regaining
 343.848 +consciousness only to see Sailormoon’s last ditch effort. Why did
 343.849 +their have to be so many sacrifices? Why did so many have to pay for
 343.850 +things with their lives? Hotaru had paid for ChibiUsa’s life with her
 343.851 +own and now Usagi was going to give herself for the planet. Why was
 343.852 +the price always so high? With a grim thought, ChibiUsa realized that
 343.853 +she would be sacrificed as well. If Usagi died, she would never be
 343.854 +born. But it was all right. If she had to die for the sake of the
 343.855 +planet and all the lonely souls on it, then she would gladly be down
 343.856 +there with Usagi. Some things were worth sacrificing for. ‘I guess
 343.857 +I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan.’ A small smile crossed her lips. 
 343.858 +Darkness enveloped Usagi as she plunged deeper into the blackness.
 343.859 +The light flowing around her exploded in a tremendously bright shower. 
 343.860 +Up above with the three Senshi of the Outer system, the Deep Aqua
 343.861 +Mirror, Garnet Orb, and Space Sword began to flash, reacting to
 343.862 +something. “The Talismans?!” Michiru said in shock. The three objects
 343.863 +lifted into the air, glowing brighter. 
 343.864 +A hole tore open through Mistress Nine down in the darkness. A
 343.865 +sphere of light lifted into the air. Inside lay a beautiful Sailor
 343.866 +Senshi lying on her back. The storm seemed to stop in the immediate
 343.867 +vincinity around her. The entire area was covered in silence for a
 343.868 +breathless moment. 
 343.869 +“That’s...”
 343.870 +“Oh my God...”
 343.871 +The Sailor Senshi stood up in the air, her eyes slowly opening as
 343.872 +she took in the scene around her. The Saturn symbol flashed on her
 343.873 +forehead. There was a serene calm about her, as if she knew exactly
 343.874 +what she was here to do and it was no more of a chore than washing
 343.875 +the clothes. She held a long staff in her left hand, the end curving
 343.876 +into a wicked looking blade. “I am the messenger from the depths of
 343.877 +death. I come from far off to set right what has been led terribly
 343.878 +astray. I am carrier of the protection of the planet of ruin, Saturn.
 343.879 +The Senshi of Silence. Sailorsaturn.”
 343.880 +“She’s awakened...” Michiru said in horror. 
 343.881 +“Sailor Saturn!” Haruka shook her head. If only they had killed
 343.882 +Hotaru before! No, wait... Hotaru was already dead. Saturn had still
 343.883 +come even then. Was there no way to stop this even worse monster than
 343.884 +the Enemy they were fighting? 
 343.885 +	“Then... This is the end, isn’t it?” Setsuna asked after a moment.
 343.886 +Of course, this meant it was all over. They had failed.
 343.887 +	Rei looked up at the figure. “Does that mean.. Is Sailormoon... Is
 343.888 +she dead?!”
 343.889 +	Saturn turned to look at them, her silver eyes cold. Her pale skin
 343.890 +and curved weapon made her look dangerously similar to images of
 343.891 +Death itself. "I was called by the pulled trigger long ago. It
 343.892 +doesn't seem that it's been that long yet. I seem like an invited
 343.893 +guest. I slowly met accidents one after another, and disturbing
 343.894 +occurrences were brought about. Suddenly history seemed to have gone
 343.895 +a bit wrong." 
 343.896 +	“Hotaru-chan?!” ChibiUsa asked, pulling away from Mamoru. “Hotaru-
 343.897 +chan!! No... Sailorsaturn... Please, tell me what’s going on!!”
 343.898 +Chibimoon ran forward towards the apparition, tears spilling down her
 343.899 +cheeks. Saturn stood like a statue, her silver eyes watching her
 343.900 +intently. “Hotaru-chan...” ChibiUsa sniffled as she reached the
 343.901 +silent soldier. “It’s you, isn’t it? It is you, Hotaru-chan.. It has
 343.902 +to be...” She lunged forward grabbing onto the dark haired Sailor
 343.903 +Senshi. Clutching on tightly, she let loose a sob, shaking against
 343.904 +the taller girl.
 343.905 +	“Small Lady!! Get away from her! Now!!” Setsuna screamed to the
 343.906 +future princess. Her heart lurched as she watched the two Senshi. The
 343.907 +princess was going to die and there was nothing she could do about
 343.908 +it. ChibiUsa hardly seemed to hear her and she had no power left to
 343.909 +get to her in time, let alone to fend off the final soldier. 
 343.910 +	ChibiUsa was wracked with sobs as she held onto Sailorsaturn.
 343.911 +Saturn shifted slightly in her grasp. The future princess felt arms
 343.912 +encircling her, holding her close. A gloved hand gently brushed past
 343.913 +her cheek before running through her hair. She looked up at the
 343.914 +taller girl, sniffling. Gloved fingers wiped her tears away. Saturn
 343.915 +was looking down at her gently, following the contours of the smaller
 343.916 +Senshi’s face. “Hotaru-chan...”
 343.917 +	Saturn shook her head slowly, still holding on to the pink haired
 343.918 +princess. “Through an accident here in the Infinity Zone, the one I
 343.919 +was supposed to sleep eternally inside, Hotaru, began to live life as
 343.920 +a cyborg. In that girl’s body, I was never supposed to awaken. It was
 343.921 +a shock to my soul and an enormous strain living inside of her after
 343.922 +that. Then another came to live inside that body. Mistress Nine.
 343.923 +Professor Tomoe’s twisted mind had summoned those from a far off
 343.924 +world and had given them the body of the girl I was inhabiting. But
 343.925 +there was nothing I could do. I was immersed in darkness, only able
 343.926 +to watch sleepily as time marched forward. But now, I have been
 343.927 +called forth. We were all drawn here. The passage of the other world
 343.928 +opened here. This land was chosen for this final battle. All of the
 343.929 +power has gathered here. Everything began to descend to ruin,
 343.930 +foretelling my awakening. It was all set up by fate.” One arm
 343.931 +continued to hold ChibiUsa close while her right hand rested on the
 343.932 +princess’s cheek. ChibiUsa just looked into her eyes, unsure of what
 343.933 +to say, her arms around Saturn’s shoulders. “All of it. Even my
 343.934 +meeting you, ChibiUsa-chan.” The cold look faded for a second, a
 343.935 +smile similar to the one Hotaru had given her before she had
 343.936 +disappeared on her face. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan. I’ll be waiting
 343.937 +for you when my job is finished. Don’t be afraid of death. I’ll be
 343.938 +waiting to lead you through when it greets you.” Leaning down, she
 343.939 +kissed the pink haired girl softly. ChibiUsa stood on her tiptoes,
 343.940 +holding on tighter as she returned the kiss. It was bittersweet, a
 343.941 +final kiss before the end. Saturn pulled away slowly, her fingers
 343.942 +trailing on ChibiUsa’s cheek for a few lingering seconds as her cold
 343.943 +exterior returned. Clutching the Silence Glaive, she turned away from
 343.944 +her princess. ChibiUsa slumped to her knees behind her. Leaping
 343.945 +forward, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth stabbed into the blackness
 343.946 +with her Silence Glaive. 
 343.947 +	“I can’t move!? No!!! My power... It’s all being soaked up!”
 343.948 +Mistress Nine screamed as she tried to struggle against Saturn. It
 343.949 +was useless. All of the power she had gathered was being torn from
 343.950 +her. Her dreams shattered as she felt the icy cold hand of death
 343.951 +waiting just behind the dark haired girl.
 343.952 +	“Now that I’ve awakened, I must bring down the Silence Glaive,”
 343.953 +Saturn explained, gripping it tighter.
 343.954 +	“The Silence Glaive.. That’s the scythe of the Goddess of Death.”
 343.955 +Michiru had drawn it before in a dark painting she had done. A
 343.956 +beautiful goddess dressed only in what amounted to a white sheet. And
 343.957 +wielding that same deadly weapon. Haruka had wondered why she would
 343.958 +draw such a beautiful girl with such a dangerous looking weapon
 343.959 +surrounded by bodies in a macabre painting, but this seemed to be the
 343.960 +same celestial embodiment of Death. 
 343.961 +	“Id she brings down the Silence Glaive, then everything will end!
 343.962 +Sailorsaturn, don’t do this!” Setsuna yelled out. She was shocked at
 343.963 +the display with the princess, but the reprieve of not killing
 343.964 +ChibiUsa then would only mean that she would die with the rest of
 343.965 +them in moments.
 343.966 +	“Damnit!! Why would Fate bring about all of this? It can’t be! This
 343.967 +can’t be the Fate of our world! Sailorsaturn, stop!!” Haruka clutched
 343.968 +onto Michiru. 
 343.969 +	ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes followed Saturn as she stayed on her knees,
 343.970 +the rubble biting into her skin. “Hotaru-chan.. Does this mean
 343.971 +there’s no future for us? Is this the end?” She didn’t have the
 343.972 +strength to get up. She was so thrilled to see Hotaru again, but she
 343.973 +hadn’t expected her to turn out to be Death. Her mind was still
 343.974 +swirling in confusion. All she could do was watch.
 343.975 +	“Death Reborn Revolution!!” Saturn yelled out, still calm amidst
 343.976 +the destruction around her. Ribbons surrounded her as she lifted up
 343.977 +the Silence Glaive above her head. She briefly wondered if she should
 343.978 +have hurried along ChibiUsa’s death so that she wouldn’t have to
 343.979 +witness the destruction to come, but decided that it was too late to
 343.980 +worry about such things. The pink haired girl would be dead soon
 343.981 +enough, along with everything else. And she would be there to escort
 343.982 +her once it was all over.
 343.983 +	“No!! All of my power.. It’s being pulled away from me!! I’m losing
 343.984 +all that I’ve gained.. Master, I’m so sorry! It was all for you! This
 343.985 +negative aura is soaking up everything I had! No, it can’t be!! She
 343.986 +can’t have awakened! Is this the true Silent Messiah?! She will guide
 343.987 +everything to ruin!” Mistress Nine’s struggles became weaker and
 343.988 +weaker as Saturn’s power grew. Her thoughts began slipping from the
 343.989 +mission she had tried so hard to accomplish, focussing instead on her
 343.990 +reason behind it all, her master, the one she loved.
 343.991 +	The gathering darkness became entangled in ribbons. The ribbons
 343.992 +seemed to sap away the darkness, drawing it away as it forced it all
 343.993 +up into the sky and towards the Tau Star System that could be seen up
 343.994 +above. “You, who has already lost your world, already know the pain
 343.995 +of losing everything. Soon this planet will join your own, for it’s
 343.996 +death is soon. But you, abominable creature, will die first. Invader!
 343.997 +Return to the dead! Then death will befall this world as well!” Power
 343.998 +surrounded her as more ribbons began flowing from her. Darkness and
 343.999 +energy began to build up around her, ripping through the rubble
343.1000 +underneath her.
343.1001 +	“It’s over! We can’t stop it anymore! We’ve finally reached the
343.1002 +end,” Mamoru shook his head, defeat starting to seep through his
343.1003 +weary body. 
343.1004 +	Haruka staggered to her feet, wincing in pain as she got closer to
343.1005 +the ledge of the building for a better look. “She’s going to bring
343.1006 +down the Silence Glaive! She’s going to kill this world along with
343.1007 +that Daimon!!” 
343.1008 +	As the Silence Glaive began it’s slow descent towards the ground,
343.1009 +the ribbons and darkness and energy lashed out. The city began
343.1010 +tearing itself apart, buildings shattering and collapsing, the ground
343.1011 +ripping open. Mamoru covered the still confused ChibiUsa as debris
343.1012 +fell past them. Buildings were ripped to pieces in seconds. 
343.1013 +	“Everyone.. Everything, it’s all disappearing,” ChibiUsa whispered
343.1014 +softly, the world falling apart around her. The wind picked up,
343.1015 +shrieking fiercely. Waves crashed nearby as the earth shook. For a
343.1016 +moment, ChibiUsa regretted coming back to the past to train. This was
343.1017 +too much for her. But she had to. She didn’t regret all that they’d
343.1018 +done up till now. She didn’t regret meeting Hotaru. But did it have
343.1019 +to end now?
343.1020 +	Mamoru dropped to his knees beside his future daughter, his cane
343.1021 +dropping next to him. “Usa... Usako!! Only you kept me alive all this
343.1022 +time! And I couldn’t even protect you!” His eyes followed a trace of
343.1023 +red. The wind brought one of the red petals closer. The rose he’d
343.1024 +given Usagi.. The beautiful rose was crushed. “Usako...” Tears
343.1025 +dropped to the rubble underneath them.
343.1026 +	Watching Mamoru clutch onto the flower petal, ChibiUsa looked back
343.1027 +towards the receding darkness that Usagi had plunged into.
343.1028 +“Sailormoon... Mama.. You can’t be gone.” 
343.1029 +	“Damn,” Haruka mutters, tossing a chunk of concrete across the
343.1030 +ruined battlefield. “Isn’t there anything we can do?! Are we
343.1031 +completely helpless? Everything will be destroyed if this isn’t
343.1032 +stopped. I... I just wanted to protect that girl! That was all! I
343.1033 +didn’t care for any of this!” Michiru took her hand as they watched
343.1034 +the destruction.
343.1035 +	“Haruka-san!” a voice called out. “Haruka-san!”
343.1036 +	“Sailorsaturn..!” ChibiUsa said as she got up, stumbling towards
343.1037 +the Senshi of Silence. She had to get to her. There had to be
343.1038 +something she could do. She knew Hotaru the best. Hotaru trusted her.
343.1039 +Even if Saturn was a bit different, she had to try. Mamoru grabbed
343.1040 +her arm, pulling her back. “Mamo-chan, I have to!” she argued, trying
343.1041 +to pull from his grasp. Up ahead, a bright light began shining near
343.1042 +Saturn. It lifted up into the air, clearing the troubled sky around
343.1043 +it. A figure emerged from the light, butterflies fluttering
343.1044 +everywhere around her, mixing with the fireflies that had begun to
343.1045 +take flight shortly after Saturn’s arrival. “Sailormoon?
343.1046 +Supersailormoon?!”
343.1047 +	Usagi’s eyes opened as the crescent moon on her forehead lit up.
343.1048 +She blinked curiously as she looked around at the battlefield. The
343.1049 +other senshi were all staring up at her.
343.1050 +	“Usako!!” Mamoru called out. 
343.1051 +	Mistress Nine saw the slight distraction as her last chance. These
343.1052 +Sailor Senshi had nearly ruined all of their plans. She had to stop
343.1053 +them now. “I’ll take you with me! Back to the Tau Star System! The
343.1054 +gravity will pull you through to the darkness of our graveyard! Our
343.1055 +dead home, the Tau Star System!” There was still hope. If she could
343.1056 +pull them through, Master Pharaoh 90 could stop them. Then this world
343.1057 +might still be reborn as their new home.
343.1058 +	Saturn looked up, her glaive nearly touching the floor. Her silver
343.1059 +eyes watched with little concern at Mistress Nine’s attempt at
343.1060 +salvaging the situation. A slight smile crossed her thin lips as she
343.1061 +looked up. “It’s beautiful, the suffering at the moment of
343.1062 +destruction. If you’re so eager, then let’s hurry! Right away! The
343.1063 +guide to death, Sailorsaturn, will lead to the world of the dead!”
343.1064 +	“Saturn!? No!! We’ll all be drawn out into space together! We’ll
343.1065 +all die!” Usagi clenched her fists, looking to Saturn concernedly.
343.1066 +“You can’t let this happen! Everyone will die!”
343.1067 +	Saturn shrugged off Usagi’s outburst. It hardly seemed to matter
343.1068 +now. Her full power was very nearly ready to be unleashed. “I don’t
343.1069 +feel despair. Along with death, there is always hope and rebirth.”
343.1070 +Her silver eyes caught ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes. She held her gaze for
343.1071 +a few seconds, as if speaking directly to her. “If you remember that,
343.1072 +then death is nothing to fear.”
343.1073 +	“Sailorsaturn?” Usagi asked, confused.
343.1074 +	“Sailormoon, because you have opened the power of the Holy Grail
343.1075 +and the Ginzuishou, you still have a chance to save this planet.
343.1076 +Perhaps now is not the time that has been fated for me to bring
343.1077 +everything to ruin. Soon, this land will be the new Tokyo that you
343.1078 +will bring about. For now, I must stop the outsiders from getting a
343.1079 +grip in this world.” Saturn’s cold gaze fell upon Setsuna.
343.1080 +“Sailorpluto! Close the gateway to the other world for eternity!”
343.1081 +Pushing off the ground, Saturn drifted into the darkness, following
343.1082 +Mistress Nine towards the Tau System. That was where she was needed
343.1083 +now, to finally put the long dead system to sleep. 
343.1084 +	Setsuna paused, pulling up her staff. She could see the pain in the
343.1085 +princess’s eyes as they followed the dark haired senshi’s ascent. She
343.1086 +was so tired of all of this fighting and pain. “Saturn!!”
343.1087 +	“Hurry!!” Saturn yelled back, her energy building as she closed the
343.1088 +distance. She could feel Pharaoh 90 on the other side. He would be
343.1089 +dead soon enough when she released the power building within her. Her
343.1090 +Silence Glaive would drop today after all.
343.1091 +	Pluto nodded, closing her eyes as she began chanting. Her Garnet
343.1092 +Orb began to glow. “Great guardian deity of time and space! My
343.1093 +father, Chronos! Give me power! Close the door of the broken law!
343.1094 +Dark Dome Close!” 
343.1095 +ChibiUsa watched up overhead as the space-time door began sucking in
343.1096 +energy, sealing off the gateway. Sailorsaturn smiled down at her one
343.1097 +last time before fading into it. The door slammed shut behind her.
343.1098 +“Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa whispered, wiping at her eyes. Hotaru had
343.1099 +sacrificed herself again, this time saving the entire planet and
343.1100 +ChibiUsa’s future. But she couldn’t appreciate the victory knowing
343.1101 +the price that had to be paid. Just when she had seen her again, she
343.1102 +had been torn from her. How could love hurt so much? It wasn’t
343.1103 +supposed to be this way.
343.1104 +“Small Lady, Hotaru-chan wouldn’t want to see you crying. After all
343.1105 +she gave up, she would want you to be happy with the new future she
343.1106 +has ensured you,” Pluto explained, helping ChibiUsa to her feet. She
343.1107 +smiled gently, brushing some of the dirt from ChibiUsa’s face. 
343.1108 +	Nodding weakly, ChibiUsa slumped against the tall Guardian of Time.
343.1109 +“Hai, you’re right, Puu. I know. I just miss her already. My heart
343.1110 +feels like it’s shattered.”
343.1111 +	Setsuna sweatdropped. So the princess had already fallen in love as
343.1112 +she’d thought. “She’s still watching you, Small Lady.”
343.1113 +	“Along with death.. Hope and rebirth begin,” Usagi whispered,
343.1114 +repeating Saturn’s words. Her Sailor Fuku dissolved into her white
343.1115 +princess gown, flowing regally around her. Raising her moon rod,
343.1116 +light began to flash through the city. The destruction began to
343.1117 +vanish as the dead began to get up, returned from their slumber
343.1118 +before they could continue on their path to the afterlife. 
343.1119 +	“Neo Queen Serenity,” Setsuna said quietly as she saw Usagi
343.1120 +standing atop a pillar, holding up her rod.
343.1121 +	A baby’s cry broke the silence, coming from somewhere nearby. “A
343.1122 +baby?” ChibiUsa asked in surprise. What would a baby be doing there
343.1123 +after the battle? How had it gotten there?
343.1124 +	Michiru ran to the sound, quickly spotting the tiny baby. It was a
343.1125 +little girl with ivory skin and short, dark hair. The Saturn symbol
343.1126 +was glowing on her forehead. “Hotaru-chan?” 
343.1127 +	“She was reincarnated?” Haruka asked as she reached Michiru’s side.
343.1128 +The blonde looked at the baby girl, shocked to see the girl that had
343.1129 +nearly destroyed the world and had ultimately saved it.  
343.1130 +	“She must be all alone,” Michiru said sadly, holding the baby
343.1131 +close. “Let’s raise her ourselves.” A smile played out across her
343.1132 +lips as she looked over at Haruka. The serious look of Sailor Neptune
343.1133 +was gone, replaced by an earnest joy in her heart at being alive and
343.1134 +having the chance to raise the lonely girl.
343.1135 +	“The three of us as parents?” Haruka asked skeptically. 
343.1136 +	“It’s the least we can do after trying to kill her,” Setsuna added,
343.1137 +taking Hotaru’s small hand with her finger. 
343.1138 +	“What? You don’t think you’d make a good mommy, Haruka?” Michiru
343.1139 +asked teasingly.
343.1140 +	“Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!” Usagi ran up to the three, catching her
343.1141 +breath. “That baby...?”
343.1142 +	The three women turned to look at the blonde girl. “We’ll be going
343.1143 +now. We’ve been given a new mission to complete now,” Haruka explained.
343.1144 +	“You’re going?” ChibiUsa asked sadly, looking from the three of
343.1145 +them to the baby in Michiru’s arms. “Where?”
343.1146 +	Setsuna shrugged. “You never know, Small Lady. Perhaps we’ll be far
343.1147 +off. Or maybe we’ll be closer to you than you’ll know. But we’re
343.1148 +allies, Sailorchibimoon. We’ll surely meet again. You can count on
343.1149 +it.” The darkly tanned woman smiled softly to the young Sailor Senshi.
343.1150 +	Michiru nodded in agreement. “Hai. We’re allies. So we’ll meet
343.1151 +again soon. Small princess, we love you. We will return to you again
343.1152 +soon.” She held out her mirror to ChibiUsa. The princess took it
343.1153 +slowly. “A sign of our promise. Keep looking into this mirror. Until
343.1154 +we meet again, grow up to be a stronger, more beautiful soldier and
343.1155 +princess. ”
343.1156 +	“Neptune!” ChibiUsa held the mirror close for a moment. “I promise!
343.1157 +I will!” She paused for a moment, looking down. “Ummm.. Can I see
343.1158 +Hotaru-chan before you go? Please?” Michiru smiled and held the baby
343.1159 +carefully out to Chibimoon. ChibiUsa held onto her shifting slightly.
343.1160 +“I’m really gonna miss you, Hotaru-chan. Thank you so much for
343.1161 +everything. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Thanks for coming
343.1162 +back to me. I promise I’ll wait for you, not matter how long it
343.1163 +takes.” She blushed slightly as she kissed the baby’s forehead. “I
343.1164 +love you, Hotaru-chan.” Her heart skipped a beat as she gave baby
343.1165 +Hotaru back to Michiru. Again Hotaru was leaving her. But this time,
343.1166 +there was hope. Hotaru would still be out there. And she would grow
343.1167 +up all over again. This time she prayed that Hotaru would be much
343.1168 +happier. And she would be waiting for the dark haired girl. That was
343.1169 +her promise. When they met again... “I love you,” she whispered
343.1170 +again. “Here, please give her this.” ChibiUsa held out the Luna-P to
343.1171 +Setsuna. “I want her to have it. Maybe when she’s older...” the
343.1172 +princess trailed off. 
343.1173 +	Setsuna took the gift and nodded. “Take care of yourself for us,
343.1174 +Small Lady!” With that, the three women turned and left with the
343.1175 +baby, disappearing swiftly.
343.1176 +	“Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!” Usagi called after the three, but they
343.1177 +were already gone. “Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!”
343.1178 +	ChibiUsa hugged the mirror close to her heart, watching where they
343.1179 +had last been. A small smile crossed her lips. “We will surely meet
343.1180 +again someday. Haruka-san. Michiru-san. Puu. And Hotaru-chan. I’ll be
343.1181 +waiting for you. Grow up to be a happy girl. We’ll see each other
343.1182 +again. I promise.”
343.1183 +

   344.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   344.2 +++ b/stories/eye-pro.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   344.3 @@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
   344.4 +Hello everyone! ^-^ This story is something I'm very glad to have finished.
   344.5 +It took me nearly two years from start to finish. Sometimes it would move
   344.6 +to the back of my mind for a while when I was working on other stories or
   344.7 +projects, but it would always lurk there until I would give it my full 
   344.8 +attention again. This is my written version of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon 
   344.9 +S based off of Naoko Takeuchi's manga rather than the anime. It started 
  344.10 +as a simple enough idea. I wanted to expand upon some of the points in 
  344.11 +the manga. That's where ChibiUsa & Hotaru's most romantic scenes were 
  344.12 +to begin with, anyway. ^-^ But it grew after that. Slowly but surely. And
  344.13 +this is the end result. I can't say it's one of my best works, but I 
  344.14 +certainly enjoyed writing a good deal of it. ^-^ It took me two years to
  344.15 +finish, so a lot of my writing isn't really as good as it could be as my
  344.16 +editor reminded me, so I take all of the blame for tarnishing Naoko 
  344.17 +Takeuchi's manga. ^-^;; I really do hope you all enjoy this. ^-^ Now I 
  344.18 +just need to start up SuperS and go through Sailorstars and this little
  344.19 +project should be done in another two years or more. ^^;; I'd like to thank
  344.20 +Boco the Chokobo for all of the contributions to this story and for being 
  344.21 +so kind as to edit it for me when I don't have the patience to do it myself.
  344.22 +I tried to follow the manga very closely, but there are some times when the
  344.23 +story veers, so please bear with me. ^-^;; I borrowed heavily from manga 
  344.24 +translations to keep myself on track for the most part, but it was a lot of
  344.25 +fun to see how things turned out anyway. ^=^ Thank you very much for reading 
  344.26 +this and if you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me. ^-^ 
  344.27 +
  344.28 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity I Alternate
  344.29 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Prologue
  344.30 +by Amazoness Duo
  344.31 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  344.32 +
  344.33 +     "I thought it was around here.."  ChibiUsa let out a sigh as she walked 
  344.34 +along.  She had come to the Mugen Gakuen amusement park with Mamoru, Momoko, 
  344.35 +Diana, and some classmates, but she had lost her hat riding the roller coaster, 
  344.36 +and had seperated to look for it.  She was having a great time overall, but 
  344.37 +something felt wrong.  A strange feeling in the pit of her stomach just wouldn't 
  344.38 +leave her.  She felt an urgent need to hurry.  "It must be the other side of 
  344.39 +that building.."
  344.40 +     Looking around her, as she entered the secluded area in the shadow of the 
  344.41 +skyscraper, the pink-haired girl found herself near the Infinity Academy, Mugen 
  344.42 +Gakuen.  The feeling of dread wouldn't go away.  It worsened as she came near a 
  344.43 +red and white warning sign.  "I can read that," she said to herself, barely able 
  344.44 +to make out the complicated kanji.  "..research labs?  Oh, here it is."  The hat 
  344.45 +had been blown by the wind into a corner of this section of the building.  The 
  344.46 +princess picked it up and dusted it off.  "I bought it for Ikuko-mama, so I'm 
  344.47 +glad I found it again."  Taking a better look at her surroundings, hat in hand, 
  344.48 +she gasped at the sight unfolding in front of her.  A raven haired girl wearing 
  344.49 +the Mugen Gakuen school uniform was having a coughing fit.  It sounded pretty 
  344.50 +bad.  "Hey, are you okay?"
  344.51 +     ChibiUsa went over to the other girl, a hand going to the pale child's 
  344.52 +shoulder.  The girl's arm came up, forcing her own away from her, the other 
  344.53 +clutching her chest as coughs wracked her weak body.  "It's okay.. this happens 
  344.54 +all the time... but you should go away.  The area is.. off limits..."
  344.55 +     Before the pink-haired girl could respond, her blonde mother had rounded 
  344.56 +the corner at a dead run.  Strangely enough, she was also in a Mugen Gakuen 
  344.57 +uniform, but she had no time to ask why before the older girl began: "What are 
  344.58 +you doing here by yourself, ChibiUsa-chan!!  You should know better, it's 
  344.59 +dangerous here!" 
  344.60 +     ChibiUsa responded defensively.  "I lost the hat I bought for Ikuko-mama, 
  344.61 +and then this girl.. I guess she's okay, but she looked hurt."  Just as quickly 
  344.62 +as the words left her mouth, the princess felt her broach reacting.  "The 
  344.63 +Crystal..?"
  344.64 +     "ChibiUsa-chan!  Abunai!!"  A large black monster had grown out of the 
  344.65 +darkness was hovering over the three girls.  Acting as quickly as she could, 
  344.66 +ChibiUsa changed into Sailorchibimoon.  Not having time for a fancy speech, she 
  344.67 +threw herself between the Daimon and the beautiful raven haired girl.
  344.68 +     The Daimon lunged forward towards the two girls.  Chibimoon brought her arm 
  344.69 +up in front of her as the beast came crashing into her.  The dark haired girl 
  344.70 +screamed as Chibimoon fell backwards. 
  344.71 +     "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" Sailormoon's voice rang through the haze of 
  344.72 +pain seeping into Chibimoon's mind.  Before the Daimon could do anything, it was 
  344.73 +hit by Sailormoon's attack.  A cat lay on the floor where moments before a 
  344.74 +Daimon had been.
  344.75 +     Breathing a sigh of relief, Chibimoon shakily got to her feet.  She quickly 
  344.76 +turned around to check on the dark haired schoolgirl.  The girl was on her 
  344.77 +knees, her hands clenched against her chest.  She looked up, her silver grey 
  344.78 +eyes still frightened.  Their mysterious depths left the pink haired girl 
  344.79 +speechless as she tried to think. 
  344.80 +     "Who.. are you..? Why did you save me?" the raven haired girl asked, short 
  344.81 +of breath.
  344.82 +     Chibimoon smiled broadly and held out a hand to the other girl.  Her knees 
  344.83 +felt weak and a newer feeling in her stomach replaced the feelings of dread 
  344.84 +she'd had.  Her crimson eyes looked deeply into the silver eyes pointed up at 
  344.85 +her.  "We are the Soldiers of Justice!  Sailormoon and Sailorchibimoon."  She 
  344.86 +really wanted to see this girl again for some odd reason.  She hoped this 
  344.87 +wouldn't be the last she would see of her.  "Are you okay?  Were you hurt?" she 
  344.88 +asked, concerned.
  344.89 +     The raven haired girl took Chibimoon by the wrist, pulling her forward.  
  344.90 +"You are the one who's hurt," she said softly, eyes seeming to shine in the 
  344.91 +darkness. "You got hurt for me."
  344.92 +     "What?"  Chibimoon gasped as she felt the bloody gash on her arm where the 
  344.93 +Daimon had hit her.  She hadn't noticed before, but now that she did, pain shot 
  344.94 +through her arm.  She felt a bit sick at the sight of her own blood. 
  344.95 +     The schoolgirl held Chibimoon's arm, gently placing her hand over the 
  344.96 +wound.  Chibimoon looked down at the other girl, confused about what she was 
  344.97 +doing. The raven haired girl looked back up at her, dispelling her concerns for 
  344.98 +the moment. 
  344.99 +     Mamoru showed up just as two figures leaped off, from the shadows: a green-
 344.100 +haired woman in a sailor fuku, and a platinum blond man in cape and mask.   
 344.101 +Apparently they had watched the whole thing from the sidelines.  "Wait!" 
 344.102 +Sailormoon yelled after them, to no avail.
 344.103 +     Chibimoon watched as the girl's eyes fell closed.  She seemed to be 
 344.104 +concentrating intently.  Chibimoon gasped as a glow began to surround her arm 
 344.105 +and the other girl's hands.  A warm feeling flooded through her, eminating from 
 344.106 +the girl's hands, but passing over Chibimoon's whole body.  Finally, the glow 
 344.107 +began to dissipate.  Pulling her arm up after the dark haired girl had let go of 
 344.108 +it, she could see that the wound was now not much more than a bad scratch.  
 344.109 +"Usagi!  Look, my wound.." 
 344.110 +     Taking Chibimoon's arm again, the raven haired girl began to bandage it 
 344.111 +with her hankerchief.  Not looking at the pink haired senshi, she began 
 344.112 +explaining as if she'd read Chibimoon's mind.  "I've been able to do that since 
 344.113 +I was very young.  I can heal injuries, but it takes a lot out of me."  The pale 
 344.114 +girl looked down sadly.  "But it frightens everyone around me when I do that."  
 344.115 +She sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair.
 344.116 +     Chibimoon looked down at the dark haired girl in amazement.  "I think it's 
 344.117 +wonderful..." she said softly. 
 344.118 +     The raven haired girl looked up at the future princess oddly, finished 
 344.119 +bandaging her arm.  She blinked in confusion, looking up into those crimson gems 
 344.120 +that stared down at her.  The other sailor senshi were talking behind them, but 
 344.121 +she didn't seem to notice.  "You... You do?"  The question came out softly.  How 
 344.122 +could anyone think its wonderful?  It seemed impossible to the girl.
 344.123 +     Chibimoon nodded emphatically.  "Un, it's amazing!  My arm feels so much 
 344.124 +better now.  Thank you."  Looking down into two silvery pools, Chibimoon felt 
 344.125 +herself being drawn in by this mysterious girl.  She longed for that gentle 
 344.126 +touch, that warm feeling again.
 344.127 +     "And thank you for saving me."  The raven haired girl let a small smile 
 344.128 +play across her lips.  It was the first time Chibimoon had seen her smile.  It 
 344.129 +was beautiful.  This girl didn't seem to smile much, but it sent a thrill 
 344.130 +through the pink haired girl just to see it.  Right there, Chibimoon vowed that 
 344.131 +she'd get her to smile more.  "You should disinfect that when you get home," the 
 344.132 +raven haired girl said, motioning to Chibimoon's arm.  "But right now, you 
 344.133 +should go.  If the guards find you, you'll be in a lot of trouble."
 344.134 +     "Thanks."  Chibimoon smiles gratefully.  The pink haired senshi paused 
 344.135 +before leaving.  It didn't feel right to leave yet.  More importantly, she 
 344.136 +didn't want to leave yet.  She wanted to see the dark haired girl again.  
 344.137 +"Umm... If you don't mind, could you tell me something?  What's your name?"
 344.138 +     "Tomoe Hotaru," Hotaru said softly, finally getting to her feet.  The two 
 344.139 +girls looked at each other for a long silent moment.  Turning to leave, she 
 344.140 +whispered back over her shoulder, "Be careful."
 344.141 +     Chibimoon watched after Hotaru as she entered the building through large 
 344.142 +double doors.  The girl's name ran through her mind over and over again as she 
 344.143 +watched the girl's retreating form.  "Firefly," she said quietly.
 344.144 +
 344.145 +     Hotaru collapsed near the doorway shortly after she got home.  Pain shot 
 344.146 +through her veins as an icy hand seemed to clamp down on her whole body.  She 
 344.147 +felt as if she were being torn apart from the inside out.  Her breathing grew 
 344.148 +heavy and ragged as she gasped for air, her hand clutching her chest.  Hot tears 
 344.149 +rolled down her pale cheeks as the pain became unbearable.  Everything grew hazy 
 344.150 +around her.  For a moment, the dark haired girl wished the escaped Daimon had 
 344.151 +killed her.  Then this pain would finally be at an end.  Through the cloud of 
 344.152 +pain, she decided that it was good that she hadn't, if only that she had been 
 344.153 +able to meet the pink haired girl right afterward.
 344.154 +     "Hotaru?"  Her father's assistant, Kaolinite, ran up to her.  "Another 
 344.155 +seizure?  It's alright.  It will pass." 
 344.156 +     The older woman placed a hand on Hotaru's shoulder.  Hotaru shrugged it off 
 344.157 +and pulled away, her breathing returning to normal as the pain began to dull.  
 344.158 +"Let go of me!  I can handle it myself," she said angrily.
 344.159 +     "Hotaru, you know that's no way to talk to Kaori-kun.  She's helped us very 
 344.160 +much since your mother's death.  As my assistant, you should treat her with 
 344.161 +respect," Professor Tomoe said as he entered the room.
 344.162 +     "Professor!"  Kaolinite turned at his approach.  "Hotaru and I were just 
 344.163 +having a discussion."
 344.164 +     Professor Tomoe nodded before looking sternly at Hotaru.  "Hotaru, you need 
 344.165 +help with how poor your health is.  You have to let us help you.  And Kaori-kun 
 344.166 +is practically part of the family.  You should listen to her."
 344.167 +     "She's your private secretary, your assistant.  She should know her place 
 344.168 +and not invade our home!"  Hotaru stood up on shaky legs and ran off to her 
 344.169 +room. 
 344.170 +
 344.171 +     Slamming the door to her room, Hotaru fell forward onto her bed.  She 
 344.172 +wasn't feeling very well.  She breathed deeply, trying to relax.  An image of a 
 344.173 +pink haired girl came unbidden to her mind.  The other girl had been so nice to 
 344.174 +her.  She had even saved her life.  What shocked Hotaru the most was that she 
 344.175 +hadn't been afraid of her healing abilities.  Hotaru hugged her knees to her 
 344.176 +chest and sighed.  Would she ever see the pink haired girl again?  Probably not.  
 344.177 +She didn't even know her name.  Her life was too lonely for her to have found a 
 344.178 +friend that easily.  That glimmer of hope, that warm feeling she had felt, 
 344.179 +disappeared as the reality of the situation set in. 
 344.180 +     As she changed from her school clothes into a night gown, she felt a sharp 
 344.181 +pain in her heart.  She didn't know if it was another seizure or if it was the 
 344.182 +fact that she would never see the pink haired girl again.  She took a shaky 
 344.183 +breath before pulling her nightgown the rest of the way on.  The thought of a 
 344.184 +beautiful dreamless sleep beckoned to her as an escape from the sorrow she felt.  
 344.185 +Closing her eyes tightly, she crawled under the soft sheets of her bed.  Still 
 344.186 +wracked by a pain in her heart, she fell into a fitful slumber. 
 344.187 +
 344.188 +     "It hurts..."
 344.189 +     Hotaru moaned in pain, rolling over in bed.  The vice-like grip over her 
 344.190 +body increased.  She writhed in pain on the bed. 
 344.191 +     The door to her room slowly opened.  "Hotaru?" her father asked.  "Hasn't 
 344.192 +it stopped?"
 344.193 +     "Dad..." Hotaru managed quietly.
 344.194 +     "Did you take your medicine?" Professor Tomoe asked worriedly. 
 344.195 +     "I took it, but... it didn't work."
 344.196 +     "When the time comes, it will.  You'll be alright."  The professor reached 
 344.197 +into a large pocket on the side of his lab coat and withdraw an angular crystal.  
 344.198 +"This is an amulet, passed down through the family.  Your mother used to carry 
 344.199 +it."  He placed the amulet gently in Hotaru's hands.  "Now that you have it, you 
 344.200 +can sleep soundly.  I'll come check on you in a bit.  Good night."  He turned to 
 344.201 +leave, quietly closing the door behind him.     
 344.202 +     "Dad, why are you acting so strangely?  What's been going on lately?"  
 344.203 +Hotaru sighed and held the crystal.  It felt cold against her palm.  Her pain 
 344.204 +slowly started to recede as she stared down at the amulet.  "Maybe dad was 
 344.205 +right.  It does seem to be working.  The seizure stopped.  But... I'm scared.  I 
 344.206 +can't trust my own body.  It feels so strange.  The seizures... they've only 
 344.207 +been getting worse lately."  She took a shaky breath, willing herself not to 
 344.208 +think about such things.  Finally, she drifted back to sleep.
 344.209 +
 344.210 +     Back at the underground base beneath Crown Game Center, Luna and Artemis 
 344.211 +were talking to the Sailor Team about the two mysterious Senshi they had 
 344.212 +encountered and the mysterious happenings at the Mugen Gakuen school.  ChibiUsa 
 344.213 +wasn't really paying attention, her mind preoccupied.  She kept playing the 
 344.214 +events of the day before over and over in her mind.  She couldn't stop thinking 
 344.215 +about that strange girl.  "Hotaru," she whispered.  The dark haired girl's image 
 344.216 +appeared with crystal clarity in ChibiUsa's mind's eye.  Her beautiful pale 
 344.217 +skin, offset by dark raven hair.  Deep pools of silver that seemed to go on 
 344.218 +forever.  She was pretty.  Very pretty. 
 344.219 +     "ChibiUsa-chan?"  Usagi asked for the third time, wondering what the Senshi 
 344.220 +in training could be daydreaming about.  "Are you coming with me and Mamo-chan 
 344.221 +or not?"
 344.222 +     "Huh?"  Looking over, ChibiUsa blinked a few times.  "Oh, right.  Yeah."
 344.223 +     Usagi smiled to herself as she started to drag Mamoru off, her future 
 344.224 +daughter in tow.  "Anyway, ChibiUsa-chan.  You shouldn't give our real 
 344.225 +identities out so easily.  What if those two were enemies?"
 344.226 +     "Sorry," ChibiUsa apologized half-heartedly.  "I thought I could be friends 
 344.227 +with the girl.  I like Hotaru-chan, with her pure-white skin.. she was very 
 344.228 +pretty."
 344.229 +     "Like plaster of Paris," Mamoru agreed.  At the questioning look from his 
 344.230 +future daughter, he explained.  "A beautiful stone, like new-fallen snow."
 344.231 +
 344.232 +     A few days later, the group had again gathered at Crown Fruit Parlor.  "So 
 344.233 +you're the president of the 5th year class, ChibiUsa-chan?" Ami asked.
 344.234 +     "Yep," ChibiUsa responded between bites of a sundae.  "I represented all of 
 344.235 +us at the entrance ceremony!  It was great.  The new class was cute."
 344.236 +     "ChibiUsa is the class rep.. the world's coming to an end." 
 344.237 +     "Oh, it's not that bad, Usagi," Minako interjected.  "Besides, we finally 
 344.238 +made it into 3rd year junior high.  All we have to worry about is entrance 
 344.239 +exams.. then again, if an enemy attacks now, I'll be held back for sure."
 344.240 +     "Don't be so gloomy.  It's April 17th, after all, Rei-chan's birthday!  We 
 344.241 +should throw her a party," Makoto said as she played with the remains of her own 
 344.242 +frozen treat.  "Where's she been, anyway?"
 344.243 +     "Out training on Mt. M, since yesterday," the blonde original-Senshi 
 344.244 +responds.  "She wanted to cleanse herself for her 15th birthday."
 344.245 +     "Perfect!  We can surprise her!!  Everyone's going, right?"
 344.246 +     "A mountain?"  ChibiUsa makes a face at the 'older' girls.  "I have things 
 344.247 +to do, being class representative and all.  Tell Rei-chan happy birthday for me, 
 344.248 +though."  And with that, the pink-haired girl finished her icecream and slipped 
 344.249 +out of her seat.  She had more important things to do.
 344.250 +
 344.251 +     ChibiUsa frantically searched through the laundry.  Ikuko-mama had said 
 344.252 +that she would wash it for her.  If she could only find it...  ChibiUsa smiled 
 344.253 +to herself.  Any reason to see the raven haired girl again would be worth it.  
 344.254 +Her smile slowly vanished when she found the hankerchief.  The blood stain was 
 344.255 +still there on the white cloth. 
 344.256 +     A small sigh escaped her lips as she looked at the cloth.  All she really 
 344.257 +wanted was to see Hotaru again.  She hadn't been able to get the dark haired 
 344.258 +girl out of her mind.  She had wanted to give the hankerchief back to the dark 
 344.259 +haired girl, but now it looked like stain of her blood was stuck in the cloth.  
 344.260 +She would settle for any reason to see the other girl again.  She wasn't sure 
 344.261 +why, but she just had to see Hotaru again.  She had to.  She took a deep breath 
 344.262 +as she thought up an image of the other girl in her mind's eye.  That pale, 
 344.263 +alabaster complexion that made the girl seem to be a beautiful statue brought to 
 344.264 +life.  Those soft, thin lips that looked so pretty when they would smile.  Her 
 344.265 +short raven hair, a dark contrast to her pale skin, making her look even more 
 344.266 +striking.  And those sad silvery grey eyes.. just looking into them showed a 
 344.267 +glimpse of the shadows this girl had around herself, the loneliness she clung to 
 344.268 +as if it was the only thing she had.  She was so beautiful.  And so very alone.  
 344.269 +The pink haired girl shook her head.  It wasn't fair.  This girl shouldn't have 
 344.270 +to feel that way.  She would be her friend.  She smiled to herself.  Yes, she 
 344.271 +would be Hotaru's friend.  She only hoped the other girl would let her. 
 344.272 \ No newline at end of file

   345.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   345.2 +++ b/stories/familyties.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   345.3 @@ -0,0 +1,645 @@
   345.4 +
   345.5 +Hi everyone!! ^-^ How are you all? ^^ We finally finished the first 
   345.6 +part to our next set of stories. ^-^
   345.7 +We really hope you'll all like it. Please tell us what you think. ^_^ 
   345.8 +You can e-mail us any ideas, comments, or suggestions at: 
   345.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  345.10 +
  345.11 +This one gets a little confusing, but it isn't as strange as some of 
  345.12 +the things we have planned for later on. ^^; Here's a small family 
  345.13 +listing so hopefully things won't be too confusing. This story has the 
  345.14 +appearance of several more members of ChibiUsa's family. Kousagi is 
  345.15 +taken from a parallel manga story Naoko Takeuchi wrote recently. She 
  345.16 +was just too cute for us to leave out. ^-^
  345.17 +
  345.18 +Shisa & Selene: ChibiUsa and Hotaru's twin daughters. Shisa 
  345.19 +wears glasses and has shoulder length pink hair while 
  345.20 +Selene has darker maroon hair done up in odango. They both 
  345.21 +have lavender eyes. They're mixed clones of ChibiUsa & 
  345.22 +Hotaru and they're both being brought up as the future 
  345.23 +queens, though no one knows yet who will take the crown 
  345.24 +after ChibiUsa. 
  345.25 +Kousagi: ChibiUsa's half sister. Both she and ChibiUsa were 
  345.26 +raised by Usagi and Rei in Crystal Tokyo. She has blonde 
  345.27 +hair done up in pigtails. 
  345.28 +
  345.29 +Well, we hope that helps and that things don't get too confusing later 
  345.30 +on. ^^ None of these characters are owned by us (with the exception of 
  345.31 +Shisa, Selene, Kousagi and, later on at least, Shera). They're the 
  345.32 +creation of the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi-sama. The story's and 
  345.33 +situations are ours, but hey, if you want to use anything for a 
  345.34 +ChibiUsa & Hotaru story, go ahead. ^_- The world needs more of them. 
  345.35 +
  345.36 +Now, on to the story. Please enjoy. ^-^
  345.37 +
  345.38 +Family Ties
  345.39 +By Amazoness Quartet
  345.40 +
  345.41 +	Rei pulled the bamboo door open slightly, ready to rise Usagi from her sleep.  Last night... she had ran to her, those golden curls sparkling in the moonlight, tears falling from her brilliant blue eyes.  Here she was, sleeping in one of Rei's rather large T-Shirts in the spare room.  The small girl stirred lightly as Rei sat down beside her on the small bed. 
  345.42 +	"Usako?"  She whispered, then silently cursed herself.  "Usagi... wake up..." she lightly placed her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder to shake her wake.  
  345.43 +	Usagi's eyes fluttered open - oh, heaven be praised for eyes like that! - and she sighed. "Oh, Rei..." the way she said her name... how could she ignite such fires?  "Do I HAVE to get up now?"
  345.44 +	No, no you don't, dear princess of my heart...stay, stay here and let me worship you... "If you want to stay with me, Usagi, you're going to have to help out."  Rei stood up and began to turn away, but she felt a hand on her arm. 
  345.45 +	"Rei..." soft pleading voice... don't punish me like this... "Please, I wanted to... to thank you." 
  345.46 +	"For what?"  Her voice shook in her throat. 
  345.47 +	"For listening to me last night.  I... I don't know what I'd do without a friend like you." 
  345.48 +	Bam.  Pang.  Ouch. 
  345.49 +	"You're the only one who ever listens to me... and... I just wanted 
  345.50 +to tell you that..." 
  345.51 +	"You're welcome, Usagi," anger seeped into her words from the hurt she felt.  Friends.  Of course. 
  345.52 +	"No, wait...Rei!"  Usagi stumbled after her friend, and finally ended up stopping her by wounding long arms around Rei's waist.  "Please, I'm not finished yet." 
  345.53 +	Rei willed her heart to stop it's pounding.  "Yes?" 
  345.54 +	"Mamoru..." that name made her want to fight.  "He thought I was in love with you. And... I was thinking of it last night.  I don't know why, but I... I think he might be right."  A squeak followed her words, and she tightened her arms around Rei's waist.  "You're always here for me, thank you so much... I... I..." 
  345.55 +	Rei turned around and enveloped Usagi in an embrace they were both familiar with.  Finally, tears staining their eyes, their lips met...ending what should have never begun and beginning the true love of their lives.
  345.56 +	
  345.57 +*******
  345.58 +
  345.59 +	"For interfering with a girl's precious date with her girlfriend, I can not forgive you. In the name of the future moon, I'll punish you." Sailor Chibimoon yelled out. Sailor Saturn and the monster sweatdropped. Chibimoon leapt down and landed in front of Saturn. 
  345.60 +	The dark haired Sailor Senshi was pinned to the wall from the monster's attacks. Try as she might, she couldn't get loose. "Chibimoon, could you help me?" Saturn asked.
  345.61 +	Sailor Chibimoon turned away from the monster and smiled at the dark haired girl. "Maybe later, if you're a good girl." She turned back to face the monster that had waited patiently. 
  345.62 +	"Chibimoon!" Saturn yelled helplessly. 'She's shy about us normally, but then as Sailor Senshi she doesn't seem to have any problem with it.' Saturn sighed as she struggled against her bonds. 'Sometimes that girl still confuses me,' she thought to herself.
  345.63 +	The monster stared at the pink haired Sailor Senshi menacingly before smirking. "You're going to stop me? I was expecting Sailormoon, not the two junior Sailors."
  345.64 +	"We're not little kids," Chibimoon said indignantly.
  345.65 +	The monster laughed and rushed at Chibimoon. She closed her eyes as it lunged towards her. Wind whipped past her as the monster easily made up the distance between the two of them. Her muscles tensed as she waited for it to hit into her.
  345.66 +	"Chibimoon!" Saturn yelled. Energy built up around her as her emotions surged within. 'If anything happens to her...." The Saturn symbol appeared on her forehead as she summoned her powers. She would not let that monster get away with hurting her pink haired angel.
  345.67 +	"Amazoness Jungle Arrow!!!" four voices shouted in unison. 
  345.68 +	A bright flash hit into the monster, throwing it back from Chibimoon. The energy around Saturn dissipated as she realized the other girl wasn't in immediate danger anymore. Chibimoon slowly opened her eyes to see the monster slowly stand back up. She hugged herself as if to make sure she was still in one piece. She turned at the sound of footsteps approaching her. The sight of her guardians, the Sailor Quartet, brought a smile to ChibiUsa's lips. "I'm so glad you four showed up."
  345.69 +	"You just can't stay out of trouble without us, can you?" Sailor Ceres asked.
  345.70 +	"Can someone help me?" Saturn was still trying to free herself from the wall.
  345.71 +	Sailor Pallas giggled at Saturn's predicament. "It looks like the two of you have everything under control," Sailor Juno said, smiling.
  345.72 +	"Watch out!" Sailor Vesta yelled. The monster was up and it lunged at Chibimoon again. She turned around just in time to see the monster headed towards her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out but a slight gasp. The Quartet watched on in horror as the monster sped towards the princess. A blinding light took the place of the monster as it reached inches away from Chibimoon. The monster dissipated as the light died down. The Quartet turned to see Sailor Saturn, energy still crackling around her and her bonds gone. The dark haired Senshi clutched the Silence Glaive and ran to Chibimoon.  
  345.73 +	Chibimoon slowly blinked several times, her vision still adjusting. The shock of the moment was catching up with her. Her knees buckled under her as she sat back on the ground. She took a deep breath to calm her heart which was beating wildly. She felt two long gloved arms go around her. She leaned back into the embrace, feeling Saturn's own beating heart against her. The pink haired girl took another couple breaths of air before turning to the Quartet. "Thanks, everybody." 
  345.74 +	"Don't worry about it. We were doing our job." Ceres smiled.
  345.75 +	"Just try to stay out of trouble, princess," Vesta added.
  345.76 +	"I will," Chibimoon said, mustering a smile.
  345.77 +	Pallas shivered in the cold night air. "PallaPalla's cold. Can we go home?" the blue haired girl asked.
  345.78 +	"Yeah. Its getting late anyway. You two might want to get home soon. They said it might snow tonight," Juno warned. "And these outfits aren't exactly the best thing to be wearing in freezing weather."
  345.79 +	Chibimoon pouted. "That monster ruined our date."
  345.80 +	A gloved finger on Chibimoon's chin turned her to face Saturn. "We'll just have to go out tomorrow then." The dark haired girl's eyes sparkled as she leaned forward and kissed the other Sailor Senshi. ChibiUsa blushed while the Quartet stared at the young lovers.
  345.81 +	"Get a room," Vesta said before they pulled away. 
  345.82 +	Saturn grinned. "I plan on it." The blush on Chibimoon's cheeks grew several shades darker. 
  345.83 +	Before Vesta could say anything, Ceres grabbed her arm. "We'll be going for now. Do you think you'll both be okay?" 
  345.84 +	Chibimoon nodded. "Oh yeah, we'll be fine. Don't worry about us." She slowly stood up, Saturn's arms still around her. The two waved to the retreating Quartet.
  345.85 +	Saturn kissed Chibimoon softly. "Let's go back home."
  345.86 +	Chibimoon smiled wryly. "You mean your place?"
  345.87 +	A smile tugged at the Senshi of Death and Rebirth's lips. "I get what you mean. Eventually we'll have our own place, though."
  345.88 +	"In the meantime, I'm just happy spending the night with you," the pink haired girl said happily. 
  345.89 +
  345.90 +	Chibimoon and Saturn held each other in the dim light. Chibimoon brushed Saturn's hair away from her deep purple eyes. Saturn held the other girl tightly as she leaned in and kissed her. Chibimoon half closed her crimson eyes as they kissed. Her hand started playing with Saturn's bow. Saturn let the Silence Glaive fall to the floor. Neither heard it hit the floor. Neither heard the night sounds of crickets chirping nor the sound of Setsuna heading up the stairs to her own room. They were too absorbed with each other. Crimson eyes met purple as they kissed, the light from some of the dark haired girl's lamps illuminating them. 
  345.91 +	Saturn slowly lowered Chibimoon to the bed. She turned around and bent over to pick up the Silence Glaive. She moved slowly and deliberately, trying to rile up the other girl. Chibimoon watched Saturn's graceful form as she took her time, grasping the Silence Glaive carefully with both hands before standing back up. Her short skirt moved back and forth across her thighs, giving small glimpses of what lay beneath as Saturn shook her hips seductively. Chibimoon sat entranced on the bed. Saturn raised the Silence Glaive high above her head, the cloth pulling taut against her skin. Chibimoon held her hands in her lap, her cheeks flushed. The room suddenly felt a lot hotter than it should for a cold winter night. 
  345.92 +	"Death Ribbon Revolution!" 
  345.93 +	Chibimoon sat straight up when she heard Saturn using her attack. Ribbons shot out, wrapping around the pink haired girl, restricting her movement until she fell back on the bed. She struggled, trying to get back up but she was unable to move enough. "I didn't know you could do that," She finally said.
  345.94 +Saturn stuck her tongue out. "Now you do. That's for leaving me stuck earlier today." 
  345.95 +	"I'm sorry. I was gonna let you go," Chibimoon explained.
  345.96 +	"I know. And I'm going to let you go, too," Saturn said. 
  345.97 +Chibimoon sighed in relief. The dark haired girl laughed. "Just not yet."
  345.98 +	"Saturn..." Chibimoon said, still trying to struggle out of the ribbons. Her eyes widened when she saw Saturn's gloved hand disappear under her skirt. A moan escaped her lips as Saturn's fingers slid under the white cloth of her Sailor Senshi outfit. "Saturn...." She said again, softer this time. 
  345.99 +	Setting the Silence Glaive down on the floor, careful that it was out of the way, Saturn smiled to herself as she watched the beautiful figure before her. "Odango-chan, you're so pretty," she said softly, almost as if she were in a dream.
 345.100 +	"If I'm so pretty, then you should let me go," Chibimoon said meekly, embarrassed by the situation she was in. Her hind quarters were up in the air slightly with Saturn's hand still under her skirt. Her cheeks were flushed a deep crimson both from her embarrassment and the growing heat inside her. Saturn had seen what was under that skirt many times before, but never in such an awkward predicament. 
 345.101 +	"Do you want me to?" Saturn asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. There was no response from the pink haired girl. Saturn giggled and leaned down on the bed, kissing her lover's soft red lips. Chibimoon gave her all the response she needed when the pink haired girl kissed her back passionately. She let her tongue probe the recesses of Chibimoon's sweet mouth, feeling the other girl's tongue dancing with her own. Saturn's fingers slid the white cloth to the side under Chibimoon's skirt, exposing her now swollen nether lips. Gently running her forefinger over the soft entrance, she managed to excite the pink haired girl further, drawing forth a moan into her mouth. 
 345.102 +	Chibimoon squirmed under Saturn's delicate touch. The ribbons weren't tight, but they restricted her movement. The thought of Saturn's gloved fingers at her entrance and not being able to move drove her crazy from the wait. She shuddered as she felt Saturn start stroking her most secret of places with another finger. 
 345.103 +	Saturn finally pulled away from the girl she loved. Both of them were breathing hard. Saturn could feel the heat emanating from Chibimoon through the soft fabric of her glove. "I love you, ChibiUsa-chan," Saturn said passionately, her eyes never leaving the other girl's flushed face. 
 345.104 +	Chibimoon licked her soft lips before replying a husky, "I love you, too." She shivered deliciously as Saturn continued her gentle caresses. "Hotaru-chan, please untie me. I want to..." she began. She was having a hard time concentrating from the feelings between her legs. It was as if Saturn were stoking a fire that kept growing hotter. "I want to feel you, too. Please, Taru-chan," she said almost desperately. 
 345.105 +	Saturn kissed Chibimoon briefly, relishing the sweet kiss. "Maybe next time you'll get me down," she said simply. "You were in a lot of trouble. I might not have been able to save you because of that."
 345.106 +	Chibimoon pouted mock angrily. She never could stay mad at Hotaru anyway. "I will. Now let me..." A moan escaped those sweet red lips before she could finish. Saturn merely shook her head. "Hotaru-chan, I'm the princess," she said indignantly. "You have to let me go."
 345.107 +	Saturn smiled at Chibimoon sweetly. "Of course you're the princess. You're the princess of my heart. But as your girlfriend, I'm not obligated to let you go." She kissed the pink haired girl's neck, behind her ear and a little further down, causing Chibimoon to moan softly. By now Saturn knew all of her lover's sweet spots, tiny places she'd moan if touched, places she loved being touched. Chibimoon's body was like a work of art to Saturn, one she studied unendingly so that she'd never forget a single detail. Bringing her free hand to just below Chibimoon's hip, the pink haired girl let out another soft moan.
 345.108 +	Chibimoon's legs spread slightly, though their movement was impeded by the ribbons Saturn had made. She was gasping for breath now as she felt Saturn work her magic. "Taru, stop teasing me, please..." she said  between breaths. She let out a groan as Saturn complied, a gloved finger sliding slowly up into her. 
 345.109 +	Saturn sighed happily at the site before her. How this goddess had ever fallen upon her, she'd never know, though she'd always be eternally grateful. Her best friend, her lover, her companion throughout life made everyday worth living. Her life had seemed so empty until that fateful day when ChibiUsa had come into it. "You're the light in my life, ChibiUsa-chan," she said softly, kissing down the pink haired girl's neck. Her free hand went over Chibimoon's soft stomach, rubbing there for a second before moving on. She stopped at ChibiUsa's ample breasts, feeling one through the fabric of her Senshi fuku, her hand resting under the red bow. She could feel Chibimoon's pink nipples pressed against the fabric. Giving one a quick squeeze, Chibimoon emitted a short yelp. 
 345.110 +	"Taru-chan, please," the pink haired princess said breathlessly. This was driving her crazy. She watched through half lidded eyes as her love continued on. The soft whispers of Saturn's beautiful voice rang inside her.
 345.111 +	"ChibiUsa-chan." Taking ChibiUsa's chin in her free hand, Hotaru kissed her full on the lips. She obligingly slid another finger into Chibimoon's swollen nether lips. Now pushing further and faster, she felt Chibimoon's hips start bucking against her, trying to match her movements. 
 345.112 +	Feeling Saturn's long, nimble fingers inside her, Chibimoon let out one last moan as the fire inside her blazed out of control. She arched her back, as her muscles tensed, Saturn's lips still pressed to hers. She finally fell limply on the bed, her pink hair matted to her forehead. "Arigato, Hotaru-chan," she said quietly, smiling at the dark haired Senshi.
 345.113 +	Saturn returned the smile. "My pleasure, my Odango-chan." Sliding her gloved fingers out of the pink haired girl, she brought them to her lips. She tasted the sweet honey from her lover. She savored the taste. Just another piece of the artwork that was her love. Lying beside the pink haired girl, Saturn wrapped her arms around the other girl, the ribbons fading away. Chibimoon's heavy breathing had slowed down considerably now. Hotaru laughed with amusement when she realized that her lover had fallen asleep. Pulling her close, Hotaru rested against ChibiUsa. It had grown late and she knew of no better way to fall asleep than to have her lover close to her heart. Letting her eyes flutter closed, she kissed ChibiUsa's soft lips one last time for the night. "Goodnight, Odango-chan," she whispered.
 345.114 +
 345.115 +*****
 345.116 +
 345.117 +	Rei whistled to herself as she made breakfast for Usagi. After Usagi had gotten into a fight with Mamoru, she'd gone straight to Rei. The blonde girl had been staying with her since then and still hadn't gone back to the apartment she'd shared with Mamoru.
 345.118 +	Rei had been very worried about the other woman. She'd never seen Usagi so angry and distraught before. Over the past few days Usagi had slowly seemed to get better. She was acting like her normal self again now. Rei was happy to be able to be there for her princess, even under the circumstances.
 345.119 +	Opening a cupboard, Rei searched for two cups for the tea she was making. She grinned triumphantly when she found two matching cups. 
 345.120 +	A smile formed across Usagi's lips as she watched Rei from the doorway. The smile started to fade away a bit. A cold pit formed in her stomach as the thought of what she had to tell Rei. Or was it from something else? No, it was far to early on for that.
 345.121 +	"Rei-chan," Usagi said lightly.
 345.122 +	Rei turned around quickly, her long dark hair whipping back behind her shoulders. "Usagi, You're awake." She smirked. "You must have smelled the food."
 345.123 +	Usagi smiled wanly. "Not really. I'm not hungry."
 345.124 +	Rei cocked her head to the side. Was something wrong? She wasn't a great cook, but that never seemed to stop Usagi from eating whatever she'd cook. "Are you feeling okay?"
 345.125 +	Usagi took a deep breath. "Rei, I need to tell you something."
 345.126 +	Rei sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I know."
 345.127 +	"You do?" Usagi asked awkwardly.
 345.128 +	"You still love him," Rei said quietly. She looked up at her friend and tried in vain to smile convincingly. "I understand. Go to him. He's probably waiting."
 345.129 +	"Rei-chan, that's not it," Usagi said quickly. "Its just... Mamo-ch... Mamoru and I..." Usagi tried desperately to find the right words. Rei watched her in confusion. "Rei, I'm pregnant."
 345.130 +	Rei's jaw dropped open and the matching tea cups fell to the floor, shattering.
 345.131 +
 345.132 +	Rei sat on the countertop while Usagi leaned against it next to her. "When did you find out?" Rei asked, obviously still in shock.
 345.133 +	"This morning," Usagi said snacking on some of the breakfast Rei had made. "This is good, Rei-chan." She took another bite of the syrup smothered pancakes before looking up and smiling at her friend.
 345.134 +	"So does Mamoru know yet?" Rei asked. 'So she was hungry,' a voice in her head said triumphantly. She ignored it.
 345.135 +	"Well, yeah. I called him right after I found out. I figured he deserved to know and all." Usagi smiled wearily at Rei, though the other girl didn't seem to notice. "You were in here, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I used the phone."
 345.136 +	"No, no. That's okay. He had a right to know," Rei shook her head and then turned to the blond haired girl. "You're taking this rather well." 
 345.137 +	Usagi laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. I already know what ChibiUsa's like so I'm not worried about having her or anything."
 345.138 +	"But this changes a lot of things."
 345.139 +	"Like what?" Usagi asked, tilting her head to the side.
 345.140 +	Rei sighed and thought for a moment before answering. "You're going to be a mother now. You're probably going to be getting married sometime soon."
 345.141 +	Usagi's eyes narrowed. "I don't think I'll be getting married too soon. So I shouldn't have to worry about that." Her voice lost an angry edge to it when she added. "Besides, you haven't said anything about proposing yet."
 345.142 +	Turning to Usagi, Rei stared at her fumbling for something to say. She coughed into her fist before continuing. "We should probably get you to a doctor, have them make sure. We wouldn't want this to be a false alarm. You might not even be pregnant."
 345.143 +	Usagi laughed. "I love you, too. You should really relax, Rei-chan. I didn't just come over because Mamoru and I had a fight. You know that. I love you."
 345.144 +	Rei blushed furiously. She'd waited forever to hear those words and now she couldn't think of a thing to say. After a second of thought, she leaned down. Usagi leaned up to meet her. They kissed deeply, passionately. Rei could taste the breakfast she'd made on Usagi's lips. "I love you, Usagi-chan," Rei said after they pulled apart.
 345.145 +	"Oh, and I know I'm pregnant. We don't need to see a doctor." The blonde went back to eating and took a sip of the tea she'd gotten after Rei had dropped the other two cups.
 345.146 +	Rei's mind was hazy. It took her a moment to realize what Usagi had said. "Maybe you do know, but I still want to go to the doctor to make sure. I want this to go by as perfectly as possible. I don't want to take any chances that something could happen to you. I know you hate doctors, but that doesn't mean you can get around seeing one for this." 
 345.147 +	"But Rei-chan..."
 345.148 +	"All the others would agree with me," Rei pointed out. "We could call any one of them." Usagi's shoulders slumped in defeat. She hated going to the doctor. Rei smiled kindly. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they won't have to do much. You'll be fine. I'm just worried about you."
 345.149 +	"I know. I still don't like it," Usagi said. She smiled when she felt Rei's hand brush through one of her long pigtails. She felt really good. She was going to have her daughter. Rei was here with her. She had her whole future ahead of her. She didn't know what would happen in that future, but she didn't care. She knew Rei would be there with her.
 345.150 +	Rei raked her fingers nervously through her hair. 
 345.151 +	"Rei-chan?"
 345.152 +	"Usagi, I know you think you're pregnant," Rei began.
 345.153 +	Usagi shook her head. "I am pregnant."
 345.154 +	"Okay, okay. You are pregnant. But what do we do about it now?" Rei asked worriedly.
 345.155 +	"What do you mean, Rei-chan?" Usagi looked at her quizzically. Why did they have to worry about this now? Why couldn't they both go lie down? She could fall asleep in Rei's arms, dream sweat dreams of her baby. She'd spent so much time at the shrine before, Usagi practically knew where everything was. Right now she wanted to lead Rei back to her room so they could forget about all this.
 345.156 +	"Well, for one thing we need to worry about where you're going to stay," Rei pointed out. Usagi sweatdropped and looked at Rei with her big blue eyes. 'No, please don't.' Rei thought. 'Don't you know I can't resist you?' A hand behind her head, the blonde laughed nervously. 'Every little movement you make feels like its ingrained in me. You're an angel I can't ignore. Everything you do shouts for me to take notice. Please, I can't think about this if I'm only thinking of you.' 
 345.157 +	"I thought I could stay here with you, Rei-chan." Looking away, Usagi sighed sadly. "I'm not going back to Mamoru's place again."
 345.158 +	"Usagi, that's where you've been living," Rei said.
 345.159 +	"But I want to be here with you," Usagi said softly. 
 345.160 +	Rei lowered her head. "I know. Of course I want you to stay. I want you to live with me too. But we do have to go get your stuff sometime."
 345.161 +	"Sounds great, Rei-chan. Thank you!" Usagi smiled broadly and hugged the Shinto priestess. 
 345.162 +	Rei rested her chin on top of Usagi's head, still a bit taller from her perch on the counter. She noticed the sweet scent of Usagi's hair, the soft feel of it pressed against her skin. "But your going to have to do some work around here. It is a shrine, you know."
 345.163 +	"Yeah, I understand. I'll help with whatever I can." Usagi said dutifully.
 345.164 +	'You can't cook, you can't clean, I can't even think clearly when your around.... But why do I feel you're perfect?' Rei asked herself. Hugging Usagi closer, she continued thinking about there situation. "And I do get busy a lot with things around here, so we can't just head off whenever you want. I have plenty I need to do." 
 345.165 +	Usagi just nodded happily. "Hai, Rei-chan."
 345.166 +	"So I guess we'll be sharing a room from now on, so you better keep my stuff in order." 'Why am I saying all this? Its not like I could ever truly be mad at her. My angel,' Rei thought to herself. "And my manga..." 
 345.167 +	Usagi looked at her in surprise. "But, Rei-chan, I thought since we were together now that we'd share everything," she said, trying to look sad so Rei would relent on whatever rules she had.
 345.168 +	"Then how come you didn't say anything till the manga?" Rei asked sticking her tongue out.
 345.169 +	"Because.... I wasn't thinking until just now. You were distracting me," Usagi argued sticking her tongue out at Rei. 
 345.170 +	Rei slid off the counter, keeping up her raspberry war with Usagi. Neither woman quite understood how they wound up kissing passionately several moments later, but neither really cared. They couldn't remember which one had changed the rules of their little war, but it hardly mattered. Rei could taste syrup in Usagi's mouth, though she plunged ahead anyway. The wonderful feel of the blondes lips against her own sent chills down her spine. 
 345.171 +	Usagi melted into Rei's arms, a passionate embrace that for so long been denied them finally allowed. She felt safe, warm in Rei's arms. As if nothing bad would happen. She just wanted to stay that way for the rest of the day, to forget the horrible things that had happened. Mamoru was always so cold. Rei was fiery and alive. Even when they argued, Usagi knew it was really nothing. Neither of them meant it. Why they did was lost to her, though she did know that Rei's prodding made her try to better herself, to prove Rei wrong, To show 
 345.172 +Rei who she really was.
 345.173 +	Holding Usagi to her, Rei took a deep breath. "We still need to figure out what to do about money, too. We need to find a way to support the baby when you have her. A priestess doesn't make a whole lot of money, you know." Rei thought deeply. She was worried about Usagi being pregnant. Things weren't as clear cut anymore. There were so many things they needed to get ready before Usagi had the baby. 
 345.174 +	"Rei-chan, please don't worry," Usagi said comfortingly.
 345.175 +	'But, princess, I have to worry. For you. I want everything to be perfect for you,' Rei thought.
 345.176 +	"Rei?" Usagi was looking at her strangely. "You keep doing that. You keep thinking to yourself." A knowing smile crossed her lips. "I'm making you nervous, aren't I?"
 345.177 +	Rei stared at her for a moment, taken aback. "Usagi-chan, I'm thinking about you and the baby. I'm trying to figure out what we should do."
 345.178 +	Usagi shook her head. "Your thinking about me, aren't you?" The blonde girl advanced on Rei a step. "What are you thinking?" Taking another step towards Rei, the blonde smiled wider.
 345.179 +	"I told you, I'm thinking about what to do with you and the baby," Rei replied.
 345.180 +	Stepping even closer to Rei, Usagi looked her straight in the eyes. "Really?" Rei closed her eyes and gave a small sigh. Usagi clapped her hands together joyously. "I knew it!" Usagi laughed when Rei looked away. "That's just good to hear after all these years, Rei-chan."
 345.181 +	Rei smiled warmly at Usagi. "Promise me we'll talk about all this later. I want to start working everything out for you."
 345.182 +	Usagi took Rei's hand and placed it on her cheek. "For us, Rei-chan."
 345.183 +	Leaning forward, Rei's lips met Usagi's and they forgot about what worries they had to come.
 345.184 +
 345.185 +*******
 345.186 +
 345.187 +	ChibiUsa yawned tiredly as she walked to school. Hotaru's hand 
 345.188 +was in her own, giving her some comfort for the coming school day. It 
 345.189 +was too early to be up and about. She should be back in bed with that 
 345.190 +beautiful raven haired girl. There were plenty of ways they could keep 
 345.191 +warm on a cold day like today. Her cheeks flushed as she started 
 345.192 +thinking of such ways absent mindedly. 
 345.193 +	"ChibiUsa..." Hotaru said, as if reading her mind. Now that she 
 345.194 +had the pink haired girl's attention, Hotaru pointed to a tree up in 
 345.195 +front of them. "What are they doing here?"
 345.196 +	ChibiUsa looked around for a few seconds, but she couldn't see 
 345.197 +anything out of the ordinary. A rustling branch caught her eye. Looking 
 345.198 +up she saw PallaPalla balancing on one of the branches. A little higher 
 345.199 +up was VesVes and CereCere. JunJun was no where to be seen. ChibiUsa 
 345.200 +nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand clasped her shoulder. Turning 
 345.201 +around, she saw the green haired amazoness grinning. "Don't scare me 
 345.202 +like that," ChibiUsa grumbled. "Especially not this early in the 
 345.203 +morning." 
 345.204 +	"JunJun, she's your princess," Hotaru scolded. "Besides," she 
 345.205 +smiled, "I'm the only one who gets to scare her." Hotaru smiled at 
 345.206 +ChibiUsa playfully. ChibiUsa took the opportunity to sneak a kiss from 
 345.207 +the raven haired girl. The sweet taste of Hotaru's lips did feel 
 345.208 +invigorating on the cold morning. Then again, they always did. Hotaru 
 345.209 +blinked several times after ChibiUsa finally pulled away, a satisfied 
 345.210 +smile on the pink haired girl's moist lips. Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa 
 345.211 +questioningly, but the future princess only smiled at her. 
 345.212 +	"I hope that was pleasant. Anyway, we're here to keep an eye on 
 345.213 +Small Lady. We want to make sure nothing happens," JunJun explained. 
 345.214 +The other three members of the Quartet deftly leapt out of the tree 
 345.215 +before walking over to where ChibiUsa and Hotaru were standing.
 345.216 +	"On the way to school?" ChibiUsa asked.
 345.217 +	"I can take care of her," Hotaru said firmly. 
 345.218 +	"Sure. Just like you did last night?" VesVes mentioned. She shut 
 345.219 +up after Hotaru glared at her. Apparently the dark haired girl was 
 345.220 +still angry about that near disaster with ChibiUsa.
 345.221 +	"The point is that its our job to protect Small Lady, Hotaru," 
 345.222 +CereCere said.
 345.223 +	ChibiUsa rested her face in her hands. They were all squabbling 
 345.224 +over protecting her. Sometimes she really hated being a princess. 
 345.225 +"We'll be fine on our way to school. I'm sure last night was a fluke." 
 345.226 +ChibiUsa squeezed Hotaru's hand. The dark haired girl seemed a bit 
 345.227 +tense. She felt Hotaru loosen up before squeezing back. 
 345.228 +	"Nevertheless, its our job to keep an eye on you," CereCere 
 345.229 +reminded her. "Even if it is only heading to school."
 345.230 +	ChibiUsa sighed in resignation. She looked at Hotaru helplessly. 
 345.231 +"Okay. But we have to hurry if we don't want to be late."
 345.232 +	The four girls started walking briskly towards the school, Hotaru 
 345.233 +and ChibiUsa still hand in hand.  Up ahead, Momoko waved to them, a 
 345.234 +grayish purple kitten sitting on her head. "Why are the following 
 345.235 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru?" she whispered to the kitten
 345.236 +	"Because they're Small Lady's guardians. They're supposed to keep 
 345.237 +an eye on her," Diana replied. 
 345.238 +	"That's so bizarre." Momoko shook her head as she saw the small 
 345.239 +entourage following her pink haired friend. She tried not to shiver too 
 345.240 +much, so the kitten could retain her balance, but the short Chinese 
 345.241 +dress she wore didn't protect much from the cold wind.
 345.242 +	"I'm glad she has them. It means I don't have to keep an eye on 
 345.243 +her so much. And that means more time with you, Momo-chan," Diana 
 345.244 +purred happily. Momoko smiled lopsidedly and pulled her backpack 
 345.245 +higher.
 345.246 +	"Hi, ChibiUsa-chan! Hotaru-chan!" Momoko ran up alongside them. 
 345.247 +She turned when she heard CereCere clear her throat. The Amazoness 
 345.248 +Quartet waited expectantly. Trying to remember the four girls' names, 
 345.249 +Momoko waved to them. "Umm... Hi, BethBeth, SeraSera, ParaPara, and 
 345.250 +JunJun."
 345.251 +	JunJun stared at her oddly and kept walking while PallaPalla 
 345.252 +giggled. "BethBeth?" VesVes repeated. She turned to CereCere. 
 345.253 +"BethBeth?" CereCere giggled as well.
 345.254 +	"You'd make a cute BethBeth," CereCere said teasingly. 
 345.255 +
 345.256 +	Finally stopping right outside the school, the Quartet waved 
 345.257 +their goodbyes. Diana was hidden away in Momoko's backpack so she could 
 345.258 +stay with her throughout the day. 
 345.259 +	"Shouldn't you four have to go, too?" ChibiUsa asked, pausing 
 345.260 +before the entrance.
 345.261 +	"Nope. We're eternally young, remember. No reason for us to," 
 345.262 +JunJun said, stretching as if to show her relative freedom.
 345.263 +	"Besides, who'd want to repeat the same grade over and over again 
 345.264 +just because we don't get any older?" CereCere asked.
 345.265 +	"Yeah. You enjoy yourselves," VesVes said.
 345.266 +	"Have fun!" PallaPalla waved again.
 345.267 +	"So where are you going all day?" ChibiUsa asked, curious.
 345.268 +	"PallaPalla's going to play," PallaPalla answered.
 345.269 +	"The park," said CereCere. "Back home," VesVes said at the same 
 345.270 +time. They looked at each other and then back at ChibiUsa. "Just 
 345.271 +places."
 345.272 +	JunJun sweatdropped. "I thought we were going to the Crown Café."
 345.273 +	"Awww... that's not fair." Hotaru sighed.
 345.274 +	"I want to go to the Crown Café," a small voice said from 
 345.275 +Momoko's backpack.
 345.276 +	"You can have some of my lunch," Momoko offered, digging around 
 345.277 +for something to give the kitten.
 345.278 +	"Since I'm your princess and all, don't you four have to go to 
 345.279 +school if I tell you? And then you'd be able to protect me while I was 
 345.280 +here," ChibiUsa reasoned.
 345.281 +	A resounding chorus of  negatives came back to ChibiUsa before 
 345.282 +the Quartet hastily left. ChibiUsa watched as they left, the school 
 345.283 +bell ringing behind her. "Oh well..."
 345.284 +	"Come on." Hotaru smiled and took ChibiUsa's hand in her own. The 
 345.285 +gentle touch did wonders for the pink haired girl's outlook on the day. 
 345.286 +"It won't be too bad." ChibiUsa took another look after the Quartet 
 345.287 +before walking through the school doors with her girlfriend.
 345.288 +
 345.289 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa walked home through the park. School was 
 345.290 +finally out for the day and ChibiUsa had managed to convince the 
 345.291 +Quartet that they didn't need to be escorted home. It was cold out, but 
 345.292 +the park looked beautiful. Most people were inside keeping warm, so the 
 345.293 +two girls practically had the whole park to themselves. They held hands 
 345.294 +and walked slowly through the park, enjoying their time together.
 345.295 +	A biting wind blew through the trees, causing Hotaru to shiver 
 345.296 +even under the coat she was wearing. ChibiUsa leaned against her, her 
 345.297 +arms going around the raven haired girl, offering some warmth against 
 345.298 +the cold. Hotaru smiled as her forehead pressed against ChibiUsa's. 
 345.299 +Violet eyes met crimson as they kissed. The biting wind seemed to 
 345.300 +disappear as Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's soft, lush lips against her own. 
 345.301 +She sighed at the marvelous sensation. ChibiUsa pulled away after a 
 345.302 +jogger ran by. Hotaru giggled. ChibiUsa smiled at her, but before she 
 345.303 +could say anything, something fell from the sky, crashing down on top 
 345.304 +of her.
 345.305 +	Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's arm and helped the other girl to her 
 345.306 +feet. "Are you okay?" she asked, worried.
 345.307 +	"Onee-chan!" a younger girl's voice yelled happily. The girl that 
 345.308 +had landed on ChibiUsa  hopped up to her feet and hugged the pink 
 345.309 +haired girl. "I missed you!" the girl squealed. 
 345.310 +	"Kousagi-chan? What are you doing here? I thought mom said you 
 345.311 +couldn't come back to the past. One of us is dangerous enough if 
 345.312 +anything happens to the timeline." ChibiUsa rubbed her head.
 345.313 +	 "I told them I missed you and they said it was cute and let me 
 345.314 +go." She winked at ChibiUsa. "See, when you're younger they want you to 
 345.315 +get along with your sister." The younger girl shrugged. "And now I'm 
 345.316 +here."
 345.317 +	"Excuse me," Hotaru said politely. "Odango-chan, what's going 
 345.318 +on?" Hotaru was confused by this turn of events. She'd never heard 
 345.319 +anything about a sister.
 345.320 +	"Oh, umm..." ChibiUsa sweatdropped. "Hotaru, this is my sister, 
 345.321 +Kousagi. Kousagi, this is Hotaru."
 345.322 +	Hotaru smiled to the other girl and put her hand out, but the 
 345.323 +little girl ignored it, hugging her instead. "I've heard so much about 
 345.324 +you when ChibiUsa was back in the future. You're practically all she 
 345.325 +talked about. She was always asking if she could go back to the past 
 345.326 +and see you." ChibiUsa blushed when Hotaru turned to look at her. "I've 
 345.327 +been waiting to see you for a long time. I already feel like you're my 
 345.328 +sister-in-law." ChibiUsa blushed deeper after her sister finished. She 
 345.329 +hadn't thought her sister had actually been listening to her all the 
 345.330 +time.
 345.331 +	"Really?" Hotaru asked, smiling back at the pink haired girl. 
 345.332 +	ChibiUsa hastily changed the subject. "Anyway, she's my little 
 345.333 +sister. She's eight."
 345.334 +	"Nine. You missed my birthday," Kousagi said, sticking her tongue 
 345.335 +out at ChibiUsa.
 345.336 +	"Odango-chan, you never told me you had a sister," Hotaru said as 
 345.337 +she watched the younger girl pick up a bag of clothes she'd brought 
 345.338 +with her.
 345.339 +	ChibiUsa laughed nervously. "Well, I hadn't really thought too 
 345.340 +much about it. I kinda thought you knew." Hotaru stared at her oddly. 
 345.341 +"I figured Setsuna would have said something about it, so I never 
 345.342 +thought about bringing it up."
 345.343 +	"Aww, you didn't even mention me?" Kousagi pretended to pout. 
 345.344 +Hotaru giggled. She did remind her of ChibiUsa.
 345.345 +	ChibiUsa sighed. "So where are you staying, Kousagi?"
 345.346 +	The little girl smiled. "I thought I'd stay with you two. You've 
 345.347 +got an apartment right?"
 345.348 +	"Not exactly," Hotaru answered. "We're still too young. I live 
 345.349 +with the Outer Senshi and ChibiUsa lives with Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo, 
 345.350 +Usagi's family."
 345.351 +	"Really? Where's Usagi-mama?" Kousagi asked eagerly.
 345.352 +	"She usually stays at her apartment with Mamo-chan, but she's 
 345.353 +been at Rei's temple for a few days now. Usagi and Mamoru got into a 
 345.354 +fight from what I heard, but Usagi won't tell me about it." ChibiUsa 
 345.355 +said. 
 345.356 +	"Oh good. I'll have to go see them both later," Kousagi said.
 345.357 +	ChibiUsa stood in thought for a moment. "Hmm... Usagi's family 
 345.358 +still thinks I'm her cousin, so I can just tell them you're my sister. 
 345.359 +I don't think I'll even have to use the Luna-P."
 345.360 +	"So I'll be staying there with you?" 
 345.361 +	"Yeah. Since Usagi's gone, there's an extra room, too. I've been 
 345.362 +using the attic room since I got used to it, so you can probably use 
 345.363 +Usagi's old room." ChibiUsa nodded. "That should work."
 345.364 +	Kousagi smiled. "Sounds good. Thanks, Onee-chan."
 345.365 +	"Don't mention it. I'm still surprised to see you here," ChibiUsa 
 345.366 +said, sneaking a glance at Hotaru. How come they were always being 
 345.367 +interrupted when they were alone lately?
 345.368 +	"We'll talk tonight, Odango-chan," Hotaru said as if reading her 
 345.369 +thoughts again. "Maybe we can do something then."
 345.370 +	"Hai, Hotaru-chan." ChibiUsa smiled at the dark haired girl. 
 345.371 +Hotaru smiled back before ChibiUsa turned to her sister. "Come on. 
 345.372 +We'll go home for now and I'll try to get things set up."
 345.373 +	"Arigato." Kousagi hefted her bag over her shoulder and started 
 345.374 +following ChibiUsa. 
 345.375 +	Before going two steps, another little girl fell on ChibiUsa. 
 345.376 +When Hotaru turned around to her prone girlfriend, one fell on her as 
 345.377 +well. The two girl's quickly got off the older ones. "Oh yeah," Kousagi 
 345.378 +spoke up. "These two told me they were your daughters."
 345.379 +
 345.380 +	"Shisa?" ChibiUsa asked in shock.
 345.381 +	"Selene?" Hotaru's eyes went wide. "What are you two doing here?" 
 345.382 +The twin daughters they had met briefly in the future were now standing 
 345.383 +in front of them, moments after Kousagi had arrived. Hotaru had known 
 345.384 +she'd see the twin girls again, but she'd assumed that it would be when 
 345.385 +she and ChibiUsa finally had them. The two girl's seemed to be around 
 345.386 +six years old, younger than ChibiUsa's sister. They'd definitely grown 
 345.387 +from when Hotaru had seen them.
 345.388 +	"We wanted to see you two back when you were younger," Shisa 
 345.389 +said. 
 345.390 +	"And ChibiUsa-mama said it would be great for us to see the past, 
 345.391 +even if only for a little while. She said it would give you two some 
 345.392 +time alone to catch up on work," Selene finished up.
 345.393 +	"Work... Uh huh." Hotaru glanced over at ChibiUsa. For some 
 345.394 +reason she didn't quite think work was what her lover's future self had 
 345.395 +had in mind. 
 345.396 +	"After we saw you in our time, we've been asking Hotaru-mama and 
 345.397 +ChibiUsa-mama a lot about when they were younger. They said it might be 
 345.398 +nice if we could see. Grandma Setsuna said it was okay, so we got to 
 345.399 +come here." Shisa smiled at the younger versions of her parents.
 345.400 +	ChibiUsa giggled. "Grandma Setsuna? That was nice of her."
 345.401 +	Hotaru sweatdropped. "I had no idea we had such an extended 
 345.402 +family in the future."
 345.403 +	"Me neither." ChibiUsa shook her head in disbelief as she looked 
 345.404 +at the two younger girl's. Kousagi was standing slightly off to the 
 345.405 +side, letting her sister handle this for now.
 345.406 +	"Yeah, and ChibiUsa-mama's pregnant again," Shisa said, trying to 
 345.407 +be helpful.
 345.408 +	ChibiUsa turned to glance at Hotaru. The dark haired girl just 
 345.409 +shrugged, not sure what to say herself. "Again? You mean Hotaru and I 
 345.410 +have three daughters?"
 345.411 +	"Yep. Well, you will have three. The baby hasn't been born yet," 
 345.412 +Selene said, her maroon odangos
 345.413 +gently swaying in the wind. "You two were talking about us growing up 
 345.414 +too fast and wanting a little sister for us."
 345.415 +	ChibiUsa looked faint. She hadn't thought much about having 
 345.416 +children other than when she'd learned about having the twins. The idea 
 345.417 +of mothering three children while being Neo Queen seemed like a very 
 345.418 +daunting task.  Then again, they were her and Hotaru's children so she 
 345.419 +felt a warm feeling flood through her as she looked at the twins. These 
 345.420 +were her kids, her children. These were a little bit of her and Hotaru. 
 345.421 +The thought of raising a family together made ChibiUsa pause for a 
 345.422 +second, trying to visualize what it would be like. 
 345.423 +	"We need to find some place for the two of you to stay," Hotaru 
 345.424 +said thoughtfully. "What about with me? I'm sure Haruka-papa, Michiru-
 345.425 +mama, and Setsuna-mama wouldn't mind and the house is big enough."
 345.426 +	The two girls smiled. "Thanks, Hotaru-mama."
 345.427 +	"Arigato, Hotaru-mama."
 345.428 +	"You're welcome," Hotaru said, smiling back at them. 
 345.429 +	ChibiUsa giggled and whispered to the raven haired girl. "Hotaru-
 345.430 +mama. That suits you rather well."
 345.431 +	Giggling as well, Hotaru answered. "Oh, stop it. Its creepy 
 345.432 +enough hearing it from them."
 345.433 +	"We better get used to it because when we do finally have them, 
 345.434 +we'll probably be hearing it a lot." Louder, ChibiUsa said, "Kousagi 
 345.435 +and I will walk with you back to your place before going back home.  
 345.436 +Maybe we can go someplace tonight."
 345.437 +	Hotaru looked a bit disappointed. "I'd love to, but it looks like 
 345.438 +we might wind up having to babysit tonight." She mover her hand in a 
 345.439 +sweeping gesture, indicating the twins. "The again, at least we'll be 
 345.440 +together if we're both watching them," Hotaru said optimistically. 
 345.441 +	ChibiUsa sweatdropped. Hotaru was right, but it wasn't exactly 
 345.442 +the perfect date either. "Sounds good. I'll come back after I get 
 345.443 +Kousagi settled at my house."
 345.444 +	"Come on, girls. We're going to Hotaru's house," ChibiUsa said. 
 345.445 +Selene grabbed onto ChibiUsa's hand while Shisa grabbed onto Hotaru's. 
 345.446 +Hotaru smiled down at the smaller girl holding her hand. Shisa smiled 
 345.447 +back up at her. Kousagi sighed off to the side. She wanted to see her 
 345.448 +parents after all this. 
 345.449 +	Hotaru felt a warm feeling inside as she began walking with what 
 345.450 +would be her future family. These little girls were her daughters. And 
 345.451 +she would one day be married to ChibiUsa. Her future seemed very bright 
 345.452 +indeed. Glancing over at ChibiUsa, Hotaru was surprised to see that she 
 345.453 +looked a little more mature, a bit more grown up now. Hotaru grinned to 
 345.454 +herself. Maybe the twins were bringing out a bit of ChibiUsa's maternal 
 345.455 +instinct. Whatever it was, Hotaru liked the feeling of her own family. 
 345.456 +She couldn't remember much of her life as the Princess of Saturn back 
 345.457 +in the Silver Millenium, but she did remember the lonely life she'd had 
 345.458 +with only her father on earth. Her life had been a lot happier when 
 345.459 +she'd grown up with the Outer Senshi. Life's lessons had taught her to 
 345.460 +cherish what little or what strange family she had. Eventually she'd be 
 345.461 +starting her own. The thought was a bit frightening because of what a 
 345.462 +huge step it was, but Hotaru was sure she'd be happy to make it when 
 345.463 +the time came.
 345.464 +
 345.465 +
 345.466 +	The young, double odangoed girl rushed down the street, intent on 
 345.467 +finding her parents. She wandered helplessly though the streets. The 
 345.468 +beautiful blonde woman that always told her she was beautiful. The 
 345.469 +spirited priestess who always seemed to make things right. She was even 
 345.470 +scared that her onee-chan was nowhere to be found. She really shouldn't 
 345.471 +have ran off like that, she thought to herself. Frustration built up 
 345.472 +inside her as she failed again and again to find the women she was 
 345.473 +looking for. At least her sister would know where to look had she 
 345.474 +stayed. Kousagi wasn't used to this place. She came from the future, so 
 345.475 +everything around her seemed strange.
 345.476 +
 345.477 +	"I can't believe your pregnant, Usagi-chan!" Rei exclaimed she puzzled over the doctors examination papers that proved the tale was true. She looked up at Usagi and felt the girls stomach. "Is it really Mamoru's?"
 345.478 +	"Of course it is dummy," Usagi said. "I thought I was in love with him remember? Of course we made love."
 345.479 +	"Hey, I was just asking." Rei said, "I am your guardian, am I not? It's my duty to know these things. Besides.." she pulled Usagi into a deep embrace, "... I love you. I'll take care of you if need be."
 345.480 +	"It must be ChibiUsa," Usagi said, "He loves ChibiUsa dearly, I know he'll be good to her."
 345.481 +	"So what are you saying?" Rei asked.
 345.482 +	"I think it's time we speak to ChibiUsa."
 345.483 +	"Usagi-mama, Rei-mama!" a young girl's voice resonated in their ears. A young girl was grinning happily and running up to them. 
 345.484 +	"Usagi-mama..." Rei asked.
 345.485 +	"Rei-mama....." Usagi murmured terrified. "Oh no not this again..." But it was too late. The tiny girl jumped into Usagi's arms and hugged her furiously.
 345.486 +	"Usagi-mama, I hate onee-chan. She said you and Rei-mama weren't together. I knew she had to by lying." she smiled triumphantly, and Rei and Usagi almost face-faulted into the ground.
 345.487 +	"ChibiUsa!!!" Usagi yelled.
 345.488 +
 345.489 +********
 345.490 +
 345.491 +	"We have to find her, Taru-chan!" Chibi-Usa was holding onto Selene and Hotaru was carrying Shisa on her back.
 345.492 +	"Why did she run off in the first place?"
 345.493 +	"Because I told her that Usagi and Rei aren't lovers in this time!" ChibiUsa rounded another corner. "She was devastated."
 345.494 +	"Well, then you shouldn't have said anything. She was really looking forward to seeing her parents and you just told he they didn't even love each other yet." then what ChibiUsa had said woke her up. "Rei and Usagi are what? Oh man, so she really is your sister isn't she? Then she was born the same way Selene and Shisa were?"
 345.495 +	"Yes!" But, ChibiUsa wasn't paying attention and crashing headlong into a warm body. When she opened her eyes she realized who she'd bumped into. "He-hello Rei-chan."
 345.496 +	"You have some explaining to do ChibiUsa."
 345.497 +	"What are you doing, Mars?" PallaPalla stepped in.
 345.498 +	"Hey I told you not to call me that!" Rei yelled. The rest of the Amazoness Quartet were there staring down at where ChibiUsa lay. Usagi ran up holding Kousagi's hand.
 345.499 +	"PallaPalla, JunJun, CereCere, VesVes!" Hotaru exclaimed.
 345.500 +	"The Sailor Quartet!" Selene and Shisa yelled. "You came too?"
 345.501 +	"Huh?" VesVes asked, "Who are they?"
 345.502 +	"No dummy," Selene argued with Shisa. "They're from the past."
 345.503 +	"Hey you called for them too!" Shisa yelled.
 345.504 +	"Alright you two can it!" Hotaru sighed. "I'm not cut out for parenting."
 345.505 +	"Why are you guys with Usagi and Rei?" ChibiUsa asked.
 345.506 +	"We where looking for you, princess," Jun-Jun said, "We were afraid you would get into trouble again." ChibiUsa blushed and set Selene down.
 345.507 +	"I see," she said.
 345.508 +	"Enough of that. ChibiUsa we march back to Rei-chan's place and you explain everything. And everyone!"
 345.509 +	"Yes, ma'am." ChibiUsa said for once being scolded by Usagi. Everyone sweatdropped at the idea and walked silently to the temple.
 345.510 +
 345.511 +	ChibiUsa took a deep breath and looked around the large table she and the others were seated at. The Quartet stood behind her, as if trying to back her up. She held Hotaru's hand under the table, squeezing it tightly. Shisa, Selene, and Kousagi sat clustered around the table. Usagi and Rei sat across from ChibiUsa, staring at her questioningly, wanting answers. Taking a nervous glance at Hotaru, ChibiUsa found the other girl to be equally nervous. Neither were quite sure how to explain things.
 345.512 +	"So what's going on?" Usagi said, her eyes never leaving ChibiUsa.
 345.513 +	Gulping worriedly, ChibiUsa began, "It's kind of complicated and has a lot to do with the future and people's daughters and things." Usagi nodded from the other side of the table, waiting for her to continue. "Umm... Well, I'm not really an only child." Usagi glanced at Rei for a moment, shock passing between them. "I have a half sister," ChibiUsa continued, "who I thought wasn't supposed to come back to the past." She cast a quick glance at Kousagi, but her sister was staring intently at the two women who would one day be her parents. Sighing, ChibiUsa turned back to Usagi. "This," she gestured to Kousagi, "is my little sister, Kousagi." Smiling shyly, Kousagi waved to Usagi and Rei.
 345.514 +	Usagi stared at the younger girl, not seeming to understand for a moment. "You mean... But..." She shook her head, trying to think.
 345.515 +	Rei seemed to recover first. Looking intently at ChibiUsa, she asked the question that had been burning through her mind. "You said half-sister, right? Who's the father?"
 345.516 +	"I don't have one," Kousagi spoke up. Everyone turned her way. "I have Usagi-mama and Rei-mama," she said happily. She ignored the stare she got from her older sister. ChibiUsa may not want them to know yet, but Kousagi hated the idea of her parents not being together. She wanted them to know as soon as possible. She vaguely remembered something Setsuna had told her about not mentioning certain things, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.
 345.517 +	Rei had heard Kousagi call her that before a short time earlier, but the reality of it made her mind spin. She and Usagi had a daughter in the future? The thought of actually being able to reach that unattainable goal, that shining star that was always out just beyond her grasp, sent a tsunami of emotions crashing through her. 
 345.518 +	Usagi seemed to think about it for a moment. She smiled and waved at Kousagi. "Hi, Kousagi-chan. I guess I'm your mom, huh?" Kousagi nodded, smiling back at her. "You look kinda like Rei-chan." Usagi said thoughtfully, her head tilted to the side.
 345.519 +	Rei laughed. "I think she looks more like you, Usagi-chan." 
 345.520 +	Kousagi blushed as the two women gawked at her, mentioning little things about their future daughter. Kousagi smiled happily, glad that ChibiUsa had been wrong about them not being together yet.
 345.521 +	"I'm so surprised we have a daughter," Rei said, shaking her head.
 345.522 +	Hotaru laughed. "I was surprised to hear ChibiUsa-chan had a sister. We met her on our way home from school."
 345.523 +	Focussing her attention back to ChibiUsa, Usagi looked from Shisa to Selene. "Now, who are they?"
 345.524 +	ChibiUsa sweatdropped nervously. How was she supposed to explain this? "Cousins?" 
 345.525 +	"ChibiUsa..." Usagi's gaze hardened.
 345.526 +	ChibiUsa tried to smile convincingly. "Kousagi's your daughter right? Shisa and Selene are my daughters," ChibiUsa tried to explain. 
 345.527 +	"And mine," Hotaru added.
 345.528 +	Usagi's gaze went from the pink haired girl to the dark haired girl and back. "How can they be both of your daughters? Ohhhhh!" Usagi smiled broadly. "One of them is yours and the other is Hotaru's! I bet they're best friends, too, just like the two of you. That's so cute." She grinned at the two girls sitting by ChibiUsa and Hotaru. "I bet the one with the odangos is yours, right, ChibiUsa-chan?"
 345.529 +	ChibiUsa didn't answer for a moment. If she left it like that, she wouldn't need to explain about her and Hotaru. She cleared her throat to get the others attention. "Actually, they're both our daughters. Hotaru-chan and I.... We get married in the future and have them."
 345.530 +	Standing up, her chair getting pushed back, Usagi stared directly at ChibiUsa, making the younger girl wince. She had been totally caught off guard by that last statement. "What? Who are you married to?"
 345.531 +	"Hotaru-chan..." ChibiUsa said nervously. For some reason, she was seeing Usagi not as she usually saw her, but as her mother back in the future.
 345.532 +	"You? And Hotaru?" Usagi sat back in her chair. She would have fallen if Rei hadn't pushed it back behind her in time.
 345.533 +	"Mom, I..." ChibiUsa began.
 345.534 +	"Why didn't you tell me?" Usagi asked suddenly. "That is something I'd like to know. I worry about you, ChibiUsa-chan. Was this new to you? Did you just find out when the kids told you? Is that why you didn't tell me?" Then it hit Usagi. Had ChibiUsa called her mom? She never called her that, preferring to think of Usagi and Neo Queen Serenity as two different people. 
 345.535 +	Relief washed over ChibiUsa. She'd been so worried about telling Usagi, she'd just about decided to wait and tell her mother when she went back to the future. "We've been dating for a while now."
 345.536 +	"But she fell in love with her a while before that," Kousagi said, grinning wickedly at her sister. "I never heard the end of it back home."
 345.537 +	Usagi looked hurt. "You've been going out and you still wouldn't tell me? Don't you think I'd want to know when you found someone?"
 345.538 +	Staring down at the table, ChibiUsa felt ashamed of trying to hide her being in love from Usagi for so long. "I'm sorry, Usagi. I thought that maybe you wouldn't understand. I was afraid you might not agree with me in falling for Hotaru."
 345.539 +	"ChibiUsa-chan, love is love. It doesn't matter who it is and whether or not it's a man or a woman. As long as it's the most important thing to you, as long as you truly love that person, that's all that matters. You shouldn't run from it." Usagi looked sidelong at Rei, who returned her gaze. Turning back to ChibiUsa and Hotaru, Usagi smiled gently at the two of them. "As long as you're happy, so am I. That's all I want for you, ChibiUsa-chan. And Hotaru-chan, watch out for my little girl."
 345.540 +	Hotaru smiled and nodded. "Always, Usagi-san."
 345.541 +	Getting out of her chair, ChibiUsa ran to the blonde woman. They came into a hug as soon as she reached Usagi. She felt the other woman's arms pull her close. She felt like she was back home with her mother. "Mom, thank you." ChibiUsa said, her voice full of emotion. 
 345.542 +	Usagi blinked back some tears of her own as she held her future daughter. "ChibiUsa-chan, you should never be afraid to tell me anything."
 345.543 +	ChibiUsa didn't say anything, just holding on to her mother. Hotaru and Rei ushered the twins and Kousagi to another room, so they could leave the mother and daughter to talk. The Quartet filed out behind them.
 345.544 +
 345.545 +*******
 345.546 +
 345.547 +	Kousagi giggled, picking up one of the stuffed bunny dolls off of ChibiUsa's bed. "I guess you're still working on your bunny doll collection back here in the past," she said, gesturing to the many types of bunny memorabilia around the room. 
 345.548 +	ChibiUsa busied herself with trying to clean the messy room, picking up some clothes off the floor. "Yeah. There are a lot of cute ones here I've got for my collection." She paused before correcting herself. "Okay, Hotaru's bought me a lot of cute ones for my collection."
 345.549 +	Kousagi smiled. "I'm glad I finally got to meet her. Especially after hearing about her from you so much. She's all you talked about until mom let you go back to the past."
 345.550 +	"Was not."
 345.551 +	"Was too."
 345.552 +	"No, I was just telling you that I missed Hotaru. I talked about plenty of other things," ChibiUsa explained.
 345.553 +	"Oh, sure. Like how pretty she was, how smart she was, how nice she was..." Kousagi trailed off.
 345.554 +	ChibiUsa grinned. "She really is pretty. Now you can finally see what I was talking about." She sighed, glancing to a picture of Hotaru and herself. They were hugging and smiling at the camera, ChibiUsa's fingers out in a victory sign. 
 345.555 +	Kousagi followed her older sister's gaze to the picture. "She's perfect for you. I've never seen you so happy, onee-chan."
 345.556 +	ChibiUsa sat down on her bed beside the double odangoed girl. She smiled to herself, cuddling one of the stuffed bunnies Hotaru had bought her. "Yeah. I love her so much. I was pretty shocked at first when I found out."
 345.557 +	Kousagi shook her head. "Mom says you already knew. She said you just didn't admit it to yourself until something happened back here with the two of you."
 345.558 +	ChibiUsa winked at her younger sister. "Well, mom seems to understand these things a lot better than I thought."
 345.559 +	Pausing for just a second, Kousagi looked up at ChibiUsa. "So what did happen with you two? First I hear you talking about her all the time and you keep begging mom to let you go back to the past. And then a little while after she lets you she tells me you two fell in love. What happened?"
 345.560 +	ChibiUsa blushed slightly and laughed nervously. "I'll tell you when you're older."
 345.561 +	Kousagi blinked curiously. "Why not now? I wanna know."
 345.562 +	"Things got pretty confusing for a while. We were both acting strange around each other, but we pretended nothing was up. I was having a hard time realizing what was going on, but after I spent the night at Hotaru's house and we managed to talk a bit, we both understood how we felt," ChibiUsa explained cautiously.
 345.563 +	Kousagi seemed to contemplate what she'd heard for a bit. "How come all anybody does is talk? Didn't anything else happen?" 
 345.564 +	ChibiUsa laughed, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl. "You watch too many soap operas."
 345.565 +	"Do not."
 345.566 +	"Do too."
 345.567 +	"Oh, mom wanted me to tell you something," Kousagi said, suddenly remembering. "I think it was... She wants you to know that you shouldn't worry about being in love with Hotaru. She loves you no matter what and she's thrilled that you've found somebody. She said your love for each other is the strongest thing you have and that you have to remember that. Something about being tested."
 345.568 +	"Tested?" ChibiUsa asked worriedly.
 345.569 +	"Not by her. She doesn't have anything to do with it. She just knows its going to happen."
 345.570 +	ChibiUsa sat in silence for a moment. "So mom already knows about us? And she's happy? That would have come in a lot more handy if you'd told me that before I told Usagi about us. I was so worried."
 345.571 +	Kousagi reached past ChibiUsa to pick up one of her sisters stuffed rabbits. "You shouldn't have been.  Its still mom, even if she and Rei-mama aren't queens yet."
 345.572 +	"I know. I was just getting way too worried about things for a while. Tested, huh? As long as I'm with Hotaru, I'm sure it will be fine. And mom seems to think so, too," ChibiUsa said, trying to reassure herself. She knew deep down that everything would be alright as long as she and Hotaru stood through it together. 
 345.573 +	"Yep. You shouldn't worry about it too much."
 345.574 +	"Wait, did mom just tell you to tell me all that? She usually sends letters," ChibiUsa raised an eyebrow.
 345.575 +	Kousagi sweatdropped and giggled sheepishly. "I.. umm... I lost it. I had it with my bags, but I couldn't find it when I got here, so I just told you what I could remember now."
 345.576 +	"I hope there wasn't anything important it said that I was supposed to read," ChibiUsa said worriedly.
 345.577 +	"I think that was just about everything," Kousagi said helpfully. She sat and watched the pink haired girl thinking in silence. "Its so strange hearing everybody call you ChibiUsa."
 345.578 +	"Why's that?" ChibiUsa asked absentmindedly.
 345.579 +	"'Cause its not your name, Usagi," Kousagi answered.
 345.580 +	ChibiUsa smiled. "Ohhh... Yeah, but I can't go around as Usagi. Mom and I have the same name, so I'm stuck with being called ChibiUsa in the past."
 345.581 +	Kousagi grinned mischievously. "Bet you don't mind when Hotaru calls you ChibiUsa."
 345.582 +	"Nope. She can call me that forever if she wants." Even if she wasn't exactly 'chibi' anymore, she had grown used to the name. She may not be small anymore, but it would take a while to get used to being called Usagi rather than ChibiUsa when she went back tot he future.
 345.583 +	"I'm starting to think our family has a thing for falling in love with dark purple haired girls," Kousagi said thoughtfully. "First you and Hotaru and then mom and Rei-mama falling in love."
 345.584 +	"I hadn't thought about that," ChibiUsa said with a laugh. "Better watch out for dark haired girls, onee-chan." ChibiUsa winked at her sister. "And best friends, while you're at it."
 345.585 +	Kousagi smiled back at her. "At this rate, I better." Both sisters giggled.
 345.586 +
 345.587 +	Hotaru carefully repositioned one of her lamps on her dresser. "There," she said, taking a step back to see how it looked. She nodded in approval when she saw how it looked next to her other lamps.
 345.588 +	"You have a big lamp collection, Hotaru-mama," Selene commented, glancing around the dark room. "Where are all the bunnies, though?"
 345.589 +	"Bunnies?" Hotaru repeated.
 345.590 +	"Those are ChibiUsa-mama's. They don't share a room yet, Selene," Shisa explained.
 345.591 +	"Oh yeah. I'm just used to seeing the lamps and the bunnies," Selene answered. She looked around the room again, trying to place what bunnies went by what lamp in the future. "The pink and white one goes by that one, remember?" She pointed to one of Hotaru's decorative lamps.
 345.592 +	Shisa giggled. "Yep. Of course I remember that one. We almost broke it."
 345.593 +	Hotaru sweatdropped. "It didn't break right?"
 345.594 +	Shisa smiled. "Nope," Hotaru breathed a sigh of relief. It was one of her favorites. "Not that one."
 345.595 +	After that ominous remark, Hotaru kept herself from asking about the fate of her other lamps. "So," she began, curiosity gnawing at her. "When do we get married? Sometime soon, right?"
 345.596 +	Before Selene could answer, Shisa nudged her in the side. "Can't tell you. You told us not to answer anything like that before we left."
 345.597 +	"Unfortunately," Selene added. "Its no fun not being able to say anything. Her maroon odango bobbed up and down when she hopped off the bed. She ran up beside Hotaru reaching for the gray kitten that was lying sleepily on the carpet.
 345.598 +	"Unless..." The little pink haired girl's eyes lit up mischievously. Shisa adjusted her glasses and smiled. "Hotaru-mama told us not to say anything, right?"
 345.599 +	"Yeah," Selene answered half heartedly as she snuck up on the sleeping kitten.
 345.600 +	"Well, Hotaru-mama's right here. If she says its okay, then we can tell her everything," Shisa said triumphantly. 
 345.601 +	"That'd be fun," Selene said, smiling at her sister. She lunged forward, grasping Diana in her small arms. The kitten woke up in surprise. Try as she might, she couldn't escape the little girl's grasp on her. Selene pet Diana with her free hand as she made her way back to the bed. "Good kitty."
 345.602 +	"Hotaru-chan..." Diana looked desperately at the dark haired girl as Selene continued to pet her.
 345.603 +	Hotaru giggled and shrugged helplessly at the kitten. "She's just a little girl, Diana-chan."
 345.604 +	Diana sighed and stopped struggling in the younger girl's crushing embrace. 
 345.605 +	"You're smaller here than you are in the future, Diana-chan," Selene grinned. She scratched behind the kittens ear. 
 345.606 +	Diana found herself purring despite herself. "I'm probably not a kitten anymore by then. Finally. I'm older than my mom and dad were when they were training Usagi-sama and Minako-sama, but I'm still not a grown cat yet."
 345.607 +	"Growing can be a strange thing, Diana-chan. I went from a baby to a ten year old in six months," Hotaru pointed out. 
 345.608 +	Diana gripped on as Selene hefted the kitten onto her lap on the bed. "Yeah, but that's different. And my human form aged normally." The kitten felt Selene petting her purplish gray fur before dragging her back on her lap when she felt Diana slipping off.
 345.609 +	"The girls seem to think you're cute as a kitten," Hotaru said smiling at the kitten.
 345.610 +	"I'm not so sure that's a good thing," Diana replied unenthusiastically.
 345.611 +	"And I'm sure Momoko doesn't mind that you're a kitten. Trust me, if she's over the fact that she's in love with a cat, then she probably doesn't mind at all." Hotaru tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I fell in love with the rabbit, afterall."
 345.612 +	Diana laughed. "That's figurative. I really am a kitten. Just because ChibiUsa has odd hair doesn't make her a rabbit." Diana paused for a moment. "Momoko dealt with it really well after the initial shock of it all."
 345.613 +	Hotaru smiled softly. "Yeah, that's surprising. It took me a while to get over the shock of finding out I was in love with ChibiUsa. And I already knew a lot about her. Momoko had just found out you were a kitten. She seems to deal with things really well. Like finding out about ChibiUsa and me and about falling for you."
 345.614 +	"Yep," Diana said happily. She meowed as the younger girl continued to pet her. "I'm still a little disappointed that ChibiUsa didn't tell me about you two. I am her guardian, after all. I should know these things."
 345.615 +	"Oh, she wasn't telling anyone. Don't worry about that. It took forever to convince her to tell my parents," Hotaru sat down on the bed beside the two girls and the kitten. The two younger girls listened intently as the older girls talked.
 345.616 +	"While we're on the subject of girlfriends, I think I'm supposed to be seeing Momoko about now," Diana said suddenly, trying to stand up in Selene's grasp.
 345.617 +	"Awww.... You don't have to go, do you, Diana-chan?" Selene asked sadly. 
 345.618 +	Diana took a look at the younger girl's sad lavender eyes and sighed in defeat. "I'll stay," she said, slumping down on the younger girl's lap.
 345.619 +	"Oh good," Selene said giddily, hugging the kitten.
 345.620 +	"So how does that sound, Hotaru-mama?" Shisa asked her future mother.
 345.621 +	"How does what sound?"
 345.622 +	"You can tell us its okay, and then Selene and I can tell you everything that happens," Shisa explained, petting the kitten that her sister was holding. 
 345.623 +	Hotaru brushed some dark hair from her eyes. She was sorely tempted. She could find out so much from these girls. They were her daughters, hers and ChibiUsa's. "No, that's alright. Thank you anyway, Shisa," Hotaru said reluctantly. 'I'll find out eventually,' Hotaru thought to herself. 'When it happens.'
 345.624 +	Shisa pouted. "Are you sure?"
 345.625 +	Selene looked over to Hotaru as well. "It could be fun finding out."
 345.626 +	"I know it would girls. And I would love to know. But if my future self said not to tell me, I'll trust that," Hotaru smiled at the two girls, trying not to rethink her answer. She looked from one of her daughters to the other. They reminded her so much of ChibiUsa. She couldn't help but notice herself in them as well. She loved the thought of the twins being their children. 
 345.627 +	"Hotaru-mama?" Selene spoke up, shaking Hotaru from her thoughts. Hotaru smiled at the little girl calling her mama. Much the same way she did with Michiru and Setsuna.
 345.628 +	"Yes, Selene?"
 345.629 +	"Could you tell us a story?" the younger girl asked, yawning.
 345.630 +	"Yeah," Shisa added excitedly. "About you and ChibiUsa-mama?" The two girls looked at Hotaru pleadingly.
 345.631 +	Hotaru nodded. "Sure. I'm not too sure I'd be very good at telling a story. And I'm not sure you'd want to hear one about me and Odango-chan."
 345.632 +	"No, you're really good at telling stories, Hotaru-mama. Its great when you and ChibiUsa-mama tell us stories together. I like hearing it from both of you. But you're really good," Selene said. She didn't notice that Diana had fallen asleep on her lap.
 345.633 +	"Yeah. And stories about you and ChibiUsa-mama are the best ones." Shisa giggled. 
 345.634 +	"I can try, at least," Hotaru said. "What would you two like to hear about?"
 345.635 +	"When you first met." Selene smiled, remembering the story she'd heard many times.
 345.636 +	"No, when you fell in love," Shisa argued. "That one's better."
 345.637 +	"Uh uh. The time when Hotaru-mama saved ChibiUsa-mama from Nehelenia was a lot better," Selene protested.
 345.638 +	"Nope. What about when they went to the antique store and Hotaru was possessed by a genius locci? That was really good."
 345.639 +	"Not as good as when they went to the masquerade party."
 345.640 +	"But you always fall asleep during that one," Shisa pointed out to her sister.
 345.641 +	'So? Its still a good story. Maybe I'll hear the end this time," Selene said, sticking her tongue out.
 345.642 +	"What about when they switched places?"
 345.643 +	"I liked that one a lot," Selene said happily.
 345.644 +	"Yeah, lets hear that one!" Shisa grinned.
 345.645 +	Hotaru sweatdroped nervously. She had no idea when that happened, but she knew it hadn't happened yet. 'Odango-chan, where are you?' she asked silently.
 345.646 +
 345.647 +
 345.648 +

   346.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   346.2 +++ b/stories/farewellfin.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   346.3 @@ -0,0 +1,538 @@
   346.4 +We’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo, because without his help, this story
   346.5 +would never have been finished, especially not in time for ChibiUsa’s
   346.6 +birthday. ^-^
   346.7 +
   346.8 +Farewell
   346.9 +By the Amazoness Quartet
  346.10 +
  346.11 +
  346.12 +ChibiUsa sighed anxiously. It was a beautiful day outside, but that
  346.13 +was far from her mind. A certain dark haired girl was the focus of it, but
  346.14 +that wasn't anything new. She was waiting for Hotaru to finish getting
  346.15 +dressed so they could leave for Hotaru's father's beach house where they'd
  346.16 +spend the next few days together. Alone this time. ChibiUsa couldn't help
  346.17 +but smile at the idea of being alone with Hotaru. She'd already had a
  346.18 +birthday party earlier today with the others and now she'd be able to enjoy
  346.19 +the rest of it with the one person she wished to share everything with.
  346.20 +
  346.21 +A wailing noise snapped her out of her thoughts. It took her a
  346.22 +moment to realize it was the sound of a child crying. Knowing that both of
  346.23 +their twin daughters that had come back from the future were somewhere
  346.24 +in the house, it had to be something wrong for one of them. Heading down
  346.25 +the stairs quickly, she tried to pinpoint where the sobbing was coming from.
  346.26 +Selene looked up teary eyed at ChibiUsa. The future princess kneeled down
  346.27 +worriedly next to the younger girl. “Selene, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
  346.28 +	Selene just wiped at her eyes tearfully, taking a shuddering breath before
  346.29 +looking up at her the woman that would one day be her mother. 
  346.30 +“ChibiUsa-mama, do you
  346.31 +really love Hotaru-mama?” she asked in almost a hushed whisper.
  346.32 +	ChibiUsa was taken aback. Why did the little girl ask that? Was there any
  346.33 +question? Brushing a hand through her pink hair, she just blinked a few 
  346.34 +times. “Of course
  346.35 +I do. She’s everything to me.”
  346.36 +	Selene sniffled, wiping her eyes shakily with the back of her hand.
  346.37 +“Re…Really?”
  346.38 +	The pink haired girl nodded quickly to dispel the younger girl’s fears, 
  346.39 +wiping a
  346.40 +tear from her cheek. She smiled gently at Selene. “Really. She’s everything 
  346.41 +to me. I love
  346.42 +your Hotaru-mama with all my heart.” This seemed to appease the younger 
  346.43 +girl, drawing
  346.44 +forth a small smile from her. ChibiUsa smiled softly, but something still 
  346.45 +concerned her.
  346.46 +Something felt wrong… “Why did you ask?”
  346.47 +	The dark haired odangoed girl rubbed at her eyes with small fists before 
  346.48 +looking
  346.49 +up at ChibiUsa again. “An angel told me. She was really pretty, with pink 
  346.50 +hair kinda like
  346.51 +yours, but it was past her shoulders. She was all shimmery and had a white 
  346.52 +dress on that
  346.53 +was really long and pretty, too. She said that it wasn’t enough.”
  346.54 +	“That what wasn’t enough?” ChibiUsa asked encouragingly, wanting to know
  346.55 +what had gotten the younger girl so upset.
  346.56 +	“That you didn’t love her enough…” Selene said quietly, looking down.
  346.57 +	ChibiUsa shook her head emphatically. “No, that’s absurd. I love Hotaru 
  346.58 +more
  346.59 +than anything. How could I not love her enough?” she demanded, her heart 
  346.60 +starting to
  346.61 +ache from the very idea.
  346.62 +	“I.. I don’t know…” Selene barely got out, on the verge of tears.
  346.63 +	ChibiUsa closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It was nothing, just a 
  346.64 +figment of
  346.65 +Selene’s imagination. Sure it was kind of odd, but that was just not even 
  346.66 +worth worrying
  346.67 +about. Of course she loved Hotaru enough. She slowly smiled again, hugging 
  346.68 +the smaller
  346.69 +girl. “It’s going to be alright, Selene. Whatever it was, it was wrong. I 
  346.70 +love Hotaru with
  346.71 +all my heart.” ChibiUsa’s words reassured both herself and Selene. Smiling a 
  346.72 +little
  346.73 +brighter, ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side. “Want to get some ice cream? 
  346.74 +We can
  346.75 +forget all about this.”
  346.76 +	Selene jumped up and down excitedly. “Hai!! Thanks, ChibiUsa-mama! You’re
  346.77 +the best!” She hugged ChibiUsa tightly, already starting to forget her odd 
  346.78 +vision.
  346.79 +
  346.80 +	They were finally alone. That was the first thought that ran through 
  346.81 +ChibiUsa’s
  346.82 +head as she walked hand in hand with Hotaru to the beach house. In the 
  346.83 +distance, the two
  346.84 +could hear Haruka’s car driving off. She’d be there to pick them up in a few 
  346.85 +days. In the
  346.86 +meantime, that left the lovers alone with each other at the beach house. No 
  346.87 +children, no
  346.88 +schoolwork, no responsibility. Juts the wonderful feeling of being together. 
  346.89 +They had
  346.90 +come out here to be alone, a birthday present Hotaru had given her so they 
  346.91 +could spend
  346.92 +the next few days together without a care in the world. ChibiUsa smiled 
  346.93 +brightly at the
  346.94 +dark haired girl, squeezing her hand slightly.  The pale girl’s hand 
  346.95 +squeezed back as
  346.96 +Hotaru turned to her with a smile.
  346.97 +	As they stood in front of the doors, ChibiUsa felt an almost overwhelming 
  346.98 +sense
  346.99 +of fear and regret overtake her. As if her whole life would change by 
 346.100 +walking through
 346.101 +those doors. She leaned against Hotaru, holding her arm tightly.
 346.102 +	“ChibiUsa-chan?” Hotaru looked at her worriedly. Her usually cheerful
 346.103 +complexion was now deathly pale. Hotaru’s arm started to ache from the death 
 346.104 +grip
 346.105 +ChibiUsa had on it. The raven haired girl started to panic, barely holding 
 346.106 +herself in check
 346.107 +for ChibiUsa’s sake. This was so unlike the vibrant future princess. What 
 346.108 +could be so
 346.109 +horribly wrong?
 346.110 +	Taking a deep, soothing breath, ChibiUsa smiled calmly at Hotaru, 
 346.111 +suppressing
 346.112 +the wave of emotions that had passed over her. “Its nothing. I just haven’t 
 346.113 +been getting
 346.114 +much sleep lately because of the twins. And Kousagi’s been keeping me up 
 346.115 +whenever
 346.116 +I’m at my house, so that’s it.” She giggled at the skeptical look Hotaru 
 346.117 +threw her.
 346.118 +“Really, its nothing. You worry too much, Hota-chan. Let’s just enjoy 
 346.119 +ourselves. You and
 346.120 +me.”
 346.121 +	Beautiful crimson eyes gazed brightly at her as the future princess’s arm 
 346.122 +went
 346.123 +around Hotaru’s waist. Hotaru felt herself relaxing in ChibiUsa’s grasp. If 
 346.124 +ChibiUsa was
 346.125 +okay, then there really wasn’t anything for her to be worrying about. The 
 346.126 +nervousness
 346.127 +slowly started to ebb away, replaced by a warm feeling her heart as her 
 346.128 +violet eyes befell
 346.129 +the pink haired goddess before her. Hotaru smiled softly. “Hai, its your 
 346.130 +birthday, so if
 346.131 +that’s what you want to do, I’m all for it.” Leaning forward, her lips 
 346.132 +lightly brushed
 346.133 +ChibiUsa’s. “Happy birthday, Odango-chan.”
 346.134 +	“I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday,” ChibiUsa said, 
 346.135 +grinning.
 346.136 +
 346.137 +	ChibiUsa rolled over for what had to be the eighth time that night.
 346.138 +No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to sleep. And that usually
 346.139 +wasn't a problem for her whenever she had Hotaru right beside her. Their
 346.140 +clothes lay scattered on the floor, their bodies entangled under the sheets.
 346.141 +ChibiUsa held the frail girl close, the feel of her bare skin reminding her
 346.142 +of the passionate moment they'd shared not long ago. The raven haired girl,
 346.143 +who had enough trouble sleeping normally, was fast asleep next to her. She
 346.144 +was tired after what they'd done, but she couldn't get to sleep. Closing her
 346.145 +eyes just made matters worse. She sighed, her hands covering her face in
 346.146 +frustration. Why was it bothering her? She knew she loved Hotaru, that's
 346.147 +all that mattered. So why couldn't she get to sleep? All day, Hotaru had 
 346.148 +been
 346.149 +pretending nothing was wrong, trying to hide her worry while ChibiUsa had
 346.150 +been dancing around the subject and trying to reassure Hotaru that
 346.151 +everything was alright. Neither had been able to enjoy themselves because
 346.152 +of how she was acting. Sitting up in bed, the pink haired girl slowly
 346.153 +disentangled herself from her sleeping lover. She knew she wouldn’t be
 346.154 +getting any sleep tonight.
 346.155 +	Her thoughts in a jumble, ChibiUsa slipped off the bed, her toes
 346.156 +moving against the soft feel of the carpet. Tilting her head to the side,
 346.157 +ChibiUsa gazed at the raven haired girl alone in the bed for a what felt 
 346.158 +like
 346.159 +an eternity. Her fingers gingerly followed the contours of Hotaru’s 
 346.160 +beautiful
 346.161 +face, brushing past her soft lips, warm cheeks, and finally through
 346.162 +midnight black hair. She leaned down, brushing some of Hotaru’s dark hair
 346.163 +back. Her lips gently pressed against Hotaru’s as her fingers stroked down
 346.164 +to the pale girl’s neck. Something wet rolled down ChibiUsa’s cheek down
 346.165 +to Hotaru’s, startling the pink haired girl. Slowly pulling away, a hand 
 346.166 +went
 346.167 +to her face. Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m crying? Why am I
 346.168 +crying?” she asked herself in a daze. The pink haired girl balled up her 
 346.169 +fists
 346.170 +in frustration, shutting her eyes tightly as a wave of sadness swept through
 346.171 +her body. An icy pit formed in her stomach as more tears started falling.
 346.172 +‘I’m supposed to be happy. I’ve got everything I could ever want. I have
 346.173 +you, Hota-chan. I love you.” A sob punctuated her declaration of love, her
 346.174 +hand wiping at the still forming tears in her crimson eyes.
 346.175 +	Looking down at Hotaru, ChibiUsa’s fingers lightly brushed her
 346.176 +cheek again. Part of her wanted to wake the sleeping angel, to try to tell 
 346.177 +her
 346.178 +the jumble of emotions going through her. But she couldn’t bring herself to
 346.179 +wake the raven haired girl up. Each time she’d try, she stopped herself just
 346.180 +before she could. What would Hotaru think? She wouldn’t think… ChibiUsa
 346.181 +pulled her hand away from Hotaru’s pale skin as if burned. Selene’s words
 346.182 +burst into her mind. ‘That you didn’t love her enough…’ She shook her head
 346.183 +violently, her hands going through her pink hair as a lonely wail escaped 
 346.184 +her lips. “That
 346.185 +can’t be it. It can’t be….” She desperately wanted to shake Hotaru awake, to 
 346.186 +tell her just
 346.187 +how much she loved her, to here Hotaru tell her she knows, that she’s always 
 346.188 +known. But
 346.189 +ChibiUsa still couldn’t bring herself to disturb the raven haired girl’s 
 346.190 +peaceful slumber.
 346.191 +So often, Hotaru would look tormented in her sleep. This would just ruin one 
 346.192 +of the few
 346.193 +restful slumbers that Hotaru’s had. “I’m being selfish, Hota-chan. I’ll be 
 346.194 +okay. I can
 346.195 +handle this.”
 346.196 +	With that, the future princess headed out the door of their bedroom, 
 346.197 +padding
 346.198 +across the plush carpet. At first she didn’t know where she was going, but 
 346.199 +she quickly
 346.200 +realized the path she was taking. The Mirror. Of course! How could she have 
 346.201 +been so
 346.202 +blind? Michiru had lent ChibiUsa her hand mirror for their trip to the beach 
 346.203 +house, telling
 346.204 +her the talisman would keep them safe. The mirror could show the truth, no 
 346.205 +matter how
 346.206 +hidden it may be. She could easily look into that to see how deep her 
 346.207 +feelings for Hotaru
 346.208 +ran. After proving them to her satisfaction, she could be off to bed and 
 346.209 +cuddling with her
 346.210 +firefly. She grinned happily as she made her way to the mirror, lying unused 
 346.211 +on a table in
 346.212 +the living room. ChibiUsa felt almost dizzy as she picked up the mirror. It 
 346.213 +was cold to the
 346.214 +touch. Something in the back of her mind told her to put it down, that how 
 346.215 +dare she
 346.216 +question their love. Afterall, it didn’t matter that Hotaru’s hair wasn’t 
 346.217 +pink.  She wet her
 346.218 +parched lips nervously, the icy pit in her stomach returning a hundred fold. 
 346.219 +Holding the
 346.220 +mirror up, she gazed into it. Rather than a direct reflection, the image in 
 346.221 +the mirror was of
 346.222 +her as a princess. The truth. Taking a deep breath, ignoring the warnings in 
 346.223 +the back of
 346.224 +her head, ChibiUsa concentrated on the mirror. “Show me the depths of my 
 346.225 +love.”
 346.226 +
 346.227 +	She ran, ignoring the sharp pain of rocks scraping against the skin of her 
 346.228 +bare
 346.229 +feet, ignoring everything as she tried to get further and further away. Her 
 346.230 +hair, let down
 346.231 +from its normal odango style for the night, trailed behind her past her 
 346.232 +shoulders. Tears
 346.233 +blinded her, blurring her vision, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered 
 346.234 +anymore. Nothing.
 346.235 +Her frantic thoughts swirled about in her mind like a whirlwind, jumbled 
 346.236 +beyond
 346.237 +coherency other than the deep pain she felt in her heart.
 346.238 +	As she ran along the rocky cliff face, barely even realizing where she was. 
 346.239 +She
 346.240 +wiped at her eyes desperately, stinging tears dripping wetly down her 
 346.241 +cheeks. ‘Why?!
 346.242 +Why?’ she thought, over and over again, begging for an answer, any answer to 
 346.243 +the pain
 346.244 +she felt. Her heart ached deeply, as if she’d been cut open by The Senshi of 
 346.245 +Death and
 346.246 +Rebirth herself. Was that how she truly felt? Was that what was to happen? 
 346.247 +She didn’t
 346.248 +return Hotaru’s feelings with half the blaze, half the sheer strength that 
 346.249 +Hotaru had in her
 346.250 +love for her. ChibiUsa shuddered, feeling cold inside. As if she’d been 
 346.251 +drowning in a
 346.252 +freezing river for so long and had only now opened her eyes. What could she 
 346.253 +say to
 346.254 +Hotaru? Anything she could say would only hurt her, ChibiUsa was sure. She 
 346.255 +hugged
 346.256 +herself tightly, her small body wracked by sobs as she continued her aimless 
 346.257 +running, her
 346.258 +only thoughts to escape the horror of her thoughts.
 346.259 +	So intent was she upon her fleeing that she never noticed where she was
 346.260 +running. The rocky ledge started to give way beneath her bare feet, a 
 346.261 +breathless scream
 346.262 +trapped forever in her lips as she fell. The princess barely felt the 
 346.263 +impact, everything
 346.264 +starting to fade out as she hit the shore below. She lay there, tears still 
 346.265 +running down her
 346.266 +cheeks, not even realizing she was taking her dying breath. “Taru…”
 346.267 +
 346.268 +	“ChibiUsa-chan!! ChibiUsa-chan, where are you?! Please, please come back to
 346.269 +me, ChibiUsa-chan….” Hotaru slumped to her knees in defeat, her dark skirt 
 346.270 +getting
 346.271 +sullied by the wet sand on the beach. Last night, ChibiUsa had seemed so 
 346.272 +upset about
 346.273 +something. She’d gone out to look for the pink haired future princess in the 
 346.274 +dark, but she
 346.275 +was nowhere to be found. Hotaru had hoped that she’d gone back to the beach 
 346.276 +house, but
 346.277 +no such luck. She had finally cried herself to sleep when she had gotten 
 346.278 +back to their
 346.279 +empty bed. Waking up, she had the false hope that she’d be in ChibiUsa’s 
 346.280 +arms and that
 346.281 +everything would be alright again. Now she had to wonder if things would 
 346.282 +ever be alright
 346.283 +from then on.
 346.284 +	Her black tights and dark clothes barely kept back the biting cold wind 
 346.285 +that blew
 346.286 +past her. Icy knives raked her face as she stumbled forward, wiping at her 
 346.287 +eyes with her
 346.288 +long sleeve. “ChibiUsa-chan…” She wanted to give up, to go back inside the 
 346.289 +warm house
 346.290 +and cry herself back to sleep. She hadn’t slept much the night before, so 
 346.291 +why not? What
 346.292 +could she hope to find out here? Something inside her pushed her on, 
 346.293 +spurring her
 346.294 +forward. Standing up again, the raven haired girl weakly made her way along 
 346.295 +the beach.
 346.296 +She nearly lost her footing in the wet sand, but kept going after steadying 
 346.297 +herself. She
 346.298 +trudged on and on, the lapping of the waves and the whistling of the wind 
 346.299 +the only sounds
 346.300 +around her.
 346.301 +	About to collapse from exhaustion, the raven haired girl’s attention was 
 346.302 +caught
 346.303 +by something up ahead. Something pink. She squinted, trying to make out what 
 346.304 +it could
 346.305 +be, praying that it was the girl she sought. She’d soon come to regret that 
 346.306 +as her prayers
 346.307 +were answered. As she ran to the other girl, she quickly noticed that 
 346.308 +ChibiUsa wasn’t
 346.309 +moving. Her pink hair was moving back and forth as the wind played with it. 
 346.310 +Her
 346.311 +normally immaculate white nightgown was stained with the brown of the wet 
 346.312 +sand and
 346.313 +streaks of crimson. Her body was lying in a heap, looking like a rag doll 
 346.314 +that had been
 346.315 +thrown aside.
 346.316 +	Hotaru ran as fast as she could, her heart catching in her chest. In her 
 346.317 +haste, her
 346.318 +foot caught on a rock, forcing her to tumble to the ground. She got up and 
 346.319 +pushed on,
 346.320 +despite the intense pain in her twisted ankle. It couldn’t rival the pain in 
 346.321 +her heart.
 346.322 +“ChibiUsa-chan!!!” she cried out, almost expecting the pink haired girl to 
 346.323 +sit up. Hot
 346.324 +tears poured down her cheeks as she fell to her knees besides the prone 
 346.325 +future princess.
 346.326 +“ChibiUsa-chan, get up. Please, get up,” the dark haired girl sobbed as her 
 346.327 +arms went
 346.328 +around the cold body of her one true love. She held ChibiUsa close, a tear 
 346.329 +falling onto
 346.330 +ChibiUsa’s cheek. The pink haired girl’s face looked almost the same as it 
 346.331 +had the night
 346.332 +before. Her large crimson eyes were glassy and looking up at Hotaru, her 
 346.333 +normally
 346.334 +vibrant cheeks now pale. Hotaru clutched onto ChibiUsa in her grief. She 
 346.335 +felt as if her
 346.336 +heart had been torn from her chest. As if a piece of her, the most important 
 346.337 +piece, had
 346.338 +been taken from her. “ChibiUsa-chan… Don’t leave me alone… I’m scared to be 
 346.339 +alone..
 346.340 +I need you with me, ChibiUsa-chan… I need you…” she barely managed to get 
 346.341 +out
 346.342 +through heart wrenching sobs. The painful realization that her lover was now 
 346.343 +dead kept
 346.344 +trying to impose itself on her mind, but she clung to the hope that she’d be 
 346.345 +okay, that she
 346.346 +would get up in her arms, returning the embrace.
 346.347 +	Hotaru stayed that way for a long time, ignoring everything around her as 
 346.348 +she
 346.349 +held the dead princess tightly against her. “Its like she’s asleep… She’s so 
 346.350 +pretty when
 346.351 +she’s asleep… Its like you’re taking a nap, ChibiUsa-chan. You sleep well, 
 346.352 +and I’ll be
 346.353 +here when you wake up… I’ll always be here when you awake. Because…” The 
 346.354 +dark
 346.355 +haired girl looked intently at the lost love in her arms, tears still 
 346.356 +streaming down her
 346.357 +cheeks. “I love you.”
 346.358 +
 346.359 +	A few hours later, a blue sports car stopped in front of the beach house.
 346.360 +A woman with sandy blonde hair stepped out of the car, holding her jacket 
 346.361 +tightly
 346.362 +around her as the sea breeze came in. Smiling to herself, she reached back 
 346.363 +in
 346.364 +the car and pulled out the last of ChibiUsa’s birthday presents, lovingly 
 346.365 +wrapped
 346.366 +in a deep violet wrapping paper with black lace ribbons. Hotaru had 
 346.367 +forgotten the
 346.368 +present she had been going to give ChibiUsa in her haste and Haruka hadn't
 346.369 +found it in the back of her car until she was well back to the city. She'd 
 346.370 +decided to
 346.371 +stop by the next day and return it to her daughter to give to the ChibiUsa.
 346.372 +Cinching her jacket around her, the tall woman made her way to the door of 
 346.373 +the
 346.374 +beach house and knocked on the door. “Hime-chan! Its me, Haruka-papa,” she
 346.375 +said after a few moments. There was no answer. Haruka frowned and tried the
 346.376 +door. She began to worry as the unlocked door opened. What could have
 346.377 +happened to the two girls? She commanded herself to stop worrying. They were
 346.378 +probably at the beach and left the door open for when they’d come back in.
 346.379 +Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She
 346.380 +instantly recognized it as Michiru’s mirror. It was lying on the floor near 
 346.381 +one of the
 346.382 +tables in the living room as if someone had thrown in aside in a hurry. 
 346.383 +Haruka’s
 346.384 +heart started beating faster as she quickly searched the beach house. Her
 346.385 +surrogate daughter and the future princess were nowhere to be found. Rather
 346.386 +than waste time panicking, the blonde woman rushed out of the house, intent 
 346.387 +on
 346.388 +finding the two girls. Trudging out towards the beach, she couldn’t help but 
 346.389 +shiver
 346.390 +as the biting wind increased. It was too cold to be swimming. They couldn’t 
 346.391 +be
 346.392 +out here for that. Then why… Haruka shook her head. She wouldn’t allow 
 346.393 +herself
 346.394 +to assume the worst yet. First things first. She had to find them.
 346.395 +	After what felt like hours of walking, but must have been considerably
 346.396 +less, Haruka thought she heard a faint voice being carried by the wind. A 
 346.397 +voice
 346.398 +filled with utter despair and hopelessness. A voice that had lost any of the 
 346.399 +joy
 346.400 +and wonder life had to offer. At first, she thought it was only the wind, 
 346.401 +but the soft
 346.402 +voice continued. Haruka finally caught sight of a girl dressed entirely in 
 346.403 +black, her
 346.404 +rave hair being whipped around by the wind as she clutched onto something
 346.405 +protectively. The blonde woman ran to her surrogate daughter, determined to
 346.406 +make sure everything was okay. He stopped dead in her tracks when she saw
 346.407 +the lifeless form of a once happy pink haired girl in Hotaru’s arms. “My 
 346.408 +God….”
 346.409 +She gasped.
 346.410 +	Hotaru didn’t even look up, not noticing her Haruka-papa’s arrival. “So
 346.411 +pretty when you sleep like this. And I’ll watch over you forever, my 
 346.412 +sleeping
 346.413 +beauty….” Hotaru’s fingers gently brushed over ChibiUsa’s cold lips as she
 346.414 +continued rambling semi-coherently. “Forever.”
 346.415 +
 346.416 +
 346.417 +"It's so cold..."                                                     .
 346.418 +	Ever since what had happened, Hotaru kept a nearly steady monologue.
 346.419 +The silence meant she was alone again.. always alone.. forever..  And she 
 346.420 +didn't
 346.421 +want to be left alone.  Not now, not ever.  Everything that had happened.. 
 346.422 +it
 346.423 +was like a whole new person.  "It's not me.  Silly.  I'm watching myself.. 
 346.424 +like
 346.425 +on a screen..."
 346.426 +	All around her, the room seemed bare, stripped of everything.  Her
 346.427 +normally dark room was even darker without the beautiful shining lamps to 
 346.428 +soften
 346.429 +it.  "But the lamps were too dangerous, ne, Michiru-mama?  You wouldn't want
 346.430 +me
 346.431 +to break one and use the glass to slit my wrists.  You want me to suffer.."
 346.432 +	The dark-haired girl, long out of tears, looked over everything she had
 346.433 +left.  The bed was bare, so she couldn't strangle herself with the sheets.  
 346.434 +Her
 346.435 +beautiful lamps had been replaced by three solemn candles.  She only had her
 346.436 +books.. her only escape for so many years before was her only option now.  
 346.437 +Or..
 346.438 +	That seemed a lifetime ago to the grief-stricken girl.  "Oh, back then,
 346.439 +no-one cared if I lived or I died.. Kaori-baka would've been GLAD to see me 
 346.440 +go.
 346.441 +And.. if I'd died then... she wouldn't..."  Closing her eyes tight and 
 346.442 +trying
 346.443 +to remove the image from her mind, she thought over her options.  Ever since
 346.444 +her parents set up this suicide watch, after that first night alone, she'd 
 346.445 +had
 346.446 +no privacy, not even a chance to mourn in peace.  She'd just been almost 
 346.447 +locked
 346.448 +in her room, from how they treated her outside it, and even then one of them
 346.449 +would check on her every few minutes, even if she was asleep.
 346.450 +	All she had left were her books..
 346.451 +	"They say history repeats.. I know.. I watched it.. over and over..  An
 346.452 +endless loop.  I was alone then.. I'm alone now.. oh, ChibiUsa-chan.. why
 346.453 +couldn't I have died instead?"
 346.454 +	The desk was gone.  The shelves, the table, the chairs - all taken out.
 346.455 +All that was left were her books and her bed.. and the candles.  Near a 
 346.456 +corner,
 346.457 +the remains of her diary sat.  She'd tried to communicate that way, writing
 346.458 +everything using the stub of a pencil Setsuna-mama had finally agreed to 
 346.459 +give
 346.460 +her.  After the first hundred pages or so, she'd realized she wasn't making 
 346.461 +any
 346.462 +sense at all, and questioned the point of it.  But, then again, what were 
 346.463 +all
 346.464 +of her diaries for?  All the secrets, every little thing, kept in meticulous
 346.465 +detail... "No-one could understand.  I couldn't let them understnd.  They'd 
 346.466 +see
 346.467 +and they wouldn't understand.. the only person who could ever understand is
 346.468 +dead.  Saturn!  Where are you now?  If you're truly the Messiah, reigning 
 346.469 +over
 346.470 +Death and Rebirth, then tell me why!"
 346.471 +	But, then, an idea came.. and in her broken mind, with its broken soul,
 346.472 +living a lifeless shell in a grey world without even the comfort of trust, 
 346.473 +it
 346.474 +made perfect sense.
 346.475 +	No-one would understand.  So why let them try?
 346.476 +	She stood, shakily, blinking and wiping her bloodshot eyes.  It would
 346.477 +still be a few minutes at least, until someone checked on her.  Praying it
 346.478 +would be long enough, she set to work, seperating her books from her diaries
 346.479 +and journals, her secrets..  Making a pile, she begin to organize it all, 
 346.480 +bit
 346.481 +by bit, working slowly and carefully.  It was almost time.
 346.482 +	Her work was interrupted by a knock at her door.  "Hime-chan?  Is
 346.483 +everything okay?"  It was Haruka-papa, come to make sure she hadn't died.
 346.484 +Not responding, she waited for the blonde woman to open the door and
 346.485 +check.  "Hime-chan?"  The door slowly creaked open, and Haruka stuck her
 346.486 +head
 346.487 +inside.  "I know it's hard for you, Hime-chan.  But we have to be sure."  
 346.488 +When
 346.489 +Hotaru didn't even bother to look up, Haruka just sighed and shut the door
 346.490 +again.
 346.491 +	Alone once more, the girl set her plan into motion.  Tearing pages out,
 346.492 +shredding some, pulling some into strips, leaving some notebooks whole, she
 346.493 +prepared.  All of her work, everything she had left, everything she was.. it
 346.494 +was all here.  And with a touch of the candle..
 346.495 +	It took a minute or so to catch.  Hotaru blew on the small fire,
 346.496 +letting it grow at its own pace.  She knew that the smoke alarm's batteries 
 346.497 +had
 346.498 +been dead for weeks, and since everyone was asleep or downstairs, there'd be
 346.499 +no-one to stop her.  Page by page, she fed the fire.. whole years of her 
 346.500 +life,
 346.501 +burning away.  "It's warm, ChibiUsa-chan.. can you feel it?  It's not like
 346.502 +everything else..  This is how it has to be, now.  If I can't die.. I'll 
 346.503 +make
 346.504 +it so I was never around in the first place.  Without these for people to
 346.505 +remember me by, I'll just fade away.  No-one cares but you, ChibiUsa-chan..
 346.506 +no-one....  They want me to live on, forget the past.  Find someone to 
 346.507 +console
 346.508 +me and love me.  Be happy.  I've never been happy, ChibiUsa-chan.  I can't 
 346.509 +ever
 346.510 +remember being happy.  Not without you..."
 346.511 +	The flickering flames glittered, reflected in her sad, tired eyes.. so
 346.512 +tired, so old.. dead.
 346.513 +	The fire spread to the floor, spread through the room.  By now, it was
 346.514 +quite obvious that the room was ablaze, if not the whole house.  And Haruka,
 346.515 +just now noticing the smell, was quick to run up and check on her 
 346.516 +dark-haired
 346.517 +princess.  Sirens could be heard, off in the distance.. a neighbor saw the
 346.518 +flame, the firefighters would arrive soon.
 346.519 +	Haruka arrived just in time to pull the firefly from the heart of the
 346.520 +fire before anything more than her hair and clothes were singed.  The girl 
 346.521 +was
 346.522 +unconscious, passed out from the lack of sleep and the fumes of the books'
 346.523 +bindings as they caught.
 346.524 +
 346.525 +	Two figures watched from the shadows.
 346.526 +	Children.
 346.527 +	It almost seemed they were part of the background.. a piece that
 346.528 +doesn't quite fit, that everyone overlooks..
 346.529 +	One spoke.  Her voice quiet, almost detached.
 346.530 +	"Shisa?"
 346.531 +	"Yes, Selene?"
 346.532 +	"Do you think we went too far?  I mean.."
 346.533 +	They watched, as their mother was revived by her Haruka-papa.  As she
 346.534 +was doomed to ever live, lifeless.
 346.535 +	"Yes, Selene."
 346.536 +	"Oh.. look, Shisa!  I can see through us.  We're fading.... Shisa?"
 346.537 +	"Yes, Selene?"
 346.538 +	"I am the wind.. look!  Whoosh!"
 346.539 +	A gust of wind came, as the window was broken in by a firefighter.
 346.540 +The two figures seemed to dissipate, with the smoke..
 346.541 +

   347.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   347.2 +++ b/stories/fate-love.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   347.3 @@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
   347.4 +Hi all... this is my first fanfiction and I mean first. So, feel free to email me at avenge_x@yahoo.com to give me your comments. Well, this fic is about Sakura and Tomoyo and it's in a different perspective. Let’s just say we're in the medieval fantasy ages where Sakura is Tomoyo's bodyguard. And .. they are only 10 years old. I like `em in that age. 
   347.5 +Hope this fic doesn’t bore you. :) 
   347.6 +Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters and ...well you know the rest.
   347.7 +
   347.8 +
   347.9 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  347.10 +
  347.11 +
  347.12 +Her Fate and Her Love
  347.13 +
  347.14 +by Avenge X
  347.15 +It was raining that day. Sakura had just finished her training as on of Princess Tomoyo's knight. Tomoyo waited restlessly for the return of her knight. She thought back on the day when Sakura requested she wanted to protect her best friend. 
  347.16 +
  347.17 +
  347.18 +
  347.19 +*****
  347.20 +"Please Princess Tomoyo!!!" said Sakura. 
  347.21 +
  347.22 +"You don't have to be formal with me Sakura... we're best friends aren't we? Why would you want to be my knight?" Tomoyo asked Sakura who was looking very serious. 
  347.23 +
  347.24 +"Well... it's because I...I" Sakura said blushing. "I just wanted to ... uh... please just accept me, okay?" 
  347.25 +
  347.26 +Tomoyo looked into Sakura's eyes. She remained silence for a moment and finally made her decision. "I don’t know why but I'm sure there is a reason behind it, ne?" 
  347.27 +
  347.28 +"Um... hehehe ...I'll take that as a 'yes' then hmm? " Sakura said blushing again. 
  347.29 +
  347.30 +
  347.31 +
  347.32 +*****
  347.33 +"To-Tomoyo! I mean Princess...what..."said Sakura shockingly 
  347.34 +
  347.35 +"Sakura-Chan..."Tomoyo sigh briefly. "Remember ... what I told you..." 
  347.36 +
  347.37 +"Opps...sorry, it’s just that ... you are a princess and ... "said Sakura. 
  347.38 +
  347.39 +"It doesn't matter right? Well let’s stop all this small talk... Sakura-chan, you're soaking wet. Come now, I'll make sure you don't get sick." Tomoyo said and leaded Sakura to Tomoyo's room. 
  347.40 +
  347.41 +"Am I actually allowed in here?" Sakura asked worryingly. 
  347.42 +
  347.43 +"Of course you are. Don't be shy Sakura-chan" said Tomoyo as she giggled at the looked on Sakura's face. 
  347.44 +
  347.45 +"Uh... well... thank you Tomoyo. You have been such a good friend," said Sakura. 
  347.46 +
  347.47 +Tomoyo smiled at Sakura and gestures Sakura to the bathroom to take a nice warm bath. Sakura thought to herself the reason she wanted to become Tomoyo's knight. She still remembers the day they met. It was when Sakura's father became Tomoyo's private teacher. It was then when Sakura got lost in the castle. Tomoyo had just finished her studies and maybe it was Fate that brought them together. From that day onwards, they became very good friends. Every time Tomoyo finished her class, they would meet each other. 
  347.48 +
  347.49 +"Sakura-chan? Are you alright in there?" Tomoyo's voice could be heard on the other side of the door. 
  347.50 +
  347.51 +"I'm fine Tomoyo! I'll be out in a minute" Sakura blushed and smiled to herself. 
  347.52 +
  347.53 +The reason she thought to herself again," It’s because ... I love her very much... we share so many memories together... and I ... guess... I had a crush on her too... Should I confess my love to her ... today? Will she hate me? Or ... will she feel the same way as I do? She always treated me very good." 
  347.54 +
  347.55 +"Sakura-chan? Are you sure you are ok?" asked Tomoyo again. 
  347.56 +
  347.57 +She knew that Tomoyo was always worried about her. She noticed the look in Tomoyo's eyes just know, after her training. 
  347.58 +
  347.59 +"Sorry to keep you waiting, Tomoyo-chan. I just...hoe?!" Tomoyo traced Sakura's cheek gently. Her face was worried. 
  347.60 +
  347.61 +"Tomoyo-chan...? I'm ... fine ... " 
  347.62 +
  347.63 +"Are you sure? You seem to be absent minded. Please tell me if something is wrong Sakura... I'm worried about you and I don’t want anything to happen to her. Why don't you just stay by my side ...hmmm?" Tomoyo started to brush Sakura's hair slowly. Sakura blushed. She stared at her Princess' eyes. She secretly smiled but Tomoyo managed to notice it. 
  347.64 +
  347.65 +"Sakura-chan... are you really sure you are ok?" 
  347.66 +
  347.67 +Sakura thought to herself, " This is it ... I can't it anymore ... I'll just have to tell her the truth ... she may not like it but ... I won’t know until I try. Tomoyo-chan... here goes." 
  347.68 +
  347.69 +"Tomoyo-chan... I ... well... do you still remember the time I wanted to be your knight? I'm going to tell you why. It's because..." Sakura paused momentarily. Glancing into the eyes of Tomoyo, she started to lean closer to Tomoyo. Her heart started to beat even faster. Her breathing was uncontrollably. Sakura gazed at Tomoyo. 
  347.70 +
  347.71 +"You're so beautiful Tomoyo. I wanted to be your closest friend Tomoyo. I wanted to protect you. Knowing that this part of the land is always infested with demons... I... I..." 
  347.72 +
  347.73 +She couldn't bring herself to say it but eventually she did. " Tomoyo-chan... I... love... you..." Sakura shut her eyes tightly and pray." Please don’t hate me!!!" 
  347.74 +
  347.75 +Tomoyo smiled sweetly and moved even closer to Sakura," I will never hate you ... Sakura because I'm also in love with you." 
  347.76 +
  347.77 +Sakura was so happy she embraced Tomoyo tightly. She wanted to kiss her but was interrupted. "Excuse me, Princess, dinner will be ready in five minutes." A voice called out from outside the room. Tomoyo answered back and Sakura wanted to kiss her again... However, she was again interrupted. "I'm sorry Princess but the prince from the neighboring land just arrived surprisingly and wanted to meet you...huh?" 
  347.78 +
  347.79 +Tomoyo whispered something to Sakura. Sakura opened the door. She was irritated by all the interruption she gets when she was about to kiss Tomoyo. 
  347.80 +
  347.81 +"I'm sorry but Tomoyo is not going to meet any Prince. She already has one... well sorta..."Sakura said angrily. 
  347.82 +
  347.83 +"Oh? And who might that be?" said the maid who kept interrupting their kiss. 
  347.84 +
  347.85 +"Me! Now leave us alone! I'm trying to kiss her and stop bothering us! Goodbye and ... have a nice day!" Sakura slammed the door and lock it so no one will bother them. 
  347.86 +
  347.87 +The maid was dumbfounded standing outside the door. She turned around to face Tomoyo who was giggling at Sakura. 
  347.88 +
  347.89 +"Um... did I say too much?" Sakura said shyly. 
  347.90 +
  347.91 +"You didn't, Sakura-chan. That was just fine." Tomoyo smiled. 
  347.92 +
  347.93 +Sakura leaned forward and embraced Tomoyo. Soon, they found each other kissing passionately. 
  347.94 +
  347.95 +That was her love ... and the beginning of their love for each other. And it was also the beginning of her Fate as a knight. 
  347.96 +
  347.97 +One week passed. The girls were getting along very well. It was a bright morning and Tomoyo decided to take a look at Sakura's training. Sakura soon became a guardian when since she had special powers and it would come in handy when her loved one, Tomoyo gets into trouble. Times these days are not safe. The demons were moving up to the continent and sooner or later, they will probably overthrow the castle. However, Sakura is not going to let that happen. Time passed. The demons are already moving up fast. Watch guards had spot a few demons roaming around the castle. 
  347.98 +
  347.99 +"TOMOYO-CHAN! Please follow me... I don't want you hurt. I'm glad I manage to find you." Sakura said with a very worried face. 
 347.100 +
 347.101 +She wanted to embrace Tomoyo but realized that she covered with some demon blood. Tomoyo stared at Sakura for a moment. She was afraid that Sakura might be hurt. 
 347.102 +
 347.103 +"Sakura-chan, daijõbu?" asked Tomoyo. 
 347.104 +
 347.105 +"Hai~ I'm okay. But... the castle..."Sakura said as she looked around the place sadly. 
 347.106 +
 347.107 +She wasn't certain if she could protect Tomoyo but she is willing to do it even if she has to take her life away. Their love was growing stronger. 
 347.108 +
 347.109 +They manage to escape to the garden. Most of the demons are dead anyway so it should be safe. There was, however, one more demon. It seems to be fate for Sakura to encounter it. 
 347.110 +
 347.111 +"Stop demon! I will not let you get away this easy!" Sakura shouted as she slowly draw out her sword. The demon was way much bigger than Sakura. She thought that this must be the leader of the pack. 
 347.112 +
 347.113 +"Tomoyo-chan, be careful." Sakura turned slightly to see if Tomoyo was still there, alive. 
 347.114 +
 347.115 +"Sakura-chan, you be careful too. I... don't know what will I do if you..." Tomoyo break off her words. She knew Sakura would understand it. 
 347.116 +
 347.117 +Sakura fought with the demon for quite sometime. She slashed and thrust the demon. It was so angry that it gave a big blow to Sakura. She stumbled and falls on her back. Losing her grip of her sword, she tried to retrieve it and regain her consciousness. The demon slowly moved towards Tomoyo. 
 347.118 +
 347.119 +"TOMOYO-CHAN, RUN AWAY! GO!" Sakura shouted and frowned at the demon. 
 347.120 +
 347.121 +"Hey, you're not done with me yet!" 
 347.122 +
 347.123 +"Sakura... I can't leave you alone here..." Tomoyo said and cried. 
 347.124 +
 347.125 +"No Tomoyo... you must go ... I...I will be alright. I promise... but you are the princess so you must be alive ... please leave now..." cried Sakura. 
 347.126 +
 347.127 +"No ... I don't care Sakura!!! I don't care who I am!!! I love you and that's all that matters to me. I want to stay by your side forever! I will wait for you here. I don't care about my life ... all I care is you, Sakura...you are the one I care so much." Tomoyo started to burst out in tears. 
 347.128 +
 347.129 +"Tomoyo-chan... I... TOMOYO, LOOK OUT!" Sakura shouted as the demon started to attack Tomoyo. 
 347.130 +
 347.131 +Sakura was so scared. Her eyes grew wider. She got back up on her feet and jumped towards Tomoyo and pushed her away from danger. The demon thrust its claw to Sakura's chest. She groans in pain as blood started to spew out from her mouth. She quickly cast the fire spell and shoots directly at the demon as she fell to the ground. It burns in the flames and turned into ashes. 
 347.132 +
 347.133 +Tomoyo rushed to Sakura's side. Blood covered Sakura's body. She started coughing out blood too. Tomoyo cried. Her tears were blurring her sight of Sakura. She lays Sakura on her lap and put her arm around Sakura's waist and the other arm trying to stop the blood from flowing out of her wound. She cried and cried and couldn’t stop crying. Sakura was in tears too but she manages a smile to Tomoyo. Sakura rubbed Tomoyo tears away. 
 347.134 +
 347.135 +Sakura muttered since her energy was decreasing," T-T-Tomoyo-chan... I'm sorry... I almost couldn't... p-protect you but ... I'm happy to see you alive...so stop crying..." 
 347.136 +
 347.137 +"Sakura-chan... don't say you are sorry ... don't leave me now. I have still much to do with you. We are still young ... you can't leave me now ... You just can’t ... I won't allow you to leave now... not now and ever...please don't close your eyes..." cried Tomoyo. 
 347.138 +
 347.139 +The skies were rather cloudy and it started to drizzle. 
 347.140 +
 347.141 +"To-Tomoyo... I'm getting... cold... what's going on?" 
 347.142 +
 347.143 +Tomoyo could only stared at Sakura who was losing more blood. "Of course ... it's raining... that's why you feel cold..." Tomoyo lied. 
 347.144 +
 347.145 +"...Are you sure? I feel so pain... Tomoyo ... promise me you won't leave me and please don't forget me in death..." Sakura was losing her strength and soon her consciousness. 
 347.146 +
 347.147 +"Baka! You will not die ... you must live...Sakura? S-S-Sakura?" Tears were flowing out even more from Tomoyo's eyes. 
 347.148 +
 347.149 +"I love you, Tomoyo-chan ... I'll always love you ... in death or in life...I'll miss you ... please stop crying for me. Promise me that you'll live happily..." 
 347.150 +
 347.151 +Tomoyo couldn't say anything. She was paralyzed. She thought this could be the end. 
 347.152 +
 347.153 +"It's my fate and we should accept it... good or bad... I'm ... sorry I have to leave you now... I'm so sorry...and I love you...Princess Tomoyo..." Sakura's voice slowly faded away leaving Tomoyo crying. Sakura's eyes slowly close as she gave Tomoyo a final smile. 
 347.154 +
 347.155 +Tomoyo leaned closer to Sakura and kissed her. Tomoyo cried as she embraced Sakura tighter. "I ... will never forget you and your bravery, Sakura-chan. I will love you forever...I love you, Sakura-chan..." 
 347.156 +
 347.157 +
 347.158 +
 347.159 +*****
 347.160 +One week later... 
 347.161 +
 347.162 +"Princess, ... don't you want to come out and eat something? You haven't eaten well these few days." Said a voice outside Tomoyo's room. 
 347.163 +
 347.164 +"No, thank you. You may leave me alone..." 
 347.165 +
 347.166 +"Sakura-chan ... when will you open your eyes? You have been in a coma for almost a week. Don't you want to wake up and see the new World? The demons have been banished all thanks to you and your courage. If you wake up now ... no... it's useless... I want to see you open your eyes... but ...I" 
 347.167 +
 347.168 +Tomoyo was sitting nest to Sakura who was lying on Tomoyo's bed. Every night, Tomoyo would cry herself to sleep unless Sakura wakes up. She traced the shape of Sakura's cheek slowly. A tear could be seen rolling down from Tomoyo's cheeks. She closed her eyes and bent slightly towards Sakura and kissed her. Suddenly, Tomoyo felt as if she her kissed was return by another. She felt someone's arms wrapping around her waist. Tomoyo slowly break off the kiss and opened her eyes to see that the person she wanted to see the most opened her eyes too. 
 347.169 +
 347.170 +"Please tell me I'm not dreaming..." 
 347.171 +
 347.172 +"You're not and I'm not lying about it too...Tomoyo-chan..." 
 347.173 +
 347.174 +"It's really happening? Sakura-chan! You're awake...finally!!! I'm so happy! You have to let me worried for one weeks about you, haven't you?" 
 347.175 +
 347.176 +"Sorry ... but I was trying my best to wake up so I can see you again ... " 
 347.177 +
 347.178 +"It doesn't matter now that you opened your eyes..." Tomoyo tried to hide her yawn but Sakura spotted it. 
 347.179 +
 347.180 +"Have you been sleeping properly, Tomoyo-chan. Please don't worry me too. Tell you what, I'll make up for it..." Sakura pulled Tomoyo gently to her bed and wrap her arms around Tomoyo." I love you Tomoyo-chan..." 
 347.181 +
 347.182 +"I love you too...Sakura-chan..." Both of them smiled at each other and kissed. Soon, they fall asleep in each other's arms. 
 347.183 +
 347.184 +Life was going to be beautiful for them. Sakura had accepted her love and her Fate. 
 347.185 +
 347.186 +
 347.187 +
 347.188 +
 347.189 +
 347.190 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 347.191 +
 347.192 +Note: Well how was it? Feel free to email me if u want. I apologize if there are any mistakes [grammar etc. etc.]. And I hope you liked the ending too. :) Hope you enjoy it! Seeya! 

   348.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   348.2 +++ b/stories/firstkiss.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   348.3 @@ -0,0 +1,535 @@
   348.4 +First Kiss
   348.5 +by G. P.
   348.6 +A Sonomi and Nadesico Story
   348.7 +All characters are the property of Clamp. This work is in no way
   348.8 +meant to infringe upon their rights.
   348.9 +
  348.10 +I.
  348.11 +"He has to be strong. I want to be kissed by someone strong, who can
  348.12 +sweep me up in his arms, and protect me like a Princess from a fairy
  348.13 +tale. And not just strong outside, but inside, too. "
  348.14 +
  348.15 +Izumi glanced about the circle, and saw the other girls smiling in
  348.16 +agreement. Except for Nadesico, who was either distracted or deep in
  348.17 +thought; it was impossible to tell which. The rest concurred that
  348.18 +inner and outer strength was a must. The girls at the sleepover had
  348.19 +gathered in a circle on the floor, debating the necessarry qualities
  348.20 +of the boy who would give them their first kiss. After what seemed
  348.21 +hours of debate, Izumi had suggested that each girl state just one
  348.22 +quality, the one they thought most important. If the group agreed,
  348.23 +then there would be five characteristics by the end. This, it was
  348.24 +fervently hoped, would then help reveal to each the boy who would
  348.25 +bless them with their very first kiss. All eyes now fell on Mayu as
  348.26 +she distractedly played with a lock of her long, black hair. 
  348.27 +
  348.28 +The girls treasured Mayu as a sweet and beautiful soul. She was
  348.29 +always there to comfort, to support, and to reassure when a friend
  348.30 +was hurt, or sad, or lonely. Her features were somewhat plain, and
  348.31 +she was sometimes teased for it by those did not know her well. But
  348.32 +every girl in the circle would trust her with her heart, or her very
  348.33 +life. She stared at the plush carpet, meditating quietly on the
  348.34 +difficult question. Finally, in soft voice she stated firmly,
  348.35 +
  348.36 +"He would have to be honest. How could you ever trust somebody who
  348.37 +wasn't?"
  348.38 +   
  348.39 +The other girls nodded their heads sagely at Mayu's words. There was
  348.40 +no doubt that honesty and strength were essential. They waited now
  348.41 +for Sayaka to speak, but she sat silent, enveloped in a deep, crimson
  348.42 +blush. Izumi gently elbowed her and teased,
  348.43 +
  348.44 +"You're not getting kissed yet, Saya-chan. Come on, its your turn."
  348.45 +
  348.46 +Sayaka looked up with glistening blue eyes, fighting off the
  348.47 +embarrassment and struggling to speak. Though the first of their
  348.48 +circle to reach the age of 13, she seemed as naive and child-like as
  348.49 +ever. Endearing and exasperating in turn, they loved her dearly for
  348.50 +her gentle heart and naive innocence. Looking at the floor again, she
  348.51 +spoke in a feathery, halting whisper.
  348.52 +
  348.53 +"Handsome. I...I know it's silly, but I wouldn't want my first kiss
  348.54 +to be with someone who wasn't beautiful." 
  348.55 +
  348.56 +Had anybody else said this, there would have been giggles and
  348.57 +smirks. But not with little Sayaka. Besides, the girl was right, for
  348.58 +all of them prayed for a first kiss with their own ideal of beauty.
  348.59 +All eyes now turned to Sonomi, who looked aside in embarrassment. She
  348.60 +was often impatient with games like this, and the others half-
  348.61 +expected some sarcastic comment on the foolishness of the night's
  348.62 +proceedings. Though obviously uncomfortable, she spoke with
  348.63 +surprisingly earnest passion,
  348.64 +
  348.65 +"They would have to be kind. Otherwise, I'd be too afraid." 
  348.66 +
  348.67 +The other girls looked on in astonishment, for to them Sonomi was a
  348.68 +tower of strength. She seemed fearless and aloof, untouched by the
  348.69 +worries that haunted other girls in their daily lives at school.
  348.70 +Athletic prowess had earned her the nickname, "Diana", the proud
  348.71 +goddess of the hunt from the Western myths of long ago. That Sonomi
  348.72 +would so treasure kindness touched them deeply. And it was true. A
  348.73 +first kiss was a scary thing, and fragile hearts should only be
  348.74 +offered to those who would treat them gently. Izumi broke the warm
  348.75 +silence as she looked at the girl nestled next to Sonomi. 
  348.76 +
  348.77 +"OK, Nadesico chan. It's your turn. Yo-ho!"
  348.78 +
  348.79 +Nadesico turned from gazing out the window, smiling as always. She
  348.80 +looked pleasantly baffled, but no more than usual. Gathering her
  348.81 +thoughts, she said,
  348.82 +
  348.83 +"Oh. it's my turn?"
  348.84 +
  348.85 +The others nodded. For many, the first impression of Nadesico was
  348.86 +that of a perfect airhead. Her absent-mindedness was legend at the
  348.87 +school, and nearly everyone had a favorite story to tell. Everyone,
  348.88 +of course, except her cousin Sonomi, who protected the perpetually
  348.89 +distracted girl with fierce devotion. Nobody, not the nastiest bully
  348.90 +or strictest sensei dared say anything about Nadesico in front of
  348.91 +her. Izumi half-kiddingly held that Nadesico was an angel who had
  348.92 +unwittingly stumbled onto Earth, "She spends all her time trying to
  348.93 +remember why she is here, and how to get back again." Izumi's little
  348.94 +joke rang true, because there was an angelic aura about the strange,
  348.95 +beautiful girl. And they all loved Nadesico inspite of, or perhaps
  348.96 +because of, her odd otherworldliness. She loved everyone she met with
  348.97 +the same effusive sweetness. Invariably all hearts yielded to her
  348.98 +insistent kindness, and the love she poured forth came back tenfold.
  348.99 +So the girls were eager and curious to hear her contribution.
 348.100 +Glancing about the circle of faces, she blinked her large green eyes
 348.101 +in puzzlement. Izumi suppresed a giggle and reminded her that they
 348.102 +were each stating the most important quality of the one with whom
 348.103 +they would share their all-important first kiss. At this, Nadesioco's
 348.104 +face lit up as she spoke in an excited tone,
 348.105 +
 348.106 +"Oh, yes, I remember, sorry, sorry. Umm, that person would have to
 348.107 +be special. A first kiss is very special, so it would have to be with
 348.108 +a special person."
 348.109 +
 348.110 +The girls looked at one another, and then laughed their agreement.
 348.111 +Nadesico's logic was unassailable. A first kiss happened once in a
 348.112 +lifetime, and was a precious gift as well as a golden moment to
 348.113 +remember forever. It could only happen with someone special. Mayu,
 348.114 +who had written down each quality, read them off her list,
 348.115 +
 348.116 +"So, the person has to be strong, honest, handsome, kind, and
 348.117 +special, yes? Everybody agrees?" 
 348.118 +
 348.119 +All five heads nodded, so Mayu went on,  "And that means, ummm, we,
 348.120 +ummm..."
 348.121 +
 348.122 +Izumi quickly interjected,
 348.123 +
 348.124 +"And that means now we have to tell who we want our first kiss to be
 348.125 +with. And since Nadesico chan was last before, this time she should
 348.126 +go first!"
 348.127 +
 348.128 +As always, Izumi had maneuvered skillfully. Someone else would have
 348.129 +to go first in revealing such an intimacy. The other girls were
 348.130 +inwardly relieved, but Nadesico seemed utterly unconcerned as she
 348.131 +cheerfully exclaimed,
 348.132 +
 348.133 +"Oh, that's easy. I knew the answer before we ever started. I want
 348.134 +my first kiss to be with Sonomi chan."
 348.135 +
 348.136 +For once, Izumi was speechless. Sayaka looked puzzled, unsure of
 348.137 +what Nadesico could possibly mean. Mayu  stared down at her hands as
 348.138 +if they were the most interesting things in all the world. Sonomi
 348.139 +blushed a deep crimson and looked away in utter embarrassment. But
 348.140 +Nadesico simply smiled, oblivious to the pillow that sailed past her
 348.141 +head as Izumi laughed out,
 348.142 +
 348.143 +"Nadesico chan, you are such a weirdo!"
 348.144 +
 348.145 +Instantly Sonomi hurled her own pillow at Izumi, practically
 348.146 +knocking the cackling girl off balance. More pillows flew amid
 348.147 +squeels of laughter until one tore open and filled the room with a
 348.148 +blizzard of downy feathers. That brought Izumi’s parents in, and
 348.149 +resulted in lights out and everyone being tucked away. But it didn’t
 348.150 +end the whispers and the giggling that lasted far into the night.
 348.151 +
 348.152 +II. 
 348.153 +Walking home from school, the two girls made a peculiar contrast.
 348.154 +Sonomi strode straight and steady in utter silence as if she were
 348.155 +struggling for words that didn’t exist. Nadesico, on the other hand,
 348.156 +meandered from flower to tree to interesting crack in the concrete
 348.157 +sidewalk, stopping here and hurrying there, engrossed in the luminous
 348.158 +miracles of the everyday world. Sonomi suddenly noticed that she was
 348.159 +quite alone, and turned to see her cousin sprawled in the grass,
 348.160 +smiling at some sort of bug. A yellow and black caterpillar was
 348.161 +threading it’s way through the grass. Nadesico let it crawl on her
 348.162 +finger and laughed softly as it tickled it’s way up her arm. Sonomi
 348.163 +rolled her eyes and stalked back, calling out with feigned impatience,
 348.164 +
 348.165 +“Nadesico chan, what on earth are you doing?”
 348.166 +
 348.167 +The girl looked up and smiled sweetly. Gently she put the
 348.168 +caterpillar down and then rose swiftly, dusting off her knees and
 348.169 +straightening her  pleated skirt. Sometimes she looked gawky and
 348.170 +clumsy, a danger to herself and others that brought out a protective
 348.171 +spirit in her cousin. But at other times, like now, her movements
 348.172 +were as gracefully ethereal as a prima ballerina. It was only one of
 348.173 +the contradictions that left Sonomi utterly flustered, unable to
 348.174 +think straight, let alone voice her jumbled thoughts. For years she
 348.175 +had been her cousin’s best friend, delighting in her presence as the
 348.176 +two passed dreamily through childhood. Now her feelings were sharper
 348.177 +but sweeter, and so intense that some nights she tossed and turned
 348.178 +until the sun chased the moon away. Sometimes the very sight of
 348.179 +Nadesico set her heart racing wildly, and plunged her into a joyful
 348.180 +embarrassment. She looked at the beautiful, gray-haired girl and
 348.181 +suddenly blurted out the question that had obsessed her since the
 348.182 +night at Izumi’s,
 348.183 +
 348.184 +“Nadesico chan, why did you say what you did at the sleepover?”
 348.185 +
 348.186 +As soon as she said it, Sonomi felt regret. A hot crimson blush
 348.187 +spread over her neck and shoulders. But Nadesico blinked her lovely
 348.188 +blue eyes and asked in a puzzled voice,
 348.189 +
 348.190 +“What did I say?”
 348.191 +
 348.192 +Sonomi fought the urge to drop the entire matter, and with a steel
 348.193 +will forced out the words,
 348.194 +
 348.195 +“That you wanted your first kiss…to be with me.”
 348.196 +
 348.197 +Now poor Nadesico looked completely bewildered. She furrowed her
 348.198 +brow and looked at Sonomi helplessly, as if the question concerned
 348.199 +some arcane formulae of quantum physics. Perhaps repeating the
 348.200 +question would help, so she asked,
 348.201 +
 348.202 +“Why did I say it?”
 348.203 +
 348.204 +Sonomi nodded her head vigorously. Nadesico smiled and answered in a
 348.205 +matter-of-fact voice,
 348.206 +
 348.207 +“Because it’s true.”
 348.208 +
 348.209 +Sonomi gaped at her in silent wonder. Nadesico spoke earnestly in
 348.210 +her odd, sing song voice,
 348.211 +
 348.212 +“A first kiss should be special. That means it has to be with a
 348.213 +special person. No one is more special to me than Sonomi chan.”
 348.214 +
 348.215 +Breathing raggedly, Sonomi abruptly turned away and stared at the
 348.216 +horizon. She felt delighted and frightened by her cousin’s words.
 348.217 +Still looking into the distance, unable to face those shimmering
 348.218 +azure eyes, she whispered,
 348.219 +
 348.220 +“Nadsico chan, we’re both girls. We’re cousins.”
 348.221 +
 348.222 +“Um-hmm.” Nadesico replied distractedly, as if she were merely
 348.223 +confirming simple facts, which indeed she was. Sonomi realized that
 348.224 +such conventions as girls only kissing boys had simply never occurred
 348.225 +to Nadesico. Sonomi swallowed hard and managed to stammer out,
 348.226 +
 348.227 +“But when, where would we….” Her voice trailed off into silence.
 348.228 +Nadesico perked up, and started rummaging through her book bag.
 348.229 +Triumphantly she pulled out an astonishingly kawaii calendar book,
 348.230 +decorated with massive pink ribbons and plush red hearts. The pages
 348.231 +fluttered as she leafed through them. Finally, she announced in a
 348.232 +cheery voice,
 348.233 +
 348.234 +“Sunday after next is a full moon, and the sakuras should be in
 348.235 +bloom. How about at the Park, under the cherry trees? Can you come to
 348.236 +my house at 8:00 PM?”
 348.237 +
 348.238 +Sonomi could only nod her head yes. Suddenly Nadesico threw her arms
 348.239 +around her and hugged tightly. Then she picked up her book bag and
 348.240 +looked at Sonomi, all smiles. Still stunned, the red-haired girl
 348.241 +turned and started to walk home, but her cousin wandered over to a
 348.242 +hedge, enraptured by the stately progression of snails on the dark,
 348.243 +green leaves.
 348.244 +
 348.245 +III. 
 348.246 +Sonomi rummaged through the contents of her closet one more time.
 348.247 +The pink dress was too much. The black skirt with a white silk blouse
 348.248 +was nice, but just so plain. In frustration, she slumped down on the
 348.249 +edge of the bed and thought,  
 348.250 +
 348.251 +"I don't know what to wear for this. I don't have any idea. This is
 348.252 +just crazy. Nobody decides they will have their first kiss like this.
 348.253 +It's like being on....on a date or something." Suddenly inspired,
 348.254 +Sonomi exclaimed,
 348.255 +
 348.256 +"OK, that's it, I'll just wear what I would on a date!"
 348.257 +
 348.258 +But the girl had never been on a date, either, so this proved to be
 348.259 +of little help. She glanced at the clock on her dresser and grimaced.
 348.260 +Being a naturally punctual and organized person, she was rarely late
 348.261 +to anything. To be late for this was just not acceptable. With a
 348.262 +determined look she got up and stood in front of the rack of clothes
 348.263 +and began to think about what would be right.
 348.264 +
 348.265 +"It should be mature, but pretty. And it should match the sakura
 348.266 +blossoms." She placed her finger to her lips and squinted at the row
 348.267 +of clothing. Suddenly, her eyes caught the coral dress and she
 348.268 +snatched it from the rack and ran to the mirror, holding it in front
 348.269 +of herself. Perfect! Breathing a sigh of relief, she rushed for the
 348.270 +shower, quickly considering what shoes to wear.
 348.271 +
 348.272 +Walking to Nadesico's house, Sonomi struggled to sort out the
 348.273 +complex feelings she had for her cousin. They had been the closest of
 348.274 +friends ever since they were little girls. Normally high-strung,
 348.275 +Sonomi always felt perfect contentment in her presence, a calm,
 348.276 +peaceful sense that everything was all right. She felt safe with the
 348.277 +girl, confident enough to tell her anything without fear. Nadesico
 348.278 +was a gentle, sympathetic listener, and for all her flightiness
 348.279 +offered perceptive and insightful advice. So the red-haired girl
 348.280 +shared all her secrets, save one: her love. She had always loved
 348.281 +Nadesico, and her alone. But lately, that love had changed,
 348.282 +blossoming, from a cute little bud to a lush, sensuous, tropical
 348.283 +flower. All her friends had their crushes, their hidden passions and
 348.284 +desires. Most of it seemed silly to Sonomi, who scoffed at such
 348.285 +school girl melodramatics. But her own love mocked her. It shook her
 348.286 +skeptical heart and whispered, "Oh, so I'm not important, am I?
 348.287 +Something childish, that you'll soon outgrow, neh? We'll see, Sonomi-
 348.288 +chan, we'll see. Before I'm done, I'll set you on fire and break your
 348.289 +heart."
 348.290 +
 348.291 +And it was true. Recently love had become a passionate yearning she
 348.292 +could not still, a painfully sweet longing that distracted and
 348.293 +confused her. It was heaven, and it was hell. Sometimes, late at
 348.294 +night she lay in bed and whispered her name, over and over, just to
 348.295 +hear of the sound of it, "Nadesico.....Nadesico.....Nah-deh-shih-co."
 348.296 +She played ridiculous games like "She loves me, she loves me not".
 348.297 +She kept little treasures: notes passed in class, birthday cards, and
 348.298 +a garland of grass and flowers from years ago, now brown and dry but
 348.299 +still a crown fit for a princess because she had made it. In school,
 348.300 +her grades had slipped, worrying her parents. Sonomi couldn't
 348.301 +concentrate; she kept glancing towards the desk by her side, at the
 348.302 +beautiful, silver-haired girl who smiled back so sweetly. Nadesico
 348.303 +was all she thought about, cared for, wanted. In the last year it had
 348.304 +gotten even worse. It was as if her body was no longer hers, but some
 348.305 +alien presence with a will and a mind and desires all its own. Out of
 348.306 +nowhere she would cry for no discernable reason. One minute she was
 348.307 +hot and feverish, the next cold and shivering.   Her body ached with
 348.308 +a helpless longing that terrified her. And now this. Now, she was
 348.309 +walking to see Nadesico, to kiss her.
 348.310 +
 348.311 +Unlike most of her friends, Sonomi had never thought much about a
 348.312 +future love life. Yes, she would no doubt marry, and have a family
 348.313 +like everybody else. But for the red-haired girl marriage was of
 348.314 +little interest, and certainly not the topic of ecstatic speculation
 348.315 +that obsessed other girls her age. But now, her feelings confronted
 348.316 +her with the question of just what to do. What if I love her, but she
 348.317 +doesn’t love me? She sensed that Nadesico did love her, but not in
 348.318 +the same way. Nadesico loved everybody and everything. Yet, she had
 348.319 +said Sonomi was special, words that set her spirit soaring even as
 348.320 +she blushed in embarrassment.. And why, if she does not love me like
 348.321 +that, does she want to kiss me? The more Sonomi thought about it, the
 348.322 +more confused she became. She would have to ask the girl. Tonight.
 348.323 +She had to know.  Approaching the house, she breathed deeply and
 348.324 +clutched the pink sweater tightly around her body. She looked at her
 348.325 +watch: 8 PM exactly. Willing herself to knock, she quickly heard a
 348.326 +commotion inside as her cousin sang out,
 348.327 +
 348.328 +“I’ve got it!   
 348.329 +
 348.330 +The door swung open, and there stood Nadesico. The warm light from
 348.331 +inside the house formed a glowing aura all around her. She was wore a
 348.332 +delicate, ankle length white dress with long sleeves. The collar and
 348.333 +waistline were embroidered with exquisite lacework, and the dress
 348.334 +flared out from the waist with narrow pleats. White petticoats and
 348.335 +slips gave the dress a full, flowing look. Around her slender neck
 348.336 +was a simple white ribbon worn as a choker. Her long,  silver-black
 348.337 +hair was entwinned with white daisies, and cascaded over her
 348.338 +shoulders. Her pale face was framed by the dark, scenetd hair, and
 348.339 +her green eyes shone with gentle passion. Sonomi stood transfixed,
 348.340 +her breath stolen away by the dazzling vision. Nadesico bowed with
 348.341 +mock solemnity and cheerfully sang out,
 348.342 +
 348.343 +"Konbanha, Sonomi-chan"
 348.344 +
 348.345 +Sonomi felt herself dragged from a dream, and spoke haltingly as she
 348.346 +returned the bow,
 348.347 +
 348.348 +"Konbanha, Nadesico-chan. You look...so beautiful."
 348.349 +
 348.350 +The girl took both of Sonomi's hands in her own and spoke in her
 348.351 +feathery voice,
 348.352 +
 348.353 +"Arigato, Sonomi-chan. You look so lovely, too. Shall we go?"
 348.354 +
 348.355 +Coloring crimson at her cousin's touch, Sonomi could only nod hr
 348.356 +head. Suddenly, the pale girl let out a little gasp and whirled
 348.357 +about, muttering half to herself,
 348.358 +
 348.359 +"I almost forget! The bentoubako....there it is" Giggling, she
 348.360 +grabbed the enormous lunchbox, her white Hello Kitty sweater, and
 348.361 +dashed out the door. Smiling at her startled cousin she announced, "I
 348.362 +thought we might like a little snack." Turning to the house she
 348.363 +shouted, "I'm going now!" 
 348.364 +
 348.365 +Sonomi frowned, "That looks heavy. Let me carry it."
 348.366 +
 348.367 +Nadesico shook her head and smiled, holding the bundle tightly. With
 348.368 +that, the two began their walk to the park As usual, Nadesico was
 348.369 +fascinated by all that she could see. She walked erratically,
 348.370 +starting and stopping as one thing after another gained her
 348.371 +attention. The night was comfortably cool, and the stars shone bright
 348.372 +before moonrise. Sonomi moved in a daze, enraptured by the celestial
 348.373 +apparition beside her. Nadesico's dress make swishy sounds as she
 348.374 +walked, following the odd rythms of her perpetually distracted pace.
 348.375 +Finally they approached the park and turned into the entrance. With
 348.376 +the exception of a few couples, the walkway was deserted. Nadesico
 348.377 +led the way, though in her usual circuitous manner. Sonomi followed,
 348.378 +still entranced. Finally the dark-haired girl found a spot she liked
 348.379 +under the sakura trees, and busilly began unpacking the wrapping of
 348.380 +the lunch boxes. It was a beautiful pink and white silk, which she
 348.381 +carefully spread on the grass like a blanket. She knelt on both knees
 348.382 +and smiled as Sonomi sat down accross from her. Nadesico let out a
 348.383 +little sigh, and pointed to the horizon, where a great yellow moon
 348.384 +was slowly rising into the sky. Sonomi loked and nodded, feeling a
 348.385 +rush of emotions as she struggled to speak. But before she could, her
 348.386 +cousin chirrped,
 348.387 +
 348.388 +"Are you hungry? I wanted to make cookies, but they got sort of
 348.389 +burned. But I did make some rice balls, and there's pickles, oh, and
 348.390 +some fruit, too. Plums and grapes, I think. And tea, green tea. we
 348.391 +should have that while it's hot." In a flurry she produced the little
 348.392 +delicacies, plates, cups, and thermos. She laid the feast out
 348.393 +prettilly on the silken cloth, a heartfelt offering to her cousin.
 348.394 +Sonomi noticed that the rice balls were poorly shaped, and smiled as
 348.395 +she imagined the billowing smoke of the burning cookies. Like her
 348.396 +other home made presents, it was so typical of Nadesico. She was far
 348.397 +from talented as a cook or a homemaker. But what she made was imbued
 348.398 +with love and enthusiasm, and fortunate were those who received her
 348.399 +tender little gifts. Though not hungry in the least, Sonomi politely
 348.400 +nibbled as her eyes scanned the blossoming cherry trees above her.
 348.401 +Her cousin, crunching on a pickled daikon, looked up and smiled at
 348.402 +the sight of thousands of flowers.
 348.403 +
 348.404 +"Aren't they gorgeous, Sonomi-chan? I've always loved the
 348.405 +sakura.flowers. I love how they fall from the branch in full bloom,
 348.406 +never withering or growing old and sad on the trees. You know, if I
 348.407 +have a daughter, that's what I'll name her: Sakura." 
 348.408 +
 348.409 +Sonomi smiled back at her cousin, but thought to herself that there
 348.410 +were flowers she liked better. There was something haunting about
 348.411 +cherry trees, about a beauty so ephemeral and fragile. For some
 348.412 +reason this thought bothered her, and she shifted uneasilly as
 348.413 +Nadesico gracefully poured the steaming, hot tea. Sonomi craddled the
 348.414 +little round cup in her hands and felt the warmth of it in the cool
 348.415 +night air. She sipped the pungent green tea, liquid sunshine brewed
 348.416 +just perfectly. She looked at Nadesico, who glanced up at the heavens
 348.417 +with child-like wonder. Sonomi trembled, but from the cold or the
 348.418 +sight of her beautiful cousin all clad in white she did not know. As
 348.419 +the stars persued their stately courses, the two girls talked on into
 348.420 +the night. Nadesico was bright and cheerful as always, wondering if
 348.421 +flowers slept when they closed their petals for the evening, or if
 348.422 +stars talked to one another to keep from being lonely. In a wistful
 348.423 +voice she said,
 348.424 +
 348.425 +"Sometimes I talk to the stars, but it's hard to hear them."
 348.426 +
 348.427 +Sonomi looked at the girl in wonder, then smiled. Only Nadesico
 348.428 +would ever say such a thing. But if the stars listened to anybody on
 348.429 +earth, it was probably her. Being with her was always such joy, her
 348.430 +very presence magical. But Sonomi felt terribly nervous, remembering
 348.431 +the purpose of this curious picnic in the dark. Finally she could
 348.432 +hold it in no more, and spoke to up in a quivering, earnest voice,
 348.433 +
 348.434 +"Nadesico-chan, may I ask you a question?"
 348.435 +
 348.436 +The girl smiled and nodded, and Sonomi went on, forcing the words
 348.437 +out in a rush,
 348.438 +
 348.439 +"Why do you want to kiss me?"
 348.440 +
 348.441 +Unable to face her saying this, she bowed her head and stared at the
 348.442 +little dishes on the billowing silk. Her eyes averted, she didn't see
 348.443 +Nadesico's tender smile as she replied,
 348.444 +
 348.445 +"Well, you know it's my first kiss, and that has to be with someone
 348.446 +special. Sonomi-chan is my most special person. But I told you that
 348.447 +already. So, should I tell you why you're special?"
 348.448 +
 348.449 +The red-haired girl was silent, so Nadesico continued,
 348.450 +
 348.451 +"Well, Sonomi-chan is the strongest person I know. She's never
 348.452 +afraid of anything. I always feel safe with her, and know she would
 348.453 +protect me from anything that would hurt me. 
 348.454 +
 348.455 +And Sonomi-chan is honest. Sometimes other people are a puzzle, and
 348.456 +they say things they do not mean, or hide things they do not say. But
 348.457 +I always know Sonomi-chan's heart. I know that whatever she says is
 348.458 +true.
 348.459 +
 348.460 +Sonomi-chan is the kindest person I know. She is gentle, and caring,
 348.461 +and my heart feels cherished by her."
 348.462 +
 348.463 +"Sonomi-chan is all of these wonderful things, but she is also the
 348.464 +most beautiful person I have ever seen. Sometimes I think about those
 348.465 +green eyes and soft red hair and smooth, pale skin, and hanyaan! I
 348.466 +forget everything I am doing. Seeing her now in the moonlight just
 348.467 +now made me forget everything except how happy I am to be with her."
 348.468 +
 348.469 +At this Nadesico paused, and closed her eyes. 
 348.470 +
 348.471 +"But I don't need silly games from a sleepover to know why I want my
 348.472 +first kiss to be with Sonomi-chan. I knew it a long time ago, maybe
 348.473 +even when I first saw her. I want to kiss her because I love her more
 348.474 +than anybody."
 348.475 +
 348.476 +Looking up, Sonomi saw Nadesico's azure eyes opening again, and the
 348.477 +startled look as she beheld her tears. A rare look of worry clouded
 348.478 +the dark-haired girl's face as she asked,
 348.479 +
 348.480 +"Sonomi-chan, are you all right? I'm so sorry, did I make you cry?"
 348.481 +
 348.482 +Sonomi peered through teary eyes and smiled radiently, 
 348.483 +
 348.484 +"Baka. I'm not sad. I've never been so happy in all my life."
 348.485 +
 348.486 +Nadsico smiled again, and reached out, gently brushing away the hot
 348.487 +tears with delicate fingers. Her hand lingered on Sonomi's cheek, and
 348.488 +she gazed into her shimmering emerald eyes. Slowly, as if in a dream,
 348.489 +Nadesico leaned over, her body a delicate white arch bathed in the
 348.490 +moonlight. Sonomi breathed deeply as the girl's pale face came
 348.491 +closer, her eyes half-shut, her hair a cascading flood of liquid
 348.492 +silver. Their lips brushed ever so lightly, and Sonomi felt an
 348.493 +electric thrill streak through her shivering frame. Then their lips
 348.494 +met, gently at first, tenderly exploring, quivering with the soft
 348.495 +sensations that poured out from deep within. Sonomi tasted the
 348.496 +sweetest nectar as Nadesico's tongue playfully parted her yielding,
 348.497 +pink petals. The red-haired girl trembled, dizzy and breathless,
 348.498 +wracked by an indescribable ecstasy. They melted into one another in
 348.499 +a ravishing embrace, shuddering sweetly in each other's tender arms.
 348.500 +Suspended in an eternal moment, waves of passion swept over them like
 348.501 +an ocean storm, then slowly subsided as the ebbing tide. Finally they
 348.502 +parted, Sonomi breathing raggedly, her body still afire, shivering in
 348.503 +the chilly breeze that shook the trees and rained blossoms down upon
 348.504 +them in a delicate, pink monsoon. 
 348.505 +
 348.506 +Sonomi felt floaty and wonderful, her body as delightfully
 348.507 +weightless as a feather in the wind. Her first kiss! She felt a giddy
 348.508 +whirl of emotions, the vibrant throbbing of her heart, and the dewy,
 348.509 +lingering presence of Nadesico's lips. She hugged herself tightly,
 348.510 +and sighed in sheer joy. She glanced up, and was startled to see
 348.511 +Nadesico sitting beside her. The dark-haired girl smiled
 348.512 +enigmatically as she ran her fingers through Sonomi's short silky,
 348.513 +hair. Sonomi's eyes grew wide as her cousin delicately traced the
 348.514 +outline of her still wet lips, then gently caressed her tear-stained
 348.515 +cheek. She caught the scent of sakuras as Nadesico leaned closer, her
 348.516 +lashes fluttering. Their lips met in a another rapturous kiss that
 348.517 +plunged Sonomi into sugar-sweet darkness. As moonlight trickled
 348.518 +through the branches, illumining  the two lovers in an intimate glow,
 348.519 +Sonomi dimly realized that Nadesico wanted more with her cousin than
 348.520 +just a first kiss. Here under the cherry blossoms was a second kiss,
 348.521 +quickly followed by a third, and a fourth. And here, under the 
 348.522 +delicate flowers, and in countless other places as well, there would
 348.523 +be many, many more. 
 348.524 +    
 348.525 +
 348.526 +
 348.527 +  
 348.528 +
 348.529 +
 348.530 +
 348.531 +
 348.532 +
 348.533 +
 348.534 +
 348.535 +
 348.536 +Izumi
 348.537 +Sayaka
 348.538 +Mayu

   349.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   349.2 +++ b/stories/forgotten.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   349.3 @@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
   349.4 +Forgotten
   349.5 +
   349.6 +
   349.7 +by Althea K.
   349.8 +
   349.9 +
  349.10 +It had been nearly a year since meeting the girl on the bridge, but her name (lain) was still lodged in Arisu's brain like a bullet. The girl had assured her that they had never met before, but Arisu still couldn't shake the feeling that they had. She went on with her life
  349.11 +just as if she had never seen the girl that day, only mildly distracted by her presence in her mind (lain); life with her husband was pleasant and comfortable and she wasn't quite bothered enough by the peculiar incident (lain) to dwell on it too much. It was often
  349.12 +only when she was alone (lain) that she found herself thinking on it.
  349.13 +
  349.14 +
  349.15 +The kitchen took on a bleak blue cast on rainy days, and the rain trickling down the window panes always reminded Arisu of tears.
  349.16 +
  349.17 +
  349.18 +"Who are you crying for today, Kami-sama?" (lain) she mumbled absently as she washed dishes still decorated with remnants of breakfast. A shiver (lain) suddenly raced up her spine and she paused in her task. Soap suds ran down her hands in time with the
  349.19 +rain. (lain) "So cold... And dark." She glanced across the room at the light switch. It hadn't been so dark when she had first set out to clean the dishes, but the food had been congealing all day and was stuck fiercly to the surfaces, which made the task even more
  349.20 +trying to Arisu, who had never especially liked cleaning in the first place. The room had grown dark as she worked, and now, still not done, Arisu regretted not turning on the light while her hands were still dry. "Damn," she sighed. "I never should've promised that I'd
  349.21 +clean up..." She stood for a moment, trying to decide whether to dry her hands and turn on the light or just to stay in the dark, and she suddenly found her mind had wandered back to that day (lain). "Hmmm..." She shook her head. "So strange." She sighed again
  349.22 +and turned her head to grant her a view of the windows. "And sad. It was... sad." The girl (lain) smiled at her from her memory, that smile which confused her as much as the strange sense of deja vu (lain) the girl had stirred within her. That smile had shown a pain and knowledge that the girl had not spoken of, and her eyes seemed just as knowing and hurt when they had locked into Arisu's. A warmth was burried deep within them, underneath the sadness that gave such age to eyes that should have been so young, a curious glow that had left Arisu breathless for a moment before she had remembered herself.
  349.23 +
  349.24 +
  349.25 +A soft knock at the door snapped Arisu back into the present day. She stared in a daze for a moment before realizing what had happened, then reached for a cloth to wipe her hands on. "Just a moment!" she called, absentmindedly tucking a stray whisp of dark
  349.26 +brown hair behind her ear. (lain lain lain lain lain lain lain lain lain lain lain) The instant her hand wrapped around the doorknob she was struck with the overwhelming and illogical feeling that it would be the girl standing at the other side of the door.
  349.27 +
  349.28 +
  349.29 +(lainlainlainlainlainlainlainlainlainlainlainlainlain) She twisted the knob and opened the door to the length of the chain locking it, then put her eye to the crack. "He---" Her voice died in her throat. 
  349.30 +
  349.31 +
  349.32 +"Hello."
  349.33 +
  349.34 +
  349.35 +"L-lain..."
  349.36 +
  349.37 +
  349.38 +The short, soft-faced girl smiled brightly. "You remember me."
  349.39 +
  349.40 +
  349.41 +"Iwakura Lain... isn't it?" Arisu unlocked the door and opened it the rest of the way.
  349.42 +
  349.43 +
  349.44 +"You said we might meet again, didn't you?" It was hard to tell whether she was teasing.
  349.45 +
  349.46 +
  349.47 +Arisu stood in the doorway staring for a long moment. "H-how.." Her voice cracked and she paused to clear her throat nervously.
  349.48 +
  349.49 +
  349.50 +"How did you find where I live?"
  349.51 +
  349.52 +
  349.53 +Lain smiled, tilted her head to one side, and lied: "I looked it up."
  349.54 +
  349.55 +
  349.56 +"D-did I give you my full name?"
  349.57 +
  349.58 +
  349.59 +"I suppose you must have."
  349.60 +
  349.61 +
  349.62 +"I don't remember telling you my family name..."
  349.63 +
  349.64 +
  349.65 +Lain's eyes dulled suddenly. Arisu was unnerved by her strange stare. Then her eyes began to shine again. "I think I do. Do you think it happened, then?"
  349.66 +
  349.67 +
  349.68 +"I... I don't get you."
  349.69 +
  349.70 +
  349.71 +"That's alright. It doesn't matter. May I come in?"
  349.72 +
  349.73 +
  349.74 +"I guess..." Arisu glanced around. "Did you come with your parents?"
  349.75 +
  349.76 +
  349.77 +Lain frowned. "I have no parents."
  349.78 +
  349.79 +
  349.80 +"Oh. I'm sorry." Arisu's eyes softened.
  349.81 +
  349.82 +
  349.83 +"It's alright. I've gotten used to it." Arisu turned aside to let her in, shutting and locking the door behind her. "Hmm... Dark in here, isn't it?"
  349.84 +
  349.85 +
  349.86 +Arisu flicked on the light. "Sorry."
  349.87 +
  349.88 +
  349.89 +"Say..." Lain turned to look up at her hostess. "Aren't you concerned about what your husband would think if he found out you let a stranger into the house when you're all alone?"
  349.90 +
  349.91 +
  349.92 +(lain) Arisu's heart stopped. "W-what?" She steadied herself against a wall. "How did you know I'm alone?"
  349.93 +
  349.94 +
  349.95 +Lain hesitated, hovering for a moment between complete honesty and a half-truth. "There's only one car in your driveway."
  349.96 +
  349.97 +
  349.98 +"Oh..." She giggled nervously. "I'm sorry; I'm just a little freaked out."
  349.99 +
 349.100 +
 349.101 +"Don't worry about it. I'd've been suspicious too."
 349.102 +
 349.103 +
 349.104 +"Uhm, won't you sit down? I'll make us some tea, if you like."
 349.105 +
 349.106 +
 349.107 +"Thank you." Lain sat down at the kitchen table, her feet not quite reaching the floor from the height of the chair. She slowly ran her eyes around the room as Arisu prepared the tea. "You have a nice place."
 349.108 +
 349.109 +
 349.110 +"Thank you." They chatted pleasantly over the tea, despite Arisu's poorly concealed wonderment at the ability of one clearly so young to speak to her as if an adult (lain).
 349.111 +
 349.112 +
 349.113 +Glancing at the clock as she set down her emptied cup, Lain announced: "I should probably leave soon. Your husband'll be home in a few hours and you should really finish cleaning up. A promise is a promise, isn't it?"
 349.114 +
 349.115 +
 349.116 +"W-what??" Arisu's hand tightened around her teacup. (lain)
 349.117 +
 349.118 +
 349.119 +"Careful. You'll break it."
 349.120 +
 349.121 +
 349.122 +"H-how did you know all that? How... I-I..."
 349.123 +
 349.124 +
 349.125 +Lain smiled sadly as she rose from her chair. "I know everything." She gently pried Arisu's fingers from around the cup. 
 349.126 +
 349.127 +
 349.128 +"I don't understand..."
 349.129 +
 349.130 +
 349.131 +"You don't need to." She held Arisu's hand for a long moment, then turned to move for the door. She paused not far from the door, lingering there for a long moment.
 349.132 +
 349.133 +
 349.134 +"What is it?" Arisu finally asked.
 349.135 +
 349.136 +
 349.137 +"Why don't you want me to leave?" 
 349.138 +
 349.139 +Arisu gave a start (lain). Lain peeked over her shoulder and smiled. "I know everything... that doesn't mean I understand everything."
 349.140 +
 349.141 +
 349.142 +"..." 
 349.143 +
 349.144 +
 349.145 +"Arisu..." Lain turned to face her. Arisu stared at her, completely unable to read her (lain). "May I tell you a story?"
 349.146 +
 349.147 +
 349.148 +She blinked. "A story?"
 349.149 +
 349.150 +
 349.151 +"Yes. It's something that you don't know."
 349.152 +
 349.153 +
 349.154 +"I thought you were about to leave." Lain gave her an awkward look, then angled her face downward slightly. Arisu laughed, relieved by the childishness of the action. Lain peered up at her in mild confusion. "Alright, Lain-chan. Tell me a story if you really want to."
 349.155 +
 349.156 +
 349.157 +Lain half-smiled at her, eyes filled with a sudden and deep sorrow that disturbed her. "It happened not so many years ago, but it seems a much longer time ago than it really was. You were still just a girl, no older than I..." (lain)
 349.158 +
 349.159 +
 349.160 +Arisu worried her brow. "The story's about me?"
 349.161 +
 349.162 +
 349.163 +Lain continued, apparently ignoring Arisu's surprise. "There was a girl in your grade who was shy and withdrawn, and you were the nicest person she ever met. Even when she lost herself in a world that you didn't understand and everything about her was changing,"
 349.164 +(lain) "you stayed her friend. All of her friends were people she connected with in the Wired.. except for you. You were her friend without needing to connect to her through those means. You were her only real friend." Her eyes shone wet with unshed tears. "You
 349.165 +were the only thing that was real in her life. You were all that she had outside of the Wired." There was a sudden pause. Arisu sat in silence, paralyzed, as she watched Lain's childish face contort with pain (lain). When she resumed, her voice was unsteady.
 349.166 +
 349.167 +"Even when bad things happened, you were still her friend. And so when she changed everyone else's memories so that the bad things never happened, she left your memory untouched. 
 349.168 +
 349.169 +
 349.170 +"But you... You couldn't understand why. You didn't want to live with those memories. She didn't mean to hurt you, but..." She shook her head. "One day, you finally couldn't take it anymore, and you went to see her and to demand to know why it was you alone that
 349.171 +had to remember. Her house was completely wrecked... By the time you reached her room, you were terrified. And if you hadn't been by then, one look at her room would've been enough to do it. She was practically burried in wires, surrounded by computers... The conditions were inhuman, and you wondered then if maybe your friend had somehow become inhuman herself." (lain) 
 349.172 +
 349.173 +"She certainly didn't look human... When she approached you, still draped in wires, she looked almost like an apparition; her skin was so pale.." Lain sniffled quietly. "You started to cry. You begged her to tell you why you had to remember everything. She..." 
 349.174 +
 349.175 +She sniffled again.
 349.176 +
 349.177 +
 349.178 +"She hadn't realized until then that it would hurt you. She never wanted to hurt you. But you didn't understand her motivations... You thought she did it because she hated you. 
 349.179 +"But you were wrong. She could never hate you for anything." A tear ran down her cheek, and was quickly wiped away. It wasn't until that moment that Arisu realized that she had at some point begun to cry as well. "She had never considered that it might hurt you to
 349.180 +remember, and the sight of your tears was such a sad beauty that she almost couldn't bear it." (lain) 
 349.181 +
 349.182 +"Knowing that you thought she hated you was a deeper hurt than anything she had ever felt. She crawled as close to you as she could, trying to explain herself to you, mesmerized by your tears.. She never hated you at all. But you didn't seem to understand.. She tried to explain to you, but..."
 349.183 +
 349.184 +
 349.185 +Lain shook her head again. "She tried to kiss you, and you backed away. And when she tried to kiss you again..." Her voice choked off. For several minutes, the only sound was of the rain. 
 349.186 +
 349.187 +"And later..." Lain began again. "Later... You held her hand against your heart. You wanted her to understand that she was human, that she was wrong about it all.. She asked you why your heart was pounding, but... But she never told you..."
 349.188 +
 349.189 +
 349.190 +"What?" Arisu whispered through her tears. "What didn't she tell me?"
 349.191 +
 349.192 +
 349.193 +"Her heart was pounding, too." Lain brought one hand to hover over her heart. "It was pounding so hard.. But you couldn't hear it. You never felt it, that maddening heartbeat.. You said your heart was pounding because you were scared. Was that really why?" She
 349.194 +locked Arisu in her desperate gaze.
 349.195 +
 349.196 +
 349.197 +"I... I don't know.. I d-don't..." She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together firmly in her lap to stop their shaking (lain).
 349.198 +
 349.199 +
 349.200 +"Please... I c-can't... I don-n't.." Tears dropped down onto her hands, turning cold as they made their passage from her face. "I don't unders-stand.. why... y-you're.." Her breath came in short, burdened gasps. She began to slump forward slowly, retreating to a fetal
 349.201 +position.
 349.202 +
 349.203 +
 349.204 +"The girl was me." (lain)
 349.205 +
 349.206 +
 349.207 +The world held still for a full three seconds. 
 349.208 +
 349.209 +Arisu's head jerked up to let her stare with her blurred and reddened eyes at the girl before her, breaking her out of the temporary state of paralysis. "W-what??" There was no trace of humor or deception on the girl's face. "B-but... That... That's not *possible*!! T-the age d-difference..." (lain) 
 349.210 +
 349.211 +"It... it can't.." Arisu closed her eyes again and began to shake her head.
 349.212 +
 349.213 +
 349.214 +"It's true."
 349.215 +
 349.216 +
 349.217 +"It's not POSSIBLE!!!" Arisu clamped her fingers onto her skull as if she could crush the thought out of her mind. Her chair clattered to the ground as she shot to her feet and staggered backward blindly to lean against the wall once again.
 349.218 +
 349.219 +
 349.220 +"It's true."
 349.221 +
 349.222 +
 349.223 +"No... No..." she whimpered.
 349.224 +
 349.225 +
 349.226 +"I love you."
 349.227 +
 349.228 +
 349.229 +Her fingers loosened. "What?" As she opened her eyes again, more tears spilled down her face. Lain stood just a short distance away from her, the glow in her eyes stronger in that moment than it had been on the bridge, as strong as it had been that day so many years ago, the last day of Iwakura Lain's known existance.
 349.230 +
 349.231 +
 349.232 +"I was afraid to come find you again. I hesitated for so long... I didn't trust myself. But I just couldn't stay away... I missed you too much... I love you too much... I had to see you again. It was a mistake. I shouldn't have given in.. I didn't want to interfere with your
 349.233 +happy life. I wanted so much to make you happy, and now I've stupidly let myself meddle in it all..." She offered Arisu a small, pained smile. "I guess I messed up everything again, hunh?"
 349.234 +
 349.235 +
 349.236 +Arisu blinked slowly, feeling lost in a sudden haze (lain). "Did the lights just dim?" she murmered sleepily. 
 349.237 +
 349.238 +Lain smiled softly, sorrow and pain still hovering like a mist about her. "Don't worry about that." Lain reached out and gently took Arisu's hand again. "It won't matter."
 349.239 +
 349.240 +
 349.241 +"What.. do you..." Arisu felt her muscles relaxing against her will, her body sliding down the wall. Lain moved to gather her into her arms. (lain) She fought against her drooping eyelids to look into the girl's eyes once more. She let out a small whimper as she
 349.242 +struggled to bring her into focus. "Everything... is... f-fading..." (lain)
 349.243 +
 349.244 +
 349.245 +"It's alright. It's alright." Arisu dimly felt fingers whispering through her hair.
 349.246 +
 349.247 +
 349.248 +"P-please... help..." (l-lain) "Please..." She could barely see at all anymore. (lai-)
 349.249 +
 349.250 +
 349.251 +"Don't worry." Her voice sounded as if it had traveled the distance of the universe (la--) before it could reach Arisu's ears. The warmth of being held eased the terror of the slow fading of all her senses, and Arisu allowed herself a shaky smile. "I'm so sorry, Arisu."
 349.252 +
 349.253 +The voice sounded so muted and distant that Arisu couldn't tell whether she was imagining it or if she really heard it. (l-la--) 
 349.254 +
 349.255 +
 349.256 +"For what?" Arisu managed to whisper. She could barely make out the slight curve of Lain's lonesome smile. As everything finally faded to utter darkness, Arisu thought she felt the slight pressure of lips against her forehead.
 349.257 +
 349.258 +
 349.259 +And when she awoke, the girl (----) had never been.
 349.260 +
 349.261 + 
 349.262 +
 349.263 +
 349.264 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 349.265 +
 349.266 +
 349.267 +
 349.268 +
 349.269 +(Harumph. I probably should've just stuck with the utenaanthy fic I'd originally planned on submitting... Darn that stupid telephone company. *shrug* Well, whatever. Oh, yes... I should probably have a disclaimer here, right? Ok then. Serial experiments lain and its
 349.270 +characters do not belong to me, but to... someone... talented... and cool. But I'm too lazy to go see who it is. Heh. And they will continue to not belong to me, no matter how much I giggle over Lain's adorable pajamas, no matter how much I want to play with Arisu's hair, no matter how much I drool over Mika, and no matter how much I want one of those pocket communicators. Alright, I think that pretty much covers it... *walks off humming Duvet, as she's been listening to the BOA cd that came with the lunch box set over and over throughout writing all this... pathetically enough*)
 349.271 +
 349.272 + 

   350.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   350.2 +++ b/stories/free.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   350.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1371 @@
   350.4 +Hello! ^-^ This story stars ChibiUsa & Hotaru and is set in an
   350.5 +alternate reality. I’ve been wanting to write something about this
   350.6 +theme of a slave and her owner falling in love for quite a while now.
   350.7 +I’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo for all of the wonderful ideas
   350.8 +that went into making this fanfic. ^-^ This story deals with some
   350.9 +adult issues, so please read responsibly. The characters belong to
  350.10 +Naoko Takeuchi and I’m merely borrowing my favorite couple, though
  350.11 +I’m sure they wish I wasn’t with all the stuff I put them through. ^-
  350.12 +^;; All of the situations and this alternate reality are my own, so
  350.13 +please don’t take them without permission. I borrowed many other
  350.14 +characters for cameos, so if you can spot them all, drop me an e-
  350.15 +mail. ^-^ Or if you just like the story or have any comments about
  350.16 +it, I would love to hear them. ^-^
  350.17 +
  350.18 +
  350.19 +Finally Free
  350.20 +by Amazoness Duo
  350.21 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  350.22 +
  350.23 +
  350.24 +The large stone building was crowded with people. Bodies crammed
  350.25 +next to bodies as everyone struggled to get past, trying to peer into
  350.26 +the brightly lit cages at those trapped within. The smell of people
  350.27 +permeated the air, the sound of voices droning out other voices until
  350.28 +it became a nearly deafening roar. The new shipment had come in and
  350.29 +was on display for all to see. Girls and boys in cages all throughout
  350.30 +the building were being poked and prodded by the vast throng of
  350.31 +customers. All searching for something in particular. 
  350.32 +	It was organized chaos at its finest. Like some amalgamation of a
  350.33 +carnival freak show and a slave auction, people came and went in
  350.34 +densely packed lines, going from cage to cage. They would inspect the
  350.35 +creature before them for a bit, studying them for more than a few
  350.36 +seconds if they were interested. Then they would move on or get the
  350.37 +attention of one of the well dressed employees about buying one of
  350.38 +the half naked ‘animals’ in the cages. People came and went, cages
  350.39 +opening and closing as the employees went from one perspective
  350.40 +customer to another.
  350.41 +	There was a wave of fear for all of those in the cages. Most were
  350.42 +frightened out of their minds, hundreds of people looking them over
  350.43 +like furniture. Curiosity gnawed at each of them as their fates
  350.44 +seemed to hang in the balance. And there was nothing they could do
  350.45 +but wait. The small, steel cages were much too tiny to move freely,
  350.46 +much less turn around in their confines. And so they could do nothing
  350.47 +but watch and pray to whomever may be listening that things would
  350.48 +work out. That this nightmare would soon end. 
  350.49 +	In contrast to the frightened thoughts of those in the tiny cages,
  350.50 +those outside had a general sense of excitement. A certain electric
  350.51 +thrill ran through the air as they continued their inspection. This
  350.52 +was an altogether amazing event for most, the sheer amount of choices
  350.53 +mind boggling. Children giggled playfully as they stared into the
  350.54 +cages, poking in with stubby fingers and whatever else they may have
  350.55 +with them while absentminded adults paid little to no attention, too
  350.56 +busy with their own gawking at the prisoners. 
  350.57 +It was in this jumble of anarchy and confusion that a pink haired
  350.58 +girl made her way along the rows upon rows of cages. Rather petite of
  350.59 +stature, she didn’t stand out much in the crowd. Her long pink hair
  350.60 +was done up in two cones, the rest falling to either side and
  350.61 +reaching just above her shoulders. Her red party dress with gold trim
  350.62 +felt a little out of place next to the hardly clothed people in the
  350.63 +cages, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was just as ecstatic as any
  350.64 +of the others there, if not more so. Oh, how she had longed for this
  350.65 +for so long now. Having just turned sixteen, she was now given the
  350.66 +chance to pick out her birthday present. But what to pick? They all
  350.67 +looked so cute! It was difficult to decide what she wanted. 
  350.68 +	Peering into a cage, the pink haired girl’s crimson eyes followed
  350.69 +the movements of a small dark haired girl. Smiling sweetly, she moved
  350.70 +closer, trying to get a better look. Long, dark wings unfurled from
  350.71 +the dark haired girl’s back as she came closer. Her long, dark hair
  350.72 +fluttered behind her as her aquamarine eyes peered out fearfully. The
  350.73 +wings began beating faster as she tried to escape the small cage, but
  350.74 +she again failed. With each failure came the sickening revelation
  350.75 +that she would never be free again. ChibiUsa noted with some dismay
  350.76 +that her wings had been clipped. Even if she was free, she wouldn’t
  350.77 +be able to fly. 
  350.78 +	“Poor girl,” ChibiUsa whispered, holding onto one of the cold steel
  350.79 +bars. The girl inside continued to flutter her wings in agitation,
  350.80 +but their beating slowly began to diminish. Drawing her knees up to
  350.81 +her chest, she seemed to be giving in to the futility of it all. 
  350.82 +	It took ChibiUsa a moment to realize that someone was yelling at
  350.83 +her to get back. Glancing around, it took her a moment to spot the
  350.84 +man. He was behind the cage and pulling it back out of the way.
  350.85 +Watching it curiously, she spotted a slightly younger blue haired
  350.86 +girl, her long pigtails trailing behind her as she smiled into the
  350.87 +cage. 
  350.88 +	“Oh, she’s so cute! I’m going to name her Misao. You’re coming home
  350.89 +with me, aren’t you, Misao?” the blue haired girl asked happily. Of
  350.90 +course, asking the pet was pointless. It wasn’t up to her at all. But
  350.91 +the girl was obviously pleased with the bird girl that she had picked
  350.92 +out. 
  350.93 +	ChibiUsa smiled and continued on, glancing in cages as she did so.
  350.94 +She was glad that the bird girl had gotten an owner. But that still
  350.95 +didn’t help her decide who she should get for a pet. Her father was
  350.96 +somewhere around here, but she had lost him a while ago. It hadn’t
  350.97 +been hard, moving through the vast sea of people. She just wanted
  350.98 +some time to pick out a pet for herself without someone looking over
  350.99 +her shoulder. She wanted this pet to be all her own. 
 350.100 +	Brushing back pink bangs, the teenager walked alone through the
 350.101 +crowd, looking in cage after cage of pets for sale. She saw another
 350.102 +bird girl, with tan skin and coppery hair, long dark wings fluttering
 350.103 +uselessly. Next to her was an ice blue haired girl, but she couldn’t
 350.104 +quite figure out what type of animal she was supposed to be. It took
 350.105 +her a moment to realize that she was in a tank rather than a cage,
 350.106 +water surrounding her as she tried to swim in the enclosure. The
 350.107 +scales on her tail were all beautifully iridescent, reflecting the
 350.108 +bright lights of the building in rainbow colors. In the next two
 350.109 +cages were a leather clad cat and a white haired mouse, respectively.
 350.110 +The mouse was cowering in a corner of her cage as the cat hissed
 350.111 +loudly at her, raking long finger nail-like claws against the bars.
 350.112 +Next to the mouse in yet another cage was a green haired frog girl
 350.113 +who was dozing peacefully. And even further on was a simply gorgeous
 350.114 +woman with beautiful rainbow colored butterfly wings. She seemed to
 350.115 +be a little older than a good deal of the pets there. 
 350.116 +	Many had caught her interest, but none had really been the one that
 350.117 +ChibiUsa wanted. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for
 350.118 +herself, but she knew that she would find it if she only kept looking. 
 350.119 +	Passing by a butterfly boy and a pony boy, ChibiUsa paused for only
 350.120 +a moment before moving on. Someone already seemed interested in them,
 350.121 +a boy a little older than her, and she was looking for something else
 350.122 +anyway. She just couldn’t tell what exactly. 
 350.123 +	Fingers rolling along the edge of a cage, the crimson eyed girl
 350.124 +relished the cold feeling beneath her fingers. The room was almost
 350.125 +unbearably hot, the air humid. She could hear the loud sounds of the
 350.126 +air conditioning in the background, but it just didn’t work with all
 350.127 +of these bodies back so closely together. Deciding to ignore it, her
 350.128 +other hand wiped across her sweat drenched brow. 
 350.129 +	A low growl startled her out of her thoughts, drawing the young
 350.130 +consumer’s attention to the cage near her. With a quick motion, the
 350.131 +tiger that was in there lunged towards her fingers. Shock pumped
 350.132 +through her small body as her hand jerked back reflexively. A scaly
 350.133 +fish boy began laughing at her as she passed him and another hawk
 350.134 +boy. She resolved to be more careful, holding the hand that had been
 350.135 +lunged at protectively. 
 350.136 +	Just what was she looking for? What type of pet did she want? She
 350.137 +couldn’t tell. A smile graced soft lips as she walked past what
 350.138 +looked to be a family of cats. The parents looked to be a slender
 350.139 +female cat with long dark hair and a male cat with only slightly
 350.140 +shorter white hair. The kitten was adorable, with short, dark violet
 350.141 +hair done up in odangos near her ears. This one seemed a lot tamer
 350.142 +than the tiger. Large curious eyes looked up at her, as if they were
 350.143 +studying ChibiUsa in the same way she was being studied herself.
 350.144 +ChibiUsa giggled softly and scratched behind the kitten’s ear,
 350.145 +hearing a distinct purr in reply. “You’re just a sweetie, aren’t you?
 350.146 +I’m sure someone’s gonna get you soon.” She giggled again as the purr
 350.147 +grew louder. Slowly pulling her hand away, she took another step
 350.148 +forward, glancing back at the cage and smiling for a moment before
 350.149 +heading forward. 
 350.150 +	And suddenly, she spotted something moving near the back of what
 350.151 +she had thought was an empty cage. Taking a few steps closer, she
 350.152 +hunched over to try and get a better look inside the cage. In the
 350.153 +back, there was a scared looking girl, her skin as pale as a sheet of
 350.154 +paper. Her long black tail moved slowly, her knees drawn up to her
 350.155 +chest. The dark ears that jutted out of her raven hair twitched
 350.156 +occasionally. Large, violet eyes watched ChibiUsa cautiously. It
 350.157 +looked like she was trying to fade away into the shadows at the back
 350.158 +of the cage, the poor kitten looking helpless in the tiny steal cage.
 350.159 +Crimson eyes brightened as the newly christened sixteen year old girl
 350.160 +leaned forward to get a better look. The kitten didn’t make a sound,
 350.161 +only the movement of the dark tail and violet eyes showing that she
 350.162 +was awake. She looked so shy, holding herself like that. So lonely.
 350.163 +So cute.
 350.164 +	ChibiUsa smiled happily as an employee came by to see if she needed
 350.165 +help. “I want this one!!”
 350.166 +
 350.167 +	“So what are you going to name her?” ChibiUsa’s father asked
 350.168 +curiously as they drove home a short time later. His pink haired
 350.169 +daughter sat in back with her new pet, still holding the catgirl’s
 350.170 +leash. The catgirl really didn’t seem to be doing much, just watching
 350.171 +the events from her large, scared violet eyes.
 350.172 +	ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, watching her
 350.173 +feline companion closely. She was still so excited to finally have
 350.174 +her birthday present. And what a birthday present at that! Her very
 350.175 +own catgirl... And such a cute one, too.  It was a thrilling
 350.176 +experience. 
 350.177 +	Pink hair flew around ChibiUsa’s head as she shook it, trying to
 350.178 +clear her thoughts. She couldn’t just let the catgirl run around
 350.179 +nameless. But she didn’t want to name her just anything. Those sad,
 350.180 +violet eyes and her beautiful ivory skin made her gorgeous to look
 350.181 +at. She needed a lovely name to go with it. But what would fit this
 350.182 +skittish kitten? And with such a lonely, haunting feel about her, it
 350.183 +was hard to find something suiting. “I think I’m going to name her
 350.184 +Hotaru,” she said at last. 
 350.185 +	Her father raised an eyebrow, looking back at his daughter through
 350.186 +the rearview mirror. “You’re going to name your pet cat ‘firefly’?”
 350.187 +	ChibiUsa pouted, scooting closer to the catgirl. Hotaru tried to
 350.188 +scoot away, but just managed to wedge herself against the door.
 350.189 +“Yeah, because I think it fits her perfectly. She has a real gothic
 350.190 +beauty to her. And she looks so sad. So I like the name.” She smiled
 350.191 +sweetly at the catgirl, who looked down quickly. 
 350.192 +	Laughing, her father turned a corner. “That’ll change once you get
 350.193 +her home and well fed. Then she’ll be a much happier cat. She looks
 350.194 +pretty skinny, so that’s most likely the problem.”
 350.195 +	Nodding thoughtfully, ChibiUsa reached forward, smiling gently at
 350.196 +Hotaru. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m taking you home. You’ll be
 350.197 +happy there.” Her fingers brushed through the catgirl’s soft hair.
 350.198 +Hotaru closed her eyes and tried to pull further away, but there was
 350.199 +nowhere to go. Her pointed cat ears twitched slightly. Seeing the
 350.200 +catgirl like this was a little disturbing. She had seen how happy
 350.201 +pets usually looked with their owners, but this catgirl looked
 350.202 +entirely withdrawn, afraid of the situation. It did make sense that
 350.203 +she would be scared. She was still young and probably hadn’t been
 350.204 +anywhere else before. But that just strengthened ChibiUsa’s resolve
 350.205 +to get closer to her new pet, to make it feel comfortable at home.
 350.206 +She was her kitten now, so she'd make sure she was happier. 
 350.207 +	Exuberance filled the genki pink haired girl as she watched her
 350.208 +pet. Finally having one, she was extremely pleased with her choice in
 350.209 +a birthday present. She was just so cute. And all hers. She had
 350.210 +promised to take good care of her before her parents would let her
 350.211 +have one. She was the perfect birthday present, a real live catgirl.
 350.212 +And to think that she hadn’t had any idea of what to ask for for her
 350.213 +birthday until a few weeks ago. 
 350.214 +
 350.215 +	Sitting in the park weeks earlier, ChibiUsa had been pondering the
 350.216 +same question over and over for the past few days. Her sixteenth
 350.217 +birthday was nearly upon her and she still didn’t know what she
 350.218 +wanted. It was a big stepping stone and her parents seemed pretty
 350.219 +thrilled. A big party was planned with all of her friends and family.
 350.220 +But she couldn’t think of a thing that she wanted. Little things that
 350.221 +didn’t matter, but nothing that seemed to fit the occasion. So she
 350.222 +had gone shopping with Ruruna and Naruru to clear her mind and wound
 350.223 +up broke. Again. They had gone on to another antique shop, but she
 350.224 +just wanted to rest her aching legs. They’d been shopping since they
 350.225 +had met up hours earlier. So she took her break to set her mind back
 350.226 +on the question at hand. 
 350.227 +	An elegant looking girl around ChibiUsa’s age with milky white skin
 350.228 +and long dark gray hair drew her attention. Not because of her
 350.229 +astonishing beauty, which was certainly evident in the midday light,
 350.230 +but because of what she was holding. A long, pink leash that was
 350.231 +linked to the collar around another girl’s neck. The other girl had
 350.232 +short brunette hair and was walking on all fours across the grass.
 350.233 +The pale girl seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, following
 350.234 +after the girl on the leash with a camcorder in her other hand. It
 350.235 +was a very peculiar sight to behold. 
 350.236 +	“Good girl, Sakura-chan! You’re such a sweet puppy. You just work
 350.237 +all of that energy out, darling. My cute, genki Sakura-chan can’t be
 350.238 +kept in a house all day,” the mistress said in a soft, melodious
 350.239 +voice. It wasn’t until then that ChibiUsa noticed the large, floppy
 350.240 +ears on the brunette’s head or the short furry tail just above her
 350.241 +tail bone. So that was a pet! She watched in astonishment as the
 350.242 +puppygirl continued to run around on the grass, the dark haired
 350.243 +heiress holding onto the leash and following the puppy’s motions with
 350.244 +her camcorder. “Fetch, Sakura-chan!” Pulling a small pink stick out
 350.245 +of her purse, the woman tossed it in front of her pet. Sakura hurried
 350.246 +to get it, biting down on it and bringing it back to her mistress.
 350.247 +The dark haired girl knelt down, scratching behind the puppy’s ears
 350.248 +and smiling delightedly. “Oh, you’re such a good girl.”
 350.249 +The brunette’s eyes closed, her tail wagging happily. 
 350.250 +	“Wow!” Getting to her still sore feet quickly, ChibiUsa approached
 350.251 +the two girls. “That’s amazing! Is she your pet? She’s so cute!”
 350.252 +Seeing the puppygirl up close, ChibiUsa marveled at the site. A mix
 350.253 +between a normal girl and a puppy, she made an adorable pet. 
 350.254 +	Stormy blue eyes shimmered as the woman nodded. A bright smile
 350.255 +crossed her face as she continued petting Sakura. “Hai, she is. Her
 350.256 +name is Sakura-chan. I’ve had her for years now. Her mother was a
 350.257 +show winner. Isn’t she sweet? She’s the sweetest puppy imaginable.” 
 350.258 +	Sakura was starting to blush from the praise, but her tail still
 350.259 +wagged happily as her mistress’s fingers continued playing through
 350.260 +her hair. “Hi,” She said, a little shyly. 
 350.261 +	ChibiUsa blinked in surprise, nearly falling back in the grass.
 350.262 +“She can talk, too? She must be really talented.”
 350.263 +	“Oh, she can talk really well. And about the cutest things. And
 350.264 +yes, she’s very talented. I have tapes and tapes full of all the cute
 350.265 +things Sakura-chan can do,” the woman said, still smiling her
 350.266 +trademark smile. 
 350.267 +The puppy girl was leaning against her by now and still blushing a
 350.268 +deep red. “Tomoyo-sama...” She looked like this happened often, but
 350.269 +that she still hadn’t really gotten used to it. Sighing, she started
 350.270 +licking at Tomoyo’s palm while her mistress continued talking with
 350.271 +the girl that looked like a bunny. She’d chase her, but Tomoyo
 350.272 +probably wouldn’t want her to. And besides, she really didn’t feel up
 350.273 +for a chase right now.
 350.274 +	“She’s so kawaii!! I bet she makes a terrific pet,” ChibiUsa said,
 350.275 +still amazed by the girl on the leash. What a wonderful idea. She had
 350.276 +no idea pets were so exciting. Her shoulders slumped slightly as a
 350.277 +sudden realization hit her. The pale girl did look remarkably
 350.278 +wealthy. “She probably cost a fortune, though.” There went that idea.
 350.279 +She’d have to find something else to get for her birthday. And it
 350.280 +seemed like such a good idea, too!
 350.281 +	Tomoyo shook her head, giggling softly at the ticklish feeling of
 350.282 +Sakura’s tongue. “No, not really. Sakura-chan was a gift from my
 350.283 +mother a few years ago, but I don’t believe they’re really that
 350.284 +expensive. It might take a while to save up, but with all of the
 350.285 +things you bought,” she motioned towards ChibiUsa’s bags back on the
 350.286 +bench, “you should be able to afford it after a while. I honestly
 350.287 +think you should. I’m so lucky to have my cute Sakura-chan.” Another
 350.288 +bright smile lit her face as she looked down at the puppy girl.
 350.289 +Sakura perked up, as if waiting for something, sniffing. A horn
 350.290 +honked in the distance, catching all of their attention. Tomoyo
 350.291 +looked back towards a waiting limousine. “Oh, I must be going. I hope
 350.292 +you can get a pet. They really are wonderful. I don’t know where I’d
 350.293 +be without Sakura-chan.” Standing up elegantly, she brushed down her
 350.294 +long skirt. “Come one, Sakura-chan. Let’s go home. I’ll give you a
 350.295 +nice bath.”
 350.296 +	Sakura waved and followed her mistress, standing up on two feet
 350.297 +this time, pulling alongside of her. Both girls disappeared into the
 350.298 +limousine. 
 350.299 +	Watching them drive off, ChibiUsa’s hair was tossed around by the
 350.300 +wind. She barely seemed to notice, too deep in thought to care. That
 350.301 +was what she wanted. A pet. A pet all of her own. Running back to the
 350.302 +bench, she grabbed her things and headed home. That’s what she would
 350.303 +ask for. Oh, it was perfect!
 350.304 +
 350.305 +	ChibiUsa brushed back some pink hair from her eyes, squinting in
 350.306 +the afternoon sun, her reverie fading. Her brand new pet was still
 350.307 +sitting sulkily in the car, dark eyes glistening in the shadows.
 350.308 +“C’mon, Hotaru-chan. We’re home now.” She smiled sweetly at the
 350.309 +catgirl, motioning for her to follow. The catgirl looked at her for a
 350.310 +second, but dropped her gaze just as quickly. ChibiUsa’s father
 350.311 +yelled for her to come in, grabbing her attention away from the shy
 350.312 +new pet. “Just a minute, papa!” Her crimson eyes returned to the
 350.313 +catgirl. Kneeling next to the open door, she reached in slowly. “It’s
 350.314 +okay, kitty. We’re home now. Home. I’m going to take good care of
 350.315 +you. I promise. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Her hand gently
 350.316 +stroked the catgirl’s side. Her pale skin was exquisitely soft to the
 350.317 +touch. ChibiUsa’s fingers continued to trail up and down as she
 350.318 +smiled. “Please?” Another request from her father to head in caught
 350.319 +her ears, Hotaru’s ears perking up at the same time. She sighed and
 350.320 +got back to her feet, smoothing down her skirt. “Well, we better get
 350.321 +going, Hotaru-chan. Come on.” She whistled, but the only reaction she
 350.322 +got from the catgirl were her ears perking up again. The pink haired
 350.323 +owner tugged lightly on the leash. This finally seemed to get the
 350.324 +catgirl’s attention. Pulling lightly, the pink haired girl led her
 350.325 +birthday present inside.
 350.326 +	Hotaru followed behind her owner slowly, taking no notice of her
 350.327 +surroundings. What was the difference between here and the pet shop?
 350.328 +At least she wasn’t in a cramped cage anymore. But now she was all
 350.329 +alone. Most of the others would have been thrilled to have been
 350.330 +bought like this. But being in this strange new place by herself was
 350.331 +scary. She should be grateful to have her own mistress now, but it
 350.332 +was all too new, too frightening. Everything was happening too fast.
 350.333 +At least her mistress was pretty. And she seemed nice. But who knew
 350.334 +what would happen? Not that it mattered. She was only a pet. Her life
 350.335 +was at the sole discretion of her mistress. It was why she lived.
 350.336 +	Pushing the door to her room open, the proud new owner could hardly
 350.337 +hide her excitement. This had to be her best birthday ever. Her
 350.338 +lovely pet was just perfect. Better than she could have dreamed.
 350.339 +“Well, here it is. This is my room.” She gestured broadly with her
 350.340 +free hand to their surroundings. The bed was along one wall, red and
 350.341 +white bedsheets topped with neatly placed bunny dolls. The room was a
 350.342 +little cluttered with little possessions here and there, but it
 350.343 +didn’t look messy. Long, frilly white curtains hung over the bedroom
 350.344 +window that overlooked the backyard. Some clothes from this morning
 350.345 +lay discarded in a corner. Several letters were arranged neatly on
 350.346 +her bedside, all sporting ‘Happy Birthday’ somewhere on them. Next to
 350.347 +the bed lay a large maroon fuzzy basket with some small cat toys in
 350.348 +it. Next to it were a food and water dish. 
 350.349 +	Grinning in excitement, ChibiUsa walked towards the bed. Resistance
 350.350 +tugged at the hand holding the leash. Turning back, she saw the
 350.351 +catgirl frozen in the doorway. “It’s okay. This is your room now,
 350.352 +too, Hotaru-chan. See? This bed is for you. And the toys and
 350.353 +everything. Isn’t it cute? We went and picked it out this morning.
 350.354 +It’s all for you.” She tugged lightly at the leash, pulling Hotaru
 350.355 +out of her stupor. The shy girl looked down, but slowly walked up
 350.356 +behind her owner.
 350.357 +	Hotaru’s catlike eyes took in the little things on the floor, even
 350.358 +in the dim light. It was all for her? She’d never had anything
 350.359 +before. Just another kitten at the pet store, she was lost in the
 350.360 +crowd. Usually afraid or lonely even amongst all the others. She was
 350.361 +a little overwhelmed to be given anything at all. Especially when she
 350.362 +herself was a birthday present. The thought seemed ludicrous. Like it
 350.363 +didn’t quite fit. She was a pet. Pets didn’t have anything. No, it
 350.364 +must have just been phrased wrong. That had to be it. Her eyes shut
 350.365 +quickly when ChibiUsa finally got to the light switch. 
 350.366 +	“Well, here it is. I hope you like it,” ChibiUsa said with a smile,
 350.367 +twirling around on one foot to gesture to the room a last time before
 350.368 +plopping down on her bed. Her crimson eyes stayed on the catgirl with
 350.369 +a childlike enthusiasm. It was almost surreal to see one up close.
 350.370 +Her very own at that. And she was so pretty, too! Just wait until
 350.371 +Ruruna and Naruru found out. They would be so surprised. Hotaru
 350.372 +averted her gaze, shifting around uncomfortably, her tail swishing
 350.373 +slowly from side to side. “You’re soooo cute.” A giggle escaped the
 350.374 +pink haired girl as she pulled on the leash playfully. “You can come
 350.375 +closer. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” 
 350.376 +	Taking an awkward barefoot step forward, Hotaru inched closer to
 350.377 +her mistress. That warm smile managed to draw the dark haired catgirl
 350.378 +ever nearer. Feeling another gentle tug on the leash, she kneeled
 350.379 +down in front of her having nowhere else to go. Her hands and knees
 350.380 +on the floor, her tail continued moving nervously behind her as big
 350.381 +violet eyes looked up at her owner. The smile was still on that face
 350.382 +framed by pink, her hand moving down slowly. Hotaru flinched a bit
 350.383 +when ChibiUsa’s fingers touched the side of her face, trailing
 350.384 +upwards into her raven hair. What did she want? Not that it mattered.
 350.385 +She was her pet. Her mistress could do whatever she wanted with her.
 350.386 +Hotaru’s curiosity continued to grow as the fingers ran through her
 350.387 +hair. But suddenly it didn’t matter. Her eyes closed and she began to
 350.388 +purr. Quietly at first, but it began to grow louder. ChibiUsa’s
 350.389 +fingers were scratching right behind her ear. It felt very nice with
 350.390 +those gentle fingers in her hair. Her tail began to move more
 350.391 +happily, as if completely unaware of the previous nervousness of the
 350.392 +girl it was attached to.
 350.393 +	A musical giggle escaped ChibiUsa lips as she watched her new pet.
 350.394 +“I’m really glad I picked you, Hotaru-chan.” She continued to pet the
 350.395 +kitten for a few more minutes, enjoying the soft purring sound the
 350.396 +catgirl made. 
 350.397 +	“ChibiUsa-chan, dinner!” 
 350.398 +	“Coming!” Sighing, the pink haired girl petted the girl one last
 350.399 +time before standing up. The purring slowly came to a stop. Big,
 350.400 +violet eyes looked up at her in confusion. She smiled down
 350.401 +apologetically. “I have to go get dinner. You should probably eat,
 350.402 +too. I’ll be back in just a bit.” Scratching behind Hotaru’s ear
 350.403 +again, she quickly made her way to the door, glancing back in at the
 350.404 +solemn looking catgirl. ‘She looks so serious all the time,’ ChibiUsa
 350.405 +thought to herself. “Bye, kitty!”
 350.406 +	Hotaru watched as her mistress left the room, nervousness gnawing
 350.407 +at her again. It hadn’t been too bad when she had been there with
 350.408 +her, but now she was alone in this scary place. And she didn’t know
 350.409 +what to do. This was all new to her. This was home from now on.
 350.410 +Curling up into a ball, she began to cry.
 350.411 +
 350.412 +	Later that night, the catgirl was balled up in her basket, wide
 350.413 +awake. She couldn’t get to sleep in her strange new surroundings.
 350.414 +Every small sound startled her right when she started to fade away to
 350.415 +the land of dreams. She had finally given up trying to sleep a short
 350.416 +time ago. Lying there, staring at the wall, she contemplated her
 350.417 +existence. Sold like the animal she was, she was now property of her
 350.418 +mistress, the girl in the bed behind her. It was a dream for many to
 350.419 +get sold at the auctions. To have their own master or mistress. To
 350.420 +have a home. But she was still so afraid. No one had taught her what
 350.421 +to do once she was bought. Part of her had thought that she never
 350.422 +would be. Who wanted a lonely looking cat, anyway? Apparently, this
 350.423 +pink haired girl. She sat up slowly, her head peaking up across the
 350.424 +bed. She could see ChibiUsa’s feet sticking out from under her
 350.425 +blankets, the warm cloth tangled around the pink haired girl oddly.
 350.426 +In the darkness, her catlike eyes could still make out the nightgown
 350.427 +she was wearing, though the color looked faded. Her pink hair was let
 350.428 +down out of the odangos she had seen it in earlier. She really was
 350.429 +very pretty. And she was looking at her. Hotaru’s eyes widened in
 350.430 +surprise and she quickly ducked back down, pulling her knees to her
 350.431 +chest as she tried to pretend she was asleep.
 350.432 +	“Can’t sleep?” the sweet voice of her owner whispered. Hotaru
 350.433 +froze, unsure of how to respond. Creaking sounds came her way as
 350.434 +ChibiUsa crawled across the bed. The sound finally stopped and she
 350.435 +relaxed slightly. A hand brushing through her hair nearly made her
 350.436 +jump in shock. Turning around, she spotted her mistress’s head over
 350.437 +the edge of the bed, watching her with that warm smile again. “It’s
 350.438 +okay if you can’t sleep. I always have trouble in a new place, too.
 350.439 +You wanna sleep on the bed?” 
 350.440 +Hotaru nodded slowly, shyly. ChibiUsa smiled again and sat up,
 350.441 +gesturing for the catgirl to follow. Standing up, the dark haired pet
 350.442 +hesitantly crawled onto the edge of the bed, curling into a ball
 350.443 +there. She felt ChibiUsa’s feet brush against her side as her
 350.444 +mistress pulled the blankets around herself. Hotaru was a little
 350.445 +surprised. Wasn’t she supposed to be in her basket? Well, this was
 350.446 +nicer. It felt soft and the blankets underneath her were warm. And it
 350.447 +did feel more comfortable to be closer to her owner. She was very
 350.448 +sweet and managed to make this whole thing much easier for Hotaru to
 350.449 +handle. Lying there in silence, she tried not to move much lest she
 350.450 +disturb the pink haired girl. But it was still cold in the room
 350.451 +despite being on top of the blankets and she couldn’t help shivering
 350.452 +slightly. She was only lightly clothed.
 350.453 +	Giggling softly, ChibiUsa sat up again. “Still cold, huh? Here, get
 350.454 +in the blankets. It’s warmer.” She watched the quiet catgirl for a
 350.455 +long moment, holding up the blanket invitingly. “Come on. It’s okay.”
 350.456 +Smiling reassuringly, she scooted over and patted the bed next to
 350.457 +her. “Come here.” The violet eyed pet looked back at her hesitantly,
 350.458 +still sitting with her legs tucked under her at the foot of the bed.
 350.459 +She sure was a reluctant pet. She didn’t seem very open around
 350.460 +people. But she was ChibiUsa’s now so it didn’t matter. The pink
 350.461 +haired owner was just glad to have her. Sighing, she took her pet’s
 350.462 +arm. The pale skin was very soft and cold. “Oh, you poor thing. You
 350.463 +must be freezing. C’mere, Hotaru-chan.” Pulling lightly, the catgirl
 350.464 +slowly crawled up beside her. ChibiUsa smiled again and pulled the
 350.465 +blankets up. “Here you go.” Hotaru sat there, staring at her. The
 350.466 +young owner sweatdropped. Taking Hotaru’s arm again, she pulled her
 350.467 +closer and toward the head of the bed. “Okay, now lie down.” The
 350.468 +catgirl lay her body down on ChibiUsa’s pillow, her head to the side.
 350.469 +“No, not like that.” 
 350.470 +Hotaru winced, closing her eyes.  She didn’t know what she was doing
 350.471 +at all. Humans had never been around her very much so she just didn’t
 350.472 +understand what she was supposed to do to please her mistress. Now
 350.473 +she’d probably hate her for being disobedient. And she didn’t want
 350.474 +that at all. Her mistress seemed so nice. What was she to do now?
 350.475 +The fear etched on Hotaru’s face sent a chill through ChibiUsa. Her
 350.476 +catgirl looked so sad. She shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t mean
 350.477 +it like that. It’s all right. Don’t be sad.” Another smile crossed
 350.478 +her face as she tried to reassure her new pet. This was getting to be
 350.479 +a lot of work. But still... She liked it. It was nice having her
 350.480 +here. Her cute catgirl. It was nice to have the responsibility of
 350.481 +her. To take care of her new pet. Placing her hands on Hotaru’s
 350.482 +shoulders, she positioned her on her back, pushing down until her
 350.483 +head was finally on the pillow. Dark hair formed a halo around the
 350.484 +catgirl’s head on the pillow, her kitten ears barely jutting out of
 350.485 +the hair. Hotaru looked at her in confusion but followed her
 350.486 +directions. Satisfied with her work, ChibiUsa pulled the blanket up
 350.487 +around the both of them. “There. See? Much warmer, Hotaru-chan.” She
 350.488 +smiled brightly as she hugged herself under the blanket, trying to
 350.489 +get warm again.
 350.490 +Shyly, Hotaru smiled back. “Thank you,” her soft voice whispered. 
 350.491 +	Giggling, ChibiUsa propped herself up on an elbow. “So you can
 350.492 +talk. I was wondering when you were gonna say something.” It had
 350.493 +almost been a surprise to hear Hotaru speak. She had started to think
 350.494 +that she wouldn’t. Hotaru’s voice was very soft, but lovely. It fit
 350.495 +the shy catgirl perfectly. “You have a very pretty voice, Hotaru-chan.”
 350.496 +	The dark haired pet blushed a cherry red, shifting slightly under
 350.497 +the blankets. It was already strange to be sleeping this way, like a
 350.498 +human girl, but now she was embarrassed as well. She hadn’t known
 350.499 +what to say earlier. And her owner’s comments were flattering. This
 350.500 +whole day had taken quite a toll on her. It just seemed to be one
 350.501 +surprise after another. “A.. arigato...” she whispered, quieter this
 350.502 +time. 
 350.503 +	Petting her catgirl gently, ChibiUsa smiled again. “Sleep well,
 350.504 +Hotaru-chan. I’ll see you in the morning.” Something brushing against
 350.505 +her side caught ChibiUsa's attention. It was warm and furry, moving
 350.506 +in quick motions. Reaching down, she grabbed a hold of the furry
 350.507 +intruder. Hotaru’s eyes went wide as ChibiUsa gripped it. “Oh...
 350.508 +Sorry.” She sweatdropped as she let go of Hotaru’s tail. Yawning, she
 350.509 +let her crimson eyes fall shut. “Sweet dreams, kitty.”
 350.510 +	Hotaru watched closely as ChibiUsa’s breathing steadied and she
 350.511 +drifted off to sleep. Her mistress looked so calm and peaceful. So
 350.512 +cute. She noticed that the pink haired girl was holding onto a white
 350.513 +stuffed bunny with a big red bow. Purring softly, she snuggled next
 350.514 +to her owner, yawning tiredly and showing her sharp teeth in the dim
 350.515 +light. It had been an exhausting day. Before long, she was passed out
 350.516 +beside her pink haired owner.
 350.517 +	
 350.518 +	J-pop meandered through ChibiUsa’s room as morning light filtered
 350.519 +through her window. Something about ‘my darling and my dentures’
 350.520 +played on the radio. ChibiUsa was still too tired to care. The pink
 350.521 +haired girl rolled over in bed, moaning about the unjustness of it
 350.522 +all. School was always such a tiresome thing. Sure, she got to see a
 350.523 +few friends, but was it really worth all of that pain of stuffy
 350.524 +teachers trying to force things upon you? Especially when she had her
 350.525 +own pet now. That’s right! ChibiUsa sat up in bed, suddenly awake.
 350.526 +Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she scoured the room for any trace
 350.527 +of her catgirl. But where was she? It couldn’t have been a dream,
 350.528 +could it? Her heart started to slow back down to it’s usual beat when
 350.529 +she saw Hotaru heading back into her room from the doorway on all
 350.530 +floors. ChibiUsa’s slippers were in her mouth. “Awww... How sweet of
 350.531 +you, Hotaru-chan. You’re such a good kitty.” Grinning happily,
 350.532 +ChibiUsa slipped out of bed, kneeling next to the catgirl and petting
 350.533 +her warmly. “My good little girl. Yes, you are.” Taking the slippers
 350.534 +from Hotaru’s mouth, she quickly slipped them on. “I wanna stay home
 350.535 +and play with you, Hotaru-chan. School doesn’t sound like any fun.”
 350.536 +Pouting sadly, she just watched her new pet for several moments.
 350.537 +Finally reaching forward, Hotaru tensed up under ChibiUsa’s warm hug.
 350.538 +“I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan. We can play when I get home.”
 350.539 +	Hotaru watched her mistress with inquisitive violet eyes as
 350.540 +ChibiUsa walked all over the room sticking things in her bookbag.
 350.541 +“Where are you going?” she asked curiously, trying to keep the
 350.542 +nervousness out of her voice. She didn’t want to be left alone again.
 350.543 +And why couldn’t she come with? She’d be good. She was well behaved.
 350.544 +Not like some of the pets she could remember back at the pet store.
 350.545 +“Skool?”
 350.546 +	Nodding quickly, ChibiUsa began getting dressed, tossing the
 350.547 +nightgown to the floor as she dug through her closet for her school
 350.548 +uniform. She stood in front of the closet clad in nothing but her
 350.549 +slippers and her white cotton panties, but didn’t seem to notice as
 350.550 +if she were alone. It was just her pet, after all. She nodded
 350.551 +absentmindedly as she pulled her blouse over her head, then paused
 350.552 +and pulled it off, looking for a bra. “Yeah, school. It’s this real
 350.553 +boring place where they try to force us to learn things.” She stopped
 350.554 +again, turning an anklet over in her fingers thoughtfully before
 350.555 +discarding it. “I’m doing pretty well this semester, though, so I
 350.556 +can’t blow it off and stay home with you. Even if I really want to.
 350.557 +If I do well enough, I’m thinking of going into government.” She took
 350.558 +out a black lavender ribbon and tied it in her hair on one of her
 350.559 +odangos after fixing it to her usual hair style. “Then when I get
 350.560 +older I could get a nice big house for us and you could have gourmet
 350.561 +cat food and all sorts of good stuff.” Checking the mirror, she
 350.562 +smiled and went back to the closet.
 350.563 +	Violet eyes followed her mistress back and forth across the room as
 350.564 +Hotaru sat on the floor. Her owner really was very pretty. She had
 350.565 +beautiful curves that fit her small frame wonderfully. A small sigh
 350.566 +escaped Hotaru’s soft lips. Too bad she wasn’t a catgirl. But she did
 350.567 +make a nice mistress nonetheless. “Will you be back soon?” Hotaru
 350.568 +asked hopefully.
 350.569 +	“You’re so sweet, Hotaru-chan,” ChibiUsa commented as she pulled
 350.570 +her skirt on. “Hai. Well, kinda. Sometimes it seems like a long time.
 350.571 +But I’ll be back this afternoon. I promise.” She smiled as she bent
 350.572 +down and scratched behind Hotaru’s left ear. A giddy feeling went
 350.573 +through her as she watched the dark haired pet’s eyes close and heard
 350.574 +her purring again. This whole pet thing was turning out to be great.
 350.575 +Hotaru really did seem like the perfect choice. It was even better
 350.576 +than what she’d thought when she’d met that rich girl and her puppy.
 350.577 +	Hotaru didn’t answer, just tilting her head to the side, her tail
 350.578 +moving back and forth as she watched her pink haired owner head for
 350.579 +the door. “Goodbye, mistress,” she said at last.
 350.580 +	Pausing for a moment, ChibiUsa stood in the doorway, fumbling with
 350.581 +her bow. That had sounded awkward. But thinking it over, it did make
 350.582 +sense. Hotaru was her pet at any rate. Smiling over her shoulder, she
 350.583 +waved cheerfully. “Bye, Hotaru-chan! See you this afternoon! I bet
 350.584 +you’ll have more fun than me.” And with that, she disappeared off to
 350.585 +the mysterious ‘skool’. 
 350.586 +	Sighing, Hotaru clasped her hands in front of her and watched the
 350.587 +empty doorway where her mistress had just been. “I doubt it, mistress.”
 350.588 +
 350.589 +	Many hours later, an exhausted student made her way home,
 350.590 +shouldering her bunny shaped bookbag on a weary shoulder. Opening the
 350.591 +door with the key she kept with her, ChibiUsa pushed the door open
 350.592 +with a sigh of relief. It was good to be back home again. A smile
 350.593 +crossed her lips as she remembered the catgirl waiting for her. She
 350.594 +had found it difficult to concentrate at school all day with the
 350.595 +knowledge that Hotaru was at home. School just seemed extraordinarily
 350.596 +mundane compared to her brand new pet. “Hotaru-chan?” she said as she
 350.597 +took off her shoes near the door. There was no answer. But then, she
 350.598 +was a quiet catgirl, so that shouldn’t be too strange. Pulling her
 350.599 +slippers back on, ChibiUsa walked back towards her room. The door was
 350.600 +still wide open as she’d left it. And there was Hotaru lying on the
 350.601 +floor. Reading a book. “Hotaru-chan?” ChibiUsa asked incredulously.
 350.602 +She knew that the catgirl was obviously smart. But that she could read?
 350.603 +	The book dropped from Hotaru’s hands as she scrambled to a sitting
 350.604 +position. Her violet eyes were wide with fear as she looked towards
 350.605 +her owner. ‘She saw me? She’s not supposed to know that. It’s my
 350.606 +little secret.’ She didn’t know what to say. Or what would happen to
 350.607 +her. Maybe she’d give her away. Hotaru knew that pets usually didn’t
 350.608 +read. Why would they need to? Tears began to well up in her eyes. It
 350.609 +was just the day after she’d been bought and already she had ruined
 350.610 +everything. She was really beginning to like her mistress, too. She
 350.611 +wanted to explain, to try to fix things, but nothing would come out
 350.612 +of her mouth. She felt helpless, trapped. She wanted to run away.
 350.613 +	“I... Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa shook her head and knelt next to her
 350.614 +kitten. She picked up the book that had dropped to the floor. It was
 350.615 +one that she had gotten for her birthday. A hand reached out and
 350.616 +gently stroked Hotaru’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Hotaru-chan. I’m just
 350.617 +surprised. You can read? I didn’t think pets could read.” She smiled
 350.618 +sweetly to show that she wasn’t angry, managing to calm the catgirl
 350.619 +slightly. 
 350.620 +	Hotaru nodded weakly, sniffling. “Hai...” She wasn’t angry at her?
 350.621 +Why not? Not that it wasn’t a good thing. But she had always been
 350.622 +afraid about someone finding that out. “My mother taught me... before
 350.623 +she died..” Hotaru said sadly. Reading always reminded her of her
 350.624 +mother, bringing back bittersweet memories of the kind woman and her
 350.625 +death that had left Hotaru all alone. So she liked to read when she
 350.626 +had the chance. It always felt like her mother was watching.
 350.627 +	“Oh...” ChibiUsa looked down at the book for a long moment. So that
 350.628 +was how. It hadn’t occurred to her that anything might have happened
 350.629 +to Hotaru’s family. She hadn’t thought about that sort of thing when
 350.630 +it came to pets. No wonder the poor catgirl looked so lonely. “I’m
 350.631 +really sorry, Hotaru-chan.” She smiled softly, handing the book back
 350.632 +to her pet. It took Hotaru a minute to slowly reach out and take it
 350.633 +cautiously. “If you really like to, you can go ahead and read any of
 350.634 +my books. I don’t read them all that much anyway with all I need to
 350.635 +read for school. And I’m more of a manga girl myself.”
 350.636 +	Holding the book against her chest, Hotaru kept her eyes on her
 350.637 +slightly shorter owner. “Really...? You’d let me?” she asked
 350.638 +curiously. All of this time she had been afraid of getting in
 350.639 +trouble. She was so surprised that ChibiUsa would allow her to. Her
 350.640 +mother had told her never to let a human see her read. Her owner
 350.641 +really was so kind. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-sama..” Smiling meekly, she
 350.642 +hugged the book tighter, still looking into the pink haired girl’s
 350.643 +pretty crimson eyes. She was so lucky to have a mistress like her.
 350.644 +	ChibiUsa watched the eager look in Hotaru’s eyes as she held the
 350.645 +book. The catgirl was so cute. The pink haired girl was really
 350.646 +beginning to enjoy learning all of these new things about her pet.
 350.647 +She really did have a lot of personality. Hotaru was becoming more
 350.648 +and more captivating. And she was all hers, which made the whole
 350.649 +thing even better. She didn’t have to share Hotaru with anyone. She
 350.650 +was like her very own personal friend. Gazing back into those violet
 350.651 +eyes, she began scratching absentmindedly behind Hotaru’s left ear
 350.652 +again, eliciting a soft purr from the catgirl. “You can read all you
 350.653 +want, Hotaru-chan. I want you to be happy here.”
 350.654 +	Hotaru blushed softly and nodded. “I am happy here with you,
 350.655 +ChibiUsa-sama.” She had been so lonely for so long. She was an
 350.656 +outcast back at the pet shop. And ever since she had lost her mother,
 350.657 +she had no one else to turn to. But this lovely girl had taken her in
 350.658 +and was being so sweet to her even though she was just a pet. It was
 350.659 +almost too good to be true. Her mother must have helped her get this
 350.660 +mistress.
 350.661 +	Giving Hotaru a hug that the catgirl slowly relaxed into, her tail
 350.662 +still moving behind her, ChibiUsa blushed a bit herself. Hotaru was
 350.663 +already figuring very prominently in her mind. The catgirl was just
 350.664 +so much more fun and fascinating that her friends at school who were
 350.665 +much more concerned with boys and certain fads. She couldn’t wait for
 350.666 +the times when she could be with her kitten. Everything else just
 350.667 +seemed to take a backseat to that in her mind. Smiling, she kept
 350.668 +petting Hotaru as she held onto her, enjoying the soft purr in her
 350.669 +ears. It was so much fun to be with her. And it felt very nice to
 350.670 +hold her. Actually, she could feel the barely clothed girl trough the
 350.671 +thin cloth as she held onto her, now that she thought about it. “I’m
 350.672 +gonna need to get you some clothes soon, Hotaru-chan,” she mentioned
 350.673 +thoughtfully, still holding her.
 350.674 +	Hotaru blinked, her face inches from ChibiUsa as she watched her.
 350.675 +“Why?”
 350.676 +	A giggle escaped ChibiUsa’s lips and she shook her head.
 350.677 +“Nevermind, Hotaru-chan. You just read your books and I’ll bother
 350.678 +with the rest. I have to take care of my pet, don’t I?”
 350.679 +	Still watching, Hotaru finally nodded when ChibiUsa seemed to be
 350.680 +waiting for her. “I.. uhh.. Yes, mistress.” It seemed to be the right
 350.681 +answer so she relaxed, looking into those beautiful scarlet pools
 350.682 +again. ChibiUsa smelled very nice. Just like her slippers had
 350.683 +earlier. And the bed. Yes, she was beginning to like that smell very
 350.684 +much. It was soothing and made her feel warm and safe inside. 
 350.685 +	ChibiUsa sweatdropped a little at the close proximity, but aside
 350.686 +from it seeming a little odd, it really didn’t bother her. In fact,
 350.687 +she was enjoying the chance to be so close to her pet, especially
 350.688 +with how shy the catgirl was. Reaching down, she stroked Hotaru’s
 350.689 +tails, playing with the swiftly moving pendulum. “Of course. My cute
 350.690 +little pet, Hotaru-chan.” She should start her homework. She should
 350.691 +feed the catgirl. But she just wanted to sit there.  
 350.692 +
 350.693 +	“ChibiUsa-chan, I love you,” the white haired boy whispered softly
 350.694 +as his fingers trailed through her cotton candy pink hair. A crimson
 350.695 +blush, the same color as her eyes, made it’s way across her cheeks.
 350.696 +She had thought he’d never say that. Her crush on him had gone
 350.697 +unreturned for so long. As he leaned forward, she realized with
 350.698 +sudden shock ‘He’s going to kiss me...’ Closing her eyes, she waited
 350.699 +anxiously for the magical moment. “Elios...” She pursed her lips as
 350.700 +she waited, her heart pounding in her chest like a freight train.
 350.701 +Would he? She could feel warm breath against her lips, sending an
 350.702 +electric spark throughout her body. Frantic thoughts hurried through
 350.703 +her mind as seconds stretched out into infinity. Her body tensed as
 350.704 +she waited for the kiss that would seal her fate. Warmth washed over
 350.705 +her cheek, slightly wet and a little scratchy against her soft skin.
 350.706 +Confusion quickly shook her anxiety away. What was he doing? Kissing
 350.707 +her cheek? It sure didn’t feel like a kiss. Well, not quite. Shifting
 350.708 +a bit to the side, she felt the warm feeling continue on her left
 350.709 +cheek, moving up and closer to her lips. An unexpected giggle escaped
 350.710 +her as the unidentifiable feeling continued its journey forward,
 350.711 +tickling her cheek. Just what did he want? Wasn’t he going to kiss
 350.712 +her? “Elios?”
 350.713 +	Scarlet eyes fluttered open in curiosity, searching for the object
 350.714 +of her full attention. “Elios?” she asked again. Blinking in the
 350.715 +darkness, she tried to find the white haired boy. The warm feeling on
 350.716 +her cheek continued, closing ever closer to her lips. Her blush
 350.717 +deepened as she sleepily tried to spot her crush. Her eyes finally
 350.718 +found an ethereal figure leaning over her, a pale figure in the dim
 350.719 +moonlight offset by jet black hair that fell around the pale face
 350.720 +like a veil. Like some unearthly angel, the creature sat over her,
 350.721 +continuing the sweet caress of ChibiUsa’s cheek as if nothing had
 350.722 +changed. The pink haired girl shifted in bed, now utterly confused.
 350.723 +Where had Elios gone? What was happening? And what was that feeling?
 350.724 +It slowly dawned upon her that the warm feeling was her cheek being
 350.725 +licked. But why would Elios be licking her cheek? Her still sleep
 350.726 +addled mind clicked and whirred as it slowly put everything together.
 350.727 +Violet eyes sparkled in the dim light above her, watching her with
 350.728 +catlike intensity. “Hotaru-chan?” the young owner asked suddenly,
 350.729 +sitting up. 
 350.730 +The catgirl moved quickly and with agile grace disappeared into the
 350.731 +darkness. Straining to see the catgirl in the darkness, ChibiUsa’s
 350.732 +fingers reached up to her cheek. The soft flesh still had some saliva
 350.733 +on it from where Hotaru’s somewhat scratchy tongue had passed over
 350.734 +it. So it had all just been a dream? Well, the part about her crush
 350.735 +at the least. But if that was the case, then why was her heart still
 350.736 +beating so quickly? Her fingers traveled from her cheek over to her
 350.737 +lips, lingering there for a second. The warmth that had spread
 350.738 +through her cheek now felt like it was melting through her body,
 350.739 +coating every inch of her. She didn’t know quite how to explain it.
 350.740 +The excitement from the dream dared not dissipate into the night air
 350.741 +just yet. It held onto her, as if the dream wasn’t ready to depart.
 350.742 +Her mind drifted back to her pet’s insistent licking and the
 350.743 +beautiful silhouette that her eyes had awakened to above her. A
 350.744 +cherry red blush colored her cheeks as she sat on her bed, still
 350.745 +drenched in sweat from yet another of many absorbing dreams. The pink
 350.746 +haired girl had never kissed anyone yet, which made it very difficult
 350.747 +to listen to Ruruna and Naruru’s constant boasts. Her dreams often
 350.748 +led her up to what she had built up into her mind to be the
 350.749 +penultimate romantic moment, but had never crossed the threshold,
 350.750 +always leaving her curious as to what would have happened had she
 350.751 +been asleep only a brief moment longer. 
 350.752 +ChibiUsa finally caught sight of her pet in the darkness. Violet
 350.753 +eyes glinted in the shadows near the foot of her bed. As if she were
 350.754 +being drawn to those distant stars, the young owner began crawling
 350.755 +across the bed to the still mostly hidden catgirl. “Hotaru-chan?
 350.756 +Hotaru-chan, you don’t need to hide, kitty.” A soft giggle filled the
 350.757 +silent room. “You’re so shy. Come here.” Sitting in front of the
 350.758 +catgirl on the middle of the bed, ChibiUsa motioned for her to come
 350.759 +forward. “It’s okay. Come here, kitty.” Hotaru slowly complied,
 350.760 +crawling towards her pink haired owner. Her pale figure slowly came
 350.761 +into view, her tail moving slowly in the moonlight. ChibiUsa could
 350.762 +still feel her heart pounding in her chest, her mind furiously trying
 350.763 +to go in every direction at once. She remembered Hotaru’s tongue
 350.764 +along her cheek, so close to her own lips. The feeling was baffling.
 350.765 +It left her wondering about what would have happened had she waited.
 350.766 +She had to remind herself that Hotaru was a catgirl and that it was
 350.767 +probably just her licking her owner as she remembered the puppygirl
 350.768 +had done with the rich girl. But still she couldn’t banish the
 350.769 +thoughts from her mind. Hotaru moved a little closer at her
 350.770 +insistence, her hand still motioning her forward. 
 350.771 +Hotaru complied with her mistress, moving ever closer on all fours.
 350.772 +Her eyes burned with catlike curiosity as she watched the pink haired
 350.773 +woman before her, her hands stopping right before ChibiUsa’s knees.
 350.774 +She hadn’t slept, preferring instead to keep a silent vigil over her
 350.775 +beautiful owner. She had merely been cleaning ChibiUsa’s cheek when
 350.776 +the human girl had woken up, but her sudden movements had frightened
 350.777 +the skittish kitten. Her owner looked cute when she was asleep. Her
 350.778 +pink hair had framed her cute face beautifully in the dark room, her
 350.779 +hands resting on her pillow, her lips forming a sweet pout. She was
 350.780 +surprised to see her awaken so suddenly when it was her experience
 350.781 +that the pink haired girl slept all night long. She had been here for
 350.782 +weeks now and that pattern hadn’t changed in the least. Well, with
 350.783 +the exception of when ChibiUsa wound up staying up with her, but once
 350.784 +the crimson eyed owner was asleep, she generally stayed that way.
 350.785 +Hotaru moved closer still, smelling intently as she moved closer,
 350.786 +enjoying the comforting scent of her mistress.
 350.787 +Blushing, ChibiUsa watched as Hotaru’s angelic face came nearer, her
 350.788 +small nose twitching ever so slightly as she did. Violet eyes peaked
 350.789 +out from behind their shadowy veil at her. That face that had held an
 350.790 +almost constant fear or pain to it now held a gentle contentment.
 350.791 +Sometimes the fear and the pain returned, but ChibiUsa had been happy
 350.792 +to see it slowly ebb, the catgirl’s smile coming more easily as time
 350.793 +went by. The pink haired girl found herself spending more and more of
 350.794 +her time with her precious pet than with her best friends. They were
 350.795 +nice and all, but they didn’t captivate her the same way her gorgeous
 350.796 +kitten did. There was something about the girl’s shy nature and her
 350.797 +total devotion that had quickly snagged ChibiUsa’s attention. She had
 350.798 +even blown off Ruruna and Naruru when they were going to the movies
 350.799 +because of the jealous look she had seen in the catgirl’s deep pools
 350.800 +of violet. Part of that scared her, that she would rather stay home
 350.801 +with her pet than go hang out with her friends. But she had found it
 350.802 +much more enjoyable than gawking at passing boys and staring at
 350.803 +outfits that she could never hope to afford. They had passed the
 350.804 +night pleasantly, playing cards of all things. ChibiUsa had won every
 350.805 +game. She had begun to suspect afterwards that Hotaru had let her
 350.806 +win, but she had such an enjoyable time spending the night sitting on
 350.807 +her bed and playing the games that it hardly seemed to matter. 
 350.808 +It was really a curious situation she found herself in. She knew
 350.809 +that pets were really amazing to have simply from all of the stories
 350.810 +she had heard, but this was much more than she had expected. Unlike
 350.811 +the rest of her friends, ChibiUsa felt that she could really tell
 350.812 +Hotaru things, that she could talk to her about anything. The dark
 350.813 +haired catgirl didn’t judge her. She listened to whatever her
 350.814 +mistress had to say, her cute little cat ears moving along with the
 350.815 +words. She didn’t have to pretend around Hotaru. And that made her
 350.816 +feel so spectacularly free inside. It felt like the shackles that
 350.817 +held down her heart were suddenly released when they were all alone.
 350.818 +Hotaru had asked her why she pretended so much in front of people,
 350.819 +why she hid her feelings behind a veil of happiness and genki energy.
 350.820 +ChibiUsa had tried to explain, but none of her explanations sounded
 350.821 +good enough, even to herself. “Because I want people to see the
 350.822 +happy, smiling me. I want that to be who they remember. I don’t want
 350.823 +to burden others with my problems. I want them to like the genki me
 350.824 +that they see,” she had finally settled on.
 350.825 +“I like you,” Hotaru had said simply. “I don’t think you should have
 350.826 +to pretend for everyone else, ChibiUsa-sama. Even when you’re sad, I
 350.827 +like you. Especially when you’re sad. Because then I can really see
 350.828 +all of you. I know I can’t help much, but just being next to you,
 350.829 +seeing your sad eyes, it makes me wish that I could be with you
 350.830 +always.” Her quiet voice had spoken earnestly from her heart. It had
 350.831 +shaken the young owner. She had grown up hiding her pain and troubles
 350.832 +from others, always being the perky and bubbly girl she had thought
 350.833 +they wanted her to be, but the catgirl was content with who she was
 350.834 +even when that façade was nowhere in sight. 
 350.835 +And now ChibiUsa found herself staring deeply into Hotaru’s endless
 350.836 +violet orbs, breathing quickly as they sat in the darkness on her
 350.837 +ruffled sheets. The catgirl waited with endless patience, looking
 350.838 +back at her curiously as ChibiUsa’s mind wandered from memory to
 350.839 +memory. Laughing in embarrassment, ChibiUsa placed a hand behind her
 350.840 +head. “Goment nasai... I guess I’m still sleepy after all.”
 350.841 +Hotaru nodded slowly, still watching her mistress. A small smile
 350.842 +crossed her lips. She liked watching the pink bunny-looking girl
 350.843 +sleep. “I hope you sleep well, ChibiUsa-sama,” her soft voice prayed. 
 350.844 +	Shaking her head quickly, ChibiUsa tried to collect her thoughts.
 350.845 +Not thoughts exactly, because she couldn’t quite understand them all.
 350.846 +It was mostly a jumble of feelings, scattered throughout her heart
 350.847 +like flotsam. She collected them up, trying to make sense of them.
 350.848 +The burning sensation from earlier had only managed to grow more
 350.849 +intense as she watched the beautiful catgirl’s ivory skin nearly
 350.850 +sparkle in the moonlight. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t feel
 350.851 +like sleeping right now. Hotaru-chan, I...” She shook her head. Why
 350.852 +was this so difficult? What did she want to say? Whatever it was, it
 350.853 +certainly shouldn’t be this difficult. Hotaru was her pet. She had
 350.854 +gone out and picked her out. Hotaru was hers. So why was she having
 350.855 +such a hard time forcing out whatever it was that clung to her? A
 350.856 +frustrated sigh escaped her lips, causing Hotaru’s ears to twitch
 350.857 +noticeably. “Hotaru-chan, I want to kiss you,” she got out in a rough
 350.858 +whisper, her cheeks burning up. Was that it? Was that what she had
 350.859 +wanted to say? Well, not quite, but it was close enough. 
 350.860 +	The catgirl sat in silence for a long moment, her dark eyes
 350.861 +concentrating fully on her mistress. Her own pale cheeks had flushed
 350.862 +a deep red themselves, though it was hardly evident in the dim light.
 350.863 +She nodded slowly, her black hair fluttering a bit as she did so. Of
 350.864 +course, ChibiUsa was her owner. She had to do whatever was asked of
 350.865 +her, whatever her owner expected of her. But this was so much more
 350.866 +than normal obedience. This was something that she knew she wanted
 350.867 +herself. That she had wanted for some time now. That her mistress
 350.868 +would ask that of her... Her heart swooned at the thought. Her
 350.869 +mistress was such a kind and loving person, the first person who had
 350.870 +ever really cared about her. She treated her more like a friend than
 350.871 +an animal. She was so cute and funny to watch. Hotaru was completely
 350.872 +enamored with her sweet owner. The thought of being with her in such
 350.873 +a way was absolutely delicious. So as her pet, she must comply. But
 350.874 +all of Hotaru’s soul was fully behind the action. 
 350.875 +	Leaning forward a little awkwardly, ChibiUsa placed her hands on
 350.876 +Hotaru’s bare shoulders. Her heart felt like it was pounding between
 350.877 +her ears by now. The fact that she had never kissed anyone before
 350.878 +made itself painfully well known in her mind. But she did know that
 350.879 +she wanted this to be her first kiss. Licking her dry lips, ChibiUsa
 350.880 +moved forward slightly before pausing again. Moving her head to the
 350.881 +side, she tried to position herself better. The fact that Hotaru was
 350.882 +a girl hardly mattered in her mind and it probably hadn’t even
 350.883 +occurred to Hotaru with the blissful look on the angelic girl’s pale
 350.884 +face. Hotaru was also her pet, so such trivial things as what gender
 350.885 +she was hardly mattered at the moment. Moving forward once more,
 350.886 +ChibiUsa felt her lips press inexpertly against those of her devoted
 350.887 +catgirl. The soft petals of Hotaru’s lips parted briefly and she once
 350.888 +again felt that soft yet scratchy tongue press against her skin, but
 350.889 +this time it was on her own lips. The sensation was sweetly
 350.890 +overwhelming. ChibiUsa closed her eyes and kissed the dark haired
 350.891 +girl again, this time letting her own mouth part when the dark haired
 350.892 +girl’s tongue came out. Her lips moved around it, starting Hotaru at
 350.893 +first before her own tongue brushed against the scratchy one entering
 350.894 +her mouth. 
 350.895 +‘She’s your pet. You shouldn’t be doing this,’ ChibiUsa’s mind cried
 350.896 +out. ‘She’s your pet so of course you can do this,’ it retaliated.
 350.897 +‘Damn it, she’s Hotaru-chan and I want to do this,’ she concluded at
 350.898 +last. Her hand slowly moved up over Hotaru’s bare stomach, caressing
 350.899 +the satin soft skin as she made her way upwards. Her heartbeat
 350.900 +continued it’s maddening tempo as she continued higher. She was happy
 350.901 +to find that Hotaru’s heart was beating just as rapidly, thumping
 350.902 +rapidly in the raven haired catgirl’s chest. After what felt like an
 350.903 +endless pause as she worked up her determination, ChibiUsa’s hand
 350.904 +moved to the right under Hotaru’s simple nightshirt, cupping the
 350.905 +delicate skin of one of her small breasts. The catgirl let out a
 350.906 +startled cross between a purr and a moan as ChibiUsa’s hand caressed
 350.907 +the small mound. Hotaru’s arms wrapped around her mistress, pulling
 350.908 +her closer as they continued to kiss. By now, whatever arguments
 350.909 +ChibiUsa’s rational mind had tried were completely forgotten, lost in
 350.910 +the swirling storm that had overtaken whatever conscious thought was
 350.911 +left in her. There were wonderfully soft lips and piercing violet
 350.912 +eyes and warm skin that she could feel through the thin fabric of her
 350.913 +pajamas. And there was a joyous sense of relief, as if she had
 350.914 +finally found what she had spent an eternity searching the world over
 350.915 +for. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered, her voice sounding different
 350.916 +than she had last remembered. It was her voice, but it wasn’t at all
 350.917 +controlled. It was only now that she had completely let go that she
 350.918 +could see.
 350.919 +Hotaru wasn’t completely aware of what was going on. Her mind had
 350.920 +become clouded over as the kiss had overtaken her. She was vaguely
 350.921 +aware of ChibiUsa’s hand in her blouse, of her fingers against her
 350.922 +skin. That sent a blush all the way down to her shoulders. The
 350.923 +thought that she was completely at her mistress’s mercy sent a shiver
 350.924 +through her ivory body. She didn’t know if she had quite expected
 350.925 +this or not. She knew that she belonged to the pink haired girl, but
 350.926 +this hadn’t really crossed her mind. She would do anything for her,
 350.927 +and she was only all too willing to follow along with her mistress’s
 350.928 +wishes. 
 350.929 +Slowly pulling away, ChibiUsa tried desperately to catch her breath.
 350.930 +She felt dizzy, her mind swirling in ecstasy as she sat back. Her pet
 350.931 +slowly opened her eyes, watching her closely. Swallowing, ChibiUsa’s
 350.932 +tongue moved around in her mouth, still used to the other’s presence
 350.933 +from moments before. This certainly hadn’t been one of the reasons
 350.934 +she had wanted a pet in the first place, but it was certainly a
 350.935 +wonderful surprise at the moment. The teenage girl was extremely
 350.936 +happy to have the closeness that her pet was all too willing to
 350.937 +provide her with. But just as she was an inexperienced kisser, so too
 350.938 +was she lost in exactly how to go about initiating anything sexual
 350.939 +between the two of them. The catgirl sat still, completely docile.
 350.940 +ChibiUsa sighed, her mind racing. Her mind finally settled on the
 350.941 +kiss. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to take off your clothes,” she said
 350.942 +quickly, trying to keep herself from blushing a deeper shade of
 350.943 +crimson than she already was. The dark haired catgirl complied shyly,
 350.944 +looking away from her mistress as she pulled the simple nightshirt
 350.945 +off, sliding off the plain white panties a moment later. The pink
 350.946 +haired owner watched all of this intently, taking in all of her
 350.947 +feline companion in the dim moonlight that sparkled over her body.
 350.948 +Reaching forward, ChibiUsa pulled the panties off of Hotaru’s foot,
 350.949 +pulling at them slightly as she held them up. They had an
 350.950 +intoxicating smell, and the knowledge of where they had just been
 350.951 +only served to entice her even more. 
 350.952 +Hotaru sat on her knees in front of her mistress, watching shyly as
 350.953 +she waited for whatever was to come next. This had certainly come as
 350.954 +a surprise to her, but not as much as it could have been. She had
 350.955 +known from the start that her mistress was completely in charge in
 350.956 +whatever she decided to do. Hotaru was only her pet. She was to go
 350.957 +along with whatever she wished. So she waited, nude in front of her
 350.958 +mistress, her body barred for her. Her tail moved quickly, betraying
 350.959 +the excitement that was building within her. Her animal instincts
 350.960 +wanted to come into play and they were very difficult to suppress at
 350.961 +the moment. She had the sudden urge to pounce the pink haired girl,
 350.962 +but through force of will she managed to push the thought deep down. 
 350.963 +If this had all been a dream, ChibiUsa would not have been at all
 350.964 +surprised. What did come as a surprise was the fact that she wasn’t
 350.965 +waking up from all of this. Part of her was expecting it all to come
 350.966 +to a close at any second. It had already gone much further than any
 350.967 +of her other dreams had dared. She had finally received that
 350.968 +intoxicating first kiss. Yet it was moving far beyond a simple kiss.
 350.969 +Hotaru was simply stunning in the moonlight, her gorgeous body on
 350.970 +display for ChibiUsa alone. Her fingers reached out slowly, brushing
 350.971 +some of the catgirl’s dark hair away from her violet eyes. “Hotaru-
 350.972 +chan... You’re so beautiful. Every inch of you,” she stated as her
 350.973 +fingers trailed down Hotaru’s bare shoulder. The catgirl shivered at
 350.974 +her touch, causing ChibiUsa to pull her hand away. Hotaru looked up
 350.975 +suddenly, disappointment evident in her eyes.
 350.976 +ChibiUsa held her hands in her lap, blushing deeper than she was
 350.977 +sure she ever had before. Her pink hair hung past her shoulders,
 350.978 +still messy from hours of sleep. The burning inside of her was now
 350.979 +almost unbearable. She swallowed nervously as she tried to think. Her
 350.980 +mind kept going to vivid images. Again, the feeling of Hotaru’s skin
 350.981 +against her, the feel of her warm and slightly scratchy tongue
 350.982 +entered her mind. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to... Umm…” Not being a
 350.983 +particularly vulgar girl or even an overly sexual one, ChibiUsa was
 350.984 +having a very difficult time describing what she meant to the catgirl
 350.985 +in front of her. “I want you to lick me again...” she finished at
 350.986 +last. She was about certain that she would pass out from blood loss
 350.987 +around then. If her mother ever heard her say anything like that...
 350.988 +She shook her head quickly, banishing the thought of her parents
 350.989 +having any idea of what she was currently engaged in. The catgirl
 350.990 +moved forward, her tongue brushing ChibiUsa’s cheek once more. The
 350.991 +pink hair giggled a bit at that, but the giggle was shortlived as
 350.992 +another blush overtook her. “No, I meant I want you to lick me
 350.993 +somewhere else, Hotaru-chan,” she said softly. 
 350.994 +Seeing the curious look that the catgirl gave her, ChibiUsa reached
 350.995 +down and pulled her pajama bottoms off. The cool air hit her bare
 350.996 +skin instantly, but it did little to quell the firey sensation within
 350.997 +her. Despite having watched Hotaru undress mere moments earlier,
 350.998 +ChibiUsa was still embarrassed about being seen in only her pajama
 350.999 +top and panties, even if she had undressed in front of her pet
350.1000 +countless times. It took her a moment before she could work up the
350.1001 +courage to pull her bunny stylized panties down her legs, leaving her
350.1002 +bare skin to the scrutiny of the dark haired catgirl. She sat there
350.1003 +for a long moment, her bare skin against the ruffled sheets that she
350.1004 +had been sitting on. Her legs parted slowly, her eyes never leaving
350.1005 +the catgirl sitting quietly in front of her. She swallowed nervously,
350.1006 +part of her wondering just what the hell she was doing. Disregarding
350.1007 +whatever part of her was protesting, ChibiUsa reached down past the
350.1008 +soft pink hair that marked only a small patch of the bare skin from
350.1009 +her waist down. Her crimson eyes remained on Hotaru as her fingers
350.1010 +held herself open, her blush intensifying as she saw Hotaru’s violet
350.1011 +eyes looking between her legs. Her first instinct was to close her
350.1012 +legs tightly, to grab for the pajama bottoms that she knew were
350.1013 +hopelessly out of her grasp. But she saw the Hotaru now understood
350.1014 +what she meant. The nude catgirl moved forward on all fours, quickly
350.1015 +moving between ChibiUsa’s spread legs. The pink haired girl’s heart
350.1016 +crashed thunderously in her chest as she waited. She could see
350.1017 +Hotaru’s midnight black hair and her equally dark ears followed by
350.1018 +her beautiful ivory back that led all the way down to her dark tail
350.1019 +that swished rapidly back and forth over Hotaru’s flank. That was the
350.1020 +last thing she saw before she felt Hotaru’s hot breath on her, the
350.1021 +catgirl having finally reached her destination. The pink haired girl
350.1022 +rested her head back on her pillow, staring up at the roof as she
350.1023 +felt Hotaru’s nose brush past her small patch of pink hair. 
350.1024 +Hotaru was now running mostly on instinct, glad to let her animal
350.1025 +side take charge of herself for the time being. Her nose pushed into
350.1026 +her mistress’s soft pink hair, brushing the soft skin underneath. Her
350.1027 +ears perked up at the soft moan that elicited from her owner. Her
350.1028 +tail continued to dart back and forth as she leaned forward again,
350.1029 +her nose trailing downward across the hot skin. She was entirely
350.1030 +focussed on ChibiUsa, entranced by the situation she found herself
350.1031 +in. Her rough tongue began to trail along ChibiUsa’s soft petals the
350.1032 +same way she had trailed along her cheek not too long ago. She slowly
350.1033 +began to lick at the sweet skin, garnering more moans and movement
350.1034 +from the pink haired girl. She was so happy to be able to cause such
350.1035 +sounds from her mistress. She continued licking, her tongue moving
350.1036 +over ChibiUsa’s fingers as well as what lay between them. She
350.1037 +wrinkled her nose at the strange taste that replaced the salty taste
350.1038 +of ChibiUsa’s skin further up. After a moment, she began licking
350.1039 +further between her mistress’s fingers, enjoying the interesting new
350.1040 +taste. Her ears followed every moan, every sound that came from the
350.1041 +pink haired girl. ChibiUsa continued to shift along the bed,
350.1042 +squirming as Hotaru’s tongue continued along its path. Hotaru’s hands
350.1043 +rested on ChibiUsa’s warm thighs so she wouldn’t have to move around
350.1044 +as much to compensate for ChibiUsa’s movements. 
350.1045 +Breathing heavily, ChibiUsa’s fingers of her free hand buried into
350.1046 +Hotaru’s soft dark hair, narrowly missing one of her ears. “Hotaru-
350.1047 +chan!” she whimpered, her scarlet eyes closing tightly as she felt
350.1048 +Hotaru’s warm tongue against her most sacred of treasures. Hotaru’s
350.1049 +tongue continued to caress her, the catgirl eagerly sending the pink
350.1050 +haired girl into the heights of some distant heaven. “Hotaru-chan...”
350.1051 +Her toes curled up in the sheets underneath her, her bare skin still
350.1052 +meeting Hotaru’s warm tongue. ChibiUsa moaned louder as the catgirl
350.1053 +found her pearl, her tongue sending sparks through her entire body.
350.1054 +Hotaru licked at it more intently at the sound of her moans, barring
350.1055 +her sharp teeth against it. ChibiUsa’s hands gripped onto the sheets
350.1056 +as she moaned one last time, her muscles tensing up as her whole body
350.1057 +felt like it was on fire. She collapsed to the sheets a short time
350.1058 +later, breathing heavily and even more disheveled than when she had
350.1059 +first awakened. Hotaru crawled up next to her, still naked, and
350.1060 +curled against her side. ChibiUsa smiled softly as she wrapped her
350.1061 +arms around the catgirl. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered softly,
350.1062 +kissing her pet with what little strength she still had. Hotaru
350.1063 +smiled back, watching her intently. ChibiUsa fell asleep to those
350.1064 +endless violet eyes and Hotaru’s warm purr. 
350.1065 +
350.1066 +	ChibiUsa felt herself unable to concentrate at all during class
350.1067 +several days later. Her head lay against her cold desk as she school
350.1068 +day continued to drag on like molasses pouring slowly from a jar. Her
350.1069 +mind was a jumble of thoughts, all struggling for dominance in her
350.1070 +confused mind. The flurry of conflicting information was too much for
350.1071 +her, but she didn’t no how to deal with it all. She had lost interest
350.1072 +in Elios a short time ago, her crush disappearing as quickly as it
350.1073 +had appeared. She blamed it at first on the fickleness of such
350.1074 +things, but that didn’t exactly fit. Crushes had come and gone
350.1075 +before, but usually not with such sudden surety. Maybe she was just
350.1076 +becoming more mature, realizing when her feelings were merely the
350.1077 +product of an overactive teenage mind. Which was true in some way,
350.1078 +she now saw. Elios had been a nice guy and all, but not someone that
350.1079 +she could spend an eternity with. 
350.1080 +Which brought her to her next group of thoughts. Who did she want to
350.1081 +spend eternity with? That question produced a rather clear image, but
350.1082 +she quickly dismissed it, trying to keep her fear from overcoming her
350.1083 +panicked heart. ChibiUsa hadn’t ever had any interest in girls in the
350.1084 +first place, and this was infinitely more confusing than finding out
350.1085 +she was in love with one of the female members of the species. They
350.1086 +weren’t even of the same species. ‘How do you fall in love with your
350.1087 +pet cat?’ her mind asked for what had to be the thousandth time. And
350.1088 +once again she came up blank. 
350.1089 +	Her mind had been consumed with thoughts of the pale catgirl as of
350.1090 +late, drowning her in their intensity. She had tried to quell the
350.1091 +rising feelings at first, but they quickly became too much for her to
350.1092 +hold back. They bubbled up around the barriers she had set in place,
350.1093 +knocking them down as if they had never been there at all. The
350.1094 +growing warmth in her heart showed through in everything she did,
350.1095 +pouring forth whenever she was with her pet. What had at first
350.1096 +frightened her now merely confused her. She was trying to understand
350.1097 +just what had happened, where the distinction had been made. When had
350.1098 +friendship, the relationship between the pet and her mistress, turned
350.1099 +to love? And what did she say to Hotaru about it? This would have
350.1100 +been easier if she was younger. In her childlike innocence, she had
350.1101 +quickly come to decisions regarding matters of the heart, moving on a
350.1102 +pure and simple instinct that had always served her well. That same
350.1103 +instinct that bothered her whenever Hotaru would call her mistress.
350.1104 +She wasn’t just a pet. That’s what this all boiled down to. Hotaru
350.1105 +was far more than some simple object of amusement. She was ChibiUsa’s
350.1106 +best friend, something that she would have to be careful not to
350.1107 +mention around the possessive Ruruna and Naruru. And it wasn’t the
350.1108 +same as with Momoko. They could talk and she liked spending time with
350.1109 +the peach girl, but it was nowhere near as captivating as the
350.1110 +catgirl’s presence. 
350.1111 +	ChibiUsa tried to cloak her true feelings behind a happy façade
350.1112 +that dazzled most people. Hiding her feelings had always been second
350.1113 +nature. Her father was an important politician. She couldn’t be going
350.1114 +around like an open book. But often her heart would push off the
350.1115 +boundaries and restrictions she laid on it, pulling her in all sorts
350.1116 +of different directions. This had always been frustrating for her,
350.1117 +this contradictory force pulling her in two directions at once. It
350.1118 +sometimes left her feeling empty inside, struggling with the feelings
350.1119 +in her heart and the painting she tried to portray to the world. Did
350.1120 +any of her friends really know her at all? Hotaru did. Those sad eyes
350.1121 +saw deep inside of her, as if she could see directly into ChibiUsa’s
350.1122 +soul. The pink haired girl shuddered at the thought, remembering the
350.1123 +feeling of those endless violet orbs on her, asking why she lied so
350.1124 +much about how she felt. 
350.1125 +	It was with this dual nature that ChibiUsa found herself struggling
350.1126 +once again. The fact that Hotaru was her pet was becoming less and
350.1127 +less important. It seemed silly to use that as an excuse. That she
350.1128 +meant so much to her immediately nullified the little problem of
350.1129 +Hotaru being a catgirl. Her heart was beginning to shred through the
350.1130 +curtains that had hidden it, and it was difficult for her to maintain
350.1131 +any semblance of a mask in Hotaru’s presence. Instinct and rational
350.1132 +thought grappled in the recesses of her mind, struggling between
350.1133 +suppressing her feelings and following her heart. As was so often the
350.1134 +case, ChibiUsa’s instincts eventually came out on top. 
350.1135 +	Pink hair bobbed as ChibiUsa heard the bell ring. Finally! Grabbing
350.1136 +her bunny bookbag, she hurried out of class. She had things she
350.1137 +needed to do. She left her confusion at her desk, determined to see
350.1138 +where the path in her heart led.
350.1139 +
350.1140 +	Papers surrounded Hotaru’s barely clad form as she sat on the floor
350.1141 +in ChibiUsa’s father’s room. She wasn’t supposed to be in there, but
350.1142 +she had grown curious. And, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the
350.1143 +cat. Hotaru had finally found it almost impossible to ignore the
350.1144 +dark, almost imposing room that she had normally avoided. She had to
350.1145 +find the answers. And there they were, in black and white in front of
350.1146 +her.
350.1147 +	It had started simply enough. That pleasant scent that signified
350.1148 +her mistress always had a strong affect on her. All of her senses
350.1149 +would come alert when it reached her nose, catlike instinct going
350.1150 +crazy. It worked well with the rest of the pink haired girl’s
350.1151 +presence to drive her completely crazy. It was something she enjoyed,
350.1152 +but a small thought had begun to nag at the back of her mind. She
350.1153 +knew that smell and that reaction from somewhere else. Well, not that
350.1154 +exact smell and not that exact reaction. There was something in
350.1155 +specific about ChibiUsa that got her heart pounding. But that tensing
350.1156 +of her muscles and that almost maddening thought to pounce on the
350.1157 +pink haired girl seemed familiar. She had finally come searching for
350.1158 +answers.
350.1159 +	The strange feelings weren’t the only reason she had gone looking
350.1160 +for proof to her suspicions. She had to ashamedly admit that she had
350.1161 +a more selfish reason. She was in love with her mistress. She knew
350.1162 +that now. Denial had set in stubbornly at first. Hotaru’s broken
350.1163 +heart had not wanted to allow herself to get hurt again after all of
350.1164 +the pain her life had afforded her. It had tried to escape that by
350.1165 +denying the feelings in her heart. ChibiUsa was her mistress, so of
350.1166 +course she was the most important thing to her. She was supposed to
350.1167 +feel strongly about her mistress. But that wasn’t the full truth.
350.1168 +Watching the pink haired girl while she slept, waiting anxiously
350.1169 +everyday for her to return home, wanting nothing more than to be with
350.1170 +her constantly, it all burned too brightly in her heart. Nothing she
350.1171 +had read could have prepared her for the tumultuous feelings that
350.1172 +sent her heart reeling. It wasn’t a happy realization by any means.
350.1173 +When she had discovered that she was in love with her mistress, she
350.1174 +had cried for many hours until her tears had finally given up on her
350.1175 +completely. Pain had wracked her lonely heart because she knew she
350.1176 +could never be with her mistress. They could never be together. She
350.1177 +would always be alone, watching her mistress from afar. She was only
350.1178 +her pet, after all. She was nothing more than her plaything. This was
350.1179 +her last hope, that perhaps she could prove that they could be
350.1180 +together, that she could be with her mistress always. Of course, she
350.1181 +wouldn’t be her mistress anymore if she was right, would she?
350.1182 +	The answer she had been searching for lay written on the paper in
350.1183 +front of her, painfully obvious yet carefully hidden. ChibiUsa was
350.1184 +not the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino. She was, in fact, not human
350.1185 +at all. She was a pet as well. Or at least, she had been. The
350.1186 +Tsukino’s had been devastated when their first daughter had died
350.1187 +during childbirth. Mrs. Tsukino couldn’t have any other children. The
350.1188 +couple so wanted a child, but they couldn’t have one of their own. So
350.1189 +they had purchased a very young pet, a pink haired bunnygirl. They
350.1190 +had her tail and ears surgically removed while she was still a baby
350.1191 +and had raised her as their own child. 
350.1192 +	The truth hadn’t been entirely surprising to Hotaru, though she had
350.1193 +wondered if she was hoping for the impossible. If ChibiUsa was a
350.1194 +bunnygirl, then it meant that they could be together. It meant that
350.1195 +if ChibiUsa did return her feelings as she suspected, it would be all
350.1196 +right for them to be in love. There wouldn’t be any social stigmas to
350.1197 +worry about if two pets were in love. She wasn’t just in love with
350.1198 +ChibiUsa because she was her mistress. Their love wasn’t forbidden.
350.1199 +This filled Hotaru with a profound sense of relief. The familiar
350.1200 +feeling finally had a memory attached to it. She had first seen a
350.1201 +bunnygirl back in a petshop. She had hissed at the girl and tried to
350.1202 +pounce on her, but she hadn’t been able to get out of her cage. So
350.1203 +part of ChibiUsa’s scent had alerted that catlike part of her mind to
350.1204 +the bunny aspect of her mistress. Her bare toes curled happily in the
350.1205 +carpet as she purred. Yes, she couldn’t wait to see ChibiUsa. She
350.1206 +would tell her everything and they would be together forever. She
350.1207 +hoped. Part of her was worried about the pink haired girl’s reaction
350.1208 +to it. What would she think? Would her heritage frighten her?
350.1209 +	The front door opened, alerting Hotaru to the return of her
350.1210 +mistress. Her heart pounded deafeningly in her chest as she held the
350.1211 +paper to her chest. She still wasn’t sure what to do. But she knew
350.1212 +she wanted to be with her mistress above all else. A strange scent
350.1213 +startled her out of her thoughts as the steps grew closer. That
350.1214 +didn’t smell like ChibiUsa. Her violet eyes shot towards the door as
350.1215 +ChibiUsa’s father entered the room. Her heart practically stopped. 
350.1216 +	“What the hell are you doing?” he asked in shock as he surveyed the
350.1217 +room. His daughter’s pet catgirl was sitting in the middle of some of
350.1218 +his most important papers, holding one tightly to a chest. Noticing
350.1219 +ChibiUsa’s fake birth certificate lying next to her bare leg, he felt
350.1220 +panic easing it’s way out from his stomach. He had gotten home early
350.1221 +and had decided to hurry home and get some rest after the recent late
350.1222 +nights he had been pulling. But he certainly hadn’t expected to see
350.1223 +this. ‘Calm down,’ he commanded himself. ‘Be rational. She’s only a
350.1224 +catgirl. She can’t read. She doesn’t know what any of it is. Just
350.1225 +scold her and hide those papers somewhere else.’
350.1226 +	Hotaru stared up at the graying politician with concern in her
350.1227 +violet eyes. She held the paper even tighter as he came forward.
350.1228 +Steeling her courage, the shy catgirl met his eyes. “She’s a
350.1229 +bunnygirl, isn’t she?” her soft voice whispered. His forward advance
350.1230 +stopped immediately. “She was a pet, wasn’t she?”
350.1231 +	“Oh my God...” Panic began to pump quicker through his body as he
350.1232 +stared at the catgirl, her deep violet eyes meeting his in curiosity.
350.1233 +He idly wondered if he was about to have a heart attack as his heart
350.1234 +beat furiously in his chest. “You can read..” This couldn’t happen.
350.1235 +Some damned catgirl couldn’t have found out his daughter’s dark,
350.1236 +dirty little secret. He would not let his entire career, his entire
350.1237 +reputation, his happy family get torn apart by some loathsome animal.
350.1238 +He could lose everything if this got out. His career would be hurt
350.1239 +beyond repair if it got out that his daughter was a bunnygirl. 
350.1240 +	Nodding slowly, Hotaru looked down at the paper in her arms. “You
350.1241 +never told her. You hid it from her so she wouldn’t know. And you let
350.1242 +her get a pet of her own. It’s almost ironic. A pet owning a pet.”
350.1243 +She smiled weakly, showing her fangs. To ChibiUsa’s father, she
350.1244 +looked like some hellish demon. “I understand. You just wanted to
350.1245 +protect her. But I have to tell her. She has to know who she is.”
350.1246 +	“Who.. Who the fuck are you to decide something like that..? You’re
350.1247 +just some damned pet... I’m her fucking father.. You have no right
350.1248 +telling her that.” His hands were shaking now, an irrational rage
350.1249 +building inside. How dare this cat come in and try to ruin his life?
350.1250 +How dare she exert power over him? She was only a pet. 
350.1251 +	Hotaru shook her head quickly, dark hair flying just above her bare
350.1252 +shoulders. “No, you don’t understand...” her quiet voice was barely
350.1253 +above a whisper. “I... I have to tell her.. She needs to know...
350.1254 +Because.. Because I love her. So she has to know that she’s a pet,
350.1255 +too..” Her violet eyes grew more focused as she stood up. She felt a
350.1256 +cold determination growing within her. She would be with the one she
350.1257 +loved. She would give her whole heart to ChibiUsa. But the only way
350.1258 +they could be together was if she told her who she really was. It was
350.1259 +the only way that her mistress could love her back, if she knew that
350.1260 +she was a pet.
350.1261 +	Blinding pain erupted through Hotaru as an insanely loud noise
350.1262 +filled her ears. An acrid smell filled her nostrils as she fell
350.1263 +backwards. Her eyes barely caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal
350.1264 +object in the man’s hands as she collapsed like a rag doll to the
350.1265 +floor. She felt as if the air had all been forced out of her in a
350.1266 +split second. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch her
350.1267 +breath as she lay panting on the floor, gasping fruitlessly. A
350.1268 +coppery taste invaded her mind as she began to cough uncontrollably.
350.1269 +Tears spilt down her cheeks as she kept trying to catch her breath.
350.1270 +What was happening? Why did her lungs burn so badly? She could dimly
350.1271 +hear him over her, angry words laced with venom assaulting her as she
350.1272 +lay helplessly on the floor. Her hand weakly grabbed at her chest
350.1273 +only to find her simple blouse soaked with blood. It continued to
350.1274 +poor out onto her shaking hand as her heart pumped desperately. He
350.1275 +had shot her through the lung and she was rapidly bleeding to death.
350.1276 +“ChibiUsa-sama...” her voice got out before breaking. Fire burnt
350.1277 +through her side as she felt his foot kick her in the ribs. 
350.1278 +	“You fucking bitch!! Do you think she’s going to save you? Do you
350.1279 +think that I’d let you ruin my life?! My career?! That I’d let you
350.1280 +come in and take my baby girl away from me?!” He ran a hand through
350.1281 +his graying hair as he tried to catch his breath. She couldn’t hurt
350.1282 +him anymore. The vicious demon lay dying on his bedroom floor. All he
350.1283 +would have to do now would be to get rid of her and this whole
350.1284 +painful episode would be over with. If ChibiUsa missed her pet cat,
350.1285 +he would just go buy her a new one. Preferably a deaf and mute one
350.1286 +this time. He heard the catgirl whimper his daughter’s name again on
350.1287 +the floor and drove his foot into her stomach, shutting her up. 
350.1288 +	Hotaru couldn’t see anymore, her vision finally fading out as she
350.1289 +lay on the floor. Her body still ached horribly, but it was becoming
350.1290 +distant, as if it were someone else’s pain. The room was gone, left
350.1291 +far behind. Her body was slowly starting to slip away as she came to
350.1292 +the dim realization that she was dying. Her heart cried out in
350.1293 +anguish as she found that ChibiUsa could not come to her rescue. No!
350.1294 +She didn’t want to die yet. She had wanted to die many other times in
350.1295 +her life, praying to be with her mother again, but she had a reason
350.1296 +to live this time. In her mind’s eye, she saw the pink haired girl,
350.1297 +smiling serenely, her arms behind her back. She had to live. She had
350.1298 +to see ChibiUsa again. Struggling to her knees, she coughed up more
350.1299 +blood onto the already soiled carpet. Yes, she would be with her
350.1300 +mistress. Forever. Despite the pain, she thought she might be able to
350.1301 +make it to her feet after all. This man would not stand in the way of
350.1302 +her heart. “Chi...” she got out weakly before another gunshot rang
350.1303 +out. Hotaru’s lifeless body fell in a heap on the floor.
350.1304 +	“Oh God!! Please no...” The politician turned at the sound of his
350.1305 +daughter’s voice. The gun fell from cold fingers, clattering to the
350.1306 +floor near the catgirl’s dead body. He reached out slowly, shaking
350.1307 +his head. He realized dimly that his fingers were shaking. “ChibiUsa-
350.1308 +chan, I... I had to... She was... She was going to destroy you, my
350.1309 +little girl...” his words came out shakily as he watched his daughter
350.1310 +hurry to Hotaru’s side.
350.1311 +	“Hotaru-chan!!! Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out helplessly. She
350.1312 +clutched onto the catgirl’s still warm body, holding it tightly
350.1313 +against herself, praying that she would move in her grasp. “Please...
350.1314 +Please say something.. Please do something... Anything!! Hotaru-
350.1315 +chan!!! No!! Don’t leave me like this!!! Say something!!!” she
350.1316 +demanded, shaking the girl in her arms. Hotaru lay limply against
350.1317 +her, unmoving. ChibiUsa burst out into fresh tears, sobbing
350.1318 +uncontrollably. “You can’t leave me... I.. I love you... I love you,
350.1319 +Hotaru-chan.. I said it.. You mean everything to me... So open your
350.1320 +eyes.. Oh please, just open your eyes.. I mean it.. I mean it with
350.1321 +all my heart.. I love you...” Her fingers clutched desperately onto
350.1322 +the pale girl’s skin as her body shook with each breath the pink
350.1323 +haired girl managed between sobs. Her skirt and blouse were now
350.1324 +soaked with blood, a stark contrast with how neat and clean they were
350.1325 +mere moments before. The flowers she had bought Hotaru lay near the
350.1326 +doorway, forgotten instantly as she had seen her fallen love. What
350.1327 +had happened? What had gone so horrendously wrong? She had finally
350.1328 +given in to the inevitable pull of her heart only to find the girl
350.1329 +that lay at the center of her heart dead in her father’s bedroom. Why
350.1330 +was this world so cruel? Why would it take such a gentle, shy spirit
350.1331 +away? 
350.1332 +Bitter tears fell down ChibiUsa’s cheeks, dripping onto Hotaru’s
350.1333 +pale cheeks as ChibiUsa cupped her chin, looking into her lifeless
350.1334 +violet eyes. “Hotaru-chan..” Her father was mumbling something, but
350.1335 +she couldn’t hear him. Her thoughts were too dashed to concentrate on
350.1336 +anything but the broken girl in front of her. “Hotaru-chan..?” she
350.1337 +asked again, her pink lashes throwing tears as she blinked them
350.1338 +furiously in an attempt to see through the burning veil they formed.
350.1339 +Her lover looked back at her blankly, vacantly. She wasn’t there
350.1340 +anymore. The spark inside of her that had been ChibiUsa’s pet catgirl
350.1341 +was gone, already having fled to somewhere far away. “I love you..”
350.1342 +ChibiUsa whispered as she began to cry hopelessly, hugging Hotaru
350.1343 +with all of her strength. 
350.1344 +“She was going to take you away from me, ChibiUsa-chan.. I had no
350.1345 +choice. I couldn’t let her take you away.. I couldn’t let her ruin
350.1346 +everything for us.. I’ll buy you a new catgirl.. I’ll let you get any
350.1347 +pet that you want.. All right, honey? You can get whatever you want..
350.1348 +She was just a pet anyway.. No big loss..” He turned to his daughter,
350.1349 +trying to concentrate. He hadn’t expected her to get home. He was
350.1350 +just going to tell her that Hotaru had run away, that she had simply
350.1351 +left when he had accidentally left the door open. But this made
350.1352 +things infinitely more complicated. His eyes caught on something
350.1353 +shiny as ChibiUsa reached out and wrapped her fingers around it. It
350.1354 +took a moment for it to click in his mind, the gun clicking back at
350.1355 +the same moment. “No..” he whispered breathlessly. 
350.1356 +The cold metal of the barrel pushed painfully past cotton candy pink
350.1357 +hair as ChibiUsa felt it bite into her skin. Her tears still fell
350.1358 +silently down her cheeks, but she wasn’t shaking anymore. She shifted
350.1359 +her other arm, holding Hotaru warmly against her. This was it. It was
350.1360 +over. She couldn’t live without Hotaru. That was part of what had
350.1361 +made her realize that she loved the catgirl. Her life was incomplete
350.1362 +without her. So she wouldn’t continue down life’s path alone. She
350.1363 +couldn’t. Even if her body lived, she was already dead. This life was
350.1364 +over. She felt the trigger tense under her finger as she pulled it.
350.1365 +It kicked in her hand and fell to the floor as she slumped against
350.1366 +Hotaru. She actually thought she heard the gunshot, but that couldn’t
350.1367 +possibly be true. She died the second she pulled the trigger.
350.1368 +Everything faded to black as she saw the roses lying discarded by the
350.1369 +door, her lifeless body leaning against Hotaru’s.
350.1370 +Hotaru’s smiling face and vibrant violet eyes greeted ChibiUsa as
350.1371 +gun smoke filled the air and two girls lay dead and entangled
350.1372 +together in a lover’s embrace back in a room far away.
350.1373 +
350.1374 +	
350.1375 \ No newline at end of file

   351.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   351.2 +++ b/stories/friendship.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   351.3 @@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
   351.4 + This is my first fanfic ever so please consider this when you 
   351.5 +start your flame-throwers.
   351.6 + The story contains some sexual scenes so don't read it if you're 
   351.7 +underage. Right, like if you'd listen to me, but don't come to me 
   351.8 +when your psychiatrist tells you you're not quite normal!
   351.9 + The story takes place in the perfect alternate universe where 
  351.10 +Hotaru lives with ... wait a minute! In the perfect universe Hotaru 
  351.11 +would live with me! And all the other senshi too. Wait, let's start 
  351.12 +this over again.
  351.13 + The story takes place in an almost perfect universe where Hotaru 
  351.14 +lives with the other outer senshi in their mansion and ChibiUsa 
  351.15 +lives with Usagi and her family. Hotaru is about 14 and ChibiUsa 
  351.16 +about 12.
  351.17 + Before we begin I would like to thank Naoko Takeuchi for creating 
  351.18 +the beautiful legend of Sailor Moon.
  351.19 + These characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while
  351.20 +
  351.21 +
  351.22 +  A story of friendship and curiosity
  351.23 +   Featuring Hotaru and ChibiUsa
  351.24 +    By The Ghost of 'lectricity
  351.25 +
  351.26 +
  351.27 + The phone rang when Haruka was resting from her running training. 
  351.28 +She took up running again because Tokyo was safe for now and she 
  351.29 +began to miss the fighting with Sailor Neptune - it was a great 
  351.30 +training but now she had to keep herself in shape somehow.
  351.31 + "Hello?" Haruka answered when she picked up the phone.
  351.32 + "Hello? Haruka-san? This is Usagi." Then Usagi suddenly giggled 
  351.33 +into the phone. "Stop tickling me you little pink brat. I'm on the 
  351.34 +phone, can't you see? Hello? Haruka-san? You still there?" Before 
  351.35 +the short-haired girl could answer Usagi already started again 
  351.36 +"Listen Haruka-san, my parents and Shingo are in a spa this week 
  351.37 +and I thought maybe I could spend some time with my Mamo-chan - Aw! 
  351.38 +Stop it!- so I thought maybe ChibiUsa-chan could stay at your place 
  351.39 +with Hotaru-chan for a day or two. Would this be OK with you guys?"
  351.40 + "Yeah, sure..." but before Haruka could end her sentence Usagi 
  351.41 +already cut in.
  351.42 + "Could you come and pick her up, please? You know how she loves 
  351.43 +driving with you in your car. In about half an hour?"
  351.44 + "Alright, I'll..."
  351.45 + "Great! See you then in half an hour! Bye!" There was a click in 
  351.46 +the phone line and a tone followed, indicating Usagi already put 
  351.47 +the phone down.
  351.48 + "...bye..." Haruka said looking at the telephone earpiece with a 
  351.49 +bewildered face.
  351.50 + "It was Usagi-chan, wasn't it?" Michiru chuckled across the room.
  351.51 + Haruka looked at her with the still bewildered face and Michiru 
  351.52 +broke out in laughter, not even managing to hold herself on her 
  351.53 +feet.
  351.54 +
  351.55 +   ***
  351.56 +
  351.57 + "That takes care of you, you little pink brat."
  351.58 + "Mamo-chan is mine!"
  351.59 + "Oh yeah? Guess who'll be spending the next two days alone with 
  351.60 +him."
  351.61 + <Damn, she's right!> ChibiUsa thought.
  351.62 + "Now, where's Luna?" Usagi said.
  351.63 + "Can I be of assistance, your Royal Highness?" Diana said bowing 
  351.64 +down at the door of Usagi's room.
  351.65 + "I'm not a Royal Highness, Diana. Stop calling me that."
  351.66 + "Oh, but you will be, your Royal Highness." Usagi realized it's 
  351.67 +pointless arguing with Diana. After all, she probably inherited 
  351.68 +Luna's intelligence so Usagi couldn't win the fight.
  351.69 + "Where's your mother, Diana?"
  351.70 + "She's in the kitchen, your Royal Highness."
  351.71 +
  351.72 +
  351.73 + "Usagi-chan, I want something to eat!" Luna said when she saw the 
  351.74 +girl enter the kitchen.
  351.75 + Usagi started opening a can of cat food when she began explaining:
  351.76 +"Luna, I'm going to spend the next days with Mamo-chan and Haruka-
  351.77 +san is coming to pick up ChibiUsa-chan later, she'll be staying 
  351.78 +with Hotaru-chan until I get back home. You'll be staying with Ami-
  351.79 +chan if that's OK with you."
  351.80 + Lightly blushing Luna began: "Uhm... Usagi-chan... I'd rather... 
  351.81 +stay at Minako-chan's house..."
  351.82 + "With Minako-chan? Why with Minako-chan? I always thought..."
  351.83 + ChibiUsa, while eating one of Makoto's cookies, interrupted Usagi 
  351.84 +saying: "Because of Artemis, dumbo!"
  351.85 + Usagi of course still didn't understand: "Artemis? Why Artemis? 
  351.86 +Oooooooooooooh! You mean... like I and Mamo-chan..." All three of 
  351.87 +them blushed. "Sure you can stay with Artemis. I mean Minako-chan."
  351.88 +
  351.89 +   ***
  351.90 +
  351.91 + "You wanna go directly to Hotaru or do you wanna drive around a 
  351.92 +little with me?"
  351.93 + ChibiUsa was really enjoying the ride as the wind fluttered 
  351.94 +through her ponytails when Haruka was driving her along the cliffs.
  351.95 + "Drive me around!" ChibiUsa squealed cheerfully.
  351.96 + "I knew you'd say that." Haruka replied.
  351.97 + They sat quietly a while both enjoying the ride - Haruka the 
  351.98 +driving and ChibiUsa being driven.
  351.99 + "So tell me ChibiUsa, what is your mother doing?"
 351.100 + "My mother?" the little girl was puzzled for a moment. "I don't 
 351.101 +know. She's probably... Oh! You mean Usagi?" Then ChibiUsa said to 
 351.102 +herself almost inaudible "Usagi is my mother" like if she had to 
 351.103 +convince herself that this is true. "Because it's summer break and 
 351.104 +she doesn't have to go to school, she sleeps 'til noon and then she 
 351.105 +hangs out with the other girls or with Mamoru."
 351.106 + "Does she let you come with her?" Haruka inquired.
 351.107 + "Usually she does when she hangs out with the girls but sometimes 
 351.108 +when she's with her Mamo-chan she doesn't let me come along. I 
 351.109 +spied once on them and they went in the park and they were kissing 
 351.110 +a lot and touching themselves. Pretty boring if you ask me." Haruka 
 351.111 +couldn't help laughing.
 351.112 +
 351.113 +
 351.114 + Michiru opened the door when she heard the sound of the horn of 
 351.115 +Haruka's car.
 351.116 + "Hello ChibiUsa." Michiru greeted the pink haired girl running 
 351.117 +toward the house. "Hotaru is in the backyard." She continued as the 
 351.118 +little girl was running past her.
 351.119 + "Hello Michiru, thank you!" ChibiUsa answered her as Michiru was 
 351.120 +already behind her and running toward the back door that leads in 
 351.121 +the backyard.
 351.122 + Hotaru was sitting on a small bridge that was built across a 
 351.123 +stream. She was watching the fish in the stream and a butterfly was 
 351.124 +fluttering around her black head. When she saw ChibiUsa running up 
 351.125 +to her she got up and smiled brightly. ChibiUsa didn't slow down 
 351.126 +her pace when she hit and hugged Hotaru so both girls fell in the 
 351.127 +grass beside the stream laughing loudly.
 351.128 + "ChibiUsa, what are you doing here?"
 351.129 + "I'll be staying here for the next few days!"
 351.130 + "That's wonderful! How come?"
 351.131 + "Usagi's parents and her brother are in a spa for the whole week 
 351.132 +and Usagi wants to be alone with Mamoru so she dumped me here."
 351.133 + Hotaru was very happy her best friend could stay with her for a 
 351.134 +while.
 351.135 + "So, what do you want to do?"
 351.136 + "I don't know. Let's go in the forest! There's no forest miles 
 351.137 +around Usagi's house."
 351.138 + "Don't get lost!" Setsuna shouted from the house.
 351.139 + "We wont!" Both girls shouted back simultaneously.
 351.140 +
 351.141 +   ***
 351.142 +
 351.143 + Hotaru and ChibiUsa were having fun all day and evening came 
 351.144 +almost too fast. They were in Hotaru's room ready for bed, both in 
 351.145 +their pyjamas. After the pillow fight ChibiUsa decided Hotaru 
 351.146 +needed a tickle as she looked at her with a sly smile on her face.
 351.147 + "ChibiUsa? ChibiUsa! Don't look at me like that... no, please... 
 351.148 +don't do it... please stop..."
 351.149 + Hotaru was helpless as ChibiUsa's fingers already began working on 
 351.150 +Hotaru's ticklish body.
 351.151 + After a few minutes of mindless tickling both were exhausted and 
 351.152 +lying on their backs breathing heavily. Hotaru thought she would 
 351.153 +die of laughter in this ruthless attack but she was bound for 
 351.154 +another surprise. From the corner of her eye she could see that 
 351.155 +ChibiUsa was looking at her again. She turned her head to face the 
 351.156 +pink demon that had almost killed her but she was shocked to see 
 351.157 +that ChibiUsa was looking at her breasts.
 351.158 + "ChibiUsa!"
 351.159 + "Yes?" ChibiUsa asked innocently averting her eyes from Hotaru's 
 351.160 +breasts and looking her straight in the eyes.
 351.161 + "What are you doing?!"
 351.162 +ChibiUsa blushed but gathering all of her courage together she 
 351.163 +asked her best friend:
 351.164 + "Hotaru?"
 351.165 + "Yes, ChibiUsa?" Now was Hotaru's turn to play the innocent little 
 351.166 +girl.
 351.167 + "Uhm... Can I... touch them?"
 351.168 + Hotaru was shocked. "What?!"
 351.169 + "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that." ChibiUsa almost 
 351.170 +started crying. "It's just that all of you other senshi except me 
 351.171 +have breasts and I... I... I just wanted know how it feels... I'm 
 351.172 +sorry, just forget what I said..."
 351.173 + Then Hotaru suddenly interrupted her: "OK, you can touch me..." 
 351.174 +and blushed.
 351.175 + "Really?" ChibiUsa's big eyes got even bigger in anticipation.
 351.176 + "Yes. But only because you're my best friend." Hotaru smiled and 
 351.177 +hugged her curious young friend.
 351.178 + Hotaru sat up on her bed and told ChibiUsa to do the same. "You 
 351.179 +have to be gentle. Do you want me to take my top off?"
 351.180 + ChibiUsa blushed a little more and looked down whispering a quiet 
 351.181 +yes. Hotaru pulled her top over her head and smiled when she saw 
 351.182 +that ChibiUsa was still looking down.
 351.183 + "Now that won't do. First you say you want to touch them and now 
 351.184 +you don't even want to look at them." Finally the little girl 
 351.185 +lifted her head and asked shyly: "What do I have to do?"
 351.186 + "That's more like it. Let me show you."
 351.187 + Hotaru took ChibiUsa's hands and began stroking her breasts. 
 351.188 +Slowly she took her hands away and ChibiUsa tried to repeat what 
 351.189 +Hotaru had shown her. She was gently stroking her best friend's 
 351.190 +breasts slowly running her hands around the edges of them. Hotaru 
 351.191 +closed her eyes and trusted her body into ChibiUsa's hands. 
 351.192 +ChibiUsa was moving slowly away from the edges to the center which 
 351.193 +caused Hotaru to begin breathing more heavily. ChibiUsa cupped her 
 351.194 +left breast to see how it fits into her palm and saw it's just a 
 351.195 +bit bigger than her hand. She squezed it a bit and Hotaru moaned 
 351.196 +lightly but ChibiUsa was too busy to notice. She saw how Hotaru's 
 351.197 +nipples swelled and she took one between her thumb and index 
 351.198 +finger. Hotaru moaned louder and this time ChibiUsa noticed. She 
 351.199 +was felicitous at the fact that obviously she was bringing Hotaru 
 351.200 +great pleasures. She squeezed the nipple and was surprised by the 
 351.201 +reaction - Hotaru moaned even louder and her nipples swelled even 
 351.202 +more.
 351.203 + Hotaru enjoyed the game as much as ChibiUsa as she felt her juices 
 351.204 +form inside her pussy. ChibiUsa then started twitching Hotaru's 
 351.205 +left nipple. She even pinched it a little and when she noticed that 
 351.206 +her friend likes it she continued doing it. Then ChibiUsa had an 
 351.207 +idea - she slowly brought her face closer to Hotaru's breasts and 
 351.208 +kissed her right nipple softly. While she was kissing her right 
 351.209 +button she was pinching and twitching her left button. Her kisses 
 351.210 +became more and more frequent until she finally rested her lips 
 351.211 +around Hotaru's nipple and began sucking on it. Hotaru's breathing 
 351.212 +was now shallow and coming out of her mouth in short gasps. As 
 351.213 +ChibiUsa's tongue was dancing around the hard nipple Hotaru let out 
 351.214 +a final moan and her breathing stopped for a moment. Then her body 
 351.215 +relaxed and she let out a sigh.
 351.216 + ChibiUsa was confused. Did she do anything wrong? Before she could 
 351.217 +say anything Hotaru ran off to the bathroom. ChibiUsa didn't know 
 351.218 +what to do, she didn't know what was going on.
 351.219 +
 351.220 +
 351.221 + Hotaru returned quickly and she found a confused little girl 
 351.222 +sitting on the bed.
 351.223 + "What was that?" ChibiUsa asked concerned.
 351.224 + "I... I... I had an orgsm." Hotaru muttered under her breath 
 351.225 +almost inaudible.
 351.226 + "A what?"
 351.227 + Then Hotaru stated bravely at a normal volume so ChibiUsa could 
 351.228 +hear her: "I had an orgasm."
 351.229 + "What is an orgasm?"
 351.230 + Ah!, now could Hotaru show off what her "parents" taught her. She 
 351.231 +cleared her throat and began imitating Haruka: "When a girl gets 
 351.232 +sexually aroused certain juices form inside her pus... - Aw! Don't 
 351.233 +hit me Michiru!" At this point Hotaru looks over to where Michiru 
 351.234 +would sit and trying VERY hard not to giggle while ChibiUsa was 
 351.235 +giggling all the time. "Certain juices form inside her VAGINA and 
 351.236 +if she gets even more aroused the muscles inside her VAGINA 
 351.237 +contract and the juices flow out of her VAGINA. This is called an 
 351.238 +orgasm and it's very pleasurable." Hotaru barely made it to the end 
 351.239 +not bursting out laughing and both girls broke out in laughter.
 351.240 + When both recovered from the laughter ChibiUsa finally asked 
 351.241 +Hotaru:
 351.242 + "So you liked it?"
 351.243 + "Yes, thank you ChibiUsa."
 351.244 + "And Haruka told you that about orgasm and stuff?"
 351.245 + "All three told me: Setsuna-mama, Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama. We 
 351.246 +had a day called the day of the truth - Setsuna-mama came up with 
 351.247 +that name. We had to walk around the house naked all day and I 
 351.248 +could ask them anything about sex and stuff. It was fun!"
 351.249 +
 351.250 +   ***
 351.251 +
 351.252 + Meanwhile in the living room Haruka and Michiru were talking.
 351.253 + "Haruka, I'm worried about Hotaru."
 351.254 + "And why is that, Michiru my love?"
 351.255 + "She hangs out with ChibiUsa a lot. Do you think she is... uhm... 
 351.256 +like us?"
 351.257 + "And would that be such a bad thing?"
 351.258 + "NO! I... I... I meant..."
 351.259 + Haruka started chuckling: "Don't worry my love. I know what you 
 351.260 +meant. I'll tell you a story to make you feel better. A few weeks 
 351.261 +ago when I picked her up from school I saw that she was looking at 
 351.262 +a boy. But when she saw me she quickly looked away and blushed a 
 351.263 +little. She was so cute."
 351.264 + Michiru was silent for a minute and then whispered in her lover's 
 351.265 +ear: "Why don't we go upstairs into our bedroom my love..."
 351.266 +
 351.267 +
 351.268 +The End
 351.269 +
 351.270 +The ghost of 'lectricity
 351.271 +Peter.dobaj@guest.arnes.si

   352.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   352.2 +++ b/stories/getaclueedit.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   352.3 @@ -0,0 +1,249 @@
   352.4 +Kiss Your Tears Away
   352.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   352.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   352.7 +
   352.8 +“You wanted to see me, Syaoran?” I ask, letting the door fall shut
   352.9 +behind me. The afternoon sun hangs lazily in the air above, a
  352.10 +wonderful backdrop to the Chinese boy. He’s leaning against the chain
  352.11 +link fence that surrounds the school roof. I smile at him. As usual,
  352.12 +it’s kind of hard for me to tell what he’s feeling or what he’s
  352.13 +thinking. But that’s okay. I have a hard enough time knowing how I’m
  352.14 +feeling half the time. 
  352.15 +
  352.16 +I walk over to him, my hands held behind my back. My heart flutters
  352.17 +nervously in my chest. I try to pay attention to every little
  352.18 +movement I make. For being as athletic as I am, I’m still clumsier
  352.19 +than anyone else I know. It always happens when I’m distracted. Which
  352.20 +I definitely am right now. Syaoran returned from China a few weeks
  352.21 +ago. I still don’t know where that leaves us. I’ve been too shy to
  352.22 +ask him what we are now, if he’ll be my boyfriend, or any of it. I
  352.23 +blush as these thoughts swirl around my head like my Sakura Cards.
  352.24 +Can he tell I’m blushing? Does he know what I’m thinking? Is this it?
  352.25 +Will he finally tell me how he feels? In a way, I’ve been waiting for
  352.26 +years for this moment. Ever since he left. And now that it’s here, I
  352.27 +feel faint, anxious. I hold my heart, trying to keep the beating in. 
  352.28 +
  352.29 +He pushes off of the fence, taking a step forward. He’s looking
  352.30 +forward at the doorway I came through. He was always shy. I guess he
  352.31 +still hasn’t gotten over that. He can’t even look at me. But then,
  352.32 +who am I to talk? I’ve always been really shy myself. Half the time I
  352.33 +need Tomoyo-chan to push me forward enough to do anything
  352.34 +embarrassing. Which makes this so nerve wracking with the both of us.
  352.35 +Neither of us knows what to say, what to do. 
  352.36 +
  352.37 +“I’m going back to China,” Syaoran finally says, his hands in his
  352.38 +pockets. He says it like it’s not a big thing. Like it’s just one of
  352.39 +those things that happen. Something simple like the weather. Not
  352.40 +important in the least. 
  352.41 +
  352.42 +I can only stare at his back, my hands balled up against myself. I’m
  352.43 +terrified at his words. Back? He’s going back? But he can’t go back.
  352.44 +He just got here! I waited the past few years to see him again and
  352.45 +now he’s leaving? Don’t I get some sort of explanation? Something?
  352.46 +Please? Tears burn in my eyes. My mouth opens and closes, nothing but
  352.47 +an injured whimper coming out. I shake my head. My heart races. I
  352.48 +feel like if I don’t say something now, I’ll never have the chance
  352.49 +again. Like he’ll disappear before I even have a chance to say
  352.50 +anything.
  352.51 +
  352.52 +He takes another step forward, towards the door. He’s not good at
  352.53 +these things either. He was never good at his emotions. But now I
  352.54 +can’t tell what he’s feeling at all. Is he leaving on his own? Is his
  352.55 +mother forcing him? Will he come back to me? Will I be left waiting
  352.56 +again?
  352.57 +
  352.58 +“Why?” I ask at last, my voice wavering. I can’t even see him
  352.59 +clearly anymore. He’s just a watery outline. I blink and blink and
  352.60 +blink, but the tears won’t go away. My mind races back to when he had
  352.61 +told me that he liked me for the first time. To when he had to go
  352.62 +back home to China. To the teddy bear I gave him so that he’d
  352.63 +remember me. Does he still have it? I ask myself, my mind jumping
  352.64 +about randomly. I’m spiraling. Please, someone catch me. I’ve lost my
  352.65 +footing and I’m tumbling. The world’s spinning around me and I’m too
  352.66 +scared to open my eyes. 
  352.67 +
  352.68 +“I came back to tell you that I’m engaged. I’ll be marrying Meiling
  352.69 +in a few years,” he states after a moment. His voice is it’s usual
  352.70 +harsh self. As if he can handle anger and frustration better than
  352.71 +anything else. To keep it all away. 
  352.72 +
  352.73 +Engaged? My eyes shoot open, though I still can’t see anything but
  352.74 +colors and shapes bleeding together through my tears. The word hits
  352.75 +me like a rock thrown through a window. Cracked and splintered, the
  352.76 +pieces of my heart crumble to the floor around my feet. He came back
  352.77 +to tell me he was engaged? All this week I’ve been blushing and
  352.78 +waiting for him to ask me out, to be with him, and he’s already
  352.79 +engaged? 
  352.80 +
  352.81 +I’m an idiot. How could I be so dense? Whatever had been between us
  352.82 +was gone. I should have seen it. But I can be so dense. I just kept
  352.83 +thinking that after all of this time, he’d have come back to me. Like
  352.84 +a fairy tale. But he can’t be my prince. He’s been trying to tell me
  352.85 +this whole time. All of those awkward pauses when I’d talk to him,
  352.86 +all of the times when he wouldn’t return my gaze. And I hadn’t
  352.87 +suspected in the least. Tears spill down my cheeks, dripping down my
  352.88 +chin. 
  352.89 +
  352.90 +I smile shakily, tears still streaming down my face. “Tell
  352.91 +Meiling... that I’m very happy for her...” Why do I feel like Tomoyo
  352.92 +right now? I see her smiling brightly in my mind, my image
  352.93 +superimposed over hers. Whatever the reason, I try to give him my
  352.94 +blessing, whether or not he’ll accept it. Why not? What else can I
  352.95 +do? If he loves her, then there’s nothing I can do about it. You
  352.96 +can’t make someone love you. 
  352.97 +
  352.98 +Syaoran nods once, swallowing. He pauses for a moment, as if
  352.99 +contemplating something. After a second that stretches on into the
 352.100 +distance, he walks to the door. I don’t even see him leave. My eyes
 352.101 +are shut too tightly. I hear the door slam and it wedges splinters
 352.102 +into my heart. There goes my chance. Everything I wanted to say to
 352.103 +him, everything I should have said to him, I’ve lost my chance. He’s
 352.104 +gone. I want for all the world to reach out and stop him, but I know
 352.105 +I can’t. It’s funny. I’m the world’s most powerful mage and yet right
 352.106 +now I feel so incredibly weak and fragile. A weak breeze could
 352.107 +shatter me and scatter me about into the wind.
 352.108 +
 352.109 +I collapse against the fence, sobbing bitterly. I want to wrench my
 352.110 +heart out, to hold out the torn up object as far away from me as I
 352.111 +can. Anything to stop this sick, sinking feeling that pulls me
 352.112 +further and further down. I just want it to stop. How could this have
 352.113 +happened? Ever since he left, I had been waiting for the day we would
 352.114 +be together again, for when he would return to me. But it wasn’t
 352.115 +supposed to be like this! It was never supposed to be like this. 
 352.116 +
 352.117 +My face convulses in the hideous image of crying. I feel ashamed
 352.118 +each time my face does that, each time my lips curl and my eyes
 352.119 +squeeze shut. And that makes me cry harder. ‘Crying never solves
 352.120 +anything,’ I hear him say. He had always said that when I’d wind up
 352.121 +crying. He tried to make me look for a solution. To do something
 352.122 +rather than cry over it. But there’s no solution right now. And I’m
 352.123 +too tired to look, my weary soul wanting to retreat and cover its
 352.124 +wounds. I can only cry. 
 352.125 +
 352.126 +Turning against the fence, clinging to it for support, I see him
 352.127 +walking away from school. She’s waiting for him, near a limousine.
 352.128 +His bride to be. The girl he loves. Everything I thought I wanted to
 352.129 +be. And now never would. I watch through a blurry haze of tears as he
 352.130 +kisses her. 
 352.131 +
 352.132 +My heart rolls about like a boat caught in a tsunami. One of my
 352.133 +hands rests on my chest as if I’m trying to hold my heart in, so it
 352.134 +won’t fall out and shatter on the floor. But even if it did fall out,
 352.135 +even if it shattered into a million tiny pieces, I know she would
 352.136 +gently pick up every tiny fragment and piece it all back together. No
 352.137 +matter how long it took. No matter how bloody her fingers would get
 352.138 +from picking up the countless jagged shards. And she would do it all
 352.139 +with that same loving smile she always gives me. The same warm smile
 352.140 +she’s giving me right now, that motherly, unconditionally loving
 352.141 +smile that soothes my soul the same way that my mother’s fingers
 352.142 +through my hair used to when I was a child. “I thought he liked me,”
 352.143 +I whisper tearfully, my voice breaking. I didn’t even see her get
 352.144 +here. Didn’t hear her footsteps. Yet here she is. My guardian angel.
 352.145 +
 352.146 +Tomoyo reaches out, taking my hand gently in her own. Her fingers
 352.147 +entwine with my own, her palm warm against mine. “Love does
 352.148 +unexpected things sometimes,” she replies in her soft, musical voice.
 352.149 +“We don’t choose who we fall in love with. And sometimes the one we
 352.150 +love can’t love us back.” Her other hand lovingly strokes over mine
 352.151 +as she holds it. She’s watching me through her stormy blue eyes even
 352.152 +as I watch Syaoran disappear into the limousine. Of course. Because
 352.153 +he’s not what matters to her. She only wants to make things better
 352.154 +for me. To her, I’m the important part of all of this. I still can’t
 352.155 +understand how she sees me that way. How I could be that important to
 352.156 +her. She’s the best friend I could ever hope for.
 352.157 +
 352.158 +I break down, crying harder. It’s strange. It was bad when I was
 352.159 +alone, but now that she’s here, I feel like a floodgate’s been opened
 352.160 +and everything is pouring out. I cling to her, nearly knocking her
 352.161 +over. I hold her tightly, tight enough to leave bruises on her
 352.162 +delicate, pale skin. But she doesn’t complain. She never complains.
 352.163 +She simply holds me, stroking my hair with her lithe fingers. And I
 352.164 +sob into her shoulder, my tears soaking the fabric of her school
 352.165 +blouse. My body shudders against hers, my face burying against her.
 352.166 +“Why?” I choke out, my voice muffled through the cloth. 
 352.167 +
 352.168 +She rests her head against mine, her long, dark hair falling against
 352.169 +me. “I don’t know, Sakura-chan...” she whispers, her voice sounding
 352.170 +so tiny and fragile. “I wish I did.” She turns, kissing my forehead,
 352.171 +her stormy blue eyes shut. That thought scares me more than anything
 352.172 +else that’s happened today. Tomoyo-chan is the most insightful person
 352.173 +I know. She’s always known so much. Especially about people’s hearts.
 352.174 +And yet even she couldn’t give me an answer now. She’s met this
 352.175 +before. With her own mother. With herself and that person she loves
 352.176 +but can’t tell. Now with me. It doesn’t seem fair. “If I knew, I
 352.177 +would do everything I could to make sure it never happened to you
 352.178 +again,” Tomoyo promises me, rubbing my back, her fingers trailing up
 352.179 +and down my spine as she tries to soothe my shaking body. 
 352.180 +
 352.181 +“Tomoyo-chan,” I whimper, hanging from her. I don’t even have the
 352.182 +strength to stand on my own. I feel so drained. Chains drag me down,
 352.183 +pulling me further and further. She’s my only safe haven. I dread the
 352.184 +thought of leaving her embrace, of having to deal with all of this on
 352.185 +my own again. I hold on tighter, not wanting to let go, ever. “I’m
 352.186 +sorry, Tomoyo-chan... I shouldn’t be crying like this... Crying never
 352.187 +fixes anything...” I’ve learned that much, at least, right? So why
 352.188 +can’t I stop these tears from coming?
 352.189 +
 352.190 +Her hands caress my tear stained cheeks, lifting my gaze up to meet
 352.191 +her own. Her stormy blue eyes look directly into me, past everything
 352.192 +to my soul deep inside, as if she can see everything I am. I can’t
 352.193 +look away, her eyes holding me in place. “Don’t ever be sorry for
 352.194 +crying, Sakura-chan. We all bleed sometimes. Crying is the same. Our
 352.195 +tears build up inside and sometimes they need to spill out. If they
 352.196 +didn’t, we’d drown in them. I don’t want my beautiful Sakura-chan
 352.197 +drowning in a pool of tears. Sometimes you can’t fix things.
 352.198 +Sometimes there’s nothing to do but cry and pick yourself up and
 352.199 +carry on. Sakura-chan, I’ll always be there to help you get back up.
 352.200 +I’ll always be your shoulder to cry on. Whoever breaks your heart,
 352.201 +I’ll always try my hardest to mend it.” She leans forward, her eyes
 352.202 +closing. My heart thumps rapidly in my chest. Her soft lips press
 352.203 +against my cheek. She kisses again and again, trailing kisses over my
 352.204 +cheeks. I can only stand there, my cheeks tinted a faint crimson as
 352.205 +her lips move over me. She slowly pulls back, taking my eyes with her
 352.206 +own again. “I’ll always be there to kiss away your tears,” she
 352.207 +promises. I would never doubt her. Out of anyone, she’s the one I
 352.208 +would never doubt even if the world were falling apart around me. 
 352.209 +
 352.210 +Nothing is fixed. But everything is better. I can’t help but smile
 352.211 +at her, even through my tears. How did I ever get lucky enough to
 352.212 +have a best friend like her? Everyone should have their own Tomoyo-
 352.213 +chan, someone who cradles your heart like a holy relic, who is always
 352.214 +there to catch you when you fall. But I would never want to share my
 352.215 +Tomoyo-chan. I can’t imagine being without her. I pull her closer, my
 352.216 +arms tightly around her waist. She moves with my urgings, ready to
 352.217 +placate me in any way she can. I’m stronger than her, so it’s easy to
 352.218 +pull her close. But I think, deep down, Tomoyo is stronger than all
 352.219 +of us. She tells me how strong I am. But without her, I'm nothing.
 352.220 +She’s my strength. She’s my courage. She’s my light in the darkness.
 352.221 +“Everything will always be all right,” I whisper, chanting her words
 352.222 +from so long ago, “only because I’m with you...”
 352.223 +
 352.224 +Even I can tell that her pale cheeks are darkening at my words. But
 352.225 +they’re true. I want her to know that. She’s what makes it all
 352.226 +worthwhile. She’s what makes it all turn out all right. With her, I
 352.227 +could face anything. Her arms are around my shoulders, her long dark
 352.228 +hair fluttering about in the wind. She smiles, still blushing. The
 352.229 +smallest things like that make her happy. But it’s simply a fact. I
 352.230 +just wanted her to know that. I want to do bigger, better things to
 352.231 +make her happy. If only I knew how. I’m only a clumsy, somewhat
 352.232 +dense, overemotional teenage girl. 
 352.233 +
 352.234 +We’re kissing. I don’t even know who started it. But I really don’t
 352.235 +care at this point. I pull her tighter against me, never getting her
 352.236 +quite close enough. I’ll apologize for her bruises later. I’ll kiss
 352.237 +them all away. Right now I need her as close to me as I can get her.
 352.238 +I need her lips against mine. I need her. She clings to me, her hands
 352.239 +pressed against my back. Her deep kisses are a far cry from the
 352.240 +feathery kisses we had started with what felt like an eternity ago. I
 352.241 +blush myself as I feel my beautiful best friend kissing away all of
 352.242 +my tears, all of my pain, her tongue swirling against mine. Right now
 352.243 +we don’t need any words. Nothing diluted, nothing distant or
 352.244 +filtered. Just pure Tomoyo at her very essence. All that she is, all
 352.245 +that I am, making something much more. 
 352.246 +
 352.247 +Tomoyo always came to my rescue. Whenever I was in trouble. She
 352.248 +didn’t need a sword or magic. She’s always been my hero. She came to
 352.249 +me with a camcorder and costumes, with love and adoration. She made
 352.250 +me the star of her life. And it’s time I finally showed this small,
 352.251 +delicate behind-the-scenes girl that she can play center stage in my
 352.252 +life. 

   353.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   353.2 +++ b/stories/gotafriend.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   353.3 @@ -0,0 +1,394 @@
   353.4 +Disclaimer: Chibi-Usa, Hotaru, and other characters of
   353.5 +SailorMoon legally belong to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation,
   353.6 +and Cloverway.
   353.7 +
   353.8 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   353.9 +You've Got A Friend
  353.10 +
  353.11 +by Sailor Aphrodite/Rami
  353.12 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  353.13 +
  353.14 +Hotaru strolled down the concrete steps of the Mugen school.
  353.15 +She blinked at the hot sun above. She walked onto the pavement,
  353.16 +the soft breeze blowing through her black hair and plaid skirt.
  353.17 +She made a turn for her house, when suddenly a group of kids
  353.18 +ran past her in the opposite direction. "Let's go to the 
  353.19 +playground!" one of them cried. The others cheered and
  353.20 +giggled.
  353.21 +
  353.22 +Hotaru stared at them, interested. 'I wish I had friends like
  353.23 +those,' she thought. Then after a moment's thought, she decided 
  353.24 +to follow them. "Wait for me!" she called out, as she tried to 
  353.25 +catch up.
  353.26 +
  353.27 +The children stopped at the sound of the familiar classmate. They 
  353.28 +all turned and stared silently as she ran up the sidewalk.
  353.29 +
  353.30 +"I want to play too!" Hotaru's weak heart began to beat much faster,
  353.31 +and she began to gasp for breath. 'Oh no, not again,' Her hand
  353.32 +reached for her chest, but she didn't stop running. Unfortunately,
  353.33 +she didn't notice that small crack in the pavement, and she tripped
  353.34 +and fell. Her briefcase flew out of her hand and into the bushes. 
  353.35 +"Wait, please..." she said between huffs.
  353.36 +
  353.37 +The students just stared. "Should we help her?" murmured a red-haired
  353.38 +girl to the others.
  353.39 +
  353.40 +"No way!" replied another. "Did you see what she did to Tommy last
  353.41 +week?!"
  353.42 +
  353.43 +"She spassed-out on him! He had to go to the hospital!" said one
  353.44 +of the boys. 
  353.45 +
  353.46 +Hotaru gazed up at them from her position on the ground. Her eyes 
  353.47 +began to sting. 'What are they talking about...? I didn't hurt
  353.48 +anybody!'
  353.49 +
  353.50 +~*When you're down and troubled*~
  353.51 +
  353.52 +"Then she went up to him and her hand started to glow! She's
  353.53 +an alien or something!"
  353.54 +
  353.55 +"Why should we play with her? That little freak."
  353.56 +
  353.57 +"Yeah!" the red-haired girl stamped her foot angrily at Hotaru. 
  353.58 +"Anyway, it serves you right for falling!"
  353.59 +
  353.60 +The children scowled in agreement, and ran off, leaving the small
  353.61 +girl behind.
  353.62 +
  353.63 +She watched sadly as the others ran through the grass and have 
  353.64 +fun. She looked down at her scraped hands. Tears rolled down her
  353.65 +cheeks and dotted the concrete. 'Why is everyone so mean to me?
  353.66 +So what if I'm different? That's no reason to be nasty.'
  353.67 +
  353.68 +~*And you need a helping hand*~
  353.69 +~*And nothing, nothing is going right*~
  353.70 +
  353.71 +Slowly, Hotaru stood up, and brushed the dirt off of her school
  353.72 +uniform. She picked up her briefcase and stared up at the sky.
  353.73 +Closing her eyes, she wished more than anything that someone
  353.74 +would someday come up to her and ask, 'Hey, Hotaru, wanna play?'
  353.75 +
  353.76 +~*Close your eyes and think of me*~
  353.77 +~*And soon I will be there*~
  353.78 +~*To brighten up even your darkest night*~
  353.79 +
  353.80 +"Hey, Hotaru!"
  353.81 +
  353.82 +The firefly turned around. There stood a familiar 7-year-old 
  353.83 +with fluffy pink hair, in a blue uniform, waving to her.
  353.84 +"Hi! I'd knew I'd find you here! Ya wanna play?"
  353.85 +
  353.86 +~*You just call out my name,*~
  353.87 +~*And you know wherever I am*~
  353.88 +~*I'll come running to see you again*~
  353.89 +
  353.90 +Hotaru stared at Chibi-Usa strangely, wondering if
  353.91 +her wish had suddenly come true. Then she smiled.
  353.92 +"Okay. We can go to my house."
  353.93 +
  353.94 +Chibi-Usa clapped. "That's great! Mamoru just taught
  353.95 +me this new card game, and I can show you if ya want!"
  353.96 +
  353.97 +Hotaru giggled. She had always admired Chibi-Usa's 
  353.98 +everlasting cheerfulness. Ever since she met her in
  353.99 +the park, Chibi-Usa had added some sunlight into Hotaru's
 353.100 +gloomy life. She began to forget all about those other kids;
 353.101 +Chibi-Usa was more important to her now. 
 353.102 +
 353.103 +The two girls continued to laugh and talk, as they walked 
 353.104 +down the street to Hotaru's house.
 353.105 +
 353.106 +~*Winter, spring, summer or fall,*~
 353.107 +~*All you have to do is call*~
 353.108 +~*And I'll be there, yes I will*~
 353.109 +~*You've got a friend*~
 353.110 +
 353.111 +Later that week, there was a huge thunderstorm. And
 353.112 +since Hotaru's father was too busy to come and pick her 
 353.113 +up from school, Hotaru had to walk home with nothing
 353.114 +but an umbrella. She trudged down the wet sidewalk
 353.115 +holding onto the rod, hoping that the wind wouldn't blow
 353.116 +the umbrella inside out.
 353.117 +
 353.118 +~*If the sky up above you*~
 353.119 +~*Should turn dark and full of clouds*~
 353.120 +~*And that old north wind should begin to blow*~
 353.121 +
 353.122 +Hotaru shut the front door behind her, glad to be
 353.123 +out of that horrible storm. She leaned on the doorknob
 353.124 +as she began to have another asthma attack.
 353.125 +
 353.126 +A woman with long red hair appeared in the hallway.
 353.127 +"Hotaru, are you all right? Here, let me take your jacket--"
 353.128 +
 353.129 +The small girl pushed her away. "I'm fine, Kaori! I can
 353.130 +take care of myself!" Hotaru grabbed her books and headed
 353.131 +to her bedroom.
 353.132 +
 353.133 +Kaorinite scowled. "Well, I was just trying to help, you
 353.134 +ungrateful brat! I just can't comprehend why your father spoils
 353.135 +you so much! Why, if I were your mother--"
 353.136 +
 353.137 +"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER!" Hotaru screamed before
 353.138 +slamming the door and locking it. She didn't know why she
 353.139 +was so mean to Kaori, maybe because there was just something
 353.140 +about the woman that Hotaru didn't like. Besides, Hotaru
 353.141 +didn't want anybody replacing her mom, who had passed away
 353.142 +some time ago.
 353.143 +
 353.144 +~*Keep your head together..*~ 
 353.145 +
 353.146 +Hotaru went over to the bed and lied down, hoping that her
 353.147 +attack would stop. 
 353.148 +
 353.149 +'What is happening to my body? I can hardly breathe. I
 353.150 +need someone to help me...someone who cares...' 
 353.151 +
 353.152 +~*And call my name out loud*~
 353.153 +~*Soon you will hear me,*~
 353.154 +~*Soon you'll hear me knocking on your door*~
 353.155 +
 353.156 +10 minutes later Hotaru heard a familiar voice:
 353.157 +
 353.158 +"Is Hotaru home?"
 353.159 +
 353.160 +Like a flash, Hotaru jumped out of bed dispite her
 353.161 +condition. She ran out into the hall before Kaorinite
 353.162 +could turn Chibi-Usa away.
 353.163 +
 353.164 +"I'm here! Come on in, Chibi-Usa-chan!" Hotaru breathed.
 353.165 +
 353.166 +Chibi-Usa grinned as she slipped off her muddy boots and
 353.167 +ran past Kaori, her Luna-P ball floating after her.
 353.168 +
 353.169 +Kaorinite frowned. "Hotaru, you know you're not well enough
 353.170 +to play right now."
 353.171 +
 353.172 +"I'm FINE, Kaori!" she shouted at Dr.Tomoe's assistant. Then she
 353.173 +turned to the pink-haired princess. "Come on, we can talk in the den."
 353.174 +
 353.175 +"Oh, I can't stay long, I got a dentist's appointment in a little
 353.176 +while. I hate the dentist!" She stuck out her tongue.
 353.177 +
 353.178 +"So do I. Last time I went to the dentist I hated it." Hotaru did
 353.179 +the same.
 353.180 +
 353.181 +Chibi-Usa giggled in that oh-so familiar fashion and handed her
 353.182 +a piece of paper. "We're having a picnic next Saturday and I 
 353.183 +want you to come. Here are the directions to the park, so maybe 
 353.184 +your Dad can drive you..."
 353.185 +
 353.186 +She then casted a nervous glance at Kaorinite. "Or maybe she can 
 353.187 +drive you..."
 353.188 +
 353.189 +"Oh, that's okay. My Daddy is off on Saturdays, so he'll be able to 
 353.190 +drive me." Hotaru replied as she read the invitation.
 353.191 +
 353.192 +"Hooray! I just can't wait 'til Saturday, we're gonna have so much fun!"
 353.193 +Chibi-usa threw her arms around Hotaru's waist.
 353.194 +
 353.195 +Hota-chan looked down the girl, alittle surprised. But after a moment's
 353.196 +thought, she hugged her back.
 353.197 +
 353.198 +"Well, I gotta go deal with the tooth-monster, so I'll see you later! Come on,
 353.199 +Luna-P!" The girl grabbed her toy and ran outside onto front lawn.
 353.200 +
 353.201 +Hotaru went to her bedroom window and watched as Usa-chan skipped
 353.202 +home, also noticing that the rain had suddenly stopped. 
 353.203 +
 353.204 +A small smile appeared on the firefly's face. 'Chibi-Usa...why do you
 353.205 +care about me so much? You have better future than I will ever have.
 353.206 +I don't even know why you like me. But, whatever the reason is, I
 353.207 +hope we stay friends forever. I can't wait to see your bright face
 353.208 +again.'
 353.209 +
 353.210 +~*You just call out my name*~
 353.211 +~*And you know wherever I am*~
 353.212 +~*I'll come running to see you again*~
 353.213 +~*Winter, spring, summer or fall*~
 353.214 +~*All you have to do is call*~
 353.215 +~*And I'll be there*~
 353.216 +~*Yes I will...*~
 353.217 +
 353.218 +~*You've got a friend*~
 353.219 +
 353.220 +~*Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?*~
 353.221 +
 353.222 +The weather the next day was much nicer. Well, for some
 353.223 +people. Hotaru's asthma attacks just wouldn't stop, because
 353.224 +they were becoming more frequent by the day. Hotaru just
 353.225 +happened to be suffering one on the way home from school
 353.226 +when she suddenly collapsed.
 353.227 +
 353.228 +Hotaru clutched onto her shirt in agony. 'Please stop...
 353.229 +please let me breathe...'
 353.230 +
 353.231 +"So this is the demon-girl I've heard so much about?"
 353.232 +
 353.233 +Hota-chan looked up startled, only to meet the faces
 353.234 +of two seventh graders. 
 353.235 +
 353.236 +One of the girls snickered. "Don't worry, Hotaru, we'll help
 353.237 +you." When she spotted Hotaru's metal pencil case lying on 
 353.238 +the ground, she stepped on it, crushing the metal and breaking
 353.239 +whatever pencils that were inside.
 353.240 +
 353.241 +~*And people can be so cold*~
 353.242 +
 353.243 +Hotaru clamped her eyes shut, trying not to cry. Her body
 353.244 +was killing her physically and emotionally at the same time. 
 353.245 +She couldn't bear it. 'Please...just let this be a nightmare...
 353.246 +let me wake up...'
 353.247 +
 353.248 +The girls laughed evilly at the younger girl's pain until one
 353.249 +of them said, "Let's go check out what the boys are doing."
 353.250 +And finally they left Hotaru, suffering on the pavement.
 353.251 +
 353.252 +~*They'll hurt you, and desert you*~
 353.253 +~*And they'll take your soul if you let them...*~
 353.254 +
 353.255 +Tears streamed down the girl's cheeks. She wanted to
 353.256 +die, right there and then. Everything was going wrong, 
 353.257 +and there seemed to be no hope. Dying would stop
 353.258 +the endless pain and suffering. Hotaru couldn't think 
 353.259 +of one person who would miss her.....
 353.260 +
 353.261 +...until the moment she showed up.
 353.262 +
 353.263 +"Oh my gosh, Hotaru!" Chibi-Usa ran over to her friend, 
 353.264 +concerned. "Hotaru, are you okay?"
 353.265 +
 353.266 +"Yes...*huff* I'm okay...just tired, that's all..." She continued
 353.267 +to breathe for all her life's worth.
 353.268 +
 353.269 +"Hotaru, why are you crying?"
 353.270 +
 353.271 +When Chibi-Usa recieved no answer, she helped by putting
 353.272 +Hotaru's books and supplies back in her bag. Then she supported
 353.273 +her legs in order to stand up. "There's a place not too faraway 
 353.274 +from here where can rest. Do you think you can make it?"
 353.275 +
 353.276 +The raven-haired girl nodded, unable to speak. 
 353.277 +
 353.278 +Slowly and carefully, Chibi-Usa carried Hota-chan's bookbag and
 353.279 +helped her walk, her arm holding onto hers. Finally they reached 
 353.280 +a playground, where they stayed away from the other kids.
 353.281 +
 353.282 +Soon Hotaru was able to breathe normally again. But the emotional
 353.283 +pain didn't stop, for she just kept crying.
 353.284 +
 353.285 +Chibi-Usa was very worried now. She kneeled on the grass and 
 353.286 +put her hands on Hotaru's shoulders. "Please tell me what's the matter."
 353.287 +
 353.288 +"Chibi-Usa, what's wrong with me?" she sniffled. "Why am I so different?" 
 353.289 +
 353.290 +The future princess was confused. "Whaddya mean?"
 353.291 +
 353.292 +"People are so mean to me...they say I'm wierd and that I'm a freak...
 353.293 +and sometimes...I think they're right..."
 353.294 +
 353.295 +"No!" Chibi-Usa shouted so loud that Hotaru looked up. "Don't you dare
 353.296 +say that! There's nothing wrong with you! People are just plain nasty!
 353.297 +Don't you ever let them get to you like that! 'Cause they're wrong!"
 353.298 +
 353.299 +~*Oh but don't you let them.*~
 353.300 +
 353.301 +Hotaru stared at Usa, shocked at the hint of anger in her friend's voice.
 353.302 +She didn't mean to make her mad. "I'm...I'm sorry."
 353.303 +
 353.304 +Chibi-Usa smiled. "Don't be. I just don't like it when my best friend is
 353.305 +convinced that something is wrong with her when it's certainly not true."
 353.306 +She flopped back down on the soft grass. "Let's forget about them and 
 353.307 +relax. Look, I see a dinosaur-shaped cloud."
 353.308 +
 353.309 +Hota-chan looked up at the sky. "It does look like a dinosaur. And there's
 353.310 +a car-shaped cloud next to it." She pointed upward, her sadness drifting
 353.311 +away like a cloud.
 353.312 +
 353.313 +"Do you think the car is trying to run over the dinosaur?"
 353.314 +
 353.315 +"If so, the car is going to lose."
 353.316 +
 353.317 +The two girls laughed, and continued to play "Spot-the-Cloud". An hour
 353.318 +passed, and by that time the other children had gone home, leaving
 353.319 +the two destined Sailor Scouts by themselves. 
 353.320 +
 353.321 +As the sun began to set, the pink-haired girl glanced over at her best
 353.322 +buddy. "Hotaru?"
 353.323 +
 353.324 +She glanced back. "Yeah?"
 353.325 +
 353.326 +"I'm very glad we're friends." 
 353.327 +
 353.328 +Hotaru's eyes shimmered with compassion. "Me too."
 353.329 +
 353.330 +Chibi-Usa reached out her hand to her. "Friends forever?"
 353.331 +
 353.332 +She replied by taking ahold of Usa's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
 353.333 +
 353.334 +"Friends forever."
 353.335 +
 353.336 +~*You just call out my name*~
 353.337 +~*And you know wherever I am*~
 353.338 +~*I'll come running to see you again*~
 353.339 +~*Winter, spring, summer or fall*~
 353.340 +~*All you have to do is call*~
 353.341 +~*And I'll be there*~
 353.342 +~*'Cause you've got a friend*~
 353.343 +
 353.344 +The girls continued to lie there in quiet thought. After awhile Hotaru sat up. 
 353.345 +"It's getting dark. We should go home, Chibi--"
 353.346 +
 353.347 +But when she looked at Chibi-Usa, the small girl was fast asleep.
 353.348 +
 353.349 +Afraid to wake her up, Hotaru decided to carry her home. She reached
 353.350 +down to pick her up, and when she did, Hotaru was able to lift her with ease.
 353.351 +
 353.352 +'She's so light...' she thought in awe. 'It's like she doesn't even weigh 
 353.353 +anything.
 353.354 +Hopefully, I won't have any attacks carrying her.'
 353.355 +
 353.356 +And Hotaru didn't. She was able to carry the weightless princess to her house
 353.357 +without any trouble at all.
 353.358 +
 353.359 +Hotaru softly knocked on the Tsukinos' door, only to realize that someone left 
 353.360 +the door unlocked. She quietly carried the girl up to her room, trying not to 
 353.361 +wake
 353.362 +anybody up. 
 353.363 +
 353.364 +"There," Hotaru breathed as she gently layed Chibi-Usa down on her bed
 353.365 +and covering her with the blanket.
 353.366 +
 353.367 +Hotaru stared at Chibi-Usa's sleeping form for a moment. She looked so innocent,
 353.368 +so sweet and pure. It was difficult to believe that this child would do anything 
 353.369 +to
 353.370 +harm her best friend.
 353.371 +
 353.372 +'Thank you, Chibi-Usa. A moment ago I thought I was all alone in the world,
 353.373 +but now I know that I was wrong. You mean the world to me. I love you, 
 353.374 +Chibi-Usa.'
 353.375 +
 353.376 +Surrendering to this new feeling that was overwhelming her, Hotaru leaned
 353.377 +over and gently kissed Chibi-Usa on the cheek. It was something Hotaru
 353.378 +had never done in her entire life, and probably wouldn't do again anytime soon.
 353.379 +But she didn't care.
 353.380 +
 353.381 +By that time, the young firefly was close to tears. 'Friends forever. I 
 353.382 +promise.'
 353.383 +
 353.384 +Then Hotaru left the quiet residence, and walked home, knowing that there
 353.385 +was at least one person in the world that cared about her. 
 353.386 +
 353.387 +And that was all she needed to know.
 353.388 +
 353.389 +~*Ain't it good to know*~
 353.390 +~*You've got a friend*~
 353.391 +~*Yes it's good to know*~
 353.392 +~*You've got a friend*~
 353.393 +~*I'm so glad I've got a friend in you*~
 353.394 +~*And I know you're glad*~
 353.395 +~*You've got a friend in me...*~
 353.396 +
 353.397 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 353.398 \ No newline at end of file

   354.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   354.2 +++ b/stories/grave.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   354.3 @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
   354.4 +
   354.5 +I Live in You
   354.6 +by Ides of Diamonds
   354.7 +ides_of_diamonds@hotmail.com
   354.8 +
   354.9 +
  354.10 +Note from Ides: Hello everyone! Ha, and you thought you got rid of me! Well, I’m back, and with more shojo-ai fluff than ever before!
  354.11 +Tomoyo: *smiles* First off, Ides-chan doesn’t own Cardcaptor Sakura. Now, this fic isn’t as fluffy as the last one, It’s a Magical Night. However, it still has a yuri pairing, so if you don’t like it or agree with it, don’t flame.
  354.12 +Ides: And if you decide to ignore this warning, at least leave a damn e-mail address. Don’t be a wimp and put your name as S+S RULEZ!!!!!!! and a message that reads UR A RETARD EVERYONE KNOWS THAT SYAROAN AND SAKURA BELONG TOGETHER, SICKO!!!!!!!!! because that just annoys me. 
  354.13 +Tomoyo: It’s a sign of cowardice. Hmmm¼cowardice¼
  354.14 +Ides: What about it?
  354.15 +Tomoyo: Nothing, I just think it’s fun to say.
  354.16 +*Ides sweat drops* 
  354.17 +There had been so many chances for me to call her. So many days that came and went, each with twenty-four hours, each with enough time for me to send her an e-mail. But I never did. I had always been too busy.
  354.18 +And now she’s dead.
  354.19 +I’m sitting here, staring at the tombstone, one that shall sit here for all eternity in memory of my best friend Daidouji Tomoyo. But I will never be truly satisfied because the grave is empty. Tomoyo-chan went out on her yacht one night. She never came back.
  354.20 +That was a month ago.
  354.21 +Even though I suppose there is a chance that she’s still alive, I doubt she is. It’s too farfetched; how and where could she have survived for a month? Of course, who knows, she could have just run away all together. Officials say she’s dead though, and it’s not like arguing with them is going to bring Tomoyo-chan back.
  354.22 +It’s drizzling right now. The sky is gray and morbid, and I sigh. Everyone thought Tomoyo-chan was a little strange and, yeah, I guess she was a little eccentric sometimes, but she was still my best friend. She told me she did her best work on days like this. I didn’t think that was strange at all, while Rika-chan and Chiharu-chan didn’t understand. Nioko-chan kept quiet, but there was an understanding smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
  354.23 +Nioko-chan will grow up to be a writer, I know she will. Chiharu-chan will probably marry Takashi and Rika-chan will marry that older man she’s in love with. Everyone expects Syaoran and I to get married, so I’ll probably cave into that too and do it. All three of them will live happily, while I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be happy again. Not while Tomoyo-chan’s only future is at the bottom of the ocean. I’ll only be married to Li Syaoran, whom I’m sure would have only asked me because he, too, thought that’s what we’d end up doing.
  354.24 +Everyone says our names sound so cute together. Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran and Sakura. The klutzy one and the intense one. I’ll never be able to love him like that, never enough to marry¼we’re so¼different.
  354.25 +If I told anyone that, they would look incredulous. Everyone thinks we’re in love! Meiling would probably be thrilled to hear I don’t feel for him that way. Tomoyo-chan would understand though¼of course she would, she is - sorry - was my best friend.
  354.26 +I think about my last statement, and change it again. Tomoyo-chan still is my best friend. Even in death she is.
  354.27 +There were just so many chances I had to speak to her. So many chances that I didn’t take. I thought I loved Syaoran then, so I was always with him. She didn’t seem to object to any of it. I know if I was the one being ignored I would have been screaming my lungs out.
  354.28 +It took her death for me to figure out that I truly don’t love Syaoran that way. After all, I was never really in love before him (Yukito-san was just an air-headed crush) so it’s not like I knew what it felt like. But now, every time I see Tomoyo-chan in an old photo or in one of her videos, I began to notice her. How beautiful she was, how much she cared about everyone else, her creativity, her smooth hands, her intelligent eyes, her heavenly voice, her soft and pink lips¼
  354.29 +I shake my head hard. I need to get those thoughts out of my head. The fact that I’m in love with my now deceased best friend will only serve me more depression. Thinking how I didn’t know or say anything about it when she was around.
  354.30 +She always used to complement me. "Oh Sakura-chan, that outfit looks great on you!" "Sakura-chan, did you do your hair differently? It looks wonderful." "The video turned out perfect, Sakura-chan, you’re so photogenic!" "Sakura-chan¼you’re just so cute!"
  354.31 +I smile a little through my tears. I’m just so cute¼and yet so stupid. 
  354.32 +The rain is falling a little bit harder now. I’m gradually getting soaked, but the promise of dying from pneumonia has a perk; at least I’ll be with Tomoyo-chan.
  354.33 +I wipe a droplet of moisture from her tombstone. I don’t want anything upsetting it. I want Tomoyo-chan to have a peaceful sleep, even though she’s at the bottom of the ocean instead of in her grave.
  354.34 +It’s pouring now. I can’t see through my tears and the sheets of rain. Thunder is stirring in the sky, rumbling like Yukito-san’s belly whenever he’s hungry. Thinking of Yukito-san reminds me of the crush I had on him, which reminds me of how much I really love Tomoyo-chan now. How she’ll never be able to know.
  354.35 +I can’t hold them in anymore. I begin to sob uncontrollably, so hard I have trouble breathing. I scream her name over and over again, but I know she’ll never hear me. She’s dead.
  354.36 +Suddenly, I can’t feel the rain on my head anymore. I open my tear-filled eyes and turn around.
  354.37 +There she stands with her beautiful smile on her face, holding an umbrella over my head.
  354.38 +"T-Tomoyo-chan?!" I whisper.
  354.39 +She nods once, and her smile is brighter than any sun.
  354.40 +Slowly, I stand up. I stare into her violet eyes with wonder. It’s impossible¼
  354.41 +I touch her cheek with my hand. It’s soft and dry. She’s not a ghost, that’s for sure.
  354.42 +Tears are pouring down my cheeks as I stare at her in a daze. She can’t be alive¼can she?
  354.43 +"How¼?" I manage to get out, my hand dropping down to my side.
  354.44 +"I was pulled out by the current," she replied softly. "I crashed into port at Hong Kong after days of drifting. I was half-dead. The people that found me nursed me back to health, but they wouldn’t let me write home to say I was all right. I had to work to pay for my ticket back to Japan. But here I am."
  354.45 +I swallow an impossibly large lump in my throat. My entire body is shaking. I reach up to touch her cheek again. I gently caress it, my tears pouring faster and faster from my eyes as I realize I’m not dreaming. It’s real.
  354.46 +Her smile fades and her cheeks color. Gently, she places her hand on top of mine and holds it to her cheek.
  354.47 +After a moment of what seems to be an internal struggle going on inside of her, she says softly, seriously, "When I was in Hong Kong, I didn’t understand what anyone was saying. I don’t know a thing about Chinese, after all. People would get angry and scream at me if I did something wrong; I was terrified. At the rate I was going, I didn’t think I would ever be able to get home. I didn’t think I would every see the people I loved ever again."
  354.48 +She sucked a deep breath in and continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "I don’t want to ruin things between you and Li-kun, but¼"
  354.49 +I tilt my head to the side slightly. What’s she getting to?
  354.50 +She looks deep into my eyes. Her violet pools look a little scared, pretty serious, and very unsure.
  354.51 +"I love you, Kinomoto Sakura-chan," whispers Tomoyo-chan. "I’ve loved you from the moment I met you. I’m sorry if I’m ruining things, but I just wanted to tell you out of fear of never getting another chance."
  354.52 +My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m having trouble breathing. She loves me¼I never saw it¼I really am stupid!
  354.53 +But I’m the luckiest, stupidest person in the world right now.
  354.54 +I throw my arms around her neck, breaking down into joyful sobs. She’s so stunned she drops the umbrella.
  354.55 +"Sakura-chan?!" she cries. "What’s the matter?"
  354.56 +I pulled away from her so I can see her shocked face. I’m smiling and smiling and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop.
  354.57 +"Tomoyo-chan, I’m so sorry I never saw that you loved me and I’m so sorry that I didn’t find out about my own feelings until I thought it was too late," I begin with excitement. "Syaoran was just a crush¼I don’t feel for him as strongly as everyone thinks I do, and I don’t think he’s any different. You’re who I really want, Tomoyo-chan¼I love you too!"
  354.58 +Her face morphs into three different things over a course of ten seconds. First, she’s stunned. Then, she’s surprised. Finally, she looks as though she just got what she always wished for. 
  354.59 +"Sakura-chan¼" she smiles, her own tears forming in her eyes.
  354.60 +I lean in close, not knowing exactly what I’m doing. I’ve kissed Syaoran before, but is kissing another girl different from kissing a boy?
  354.61 +My lips touch hers softly. She places her left hand behind my head and pushes me into her mouth. I love it. I wrap my arms around her shoulders while she wraps her right arm around my waist. Then, ever so slowly, I feel her tongue running against my lips. It’s as if she read my mind, because I was just about to do the same.
  354.62 +I open my mouth and at once she enters. She tastes so sweet¼I can’t put my finger on what it is, but it’s greater than Heaven.
  354.63 +We don’t notice the rain pounding down on our heads, or the loud cracks of thunder. All I notice is Tomoyo’s lips against mine, her tongue probing against mine, and her love for me equal to my love for her. 
  354.64 +And all I notice is all that matters to me.
  354.65 +* * *
  354.66 +Sakura awoke, soaking wet, on the damp grass. Her emerald eyes slowly opened, and rose up to see the tombstone before her.
  354.67 +Daidouji Tomoyo
  354.68 +1988-2001
  354.69 +Such talent can only truly be appreciated in Heaven
  354.70 +It took the girl a moment to realize what had happened. That all she had done was fall asleep and dream that Tomoyo had returned to her, in the flesh, saying that she loved her, a kissed her so tenderly.
  354.71 +Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, "T-Tomoyo-chan¼you’re really gone this time¼"
  354.72 +"Sakura-chan."
  354.73 +Her head snapped up and she saw not Tomoyo this time, but her angel. Just like Tomoyo, but shimmering with pink and gold, in a long, flowing white dress and shimmering silver wings. On her face she wore a radiant smile.
  354.74 +Sakura sat there in awe, her tears still falling, but she didn’t notice them.
  354.75 +"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo’s angel said softly. "I always loved you and I still do. I always will. I won’t die so long as you keep my memory alive inside of your heart."
  354.76 +"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura sobbed. "I’m so sorry I didn’t realize how I felt¼not until it was too late. I never got the chance to tell you¼"
  354.77 +"I know how you feel for me, and I’m happy you do. I will always be here for you, my Sakura-chan. I love you."
  354.78 +The angel’s smile lit up the dreariness of the cemetery. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat long enough to choke out the words she had spoken only once before, in her dream. 
  354.79 +"I love you too."
  354.80 +Tomoyo’s angel, still smiling, began to float up to the sky. Sakura leapt to her feet.
  354.81 +"Tomoyo-chan, wait!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks like rivers. "Don’t leave me!"
  354.82 +"I’ll never leave you," the angel replied. "I’ll always be with you, protecting you and loving you, my Sakura-chan. I live in you¼"
  354.83 +Then, she disappeared, and Sakura was alone. She didn’t feel alone though, not anymore, for she knew that what Tomoyo, her love, had said was true.
  354.84 +I live in you¼

   355.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   355.2 +++ b/stories/greatestgift.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   355.3 @@ -0,0 +1,347 @@
   355.4 +As most of us know, the official manga ending is that Sakura confessed her love for Syaoran before he went back
   355.5 + to Hong Kong. Then at around junior high age, Syaoran came back to Japan and they met again and lived happily
   355.6 +                    ever after. MU-HAHAHA~ not according to the unofficial yuri fans!
   355.7 +
   355.8 +                                    " " quotations mean dialogue
   355.9 +                                     {thoughts of the individual}
  355.10 +                   [translation of japanese vocabulary/ expressions or author's comments] 
  355.11 +
  355.12 +                                THE GREATEST GIFT by K BARON
  355.13 +                                        htmkmugen@hotmail.com
  355.14 +
  355.15 +Several months passed after Syaoran and Sakura have been a couple. It's after school. Tomoyo and Sakura are walking home
  355.16 +together. 
  355.17 +
  355.18 +Tomoyo casually asks, "Sakura chan, you have something planned for this weekend with Syaoran san?" 
  355.19 +
  355.20 +Sakura's head is down, contemplating. 
  355.21 +
  355.22 +Tomoyo gently shakes her friend's arm:"Sakura chan." 
  355.23 +
  355.24 +Sakura's head picks up, "Huh? Oh, he has soccer practice this Saturday so..." A soft sigh follows. 
  355.25 +
  355.26 +Tomoyo, alarmed, comforts Sakura:"Syaoran san is trying to socialize more with others in his class. That's why he joined team
  355.27 +sports. He's more out going now. Isn't he? He's been changing a lot FOR YOU, ne." 
  355.28 +
  355.29 +Sakura murmurs, "yeah...but he shouldn't have to. I mean, aren't couples just "meant to be soul mates"? Look at Onii san and
  355.30 +Yukito san, they just, they just match. They don't have to change their personalities, and so on. But we, I almost start every
  355.31 +conversation. And the places he takes me to, I like the things he plans, but when I tell him 'let's try this!' he agrees, yes, he
  355.32 +ALWAYS agree with me. He never upsets me. But sometimes I feel that he doesn't like my 'wild side'. But he says he likes me
  355.33 +because I'm different." Sakura slows down her steps, turns to her best friend for advice. 
  355.34 +
  355.35 +Tomoyo's eyes are full of concern but her voice is calm," Sakura chan, boys and girls are supposed to like different things.
  355.36 +When you go out, you two have to compromise. That's how a relationship lasts. He may be a bit more reserved and cautious,
  355.37 +but Syaoran san is right. You are different. You can learn from each other, ne. After all, what really matters is, that he cares
  355.38 +about you; you can trust him; and you can count on him to protect you regardless of what danger lies ahead." Tomoyo finishes
  355.39 +her speech with a reassuring smile, but WHO is she trying to convince? {i care about Sakura too; she can trust me too. Why
  355.40 +can't I---BUT I CAN'T PROTECT HER. LOOK WHAT I WAS DOING WHEN THE CLOW CARDS ATTACKED
  355.41 +HER. SYAORAN SAN BATTLED WITH HER. I JUST VIDEOTAPED! And, I can never provide Sakura a family...} 
  355.42 +
  355.43 +Sakura is still absorbing the complex advice Tomoyo has given her when she suddenly catches sight of Tomoyo's sad
  355.44 +expression: "What's wrong? Tomoyo chan? You're worrying about me and Syaoran san? Oh, Tomoyo chan..." Sakura is
  355.45 +deeply touched. She naturally reaches out and holds her friend's hand gently, but firmly. Unfortunately, her act of gratitude and
  355.46 +friendship only causes Tomoyo's heart to twitch. 
  355.47 +
  355.48 +Tomoyo turns her eyes away, fearing any further revelation of her emotions. But her voice betrays her anyway when she says,
  355.49 +"Sakura chan, don't worry about me. It's YOU TWO I'm worrying about. Syaoran san is a quiet person. If there's a problem,
  355.50 +you got to call him up first. He may seem tough, but he's soft inside. Remember be tactful when you bring up any suggestions." 
  355.51 +
  355.52 +Sakura:"Tactful? Hoe? Such as...?" Tomoyo has a sweat drop now ^_^ "Sakura chan, if you don't mind, really, it's between the
  355.53 +two of you, but I can be the messenger for you two if you can't figure out what to say to him..." Tomoyo's heart races when she
  355.54 +offers her help. All these months Sakura and Syaoran have been going out, Tomoyo has almost been like a "movie extra" who
  355.55 +had no schedule as to when or where to meet with Sakura. If she can participate somehow in the relationship, doing something
  355.56 +special for Sakura, she would DIE FOR IT. After all, she chose Syaoran for her. If it turns out to be a wrong match and
  355.57 +Sakura's heart breaks, Tomoyo cannot possibly forgive herself. 
  355.58 +
  355.59 +"Ok, I guess..." Sakura accepted her friend's help. {Well, relationships are private matters and telephone 3-way conference is
  355.60 +DEFINITELY not the thing, but I guess Tomoyo is a better speaker than I. Maybe I'll just ask her what to say and then tell
  355.61 +Syaoran san myself.} 
  355.62 +
  355.63 +It's a sunny Saturday. The soccer field is empty now that the players have finished their practice. Sakura fiddles with her purse,
  355.64 +waiting at the school gate for Syaoran to have their discussion, as per Tomoyo's cleverly drafted instructions. Syaoran quickly
  355.65 +spotted the brown haired girl and walked towards her. 
  355.66 +
  355.67 +The couple is facing each other. Sakura stumbles with words: "Hi, Syaoran san, can we---do you have time? How about we go
  355.68 +to the park? I---" 
  355.69 +
  355.70 +Syaoran:"Sure, I have something to talk to you too." Then the silent couple walks to the park. 
  355.71 +
  355.72 +Today is different. Syaoran speaks first:"Sakura san...if I...if I haven't come back from Hong Kong, would you, would you have
  355.73 +met someone else?...Maybe you would have met someone else wonderful?" 
  355.74 +
  355.75 +Sakura is totally thrown out of rhythm. Forget about the lines Tomoyo has given her. This is too much of a blow. Syaoran
  355.76 +hardly ever asks things, especially personal things, so directly. The tone is not accusing, rather doubtful of himself. 
  355.77 +
  355.78 +Sakura:"What? Where does that come from?? Someone else? Who? Wonderful? You're not wonderful? Syaoran san, I only
  355.79 +want to go out with you---is it Yamamura senpai? [senpai is an honourific suffix for schoolmates or colleagues senior to you]
  355.80 +He's just been showing me how to skate board and his sports collections. Those weren't dates! You trust me don't you?" 
  355.81 +
  355.82 +Syaoran:" Of course I trust you, Sakura san. It's not that. I'm just saying, I'm just proposing, if I was never there to meet you
  355.83 +again, wouldn't you have found someone else who would make you happier? I've changed a lot. And I'm willing to do it for
  355.84 +you. But it's still the same me. It always will. Maybe, maybe..." 
  355.85 +
  355.86 +Sakura, frustrated, not understanding where all these ideas have come from, finishes the sentence for Syaoran:" we don't
  355.87 +match? Is that what you're trying to say? Who matches then? Like onii san {brother} and Yukito san? Tomoyo chan says,
  355.88 +doesn't really matter we're different, as long as we care about each other, and trust each other and, and---" In the midst of
  355.89 +panic, Sakura searches for exactly what Tomoyo's advice was. However, Syaoran has a mind of his own:" What else did
  355.90 +Tomoyo san say? You listen to everything Tomoyo san tell you?" 
  355.91 +
  355.92 +Sakura can't deal with so many questions shooting at her all at once, especially most of them are so pointed. Sakura loses her
  355.93 +calm: "Syaoran san, stop. I don't know. What're you trying to say?? I can't talk to Tomoyo chan when I have problems? Who
  355.94 +else will I talk to? Sometimes when we're together, I feel like I'm talking to a stone wall. You're so wrapped up. Our
  355.95 +relationship is private, I know, but I have no one except her. Besides, she always understands." 
  355.96 +
  355.97 +Syaoran flatly asks,"and I don't?" Silence fills the air afterwards. 
  355.98 +
  355.99 +Syaoran knows he talks too much today. He's not good at speech in the first place, let alone deep thoughts and emotional
 355.100 +topics, with the one he cares so much about. He probably has confused her, maybe even hurt her. He'd better stop talking
 355.101 +now. He intently looks at Sakura, and told her that he is sorry, he probably said too much, and he'd need some time to think
 355.102 +over this entire situation. He'll call her soon. Out of genuine concern, he reaches out his hand and offers to walk her home.
 355.103 +However, Sakura was already deep into the pit of confused anger, and she flatly refuses his offer, saying that she will be fine,
 355.104 +and starts to skate away, in the direction of Tomoyo's mansion. 
 355.105 +
 355.106 +Tomoyo is stunned when the servant leads the completely drenched Sakura into the guestroom. Sakura is not only shaking with
 355.107 +coldness, but her left knee is bleeding. She must have slipped while she was skating to the mansion. Being overwhelmed by the
 355.108 +pain Sakura must be suffering, Tomoyo embraces her dear friend for almost an eternity. Slowly she releases her arms, and
 355.109 +reassures Sakura that no matter what happened, she will make it better for her. After being carefully (and lovingly) bandaged
 355.110 +by Tomoyo, Sakura is led to the bathroom to take a shower. 
 355.111 +
 355.112 +"Kiya~" Screams of pain from the bathroom send Tomoyo rushing to the door, knocking the door violently:"Sakura chan! Are
 355.113 +you alright?" 
 355.114 +
 355.115 +"Oh, Tomoyo chan, I'm fine. It's just that the warm water sprinkles on my bandage but the wound still hurts~" 
 355.116 +
 355.117 +"Oh, Sakura chan, gomen ne [sorry], you do need to wash your wound. But try cover it with a cloth so the water won't come
 355.118 +in direct contact with your knee." 
 355.119 +
 355.120 +"Ok, I'll try that. Hm...It's better now. Oh, Tomoyo chan, thanks. I don't know what to do without you. I'm sorry I ran into
 355.121 +your home like this. I, I..." {words can't express how I feel...Tomoyo chan. Can't you read my thoughts? my pain? I hope you
 355.122 +understand, 'cuz seems like no one else does} 
 355.123 +
 355.124 +"Sakura chan, I'm glad you made it here. It's pouring outside. You should have called me and I could have picked you up
 355.125 +wherever. You still have my cell phone right? Don't worry. When you come out, we'll talk things out, what ever it is." {You see,
 355.126 +there're so many things I still have to help you with, like picking the wedding dress, choosing baby clothes, etc. When one day
 355.127 +you finally grow up and don't need me anymore, you can forget me. You can lose touch with me. I'll let go. I promise. Our
 355.128 +memories will be enough. I'll always be there...} Tomoyo collapses by the door, but quickly comes back to her senses and
 355.129 +stands up again. 
 355.130 +
 355.131 +After the shower, Sakura's cheeks return to their usual rosy colour, but still lost their shine. Her eyes are drooping too. Tomoyo
 355.132 +carefully analyses the conversation between Sakura and Syaoran at the park:" I think he's critical of himself, not you. He
 355.133 +expects a lot from himself, believing that you deserve more happiness than he's giving you right now. I guess he's a believer of
 355.134 +"soul mate" theory too? I don't think he minds that you share your problems with me. After all, I'm the matchmaker and I hold
 355.135 +some responsibility for the outcome of your relationship. Maybe he wishes that you can turn to him for answers, instead of
 355.136 +turning to me." 
 355.137 +
 355.138 +Sakura's eyes are wide open:" He's jealous? Of you, not Yamamura senpai? You're the best companion to talk to, that's what
 355.139 +best friends are for. I can't turn to him for a lot of things, girl stuff for example. No, he got it wrong. I can and I should still talk
 355.140 +to you. But he's gotta change---" Sakura realizes her own hypocrisy. She's just told Syaoran moments ago that being different
 355.141 +is actually good, that they can learn from each other. Then she wishes him to be more open like she. {WE DON'T
 355.142 +MATCH??} "Maybe we don't match. Syaoran san says so too." 
 355.143 +
 355.144 +Tomoyo's heart twitches. {No, that can't be. I didn't? Did I? With my own hands, I push my only love into failure? A first love
 355.145 +that ends with a sour note?} Tomoyo holds up Sakura's head, and promises to call Syaoran and straighten things out. 
 355.146 +
 355.147 +Ring---ring. Syaoran drags himself out of the bed for the phone. But the answering machine is activated when Syaoran
 355.148 +hesitantly reaches out for the receiver. {What if it's Sakura san? what should I say or ask?} It's Tomoyo's voice, a bit shaken,
 355.149 +which is unusual:" Hello, this is Daidouji Tomoyo. Syaoran san, if you're in please pick it up. It's important. Sakura is at my
 355.150 +house. She's hurt---" Syaoran's voice interrupts the recording, just as Tomoyo expected:" What? Tomoyo san? Sakura what?
 355.151 +Is she alright?" 
 355.152 +
 355.153 +Tomoyo, still nervous about if she can fix the problem, keeps Syaoran in suspense:" Syaoran san, it's good that I can get a hold
 355.154 +of you. She's fine, but she's bleeding. She says you want her to try going out with some one else." She twists the story enough
 355.155 +to make sure she can get a response from the reserved Syaoran, who, usually doesn't clear things right out. Surprisingly, this
 355.156 +time the strategy backfires. 
 355.157 +
 355.158 +The tactic goes smoothly at first. Syaoran does deny that he wants to break up with Sakura, and confirms that he loves her.
 355.159 +Tomoyo can't believe what she hears next though: "I just feel that maybe I'm not the one for her. I mean, just because, we, went
 355.160 +through a lot of troubles and dangers together and...but on a normal day, would she pick me to hang out with? Like, I came
 355.161 +back for her because my life is boring without her. I need her smile. I need her. But when we're together, it's like, we don't---" 
 355.162 +
 355.163 +"Stop. Syaoran kun." Syaoran is shocked by Tomoyo's bluntness. She's never like that. Tomoyo goes on, without any
 355.164 +apology:" Sakura chan is still young. When she matures, the distance betweeen you two---no, the distance between a man and
 355.165 +a woman will lessen, I believe, because the older you get, the more experience you have with how to get along with others, and
 355.166 +understanding WILL grow. You got to be patient. It's a long term relationship remember? When you weren't sure about how
 355.167 +you felt at first, remember I encourage you on to 'try it'? I don't mean by 'just try it once'. Love takes a long time to nurture. It's
 355.168 +the hardest plant to grow---" 
 355.169 +
 355.170 +This time it's Syaoran interrupting:" Tomoyo san please. I know you were the matchmaker and you probably felt responsible for
 355.171 +whatever happens between the two of us, but, this is between me and Sakura san. I'm just thinking, if we need so much help
 355.172 +from you and others, that Sakura san and I have to involve so much and so many people to keep it all together, is it worth it? Is
 355.173 +it fair to her? And how come you've chosen me to match with Sakura san? What makes you think that I'm the one?" 
 355.174 +
 355.175 +"Because you care about her. You protected her. I can see how much you'll cherish her if she belongs to you. I entrusted her,
 355.176 +my dear friend, to you." {oh~what is this feeling? It's panic. No way, I never panic. But he's losing her. I'm losing Sakura's
 355.177 +happiness. I have to keep trying.} 
 355.178 +
 355.179 +"Urh~Tomoyo san, thanks for calling, and helping us out. I'll come to look after her wound, but is she in the mood to see me?" 
 355.180 +
 355.181 +"OF COURSE SHE IS! That's great news! I'll send a car to pick you up then." Tomoyo hangs up before Syaoran has the
 355.182 +chance to speak further, fearing that he may change his mind. Tomoyo's voice is a bit too excited, Syaoran thinks to himself. 
 355.183 +
 355.184 +While Syaoran is getting himself ready, many thoughts run through his mind. {Thanks to Tomoyo, what a great mediator. What
 355.185 +would we do without her? Come to think of it, she's a bit possessive of Sakura's problems. Oh well, they're best friends since
 355.186 +childhood. But isn't it odd she's acting like it's her own relationship as if she's got so much free time---no, she has private tutor
 355.187 +lessons for music and other subjects, plus choir practice, and going out---with Sakura and other friends. No boyfriend yet for
 355.188 +her, hm...she does get a lot of chocolate on Valentine's Day from boys of different classes and grades, though it's not really the
 355.189 +right day for boys to give out chocolate. Boys give out chocolate on March 14 the "white day". Hm, she does give out
 355.190 +chocolate to---to Sakura?! Ah...and she...videotapes Sakura. Uh~this is, this is THAT?!} Syaoran's thoughts are interrupted
 355.191 +by the door bell. Tomoyo's guards have come to pick him up. 
 355.192 +
 355.193 +On his way to Tomoyo's mansion, Syaoran has made a painful decision. {How could she have lived like that? How has she
 355.194 +managed to restrain herself from embracing the one she loves so dearly? To hide her tears, her emptiness and all. How brave
 355.195 +for a girl to endure such pain. If that's the case, I can't take advantage of Sakura san's ignorance of the situation and keep our
 355.196 +relationship. I want to be a real winner, with Sakura san choosing me after she makes an informed decision. She deserves a
 355.197 +choice and Tomoyo san deserves a chance. She cares about Sakura san just as much---or maybe even more than I do...} 
 355.198 +
 355.199 +When Syaoran arrives, Tomoyo allows some privacy for the couple in the guest bedroom. Syaoran tenderly attends to
 355.200 +Sakura's wounds so Sakura keeps quiet to enjoy the sweet moment. Then Syaoran's face darkens. He frankly tells Sakura that
 355.201 +there's another person who is in love with Sakura. Therefore, they should be apart for a week as a test to see whom Sakura
 355.202 +misses the most. Whoever that is would be the one she should love. Sakura is completely disturbed by the proposition and
 355.203 +bombards Syaoran with one single question, "why?" Syaoran realizes that Sakura can be quite dense sometimes when it comes
 355.204 +to delicate matters. Then again he does not want to expose Tomoyo's true feelings without consent. So he insists on protecting
 355.205 +the identity of the secret admirer, only stressing that Sakura deserves a choice and that admirer, who "has always been there for
 355.206 +you in both rain and shine" should have a chance. That said, Syaoran quickly leaves the distraught Sakura, lest himself will
 355.207 +break down in tears and revert his proposal. 
 355.208 +
 355.209 +That night, Syaoran goes home very late and even turns off his phone to avoid Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura tosses and turns on
 355.210 +her bed, wondering who can be as worthy as Syoaran to win her love. {If I can't find anyone else who's just as wonderful, I
 355.211 +guess I have proved that Syaoran is the only one and we should be together. But I got to stay strong. I can't make everyone
 355.212 +worry about me. But I can't do this myself. I need someone to talk to.} Out of reflex, Sakura dials up Tomoyo's phone
 355.213 +number. Tomoyo can't sleep either. Her heart is filled with guilt. {Sakura is old enough now. She'll probably understands my
 355.214 +feelings. She didn't react negatively to Touya san and Yukito san. Maybe it's ok to tell her.} 
 355.215 +
 355.216 +Ring---ring "Hello? Sakura chan?" Tomoyo answers the call right away, since the cell phone is by her bed. [How obsessive.] 
 355.217 +
 355.218 +"Tomoyo chan~what should I do? What if I can't find that person? Syaoran kun is all I have~" 
 355.219 +
 355.220 +"Sakura, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I thought you'd be happy with him but it turns out like this. You want to know who else
 355.221 +admires you? I'll tell you. Wanna come over to my house?" 
 355.222 +
 355.223 +"Tomoyo chan, You found out? OH~you're the best! I'll come right now!" click. Sakura can't even wait for Tomoyo's ride. She
 355.224 +just skates right over to the mansion. 
 355.225 +
 355.226 +"So, who is it?" Sakura shoots out the question as soon as she arrives. Tomoyo's eyes are fixed upon Sakura, with a strange
 355.227 +sense of determination. "Sakura chan, come." She leads her clueless friend into the bedroom, and shows her the box once
 355.228 +again. "Remember this eraser you've given me? Everything you gave me: notes, UFO catcher dolls, stickers, I keep them. I
 355.229 +videotaped you, because I don't want to lose any memory of you. Sakura, you're the most important person to me. I never try
 355.230 +to hide it from you. You're just too young to understand. I don't blame you. You're so innocent. That's what I like about you. I
 355.231 +like everything about you." Sakura's eyes widen. 
 355.232 +
 355.233 +Tomoyo takes a deep breath and continues, "Sakura, there're not many girls like me. So I sort of assume that you'll need a
 355.234 +boyfriend someday. I look around, and found Syaoran san. He's a wonderful boy. I know I find happiness when my love finds
 355.235 +happiness. Sakura, are you angry at me? I cause so much confusion between you and Syaoran san. I'll be there for you,
 355.236 +whenever and wherever, as long as you need me." Tomoyo finishes her confession, closes her eyes, and waits for the verdict
 355.237 +from Sakura. Tomoyo has really spelt it out this time. She even dropped the "chan" suffix, which is used commonly among
 355.238 +childhood friends. To call someone with first name only means either rudeness or intimacy. 
 355.239 +
 355.240 +Neither one speaks. There are no signs of disgust, anger, or even discomfort from Sakura's face. Instead she leans forward to
 355.241 +Tomoyo, looking intently at her friend with awe, gratefulness and guilt. Someone has always been there for Sakura, through rain
 355.242 +and shine. Someone is hopelessly in love with Sakura, yet joyfully accepts the destiny. She embraces loneliness, regardless of
 355.243 +her complete devotion of time and energy. That someone, is Tomoyo. Sakura breaks into tears, and then a smile. She strokes
 355.244 +Tomoyo's face gently: "Tomoyo, you're the greatest gift I have. When I was little, I wanted a sister, and there you were. I
 355.245 +needed a best friend. There you were. When I look back, the happiest days of my life is childhood, when there's nothing I have
 355.246 +to worry. Otou san [dad] and onii san [brother] sheltered me. So did you. You always came up with a way to help me, cheer
 355.247 +me in one way or another. When we entered junior high, there're so many changes I had to face, but not alone, because of you.
 355.248 +Tomoyo, you're perfect. Sometimes I think I should be more like you, smart, elegant, mature. But you always have a way of
 355.249 +making me feel special, that I am just perfect being the way I am. Before I met Syaoran, my life was happy. Why do I keep
 355.250 +thinking I have to have him? Because I'm older? Because I need a boyfriend? I need romance?" 
 355.251 +
 355.252 +Tomoyo puts a finger on Sakura's lips: "Sakura, you need a family. You need someone to protect you too. Syaoran san can
 355.253 +provide that for you. I can't. I was all you need when you were young. But as time goes by, needs change. Sakura, I'm grateful
 355.254 +you accepts what I am, but please don't push yourself for me." 
 355.255 +
 355.256 +*****************EDITED ENDING************************
 355.257 +*****************EDITED ENDING************************
 355.258 +*****************EDITED ENDING************************
 355.259 +*****************EDITED ENDING************************ 
 355.260 +
 355.261 +"When Syaoran told me he noticed another admirer deserves my love, I had no idea what he meant. And I was hoping that
 355.262 +person would turn out to be someone not so dear to me, so that the choice would be easier. But it turned out to be you..."
 355.263 +Sakura's eyes looked around the room, which is walls of videotape collections and hanged group photos of her, tomoyo,
 355.264 +naoko, rika and chiharu. Indeed, childhood is a beautiful place to stay. One must grow away from it though. 
 355.265 +
 355.266 +Tomoyo squeezes out a smile, and pulls herself away, "Sakura chan, gomen ne, I'm making this difficult for you to choose. I've
 355.267 +always promised myself not to be a burden to you. Don't worry. We can stay as friends ^_^ You go ahead and let Syaoran
 355.268 +know that he has nothing to worry about, ok? If you want, we can all meet together and straighten things out, whatever
 355.269 +misunderstanding is going on between the two of you. Ii de shou [alright]?" 
 355.270 +
 355.271 +Sakura stares at her friend, unsure of how much pain her friend is hiding. The meeting is going nowhere to any solid resolution,
 355.272 +so Tomoyo urges Sakura to go home by her car and leave the decision to tomorrow. 
 355.273 +
 355.274 +The next evening, Sakura leaves a message on Syaoran's phone, letting him know the progress: she knows the admirer is
 355.275 +Tomoyo but she needs some time before she makes the decision. 
 355.276 +
 355.277 +{Who can I talk to? When I was rejected by Yukito, Syaoran lent me his shoulders. When I have fights with Syaoran, I turn to
 355.278 +Tomoyo chan. Now both of them're competing. I need advice from, from Onii san! He can help. He teases me, but he always
 355.279 +protects me.} The thought of Touya's often stern but concerned face gives Sakura a momentary relief. 
 355.280 +
 355.281 +[In Sakura's room] Sakura: "Onii san, either one of them would be heart broken. I know how it feels, being rejected..."
 355.282 +{flashbacks of Yukito confessing to Sakura that he's really in love with someone else} "Even someone as gentle as Yukito san
 355.283 +didn't make the rejection sound any softer. I can't forgive myself hurting the ones I care so much for. I wish I knew the right one
 355.284 +from the start. That way, I wouldn't involve so many people, crying for me." Sakura holds her head tight, weeping. 
 355.285 +
 355.286 +Touya frowns even deeper, pads her little beloved sister's head and soothes her, "Sakura, I'm sorry I've broken your heart.
 355.287 +Neither of us meant to lead you on. I didn't notice I loved Yuki until later, and Yuki couldn't see it in your eyes. Strange isn't it?
 355.288 +Love, so strong; it runs deep inside you like blood flowing in your body. You feel the pulse, but you don't always stop and think
 355.289 +about it. It takes time to sit down and think hard to realize what others have been doing for you, especially when you're busy
 355.290 +thinking about someone, first Yuki, then Syaoran. I'm sure Tomoyo forgives you for missing her out." 
 355.291 +
 355.292 +Sakura: "Onii san, about the 'love is like blood running deep inside', that's deep thoughts, you came up with that?" 
 355.293 +
 355.294 +Touya, startled, coughs, "Ah, Hm---you caught me ^_< Kaho told me that when I was reconciling with her about who we
 355.295 +really love. By the way, I don't regret the time I spent with her. She was loving, and I've learned much about life from her.
 355.296 +Through love one grows, no matter how painful it is. You learn to be self-less, different, open and trust others, and brave too.
 355.297 +So whoever you choose, fear no pain or guilt, because the day you open your heart to someone, you should have the courage
 355.298 +to face anything. It's not your fault that you didn't pick the right one, or you didn't notice who loves you. Most people make
 355.299 +wrong choices before they find the right one, and it takes two to make a relationship go down. And don't think that you'll lose
 355.300 +one of them forever, because I believe both of them will stay as your friends anyway." 
 355.301 +
 355.302 +Sakura, amazed by her brother's sudden profound wisdom {guess I haven't ever had a heart-to-heart talk with Onii
 355.303 +san---didn't know he's THAT smart; always thought Yukito san was smarter ^_< } asks her brother further: "So should I stay
 355.304 +with Syaoran san, or leave and try a new life with Tomoyo chan? What makes you realize that you got to be with Yukito san?" 
 355.305 +
 355.306 +Touya thinks for a moment, then replies firmly, "When you can't think of living another day not seeing that person---that is,
 355.307 +everyday wherever you go, whatever you do and think, that person is PART OF YOU, like the blood flows in you. It's there,
 355.308 +but you don't see it, but you feel the pulse. If it goes away, you REALLY feel empty and can't move on. It's scary at first, when
 355.309 +I noticed that how much I have been depending on Yuki. But then I was glad, I found someone special. I'm not living on the
 355.310 +earth alone. Someone is with me. When Otou san [father] dies, and you get married off, I'll still have someone, Yuki, by my
 355.311 +side. Sakura, you've got to have the guts to try. Doesn't matter if it turns out the wrong one, find you soul mate. It's worth all the
 355.312 +journey." 
 355.313 +
 355.314 +"Arigatou, Onii san. I kinda understand what you mean by 'soul mate' now." {I feel the inertia to change, but it has to be that
 355.315 +way I guess.} 
 355.316 +
 355.317 +"Gomen ne, Syaoran san, made you waited these few days." 
 355.318 +
 355.319 +It is a sunny afternoon, but Syaoran can feel the clouds around him. Before him stands Sakura, the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.
 355.320 +She chose her. He can tell. Sakura is a passionate person. If she has chosen him, she would have already moved closer, why
 355.321 +the guilty distance? Syaoran, a gentleman from start to finish, breaks the silence. 
 355.322 +
 355.323 +"Sakura san, it's...okay. I am prepared for either way. Your happiness is the most important. That's why I insisted you look into
 355.324 +the alternate admirer. You deserve the best. If anything goes wrong in the future, please tell me, I'll do my best being your
 355.325 +confidente." Tears betray Syaoran's smile. He wipes them away, and gives the hesitant Sakura a strong, last hug. Sakura cries
 355.326 +on Syaoran's shoulders, but this time, it's departure. 
 355.327 +
 355.328 +"Syaoran san~ gomen ne, Tomoyo chan---Tomoyo needs me. I need her too. Please don't wait for me. That would be too
 355.329 +much to ask. Syaoran san, I'll take my chance. Please don't wait for me like Tomoyo did. It's too awful." Syaoran hesitates to
 355.330 +promise this request. It's impossible to forget Sakura, at least for now. Syaoran whispers into her ear softly, "Sakura, I can't
 355.331 +forget you. But I promise that if someone wonderful loves me, I'll give her a chance, ok?" Sakura closes her eyes with tears of
 355.332 +relief and gratitude, "Thank you, Syaoran san." 
 355.333 +
 355.334 +Looking from a distance, Tomoyo can't make out what words have been exchanged between the couple. She only sees the
 355.335 +tight embrace, then the parting of the two, with Syaoran's head down, a clear sign of defeat. Tomoyo's heart is now divided
 355.336 +between guilt and excitement. {I'm sorry Syaoran kun. I was the matchmaker and look what I've done to you. But, what can
 355.337 +make Sakura possibly choose me? I'm a great friend, but can I be all that to her? Oh~ I just hope she didn't choose on
 355.338 +impulse.} 
 355.339 +
 355.340 +Sakura quickly spotted Tomoyo and skips over to her side. {Hoe, what should I say?} "...Tomoyo chan---hn, To-mo-yo,
 355.341 +gomen ne, I made you wait. I hurt Syaoran. I was dumb. This time, I hope...I won't hurt you!" Sakura swiftly takes Tomoyo's
 355.342 +hand by surprise, and blurts out, "Ikimasu! [let's go]" 
 355.343 +
 355.344 +Tomoyo: "Sakura! It's broad day light!" 
 355.345 +
 355.346 +Sakura: "Hoe~oh well, sooner or later...Tomoyo, hanasa nai de [please don't leave me/ don't let go]." 
 355.347 +
 355.348 +Tomoyo laughs: "I never have," then she draws closer to Sakura's side, whispers, "and I never will." 
 355.349 +
 355.350 +Owari~ ^_^

   356.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   356.2 +++ b/stories/growingup.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   356.3 @@ -0,0 +1,456 @@
   356.4 +Growing up
   356.5 +A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman-meaning...it's a Hentai story that 
   356.6 +MEANS something.
   356.7 +Rating-H, for Hentai
   356.8 +By:  Psychokittensenshi611-email, katprincess82@hotmial.com
   356.9 +
  356.10 +	It's alright to tell me
  356.11 +	What you think about me
  356.12 +	I won't try to argue
  356.13 +	Or hold it against you
  356.14 +	I know that you're leaving
  356.15 +	You must have your reasons
  356.16 +	The season is calling
  356.17 +	Your pictures are falling
  356.18 +	Down
  356.19 +	The steps that I retrace
  356.20 +	The sad look on your face
  356.21 +	The timing instructor
  356.22 +	Did you hear he fucked her
  356.23 +	A day late a buck short
  356.24 +	I'm writing the report
  356.25 +	I'm losing and failing
  356.26 +	When I move I'm flailing
  356.27 +	Now
  356.28 +	And it's happened once again
  356.29 +	I'll turn to a friend
  356.30 +	Someone that understands
  356.31 +	And sees to the master plan
  356.32 +	But everybody's gone
  356.33 +	And I've been here for too long
  356.34 +	To make it on my own
  356.35 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.36 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.37 +	Well maybe I'll see you
  356.38 +	At a movie, sneak preview
  356.39 +	You'll show up and walk by
  356.40 +	On the arm of that guy
  356.41 +	And I'll smile and you'll wave
  356.42 +	We'll pretend it's ok
  356.43 +	The charade it won't last
  356.44 +	When he's gone I won't come back
  356.45 +	And it'll happen once again
  356.46 +	You'll turn to a friend
  356.47 +	Someone that understands
  356.48 +	And sees to the master plan
  356.49 +	But everybody's gone
  356.50 +	And you've been there for too long
  356.51 +	To face this on your own
  356.52 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.53 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.54 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.55 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.56 +	Well I guess this is growing up
  356.57 +	- Blink 182
  356.58 +
  356.59 +	ChibiUSA woke up in Hotaru's arms.  Her best friend and 
  356.60 +lover...her one and only.  She smiled, and watched her lover sleep.  
  356.61 +The light breathing made only tiny sounds, and she loved watching.  
  356.62 +ChibiUSA remembered, when they were just friends.  She remembered 
  356.63 +the way she felt when Hotaru would comfort her in her arms, and how 
  356.64 +the motion was one of only friendly love.
  356.65 +	But that was quite different now.  When she was in Hotaru's 
  356.66 +arms, they were usually in the midst of making love...or at least, 
  356.67 +about to make love.  She smiled in remembrance of the night before.  
  356.68 +Hotaru was so beautiful...so amazing.  She really loved her...and 
  356.69 +wanted to tell the world.
  356.70 +	But she couldn't.  They were only fifteen...not old enough to 
  356.71 +even marry.  ChibiUSA also wanted to go to the United States 
  356.72 +first...she had always wanted to visit there.  And now, with it being 
  356.73 +summer, she had the chance.  And she wanted Hotaru to go with her.
  356.74 +	Would she go?  She hoped so.  With her all of small pink 
  356.75 +heart, ChibiUSA hoped that Hotaru would go with her to America.  It 
  356.76 +would be the best vacation she would ever have...but only if Hotaru 
  356.77 +would come with her.
  356.78 +
  356.79 +	Hotaru woke up to ChibiUSA watching her.  "Hi Chibi-chan."  
  356.80 +She said softly, and stretched out.  She looked around the room, 
  356.81 +and realized it was night.  "You woke me up when I could sleep?"
  356.82 +	"I'm sorry, Taru-chan."  ChibiUSA smiled.  "You look so 
  356.83 +beautiful when you sleep."
  356.84 +	"Mm...thank you.  You look so beautiful when you're naked."  
  356.85 +Chibi blushed.  Hotaru rolled over on top of her lover and kissed 
  356.86 +her.  "If it's still night...then we still have time..."
  356.87 +	"Of course."  ChibiUSA kissed Hotaru back.  She wrapped her 
  356.88 +arms around Hotaru's waist, holding her closer.  Hotaru held 
  356.89 +Chibi's face in-between her two hands, kissing her lover fiercely.
  356.90 +	"Chibi-chan..."  She whispered breathlessly.  "I love you."
  356.91 +	"I love you to, Taru-chan."  They kissed again, and Hotaru 
  356.92 +descended on her lover with a fierce need.  She kissed down Chibi's 
  356.93 +neck, and reached her breasts quickly.  Sneaking a look at Chibi 
  356.94 +first, she kissed one of those small breasts and licked the pink 
  356.95 +rosebud nipple that matched her hair.  While Hotaru was doing this, 
  356.96 +one of her tiny hands snaked down Chibi's stomach to the junction 
  356.97 +of her thighs.  With one quick movement, she was at the sweet 
  356.98 +entrance to Chibi's most secret cave.  She massaged around it 
  356.99 +gently, and brushed her fingertips around the lips.  "Hotaru!"  
 356.100 +ChibiUSA yelled out.  She arched her hips and back upwards, 
 356.101 +offering herself to Hotaru.
 356.102 +	Hotaru would not decline this offer.
 356.103 +	She gently slid one of her fingers inside of ChibiUSA, 
 356.104 +keeping in mind how sensitive this area was.  She did this just as 
 356.105 +she began to suck Chibi's breast, and ChibiUSA yelled out.  She 
 356.106 +slid her fingers in and out of ChibiUSA, feeling Chibi's legs wrap 
 356.107 +around her own.  Chibi's hips were bucking, and her movements 
 356.108 +increased.  Hotaru switched to the other breast, repeating the 
 356.109 +process and delighting in her lover's moans.  Chibi realized, with 
 356.110 +a slight nagging in the back of her mind, that she was not doing 
 356.111 +anything to please Hotaru.
 356.112 +	She slid down farther, just so that she could get at Hotaru's 
 356.113 +breasts.  And that is what she did.  Taking her arms from Hotaru's 
 356.114 +waist, she reached them up to caress her breasts.  She rubbed her 
 356.115 +palms over the nipples, feeling them respond to her touch.  Hotaru 
 356.116 +let out a delicious shudder.  ChibiUSA pulled Hotaru closer, and 
 356.117 +licked one of the rosebuds that came toward her mouth.  Hotaru 
 356.118 +moaned, thrusting her fingers inside ChibiUSA harder, even adding a 
 356.119 +second one.  Chibi had to suppress a moan, and sucked Hotaru's 
 356.120 +breasts gently.  She slid her hands along her lover's back, pulling 
 356.121 +her ever closer and into her mouth.  Hotaru let out another deep 
 356.122 +moan, looking up at the ceiling.  Delicious feelings were rushing 
 356.123 +through the both of them, and she loved every moment of it.
 356.124 +	All of a sudden, ChibiUSA let out a screech.  She bucked 
 356.125 +uncontrollably, and threw her head back herself.  She had herself 
 356.126 +propped up on her elbows, and her hips were thrusting onto Hotaru's 
 356.127 +small hand with more force than she knew she had.  Sweatbeads 
 356.128 +glistened in the moonlight streaming in from the open window, and 
 356.129 +Hotaru gasped at the lovely figure before her.	ChibiUSA collapsed 
 356.130 +back on the bed, breathing hard.  "HOTARU..."  She sighed.  She 
 356.131 +reached for her lover, and her hands came in contact with two 
 356.132 +thighs.  "Come here, Hotaru..."  She said softly, reaching for her 
 356.133 +lover.  She complied, and Hotaru crawled next to her.  Chibi had an 
 356.134 +idea.  "No, Hotaru, I want you on top of me."
 356.135 +	"What?"  Hotaru didn't understand.
 356.136 +	"I have a surprise for you.  Just come here..."  Chibi pulled 
 356.137 +Hotaru onto her, and shifted her position.  "Just kneel down..."  
 356.138 +Hotaru complied once again, perplexed.  But when ChibiUSA slid down 
 356.139 +so that her head was in-between Hotaru's legs, she knew what was 
 356.140 +going to happen.
 356.141 +	She let out an anxious "oh..." and waited.  Chibi let her small 
 356.142 +tongue snake out, reveling in Hotaru's deep intake of breath.  She 
 356.143 +licked her tongue across her lover's entrance slowly, not daring to 
 356.144 +move too fast.  Hotaru moaned, and squeezed her eyes shut tight.  
 356.145 +Chibi stuck her tongue inside of her, and Hotaru let out a very 
 356.146 +loud moan.  "Oh Chibi!"  She shouted out, not caring about anyone 
 356.147 +hearing her.  She wanted to tell the world about her and ChibiUSA, 
 356.148 +but would wait until they were BOTH ready for that.  At this 
 356.149 +thought, she felt her lover's hands slide up her thighs 
 356.150 +slowly...turning her on with anticipation.  Chibi's right hand stayed 
 356.151 +on her thigh, but her left hand snaked upwards towards her flat 
 356.152 +tummy.  She kneaded her stomach slowly and gently, reveling in the 
 356.153 +feel of tensed muscles.  Hotaru was beautiful...so perfect and 
 356.154 +muscular and...she sighed, and moved her tongue quickly.  "CHIBI!"  
 356.155 +Hotaru cried out, eyes full of love and mischief.  She loved it 
 356.156 +when ChibiUSA did this to her...it was her most favorite thing in the 
 356.157 +world.  And when Chibi did it to her, it was worth the wait.
 356.158 +	Hotaru knelt above Chibi now, her hands balling up the pillow 
 356.159 +behind her lover's head with lust.  The energy was building up 
 356.160 +inside of her, and she felt like she could scream out in delicious 
 356.161 +agony.  Her hips bucked, her eyes squeezed shut, her cries 
 356.162 +increased, and her muscles tensed.
 356.163 +	Then...
 356.164 +	Time stopped.
 356.165 +	It just stopped.  She knew what was going to come next, the 
 356.166 +delicious release of love and lust 
 356.167 +and...
 356.168 +	Here it comes...
 356.169 +	"OoOoOoOHhHhHhH!!"  She exclaimed.  Her moan was low and 
 356.170 +deep, surprising both her and her lover.  Chibi's movements slowed 
 356.171 +and then stopped, and Hotaru collapsed above her.
 356.172 +	Minutes or maybe hours went by, she couldn't tell.  All she 
 356.173 +knew was that she was incredibly happy...and that she loved Chibi 
 356.174 +will all of her heart.  She finally got off of her now squished 
 356.175 +love, and flopped down beside her on the bed.  "Are you alright, 
 356.176 +Taru?"  A small voice emerged from that long throat of hers.
 356.177 +	"I'm...wonderful."  She pulled her close and kissed her.  
 356.178 +"You're amazing, my Chibi."
 356.179 +	"I love you, Hotaru."
 356.180 +	"I love you too, Chibi."
 356.181 +	And they drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
 356.182 +
 356.183 +*   *   *
 356.184 +
 356.185 +	"AMERICA?!  YOU WANT TO GO TO AMERICA?!"  Hotaru threw up her 
 356.186 +arms toward the blue summer sky.
 356.187 +	"Yes, Taru-chan, I do."  ChibiUSA was shocked by this 
 356.188 +reaction in her lover.  She knew that Hotaru didn't like Americans 
 356.189 +that much...after being assaulted by one of the exchange students.  
 356.190 +But she didn't think she would object so strongly to this offer...
 356.191 +	"Well you can just go by yourself.  I wouldn't DREAM of going 
 356.192 +there."  Hotaru stormed off.  ChibiUSA ran after her, dodging 
 356.193 +crowds, strollers, and couples eating ice cream together in the 
 356.194 +park.
 356.195 +	"Taru!  Wait!"  She ran after her, and finally caught up.  
 356.196 +She rested a hand on her lover's shoulder, forcing her to stop 
 356.197 +walking.  After taking a few deep breaths, ChibiUSA was ready to 
 356.198 +begin.  "Hotaru...please listen."
 356.199 +	"I'm listening."  Hotaru didn't want to be this way with 
 356.200 +ChibiUSA, but she was angry.  Why AMERICA of all places?  That 
 356.201 +country and it's inhabitants scared Hotaru more than anything else 
 356.202 +in the world.
 356.203 +	"I wanted to go with you there...for a vacation.  Just the two 
 356.204 +of us.  And, when we came back, I wanted to tell...tell 
 356.205 +everyone...about us."  Chibi's face went red.  Hotaru gasped.
 356.206 +	"You did?"
 356.207 +	"Yes, Taru-chan."
 356.208 +	"Oh!"  Hotaru gasped again.  She was so happy...so incredibly 
 356.209 +happy she could cry.  Finally...everyone would know about the two of 
 356.210 +them, and no one could come between the love they shared.
 356.211 +	"Will you go with me then, Taru-chan?"  ChibiUSA pulled her 
 356.212 +best friend and lover close.  "Please?"
 356.213 +	Hotaru looked away, deciding.  "Alright, Chibi.  I'll go with 
 356.214 +you.  But...I'm really scared to go..."
 356.215 +	"Don't worry.  I'll be with you."  She laughed, and soon 
 356.216 +Hotaru joined in nervously.  She hoped Chibi was right...and that 
 356.217 +nothing would go wrong.
 356.218 +
 356.219 +*   *   *
 356.220 +
 356.221 +	"You mean you didn't tell anyone we were going together?"  
 356.222 +Hotaru was outraged.  "But you said you wanted me to come...and now 
 356.223 +you won't tell a soul that we're going together?!"  Hotaru picked 
 356.224 +up her purse from Chibi's bed.  "I can't believe you lied to all of 
 356.225 +them Chibi!"
 356.226 +	"I didn't want them to know about us..."
 356.227 +	Hotaru could have grabbed her.  She really could have. 
 356.228 +"CHIBI!  You're telling me that you didn't even tell them we're 
 356.229 +going to America together...and that you're just going to come out 
 356.230 +easily when we come back?  Oh, but you wouldn't dream of even 
 356.231 +hinting at it before.  Let's just surprise everyone.  I don't 
 356.232 +understand you, ChibiUSA!"
 356.233 +	"Taru-chan, it's not easy to spring this news on them.  I 
 356.234 +don't want them to know I'm gay!"  Chibi had spit the words out, 
 356.235 +not thinking.  Now she regretted them, and wished she hadn't spoken 
 356.236 +at all.
 356.237 +	"Gay?!  Is that it?!  GAY?!  Oh, so it doesn't matter that 
 356.238 +we're in love at all.  That doesn't mean anything to you.  If I was 
 356.239 +a man, would it be easier to tell everyone about us?!"  She got up 
 356.240 +so that she was eye level with ChibiUSA.
 356.241 +	"Well...yeah, it would be easier if you were a man."  Chibi 
 356.242 +agreed.  She did a mental head slap afterwards, wishing yet again 
 356.243 +that she had shut up.
 356.244 +	"Oh, grow up Chibi-chan.  Grow up.  I'm tired of hiding, I'm 
 356.245 +tired of waiting for you.  I'm tired of sitting around, wasting my 
 356.246 +time with you because you're afraid.  We're in LOVE, ChibiUSA.  
 356.247 +Does that mean nothing?  We're in LOVE.  And still, you don't tell 
 356.248 +anyone.  Not even Diana.  But now, you want me to go somewhere I 
 356.249 +REALLY don't want to go with the promise that you'll tell everyone 
 356.250 +later.  If it's so hard for you to tell your friends that we're 
 356.251 +just going on a trip together, how hard will it be to admit we're 
 356.252 +in love?"  Chibi didn't have an answer to that.  She stepped around 
 356.253 +her bed and looked out her window, her back away from her lover.  
 356.254 +"Chibi-chan, I love you.  But I refuse to sit around and listen to 
 356.255 +promises that will only be broken."  Chibi heard her walk to the 
 356.256 +door.  "Call me when you grow up."
 356.257 +	The door slammed just as Chibi's first tear fell.
 356.258 +
 356.259 +*   *   *
 356.260 +
 356.261 +	Diana hopped onto her friend's bed, purring.  ChibiUSA had 
 356.262 +not moved from that bed for days, she would just sit there and cry.  
 356.263 +Diana knew about the fight she had with Hotaru, but didn't know it 
 356.264 +had been that serious...
 356.265 +	Diana nudged her friend with her small furry head.  She 
 356.266 +purred louder out of concern, and laid against her.  What was wrong 
 356.267 +with her?  She had never seen Chibi like this, ever.
 356.268 +	Hotaru and Chibi had been best friends for over three years 
 356.269 +now.  They spent the night with each other almost every night, they 
 356.270 +would stay up into the wee hours of the morning discussing things 
 356.271 +that the little cat was foreign to.  She knew that Chibi and Hotaru 
 356.272 +were closer than they let on in public...they talked about love and 
 356.273 +said they loved each other a lot.  The little cat would be 
 356.274 +underneath her friend's bed, and then she would hear it.
 356.275 +	"I love you, Chibi-chan."
 356.276 +	"I love you too, Taru-chan."
 356.277 +	On and on that would go, and she would hear moans and sighs 
 356.278 +and noises she couldn't place.  She hadn't known what to make of 
 356.279 +it, and her innocent cat ears didn't know what it was.  She had 
 356.280 +thought, though, that they could possibly be...
 356.281 +	No, she shook her head.  Not the two of them, they're just 
 356.282 +best friends.
 356.283 +	Something nagged at her little kitty brain, but she pushed it 
 356.284 +aside.  They couldn't be IN love...with each other...could they?
 356.285 +	She hopped off of Chibi's bed and ran out of the house.  She 
 356.286 +would have to ask her mother, Luna.
 356.287 +
 356.288 +*   *   *
 356.289 +
 356.290 +	Hotaru sat on her bed, crying her eyes out.  Should she have 
 356.291 +been so hard on her ChibiUSA?  She didn't even know if she could 
 356.292 +call her that anymore...her Chibi.  Was that gone forever now?  She 
 356.293 +didn't know.  She balled up the sheets on her bed in her 
 356.294 +frustration as the tears tumbled down, salty beads that would hang 
 356.295 +on her chin before dropping onto her already tear-stained pillow.
 356.296 +	"Hotaru!"  She heard a voice calling her.  She recognized it 
 356.297 +almost immediately, and wiped her tears away.
 356.298 +	"Yes Luna?"
 356.299 +	"May I come in?"  Hotaru got up to answer her door, and the 
 356.300 +little black cat walked inside.  She watched her friend as Hotaru 
 356.301 +sat down once again upon the bed, and walked up next to her on it.
 356.302 +	"Hotaru...is something wrong?"  Luna asked gently.
 356.303 +	"No, I'm fine."  Hotaru lied.  She didn't want to tell 
 356.304 +everyone why she was crying...not if Chibi wasn't ready.  She 
 356.305 +realized, with a pang to her heart, that she didn't want to hurt 
 356.306 +Chibi.  No, she didn't.
 356.307 +	"Taru-chan, something IS wrong with you.  Chibi hasn't gone 
 356.308 +out of her room for days now, and you seem to be crying all of the 
 356.309 +time.  Now, I realize you had a fight, but I didn't know it was 
 356.310 +this serious.  And, Diana seems to suspect..."  She stopped herself 
 356.311 +before she carried on.  She didn't want to address the issue just 
 356.312 +yet.  Also, what if they WEREN'T lovers?  That would be a horrible 
 356.313 +embarrassment...
 356.314 +	"We just had a really bad fight, that's all."  Hotaru played 
 356.315 +with her now torn up Kleenex.
 356.316 +	"Don't lie to me, Hotaru.  I recognize the look in your eyes.  
 356.317 +I want to know what's going on, before the both of you get any more 
 356.318 +depressed."  Luna's voice was stern, and she wished she didn't have 
 356.319 +to be this way.  But she wasn't going to let ChibiUSA and Hotaru 
 356.320 +cry for the rest of the summer.
 356.321 +	Hotaru began to sob again.  "Chibi...Chibi didn't want anyone 
 356.322 +to know yet.  I can't...I won't...break my promise to her."
 356.323 +	"Then I'll just have to ask Chibi."  Luna walked out of the 
 356.324 +room, leaving Hotaru alone once again.
 356.325 +
 356.326 +*   *   *
 356.327 +
 356.328 +	"Luna!  I told you, nothing's wrong with me.  I just had a 
 356.329 +fight with my best friend and it upsets me.  Now please, leave me 
 356.330 +alone!"  Chibi yelled at her friend.  Luna grew angry at this, and 
 356.331 +wished she weren't just a little cat.  It would be more helpful if 
 356.332 +she could just grab ChibiUSA and shake her until she talked.  But 
 356.333 +that wouldn't work right now, would it?
 356.334 +	Luna walked on all fours until she was right in front of 
 356.335 +Serena's future daughter.  She knew that this was her princess, and 
 356.336 +she should be treated with respect.  But that thought was far away 
 356.337 +from her now.  "Chibi-chan, listen to me.  Hotaru is sitting in her 
 356.338 +room, crying as well.  She told me she couldn't tell me what was 
 356.339 +going on because she promised you she wouldn't.  Now, either you 
 356.340 +tell me, or you lose her forever."
 356.341 +	Chibi gulped.  Is this what Hotaru meant?  Growing up?  She 
 356.342 +didn't know.  If it was, growing up sucked.  But she did know that 
 356.343 +she loved Hotaru, and that they both needed each other more than 
 356.344 +ever.  "Alright, Luna.  I'll tell you."  She swallowed hard again.  
 356.345 +"But you have to promise not to tell anyone else.  I'm...I'm not sure 
 356.346 +if I'm ready for anyone to know yet..."
 356.347 +	"Alright, ChibiUSA.  I promise."  Luna nodded her little head 
 356.348 +and sat down, waiting to hear her friend's tale.
 356.349 +	"Well, it all started in May.  I was spending the night at 
 356.350 +her house, like I usually did on the weekends.  And...and I began to 
 356.351 +feel strangely about her that day.  I didn't know why...but I did.  
 356.352 +And, in the morning, I accidentally rolled over on her.  I woke up 
 356.353 +and I was on top of her, and I tried to pull away, and we ended up 
 356.354 +all tangled up on the floor.  It was really embarrassing...but it was 
 356.355 +something more."  She sighed and looked away from Luna.
 356.356 +	"Go on..."
 356.357 +	"That...that day, we both realized that we...loved each other, 
 356.358 +and not just as friends."
 356.359 +	Luna almost gasped.  She had suspected it...along with Diana, 
 356.360 +after seeing the way the two looked at each other.  But she hadn't 
 356.361 +KNOWN it.
 356.362 +	"Luna, I love her.  I'm in love with her.  But I didn't know 
 356.363 +how to tell anyone...I was scared.  I still am.  But I'm not as 
 356.364 +scared of the world finding out, I'm scared of losing her.  Oh 
 356.365 +Luna, please, help me!"  ChibiUSA began to cry again.  She hunched 
 356.366 +over, still maintaining her sitting position on her bed, but was 
 356.367 +crying into her hands and knees.  Luna watched, trying to offer 
 356.368 +some comfort...but didn't know how to.
 356.369 +	"Chibi-chan...I can't just help you with this.  You really hurt 
 356.370 +her.  If you want her back, you have to tell everyone yourself.  Go 
 356.371 +to Usagi and Mamoru, tell them.  Tell the Senshi, tell everyone.  
 356.372 +Then and only then will Hotaru come back to you."  Luna got up and 
 356.373 +hopped off the bed.  "And you shouldn't be so afraid to tell 
 356.374 +everyone.  We love you, ChibiUSA, and we wouldn't say or do 
 356.375 +anything to hurt you or the person you love.  Whoever that may be."  
 356.376 +Luna walked silently out of the room.
 356.377 +
 356.378 +*   *   *
 356.379 +
 356.380 +	ChibiUSA stood in front of the airline gate, waiting for 
 356.381 +boarding to start.  She had her ticket with her and was ready to 
 356.382 +head off to America...but the thought that Hotaru wouldn't be joining 
 356.383 +her foreshadowed the exciting journey.  She almost began to cry, 
 356.384 +but stopped herself.
 356.385 +	She had told everyone.  She told Usagi...she told Mamoru, and 
 356.386 +they had listened with caring expressions.  They told her they 
 356.387 +loved her, and that they supported her no matter what.  The same 
 356.388 +with everyone else...Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, Setsuna, Michiru, 
 356.389 +Haruka, Artimis, Diana...everyone.  They had all told her the same 
 356.390 +thing...that they loved her and supported to.
 356.391 +	But she didn't have the guts to tell Hotaru what she had 
 356.392 +done.  She had hoped...briefly...that Hotaru would come running back to 
 356.393 +her, all open arms and tears and happiness shining in her yes...if 
 356.394 +she just told everyone.  That was what Hotaru wanted, right?  For 
 356.395 +everyone to know about the two of them.  But obviously that wasn't 
 356.396 +the only thing.  She hadn't seen Hotaru, or talked to her, or even 
 356.397 +heard about her for three weeks now...three weeks after she confessed 
 356.398 +her deepest secret.
 356.399 +	"Rows 14 through 24 may now enter the plane."  A voice over 
 356.400 +an intercom informed her.  She looked down at her ticket once more, 
 356.401 +but she didn't need to.  Row 15, seat B.  Great...the middle.  She'd 
 356.402 +be squished between two fat sweaty business men for sure.
 356.403 +	The thought almost made her laugh.  She didn't know if she 
 356.404 +could still laugh...if Hotaru wasn't there to laugh along with her.  
 356.405 +ChibiUSA looked down at the floor as the line inched forward.  But, 
 356.406 +some noise, or maybe it was the tugging at her heart, made her look 
 356.407 +up.
 356.408 +	She searched the airport's boarding area, and nothing seemed 
 356.409 +to have changed since the last time she had looked.  But...she felt 
 356.410 +something in her soul, telling her to keep looking.
 356.411 +	Her heart swelled.  Tears of happiness came to her eyes.
 356.412 +	"CHIBI!!!  WAIT FOR ME!!!"  Hotaru was running through the 
 356.413 +crowds, a ticket and carry-on bag in hand.  She was crying tears of 
 356.414 +happiness herself, and her arms were open.  Chibi could have run 
 356.415 +into them.
 356.416 +	"HOTARU!!!!"  She screamed back.  She didn't care about the 
 356.417 +stares anymore.  She really didn't.
 356.418 +	Hotaru ran into her lovers arms, and Chibi picked her up off 
 356.419 +of the ground.  She spun her lover around, making the people around 
 356.420 +her back up in fear of being hit.  When she did put Hotaru down, 
 356.421 +both girls were smiling and laughing and crying.  "Oh Chibi...I love 
 356.422 +you!"  Hotaru threw her arms around ChibiUSA's neck.
 356.423 +	"I love you too, Hotaru."  Chibi kissed her then, right in 
 356.424 +the airport.  No more panic, no more cares...all she knew was that 
 356.425 +she loved Hotaru, and they were going to America together.
 356.426 +	Who cares what the future will bring...all I know is that I 
 356.427 +love you, Hotaru.
 356.428 +	I guess this is growing up.
 356.429 +
 356.430 +*   *   *
 356.431 +
 356.432 +	WHEW!!  Damn!!  That took meeh a long ass time.  Ok...my poor 
 356.433 +hands are so sore from typing!   oh well.  I hereby dedicate this 
 356.434 +story to the Amazoness Duo (or Quartet...whatever) and their story, 
 356.435 +"Aishiteru, ChibiUSA".  I used some pieces from that story...(a.k.a. 
 356.436 +where Chibi confesses to Luna what happened with her and 
 356.437 +Hotaru)...and I would like to thank them for the wonderful fics they 
 356.438 +made of the two of them!  I hope I did it justice.
 356.439 +	Oh...by the way, in order to have the entire song on one page, 
 356.440 +I didn't do the entire legal thing.  So here I go...
 356.441 +	Ok.  This is a Sekkushiaru Roman...one that I made up, but 
 356.442 +these characters are not mine.  They are the products of Naoko 
 356.443 +Takeuchi and company...so I didn't make them, I'm just living and 
 356.444 +loving through them.
 356.445 +	I hope you enjoyed!  Oh, and just so everyone knows...if it 
 356.446 +seems like there's a continuing pattern in my fics...that's because 
 356.447 +there IS!  I use songs as my inspiration, as well as people.  This 
 356.448 +is one of the few fics that I didn't dedicate to my friends...I have 
 356.449 +moved to another state and seriously miss them...but I do have a lot 
 356.450 +of time on my hands.  So if you were wondering...yes, each story I 
 356.451 +create will begin with pieces from a song.  I would like to thank 
 356.452 +all of the wonderful Hentai and Sekkushiaru Roman writers out 
 356.453 +there...you have all done your part to make the world of Sailor Moon 
 356.454 +a little more wonderful.
 356.455 +	Thank you all!
 356.456 +
 356.457 +	~Psychokittensenshi611~
 356.458 +		eeh-mail...katprincess82@hotmail.com
 356.459 +

   357.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   357.2 +++ b/stories/guardian.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   357.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   357.4 +                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
   357.5 +Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters from FFX-2. I’m merely borrowing them.
   357.6 +
   357.7 +Author’s notes: The story takes place right after Yuna falls down the hole in Djose temple. Since
   357.8 +in the game you get to see events for Yuna’s events, this takes place with the rest of the 
   357.9 +Gullwing members. Special thanks to Heather-sama (Amazoness Duo) and Forever3330 for inspiring 
  357.10 +me to write this fic. ^-^ Any comments/suggestions/flames/ e-mails saying how much my writing 
  357.11 +sucks can be sent to ximengwang@hotmail.com. Enjoy ^.^
  357.12 +
  357.13 +I'll Always Be Your Guardian
  357.14 +
  357.15 +Phoenix
  357.16 +
  357.17 +Rikku paced up and down the bridge, glancing over at Shinra every few seconds. It had been hours 
  357.18 +since Yuna had fallen down into the hole at Djose Temple. As time slowly ticked by, the usually 
  357.19 +cheerful thief frowned with worry.
  357.20 +
  357.21 +“RUF SILR MUHKAN IHDEM ED’C TUHA? <How much longer until it’s done?>” Rikku leaned over the 
  357.22 +shoulder of the boy genius, trying to see if the kid had made any progress.
  357.23 +
  357.24 +“RUMT UH… psshhh… E’S YMSUCD TUHA, <Hold on… psshhh… I’m almost done >” Shinra didn’t even look 
  357.25 +up at the currently overemotional blonde girl. He turned the bluish sphere-like object in his 
  357.26 +hand before turning his chair over. “There! It should be able to get us a picture.”
  357.27 +
  357.28 +“So we’ll be able to see Yunie with this?” Rikku bent over at the waist to get a closer look at 
  357.29 +the commsphere. It didn’t look like there was anything special about the object other than the 
  357.30 +fact that Shinra had been working on it for the past few hours.
  357.31 +
  357.32 +“Yes. That is if she’s still down in that hole.” The Al Behd boy stated as he wiped his forehead 
  357.33 +with a suit-covered hand. The boy was about to set the sphere down gently when a loud screeching 
  357.34 +voice nearly made him drop the invention.
  357.35 +
  357.36 +“Yuna has to be there! Gullwings! Full speed to Djose Temple!” Brother finally rose from his 
  357.37 +laying position in the middle of the deck. He quickly turned around to face Buddy when he 
  357.38 +realized they haven’t even started to move. “GO! GO! GO!”
  357.39 +
  357.40 +Buddy imput their destination into the Celsius’ computer before rubbing his ears. Sometimes he 
  357.41 +wondered if Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had the easier job. Sure, he just sat in the Celsius while 
  357.42 +the girls were out risking their lives but then he also had to deal with Brother. Come to think 
  357.43 +of it, why was Brother part of the team anyways? The tattooed Al Behd didn’t seem to do anything 
  357.44 +except complain about Yuna taking too long on her missions.
  357.45 +
  357.46 +“Are we almost there?” Rikku looked at the sphere in the middle of the ship. The Celsius was 
  357.47 +probably the fastest machina in all of Spira but the flight seemed to take so much longer than 
  357.48 +usual. The young blond went back to pacing around the deck, realizing there really wasn’t 
  357.49 +anything she could do about it.
  357.50 +
  357.51 +
  357.52 +The Celsius landed at Djose temple minutes later although the young thief had jumped off before 
  357.53 +Buddy even got the chance to ‘park’ the ship. “Ohhh… Come on! Yunie needs our help! Let’s hurry 
  357.54 +and throw the commsphere into the hole!” As she spoke, the Al Behd’s arms waved about, 
  357.55 +illustrating her words.
  357.56 +
  357.57 +“I’m going to have a word with the Machina Faction. You guys go on ahead.” Paine’s words were 
  357.58 +barely audible as she ran off into the tent. The rest of the Gullwing nodded then ran towards 
  357.59 +the doors of the thunder cloud-like temple. They were used to this kind of behavior from the 
  357.60 +more mysterious member of the team. Besides, Paine always showed up if something happens so 
  357.61 +there really wasn’t much to worry about
  357.62 +
  357.63 +
  357.64 +The team of sphere hunters gathered around the large hole in the temple as Rikku impatiently 
  357.65 +looked over the shoulder of the much smaller boy-genius. She watched him throw the commsphere 
  357.66 +into the hole with the fascination of a cat. Slowly, she stepped closer to the hole, peering 
  357.67 +into it’s unending depths. “Yunie… please be alright!” She thought to herself as she 
  357.68 +half-expected to hear a thud of some kind once the sphere hit the bottom.
  357.69 +
  357.70 +“Let’s see now…” Shinra mumbled to himself as he clicked a few keys on a computer-like box. He 
  357.71 +watched the screen intently as he tried to get some kind of signal from the sphere.
  357.72 +
  357.73 +“So where is Yuna? I-WANT-YUNA!” Brother’s impatience got the better of him once again as he 
  357.74 +yelled loud enough to even awaken the faiths.
  357.75 +
  357.76 +“So where’s the picture?” Buddy asked, his arms crossed across his chest. He raised an eyebrow 
  357.77 +as static started to slowly appear on the screen. It was progress at any rate. Some signal is 
  357.78 +better than none, right?
  357.79 +
  357.80 +“Is it working now?” Rikku asked, moving her hands in front of her chest like a cat scratching 
  357.81 +on a door. The depression and feeling of hopelessness she had felt all day slowly started to 
  357.82 +fade away as more static appeared on the screen. If Shinra’s invention works then maybe they’ll 
  357.83 +be able to talk with Yuna! That is if Yuna were down there and well. Rikku shook her head to 
  357.84 +clear her mind of those thoughts. Be optimistic! She told herself as she leaned closer to the 
  357.85 +monitor.
  357.86 +
  357.87 +The screen slowly started to get less staticy as the picture cleared except for the fact that 
  357.88 +all they could see was darkness. There didn’t seem to be any light coming from the dark abyss. 
  357.89 +Just when they were about to give up hope, a small pyrofly flew across the screen.
  357.90 +
  357.91 +“YUNA! I WANT TO SEE YUNA! SHOW ME YUNA!!!” Brother once again started yelling. Now that it was 
  357.92 +clear they could receive images from the sphere, he was more desperate than ever to see the girl 
  357.93 +of his dreams, even if he wasn’t the man of hers.
  357.94 +
  357.95 +“LYMS TUFH! <calm down!>” Rikku snapped, at the idiotic ‘leader’. She had been fed up with his 
  357.96 +whining ever since Yuna had fallen down the hole. It was bad enough that Yuna was gone but being 
  357.97 +worried while hearing Brother’s high-pitched voice was not a combination Rikku wanted to try 
  357.98 +ever again.
  357.99 +
 357.100 +After making sure the older Al Behd had calmed down, Rikku went back to staring at the small 
 357.101 +monitor on Shinra’s invention. “Please Yunie… please show up!” She mumbled to herself in a whiny 
 357.102 +tone of voice. She had been waiting for the boy genius to finish his sphere every since the kid 
 357.103 +had suggested it but now she didn’t really know if finishing it was really a good thing. Before 
 357.104 +she had at least been able to hope that Yuna was still alive but now… now she really didn’t know 
 357.105 +anymore.
 357.106 +
 357.107 +A few more pyroflies flew across the screen then it was back to pitch black-darkness. Slowly, a 
 357.108 +small clicking sound rang through the speakers. Rikku nearly pounced when her sensitive their 
 357.109 +ears caught on to the sound. They sounded like footsteps! But who’s? Yuna’s boots usually didn’t 
 357.110 +make the kinds of sounds that were being played by the speakers. The young blond leaned in closer
 357.111 +to the screen, almost to the point of pressing her nose against the cold glass. There seemed to 
 357.112 +be a shadow-like movement from the far horizon. Even in bluish pictures transmitted by the 
 357.113 +commsphere, Rikku could still pick out the small movement.
 357.114 +
 357.115 +“Is it… Yunie?” she asked softly, her hopes rising higher than they ever had before. Maybe Yuna 
 357.116 +was alive and well?
 357.117 +
 357.118 +“Let’s try to zoom in,” Shinra quickly pressed a few buttons on his invention as the screen 
 357.119 +slowly started to make the shadow bigger and bigger. At the maximum magnification, the body was 
 357.120 +still covered in shadows but it was definitely humanoid.
 357.121 +
 357.122 +The shadow slowly moved closer, taking it sweet time as if it’s sole purpose was to taunt those 
 357.123 +who were watching it. Just as its body started to clear up, a haze of pyroflies flew across the 
 357.124 +screen, knocking into the commsphere. The echoes of the deceased played across the speakers of 
 357.125 +Shinra’s machine as the pyroflies kept on flying past until the screen returned to static and 
 357.126 +the sound faded.
 357.127 +
 357.128 +“What happened? What happened?” Rikku asked frantically as she towered over the young boy.
 357.129 +
 357.130 +“The pyroflies must of have hit the commsphere. The receiver and microchip might of have gotten 
 357.131 +damaged.” The young boy explained as he turned off his invention. He looked around at the rest 
 357.132 +of the Gullwing crew. Brother had gone back to his fetal position while Buddy stayed calm and 
 357.133 +collected as always. Rikku on the other hand seemed to look more worried than the young boy has 
 357.134 +ever seen her in the two years they had been together.
 357.135 +
 357.136 +“Is there any way to fix it? That could of have been Yunie down there!” The blonde Al Behd looked
 357.137 +almost on the verge of tears. Her last hope of contacting Yuna had just been shattered. All she 
 357.138 +had ever wanted was to protect her dear cousin but now, like last time, she had failed.
 357.139 +
 357.140 +Shinra looked at Rikku for a moment before shrugging, “I’m just a kid…” His voice was barely 
 357.141 +above a whisper as he grabbed his machine and headed towards the exit of the fayth chamber. 
 357.142 +Buddy wasn’t far behind the child prodigy as he half carried, half dragged Brother with him.
 357.143 +
 357.144 +Rikku watched her other team mates leave one by one. Are they going to give up that easily? Are 
 357.145 +they just going to leave Yuna down in that whole while she may still be alive, the odds were 
 357.146 +slim but still possible. Yuna had done so much for Spira by risking her life to fight Sin but 
 357.147 +now even those closest to her were leaving! The young Al Behd girl slumped to her knees as she 
 357.148 +stared down into the bottomless abyss… but could anything survive if it fell down from there? 
 357.149 +“If anyone can, then Yunie can! She may not be a Summoner anymore but I’ll always be her 
 357.150 +Guardian!” The young girl slowly got back to her feet. She blinked her eyes a few times, making 
 357.151 +the small tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes slowly run down her cheek before 
 357.152 +landing on the temple floor. Taking a deep breath, the blonde girl took a few steps backwards 
 357.153 +before staring back at the large hole. “I’m coming Yunie. I’ll be the one to save you this time!”
 357.154 +Without further delay, the young thief started running towards the hole at full speed. For those 
 357.155 +few seconds, only the one she loved occupied her mind. She would gladly die for the brunette if 
 357.156 +she had to but if she couldn’t save the one she loves then at least she could die right alongside
 357.157 +with her. And so the former Guardian ran. She was inches away from the hole when a voice rang 
 357.158 +through her ears, making her heart melt with happiness.
 357.159 +
 357.160 +“Yuna here, reporting for duty.”
 357.161 +
 357.162 +Those simple words stopped the thief from her mission. Yuna was alive! She was alive and well! 
 357.163 +Tears of joy threatened to spill from the Al Behd’s eyes as she turned around and ran back to 
 357.164 +the Celsius. Except this time, she was running to get closer to her love in this life instead of 
 357.165 +joining her in the farplain.
 357.166 +                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 357.167 \ No newline at end of file

   358.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   358.2 +++ b/stories/guessed.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   358.3 @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
   358.4 +Disclaimer: This coupling has probably not been done often, but I
   358.5 +like it, so there. Please don’t flame. It doesn’t do much but cause
   358.6 +annoyance and take up room. Anyways, this may or may not be a one-
   358.7 +shot. I don’t own any copyrighted items. Please enjoy the fanfiction!
   358.8 +~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   358.9 +
  358.10 +These may or may not be used:
  358.11 +
  358.12 +1) Ohayou - hello 2) onii - brother 3) Yo - yo 4) chotto matte -
  358.13 +wait a minute, hold on 5) hai - yes 6) Tadaima - I'm home 7) Gomen
  358.14 +nasai - I'm sorry 8) Daijoubu - okay 9) Arigatou - Thanks 10) Hontou -
  358.15 +Really? 11) Ne - like asking for agreement…like putting 'okay?' at
  358.16 +the end of a sentence 12) Ano… - ummm… 13) Baka - silly, stupid...a
  358.17 +million things really...all depends on the context 14) O-yasumi -
  358.18 +goodnight 15) Onegai - please 16) furin: a wind bell with a small
  358.19 +piece of paper hanging from it; seen in a lot of animé 17) zettai
  358.20 +daijoubu desu yo - everything will always be alright! 18) Sono mama
  358.21 +de iinda - stay the way you are 18) hanasa nai de - please don't
  358.22 +leave me/ don't let go Ikimasu! - let's go 19) Wo ai ni - I love you
  358.23 +20) Aishiteru - I love you 21) Konbanwa - Good evening 22) Konnichiwa
  358.24 +- Good morning 23) Kawaii - cute 24) Ogenki desuka - How are you? 25)
  358.25 +Daijoubu desuka - Are you alright?
  358.26 +
  358.27 +Who Could Have Guessed?~~A Medabots Fanfiction
  358.28 +
  358.29 +By Forever3330
  358.30 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  358.31 +
  358.32 +	As the first wavering beams of sunlight shone through the small
  358.33 +apartment’s window to dance upon the girl who lay in the bed still, a
  358.34 +teakettle’s whistle emitted from the kitchen. Sounds of someone
  358.35 +bustling about came after it, the whistle stopping. The brunette
  358.36 +yawned, rubbing her eyes, then opened them. Ruby orbs sleepily took
  358.37 +in her surroundings. A room furnished mostly in pink, with a large
  358.38 +collection of stuffed animals spread around the room, and quite a few
  358.39 +magazine articles pinned to the wall.
  358.40 +
  358.41 +	At that she smiled slightly. Erika had always thought she would
  358.42 +become a reporter, but as she had grown her dreams had changed. She
  358.43 +had instead become a magazine columnist, and was up to having three
  358.44 +whole pages of her own. Her lover taught at Erika’s old school, an
  358.45 +easy favorite teacher for the children.
  358.46 +
  358.47 +	Rolling out of bed she pulled on jean shorts and a white tank-top
  358.48 +with the Medabots corporation logo on it, pulling back her hair a bit
  358.49 +with clips. She still kept it short, not liking the problems that
  358.50 +came with longer hair if you didn’t have sufficient patience. She
  358.51 +liked to play with longer hair, as she had with her elder sister’s
  358.52 +when she was younger, twisting it into complicated styles, but that
  358.53 +charm still didn’t sway her feelings on the subject. Yawning again,
  358.54 +she padded into the hallway, then turned right into the living room
  358.55 +and left into the kitchen, which was by the front door. The person in
  358.56 +kitchen turned, and smiled.
  358.57 +
  358.58 +	“Erika, you’re finally up! I made pancakes and tea.” She motioned
  358.59 +to the two plates at the table, and set down two cups of tea. Pushing
  358.60 +some of her red hair over her shoulder, Karin smiled, green eyes
  358.61 +bright. She usually waited for Erika to fix her hair, since the
  358.62 +brunette loved doing so greatly. She sat down at the table, as Erika
  358.63 +pulled out a chair and joined her.
  358.64 +
  358.65 +	“Mmm. Arigatou, Karin…” She yawned once more. “I guess I’m a little
  358.66 +out of it from the all-nighter I pulled. Gah…I had to finish that
  358.67 +article.” She gratefully sipped some tea and began on her breakfast.
  358.68 +“After all, I didn’t want to miss Uncle Aki’s birthday party, though
  358.69 +he’s still holding out on how old he is.”
  358.70 +
  358.71 +	Karin giggled softly. “He’s been doing that for as long as I can
  358.72 +remember. It’ll be nice to see everyone again. We haven’t seen them
  358.73 +since, what…ano…Your school’s ten-year anniversary?”
  358.74 +
  358.75 +	Erika nodded, then looked thoughtful.
  358.76 +
  358.77 +	“Erika? Daijoubu desuka?”
  358.78 +
  358.79 +	“It’s just…who could have guessed that we would end up together?
  358.80 +Who could have guessed that things would turn out this way?” She
  358.81 +looked up from her plate when Karin placed a hand on her cheek,
  358.82 +lovingly.
  358.83 +
  358.84 +	When the other girl spoke, her voice was calm, and sweet. “I could
  358.85 +have guessed, Erika. I loved you from the moment we met.”
  358.86 +
  358.87 +	“You did?” Erika’s voice was surprised, as was her expression. “It
  358.88 +always seemed like you had a crush on Ikki-chan or Kogee-kun back
  358.89 +then. Or Rintaro-chan. I know you love me now…but…back then?”
  358.90 +
  358.91 +Karin smiled. “Ikki-chan was my friend, as was Kogee-chan. I worried
  358.92 +about them. And Rintaro-chan was so kawaii, just like a little
  358.93 +brother! But you were always far more kawaii.” Her eyes twinkled as
  358.94 +Erika blushed.
  358.95 +
  358.96 +“Karin…aishiteru. You are my other half.”
  358.97 +
  358.98 +“Aishiteru. Anata wa watashi no taisetsu na hito desu.” Karin said
  358.99 +softly as the one who held her heart leaned in to kiss her.
 358.100 +
 358.101 +Owari.
 358.102 +
 358.103 +Translation of last line: I love you. You are my special person.
 358.104 +
 358.105 +Author’s not: ^,^; Please, don’t kill me. Anyways, I hope you
 358.106 +enjoyed it slightly, at least. See you next time!
 358.107 \ No newline at end of file

   359.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   359.2 +++ b/stories/hateme.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   359.3 @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
   359.4 +I Know Why You Want to Hate Me:
   359.5 +The Shadow's Tale
   359.6 +
   359.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   359.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   359.9 +
  359.10 +Summary: Chisato is a typical Japanese schoolgirl with a penchant for collecting small little trinkets that she finds of interest. She doesn't have many friends and she spends a lot of her time alone, finding new ways home or just getting herself lost in some of the more rural parts of town. She's very lonely and shy, and does such a good job of trying to avoid people that most people in her class couldn't even remember her, let alone tell you her name. One day while off in the forrest, she came across a strange box in a cave. An old key lay in the dirt nearby. Wondering about what she had unearthed and whether or not she should keep the strange treasure, she opened the box. Out sprung Arael. An ancient and powerful demon, Arael was sealed away long ago to keep her from causing any more devestation. Finally freed from her tiny tomb, the demoness thanked the schoolgirl and promised her a quick and painless death. But before she could make good on her promise, light surrounded Chisato. The key she held protected her from the demoness. On top of that, it allowed her to control the demoness. She tried to run away, hurrying back home, but she couldn't escape Arael. The key bound her to stay by the schoolgirl's side, much to her chagrin. Chisato was terrified of that idea at first, to have such a powerful demon always near. But as several weeks passed, she began to enjoy the company. For once, she wasn't always alone. 
  359.11 +
  359.12 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  359.13 +
  359.14 +Arael lay on her back, staring up at Chisato's roof as time slowly ticked away on one of the grandfather clocks Chisato had in her overcrowded room. It chimed irritatingly, making the demoness twitch. Her long, dark wings were brought up tightly against her back, barely noticeable as she lay on them. Her straight black hair lay about her head like a very dark halo. Chisato, her 'mistress', was still doing her homework. That was usually the perfect time for Arael to play with her mind, to distract her and tease her, but she just didn't feel up to it today. She almost felt... defeated. She had felt that in time, she would be able to frighten the brat into giving up the key, into setting her free. But that didn't seem to be working. Chisato didn't seem to mind, actually enjoying some of the gory tales that Arael had told her. Things were not working out as planned. But she did not intend to be some schoolgirl's slave for the rest of her life.
  359.15 +
  359.16 +Chisato, on the other hand, actually was done with her homework. But she continued to pretend to be jotting things down in her notebook while secretly sneaking peaks of Arael in her mirror. She didn't know how to say it, but she thought she was falling in love with the demoness. She could actually talk to her, could spend time with her. She wasn't so lonely with Arael around. The older woman/demon was so sure of herself, completely in control no matter what was going on. Sure, some of her stories were pretty scary and she could be frighteningly intense at times, but the chestnut haired girl didn't care. She was just happy to be around Arael, to enjoy the woman's presence. It was so much nicer than being alone all the time. It felt so warm and safe when Arael was around. 
  359.17 +
  359.18 +The demoness had even protected her. Nearly a week ago, she had stayed late at school to finish something. A boy a year older of her had helped her with her bookbag when she had finished and had talked politely with her as they walked away. Blushingly, Chisato had spoken about her family, what she liked to do, and whatever else the boy asked. He finally asked her to wait a moment, because he had to grab something. They had gone into the janitor's room to find what it was he needed. Chisato had jumped at the sudden noise of the door closing tightly behind them. She had asked in a worried voice what it was he was looking for. He replied simply that it was right there in front of him. Chisato shuddered in rememberance of his hands on her, the smell of his body so close to her and his forceful lips on her own as she was pressed against the wall. Tears had welled up beneath her small glasses, spilling down her cheeks, but he had taken no notice, his hands moving further across her body. Sobbing openly by then, Chisato could never remember feeling so cold, so broken up inside. He had slapped her when she wouldn't stop crying, sending her glasses falling to the floor. She had called out but he only laughed, telling her that no one was there. She had felt desolate, ruined. Even if he didn't kill her, her life was over. She already knew where her father kept his gun. While the boy continued to force himself on her, she mapped out what she would do. She would go home and get the gun and then go back to her room and... 
  359.19 +
  359.20 +Suddenly, the boy was away from her. Arael held him by his head, his body hanging limply from the end of her arm. He slowly began to struggle weakly, but it was obvious that he was no match for the demoness. Her hand tensed and blood began to pour down his face, dripping to the floor below. Chisato had stared at the sight, mesmerized. She could vaguely remember him screaming, but she hadn't been paying any attention. She merely slumped to the floor, her rustled skirt drooping around her. Her eyes remained on Arael and the monstrous shape of the boy, her blurry vision for once not reminding her to pick up her glasses. She could remember the intent look on Arael's face, an angry and determined look. The demoness had come to her rescue. More blood began to splatter to the floor as Arael moved her hand. The boy screamed out again, much, much weaker this time. Chisato continued to stare, transfixed. Why would anyone come to save her? Why would Arael care enough about her to? As the boy began to writhe in Arael's grasp, Chisato finally, reluctantly asked her to stop. She didn't want him to die over her. Did she? She hadn't been quite sure, still wasn't actually. She hated him for what he had done. And knowing that Arael would kill him for her... But she somehow managed to get herself to ask again. But Arael didn't seem to be listening. The demoness's hand went to his throat, beginning to crush. She asked again, but still no result. Fumbling for the key, she finally forced Arael to put him down. The demoness had, at last. Picking Chisato up in her arms, Arael had left the small janitor room that Chisato could no longer walk past without shuddering and flew her home. Chisato had fallen asleep in her arms on the flight back. She hadn't seen the boy at school since the incident.
  359.21 +
  359.22 +Sighing dreamily, Chisato looked back in the mirror and frantically went back to writing when she saw the blush on her cheeks and her glasses halfway down her nose as she thought about Arael. Her mind had been on her demoness more and more lately, always counting down the time when she could see her again and escape the confines of school. With Arael, she felt free. But the prospect of telling Arael this, of explaining her feelings was terrifying. She wanted to love her, to be loved by her, but she didn't know if she could say it without it coming out as little more than a squeak. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the black haired woman, her inent red eyes staring into her soul. 
  359.23 +
  359.24 +Swiveling around in her chair, Chisato slowly faced the woman lying on her bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the demoness. Her beautiful figure was lightly clad, her bare feet resting on a little stuffed animal that Chisato had had since she was five that she affectionately referred to as Wari Bear. But seeing her stuffed animal in such a disrespectful place didn't really bother her. She wouldn't mind trading placed with him. A crimson blush shot across her face at that thought, causing her to swivel around in her chair again. Looking down at her school clothes and the small socks covering her own feet, she let out a sigh. Her eyes went up to the mirror, looking at her short, chestnut hair and small glasses. Arael would want... no, deserved someone who was at least equally as gorgeous as she was. Chisato was just... not even there. No one remembered her, no one knew who she was. And why would they? There was nothing remarkable about her. She wasn't even pretty. She was just... boring. She didn't do anything interesting, had no real friends. She didn't have any stunning clothes or stand out at all. In the end, she had written in her diary long ago, was I even here at all? 
  359.25 +
  359.26 +But this time... this time, she did not want to just give up. She always did. She always gave up her place in line if someone else wanted it, gave up something if it seemed to hard for her to do. The chestnut haired girl never had that burning intensity that her demoness held. But for once, she didn't want to be so lonely. She wanted to feel what it was like to be loved, to be held. 
  359.27 +
  359.28 +Swallowing deeply, Chisato swirled in the chair to face her bored looking demon. Licking her lips, she tried to phrase what she wanted to say correctly. After seventeen tries, it still didn't sound right. An image of Arael's burning eyes entered her head, pushing her forward. "Arael-san, I..." Her voice trailed off weakly, the words caught in her throat. She struggled with them, wanting to say them, but they seemed to fight back as her own nervousness nearly paralyzed her with fear. 
  359.29 +
  359.30 +Raising one black eyebrow, Arael stared at the schoolgirl. What the hell did she want now? To go flying again? Maybe to talk about if she'll ever find her prince charming? The black haired woman didn't feel up to the younger girl's schoolgirl dramatics at the moment. Wasn't she supposed to have friends to go bother with things like that? "What?" she asked, trying to maintain some form of patience with the chestnut haired girl. 
  359.31 +
  359.32 +"I... I..." Chisato began, struggling desperately for words. She wanted to give up, to let the words die on her tongue, but somehow she couldn't. Seeing Wari Bear under her cute, bare feet, imagining herself in Arael's strong, rapturess embrace, she forced it out. "Iwantyoutokissme..."
  359.33 +
  359.34 +"Huh?" Arael sat up, trying to make since out of what Chisato had just said. It had sounded like little more than a nervous squeak, something she was certainly used to hearing from the perpetually shy teenager. Maybe after a couple hundred years she would get over it. The black haired woman slowly played back the squeak in her mind. "You what?" she asked after a moment, shock and then amusement playing across her face. The younger girl merely shifted uneasily in her chair. "You want me to kiss you?" she repeated. The chestnut haired girl nodded quickly, her face nearly blood red. The demoness laughed. It couldn't be. The schoolgirl had fallen in love with her? How had that happened. Sliding off the bed, she made her way to the younger girl. Chisato averted her gaze, her hands held tightly in her lap. She looked like she was about to die of embarrassment. "So you're a lesbian, huh, Chisa?" Another laugh escaped the demoness. Chestnut hair whipped about as the younger girl refused to meet her gaze. Grinning, the demoness let a fingernail run from Chisato's chin down her neck. Her 'mistress' shuddered at the sensation. Arael leaned close, her black hair falling across Chisato's torso. "No wonder you don't hang out with the other girls. They probably don't wanna play the same games you do." She knew that the comment stung, but the younger girl was still too embarrassed to say anything about it. Her warm breath brushed against Chisato's ear as she whispered to her. "I'm sure we could play lots of fun things, Chisa. A kiss is just the tip of the iceberg." Her lips brushed the chestnut haired girl's ear before she blew into it. Chisato shuddered at the feeling. "But you're not exactly my type. I like to play with the boys." Stepping away, she grinned at the blank look on the schoolgirl's face. The look quickly crumbled away into one of heartache and despair. "Better luck with your next demoness," Arael said with a shrug. 
  359.35 +
  359.36 +Tears brimmed in Chisato's eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she took a shuddering breath. She felt like she had been stabbed through the heart. 'She's making fun of me...' she thought weakly to herself. She blinked back more tears, but that did little to stop the flow that threatened to burst loose. 'Doesn't she like me? Doesn't she care how I feel?' she asked herself, still in a haze from her sudden rejection and the black haired woman's stinging words. Was she a lesbian? Did it matter? She just wanted someone to love her. Just like everyone else. And that certainly wasn't why she didn't have any friends. It was just that... no one liked her. Arael just watched her impassively as she sat back on the bed, making no attempt to stop the tears that fell to the hands on Chisato's lap. She whimpered weakly as she blinked rapidly behind her small glasses. "But... But... I like you..." she got out amid her sobs. 
  359.37 +
  359.38 +Arael shrugged. "Not my problem. I don't need your moody childish melodrama. I'm just waiting for you to set me free so I can finally get away from all of this crap. If you like me, then that's your problem. Use the key and force me to hold down some girl you have the hots for at school. But I won't be your sex toy. It's not in my job description," the demoness retorted, watching the schoolgirl's tears with detached interest. She idly wondered how they tasted. So many had cried at her feet after the atrocites she had committed. It was nice to see her 'mistress' finally crying because of her for once. It showed that she wasn't completely powerless afterall. She could still bring about those tears of desolation even in this schoolgirl. It just took a little more work. 
  359.39 +
  359.40 +"I don't want anyone else... I just want you.. to love me..." Chisato got out painfully. How could she? How could she simply brush her off like that? And make fun of her while she did? 'I thought she liked me...' Chisato thought among the flurry of dark and desperate thoughts that filled her head. She thought about going downstairs, running away from the only person she thought cared about her, of picking up her father's gun... But a sudden realization hit her. Why she had been saved suddenly made sense. 'She can't let me die. I hold the key to her freedom.' That merely brought fresh tears to her almond eyes, spilling down her already wet cheeks. So she really didn't mean anything to the demon. She was stuck as her mistress while the older woman just wanted to get away from her. "I... I... I could.. make you..." she got out weakly, her tear stained hands held tightly to her chest as she watched the black haired woman. 
  359.41 +
  359.42 +Arael laughed at the schoolgirl's statement. "You what? The hell you could. You could barely even stop me from killing that boy at your school. You're too weakwilled. You have the key, but you're not strong enough to use it." She stared at the younger girl derisively. "I can't believe I'm stuck to such a pathetic girl. I've killed countless people like you as they groveled at me feet. You should just set me free if you want me to leave you alone. Then you can go back to what you always do. Hide from the pain. Isn't that the only thing you're good at?"
  359.43 +
  359.44 +Bitter sobs wracked Chisato's body as she held herself tightly. Her glasses hung at the end of her nose, her blurry eyes looking right above them. Every one of Arael's words burned at her soul, cutting into her with more force than the demon's talons. Her hands clutched the key, holding it until it cut into her hand, blood slowly dripping along with her tears. The black haired woman simply laughed, but Chisato couldn't hear her anymore. She felt so alone. So cold. "I want... I want you... I want you to kiss me!" she got out at last, choking back a sob. 
  359.45 +
  359.46 +Arael's eyes went wide as she realized just how serious the schoolgirl was. She hadn't known such determination was in the small, quiet girl. She struggled as the key lit up, her body beginning to work against her. She snarled as she tried desperately to keep the spell from working. She wasn't going to give in to this weak little bitch. But the spell was too much for her. She was bound to Chisato, like it or not. Her eyes ablaze, she found her lips on a trembling Chisato's, kissing her again and again, licking away tears that fell down her cheeks. They tasted as delicious as Arael could remember, but somehow she no longer cared much for them. 
  359.47 +
  359.48 +"I want you to hold me," Chisato whispered weakly, between Arael's kisses. Her tears still fell wetly down her cheeks as she continued to cry, leaning into Arael's embrace. The other woman continued to kiss her, just as she had commanded. Chisato whimpered weakly against the demon. It did feel nice to be held. It did feel nice to be kissed. It felt nice not to be alone anymore. Even if Arael didn't want to be with her, she still was. She still had her company. Even if she didn't want to kiss her, she still did. She still held her. Because she had to. So Chisato didn't have to be alone, didn't have to be unloved. Standing on her tiptoes, she returned Arael's kisses, melting into her embrace. 'You're mine, Arael-san. I'll make you love me.'
  359.49 \ No newline at end of file

   360.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   360.2 +++ b/stories/havebeenfate.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   360.3 @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
   360.4 +"It must have been fate"
   360.5 +	by Sara Jaye
   360.6 +
   360.7 +	Hi. ^^ Sara Jaye again, with something a liiittle different than
   360.8 +the usual stuff. ^_^;; I came up with this on the spur of the moment,
   360.9 +while in another one of my introspective trances and thinking about
  360.10 +the Sailor Moon S manga translation I read. I just love the quote
  360.11 +from Hotaru as she returns ChibiUsa's heart crystal: "We're both
  360.12 +girls, but it's strange. It must have been fate that we met". How
  360.13 +romantic! ^=^
  360.14 +	But anyway...
  360.15 +	This is a short, introspective look at ChibiUsa's thoughts after
  360.16 +Hotaru's sacrifice. Not as angsty as most of my other works, but it
  360.17 +is rather sad in a way.
  360.18 +	Enough disclaimer. On with the story. ^_^;;
  360.19 +
  360.20 +[Disclaimers: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei
  360.21 +animation. None of the characters belong to me.
  360.22 +This is a yuri/shoujo ai fanfiction, meaning love between 2 girls.
  360.23 +If you are offended by this, then I suggest you leave immediately.
  360.24 +Reading this, being offended/shocked/disgusted, and flaming me will
  360.25 +result in me being very pissed off. And trust me, you do not want
  360.26 +that to happen. Same to you ChibiUsa-haters. But if none of the above
  360.27 +apply to you, enjoy! ^_^]
  360.28 +
  360.29 +
  360.30 +				~
  360.31 +
  360.32 +
  360.33 +"We're both girls, but it's strange. It must have been fate that we
  360.34 +met."
  360.35 +
  360.36 +Moments after you're gone, those words still repeat in my mind.
  360.37 +
  360.38 +Fate...
  360.39 +
  360.40 +It's so very cruel. I met you, became attached to you, and now I've
  360.41 +lost you...
  360.42 +
  360.43 +Yes, you did sacrifice yourself to save me, but the fact remains
  360.44 +that you're gone. And I'm left with this sad emptiness, knowing I'll
  360.45 +probably never see you again.
  360.46 +
  360.47 +My best friend...no...this feeling is stronger than just friendship.
  360.48 +
  360.49 +{"It must have been fate that we met..."}
  360.50 +
  360.51 +Fate...
  360.52 +
  360.53 +Just like my mother and father, destined to be together...fate
  360.54 +brought them together...
  360.55 +
  360.56 +Hotaru-chan...you were more than just a friend.
  360.57 +
  360.58 +{"It's good we met. I'm glad we became friends, Chibi-Usa-chan.
  360.59 +Thank you. Goodbye."}
  360.60 +
  360.61 +No, Hotaru-chan. Thank you.
  360.62 +
  360.63 +You gave your life up to give me back mine. You just wanted to save
  360.64 +me...
  360.65 +
  360.66 +More than just a friend.
  360.67 +
  360.68 +And now that I've realized, it's too late. You're gone...
  360.69 +
  360.70 +Hotaru-chan...
  360.71 +
  360.72 +				~
  360.73 +
  360.74 +	The solemn pink-haired girl looked down at her brooch, her crimson
  360.75 +eyes filling with tears.
  360.76 +
  360.77 +	'Aishiteru, Hotaru-chan,' she thought as her tears began to fall.
  360.78 +
  360.79 +				~End~
  360.80 +
  360.81 +	Yay! Another fanfic I finished in one night! ^_^ I love that
  360.82 +feeling...finishing a story gives me a bit of a high, in a sense.
  360.83 +^_^;; Anyways, I won't bother with a long anfternote here, just
  360.84 +thanks to Heather-sama for sending the manga translation and
  360.85 +inspiring me to come up with this. ^^ (And an apology for not doing
  360.86 +the same in the afternote to my first Tomoyo&Sakura story. ^^;;; How
  360.87 +that slipped my mine I will never know. O_o So I'll thank her for the
  360.88 +inspiration to write that as well. ^_^;) You can read her wonderful
  360.89 +fanfiction at http://fly.to/moonlit_nights.
  360.90 +	Ja ne! ^_^
  360.91 \ No newline at end of file

   361.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   361.2 +++ b/stories/highheel.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   361.3 @@ -0,0 +1,278 @@
   361.4 +High heel Shoes
   361.5 +
   361.6 +
   361.7 +
   361.8 +	"I don't know Hotaru.  Do you think I can?"
   361.9 +
  361.10 +	"Sure you can.  Have to try it out first."
  361.11 +
  361.12 +	"Well, alright."  Usagi stood up wearing high heels.  She stood wobbling a 
  361.13 +bit, nearly losing her balance.  She took a step and fell to the floor face 
  361.14 +first.  "Waaahhhh!"  Hotaru giggled and helped her up.
  361.15 +
  361.16 +	"Easy now.  It'll take time to get use to heels."  
  361.17 +
  361.18 +	Usagi threw off the heels and sat cross legged and arms crossed.  "Hmph!  
  361.19 +Sometimes being a princess sucks.  Hate heels!"  
  361.20 +
  361.21 +	Hotaru grabbed the heels and put them on.  She walked around lightly and 
  361.22 +carefully, also gracefully.  "See, not that hard."  Then she turned one way and 
  361.23 +nearly stumbled.  "Opps.  Well, almost.  Just give it more practice."
  361.24 +
  361.25 +	"I'm never going to get this!"  
  361.26 +
  361.27 +	Hotaru jumped on the bed and looked down at Usagi.  "Well ya have to, 
  361.28 +being fifteen we have to look very graceful."  Hotaru gave a fancy gesture 
  361.29 +emphasizing the point.  "Especially you.  Being princess to the Neo King and Neo 
  361.30 +Queen of Crystal Tokyo."
  361.31 +
  361.32 +	"Mom wasn't this graceful when she was fifteen.  She could barely stand on 
  361.33 +her two legs back then."  Usagi remembered and laughed.  "She fell down on her 
  361.34 +face several times."
  361.35 +
  361.36 +	"Yeah and look at her now.  She's very graceful and beautiful."  
  361.37 +
  361.38 +	Usagi sat up and sat next to Hotaru.  "Most of the time, she still falls 
  361.39 +on her face, like at the meeting last week.  Right in front of the court and 
  361.40 +everybody."  The both laughed.  "Mom is still a bit clumsy."
  361.41 +
  361.42 +	"Yeah and you inherited."  
  361.43 +
  361.44 +	Usagi grabbed one of the pillows and wacked Hotaru with it.  Hotaru 
  361.45 +grabbed a pillow and countered.  A full fledge pillow fight began and the two 
  361.46 +started to swing hard and fast.  Feathers started to escape and loud laughing 
  361.47 +fun were heard.  Slam Slam Slam, then a knock at the door.  The door opened, 
  361.48 +just when Usagi threw the pillow, Hotaru ducked and hit who ever was in the 
  361.49 +doorway.
  361.50 +
  361.51 +	"SMALL LADY!!"  Usagi looked and it was her mom.  Neo Queen Serenity spat 
  361.52 +out the feathers in her mouth and got up.  "Well aren't we having fun."
  361.53 +
  361.54 +	"Sorry mom."  
  361.55 +
  361.56 +	She dusted herself off and got up.  She held the pillow and looked at it.  
  361.57 +"I remember doing this when I was at your age.  Had a lot of fun."
  361.58 +
  361.59 +	"Yeah, do you remember a long time ago mom?"
  361.60 +
  361.61 +	"Yup.  During when you were around and I was just a teenager."
  361.62 +
  361.63 +	"Yup, we use to have pillow fights back then too.  And you lost to me."  
  361.64 +
  361.65 +	Neo Queen Serenity laughed.  "That I did.  Only because I didn't want my 
  361.66 +daughter to get hurt."  Usagi closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out, then she 
  361.67 +was flattened by a pillow.  "Hm.  Well, I guess you know why I told you not to 
  361.68 +stick your tongue out."  She laughed a bit more.  "I win this round."  
  361.69 +
  361.70 +	Usagi giggled.  "Okay okay, you win one."
  361.71 +
  361.72 +	"Anyways, your father and I will be attending a business trip to the moon 
  361.73 +today.  Construction of the new Moon Kingdom is well underway."
  361.74 +
  361.75 +	"How long are you going to be gone?"
  361.76 +
  361.77 +	"We'll be back by dinner time.  Oh have to go now, be back later, love 
  361.78 +ya."  Right before Neo Queen Serenity closed the door. . .
  361.79 +
  361.80 +	"Hey mom."  Usagi threw the pillow straight at her mom's face, but she 
  361.81 +kneeled, and hit someone else.  Neo King Endymion appeared holding the pillow.  
  361.82 +He laughed and threw the pillow back on the bed softly.
  361.83 +
  361.84 +	"Your mom and I use to pillow fight all the time."  He winked.
  361.85 +
  361.86 +	"Oh come'on now dear, let's not give our daughter any ideas."  The two 
  361.87 +left and headed straight for the moon teleporter.
  361.88 +
  361.89 +	Usagi jumped up on the bed and laughed.  "Well, my parents are gone.  What 
  361.90 +do you want to do now?  Go shopping?"  
  361.91 +
  361.92 +	Hotaru looked at the high heels and smiled.  "Let's work on your high 
  361.93 +heels."  
  361.94 +
  361.95 +	Usagi stopped jumping and landed next to Hotaru.  "Why?  That's boring.  I 
  361.96 +want to do something fun while my parents are gone."  
  361.97 +
  361.98 +	Hotaru looked at her in the eyes.  "It'll be fun, don't worry.  Okay, 
  361.99 +watch me in the heels alright."  Hotaru put them on and walked around.  "See 
 361.100 +watch the way you walk, carry yourself gracefully, and don't place your weight 
 361.101 +unevenly."  She nearly stumbled again.  "Well, sometimes it depends on your own 
 361.102 +wait also.  This jacket could be too heavy."  Hotaru threw the jacket off and 
 361.103 +started to walk around, posing and giving a few shakes.  Usagi liked seeing 
 361.104 +this.  Hotaru was very good at it.
 361.105 +
 361.106 +	"Hey, that's great."
 361.107 +
 361.108 +	"Well, yup it is."  Hotaru raised her hands and posed a bit more.  "I 
 361.109 +could be a fashion model."
 361.110 +
 361.111 +	"Oh you could pose for Setsuna's brand of clothing."
 361.112 +
 361.113 +	"That I could."  She gave a few more poses and then a small kick.  "I just 
 361.114 +had a naughty thought."
 361.115 +
 361.116 +	"What?"  
 361.117 +
 361.118 +	Hotaru smiled.  "Well, I feel like a stripper now.  This is almost like 
 361.119 +those type of high heels that they wear."  
 361.120 +
 361.121 +	Usagi blushed.  "Well, you are what you think you are."  
 361.122 +
 361.123 +	Hotaru winked and turned around.  "Oh are you asking that you want a 
 361.124 +show?"
 361.125 +
 361.126 +	"Maybe."  
 361.127 +
 361.128 +	Hotaru smiled and winked again.  "I think you do."  She bent over and 
 361.129 +looked at Usagi right between her legs.  She stood right back up and untucked 
 361.130 +her shirt and started to play around with it, slowly giving glimpsed of her 
 361.131 +stomach area.  She continued to dance around a bit and finally got her shirt 
 361.132 +right off.  She showed off her white cotton bra and lightly touched it.  Usagi 
 361.133 +blushed deep red and liked what she saw.  Hotaru raised her hands up to the air 
 361.134 +again and stretched.  She lightly bent forward giving a peek of her crevice.  
 361.135 +She lightly bounced a bit and smiled a seductive smile.  She licked her lips and 
 361.136 +licked it once more.  She patted her shorts on and started to slowly remove it.
 361.137 +
 361.138 +	"Oh wow, this is great!"
 361.139 +
 361.140 +	"So you like what you see Chibi?"
 361.141 +
 361.142 +	"Oh yeah!"  
 361.143 +
 361.144 +	Hotaru continued to be mocking and teasing, she just slowly took her 
 361.145 +shorts off.  Half way down, right at her knees she gave shimmy that made Usagi 
 361.146 +fall back into the bed.  It went on, then Hotaru's shorts came off and she 
 361.147 +kicked it right to Usagi.  She held on to it and hugged it tight.  Now Hotaru 
 361.148 +continued on to dance a bit more, adding a bump and grind method.  She turned 
 361.149 +her back again and unfastened her bra.  She winked at Usagi and slid the bra 
 361.150 +right off her.  She still had her back turned and she tossed the bra towards 
 361.151 +Usagi.  She turned around quickly and covered her breasts.  She lightly cupped 
 361.152 +them and had a saucy smile on her lips.  She licked her lips again and lightly 
 361.153 +moved her fingers away.  Only a portion remained covering her nipples, Hotaru 
 361.154 +bent over and showed off her crevice again.
 361.155 +
 361.156 +	"Do you want to see this Chibi?"
 361.157 +
 361.158 +	"Ofcourse I do!"  
 361.159 +
 361.160 +	She removed her hands slowly and showed her full breasts to Usagi.  She 
 361.161 +moved side to side, she gave a full front view, a side view, and another crevice 
 361.162 +view.  She squeezed them a bit and lightly pinched her own nipples.  She bounced 
 361.163 +around a bit and swayed also, she gave Usagi a full on breast show that left her 
 361.164 +totally blushing and excited.  Hotaru smiled and crawled onto bed and towards 
 361.165 +Usagi.  She smiled and lightly kissed Usagi on the lips.  They let their tongue 
 361.166 +mingle a bit and Hotaru continued.  She touched Usagi's chest and rubbed a bit 
 361.167 +of them.  She felt the bra right through the shirt and traced it all the way to 
 361.168 +the straps in the back.  Hotaru rubbed her cheeks with Usagi's covered breasts 
 361.169 +while she reached under her shirt and unfastened Usagi's bra.  Usagi smiled and 
 361.170 +pulled off her bra giving a very glimpsed view of her nipples, but were covered 
 361.171 +by her shirt.  Hotaru placed her hands on Usagi's covered breasts and started to 
 361.172 +massage them.  She located both nipples and gave each a playful pinch.  Usagi 
 361.173 +moaned out and also giggled.
 361.174 +
 361.175 +	"You're good Hotaru."
 361.176 +
 361.177 +	"No, even better."  Hotaru reached low and started to touch around Usagi's 
 361.178 +rear end.  She tugged on her shorts and wanted to pull them right off.  Usagi 
 361.179 +leaned back so they could come off and they did.  Hotaru fling them to the floor 
 361.180 +and couldn't care less about them anymore.   She touched her jewel area and felt 
 361.181 +it moisten, Usagi returned the favor and noticed Hotaru too was also a bit damp.  
 361.182 +They both looked at each other and in almost at the same instance they both 
 361.183 +striped their panties off and revealed themselves to each other.  They both 
 361.184 +giggled and awed in pleasure.  They both lightly touched each other and rubbed 
 361.185 +their faces against each other.  Usagi gained some control and leaned Hotaru 
 361.186 +back, her hands reached down to touch her sex and her kissing went to Hotaru's 
 361.187 +breasts.  Hotaru was very figured, same with Usagi.  Both having lovely firm 
 361.188 +generous breasts that were sensitive to touch.  Usagi licked around and lightly 
 361.189 +pinched at Hotaru's nipples.  She continued on and Hotaru let her sounds of 
 361.190 +pleasure escape her lips.  Usagi moved onto one nipple and began to suckle.  Her 
 361.191 +hand reached for the other and gave it a squeeze and massaging it back and 
 361.192 +forth.  The other hand lightly brushed against Hotaru's sex and dampened her 
 361.193 +even more.  After receiving a lot of loving pleasure Hotaru flipped over Usagi 
 361.194 +so that now she was on top of her.  Her head moved down to Usagi's sex.  She 
 361.195 +licked around the area so well it made Usagi whimper in frustration.  She wanted 
 361.196 +her to touch her area so bad, but she was taking her sweet time getting there.  
 361.197 +Licks continued on and on, driving Usagi crazy.  Finally, oh finally Hotaru 
 361.198 +reached her sex area and started to lick in her.  Her tongue touched inside and 
 361.199 +it felt explosively good.  Usagi moaned out louder and louder at each passing 
 361.200 +stroke of Hotaru's tongue.  Then her tongue focused on something else, something 
 361.201 +classified to some as the love button.  Flicked a bit more and Usagi neared her 
 361.202 +climax, then she gave more attention and care and gave it a final silky lick.  
 361.203 +Usagi screamed out in passion as on orgasm racked her body shooting great jolts 
 361.204 +of electrical pleasure through out her body.  Hotaru moved up and saw the 
 361.205 +panting Usagi drifting back on a cloud of bliss, but she had other plans, how 
 361.206 +about another trip.  She lifted her shirt right off and quickly started to suck 
 361.207 +and squeeze Usagi's breast.  She got aggressive and was determined for one more 
 361.208 +climax for Usagi.  Her lips sucked anxiously and her fingers held a breast, but 
 361.209 +then fingers traveled down lower and lower.  They were brushing against her 
 361.210 +jewel and continued.  Usagi had no time to recover and was thrown off the cloud 
 361.211 +of bliss and headed straight for heaven once again.  Hotaru inserted two fingers 
 361.212 +into Usagi and started to move it in and out of her.  Usagi cried out repeatedly 
 361.213 +saying,
 361.214 +
 361.215 +	"Hotaru, that feels good, please don't stop."
 361.216 +
 361.217 +	The movements became faster and faster, Hotaru continued to suckle nicely 
 361.218 +at Usagi's firm breasts.  Then finale has arrived and struck Usagi with an 
 361.219 +indescribable pleasure.   Usagi screamed out in joy as she let yet another 
 361.220 +climax overwhelm her.  She drifted slowly on that cloud of bliss relaxing and 
 361.221 +recovering from a lovely orgasm.
 361.222 +
 361.223 +	Hotaru moved on Usagi and gave her a kiss.  Then after the kiss Usagi 
 361.224 +decided it was time to return the favor in full, maybe with interest.  She gave 
 361.225 +good view of Hotaru first.
 361.226 +
 361.227 +	"Hey, you still have the high heels on."
 361.228 +
 361.229 +	"Oh I should remove it."
 361.230 +
 361.231 +	"No, leave it, makes you look more sexy."  
 361.232 +
 361.233 +	Usagi touched Hotaru's soft body with a passion.  She rubbed her soft 
 361.234 +gentle hands with Hotaru's sensitive breast, touching her nipples.  She rubbed 
 361.235 +both of them and pinched both nipples.  Usagi massaged them in a circular motion 
 361.236 +and gave them much pleasure.  Hotaru sighed in gratefulness and glee.  Having a 
 361.237 +wonderful person like Usagi was a grand treasure.  Rubbing more and more made 
 361.238 +Hotaru even more excited.  Usagi then stopped her breast caressing and moved 
 361.239 +lower to Hotaru's sex.  She directly focused her attention and licked her 
 361.240 +neither lips.  Hotaru writhed in pleasure, moving her head back and forth, with 
 361.241 +her own hands at her breast, pinching herself lightly.  Usagi continued on, 
 361.242 +further she went in with her tongue, she made Hotaru yell out loud in delightful 
 361.243 +moans and groans.  Further and further in went on and Hotaru continued contain 
 361.244 +herself any more, she let out a loud cry of exploding passion, her orgasm 
 361.245 +reached her.  Usagi heard and continued on, she focused now on Hotaru's love 
 361.246 +button and gave it loving licks.  Hotaru whimpered more and rubbed her own 
 361.247 +breast, she lost all thought, all but one, to get there again.  She had barely 
 361.248 +recovered from her first orgasm when a second one reached her.  She screamed 
 361.249 +louder than before and her body shook from the massive.  Usagi stopped and went 
 361.250 +to Hotaru and kissed her lightly.
 361.251 +
 361.252 +	"Well, how was it?"
 361.253 +
 361.254 +	"Your very good Chibi, oh I feel so good."
 361.255 +
 361.256 +	"Yeah me too.  And beat.  Hey, you still have the high heels on."
 361.257 +
 361.258 +	"Oh yeah.  You know, your right, it did add something."
 361.259 +
 361.260 +	"Really?"
 361.261 +
 361.262 +	"Yup."
 361.263 +
 361.264 +	"Then I'll have to learn how to walk in high heels right away."
 361.265 +
 361.266 +	"When do you want to start?"
 361.267 +
 361.268 +	"After this nap, care to join me?"
 361.269 +
 361.270 +	"Sure.  Just lead the way to slumber land."
 361.271 +
 361.272 +	"Yeah."  Usagi yawned.  "Dream about you in high heels and nothing else."
 361.273 +
 361.274 +	"Me, dream about you and falling down on high heels."  Usagi whacked 
 361.275 +Hotaru with a pillow.  "Okay okay, falling down and I come to help you in a 
 361.276 +way."
 361.277 +
 361.278 +	"Yeah.  Sleep well."
 361.279 +
 361.280 +	"Same to you."  And the two drifted off to sleep, with Hotaru still 
 361.281 +wearing the high heels.

   362.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   362.2 +++ b/stories/hotaru2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   362.3 @@ -0,0 +1,361 @@
   362.4 +Teenage Life (for young senshi)
   362.5 +
   362.6 +Usagi slept soundly in her bed dreaming of pink and peaceful quiet.  Her 
   362.7 +eyes slightly open to embrace the morning.  The only problem was that she 
   362.8 +was fifteen minutes late for her morning history class.
   362.9 +
  362.10 +Usagi:  OOOOOHHHH NOOOOOO!!!
  362.11 +
  362.12 +Usagi literally jumped out of bed and ran right to her closet, there were a 
  362.13 +few banging sounds heard in but she emerged dressed up for school though her 
  362.14 +clothes were a bit wrinkled from the mess.
  362.15 +
  362.16 +Usagi:  I should have cleaned my room, I should have at least cleaned my 
  362.17 +closest, oh what a mess!!  Third time this week!!
  362.18 +
  362.19 +She ran out of the door with her bag in hand and rushed over to her class. 
  362.20 +In class, the instructor was giving a brief summary of the days plan when 
  362.21 +suddenly Usagi barged into the door, out of breath and collapsed on the 
  362.22 +floor.
  362.23 +
  362.24 +Usagi:  Sorry . . . I'm late.
  362.25 +
  362.26 +Instructor:  Hmmm, class!  This is an example of what happens when you try 
  362.27 +to be on time but it is well already over twenty minute's pass.
  362.28 +
  362.29 +Usagi:  I'm really sorry.
  362.30 +
  362.31 +Instructor:  This is the third time Usagi.  You must wake up earlier.
  362.32 +
  362.33 +Usagi:  Yes ma'am.
  362.34 +
  362.35 +Instructor:  Well, luckily for you I don't report in but if it was another 
  362.36 +teacher you would have already been disciplined.  Now take your seat and 
  362.37 +copy down whatever is on the board.
  362.38 +
  362.39 +Usagi got up and walked over to her desk near the front of the class.  
  362.40 +Hotaru looked at her and smiled.
  362.41 +
  362.42 +Hotaru:  Need an alarm clock?
  362.43 +
  362.44 +Usagi looked back at Hotaru and stuck her tongue out.
  362.45 +
  362.46 +Usagi:  Funny, very funny.
  362.47 +
  362.48 +Hotaru:  Well, you haven't missed much, just some note taking.
  362.49 +
  362.50 +Usagi:  Could I just copy yours later, I'm really tired right now.
  362.51 +
  362.52 +Hotaru:  Anybody would get tired after running down fifteen flights of 
  362.53 +stairs and running half way through the palace just to get to History 124.  
  362.54 +I bet you could be part of the 100 meter dash team.
  362.55 +
  362.56 +Usagi stuck her tongue out again and turned away and laid her head down.
  362.57 +
  362.58 +Usagi:  Awwwww shaddup!!
  362.59 +
  362.60 +After class Hotaru and Usagi walked out and headed towards their locker.
  362.61 +
  362.62 +Usagi:  Class was boring.  I didn't learn anything.
  362.63 +
  362.64 +Hotaru:  Maybe if you paid more attention rather than trying to draw our 
  362.65 +instructor.
  362.66 +
  362.67 +Usagi blushed and sweatdropped.  Not only she didn't do anything in class 
  362.68 +but her sketches didn't quiet look like the way she wanted them to be.
  362.69 +
  362.70 +Hotaru:  Well I got two hours before I got Art.
  362.71 +
  362.72 +Usagi:  Ha, I got two hours as well before Gymnastics.
  362.73 +
  362.74 +Hotaru:  Always the physical type aren'tcha.
  362.75 +
  362.76 +Usagi:  Hey, Aunt Minako is the best!  I wanna be just like her!
  362.77 +
  362.78 +Hotaru:  Yeah I heard this before, you also wanna be as good as a cook as 
  362.79 +aunt Makoto, be as smart as Aunt Ami, be good in music like aunt Rei and 
  362.80 +Michiru.
  362.81 +
  362.82 +Usagi giggled.
  362.83 +
  362.84 +Usagi:  Nothing wrong with having a lot of goals.
  362.85 +
  362.86 +They got to their locker and were fumbling with their locks.
  362.87 +
  362.88 +Hotaru:  Well maybe if you be a bit more responsible.
  362.89 +
  362.90 +Usagi:  I am responsible!
  362.91 +
  362.92 +Usagi opened the locker and a mess of paper and books fell out, including 
  362.93 +weeks old lunches that she hadn't ate.
  362.94 +
  362.95 +Hotaru:  Yup!  Your responsible for this mess alright.
  362.96 +
  362.97 +Usagi:  Awwwwww shut up!!
  362.98 +
  362.99 +-----
 362.100 +
 362.101 +Hotaru finished her last class for the day and waited for Usagi to finish 
 362.102 +hers at the Physical Training Center.
 362.103 +
 362.104 +Hotaru:  La, la, la, five more minutes more.
 362.105 +
 362.106 +Girl1:  Hey Hotaru, what's shaking?
 362.107 +
 362.108 +Hotaru:  Nothing much, just waiting for Usagi.
 362.109 +
 362.110 +Girl1:  Aren't you two a lovely couple.
 362.111 +
 362.112 +Hotaru:  So many may say.
 362.113 +
 362.114 +Girl2:  Hotaru!  Hey!  Waiting for Usagi again?
 362.115 +
 362.116 +Hotaru:  As always.
 362.117 +
 362.118 +Girl2:  Lucky!  Always getting the cute lovable huggable ones!
 362.119 +
 362.120 +The three chat a bit when a few other friends appear at the scene.
 362.121 +
 362.122 +Boy1:  Hey girls, what's up?
 362.123 +
 362.124 +Girl1:  Nothing Boni.  You just finished class?
 362.125 +
 362.126 +Boy1:  Yeah, I just hate Math!  The teachers freaky!
 362.127 +
 362.128 +Girl1:  Not as freaky as you and Regal.
 362.129 +
 362.130 +Boy2:  Did I hear my name?
 362.131 +
 362.132 +Girl2:  Um yeah, it has.
 362.133 +
 362.134 +The girls giggled a bit.
 362.135 +
 362.136 +Boy1:  Oh there you are Regal.
 362.137 +
 362.138 +Hotaru:  Some how it just seems strange.
 362.139 +
 362.140 +Girl1:  What, that these two are dating?
 362.141 +
 362.142 +Hotaru:  No I mean their names!
 362.143 +
 362.144 +Boy1:  My name is cool, Boni!
 362.145 +
 362.146 +Girl2:  You've got a girl's name Bon Bon!
 362.147 +
 362.148 +Girl1:  And Regal?  Your not even royalty.
 362.149 +
 362.150 +Hotaru:  Yeah, Usagi is!
 362.151 +
 362.152 +Boy2:  So what?  I mean what sorta name is Linka and Rira.
 362.153 +
 362.154 +Girl1/Girl2:  Shut up gay boys!
 362.155 +
 362.156 +Boy1:  You too!
 362.157 +
 362.158 +Boy2:  Your gay too!
 362.159 +
 362.160 +Girl1:  Wrongo!  We're lesbians!
 362.161 +
 362.162 +Boy1:  Same thing!
 362.163 +
 362.164 +Boy2:  Yeah!
 362.165 +
 362.166 +Girl2:  Like whatervers!
 362.167 +
 362.168 +The four argue on the side while Hotaru watched in amusement, things always 
 362.169 +seem comical with those four.  They argue a lot but they never mean anything 
 362.170 +they say, it's all for fun.
 362.171 +
 362.172 +Hotaru:  I think they should join the speech and debate team.
 362.173 +
 362.174 +Hotaru looked at her watch, twenty minutes has passed.
 362.175 +
 362.176 +Hotaru:  Opps, better head in.
 362.177 +
 362.178 +Hotaru walked into the gym and everyone has cleared out, all except Usagi 
 362.179 +who was just sitting on the blue cushion mat resting.  Hotaru walked over 
 362.180 +and sat next to her.
 362.181 +
 362.182 +Hotaru:  Hey, why aren't ya dressed yet?
 362.183 +
 362.184 +Usagi:  Huh, oh nothing just um meditating.
 362.185 +
 362.186 +Hotaru:  Yeah sure, whatevers.
 362.187 +
 362.188 +The two giggled.  They both sat back, Hotaru passed a water bottle to Usagi 
 362.189 +and they both conversed.
 362.190 +
 362.191 +Usagi:  I think I learned a new move today.
 362.192 +
 362.193 +Hotaru:  Really, is this better than your fury fists.
 362.194 +
 362.195 +Usagi:  Way better!  Anyway the fury fists need just a bit work.
 362.196 +
 362.197 +Hotaru:  You mean a lot more.
 362.198 +
 362.199 +Usagi:  Nevermind that, lemme show you the newest move called the Usagi 
 362.200 +Drop.
 362.201 +
 362.202 +Hotaru:  Usagi Drop?  Um okay.
 362.203 +
 362.204 +Hotaru sweatdropped at the name, it just seemed too weird.  They both stood 
 362.205 +up in stance, they were sparring a bit.  Usagi rushed in and performed 
 362.206 +various punches and kicks but Hotaru managed to evade and block them.  
 362.207 +Hotaru started to perform her own offensive attacks but they too were evaded 
 362.208 +and guarded easily.  Usagi rushed in with a right hook, Hotaru guarded, the 
 362.209 +guard was then reversed and Usagi grabbed Hotaru's arm. Usagi managed to put 
 362.210 +Hotaru's hand right between her legs, Usagi got behind her, then picked her 
 362.211 +up and suplexed her backwards.
 362.212 +
 362.213 +Usagi:  Ha ha, that's the Usagi Drop, what da ya think of that?
 362.214 +
 362.215 +Hotaru clapped her hands, Usagi turned around and saw Hotaru standing 
 362.216 +straight up as if nothing happened.
 362.217 +
 362.218 +Hotaru:  Nice but it's easy to roll out of it.
 362.219 +
 362.220 +Usagi:  Nuts!  I must work on it!
 362.221 +
 362.222 +Hotaru:  Maybe if you did this instead.
 362.223 +
 362.224 +Usagi:  Huh?  Waaaa!!!
 362.225 +
 362.226 +Hotaru grabbed Usagi's arm, placed it between Usagi's legs and got behind 
 362.227 +her.  Hotaru scooped her up and then dropped Usagi straight down.
 362.228 +
 362.229 +Usagi:  Ooouuuuuu HOTARU!!!
 362.230 +
 362.231 +Hotaru:  Maybe so maybe something like that.  I call that, Hotaru Drop!
 362.232 +
 362.233 +Usagi smiled devilishly and front tackled Hotaru down.
 362.234 +
 362.235 +Usagi:  My move my move my move!!!
 362.236 +
 362.237 +Hotaru rolled over so now she was on top.
 362.238 +
 362.239 +Hotaru:  Say uncle!
 362.240 +
 362.241 +Usagi:  Uncle Artemis!
 362.242 +
 362.243 +The two laughed as they both sat up.
 362.244 +
 362.245 +Hotaru:  Usagi you smell, you should go take a shower.
 362.246 +
 362.247 +Usagi:  Yeah!  I should.
 362.248 +
 362.249 +Hotaru:  I think I should take a shower too.  I'm starting to smell like 
 362.250 +you.
 362.251 +
 362.252 +-----
 362.253 +
 362.254 +They both headed back, away from the educational department aka school and 
 362.255 +headed back to the residential area of the palace.  They got to royal 
 362.256 +quarters which was pretty high up giving the best view of crystal tokyo.  
 362.257 +Just outside in the hall heading towards Usagi's room a few people passed 
 362.258 +by.
 362.259 +
 362.260 +Minako:  So I'm telling Ami that it would be best to go down to any clothing 
 362.261 +store and buy some sexy lingerie and striptease for her husband.
 362.262 +
 362.263 +Makoto:  Nothing like a frisky night of fun to get the juices flowing.
 362.264 +
 362.265 +Minako:  Literally speaking.
 362.266 +
 362.267 +Makoto:  Oh hi Chibi-Usa, just finished class?
 362.268 +
 362.269 +Usagi:  Yeah, and I'm not longer Chibi-usa, I'm Usagi!
 362.270 +
 362.271 +Minako:  Haa haa haa, we know but we're so use to calling you Chibi-usa, 
 362.272 +it's just a habit.
 362.273 +
 362.274 +Usagi:  It's okay aunt Minako.
 362.275 +
 362.276 +Makoto:  Now if you would excuse us we have to talk to your aunt Ami a bit.
 362.277 +
 362.278 +Hotaru:  About sexy lingerie?
 362.279 +
 362.280 +The two stopped in their tracks and sweatdropped, the teenagers over heard.
 362.281 +
 362.282 +Makoto:  Um, how about we do you two a favor if you forget what we said in 
 362.283 +the hall.
 362.284 +
 362.285 +Hotaru:  Well lesse . . .
 362.286 +
 362.287 +Usagi:  I don't want any classes for a month and we're even.
 362.288 +
 362.289 +Minako:  We can't do that, you need your education.
 362.290 +
 362.291 +Usagi:  Well then I guess I better go tell the council what you two talk 
 362.292 +about in your off time.
 362.293 +
 362.294 +Makoto:  Okay okay okay how about two days.
 362.295 +
 362.296 +Usagi:  No, too short, two weeks!
 362.297 +
 362.298 +Minako:  One week!
 362.299 +
 362.300 +Usagi:  A slim offer but I'll take it, this also applies to Hotaru alright.
 362.301 +
 362.302 +Hotaru:  But . . .
 362.303 +
 362.304 +Makoto:  Whatever but if we hear you've told someone we're gonna count those 
 362.305 +days as unexcused absence and you got not pay for a week.
 362.306 +
 362.307 +Usagi:  Nice doing business with ya.
 362.308 +
 362.309 +Hotaru:  But . . .
 362.310 +
 362.311 +Mianko and Makoto left and existed in the elevator.  Hotaru looked at Usagi 
 362.312 +with a glare.
 362.313 +
 362.314 +Hotaru:  But I like my classes.
 362.315 +
 362.316 +Usagi:  Oh come'on, I need some company during this whole week, just this 
 362.317 +once please.
 362.318 +
 362.319 +Hotaru:  Oh alright, just because it's you.
 362.320 +
 362.321 +Usagi:  Great!!  Let's celebrate!
 362.322 +
 362.323 +Usagi opened her door and both went in, Hotaru looked around and nearly 
 362.324 +collapsed from the mess.
 362.325 +
 362.326 +Hotaru:  You live like a pig.
 362.327 +
 362.328 +Usagi:  You live the way you live, I live the way I live.
 362.329 +
 362.330 +The two finally settled down, Hotaru cleaned up a bit but it would take more 
 362.331 +than fifteen minutes to clean up the mess, probably an hour or two.
 362.332 +
 362.333 +Hotaru:  Usagi, during this week we must clean your room.
 362.334 +
 362.335 +Usagi:  Alright fine, so now that we got the week what do you wanna do.
 362.336 +
 362.337 +Hotaru:  Well what do you wanna do?
 362.338 +
 362.339 +Usagi:  Oh I dunno.  Just relax.
 362.340 +
 362.341 +Usagi laid back on her bed, Hotaru sat next to her and looked down at Usagi.
 362.342 +
 362.343 +Hotaru:  That's all you want to do, just relax?
 362.344 +
 362.345 +Usagi:  Nothing like a little relaxing right?
 362.346 +
 362.347 +Hotaru:  Well, we could do other things.
 362.348 +
 362.349 +Usagi:  Huh?
 362.350 +
 362.351 +Hotaru: laid next to Usagi and relaxed too.
 362.352 +
 362.353 +Usagi:  Other things?
 362.354 +
 362.355 +Hotaru giggled and smiled, she turned over so now she was on top of Usagi.
 362.356 +
 362.357 +Hotaru:  Yeah you know, other things.
 362.358 +
 362.359 +Hotaru licked Usagi's face a bit and sent wild shivers down Usagi's spine.
 362.360 +
 362.361 +Usagi:  I see, other things . . .
 362.362 +
 362.363 +
 362.364 +

   363.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   363.2 +++ b/stories/hotchoc.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   363.3 @@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
   363.4 +                           Hot Chocolate
   363.5 +
   363.6 +I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the involved characters. This is
   363.7 +a Hentai
   363.8 +story so those under
   363.9 +18 or whatever shouldn't read it. This is my first fanfic so please
  363.10 +don't take
  363.11 +me as a crappy experienced writer, 
  363.12 +I am a crappy inexperienced writer. Please e-mail me at
  363.13 +tomoyo19892002@yahoo.com.
  363.14 +
  363.15 +Hotaru and Chibiusa struggled to carry Hotaru's bag down the street.
  363.16 +Hotaru's
  363.17 +'parents'
  363.18 +were going to be on vacation all summer so Hotaru was staying with
  363.19 +her best
  363.20 +friend.
  363.21 +The two girls (Now thirteen) finally got to the white house with the
  363.22 +red roof.
  363.23 +Serena's father carried the bag up the stairs while the two girls
  363.24 +followed him.
  363.25 +A few mineuts later Serena's mother came into the room with mugs of
  363.26 +hot
  363.27 +chocolate. 
  363.28 +"It's summer, we don't need hot chocolate" Chibiusa said when
  363.29 +Serena's mom left
  363.30 +the room.
  363.31 +Hotaru laughed, a noise Chibiusa loved to hear. Chibiusa had loved
  363.32 +her friend a 
  363.33 +very long time, and now she had all the time she needed to finally
  363.34 +confess.
  363.35 +Hotaru took a small sip from the mug. Chibiusa watched Hotaru's
  363.36 +cheeks flush
  363.37 +with the heat "You are so cute" Chibiusa blurted out . Hotaru smiled
  363.38 +"So are
  363.39 +you" she said.
  363.40 +Chibiusa smiled, her friend had not caught the comment's true
  363.41 +meaning "I brought
  363.42 +a movie" 
  363.43 +Hotaru told Chibiusa "Great! Which is it?" Chibiusa said "It's
  363.44 +rather childish,
  363.45 +it's about unicorns"
  363.46 +Hotaru replied, blushing at the immature movie she had brought.
  363.47 +"Cool, I'll put
  363.48 +it in" Chibiusa walked
  363.49 +to the TV and put the movie in.  Chibiusa wasn't focusing on the
  363.50 +beautiful
  363.51 +unicorn fighting the 
  363.52 +huge red bull, she was watching Hotaru, drinking her hot chocolate
  363.53 +while
  363.54 +entranced by the movie.
  363.55 +"Hotaru, I have something I want to tell you" Chibiusa said. Hotaru
  363.56 +snapped out
  363.57 +of her trance and gave Chibiusa 
  363.58 +her undivided attention "Ok, what is it?" Hotaru said curiously.
  363.59 +Chibiusa put
  363.60 +her hand on Hotaru's face "I'm not in love with 
  363.61 +Helios anymore" she said "I'm sorry Chibi-chan..." Hotaru said, her
  363.62 +purple eyes
  363.63 +truly looked it
  363.64 +"I'm in love with you, I have been for many years" She said "Oh,
  363.65 +Chibi. I love
  363.66 +you, too" Hotaru replied.
  363.67 +Chibiusa looked over at the bed, with the bunny sheets she had taken
  363.68 +from Usagi
  363.69 +when she moved in
  363.70 +with Mamorou. "Could we?..." Chibiusa trailed off, with no shame.
  363.71 +Hotaru
  363.72 +blushed... "Okay" She
  363.73 +said, unsure of herself "But I never-" but Chibiusa interuppted her
  363.74 +"Me
  363.75 +neither". She led her to the bed and 
  363.76 +gently laid her down, with her head on the pillow. She kissed her
  363.77 +for a long
  363.78 +time. Most would say
  363.79 +an eternity but it was too short a time for Chibiusa "Let's take
  363.80 +turns, instead
  363.81 +of at the same time"
  363.82 +she told her friend. Hotaru nodded, still blushing. Chibiusa kissed
  363.83 +down
  363.84 +Hotaru's neck and to her pale shoulders, she undressed her friend. 
  363.85 +She noticed not for the first time Hotaru's lovely figure. She
  363.86 +continued to kiss
  363.87 +her until she came to her breasts. She kissed
  363.88 +Hotaru's rosebuds before sucking on them. Hotaru let out a soft sigh
  363.89 +"Oh...Chibiusa..." she muttered as
  363.90 +Chibiusa kissed down her stomach and finally between her legs. She
  363.91 +massaged
  363.92 +Hotaru's inner thinghs until she opened
  363.93 +her long legs.She put her tongue at the bottom of her new lover's
  363.94 +pussy and
  363.95 +licked up to the top.
  363.96 +"Oh, Chibiusa..." Hotaru said, a bit louder. She  sucked on her clit
  363.97 +until
  363.98 +Hotaru's love juices flowed
  363.99 +onto the bed. She licked Hotaru's entrance slowly and circled it,
 363.100 +until she
 363.101 +finally thrust her tounge
 363.102 +inside of her angel-chan."Chibiusa!" Hotaru sighed, her hips bucked
 363.103 +as Chibusa
 363.104 +licked her clit.
 363.105 +Chibiusa parted her friend's lips, giving her acess to her
 363.106 +glistening pearl. She
 363.107 +sucked on it and licked
 363.108 +it until Hotaru came.
 363.109 +"CHIBI-USA-CHAN!!!" She screamed.
 363.110 +This gave Chibiusa the most satisfaction she had ever had. Nobody
 363.111 +heard Hotaru
 363.112 +scream her name, but
 363.113 +she couldn't care less.
 363.114 +"Thank you...Chibiusa" Hotaru panted.
 363.115 +"I think I enjoyed it more than you did" Chibiusa said. She wiped
 363.116 +the sweat off
 363.117 +every inch of
 363.118 +Hotaru's body and licked of every drop of cum.
 363.119 +"Chibi-chan...It's your turn..."Hotaru said.
 363.120 +Chibiusa took all her clothes off and laid down on the bed. Soon
 363.121 +Chibiusa felt
 363.122 +Hotaru's hands working
 363.123 +at her nipples. She cupped her breasts and lightly pinched at her
 363.124 +red nipples.
 363.125 +She felt Hotaru stoke
 363.126 +her entrance while pinching her nipple.  She slipped her finger into
 363.127 +Chibiusa
 363.128 +and pumped it in and out
 363.129 +"Hotaru-chan" Chibiusa moaned as she stroked her pearl, still
 363.130 +pumping her finger
 363.131 +into her.  Chibiusa
 363.132 +was coming near her orgasim, she looked at Hotaru's naked body and
 363.133 +came.
 363.134 +"HOTARU-CHAN!" She yelled.
 363.135 +Hotaru took her finger out and wiped off the cum and sweat with the
 363.136 +hankercheif.
 363.137 +She was worried someone 
 363.138 +had heard Chibiusa, but nobody had.
 363.139 +Chibiusa pulled Hotaru to lay down beside her. She laid her on the
 363.140 +inside of the
 363.141 +bed, Hotaru's favorite 
 363.142 +place to sleep.
 363.143 +"I love you, Hotaru-Angel" Chibiusa told her Raven-Haired friend.
 363.144 +"I love you, too, Odango-Chan" She replied
 363.145 +"Good, because I think Usagi's brother likes you" Chibiusa said.
 363.146 +They both
 363.147 +laughed.
 363.148 +"I wonder whay my mom will say when I tell her we're getting
 363.149 +married" Chibiusa
 363.150 +said, causing her new lover to laugh again.
 363.151 + She put her arms around Hotaru and kissed her. She put the sheets
 363.152 +in the washer
 363.153 +and got new ones.
 363.154 +They fell asleep naked in each other's arms.
 363.155 +Chibiusa awoke to find the lovely raven-haired angel in her arms,
 363.156 +asleep. The
 363.157 +sunlight poured down on her beautiful face.
 363.158 +It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She gently snuck
 363.159 +out of the
 363.160 +bed and slipped into a nightie.
 363.161 +She creeped down the stairs into the kitchen. She found a note:
 363.162 +
 363.163 +Dear Chibi-Usa,
 363.164 +  We went to see a movie and go shopping and run erands.
 363.165 +Won't be back until late, you and sweet little Hotaru behave!
 363.166 +
 363.167 +                                 Love,
 363.168 +                              Your Auntie
 363.169 +
 363.170 +Chibiusa made a delicious breakfast, she had enrolled in a cooking
 363.171 +class and
 363.172 +could make lots of good food. She made 
 363.173 +all of Hotaru's favorite breakfast foods. She gently walked back up
 363.174 +the stairs.
 363.175 +She walked to the bed side and brushed the hair from Hotaru's
 363.176 +face. She stroked her cheek and softly kissed her. Hotaru's lovely
 363.177 +eyes slowly
 363.178 +opened.
 363.179 +"Good morning Hotaru-Angel" Chibiusa said
 363.180 +it took her a few seconds to answer "Morning..." She said sleepily
 363.181 +"I made you breakfast" Chibiusa said.
 363.182 +Hotaru slipped into her own nightie (Much to the dissapointment of
 363.183 +Chibiusa) and
 363.184 +followed her lover downstairs.
 363.185 +"Oh! Odango-Chan! Did you do this all just for me?" She asked.
 363.186 +Chibiusa nodded, estatic with her love's happiness. She fed Hotaru.
 363.187 +She felt
 363.188 +herself getting damp
 363.189 +again.
 363.190 +"Hotaru, when you are finished, can we do a replay of 10:30-12:00
 363.191 +last night?"
 363.192 +Chibiusa asked
 363.193 +"I'm finished" Hotaru said.
 363.194 +
 363.195 +
 363.196 +*********************************************************************
 363.197 +**********************************************************************
 363.198 +***************
 363.199 +
 363.200 +What do you think? E-mail me at tomoyo19892002@yahoo.com and tell me
 363.201 +what you
 363.202 +think!   
 363.203 \ No newline at end of file

   364.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   364.2 +++ b/stories/illhap.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   364.3 @@ -0,0 +1,349 @@
   364.4 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
   364.5 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
   364.6 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
   364.7 +Author’s notes
   364.8 +
   364.9 +Hey, this is the standard disclaimer of your choice; CLAMP owns CCS
  364.10 +and so on…
  364.11 +Any way, I hope that you enjoy your reading and my stories.
  364.12 +I don’t know where this fits in, as I’ve only seen the American
  364.13 +dubbed version (<_>) so I won’t be using all of the correct Japanese
  364.14 +spellings, I don’t think. I will try to use some Japanese though, so
  364.15 +haannaay or hanya or what ever happy is in Japanese.
  364.16 +
  364.17 +There is Yuri in this story, so if you don’t like the thought of two
  364.18 +girls/women liking each other or having a relationship together,
  364.19 +evolve and grow up. On the other hand, you cant just not read this.
  364.20 +
  364.21 +I also made most of this story at about eleven until three in the
  364.22 +morning, sometimes past three, so I hope you can forgive any of my
  364.23 +faults (Godder Grammmer and crpa) and any of my screw-ups involving
  364.24 +the plot of the series… but I hope you like it anyway
  364.25 +
  364.26 +Illusions of happiness (should I tell if it is a happy or sad
  364.27 +ending? It is a bit sad, but also happy.)
  364.28 +
  364.29 +By Starlight Armor (my real name is Yuri, not kidding!!)
  364.30 +mdlp_student@yahoo.com
  364.31 +
  364.32 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
  364.33 +
  364.34 +This is where the narrator, which looks like a little plush teddy
  364.35 +bear we know, steps in to tell us what is happening.
  364.36 +
  364.37 +Kero, I mean Narrator: It was a sunny day, in Tomoeda, and Sakura
  364.38 +was running late, as usual. (So, once again, I didn’t get any
  364.39 +breakfast. <o_o>) Sakura is roller blading down the ohh too familiar
  364.40 +street that heads to the front gate of Yuri Bjoushi Elementary (did I
  364.41 +get that right?) 
  364.42 +
  364.43 +Sakura skids to a halt at the gate, looking for Madison, who else?
  364.44 +
  364.45 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
  364.46 +
  364.47 +~ Sakura’s point of view ~
  364.48 +
  364.49 +‘What? Where is Madison? I know that she usually, always, waits for
  364.50 +me, even if it makes her late. Is she sick? Is she… AHHHH, I’m SUPER
  364.51 +SUPER late today!!!’
  364.52 +
  364.53 +I run through the halls, looking for my Math class. ‘OHHH MAN, That
  364.54 +was the second bell!! And last time Sensei said that if I was late
  364.55 +again, I would get detention!’
  364.56 +
  364.57 +As Sakura skids in the halls, trying to open the door silently. It
  364.58 +jerks open in front of her, and there was her teacher, fuming mad.
  364.59 +“Just take a deep breath,” Her teacher said to no one particular
  364.60 +“SAKURA!!!!” her yell echoed throughout the halls.
  364.61 +
  364.62 +“MS. AVALON, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU??? YOUR LATE, AGAIN!!!!”
  364.63 +The older woman bellowed, “GET TO YOUR SEAT, OR I…” she was cut off
  364.64 +at that point by a familiar, melodious, beautiful voice.
  364.65 +
  364.66 +“Excuse me, but Sakura didn’t wake up because of me, I forgot to
  364.67 +call her. You see, her father is out of town, and ke… I mean her
  364.68 +brother” oops, near slip there” isn’t home either, so she couldn’t
  364.69 +have woken up on time, because I didn’t call her”
  364.70 +
  364.71 +It was Madison, Sakura’s best friend.
  364.72 +
  364.73 +“I’m sorry for being late” at this point, she had the courage to
  364.74 +look at her teacher *probably because Madison is here*  “again.” She
  364.75 +finished of with a small smile at lavender haired girl, and hurried
  364.76 +to sit down, rubbing the back of her head.
  364.77 +
  364.78 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
  364.79 +
  364.80 +~ Madison ~
  364.81 +
  364.82 +“What took you so long?” I asked, admiring those pools of green for
  364.83 +the umpteenth time today.
  364.84 +
  364.85 +“I…umm…I fell asleep after you called me, gomen Madison.” My Sakura,
  364.86 +no, Sakura said.
  364.87 +At first, I was a bit angry with her… but how do you expect me to
  364.88 +stay mad at her for long, let alone for the time being.
  364.89 +
  364.90 +“Ohh, Sakura was sleepy from last night’s late fashion show. Sakura
  364.91 +looks so cute when she is sleepy!” I spoke, trying to cheer her up.
  364.92 +How I had managed to get up today I still don’t know, let alone make
  364.93 +it to school on time. I was up all night, crying again. Sakura, how I
  364.94 +miss you, even when I'm standing there next to you. I promised once
  364.95 +that I would tell you about it… but I'm afraid, not strong and
  364.96 +courageous like you, but weak, and sad…
  364.97 +
  364.98 +“What, huh? Ohh, sorry Sakura, I was just thinking.” I hope that she
  364.99 +didn’t see me, I was trying to be alone so I could think, and cry
 364.100 +some more but it wont do to let Sakura see me crying, will it? I
 364.101 +don’t want to dampen her ginki sprit? No, I would never want to hurt
 364.102 +her, even if I had to be the on the was hurting instead…
 364.103 +
 364.104 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.105 +
 364.106 +~Sonomi’s point of view~
 364.107 +
 364.108 +“OHH, my dear Madison is home!! How was school, better yet, how was
 364.109 +Sakura? (My daughter had told me about her love, well, I guessed it
 364.110 +and she just admitted it. It was quite obvious, if I say so my self.)
 364.111 +When are you going over to her house to sleep-over?”
 364.112 +
 364.113 +“MOM, ohh, never mind.” Was my dark haired girls reply.
 364.114 +
 364.115 +“I was just asking! I worry about you!” Ever since… well… the
 364.116 +incident I have worried about her and tried to protect her the best I
 364.117 +can.
 364.118 +
 364.119 +“Mom, you know, sometimes you’re a bit over protective! But I just
 364.120 +take it to hart, knowing that I’m loved.” Nice recovery she made
 364.121 +there.
 364.122 +
 364.123 +“Well, ok… but please be careful, I already lost Nadeshiko, and I
 364.124 +don’t want to lose the other person that is dear to me.” If anything
 364.125 +happened to her… But I felt that she is safe with her green-eyed
 364.126 +friend. I don’t know why, though. I just sensed something different
 364.127 +about her…
 364.128 +“Well, you better get going soon, you don’t want to be late, do you?
 364.129 +And remember, get all of it on tape so we can watch it later!” I
 364.130 +always liked to watch her tapes. Sakura reminded me so much of my
 364.131 +true love… Well, I can understand why my daughter likes my love’s
 364.132 +daughter. A bit Ironic, but cute all the same.
 364.133 +
 364.134 +Maybe I will be able to see my precious Nadeshiko again tonight, in
 364.135 +my dreams…
 364.136 +
 364.137 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.138 +
 364.139 +~ Nadeshiko’s point of view ~
 364.140 +
 364.141 +I can watch my love, my true love from my place of view, always
 364.142 +watching over Sonomi, Madison, Sakura, or my husband and our son.
 364.143 +
 364.144 +I love my husband, but I also love Sonomi too, and it is a thought
 364.145 +that scares me, if I had to chose between the two…
 364.146 +
 364.147 +I wish that I hadn’t been so ignorant about Sonomi, or that my
 364.148 +daughter wasn’t the same way about Madison…
 364.149 +
 364.150 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.151 +
 364.152 +~ Sakura again ~
 364.153 +
 364.154 +“Did you feel that Madison?” I asked urgently, after feeling like I
 364.155 +was being watched
 364.156 +
 364.157 +“Feel wha…” Madison stopped for some reason
 364.158 +
 364.159 +“Madison? Where are you? … Madison?” Where had she gone? She was
 364.160 +just here in bed, but she stopped talking for some reason. Maybe she
 364.161 +just fell asleep, no that wasn’t like her. Maybe she just got up for
 364.162 +a drink or something…
 364.163 +
 364.164 +“SAAAAAAKKKKKUUUURRRAAAA!!” I heard her scream, some time after that
 364.165 +
 364.166 +“HELP! A CLOW CARD!” I got up outta bed still in my pajamas, looking
 364.167 +around desperately for the key.
 364.168 +“MADISON, WHERE ARE YOU?” I yelled hoping I could hear her, that
 364.169 +something hadn’t… silenced her.
 364.170 +
 364.171 +“up here…” Her voice sounded far away, and she must be moving
 364.172 +straight up! But… I already caught all of the cards that could fly…
 364.173 +What was it? I caught the dream card too, so I wasn’t having a bad
 364.174 +dream…
 364.175 +
 364.176 +“HAHAHAHA, NO, SHE’S MINE NOW, YOU’LL NEVER GET HER BACK AGAIN!”
 364.177 +That sounded like… Li… But, I thought her lov, liked me? Why would he
 364.178 +want her then? As I found the key, I grabbed it… but it fell through
 364.179 +my hands, so I tried to pick it up again, but I just couldn’t touch
 364.180 +it! When I touched it, my hand just went right through it. Could it
 364.181 +be a card like Transparency? But then how would it take Madison?
 364.182 +
 364.183 +“Sakura, what is the matter? Is it a card?” A familiar voice sounded
 364.184 +behind my head, as something that was yellow, no, tan whooshed by my
 364.185 +head.
 364.186 +
 364.187 +“Kero, It’s a card, and it got Madison! What could it be?” I was
 364.188 +relived that the small looking seal-beast was here, but still puzzled
 364.189 +on what card had Madison, and why the key was acting so strangely…
 364.190 +
 364.191 +“Hey, who are you, what…” I heard as Kero said something outside of
 364.192 +the window, and I was getting scared.
 364.193 +
 364.194 +“Kero…KERO???” Oh no, I couldn’t help but think two down. It was up
 364.195 +to me…
 364.196 +
 364.197 +It was hovering outside of my window, but I couldn’t see his *gulp*
 364.198 +or its face *double gulp* or whatever it had on its’ head… Then I saw
 364.199 +the hand, it looked like it was wet, or worse yet, was MADE of water.
 364.200 +Oh man, then I realized that it was coming through the window towards
 364.201 +me, and I realized something that mad me forget about the key, Kero,
 364.202 +and Madison. It was coming through the window, right? Then why was
 364.203 +the window closed, and locked. It can’t be, not a
 364.204 +
 364.205 +“GOST, GET AWAY, NOOOOO” I yelled.
 364.206 +
 364.207 +Then, as it gripped me, I realized that I was being shaken, and that
 364.208 +I was in my room, sweating. I saw the person that was shaking, no,
 364.209 +more like just holding me…
 364.210 +
 364.211 +“MADISON, ohh, it’s you, where did the ~ gulp ~ Gost go?” I asked
 364.212 +that pair of eyes surrounded by hair that was Madison.
 364.213 +
 364.214 +“There was none, there there, it was just a bad dream. Don’t worry
 364.215 +about it” Ohh, what sweeping relief this girl’s face gave to me.
 364.216 +
 364.217 +“What, dream? But, I was sure!” I replied, “But I got the dream card
 364.218 +already! Where is Kero? He would know.” I looked around for that
 364.219 +perpetually hungry teddy bear.
 364.220 +
 364.221 +“There he is, Kero, wake up. KERO, GET UP” I said while shaking the
 364.222 +seal-beast.
 364.223 +
 364.224 +“Ummhh… Pudding…” Kero said, still asleep, “hummmh what? What do you
 364.225 +want?” He woke up slowly.
 364.226 +
 364.227 +“There was a card!” I was frantic, searching to find it. I know it
 364.228 +had been there, I felt it, I sensed it. I was sure of it.
 364.229 +
 364.230 +At that moment, I saw something that was shiny outside of my window,
 364.231 +right as I saw Li jump through it with the Lasin board in hand, but
 364.232 +wasn’t it closed? I guess not.
 364.233 +
 364.234 +“Did you…” Li cut me off at that moment.
 364.235 +
 364.236 +“Yes, it was a card, and a powerful one. What did it do? Have you
 364.237 +seen it yet?” Li interjected.
 364.238 +
 364.239 +I told him about my dream, (all that I knew about it) and then
 364.240 +blushed furiously when I noticed that I was in my pajamas, and he was
 364.241 +in full costume. I stood up quickly, and so did Madison.
 364.242 +
 364.243 +“Here Sakura, this is the costume that I made, go put it on so we
 364.244 +can go find that card” Madison spoke while rummaging around in her
 364.245 +white backpack for something that I soon noticed as her ever
 364.246 +faithful, ever trusty, ever ready camcorder.
 364.247 +
 364.248 +“Uh, thanks Madison, I’ll change right now,” then as a quick after
 364.249 +thought, remembering that Li was here, and Meilin probably would show
 364.250 +up any minute, “in the bathroom.”
 364.251 +
 364.252 +As I stepped into the bathroom to change, I heard another voice
 364.253 +outside the door.
 364.254 +
 364.255 +“What are we doing here Li, why are we at her house? I though that
 364.256 +you said you had sensed a card, so why do we need her pathetic help?”
 364.257 +Ahh, it was Meilin, like I suspected. 
 364.258 +
 364.259 +“We are here because this is where the Lasin board said it was,
 364.260 +remember? I was running by and this is where it stopped pointing.” Li
 364.261 +replied, scowling like usual, or I guessed.
 364.262 +
 364.263 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.264 +
 364.265 +~ Li ~
 364.266 +
 364.267 +“Sakura, you almost ready?” I was scared when I heard her scream. I
 364.268 +don’t like her or anything, well, I like her, but not like that. I’m
 364.269 +not surprised that Meilin came with me. Some how she managed to
 364.270 +follow me, even when I was using my Cards.
 364.271 +“Good, now lets go, grab your key. And Madison, try to stay outta
 364.272 +the cards way, it could hurt you.” I said, almost blushing. Madison
 364.273 +was, is cute, but I think Meilin would kill me if I made a move on
 364.274 +anyone else. I don’t mind though. She’s nice, as long as you’re not
 364.275 +on her bad side.
 364.276 +
 364.277 +“Umph…” I hear behind me as Sakura jumps down from her window.
 364.278 +
 364.279 +“Just use fly or float.”
 364.280 +
 364.281 +“Ohh, duh, I’ll get it for Madison. Float, bring Madison to the
 364.282 +ground, and be careful.” I hear her say. She must really be best
 364.283 +friends with Madison, to take such care as to get a card out for her,
 364.284 +when Madison could have just gotten down using the stairs, and tell
 364.285 +float to take “Good Care of Her”
 364.286 +
 364.287 +“Good, now we can get that card. It sounds like the dream card, but
 364.288 +maybe it was a premonition…” I know she has visions in her dreams,
 364.289 +but this one sounded kinda off, well, we will see.
 364.290 +
 364.291 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.292 +
 364.293 +~ Meilin ~
 364.294 +
 364.295 +Humph, why did we have to stop at what’s-her-face Avalon’s house? Why?
 364.296 +Does Li that girl like Li? Worse yet, does Li like her?
 364.297 +
 364.298 +“Li, why did we have to stop at her house?” I said as we were
 364.299 +running with the now shining Lasin board. “Why? Do you like her or
 364.300 +something?”
 364.301 +
 364.302 +“Of course I like her, but not in the way that you think.” Well, I
 364.303 +guess if Li likes me more than he likes her, if he loves me, than all
 364.304 +is well. But, if he likes her… what will I do? I would be mad at her,
 364.305 +that stupid Madison. Well, I guess that it could also be that weird
 364.306 +Sakura. Maybe. I don’t wish.
 364.307 +
 364.308 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.309 +
 364.310 + ~ Narrator ~
 364.311 +
 364.312 +So, what do we have now? We have a confused Meilin, an intrigued Li,
 364.313 +a dreaming or rather nightmaring Sakura, and a sleepy and hungry
 364.314 +(ALWAYS) Kero, and nostalgic Sonomi, a watchful Nadeshiko, and
 364.315 +lastly, a… umm… well, we would have to see Madison’s current mood.
 364.316 +
 364.317 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.318 +
 364.319 +~ Madison ~
 364.320 +
 364.321 +“Huh, ohh, this is hard. Running and running and running, I was so
 364.322 +out of breath that I thought that I was spinning, or maybe swimming.
 364.323 +But, I should be used to it, because I got it every time I saw that
 364.324 +ravaging angel of the cards.
 364.325 +“Ohh, Sakura…” I said absent-mindedly, and dreamily.
 364.326 +
 364.327 +“Yes Madison?” Sakura replied. Wait, did she just say what I think
 364.328 +she said? Did she just actually hear what I just thought? Did I just…
 364.329 +
 364.330 +“Yes?” She was waiting for me.
 364.331 +
 364.332 +“Ohh, I’m just running out of breath, were running so hard. But
 364.333 +Sakura the athletic card captor isn’t out of breath, because she is
 364.334 +strong.” I thought up quickly. I love to make her blush.
 364.335 +“Sakura is so kawwii when she blushes!” Sakura is so cute whenever
 364.336 +she does anything, I wanted to add. But alas, I never could. I mean,
 364.337 +what would she do if she knew? Probably run from me? Maybe she would
 364.338 +faint… No, she was WAY to strong for that. I would be the one to
 364.339 +faint, not her. I wish that someday I could call her mine. My Sakura,
 364.340 +no, she could never be mine…
 364.341 +
 364.342 +“Ohh… umm… thanks Madison, you say such thoughtful things.” She
 364.343 +blushed once again. My wonderful, kawwii beautiful Sakura. Maybe when
 364.344 +the Sakura blossoms are in bloom, I will tell her. Or leave her,
 364.345 +because Li will be coming to his senses.
 364.346 +
 364.347 +
 364.348 +End Chapter One. Stay Tuned for the next fiction, it will come soon.
 364.349 +^_~
 364.350 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.351 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.352 +¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤~~~~~¤
 364.353 \ No newline at end of file

   365.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   365.2 +++ b/stories/illusns.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   365.3 @@ -0,0 +1,678 @@
   365.4 +Hello again. ^-^ This story is kind of a third part to ‘Moonlit 
   365.5 +Nights’ and it centers mainly around Diana and Momoko. 
   365.6 +Hopefully it will tie up some of the loose ends left from 
   365.7 +‘Moonlit Nights’ 1 and 2. You don’t have to have read those 
   365.8 +before you read this, but it would probably help. 
   365.9 +
  365.10 +For those of you that don’t know some of these characters, 
  365.11 +here are some very brief descriptions (we’re using some parts 
  365.12 +from the manga in this, too, like Ruruna and Naruru)-
  365.13 +Diana: She’s ChibiUsa’s guardian cat and comes from the 
  365.14 +future. She has a human form but she still has her tail as a 
  365.15 +human. 
  365.16 +Momoko: She’s a cute lavender haired Chinese girl who 
  365.17 +befriended ChibiUsa shortly after she’d first come to the past. 
  365.18 +Ruruna & Naruru: They’re two other friends of ChibiUsa’s, 
  365.19 +though Hotaru can’t seem to stand them. ^^ They only showed 
  365.20 +up once near the end of the manga, but they are fun to keep 
  365.21 +around. And yes they do say strange things like ‘Haaging’, so 
  365.22 +just remember we didn’t make that up. ^_-
  365.23 +
  365.24 +We’d like to thank Eric because without him, we never would 
  365.25 +have been able to get this out for a long time. Thanks for 
  365.26 +everything, Eric. ^-^
  365.27 +
  365.28 +We’re working on a couple other stories right now, so 
  365.29 +hopefully we’ll be able to get them out soon. We did manage 
  365.30 +to finish a very short Card Captor Sakura fic, but its pretty 
  365.31 +depressing. ^^; We’re about halfway through a much happier 
  365.32 +Card Captor Sakura story about now. If you’d be at all 
  365.33 +interested in reading any of those, please e-mail us. Or if 
  365.34 +you’ve got any ideas for a Card Captor Sakura fic. ^^
  365.35 +
  365.36 +We’d love to hear what you think of this story and we’d love 
  365.37 +to hear any ideas you all have for any other stories we could 
  365.38 +do. Please e-mail us at:
  365.39 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  365.40 +
  365.41 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon is owned by the great Naoko 
  365.42 +Takeuchi and Toei Animation.
  365.43 +
  365.44 +Please enjoy the story. ^-^
  365.45 +
  365.46 +Illusions 
  365.47 +by
  365.48 +The Amazoness Quartet
  365.49 +
  365.50 +"Over here, Momo-chan!" a familiar voice yelled 
  365.51 +to Momoko. She smiled and looked up to see her 
  365.52 +friend ChibiUsa already waiting for her outside the 
  365.53 +gate with Ruruna and Naruru. Relief washed over her 
  365.54 +as she exited the school grounds and made her way 
  365.55 +over to her friends. ChibiUsa waved cheerfully to her 
  365.56 +as she approached.
  365.57 +
  365.58 +"I'm glad that's finally over with," Momoko said
  365.59 +as she started walking along with the other girls.
  365.60 +
  365.61 +"Yeah. All those tests the week after the dance."
  365.62 +ChibiUsa sighed. "I'm sure I didn't pass most of
  365.63 +them."
  365.64 +
  365.65 +"We shouldn't worry about it," Naruru said. "Its
  365.66 +Friday, so we've got all weekend to forget about
  365.67 +the week." 
  365.68 +
  365.69 +"Sounds good to me," Ruruna said. "That gives me
  365.70 +time to talk to my boyfriend about not being able
  365.71 +to go anyplace last weekend because of the dance.
  365.72 +What are you two going to do?"
  365.73 +
  365.74 +"Not much," Momoko said. She was glad that it was
  365.75 +the weekend, but she really didn't feel like doing
  365.76 +anything. It had been a week, but her mind kept
  365.77 +being drawn back to the mysterious girl she'd met
  365.78 +at the dance. Every time she closed her eyes, she
  365.79 +saw her. When she fell asleep, she would dream of 
  365.80 +what had happened. And she could swear it felt like the
  365.81 +other girl was right at arms length at times.
  365.82 +
  365.83 +"Hotaru and I are going shopping and then we're
  365.84 +going to see a movie." ChibiUsa smiled.
  365.85 +
  365.86 +Naruru and Ruruna stared at her for several moments.
  365.87 +"You're the only one she acts that way around, you
  365.88 +know," Naruru said.
  365.89 +
  365.90 +"What way?" ChibiUsa asked.
  365.91 +
  365.92 +"All happy and excited. Blushing a lot. Buying you
  365.93 +things," Ruruna said.
  365.94 +
  365.95 +"That's because I'm always short on money," ChibiUsa
  365.96 +countered the only excuse she could think of.
  365.97 +
  365.98 +"How she gets so jealous over you, how she 
  365.99 +walks with you to school," Naruru continued.
 365.100 +
 365.101 +"Those weird looks she gives you," Ruruna and Naruru
 365.102 +said simultaneously.
 365.103 +
 365.104 +ChibiUsa blushed a deep crimson hue. Momoko said
 365.105 +nothing, having seen ChibiUsa kiss the dark haired
 365.106 +girl in question already.
 365.107 +
 365.108 +"She's my best friend," ChibiUsa said defensively.
 365.109 +
 365.110 +"I don't know. It seems kinda strange to me," Naruru
 365.111 +said. "I heard a rumor that she's a lesbian. Could be
 365.112 +why she stays around you so much, ChibiUsa. She
 365.113 +probably likes you."
 365.114 +
 365.115 +"But that's a rumor," ChibiUsa protested.
 365.116 +
 365.117 +"Well, its not like you exactly discourage her, though.
 365.118 +So of course she wouldn't have stopped," Ruruna added.
 365.119 +
 365.120 +"It's just a rumor. You should ignore things like
 365.121 +that," ChibiUsa said. Two arms wrapped around her from
 365.122 +behind pulling her into a hug, startling the already
 365.123 +nervous pink haired girl.    
 365.124 +
 365.125 +"Hi, ChibiUsa-chan. Sorry I'm late, but I forgot
 365.126 +something back in class," Hotaru said happily as she
 365.127 +let go of the other girl and held her hand. Ruruna and
 365.128 +Naruru stared at ChibiUsa as if they'd proven their point.
 365.129 +
 365.130 +ChibiUsa laughed nervously. "Where to next, everyone?"
 365.131 +she asked, trying to change the subject.
 365.132 +
 365.133 +"We're going back to Ruruna's house," Naruru answered.
 365.134 +
 365.135 +"Yeah, so we'll probably see you later. We'll probably
 365.136 +do some haaging before we get there though," Ruruna said 
 365.137 +as she waved to the other girls before she took off with
 365.138 +Naruru.
 365.139 +
 365.140 +"What does that mean again?" Hotaru asked her pink haired
 365.141 +girlfriend.
 365.142 +
 365.143 +"It means they're going to get some Haagen Dazs before they
 365.144 +go home," ChibiUsa supplied.     
 365.145 +
 365.146 +"Ohhhh... I wish they'd just talk like normal people,"
 365.147 +Hotaru said exasperated. She'd never liked the two girls
 365.148 +much, but they were ChibiUsa's friends, so she tried to at
 365.149 +least get along with them.
 365.150 +
 365.151 +ChibiUsa laughed. "They aren't that bad, Taru-chan." She put 
 365.152 +her  arms around the dark haired girl. Hotaru smiled as she felt  
 365.153 +ChibiUsa against her.
 365.154 +
 365.155 +"Maybe not, but I'm still glad they're gone." Hotaru started
 365.156 +leaning towards ChibiUsa as the other girl began to do the
 365.157 +same. ChibiUsa stopped suddenly and slowly turned to stare
 365.158 +in a certain direction. Hotaru followed her gaze and saw
 365.159 +Momoko still standing there. The two girls pulled away and
 365.160 +looked around nervously as their friend pretended not to
 365.161 +have noticed anything.
 365.162 +
 365.163 +"So, where should we go now?" ChibiUsa asked nervously.
 365.164 +
 365.165 +Momoko decided to ignore what had just happened for the 
 365.166 +time being. She had to much on her mind to worry about her 
 365.167 +friend's relationship. She still didn't know what to say to 
 365.168 +ChibiUsa about it in the first place. And it really didn't seem 
 365.169 +like much of a big deal anymore. Not after she'd started 
 365.170 +realizing how she felt about Diana. She sighed before forcing 
 365.171 +a smile. "How about the Crown Fruit Parlor? We can go there 
 365.172 +before we decide what to do next."
 365.173 +
 365.174 +ChibiUsa's eyes lit up while Hotaru sweat dropped, knowing
 365.175 +she'd probably be paying for a large meal for the pink haired
 365.176 +girl.
 365.177 +
 365.178 +"Sounds great!" ChibiUsa said happily.
 365.179 +
 365.180 +"Ok then. We'll find out what else we want to do once we get
 365.181 +there," Momoko said. She was glad was glad that they were
 365.182 +going to the Fruit Parlor. ChibiUsa would be distracted by the
 365.183 +food while Hotaru was distracted by ChibiUsa, as she often 
 365.184 +was. It would give Momoko more time to think about things.
 365.185 +
 365.186 +As the three girls continued walking, a gray kitten ran up to
 365.187 +them.
 365.188 +
 365.189 +"Diana!"
 365.190 +
 365.191 +Momoko's head jerked up as she heard that familiar name. She
 365.192 +quickly looked around for the beautiful girl. Her spirits sank 
 365.193 +as she realized it was ChibiUsa's kitten.
 365.194 +
 365.195 +ChibiUsa picked up the kitten and placed it on her head, as
 365.196 +she often did. "Do you want to go with us?" she asked.
 365.197 +
 365.198 +Diana meowed in response. ChibiUsa giggled as the kitten 
 365.199 +tried to get more comfortable on her head. Momoko and 
 365.200 +Hotaru stared at ChibiUsa for a moment, the other girl 
 365.201 +seeming to find nothing strange about the kitten riding on her 
 365.202 +head.
 365.203 +
 365.204 +Diana kept shyly stealing glances at Momoko as they began to
 365.205 +walk again. She'd been meeting ChibiUsa everyday after 
 365.206 +school that week so she could see her lavender haired friend. 
 365.207 +After learning that the other girl liked her, she tried to see
 365.208 +her as often as possible. Diana had a crush on Momoko for
 365.209 +a long time and it felt so good to know the other girl liked her.  
 365.210 +Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to tell Momoko how she 
 365.211 +felt.
 365.212 +
 365.213 +
 365.214 +Momoko sat quietly in thought while petting the gray kitten
 365.215 +curled up in her lap. She barely noticed the other two girls
 365.216 +talking to her. She was having trouble concentrating because 
 365.217 +her thoughts kept returning to the mysterious girl at the dance. 
 365.218 +She finally brought her attention back to Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
 365.219 +when she noticed them stand up.
 365.220 +
 365.221 +"We're sorry, Momo-chan," Hotaru apologized. "We promised 
 365.222 +Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama that we'd go shopping with 
 365.223 +them today. We're going to be late if we don't get going soon. 
 365.224 +I can't believe I forgot."
 365.225 +
 365.226 +"Don't worry about it," Momoko said, feeling a bit relieved 
 365.227 +that she'd have time to think by herself.
 365.228 +
 365.229 +"You could come with us if you want," Hotaru offered 
 365.230 +hopefully.
 365.231 +
 365.232 +"No. Thanks anyway, but right now I don't really feel like 
 365.233 +going anywhere," Momoko declined.
 365.234 +
 365.235 +"Okay. Call me tonight then," ChibiUsa said.
 365.236 +
 365.237 +"ChibiUsa..." Hotaru began.
 365.238 +
 365.239 +"Oh yeah. Nevermind. Call Hotaru's house tonight. I'll be 
 365.240 +there." ChibiUsa smiled at her friend as she stood up. 
 365.241 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru waved to her as they walked off.
 365.242 +
 365.243 +Momoko sighed. She saw them hold hands as soon as they 
 365.244 +thought they were out of sight. 'I was so shocked when I found 
 365.245 +out that they were together. But now... I don't know. Am I 
 365.246 +jealous of them?' She sighed again and took a sip of her drink. 
 365.247 +'At least they have each other. I just want to see Diana again.' 
 365.248 +She blushed deeply as she thought of  the other girl. 'How 
 365.249 +could I be in love with her? I only met her the night of the 
 365.250 +dance. Then why do I feel like I've known her for years?
 365.251 +She seemed so familiar.'
 365.252 +
 365.253 +Momoko gently pet the sleeping kitten on her lap. Diana 
 365.254 +purred happily. "Oh! ChibiUsa forgot to take Diana with her." 
 365.255 +She picked Diana up and quickly went out the door, trying to 
 365.256 +catch up to her friends. She looked around as crowds of people 
 365.257 +passed by on the busy streets obscuring her view. "She said 
 365.258 +she'd be at Hotaru's house tonight. I guess you can stay with 
 365.259 +me until then." She lifted the kitten up to her face. 
 365.260 +"How does that sound?"
 365.261 +
 365.262 +Diana meowed happily and licked Momoko's cheek. The 
 365.263 +lavender haired girl giggled. "Okay then. I could use some 
 365.264 +company right now anyway."
 365.265 +The kitten looked back at her happily, purring. Momoko 
 365.266 +walked away from the cafe with the kitten in her arms and no 
 365.267 +real destination in mind.
 365.268 +
 365.269 +"Where should we go Diana?" Momoko asked.
 365.270 +
 365.271 +'She's asking me? I have to come up with a nice place for us to 
 365.272 +go then. Just don't say anything stupid,' Diana thought to 
 365.273 +herself. "We could..."
 365.274 +
 365.275 +Before Diana could finish, Momoko turned around swiftly. 
 365.276 +She looked around to see who the voice belonged to. "Hello?"
 365.277 +
 365.278 +Diana sweatdropped. "Oh no,' she thought. 'I'm a cat. I'm not
 365.279 +supposed to talk. Good going.' Diana meowed nervously, 
 365.280 +hoping Momoko would forget about the voice.
 365.281 +
 365.282 +"That was strange." Momoko shrugged and continued 
 365.283 +walking. "Can't think of anything, can you? Let's go home 
 365.284 +then. I'll take you to ChibiUsa later tonight." Momoko smiled 
 365.285 +as she heard Diana meow in agreement.
 365.286 +
 365.287 +'Why am I talking to a cat so much? Probably because I hear 
 365.288 +ChibiUsa talk to her so much. And its comforting in an odd 
 365.289 +way. I don't have to worry about what I say to her. And its 
 365.290 +nice to have someone to talk to about Diana.' Momoko 
 365.291 +scratched the kitten's chin and started off for home.
 365.292 +
 365.293 +
 365.294 +Momoko unlocked the door to her house and let herself in. 
 365.295 +She knew her parents were both gone for the night and that 
 365.296 +was fine with her. She'd rather be alone for the moment. Her 
 365.297 +mother had noticed her strange behavior lately and had asked 
 365.298 +her about it. She had tried to tell her mother it was nothing, but 
 365.299 +she didn't believe her.
 365.300 +
 365.301 +Momoko sighed wearily as she walked into her room, setting 
 365.302 +down her backpack before sitting on the bed.  "Why is this 
 365.303 +getting to me so much? I've never felt like this before," she 
 365.304 +said aloud. She slumped backwards onto the bed staring at the 
 365.305 +ceiling.    
 365.306 +
 365.307 +The little gray cat cat crawled onto the lavender haired girl's 
 365.308 +lap. Momoko giggled. "Thanks, kitty. I'm glad you're here." 
 365.309 +Diana purred as Momoko began petting her. "Why'd Diana 
 365.310 +have to leave?" she asked, not expecting an answer.
 365.311 +
 365.312 +'Because you noticed my tail,' Diana thought sadly.
 365.313 +
 365.314 +"I still don't know what was going on. That whole night was 
 365.315 +pretty strange," Momoko closed her eyes, trying to remember 
 365.316 +every small detail of the night of the dance. How pretty Diana 
 365.317 +had been. How it felt when they were dancing. How she'd 
 365.318 +forgotten her whole reason for being there while dancing with 
 365.319 +the other girl.
 365.320 +
 365.321 +Diana silently watched the lavender haired girl as she lay deep 
 365.322 +in thought. Her eyes darted over Momoko's lovely features. 
 365.323 +Diana blushed as she continued looking at the other girl. She 
 365.324 +stood up on Momoko's lap and walked across the other girl so 
 365.325 +that her face was right above Momoko's. Her paw gently 
 365.326 +stroked Momoko's cheek. The lavender haired girl didn't seem 
 365.327 +to notice. Diana sighed longingly. Without thinking, she 
 365.328 +leaned forward and tried to kiss Momoko.
 365.329 +
 365.330 +Momoko's eyes opened suddenly. Diana jumped back. "I'm so 
 365.331 +sorry!" Diana blurted out.
 365.332 +
 365.333 +Momoko stared wide eyed at the kitten. Diana stared back at 
 365.334 +her. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Momoko abruptly fainted.   
 365.335 +
 365.336 +Momoko blinked several times. What had happened? Dim 
 365.337 +light filtered through her open window, making her wince. 
 365.338 +She'd been unconscious for a while.
 365.339 +
 365.340 +"Are you okay?" she heard a voice ask worriedly. She could 
 365.341 +barely make out the figure sitting near her on her bed. She 
 365.342 +blinked again, trying to make out who it was. She bolted 
 365.343 +upright when she saw it was the girl she'd met a week ago, 
 365.344 +Diana.
 365.345 +
 365.346 +"Diana!? What are you doing here?" Momoko asked, shock 
 365.347 +and joy mixed in her voice.
 365.348 +
 365.349 +Diana thought for a moment before answering. "Well, its kind 
 365.350 +of hard to explain." Diana remembered how she'd left the 
 365.351 +dance after Momoko had noticed her tail. She tried desperately 
 365.352 +to keep it behind her to hide it from view. 'Why do I have to 
 365.353 +keep my tail in my human form? Mom and Dad don't have 
 365.354 +tails when they're humans. It's not fair. Especially with 
 365.355 +Momoko. How am I supposed to explain it to her?' she 
 365.356 +thought.
 365.357 +
 365.358 +"I'm.. I'm glad you're here," Momoko said shyly. 'Why am I so
 365.359 +nervous right now? This isn't like me at all.'
 365.360 +
 365.361 +'Is she blushing?' Diana asked herself. 'Could it be because of
 365.362 +me?' she thought happily. 'Now's my chance to tell her how 
 365.363 +I've felt about her for so long. She said she... she said she 
 365.364 +loved me when she was talking to my kitten form. But what if 
 365.365 +she knows that the kitten and the girl are both me. Would she 
 365.366 +still have said that about my human form? I'm so nervous. I 
 365.367 +don't know what to say. How can I explain things to her? 
 365.368 +What would she think?'
 365.369 +
 365.370 +'She's here. I don't know how, but she's here,' Momoko 
 365.371 +thought. 'That's what I've been wanting all week, to see her 
 365.372 +again. So why can't I think of anything to say to her?'
 365.373 +
 365.374 +Both girls sat nervously, unsure of what to do.
 365.375 +
 365.376 +Momoko suddenly turned to Diana. "Why did you leave the 
 365.377 +dance? I've felt bad about that for the past week."
 365.378 +
 365.379 +Diana looked away from the other girl. "I just had to leave..."
 365.380 +
 365.381 +"Diana, I've been so confused about things for the past week. I
 365.382 +just found out something surprising about some friends of 
 365.383 +mine that I'm still trying to deal with, and all these things 
 365.384 +about you and the dance. I don't know if I can handle anymore 
 365.385 +secrets or lies. Please, can we tell each other the truth about 
 365.386 +everything?" Momoko pleaded.
 365.387 +
 365.388 +Diana wanted to agree with her, but there were so many things 
 365.389 +she didn't know how to explain. "Things are a lot more 
 365.390 +confusing than you think."
 365.391 +
 365.392 +Momoko shook her head. "I don't care. I want to know."
 365.393 +
 365.394 +Diana sighed. There were so many things she wanted to tell 
 365.395 +Momoko. And Momoko did want to know. It seemed to fit 
 365.396 +perfectly. Diana took a deep breath before replying. "Okay, 
 365.397 +but this is all pretty strange. You have to promise that you'll 
 365.398 +believe me."
 365.399 +
 365.400 +Momoko stared at her for a moment. 'What could be so 
 365.401 +strange?' she thought. "Okay, I promise."
 365.402 +
 365.403 +Diana smiled nervously. "Good. Well, I should probably start 
 365.404 +at the beginning. You should make yourself comfortable. Its a 
 365.405 +long story."
 365.406 +
 365.407 +Momoko looked on, interested in what the other girl had to 
 365.408 +say. Diana started by trying to explain where she came from. 
 365.409 +Momoko looked on in disbelief as Diana told her about her 
 365.410 +home in the future. She went on to tell how she came back to 
 365.411 +the past as ChibiUsa's guardian and how she'd met Momoko 
 365.412 +because she was ChibiUsa's friend. Diana continued on, trying 
 365.413 +to explain most of what had happened up to that point.
 365.414 +
 365.415 +Momoko sat silently for a moment, completely unsure of what 
 365.416 +to say. "But how could you have known me for so long? I 
 365.417 +didn't meet you till last week," she finally said, not mentioning 
 365.418 +the stranger parts of Diana's story. She wanted to believe 
 365.419 +Diana, but what she said couldn't be real.
 365.420 +
 365.421 +"Well, that's not exactly true. You've met me, you just didn't
 365.422 +recognize me," Diana explained.
 365.423 +
 365.424 +"Trust me. I'd recognize you anywhere," Momoko reassured 
 365.425 +her.
 365.426 +
 365.427 +"I didn't really look the same, though," Diana said nervously.
 365.428 +Momoko stared at Diana oddly. Diana sighed. "I know this is 
 365.429 +all hard to believe. I shouldn't have said anything. Its just that I 
 365.430 +really wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know. I didn't want 
 365.431 +to hide anything from you, Momo-chan." She looked down 
 365.432 +sadly.
 365.433 +
 365.434 +Momoko didn't know what to do. Diana was disappointed that 
 365.435 +she didn't believe her. But it all sounded so unbelievable. She 
 365.436 +wanted to say something comforting to the other girl, but she 
 365.437 +couldn't think of anything.
 365.438 +
 365.439 +Suddenly Diana looked up at the lavender haired girl. "Wait! I 
 365.440 +can prove it. If this is possible, then the rest is. Then you'll 
 365.441 +believe me," she said happily.
 365.442 +
 365.443 +Momoko sweatdropped at Diana's enthusiasm. "That's good..." 
 365.444 +She had no idea what Diana could mean. She didn't think 
 365.445 +anything could prove Diana's bizzare story. Diana hesitated for 
 365.446 +a moment. It had ended her night with Momoko at the dance 
 365.447 +and now she was hoping it would prove she was telling the
 365.448 +truth. She sat up on her knees and turned to the side slightly to
 365.449 +show her tail. "See? I'm a Sailorchibimoon's guardian cat. I 
 365.450 +offer advice and help when I can."
 365.451 +
 365.452 +Momoko looked at Diana's tail for a moment. She reached out 
 365.453 +and grabbed it to see if it was real. She instantly let go when 
 365.454 +the tail moved in her hand. "A tail?" Momoko continued to 
 365.455 +watch as Diana moved it behind her.
 365.456 +
 365.457 +"Yeah," Diana said quietly, a little embarrassed about 
 365.458 +Momoko's reaction to it. "I'm the only one that keeps my tail 
 365.459 +in human form. My mom and dad don't have their's when 
 365.460 +they're humans."
 365.461 +
 365.462 +"Human form?" Momoko asked, still shocked by the other 
 365.463 +girl's tail. It felt so real, like when she'd been petting the kitten 
 365.464 +earlier. This was all too confusing. None of this was making 
 365.465 +any sense. Momoko paced back and forth for a second in a 
 365.466 +vain attempt to say something, anything, in the midst of all 
 365.467 +this. "What's going on?" she asked as she turned around. The 
 365.468 +other girl was gone. In her place was ChibiUsa's kitten, sitting 
 365.469 +exactly where Diana had been a moment ago.
 365.470 +
 365.471 +"Hi!" The kitten said, smiling up at Momoko.
 365.472 +
 365.473 +Momoko took a step back. This was really starting to freak her 
 365.474 +out. "You talked," she barely managed to say.
 365.475 +
 365.476 +"Of course I did," the kitten said teasingly. "This is what I was
 365.477 +talking about. This is my cat form."
 365.478 +
 365.479 +"Diana?" Momoko knew that the girl she'd met and ChibiUsa's 
 365.480 +kitten were both named Diana, but she hadn't realized the 
 365.481 +significance of that till now. "You're her?"
 365.482 +
 365.483 +The kitten nodded. "Yeah. That's my human form." She stuck 
 365.484 +out her tongue. "I told you. And I am from the future."
 365.485 +
 365.486 +Momoko blinked a couple times. She felt faint. This just 
 365.487 +wasn't possible. Cats didn't talk. And girls didn't have tails or 
 365.488 +change into cats. Then again, she had been attacked by a 
 365.489 +lemure who was after her dream mirror a couple years back. 
 365.490 +She'd been saved by Sailormoon and Sailorchibimoon. So 
 365.491 +strange things had happened to her before. This wasn't too 
 365.492 +much stranger, was it?
 365.493 +
 365.494 +"Momo-chan?" Diana asked, still in her kitten form. "Are you 
 365.495 +okay?"
 365.496 +
 365.497 +"I'm... I'm fine," Momoko said. She sat down on the bed by 
 365.498 +Diana. Momoko and the kitten sat in uneasy silence for a 
 365.499 +moment. As Momoko thought about what this meant if Diana 
 365.500 +was ChibiUsa's kitten, a sudden realization donned on her. 
 365.501 +"Diana, if you're the kitten I've been talking to, then you were 
 365.502 +here in my room the night of the dance, right?"
 365.503 +
 365.504 +"Yeah," Diana said reluctantly.
 365.505 +
 365.506 +"Then you heard what I said about your human form?" 
 365.507 +Momoko said nervously.
 365.508 +
 365.509 +Diana didn't say anything for a moment. "Yes," she said 
 365.510 +quietly. Momoko blushed deeply and looked away. A hand on 
 365.511 +her arm turned her around to face Diana, now as a human. 
 365.512 +"You don't know how much it meant to me when I heard you 
 365.513 +say how you felt about me. I've been in love with you for so 
 365.514 +long, but I never said anything because you only thought I was 
 365.515 +a kitten. That night, dancing with you, talking, hearing you say 
 365.516 +you loved me, was the best night of my life." Diana smiled 
 365.517 +brightly, her eyes misting up with tears. Momoko looked on in 
 365.518 +alarm. "I'll always remember that night. But you didn't know 
 365.519 +who I really was. That wasn't fair of me. Arigato, Momo-
 365.520 +chan." Diana stood up and wiped some tears from her eyes
 365.521 +before turning to leave.
 365.522 +
 365.523 +Momoko got in front of Diana before she could reach the 
 365.524 +door. "Diana, wait." She put her hands on the other girls 
 365.525 +shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "What I said that 
 365.526 +night, I meant all of it. You're right, I didn't know that the 
 365.527 +kitten I was telling it to and the girl I was talking about were 
 365.528 +the same person, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't change 
 365.529 +anything. I meant every word of it, Diana. I love you." Diana's 
 365.530 +mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out. She couldn't 
 365.531 +think of anything to say. She didn't have to. Momoko pulled 
 365.532 +Diana closer and kissed her. Diana gasped as she felt the 
 365.533 +lavender haired girl's lips pressed against her own. Momoko's 
 365.534 +eyes closed as she felt Diana kissing her back. Both girls
 365.535 +were nervous about what lay ahead, but they felt safe in each 
 365.536 +others' arms and that was all that mattered.
 365.537 +
 365.538 +
 365.539 +Epilogue:
 365.540 +
 365.541 +*******
 365.542 +
 365.543 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru plopped back down on the soft bed in 
 365.544 +Hotaru's room. ChibiUsa had bought a beautiful new dress and 
 365.545 +hair bows for herself. She'd even bought a new ribbon for her 
 365.546 +kitten. It was purple with two cute bells for Diana. Then the 
 365.547 +realization hit her like a tidal wave. She bolted up off the
 365.548 +bed and stared at Hotaru with wide eyes.
 365.549 +
 365.550 +"What is it ChibiUsa?" she asked worried that something was 
 365.551 +wrong.
 365.552 +
 365.553 +"Diana! I forgot Diana at the Crown with Momoko!" she 
 365.554 +yelled with a hushed harsh tone. She jumped up to run to the 
 365.555 +door and was stopped by Hotaru's hand.
 365.556 +
 365.557 +"It's been three hours Odango-chan," Hotaru whispered, "Do 
 365.558 +you really think that Momoko and Diana are at the Crown at 
 365.559 +this time?"
 365.560 +
 365.561 +"No but I can go to Momoko's. I'm sure Momoko wouldn't let 
 365.562 +her stay at the Crown by herself!"
 365.563 +
 365.564 +"But..." They would have continued the little conversation if 
 365.565 +Michiru hadn't knocked on the door just then.
 365.566 +
 365.567 +"ChibiUsa there's a girl at the door wanting to speak to you. 
 365.568 +She's seems very distraught." ChibiUsa stared at the elder 
 365.569 +senshi and then she looked at Hotaru. They both bolted for the 
 365.570 +door and dashed down the stairs in record time. They where 
 365.571 +greeted by the vision of Momoko holding Diana in her hands 
 365.572 +they both turned to each other and then they to Momoko.
 365.573 +
 365.574 +"Small Lady who is this girl?" Haruka asked clasping her arm 
 365.575 +around Michiru's waist. She pulled Michiru closer and looked 
 365.576 +at Hotaru and ChibiUsa with a parental glare. 
 365.577 +
 365.578 +"My name is Momoko, and I am ChibiUsa and Hotaru's 
 365.579 +school friend. I do know how late it is but you see they forgot 
 365.580 +Diana and I wanted to give her back. I also wanted to talk to 
 365.581 +them very briefly." Harkua nodded her approval but didn't
 365.582 +let ChibiUsa and Hotaru know that they where off the hook. 
 365.583 +She ushered Michiru into the next room leaving the girls 
 365.584 +alone.
 365.585 +
 365.586 +"Thank you for caring for Diana for me Momo-chan," 
 365.587 +ChibiUsa said reaching for Diana. She was surprised when the 
 365.588 +kitten didn't jump into her arms. Instead the kitten remained 
 365.589 +with the lavender haired girl purring contently. She looked
 365.590 +to ChibiUsa and said with a very serious glaze.
 365.591 +
 365.592 +"She already knows about me Small Lady."
 365.593 +
 365.594 +"Diana!" Hotaru exclaimed clasping a hand around her mouth. 
 365.595 +Momoko only smiled and nodded.
 365.596 +
 365.597 +"Yes I know all about you Sailorchibimoon, Sailorsaturn." 
 365.598 +Momoko said, "It was a very long story but it was worth it. I 
 365.599 +can understand why you've kept it a secret. I’m just 
 365.600 +disappointed that you couldn't tell me a little sooner."
 365.601 +
 365.602 +"But...but why Diana?" ChibiUsa stammered, "Do you know 
 365.603 +how much trouble you've just gotten us into? What danger 
 365.604 +you've put us in?"
 365.605 +
 365.606 +"What danger?" Momoko asked, "I should of known, besides 
 365.607 +it shouldn't of been Diana that told me this. It should have 
 365.608 +been you and Hotaru. Why didn't you tell me you two were in 
 365.609 +love?" Hotaru took a step back and sat down in the couch.
 365.610 +
 365.611 +"That's what bugs you the most?" she asked, "That Odango-
 365.612 +chan and I didn't tell you we where in love? Not that we 
 365.613 +were...."     
 365.614 +
 365.615 +"Were what?" Momoko asked, "Sailor Senshi? No, that secret 
 365.616 +I understand. The being in love one I don't. I have been your 
 365.617 +friend for years now, ChibiUsa. You should have trusted me. 
 365.618 +Besides Diana and I have our own little secret we'd like to tell 
 365.619 +you."       
 365.620 +
 365.621 +"Secret?" ChibiUsa asked looking to Momoko and Diana. 
 365.622 +Searching their faces for the answer and coming up with 
 365.623 +nothing. She sat next to Hotaru and took her hand
 365.624 +into her own.
 365.625 +
 365.626 +"You tell them, Diana." Momoko said watching Diana leap off 
 365.627 +of her head and patter down to the floor. Then she saw Diana 
 365.628 +change into her human form, take her hand into her own and 
 365.629 +smile to ChibiUsa and Hotaru.
 365.630 +
 365.631 +"We're an item!" she said with childish glee. Her face lighting 
 365.632 +up into a thousand little bulbs. The two girls sat in amazement, 
 365.633 +the whole ordeal not really registering.
 365.634 +
 365.635 +"Momo-chan," Haruka's voice interrupted. "Would you like to 
 365.636 +stay with us tonight?" Hotaru looked to her parents in the 
 365.637 +doorway. The green-haired women and her blonde haired 
 365.638 +lover looking at the two couples, smiling happily.
 365.639 +
 365.640 +"Here, Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama?" Hotaru asked. "But..."
 365.641 +
 365.642 +"You have a true friend here Hotaru." Michiru said in her sing-
 365.643 +song voice. "It isn't everyday you find someone in the same 
 365.644 +situation that you are both in. Or that understands the two of 
 365.645 +you so well. You have both found someone who is accepting 
 365.646 +you for who you are. For who you've become, it's a special 
 365.647 +gift. You should embrace it." Hotaru looked to ChibiUsa
 365.648 +and felt a great weight lifted off of her. The dream of her not 
 365.649 +having to hide the fact that she was in love with ChibiUsa was 
 365.650 +coming true. She didn't have to hide in her own home, and 
 365.651 +now she didn't have to hide it from Diana and Momoko. She 
 365.652 +smiled with a beam and took ChibiUsa's hand into her own.
 365.653 +
 365.654 +"Your right Michiru-mama," Hotaru said, kissing ChibiUsa in 
 365.655 +the forehead. "I am lucky."
 365.656 +
 365.657 +**********
 365.658 +
 365.659 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru sat along side each other while looking 
 365.660 +at Diana and Momoko holding hands and talking feverishly 
 365.661 +about the events that had brought them together. The story 
 365.662 +unfolding in a strange and happy conversation. They were
 365.663 +still adjusting to the fact that they where free to be themselves 
 365.664 +amongst the two girls that had been their dear friends for so 
 365.665 +long. The feeling was soaring, but the change was also filled 
 365.666 +with surprises. ChibiUsa was met with more kisses then she 
 365.667 +could handle, and she was able to lay into Hotaru's embrace
 365.668 +for longer periods of time then she was used to. The smiles on 
 365.669 +Diana and Momoko's faces, both pleased and happy, gave her 
 365.670 +an easy feeling.
 365.671 +
 365.672 +'If I had known how different our relationship would after 
 365.673 +telling just a few people,' ChibiUsa thought, 'I would have 
 365.674 +done it a long time ago.'  Hotaru smiled and kissed her again.
 365.675 +
 365.676 +"ChibiUsa-chan," Momoko asked. "When are you going to tell 
 365.677 +Naruru and Ruruna?"
 365.678 +
 365.679 +The End.
 365.680 +
 365.681 +

   366.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   366.2 +++ b/stories/itry.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   366.3 @@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
   366.4 +Hello! ^-^ This is a songfic about Tomoyo-chan using the song ‘I Try’ by Macy 
   366.5 +Gray. ^-^ I hope you like it! ^-^
   366.6 +
   366.7 +I Try
   366.8 +by Amazoness Duo
   366.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  366.10 +
  366.11 +
  366.12 +“Games, changes, and fears.
  366.13 +When will they go from here?
  366.14 +When will they stop?”
  366.15 +
  366.16 +	I love you so much, Sakura-chan. More than you could ever know. But 
  366.17 +you don’t see that, do you? That’s okay. I just want you to be happy. But I wish 
  366.18 +things didn’t have to take such a round about way to get there. First Tsukishiro-
  366.19 +san and then Li-kun. I wonder when things will finally slow down enough for 
  366.20 +you. I want to be the one who gets to be the focus of your love.
  366.21 +
  366.22 +“I believe that Fate has brought us here.
  366.23 +And we should be together, babe.
  366.24 +But we’re not.”
  366.25 +
  366.26 +	From the first day we met, I’ve been so in love with my beautiful 
  366.27 +Sakura-chan. And my love for you has only grown stronger throughout the 
  366.28 +years, through all that we’ve been through. I’ve been keeping it inside, watching 
  366.29 +you from a distance. I’m right there, but you don’t see me. But I’m happy to 
  366.30 +watch. To watch and love you from afar. But sometimes... Sometimes I want 
  366.31 +you to notice me. More than just a blush for a few seconds when I say 
  366.32 +something embarrassing. I want you to look at me. To look at me the way I look 
  366.33 +at you. But that’s silly. You would never look at me that way with those 
  366.34 +shimmering emerald eyes. Would you?
  366.35 +
  366.36 +“I play it off but I’m dreaming of you.
  366.37 +And I’ll keep my cool, but I’m feeling,
  366.38 +I try to say goodbye and I choke
  366.39 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
  366.40 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
  366.41 +My world crumbles when you are not there.
  366.42 +Goodbye and I choke.
  366.43 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
  366.44 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
  366.45 +My world crumbles when you are not there.”
  366.46 +
  366.47 +	Sakura-chan is so genki, and sweet, and gentle, and shy, and perfect. 
  366.48 +How could I not fall in love with you? It’s just impossible. There’s no way I 
  366.49 +could spend so much time with you and not feel my heart flutter whenever 
  366.50 +you’re near me. Your friendship means everything to me. It fills my soul with 
  366.51 +joy just to be able to spend an afternoon with my dear Sakura-chan. I couldn’t 
  366.52 +risk affecting our friendship, even if I think you’d be accepting of my love for 
  366.53 +you. My love for you will never change. I’ll always love you, even if I can’t be 
  366.54 +with you. So I pretend it’s nothing. I hide behind my cheerful wall, not letting 
  366.55 +anything affect me. At least not that you can see. But it does hurt. Being around 
  366.56 +you so often, but never being able to tell you, to let you know that every beat of 
  366.57 +my heart murmurs your name throughout my body. I tell myself that I’ll be 
  366.58 +happy as long as you are, but I don’t think I can ever be happy without you. But 
  366.59 +maybe if I know you’re happy, I can be content with that thought. Because I’ll 
  366.60 +never stop loving you. It’s so difficult to keep up the charade sometimes. Seeing 
  366.61 +you blush at my comments or just wearing one of my costumes is almost 
  366.62 +unbearable. I just want to let it slip for a moment. I want to hug you and kiss you 
  366.63 +and tell you how much my heart yearns for you every waking moment. That 
  366.64 +cutely costumed Sakuras haunt my dreams. But I have to keep silent, always 
  366.65 +smiling. For you.
  366.66 +
  366.67 +“I may appear to be free.
  366.68 +But I’m just a prisoner.
  366.69 +Of your love.”
  366.70 +
  366.71 +	You think I’m happier than I am. That I’m stronger than I am. But 
  366.72 +that’s okay. Because I wouldn’t want to worry you with what’s hiding beneath 
  366.73 +the surface. It’s not your fault that you don’t see it. I hide it from you because I 
  366.74 +think it’s better that way. Maybe when you’re older I can explain everything and 
  366.75 +we’ll both laugh about how I would fawn over you and you wouldn’t even 
  366.76 +notice. And I’ll dress you up in a cute wedding dress and you still won’t notice. I 
  366.77 +have hinted a little heavily sometimes, but you can hardly be expected to notice. 
  366.78 +You’re very busy with the Cards and school and friends. Besides, I always 
  366.79 +found that denseness about you to be rather cute. I find everything about you 
  366.80 +cute. I stay silent about my feelings because I love you. I will do everything I 
  366.81 +can to make you happy because I love you. Sometimes it hurts so much that I 
  366.82 +want to break down and cry, but I know I can’t slip in front of you. It would be 
  366.83 +so much easier to let it all go, but I know that that’s impossible. The red string of 
  366.84 +fate has me bound eternally to you, Sakura-chan.
  366.85 +
  366.86 +“And I may seem all right.
  366.87 +And smile when you leave.
  366.88 +But my smiles are just a front.
  366.89 +Just a front.”
  366.90 +
  366.91 +	I try not to give you any reasons to worry about me. You already have 
  366.92 +enough to worry about without taking into consideration my feelings. I wouldn’t 
  366.93 +want to burden you anymore than you already are. And I would take all of that 
  366.94 +off your shoulders if I could. But you really do make a wonderful Card Mistress, 
  366.95 +so maybe I’d leave that... I have to have some reason to get you into cute 
  366.96 +costumes, after all. So I try not to let you see when I’m sad or when I’m hurting. 
  366.97 +Because I need you to be happy, even if I can’t be. I can’t stand to see Sakura-
  366.98 +chan sad, especially on my behalf. I’ll keep catching that smiling face on 
  366.99 +videotape so that I can watch it whenever I’m down. But even then, part of me 
 366.100 +wishes that you could see past my fake smiles and cheerful voice to the pain 
 366.101 +deep inside. I wish that you could know, even though it would hurt me 
 366.102 +immensely to force that upon you. So please don’t look past my smiles, Sakura-
 366.103 +chan. Because I know yours are real. And I can watch those shining smiles over 
 366.104 +and over again, letting them warm my lonely heart. 
 366.105 +
 366.106 +“I play it off but I’m dreaming of you.
 366.107 +And I’ll keep my cool but I’m feeling,
 366.108 +I try to say goodbye and I choke.
 366.109 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
 366.110 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
 366.111 +My world crumbles when you are not there.
 366.112 +Goodbye and I choke.
 366.113 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
 366.114 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
 366.115 +My world crumbles when you are not there.”
 366.116 +
 366.117 +	Sometimes it’s so hard to keep it up. My knees go weak and my heart 
 366.118 +pounds in my chest and my vision blurs. Everything disappears but you. And I 
 366.119 +try so hard to keep up the illusion that I’m perfectly all right. That there’s 
 366.120 +nothing to worry about. But I want nothing more than to hold your hand. To 
 366.121 +gaze into those deep, jade eyes of yours. To look forever into Sakura-chan. Do 
 366.122 +you know how that feels? To feel so completely and utterly in love with 
 366.123 +someone that your body won’t listen to you? That they’re the only thing in your 
 366.124 +entire world? To borrow from you, Sakura-chan, everything is just ‘hanyaa’. It’s 
 366.125 +perfect. But I barely manage to keep up my mask. I say something embarrassing 
 366.126 +to you that you almost immediately shrug off and I’m back to where I was. No, I 
 366.127 +want to cry. Because my feelings have nowhere to go. I can’t pour them out to 
 366.128 +you the way I want to. I just have to pretend they’re not there so I won’t risk 
 366.129 +anything. And you ignore my hints and comments. So I go back home and watch 
 366.130 +my precious Sakura-chan. Hours and hours and hours of you on videotape, 
 366.131 +doing almost anything imaginable. But it’s not you. And it’s a poor substitute 
 366.132 +for you. But it’s all I have. 
 366.133 +
 366.134 +“Here is my confession.
 366.135 +May I be your possession.
 366.136 +Boy, I need your touch.
 366.137 +For love, kisses, and such.
 366.138 +With all my mind I try.
 366.139 +But this I can’t deny.
 366.140 +Deny.”
 366.141 +
 366.142 +	Despite all of this, you’re all I want. With all of my heart. I just want to 
 366.143 +be with you. I want to be the one to make you happy. I want to hold you close 
 366.144 +when you’re scared, to hug and kiss you when I’m lonely, and to just be there to 
 366.145 +pour all of that love inside my heart onto you. I want you to be happy above all 
 366.146 +else, but I wish... I wish I could be the one to make you happy. I wish I could be 
 366.147 +the one to receive Sakura-chan’s warm love. When you’re lonely or sad, you 
 366.148 +come to me with your problems and I try my best to soothe you. But when I’m 
 366.149 +lonely or sad, I pretend it’s fine and I go out of my way not to force them on 
 366.150 +you. I’m sorry for not telling you. But I promised myself that I’d watch out for 
 366.151 +you. Your happiness means so much to me. I can’t spoil it. I’d hate myself for 
 366.152 +ever taking a sweet smile from your lips. Sakura-chan should always be smiling. 
 366.153 +Just like I’ll always be watching. I need you, Sakura-chan. But I can’t tell you 
 366.154 +that. 
 366.155 +
 366.156 +“I play it off but I’m dreaming of you. (but I’m dreaming of you babe)
 366.157 +And I’ll keep my cool but I’m feeling,
 366.158 +I try to say goodbye and I choke.
 366.159 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
 366.160 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
 366.161 +My world crumbles when you are not there.
 366.162 +Goodbye and I choke.
 366.163 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
 366.164 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
 366.165 +My world crumbles when you are not there.
 366.166 +Goodbye and I choke.
 366.167 +I try to walk away and I stumble.
 366.168 +Though I try to hide it, it’s clear.
 366.169 +My world crumbles when you are not there.
 366.170 +
 366.171 +	You may not notice it, but my love is always burning right there for 
 366.172 +you. It’s always there to support you with whatever you do and soothe your 
 366.173 +weary soul whenever you need it. And that will never change, no matter what 
 366.174 +lies ahead. Even if you don’t see it, even if you don’t see me, I’ll be right behind 
 366.175 +you, following your every adventure in life. I have to admit, it looks lonely on 
 366.176 +the road up ahead. But I’m sure as long as I can follow you on the road, even if I 
 366.177 +can’t travel it with you, I’ll manage somehow. I love you too much not to. 
 366.178 +You’ll always be the closest to my heart, Sakura-chan.  I wish that I could be 
 366.179 +your travel mate. I could pack the bags and we could see wherever life took us. 
 366.180 +Please? I’m sure it will only be good things in store for you. But even if there 
 366.181 +were some clouds in the sky, it would be all right as long as I was with you. But 
 366.182 +I guess it can’t work that way, can it? It’s still nice to dream, though. I know it 
 366.183 +would be heaven to experience all of what life has to offer with Sakura-chan. 
 366.184 +Instead I’ll just need to content myself with the postcards I can get from you as 
 366.185 +life pulls you inexplicably towards whatever lies in store. And I’ll read them 
 366.186 +again and again, sealing whatever bit of you I can catch forever in my heart. I’ll 
 366.187 +take life’s home movies of you. So smile, Sakura-chan. And I’ll smile, too. Just 
 366.188 +please don’t look past my smile. Because I don’t think I can hide the tears 
 366.189 +forever.

   367.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   367.2 +++ b/stories/jealous.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   367.3 @@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
   367.4 +Hallo! It's me again, Hinako Shinjo. Sorry from hearing from me again so soon, I just find it weird to get to successive ideas for a fanfic from nowhere. A Sakura x Tomoyo x Li fanfic!(What, a threesome? NO!) I just seem to get more twisted with every storry I come up with. >:D Hee. Anyway, down to business. This story takes place, let's say, Junior High, that's all I'm telling. 
   367.5 +
   367.6 +*on her knees* Feedback, be it flames or praises, give me feedback! It actually inspires me to write more, *Specially praises, ~heehee~* I always bother to give other authors feedback, so please be kind enough to give me some....I BEG YOUUUUU! It's still hinako_shinjo@yahoo.com 
   367.7 +
   367.8 +If you got some time to spare, read on! 
   367.9 +
  367.10 +Disclaimer: 
  367.11 +All characters in this story are property of CLAMP. I'm just messing with them a little. 
  367.12 +
  367.13 +~Jealousy~ 
  367.14 +
  367.15 +
  367.16 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  367.17 +
  367.18 +I fumbled idly with my pen in class, looking at the empty seat beside me. It's been three days since she's been absent, and she hasn't accepted my calls. She doesn't even accept visitors, not even me. Sigh. I just hope she's fine. I'd hate myself if something happens to her without me being of help... 
  367.19 +
  367.20 +"Daidouji-san, maybe you would like to join the rest of us in class!" 
  367.21 +
  367.22 +I stiffened from my seat and felt some heat rushing to my face. How can teachers be so inconsiderate? Third this day. Everyone probably thinks I've got a trend going on now. Sigh. What can I do? I took my pen and started jotting notes to *be* with the *rest* of the class. 
  367.23 +
  367.24 +It took forever before the bell rang. 
  367.25 +
  367.26 +**** 
  367.27 +
  367.28 +I saw the bewildered expression on Rika's face when I declined her offer. I said I wanted to be alone. Yeah, right, alone. Like I'm not alone already. She understood pretty well, though. Without Sakura-chan around, everything seems duller for me. Why is she absent from class anyway? And why do I get the feeling that she's avoiding me?...has she finally found out what I mean by my words? Oh no. Please don't let this be. Maybe that's why she doesn't accept my calls nor my visits. Maybe she'll... 
  367.29 +
  367.30 +"Tomoyo-chan!" 
  367.31 +
  367.32 +I stopped walking and looked behind me. Oh, him. Maybe he knows more about this than I do, afterall, he *is* her boyfriend. 
  367.33 +
  367.34 +"Li-kun, how nice it is to see you.", I said as I gave him my usual smile. 
  367.35 +
  367.36 +I looked at Li quizically after that. He seemed a little out of it today. He had his hands dugged into his pockets and was staring at me like I was...naked or something. When he finally have realized he was staring his cheeks became flushed and he looked down to his feet. I supressed a giggle as I covered my mouth with a hand. 
  367.37 +
  367.38 +"Got anyone to walk with, Tomoyo-chan?", he asked me when he got his composure back. 
  367.39 +
  367.40 +"No one in particular, Li-kun, want to keep me company?", I answered immediately getting his point with that question. 
  367.41 +
  367.42 +Li nodded quickly and his face became flushed again. He *is* a little out of it today, I told myself. I let him walk besides me and we chatted idly as we started walking towards my car. I felt weird somehow, he was looking at me all the time we walked together. It made me a little uncomfy, I must admit, so I just went on to ask him with what's bothering me. 
  367.43 +
  367.44 +"Li-kun, do yo know what happened to Sakura-chan?" 
  367.45 +
  367.46 +I became even more puzzled when Li stopped walking, as if he became nailed on the ground. He dugged his hands again to his pockets and looked down. I could tell he was looking for words to say. I could also tell that something happened, something bad happened to Sakura-chan... 
  367.47 +
  367.48 +"Li-kun, tell me, please! Did something happen to Sakura?!", I blurted out as I held him by the shoulders and started shaking him. 
  367.49 +
  367.50 +He looked at me with an apologetic glint in his eyes. I can feel tears building up in my eyes but I ignored that, all I cared about that moment is what happened to Sakura. 
  367.51 +
  367.52 +He took a deep breath and said, "Tomoyo-chan...I broke up with her." 
  367.53 +
  367.54 +It was all in a haze, really. I felt my emotions become all mixed up in a second. From it being worry, it became anger. I wanted to grab him by his neck and choke him there and now. It may be unusual of me to think like this but he hurt Sakura-chan, my dear Sakura-chan! 
  367.55 +
  367.56 +Fortunately for him, I kept my cool and asked him in a reserved manner, "Why did you?" 
  367.57 +
  367.58 +I could see him fidgeting right before me. He pulled his right hand from his pocket and started scratching his head. He still faced the ground. I guess he was finding some valid explanation he can give me. I folded my arms over my chest with my books and waited for him to talk. 
  367.59 +
  367.60 +When he raised his head, I felt that I took a step backward unconsciously. His face was set in a grim expression, and being flushed with a bright red. I felt his eyes boring down deep into me, sending shivers all over my body. All I could do was ask him a nervous "What?" 
  367.61 +
  367.62 +Li reluctantly took a step forward towards me. I can't say how shocked I was when he took my hands and held it in his own. I tried to avoid his gaze but I couldn't. He looked so desperate. Why is he doing this? If he wanted me to help in patching things up with Sakura he doesn't even have to ask. 
  367.63 +
  367.64 +"Tomoyo-chan, I broke up with Sakura because...because..." 
  367.65 +
  367.66 +His blush deepened. I shook my head not understanding what he was trying to say. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Just imagine how shocked I was when he lunged his head forward and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. He dropped my hands and immediately took a step backwards. His face couldn't have been more redder. 
  367.67 +
  367.68 +"That's why. I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I just...realized it. I've always found you amazing. You're beautiful, perfect, what else can I say? You're always so kind, so generous, not only to me, but also to Sakura." He stopped, then looked down then, he continued. "I know you'd hate me for hurting your bestfriend, but it would hurt her more if I kept on lying to her, so...I broke up with her." He looked at me waiting for a reply. 
  367.69 +
  367.70 +"Li-kun, does she know that you...did this because of me?" 
  367.71 +
  367.72 +He nodded. At that, I just turned around to leave. 
  367.73 +
  367.74 +I didn't even know where I was heading. 
  367.75 +
  367.76 +**** 
  367.77 +
  367.78 +I tossed and turned restlessly on my bed. No doubt I feel like crap. More like worthless crap, yeah, that's right, worthless piece of crap. Here I am, feeling miserable over a guy who dumped me for my bestfriend, while he is probably ogling around her now. Dammit. Damn him, damn her, damn them all! 
  367.79 +
  367.80 +I grabbed my alarm clock and looked at what time it was. 1:15 in the morning, and I'm not a bit sleepy. Sleep, heh. That's something I hadn't done in the past few days. I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself, what not?...and to be honest, plotting revenge. I was even plotting to use all of the Clow cards for it...but nah. It would seem too childish and immature of me to use them for that sort of thing. I just hate him for doing this to me. And her too. Sigh. I placed my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling. 
  367.81 +
  367.82 +Well, come to think of it, I shouldn't be hating her. It isn't her fault that she's so perfect. Heck, anyone in the right mind would fall for her the instant they saw her. She's just so beautiful! Her hair is so soft and silky, it just flows along so beautifuly whenever the wind plays with it. And the way she smiles, it can melt people right where they are standing. Her eyes also match her pale skin so beautifully, they're like blue gems stuck in the clouds or something...and her amazing body figure is just to die for... 
  367.83 +
  367.84 +In a snap I sat up on my bed. My thoughts just wandered to where it *shouldn't* be, concerning Tomoyo at least. What am I doing? What was I thinking? I should be thinking of Li instead of Tomoyo, or Tomoyo, no it should be Li... 
  367.85 +
  367.86 +"Argh! Curse him for making me think like this!", I said out loud. 
  367.87 +
  367.88 +I grabbed a pillow, put it over my head, and tried to get some rest. 
  367.89 +
  367.90 +"I'm going to settle this tomorrow...", I murmured to myself as I felt my eyes get heavy. 
  367.91 +
  367.92 +**** 
  367.93 +
  367.94 +I peeped through the window to see if he was anywhere on sight. Okay, so I was avoiding him all day. I was even rude enough to leave the table which I occupied with my friends when he sat down. I know Li just wants to be...near me, but I can't help feeling guilty about it. Especially that Sakura came back to class today being as equally cheerful and nice towards me eventhough I was the cause of this. She didn't even say a word about it, but she did say she wanted to talk to me alone after class. Poor Sakura...if I can just tell her that I... 
  367.95 +
  367.96 +I almost screamed when I felt a firm hand land on my shoulder. I looked behind my shoulder to see Li, who had a very hurt expression on his face. 
  367.97 +
  367.98 +"Tomoyo-chan, I need to talk to you, please?", he pleaded. 
  367.99 +
 367.100 +I blinked a few times, then looked around quickly for any sign of Sakura. Seeing that she's not anywhere on sight, I reluctantly agreed, provided that it be somewhere private, somewhere where she can't see us. He smiled and nodded. 
 367.101 +
 367.102 +**** 
 367.103 +
 367.104 +I ran around campus with my backpack hanging loosely by my shoulders and literally running over anyone who got in my way. I'm pretty sure that he's with Tomoyo right now trying to win her over. Just the thought of that makes me see red! I still can't drop the fact that he dumped me for my bestfriend, and I'm more than ready bash his head in if he lays a hand on her. 
 367.105 +
 367.106 +Wait a minute...bash shouldn't it be bash HER head? 
 367.107 +
 367.108 +I almost stumbled when I realized what I had been thinking. When I regained my balance, I walked towards a tree and leaned my back to it. I had a thought going on in my head. 
 367.109 +
 367.110 +Why do I seem to be miserable by the fact that he is going after Tomoyo instead of him dumping me? Why am I more disturbed over the thought that Tomoyo might be actually beginning to fall for Li? If he dumped me for someone else, would I feel this way? If it was someone else, I would have ran crying to Tomoyo and she would wipe my tears away, comfort me with her smiles and embraces that would always melt all my troubles to nothing. But it was her, and I had nobody to go to. And if he wins her heart, I'd lose her, her that had always given me hapiness and... 
 367.111 +
 367.112 +I felt my mouth fell open as memories came back to me. 
 367.113 +
 367.114 +"I like doing things for my "special person"." 
 367.115 +
 367.116 +"I love you Sakura-chan." 
 367.117 +
 367.118 +"I'll tell you again when we are older." 
 367.119 +
 367.120 +I fell to the ground, sitting. I never looked at it this way, until now. I felt a sting of guilt and sorrow thinking about Tomoyo. All those years she was beside me, seeing me love someone else, with me never realizing what she had always tried to say. She'd always be happy for me when I am happy, and sad if I was sad. I can just imagine how much pain she feels seeing me with someone else. But she's always there for me. Always ready to lend an ear, give a hand, offer a shoulder to cry on. Always smiling eventhough her heart ached with a pain that I caused. I...had given her that pain. 
 367.121 +
 367.122 +I sprang up to my feet, wiping my tears with my arm and headed off to look for her again. 
 367.123 +
 367.124 +I knew exactly what I had to do. 
 367.125 +
 367.126 +**** 
 367.127 +
 367.128 +We stood before each other in a safe distance, behind the school's old gymnasium. Nobody was around except us. Like that helped me feel any better. 
 367.129 +
 367.130 +"I'm sorry about what happened during lunch break, Li-kun...", I started when he abruptly raised his hand that made me stop. 
 367.131 +
 367.132 +"You needn't explain, Tomoyo-chan. I know exactly how you feel...you feel guilty that I left Sakura-chan for you." 
 367.133 +
 367.134 +I nodded, then felt my blood rushing to my face when he took my hands and placed them over his chest. I looked at Li. He looked back at me, so longingly, so lovingly. I never got to look at him that close, moreover him looking that way at me. I wondered right at that moment if I ever gave away my feelings for Sakura by looking at her like that. Oh, yeah, I forgot how naive she is about it. 
 367.135 +
 367.136 +"Listen to me, Tomoyo-chan. I know it would take a little time for you to be comfortable around me, she is your bestfriend afterall.", he paused a moment and sighed. "I'm no good at this...", he continued. "I feel guilty too, I mean, you hang out with her all the time, and if I want you to...like me, I'd have to be around you all the time too, right? And I have to be with her, and it wouldn't help if all three of us would feel uneasy with each other, right?" He breathed in deeply and I noticed that he had forgotten to do that all the while he was talking. 
 367.137 +
 367.138 +"But Li-kun, I can't just drop this feeling that I have, you hurt my bestfriend, because of me.", I said, looking away. I tried to pull my hands away from him but he didn't let go. He kept them on his chest and he actually pulled me in closer. He let go of my hands but I still can't get away when he wrapped his arms around my waist. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out, I felt breathless and paralyzed in his arms. 
 367.139 +
 367.140 +He looked at my face and murmured, "You just don't know how beautiful you are." 
 367.141 +
 367.142 +I admit it, I was flattered, flattered enough to stand there and do nothing as he began lowering his face to mine. When I finally came back to reality I found his face barely an inch before mine. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. 
 367.143 +
 367.144 +To my surprise, I felt a hand grab my arm and jerked me away from Li. I opened my eyes and saw that it was Sakura. Before I could even begin to explain, Sakura looked sharply at me then to Li, who was still caught off-guard with what just happened. 
 367.145 +
 367.146 +"What do you think are you doing to her?!", Sakura snapped at Li. I tried go in between them but the look on Sakura's face made me shrink. I never saw her that mad before! 
 367.147 +
 367.148 +"What's it to you?", Li answered back just as indignantly. He reached for my arm and caught it firmly. He began to pull me away but Sakura grabbed my other arm. I felt like a rope being used in a tug-of-war contest. 
 367.149 +
 367.150 +Sakura sneered and looked mockingly at Li, saying, "Hah! What's it to me? I feel sorry for you, Li. Don't you know Tomoyo-chan is already in love with somebody else?" 
 367.151 +
 367.152 +I looked at Sakura with fear in my eyes. Does she really know that I am already in love with someone else? And does she know that she's that person? Or is she just using me to get back at Li?..no, Sakura-chan isn't like that, she wouldn't... 
 367.153 +
 367.154 +"Can't you try anything better than that, Sakura?", Li answered dryly as he tugged again on my arm and said, "C'mon, Tomoyo, let's leave." I felt Sakura tug on my arm strong enough to pull Li with me. Sakura was still sneering as she looked at Li. 
 367.155 +
 367.156 +"She loves ME.", Sakura said plainly. 
 367.157 +
 367.158 +My mouth dropped open as she said that. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Li had the same reaction too. A moment passed by with silence... 
 367.159 +
 367.160 +"Is it true, Tomoyo-chan?", Li asked in quiet monotone. 
 367.161 +
 367.162 +Both their eyes were on me now. I turned my head to look at Li, with a doubtful expression on. I then turned my head to face Sakura. She was smiling at me with a triumphant shimmer on her eyes. No use lying now. 
 367.163 +
 367.164 +I took a deep breath and faced Li. "Yes, I'm in love with Sakura-chan, Li-kun." I saw him stiffen from where he was standing. His breathing started to become short and ragged. I don't have to see anymore of this. I turned away and found myself facing Sakura, who took hold of my arm and led me away from Li. I was pretty sure I heard him sobbing. 
 367.165 +
 367.166 +As soon as we were far enough, I broke away from Sakura's grasp. She seemed surprised at that, and asked me what's the matter. My chest was burning from within me as I looked at her. How can she be so dense? How can she not realize that it hurts for me to be used like that? Use my feelings as a tool of revenge against Li. I didn't realize that I was crying until she raised a hand to my cheek and wiped away a tear. 
 367.167 +
 367.168 +"Tomoyo-chan...let me explain...", she said as she took a step nearer to me. 
 367.169 +
 367.170 +"No, you don't have to explain, Sakura-chan.", I managed to smile through my tears. "I'm happy now that you know what I really feel for you, and you managed to use it for your revenge. " She looked away from me. 
 367.171 +
 367.172 +"I'm sorry.", she managed to say in an odd tone. 
 367.173 +
 367.174 +"It's okay. You know I'm happy when you're happy, and you can't seem to be happier that you got back at him Sakura-chan...excuse me." I tried not too sound too anguished, but I failed. I gingerly raised a hand to my face to wipe some tears, then turned to walk away. 
 367.175 +
 367.176 +I heard a sigh that was followed with her saying, "No, I'm not sorry for forcing you tell the truth in front of Li-kun, Tomoyo-chan. I'm sorry because I hadn't realized what you felt for me earlier." 
 367.177 +
 367.178 +I instantly froze on my tracks. When I turned around, I just found her plunging into my arms. At first I was reluctant to hold her, but I gave in to my emotions and held her as tight as I can. She pulled away from me slightly and she met my eyes. Seeing her smiling, I can't help but do the same. But I had to know something. 
 367.179 +
 367.180 +"You're not mad at me for being in love you, Sakura-chan?" 
 367.181 +
 367.182 +Still smiling, Sakura shook her head. I sighed. That was enough to tell me everything was fine. I started pulling away from her before I let my feeling to get the better of me but she had to do this... 
 367.183 +
 367.184 +It was all like in slow motion. With her closing her eyes, moving her lips in a manner that could only mean one thing. In what seemed like hours, she moved for the kill. 
 367.185 +
 367.186 +She kissed me right on the lips. MY lips. Tomoyo Daidouji's lips. God, why can't I seem to believe this? 
 367.187 +
 367.188 +I never closed my eyes through that. I was looking at her with my eyes wide open while she's kissing me, as if I want to know if it's really her. Needless to say, it's her. It's REALLY, REALLY HER. 
 367.189 +
 367.190 +She pulled away and looked at me oddly, then smiled. No, I shouldn't blush! Please, cheeks, don't blush!...and since when did you ever listen to me? Might as well ask her now... 
 367.191 +
 367.192 +"So, this means..." 
 367.193 +
 367.194 +Sakura cut me off with another kiss that was different that what she had given me just a while ago. This one is...what, what can I say...this is one made me just wrap my arms around her neck and I kissed her back like the entire world will be ending at any moment. 
 367.195 +
 367.196 +Both of us were out of breath when we stopped. I once again, tried to pull away from her before anyone could see us, but she wouldn't let me, with her arms wrapped around tightly around my waist. 
 367.197 +
 367.198 +"Sakura-chan, you know, you do have eventually, let go." 
 367.199 +
 367.200 +She pouted, then loosened her grip and let me go. We started to walk side by side towards the school gate. Then, a question popped out of my head. Without stopping nor looking at her, I asked... 
 367.201 +
 367.202 +"How'd you find out?" 
 367.203 +
 367.204 +I can feel the smile on her face as she gave me her answer. 
 367.205 +
 367.206 +"Oh nothing special, I just felt jealous." 
 367.207 +
 367.208 +Then and there I pinned her to the ground. I don't care if anyone saw us...I was giving Sakura-chan every reason why she should never ever be jealous of anyone now over me... 
 367.209 +
 367.210 +~THE END~ 
 367.211 +
 367.212 +
 367.213 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 367.214 +
 367.215 +Poor Li-kun! I feel so sorry for him as I was writing this. *Scoff, scoff, yeah right...* Watch out for my next fic, entitled.... 
 367.216 +"The Runaway Bride" 
 367.217 +Til then, see ya! ~K-cha~ 
 367.218 +

   368.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   368.2 +++ b/stories/johannstory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   368.3 @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
   368.4 +
   368.5 +
   368.6 +
   368.7 +              Author's note: This is my first CCS fic.  Comments are very much welcome.
   368.8 +	      cjchua@skyinet.net
   368.9 +
  368.10 +
  368.11 +
  368.12 +                                          Sayonara wa, Ame no Hi
  368.13 +
  368.14 +
  368.15 +
  368.16 +              Rain poured down as if the very clouds were mourning along with Sakura.
  368.17 +
  368.18 +              He was gone.
  368.19 +
  368.20 +              Not even the Mistress of the Clow could raise the dead.
  368.21 +
  368.22 +              It would've been easy to shield herself from the elements, but she preferred 
  368.23 +              not to.  A simple umbrella was all that prvented her from being completely 
  368.24 +              drenched.
  368.25 +
  368.26 +              "Sakura-chan."  Tomoyo stood by her side, unattended by her cadre of 
  368.27 +              bodyguards.
  368.28 +
  368.29 +              "Please, leave me alone, Tomoyo-chan.  I need to do this by myself."
  368.30 +
  368.31 +              "I know that the two of you were happy together--but you shouldn't throw 
  368.32 +              away your life just because you lost him."
  368.33 +
  368.34 +              "I'm not--"
  368.35 +
  368.36 +              "Touya said you haven't eaten in a week."
  368.37 +
  368.38 +              Sakura froze as she finally heard her body screaming for sustenance.
  368.39 +
  368.40 +              "Please...come home."
  368.41 +
  368.42 +              She turned and looked at Tomoyo nearly in tears herself.  Her eyes were 
  368.43 +              crying out, I don't want to lose you.
  368.44 +
  368.45 +              "To...Tomoyo-chan...  I didn't mean--" Sakura choked on her own tears "--all 
  368.46 +              this time, I didn't know.  Please believe me."
  368.47 +
  368.48 +              "I'd always hoped that you would see how I loved you someday, but I didn't 
  368.49 +              want it to be like this."
  368.50 +
  368.51 +              The raven-haired heiress paused as the downpour began to ebb.
  368.52 +
  368.53 +              "Sometimes it seems like there's no hope in sight, but then something 
  368.54 +              wonderfully unexpected happens."
  368.55 +
  368.56 +              "I was happy while you were--"
  368.57 +
  368.58 +              "I was happy, too--happy for you.  At least I tried to be.  I knew I could 
  368.59 +              make you happy, but I was afraid you wouldn't...understand."
  368.60 +
  368.61 +              "Oh, Tomoyo-chan...."
  368.62 +
  368.63 +              Tomoyo gazed upon her dearest friend and love as Sakura slowly opened her 
  368.64 +              heart to the one who had always been right beside her.
  368.65 +
  368.66 +              It was the longest and most treasured moment of their lives.
  368.67 +
  368.68 +              The rain had stopped half an hour ago.
  368.69 +
  368.70 +              Golden rays of light caressed their rain-soaked and weary bodies.
  368.71 +
  368.72 +              Tomoyo's warmth far exceeded the Sun's as Sakura lay with her head upon her 
  368.73 +              best friend and newfound-lover's bosom.
  368.74 +
  368.75 +              Rainy days never last for long.
  368.76 +
  368.77 +              -- 
  368.78 +              Johann Chua -- HP: http://www.geocities.com/fuuma_1999/ AIM: YnskKn
  368.79 +              CLAMP Fanfics 5.0: http://members.nbci.com/fuuma_monou/clampfix5.0/
  368.80 +              "Does anything last forever?  Does love?  Does pain?  I'll tell you
  368.81 +               when I'm a thosand years old."                    --Karen Kunawicz

   369.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   369.2 +++ b/stories/jrfdoor.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   369.3 @@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
   369.4 +
   369.5 +
   369.6 +Musings At The Door Of Sleep
   369.7 +
   369.8 +
   369.9 +
  369.10 + - Berk' Watkins, Student of Quantum Bogodynamics
  369.11 +
  369.12 +   It's 1999, do you know where your .plan is?
  369.13 +
  369.14 +
  369.15 +
  369.16 +               Cult of Chaos Productions Presents:
  369.17 +
  369.18 +                     A Random Act of Fandom
  369.19 +
  369.20 +
  369.21 +
  369.22 +
  369.23 +
  369.24 +                  Musings At The Door Of Sleep
  369.25 +
  369.26 +
  369.27 +
  369.28 +
  369.29 +
  369.30 +             Sailormoon Created By: Naoko Takeuchi
  369.31 +
  369.32 +
  369.33 +
  369.34 +                   Story By: J. Random Fanboy
  369.35 +
  369.36 +
  369.37 +
  369.38 +
  369.39 +
  369.40 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  369.41 +
  369.42 +
  369.43 +
  369.44 +When did I fall in love with you?  I wonder that sometimes,
  369.45 +
  369.46 +when I lie here, next to you, you know.  You're sleeping, as
  369.47 +
  369.48 +peacefully as you could ever sleep, while I lie here, gazing
  369.49 +
  369.50 +upon this person who made me whole after being nothing more
  369.51 +
  369.52 +than a fragment for years.
  369.53 +
  369.54 +
  369.55 +
  369.56 +You saved my soul...
  369.57 +
  369.58 +
  369.59 +
  369.60 +Your hair is down now, free from those absurd buns that only
  369.61 +
  369.62 +you can seem to manage to pull off.  Maybe it's the way you
  369.63 +
  369.64 +are, people are too busy seing the outgoing superstar you
  369.65 +
  369.66 +are to care about how you look.
  369.67 +
  369.68 +
  369.69 +
  369.70 +Impossible eyes, closed now.
  369.71 +
  369.72 +
  369.73 +
  369.74 +Impossible hair, free and flowing.
  369.75 +
  369.76 +
  369.77 +
  369.78 +Gods you're beautiful, my Usako.
  369.79 +
  369.80 +
  369.81 +
  369.82 +I could just lay here forever with you in my arms and never,
  369.83 +
  369.84 +never want to let go...  Now I'm crying.. I can't let you hear
  369.85 +
  369.86 +that, because then you'll be sad too.  I want to be selfish
  369.87 +
  369.88 +in my own little pains.
  369.89 +
  369.90 +
  369.91 +
  369.92 +The parents I never knew.
  369.93 +
  369.94 +
  369.95 +
  369.96 +Always being apart.
  369.97 +
  369.98 +
  369.99 +
 369.100 +I love you, my Usako...
 369.101 +
 369.102 +
 369.103 +
 369.104 +                       *    *    *    *
 369.105 +
 369.106 +
 369.107 +
 369.108 +Haruf?  Oh.. it's morning....
 369.109 +
 369.110 +
 369.111 +
 369.112 +I hate mornings...
 369.113 +
 369.114 +
 369.115 +
 369.116 +Oh?  Hello there...
 369.117 +
 369.118 +
 369.119 +
 369.120 +That pouty look on your sleeping face looks so funny.  You
 369.121 +
 369.122 +almost look like a little child who's had their ball taken
 369.123 +
 369.124 +away, and you're not sure if you want to be upset about it
 369.125 +
 369.126 +or not quite yet.
 369.127 +
 369.128 +
 369.129 +
 369.130 +That wonderful, raven-black hair I so wish I had.
 369.131 +
 369.132 +
 369.133 +
 369.134 +You look so refined and mature, even in your sleep, while
 369.135 +
 369.136 +I seem to stay like a little girl.  I know my body's
 369.137 +
 369.138 +grown.. but I feel so young...  I can't explain it...
 369.139 +
 369.140 +It's..?
 369.141 +
 369.142 +
 369.143 +
 369.144 +Oh why bother worrying about it?
 369.145 +
 369.146 +
 369.147 +
 369.148 +My morning feels better already with you there, sleeping
 369.149 +
 369.150 +peacefully at my side.
 369.151 +
 369.152 +
 369.153 +
 369.154 +The face is from deep in my memory, a time long ago.  I
 369.155 +
 369.156 +once saw that face twisted in rage, but now it's so hard
 369.157 +
 369.158 +to see you in that light.
 369.159 +
 369.160 +
 369.161 +
 369.162 +You are not that monster.
 369.163 +
 369.164 +
 369.165 +
 369.166 +A stirring...
 369.167 +
 369.168 +
 369.169 +
 369.170 +"Good morning, Hotachan...."
 369.171 +
 369.172 +
 369.173 +
 369.174 +You look at me with that funny, 'How'd you wake up first?'
 369.175 +
 369.176 +look I know so well.  Ah, it's gone now.
 369.177 +
 369.178 +
 369.179 +
 369.180 +"Good morning, Usako...."
 369.181 +
 369.182 +
 369.183 +
 369.184 +Heh.. you have morning breath..... but I do to, so I guess
 369.185 +
 369.186 +we're even.
 369.187 +
 369.188 +
 369.189 +
 369.190 +Time to cast aside sleep and go about with our day.. and
 369.191 +
 369.192 +tonight I guess we'll meet here again.  Me, watching you,
 369.193 +
 369.194 +watching me...
 369.195 +
 369.196 +
 369.197 +
 369.198 +I wonder who'll fall asleep first tonight?
 369.199 +
 369.200 +
 369.201 +
 369.202 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 369.203 \ No newline at end of file

   370.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   370.2 +++ b/stories/kstail.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   370.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1492 @@
   370.4 +Author’s notes: Hello minna-san! ^-^ This is the first story I’ve
   370.5 +written since I’ve moved. I’ve been having a hard time handling
   370.6 +things, so this has helped me to focus some of that energy. I wrote
   370.7 +most of this on three separate nights. It’s my second Saint Tail
   370.8 +story and hopefully it won’t be my last. ^-^ I would love to hear any
   370.9 +comments, so if you feel up to e-mailing, I would appreciate it. ^-^
  370.10 +This is an alternate end for Saint Tail, so I know it doesn’t fit
  370.11 +exactly with the end of the series. Oh, and Meimi originally had
  370.12 +glasses in the manga. Megumi Tachikawa said that she was farsighted
  370.13 +and only used them for school but she stopped drawing Meimi in them
  370.14 +because she didn’t have her in class much. I thought this was cute,
  370.15 +so I wanted to add it. ^-^ Anyway, thank you so much for reading! ^-^
  370.16 +
  370.17 +
  370.18 +
  370.19 +Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday
  370.20 +by Amazoness Duo
  370.21 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  370.22 +
  370.23 +
  370.24 +	‘The church is really beautiful,’ Meimi thought to herself as the
  370.25 +large structure came into view. A small smile crossed her lips as she
  370.26 +hugged her sweater to herself. ‘I’ve been here hundreds of times, but
  370.27 +I never really noticed just how beautiful it really is. But Seira
  370.28 +always noticed. She spent even more time here than I did.’ With the
  370.29 +changing direction in her line of thought, the brunette’s smile
  370.30 +faded. Sighing, she paused in front of the large, ornate doors. Her
  370.31 +heart plummeted as her mind drifted back to a conversation she had
  370.32 +had with Seira earlier. 
  370.33 +	Meimi was now fifteen. Though not the best of students, with
  370.34 +Seira’s help, she had passed rather well through her high school
  370.35 +entrance exams. Finally having such a huge weight lifted from her
  370.36 +shoulders, Meimi had been exhilarated at the newfound freedom. But
  370.37 +her excitement was short-lived. When she had asked Seira about what
  370.38 +the Catholic high school was like that they would be going to, Seira
  370.39 +had told her she would find out for her. Then she had struck Meimi a
  370.40 +blow that she was still reeling from. Seira wouldn’t be joining her
  370.41 +at the high school. She was going to Rome with one of the older
  370.42 +Sisters, presumably to prepare for entering the convent in a few
  370.43 +years. Something that Meimi had thought was years away was now
  370.44 +painfully close. 
  370.45 +	There wasn’t a time that Meimi could remember not having her gentle
  370.46 +best friend near. Seira was always there to help her through things,
  370.47 +always there to listen to her heart. The Sister-in-training made a
  370.48 +wonderful listener and she had granted Meimi a wonderful confidante.
  370.49 +Seira had been willing to do anything for her, from pretending to be
  370.50 +Meimi to protect her identity to running around dressed like a snow
  370.51 +girl. She had always been infinitely loyal to Meimi, always ready to
  370.52 +help her. But now Meimi was facing the thought of losing Seira and it
  370.53 +drove splinters through her heart. ‘Why God? Why are you taking her
  370.54 +away from me? I know you need her. But so do I...’ Meimi prayed
  370.55 +silently. The thought of losing her best friend sent shivers through
  370.56 +her. It felt like a large piece of her life was about to fade away,
  370.57 +something more important than a limb. She could already feel that
  370.58 +something was missing even though Seira wouldn’t be leaving for at
  370.59 +least another month. But that month hung over Meimi like a death
  370.60 +shroud. Despite Seira’s warm smile when she had come to greet her at
  370.61 +lunch, Meimi had only barely suppressed tears before running away
  370.62 +from her friend. How was she supposed to pretend that nothing was
  370.63 +wrong when Seira would be leaving so soon? How could she live through
  370.64 +the month when Seira would be gone by its end? 
  370.65 +	So here she was. The brunette thief had called Seira shortly after
  370.66 +getting home. She needed to speak with Seira as quickly as possible.
  370.67 +She didn’t know how, but she had to find some way to convince Seira
  370.68 +to stay. There had to be something she could do. Maybe God wanted
  370.69 +Seira for whatever His plans may be. But if that was the case, the
  370.70 +Saint Tail would have to steal her away. She hoped He would
  370.71 +understand. He would have to. He had placed Seira in her life, after
  370.72 +all. He had to know how important she was to Meimi. 
  370.73 +	Steeling her resolve, Meimi entered the church. Her fists clenched
  370.74 +in determination, the brunette girl glanced about for the one
  370.75 +troubling her thoughts. Seira had insisted they meet on the church,
  370.76 +something that seemed only fitting after how often they had met
  370.77 +there. Trailing her fingers over the edges of the pews, Meimi made
  370.78 +her way towards the altar. “Forgive me, Lord, for I am without
  370.79 +deceit,” Meimi whispered to herself. 
  370.80 +	“I hope you aren’t planning on going out as Saint Tail tonight. I’m
  370.81 +afraid there’s nothing to steal.” Seira’s words brought Meimi’s
  370.82 +attention to her immediately. The young Sister-in-training smiled
  370.83 +sweetly, dressed in her all white habit. Standing up from the front
  370.84 +Pew, she rested her hands together in front of her. She had been
  370.85 +praying for hours, having come to the church as soon as school had
  370.86 +ended. One of the nuns had to come get her when Meimi had called for
  370.87 +her. She felt her heart swell to see the mysterious thief once more.
  370.88 +Despite her best efforts, Meimi was never far from her mind. 
  370.89 +	Spotting Seira near the front, Meimi offered a small smile of her
  370.90 +own. “Everyone always comes to you to pray when they need Saint
  370.91 +Tail’s help. But this time, I think Saint Tail is the one who needs
  370.92 +help.” Her smile faltered as Seira slowly eliminated the distance
  370.93 +between them. Her vision blurred as tears once again threatened to
  370.94 +ruin her composure. She averted her gaze quickly, hoping that her
  370.95 +friend wouldn’t notice. 
  370.96 +	“You’re always welcome in the Lord’s home, Meimi-chan. You know
  370.97 +that. Everyone can come pray here. Even Saint Tail.” Seira felt an
  370.98 +icy chill overtake her as she saw just how close to tears the
  370.99 +brunette thief was. She took Meimi’s hand and led the semi-startled
 370.100 +girl over to the pew near the front that she had been using. Sitting
 370.101 +down, she motioned for Meimi to join her. It hurt her to see Meimi in
 370.102 +such pain. Which is why she had put off telling her for so long. In
 370.103 +retrospect, she had to wonder if that had been a wise decision. Maybe
 370.104 +if Meimi had known longer, it wouldn’t hurt so much now. But that was
 370.105 +all in the past. All she could do for now was try to help as well as
 370.106 +she could. “What’s wrong, Meimi-chan?” she asked worriedly. She knew
 370.107 +the problem well enough. It had been troubling her for quite some
 370.108 +time. If only she knew how to solve in better. 
 370.109 +	Meimi took a deep breath, staring straight ahead. Why was this so
 370.110 +difficult? Because Seira had never been leaving before. This had
 370.111 +never been a problem for her. But now she felt off balance, unsure.
 370.112 +“Seira-chan... Are you sure this is what you want to do? Go into the
 370.113 +convent, I mean. Is that really what you want to do with your life?” 
 370.114 +	“Of course, I do, Meimi-chan. I can’t think of a better path in
 370.115 +this life than one that serves the Lord. And how better to repay the
 370.116 +nuns here? They raised me, a poor orphan girl left on their doorstep.
 370.117 +No one forced them to. No one made them. I want to repay them for
 370.118 +that. For all of the happiness in my life. I owe so much to them. I
 370.119 +believe it’s my path in life,” Seira explained, watching the
 370.120 +brunette. This was something that she had decided long ago, but never
 370.121 +before had she had to explain it to her best friend. Meimi had simply
 370.122 +accepted it before now. But now, Meimi appeared to be having her
 370.123 +doubts. Of course, Seira had other reasons as well, but ones that
 370.124 +were a little more difficult to go into. 
 370.125 +	“But...” Meimi began, her voice breaking. She took another breath
 370.126 +before continuing. “But what about falling in love? What about
 370.127 +finding your special someone, of spending your life forever with him?
 370.128 +I can’t imagine God denying you that.” She knew she was grasping at
 370.129 +straws now, but she had to try. She couldn’t imagine Seira alone
 370.130 +forever, never falling in love. Why would God wish such a lonely life
 370.131 +for his diligent servant? It didn’t make any sense. Seira deserved to
 370.132 +have that. And Meimi wanted her to stay, so they could find it
 370.133 +together. 
 370.134 +	Seira paused for a moment, studying the teary eyed thief. After a
 370.135 +long silence, she answered, looking to the altar. “I’ve already
 370.136 +fallen in love, Meimi-chan. I fell in love a long time ago. God
 370.137 +didn’t deny me that. And I’ll forever thank Him for allowing me to
 370.138 +fall in love with such a wonderful person. That’s one of the many
 370.139 +reasons why I want to repay him by becoming a Sister.” 
 370.140 +	Watching Seira quietly, Meimi was astounded by how radiant she
 370.141 +looked. Whether it was because she was speaking of God or the one she
 370.142 +loved, Meimi couldn’t tell for sure. Whatever the case, Seira was
 370.143 +practically glowing. It wasn’t fair. Seira deserved to be happy. To
 370.144 +be loved. To be nearby. Meimi had always thought it would be fine
 370.145 +when Seira one day became a Sister, thinking she would simply become
 370.146 +one nearby. In her mind, it didn’t feel like anything would change.
 370.147 +But now, it felt too horrible to think of Seira all alone and far
 370.148 +away. The thought that Seira was in love only made that worse.
 370.149 +“You’re in love? Seira-chan, you never told me. You’ve always been
 370.150 +there to listen to me, but I guess I wasn't very good at listening
 370.151 +when you needed me. I’m sorry.” Meimi hung her head guiltily. She was
 370.152 +usually so much better at handling things, even if she could have a
 370.153 +fiery temper, but at the moment she was completely lost. How often
 370.154 +had Seira been there for her? How often had Seira saved her in one
 370.155 +sense or another? Without magic and without athletics, Seira had
 370.156 +always been there to save Meimi when everything was out of control.
 370.157 +She would always think of something to help her, even when her secret
 370.158 +identity was at stake. Seira had been her guardian angel. No one knew
 370.159 +her better than the Sister-in-training. Seira didn’t know the newest
 370.160 +trends or the hottest bands, but she knew everything about Meimi
 370.161 +herself. Yet Meimi had failed her. She had had no idea of Seira’s own
 370.162 +love. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. She
 370.163 +slowly looked up into Seira’s understanding blue-gray eyes. 
 370.164 +	“Meimi-chan, please don’t blame yourself. I never told you because
 370.165 +I didn’t want you to know. It wouldn’t change things right now even
 370.166 +if you did. I couldn’t get with this person no matter how much I
 370.167 +would want to. I’ve already decided what I’m going to do with my
 370.168 +life.” 
 370.169 +	“You didn’t want me to know? But why not? I’m your best friend. I
 370.170 +just thought there wasn’t anyone you liked.” Meimi’s mind started
 370.171 +sifting through everything, hoping for some clue to unravel Seira’s
 370.172 +love’s mystery identity. Part of her was hoping it would be the key
 370.173 +to keeping Seira from leaving. If she could only find out and somehow
 370.174 +fix things, then maybe Seira would change her mind. Determination
 370.175 +began to well up inside of her, burning throughout her body. Saint
 370.176 +Tail had helped countless people before. Now she would save the most
 370.177 +selfless and loving person she could think of. Somehow.
 370.178 +Unfortunately, whenever Saint Tail was off to solve things, Seira was
 370.179 +there to provide her with the information she needed to know. This
 370.180 +time she had no such luck. It left her wondering how she could manage
 370.181 +without her best friend. Would Seira leaving mean the end of Saint
 370.182 +Tail as well? She quickly shook off the thought. She couldn’t quit
 370.183 +being Saint Tail anymore than she could quit being Meimi. They were
 370.184 +like two different people, but they were both parts of her. ‘I can’t
 370.185 +do this without you,’ Meimi thought desperately. ‘But I have to try.’
 370.186 +Thinking quickly, her mind latched onto the first possibility. “Is it
 370.187 +Sawatari-kun? He does seem to like you. And he is pretty cool,” Meimi
 370.188 +conceded, watching Seira for any reaction. To her surprise, the young
 370.189 +Sister began to laugh. Meimi sweatdropped. “And you always laugh when
 370.190 +he hits on you.”
 370.191 +	Giggling, Seira nodded, covering her mouth primly. “That’s because
 370.192 +it’s funny. I think it’s silly that he would go to the trouble.
 370.193 +Everyone knows I’m going to become a nun. Besides, I love someone
 370.194 +else. So I couldn’t fall for his ‘charms’ even if I wasn’t going to.”
 370.195 +Another giggle escaped the dark haired girl’s lips as she watched the
 370.196 +quizzical look that Meimi gave her. She had always been amused that
 370.197 +Sawatari would shower any attention on her. It was something that
 370.198 +other girls didn’t understand. They would all kill for his attention.
 370.199 +That he would choose her out of everyone couldn’t help but make her
 370.200 +laugh. She wouldn’t be getting with anyone anyway. There was only one
 370.201 +person that she would want at all and it certainly wasn’t him.
 370.202 +	Meimi could only stare for a long moment, unsure of how to
 370.203 +continue. Well, it obviously wasn’t Sawatari. But who did that leave?
 370.204 +Seira was kind and sweet to everyone. But even then, there weren’t
 370.205 +any boys that stood out. Plenty came to her to pray and to confess
 370.206 +things, but none really knew her all that well. And Seira didn’t seem
 370.207 +to mind. There weren’t any boys that came to mind. Unless... Meimi’s
 370.208 +eyes went wide as a thought struck her. “It isn’t a boy, is it, Seira-
 370.209 +chan?” Her heart began to pound quicker in her chest as she waited
 370.210 +anxiously. Just how much had she missed about her best friend? How
 370.211 +much had she let go unnoticed? What if it was a girl? Who?
 370.212 +	A look of surprise crossed Seira’s features for a moment. She
 370.213 +hadn’t quite expected Meimi to ask anything like that. The dark
 370.214 +haired girl had been inclined to leave it off with there simply being
 370.215 +someone she was in love with. But though Meimi could be... moody, she
 370.216 +certainly wasn’t naïve. Slowly, she found herself nodding. She
 370.217 +couldn’t bring herself to lie about it, especially to Meimi. “Hai,
 370.218 +it’s a girl,” Seira said quietly, almost reluctantly. She couldn’t
 370.219 +bring herself to meet Meimi’s questing gaze. Her cheeks darkened
 370.220 +slightly in embarrassment and frustration. What was she supposed to
 370.221 +say if Meimi asked her? What could she do? She didn’t have to tell
 370.222 +her who it was. She could refuse to answer. But after all they had
 370.223 +been through together, could she really do that to Meimi? Didn’t
 370.224 +Meimi deserve to know? She would be leaving soon enough anyway. It
 370.225 +wouldn’t be able to cause much harm. 
 370.226 +	“Is that why you’re leaving? Is that why you want to be a nun?”
 370.227 +Meimi asked quickly, staring intently at the white clad girl next to
 370.228 +her. Things slowly began to make more sense to the mysterious thief.
 370.229 +That was why Seira was never interested in any of the boys, why she
 370.230 +was never interested in dating. Seira had been raised by the Sisters,
 370.231 +so of course she didn’t think she could be with a girl. That was why
 370.232 +she was intent on becoming a nun, remaining celibate. 
 370.233 +	Seira shook her head, clasping her gloved hands in front of her.
 370.234 +Only her face was visible in the long white dress. “No, that’s not
 370.235 +it.” She paused to consider for a moment. “That’s not all of it, at
 370.236 +least. Like I said before, I want to for the Lord. I want to pay back
 370.237 +the Sisters who raised me. And yes, because I’m in love with another
 370.238 +girl. I can’t be with her. And I won’t love anyone else. Anyone
 370.239 +besides Him. So I’ll be His willing servant.” Falling in love with
 370.240 +Meimi had only fortified Seira’s decision to become a Sister. She had
 370.241 +tasted love in all of its bittersweet glory. She had that and always
 370.242 +would. But it only helped her to realize where her path in life lay.
 370.243 +She couldn’t be with Meimi. She understood that. So there was nothing
 370.244 +to keep her from a life devoted to God. 
 370.245 +	Meimi’s head spun, her only real argument, that of Seira falling in
 370.246 +love, having faltered. Her spirits dwindled as she thought of life
 370.247 +without her guardian angel, of a life apart from her best friend. No.
 370.248 +There had to be something she could do. This couldn’t be it. She was
 370.249 +Saint Tail. She could fix this. She always gave people their happy
 370.250 +ending. Why couldn’t she have hers? “But maybe she could likes you
 370.251 +to. Or maybe she would if she only knew. Seira-chan, it can’t be a
 370.252 +sin for you to fall in love.”
 370.253 +	“And I don’t think it is. The Lord allowed me to fall in love with
 370.254 +a girl that fills my heart with joy. And I’m ever grateful for that.
 370.255 +But she’s out of my reach. Like a star in the sky, I can watch her
 370.256 +and love her, but I can’t have her no matter how my heart wishes
 370.257 +otherwise.” Seira smiled a little sadly at the brunette, suddenly
 370.258 +feeling very lonely in the large and empty church. Meimi was right
 370.259 +next to her, but it might as well have been thousands of miles away.
 370.260 +Like the face of God, some things were simply out of one’s reach. She
 370.261 +fought back the urge to cry herself. Swallowing back a lump in her
 370.262 +throat, she managed to hold the smile for a bit longer. Meimi was so
 370.263 +beautiful, so wonderful. If only love wasn’t such a double edged
 370.264 +sword. Her heart sang for the brunette, relishing in her company and
 370.265 +in the adoring thoughts she had of Meimi. But her heart also ached
 370.266 +terribly from the burden of that love. But she would suffer through
 370.267 +it as best she could. “Besides, you’re already in love with Asuka
 370.268 +Jr,” she finished. 
 370.269 +	“I am NOT in love with...” Meimi trailed off, Seira’s words ringing
 370.270 +in her ears. Her mouth opened and closed in a futile attempt to
 370.271 +continue. “Me?” she got out weakly, shock overtaking her. It felt
 370.272 +like an eternity before Seira replied with a small nod. Meimi
 370.273 +suddenly felt as if she were being tossed around on an unfriendly
 370.274 +sea, dipping below the treacherous waves that tried to drown her. How
 370.275 +could she be the one that Seira loved? How could she be the girl that
 370.276 +lay in Seira’s beautiful heart? But in many ways, it made sense.
 370.277 +Seira had always been willing to do anything for her, had always been
 370.278 +the there for her throughout it all. She had been the one to convince
 370.279 +Meimi to be Kaitou Saint Tail in the first place. She was the one who
 370.280 +was always seemed to matter the most to Seira, the one who Seira
 370.281 +always prayed for. Meimi clung to this newfound revelation as a life
 370.282 +raft, trying to stay afloat in her own sea of turmoil. “I’m not in
 370.283 +love with Asuka Jr.,” she stated again, more quietly this time. “I
 370.284 +hate him.” This was safer territory. She knew how to handle this.
 370.285 +They had spoken about it before. It was much easier for her to handle
 370.286 +than the uncharted territory of Seira’s feelings for her.
 370.287 +	Seira contemplated Meimi’s words for a moment, a small smile on her
 370.288 +lips. “Sometimes I think that you and Saint Tail are two completely
 370.289 +different people. You hate Asuka Jr., but she loves him. Or maybe she
 370.290 +just loves the chase,” the Sister-in-training said thoughtfully. She
 370.291 +had said it. At last. She had finally told Meimi how she felt about
 370.292 +her, albeit in an indirect fashion. But at least she had. She had
 370.293 +almost decided against it when she had realized how soon she would be
 370.294 +leaving. But this was for the best. She wouldn’t have a chance to
 370.295 +ruin things. And at least Meimi would know before she left. Meimi
 370.296 +would understand how important she was to Seira. 
 370.297 +	“I don’t...” Meimi struggled for words, unsure of what to say. Her
 370.298 +mind swirled about in one direction and another. “He’s such an idiot.
 370.299 +When I’m Meimi, we argue a lot and he really gets on my nerves. But
 370.300 +when I’m Saint Tail, I can’t wait for him to catch me. I keep
 370.301 +wondering when it will be. It’s like this fascinating game. I love
 370.302 +how he pays so much attention to Saint Tail. She’s his singleminded
 370.303 +obsession. I like how that feels when I’m her,” Meimi conceded at
 370.304 +last. It wasn’t something she thought about often. It was more of a
 370.305 +feeling than anything else. But it was so different when she was
 370.306 +Meimi and when she was Saint Tail. How could she have such
 370.307 +conflicting emotions? 
 370.308 +	Nodding thoughtfully, Seira watched her friend. “That’s what I
 370.309 +thought. It does sound like you’re two different people. She thinks
 370.310 +one way and you think another. But I noticed that a long time ago.
 370.311 +She gives you a chance to be something different, to be something
 370.312 +special. She lets you get the spotlight. You’re more confident as
 370.313 +her, as well. And everyone else seemed to notice her, especially
 370.314 +Asuka Jr. But what no one else saw, what you didn’t see, was that
 370.315 +Meimi-chan is special. That she’s more amazing than a thousand Saint
 370.316 +Tails. Everyone loves a good mystery. But what happens when the
 370.317 +mystery is gone, when the riddle’s been solved? What more does it
 370.318 +hold? That’s why I always simply thought of Saint Tail as you. As
 370.319 +Meimi in a cute magician’s outfit. But everyone else, even you, think
 370.320 +of her as something completely different, as a mysterious puzzle.”
 370.321 +Seira smiled softly, tilting her head to the side as she studied
 370.322 +Meimi. Her heart felt warm and fuzzy, her love surrounding herself
 370.323 +like a blanket. “I always thought you were perfect the way you are
 370.324 +Meimi. You don’t need to be mysterious. You don’t need to be
 370.325 +something more than you are. It was always enough for you to be you.
 370.326 +At least, I thought so. I always thought it was strange how Asuka Jr.
 370.327 +could chase Saint Tail so passionately and yet be so cold to you.
 370.328 +You’re more amazing than Saint Tail could ever hope to be, Meimi-
 370.329 +chan.” It was nice to be able to tell Meimi these things, to be able
 370.330 +to say them out loud for once. It relaxed a burden on her soul. Yes,
 370.331 +she would be gone soon. But at least she would have no regrets. “I’ve
 370.332 +loved you for the longest time.”
 370.333 +	Meimi blushed deeply as her own blue eyes met Seira’s. She was left
 370.334 +at a loss for what to say. She had to admit that it felt nice to know
 370.335 +that someone thought that way about her as Meimi, but Seira? It was
 370.336 +so bizarre. She wanted to say something, to make sense of the moment,
 370.337 +but coherent thought eluded her. No reply seemed adequate enough to
 370.338 +express her feelings. Words couldn’t begin to explain the swirl of
 370.339 +emotions that frenzied throughout her soul. The beautiful Sister-in-
 370.340 +training before her would soon be gone, leaving a void in her life
 370.341 +that she couldn’t replace. How was she supposed to go on without
 370.342 +Seira? How could she push forward without the dark haired girl’s ever-
 370.343 +present companionship and support? It would be like being lost in the
 370.344 +desert without any food or water. It would be like finding no shelter
 370.345 +in the midst of a storm. She would be lost without Seira’s inner
 370.346 +light to guide herself by. When the game was all over and done with,
 370.347 +what would become of Asuka Jr. and herself? He loved Saint Tail,
 370.348 +after all. And she loved the chase. What then? Could she even be
 370.349 +Saint Tail without Sister Seira to help her see things through? Would
 370.350 +it even be worth it? When all was said and done, it was Seira that
 370.351 +she needed, that Meimi needed. The game was wonderful, while it
 370.352 +lasted. But one day there would be no time for games. And she would
 370.353 +have to grow up. This wasn’t about Saint Tail, Meimi suddenly
 370.354 +realized. This was about herself. It didn’t matter what Saint Tail
 370.355 +thought or how she felt about whom. This was about Meimi and where
 370.356 +her own heart lay. But where exactly was that?
 370.357 +	Seira stood up slowly, smoothing down her long white skirt. She
 370.358 +offered a weak smile to her friend. She still didn’t know what to
 370.359 +think about Meimi’s reaction. She tried to tell herself that it
 370.360 +didn’t matter, that she would be leaving soon anyway. But she wanted
 370.361 +Meimi to have good memories of her. She wanted Meimi to remember her
 370.362 +fondly, not with concern. “I have to get to sleep, Meimi-chan. You
 370.363 +probably should, too. Otherwise your parents might wonder why you’re
 370.364 +so sleepy tomorrow morning.” Her back was to Meimi now, her hands
 370.365 +once again clasped in front of her. ‘Please, Lord, please don’t let
 370.366 +me cry. Not now. Please let me last until she’s gone. Just until
 370.367 +then. Please...’ she prayed quietly. The dark haired girl had trouble
 370.368 +focussing, feeling the anguish in her heart cascading throughout her.
 370.369 +She didn’t want to leave Meimi, even if it was necessary. Her heart
 370.370 +couldn’t handle the strain. 
 370.371 +	Seira was a good girl. She never lied, cheated, or stole from
 370.372 +anyone. Sometimes she would bend things, but only if she believed
 370.373 +they were for the best, for God. She didn’t get into trouble and
 370.374 +helped whoever she could. Yet this Sister-in-training had fallen in
 370.375 +love with a thief. Love was cruel, the sweetest torture that God
 370.376 +could ever have conjured up. And it was one that left Seira weak and
 370.377 +confused.
 370.378 +	Hands slowly turned Seira around from where she stood. The dark
 370.379 +haired girl was too weak to stop it and too lost in thought to have
 370.380 +seen it coming. Her clasped hands were soon taken by Meimi’s. She
 370.381 +looked at Meimi silently for a long moment. Meimi slowly brushed her
 370.382 +tears away with her fingertips. The two simply stood in an odd moment
 370.383 +of tranquility. And then, the mysterious thief stole a kiss. It took
 370.384 +Seira by surprise, her heart both unsure and enraptured at the same
 370.385 +time. She could feel Meimi’s deliciously soft lips against her own,
 370.386 +leaving her breathless with a soft and intoxicating kiss. Seira could
 370.387 +only watch for a moment in silence. She wanted to thank Meimi, to ask
 370.388 +her why, to kiss her again, to do anything at all. But all she could
 370.389 +do was cry. Meimi held onto her as Seira collapsed to her knees. The
 370.390 +mysterious thief held her close as she cried. Seira could only lay
 370.391 +against Meimi, her heart torn apart, sobbing. 
 370.392 +	
 370.393 +	‘The church is really beautiful,’ Meimi thought to herself as she
 370.394 +entered the silent building. Sunlight spilled through stained glass,
 370.395 +painting the ground near the altar in a torrent of colors. Kneeling
 370.396 +in the midst of this shining rainbow was a girl clad simply in white.
 370.397 +A smile crossed the mysterious thief’s lips as she crept ever closer,
 370.398 +being very careful not to make a noise. ‘It is beautiful, but not as
 370.399 +beautiful as Seira.’ To Meimi’s delight, Seira remained deep in
 370.400 +prayer as she approached. Being the daughter of a magician and a
 370.401 +thief, the auburn haired girl could appreciate the element of
 370.402 +surprise in things. Especially when it was offered so easily to her.
 370.403 +And what made a better surprise than surprising the one you love?
 370.404 +	“Hello, Meimi-chan,” Seira called out, not bothering to open her
 370.405 +eyes.
 370.406 +	Meimi stopped short, just a foot behind the kneeling Sister-in-
 370.407 +training. Unfortunately, she hadn’t remembered one of the most
 370.408 +important credos of any magician, things are not always as they seem.
 370.409 +“Seira... How did you know it was me?” 
 370.410 +	Performing the Sign of the Cross, the young nun rose, a smile on
 370.411 +her lips. “I always know when it’s you,” she stated simply. Truth be
 370.412 +told, she had been waiting for her friend’s arrival. She had known it
 370.413 +would only be a matter of time before Meimi came to see her. But as
 370.414 +always, Meimi’s presence sent her heart aflutter. It was so strange
 370.415 +for Seira when she would see Meimi at the church, her refuge, her
 370.416 +asylum. The church offered Seira the chance to commune with God, to
 370.417 +feel at peace with the world and it’s inhabitants. It was her most
 370.418 +treasured place. She could spend hours there, deep in prayer or
 370.419 +simply lost in thought. It was such a lovely place and it still held
 370.420 +the awe that had lured Seira to it as a very young child. It gave her
 370.421 +such a calm, safe feeling when she was there. Meimi, on the other
 370.422 +hand, gave Seira a very different feeling. Seira had been the auburn
 370.423 +haired girl’s best friend for quite some time, and in all that time
 370.424 +she had always found herself amazed by the athletic young magician.
 370.425 +There was something about Meimi that spun her around and left her
 370.426 +breathless. It was something she had struggled to understand while
 370.427 +their friendship grew. But even before she had requested Meimi to
 370.428 +grant people God’s protection as Saint Tail, she had known that she
 370.429 +was in love with the other girl. Watching the beautiful auburn haired
 370.430 +girl work her magic spun silk strands around Seira’s heart, holding
 370.431 +it captive. Having Meimi in her refuge, standing so nearby in this
 370.432 +have on God, it always left her feeling nearly overwhelmed. The best
 370.433 +of Heaven and of Earth. 
 370.434 +	Meimi sighed as she absentmindedly played with the cross hanging
 370.435 +from Seira’s neck. “I guess so. But doesn’t it defeat the purpose of
 370.436 +me being a ‘mysterious thief’?” That was one thing that always caught
 370.437 +Meimi off guard, the fact that Seira always seemed to see right
 370.438 +through her. She couldn’t pull anything over on the dark haired girl.
 370.439 +For a girl that didn’t know anything about the latest hit songs or
 370.440 +fashions (unless she needed to find out about them), there wasn’t a
 370.441 +thing about Meimi that she didn’t know. Meimi’s eyes slowly trailed
 370.442 +up from the cross to Seira’s slate gray eyes. The auburn haired girl
 370.443 +smiled as the Sister-in-training watched her.
 370.444 +	“I must know all of your tricks, then, Meimi-chan.” Giggling, Seira
 370.445 +wrapped her arms around the slightly taller girl’s neck. She couldn’t
 370.446 +remember the last time she had felt so lighthearted, so free. ‘And He
 370.447 +will lift me up on eagle’s wings…’ Her nose rested against Meimi’s as
 370.448 +she looked into beautiful blue eyes. There was more magic in those
 370.449 +shining eyes than there were in all of the magic Meimi performed as
 370.450 +Saint Tail. After all, that was just smoke and mirrors. But the
 370.451 +beautiful sparkle in her eyes was a gift from God, a true miracle.
 370.452 +And one that Seira couldn’t help but love dearly. “You should wear
 370.453 +your glasses more often. You look so cute in them,” Seira suggested
 370.454 +after a moment.
 370.455 +	Blushing faintly, Meimi closed her eyes. “You really do know all my
 370.456 +secrets. But I hate wearing those things. I don’t even wear those in
 370.457 +class anymore. They looked so stupid.” While Meimi wasn’t exactly
 370.458 +vain, she did know that many of her classmates thought she was
 370.459 +pretty. She hadn’t been very happy about needing to get glasses when
 370.460 +she had found out she was farsighted because she felt it made her
 370.461 +look boring. She didn’t like having the glasses in her way. So she
 370.462 +hadn’t worn them very often since getting them. Seira was one of the
 370.463 +few people who even knew she had them. 
 370.464 +	“I still think you looked very pretty in them,” Seira insisted,
 370.465 +trying to envision how Meimi would look in her glasses at the moment.
 370.466 +The last time she had seen the auburn haired girl wear them had been
 370.467 +over a year before. “Besides, you think very highly of your father
 370.468 +and he wears glasses,” she pointed out. A smile crossed her lips when
 370.469 +she saw Meimi waver. She knew that it would make Meimi rethink it. He
 370.470 +was why the other girl had gotten into magic in the first place,
 370.471 +after all.
 370.472 +	“I hadn’t thought about that,” Meimi admitted, relenting. “Maybe
 370.473 +I’ll wear them sometime soon, if you think I should.” Seeing Seira
 370.474 +nod in agreement, Meimi smiled. If Seira thought she looked cute in
 370.475 +her glasses, she suddenly didn’t have a very good reason not to wear
 370.476 +them anymore. It was nice knowing that the perceptive Sister-in-
 370.477 +training found her pretty. What Seira thought was much more important
 370.478 +than what anyone else thought. So when she heard such things from the
 370.479 +dark haired girl, it always stayed with her. Perhaps it was because
 370.480 +she knew that Seira wouldn’t lie to her, that when Seira said these
 370.481 +things she meant it wholeheartedly. Or maybe it was as simple as
 370.482 +those sorts of things sounding so much better coming from the person
 370.483 +who loved you. Whatever the case, Meimi took it to heart. “If you
 370.484 +know all of my tricks and secrets, then you should be my assistant,
 370.485 +Seira. Every good magician has an assistant.”
 370.486 +	Giggling, Seira shook her head. “I’m really not sure if I’d make a
 370.487 +very good assistant. They’re only there to distract the audience.
 370.488 +You’re too good a magician to need anything like that. I don’t think
 370.489 +I’m dazzling enough to make a decent assistant.” Though the proposal
 370.490 +certainly had its appeal, Seira couldn’t imagine being on stage while
 370.491 +Meimi performed her magic. Especially in whatever skimpy outfit being
 370.492 +a magician’s assistant usually meant having to wear. She was much
 370.493 +more of a behind the scenes player in such things. Just as she had
 370.494 +always been throughout Saint Tail’s career. She would provide the
 370.495 +information and whatever help she could. Meimi was much better suited
 370.496 +to the spotlight. 
 370.497 +	“Oh, that’s not true. You’d make a gorgeous assistant. You’d just
 370.498 +need a flashier outfit, like my Saint Tail one. Something cute and
 370.499 +lacy. Then we could go on stage together.” Though Meimi was only half-
 370.500 +serious, she could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. If
 370.501 +only Seira would agree, then everything would work out. It would be
 370.502 +the perfect way of keeping the dark haired girl from leaving to
 370.503 +become a nun. They could be a team, just as they were now. They could
 370.504 +stay together, forever. Meimi tried to force the thought away, but it
 370.505 +was like trying to push a freight train. Seira would be leaving very
 370.506 +soon. There was a chance that she may never see the young Sister-in-
 370.507 +training again. Even if they did meet again, Seira would be a full
 370.508 +fledged nun by then. Their relationship would have to come to an end,
 370.509 +their friendship all that remained. Meimi didn’t know if she could
 370.510 +take that. It wasn’t just life without Seira anymore. It was life
 370.511 +without the love that she now found herself needing more than the air
 370.512 +she breathed. 
 370.513 +	“And usurp you while you wear that cute tuxedo on stage? I could
 370.514 +never do that, Meimi-chan.” Seira smiled brightly, happy to have
 370.515 +Meimi so near. She could feel Meimi’s hands slip around her waist,
 370.516 +anxiously pulling her closer. Seira relaxed against the slightly
 370.517 +taller girl, her worries far behind her. Because above all else,
 370.518 +Seira had faith that things would turn out for the best. She had
 370.519 +faith in God above. She would follow his will wherever it led her.
 370.520 +And she had faith in a girl named Meimi Haneoka. She knew that
 370.521 +somehow everything would work out. Her heart fluttered delicately,
 370.522 +like a cherry blossom in a gentle breeze. This was perfect. Her
 370.523 +fingers interlocked behind Meimi’s neck, covered by the other girl’s
 370.524 +beautiful auburn hair. She was very thankful for her blessings,
 370.525 +indeed.
 370.526 +	Meimi, being the overemotional girl she was, felt her own heart
 370.527 +pounding in her chest. She wanted to hold onto the moment, steal it
 370.528 +away and hide it forever in a locket. The pretty young Sister-in-
 370.529 +training in her arms was held close to her beating heart, sending
 370.530 +tremors through her soul. Seira was so sweet, so gentle. Sometimes
 370.531 +Meimi wondered why it had taken her so long to start dating Seira. At
 370.532 +other times she was completely surprised to find herself so enamored
 370.533 +with this loving spirit. At times like that, she was unsure of how
 370.534 +she had ended up in such a strange predicament, but incredibly
 370.535 +grateful she had ended up there nonetheless. Right now she found
 370.536 +herself simply caught up in the beat of Seira’s heart against her
 370.537 +own. So calm, so reassuring. All the while, Meimi’s own heart played
 370.538 +a staccato beat inside of her. In many ways, it was just like the two
 370.539 +girls. Very little could bother Seira while Meimi found herself
 370.540 +reacting heavily to everything that she stumbled across. Meimi
 370.541 +watched as the dark haired girl closed her eyes, content to listen to
 370.542 +the musical harmony of their joined hearts. But that just made the
 370.543 +young magician’s heart beat that much faster, a hand going up to
 370.544 +trail along Seira’s soft cheek. She smiled when she saw Seira’s eyes
 370.545 +flutter open, dark lashes batting as gray eyes looked back into her
 370.546 +own. ‘Kiss her,’ she heard echoing through her thoughts. Without
 370.547 +another thought, she obeyed, kissing her pretty best friend. It was
 370.548 +what she wanted, after all. What she had wanted to do when she was
 370.549 +first sneaking up behind Seira. Just a simple kiss. Her lips pressed
 370.550 +lightly against Seira’s, startling the young almost-nun at first.
 370.551 +Meimi kissed the other girl harder, pouring out the flurry of
 370.552 +emotions struggling through her heart as their lips met. As Meimi
 370.553 +often did when they kissed, she marveled at how soft Seira’s lips
 370.554 +felt against her own, at how warm the kiss felt, at how delicious it
 370.555 +tasted, at how Seira seemed to melt into her. It all swept her up
 370.556 +like a tornado, whipping around her fiercely as she and Seira waited
 370.557 +in the eye of the storm. 
 370.558 +	Thoughts were only dimly functional in Seira’s mind. They fought
 370.559 +through her head with the same strength of whispers. There was a
 370.560 +bright light, shimmering and all encompassing that held Seira’s soul
 370.561 +up high. And there were warm, persistent lips that were rarely away
 370.562 +from her own for more than a fraction of a second. She shifted
 370.563 +against Meimi, unsure of her own strength to stand. She felt like
 370.564 +light was pouring through her whole body, her lips drawn again and
 370.565 +again to Meimi’s as if they were magnetized. She could feel soft hair
 370.566 +under her fingers as Meimi’s own fingers cupped her cheek. She felt
 370.567 +deliciously lightheaded, as if nothing mattered in the world. ‘Thank
 370.568 +you, Lord, for letting me meet her,’ she silently prayed as she felt
 370.569 +Meimi kiss her again. Her lips parted for the mysterious thief when
 370.570 +they met again, an acute thrill rippling through Seira’s normally
 370.571 +placid world like a stone skipping over a pond. If there was one
 370.572 +guilty pleasure that Seira had to admit to, it was that Meimi was an
 370.573 +excellent kisser. It was Meimi’s kisses that kept Seira up at night,
 370.574 +dreaming about one more soul stirring kiss.
 370.575 +	When the two finally pulled apart, the Sister-in-training placed a
 370.576 +finger on Meimi’s nose, holding her at bay. “Meimi-chan... We
 370.577 +probably shouldn’t be doing that in here.” 
 370.578 +	“Do you really think He’d mind?” Meimi asked, her arms
 370.579 +outstretched. The problems with dating a girl who was raised by nuns,
 370.580 +she conceded. But she wouldn’t trade those problems for anything. 
 370.581 +	Seira smiled at Meimi’s question, shaking her head. Taking the
 370.582 +auburn haired girl’s hand, she led her outside to the garden. “It’s
 370.583 +not Him that I’m worried about. It’s Sister Abbess who would most
 370.584 +likely have a problem with it. I’d rather spare her the sight of your
 370.585 +world famous kisses.”
 370.586 +	Meimi stuck her tongue out, sitting alongside Seira on one of the
 370.587 +garden’s benches. “They can’t be world famous if you’re the only one
 370.588 +who knows about them.”
 370.589 +	With a giggle, Seira nodded. “Good, then let’s keep it that way.
 370.590 +I’d rather be the only one to know about them. I’m sure Sister Abbess
 370.591 +would be much happier that way, too.” 
 370.592 +	Meimi couldn’t help but smile at her dark haired friend’s sweet
 370.593 +presence. She couldn’t put her finger on anything specific. She just
 370.594 +felt so... in love. It was like a fireworks display in her heart, a
 370.595 +blinding display of pyrotechnics. “I love you, you know, Seira.”
 370.596 +	Smiling, Seira nodded, kissing Meimi’s cheek. “I know. I love you,
 370.597 +too.” She watched the blue eyed girl for a long moment, simply gazing
 370.598 +at her lovely features. She couldn’t think of anything prettier in
 370.599 +the garden. After a moment, Meimi yawned, a hand going to her mouth.
 370.600 +“You didn’t sleep much last night?” Seira asked. Seeing Meimi nod,
 370.601 +the dark haired girl took Meimi’s head and rested it in her lap,
 370.602 +stroking her long, auburn hair back. 
 370.603 +	Meimi stifled another yawn and a protest. She was about to say that
 370.604 +it wasn’t too bad, but Seira’s lap felt so nice. And she had to admit
 370.605 +that it was better than sitting up. Seira’s gentle hands felt so nice
 370.606 +through her long hair, drifting through it ever so softly. Everything
 370.607 +began to grow blurry after a long, sweet moment. Meimi fought to keep
 370.608 +her eyes from closing, trying to focus on a tree across from them. “I
 370.609 +was working on a new magic trick. I thought it might come in handy if
 370.610 +Saint Tail needs to go help again sometime soon.” 
 370.611 +	Seira kept up her gentle brushing of Meimi’s hair, looking down at
 370.612 +her sleepy best friend. A smile lit up her face. The athletic girl
 370.613 +was so cute when she was tired. Maybe she put the other girl through
 370.614 +too many late nights as Saint Tail, but Meimi never complained about
 370.615 +it. “You were working on a new magic trick? That’s great. You can try
 370.616 +it out tonight.” She watched the other girl, waiting for a reaction.
 370.617 +Meimi seemed more intent on holding in another sigh for the time
 370.618 +being. 
 370.619 +	“Yeah? That should be...” Meimi trailed off, her mind finally
 370.620 +catching up. She sat up quickly, her long hair drifting in the wind
 370.621 +for a moment. Suddenly wide awake, Meimi turned to the Sister-in-
 370.622 +training. “Wait... Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I have tickets
 370.623 +tonight. We’re going to the Jun concert, remember? I bought those
 370.624 +tickets weeks ago. We have a date tonight. I don’t have time for
 370.625 +Saint Tail.”
 370.626 +	Sweatdropping, Seira placed both of her hands in her lap. “I know.
 370.627 +But this girl really needs God’s protection. And Saint Tail is the
 370.628 +only one who can give it to her. I really wanted to go on our date
 370.629 +tonight, too, Meimi-chan. But I think it’s more important that you
 370.630 +help her.” Seira gave Meimi her best hopeful look, squeezing her
 370.631 +hands together tighter. The other girl tried not to meet her eyes,
 370.632 +but Seira kept up, her slate gray eyes following Meimi’s. 
 370.633 +	“But I had to wait in line for two hours for those tickets,” Meimi
 370.634 +whined, slumping back on the bench with her arms crossed. Staring up
 370.635 +at the treetops, she harumphed. “It was supposed to be a big night,
 370.636 +too. I was really looking forward to this.” She had gone on plenty of
 370.637 +dates with Seira in the time they had been together, but that didn’t
 370.638 +mean that she wanted to sacrifice her upcoming one for Saint Tail.
 370.639 +She could see a dove carrying off the tickets in her mind’s eye.
 370.640 +Seira’s hand rested on her own, trying to calm her. She sighed.
 370.641 +	“I was looking forward to it, too. But I think this is more
 370.642 +important. Besides, I don’t think your two hours of waiting have to
 370.643 +go to waste. I know two people who would love to have those tickets.”
 370.644 +Seira smiled brightly, catching Meimi’s eye again. Taking Meimi’s
 370.645 +hand with both of her own, she held it to her heart. She had no idea
 370.646 +who Jun was other than she was some idol that Meimi liked to listen
 370.647 +to. So it didn’t bother her that she couldn’t see the girl sing. She
 370.648 +was disappointed that she couldn’t go out with Meimi that night, but
 370.649 +she believed that Saint Tail was needed.
 370.650 +	“But that’s not fair! Why can’t we go on our date? Isn’t it time
 370.651 +for Saint Tail to have a break? I just want to be with you tonight,”
 370.652 +Meimi said at last, turning to meet Seira’s gaze. She squeezed
 370.653 +Seira’s hands, her own disappointment evident even in the face of
 370.654 +Seira’s optimistic smile. It had sounded like such a magical night.
 370.655 +Tickets for Jun’s new concert and Seira would be coming with her. It
 370.656 +would have been such a perfect date, being there together with Jun’s
 370.657 +love songs drawing them together. And it was one of their last
 370.658 +chances to be together. Meimi was all too aware that she was running
 370.659 +out of time with Seira. But even packing in as much time as she could
 370.660 +with the Sister-in-training, it never felt enough. There was always
 370.661 +that nagging feeling that it would all be coming to an end all too
 370.662 +soon. 
 370.663 +	“She’s very sick right now. She can’t go out much and she may be
 370.664 +with God very soon. I met her at the hospital when I went with one of
 370.665 +the other Sisters. She has a love letter at home, one that she wrote
 370.666 +a long time ago but never delivered. A beautiful pink letter with a
 370.667 +long ribbon on it. Her mother has it, along with the rest of her
 370.668 +things. She wants to give it to the person she likes, but she can’t
 370.669 +even get home to find it,” Seira explained, still holding onto
 370.670 +Meimi’s hand. “I told her she would surely have God’s protection.”
 370.671 +	“Oh... I.. I didn’t know.” Meimi could only stare, her heart
 370.672 +dropping. That poor girl. The thought of her dying without even being
 370.673 +able to tell her love of her heart’s true feelings was horrible. What
 370.674 +if she hadn’t known of Seira’s feelings before she left for Rome?
 370.675 +That would have been unbearable. The pretty thief nodded solemnly,
 370.676 +her mind made up. “I’ll do it. Saint Tail will find the letter.” Her
 370.677 +heart melted when she saw the grateful smile that Seira flashed her,
 370.678 +along with a sweet kiss on the cheek.
 370.679 +	“You have my gratitude as well as the Lord’s. And I’m sure Ryoko
 370.680 +and Kyoko will be very happy as well when they get the tickets.”
 370.681 +Seira couldn’t help but smile happily at her defeated friend. A date
 370.682 +would have been lovely, but somehow it seemed more fitting to spend
 370.683 +one of their last nights together helping others through Saint Tail.
 370.684 +	“All right. But you have to wait for me at the church. I’m coming
 370.685 +right back after I’m done,” Meimi said stubbornly. 
 370.686 +	“But you need your sleep, Meimi-chan,” Seira argued. She could
 370.687 +still see the sleepiness in Meimi’s blue eyes, but the auburn haired
 370.688 +girl fought it off. She didn’t know if she should feel bad or happy
 370.689 +that she was the reason that Meimi was always sneaking off late at
 370.690 +night. She decided that it was probably a good thing, even if it did
 370.691 +leave poor Meimi sleep deprived. 
 370.692 +	“I don’t care. I need to see you more than I need to sleep. We can
 370.693 +talk in the garden or just sit in the church or whatever. I just want
 370.694 +to be with you tonight.” Meimi looked over at Seira determinedly. She
 370.695 +saw Seira nod in assent, and felt her heart relax. It wasn’t the big
 370.696 +date she had been planning, but at least it was something. 
 370.697 +	“I’d love that, Meimi-chan,” Seira replied, resting her head on
 370.698 +Meimi’s shoulder. Her gray eyes fluttered closed, her mind
 370.699 +concentrating on the girl next to her. If any of the nun’s saw them,
 370.700 +they probably wouldn’t think anything. But even that didn’t really
 370.701 +seem to matter. It was just enough that she was there with Meimi. 
 370.702 +
 370.703 +	‘Now where could it be?’ Moving with the lithe ease of a trained
 370.704 +gymnast, Saint Tail made almost no sound as she slipped through an
 370.705 +upper window of a seemingly empty house. But appearances can be
 370.706 +deceiving. The woman of the house could be home or Asuka Jr. could be
 370.707 +waiting for her. Lurking in the shadows, the mysterious thief crept
 370.708 +silently forward. Her prize lay somewhere in the house, a pretty,
 370.709 +pink love letter. Meimi grinned to herself. She got to play Cupid for
 370.710 +once instead of just a thief. 
 370.711 +	Turning a doorknob ever so slowly, Meimi ducked into a small room.
 370.712 +‘Just where Seira told me it would be,’ Meimi thought happily. The
 370.713 +room was small, but very cute. Stuffed animals lay on the bed atop a
 370.714 +large well used quilt. A small white desk took up the other corner of
 370.715 +the room, books and notes all over it. Meimi smiled to herself as she
 370.716 +looked about the room. Chisato, the girl that lived there must be
 370.717 +very sweet. She had to quell the thought when she remembered the girl
 370.718 +was in the hospital. The difference between the well lived in room
 370.719 +and the stuffy atmosphere of the hospital was tremendous. “Hopefully
 370.720 +she can come back home soon. And when she does, maybe she’ll have a
 370.721 +boyfriend waiting for her.” Smiling again, Meimi set her sights on
 370.722 +the desk.
 370.723 +	Flipping through notebooks, Kaitou Saint Tail tried to uncover the
 370.724 +elusive love letter. She felt bad for snooping through the girl’s
 370.725 +private possessions, but she had no other way of finding the letter.
 370.726 +Besides, she was a thief after all, so this was her line of work. She
 370.727 +smiled at the small drawings in the notebooks, cute little pictures
 370.728 +of little animals and classmates with little captions around them.
 370.729 +‘Poor Asami-chan doesn’t like tests,’ one read next to some Math
 370.730 +notes above a picture of a girl looking frantic. ‘Almost lunchtime!’
 370.731 +another read with a girl staring anxiously at the clock. Saint Tail
 370.732 +continued to flip through the notebook, amused by the little
 370.733 +drawings. Her smile faded slowly as she found more and more of them
 370.734 +as the girl become bedridden. ‘Mama makes the best soup!’ was the
 370.735 +caption of one that showed her in bed with a big bowl. ‘I miss Asami-
 370.736 +chan...’ another read, showing her stuck in bed and gazing out the
 370.737 +window. The paper around the drawing was wrinkled as if teardrops had
 370.738 +fallen on it. 
 370.739 +	Shaking her head, Meimi put the notebook back down. She had to find
 370.740 +the love letter. That was her goal. Everything else could wait. She
 370.741 +had promised Seira that she would do this. A sigh escaped her as she
 370.742 +saw the clock. She was missing Jun’s first song. And she would
 370.743 +probably hear how wonderful it was the next day from Ryoko and Kyoko. 
 370.744 +	Turning her attention back to the task at hand, Meimi sifted
 370.745 +through several more folders and notebooks but to no avail. Her hands
 370.746 +traveled down the desk, searching through every drawer she came
 370.747 +across. Still nothing. The desk had been her obvious answer, but she
 370.748 +couldn’t find the love letter on it at all. Turning to check the
 370.749 +nightstand near the bed, Meimi stumbled over a wastebasket. Covering
 370.750 +her mouth, she cursed silently, hoping she hadn’t made too much
 370.751 +noise. Sighing after a moment of silence, Meimi pushed her pony tail
 370.752 +back. ‘Maybe I should wear my glasses more often after all. All this
 370.753 +running around in the dark can’t be good for my eyesight.’ Kneeling
 370.754 +down, the mysterious thief began to pick up the wastebasket. It had
 370.755 +been nearly overflowing with tissues. Well, the girl had been sick.
 370.756 +But they were all dark, stained. It took Meimi a moment to notice
 370.757 +that they were all bloody. Her heart rolled in her chest as she set
 370.758 +the basket aside. She couldn’t get distracted by these things. She
 370.759 +had to find the letter.
 370.760 +	“Where is it?” Meimi asked in frustration. As if in answer, the
 370.761 +closet door opened. The auburn haired girl froze as a boy’s figure
 370.762 +stepped out. 
 370.763 +	“Looking for this?” Asuka Jr. asked, holding up the rectangular
 370.764 +envelope in his hand. He grinned to himself as he watched Saint Tail
 370.765 +motionless in the shadows. “I don’t know why you’re here to steal
 370.766 +some girl’s love letter, Saint Tail, but I’m not going to let you get
 370.767 +away with it. Tonight, you’re mine.” He watched her for a moment, but
 370.768 +she made no move to escape. He grinned in anticipation as he hurried
 370.769 +forward to claim his own prize. He reached out, grabbing hold of
 370.770 +Saint Tail’s arm with all the strength he could muster. “You’re not
 370.771 +going anywhere!” He hauled her closer, his heart pounding as his face
 370.772 +inched closer to her own. He was about to see who she was. He would
 370.773 +finally know who Saint Tail was. His heart felt like it would burst.
 370.774 +His head finally reached hers, his eyes straining in the darkness. To
 370.775 +his surprise, Saint Tail had no face. “Wha?!” The face was completely
 370.776 +blank, absolutely no features at all. She bobbed back and forth like
 370.777 +a balloon as he pulled back. Something behind him took the letter
 370.778 +right out of his hand in his state of surprise. “Huh? No!”
 370.779 +	“Thank you! There’s someone who needs this love letter much more
 370.780 +than you. I hope you don’t mind. I have Cupid’s arrow to deliver.”
 370.781 +Leaping out of the way, Saint Tail waved to the young detective
 370.782 +before disappearing out the window. Landing on her feet, she
 370.783 +immediately broke into a run, sticking to the shadows. ‘Wow... It’s
 370.784 +like his spell’s been broken. I was always so eager to see if he’d
 370.785 +find out or not that I would freeze when he was about to find out.
 370.786 +But now that I’m dating Seira, it’s like it doesn’t matter. I’ll have
 370.787 +to thank her later.’ Smiling to herself, the mysterious thief made
 370.788 +her way to the hospital.
 370.789 +	
 370.790 +	Sneaking past the front desk, Saint Tail tried to determine where
 370.791 +Chisato’s room was. It was past visiting hours, but she thought that
 370.792 +a quick visit couldn’t hurt. Besides, she thought it would cheer the
 370.793 +sick girl up to know that her love letter had been retrieved and was
 370.794 +about to reach the hands of the one she loved. Maybe that would give
 370.795 +her the strength to get better. Meimi smiled at the thought. Before
 370.796 +she could go another step, she heard someone rush up to the desk. Her
 370.797 +ears perked up at the frantic tone of voice.
 370.798 +	“I need to know where a girl named Chisato Hikari’s room is! I need
 370.799 +to stop Saint Tail!”
 370.800 +	Meimi’s eyes went wide. It sounded like Asuka Jr. had ran all the
 370.801 +way to the hospital. He obviously didn’t feel like giving up easily
 370.802 +tonight. This would have to be a very short visit, then. Taking her
 370.803 +best guess, Saint Tail dashed down the mostly empty hallway, ducking
 370.804 +past a handful of nurses. A shout behind her told her that she had
 370.805 +been spotted by the persistent detective’s son. Whirling around,
 370.806 +Meimi brought her top hat about, doves flying out towards the
 370.807 +detective to distract him. ‘I have to tell her that her letter will
 370.808 +be delivered directly. That should perk her up. Even if Asuka Jr.’s
 370.809 +here, I can still do that. I’ll just make it quick.’ The birds did
 370.810 +their job distracting the young detective, giving Meimi the chance to
 370.811 +slip into Chisato’s hospital room. 
 370.812 +	Walking to the small bed, Meimi held up the pink love letter to
 370.813 +show to its owner. “Chisato-chan...” she whispered, stopping beside
 370.814 +the bed. “I have your love letter. Don’t worry. It will be in your
 370.815 +love’s hands before the nights over,” she whispered reassuringly. The
 370.816 +girl was deathly pale, her long hair disappearing behind her. Meimi
 370.817 +leaned closer, trying to get Chisato’s attention. “Chisato-chan...”
 370.818 +she whispered, a little louder this time. Still no response. But
 370.819 +there was a strange beeping in the room and a ruckus coming from the
 370.820 +hallway. “Chisato-chan?” The girl just lay there, silent and
 370.821 +unmoving. Meimi took a step back as the door burst open, doctors
 370.822 +rushing to the girl’s side. Her heart hung like a weight in her chest
 370.823 +as she watched them gather around the girl’s prone form. She shook
 370.824 +her head, her ponytail moving from side to side. “No..” she
 370.825 +whispered, realization hitting her. She felt like the floor had just
 370.826 +given way underneath her. Her legs didn’t respond to her mental
 370.827 +commands, collapsing underneath her. She could only watch as doctors
 370.828 +began to slow their hurried performance. It all felt so surreal, men
 370.829 +gathered around an unmoving child, intent upon one who is doing
 370.830 +nothing at all.
 370.831 +	An unsteady hand helped Saint Tail back to her feet. Asuka Jr.
 370.832 +could only stare as the doctors continued swarming around the
 370.833 +unmoving girl. “What happened?” Asuka Jr. heard. The voice startled
 370.834 +him. It took him a moment before her remembered it was his own. It
 370.835 +sounded so distant, as if it had traveled to him through a body of
 370.836 +water. He had been so intent on catching Saint Tail, but now that
 370.837 +hardly seemed to matter. Was that the girl that Saint Tail was trying
 370.838 +to help in the bed, surrounded by an army of masked doctors? What a
 370.839 +frightening sight, all of these faceless people surrounding someone,
 370.840 +poking and prodding relentlessly. “What’s.. What’s going on?” Asuka
 370.841 +tried again, getting no more strength behind his voice. 
 370.842 +	For what felt like an eternity, both thief and detective stood and
 370.843 +watched, unable to do a thing. Their eternal struggle forgotten, they
 370.844 +stood together against the wall, too forlorn to offer anything but a
 370.845 +shoulder to lean on. During all this time, the letter remained in
 370.846 +Saint Tail’s hand, feeling like it held the weight of the world
 370.847 +within it, almost too heavy for her weak fingers. Slowly, a doctor
 370.848 +approached the two, pulling down her mask. “I’m sorry. She’s dead. We
 370.849 +did all we could, but it was too late. Her body just gave out. Were
 370.850 +you friends with the deceased?”
 370.851 +	‘With the deceased’ played again and again through Meimi’s
 370.852 +thoughts. This was a girl with hopes and dreams, fears and loves.
 370.853 +Meimi had only known her from the writings she had seen, the drawings
 370.854 +this girl had drawn with a hand that no longer moved. That she had
 370.855 +seen with eyes that could no longer see. No, Meimi had not been
 370.856 +friends with her, had not even known of her until earlier that day.
 370.857 +But this had been another girl, a beautiful, sweet girl. And now she
 370.858 +was dead. Meimi felt her heart seize in her chest. “I.. I just wanted
 370.859 +to help her..” she barely got out, the world around her blurring as
 370.860 +tears burned at her eyes. She couldn’t even see as the body was
 370.861 +wheeled out of the room. ‘I miss Asami-chan,’ Meimi heard in her
 370.862 +head, the image of the lonely girl looking out a window returning to
 370.863 +her. She closed her eyes tightly. “I.. I have to go..” She pulled
 370.864 +away, clutching the letter like a lifeline. She had to hurry. She
 370.865 +didn’t know why, only that she couldn’t waste a second. Perhaps it
 370.866 +was a way of escaping the tragedy of the moment. Perhaps it was a way
 370.867 +for her to busy herself with something else. Whatever the case, she
 370.868 +quickly turned to leave. 
 370.869 +	“Good luck,” Asuka Jr. called after her, his hands in his pockets.
 370.870 +He didn’t feel like following. He couldn’t bring himself to. Not
 370.871 +tonight. 
 370.872 +
 370.873 +	With trembling hands, Saint Tail slid open the window to another
 370.874 +bedroom a short time later. Slipping into the room, she held the love
 370.875 +letter to her chest. “Are you Asami-chan?” she heard herself asking
 370.876 +into the darkness, pointed towards the bed. “I have something for
 370.877 +you.” Her mind refused to deviate from her task. She was here to
 370.878 +deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver
 370.879 +the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
 370.880 +letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter.
 370.881 +Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver
 370.882 +the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
 370.883 +letter. Deliver the letter. Deliver the
 370.884 +	The figure on the bed stirred, shifting sleepily before finally
 370.885 +sitting up. In the darkness, the half blanket shrouded figure looked
 370.886 +far too much like ancient depictions of death to Meimi. Shuddering
 370.887 +violently, the mysterious thief tried not to think at all. She
 370.888 +focused solely on her mission. This was what she had been meant to
 370.889 +do. She had to give the letter to this girl. “I’m Saint Tail. I have
 370.890 +a letter that belongs to you.” Her fingers shook as she held out the
 370.891 +letter. It slipped from her fingers, pinwheeling in the air before
 370.892 +flopping on the floor. Meimi reached for it, taking two tries to
 370.893 +finally clasp it in her gloved hand again. 
 370.894 +	The sleepy figure shook her head, trying to get her bearings.
 370.895 +“Saint Tail?” she asked curiously before yawning. Reaching forward,
 370.896 +she slowly took the pink love letter. Her mind was still half asleep.
 370.897 +“What’s this?” It took her a moment to see through the blurry haze of
 370.898 +sleep. She turned the letter over in her hand. A small drawing of a
 370.899 +lovestruck girl on the back brought a smile to her lips. “Chisato-
 370.900 +chan.” Her mind was still tired to make anything of the connection to
 370.901 +her friend.
 370.902 +	“It’s for you. From her. Chisato-chan. She.. She wanted you to have
 370.903 +it..” Meimi got out weakly. “I.. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She could
 370.904 +feel her eyes tearing up again. She had to leave. And soon. 
 370.905 +	Asami shook her head, anxiety gripping her soul. Tearing open the
 370.906 +letter, she skimmed through the cutely decorated stationary. It was
 370.907 +obviously Chisato’s lovely handwriting, with her shy, delicate way of
 370.908 +speaking. She smiled as she read through it. Chisato must have sent
 370.909 +it sense she was stuck in the hospital. They hadn’t been able to talk
 370.910 +much because the hospital didn’t let visitors see her often. How
 370.911 +sweet of her. Halfway through, she finally understood. Her reading
 370.912 +quickened, her eyes tearing over the paper. “She.. loves me?” She
 370.913 +glanced up to the mysterious thief. To her surprise, Saint Tail
 370.914 +shrank back into the shadows, shaking her head continuously. “Chisato-
 370.915 +chan’s in love with me?” she asked again. She was overcome by shock.
 370.916 +Chisato had been her best friend for years now. She had always been
 370.917 +so sweet. It took her off guard that Chisato could be in love with
 370.918 +her. The other girl had always been so shy around her, blushing when
 370.919 +she would ask questions about love or relationships. She still didn’t
 370.920 +know how she felt about it. Flattered? Embarrassed? It was such a
 370.921 +beautiful, glowing letter. She held it close to her chest. She felt..
 370.922 +happy. She smiled. Maybe.. Maybe she felt the same way.
 370.923 +	“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Meimi repeated, nearly at the window.
 370.924 +She could barely think, suddenly overcome by what had happened
 370.925 +earlier. She no longer had her mission to keep her from thinking
 370.926 +about it. It consumed her soul, dark tendrils holding her, sending
 370.927 +icy chills throughout her body. Her heart felt frozen. 
 370.928 +	“Sorry..? For what? What’s going on?” Asami slid off of her bed,
 370.929 +suddenly panicking. Was Saint Tail crying? Moonlight sparkled off of
 370.930 +her tears, little shooting stars slipping down her chin and falling
 370.931 +to the earth below. “What is it? What happened?” Asami demanded.
 370.932 +Saint Tail’s mouth opened and Asami’s world shattered as if it was
 370.933 +made of brittle glass.
 370.934 +
 370.935 +	“It’s not fair! It isn’t fair at all!” Meimi sobbed, her head on
 370.936 +Seira’s lap sometime later. She had left Asami alone, leaving when
 370.937 +she had been unable to comfort her. The last she had seen of the
 370.938 +other girl had been her crying and broken in her room. Meimi had
 370.939 +hurried straight to Seira, the night taking it’s toll on the
 370.940 +mysterious thief. And there she found herself, crying into Seira’s
 370.941 +blue nightgown. 
 370.942 +	Seira gently stroked Meimi’s hair, unsure of what to say to soothe
 370.943 +the distraught thief. She could feel the warm tears against her legs,
 370.944 +seeping through the fabric of her nightgown. A chill went through her
 370.945 +as the night wind blew across the two girls, but somehow she doubted
 370.946 +it was the cause of her sudden chill. She swallowed painfully,
 370.947 +closing her eyes. “I should have explained. Sister Emari and I were
 370.948 +visiting the terminally ill patients. They knew she was going to die
 370.949 +soon. I just didn’t think it would be tonight. I’m so sorry, Meimi-
 370.950 +chan.”
 370.951 +	“But why, Seira? Why?” Meimi asked, wiping her eyes on Seira’s
 370.952 +nightgown. “Why did He take her? She was a sweet girl, I could tell.
 370.953 +And.. and she was in love. Asami.. I think she loved her back. But
 370.954 +now she’ll never know. Now she’ll never be able to see.” Meimi shook
 370.955 +her head in frustration, tears sliding down her cheeks. 
 370.956 +	“I don’t think she would have told Asami-chan otherwise, Meimi-
 370.957 +chan. She was very shy. She didn’t know how to tell her friend. She
 370.958 +wrote that love letter before she got sick. She wasn’t going to give
 370.959 +it to her. But when she got sick, she thought it was her only
 370.960 +chance," Seira explained, her fingers brushing away some of Meimi’s
 370.961 +tears. 
 370.962 +	“Then I failed her. I didn’t get it to Asami-chan in time. If I
 370.963 +had, maybe they could have talked. Maybe they could have had some
 370.964 +time together.” Meimi shook her head, tears clinging to her
 370.965 +eyelashes. She felt so weak inside, so torn apart. Saint Tail always
 370.966 +brought people God’s protection. How could she have failed? It always
 370.967 +helped people, but this time she felt no joy in accomplishing her
 370.968 +task. 
 370.969 +	Seira gently held Meimi’s head in her lap, her gray eyes looking
 370.970 +deep into Meimi. “Meimi-chan, death is not failure. Death doesn’t
 370.971 +mean that you lost. Life is more than winning and losing. She may
 370.972 +have died, but that doesn’t mean her love died with her. It was only
 370.973 +sealed away in an envelope. You delivered it for her. She was too shy
 370.974 +to tell her True Love how she felt. You couldn’t have prevented her
 370.975 +death. It was God’s will that she return to Him now. But you did give
 370.976 +her love a last message. She’s free from her pain now. But you have
 370.977 +freed her from a regret that may have stayed with her soul. She has
 370.978 +finally been able to tell the girl she loves how she felt. I’m sure
 370.979 +she’s smiling up above, watching over Asami-chan. And now Asami-chan
 370.980 +knows. What she does with that knowledge is up to her. But if it
 370.981 +weren’t for you, she would never have known that Chisato-chan was in
 370.982 +love with her.”
 370.983 +	Meimi sniffled, trying to meet Seira’s gaze. “But it’s still not
 370.984 +fair. I tried so hard, but I feel like it didn’t mean anything.”
 370.985 +	“For Chisato-chan, it meant everything. She can rest peacefully now
 370.986 +thanks to you, Meimi-chan.” Seira bent over, kissing Meimi’s
 370.987 +forehead. “You did your best. That’s all anyone could ever ask of
 370.988 +you.”
 370.989 +	“I know..” Meimi replied weakly, resting an arm across her face. “I
 370.990 +know.”
 370.991 +	Seira sighed sadly, still stroking Meimi’s long hair. “Sometimes
 370.992 +it’s very hard to understand His plan, Meimi-chan. Sometimes it’s
 370.993 +easy to lose our way. But we have to have faith, even when we wonder
 370.994 +‘why’. Sometimes ‘because’ is the only answer we can find. Life is
 370.995 +full of beauty and sadness. Even in the simplest, plainest things are
 370.996 +immeasurable beauty. And there can also be immeasurable pain. We have
 370.997 +to console each other while we’re on this earth. We have to help each
 370.998 +other. Even then, pain will still find us. But with pain and with
 370.999 +anguish, there is always hope. We have to nurture it like a tiny
370.1000 +flower, letting it bloom in all of us. Hope, love, dreams, these are
370.1001 +all parts of the same thing. There the gifts that He has given us. As
370.1002 +long as we have hope, despair can never ruin us. Never completely.”
370.1003 +Seira placed another kiss on Meimi’s head. “I love you, Meimi-chan. I
370.1004 +realize now that I would have made a huge mistake if I hadn’t told
370.1005 +you.”
370.1006 +	“I love you, Seira..” Meimi got out quietly, her voice choking up.
370.1007 +She closed her eyes, tears silently falling onto Seira’s lap. 
370.1008 +	
370.1009 +	Meimi sighed as she slumped onto her bed, exhausted. A groan
370.1010 +escaped her after a quick glance at the clock. Why did Saint Tail
370.1011 +always have to work at night? It was too bad that being a mysterious
370.1012 +thief wasn’t a valid excuse for staying up so late at night. And
370.1013 +neither was spending the wee morning hours with a pretty Sister-in-
370.1014 +training. Somehow she doubted the nuns at her school would accept
370.1015 +either excuse. Yet she already knew that sleep would elude her. Her
370.1016 +mind was still too focused on Seira, on the past few hours. On what
370.1017 +little time they had left. That thought alone would keep sleep at bay
370.1018 +for quite some time. The whole thing with Chisato had her even more
370.1019 +concerned with losing Seira. Shifting uneasily in bed, the auburn
370.1020 +haired girl found herself staring at the clock as minutes silently
370.1021 +ticked away. Hopelessness surrounded her heart, thick and heavy. Each
370.1022 +minute that ticked by signaled another moment that she could not
370.1023 +reclaim, another instant with Seira that was forever, inexorably
370.1024 +gone. 
370.1025 +	Rolling onto her back, Meimi stared up at her roof, trying
370.1026 +unsuccessfully to push away such troublesome thoughts. But she had
370.1027 +never been good at such things. This would keep eating at her until
370.1028 +it went away on its own or until she could resolve the situation. And
370.1029 +there was nothing she could do about it. In less than a week, Seira
370.1030 +would be gone. When next they met, the dark haired girl would be a
370.1031 +full-fledged Sister. They would still be friends, of that Meimi was
370.1032 +certain. They would forever be friends. But what of their courtship,
370.1033 +which Meimi was starting to feel was going to be cut off all too
370.1034 +briefly? That was something they would have to abandon once Seira
370.1035 +became a nun. Seira would then be a woman of God, destined to a life
370.1036 +of celibacy, married to the Church. Such childish things as their
370.1037 +relationship would be nothing but memories.
370.1038 +	And where did that put Meimi? Would she eventually find some boy
370.1039 +and get married? That didn’t sound right, to move on when Seira
370.1040 +became a nun. But what else was she supposed to do? What did their
370.1041 +relationship mean, anyway? ‘It means I love her,’ Meimi mentally
370.1042 +answered, her hands behind her head. ‘And I would still love her,
370.1043 +even if she does go off and becomes Sister Seira.’ But could she
370.1044 +really spend forever alone, as Seira was about to? That thought was
370.1045 +too lonely to bear, chilling Meimi’s heart. So how, then, could Seira
370.1046 +live with the thought? It would have to be a terribly lonely life, a
370.1047 +life without the love Seira had held for so long. She could see Seira
370.1048 +kneeling in prayer forever. Why would God want to deny one of his
370.1049 +kindest, gentlest subjects the chance at love? It baffled Meimi. 
370.1050 +	But then... Perhaps He didn’t. Meimi sat up suddenly, pacing the
370.1051 +floor of her room, almost stumbling over her pet hedgehog, Ruby.
370.1052 +Throughout the past few years, Saint Tail had been the one to grant
370.1053 +God’s protection. All at the behest of Seira. She had always gone to
370.1054 +help whoever Seira had asked her to. Who better to receive God’s
370.1055 +protection from the mysterious thief Saint Tail than the girl who had
370.1056 +brought it all about so selflessly to begin with? Who was more
370.1057 +deserving than Seira? Yes, it made perfect sense. But how? 
370.1058 +	Pausing for only a moment to pick up Ruby, Meimi resumed her
370.1059 +pacing. What could Saint Tail do to prevent Seira from leaving? What
370.1060 +was within her power to fix things for the young Sister-in-training?
370.1061 +This was always Seira’s line of work. She was the one who came up
370.1062 +with how to fix things for people. But this time Meimi was on her
370.1063 +own. She thought frantically, not noticing the light starting to
370.1064 +spill through her window. There had to be something, somehow. It
370.1065 +wasn’t as if she could just steal Seira. Or could she? Lifting up
370.1066 +Ruby, she smiled brightly at the cute hedgehog. “I can’t let Seira
370.1067 +go. I won’t let her. I need her here, Ruby, with me. And I’ll make
370.1068 +sure she’s happy. I’ll grant her God’s protection. This will be Saint
370.1069 +Tail’s finest performance!”
370.1070 +
370.1071 +	“Please guide me. Please help me find my path.” Dim light bathed
370.1072 +the young nun as the sun struggled up into the sky. Dawn had only
370.1073 +broken a short time before, but the dark haired girl had been there
370.1074 +for much longer. She was alone in the large, empty church, hands
370.1075 +clasped in prayer. Her simple white outfit shimmered in a myriad of
370.1076 +colors as the sun played across the beautiful stained glass. Had
370.1077 +anyone seen her, they might well have mistaken the girl for an angel
370.1078 +sent from Heaven. To the Sisters who had raised her, she was a little
370.1079 +angel, something that had brought joy and wonder to their lives. A
370.1080 +little gift from God that had landed on their doorstep by a mother
370.1081 +who could not take care of her. They had pulled together to raise
370.1082 +this little orphan into the beautiful young lady she was today. Seira
370.1083 +felt she owed it to these loving women who had brought her up for as
370.1084 +long as she could remember. She wanted to dedicate her life to the
370.1085 +God that she loved so dearly. This had been her destined path, her
370.1086 +future for as long as she could remember. But now... 
370.1087 +	Sighing, Seira’s head lowered. She was having trouble thinking. The
370.1088 +church had always been such a tranquil place for her. But now her
370.1089 +heart was being torn in two. She had been in love with Meimi for
370.1090 +years, but had never thought she could actually be with Meimi. That
370.1091 +was one of the reasons she had wanted to join the convent. It would
370.1092 +be easier that way. If she could not be with the one she loved, then
370.1093 +she would devote herself to the Lord. Now she had a taste of the love
370.1094 +in her heart and it left her unsure of herself. She knew that her
370.1095 +faith would not waver. She would always be devoted in her heart. But
370.1096 +her path now seemed so uncertain. Her whole life had been leading up
370.1097 +to her eventually becoming a nun. Seira didn’t know any other way.
370.1098 +Everyone had expected her to become a nun. The Sisters at the school,
370.1099 +the students, even Meimi and herself. 
370.1100 +	But with Meimi in her life, she was suddenly left with a
370.1101 +surprisingly different option. Her heart belonged to Meimi, of that
370.1102 +she was certain. She could go and be with her, stay with her
370.1103 +mysterious thief. She could give in to the yearnings of her heart.
370.1104 +She could have one but not the other. Her dream since she had been a
370.1105 +child, the life she had prepared for could be hers. Or she could have
370.1106 +the girl of her dreams. Which would it be? Seira felt as if she were
370.1107 +being tugged in all directions. Her heart felt empty, afraid. 
370.1108 +	So she prayed. And prayed. Because if there was one thing this
370.1109 +could not affect, it was her faith in God above. Her delicate hands
370.1110 +still held together, she continued her prayer for guidance. “Please
370.1111 +help me to understand. I will follow your will wherever it leads me.”
370.1112 +She swallowed pack the pain of tears left unshed. “I love her so
370.1113 +much. Thank you for placing her in my life. For giving us the time
370.1114 +together that you have. I will always cherish that gift you have
370.1115 +given me. But now I find myself at a crossroads and I don’t know
370.1116 +which path to take. I want to dedicate myself to you, to live my life
370.1117 +for you. But I can’t do that if I’m with Meimi. But I don’t want to
370.1118 +leave Meimi, either. I’m lost, my Lord. Please help me to find my
370.1119 +way,” she whispered, her eyes closed tightly. 
370.1120 +	“Seira-chan, what are you doing up so early?” a voice asked from
370.1121 +the back of the church. 
370.1122 +	Seira crossed herself before turning to see who the voice belonged
370.1123 +to.  There was nothing she could do for now but wait and hope that
370.1124 +her prayer would be answered. “Good morning, Sister Emari. I was just
370.1125 +praying.” The dark haired girl smiled softly at the older woman as
370.1126 +the Sister joined her in front of the altar. She hadn’t slept at all
370.1127 +the night before, leaving her fuzzy and unfocused. Her mind was still
370.1128 +jumbled, her heart heavy. But she would have to have faith that
370.1129 +things would work out. Wherever God led her, she would follow. 
370.1130 +	The older woman yawned tiredly as she reached the Sister in
370.1131 +training, a hand covering her mouth. “And I thought I was an early
370.1132 +riser. You must have a lot on your mind if you came to pray so
370.1133 +early.” Pulling down her glasses, Sister Emari rubbed some of the
370.1134 +sleep from her eyes. She smiled gently at the younger girl after
370.1135 +replacing her glasses. Her smile faded as she saw the wet sheen over
370.1136 +Seira’s gray eyes. “Is something troubling you, dear?” 
370.1137 +	Picking up her bible, Seira averted her eyes, hugging the book
370.1138 +tightly to her chest. The only sound in the large expanse of the
370.1139 +church was Seira’s cross lightly sliding across the bible as she
370.1140 +shifted. “I’m going away in less than a week,” the dark haired girl
370.1141 +said at last, turning to look at the older woman. 
370.1142 +	“Is that what you’re concerned about, Seira-chan? Dear, you
370.1143 +shouldn’t worry about that. I know that you’ll make such a lovely
370.1144 +nun. You’re kind and sweet and gentle. We’ll all miss you terribly,
370.1145 +but when you return, you’ll be Sister Seira.” Sister Emari put a hand
370.1146 +on Seira’s shoulder, smiling at the younger girl reassuringly. It
370.1147 +didn’t seem to help Seira’s disposition any. The older Sister pushed
370.1148 +her glasses back up. “That’s not it? What is it, Seira-chan?” The
370.1149 +younger girl was practically a daughter to her and to the rest of the
370.1150 +nuns at the school. It worried her to see Seira so troubled by
370.1151 +something. Usually the younger girl was so bright and full of life.
370.1152 +Now she seemed consumed by doubt. Could it be the upcoming trip to
370.1153 +Rome itself? Seira had been so eager when they had first told her of
370.1154 +it several months before. What could be bothering her about it now?
370.1155 +For a moment, Sister Emari could see the small child that had been
370.1156 +left at the church doorstep, the one that she had watched grow over
370.1157 +the years. Like any mother, she couldn’t stand to see the younger
370.1158 +girl in pain. None of the Sisters at the school could. Seira was
370.1159 +their pride and joy. 
370.1160 +	Seira hesitated for a moment, hugging her bible. What was she
370.1161 +supposed to say? She always believed in doing what was right, what
370.1162 +the Lord wanted, but she knew that sometimes you could bend things if
370.1163 +it would help. Like having her best friend steal items to bring them
370.1164 +back to those that needed them. Like lying about Ruby being a stuffed
370.1165 +animal so Asuka Jr. wouldn’t catch on that Meimi was Saint Tail. But
370.1166 +could she lie about this? About being in love with another girl?
370.1167 +Whenever Seira would bend things, it was only to help others, never
370.1168 +herself. Sighing inwardly, she could feel herself trembling as she
370.1169 +lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to leave Meimi-chan,” she whispered. 
370.1170 +	“Is that what this is all about? I’m sure you can come back and
370.1171 +visit soon enough after you get settled. We’ll all want to see you
370.1172 +again soon anyway. And I’m sure that the two of you could write each
370.1173 +other.” Smiling warmly, Sister Emari tried to work out the soonest
370.1174 +that Seira could return. She would miss the dark haired girl
370.1175 +considerably, as she knew everyone else would. Maybe they could try
370.1176 +to collect some money and fly her back for a visit sooner than they
370.1177 +had originally planned. Anything to see their smiling little girl
370.1178 +again. If only she would smile. Sister Emari frowned. Seira was
370.1179 +usually so happy, always smiling or giggling. It was horrible to see
370.1180 +the pretty younger girl robbed of her beautiful smile. Just as it
370.1181 +would be sad when Seira left. The Sister-in-training really
370.1182 +brightened the lives of the nuns. 
370.1183 +	“I love her,” Seira said, looking down. She had never told any of
370.1184 +the Sisters before of her feelings for Meimi. With the churches views
370.1185 +on homosexuality, she had been too afraid to say anything. And it had
370.1186 +been pointless to worry about it before. She would be joining the
370.1187 +convent, away from the girl she loved. She wouldn’t be acting on her
370.1188 +feelings, so it wasn’t a problem. It didn’t make her love Meimi any
370.1189 +less, but it just hadn’t been important because there was no way she
370.1190 +could be with the other girl. But now that was different. She was
370.1191 +afraid of how the older women might react, afraid that she would let
370.1192 +down these wonderful women who had raised her. 
370.1193 +	“Oh...” Sister Emari cleared her throat, pushing up her glasses.
370.1194 +The older Sister began to look around the large room, her eyes
370.1195 +wandering. That had been... unexpected. Still, had she really
370.1196 +expected Seira to grow up and never fall in love? Such a thing was
370.1197 +preposterous. Of course their little Seira had fallen in love. But
370.1198 +with Meimi? “You love Meimi?” Sister Emari repeated. Seeing Seira nod
370.1199 +slowly, Emari sighed. She had heard correctly after all. “But she’s
370.1200 +so... moody.”
370.1201 +	Seira giggled softly despite herself. “I’ve noticed. But it’s
370.1202 +something I’ve always loved. She’s very emotional.” Releasing a sigh,
370.1203 +she closed her eyes. Her heart was still entangled hopelessly in a
370.1204 +web she couldn’t begin to untangle. But her mind understood the
370.1205 +church doctrine well enough. If she was to remain celibate, then it
370.1206 +didn’t matter if she had feelings for another woman. “I know where I
370.1207 +belong, Sister Emari. I love her, but that just makes it even more
370.1208 +important that I join the convent. I will be God’s servant.” She
370.1209 +waited for the older woman’s agreement but when none came, her eyes
370.1210 +fluttered open. Sister Emari had her arms crossed, her attention cast
370.1211 +forward as if she were deep in thought. “Sister?”
370.1212 +	“Her name was Kasumi.”
370.1213 +	Blinking in confusion, Seira shook her head. “Whose name was Kasumi?”
370.1214 +	The older Sister smiled, her glasses glinting in the growing light.
370.1215 +“Nothing. It was a long time ago. Seira, I’m not sure if your place
370.1216 +is in the convent. You’ve always been God’s servant. You’ve always
370.1217 +helped His people as best you could. And you aren’t a Sister yet.
370.1218 +Even then, you’ve done wonderful things for people. I meant what I
370.1219 +said earlier. You are kind and gentle and loving. But you don’t need
370.1220 +to be a priest or a nun to follow the Lord’s path for you.”
370.1221 +	“I don’t think I understand, Sister Emari. Doesn’t all of this make
370.1222 +it even clearer that I should become a nun? Doesn’t all of this make
370.1223 +my path clear?” Seira asked, gray eyes meeting the Emari’s brown
370.1224 +eyes. She had made her decision, but now it seemed that Sister Emari
370.1225 +was telling her otherwise. Confusion rolled over her, tossing the
370.1226 +young Sister-in-training about.
370.1227 +	“I can’t tell you what your path is, Seira-chan. Sometimes we have
370.1228 +a hard time seeing it, but if we listen closely enough, we can
370.1229 +understand in the end what we were put here for. You have done a
370.1230 +wonderful job helping people even without being a nun. I don’t think
370.1231 +being one would change you one bit. I do, on the other hand, think
370.1232 +that the Lord would want you to be happy. He would want you to have
370.1233 +joy in your life. And most of all, He would want to see your precious
370.1234 +smile, just as He’s let us all see it as you grew up here.” Emari
370.1235 +reached out and held the dark haired girl’s cheek. “You’re like a
370.1236 +daughter to me, Seira-chan. To all of us. He would want you to be
370.1237 +happy. We want you to be happy. We always thought you would grow up
370.1238 +to become a nun because of how you are. But we don't expect it of
370.1239 +you. Perhaps your path lies elsewhere. You’re one of the Lord’s most
370.1240 +faithful servants. I can’t see Him wanting you to be lonely.”
370.1241 +	“I... Sister Emari...” Seira got out weakly, taken aback. She
370.1242 +blinked weary, tear streaked eyes. Her tangled heart struggled
370.1243 +against the confining webs, Sister Emari’s words coursing through her
370.1244 +soul. Crying softly, she felt arms pull her closer, gentle hands
370.1245 +stroking her back. Was Sister Emari right? Could she be with Meimi?
370.1246 +But still, she felt the convent’s calling, could feel her life’s
370.1247 +dream waiting for her. Her mind collapsed into confusion. Resting
370.1248 +weakly against the older woman, Seira cried herself to sleep.
370.1249 +	
370.1250 +	“Saint Tail!!” Darting forward, Asuka Jr. snagged at thin air.
370.1251 +Blinking confusedly, the boy barely had time to notice his
370.1252 +surrounding before he tumbled to the floor. Grumbling, he sat up,
370.1253 +throwing his blankets to the side. Just another dream. Sighing, the
370.1254 +green haired boy walked barefoot across his tidy room. Some would
370.1255 +call him obsessed with the mysterious thief, but he didn’t care what
370.1256 +anyone else thought. Only one thing mattered to the young detective,
370.1257 +and that was unmasking Saint Tail. One day he would. One day soon. He
370.1258 +would catch her. He would be the one. Saint Tail had promised him
370.1259 +that he would be the only one to catch her. She was his first thought
370.1260 +upon waking and his last thought upon drifting off to sleep. She was,
370.1261 +for all intents and purposes, his one driving goal in life.
370.1262 +	Stepping up to his window, Asuka Jr. drew the blinds. The dark
370.1263 +haired boy winded as light poured into his room. Yawning, he turned
370.1264 +away and began to get dressed. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night
370.1265 +before, having followed Saint Tail all the way to a hospital. He had
370.1266 +almost caught her when doctors had run past, nearly knocking him
370.1267 +over. They had run to the same room Saint Tail had been heading
370.1268 +towards. 
370.1269 +	Asuka Jr. closed his eyes tightly, trying to force out the thoughts
370.1270 +that followed. But even as he tried to relegate them to the shadows
370.1271 +of his mind, searchlights brought them out into the open. The girl
370.1272 +had died. The girl that Saint Tail had been helping had been dead by
370.1273 +the time the doctor’s reached her. Her body had finally given out,
370.1274 +one of the doctors had told him. He and Saint Tail had been side by
370.1275 +side as they heard the news. He could have caught her then and there.
370.1276 +But he couldn’t. His heart hadn’t been in it. He saw them cart away
370.1277 +the body of a pale girl and he suddenly hadn’t felt strong enough to
370.1278 +stand, let alone to haul in Saint Tail. It was then that he learned
370.1279 +that Saint Tail had been about to deliver a love letter from the now
370.1280 +dead girl. It had been her final wish. So Asuka Jr. had let her go.
370.1281 +How could he let the girl’s final wish go unfulfilled? At least this
370.1282 +way, she wouldn’t regret never telling her love on the other side.
370.1283 +They would know. But that thought sent a cold chill through him. How
370.1284 +would he handle a letter confessing someone’s love for him only to
370.1285 +discover they had already died? It was a painful situation, he knew.
370.1286 +He was relieved that Saint Tail had been the one to give the letter
370.1287 +and not himself. He didn’t know if he could do that. 
370.1288 +	Trying to shake off the haunting feeling the thoughts gave him,
370.1289 +Asuka Jr. turned to pick up his backpack. Something on the window
370.1290 +caught his eye. Squinting, her walked closer to the plane of glass.
370.1291 +“Traeh s’arieS retsiS rof emoc lliw I ,thginoT,” he managed to sound
370.1292 +out. “What the hell?” Had Saint Tail suddenly started writing in
370.1293 +code? Or was this some strange type of riddle? He shook his head,
370.1294 +trying to decode the bizarre message. It finally hit him the third
370.1295 +time through. She’d written it on his window from the outside. It was
370.1296 +backwards. “Tonight, I will come for Sister Seira’s heart. Saint
370.1297 +Tail.” He read it over again. What could she mean? He shook his head.
370.1298 +It didn’t matter. He would find out tonight. Tonight, for sure! He
370.1299 +would catch Saint Tail!
370.1300 +
370.1301 +	The church was completely empty except for a lone girl. Seira sat
370.1302 +quietly in a confessional, her heart struggling to understand where
370.1303 +her place was, where she belonged. She couldn’t tell how long she had
370.1304 +been there or even when she had first arrived. This was her usual
370.1305 +spot, inside the church, waiting for those in need. But now she found
370.1306 +herself in need. She could usually determine what needed to be done
370.1307 +to help people, to fix their problems. But she found herself unable
370.1308 +to come up with a solution to her own predicament. Her heart teetered
370.1309 +back and forth on the edge, unsure of which choice to make. On one
370.1310 +hand, she loved Meimi dearly. On the other, her life was one that was
370.1311 +committed to God. It left her in a precarious predicament. 
370.1312 +	A sound in the other side of the confessional dragged Seira out of
370.1313 +her thoughts. She smiled softly as she looked over at the screen.
370.1314 +This was something she could handle. It was so much easier helping
370.1315 +others figure out what to do than trying to decide what to do on her
370.1316 +own. She would be leaving in a few days, but maybe she could get
370.1317 +Saint Tail to help a few last people before she left. Or she could at
370.1318 +least help ease someone’s mind with whatever troubles they had. “Can
370.1319 +I help you?”
370.1320 +	“I have a confession to make,” the voice said from the other side.
370.1321 +It sounded strange, unfamiliar. “I’m in love with another girl. She’s
370.1322 +all I think about anymore. She’s just perfect. She’s so sweet and
370.1323 +caring. She would do anything for me. Even though I do some stupid
370.1324 +things sometimes, she always helps me out of it. I can always come to
370.1325 +her with my problems and she always listens to me, no matter what
370.1326 +they are. She can get a little jealous sometimes and she can get me
370.1327 +to do things without my even knowing she tricked me into it, but it
370.1328 +all just makes me love her even more. She knows me better than anyone
370.1329 +else could ever hope to.”
370.1330 +	Seira felt her heart pounding in her chest. Holding her hands in
370.1331 +her lap, she tried to come up with a reply. “Are you worried that
370.1332 +it’s a girl? It sounds like you’re very much in love. I don’t think
370.1333 +the Lord would ever fault you for such a thing.” 
370.1334 +	“I’m not worried about that. But I think she is. I think she’s been
370.1335 +worried about that for some time.”
370.1336 +	“So she’s afraid that it’s wrong for her to be in love with another
370.1337 +girl.” Seira sighed, bowing her head. “I know how that feels. But God
370.1338 +loves all of his children. He isn’t an exclusive being, there only
370.1339 +for some and not others. I don’t see how being in love can be a sin.
370.1340 +He’s so loving. He wouldn’t be angry with you for being in love, no
370.1341 +matter who you’re in love with.”
370.1342 +	“Really? I wish you could tell her that. I’m so scared that I’m
370.1343 +going to lose her because of this. And I can’t lose her. I need her.
370.1344 +More than anything. She makes my life complete. I’d be lost without
370.1345 +her. She’s always been my guiding light. She’s the one that steers me
370.1346 +in the right direction.”
370.1347 +	Standing up, Seira reached for the door. Something about this was
370.1348 +just too strange. It sounded too familiar. The door opened and she
370.1349 +stumbled into Saint Tail. The Sister-in-training’s arms flailed as
370.1350 +she fell against the mysterious thief. Both girls tumbled to the
370.1351 +floor in a heap. “Meimi-chan?” Seira looked up directly into auburn
370.1352 +hair. She closed her eyes as it tickled her nose. 
370.1353 +	“You weren’t supposed to come out yet,” Meimi explained, getting to
370.1354 +her knees. She smiled at the dark haired girl. “It’s ventriloquism.
370.1355 +I’ve been practicing. I knew it would come in handy one of these
370.1356 +days.”
370.1357 +	“So you were waiting right outside? What in Heaven for?” Seira
370.1358 +asked, blinking. She slowly gathered up her skirt underneath her,
370.1359 +still kneeling herself.
370.1360 +	“For this.” Meimi cupped Seira’s chin, kissing her softly. The
370.1361 +young nun froze as she kissed her warmly, gloved fingers stroking
370.1362 +under her chin. Meimi held the kiss, drawing it out before finally
370.1363 +pulling away. Seira was pleasantly dizzy when she was done. Meimi
370.1364 +smiled and trailed up to Seira’s lips with her fingertip. “I love
370.1365 +you, Seira. I need you.”
370.1366 +	Seira shook her head, slowly getting to her feet. “Meimi-chan.. You
370.1367 +really shouldn’t do that in here.” She turned her back to the auburn
370.1368 +haired girl, trying to quell her warring feelings. She held her hands
370.1369 +to her chest, breathing slowly. 
370.1370 +	“Why? You said yourself that He wouldn’t fault you for it,” Meimi
370.1371 +argued. Still Seira looked uncertain. Meimi took her hands, looking
370.1372 +the dark haired girl in the eye. “Please come with me. Just for now.
370.1373 +I have to show you something. Ruby has something she wants to show
370.1374 +you.” Her blue eyes pleaded with Seira until the young nun finally
370.1375 +relented. She hurried outside, leading Seira into the darkening
370.1376 +night. Stars already twinkled outside like lanterns in a long and
370.1377 +dark sea. “Ruby!” Meimi called. The cute little hedgehog ran out from
370.1378 +behind some bushes, leaping up into Meimi’s waiting hands. “I would
370.1379 +have done this on my own, but Ruby wanted to come along,” Meimi
370.1380 +explained. 
370.1381 +	“Ruby’s always welcome to come along,” Seira said with a smile,
370.1382 +petting the hedgehog in Saint Tail’s hands. Something glimmered in
370.1383 +the moonlight, hanging from Ruby’s ribbon. Seira looked at it
370.1384 +curiously, reaching out. She gently pulled it away from the ribbon,
370.1385 +holding it up in the dim light. A small gold ring glimmered in her
370.1386 +hand. Seira opened her mouth but nothing came out. She suddenly felt
370.1387 +much dizzier than she had after the kiss. She was about to sit down,
370.1388 +but Meimi took her hands, piercing blue eyes captivating her. She
370.1389 +could only look back, ring still in hand. 
370.1390 +	“It’s my mother’s engagement ring. She was actually really for this
370.1391 +plan when I asked her if I could have it.” Meimi swallowed, licking
370.1392 +her dry lips. She felt so anxious. She had never before thought of
370.1393 +doing this, had never thought of how difficult it would be. But the
370.1394 +thought of losing Seira spurred her on. This was what she wanted, to
370.1395 +be with Seira forever. Standing there in her Saint Tail tuxedo, it
370.1396 +seemed all too fitting. “Seira, will you marry me?”
370.1397 +	Seira stared back in stunned silence. A marriage proposal? Meimi
370.1398 +was proposing to her? Her cheeks darkened as the thought made its way
370.1399 +to her heart. “I.. Meimi-chan..” she got out, blushing. “But we
370.1400 +can’t.” She tried to think, but her mind was paralyzed, trapped on
370.1401 +the ring and Meimi’s blue orbs. 
370.1402 +	“I know we can’t legally get married, but I want to marry you,
370.1403 +Seira. I thought long and hard about this. This is what I want. I
370.1404 +hope it’s what you want, too. I promise I’ll take care of you. I
370.1405 +promise I’ll love you forever. I know we’ll have God’s protection on
370.1406 +this. Just please say yes,” Meimi pleaded, her fingers entwining with
370.1407 +Seira’s. Her heart hung above infinity as she awaited Seira’s reply,
370.1408 +her eyes questing into Seira’s for an answer.
370.1409 +	“Saint Tail! You won’t get away this time!” Asuka Jr. yelled as he
370.1410 +ran towards the two girls. 
370.1411 +	Meimi smiled at Seira before taking a step back and turning to
370.1412 +Asuka Jr. “Sometimes, a magician will reveal her tricks to the
370.1413 +audience so they can see the illusion for what it is. I’ve played
370.1414 +this game long enough. Thank you for playing it with me, Asuka Jr. I
370.1415 +had fun. But I can’t play it anymore.” Reaching up, Meimi pulled out
370.1416 +her ribbon, her long ponytail spilling behind her. She shook her
370.1417 +head, her hair fluttering around her. 
370.1418 +	“Haneoka-san?!” Asuka Jr. stared in amazement. “You.. You’re Saint
370.1419 +Tail? But how?” For all of this time, there had been hints of Meimi
370.1420 +in Saint Tail, but he had never been certain. There had always been
370.1421 +that mystery. But now, the mystery of Saint Tail was laid out right
370.1422 +in front of him. He could only watch, unsure of what to do. She was
370.1423 +unmasked. What more could he do?
370.1424 +	Meimi turned back to Seira, and with a graceful step was right
370.1425 +against her. Wrapping an arm around Seira’s waist, she held the young
370.1426 +Sister-in-training tightly. Pulling up her top hat, she counted down.
370.1427 +“One! Two! Three!” With an impressive burst, a group of colorful
370.1428 +balloons lifted above them. Meimi grabbed the line as the lifted into
370.1429 +the air, pulling Seira into the sky with her. 
370.1430 +	Asuka Jr. watched the two girls float into the air for a long
370.1431 +moment, watching until they were far out of sight. Collapsing
370.1432 +backwards, he could only sit there, Saint Tail’s unmasking burned
370.1433 +into his mind. It was over. The chase had finally ended. He had what
370.1434 +he wanted. He knew who Saint Tail was. So why did he feel so empty?
370.1435 +The mystery was gone, the one thing that had kept him on edge, eager
370.1436 +to find it’s resolution. It really was like finding out how a magic
370.1437 +trick worked. When you saw it again, the magic was gone. It was
370.1438 +simply a gesture. Saint Tail was simply Haneoka. There was no magic
370.1439 +behind it, no mystery anymore. He sighed. He didn’t bother looking
370.1440 +when someone sat down next to him.
370.1441 +	“Well.. You know now.” Lina looked up into the heavens, following
370.1442 +Asuka Jr.'s gaze. “Is it everything you had hoped for?” she asked,
370.1443 +looking over to him. 
370.1444 +	“The magic’s gone. She showed me how the magic works. It’s just..
370.1445 +gone.” Asuka Jr. shook his head, still in shock. “I don’t know where
370.1446 +to go from here. I don’t know what to do. Saint Tail was everything.
370.1447 +I finally caught her. I know who she is. Now what? The game’s over.”
370.1448 +	Lina nodded thoughtfully. She offered a small smile, catching Asuka
370.1449 +Jr.’s eye. Resting a hand on his, she shrugged. “Real magic doesn’t
370.1450 +work that way. Real magic doesn’t disappear when you find out what
370.1451 +causes it.”
370.1452 +	Asuka Jr. sighed, looking down at Lina’s hand. “I guess you’re
370.1453 +right. But what do I do now?” He looked up again, seeing Lina bathed
370.1454 +in moonlight. He didn’t know why, but for the first time, he realized
370.1455 +how pretty she was.
370.1456 +	“Keep looking. Saint Tail wasn’t the magic you were looking for. So
370.1457 +keep looking until you find that magic. Until you find the real
370.1458 +magic. Magic that won’t disappear when you understand it.” Lina
370.1459 +smiled, taking his hand in her own.
370.1460 +	Asuka Jr. nodded, smiling faintly himself. “I’ll keep looking.”
370.1461 +	
370.1462 +	Up above, a young Sister-in-training and a mysterious thief floated
370.1463 +through the air. Seira had been taken by surprise at first, too
370.1464 +shocked to keep herself from being whisked away by Saint Tail. She
370.1465 +had had the presence of mind to hold onto the engagement ring,
370.1466 +luckily. The two hung above, suspended up in a beautiful star
370.1467 +speckled heaven. Seira sighed, resting against Meimi as she held onto
370.1468 +her. The two floated quietly for what felt like a beautiful taste of
370.1469 +eternity. Seira could feel Meimi’s heart beating against her own, a
370.1470 +thunderous beat against her own. Meimi was usually so much more
370.1471 +confident as Saint Tail, but it seemed that even that confidence
370.1472 +couldn’t shield her as she waited anxiously. “I’ll marry you, Meimi-
370.1473 +chan,” Seira said at last, pulling back enough to look into Meimi’s
370.1474 +gorgeous blue eyes. She smiled at the look of relief that washed over
370.1475 +the auburn haired girl’s face. “It’s what I want, too.”
370.1476 +	Meimi smiled brightly holding Seira even tighter. The future
370.1477 +suddenly wasn’t weighing upon her shoulders. Instead it made her feel
370.1478 +lighter than air, drawing her above her worries. The future was no
370.1479 +longer something to dread, but something to await with each passing
370.1480 +breath. “Seira..” Meimi felt her heart float joyously like the
370.1481 +balloons she was holding. “I love you, Seira,” Meimi whispered.
370.1482 +	Seira’s decision was finally made. She felt free, given the eagle’s
370.1483 +wings she had sought for so long. Life was the most precious dream.
370.1484 +She silently thanked the God that she had dedicated her life to for
370.1485 +this beautiful moment, for letting her future lay with Meimi. That
370.1486 +future lay before them, unwritten but full of glorious promise and
370.1487 +wonder. And they would write their future hand in hand. “I love you,
370.1488 +too, Meimi-chan,” Seira replied, her gray eyes sparkling. Leaning
370.1489 +forward, she kissed the mysterious thief, her very own not-so-
370.1490 +mysterious thief with all the love in her heart. With her hands
370.1491 +behind Meimi’s waist, she slipped on the engagement ring, a thrill
370.1492 +passing through her as the symbol of their union clasped her finger.
370.1493 +And so they floated through the skies above, the silhouette of a
370.1494 +thief and a nun kissing in the light of the moon.
370.1495 +

   371.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   371.2 +++ b/stories/letgo1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   371.3 @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
   371.4 +Authors notes: This story is really important to me so there's just some things I wanna say before you go off reading it. It's strictly from Tomoyo's point of view and there's not much dialogue so you might find it boring.. ^^;; But this is the only way I could think of to express my real feelings for someone so hopefully she'll realize that.. It's my way of dealing and hopefully letting go of something that's been going on in my life for a while so even if you don't like it this story actually has a purpose.. ^^ And Tomoyo's ultra kawaii and I like writing about her.. 
   371.5 +
   371.6 +
   371.7 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   371.8 +
   371.9 +Trying To Let Go
  371.10 +
  371.11 +
  371.12 +By Chibi Nuriko
  371.13 +As I sit in class I think of her. I've always thought only of her, my Sakura-chan. No, that's wrong, she's not mine though I wish it more than anything else in this world. She is everything to me and I only wish I could be more than a friend to her. I kept my promise and finally told her of my true feelings for her. I thought maybe she was old enough to understand them now. 
  371.14 +
  371.15 +She does to some extent. At the most she accepts how I feel towards her but she couldn't possibly understand how deep my love for her is. She is still too naive to understand. I can only ask that one day she understand how much I love her. She is the reason I believe in love, yet at the same time she is the reason I shall give up on love. 
  371.16 +
  371.17 +I let out a soft sigh as I realize I'm still in class. It's so easy to get caught up in my thoughts of her. They fill me completly and take me to another world sometimes it seems. I finally gave up hope of having her as my own or her loving me in the same way that I love her. We had our short time together. I think she might have even tried to love me back though I'm not sure why. Maybe she only wanted to make me happy as her friend. I only miss the simple things such as holding her hand. Now I'm too scared to even touch her in fear that I'll feel too much and die. 
  371.18 +
  371.19 +Finally the bell rings and I rush to meet her outside of her class. I wonder if she ever thinks it's weird that I try so hard to see her after each class. Then I see him, and my heart sinks. I could never compete with Syaoran. Not that it's a competition for her love. I can't have her so I put on a smile and wish the two of them luck if she decides that she does want to be with him. I know now they are just friends but I feel that something more is coming of it as each day passes. And he is my friend too I suppose, so in a way I feel silly for being so jealous but nothing can stop the pang of hurt I feel in my heart when I see the two of them together. She looks at him much in the same way she used to look at me. Those intense eyes of hers that always melt me. 
  371.20 +
  371.21 +When she greets me I simply say "Hi," back almost breathlessly at the sight of her radiant smile. I walk with the two of them in silence watching the way they talk. Does she not notice that there's more to his simple touches and hugs than meets the eye? I guess she doesn't... 
  371.22 +
  371.23 +We reach her next class and I smile and say goodbye, leaving the two of them to talk. As soon she's out of sight the smile I put on for her fades and I clutch my chest holding back tears. I promised myself I wouldn't cry over her anymore, that I have to be strong for her always. Even when she's not around. 
  371.24 +
  371.25 +I find it easier now to make it through the days at least. I've come to accept my destiny is the same that my moms is. I was meant to be lonely and to love her from a distance. At least this way I can always protect her. One thing I vow is to not let anything hurt her as long as I shall live. Someone will win her heart, wether it is Syaoran or some other man. But I'm happy enough just being her friend and loving her in my own way. 
  371.26 +
  371.27 +__________ 
  371.28 +
  371.29 +When the day comes to an end I walk Sakura home as I do most days. The silence becomes too much for me and I find myself asking her if she likes Syaoran as I suspect she does. I didn't really want to know the answer, unsure if I could handle it if her answer was yes. "I don't know," she says softly blushing a little. My Sakura-chan's always so cute when she blushes like that. Inwardly I kick myself for still thinking of her as my Sakura. I know she's not yet I like to live in the dream where she is. 
  371.30 +
  371.31 +I feel my hand brush against hers and I pull away quickly. I can't get over how easily the simplest touches melt me. She's definatly got a hold of me. "I think he really likes you," I say back trying to sound happy. "I think you would be a cute couple," my heart breaks as I say the words. I remind myself once again that I need to make her happy no matter the hurt it causes me. 
  371.32 +
  371.33 +She smiles and blushes more at the thought of being with Syaoran. He was once her enemy but now he's one of her closest friends. I notice a sad expression come across her face and I look at her questioning the change in her expression. "What's wrong Sakura-chan?" 
  371.34 +
  371.35 +"It's just, I haven't forgotten how you feel about me Tomoyo-chan and I don't want to hurt you by being with him." I smile again and assure her that it wouldn't hurt me. 
  371.36 +
  371.37 +"I like seeing you happy Sakura-chan," I say happily wondering how long I can go on like this. She hugs me briefly saying she's happy that we can still be friends even though there's so much between us. "I think if you like him you shouldn't worry about me. Your bound to like someone eventually Sakura-chan and if it's him than I'll be happy knowing your happy." 
  371.38 +
  371.39 +It's the half truth I tell myself. There is nothing I want more than to see her happy be it with me or with someone else. It's all I've wished for all this time because I could never be so selfish as to ask God to make her mine. The silence once again envelops us but this time I dare not speak in fear that I'll give too much away. We finally reach her house and I say my goodbyes. "You don't want to come in?" she smiles softly at me. That smile I'd die a thousand deaths just to see. 
  371.40 +
  371.41 +"Do you want me to stay for a while? I don't want to be a bother or anything." 
  371.42 +
  371.43 +"You should know by now your not a bother Tomoyo-chan. Your my best friend and I want you around me." 
  371.44 +
  371.45 +I nod and go inside with her. As soon as we step inside the house she asks me why I've been so quiet all day. "Just tired I suppose," another half truth. I haven't been sleeping well lately scared of the dreams I have. Well not exactly the dreams I have but more so waking up from them and facing my harsh reality. She steps closer to me and looks into my eyes to see if I'm telling the truth. I notice how good she smells though I'm not sure if its her hair, the smell of her skin or just some perfume she has on. I smiles as best as I can and start laughing a little feeling silly. 
  371.46 +
  371.47 +My laugh tricks her into thinking I am okay as she doesn't realize its just a nervous laugh hoping she doesn't notice my true feelings. I always laugh when people look so seriously at me, especially people with such intense and beautiful eyes. She turns away and leads me to the living room where we sit down to watch tv. We sit so close on the couch it drives me almost out of my mind. Sometimes I find it so hard to resist my urges to take her into my arms and confess everything to her and tell her how I can't live without her. But I know she'll only say I'm not without her, as I will always have her as my friend. Instead I settle for watching her as she watches the tv. 
  371.48 +
  371.49 +Everyonce in a while I think she notices my gaze upon her and she turns to look at me. Sometimes I can turn towards the tv in time, others I just smile sheepishly and get embarassed for being caught. This is surely the sweetest punishment I could ever have to suffer. She is like an angel to me and I am just her servant sent to make her happy and give her anything she could ever possibly need. 
  371.50 +
  371.51 +My mind screams out to me to tell her that I love her but I know I can't. I'm supposed to be getting over her after all. I start laughing once more as I realize how caught up in my thoughts I can get sometimes and she looks at me curiously. "Gomen," I say for laughing out of no where. 
  371.52 +
  371.53 +"Don't be sorry," she tells me. "It's nice to see you laughing again." 
  371.54 +
  371.55 +I feel myself starting to blush at that and hope that she doesn't notice. I just nod and start watching the tv as intently as I can trying to focus on something other than her for a little bit. From then on time seems to pass quickly and before I know it I have to go home. 
  371.56 +
  371.57 +I stand up to leave reluctantly and she follows me to the door to say goodbye. I smile at her one last time and head on my way home. As I walk I find myself wondering what exactly this hold she has on me is, and why I can never get her off my mind. I know I should let go of my feelings for her but how can something so strong just go away? I'm not strong enough to will it away. 
  371.58 +
  371.59 +As I think more about it I realize I don't really want it to go away because she's Sakura. I was meant to love her just as my mom was meant to love Nadeshiko-san. Its a cycle that just can't be broken. Or else I'm just to weak to break it. 
  371.60 +
  371.61 +I walk in the house and see my mom standing in the hallway. She doesn't say anything but I know she recognizes the pain in my sad expression. She walks up to me and hugs me and assures me that things will get better one day. I don't believe her but I smile anyways. I'm sick of smiling for everyone else so I go hide in my room where I don't have to pretend to be happy for anyone. 
  371.62 +
  371.63 +When I sit down at my desk I pick up a picture of me and Sakura and run my fingers over her face. "I love you," I whisper to the picture and set it back down. My thoughts return to her and Syaoran knowing that one day I'll have to face her being with another. I'll have to smile for her, I tell myself. I can always smile, but how does one ignore the pain in their heart when they see the one they love with another? 
  371.64 +
  371.65 +"Tommorow," I tell myself. "I'll let go of her tommorow." I sigh and let out a soft laugh realizing just how impossible that is. That I've been telling myself that for years now. Maybe if you tell yourself something enough times it might actually happen one day. 
  371.66 +
  371.67 +I look over at my clock and notice it's only eight. It's still early and it's a friday night. I'm in high school now so doesn't that mean I should be out having fun with my friends? Or am I meant to sit at home and be depressed over her my entire life? I should talk to my mom about it one day but I don't have the strength right now. 
  371.68 +
  371.69 +Instead I put on a videotape of her from when we were little. No matter how sad I am those have always made smile, but this time I cry. I try my best not to, telling myself that Sakura wouldn't want me to cry over her but it's pointless. So I lay there and cry myself to sleep on the couch with thoughs of her being with another in my mind. She's happy at least... How could I ever ask for more? 
  371.70 +
  371.71 +End 

   372.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   372.2 +++ b/stories/letgo2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   372.3 @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
   372.4 +Notes: Well since I can't stand sad endings I made up one for the two. Tomoyo-chan just wasn't meant to be alone, even if I was.. >.< So since I can't have a happy ending here's one I wouldn't mind having.. 
   372.5 +
   372.6 +
   372.7 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   372.8 +
   372.9 +Trying To Let Go 
  372.10 +Chapter 2 
  372.11 +By Chibi Nuriko 
  372.12 +
  372.13 +
  372.14 +I don't believe in happy endings anymore. I've given up on the idea that somehow she will grow to love me. Or even that I will someday get over her and find a happiness in someone else as she has. Yet, I still can't find myself able to give up on the hope that someday, someone will somehow prove me wrong and bring to me the happiness I used to dream of. 
  372.15 +
  372.16 +I think I was born to make her happy, even if it means my misery. It's made me hard to some extent because everyday that I fail to hide my emotions I only hurt her. I try so hard to make her happy but it seems my feelings for her always get in the way. She still claims I do make her happy but things aren't the same now. I feel detached from the real world. 
  372.17 +
  372.18 +She says she never wants me to stop being her friend, and I don't know how I could live without being her friend. Then I wonder if it would be best for me to go away. How can she be happy if she's constantly worried about my feelings for her? If she gives up her own happiness with someone else just to protect me I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life. Wouldn't she be better off if I just left her, so she could forget about me and be happy again? Or is the truth that I would be better off away from her, so maybe I could forget my pain? Either way it doesn't matter, because that's something I promised her I'd never do. 
  372.19 +
  372.20 +Sometimes I wonder if she can notice how different things are with us now. In a way I hope she doesn't because I think it would make her sad to know that I feel slightly less close to her than before. I can make things better on my own can't I? Why should I burden her with my sadness? 
  372.21 +
  372.22 +"Tomoyo-chan," I hear a soft voice at my door causing me to forget my thoughts. "Kinomoto-san is here to see you." 
  372.23 +
  372.24 +"Hai," I stand up from my desk and go to greet her at the door. As I stand at the top of the stairs I look down at her and my heart fills with a combination of joy and pain. She's still the most beautiful angel God has ever created. "How come your here Sakura-chan?" I ask as I descend the stairs. 
  372.25 +
  372.26 +"I needed to talk to you about something important," she tells me in a tone of voice that almost frightens me. She's much too serious for it to be just an ordinary visit. I lead her up to my room and we sit down on my bed. 
  372.27 +
  372.28 +"What is it?" I ask trying not to get myself too worried about what she has to tell me. 
  372.29 +
  372.30 +"There's something wrong with us Tomoyo-chan, and we need to fix it." 
  372.31 +
  372.32 +"What do you mean?" I try to hide the emotion in my voice. 
  372.33 +
  372.34 +"I know you've been hurting so much over me and I didn't know what I could do to fix it before. I think, well I know I've finally figured it out," she takes my hand into her own and I look at her. In her eyes I see something new, as if she's looking at me the way she used to and the way that I've always looked at her. "I never wanted you to hurt because of me Tomoyo-chan and now I know how to make it all go away," she squeezes my hand slightly. 
  372.35 +
  372.36 +"I don't think you can make it go away Sakura-chan." I look away from her so she can't see the tears that threaten my eyes. "Don't worry about me though. I honestly just want you to be happy Sakura." 
  372.37 +
  372.38 +"How can I be happy if my best friend is going through hell? Especially a hell that I put her in? I realized last night how distant you've become and I have to do something before I loose you forever. I didn't know before, but now I do." 
  372.39 +
  372.40 +"Know what?" I look at her again and I can feel her place her soft palm against my cheek. I find myself leaning into her embrace and I'm helpless to stop it. For a moment, I belived that I truely was in Heaven. 
  372.41 +
  372.42 +"I realized how close I am to loosing you last night and I couldn't help but feel the biggest emptiness inside of my heart. It hurt so much it brought me to tears and I cried for what seemed like hours. I can't, and I won't loose you Tomoyo-chan." Sakura took a deep breath and moved closer to me. "Let me love you as you love me," she quietly asked. 
  372.43 +
  372.44 +I froze in place unsure of what to do or say. This must be another of my cruel dreams that I'll shortly wake up from and be left with nothing all over again. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace and I hear her whisper 'please' to me. How can I resist? 
  372.45 +
  372.46 +"Are you sure this is what you want?" I ask knowing I'm taking a big chance. If we do this, and I loose her, I loose everything I've ever lived for. 
  372.47 +
  372.48 +She breaks our embrace and looks into my eyes again. Her eyes are so full of innocence. "I love you Tomoyo-chan, please let me be with you." She asks of me again. 
  372.49 +
  372.50 +"I know you love me Sakura, but I don't think you can love me as I love you." I say sadly realizing I may be pushing away the oppertunity I've always dreamt of. However I also know that she needs to be sure of her feelings before we do anything. 
  372.51 +
  372.52 +"Trust me Tomoyo. I swear I'll never hurt you." I feel her softly running her fingers through my hair and all my resolve melts away. I don't care if she loves me as I love her or not. 
  372.53 +
  372.54 +"I trust you Sakura-chan, I always have." I feel a solitary tear run down my cheek and when she softly kisses it away my heart is filled with a joy that I had long ago given up hope of ever having. "I love you," I say as I pull her close to me. 
  372.55 +
  372.56 +"I love you too Tomoyo-chan. Your the only one I need, I just wish I had seen it before." She leans forward and slowly our lips meet in a kiss. I never knew something so pure existed in all the world until that moment. 
  372.57 +
  372.58 +"I'll love you forever Sakura, and I'll give you everything you could ever need. I give you all of me, heart and soul." This time I notice it's her who is crying and I pull her into my arms and lay down on the bed holding her close. 
  372.59 +
  372.60 +She wraps her arms around me too and rests her head on my chest. When her tears stop she speaks again. "I can hear your heart beating Tomoyo-chan. It's beating so fast." 
  372.61 +
  372.62 +"Thats because you've just made me believe in love again. You've made my dreams come true. And now, I'll never let go of you no matter how long we shall live." I kiss the top of her head and close my eyes so I can put this moment into my memory forever. 
  372.63 +
  372.64 +"I never wanted you to let go of me Tomoyo-chan, but I'm glad you tried or I would have never realized that things are supposed to be like this. That I'm supposed to be here in your arms." 
  372.65 +
  372.66 +"I promise Sakura-chan, I'll never let you go no matter what." 
  372.67 +
  372.68 +End ^^ 
  372.69 +

   373.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   373.2 +++ b/stories/liwpt.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   373.3 @@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
   373.4 +				'Love is Worth the Pain'
   373.5 +			                        By:Traveler
   373.6 +
   373.7 +Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. At the moment i'm too tired to think of who does, so go away lawyers. Please?
   373.8 +
   373.9 +Authors' note: Hello ladies, gentleman and others. This is a Chibi-Usa/Hotaru fanfic. It has yuri or for those who don't know what that means, Female/Female relationships. For those who still don't know... Lesbians. This not a lemon. For those who don't know that means a fanfic with sex. Now. Let the insanity...Begin!
  373.10 +
  373.11 +
  373.12 +   "Oh Hotaru..." Chibi-Usa stared at her friend, laying there looking so frail and weak.
  373.13 +   
  373.14 +"Hotaru, please wake up soon."This was the third week Hotaru had been in the coma.No one could figure out what the cause was. Consequently, everyone was worried sick about the young raven haired girl. Especially her best friend Chibi-Usa.
  373.15 +  
  373.16 +"Hotaru. Please don't die..." She closes her eyes tears beginning to stream down her young-usually cheerful-face.
  373.17 +  
  373.18 +"Oh...Chibi-Usa don't worry. Hotaru'll wake up soon." It was Chibi-Usa's mother, Usagi, who said this.
  373.19 +
  373.20 +Chibi-Usa looked up, tears in her crimson eyes.
  373.21 + 
  373.22 + "A-Are you sure Usagi?" The young child looked completely broken at this point.
  373.23 +
  373.24 +"Of course. It's a promise." She smiles at her future daughter through her own tears, attempting to cheer her up.
  373.25 +
  373.26 +"Th-thanks,Usagi..." She gives her future mother a hug then seperates after a while and turns back to Hotaru, serious now.
  373.27 +
  373.28 +"I know you'll wake up soon Hotaru." Chibi-Usa says bravely almost stubbornly...as if she won't allow her friend to not wake up.
  373.29 +
  373.30 +Outside the window two figures are standing unnoticed watching this scene.
  373.31 +
  373.32 +The figure on the left says,  "She's stubborn. Almost as stubborn as you."
  373.33 +
  373.34 +  "True,"  the right figure replies.
  373.35 +
  373.36 +***
  373.37 +
  373.38 +A slight moan is heard from the figure on the bed.
  373.39 +
  373.40 +Chibi-Usa blinks, tired from her near constant vigil on her friend.
  373.41 +
  373.42 +  "Hotaru?"
  373.43 +
  373.44 +  "Chibi-Usa? What happened?" The young girl tries to stand up but collapses back down on the bed exhausted.
  373.45 +
  373.46 +  "Hotaru! Don't try to move...Not yet at least...Is there something you want?" Chibi-Usa asks her friend.
  373.47 +
  373.48 +
  373.49 +She thinks on this then says in a voice hoarse from un-use,
  373.50 +  "If I could have something to eat or drink i'd be grateful." She smiles at her young pink-haired friend.
  373.51 +
  373.52 +Chibi-Usa smiles, eyes tearing up slightly from happiness. "Okay.Just stay here and i'll get it okay?" She leaves the room to get something to eat and drink for her friend.
  373.53 +
  373.54 +***
  373.55 +
  373.56 +"Um...Hotaru?Could...I tell you something?" Chibi-Usa's trembling slightly afraid of how her friend will react.They are currently in Hotaru's room on her bed.
  373.57 +
  373.58 +She smiles slightly at her best friend, nervous because her friend is nervous. "Sure Chibi-Usa. What is it?"
  373.59 +
  373.60 +She takes a deep breath, preparing to tell her friend a secret which no one other than herself knows. "I...have...I mean, I like...I mean I LOVE..." She breathes in again deeply trying to calm down a bit while Hotaru looks at her friend concerned with a hint of wariness also.
  373.61 +
  373.62 +After she calms herself Chibi-Usa continues "I...Love you, Hotaru." She looks at her friend bravely awaiting her reaction.
  373.63 +
  373.64 +Hotaru stares at her friend in shocked silence for a space of exactly ten seconds before an angry look appears on her face. "You...You think you can just come up and say that to me?"
  373.65 +
  373.66 +Chibi-Usa stares in blank shock at her friend. "I...I thought that..."
  373.67 +
  373.68 +  "No Chibi-Usa you didn't think." Hotaru looks at her friend angry now. "If you had thought then you wouldn't have said that. Now get out."
  373.69 +
  373.70 +Chbi-Usa begins to stutter tears starting to well up in her eyes. "B-But I..."
  373.71 +
  373.72 +"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Hotaru yells at her friend and Chibi-Usa runs out crying now. Hotaru stares at the door and then walks resolutely to it and locks it.
  373.73 +
  373.74 +***
  373.75 +  "She-She said that she loved me. How dare she. How dare that little pink-haired BRAT say that she loves me. I...I should..." She stares into space for a moment then collapses onto the bed. "Maybe.Maybe I reacted a bit rashly. I...She was crying! And it's my fault...How do I feel about her? Well let's see. She's my best friend. She's cute, she's cheerful, she's always nice to me. Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama said she was with me almost all the time when I was sick. But...Do I love her?" She breathes in then out thinking about the question. "She's always there for me. She always cares about me. She...I feel safe when i'm with her and warm...What should I do? Huh?" This last is said as she notices a note neatly folded up on her bedside table. "What's this?" She goes over and unfolds it beginning to read it to herself aloud. '' 'To Hotaru:You should tell her how you feel. Incidentally were I you I would do so quickly. Being as how you have...Three hours before your friends decides to 'end things' as some say. Sincerely the Travelers'?! Chibi-Usa...No..." A determined look forms on her face. "No...I won't let it happen..." She runs out her door and down the stairs quickly. "Haruka-papa!"
  373.76 +
  373.77 +  "Hm?" The sandy haired female looks up from her paper. "What is it Hotaru?Is something wrong?" She looks concerned for her "daughter".
  373.78 +
  373.79 +   Hotaru is panting slightly tired from the short run. "I...Need you to get me to...Chibi-Usa's house...Now! Please?" She looks at her "papa" panting slightly.
  373.80 +
  373.81 +   "Hm. Come on then." She grabs her coat and she and Hotaru run out quickly. 'Oh Chibi-Usa...'Hotaru thinks.' Please be alright...I'm sorry. I love you Chibi-Usa...'
  373.82 +
  373.83 +***
  373.84 +Chibi-Usa is sitting on her bed looking down at her feet depressed. "She hates me...She hates me...She'll never love me...Never..." She gets up off of the bed going towards the kitchen to retrieve a knife. However due to many circumstances she is stopped by a dark streak bumping into her.
  373.85 +
  373.86 +"Chibi...Usa...I'm sorry...I...Love you too...." Having said this Hotaru passes out from exhaustion in her still weak state.
  373.87 +
  373.88 +Chibi-Usa stares at her friend in shock for a moment. "...Hotaru..." Still partially in shock she picks her friend up and carries her to her bed laying her down there and sitting down to wait.
  373.89 +
  373.90 +***
  373.91 +"Ohhh..." A small moan comes from the dark-haired girl.
  373.92 +
  373.93 +"Hotaru!" Chibi-Usa said overjoyed that her best friend was alright.
  373.94 +
  373.95 +"Hey Chibi-Usa..." Hotaru says smiling and sits up shakily.
  373.96 +
  373.97 +"Hotaru! You shouldn't be sitting up yet..." She attempts to keep her friend laying down but Hotaru stops her gently and shyly but firmly trembling slightly. Chibi-Usa for her part looks shocked and surprised but settles into the kiss enjoying it. After a while they both pull away breathing hard, blushing, and smiling.
  373.98 +
  373.99 +"Well?" Hotaru asks her friend smiling nervously.
 373.100 +
 373.101 +Chibi-Usa looks at her friend smiling. "Great... " She kisses her friend gently as Hotaru relaxes into the kiss smiling...as much as one can smile while being kissed at least.
 373.102 +
 373.103 +After they pull away Hotaru asks her friend, "Was it worth it?"
 373.104 +
 373.105 +Chibi-Usa smiles. "Yes...." They both lean in towards each other and each kisses the other softly gently savoring the sweet feelings of kissing and being kissed by the one you love.
 373.106 +
 373.107 +Outside the window two mysterious figured stand again unnoticed.
 373.108 +
 373.109 +The left figure says, "Well they're together."
 373.110 +
 373.111 +The right figure replies, "Yeah. Shall we go?"
 373.112 +
 373.113 +"Why not?"
 373.114 +
 373.115 +There are two flashes of light as the figures dissapear leaving Hotaru and Chibi-Usa kissing.
 373.116 +
 373.117 +Author's end note: This is the first fic i've written in a VERY long time so....Forgive me if it's not to good.Comment compliment (gasps) or flame me at DJones9580@aol.com.
 373.118 \ No newline at end of file

   374.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   374.2 +++ b/stories/lonely_hearts-00.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   374.3 @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
   374.4 +Lonely Hearts 
   374.5 +by Amazoness Duo 
   374.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
   374.7 +
   374.8 +Her name was Hikari, though her friends, if she had any, would know her as Kairi. Two years ago, she saved countless worlds from being consumed by darkness. Two years ago, she nearly encompassed all existence as the very essence of darkness. As Kairi, the Keyblade Mistress, she fought for the Light that could never accept her. As Princess Hikari, she struggled for the comfort of a world of eternal night, the only world where she could finally be at peace. In the end, she realized that she was both of these people. She was indeed the princess of the Heartless, but she was not entirely without a heart herself. Deciding to accept her own broken, pained heart, Hikari saved the very worlds she had nearly pulled into ruin. But in doing so, she had to wake up from the dream. She had to leave behind the two boys she loved and the island paradise that had been her hideaway from the pain within. For those worlds to survive, she had to return to the home she had tried so desperately to escape. 
   374.9 +
  374.10 +At least, that was what Hikari had dreamed as she lay dying on her bedroom floor, bleeding from her slit wrists. It had felt like an eternity, but it had only been long enough for her mother to find her and call the ambulance. Hikari was not a princess or a much loved girl on a beautiful island. She was a lonely, depressed girl who escaped into the Disney movies and Squaresoft games that she cherished. A lonely dreamer, her only solace were the made up worlds where she could pretend to be happy. 
  374.11 +
  374.12 +And now she was once again lost in the cold, harsh world she had tried to run away from. Her mother needed her, she reminded herself. The reminder did little to boost her waning spirits. Her mother needed her. That was why she continued on in a world she neither belonged in nor chared for. But it was a reason. Her only reason. It had to suffice. 
  374.13 +
  374.14 +Sometimes her wrists still burned agonizingly. Her doctor had told her that she was making it up, that there was no way they could stilll hurt because they had healed. He said it was all in her mind. Apparently everything was just a figment of her imagination these days. 
  374.15 +
  374.16 +Healed or not, the scars were both very prominent on her wrists. Hikari always wore wristbands to hide the telltale signs of her suicide gone wrong. 
  374.17 +
  374.18 +It killed her to think that all her adventures and loves were simply her lonely, dying mind imagining people who cared and a life worth living. Her dying dreams had been filled with characters from the Disney movies she wished she could meet since she`d been a child. Characters from Squaresoft games she had spent hours playing to escape her own droll life had wanted to join her party in this amalgam of worlds. There were even boys who loved her and competed for her attention. She was wanted and needed, but only within the fantasies of a lonely, needy young girl. Her heart ached when she remembered playing with Tidus, Selphie and Wakka. She felt a sense of loss that those who had joined her adventure, Yuffie and Relm, were nothing more than pixels on a screen. And tears would always threaten when her mind would point out that the ones she loved most of all, Riku and Sora, were only in her mind. They only loved her because she wanted them to. Sometimes she would forget all this and Sora`s words would come back to her. `I`m always with you, too.` The two boys had promised to find her. But they never would. Because they were but a beautiful dream and the dreamer had finally awoken. 
  374.19 +
  374.20 +Her pen moved across her notebook as if it had a mind of its own. Drawing had always been something she loved and it was one of the few things that she knew she was good at. It let her escape her dreary surroundings and be anywhere she could imagine. Drawings let her see anyone she wanted doing anything, anywhere. They were her windows into other worlds, the worlds within her soul. 
  374.21 +
  374.22 +His spikey hair was the first to take shape. The pen glided along, giving life to the goofy smile of his before skirting to the cool gaze of the other boy, driving up and bringing his own longer hair into existence. The two grew, back to back, little pieces of them slowly coming to life on the page with every movement of her pen. Her boys. Darkness and Light. So different and yet both of them made her heart ache. One cheerfully optimistic and gloriously uncomplicated. The other endlessly determined and enticingly mysterious. A soft, pained sigh began deep within her chest. If only... 
  374.23 +
  374.24 +"Who is that supposed to be? Lady and the Tramp?" The voice made Hikari cringe. She was 16 years old and still drew all sorts of Disney and Squaresoft characters all over her backpack and notebooks. It was relatively simple. She liked them. They gave her comfort. Why other people had to harass her about it, she couldn`t begin to guess. 
  374.25 +
  374.26 +"It looks more like Beauty and the Beast to me," said another. 
  374.27 +
  374.28 +"I think it`s Aladdin and Squall. You know what a big yaoi fan Hikari is," laughed a third. 
  374.29 +
  374.30 +Sometimes Hikari wished she still had control of the Heartless. Her mind would call out to them and she could imagine them coming to her, her children. Then they could steal the hearts of these bimbos and make them into more Heartless. Hikari got the distinct impression that she would much prefer the girls as Heartless creatures than as cruel girls. 
  374.31 +
  374.32 +"Why don`t you fuck off?" Hikari explained with what felt like, to her, a great deal of patience. The girls didn`t see things Hikari`s way. 
  374.33 +
  374.34 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  374.35 +
  374.36 +Hikari winced as her tongue ran over the cut in her mouth. Her cheek hurt terribly and she could still taste blood. she didn`t quite know how to explain to her mother that she had been in another fight. She wasn`t much of a fighter, so victories were seldom hers and it always worried her mother to no end. `Why don`t you just walk away?` her mother would say. `I`m tired of walking away,` Hikari would try to explain. `I`m tired of being teased and picked on beacause I`m different. I`m tired of just letting things be so messed up.` Sometimes her mother would cry. Hikari hoped this would not be one of those times. 
  374.37 +
  374.38 +Collapsing onto her bed, Hikari stared at the roof. Posters and drawings covered every spare bit of wallspace in her room. Figurines, games, and movies covered every inch of the desks and shelves. She could no longer travel between worlds, so she was forced to look into them through the movies and games she loved. It let her see the worlds, but she could never be a part of them. As much as she loved Sleeping Beauty, it would never let her into it. 
  374.39 +
  374.40 +Sighing disconsolately, Hikari rolled onto her side. She irritably brushed away the hair that fell into her eyes. Sometimes she wished she knew what she was fighting for, what she was waiting for. Life wasn`t a fairytale. There was no Prince Charming coming to awaken her from this dreary nightmare. 
  374.41 +
  374.42 +"Kairi..." The voice sounded so familiar. It took her a moment to realize it was her own. It sounded strange hearing it from elsewhere, like listening to a recording of her voice. Sitting up quickly, the auburn haired girl spotted the source of the voice. Herself. Or someone who looked just like her. The other girl had slightly longer hair and wore pants, short gloves, and a sleeveless shirt. Hikari`s mouth opened briefly, but she had no words to fill the void. She was quite obviously in bed. So how was it that she was also near the nightstand? This couldn`t be happening. It wasn`t happening. Holding her head, she tried to collect her thoughts, to force them into some kind of sense. 
  374.43 +
  374.44 +The copy of Hikari stepped to the bed and gazed down at her with her indigo eyes. "We`re coming, Kairi," she promised. "Just hold on a little longer. You have to be strong. A storm is coming." 
  374.45 +
  374.46 +"Riku?" THe name came unbidden to Hikari`s lips, escaping in a rushed whisper. A smile crossed her double`s face at the name. 
  374.47 +
  374.48 +"Just don`t give up. You said you`d be waiting," the doppleganger said. Resting her gloved hands on Hikari`s skirt covered thighs, she leaned forward and kissed her twin. 
  374.49 +
  374.50 +Hikari was mesmerized. Her lips offered no resistence, lost in the feeling of the soft lips conquering her own. Soft, small breasts pressed together as the gloved girl kissed her deeper. Hikari began to warm to the kiss, melting into it, yearning for more. Her knight... Had he returned? His body had been destroyed, but she had given him her own before she had disappeared from his world. Had he come back to her? Her doubts and suspicions of her dream worlds sank to the back of her mind. All the loneliness, all the desperation seemed to drain away by the kiss. Hikari gave into it entirely, reaching out to pull her double close and never let go. 
  374.51 +
  374.52 +And then she was gone. The front door slamming told Hikari that her mother was home from work. Her lavender eyes darted open only to see the far wall, characters frozen in poses suitable for posters. She had fallen asleep in bed. Her heart sank tremondously. For a moment, she thought Riku had found her, that he wasn`t just a figment of her imagination and that she`d finally be free and loved. But it was just a desperate dream of a pathetic girl. 
  374.53 +
  374.54 +Ignoring her tears and the blurring room around her, Hikari`s hand slipped under the waistband of her panties after pulling her skirt up. How she wished he were here with her, close to her, inside of her... If only he could be with her and never let go. If only he could be real. She couldn`t even hear her light sobs as her fingers went to work, playing over herself. THe world disappeared as she closed her eyes, her heavy heart fixing on what she wanted, on what was, ultimately, only a dream. 
  374.55 +
  374.56 +When her muscles clenched and her body released, her tears had stopped. She was drained and exhausted. Her tears were spent, but nothing was better. 
  374.57 \ No newline at end of file

   375.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   375.2 +++ b/stories/lost-feelings.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   375.3 @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
   375.4 +LOST FEELINGS by mahoukaijuu
   375.5 +
   375.6 +author notes: i don't know what was i thinking when i decided to write this fiction. it's my first one and it's about one of my favourite anime series: card captor sakura. i always thought sakura and tomoyo would be a very kawaii couple! so, read it and then tell me what you think, ok? ^^ obs: this fanfiction is kinda 'too-kawaii-and-full-of-love', so take care diabetic people.
   375.7 +
   375.8 +disclaimer: all the characters belong to CLAMP blablabla and this story is not part of the series, it's a mahoukaijuu creation for Card Captor Sakura fans.
   375.9 +
  375.10 +vocabulary:
  375.11 +
  375.12 +Ano: hmm/aahh
  375.13 +
  375.14 +
  375.15 +*thought*
  375.16 +"dialog"
  375.17 +
  375.18 +
  375.19 +LOST FEELINGS CHAPTER 1 - Happy memories, sad present
  375.20 +
  375.21 +Tomoyo walked into Sakura's bedroom. The old Sakura's bedroom. It was time to make another visit and clean up that lonely place. It was messy and durty, but Tomoyo still could feel Sakura's smell. *She smelled so good...* Her teddy bears were still in the same place, but old and sad. The doll Tomoyo gave her was still on her bed, but dirty and cold. Happy memories...They used to be so cheerful, life was so easy when they were ten! They could forget about feelings and their only responsability was school and the Clow Cards....*oh, the Clow Cards..* Tomoyo smiled and her eyes sparkled. Tomoyo remembered of all her fun video recording the most beautiful girl on Earth using her innocent magic. She smiled sadly while a tear came down on her face. *now she's gone...*. Tomoyo could't help but cry. Fujitaka-san has passed away a few years ago. Touya-san is now living with his always beloved Yukito-san, but he won't find happiness until he sees Sakura again. They're tired of looking for her and they know she's doing the right thing, although Touya still hates "that brat"! *Sakura..* Tomoyo thought, still looking at the dark depressive bedroom. Tomoyo is still the same gorgeous and lovely girl, but her body is so beautiful and her hair is now short.She has now the same haircut as Sakura when they were kids. All the boys look at her and want her, but she can only think of one person..
  375.22 +
  375.23 +~~~
  375.24 +
  375.25 +It's been eight years. Eight years of a long research and no results. *Syoran-kun had promised he was coming back to Japan to stay with me! He promised!* He'd never lie to her, not like that! Never! *Syoaran-kun, why did you leave me..?* she asked herself. The same question, every day, every hour.
  375.26 +Sakura: "Kero-chan, are you awake?"
  375.27 +Kero: "Ano...hmm...pudiiin.." he growned
  375.28 +Sakura smiled gracefully. Kero was obviously dreaming about last dinner's dessert. Sakura and Kero are in a little hotel room somewhere in Japan, very far from Tomoead. They've been traveling around Japan for long eight years, looking for Syaoran. 
  375.29 +They had already told each other about their true feelings, he took the plane to Hong Kong but never got there. The first thing Sakura did was going look for him. Everywhere! She didn't care about her family, about Li-kun's family, about school, nothing! She only wanted to find her love. She hasn't called her family or friends for all these years. It was unecessary. They'd only get more worried about her. She was only worried about Tomoyo... Tomoyo had to say something to Sakura before she left, but Sakura couldn't wait.
  375.30 +But now Sakura was tired. She can't stay looking for him forever. She has to take care of Yue-san and Kero-chan, she misses Yukito-san so much. She regrets of not saying goodbye to her father before he passed away. She misses Touya, even knowing he's mad at her for running away like this for such a long time. And she misses Tomoyo-chan so much. The way she smiles, her smell, her secret...Tomoyo was going to tell Sakura her deepest secret. *She said I was going to understand everything when I'd be older, but I've always knew she really meant something behind those kind words*.
  375.31 +
  375.32 +END OF CHAPTER 1
  375.33 +
  375.34 +
  375.35 +So, what did you think? Kinda confusing, ne? You'll understand it all later! The next chapter will be on in a few days! ^^
  375.36 +Obs: No, Fujitaka Kinomoto doesn't die in the series!
  375.37 +
  375.38 +If you have any critics, flames, opinions or candys, please REWiEW! 
  375.39 +

   376.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   376.2 +++ b/stories/lost-feelings2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   376.3 @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
   376.4 +heyo kidz! here's the second chapter for Lost Feelings! Hope you enjoy it ^^
   376.5 +lilika kaijuushoujo
   376.6 +http://kawaiisakura.dk3.com
   376.7 +monstarrgirl@yahoo.com
   376.8 +
   376.9 +~~~
  376.10 +
  376.11 +vocabulary:
  376.12 +
  376.13 +Nani: what
  376.14 +
  376.15 +
  376.16 +
  376.17 +*thought*
  376.18 +"dialog"
  376.19 +<dream>
  376.20 +
  376.21 +~~~
  376.22 +
  376.23 +
  376.24 +LOST FEELINGS Chapter 2 - Confused Future
  376.25 +
  376.26 +Tomoyo was doing the same thing she did for all those years of loneliness: cleaning up the old and abandoned bedroom where Sakura used to sleep when they were kids. She cleaned up Sakura's bed thinking of how many times she tried to show the brown-haired girl how much she cared about her. She did everything to make Sakura happy, don't matter how! She helped Sakura and Syaoran to get together, she was so happy to see her love smiling again, but that was also the most painful moment of her life: when Sakura first kissed Syaoran. Tomoyo would give her life to be in his place! But how could she be sp selfish now? She had never been like that before! *Sakura, I hope you're ok..* But she knew she wasn't ok. Tomoyo could feel it.
  376.27 +
  376.28 +~~~~
  376.29 +
  376.30 +Sakura: "Kero-chan...I decided to quit it."
  376.31 +
  376.32 +Sakura always thought she would feel sad if she said it, but she wasn't. This feeling of tranquillity caught her in surprise.
  376.33 +
  376.34 +Kero: "NANIIIIII? you MUST be kidding me, Sakura! Don't you love that brat? Don't you wanna find him anymore?" 
  376.35 +
  376.36 +Sakura looked at nothing..she found herself in deep thought, took a long breath and smiled.
  376.37 +
  376.38 +Sakura: "I don't know how I feel about him anymore."
  376.39 +
  376.40 +A tear came down her face.
  376.41 +
  376.42 +Kero: "How come you don't know something like that?! You loved him so much! You've been looking for him for such long years! You ignored your family, you ignored your friends...You ignored Tomoyo..."
  376.43 +
  376.44 +Sakura: "I know, Kero-chan.."
  376.45 +
  376.46 +Sakura and Kero fell asleep.
  376.47 +
  376.48 +...<..voice: "Sakura-chan..You finally realised your true feelings...I'm sorry...I had to leave you...I'm not your true love, I wasn't the right one for you...Now you got to find the one who holds your heart, who really cared about you for all this time...Thank you for thinking of me, I'll never forget you..." She saw a dark-haired girl crying and a very familiar smell came..."Tomoyo-chan.." she said "I miss you so much..What did you really mean behind those words..?">
  376.49 +
  376.50 +Sakura wakes up with the phone ringing. The same phone Tomoyo gave her when they were kids. *Ringing again...* she thought. She always felt so good when this phone ringed, it meant everything was ok with Tomoyo. But Sakura never answered it, thinking of how many explanations she'd have to give to her friend. The phone ringed almost every day.
  376.51 +
  376.52 +But this time was different. This time she wasn't feeling things were fine. Was that dream a premonition? Is there something happening with Tomoyo? Everything came to her mind in just one second. Sakura caught the phone, easily, nervously...
  376.53 +
  376.54 +Sakura: "Mo..moshi moshi...Tomoyo-chan.."
  376.55 +
  376.56 +
  376.57 +~~~~
  376.58 +
  376.59 +The mirror couldn't describe Tomoyo's colour. She was pale, looking like a ghost. She couldn't say a word.
  376.60 +
  376.61 +
  376.62 +Sakura: "Tomoyo-chan? Are you there..?" 
  376.63 +Tomoyo: "H..hai..." Tomoyo's eyes blinked, she couldn't believe this! 
  376.64 +Sakura: "I'm going back to Tomoeda, Tomoyo-chan..."
  376.65 +
  376.66 +~~~~ 
  376.67 +
  376.68 +END OF CHAPTER 2
  376.69 +
  376.70 +
  376.71 +eh! that's it for now! thanx for the awesome reviews!! next chapter will be on soon!
  376.72 +arigatou gozaimasu!! ^^ 
  376.73 +

   377.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   377.2 +++ b/stories/lost-feelings3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   377.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   377.4 +Syaoran-kun visits Sakura-chan! ^^
   377.5 +This fic happens BEFORE movie 2
   377.6 +
   377.7 +vocabulary: same thing as last chapter, plus
   377.8 +
   377.9 +Gaki: brat
  377.10 +
  377.11 +*thought*
  377.12 +"dialog"
  377.13 +<...dream...>
  377.14 +
  377.15 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  377.16 +LOST FEELINGS chapter 4 - The truth comes throught the night
  377.17 +
  377.18 +Sakura hang up the phone. Those were the longest 2 minutes of her life, she called Tomoyo and she couldn't believe in what she was going to do! It was a weird decision, even for her, but she was right about that in certain way. So confusing...*That dream last night..could that be another premonition? Did that dream help me to be so sure of my decision?*
  377.19 +Kero-chan was very occupied playing his gameboy and making funny noises while losing one more game. Trying to forget the defeat, he looked to Sakura and smiled.
  377.20 +
  377.21 +Kero-chan: "Soooooo, didja talk to Tomoyo-chan? How's she doin?
  377.22 +Sakura: "Fine, I guess.."
  377.23 +Kero-chan: "you GUESS?!"
  377.24 +Sakura: "Yeah, i haven't talked to her much.. I felt so weird..But hey, we're gonna see her soon!"
  377.25 +Kero-chan "Yoookattttaaaaaa!! Sakura..Are you sure of what you're doing?"
  377.26 +Sakura: "Perhaps..I had this odd dream last night. There was a green aura and it made me feel so well..This aura said weird stuff about me and my feelings.."
  377.27 +Kero-chan: "You know how important your dreams are, Sakura..Have anyone one this world made you feel so well as the aura?"
  377.28 +
  377.29 +Sakura closed her eyes in concentration for a few seconds.
  377.30 +
  377.31 +..silence...
  377.32 +
  377.33 +Sakura: "SYAORAN-KUN??" 
  377.34 +Kero-chan: "Nanda?! That gaki?? Sakura, think more more MORE!!!"
  377.35 +Sakura: "Syaoran-kun!! That was him, I'm sure of it!! I gotta dream the same thing, I gotta talk to him one more time!!"
  377.36 +
  377.37 +Sakura got her key and it made it become a wand. 
  377.38 +
  377.39 +Sakura: "Sakura Card, obbey my commands and make my thoughts real...DREAM!"
  377.40 +
  377.41 +
  377.42 +<...................................>
  377.43 +Sakura opened her eyer, it was all dark in that cold and negative room. The floor was quite wet, but it didn't get her pink dress dirty. As she tried to get the lonely thought out of her mind, she saw a green aura and she felt the same warm feeling the last dream gave her. It was coming closer, making Sakura feel safe.
  377.44 +
  377.45 +Sakura: "Syaoran-kun..."
  377.46 +
  377.47 +The aura became a person. The face, the green clothes, the hands, she could see every little detail of the person so clear.
  377.48 +
  377.49 +Syaoran: "Hai..you finally found me, sakura.." with a smile on his face
  377.50 +Sakura: "Why are you in my dreams? Why can't I find you anywhere??"
  377.51 +
  377.52 +Sakura looked at him with a desperate look
  377.53 +
  377.54 +Syaoran: "'Cos I'm not anywhere, Sakura.."
  377.55 +Sakura: "What do you mean by th.." Syaoran places his finger on Sakura's lips
  377.56 +Syaoran: "It had to be this way. You can never change destiny, Sakura. Did you realised why you stopped looking for me? I'm not the one for you, cherry blossom. Sooner or later you'd find out. Im sad it had to be this way, but now you can analyse everything that hapens in your heart. Think of the one who's always looking for your happiness, the one you could't ever forget even looking for me your whole life..That's all I have to say, Sakura. Goodbye, I'll always love you."
  377.57 +
  377.58 +Suddenly, the person desappeared and so did the aura. Sakura was in shock, but wasn't sad at all. She closed her eyes *the one for me..my true love..*
  377.59 +<...................................>
  377.60 +
  377.61 +...She opened her eyes and there was Kero-chan, worried face.
  377.62 +
  377.63 +Sakura was blushing, smiling, that was something Kero-chan hadn't seen for years! 
  377.64 +
  377.65 +Sakura: "Kero-chan, we're going back to Tomoeda NOW! HURRY UP!!"
  377.66 +
  377.67 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  377.68 +As the plain arrived in Tomoeda, Sakura looked around for the way out of the airport. She looked around and smiled in discretion when she realised that could remember all the ways in that huge place, the same place she went to say goodbye to Eriol-kun and *..Syaoran..*. Sakura stopped walking. She didn't feel sad. For the first time in eight years, she wasn't a bit sad thinking of Syaoran-kun. Sakura smiled and looked up, sighing in relief *arigatou, syaoran-kun..Well, it's time..."* Sakura looked up and walked down the old Tomoeda streets.
  377.69 +
  377.70 +
  377.71 +OWARI (for now)
  377.72 +
  377.73 +note: I know I'm evil and i love beeing like this (=^-^=). The next chapter will be the final one. Sakura will find out what happened to Syaoran-kun and who's her true love. Oh and sorry for the bad english..*shame* 
  377.74 +

   378.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   378.2 +++ b/stories/lost.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   378.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   378.4 +Lost
   378.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   378.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   378.7 +
   378.8 +The light, it cannot reach me here.
   378.9 +It's rays don't go this far.
  378.10 +Even they turn back before the darkness devours them.
  378.11 +Yet I find myself lost here, 
  378.12 +on these cold and desolate plains. 
  378.13 +I don't know where I am nor where I'm going.
  378.14 +Darkness stretches outwards, an infinite expanse of loneliness,
  378.15 +blessed only with the solace of teardrops.
  378.16 +
  378.17 +I am alone here,
  378.18 +Lost where you can never find me.
  378.19 +I cannot find my way,
  378.20 +begging each shadow for help.
  378.21 +But my pleas fall on deaf ears and I must continue forward.
  378.22 +Alone.
  378.23 +
  378.24 +This well traveled route of agony and despair,
  378.25 +it knows me well by now. 
  378.26 +Always harkening me back to it's haunting paths and dark mazes.
  378.27 +I am lost to it, 
  378.28 +unable to escape it's grasp upon me. 
  378.29 +I always pass the same sign, 
  378.30 +always cross the same frozen stream.
  378.31 +'You are nowhere,'
  378.32 +the sign states in letters the color of blood.
  378.33 +And I shiver at the sight, 
  378.34 +but continue forwards into the encompassing darkness.
  378.35 +"Where am I?" I ask.
  378.36 +But there is no answer.
  378.37 +"Who am I?" I plead.
  378.38 +But silence answers my call.
  378.39 +"Please save me..." I whimper.
  378.40 +But no one comes for me.
  378.41 +
  378.42 +So I cry. 
  378.43 +
  378.44 +I finally collapse along the winding path, 
  378.45 +my tear soaked dress fluttering around me as the wind picks up.
  378.46 +I sob bitter tears, 
  378.47 +cursing my lost and lonely path,
  378.48 +praying for the light to illuminate the darkness.
  378.49 +But no one heeds my calls.
  378.50 +And I am left in the shadows to fend for myself.
  378.51 +To find my path when there is none.
  378.52 +To save myself from the shadows when I know that I can't.
  378.53 +So I cry. 
  378.54 +Pounding my fists into the wet dirt of my lonely path,
  378.55 +I question whether it needs me upon it anymore.
  378.56 +Perhaps it is time I surrender, 
  378.57 +that I give in to the inevitablity that I will forever be lost.
  378.58 +That my path will never take me anywhere but through these cold and dark shadows.
  378.59 +I laugh into the night sky, 
  378.60 +the thunder echoing the madness that plays with my hair.
  378.61 +If only I give up, 
  378.62 +I will be free.
  378.63 +I will be free...
  378.64 +
  378.65 +But I cannot give up.
  378.66 +Not yet, at any right.
  378.67 +I have much left to tend to.
  378.68 +I have sights left unseen. 
  378.69 +Perhaps I will never see them.
  378.70 +But I won't know if I don't try.
  378.71 +I struggle to my bare feet, 
  378.72 +stumbling forward into the cold woods once more.
  378.73 +I know that I am lost.
  378.74 +But I pray that I will be found.

   379.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   379.2 +++ b/stories/lovelies.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   379.3 @@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
   379.4 +
   379.5 +Hi everyone! ^-^ I wrote this in less than an hour over my frustration at all of the 
   379.6 +‘S+S’ and Tomoyo/Eriol fics out there. Poor Tomoyo-chan. ;_; She can’t be 
   379.7 +with who she loves so she’s paired off with Eriol just because they’re both 
   379.8 +eccentric. *sighs* Anyway, I’m way too overly emotional about the whole 
   379.9 +Sakura & Tomoyo thing, and I was in kind of a weird mood anyway, so that’s 
  379.10 +where this story comes from. ^-^ I hope you like it!
  379.11 +
  379.12 +
  379.13 +Love Lies Bleeding
  379.14 +By the Amazoness Duo 
  379.15 +
  379.16 +
  379.17 +	As I lie bleeding to death on the cold ground, my last thoughts 
  379.18 +automatically travel back to Sakura. Her beautiful face, her sparkling emerald 
  379.19 +green eyes, her friendly smile. I could always tell how she was feeling, even if 
  379.20 +she didn’t know herself sometimes. I could see it in her eyes. Those eyes told 
  379.21 +me everything. They filled me with strength, bolstered my love for her. But they 
  379.22 +hurt me in ways she’ll never know. I love her so much, yet… His incessant 
  379.23 +agonizing breaths are breaking my concentration. “Li-kun, if you’re going to 
  379.24 +die, then could you please be a little quieter? I’m having a hard time 
  379.25 +remembering what I got Sakura-chan for her twelfth birthday and her exact 
  379.26 +reaction.”
  379.27 +
  379.28 +	He seems to consider my request before moaning louder. How 
  379.29 +inconsiderate. I asked nicely. And wouldn’t he want to think about her in his last 
  379.30 +moments as well? “This is all your fault...” he says after a moment, glaring 
  379.31 +pointedly at me. At least, I assume he is. I can’t really see him very well from 
  379.32 +where I am and my vision’s starting to go dark. I can almost see her in the 
  379.33 +darkness, as if she’s waiting for me. Oh, Sakura-chan... You’re always so sweet. 
  379.34 +I’m so lucky to have... I cut off again as he reiterates how much this is my fault. 
  379.35 +
  379.36 +	“I hope Sakura-chan wouldn’t see it that way,” I say simply. Why does 
  379.37 +it matter what he thinks so long as she knows? “I hope she knows my video 
  379.38 +collection is willed to her.” All of my worldly possessions are willed to her, so 
  379.39 +she’d be getting everything anyway. I’m just trying to keep his mind off of 
  379.40 +things long enough so we can both die in peace. 
  379.41 +
  379.42 +	Unfortunately, that seems to be the wrong thing to say. “That’s what 
  379.43 +started all of this. I never would have noticed the way you look at her if it 
  379.44 +weren’t for all of those videos you take. Can’t you let her be happy on her 
  379.45 +own?”
  379.46 +
  379.47 +	I blink back my surprise, or try to, anyway. “What? How I look at her? 
  379.48 +I look at her with love because that’s what courses through my heart when I see 
  379.49 +her. And of course I want Sakura to be happy. I just know how to make her 
  379.50 +happy better than she does. So sometimes she needs a little extra push in the 
  379.51 +right direction.” I smile fondly at so many memories before realizing that 
  379.52 +smiling hurts far more than it’s worth. 
  379.53 +
  379.54 +	I can hear him trying to drag himself up. If he’s in half as much pain as 
  379.55 +I am, he can’t do it. Nope. It sounds like he clattered back to the ground again. 
  379.56 +“If you think you know so well, why the hell didn’t you get with her?” he 
  379.57 +growls. Though I tried so hard to get him with Sakura, I really wish he didn’t 
  379.58 +have such a temper. You’d think he’d be happy after sacrificing my happiness 
  379.59 +for her. 
  379.60 +
  379.61 +	“You’re starting to make me wish I did. Then you and Sakura-chan 
  379.62 +could still be friends and I could be at home videotaping her right now.” I don’t 
  379.63 +mention _what_ I’d be videotaping exactly. Probably her eating dinner. Or 
  379.64 +maybe out back practicing her magic. Or maybe just her sleeping cutely. That 
  379.65 +would be so sweet. Some of my favorite footage is while she's... Apparently I’m 
  379.66 +not allowed to get sidetracked in my thoughts of her because he picked up where 
  379.67 +he left off again.
  379.68 +
  379.69 +	“I didn’t say you couldn’t be friends. I said I never wanted you to see 
  379.70 +her again,” Li-kun corrects me. Which is more or less what started this. You see, 
  379.71 +one of the things that made Li-kun so good at protecting Sakura also made him 
  379.72 +dangerous to all those around her. He never did learn how to work out his 
  379.73 +jealousy problems. He tried to burn Sakura’s big brother alive once. Over 
  379.74 +Tsukishiro-san if I remember right. I should have known that that would 
  379.75 +eventually turn towards me. I’m closer to Sakura than anyone else he knows, 
  379.76 +and in some ways I’m closer to her than he is. That doesn’t stop me from 
  379.77 +wishing I could be in his place, though. That I could be the one she loves. 
  379.78 +
  379.79 +	But back to the point, we’re here because Li-kun finally noticed that 
  379.80 +I’m insanely, horribly, and absolutely in love with Sakura-chan. That my heart 
  379.81 +never wavers and my eyes never wander despite the fact that she’s not even 
  379.82 +mine. That didn’t go over very well with him, though, and he confronted me 
  379.83 +about my feelings for her on the way home while Sakura was out shopping with 
  379.84 +Chiharu. He had been too busy arguing and shaking me while I was calmly 
  379.85 +trying to explain that Sakura is the light of the entire universe before we got 
  379.86 +struck by a passing motorist. The man must have been in quite a hurry because 
  379.87 +he didn’t bother to stop and check if we were alright. 
  379.88 +
  379.89 +	“But Li-kun, that’s practically the same thing. And I can’t very well 
  379.90 +videotape your wedding and first through fifth children if I can’t be around her.” 
  379.91 +Silly boy. So I can’t be away from her. And Sakura will have five children. I’ve 
  379.92 +already come up with all of their names. Now how will she know what to name 
  379.93 +them or what to wear to her eventual wedding? Or even who to marry? I can’t 
  379.94 +leave her yet. She still needs me. Not that I have any reason to live without her, 
  379.95 +but I can’t make her sad. I won’t let myself. But it seems like I don’t have much 
  379.96 +of a choice. The pain inside seems to intensify and the darkness covers more of 
  379.97 +my vision. I don’t feel angry so much as... a great sense of loss. How can I be 
  379.98 +taken from her like this? Is this some divine retribution for trying to kill myself a 
  379.99 +few weeks ago? Mother stopped me and she has me in therapy now, so there’s 
 379.100 +no reason to have me die in the street like this. I won’t try again unless Sakura-
 379.101 +chan doesn’t need me anymore. It makes enough sense to me. 
 379.102 +
 379.103 +	“Besides, aren’t you in love with Eriol?” he asks after a slight pause in 
 379.104 +our lovely conversation. Hadn’t Sakura asked me that before? I think everyone 
 379.105 +was trying to mentally pair me off with them sense I had no true love interest 
 379.106 +that they could see. And because I stalked Sakura. It’s much easier for them if 
 379.107 +they think I’m in love with someone else. 
 379.108 +	
 379.109 +“Eccentricity does not mark the trappings of love.”
 379.110 +	
 379.111 +“What?”
 379.112 +	
 379.113 +“No, I’m not. And I don’t see how anyone could think I did. He and I 
 379.114 +barely even talked when he was here. Sakura-chan is far more captivating than 
 379.115 +anyone else I’ve ever met,” I explain. How could I ever not love her? She has 
 379.116 +been the single most important aspect of my life from the day I met her till the 
 379.117 +day I die. Which will most likely be today. So in that case, for all eternity. I’ll 
 379.118 +always love her, even if I can’t be there for her.
 379.119 +	
 379.120 +“Yeah, but you’re both...”
 379.121 +	
 379.122 +“Messed up?” I supply.
 379.123 +	
 379.124 +“Yeah.”
 379.125 +
 379.126 +	We sit in awkward silence for a long moment, pain gripping my 
 379.127 +shattered body. Silken dark gray hair lies pooled on the floor, a stark reminder of 
 379.128 +the blood under me. I think my legs are broken and definitely some ribs. I’m 
 379.129 +having a hard time breathing. Little droplets of red mixes in with the darkness 
 379.130 +randomly as blood drips into my eyes. But none of this compares to the pain in 
 379.131 +my heart at the thought of being torn away from her so violently. Not so much 
 379.132 +for my own sake because I have nothing left to live for, but for hers. I know that 
 379.133 +this will hurt Sakura dearly. She needs someone to help her through this, but Li-
 379.134 +kun and I will both be gone. Poor Sakura-chan will be all alone. I can’t bear the 
 379.135 +thought of her pretty face streaked with tears. 
 379.136 +
 379.137 +	“Why didn’t you just tell her? You could have snagged her from me 
 379.138 +during those years I was gone.” His voice sounds defeated, pained. 
 379.139 +
 379.140 +	“Because I wanted her to be happy. When I was little, I used to think I 
 379.141 +could do that. But after you showed up and then Eriol started testing her, I 
 379.142 +wasn’t so sure anymore. I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t give her a child. She 
 379.143 +might not even be able to love me.” My voice breaks at the last of it. That fear 
 379.144 +has ridden along in my heart nearly as long as I’ve known her. It’s safer to love 
 379.145 +her from afar, to watch from somewhere else. “You seemed to make her happy 
 379.146 +and you obviously loved her almost as much as I did.” Which is a lie. He’d 
 379.147 +shown the same affection to Yukito. He seemed just fine transferring his 
 379.148 +feelings to Sakura. But I was starting to get desperate to play matchmaker for 
 379.149 +her lest someone else get in the way. “I thought you were the best possible 
 379.150 +candidate for Sakura’s love and I wanted to do all I could to make her happy.” 
 379.151 +That is the truth. That’s what I’ve wanted ever since she first smiled at me in 
 379.152 +class all those years ago. I knew then as I know now that I would do anything, 
 379.153 +_anything_ to make her happy. 
 379.154 +
 379.155 +	Another odd silence answers me as he lies there. “I would have. 
 379.156 +Sometimes things were tough and she always ran to you with her problems.” He 
 379.157 +sounds a bit resentful of that. Is that what this is really all about? He was 
 379.158 +worried that I was more important to Sakura? I almost laugh, hurting myself 
 379.159 +more in the process. The taste of blood is almost sickening now. I could only 
 379.160 +wish I was as important to her as he was. “But I would have made her happy.”
 379.161 +
 379.162 +	“I believe you, Li-kun. There’s no doubt in my mind. That’s why I 
 379.163 +wanted you to be with her. She deserves to be happy.” Nothing but the sound of 
 379.164 +birds greets our ears for the longest time as we both wait to die. Does it usually 
 379.165 +take this long? My only condolences are that I’ll be able to speak with whatever 
 379.166 +wondrous being created the beauty that is Sakura and that hopefully they will let 
 379.167 +me watch her as I never have been able to before. Touya did used to speak of 
 379.168 +seeing his mother. Maybe I could come back and watch over Sakura, even if she 
 379.169 +couldn’t see me. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about hurting her. “Li-kun, I 
 379.170 +promise if I make it out of this alive that I will make Sakura-chan happy.” 
 379.171 +
 379.172 +	He doesn’t seem to know how to reply, but I can only guess that he’s 
 379.173 +happy with my proclamation. I am, of course, wrong. “What? What makes you 
 379.174 +think you’re going to live? If either of us lives, it’s going to be me. Why would a 
 379.175 +fragile little rich girl survive that?”
 379.176 +
 379.177 +	“Well, I’m only stating it as a ‘just in case’. So you’ll know she’ll be in 
 379.178 +good hands in case I survive and you don’t. Besides, I already know that’s what 
 379.179 +you’d do in the event that I die.” My resolve is much stronger than it’s ever 
 379.180 +been. I’ll take care of her as best I can. I’ll love her like no one else ever could. I 
 379.181 +will make her happy. I wish I had this type of strength back when my life 
 379.182 +expectancy was higher. It might have come in more useful. 
 379.183 +
 379.184 +	“Yeah, but that’s because she’s my girlfriend.” I wait for him to 
 379.185 +continue, but apparently that was explanation enough. I shrug it off. 
 379.186 +
 379.187 +	It sure is dark. I feel like I’m falling asleep. “I wonder what Sakura-
 379.188 +chan’s doing right now.”

   380.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   380.2 +++ b/stories/loversdreamers.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   380.3 @@ -0,0 +1,898 @@
   380.4 +Lovers and Dreamers
   380.5 +By the Amazoness Quartet
   380.6 +
   380.7 +The song in the story is ChibiUsa’s Stars singles song, ‘BaiBaitte Itta’. 
   380.8 +The translation for
   380.9 +the song was done by William Braell and a friend found it at
  380.10 +http://sailormusic.tripod.com/lyrics/BaiBaitte_Itta.html
  380.11 +
  380.12 +This story takes place right after ‘Family Ties.’ We hope you all enjoy it. 
  380.13 +^-^ Please e-
  380.14 +mail us at amazonessduo@hotmail.com and tell us what you think. ^-^
  380.15 +
  380.16 +
  380.17 +	"C’mon, Taru," ChibiUsa said, waving to her from the curb. She wore a
  380.18 +mischievous grin that fit her older appearance well. It made her look a bit 
  380.19 +like her evil
  380.20 +self, Black Lady.
  380.21 +Hotaru sighed and followed her lover towards the karaoke bar. She still 
  380.22 +wasn’t
  380.23 +sure this was a good idea. ChibiUsa had borrowed the Luna Pen from Usagi to 
  380.24 +make
  380.25 +them look older. Hotaru watched as ChibiUsa’s now much longer hair swayed 
  380.26 +back and
  380.27 +forth as she walked, brushing up against the back of the short dark crimson 
  380.28 +dress the pink
  380.29 +haired girl was wearing. Hotaru felt herself smiling as ChibiUsa walked 
  380.30 +along. The pink
  380.31 +haired girl always managed to affect her deeply, whether or not she was 
  380.32 +pretending to be
  380.33 +older. Hotaru found herself wondering which way she liked ChibiUsa’s hair 
  380.34 +better. It was
  380.35 +pretty when it was long, like her mother’s. But it was cute when it was 
  380.36 +shorter and
  380.37 +fluffier like ChibiUsa normally had it.
  380.38 +	"Taru?" ChibiUsa asked quizzically.
  380.39 +Hotaru blushed. She must have been lost in thought. ChibiUsa took her hand 
  380.40 +and
  380.41 +brought her closer.  Hotaru felt ChibiUsa’s warm breath against her cheek. 
  380.42 +"Usa," Hotaru
  380.43 +said softly as she looked into the other girl’s crimson eyes. Her heart beat 
  380.44 +faster, almost
  380.45 +stopping when ChibiUsa’s long fingers stroked her warm cheek.
  380.46 +"You ready?" ChibiUsa asked, motioning behind her. "You seemed to be out of
  380.47 +it for a second."
  380.48 +	"I get like that when I think about you," Hotaru whispered to the pink 
  380.49 +haired
  380.50 +girl. "You make it hard for me to think about anything else." She smiled, 
  380.51 +fingers
  380.52 +intwining in one of ChibiUsa’s long pink pigtails.
  380.53 +	"Taru..." ChibiUsa’s soft red lips inched anxiously closer to Hotaru’s. 
  380.54 +Hearing a
  380.55 +car screech by, she shook herself out of it. Her long hair flew about, some 
  380.56 +hitting into
  380.57 +Hotaru’s head. "Gomen," ChibiUsa said, embarrassed.
  380.58 +	Hotaru couldn’t help but laugh. "I think I like your shorter hair better."
  380.59 +	Running her hands through her hair to straighten it out, ChibiUsa turned 
  380.60 +back to
  380.61 +Hotaru. "How’s that?"
  380.62 +	Hotaru paused for a moment to take in the pink haired angel before her. She 
  380.63 +was
  380.64 +absolutely stunning. She was the most beautiful thing Hotaru had ever seen. 
  380.65 +She heard
  380.66 +ChibiUsa call her name again, but she just smiled. "Gorgeous," Hotaru said 
  380.67 +breathlessly.
  380.68 +The faint blush and the pleased look on ChibiUsa’s face told Hotaru she’d 
  380.69 +said the right
  380.70 +thing. Taking ChibiUsa’s arm, she headed inside.
  380.71 +	"I meant my hair," ChibiUsa finally got out, still smiling.
  380.72 +	Hotaru glanced at her and smiled back. "I know. But I meant what I said."
  380.73 +	Taking a table near the front, Hotaru and ChibiUsa took their seats. Hotaru
  380.74 +helped ChibiUsa get her long hair out of the way while she sat. "I don’t 
  380.75 +think I’ll ever
  380.76 +know how mom does it," ChibiUsa sighed.
  380.77 +	"I bet it’s probably with practice. When I was younger, I really wanted to 
  380.78 +play
  380.79 +the violin like Michiru-mama, but I was horrible at it whenever I played. 
  380.80 +But she taught
  380.81 +me how. It took a long time, but I really wanted to learn."
  380.82 +	"And you play beautifully," ChibiUsa complimented. Hotaru had played
  380.83 +specifically for her on several occasions.
  380.84 +	Hotaru smiled. "Thank you. Haruka-papa offered to teach me how to drive, 
  380.85 +but
  380.86 +if its anything like learning how to play the violin, I’m not sure I want to 
  380.87 +go through that
  380.88 +again," Hotaru joked. "I’m sure if you keep it long enough, you’ll do just 
  380.89 +fine with long
  380.90 +hair. In the meantime, though, I like it short. It’s..."
  380.91 +	"Cute," ChibiUsa finished for her, grinning. Despite her dream she’d 
  380.92 +harbored
  380.93 +when she was younger about being ladylike, Hotaru was quite intent on making 
  380.94 +sure she
  380.95 +knew the raven haired girl liked her the way she was.
  380.96 +	"Well it is. And I like it." Glancing over at the pink haired girl, Hotaru 
  380.97 +looked at
  380.98 +her curiously. "Why did you borrow the Luna Pen?"
  380.99 +	ChibiUsa thought for a moment. "I thought it would be fun to go out a 
 380.100 +little
 380.101 +differently tonight. I heard about this place from Mamo-chan. He and his 
 380.102 +friends come
 380.103 +here every once in a while, so I thought we might want to look a little 
 380.104 +older if we came so
 380.105 +everyone didn’t just think we were kids."
 380.106 +	"That’s what you wanted it for? Then why are we here?" Hotaru asked, 
 380.107 +raising
 380.108 +an eyebrow.
 380.109 +	Smiling, ChibiUsa responded, "I just wanted to sing."
 380.110 +	"Sing?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow. She did love ChibiUsa’s sweet, lilting 
 380.111 +voice.
 380.112 +The pink haired girl did sing quietly from time to time, but Hotaru loved 
 380.113 +hearing her sing
 380.114 +when they were together in the shower or when it was only the two of them at 
 380.115 +one of
 380.116 +their homes. A smile formed across her lips. It would be nice to hear 
 380.117 +ChibiUsa sing here.
 380.118 +	Looking up to confirm that the stage had finally been vacated, ChibiUsa 
 380.119 +quickly
 380.120 +stood up and took Hotaru’s hand. "Let’s go, Taru."
 380.121 +	Hotaru glanced up at the stage. "I’m not sure, Usa. Not in front of 
 380.122 +everybody."
 380.123 +	"But you’ve been playing your violin in front of people for a while now,"
 380.124 +ChibiUsa argued.
 380.125 +	"That’s different."
 380.126 +	ChibiUsa tugged at Hotaru’s hand again, trying to bring the dark haired 
 380.127 +girl with
 380.128 +her. "How’s that?"
 380.129 +	"Because I don’t have to sing when I’m playing the violin. Usa-chan, if you
 380.130 +want to sing together, can’t we do that at my house? We can wait until 
 380.131 +everybody else is
 380.132 +gone, like when Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama, and Sestuna-mama and Seiya go 
 380.133 +out.
 380.134 +We’d have the whole house to ourselves, so we could sing a duet, or I could 
 380.135 +accompany
 380.136 +you on the violin. Whatever you want. I just don’t want to sing in front of 
 380.137 +all these
 380.138 +people." Hotaru looked nervously up at ChibiUsa. She never did feel 
 380.139 +comfortable with
 380.140 +large groups of people. It just reinforced how shy she already was.
 380.141 +	The pink haired girl finally gave a defeated sigh. "Alright." Winking to 
 380.142 +Hotaru,
 380.143 +ChibiUsa continued up to the stage.
 380.144 +	Hotaru stared on as ChibiUsa took the microphone. ‘What’s she doing?’ 
 380.145 +Hotaru
 380.146 +asked herself. She admitted to herself that ChibiUsa had been acting a bit 
 380.147 +strange tonight.
 380.148 +And she didn’t think the other girl was telling the whole truth about why 
 380.149 +she wanted them
 380.150 +to look different. Maybe so no one would wind up recognizing them. But why?
 380.151 +ChibiUsa’s voice over the speakers shook Hotaru from her thoughts. She kept 
 380.152 +her eyes on
 380.153 +the pink haired girl, wondering what she was thinking.
 380.154 +	"Hello, everyone. Before I start, I’d like to dedicate this song to the 
 380.155 +beautiful
 380.156 +girl up front." Smiling mischievously, ChibiUsa pointed to where Hotaru was 
 380.157 +sitting.
 380.158 +"Taru, you make everyday a dream. A dream that I never want to end. I love 
 380.159 +you, Taru-
 380.160 +chan."
 380.161 +	Hotaru sat in stunned silence, her normally pale cheeks blushed a deep red.
 380.162 +What had gotten into ChibiUsa? The other girl was usually rather shy and 
 380.163 +reserved about
 380.164 +their relationship in public. After Hotaru’s harsh life the first time 
 380.165 +around on earth and
 380.166 +her more loving second time growing up, she tried not to care what other 
 380.167 +people thought
 380.168 +about the two of them being in love. With how ChibiUsa had been acting 
 380.169 +lately, maybe
 380.170 +she was coming to understand how Hotaru felt about their relationship. That 
 380.171 +there wasn’t
 380.172 +a need to hide it.
 380.173 +	ChibiUsa continued to sing, directing it to Hotaru. Hotaru received some 
 380.174 +odd
 380.175 +stares, but she didn’t notice. She was to intent on the future princess on 
 380.176 +the stage. She
 380.177 +may not have been the best singer, but that hardly mattered to Hotaru. She 
 380.178 +felt like
 380.179 +everything the pink haired girl sang was directly to her.
 380.180 +	The pink haired girl’s eyes met Hotaru’s, her sweet voice ringing forth.
 380.181 +
 380.182 +        "No good! No good! No good"  you said,
 380.183 +                                   When your spirits were low, but
 380.184 +                                   I am now at your side, so
 380.185 +                                   It's surely, surely, positively all 
 380.186 +right!
 380.187 +
 380.188 +                                   Even if we're nothing but failures,
 380.189 +                                   We won't just be downhearted NO! NO!
 380.190 +                                   We just lost by a little bit...
 380.191 +                                   Forget all about those meanies!
 380.192 +                                   If we believe in pleasant things, then
 380.193 +                                   Even if night comes, we won't be afraid 
 380.194 +of it;
 380.195 +                                   We know morning, morning, is getting 
 380.196 +near, and so
 380.197 +                                   It's not at all a big deal, right?
 380.198 +
 380.199 +                                   Now, even if we're a pair of fraidycats,
 380.200 +                                   Don't be worried at all, NO! NO!
 380.201 +                                   I'm giving a kiss to those eyelids
 380.202 +                                   Brimming with tears (smack!)
 380.203 +                                   Tomorrow, our wishes certainly will come 
 380.204 +true!
 380.205 +                                   The things we'd like so much will happen,
 380.206 +                                   We'll say BYE-BYE to failures like these.
 380.207 +                                   I've said it! I've said it!  It'll 
 380.208 +absolutely be all right!
 380.209 +
 380.210 +                                   As for being down-hearted and moping,
 380.211 +                                   Giving in to these feelings too easily
 380.212 +                                   Is obviously a big mistake;
 380.213 +                                   Don't give up on our important dreams!
 380.214 +                                   If we believe in cheerful things,
 380.215 +                                   Even if it gets cold, it will not be 
 380.216 +painful;
 380.217 +                                   We know spring, spring, is getting near, 
 380.218 +and so
 380.219 +                                   It's not at all a big deal, right?
 380.220 +
 380.221 +                                   Now, even if we're a pair of crybabies,
 380.222 +                                   Don't be worried at all, NO! NO!
 380.223 +                                   I'm giving a kiss to those cheeks
 380.224 +                                   Dripping with tears (smack!)
 380.225 +                                   Tomorrow will be much more wonderful!
 380.226 +                                   The wishes we most desire will be 
 380.227 +granted,
 380.228 +                                   We'll say BYE-BYE to anxieties like 
 380.229 +these.
 380.230 +                                   I've said it! I've said it! It'll 
 380.231 +absolutely be all right!
 380.232 +
 380.233 +Finally, the music ended and ChibiUsa made her way off the stage. Hotaru
 380.234 +threw her arms around the other girl as soon as she was down. "Odango-chan, 
 380.235 +I love you,
 380.236 +too." They nearly stumbled, but ChibiUsa managed to lean against a table for 
 380.237 +support.
 380.238 +She smiled and returned the embrace. "But why did..." Hotaru’s question lay 
 380.239 +unfinished
 380.240 +as ChibiUsa’s soft lips delved upon Hotaru’s. "Let’s go, Usa," Hotaru said 
 380.241 +after they
 380.242 +broke the kiss. She noticed some of the attention they were getting and 
 380.243 +didn’t want to
 380.244 +stick around for too much longer.
 380.245 +	"Hai," ChibiUsa agreed. The two quickly headed around the side and to the
 380.246 +entrance, careful not to attract any more attention. Finally exiting the 
 380.247 +building, ChibiUsa
 380.248 +released a deep breath. "Next time we’ll just sing at your place."
 380.249 +	Hotaru smiled warmly at her lover. "Good idea." Her arm went around
 380.250 +ChibiUsa’s waist as they began to walk along.
 380.251 +
 380.252 +	While strolling slowly through the park, the two women held each other
 380.253 +lovingly. Neither seemed to notice the cold night air or the dark clouds 
 380.254 +forming overhead.
 380.255 +They looked at each other, the silence around them only broken by the sound 
 380.256 +of
 380.257 +breathing. ChibiUsa’s arms went to Hotaru’s sides, drawing her close, 
 380.258 +exactly where
 380.259 +ChibiUsa wanted her. Hotaru gave an ‘oh’ of surprise before putting her own 
 380.260 +hands on
 380.261 +ChibiUsa’s shoulders.
 380.262 +	"Are you mad?" ChibiUsa asked concernedly.
 380.263 +	"Why would I be?" Hotaru blinked in confusion.
 380.264 +	"Well, what I did back there. I shouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of
 380.265 +everybody. I just wasn’t thinking," ChibiUsa said apologetically.
 380.266 +	Hotaru brought her hand up to ChibiUsa’s warm cheek. "Odango-chan, don’t
 380.267 +worry about that. I was... shocked, but I was happy. I never thought you 
 380.268 +would do
 380.269 +something like that in front of anyone."
 380.270 +	ChibiUsa could see Hotaru smile in the dim light. "They didn’t know us
 380.271 +anyway. Why worry what they think, right?" she asked a little awkwardly as 
 380.272 +if still a bit
 380.273 +unsure herself.
 380.274 +	Hotaru shook her head. "No reason to worry about them. I love you and you
 380.275 +love me. That’s all that matters."
 380.276 +	ChibiUsa nodded. "Hai. I think I learned something tonight, too."
 380.277 +	Hotaru’s heart rose. Maybe ChibiUsa finally had learned that it was okay 
 380.278 +for
 380.279 +them to be in love, that she didn’t need to hide it from everyone. "What’s 
 380.280 +that?"
 380.281 +	"I learned that its alright to embarrass you in public as long as we kiss
 380.282 +afterwards," ChibiUsa gave the dark haired girl a wink.
 380.283 +	"Odango-chan..." Hotaru stared at the pink haired girl, a sweatdrop 
 380.284 +forming.
 380.285 +"That’s not what I wanted you to learn."
 380.286 +	ChibiUsa giggled. "Oh well. At least I’m prepared for next time."
 380.287 +	"If.." Hotaru began.
 380.288 +	"When.." ChibiUsa interrupted.
 380.289 +	"there’s a next time," they finished.
 380.290 +	Hotaru sighed and brushed some of ChibiUsa’s long pink hair back. "What did
 380.291 +you and your mom talk about after Rei and I left?"
 380.292 +	"Oh, this and that. I’m feeling a lot better now that she knows. I may not 
 380.293 +say it
 380.294 +often, but I really can see that she’s my mother. I kind of miss not having 
 380.295 +been able to see
 380.296 +her in so long, so I’ve been thinking of Usagi as her more and more, even 
 380.297 +though she
 380.298 +hasn’t had me yet." ChibiUsa looked thoughtful. "I really think my mom knew 
 380.299 +I’d fall in
 380.300 +love with you when she sent me back to train as Sailorchibimoon."
 380.301 +	"Maybe that’s why she sent you to train in the past in the first place," 
 380.302 +Hotaru
 380.303 +said, smiling.
 380.304 +	"I’m not sure. But I do think she already knew." ChibiUsa’s eyes widened as 
 380.305 +she
 380.306 +remembered something suddenly. "Oh yeah! Usagi said she was pregnant."
 380.307 +	Hotaru looked at the pink haired girl in shock. "She’s pregnant?" ChibiUsa
 380.308 +nodded. "Its you," Hotaru said joyously. "She’s pregnant with you, isn’t 
 380.309 +she?"
 380.310 +	ChibiUsa shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. Its strange. My mom’s pregnant with
 380.311 +me and I’m around to see it. It all happened so fast. I’d almost forgotten 
 380.312 +about going back
 380.313 +to the future, but its almost time for me too."
 380.314 +	Hotaru shook her head emphatically. "No, we can’t leave until after you’re 
 380.315 +born.
 380.316 +I want to see you as a baby.  I want to be here when your born."
 380.317 +	ChibiUsa laughed nervously. "Hotaru-chan, I can show you pictures of me as 
 380.318 +a
 380.319 +baby when we get to the future."
 380.320 +	"That’s not the same thing. And its only fair. You got to see me as a baby 
 380.321 +when
 380.322 +I was reborn. I want to be here to see you. I’m sure Usagi would be a lot 
 380.323 +happier if you
 380.324 +were here while she was pregnant," Hotaru argued.
 380.325 +	ChibiUsa was uneasy about the thought of staying around while her mother 
 380.326 +was
 380.327 +pregnant with her, but Hotaru did have a point. Usagi had a lot going on 
 380.328 +right now and it
 380.329 +might be easier for her if she stayed. Usagi was pregnant with her, having 
 380.330 +trouble with
 380.331 +Mamoru, and in the midst of falling in love with Rei. With Kousagi back in 
 380.332 +the past,
 380.333 +there were added problems. "Well, alright. Unless Puu says we need to go 
 380.334 +back. Or
 380.335 +my mom sends for me. Or.."
 380.336 +	Hotaru cut ChibiUsa off with a quick kiss. The small piece of heaven shared
 380.337 +between the two of them pushed back the other thoughts. "Thanks, ChibiUsa,"
 380.338 +Hotaru said quietly. The two girls ever so slowly started leaning towards 
 380.339 +each other.
 380.340 +Hotaru couldn’t think of anything other than the other girl’s soft, red 
 380.341 +lips. Barely inches
 380.342 +away from each other, a voice broke through the cloudy haze they were both 
 380.343 +in.
 380.344 +	"SO that’s what you two were up to." PallaPalla stood a few feet away, 
 380.345 +staring
 380.346 +at the two girls. She wrinkled her brow as she got a closer look of the two 
 380.347 +of them "Why
 380.348 +are you two dressed like that? It makes you look too old."
 380.349 +	ChibiUsa sighed. "You think anything over fifteen is too old, PallaPalla."
 380.350 +	PallaPalla just smiled. "Yep. That’s why PallaPalla’s here. PallaPalla 
 380.351 +wanted to
 380.352 +help both of you."
 380.353 +	Hotaru tilted her head to the side slightly. "You do? How’s that?"
 380.354 +	"Of course PallaPalla does. ChibiUsa is our princess. You’re starting to 
 380.355 +get older
 380.356 +than us, ChibiUsa-chan. We thought you’d want to be young forever like us," 
 380.357 +PallaPalla
 380.358 +explained.
 380.359 +	"’We’?" ChibiUsa asked. "The rest of the Quartet are in on this?"
 380.360 +	"Well, we all talked about you getting too old, but PallaPalla’s the only 
 380.361 +one
 380.362 +doing anything about it." The blue haired amazoness smiled proudly.
 380.363 +	"PallaPalla, we’re going to stop aging around twenty two already. That’s 
 380.364 +what
 380.365 +age my mom and all the other senshi stopped aging at," ChibiUsa said.
 380.366 +	PallaPalla shook her head in disgust. "Too old." She stuck both arms out in 
 380.367 +front
 380.368 +of her and a billiard ball formed between her hands. Energy swirled around 
 380.369 +it as she
 380.370 +started concentrating.
 380.371 +	"PallaPalla?" ChibiUsa said, pulling away from Hotaru and starting to walk
 380.372 +towards the amazoness.
 380.373 +	Too late. The ball shot out, whipping through the air. ChibiUsa gasped as 
 380.374 +she
 380.375 +saw it heading her way. She closed her eyes and held up her arms. She felt 
 380.376 +the wind as it
 380.377 +flew right past. Behind her there was a large flash of light before all was 
 380.378 +silent. ‘It
 380.379 +missed?’ ChibiUsa thought to herself. She wasn’t quite sure of what it would 
 380.380 +have done,
 380.381 +but she was glad she hadn’t had to find out. "PallaPalla, I don’t want you 
 380.382 +to stop our
 380.383 +aging. I’m fine with how things are going. Right, Hotaru?" ChibiUsa asked, 
 380.384 +turning back
 380.385 +towards the raven haired girl. She nearly lost her balance. Where Hotaru had 
 380.386 +been
 380.387 +moments before, stood a child roughly the same age as their twin daughters. 
 380.388 +Hotaru’s
 380.389 +dark purple long sleeved dress was draped around her. The little girl’s eyes 
 380.390 +were shut
 380.391 +tightly. "Hotaru?" ChibiUsa whispered breathlessly.
 380.392 +	Hotaru slowly opened her eyes. What happened? She felt a little strange. 
 380.393 +She
 380.394 +was dizzy from the energy ball hitting its target. Her dress felt way too 
 380.395 +big for her now,
 380.396 +though she remembered thinking it was a size too small when she and ChibiUsa 
 380.397 +had gone
 380.398 +shopping the week before. She could feel the cold grass under her bare feet, 
 380.399 +having
 380.400 +stumbled out of her shoes. She blinked several times, trying to clear her 
 380.401 +blurred vision.
 380.402 +ChibiUsa was staring at her wide eyed and PallaPalla was waving her arms 
 380.403 +frantically,
 380.404 +trying to apologize. Apologize for what? "ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru gasped as 
 380.405 +she heard
 380.406 +her own voice. Now that she thought about it, ChibiUsa and PallaPalla looked 
 380.407 +bigger,
 380.408 +too. What was going on?
 380.409 +	"Oh, Hotaru-chan.." ChibiUsa said disparately. She quickly turned back to
 380.410 +PallaPalla. "What happened?" she demanded.
 380.411 +	"PallaPalla doesn’t know!" PallaPalla said apologetically. "PallaPalla was 
 380.412 +trying
 380.413 +to stop her from aging so you two could stay this age. PallaPalla didn’t 
 380.414 +mean for that to
 380.415 +happen. PallaPalla’s so sorry, Small Lady."
 380.416 +	ChibiUsa took several deep breaths before saying anything. "Change her 
 380.417 +back."
 380.418 +	PallaPalla held her arms out helplessly. "PallaPalla can’t," she said 
 380.419 +quietly.
 380.420 +	"You can’t," ChibiUsa repeated. "You can’t?" she said again, the reality of 
 380.421 +the
 380.422 +situation dawning on her. "Why not?"
 380.423 +	"PallaPalla just can’t. It was supposed to stop all outside forces from 
 380.424 +aging you.
 380.425 +So PallaPalla can’t do anything to fix it," PallaPalla explained hesitantly.
 380.426 +	ChibIUsa turned back to Hotaru hopelessly. "Hotaru-chan," she said softly.
 380.427 +	"What’s going on?" Hotaru asked, getting angry that neither was telling 
 380.428 +her.
 380.429 +	"There is something PallaPalla can do," PallaPalla began.
 380.430 +	"What?" ChibiUsa asked eagerly. "What can you do? Anything."
 380.431 +	"I could complete the spell so she’s a baby."
 380.432 +	ChibiUsa stared at the blue haired girl. "What good would that do?"
 380.433 +	"Since Usagi’s pregnant with you, you’ll be born about nine months from 
 380.434 +now.
 380.435 +If Hotaru’s a baby starting now, she’ll only be about a year older than you. 
 380.436 +So when you
 380.437 +go back to the future, she’ll be just a little older than you." PallaPalla 
 380.438 +smiled, glad that
 380.439 +she’d come up with a solution. She’d been jumping along through the trees to 
 380.440 +meet up
 380.441 +with them, so she’d heard ChibiUsa talking about Usagi’s pregnancy.
 380.442 +	Hotaru trudged along towards ChibiUsa, the dress flailing around her. 
 380.443 +ChibiUsa
 380.444 +was starting to seem a whole lot taller than her. Bending down, ChibiUsa 
 380.445 +lifted her up in
 380.446 +her arms. Hotaru gasped as she felt the pink haired girl pick her up.
 380.447 +	"No! You can’t do that. We’ve got to find a way to make Hota-chan her 
 380.448 +normal
 380.449 +age again," ChibiUsa said worriedly.
 380.450 +	‘Normal age? Is that it? Oh no.. Am I a kid again?’ Hotaru asked herself. A
 380.451 +wave of sadness passed through her at the thought of having to grow up yet 
 380.452 +again.
 380.453 +"ChibiUsa-chan, how old am I?" Hotaru asked, looking directly at the pink 
 380.454 +haired girl.
 380.455 +	ChibiUsa looked back at her sadly. "I’m so sorry, Taru. I’d guess five or 
 380.456 +six."
 380.457 +	"Well, PallaPalla thought it was a good idea," PallaPalla said to no one in
 380.458 +particular.
 380.459 +	"I’m not going to let you make her a baby," ChibiUsa said angrily. "It was 
 380.460 +bad
 380.461 +enough she was taken from me the last time that happened. I’m not gonna let 
 380.462 +it happen
 380.463 +again."
 380.464 +	PallaPalla stared at the ground. "PallaPalla’s sorry Hotaru-chan, 
 380.465 +ChibiUsa-chan.
 380.466 +There’s nothing PallaPalla can do about it now."
 380.467 +	ChibiUsa felt her temper flaring. A mixture of anger, sadness, and 
 380.468 +hopelessness
 380.469 +coursed through her veins. "No, you have to do something," she continued 
 380.470 +desperately.
 380.471 +	Hotaru shook her head sadly. "No, ChibiUsa-chan. There’s nothing she can 
 380.472 +do."
 380.473 +	The blue haired amazoness paused for a brief moment before starting to walk
 380.474 +away. She felt bad about her mistake, but what could she do? She just hoped 
 380.475 +the other
 380.476 +three amazoness wouldn’t be mad at her. She’d already disappointed her 
 380.477 +princess and
 380.478 +Hotaru. She didn’t want everyone mad at her.
 380.479 +	"What do we do now?" ChibiUsa asked, her voice low.
 380.480 +	"Go home," Hotaru suggested. "We’d have to go eventually and we might as
 380.481 +well get it out of the way now."
 380.482 +	ChibiUsa nodded. "I’m so sorry, Hotaru-chan."
 380.483 +	Hotaru swallowed a lump forming in her throat. "Don’t be, ChibiUsa-chan. 
 380.484 +Its
 380.485 +not your fault."
 380.486 +	"Thanks, Taru." Setting Hotaru down, ChibiUsa pulled out the Luna Pen. 
 380.487 +Using
 380.488 +the pen she changed Hotaru’s dress into a much smaller dress for the now 
 380.489 +younger girl.
 380.490 +Picking her back up, ChibiUsa took off for the mansion where Hotaru lived.
 380.491 +	"Umm.. ChibiUsa, I can walk," Hotaru said after a minute.
 380.492 +	"Oh yeah." ChibiUsa blushed in embarrassment and set the younger girl down.
 380.493 +	Hotaru sighed as she had to reach up to hold the other girl’s hand. 
 380.494 +Something
 380.495 +she did so often was now so totally different. The two walked on in silence 
 380.496 +for a while,
 380.497 +both tormented by their own thoughts as they made their way to Hotaru’s 
 380.498 +house.
 380.499 +
 380.500 +	Hotaru shivered as the cold when began to blow across her exposed skin. 
 380.501 +Tiny
 380.502 +goosebumps formed from the chill. Tiny droplets of water had begun to fall 
 380.503 +from the dark
 380.504 +clouds overhead. Hotaru was cold, wet, and miserable. A dark pit sunk in her 
 380.505 +stomach
 380.506 +when she looked up at ChibiUsa. She had almost managed to forget how old she 
 380.507 +was
 380.508 +while they had been walking along. The realization that she could be stuck 
 380.509 +as a child
 380.510 +frightened her. Her small hand clutched ChibiUsa’s soft hand tightly, her 
 380.511 +fingers
 380.512 +trembling lightly. She knew she shouldn’t be scared. ChibiUsa would be there 
 380.513 +for her,
 380.514 +and Setsuna could probably find someway to fix things. But she couldn’t help 
 380.515 +it. She was
 380.516 +afraid. What would happen now? Would she have to grow up again, wait those 
 380.517 +long years
 380.518 +over again? The thought that frightened her the most was from what she’d 
 380.519 +heard
 380.520 +PallaPalla say. Would she have to wait and grow up all over  until she could 
 380.521 +see ChibiUsa
 380.522 +again? If she was stuck as a child, would ChibiUsa have to go to the future 
 380.523 +without her?
 380.524 +She would have to wait years to be together with ChibiUsa again if that 
 380.525 +happened.
 380.526 +	"Oh, Hota-chan," ChibiUsa said quietly, shaking the dark haired girl from 
 380.527 +her
 380.528 +thoughts. ChibiUsa was kneeling in front of her, rain droplets dripping 
 380.529 +across her
 380.530 +beautiful features, dripping off her chin. "It’s okay, Hota-chan. Please 
 380.531 +don’t cry." The
 380.532 +pink haired girl’s fingertips brushed away sad tears that had begun falling 
 380.533 +from Hotaru’s
 380.534 +large violet eyes. Hotaru hadn’t even realized they were there before that 
 380.535 +moment.
 380.536 +ChibiUsa’s soft touch sent a spark of warmth through the younger girl’s cold 
 380.537 +body. "I
 380.538 +promise it will be alright. Even if I have to go make PallaPalla do the same 
 380.539 +thing to me,
 380.540 +just so we can stay together, that’s what we’ll do." The pink haired 
 380.541 +princess smiled
 380.542 +lopsidedly. "We can go back to the future as little girls and grow up 
 380.543 +together." She
 380.544 +brushed some damp hair away from Hotaru’s eyes and kissed her forehead 
 380.545 +gingerly.
 380.546 +	"ChibiUsa-chan.." Hotaru said, her voice choked off by the emotions she 
 380.547 +felt.
 380.548 +She threw her small arms around the now taller girl’s waist, her head 
 380.549 +resting against the
 380.550 +other girl. Sobs wracked her small form as ChibiUsa held her close. The fear 
 380.551 +and sadness
 380.552 +she had felt were replaced by the warm feeling of love she had for her pink 
 380.553 +haired
 380.554 +princess. She was still saddened by the whole ordeal, but she knew that 
 380.555 +she’d be okay in
 380.556 +the solace of ChibiUsa’s arms.
 380.557 +	"I’d never leave you, Hotaru-chan. Even if it was to wait for you to grow 
 380.558 +up. If
 380.559 +it came down to it, I’d rather grow up with you." ChibiUsa sighed in relief 
 380.560 +as she finally
 380.561 +managed to coax a smile from the younger girl. "I love you, you know."
 380.562 +Hotaru nodded, the wind ruffling her dark hair. "I know. I love you, too."
 380.563 +"There’s nothing for you to worry about, Hotaru-chan. We’ll find some way to
 380.564 +fix this," ChibiUsa said, locking her crimson eyes with Hotaru’s violet 
 380.565 +ones. She took a
 380.566 +deep breath before continuing. "And if we can’t, don’t let it get to you. 
 380.567 +I’ll always love
 380.568 +you. We’ll always be together. Remember that."
 380.569 +Hotaru nodded again. "Hai, I will." She buried her face in the soft material 
 380.570 +of
 380.571 +ChibiUsa’s dress, the soft feel of the pink haired girl’s skin underneath. 
 380.572 +Warm tears
 380.573 +mixed with the cold rain on the dress, but the tears slowly trickled to a 
 380.574 +stop. Taking a step
 380.575 +back, Hotaru mustered a weak smile. "Thank you, Odango-chan."
 380.576 +	ChibiUsa returned the smile. "Anytime, Taru. Now let’s get you home. Its
 380.577 +freezing out here."
 380.578 +
 380.579 +	Unbeknownst to the two girls, two shadowed figures had been watching from a
 380.580 +distance. The two mysterious figures held each other tightly in the rain. 
 380.581 +Both appeared to
 380.582 +be around sixteen years old.
 380.583 +	"That was surprising," one of them said, her dark hair done up in odangos
 380.584 +getting rather soaked in the rain. She turned to her companion.
 380.585 +	"I had know idea that was going to happen. They had mentioned it before, 
 380.586 +but I
 380.587 +didn’t know it would happen while we were back here. Maybe we should have 
 380.588 +spent
 380.589 +more time researching everything," the other said. She pulled off her 
 380.590 +glasses with a free
 380.591 +hand, the raindrops blurring her vision.
 380.592 +	"We might be able to use it to our advantage," the odangoed one suggested.
 380.593 +	The other girl ran a hand through her own damp, shorter hair. She thought 
 380.594 +for a
 380.595 +moment. "Yeah, maybe we can. For now we’ll just have to watch. We’ll have to 
 380.596 +wait for
 380.597 +the right time before we begin."
 380.598 +	The girl with the odangos nodded. "Right. I can wait. I’m in no hurry as it 
 380.599 +is."
 380.600 +	Smiling, her shorter haired companion leaned closer, her lips almost 
 380.601 +touching
 380.602 +the other girl’s. "Neither am I, if it means waiting with you."
 380.603 +	The two girls continued to hold each other in the shadows as the rain 
 380.604 +poured
 380.605 +around them.
 380.606 +
 380.607 +	As a flash of lightening illuminated the area around them, Hotaru was sure 
 380.608 +she
 380.609 +saw two figures looking over at them. Before she could say anything, a loud 
 380.610 +thunder clap
 380.611 +hit, the sound ringing in her ears. Suddenly, she felt ChibiUsa’s arms 
 380.612 +encircle her,
 380.613 +drawing her near. Hotaru struggled to catch her breath as the older girl’s 
 380.614 +arms squeezed
 380.615 +her. She could feel the pink haired girl’s rapid heartbeat against her. 
 380.616 +Looking up, she saw
 380.617 +that ChibiUsa’s eyes were clenched closed. ChibiUsa’s normal warm complexion 
 380.618 +was
 380.619 +now pale. She knew ChibiUsa had a fear of thunder, but she’d forgotten all 
 380.620 +about it for
 380.621 +the moment. Hotaru felt awkward as she now tried to comfort the older girl. 
 380.622 +"Its okay,
 380.623 +ChibiUsa-chan. It’s only a noise."
 380.624 +	ChibiUsa took a shuddering breath, slowly opening her eyes. "I know.. Let’s
 380.625 +just hurry back to your place, alright?"
 380.626 +	"Sure. We’re almost there, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said soothingly.
 380.627 +	ChibiUsa giggled nervously. "It’s really no big deal. It’s silly to be 
 380.628 +afraid of
 380.629 +that." Another clap of thunder had her dragging Hotaru close in a tight 
 380.630 +embrace again.
 380.631 +The pink haired girl shut her eyes as she waited for it to pass.
 380.632 +
 380.633 +	Over in the shadows, the girl with odangos shook her head. "Too bad she 
 380.634 +never
 380.635 +gets over her fear of thunder."
 380.636 +	The other girl laughed softly and put her glasses back on. "By then it’s 
 380.637 +just an
 380.638 +excuse to clutch onto Hotaru."
 380.639 +	"When you think about it that way.." the dark haired girl with odangos said
 380.640 +thoughtfully. Both girls stepped further back into the shadows as they 
 380.641 +followed Hotaru
 380.642 +and ChibiUsa.
 380.643 +
 380.644 +
 380.645 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru sat on the bed in an uneasy silence. ChibiUsa wanted
 380.646 +desperately to comfort the now younger dark haired girl, but she didn’t know 
 380.647 +what she
 380.648 +could say or do to help.
 380.649 +	Hotaru looked helplessly down past her small feet to the floor. Everything 
 380.650 +was
 380.651 +so much bigger now. Glancing sidelong at her girlfriend, she felt a stab of 
 380.652 +pain in her
 380.653 +heart. The pink haired girl was so much older than her now. She was only a 
 380.654 +child.
 380.655 +"Odango-chan?" Hotaru’s small voice piped up.
 380.656 +	Turning at the sound, ChibiUsa’s arm went around the smaller girl, pulling 
 380.657 +her
 380.658 +closer. "Yes, Hotaru-chan?" She could see the hopeless look in Hotaru’s 
 380.659 +eyes, the
 380.660 +defeated slump of her shoulders. It crushed ChibiUsa to see the dark haired 
 380.661 +girl like that.
 380.662 +She took Hotaru’s small hand in her own, trying to comfort her.
 380.663 +	"Would you really have PallaPalla do the same thing to you if we couldn’t 
 380.664 +find a
 380.665 +way to fix this?" Hotaru looked up at the pink haired girl worriedly.
 380.666 +	ChibiUsa smiled and squeezed Hotaru’s hand gently. "Of course, Taru. You
 380.667 +shouldn’t have to go through this by yourself. And I wouldn’t mind the 
 380.668 +chance to grow
 380.669 +up with you. Besides, maybe it’ll help me be more ladylike when I get older 
 380.670 +if I have to
 380.671 +go through being a kid again." She giggled softly.
 380.672 +	"But isn’t it better this way? If I’m changed back into a baby, then I can 
 380.673 +grow
 380.674 +up. When Usagi has you, I’ll only be a year older than you." Hotaru tried to 
 380.675 +smile, but it
 380.676 +failed to reach her eyes.
 380.677 +	ChibiUsa shook her head firmly. "No. Either you get to come back with me to
 380.678 +the future or I’m staying here with you."
 380.679 +	"But you’re the princess of Crystal Tokyo," Hotaru argued.
 380.680 +	ChibiUsa smiled. Leaning forward, she softly kissed Hotaru’s cheek. "That
 380.681 +doesn’t matter. I love you. I want to be with you. No matter where it is. 
 380.682 +And if that means
 380.683 +as five year olds growing up again, then that’s fine."
 380.684 +	"Oh, ChibiUsa-chan!" Hotaru stood up shakily on the bed, hugging the pink
 380.685 +haired girl as tightly as she could. ChibiUsa’s arms wrapped around the 
 380.686 +smaller girl,
 380.687 +drawing her close. They stayed that way for a long time.
 380.688 +	ChibiUsa finally spoke up, breaking the silence that had once again 
 380.689 +enveloped
 380.690 +the room. "It doesn’t matter to me what age you are, Taru-chan. It hasn’t 
 380.691 +changed the fact
 380.692 +that I still love you. With all my heart." She added with a slight smile, 
 380.693 +"It was strange
 380.694 +enough to find out I was in love with my best friend, let alone a girl at 
 380.695 +that. Do you think
 380.696 +this would change things?"
 380.697 +	Hotaru’s head rested against ChibiUsa’s shoulder. She shook her head 
 380.698 +slowly. "I
 380.699 +was just scared. My body’s so different now. I’m a little girl. I’ll have to 
 380.700 +wait to grow up
 380.701 +all over again. I didn’t know what would happen with us. I know you’d still 
 380.702 +love me, but
 380.703 +I didn’t know if you’d leave for the future, when I’ll be older. Its got to 
 380.704 +be hard having a
 380.705 +girlfriend that’s ten years younger than you."
 380.706 +	ChibiUsa winked at the dark haired girl. "I’ll manage. I’m not the one who 
 380.707 +has
 380.708 +to grow up again. Yet, at least. Think about it this way, though. You’ll be 
 380.709 +able to
 380.710 +understand the twins better."
 380.711 +	Hotaru giggled softly. She sighed as she looked into ChibiUsa’s warm 
 380.712 +crimson
 380.713 +eyes. A small hand rested on ChibiUsa’s cheek. "Thank you, Odango-chan."
 380.714 +	"I want you to be happy, my Firefly. I’ll help you through this. I 
 380.715 +promise."
 380.716 +ChibiUsa brushed her hand through Hotaru’s dark, raven hair. She hesitated 
 380.717 +for just a
 380.718 +second before kissing Hotaru.
 380.719 +	Hotaru closed her eyes, pretending everything was back to normal, that
 380.720 +everything was right with the world. Her heart sang out as she kissed the 
 380.721 +pink haired girl
 380.722 +back. "I love you," she said quietly as she rested her head on ChibiUsa’s 
 380.723 +shoulder again.
 380.724 +Shortly afterward, Hotaru fell asleep in the pink haired girl’s arms.
 380.725 +
 380.726 +
 380.727 +	"I want to dream nice dreams..."
 380.728 +	Beautiful eyelids fluttered open, casting butterfly shadows across pale 
 380.729 +skin.  The
 380.730 +figure seemed
 380.731 +to clutch around her, praying for something to come into contact with those 
 380.732 +long fingers.
 380.733 +She
 380.734 +sat upright, fabric spilling away from her frame like silk, coming to rest 
 380.735 +near her waist.
 380.736 +Nightclothes clung to her, and she reached one hand to peel them away.  The 
 380.737 +other
 380.738 +reached up to
 380.739 +brush a wispy strand of green and brown hair from her face.
 380.740 +	"I want to dream nice dreams..."
 380.741 +She opened her eyes wider, as if astounded at the quiet whispering.  Green 
 380.742 +eyes
 380.743 +went wide, then
 380.744 +narrowed, as if suspicious of where the voice had originated from.  Small 
 380.745 +rosebud lips
 380.746 +parted,
 380.747 +then quietly said, "What?"
 380.748 +	"I want to dream nice dreams..."
 380.749 +	The whispering had become almost a pleading, and this small figure seemed 
 380.750 +to almost
 380.751 +jump from
 380.752 +her bed.  She searched with trained eyes over her surroundings, padding 
 380.753 +across the floor
 380.754 +with
 380.755 +bare feet almost noiselessly.  She turned at a small sobbing sound, long 
 380.756 +braids with
 380.757 +woven hair
 380.758 +swinging, almost deadly.  When she saw the almost pathetic figure swinging 
 380.759 +on a lone
 380.760 +circus swing,
 380.761 +her heart just about melted.
 380.762 +	"I want to dream nice dreams..."
 380.763 +	With barely an effort, the lean arms hoisted the figure up on the ladder.  
 380.764 +With a
 380.765 +cat-like grace
 380.766 +she climbed up to meet this sobbing figure that had caused her to rouse from 
 380.767 +a tormented
 380.768 +sleep.
 380.769 +She reached her, easing her out of the swing and onto the platform.  The 
 380.770 +girl before her
 380.771 +was
 380.772 +clutching her knees, rocking back and forth, eyes glazed over and unseeing.  
 380.773 +Her mouth
 380.774 +was
 380.775 +quivering, and so were the pale limbs of the body it was joined to.  
 380.776 +Suddenly, her head
 380.777 +shot
 380.778 +upward, turning toward this tall figure who had taken her from her 
 380.779 +sanctuary.  Blue eyes
 380.780 +were
 380.781 +questioning, quivering...but all she could utter from that perfect mouth 
 380.782 +was...
 380.783 +	"I want to dream nice dreams..." and she wrapped her arms around this 
 380.784 +figure
 380.785 +standing by her
 380.786 +side, pulling her down.  "Oh, JunJun, I want to dream nice dreams..."
 380.787 +	"I know," the savior said, wrapping thin arms around this petite 
 380.788 +blue-haired
 380.789 +child.  "I know,
 380.790 +PallaPalla."  The embrace tightened.  "I do too.  We all do."
 380.791 +	"Help me dream nice dreams, JunJun."  Oh, how those peircing blue eyes 
 380.792 +could
 380.793 +envelop all who
 380.794 +stared them.  "Please..."
 380.795 +	Baffled, she stared into the depths of blue, knowing she was trapped.  
 380.796 +"I...I don't
 380.797 +know how..."
 380.798 +	"I know I could dreams nice dreams, JunJun..." she continued on, as if she 
 380.799 +hadn't
 380.800 +heard a word
 380.801 +the other woman had said.  "If I had only one thing..."
 380.802 +	"What's that?"  The words themselves seemed heavy...
 380.803 +	"If I could just..." an embarrassed giggle.  "Have you."
 380.804 +A long moment of silence followed.  The words seemed to hang in the air, 
 380.805 +cling
 380.806 +to every shred of
 380.807 +dignity both girls possessed.  And the next noise was only a slight brushing 
 380.808 +of lips upon
 380.809 +lips,
 380.810 +and the next a breathless gasp.
 380.811 +	*Oh, if only we could dream nice dreams...*
 380.812 +The joy of sweet kisses, one following the other - so precisely placed on 
 380.813 +tender lips, as if
 380.814 +purely made for mounting pleasure upon pleasure.
 380.815 +
 380.816 +	It was still dark when ChibiUsa woke up the next morning. But that wasn’t
 380.817 +really a surprise. Even with all the lamps, Hotaru’s room seemed perpetually 
 380.818 +dark. The
 380.819 +pink haired girl didn’t mind. She found the room romantic. A long yawn 
 380.820 +escaped her lips
 380.821 +as she tried to sit up, but something seemed to be stopping her. She moved a 
 380.822 +little at first,
 380.823 +testing. Her arm brushed what felt like a leg, and someone was holding on to 
 380.824 +her other
 380.825 +arm. Looking down, she saw three young girls in the bed with her. For a 
 380.826 +moment her
 380.827 +mind froze, wondering what could be going on. Panic started to edge in on 
 380.828 +her sleep
 380.829 +blurred mind, but things slowly started coming back to her. These were her 
 380.830 +daughters, her
 380.831 +and Hotaru’s. They had come back from the future to spend some time with 
 380.832 +them. They
 380.833 +must have snuck into bed after she fell asleep.  But one of them was Hotaru. 
 380.834 +That
 380.835 +depressing thought woke her up fully. It took her a moment in the dim light 
 380.836 +to pick out
 380.837 +which was Hotaru, the dark haired girl holding tightly onto her arm. She 
 380.838 +smiled softly,
 380.839 +brushing back the girl’s raven hair before kissing her forehead.
 380.840 +	After a long moment, ChibiUsa noticed her vision still wasn’t back to 
 380.841 +normal,
 380.842 +even for the dim room. Reaching up, she giggled a little when she pulled 
 380.843 +away a note
 380.844 +from her own forehead. In it, Setsuna told her she knew all about what 
 380.845 +happened to
 380.846 +Hotaru and that she had explained it to Haruka and Michiru. The Senshi of 
 380.847 +Time told her
 380.848 +not to worry, that she should have faith that it would work out. It also 
 380.849 +mentioned that
 380.850 +Haruka and Michiru had left for the day and that she was going to have 
 380.851 +breakfast at
 380.852 +Seiya’s, so ChibiUsa should have fun watching the kids. For some reason, 
 380.853 +ChibiUsa was
 380.854 +sure the older Senshi had been laughing when she’d written that part.
 380.855 +	Realizing just how hungry she was, ChibiUsa took great difficulty in 
 380.856 +extricating
 380.857 +herself from the bed. Finally free from the tangle of bodies, she looked 
 380.858 +back at the bed,
 380.859 +trying to make sure that no one woke up. She sighed contentedly as she 
 380.860 +looked at what
 380.861 +would one day be her family. Even the fact that Hotaru was a little girl 
 380.862 +didn’t seem so
 380.863 +bad after a good night sleep. And she did make a cute little girl.
 380.864 +	The future princess yawned as she walked downstairs, padding along barefoot
 380.865 +across the carpeted floor. She was wearing one of Hotaru’s nightgowns, she 
 380.866 +noticed. Her
 380.867 +mind raced with the possibilities of what may lay in the refrigerator, what 
 380.868 +delicious
 380.869 +breakfast could be in store for her. She smiled to herself, deciding to make 
 380.870 +something for
 380.871 +the twins and Hotaru while she was up. She paused at the foot of the stairs 
 380.872 +when she
 380.873 +heard the doorbell ring. The sudden noise in the still, quiet morning 
 380.874 +shocked her. She
 380.875 +stood still for a moment, waiting. Glad that it must have been nothing, she 
 380.876 +turned to head
 380.877 +to the kitchen just as it rang again. She sighed, but headed for the door. 
 380.878 +So much for
 380.879 +breakfast.
 380.880 +	She stood in front of the door for a long moment, time seeming to freeze in
 380.881 +place. A pit formed in her stomach, as if opening that door might change 
 380.882 +everything.
 380.883 +‘That’s silly,’ she chided herself. Her hand nervously reached out for the 
 380.884 +door knob,
 380.885 +stopping at the cold metal. She swallowed nervously. Why was this getting to 
 380.886 +her? It was
 380.887 +probably just Setsuna or one of the others. The pink haired girl tried to 
 380.888 +get a grip on the
 380.889 +door knob, but her sweaty palm made it hard to turn it. Glancing back 
 380.890 +towards the stairs,
 380.891 +she wished Hotaru to be there with her for some reason. Well, other than the 
 380.892 +fact that she
 380.893 +-always- wanted Hotaru with her. She could hear the drizzling rain starting 
 380.894 +to pick up as
 380.895 +the knocking increased.
 380.896 +	Steeling herself for whatever lay beyond the door, hoping her nervousness 
 380.897 +was
 380.898 +unfounded, ChibiUsa finally opened the door.
 380.899 +
 380.900 +
 380.901 +To be continued in the next story. Ja! ^-^

   381.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   381.2 +++ b/stories/lovestory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   381.3 @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
   381.4 +A love story 
   381.5 +
   381.6 +Chapter I: 
   381.7 +Sakura: A courageous soul 
   381.8 +
   381.9 +by Ricardo Chirino 
  381.10 +riel@telcel.net.ve 
  381.11 +
  381.12 +*** 
  381.13 +
  381.14 +DISCLAIMER: 
  381.15 +
  381.16 +I do not own Card Captor Sakura. CLAMP does! Other companies do! However, I used their characters and ideas without permission. Still, this is just for fun, and I'm not capitalizing on this, so please, don't sue me X_x Be forewarned: This tale doesn't contain yuri scenes, but it's a shôjo-ai story nonetheless (love between girls). Enjoy! 
  381.17 +
  381.18 +*** 
  381.19 +
  381.20 +READ THIS PLEASE: 
  381.21 +
  381.22 +Hello once again, fellow readers/writers. I'm back with another Tomoyo x Sakura fanfic. This time is a long one. This is the first chapter of it. It could be considered my first T x S novella, but it could also be considered my first Card Captor Sakura fanfic, since it contains a lot more than that (but the T x S tale is still the main focus of the plot). Well, I'm going to tell some stuff about this so you can understand some things I included. First of all I took some events directly from the TV series but for fanficdom sake I changed some of them. Heck! I even invented some stuff of my own (like new cards, characters and some different relationships). Oh, BTW, the story is from Tomoyo-chan's POV. 
  381.23 +
  381.24 +Since I used some japanese terms (more that my usual -chan stuff) on this work I'm pointing them out. (Methinks most readers should already be familiar with them, but this is just in case ^^) 
  381.25 +1) -chan: this suffix is used to identify someone who is dear to you. Eg: Tomoyo can call Sakura "Sakura-chan" and viceversa, since they are great friends, and perhaps more than just "friends" ^_~ 
  381.26 +2) -san: just like -chan, but -san is a suffix applied to people you treat with respect. There are other suffixes for names like -sama, -kun, -sempai, etc... Eg: Fujitaka-san, Sonomi-san. Sensei, for example, is used to refer to someone who is teaching you something. Eg. Terada-sensei. 
  381.27 +3) Moshi moshi: that's what japanese people say when answering the phone. 
  381.28 +4) Hoe!: it's a expression of surprise frequently used by Sakura-chan. 
  381.29 +5) Arigato gozaimasu: direct translation is "Thanks a lot". 
  381.30 +6) Ja ne!: "goodbye" or "see you" but very informal. Other possibility would be Sayonara. 
  381.31 +7) Daijôbu: means "Are you ok?" 
  381.32 +8) Onegai: means "Please" 
  381.33 +9) Jikai yokoku: roughly translates to "In our next meeting" but you could just say "Next episode" ^^ 
  381.34 +
  381.35 +Well, at the end of this fic you'll see me again... See you then and enjoy! 
  381.36 +
  381.37 +
  381.38 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  381.39 +
  381.40 +It had to happen. We were bound to meet and to live for each other. 
  381.41 +
  381.42 +I remember clearly. That was indeed a very special day for me. That was the day I met my Sakura-chan for the first time. At the very moment I saw her heavenly smile I knew she was going to change my whole life. I know she's related to me by blood links. However, I knew she was going to be a lot more important for me than just that. She gave me a present; a cute eraser that I treasure more than any other possesion I have. It's so important to me that I have it stored on the chest, the special chest. What chest you ask? Well, its a little box where my mommy keeps the biggest treasure for her. I also knew about it at the very moment I saw Sakura-chan. I somehow felt the magical energy, the destiny she had ahead of her. Anyway, I'm going to tell the story of our experiences... A love story. 
  381.43 +
  381.44 +My room's phone rang. I knew it was Sakura. My heartbeat speed increased. I mean, just at the bare thought of hearing Sakura-chan's celestial voice I got excited. She is the most important thing for me in this world. So, without hesitarion, I ran to pick the phone up, leaving the new dress I was finishing on the table. 
  381.45 +
  381.46 +"Moshi moshi?" I said very softly, knowing that Sakura-chan was on the other end. 
  381.47 +
  381.48 +"Hi Tomoyo-chan!" said Sakura. God, her voice, even on the phone was priceless. 
  381.49 +
  381.50 +"Hello dear." I felt such a happiness inside of me. A little jolt turned my body on. I was so happy to talk to her. 
  381.51 +
  381.52 +"Tomoyo, I was wondering if you could come to my place." Sakura said. I heard Kero's voice on the background. "Dad's working and Tôya went to Yukito-sama's place, so I'm feeling a little lonely here..." 
  381.53 +
  381.54 +She was lonely. I felt the urge to run to her place and talk to her in person. When I heard those words from her I felt some sort of joy. I mean, she contacted me because she wanted my presence there. 
  381.55 +
  381.56 +"Oh Sakura, of course I can go to your place. In fact, I was hoping to pay you a visit too. I certainly admire Fujitaka-san. He's such a hard worker." 
  381.57 +
  381.58 +"Hoe! Yeah? That's great." Sakura said cheerfully. 
  381.59 +
  381.60 +"Indeed. I'm giving the finishing touches to a new dress for your epic card battles, and I wanted you to try it, Sakura-chan." 
  381.61 +
  381.62 +I wasn't seeing her lovely face, but I knew she was surprised. 
  381.63 +
  381.64 +"Hoe hoe! You don't need to do that for me, Tomoyo-chan!" She argued. 
  381.65 +
  381.66 +"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. It's a pleasure crafting them for you. And besides, you look so sweet on them. Like an angel from the heavens!" 
  381.67 +
  381.68 +I blushed at the thought of seeing sweet Sakura wearing my newest creation. However, my mind was still excited about the idea of visiting her. I desired being near her more than anything else in this existence. She was the reason of my living. I'm sure Sakura liked my compliments too. Bringing a smile to her lovely, cute face really makes my day up. 
  381.69 +
  381.70 +"Arigato gozaimasu Tomoyo-chan! You are my bestest, sweetest, biggest friend!" 
  381.71 +
  381.72 +"Oh Sakura. Well, I'm going now. See you there." I replied, feeling a great happiness on my heart. Seeing her happy was the most important thing for me. 
  381.73 +
  381.74 +"Ok. Ja ne!" 
  381.75 +
  381.76 +Sakura hung up the phone, and I stood there a few seconds, still enjoying the sound of her angelic voice echoing on my mind. I decided it was time to go to her house, so I took a quick shower and dressed with one of my finest dresses. Visiting Sakura-chan was a really important event for me. On the way out I picked up some cake I baked that morning. I took two pieces. One for my beloved Sakura and the other for Kero. He would've killed me if I didn't bring cake for him. My mind was full thinking only about Sakura-chan. 
  381.77 +
  381.78 +My chauffeur left me on Sakura's house porch. I rang the bell only once. I stood there, expecting her to come up and open the plowshare of the porch. In a little basket I carried the cake pieces and the newest dress for her. This new design was inspired by a couple of butterflies I saw a few days ago on King Penguin park. Sakura and I were there and the butterflies darted happily around us. One of them stopped on Sakura's auburn hair. And the other one followed. She looked so sweet like that. Fortunately, I was carrying my camera and took a record of the lovely instant. I also carried my trusty video camera there. Just in case. My mind was still circling these past events when I heard Sakura's beautiful voice, calling for me. 
  381.79 +
  381.80 +"Tomoyo-chan!" She called. 
  381.81 +
  381.82 +"Hello Sakura-chan!" I said. A wide smile was my reaction after seeing her. 
  381.83 +
  381.84 +Sakura came and opened the plowshare. There she was. She was wearing an orange cotton shirt and light brown shorts. Her smile showed me her sparkling white, perfect teeth. Her lips were also perfect. Was anything wrong with her? I don't think so. Her mannerisms were also cute and very lovely. She was indeed the materialization of all that was beautiful. A great happiness took over me instantly. 
  381.85 +
  381.86 +"I have something for you." I said. I wanted to see her in the new suit. However, little I knew that moment was getting close fast. 
  381.87 +
  381.88 +We were chit-chatting on her room. As I said, little we knew about what was to come. Suddenly, in middle of our conversation the bell rang. It rang and keep ranging. Whatever reason the one who was ringing it had was very important. We ran down quickly and saw through the windows. It was Chiharu-chan, and she was crying. Sakura opened the door and the cage in a swift and Chiharu bursted in tears on Sakura's arms. 
  381.89 +
  381.90 +"What's the matter, Chiharu-chan?" She asked tenderly. Chiharu couldn't say a word. 
  381.91 +
  381.92 +"Daijôbu?" I said to her, putting my hand on her shoulder. She was trembling, and she was really afflicted by something. 
  381.93 +
  381.94 +"Pull together, Chiharu-chan." Sakura said, now very worried. "Please, tell us what happened." 
  381.95 +
  381.96 +"It... It was awful." 
  381.97 +
  381.98 +I was shocked. Chiharu was crying like mad. I've never seen her like that. Sakura was starting to lose her composure. I took my gaze away from the horrible sight and looked to Sakura's house. Thru the window I saw Kero's little head peeking. However, I noticed something wasn't right at all. He had that cunning stare... The one he used when he felt a magical presence... 
  381.99 +
 381.100 +After a while we received a phone call. It was from the hospital. Naoko-chan was knocked down by a car, and her condition was critical. She was on the Tomoeda Clinic, on the special care unit. Chiharu told us what happened. As she said, it was awful. Naoko was acting normal when suddenly she started to mumble some nonsense and ran to the middle of the street. Chiharu also told us that they yelled at her, trying to let her know it was dangerous, but she didn't answer the calls. She told us that Naoko-chan looked at them with a weird look on her face. Chiharu described it as a mix between sadness and madness. She was like "possesed" by some unknown, dark force. It's kinda ironic. Naoko always talked a lot about paranormal events, ghosts and other related topics, and she was the victim of... 
 381.101 +
 381.102 +"It's definately a Clow Card..." Kero said, being very serious about it. 
 381.103 +
 381.104 +"I didn't knew Clow Cards were capable of such... Such atrocities!" Sakura said, almost yelling. Her eyes were almost on the verge of letting the tears go. She felt responsible for what happened to Naoko-chan. 
 381.105 +
 381.106 +I stood there, worried and shocked. Now we knew that the Clow Cards weren't just sweet little magical creatures waiting for a master. Some of them were evil by nature. Some of them were frightened by the idea of being sealed again... 
 381.107 +
 381.108 +"Judging by the events I can assume it's The Control." Kero said, looking at the red moon that shone upon the night sky. "Sakura... It's very dangerous." 
 381.109 +
 381.110 +"I don't care!" She said, bursting into tears. "I made the Clow Cards run amok! I'm the one who needs to fix this mess..." 
 381.111 +
 381.112 +I couldn't bear the sight. She was crying. Her beautiful face was covered by warm tears. Tears that were falling down the cold floor. I slowly walked until I reached her. Caringly, I moved my hand to her face, caressing her soft cheek, wiping her smooth tears with my hands. She looked at me. Those green eyes penetrated my very soul with their deep gaze. 
 381.113 +
 381.114 +"Please, Sakura-chan... Don't cry." I said to her. Seeing her like that felt like a hot knife piercing my spirit. 
 381.115 +
 381.116 +"Oh Tomoyo-chan!" 
 381.117 +
 381.118 +Sakura was really affected. Naoko was our friend. I could understand her perfectly. Sometimes I thought that this destiny was a really big burden for such a sweet and dense girl as Sakura-chan. However, we humans must fight against it. 
 381.119 +
 381.120 +"Don't cry, onegai." I said to her in a comforting tone. "I'm sure you'll be able to seal that card too... It's allright." 
 381.121 +
 381.122 +My words made Sakura's smile to show on her cute face again. I'm here hoping that with all my little love signs she notices how much she matters too me, and seeing how she was positive again made me very happy. 
 381.123 +
 381.124 +"You're right, Tomoyo-chan!" She said, with an strong and cheerful attitude. "I must be strong to protect those who I love!" 
 381.125 +
 381.126 +"That's more like it, Sakura-chan!" Kero said. "Now you sound like a real Card Captor!" 
 381.127 +
 381.128 +After our conversation we went to the King Penguin park together. It was night already. Sakura wore my dress, and she called the power of the Key. She was now ready to fight the new card. With my camera in hand I awaited for the moment of the conflict... I was very worried for Sakura, remembering what Chiharu-chan said. 
 381.129 +
 381.130 +"Sakura-chan... Please, take care." I said sofly. A sigh escaped my lips. 
 381.131 +
 381.132 +*** 
 381.133 +
 381.134 +JIKAI YOKOKU: 
 381.135 +
 381.136 +Sakura and Tomoyo awaited at the park and the card finally came. A tough fight ensues, and Sakura must do her best effort to seal it. What will the outcome of the raging battle be? Stay tuned for the next chapter of A love story! 
 381.137 +
 381.138 +Chapter II: 
 381.139 +Card battle! The Control 
 381.140 +
 381.141 +
 381.142 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 381.143 +
 381.144 +AUTHOR'S NOTES: 
 381.145 +
 381.146 +Wow! Hope you enjoyed this chapter of my new CCS project. I really enjoyed writing this one, but its been a toughie X_X I want it to be interesting, so I'm using more diverse vocabulary and more resources. If you find anything wrong (I mean grammar, syntax, etc...) please e-mail me at riel@telcel.net.ve. See you next time, and please, PLEASE!, write me with your comments! They can do wonders for us artists! ^^ 
 381.147 +
 381.148 +Sayonara! 
 381.149 +
 381.150 +Created: 18-03-2001 
 381.151 +Last revision: 20-03-2001 

   382.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   382.2 +++ b/stories/lovestory2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   382.3 @@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
   382.4 +
   382.5 +A love story
   382.6 +
   382.7 +Chapter II:
   382.8 +Card battle! The Control
   382.9 +
  382.10 +by Ricardo Chirino
  382.11 +riel@telcel.net.ve
  382.12 +
  382.13 +***
  382.14 +
  382.15 +DISCLAIMER:
  382.16 +
  382.17 +I do not own Card Captor Sakura. CLAMP does! Other companies do! However, I used
  382.18 +their characters and ideas without permission. Still, this is just for fun, and
  382.19 +I'm not capitalizing on this, so please, don't sue me! X_x
  382.20 +Be forewarned: This tale doesn't contain explicit yuri scenes, but it's a
  382.21 +shôjo-ai story nonetheless (love between girls). Enjoy!
  382.22 +
  382.23 +***
  382.24 +
  382.25 +READ THIS PLEASE:
  382.26 +
  382.27 +Before reading this you should've read Chapter I ^^ Please, read it before to
  382.28 +get a better understanding of this part. Domo arigato!
  382.29 +In this part I'll switch from Tomoyo's. Don't ask why. Just read. However, I'm
  382.30 +almost sure that from now on I'm only going to use a witness POV, and switch
  382.31 +from POVs from time to time... The story needs it ^^ It's really annoying (and
  382.32 +shows my lack of good writing skills XD)... but I can't figure any other way of
  382.33 +developing the story. Gomen! :P)
  382.34 +
  382.35 +Japanese terms new to this part:
  382.36 +
  382.37 +1) Nani: This little midget translates to "What?"
  382.38 +2) Masaka: Translates to "It can't be!" (if you've seen a lot of anime in
  382.39 +   japanese you shold ve VERY familiar with this word ^^)
  382.40 +3) Rokushô Tama: "Verdigris sphere" is one of the attacks of ________ (read ^^).
  382.41 +4) Tonikaku: "At any rate, anyways"
  382.42 +5) Hai: Means "Yes"
  382.43 +
  382.44 +***
  382.45 +
  382.46 +Sakura stood alert in the middle of the park. It looked like the card would stay
  382.47 +hidden. She stood there for a long time, until that happened. I threw my video
  382.48 +camera to the hard cobblestones of the park. My head started to feel weird and I
  382.49 +heard this weird voice on my sub-conciousness. A cold feeling started to wrap my
  382.50 +body. I was very dizzy and couldn't even move. I panicked!
  382.51 +
  382.52 +"Oh no! This can't be!" I thought. "If this card controls me... No! I can't bear
  382.53 +the idea of hurting Sakura-chan!
  382.54 +
  382.55 +I was still concious of my actions. However, some unknown force thwarted my free
  382.56 +will. I was possesed. I couldn't decide what to do. My body started to obey the
  382.57 +commands of this evil Clow Card and move on it's own. I started to get very
  382.58 +worried about Sakura. I didn't care about me... I just wanted to protect
  382.59 +Sakura-chan!"
  382.60 +
  382.61 +"Look Sakura!" Kero yelled. Sakura inmediately noticed something was wrong with
  382.62 +me.
  382.63 +"Sa.. Sakura!" I don't know how I managed to say that. My whole body felt like
  382.64 +a eight ton rock. Perhaps my love for her made me stronger. "R... RUN AND BE
  382.65 +SAFE!!!"
  382.66 +
  382.67 +Sakura shocked at the sight! Oh, God... Poor Sakura! I felt horrible. Only a few
  382.68 +hours ago the incident with Naoko-chan... and now I was the root of her
  382.69 +uneasyness.
  382.70 +
  382.71 +"I can't!" She cried. "I CAN'T LEAVE YOU, TOMOYO-CHAN!"
  382.72 +
  382.73 +I noticed some tears started to run down her rosy cheeks. I wanted to cry too,
  382.74 +but my eyes were dry and hard... I could barely feel them. I started to feel a
  382.75 +great pain in my whole body. My mind was trying to resist to the attempts of the
  382.76 +wretched Clow Card, but it was all in vain. After a while of futile resistence,
  382.77 +The Control finally took charge of me.
  382.78 +
  382.79 +I started to run towards Sakura-chan. Now my real self couldn't do a thing. I
  382.80 +still felt the inmense pain... My soul was crying. I was very worried for
  382.81 +Sakura. Sakura stood still, waiting for me. I tackled her very hardly and she
  382.82 +flew away. My strenght was also boosted due to the magic effects of this Clow
  382.83 +Card. I couldn't believe I was the one harming Sakura. I noticed how she rolled
  382.84 +on the cold cobblestone floor of the park plaza, and the skin of her knees
  382.85 +scratched. It was unbearable for me. I was fighting with Sakura-chan. The
  382.86 +feeling of pain grew even bigger than before.
  382.87 +
  382.88 +"SAKURA!!!" I cried louder than ever. The tears began falling. "PLEASE! RUN
  382.89 +AWAY!"
  382.90 +"NO!" She said gasping. I could feel the pain she was feeling. "I WON'T LEAVE
  382.91 +YOU TOMOYO-CHAN! I'm responsible for what happened to Naoko-chan, AND I'M NOT
  382.92 +GOING TO LEAVE YOU!"
  382.93 +
  382.94 +Sakura got up once again. She started to tremble. Little droplets of blood were
  382.95 +dripping from the tears of her skin. I won't be able to forgive myself! I know
  382.96 +it's not my fault! I'm being controlled by the card, but... Now it was really
  382.97 +overwhelming. The pain grew even more... And I lost it... The pain was gone, and
  382.98 +I saw only black. Cold and lonely black...
  382.99 +
 382.100 +
 382.101 +"Sakura! You need to seal the force first!" Kero said to Sakura.
 382.102 +"How on earth can I do that?" Sakura yelled. "I don't have the slightest idea on
 382.103 +how can I free Tomoyo from the influence of the magic energy.
 382.104 +"You DON'T need to free her at all..." Kero mumbled. "You must think of a way to
 382.105 +get The Control out of her. That's the only way.
 382.106 +"Hoe!" Sakura started to cry once again.
 382.107 +"Don't be such a crybaby!" Kero said. "Remember what Tomoyo said!"
 382.108 +
 382.109 +Sakura's eyes were wide open. She started to remeber what Tomoyo-chan said
 382.110 +earlier. She remembered that she promised to be a courageous Card Captor. She
 382.111 +needed to regain that confidence, and she needed it back fast.
 382.112 +
 382.113 +"I know. I'm sure I'll find a way to free Tomoyo from the card! I MUST SAVE MY
 382.114 +DEAR TOMOYO!"
 382.115 +
 382.116 +
 382.117 +Tomoyo let a scream. Maybe it was from the unbearable pain she felt. The fact
 382.118 +was that her face changed. Her gaze was different... She looked evil. Sakura
 382.119 +noticed this. She got ready for an inminent attack. But to her surprise it
 382.120 +wasn't a physical attack. Tomoyo started to levitate. She rose from the soil
 382.121 +until she reached about two meters. Then she stopped.
 382.122 +
 382.123 +"Hoe! What's happening!?" Sakura was puzzled.
 382.124 +"This is not right! This card isn't wild!" Kero was very worried.
 382.125 +"NANI?" Sakura cried out.
 382.126 +"This is planned... The Control couldn't manage to prepare something like this
 382.127 +on her own..." Kero said, thinking about it...
 382.128 +"I don't get it!" Sakura said in a deep confusion.
 382.129 +"I mean that this card is already working for someone... There is another Card
 382.130 +Captor near here. I can feel a great mana presence."
 382.131 +
 382.132 +
 382.133 +In fact Kerberos was right. Mana, the magical force that maintains the delicate
 382.134 +equilibrium of the world, was showing it's presence there. Suddenly, Tomoyo-chan
 382.135 +started to glow, and a magic emblem appeared on the cold floor, directly under
 382.136 +her feet. I was very complex and featured a lot of details and inscriptions in
 382.137 +the ancient language of the magi.
 382.138 +
 382.139 +"Masaka!!" Kero was shocked.
 382.140 +Sakura was too worried and perplexed to even try to say something. Her mouth was
 382.141 +opened. She was too confused.
 382.142 +"What do I need to do?" She cried.
 382.143 +"I don't know Sakura!" chuckled Kero, not believing the great amount of magical
 382.144 +energy he felt. "The Control must be somewhere. Maybe if you try hitting her..."
 382.145 +"But where is she!!! WHERE IS SHE!!!" Sakura cried harder.
 382.146 +
 382.147 +
 382.148 +The strange Tomoyo was still floating at a couple of meters from the soil. She
 382.149 +opened her eyes and looked directly at Sakura-chan. Her gaze was evil and
 382.150 +lifeless. She looked like she was dead. This new vision of horror was all that
 382.151 +Sakura needed to lose it. She fainted.
 382.152 +
 382.153 +"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" Kero screamed when she saw Sakura falling to the ground.
 382.154 +
 382.155 +Kerberos got near Sakura. She didn't move. Her eyes were completely closed. She
 382.156 +was only breathing, but if she didn't wake up soon, Tomoyo would kill her. The
 382.157 +possesed Tomoyo closed her eyes once again. She extended her right arm, and
 382.158 +opened her hand. The palm of her hand started to emit a light green glow, and a
 382.159 +little version of the powerful magical emblem appeared on the pale skin of her
 382.160 +palm. A bigger one appeared around her wrist and this one started to spin
 382.161 +slowly. It was a morbid spectacle of deadly magic. The light began to
 382.162 +concentrate on a little sphere on Tomoyo's hand, and this little orb of mana
 382.163 +began to grow. It's green light was very bright. Tomoyo was ready to strike
 382.164 +Sakura with the spell anytime soon...
 382.165 +
 382.166 +"SAKURA!!" Kero cried out loud. "YOU MUST WAKE UP!"
 382.167 +Sakura didn't move, and Tomoyo was ready to throw the ball of magic at them.
 382.168 +"So this is it..." Kero said softly, waiting for the strike.
 382.169 +
 382.170 +Tomoyo opened her eyes. She had a smirk painted on her devil-like child face.
 382.171 +She laughed and said with an out-of-this-world voice:
 382.172 +
 382.173 +"Rokushô Tama!"
 382.174 +
 382.175 +The sphere of green light popped up a bit and the started to fly down at Sakura
 382.176 +at an unbelievable speed. Kero thought this was their end, but..
 382.177 +
 382.178 +"God of thunder!!" said a familiar voice from behind.
 382.179 +
 382.180 +A thunder came darting from behind. The sparks impacted the sphere of green
 382.181 +energy. The orb was deflected and it impacted right behind Tomoyo-chan. It
 382.182 +exploded on a big cloud of green mist and energy. It almost looked like hot,
 382.183 +burning plasma.
 382.184 +
 382.185 +
 382.186 +Li Syaoran made it right in time. If he were a minute later, sakura would've...
 382.187 +At any rate, all was over, or at least for now. The Control lied there on the
 382.188 +floor. A few meters from her lied Tomoyo's body. Kero noticed Li was there.
 382.189 +
 382.190 +"You've come at the perfect time, brat." he said at Li.
 382.191 +"Watch you tongue, asshole..." Li said.
 382.192 +Kero was really angry. "Tonikaku, help me with Sakura."
 382.193 +
 382.194 +Li leaned to see Sakura. She was all right, and she slowly opened her eyes.
 382.195 +
 382.196 +"What happened?.." she asked Li, slowly getting on her knees.
 382.197 +"It's over... The card is defeated. Now you must seal it..." Li said, blushing
 382.198 +a little. He was starting to feel uneasy whenever he was near Sakura-chan. "You
 382.199 +must do it quickly Sakura..."
 382.200 +"What about Tomoyo?" Sakura's eyes openened more. "IS SHE OKAY?"
 382.201 +Li nodded and pointed to where Tomoyo was lying. Sakura was overjoyed and a few
 382.202 +tears of happiness escaped from her eyes. "Oh, thank you god..."
 382.203 +Sakura began to run to Tomoyo, but Li moved his arm and grabbed hers. "Daijôbu,
 382.204 +Sakura-chan?"
 382.205 +"Hai!"
 382.206 +
 382.207 +Sakura ran as fast as her wounded legs allowed her. She reached Tomoyo quickly.
 382.208 +Inmediatly she leaned her head, getting near to Tomoyo's. She was still
 382.209 +breathing. And Sakura could finally breathe peacefully again. Sakura embraced
 382.210 +Tomoyo and started to cry.
 382.211 +
 382.212 +"Oh, thank you god."
 382.213 +
 382.214 +Li stood up and looked at Sakura. He felt happy for her, but at the same time
 382.215 +felt a deep sadness withing him. He was starting to fall in love with her, but
 382.216 +she knew that even if Sakura tried to love him, her real feelings were for
 382.217 +Tomoyo-chan.
 382.218 +
 382.219 +
 382.220 +Tomoyo slowly opened her eyes and noticed that Sakura was embracing her. She
 382.221 +started to weep and returned the embrace.
 382.222 +
 382.223 +"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo said between gasps. "Please, forgive me!"
 382.224 +"No..." Sakura said, placing her soft hands on Tomoyo's white cheeks. "Its okay.
 382.225 +It wasn't your fault." A few tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
 382.226 +"Sakura is worried about me... Sakura... I love you so much." Tomoyo thought,
 382.227 +closing her eyes.
 382.228 +
 382.229 +Li was dissapointed. He wanted to be with Sakura like that... But he knew that
 382.230 +wouldn't happen. He went close to the sweet couple.
 382.231 +
 382.232 +"Sakura, you must seal the card fast..."
 382.233 +"Hai!" she answered.
 382.234 +
 382.235 +Sakura stood up, and Tomoyo did too. Tomoyo had one arm clasped around
 382.236 +Sakura-chan's waist. She was still shocked and wanted to hold Sakura. To feel
 382.237 +she was really all right. After a while, Sakura went near the body of The
 382.238 +Control. The card was lying on the cold soil, trembling. She slowly opened her
 382.239 +eyes and looked at Sakura.
 382.240 +
 382.241 +"I'm going to seal you."
 382.242 +"Do it if you want..." the card said, sadly. "I've already failed my master,
 382.243 +Emeraldo."
 382.244 +"What?" Sakura asked.
 382.245 +"Seal me already!" the card cried out. "My master won't receive me! I FAILED
 382.246 +HIM!"
 382.247 +"Hoe!"
 382.248 +
 382.249 +Sakura didn't understand what was happening at all. She only knew that this
 382.250 +Emeraldo was the previous owner of The Control, whoever he was. Sakura proceeded
 382.251 +to seal the card, and she finally did it. The Clow Card flew from the air until
 382.252 +she reached Sakura's hand.
 382.253 +
 382.254 +"So this is The Control..."
 382.255 +
 382.256 +
 382.257 +Meanwhile, in the rooftop of a nearby building, a mysterious silhoutte was
 382.258 +looking at the events in the park. The hair of the figure was flowing with the
 382.259 +cold breeze of the night.
 382.260 +
 382.261 +"She's stronger than I thought." The subject smirked. "It won't be too long,
 382.262 +though... So wait for it, Sakura..."
 382.263 +
 382.264 +***
 382.265 +
 382.266 +JIKAI YOKOKU:
 382.267 +
 382.268 +Who is this Emeraldo guy? He and the new mysterious Clow Cards are doing their
 382.269 +stuff, trying to destroy Sakura's life. Tomoyo, as usual is going to be very
 382.270 +supportive to Sakura-chan, but... Will Sakura be able to endure all the
 382.271 +hardships to come? What? A new student comes??
 382.272 +
 382.273 +Don't miss the next chapter of A love story,
 382.274 +
 382.275 +Chapter III:
 382.276 +Transfer student...
 382.277 +
 382.278 +***
 382.279 +
 382.280 +AUTHOR'S NOTES:
 382.281 +
 382.282 +I guess this is starting to lose the shôjo-ai strenght :( But I want to create
 382.283 +a new story about Card Captor Sakura... Gomen for that ^^ BTW, this whole
 382.284 +Emeraldo ordeal is starting to shape like Eriol's (the third season of the TV
 382.285 +series). Anyways, I'm still looking forward to reading you comments/critiques.
 382.286 +E-mail me at my address, riel@telcel.net.ve. See you soon! ^^
 382.287 +
 382.288 +Created: 03-21-2001
 382.289 +Last revision: 03-23-2001
 382.290 \ No newline at end of file

   383.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   383.2 +++ b/stories/loveyou.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   383.3 @@ -0,0 +1,258 @@
   383.4 +This is a hentai story, so if you're under 18, you probably shouldn't be here.
   383.5 +If you're over 18 then enjoy!  We don't own any of the characters in this, Toei
   383.6 +Naoko Takeuchi and assorted other people do.  This is another of our stories, 
   383.7 +and like the first one we're trying to use characters that haven't been in 
   383.8 +many good hentai stories.  So that means no Inner Senshi, Usagi and Mamoru, 
   383.9 +Dark Kingdom Generals, or Usagi and Seiya (We might use Seiya, but the ones with 
  383.10 +him and Usagi are boring and overdone, just like with Mamoru).  ChibiUsa and
  383.11 +Hotaru are both 16 and live in Crystal Tokyo.  This is a Sekkushiaru Roman.
  383.12 +Which basically means that this is a romantic hentai story.  There have been 
  383.13 +a lot of these stories lately and we wanted to write a romantic story about our
  383.14 +favorite couple: ChibiUsa and Hotaru! None of our fanfics take place in
  383.15 +the same time frame.  Kinda like an alternate dimension for each fic.
  383.16 +We may revisit these things by doing sequals to stories.  So, don't worry,
  383.17 +we'll tell you if any two stories are connected.  This is our second
  383.18 +fanfic and we love feedback so please e-mail us at: amazonessduo@hotmail.com.
  383.19 +We love to hear from people and what they thought of our stories or what
  383.20 +stories they'd like us to write.  Thanks. ^_^
  383.21 +
  383.22 +
  383.23 +			"I Love You, Hotaru"
  383.24 +				By
  383.25 +			The Amazoness Duo
  383.26 +
  383.27 +	ChibiUsa was walking around the museum.  She was looking at 20th 
  383.28 +century artifacts.  She had been living back in the 20th century a couple
  383.29 +years ago.  In fact, that was where she had met Hotaru.  As she thought of
  383.30 +Hotaru she realised that the other girl was late.  Hotaru was supposed to have
  383.31 +met her half an hour ago. 'Where is she," thought ChibiUsa.
  383.32 +	"Odango-chan!  There you are, Odango-chan," Hotaru ran up, catching
  383.33 +her breath.  ChibiUsa was embarrassed as Hotaru caught up to her.  Hotaru had
  383.34 +come up with that pet name for her a little while ago, but had never called
  383.35 +her by it in a large public place.  "Don't worry, ChibiUsa.  There aren't a 
  383.36 +lot of people here, and even if there were, it wouldn't matter.  I want 
  383.37 +everyone to know that I love you."
  383.38 +	ChibiUsa blushed as Hotaru said that.  She loved Hotaru, too. She
  383.39 +just didn't want everyone to know Hotaru's name for her.  It had been hard 
  383.40 +enough telling her parents and the other senshi that she had finally found
  383.41 +her true love and that it was Hotaru.  She would wind up telling the general
  383.42 +populace later on in a speech or something if Hotaru didn't tell the rest of
  383.43 +the planet first.
  383.44 +	"Weren't you supposed to be here half an hour ago?" ChibiUsa asked.
  383.45 +	"Nope.  You were late I've been looking everywhere for you," Hotaru
  383.46 +said. "I think your watch is broken." Hotaru pointed at ChibiUsa's watch.
  383.47 +	ChibiUsa looked at her watch, and, Hotaru was right.
  383.48 +	"But, maybe you can make up for being late later," Hotaru said as she
  383.49 +smiled innocently.
  383.50 +	ChibiUsa slid her arm around Hotaru's waist.  "I've been thinking a 
  383.51 +lot lately.  If I hadn't gone back to the past, I never would have met you,
  383.52 +Hotaru," said ChibiUsa feeling a tear run down her face as she thought of 
  383.53 +never meeting Hotaru.  "And then we would never have been best friends, or 
  383.54 +have realised how deep our feelings were for each other, or...."
  383.55 +	"It's okay, Odango-Chan," said Hotaru as she embraced her girlfriend.
  383.56 +"All that matters is that we did meet and that we did realise those feelings.
  383.57 +Don't cry, ChibiUsa."
  383.58 +	"I'm okay now.  I just realised how lucky I am to have you," she told
  383.59 +Hotaru through misty eyes.  Another tear ran down her face as she looked at 
  383.60 +Hotaru.  A tear of joy for having Hotaru.  Hotaru held her closer.
  383.61 +	"Good. Now maybe we can start looking around the museum." Hotaru said
  383.62 +as she pinched ChibiUsa's ass.
  383.63 +	"Owwww, that hurts, Hotaru," ChibiUsa complained.
  383.64 +	"Well, I would kiss it, but I don't think you want to do that in the
  383.65 +museum right here and now," Hotaru smiled.
  383.66 +	All ChibiUsa could do was blush.
  383.67 +	"Or do you?" Hotaru asked innocently "You are the princess of Crystal
  383.68 +Tokyo. No one could get you in any real trouble."
  383.69 +	"I don't see Neo Queen Serenity taking it well when she hears that her
  383.70 +daughter was making love to her girlfriend in a public museum." said ChibiUsa.
  383.71 +	"You should be more adventuresome.  There's always the thrill that
  383.72 +we might get caught, Odango-chan," said Hotaru as she drew ChibiUsa closer to
  383.73 +her.	
  383.74 +	"You just want the rest of the planet to find out by seeing the two
  383.75 +of us, don't you?"  ChibiUsa lightly put her hand on Hotaru's face.  She 
  383.76 +lightly traced Hotaru's luscious lips with her forefinger.  She trailed her
  383.77 +finger down to Hotaru's chin and leaned towards her.  The two girls met
  383.78 +in a passionate kiss that left the rest of the world far from their minds.
  383.79 +The two finally pulled away after what seemed like hours.  ChibiUsa looked
  383.80 +at her best friend, her girlfriend, her lover, her soulmate.  Hotaru's 
  383.81 +face was so beautiful.  Her body had grown very well since they had been 
  383.82 +children, and ChibiUsa loved every inch of it.  She was the most precious 
  383.83 +thing to ChibiUsa.
  383.84 +	"Of course, ChibiUsa. I love you and I want the world to know," 
  383.85 +Hotaru told her as they broke the kiss, "If I love you so much, and you love
  383.86 +me, why shouldn't everyone know?"
  383.87 +	"I love you too, Hotaru.  Don't worry, I'll tell everyone soon enough.
  383.88 +I just don't know exactly how," said ChibiUsa.
  383.89 +	Setsuna spotted the two girls talking as they headed through the 
  383.90 +museum.  She smiled as she saw them kissing.  She had been ChibiUsa's friend
  383.91 +for a long time and she had helped raise Hotaru, so she was happy for both of
  383.92 +them.  The older girl walked over to the younger couple.
  383.93 +	"So there you two are.  You're late for the banquet.  I was on my way 
  383.94 +there and decided to look for you," Setsuna said.
  383.95 +	"Oh, Setsuna nice to see you. Hotaru and I were just looking at the 
  383.96 +lovely artifacts here," said ChibiUsa, startled that Setsuna had walked up as
  383.97 +she and Hotaru had been kissing.  She had told Setsuna along with the rest of
  383.98 +the senshi, but she was still nervous.  She had never been so close
  383.99 +to anyone as she was with Hotaru, and it felt awkward when her other friends 
 383.100 +were around.
 383.101 +	"Yeah, right.  Well, c'mon you two lovebirds, or we'll miss the whole
 383.102 +banquet," Setsuna turned and started to lead the way back to the palace.
 383.103 +	Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa slightly annoyed.  "Don't be so shy all of 
 383.104 +of the time, ChibiUsa.  If you're worried about little things like Setsuna
 383.105 +seeing us kiss, what will you do about big things like when you announce our
 383.106 +wedding?" 
 383.107 +	"W..W...Wedding?" asked ChibiUsa.  She was having a hard enough time 
 383.108 +thinking about telling the rest of the world about the two of them and trying
 383.109 +not to be nervous around her friends to worry about marriage right now.
 383.110 +	"We ARE getting married, right??" asked Hotaru, pissed off at ChibiUsa
 383.111 +for not even thinking about it.  She wanted to have a nice, big wedding with 
 383.112 +all of their friends and families there.  She loved ChibiUsa and wanted to 
 383.113 +marry her.  
 383.114 +	"Don't we have a banquet to go to Hotaru?" said ChibiUsa changing the
 383.115 +subject as they followed Setsuna.
 383.116 +	Setsuna smiled to herself as the two talked.  They'd get married
 383.117 +pretty soon.  She had seen it in the future.  She knew she shouldn't check
 383.118 +into the future, but sometimes things got so interesting, like with Hotaru
 383.119 +and ChibiUsa, that she couldn't help herself.
 383.120 +
 383.121 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru arrived at the banquet hand in hand.  Neo Queen
 383.122 +Serenity had organized the banquet so she could get all her friends together.
 383.123 +She saw them all often, but getting them all in the same place was all but
 383.124 +impossible if it wasn't preplanned, so she had these banquets from time to 
 383.125 +time.
 383.126 +	"ChibiUsa!! Oh good, I thought something might have happened to you,"
 383.127 +said Neo Queen Serenity as she approached her daughter.
 383.128 +	"It's okay, mom. Hotaru and I just lost track of time, I guess," said
 383.129 +ChibiUsa.
 383.130 +	"Ohhhh. Okay." Serenity winked at ChibiUsa thinking she understood
 383.131 +what took them so long.
 383.132 +	ChibiUsa blushed as she realised what Serenity thought happened.  She
 383.133 +and Hotaru had made love before on a lot of occasions and Serenity had never
 383.134 +guessed, but now she thought that something had happened and they hadn't even 
 383.135 +done anything.  "No, wait, you don't understand.  We were at the mmm....." 
 383.136 +she was stopped as she felt Hotaru's lips pressed against her own.  By the 
 383.137 +time Hotaru finally pulled away Serenity was already mingling with her 
 383.138 +friends.  "Why did you do that, Hotaru-chan?" asked ChibiUsa.
 383.139 +	"Because you look soooo cute when you're embarassed," stated Hotaru.  
 383.140 +ChibiUsa blushed further as she said that.  She wrapped her arm around 
 383.141 +ChibiUsa and pulled the other girl closer to her.  ChibiUsa leaned her head 
 383.142 +on Hotaru's shoulder.  No matter what happened during the day, it all melted 
 383.143 +away when she was in Hotaru's arms.  Hotaru held her gently as she looked at 
 383.144 +the people who had come.  All of the senshi were here, including the Sailor
 383.145 +Quartet, the Starlights, and Princess Kakyuu.
 383.146 +	"Wow, mom really got everybody here, didn't she?" ChibiUsa was amazed 
 383.147 +that everyone had been able to go to the banquet.
 383.148 +	"Yeah, there sure are a lot of people.  It would be pretty easy for 
 383.149 +someone with a beautiful girlfriend to sneak off for a few minutes. Or hours."
 383.150 +	ChibiUsa liked this idea already.  "And where did you have in mind?"
 383.151 +	"Oh, its not far, Odango-chan.  This way," Hotaru took ChibiUsa's 
 383.152 +hand.  ChibiUsa giggled as she followed Hotaru out of the room.  Hotaru 
 383.153 +stopped outside an empty room.  "Here we are," said Hotaru as she and ChibiUsa
 383.154 +entered the room.
 383.155 +	"But... Hotaru, this is too close to the banquet.  What if someone 
 383.156 +catches us?" asked ChibiUsa nervously.  Every other time they had sex there
 383.157 +had been little danger of being caught except for one time before she told
 383.158 +her parents and before Hotaru had moved in with her.  Hotaru had fallen asleep
 383.159 +in ChibiUsa's room.  ChibiUsa had to get up and go to breakfast soon.  But 
 383.160 +Hotaru had insisted she stay, and how could she say no to Hotaru sitting 
 383.161 +naked on her bed.  As they started to make love, Serenity had knocked on the 
 383.162 +door and told ChibiUsa it was time for breakfast.  She almost went in 
 383.163 +ChibiUsa's room but finally ChibiUsa told her that she'd skip breakfast.  That
 383.164 +time had been close, and she didn't want to get caught during a banquet by any
 383.165 +one, especially when all the senshi were there.
 383.166 +	"Like I said before, there's always the thrill that we might get 
 383.167 +caught.  And besides, I don't want to wait until the banquet's over, and it 
 383.168 +will take to long to go all the way back to our room," pointed out Hotaru.
 383.169 +	"That's true." ChibiUsa admitted. She didn't like where this
 383.170 +was going.
 383.171 +	"Do you want to wait till we get to your room? That could ruin the
 383.172 +mood." 	Hotaru said as she started pulling ChibiUsa's dress off.
 383.173 +	"I guess your right," ChibiUsa finally gave in. She then pulled away
 383.174 +from Hotaru so she could close the door. After she closed the door and turned
 383.175 +around and saw Hotaru standing there wearing her bra, panties, and socks.
 383.176 +	ChibiUsa started taking off her outfit but Hotaru stopped her.
 383.177 +	"Here, let me." Hotaru told ChibiUsa.
 383.178 +	"Okay." ChibiUsa complied, slightly confused as to what Hotaru had
 383.179 +in mind.
 383.180 +	Hotaru started gently squeezing ChibiUsa's breasts through the
 383.181 +soft cloth of the dress. Slowly, she pulled the dress down to her waist.  She
 383.182 +slid her hands behind ChibiUsa. Her hands slid up ChibiUsa's back. She 
 383.183 +unclasped the bra and dropped it on the floor.
 383.184 +	Hotaru looked  at ChibiUsa's perfectly round and palm-sized breasts.
 383.185 +She moved her head right in front of one of ChibiUsa's breasts. She took 
 383.186 +the nipple into her mouth and started gently sucking on it. With her other
 383.187 +hand, she ever so slowly started pinching and twisting ChibiUsa's 
 383.188 +other nipple. ChibiUsa moaned as she felt Hotaru's tongue wash over her 
 383.189 +pebble-like nipple.  Hotaru's other hand slid down to ChibiUsa's waist. She 
 383.190 +pushed the dress down the rest of the way and let it fall to ground leaving
 383.191 +ChibiUsa only in her panties and socks.  Hotaru slowly placed her hand in 
 383.192 +ChibiUsa's panties.  Feeling that ChibiUsa was wet, she pulled her hand out
 383.193 +and stopped sucking on ChibiUsa's breast.  ChibiUsa let out a small whimper as
 383.194 +soon as Hotaru stopped.  Hotaru bent down and started pulling ChibiUsa's
 383.195 +panties down.  After ChibiUsa stepped out of them, Hotaru started leaning
 383.196 +closer to ChibiUsa's pussy.  As she got closer, she could smell ChibiUsa's
 383.197 +musky scent.  She licked ChibiUsa's pussy slowly, savoring the taste of her
 383.198 +love juices.  Her hand went up the back of ChibiUsa's leg.  She ran her hand
 383.199 +over ChibiUsa's firm ass.  ChibiUsa got down on her knees so she was face to
 383.200 +face with Hotaru.  Hotaru's face was wet with ChibiUsa's love juices. 
 383.201 +ChibiUsa leaned forward and kissed Hotaru, tasting herself in Hotaru's mouth.
 383.202 +As they kissed, ChibiUsa slid off Hotaru's bra and panties.  She ran her 
 383.203 +hand down the side of hotaru's legs and pulled her socks off, leaving both
 383.204 +girls sitting together naked on the floor.  Hotaru ran her hand through 
 383.205 +ChibiUsa's beautiful pink hair.  ChibiUsa's hands cupped Hotaru's soft 
 383.206 +breasts.  She rubbed circles around her nipples causing them to harden 
 383.207 +further.  Hotaru grasped one of ChibiUsa's breasts and started pinching and 
 383.208 +twisting the nipple.  Her other hand went past ChibiUsa's smooth stomach 
 383.209 +towards her pussy.  ChibiUsa felt the heat between her legs rise as she felt
 383.210 +one of Hotaru's fingers pressed up against her slit.  Hotaru loved the feeling
 383.211 +she was getting from her breasts but she needed something more.  She grabbed 
 383.212 +ChibiUsa's hand and lowered it to her own pussy, rubbing ChibiUsa's fingers 
 383.213 +against her womanhood.  ChibiUsa gasped as she felt two of Hotaru's fingers
 383.214 +push into her pussy, pumping in and out.  She continued to pinch and twist
 383.215 +one of Hotaru's nipples as her own fingers started rubbing Hotaru's pussy.  
 383.216 +She felt Hotaru's love juices over her hand now as she and Hotaru started 
 383.217 +panting.  Hotaru saw ChibiUsa's love juice flowing down her inner thighs and 
 383.218 +slowly dripping on the floor.  Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's fingers probing in 
 383.219 +her cunt.  She could barely take it anymore she slid another finger into 
 383.220 +ChibiUsa and heard her moan.  Both girls leaned forward into a passionate kiss
 383.221 +as they reached orgasm.  
 383.222 +	Hotaru pulled her fingers out of ChibiUsa and licked away her cum.  
 383.223 +ChibiUsa moved her head between Hotaru's legs and lapped away the Hotaru's cum.
 383.224 +"See, Odango-chan.  That was worth it, wasn't it?" Hotaru asked as ChibiUsa
 383.225 +snuggled up to her on the floor.
 383.226 +	ChibiUsa just nodded. 
 383.227 +	"I love you, Hotaru." ChibiUsa murmered as she and Hotaru fell asleep
 383.228 +holding eachother.
 383.229 +	They were both asleep by the time the door opened.  Vesta was shocked
 383.230 +as she saw the two sleeping, naked girls on the floor.  She had an evil grin
 383.231 +when she started to step into the room, but Ceres and Junos pulled her out of 
 383.232 +the room.
 383.233 +	"C'mon you two, let me go! I want to go back in there!" argued Vesta.
 383.234 +	"No way. Didn't you see how happy they are in each others arms?  Its
 383.235 +sweet and you'd ruin that," said Ceres.
 383.236 +	"Romantic relationships are between two people Vesta. I don't think
 383.237 +they'd want anyone intruding into their relationship," said Junos.
 383.238 +	"Yeah, but I'd just be in it for the sex, anyway. It has nothing to
 383.239 +do with their relationship. And their both asleep. As it is, they've just had
 383.240 +sex with each other.  Think about if we join in. Let's go back in there," said
 383.241 +Vesta trying to reason with the other two girls.
 383.242 +	Both girls looked at her and smacked her upside the head.  "You're 
 383.243 +completely missing the point of a romantic relationship, Vesta. It's when the
 383.244 +only thing that matters to you is the other person," said Junos.
 383.245 +	"Yeah. So leave Hotaru and ChibiUsa alone. Now lets go find another 
 383.246 +empty room," said Ceres.
 383.247 +	Vesta put her arms around Ceres' and Junos' waists.  "Well, at least
 383.248 +I've got you two and Pallas."
 383.249 +
 383.250 +	
 383.251 +	
 383.252 +
 383.253 +	Well, we hope you liked the story.  We wanted to keep the plot that 
 383.254 +the Sailor Quartet are all more than friends going in this, but we hope it 
 383.255 +didn't affect the rest of the story too much.  We wanted to keep most of the 
 383.256 +story romantic and centering on the relationship between Hotaru and ChibiUsa.
 383.257 +They're a great couple and we'll almost certainly use them again in a hentai
 383.258 +story.  Anyway, we're still open for story ideas as long as it has lesser 
 383.259 +used characters that you have interesting ideas for.  So please send them in.
 383.260 +Oh well, thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully there will
 383.261 +be more from us soon. :)

   384.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   384.2 +++ b/stories/magicnight.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   384.3 @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
   384.4 +It's a Magical Night
   384.5 +by Ides of Diamonds
   384.6 +ides_of_diamonds@hotmail.com
   384.7 +
   384.8 +Note from Ides: Ha! I’ve moved into new territory! Of course, I know little about Cardcaptor Sakura, but hey, there’s always time for me to learn, right? Also, I grabbed my very own muse, Tomoyo-chan!
   384.9 +*Tomoyo bows and smiles*
  384.10 +Ides: We get along well.
  384.11 +Tomoyo: *frowns* If you find Ides-chan offensive, please don’t hold it against her. Just e-mail her and try to sort out your problems, because most of the time she doesn’t know what she’s doing. This would be one of those times.
  384.12 +Ides: ...did you just insult me?
  384.13 +Tomoyo: No, I told the truth. Sorry.
  384.14 +Ides: Hey, so long as you didn’t insult me! *grins* Okay, of course my first fic is a yuri, a relationship between Tomoyo and Sakura, even though we all know that Syaoran and Sakura are meant for each other and will eventually start dating. Still, this is a yuri.
  384.15 +Tomoyo: If you find it offensive, then don’t read and don’t flame. Go ahead and start.
  384.16 +Ides: Thank you Tomoyo-chan, I think I will.
  384.17 +On a crisp Friday night, nestled in their pajamas, Sakura and Tomoyo sat in Tomoyo’s room, talking like best friends would. Tomoyo’s mother was out at work, leaving the two girls home alone.
  384.18 +“I wish I had hair like yours, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said softly, unbraiding her best friend’s hair. “Mine hardly grows, I’d love for it to be so long.”
  384.19 +Tomoyo blushed and smiled, “I’d gladly switch with you. Your hair is much more lively, and definitely prettier.” 
  384.20 +“I beg to differ.” Sakura rolled her eyes with a laugh that made Tomoyo’s heart skip and blush increase.
  384.21 +Sakura’s fingertips brushed the back of Tomoyo’s neck, causing her to stiffen and stammer softly, “S-Sakura-chan...”
  384.22 +“Oh, sorry,” her friend apologized quickly, dropping the now loose hair. “Did I hurt you?”
  384.23 +Tomoyo turned to face her and smiled, “No...you could never hurt me.”
  384.24 +Sakura’s eyes grew devilish and her smile mischievous, “I doubt that.”
  384.25 +Tomoyo raised an eyebrow and Sakura jumped on top of her with a squeal.
  384.26 +“Hey!” the dark-haired girl cried, getting pushed back to the carpeted floor with Sakura on top of her laughing.
  384.27 +“I could kick your butt in wrestling!” Sakura exclaimed.
  384.28 +Tomoyo was just grateful for the chance to be so close to Sakura, and grinned back, although her face was rapidly turning red.
  384.29 +“No way!” she giggled, rolling them to the side so that she was on top.
  384.30 +Before long, they were rolling around on the floor giggling and shrieking and making such a commotion that people all the way in Rome could hear them.
  384.31 +Finally, they ended up in the same position as they first time they started, winded, exhausted, but still giggling.
  384.32 +“Tomoyo-chan...,” Sakura panted. “That was really fun!”
  384.33 +“Still think you can beat me?” she asked, looking up at her friend and grinning.
  384.34 +“Yeah,” the light-haired girl giggled. “But you’re tougher than I thought.”
  384.35 +Tomoyo laughed and Sakura giggled again. Then, Sakura lowered her head so that it was leaning against Tomoyo’s and closed her eyes.
  384.36 +Tomoyo’s laughter slowly stopped and she began to blush again. Sakura opened her emerald eyes and smiled.
  384.37 +“You’re my best friend forever.” she said sincerely.
  384.38 +“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo said softly, trying not to let tears come to her eyes as a lump grew in her throat.
  384.39 +All we’ll ever be is best friends. she thought sadly.
  384.40 +Sakura’s smile faded as she lifted her head up, pushing off of Tomoyo so that she could squirm out from under her. The dark-haired girl sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest, not looking at Sakura.
  384.41 +“What’s wrong?” Sakura asked, touching her friend’s shoulder gently.
  384.42 +“Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, looking at her friend. “Do you think that best friends could ever become...y’know, more than friends?”
  384.43 +Sakura raised an eyebrow, “Um...yeah, I don’t see why not. What has that got to do with-”
  384.44 +She stopped mid-sentence, and turned pink. Tomoyo bowed her head, blushing.
  384.45 +“I’m sorry,” Tomoyo said softly. “It’s just...I don’t know, all these years of watching you and loving you without saying anything about it just became unbearable. We were so close together just a few seconds ago...and you said we’d be best friends forever, so I knew that we’d never be anything more. We’re always going to be best friends. But I want more.”
  384.46 +All the while, Sakura had a concerned look on her face, her cheeks still slightly pink and her eyes still slightly wide.
  384.47 +“Field day...,” she murmured after a moment, and Tomoyo looked at her with confusion. “I remember what you said to me on field day, after your mom and my dad finished fighting and after I captured the Flower Card. When we were talking about how much your mom and my mom loved each other, and you said that you really loved me too? I didn’t understand what you really meant and you said you’d tell me when I was older. I’m not much older now, Tomoyo-chan...but I understand.”
  384.48 +She smiled brightly when she added, “And I love you too.”
  384.49 +With that said, Sakura gave her a peck on the lips.
  384.50 +Tomoyo’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and she blushed as red as a tomato. She lifted her fingers to her mouth, gently touching her lips. Her friend giggled at her reaction. 
  384.51 +“For how long?” she murmured, lowering her hand.
  384.52 +“Since you slept over my house on the day I captured the Thunder Card,” Sakura replied softly. “Remember how you called me cute when we were watching the video of the capture? That kind of got me started...”
  384.53 +Tomoyo smiled a little, and said softly, “I’m really happy you like me too, Sakura-chan...but I don’t think we’ll be able to date just yet.”
  384.54 +“Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura giggled. “We’re only ten, that’s not even old enough to date boys! We can worry about it later on in life. I’m happy as long as you’re happy.”
  384.55 +“I’m happy.” Tomoyo nodded, and leaned in, kissing her gently on the lips.
  384.56 +When they separated, Sakura yawned loudly. She clamped a hand over her mouth and blushed.
  384.57 +“Sorry...” she simpered.
  384.58 +“Nah,” the dark-haired girl dismissed it with a wave of her hand, standing up and pulling Sakura with her. “It’s late anyway. We should get some sleep.”
  384.59 +Without another word, they climbed into bed together, turning off the lights. Sakura kissed Tomoyo on the cheek, and Tomoyo kissed Sakura on her forehead. 
  384.60 +That was their last action before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

   385.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   385.2 +++ b/stories/meetagain.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   385.3 @@ -0,0 +1,686 @@
   385.4 +We Meet Again (Shoujo-Ai Archive Fanfiction)We Meet Again
   385.5 +a Card Captor Sakura fanfiction by Kamui Ikari
   385.6 +Hi!!! I'm back with a new story of CCS. I remembered that I promised
   385.7 +time ago I would make a story called "We meet again", but I forgot it.
   385.8 +Then I did "You and me, together forever", "Mañana" then finally I did
   385.9 +this story. This story will closure that period that I started with
  385.10 +"She won't cry for you", "Don't lose Hope" and "Tomoyo's Farewell
  385.11 +Letter", these ones are about Tomoyo's destiny after the ugly ending of
  385.12 +CCS, especially "She won't cry for you" where Tomoyo's destiny is
  385.13 +facing at her fifteen years old her own death. Really, I never thought
  385.14 +why I made these stories. It was a moment a depression, but I finally
  385.15 +decided not make these type of stories nevermore. Because I realized
  385.16 +that I was giving the reason to the Sakura x Syaoran fans. Why?. Maybe
  385.17 +in my opinion, for them this topic is closed, but for me not. They have
  385.18 +their happy ending, then why I would make more stories only to give
  385.19 +them the reason? Honestly, I would accept the official ending, but I
  385.20 +don't and never. Why?. In my opinion, the ending was very forced,
  385.21 +Sakura started to see Syaoran as a friend but in the last volume of
  385.22 +manga, she fell in love with him so fast, and ended with him in the
  385.23 +end. For me it's ugly, but for the S+S fans it's okay, they ended
  385.24 +together and that's all. But for me that relationship is not
  385.25 +convincing, Sakura fell in love with him so fast. That kind of "fast
  385.26 +relationship" is not convincing for me. Another point that I don't like
  385.27 +it, is that Tomoyo was the only character that ended alone in the end,
  385.28 +all ended with someone in the end less her. Well, enough of thoughts
  385.29 +but I need to get out of my chest.
  385.30 +
  385.31 +Some points:
  385.32 +
  385.33 +-The story takes places after the end oof CCS.
  385.34 +-It seems for the title that is a S+S sstory, but I'm sorry. It's a yuri
  385.35 +fic, of course you must know what is yuri but I will explain: is a term
  385.36 +designed for love between girls, women, etc. So if you don't like these
  385.37 +type of stories please leave, if you like please go on.
  385.38 +
  385.39 +I hope you liked it and I will see you at the end of story.
  385.40 +
  385.41 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  385.42 +
  385.43 +How did it start? It started when I was ten years old, I remember that
  385.44 +I was waiting on my seat when I met her. She gave me an eraser and said
  385.45 +that she was glad to give me that. We became best friends and we did
  385.46 +many things together, but all that changed. She found the Clow Book and
  385.47 +opened it, then she became the Card Captor. I made costumes for her,
  385.48 +recorded her on video, anything that she needed I was willing to give
  385.49 +her.
  385.50 +
  385.51 +He came too. A Chinese boy that was her rival first, later her friend
  385.52 +and finally her number one person.
  385.53 +
  385.54 +It's true that I said I'd him give a try, I was hoping that she will be
  385.55 +happy with him, I was hoping to stay with her until the day that I
  385.56 +would tell her my true feelings.
  385.57 +
  385.58 +She choose him as her number one person, she and him gave the names to
  385.59 +the bears. He left to Hong Kong and she promised to wait for him. I
  385.60 +remember when she left to find him and tell her feelings.
  385.61 +
  385.62 +I was smiling, then I knew that my true feelings would be sealed
  385.63 +forever and went to my house. I think that my mother entered in my
  385.64 +room, she found me in bed. She looked at me with an understanding look
  385.65 +on her face, she embraced me and didn't say anything.
  385.66 +
  385.67 +I remembered that I cried so much.
  385.68 +
  385.69 +She was naive as I was. I was naive because I was hoping that she would
  385.70 +choose me as her number one person. But she didn't. She is my number
  385.71 +one person but I wasn't for her. I was in love with her, but she ended
  385.72 +with him. After he left, things seemed to return to normal. We did the
  385.73 +same things that we did together before, but she usually said that she
  385.74 +couldn't wait to see him again. She thanked me for being her best
  385.75 +friend.
  385.76 +
  385.77 +I smiled at her, but inside me I knew that was the end for my chances
  385.78 +of telling her my feelings. After five years he returned to Japan, I
  385.79 +saw their meeting and she said that they will be together forever.
  385.80 +
  385.81 +Once again I smiled but my heart broke again.
  385.82 +
  385.83 +Then all changed, we started a new period on college. A new group of
  385.84 +students came to our classroom. She was very popular in class, they
  385.85 +became her friends and I was happy. Chiharu, Rika, Yamazaki and Naoko
  385.86 +weren't with us. They parted from us, looking for their own path.
  385.87 +
  385.88 +When the classes were over, she waited for him, he came for her and
  385.89 +they leave as usually they did. They greeted me as always they did.
  385.90 +Then I walked to my home alone as I always did.
  385.91 +
  385.92 +Life was showing my destiny, a destiny that suited me, alone.
  385.93 +
  385.94 +During that time she didn't call me at my house like the times she did
  385.95 +before, the calls were distant. In school, I was wishing to do
  385.96 +something for her. I asked her if she needed something many times. Her
  385.97 +response was the same:
  385.98 +
  385.99 +"No, I don't. Thank you."
 385.100 +
 385.101 +I asked her if she wanted to talk with me, but she said that she
 385.102 +didn't.
 385.103 +
 385.104 +I knew when I wasn't needed.
 385.105 +
 385.106 +I didn't press her to have a talk with me or need something. I just let
 385.107 +her go.
 385.108 +
 385.109 +I saw many times how she went to her new friends to ask something, need
 385.110 +something and how they agreed. She was happy with them. She and him
 385.111 +went with them to their dates. She was happy with him.
 385.112 +
 385.113 +When Valentine's Day came I made chocolates for her. I was hoping that
 385.114 +at least she would receive them. When I gave it to her, she thanked me
 385.115 +but she returned them to me. She said that I would give them to a boy,
 385.116 +because all girls do that, giving chocolates to a boy. I said that I
 385.117 +didn't have a boy and I would like to give them to her. But she said
 385.118 +that she wouldn't receive them, she said that when we're children it
 385.119 +was normal, but that now it was different. Because a girl that did that
 385.120 +it wasn't "normal".
 385.121 +
 385.122 +My heart broke again.
 385.123 +
 385.124 +She gave them to me and left. He was waiting for her and had a box of
 385.125 +them for her, they embraced and kissed. Once again I smiled.
 385.126 +
 385.127 +I left the place and when the class was over I went to my house. I left
 385.128 +them on the desk and I collapsed on my bed crying. The next day I
 385.129 +looked for her and said that I was sorry but I wanted to give it to her
 385.130 +because she was my best friend. She said that Valentine's Day is a day
 385.131 +for the ones who were in love, not friends. She asked if I saw someone
 385.132 +of the girls doing that. I said to her no, she said that I was the only
 385.133 +one who did that and her friends said to her that I wasn't normal. Then
 385.134 +she said that became a rumor through college. I asked her if she
 385.135 +believed it. Her response was simple:
 385.136 +
 385.137 +"Yes."
 385.138 +
 385.139 +I asked to her what she saw on me that could be considered "not
 385.140 +normal". She said that I was obsessed with her. I was in love with her,
 385.141 +I was worried about her, I wanted her to be happy, is that called
 385.142 +obsession?
 385.143 +
 385.144 +It seems that for others is, but not for me.
 385.145 +
 385.146 +For me it's to be in love with her.
 385.147 +
 385.148 +She said that her friends said that I'm different, I asked her what
 385.149 +they said.
 385.150 +
 385.151 +"They said that you're... a lesbian."
 385.152 +
 385.153 +Once again, I asked her if she believed it.
 385.154 +
 385.155 +"I don't want to believe that you..."
 385.156 +
 385.157 +"That I'm?" I asked her serious.
 385.158 +
 385.159 +"No, I don't want to believe..."
 385.160 +
 385.161 +Maybe a talk could help it...
 385.162 +
 385.163 +I extended my hand but she said:
 385.164 +
 385.165 +"Please... don't touch me, please don't look at me, you... scare me"
 385.166 +she said to me with tears in her eyes.
 385.167 +
 385.168 +Then I smiled to her and said:
 385.169 +
 385.170 +"You believe them, don't you? Please be honest" I said smiling.
 385.171 +
 385.172 +"At first no, but now it seems that yes" she said with tears.
 385.173 +
 385.174 +Before saying something, she said:
 385.175 +
 385.176 +"Please go, please go, please go... please" she said crying.
 385.177 +
 385.178 +I smiled with tears and then I left her alone but I said something:
 385.179 +
 385.180 +"I just want you to be happy , that's all"
 385.181 +
 385.182 +She didn't say anything and I left.
 385.183 +
 385.184 +The following week was harder.
 385.185 +
 385.186 +When I entered in the class, nobody greeted me. I heard them saying
 385.187 +that I was a freak, a lesbian, a error of nature. Nobody wanted to
 385.188 +speak me, to ask me something, and needing something... nothing from
 385.189 +me.
 385.190 +
 385.191 +She didn't talk to me, when I was looking for her she avoided her gaze,
 385.192 +she changed her seat. She went far from me. When the class was over, I
 385.193 +just went to my house. My mother was taking care of my little brother,
 385.194 +Kenji. He born when I was 13 years old. She saw me and left him and
 385.195 +came to me.
 385.196 +
 385.197 +She embraced me again and said:
 385.198 +
 385.199 +"Just let it out, let it out"
 385.200 +
 385.201 +Once again I cried.
 385.202 +
 385.203 +After that I went to my room and locked it, I went to my bookshelf, I
 385.204 +chose one of her videos. I put it on. It was one of her battles
 385.205 +against a Clow Card. I looked to my camera, I haven't used it for many
 385.206 +years, always I found something about her that I wanted to record.
 385.207 +Anything about her, I wanted to record.
 385.208 +
 385.209 +After that I looked to my sewing tools, I remember how much time I
 385.210 +spent making the costumes for her. I was happy to make costumes for
 385.211 +her, just saw her with my designs made me so happy. I did many things
 385.212 +for her. Time ago I heard that if someone did something they will get a
 385.213 +reward.
 385.214 +
 385.215 +Maybe what's happening to me is my reward for all I did.
 385.216 +
 385.217 +Then I went to my bed and I thought about making a decision about my
 385.218 +life. At the next day I talked with my mother about the decision. She
 385.219 +was surprised but she said if that was I really wanted she would accept
 385.220 +it.
 385.221 +
 385.222 +"Thank you, mother," I said with tears.
 385.223 +
 385.224 +After that my mother helped me with arranging things, after a few days
 385.225 +I made a bear for my brother. Then I knew that there was one thing left
 385.226 +to do.
 385.227 +
 385.228 +I dialed her number.
 385.229 +
 385.230 +"Hello, Kinomoto house."
 385.231 +
 385.232 +"Hi, Fujitaka-san. Is Sakura there?"
 385.233 +
 385.234 +"No, she went a date with her boyfriend. Do you need something?" he
 385.235 +asked.
 385.236 +
 385.237 +"Yes. Please could you tell her "Farewell" for me?" I asked.
 385.238 +
 385.239 +"Yes, but did something happen?" he asked worried.
 385.240 +
 385.241 +"No, but could you tell her "I won't interfere with your life anymore,
 385.242 +just be happy. It's the only thing I most desire," for me please?"
 385.243 +
 385.244 +"Yes," he said uncertainly.
 385.245 +
 385.246 +"Thanks for everything, Fujitaka-san. Send my regards to Touya-san and
 385.247 +Yukito-san" I said and hung up the phone.
 385.248 +
 385.249 +After that I went to see my brother, he was sleeping with the bear that
 385.250 +I made. I smiled and kissed him on the forehead.
 385.251 +
 385.252 +I left his room and picked my things. My mother was waiting for me.
 385.253 +
 385.254 +"It's almost time."
 385.255 +
 385.256 +"Yes."
 385.257 +
 385.258 +We picked a car and went to the airport.
 385.259 +
 385.260 +"Will you write me?"
 385.261 +
 385.262 +"Of course, I will be back someday. Don't worry about me, but I need to
 385.263 +do this. Take care of Kenji-kun, please," I said to her.
 385.264 +
 385.265 +"I will wait for that day" she said crying.
 385.266 +
 385.267 +"Me too," I said crying.
 385.268 +
 385.269 +We embraced tightly, then I picked my things and took my flight.
 385.270 +
 385.271 +A flight which will make me leave Japan and her.
 385.272 +
 385.273 +**********
 385.274 +
 385.275 +I traveled the entire world, it was easy because of the family's
 385.276 +fortune. My mother settled things about my studies and I didn't have to
 385.277 +worry about that. The trip was the last chance to start a new life
 385.278 +without her. The trip was about healing my broken heart.
 385.279 +
 385.280 +I never imagined how the outside world was. I went to many countries in
 385.281 +Europe, North America, South America. I learned many things from these
 385.282 +places.
 385.283 +
 385.284 +My mother sent me photos of Kenji and her. My brother was growing up
 385.285 +and he was cute. He asked about me many times, when I would return to
 385.286 +Japan. I would like to tell him the real reason of my departure but I
 385.287 +didn't want make him sad. My mother also asked me about my return, that
 385.288 +she missed me so much. I missed them so much, I knew that I would
 385.289 +return someday but I wasn't ready. I send them the things that I got in
 385.290 +the countries that I stayed, photos, gifts, anything of these places.
 385.291 +
 385.292 +I traveled the world for almost six years but as the time passed, I
 385.293 +felt empty...
 385.294 +
 385.295 +I missed her so much.
 385.296 +
 385.297 +During that time, I tried to break the bond to her, but I failed. I
 385.298 +looked for someone special but I didn't find anyone.
 385.299 +
 385.300 +Once again, life was showing my destiny, alone.
 385.301 +
 385.302 +Before heading to Japan I stayed for a time in Argentina. I met
 385.303 +someone, an old woman who tells the future. She said that I was wrong
 385.304 +about the reward. That the real reward will come from someone
 385.305 +unexpected. After that I left Argentina and went back to Japan.
 385.306 +
 385.307 +**********
 385.308 +
 385.309 +During the flight back, I read the letters my mother sent me, I was
 385.310 +surprised to see a letter from Eriol-san. We wrote some letters before
 385.311 +but curiously the letters were distant, sometimes I didn't receive
 385.312 +anything from him. I read the letter, he wrote that he finally began
 385.313 +with his life after choosing not to be a magician anymore. He was
 385.314 +studying to become a lawyer, that Nakuru-san was in couple with a man,
 385.315 +that Spinel was working on a TV program for kids. He wanted to know how
 385.316 +was everything in Tomoeda, but I wasn't in Tomoeda for almost six
 385.317 +years. After that he said that he was married with Kaho Mizuki-sensei
 385.318 +and she was waiting a child from him. He was excited and couldn't wait
 385.319 +to see his child. He asked if I got someone special. I would like to
 385.320 +say to him that I didn't.
 385.321 +
 385.322 +In this six years I realized that I can't love anyone but her...
 385.323 +
 385.324 +Soon I noticed I was in Japan. I left the airport and went directly to
 385.325 +my house.
 385.326 +
 385.327 +After a time I reached my house and I pressed the doorbell.
 385.328 +
 385.329 +"Who is it?" asked the voice through the receiver.
 385.330 +
 385.331 +"It's me, Sonomi's daughter, Tomoyo Daidouji" I said happily.
 385.332 +
 385.333 +The door opened and I entered. I waited for my mother to come out of
 385.334 +the house.
 385.335 +
 385.336 +She did, she was crying with joy.
 385.337 +
 385.338 +"You came, as you promised." she said crying.
 385.339 +
 385.340 +"Yes, I'm back. I never forgot the promises I made. I waited for this
 385.341 +day, mother," I said crying.
 385.342 +
 385.343 +We embraced crying.
 385.344 +
 385.345 +"Why you didn't tell me that you were returning? I would have gone to
 385.346 +the airport to pick you up," she said worried.
 385.347 +
 385.348 +"I wanted to give you a surprise mom," I simply said.
 385.349 +
 385.350 +"It's so good that you're here now, I just thought that you would never
 385.351 +return..." she said crying again.
 385.352 +
 385.353 +"I promised you that I would return to Japan, remember? I'm here" I
 385.354 +said.
 385.355 +
 385.356 +After that we entered the house, I saw Kenji with a beautiful girl of
 385.357 +his same age.
 385.358 +
 385.359 +"Tomoyo nee-san!!!"
 385.360 +
 385.361 +"Hi, Kenji onii-chan!!!" I said happily.
 385.362 +
 385.363 +He embraced me crying..
 385.364 +
 385.365 +"I missed you so much, nee-san" he said crying.
 385.366 +
 385.367 +"I missed you, too. You're a strong boy, onii-chan. And cute" I said
 385.368 +smiling.
 385.369 +
 385.370 +He blushed.
 385.371 +
 385.372 +"Will you leave again?" he asked.
 385.373 +
 385.374 +"No, I won't. I will stay with you, onii-chan. I will never leave you
 385.375 +alone, and mother too" I said.
 385.376 +
 385.377 +My mother was smiling.
 385.378 +
 385.379 +I was glad to stay here with my mother, my brother, with the people
 385.380 +that loved me...
 385.381 +
 385.382 +If only she could understand my true feelings...
 385.383 +
 385.384 +"You brought me something?" he asked happily.
 385.385 +
 385.386 +"Of course! I have many things for you, onii-chan. Who is this
 385.387 +beautiful girl?" I asked politely.
 385.388 +
 385.389 +"I'm Hinako, I'm pleased to meet you, Daidouji-san"
 385.390 +
 385.391 +"Just call me Tomoyo. You're really cute Hinako-chan."
 385.392 +
 385.393 +"Thanks, Tomoyo-san" she said blushing and bowed before me.
 385.394 +
 385.395 +I talked with them about the things that I did these six years. While I
 385.396 +was talking with them I noticed that Kenji-kun and Hinako-san were
 385.397 +holding hands, I smiled at the sight of that.
 385.398 +
 385.399 +They were talking about many things and my mother and me left them
 385.400 +alone. We entered in the kitchen and the maid prepared two cups of tea
 385.401 +for us. We went to my room for a talk.
 385.402 +
 385.403 +"Kenji onii-chan and Hinako-san are going out, mom?" I asked to her.
 385.404 +
 385.405 +"Yes, it seems for me, they didn't accept yet. But I saw the love
 385.406 +between them. I'm glad that he found someone special like her" she
 385.407 +said.
 385.408 +
 385.409 +"He will pass the Daidouji's name to his future sons and daughters. But
 385.410 +I'm not glad for this, I'm glad because he will not suffer as we
 385.411 +suffered all these years. If someday he's going to suffer, his pain
 385.412 +will be different from ours, he was born fated to follow a different
 385.413 +path that us" I said with a smile.
 385.414 +
 385.415 +"It's true, his path is different than ours" my mother said sadly.
 385.416 +
 385.417 +"Do you still love her, mother? Do you still love Nadeshiko-san?" I
 385.418 +asked her.
 385.419 +
 385.420 +"Yes, even I tried to break the bond to her, I didn't. It was my first
 385.421 +love, but it was unrequited. I continued with my life after she get
 385.422 +married, I found your father and married him. I loved your father, but
 385.423 +it wasn't the same that I still feel for Nadeshiko, she is still in my
 385.424 +heart," my mother said.
 385.425 +
 385.426 +I nodded at her.
 385.427 +
 385.428 +"And you? Do you still love Sakura?" she asked me.
 385.429 +
 385.430 +"Yes, it's my first love too. I thought that the trip would make me
 385.431 +forget about her, but I still love her. It seems that we can't break
 385.432 +that destiny. I believe that we can't control love, love controls us.
 385.433 +The first love is special but is more special when it's your first love
 385.434 +and your true love." I said sadly.
 385.435 +
 385.436 +"You thought about marriage, Tomoyo?" she asked.
 385.437 +
 385.438 +"Yes, I thought about that. But I decided that I will not marry.
 385.439 +Because I can't love anyone but her. Even I tried to letting go of her
 385.440 +but I failed, she is like a seed that is strongly implanted on my
 385.441 +heart. What would happen if I have a child, a daughter? She would fell
 385.442 +in love with her daughter, and then the same would repeat again. I
 385.443 +don't want that child suffer. I want to end this cycle that began with
 385.444 +you mother. It started with you, it will end with me." I said.
 385.445 +
 385.446 +"You're strong, Tomoyo" she said.
 385.447 +
 385.448 +"We're strong mom, you and me. We're strong because realizing that
 385.449 +you're in love with a person of your same sex and accepting it made us
 385.450 +strong, being rejected made us strong. Your unrequited love and mine
 385.451 +made us strong. Life made us strong for standing up when we fell. If my
 385.452 +destiny is to be alone, I will accept it then" I said.
 385.453 +
 385.454 +She embraced me.
 385.455 +
 385.456 +"Ah, I have some news of your friends," she said.
 385.457 +
 385.458 +"From whom?" I said.
 385.459 +
 385.460 +"From Chiharu-san, Yamazaki-san, Naoko-san and Rika-san" she said.
 385.461 +
 385.462 +"Really?!" I said happily
 385.463 +
 385.464 +My mother told me about their destiny. Yamazaki and Chiharu got married
 385.465 +and waiting a child. Naoko got a boyfriend. And Rika got married with
 385.466 +Terada-sensei. I knew that Rika and Terada were going out. She told me
 385.467 +before heading her own path, I was surprised but I whished her luck.
 385.468 +
 385.469 +After that, when it was almost midnight, I decided to take a walk. My
 385.470 +mother sent the bodyguards with me. After a time, I told them to leave
 385.471 +and I will call them when I was ready to leave. I walked to the King
 385.472 +Penguin Park, it seemed that nothing changed in these almost six years
 385.473 +of absence.
 385.474 +
 385.475 +I sat in one of the swings and looked to the stars, they were shining
 385.476 +and so was the moon. Then I heard something...
 385.477 +
 385.478 +"Last night, I dreamt that you returned to Tomoeda" said a voice.
 385.479 +
 385.480 +I froze at the sound of that.
 385.481 +
 385.482 +"We meet again" said the voice again.
 385.483 +
 385.484 +I had no doubt, it was her voice.
 385.485 +
 385.486 +I turned around to see her, and I found her. I saw something different,
 385.487 +she was different. She was smiling sadly, and a tear ran through her
 385.488 +cheek. Her hair was still short but a little longer, her eyes were so
 385.489 +different... they could tell a lot of emotions, but it seemed that they
 385.490 +showed... pain.
 385.491 +
 385.492 +I saw her sitting in another swing then I turned my head.
 385.493 +
 385.494 +"You traveled the entire world, didn't you?" she asked.
 385.495 +
 385.496 +"How did you know?" I asked surprised.
 385.497 +
 385.498 +"Because I did a lot of researching. I did anything to find where you
 385.499 +were" she said quietly.
 385.500 +
 385.501 +Before saying something, she said:
 385.502 +
 385.503 +"I broke with him" she said darkly.
 385.504 +
 385.505 +I was shocked to hear that, I believed that she and him would be
 385.506 +together forever. She chose him as her number one person, it couldn't
 385.507 +be.
 385.508 +
 385.509 +"Why did you break with him?" I asked surprised.
 385.510 +
 385.511 +"Because, in the end we didn't match. In the beginning all was right,
 385.512 +but as the time passed, we started to have fights. He was jealous of
 385.513 +any person that approached me. I tried to make him have trust in
 385.514 +others, but I failed. As we were growing we'd changed, he was different
 385.515 +as I was. After a some time, we decided to break the relationship and
 385.516 +he returned to Hong Kong." she said.
 385.517 +
 385.518 +"But you loved him..." I said.
 385.519 +
 385.520 +"Yes, I did. But not now. I learned one thing: a relationship, any
 385.521 +relationship must be built between the parts. I believed that I fell in
 385.522 +love with him, but I realized that only I had a crush on him. I waited
 385.523 +five years for him, but I never thought if I really loved him. I didn't
 385.524 +want to lose him because what Eriol told me, I didn't have any idea
 385.525 +that he loved me. I saw him as friend and didn't want to lose him, then
 385.526 +I realized that I was in love with him, but I never thought if they
 385.527 +were my real feelings. How could I be so blind? I was blind of love but
 385.528 +I never thought that we changed during these five years of waiting.
 385.529 +With the fights I started to wonder if I really loved him or didn't. In
 385.530 +the end I realized that I wasn't in love with him" she said.
 385.531 +
 385.532 +"I see..."
 385.533 +
 385.534 +"I broke with my friends too..." she said.
 385.535 +
 385.536 +"What?" I said.
 385.537 +
 385.538 +"Yes, I broke because I didn't want to be popular. Because I didn't
 385.539 +want to follow their advice anymore, because of that advice... I almost
 385.540 +lost you." she said.
 385.541 +
 385.542 +"I don't care about what will happen to me. Only seeing you happy it's
 385.543 +enough for me" I said.
 385.544 +
 385.545 +"I know that..." she said as she stood up and came to me.
 385.546 +
 385.547 +I looked at her, she was crying softly and smiling at me. I extended my
 385.548 +hand but I stopped.
 385.549 +
 385.550 +"What's happened?" she said quietly.
 385.551 +
 385.552 +"It's just... you said that you didn't want me touch you, remember?" I
 385.553 +said sadly.
 385.554 +
 385.555 +She took hold of my hand and laid it in her cheek.
 385.556 +
 385.557 +"I want you to touch me, to see me... I was so stupid saying that, I
 385.558 +almost destroyed our friendship. You were there when I needed
 385.559 +something, even you were there when I said that I didn't need
 385.560 +something. You were always worried for me. I'd changed in these almost
 385.561 +six years. I never hated you, just I couldn't understand that you were
 385.562 +in love with me..." she said.
 385.563 +
 385.564 +"How do you know that I'm in love with you, couldn't it be another
 385.565 +girl?" I asked her.
 385.566 +
 385.567 +"You said that you wanted your special person happy, didn't you? I
 385.568 +realized that I'm that person, for what you said and what father said
 385.569 +to me when you left Japan" she said.
 385.570 +
 385.571 +"Are you angry with me for loving you?" I asked her.
 385.572 +
 385.573 +"No..." she said and made me stand up.
 385.574 +
 385.575 +She embraced me, I tried not to embrace her but I failed. My arms went
 385.576 +around her and we embraced tightly. She rested her head in my shoulder.
 385.577 +
 385.578 +"Welcome back, Tomoyo-chan" she said crying softly.
 385.579 +
 385.580 +"Thanks, Sakura-chan" I said crying.
 385.581 +
 385.582 +*******
 385.583 +
 385.584 +I will never forget that day... when we met again.
 385.585 +
 385.586 +After that day, we did many things together as before. It was a restart
 385.587 +of our friendship, she was fine with me, even knowing that I still
 385.588 +loved her. One day she called asking me if I could go to her house. I
 385.589 +agreed and I went to her house, she was waiting for me. She said that
 385.590 +wanted me to go out with her. In other words, she wanted a date with
 385.591 +me. I was surprised, but she erased my doubts kissing me.
 385.592 +
 385.593 +From the day we met again until the day that she kissed me four years
 385.594 +passed. And two more years of going out.
 385.595 +
 385.596 +Without knowing it, we built a loving relationship between us.
 385.597 +
 385.598 +******
 385.599 +
 385.600 +I was looking to the stars in the sky when I felt her arms around my
 385.601 +waist.
 385.602 +
 385.603 +"What are you thinking Tomoyo-chan?" she said.
 385.604 +
 385.605 +"Remembering what happened between us all these years, from the first
 385.606 +day than I met you, eighteen years ago" I said still looking at the
 385.607 +stars.
 385.608 +
 385.609 +She turned my head and I was looking at her.
 385.610 +
 385.611 +"I never meant to hurt you, but I did. But I promise you that I will
 385.612 +never hurt you again. I don't know if I will be able to heal the pain I
 385.613 +caused you" she said sadly.
 385.614 +
 385.615 +"We have to live with pain, every person has a type of pain, and pain
 385.616 +will be present in every person of this world. Things would be
 385.617 +different if pain doesn't exist, but it does exist. But if two people
 385.618 +meet each other, they could be able to heal the pain they have." I
 385.619 +said.
 385.620 +
 385.621 +I caressed her hair, it was smooth.
 385.622 +
 385.623 +"I love you Tomoyo-chan. You're my true number one person" she said.
 385.624 +
 385.625 +"I love you too, Sakura-chan. You are always my number one person. I
 385.626 +don't mind my pain, because in the end I have you, and we will be able
 385.627 +to heal our pain" I said.
 385.628 +
 385.629 +"It's true" she said.
 385.630 +
 385.631 +We kissed each other and went to sleep.
 385.632 +
 385.633 +******
 385.634 +
 385.635 +I wake up and I look to her, she is sleeping nicely. Then I remember
 385.636 +what the old woman told me before, that the real reward will come from
 385.637 +someone unexpected. I never thought that Sakura-chan falling in love
 385.638 +with me would be the real reward for all I did. I just thought that I
 385.639 +would be alone for the rest of my life. But it seems that is not.
 385.640 +
 385.641 +"I love you, Sakura-chan" I whisper.
 385.642 +
 385.643 +"I know. I really love you too, Tomoyo-chan" she says opening her eyes.
 385.644 +
 385.645 +"Are you awake?" I ask smiling to her.
 385.646 +
 385.647 +"I was awake, I was only imitating that I was sleeping." she says
 385.648 +smiling.
 385.649 +
 385.650 +I smile to her.
 385.651 +
 385.652 +"Tomoyo-chan, I want to know one thing: Will you stay with me forever?"
 385.653 +she asks me.
 385.654 +
 385.655 +"Of course I will. You are my reason to live, I promise I will make you
 385.656 +happy" I say to her.
 385.657 +
 385.658 +"You know what? One thing will make me happy" she says.
 385.659 +
 385.660 +"What thing?" I ask.
 385.661 +
 385.662 +"You marrying me, someday" she says blushing.
 385.663 +
 385.664 +I open my eyes and I feel tears coming down my cheeks.
 385.665 +
 385.666 +"Are you serious?" I say crying.
 385.667 +
 385.668 +"Yes, I'm serious. But you don't have to give me an answer right now,
 385.669 +but until that day come; promise me that you will stay with me" she
 385.670 +says taking my head between her soft hands.
 385.671 +
 385.672 +"I promise, I promise" I say still crying.
 385.673 +
 385.674 +We kiss each other and leave the bed, we look to the stars.
 385.675 +
 385.676 +We embrace tightly knowing that there is a path in front of us that
 385.677 +will lead us to the happiness.
 385.678 +
 385.679 +"We will be together forever" she says happily.
 385.680 +
 385.681 +"I know..." I say.
 385.682 +
 385.683 +"I know we will be together forever..." I say before kissing her.
 385.684 +
 385.685 +
 385.686 +
 385.687 +
 385.688 +
 385.689 +Back to Card Captor Sakura Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction

   386.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   386.2 +++ b/stories/mgs3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   386.3 @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
   386.4 +"You Never Can Tell With Bees"
   386.5 +
   386.6 +By Amazoness Duo
   386.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   386.8 +
   386.9 +A little back-story of MGS3. It centers around a government operative named Kaitlynn Lanford, a member of a covert missions group named Watchdog. Their supposed to stop problems before they have a chance to get out of hand. Anyway, she had been dating her equipment specialist, Ming Pha, and they had been rather close. THis was awkward for Kaitlynn because she wasn't easy to get close to. Nevertheless, things continued onward and they continued to grow closer. But another government agency somehow set their sights on Kaitlynn and attacked her family. An agent with psychic powers infiltrated her family during a Christmas get together and got ahold of Ming Pha. He used her as bait and injured Ming Pha to get Kaitlynn to tell him what he wanted to know. Kaitlynn finally got him to leave but Ming Pha had been fatally wounded. She died at the hospital a short time later. Kaitlynn is having more and more difficulty reconciling what she has done and now she has nothing left to live for. Her family is dead and the woman she loved has been killed because of her profession. So she pours herself into her job, taking more risks as she cares less and less about what happens to her. Her current mission has taken her to Hong Kong to assassinate Solid Snake during a robotics conference that he and Dr. Hal Emmerich will be attending (Hal & Dave!! ^-^). But once in Hong Kong, someone meets her at the airport. Someone who looks remarkably familiar. Ming Pha's 15 year old sister, Hao Minh, meets up with Kaitlynn saying only that she recieved a phone call from her dead sister to come and meet her. Kaitlynn is immediately suspicious, but the eager Chinese girl doesn't seem at all flustered by the agent's threats or even holding a gun to her head. Giving up, Kaitlynn lets the younger girl follow along. She goes to Ming Pha's mother and tries to explain things but her mother blames Kaitlynn for Ming Pha's early death. Unable to convince her otherwise, Kaitlynn goes back to her hotel room. There she recieves an odd phone call from Ming Pha. The dead woman hints at something more happening but refuses to say much more than she thought Kaitlynn meeting up with her sister may be able to help the both of them. Kaitlynn is haunted by more and more images of Ming Pha. She seems to show up everywhere, in the mirror, in little things written into the water droplets in the shower, everywhere. But she continues to focus on her mission. She goes and speeks with Hal Emmerich at the robotics convention and manages to convince him to meet with her at a restaurant a short time later. She takes Hao Minh with her after a lot of whining on the younger woman's part and they head off. WHile there, they are attacked by a mysterious cyborg ninja. Snake shows up and helps to fend off the ninja, but not before she can chase them through the crowded streets of Hong Kong. Hao Minh seems out of it and quite possibly the ninja's target. Kaitlynn decides it isn't safe to leave Hao Minh at home and takes her back to her hotel room. The younger woman is a bit embarrassed, knowing that Kaitlynn had been dating her older sister, but she goes along with her. Later that night, Kaitlynn watches Hao Minh as she sleeps, remembering Ming Pha in the younger girl. She goes to take a shower but finds the water cold and droplets already on the shower. Ming Pha used to get up before her and use all of the hot water. She grapples with her own feelings over the other woman's death for a moment before seeing something behind her in the mirror. At first she thinks it's Ming Pha watching her, but when she turns around she discovers the ninja has returned. Armed with only a towel, she's in no position to fend off the ninja. But it seems that the ninja has no wish to fight her at the moment. She explains that Ming Pha was not killed on accident, that the whole purpose of the hit on Kaitlynn had been specifically to kill Ming Pha. Apparently, Ming Pha knows something that she shouldn't and she was killed for that. The ninja wants to know what she was killed for so upon hearing that Hao Minh had heard from her dead sister she had gone immediately to Hong Kong. Leaving Kaitlynn with a scar, the ninja says that they will meet again and that one of them will die. With that, the ninja fades away. Kaitlynn hurries out to make sure that Hao Minh is okay and is relieved to see that she's still all right. She gets another call from Ming Pha, but the dead woman refuses to explain what's going on or what she knew. Frustrated, Kaitlynn is ordered to the robotics convention the next day. Once again, Hao Minh accompanies her. She leaves the younger girl with Nastasha Romeneko in the lady's room when she sees a sniper lining up a shot on Hal Emmerich during his anti-Metal Gear speech. She manages to stop the sniper, but as she takes him through the back to speek with him, a strange man in a trenchcoat passes. The sniper drops lifeless to the floor after electricity passes through him. Kaitlynn confronts the strange man only to find that he's apparently part of the Neo Foxhound group that she was sent to uncover. She fires at him again and again, but all of the bullets hit into his electrical field. But before he can attack Kaitlynn, the ninja returns and holds him off as Kaitlynn escapes with Hao Minh. Waiting in a car outside, Snake, Hal, and Jack drive off to the hotel suite that Hal and Dave have been sharing. Kaitlynn lays a still shaken Hao Minh down and rests beside her. They talk for a bit about what might be happening before Hao Minh tentatively kisses Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn returns the kiss, through she feels guilty of betraying Ming Pha. 
  386.10 +
  386.11 +Okay, now that's about where we left off in the RPG. ^-^ Kaitlynn is the player, so I'm not responsible for any of her actions up till now. ^^ You can blame everyone else on me. ^-^ Anyway, here we go. ^-^
  386.12 +
  386.13 +Kaitlynn sighed to herself as she made her way through the busy streets of Hong Kong. She had just woken up less than twenty minutes ago to find Hao Minh had gone missing. She finally has a new hotel room and the Chinese girl had to up and disappear. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do about her. How was she supposed to protect Hao Minh when she hadn't even been able to protect her sister? That thought had plagued her from the very moment she had met the younger woman. Why did Ming Pha send her younger sister to her? What if she couldn't protect her the same as she hadn't been able to protect her sister? This whole scenario had her on the edge. She was doubting herself at every corner, second guessing herself at ever impasse. She was starting to wonder if there was anything she could do to keep death from claiming Hao Minh. 
  386.14 +
  386.15 +Kaitlynn glared at an older man as she pushed past him. He obviously hadn't been looking where he was going and she was in no mood to deal with him. Smiling politely, the old man apologized profusely. Sighing, Kaitlynn let herself fade into the crowd. She couldn't even get out any of her pent up frustration. She felt like she was barely balancing up above the streets and that any sudden gust of wind would send her sprawling to the streets below. How was she supposed to hold on? What was she supposed to hold on for? Her family was gone, her girlfriend killed by the same government that she herself worked for. So what was she hoping to uncover by remaining? It wasn't like she could stop any government conspiracy by herself. WHo was she compared to the Patriots? Hao Minh was already in danger because of her. How could she ever forgive herself if both sisters died while she was unable to protect them? 
  386.16 +
  386.17 +A familiar face caught her eye in the sea of people. The blonde woman agilely moved through the crowds, trying desperately to reach the younger girl. But try as she might, Kaitlynn couldn't cut the distance between herself and her target. Her green eyes never left Hao Minh as she continued to make her way past the throng of busy people as if they weren't there at all. 
  386.18 +
  386.19 +Conscious thought was a thing of the past for Kaitlynn. She was in her element. She was prowling the streets, stalking her prey like some silent panther. Eyes glinting, she followed the gentle Chinese girl, everything else fading into the background. She was aware of every tiny detail, but at the same time she was aware of nothing but the younger woman dead center in her vision. Part of her was relieved to have this chance to lose herself. The rest was too intent to notice. This was exactly what she had been trained for, what she had been bred for. Like an experienced predator, she moved almost exclusively in the shadows. But even with all of her years of experience, all of the time she had spent honing her skills to a razor's edge, she could not close the gap between herself and the younger woman. She knew it couldn't be the crowd that was the reason. Throngs of people had never been much of a problem for her before. She had assasinated people on busy streets often enough to know her way through the currents of people. Panic wasn't something she allowed herself the luxury of, but concern did begin to creep through her icy demeanor. Just what was going on?
  386.20 +
  386.21 +A sudden trill in Kaitlynn's ear forced her mind to return to the here and now, but her eyes never left the seemingly unconcerned Chinese girl. "Raven," she answered quietly as she stalked the girl she had promised to protect. 
  386.22 +
  386.23 +"Kaitlynn," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. It was one that she remembered often, one that spoke with the quiet intensity of the only person who had known her well, and even then for an all too brief amount of time. 
  386.24 +
  386.25 +"Ming Pha," Kaitlynn whispered, keeping a tight grasp on the clarity of mind that years of training had imparted upon her. Ducking past a few men on bikes, she hurried to the other side of the street, but by then Hao Minh had already made her way towards the bridge. Raindrops began to spatter down below from a dark and angry sky. Thunder sounded in the distance, low and rumbling. 
  386.26 +
  386.27 +"Kaitlynn, my sister is here with me," Ming Pha whispered. It sounded like she was thousands of miles away, but Kaitlynn heard her clearly. The codec got a burst of static that sounded like hundreds of voices before it became clear again. Ming Pha sounded calm, as if she were simply trying to explain something that Kaitlynn couldn't understand. But there was something urgent in her voice, like a warning from beyond the grave. 
  386.28 +
  386.29 +Hurrying after the younger Chinese girl, the blonde frowned to herself. She still wasn't even sure if it really was Ming Pha that was contacting her. It could easily be someone faking it to get to her. But for some reason, Kaitlynn couldn't bring herself to completely believe that. It -felt- like Ming Pha. The chords in her heart felt like they were being struck the same way as when Ming Pha had been there with her. "What do you mean?"
  386.30 +
  386.31 +"My sister is here with me. She got here a few days ago. She never met you, Kaitlynn." There was a long pause as she waited for this to sink in. A soft giggle filtered over the Codec. She had always found it amusing when the blonde refused to listen to her. It was something that frustrated most people, but she just took it in stride. "Hao Minh is here with me, Kaitlynn. I've been talking with her. I feel a little bad because she was so young, but I think she's better off here. It's a lot safer for her. Especially because of me. Of course, that's how she ended up here so early."
  386.32 +
  386.33 +Kaitlynn nearly froze at her dead lover's words. She had met Hao Minh after her plane had landed in Hong Kong. She had grown close to the younger Chinese girl in the past few days. There had been a beauty in her soul that had captivated the blonde women, had driven her to try and protect the younger woman. So how could Hao Minh be with Ming Pha? Ming Pha was... dead...
  386.34 +
  386.35 +A scream from up ahead shattered Kaitlynn's thoughts like a brick through a plate of glass. "Hao Minh!" She recognized the voice instantly. Her eyes darted ahead to see the younger woman being hefted in the air by a barely visible phantom. "Stealth.. Damn it!" Pulling out her gun, the agent forced her way through the crowd, ignoring the lash of the wind and the rain against her as she made her way up and over a car. Her mind immediately ran through a list of possibilities and stopped on the least palatable of them all. "The ninja..." Of course that was the mostly likely. The ninja had told her that she was after Hao Minh because Ming Pha had contacted her. But if Hao Minh was with Ming Pha... Forcing the thoughts away, the blond operative took chase after Hao Minh and the ninja. Rain tried to force her back, wet bangs sliding into her eyes seconds before headlights whipped in front of her. Cars zipped past as the storm picked up. She could barely keep her eye on the girl being dragged through traffic. Muscles tensing like an athletic runner, the blonde bolted through the rain, barely missing getting sideswiped by several cars as she hurried forward. "Hao Minh!!" she yelled above the rising storm. But even with the added weight of the Chinese girl, Kaitlynn couldn't seem to catch up with the ninja and her prize. Defeat began to gnaw at her heart, but she forced it back down, refusing to accept it. 
  386.36 +
  386.37 +Two cars skid to a halt in front of the barely visible ninja, spraying water as they ground to a halt. Men popped out of the cars in a swift, military fashion, training all of their guns on the dim visage of the ninja. 
  386.38 +
  386.39 +Kaitlynn paused in the rain, wiping the rain drops from her eyes like bitter teardrops, her eyes remaining on the Chinese girl. Her heart began to pound in her chest with all the power of the storm around her. There was no way she could reach Hao Minh in time. And the men seemed to be pointing their guns at her rather than the ninja. "Hao Minh!!" she screamed into the howling wind. 
  386.40 +
  386.41 +Seemingly hearing the blonde's voice, Hao Minh turned and met Kaitlynn's eyes. Hao Minh's usual vibrant brown eyes now looked impossibly deep and sorrowful, as if they had forever been lost to the darkness. Turning back to the men, the ninja disappeared, leaving Hao Minh alone in front of the wide assortment of guns. Rain whipped past her, drenching the young girl as thoroughly as if she had fallen into the sea below. 
  386.42 +
  386.43 +One of the men stepped forward, either not noticing or not caring about the rain. His gun remained trained on Hao Minh, his hand tensed and ready to end the young life ahead of him. "The game's over. You've lost. Now come with us."
  386.44 +
  386.45 +Hao Minh's head drooped visibly, her hands held tightly to her chest. The men didn't give an inch, all of them continuing their silent vigil as they kept her in their sights. "Must we always live a lie?" Her quiet voice asked the desolate wind. It didn't hold the same energy that Kaitlynn was used to hearing. Instead it was laced with a deep sadness that seemed to wrap itself around Hao Minh's soul. The younger girl looked up suddenly, her whole demeanor changing in seconds. Now there was something quietly imposing about her, something almost frightening. "You can't kill me." The men took this as their signal, fanning out around the fifteen year old. Hao Minh hardly seemed to take notice of the men as they encirlced her. 
  386.46 +
  386.47 +Lighting struck somewhere nearby, it's brilliant blue lighting the bridge. When the bolt faded, the man in front of Hao Minh lay dead. Kaitlynn watched in surprise, her eyes darting back and forth for the Chinese girl. An object in the air caught the blonde's attention. To her surprise, Hao Minh's small form had leapt into the air. It came down with sudden ferocity, breaking a second man's neck with her weight. Before he hit the ground, she had his gun. The other men fired back quickly, but they seemed no match for this little tigress. She moved with a lethal grace that defied belief. Like some sort of fatal dance, she continued forward amidst the hail of bullets, taking out the remaining men with an almost beautiful ferociousness.
  386.48 +
  386.49 +Standing in the middle of the bodies, Hao Minh stood motionless. The gun slowly slipped from her fingers, clattering silently to the street underneath her. Rain continued to pour down over her, but she took no notice. Her tears mixed with the rain as she stood amongst the broken and discarded men. 
  386.50 +
  386.51 +"Hao Minh?" Kaitlynn cautously approached the younger girl, her hands clutching the handle of her gun like a rope being held out to her. In all of her years as an agent of Watchdog, she had never seen anything like that. Her mind clicked and whirred as she remembered that grace from somewhere before. The scar on her thigh burned in rememberence. "You're the ninja..." It didn't make sense at first. She had seen the ninja chasing after Hao Minh. But it was the same fluid dance of death. Her heart felt frigid at the thought. She had been protecting this girl but it seemed that she didn't need her help at all. 
  386.52 +
  386.53 +The Codec beeped several times before Kaitlynn could bring herself to answer it. Her eyes remained on Hao Minh, her gun raised. "Raven."
  386.54 +
  386.55 +"Raven, this is Otacon. Snake thought I should tell you about this. He checked out the Chang house." The scientist sighed deeply, obviously not wanting to continue. Pushing up his glasses to steel himself, he spoke up. "It's Hao Minh. Snake found her body in the family garden. She's been buried there for a few days. The best we can tell is that it was around the time you got here. Raven, the girl you've been with isn't Hao Minh Chang. You need to get away from her. She has to be an imposter. Hao Minh's throat was slit by some sharp edged weapon."
  386.56 +
  386.57 +Kaitlynn couldn't respond. SHe merely watched the sobbing form of the girl that she had known as Hao Minh in front of her. Without a word, she switched off her Codec. With shaking hands, she circled the crying teenager. "Who the hell are you?" So she hadn't been able to protect Hao Minh after all. The girl had been killed before she had even reached Hong Kong. Forcing her gun against the sobbing Chinese girl's head, Kaitlynn felt anger and regret drowning her soul. "Just who the fuck are you?!"
  386.58 +
  386.59 +"I don't know... I don't know..." The Chinese girl whimpered, tears spilling down her cheeks. She sniffled weakly as she looked towards Kaitlynn with her deep brown eyes. "I told you... I'm like you. I have no name." Her hands rested on her chest, her clothes stuck to her body from the water thoroughly drenching them. 
  386.60 +
  386.61 +"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kaitlynn spat out angrily, forcing the gun tighter against the girl's head. "You killed her. You killed Hao Minh. I thought you were her this whole time, you murderer."
  386.62 +
  386.63 +The girl broke down into tears again, clutching her hands together tighter. "I'm sorry... I have to know... I have to know who I am. I told you the truth about why I'm here. Ming Pha knew who I was. She designed the ninja armor I wear. She knew. But they killed her before I could find out. Everybody wants to use me. They all want to use me like a gun. But I'm not! I'm not just a gun. I'm not a weapon. I just want to know who I am. I found out she had contacted Hao Minh but she wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't tell me what her sister told her. So I thought..." she began to sniffle harder, rubbing her eyes. "I thought that you could tell me... I thought Ming Pha might have told you..."
  386.64 +
  386.65 +Forcing the younger girl forward, Kaitlynn felt an odd mix of sympathy and raw hatred welling up inside of her, coating her heart. "So you fucking killed her? You killed her so you could get to me, is that it?" The anger won out as the sobbing girl nodded weakly. The blonde's finger tensed on the trigger, waiting for the slightest provocation. "I'm tired of being the reason that everyone gets killed. I'm tired of being a death sentence to everyone who knows me."
  386.66 +
  386.67 +"I'm tired of everyone trying to use me like a weapon. But that's all I am to everyone, a gun to be pointed in the right direction. I just want to know why," the girl wept miserably. With a motion quicker than the flashes of lightening painting the sky, the girl known as Hao Minh snatched the gun from Kaitlynn's hand, sending it careening into the shadows. The younger girl turned with the grace of a dancer, easily stepping away from the blonde agent and towards the shadows. "I told you the truth earlier. I really do have feelings for you. Spending time with you was the happiest time I can remember. I didn't want it to end. But I need to know who I am." She paused, wiping tears from her eyes as she continued to step back towards the shadows. "I think you and I are the same. People point us towards their enemies and wait for us to kill them. We're nothing more than guns. But I need to know why. Why do I kill? Why am I here? Maybe you can't tell me that. But I'm going to find out." And with that, the younger girl leapt backwards over the edge of the bridge. 
  386.68 +
  386.69 +Kaitlynn rushed forward, straining her eyes in the storm. The rain continued to pound into the waves below, but there was no sign at all of the woman who had leapt off the side. Had she leapt to her death? Had she given up her foolish quest? "We're not the same," the blonde whispered, though for who's benefit, she wasn't sure. "We're not. I'm not a gun. I'm not." 
  386.70 \ No newline at end of file

   387.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   387.2 +++ b/stories/mgsrain.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   387.3 @@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
   387.4 +Author’s note: Hello! ^-^ This is a very short fanfic based off of
   387.5 +the Metal Gear Solid series of videogames. Solid Snake’s real name is
   387.6 +David, as he tells Otacon in the Otacon ending of MGS which I thought
   387.7 +was much more emotional than the Meryl anding. And, of course,
   387.8 +Otacon’s real name is Hal. Anyway, I hope this goes well. ^-^ As
   387.9 +always, I love to hear what you think. ^-^ Thanks for reading!
  387.10 +
  387.11 +
  387.12 +Rain
  387.13 +by the Amazoness Duo
  387.14 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  387.15 +
  387.16 +
  387.17 +	Rain. Pouring in sheets from the sky as if the heavens themselves
  387.18 +were in mourning. I can hear the staccato beat outside, thundering
  387.19 +against the windows. My eyes keep telling me that there’s something
  387.20 +out there, something in the darkness. I can almost see figures out in
  387.21 +the rain. Almost, but not quite. ‘You’re being paranoid,’ Hal would
  387.22 +tell me. And he’d probably be right. It certainly wouldn’t be the
  387.23 +first time. Which is why he’s still sleeping soundly right now and
  387.24 +I’m stalking the kitchen. Couldn’t sleep anyway. Not on nights like
  387.25 +this. The whole atmosphere is just too unsettling. Surrounded by the
  387.26 +rain, by the feverish storm. Liquid. 
  387.27 +	Gazing out the window again, I strain my eyes to see through the
  387.28 +cascading water over the glass. I still can’t see make anything out
  387.29 +besides blurry shapes. I know there isn’t anything there, but in the
  387.30 +darkness, I see them. Meryl, Fox, Natasha, Wolf, Olga... I can see
  387.31 +Big Boss waiting out there, beckoning me. I even see Liquid. He’s
  387.32 +staring back at me intently. My bleary eyes blink insistently, trying
  387.33 +to force the image into clarity. I can see him just inches from me. I
  387.34 +freeze, shock filtering through my system. It takes a moment to
  387.35 +realize it’s my own reflection. Even then, I can’t find the will to
  387.36 +relax. I know he’s out there somewhere. My own personal demon. And
  387.37 +why is that? Simply because he’s my mirror image? Some twisted,
  387.38 +distorted version? Or is it that we’re more alike than I would care
  387.39 +to admit? 
  387.40 +	Taking another sip of coffee, I continue my silent vigil, staring
  387.41 +out the window at the surreal images that great me. I should be back
  387.42 +in bed. Hal will worry if I’m not there when he wakes up. Especially
  387.43 +if he has another one of those nightmares about his sister. But I
  387.44 +can’t tear myself away yet. I can’t work up the will to make my way
  387.45 +back to the bedroom, to force out these thoughts. 
  387.46 +	Solid Snake. The living legend. The man who makes the impossible
  387.47 +possible. I’ve been called all of this and more. But the legend is
  387.48 +nothing more than a man. No less frail, no less human. Legends are
  387.49 +usually bad news anyway. Just look to Big Boss to see that. The
  387.50 +Legendary Soldier. And how many had to die because of him? But then,
  387.51 +how many have had to die because of me? Raven’s words come back to
  387.52 +haunt me. ‘Your path is paved with the corpses of your enemies,’ he
  387.53 +had told me. Not just my enemies, Raven. How many others have had to
  387.54 +die for me? Shneider, Fox, Meryl, Master Miller, Emma... It seems
  387.55 +like someone around me always winds up getting killed. Just like with
  387.56 +Foxdie. Only they don’t need to be programmed into it in order to
  387.57 +die. They just have to know me. 
  387.58 +I take another swig of my coffee and immediately wish it was
  387.59 +something stronger. Too bad Hal doesn’t keep alcohol around the
  387.60 +house. I’ve been trying to kick the habit since I left Alaska, but
  387.61 +nights like tonight make me wish there was something around here to
  387.62 +drink. Not a good time to be sober, that’s for sure. I’d scrounge
  387.63 +around in the refrigerator for something, but I’m not in the mood.
  387.64 +Which reminds me that I need to go shopping tomorrow. Hal’s busy
  387.65 +looking up some things for Philanthropy, our anti-Metal Gear
  387.66 +organization, so I’m going to be stuck grocery shopping again. Now if
  387.67 +only there were pictures of me shopping out there then this whole
  387.68 +‘legendary’ Solid Snake thing would die. I’m not a legend. I’m not a
  387.69 +hero. I’m just a man. Like Fox told me, I fight for what I believe
  387.70 +in. But so do the people I run up against. What makes me any better
  387.71 +than them? I fight for what I believe in, but so did Liquid Snake,
  387.72 +Big Boss, and Gray Fox. There isn’t such a thing as good or evil.
  387.73 +Just conflicting sides and opposing forces. Most people don’t
  387.74 +understand that. They want heroes and villains. They want legends and
  387.75 +myths. So they’ll take them from anything they can. Just look how
  387.76 +easily I was made into a villain. The Patriots didn’t want me to be
  387.77 +the hero of Shadow Moses so they made me look like some madman that
  387.78 +would sink a tanker. Let people believe what they will. It didn’t
  387.79 +really bother me. At least it got rid of that whole legend thing for
  387.80 +a while. 
  387.81 +Lighting a cigarette, I lean forward in a chair near the windows,
  387.82 +watching the streaks of thunder through the blurred glass. Sometimes
  387.83 +I wonder how much longer I can go on. How much further can I go? I
  387.84 +still have so much I need to do, but I don’t know if I can keep going
  387.85 +long enough to finish it all. I still hear his words, even after all
  387.86 +this time. ‘The loser is freed of the battlefield while the winner
  387.87 +remains trapped here until his own death,’ Big Boss had said when I
  387.88 +faced him for the last time. I’m still held captive by war, by the
  387.89 +battlefield. I still find myself drawn back time and again. I can’t
  387.90 +escape it. He was right in that sense. It’s my own personal
  387.91 +nightmare. And sometimes I don’t think I can go on. I don’t think I
  387.92 +can take the endless battles, the never-ending war. Is death my only
  387.93 +escape? Is that my only way off the battlefield? Will it be Foxdie or
  387.94 +Metal Gear that finally does me in? There’s almost a sense of relief
  387.95 +with death. The knowledge that somehow I can escape all of this is
  387.96 +eerily soothing. Just as Big Boss and Grey Fox escaped the horrors of
  387.97 +war, one day I’ll be able to as well. 
  387.98 +But not yet. Still too much to do. Besides, I don’t think Hal needs
  387.99 +that right now. I couldn’t leave him alone like that. But the
 387.100 +knowledge that he is so close to me worries me. Everyone else who
 387.101 +gets close to me seems to wind up dead. I keep thinking I’ll come
 387.102 +home to find the house in ruins and Hal dead in our room, that I’ll
 387.103 +hear Liquid’s voice behind me, telling me that it was my fault for
 387.104 +growing close to him. Maybe it is paranoia. But I don’t want anything
 387.105 +to happen to him. 
 387.106 +I’d have a hard time admitting this to Hal, but he’s helped heal a
 387.107 +lot of the wounds I’ve had for a long time now. Before I met him, I
 387.108 +was up in Alaska with a bunch of sled dogs drinking too much. I was
 387.109 +trying to get away from it all. I’d been diagnosed with Post-
 387.110 +Traumatic Stress Disorder after the mission to Zanzibarland and I had
 387.111 +tried to hide from my problems. But somehow I got forced into yet
 387.112 +another mission. Shadow Moses. When I first met Hal there, the naïve
 387.113 +genius behind Metal Gear Rex, I was pissed off that he could have
 387.114 +resurrected Metal Gear. The introverted, awkward guy was so...
 387.115 +bizarre. He was shy, scared. I didn’t want to have to worry about
 387.116 +him. But he kept helping me, even up to the bitter end. That
 387.117 +impressed me. He wasn’t about to run. He took responsibility for
 387.118 +Metal Gear and he helped me handle the whole thing. Even moreso than
 387.119 +Meryl, I actually felt connected to him, that we were both dealing
 387.120 +with a lot of the same things. I was surprised when he came all the
 387.121 +way to find me while Liquid was hunting for me in the Hind chopper
 387.122 +just to ask me if love could bloom on a battlefield. I told him it
 387.123 +could bloom anywhere, but that you had to be able to protect the
 387.124 +person. I’d assumed he meant Sniper Wolf at the time, but sometimes I
 387.125 +really wonder about that. Later, when Meryl died, I gave up hope. I
 387.126 +didn’t know what to do anymore or if I could go on. But Hal helped me
 387.127 +through that. He gave me the strength to keep living. If it weren’t
 387.128 +for him, I would certainly be dead right now. I had no fight left in
 387.129 +me. But Hal gave me a reason to live. After that, we left Shadow
 387.130 +Moses far behind us to start a new life. Together. 
 387.131 +Sure, it’s a little bizarre at times. But it’s nice. A lot more
 387.132 +relaxing than when I was living up in Alaska. We’ve got a nice house
 387.133 +out in the suburbs and for the most part we’re just your typical
 387.134 +couple. Well, maybe not that typical. We started Philanthropy as a
 387.135 +way of stopping the proliferation of Metal Gear throughout the world.
 387.136 +He’s the brains of the outfit and I get suckered into going out and
 387.137 +handling the missions. But otherwise things are pretty relaxed around
 387.138 +here. Hal even wants to adopt. I can’t imagine being a father. I
 387.139 +don’t even want to think about that. But Otacon seems pretty intent
 387.140 +on the idea. Hopefully he’ll forget about it soon. Otherwise I’ll
 387.141 +probably get stuck raising Olga’s child when I finally find her.
 387.142 +Great. Raiden can give me tips on being a father. That’s the last
 387.143 +thing I need. 
 387.144 +“Dave? What’s wrong with you? You know you aren’t supposed to smoke
 387.145 +in the house,” Hal says as he pads downstairs in his boxers and a
 387.146 +robe. His hair’s frizzled and out of place, his glasses hanging off
 387.147 +the end of his nose. He looks like how I remember him back during
 387.148 +Shadow Moses. It’s nice to know some things don’t change. Yawning, he
 387.149 +opens the refrigerator door to get something to drink and shivers.
 387.150 +“We’re out of milk? Again?”
 387.151 +“Yep. I’m going to get some tomorrow,” I reply, contemplating the
 387.152 +cigarette. “I need to get Jack and Rose a wedding present, too. I’ll
 387.153 +try to find something while I’m out.” I mash the cigarette out,
 387.154 +looking back towards Hal, grinning at the look he gives me as he
 387.155 +leans against the refrigerator. Raiden’s wedding invitation came in
 387.156 +the mail a while back. I still don’t know why he sent it. Hal insists
 387.157 +that we go, especially after how I treated Raiden during the whole
 387.158 +Big Shell thing. Of course, I did ask who’d be wearing the dress when
 387.159 +I called to confirm later. It’s not my fault Jack looks so gender
 387.160 +ambiguous and Rose wears pantsuits. Hell, even the President groped
 387.161 +Jack back on Big Shell, so it’s not like I’m the only one that thinks
 387.162 +he looks like a girl.
 387.163 +“Knowing you, it would probably be a Socom or a bandanna or
 387.164 +something.” Hal shakes his head, his arms crossed. “I’ll go with you
 387.165 +to get the wedding gift. I’m sure we can find something nice for
 387.166 +them. Besides, we still need to rent some tuxes while we’re at it.”
 387.167 +I wince at his words. “Those things are worse than the sneak suits I
 387.168 +get stuck wearing. I don’t know how you’re supposed to move in those
 387.169 +damn things.”
 387.170 +“Oh, they’re not that bad. You look good in a tux, Dave. You won’t
 387.171 +have to move much anyway,” Hal reasons, tilting his head to the side.
 387.172 +His glasses shift a bit more, glinting in the dim light. My little
 387.173 +angel of mercy, Dr. Hal Emmerich. The only one who can occasionally
 387.174 +save me from my own thoughts. I’m glad he decided to intrude, even if
 387.175 +I’m usually better about catching his entrance. I must really be out
 387.176 +of it.
 387.177 +I sigh in defeat, leaning back in the chair. It tilts slightly as I
 387.178 +stare up at the roof. “At least I’ll know which one of the penguins
 387.179 +there is you.” 
 387.180 +“Oh? And how’s that? My charming good looks?” Otacon asks curiously,
 387.181 +raising an eyebrow. 
 387.182 +“I’ll just watch how you walk. You see, you have this incredibly
 387.183 +cute way of walking. And you’ve got a great butt. I’m sure I’ll be
 387.184 +able to pick you out of a crowd,” I reply casually, shrugging off his
 387.185 +earlier statement. I remember saying something similar back during
 387.186 +Shadow Moses, but of course that was a completely different
 387.187 +discussion. Not that Hal doesn’t have his own cute way of walking.
 387.188 +It’s just more subtle. 
 387.189 +“Are you sure you aren’t talking about Meryl?” he asks, pushing up
 387.190 +his glasses. I watch him for a moment in the moonlight. 
 387.191 +“Yep. I’m sure. I don’t forget these things.” We both laugh a bit,
 387.192 +the only sound other than the rain. It feels good to laugh, to forget
 387.193 +about what worried me earlier. 
 387.194 +“Well, if that’s the case, why don’t you come back to bed? Maybe
 387.195 +I’ll let you strip search me,” Hal says as he begins for the stairs,
 387.196 +smiling back over his shoulder. I groan at his impersonation of
 387.197 +Naomi. He simply laughs. “Don’t forget to bring your bandanna.”
 387.198 +I take another look back at the rain pelted window. The phantoms
 387.199 +waiting for me out in the rain are gone. I know they’ll be back, but
 387.200 +for now they have gone back to their resting places. They have their
 387.201 +peace. And for now, so do I. 

   388.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   388.2 +++ b/stories/mint.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   388.3 @@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
   388.4 +This story is based on the wonderful game by Squaresoft known as Dewprism, 
   388.5 +or as it was renamed here, Threads of Fate. This takes place right at the ending. 
   388.6 +
   388.7 +Relic of My Heart 
   388.8 +by Amazoness Duo
   388.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  388.10 +
  388.11 +
  388.12 +	Rolling over in bed, I try to keep myself from sinking back into the 
  388.13 +depression I’ve been trying to fight my way out of for the past few days. It’s 
  388.14 +gone. The Dewprism is gone. And with it, all that I had strove for was now 
  388.15 +nothing but shattered dreams. My dream was still there of course, but I had 
  388.16 +wasted all of this time trying to get Valen's Relic for nothing. 
  388.17 +	But what about her...?
  388.18 +	Okay, maybe it wasn’t all completely and utterly wasted. Maybe some 
  388.19 +of my time was remotely worthwhile in coming to Corona. In searching for 
  388.20 +something that was now out of my hands forever. So world domination is out of 
  388.21 +the question. For the time being. But still...
  388.22 +	OwwwooowowowoooowwwwOOOOOOWWW... Rolling over was a 
  388.23 +bad idea. My ribs still burn from where Valen had hit me days earlier. My body 
  388.24 +still aches even after all of the rest I’ve had. But not as much as my heart does. 
  388.25 +World domination was sooooooooo close. It was at my fingertips. It’s not fair. 
  388.26 +And of course Maya has to rub it in every time my dear little sister comes in to 
  388.27 +watch me that it’s a good thing I didn’t get my hands on it. I guess it’s good that 
  388.28 +she’s wasting her time taking care of me, but does she have to bring that up? 
  388.29 +	And then there’s her. I guess she’s really one of the only good things to 
  388.30 +come from this. Well, it looks like I’m not banished from home anymore so I 
  388.31 +can return to East Heaven Kingdom, so maybe that’s a good thing, too. And I 
  388.32 +don’t have Belle and Duke on my back anymore. But she’s definitely the best 
  388.33 +part of all this. It was nice to have met her. Too bad I’ll have to leave soon 
  388.34 +enough and I’ll probably never see her again. Oh well. 
  388.35 +	Staring up at the roof of the inn, I still can’t get her out of my head. The 
  388.36 +thought of never seeing her again is even more unbearable than the thought that 
  388.37 +I was so close to the Dewprism and now it’s gone. I can’t stand the thought of 
  388.38 +leaving her behind after all this. I always looked forward to seeing her and even 
  388.39 +to fighting with Rue over her. I’m glad he wasn’t interested in her after all. Even 
  388.40 +though I know I could have won, it’s much nicer to have things laid out for you 
  388.41 +on a silver platter. It means no wasted effort looking for a damned thing that 
  388.42 +disappears the moment you get too close. Ahem... 
  388.43 +	Where was I? Oh yeah, Elena.  Everything about her is so sickeningly 
  388.44 +sweet. From the first moment I saw her, I knew that she was way too innocent 
  388.45 +for her own good. But how could I know that after saving her, she’d grow on me 
  388.46 +the way she did? I’m starting to love everything about her. Even her goofy way 
  388.47 +of looking at things and her naïve view of the world. The way she’s out of it all 
  388.48 +the time, like she lives in some other place than the rest of us. Like she’s never 
  388.49 +fully there. The way her cute pink hair frames a beautiful face that’s almost 
  388.50 +always smiling. 
  388.51 +	I sigh and try to roll over again but give up. It’s not worth the pain. In 
  388.52 +either case. I should just pack up and head back to East Heaven Kingdom with 
  388.53 +Maya. I can always try to find a new relic after I relax for a while. That would 
  388.54 +work nicely. Give me a chance to check on things back home before conquering 
  388.55 +the rest of the planet. Two years on the road has really been too long. I’d love to 
  388.56 +slump down in my bed in the royal chambers and sleep for days. With her right 
  388.57 +next to me...
  388.58 +	Agghhhh!!! I fling a pillow at the wall in my frustration. Why the hell 
  388.59 +can’t I get her out of my head?! It’s worse than the Dewprism. I’ve been 
  388.60 +thinking about her nearly nonstop from the moment I woke up after the fight 
  388.61 +with Valen. No, since before I left to his fortress in the first place. When I left 
  388.62 +for that last confrontation, I kept wondering if I’d see her again. And what 
  388.63 +would become of her once I got the Dewprism. Lots of pleasant ideas came to 
  388.64 +mind at that. It would be my world after I conquered it, so it would be easy 
  388.65 +enough to bring her to my palace in a nice lacy little thing and just spend my 
  388.66 +days relaxing with her. But now I’m being dragged back home by my little sister 
  388.67 +and the world dominating’s gonna have to wait. So where does that leave Elena? 
  388.68 +What do I do about her? I’m royalty. This isn’t fair that some country girl can 
  388.69 +get me so riled up about things. I laugh as I look out the window, catching a 
  388.70 +glimpse of her cotton candy pink hair as she leads Prima Doll through the town 
  388.71 +square. It’s not like I’m in love with the silly country girl or anything. Right? 
  388.72 +Imean... Oh, damn it.
  388.73 +	I slam my fist into the bed angrily, my frustration at this whole thing 
  388.74 +growing, but the pain shooting through my back makes me reconsider another 
  388.75 +violent outburst. What the <expletive> is going on here? No. No, I’ve gotta be 
  388.76 +wrong there’s no way that this can be right. I’ve spent two years on the road and 
  388.77 +I’ve been doing just fine on my own please and thank you. But... It was always 
  388.78 +so lonely. I’ve been through hell. And it’s been so nice ever since I’ve met her. I 
  388.79 +don’t feel so lonely and angry at the world when she’s around. A soothing wind 
  388.80 +follows her. 
  388.81 +	This isn’t fair. What was Fate planning when it made me run into that 
  388.82 +country girl? Does it matter? I glare daggers at my roof as if it had offended me 
  388.83 +by it’s mere presence. I don’t need this. Not now. Not when I’m so close to 
  388.84 +going back home. I mean, at least I’ll have a kingdom within my fingertips 
  388.85 +again. And Maya said she needed my help to run it all. But I can’t just leave her 
  388.86 +behind, can I?
  388.87 +	I sit up in bed and wince at the pain biting at me. I’ve come too far to 
  388.88 +go back empty handed. I’m gonna get what I want even if it kills me.
  388.89 +
  388.90 +	There she is. And for once, Prima Doll isn’t around. Thank God for 
  388.91 +small miracles. I know we’d probably just end up arguing and I’d forget the 
  388.92 +whole purpose for leaving my bed. The whole scene is beautiful, serene as she 
  388.93 +dips her fingers into the fountain in the center of town. I will myself to move 
  388.94 +forward, but my aching body doesn’t seem willing to comply. After a few 
  388.95 +threats to myself that I’m certain my body just laughed off, I finally manage to 
  388.96 +stumble towards her. Not at all with my usual grace and elegance that I’m sure 
  388.97 +has enraptured her by now in the same way her cute, quaint country girl qualities 
  388.98 +have somehow managed to wrap themselves tightly around my heart, but at least 
  388.99 +I get over to her.
 388.100 +	“Hey, Elena...” I manage, suppressing a wince as I lean against the 
 388.101 +fountain. She really is beautiful in a charming, small town sorta way. I sigh and 
 388.102 +shake my head. She’s gorgeous no matter where she’s from. Her gentle gaze 
 388.103 +shakes me from my thoughts, making me realize I’m staring at her. I flush 
 388.104 +slightly as I look down. This isn’t easy at all. What am I supposed to say to her? 
 388.105 +With my luck she won’t even understand what I’m trying to say. 
 388.106 +	“Hi, Mint!!” Elena says happily as sits next to me on the fountain. So 
 388.107 +happy, so content. It’s like nothing ever really worries her. I sigh. This is going 
 388.108 +to be so much more difficult than I had thought. Maybe I should just forget 
 388.109 +about it. “I’m glad to see you. I was so worried when you were sleeping for so 
 388.110 +long. I thought you were hurt too badly.”
 388.111 +	I nod slightly, feeling the pain deep in my body. “Yeah, that whole 
 388.112 +thing was just plain awful. I should have the Dewprism by now but all I have for 
 388.113 +my trouble is a bunch of sore muscles.” I frown exaggeratedly before shrugging. 
 388.114 +“Oh well. There have to be other relics out there. I’ll get one someday.” 
 388.115 +	Elena giggles musically, nodding. “Yeah, I’m sure you will, Mint. I 
 388.116 +don’t think this will stop you. I really hope you can get one soon. I think you’d 
 388.117 +make a good queen.”
 388.118 +	“Well, yeah, thanks, Elena..” I smile a bit, looking at her eyes and the 
 388.119 +way her cotton candy hair frames that beautiful face of hers. “If I go back with 
 388.120 +Elena, I might be queen of East Heaven Kingdom in a few years, but I still can’t 
 388.121 +give up on my dream. One of these days it’ll be the whole world.” I stop before I 
 388.122 +can go further, even though I know there’s so much more I want to explain. Too 
 388.123 +bad it all has to do with her. I don’t have any experience with this sort of thing. 
 388.124 +	“I wish you didn’t have to leave, Mint. I was starting to think you’d be 
 388.125 +here forever.” Elena sighs sadly and trails her fingers through the cold water of 
 388.126 +the fountain. The water swirls behind her fingers, blurring our reflections. 
 388.127 +	“Yeah, me too. I feel like I’ve been here forever now.” My vision goes 
 388.128 +to the sky where Valen’s Palace used to be. “I don’t want to go either,” I 
 388.129 +whisper. Perking up a bit, I smile and turn to Elena. “Hey, Elena. Do you 
 388.130 +remember when I was talking about you coming to the palace with me?”
 388.131 +	Elena nods vigorously, instantly remembering when we’d been talking 
 388.132 +about that down by the lake. “Yeah, you said I could be in charge of something 
 388.133 +in your kingdom and I said I wanted to be in charge of housekeeping.”
 388.134 +	I sweatdrop at that. I’d almost forgotten that part. She really doesn’t 
 388.135 +have huge aspirations. But that’s part of her charm. She doesn’t need the world 
 388.136 +on a platter to be happy. Yet that’s what I’ve been looking for all of this time. 
 388.137 +How does she do that? It’s like she can somehow be happy wherever she is. 
 388.138 +“Yeah, that was it. But that’s not really why I wanted you to go with me.” I try 
 388.139 +to beat down the heat rising in my cheeks. She’s another girl. What will Maya 
 388.140 +and the others think? Who cares what they think? It’s not like that’s ever 
 388.141 +bothered me before. So why am I finding myself tongue tied? I sigh and try 
 388.142 +again. “Well, I still want you to come back with me Elena.”
 388.143 +	Elena frowns a little, seeming a bit unsure. “I don’t know, Mint. I’d 
 388.144 +hate to leave my parents and Prima Doll all alone. But I’d hate to leave you all 
 388.145 +alone. Especially with Rue gone.” She looks at me sympathetically. 
 388.146 +	My hair flies in all directions as I shake my head quickly. “Rue? Oh, 
 388.147 +hell no. We were rivals. Over... something. But he’s a big boy. He can take care 
 388.148 +of himself.” 
 388.149 +	That brings a sweet smile to Elena’s lips. “Yeah, you’re right, Mint. 
 388.150 +And I’m sure you’ll be able to take care of yourself, too. So I shouldn’t worry.”
 388.151 +	I bite my lip. This isn’t going as well as I’d hoped. “No, I want you to 
 388.152 +go with me because I don’t wanna be away from you. Elena, I did find 
 388.153 +something magical here. I may not have gotten a relic, but I think I found 
 388.154 +something even more important. I found you, Elena. I want you to come back 
 388.155 +with me to the palace.” I look up, mustering all of the strength it took me to face 
 388.156 +Valen and Dollmaster and all of the others. I can do this. I can make it through 
 388.157 +anything. I’ve come this far. “I love you, Elena.” My body nearly collapses, 
 388.158 +those words feeling heavier than anything else I’ve put up with up until now. 
 388.159 +	Gorgeous eyes blink uncomprehendingly at me for the longest moment. 
 388.160 +My spirits begin to drop as I resign myself to heading back to East Heaven 
 388.161 +Kingdom alone. But a soft smile begins tugging at her lips until it seems to spill 
 388.162 +over into her entire being. Shining, she grapples onto me. My weary body yelps 
 388.163 +out as I feel the sudden pressure of her body against me, but my heart sings out 
 388.164 +at the sudden contact. “I love you, too, Mint! Of course I’ll go with you. You’ve 
 388.165 +always been my hero.” 
 388.166 +	A grin starts to spread across my face as I look into her eyes inches 
 388.167 +away from mine. Maybe I underestimated her after all. Maybe rescuing her 
 388.168 +really was the best thing I’ve ever done. It looks like I’ve finally found my relic 
 388.169 +after all. Despite the aching throughout my body, I lean forward. Elena’s silky 
 388.170 +lips are all the reward I need for the past two years. She collapses against me, 
 388.171 +her weight throwing me off balance. Tumbling backwards into the cold water, 
 388.172 +her giggling fills my ears. 
 388.173 +I can’t wait to tell Maya. She’ll flip.
 388.174 +	 

   389.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   389.2 +++ b/stories/misch.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   389.3 @@ -0,0 +1,371 @@
   389.4 +Title: Missed Chances
   389.5 +Authors: Amazoness Duo
   389.6 +Rating: H-hentai
   389.7 +E-mail address: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   389.8 +
   389.9 +Hello everyone! We hope you had a safe and wonderful Holiday 
  389.10 +Season! We also hope you enjoy this story. It's about ChibiUsa and 
  389.11 +Hotaru. It goes along the same timeline as our other stories with 
  389.12 +the two of them. Sorry it took us so long to finish this one, but 
  389.13 +we've been pretty busy lately and it took us a while to finally 
  389.14 +type this up. We've already started our next story which should 
  389.15 +hopefully be up next week or the week after. It should be longer 
  389.16 +than most of our stories and it will take place in an alternate 
  389.17 +timeline from the one we're currently writing about. We'd like to 
  389.18 +thank everybody who has encouraged our writing so far. And please, 
  389.19 +we love e-mail from people who read our stories, so if you have 
  389.20 +time, we'd love to hear what you think.
  389.21 +
  389.22 +
  389.23 +
  389.24 +			    "Missed Chances"
  389.25 +
  389.26 +	"This college stuff isn't fair," grumbled Usagi. She, Minako, 
  389.27 +and Ami were sitting in the library studying.
  389.28 +	"And why is that?" asked Ami.
  389.29 +	"Well, from what we've heard about the future from ChibiUsa 
  389.30 +and Setsuna, I'm going to be Neo Queen Serenity in a couple of 
  389.31 +years. I shouldn't be worrying about college right now," said 
  389.32 +Usagi.
  389.33 +	"All the more reason to take it. That way you'll be a better 
  389.34 +ruler and not totally screw us all," said Minako.
  389.35 +	"You hate it just as much as I do," said Usagi.
  389.36 +	"Yeah, but I'm not the one who's going to be the neo queen," 
  389.37 +Minako answered.
  389.38 +	Usagi stood up. "I'm going to put these books back up. Is 
  389.39 +there anything you want me to bring back?"
  389.40 +	"Don't worry about it. Just get back quickly. There are a few 
  389.41 +things I want to go over and then we can leave," said Ami.
  389.42 +	"We're almost done? Great! I'll be back in a minute," said 
  389.43 +Usagi. She turned to leave and walked right into ChibiUsa, the 
  389.44 +armful of books the younger girl had been carrying clattered to the 
  389.45 +floor.
  389.46 +	"Baka Usagi. Don't you ever watch where you're going? 
  389.47 +ChibiUsa kneeled down and started picking up the books she had 
  389.48 +dropped.
  389.49 +	"You weren't looking either," Usagi said defensively.
  389.50 +	"There you are. Sorry I took so long finding the books I 
  389.51 +wanted. Are you okay? What happened?" asked Hotaru as she walked 
  389.52 +up. She leaned down and helped ChibiUsa pick up the books.
  389.53 +	ChibiUsa looked up when she saw Hotaru. Her eyes seemed to 
  389.54 +brighten. "I'm fine. Usagi and I collided. I guess I got all of my 
  389.55 +clutziness from her," said ChibiUsa. She picked up the last of the 
  389.56 +books and stood up.
  389.57 +	"I don't think that's bad. I think it's cute," said Hotaru. 
  389.58 +ChibiUsa's eyes went wide. Usagi, Ami, and Minako looked at Hotaru 
  389.59 +strangely. Hotaru just looked at ChibiUsa innocently. She turned to 
  389.60 +Usagi. "So, how are you doing, Usagi?" she asked politely.
  389.61 +	Usagi looked at her for several seconds before replying. Had 
  389.62 +she said that her future daughter's clutziness was cute? "I'm doing 
  389.63 +pretty well. We were just about done studying. Then we're going to 
  389.64 +get something to eat."
  389.65 +	"That sounds good," said ChibiUsa, getting hungry.
  389.66 +	"So do you both have a big test coming up?" asked Usagi, 
  389.67 +indicating the books ChibiUsa was holding.
  389.68 +	"No. These are all the books Hotaru wants to check out. How 
  389.69 +she can read like that, I'll never know. You should see her room. 
  389.70 +There are books everywhere," ChibiUsa said. 'She doesn't even 
  389.71 +notice me when she's reading.'
  389.72 +	"Oh, it's not that bad," said Hotaru. "And I always notice 
  389.73 +you,"
  389.74 +	"You get really wrapped up in it. It's like the rest of the 
  389.75 +world isn't there," said ChibiUsa.
  389.76 +	"No. I like reading, but that's not what happens. Only one 
  389.77 +thing make me feel like the rest of the world isn't there, and it's 
  389.78 +a lot more important to me than any book I've ever read," said 
  389.79 +Hotaru.
  389.80 +	"You know what I mean," said ChibiUsa.
  389.81 +	"Maybe I'm not looking at the books as much as you think I 
  389.82 +am," said Hotaru.
  389.83 +	"So do you two want to have dinner with us?" asked Minako.
  389.84 +	"Actually, we were going back to Hotaru's house after this.
  389.85 +Haruka and Michiru are on a date tonight, Setsuna's rearranging 
  389.86 +things in the Time Palace. Don't ask me why," said ChibiUsa.
  389.87 +	"And I'd be lonely by myself, so I wanted ChibiUsa to stay 
  389.88 +with me," said Hotaru.
  389.89 +	"You two have fun then," said Usagi as ChibiUsa and Hotaru 
  389.90 +waved and walked away.
  389.91 +	"That was strange," said Minako.
  389.92 +	"Yeah. I swear they act like a couple sometimes. And what 
  389.93 +were some of those things they were talking about?" asked Usagi.
  389.94 +	"They're kids," said Minako.
  389.95 +	"They're teenagers," Ami corrected.
  389.96 +
  389.97 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa arrived at Hotaru's house. Hotaru closed 
  389.98 +the door behind them. 
  389.99 +	"Would you like anything to drink, Odango-chan?" Hotaru 
 389.100 +asked.
 389.101 +	"Yeah, that would be nice," ChibiUsa answered. She followed
 389.102 +Hotaru into the kitchen.
 389.103 +	Hotaru opened the refrigerator and started looking for 
 389.104 +something to drink for ChibiUsa. She felt ChibiUsa walk up to her 
 389.105 +from behind. Her arms encircled Hotaru's waist. She leaned her head 
 389.106 +against Hotaru's shoulder. Hotaru was just slightly taller than she 
 389.107 +was, so ChibiUsa fit perfectly against her.
 389.108 +	"Why did you do that earlier?" asked ChibiUsa.
 389.109 +	Hotaru smiled. "You should know me well enough by now. Why do 
 389.110 +you think I did?"
 389.111 +	ChibiUsa sighed, an altogether pleasent sensation for Hotaru. 
 389.112 +"Because you hate acting like we're just friends and you want 
 389.113 +everyone to know that I'm your odango-chan."
 389.114 +	"Yep," said Hotaru. She turned around in ChibiUsa's embrace 
 389.115 +so that she was facing the other girl. "And I was just being honest 
 389.116 +while we were talking to Usagi."
 389.117 +	"So you really do think that my clutziness is cute?" ChibiUsa 
 389.118 +asked.
 389.119 +	"Absolutely. I have ever since I met you," Hotaru answered. 
 389.120 +ChibiUsa smiled. 
 389.121 +	"I love you, Hotaru," she said as she kissed the dark haired 
 389.122 +girl. "I only wish my first kiss had been with you and not Helios."
 389.123 +	Hotaru blushed. "It wasn't."
 389.124 +	"What do you mean?" asked ChibiUsa.
 389.125 +	"It happened before I was changed into a baby." Hotaru 
 389.126 +blushed  deeper as she continued. "I was sleeping over at your 
 389.127 +house. I was still shocked by the fact that you had invited me 
 389.128 +over. Or that you even wanted to be my friend. No one else cared 
 389.129 +about me, but you did. I was falling in love with you."
 389.130 +	"But I was a kid, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa, surprised by what 
 389.131 +Hotaru was saying.
 389.132 +	"That didn't matter to me. And didn't you go after some 
 389.133 +people back when you were that age? Anyway, you had fallen asleep 
 389.134 +and I stayed awake to watch you. You were so beautiful. I started 
 389.135 +to wonder what it would be like if you and I were together. I guess 
 389.136 +I got a little carried away while imagining that. I wanted to know 
 389.137 +what it would be like to kiss you, so after working up the courage, 
 389.138 +I did."
 389.139 +	"I thought that was just a dream I had," said ChibiUsa. "I 
 389.140 +remember feeling bad in the morning because I had had an ecchi 
 389.141 +dream about my best friend."
 389.142 +	"It wasn't ecchi. It was romantic that you'd dream about me," 
 389.143 +said Hotaru.
 389.144 +	"Though the dream was happening in real life. I sure missed 
 389.145 +out," said ChibiUsa. She looked into Hotaru's eyes. "I'm glad you 
 389.146 +were my first kiss, even if I didn't realize it."
 389.147 +	Hotaru giggled. "Well, I'm glad I did then. I almost didn't, 
 389.148 +but you were so cute while you were sleeping. I wanted to know what 
 389.149 +kissing you would be like."
 389.150 +	"Now you know. And you can whenever you want," said ChibiUsa.
 389.151 +	"I'll have to take you up on that offer," said Hotaru as her 
 389.152 +lips gently met ChibiUsa's. Their kiss grew more passionate as the 
 389.153 +girls let down the guise of only being friends in the solitude of 
 389.154 +the house. Hotaru felt warm inside. It was as if so many things had 
 389.155 +opened for her when she had admitted how she felt about ChibiUsa to 
 389.156 +the pink-haired girl and herself. She had kissed ChibiUsa before, 
 389.157 +while she was asleep, but she had tried to suppress her feelings 
 389.158 +for the other girl after that. She had know that she had very 
 389.159 +strong emotions for ChibiUsa, but she hadn't quite known what they 
 389.160 +meant. She was so happy to have learned that ChibiUsa loved her, 
 389.161 +too.
 389.162 +	ChibiUsa was a bit surprised when she felt Hotaru's tongue 
 389.163 +push into her mouth. Their breath mingled as they kissed. ChibiUsa 
 389.164 +loved the way Hotaru's soft lips felt against her own. Hotaru's 
 389.165 +hand slowly went up to ChibiUsa's blouse and started to undo the 
 389.166 +bow of her school uniform.
 389.167 +	"I don't know if you noticed or not, but I had been acting 
 389.168 +differently for the past couple of weeks before we got together," 
 389.169 +said ChibiUsa. 
 389.170 +	"How so?" asked Hotaru.
 389.171 +	"Well, I kept coming up for excuses for what I was doing, but 
 389.172 +I knew. I was always trying to look my best for you. To make sure I 
 389.173 +made a good impression everytime I saw you. I told myself that I 
 389.174 +was just trying to look pretty and there was nothing wrong with 
 389.175 +girl trying ton look pretty when she's around her friend," said 
 389.176 +ChibiUsa.
 389.177 +	Hotaru giggled again. "So that's what you were doing. You 
 389.178 +shouldn't have worried. I had already noticed how pretty you were 
 389.179 +before you started doing that. And if it helps any, I kept telling 
 389.180 +myself that there was nothing wrong with a girl noticing how pretty 
 389.181 +her friend is." She kissed ChibiUsa again and started to unbutton 
 389.182 +her shirt. ChibiUsa blushed as Hotaru removed her clothes. She 
 389.183 +noticed that Hotaru's cheeks were flushed as well. ChibiUsa ran her 
 389.184 +hand along Hotaru's leg. She stopped when she reached Hotaru's 
 389.185 +thigh. She slid her fingers under the tight cloth of Hotaru's dark 
 389.186 +stockings. She slid the cloth down and off of Hotaru's leg. She 
 389.187 +repeated the process with Hotaru's other leg. ChibiUsa reached 
 389.188 +under Hotaru's skirt again and pulled her panties down and past her
 389.189 +feet.
 389.190 +	The two girls looked at each other. ChibiUsa was only clad in 
 389.191 +her unbuttoned blouse. Hotaru looked up and down ChibiUsa's lovely 
 389.192 +body. ChibiUsa's hand ran under Hotaru's skirt, caressing her soft 
 389.193 +skin. Hotaru leaned her shoulders back as ChibiUsa's other hand 
 389.194 +started to unbutton her school blouse. Hotaru's hands went up to 
 389.195 +ChibiUsa's shoulders. ChibiUsa was a bit tense, still. Hotaru 
 389.196 +started to rub away the weariness from ChibiUsa. Hotaru kissed 
 389.197 +ChibiUsa's shoulder as ChibiUsa removed Hotaru's bra. Hotaru 
 389.198 +felt ChibiUsa's fingers brush against her inner thigh. Hotaru let 
 389.199 +ChibiUsa's gentle touch envelop her. "Hotaru, you are so 
 389.200 +beautiful," said ChibiUsa. 
 389.201 +	Hotaru leaned towards ChibiUsa. "So are you, my Odango-chan," 
 389.202 +said Hotaru. She cupped the other girls breasts with her hands. 
 389.203 +ChibiUsa moaned lightly. ChibiUsa's fingers reached their 
 389.204 +destination between Hotaru's legs. She started rubbing slow circles 
 389.205 +around Hotaru's netherlips. ChibiUsa sighed as she felt Hotaru 
 389.206 +gently massaging her breasts. Hotaru slid one hand away from 
 389.207 +ChibiUsa's breast and started to run it down her body. Hotaru 
 389.208 +brought her mouth to ChibiUsa's breast. She licked ChibiUsa's 
 389.209 +nipple,causing the pink haired girl to shudder from the pleasure 
 389.210 +she was getting. ChibiUsa brought her other hand up to Hotaru's 
 389.211 +breasts. She pinched one of Hotaru's nipples, bringing forth a moan 
 389.212 +from her lover. ChibiUsa felt Hotaru's soft lips wrap around her 
 389.213 +nipple as Hotaru started to suckle her. Hotaru moaned again as she
 389.214 +felt one of ChibiUsa's fingers slide into her vagina. Hotaru licked 
 389.215 +to the top of ChibiUsa's breast. Hotaru lightly pushed ChibiUsa 
 389.216 +onto her back on the floor. ChibiUsa continued to pump her finger 
 389.217 +in and out of Hotaru. Hotaru's hand went down across ChibiUsa's 
 389.218 +stomach and down between her legs. Hotaru's hand ran through 
 389.219 +ChibiUsa's pubic hair before stopping at her entrance. Hotaru used 
 389.220 +to fingers to open ChibiUsa's inner lips. She slid one of her 
 389.221 +fingers into ChibiUsa. ChibiUsa gasped as she felt Hotaru's finger 
 389.222 +inside her. Hotaru loved the way ChibiUsa's body felt against her 
 389.223 +own. ChibiUsa moaned as she felt Hotaru's fingers stroke her 
 389.224 +clitoris. Hotaru opened her legs further to allow ChibiUsa further 
 389.225 +access into her. Both girls moaned the others name as they reached 
 389.226 +orgasm.
 389.227 +
 389.228 +	"ChibiUsa?" Hotaru asked sleepily.
 389.229 +	"Yes, 'Taru-chan?" replied ChibiUsa as she absentmindedly ran 
 389.230 +her fingers through Hotaru's hair.
 389.231 +	"What did you think of me after you had that dream?" asked 
 389.232 +Hotaru.
 389.233 +	ChibiUsa thought for a moment. "I thought you were very 
 389.234 +pretty. And very shy." 
 389.235 +	"You were my first friend. I was nervous about losing you 
 389.236 +when you got to know me," said Hotaru. "I didn't know what to do. 
 389.237 +With the exception of my dad, nobody cared if I lived or died."
 389.238 +	"You seemed really lonely. I wanted you to feel better since 
 389.239 +you had a friend. I hated those kids at your school for treating 
 389.240 +you the way they did," said ChibiUsa.
 389.241 +	"They were all scared of my healing powers. They didn't want 
 389.242 +anything to do with me." Hotaru held ChibiUsa closer as memories 
 389.243 +started coming back to her.
 389.244 +	"I really wanted to know you better. I thought it was so 
 389.245 +great to spend time with you," said ChibiUsa.
 389.246 +	"So, did you have any romantic feelings towards me back 
 389.247 +then?" asked Hotaru.
 389.248 +	"My whole childhood I was sure that one day I'd meet a 
 389.249 +charming prince and that he and I would live happily ever after and 
 389.250 +rule Crystal Tokyo. That's what I heard from my parents and what I 
 389.251 +think everyone expected. No one ever told me what would happen if I 
 389.252 +fell in love with a princess instead. That's why I was so confused 
 389.253 +about a certain mysterious, dark haired girl," said ChibiUsa.
 389.254 +	"I wonder who that lucky girl could be," said Hotaru as she 
 389.255 +lovingly kissed ChibiUsa.
 389.256 +
 389.257 +	ChibiUsa was sitting on Usagi's bed while Usagi was getting 
 389.258 +ready for a date with Mamoru. Usagi looked at different outfits in 
 389.259 +the mirror, trying to find the right one.
 389.260 +	"Usagi, I have a question," said ChibiUsa.
 389.261 +	Usagi was surprised. ChibiUsa usually didn't come to her for 
 389.262 +advice. "Okay, what is it?" asked Usagi.
 389.263 +	"Ummmm... well, it's perfectly normal for a girl to get a 
 389.264 +crush on another girl, right? I mean, if the girl really admires 
 389.265 +the other girl and they're really close? It doesn't mean anything, 
 389.266 +right?" asked ChibiUsa nervously.
 389.267 +	Usagi tried to understand what ChibiUsa had just said. From 
 389.268 +the way ChibiUsa had been talking a month ago, Usagi had been sure 
 389.269 +that ChibiUsa was going to visit a sick boy she liked, but it had 
 389.270 +turned out to be a girl named Hotaru that she was visiting. Usagi 
 389.271 +had dismissed the idea of ChibiUsa having a crush on the person, 
 389.272 +but what if she had been right in the first place? "ChibiUsa, is 
 389.273 +there something you want to tell me?"
 389.274 +	ChibiUsa looked at her annoyed. "No. I just want you to 
 389.275 +answer my question."
 389.276 +	"Why are you asking then?" asked Usagi.
 389.277 +	"Because, okay?" Now answer my question," said ChibiUsa.
 389.278 +	"First you have to tell me why," said Usagi. "It's because of 
 389.279 +that girl you met in the park, isn't it?"
 389.280 +	"No! It is not!" said ChibiUsa. She thought quickly. "It's 
 389.281 +just that I thought you liked Haruka and I want to make sure that 
 389.282 +you'll still get with Mamoru."
 389.283 +	"I do not like Haruka. And you better not tell Mamo-chan that 
 389.284 +I do," said Usagi. ChibiUsa walked to the door. "Where are you 
 389.285 +going?" asked Usagi.
 389.286 +	"Downstairs, so I can wait for Mamoru," said ChibiUsa. She 
 389.287 +stuck out her tongue at Usagi and ran downstairs.
 389.288 +	"ChibiUsa!!!" yelled Usagi.
 389.289 +
 389.290 +	Hotaru smiled. "Did you really ask Usagi that?" 
 389.291 +	"Yes," said ChibiUsa. "I had to talk to somebody. You were 
 389.292 +scaring me. I was looking for a nice boyfriend and I was starting 
 389.293 +to feel strangely about another girl. That wasn't supposed to 
 389.294 +happen."
 389.295 +	"What were you afraid of?" asked Hotaru.
 389.296 +	"I'm the heir to Neo Queen Serenity and the senshi of the 
 389.297 +future moon and I was falling in love with the senshi of silence. I 
 389.298 +had a lot to worry about. And I admit that I was a little scared. 
 389.299 +But that's a lot for a kid to deal with. And you weren't helping. 
 389.300 +You just confused me more," said ChibiUsa.
 389.301 +
 389.302 +	"This doll is so kawaii!" said ChibiUsa as she picked up the 
 389.303 +doll off Hotaru's dresser. It slightly resembled Hotaru with short, 
 389.304 +dark hair and purple eyes. It wore a beautiful kimono.
 389.305 +	"Thank you," said Hotaru as she smiled at her friend's 
 389.306 +enthusiasm. "My mother gave it to me when I was fairly young... a 
 389.307 +couple months before she died."
 389.308 +	"That's so sad," said ChibiUsa. She looked at the doll closer 
 389.309 +as a tear ran down her cheek.
 389.310 +	"Don't be sorry," said Hotaru gently. "I miss my mom, but I 
 389.311 +don't want to forget about her. I like to remember the good times I 
 389.312 +spent with her. The doll helps remind me of those times."
 389.313 +	"It's not fair, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa, clutching the doll as 
 389.314 +if it could make all the sadness and despair she was feeling go 
 389.315 +away.
 389.316 +	Hotaru was shocked to see ChibiUsa so sad all of the sudden.
 389.317 +"It's okay ChibiUsa," said Hotaru, trying to comfort her friend.
 389.318 +	"No, it's not," cried ChibiUsa as several more tears  
 389.319 +trickled down her face. "I have both my parents and their friends 
 389.320 +and I still act like a brat sometimes. You lost your mom when you 
 389.321 +were a little girl, your father spends most of his time in a lab, 
 389.322 +and all the kids at your school are so mean to you. It's not fair," 
 389.323 +ChibiUsa's head lowered slightly. Hotaru kissed the younger girl on 
 389.324 +the cheek. ChibiUsa's head jerked back up, several tears forgotten 
 389.325 +as they ran down her face. ChibiUsa blushed a bright crismon as 
 389.326 +she stared wide-eyed at Hotaru.
 389.327 +	"Hotaru?" ChibiUsa managed weakly.
 389.328 +	Hotaru smiled at her. "ChibiUsa, you're my bestfriend. I'm 
 389.329 +happy for that. Please don't cry."
 389.330 +
 389.331 +	"Okay," said Hotaru. "I guess I didn't make it any easier for 
 389.332 +you."
 389.333 +	"Nope. You had me confused for a long time," said ChibiUsa. 
 389.334 +"When did you first know? It took me forever to sort things out."
 389.335 +	"When did I first know I was in love with you?," Hotaru 
 389.336 +smiled at the pink haired girl. "It was during the battle with 
 389.337 +Pharoh 90. After I returned your heart crystal to you, I knew."
 389.338 +	"I mean when you first knew for sure," said ChibiUsa.
 389.339 +	"I know. That was when I first knew for sure that I loved 
 389.340 +you. When I saw you open your eyes and looked at me, I knew I was 
 389.341 +in love," explained Hotaru.
 389.342 +	"Then why didn't you say anything for all of these years?" 
 389.343 +asked ChibiUsa confused. 
 389.344 +	"Because I didn't remember. I was changed into a baby shortly 
 389.345 +after that. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago after I told you I 
 389.346 +loved you that I remembered," said Hotaru. "Anyway, what would you 
 389.347 +have done if I had told you before I was changed into a baby? 
 389.348 +Actually, I think I did hint at it right after I realized I loved 
 389.349 +you. 
 389.350 +	"Yes. You said 'It's strange. We're both girls, but its like 
 389.351 +fate we met,'" said ChibiUsa, trying to sound like Hotaru.
 389.352 +	"What was that?" asked Hotaru.
 389.353 +	"That was my Hotaru impression," said ChibiUsa smiling.
 389.354 +	"I do not sound like that," said Hotaru. She playfully pushed 
 389.355 +ChibiUsa. "So what did you think I was talking about when I said 
 389.356 +that? It sounds to me like, 'ChibiUsa, even though we're both 
 389.357 +girls, I feel strangely about you, as if destiny brought us 
 389.358 +together.'"
 389.359 +	ChibiUsa stared at Hotaru. "You're weird, Taru, but that's 
 389.360 +just one of the many things I like about you. I understood what you 
 389.361 +were talking about back then, but afterwards I tried not to think 
 389.362 +about it. I was heartbroken after you were changed into a baby. I 
 389.363 +didn't know what to do. I buried a lot of my feelings about you 
 389.364 +then. I didn't understand why I felt the way I did at the time."
 389.365 +	Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa for a while before replying. "I 
 389.366 +love you, Odango-chan."
 389.367 +	"I love you, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa.
 389.368 +	"You'll never know how glad it makes me feel to hear you say 
 389.369 +that," said Hotaru.
 389.370 +	"I do because I feel the same way," said ChibiUsa. Both girls 
 389.371 +looked into each others eyes. The two girls lips met as they kissed 
 389.372 +again. 
 389.373 +
 389.374 +

   390.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   390.2 +++ b/stories/mlnite1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   390.3 @@ -0,0 +1,547 @@
   390.4 +Hi, everybody! ^-^ How are you all? This is the first part of a story
   390.5 +were doing. We're trying to decide if ChibiUsa & Hotaru should come out
   390.6 +pretty soon or if we should keep waiting for a while. We really love
   390.7 +hearing from you so after reading the story please e-mail us your
   390.8 +thought's on the subject. ^^ Anyway, this story was written along with
   390.9 +Minako, the newest member. We decided rather than change the name to
  390.10 +Amazoness Trio to change it to the Quartet (Yay!!! Who get's to be
  390.11 +PallaPalla?). We don't have a fourth member yet, but we can hope. ^^
  390.12 +This story is a Sekkushiaru Roman and for mature audiences, so please
  390.13 +enjoy. ^^ It takes place several years after Sailormoon Sailor Stars.
  390.14 +ChibiUsa & Hotaru are both 15 years old. For technical things about
  390.15 +the story: (and we're really sorry if we screw any of this up ^^)
  390.16 +The legal age to get married in Japan is 16.
  390.17 +Ikuko and Kenji are Usagi's parents. Shingo is Usagi's brother. Usagi
  390.18 +is married to Mamoru and lives with him while ChibiUsa continues to
  390.19 +live with Ikuko, Kenji, and Shingo.
  390.20 +That's about it for now. All the character's are copyright of Naoko
  390.21 +Takeuchi & others.
  390.22 +Thanks to everyone who reads our stories. ^-^
  390.23 +
  390.24 +
  390.25 +                                Moonlit Nights
  390.26 +
  390.27 +                         By: The Amazoness Quartet
  390.28 +
  390.29 +        ChibiUsa rolled over in bed, not quite asleep, but not yet awake.
  390.30 +She pulled the blanket around herself tighter, trying to get back to
  390.31 +sleep.
  390.32 +      "Wake up, ChibiUsa," she heard a familiar voice say. She rolled
  390.33 +over again, trying to ignore it. "Come on, ChibiUsa-chan. Wake up,"
  390.34 +the voice repeated.
  390.35 +       "I'm too tired to go to the banquet today. You and dad go,"
  390.36 +ChibiUsa mumbled sleepily. She felt the weight of the bed shift as
  390.37 +someone sat beside her.
  390.38 +       "I'm not your mom, Odango-chan," the voice said, amused by the
  390.39 +girl she was trying to wake up.
  390.40 +       "Good," ChibiUsa said satisfied. "Then I'm going back to
  390.41 +sleep."
  390.42 +        Hotaru started absentmindedly running her fingers through
  390.43 +ChibiUsa's soft pink hair. "Odango-chan," she said sternly. "If you
  390.44 +don't get up you'll be late for school."
  390.45 +       ChibiUsa sat up in bed, trying to find out where she was. She
  390.46 +blinked her eyes several times before focusing on a half clothed
  390.47 +Hotaru. She at her lover. "I could get used to waking up to this."
  390.48 +       Hotaru blushed when she saw ChibiUsa's gaze lower along her
  390.49 +body. "It was great waking up with you by me," Hotaru said smiling
  390.50 +back at ChibiUsa. "Now if only you'd wake up before making us both
  390.51 +late."
  390.52 +       ChibiUsa pulled the blanket over her head. "If I'm at your
  390.53 +house it means it's the weekend, right? Please say there's no school
  390.54 +today..." ChibiUsa had had many ideas about what she and Hotaru could
  390.55 +do that day after waking up beside her, but they were all for nothing
  390.56 +if she had school.
  390.57 +       "Sorry, Odango-chan, but its a school day. Usagi's parents let
  390.58 +you spend the night probably because they think I'm a responsible
  390.59 +young lady and that I'd get you to school on time. Which is what I
  390.60 +intend to do, so they'll let you stay over on school nights more
  390.61 +often. You aren't a morning person, are you, ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru
  390.62 +asked as she pulled her skirt on.
  390.63 +        "I can be, if the conditions are right," ChibiUsa answered
  390.64 +before yawning. She pulled the blanket down. She blushed when she
  390.65 +realized she wasn't wearing anything under the blanket. 'I'm not used
  390.66 +to waking up naked in Hotaru's bed. I hope we do this enough that I
  390.67 +can get used to it. That would be fun,' ChibiUsa thought.
  390.68 +        "And what would those be?" Hotaru asked innocently. ChibiUsa
  390.69 +giggled. That look rarely meant Hotaru was innocent.
  390.70 +        "Well, first we'd have to stop that silly idea of yours about
  390.71 +going to school. And second, you'd have to get out of those school
  390.72 +clothes," ChibiUsa said quietly.
  390.73 +        "I'm sure you'd be willing to help. Now get up and get
  390.74 +dressed, before I have to dress you myself," Hotaru said in warning
  390.75 +tones. ChibiUsa pulled the blanket up over her head again.
  390.76 +
  390.77 +        Several minutes later, an exhausted looking Hotaru walked out
  390.78 +of her room with ChibiUsa. ChibiUsa's clothes were rumpled and in
  390.79 +disarray.
  390.80 +        "I told you I would do it," Hotaru panted. "We could have
  390.81 +taken a shower together if you'd waken up earlier," she said as she
  390.82 +and ChibiUsa headed for the stairs.
  390.83 +        "You should have tried to wake me up. That would have been
  390.84 +great before school," ChibiUsa said regretfully.
  390.85 +        "I tried. You said you wanted to sleep, so I let you sleep a
  390.86 +little longer and took one by myself." Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa.
  390.87 +"Don't you remember?"
  390.88 +        ChibiUsa laughed nervously. "Not really. Like you said, I'm
  390.89 +not a morning person. I don't do well this early."
  390.90 +        "Maybe I can help you," Hotaru said softly. She leaned towards
  390.91 +the pink haired girl. One arm went behind ChibiUsa, stopping at the
  390.92 +small of ChibiUsa's back. She pushed deeply into the kiss. ChibiUsa
  390.93 +half closed her eyes as her hands started to wander over Hotaru's
  390.94 +body.
  390.95 +She settled into the kiss with her hands on either side of Hotaru's
  390.96 +slender waist. Their breath mingled as the girls kissed passionately,
  390.97 +their tongues touching.
  390.98 +        ChibiUsa heard some footsteps coming up the stairs. She pulled
  390.99 +away from Hotaru, startling the dark haired girl. Hotaru looked at
 390.100 +ChibiUsa worriedly to see what was wrong.
 390.101 +       "You two better get going if you want to get to school on
 390.102 +time," Setsuna said as she walked past them hurriedly.
 390.103 +       Hotaru stared at ChibiUsa, realizing why her lover had pulled
 390.104 +away. "Come on, ChibiUsa," she said angrily.
 390.105 +       ChibiUsa flinched. She was surprised that Hotaru was upset. She
 390.106 +knew Hotaru hated pretending that they weren't a couple, but she'd
 390.107 +never made the dark haired girl angry because of it before. Hotaru
 390.108 +started down the stairs.
 390.109 +        "Taru-chan, I'm sorry," ChibiUsa said as she tried to catch up
 390.110 +with Hotaru. She ignored ChibiUsa's apology and continued towards the
 390.111 +door.
 390.112 +       "You forgot your backpack upstairs," Hotaru said without
 390.113 +looking back at her. She opened the door and walked out.
 390.114 +        ChibiUsa hesitated for a moment. "Hotaru, matte!" she
 390.115 +yelled before running back upstairs to get her backpack.
 390.116 +
 390.117 +        ChibiUsa caught up to Hotaru down the road. She tried to catch
 390.118 +her breath as she walked alongside the angry dark haired girl. She
 390.119 +looked down at her shoes. "I'm sorry, Taru," she said in a small voice.
 390.120 +        Hotaru walked along for a moment in silence before answering.
 390.121 +"I love you, ChibiUsa. Why am I only allowed to love you at certain
 390.122 +times? Why only when we're alone? I have to live a lie in front of my
 390.123 +parents. They're the people I trust the most, and I can't tell them
 390.124 +that I'm in love. You pushed me away because Setsuna-mama was coming.
 390.125 +You pretended I didn't mean anything to you in front of her. You're
 390.126 +the most important thing in my life. That's why it hurts so much that
 390.127 +you pretend we're only friends until no one's looking. It's such a
 390.128 +strange feeling being in love, but it feels great. I don't want to
 390.129 +hide it." She finally turned to ChibiUsa. "When? When will we tell
 390.130 +everyone? When can we stop this stupid charade?"
 390.131 +        ChibiUsa couldn't meet her gaze. She was ashamed of herself.
 390.132 +She knew she'd hurt Hotaru badly that morning. "I'm... I'm sorry,
 390.133 +Hotaru. I love you. I don't want to hurt you." She stepped forward and
 390.134 +genty clasped Hotaru's hand with both of her own. She looked into
 390.135 +Hotaru's beautiful purple eyes. The raven haired girl still looked
 390.136 +angry and depressed. Hotaru blinked and her gaze started to soften.
 390.137 +ChibiUsa kissed her hand before continuing. "I'm so sorry about this
 390.138 +morning, but I'm still not used to everything, yet. I know you don't
 390.139 +want to keep this up, but I'm not ready to tell everyone yet."
 390.140 +        "Why not?" Hotaru demanded, some of her anger returning. "If
 390.141 +you love me, then why do we have to keep it a secret. What are you so
 390.142 +afraid of?" Hotaru pulled away from the pink haired girl and began
 390.143 +walking off again.
 390.144 +        ChibiUsa grabbed Hotaru's hand and turned her around. She
 390.145 +looked at her sadly. "This is all so new to me. I want to make sure
 390.146 +everything works out for the best. I love you, Taru-chan, and the
 390.147 +last thing I'd want to do is hurt you. I hate knowing that you're
 390.148 +sad. I'm sorry about not telling everyone, but I'm still shy about
 390.149 +the two of us. I don't know what to say or what anyone will think.
 390.150 +You're more important to me than that, though. I don't want to hurt
 390.151 +you anymore. Please, wait for me a little longer."
 390.152 +        Hotaru stared at her for a moment. She sighed. "It's so hard
 390.153 +to stay angry with you, Odango." Her arms went around the pink haired
 390.154 +girl. "Do you promise we'll tell them sometime soon?" she asked as
 390.155 +she held the other girl.
 390.156 +        "Hai," ChibiUsa said, nodding. "I'm really sorry about this
 390.157 +morning." She was glad Hotaru wasn't angry with her anymore, but she
 390.158 +still felt bad for how she'd acted. The two girls hugged before
 390.159 +continuing on their way. "You really want to tell everyone, don't
 390.160 +you?" ChibiUsa asked Their fingers intertwined as they held hands.
 390.161 +        "If we told everybody, we wouldn't have to sneak around
 390.162 +anymore. We wouldn't have to pretend there's nothing between us,"
 390.163 +Hotaru said as she looked into ChibiUsa's crimson eyes.
 390.164 +        ChibiUsa knew she wasn't being fair to the dark haired girl.
 390.165 +Hotaru hadn't wanted to hide anything from the beginning. She had
 390.166 +strenuously protested against hiding that they loved each other in the
 390.167 +first place. She had finally relented because she didn't want to hurt
 390.168 +ChibiUsa, but she continued to try to convince ChibiUsa to do
 390.169 +otherwise every chance she got.
 390.170 +        "Come on, Odango-chan. Let's not worry about it for now."
 390.171 +Hotaru smiled. "Besides, eventually we'll either have to tell
 390.172 +everyone or they'll find out anyway. It would be hard to pretend
 390.173 +we're just friends after we get married."
 390.174 +        ChibiUsa laughed. She always got nervous when they talked
 390.175 +about marriage. How was she supposed to propose to her best friend?
 390.176 +"I was thinking it might be nice to get married when we were sixteen,
 390.177 +like my mom. It's only about a year away. Or we could wait until
 390.178 +we're 17 when we're more mature."
 390.179 +        "How about now?" Hotaru asked calmly. She loved the pink
 390.180 +haired girl and dreamed about marrying her.
 390.181 +        "Now?" ChibiUsa asked surprised. "But we can't now. We have to
 390.182 +tell everyone first. And I've got to talk to my parents first and see if
 390.183 +you can come back to the future with me or if I need to stay in the
 390.184 +past with you. Westill have the high school entrance exams and..."
 390.185 +        Hotaru cut ChibiUsa off. "I've already got an engagement ring
 390.186 +for you." Both girls stopped suddenly on the sidewalk. ChibiUsa stared
 390.187 +as Hotaru pulled a small ring box out of her backpack and brought it
 390.188 +up for ChibiUsa to see.
 390.189 +        "It's beautiful," breathed ChibiUsa.
 390.190 +        Hotaru was pleased with ChibiUsa's reaction. She'd been
 390.191 +worried that ChibiUsa would protest against her buying an engagement
 390.192 +ring already. "How long have you had it?" ChibiUsa asked.
 390.193 +        Hotaru blushed. "Since a couple weeks ago. I've been wanting
 390.194 +to marry you for a long time."
 390.195 +        "Taru, we're too young," ChibiUsa argued nervously.
 390.196 +        "Don't worry, Odango-chan. I'm nervous about it, too," Hotaru
 390.197 +said.
 390.198 +        "Nervous about what?" ChibiUsa asked.
 390.199 +        "About proposing," Hotaru said smiling. "If you're too shy to,
 390.200 +just tell me and I'll be the one to propose. I'm kind of confused
 390.201 +about which of us should propose and I thought you might want to. The
 390.202 +only reason I haven't yet is because I haven't actually worked up the
 390.203 +courage to ask you yet. I just want you to know that I really want to
 390.204 +marry you. You mean so much to me."
 390.205 +        "Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said, not knowing how to reply.
 390.206 +        Hotaru sighed again. "Could I at least see what you'd look
 390.207 +wearing it for now?" she asked hopefully.
 390.208 +        ChibiUsa nodded shyly. 'I didn't know Hotaru was looking so
 390.209 +far ahead with the two of us. I'm so lucky to have her. She's really
 390.210 +thinking about us.'
 390.211 +        Hotaru slid the ring onto ChibiUsa's slender finger. Hotaru
 390.212 +held up the pink haired girl's hand and looked at her longingly. She
 390.213 +couldn't wait for the day when ChibiUsa was her bride.
 390.214 +        "How is it?" ChibiUsa asked. She flexed her finger and looked
 390.215 +at the ring. ChibiUsa was blushing a deep red as she looked from the
 390.216 +ring to the dreamy look on Hotaru's face.
 390.217 +        "You look beautiful as always, Odango-chan. You just look like
 390.218 +my cute Odango-chan that's engaged to me," Hotaru said smiling. She
 390.219 +brought ChibiUsa's hand up higher and kissed it before sliding the
 390.220 +ring off. She placed it back in the box before putting it back in her
 390.221 +backpack. "After seeing you wear the ring, I'll have to propose soon.
 390.222 +I really want to marry you now."
 390.223 +        ChibiUsa waved her arms. "Taru-chan, We've got plenty of time.
 390.224 +You shouldn't be too hasty about things like this. We should wait till
 390.225 +we're older."
 390.226 +        "Well, then you could always say that to me when I propose,"
 390.227 +Hotaru said as she walked towards the school gates. She faced ChibiUsa
 390.228 +and walked in backwards. "But could you really say no to me?" She
 390.229 +asked smiling.
 390.230 +        "No one ever told me having a girlfriend would be so much
 390.231 +trouble,"ChibiUsa said quietly.
 390.232 +        "Or so much fun. If your girlfriend happens to be your best
 390.233 +friend, it just makes it even more interesting," Hotaru whispered.
 390.234 +        ChibiUsa giggled. Hotaru smiled. All the tension she had been
 390.235 +feeling earlier had drifted away. 'I know ChibiUsa-chan's worried
 390.236 +about telling everyone, but soon I'll be able to get her to go along
 390.237 +with it. I just have to be ready to convince her. I'm sure I can.' Her
 390.238 +smile broadened. She mouthed the words 'I love you' to the pink
 390.239 +haired girl.
 390.240 +        The pink haired girl smiled at her and whispered back. "I love
 390.241 +you, too."
 390.242 +        Both girls held hands for what seemed like an eternity before
 390.243 +Hotaru walked off to her class. ChibiUsa turned around and saw Momoko
 390.244 +standing there. The Chinese girl had her purple hair done up in a
 390.245 +singleodango. She had an odd expression on her face as she looked
 390.246 +from ChibiUsa to the retreating form of Hotaru.
 390.247 +        'Did she see anything?' ChibiUsa thought frantically. 'What
 390.248 +did we do? Hotaru seems pretty obvious about us even when we are in
 390.249 +public.' "Ohayo,  Momo-chan," she said nervously.
 390.250 +        Momoko stared at her strangely for a second before replying.
 390.251 +"Ohayo, ChibiUsa-chan. How are you?"
 390.252 +        "I'm fine," ChibiUsa said. She smiled, glad that Hotaru wasn't
 390.253 +angry with her anymore. "Actually, I'm feeling great right now." She
 390.254 +spun around in a circle. 'I've felt better than I ever had since
 390.255 +Hotaru and I got together. Now that Hotaru's happy with me, it feels
 390.256 +like it'll be a great day. I've slept better then usual even though
 390.257 +we stayed up late talking and enjoying our time together.' She sighed
 390.258 +happily while blushing at the thoughts of what she and Hotaru had
 390.259 +done the night before.
 390.260 +        Momoko leaned towards ChibiUsa, the strange look returning to
 390.261 +her eyes. "You're fine, huh? Then why are you blushing?" the lavender
 390.262 +haired girl asked.
 390.263 +        ChibiUsa looked down. "Because..." she said simply.
 390.264 +        "Because what? I'm your friend. What aren't you telling me?"
 390.265 +Momoko asked. Momoko and Diana were the closest people to ChibiUsa,
 390.266 +besides Hotaru. She didn't keep things from either of them often. She
 390.267 +didn't know if she was ready to tell Momoko about what she and Hotaru
 390.268 +shared, but if Momoko was already on to it there wasn't a lot she
 390.269 +could do.
 390.270 +        "It's nothing," ChibiUsa said unconvincingly.
 390.271 +        "It has something to do with Hotaru, I know that. Why won't
 390.272 +you tell me?" Momoko asked sadly.
 390.273 +        "I'm sorry, Momo-chan, but I can't tell you yet. Soon, though.
 390.274 +I promise." ChibiUsa waved at her and started walking for class.
 390.275 +        "ChibiUsa, please..." Momoko started.
 390.276 +        "I can't. Not yet," ChibiUsa said.
 390.277 +        Momoko sighed. "I'll see you in class, ChibiUsa-chan."
 390.278 +        'I'm sorry, Momo-chan,' ChibiUsa thought. 'Someday.'
 390.279 +
 390.280 +        Hotaru looked around for her pink haired girlfriend. She
 390.281 +spotted a pair of familiar odango on the other side of a bush. She
 390.282 +made her way around it and smiled at ChibiUsa. ChibiUsa was sitting
 390.283 +and enjoying the shade with her bento box next to her. ChibiUsa
 390.284 +looked up at Hotaru. She smiled back and patted the ground beside
 390.285 +her. "Sit down, Taru-chan," ChibiUsa said happily.
 390.286 +        "I'm glad I found you. Not that you're too hard too find,"
 390.287 +Hotaru said as she sat down next to ChibiUsa. She brushed a leaf out
 390.288 +of the other girl's pink hair.
 390.289 +        "I'm glad you found me, too," ChibiUsa said quietly. Hotaru's
 390.290 +hand went under her chin. ChibiUsa looked around quickly. She could
 390.291 +hear some of the other students, but none of them could see the two
 390.292 +girls. As soon as she turned back, she felt Hotaru's soft lips press
 390.293 +against her own. She giggled lightly as Hotaru kissed her again.
 390.294 +ChibiUsa's hand went down past the raven haired girl's skirt to one of
 390.295 +her legs, clothed by the dark stockings she wore. ChibiUsa knew she
 390.296 +should stop now. If someone walked past and ChibiUsa pulled away
 390.297 +again, Hotaru would be angry. If she didn't, whoever was there might
 390.298 +very likely notice the two girls. Hotaru's tongue pushed between The
 390.299 +pink haired girl's lips. Hotaru moaned softly as they kissed.
 390.300 +        Both girls turned as they heard a rustling from the bush
 390.301 +behind them. They blushed as ChibiUsa pulled her hand away from
 390.302 +Hotaru's thigh.
 390.303 +        "Diana?!" ChibiUsa said surprised as the small gray cat
 390.304 +walked out of the bush. She had a paper in her mouth. She set it down
 390.305 +in front of ChibiUsa. "I don't know if you needed this or not, Small
 390.306 +Lady, but you left it at home. It's some of your notes."
 390.307 +        "Arigato, Diana. You didn't have to," ChibiUsa said, glad
 390.308 +that it had been her guardian cat.
 390.309 +        "Don't mention it. I'm glad I could help." She began to leave,
 390.310 +but turned back. "Hotaru-san? Were you teaching Small Lady how to
 390.311 +kiss? I'd just like to say that it looked like you were doing a great
 390.312 +job." Diana smiled happily and walked off. Both girls eyes went wide
 390.313 +as they sweatdropped. Hotaru blushed deeper. Diana was ChibiUsa's age,
 390.314 +but she still seemed very innocent.
 390.315 +        Hotaru and ChibiUsa sat in silence for several minutes.
 390.316 +Before they could talk about what happened, Ruruna and Naruru popped
 390.317 +up.
 390.318 +        "Hello, ChibiUsa-chan! Hi, Hotaru-chan!" Naruru said happily.
 390.319 +        "Have you two heard about the dance?" Ruruna asked.
 390.320 +        "What dance?" Hotaru asked confused.
 390.321 +        "We didn't think so. Anyway, there's going to be a dance this
 390.322 +Friday.
 390.323 +Ruruna and I are going to make sure everybody knows since we're both
 390.324 +helping to organize it." Naruru smiled.
 390.325 +        "Friday? But today's Wednesday!" ChibiUsa said.
 390.326 +        "Yeah, so you don't have much time to get a date for it, but
 390.327 +we know you can if you try," said Ruruna. "If you need any help, just
 390.328 +ask us."
 390.329 +        "We've got to go for now, but we'll see you two later. Ja
 390.330 +ne!!" Naruru and Ruruna waved as they walked off.
 390.331 +
 390.332 +        ChibiUsa walked home as soon as school had ended. Diana was
 390.333 +on top of her head and chatting away about what had happened the day
 390.334 +before while ChibiUsa had been at the Outer Senshi's house. Usagi had
 390.335 +made her curry while visiting and this time it didn't look like
 390.336 +garbage. Mamoru had visited along with her and eaten the tasty food,
 390.337 +Rei and the other Senshi had visited and talked to the two about
 390.338 +"Sailor business" mostly for old times sake since the only senshi
 390.339 +living there was ChibiUsa.
 390.340 +        "Diana," ChibiUsa interrupted, " What do you think about
 390.341 +Hotaru?"
 390.342 +        Diana climbed down so that she could see her mistress's face.
 390.343 +She was smiling. "Hotaru is a very nice friend," she said. "It's nice
 390.344 +she's teaching you how to kiss. Now when you get a boyfriend you can
 390.345 +be ready."
 390.346 +        ChibiUsa smiled. 'She's teaching me more than kissing.'
 390.347 +ChibiUsa stepped up to her front door and walked inside.
 390.348 +Usagi's mother, father and brother were watching a movie.
 390.349 +        "Good afternoon, ChibiUsa," Ikuko said smiling, Kenji nodded
 390.350 +in greeting. "Usagi's upstairs, probably talking on the phone again
 390.351 +with that boyfriend of hers."
 390.352 +        "Bo-boyfriend!"," Kenji said frilling up like a cats coils.
 390.353 +        "Dad," Shingo said trying to calm him down. "She's been
 390.354 +married for years now. Of course she's talking to him on the phone. I
 390.355 +think your having flashbacks since she's visiting."
 390.356 +        "A boyfriend who likes to run up our phone bills," Kenji
 390.357 +commented.
 390.358 +        Shingo buried his face in his hands in frustration. "Dad...."
 390.359 +        ChibiUsa smiled and walked up to Usagi's room and felt
 390.360 +Diana jump down from her head. The small grey cat nuzzled next to her
 390.361 +mother. Chibi-Usa sat down next to Usagi, and Usagi turned and smiled
 390.362 +at her future daughter. She had been talking on the phone.
 390.363 +        "Konichiwa ChibiUsa," Usagi smiled. "How did you like
 390.364 +spending the night with Hotaru-chan?"
 390.365 +        "Interesting," she answered. "I made it to school on time.
 390.366 +Usagi... you love Mamoru, ne?"
 390.367 +        Usagi looked at ChibiUsa strangely, and answered. "Yes."
 390.368 +        "Then do you think I could fall in love?"
 390.369 +        "ChibiUsa, most people would say you're too young, but I fell
 390.370 +in love with Mamo-chan when I was fourteen. Your over that age and I
 390.371 +think you could fall in love any time now."
 390.372 +        "Arigato, Usagi," ChibiUsa said and got up to leave.
 390.373 +'I already am,' she thought.
 390.374 +
 390.375 +        "So what do you think?" Hotaru said over the phone.
 390.376 +        "I don't know 'Taru-chan," ChibiUsa answered fidgiting with
 390.377 +the phone cord. Hotaru had just asked ChibiUsa to the dance. The one
 390.378 +that Ruruna and Naruru had told them about at lunch.
 390.379 +        "Come on, you're not still afraid are you?" Hotaru
 390.380 +answered a bit of anger in her voice.
 390.381 +        ChibiUsa knew that all that Hotaru wanted was to be able to
 390.382 +be open about their relationship. ChibiUsa's heart beat grew faster.
 390.383 +'What do I say?' "Taru you know I love you, but....I just can't. Not
 390.384 +yet," ChibiUsa said. "You know the risks that come with any kind of
 390.385 +love that grows. Look at everything Usagi and Mamoru went through.
 390.386 +We'd have a lot more to deal with if we told everyone."
 390.387 +        Hotaru sighed. "Odango-chan," Hotaru answered, "I don't know
 390.388 +how long I can take keeping this a secret...I just want what
 390.389 +Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa have."
 390.390 +        "And all I want is what my mother and father have," ChibiUsa
 390.391 +replied, "I'll go with you 'Taru, but this isn't my official
 390.392 +outcoming."
 390.393 +        "In other words 'friends only'?" she asked.
 390.394 +        "...it has to be," ChibiUsa said.
 390.395 +        "Alright Odango-chan, for you."
 390.396 +
 390.397 +
 390.398 +        Hotaru was lying in her bed. She had several pillows propped
 390.399 +up behind her, to keep comfortable. She was trying to read. It
 390.400 +usually helped her when she was thinking about something too much.
 390.401 +This time, though, it didn't seem to be helping at all. She reread a
 390.402 +sentence over again. She set down the book in frustration, unable to
 390.403 +concentrate on it. She reached over to a nightstand and picked up a
 390.404 +picture frame she had on it. She smiled when she looked at the
 390.405 +picture. It was of her and ChibiUsa. She had an arm around
 390.406 +ChibiUsa's waist, while the pink haired girl had an arm over her
 390.407 +shoulder. They were both smiling oddly and Hotaru was blushing
 390.408 +slightly. It was from before they'd talked about their feelings for
 390.409 +each other. At the time it had just been a silly pose they were doing
 390.410 +for the camera, but she remembered how ChibiUsa had clutched her
 390.411 +shoulder and brought her closer before the picture was taken. The
 390.412 +picture was one of her favorites. Her fingers brushed the glass over
 390.413 +the image of ChibiUsa. Hotaru rolled over and sighed. 'I don't want
 390.414 +to go as friends,' she thought. 'I don't care what everyone else
 390.415 +thinks. I want them to know I love her. I want to go as her
 390.416 +girlfriend. We've been best friends for the longest time. Why does
 390.417 +she want to keep acting like that's all we are? A dance sounds fun
 390.418 +and I want her to take me.' She hugged one of her pillows tightly
 390.419 +against herself. 'Odango-chan.'
 390.420 +        Hotaru heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she said.
 390.421 +        The door opened and Haruka walked in. "I brought you some tea,
 390.422 +Hime-chan." She handed her daughter the cup.
 390.423 +        "Arigato, Haruka-papa," she said gratefully. She felt better
 390.424 +as she sat with Haruka. She drank a bit of the warm liquid, relaxing.
 390.425 +Haruka ruffled Hotaru's hair.
 390.426 +        "Haruka-papa, I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm 15," Hotaru
 390.427 +protested.
 390.428 +        Haruka laughed. "You're growing up, but both you and ChibiUsa
 390.429 +still seem like little girls. I'm glad about that. I wouldn't want
 390.430 +you growing up too fast. I remember when you were a small baby."
 390.431 +        Hotaru giggled. "That was only a couple years ago."
 390.432 +        "See? You're already growing up too fast because you had to
 390.433 +reage and be Sailor Saturn again. So how was school?" Haruka
 390.434 +asked.
 390.435 +        Hotaru sighed and hugged her pillow again. "It was pretty
 390.436 +good. I had a really nice lunch with ChibiUsa."
 390.437 +        "And you didn't have much homework, so the day seems to have
 390.438 +gone well. What else happened, Hime-chan?" Haruka looked at the
 390.439 +younger girl.
 390.440 +        "I found out that there's going to be a dance this Friday,"
 390.441 +Hotaru answered.
 390.442 +        Haruka smiled. "Ohhhh...So the girl you want to go with
 390.443 +either doesn't seem to know you exist or you don't think she'd go
 390.444 +with you." Hotaru stared at Haruka. "Okay, maybe that isn't it. Have
 390.445 +you found someone to go with? You can always take ChibiUsa. I think
 390.446 +she has a crush on you."
 390.447 +        Hotaru stared at Haruka again. She teased Hotaru about
 390.448 +ChibiUsa every so often even though Hotaru hadn't told her about
 390.449 +the two of them. She didn't really know what to say. Before, she
 390.450 +always told Haruka that they were only friends, but that had been
 390.451 +before she'd admitted to herself that she was in love with the pink
 390.452 +girl.
 390.453 +        "So why wouldn't anyone want to take a pretty girl like
 390.454 +you?" Haruka continued.Hotaru sighed, glad that she hadn't had to
 390.455 +come up with a response.
 390.456 +        "It's complicated, Haruka-papa. I'm going to the dance, but
 390.457 +not the way I want to," Hotaru tried to explain.
 390.458 +        Haruka nodded. "It sounds confusing. Is there anything I can
 390.459 +do to help?"
 390.460 +        "I don't think so," Hotaru said. She looked up. "Do you think
 390.461 +ChibiUsa-chan can spend the night with me this Friday? She could come
 390.462 +back here with me after the dance."
 390.463 +        "I don't see why not. Let me talk to Setsuna and Michi first.
 390.464 +Otherwise, I'm sure she can," said Haruka.
 390.465 +        "Thank you, Haruka-papa," Hotaru said happily. Haruka smiled
 390.466 +at her as she picked up the empty tea cups and prepared to leave.
 390.467 +        Haruka turned to Hotaru before leaving. "Hotaru, don't worry
 390.468 +about it. If there's one thing I know, its that you can't run from
 390.469 +fate. Whatever happens, I'm sure it'll turn out alright."
 390.470 +        Hotaru contemplated what Haruka said. "Thanks, Haruka-papa."
 390.471 +        "No problem. If you need any help, just ask. Sorry about the
 390.472 +dance, but I hope you enjoy yourself anyway." Haruka opened the door.
 390.473 +        "I'm sure I will." Hotaru waved as Haruka departed. Hotaru
 390.474 +sighed and fell back on her bed.
 390.475 +
 390.476 +        The next day after school, Hotaru and ChibiUsa were at the
 390.477 +Crown Cafe discussing the dance.
 390.478 +        "What if you wore boys' clothes, like Haruka-san?" ChibiUsa
 390.479 +asked.
 390.480 +        Hotaru sweatdropped. "I don't think that would work. I'd just
 390.481 +look like a girl cross-dressing."
 390.482 +        "We could give you a short pony tail," ChibiUsa suggested.
 390.483 +        "I'm glad you want to go as a couple, but I still don't think
 390.484 +that would work. That does give me an idea. What if you let your hair
 390.485 +down? You always wear it in the odango hair style at school, so
 390.486 +noone's seen you with it down before," Hotaru said smiling.
 390.487 +        "For one thing, everyone would see me with you, so if they
 390.488 +didn't think it was me, they'd still think that you were going with a
 390.489 +girl," ChibiUsa said.
 390.490 +        Hotaru smiled a bit more. "I don't mind if they know I've got
 390.491 +a girlfriend. You're the one who doesn't want anyone to know."
 390.492 +        "Even then, I'm the only girl with pink hair at school.
 390.493 +Everybody would just think I was trying a different hair style at the
 390.494 +dance." ChibiUsa sipped her drink.
 390.495 +        "I like my idea, even more if everyone would notice that
 390.496 +we're going out. I've got another idea, but you're not going to like
 390.497 +it," Hotaru said. She waved to Unazuki as she served another group of
 390.498 +people.
 390.499 +        "What is it?" ChibiUsa asked, curious.
 390.500 +        "The reason you don't want to go with me as your date is
 390.501 +because then everyone would find out about us, right?" Hotaru asked.
 390.502 +        "Yeah...."
 390.503 +        "Then all we have to do is tell most of our family and
 390.504 +friends today, and we won't have to worry about them finding out from
 390.505 +other people who were at the dance." Hotaru smiled at the pink haired
 390.506 +girl again.
 390.507 +        ChibiUsa stared at Hotaru. "But the dance is tomorrow."
 390.508 +        "So if we get moving now, we should be able to tell everyone
 390.509 +in time. We could always have them meet us at the Hikawa shrine,"
 390.510 +Hotaru said. "Or we could tell them all on Saturday. I doubt they'll
 390.511 +have found out by then." Her hand clasped ChibiUsa's beneath the
 390.512 +table. "You should relax, Odango-chan. The whole reason I want to go
 390.513 +to the dance with you is because it sounds fun. And because it's with
 390.514 +you," she sighed, "even if we are going as friends. I still don't
 390.515 +promise I'll act like your best friend."
 390.516 +        ChibiUsa squeezed Hotaru's hand back. "How can I relax if you
 390.517 +give me reasons to worry." She smiled as her fingers intertwined with
 390.518 +Hotaru's.
 390.519 +        "And you wouldn't have to worry if you'd just let us come out
 390.520 +to everyone. I'm sure everyone would be happy that we have each
 390.521 +other." Hotaru leaned across the table and kissed ChibiUsa lightly in
 390.522 +the public cafe. ChibiUsa kissed her back tentatively, trying to
 390.523 +control her blushing. Her tongue pushed into Hotaru's mouth. Their
 390.524 +tongues met as they kissed. As they pulled away, ChibiUsa noticed
 390.525 +that the dark haired girl was blushing as well.
 390.526 +        "Taru-chan?"
 390.527 +        "I understand how you feel about everything, ChibiUsa. I'm shy
 390.528 +about these things too. But I love you and I want everyone to know
 390.529 +that. I understand why you don't want to tell everyone yet. I'm
 390.530 +nervous about it as well, but I don't want to have to hide how much I
 390.531 +love you," Hotaru said in a soft voice.
 390.532 +        ChibiUsa smiled at her. "I'm glad you understand. You always
 390.533 +understand me."
 390.534 +        "It's because I can read you like a book," Hotaru said with a
 390.535 +smile.
 390.536 +        "Oh, yeah?" Then what am I thinking right now?" ChibiUsa asked.
 390.537 +She stuck out her tongue.
 390.538 +        "You're thinking that since neither of us have much homework,
 390.539 +it would be fun to go over to my house and cuddle for a couple of
 390.540 +hours." Hotaru said with her chin on her hands.
 390.541 +        "I was thinking we could go get Ice Cream or something to eat,
 390.542 +but that does sound a lot better," ChibiUsa said happily.
 390.543 +        "Darn. I was sure you had your 'I want to cuddle look' just
 390.544 +then, not your 'let's spend Hotaru's allowance on food' look."
 390.545 +Hotaru gave her another quick kiss before they got up to leave.
 390.546 +
 390.547 +_____________
 390.548 +That's it for part one. ^^ We hope you enjoyed it. Please tell us what
 390.549 +you think. Bye!!!
 390.550 +

   391.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   391.2 +++ b/stories/moonlit2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   391.3 @@ -0,0 +1,920 @@
   391.4 +
   391.5 +Hello everyone! Sorry its been so long. ^^; We've 
   391.6 +finally gotten around to finishing this. We're trying 
   391.7 +to work on a couple different stories right now, so 
   391.8 +we'll try to get those out sometime soon. Please tell
   391.9 +us what you think of this story. Please? We love to 
  391.10 +hear from all of you. Please e-mail us at:
  391.11 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  391.12 +
  391.13 +If you're wondering who some of the characters are, 
  391.14 +don't worry. ^-^ Ruruna & Naruru are two of ChibiUsa's
  391.15 +friends from the manga (who Hotaru thought were trying
  391.16 +to steal ChibiUsa from her ^^). Momoko's another 
  391.17 +friend of ChibiUsa's from both the anime and the manga. 
  391.18 +Diana is ChibiUsa's talking kitten who came back with 
  391.19 +her from the future. She can change into a human, 
  391.20 +though she still has her tail when she does.
  391.21 +
  391.22 +Oh, and one last thing. We're trying to coordinate an 
  391.23 +anthology of Hotaru and ChibiUsa stories, but we need
  391.24 +to get more stories for it. If any authors out there
  391.25 +are at all interested, please e-mail us. Thanks! ^-^
  391.26 +
  391.27 +This is for mature readers and ivolves sexual acts, so 
  391.28 +please don't read if you'd rather not get to that part.
  391.29 +These characters are copyright the great Naoko Takeuchi.
  391.30 +
  391.31 +We really hope you enjoy the story. ^^
  391.32 +
  391.33 +
  391.34 +
  391.35 +	        Moonlit Nights Part 2
  391.36 +		By: The Amazoness Quartet
  391.37 +
  391.38 +
  391.39 +"You look beautiful," Michiru said as Hotaru stepped
  391.40 +down the stairs. She was wearing a black dress with a
  391.41 +satin bow on the back.
  391.42 +
  391.43 +Hotaru turned around twice. "Do you really think so,
  391.44 +Michiru-mama?"
  391.45 +
  391.46 +"Of course," Michiru answered.  She looked proudly at
  391.47 +the girl she had raised as a daughter.  "Oh Ruka, look
  391.48 +at her. She's grown into such a pretty young lady."
  391.49 +
  391.50 +Hotaru blushed, Haruka smiled.  There was a flash of
  391.51 +light as Setsuna took a picture. "I just have to make
  391.52 +sure we have a picture of our little girl's first
  391.53 +dance," said Setsuna.  "So who's the lucky young boy or
  391.54 +girl you're taking to the dance?"
  391.55 +
  391.56 +"I'm going with Haruka-papa to pick up ChibiUsa-chan
  391.57 +and then we're heading to the dance," said Hotaru.
  391.58 +Though ChibiUsa was still pretending they were just
  391.59 +friends, Hotaru didn't try very hard to keep it a
  391.60 +secret.
  391.61 +
  391.62 +"Oh, so you're taking Small Lady to the dance?" Setsuna
  391.63 +looked at Hotaru knowingly. "She can be quite a
  391.64 +handful. Make sure you two behave and
  391.65 +everything should be fine."
  391.66 +
  391.67 +"Setsuna," Michiru giggled.
  391.68 +
  391.69 +"I have to keep an eye out for our daughter, don't I?"
  391.70 +Setsuna replied.
  391.71 +
  391.72 +Hotaru sighed. "I don't think you'll have to worry,
  391.73 +Setsuna-mama. I'm only going to the dance with
  391.74 +ChibiUsa, my best friend." She put emphasis on 'best
  391.75 +friend'. That wasn't what she wanted to go as.
  391.76 +
  391.77 +"Don't sound too disappointed. I'm sure she's not bad
  391.78 +company.  And you might meet someone while you're
  391.79 +there," Setsuna said.
  391.80 +
  391.81 +Hotaru sighed again. 'That's not it.'
  391.82 +
  391.83 + "Are you ready?"  Haruka asked. Hotaru nodded and
  391.84 +stood up.  Michiru and Setsuna followed them to the
  391.85 +car.
  391.86 +
  391.87 +"Have fun, Hotaru," Michiru said as Hotaru got in the
  391.88 +back seat.
  391.89 +
  391.90 +"I will. Thanks!" Hotaru waved as they started to drive
  391.91 +away.
  391.92 +
  391.93 +"There she is," Haruka pointed to ChibiUsa waiting in
  391.94 +front of her house. ChibiUsa smiled and started waving
  391.95 +her arms as Haruka pulled up.
  391.96 +
  391.97 +'She's so beautiful,' Hotaru thought.  ChibiUsa had her
  391.98 +hair down. She was wearing a pink dress that fit her well,
  391.99 +covering her shoulders, and with frills at the bottom.
 391.100 +"You look cute," Hotaru said aloud as ChibiUsa climbed
 391.101 +in next to her.
 391.102 +
 391.103 +ChibiUsa smiled happily, glad that Hotaru thought so.
 391.104 +She slowly looked Hotaru up and down, "You're pretty
 391.105 +tonight."
 391.106 +
 391.107 +"Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said. She laughed.
 391.108 +"But you're supposed to say 'you always look pretty'
 391.109 +after that."
 391.110 +
 391.111 +ChibiUsa laughed as well. "Can I pass it this time?"
 391.112 +
 391.113 +Hotaru appeared to contemplate for a moment. "No. Not
 391.114 +this time."
 391.115 +
 391.116 +"Okay, then. You always look pretty."
 391.117 +
 391.118 +Hotaru smiled. "Good. Thanks again, ChibiUsa-chan."
 391.119 +
 391.120 +ChibiUsa smiled back at her. "Anytime, Taru."
 391.121 +
 391.122 +Haruka looked into the back of the car with an odd look
 391.123 +on her face. She didn't remember acting like that when
 391.124 +she was that young. Or rather she did, but with a
 391.125 +certain aqua haired girl. The two of them just hadn't
 391.126 +been quite as childish when playing around with each
 391.127 +other. It took Haruka a moment to make a connection.
 391.128 +
 391.129 +She turned around and stared at the back for a few brief
 391.130 +seconds before turning her attention back to the road.
 391.131 +'No,' she thought. 'This is different. They've been
 391.132 +best friends since before we raised Hotaru. I'm
 391.133 +probably just looking into it too deeply. I do tease
 391.134 +Hotaru about it a lot, though.' A smirk formed on
 391.135 +Haruka's face. 'What if I was right the whole time?'
 391.136 +She looked back and saw the two of them talking
 391.137 +quietly, whispering to each other and laughing from
 391.138 +time to time.  She noticed they were both holding hands
 391.139 +as well. It wasn't a big thing in and of itself, but
 391.140 +with how they'd been acting lately, it wasn't too
 391.141 +difficult for Haruka to take that a step further than
 391.142 +friendly hand holding. Haruka's grin widened. 'It would
 391.143 +be nice to win a bet with Michi for once.'
 391.144 +
 391.145 +Both girls started leaning towards each other.  They
 391.146 +sat back quickly as the car turned a corner.
 391.147 +
 391.148 +"You two enjoy yourselves," Haruka said as he stopped
 391.149 +the car by the school.
 391.150 +
 391.151 +"I'm sure we will, "Hotaru said.  She leaned over
 391.152 +ChibiUsa and scooted across.  Hotaru grabbed ChibiUsa's
 391.153 +hand and helped her out.  Neither of them noticed the gray
 391.154 +cat that jumped out of the car after the two of them.
 391.155 +
 391.156 +"Hi, ChibiUsa-chan! Hotaru-chan!" Naruru greeted them
 391.157 +as they walked inside.
 391.158 +
 391.159 +"Neither of you came with someone?"  Ruruna asked.
 391.160 +"That's too bad. Don't worry about it though. C'mon,
 391.161 +Hotaru, we've got somebody you can dance with."
 391.162 +
 391.163 +ChibiUsa grabbed onto Hotaru's arm protectively as
 391.164 +Ruruna and Naruru tried to lead them away. "Hotaru and
 391.165 +I decided to go to the dance together since neither of
 391.166 +us could find anybody."
 391.167 +
 391.168 +"Well, I did find someone. She's right around here,"
 391.169 +Hotaru looked around before her gaze settled on
 391.170 +ChibiUsa.
 391.171 +
 391.172 +Naruru scratched her head nervously and looked down.
 391.173 +"Yeah, same with me and Ruruna."
 391.174 +
 391.175 +"We figured, we both helped organize the dance anyway,
 391.176 +so we might be able to help better if we weren't busy
 391.177 +here with someone," Ruruna tried to explain.
 391.178 +
 391.179 +"We're going to make sure everything's going well.
 391.180 +We'll see you two around later," Naruru said.  Ruruna
 391.181 +and Naruru waved before walking away through the crowd
 391.182 +of students.
 391.183 +
 391.184 +"You look nervous, ChibiUsa," Hotaru said as she and
 391.185 +ChibiUsa stood together.
 391.186 +
 391.187 +The pink haired girl smiled at her. "I'm here with
 391.188 +a beautiful girl and I'm not sure what I should do."
 391.189 +
 391.190 +"Well, if you want my advice, kiss her whenever you get
 391.191 +the chance," Hotaru said innocently. She started
 391.192 +leaning towards ChibiUsa slightly. "Like right now."
 391.193 +
 391.194 +ChibiUsa took a step back. "It's a little too crowded."
 391.195 +
 391.196 +Hotaru smiled. "I don't mind."
 391.197 +
 391.198 +ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru for a moment. "You've just
 391.199 +been full of surprises lately."
 391.200 +
 391.201 +Hotaru brushed some hair away from her face. "What do
 391.202 +you mean?"
 391.203 +
 391.204 +The pink haired girl giggled. "I could have sworn you
 391.205 +were the shy one before all this."
 391.206 +
 391.207 +"I just don't think you should have to hide it if you
 391.208 +love someone. I love you. I don't want to pretend any
 391.209 +different." Hotaru smiled. "Besides, I'll be the shy
 391.210 +one if you want. I never remember you being this shy
 391.211 +when we were younger, so I'd love to switch places with
 391.212 +you."
 391.213 +
 391.214 +ChibiUsa stood thinking for a moment. 'She's right. I
 391.215 +never used to act like this before we got together. Why
 391.216 +have I been doing that? Because what if someone finds
 391.217 +out? I can tell that Hotaru's nervous before she does
 391.218 +things a lot of the time, but she's been going ahead
 391.219 +anyway. Has fear of being found out really changed
 391.220 +things for me?'
 391.221 +
 391.222 +"ChibiUsa-chan?" Hotaru asked worriedly. "Are you okay?
 391.223 +I was just kidding."
 391.224 +
 391.225 +"I'm fine, Taru. Just thinking." ChibiUsa smiled
 391.226 +brightly and offered her hand to Hotaru. "Let's dance."
 391.227 +
 391.228 +Hotaru blushed and looked at her for a moment. She took
 391.229 +ChibiUsa's hand with her own. "Hai. I'd love to."
 391.230 +ChibiUsa led the other girl onto the dance floor.
 391.231 +
 391.232 +Momoko stood against a wall, her lavender hair in its
 391.233 +normal single odango hairstyle. She was wearing a dress
 391.234 +that looked vaguely Chinese and cut off at her lower
 391.235 +thighs.
 391.236 +
 391.237 +Momoko looked at ChibiUsa and Hotaru, who were a
 391.238 +bit apart from everyone else.  They seemed to be standing
 391.239 +very close together and getting closer. Momoko couldn't
 391.240 +make out what they were saying. Finally the two went
 391.241 +off into the crowd.
 391.242 +
 391.243 +Standing next to Momoko was a girl in an odd gray and
 391.244 +purple dress with short dark hair.  Momoko was sure
 391.245 +that the other girl was watching Hotaru and ChibiUsa
 391.246 +as well.
 391.247 +
 391.248 +"If Hotaru was teaching ChibiUsa to kiss, then she must
 391.249 +have been getting ready for something. Maybe it's for
 391.250 +someone here at the dance," Diana thought to herself.
 391.251 +
 391.252 +"Excuse me," Momoko said, interrupting her thoughts.
 391.253 +"Are you watching those two?"  She pointed towards
 391.254 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru.
 391.255 +
 391.256 +"I.. I'm sorry... I should go," Diana said before she
 391.257 +turned to leave.  A hand grabbed her shoulder, "Don't
 391.258 +go. I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just wanted to
 391.259 +know if you're watching them. I am too, and I thought
 391.260 +we could compare notes," the lavender haired girl said.
 391.261 +"I'm Momoko, a friend of theirs."
 391.262 +
 391.263 +"I'm Diana, and so am I," Diana replied. She knew
 391.264 +Momoko well, though Momoko didn't know she was
 391.265 +ChibiUsa's cat.
 391.266 +
 391.267 +"That's strange. ChibiUsa has a cat named Diana,"
 391.268 +Momoko said.
 391.269 +
 391.270 +Diana laughed nervously, "I was named after her... I
 391.271 +mean the cat was named after me," she said hastily.
 391.272 +
 391.273 +Momoko laughed, "It's good to meet you. I hope we can
 391.274 +find out whatever it is we're both looking for."
 391.275 +
 391.276 +"Me too," Diana agreed.  She couldn't help blushing as
 391.277 +she looked at Momoko.
 391.278 +
 391.279 +"Are you okay?" Momoko asked.
 391.280 +
 391.281 +"H..Hai" Diana answered.  She looked away quickly.
 391.282 +She had had a crush on Momoko for a long time. She'd
 391.283 +known Momoko for quite a while in her cat form. Momoko
 391.284 +was always very nice to her, petting her and giving her
 391.285 +food.  She hadn't expected to meet Momoko here in her
 391.286 +human form.  "Will you dance with me?" Diana blurted
 391.287 +out.  She blushed as soon as the words were out of her
 391.288 +mouth and looked away.
 391.289 +
 391.290 +Momoko blushed as well and coughed into her fist.  She
 391.291 +thought about it. 'Well, ChibiUsa and Hotaru are
 391.292 +dancing together. It's the same thing.' "That's a good
 391.293 +idea," she said.  "We can get closer to ChibiUsa over
 391.294 +there and see if we can find out what's going on."
 391.295 +This was the first time Momoko had ever been asked to
 391.296 +dance by a girl.  It was... strange.  Plenty of boys had
 391.297 +asked her, though she'd declined. By now at her age most
 391.298 +of the girls had grown out of thinking boys were
 391.299 +stupid, but Momoko still didn't like them much, even if
 391.300 +Kyosuke was her friend. She looked closely at Diana.
 391.301 +She had dark gray hair done up in four odango. She was a bit
 391.302 +smaller than Momoko and was wearing a tight purple dress
 391.303 +with a ruffled skirt that had a gray skirt beneath it.
 391.304 +She wore lavender stockings and had a bow around her
 391.305 +neck.  Diana looked up at her happily. Both girls
 391.306 +continued to blush as they began to dance together.
 391.307 +
 391.308 +Hotaru was a bit shocked that ChibiUsa had asked her to
 391.309 +dance.  ChibiUsa was pretty shy about her relationship
 391.310 +with Hotaru, but Hotaru was shy about it as well, though she
 391.311 +tried not to be.  ChibiUsa was overall more outgoing
 391.312 +than she was and she wished that the pink haired girl
 391.313 +would act that way about the two of them. Hotaru's line
 391.314 +of thought was interrupted as she felt ChibiUsa's hand
 391.315 +on her waist.
 391.316 +
 391.317 +"ChibiUsa, what's gotten into you tonight? Not that I
 391.318 +mind though, but I was sure that you wouldn't want to
 391.319 +do anything like this. I thought I'd be lucky if we
 391.320 +danced at all." Hotaru said.
 391.321 +
 391.322 +ChibiUsa brushed a stray strand of hair away from
 391.323 +Hotaru's face.  "Well, I'd been thinking about this
 391.324 +a lot over the past two days. I had a lot of fun
 391.325 +dancing with you at Usagi's wedding a couple of years
 391.326 +ago and I really wanted to dance with you again.  No
 391.327 +one thought it was strange that we were dancing
 391.328 +together then."
 391.329 +
 391.330 +Hotaru giggled. "Yeah, but we were both about about ten
 391.331 +back then. Of course no one thought it was strange."
 391.332 +
 391.333 +"Two friends can dance together," ChibiUsa said.
 391.334 +
 391.335 +"Hai," Hotaru agreed.  "But I'm sure they don't have
 391.336 +the same intentions I have in mind for you after we get
 391.337 +home."
 391.338 +
 391.339 +ChibiUsa blushed.
 391.340 +
 391.341 +"And I'm sure most of them don't plan on spending
 391.342 +the whole dance together."
 391.343 +
 391.344 +"That's true," ChibiUsa conceded. She hesitated a
 391.345 +second before placing her hand on Hotaru's hip. Hotaru
 391.346 +smiled, and placed her hand on ChibiUsa's side.
 391.347 +ChibiUsa started to remember the many other dances she
 391.348 +had been to in the future
 391.349 +as a new song began. Mostly formal occasions at the
 391.350 +palace in Crystal Tokyo. The only dance she remembered
 391.351 +fondly was when she'd danced with Hotaru at Mamoru and
 391.352 +Usagi's wedding.  She wanted to enjoy her time with
 391.353 +Hotaru whether anyone saw them or not.  The two girls
 391.354 +began to dance. Slowly the rest of the world seemed to
 391.355 +fade away, leaving them oblivious to everything but
 391.356 +each other.
 391.357 +
 391.358 +
 391.359 +Momoko saw ChibiUsa and Hotaru dancing near her.  She'd
 391.360 +forgotten all about them while dancing with the mysterious
 391.361 +girl.  She blushed. 'I've never felt like this before.
 391.362 +I don't know why, but it feels like I've met her
 391.363 +before. She's very pretty. She's a great dancer too.
 391.364 +She seems so innocent. Who is she?' Momoko's hand slid
 391.365 +down Diana's back, Diana purred happily, Momoko's hand
 391.366 +brushed something soft and furry.  It seemed to be
 391.367 +moving in time to the music. Momoko clutched it,
 391.368 +startling Diana. She turned the smaller girl around,
 391.369 +Momoko stared wide eyed at Diana's tail.  "What... What
 391.370 +is that?" Momoko asked.
 391.371 +
 391.372 +"My tail?" Diana asked, confused. She didn't know why
 391.373 +Momoko was acting so strangely. Suddenly realization
 391.374 +dawned on her.  People didn't have tails. She kept hers
 391.375 +even in her human form, unlike her parents.  She felt
 391.376 +Momoko tug at  her tail.  Diana pushed away, tears
 391.377 +building up in her eyes.  Things had been going so well
 391.378 +with Momoko and now her tail had ruined everything.
 391.379 +Her vision blurred as she wiped some tears away with
 391.380 +her sleeve.  "I..I've got to go.." she said quickly
 391.381 +before heading through the crowd.
 391.382 +
 391.383 +"Wait!!" Momoko yelled as she tried to catch up with
 391.384 +her.  "Matte! Don't go!"  She grabbed for the other
 391.385 +girl, but it was too late. She was already gone.
 391.386 +
 391.387 +
 391.388 +ChibiUsa smiled happily as she continued to dance with
 391.389 +Hotaru. She loved the comforting feel of Hotaru's hands
 391.390 +on her shoulders. She felt Hotaru's soft skin through
 391.391 +the thin fabric.
 391.392 +
 391.393 +"I just realized something," ChibiUsa said.
 391.394 +
 391.395 +"What?" Hotaru asked the pink haired girl.  She blinked
 391.396 +several times as she brought herself back to reality.
 391.397 +She'd tuned out the rest of the world while they'd been
 391.398 +dancing. "All those banquets and dances are going to be a
 391.399 +lot more fun with you there in Crystal Tokyo," ChibiUsa
 391.400 +said smiling.
 391.401 +
 391.402 +Hotaru smiled back lovingly.  Her face was inches away
 391.403 +from ChibiUsa's.  Hotaru learned closer.  ChibiUsa turned,
 391.404 +blushing. Hotaru, kissed her cheek lightly and laughed.
 391.405 +"Taru..."
 391.406 +
 391.407 + Hotaru smiled and ran her hand up ChibiUsa's back.
 391.408 +Her hand reached ChibiUsa's soft pink hair. She gently
 391.409 +brushed it with her fingers.  "I'm really enjoying the
 391.410 +dance.  Thanks for understanding, ChibiUsa-chan."
 391.411 +ChibiUsa sighed as they danced.  She could feel
 391.412 +Hotaru's soft breasts against her.  Her hands lay over
 391.413 +the dark haired girl's graceful form.
 391.414 +
 391.415 +
 391.416 +They continued dancing for the rest of the night.
 391.417 +Several boys asked ChibiUsa to dance, but she declined.
 391.418 +Hotaru was glad that she got to spend the whole night
 391.419 +with the pink haired girl.  She held ChibiUsa closer,
 391.420 +enjoying the sweet scent of her hair and the soft feel
 391.421 +of her body.
 391.422 +
 391.423 +"I love you, Hota-chan," ChibiUsa whispered into
 391.424 +Hotaru's ear.
 391.425 +
 391.426 +"I love you too," Hotaru whispered back.  She noticed
 391.427 +some of the odd looks they received as the two girls
 391.428 +started another slow dance together.  She blushed but
 391.429 +tuned them out and concentrated on the pink haired
 391.430 +girl.  "I had no idea you'd be able to dance as well as
 391.431 +you can," Hotaru remarked.
 391.432 +
 391.433 +"I've always had a hard time dancing.  I'm not very
 391.434 +coordinated."
 391.435 +
 391.436 +"I still think it's cute." Hotaru winked at her.  "So
 391.437 +how did you learn how to dance?"
 391.438 +
 391.439 +"It's kind of embarrassing ," ChibiUsa said.
 391.440 +
 391.441 +"Tell me."
 391.442 +
 391.443 +"There was a banquet being held for some foreign
 391.444 +dignitaries when I was about 10  back in the future.  I
 391.445 +hadn't really danced at all up to that time, but when
 391.446 +someone asked me, I agreed. I tripped and fell a minute
 391.447 +into the dance.  I sat in a chair the rest of the
 391.448 +night. After it was over I talked with my mom for a
 391.449 +while. She made me feel better about the whole thing.
 391.450 +We stayed up all night and she taught me how," ChibiUsa
 391.451 +finished.
 391.452 +
 391.453 +"Ohhh... That's so sweet," Hotaru said. "I can't wait to
 391.454 +meet Usagi again in the future when she's your mother."
 391.455 +
 391.456 +ChibiUsa sighed. "Yeah. I miss her. I really like Usagi
 391.457 +and all, but she's not my mom yet."
 391.458 +
 391.459 +The two of them danced in silence for a short time
 391.460 +before Hotaru hesitantly replied. "You could always ask
 391.461 +Setsuna if she'd let you go to the future for a short
 391.462 +while. I mean, as long as you came back soon."
 391.463 +
 391.464 +ChibiUsa smiled at the purple haired girl.  "Thanks,
 391.465 +Taru but then I'd miss you. When I do go back to my
 391.466 +time I want you to come back with me."
 391.467 +
 391.468 +"Thank you," Hotaru said in relief. Hotaru had been
 391.469 +frightened of ChibiUsa going to the future ever since
 391.470 +ChibiUsa had left several years ago to go back to her
 391.471 +time.  Hotaru was scared that the future princess would
 391.472 +leave again. "You're not going to wait until we go to
 391.473 +the future to tell everyone, right? I still want to
 391.474 +tell my parents about us."
 391.475 +
 391.476 +"Sometime soon, Hotaru-chan.  Actually, I think my mom
 391.477 +might have known before I left. Before I met you when I
 391.478 +was coming back to the past, she said something cryptic
 391.479 +about me having a very important encounter in the past.
 391.480 +I wonder if she was talking about you." ChibiUsa said
 391.481 +thinking of what her mother had said to her.
 391.482 +
 391.483 +"I hope so, " Hotaru smiled happily. Crimson eyes met
 391.484 +dark purple ones as the two girls danced.  "Will you
 391.485 +kiss me?" Hotaru asked suddenly.
 391.486 +
 391.487 +"Hotaru-chan?" ChibiUsa's eyes widened at the dark
 391.488 +haired girl's request.
 391.489 +
 391.490 +"I have been pretty well behaved tonight.  I didn't
 391.491 +have to act like I was just your friend.  I think I've
 391.492 +been a good girl and I deserve a kiss," Hotaru said as
 391.493 +her smile widened.
 391.494 +
 391.495 +"You do, and I'll make sure you get one, but not here."
 391.496 +ChibiUsa replied.
 391.497 +
 391.498 +"I'm impatient," "Hotaru said. "I may have to steal
 391.499 +one."
 391.500 +
 391.501 +"I thought you said you were a good girl," ChibiUsa
 391.502 +said.
 391.503 +
 391.504 +"It wouldn't be my fault.  You look so cute dressed up
 391.505 +for the dance," Hotaru laughed evilly..
 391.506 +
 391.507 +"Okay. You did what I want at the dance. I'll do
 391.508 +whatever you want when we get back to your house."
 391.509 +ChibiUsa said.
 391.510 +
 391.511 +"Really?" Hotaru asked happily. ChibiUsa nodded. "That
 391.512 +sounds fun," Hotaru giggled. "I still want my kiss
 391.513 +though."
 391.514 +
 391.515 +Momoko sighed as she sat with her back against the
 391.516 +wall.  She was very confused. Who was that girl? Why
 391.517 +had she been at the dance?  What was that tail? Was it
 391.518 +part of her outfit?  She sighed again, she'd tried in
 391.519 +vain to find the girl, but she
 391.520 +had been long gone.  She half-heartedly kept watching
 391.521 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru.  The dance had lost all interest
 391.522 +after the mysterious girl had left.
 391.523 +
 391.524 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru giggled, not realizing that Momoko
 391.525 +was looking on.  They looked at each other strangely as
 391.526 +they smiled at one another.  Momoko didn't know why
 391.527 +they were acting the way they were.  Several couples
 391.528 +danced past, blocking her view. They all looked so
 391.529 +happy. Her mind flashed back to Diana.  She sighed
 391.530 +angrily.  Why couldn't she get the mysterious girl out
 391.531 +of her mind? She shook her head and tried to clear her
 391.532 +mind. 'Where'd she go?'  Momoko asked herself.
 391.533 +
 391.534 +The dance finally ended later that night. The students
 391.535 +began to leave the school.  Hotaru and ChibiUsa were
 391.536 +talking in a hallway abandoned by the other students.
 391.537 +
 391.538 +"So did you have fun?" Hotaru asked.  ChibiUsa's hands
 391.539 +ran up and down Hotaru's cold, bare arms, trying to
 391.540 +warm the dark haired girl.
 391.541 +
 391.542 +ChibiUsa smiled at Hotaru. "I had a lot of fun,
 391.543 +Taru-chan," she said brightly.
 391.544 +
 391.545 +"It still would have been better if we'd gone as a
 391.546 +couple," Hotaru said. She sighed happily as she felt
 391.547 +ChibiUsa's fingers warming her cold arms.
 391.548 +
 391.549 +"I know, I know. And I'm sorry. I got to go with the
 391.550 +prettiest girl here and everyone thought we'd come
 391.551 +without dates."
 391.552 +
 391.553 +"That's okay," Hotaru shivered.  "Just as long as you
 391.554 +keep this up. It's cold."
 391.555 +
 391.556 +ChibiUsa giggled. "Sure. As long as we trade places in
 391.557 +a couple of minutes."
 391.558 +
 391.559 +Hotaru nodded.  "As soon as we're in Haruka-papa's car
 391.560 +with the heater on."
 391.561 +
 391.562 +"You're so cute, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said.
 391.563 +
 391.564 +Hotaru smiled "So are you." A finger went under
 391.565 +ChibiUsa's chin. "I never did get that kiss I wanted."
 391.566 +She raised her chin and met the pink haired girl's lips
 391.567 +with her own.  ChibiUsa hands stopped at Hotaru's
 391.568 +shoulders as she kissed her back.
 391.569 +
 391.570 +Momoko froze when she saw ChibiUsa and Hotaru.  She'd
 391.571 +been waiting in the hallway to get away from the other
 391.572 +students so she could collect her thoughts.  She had
 391.573 +been about
 391.574 +to greet her two friends when she saw them kiss. She
 391.575 +stood there in shock.  She didn't know what to do.
 391.576 +Finally she slid out a door and made her way outside.
 391.577 +
 391.578 +A car pulled up near Hotaru as the two girls waved to
 391.579 +the driver.
 391.580 +
 391.581 +"Hi, Haruka-papa," Hotaru said as she and ChibiUsa
 391.582 +climbed into the back of the car.
 391.583 +
 391.584 +"How was it?" Haruka asked as she started the car.
 391.585 +
 391.586 +"It was really nice," Hotaru said.
 391.587 +
 391.588 +"Thanks for taking us, Haruka-san," ChibiUsa said.
 391.589 +
 391.590 +"Don't mention it. You two make a cute couple," Haruka
 391.591 +replied.
 391.592 +
 391.593 +Hotaru and ChibiUsa blushed.  "Do you really think so?"
 391.594 +Hotaru asked.  "Don't worry about Haruka-papa.  She's
 391.595 +just teasing us," she whispered to ChibiUsa.  ChibiUsa
 391.596 +relaxed slightly.
 391.597 +
 391.598 +"Absolutely." Haruka laughed.  "I'd be happy to
 391.599 +chauffeur you two on any dates you'd like to go on."
 391.600 +
 391.601 +"Haruku-papa..." Hotaru chided.
 391.602 +
 391.603 +Haruka smiled. "I just want the two of you to know the
 391.604 +offer's open if you do want to go out."
 391.605 +
 391.606 +"Umm...Thanks for the offer," Hotaru managed.
 391.607 +
 391.608 +"You're welcome," Haruka said. She smiled to herself
 391.609 +slightly. She still didn't quite know what was going
 391.610 +on, but she figured she'd find out sometime.
 391.611 +
 391.612 +They drove along in silence for a while before Hotaru &
 391.613 +ChibiUsa started talking to each other about the dance.
 391.614 +Haruka smiled to herself as the two girls talked.  They
 391.615 +were so cute together.
 391.616 +
 391.617 +The car finally stopped outside the house the outer
 391.618 +senshi shared.  Michiru and Setsuna came out of the
 391.619 +house to greet them.
 391.620 +
 391.621 +"Hi, Puu," ChibiUsa said happily as Setsuna walked up.
 391.622 +
 391.623 +"Hello, Small Lady. Did you have a good time?" Setsuna
 391.624 +asked.
 391.625 +
 391.626 +ChibiUsa nodded.  "Yeah. It was a lot of fun."
 391.627 +
 391.628 +"I'm glad. Hotaru's always so happy when she's going
 391.629 +places with you," Setsuna said. She turned to see
 391.630 +Hotaru talking excitedly to Michiru about the dance.
 391.631 +
 391.632 +"I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself, Hotaru-chan.  Did
 391.633 +you dance a lot?" Michiru asked her.
 391.634 +
 391.635 +"Yes.  Only with ChibiUsa-chan, though.  I really
 391.636 +enjoyed myself," Hotaru said.
 391.637 +
 391.638 +Michiru seemed a little confused. "Nobody asked you to
 391.639 +dance?"
 391.640 +
 391.641 +"No, someone asked me, but I didn't want to.  I was
 391.642 +fine with how things were going,"  Hotaru replied.
 391.643 +
 391.644 +Michiru smiled, "Well, I'm glad for you then."
 391.645 +
 391.646 +"Thanks. It's getting late. ChibiUsa-chan and I are
 391.647 +going to change.  We'll probably take a shower after
 391.648 +that, so we'll see you all tomorrow. " Hotaru said.
 391.649 +
 391.650 +"Okay, goodnight." Michiru said.
 391.651 +
 391.652 +"Goodnight, everyone."  Hotaru waved as she grabbed
 391.653 +ChibiUsa by the hand and led her upstairs. ChibiUsa
 391.654 +waved as she followed Hotaru.
 391.655 +
 391.656 +
 391.657 +Momoko sat alone in the dark. She was in her room, but
 391.658 +she couldn't get comfortable. She was so confused.
 391.659 +She'd found out why ChibiUsa had been acting so
 391.660 +strangely, but now she didn't know what to do about it.
 391.661 +She wanted to talk to ChibiUsa, but she didn't know how
 391.662 +to bring it up to the pink haired girl. She'd known
 391.663 +Hotaru and ChibiUsa were close, but she was shocked to
 391.664 +learn just how close they really were.
 391.665 +
 391.666 +The other thing troubling her was Diana, the mysterious
 391.667 +girl she had been dancing with. She couldn't get that
 391.668 +girl out of her mind, even after seeing Hotaru and
 391.669 +ChibiUsa kissing. She felt oddly about how she'd spent
 391.670 +the night with Diana. She didn't know why, but she was
 391.671 +also afraid she'd never see her again.
 391.672 +
 391.673 +Momoko slumped down on her floor and looked out her
 391.674 +window into the night. "Where did you go?" she asked
 391.675 +aloud.
 391.676 +
 391.677 +She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make
 391.678 +sense of the night, but it all seemed so strange to
 391.679 +her. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to see
 391.680 +Diana again.
 391.681 +
 391.682 +
 391.683 +ChibiUsa hopped back onto Hotaru's bed when they
 391.684 +entered the room.  She yawned as she laid back,
 391.685 +stretching out on the bed.
 391.686 +
 391.687 +Hotaru giggled. "Are you tired?"
 391.688 +
 391.689 +"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night," ChibiUsa
 391.690 +said.
 391.691 +
 391.692 +"Me neither. I was trying to decide what I should do at
 391.693 +the dance," Hotaru said.
 391.694 +
 391.695 +ChibiUsa sat up. "Really?  Why did you decide not to do
 391.696 +anything?"
 391.697 +
 391.698 +"It was a tough decision.  I really, really didn't want
 391.699 +to go as friends. I almost left when Naruru tried to
 391.700 +get us to dance with some boys, but the way you held me
 391.701 +when we slow danced," Hotaru sighed. "I'll be surprised
 391.702 +if no one thinks there was something behind it.  I am
 391.703 +the only one you danced with."  She smiled.  "Anyway,
 391.704 +the reason why I didn't do anything was because I
 391.705 +decided that this is about both of us. I love you and
 391.706 +if that's all that matters to me, then I shouldn't care
 391.707 +if no one knew we were a couple at the dance."
 391.708 +
 391.709 +"Arigato, Hotaru-chan," ChibiUsa said.  She looked a
 391.710 +bit sad after listening to Hotaru.
 391.711 +
 391.712 +Hotaru sat down beside her.  "What's wrong?" she asked.
 391.713 +
 391.714 +"You almost left," ChibiUsa said simply.
 391.715 +
 391.716 +Hotaru put her arm around the pink haired girl.
 391.717 +ChibiUsa leaned her head on Hotaru's shoulder.  "It's
 391.718 +just that I get so frustrated sometimes.  I'm so glad
 391.719 +we're together, but I didn't want to be at the dance
 391.720 +with all those people. I was nervous about the whole
 391.721 +thing and I didn't want Naruru to try to set us up with
 391.722 +different boys the whole time. I hated going to the
 391.723 +dance as friends, but I still had fun." She smiled at
 391.724 +the other girl.
 391.725 +
 391.726 +ChibiUsa smiled slightly. "I'm glad you stayed. Maybe
 391.727 +next time there's a dance or something, we could go as
 391.728 +a couple," she said quickly. "I was being kinda
 391.729 +stubborn about the whole thing."
 391.730 +
 391.731 +Hotaru laughed. "We both were. Maybe we can come up
 391.732 +with a better compromise next time."
 391.733 +
 391.734 +"That would be good," ChibiUsa agreed. "I'm really glad
 391.735 +we went tonight."
 391.736 +
 391.737 +"So am I. Seeing you dressed up for the dance made it
 391.738 +all worthwhile," Hotaru said. "And I'm glad I finally
 391.739 +got my kiss," she said quietly before kissing ChibiUsa
 391.740 +again.
 391.741 +
 391.742 +ChibiUsa kissed the dark haired girl back passionately,
 391.743 +glad to be alone with her. She let out a startled cry
 391.744 +as she felt Hotaru's hands moving across the fabric of
 391.745 +her dress, starting to undress her.
 391.746 +
 391.747 +Hotaru sat back. "You did say I could do whatever I
 391.748 +wanted, right?" she asked mischievously. ChibiUsa
 391.749 +nodded and blushed as she felt Hotaru taking her bra
 391.750 +off. Hotaru smiled. "Good. Then I'd like to..." Hotaru
 391.751 +paused as if thinking. ChibiUsa sat anxiously. The dark
 391.752 +haired girl's fingers ran over ChibiUsa's stomach. "I'd
 391.753 +like to tell my parents, then."
 391.754 +
 391.755 +ChibiUsa stared at her for several seconds.
 391.756 +"Hotaru-chan?"
 391.757 +
 391.758 +"You said I could do whatever I wanted," Hotaru
 391.759 +reminded her pink haired lover.
 391.760 +
 391.761 +"But, that's not what I meant," ChibiUsa said quickly.
 391.762 +
 391.763 +"I know what you meant," Hotaru cupped ChibiUsa's
 391.764 +breasts, eliciting a moan from the other girl. "But
 391.765 +what you mean and what you said are two different
 391.766 +things."
 391.767 +
 391.768 +ChibiUsa looked nervous. "But, Hotaru..."
 391.769 +
 391.770 +Hotaru laughed. "You did agree." She smiled and kissed
 391.771 +ChibiUsa again. "Now pull your dress back up. They
 391.772 +should still be downstairs."
 391.773 +
 391.774 +"But I don't know what to say," ChibiUsa argued.
 391.775 +
 391.776 +"Just tell them the truth. That we love each other.
 391.777 +Setsuna's been your friend for years, you know Haruka
 391.778 +and Michiru really well..." Hotaru replied. ChibiUsa
 391.779 +still didn't look convinced. "Please? Do this for me,"
 391.780 +Hotaru asked.
 391.781 +
 391.782 +ChibiUsa sighed. "Okay, Taru-chan. I will."
 391.783 +
 391.784 +Hotaru hugged her. "Arigato, Odango-chan!"
 391.785 +
 391.786 +
 391.787 +Haruka had a triumphant grin on her face as Hotaru
 391.788 +finished up. Michiru looked surprised by the news.
 391.789 +Setsuna looked as if it hadn't really been a surprise
 391.790 +to her at all.
 391.791 +
 391.792 +"So the two of you?" Michiru asked.
 391.793 +
 391.794 +Hotaru nodded. "Hai. We've been together for a couple
 391.795 +of months now. I'm sorry we hadn't told you all until
 391.796 +now."
 391.797 +
 391.798 +ChibiUsa stood to the left and slightly behind Hotaru.
 391.799 +She'd let the other girl do most of the talking.
 391.800 +
 391.801 +Setsuna smiled and took a step closer to ChibiUsa.
 391.802 +"Small Lady, you really shouldn't worry about it. We're
 391.803 +all happy for you. You don't need to be embarrassed
 391.804 +about it. We're all here for you."
 391.805 +
 391.806 +"And we're glad you found someone, Hotaru," Haruka
 391.807 +said, still wearing the sappy grin she seemed to be
 391.808 +directing at Michiru.
 391.809 +
 391.810 +"Thank you," Hotaru said happily.
 391.811 +
 391.812 +"As long as you're happy, we're behind you, Hime-chan,"
 391.813 +Michiru said. "You two make a cute couple. Maybe you'll
 391.814 +let me paint the two of you sometime."
 391.815 +
 391.816 +"And remember, my offer still stands," Haruka reminded
 391.817 +them.
 391.818 +
 391.819 +"I'm glad things have worked out so well for you here
 391.820 +in the past, Small Lady. I'm sure your mother would be
 391.821 +proud of you," Setsuna told to pink haired girl.
 391.822 +
 391.823 +"Thanks everyone," ChibiUsa said as she gave Sestuna a
 391.824 +hug.
 391.825 +
 391.826 +"Our little girl's growing up, alright," Michiru said.
 391.827 +
 391.828 +
 391.829 +After a couple of hours talking with Setsuna, Michiru,
 391.830 +and Haruka about the whole situation, Hotaru and
 391.831 +ChibiUsa were back in bed in Hotaru's room. They held
 391.832 +each other, their bare bodies pressed against each
 391.833 +other.
 391.834 +
 391.835 +"See? I told you it wouldn't be so horrible," Hotaru
 391.836 +said.
 391.837 +
 391.838 +"You're right. It wasn't that bad," ChibiUsa agreed.
 391.839 +"Good. Then we can tell the Inner Senshi tomorrow."
 391.840 +
 391.841 +"Hotaru!"
 391.842 +
 391.843 +She giggled. "I'm kidding. We can tell them later. I'm
 391.844 +just glad I don't have to keep it a secret from my
 391.845 +parents anymore."
 391.846 +
 391.847 +"Yeah. I do feel better now that we've told them,"
 391.848 +ChibiUsa said.
 391.849 +
 391.850 +"Me too. I hated hiding it from them."
 391.851 +
 391.852 +ChibiUsa smiled. "I'm glad you're happy about it." She
 391.853 +ran her hand through Hotaru's soft hair before kissing
 391.854 +her. "I love you, Taru."
 391.855 +
 391.856 +"I love you, too," Hotaru replied while stroking the
 391.857 +other girl's cheek. The two girls held each other 
 391.858 +before sleep finally claimed them. 
 391.859 +
 391.860 +
 391.861 +Momoko lay still in the dark, confused as ever. She 
 391.862 +didn't know what to do about anything that had happened 
 391.863 +that night.
 391.864 +
 391.865 +"I wish I could see Diana again," Momoko said aloud.
 391.866 +
 391.867 +Diana looked in from where she was perched on the window
 391.868 +sill watching Momoko. She'd felt bad after running off at
 391.869 +the dance. She knew Momoko probably thought she was strange
 391.870 +because of her tail. She'd waited until after the dance and 
 391.871 +followed Momoko home in her kitten form. 'She wants to see
 391.872 +me?' Diana asked herself. She meowed and scratched at the 
 391.873 +window. 
 391.874 +
 391.875 +The lavender haired girl looked out her window to see the 
 391.876 +kitten sitting there in the moonlight. A slight smile 
 391.877 +played across her features. Even if it was only ChibiUsa's
 391.878 +kitten, it was nice to have company. She slid the window 
 391.879 +open. The kitten jumped inside quickly, landing on her bed.
 391.880 +
 391.881 +"What are you doing here?" Momoko asked, not expecting an 
 391.882 +answer. She scratched the kitten under her chin. "I meant 
 391.883 +I wanted to see human Diana." Diana meowed again causing 
 391.884 +the other girl to smile again. "I'm still glad to see you,
 391.885 +though." She picked up the kitten and held her in her arms.
 391.886 +She stroked Diana's soft fur. The kitten purred softly as 
 391.887 +Momoko sat back on her bed.
 391.888 +
 391.889 +"I really don't know what happened today. It was all so 
 391.890 +sudden. I was trying to find out what ChibiUsa was keeping
 391.891 +from me, but even though I found out, I'm more confused 
 391.892 +than I was back then." Momoko stopped and sighed. "I met 
 391.893 +this really pretty girl at the dance. She seemed to be
 391.894 +trying to find out the same thing I was, so I thought we 
 391.895 +could help each other. It was so strange, but she asked me 
 391.896 +to dance with her. We danced for a long time and I forgot 
 391.897 +all about what I'd been doing there. It was like I was only 
 391.898 +there to dance with Diana. I loved every second of it. She 
 391.899 +was so cute. And graceful."
 391.900 +
 391.901 +Diana blushed. 'She thinks I'm cute?' 
 391.902 +
 391.903 +"But it ended suddenly. I don't understand what happened. I
 391.904 +don't know if I ever will. Afterwards, she ran off. And it 
 391.905 +hurt. I felt like I'd never see her again, like I'd lost 
 391.906 +something when she'd left. I've been sitting here all night
 391.907 +trying to think, but all I can think about it her. I don't
 391.908 +know why. Well, I didn't know." She sighed again and held
 391.909 +Diana closer as she looked into the dark. "I think I'm in 
 391.910 +love with her."
 391.911 +
 391.912 +Diana's eyes went wide. 'Love? She thinks she loves me? But 
 391.913 +that was the first time she met me as a human.'
 391.914 +
 391.915 +"I feel like I've known her for a long time. I guess you feel
 391.916 +like that when you fall for someone, huh Diana? Like nothing 
 391.917 +else matters besides seeing them again. I want to see her. I 
 391.918 +want to tell her... I'm still not sure what." Momoko lay back 
 391.919 +on the bed, still stroking Diana's fur. Diana was shocked. 
 391.920 +
 391.921 +Both girls were more confused than ever now. Diana watched 
 391.922 +Momoko as she slept, staying by the lavender haired girl's 
 391.923 +side throughout the night. 

   392.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   392.2 +++ b/stories/moving.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   392.3 @@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
   392.4 +notes: well this is definatly weird for me to write. I always swore I would never ever write anything that involved 
   392.5 +Sakura and Syaoran as a couple but this was just a crazy idea I got while being bored in school. As for Meiling's 
   392.6 +character, I'd like some feedback about that. I've only seen her in the movie so I don't know much of her personality 
   392.7 +to know if she's out of character or not. But I did the best I can. As for ages, let's just say that they are in high school. 
   392.8 +^^ Send all feedback to meikosama@hotmail.com, onegai. 
   392.9 +
  392.10 +Tomoyo's moving on?
  392.11 +By Chibi Nuriko
  392.12 +"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked her friends name to see if she was asleep or not.. When she felt Tomoyo shifting in 
  392.13 +the bed she knew her friend was still awake. "I'm sorry for coming here so suddenly tonight. It's just I had no where 
  392.14 +else to go, and your the only one I can turn to."
  392.15 +"Daijoubu, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, her voice seeming loud to her as she held her best friend in her arms. "I'm 
  392.16 +glad you feel like you can still come to me like this."
  392.17 +"I told you Tomoyo, I'll always love you as my best friend, and I'll always need you. I just dont feel the same as you. 
  392.18 +Gomen ne."
  392.19 +"I know, and I couldn't ever ask for more than your understanding of my feelings. I'm glad your still my best friend." 
  392.20 +Tomoyo said as she enjoyed the feel of having Sakura in her arms. When she had told Sakura of her true feelings she 
  392.21 +expected that they would grow apart. That Sakura would hate her. Much to her suprise, and Sakura's, they two grew 
  392.22 +even closer. Just not in the way Tomoyo had always dreamed of.
  392.23 +At first it was hard on Tomoyo knowing Sakura would never return her feelings. But when she thought of nights like 
  392.24 +the one she was having now, everything seemed okay. She still had Sakura, and was very important to Sakura. After 
  392.25 +a few months the pain went away and she learned how to enjoy what she and Sakura had. 
  392.26 +"So you want to tell me what happened with him?" Tomoyo asked still unsure of why Sakura showed up at her 
  392.27 +house crying and how she ended up in her arms.
  392.28 +"He got mad at me. I don't why or what happened even. He was just so cold to me. He..he said he hated me," Sakura 
  392.29 +stopped as tears once again claimed her eyes. Tomoyo held on to her tightly as she ran her fingers through Sakura's 
  392.30 +hair trying to calm her.
  392.31 +"I'm sure he didn't mean it. Syaoran isn't the type to do that. He's probably just stressed about something and I'm 
  392.32 +sure he regrets the whole thing now," Tomoyo assured her friend. She saw Sakura look up at her in the dim lit room 
  392.33 +and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It'll be okay. I promise you. I know how much he loves you. Almost as much as 
  392.34 +I do," Tomoyo stopped to laugh for a second. Never had she imagined being able to talk about her feelings so openly 
  392.35 +to Sakura.
  392.36 +"Arigatou Tomoyo-chan. I don't see how I could ever live without your support," Sakura said as she snuggled closer 
  392.37 +to Tomoyo. "I know I don't make it easier on you, but you really should get over me." Sakura told her friend.
  392.38 +"Maybe one day. But as for now I don't think there could ever be anyone that can live up to you. I know you and Li-
  392.39 +kun will be together forever so I'll have to get over you eventually. But I don't see any need to force myself to get 
  392.40 +over you." Tomoyo was content with being like this. Sakura was still by her side. She learned to give up the false 
  392.41 +hope that one day Sakura would change her mind, but she still enjoyed these nights. Minus the fact that Sakura was 
  392.42 +usually hurt whenever she needed Tomoyo so much.
  392.43 +After a few minutes of silence Tomoyo noticed that Sakura had finally fallen asleep. 'Things could definatly be 
  392.44 +much worse for me,' Tomoyo thought before falling to sleep herself.
  392.45 +______________
  392.46 +The next morning Tomoyo woke up when she heard a soft knock on her door. She realized Sakura was still in her 
  392.47 +arms, and not wanting to wake her she silently told the maid to come in her room. "You have a visitor Tomoyo-san," 
  392.48 +she informed her. "It's that boy Li-kun."
  392.49 +As Tomoyo knew he would, Syaoran was there to apoligize to Sakura and make up for the other night. He came into 
  392.50 +the room and Tomoyo still had Sakura in her arms. She finally got out of bed and left Syaoran with his girlfriend. 
  392.51 +"She's all yours now. Just don't make her cry anymore," Tomoyo told him as she left her room.
  392.52 +Sakura finally woke up when she felt cold fingertips on her cheeks. She smiled when she saw him, then pulled away 
  392.53 +from him as she remembered the previous night. Syaoran looked away from Sakura with shame in his eyes.
  392.54 +"Gomen nasai Sakura. I never meant to hurt you or make you cry. Forgive me please?" He sounded so desperate 
  392.55 +Sakura thought. She knew he truely regretted it but she didn't want to just go running back to him. "I love you," he 
  392.56 +said breaking the silence. "I won't hurt you anymore. I'm just not good at this sort of thing."
  392.57 +Sakura smiled knowing just how true that was. "I love you too," she said as he took her in his arms. After a few 
  392.58 +minutes of silence Syaoran started laughing as he remembered who was downstairs waiting to talk to Tomoyo.
  392.59 +"What's so funny?" Sakura questioned.
  392.60 +Through his laughter Syaoran managed to tell Sakura that he found someone who wanted to date Tomoyo and that 
  392.61 +they were downstairs talking now. Sakura's eyes lit up at the possibility of her best friend finding a new love. One 
  392.62 +that could give her what Sakura couldn't.
  392.63 +"Are you serious? Who?" Sakura began to pound her boyfriend with questions.
  392.64 +"Heh, well lets just say it's someone you know. She.."
  392.65 +"She?" Sakura intterupted him.
  392.66 +"Yes, she. She's someone you know. She's not shy at all. She's pretty smart and always goes after what she wants. I 
  392.67 +don't know how or why, but now she claims to have fallen for Tomoyo." Syaoran finished glad that Tomoyo might 
  392.68 +finally have a reason to stop pining away for his girlfriend.
  392.69 +_____________
  392.70 +"You know I'm not shy like my cousin, and I'm not blind like Sakura." Meiling said moving towards Tomoyo. She 
  392.71 +wasn't sure of what she was doing exactly but she had a plan. "I know your in love with her. Heck, I'm still in love 
  392.72 +with him. But both of us know we have to move on. Please, love me instead of her. Give me a chance. I really like 
  392.73 +you Tomoyo," Meiling said as she stopped in front of Tomoyo.
  392.74 +Tomoyo stood in shock not believing what her friend was saying. "You like me?" Tomoyo asked not knowing what 
  392.75 +else to say. She loved Sakura, and only Sakura.
  392.76 +"Hai, suki desu." Meiling said as she sat down on the couch.
  392.77 +"I.. I don't know what to tell you. I love Sakura still. I've never thought of you like that. You are beautiful but why 
  392.78 +would you want to be with me when I'm in love with her? And your in love with him?" Tomoyo was down right 
  392.79 +confused. She couldn't believe this was happening.
  392.80 +"I just want a chance. I know if you gave me a chance, we could learn to love each other." Meiling said seriously. Of 
  392.81 +course she wasn't just going to stop being in love with Syaoran, but if all worked out right, everone would be happy 
  392.82 +in the end.
  392.83 +Tomoyo on the other hand remembered what Sakura told her the night before. That Sakura said she should really get 
  392.84 +over her. 'Whatever makes Sakura happy makes me happy,' Tomoyo thought. "I'll do it," she said to Meiling. "You 
  392.85 +know I'm not in love with you. And I know your not in love with me. But it would be good for us to get over them. 
  392.86 +And it would be nice if I did end up falling for you."
  392.87 +"And it would be great to have you love me, because I know I'll fall for you easily." Meiling said moving closer to 
  392.88 +Tomoyo.
  392.89 +"There is just one condition," Tomoyo told her.
  392.90 +"What's that?"
  392.91 +"Your have to promise me you won't hurt me like your cousin hurts Sakura."
  392.92 +"I'll never hurt you," Meiling said moving her face just so it was inches from Tomoyo's. "I do like you a lot. I know 
  392.93 +I've been kind of cold to you and Sakura, but I really do care about the two of you. Especially you. Your so amazing. 
  392.94 +I just never realized it before."
  392.95 +Tomoyo blushed at the compliment. 'This may not be too bad after all,' she thought. Noticing that no one was 
  392.96 +around, and just how close they were to each other Tomoyo leaned forward slightly so that their lips just barely 
  392.97 +brushed against the others. Meiling didn't pull away and Tomoyo deepened the kiss.
  392.98 +'Eww, she kissed me," Meiling thought. 'I didn't think I'd actually have to kiss her.' Meiling already convinced her 
  392.99 +cousin she was falling for Tomoyo, and now she finally convinced Tomoyo. She knew if things didn't work out as 
 392.100 +she had planned she'd be in big trouble, but she had to risk it.
 392.101 +"I've never actually dated anyone before."
 392.102 +"Thank you for giving this a chance Tomoyo. I know you probably think I'm immature and selfish, but there's a lot 
 392.103 +you don't know about me."
 392.104 +"I'm willing to learn about it all. I'm glad we're doing this too."
 392.105 +"So what do you want to do on our first day as a couple?" Meiling asked wrapping her arm around Tomoyo. 
 392.106 +Tomoyo leaned into her warm embrace. The first thing she thought was how it was so different from Sakura's arms. 
 392.107 +Then she realized she couldn't go on comparing Meiling to Sakura or she'd never get over her.
 392.108 +"Let's go see what Sakura and Syaoran are doing in my room. I've think they've had plenty of time to make up with 
 392.109 +each other by now."
 392.110 +"Make out you mean?" Meiling teased. She stood up bringing Tomoyo with her and took Tomoyo's hand into her 
 392.111 +hand. "This is definatly going to take some time to get used to. But I think your well worth the effort." Meiling said 
 392.112 +to Tomoyo just before they started heading up the stairs.
 392.113 +_______________
 392.114 +When Tomoyo and Meiling entered the room where Syaoran and Sakura were everyone's mouth dropped. Sakura 
 392.115 +and Syaoran's because Meiling was clinging to Tomoyo's arm protectivly, and Meiling and Tomoyo's because of 
 392.116 +seeing Sakura and Syaoran kissing so passionatly.
 392.117 +Sakura and Syaoran immediatly broke apart blushing deeply. "So you actually told her?" Syaoran asked his cousin.
 392.118 +"Hai, I'm just glad everything worked out well." Meiling said as she looked lovingly at Tomoyo. 'I don't know how 
 392.119 +long I can keep this up,' she thought.
 392.120 +"Ne Meiling, can I talk to you for a minute in the hall?" Sakura asked as she stepped off of Tomoyo's bed. The two 
 392.121 +girls stepped outside of the room and Sakura shut the door behing them. "Alright, I know you. Your straight. What 
 392.122 +are you doing dating my best friend?" Sakura wasted no time. She knew this couldn't be happening.
 392.123 +"Why shouldn't I?" Meiling knew this would be the perfect oppertunity to put her plan in motion. She was going to 
 392.124 +get Sakura and Tomoyo together if it killed her. Then the fact that Syaoran would be single afterwards was a 
 392.125 +definate perk of the whole idea.
 392.126 +"Do you even care about her?"
 392.127 +"Why do you care?" Meiling said agitating Sakura. She didn't mean to sound like a bitch but it was the only way this 
 392.128 +would work.
 392.129 +"Answer me, onegai. Do you really care about her? I just don't want her to get hurt."
 392.130 +"I won't hurt her. I'm just lucky you never realized how much you love her." Meiling stopped there not wanting to 
 392.131 +push the subject. She turned and walked back into Tomoyo's room. After a few minutes Sakura finally recovered out 
 392.132 +in the hall and came back into the room as well. 'What did she mean by that?' was her last calm thought as she saw 
 392.133 +Meiling look at her then kiss her friend.
 392.134 +'She's kissing Tomoyo. Why does this bother me? Is it because I've never seen two girls kiss? No, that bitch is 
 392.135 +kissing my best friend. I want to scream at her. To tell her to leave MY Tomoyo alone. Matte, what am I thinking? 
 392.136 +She's not mine. I just don't want to lose her. I need her to much. What's going on? Hoe.' Sakura had no idea what 
 392.137 +was going on in her mind. She had Syaoran to love. She was in love with him, wasn't she?
 392.138 +"Gomen ne minna. I have to go and uh.. go home and do some school work. I'll talk to you later." Sakura said 
 392.139 +suddenly walking out of Tomoyo's room. When she was out of eyesight she ran out of the house to make sure she 
 392.140 +was alone. Tomoyo tried running after her friend but Meiling took hold of her hand and stopped her.
 392.141 +"Daijoubu Tomoyo. She's fine," Meiling hoped if Sakura had time alone she would think of what just happened and 
 392.142 +hopefully come to terms with her real feelings for Tomoyo. 'Onegai kami-sama. Let this work out.' Meiling said 
 392.143 +under her breath. "Come on, let's go out somewhere."
 392.144 +"Okay," Tomoyo agreed trying to get her mind off of Sakura. She didn't know what, but something was definatly 
 392.145 +wrong with Sakura.
 392.146 +_____________
 392.147 +Once Sakura was alone she just kept walking around trying to figure some things out. She had no reason to be 
 392.148 +against Meiling dating Tomoyo but it bothered her deeply. She knew if she asked Tomoyo to not see Meiling she 
 392.149 +wouldn't see her anymore. Then Sakura knew she would feel bad. Almost as if she was using Tomoyo.
 392.150 +She never realized how much she needed Tomoyo. Tomoyo was always there whenever she needed her. Now what 
 392.151 +if Tomoyo wasn't around anymore? What if Tomoyo didn't need her anymore?
 392.152 +"I'm being selfish. I just want Tomoyo to love me even though I don't love her. But why?" Sakura said to no one. 
 392.153 +"Maybe I should just talk to her. But then what if I blew this for her? She finally found someone to make her happy 
 392.154 +when I can't."
 392.155 +"Sakura-chan?" A familiar voice scared her out of her thoughts. "Daijoubu desu ka?" the voice asked when Sakura 
 392.156 +didn't answer him. 
 392.157 +"Yukito-san," Sakura turned around to face her friend. "Gomen ne, you scared me."
 392.158 +"Why are you talking to yourself Sakura? And why are you crying?" Yukito asked her, the concern evident in his 
 392.159 +voice.
 392.160 +"I'm crying?" Sakura asked as she lifted her hand to her face and felt the wet tears on her cheeks. "I...I didn't know I 
 392.161 +was. I don't know what's going on at all anymore."
 392.162 +"Something you want to talk about?" Yukito asked her as he sat down on a nearby bench. 
 392.163 +Sakura sat down next to him and began to tell him what happened earlier. "..And now I don't know what to do." she 
 392.164 +finished her story. Yukito was definatly shocked. He knew Meiling was right, she was in love with Tomoyo and just 
 392.165 +hasn't realized it yet.
 392.166 +"So you realize how much you need her to be around for you?"
 392.167 +"She's the only one I can turn to. She always makes me smile no matter how bad things are. But if she's with Meiling 
 392.168 +all the time who will I turn to?" Sakura asked.
 392.169 +"I understand where your coming from," Yukito said as he remembered a situation similar to this he was once in. A 
 392.170 +situation that made him realize his true feelings for this girls older brother. "Why do you feel selfish for needing 
 392.171 +her?"
 392.172 +"Because if I tell her how much I do, she'll never stop loving me. She should move on since I love Syaoran but in a 
 392.173 +way I don't want her to I just can't seem to make her happy.. Hoe, I'm so confused."
 392.174 +"You are confused, but not about what you think. You just have one simple thing backwards. It'll be very easy for 
 392.175 +you to make her happy once you figure that out." Yukito said as he stood up. "Well I gotta go meet your brother so 
 392.176 +I'll see you later Sakura-chan."
 392.177 +"Backwards?" Sakura said to him as he started to walk away.
 392.178 +Yukito just shook his head and smiled. Over his shoulder he just told her it was something she had to figure out on 
 392.179 +her own. 'Backwards?' she thought to herself. 'What's backwards? He was of no help at all.'
 392.180 +Sakura sat on the bench still and let her mind drift back to the previous night. Her fight with Syaoran and how she 
 392.181 +came straight to Tomoyo. How Tomoyo let her cry in her arms and held her all night so she'd feel better. Who was 
 392.182 +going to make her feel better if Tomoyo was always with Meiling. Who was going to make her happy?
 392.183 +Now she thought of her talk with Meiling and how Meiling told her she was lucky she didn't realize her true feelings 
 392.184 +for her friend. How much it hurt to see someone kissing Tomoyo. As if someone were taking the air out of the room 
 392.185 +so she couldn't breathe. 'My Tomoyo' she thought to herself.
 392.186 +'Now if I only knew what Meiling and Yukito are thinking. My true feelings for Tomoyo. And having something 
 392.187 +backwards?' Sakura didn't bother to stop thinking about the whole situation as she walked home. Finally as she 
 392.188 +reached her house she figured out what the two of them meant. 'Do they mean I have my true feelings backwards? 
 392.189 +But how are they backwards?' 
 392.190 +Sakura took a break from her thoughts as she greeted her father and walked up to her room. As soon as she layed 
 392.191 +down in her bed she let all her thoughts come back to her. 'Now how are my feelings backwards? I love Tomoyo and 
 392.192 +I'm in love with Syaoran. Tomoyo's my best friend and she's always been there for me. I've come to depend on her 
 392.193 +so much. If I didn't have her who would I go to when Syaoran gets mad at me? He does that a lot lately.' Sakura 
 392.194 +frowned as she looked at her nightstand that had a picture of her and her boyfriend.
 392.195 +'He gets mad at me and whenever I'm upset I go to her. She's always there for me because she loves me. More than 
 392.196 +anyone or anything else she loves me. And all this time I've never realized how amazing she is.'
 392.197 +___________
 392.198 +"I can't do this Meiling. Gomen." Tomoyo said as she stood next to her new girlfriend. "I can't love anyone but 
 392.199 +Sakura or pretend to. I don't even want to try to love anyone else. I like being your friend but I can't be more with 
 392.200 +you."
 392.201 +'Perfect,' Meiling thought trying not to smile. "Oh," is all she said as she bowed her head so Tomoyo couldn't see her 
 392.202 +face. "I'm sorry I asked you then."
 392.203 +"Daijoubu Meiling. Besides, your a really good kisser." Tomoyo told her friend getting a laugh from her. "I hate to 
 392.204 +do this but I gotta go see Sakura."
 392.205 +Tell her I say hi will ya?" Meiling gave Tomoyo a farewell hug and Tomoyo took off towards Sakura's house. So far 
 392.206 +Meiling thought things were going perfect. She had her chance to make her impression on Sakura and no one got 
 392.207 +hurt in the process. Tomoyo was still happy and now it was in Sakura's hands. All she had to do was figure out who 
 392.208 +she loved.
 392.209 +As Tomoyo reached Sakura's house she noticed Syaoran was arriving there at the same time. "What are you doing 
 392.210 +here?" he asked her as they stopped in front of the house.
 392.211 +"I was coming to make sure Sakura was okay." Tomoyo told him as she walked up to the door and went to knock on 
 392.212 +it.
 392.213 +"Well I'm here so you don't have to worry. She doesn't need you so you might as well go home."
 392.214 +"But.."
 392.215 +"It's fine. Just go home, I'll take care of her." Syaoran told her. Tomoyo was deeply hurt but didn't say anything. She 
 392.216 +turned around and started walking towards her home. Syaoran knew he was being mean but he couldn't risk losing 
 392.217 +his girlfriend to her. He knew, just like everyone else, just how much Sakura loved Tomoyo. In fact thats why he got 
 392.218 +so upset and fought with Sakura. Because his girlfriend would rather be with Tomoyo than him. He didn't mean to 
 392.219 +show Sakura it upset him but sometimes she could tell he was mad about something. And she always ran to 
 392.220 +Tomoyo.
 392.221 +Once Sakura opened the door she didn't know if she should be relieved to see her boyfriend or not. Syaoran could 
 392.222 +tell she had been crying and immediatly took her in his arms. "Don't worry, I'm here for you Sakura."
 392.223 +Sakura wrapped her arms around him and let him hold onto her. It felt so good to be in his arms. She always felt 
 392.224 +protected when he held her. It was different from when Tomoyo did. Tomoyo's arms were loving, and soft. When 
 392.225 +Tomoyo held her all her troubles seemed to go away. Sakura closed her eyes and pictured Tomoyo holding her and 
 392.226 +just thinking of it she felt better. She had almost forgotten her boyfriend was even there.
 392.227 +"You feel better now?" Syaoran asked as he felt Sakura relax in his arms after a few moments.
 392.228 +"Yes, I do thank you." she said as she came back to reality.
 392.229 +"I saw Tomoyo on the way here too," Syaoran told her. "She was worried about you as well but I told her that you 
 392.230 +wouldn't need her since I'm here so she went home." He felt Sakura tense in his arms and knew he just made a fatal 
 392.231 +mistake.
 392.232 +"You told her I don't need her?"
 392.233 +"Un." was all that would come out of his mouth.
 392.234 +"I always need her. I always will. I can't live without her. I have to go see her. I'm sorry Syaoran."
 392.235 +He bowed his head as she pulled away from him. He lost, he knew there was no hope of holding on to her any 
 392.236 +longer. "Tell her how much you love her for me will you?" Sakura hugged him tightly and smiled.
 392.237 +"I'm really sorry. I just figured it all out. What everyone's been trying to tell me. I'm in love with her. I have to go." 
 392.238 +Sakura said as she ran out her front door after her friend leaving Syaoran standing in her living room.
 392.239 +After what seemed like hours of endless running she got to Tomoyo's house and as soon as she was let in she ran 
 392.240 +stright to Tomoyo's room. She didn't bother to knock as she ran into Tomoyo's room and stopped dead in her tracks 
 392.241 +when she saw Tomoyo sitting on the floor crying.
 392.242 +Slowly she walked over to her friend who didn't seem to notice her until Sakura sat down beside her. "I never meant 
 392.243 +to hurt you Tomoyo. I'll always need you, and now I need you more than ever."
 392.244 +Tomoyo stopped herself from crying. She always found it weird how Sakura just popped into her room without her 
 392.245 +noticing. "I don't understand what your talking about Sakura."
 392.246 +"I'm talking about what's been going on today. How in the course of one day my entire life has completly changed. I 
 392.247 +realized when I saw you with Meiling how much I need you. I thought I was just jealous because you wouldn't be 
 392.248 +around as much if you were with her. Then I talked to Yukito and after a lot of thought and I realized I was scared."
 392.249 +"Why were you scared?"
 392.250 +"Well Meiling likes you and your her girlfriend now and I thought I was going to lose you, and not have the chance 
 392.251 +to love you."
 392.252 +"I told Meiling a while ago that this wouldn't work, because I could never love anyone but you."
 392.253 +"And I realized just how in love with you I am thanks to her and Yukito." Sakura said as she placed a hand on top of 
 392.254 +Tomoyo's. "I love you Tomoyo, with all my heart. I realized that you love me more than anyone ever has before, and 
 392.255 +I wasn't really in love with Syaoran. I was meant to be with you, I just hope it's not to late."
 392.256 +Tomoyo's eyes filled with tears as she realized what Sakura was saying to her. Her dream had finally come true, 
 392.257 +Sakura was in love with her. "I love you Sakura."
 392.258 +"I love you Tomoyo," Sakura leaned forward and kissed Tomoyo softly. "I'll never hurt you again. I promise you 
 392.259 +that." Sakura kissed Tomoyo again as she took Tomoyo into her arms and the two stayed in that position for the rest 
 392.260 +of the night content knowing they finally found their true love.
 392.261 +___________
 392.262 +When Syaoran told Meiling about Sakura finally realizing her true feelings for Tomoyo and how she ran off Meiling 
 392.263 +felt proud. She wanted to tell her cousin about her plan but knew he would never forgive her if she did. "It wasn't so 
 392.264 +bad you know."
 392.265 +"Huh?" Syaoran asked looking at his cousin.
 392.266 +"Dating Tomoyo wasn't to bad. I'm kinda upset it didn't work out."
 392.267 +"You always told me they would end up together and not to go out with Sakura."
 392.268 +"I knew they loved each other yes, but I didn't know they'd actually get together. I just told you not to date her 
 392.269 +because I wanted you to date me."
 392.270 +"So what do I do now that she left me? I knew it would happen sooner or later so I'm not too upset, but it really 
 392.271 +sucks."
 392.272 +"You can always date me." Meiling added clinging to his arm.
 392.273 +"Aren't we a little old for that now? It was fine when we were kids but I think we're a little to old for that."
 392.274 +"Who says? We were supposed to get married when we were little. Then you came here from Hong Kong and threw 
 392.275 +it all off. So if we can get married why can't we date?"
 392.276 +"Yare yare. Whatever you want Meiling." Syaoran said falling onto the couch. He was much to tired and confused to 
 392.277 +care. Meiling sat down next to him and grabbed his arm again. Meiling was definatly proud of herself for what she 
 392.278 +did. It was one hell of a day for all four of them and she despratly wanted to tell someone of her great plan and how 
 392.279 +well it worked out. "Some things are best left unsaid." Meiling thought aloud.
 392.280 +"Nani?" Syaoran looked at her confused.
 392.281 +"Nan demo nai!"Meiling said with a nervous laugh. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Well I'm going to bed. 
 392.282 +See you tommorow Syaoran." Meiling stood up and kissed her cousin on the forhead and took off.
 392.283 +"Some things never change no matter how much you want them to I guess." Syaoran thought before going to his 
 392.284 +own bed for the night.
 392.285 +-end
 392.286 +

   393.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   393.2 +++ b/stories/myeyesonyou.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   393.3 @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
   393.4 +My Eyes on You
   393.5 +by Rich "Li"
   393.6 +
   393.7 +
   393.8 +
   393.9 +Author's Prelude to a Fanfictional Quest:  Konnichiwa fanfic reader!  Well, 'tis me again!  This time it's a songfic that will implement the song "Eyes on Me" written by Nobuo Uematsu (I believe) and performed by Faye Wong.  For the uneducated, this song appeared in Final Fantasy VIII (I know it's rather old...).  BTW, this is my first songfic, so you might as well bare with me if it isn't up to par with the other ones out there.   So, anyway, the fanfic will be a Tomoyo-Sakura 'fic.  If you're offended by love between girls (or Shoujo-ai, if you prefer), I suggest you stay away and bother someone else and/or hug a tree.  WORTHWHILE comments are welcome at ultima@inreach.com.  So, enjoy the story!
  393.10 +
  393.11 +Legal Disclaimer:  Card Captor Sakura and the song "Eyes on Me" are owned by their respective owners.  I'm just borrowing them.  I promise to return them unharmed.  So, don't do anything that will result in my demise...
  393.12 +
  393.13 +Story Note:  The story will be told in Tomoyo's perspective throughout. The song lyrics will be in Italics.  It will mostly consist of thought and recollection of Tomoyo thoughts about her unrequited love.  Let's just see how it will go, shall we?
  393.14 +________________________
  393.15 +
  393.16 +
  393.17 +	
  393.18 +
  393.19 +
  393.20 +~Whenever sang my songs
  393.21 +One the stage, on my own
  393.22 +Whenever said my words
  393.23 +Wishing they would be heard...~
  393.24 +
  393.25 +	
  393.26 +	I keep replaying the scene over and over in my mind; the scene in which I told Sakura-chan how much I loved her.  Yet, no matter how I said it, it always came out ways she couldn't comprehend.  Yes, she has told me that she "loved me", but it was always in matters and friendship and companionship. 
  393.27 +	 I wish she would have heard it.  I wish she would've have heard the true messages within my actions and words.  It would be so different now; My life wouldn't be as futile and as sullen as it is now...
  393.28 +
  393.29 +
  393.30 +~I saw you smiling at  me
  393.31 +Was it real or just my fantasy
  393.32 +You'd always be there in the corner
  393.33 +of this tiny little bar...~
  393.34 +
  393.35 +
  393.36 +
  393.37 +	No matter how oblivious she is to my feelings for her are, I will always try my best to make her happy.  Ever since our paths crossed, I've believe that I was fated by the gods to make her as glorious and happy as she can be.  I felt like I was her guardian angel.  And no matter my internal pain, I smiled at her, although feigned.  I couldn't worry her about me.  I was just there to give support, and endure years of her kindness, beauty, friendship, and flippant attitude.  This is why I would try to be the first person in class; I couldn't wait to see her next to me after saying, "Ohayoo Gozaimasu Sakura-chan" and dream about her the rest of the day...
  393.38 +
  393.39 +
  393.40 +
  393.41 +~My last night here with you
  393.42 +Some old songs, just once more
  393.43 +My last night here with you?
  393.44 +Maybe yes, maybe no...~
  393.45 +
  393.46 +
  393.47 +
  393.48 +	I don't know what to do now.  I'm so befuddled with my life right now.  I'm even thinking about leaving Japan for good.  My unrequited love for Sakura is just tearing me up inside.  Maybe I should start a new life somewhere, but I don't think I can start a new life without Sakura-chan's presence before me.  She is my "lifeblood".  Without her, moving somewhere wouldn't make much of a difference.  I would just miss her ever more, furthering the regression of my already-damaged soul.  Gods, What should I do?  Maybe I should see her-and talk to her...
  393.49 +	I asked my mother if the bodyguards could drive me to Sakura-chan's house.  She gladly accepted my plea, and then began to devulge more about her experiences with Nadeshiko on how she would visit her as much as she can.  My mother must've really loved her, because I too I'm feeling the same towards Sakura-chan as my mother was with Nadeshiko.  
  393.50 +            I called Sakura-chan and heard her answer the phone.  She has a such a wonderful and beautiful voice.  I felt my heart pound intensely as I spoke to her.  I told her I was going there because I needed to talk to her about something.  She asked if I was okay because It seemed my voice wasn't the usually tone Sakura-chan was used to hearing. I just gave her my usual feigned emotional stability over the phone. I told her I would be going there later.  I said I needed to talk to her.  She accepted my wish.  She said she would wait outside her house for me.  I then bombarded her with more of my usual gratification to her before I hung up. 	
  393.51 +	I arrived at the front her house.  As I exited the car, I saw her; her beautiful emerald eyes gazing at me with such tenderness.  I approached her, only to nearly stumble.  Fortunately, Sakura-chan caught me before I hit the ground.  I felt so embarrassed, but being held by her made me even redder as my heart continued to beat harder and harder...
  393.52 +
  393.53 +
  393.54 +
  393.55 +~Darling, so there you are 
  393.56 +With that look on your face
  393.57 +As if you're never hurt
  393.58 +As if you're never down...~
  393.59 +
  393.60 +
  393.61 +
  393.62 +	Sakura-chan led me through the door.  The house was virtually empty, except for Kero-chan; he sitting on the kitchen table relishing a slice of strawberry cake on the kitchen table.  I greeted him, while he answered with a muffled "hello".  I giggled.  It was nice to laugh a little, considering the tension I was feeling.  As I turned away, Sakura-chan told a hold my hand and led me to her room.  I gazed at our clasped hands.  Oh how I wish I could experience this everyday of my life.
  393.63 +        	Sakura-chan and I both sat on her bed.  We stayed rather silent for a while, until Sakura-chan seemed to notice something was bothering me.  She looked straight at me with a look of great concern.
  393.64 +	
  393.65 +	"Tomoyo-chan, are you okay?  You seem really bothered by something," she said.	
  393.66 +	"Ano...it's nothing..." I said, blantly lying to myself-as I always did around Sakura-chan.
  393.67 +
  393.68 +	"...You can't lie to me Tomoyo-chan.  I know there is something bothering you.  I can see it...in you eyes.  Please, let me help you Tomoyo-chan.  What is wrong?"
  393.69 +
  393.70 +	I turned away from her gaze.  "It's just that..."  Why is saying 'I love you' so hard?  I'm acting like a complete baka right now...
  393.71 +
  393.72 +	Sakura-chan then placed her hand on my cheek and moved my head to face her.  I felt a deluge of redness rush to my complexion as she touched me.  "Please, whatever you have to say, say it while we gaze into each others eyes," Sakura-chan said.  The way she said it, almost gave me this feeling; a feeling that that tells me that I'm not the only one in love...
  393.73 +
  393.74 +
  393.75 +~Shall I be the one for you
  393.76 +Who pinches you softly but sure
  393.77 +If frown is shown then
  393.78 +I will know that you are no dreamer...~
  393.79 +
  393.80 +
  393.81 +
  393.82 +	I gazed at her pleaded eyes and finally conjured the courage to tell her how much I love her.  I've never felt so nervous in my life.  I took a hold of Sakura-chan's hand and challenged fate...
  393.83 +
  393.84 +	"Sakura-chan...what I want to tell you is that...you're very special to me and...  What I really want to tell you is that I...love you.  I-love-you Sakura-chan."  Tears began to flow from my eyes.  I couldn't hold back any longer.  "I hope you understand...please understand Sakura-chan.  I don't want this to end my friendship with you...  I just had to tell you this...please forgive me."  I buried my face on my hands, frightened to face rejection...
  393.85 +
  393.86 +	"Please don't cry Tomoyo-chan.  I'm still here.  You don't have to be afraid.  I will always be by your side.  It's okay..."  Sakura-chan embraced me tightly and pressed her body against mine.  I, too, wrapped my arms around her.  She then rested her head on my shoulder.  I heard her whisper-barely audible-but the message was so clear to me...
  393.87 +
  393.88 +
  393.89 +~So let me come to you
  393.90 +Close as I wanted to be
  393.91 +Close enough for me
  393.92 +To feel your heart beating fast...~
  393.93 +
  393.94 +
  393.95 +
  393.96 +	Sakura-chan continued to hold onto me, while she whispered to me words I've dreamed for so long to hear.
  393.97 +
  393.98 +	"I could feel your heart Tomoyo-chan.  It's beating so fast.  But, try and feel my heart Tomoyo-chan.  It's beating as fast as yours.  You know why? I, too, have a confession to make.  I've been waiting so long for this oppurtunity.  Now it's my chance to tell you...  I love you too Tomoyo-chan..."
  393.99 +
 393.100 +	I broke the embrace, staring wide-eyed at Sakura-chan.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  Sakura-chan...was...in love with me?  A plethora of emotions enveloped me.  However, the only emotions I felt were only feelings of joy and finally happiness...
 393.101 +
 393.102 +
 393.103 +
 393.104 +~And stay there as I whisper
 393.105 +How I loved you peaceful eyes on me
 393.106 +Did you ever know
 393.107 +That I had mine on you...~
 393.108 +
 393.109 +
 393.110 +	"Sakura-chan?  Do you really...love me?"  I asked to be completely sure I heard her correctly.
 393.111 +
 393.112 +	"Yes.  Yes, I love you with all my heart Tomoyo-chan.  It just took me so long to realize that you are the one for me.  Only you..."
 393.113 +
 393.114 +	"Sakura-chan...I love you with all my heart too.  Ever since I've met you, I couldn't keep my eyes off you in both keen friendship and passionate love.  I just couldn't tell you...because I was afraid."
 393.115 +
 393.116 +	"I understand Tomoyo-chan.  It's okay.  I was afraid too.  That's why I never told you sooner.  But when you declared your love for me, I finally had a chance to tell you.  I'm so glad you told me.  If you haven't, I don't know if I would've told you.  Please forgive me Tomoyo-chan.  I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain."
 393.117 +
 393.118 +	"I'm not angry at you Sakura-chan.  I can never be angry with you.  This whole ordeal has given a lot of grief and pain, even to the point of me planning to leave Japan.  But, I knew in the end, my Sakura-chan would come through for me." 
 393.119 +
 393.120 +	"Tomoyo-chan...I promise I will never cause you any pain.  I swear this on my life.  I vow to protect you forever-and love you forever..."
 393.121 +
 393.122 +	We leaned closer to each other and caressed each others cheeks.  We leaned even closer, gazing each other with such intensity-such passion.  
 393.123 +
 393.124 +
 393.125 +
 393.126 +~Darling, so share with me
 393.127 +Your love if you have enough
 393.128 +Your tears if you're holding back
 393.129 +Or pain if that's what it is...~
 393.130 +
 393.131 +
 393.132 +
 393.133 +	Our lips brushed together, and finally connected.  The dark cloud over my soul has lifted; My scars have healed; My life is worth living again; I feel whole again.  All of this has been done with a simple, but passionate kiss from my beloved.
 393.134 +	We broke the kiss then held each other snuggly.  We both wept tears of joy declaring our love for each other repeatedly.  We finally were happy, and it couldn't be any better than being in Sakura-chan's loving arms.  We continued to hold each other throughout under the romance of the beautiful moonlit night.
 393.135 +
 393.136 +
 393.137 +
 393.138 +~How can I let you know
 393.139 +I'm more than the dress and the voice
 393.140 +Just reach me out then
 393.141 +you will know that you're not dreaming.~
 393.142 +
 393.143 +
 393.144 +	We both awoke bathed in the sunlight.  We found each other, and realized we both haven't been dreaming.  The dreams we've had come to a conclusion.  We finally start a new fate together basking in the realm of reality.  We will cherish our love everyday forever, and always remember that fateful day in which we gazed into each other's passionate eyes and said "I love you".
 393.145 +
 393.146 +
 393.147 +-Owari 
 393.148 +
 393.149 +______________________
 393.150 +
 393.151 +
 393.152 +Author's Epilogue to a Fanfictional Quest:  Gomen nasai, but in my previous story "Dreaming of Sakura", I promised a longer and better 'fic.  Yet again, I failed.  This story didn't pan out so well for me, but I wanted to finish it since I went far into it.  I'm writing these stories half-asleep.  But with Summer VA-CA, I should get a few more stories into my "to-do" list.  I just hope you enjoy what I have on the table write now.  Once I get my studies out of the way, I can finally focus on creative writing...and watching more and more anime /\_/\. Anyway, thanks for reading and see you again someday!  Let me just catch up some sleep and I'll be fine...  
 393.153 +
 393.154 +UP NEXT:  More CCS: Sakura/Tomoyo fics and possibly a Koutetsu Tenshi Kurumi fic (Steel Angel Kurumi) coming up in the future. 
 393.155 +
 393.156 +
 393.157 +	
 393.158 +
 393.159 +
 393.160 +
 393.161 +
 393.162 +
 393.163 +

   394.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   394.2 +++ b/stories/myodango.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   394.3 @@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
   394.4 +My Odango
   394.5 +By: MichiRuka
   394.6 +
   394.7 +Email - Michiruka@hotmail.com
   394.8 +Author - Michiruka
   394.9 +
  394.10 +
  394.11 +
  394.12 +Authors Notes - Hey look, I'm new... I don't write that much but I figured
  394.13 +I'd try it out... If you people like it... review my story... okay?
  394.14 +And yes, I realize my disclaimer is kinda long but... who cares?...
  394.15 +Certinally not me! Oh and if you hate the idea of Hotaru and Chibi-Usa
  394.16 +being together or yuri fics offend you...LEAVE NOW!
  394.17 +AND MEMBER PEOPLE... I BURN EASILY! =O)
  394.18 +~Michiruka
  394.19 +A/N's 2 - "..." = talking
  394.20 +<...> = think
  394.21 +* * * * = view change
  394.22 +~*<>*~ = day change
  394.23 +~~~~~~ = year change
  394.24 +
  394.25 +Disclaimer - I don't own Sailor Moon... Naoko ... Er...
  394.26 +When I remember her last name I'll let ya know it...
  394.27 +But as I was saying... Naoko and those stupid dubbing peoples own it...
  394.28 +Sue me if you want... but I am pretty sure all you'll get is my teddy bear
  394.29 +and pink hair dye... maybe a chip or two... Whatever is left in my bag
  394.30 +anyways... -_-; If you don't get what I am saying... Let me put it in
  394.31 +simpler terms... I'M BROKE! SUE THE RICH ONES! (I wanna own Haruka and
  394.32 +Michiru tho...)
  394.33 +
  394.34 +Anyways... Here's the story
  394.35 +
  394.36 +~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  394.37 +
  394.38 +She stared at her lovingly from her doorstep as she walked away
  394.39 +from her house.
  394.40 +"My Odango..." she whispered to herself.
  394.41 +She was her first friend and she had grown to love her as
  394.42 +more than that. Of course she didn't tell 'her odango' this, but she
  394.43 +wanted to. She walked back inside and went up to her room. She wanted
  394.44 +to be left alone to think, or daydream, about everything. (A/N - Confuzzling
  394.45 +ain't it?)
  394.46 +
  394.47 +* * * * * * * * * *
  394.48 +
  394.49 +"Usagi! I'm home!" Chibi-Usa shouted.
  394.50 +She threw her things in the closet, took off her shoes and
  394.51 +put on a pair of slippers. She got no response. < Good, I'm home alone. >
  394.52 +she thought. She needed some time to think. She had new feelings and she
  394.53 +wanted to sort them out. She went to her room and laid down on her bed.
  394.54 +About an hour later, she had fallen asleep, deep in thought.
  394.55 +
  394.56 +* * * * * * * * * *
  394.57 +
  394.58 +"Hotaru! Come down for dinner!" Haruka yelled.
  394.59 +"Alright Haruka-papa." she answered.
  394.60 +Throughout the whole dinner, Hotaru barely spoke a word.
  394.61 +She was to deep in thought. < My odango. How I wish you felt the
  394.62 +same way about me as I do you. > she sighed unhappily. Michiru noticed
  394.63 +this and the fact that she barely touched her food.
  394.64 +"What's wrong? Guy troubles?" Michiru asked.
  394.65 +"Maybe girl troubles?" Haruka added.
  394.66 +Hotaru blushed a dark shade of red.
  394.67 +"Haruka-papa!" she whined.
  394.68 +Haruka just laughed. Michiru shot her a glare and she
  394.69 +immedently shut uo. Hotaru and Setsuna chuckled at the site.
  394.70 +"You know, you can tell us anything Hotaru." Setsuna said
  394.71 +after a while.
  394.72 +"It's nothing. Really. My I be excused?" she asked polietly.
  394.73 +"Of course." Michiru answered.
  394.74 +"Thankyou."
  394.75 +And with that she went back to her room to write in her journal.
  394.76 +
  394.77 +~*<>*~ ~*<>*~ ~*<>*~ ~*<>*~ ~*<>*~
  394.78 +
  394.79 +Chibi-Usa and Hotaru had been talking all day while walking
  394.80 +through the park. Not that either of them minded, it was the fact that
  394.81 +the other didn't know that hurt.
  394.82 +"So, what to talk about now?" Chibi-Usa asked.
  394.83 +"I don't know." Hotaru responded.
  394.84 +< How's 'Do you love me?' for a topic? > the both thought.
  394.85 +"Do you like anyone?" Chibi-Usa blurted out.
  394.86 +"H-Hai" she answered back quietly.
  394.87 +"Really?! How kawaii! Who is it?!" Chibi-Usa asked, all to eagerly.
  394.88 +"Someone." Hotaru responded.
  394.89 +"Do I know them?"
  394.90 +"You could say that."
  394.91 +"Is it me?'
  394.92 +Hotaru's eyes widened and she looked over at Chibi-Usa.
  394.93 +"N-Nani?" she choked out.
  394.94 +"Is... it... me?" Chibi-Usa repeated slowly.
  394.95 +"I-Iie! I've got to go." Hotaru said, and with that she took off
  394.96 +toward her house. (A/N - Iie means 'No' ... right?)
  394.97 +< Ugh! I'm such a baka! > Chibi-Usa thought. She decided to go
  394.98 +apologize to her friend. But she took her time getting there. She wanted
  394.99 +to let Hotaru calm down first.
 394.100 +
 394.101 +* * * * * * * * * * *
 394.102 +
 394.103 +Hotaru managed to get home in 15 minutes. When she walked, or more
 394.104 +like 'fell', through the front door, Haruka looked up from her paper. She
 394.105 +glanced at her strangely.
 394.106 +"Where dogs chasing you or something?" she asked.
 394.107 +"No. Haruka-papa? How did you tell Michiru-mama you liked her?"
 394.108 +Haruka looked a little surprised but told her anyway. When she was
 394.109 +down, she looked as if she was in heaven. She snapped out of it when she
 394.110 +noticed Hotaru started to go upstairs.
 394.111 +"Why did you want to know Hotaru?" she asked.
 394.112 +"I was just curoius. If Chibi-Usa comes, tell her I'm in my room
 394.113 +and that she should just come up. Alright?"
 394.114 +"No problem, kiddo!"
 394.115 +
 394.116 +* * * * * * * * * * *
 394.117 +
 394.118 +Chibi-Usa hesistated but eventually opened Hotaru's door and
 394.119 +walked in.
 394.120 +"Hotaru?"
 394.121 +Hotaru looked up from her journal and smiled warmly.
 394.122 +"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean it like it came out."
 394.123 +Chibi-Usa had said after a good 5 minutes. She looked at the ground.
 394.124 +"It's alright. Sit down. I need to talk to you." Hotaru said, gently.
 394.125 +Chibi-Usa sat down on her bed, not looking up at Hotaru.
 394.126 +"What is it?" she asked.
 394.127 +"I lied earlier. I do like you but I was afriad if I told you, you'd
 394.128 +hate me."
 394.129 +Chibi-Usa looked up, confusedly.
 394.130 +"You... do?" she asked.
 394.131 +Hotaru nodded, noticing her pink-haired friend (A/N - SPORE! Erm..
 394.132 +Uh... -_-; Sorry) was blushing ever so slightly as she looked back at the
 394.133 +ground. Hotaru lifted Chibi-Usa's chin up with her fore finger and kissed 
 394.134 +her
 394.135 +lightly, yet passionately, on the lips with her eyes closed. Chibi-Usa's
 394.136 +eyes widened in surprise but after the shock went down, she leaned into the
 394.137 +kiss, making it deeper.
 394.138 +
 394.139 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 394.140 +It was now five years later. Hotaru and Chibi-Usa were walking
 394.141 +hand-in-hand through the park. They were as happy as Mamoru and Usagi,
 394.142 +or more better, Haruka and Michiru. Hotaru leaned over and whispered,
 394.143 +"Ashitaru (A/N - Is that right?) my odango."
 394.144 +"Ashitaru, Taru-chan"
 394.145 +They held each other, looking into each others eyes.
 394.146 +They loved each other and it showed. Hotaru leaned down and kissed her
 394.147 +pink-haired lover. They never wanted this moment to end, and it seemed
 394.148 +like it was forever to them.
 394.149 +
 394.150 +
 394.151 +Fin. 3/13
 394.152 +
 394.153 +Ending Notes - Well, that was... short. Like? Hate? Want to tell me it
 394.154 +sucked? Then review... please! =O)

   395.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   395.2 +++ b/stories/nervousdepression.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   395.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1942 @@
   395.4 +Hello, everyone! ^-^ I’d like to dedicate this story to Reisz
   395.5 +Fenrir, without whom I would never have written this story. ^-^
   395.6 +Remember to never stop dreaming. ^-^ This story has two girls in love
   395.7 +and some adult situations, so please read responsibly. CCS and its
   395.8 +beautiful characters were created by CLAMP. 
   395.9 +
  395.10 +I Love You, I love You Not
  395.11 +by Amazoness Duo
  395.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  395.13 +
  395.14 +
  395.15 +	“Everything will always be all right,” Tomoyo whispered, imagining
  395.16 +Sakura’s voice giving life to the dead words. But even that couldn’t
  395.17 +bring back the magic to them. Like a magician’s chant, it only worked
  395.18 +for those with the power. What power? That fiery determination that
  395.19 +burned in beautiful emerald green eyes within the girl known as
  395.20 +Sakura. Tomoyo had tried to make Sakura believe in them, to put forth
  395.21 +her determination into making those words a reality. But for Tomoyo,
  395.22 +the words were meaningless, hollow. They carried with them no magic,
  395.23 +no sparkle. They were simply what they were. A messy collection of
  395.24 +words. They alone had no magic power, no abilities. It was Sakura
  395.25 +that unlocked their magic. Because the magic was within her, not
  395.26 +within any saying. And so they hung in the air painfully, sounding
  395.27 +brittle in the cold air.
  395.28 +	Hugging her dark blue jacket closer, Tomoyo continued walking along
  395.29 +the nearly frosty sidewalk. Her long dark hair trailed behind her
  395.30 +like a shadow. Her pale skin glistened like the falling snow, making
  395.31 +her look like a snow angel that had been brought magically to life to
  395.32 +all who crossed her path. She wore long, thick black stockings and
  395.33 +large boots. Her dark skirt shifting as she continued walking, lost
  395.34 +in her own thoughts. Despite her warm apparel, she felt frigid
  395.35 +inside, as if an arctic wind had blown bitingly across her soul. 
  395.36 +	Shuddering, the dark haired girl hugged herself tightly. It offered
  395.37 +little warmth. She had the sudden thought that Sakura’s arms would
  395.38 +warm her instantly, much stronger than her own self-embrace. She
  395.39 +tried not to let the thought linger, knowing it would only be
  395.40 +painful. Thinking like that was selfish. Sakura’s happiness was the
  395.41 +important thing. Much more important than her own happiness. Sakura
  395.42 +was her best friend. She should be happy with that. Thinking of
  395.43 +Sakura in such ways was painful, taunting. Sakura didn’t belong with
  395.44 +her, but with another. Someone else, probably Syaoran, would be the
  395.45 +one to make Sakura happy. That thought was so much easier to deal
  395.46 +with as a child. Back then it had seemed so much easier. Sakura would
  395.47 +fall in love with someone and she would be happy to watch after her
  395.48 +beautiful Sakura. But as she grew older, her feelings grew as well.
  395.49 +Her love for Sakura only became stronger as the years went by. And
  395.50 +the thought of watching Sakura with another cut into her like a
  395.51 +jagged icicle. 
  395.52 +	Telling Sakura of her feelings would only be selfish. Tomoyo knew
  395.53 +Sakura better than anyone. Sakura could never bear to hurt her. She
  395.54 +would never be able to simply reject her. It would only confuse
  395.55 +Sakura, hurting the one Tomoyo loved more than life itself. And
  395.56 +hurting Sakura was the last thing the young heiress wanted. Better
  395.57 +she suffer than Sakura. Yes, that was right. She could handle it. For
  395.58 +Sakura. But sometimes the love in her heart wanted so badly to get
  395.59 +out, to touch Sakura’s heart. She wanted to feel loved, to feel the
  395.60 +love in her heart returned. But it was an empty dream. One she had
  395.61 +given up on as a child, as a sacrifice so that her beloved Sakura
  395.62 +would find her own happiness. 
  395.63 +	Sometimes it just felt too lonely. Knowing she would have to give
  395.64 +up Sakura was the most painful thought imaginable for the dark haired
  395.65 +girl. She had seen what losing one’s love had done to her mother.
  395.66 +Sometimes she wondered if she could survive it. Her mother was so
  395.67 +much stronger than she was and it had crushed her. Sonomi still
  395.68 +hadn’t recovered, and she probably never would. Tomoyo knew that she
  395.69 +had to. For Sakura’s sake. But sometimes that was all that kept her
  395.70 +going. As her heart inside wept, she smiled serenely at the brunette,
  395.71 +never letting her know the pain that was growing inside of her. She
  395.72 +knew what was awaiting her. Forever alone. She would have her love
  395.73 +for Sakura, but no Sakura. And sometimes that just didn’t feel like
  395.74 +it was enough. She knew she would never give up that love, but it was
  395.75 +so deliciously painful that it nearly consumed her. She was starting
  395.76 +to worry that cracks might begin to show through her masks. She could
  395.77 +only smile so much. It was beginning to hurt now, smiling for Sakura
  395.78 +when she just wanted so badly to cry. But she couldn’t let Sakura see
  395.79 +her pain. Sakura had to be happy. Sakura needed to smile. Sakura
  395.80 +needed to fall in love. She couldn’t be held back by her best friend.
  395.81 +	Tomoyo had been crying herself to sleep more often lately. She
  395.82 +tried to be quiet, so as not to let her mother hear. She didn’t want
  395.83 +her mother to worry about her. She was always so busy with work as it
  395.84 +was. So she would cry quietly at night, watching her videos of Sakura
  395.85 +through a haze of tears. And during the day, she was all smiles. It
  395.86 +was what everyone expected of her, so no one questioned that the
  395.87 +smile was anything but real. She was eccentric. Everyone thought so,
  395.88 +even Sakura. So no one noticed that her smile never disappeared.
  395.89 +Until she was alone. Then it would leave her, replaced by the
  395.90 +emptiness that spread throughout her. It was cold and desolate, a
  395.91 +taste of the life that awaited her. The few times that she had tried
  395.92 +to envision her future, she had quit soon after. There was nothing in
  395.93 +her future. She could take over her mother’s business. She could grow
  395.94 +old, alone, always loving Sakura from a distance. That was all that
  395.95 +awaited her. Much better to imagine Sakura’s future, to hope for the
  395.96 +very best for her dearest Cardmistress. That was what had kept her
  395.97 +going over the past few years, the thoughts of Sakura’s beautiful
  395.98 +wedding, her many children, and her bright smile. That was the future
  395.99 +she was working for, not her own. She always had to keep that
 395.100 +beautiful vision in her mind. She loved Sakura with all her heart.
 395.101 +She would do anything for the athletic brunette, even if she would
 395.102 +never know of the feelings Tomoyo had for her.
 395.103 +	Stormy blue eyes blinked rapidly as tears threatened to spill from
 395.104 +them. Tomoyo wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She
 395.105 +would have plenty of time for tears later. She just had to hold on a
 395.106 +little longer for Sakura. Once Syaoran got back from Hong Kong,
 395.107 +Sakura wouldn’t need her anymore. Syaoran would be able to help
 395.108 +Sakura through all of life’s intricacies. But for now, Sakura still
 395.109 +needed her. That was a bitter relief. It would be over all too soon,
 395.110 +but at least there was still a place for her in the brunette’s life.
 395.111 +With what precious little time she had left, she would do all she
 395.112 +could for Sakura, to ensure her gloriously beautiful future. It was
 395.113 +the least she could do for the girl who had so easily stolen her
 395.114 +heart. 
 395.115 +	A faint smile crossed Tomoyo’s lips as she watched two young girls
 395.116 +run past. Her mind busied itself with other things, trying not to
 395.117 +dwell on the pain. Cupping her hands, she caught a gently falling
 395.118 +snowflake in her palms. The beautiful crystal lingered for a brief
 395.119 +moment before it began to melt and fade away. It reminded her of
 395.120 +something her mother had told her long ago. ‘The most beautiful
 395.121 +things in this life are gone before we know it, Tomoyo-chan. We have
 395.122 +to cherish them while we can.’ Her mother had been talking about
 395.123 +Nadeshiko then. As she often did. Tomoyo’s smile brightened slightly.
 395.124 +‘Mother still loves Nadeshiko-san even after all this time. I’ll
 395.125 +always love Sakura-chan. I’ll always cherish her,’ she thought to
 395.126 +herself. 
 395.127 +	And the snowflake was gone. Tomoyo silently thanked it for it’s
 395.128 +swift moment of beauty before gingerly closing her hands. Her mind
 395.129 +was already planning out a snowflake costume for Sakura, one just as
 395.130 +pretty as any snowflake out in the skies. Her heart still hung heavy
 395.131 +in her chest, but her thoughts helped her to focus elsewhere, to
 395.132 +things she had always enjoyed. And these invariably led back to
 395.133 +Sakura. Who led back to her lonely thoughts. It was a vicious cycle,
 395.134 +but one she found herself caught in. 
 395.135 +	A thought struck the pale girl as more snowflakes fell around her.
 395.136 +Pulling her camcorder out of its carrying case, she began to
 395.137 +videotape the slow descent of the glittering snowflakes. The footage
 395.138 +would help when she finally started on Sakura’s new costume. Sakura
 395.139 +would look gorgeous in it, like a Snow Princess who had fallen from
 395.140 +her home in the sky above. Tomoyo sighed dreamily at the thought, a
 395.141 +hand going to her cheek, playing the lovely image of Sakura over and
 395.142 +over in her head even as she videotaped the falling snow. Her hand
 395.143 +felt cold against her warm cheek, sending a chill through her.
 395.144 +Shuddering visibly, she went back to her camera work. Each lonely,
 395.145 +frozen teardrop from heaven slowly made its way to the earth around
 395.146 +the pale girl, all alone despite the people passing by. 
 395.147 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” a voice called from across the street. 
 395.148 +	Pulling her camcorder down for a moment, Tomoyo quickly spotted the
 395.149 +source of the voice. A bright smile lit up her face, her earlier
 395.150 +thoughts quickly forgotten as Sakura waved to her. Her heart
 395.151 +brightened at the sight. Sakura made her happy. The brunette lit up
 395.152 +her heart. She waved back warmly. “I love you, Sakura-chan,” she said
 395.153 +quietly. Yes, this was exactly why she would never be able to shake
 395.154 +Sakura’s spell. Even if it was painful at times, she could never give
 395.155 +it up. Her heartbeat quickened as she saw Sakura smile at her. She
 395.156 +was so absolutely perfect. A dreamy sigh escaped Tomoyo. There was
 395.157 +nothing more painful than love. But there was also nothing more
 395.158 +beautiful. Taking a quick glimpse in either direction, Tomoyo hurried
 395.159 +to be with her beloved.
 395.160 +	No one saw the car. It closed on the small girl like a terrible
 395.161 +beast stalking its prey, a dragon snatching away a princess. It was
 395.162 +all a blur for Sakura. One moment, Tomoyo was hurrying to her side,
 395.163 +smiling sweetly. The next, Tomoyo was nowhere to be seen, a car
 395.164 +screeching to a halt where the heiress had been moments before. There
 395.165 +was a sickening thump and then silence. Tomoyo’s cracked camcorder
 395.166 +lay at Sakura’s feet, staring up into the sky like a curious eye.
 395.167 +With shaky fingers, Sakura reached down and picked up the broken
 395.168 +camcorder. This was wrong. Tomoyo was supposed to be holding it.
 395.169 +Still in shock, Sakura looked up from the item, glancing around for
 395.170 +her best friend. The woman who had gotten out of her car was
 395.171 +frightened about something. Sakura followed her towards something
 395.172 +crumpled in the snow. It was deathly pale, almost the same color as
 395.173 +the snow itself. But there was something else in the snow, sparkling
 395.174 +and red. Blood. Sakura collapsed in the snow next to the crumpled
 395.175 +figure, her heart beating furiously in her chest. Her cold fingers
 395.176 +clutched the camcorder like a lifeline, her emerald eyes watching the
 395.177 +tiny shape unmoving in the snow. “Tomoyo-chan..? Tomoyo-chan? Tomoyo-
 395.178 +chan!?!” Sakura burst out into tears, huddling over her broken
 395.179 +friend. Tomoyo didn’t reply, only lying there like a shattered China
 395.180 +doll in the street. “Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura cried, trying to hold onto
 395.181 +her battered friend. Her bitter tears fell onto Tomoyo’s pale skin,
 395.182 +Sakura’s body shaking painfully as she was wracked with sobs.
 395.183 +	“I... I didn’t see her there,” the driver said quickly, as if it
 395.184 +would somehow magically fix the shattered girl. 
 395.185 +	Sakura didn’t hear anything. She held Tomoyo’s hand, crying
 395.186 +anguished tears. She didn’t even notice the blood beginning to stain
 395.187 +her own dress as she held onto her broken friend. “Tomoyo-chan,
 395.188 +please wake up. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Just please wake up.
 395.189 +Please? Please, Tomoyo-chan?” Her only answer was the wail of sirens
 395.190 +in the distance. “Please..?”
 395.191 +
 395.192 +	Standing in front of the large, imposing gate, Sakura felt her
 395.193 +heart falter in her chest. She took a heavy breath, blinking away the
 395.194 +tears that threatened. The image of the accident was still vivid in
 395.195 +her mind, even though it had been more than a week before. Whenever
 395.196 +she was in the shower, she could still see the blood on her hands,
 395.197 +even though there wasn’t anything there. She shuddered at the
 395.198 +thought. She still felt exhausted from that day, her soul feeling
 395.199 +drained from it all. She had never cried so much, not even when her
 395.200 +mother had died back when she was a small child. The thought of being
 395.201 +without Tomoyo, of losing her very best friend, was just too much for
 395.202 +her. She couldn’t think of life without the dark haired girl. 
 395.203 +Sakura managed a weak smile when she saw Sonomi herself coming out
 395.204 +to fetch her. Tomoyo’s mother was eccentric, much like her daughter.
 395.205 +The older woman always made Sakura feel special. She was always so
 395.206 +warm and affectionate to Sakura, treating her like a visiting
 395.207 +princess. She knew that part of the reason was because their mothers
 395.208 +had been close when they were younger, but didn’t know exactly what
 395.209 +had happened. Whatever the case, she always felt nice around Sonomi.
 395.210 +And with Tomoyo’s normal loving care, Sakura felt very happy at the
 395.211 +Daidouji home. 
 395.212 +	Her smile faded as Sonomi drew closer. Did Tomoyo’s mother blame
 395.213 +her? Did she think it was her fault that Tomoyo had been hurt? That
 395.214 +thought frightened her. What if Sonomi hated her now? Could she blame
 395.215 +her? If Tomoyo hadn’t been coming to see her, then... More tears
 395.216 +glistened in Sakura’s eyes. She rubbed the away insistently. She felt
 395.217 +like a little girl again, hoping that Tomoyo’s mother wasn’t mad at
 395.218 +her. She never knew her own mother. Sonomi was like the one she never
 395.219 +had. She felt like she had disappointed the older woman, failing to
 395.220 +protect her daughter.  
 395.221 +	Sonomi sighed with relief as she opened the gate, ushering Sakura
 395.222 +in. “I’m so glad you’re here, Sakura-chan.” Hugging the younger girl
 395.223 +tightly, Sonomi smiled before leading Sakura further inside.
 395.224 +A sigh escaped Sakura. At least Sonomi wasn’t mad at her. That was
 395.225 +something. She felt a little better at that. But the pit in her
 395.226 +stomach still remained. She still felt awful, the blur of the
 395.227 +accident burnt into her soul. She shuddered as a maid took her coat.
 395.228 +	“How’s Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asked quickly, turning her earnest eyes
 395.229 +to Sonomi. She could feel her anxious heart fluttering in her chest
 395.230 +like a caged bird. 
 395.231 +	Shaking her head, Sonomi gazed towards the stairs. “She hasn’t been
 395.232 +doing well, Sakura-chan. She doesn’t want to come out of her room
 395.233 +anymore. She barely eats anything unless I’m there. And even then I
 395.234 +know she’s only doing it so I won’t worry. Her eyes don’t sparkle
 395.235 +like they used to. She’s broken, Sakura-chan. Not just her body, but
 395.236 +her soul. And I don’t know how to help her. Maybe you can cheer her
 395.237 +up. Tomoyo-chan always loves to see you. You mean the world to her.
 395.238 +I’m so glad you could come on such short notice.” The weary mother
 395.239 +looked back to her daughter’s friend and smiled. “I’m sure she’ll get
 395.240 +better now that you’re here.”
 395.241 +	Sakura sweatdropped, placing a hand behind her head. “I’m not sure
 395.242 +what I can do.” She looked back into Sonomi’s stormy blue eyes and
 395.243 +nodded determinedly. “But I’ll do whatever I can to help Tomoyo-chan.
 395.244 +She’s my best friend. I want her to feel better.”
 395.245 +Sonomi grinned, watching Sakura for a long moment. “You’re so sweet.
 395.246 +Just like your mother. I know you’ll be able to help Tomoyo-chan.”
 395.247 +Sakura was her last hope. She didn’t know how else to bring the life
 395.248 +back to her beloved daughter. Tomoyo had survived, but the life had
 395.249 +disappeared from her. Sakura was the only one that could re-ignite
 395.250 +the sparkle within her. Sonomi would do anything for her daughter,
 395.251 +but there was only so much she could do. The rest was up to Sakura. 
 395.252 +Sakura bowed to the older woman before hurrying up the stairs. She
 395.253 +had to make it up to Tomoyo. It was her fault Tomoyo had gotten hurt
 395.254 +in the first place. All because Tomoyo had been coming to see her.
 395.255 +There had to be something she could do to help the heiress, to make
 395.256 +things better. It wasn’t right for Tomoyo to be so hurt. She had to
 395.257 +do something. 
 395.258 +	Sonomi watched as Sakura slowly disappeared up the stairs. Making
 395.259 +her way into the living room, the older woman collapsed into a chair,
 395.260 +closing her eyes. This whole incident had left her feeling weak and
 395.261 +helpless. She had always been overprotective of her lovely daughter,
 395.262 +but it had all been for nothing. In an eye blink, she had almost lost
 395.263 +her dearest treasure. In some ways, Tomoyo was too much like
 395.264 +Nadeshiko. It was part of why Sonomi was so worried about her.
 395.265 +Nadeshiko had always wound up getting hurt. And she had died a young
 395.266 +death. Sonomi didn’t want the same thing to happen to her daughter.
 395.267 +She had already lost Nadeshiko. She couldn’t stand to lose Tomoyo. 
 395.268 +Waiting there at the hospital while Tomoyo was in surgery, the
 395.269 +auburn haired businesswoman would have given away her entire company
 395.270 +if she could know that her daughter would be all right. She had
 395.271 +stayed by Tomoyo’s side through the next few days, even though Tomoyo
 395.272 +hadn’t been conscious for much of it. Somehow she had pulled through.
 395.273 +Sonomi could only believe that it was because Nadeshiko had been
 395.274 +looking out for her daughter. As soon as Tomoyo had recovered enough
 395.275 +to be moved, she had taken her daughter back home and hired a nurse
 395.276 +to keep an eye on her. The doctors had suggested keeping Tomoyo in
 395.277 +the hospital, but Sonomi didn’t trust hospitals. Nadeshiko had been
 395.278 +there for her final days and they hadn’t been able to save her. She
 395.279 +didn’t want to leave Tomoyo there either. She had hoped Tomoyo would
 395.280 +feel more comfortable at home.
 395.281 +	But now Tomoyo was still empty, her body mending while her heart
 395.282 +remained splintered. Now Sonomi had to hope that Nadeshiko daughter
 395.283 +would fix her own daughter’s soul. “Get better soon, Tomoyo-chan,”
 395.284 +Sonomi whispered.
 395.285 +
 395.286 +	It was snowing outside again. Tomoyo watched out her window as white
 395.287 +snowflakes drifted past. Her room was silent, the only noise coming
 395.288 +from the restless wind outside. She was still bedridden from her
 395.289 +injuries. She couldn’t even get up to put on one of her Sakura
 395.290 +videos. Not that she was in the mood to. It would only remind her of
 395.291 +her darling Sakura, of the lonely love in her heart. So she simply
 395.292 +watched out her window. There would be no snowflake costume, after
 395.293 +all. It had seemed like such a pretty idea, too. But like most
 395.294 +beautiful things, it lasted for but an instant. 
 395.295 +	Except Sakura. Sakura was timeless. No matter what happened, she
 395.296 +would always be beautiful. Tomoyo had little captured moments of
 395.297 +Sakura’s life frozen forever on videotape, always a testament to the
 395.298 +beauty that was Sakura, as if it all existed simply to state that
 395.299 +Sakura had been there, that she wasn’t just a dream. 
 395.300 +Part of her wondered why she hadn’t died. Wouldn’t it have been
 395.301 +easier that way? Then she could watch over Sakura as her guardian
 395.302 +angel. She wouldn’t have to slip away when Sakura fell in love. She
 395.303 +wouldn’t have to watch from afar. She could be right there, right
 395.304 +along with Sakura, could stay close to her forever. She found herself
 395.305 +disappointed that that wasn’t the case. Instead she was still here.
 395.306 +And sooner or later, Sakura would be gone, off with the one she
 395.307 +loved. And Tomoyo wouldn’t be a part of her life anymore. Instead of
 395.308 +watching all of Sakura’s life as her angel, she would simply have to
 395.309 +hope for the best, trusting that it would all work out. It didn’t
 395.310 +seem fair. She had lost even her last hope. She wouldn’t even be able
 395.311 +to watch Sakura’s beautiful future as her guardian angel. 
 395.312 +Dying in Sakura’s arms, it had almost been blissful. It was terrible
 395.313 +to see Sakura so sad, but Tomoyo had wanted her to know that she
 395.314 +would always watch over her, that everything truly would always be
 395.315 +all right. Everyone has to die. So if she couldn’t be with the one
 395.316 +she loved, why couldn’t she at least die in the arms of the one she
 395.317 +loved? Then they could be together forever, even if Sakura forgot
 395.318 +about her. Because Tomoyo would never leave her side again. But
 395.319 +someone had kept her from dying. Someone with long, liquid silver
 395.320 +hair and the same emerald green eyes as her Sakura. She could only
 395.321 +vaguely remember the woman now, as if it were all little more than a
 395.322 +dream. ‘You can’t go yet,’ she had said. ‘Sonomi-chan needs you. And
 395.323 +so does my little Sakura-chan. She’d be lost without you.’ She seemed
 395.324 +so kind, so loving. But Tomoyo still didn’t understand. Sakura was a
 395.325 +big girl. She didn’t need her anymore. Especially when she fell in
 395.326 +love, which was only a matter of time now. Syaoran would be returning
 395.327 +soon. He would take Tomoyo’s place at Sakura’s side. Tomoyo couldn’t
 395.328 +help but feel that the angel had been wrong, that she should have
 395.329 +died then, broken in Sakura’s arms. Better to have died then than
 395.330 +years later when she was all alone. At least she could have died
 395.331 +happily. 
 395.332 +	A knock on the door pulled Tomoyo from her thoughts. She slowly
 395.333 +looked to the door, trying to focus on it. “Hello?” she asked
 395.334 +curiously, her soft musical voice even quieter than usual. The door
 395.335 +slowly opened, exposing a nervous looking brunette. Tomoyo brightened
 395.336 +visibly, smiling at the welcome visitor. She really didn’t see anyone
 395.337 +besides her mother and the maids. It was so nice to see Sakura again.
 395.338 +“Sakura-chan, please come in. I’m so happy to see you.” The pale girl
 395.339 +struggled to sit up, her body aching as she did.
 395.340 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura held back a gasp. She watched Tomoyo for a
 395.341 +long moment, guilt eating at her with each passing second. Tomoyo was
 395.342 +lying in bed in a pink nightgown. She had bandages all down both of
 395.343 +her legs, disappearing up under her nightgown. She had a cast on one
 395.344 +arm. Bandages wrapped around the back of her head. Another square
 395.345 +cloth of bandage was taped over her right eye. She had always known
 395.346 +that Tomoyo was fragile, but seeing Tomoyo like this struck the point
 395.347 +home. But even then, a beautiful smile lay across Tomoyo’s lips as
 395.348 +she entered. Sakura managed to return the smile herself after a
 395.349 +pause, closing the door behind her. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”
 395.350 +The brunette hurried to her friend’s side, looking down at her from
 395.351 +the side of the bed.
 395.352 +	“I’m all right, Sakura-chan. It still hurts a little bit. But I’m
 395.353 +feeling a lot better.” Which was remotely true. She still hurt a lot
 395.354 +and she was only feeling a little better. And she was only feeling
 395.355 +better because Sakura was there. But it was best not to worry Sakura.
 395.356 +It wouldn’t do to have Sakura crying for her. That would just make
 395.357 +her want to cry as well. If Sakura was happy, she felt much better
 395.358 +about life in general. “I’m just glad to see you,” she said softly,
 395.359 +looking at Sakura with the one uncovered stormy blue orb. She felt
 395.360 +her heart skip a beat as Sakura took her free hand in both of her
 395.361 +own. She squeezed softly to reassure her friend, smiling gently up at
 395.362 +her. Sakura seemed deep in thought about something. Tomoyo tilted her
 395.363 +head to the side quizzically, but stopped that when an icy pain shot
 395.364 +down her back.  She simply watched, deciding it was best not to
 395.365 +disturb Sakura while she was busy with her thoughts. 
 395.366 +	A slow smile crossed Sakura’s lips, a determined look glowing in her
 395.367 +eyes. It all managed to set Tomoyo’s heart a flutter, though Sakura
 395.368 +didn’t know it. All she knew was that Tomoyo held onto her hands more
 395.369 +warmly, watched her even more intently. But none of that seemed
 395.370 +important. She knew what she was going to do. “I’ve got it! Tomoyo-
 395.371 +chan, I’m going to make up for this, I promise!” Sakura smiled
 395.372 +happily, squeezing Tomoyo’s soft hand with both of her own. “I’m
 395.373 +going to make you feel better. I finally know how.”
 395.374 +	Tomoyo blinked in surprise. What was Sakura thinking? If she wasn’t
 395.375 +so lost in Sakura’s greatness, she might be able to piece it
 395.376 +together. Okay, Sakura was excited and determined. She wanted to make
 395.377 +Tomoyo feel better. Hmm... So she had some idea on what she wanted to
 395.378 +do. Something that she thought would make things better. Probably
 395.379 +something to do with the Cards. The pieces slowly fell into place as
 395.380 +Tomoyo kept watching Sakura. She found it ironic that Sakura was
 395.381 +trying so hard to fix things for her when all she wanted was to be
 395.382 +there with Sakura. That alone was enough for her. Sakura didn’t have
 395.383 +to do anything. She just had to be there. That was more than enough.
 395.384 +But it was so sweet of Sakura to want to help her. “But Sakura-chan,
 395.385 +you really don’t need to do anything. I’ll be fine,” Tomoyo promised.
 395.386 +	Sakura shook her head, dismissing the silly idea that she didn’t
 395.387 +have to. She still felt like it had been her fault that Tomoyo had
 395.388 +been hurt in the first place. And even if that wasn’t the case,
 395.389 +Tomoyo was her best friend. She couldn’t simply sit by while Tomoyo
 395.390 +was hurting. And Sonomi had seemed so worried. So she had to fix
 395.391 +things. Giving Tomoyo’s hand a last squeeze, she rested it back on
 395.392 +Tomoyo’s stomach. Invoking her staff, Sakura took a step back. “I’m
 395.393 +the world’s most powerful mage now, right?” 
 395.394 +	Tomoyo nodded, smiling. “Hai, no one’s stronger than Sakura-chan!
 395.395 +You can do anything if you put your heart to it!”
 395.396 +	Normally one to be embarrassed by Tomoyo’s statements, Sakura was
 395.397 +too excited to be embarrassed at the moment. “And right now, there’s
 395.398 +nothing more my heart wants to do than to make you feel better. So
 395.399 +I’m going to use all my magic for that. To make you happy.”
 395.400 +	“To make.. me happy?” Tomoyo repeated. Her heart spun at the
 395.401 +thought. Those words were so beautiful. Even if Sakura was attempting
 395.402 +to make her happy through magic, it was simply that she wanted to
 395.403 +make her happy. Tomoyo felt her heart soar. “Arigato, Sakura-chan.
 395.404 +But you do make me happy. You always make me happy.” 
 395.405 +	This time, Sakura did blush faintly, but she was glad to hear
 395.406 +Tomoyo’s words nonetheless. “But I want to do something special for
 395.407 +you. To make you feel better about all this. I want to help. So I’ll
 395.408 +use all my magic to grant your one strongest wish for one week. I
 395.409 +don’t know if I could keep it up any longer than that anyway. But I
 395.410 +know that I can make your wish come true for a little while at
 395.411 +least.” Magic was a tricky thing, and though Sakura had grown rather
 395.412 +proficient with the Sakura Cards, she was still having trouble
 395.413 +getting used to being the strongest magician alive. But that wouldn’t
 395.414 +stop her from making Tomoyo’s dream come true. She had to try. 
 395.415 +	Tomoyo blinked, slowly shaking her head. “Ano... I don’t think
 395.416 +that’s such a good idea, Sakura-chan,” she warned, sweatdropping. She
 395.417 +could see where this was going and she was already worried. Sakura
 395.418 +was the strongest mage on the planet. She could only imagine what
 395.419 +this would do. Sakura didn’t know that she was what Tomoyo wanted
 395.420 +most of all. It didn’t seem like a good idea to rush into this
 395.421 +without knowing how it would work. Sakura still didn’t even know
 395.422 +about Tomoyo’s love for her. She had a bad feeling about this. 
 395.423 +	“Please don’t worry, Tomoyo-chan. You always help me so much. I want
 395.424 +to help you this time.” Sakura smiled brightly at her bedridden
 395.425 +friend, pulling up her staff as she summoned her magic. “What’s the
 395.426 +one thing you wish for more than anything else, Tomoyo-chan?”
 395.427 +	“For Sakura-chan to be happy,” Tomoyo responded simply. 
 395.428 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura shook her head. That couldn’t be it. But she
 395.429 +should have known Tomoyo would say something like that. Oh well.
 395.430 +She’d just have to grant Tomoyo’s one wish even if Tomoyo wouldn’t
 395.431 +tell her exactly what it was. So she would use all the Cards and all
 395.432 +of her power. Surely that could handle her wish for one week. “Sakura
 395.433 +Cards! Please hear me! Make Tomoyo-chan’s most heartfelt wish come
 395.434 +true for this next week!” The pink Cards swirled around Sakura like a
 395.435 +cyclone, magic lighting the dark room with burning intensity. All of
 395.436 +the Cards lent their magic to Sakura’s command, each adding to the
 395.437 +final spell. 
 395.438 +	And with a last flash of light, it was over. The Sakura Book
 395.439 +clattered to the floor, the Cards tumbling down to Sakura’s feet.
 395.440 +Sakura herself nearly stumbled at first, her magic drained from the
 395.441 +spell and the use of all the Cards at once. She shook her head,
 395.442 +trying to clear her thoughts. She felt... strange. What had just
 395.443 +happened? She felt so dizzy. The brunette quickly took a seat on the
 395.444 +edge of Tomoyo’s bed, trying to get her bearings. She’d been working
 395.445 +some kind of magic spell... But what had happened? She glanced around
 395.446 +the room, but she couldn’t tell any noticeable difference. Something
 395.447 +soft rested on her hand, drawing her attention back to the bed.
 395.448 +Tomoyo held her hand, looking up at her concernedly. Nope, Tomoyo
 395.449 +wasn’t any different. She was still just as pretty as always. Even if
 395.450 +she was injured. Sakura smiled brightly at her friend. For some
 395.451 +reason, she just felt... happy. Everything seemed perfect. Her
 395.452 +emerald eyes sparkled as she looked deeply into Tomoyo’s stormy blue
 395.453 +orb. Tomoyo always did have such lovely eyes. Even if she could only
 395.454 +see one of them. And Tomoyo was always so sweet and gentle and
 395.455 +loving. And she always made Sakura feel so wonderful. And she was
 395.456 +always there to help her when she needed her. And she always said
 395.457 +such sweet thing to her, even if it was embarrassing sometimes.
 395.458 +And... “Hanyaan...” Sakura said at last, sighing happily.
 395.459 +	Tomoyo could only watch for a moment, trying to work out just what
 395.460 +had happened herself. There didn’t seem to be any noticeable
 395.461 +difference except for Sakura herself. She was just staring into her
 395.462 +eyes with a dreamy look and a faint blush on her cheeks. Tomoyo’s
 395.463 +eyes went wide in sudden realization. “Sakura-chan...” It suddenly
 395.464 +made sense. The wish... Tomoyo had been so lonely lately. She loved
 395.465 +Sakura so much. Did this mean... 
 395.466 +	Things were slowly beginning to make sense for Sakura as well. Bits
 395.467 +and pieces of a puzzle that she hadn’t even known was there began to
 395.468 +fit together. It all made a whole picture that she had missed for so
 395.469 +long. Sakura leaned closer, holding tightly onto Tomoyo’s hand as it
 395.470 +became crystal clear. “Tomoyo-chan... I understand now! You said
 395.471 +you’d explain when I was older, but I never understood. All this
 395.472 +time, you’ve been trying to tell me, but I never knew.” A faint blush
 395.473 +colored Sakura’s cheeks as her heart lifted up. Swooping forward,
 395.474 +Sakura hugged her best friend tightly, almost forgetting that she was
 395.475 +still hurt. “I love you, too!” Sakura giggled happily, relishing the
 395.476 +newfound freedom her realization gave her. It was true. She knew
 395.477 +that. And it made sense as she played it over in her mind. Tomoyo had
 395.478 +loved her all this time, and she had never known. But she had loved
 395.479 +Tomoyo as well, only she hadn’t understood her feelings. But now they
 395.480 +were open to her. She felt excited and tranquil and loved all at the
 395.481 +same time. She felt Tomoyo’s good arm rubbing up and down her back
 395.482 +peacefully. Making a small happy sound, Sakura hugged Tomoyo closer.
 395.483 +How could she have missed it for so long? But it didn’t matter. She
 395.484 +knew now. That was the important thing.
 395.485 +	Tomoyo quickly tried to figure out the situation as she found
 395.486 +herself in Sakura’s arms. Was Sakura in love with her for the next
 395.487 +week? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What an exquisite form
 395.488 +of torture. To have Sakura’s love, albeit magically induced, for one
 395.489 +week. And then she would have to give it up again. But she had to
 395.490 +admit, it felt so wonderful in Sakura’s arms, to hear those words,
 395.491 +even if they were only caused by magic. She sighed softly, resting
 395.492 +her head against Sakura’s shoulder. It felt magical, so soft and
 395.493 +relaxing. Sakura smelled wonderful. But everything about Sakura was
 395.494 +wonderful. She nestled into the crook of Sakura’s neck, her soul lost
 395.495 +in Sakura. “I love you, Sakura-chan.” This would be one tough week.
 395.496 +
 395.497 +
 395.498 +	“Is it done yet?” Kero asked impatiently, his face hovering near
 395.499 +the oven. “I’m so hungry,” he pouted, trying to emphasize his point.
 395.500 +	“It’s not for you anyway,” Sakura said absently, checking over the
 395.501 +directions once more. She wasn’t the best cook in the world and she
 395.502 +knew it, which is why she was trying so hard to follow the directions
 395.503 +precisely. Because although she wasn’t a wonderful cook, Sonomi was,
 395.504 +and the older woman had given her the recipe. And on top of that, she
 395.505 +wanted it to be perfect. And Sonomi has said that Tomoyo hadn’t been
 395.506 +eating much lately, so Sakura had decided to bake something for her.
 395.507 +With Tomoyo stuck in bed, it seemed like the perfect time to bring
 395.508 +her a treat. Tomoyo always brought over such tasty things, obviously
 395.509 +inheriting her mother’s cooking abilities. Sakura paused for a
 395.510 +moment, wondering whether or not her own mother had been good at
 395.511 +cooking. Probably not, she decided. Why would she need to be when
 395.512 +Sonomi made such great things?
 395.513 +	“But I’m HUNGRY,” Kero reiterated, working up some tears for good
 395.514 +measure. “And it smells so good. Just like one of Tomoyo’s mom’s
 395.515 +cakes.” He grinned hungrily, delving back into memories of the
 395.516 +different treats he had tried over the years. But that just made him
 395.517 +hungrier. 
 395.518 +	“You aren’t getting any of it. It’s for Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said,
 395.519 +holding up a wooden spoon as if to ward Kero away from her precious
 395.520 +cake. Satisfied that she had followed the recipe exactly, Sakura
 395.521 +stepped away from the counter, wiping her hands off on her apron. “It
 395.522 +is one of Sonomi-sama’s cakes. She gave me the recipe yesterday when
 395.523 +I asked what Tomoyo might like to eat.” Smiling happily, she took a
 395.524 +quick glance at the timer and nodded to herself. So far so good. As
 395.525 +soon as she was finished, she could go take it to Tomoyo-chan. She
 395.526 +sighed, placing both hands on her cheeks. She felt so warm inside,
 395.527 +and it had nothing to do with spending so much time in the kitchen.
 395.528 +Finding out how Tomoyo felt about her had brightened every aspect of
 395.529 +her life. She was no longer so confused about her feelings and her
 395.530 +own heart. Before, she had listened to others about what her heart
 395.531 +wanted, unsure of what she wanted herself. But now it all made sense.
 395.532 +She just wanted to be with Tomoyo. More than anything. “Hanyaan...”
 395.533 +she whispered joyously. 
 395.534 +	Everything just made so much more sense now. She had always felt so
 395.535 +good around Tomoyo, but now she knew what it all meant. And the
 395.536 +thought that she’d been so close to the one she loved all this time
 395.537 +left her heart spinning. She wanted to be with the dark haired girl
 395.538 +all the time. She never wanted to leave her side. When she would lie
 395.539 +in bed at night, her last thoughts would be of Tomoyo before she
 395.540 +slipped into a peaceful sleep. Tomoyo was the first thing she thought
 395.541 +about when she got up, usually while hugging her pillow. It was a
 395.542 +poor substitute for her best friend, though. But she had to hug
 395.543 +something, to imagine Tomoyo was with her. And she certainly wasn’t
 395.544 +about to hug her mean older brother. 
 395.545 +	It was amazing how things had changed so quickly. But at the same
 395.546 +time, it didn’t feel like much had changed at all. Tomoyo was just as
 395.547 +warm and loving as she had always been, because she had always loved
 395.548 +her, which Sakura now realized. And Sakura’s feelings were still the
 395.549 +same. She just understood them now. Tomoyo always brought a blush to
 395.550 +her cheeks with some of what she would say. She always made her feel
 395.551 +good inside. She’d always been the most important person in Sakura’s
 395.552 +life. So in many ways, it just felt natural. As if things had finally
 395.553 +taken their proper course. 
 395.554 +	“How long do you plan on letting that thing burn?” Touya asked
 395.555 +curiously, his arms crossed. He watched his little sister blush
 395.556 +furiously and hurry to the oven, nearly dropping the cake as she
 395.557 +pulled it out. 
 395.558 +	Embarrassed, Sakura tried to salvage her slightly burnt cake. Just
 395.559 +how long had she been out of it? Things like this always happened
 395.560 +when she was distracted. But it was so easy to get lost in the
 395.561 +different thoughts and feelings that swept through her heart! At
 395.562 +least Tomoyo understood. And she thought it was cute when Sakura
 395.563 +would daydream like that. Shaking her head, Sakura fought back her
 395.564 +blush as she concentrated on the cake. Of course Tomoyo thought it
 395.565 +was cute. Tomoyo thought everything she did was cute. Her blush
 395.566 +darkened as she realized that line of thought wasn’t helping. She
 395.567 +just hoped Touya would leave the kitchen soon. Being embarrassed was
 395.568 +so much worse when people were around. “Hoe... Now it’s ruined.” 
 395.569 +	Stepping up to the cake dutifully, Kero took a nice long sniff. He
 395.570 +looked at it thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head. “No,
 395.571 +it’s not ruined. It’s just a little burnt. Put some extra topping on
 395.572 +it and it’ll be fine. It won’t be as good as Tomoyo’s mama’s cakes,
 395.573 +but I still won’t mind having a nice big slice or two,” the Seal
 395.574 +Beast said hopefully.
 395.575 +	Sakura pulled the cake away from Kero, shielding it with her body.
 395.576 +“You still can’t have any of it. I already told you I’d make you
 395.577 +something later.”
 395.578 +	“Then who is it for?” Touya asked, raising an eyebrow. 
 395.579 +	Shaking her head quickly, Sakura sweatdropped. “No one,” she said
 395.580 +quickly, busying herself with lathering on a thick layer of icing on
 395.581 +top of the cake. She shot Kero a glare when she saw half of the
 395.582 +strawberries already eaten. Sighing, she started placing the
 395.583 +remaining ones on the cake. 
 395.584 +	“It’s for Yuki, isn’t it?” Touya asked, grinning. Though he’d been
 395.585 +dating Yukito for some time now, he still teased his younger sister
 395.586 +about him. Besides, he thought, it’s better she have a crush on him
 395.587 +than on the brat. It was easier for him to keep an eye on her that
 395.588 +way. 
 395.589 +	“No, it’s not for Yukito-san,” Sakura said, raising her head as she
 395.590 +continued to place the strawberries in a pattern across the cake. She
 395.591 +felt a happy trill resonate through her heart. She didn’t just have a
 395.592 +crush on somebody. This wasn’t some schoolgirl crush. It wasn’t her
 395.593 +going after someone she couldn’t have. She was making a cake for her
 395.594 +girlfriend. This was for her special someone. And she really, really
 395.595 +wanted to tell Touya that, to wipe that smirk off his face, to show
 395.596 +him that she was dating, too. She bit her lip before she could say
 395.597 +anything, trying to focus on the cake. “It’s for someone very, very
 395.598 +special,” she said, smiling. “It’s to show much I like them,” she
 395.599 +added, her cheeks warming. 
 395.600 +	“It’s not for the brat, is it? Is he back in town?” Touya asked,
 395.601 +trying to mask his concern. 
 395.602 +	“No, it’s not for Syaoran,” Sakura replied, putting the finishing
 395.603 +touches on her cake. “There,” she said proudly, taking a step back to
 395.604 +admire her handiwork. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty. And
 395.605 +maybe Tomoyo wouldn’t taste the burnt part with all the icing she put
 395.606 +on it. She wanted to get it to Tomoyo as soon as possible. Then she
 395.607 +could try to get her to eat. But that was just her ulterior motive.
 395.608 +She just wanted to be with Tomoyo again. Giving her the cake was just
 395.609 +a happy plus.
 395.610 +	“Sugoi!” Kero said excitedly, his beady eyes growing as he looked
 395.611 +at the cake. “It looks so good!” His paw went forward to touch the
 395.612 +icing, but before he could get a hold of it Sakura had pulled it away.
 395.613 +	“Kero-chan, you can’t have any of Tomoyo-chan’s cake,” Sakura
 395.614 +scolded.  She held the cake, ignoring the Seal Beast and his pleading
 395.615 +eyes. It took her a moment to realize two other sets of eyes were on
 395.616 +her as well. She turned slowly, noticing her brother and Yukito
 395.617 +staring at her. Yukito must have entered while they were talking. He
 395.618 +did spend a lot of time over with Touya. Her cheeks darkened quickly
 395.619 +as the sudden realization hit her. She hadn’t meant to say that. She
 395.620 +stared back down at the cake, blushing a deep scarlet.
 395.621 +	“That’s great!” Yukito exclaimed. “Isn’t that cute, To-ya? I knew
 395.622 +you’d find someone special, Sakura-chan. It looks like To-ya had been
 395.623 +right all along. I’m still a little surprised. I didn’t know you
 395.624 +liked girls.” He tilted his head to the side, still smiling. 
 395.625 +	“Thank God,” Touya said in relief, his hands on his face. “I was so
 395.626 +sure you were going to marry the brat. Then I’d always be worrying
 395.627 +about you. I don’t have to worry about Tomoyo-chan. I know she’ll
 395.628 +actually take care of you.”
 395.629 +	Blushing even deeper, Sakura began making her way to the door. It
 395.630 +would’ve been easier if they hadn’t said anything at all. But then,
 395.631 +she had accidentally blurted it out. She hadn’t quite expected Touya
 395.632 +to be so thrilled by the whole thing. But it’s better to have your
 395.633 +family like the one you love, she decided. Whatever the case, she
 395.634 +just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. “I’m gonna go
 395.635 +take Tomoyo-chan her cake,” she said quickly, heading for her roller
 395.636 +blades near the front door. She ignored the rest of their comments as
 395.637 +she slipped them on and hurried outside.
 395.638 +	“I guess I won’t have to worry about her giving me a heart attack
 395.639 +after all,” Touya said thoughtfully. It wasn’t what he’d been
 395.640 +expecting, although he had known Tomoyo was in love with his sister.
 395.641 +And though Yukito thought Syaoran was good for Sakura, he didn’t. He
 395.642 +had always thought Tomoyo would make a much better significant other
 395.643 +for his overemotional younger sister. He looked at the other two in
 395.644 +the kitchen when he got no response. Both Kero and Yukito were
 395.645 +staring at him.
 395.646 +	“I’m hungry,” Kero whined.
 395.647 +	“That cake really did look good,” Yukito added, nodding his
 395.648 +agreement.
 395.649 +	Touya sighed as the two continued to stare at him. Preheating the
 395.650 +oven, he wished Sakura had picked something less edible as a gift for
 395.651 +her sweetheart.
 395.652 +
 395.653 +	“Hi, Tomo...” Sakura cut herself off, a hand going to her mouth as
 395.654 +she watched Tomoyo’s sleeping form in bed. She quietly closed the
 395.655 +door behind her as she stepped into the room. One of the maids had
 395.656 +let her enter. She had been disappointed to find out that Sonomi was
 395.657 +still at work. She had hoped that she could thank her for the recipe.
 395.658 +But there would always be time for that later. She smiled as she
 395.659 +walked to the side of the bed, watching Tomoyo. The pale girl was
 395.660 +beautiful, even in her sleep. Long lavender hair lay spilt about her
 395.661 +pale frame. Bandages still adorned much of her injured body. The
 395.662 +large blankets were pulled up around her, either by a worried mother
 395.663 +or an attentive maid. 
 395.664 +	Setting the cake down on an empty spot on Tomoyo’s desk, Sakura sat
 395.665 +down. The desk was cluttered with all sorts of costume designs and
 395.666 +several sheets of music. But even then, it was organized chaos.
 395.667 +Everything was placed somewhere for a reason. Tomoyo always did have
 395.668 +a good eye for details. It looked like the objects on her desk hadn’t
 395.669 +been touched since the accident. Which made sense because the heiress
 395.670 +couldn’t even get to her desk at the moment. 
 395.671 +	Sitting at the desk, Sakura tried to lay out her options. She could
 395.672 +wake Tomoyo up, but the other girl probably needed her sleep. She
 395.673 +could always go home, but that thought was instantly rejected.
 395.674 +Leaving Tomoyo’s side wasn’t an option she wanted to consider. She
 395.675 +could always just wait for her to wake up. Deciding that was the best
 395.676 +course of action, the brunette looked back to the sleeping girl,
 395.677 +smiling. Tomoyo looked so peaceful now, lost in her own beautiful
 395.678 +dreams. Not at all like the scared, distant look her sleeping face
 395.679 +had held during her stay at the hospital. Shuddering, Sakura rubbed
 395.680 +her shoulders. Tomoyo was better now. That was the important thing. 
 395.681 +	Turning back to the desk, Sakura glanced through some of the sheets
 395.682 +of paper on top of it. Emerald eyes skimmed over some lyrics to a
 395.683 +song Tomoyo was practicing for choir. She probably wouldn’t have the
 395.684 +chance to sing it with the rest of the choir now, though. But maybe
 395.685 +she could still sing it sometime. Sakura always loved to listen to
 395.686 +Tomoyo singing. It was so entrancing to listen to her best friend’s
 395.687 +ethereal voice. She would be the pale girl’s audience. That thought
 395.688 +lifted her mood considerably. Tomoyo had such a gorgeous voice. 
 395.689 +	Setting the music sheet aside, Sakura began to look through
 395.690 +Tomoyo’s costume designs. It was strange looking at pictures of
 395.691 +herself in different costumes. Tomoyo really was a good artist. Each
 395.692 +picture looked just like herself, decked out in some imaginary outfit
 395.693 +that Tomoyo would bring into existence with her own form of magic.
 395.694 +Occasionally she would see Kero in the picture as well, with little
 395.695 +matching outfits to go along with Sakura’s. The brunette was
 395.696 +surprised that Tomoyo could make so many varied costumes. And even
 395.697 +though Sakura had caught the last of the Cards years ago, she still
 395.698 +found herself modeling the costumes for Tomoyo. Which always sent a
 395.699 +certain thrill through her, being Tomoyo’s very special model. She
 395.700 +couldn’t model the way her mother did. She was too embarrassed for
 395.701 +that. But if it was for Tomoyo, then it was okay. Because she felt
 395.702 +safe with Tomoyo. Because she knew that Tomoyo enjoyed it so much.
 395.703 +Because she liked being the center of Tomoyo’s attention. 
 395.704 +	‘Kawaii!’ Sakura thought, pulling up one of the costume designs. It
 395.705 +looked like some sort of living rainbow, something belonging up near
 395.706 +the clouds. She would gladly wear it for the heiress when she
 395.707 +finished it, twirling about it in just as she always did. She could
 395.708 +already imagine Tomoyo’s voice praising her as she hurried to get
 395.709 +shots from different angles. Sweatdropping at the thought, Sakura
 395.710 +continued. The next one was of some kind of fairy. She saw herself in
 395.711 +a small, cute sleeveless dress, with tiny little shoes on and
 395.712 +beautiful butterfly wings. Two little antenna hung from a hair band.
 395.713 +Her ears were a little longer and pointed, giving her an elven
 395.714 +appearance. Now that she looked at it more closely, the antenna
 395.715 +weren’t part of the hair band after all. So maybe not all of Tomoyo’s
 395.716 +costume designs were based in reality. Glancing over to the dark
 395.717 +haired girl’s bed again, Sakura smiled at her. It was sweet to think
 395.718 +the other girl would draw her as a sprite. 
 395.719 +	Flipping to the next one, Sakura could see that it wasn’t quite
 395.720 +finished yet. Parts of the costume were missing. There was only one
 395.721 +thigh high stocking, with plenty of lace at the end. Her other leg
 395.722 +was bare. The skirt was short and looked like it was made of several
 395.723 +layers. Ribbons raced up from the skirt over her bare stomach,
 395.724 +leading up to a large bow at her neck. She had long, frilled gloves
 395.725 +leading up past her elbows. Beautiful ribbons hung from her hair.
 395.726 +There didn’t seem to be any blouse except for the ribbons, and they
 395.727 +didn’t even cover up anything. Sakura blushed at how... detailed it
 395.728 +was. It took her a moment to realize the costume wasn’t half-finished
 395.729 +at all. This was exactly how Tomoyo had planned the costume. She
 395.730 +certainly hadn’t ever worn anything like _that_ before. At first she
 395.731 +didn’t know what to think. It was a surprise to know that Tomoyo
 395.732 +thought about that. About her like that. It gave the thought of
 395.733 +modeling for Tomoyo a new twist. Sakura’s cheeks darkened
 395.734 +considerably. ‘Don’t think like that!’ she chided herself. ‘Tomoyo-
 395.735 +chan probably just... just...’ Her thoughts trailed off. Even if she
 395.736 +could be rather naïve about things, this was rather self-evident. It
 395.737 +really was flattering, in an embarrassing sort of way. And that
 395.738 +really wasn’t new at all, coming from Tomoyo. That helped Sakura get
 395.739 +some sort of grip on the situation. 
 395.740 +	What would it be like to actually wear that for Tomoyo? Somehow she
 395.741 +didn’t think it would be all that different from when she modeled
 395.742 +other costumes for Tomoyo. The heiress would want to take pictures
 395.743 +from every angle, sighing happily and telling Sakura how great she
 395.744 +was the whole time. It was what happened afterwards that would
 395.745 +probably be different. Blushing a cherry red, Sakura pushed the
 395.746 +thought aside. This was no time to be thinking about such things,
 395.747 +while poor Tomoyo was stuck in bed. Or maybe that was the perfect
 395.748 +time to be thinking about it. Sakura shook her head quickly. “Hoe...”
 395.749 +Besides, Tomoyo had been the one to draw it, so it wasn’t like she
 395.750 +was completely innocent there. Glancing back at the bed, Sakura
 395.751 +looked right into a silent, stormy blue orb. Bolting upright, Sakura
 395.752 +stumbled backwards, her ankle catching on the chair leg. Her arms
 395.753 +pinwheeled as she tried to maintain her balance, her heart beating
 395.754 +rapidly in shock. The paper fluttered out of her hand, landing slowly
 395.755 +on the floor between the two of them. Sakura barely managed to keep
 395.756 +her balance, grasping onto the chair. “Tomoyo-chan!” she said
 395.757 +quickly, her eyes wide. The other girl had been completely silent,
 395.758 +leaving Sakura completely unaware to her presence. “You’re awake!”
 395.759 +she stated obviously. Laughing nervously, she put a hand behind her
 395.760 +head. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
 395.761 +	The dark haired girl bent down, wincing slightly as her injured body
 395.762 +moved. Reaching down, she picked up the piece of paper, being careful
 395.763 +not to crumple it. She still wanted to finish it one of those days.
 395.764 +Sitting back in bed with the paper, she simply smiled at the
 395.765 +Cardmistress. “I like watching Sakura-chan,” she said matter-of-
 395.766 +factly. “When I woke up, I saw that you were here. I was so happy to
 395.767 +see you. I just wanted to lie there and watch you for as long as I
 395.768 +could. You’re much better to watch in person than in any of my
 395.769 +videos. I can only capture your image and your sound. I can’t capture
 395.770 +that wonderfully genki spark that is Sakura-chan.”
 395.771 +	“Arigato, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said, blushing from the praise. She
 395.772 +cast her eyes down for a moment, standing in silence. Her eyes slowly
 395.773 +returned to the paper that Tomoyo had on her lap. “Ano...” she began
 395.774 +nervously. “What’s that costume for?” 
 395.775 +	“This one? I have a cat one that I’m working on, too. It’s from
 395.776 +the ‘Sekushi Sakura-chan Collection’ I’m working on,” Tomoyo replied
 395.777 +excitedly, as she always did when talking about her Sakura costumes. 
 395.778 +	“But why?” Sakura asked, sweatdropping. 
 395.779 +	Tomoyo smiled happily. “Because Sakura-chan’s getting older. So
 395.780 +someday she’s going to want to do more adult things. And when you do,
 395.781 +I want to have costumes ready for you to use. Costumes are for
 395.782 +special occasions. Catching Cards aren’t the only good occasions for
 395.783 +them,” the heiress explained, watching Sakura’s growing blush.
 395.784 +	“That sounds like you’d need to take videotape, too,” Sakura
 395.785 +replied, her cheeks red.
 395.786 +	“Lots of videotape,” Tomoyo agreed, nodding. 
 395.787 +	“Oh, I almost forgot!” Sakura turned, grabbing the cake. Whether she
 395.788 +was just changing the subject or if she’d honestly gotten caught up
 395.789 +in something else wasn’t certain. “I made this for you. It’s from
 395.790 +Sonomi-sama’s recipe.” She held out the cake for the dark haired girl
 395.791 +to see, walking closer to the bed. “I left it in the oven a little
 395.792 +too long, though. I hope it still tastes all right.” She sighed,
 395.793 +still a little disappointed that she had made that mistake. She had
 395.794 +so wanted it to come out perfectly for Tomoyo.
 395.795 +	“It’s lovely, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo stated happily, taking a long
 395.796 +look at the cake before looking up to the even more lovely cake
 395.797 +bearer. She smiled sweetly. “I’m sure it will be great. Even if it
 395.798 +isn’t perfect, I wouldn’t trade it for a cake made by the world’s
 395.799 +best pastry chef. Because it doesn’t matter if things are perfect.
 395.800 +What matters is that you made it. Even those little imperfections are
 395.801 +filled with your love and care. That’s what makes it so delicious.”
 395.802 +She could see that Sakura didn’t completely believe her yet, so she
 395.803 +continued. “It’s like when you made that yukata for Li-kun. You
 395.804 +didn’t know how to sew very well, but you tried your hardest anyway.
 395.805 +Even though it wasn’t perfect, it didn’t matter. Because you had gone
 395.806 +through all that trouble to make it. Everything we do, we leave a
 395.807 +piece of our hearts in. Everything we touch has a little bit of us.
 395.808 +So something that you put your heart into means the world to me.
 395.809 +Because it has little bits of Sakura-chan’s soul mixed in.”
 395.810 +	Sakura thought this over for a moment before nodding. “Like your
 395.811 +costumes,” she said at last. Tomoyo had always put so much loving
 395.812 +care into her costumes, making each and every one for Sakura to wear.
 395.813 +But the costumes weren’t important alone. It was that Tomoyo had made
 395.814 +them specifically for her, that she had spent all that time on them,
 395.815 +just so she could wear them. That made Sakura feel a lot better about
 395.816 +the cake, even with the imperfections. It suddenly didn’t matter so
 395.817 +much that she had made the mistake. She smiled brightly as she set
 395.818 +the cake back down. “Let me go get some plates.”
 395.819 +
 395.820 +	The two girls sat together on Tomoyo’s bed, eating slices of
 395.821 +Sakura’s cake. They had decided to leave a slice for Sonomi to try
 395.822 +later, as a thank you for the recipe. To Sakura’s delight, it had
 395.823 +turned out pretty well, the frosting masking the slightly burnt
 395.824 +parts. She was glad to see Tomoyo eating. Sonomi had been very
 395.825 +worried about her daughter not eating, so Sakura was glad to do her
 395.826 +part to get something in Tomoyo’s stomach.
 395.827 +	The pale girl took a small bite of Sakura’s beautiful cake, her eyes
 395.828 +never wandering far from the girl she loved. She let the sweet flavor
 395.829 +roll across her tongue. She hadn’t been very hungry lately, but she
 395.830 +couldn’t resist having a piece of Sakura’s cake, especially if Sakura
 395.831 +was right there with her. She sighed happily, taking a small bite of
 395.832 +one of the strawberries. The knowledge that it was made for her by
 395.833 +Sakura followed every delicious bite. Sakura scooted closer to her on
 395.834 +the bed, eating her own slice of cake. She could tell that Sakura was
 395.835 +watching her. It was like a beautiful dream to have Sakura’s eyes on
 395.836 +her. “It’s very good, Sakura-chan.”
 395.837 +	Sakura smiled at Tomoyo’s comment. Finally seeing Tomoyo eating the
 395.838 +cake, hearing that she liked it, it made the whole process of making
 395.839 +it worthwhile. It had all led up to this point. Just like her life
 395.840 +had led up to this point, as if everything had built up to this
 395.841 +moment in time with Tomoyo. Sure, it had taken a few twists to get
 395.842 +there, but everything had worked out in the end. And she could have
 395.843 +her fairy tale ending. They both could. She took another bite of her
 395.844 +cake, feeling excited about the future, the possibilities, and most
 395.845 +importantly, the here and now. 
 395.846 +	‘Please don’t look at me that way. Please don’t taunt me like this,
 395.847 +Sakura-chan. Because I don’t know if I could ever resist you. And
 395.848 +when this is all over, when that look fades from your eyes, the sun
 395.849 +will stop shining on my world,’ Tomoyo thought desperately. Sakura
 395.850 +was looking at her with such love and adoration in her eyes, an
 395.851 +unbridled passion that she had never seen before in those emerald
 395.852 +gems. It was exactly what she had always wished to see, a love as
 395.853 +deep and endless as her own. But now it was frightening. It would be
 395.854 +gone before she could ever fully taste their depths. It would be
 395.855 +taken from her in the blink of an eye. 
 395.856 +	Which left Tomoyo with a very difficult decision. How should she
 395.857 +take this? Sakura had given her the most precious gift she could
 395.858 +imagine, her warm and beautiful heart. But soon she would have to
 395.859 +give it back, to part from it. And that seemed unbearable. But she
 395.860 +would have to. She understood that. But in the meantime, Sakura loved
 395.861 +her. For now, she had the love she had always longed for. Could she
 395.862 +give in to it? Was it right to? Sakura’s love was only magic, a work
 395.863 +of Sakura’s Cards. Would she be taking advantage of Sakura if she
 395.864 +allowed herself to get closer to the Cardmistress while she had this
 395.865 +chance? Or should she just wait it out, not allowing anything to
 395.866 +happen in the next week for Sakura’s sake? It was a maddening
 395.867 +question. Her heart and mind were torn in completely different
 395.868 +directions. She didn’t want to give in to Sakura’s love only to have
 395.869 +it taken away. She didn’t want to use Sakura’s well intentioned wish
 395.870 +to fill her own lonely heart. It didn’t seem right to be in a
 395.871 +relationship with Sakura when it was all simply done by Sakura’s
 395.872 +magic. On the other hand, the brunette had given this gift to her,
 395.873 +wanting her to be happy. It would be a shame to not accept Sakura’s
 395.874 +gift. She had always known that one day Sakura would fall in love
 395.875 +with another. At least she could have a week full of memories of
 395.876 +their time together, memories of being loved by Sakura, right? And so
 395.877 +her heart continued its tug of war as she finished her slice of cake.
 395.878 +It had been delicious, but now it was all gone. Just like this would
 395.879 +be. She set the plate to the side, folding her hands on her lap.
 395.880 +	Unaware of Tomoyo’s troubled thoughts, Sakura finished her own slice
 395.881 +of cake. She went back to watching Tomoyo, trying to decide what to
 395.882 +say. Her heart moved this way and that, swaying about. There were so
 395.883 +many feelings inside of her, all meshing and struggling to come
 395.884 +forth. She wanted to tell Tomoyo, to explain them all, to hold them
 395.885 +out to her, but she couldn’t find the words. After a moment of
 395.886 +hesitation, she leant forward swiftly, hugging the pale girl tightly.
 395.887 +Tomoyo seemed surprised by Sakura’s sudden move, but Sakura just
 395.888 +continued to hold onto her. “Tomoyo-chan!” She could feel Tomoyo’s
 395.889 +soft lavender hair brushing past her cheek, tickling her. “I love you
 395.890 +so much!” She closed her eyes tightly, blushing a bit as she held
 395.891 +onto the heiress. It was the best way she could think of to express
 395.892 +the feelings surging through her heart.
 395.893 +	Tomoyo felt a thundering heartbeat against her breast, but she
 395.894 +couldn’t tell if it was Sakura’s heartbeat or her own. She could feel
 395.895 +Sakura’s arms holding her tightly, encircling her in their warmth.
 395.896 +This was where she had wanted to be for so long, in Sakura’s arms.
 395.897 +She closed her eyes, giving in, at least for the moment. It was too
 395.898 +much to fight off both her own love and Sakura’s, no matter how
 395.899 +magically induced the latter may be. Leaning into the brunette,
 395.900 +Tomoyo curled up against her beloved. Her head slid down against
 395.901 +Sakura’s chest, her hands resting against Sakura’s stomach. She
 395.902 +listened intently to the beat of the Cardmistress’s heart, her stormy
 395.903 +blue eyes closing. Her concerns faded away like a child’s bad dream
 395.904 +when in her mother’s arms. “Please don’t ever let me go,” Tomoyo
 395.905 +pleaded quietly.
 395.906 +	Resting her chin on the top of Tomoyo’s head, Sakura sighed softly.
 395.907 +All the chaotic feelings in her heart were still there, but Tomoyo
 395.908 +soothed them, calming them, bringing them all together. She suddenly
 395.909 +wasn’t so worried about trying to describe them to Tomoyo. Tomoyo was
 395.910 +always so good about understanding her heart. She felt that she
 395.911 +didn’t need to say it all out loud. It was there. They could both
 395.912 +feel it. “I won’t,” Sakura promised, wishing with all her heart that
 395.913 +she could prove it, prove that she would hold onto her forever and
 395.914 +ever. 
 395.915 +
 395.916 +	“It’s so beautiful,” Tomoyo whispered. It was snowing lightly,
 395.917 +small white crystals dancing their way through the air around her.
 395.918 +Some settled in her long, lavender hair, others dropping gingerly
 395.919 +onto her lap. She felt Sakura’s hands on her shoulders from behind
 395.920 +and turned to smile at the Cardmistress. Sakura had come over earlier
 395.921 +that day and Sonomi had suggested that Sakura take Tomoyo outside for
 395.922 +a bit. Tomoyo still couldn’t get very far on her own, so Sakura was
 395.923 +pushing her in a wheelchair. The heiress didn’t mind relying on
 395.924 +Sakura for her mobility. It meant she couldn’t be far from the girl
 395.925 +she loved. And that was perfectly fine by her.
 395.926 +	Returning Tomoyo’s smile, Sakura watched the snowflakes falling
 395.927 +about her dark haired friend. ‘She’s so beautiful,’ Sakura thought to
 395.928 +herself, her fingers trailing through some lavender curls. She sighed
 395.929 +happily her arms wrapping around Tomoyo’s shoulders. 
 395.930 +	Tomoyo blushed faintly, her heartbeat quickening in her chest.
 395.931 +Having Sakura so close, holding her so lovingly, it was a dream come
 395.932 +true. Despite the snow surrounding them, the heiress felt warm
 395.933 +inside. Reaching up with her good hand, she rested it on one of
 395.934 +Sakura’s arms. She held onto it as if to keep Sakura from ever
 395.935 +releasing her hold on her. She felt so peaceful like this, alone with
 395.936 +Sakura. If only it could always be this was... She closed her eyes,
 395.937 +ceasing that thought. There was only now. There was only Sakura. She
 395.938 +rested back into the brunette’s loving embrace. 
 395.939 +	“Tomoyo-chan, when you get better, let’s go rollerblading together,
 395.940 +okay?” Sakura asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up. She shifted
 395.941 +against Tomoyo, leaning over enough to see the other girl’s pale
 395.942 +face. It seemed like such a good idea. She wanted to do everything
 395.943 +with Tomoyo, to spend every moment with her, to share everything with
 395.944 +her. Rollerblading had always been fun for her and it seemed even
 395.945 +better with Tomoyo. And why not? Yukito and Touya were always off on
 395.946 +long bike rides together. Or so Touya said. 
 395.947 +	Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes met Sakura’s shining emeralds. A sad
 395.948 +smile crossed her lips. That was so sweet of Sakura to want to share
 395.949 +that with her. But by then, it would be too late. They wouldn’t be
 395.950 +going together as a couple. They would just be two friends again by
 395.951 +the time Tomoyo was better. But nonetheless, she found herself
 395.952 +nodding. She couldn’t bear to disappoint Sakura. And it would still
 395.953 +be fun to skate with her, even if it wouldn’t be the same. “Hai, I’d
 395.954 +like that, Sakura-chan,” the dark haired girl replied softly.
 395.955 +	Sakura smiled brightly at Tomoyo’s response. “Sugoi!” She hugged
 395.956 +the wheelchair bound girl even tighter. “That will be fun! I’ll teach
 395.957 +you how to rollerblade. It’s really not that hard. And you’re always
 395.958 +so good at everything, so you’ll pick it up in no time.”
 395.959 +	“But now I have incentive not to learn how. If I don’t learn to
 395.960 +skate on my own, I have to keep holding onto Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo
 395.961 +reasoned thoughtfully, her bandaged head tilted to the side. Why
 395.962 +would she want to learn how to skate when it was so much more fun to
 395.963 +have Sakura skate around with her? It was like learning how to dance
 395.964 +on your own. Why let go of your partner?
 395.965 +	Blushing profusely at Tomoyo’s words, Sakura looked down. That
 395.966 +didn’t help avert her gaze from the dark haired girl, though, as the
 395.967 +heiress was so close to her, taking up all of her attention. Still
 395.968 +blushing, she rested her head against Tomoyo’s soft shoulder. “Ano...
 395.969 +We.. we can still hold hands... Even if you do learn.”
 395.970 +	Resting her head against Sakura’s, Tomoyo nodded slowly. “Learning
 395.971 +to skate, with Sakura-chan as my beautiful teacher... Watching you
 395.972 +move about so gracefully in your rollerblades, trying to help me
 395.973 +learn how to use them, it sounds so cute!” The heiress sighed
 395.974 +dreamily, already imagining it. Of course, the idea of rollerblading
 395.975 +was far from her mind. It was simply doing anything with Sakura hand
 395.976 +in hand that left her breathless. She could feel Sakura’s heart
 395.977 +beating against her back. Listening to its lovely rhythm, Tomoyo
 395.978 +began to breathe slowly along with it, their hearts beating in
 395.979 +tandem.  Tomoyo’s heart called out to Sakura’s with each staccato
 395.980 +beat. She could feel Sakura’s warm cheek against her neck as Sakura
 395.981 +blushed. That only managed to lift her spirits even higher. Sakura’s
 395.982 +blush felt as cute as it looked. She rested into it, blushing
 395.983 +herself. The hot skin against her neck sent a shiver through her
 395.984 +body. She held her breath, almost afraid the moment would end if she
 395.985 +made any sudden moves. She wanted to hold onto it as long as
 395.986 +possible. 
 395.987 +	Still a little embarrassed, Sakura finally pulled away. She didn’t
 395.988 +notice Tomoyo’s soft sigh as she stood back up, brushing away her
 395.989 +auburn hair. Smiling enthusiastically, she stepped in front of
 395.990 +Tomoyo’s wheelchair. “Do we have all the things for our snowman?” she
 395.991 +asked curiously. 
 395.992 +	“Hai!” Tomoyo responded, lifting up the small bundle she had with
 395.993 +her. “But we could always just dress up Sakura-chan instead. You’re
 395.994 +much cuter than anything made of snow.” She simply smiled as the
 395.995 +blush returned to Sakura's cheeks. How could she possibly not love
 395.996 +the auburn haired girl? She was just so perfect. 
 395.997 +	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura got out nervously, a hand resting behind
 395.998 +her head. She didn’t know if it was more embarrassing that Tomoyo
 395.999 +said such things or that she honestly meant them. But it was way too
395.1000 +cold out to let Tomoyo dress her up instead of a snowman. Not that
395.1001 +she would choose that option anyway, right. ‘Hoe...’ Sakura shook her
395.1002 +head, closing her eyes as she tried to clear her thoughts. When she
395.1003 +opened her eyes, she saw Tomoyo still smiling at her, watching her
395.1004 +with that loving gaze she always had. And Sakura wasn’t so worried
395.1005 +anymore. “We’ll make the cutest snowman we can.”
395.1006 +	Nodding her agreement, Tomoyo began to shift through the small bag,
395.1007 +pulling out little articles for their snowman. She sighed sadly,
395.1008 +placing a hand on her cheek. “Our poor little snowman won’t be able
395.1009 +to be on video with Sakura-chan. And worse yet, I can’t record Sakura-
395.1010 +chan making a snowman in the first place.”
395.1011 +	Sakura laughed nervously. “It’s all right, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t
395.1012 +think the snowman will mind,” she said reassuringly.
395.1013 +	“But you look so cute playing in the snow!” Tomoyo insisted,
395.1014 +watching her friend kneeling in the snow in front of her. That would
395.1015 +make such a cute image on videotape, something to play over and over
395.1016 +again. What sweet torture this was! She had Sakura’s love for a whole
395.1017 +week, but she couldn’t record a single second of it because she had
395.1018 +yet to replace her camcorder. In the end, it would be like one long,
395.1019 +beautiful dream. It was probably better that she couldn’t have
395.1020 +videotape of it. It was brought about by magic. It wasn’t really her
395.1021 +Sakura to have. So it would only be recording a charade. But if it
395.1022 +was just a charade, it would be so much easier to ignore Sakura’s
395.1023 +affections. It didn’t feel like that. Sakura felt so genuine, as if
395.1024 +it was really her and not some magic spell causing this. ‘So this is
395.1025 +what it would be like to have her love? It’s better than I could have
395.1026 +ever imagined,’ Tomoyo thought to herself. ‘Sakura’s love is magical.’
395.1027 +	Sakura, meanwhile, was getting over her embarrassment by starting
395.1028 +the snowman, scooping the snow together into some vague shape. She
395.1029 +looked up to see Tomoyo still watching her from her wheelchair. This
395.1030 +didn’t seem right. She knew that Tomoyo liked to watch her, but she
395.1031 +wanted to do this together. Looking from the beginnings of her
395.1032 +snowman and back to Tomoyo, she thought for a moment. Standing up,
395.1033 +the auburn haired girl wiped her hands off on her skirt. The snow
395.1034 +continued to drift around them, beautiful pieces of clouds falling
395.1035 +from above. Sakura took a step forward before pausing, trying to
395.1036 +decide exactly what to do. She reached forward and paused again,
395.1037 +still unsure of herself. Tomoyo’s eye caught her own, looking at her
395.1038 +with a look of complete faith. That strengthened her resolve.
395.1039 +Reaching forward, Sakura gently wrapped her arms around Tomoyo’s
395.1040 +waist. She could feel Tomoyo so close to her, could feel her breath
395.1041 +against her cheek. Tomoyo felt so soft, so fragile. Sakura was almost
395.1042 +afraid she would break the heiress if she moved wrong. Getting a
395.1043 +better grip, the Cardmistress lifeted her best friend, walking back
395.1044 +to the start of her snowman.
395.1045 +	Tomoyo’s breath caught in her chest as she felt Sakura holding her
395.1046 +tightly, carrying her. Her cheeks flushed as she rested in Sakura’s
395.1047 +arms. For a moment, she worried that Sakura would feel the frenzied
395.1048 +beating of her heart. But then it dawned on her that Sakura’s heart
395.1049 +was beating just as rapidly against her. Sakura’s arms protected her
395.1050 +from everything in life, shielding her from everything but the warmth
395.1051 +of her heart. She held on as well as she could with her working arm,
395.1052 +feeling dizzy with the joy bubbling over in her heart. She didn’t
395.1053 +want it to stop ever, to ever be anywhere else but Sakura’s warm
395.1054 +embrace. There was no place sweeter in Heaven or on earth than that
395.1055 +wonderful spot nestled between Sakura’s outstretched arms. 
395.1056 +	Sakura paused for a long moment, Tomoyo held tightly in her arms.
395.1057 +She pulled her closer, her eyes falling closed. The heiress’s long,
395.1058 +beautiful hair fluttered around her like a cloak. “Tomoyo-chan,”
395.1059 +Sakura thought she whispered. She slowly sat down in the snow with
395.1060 +Tomoyo, not letting go of the pale girl in her grasp. She couldn’t
395.1061 +bring herself to pull away. It felt so nice to be so close to Tomoyo.
395.1062 +To know that Tomoyo was right there with her, that their hearts were
395.1063 +beating together. She didn’t want that to stop. Blushing, she brushed
395.1064 +back some of Tomoyo’s silky hair so that she could see her face
395.1065 +better. Tomoyo looked back at her, little strands of lavender framing
395.1066 +her pretty face as their eyes met. Sakura brushed more hair away,
395.1067 +Tomoyo still cradled against her. This time, her fingers lingered on
395.1068 +Tomoyo’s soft cheek. They stayed there for a long time, reveling in
395.1069 +the feel of her friend’s warm skin. She swallowed, trying to stop the
395.1070 +spinning of her heart. It did little to help. She was drawn in my
395.1071 +Tomoyo’s beautiful features, by the feelings in her heart.
395.1072 +	Tomoyo gazed into Sakura’s eyes, her cheeks scarlet under Sakura’s
395.1073 +touch. She breathed slowly, simply watching her green eyed goddess.
395.1074 +Her soul swirled inside of her in a cacophony of emotions, wanting to
395.1075 +entwine with Sakura’s beautiful soul.  Was she really awake? Was she
395.1076 +dreaming? Did it matter? For so long, she had dreamt of this moment,
395.1077 +of being this close to Sakura, of being together. This single moment
395.1078 +made those dreams feel like nothing. She could feel Sakura’s warm
395.1079 +breath against her skin, her fingers still pressed against her cheek.
395.1080 +Her heart cried out in joy. This was it. This was her what she had
395.1081 +been wishing for through the years of their friendship. Sakura was
395.1082 +almost upon her, their lips inches apart, their bodies together in
395.1083 +the snow. Tomoyo could barely move, though whether that was from her
395.1084 +injured body or the spell Sakura held on her, she couldn’t say. Her
395.1085 +cheeks darkened as Sakura finally cupped her cheek, leaning in. 
395.1086 +	Sakura leant in, her heart pounding inside of her as she kissed
395.1087 +Tomoyo. She felt lush hair under her lips, shifting against her. She
395.1088 +blinked curiously, pulling back slightly. Tomoyo was looking to the
395.1089 +side, her cheeks crimson and her hair shifting around her. “Tomoyo-
395.1090 +chan?” Sakura asked sheepishly. She had been about to kiss her best
395.1091 +friend. But she loved Tomoyo. She did want to kiss her. She felt
395.1092 +disappointed that she hadn’t been able to. She wanted to feel
395.1093 +Tomoyo’s lips, to pull her close again. ‘Hanyaa...’ she thought,
395.1094 +blushing.
395.1095 +	“So shall we get started?” Tomoyo asked her friend, smiling
395.1096 +sweetly. But inside, she felt very different. Her thoughts spun
395.1097 +around in circles, relief mixing with deep regret. She had missed out
395.1098 +on a dream she had carried with her for years, to kiss her beloved
395.1099 +Sakura. But she just couldn’t bring herself to take advantage of
395.1100 +Sakura like that. The auburn haired girl had wanted to make her feel
395.1101 +better. She hadn’t known that she would fall in love with Tomoyo
395.1102 +because of it. Tomoyo didn’t feel right taking a kiss from Sakura if
395.1103 +the brunette was a victim of her own magic. But still, her heart
395.1104 +longed for that sweet kiss, the feel of Sakura near her again. As it
395.1105 +is, she could barely move away at all anyway. So she was stuck right
395.1106 +next to a very loving Sakura. That wasn’t fair. It was so tempting to
395.1107 +just give in, to immerse herself in Sakura’s love for the week. But
395.1108 +she just couldn’t do that to Sakura. She sighed inwardly.
395.1109 +	The Cardmistress slowly nodded in agreement, still confused. Hadn’t
395.1110 +they been about to kiss? What happened? Sakura felt as if she was
395.1111 +missing some vital link,. It was like she had seen some pictures out
395.1112 +of order. It didn’t make sense. Maybe it was just Tomoyo being
395.1113 +eccentric again. But that didn’t really fit. Tomoyo’s eccentricity
395.1114 +always had to do with being closer to her in some way, especially in
395.1115 +loving ways. Like kissing. Sakura came back to the present as she
395.1116 +felt Tomoyo shifting on her lap. Sweatdropping, she slowly helped the
395.1117 +other girl to her side. “Un!” she responded, nodding. Trying to
395.1118 +ignore the past few moments, which was incredibly hard to forget, she
395.1119 +began to shovel more snow onto the snowman with her gloved hands.
395.1120 +Tomoyo slowly began to help her with her free hand, adding to their
395.1121 +snowman. 
395.1122 +	The two worked together quietly on their snowman, both girls
395.1123 +concentrating on it. Every once in a while, their hands would touch
395.1124 +and linger before one or the other would slowly pull away. They
395.1125 +shared warm smiles and long glances, soft giggles and comments on
395.1126 +their snowman as it progressed. The snow slowly began to take shape
395.1127 +under their collective hands, forming into a cute little snowman
395.1128 +before them. 
395.1129 +	Looking through the little bag next to her, Tomoyo began to cloth
395.1130 +their little snowman. She wrapped a shawl around it, tying red
395.1131 +ribbons around the arms. Sakura busied herself with the shiny buttons
395.1132 +Tomoyo had decided on for the eyes. Finally satisfied with their
395.1133 +work, Tomoyo sat back in the snow, smiling. She gazed over at Sakura,
395.1134 +brushing some dark hair from her eyes. “It’s so kawaii. Our little
395.1135 +snowman, formed from our hearts coming together. It’s like having a
395.1136 +baby with Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said delightedly.
395.1137 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura blushed a deep crimson, both hands going to
395.1138 +her cheeks. A baby? She wasn’t ready to think about babies yet. She
395.1139 +looked down, blushing. A weight rested against her side, something
395.1140 +long draping across her back. Forgetting all about her embarrassment,
395.1141 +she looked over to find Tomoyo leaning against her side. Smiling
395.1142 +softly, Sakura’s arm went around the pale girl, pulling her closer.
395.1143 +She felt Tomoyo sigh happily against her, sending a trill through her
395.1144 +soul. Together they sat there, watching their snowbaby, holding onto
395.1145 +each other. Snowflakes fell around the two, showering them with
395.1146 +beautiful crystal gifts for their baby shower.
395.1147 +
395.1148 +	Sakura sighed softly as she slid into the warm water of the bath.
395.1149 +She nearly started at the nearly unbearable heat scorching her skin,
395.1150 +but slowly relaxed into it. “I was out in the snow longer than I
395.1151 +thought,” she said aloud to no one in particular, her voice echoing
395.1152 +through the otherwise empty bathroom.  
395.1153 +	Closing her eyes, she slipped deeper into the water, its soft caress
395.1154 +lapping over her shoulders. She would be lucky if she didn’t catch a
395.1155 +cold from all the time she spent in the snow. But it had been worth
395.1156 +every moment. Her cheeks darkened slightly at the thought. She had
395.1157 +lost track of time with Tomoyo by her side. Just how long had they
395.1158 +sat out there together, anyway? It could only have been hours, but it
395.1159 +had felt like it stretched on for days. Even then, it still wasn’t
395.1160 +enough time for the Cardmistress. She pouted, resting her head back. 
395.1161 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered longingly. Whenever they were
395.1162 +apart, Tomoyo was all that she could think about. But then, Tomoyo
395.1163 +was all she could think about when she was with the heiress, too. It
395.1164 +was like Tomoyo’s touch had been imprinted on her soul, leaving its
395.1165 +mark in everything Sakura did. 
395.1166 +	How she could have missed these feelings for so long, she didn’t
395.1167 +know. But now that she had uncovered them, they were almost
395.1168 +overpowering. 
395.1169 +	As she lay there, immersed in the warm water, she could see Tomoyo
395.1170 +in her mind’s eye. The sweet, angelic girl so close, her stormy blue
395.1171 +eyes sparkling, her pale skin so soft, her dark hair framing her
395.1172 +beautifully. Without realizing it, Sakura leant forward, her lips
395.1173 +puckered as if to kiss her pretty best friend. Blushing and blinking
395.1174 +rapidly, the auburn haired girl gave up her attempt. A sigh escaped
395.1175 +her as she sunk lower in the water. They had been so close! Just a
395.1176 +few more inches and she would know what those cute lips felt like
395.1177 +against her own, what it felt like to kiss Tomoyo. If only she could
395.1178 +go back in time and get those extra few inches... The love in her
395.1179 +heart was glowing with a singular intensity, nearly ready to burst.
395.1180 +She felt like that love had nowhere else to go but through her lips,
395.1181 +right into Tomoyo, as if she could use that to show the other girl
395.1182 +the raging feelings inside of her. 
395.1183 +	Well, there would always be other times. But she didn’t want to
395.1184 +wait for some other time! Patience wasn’t Sakura’s strong point. Her
395.1185 +mind delighted in the sweet torture of imagining kissing a slightly
395.1186 +surprised Tomoyo over and over again. She sighed again. So close, yet
395.1187 +so far away. Those inches might well have been miles. 
395.1188 +	All she wanted to do was to hold Tomoyo close, to kiss her
395.1189 +repeatedly, to feel the pale girl against her again, to experience
395.1190 +every unique little thing about her, to take it all in and immerse
395.1191 +herself in it all. 
395.1192 +	The only thing troubling her was that she still couldn’t understand
395.1193 +why Tomoyo had withdrawn from her when she had been about to kiss the
395.1194 +heiress. Tomoyo was usually so warm and affectionate with her. She’d
395.1195 +almost expected the pale girl to kiss her instead. So what had gone
395.1196 +wrong? Maybe Tomoyo had just been too shy. But that didn’t seem like
395.1197 +the other girl at all. Tomoyo certainly didn’t shy away from showing
395.1198 +her love in any number of other ways.
395.1199 +	Sakura couldn’t get her mind off of the thought. Her mind spun with
395.1200 +possibilities. But none of them adequately explained why Tomoyo would
395.1201 +have turned away from her. None of them seemed quite right. None of
395.1202 +them really fit Tomoyo. 
395.1203 +	Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about
395.1204 +it from where she was. But maybe if she tried again, whatever had
395.1205 +gone wrong the last time wouldn’t be present. Or maybe it would and
395.1206 +Sakura could actually figure out what it was. It felt like some
395.1207 +complicated puzzle, but the answer shone brightly in her mind. She
395.1208 +would kiss Tomoyo soon, sealing their love with a soul binding kiss.
395.1209 +“Hanyaan...” she said aloud at the thought. 
395.1210 +	The reason that it was getting to her the most was that she truly
395.1211 +did want to kiss her dark haired friend, to be next to her, holding
395.1212 +her, feeling her delicate skin against her own. She wanted to hold
395.1213 +onto Tomoyo and to never let go again. To experience every little bit
395.1214 +of her eccentric best friend.
395.1215 +	Her eyes closed, Sakura slid deeper into the water. A hand slid down
395.1216 +her leg, hesitant. But her insistent thoughts were getting the better
395.1217 +of her. She could already see herself kissing Tomoyo in her mind,
395.1218 +could practically feel the pale girl next to her. She could see
395.1219 +Tomoyo’s pale skin as clothes seemed to melt away, their lips meeting
395.1220 +again and again. Tomoyo’s costume design returned to mind, her cheeks
395.1221 +warming at the thought. She could see Tomoyo watching her excitedly,
395.1222 +videotaping her, telling her how cute she was. And she could see
395.1223 +Tomoyo coming closer, setting the camcorder down, kissing her again,
395.1224 +her hands going across Sakura’s barely clothed body.
395.1225 +	Sakura made a small sound, shifting in the water. Her legs spread
395.1226 +apart, water splashing about her. Her hands were moving in time with
395.1227 +her thoughts, making it almost like Tomoyo was actually with her for
395.1228 +a split second. She could almost feel Tomoyo's hands caressing her
395.1229 +skin, Tomoyo’s soft voice echoing in her ears as the heiress became
395.1230 +more insistent. She held herself open for a moment, almost expecting
395.1231 +Tomoyo to accept the invitation. And the Tomoyo in her thoughts did
395.1232 +just that, Sakura’s fingers mimicking her friend’s imaginary
395.1233 +movements. 
395.1234 +	Hunched over in the bath, Sakura took a quick breath, still lost in
395.1235 +her fantasy. The water lapped around her body, but she could hardly
395.1236 +notice it. All she could think about was Tomoyo. Everywhere. Always.
395.1237 +Tomoyo. Her eyes were clenched tightly, painfully. She shook slightly
395.1238 +and then slumped in the water, breathing heavily. Her cheek lay
395.1239 +against the surface of the water, wet and warm. She tried to catch
395.1240 +her breath, feeling almost feverish in the bath. The Cardmistress
395.1241 +tried to collect her thoughts, but they were distant, fragmented. All
395.1242 +she knew was that Tomoyo smiled back at her from every one of them.
395.1243 +“Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered. She felt like she had been caught in
395.1244 +a tsunami, torrents of emotion buffeting against her soul again and
395.1245 +again. But she was slowly releasing their was no release from that
395.1246 +feeling. It was still wrapped tightly around her heart. And Tomoyo
395.1247 +was at the center of it.
395.1248 +
395.1249 +	“Kawaii!” Tomoyo watched excitedly as Sakura stood before her in
395.1250 +one of her costumes. The Cardmistress had visited again a short time
395.1251 +ago and had agreed to try out several of Tomoyo’s costumes while she
395.1252 +was there. This was the fourth costume she had worn. Only three more
395.1253 +to go and Tomoyo would be all out of new costumes for Sakura to wear.
395.1254 +She wanted to slow down time and speed it up at the same time. If she
395.1255 +could slow it down, she could have even more time watching Sakura
395.1256 +model her costumes. But she wanted to see what Sakura looked like in
395.1257 +the others as well. 
395.1258 +	One of the reasons she had so many costumes was that there simply
395.1259 +wasn’t as much a reason for Sakura to wear her costumes anymore.
395.1260 +Before when Sakura had been catching the Cards, she had needed a new
395.1261 +costume for each of her adventures. Now that it was over, Tomoyo had
395.1262 +to find a good time for her friend to come and model for her. So the
395.1263 +costumes weren’t as necessary anymore, but Tomoyo did like being able
395.1264 +to have Sakura wear them personally for her. And Sakura was sweet
395.1265 +enough to do just that for her.  
395.1266 +	Sakura still looked a little embarrassed, but she was starting to
395.1267 +forget her nervousness. Everything affected her easily, but she moved
395.1268 +on to other thoughts just as quickly. And it was hard not to get
395.1269 +caught up in Tomoyo’s exuberance. The pale girl was usually so quiet
395.1270 +and thoughtful, but when she was interested in something, like Sakura
395.1271 +herself for interest, she made it abundantly clear. The Cardmistress
395.1272 +wondered how she ever could have missed it before. 
395.1273 +	Twirling in the long, multi-layered skirt she was currently in,
395.1274 +Sakura could hear Tomoyo clapping. A smile lit up Sakura’s lips as
395.1275 +she turned to face the heiress again. Taking the long skirt in her
395.1276 +hands, Sakura curtsied to her audience of one.
395.1277 +	Back when Tomoyo had first made costumes for her, she had always
395.1278 +worn them when she was busy with the Cards. She hadn’t had time to
395.1279 +really appreciate them. Or the attention Tomoyo gave her when she was
395.1280 +wearing them. After the whole debacle with the Cards was finally
395.1281 +over, she had thought it would be the end of silly things like
395.1282 +costumes. But Tomoyo kept making them regardless. Sakura had been a
395.1283 +little baffled at first, but if her eccentric friend wanted to see
395.1284 +her in them, she couldn’t refuse. If Tomoyo spent so much time on the
395.1285 +costumes, it seemed only right to wear them. So she had begun
395.1286 +modeling them for Tomoyo back then. It had been embarrassing at
395.1287 +first, and still was to some extent, because she wasn’t busy with
395.1288 +other things while wearing the costumes. It made her self-conscious
395.1289 +knowing that she was being videotaped in the many different designs
395.1290 +like that. But Tomoyo’s obvious excitement when she would wear them
395.1291 +for her began to make her worry less. Tomoyo loved it so much when
395.1292 +she would. And there was something about that that Sakura liked. Just
395.1293 +knowing she had all of her friend’s attention, that Tomoyo’s eyes
395.1294 +were on her and only her then. Though she had trouble admitting it,
395.1295 +she did enjoy modeling for Tomoyo. In a way, it made her feel closer
395.1296 +to her mother. But unlike her mother, she only wanted to model for
395.1297 +Tomoyo. She was too shy to do that for anyone else. And she knew how
395.1298 +happy it made the heiress. So slowly she began to do more in the
395.1299 +costumes, actually modeling them, letting Tomoyo direct her where she
395.1300 +would, taking snapshots and videotape of her in whatever costume came
395.1301 +out next. It became a fun little thing they did together, an excuse
395.1302 +to stay over for the weekend or to stop by after school. 
395.1303 +‘Sakura, I have a new costume finished. Could you wear it for me?’
395.1304 +	‘Sure, Tomoyo-chan! Just let me drop off my things at home.’
395.1305 +	And so it went. Days and weeks and months and finally years of lace
395.1306 +and ribbons and videotape. Sakura looked forward to it more than the
395.1307 +soccer practice she had been taking lately. Part of that was just
395.1308 +seeing the smile and starry eyed looks Tomoyo gave her. But it was
395.1309 +just fun. She loved being with her best friend, and dressing up for
395.1310 +her was exciting. Slipping into a new outfit, anxious to see what
395.1311 +Tomoyo thought, to hear her words on it, to see what poses she would
395.1312 +want to see her in. It was exhilarating. And now it seemed to make
395.1313 +more sense. Of course she liked Tomoyo watching her. Of course she
395.1314 +wanted to model for her. Because Tomoyo’s never wavering love and
395.1315 +attention meant everything to her. And she wasn’t taking it for
395.1316 +granted anymore. And she could feel it so strongly when she would
395.1317 +dress up for her. 
395.1318 +Her cheeks a little red, Sakura put a hand behind her head.  “So
395.1319 +what do you think?”
395.1320 +	“I think you look gorgeous in it, Sakura-chan. Like a beautiful
395.1321 +dancer who wants to let go of everything and dance the night away,”
395.1322 +Tomoyo stated dreamily, a hand on her cheek. Sighing contentedly, the
395.1323 +heiress was in Heaven. What could possibly be more wonderful than
395.1324 +Sakura modeling specifically for her? The athletic young girl was
395.1325 +already so beautiful. Seeing her all dressed up in the costumes she
395.1326 +made for her was stunning. And watching her pose and move about for
395.1327 +her eyes only... Tomoyo sighed again, her stormy blue eye never
395.1328 +leaving Sakura. 
395.1329 +	The Cardmistress blushed at Tomoyo comment. Tomoyo always said
395.1330 +rather complimentary things to her, but she always accepted them
395.1331 +shyly. Part of her just couldn’t understand how Tomoyo thought so.
395.1332 +The other part was just flattered to hear the other girl say it.
395.1333 +Nonetheless, she always loved hearing her. It was like a puppy doing
395.1334 +tricks for its mistress to hear loving words of praise. But with
395.1335 +Tomoyo she never even had to do anything, or at least not knowingly.
395.1336 +The dark haired girl seemed to find everything about her wonderful.
395.1337 +“Which one should I wear next?” 
395.1338 +	Tomoyo looked towards her desk where the other costumes were
395.1339 +waiting. Placing her hand on her chin, she thought carefully. She
395.1340 +would eventually see Sakura in all of them, but she still treated it
395.1341 +like an important decision. It was all a matter of what would look
395.1342 +best after the one Sakura was currently wearing. “I think you would
395.1343 +look very pretty in the red one with the ribbons,” she said at last,
395.1344 +indicating one near the bottom of the small pile of clothes. She
395.1345 +watched Sakura walk over to claim the costume. “You are so cute in
395.1346 +that,” she breathed happily, gazing at Sakura.
395.1347 +	The girl in question blushed again at hearing Tomoyo’s soft voice.
395.1348 +It made her happy to know Tomoyo thought so. It sent warm waves
395.1349 +lapping all across her soul. Quickly sifting through the costumes,
395.1350 +she came about the red one in question. Turning to Tomoyo, she held
395.1351 +it closely to her chest. “I’ll be right back, Tomoyo-chan!” she
395.1352 +promised. The thought of being gone for too long was something she
395.1353 +didn’t want to deal with. More than anything, she just wanted to be
395.1354 +there with her dark haired girlfriend. Tomoyo merely smiled at her
395.1355 +promise as she hurried out the door to change. 
395.1356 +	Standing in the rather luxurious bathroom, Sakura began to pull off
395.1357 +the costume she was wearing. She wanted to hurry up and return to
395.1358 +Tomoyo, but she was afraid of ruining Tomoyo’s costume. ‘Each costume
395.1359 +is stitched with love,’ she could remember Tomoyo saying. So she was
395.1360 +always very wary about getting a stitch out of place. She didn’t want
395.1361 +to ruin anything Tomoyo worked so hard on. Finally slipping out of
395.1362 +the long skirts of her previous costume, Sakura examined the new one.
395.1363 +It did look cute, like everything Tomoyo designed. It was very soft
395.1364 +to the touch, and very pretty. It looked almost like something she
395.1365 +would wear out on a date. Well, nothing she could afford to have in
395.1366 +her own wardrobe, but something she could see herself dating in. She
395.1367 +shifted around on her feet as if she were dancing, holding the dress
395.1368 +tightly. Yes, it would be beautiful to wear out on a date with
395.1369 +Tomoyo. It was a beautiful red dress with a large red ribbon in the
395.1370 +back. It had black stockings and black gloves that went along with it
395.1371 +as well as a red ribbon for her hair. The small red shoes had small
395.1372 +ribbons on them as well. She smiled at the details. Tomoyo and her
395.1373 +ribbon fetish. But it was very cute. She couldn’t wait to wear it for
395.1374 +her. 
395.1375 +	Tomoyo waited patiently in her room, staring at the spot where
395.1376 +Sakura had been moments before, swishing about in the twirling skirts
395.1377 +she had made for her. It wasn’t fair that her camcorder had been
395.1378 +broken. This little fashion show would have made such a lovely tape!
395.1379 +The type of thing she would watch again and again late at night and
395.1380 +with her mother when she had some time away from work. But all she
395.1381 +could do was try to remember every beautiful detail. Closing her
395.1382 +eyes, she could imagine Sakura posing for her again, right there in
395.1383 +front of her. 
395.1384 +	This was her last night with Sakura. The next day was the end of
395.1385 +their week together and her wish would be over. A bittersweet smile
395.1386 +crossed her lips. She may not be able to have Sakura for forever, but
395.1387 +she did have one beautiful week together with her. Even if she
395.1388 +couldn’t be with Sakura, she got to experience her love, got to have
395.1389 +a taste of the heavens. And she would never allow herself to forget
395.1390 +that taste. 
395.1391 +	Tomoyo had to admit that if she had to decide on an ending for
395.1392 +their short-lived relationship, this was certainly a good one. A
395.1393 +sparkling all-Sakura fashion show all for her. It was much better
395.1394 +than watching Sakura on her videotapes. It was Sakura Live! It was
395.1395 +the brunette in all of her amazing glory, right there for her to
395.1396 +behold.
395.1397 +	The pale girl sighed, resting back in her bed. Soon this would all
395.1398 +be over. Nothing but memories and dreams. But what was life without
395.1399 +dreams? The heart can’t live without beautiful dreams to sustain it.
395.1400 +She would miss this terribly. It would be unbearably difficult to
395.1401 +just let go of Sakura’s love. But she would have to. And it would
395.1402 +hurt. But she would always have these memories to fall back on. It
395.1403 +wasn’t just a dream anymore. She now knew what it was like to have
395.1404 +Sakura’s love. And it was more amazing than she had dared to imagine.
395.1405 +Now when she saw Sakura married and in love, she would know exactly
395.1406 +how lucky that other person was. And she would still have that little
395.1407 +sliver of when Sakura had loved her that way. That would sustain her
395.1408 +soul. It had to. 
395.1409 +	The door opened, pulling Tomoyo’s attention away from her thoughts.
395.1410 +In the doorway stood the athletic Cardmistress, resplendent in the
395.1411 +red dress. It fit her perfectly, the ribbons making her look like a
395.1412 +beautiful present. The heiress couldn’t say anything, transfixed by
395.1413 +the image of her love. “You look lovely, Sakura-chan,” she said at
395.1414 +last. 
395.1415 +	Sakura blushed, stepping further into the room. She looked down,
395.1416 +getting a different look at the outfit now that she was wearing it.
395.1417 +“Thank you, Tomoyo-chan.” Looking up again, emerald green eyes met
395.1418 +intense stormy blue. She was suddenly very glad Tomoyo picked this
395.1419 +dress. It really was pretty and the heiress seemed to like it quite a
395.1420 +bit. She turned to her side, posing for her friend. If Tomoyo still
395.1421 +had her camcorder and wasn’t bedridden, now would be the time that
395.1422 +the dark haired girl would be directing her, coming up with different
395.1423 +positions for her and what she should be doing. So for now she just
395.1424 +posed as best she could, wanting to do the best she could for her
395.1425 +friend. 
395.1426 +	Tomoyo wished more than ever that she still had her camcorder as
395.1427 +she watched the Mistress of the Cards before her. She could always
395.1428 +get Sakura to wear them again after her wish, but that just wouldn’t
395.1429 +be the same. Sakura wouldn’t be wearing it the same way, with the
395.1430 +same loving look in her eyes. It would just be disappointing. No, she
395.1431 +would just have to remember this one. So her eye never wavered for a
395.1432 +second, wanting to imprint the image forever in her mind. 
395.1433 +	As if drawn by Tomoyo’s deep gaze, Sakura found herself nearing
395.1434 +Tomoyo’s bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest more fiercely than
395.1435 +during any of the trials she had faced. It took her a moment to
395.1436 +realize that she had already come to a decision. It was that decision
395.1437 +that had her so nervous. But it held her bound like a magic spell,
395.1438 +pulling her forward. She couldn’t stop now if she wanted to. Sitting
395.1439 +on the edge of the bed, she looked down at her bedridden friend, the
395.1440 +injured girl staring back up at her. Slowly, she reached out and took
395.1441 +Tomoyo’s hand where it stuck out from her cast.
395.1442 +	Watching Sakura, Tomoyo felt her cheeks flushing. Sakura was so
395.1443 +close to her, gazing down into her eye. There was something there in
395.1444 +those emerald orbs, something she was struggling to make out. They
395.1445 +were warm, passionate. She could see a hint of nervousness in them as
395.1446 +well. She squeezed Sakura’s hand with her own, trying to assuage the
395.1447 +brunette’s worries. She always wanted to support Sakura, to be there
395.1448 +for her. Even right now. Especially right now. Her fingers laced with
395.1449 +Sakura’s, holding the gloved fingers tightly to her stomach. Her
395.1450 +heart skipped a beat as she felt Sakura’s grip on her hand tighten.
395.1451 +“Sakura-chan...” she whispered.
395.1452 +	The Cardmistress hesitated for a moment, a hurricane of thoughts
395.1453 +swirling through her, all struggling for dominance. Should she? Could
395.1454 +she? And then, a moment of calm. The eye of the storm. Everything was
395.1455 +suddenly clear. Leaning down slowly, she held tightly onto Tomoyo’s
395.1456 +hand, ready to kiss the dark haired girl. None of her thoughts
395.1457 +mattered. This was what she wanted. Her shimmering first kiss with
395.1458 +her one, true love. She could feel Tomoyo’s breath against her lips
395.1459 +as she drew near, their hair teasing each other. She could only see
395.1460 +into one of Tomoyo’s eyes, but it was a deep pool of adoration. That
395.1461 +only spurred her on. Their noses touched ever so briefly, sliding
395.1462 +across as she sought out Tomoyo’s lips. Her heart pounded in her
395.1463 +chest as she rested half on top of Tomoyo, trying not to place too
395.1464 +much weight on the injured girl. Their lips brushed lightly. Sakura
395.1465 +felt sparks tingle through her, the feeling of petal soft lips
395.1466 +blanketing her thoughts in a warm bliss. 
395.1467 +	Tomoyo shuddered at the feeling of Sakura’s lips brushing against
395.1468 +her own. Even that brief contact went straight to her heart. It felt
395.1469 +so nice, so enticing. She pursed her lips, watching Sakura above her,
395.1470 +her heart beating against Sakura’s chest. Feeling Sakura so close to
395.1471 +her, against her, smelling her hair, seeing those large emerald orbs,
395.1472 +it all coalesced around her into a real life fairy tale. But this
395.1473 +wasn’t her fairy tale. No matter how much she wanted it to be.
395.1474 +Closing her eyes, she sighed. Every bit of her wanted so much to give
395.1475 +in, to let this kiss happen. But that wouldn’t be fair to Sakura. She
395.1476 +could feel Sakura’s breath against her cheek and her resolve
395.1477 +faltered. She already had a taste of Sakura’s love. Why couldn’t she
395.1478 +have this? Why? Just this little bit of Sakura... In her love clouded
395.1479 +mind, it all made so much sense. Just a kiss. Their first and last
395.1480 +kiss. No one would ever have to know. Not even Sakura. So it wouldn’t
395.1481 +be betraying Sakura. It would just be one, soft, lovely kiss...
395.1482 +	“Sakura-chan, please don’t,” Tomoyo whispered softly, reluctantly.
395.1483 +She prayed that Sakura would stop in time. She prayed that Sakura
395.1484 +wouldn’t listen to her and wouldn’t stop at all. She simply prayed
395.1485 +with all her heart.
395.1486 +	“Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asked, blinking slowly as if fighting off a
395.1487 +haze. Why didn’t Tomoyo want to kiss her? Why didn’t she want to be
395.1488 +close like that? Why didn’t she want to share their first kiss? Was
395.1489 +something wrong? Sakura slowly sat up, disentangling herself from
395.1490 +Tomoyo. “Tomoyo-chan, what’s wrong? Are you... not ready?” It was a
395.1491 +silly question. Tomoyo didn’t seem to mind anything as long as it
395.1492 +involved Sakura in some way, shape or form. Sakura couldn’t imagine
395.1493 +her best friend not being ready to kiss. Tomoyo was already more
395.1494 +mature than she was as it was. And if Sakura herself was ready...
395.1495 +	“No, it isn’t that, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, her eye slowly
395.1496 +opening. She sighed softly, not wanting to continue. There went her
395.1497 +chance. And it was her own fault for it. “It’s that I don’t want to
395.1498 +take advantage of you.” Explaining things was the only way out now.
395.1499 +If she didn’t, it would only hurt Sakura’s feelings. She wanted
395.1500 +Sakura to know that she wasn’t rejecting her. 
395.1501 +	“Take advantage of me? No, it’s not like that at all. I want this,
395.1502 +too, Tomoyo-chan! I do. With all my heart.” Sakura took Tomoyo’s hand
395.1503 +in both of her own, holding it tightly. “I thought about this for a
395.1504 +long time. It’s what I want. I want you to be my first kiss.” A blush
395.1505 +crossed her cheeks when she finished. 
395.1506 +	Tomoyo smiled sadly, looking up at the mistress of her heart. “And
395.1507 +I would love to be able to do that for you, Sakura-chan. I want you
395.1508 +to be my first kiss, too. But I can’t do that. I can’t take that away
395.1509 +from you. I want your first kiss to be special. I want it to be with
395.1510 +the one you really love.”
395.1511 +	“But I love you,” Sakura argued, not understanding. What was Tomoyo
395.1512 +saying? Her heart began to beat in fright. She didn’t like where this
395.1513 +was going at all. She held onto Tomoyo’s hand tighter, holding it
395.1514 +like a lifeline. 
395.1515 +	Squeezing Sakura’s hands back, Tomoyo felt her heart shiver within
395.1516 +her. She didn’t want this to end. But she couldn’t hurt Sakura. She
395.1517 +could never allow that of herself. “You don’t really love me, Sakura-
395.1518 +chan. You granted me a wish last week. You didn’t know what it was.
395.1519 +It made you fall in love with me,” Tomoyo explained quietly.”
395.1520 +	“No, that wasn’t it. It was...” Sakura blinked, trying to think
395.1521 +back to that day. She had granted a wish for Tomoyo. She had
395.1522 +forgotten what the wish was. And then she had realized her love for
395.1523 +Tomoyo. A sudden pain shot through her heart. “No!! That’s not it! I
395.1524 +do love you! It wasn’t a wish. It wasn’t...” Sakura sobbed weakly,
395.1525 +tears falling onto the injured girl below her. The world had been
395.1526 +pulled out from underneath her. She was falling, unable to grasp onto
395.1527 +anything to slow her descent. This past week had been the best week
395.1528 +of her life. This newfound love had meant everything to her. How
395.1529 +could it only be a wish? Her hands clenched tightly onto Tomoyo’s,
395.1530 +not letting go.
395.1531 +	Tomoyo held onto the other girl with her free arm, rubbing her
395.1532 +back. “Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you
395.1533 +cry,” she said softly. “You made my fondest wish come true. For this
395.1534 +past week, you have given me the greatest happiness I could imagine.
395.1535 +I would never want to give that up for anything.”
395.1536 +	“But I do love you!” Sakura insisted, sniffling. “It’s not just a
395.1537 +spell. I never knew how I felt. But I do now. I love you, Tomoyo-
395.1538 +chan. I love you so much. It’s not just magic. It can’t be. I love
395.1539 +you too much for it to be. I don’t want it to go away. Ever.”
395.1540 +	“I love you, too, Sakura-chan. With all of my heart. That’s why I
395.1541 +can’t go through with this. It’s only a charade. It was a beautiful
395.1542 +charade, but I can’t betray you with it. Because it’s not what you’d
395.1543 +really want. It’s only my selfish spell that made you love me. And
395.1544 +it’s over tomorrow. Then you’ll be free to fall in love for real with
395.1545 +someone else,” Tomoyo explained, trying desperately to smile for
395.1546 +Sakura. Tears threatened to overcome her, but she couldn’t stand to
395.1547 +cry in front of Sakura, not when the auburn haired girl needed her.
395.1548 +	“Then I’ll fall in love with you as soon as the spell wears off,”
395.1549 +Sakura replied, wiping angrily at her eyes to get the tears away.
395.1550 +Frustration and helplessness surrounded her, leaving her feeling lost
395.1551 +and lonely. “You aren’t selfish for wanting someone to love you. We
395.1552 +all want that Tomoyo-chan. And you deserve it more than anyone I
395.1553 +know. I want you to have it.” Her voice broke, more tears spilling
395.1554 +down her cheeks. “I want you to have it with me. I love you.” She
395.1555 +held onto the pale girl tightly, not daring to let go. 
395.1556 +	Closing her eyes tightly, Tomoyo kept rubbing Sakura’s back. Her
395.1557 +own tears were silent, a quiet backdrop to Sakura’s sobs. ‘I’m so
395.1558 +sorry, Sakura-chan. I want it to be with you, too. More than
395.1559 +anything,’ she thought sadly. 
395.1560 +
395.1561 +	“But I do love her, Kero-chan! She just doesn’t believe me. She
395.1562 +thinks it’s all some spell. But it can’t be. I know it can’t. I
395.1563 +really do love her.” Sakura squeezed her pillow tightly, wishing it
395.1564 +was Tomoyo. She hated this. She felt sick. Ever since she had heard
395.1565 +that her love might all be a dream she might wake up from, she had
395.1566 +felt weak and brittle. If something so strong could be fake, then she
395.1567 +had no idea what was real. But she couldn’t believe that. She
395.1568 +couldn’t allow herself to.
395.1569 +	“...” Came Kero’s reply. He didn’t know what to say. It could very
395.1570 +well be a spell for all he knew. Clow Reed had been rather
395.1571 +unscrupulous with some of the spells he had worked in his day. And
395.1572 +Sakura was even more powerful than he was. It sounded likely. But
395.1573 +telling Sakura that didn’t sound like a good idea. He wanted to help
395.1574 +his Mistress, but he didn’t know how. 
395.1575 +	“I just have to prove it to her,” Sakura went on, ignoring her
395.1576 +plush sidekick. “If I can make it past tomorrow afternoon, she’ll
395.1577 +have to believe me. Because the deadline was only one week. And I
395.1578 +know I love her. Because this wouldn’t hurt so much if I didn’t.”
395.1579 +Resting her head against the pillow, she felt her tears soaking into
395.1580 +it. She had thought that she had shed all of her tears at Tomoyo’s
395.1581 +house, but they just kept coming. She sighed shakily. 
395.1582 +	“I do love her. It’s not some stupid spell. Because she means
395.1583 +everything to me. Because she makes me happy. I want to be with her
395.1584 +forever. I want to hold her forever, just like I promised. When I
395.1585 +close my eyes, I see her. I can hear her singing to me when I listen
395.1586 +closely enough. When I’m with her, I’m the happiest girl in the
395.1587 +world. When I’m away from her, I just want her to be there again.”
395.1588 +Sakura held the pillow in a death grip, slumping onto her side in
395.1589 +bed. “I’ve never felt this way before. Not even about Yukito. And not
395.1590 +about Syaoran. She makes me feel better than I am. She makes me
395.1591 +stronger, better, braver... I need her...” Her voice cracked again,
395.1592 +her eyes shutting tightly. 
395.1593 +	Sitting up, she clenched her fists tightly, blinking away her
395.1594 +tears. Determination burned in her eyes. “I’m gonna prove it to her,
395.1595 +Kero-chan. I don’t care if it was a wish or not. I love Tomoyo-chan.
395.1596 +And I’ll love her even after tomorrow. I’ll love her forever.” Sleep
395.1597 +would be long in coming that night, but Sakura focussed completely on
395.1598 +her thoughts, on Tomoyo, on the feelings inside of her. She would
395.1599 +overcome any spell. She wouldn’t let her love die the next day.
395.1600 +
395.1601 +	“Please, Tomoyo-chan, you need to eat,” Sonomi said worriedly,
395.1602 +holding out a bit to her daughter. The girl in question simply lay in
395.1603 +bed, the life once again faded from her eyes. What had happened to
395.1604 +her precious daughter? She had been so vibrant for the past week, so
395.1605 +alive. Even if her body was having trouble recovering, Sonomi had
395.1606 +been thrilled to see the sparkle in her daughter when they would
395.1607 +talk. And now it was all gone again, as if it had never been there at
395.1608 +all.
395.1609 +	“I’m sorry, okaa-sama,” Tomoyo said quietly. “I can’t. It hurts too
395.1610 +much.” She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears
395.1611 +inside. She wanted to eat to appease her mother, but it was too
395.1612 +difficult to work up the strength to eat. The last she had seen of
395.1613 +Sakura was her wiping at her tear streaked cheeks before leaving.
395.1614 +That image, her sad and lonely Sakura, remained with her. She would
395.1615 +lose her the next day and it would all be over. And now Sakura was
395.1616 +hurting because it. All because she wouldn’t kiss her. Tomoyo
395.1617 +sniffled, closing her eyes tighter until they hurt. It was all her
395.1618 +fault. Now she would be alone forever and her last memories of her
395.1619 +time with Sakura would be that she ruined it. 
395.1620 +	“What’s wrong?” Sonomi asked, suddenly concerned. “Where does it
395.1621 +hurt, my little girl?” She set the plate aside, scooting closer to
395.1622 +her daughter. Her heart cried out for Tomoyo, wanting some way to
395.1623 +take away her pain, to wipe away those tears. 
395.1624 +	“Everywhere,” Tomoyo replied, trying with all her heart not to cry,
395.1625 +not to worry her mother. But it was no use. She felt herself being
395.1626 +cradled in her mother’s arms, could hear her mother’s soft
395.1627 +reassurances. Giving up, she burst into tears against Sonomi, crying
395.1628 +in her arms. Those arms were her only solace. Sakura would soon be
395.1629 +taken away from her and her memories would be marred with the pain
395.1630 +she inadvertently caused. She cried against her mother until all her
395.1631 +tears were gone. Sonomi would not leave her that night. Eventually,
395.1632 +she fell asleep in her mother’s arms. 
395.1633 +
395.1634 +	Tomoyo lay in bed silently, staring up at her ceiling once more.
395.1635 +She felt drained. Her whole body felt weak, empty. Her mother had
395.1636 +finally gone to work only after Tomoyo had promised her that she was
395.1637 +feeling better and that she would try to eat. And it was true. She
395.1638 +was feeling a little better. The night before she had felt hopeless.
395.1639 +Now she could at least be thankful that Sakura would probably forget
395.1640 +all about her pain in just a few short hours and would be back to her
395.1641 +normal, genki self. And her love would be gone forever. She closed
395.1642 +her eyes, not wanting to think about that. A knock at her door drew
395.1643 +her attention. At first she thought it was a maid, but she quickly
395.1644 +changed her mind. The knock was soft and shy. “Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo
395.1645 +whispered. “Come on in, Sakura-chan,” she said louder. The door
395.1646 +opened to reveal her friend. 
395.1647 +	Sakura gazed over at Tomoyo for a long minute, feeling a little
395.1648 +awkward. After the day before, she wasn’t quite sure what to say. She
395.1649 +entered the room, closing the door behind her. Walking over to the
395.1650 +bed, she sat next to Tomoyo. Her thoughts swirled around her, but
395.1651 +they weren’t the same pleasant thoughts that had assailed her the day
395.1652 +before when they had almost kissed. But she was here for a reason.
395.1653 +She didn’t have much time left before the wish ran out. She took a
395.1654 +deep breath, mustering up her motivation. It wasn’t over yet. “I have
395.1655 +something for you,” she said at last. 
395.1656 +	“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Tomoyo said quickly. She
395.1657 +offered a small smile. “You’re all I ever really wanted. I’m glad
395.1658 +you’re here.” She reached over, taking one of Sakura’s hands in her
395.1659 +own. Sakura returned the smile briefly, making her feel a little
395.1660 +better.
395.1661 +	Digging around in the bag she had brought with her, Sakura pulled
395.1662 +out a new camcorder. She looked at it for a moment before handing it
395.1663 +out to Tomoyo. “I got it with the money I have saved up. Well, and
395.1664 +I’ll be doing onii-chan’s chores from now until I move out because he
395.1665 +helped with it. But I wanted to get you something.”
395.1666 +	Tomoyo put a hand on the camcorder, running her fingers over it.
395.1667 +Her old one was gone now, but Sakura had gone to get her a new one.
395.1668 +That meant so much to her. She looked up quickly, meeting Sakura’s
395.1669 +anxious gaze. “Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. It’s wonderful!”
395.1670 +	Sakura smiled back, obviously pleased. “I know you could buy
395.1671 +another one, but I wanted to get it for you.” She reached out, taking
395.1672 +Tomoyo’s hands. “When you get better... Please use it a lot. To make
395.1673 +up for all the time you’ve been stuck in bed. Whenever you videotape
395.1674 +me, I feel so special. I feel like I’m your movie star. And that.. it
395.1675 +really makes me feel happy. Seeing you smile when you’re watching me,
395.1676 +it makes me want to do everything I can for you in front of the
395.1677 +camera.”
395.1678 +	Nodding solemnly, Tomoyo looks up at Sakura. “I will. I’ll
395.1679 +videotape as much as I can of you. So I can capture all of the
395.1680 +beautiful moments in your life.”
395.1681 +	“In our life,” Sakura corrects, squeezing Tomoyo’s hands. “I’m not
395.1682 +going anywhere. I love you. I’ll always love you. This isn’t going to
395.1683 +change anything. I want you to videotape all of the wonderful things
395.1684 +in our life. Our first real date. Our first baby. Our wedding.
395.1685 +Everything. I want to sit with you when we’re all grown up and watch
395.1686 +these tapes together. I want to be able to look back and blush at
395.1687 +seeing us together through all the years. And I want to say, ‘See,
395.1688 +Tomoyo-chan? I told you I’d hold you forever.’ And I want you to
395.1689 +smile and..” Sakura closed her eyes, trailing off as tears fell down
395.1690 +her cheeks. 
395.1691 +	Tomoyo gently brushed Sakura’s tears away with her fingertips. “I
395.1692 +love you so much,” she whispered. “And I will always love you.
395.1693 +Exactly because of things like this. Because Sakura-chan has the
395.1694 +biggest heart I know. And I know I’ll always have an important place
395.1695 +in your heart, even if it’s just as your best friend.” Her heart sung
395.1696 +at Sakura’s devotion, at the hopes and dreams Sakura held for them.
395.1697 +She wished those dreams could come true, that they could spend an
395.1698 +eternity together.
395.1699 +	“I will love you!” Sakura shook her head, tears flinging from her
395.1700 +cheeks. “Even if I have to use another magic spell. I’ll always love
395.1701 +you. I need you. I don’t want to lose you after all this.”
395.1702 +	Smiling softly, Tomoyo trailed her fingers through Sakura’s hair.
395.1703 +“But then you wouldn’t be the Sakura-chan that I’m in love with. You
395.1704 +wouldn’t be able to shine. Because you would be lying to your heart.
395.1705 +And I want your heart to be free. I want you to fall in love with the
395.1706 +person who can make you happiest, whoever that may be. Because I love
395.1707 +you.”
395.1708 +	“How can you say that? How can you let that happen? Because I don’t
395.1709 +ever want you being in love with someone else. I love you so much. I
395.1710 +couldn’t let you go. You do make me happy. You make me more than I
395.1711 +am. That’s why I don’t want to ever let you go,” Sakura argued, tears
395.1712 +still falling past her chin.  
395.1713 +	Tomoyo sighed, her eyes closing for a moment. She felt so tired. If
395.1714 +only they could live happily ever after... “If Sakura-chan couldn’t
395.1715 +let me go... That would make me very happy. And I’ll always love you.
395.1716 +I’ll always be yours, Sakura-chan. Whether or not you know that.” It
395.1717 +was hard for her to keep seeing this as magic. Sakura genuinely
395.1718 +seemed to be in love. With her. She really seemed to want to spend
395.1719 +forever with her. It was hard to write it off as just the spell.
395.1720 +Because she knew Sakura. And Sakura was fighting desperately to hold
395.1721 +onto her right now. And she didn’t want to fight against Sakura.
395.1722 +Maybe Sakura really did love her. Her heart skipped a beat at that
395.1723 +thought. Maybe she had been wrong all along. 
395.1724 +	“I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan. And I always will. No matter what
395.1725 +some stupid spell says. I love you,” Sakura insisted. As if to prove
395.1726 +her point, she leant forward. Her tear-filled eyes closed as she
395.1727 +leant over her best friend. Her hands held onto Tomoyo’s sides as she
395.1728 +came closer. ‘I love you!’ she wanted to scream with every fiber of
395.1729 +her being. She wasn’t going to let that die. Nothing would kill that.
395.1730 +It may have just been a spell at first, but it was more than that
395.1731 +now. She did love Tomoyo. And nothing would ever take that away from
395.1732 +her.
395.1733 +	Tomoyo could feel Sakura against her, the Cardmistress’s chest
395.1734 +shaking slightly as her body shook from crying too much. The heiress
395.1735 +held onto the auburn haired girl as best she could, wanting to take
395.1736 +that all away. Her dearest Sakura should never have to be marred by
395.1737 +tears. Her own heart swelled as she saw Sakura leaning towards her.
395.1738 +She didn’t want to betray Sakura. But she wasn’t betraying Sakura.
395.1739 +This really was Sakura. These were her feelings, her hopes and
395.1740 +dreams. Tomoyo met Sakura’s lips as they reached hers. That silky
395.1741 +soft feeling melted against her lips, drawing away her breath in a
395.1742 +sensuous kiss. She kissed Sakura back, her working arm going around
395.1743 +Sakura’s waist as they did. Each kiss was like a declaration of love,
395.1744 +a prayer that things would work out, that this wasn’t the end. 
395.1745 +	Sakura finally felt Tomoyo lips against her own. This time there
395.1746 +was no resistance. Tomoyo was kissing her back softly, sending a
395.1747 +shiver through her body. It felt so nice. ‘I do love you,’ Sakura
395.1748 +thought again, kissing back with all the strength she could muster.
395.1749 +Tomoyo seemed a bit surprised at first, but quickly matched her.
395.1750 +Sakura never wanted their lips to part. It felt intoxicating, like
395.1751 +being bathed in pure love. She snuggled closer to Tomoyo, embracing
395.1752 +her as they kissed again. If only she could keep kissing her until
395.1753 +the deadline, until it was all over. She felt safe with Tomoyo, in
395.1754 +her arms. She felt a dizzying mix of warmth and wonder at each
395.1755 +additional kiss. She would prove to Tomoyo that she would hold her
395.1756 +forever. That they would be together forever. She would make Tomoyo
395.1757 +happy. They would always.. always... They would always what?
395.1758 +	Their lips met in kiss after kiss, turning Tomoyo’s world into a
395.1759 +sea of cherry blossoms. Each lingering kiss felt like a brush of
395.1760 +angel wings against her soul. For once, Tomoyo could fully express
395.1761 +her love for the brunette, and she did so as best she could. She
395.1762 +kissed back with all the love in her heart, trying not to think about
395.1763 +tomorrow. There was only now. And now would last forever. She could
395.1764 +slowly feel Sakura lessening the kisses, could feel less coming from
395.1765 +the other girl. Sakura seemed bewildered, out of place. Tomoyo
395.1766 +stopped immediately. Looking up at her friend. Her heart cried out, a
395.1767 +sharp blade slicing through it. She wanted to deny it, to believe
395.1768 +that it wasn’t true. But Sakura just looked at her in confusion. It
395.1769 +was over. Her blissful week was gone. Sakura’s love was gone. Her
395.1770 +most treasured gift was now no more than a memory.
395.1771 +	“Tomoyo-chan? What happened? I can’t remember anything. It’s all
395.1772 +blurry. Hoe...” Sakura shook her head, trying to focus. But the
395.1773 +harder she focussed, the further away it all got. Like a dream upon
395.1774 +awakening, it all began to fade from her mind as if it had never
395.1775 +been. She shook her head, sitting up. Had she fallen asleep on Tomoyo
395.1776 +or something? “Did I make your wish come true?” she asked hopefully.
395.1777 +That was the last thing she could remember, trying to make Tomoyo’s
395.1778 +wish come true.
395.1779 +	Tomoyo forced a smile, blinking quickly. “Yes, you did, Sakura-
395.1780 +chan. You did it wonderfully. It was the most beautiful wish I could
395.1781 +ever hope for. Thank you so much for this week,” she said with all
395.1782 +her heart. All her broken heart. Sakura’s love was gone forever now.
395.1783 +Only her memory remained of it. She didn’t even have videos of it to
395.1784 +relive it all. Only the time they shared. Now she would have to give
395.1785 +it all up. And for Sakura, she could. At least Sakura wasn’t scared
395.1786 +about losing her love anymore. Because for her, it had never been.
395.1787 +But for Tomoyo, it would always live on in her heart. 
395.1788 +	“Tomoyo-chan, are you crying?” Sakura asked worriedly.
395.1789 +	“Everything will always be all right,” Tomoyo whispered.
395.1790 +
395.1791 +Several Years Later:
395.1792 +
395.1793 +	Tomoyo knelt before Sakura, sewing up a few last modifications on
395.1794 +her best friend’s wedding dress. The wedding was only a day away and
395.1795 +Tomoyo wanted everything to be perfect for her dearest Sakura. She
395.1796 +had tried her hardest to help Sakura and Syaoran get together. They
395.1797 +really did make such a cute couple. And seeing Sakura about to get
395.1798 +married gave Tomoyo something to latch onto, to pour all of her heart
395.1799 +and soul into. Sakura had given her practically a free reign over the
395.1800 +wedding to do with as she pleased. So the heiress was putting her all
395.1801 +into making sure it was the best wedding ever. She wanted it to be
395.1802 +something Sakura would never forget. It was supposed to be the
395.1803 +happiest moment in Sakura’s life, so it had to be absolutely perfect.
395.1804 +	Suppressing a yawn, Tomoyo went back to work on Sakura’s dress. She
395.1805 +had barely gotten any sleep at all in the past week and a half. There
395.1806 +was so much to do and she wanted to finish all of it in time for the
395.1807 +wedding. Her life had been dedicated completely to the wedding, to
395.1808 +the realization of her most cherished wish for Sakura to be happy.
395.1809 +There would be no sleep that night either. She still had to make the
395.1810 +wedding cake and finish the last few modifications on the wedding
395.1811 +dress, which she was doing now. Sleep didn’t matter. Sakura’s wedding
395.1812 +did. There would be plenty of time for sleep when Sakura was off on
395.1813 +her honeymoon. And plenty of time for crying. But that was all for
395.1814 +later. For now she had Sakura’s wedding to look forward to. In many
395.1815 +ways, she had been hoping for it even more than Sakura. Because it
395.1816 +had always been something she fantasized about, Sakura’s gorgeous
395.1817 +wedding. So she had to strive to make that dream a reality.
395.1818 +	“Tomoyo-chan, are you okay?” Sakura asked concernedly. “You don’t
395.1819 +look so well. You look sick.” She held her hands together in front of
395.1820 +her as she waited for Tomoyo to finish. She felt so nervous. 
395.1821 +	Smiling weakly, the young businesswoman shook her head. “I’m fine,
395.1822 +Sakura-chan. I’ve just been very busy lately. It will be better after
395.1823 +the wedding. Then I can watch my tape of Sakura-chan’s Happy Wedding
395.1824 +over and over and over again.” Tomoyo sighed dreamily, returning to
395.1825 +the task at hand. 
395.1826 +	“But.. Tomoyo-chan, aren’t you lonely?” Sakura asked curiously,
395.1827 +looking down at the beautiful heiress kneeling before her.
395.1828 +	“The best happiness is knowing that the one you love is happy. If
395.1829 +they’re happy, that’s all that truly matters,” Tomoyo replied, not
395.1830 +looking up. Of course she was lonely. But that was all right. Because
395.1831 +Sakura wouldn’t be. 
395.1832 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura continued to stare down at her friend. “I
395.1833 +must be selfish, then. Because I want to be happy, too.” She sighed,
395.1834 +waiting patiently for her friend to finish. She was used to being
395.1835 +Tomoyo’s model for dresses by now, but the fact that this wasn’t just
395.1836 +some normal costume sent a fresh wave of butterflies through her
395.1837 +stomach.
395.1838 +	Tomoyo stopped her work, looking up at last. “You deserve to be
395.1839 +happy, Sakura-chan. That’s not selfish at all. You want to be loved,
395.1840 +to be happy. And that’s what I want for you, too.”
395.1841 +	“I hope so.” Sakura sighed, her eyes closing for a moment as she
395.1842 +tried to relax. Kneeling down, she looked over at Tomoyo. Reaching
395.1843 +into midair, she summoned a small ring with her magic. Looking into
395.1844 +Tomoyo’s eyes, she took another nervous breath. “Tomoyo-chan, will
395.1845 +you marry me?” she asked, holding out the ring in her hands. 
395.1846 +	Tomoyo could only stare in shock for a frozen moment. This didn’t
395.1847 +make sense. It didn’t compute for Tomoyo. Sakura plus Syaoran equals
395.1848 +happiness. This wasn’t anything that she had planned. “But.. what
395.1849 +about Syaoran?” she asked desperately, trying to make sense out of
395.1850 +the situation. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she met
395.1851 +Sakura’s gaze. Watching Sakura in her wedding dress, hearing her
395.1852 +propose, she felt weak. 
395.1853 +	Sakura looks down before answering. “I called it off a few nights
395.1854 +ago. He’s already back in Hong Kong. My heart just wasn’t in it. You
395.1855 +wanted this wedding more than I did. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.
395.1856 +I didn’t want to break your heart. I didn’t want this wedding dress
395.1857 +you worked so hard on to go to waste.” She pulled at the dress in
395.1858 +emphasis. “I couldn’t let you do all that for the wedding and then
395.1859 +just call it off. But my heart didn’t belong to him. I didn’t love
395.1860 +him. I’ve been feeling more and more lately like I was just going to
395.1861 +marry him because everyone wanted me to. Like I didn’t have a choice
395.1862 +in the matter, that it was all expected of me. And more and more...”
395.1863 +she sighs, looking back up into Tomoyo’s eyes. “I’ve been missing
395.1864 +you. You’ve always been there for me, Tomoyo-chan. But sometimes I
395.1865 +forget that I need to be there for you, too. And I want to be there
395.1866 +for you. Through everything. Because I love you. I finally realized
395.1867 +that. You’re the one who always makes me happy. Not him. Not anyone
395.1868 +else. You do. Making this dress for me, working on my wedding, you
395.1869 +were trying to give me something beautiful. You were trying to make
395.1870 +me happy. I love you, Tomoyo-chan. I want to have this wedding. With
395.1871 +you. It’s just as much your wedding as it is mine. You spent so much
395.1872 +time on it. You deserve a little happiness, too.”
395.1873 +	“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo was taken aback by the sudden turn of
395.1874 +events. Sakura’s words had her heart melting. She swallowed back
395.1875 +tears, holding her hands to her chest. Her eyes were lost in emerald
395.1876 +pools. It wasn’t even a question. “Of course I’ll marry you, Sakura-
395.1877 +chan!” Tomoyo watched as Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and giggled
395.1878 +herself, the tension draining from her weary body. Sakura reached out
395.1879 +and took her hand, sliding the small ring on her finger. Such a
395.1880 +delicate act sent ripples through Tomoyo’s heart and soul. Sakura’s
395.1881 +hand didn’t leave hers when it was done, instead settling on her
395.1882 +palm. She gazed at Sakura adoringly.  This wedding had been all about
395.1883 +Sakura’s happiness. It had been the goal she had striven for. And now
395.1884 +Sakura was sharing that with her. “I’ll need to have someone use my
395.1885 +camcorder to record it all,” she said thoughtfully.
395.1886 +	“I’m sure we’ll always remember it, even if it’s not on tape,”
395.1887 +Sakura reassured her eccentric fiance. 
395.1888 +	Tomoyo smiled at the other woman. “I made a promise a long time ago
395.1889 +that I would. And years from now, we’ll sit together and watch it,
395.1890 +those beautiful times we’ve spent together.”
395.1891 +	Returning the smile, Sakura nodded. “Un! And we’ll always be making
395.1892 +plenty of new memories together, too.” She leant forward, a little
395.1893 +shyly. Tomoyo met her halfway, kissing her. Sakura relaxed into the
395.1894 +kiss, her fingers entwining with Tomoyo. The wedding seemed far off,
395.1895 +like a distant happening. This was what she really wanted. Her
395.1896 +fingers gently brushed through Tomoyo’s beautiful hair, feeling the
395.1897 +strands between her fingers. She could feel Tomoyo’s warm hand on her
395.1898 +cheek. She sighed happily as she sat back.
395.1899 +	Tomoyo watched Sakura, entranced. Her head was still swimming from
395.1900 +their kiss. The wedding she longed for, the girl she loved, the
395.1901 +happiness she didn’t think she could have had all managed to find
395.1902 +their way onto her lap. It was almost too much to bear. Sakura hugged
395.1903 +her tightly, the wedding dress clad woman snuggling against her.
395.1904 +Tomoyo sighed deliciously, melting against the auburn haired girl. 
395.1905 +	“I’ll never let go, Tomoyo-chan, I promise,” Sakura whispered, her
395.1906 +eyes closed. Her fingers trailed absentmindedly through Tomoyo’s
395.1907 +silky hair. For the first time in months, she wasn’t worried about
395.1908 +her wedding. Now she couldn’t wait. She didn’t know how she would
395.1909 +explain the change of plans to everyone, but it didn’t seem to
395.1910 +matter. Tomoyo would be there with her. She could do anything with
395.1911 +Tomoyo by her side.
395.1912 +	“That’s all I could ever wish for,” Tomoyo replied, resting her
395.1913 +head on Sakura’s shoulder. There was still much to be done for the
395.1914 +wedding. She still needed to finish Sakura’s dress. And she hadn’t
395.1915 +even started on the cake. But all of that paled in comparison to
395.1916 +Sakura herself. Tomoyo finally had her wish. Sakura was happy. And in
395.1917 +a beautiful miracle, she got to be the one to make Sakura happy.
395.1918 +There would be time for a big, noisy wedding soon. For now, she just
395.1919 +wanted to be with Sakura. And Sakura felt the same. Sighing happily,
395.1920 +Tomoyo nuzzled Sakura’s neck, her eyes falling shut. “I love you,”
395.1921 +she whispered, her voice muffled in Sakura’s dress. She had finally
395.1922 +found the magic. It was there. Everything really would be all right.
395.1923 +Because Sakura brought out that magic. And she could believe that
395.1924 +with Sakura. Because their happiness was intertwined, two beautiful
395.1925 +red ribbons tied together into a bow. “So what do we name our baby?”
395.1926 +Tomoyo asked curiously.
395.1927 +	“Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura sweatdropped. “Don’t you think you’re
395.1928 +looking a little too far forward?”
395.1929 +	“I’ve been planning Sakura-chan’s wedding since I was ten years
395.1930 +old. I like to have everything nice and worked out so that it can go
395.1931 +smoothly,” Tomoyo explains. “And you’ve already granted one of my
395.1932 +wishes. And wishes usually come in threes. My next was to see Sakura-
395.1933 +chan with a beautiful baby.”
395.1934 +	Sakura giggled softly, nodding. “Hai, I’ll see what I can do about
395.1935 +that one. But later. And what’s your third wish? It has something to
395.1936 +do with ribbons, right?”
395.1937 +	Tomoyo blinked. “How did you guess?”
395.1938 +	Sakura blushed, holding closer to Tomoyo. “I should have known. I
395.1939 +think I can make that one come true on the honeymoon.” 
395.1940 +	“See? It’s fun to plan things ahead. And I think Sakura-chan’s
395.1941 +getting good at it.” The pale girl giggled, resting against Sakura.
395.1942 +Their hearts beat in tandem. And the two held each other, listening
395.1943 +to their very own melody. 
395.1944 +
395.1945 +

   396.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   396.2 +++ b/stories/neveragain.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   396.3 @@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
   396.4 +Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. ^^ Or any copyrighted stuff.
   396.5 +
   396.6 +NEVER AGAIN
   396.7 +By ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   396.8 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
   396.9 +
  396.10 + "Megumi-chan, you have got to be spinning me a tale. And I won't fall for
  396.11 +it!" The blonde huffed, flipping her braid over her right shoulder.
  396.12 + "I'm not lying Suzuni-chan!" The brunette insisted, pushing her glasses up
  396.13 +her nose absently with one finger. "There's a beautiful girl who comes here
  396.14 +everyday, and just sits at the gate where the only flight from Hong Kong to
  396.15 +Tomeda is. Every single day she sits and watches all the people get off the
  396.16 +plane, and watches the new people get on. Then she comes over here and
  396.17 +orders a scoop of strawberry ice-cream with one cherry." Megumi was a worker
  396.18 +at the small ice cream shop across front of the gate.
  396.19 + Megumi's girlfriend raised an eyebrow, calming down. "Look, I came here to
  396.20 +watch you work, not here tales."
  396.21 + "Just wait!" Megumi scolded. "The only flight that arrives here comes in at
  396.22 +exactly noon. She'll be here in about ten minutes, with half an hour till
  396.23 +noon. She'll leave when the only flight that departs leaves at exactly one."
  396.24 + Suzuni sighed. "Daijoubu, daijoubu.we'll wait and see. How about you give
  396.25 +me a chocolate Sunday while we wait?"
  396.26 + "You and chocolate." Megumi rolled her eyes.
  396.27 + "Be nice!" Suzuni bopped her girlfriend lightly on the head, then started
  396.28 +eating her ice cream.
  396.29 + After serving Suzuni Megumi leaned against the counter, sighing as if she
  396.30 +were in dreamland. "She's not just a beautiful girl, either. She's gorgeous!
  396.31 +And so graceful.she has a melodious voice, it's so pretty. She kind of
  396.32 +reminds me of an angel."
  396.33 + "Watch how you talk about her or I'll get mad!" Suzuni said with a warning
  396.34 +glare.
  396.35 + "What, jealous?" Megumi teased.
  396.36 + "What do you think, you baka?" Suzuni replied.
  396.37 + "There she is!" Megumi exclaimed softly, nodding down the hall leading up
  396.38 +to the gate.
  396.39 + Suzuni turned and gaped, for once ignoring her ice-cream and letting it
  396.40 +slowly melt.
  396.41 + The girl looked like she was around the age of twenty, with violet-black
  396.42 +curls falling in waves to her waist. Her skin was so pale Suzuni thought
  396.43 +that she could be a ghost. Pale lips were curved up slightly, in an almost
  396.44 +hopeful manner. Stormy blue eyes looked out calmly, scanning the people
  396.45 +around her to find a seat near the gate.
  396.46 + "She IS beautiful." Suzuni managed.
  396.47 + "Look more closely at the eyes." Megumi instructed.
  396.48 + Suzuni obeyed, and was surprised to see the well of emotions that could be
  396.49 +seen behind them, if you ignored the mask the girl's eyes seemed to have.
  396.50 +There was the tiniest bit of hope, and there was despair. Calmness,
  396.51 +patience, and most of all.sadness. Loneliness.
  396.52 + Megumi examined Suzuni's face closely. "As I've always told you before.the
  396.53 +eyes are the windows to the soul."
  396.54 + Suzuni sighed and turned back to Megumi, leaving the graceful figure
  396.55 +clothed in a sleeveless white sundress with a sunflower pinned to the left
  396.56 +strap behind to sit down. "You're right.I wonder what could make someone
  396.57 +that sad?"
  396.58 + Megumi sighed, smiling a sad sort of smile. "I don't know.I always feel
  396.59 +that I should be.I don't know, respectful or something. I can never make
  396.60 +myself ask when I look into those eyes. It's almost as if she's been through
  396.61 +a million battles. And the sad thing is, she probably has."
  396.62 + "At her age? She's been at war?" Suzuni looked confused.
  396.63 + Megumi sweatdropped. "Not THAT kind of fighting! I mean it looks as if she'
  396.64 +s had a hard life."
  396.65 + "Oh. I knew that!" Suzuni tried.
  396.66 + "Yeah right." Megumi rolled her eyes. "If you're so curious you try and ask
  396.67 +her. I need to go and sweep the floor."
  396.68 + "Maybe I will!" Suzuni said, standing and walking off before Megumi could
  396.69 +stop her.
  396.70 + "She didn't even finish her ice-cream.?" Megumi shrugged and started to
  396.71 +clean up.
  396.72 +~
  396.73 + Tomoyo sat down gracefully in the middle of an empty row right by the gate.
  396.74 +She had once promised herself she would wait for Sakura to return to her
  396.75 +every day until the end of her time. It had been perhaps two years since her
  396.76 +light had left her, taking away most of Tomoyo's happiness. There was still
  396.77 +the small joy she could get from watching her Sakura tapes and designing new
  396.78 +outfits that the other girl would probably never try on.
  396.79 + Okaa-san worried greatly about her nowadays, but Tomoyo kept going about
  396.80 +her normal schedule. Or what had become normal after she had pulled herself
  396.81 +together after Sakura's departure. Tomoyo still hadn't managed to watch the
  396.82 +tape of Sakura's wedding.she somehow couldn't force herself to. She simply
  396.83 +designed things for Okaa-san's company, and designed even more things for
  396.84 +Sakura, which she kept locked away in her bedroom.
  396.85 + Tomoyo looked up, shaken out of her Sakura-reverie as someone cleared his
  396.86 +or her throat.
  396.87 + A tall blonde girl, probably sixteen or so, though she was taller then
  396.88 +Tomoyo since the heiress had always been rather petite, stood before her.
  396.89 +She had her hair cut short, almost in a way that reminded Tomoyo of Sakura,
  396.90 +and had hazel eyes that were full of curiosity. The girl was clothed in
  396.91 +jeans and a shirt, and tilted her head gently to the side. "Ohayo! I'm
  396.92 +Kajiya Suzuni!" Suzuni bowed politely. "Well.I will be. Oh, just call me
  396.93 +Suzuni!"
  396.94 + Tomoyo smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. So much like Sakura's when
  396.95 +she was young! "I'm Daidouji-san." Tomoyo offered, nodding her head gravely
  396.96 +since she didn't feel like standing while waiting for the plane as she
  396.97 +always did, and also not giving out her first name.
  396.98 + "Pardon me for intruding upon you," Suzuni blushed, ducking her head and
  396.99 +then lifting it. "But Megumi-chan, a girl who works at the ice-cream shop
 396.100 +across from here, told me about you a while ago. She said you come here
 396.101 +every single day to watch the people who get on and off of this exact
 396.102 +flight." Suzuni looked more curious then embarrassed now. "And I wondered
 396.103 +why? And also why you look so sad."
 396.104 + "You think I'm sad?" Tomoyo was mildly surprised. Very rarely could people
 396.105 +see through the masks that she wore to hide her feelings.
 396.106 + "I didn't at first, but my girlfriend Megumi is always picking up on things
 396.107 +like that. She's so perceptive!" Tomoyo had to let out a small giggle as she
 396.108 +saw the hearts in Suzuni's eyes.
 396.109 + "Well, if you sit down I can tell you." Tomoyo offered, the words barely
 396.110 +out of her mouth before Suzuni eagerly sat down. Tomoyo smiled serenely,
 396.111 +clasping her hands in her lap. "Once upon a time, around twelve years ago,
 396.112 +there was a young girl who moved here, to Tomeda. She was so scared when she
 396.113 +walked into her new classroom, and thought she wouldn't make any friends.
 396.114 +She wasn't very good at making friends back then. But by a chance of fate
 396.115 +she got seated next to a kawaii, genki, energetic young girl who was always
 396.116 +smiling and happy." Tomoyo sighed her 'hanyaa' sigh. "When the genki young
 396.117 +girl saw the new girl had no eraser, she cheerfully handed over a bunny
 396.118 +eraser, telling the new girl her name as she did. That kawaii little girl
 396.119 +had the most beautiful name: Sakura. So Sakura-chan became friends with the
 396.120 +formerly lonely Tomoyo-chan. They grew up together, Tomoyo-chan always
 396.121 +following Sakura around with a camcorder or camera, capturing every moment
 396.122 +she could of Sakura's kawaii and magical life."
 396.123 + "I wish I could do that with Suzuni." Both Tomoyo and Suzuni jumped,
 396.124 +noticing for the first time Megumi, who immediately blushed and sat on the
 396.125 +other side of Tomoyo. "Gomen. I'm Kajiya Megumi. Please go on! Onegai?"
 396.126 + Tomoyo smiled, noting that this girl must be Suzuni's girlfriend.
 396.127 +"Daijoubu. Every moment of Tomoyo-chan's life after she received that eraser
 396.128 +was a big 'I love you Sakura-chan!'. But Sakura-chan was a little oblivious
 396.129 +to matters of the heart and other things, and didn't notice, no matter how
 396.130 +many times Tomoyo-chan said it." Tomoyo's smile turned a little sad.
 396.131 +"Eventually Tomoyo-chan came to the conclusion that she wasn't Sakura-chan's
 396.132 +True Love, though Sakura-chan was her True Love. And so she searched for
 396.133 +someone she could entrust Sakura-chan to, without any regrets.
 396.134 +Unfortunately, Tomoyo-chan made a mistake. The boy she entrusted her True
 396.135 +Love to, Syaoran-kun, took Sakura-chan away from Tomoyo-chan. Now
 396.136 +Tomoyo-chan couldn't even be Sakura-chan's best friend. Syaoran-kun made it
 396.137 +very clear when Tomoyo-chan tried to contact Sakura-chan that he could take
 396.138 +care of Sakura-chan without Tomoyo-chan. He made sure they never talked
 396.139 +again."
 396.140 + Megumi looked over at Suzuni, knowing how she would feel if she was cut off
 396.141 +from Suzuni. Poor Tomoyo!
 396.142 + "So Tomoyo-chan talked to the stars, even though all the light was gone
 396.143 +from her life. Her only joys came from watching videos of Sakura-chan, and
 396.144 +looking at pictures of Sakura-chan, and wishing Sakura-chan was happy.
 396.145 +Iie.she wished Sakura-chan would return to her. So over all the distance
 396.146 +between them she looked up at the stars and wished Sakura-chan could hear
 396.147 +her saying 'I will wait for you for all eternity, until you return to me. To
 396.148 +this day Sakura-chan has not returned to the one person who would give her
 396.149 +life to just here Sakura one more time, to see her, to spend one last day
 396.150 +with her beloved."
 396.151 + Suzuni frowned. "That's a sad story, but what does it have to do with you?"
 396.152 + Tomoyo and Megumi sweatdropped. Megumi replied, "Your ice-cream is melting.
 396.153 +You had better go and eat it."
 396.154 + Suzuni was away in a flash, and Megumi stood up, then bowed respectfully to
 396.155 +Tomoyo. "You've gone through a lot of pain. I don't know how I could stand
 396.156 +it if that had happened to Suzuni and I. She finally realized how I felt
 396.157 +only because her brother told her. She thought for a long time, for once.
 396.158 +Then she told me exactly how she felt about the situation, and asked me out
 396.159 +on a date. You're strong Tomoyo-chan."
 396.160 + Tomoyo smiled. "She reminds me of Sakura-chan in a few ways. Suzuni-san
 396.161 +said something about you being the one who found out I was sad. How.?"
 396.162 + Megumi blushed. "Oh, I work at the shop across from here. And.hasn't anyone
 396.163 +ever told you the eyes are the windows to the soul? I hope she returns to
 396.164 +you someday. I'll give you your ice cream free today."
 396.165 + Tomoyo started to protest, but Megumi stopped her. "In exchange for the
 396.166 +wonderful story. Suzuni-chan and I will be getting married next month. We're
 396.167 +both eighteen." Tomoyo looked surprised. "I'm short for my age, and Suzuni
 396.168 +just acts younger. We'd be pleased if you came. Here.bring Sakura-chan along
 396.169 +when she returns to you. If she does in time, I mean." Megumi handed Tomoyo
 396.170 +a napkin with the detail scribbled on a napkin. "I hope to see you both
 396.171 +there."
 396.172 +~
 396.173 + Tomoyo sighed, tucking the napkin into her pocket. She would definitely be
 396.174 +at the wedding, though it was doubtful Sakura would return. She would be
 396.175 +able to give her camcorder a workout after all these years. And Okaa-san
 396.176 +would surely want to come along. Then they could both be happy that two
 396.177 +girls reminding them of other people found True Love together.
 396.178 + Tomoyo glanced down as her watch beeped sweetly. Sweetly because Okaa-san
 396.179 +hated normal watch beeping, and had insisted on a pretty sound. "The plane
 396.180 +should arrive right."
 396.181 + "Attention, attention, the plane from Hong Kong to Tomeda has arrived! I
 396.182 +repeat, the plane from Hong Kong to Tomeda has arrived!" The usual bored
 396.183 +voice of the flight attendant announced.
 396.184 + Tomoyo smiled, glancing back one last time at the two girls, who were now
 396.185 +involved in a conversation, from what it looked like they were discussing
 396.186 +ice cream flavors. "."
 396.187 + Tomoyo giggled then shook her head and looked back as the door opened and
 396.188 +passengers started filing in. Just as she always did, Tomoyo searched for
 396.189 +Sakura in the line of people who got off, and as always, she saw no Sakura
 396.190 +chan.
 396.191 + Her watch rang again, and Tomoyo got up, heading for the ice cream shop.
 396.192 +Just as she reached the middle of the hallway between the gate and the
 396.193 +ice-cream shop as something hit her head hard, and she stumbled sideways,
 396.194 +whatever it was hanging on to her head. "Kyaa!"
 396.195 + Tomoyo fell to the ground, unable to regain hr balance. She finally managed
 396.196 +to get whatever-it-was off, noting before she got it off that it was making
 396.197 +noises, like it was talking.
 396.198 + Finally able to see the thing her eyes widened. "No.way."
 396.199 + "Hiya Tomoyo-chan! Got any chocolate on ya?" The small yellow creature
 396.200 +asked.
 396.201 + "Kero-chan.?" Tomoyo asked in disbelief. Was she dreaming?
 396.202 + "The one and only!" Kero said.
 396.203 + "Should you really be zooming around in an airport?" Tomoyo asked.
 396.204 + "Uh.probably not." Kero sweatdropped. "Gomen. I forgot about that.I was so
 396.205 +happy to see you! You can cook so well! Oh well. They'll just think I'm a
 396.206 +weird toy." A few children were heard saying they wanted a toy like that.
 396.207 + "Kero-chan." Tomoyo started.
 396.208 + "Want some help up Tomoyo-chan?" The one voice she had been sure she would
 396.209 +never hear again asked, taking one of Tomoyo's hands in hers and pulling the
 396.210 +pale heiress to her feet.
 396.211 + "Sakura-chan?! What are you doing in Tomeda? Where's Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo
 396.212 +was now sure that she was dreaming. She had to be.
 396.213 + Sakura's eyes darkened, then brightened. "He's back in Hong Kong. A few
 396.214 +months ago I started getting these weird dreams, and I started to think he'd
 396.215 +made you stop talking to me and writing to me. It turned out he had had the
 396.216 +phone company block your number and he had all of the letters you sent
 396.217 +stuffed in the family safe. I only found out after finding one in the mail
 396.218 +by accident and by forcing him to tell me everything. The only reason I didn
 396.219 +'t come home sooner was because we had to get the divorce settled. I don't
 396.220 +want to marry someone who would block me off from my very best friend."
 396.221 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo again, looking the only slightly shorter girl in the
 396.222 +eyes. "I missed you, Tomoyo-chan. So did Kero-chan and the cards."
 396.223 + "But.Sakura-chan's happiness." Tomoyo was now utterly confused, and yet
 396.224 +understanding everything at the same time.
 396.225 + "I wasn't happy living with someone who would do that Tomoyo-chan. Besides,
 396.226 +I finally figured out my heart. And what everyone else, like Onii-chan,
 396.227 +Yukito-san, and even Meiling-chan had been hinting at. Not to mention
 396.228 +Chiharu-chan, Naoko-chan, and Rika-chan. Even Yamazaki-chan tried to tell me
 396.229 +a few times." Sakura sweatdropped. "And my Sakura cards.And Kero-chan."
 396.230 + "Kid, you'd better stop or we'll be here forever. Face it: you're oblivious
 396.231 +to some things. REALLY oblivious." Kero said, rolling his eyes. "NOW I WANT
 396.232 +CAKE!"
 396.233 + Sakura glared at Kero. "Hey! Be nice or.um.NO DESERT FOR A MONTH!"
 396.234 + Kero immediately went silent.
 396.235 + "What are you trying to say Sakura-chan.?" Tomoyo prompted eagerly.
 396.236 + Sakura blushed bright red. "Um.er.uh.that is.I.Tomoyo-chan,
 396.237 +I.uh.I.A-Aishiteru Tomoyo-chan." Sakura finally got out.
 396.238 + Tomoyo started to cry as she heard the words she had waited her entire life
 396.239 +to hear.
 396.240 + Sakura looked at Tomoyo in concern and slight confusion. "Tomoyo-chan! Don'
 396.241 +t cry.are you alright?" She gently wiped Tomoyo's eyes.
 396.242 + "I'm fine Sakura-chan. It's just that I always knew you would save me, my
 396.243 +beautiful emerald light." Tomoyo smiled gently.
 396.244 + Sakura smiled nervously. "Um, Tomoyo-chan?"
 396.245 + "Yes Sakura-chan?"
 396.246 + Sakura put her hand behind her head, smiling. "I was wondering if you would
 396.247 +like.to.um."
 396.248 + Tomoyo giggled, and decided to help Sakura out. "Would you like to go out
 396.249 +some time Sakura? We could go get some ice cream before we get your luggage,
 396.250 +and then maybe we can go out to dinner. It's a little backwards, but they
 396.251 +have the best ice cream there."
 396.252 + "Hai!" Sakura stopped, and looked at Tomoyo. "Tomoyo, how did you know I
 396.253 +would come home today?"
 396.254 + Tomoyo smiled. "I didn't Sakura. I always come here every day. Then I get
 396.255 +ice cream."
 396.256 + Sakura frowned. "But what would you have done if I never came?"
 396.257 + Tomoyo thought, then smiled again. "I would have waited for you every day,
 396.258 +until I was no longer in this world. For my Sakura-chan, I can bear
 396.259 +anything."
 396.260 + "Tomoyo."
 396.261 + Tomoyo smiled brightly, all the sadness wiped away from her eyes. "I love
 396.262 +you Sakura. I always have, and always will. Oh.I have a ton of costumes for
 396.263 +you, but it looks like I might have to re-measure you and make a few changes
 396.264 +to them."
 396.265 + "But I've got all the cards." Sakura pointed out.
 396.266 + "Well, I have a theory." Kero said thoughtfully. "Your magic didn't work
 396.267 +when you left Tomeda, and therefore no evil was attracted, nor was any
 396.268 +magic. I think your magic is powered by your love of Tomoyo-chan, because
 396.269 +ever since we got here I've felt stronger. Ever since you divorced the brat
 396.270 +you've even been able to invoke the cards. So, now that your magic is
 396.271 +working you will have plenty of adventures. Believe me! Now let's get that
 396.272 +ice cream."
 396.273 +~
 396.274 +A few weeks later.
 396.275 + "Time to throw the bouquets!" Suzuni called out cheerfully.
 396.276 + Sonomi ran over, determined to get one for herself. Suzuni threw hers, and
 396.277 +Sonomi managed to get it by growling at the other women trying to get it.
 396.278 + "Okaa-san." Tomoyo sweatdropped, then smiled.
 396.279 + "C'mon! Throw yours Megumi!" Suzuni ordered.
 396.280 + Megumi looked at her newlywed wife and smiled slightly. "Daijoubu." Megumi
 396.281 +smiled brightly as she saw Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-chan! Catch!" Tomoyo threw up her
 396.282 +hands to shield her face from the flying bouquet, catching it in the
 396.283 +process.
 396.284 + "Tomoyo-chan?" Suzuni asked her wife. "You mean she's the girl from the
 396.285 +story?"
 396.286 + Megumi sweatdropped. "Ah.let's go get in the car and go start on the way to
 396.287 +the airport so we can leave for our honeymoon, okay?"
 396.288 + Suzuni agreed cheerfully, and they were gone in an instant, as were most of
 396.289 +the guests. Tomoyo continued to stare at the bouquet of cherry blossoms. Of
 396.290 +course, Megumi was the type to do that on purpose. Over the past few weeks
 396.291 +Sakura and Tomoyo had gotten to know the couple very well along with Sonomi.
 396.292 + Sakura tapped Tomoyo on the shoulder, smiling. "You know, I think that's
 396.293 +Megumi-chan giving us a hint, hmm?"
 396.294 + Tomoyo raised an eyebrow. "You picked up on that?"
 396.295 + Sakura blushed. "Megumi-chan explained to me all about the 'whoever catches
 396.296 +the bouquet is the next to be married' thing." Sakura admitted. "She has
 396.297 +also taken me to fifty jewelry stores in the past week."
 396.298 + Tomoyo giggled. "She really wants us to be 'happily ever after'."
 396.299 + "I already am." Sakura said, blushing. "Hoe."
 396.300 + "What is it Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.
 396.301 + "Um.Tomoyowouldyouconsidermarryingme?" Sakura asked in one breath.
 396.302 + Tomoyo smiled. "Of course. I'd even say hai."
 396.303 + Sakura smiled giddily. "Oh, Tomoyo, you won't be sorry! I'll.um.be the very
 396.304 +best wife it's possible to be! I love you Tomoyo."
 396.305 + "I love you too Sakura." Tomoyo took off a ring she had been wearing and
 396.306 +slipped it on Sakura's ring finger. "This can be your engagement ring. It
 396.307 +was the ring my mother gave me. Your mother gave it to my mother when they
 396.308 +were little, as a fake wedding ring. You know how little kids have pretend
 396.309 +weddings. Okaa-san has had it ever since." Tomoyo explained.
 396.310 + "It's beautiful." Sakura managed. The ring was a silver band inlayed with
 396.311 +pearls in a swirling pattern.
 396.312 + "And an heirloom." Tomoyo said cheerfully.
 396.313 + Sakura handed Tomoyo a ring and slipped it on Tomoyo's ring finger, which
 396.314 +was a silver band with a small blue sapphire in the center, and Japanese
 396.315 +writing around it, which read 'Aishiteru'. "Otou-san and Onii-chan helped me
 396.316 +pick it out. Do you like it Tomoyo?" Sakura asked anxiously.
 396.317 + "Of course!" Tomoyo replied. "Anything Sakura-chan gives me is precious
 396.318 +beyond any treasure but Sakura-chan herself." Tomoyo handed Sakura the
 396.319 +bouquet. "Here. Since you asked me before I did you, you deserve this." She
 396.320 +smiled brightly. "Aishiteru, Sakura."
 396.321 + "Aishiteru Tomoyo. Gomen it took me so long to figure that out." Sakura
 396.322 +replied.
 396.323 + "That's okay Sakura. I would have always loved you no matter what, and I
 396.324 +do. I always will." Tomoyo leaned her head on Sakura's shoulder.
 396.325 + "And I you." Sakura said softly, leaning down to kiss her one True Love.
 396.326 +
 396.327 +THE END

   397.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   397.2 +++ b/stories/newmoon.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   397.3 @@ -0,0 +1,402 @@
   397.4 +The New Moon's Decision
   397.5 +
   397.6 +By: Miss ParaPara
   397.7 +
   397.8 +Rated: H
   397.9 +
  397.10 +E-mail: missparapara@hotmail.com
  397.11 +
  397.12 +
  397.13 +
  397.14 +This fanfic takes place in 30th century Crystal Tokyo, after a war between 
  397.15 +
  397.16 +Earth & a planet called Dominion.
  397.17 +
  397.18 +
  397.19 +
  397.20 +	" We won!" Sailorvenus jumped up & down as she gave Sailorjupiter a 
  397.21 +
  397.22 +high 5.
  397.23 +
  397.24 +	" Oh no!" cried Sailormars," Neo-Queen Serenity. She's hurt".
  397.25 +
  397.26 +
  397.27 +
  397.28 +	All the senshi ran to the Queen. Many people of Crystal Tokyo also 
  397.29 +
  397.30 +gathered.
  397.31 +
  397.32 +	" Usagi!" Mars held up the Queen head. The Queen had been severely 
  397.33 +
  397.34 +hurt by a explosion of bombs set by the enemy. She could feel that she was 
  397.35 +
  397.36 +slowly dying. If only she could have made it back to the palace, she would 
  397.37 +
  397.38 +have been safe. Oh poor Mamoru & Chibiusa. If only she could see them again.
  397.39 +
  397.40 +
  397.41 +
  397.42 +	Sailormercury did a scan with her computer to see how bad the Queen's 
  397.43 +
  397.44 +condition was.
  397.45 +
  397.46 +
  397.47 +
  397.48 +	" She's going to die." Mercury said softly before she burst into 
  397.49 +
  397.50 +tears.
  397.51 +
  397.52 +	The large group of people heard this. Their Queen was dying!
  397.53 +
  397.54 +
  397.55 +
  397.56 +	" Don't worry, Usagi-chan," cried Sailorjupiter," We defeated those 
  397.57 +
  397.58 +jerks from Dominion. Our world is safe once again." She as well as the other 
  397.59 +
  397.60 +senshi burst into tears.
  397.61 +
  397.62 +
  397.63 +
  397.64 +	" Please promise me," Neo-Queen Serenity said as she closed her eyes 
  397.65 +
  397.66 +for one last time," Make sure Chibiusa becomes a great Queen just as I tried 
  397.67 +
  397.68 +to be. Tell her I believe in her...." The Queen's voice drifted off. She 
  397.69 +
  397.70 +turned her head in Sailormars hands & died.
  397.71 +
  397.72 +............................................................................
  397.73 +
  397.74 +
  397.75 +
  397.76 +	"Oh yum!" exclaimed Chibiusa. Setsuna had brought over a batch of 
  397.77 +
  397.78 +chocolate chip cookies to the Palace. King Endymion was informed of his 
  397.79 +
  397.80 +wife's death, but Chibiusa still did not know that her mother was now in 
  397.81 +
  397.82 +Heaven. Setsuna thought she might be able to tell Chibiusa about it in a 
  397.83 +
  397.84 +better way than anyone else. 
  397.85 +
  397.86 +
  397.87 +
  397.88 +	Setsuna was surprised & kind of disappointed when she showed up at the 
  397.89 +
  397.90 +Palace and saw that Hotaru was there also( Chibiusa had invited her over for 
  397.91 +
  397.92 +tea). Setsuna sat the cookies on the table. Chibiusa dug right in, while shy, 
  397.93 +
  397.94 +polite Hotaru hung back.
  397.95 +
  397.96 +
  397.97 +
  397.98 +	" You may have some too, Hotaru" Setsuna told the dark haired girl.
  397.99 +
 397.100 +
 397.101 +
 397.102 +	" Arigato, Setsuna-san." Hotaru took a cookie.
 397.103 +
 397.104 +
 397.105 +
 397.106 +	After all the cookies were gone ( that wasn't long since Chibiusa 
 397.107 +
 397.108 +loved Setsuna's homemade chocolate chip cookies), the girls were full.
 397.109 +
 397.110 +
 397.111 +
 397.112 +	" That was delicious, Puu. I must admit your cookies are even better 
 397.113 +
 397.114 +that Makoto's. And she's Tokyo's best cook!"
 397.115 +
 397.116 +
 397.117 +
 397.118 +	" I'm glad you liked them, your Highness. But Hotaru must leave now. 
 397.119 +
 397.120 +I have important news to tell you." Setsuna looked at Hotaru.
 397.121 +
 397.122 +
 397.123 +
 397.124 +	" Hey why did you call me your Highness? I thought that's what you 
 397.125 +
 397.126 +call my Mommy. And why does Hotaru have to leave? Why Puu?" Chibiusa could 
 397.127 +
 397.128 +sense that something was very wrong.
 397.129 +
 397.130 +
 397.131 +
 397.132 +	Hotaru got up to leave, but Setsuna stopped her.
 397.133 +
 397.134 +
 397.135 +
 397.136 +	" Stay. I must now obey the new Queen." Setsuna grabbed Hotaru's arm 
 397.137 +
 397.138 + & Hotaru sat back down.
 397.139 +
 397.140 +
 397.141 +
 397.142 +	Chibiusa knew then that something happened to her mother after she 
 397.143 +
 397.144 +left the Palace to go help the other Sailor Senshi fight the people of 
 397.145 +
 397.146 +Dominion.
 397.147 +
 397.148 +
 397.149 +
 397.150 +	" Why did this have to happen!" Chibiusa was furious," She should 
 397.151 +
 397.152 +have never left the Palace. This is all her fault!" Chibiusa got off the 
 397.153 +
 397.154 +couch, crying, and ran to her room, locking the door behind her.
 397.155 +
 397.156 +
 397.157 +
 397.158 +	" I'll better leave for now," Setsuna stood up," Please be a comfort 
 397.159 +
 397.160 +to her Hotaru. She really needs her friends right now." Setsuna left to go 
 397.161 +
 397.162 +talk to King Endymion.
 397.163 +
 397.164 +.............................................................................
 397.165 +
 397.166 +
 397.167 +
 397.168 +Knock knock knock!
 397.169 +
 397.170 +
 397.171 +
 397.172 +	Hotaru rapped on Chibiusa's bedroom door. Chibiusa was inside crying.
 397.173 +
 397.174 +
 397.175 +
 397.176 +	" Go away, Puu! I never want to see you again."
 397.177 +
 397.178 +
 397.179 +
 397.180 +	" Chibiusa-chan. It's me, Hotaru."
 397.181 +
 397.182 +
 397.183 +
 397.184 +	It was quiet for a moment, then Chibiusa told her to enter.
 397.185 +
 397.186 +
 397.187 +
 397.188 +	Hotaru sat on Chibiusa's bed with her.
 397.189 +
 397.190 +
 397.191 +
 397.192 +	" Oh, Hotaru," Chibiusa cried," I feel so alone. I miss her so much." 
 397.193 +
 397.194 +Chibiusa sobbed into Hotaru's shirt.
 397.195 +
 397.196 +
 397.197 +
 397.198 +	" It will be alright," Hotaru ran her fingers though Chibiusa's pink 
 397.199 +
 397.200 +odangos," I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I lost my mom."
 397.201 +
 397.202 +
 397.203 +
 397.204 +	Chibiusa stopped crying. She forgotten that Hotaru's mother was 
 397.205 +
 397.206 +killed in a lab accident when Hotaru was very young. It must have been so 
 397.207 +
 397.208 +hard on a little kid. For once in her life she knew there was someone who 
 397.209 +
 397.210 +understood her pain.
 397.211 +
 397.212 +
 397.213 +
 397.214 +	" Hotaru-chan," Chibiusa looked into her best friend's violet eyes.
 397.215 +
 397.216 +
 397.217 +
 397.218 +	" Yes, Chibiusa," Hotaru looked into friend's tear filled eyes.
 397.219 +
 397.220 +
 397.221 +
 397.222 +	" I love you."
 397.223 +
 397.224 +
 397.225 +
 397.226 +	These were words Hotaru had never heard directed at her before.
 397.227 +
 397.228 +
 397.229 +
 397.230 +	" I love you too, Chibiusa-chan."
 397.231 +
 397.232 +
 397.233 +
 397.234 +	The two moved closer to each other and kissed hard on the lips. They 
 397.235 +
 397.236 +knew then that there had always been a reason for the way they cared about 
 397.237 +
 397.238 +each other. The reason was love.
 397.239 +
 397.240 +
 397.241 +
 397.242 +	After they broke away from the kiss, Chibiusa began to take off her 
 397.243 +
 397.244 +clothes.
 397.245 +
 397.246 +
 397.247 +
 397.248 +	" Ecchi, Chibiusa!" exclaimed Hotaru, who was very surprised by this 
 397.249 +
 397.250 +act.
 397.251 +
 397.252 +	" No it's not ecchi," explain Chibiusa," It's my way of expressing my 
 397.253 +
 397.254 +love for you. I want to make love with you." Chibiusa stood buck naked into 
 397.255 +
 397.256 +front of Hotaru. Hotaru couldn't take her eyes off Chibiusa's beautiful body.
 397.257 +
 397.258 +
 397.259 +
 397.260 +	" I would be honored to make love to you, my Queen." Hotaru started 
 397.261 +
 397.262 +to take her clothes off. She moved closer to Chibiusa & grabbed one of 
 397.263 +
 397.264 +Chibiusa firm breasts & start to suck on it. Her tongue had little circles 
 397.265 +
 397.266 +around the nipple, sending waves of passion though Chibiusa's body.
 397.267 +
 397.268 +
 397.269 +
 397.270 +	" Ohhhh!" Chibiusa moaned in pleasure," That feels so good!!" 
 397.271 +
 397.272 +Chibiusa reached down and started to finger Hotaru's wet pussy. Hotaru's 
 397.273 +
 397.274 +fingers started to do the same to Chibiusa. Until Chibiusa stuck a finger a 
 397.275 +
 397.276 +little too deep into Hotaru.
 397.277 +
 397.278 +
 397.279 +
 397.280 +	"Oh!" Hotaru cried in pain.
 397.281 +
 397.282 +
 397.283 +
 397.284 +	" What's wrong? What did I do Hotaru-chan?" Chibiusa was now scared.
 397.285 +
 397.286 +
 397.287 +
 397.288 +	" It's not your fault, Chibiusa. See I'm still a virgin & you just 
 397.289 +
 397.290 +hit against my hymen a little. I'm o.k. Please continue giving me pleasure."
 397.291 +
 397.292 +
 397.293 +
 397.294 +	The girls went back to their positions, then Hotaru had an idea.
 397.295 +
 397.296 +
 397.297 +
 397.298 +	The girls got into a 69 position. Now each one could enjoy each 
 397.299 +
 397.300 +others tasty pussy. Hotaru spread Chibiusa's outer lips apart & wasn't 
 397.301 +
 397.302 +surprised to see that the new Queen was also still a virgin. She learned well 
 397.303 +
 397.304 +from her mother, Hotaru thought to herself.
 397.305 +
 397.306 +
 397.307 +
 397.308 +	Chibiusa never knew Hotaru could produce such sweet juice. It was 
 397.309 +
 397.310 +sweeter than any candy she ever tasted. She licked all around Hotaru's  wet 
 397.311 +
 397.312 +
 397.313 +
 397.314 +lovebox. She felt as if she was getting drunk off her friend's cum.
 397.315 +
 397.316 +
 397.317 +
 397.318 +	" Chibiusa," Hotaru managed to say after Chibiusa's tongue had given 
 397.319 +
 397.320 +her, her first orgasm. " I want you to take my virginity."
 397.321 +
 397.322 +
 397.323 +
 397.324 +	" I wish I could but how.." Just then Chibiusa remembered. She ran to 
 397.325 +
 397.326 +her parent's room & soon returned with a 7 inch attachable penis. Usagi had 
 397.327 +
 397.328 +used it with all her female friends at one point in time. Chibiusa got 
 397.329 +
 397.330 +excited when she seen that there was a little flap near the straps. When she 
 397.331 +
 397.332 +put it on, the flap went into her pussy slightly. This toy could give her 
 397.333 +
 397.334 +pleasure as well.
 397.335 +
 397.336 +
 397.337 +
 397.338 +	" O.K, Hotaru get on your hands & knees." Hotaru obeyed. Chibiusa put 
 397.339 +
 397.340 +the tip of the cock at Hotaru's entrance.
 397.341 +
 397.342 +
 397.343 +
 397.344 +	" Remember I love you." Chibiusa said as she pushed herself into 
 397.345 +
 397.346 +Hotaru. Hotaru could feel the pain, but it was soon replaced by a great 
 397.347 +
 397.348 +pleasure. Chibiusa herself was also experiencing this new pleasure as the 
 397.349 +
 397.350 +flap massaged her clit as she pumped into Hotaru. Chibiusa started to pick up 
 397.351 +
 397.352 +the pace & pumped harder. Hotaru came once again. The sight of Hotaru's cum 
 397.353 +
 397.354 +pouring out of her pussy caused Chibiusa to also come. Chibiusa took off the 
 397.355 +
 397.356 +fake dick & they began to lick the cum out of each other's pussy. Just then 
 397.357 +
 397.358 +an image of Neo-Queen Serenity appeared.
 397.359 +
 397.360 +
 397.361 +
 397.362 +	" Mommy!" exclaimed Chibiusa," I'm sorry for what I've done. Please 
 397.363 +
 397.364 +forgive me. I just love Hotaru so much. I..."
 397.365 +
 397.366 +
 397.367 +
 397.368 +	" It's alright Small Lady," The Queen spoke," I want you to be happy. 
 397.369 +
 397.370 +I've made love to my friends before too. I hope the best for you two. And I 
 397.371 +
 397.372 +hope Hotaru can have the pleasure of taking you as well. Bye for now, my 
 397.373 +
 397.374 +sweet daughter." The image disappeared.
 397.375 +
 397.376 +
 397.377 +
 397.378 +	" Well you heard your mom," Hotaru said," I want to make you mine."
 397.379 +
 397.380 +
 397.381 +
 397.382 +	" I'm already yours." Chibiusa & Hotaru kissed again. Then Hotaru 
 397.383 +
 397.384 +slipped on the fake dick and the magic started all over again.
 397.385 +
 397.386 +
 397.387 +
 397.388 +	The End
 397.389 +
 397.390 +............................................................................
 397.391 +
 397.392 +
 397.393 +
 397.394 +	Did you like it? I've written very few Hotaru & Chibiusa fics. This 
 397.395 +
 397.396 +one would have to be my favorite. Please e-mail comments, suggestions, ect 
 397.397 +
 397.398 +to <missparapara@hotmail.com>. I would like the mail to be cumming in for 
 397.399 +
 397.400 +this fic. 
 397.401 +
 397.402 +Ja ne,
 397.403 +
 397.404 +Miss ParaPara
 397.405 +

   398.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   398.2 +++ b/stories/noir-afterwards.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   398.3 @@ -0,0 +1,450 @@
   398.4 +Afterwards
   398.5 +Immo
   398.6 +immo@hamena.org
   398.7 +
   398.8 +Author's comments: Okay, I know the title sucks ass. Don't blame me.
   398.9 +It was either that, or
  398.10 +'Josie and the Pussycats' cuz that was the cd I've been listening to
  398.11 +repetitively. Buy the cd
  398.12 +everybody! Oh, by the way, I love Eliza Dushku. She's the girl that
  398.13 +plays Faith in Buffy the
  398.14 +Vampire Slayer, Missy in Bring It On!, Annabel in Soul Survivors,
  398.15 +Danielle (Dan the Man) in
  398.16 +The New Guy (Watch it for the bathing suit scene!) and a whole list
  398.17 +that I won't bother, cuz
  398.18 +I'm too busy worshipping her. :P Its late. Um, its a Noir fic with
  398.19 +femslashy/yuri/shoujo-ai/
  398.20 +girl-girl love/angsty thing. Cool. I think girlgirl love is cute. So
  398.21 +shut up.
  398.22 +
  398.23 +COMMENTS, COMPLIMENTS, REVIEWS, COMPLAINTS, FLAMES (please, no?),
  398.24 +ARE WELCOME (cept for the
  398.25 +flames). Please. I'm doing an analysis on Oedipus. Leave my psycotic
  398.26 +psychoticness alone (but
  398.27 +all C&Cs and Rs are welcome!) and read the fic.
  398.28 +
  398.29 +~-~-~
  398.30 +
  398.31 +It might've been better if I had died that night. I don't know, but
  398.32 +sometimes I think
  398.33 +it would've been so much better if Mireille had killed me as soon as
  398.34 +I approached her. Then
  398.35 +she wouldn't be going through this.
  398.36 +"I don't regret a thing." Mireille and that beautiful smile.
  398.37 +What a lie that was. When she thought I was asleep, she would cry,
  398.38 +and I would just
  398.39 +lay there and listen to her, because there was nothing I could do.
  398.40 +There was nothing I
  398.41 +wouldn't do for her, but really, there was nothing I could do.
  398.42 +It was stupid of both of us to think that love would conquer all.
  398.43 +Shallow breaths and
  398.44 +passion-filled nights don't erase the blood on our hands. Especially
  398.45 +not mine. I haven't even
  398.46 +made penance for my crimes against her.
  398.47 +She would never admit to regret, not my Mireille. She was strong,
  398.48 +and I was so proud
  398.49 +of her, so drawn to her and her curious ways. Sometimes, I feel like
  398.50 +I have nothing inside me
  398.51 +and she would fill me with herself, her light, her face, her being.
  398.52 +Lately, I've been unresponsive, I've withdrawn into myself, and she
  398.53 +worries. I don't
  398.54 +want her to worry, but its so hard not to think about these things.
  398.55 +Does her family haunt her at night, screaming for revenge?
  398.56 +Why does she continue like this?
  398.57 +And I watch her, sometimes, when she's not looking and try to see
  398.58 +those ghosts that
  398.59 +surround her. I know she has one, or some, because I do too. How
  398.60 +does it feel to have a 
  398.61 +Chloe, eternally poking you with a dessert fork?
  398.62 +Just thinking about her sometimes, in an ethereal form, grinning
  398.63 +delightfully, makes
  398.64 +me smile too. But I dread it everytime I see the phantom glare at me
  398.65 +accusingly.
  398.66 +Love can't win all the time, just as hate can't win all the time
  398.67 +either. Altena, dear
  398.68 +mother, forgive me. For I have sinned.
  398.69 +Love can't erase the trainings of Noir. I was brought up, knowing
  398.70 +nothing else except
  398.71 +Noir. How could I abandon it?
  398.72 +Noir was two...
  398.73 +How could Mireille abandon her family?
  398.74 +The breeze was warm, a perfect summer day, sitting in an outdoor cafe.
  398.75 +Five to twelve. Would she be late?
  398.76 +When arms wrapped around me from behind in a tight hug, I knew that
  398.77 +was a stupid
  398.78 +question. Stupid, stupid. Of course she wouldn't be late.
  398.79 +"Good afternoon,"
  398.80 +It was amazing how, just the touch of her lips brushing against my
  398.81 +ear, the slight
  398.82 +growl in her voice, could set me on fire. She brandished a rose,
  398.83 +brushing it deftly across my
  398.84 +lips, and I found myself blushing when I saw an elderly couple
  398.85 +watching us in amusement.
  398.86 +"Mireille..." I leaned my head back, and she kissed me on the lips
  398.87 +tenderly, before
  398.88 +moving to her seat opposite me. How could anyone be so beautiful?
  398.89 +How could anyone be so damned beautiful, yet so dangerous? My eyes
  398.90 +trained on her
  398.91 +hands.
  398.92 +"Kirika, there's a show at the Paris Opera House." Two tickets
  398.93 +appeared in her hands.
  398.94 +"Lets go watch."
  398.95 +"What are we watching?"
  398.96 +Merielle shrugged, grinning. "Does it matter?"
  398.97 +
  398.98 +And when we sat in those plush red seats, and I leaned back,
  398.99 +watching the opera, it
 398.100 +didn't really matter. The music, the whole of the opera, was
 398.101 +beautiful.
 398.102 +"Have you heard of Le Fantôme de l'opéra?" Her words whispered into
 398.103 +my ear. I 
 398.104 +shivered, as a hand brushed teasingly against my thigh.
 398.105 +"Phantom of the Opera? Isn't that a musical?" I responded in a
 398.106 +breathless tone,
 398.107 +Mireille's hair tickling my forehead, as the blonde nipped at the my
 398.108 +neck.
 398.109 +'Mireille...'
 398.110 +"Mireille," I was ashamed of the lust that was so evident in my
 398.111 +voice. And even when
 398.112 +I tried to squirm away from her, I returned those kisses. "We're in
 398.113 +public..."
 398.114 +"In public, in private, in our own box number five." Mireille
 398.115 +chuckled when I let out
 398.116 +a loud gasp. "Only le fantôme de l'opéra will see us. Now... kiss me."
 398.117 +It didn't really matter which opera we were watching, because as the
 398.118 +orchestra played
 398.119 +on, I was just thankful it muffled the sounds we were making.
 398.120 +Mireille could be quite the 
 398.121 +risk-taker when she felt like it, and as I lay against her chest,
 398.122 +listening to her heart 
 398.123 +slowing back to normal pace, I wonder how much I've changed her.
 398.124 +We ran down the steps, past the other opera-goers, and giggled and
 398.125 +apologized when we
 398.126 +bumped into people, no amount of sour looks or complaints could kill
 398.127 +our mood. We were
 398.128 +together, alive, and well.
 398.129 +Wandering the streets, we kissed, chased each other, watched the
 398.130 +lamplights flicker
 398.131 +on and off for a while, then watched the dark waters below us, on a
 398.132 +bridge.
 398.133 +I had buried whatever normal life I had in those dark waters. Maybe
 398.134 +I should go and
 398.135 +buy myself a new sketchbook... but was that really necessary when I
 398.136 +know that simple drawings
 398.137 +on paper could not give me nearly as much life as Mireille did?
 398.138 +Strange how to people could meet under such strange circumstances,
 398.139 +yes, that was us.
 398.140 +Stranger still how one could love the murderer of your family, how
 398.141 +you could fall in love
 398.142 +with the person who said they would kill you.
 398.143 +Heh.
 398.144 +It was funny.
 398.145 +That feeling. That word. Love.
 398.146 +
 398.147 +*-*-*
 398.148 +
 398.149 +We had finally gotten past that last hurdle.
 398.150 +Didn't know it was so hard for both of us to just show that we cared
 398.151 +for each other.
 398.152 +We could take out a small army by ourselves, and still, those three
 398.153 +little words defeat us. I
 398.154 +don't know what we're so afraid of, but neither of us could utter
 398.155 +it, even a month after our
 398.156 +run-in with Soldats, when everything fell to a close at the Manor.
 398.157 +But was it really the end?
 398.158 +That haunted expression in Kirika's eyes... it was still there.
 398.159 +And Soldats still lurked around the corner. I could feel them. Smell
 398.160 +them, maybe. A
 398.161 +scent of old parchment, and fine red wine that intoxicated and made
 398.162 +me feel sluggish and
 398.163 +dangerously drunk.
 398.164 +"Mireille?"
 398.165 +I moved away from the window. I thought I had... no. It couldn't
 398.166 +have been. I thought
 398.167 +I had glimpsed the shine of the noonday sun off the cold steel of a
 398.168 +gun. But that wasn't
 398.169 +possible.
 398.170 +I kept telling myself that, again and again, over and over.
 398.171 +'It wasn't possible, it wasn't possible, it wasn't possible, it's
 398.172 +very possible, you
 398.173 +two embarassed their whole organization, the two of you managed to
 398.174 +single-handedly cripple
 398.175 +Soldats and off some of their most important and powerful members,
 398.176 +you know the identity of
 398.177 +the roots of Soldats, old men who sat in seats of power...'
 398.178 +"Is something on your mind?"
 398.179 +Our eyes met, and I fought an internal struggle. Should I tell
 398.180 +Kirika about my
 398.181 +worries? Or should I keep it to myself, keep this paranoia buried
 398.182 +deep inside me and not
 398.183 +scratch at a wound that was still fresh and red. Irritable if you
 398.184 +touch it. Infections, and
 398.185 +pus caking around the edges of the cut.
 398.186 +"Nothing."
 398.187 +"Here," Kirika got up from her seat and walked behind me, hands
 398.188 +sliding across my
 398.189 +tense shoulders, thumbs and fingers caressed the bare flesh of my
 398.190 +back, slipping underneath
 398.191 +my shirt to run dry heat across the my back.
 398.192 +"Kirika," I couldn't help it, and arched my back, giving in to the
 398.193 +smaller girl's
 398.194 +ministrations.
 398.195 +"That feels nice..."
 398.196 +Lips trailed across the back of my neck.
 398.197 +"THAT, feels even nicer," I purred. Kirika's mouth turned up into a
 398.198 +small pink smile.
 398.199 +"That's exactly what I want to hear."
 398.200 +
 398.201 +Later on in the early evening, I still had that feeling. We had
 398.202 +decided to eat at a
 398.203 +small diner we both loved, and it was easy to pick out the sore
 398.204 +thumb amongst the regular
 398.205 +patrons.
 398.206 +"That one." I was sure. So sure.
 398.207 +Kirika's eyes darted to the side, unnoticably, and she continued her
 398.208 +meal. "I see."
 398.209 +"That's why I've been acting all jumpy." pause. "Soldats."
 398.210 +Kirika's hand tightened around the fork, she placed the utensil
 398.211 +down, and reached for
 398.212 +the stem of her wineglass, almost downing all the contents in one
 398.213 +gulp.
 398.214 +"No." Her voice was harsh.
 398.215 +"I'm certain--"
 398.216 +"No." Kirika said a bit louder now. "No. No more. Its not, Mireille.
 398.217 +We leave them
 398.218 +alone, they leave us alone. Please."
 398.219 +I looked at the dark-eyed girl, saw a sort of anxiety in her.
 398.220 +"I want to believe, I want to, Mireille. That they've left us alone.
 398.221 +We have nothing
 398.222 +to do with them, they have nothing to do with us." Kirika reached
 398.223 +out to place her hand on
 398.224 +top of mine. "Please. I *need* to."
 398.225 +I could feel that rough spot on her finger, her trigger finger. Over
 398.226 +time, if one
 398.227 +pulls the trigger of a gun too much, one develops a callous on the
 398.228 +spot. Like if a person
 398.229 +writes too much. If one stops doing whatever it is that developed
 398.230 +the callous in the first
 398.231 +place, it will fade. But it takes some time.
 398.232 +So I closed myself off to the newness in the environment, and
 398.233 +ordered a strawberry
 398.234 +shortcake for myself, and Kirika ordered a chocolate cheesecake,
 398.235 +that she only managed to
 398.236 +finish half of.
 398.237 +"Lets go home."
 398.238 +The bill was paid, and we went back to our apartment. The man had
 398.239 +also paid his bill
 398.240 +and was following us. But both Kirika and I ignored it. Or at least,
 398.241 +I tried to. The
 398.242 +comforting weight of my handgun in my purse was... of little
 398.243 +comfort, as he followed us up
 398.244 +the steps to our apartment... and stopped one floor before ours. I
 398.245 +heard the jangle of his
 398.246 +keys as he let himself into his apartment.
 398.247 +I breathed out a sigh of relief. Overreating to the smallest thing,
 398.248 +that's probably
 398.249 +what Kirika was thinking right now as she unlocks the door to our
 398.250 +apartment.
 398.251 +The plant was outlined by the low-hanging moon, almost as if it
 398.252 +perched on the
 398.253 +windowsill. Kirika went to take a shower first, and I went and made
 398.254 +some tea, the ritual had
 398.255 +been set for us. I boiled the water and spooned tea leaves into the
 398.256 +teapot. Then, I went and
 398.257 +set the table for two. Usually, Kirika would be helping me... but
 398.258 +tonight there was tension.
 398.259 +I nursed my cup of tea, enjoying the herbal scent, when Kirika came
 398.260 +out of the bathroom.
 398.261 +Steam raced out between her legs, she was in her bathrobe, hair
 398.262 +hanging wet and loose, towel
 398.263 +draped over her arm.
 398.264 +"Your turn." Kirika sat on the bed, and used the towel to slowly,
 398.265 +meticulously, dry
 398.266 +her hair.
 398.267 +"The tea. It'll get cold."
 398.268 +And there was that glare, I had seen that same glare when I had gone
 398.269 +to 'rescue'
 398.270 +Kirika from the kind mother. That glare that recognized me, but
 398.271 +wished me a slow, painful,
 398.272 +torturous death.
 398.273 +"I'm sorry." She returned to normal, regret written clearly on her
 398.274 +face.
 398.275 +"No, its..." I was going to say it was my fault. But it wasn't. So
 398.276 +it would have been
 398.277 +a lie. It was awkward, just standing there, so I escaped to the
 398.278 +washroom, and hid underneath
 398.279 +the spray of the shower.
 398.280 +When I came back out, Kirika was already in bed, her cup of tea
 398.281 +finished. And my tea
 398.282 +was already cold, so I just went back into the bathroom, wiped off
 398.283 +the foggy mirror, and
 398.284 +blow-dried my hair.
 398.285 +Slipping under the covers, I turned so my back faced Kirika's.
 398.286 +'So. This is a lover's quarrel.' Even though, outwardly I was
 398.287 +relaxed, everything was
 398.288 +a bundle of quivering nerves, and that delightful mixture of hurt
 398.289 +and fear pricked my brain.
 398.290 +A feather-light touch, and Kirika drew me into her arms, breath
 398.291 +ruffling my hair.
 398.292 +"I'm sorry."
 398.293 +"I'm not mad at you."
 398.294 +A soft chuckle that tickled my back.
 398.295 +"Yes you are."
 398.296 +Turning in Kirika's hold, our noses touching, breath smelling of
 398.297 +minty freshness from
 398.298 +the toothpaste, I smiled at her.
 398.299 +"No." Lips touched in a kiss. "I'm not."
 398.300 +
 398.301 +*-*-*
 398.302 +
 398.303 +Merielle woke up. It was a dreary day, one of those rainy days that
 398.304 +left everybody
 398.305 +restless. Kirika was one of those people. The sheets bunched up
 398.306 +around her legs, and the
 398.307 +blonde kicked them off irritably. 
 398.308 +"Kirika?" She called out, knowing full well that she wasn't going to
 398.309 +get a reply. The
 398.310 +girl had probably run down to one of her favorite breakfast places.
 398.311 +And sure enough, when
 398.312 +Mireille went to find her, she was sitting at their table, breakfast
 398.313 +already ordered.
 398.314 +"I ordered for two."
 398.315 +Mireille nodded, and thanked the waitress when she came back with
 398.316 +their breakfast and
 398.317 +the newspaper. Since they didn't accept contracts anymore and had
 398.318 +'retired' from the assasin
 398.319 +business, Mireille had found the time to read the newspaper. Most of
 398.320 +the time, she scoured
 398.321 +the headlines, wondering, searching for something which never
 398.322 +appeared.
 398.323 +"Your omelette is getting cold."
 398.324 +Mirielle put down the paper.
 398.325 +"I was wondering..." Kirika started. Mireille paused, and the russet-
 398.326 +haired girl
 398.327 +continued. "I was wondering if, maybe, you think visiting Canada...
 398.328 +wouldn't it be nice? I
 398.329 +mean, there's the Niagara Falls. I heard there's always snow there,
 398.330 +so maybe catch some
 398.331 +skiing?"
 398.332 +Mireille nodded, putting fork and knife down. "A vacation?"
 398.333 +"Yes."
 398.334 +The blonde smiled, a sparkle of interest in her eyes. "You know not
 398.335 +all parts of
 398.336 +Canada have snow this time of year, right?"
 398.337 +Kirika blushed. "Of course. You're teasing me."
 398.338 +"I wouldn't dare!" Mireille laughed, and cut out a small corner of
 398.339 +her omelette. She
 398.340 +never used to eat breakfast.
 398.341 +"We'll have so much fun!" That child-like glee, that Mireille
 398.342 +mirrored. Both had been
 398.343 +deprived of most of their childhood, and now they relived it with
 398.344 +each other. Plans were laid
 398.345 +down, each detail was examined, equipment, money, everything was
 398.346 +accounted for on sheets of
 398.347 +napkin that the owner of the establishment gladly provided his
 398.348 +customers with. It was like a
 398.349 +grand adventure for them.
 398.350 +Travelling to a place that didn't involve shooting at, being shot
 398.351 +at, or other such
 398.352 +things that lead to an unnaturally short life.
 398.353 +"Be right back. Washroom."
 398.354 +She walked through the door, and immediately froze.
 398.355 +"You couldn't escape us, you know that."
 398.356 +Kirika's mouth opened and closed, no words coming out, the coldness
 398.357 +of the blade,
 398.358 +pressed against her throat made her eyes water.
 398.359 +"I killed you."
 398.360 +"Well, obviously, you didn't do a good job, did you." The figure
 398.361 +murmurred
 398.362 +humorously. "You weren't as sloppy when you killed that man in the
 398.363 +floor below yours."
 398.364 +"How did you know...?"
 398.365 +"Merielle was right. I was watching her. But that man was innocent,
 398.366 +you know."
 398.367 +Her mouth went dry.
 398.368 +"No. You're dead."
 398.369 +"You're repeating yourself."
 398.370 +"No, no. I KILLED you." Kirika insisted. "You're DEAD."
 398.371 +"But I'm alive."
 398.372 +"I could kill you again."
 398.373 +"I'll come back." Was the malicious reply. "And I won't be as nice."
 398.374 +Kirika quavered at the tone of voice, reduced to a child again.
 398.375 +"But... I did kill
 398.376 +you."
 398.377 +"Fine." The person sighed, and lowered the blade. "This is a
 398.378 +horrible nightmare that
 398.379 +you'll never ever wake up from, Kirika. It could be a dream. Here."
 398.380 +The person handed her a gun, cold to the touch. Her gun. She knew
 398.381 +her gun. Eyes rose
 398.382 +to search the person's face, and they smiled reassuringly. "It's a
 398.383 +nightmare. It doesn't make
 398.384 +any sense. And you know, only when you've finished what you started
 398.385 +in this horrible dream,
 398.386 +when you were just a little girl, will this end. Am I not right?"
 398.387 +"...It was beginning to be a very good dream."
 398.388 +"It was." The person nodded sagely. "For you it was. But you know
 398.389 +what they say, 'All
 398.390 +good things must come to an end'."
 398.391 +"Yes. Altena." Arms wrapped around her and a kiss brushed her
 398.392 +forehead.
 398.393 +"You have things to do, Kirika."
 398.394 +It was a horrible nightmare. She couldn't control her limbs,
 398.395 +couldn't stop herself as
 398.396 +she checked the gun mechanically, then stalked out the door. The
 398.397 +owner was nowhere in sight,
 398.398 +and the light that filtered through the rain-splattered glass made
 398.399 +everything have a horrible
 398.400 +sickening feel to it. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare.
 398.401 +She walked up behind Mireille, and the blonde didn't turn around,
 398.402 +still bent over
 398.403 +those plans to Canada, talking aloud.
 398.404 +"Plane tickets, we could go get them tomorrow... actually, we could
 398.405 +leave right away!
 398.406 +There's nothing holding us back here anymore!" Mireille still didn't
 398.407 +turn around, as she
 398.408 +laughed. "Of course, we'll have to worry about the non-existant
 398.409 +snow..."
 398.410 +If this was all just a horrible nightmare... then if she woke up,
 398.411 +Mireille wouldn't
 398.412 +be real, right? So. It had to end like this. Everything would end.
 398.413 +Or would a new nightmare
 398.414 +just begin? She really did like this dream.
 398.415 +"Mireille?" Kirika relished how her tongue wrapped around the
 398.416 +syllables of the
 398.417 +blonde's name.
 398.418 +"Yes?" And Kirika loved how Mireille answered her.
 398.419 +She still didn't look back. She really should. Or maybe she
 398.420 +shouldn't. Kirika didn't
 398.421 +have control... not the control she wanted. She could feel HER
 398.422 +watching...
 398.423 +"Hey... you know I... you know." That caught Kirika off-guard. "I
 398.424 +can't say it. But
 398.425 +maybe I'll say it some day, Kirika. I don't know. It seems like
 398.426 +everytime I say those three
 398.427 +little words to anyone, they end up dead."
 398.428 +Laughter. Mireille's laughter, and Kirika's, who sounded near
 398.429 +hysterical. She cocked
 398.430 +her gun, and she could see Mireille's shoulders freeze at the sound,
 398.431 +gasp at the feel of the
 398.432 +barrel against the back of her head.
 398.433 +"Seems like you and I are the same." Kirika didn't know why, but
 398.434 +tears were running
 398.435 +down her face. "We just can't seem to keep the people we love."
 398.436 +
 398.437 +~-~-~
 398.438 +
 398.439 +OOC: SO late at night, gonna do Oedipus homework and that sucks
 398.440 +crap. My class is so funny.
 398.441 +We have one of those class-clown kids as Oedipus, and a Guyanese
 398.442 +girl who always kisses her
 398.443 +teeth at and give attitude to people playing Tiresias, the blind
 398.444 +soothsayer. So funny.
 398.445 +guy:...You have no power or truth. You are blind, your ears and mind
 398.446 +as well as your eyes.
 398.447 +(The guy adds a 'haha!' at the end)
 398.448 +girl: You are a pitiful figure. These reproaches you fling at me,
 398.449 +all these people will fling
 398.450 +them at you--and before very long. (Add a lot of kissing teeth,
 398.451 +attitude at the 'flinging'
 398.452 +parts, and eye-rolling. So it'll look like this:)
 398.453 +girl: You ( 

   399.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   399.2 +++ b/stories/noir-althena.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   399.3 @@ -0,0 +1,378 @@
   399.4 +title:Althena
   399.5 +anime:Noir
   399.6 +author:Immo (pronounced eye-moe)
   399.7 +e-mail: immo@hamena.org 
   399.8 +rating:uh... R? Rape of small child, a little slashy slashy of the femmey femmey.
   399.9 +specifically, Chloe and Kirika, hints on Kirika and Mireille.
  399.10 +
  399.11 +I don't think there's enough Noir fanfics out there, so here's one right at'cha! ;P
  399.12 +R/R, give me feedback: comments, complaints, critizism, compliments (hopefully). And
  399.13 +please, no flames. I'm a delicate person LoL. This is all from Althena's POV. Go
  399.14 +psychotic Kind Mother! Go! :D Oh yeah. Especially dedicated to my friend Talia. All
  399.15 +the yuri slash in here is to make her squirm. :D Go LiA!
  399.16 +
  399.17 +
  399.18 +The sun baked the already dry and cracked earth. Gunfire ripped the silence in the air,
  399.19 +punctuated with occasional screams. The girl was oblivious to everything. She was probably the
  399.20 +only survivor of this village, born of the original Soldats blood and ideals. Her parents had
  399.21 +hidden her in the basement, far, far below, underneath a secret compartment, so when the soldiers
  399.22 +raided and burned, she was safe. She had food, and clean water. And a book...
  399.23 +She could remember the book by heart, each word engraved into her memory by her parents,
  399.24 +religiously reciting each word to her. But now, she can't seem to remember... couldn't seem to
  399.25 +remember.
  399.26 +Her name was Althena.
  399.27 +That was it. Even though her eyes were blank, filmed over by pain and hunger, there was
  399.28 +a flicker of an unnatural will to survive could be seen if you looked closely. That was why she 
  399.29 +was clutching her doll and walking. She had run out of food days ago, and water... there was no 
  399.30 +more water. Not since the morning. How could she be so thirsty now?
  399.31 +Noir...
  399.32 +Something she read in the book. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up into the
  399.33 +leering face of a man. He picked her up. It was no hard feat, she was light as a feather.
  399.34 +"Who are you?" She managed to get the words past her dry, chapped lips.
  399.35 +The man grinned, "Soldats."
  399.36 +And she learned what Soldats was. An organization that was so deeply integrated into the
  399.37 +world, a hidden society that gave power to the ones that headed it. But that was wrong. Wrong.
  399.38 +How did she know it was wrong. Something in the book...
  399.39 +Her thoughts were more urgent now as the man lay her on the bed. How had they gotten into
  399.40 +a house? Can't think about that, must concentrate. Something about the book. She studied the man.
  399.41 +Barely a man, his face had just started getting scratchy like papa, when she sat on his lap, her
  399.42 +papa's cheek brushing against hers as he read from the book.
  399.43 +The man kissed her roughly, her damaged lips cracked agan, bleeding.
  399.44 +She turned around to look at the nightstand beside her. He had left his gun there. The
  399.45 +man was oblivious as he fumbled with her dress, pushing it up, pulling her underwear down. She
  399.46 +might be able to reach the gun... she reached out, then pulled back when she felt an excrutiating
  399.47 +pain down there.
  399.48 +"You're dry, it hurts more." He grunted.
  399.49 +Was it her fault? She didn't know what he was talking about. She was just a girl named
  399.50 +Althena. She blinked with pain, each thrust more painful than the next, pain mixed with fear when
  399.51 +she saw blood leaking out of her. Was she going to die?
  399.52 +Noir...
  399.53 +The pain left when she thought of the book.
  399.54 +Noir was important. Noir stopped the pain. With that thought in mind, she reached out for
  399.55 +the pistol, touching it with trembling fingers, her tiny hands barely wrapped around the barrel
  399.56 +of the gun. She had it. That was all that mattered. And she knew how to use it, because she was
  399.57 +part of Soldats too. She was Soldats, the original form. Everyone else had died, so she had to
  399.58 +continue the legacy.
  399.59 +NOIR. 
  399.60 +
  399.61 +The word designates the name of destiny from a distant time. 
  399.62 +
  399.63 +The two Virgo reign over death. 
  399.64 +
  399.65 +May the Black hands over the green field
  399.66 +
  399.67 +Please protect the newly born peace.
  399.68 +
  399.69 +A single gunshot, and the man slumped against her, oozing blood from the tiny neat hole
  399.70 +in his temple, she pushed him off with what little strength she had left. Noir. The book. She
  399.71 +remembered. She had a mission. Climbing off the bed, she grimaced, the pain there... it hurt. 
  399.72 +But she had to keep walking. Her life wasn't worth as much as that book, the ideals it held. 
  399.73 +She knew her role in the book now, she was going to give birth to Noir. She would be the mother 
  399.74 +of Noir. The Kind Mother. The Garden. The book. Rations were found in the house, the soldier had 
  399.75 +put this place to use for his own good, and she benefitted from it.
  399.76 +'Not unlike a whore being paid for her services,' Althena thought wryly. Finally, she 
  399.77 +was thinking clearly. With strength renewed from the food and water, she packed up what she 
  399.78 +could, making only one stop in the village, to her house, back to the secret room, to pick up 
  399.79 +the book that held those precious ideals of her family, friends, and villages. It was the origin 
  399.80 +of the Soldats, the true meaning of Soldats. And the way would be shown her, to the green Garden, 
  399.81 +where everything, everything would come to pass. And Noir would be born, and the corrupted, 
  399.82 +rotting, ambitious part of Soldats cut off, so the body could live again, better off without that 
  399.83 +limb. Her journey was fuelled by her hate, her survival was thanks to her hate. Her family had
  399.84 +loved her, and it had almost killed her to be stuck in the darkness, alone. 
  399.85 +If you can kill people with love, Hatred could save them. And she hated. And she
  399.86 +survived, collapsing in the inner sanctum of the Garden.
  399.87 +
  399.88 +
  399.89 +The children came to her at night, one with the look of a hardened criminal, the other,
  399.90 +clinging to the criminal like a frightened child. Chloe had been hand-picked and named by 
  399.91 +Althena herself to become the one half of Soldats that was needed. Chloe was only three when she 
  399.92 +started her training, a year had passed since her first day here, and Chloe still lacked the 
  399.93 +coldness, the detachment, and the efficiency of the assasins, the two that made up Noir.
  399.94 +"Chloe?" Althena raised an eyebrow. Only seventeen years old, ten years Chloe's elder, 
  399.95 +she was her 'mother'. The purple-haired girl cringed behind the newcomer. Now Althena looked at 
  399.96 +this new one.
  399.97 +"Where are your parents, child?" Althena asked, not unkindly. "It's late, shouldn't you
  399.98 +be going home?"
  399.99 +Althena, seldom surprised, *was* surprised when the russet-haired child walked forward,
 399.100 +shaking herself free from Chloe's grip, and wrapped her arms around Althena's waist burying her
 399.101 +face into the valley of the blonde's blossoming breasts. She took a deep breath, as if trying
 399.102 +to inhale as much of Althena's scent as possible, her eyes closed.
 399.103 +"I *am* home."
 399.104 +All the girl knew was that she was Noir. And Althena saw, that this girl was was very
 399.105 +much the same as Chloe and herself. All three of them did not have any parents anymore. Althena 
 399.106 +could imagine this girl, sitting on the lap of a man, reading from the book. Now Althena, older
 399.107 +and wiser, knew that it was called Langon's Manuscript.
 399.108 +"What is your name?" Althena tilted the girl's face upwards, and stared into the coffee-
 399.109 +brown depths of those eyes.
 399.110 +"I have no name."
 399.111 +"But we must have something to call you, no? I shall name you now, poor lost child." 
 399.112 +Althena kissed first one side of the dark-eyed girl's face, then the other. She moved her face so
 399.113 +she was looking down at the young girl again, then smiled.
 399.114 +"Your name is: Yumura Kirika." Althena bent down, pressing her lips against this young
 399.115 +one's, briefly, softly, imparting the name onto the child.
 399.116 +"I am Noir." Kirika insisted.
 399.117 +Althena motioned Chloe forward, took both their hands, and placed them onto each other.
 399.118 +"You two are the True Noir. Never forget that."
 399.119 +Chloe smiled at the girl, and gripped her hand firmly. Then they parted, and Chloe began
 399.120 +the well-known, almost-prayer. Her hand, like a gun, over her heart, Chloe closed her eyes.
 399.121 +"Noir; a name of destiny that has been ordained in the past. Two women who reign over 
 399.122 +death. The dark spirit, please guide the lost child." The prayer was also a prophecy, so it
 399.123 +seemed. The lost child had come home. "Lead the child back from the edge."
 399.124 +Kirika closed those soulless eyes, and mimicked Chloe's movements. "A name of destiny
 399.125 +that has been ordained in the past. Two women who reign over death," Now Chloe mixed her voice in
 399.126 +with Kirika's, in a beautiful harmony, the way it should be said, as two become one: Noir. "May 
 399.127 +the Black Hands over the newborns please protect the peace."
 399.128 +Althena didn't insist on silence at the dinner table. After a prayer sent to The One Who 
 399.129 +Provided, Chloe dug into her meal enthusiastically. She had been down to the village, she 
 399.130 +confessed guiltily to Althena. That was how she found Kirika, when Chloe had been ambushed by
 399.131 +wild dogs.
 399.132 +"The Child came to my rescue," Chloe beamed at Kirika, who looked down at her plate, and 
 399.133 +continued that slow thoughtful chewing. "Althena, could I stay up a bit longer?"
 399.134 +"Chloe, you have to get your rest. Tommorrow, you will continue your exercises. Alone."
 399.135 +Althena stated calmly.
 399.136 +"But Kirika-chan is here--"
 399.137 +"She has a test set out for her. She will deliver a letter to the Boquet family."
 399.138 +Althena's eyes hardened. Her influence in Soldats had greatly arisen since she stirred the embers
 399.139 +of Noir, claiming she will bring Noir to the use of Soldats. If only they knew... The Boquet 
 399.140 +family had refused to give their child into her care, had refused calmly. One more chance, one 
 399.141 +more refusal, and their family, including their precious daughter, would cease to exist forever.
 399.142 +Kirika was shown her room after she had a bath, and the girl climbed into bed obediently.
 399.143 +Althena tucked the girl in, with Chloe standing beside her. When the blonde turned to leave, 
 399.144 +Chloe pulled on her robe, protesting.
 399.145 +"You didn't give her a kiss goodnight!" The innocence was laughable, but Althena only
 399.146 +smiled fondly at Chloe, before moving back and placing a kiss on Kirika's forehead. After tucking
 399.147 +Chloe in, and surrendering a hug and a kiss to the insistant girl, the teen hurried to her study.
 399.148 +Taking out her ink bottle, and a quill, she quickly started on the letter. The elegeant writing 
 399.149 +spun out into words that pressed the point, and hid a threat, like a sheathed sword. When Althena
 399.150 +was done, she read it over, satisfied, and waited for the ink to dry. Then, she folded the paper,
 399.151 +and tucked it into an envelope. Dropping a bit of wax on it from her reading candle, she stamped 
 399.152 +it with the seal of Soldats. Tommorrow morning, Kirika would be sent off to Italy. The way would 
 399.153 +be made clear.
 399.154 +"Are you ready?" Althena asked the child. She nodded solemnly, dressed in over-sized
 399.155 +overalls, and a white t-shirt. One strap of the overall kept slipping off. The sky was a gray
 399.156 +blurr, not really sunrise, not really night.
 399.157 +"Sinners never regather after death, while the sin itself never fades away, Love too,
 399.158 +shall never disappear. The recluse has once again given in. Soldats' blood is absorbed by the
 399.159 +wilderness, and flows into the body. Both hands of Soldats are two Maidens. The hand of love
 399.160 +which can carry the sin. The hand of darkness which can be held out. Noir." Kirika said solemnly.
 399.161 +"Good." Althena nodded, again stunned by this girl. Chloe only remembered a little bit 
 399.162 +of that. She bent down to fold up Kirika's pant legs for her. There was no time to hem them, one 
 399.163 +of the villagers would come to pick her up soon.
 399.164 +"Where is Chloe?" Kirika's voice was soft.
 399.165 +"She isn't coming. She isn't ready for this."
 399.166 +The eyes flashed angrily. "Two are one. The Sword of Darkness which can be used by
 399.167 +Soldats. Both hands of Soldats. That is Noir."
 399.168 +Althena looked at the girl, bemused. Then she turned around, knowing that Chloe was
 399.169 +hiding behind one of the pillars. She had heard the girl stumbling about, her idea of quiet was 
 399.170 +not quiet at all.
 399.171 +"Chloe, come out."
 399.172 +Chloe stepped out meekly.
 399.173 +"Would you like to go with your partner?"
 399.174 +The furious nod of her head told her there was no seperating these two. Althena could see
 399.175 +someone approaching, the head of the village, walking through the vineyard towards the trio.
 399.176 +"Go then." Chloe was already running towards the man eagerly, her eyes bright with
 399.177 +excitement. Her first task! With her partner! Kirika made her way, not too slow, but not too 
 399.178 +fast.
 399.179 +"Child,"
 399.180 +Kirika stopped to turn around and look at Althena.
 399.181 +"Give them three days within the receiving of the letter. If they do not comply.."
 399.182 +Althena trailed off, knowing that Kirika would know what to do. The child was precocious, and 
 399.183 +alien to her. But she was her child now, and Althena could grow to love her, and care for her as 
 399.184 +she has for Chloe.
 399.185 +"Althena! Althena!" Chloe had run back, and flung herself into the woman's arm, trusting 
 399.186 +that the blonde would catch her, and wasn't disappointed. She looked up, her eyes were shining. 
 399.187 +"I'll be back soon!"
 399.188 +Kirika hugged Althena around her leg, so there was two children clinging to her, and the 
 399.189 +blonde finally let herself laugh, and loved her children.
 399.190 +
 399.191 +
 399.192 +After that first mission, it had seemed as if Chloe had miraculously grown up. Althena 
 399.193 +still couldn't believe how Chloe had blossomed into a young woman so quickly. The expectations 
 399.194 +put on her weren't difficult anymore, and the killer in her emerged. There was still that child-
 399.195 +like glee, that energy that was poured into her work. And Althena, smiling secretively, believed 
 399.196 +that Chloe might have a crush on Kirika. As if little blushing glances, and slightly touching 
 399.197 +hands, hadn't hinted Althena to this! Poor Chloe though, the blonde sensed that Kirika had no 
 399.198 +clue on the feelings and just loved her as a sister and a partner.
 399.199 +"Althena?" Chloe had taken to reading up on Landon's Manuscript, memorizing and eating up
 399.200 +every word, using her brain as much as she used her muscles when she trained. The girl was 
 399.201 +twirling a dagger in her hands, and Althena gave a disapproving look. Chloe grinned sheepishly, 
 399.202 +and tucked the weapon into her cloak.
 399.203 +"Now, what is it?" Althena came up behind the girl, placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder.
 399.204 +"When will Kirika come back?"
 399.205 +It had been a long time. But letters would come in today, the Soldats watching over her 
 399.206 +will report soon.
 399.207 +There was a brief silence, before Chloe blurted out, "I love her."
 399.208 +Some things that Althena didn't even know about was revealed by a furiously blushing 
 399.209 +Chloe. How the girl had, one night many years ago, snuck into the other girl's room. How Chloe 
 399.210 +would kiss her, how Kirika held her, how they slept so innocently together, and how much Chloe 
 399.211 +loved her.
 399.212 +"Have you told her?"
 399.213 +Chloe shook her head.
 399.214 +"Maybe you should. When she gets back."
 399.215 +Chloe nodded doubtfuly, then her eyes stared out the window, and she whooped with glee, 
 399.216 +springing out of her chair. A lone figure was making her way towards them.. Althena followed the 
 399.217 +purple-haired girl slowly, made her way to the front door to greet the brunette. Instead, she 
 399.218 +found that it wasn't Kirika at all. It wasn't even a she. The village leader was there with a bag
 399.219 +of letters, and Chloe was tearing through them like she was a demon on fire.
 399.220 +"Chloe!" Althena was alarmed by the lack of control that Chloe was showing.
 399.221 +"No! She's in trouble, she should've been back by now!" Chloe paused to say, then 
 399.222 +continued ripping through the letters. The villager bowed to Althena, before hurrying back to his
 399.223 +village, Chloe's wrath was apparent, and it was dangerous to all.
 399.224 +Althena let the young woman's grief and fear play out. Soon, she would stop. And she did.
 399.225 +At one letter.
 399.226 +"No."
 399.227 +Althena felt her heart stop at that one syllable. Something had happened to Kirika. What 
 399.228 +did the letter say?
 399.229 +"No!"
 399.230 +The piece of paper was flung down, and Chloe ran past Althena, back into the house. She 
 399.231 +knew no amount of calling would bring the girl to her side.
 399.232 +'Taken her... our better judgement... three... inner trees... different light and 
 399.233 +water... Mireille Boquet--' She stopped reading the letter now. The trial called for three. So, 
 399.234 +they were suspicious of her motives and were planning to throw a kink in her plans. No matter. 
 399.235 +Kirika was alive, and so was Chloe, and that was all that mattered. These two were the Chosen 
 399.236 +Two, blessed by the Kind Mother's hand.
 399.237 +"Chloe?" Althena searched the house, and finally found the girl in the chapel, sprawled 
 399.238 +in front of the altar, forcing words out between wracking sobs, and attacking the steps to the 
 399.239 +altar with a clenched fist.
 399.240 +"People--amongst people," Althena made out the words between the sobs and hiccups. "Love 
 399.241 +amongst... Love," At this point, Chloe raised her head and howled to the heavens, her tear-filled
 399.242 +eyes filled with absolute hatred for the ones who would steal her other half away from her. "Sin 
 399.243 +amongst sin... She is my sin! GIVE HER BACK TO ME!!"
 399.244 +She collapsed back on the steps, sobbing. Althena rushed to Chloe, gathering the girl up 
 399.245 +into her arms.
 399.246 +"Poor Chloe," Althena whispered, as the hot tears burned through the fabric of her robe. 
 399.247 +"Poor Chloe... my child, I love you so much."
 399.248 +"Althena!" Chloe clung tighter to the woman. "Althena!"
 399.249 +"My poor child," Althena squeezed her eyes shut, keeping her own rage tamped down, as 
 399.250 +memories flooded her, the war within Soldats, the murder of her parents, the dark place that she
 399.251 +hid in, how she was so afraid in there, so afraid. How she starved and thirsted. How she was 
 399.252 +raped. How she encountered so many deeds done by the hands of men to each other... and how she 
 399.253 +put all these instances away as fuel for her smoldering rage.
 399.254 +"Love can kill people, Chloe." Althena kept her voice even. "Hatred can save them." Her 
 399.255 +hate for Soldats, for people, for the things they stood for. To wipe them out with her hatred, to
 399.256 +cleanse the world with that pure fire and the two maidens that made up Noir. They shall be her 
 399.257 +sword of darkness. And her, Althena. She will be the body who has cut off the diseased hands, and
 399.258 +attaching the new pair of hands on, the two maidens that will make up the hands of Soldats, 
 399.259 +called Noir. She will be Soldats and bring back the lost origins of this organization.
 399.260 +
 399.261 +
 399.262 +Watching Kirika walk up towards her, she felt her heart open up again. There was a small 
 399.263 +smile on Kirika's face, a flash of guarded recognition in her eyes. This was what should've 
 399.264 +happened those years ago, too long, too long ago. Kirika should have walked up the path, instead 
 399.265 +of the man who carried the letter.
 399.266 +Chloe held her little dessert fork, the most precious treasure she had in her possession,
 399.267 +and she looked up, seeing Kirika walking through the grapevines. Too long. It had been too long. 
 399.268 +And she had found her way home. Chloe had barely gone inside the house since the day one of the 
 399.269 +villagers reported that Kirika had found the way. The Grand Retour.
 399.270 +Kirika stopped several good feet away from the steps up to the house. And Althena gave a 
 399.271 +smile, and descended slowly. Kirika still had that soft gentle smile on her face, and fell into 
 399.272 +Althena's arms, breathing in the woman's scent. Remembering her, yet not remembering. Althena 
 399.273 +felt the rage flare up, then tamped it down again. The Child would not remember everything that 
 399.274 +had happened here, the happiness that they shared together, the three of them.
 399.275 +"Welcome back." Althena stroked the top of Kirika's head.
 399.276 +Her voice was emotionless, but it sent a thrill of joy running through Althena's very 
 399.277 +being. "I'm home."
 399.278 +A tour of the household only brought her sorrow. Althena could see that Kirika wanted to 
 399.279 +remember, but whatever they had done to her... it prevented her from remembering. Chloe had, at 
 399.280 +first followed along, then got angry and left when Kirika didn't remember, or couldn't answer 
 399.281 +questions from the past.
 399.282 +"Are you Althena?"
 399.283 +Althena smiled to hide her sorrow. It was too much not to be remembered by her child. But
 399.284 +she couldn't blame Kirika.
 399.285 +"Yes."
 399.286 +Questions were asked, and Althena would answer lightly, truthfully, but every question 
 399.287 +weighed her down, made her sick with anger. How could they do this to Kirika?
 399.288 +What finally lifted her heart, was when Althena found Kirika in the library, poring over 
 399.289 +Langon's Manuscript.
 399.290 +"The Two Hands of Soldats are two Maidens." Althena broke into a smile. "The Dark Hand 
 399.291 +which can be held out with motherly love while carrying the burden of sins. Noir."
 399.292 +Althena walked forward to encircle Kirika from behind with her arms.
 399.293 +"If one can kill people with love, Hatred can also save people." Althena added. "That's 
 399.294 +how I believe."
 399.295 +"Yes." Unquestioning obedience.
 399.296 +"Thank goodness you've returned."
 399.297 +Althena looked at the picture in the book, knowing how much she loved this young girl 
 399.298 +like a daughter, looking at the picture of the Kind Mother, with both hands on the two Maiden's 
 399.299 +heads, the Maidens knows as Noir. Althena closed the book and put it back on the shelf, then 
 399.300 +lead the unprotesting girl to her room, where she was tucked in, and given a kiss goodnight. 
 399.301 +Althena talked softly about the ritual happening tommorrow, and got up to leave, when Kirika 
 399.302 +called her back urgently.
 399.303 +"Ah, Althena!"
 399.304 +There was more emotion in that voice then in the whole time since she had arrived. She 
 399.305 +turned to look at the girl, pausing to listen to what she had to say.
 399.306 +"Uh..." The brunette seemed to be at loss for words.
 399.307 +"What's wrong?" The blonde encouraged. Kirika looked embarassed, and stared down at her 
 399.308 +coverlet.
 399.309 +"Good night."
 399.310 +Althena smiled. "Good night."
 399.311 +Althena made her way to Chloe's room, to find the girl, just sneaking in through the
 399.312 +window. She smiled in that apologetic, sheepish way that she was bound to do.
 399.313 +"You were eaves-dropping?"
 399.314 +"I wanted to listen to you two talking again. The both of you did that a lot, back in 
 399.315 +the days when we were all together, when me and Kirika were small." Chloe 
 399.316 +
 399.317 +
 399.318 +Chloe was dead, she knew it as soon as it had happened, her childish spirit had come to 
 399.319 +say goodbye, blowing out the candle that symbolized herself. There were two left. But these two 
 399.320 +did not fit into the plan at all.
 399.321 +And Kirika had her gun pointed to her. A second time. And it hurt to have your child 
 399.322 +point the gun towards you, but she kept her calm resolve. She could still make this work.
 399.323 +"Go ahead and shoot." Althena said gently. "Or your friend will die. Yes, many lives 
 399.324 +have been lost, by your own hands. Are you now saying that you will make their deaths 
 399.325 +meaningless?"
 399.326 +People died to make Noir what it was, the training included spilt blood.
 399.327 +"You should know as well. You are Noir." Althena saw Kirika's hand quiver. 'Kill me, 
 399.328 +Kirika. Or else I would have worked for nothing. Be Noir.'
 399.329 +"Born with sin, raised with sin..." Althena closed her eyes and forged onwards. "A 
 399.330 +superior being who reigns over death. Your only way of life lies here."
 399.331 +She kept on talking. Saw Kirika hesitate and mull over her words...
 399.332 +"Now, pull the trigger. Kill me and live on as the true Noir."
 399.333 +Althena felt her moment of glory, when the brunette's finger pressed lightly on the
 399.334 +trigger, not enough to fire, just touching it. Then, the grip loosened, the arms slackened. 
 399.335 +Althena's eyes narrowed, knowing that Kirika would not shoot and she looked at Mireille. That 
 399.336 +girl. That was why her hate was now just a fire consuming only Althena, not the people who 
 399.337 +needed the cleansing flames. Her gun fired.
 399.338 +And Kirika flung herself in front of her friend. Denounced all claims to Noir. And 
 399.339 +accepted the name given to her by Althena, and the identity that Mireille gave her. She was, and
 399.340 +always will be an individual known as Yumura Kirika. And she charged at Althena, pushing her 
 399.341 +over, to the flames below.
 399.342 +'I've got a hold!' Althena's mind cried out in triumph. She had not managed to fall yet. 
 399.343 +She could yet pull herself, and the girl clinging on to her, upwards. But now the truth was 
 399.344 +told. She lived a lie, she hated and hated and scorched only herself and the only ones she 
 399.345 +loved. Chloe was dead. Kirika's wound, not treated quickly, would be a festering death wound. 
 399.346 +And in Kirika's eyes, she saw the philosophy that had been given to her, the opposite of what 
 399.347 +Althena had tried to instill into her young charges. 'Love certainly can kill people. However, 
 399.348 +don't forget: Hatred, can never save people.'
 399.349 +Her hand slipped. And Althena fell, Kirika stayed up, held up by the Boquet's only 
 399.350 +daughter. She admired Mireille. To be able to forgive the person who took away your family from
 399.351 +you must have taken a lot of strength. Althena let go of the fire that burned within her and
 399.352 +wished the two good luck in the future, blessing them for finding each other, loving, helping,
 399.353 +and never abandonning each other along the path. She wished that she could be forgiven, and one
 399.354 +day, she would go to that place where Chloe would be waiting for her, wherever death may take 
 399.355 +her, and one day, she hoped not soon, she would see Kirika there with Mireille. And she could 
 399.356 +learn what it was like to love without hate.
 399.357 +She could almost see, as if from a bird's eye view, the two girls weeping together,
 399.358 +clutching each other close.
 399.359 +"I thought I lost you," Merielle hugged the girl close. Kirika hissed in pain, and the
 399.360 +blonde loosened her grip. "Did I hurt you?"
 399.361 +"Don't hate me, I can't stand it if you hate me." The tears were from another pain,
 399.362 +poor child. Merielle looked at Kirika, incredulous. Then she rained kisses on her face, hugged
 399.363 +her tight again, the tears came down stronger now.
 399.364 +"I can't hate you. I never could. I don't think I ever would,"
 399.365 +Althena moved away from the scene, and she stood in the library, at her desk. Langon's
 399.366 +Manuscript lay open, and Althena reached out and tried to touch the book. She wasn't all that
 399.367 +disappointed when she couldn't.
 399.368 +'Hm. I forgot to blow out the candle here.' Althena leaned over, and with a puff of
 399.369 +ghostly air, the room plunged into darkness.
 399.370 +
 399.371 +
 399.372 +Notes: Well, hoped you like it, remember, an artist lives off the comments they get from their
 399.373 +readers. Well, they live off the money that the readers pay them for their best-selling book...
 399.374 +but I'm not at that stage yet. Soon, soon... let us all hope. Hamena.org has some of my work,
 399.375 +mostly Sailor Moon fanfics. (H&M slash. I like slash. Its fun.)
 399.376 +
 399.377 +P.S. Merielle is hot, Kirika rules, Chloe (I call her fork girl) is just too funny, and
 399.378 +Althena is, once again, the psychotic Kind Mother that everyone loves and would want to have.
 399.379 +
 399.380 +P.P.S Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is wicked cool! She is the only reason I watch BtVS, 
 399.381 +and she should be YOUR only reason too. ;) Five by five, everyone? Five by five.
 399.382 \ No newline at end of file

   400.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   400.2 +++ b/stories/noir-rainfall.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   400.3 @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
   400.4 +Rainfall 
   400.5 +
   400.6 +Noir fanfiction by LeeT911 (LeeT911@hotmail.com) 
   400.7 +
   400.8 +
   400.9 +- [ ] - 
  400.10 +
  400.11 +Kirika stood by the open window, watching the rain pour down outside. Her eyes scanned the darkened skies before drifting to the splash of drops on the windowsill. In the distance, lightning flashed, momentarily illuminating the clouds. She had barely counted to two before thunder rocked the world, rattling the window panes. 
  400.12 +
  400.13 +“That one was nearby.” 
  400.14 +
  400.15 +Mireille’s voice touched her ears as the thunder was receding, and a hand came to rest gently on her shoulder. Kirika covered her partner’s fingers with her own, but she made no move answer, or close the window. There was some sort of inexplicable power to the experience. A part of her just didn’t want to shut out the storm. Granted, it was only a thundershower, and not even a big one at that, but she watched helplessly as drop after drop followed its unerring course to the earth. Tentatively, Kirika stuck her free hand out the window, letting the weather coat it with wetness. The rain was cold, but not uncomfortably so. It was kind of pleasant actually, clearing away the sticky humidity of summer heat. 
  400.16 +
  400.17 +For a moment, all was silent again, save for the sounds of rain and the constant patter of strikes across the roof. Mireille and Kirika held their breaths as another flash of appeared in the sky. This time, it was a full ten seconds before the distant rumble of thunder reached them. 
  400.18 +
  400.19 +“The curtains are getting wet.” Mireille whispered reluctantly, breaking the mood and bringing them back to reality. 
  400.20 +
  400.21 +Slowly, Kirika drew her hand inside and sealed up the window, muting the fury outside. With the glass between herself and the storm, nature seemed a lot less menacing all of a sudden. Still, the two of them stood there a while longer, as the storm played itself out. Unconsciously, Kirika brought her wet hand up to her face, breathing in the scent of the rain. 
  400.22 +
  400.23 +“Did you ever want to play in the rain, Mireille?” 
  400.24 +
  400.25 +The blonde pulled Kirika closer to her, smiling into her dark hair. “Yes, I used to always want to play in the rain, but no one would ever let me. Mother always told me I would get sick if I did. Then when I came here with Uncle Claude, I remember one time I asked him if I could go out and play while it was raining. Of course he let me. He thought it would cheer me up. So I went out and ran around in the rain, getting completely soaked. I came back after a while, all wet and cold, but Uncle Claude had a fire waiting, and hot cocoa, and I really did feel better, because I could forget everything for a few minutes. And when I finally did come back inside, there was warmth and sweets, and I felt happy for the first time since coming to France, even if I was in bed with pneumonia for a week afterwards.” 
  400.26 +
  400.27 +“I’m sorry I made you sad.” Kirika muttered, her eyes never leaving the window. 
  400.28 +
  400.29 +“It was a long time ago.” 
  400.30 +
  400.31 +“Do you… Do you blame me? For your family?” 
  400.32 +
  400.33 +“No.” Mireille answered immediately, tightening her hold on her partner. 
  400.34 +
  400.35 +“But you think about it.” Kirika whispered at the floor, her hair falling over her eyes. 
  400.36 +
  400.37 +“I can’t help it.” 
  400.38 +
  400.39 +The younger girl lapsed into silence once more, unsure of how to respond. Instead, she closed her eyes, keeping the tears from spilling out. For a few moments, the world stood perfectly still, and there was only the quiet breathing of Mireille behind her, accompanied by the steady drumming of raindrops. 
  400.40 +
  400.41 +She was acutely aware of the arms draped over her shoulders, and the warm hands reaching for hers. A sigh escaped her lips as a questing hand grasped her cold one, the one that had been wet. Unconsciously, her fingers squeezed Mireille’s, looking for more of the warmth. The blonde obliged, pressing the length of their arms together as she nudged Kirika towards the door. 
  400.42 +
  400.43 +“Come play in the rain with me." 
  400.44 +
  400.45 +- [ ] - 
  400.46 +
  400.47 +From their perch on the roof, they watched the drops pelt the street below. Water rained down around them, onto them, soaking their hair and clothes. Kirika shivered lightly from the cold, but Mireille only wrapped herself tighter around the girl. Freeing a hand, the blonde carefully cleared the dark hair from Kirika’s eyes, brushing away the damp bangs. 
  400.48 +
  400.49 +“It’s pretty isn’t it?” 
  400.50 +
  400.51 +Kirika nodded silently. 
  400.52 +
  400.53 +“Even though it’s chilly, and we’re wet, and I know we’re going to be sick after, it’s still nice to be out here.” 
  400.54 +
  400.55 +Kirika only nodded again. 
  400.56 +
  400.57 +“Let’s not just stand here and brood.” Mireille maneuvered her partner over to a nearby puddle before taking a leap into it, spraying cold water over Kirika’s already drenched legs. The Japanese girl gaped at her. Gingerly, Mireille squished her feet in her shoes before splashing Kirika again and running to the other end of the roof, laughing all the way. 
  400.58 +
  400.59 +Without hesitation, Kirika sprinted after her, having caught onto the game. When Mireille turned back to look for her companion, she was greeted by a gentle shove that sent her sprawling into another puddle. 
  400.60 +
  400.61 +“That wasn’t fair.” Undignified, she proceeded to pull Kirika down on top of her and sit her younger partner in the puddle as well. 
  400.62 +
  400.63 +“Why not?” Kirika asked, pressing close to the blonde, suddenly hungry for the warmth of her body again. 
  400.64 +
  400.65 +“Because I only splashed you. There was no pushing or shoving involved.” 
  400.66 +
  400.67 +“And who made these rules?” 
  400.68 +
  400.69 +Mireille was about to answer, but her eyes caught Kirika’s, and just as quickly, her reply escaped her. The distance between them closed, bringing their noses only millimeters apart. The blonde shifted closer still, and Kirika’s eyes closed themselves. 
  400.70 +
  400.71 +Water ran in rivulets through her hair and down her face. The wind chilled her through the sopping clothes, but she was kissing Mireille, and that mouth was so very warm. Even without looking, their hands found each other, and Kirika traced up the bare arms until she was clinging to Mireille’s shoulders. For their part, Mireille’s hands had found their way to Kirika’s waist, and they lifted the younger girl into the blonde’s lap. 
  400.72 +
  400.73 +When they finally stopped for air, Kirika buried her face in Mireille’s neck, smiling against the smooth skin. She shivered, partly from the cold, but mostly from the sensation of a tongue wrapping itself around her earlobe. Her arms squeezed her partner firmly. 
  400.74 +
  400.75 +“Don’t ever ask me to leave, Mireille.” 
  400.76 +
  400.77 +Gently, Mireille ran a hand through Kirika’s dripping hair and kissed her scalp. “I’m not asking you to leave. I like that you’re here with me.” 
  400.78 +
  400.79 +Unwilling to leave it at that, the dark-haired girl continued. “Because if I had to give this all up, if I had to just walk away and never come back, I... I don’t think I could do that.” 
  400.80 +
  400.81 +The blonde pulled back until they were nose to nose, and they could see each other again. “Thank you.” Mireille whispered, hoping that the rain hid her tears. But if it weren’t for the tears obscuring her vision, she would have seen that Kirika was crying as well. 
  400.82 +
  400.83 +Their lips met again as lightning burst from the sky. And as the thunder rolled over them, neither heard, their ears tuned only to the sound of blood rushing through their heads and the beating of their partner’s heart. They lay twined in each other’s arms, against a backdrop of lightly falling rain, until the sun peeked through the clouds and lit the world once more. 
  400.84 +
  400.85 +- [ ] - 
  400.86 +
  400.87 +END
  400.88 \ No newline at end of file

   401.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   401.2 +++ b/stories/noir-when.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   401.3 @@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
   401.4 +title:When
   401.5 +anime:Noir
   401.6 +author:Immo (pronounced eye-moe)
   401.7 +E-mail: immo@hamena.org 
   401.8 +rating:G. Wow, eh? :D
   401.9 +
  401.10 +Noir fanfiction again. Mireille and Kirika. Not really yuri, it just
  401.11 +depends on how you read
  401.12 +into it. This is after the last episode
  401.13 +*SPOILER*providingtheysurvived*SPOILER* (not really a
  401.14 +spoiler, but whatever). Yeah NOIR!!!!
  401.15 +
  401.16 +
  401.17 +"You got a haircut." Dark eyes played across the blonde's features.
  401.18 +Mireille touched 
  401.19 +her hair, self-consciously. Strands of silky, spun gold. Just a
  401.20 +little trim, that was all she
  401.21 +got. Barely noticeably. But she noticed.
  401.22 +"It looks nice." Kirika turned away, to look back out the window.
  401.23 +When did this happen?
  401.24 +Mireille ducked her face down, to hide a light blush that sprung to
  401.25 +her cheeks at the
  401.26 +compliment. When had anyone noticed the slight changes?
  401.27 +When she changed outfits, Kirika would notice, give that once over
  401.28 +that was
  401.29 +altogether exciting, yet dreaded. Exciting because of that little
  401.30 +thrill of anticipation from
  401.31 +a little compliment. Dread, that the compliment wouldn't come. When
  401.32 +had Kirika's opinion
  401.33 +become so important?
  401.34 +Mireille pondered, and sat in front her laptop, reviewing the newest
  401.35 +assignment for
  401.36 +Noir, yet not really. Kirika was already asleep, and Mireille
  401.37 +imagined she could hear the
  401.38 +girl's soft breathing above the hum of the screen in front of her.
  401.39 +"You should go to sleep soon."
  401.40 +The voice startled her, yet didn't startle her at all. It was
  401.41 +comforting, sudden, but
  401.42 +welcome. It was so long since she had someone care about how late
  401.43 +she stayed up. And she
  401.44 +knew, Mireille knew if she stayed up just a bit longer--
  401.45 +Engrossed in her work, she looked up and saw Kirika standing across
  401.46 +from her,
  401.47 +studying the blonde.
  401.48 +"Mireille,"
  401.49 +When had anybody been able to do that, to just say her name, and she
  401.50 +would submit to
  401.51 +their demands?
  401.52 +Mireille shut down the laptop, and smiled at Kirika. They slept in
  401.53 +the same bed,
  401.54 +Kirika on one side, Mireille on the other. Both of them were awake,
  401.55 +listening to each other
  401.56 +breathing in the quiet of the room.
  401.57 +Sometimes, they would hear a car pass by outside.
  401.58 +Sometimes, they would hear, somewhere nearby, a dog obeying some
  401.59 +primal instinct it
  401.60 +still held after centuries of domestication, howling at the sky.
  401.61 +Sometimes... all they heard was the sound of each other breathing.
  401.62 +And when had either of them enjoyed something like that? Enjoyed
  401.63 +sharing the magical
  401.64 +silence that the darkness brought? The simple joy of knowing someone
  401.65 +slept beside you?
  401.66 +Enjoyed the fact that, waking up would mean waking up to someone...
  401.67 +In the morning, Mireille would make breakfast, and Kirika would stay
  401.68 +in bed, awake,
  401.69 +eyes staring blankly at the plain plaster ceiling.
  401.70 +Mireille would hum a tune that she had heard the other day, and when
  401.71 +Kirika finally
  401.72 +came to the breakfast table, they would find that their tunes
  401.73 +matched, were in sync.
  401.74 +When have you sung a song, and found someone singing it with you, at
  401.75 +the exact same
  401.76 +time?
  401.77 +When were words not neccessary to know how each felt about the other?
  401.78 +When had a feeling of... belonging ensnared the two in its grasp?
  401.79 +Sometimes... sometimes...
  401.80 +Merielle would disappear, and Kirika would wait patiently for her to
  401.81 +come back home.
  401.82 +Home. Was that was it was? When had the tiny apartment, with the
  401.83 +green plants kept alive by
  401.84 +dutiful care, become home? When had that pool table that served as a
  401.85 +desk become the familiar
  401.86 +oddity to Kirika?
  401.87 +And when did it become apparent to the russet-haired girl that the
  401.88 +rush of...
  401.89 +something, was relief? The rush of relief, that came up everytime
  401.90 +Mereille came home. Kirika
  401.91 +would almost quicken her walk towards Mireille. Stopping abruptly,
  401.92 +almost too close to
  401.93 +Mireille, a look of... something in her eyes.
  401.94 +"Welcome home."
  401.95 +And Mireille would smile. A tiny smile, just the barest upturning of
  401.96 +the corners of
  401.97 +her mouth. A smile, pink and glossy, her eyes showing that, despite
  401.98 +the small smile, she was
  401.99 +grinning inside. Beaming. Full-fledged joy.
 401.100 +"I got you something."
 401.101 +When had the giving of something involved so much joy?
 401.102 +Mireille held a paper bag in her arms, and a snow-white kitten,
 401.103 +batted the edges of
 401.104 +the bag, stared at Kirika curiously.
 401.105 +When had gifts like this, meant more than a gift? When had it been
 401.106 +so important to
 401.107 +be able to please the other.
 401.108 +When had things stopped becoming self-centered, and became other-
 401.109 +centered?
 401.110 +Mireille took the tiny kitten out of the brown paper bag, cradled
 401.111 +it, let the bag
 401.112 +fall to the floor. Holding out the tiny thing to Kirikia, Kirika
 401.113 +smiled. She took the gift,
 401.114 +and in that brief instance, their fingertips brushed each others.
 401.115 +And when had either of them felt a brief, calm pleasure course
 401.116 +through them? Felt the
 401.117 +pleasure of knowing that this person who had just touched them, had
 401.118 +touched them in many more
 401.119 +ways then before? Touching that exceeded the physical boundaries.
 401.120 +When had silence been enough to please.
 401.121 +When did the feelings transcend the reality of the body?
 401.122 +The looks, every precious few words between them, all treasured and
 401.123 +placed together
 401.124 +in a place both of them could reach again and again for reassurance
 401.125 +when they were lost in
 401.126 +this world.
 401.127 +A world full of power-hungry forces that threatened to tear them
 401.128 +asunder, to rend
 401.129 +them into memories, and the only ones who would miss them would be
 401.130 +the kitten, and maybe the
 401.131 +green plants flourishing by the windowsill.
 401.132 +Watching Kirika play with the kitten, teasing the small ball of fur
 401.133 +with a cat toy,
 401.134 +a little stuffed mouse on string, Mireille watched, contented that
 401.135 +Kirika was contented.
 401.136 +Mireille didn't really like cats.
 401.137 +When had the blonde been able to tolerate felines for Kirika?
 401.138 +The day passed, dinner was eaten.
 401.139 +When had dinner become so much less lonely?
 401.140 +And they slept, while the kitten purred, and slept in between the two.
 401.141 +When did they stop seeing the world without each other?
 401.142 +When did Noir, revenge, and convenience, these explanations, been
 401.143 +thrown out the 
 401.144 +window as explanations for the two remaining together?
 401.145 +
 401.146 +Then, a whispered question, in the still of the night, with just the
 401.147 +two of them
 401.148 +breathing. Three now. A purring kitten. Three, then. A question,
 401.149 +spoken by one, echoed in the
 401.150 +other's mind.
 401.151 +"When did you become my world?"
 401.152 +
 401.153 +
 401.154 +Note: Woah, huh? Woah. I dunno. Noir. Cool stuff. I was just
 401.155 +thinking about it, going through
 401.156 +some time. My friend's in the hospital, and (knock on wood) I was
 401.157 +thinking what would happen
 401.158 +if he never gets better. Scary thought. Then my thoughts drifted to
 401.159 +my friends, and I don't
 401.160 +know what I could've done without them, through everything I've been
 401.161 +through. When had they
 401.162 +become the things that made up my world? Why can I not imagine me
 401.163 +without them? :P Sorta
 401.164 +pathetic, but I dunno. I'm kinda sad.
 401.165 \ No newline at end of file

   402.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   402.2 +++ b/stories/noir_blackturnred.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   402.3 @@ -0,0 +1,297 @@
   402.4 +Black Turned Red - By Kirika
   402.5 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   402.6 +
   402.7 +******
   402.8 +
   402.9 +This is my first time writing a short fic, so I'm not sure if I'll be any good at it or not. I prefer writing a story with a long plot and dragging things out (agonisingly) slowly. But, since this is a fanfic for the Yuricon fan fiction contest, I had to limit its size. 
  402.10 +
  402.11 +This fanfic is a Mireille/Kirika one from the anime series Noir. Sorry, but no action here. It's romantic fluff all the way (for the most part). It takes place a short time after the conclusion of the series, so there are some spoilers. Additionally, several themes of this fic will be shared in my other upcoming Noir fanfic. Think of this one as a brief taste of what's to come (except with a lot of action accompanying it ^_^). 
  402.12 +
  402.13 +And of course, I don't own Noir or anything. Oh, and before I forget, there is some yuri in this. But then, if you don't like yuri-yuri then what are you doing reading a Mireille/Kirika fanfic to begin with? ^_^
  402.14 +
  402.15 +Now on with the fic…
  402.16 +
  402.17 +** This story can now be found and reviewed on Mediaminer.org. 
  402.18 +
  402.19 +** This fanfic won 'Favourite Drama' at the 2003 Yuricon Fan Fiction contest! Wai! ^_^
  402.20 +
  402.21 +- Kirika
  402.22 +
  402.23 +******
  402.24 +
  402.25 +Mireille Bouquet's eyes slowly fluttered open, and a slightly blurred view of the apartment's ceiling greeted her. The woman blinked her bleary blue eyes groggily for a few moments, clearing her vision. She then took a deep breath, before releasing it softly, the act barely audible. A satin-smooth, solid, and yet at the same time supple mass was pressed against her side, radiating a comforting warmth that spread over her naked body under the bed covers. Mireille exhaled peacefully once more, used to the presence next to her. She had been now for a considerable amount of time even before everything had… changed. Sleeping in the same, somewhat larger than normal, single bed had previously been out of necessity for them both--simply a woman and a girl sharing the only bed in the apartment. But now the reasons behind it were quite different. Mireille's *life* was different now, but she couldn't even think of ever going back to the way things had been. 
  402.26 +
  402.27 +Mireille drew her arm a little tighter around the presence, holding it closer to her body. She heard a quiet intake of breath at the action. A faint smile tugged at the corners of Mireille's lips. So she was awake. Mireille wasn't surprised. It was nearly always the same every morning. 
  402.28 +
  402.29 +Mireille turned her head on the pillow to Kirika, meeting the girl's while not quite intense, but rather intent, or even rapt, brown gaze. Kirika's eyes were so expressive, soulful, and spoke volumes… at least to Mireille. The quiet girl often gazed at her partner in that way, simply looking, but at the same time conveying something much more. It had disturbed Mireille to some extent at first to be looked upon so intently, as if she wholly enthralled Kirika. But of course, now, she was completely comfortable with it. Indeed, she expected and, she had to admit, craved it. It was just one of many things Kirika did that so enamoured Mireille, one of many idiosyncrasies she possessed that the woman now couldn't imagine living without. 
  402.30 +
  402.31 +"Good morning," Mireille said quietly, her smile now taking hold over her features, growing somewhat. 
  402.32 +
  402.33 +"Morning," Kirika replied in her soft voice, continuing to gaze at Mireille, except now into her eyes. 
  402.34 +
  402.35 +They spoke in Japanese, as they always did when they were alone together--which was virtually most of the time. And in a city where the French language predominantly reigned, it granted Mireille and Kirika a sense of privacy even when in a crowd of people; their own little world where only the two of them existed. It was strange… Mireille had always communicated with Kirika in Japanese--at least when in private--only speaking French or another language when it was necessary ever since they had first met. Perhaps it was because she had first encountered Kirika in Japan, or because of the fact that the girl was Japanese. Whatever the reason, Mireille knew that initially it hadn't been to make Kirika more at ease in a foreign country. Mireille's feelings for her had been considerably different back then. 
  402.36 +
  402.37 +Mireille moved her left hand from Kirika's bare shoulder to the nape of her partner's neck, and idly began playing with her sleep-tousled dark locks, twisting them gently around her fingers. "Sleep well?" she said rather teasingly as her expression turned wry, a fine and suggestive blonde eyebrow rising. 
  402.38 +
  402.39 +Kirika made a small sound in the affirmative and nodded her head, not catching the insinuation behind Mireille's words. 
  402.40 +
  402.41 +Mireille smirked a little. She didn't believe the girl could have forgotten what the two of them had been occupied with throughout most of last night; Kirika was just still so naïve in many ways. While Kirika possessed combat abilities far beyond that of countless people older than she, in essence she was still a child. She still retained some of her innocence, despite the life she had led thus far. And a part of Mireille was thankful for that. 
  402.42 +
  402.43 +Deciding not to push the subject of the previous night's passionate events, Mireille instead shifted forwards a little and deposited a light peck on Kirika's lips. "You can stay in bed if you want," she said as Kirika opened her eyes again, having closed them during the brief kiss, "I can handle breakfast today." 
  402.44 +
  402.45 +"Mmm," Kirika mumbled in the negative, shaking her head a tad. "It's okay. I can help."
  402.46 +
  402.47 +Mireille smiled. Kirika always tried to be helpful to her… and the darkhaired girl rarely took no for an answer. "Alright, you can make the tea then," Mireille conceded, eliciting a dutiful nod and a small, pleased smile from Kirika. 
  402.48 +
  402.49 +Mireille extracted her arm from under Kirika and sat up in the bed, letting the sheets fall heedlessly from her naked body. After a politely suppressed yawn, she got out of bed and stretched with a quiet moan, reaching high for the ceiling as she got the kinks out of her aching muscles. Mireille then walked over to the nearby blue coach where her dressing gown resided and picked up the white silk garment, slipping it on. The woman turned back to the bed with a knowing half-smile on her face, having been acutely aware of Kirika's eyes on her as soon as she had left the bed. And sure enough, as Mireille turned, the girl's gaze met hers. 
  402.50 +
  402.51 +"Do you see something you like?" Mireille purred coyly, noticing Kirika's eyes flick to the opening in her dressing gown for an instant, before returning to her eyes. The blonde took her time in drawing her robe closed and tying it; she had known her partner wouldn't have been able to resist looking. 
  402.52 +
  402.53 +Kirika quickly averted her eyes from the sight of the beautiful woman's partially exposed form and rolled onto her back in the bed, saying nothing. Mireille simply smiled and put on her slippers. She was rather fond of teasing Kirika. While the girl didn't really show it by blushing and such, she did sometimes get a little shy when it came to the physical aspects of their relationship. Not as much as a girl her age normally would, but Mireille could see the signs of embarrassment, even if they were subtle. And she delighted in bringing them out. 
  402.54 +
  402.55 +Mireille flicked her mane of blonde hair out from under the back of her dressing gown, and then walked down the few steps that led from the bedroom to the living room. Her eyes were unconsciously attracted to the pot plant sitting on a small square table by a window, near to the billiard table. After the old one had been destroyed in a shoot out, Mireille had bought a new orchid. Unlike the last one however, this one possessed a number of pale pink flowers laced in between its long and wide green leaves. Mireille and Kirika had shared in caring for the plant as soon as it had been purchased shortly after they had returned to Paris, taking turns watering it, as they had done so in the past. Over time, the orchid's buds had blossomed and then flourished, with more and more pink flowers blooming everyday. It always made Mireille feel happy when she looked upon the thriving plant. It was a symbol of her relationship with Kirika, and continuously reminded the woman of all they had been through together. It hadn't been easy getting to this blissful, peaceful point. 
  402.56 +
  402.57 +Mireille smiled nostalgically, remembering how it had been previously between herself and Kirika. She had been so cold to Kirika when they had first met, seeing the girl as merely a means to an end more than a friend, or even an actual colleague. But as time went by…. It was as if Kirika had somehow, almost unnoticeably, sneaked her way into Mireille's hard heart, warming it and melting the ice that had surrounded it. Mireille had eventually realised what was happening, and had tried her utmost to resist the changes between them. But her efforts had ultimately been futile, and token. By that time Kirika had already claimed Mireille's heart utterly. Nevertheless, Mireille had kept up the denial of her feelings after her realisation, swearing to herself that when Kirika was no longer needed, she would keep her promise to kill the girl. 
  402.58 +
  402.59 +Mireille shook her head ruefully. What foolishness. Kill Kirika? It had been far to late to do that and consequently fulfil her pledge. When it had finally came to the time when Mireille was expected to kill her, the assassin had hesitated and then faltered outright, instead granting Kirika a supposed stay of execution. Another self-delusion. And when Kirika had left… at first Mireille had been glad, pleased that her life could go back to the way it had been, back to normal. But without Kirika, a void, an emptiness, had been left behind inside Mireille; one she hadn't liked to admit existed. But it had been there. 
  402.60 +
  402.61 +And of course, there was Kirika's letter, the letter that had confessed all of the introverted girl's feelings to Mireille. And that had been enough to shatter most of Mireille's waning resistance to what she felt. She still had that letter, but she would never tell Kirika that she did. Although she suspected her partner knew. 
  402.62 +
  402.63 +However, Mireille had always been quite a stubborn woman, and not until the very end, not until Kirika was about to leave her again for the last, absolute time, had she finally faced her feelings. It had taken Kirika's near death to at last push Mireille past her self-denial, and for her to confront what she felt for the girl. To confront that she in fact shared Kirika's feelings, and that she actually…. 
  402.64 +
  402.65 +After returning to Paris, things had progressed slowly between Mireille and Kirika. Mireille had always worked alone, but now to have a partner… and one for life… It had been a big step for her. Kirika had always been a little more open with her feelings than Mireille, and like before, she had let the woman take control of their changing relationship, being patient and giving her time to adjust. As a result, their love for one another had grown gradually, like the plant they nurtured together. Firstly, they had talked more, and with greater intimacy, especially on Mireille's part. Soon there were meaningful looks and casual touches; mere brushes of hands and the like. However, those fleeting touches soon turned to caresses, then close, fond embraces, and then finally Mireille had gotten the nerve one night to kiss Kirika for the first time, and at last tell her outright how she felt about her. It had been somewhat difficult for Mireille to admit that she indeed loved Kirika; it had been the first time she had ever told anyone she loved them, romantically at least. She had had other lovers, but those relationships had been purely physical, nothing more. Regardless, with that final barrier gone, their love for one another continued to bloom even more brightly, like the beautiful flowers on the orchid had, growing and flourishing as time went by. 
  402.66 +
  402.67 +Mireille looked over to where her yellow scooter was parked, resting up against the radiator. It hadn't been used for months now. It was made for only one person to ride, after all, so she didn't have much use for it anymore. She was no longer alone. There was a tale, wasn't there? A tale that said a red thread joined two eternal lovers together by their pinkie fingers. When exactly had the thread tied between herself and Kirika turned red? Mireille had believed--or at least had wanted--that thread between them to be black, a shade darker than darkness itself. But somewhere along the line, that thread's colour had flaked away, instead revealing a deep red beneath. A part of Mireille had feared the loss of her independence--the part of her that had been so resistant to how she felt about Kirika--but another part of her had welcomed it. She was in love. Mireille and Kirika were a couple now, a family even; something the woman hadn't experienced in a long time, if ever. One would think that it would be impossible for someone to fall in love with their own family's murderer; they would expect Mireille's parents and brother to be turning in their graves at this very moment. But Mireille didn't see Kirika as the person who had killed her family. It hadn't been the girl's fault. She had been so young at the time… and easy to control, which Altena had taken full advantage of. If Mireille blamed anyone for her family's murder it was Altena and her Soldats enclave. Altena had only used Kirika as the tool to preform the nefarious act. Kirika had been the weapon, and Altena had been the wielder of that weapon. And did one blame the weapon or the user of that weapon for an ensuing misdeed? Kirika had been a victim, as Mireille saw it, and she believed that her parents and brother would have seen it the same way also. Her family could rest easy--their murderer had already paid for her crime. 
  402.68 +
  402.69 +"Mireille," a soft voice spoke from behind Mireille, caressing each syllable of the woman's name in a special way no one else could.
  402.70 +
  402.71 +Mireille came out of her reverie and turned to Kirika who was standing by the half-a-dozen or so steps leading to the bedroom, now dressed in the spaghetti top and shorts she normally slept in. Kirika looked at her curiously, and the blonde brought a hand to her head, smiling faintly.
  402.72 +
  402.73 +"I was just daydreaming," Mireille confessed, rubbing one of her temples for emphasis.
  402.74 +
  402.75 +Kirika's inquisitive expression vanished, replaced by a rather knowing one. She walked up to Mireille and embraced her without preamble, wrapping her arms around the taller woman's slender waist. Mireille looked down at the girl, bemused, as Kirika looked back up at her. 
  402.76 +
  402.77 +"You do that a lot," Kirika said, her eyes shifting to something behind Mireille for an instant. 
  402.78 +
  402.79 +"Do I?" Mireille replied with feigned surprise in her voice. She should have known Kirika would notice. Kirika always noticed just about everything when it had to do with her. While the darkhaired girl was still as subdued and as quiet as ever, despite the changes in her relationship with her partner, she could be quite perceptive. Mireille had no doubt that Kirika knew exactly what she had been reminiscing about a couple of minutes ago.
  402.80 +
  402.81 +Kirika continued to hug Mireille for a few moments, saying nothing in response. She didn't have to. Mireille returned the hug, squeezing Kirika in her arms briefly before reaching up and stroking her fingers through the girl's short hair. 
  402.82 +
  402.83 +"Why don't you go and get the tea started? I'll be through to help with breakfast in a minute," Mireille said, placing her hands on Kirika's slight shoulders.
  402.84 +
  402.85 +Kirika nodded enthusiastically and smiled, making a small, cute sound of approval Mireille knew well. She then let go of the blonde woman and scurried off into the kitchen, out of sight. Mireille watched her go. Kirika smiled a lot more often nowadays. 
  402.86 +
  402.87 +"Kirika, why don't you use the new blend we got the other day?" Mireille then called to the unseen girl as an afterthought.
  402.88 +
  402.89 +"Okay," Kirika called back. 
  402.90 +
  402.91 +As she heard the clatter of what was most likely a kettle being put on the stove, Mireille went over to the billiard table where her computer resided. She switched on the machine and sat in the chair next to the makeshift desk, the sounds of a brewing kettle mixed with tableware being prepared coming out from the kitchen. Kirika must be starting breakfast by herself also. 
  402.92 +
  402.93 +"I could have done it," Mireille mumbled idly to herself, although she wasn't the least bit annoyed. She might have guessed that Kirika's assistance would lead to the girl ending up doing the majority, if not all, of the food preparation herself. It regularly happened. Kirika simply liked to aid Mireille in any way that she could. Mireille found it quite endearing. 
  402.94 +
  402.95 +As soon as the computer's operating system had booted up, Mireille logged onto the Internet to check her email, all the while circumspectly glancing over the monitor to the kitchen to make sure Kirika was still occupied with making breakfast. As the assassin had suspected, her secure email account's inbox had several potential assignment proposals waiting for her--or rather 'Noir'. Like she had done all the other times in the past after returning to Paris from Spain's border, Mireille deleted every single one of the emails. She wasn't ready to go back to that life yet. No, not yet. And she believed Kirika wasn't either. Mireille hadn't told Kirika about all of the assignments they had been regularly offered, preferring to hide the knowledge from the girl. Mireille didn't want that other life interfering with her and Kirika's content, peaceful world. It was always a dark shadow looming over them however; one Mireille tried her best to forget about but never quite could. The woman still even carried her Walther P99 with her whenever she left the apartment--she could never know when an old memory with a grudge to settle might track her down. A person in her line of work had to forever be vigilant. However, Mireille didn't want to expose Kirika to the violence that had been so predominant in her life before. Right now Kirika was happy, almost like she was a normal child with no skills at all in the art of murder. She even carried no firearm when going outside, having not replaced her previously lost one… although arguably, Kirika was a weapon in herself. But Mireille knew that another person lurked beneath the quiet, fairly shy girl she knew and loved… a darker, more unfeeling girl. And she didn't want that heartless persona of Kirika to ever emerge again, if she could help it. There would come a day, however--a day that Mireille dreaded--when she would have to place a gun in Kirika's hands once again. It was inevitable. The lives they led were filled with blood and death, and there was no true escape. Except to die themselves. But Mireille would delay that feared day for as long as she could and do her utmost to preserve her and Kirika's blissful way of life. And in the meantime, she would cherish each pleasurable day as if it were the last, because perhaps, one day, it would be. 
  402.96 +
  402.97 +******
  402.98 +
  402.99 +Mireille was on her computer keeping up to date with the latest news from around the world via the Internet when she heard Kirika leave the bathroom. She then heard the wardrobe door slide open as the darkhaired girl began to get dressed. Mireille disconnected from the Internet and shutdown the computer. She was tempted to peek over the black wall that separated the bedroom from the living room and spy on Kirika, subsequently drawing out a reaction from her--although the blonde wouldn't mind the show of the girl getting changed either--but in all honesty her partner probably wouldn't react much at all. 
 402.100 +
 402.101 +Mireille sighed and leaned back in her chair, placing her hands behind her head, and listened to the rustle of clothes in the next room. Mireille had already showered and dressed before Kirika earlier, while the quiet girl had been busy clearing away and washing the breakfast dishes she had insisted on doing. Mireille felt a little bit guilty about that. She had frequently let Kirika do most of the menial, everyday tasks before the nature of their relationship had changed, such as letting her carry shopping bags and luggage. Even now, with their circumstances very different, Mireille still slipped into her domineering role and allowed Kirika to do most of the chores around the apartment. In the past the woman had viewed Kirika as a sort of little 'servant' as it were, someone to do all the jobs she herself didn't like doing. She had tried to change now that they were involved in a romantic relationship, but it wasn't easy. Although, Mireille thought defensively, she did usually help out with the cooking. Of course, that was the one task she hadn't been completely adverse to back then… and still wasn't. 
 402.102 +
 402.103 +"Mireille," Kirika's voice said from a short distance in front of the blonde. 
 402.104 +
 402.105 +"Hmm?" Mireille said absently, sitting upright in her chair to look at her partner. She then immediately smiled affectionately and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the billiard table and lacing her fingers together, before resting her head on top of her hands. "My, aren't we cute today?" she commented admiringly, taking in the outfit Kirika had chosen to wear. 
 402.106 +
 402.107 +Kirika was dressed in a red and white horizontally striped v-neck t-shirt and a short, light brown skirt that came down to just above her knees. Mireille recalled buying the clothes for her a while back. A couple of weeks after they had returned to Paris, Mireille had splurged on Kirika and bought her a whole new wardrobe, replacing some of the clothes her partner had lost on her long journey to the Manor, and also purchasing new ones. Mireille had more or less picked them out herself with only a minimum of input from Kirika, but the girl had seemed to like her choices… and had also graciously let the blonde play dress-up with her as the model. 
 402.108 +
 402.109 +Kirika lowered her head to the floor bashfully at the flattering remark, but with an obviously pleased smile on her face. "Mireille," she then said, "you said I could paint you today."
 402.110 +
 402.111 +"Oh?" Mireille said, faking surprise. "Did I?" She smirked and then stood up from her chair, sighing in mock resignation. She ran the fingertips of one hand along her bare midriff rather alluringly, just below her red sleeveless top. "Anything for me to take my clothes off, hmm?" Mireille made a disapproving 'tsk' sound in the back of her throat. "But if it's in the name of art…" Her hands moved down to the top button of the low, stylish, hip-hugging blue shorts she was wearing, as if she was about to unbutton and remove them. 
 402.112 +
 402.113 +Kirika looked up and blinked before shaking her head quite frantically in denial. "No," she exclaimed in her soft voice, her expression one of mild shock. "You don't have to take your clothes off."
 402.114 +
 402.115 +"Aw, that's too bad," Mireille said with disappointment in her tone, placing her hands on her hips while she schooled her expression to one of regret. "Perhaps next time…" 
 402.116 +
 402.117 +"I would like to paint you outside in the park," Kirika explained, ignoring her older partner's teasing. She glanced out a window to the sunny outdoors. "It's a nice day…"
 402.118 +
 402.119 +Mireille's eyes shifted to the numerous paintings that adorned the black wall that separated the room from the adjacent bedroom. While several of them were of landscapes, the majority were of Mireille herself in various poses. In most of those portraits she appeared reasonably content, and yet at the same time, melancholy. Mireille didn't dwell on it. 
 402.120 +
 402.121 +Mireille had encouraged Kirika to take up a hobby not long after they had come back to Paris. Kirika had been robbed of most of her childhood; her no doubt extensive training in assassination having left little room for the activities that filled the days of a normal girl. And Mireille had felt sad because of that. The woman had even considered enrolling Kirika in school once again, since it was clear her partner's education on commonplace topics was noticeably lacking, but after careful deliberation she had decided against it. While Mireille had been sure she could have had an identity constructed for Kirika that would have provided relative safety from the girl's shady profession, the disadvantages of her returning to school had outweighed the benefits. Kirika would have probably wanted to return to Japan and finish her education over there, meaning Mireille would have to leave France with her. And not to mention Mireille would have been very lonely during schooldays left all by herself. Besides, the woman herself could teach Kirika the things she needed to know when it was required. And with those flimsy reasons in mind, Mireille had settled on keeping her partner out of school. 
 402.122 +
 402.123 +So as an alternative, Mireille had persuaded Kirika to take up her painting again. The blonde had been somewhat wary to do so at first, what with the bad memories that were associated with the hobby for Kirika, but in the end the introverted girl had complied with her wishes. It had been slow going in the beginning--Kirika having not been very enthusiastic about it, most likely haunted by the past--but as soon as Mireille had suggested that she paint her, she had warmed to the pastime. Kirika had become quite the little artist, and Mireille was glad for it. It made Kirika seem happier, as if she didn't have a soiled history behind her and was simply a quiet, ordinary girl instead. 
 402.124 +
 402.125 +Mireille turned her head to look out the window at the bright sunny sky. She smiled and looked back at Kirika. "Yes, it is. Alright, let's go to the park then, shall we?" she said, her smile broadening at Kirika's now even more delighted countenance. "But why don't we make a day of it; how does a picnic sound?"
 402.126 +
 402.127 +Kirika nodded eagerly and made a happy sound of endorsement while keeping her eyes on Mireille. Mireille could practically see the love and adoration shining in those brown orbs. The woman felt her heart melt just a little bit more. It was hard to believe she had been so cold and callous to the adorable girl before. 
 402.128 +
 402.129 +Mireille walked around the billiard table to Kirika and draped one arm around her shoulders, while bending down to her. "Then why don't you go and fetch your art supplies and I'll get the picnic food started," she suggested with a playful wink. At Kirika's keen sound of agreement, Mireille grinned and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. "Good."
 402.130 +
 402.131 +Mireille let Kirika leave her embrace, and with a pat on the bottom urging her into motion, the girl dashed off to gather her painting equipment. Mireille smiled indulgently as Kirika scampered to a windowsill where most of her supplies resided and began to pick out what she would bring along with her. It seemed like today would be like all the others before them so far after returning home to Paris. Another day filled with pleasure and peace. Mireille wasn't complaining. Indeed, she was thankful.
 402.132 +
 402.133 +"Mireille, the picnic," Kirika reminded her partner, her voice startling Mireille out of her musings. 
 402.134 +
 402.135 +"Of course," Mireille said with slightly strained levity. "I just have to… do something first."
 402.136 +
 402.137 +Mireille walked into the bedroom and picked up her handbag that was lying on the couch. After a discreet and rather anxious look back to Kirika to make sure that the girl was thoroughly engaged with selecting her painting utensils, she moved over to the now made bed and crouched down beside it. She reached underneath it and searched along the mattress supports until she felt the cool sensation of metal on her skin. With another apprehensive glance in Kirika's direction over her shoulder, Mireille pulled out her gun from under the bed. She dropped her purse on the bed while she checked the ammunition in the weapon as silently as she could, ejecting the clip it was loaded with. The magazine contained the maximum amount of 9mm Parabellum rounds it could carry, with an additional round in the actual chamber of the firearm. Good. Mireille slid the clip back into the gun and then placed the weapon securely in her handbag. 
 402.138 +
 402.139 +"Mireille," Kirika's voice called from the other room. 
 402.140 +
 402.141 +"Yes, I'm coming," Mireille called back. She replaced her purse on the couch, where she would soon retrieve it when she headed out with Kirika, and then proceeded for the kitchen. 
 402.142 +
 402.143 +******
 402.144 +
 402.145 +Mireille dozed with half-lidded blue eyes on her back in the park located not far from the apartment. She was lying on a grassy slope with her legs crossed and her hands behind her head, her long blonde tresses fanning out around her. The bright sun bathed her in its warmth from above, lulling her senses. Kirika was naturally beside her, sitting with her artbook resting against her knees and with a brush in hand, while the rest of her painting equipment was next to her. The remains of the picnic were by her feet in a wicker basket, the majority of the food having been already eaten for lunch earlier. Mireille's handbag with its dangerous but prudent contents was by the woman's other side, away from Kirika. 
 402.146 +
 402.147 +Mireille reached down to adjust one of her black thigh-high stockings on one leg and then replaced her hands behind her head. She spared a glance at her companion. Kirika was busy painting away and had been doing so ever since they had finished eating. She occasionally studied Mireille for a moment or two with critical eyes, and then went back to painting again. Mireille could tell that the girl was concentrating, although she doubted anybody else would be able to recognise it. Kirika's features remained as relaxed as ever, and she painted with lazy, leisurely strokes of her brush. But Mireille knew by her partner's lovely eyes that she was focused on her task. The woman often used Kirika's eyes to gauge how the quiet girl was feeling. 
 402.148 +
 402.149 +Mireille tried to meet Kirika's eyes as the amateur artist scrutinised some particular part of her body, but without avail. Kirika was studying Mireille so keenly that she didn't appear to notice the woman's efforts. Mireille often wondered what Kirika saw when she looked at her so intently. She knew that the girl looked up to her a little. Did Kirika see a mentor then as well as merely a 'business' partner? Or an older sister perhaps--Mireille was the only family Kirika had; indeed, the girl was the only family the blonde woman herself really had also. Or maybe she saw a friend, her best friend? Or did Kirika see only her lover, the person she had given her heart to? Mireille didn't know, but she believed that perhaps Kirika saw all five. She was the only person in the darkhaired girl's life, after all, the only person she even knew… who hadn't been killed. And, in truth, Kirika was the only person that truly mattered in Mireille's life as well. The woman did have friends, but most could more accurately be called contacts instead. They were only really interested in her money. 
 402.150 +
 402.151 +Mireille had initially had her misgivings about being looked upon by Kirika as if she was everything important in the world, and still did to a degree. The sense of responsibility made her a little uncomfortable. She feared that if she ever made some sort of mistake in her behaviour or inadvertently did something to harm Kirika that the girl's image of her would be shattered. However, to be viewed as someone so utterly… *vital* to another person, did have some benefits also. It filled Mireille with self-confidence that Kirika saw her in that way, and, she grudgingly admitted, a smidgen of pride as well. It made her feel special. And, that despite all the sins she had committed in her life, someone still saw a person worthy to be admired and… loved. That particular feeling warmed and comforted Mireille's heart. 
 402.152 +
 402.153 +The blonde let out a little puff of air as Kirika returned her attention to her artbook. Or perhaps Kirika simply saw Mireille as a model for her artwork. Mireille smiled at the notion and gave a small chuckle, causing her companion's now questioning gaze to return to her, this time to her eyes. 
 402.154 +
 402.155 +Mireille shook her head where it rested on her hands. "It's nothing," she said, dismissing the laugh. After staring at the woman for a few seconds, Kirika went back to painting.
 402.156 +
 402.157 +Mireille felt her eyelids grow even heavier as time passed, the songs of birds in the trees around her and the hum of other people's conversations in the park causing her mind to wander aimlessly. Now more acutely aware of the pleasant heat from the sun enveloping her body, Mireille's eyes closed completely, the blonde woman feeling drowsy. Well, she hadn't had that much sleep last night, after all. The stray thought caused a faint smile to form on her features. 
 402.158 +
 402.159 +Mireille was gently awakened by a tender voice calling her name, and by something warm stroking her lightly across her bare stomach. Her eyes opened slowly and she was greeted by Kirika's cute face only a short distance above her own, the girl's dark locks hanging a mere few inches from touching her cheeks. 
 402.160 +
 402.161 +"You know," Mireille said softly, "you're supposed to wake me up with a kiss. Like in Sleeping Beauty."
 402.162 +
 402.163 +"'Sleeping Beauty'?" Kirika echoed inquiringly, halting her caress of the woman's midriff with her fingertips. 
 402.164 +
 402.165 +"It's a story about a prince who wakes a princess--who had been sleeping for a long time--with a kiss," Mireille explained patiently. "So it makes it rather traditional that someone should wake their sleeping lover with a kiss. See?"
 402.166 +
 402.167 +Kirika nodded in understanding and then, to Mireille's mild surprise, she leaned down further and captured the beautiful woman's lips with her own, initiating a deep and loving kiss. After a considerable while, Kirika broke the lingering kiss and looked at Mireille expectantly. 
 402.168 +
 402.169 +"Like that?" she asked. 
 402.170 +
 402.171 +"Yes… like that…" Mireille answered rather breathlessly, licking her lips and tasting the residual flavour of her lover. "Although I should be asleep when you do it. Not that I minded…"
 402.172 +
 402.173 +"I will remember for next time," Kirika assured the blonde. 
 402.174 +
 402.175 +"Ah, you're always so studious," Mireille commented as she sat up with a smile, the prospect of always being awakened every morning with a kiss from Kirika a pleasing thought. "Is your painting finished?" she then asked.
 402.176 +
 402.177 +"Mmm," Kirika said, nodding. She turned away from Mireille to pick up her artbook next to her and then presented the final portrait excitedly to the woman, her expression one of expectancy mixed with mild apprehension. 
 402.178 +
 402.179 +The painting was one of Mireille, as expected, with the woman lying in a relaxed position on a grass-covered slope. A backdrop of trees and an almost cloudless blue sky was behind her, creating a peaceful ambiance. The colours blended into each other well with Kirika's style of painting, the darkhaired girl having forgone sketching beforehand. It was a good picture in Mireille's opinion, one she would be pleased to add to the growing collection of portraits of herself on the wall back home. 
 402.180 +
 402.181 +"It's very impressive," Mireille praised her budding young artist as she continued to admire the picture. "You've improved considerably since the last time you painted me." She looked at Kirika and smiled encouragingly. "I like it."
 402.182 +
 402.183 +Kirika practically beamed at Mireille's remarks, appearing very thrilled. "Thank you," she said shyly while gazing devotedly at the blonde woman. 
 402.184 +
 402.185 +Mireille put down the artbook in her lap and ruffled Kirika's hair affectionately with one hand, making the girl's exultant grin widen, if that were possible. Whenever Mireille complimented her for some artistic endeavour or another justified reason, Kirika was always incredibly overjoyed. It was as if only the woman's opinion was relevant, that no one else's mattered in the slightest. And while thus far all of Mireille's prior accolades had been genuine, in truth she would probably always commend her partner when the girl sought it. She had a distinct feeling that any harsh or insensitive words on her part would be a significant blow to Kirika's psyche. 
 402.186 +
 402.187 +"Hey, do you feel like going out for dinner tonight?" Mireille asked on the spur of the moment. "You could wear that new dress I got you…." she added enticingly, more for her own benefit than for Kirika's. She had been dying to see the cute girl in it. 
 402.188 +
 402.189 +"Okay," Kirika promptly agreed. 
 402.190 +
 402.191 +Mireille placed a hand behind her partner's head and bent forwards, before planting a kiss on her forehead in gratitude. Meanwhile, the woman's other hand touched something beside her, something made of leather but with a hard, solid object beneath it. Her handbag. Mireille's expression fell a little, causing Kirika to look at her inquiringly. But the blonde quickly smiled reassuringly at the quiet girl, who then smiled prettily back, apparently placated. The world was still peaceful. 
 402.192 +
 402.193 +******
 402.194 +
 402.195 +"Mm, that was good wasn't it?" Mireille remarked to Kirika beside her, fairly satisfied with their recent dining experience. "The lobster was just fantastic!"
 402.196 +
 402.197 +The pair were walking down the street, heading back for their apartment a short distance away. The restaurant they frequented often was not too far from their home, and Mireille and Kirika normally simply used their legs to get there, rather than taking a taxi. It was late now, night having already fallen by the time they had finished dinner. The old cobbled streets were suffused in a pale amber glow from the black iron streetlights, causing ominous shadows to streak out from every murky alleyway Mireille and Kirika passed by, as if threatening to pull them into their dark embrace. The sky above was clear, but the moon was small, barely shining down its pallid light on the world below. 
 402.198 +
 402.199 +"I liked the tortes," Kirika said. "The strawberry one."
 402.200 +
 402.201 +Mireille bobbed her head in ready agreement. "Yes, they were good too!" she concurred. 
 402.202 +
 402.203 +Mireille looked to her left, where her partner was walking next to her. Kirika had worn the dress Mireille had suggested she should wear, and the woman thought she looked simply divine in it. She suited royal blue. Mireille would have to buy more clothing of that particular colour for her. 
 402.204 +
 402.205 +Mireille looked away from Kirika as the dead weight in her left hand made itself known once again. She carried her handbag closely by her side, a heavy and constant burden. And reminder. Peace was fleeting; bliss didn't last forever. The assassin's features became serious, grave, as the hushed sound of footsteps that mirrored her and Kirika's own returned to her ears. The man a handful of metres behind Mireille and Kirika had been following them ever since they had left the restaurant. Mireille had only gotten a brief look at the tail, but it had been enough to disturb her. The man was nondescript, someone you wouldn't think twice about in a crowd. Someone you wouldn't normally notice, or rather, pay any attention to. He was simply ordinary. It had put Mireille's instincts on full alert. 
 402.206 +
 402.207 +"Mireille?" Kirika inquired, looking peculiarly at the blonde woman, no doubt noticing the change in her expression and the general air about her. 
 402.208 +
 402.209 +"Huh?" Mireille said, turning her head to Kirika. "It's nothing," she then assured the darkhaired girl at the sight of her slightly concerned countenance, faking a content smile as well as brightness in her tone of voice. 
 402.210 +
 402.211 +Kirika nodded, not appearing entirely convinced.
 402.212 +
 402.213 +They were nearly home now with the side street that led to their apartment building now in view, only a dozen or so metres away. Mireille quickened her stride a little at the welcome sight of their safe haven, Kirika following suit to keep up. The footsteps behind them increased their pace also. Mireille swallowed somewhat uneasily. He would strike soon; she knew it. The best place and time would be when Mireille and Kirika turned down the lane where their apartment building was. It would be any second now. But Mireille would be faster. She had been ready for this moment for so long, from almost ever since coming back to Paris. 
 402.214 +
 402.215 +All of sudden the man's gait accelerated, and he broke into a hurried trot. Then, a fraction of a second later, a full out run. Mireille was caught off guard and her heartbeat immediately escalated. He wasn't waiting for the street turning! The Corsican assassin abruptly stopped walking and thrust her free hand into her handbag with lightning alacrity, half-turning to face her rapidly approaching adversary and beginning to draw out her gun as she did so. Her face was a picture of determination as she moved, about to defend her and Kirika's peaceful world. But… no. After this, it would no longer be peaceful. 
 402.216 +
 402.217 +However, the unknown man instead ran harmlessly past Mireille, leaving an astonished woman in his wake. She turned around to see him call out in French to a taxicab that was pulling away from the curb ahead to wait, waving wildly to attract the driver's attention. Mireille blinked as the taxi stopped and let the frantic but now also grateful man inside, before the vehicle drove off. Her heartbeat gradually calmed, and her breathing became more relaxed. It had been nothing after all. She had simply let her worries and imagination get to her. 
 402.218 +
 402.219 +Mireille slowly looked at Kirika and met her gaze. The girl appeared unruffled as usual, completely unperturbed. Her eyes shifted down to the pink and white striped purse the woman's right hand was still halfway inside. Mireille looked down, following Kirika's gaze. A dull greyish piece of metal could be seen peeking out from the bag, clutched in Mireille's hand. The handle of the gun was cold to the blonde's touch, almost freezing, and she felt as if the sensation reached all the way to the bones in her hand. She let it go, dropping it back into its dark, black confines. 
 402.220 +
 402.221 +Mireille looked up into Kirika's knowing eyes. She knew. But of course she knew; Kirika's senses and combat skills were superior to Mireille's--if the woman had known about the man behind them, then undoubtedly her partner had to have known about him as well. Mireille's abilities were second to Kirika's; the girl's were still as sharp as ever, in spite of her now tranquil way of life. The blonde shouldn't have forgotten that. But it wasn't just the man who had been 'tailing' them that Kirika had been aware of. Mireille had a suspicion she instead knew about *everything*.
 402.222 +
 402.223 +"Come on," Mireille said with forced enthusiasm. "We're almost home." She started walking again, as if nothing at all had transpired. Perhaps if she ignored what had happened, it wouldn't affect their quiet, serene world. On the surface at least. But that would be enough for Mireille, and, she believed--or more accurately hoped--it would be enough for Kirika also. 
 402.224 +
 402.225 +After a moment's hesitation, Kirika wordlessly joined the woman. 
 402.226 +
 402.227 +******
 402.228 +
 402.229 +Mireille, dressed in the loose-fitting shirt she sometimes wore to bed, looked on silently from the top of the bedroom steps at Kirika, who was standing in the dark and shadow-strewn living room of the apartment while resting her forearms against a windowsill. The darkhaired girl had changed out of her dress and was now in her nightwear, and was currently occupied with gazing out an open window, but at what, Mireille had no idea. It was an activity Kirika engaged in often, however. The blonde remembered that her partner had done it regularly when they had first lived together too. Apparently wholly absorbed by whatever she saw out the window, Kirika didn't stir as Mireille approached her from behind and enfolded her slim form in her arms. 
 402.230 +
 402.231 +Mireille rested the side of her head against Kirika's and closed her eyes, before taking a deep breath and inhaling the pleasant scent of the shorter girl's hair. Mireille's hands began to roam over Kirika's body, softly and chastely at first, but then with greater and greater intimacy. One hand slipped under Kirika's light blue top and caressed the hard, taut muscles beneath, tracing wandering patterns on the girl's skin. Mireille's fingers were then naturally drawn to Kirika's lower left side, where she knew a faint bullet scar resided. It was a testament and a reminder--if Mireille needed one--of how much her precious partner loved and cared about her. Mireille's fingers lingered on the mark under Kirika's top, circling it delicately, before moving on to other parts of the girl's lithe body. 
 402.232 +
 402.233 +Meanwhile, Mireille's other, previously stationary, right hand dipped down into the waistband of Kirika's shorts, halting when her fingertips were only just inside. She then bent her head down and started to lay soft kisses on her partner's neck, applying mild suction to each spot her lips touched. Mireille heard Kirika give a restrained gasp and smiled, before returning her mouth to its pleasurable ministrations. 
 402.234 +
 402.235 +Mireille trailed her left hand upwards along Kirika's stomach until she reached her small, but firm, breasts. She cupped and lifted one of the supple mounds carefully, it just filling her hand delightfully and no more. The woman then squeezed the breast gently, and heard Kirika's breathing become deliberately slow and controlled in response. Mireille's other hand then at last moved further downwards into Kirika's shorts, its descent ceasing only when she felt the girl's silky-smooth pubis. She began to massage the area with her fingers--only a fraction of an inch above Kirika's vulva--applying hard and steady pressure. Kirika whimpered and bent her knees slightly while pressing herself back into Mireille, as if she was starting to have trouble standing up. Mireille smiled quite deviously against the hollow of her short partner's neck and her blue eyes dropped down to where her hand disappeared into the girl's shorts, the rather obscene, rippling bulge in them making her smile become a little lecherous also. Kirika would soon definitely have difficultly standing up. 
 402.236 +
 402.237 +Sensing that Kirika was ready, Mireille ceased the motions of her right hand and moved a bit lower into the girl's shorts to make sure of the fact. She slipped her long and slender middle finger between the folds of Kirika's inner labia--being careful not to so much as brush a specific, sensitive, spot--and felt how slick they were. Oh yes, she was most certainly ready. 
 402.238 +
 402.239 +Mireille kept her finger just on the outskirts of Kirika's swollen labia, all the while continuing to knead one of the darkhaired girl's breasts--and being very careful to avoid the unbearably hard bud gracing it. Her finger nestled near the entrance to Kirika's vagina occasionally delved further into the warm cleft, playing with the abundantly growing sticky wetness there. Kirika threw back her head and shut her eyes tightly, and was unable to hold back the small moan that escaped her throat as a result of Mireille's agonising--and highly arousing--fondling… or rather, teasing. 
 402.240 +
 402.241 +Resisting the urge to sink her finger deeply into the inviting and deliciously wet opening it was dancing around, Mireille instead stopped her sensual caresses and brought her full lips to Kirika's delicate shell of an ear. "Why don't you close that window and come to bed," she whispered in a sultry tone to the shorter girl, her voice barely audible, but knowing that her lover would hear and understand perfectly. 
 402.242 +
 402.243 +Kirika swallowed and then, after opening her eyes, straightened in Mireille's embrace and reached out to shut and lock the window. Mireille extracted her hands from under Kirika's top and from her shorts, allowing the girl to turn to face her. The blonde woman first took her time to pop the finger coated with her lover's juices into her mouth and seductively suck it clean--all the while staring into Kirika's brown eyes with her own smouldering blue ones--before taking her partner tenderly by the hand and leading her quietly to the unlit bedroom. 
 402.244 +
 402.245 +Mireille arranged herself in a sitting position on the bed first, before directing Kirika to join her with a small tug of the hand still holding one of the girl's own. The woman licked her lips in anticipation as Kirika obeyed her and gracefully climbed onto the bed, situating herself in a kneeling position between her parted and slightly bent legs. Reaching out to her lover with a hand, Mireille tenderly cupped one of Kirika's cheeks and softly stroked it with her thumb. Kirika closed her eyes and inclined her head into the blonde's hand, pressing against it, and then let out a little content sigh. Mireille's thumb strayed to the darkhaired girl's lips, outlining them in lingering, feather-light circles.
 402.246 +
 402.247 +After several moments, Mireille's gentle caresses stopped and her hand moved behind Kirika's head, before drawing the girl to her. Kirika opened her eyes briefly but then closed them once again at the sight of the Mireille's nearing mouth, the woman's lips parting and connecting to hers in a soft and loving kiss. The kiss however soon grew more and more heated, until Mireille's tongue was duelling for supremacy inside Kirika's warm--and slowly becoming ravished--mouth. 
 402.248 +
 402.249 +Many minutes later, Mireille's lips left Kirika's and her eyes opened to meet her partner's, both lovers now panting somewhat, their breathing quick but hushed. Kirika stared into Mireille's eyes, wordlessly seeking a signal from the woman. Mireille simply stared silently back through the darkness of the bedroom, speaking with her blue gaze. After a couple of seconds Kirika blinked, and then looked down to the blonde's white shirt, before beginning to slowly unbutton it from the top. 
 402.250 +
 402.251 +Mireille watched Kirika's fingers as they deftly opened her shirt--the only article of clothing she was wearing--and revealed her full, luscious breasts to her partner's view. Kirika's amorous intentions were perfectly clear. Once, in the past, Mireille would have been very uncomfortable allowing the girl to do such a thing to her… and not to mention she herself doing what she had done to Kirika earlier. After it had dawned on her that eventually their blossoming romantic relationship would be taken to a more intimate, physical level, Mireille had been wrought with reservations. Kirika had lost much of her innocence already, and the woman hadn't been sure if it was right for her to take away what little remained of it. The girl was so young too--still high school aged compared to the blonde's own, more mature age--and if that hadn't been enough for Mireille to be concerned about, Kirika had been completely naïve about sex also. Altena and her lackeys had evidently skipped over discussing the mechanics of intercourse and reproduction with her, like many facets of the girl's general education. And, thankfully, it hadn't appeared that Chloe had managed to get the chance to improve Kirika's lacking knowledge with 'hands on' experience during the time they had spent together either--Mireille had been quite angry and considerably disappointed when she had learned that her departed knife-throwing rival had stolen her partner's first kiss from her… and still was. But then Mireille had never really liked Chloe… the deceased Soldats assassin's attempted murder of her notwithstanding. 
 402.252 +
 402.253 +With Kirika more or less clueless about sex, it had left Mireille with the dubious--while albeit rather arousing--honour of teaching her all about how to make love to another woman. After having taken into account the complicated situation she was faced with, Mireille had ultimately decided in favour of allowing herself and Kirika to express their love for one another physically, with no boundaries. She had reasoned that Kirika would no doubt eventually ascertain that something was missing from their relationship, and that in the end they would sleep together regardless. And, Mireille reluctantly admitted, she had furthermore long desired to make love to her cute partner, and hadn't been able to wait any longer. And if that made her a dirty, cradle-robbing old woman, then so be it. Besides, it wasn't like she was that much older than Kirika. At least, that was what Mireille had told herself. 
 402.254 +
 402.255 +Mireille's reflections were interrupted as she suddenly felt Kirika sucking on one of her breasts, while teasing the erect nipple with steady flicks of her tongue. In the meantime, one of the girl's hands began to rub and squeeze her other breast, the actions only occasionally broken by moments when she gave the stiff teat atop it loving attention. 
 402.256 +
 402.257 +Mireille swallowed hard and looked up to the dark ceiling as Kirika pleasured her skilfully, her lover now shifting her mouth to the other breast that craved her wonderful care. The girl traced the aureole of the blonde's breast with her tongue for a few moments, before licking the almost painfully hard nipple a couple of times, and then finally enveloping the prominent pinkish bud and as much of pliable, fleshy globe as she could with it in her wet mouth. 
 402.258 +
 402.259 +Mireille felt a new trickle of moisture develop between her spread legs. After a number of exploratory but enjoyable 'teaching experiences' under Mireille's tutorage, Kirika had become quite the competent lover. Sometimes Mireille thought that perhaps the quiet girl knew her body even better than she herself did.
 402.260 +
 402.261 +An indeterminable amount of time passed to Mireille; Kirika's devoted attention to her breasts causing her mind to be focused on other, more pleasant and current, things. Finally, Kirika ceased her exquisite affection for Mireille's chest, eliciting a consciously composed breath of air to emerge from the blonde that helped to calm her rising pulse rate… to a degree. Mireille placed a hand on Kirika's head as it then descended down her body, softly butterfly-kissing its way welcomingly to the drenched juncture between her thighs. 
 402.262 +
 402.263 +Mireille gasped and scrunched her fingers in Kirika's short tresses as the girl's tongue began to tentatively lap all over her vulva, purposely missing the throbbing spot that begged for the most attention. When at last she felt her lover penetrate her smoothly with two fingers and start to directly--and relentlessly--massage her special place inside her vagina, Mireille's eyes darted all over the room, searching for anything that could distract her from the intense sensations she was experiencing, before finally resting on her handbag where it lay on the couch a short distance off to the right of the bed. It was empty now, with the woman's Walther P99 nestled for safety's sake back under the bed below her and her lover. Even now, at a moment like this, it was a grim reminder to Mireille of what the future would ultimately contain for herself and Kirika. A future of violence and murder. 
 402.264 +
 402.265 +Mireille was suddenly brought back to the here and now as Kirika's tongue brushed her clitoris, before the girl began to suckle on it, giving her blonde lover what she so desired. The woman's eyes fell closed as she brought her left hand up to join her right on Kirika's head, and entwined her fingers in her partner's hair, as if to keep it in place where it was presently buried between her long legs. Now was not the time to dwell on such matters of what the future held. Mireille was here, right now, in her peaceful world with Kirika, the person she loved the most with all her heart. And, for the moment at least, that was all that was important. 
 402.266 +
 402.267 +Mireille's breathing started to rapidly increase as she allowed herself to be taken away by Kirika's knowledgeable mouth and fingers, putting all thoughts but of her lover out of her mind. She would reach the edge soon; she rarely lasted long when Kirika was serious about giving her pleasure. But that was fine. It would only be the woman's first climax of the evening… the first of many. And Kirika would undoubtedly need Mireille's adoring reciprocations, which the blonde would be more than happy to give her. The night was still young… and the day hadn't ended just yet. 
 402.268 +
 402.269 +******
 402.270 +
 402.271 +Mireille lay naked on her back in the bed, with an equally unclothed Kirika beside her. Both were totally sated… for this night, at least. Mireille turned her head to Kirika, looking at the girl as she gazed vacantly up at the ceiling. It was very late, and they should have been asleep by now. But Mireille knew she wouldn't be able to just yet, not until she heard a certain phrase from a certain girl.
 402.272 +
 402.273 +Sensing her lover's eyes on her, Kirika turned and looked at the woman next to her. "Mireille," she breathed softly, her voice scarcely above a whisper, "I love you."
 402.274 +
 402.275 +Mireille smiled at the words she had ached to hear, and then draped one arm around her partner, before pulling her close to her body. Kirika snuggled up against the woman's taller frame, resting her head near the crook of her neck. Once she was certain the quiet girl had settled herself in a comfortable position, Mireille kissed her affectionately on the forehead. 
 402.276 +
 402.277 +"I love you too," she answered just as quietly. The words came to her easily now, and without any hesitation. Mireille knew and accepted implicitly how she felt about Kirika; she had done so ever since the day they had first kissed. 
 402.278 +
 402.279 +Kirika smiled faintly at the declaration and then closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off to sleep where she was cuddled close to Mireille, safe and content in the beautiful woman's arms. Mireille gently ran her free hand through Kirika's short locks, soothing her love into a deep slumber. The thread that tied them together was a deep, dark red now, and forever would be. Mireille knew that their peaceful world wouldn't be everlastingly, she knew that eventually either she herself, by her own free will, would be called back down the black path she had chosen to live her life along--bringing Kirika down with it--or some other incident or individual would do so. But, no matter what happened, Mireille and Kirika would face that path together. They may have not been the Noir that Altena had wished them to be, but they were a partnership of a sort. A formidable one. A deep one. A loving one. Their relationship had strengthened and their hearts had bonded even more closely, joined by a red thread. And while Mireille knew that the day when their world would change loomed ever closer; the black path they would surely travel down didn't look so black in her eyes. It looked to be tinged with red, and not with blood… but with love. 
 402.280 +
 402.281 +However, for present at least, the world was still blissful, still peaceful, and Mireille intended to enjoy it fully with Kirika… until that day arrived. 
 402.282 +
 402.283 +******
 402.284 +
 402.285 +The End.
 402.286 +
 402.287 +
 402.288 +Author's ramblings:
 402.289 +
 402.290 +And so ends my first one-shot fanfic. I hope it was decent. I could have made the yuri scene very long and very explicit, but I toned it down as much as I could since I didn't want it overshadowing the rest of the fic and making it become purely a lemon. 
 402.291 +
 402.292 +Character wise, I figured Mireille was the type to be a bit of a tease now, whereas I kept Kirika relatively taciturn as usual. 
 402.293 +
 402.294 +The picnic/painting scene was inspired by a particular image of Mireille and Kirika together.
 402.295 +
 402.296 +I've been considering writing a companion piece to this fanfic except from Kirika's point of view. Basically it would be the whole thing again (same events and such), except this time with Kirika's thoughts. I'm not sure if I will yet. 
 402.297 +
 402.298 +I would appreciate feedback. Like I said before, this is for the Yuricon fanfic contest, so any suggestions on how to improve this fic would be welcome (just no grammar or spelling remarks please ^_^). As a result, this fanfic will probably be tinkered with a lot until I settle on a final version. 
 402.299 +
 402.300 +Thank you for reading!
 402.301 \ No newline at end of file

   403.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   403.2 +++ b/stories/noir_complementary.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   403.3 @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
   403.4 +Disclaimer: Noir and associated characters belong to Koichi Mashimo and Bee Train Studios. I make no profit off this fanwork. 
   403.5 +
   403.6 +Notes: For the Temps Mort colour challenge. Written in 43 minutes, which is a new record for me. And I didn't even work myself up into a frothing frenzy over research! Amazing. Then again, it is very short. This story contains non-explicit f/f. 
   403.7 +
   403.8 +Rating: PG-13 
   403.9 +
  403.10 +
  403.11 +
  403.12 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  403.13 +
  403.14 +
  403.15 +Complementary Colours
  403.16 +By Yasminm
  403.17 +
  403.18 +the_jentayu@hotmail.com
  403.19 +
  403.20 +
  403.21 +Mireille was fond of life's little comforts, like the strong flavours of the minestrone soup she made for dinner. Kirika spooned out the little curls of pasta, sliding the silky texture across her tongue. Mireille's white teeth bit through the stewed celery, light green cubes soaked with red. Kirika looked away, and washed the dishes that night. 
  403.22 +
  403.23 +Today the sheets were white with little snowflake patterns of blue, matching the deep blue duvet. Kirika could still smell the softener on the cotton sheets, overlaid by the burnt tang of the dryer. On the other side of the bed, Mireille was brushing her hair with the careful vanity of someone who had received glowing compliments as a child. It lay over her shoulders, doll-coloured blonde. 
  403.24 +
  403.25 +Kirika leaned forward, stretching her hand. She knew when Mireille sensed her approach by the sudden stillness of Mireille's shoulders, but there was no resistance as she ran the tips of her fingers over the bony curve that led to Mireille's right arm. Her skin was darker than Mireille's, but she thought that if she squinted hard enough she could see the same primary colour in the flecks at the back of Mireille's hand. 
  403.26 +
  403.27 +Mireille turned, the sharp edges of her mouth flicking up. Her lips tasted of minty toothpaste, fading into the bland chemical flavour of her all-natural moisturiser as Kirika's mouth moved to her chin. Her elbows dug into the duvet, leaving deep impressions as she shifted farther to the centre. The bed did not creak underneath them, and the sudden movements of Mireille's long legs did little to dislodge the nearby lamp. 
  403.28 +
  403.29 +She followed Kirika's eyes to the gun under her pillow, the metal glint reflected in Kirika's eyes. Mireille's cheek pressed against the hilt of the gun, almost by accident. Kirika watched as strands of gold hair brushed over black steel, slowly sinking underneath downy whiteness by the slide of Mireille's fingertips. 
  403.30 +
  403.31 +For a second, blonde lashes veiled Mireille's blue eyes. 
  403.32 +
  403.33 +Kirika leaned down, and ran her tongue on the underside of Mireille's breasts. They were pale, with pink lines where the bra strap had cut into her flesh. 
  403.34 +
  403.35 +
  403.36 +
  403.37 +
  403.38 +-owari- 

   404.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   404.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-01.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   404.3 @@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
   404.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   404.5 +
   404.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   404.7 +******
   404.8 +
   404.9 +Hello! Well, it looks like it's big fanfic time once again. And you know what that means: lots of my ramblings about inconsequential things coupled with an excessive amount of smiley faces (^_^). Oh, and hopefully a decent story sandwiched in between that stuff. 
  404.10 +
  404.11 +This is a Noir fanfic, dealing with the Mireille/Kirika pairing. So it's shoujo-ai… with a possibility of quite explicit yuri. But don't worry, I'll tell you when yuri-licious material is about to come up. Also, expect a fair bit of graphic violence. Unlike in the series, there will be blood and gore. And if that wasn't enough, be prepared for some coarse language, possible drug use, and immoral characters engaging in equally immoral behaviour. What all that adds up to is an NC-17 rating. And the faint hearted better be careful too!
  404.12 +
  404.13 +Some things in this chapter (events and thoughts) took place in my Noir one-shot, 'Black Turned Red' also. However, I tried to word them differently. I did consider making the one-shot a prequel to this fic, but I didn't want Mireille and Kirika's relationship to have progressed so far. 
  404.14 +
  404.15 +And finally, I don't own Noir. I do, however, own any original characters I create. No using them without my permission. Oh, and there are spoilers galore in this fanfic.
  404.16 +
  404.17 +~This denotes translation~
  404.18 +
  404.19 +Now that all that stuff is out of the way, on with the fic…
  404.20 +
  404.21 +- Kirika
  404.22 +
  404.23 +******
  404.24 +
  404.25 +Chapter 1 - Shattered Peace
  404.26 +
  404.27 +
  404.28 +Le noir.
  404.29 +~Noir.~
  404.30 +Ce mot désigne depuis une époque lointaine le nom du destin. 
  404.31 +~This word designates since a distant epoch the name of destiny.~
  404.32 +Les deux vierges regnent sur la mort. 
  404.33 +~The two virgins reign over death.~
  404.34 +Les mains noires protégent la paix des nouveaux-nes.
  404.35 +~The black hands protect the peace of the newly-born.~
  404.36 +
  404.37 +-- Extract from Langonel's Manuscript
  404.38 +
  404.39 +******
  404.40 +
  404.41 +Mireille Bouquet, with a glass of water in one hand and still dressed in her nightshirt, quietly walked over to where the new pot plant resided on a small, Walnut-coloured, square wooden end table beside one window of her apartment. The blonde, statuesque woman bent down and carefully poured the liquid from the glass around the plant's stalk, giving it its morning watering as either she or her partner did every day. The plant was an orchid, like its predecessor, but so far no flowers had bloomed... also like its predecessor. However, Mireille was not disheartened. Under her and her colleague's constant nurturing over the past few weeks, several buds had formed and could be found nestled in between the plant's broad green leaves; a sign of things to come. Mireille hoped that this time the orchid would flower brilliantly. 
  404.42 +
  404.43 +Mireille placed the now empty glass on the table by the potted orchid, and then stood up straight with sigh, placing her hands on her hips and admiring the plant. After returning to her home in Paris, France, she had felt a compulsion to replace the pot plant that had been destroyed in a shoot out within her apartment. If she were honest with herself, she knew where the desire had stemmed from. Tending to the orchid had been a small but precious diversion she and her partner had shared in the past, and, she rather grudgingly supposed, she had wanted to recapture the pleasant and comfortable air of that joint activity again. 
  404.44 +
  404.45 +Mireille turned around to face the rest of the apartment and all of the other items that had been replaced following its redecoration courtesy of countless bullets fired by a score of Soldats assassins. The repairs had taken just under a couple of weeks, and now it was as if the intense gunfight that had ravaged the place months earlier had never occurred at all. Smashed windows had been restored with new glass panes, and not a single blemish could be made out on any of the painstakingly patched and freshly painted walls. All of the bullet hole ridden furniture and appliances had been removed and replaced also, including Mireille's computer, and, oddly enough, the billiard table she used as a desk. The woman wasn't sure why exactly she hadn't simply bought a real desk instead; it wasn't as if anyone used the table to actually play pool. 
  404.46 +
  404.47 +Mireille looked around the living room, surveying the apartment's new and improved décor with satisfaction. The specialists she had hired to restore her home had done a good job--as they should have considering the amount of money the Corsican had paid for their services--and had also been very discreet. Mireille's landlord hadn't asked any questions about why her apartment needed a near total renovation either. Money could buy most people's silence… among other things. But it had helped that her landlord knew that Ms. Bouquet was not a woman one crossed lightly… or even willingly.
  404.48 +
  404.49 +Mireille's blue gaze came to rest on the black wall that separated the living room from the bedroom, behind which the other permanent resident of her home currently was. Her partner, Kirika Yuumura, was evidently still fast asleep in the bedroom. 
  404.50 +
  404.51 +A ghost of a smile crept upon Mireille's features as she conjured up the endearing image of the darkhaired girl snoozing peacefully in their bed. Normally as soon as Mireille woke up Kirika awakened with her, or had already been wide-awake beforehand. Even when it appeared that she was in a deep slumber, looking as vulnerable and as frail as ever, Kirika remained alert--at least on a subconscious level. It was a throwback to her extensive training as an assassin, Mireille imagined. However, Kirika had yet to fully recover from the gunshot wound to her side she had sustained at the Manor--a result of throwing herself in front of a bullet meant for Mireille--and so slept in late most mornings. Mireille's own injuries had merely consisted of scrapes and shallow knife puncture wounds, all of which had healed relatively quickly without scarring, but Kirika's singular wound had been much more serious than all of hers combined. The quiet girl was still not at a hundred percent and needed her rest, and thus, Mireille had silently slipped out of the bed they shared this morning, more than happy to let her sleep. And provide the semblance of a normal atmosphere--a normal way of life--for Kirika's sake. 
  404.52 +
  404.53 +Mireille's faint smile strengthened and became bemused as she thought about how much things had changed in her relationship with Kirika… and consequently in her own life, as well. In the past Mireille wouldn't have had much concern about Kirika's wellbeing whatsoever as long as the girl survived long enough to lead her to her abhorred quarry, Soldats, and aid her in finding the answers behind why her family had been murdered. But now ensuring that her partner had a calm and relaxed environment to recuperate to full health in was one of Mireille's highest priorities. She had to admit Kirika had become the most important thing in her life… and for someone as fiercely independent as Mireille; that was saying a great deal. 
  404.54 +
  404.55 +Mireille wasn't exactly sure how or even when Kirika had snuck her way into her cold heart, but as time went by, slowly yet surely the blonde's uncaring attitude towards the introverted girl had changed. The ice encasing the Corsican assassin's hard heart had melted gradually living and working with Kirika, so much so that when she had at last learned the awful truth behind her family's death and the time had come to make good on her promise to execute her 'temporary' associate, she had faltered outright in doing so. Despite her pledge to kill Kirika when she was no longer useful, and even with the added incentive of the girl being the slayer of her parents and brother, Mireille hadn't been able to pull the trigger of her gun. At the very idea of ending Kirika's life Mireille's body had rebelled, and no matter what her mind had said she *should* be obligated to do, the stronger force of her warmed, thawed, heart had stayed her hand. 
  404.56 +
  404.57 +Mireille had tried her utmost to resist warming up to Kirika any further when she had first realised her heart was softening to the quiet girl, but her efforts had been feeble and ultimately futile. Moreover, a part of Mireille--a part she hadn't liked to acknowledge at the time--hadn't really wanted to stop the growing changes between herself and her partner. Mireille had never truly been close to anybody before after leaving Corsica--unless she counted her Uncle Claude when she was a child--and had been alone for many years following the end of her training in the ways of a contract killer. She had depended on no one but herself, *trusted* no one but herself. But being with Kirika had given her a taste of what it meant to share one's troubles and joys with another person… and Mireille had found it to her liking. 
  404.58 +
  404.59 +Nevertheless, Mireille had still went into a state of denial in regards to how she felt about her colleague, to such a degree that when Kirika had left her side--or rather, had been abandoned by Mireille--the woman had resumed, or at least had attempted to resume, her prior lifestyle, and recapture her former independence. But it hadn't been that easy anymore. The absence of Kirika had left a hole in Mireille's life, and, if she were so inclined to admit, a hole in her heart as well. However, even with such a vast and bleak void inside of her, she had still tried to maintain her usual routine and forget about the Japanese girl she had once known and become so emotionally attached to…. But, thankfully, it wasn't meant to be. 
  404.60 +
  404.61 +Fearing what might happen in the future and knowing that a grim darkness lurked inside of her, Kirika had left behind a parting letter to Mireille, under the ruins of the orchid that had been so significant to both of them during the time they had spent together… although neither of them had ever stated the fact out loud. In that letter the withdrawn Kirika had revealed all of her feelings towards her blonde colleague, plainly for the woman to see on paper. And when Mireille had read that letter, it had been enough to jolt her out of the delusion that she could simply forget about her partner and return to her previous way of life. But even so, she had still used her right to fulfil her destiny and become Noir as an excuse to track down the missing girl; in spite of everything the--albeit weakening--denial of how she felt had still held fairly strong within her. 
  404.62 +
  404.63 +It hadn't been until the very end, until Kirika's life had been hanging by a thread, when Mireille had at last confronted the feelings that dwelled secretly within her heart. At that point Kirika, thinking all her ties to the world gone, had been all but ready to die. It was then that Mireille had realised with crystal clear clarity that the girl's fate rested wholly in her hands. And so, the stubborn woman had finally let her mask of aloofness fall and had subsequently lowered herself to begging her partner to stay with her. Thankfully, it had been enough. Mireille had almost been too late, but with that tearful supplication Kirika had clung to her and in turn clung to life. At that moment Mireille had felt an overwhelming sense of relief in her heart and soul, of an intensity of such she had never experienced before. It was then she truly knew that Kirika meant everything to her; that she indeed was in love with the girl. 
  404.64 +
  404.65 +Once the two assassins had received professional--and surreptitious--medical treatment for their injuries in a town neighbouring the Manor and Kirika had recovered enough to travel, she and Mireille had returned home to Paris. But in spite of Mireille accepting the fact that she shared Kirika's feelings--or at the very least felt something romantically for the girl--not much was different in their relationship. Mireille was certainly enormously more affectionate towards Kirika now, but her fond gestures were limited to mere kind words and chaste touches. No affirmations of their feelings for one another had been exchanged either, and on Mireille's part, none ever had been uttered in the first place. 
  404.66 +
  404.67 +Mireille wasn't exactly sure why her relationship with Kirika had not progressed any further, but she had a feeling it was attributed to herself. Certainly, Mireille had made no effort to advance the relationship to an openly romantic level, and knowing Kirika, the introverted girl would follow her example and let her be in control, as usual. Was that it? Was Mireille simply waiting for Kirika to 'make a move', so to speak? It was a possibility, but the Corsican doubted it. She knew Kirika well, well enough to know that she would do nothing to forward their relationship until Mireille herself showed that she wished to. But if that were the case, then just what was holding Mireille back? Was she afraid of the commitment? No, ridiculous, considering she had been committed exclusively to Kirika for a considerable amount of time now. Perhaps it was because her colleague was in actual fact responsible for the death of her family. Was Mireille troubled that her parents and brother were turning in their graves every time she let Kirika cuddle up close to her in bed at night? Did she believe that her heart was betraying their memory? 
  404.68 +
  404.69 +No. That was definitely not it. As soon as Mireille had learned that Kirika had been the one who had snuffed out her parents' and brother's lives, the woman, in spite of herself, had instantly forgiven her. At that period in time Mireille's heart had already been a captive of Kirika's. Furthermore, she didn't even view Kirika as the killer of her family. That 'honour' had been Altena's alone, who had wielded the girl when she was only a young child as a living, breathing instrument of murder--Kirika was a victim just as much as Mireille's family had been. Kirika had simply been a tool used by Altena… and the wicked Soldats follower had already paid for her crimes. 
  404.70 +
  404.71 +Whatever the reason for Mireille's seeming reluctance, she was comfortable with the way things were at the moment and she believed Kirika was too. She liked her current daily life. Her days were filled with peaceful times spent with Kirika, and she felt contentment with her existence that was completely new to her. Perhaps that was it; Mireille feared change, even if it were for the better. She feared losing what she had already gained. Having a permanent partner, someone who even shared her living space, was quite a big step for the normally private woman. Mireille had never relied on or been emotionally close to anyone for a long, long while. Maybe all she needed was a little more time to grow used to the idea of having a genuine, stable, romantic relationship; more time to grow used to having a real… lover. 
  404.72 +
  404.73 +Mireille heaved a sigh and with a last glance in the direction of the bedroom, dismissed her reflections and walked over to the billiard table masquerading as a computer desk. She sat down in front of her PC and switched on the machine, hoping that the drone of it starting up would not disturb Kirika's sleep in the adjacent room. As soon as the computer's operating system had booted, Mireille logged onto the Internet and checked her secure email account. In her hazardous and illegal line of work security and anonymity was imperative for continual business success. Mireille Bouquet was not only a beautiful woman living a life of privilege in Paris, but also one of the most reliable professional assassins in the criminal world. Of course, 'Mireille Bouquet' had apparently dropped out of the business in recent months. She now used a new name… and had a partner. 
  404.74 +
  404.75 +As Mireille had suspected, several assignment propositions for her and Kirika--or more accurately, Noir--were waiting for her in her email inbox. She pursed her lips thoughtfully as her eyes scanned the subject headers of the emails, but then promptly frowned in irritation as she realised what she was doing. As she was about to delete all of the emails before she could do something she would definitely regret, she noticed that yet another message from the clandestine society, Soldats, was present. Mireille's irritation suddenly increased twofold. She didn't need to read the contents of the email to know what it contained; it wasn't the first time she had received it. Nor, did she imagine, would it be the last. Soldats, or more accurately, one high-ranking member of the organisation, Remy Breffort, sought a meeting with her. But for exactly what reason, Mireille didn't know. Or care, for that matter. She was done with Soldats, and she didn't want herself or Kirika to have any more involvement with them ever again. 
  404.76 +
  404.77 +Mireille deleted all of the emails along with Breffort's message, as was quickly becoming her morning ritual. Noir was no longer part of Soldats; the sooner the man recognised that fact the better. 
  404.78 +
  404.79 +Mireille logged off of the Internet and leaned back in her chair, exhaling heavily, and stared up at the ceiling. She ignored the prospective jobs solely for the sake of Kirika. She hadn't even told her colleague about the emails requesting their services she was regularly receiving, preferring to hide the knowledge from the still recuperating girl. Mireille and Kirika's lives were peaceful--for the moment, at any rate--and the Corsican didn't want that other, darker life they had in common interfering with it. And she was positive Kirika didn't either. 
  404.80 +
  404.81 +However, Mireille was also sure that she was only delaying the inevitable. She had willingly chosen to walk a black path in life, a black path filled with death--murder. Her life was that of an assassin, and nothing would change that--it was part of who she was. In truth, Mireille even missed the work. She had never had a problem with killing. Well, unless she counted the time in the graveyard with Kirika…. which she didn't. 
  404.82 +
  404.83 +But while Mireille had accepted that she would travel down a soiled, sinful path until the day she died, she felt differently in regards to Kirika. The girl was still young and yet she had probably seen more violence and murder than Mireille herself had. What Altena had exposed Kirika too, a mere child at the time…. Mireille ground her teeth and suppressed her rising anger. The fanatical Soldats member had damaged Kirika's mind with her immoral treatment. Another personality prowled inside of Mireille's normally rather shy colleague, one that was as heartless as a pure cold-blooded killer. Mireille still remembered that persona… her eyes… her eyes had been devoid of feeling, of mercy… of life. 
  404.84 +
  404.85 +Yes, Mireille still remembered… and was still haunted by the memory of that other Kirika she had faced off with. It was one of the primary reasons why she did her best to preserve a relaxed and normal atmosphere for herself and her partner to live in and enjoy. Kirika's short life had been full of bloodshed, so much so that the darkhaired girl had developed a defence mechanism in the form of another persona to cope with the horrors she had no doubt witnessed… and carried out herself. And Mireille was almost certain that the sinister personality still remained with Kirika. Thus, the blonde woman wanted to keep that other side of her partner repressed, and she hoped that an ordinary lifestyle would help to do that. 
  404.86 +
  404.87 +Moreover, Mireille believed that it was working. Kirika, while still relatively taciturn, appeared to be happy. At least she smiled a little more often now, as if she were a normal girl with no skills whatsoever in the art of murder. Sometimes, however, her unmatched combat abilities manifested themselves unconsciously. The manner in which she handled knives while doing everyday chores such as cooking came to mind, as well as the way she had of seeming to be as withdrawn as always when outside of the apartment, but at the same time constantly vigilant of any possible threats. 
  404.88 +
  404.89 +Mireille smiled wryly up at the ceiling, shaking her head slightly. She had never in a million years believed that she would end up living with a Japanese schoolgirl, who was also a fellow assassin with expertise even surpassing her own, and if that wasn't enough, fall in love with her too of all things. But now here she was, doing her utmost to protect the same girl and keep her happy. Love certainly made one do strange things. 
  404.90 +
  404.91 +"Morning," a soft voice spoke in Japanese from a few feet in front of Mireille, bringing her out of her contemplations. 
  404.92 +
  404.93 +Mireille straightened in her chair to look at Kirika who was standing at the bottom of the steps that led to the bedroom. The two normally conversed in Japanese when they were alone together… which was practically all of the time. And living in Paris, where the majority of the population primarily spoke in French, the voluntary language barrier gave Mireille and Kirika a sense of privacy even when in a crowd of people; their own little world where only the two of them existed. In actuality, they had always communicated in Japanese since they first met, only switching to French or another language when it was called for, customary for the sake of others. Perhaps it was because they had encountered each other in Japan in the beginning, and the practice of speaking in the country's native tongue had simply stuck. Mireille didn't know for sure, but whatever the habit's origin, her Japanese had certainly improved considerably since meeting Kirika. 
  404.94 +
  404.95 +"Ah, so you're finally awake, sleepy head," Mireille teased at the sight of Kirika, the girl looking quite dishevelled from sleeping, with her dark locks tousled wildly and her vest and shorts that made up her nightwear creased and twisted. It painted a positively adorable picture in Mireille's eyes, one she hadn't been able to resist commenting on. But then she did often nowadays take pleasure in poking light-hearted fun at poor Kirika. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to bed? It *is* still early…" Mireille went on, but only half-joking this time, aware that the girl required her rest. 
  404.96 +
  404.97 +Kirika lowered her head and looked at her partner though her bangs, a small, rueful smile forming on her features in response to the woman's ribbing. She then shook her head, the action accompanied by a cute sound in the negative, one of many idiosyncrasies that Mireille found endearing.
  404.98 +
  404.99 +"Alright," Mireille said, pushing her chair back from the billiard table. "How are you feeling today? Come here so I can check how you're progressing."
 404.100 +
 404.101 +Kirika dutifully walked over to the blonde and stood in front of her chair. "I feel better," she informed Mireille as the woman lifted the bottom of her vest to inspect the injury beneath, "but I'm still tired."
 404.102 +
 404.103 +Mireille nodded absently at Kirika's report while she studied the gunshot wound in her partner's side. It appeared to have finally healed up completely, leaving behind only the faintest of scars. Mireille reached up and gingerly traced the mark with one fingertip, her touch feather light on the darkhaired girl's silky-smooth skin. Every time she saw the wound it brought back the unpleasant memory of Kirika intercepting Altena's bullet with her own body in an act of selflessness. But at the same time, it was a reminder of the extent of Kirika's feelings for Mireille--a testament of her love. It always filled Mireille with a sense of… wonder, that someone cared that much about her to make such a self-sacrificing gesture. 
 404.104 +
 404.105 +Mireille blinked as it dawned on her that she had ceased circling the scar and was now using her whole hand to rub--or rather, caress--Kirika's taut stomach with gentle strokes. Acutely aware that Kirika had stopped breathing, she abruptly halted the motions of her wayward hand and looked up at the girl, only to meet rapt reddish-brown eyes with her own somewhat apprehensive blue ones. Somewhat guiltily, Mireille drew back her hand and let Kirika's vest fall back into place before dropping her gaze and forcing a cough, seeking a means to dispel the awkward moment, although she wasn't sure why she felt it was one. 
 404.106 +
 404.107 +"You… you seem to be recovering fine," Mireille said, her voice a little hoarse. "After a few more days of rest you should be perfectly fit."
 404.108 +
 404.109 +Kirika said nothing and merely nodded, her countenance now one of her usual subdued expressions. 
 404.110 +
 404.111 +"But in the meantime, I want to go shopping," Mireille continued, her tone becoming more blithe as she snatched onto something lighter to talk about. "*Clothes* shopping…" she then elaborated, her expression turning considerably sly as she ran her eyes over Kirika's lithe figure, pretending to size her up.
 404.112 +
 404.113 +Kirika blinked a couple of times and then swallowed a bit uneasily--Mireille knew that she understood what going clothes shopping meant. Mireille loved pampering Kirika, especially with material things. Her favourite form of indulgence was buying new clothes for her reticent colleague. She simply adored using the slip of a girl as a model for her to play dress-up with. Fortunately, Kirika stoically consented to Mireille's little pleasure… although with a mildly noticeable lack of enthusiasm… that the blonde summarily ignored, needless to say. 
 404.114 +
 404.115 +"Mireille…" Kirika said, almost whining out the woman's name, and with a tiny hint of longsuffering in her soft voice. 
 404.116 +
 404.117 +Mireille merely smiled broadly, implicitly knowing that Kirika would concede to her wishes, and also relishing the way the Japanese girl said her name. Mireille wasn't sure if it was because of her accent or just another one of her quirks, but Kirika had a unique and exquisite way of pronouncing her name. It was like her sweet tongue caressed each and every syllable of the Corsican's name in a special and intimate fashion as it left her lips, and it always served to send a trill of delight through Mireille. She doubted she would ever get weary of hearing the enchanting sound. 
 404.118 +
 404.119 +Mireille took the hem of one leg of Kirika's shorts between two fingertips and rubbed it thoughtfully. "Hmm…" she murmured with false deliberation, "I think you could use more shorts. And perhaps some new pyjamas also." Mireille did her best to restrain the smile that threatened to spoil her mock examination of her partner's clothing. She had a feeling that today was going to be an amusing one… for her, at least.
 404.120 +
 404.121 +"Pyjamas?" Kirika parroted somewhat uncertainly, as she blinked and looked down at her clothes. 
 404.122 +
 404.123 +******
 404.124 +
 404.125 +Mireille took a sip of her frothy cappuccino and then settled back in her plush seat with a content sigh, savouring the flavour of her beverage. She and her virtually inseparable companion, Kirika--who was seated across from her--were in a private booth located in one of the many cafés scattered along the streets of Paris, the pair taking a short respite from their enjoyable--yet quite exhausting--shopping expedition for lunch. Countless glossy bags overflowing with designer clothes ranging from skirts to socks purchased from a variety of exclusive boutiques were crammed next to Kirika at her side of the booth… all of which the slender girl had carried herself. Mireille did feel a tiny bit guilty about her own... well, laziness to put it bluntly. More often than not she allowed Kirika to do just about all of the menial tasks that filled their normal daily lives, such as hauling grocery bags and luggage around, as well as clearing and washing tableware. In the past, the woman had viewed her partner as sort of a little 'servant'; or in other words, someone to do all the jobs she herself didn't like doing… and old habits apparently died hard. Mireille frequently slipped into her domineering role even though the nature of her relationship with Kirika was now… at least somewhat different, permitting the compliant girl to do most of the chores inside and outside their apartment. And it didn't help that Kirika never ever protested the treatment and even seemed glad to be devotedly lending her blonde colleague a hand, regardless of how hard she toiled as a result. However, she did assist her when they cooked at home, Mireille thought defensively, squirming a little in her seat. That was *something*, wasn't it?
 404.126 +
 404.127 +Nearly every garment contained within each of the shopping bags alongside Kirika had been graciously--yet also slightly reluctantly--modelled by the pretty darkhaired girl for her older partner's own personal gratification. The corners of Mireille's full lips twitched and then curled upwards into a small smile as she recalled the memory of Kirika wearing one of her new sets of silk pyjamas. They were a little baggy on her, almost swallowing her diminutive frame completely in their folds, but that had only added to the whole cute and lovable vision. Mireille had prudently stayed away from choosing any new undergarments for her, however. Strangely, for some reason the idea of making Kirika pose in her underwear made Mireille a tad uncomfortable. 
 404.128 +
 404.129 +Mireille brought her coffee cup to her lips and watched Kirika over its rim as the girl, dressed in one of her newly acquired outfits she had changed into earlier under her partner's 'suggestion', idly picked at the remains of her ham and cheese croissant, pushing the remnants around on her plate. She looked distant, as if something were on her mind, perhaps even troubling her. 
 404.130 +
 404.131 +Mireille's face fell a little and she took another drink of her cappuccino to hide the expression. Kirika often retreated into her own private world; she had even done so in the past, when she and the Corsican had first met--Mireille remembered when the quiet girl would stare out of one of the apartment's windows at seemingly nothing for hours at a time. 
 404.132 +
 404.133 +Mireille frequently wondered what Kirika ruminated on during those withdrawn periods of hers, appearing totally detached from her surroundings. She sometimes considered simply asking her, but she doubted even she would get a straight answer from the reticent girl, or at least one that would satisfy her. Looking at Kirika now while she gazed vacantly out the large front window of the café their booth was adjacent to, the leftovers of her lunch forgotten, Mireille thought she looked rather sad as well as distant. Of course that wasn't saying too much considering that her normal everyday expression was usually melancholic. But after having lived with Kirika for the better part of a year now, Mireille could generally tell how her brooding partner was feeling on the inside. She had learnt that using Kirika's lovely brown eyes to determine her emotional state was the easiest and most accurate method. Her eyes were so expressive, soulful, and they seemed to speak volumes--poignant words poured straight from her heart… well, poured straight to Mireille at any rate. And right at this very moment, Kirika's brown orbs said clearly to the blonde that something was definitely bothering her. Mireille sighed softly. She wished Kirika were able to share her problems with her. 
 404.134 +
 404.135 +But instead of confronting Kirika on her evident preoccupation, Mireille plucked a random topic of conversation out of the air, feeling that she had to say something, even if its subject matter was in essence basically small talk. 
 404.136 +
 404.137 +After taking one last sip of her coffee, Mireille put her cup down with an exaggerated breath, smacking her lips. "After lunch why don't we go shopping for more clothes?" she piped up, placing her elbows on the table and propping her head in her hands as she looked at Kirika. 
 404.138 +
 404.139 +Kirika turned away from the view of bustling people and heavy traffic outside the café's window at the sound of Mireille's cheerful voice, roused from her private thoughts. She favoured Mireille with a glance before flicking her eyes to the mound of boutique bags beside her for a second, and then directed a questioning look at the keen blonde. 
 404.140 +
 404.141 +"Oh no, not for you. I believe you have more than enough outfits," Mireille clarified, but not before furtively adding, "…for the time being." Somehow she managed to contain the large grin that wanted to burst out on her face at the sight of a fairly nervous-looking Kirika. 
 404.142 +
 404.143 +"No, you've had all the fun thus far and now it's my turn," Mireille quickly continued, before leaning forward conspiringly towards her partner, a faint smile on her features. "And this time, *I'll* be *your* model," she whispered with a playful wink as her smile turned more than a little seductive. 
 404.144 +
 404.145 +Kirika simply stared at Mireille for a moment, her steady gaze only broken by several languid blinks, but she then nodded eagerly while making her patented peep of approval. She smiled shyly at Mireille and then started to open her mouth to say something, but stopped suddenly as her eyes shifted to the right of the blonde woman, her countenance returning to its fundamentally emotionless mask.
 404.146 +
 404.147 +Mireille blinked and then followed Kirika's gaze to her left, meeting a waiter's apologetic eyes. The assassin frowned in irritation at having her banter with her colleague rudely interrupted and then sat back properly in her seat, glaring coldly at the now even more remorseful waiter. 
 404.148 +
 404.149 +"Well?" Mireille snapped in French as she folded her arms, quite annoyed… and inwardly a little embarrassed at having been caught stretched over halfway across the table to Kirika. She was suddenly very glad she spoke in Japanese to her.
 404.150 +
 404.151 +The waiter, obviously flustered by the imposing woman's ire, stumbled over his words for a few seconds, his eyes occasionally darting to an apathetic Kirika as if she could somehow help him out of his predicament, before finally informing Mireille that he had been asked to deliver a note to her and her friend's table. He brandished the crisp white envelope in his hand for further emphasis whilst smiling sheepishly.
 404.152 +
 404.153 +Mireille deftly snatched the envelope from the waiter's grasp before he could even react in the slightest, and then examined it carefully. One could never be too cautious in her line of work. While Mireille may not have been actively accepting contracts for a couple of months now, it didn't mean she had become stupid or sloppy. Indeed, her handbag next to her contained a fully loaded Walther P99, her firearm of choice. The idea of not taking her weapon when she left the safe haven of her apartment was simply foreign to Mireille. It was better to be safe than sorry; who knew when an old memory with a score to settle would somehow track her down? Besides, between her and Kirika only she carried a firearm now--the girl hadn't replaced her last gun after it had burnt up with Altena in the volcanic cavern below the Manor. And for the moment, Mireille intended to keep it that way. If Kirika carried a gun it would only serve to dispel the happy and peaceful atmosphere she currently lived in--the heavy burden of a lethal weapon almost constantly by her side put a damper on even Mireille's spirits nowadays; she didn't want to think what it would do to her poor brooding partner's. But by all means Kirika wasn't defenceless without a firearm; even unarmed she was a devastating opponent. Her combat skills were beyond the scope of most people's even much older than she, including those who had dedicated their whole lives to warfare. Kirika was a living weapon.
 404.154 +
 404.155 +"Who asked you to deliver this?" Mireille queried the waiter as she continued with her inspection of the letter. 
 404.156 +
 404.157 +"Er, I don't know. The manager just told me to take it to you," the waiter replied, shrugging.
 404.158 +
 404.159 +On the front face of the envelope in Mireille's hands was simply her full name, written in long, flowing script. The envelope itself was thin, and Mireille doubted that any sort of explosive could have been hidden inside. That didn't rule out the presence of a biological agent, though. The Corsican assassin gingerly brought the envelope up to her nose and surreptitiously sniffed it, trying to detect any telltale odours of a chemical weapon or poison soaked into the paper within... and without exposing herself to it. Needless to say, if the envelope itself were contaminated, it would be far too late. But since the waiter hadn't keeled over just yet, Mireille had assumed the note was safe to touch. 
 404.160 +
 404.161 +"You're still here…?" Mireille said pointedly to the lingering waiter as she finished her investigation. She maintained her attention on the mysterious envelope however, under the alert gaze of Kirika, and the baffled gaze of the now startled waiter. "Find out who is responsible for this letter," the assassin ordered the man, opting to give him more than a hint to what action he should be taking. 
 404.162 +
 404.163 +"Uhh, of course, I was just… umm," the waiter spluttered, searching for an excuse for his loitering. However, after seeing that Mireille had already dismissed him from her mind, he gave up and walked away, all the while muttering something under his breath about prissy women and their uptight attitudes. Mireille, although catching his parting remarks, paid them no heed--she was more concerned about the envelope. Besides, to her knowledge there was no contract out on the discourteous waiter. It would have been a waste of bullets and money to teach him some respect--if she shot every person impolite to her or simply incompetent, she would have went out of business long ago.
 404.164 +
 404.165 +"It seems clean," Mireille said to Kirika in Japanese once the waiter was out of earshot--just to be safe--and looked up from the note. 
 404.166 +
 404.167 +"Mm," Kirika mumbled in the affirmative. She looked down at the envelope in her colleague's hand and then raised her head to look the woman in the eye, silently asking the question that was dancing on Mireille's own tongue. 
 404.168 +
 404.169 +Deciding to alleviate her and her partner's curiosity, Mireille carefully opened the letter, and after nothing untoward happened, she delicately pulled out its contents between her thumb and forefinger. The envelope had contained a single sheet of folded paper, which Mireille now warily opened. Her brow creased in irritation and all worry left her as she scanned the familiar text that was written on the paper, which she had read numerous times in the form of emails received on her computer, before her expression turned into an all out scowl when she came to the signature at the end of the message. Breffort. Naturally. Did he really think that signing his own name rather than the group he belonged to made his message more appealing to her? 
 404.170 +
 404.171 +Mireille's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she crushed the note in her hand, conscious of the concerned look she was getting from her oblivious partner. And how dare Breffort disturb her and Kirika's peace. Messages in her private email account were one thing, but a letter delivered out in the open, and in front of Kirika no less…. Soldats. How Mireille hated those who supposedly 'held the world'. 
 404.172 +
 404.173 +"Mireille…?" Kirika questioned uncertainly as Mireille sharply half-rose from her seat, the woman's eyes darting around the café, searching for any suspicious character that stood out and could have been responsible for relaying the note. 
 404.174 +
 404.175 +Mireille's questing eyes caught the waiter's who had presented the letter. The uniformed man started at her piercing blue glare, almost dropping the tray laden with full drinking glasses he was carrying, but then recovered with only a splash of soda on his white shirt. With one minutely shaking hand he pointed to his right, giving a wan smile to Mireille as he did so. 
 404.176 +
 404.177 +The assassin snapped her head in the direction of the waiter's finger, and saw that he was indicating an immaculately garbed man in a black suit and tie who was striding calmly yet swiftly across the floor of the café, heading for the front door--doubtless he was the individual who had asked the manager of the establishment to deliver Breffort's message to Mireille and Kirika's table. Judging by his shifty apparel, reminiscent of many a Soldats minion the blonde and her companion had slain, as well as his unmistakable enthusiasm to vacate the premises, Mireille was absolutely positive that he worked for the secret society. 
 404.178 +
 404.179 +Mireille mentally bit off a curse, grabbed her handbag, and then hurried after the Soldats courier as he reached the entrance of the café and opened the glass door, leaving the building. The Corsican, a moment behind him, threw open the café door and stepped out onto the footpath outside, just in time to see the darkly dressed man quickly open the rear passenger door of an equally darkly painted sedan parked across from her in the street. He obviously knew she was on to him. 
 404.180 +
 404.181 +Mireille dashed forwards, hoping to intercept the Soldats agent before he climbed into the safety of the black vehicle, but was rudely halted in her tracks as she bumped into a passer by. Mireille turned angrily to give a brief grimace of annoyance to the bad-mannered man she had knocked into--he hadn't even given a semblance of an apology!--but only caught a glimpse of shoulder length stark white hair and the back of a long jet black coat before he blended into the swarms of people travelling along the footpath. 
 404.182 +
 404.183 +Hearing a car door slam shut jerked Mireille's attention back to the ebony sedan, and to the woman's disgust she saw that her momentary distraction had been enough to allow the Soldats messenger to escape. She scrunched the letter still held in her left hand into a tighter ball. She was sure there would be other Soldats couriers in the future to relay her own message; one way or another Breffort would learn of her displeasure at being hounded. 
 404.184 +
 404.185 +All of a sudden Mireille was hurled backwards through the air by a tremendous explosion, originating from the sedan that had erupted into a huge ball of flame, fiery tendrils reaching out to consume the footpath and most of the street as well. Mireille felt the intense heat of the blast along with its force on her body as she smashed through the glass pane of the café's entrance at the same time the entire front window of the restaurant was blown inwards, showering patrons inside with a deluge of sharp shards. 
 404.186 +
 404.187 +Mireille lay on her back, staring up at the café's partially blackened ceiling, its cream coloured paint now streaked with scorch marks. Her body felt numb and she could hear a faint ringing in her ears… but that was all. Kirika's anxious face suddenly appeared above Mireille, the girl's lips moving rapidly, but all the blonde could do was blink stupidly up at her in response, hearing nothing. However, as she continued to simply stare at Kirika, the ringing in her ears gradually became more perceptible, the ringing turning into a piercing shriek, almost as if she was being exposed to a steadily mounting high frequency soundwave, until--
 404.188 +
 404.189 +"--reille?! Mireille?!" Kirika's fretful voice cut into Mireille's hearing without warning, the buzzing in her ears fading until it disappeared beyond audible range. Mireille was glad the explosion had not damaged her eardrums. Unfortunately, sensation had also returned to her body. She had forgotten how much it hurt to be flung through solid glass. 
 404.190 +
 404.191 +"I'm… alright," Mireille assured her concerned partner in a croaky voice as she struggled to sit up, mindful of the doubtless myriad of jagged glass flakes she was lying on. Her back ached something fierce, and she was sure she had sustained numerous cuts and bruises, but she didn't think she had broken anything. 
 404.192 +
 404.193 +Kirika helped Mireille sit up with tentatively placed hands, her support careful yet helpful. The blonde flashed her considerate colleague a grateful smile, and then reached her right hand up to touch her head, only to realise that somehow she had managed to keep a hold of her handbag despite being violently propelled like a rag doll into the café through its front door. Mireille was pleased. Even when rocked by an explosion, being forcibly parted from one's weapon was unacceptable for a professional assassin. The danger to one's person didn't necessarily stop when the explosions did. 
 404.194 +
 404.195 +With Kirika's assistance, Mireille clambered unsteadily to her feet, accompanied by a tinkle of shattered glass that had stuck to her back falling like glittering dewdrops to the floor. The woman took her time to assess the destruction… and piece together what could have happened. Wisps of flame billowed through the destroyed front window of the café, with the remaining ragged glass attached along the edges of the frame giving the impression of a huge gaping maw breathing fire. Turning her gaze outside, Mireille saw the blazing skeleton of the Soldats car, the vehicle utterly gutted to a charred wreck. The still raging fires hid most of the chassis' interior, but she was sure she could make out two well-cooked bodies inside. It appeared that Breffort's messenger and his associate had not escaped after all. 
 404.196 +
 404.197 +But the two Soldats agents weren't the only casualties by far. Littering the street were several corpses--or soon to be corpses--simply people in the wrong place at the wrong time who had caught the brunt of the blast. There were even more than a few victims inside the café, some of them horribly wounded and unmoving unfortunates sprawled on the floor, having been thrown through the front window from the footpath outside, while others who had been sitting next to the window had been badly cut by flying glass as well as scorched by searing flames. All in all the fatalities of the car bomb, if indeed that was what it had been, were extensive. Mireille had been extremely lucky to avoid serious injury. 
 404.198 +
 404.199 +On seeing the booth where she and Kirika had only had lunch minutes before now a melted mess, Mireille turned worriedly to the girl. 
 404.200 +
 404.201 +"Are you alright?" she asked, consciously keeping all but a little concern out of her voice. 
 404.202 +
 404.203 +"Mm," Kirika nodded, her eyes flicking to their demolished table and then back to Mireille, understanding. "I followed behind you." 
 404.204 +
 404.205 +"Good," Mireille said, quite calmly, but with relief welling up inside of her. If Kirika had remained in her seat, she didn't want to imagine what could have happened. 
 404.206 +
 404.207 +Mireille noticed that all of the new clothes she had bought for Kirika had also been ruined beyond all recognition. And while the sight rankled Mireille's nerves--some of those outfits she had really wanted to see Kirika in again! Well, they could always go on more clothes shopping trips--right now that was the least of their problems. Someone had taken out two Soldats agents--Breffort's agents. Why? Infighting in the organisation perhaps? A little internal strife? It was feasible, but without further information all Mireille had was speculation. 
 404.208 +
 404.209 +"Mireille," Kirika said, her soft voice interrupting the woman's musings. 
 404.210 +
 404.211 +Mireille looked at Kirika, and saw her partner lower her brown eyes pointedly to her left hand. The Corsican followed her gaze, suddenly aware of the crumpled paper she still held. Evidently she had managed to retain her grasp on that too. Mireille lifted her left hand and frowned at the letter in it. Had the Soldats courier and his driver died because of this note? But it was only a simple message, one merely requesting that Mireille contact and meet with Breffort as soon as possible, just like all the emails before it. Was that worth killing two people and who knew how many innocent bystanders in the process? It didn't add up. 
 404.212 +
 404.213 +Police and ambulance sirens could be heard wailing in the distance; they would soon be here. It was long past time to be gone. Mireille certainly didn't want to be caught up in answering questions asked by the authorities, especially with a gun in her handbag. Besides, something had happened here today that didn't sit well with her, which may even involve her and Kirika. And she intended to find out what. 
 404.214 +
 404.215 +******
 404.216 +
 404.217 +It was dusk by the time Mireille arrived back at the apartment building. For the remainder of the day, after a short visit back home following the car bombing, she had been out on the streets--the backstreets mostly--of Paris, seeing what she could learn from her usual rumourmongers who normally kept their ear to the ground regarding events in the underworld and the circumstances behind them, no matter how significant or trivial. She had been to see many people, some less scrupulous than others, and after loosening tongues with cash incentives and filtering out the illogical hearsay and fervent personal beliefs, the solid facts she had gathered all said more or less the same thing. An unexpected and disquieting thing. 
 404.218 +
 404.219 +Mireille trudged up the apartment building's flight of stairs to the first floor, lugging her yellow scooter with some difficultly beside her. Normally Kirika would do such labour for her, but on the Corsican's insistence, the obliging girl had remained behind at home. Mireille had cited it would be faster for her to zip around town collecting information by herself using her scooter. However, there had also been another reason why the assassin had wanted Kirika to stay in the apartment, one she hadn't told her. While it was obviously safer to wait in the security of their home, the main reason was that Mireille hadn't wanted Kirika's quiet and peaceful atmosphere to be harmed anymore than it had already been with the carnage at the café. The majority of the individuals the blonde had consulted were not the most… honest of people, to put it lightly. In truth, a good number were hardened criminals. Even in broad daylight, a woman and a girl alone in a seedy part of the city made tempting targets, especially with the well-to-do manner Mireille carried herself with. Of course, anybody who tried anything would have regretted it for the rest of his or her suddenly drastically shortened life, but the violence that would inevitably break out would undoubtedly extinguish whatever shred of tranquillity and believability Kirika's happy and normal living environment still had. Mireille would maintain the façade of an ordinary and serene way of life for as long as she could for Kirika's sake. Not until the bullets were flying in their direction would she finally concede that their black pasts had finally caught up with them, staining the light they lived in with darkness. 
 404.220 +
 404.221 +Mireille grunted in quite an unladylike fashion as she at last struggled up to the top of the staircase hauling her heavy load. It had been a long time since Mireille had last utilised her scooter before today. It was designed for only one person to ride, and now that she was no longer living alone indefinitely, she hadn't had much use for it. It was very rare when Mireille left the apartment without Kirika by her side, today notwithstanding, and the pair usually either walked to their destination or took a taxicab. They sometimes took advantage of the Metro, the subway system that ran beneath Paris like a subterranean spider's web, but only if pressed. Mireille preferred the privacy of a cab and was more than willing to pay for it. 
 404.222 +
 404.223 +But perhaps it was time for her to trade in her faithful yellow scooter for something that allowed more passengers. A car maybe, or even an actual motorbike. Mireille smiled at the thought of cruising around the streets of Paris on a juiced up motorbike with Kirika riding behind her; the girl's arms wrapped tightly around her waist while she snuggled into her back, naturally. Mireille wasn't really a big fan of motorbikes, but it certainly would be a lot of fun, and not to mention a great deal better than walking. 
 404.224 +
 404.225 +Mireille reached the apartment she shared with Kirika at the end of the hall and unlocked the door and entered, wheeling her scooter inside. As she walked into the living room, she saw Kirika sitting at the computer on the billiard table, watching TV on its monitor. A report on the car bombing outside the café was showing on the PC's screen, the channel set to a local news station that the darkhaired girl was regarding intently. However, she turned her attention to Mireille as the woman trundled her scooter past her to park it in its usual spot by the window, but not before then, somehow implicitly distinguishing that her partner had returned to the apartment and not an intruder instead without so much as looking in her direction. Mireille wondered how Kirika did it. 
 404.226 +
 404.227 +"What are they saying?" Mireille inquired as she walked over to the billiard table and casually tossed her handbag with her Walther P99 inside on it. 
 404.228 +
 404.229 +"It's being said that it was a car bomb and that there have been a total of seven deaths so far. There have been over a dozen injuries, too. Some are critical. The two men that were inside the car haven't been identified yet," Kirika said, knowing that Mireille was referring to the news stations she had occupied herself with viewing while left alone. "No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the reporters are saying that it could be gang related."
 404.230 +
 404.231 +Mireille nodded. It was merely the bare essentials, the most basic of facts. The assassin had anticipated as much. It was natural for the media. It was uncommon when they actually got it right when it involved the underworld, and this time with Soldats involvement, it was doubly unlikely the news stations would. 
 404.232 +
 404.233 +There was silence between Mireille and Kirika for a few moments, and the blonde woman was acutely aware of the expectant look she was receiving from her partner. But Mireille wasn't very eager to disclose what she had discovered to Kirika. Her eyes went to Breffort's creased note that was lying flattened out on the green surface of the billiard table, next to the computer. Kirika hadn't asked whether or not it was the first message Mireille had gotten from the high-ranking Soldats member, and the Corsican hadn't told her either. It was better to keep that fact secret Mireille had decided; she wasn't sure how the generally stoic girl would take her duplicity. But in Mireille's eyes, it wasn't really duplicity. More like withholding the whole truth. It had been for Kirika's sake anyway; that made it justified, didn't it? 
 404.234 +
 404.235 +Mireille exhaled heavily. Kirika still hadn't said anything, but the silence between them was deafening. She could practically feel the girl's brown gaze on her, waiting patiently for her report. There was no prompting on Kirika's part, just quiet tolerance, noiselessly waiting for her to say something. Somehow that mute patience seemed to demand that Mireille speak more than encouraging words would have. 
 404.236 +
 404.237 +"I've found out something," Mireille finally admitted with some reluctance, "not much, but something." She looked up from the crumpled letter to meet Kirika's expressive eyes. "The word going around is that…" She paused for a second, knowing the impact this would have on their quiet existence. Perhaps she just wanted to soak up the remaining peacefulness for one single moment longer. 
 404.238 +
 404.239 +Mireille swallowed and then sighed, before continuing. "The word is that the car bombing was… was Noir's doing." She stopped for an instant to let it sink into the girl, and also for her to gauge Kirika's reaction. But Mireille's taciturn colleague simply blinked, nothing more. Sighing once again, Mireille went on with her report. "Supposedly Noir has returned to Europe after a few months hiatus. Either that, or they are back in business."
 404.240 +
 404.241 +It wasn't the first time someone else other than Mireille and Kirika had claimed to be Noir. Indeed, the duo had met Chloe, the self-proclaimed 'True Noir', that way. Many contract killers in the underworld had taken on the title before Mireille and Kirika, and with the pair apparently vanished from the scene, some ambitious individual or individuals who believed they had the expertise to back up the name had taken advantage of their absence. Or at any rate, that appeared to be the case. 
 404.242 +
 404.243 +"Noir…" Kirika suddenly whispered, as if the word held special significance…. which in truth it did. She stared off into space as she spoke the feared title of the greatest assassin, or rather, pair of assassins in the business, seeming lost in thought. She then abruptly blinked, snapping out of her reverie, and her eyes moved to the letter resting atop the billiard table at the same time Mireille's did. 
 404.244 +
 404.245 +Mireille had no doubt what was running through her own mind was running through Kirika's as well. With the grapevine proclaiming that Noir had detonated the car bomb outside the café, it was likely that Breffort would believe that Mireille and Kirika were responsible for the deaths of his agents, and had performed an act of hostility against Soldats, effectively declaring war. While Mireille had no love for the group, she didn't want to go head to head against their entire force, or even solely against Breffort's own. Who knew how many belonged to the cloak-and-dagger society? It would be like fighting against the whole world--not a fight Mireille was raring to rush into, or to have Kirika engaged in either. Between the two of them they had killed an incalculable number of Soldats agents, but unbeknownst to them at the time, it had been during controlled conditions. The skirmishes had been tests, mere trials to see if they were worthy of becoming Noir. Going against a completely unleashed Soldats would be a very different experience. 
 404.246 +
 404.247 +So there was no choice. Even if just to assure Breffort that she and Kirika weren't to blame for the attack on Soldats, Mireille would have to meet with the man. It seemed he would finally get his much sought after meeting in spite of everything. But whatever he had to say, Mireille didn't care. She would go only to pledge her and Kirika's innocence, nothing more. She flat out refused to become embroiled in some Soldats plot, dragging along her partner for the ride too. Kirika was still recovering from her injuries sustained at the Manor; she didn't need anything more to worry about.
 404.248 +
 404.249 +Mireille's shoulders sagged as she closed her eyes, shutting out the sight of Breffort's note. Regardless of her intentions, there was a good chance that simply conceding to Breffort's wishes spelt the end of her and Kirika's peaceful lifestyle. Or perhaps, the woman thought sadly, it was already at its end. 
 404.250 +
 404.251 +******
 404.252 +
 404.253 +To be continued….
 404.254 +
 404.255 +
 404.256 +Author's ramblings:
 404.257 +
 404.258 +And so it begins. Finally! ^_^ This was a fairly long first chapter, but I had to reintroduce some things mentioned in 'Black Turned Red'. I hope it is okay, and that the story will flesh out to something decent and entertaining. 
 404.259 +
 404.260 +The sounds Kirika makes when saying yes or no (those little mumbles) are more or less Japanese, but I figured Mireille wouldn't know exactly. 
 404.261 +
 404.262 +Oh, and yes, Mireille's PC (the original and this new one) does in fact have a TV antenna. Yes, really. ^_^
 404.263 \ No newline at end of file

   405.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   405.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   405.3 @@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
   405.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika
   405.5 
   405.6 +
   405.7 
   405.8 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com 
   405.9 
  405.10 +******
  405.11 
  405.12 +
  405.13 
  405.14 +The second chapter.
  405.15 
  405.16 +
  405.17 
  405.18 +- Kirika
  405.19 
  405.20 +
  405.21 
  405.22 +******
  405.23 
  405.24 +
  405.25 
  405.26 +Chapter 2 - An Unwelcome Briefing
  405.27 
  405.28 +
  405.29 
  405.30 +
  405.31 
  405.32 +Mireille watched the floor indicator lights illuminate gradually upwards as she waited for the elevator to arrive at level seventeen. The level where Breffort's office was located. It wasn't the first time Mireille had been in this elevator, riding up to Breffort's office... although her intent back then had been somewhat different than it was now. In actual fact, she had tracked down the distinguished Soldats member to this very building after…. Well, that was all in the past now. 
  405.33 
  405.34 +
  405.35 
  405.36 +Mireille had replied to the most recent of Breffort's harrying emails and arranged a meeting time for today in the afternoon--one day after the car bomb incident outside of the Aux Villes Du Nord café. She had been a little surprised when the man had emailed her back requesting that they convene at the same building she had once 'visited' him at before. But, in retrospect, she shouldn't have been. Those of the society of Soldats could be expected to be awfully arrogant, especially those who ranked on upper most rungs of the organisation's hierarchal ladder--they considered themselves as the puppeteers who held and hence controlled the world on strings, strings that no one even realised were there. Despite Mireille knowing where he worked as an alleged legitimate and ordinary entrepreneur, Breffort hadn't moved from the commonplace office building the assassin had first tracked him down to. Although, it wasn't as if Mireille were type to blow the whistle on his other, more atypical activities… not unless she wanted her own secret life exposed in retaliation. 
  405.37 
  405.38 +
  405.39 
  405.40 +Oddly, in his email reply, Breffort had given no allusion of hostility in his words nor had he even mentioned the car bombing yesterday; not so much as the smallest hint of ominous subtext was contained in his message. It had been totally businesslike; straight and to the point. Mireille wasn't sure what to make of that. He had to have known the story going around the streets was that Noir was responsible for the bombing. She would have been amazed if he didn't; Soldats seemed to know all and see all… most of the time, anyway. Still, it wasn't like Breffort was the most animated person alive; regardless of the professional air of his message it was yet likely that he was plotting Mireille and Kirika's deaths at this very minute. She and Kirika had better keep their guard up. 
  405.41 
  405.42 +
  405.43 
  405.44 +Mireille smiled grimly and gripped the handles of her handbag a little tighter in her grasp. As if their guard had been down to begin with. The weight of her gun hidden in the handbag carried by her side was a reassuring one. If a squad of armed Soldats underlings were lying in wait for her and Kirika to emerge from the elevator with lethal intentions in mind, then they would soon learn with horrendous clarity why the pair had once been rightfully known as Noir. But Mireille doubted Breffort would be foolish or desperate enough to attack them directly outside his own office. It simply wasn't his style. It wasn't Soldats' style. 
  405.45 
  405.46 +
  405.47 
  405.48 +Mireille turned her attention away from the elevator's level indicator and surreptitiously shifted her eyes to Kirika, who was standing quietly next to her, seemingly wholly engrossed with staring at the floor. The diminutive girl was dressed in one of her favourite outfits consisting of a turquoise coloured top supported by two spaghetti straps, a short dark blue skirt, and finally a white parka. Kirika had lost most of the garments on her gruelling trek by foot to where France bordered Spain--the site of the Manor--but after her return to Paris with Mireille, the doting blonde had replaced the missing clothes on one of her first of countless shopping splurges for her partner. Kirika even had her adorable little pink shoes back… although Mireille had purchased a sturdy pair of black boots for the girl to wear sometimes, too--a professional assassin needed tough protective footwear when undertaking a contract. Nevertheless, Mireille liked how the pink slip-on shoes looked on Kirika's dainty feet. It would be all right to give her cute partner a bit of leeway in her choice of footwear now and then, especially since they weren't actively in 'the business' anymore. 
  405.49 
  405.50 +
  405.51 
  405.52 +Originally, Mireille had wanted to meet with Breffort by herself. However, as she should have expected, Kirika would have none of it. Mireille had strengthened her resolve to leave Kirika behind in the security of their home before telling her of her wishes, but under the taciturn girl's quiet--yet persistent--insistence the blonde had caved. Mireille didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but after informing her that she would be going by herself, Kirika had given her a hurt puppy dog expression of the likes the woman's resolve had been utterly defenceless against. And coupled with the girl speaking the blonde's name and nothing else in that special way of hers, Mireille's resolve had crumbled to nothing--the joint offensive had simply been too much to endure. Besides, even if Mireille had remained steadfast and forbade Kirika to come with her, the exasperatingly loyal girl would have in all probability tailed her anyway--blatantly mind you, until Mireille surrendered to letting her walk beside her. Kirika would have followed no matter what her older partner said. 
  405.53 
  405.54 +
  405.55 
  405.56 +So, Mireille reasoned, it was perhaps even better that she had 'allowed' Kirika to come with her. It was saving them both a lot of trouble. Yes, it was the truth. 
  405.57 
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  405.59 
  405.60 +Mireille's eyes became half-lidded as she directed an unnoticed dry look at Kirika, the girl standing with her hands in her parka's pockets, appearing as demure and innocent as ever. The Corsican let out a small sigh, her steely blue eyes losing their sardonic quality, turning a gentler shade. She was becoming a real softy… at least when it came to Kirika. She prayed that she hadn't made a dreadful mistake in letting her partner tag along with her, though. The threat of violence was always there when they left the safety of their apartment, but now, inside a building that belonged to Soldats, the threat had doubled--no, tripled. Mireille would make sure the meeting with Breffort finished quickly. The faster things were straightened out with him, the faster she and Kirika could return to their peaceful life… if it was still waiting for them. Mireille wouldn't give Breffort a chance to coerce them into a Soldats' machination or worse, into the powerful group's fold. Breffort had offered her an influential place in the society once before; there was no reason why he or the other high ranking officials of Soldats might not still harbour the desire to recruit her. 
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  405.64 +The noise of the elevator doors sliding open brought Mireille out of her thoughts, and with Kirika in tandem, she stepped out of the elevator and into the adjoining hallway, before proceeding in the direction of Breffort's office. 
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  405.67 
  405.68 +As Mireille and Kirika walked into the foyer of Breffort's office, two men dressed in grey suits relaxing on one of three black leather couches positioned around a coffee table inside perked up and turned their heads towards them. Mireille tensed slightly as they regarded her but closed the double doors she and Kirika had entered through behind her without hesitation before continuing to walk further into the room, outwardly appearing calm and cool, but inwardly a coiled spring ready to strike at a moment's notice. She had shot and killed the last two guards that had been stationed here during her first visit to the foyer; she wondered if their replacements knew that. But considering the mistrustful and cagey way the duo eyed her and Kirika, Mireille wouldn't be startled if they did. She wondered if the sentries also knew that she and her colleague were futhermore the Noir of ancient legend, or had been for a time at any rate. Perhaps that was the cause of their obvious apprehension… but it was doubtful. Mireille really didn't believe that the higher-ups of Soldats would reveal the genuine Noir's true identity to their lowly subordinates. They simply didn't need to know. And knowledge was power, with those top officials not apt to share either. 
  405.69 
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  405.72 +"He's expecting you," one of the men said, gesturing with a tilt of his head to a set of double doors over his shoulder, while not taking his eyes off Mireille or Kirika. In the meantime his companion sat stock still beside him, staring at the young women with a steady gaze that roamed periodically between the pair. 
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  405.76 +Mireille smiled thinly in response. The guards hadn't even so much as stirred from their seats to check them for weapons. Maybe her and Kirika's reputation as Noir had preceded them after all. Or it could be that the guards were just always edgy with everyone who crossed their paths; that attitude did make for a longer life in their line of work. Maybe they were in actual fact under direct orders from Breffort not to frisk Mireille and Kirika for arms. In any case Mireille was glad; she had never liked being felt up by strange men with wandering hands under the pretext of searching for concealed weapons. Although it rarely occurred--as a professional assassin Mireille typically avoided situations where suspicion could be laid on her, and that included walking into places where a physical pat down of her person was required. 
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  405.80 +Strolling unhurriedly past the chary-eyed sentries--whose gazes stuck to them like glue as they moved--Mireille and Kirika approached Breffort's doors, and, after a short forewarning knock courtesy of the Corsican, walked into the Soldats member's office. 
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  405.83 
  405.84 +Breffort looked up from where he was seated at his desk as Mireille and Kirika came into the room, putting down the fountain pen he had previously been writing with. Remy Breffort was a somewhat aged man, perhaps in his late fifties, with slicked back grey hair and attired in an expensive-looking charcoal grey suit of fine material and cut, painting an overall dapper exterior. Mireille hypothesised that he was a prominent individual in Soldats' echelons, perhaps even sitting on the chief council itself, if one existed. All the more reason to stay sharp and leave quickly. While the blonde had had dealings with Breffort in the past, it didn't mean she trusted him more than any other Soldats follower.
  405.85 
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  405.88 +"Mireille Bouquet," Breffort greeted flatly in his rather gruff voice, speaking French. He cast his eyes to Kirika trailing at the rear of Mireille for a second, but then they returned to the woman. "I am pleased you have answered my summons. Come in. Sit down."
  405.89 
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  405.92 +Mireille advanced into the richly decorated room with long, purposeful strides, before halting abruptly in front of two plush sofas facing a polished cherry wood coffee table. "That won't be necessary," she declared tersely as Kirika softly clicked shut the office's double doors, then positioned herself a couple of steps behind her partner. "The only reason I-- *we*--" Mireille quickly corrected, "--are here is to assure you--and Soldats--that we were not responsible for killing your people." Mireille narrowed her eyes, clutching her handbag in front of her tightly with both hands. "Although I'll admit your constant messages did try my patience…." she added hotly under her breath. "While the word may be that Noir is taking the blame for the car bombing outside the Aux Villes Du Nord café, it was not we." The woman then smirked faintly, but the smile held more ice than warmth. "We prefer more… shall we say, elegant methods of disposing of people." Mireille glanced over her shoulder at Kirika, her smile now turning fond, just for the cute girl. "Well, one of us does," she amended rather teasingly, recalling her stoic partner's brutal yet effective techniques at ending lives. 
  405.93 
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  405.96 +Kirika, exhibiting her aforementioned stoicism, didn't react to the jibe bar an infinitesimal movement of her lips. 
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 405.100 +Breffort simply looked at Mireille levelly for several moments. Then, after heaving a weary sigh, he stood up from his chair and hobbled out from behind his desk, leaning the majority of his weight on his peculiar cane topped with what loosely resembled a golden hawk's head. "Noir…" he mumbled to himself, looking away from Mireille and Kirika. "I had hoped it was merely a rumour, but now…." Breffort sighed once again and shook his head slightly, before returning his attention to Mireille. "The situation has become even worse than I had first believed. It would be wise if you and your partner listen to what I have to say," he recommended with some resignation. 
 405.101 
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 405.103 
 405.104 +"I don't think so," Mireille said coldly and with barely veiled enmity beneath her words, no smiles of any sort now. "We don't want to know what the 'situation' is." There was no way she was going to let Breffort get them involved in whatever was going on. Mireille had already informed the man that neither she nor Kirika were accountable for the deaths of the two Soldats agents--their business with him was finished. Mireille and Kirika could go back to their quiet life oblivious to whatever Breffort's and Soldats' problems were, and be happier for it. "We're done here," the Corsican assassin stated firmly, turning to go. 
 405.105 
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 405.107 
 405.108 +"If the title of Noir is truly being used then this concerns you too," Breffort said to Mireille's retreating back. "You *and* your partner," he continued in a softer tone, someway knowing how the inclusion of Kirika would affect the woman's mindset. "It is the reason why I've been trying to contact you of late."
 405.109 
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 405.112 +Mireille stopped dead in her tracks when her partner was mentioned. Curse Breffort! She wondered irritably if he had agents spying on how she and Kirika interacted with each other now. Although, Breffort had been present when Mireille and Kirika had walked out of the Manor together, the sole survivors of a battle against Altena and her enclave. Perhaps the woman's decision to follow after and in turn save Kirika then had been enough for him to go on. 
 405.113 
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 405.116 +Mireille turned back and looked at Kirika, who hadn't moved. The girl met her gaze wordlessly and then, to the blonde's dismay, she walked slowly over to one of the sofas. "Kirika…" Mireille whispered in consternation and surprise.
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 405.119 
 405.120 +With Kirika's choice made, there was little Mireille could do but staunchly stand by her, regardless of how much she wished the withdrawn girl had followed her lead like she normally did. As Kirika took a seat on the sofa, Mireille reluctantly did likewise, sitting primly next to her colleague and laying her handbag on her lap. She did her best not to slouch despondently. Her and Kirika's peaceful way of life was giving its final death rattle. 
 405.121 
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 405.124 +Breffort took a brief moment to fetch a manila folder out from one of his desk drawers, and then limped over to the other, vacant, sofa across from Mireille and Kirika before seating himself in it, releasing a tired breath of air. He propped his cane against one of the sofa's arms and then opened the dossier in his hands. 
 405.125 
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 405.127 
 405.128 +"We believe," Breffort began, and Mireille had no doubt in her mind who exactly 'we' was referring to, "that this man, Ryosuke Ishinomori, is one of those responsible for the act of aggression against us yesterday." Breffort laid out a number of photographs he had retrieved from the folder on the table in front of Mireille and Kirika, placing them down one after the other, side by side in a neat row. 
 405.129 
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 405.131 
 405.132 +Mireille leaned forwards on the sofa, peering at the mix of colour and black and white photos of assorted sizes, before picking one up and examining it, her interest piqued despite herself. Clearly surveillance specialists--who were highly likely to also be members of Soldats--had taken them. The colour picture in Mireille's hands was of an Asian man who looked to be in his mid twenties, standing a couple of feet from a black limousine and seemingly occupied with someone or something outside of the snapshot, and consequently was apparently oblivious to being spied upon and photographed. Ryosuke Ishinomori was a tall individual, at least six foot if the limousine in the background was any measure, and possessed a slim build. Then again, Mireille couldn't be certain of that since he wore a long coat of the darkest black. It was buckled from his neck to his waist with gunmetal grey clasps and fell in two tails to the tops of his ankles, and as a result, hid most of his similarly gloomily attired body from view. The coat had a faint sheen to it that was visible even in the photo, like it was made of some sort of glossy substance, perhaps leather. Its collar was cut straight and stood up stiffly to Ishinomori's mouth, partially obscuring his features. But Mireille could make out enough. Ishinomori would have been rather handsome if his face hadn't been gaunt and his expression stony. Dark circles ringed his lifeless violet, almost purple, eyes, made doubly more noticeable by his deathly pale complexion. Stark white hair hung to his shoulders, but fanned out in a series of spikes away from his head just before actually touching them. 
 405.133 
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 405.135 
 405.136 +All in all the general air of Ryosuke Ishinomori, even from a mere photograph alone, touted that he was a very dangerous and cold individual… but not of the type that Mireille hadn't dealt with before. There were many people who held themselves in such repute in the criminal world--and those in the average world too, for that matter--arrogant men and women who felt themselves superior to others and acted accordingly. Fools who thought of themselves above their customarily meagre castes. Mireille had encountered their like many, many times. They were often the ones who begged for their lives before she ended them. She would have to encounter Ishinomori in person before she could determine if he shared those other wannabes' characteristics, or if he actually had the ability to back up his aplomb. 
 405.137 
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 405.139 
 405.140 +As Mireille was studying the picture, a flash of memory manifested in her mind's eye, a memory from the day before. She inhaled sharply and frowned hard at the man in the photo. Shoulder length stark white hair and a long jet-black coat…. It was the man she had bumped into on the street outside the café yesterday, right before the Soldats sedan was turned into a hunk of flaming scrap metal. Mireille should have recognised him sooner. He must have been there to trigger the car bomb remotely himself. How very brazen, she thought disdainfully. 
 405.141 
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 405.143 
 405.144 +Mireille spared a glance at Kirika to her left, and saw the girl impassively scrutinising another photograph of Ishinomori, this particular one of him sitting at a bar in a restaurant, dressed much like he had been in the picture she had been looking at and with the same emotionless countenance. The shop signs caught in the foreground of the black and white photo were written in what looked like Japanese characters--it must have been shot in Japan. Well, Ryosuke Ishinomori did appear to hail from the country. 
 405.145 
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 405.147 
 405.148 +Kirika's eyes turned to meet Mireille's for a moment at the woman's look, but then Breffort started talking again, demanding both her and her partner's full attention. 
 405.149 
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 405.151 
 405.152 +"Ishinomori was spotted recently in Paris accompanied by his usual associate, one Wen-Sung Hsu; a man also known as Vincent Hsu," Breffort revealed, placing another set of snapshots on the coffee table, under the first collection. 
 405.153 
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 405.155 
 405.156 +Mireille and Kirika moved at the same time, each reaching for a surveillance photograph of the second bombing suspect. At first glance Mireille thought that Breffort had been mistaken about Hsu's gender, but after closer inspection she realised he was simply a remarkably beautiful man. Truly Vincent Hsu could have been mistaken for a woman. If Mireille were so inclined that way she might have even been attracted to him. But as it was, she preferred the authentic thing. She could accept no substitutes, regardless of how feminine a man appeared. 
 405.157 
 405.158 +
 405.159 
 405.160 +With a medium-to-small build and long lustrous black hair, Hsu was the exact opposite of his older-looking partner Ishinomori, even more so with the broad smile plastered on his almost flawless face; the solitary blemish a mole by the right side of his mouth. The picture Mireille had chosen was in full colour displaying Hsu carousing in what looked to be a seedy nightclub somewhere, with his arms around two pretty yet whorishly dressed women who the Corsican could practically visualise simpering. The enchanting man who had won their affections--and seemed to certainly be enjoying them--was clad in a black suit and tie along with a correspondingly coloured shirt, matching his Japanese associate's fashion sense. However, Hsu wore his clothing well, holding himself in a suave but laid-back manner that shone through even the static photo in Mireille's hand. His eyes were pools of enrapturing liquid amber, captivating in their soft exquisiteness, while his ebony locks were tied loosely in a ponytail at the nape of his neck and hung over one shoulder, reaching his waist. A series of short strips made of a black velvet-like material were wrapped around Hsu's ponytail, keeping the long tresses neatly together, and a few centimetres from the tail's bottom a dark cord was tied, producing a tuft of hair at the ponytail's end. It was hard to imagine a person with such a jovial and captivating look was paired with the likes of the dour Ryosuke Ishinomori. But then appearances could all too easily be deceiving. Mireille doubted the casual observer would think Kirika was anything more than an average girl by merely looking at her. 
 405.161 
 405.162 +
 405.163 
 405.164 +"Both men have become significantly prominent players in the Asia-Pacific region, rising from relative obscurity from small gang-related syndicates," Breffort went on while Mireille and her darkhaired companion studied the snapshots. "Perhaps you have heard of them…?" he posed to the well-known and respected Corsican assassin.
 405.165 
 405.166 +
 405.167 
 405.168 +"I don't visit that area of the world often," Mireille replied in an absent mumble, her interest focused primarily on the picture of Hsu. "Europe is my traditional playground."
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 405.171 
 405.172 +"Of course," Breffort said somewhat contritely, before clearing his throat and resuming his report. "Alone, Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu make equally formidable foes," he said, impassively watching Mireille and Kirika continue to look over the photos of the duo. "But together…." The grey-haired man directed an unwavering gaze at Mireille, the woman having looked up at his noticeable pause. "Together, they are arguably worthy of Noir's heritage."
 405.173 
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 405.175 
 405.176 +Mireille answered Breffort's gaze with a dispassionate and level look, clearly unimpressed and unafraid.
 405.177 
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 405.179 
 405.180 +She then exhaled with exaggerated heaviness, and belligerently tossed the photograph she had been examining back onto the coffee table's shiny surface, her patience at its end. "This is all *very* interesting," she said sarcastically, "but will there be a point to any of this soon? All you've shown us is two *supposedly* dangerous men who killed two of your Soldats lapdogs. I don't see what they have to do with myself or Kirika beyond their use of the name, Noir." 
 405.181 
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 405.183 
 405.184 +Breffort was silent for a moment, during which Mireille was tempted to take Kirika and leave already, but then the Soldats official spoke once again.
 405.185 
 405.186 +
 405.187 
 405.188 +"When I learned Ishinomori and Hsu had appeared in Paris, I immediately assigned two agents to keep watch over their activities, the same men who I used as convenient one-time couriers to deliver my message to you." 
 405.189 
 405.190 +
 405.191 
 405.192 +Mireille raised a single elegant blonde eyebrow at this. 
 405.193 
 405.194 +
 405.195 
 405.196 +Seeing the woman's questioning expression, Breffort explained. "It is a rarity when they leave the Eastern hemisphere. Especially with… circumstances as they are over there at present." Noticing Mireille's now even greater quizzical look, Breffort held up at hand, forestalling any inquiries. "I'll explain in due time. It was pure coincidence that my message was delivered to you at the precise time Ishinomori and Hsu decided to take the opportunity to dispose of my men." His eyes moved to Kirika for a fraction of a second, who was still absorbed with looking at photos, and then went back to Mireille. "I hope neither of you were injured in the ensuing blast."
 405.197 
 405.198 +
 405.199 
 405.200 +"No," Mireille said dryly, recalling her painful flight through the café's glass door. "Although your concern is touching," she couldn't help adding condescendingly.
 405.201 
 405.202 +
 405.203 
 405.204 +Undeterred by the blonde's tone, Breffort continued, albeit with a slight, almost inaudible sigh beforehand. "I don't know how they discovered they were being observed by Soldats--my agents must have become careless--but it's moot now. Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu are only the hands of a larger menace. The real threat is this woman--" Breffort laid a newspaper clipping on top of the several pictures on the table. "--Kaede Ishinomori, Ryosuke's younger sister. He and Hsu are merely her operatives. *She* is the true danger."
 405.205 
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 405.207 
 405.208 +Mireille sighed in annoyance and picked up the newspaper clipping. Written in Japanese, the article was obviously taken from a Japanese publication. The accompanying colour picture for the report was focused on a young woman dressed in a sensible yet stylish black pantsuit, shirt, and tie combination, outside of what resembled a courthouse. She was surrounded by a flood of people, most of them journalist types. An escort consisting of five women and two men stood out in the crowd, however, appearing to be with the young woman--who was evidently Kaede Ishinomori--most likely her bodyguards and lawyers. Mireille wasn't sure what the report was about--she could speak Japanese well, but reading it was a different matter entirely--but it was clear even to her that Kaede Ishinomori was in some trouble with the law; trouble big enough to warrant media coverage. 
 405.209 
 405.210 +
 405.211 
 405.212 +Kaede shared some resemblance to her brother, beyond their affinity for the colour black. While definitely not as tall as him, she did have the same coloured hair and complexion and slender frame. Her snow white hair was cut quite short and tapered to the nape of her neck, and a multitude of bangs hung over her eyes, utterly concealing them from view. Mireille wondered how the woman walked around without knocking into things. While her hair obscured a good deal of her features, what the assassin could see showed her that Kaede was an attractive woman. A ghost of a smile was affixed to Kaede's face; a smug and rather alluring smile, like she knew something very special and important that everyone else did not. Mireille had a feeling that smile could turn into a cold and sinister rictus in a heartbeat. 
 405.213 
 405.214 +
 405.215 
 405.216 +"She's being accused of drug trafficking and possession with intent to sell," Kirika said softly to Mireille in Japanese, having scooted close to her partner to read the news article also. "It says that the key witness is still missing after his disappearance from protective custody shortly after her arraignment."
 405.217 
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 405.219 
 405.220 +Mireille nodded and made a sound of understanding, peering at the newspaper clipping even more closely, as if by now knowing what it said made the Japanese characters become suddenly decipherable to her.
 405.221 
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 405.223 
 405.224 +"That is correct," Breffort said, overhearing and understanding Kirika's helpful translation, even though it wasn't spoken in French. Mireille found herself disliking him just a little bit more. "Kaede Ishinomori is the CEO and owner of Ishinomori Pharmaceuticals, a drug research, development, and manufacturing company based predominantly in Asia, but with many other subsidiaries throughout the world. In the past it was a legitimate business, but now it is essentially a front for the production and shipment of illegal substances--including narcotics and the rare chemical weapon. She inherited it--and many other assets--from her mother after she passed away during an altercation with some unforgiving and impetuous 'business rivals'." Breffort paused for a second, causing Mireille and Kirika to look up from the news article. "Hikaru Ishinomori was Soldats, and a sympathiser with Altena's beliefs; she held a prominent place in Altena's splinter group. She was killed before Le Grand Retour was brought to fruition, however."
 405.225 
 405.226 +
 405.227 
 405.228 +"Soldats. Why am I not surprised," Mireille sneered, dropping the newspaper clipping on the coffee table in front of her. "That would make Kaede Ishinomori and all of her associates Soldats members too, correct?" 
 405.229 
 405.230 +
 405.231 
 405.232 +"Indeed," Breffort confirmed, before noticeably hesitating. "But…" he went on, a little reluctantly, "Kaede Ishinomori is not like her mother. Hikaru Ishinomori may have shared Altena's views, but she was Soldats through and through. But her daughter… her daughter thinks differently. She is too ambitious; she does not follow the dictates of Soldats. She expands the Ishinomori Empire too recklessly and impudently uses her ties to the society, cowing criminal and lawful organisations alike with our age-old name. She threatens to expose us with her carelessness. This is… unacceptable."
 405.233 
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 405.235 
 405.236 +Mireille smirked. So that was the reason Breffort had had agents on Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu. Now they were finally getting somewhere. It seemed that a loose cannon as it were, one with sizable strength and, if that wasn't enough, links to Altena, had emerged in Soldats; which was making the high-ranking old men of the clandestine group nervous. And perhaps rightfully so. Soldats did their work from the shadows; they always had. To be revealed from those shadows, bare to the world…. 
 405.237 
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 405.239 
 405.240 +Mireille's smirk grew. It must be a very daunting notion to Breffort and his little friends. She was suddenly rather pleased she had stayed to hear what he'd had to say. 
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 405.243 
 405.244 +"Go on…" Mireille prompted a little smugly, although she did try to keep her voice even. She rested back in the sofa and crossed her legs, feeling a great deal more relaxed now.
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 405.247 
 405.248 +Breffort merely stared at the composed blonde woman for a moment, but under her unrelenting conceited smile and level gaze, sighed softly and then quickly yielded, telling all. 
 405.249 
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 405.251 
 405.252 +"I have been charged by the High Council of Soldats with the task of handling this… problem. Discreetly, however. To openly oppose any major force belonging to Soldats is just not done; it would lead to disastrous results. It is the same reason why we did not simply quash Altena's faction with our own forces at the very beginning she made her intentions of initiating Le Grand Retour clear. There would have been open war in the streets; men and women of Soldats with their own cells and unique, often conflicting beliefs are spread everywhere, all over the globe. Exposure would have been all but unavoidable." 
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 405.254 +
 405.255 
 405.256 +Breffort sighed once more and shook his head a fraction, looking away from Mireille. "But so far my efforts have all been for naught--I am simply sending Soldats men to their deaths. Ryosuke Ishinomori… Vincent Hsu… they are Kaede Ishinomori's 'Black Hands'; they are truly impressive combatants. Indeed, if the two are really using the name of Noir…." Breffort turned his head back to Mireille, the depths of his eyes looking somewhat strained. "I believe Kaede knows that the majority of Soldats is in opposition to her, but she also knows Soldats won't make a direct move against her either. And so we do a dance. I attack covertly with small surgical strikes, and she retaliates with--while not quite equal--judiciousness. And thus, it goes on until one of us missteps." Breffort reached up and smoothed back his grey hair with one hand. "It is a tiring ballet," he admitted wearily. 
 405.257 
 405.258 +
 405.259 
 405.260 +"Why not just wait for her trial?" Mireille asked a bit absently, gesturing with a crook of her finger towards the newspaper clipping on the coffee table. "She may be convicted; it would solve everything quite nicely. Cut off a snake's head, and normally the remaining body dies in time."
 405.261 
 405.262 +
 405.263 
 405.264 +"Do you not think Kaede has not already assured that she will be acquitted on all charges?" Breffort said, a hint of an edge in his voice. "She has already utilised her two Hands to make the only damning witness against her disappear from the public eye. He was one of her own circle, I believe. He will not pass from this life easy… or slowly." 
 405.265 
 405.266 +
 405.267 
 405.268 +"Well then, it looks like you're in a bit of a quandary," Mireille said, paying no heed to the Soldats man's slightly hard tone. "However, the way I see it, Kaede and her 'Hands' are your problem. Not ours."
 405.269 
 405.270 +
 405.271 
 405.272 +"Hmph. Do you really believe that?" Breffort said in his usual monotone. "When I learned that Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu were possibly aspiring to become Noir, I thought it shrewd to contact you. To me, it is clear that Kaede has learned of Soldats legendary Black Hands and has modelled her two top killers in Noir's image--or at least, is attempting too. How long do you think it will take her to discover that the true Noir is living here in Paris, alive and well? What do you think she--"
 405.273 
 405.274 +
 405.275 
 405.276 +Breffort's words were cut off as Mireille abruptly stood up, her face twisted into an expression of loathing. Kirika looked up at her from where she still sat, her countenance unreadable. 
 405.277 
 405.278 +
 405.279 
 405.280 +"We are *not* Noir," Mireille declared angrily, all her prior mild amusement now vanished from her voice and features. "Perhaps we were once, but no longer. We are not part of Soldats--we never will be. We are outsiders in your little… power struggle. The unruly child in your organisation is your own to curb. *Alone*" The assassin turned sharply to Kirika, motioning for her to rise with a flick of her hand. "Come on, Kirika," she snapped, "we're leaving." 
 405.281 
 405.282 +
 405.283 
 405.284 +Breffort was trying to suck them into a Soldats plot as Mireille had previously suspected, although his attempt had been carried out in a subtle way; not until the end had he revealed the true purpose of this meeting. But it was crystal clear now what the real reasons behind it and his messages were. Breffort wanted to recruit Mireille and Kirika to help him deal with a rogue Soldats member who had delusions of grandeur. He wanted to recruit them into Soldats employ. Never. Mireille would never let that happen.
 405.285 
 405.286 +
 405.287 
 405.288 +Mireille took two steps towards the doors of the office, but when she didn't hear her partner's footsteps following her, she turned irritably back to find the girl still on the sofa. "Kirika!" she chastised strictly, causing her introverted colleague to instantly leap up from her seat and trot over to her. 
 405.289 
 405.290 +
 405.291 
 405.292 +As Mireille, with Kirika now a step behind her, proceeded towards the doors once again, Breffort unwelcomely strived a final time to compel the woman to rally to his cause. "You can't remain passive in this," he said to Mireille's back, making the blonde slow her pace in spite of herself. "Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu are here, in Paris, when by all rights they should be near Kaede, especially with her trial date coming up in less than two weeks. It is strange she has sent them here…." 
 405.293 
 405.294 +
 405.295 
 405.296 +"What are you saying?" Mireille said bitingly without turning, her hand on one of office's door handles, on the verge of leaving. Of escaping. 
 405.297 
 405.298 +
 405.299 
 405.300 +"There can be only one true Noir," Breffort said from the sofa, the words freezing the Corsican's heart. "You know this. While the motives for Ishinomori and Hsu's appearance in Paris are unknown to me, there is considerable likelihood it is to locate you… and your partner…." He paused for effect, but Mireille remained silent. "You claim that you and your partner are not Noir, but that won't matter to her. Or to them. Kaede Ishinomori seems to want her own version of Noir, which means her sights are set on you. You and your partner will be hunted, if you both aren't being already. You can either wait until Ishinomori and Hsu find you in another café, or you can find them first. In the end, it is still your own choice to make."
 405.301 
 405.302 +
 405.303 
 405.304 +Mireille lowered her head, the weight of Breffort's words resting heavily on her slim shoulders. Could she go back to her quiet life with Kirika, now knowing that it could be destroyed at any moment? But that had always been a peril Mireille was aware of. Except now it would be like sticking her head in the sand, waiting for a nightmare to raze their dream of a peaceful existence. A nightmare she knew would sooner or later rear its head. The question was, did she wait for the nightmare to come to her and Kirika? Or did she charge ahead, down the black path, and confront it directly? Either way, her and her partner's quiet life would come to an end.
 405.305 
 405.306 +
 405.307 
 405.308 +Mireille looked at Kirika. She looked back at her, her face typically impassive. The blonde wondered what she wanted to do. Kirika had to have known that this day would come eventually. Mireille's shoulders slumped and her expression fell. She had accepted that she would inevitably travel the black path once again, but Kirika…. 
 405.309 
 405.310 +
 405.311 
 405.312 +"Alright," Mireille conceded, her voice containing a measure of hoarseness. "You've convinced me." She turned back around to Breffort. As she had anticipated, his face held no trace of triumph at his victory. He wasn't the type to gloat. "I expect you'll be providing us with Soldats aid?" At least she and Kirika wouldn't have to handle Ryosuke and Vincent alone. Two people who would knowingly attack Soldats agents in spite of the repercussions it would entail, and do it by themselves with no backup, were two people who were definitely exceedingly formidable. Or exceedingly daring. Regardless, any help Breffort could give would be most welcome in Mireille's opinion. Of course, Ryosuke and Vincent weren't the only two people in the world who had willingly attacked and killed Soldats agents….
 405.313 
 405.314 +
 405.315 
 405.316 +"Unfortunately, my assistance will be limited," Breffort said, eliciting a scowl from Mireille. She should have predicted as much. "You said it yourself; you and your partner are not part of Soldats. There are many High Council members who see you as an enemy of Soldats, albeit a sleeping one. If they even found out about this meeting the ramifications for myself would be fatal. No, I'm afraid you will be largely on your own."
 405.317 
 405.318 +
 405.319 
 405.320 +"Then what 'limited assistance' can you provide?" Mireille said contemptuously.
 405.321 
 405.322 +
 405.323 
 405.324 +Breffort held up the manila folder in his hand. Terrific. 
 405.325 
 405.326 +
 405.327 
 405.328 +"Information mainly," he clarified. "But perhaps more than that in the future. Although I will have to be careful."
 405.329 
 405.330 +
 405.331 
 405.332 +Mireille sighed deeply. So this was it. The black path was calling her name… and Kirika's as well. She couldn't help but feel it would be even more difficult to veer away from it this time around. Darkness had caught them once again in its grasp, and it was a force that wasn't apt to let anybody go when they wanted to. *If* they wanted to. 
 405.333 
 405.334 +
 405.335 
 405.336 +With the weight inside her handbag more noticeable than ever, Mireille walked slowly back to Breffort and reached out to take the folder from his grasp. She had made her choice. The quicker they disposed of Ryosuke and Vincent, the better chance she and Kirika had of freeing themselves from the course of the black path of murder... a course that always ended in death for its travellers. With Kaede's 'Noir' dead, Mireille and Kirika would be released from her and Breffort's intrigues… presumably. At any rate, it was the wisest approach for the moment. 
 405.337 
 405.338 +
 405.339 
 405.340 +As Mireille took a hold of the folder, she met Breffort's greyish eyes with her own blue ones. She knew not to entirely trust the man. He was Soldats. Even if their objectives were the same, as they had been during their previous dealings concerning Altena, it wasn't like they were friends. They were more like business partners, if anything. Mireille reminded herself once again to stay on guard… particularly against Breffort.
 405.341 
 405.342 +
 405.343 
 405.344 +"And so the sleeping lions awaken…." Breffort whispered softly as he let go of the folder. 
 405.345 
 405.346 +
 405.347 
 405.348 +******
 405.349 
 405.350 +
 405.351 
 405.352 +Kirika Yuumura followed Mireille into their apartment and quietly shut the door behind them, before securely locking its deadbolt. The trip back home had been made in silence, not a single word exchanged between either of them. While once, in the past, that in itself would not have been out of the ordinary, these days Mireille was considerably more talkative, frequently chatting to Kirika about a wide variety of topics that happened to take her fancy at the time. For the most part Kirika merely listened to the woman, only providing her own input when required--she was not much for talking. But she enjoyed simply listening to Mireille's opinions on things, and also the sound of her pleasant, articulate voice. It was comforting to Kirika. When Mireille spoke often and contentedly, it made Kirika feel that everything was okay in the world, and that her partner was at ease. It put her at ease too. 
 405.353 
 405.354 +
 405.355 
 405.356 +But now it was like it had all reverted back to several months earlier, when silence was Kirika and Mireille's constant companion. Kirika's silence was of course nothing new, but when Mireille was quiet it characteristically meant she was thinking hard about something… or was worried about something. More likely worried in this case. But not nervous, no, Mireille never became nervous no matter what peril or trial she was up against... with a few exceptions. She did get nervous around Kirika herself on occasion. The darkhaired girl seemed to easily fluster Mireille for some reason. 
 405.357 
 405.358 +
 405.359 
 405.360 +Kirika rested back against a wall in the living room and gazed up at the ceiling as Mireille walked over to the billiard table, depositing on it the manila dossier containing the information on their new enemies, along with her handbag, which landed with a dull clunk. Kirika knew what Mireille was worried about. She knew what the latest developments meant. 
 405.361 
 405.362 +
 405.363 
 405.364 +Kirika's eyelids drooped a little, her reddish-brown eyes becoming sad. Their peaceful time together seemed so short, now. Kirika had become accustomed to simply living each day of her life as it came with Mireille. It had been like she was a normal girl and that her previous life as an assassin had happened to someone else--just a bad, distant memory; a dream. Or rather a nightmare. Truly, she had almost forgotten. Almost. 
 405.365 
 405.366 +
 405.367 
 405.368 +But soon Kirika and Mireille would be fighting once again. Soon their lives would be filled with violence, with bloodshed, with murder… with sins. They would be filled with danger too, and their very lives would be put at risk, but Kirika had never feared for her own personal safety. She rarely felt the emotion, fear. Except when it concerned her older partner. Mireille's personal safety was a whole other story. Kirika always worried about the woman's wellbeing; she had done so nearly ever since they first met. Mireille was a very capable assassin, but that didn't make her invulnerable. And now that they were heading back into a life of killing, and would be pitched against two purportedly skilled rivals, Kirika's fear for Mireille had increased tenfold. If the unimaginable were to occur, if Mireille were to somehow leave her… Kirika didn't think she would survive for long afterwards. 
 405.369 
 405.370 +
 405.371 
 405.372 +Mireille was literally everything to Kirika--she was utterly vital to the girl's continued existence and happiness. The woman was the only person she really knew, her only friend, her only family. Kirika felt something for Mireille she had experienced with no other person before. She felt love; it was the only word she knew that could possibly describe the feeling. Kirika loved Mireille deeply, with absolutely everything she was. She had for a long time. And Mireille felt the same way; the girl knew it to be true. Mireille may not be very forthcoming about her feelings, but Kirika was certain she did. Kirika could clearly see the changes in her partner's behaviour towards her. She only wished Mireille would be more open about her love. Kirika didn't really know much about how people who loved each other acted, but she knew enough to realise Mireille held herself back somewhat. She wasn't sure why the blonde did. But for the moment, it didn't really matter that much to Kirika. Just being with Mireille virtually every hour of every day was more than enough for her to be content. 
 405.373 
 405.374 +
 405.375 
 405.376 +At the bottom of her field of vision Kirika could make out Mireille looking at her rather absorbedly while leaning against the side of the billiard table with one hand. Kirika could tell she was internally debating with herself about something. She knew Mireille thought she wouldn't notice her pensive expression, what with the girl's attention seemingly riveted to the ceiling. But Kirika noticed almost everything when it concerned Mireille, even if her partner tried to hide things from her. She never brought it up of course, not unless it was really important. Mireille would probably deny it anyway, and then she would become uncomfortable around Kirika… more so. For example, the perceptive girl knew they were still getting contract offers from across most of Europe, sent via email, for weeks now. Mireille quickly closed the email program whenever she made her presence known, and then afterwards behaved a little guiltily. But Kirika wasn't stupid or blind. However, she didn't resent her partner for keeping things from her, either. Mireille was just doing what she thought was best. It made Kirika happy in a way, happy that Mireille felt the need to do such things for her.
 405.377 
 405.378 +
 405.379 
 405.380 +Apparently coming to a decision, Mireille put on a rather weak smile and straightened her posture, before opening her mouth to speak. "Kirika," she said, and the girl in question lowered her gaze from the ceiling and looked into the blonde's blue eyes. For some reason this made Mireille squirm, although nearly imperceptibly--Kirika doubted anybody but her would have noticed the action. "I have something for you," the woman continued quietly, looking away from Kirika to the billiard table's green felt surface. "I acquired a new one about a week after we arrived home," she explained as she crouched down beside the table and began running one hand underneath it, searching for something. "It was just a precautionary measure," Mireille said, turning her head back to a mute and motionless Kirika. "Ah, there." 
 405.381 
 405.382 +
 405.383 
 405.384 +Mireille stood up, and held in her hand was something that made Kirika's heart clench. A gun. A Beretta M1934 Commercial, to be exact. A firearm that Kirika had wielded with deadly proficiency for most of her young life… and had taken countless lives with. The mere sight of the weapon caused a swarm of repressed memories to resurface, all of them unwanted… and awful. 
 405.385 
 405.386 +
 405.387 
 405.388 +And there was a fear welling up too, the other fear alongside Mireille's safety, the second exception. A seed of darkness had awakened inside Kirika during her journey to the Manor, a seed of darkness that had bloomed into a black, bloated flower, putrid with poison and disease. And it still resided inside of her. Her other self. The one who had no name. The one who had attacked Mireille, the woman she loved, with genuine intent to kill her without mercy or hesitation--Kirika's darkness. Kirika's fear was that with giving in to violence her darkness would resurface again; she would lose herself again. Returning to her normal self that time at the ancient colosseum by the Manor had taken a supreme effort. Without Mireille provoking her old memories to re-emerge, Kirika believed she would have stayed lost, locked away in a part of her mind with the darkness as the warden. And even then if Mireille's mother, Odette Bouquet, hadn't planted a ray of light to fight that darkness inside of her before Kirika had claimed her life… in all probability Mireille would be dead and Kirika and Chloe would be Noir, under Altena's control. 
 405.389 
 405.390 +
 405.391 
 405.392 +"It's clean, naturally," Mireille assured Kirika softly, oblivious to the taciturn girl's internal discord. "Untraceable." She pulled the grey duct tape that had held the gun in its hiding spot under the billiard table off of the weapon, and after balling it up, idly tossed it beside the manila folder and her handbag where her own gun resided. 
 405.393 
 405.394 +
 405.395 
 405.396 +Gripping the Beretta by its barrel, Mireille held out the lethal firearm towards Kirika, albeit with a shade of reluctance. The woman's face was stony, but she quickly forced a reassuring though wan smile. It did little to comfort Kirika, and she believed Mireille knew that too, but had made the effort anyway. It was so unlike those early days. Kirika wondered if things like that would stay the same, despite the changes that indisputably would now occur in their lives.
 405.397 
 405.398 +
 405.399 
 405.400 +With one steady but clammy hand, Kirika reached out to take the proffered gun. However, before she could, a sudden bolt in her mind conjured up the image of Altena when she was a young woman, with herself but a child, extending the same make and kind of weapon to her in an identical fashion. The first time Kirika had held a gun. The image was followed in a flash by a second, this one so like the first, but years later, with both participants older. But much the same.
 405.401 
 405.402 +
 405.403 
 405.404 +Kirika's hand froze in mid motion, and it began to tremble--only minutely, hardly visible, but it did. She stared at the gun held out by her partner with wide, vacant eyes. The hand clenching her heart squeezed tighter. 
 405.405 
 405.406 +
 405.407 
 405.408 +"Kirika?" Mireille inquired, the concern plain in her voice. 
 405.409 
 405.410 +
 405.411 
 405.412 +The sound of Mireille's voice brought Kirika back to the present, freeing her from the bitter, still disjointed memories of the past. She simply blinked and mentally shook off the feeling she was experiencing. Mireille was not Altena. It was different. It was. 
 405.413 
 405.414 +
 405.415 
 405.416 +Gingerly, as if with reverence but in reality with apprehension, Kirika took the Beretta from Mireille's grasp. It was heavier than she remembered. The weight told her it was fully loaded, however the darkhaired girl didn't think that was responsible for the sense of extra burden. The metal was cold in her grip and it chilled her skin, freezing her hand before the cool sensation crept gradually up her arm. Kirika felt something stir inside of herself. The darkness. It knew. It knew that Kirika Yuumura held her forced choice of weapon once again, her tool of murder and sin. It knew she would wield the gun and kill again. It was inevitable. 
 405.417 
 405.418 +
 405.419 
 405.420 +The hand Kirika held the weapon in suddenly looked as black as night in her eyes. Black with sin. Yes… she would inexorably be committing more sins too. Kirika had had a small hope that some of the sins that soiled her hands and blackened her soul had been burnt away to nothing along with her Beretta when it had been destroyed in the lava pool below the Manor. But of course it was a fantasy. Those sins were Kirika's alone, not the gun's. Not a simple tool's. She would always carry them with her. As she should. 
 405.421 
 405.422 +
 405.423 
 405.424 +"There's more clips and bullets on the top shelf of the wardrobe," Mireille informed Kirika, watching her stare at the gun in her small hands, the girl apparently wholly enthralled. "The leftovers from days gone by." The woman fidgeted uneasily for several moments, and then hugged herself, looking away from Kirika and down at the wooden floorboards of the room. "It's getting late," she whispered. "I think I'll take a shower. I feel… dirty." Mireille lingered for a few more seconds, but then turned away from the sight of Kirika and her new gun, proceeding at a brisk gait for the bedroom. 
 405.425 
 405.426 +
 405.427 
 405.428 +Kirika slipped the small Beretta into the right pocket of her parka, leaving it there. Instantly the warmth flooded back into her hand, like the pricking of many needles in her skin. The darkness inside her retreated back to the bleak caverns of her mind, back to where it slept. No… it slept no longer. It lurked now, waiting. It had retreated, but not completely. The cold touch of a gun--its gun--had emboldened it. But for now, it was kept at bay. Kirika wondered though. She wondered how long it would be. She and Mireille would be fighting once again. And Kirika doubted the two men they would be hunting would give them any quarter. It was only a matter of time until the darkness gained strength and tried to take control over her once more. When that moment came, Kirika was unsure if she would have the willpower to stop it. 
 405.429 
 405.430 +
 405.431 
 405.432 +******
 405.433 
 405.434 +
 405.435 
 405.436 +To be continued….
 405.437 
 405.438 +
 405.439 
 405.440 +
 405.441 
 405.442 +Author's ramblings:
 405.443 
 405.444 +
 405.445 
 405.446 +This was basically a new character introduction chapter. More information on the two members of the 'male Noir' will be revealed next chapter. There are more new characters still to be introduced, but they won't show up until later parts. 
 405.447 
 405.448 +
 405.449 
 405.450 +Kirika in her standard outfit but with combat boots was inspired by the image of her on the cover of the Noir CD single, Coppelia's Coffin, sung by Ali Project.
 405.451 
 405.452 +
 405.453 
 405.454 +Ryosuke and Vincent are your typical anime bishounen types. ^_^ Kaede has the 'hair-covering-the-eyes' thing that some mysterious anime characters have (e.g. Luna Inverse from Slayers). 
 405.455 
 405.456 +
 405.457 
 405.458 +Oh, and I hope I got the legal mumbo-jumbo right. I'm not a law student. ^_^;
 405.459 

   406.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   406.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   406.3 @@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
   406.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika
   406.5 
   406.6 +
   406.7 
   406.8 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com 
   406.9 
  406.10 +******
  406.11 
  406.12 +
  406.13 
  406.14 +The third chapter. No action yet….
  406.15 
  406.16 +
  406.17 
  406.18 +- Kirika
  406.19 
  406.20 +
  406.21 
  406.22 +******
  406.23 
  406.24 +
  406.25 
  406.26 +Chapter 3 - The Calm Before A Storm
  406.27 
  406.28 +
  406.29 
  406.30 +
  406.31 
  406.32 +Mireille released a tired sigh and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. She was seated at the billiard table that doubled as a desk in her apartment, going over all the data Breffort's folder had contained on their new enemies, and in turn doing some research of her own via the Internet, gathering what accessible information on the three individuals she could… which, incidentally, hadn't been very much at all, especially on the topics of Ryosuke and Vincent. She had been staring at her PC's glowing monitor and reading a host of documents and newspaper clippings until late last night before she had resumed again early this morning. The time now was edging towards afternoon. Mireille felt worn-out. She had become too out of practice at inspecting assignment details and then verifying their credibility, as well as doing her own limited investigation of the targets. But the chores were necessary pains--it wasn't just because her and Kirika's 'employer' was Soldats; a professional assassin who trusted their employer implicitly should not claim to be a professional at all. 
  406.33 
  406.34 +
  406.35 
  406.36 +The contents of Breffort's dossier were spread out all over the billiard table's green felt surface, lying in amongst numbered pool balls painted in a variety of colours related to the game. Mireille sometimes brought the balls out to idly amuse herself with while she performed the preliminary tasks required before an assignment could be undertaken. Already most of the corner pockets of the table were filled to capacity with the polished spheres; the blonde woman had been working for some time, after all. 
  406.37 
  406.38 +
  406.39 
  406.40 +Newspaper articles both photocopied and original, and all printed in Japanese, littered the table, along with innumerable pages of typed documents which gave detailed background assessments on Kaede and her two cohorts, Ryosuke and Vincent, and additionally recounted the history of their activities in the world, ranging from early in their lives when they were but children, until the present date. Mireille hadn't been able to read the newspaper clippings and facsimiles, but she could usually get the gist of most of the articles by looking at their accompanying pictures, if the story in question had one. Nearly all were on Kaede Ishinomori or her departed mother, Hikaru Ishinomori, and either about their family business, Ishinomori Pharmaceuticals; the murder of Hikaru; or dated more recently, Kaede's upcoming court case. Of course Mireille couldn't understand a word of any news report, which was mildly frustrating to say the least, even with pictures to look at. She would have to get Kirika to help her in that respect later. 
  406.41 
  406.42 +
  406.43 
  406.44 +Mireille placed her arms on the armrests of her chair and skimmed her eyes over the dozens of papers arranged haphazardly before her on the billiard table. Her gaze eventually fell on one of the photos of Ryosuke Ishinomori--the man, like in all of his pictures, decked out in a long black overcoat. The enclosed report on Ryosuke--thankfully penned in French--stated that he was twenty-six years old, and was born in Kyoto, Japan, to the prosperous Ishinomori family--a family that held strong ties to the covert group, Soldats, and had done so over a decade. But despite being the first born of a rich lineage, it was written that shortly after his father's--Shinichi Ishinomori's--demise under suspicious circumstances, a teenage Ryosuke cut all connections to his family--with the sole exception of his sister--abandoning private schools and sizable wealth alike for unknown reasons. He then disappeared totally from the Soldats radar for several months--a feat that was notable in itself--before popping up again in the ranks of the Aizu Kotetsu yakuza, based in his home city of Kyoto. It was within that criminal syndicate he remained for a number of years, gradually rising higher in the clan's hierarchy, gaining respect and power, until his sister, Kaede, recalled him to the Ishinomori family's embrace after their mother's passing and her subsequent inheritance of the empire. Strangely, Ryosuke did so immediately, deserting his yakuza brothers without looking back. And stranger still, the Aizu Koutetsu let him without any reprisals whatsoever. The report went on to say Ryosuke was still looked upon in a favourable light by the yakuza clan, and as a result it was suspected the group had been swallowed into Kaede's pseudo Soldats fold. Indeed, it was recently rumoured that the Aizu Koutetsu had been disbanded. 
  406.45 
  406.46 +
  406.47 
  406.48 +Mireille ran the fingers of one hand through her blonde locks and then transferred her eyes to a photograph of Ryosuke's partner. The document on Vincent Hsu, or rather, Wen-Sung Hsu, reported that he was twenty-four years of age, and born in Hong Kong. Raised in obscurity in a Catholic boarding school as an orphan and given a Christian name, Vincent purportedly fell into the Luen Kung Lok triad at a young age, engaging in disreputable but petty misdeeds on the streets spanning from assault and battery to extortion and burglary, a few of which he spent some time in jail for during his youth. However, in spite of his early setbacks, he soon achieved the rank of 'Straw Sandal' in the triad, becoming the liaison between the Luen Kung Lok and more than a few yakuza clans overseas in Japan. Soldats presumed that was how Vincent and Ryosuke had met; during one of the meetings between members of the Luen Kung Lok triad and the Aizu Koutetsu yakuza, arranged and mediated by the fine-looking man. After several such meetings, Vincent eventually stayed in Japan with Ryosuke and the Aizu Koutetsu, posing as the resident contact between the yakuza clan and the triad he belonged to. When Kaede summoned her older brother to her side, Vincent was said to have joined him with almost the same fervour. 
  406.49 
  406.50 +
  406.51 
  406.52 +The final thorough report included in Breffort's folder was on twenty-five year old Kyoto-born Kaede Ishinomori herself, which Mireille had studied very carefully like the other two before it. Following her brother's vanishing act after their father's death, Kaede remained with her mother for a time, but soon left her side to unite with Ryosuke as a member of the Aizu Koutetsu yakuza clan, serving with them as a truly brutal enforcer. It wasn't until Hikaru Ishinomori's murder that Kaede left the clan to take the reins of her family's empire, bringing her brother and his partner with her shortly afterwards. Before long she started aggressively expanding her newly reaped domain and consequently aggravating Soldats with her brazen conquests. 
  406.53 
  406.54 +
  406.55 
  406.56 +Oddly, Hikaru Ishinomori left the entire family's fortune to her daughter in her Will rather than to her son, the oldest and presumed rightful heir. Mireille wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But, considering that Hikaru Ishinomori had been a follower of Altena's, perhaps a matriarchal mentality had been adopted in the family. 
  406.57 
  406.58 +
  406.59 
  406.60 +Mireille bent forwards in her chair and picked up a slightly crinkled photo of Hikaru Ishinomori taken a few months before her death, the only one of the woman that had been contained in the intelligence folder. Dressed in an elegant dark blue business suit and with long flowing white hair that reached well past her shoulders, it was plain where Kaede and Ryosuke had gotten their looks. There was a newspaper clipping attached to the photo, and even with her nonexistent abilities in reading Japanese script, Mireille could tell it was about Hikaru Ishinomori's assassination. If the bullet hole ridden car in the black and white picture with the article was any indication, Kaede and Ryosuke's late mother had had a fatal encounter with a hail of lead. The Corsican wondered just how 'legitimate' Ishinomori Pharmaceuticals had been in the past if its owner and CEO back then had been shot to death by alleged 'business rivals'. 
  406.61 
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  406.63 
  406.64 +Mireille tossed the photo back with the others on the billiard table and turned her attention to her humming computer monitor. She had been having little luck discovering any further information on her and Kirika's new adversaries. Bar the online reports of Kaede's looming trial and Ishinomori Pharmaceuticals stock price trends or its research breakthroughs, there was absolutely nothing on the woman or her pair of 'Black Hands'. For the most part it seemed they were good at staying out of the limelight. But it wasn't surprising; generally people who lived in the darkness of the world were fairly adept at avoiding unwanted publicity. Usually such attention only came about when one was caught by the authorities, as in Kaede's case. Normally that would spell the end of one's career in the underworld even if they escaped prison or execution, although it was relative to their profession. For example, a contract killer would never be able to function efficiently again if her or his true identity, along with what they were accused of, was exposed to the entire globe, but a small time crook could suffer the same hardships yet continue to operate without too much difficultly. 
  406.65 
  406.66 +
  406.67 
  406.68 +Mireille closed her Web browser and relaxed back in her chair, her head inclined directly towards the ceiling, leaving her blonde tresses draped down the back of her chair. She shook out her mane of hair, before combing her fingers through the silky locks several times to make sure there were no tangles, and then placed her hands behind her head. She figured she had studied the contents of Breffort's intelligence dossier meticulously enough now. While virtually all of the newspaper articles remained unread because of the Japanese language barrier, Mireille felt she was familiar with the lion's share of the material that had been presented to her; she doubted the clippings would reveal any more insight into her and Kirika's enemies. It was time to start tracking down Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu. 
  406.69 
  406.70 +
  406.71 
  406.72 +Breffort's folder had included the whereabouts of Ryosuke and Vincent's last known accommodations in Paris, as well as the aliases they were using while within France's borders. However, after a quick inquiring phone call to the provided location, Mireille had learned that the two men were long gone from the luxury hotel they had previously been staying at… as she had suspected. Mireille hadn't believed Ryosuke and Vincent would have not relocated elsewhere after finding out a two man team of Soldats agents had been watching them… and after sending them to their graves, too. 
  406.73 
  406.74 +
  406.75 
  406.76 +While this would make hunting down the would-be Noir trickier, all was not lost. Ryosuke and Vincent's aliases would be the same--they would have to be to coincide with their forged passports… unless they were both equipped with more than one, but Mireille didn't what to think about that possibility. With their aliases more or less static, it would be a… relatively… simple matter of checking through every hotel and motel's guest database; as a rule the more lavish lodgings in the city had them, and the blonde believed her and Kirika's quarry would not lower their standards when moving accommodations--the hotel they had been staying at beforehand had certainly been upscale.
  406.77 
  406.78 +
  406.79 
  406.80 +While Mireille's computer skills were adequate for the casual investigation of targets, sometimes one needed someone with a little more… flair, as in this particular circumstance. The Corsican assassin doubted she could break into and search through an untold number of hotel intranets without being caught or even successful for that matter, but luckily she knew someone just for this specific sort of task. And *only* for that reason.
  406.81 
  406.82 +
  406.83 
  406.84 +Mireille was acquainted with a so-called hacker who lived and worked out of a basement below an old computer store in a somewhat rundown part of Paris. Lamentably, the hacker was amateurish in his business practices, and instead of accepting payment for his assistance electronically like Mireille would have preferred--thus permitting her to escape all contact with the hormonal teenage boy--he always desired cash upfront in a face-to-face exchange. But his services were cheap and reliable, and she occasionally took advantage of his abilities when it was required… that is, when she could tolerate the pimply-faced adolescent's crude come-ons and nauseating leers. 
  406.85 
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  406.87 
  406.88 +Mireille sighed up at the white painted ceiling above her. She and Kirika would have to visit Simon at some point today. There was no avoiding it. They needed to know where to find Ryosuke and Vincent as soon as possible. The earlier the two men were dead the earlier Mireille and Kirika could forget about this whole deviation from their happy lives and return to how it had been before. 
  406.89 
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  406.91 
  406.92 +As her thoughts turned to her introverted colleague Mireille's eyes softened, and her expression became rather sad. She hadn't heard so much as a peep from Kirika this morning after getting up early to continue her study of Breffort's material. The darkhaired girl had made only the briefest of appearances to water their pot plant by the window, though it hadn't even been her turn. That part of Mireille's usual morning ritual had slipped her mind. With the upheaval that had suddenly ripped its way into their lives all that had dominated the Corsican's thoughts of late was dealing with the threat to their peace. 
  406.93 
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  406.96 +Mireille turned her head lethargically towards the bedroom, gazing intently at the black adjoining wall as if her sight could somehow burrow its way through it to see the girl lying on the bed beyond. Mireille worried about Kirika. She wondered if she had made the right decision in rearming her with a gun. But it had been a necessary and ultimately inevitable evil. At least, it was what Mireille tried to believe. With her and Kirika travelling down the black path of murder once again, the girl would need a weapon to defend herself with. It was as simple as that. Neither Mireille nor Kirika had to like the fact; it was just the way it had to be. Nevertheless, that conviction didn't make Mireille feel any less disgusted with herself. She had willingly placed a gun in Kirika's hands, a tool which sole purpose was to kill, and as a result had banished any pretence that her partner was or could ever be an average girl who led a normal life, one free from violence and death. 
  406.97 
  406.98 +
  406.99 
 406.100 +Why did it have to be this way? Mireille was someone Kirika trusted, the *only* person Kirika trusted; the Corsican felt like she had betrayed that trust. She wondered if Kirika saw her in a different light now. Mireille wasn't sure if she could cope if the girl's feelings for her changed. She knew Kirika looked up to her to a degree, and had done so even before the events at the Manor. The sense of responsibility in maintaining that respected image of herself for Kirika's benefit was uncomfortable. In the past Mireille wouldn't have cared less about what her partner thought of her, but of course it was an entirely different story nowadays. The woman feared that one day she would inadvertently say or do something that would cause Kirika's impression of her to be shattered beyond repair. 
 406.101 
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 406.104 +Mireille hugged herself tightly, averting her eyes from the bedroom wall. But perhaps that day had already occurred when she had given Kirika a firearm, with all intention that the quiet girl used it. Mireille prayed that wasn't the case. She never wanted to let Kirika down. While she was the only person who mattered in Kirika's life, conversely the girl was the only person who mattered in her life also. If there came a time when Kirika no longer needed her, or worse, no longer felt the same way about her… Mireille didn't even want to contemplate what she would do. She had become dependent on Kirika for her happiness and more, no matter what she said or thought; a reality that scared her, if truth were told. But she supposed that was what it was to be in love. Still, it was quite a disconcerting feeling. 
 406.105 
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 406.108 +Mireille sat up straight and then pushed her chair away from the billiard table on its wheels, deciding to look in on the object of her affection, regardless of how unsettled that affection made her feel. She stood up from her chair and walked as quietly as she could towards the bedroom's stepped black wall, each footfall of her high heeled boots a soft, muted click on the hardwood floor. Mireille peeked over the top of the lowest section of the ebony partition and was rewarded with the sight of her partner lying flat on top of the covers of their bed, spreadeagled. Kirika gazed listlessly up at the ceiling, her mind seemingly far, far away from their apartment in Paris. 
 406.109 
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 406.111 
 406.112 +Instead of disturbing the taciturn girl's quiet introspection and revealing her presence, Mireille simply looked upon Kirika's frail form. Clad in khaki shorts and in the t-shirt emblazoned with France's national flag that Mireille had bought for her when the girl had first came to the country, Kirika looked positively adorable sprawled on the bed. But then, in Mireille's eyes, she practically always looked adorable. Truly, the woman was becoming a full-blown softy.
 406.113 
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 406.116 +Mireille wondered what Kirika was reflecting on this time. Yesterday's undesirable events at Breffort's office and then the significant one that had subsequently occurred at home, no doubt. Suddenly Mireille's marginally lightening mood took a swan dive. She ruminated whether Kirika agreed with her decision to take Breffort's folder and consequently accept a dangerous assignment from Soldats, a group who were once their bitter foes... and really still were. In consenting to carry out the mission to deal with Kaede Ishinomori's Black Hands that were roaming about the city of Paris, Mireille had instantly doomed her and Kirika's peaceful lifestyle. She wondered if Kirika resented her for that, and not to mention handing her a gun as well. 
 406.117 
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 406.119 
 406.120 +No. Kirika would never feel that way towards Mireille despite any decision the blonde made, regardless of how bad or misguided it had been. It just wasn't in the girl's nature. At least, Mireille believed so. But then she could also hardly believe the naïve slip of a girl on the bed before her harboured a vicious and cold-blooded killer inside of her, the embodiment of an unforgiving and unfeeling murderer. 
 406.121 
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 406.123 
 406.124 +Yet Kirika had insisted they remain to listen to what Breffort had to say to begin with when Mireille herself was ready to leave the Soldats official's office. Maybe she was somewhat amiable to the idea of following a black path once again. 
 406.125 
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 406.127 
 406.128 +Mireille smiled derisively at the notion. Somehow she doubted that Kirika would jump at the chance to reside with violence and dice with death again. 
 406.129 
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 406.132 +Suddenly, Kirika's head shifted backwards on the pillow, and brown eyes encountered blue. Mireille put on a fond smile now that the girl was aware of her scrutiny, and then walked from behind the black bedroom wall, up the stairs, and then into the room itself. She approached the bed and stood by it as Kirika's immersed gaze travelled with her, the reticent girl impassively yet attentively watching her every move.
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 406.136 +"We have to take a trip and visit someone today," Mireille informed Kirika in a mildly cheerful tone, as if they were going to see a favourite relative rather than an immature teenage computer enthusiast. "But before that I thought we should get in a little…." The blonde assassin turned her head pointedly in the direction of Kirika's parka, where the garment lay draped over the blue couch close by with its deadly contents hidden in one of its pockets. "…Practice…" she finished as the flicked her eyes back to the girl on the bed to determine if she understood or not. 
 406.137 
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 406.140 +Kirika looked to where Mireille had motioned with her head and upon seeing her parka, returned her eyes to the woman. She nodded from where she lay, giving a small sound of acceptance. 
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 406.143 
 406.144 +Mireille's smile grew a little, becoming a touch warmer at the positive response. Perhaps there wouldn't be any problems related to Kirika and the prospect of a fresh new wave of violence in her life. Nonetheless, Mireille wouldn't have minded knowing exactly what thoughts were running through her partner's pretty little head… and how they would affect the future. 
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 406.147 
 406.148 +******
 406.149 
 406.150 +
 406.151 
 406.152 +Kirika traipsed a pace behind Mireille as she followed the woman deeper into the dim sewer tunnels that ran below the streets of Paris. In secret, crumbling places the sewer system joined with the old latticework of catacombs that were developed to house the dead during Roman times--or so Mireille had told her--and you could become easily lost in the murk, stumbling around aimlessly with the bones of the ancient departed. However, the path Kirika and Mireille currently walked was a familiar and well-worn one, and even though the darkhaired girl herself had not traversed it in quite some time, she still knew the way. And evidently so did her partner leading her. 
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 406.156 +The tunnels were almost completely silent, with the hustle and bustle of the city above barely audible; a low buzz on the edge of Kirika's hearing. An occasional drip of water plopping into the sewer canal punctured the otherwise noiseless environment, along with the rhythmic click of Mireille's high heels that echoed off the curved tunnel's dark grey walls. The only source of illumination was from the fiery red sconces mounted periodically on each side of the sewer passage, the feeble but many lights beating back the darkness to a mere gloom instead, allowing the two travellers footing to be sure and their course ahead relatively clear to their eyes.
 406.157 
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 406.160 +Kirika's head was lowered, her soft reddish-brown eyes fastened to the stone paving in front of her. The backs of Mireille's black boots broke into the top of her vision, giving her a guide to follow while she wallowed in the thoughts swimming around in her mind… and on the deaden weight pulling down heavily on her parka from inside one of its pockets. 
 406.161 
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 406.163 
 406.164 +The sewer system a short distance away from their apartment--accessed by means of a manhole located in an isolated alleyway--was Kirika and Mireille's 'practice' spot. It was more like a place to refresh their shooting expertise in seclusion and security before an assignment was to be carried out. Since Mireille was taking Kirika to the site of their makeshift shooting range, it meant that the prospect of the slight girl having to wield her gun with deadly intent crept ever closer. It meant soon she would have to kill again. 
 406.165 
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 406.167 
 406.168 +Mireille's stride quickened somewhat as she and Kirika rounded a corner, their chalk drawn circular target now just visible off in the distance about twenty metres or so away. As Kirika and her partner came closer, the girl saw that the target had seen a little more use than she previously remembered. The large white circle with a smaller one scrawled within looked much the same as several months earlier, but with the exception of a noticeable increase in the depth of the divot inside the centre ring. Countless bullets had burrowed their way into the concrete segment of wall surrounded by the chalk loop during Kirika and Mireille's time as Noir, each of their fired slugs chipping off a fragment of stone until a deep gouge had been left behind. However, Kirika could see Mireille must have spent additional time down in their dank, private shooting range during her… absence from her blonde partner's side. She wondered why. Maybe it had been in preparation for the woman's advent to the Manor to save Kirika from herself. Although she doubted a single clip's worth of 9mm Parabellum rounds could have created such a marked growth in the scribbled target's aperture. 
 406.169 
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 406.171 
 406.172 +"Hmm, this has seen a lot of use," Mireille commented, also taking note of the large crater in the sewer wall. She walked over to the flashlight lying on the ground nearby--left from their previous visits--and switched it on, illuminating the wall ahead in a halo of white light and in turn making it clearer to see. "Perhaps we should find ourselves a new spot?" she proposed, looking back over her shoulder to Kirika who was standing demurely to her rear.
 406.173 
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 406.175 
 406.176 +Kirika shook her head at the suggestion, uttering a diminutive mumble in the negative. While the rudimentary shooting range was in bad repair; it was *their* shooting range, their special little spot. It didn't matter the purpose of the chalk drawn target was for exercising her and Mireille's accuracy with their respective firearms, an exercise that would sooner or later be put into practice against real, flesh and blood targets. It was a spot that Kirika and Mireille came to alone to perform a joint activity undisturbed; a private, exclusive spot just for the two of them. Even if the nature of that activity possessed foreboding undertones, it didn't alter the fact that it and the place they had adopted to carry it out solely belonged to Kirika and Mireille. *Anything* that Kirika shared with her partner was something she treasured deeply. 
 406.177 
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 406.179 
 406.180 +Mireille smiled at Kirika warmly. "I don't think so either," she said softly, agreeing with the girl. But as she spoke the like-minded words Mireille's smile faltered a bit and her eyes shifted over and past her short partner's shoulders, back to the where they had just treaded only several moments earlier. She looked at the point where the sewer tunnel's path rounded the corner to the right with a rather wary gaze, as if half-expecting someone to appear from behind it. Kirika didn't believe anyone would, though. She was certain she would have detected the reverberations of an interloper's footsteps bouncing off the tunnel's walls long before they ever came within view; the faintest of noises were amplified tenfold in the old sewers. They could be utilised as effective early warning signals, which Kirika frequently made use of.
 406.181 
 406.182 +
 406.183 
 406.184 +Tearing her eyes away from the corner, Mireille turned around fully to face Kirika, her smile returning to its former radiance. "I'll go first, okay?" she said, reaching casually into the handbag she had brought with her and pulling out her loaded Walther P99.
 406.185 
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 406.187 
 406.188 +Kirika nodded in acquiesce and obediently took the white and pink striped handbag offered to her by Mireille to hold while the woman herself brushed up on her shooting skills. The docile girl retreated a couple of steps to give her partner some space to move, and then simply stood, mutely observing the blonde.
 406.189 
 406.190 +
 406.191 
 406.192 +Mireille spread her legs a fraction and raised her gun in her right hand towards the chalk target on the sewer wall a dozen or so metres opposite. Bringing up her left hand underneath her right to steady her aim, she exhaled slowly and then squeezed the trigger of her firearm, sending a round at the small circle scrawled inside the larger on the wall. 
 406.193 
 406.194 +
 406.195 
 406.196 +A puff of grey dust near the centre of the target accompanied by the crack of a bullet ricocheting off stone proved that Mireille's commencing shot was on track, and it was swiftly followed by another puff and crack, and then another and another; sixteen in total, and all originating from within the middle chalk circle's boundary. It was evident to Kirika that her partner's accuracy with a gun had not diminished very much, if it had at all.
 406.197 
 406.198 +
 406.199 
 406.200 +Having emptied her Walther's magazine completely into the tunnel wall, Mireille gave a pleased smile at her flawless performance and nodded to herself in satisfaction. "Your turn," she then said to Kirika as she turned to the girl, ejecting the expended clip from her gun as she did so.
 406.201 
 406.202 +
 406.203 
 406.204 +Kirika returned Mireille's handbag to the woman and then wordlessly swapped places with her, being careful not to slip on any of the spent casings that littered the ground. However, as she stared at the two chalk circles ahead of her, Kirika hesitated. She would have to fire her gun--her instrument of murder. It may have been against an insignificant target drawn on a lifeless wall, but she feared that her simple willingness to pull the trigger of her weapon at anything--inanimate or otherwise--would be enough to entice the darkness inside of herself to rise further, and thus weaken her struggle against it. Purely taking the Beretta from Mireille had been the first step in her journey towards darkness; firing it here and now would be the second. A second step closer to her other self. 
 406.205 
 406.206 +
 406.207 
 406.208 +But it was unavoidable, wasn't it? Kirika had to use her gun--if not now, then most definitely later. It would be better in fact if she tempered the effect of firing it on an inert target rather than a live one. Maybe it would make it easier to use in the future like before, when she had first met Mireille… but that was exactly what she was afraid of. The easier it became to wield a weapon, the less her resistance to the darkness would consequently be. 
 406.209 
 406.210 +
 406.211 
 406.212 +With a virtually imperceptible sigh, Kirika reached inside her parka's right pocket and retrieved her Beretta. Already it felt lighter in her grasp than the last time she had held it. Warmer, too--it no longer numbed the flesh and chilled the bones of her hand. 
 406.213 
 406.214 +
 406.215 
 406.216 +Kirika was acutely aware of Mireille watching her; her partner's face expressionless, almost cold even. It conjured up the memories of the first few weeks she had spent with the blonde, when Mireille was considerably less than affectionate towards her. Kirika didn't like it when Mireille looked at her in that fashion, especially these days. 
 406.217 
 406.218 +
 406.219 
 406.220 +Knowing what Mireille was waiting for--what she wanted from her--Kirika slowly levelled her Beretta at the chalk target on the stone tunnel wall. But then she hesitated once more, her finger resting on the trigger of the firearm. Under the impassive gaze of Mireille, Kirika summoned her courage and squashed the icy tendrils of dread that were nesting in the depths of both her stomach and heart into a tiny ball, burying them away deep inside of herself. Then she flicked off the safety on her gun… and fired. 
 406.221 
 406.222 +
 406.223 
 406.224 +The first bullet struck dead centre inside the white circle, a perfect hit--a kill shot. Mireille inclined her head slightly, perhaps approving of Kirika's decision to shoot or her precision with her weapon. Most likely the former, if not both. Kirika's aptitude in the killing stemmed from her extensive training by Soldats best under Altena's supervision, which had created a fearsome assassin, one born and bred for murder. Even if Kirika managed to abstain from utilising her combat abilities for the rest of her life, they would never dull, not totally. They were a part of who she was, engrained in her every thought and every action. 
 406.225 
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 406.227 
 406.228 +Before Kirika knew it, the slide of her Beretta had clicked backwards, signifying that her gun was out of ammunition. A single wisp of smoke rose from the end of the barrel.
 406.229 
 406.230 +
 406.231 
 406.232 +"As good as always," Mireille remarked, smiling faintly as she looked at the chalk target, her arms folded. She appeared pleased. "I suppose I should have expected you wouldn't have any need of practice," she added a little teasingly, turning her head back to Kirika. 
 406.233 
 406.234 +
 406.235 
 406.236 +Mireille's comment did not do much to alleviate the sense of defeat in Kirika's heart. Her partner's accolades concerning Kirika's aptitude as an assassin never invoked much pride in her to begin with. 
 406.237 
 406.238 +
 406.239 
 406.240 +Kirika popped the depleted clip from her Beretta and slipped it into the left rear pocket of her shorts, before fishing a fresh one from the right pocket. She reloaded her weapon, snapping the slide of the gun back into place with a flick of her wrist, chambering a round. The taciturn girl then exchanged hands with her Beretta M1934, now wielding it in her left. Kirika once again raised the gun and aimed it at the target drawn on the wall, ignoring the minor twinge of pain that suddenly wracked her left side from her movement. Her old bullet wound she had sustained below the Manor still gave her some trouble now and then. But Mireille had assured her it would be completely healed soon. 
 406.241 
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 406.243 
 406.244 +A single, slightly bemused blonde eyebrow climbed on Mireille's forehead at Kirika's actions, but she remained silent. It wasn't the first time the woman had seen her do such a thing. After Kirika had essentially lost the use of her right hand during the incident with Intoccabile, she had sworn to herself to never be dependant on one hand alone again. As a result, she had practiced shooting with her left hand at length, until she had become as adept and accurate with it as her right. Being able to wield a gun in either of her hands had already paid off in the past--once Kirika had simultaneously handled two firearms against a powerful Taiwanese triad, the added firepower of an extra weapon having been very beneficial in allowing Mireille to flee from the group's grasp. Although, she'd had some help from Chloe too. 
 406.245 
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 406.247 
 406.248 +Kirika paused for a moment, and then fired her Beretta at the wall, a second separating each pull of the trigger. She had decided that she may as well practice with her left hand while she was here at the shooting range--she had doubted refraining from doing so would have made much difference regarding her fight against the darkness inside of herself at this point. What were seven more bullets fired, after all? Besides, if Kirika were to be thrown into a life of sin again, it would be better to be totally prepared. Her own wouldn't be the only life being put on the line. 
 406.249 
 406.250 +
 406.251 
 406.252 +After emptying the magazine of her Beretta as perfectly as before when it was held in her opposite hand, Kirika lowered her weapon to her side. She took a breath, and then released it slowly. It was all right. The darkness hadn't overwhelmed her like she feared it could have--she hadn't even been aware of it at all, let alone of it stirring. And she didn't feel very different, either. Kirika was relieved. She was in control. She would remain as herself, as the girl who loved and cared for Mireille, and not change into the one who was apathetic to all life, including the woman she was supposed to cherish dearly. 
 406.253 
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 406.255 
 406.256 +"Are you ready?" Mireille asked, bringing Kirika out of her reverie. "We have somewhere else to be." She took a step forward and started kicking the expended bullet casings into the sewer water bordering the path, hiding some of the evidence of their unlawful activity in preparation for their departure. 
 406.257 
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 406.259 
 406.260 +Kirika nodded, putting her gun back into her parka's right pocket, before joining Mireille in her prudent task. All would be well. 
 406.261 
 406.262 +
 406.263 
 406.264 +******
 406.265 
 406.266 +
 406.267 
 406.268 +Mireille looked up distastefully at the grimy sign posted above the equally dirty but unmarked door situated a short distance from the entrance of the deserted alleyway. The plaque was so caked with filth that only a very small handful of partially smudged letters could be made out, leaving the actual name of the business a mystery. Not that it mattered. The people who found themselves here already knew what goods and services the place offered; the storefront was just a cover, after all. But if by chance they didn't, then they would either move on none the wiser, or satisfy their curiosity by venturing inside. Of course, all that would greet those particular inquisitive few would be a normal--albeit rundown--shop. It was *below* the store where the real business was conducted. 
 406.269 
 406.270 +
 406.271 
 406.272 +With its entrance located within a narrow, seldom traversed cobblestone alley in a rather disreputable part of Paris, the setting of Simon 'Phayzed' Pierpont's base of operations catered agreeably to its normally secretive clientele, most of whom preferring to be discreet in their dealings. But Mireille seriously doubted if any of Simon's other customers were as high profile as herself and Kirika. She suspected most people who crossed the self-proclaimed hacking guru's threshold were unimportant nobodies simply searching for illegal digital products and/or computer hardware. Or, if seeking Simon's services, then for frivolous reasons, such as altering a college exam mark or defaming a website. Simon Pierpont was merely a minor criminal--a sociopathic delinquent more like--in relation to the big fish who operated in the underworld, but that was one of the primary reasons Mireille availed herself of his skills, rather than employing a more notable computer expert with relaxed morals. With Simon's name and vocation having little repute among those who led shady lives, it meant that Mireille by the same token was granted obscurity in her transactions with the boy. And a professional assassin could never have too much obscurity.
 406.273 
 406.274 +
 406.275 
 406.276 +Mireille looked away from the sign to Kirika next to her. The girl hadn't spoken so much as a whisper after leaving the sewer tunnels, but for some reason the blonde felt that her partner's mood had improved some. While Kirika's disposition was normally quite melancholy, Mireille had detected a slight increase in the depressive air surrounding her of late. The Corsican had hoped it hadn't been her doing. But after Kirika's more than adequate performance in their shooting practice session, Mireille wasn't so concerned about how she was handling their slowly changing lifestyle as much anymore. The stoic girl seemed to be dealing suitably with it by herself. The fact made Mireille's heart rest easier in her chest. Kirika was a strong young woman--she had to have been to survive all she had been through with her sanity reasonably intact. Mireille was sure she would be fine. 
 406.277 
 406.278 +
 406.279 
 406.280 +Kirika wordlessly met the Corsican's blue eyes, silently signalling her readiness with her own brown orbs. Mireille pushed the grubby door to Simon's abode open, and then entered, Kirika close on her heels. 
 406.281 
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 406.283 
 406.284 +The interior of Simon's computer store façade was dreary and musty, the only source of illumination from several shafts of sunlight that streaked though the thin, grimy windows positioned up near to the ceiling on the russet walls, and dust motes could be made out swirling in the beams. Rickety shelves lined the peeling plaster walls and tables with rust clinging to their metal legs like mould were congregated in the centre of the shop. Most of the shelves and tables were bare, but a few carried items presumably for sale. Old, outdated computer parts that looked to be from the dawn of the technological era sat decaying on the furnishings, covered by a thick layer of dust. In the very slim likelihood that they were purchased and used, Mireille doubted they would even function.
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 406.286 +
 406.287 
 406.288 +At the far end of the shop was a desk with an old-fashioned register sitting on top, and behind it was apparently the cashier; a young man in his late teens with long, shoulder length oily black hair and slovenly clothed who was busy reading a comic book, paying absolutely no notice to his two potential customers. 
 406.289 
 406.290 +
 406.291 
 406.292 +All things considered it wasn't the most compelling of computer shops. 
 406.293 
 406.294 +
 406.295 
 406.296 +Mireille approached the counter while Kirika wandered aimlessly around the store, the girl peering closely at the filth encrusted motherboards and tiny monitors curiously, a cute expression of interest painted on her face. Rather than watch her partner's endearing antics, as she would have liked to do, Mireille instead tried to get the greasy cashier's attention.
 406.297 
 406.298 +
 406.299 
 406.300 +"Excuse me," she ventured, "I--"
 406.301 
 406.302 +
 406.303 
 406.304 +"All prices are labelled on the merchandise," the youth intoned apathetically in a drawn out sigh, not moving his eyes so much as even a fraction away from the pages of his comic. 
 406.305 
 406.306 +
 406.307 
 406.308 +"We are not here for your merchandise," Mireille replied, giving the uninterested cashier a flat stare. "Rather, we are here for your services. Particular services Simon offers."
 406.309 
 406.310 +
 406.311 
 406.312 +The unkempt teen looked up over the edge of his comic at the assassin's words, and then his eyes widened slightly through his bangs at the sight of the sophisticated and attractive woman standing in front of his desk, clearly surprised that such a classy person had entered the store. 
 406.313 
 406.314 +
 406.315 
 406.316 +"Ah, uh…" he stammered dumbly, fumbling with his comic book for a moment and nearly dropping it, before deciding to wring it in his hands, "j-just go through the door behind me." He motioned weakly with his head to his rear, while keeping his gaze firmly glued to Mireille, unblinking. The boy acted like he had never seen a woman before. 
 406.317 
 406.318 +
 406.319 
 406.320 +"Thank you," Mireille said, and then looked over her shoulder to where Kirika was enthralled with tentatively prodding a stack of five and a half inch floppy disks. "Kirika," she beckoned, summoning the girl devotedly to her side. 
 406.321 
 406.322 +
 406.323 
 406.324 +Mireille opened the door the cashier had indicated, and then preceded down the flight of ratty wooden steps that descended ahead of her with Kirika in tow, heading into the building's basement where she knew Simon reclusively dwelled. 
 406.325 
 406.326 +
 406.327 
 406.328 +Once Mireille reached the bottom of the stairs along with Kirika, the sight that greeted her and her colleague was wholly different from the one that had on the floor above. It was as if she and Kirika had been propelled forward in time, technologically speaking. At least a dozen monitors of various sizes were arranged on a huge, black L-shaped desk fitted with two rows of shelves in the sizable square basement, along with a myriad of PC towers in a range of shades; some with psychedelic lighting fixtures decorating the outside of their casings that stood out brightly in the dimness of the room, while others had completely see-through panes like glass, allowing one to view the computer's inner workings. Countless cables ran from the desk like dangling spaghetti, before joining one another in a tangled mess carpeting the floor, almost hiding the grey concrete surface from sight. A number of the cables exited the mass of wiring and extended to one of many power point adapters connected to several surge-protected wall sockets on Mireille's left. It was quite the fire hazard in the woman's estimation, electrical surge protectors or no. 
 406.329 
 406.330 +
 406.331 
 406.332 +Sitting in front of the desk in a heavily cushioned black leather computer chair, typing furiously away on one of the half-dozen or so keyboards laid out before him, was the boy Mireille had come to meet. Simon Pierpont, better known by the inane alias 'Phayzed', was a skinny seventeen year old high school dropout with acne-ravaged features and a shock of faded dyed green hair mixed with his gnarled natural light brown locks. While the young man was not much to look at--certainly, Mireille did not find his shabby, frayed clothes and less-than-appealing looks easy on her eyes--he did possess an almost frightening level of knowledge and expertise regarding all things computer orientated, specifically networks… and their security. Unfortunately, Simon was still much the immature adolescent male, which made him… irksome to deal with. 
 406.333 
 406.334 +
 406.335 
 406.336 +"Software's on the left, music CDs on the right," Simon recited mechanically while he stared intensely at one of the monitor's screens, referring to the two tables a few feet behind him where rows and rows of pirate CDs were arranged in trays. "Ten Euros a pop. If some app' takes more than one CD, too bad--it's ten per CD, not per program, got it? Pay Ezza upstairs. And *no* swiping--" he absently tapped a finger on a monochrome screened monitor on his desk's highest shelf to his left which displayed the room's interior--there must have been a security camera positioned somewhere in the upper right hand corner of the basement, "--I can see all." Mireille questioned his declaration's validity; he hadn't even turned around to regard his two new arrivals yet, let alone shift his gaze away from the monitor he was seemingly enraptured with. 
 406.337 
 406.338 +
 406.339 
 406.340 +"While purchasing a copy of 'Strip Poker V: Bunny Girls Edition' does have its charms," Mireille said dryly, selecting the title of the first CD that came to her eye from the scores available on the pair of tables, "we're here on other matters."
 406.341 
 406.342 +
 406.343 
 406.344 +"Dude, you have the worst tas--" Simon began, but then abruptly cut off and instead swivelled rapidly around in his chair to face Mireille and Kirika, clumsily knocking over a stack of CDs piled on his desk in the process. "Waa!" he wailed, making a feeble attempt to catch the flying discs while his green eyes remained affixed to his two visitors. 
 406.345 
 406.346 +
 406.347 
 406.348 +Mireille sighed. Simon hadn't changed much at all. She hoped that he had at least grown a little more mature… but that may be asking for a miracle. 
 406.349 
 406.350 +
 406.351 
 406.352 +"M-Mireille!" Simon exclaimed nervously, giving up on salvaging his strewn CDs. "It's been ages! Where have you been for so long?!"
 406.353 
 406.354 +
 406.355 
 406.356 +"I've… been busy," Mireille explained enigmatically, sparing a glance at Kirika for a split second. Simon didn't know of her profession. In fact, he didn't know much about her at all, beyond the fact that she was a wealthy and good-looking woman. But in Simon's opinion, that was probably all he really needed to know. All the better, however; the less he knew about Mireille, the safer the assassin would be. And Simon too by association. 
 406.357 
 406.358 +
 406.359 
 406.360 +"Yeah, I bet," Simon remarked suggestively, a leer coming to his pimply features as his eyes raked over the Corsican's gorgeous figure. "Busy doing *what* exactly…?" He had certainly gotten over his nervousness fast. A pity. Rather than becoming intimidated by Mireille's elegant presence, it normally seemed to goad him into becoming a childish lecher, at least after the first few seconds of their initial meeting. 
 406.361 
 406.362 +
 406.363 
 406.364 +Pointedly ignoring the insinuation that her secret vocation was that of a high-class prostitute--all but for a slight twitch of one eyebrow--Mireille decided to get down to business as quickly as possible and with any luck forgo further distasteful comments on the teen's part. "Nothing that concerns you. We're here for--"
 406.365 
 406.366 +
 406.367 
 406.368 +"Hey, who's your little friend?" Simon asked, interrupting Mireille, whose temper took a sharp rise in a dangerous direction as a result. "She a tourist you're showing around or something?" The boy gestured to Kirika's t-shirt with the French flag imprinted on it. 
 406.369 
 406.370 +
 406.371 
 406.372 +Mireille made an irritated 'tsk' sound with her tongue. "No, she's--" 
 406.373 
 406.374 +
 406.375 
 406.376 +"Oh, then is she your cousin or something? A relative? Your sister?" Simon relentlessly inquired, talking over the blonde.
 406.377 
 406.378 +
 406.379 
 406.380 +Mireille looked at Kirika the same time the quiet girl did likewise at her. Sister indeed! Staring at computer screens all day and all night must have damaged Simon's eyesight, or frazzled his brains… if he'd had any to begin with. 
 406.381 
 406.382 +
 406.383 
 406.384 +"Hey, I'm just curious," Simon said defensively while he made a placating motion with his hands, finally picking up on Mireille's cold and annoyed disposition. "Every time you've ever came down here you've been alone. But this time you actually brought someone with you. It's just a little weird, you know?" The self-proclaimed expert hacker turned his head to look at Kirika, sizing her petite form up. "I guess she must be pretty important then, right?"
 406.385 
 406.386 +
 406.387 
 406.388 +Mireille didn't react in the slightest to the remark, schooling her face to an aloof countenance. She was certain if she revealed just how important Kirika was to her and consequently exactly how unattainable she herself was to Simon, it would not decrease his obnoxious comments and crude innuendoes but rather increase them.
 406.389 
 406.390 +
 406.391 
 406.392 +Simon frowned a bit, but not because of the blonde's lack of response. "Doesn't talk much though, does she?" he said, still gawking at a mute Kirika, who stoically endured his scrutiny. "That's okay; I've never liked talkative girls that much anyway. They should be doing something more fun with their mouths instead of yapping." He leaned forward in his seat towards Kirika a little, grinning broadly. The pervert. Thank goodness the naïve girl was oblivious about such things… or so Mireille fervently hoped. 
 406.393 
 406.394 +
 406.395 
 406.396 +"Enough of this," Mireille snapped impatiently, and quite angrily. She fought back the urge to take a step closer to Kirika and drape a possessive arm around the girl's shoulders. "We have come to this decrepit hole for a specific purpose--which is not to waste time on meaningless chit-chat!" She should have left Kirika back at the apartment. 
 406.397 
 406.398 +
 406.399 
 406.400 +"Aw, come on," Simon whined, returning his attention to an irate Mireille. "I don't even know her name yet!"
 406.401 
 406.402 +
 406.403 
 406.404 +"Let's keep it that way," Mireille said sharply, aware of the puzzled looks she was getting from a confused Kirika. 
 406.405 
 406.406 +
 406.407 
 406.408 +"What, you're not jealous, are you?" Simon unwisely kept up, a smirk coming to his face that made the assassin feel nauseous. "You know you're the only woman for me!" Perhaps Mireille should be flattered; for all his talk she sincerely doubted the lanky teen had ever been with a woman yet. No, on second thought not flattered--just revolted. 
 406.409 
 406.410 +
 406.411 
 406.412 +Kirika shifted her feet beside Mireille, eliciting a glance from the blonde woman. But upon looking, the girl appeared as sedate as ever to her gaze. 
 406.413 
 406.414 +
 406.415 
 406.416 +"Look!" Mireille said with cold fury as she returned her attention to Simon, her voice full of ice. "We have business to conduct. *Now*." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding it across the two CD display tables to Simon. 
 406.417 
 406.418 +
 406.419 
 406.420 +The teenager sighed in resignation. "Fine, fine," he relented, snatching the piece of paper out of Mireille's hand. "What sort of oh-so-boring-yet-incredibly-simple-for-my-mad-skills job do you want me to do?"
 406.421 
 406.422 +
 406.423 
 406.424 +Mireille's temper cooled somewhat at Simon's compliance. At last they were making some progress. "We're searching for two men," she said, before quickly continuing as she noticed the perverted look that suddenly gleamed in the juvenile's eyes, "two men who arrived in Paris in the last week or so. We need you to find out the location of their accommodations as soon as possible--the building's address, their room number--everything. All the details you will need are on that note. There is a high likelihood that they will be staying at one of the more comfortable hotels in the city--you might want to start searching through the five-star ones first."
 406.425 
 406.426 +
 406.427 
 406.428 +Simon unfolded the piece of paper and studied it with a contemplative expression. "Hmm… that's good. Not all hotels and motels and stuff have their intranets connected to the Internet; some don't even have their own network. But the classy ones usually do. It won't be easy though; their firewalls are normally total fortresses--bitches to bypass." He looked up at Mireille, his countenance becoming quite sly. "It's gonna cost extra…."
 406.429 
 406.430 +
 406.431 
 406.432 +Mireille was prepared for this little eventuality. There was only one thing that interested Simon more than women and bragging, and that was money. "I'm willing to offer you a bonus of two hundred Euros on top of your standard one hundred Euro fee," the Corsican said. "For each day that passes, fifty will be subtracted from it. The faster you get us the information, the more money you will receive."
 406.433 
 406.434 +
 406.435 
 406.436 +Simon bobbed his head repeatedly in acceptance as Mireille spoke, but then smiled in such a way that the blonde knew did not bode well for her mood. 
 406.437 
 406.438 +
 406.439 
 406.440 +"That's all good, but the 'extra' cost I was thinking of was more along the lines of a date. With you," Simon said, his grin turning downright cheeky. "You can bring your pal there too, if you want," he added impudently. 
 406.441 
 406.442 +
 406.443 
 406.444 +"I think not," Mireille scowled. Perhaps it would be to her benefit if the uncouth boy knew that she was a contract killer. Maybe then he wouldn't be so quick to rankle her nerves.
 406.445 
 406.446 +
 406.447 
 406.448 +"Ah, it was worth a shot," Simon grinned unrepentantly. "'Kay, I'll get on this ASAP." He held out one hand, the palm facing upwards. "Payment upfront; you know the drill," the youth demanded. 
 406.449 
 406.450 +
 406.451 
 406.452 +Mireille took out a pair of fifty Euro notes from an ornate silver money clip she had retrieved from her handbag and placed them in Simon's eager little grasp. In a flash the computer buff shoved the cash into his jeans' right pocket, moving swiftly enough to rival many a martial artist. Greedy little boy. 
 406.453 
 406.454 +
 406.455 
 406.456 +"Mireille, you babe, a pleasure as always," Simon said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
 406.457 
 406.458 +
 406.459 
 406.460 +Mireille simply turned around and started to walk up the basement's stairs, motioning with a quick and discreet hand gesture for Kirika to follow. "Email me when you have the information," she said in parting.
 406.461 
 406.462 +
 406.463 
 406.464 +"Yep…." Simon replied in an absentminded manner that told the assassin he was more occupied with ogling her departing rear end. Yes, Mireille would definitely inform him of her occupation the next time they met. Or at the very least brandish her gun.
 406.465 
 406.466 +
 406.467 
 406.468 +******
 406.469 
 406.470 +
 406.471 
 406.472 +Mireille took a deep breath of fresh air as she and Kirika left the computer store, glad to have escaped its stifling confines and Simon's undressing eyes. If she never had to go down to the teen's basement again it would still be too soon. 
 406.473 
 406.474 +
 406.475 
 406.476 +"I don't like him."
 406.477 
 406.478 +
 406.479 
 406.480 +Mireille turned to look at Kirika as the girl spoke for the first time since leaving the sewers. And then blinked at what she had actually said. 
 406.481 
 406.482 +
 406.483 
 406.484 +Kirika raised her head from the cobblestone street she seemed to be glowering--glowering!--at to look at the blonde woman beside her. "I don't like him," she repeated in the same soft tone. 
 406.485 
 406.486 +
 406.487 
 406.488 +Mireille simply stared at Kirika for a moment with a surprised and bemused expression wracking her features, before she smiled indulgently at the normally reticent girl. Was Kirika actually *jealous* at the attention Simon had unwelcomely bestowed upon Mireille? No, she couldn't be. It was ludicrous. But, she had to admit, it was very, very sweet. 
 406.489 
 406.490 +
 406.491 
 406.492 +Before she had even realised that her arm was moving, Mireille had placed a gentle hand on one of Kirika's slim shoulders. She shook her head slightly, dismissing her partner's rather startling statement and whatever motive was behind it, the gesture also, however, serving as a temporary distraction to that well-known uneasy sensation that was creeping into her offending limb. But despite it, Mireille still gave the darkhaired girl's shoulder a fond if restrained squeeze, her smile turning tender, although all the while the Corsican secretly discomforted by the familiarity with Kirika she was demonstrating. 
 406.493 
 406.494 +
 406.495 
 406.496 +"It's almost lunch time; why don't we go to that quaint bistro in St. Germain you like so much?" Mireille proposed warmly. "Afterwards, we can have ice-cream at that Italian place, hmm?"
 406.497 
 406.498 +
 406.499 
 406.500 +Kirika's face lit up at the suggestion and she beamed a bright--yet small--smile at Mireille, before nodding eagerly and emitting her customary chirp of agreement. 
 406.501 
 406.502 +
 406.503 
 406.504 +Mireille's smile widened at the cute reaction. "Okay then," she said quietly. 
 406.505 
 406.506 +
 406.507 
 406.508 +Today might be the last day Mireille and Kirika could spend a genuinely peaceful afternoon together, and the blonde was determined to take advantage of the dwindling time to its fullest for her partner's sake. Once Simon tracked down Ryosuke and Vincent, 'Noir' would be instantly thrust down the black path whether they were ready or not. Or whether they liked it or not. Pleasant, enjoyable times such as having a quiet lunch together would become a thing of the past. Mireille had truly wanted these times to last, but it was not meant to be. So now all she could do was cling on to their lingering remnants, squeeze them for all they were worth, and then savour them, for they would be but memories when her and her partner's hands were stained with blood once again.
 406.509 
 406.510 +
 406.511 
 406.512 +As Mireille walked out of the alleyway with Kirika, posing the idea of perhaps going out for dinner later tonight also, the woman found it strange she would be so attached to the quiet, normal life. She had always taken pleasure in her peaceful moments with Kirika, but she had never thought she would personally lament their impending disappearance so much. She had resigned herself to her lot in life after all, the one that dictated her eventual return to the black path of murder as a hired killer. But right now she did feel as though she would miss the good times. Yes, it was strange indeed. 
 406.513 
 406.514 +
 406.515 
 406.516 +******
 406.517 
 406.518 +
 406.519 
 406.520 +To be continued….
 406.521 
 406.522 +
 406.523 
 406.524 +
 406.525 
 406.526 +Author's ramblings:
 406.527 
 406.528 +
 406.529 
 406.530 +And there is the third chapter. A bit more character introduction in this one. Oh, the triads... it brings back memories... LOL. Just kidding. ^_^
 406.531 

   407.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   407.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   407.3 @@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
   407.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   407.5 +
   407.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   407.7 +******
   407.8 +
   407.9 +The fourth chapter. Or what I like to call 'Mireille's Guide to Being a Professional Assassin'. ^_^
  407.10 +
  407.11 +- Kirika
  407.12 +
  407.13 +******
  407.14 +
  407.15 +Chapter 4 - First Contact
  407.16 +
  407.17 +
  407.18 +Mireille picked up her strawberry flavoured club soda and took a long draft from it through the black plastic straw resting against the glass's rim, next to where the slices of lemon and lime were wedged solely for aesthetic reasons rather than for enhancing the taste of the drink. She was sitting at the bar in a small ritzy cocktail lounge found in Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental in Paris' 9th district, simply nursing her drink, as she had been doing for the last two hours. The greying bartender didn't seem to mind, though, appearing to be wholly occupied with polishing glasses and generally looking bored. That was, when he wasn't ogling Mireille appreciatively out of the corner of his eye or fixing her a fresh drink. He had attempted to engage her in conversation a couple of times, but Mireille was not one for idle small talk with strangers, even if the stranger happened to be a bartender with a sympathetic ear. Moreover, Mireille was playing the waiting game, an inevitable part of being a professional assassin, and it required all of her attention. Sometimes the woman found such a task wearying on her mind… but patience brought safety and efficiency. 
  407.19 +
  407.20 +It was late morning, and the lounge was understandably nearly empty of patrons, save for a trio of men in business suits sipping mineral waters while they chatted quietly amongst themselves, apparently going over the several documents that were spread out on the dark, buffed wooden surface of the circular table they were seated around. But that was one of the main reasons why Mireille had chosen this place to wait, or rather, spy from. That, and because the cocktail lounge opened out into the busy lobby of Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental, acting as a tranquil cove in a roiling sea of bustling people, and consequently providing a relatively clear view of the comings and goings of all the hotel's visitors; guests and otherwise. However, the blonde was only interested in two particular guests… two very dangerous guests. 
  407.21 +
  407.22 +Simon had emailed Mireille earlier in the morning with the information on Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu she had requested of him, one full day after she and Kirika had visited the uncouth hacker to make use of his talents. Mireille dreaded having to go back to the hormonal teen's basement hideaway to pay him the rest of his due fee, but for the moment that was the last thing on her mind. Through his meticulous--and illegal--scouring of every five star lodging's guest list across the city of Paris, Simon had discovered that Ryosuke and Vincent were staying at this very place, Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental, a quite lavish hotel that catered to prestigious clientele ranging from foreign diplomats to wealthy and distinguished overseas visitors; the majority of which having ties to prominent corporations. Kaede Ishinomori clearly preferred her older brother and his companion to reside in the lap of luxury whilst away from Japan. 
  407.23 +
  407.24 +Mireille had phoned the hotel from her apartment to check if Ryosuke and Vincent were within their suite before coming to the building with Kirika, but the member of staff she had spoken to informed her that the pair were not answering their telephone--they were seemingly out for the morning and he didn't know when they would return. That had been fine with Mireille, however. It gave her and Kirika the chance to visually confirm that the two men were in fact the ones they were looking for before committing themselves to some sort of decisive action, for instance laying in wait in their quarry's alleged room to ambush them, as the Corsican assassin had been tempted to do. Thus, here Mireille was, seated on a bar stool and sampling her fourth club soda of the morning, while patiently staking out the hotel's lobby. 
  407.25 +
  407.26 +Mireille replaced her half-finished drink on the bar beside her handbag, where it rested with its deadly payload contained inside, and looked up into the wide mirror mounted on the dusky wood wall panels on the other side of the bar, behind a series of shelves lined with bottles of expensive liquor and other potent yet pricey alcoholic beverages. The angle of the mirror bestowed the woman with a more or less unrestricted line of sight through the milling guests in the foyer--some of whom accompanied by bellhops wheeling brass luggage carts back and forth--to the hotel's front entrance, allowing her to monitor the throngs of people who entered the building, and to verify if Ryosuke and Vincent were among them. The position of the bar also meant that Mireille's back was facing the main entrance, offering her some welcome concealment from Ryosuke and Vincent's eyes when they happened by while still letting her perform her surveillance. The blonde wasn't sure whether or not the duo was aware of her and Kirika's true identity as once being the genuine Noir, or what they looked like even if the men were aware, but she wasn't taking any chances. 
  407.27 +
  407.28 +Mireille shifted her wary blue gaze to the reflection in the mirror of the small group of men dressed in bland suits of three different shades of grey respectively sitting at the table a few feet to her rear. They looked like typical corporate slaves, their lacklustre ties hanging like nooses around their necks. Nevertheless, the assassin tired to look beyond the men's mediocre exteriors, noting their mannerisms and exactly how attentive they really were to the papers laid out before them on their table. While Mireille didn't truly expect any Soldats minions to be involved with watching Ryosuke and Vincent anymore after she and Kirika had agreed to assist Breffort--if the man's words could be trusted by even the slightest degree--it would simply be foolish to ignore her surroundings just because she was looking out solely for two specific individuals. Still, despite Breffort's assurances that there would be no support from him to aid Mireille and Kirika in their mission to deal with Kaede's false Noir beyond intelligence, it did not rule out the possibility that agents loyal to the high-ranking Soldats member could be observing the Corsican and her Japanese counterpart without their knowledge. Certainly, Mireille wouldn't put it past Breffort to keep an eye on his little 'investment'. The prospect made her somewhat edgy. It would be best not to think about it--it might facilitate to relax her already stressed nerves--but unfortunately that wasn't an option for Mireille. She had to stay sharp; her and Kirika's confidential benefactor could be just as dangerous as Kaede's Black Hands…if not more so. 
  407.29 +
  407.30 +Mireille's eyes unconsciously drifted away from the cluster of men and up to the image of her diminutive partner near the top of mirror, as if they were inescapably attracted to it like a moth to flame. Kirika was sitting alone in a corner booth at the back of the cocktail lounge with a glass of barely touched orange juice on the table in front of her. Mireille had instructed the darkhaired girl to situate herself there, as it would permit her to survey the rest of the hotel's lobby that was out of the Corsican's field of vision; the section stretching from the middle of foyer all the way to the front desk and the concierge's desk a few feet to the left of it. Between the two of them they had maximum coverage of Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental's lobby, and in turn virtually all of the ground-level entryways into the hotel. They would not let Ryosuke and Vincent slip by them.
  407.31 +
  407.32 +But Mireille had not separated from Kirika purely for that reason. It was also another defence against the likelihood that Ryosuke and Vincent knew of their identity. If they did, then they would no doubt be on guard for two young women travelling together--not alone. It was a trifling precaution in retrospect, but every little bit that would mask Mireille and Kirika's presence from their targets' view helped to bolster the pair's sense of security… well, in the Corsican's case at any rate.
  407.33 +
  407.34 +Mireille released a soft breath as she saw Kirika's eyes once again negligently turn astray from the hotel lobby and focus on her instead. That had to be the twentieth time now, the blonde thought with some exasperation. The quiet girl had been alternating between scrutinising the lobby--like she was *supposed* to be doing--and staring at Mireille's back for most of the time they had been here. Her wavering focus was starting to chafe the woman's nerves, more so than they already were. Kirika was always meant to watch her back--it went without saying--but not literally… at least not in this instance, anyway. 
  407.35 +
  407.36 +Kirika hadn't been very amiable to the idea of splitting up when Mireille had introduced it to her. While the introverted girl had outwardly appeared her customary reserved self, inwardly Mireille had been able to tell that she was not content with the situation. But it had mattered not. It was unavoidable; safety came first. In actual fact Mireille wouldn't have minded Kirika to be sitting on a barstool by her side at this very moment. But that was a self-centred desire, one that stemmed from her heart, and it had no room in the mindset of an assassin. 
  407.37 +
  407.38 +Mireille crossed her legs and retrieved her half-full club soda from the bar in one hand, at the same moment she dropped her gaze from the reflection of her partner in the mirror, now only able to make out the petite form on the very edge of her vision. In truth, Mireille herself shouldn't be affording Kirika so much of her own attention either. But for some reason she couldn't seem to help it. She knew why, of course. She wasn't that self-deluding. But she favoured not to address the reasons why, not directly in any event. It was best not to. Not now, not when she was on an exceedingly important and indisputably soon to be perilous assignment with her counterpart. Mireille couldn't let those kinds of thoughts cloud her mind. She needed to concentrate on the mission. 
  407.39 +
  407.40 +Nevertheless, Mireille's thoughts quickly strayed to Kirika despite her--admittedly rather half-hearted--efforts to the contrary. Or more accurately, strayed to the memories of her and Kirika's final peaceful time together spent the day before yesterday, a last farewell to living in the light of the world before returning to the dark. The pair had had lunch together in Kirika's favourite café as promised after their meeting with Simon in his basement abode, and later during the evening they'd had a quiet candlelit dinner in a low lighted restaurant situated in the vicinity of the Seine River. Mireille had enjoyed both meals immensely, but there had been an unspoken subdued air cloistering the pleasurable atmosphere that would have otherwise enveloped them comfortingly in its pleasant embrace, allowing them to forget what path lay ahead for a time and instead simply relish the here and now. 
  407.41 +
  407.42 +But there could be no forgetting. Indeed, the precise knowledge of exactly what dark path lay ahead of them had caused Mireille and Kirika's last peaceful outing to be hampered by bleak thoughts and little conversation, especially on the lithe girl's part. It was as if growth in Mireille and Kirika's relationship was proceeding in reverse now, slowly but surely shrivelling, the expansive wall of silence intermingled with detachment that had existed once before between the two rebuilding itself gradually brick by brick. Kirika was starting to clam up again, hardly even voicing so much as a hint of what was on her mind anymore--whatever progress Mireille had made with drawing the girl out of her shell was deteriorating bit by bit in concord with the reconstructing wall. The woman had tried to rekindle the usual ambiance between herself and her partner, but all her labours had fallen flat, met with only an absent nod or restrained mumble. It was frustrating and at the same time disheartening. Mireille wasn't sure what to do… except carry out Breffort's assignment. She hoped that after Kaede's false Noir had departed from this world--their passage hastened by her and Kirika's hands--that everything would return to the way it had been before. Mireille didn't want to think what she would do if she and her diffident counterpart failed to fully recapture their slightly more than friendly appreciation of one another.
  407.43 +
  407.44 +Mireille took a deep swig of her soda--not even bothering to use the straw--tilting her head back and swallowing a series of mouthfuls of the sweet beverage in quick succession, polishing off her drink. She put down her now empty glass on the bar with a disenchanted sigh, the pillar of ice cubes remaining inside emitting a faint clinking noise. She wished she had been quaffing something with more kick, no matter the time of day--a vodka and lemonade for instance, or at the very least a white wine. Basically anything that would help to loosen the tension in her muscles and alleviate the strain on her mind. 
  407.45 +
  407.46 +Mireille sighed once more. She didn't need the mirror to know that Kirika was still looking in her direction; she could practically feel the darkhaired girl's eyes roving her back. Mireille was starting to think that Kirika had become too adjusted to the quiet life, in spite of her prior performance in their sewer tunnel shooting range the day before last. Neither of them could afford to get sloppy, especially now. Kirika's discontent on the state of affairs would just have to be ignored for the time being. Still, a part of Mireille wondered if becoming accustomed to a lifestyle free of violence and death was such a bad thing. 
  407.47 +
  407.48 +******
  407.49 +
  407.50 +Kirika was seated sedately on the curved, lush couch of a snug booth in the corner of Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental's cosy lobby cocktail lounge, her waiflike frame dwarfed by the large compartment enclosing her, further emphasised by they way she sank into its puffy burgundy-coloured cushions. A tall, slender glass of freshly squeezed orange juice sat in front of her on a small round table. It tasted good and was refreshing, but Kirika had hardly taken more than a few sips. She didn't have much of a thirst this morning. But she supposed that wasn't very surprising, all things considered. This was it. The hunt--it had begun. And soon after, so would the violence. And the killing. 
  407.51 +
  407.52 +While a part of Kirika was dreading her and Mireille's impending showdown with Ryosuke and Vincent, another part of her was eager to get it over with as quickly as possible, almost fervently so. She wanted her and her partner's return to a life of murder to be but the briefest of tastes, a mere brush of bloodshed. Truly, it should be a simple brush. Two bullets fired for two lives taken. Just two. It would not only be efficient, but it would be exceptionally swift. What was one or two shots fired from her gun, after all? What was the blood of one or two more people on her hands? One or two more sins added to the long list already scrawled in black under her name? What difference would those minor misdeeds compared to the weight of her countless other crimes make in her struggle for her very being against the dark, heartless presence that skulked inside of herself? In all honesty, did any of it really matter in the slightest after all the atrocities she had done during her years of life?
  407.53 +
  407.54 +Kirika eyelids suddenly grew heavy, her gentle brown eyes turning even more sombre than normal. Yes, it did. It mattered to *her*. And for that precise reason it mattered to the darkness also. Kirika had read once that violence begets violence, and her darkness thrived on it in a similar fashion. Any form or degree of violent behaviour on Kirika's part would foster its emergence on the surface of her heart and mind, enticing it ever more to engulf the girl and take her body as its own vessel of destruction. It was something Kirika must prevent from happening at all costs. If her will was overpowered, all of her qualms about killing would vanish like snuffed candlelight, and the slayings that would be committed with her as a powerless puppet would most likely be considerable and horrific. And Mireille would be placed in danger too. No, Kirika *must* remain steadfast; her determination to stay in control must never falter. And certainly not now, not when she would once again be entering a life where ending them was a common occurrence. 
  407.55 +
  407.56 +Kirika's solemn but alert gaze wandered away from the far end of the hotel's lobby that she was meant to be watching for any signs of the false Noir, and focused on Mireille's back instead, only the slim woman's rear visible to her from where the blonde was seated at the bar. Kirika knew she should be assiduous to her assigned duty--she and Mireille were hunting formidable foes, after all--but her eyes just weren't able to stay fixed on one spot for more than a handful of minutes without returning to the sight of her older partner, hunched slightly over her drink with her striking but dour blue gaze lowered to the bar's surface. 
  407.57 +
  407.58 +Kirika watched Mireille impassively as the woman lifted her drink to her mouth and tilted back her head, draining what remained of the beverage in a small number of abrupt mouthfuls, before she resumed her former despondent posture on her barstool. Mireille didn't look to be in very good spirits. Her slouched bearing gave off a nearly visible aura of gloom to Kirika, and what the girl could make out of her expression in the mirror on the other side of the bar was positively grim. And cold. 
  407.59 +
  407.60 +Kirika's own shoulders slumped dejectedly, as if a sudden weight had been draped around them, matching her partner's own. She wondered how Mireille felt about the change in their lives, or more accurately the imminent change. Would she miss the peace that had existed in their daily lives? Would she miss living each day as an average person would, void of atrocious violence and vicious murder? Initially Kirika had believed so, but now she wasn't so sure. She had thought Mireille had liked living a simple life with her, a normal lifestyle, but in hindsight she had just been hoping as much. Certainly Mireille appeared to enjoy the peace, but Kirika had seen her when she checked her email for new contracts on her computer. The woman's visage had always looked… patient, and yet somewhat forlorn, too. Mireille didn't possess the same misgivings about being an assassin--a killer--as Kirika did. The blonde had just abstained from performing such nefarious deeds for her sake, while she recovered from her injuries received at the Manor and, unknowingly to Mireille, from the psychological trauma of losing herself to the darkness. The first weeks back in Paris had been difficult for Kirika, but knowing that Mireille felt the same way about her as she did for the woman had aided in lessening the impact of having regressed to the sinister persona that had ruled her for most of her young life. 
  407.61 +
  407.62 +But now that recuperation period was over--Kirika's mind and body had mended all but fully. Kirika no longer needed to be coddled. And with the emergence of another potential enemy--originating once again from Soldats no less--it was a harsh prompt to return to their previous way of life; the life of murderers. Already Mireille seemed to be lapsing back into her old manner. 
  407.63 +
  407.64 +Yesterday and for half the day before Kirika had spent all of her time with Mireille, doing activities they had normally indulged in after returning home to Paris; ones that ordinary people do and take for granted. But while they had all been pleasant and enjoyable--all time spent with Mireille was--Kirika had sensed that the woman was a little distracted, distant even, her customary mask of aloofness slipping over her features slightly and furthermore affecting her behaviour. Her partner's detached mood had impinged on Kirika's own, smothering it until the quiet girl could scarcely raise her head or utter more than two words. As a result, a damper had been put on the general atmosphere between her and Mireille; one Kirika had been acutely aware of and still was. 
  407.65 +
  407.66 +Kirika's saddened brown eyes fell away from Mireille to the tabletop where her orange juice sat, observing the trickles of condensation roll down the outside of the clear glass to pool around its base. She wondered if Mireille actually liked the life of a professional killer… and if the woman liked it more than a peaceful life with her.
  407.67 +
  407.68 +Suddenly Kirika felt very lonely sitting in the corner booth all by herself. It no longer seemed cosy, but rather stifling. Picking up her still near full glass of juice, Kirika guzzled down the cool liquid in rapid gulps, consuming the drink completely… and giving her an excuse to leave her post to seek another from the bar, where a certain blonde woman was currently seated. 
  407.69 +
  407.70 +Kirika scooted out from the booth and, with her empty glass in hand, approached the cocktail lounge's bar. Mireille's head moved a margin at Kirika's movement, and her shoulders tensed a little, but otherwise the blonde did not react, not even to the girl's proximity when she stood adjacent to her, closer than a mere stranger would, as they were expected to be. 
  407.71 +
  407.72 +Kirika placed her glass on the bar and motioned to the lethargic bartender to get his attention, her bare arm almost brushing Mireille's equally uncovered one with the action, the minute, imperceptible hairs on their skin catching each other's and causing an electric sensation. 
  407.73 +
  407.74 +Mireille shifted her weight on her stool and edged a fraction away from Kirika before resettling herself, still not looking in the darkhaired girl's direction. 
  407.75 +
  407.76 +Kirika ordered another fruit juice; a pineapple one this time. As the bartender shuffled behind the bar, busying himself with fetching her drink--and in obviously no hurry--Kirika turned to Mireille, actually glad that the man's laziness would give her a chance to perhaps speak to her partner for a moment or two.
  407.77 +
  407.78 +"Mirei--" she started, but to her surprise, was immediately cut off by the blonde assassin. 
  407.79 +
  407.80 +"You're rusty," Mireille said in a low murmur--her lips barely moving--while she used her straw grasped delicately in between her thumb and forefinger to idly swirl around the remains of the melting ice cubes in her glass in front of her. But Kirika heard the words perfectly--loud as if the woman were shouting them and clear as if she had articulated every syllable. And they cut like a knife.
  407.81 +
  407.82 +Kirika closed her mouth and her head sank, suddenly having trouble keeping her chin up. She was thankful when her pineapple juice was ready in the subsequent minute; it meant she could go back to her seat and escape the upsetting situation she had naively walked into. After paying for the beverage with some of the money Mireille had given her for that specific purpose, Kirika returned with it and crestfallen steps to the sanctuary of the booth. 
  407.83 +
  407.84 +Maybe it was in Mireille's very nature to be an assassin, a part of who she was. Maybe it was in Kirika's too. But the girl certainly didn't feel that it was, despite the lethal skills she possessed. Perhaps the notion of a quiet, peaceful life for the rest of her and her partner's days had been but a fantasy. Nevertheless, whatever Mireille's outlook of the future, Kirika would respect it and the blonde assassin's wishes and stick by her no matter what. Mireille was the woman she loved; she could *not* and would *not* be parted from her, not again, even if it meant living a life bloated and corrupt with sin. 
  407.85 +
  407.86 +Still.... Kirika hoped that Ryosuke and Vincent would show up soon.
  407.87 +
  407.88 +******
  407.89 +
  407.90 +Mireille stared hard into her glass as she stirred the now deformed ice cubes inside with her straw, the blocks slowly liquefying in the temperature of the lounge. She looked at the thawing remnants of the ice cubes and the shallow pool of water they dwelled in as if the sight held the answers to all of the mysteries of the universe. Or at the very least, the knowledge of how to properly handle Kirika. 
  407.91 +
  407.92 +Mireille scowled in irritation, her annoyance directed squarely at herself. She shouldn't have been so abrasive to Kirika, even if the girl did seem to be somewhat out of form. But in this unforgiving business, it was better if one put their personal feelings aside until an assignment was finished. A soft heart had no place on the black path. But even so, Mireille could have at least paid for Kirika's drink--just a small gesture to appease the girl and silently indicate that she was aware of and sympathised with her apprehension regarding their transition from the light to the dark. 
  407.93 +
  407.94 +Just as Mireille was debating whether or not she should throw caution into the wind and take a breather from surveying the front part of the hotel's lobby to join Kirika, even if for but a moment--she was looking quite downcast sitting all alone in the corner of the lounge, more so than normal--in the reflection of the wall mirror the woman spotted their targets finally returning to Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental. 
  407.95 +
  407.96 +While looking much like they had in their photos included in Breffort's intelligence report, Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu both entered the hotel's foyer in entirely dissimilar manners. Ryosuke strode into the building with long, sure strides as was befitting a man of his tall physique, dressed almost exactly how he had appeared in each and every surveillance snapshot Mireille had studied diligently the day before last. Oddly, in spite of his brisk movement, the broad twin tails of the man's jet-black coat did not flutter or even so much as quiver in the slightest. Instead the entire glossy garment hung rigidly on his slender frame, all but totally immobile. It made for a peculiar spectacle. 
  407.97 +
  407.98 +Conversely, Vincent practically waltzed into Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental with a swaggering gait and his hands stuffed in his pants' pockets, smiling brightly, and shamelessly turning his head to follow the path of every pretty woman who walked by, his smile widening and becoming all the more dazzling in relation to the passer-by's level of beauty. Whereas his companion nearly resembled all of his photographs down to a tee, Vincent did apparently have a fashion sense beyond the lone colour black. Garbed in a dark purple suit, a lavender satin shirt, and a pale yellow tie decorated with a black, spiralling pattern, Vincent's flashy exterior and flamboyant demeanour certainly drew one's eye, be it appreciative or appalled. The majority of the admiring gazes originated from the female onlookers, and Mireille had no doubt that the fair skinned man's gorgeous looks had more than a little something to do with that. 
  407.99 +
 407.100 +The flocks of people rushing around the foyer parted before Ryosuke and Vincent, either intimidated by the statuesque white-haired and black-clad hitman, or in an effort to shun his garishly clothed and showy partner. Or perhaps a combination of the two. However, Mireille was another case completely. She and her own partner had a job to do and an urgent objective to accomplish, the result of the latter shaping how their lives would be lived for the foreseeable future. Mireille earnestly prayed that everything would go smoothly… for Kirika's sake. 
 407.101 +
 407.102 +Mireille grabbed her handbag from the bar and then slid off her stool to the floor, before casually yet smartly making her way out of the cocktail lounge, her high-heeled boots clicking sharply with her hurried pace. Her blue gaze snapped to her right to ensure that Kirika was moving too--the girl had to have noticed Ryosuke and his comrade's arrival, even if she was somewhat distracted--and after confirming that fact to be true, she began to tail the false Noir, making sure that she kept a prudent distance between herself and her prey, along with a screen of flowing people for additional protection. Kirika would be traversing her own route after the two men separate from Mireille--the blonde had thought it wise to maintain the charade of being strangers to one another until the hostilities started; at that point there would be no question that they were affiliated. 
 407.103 +
 407.104 +Mireille lost Kirika in the crowd while she kept her attention on their targets, but she was not worried. They had a plan, after all. The Corsican paused nonchalantly by a vacant payphone at the same time Ryosuke and Vincent stopped at the hotel's front desk. The Chinese man chatted sociably to the female receptionist there for a couple of minutes--saying something that made her noticeably blush and smile prettily--before the pair set off once again, this time heading for the row of silver elevators inlaid in a brass-coloured solid marble wall festooned with chaotic whorls of white, black and grey engrained within the stone. 
 407.105 +
 407.106 +Mireille resumed shadowing Kaede's Black Hands at the same instant the men themselves started moving again, weaving gracefully amid lavishly dressed guests and crisply uniformed staff alike, carefully making certain to have significant cover in the form of people in the event Ryosuke or Vincent happened to look over their shoulders. She saw the duo step into one empty elevator, closing the shiny doors quickly to block out any others from riding it. They must like their privacy. 
 407.107 +
 407.108 +Mireille took a second to look up at the elevator's floor indicator mounted above its shut doors as the golden and ornate arrow ticked upwards. She couldn't be absolutely certain her targets were returning directly to their suite--she would just have to take a gamble. If she waited to see what level the pair's elevator actually stopped on they would end up leaving her behind and subsequently elude her, and Kirika to boot.
 407.109 +
 407.110 +Mireille hurriedly entered a different elevator that's doors were just slipping closed, and pressed the button for the floor Ryosuke and Vincent's room was on. After waiting for what felt like hours but in reality was less than a minute, the elevator arrived at level five and the blonde disembarked swiftly, her eyes discreetly but feverishly darting this way and that to sight her prey once again. She caught a brief flicker of a black ponytail bobbing around a corner of an adjoining hallway to her left, and then quickly chased after it, trotting the few metres to the intersection to narrow the escalating gap between herself and the men. 
 407.111 +
 407.112 +Mireille trailed behind Ryosuke and Vincent as all three travelled down a red-carpeted corridor devoid of other people, dark and varnished wooden doors that led to guestrooms arranged periodically on either side. She recognised the course they were taking. It appeared that the false Noir were returning to their shared suite as predicted. Perfect. It was all going according to plan. 
 407.113 +
 407.114 +Mireille and Kirika had taken the opportunity to learn the basic layout of the fifth floor of Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental while they were waiting for Ryosuke and Vincent to arrive. Knowing the environment where the inevitable hit was to take place in advance was a judicious practice for a professional assassin, and one that Mireille adhered to when the chance or resources were available. It allowed for more detailed preparation, and hence a more neat operation, which the Corsican preferred--equally so for this assignment also. 
 407.115 +
 407.116 +Ryosuke and Vincent rounded another corner that led to the hallway where their room was to be found, leaving Mireille's line of sight. The woman tried not to increase her step to catch up. The moment was looming; she could not jeopardise the plan's success now. 
 407.117 +
 407.118 +Mireille followed after the two men, and saw that they had arrived at the white double doors to their expensive suite; still evidently oblivious to the threat she posed. The moment had come, or at least was about to. Kirika should be hiding at the other end of the hall, out of sight for now, but would soon be approaching the enemy as Mireille was continuing to do unabated. The plan was to sandwich Ryosuke and Vincent from opposite sides, and, at the precise second when the pair crossed the threshold to their hotel room, Mireille would execute the man closest to her at the same instant Kirika would do likewise, before dumping the bodies in the privacy of the suite and leaving them to be discovered by housekeeping. And of course by then, the culprits for the mysterious murders would have been long gone. Clean and efficient, just how Mireille liked it. 
 407.119 +
 407.120 +Suddenly, to Mireille's alarm, Ryosuke and Vincent paused in opening the doors to their room and appeared to discuss something, before proceeding to look back the way they had come… right in her direction. 
 407.121 +
 407.122 +Mireille, an experienced and highly skilled assassin, did not react in the least to their scrutiny, easily curbing the urge to freeze like a deer caught in headlights. Instead, she kept on walking at a steady pace as to not arouse their suspicion, even when Ryosuke and Vincent started retracing their steps, coming ever closer towards her. It looked like they did not recognise her, however, or without a doubt they would have been drawing weapons at that very moment… unless they wanted her to believe that and lure her in into an ambush. A trickle of perspiration ran down the middle of the woman's back at the dire concept. 
 407.123 +
 407.124 +As Mireille passed by the duo on Vincent's left, she couldn't prevent her eyes from shifting circumspectly to look at the attractive man; out of caution or trepidation, she wasn't certain which. To her surprise and disquiet, she was met with the twin amber halos of Vincent's soft yet stunning eyes accompanied by a small, enticing smile on his features; one he most likely used to charm many a woman while his gentle gaze put his 'victim' at ease. The combination held little sway over Mireille, though, no matter how especially gorgeous it made the man appear. She was more worried about the actual motivation behind the expression. Did Vincent--and therefore his partner, too--know her? Did he know the identities of the ones who rightfully held the title of Noir? Was it a smug smile that spelled impending doom for her? Or was it honestly just a pleasant one made to a beautiful woman who was walking by? 
 407.125 +
 407.126 +The muscles in Mireille's shoulders knotted anxiously. If she acted now, then she would definitely incur Vincent and Ryosuke's aggression, regardless of whether they really knew her or not. But if she didn't and the men did truly recognise her, then her hesitation would grant them an opening to strike first… a strike that Mireille doubted she would survive through. 
 407.127 +
 407.128 +After what felt like an eternity to Mireille, she at last progressed past Vincent and Ryosuke and then continued walking down the corridor, this time away from the men, but now with her vulnerable back to them…. A tempting target if they did know her face. But Kirika was still concealed around the corner ahead of her, a comforting--if unseen--presence. The blonde's dependable partner had evidently astutely decided to remain behind cover in the safety of the bordering hallway when she had seen the false Noir begin backtracking. 
 407.129 +
 407.130 +Mireille felt the tightness diminish in her shoulders. Good girl. Kirika would guard her back. And it also meant that they could salvage their plan with a few alterations, even if it would now be a little slapdash. Traces of blood would be left on the hallway's carpet after the modified plan was implemented, and the resulting pair of corpses would have to be dragged hastily into hiding before any witnesses happened by. Mireille disliked hauling dead bodies around, but there would be no other choice--she and Kirika would need time to make their escape without an alarm being sounded before they'd had a chance to evacuate the building.
 407.131 +
 407.132 +As Mireille crossed into the adjoining corridor, she turned her head a fraction to the left and made eye contact with Kirika who was positioned with her back against the wall just by the T-junction, her silenced Beretta held in both her hands, its extended barrel directed up to the ceiling. There were no other people in sight, but the blonde had expected as much as soon as she had seen her partner armed--the girl would not have revealed her weapon otherwise. 
 407.133 +
 407.134 +Mireille met Kirika's gaze for but a split second, yet it was enough time to convene her intentions with a mixture of a hard look and slight swing of her head back down the hallway she had just navigated. The woman knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her counterpart would understand totally. Mireille and Kirika could tell what the other was thinking--within reasonable limits--mostly through each other's eyes. It was something that the two had been able to do from quite early in their association, and it had been a useful ability on several occasions, especially when on assignment, allowing them to predict each other's moves and subsequently work in harmony. Mireille had never given it much consideration; it had always transpired intuitively between her and Kirika, without so much as a hint of conscious effort. As if it were… natural for them. 
 407.135 +
 407.136 +Suddenly, with her long blonde locks fanning out widely behind her, Mireille broke the look with Kirika and spun around back the way she had come, pulling out her fully loaded Walther P99 from her handbag in one hand in the same fluid motion; a silencer attached to the gun. In perfect sync with the blonde assassin, Kirika made her move also, darting out from behind the wall with her Beretta M1934 raised in her hands, and placing herself in a ready stance beside her equally primed partner. 
 407.137 +
 407.138 +However, much to Mireille's horror, what greeted her and Kirika were not the defenceless backs of their oblivious targets, but rather a happily smiling Vincent brandishing dual Beretta Elites, one wielded in each hand, and both pointing straight at them. Ryosuke stood stationary a step behind his comrade, his back still to Mireille and Kirika, but now looking slightly over his left shoulder at the duo, a single violet eye able to be made out through his dangling white bangs a head above Vincent, watching the unfolding scene with languid interest. 
 407.139 +
 407.140 +Mireille registered this information in a tenth of a second before instinctively throwing herself behind the cover of the wall to her left, Kirika doing likewise opposite to her, just as Vincent began unloading steaming lead her and her partner's way with no regard to the glaring and undesirable attention the loud gunfire would attract.
 407.141 +
 407.142 +Bullets pounded into the wall at the end of the corridor near to Mireille, tearing shards of wood and plaster free to rain down to the floor, before Vincent shifted his aim, directing fire at the woman's position. The Corsican assassin could hear the rounds hammering close to the edge of the wall she was hiding behind and could also detect a hint of the acrid smoke produced by their prior discharge from the firing chamber of one of the two Elites. The barrage effectively pinned her in place, unable to return fire without putting herself in Vincent's sure sights. 
 407.143 +
 407.144 +While the onslaught continued relentlessly, Mireille took the opportunity to spare a glance to her partner where the girl was taking cover on the other side of the T-junction across from her. Kirika was leaning with her back up against the wall and with her eyes tightly shut, while the top of her gun touched perpendicularly against her forehead, the darkhaired girl looking as if she were in deep meditation. Indeed, she appeared wholly undisturbed by the hail of bullets riddling the wall just around the corner from her, a multitude of holes now defacing its surface. It was as if Kirika was in another place entirely, but where, Mireille could not say. 
 407.145 +
 407.146 +Abruptly, Mireille heard the shooting gradually ease, and she transferred her focus from her partner's peculiar quirks to the peril at hand. Knowing that this was the moment she had been waiting for, she dropped to one knee into a crouch, letting go of her handbag in the same motion, then leaned out from around the bullet-ravaged corner, holding her Walther in a secure grip with two hands. 
 407.147 +
 407.148 +As the blonde did so, she saw that the cause of the ebbing gunfire was that Vincent had emptied one of his Elites, and was now dividing his remaining shots between Mireille and Kirika's locations, seeking to still keep them at bay albeit with his halved firepower. The gaudily dressed man steadily retreated all the while he maintained his vigilant, if somewhat manic, gaze on his would-be killers' positions, his smile no longer happy but seeming forced, now a rather nasty rictus marring his once attractive features. Ryosuke on the other hand walked down the hallway with apparent calm, not so much as even looking in his assailants' directions. He was either extremely brave or extremely arrogant. Perhaps both. 
 407.149 +
 407.150 +Mireille squeezed the trigger of her weapon in rapid succession, firing a trio of muted rounds at the pair of withdrawing men, hoping to put down at least one of them before they made it to the shelter of the intersection at the end of the hall… and before anybody came to investigate the racket of the gunfight. 
 407.151 +
 407.152 +But, to her dismay, her shots hit nothing but wood and plaster. Vincent had stooped low as soon as Mireille appeared from cover, and then scurried with alacrity behind Ryosuke, as if wishing to use the tall man as an impromptu shield. His fast and quite unexpected manoeuvre had been enough to throw off the Corsican's concentration and hence her aim, however, sparing him from kissing lead, much to the blonde's displeasure. 
 407.153 +
 407.154 +Desperately questing to remedy that fact at least in the case of one of the false Black Hands, Mireille shifted her attention to Ryosuke, just as he was about to disappear behind the protection of the far neighbouring corridor; his partner already having taken advantage of his screening body to do as much. She fired a short series of rounds at the white-haired man as he began rounding the corner after a scampering Vincent, all but one connecting with their target's exposed back. Mireille felt grim satisfaction start to rise up inside her at her success but it was rudely dashed aside as she saw, to her shock, Ryosuke react as if nothing had struck him at all, the man continuing to walk along placidly until he vanished down the other hallway. She had been certain she'd hit him, willing to swear on it even, but evidently she had been mistaken or Ryosuke would be lying in a growing pool of his own blood and not escaping instead. Mireille must really be getting careless to miss such a clear shot. 
 407.155 +
 407.156 +Mireille shook her head in frustration and lowered her gun a fraction, inwardly cursing at how things had played out. While she was debating on whether or not to pursue Ryosuke and Vincent, she looked over to where Kirika was. The girl had slid down the wall and was now sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes remaining shut and her firearm still resting against her forehead. She appeared more like a frail young girl than ever, albeit one armed with a gun. Mireille couldn't remember hearing the sound of a Beretta M1934 joining her Walther P99 and Vincent's two M92F Elites during the firefight--Kirika hadn't fired a single round.
 407.157 +
 407.158 +Mireille stared at Kirika expressionlessly for a few moments, and then suddenly grabbed her discarded handbag and angrily shoved her Walther back into its confines. The woman knew their opportunity was lost. Someone would have heard all of the fierce gunfire. People were probably rushing to this very spot right this second, security personnel--or worse, the police--with them. Mireille could already hear faint shouts echoing down the hallways. She and Kirika had better simply run. They had failed.
 407.159 +
 407.160 +******
 407.161 +
 407.162 +Kirika watched emotionlessly as Mireille stormed into the living room of their apartment and hurled her handbag on the billiard table, sending several pool balls careering away atop Breffort's documents to ricochet wildly off the rubber sides. The blonde started to pace heatedly back and forth beside the green table, her heels beating a tattoo on the floor and her countenance one of acute distaste, while Kirika settled herself back against a wall and continued to stoically observe her partner's tirade. 
 407.163 +
 407.164 +"We've blown our best chance to end this," Mireille spat furiously, glaring hard at the wooden floorboards. "If they didn't know what we looked like before, they certainly do now!" She halted her agitated march, still frowning at the floor. "They still might not be aware that we were once the true Noir, however," the woman went on in a quieter tone, more to herself than to Kirika. "Small comfort, but it's something." 
 407.165 +
 407.166 +Mireille resumed her pacing, muttering to herself in a low voice below Kirika's threshold of hearing, before stopping at the end of the billiard table, leaning on it with her hands gripping either side tightly, her knuckles white. Mireille stared down at its felt surface with unseeing blue eyes, as if looking through the documents and pool balls scattered haphazardly on it. She then paused in her private rant and turned her head to Kirika, her expression seeming lost somewhere between anxiousness and sadness. But the look lasted only a brief instant before it vanished as she turned back to the billiard table to scowl at Breffort's papers, fuming silently. 
 407.167 +
 407.168 +With Mireille's outburst apparently out of steam for the time being, Kirika pushed off the wall, deciding to leave the blonde alone for a bit and brew some tea to help soothe her temper. "I'll make some tea," she declared softly, before walking past Mireille, heading for the kitchen.
 407.169 +
 407.170 +Mireille merely nodded absently and mumbled an acknowledgement, not moving from her position. 
 407.171 +
 407.172 +As Kirika went about filling the kettle with water in the kitchen, she thought back to today's earlier events. She couldn't help but be relieved at what had happened. She was glad Mireille had not been harmed, but she was also glad she hadn't needed to fire her gun at someone. Kirika had hesitated when the shooting started, loath to touch the darkness inside of herself. But in truth, she had touched it when she had burst out of cover with Mireille to confront Ryosuke and Vincent… but only fleetingly. She had recoiled after that first contact, her will to fight abandoning her outright as a result. Kirika didn't know whether Mireille had noticed her reluctance, but she hoped the blonde had not--she didn't want her partner to think she had let her down by not supporting her. She never wanted to disappoint Mireille. 
 407.173 +
 407.174 +Nevertheless, Kirika was conscious that this was only a temporary reprieve. She would have to fight eventually; sooner now, with Ryosuke and Vincent aware of her and Mireille. Dealing with the two men would be even more difficult and in turn more dangerous in the future. Ultimately, Kirika's resistance would not be able to last forever… it would be kill or be killed. 
 407.175 +
 407.176 +******
 407.177 +
 407.178 +To be continued….
 407.179 +
 407.180 +
 407.181 +Author's ramblings:
 407.182 +
 407.183 +Only some very mild action and angsty stuff in this chapter. I debated whether Mireille would be motivated enough to do a bit of pacing and fuming, and in front of Kirika, but after considering it for a while I figured her frustration of failing to kill R+V (and how much was riding on that she succeed) would cause her to lose herself for a moment or two.

   408.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   408.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-05.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   408.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   408.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   408.5 +
   408.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   408.7 +******
   408.8 +
   408.9 +The fifth chapter. A fair amount of fluffiness in this part. 
  408.10 +
  408.11 +- Kirika
  408.12 +
  408.13 +******
  408.14 +
  408.15 +Chapter 5 - Dissolving Lives
  408.16 +
  408.17 +
  408.18 +Ryosuke Ishinomori was seated on a cream, elaborately embroidered loveseat, stoically watching his partner with dead violet eyes struggle back and forth from the bedroom to the sitting room, hauling their luggage as he went, in preparation for their hasty departure from Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental. It had been less than an hour since two more Soldats operatives had attempted to assassinate him and Vin, but Ryosuke would have preferred it if they had already departed the hotel. Their location had been clearly compromised by the foul society, and due to his overeager companion's typical zeal, a huge ruckus had erupted in the building. A mass exodus of panicked guests was underway as this very moment, one that Ryosuke and Vin were readily taking advantage of to check out of their accommodations themselves without seeming overly suspicious. The Parisian Metropolitan Police force had not yet arrived to cordon off the crime scene immediately outside their doors, which was definitely in Ryosuke and Vin's favour also--the local authorities would surely wish to question them because of their room's close proximity to the area where the prior shootout took place. The two assassins already had Soldats on their backs; they didn't need the Police clambering atop them too. 
  408.19 +
  408.20 +Ryosuke bent forwards in his seat and rested his forearms on his knees. He was still garbed in his customary black coat, as he normally was most of the time, especially when away from the relative security of his quarters at home. The tails of the ebony garment folded strangely around him on the sofa, rigidly, while the remainder hung heavily about his shoulders. But it was a reassuring weight to the hardened hitman; indeed, it was a protective one. 
  408.21 +
  408.22 +Ryosuke rolled his left shoulder, where he knew a cluster of putrid purple, almost black bruises had erupted and already fully ripened in the short period since they had been sustained, attempting to relieve some of the stiffness in the joint. The bruises ached in a constant hum, but not uncomfortably so--his resilient body, with its cordlike muscles honed to the consistency of steel, was used to such torture. He had suffered these particular agonies countless times over the years--all they served to do now was further strengthen his unbreakable body. 
  408.23 +
  408.24 +Vin let out an exaggerated worn-out sigh as he dropped the final packed bag by the guestroom's double doors with the other two, before straightening and knuckling his back, as if the task of moving their belongings had been the most gruelling labour he had ever had the misfortune to perform. He shouldn't complain though; he had wanted to bring all of those extravagant clothes with him on their trip to Paris, each one a total eyesore to Ryosuke. It hurt to look at his partner sometimes--the colourful fabrics Vin chose to frequently cloth himself in tended to cause an acute burning sensation behind the white-haired man's eyes. Even now, Ryosuke could feel a headache starting to seize him, a dull throbbing drumming a rhythm inside his skull. No, in truth it was another chronic migraine, the type that made sleep impossible and threatened to shatter his brain, disrupting his every waking thought until all he could focus on was the pain. 
  408.25 +
  408.26 +Ryosuke reached inside his right coat pocket and fished out an orange plastic bottle of pills. Popping open the container, the man tapped out three of the chalky white tablets into one palm and then tossed him into his mouth. He crunched on his medication in slow, steady chews, not bothered by the stark taste of the powder now blending with his saliva. The drugs did little to help the constant pounding in his mind, but at least it was something to possibly alleviate the pressure a minuscule amount, even if they were relatively useless. 
  408.27 +
  408.28 +"I can't believe we have to leave here already. We only stayed for two nights!" Vin lamented in perfect Japanese, turning around to whine to Ryosuke as the white-haired man replaced his pills in his glossy coat's pocket. "I didn't even get to sample room service--I heard this place has great masseuses! Not as good as the ones back home in Hong Kong's… err… looser parts, obviously, but still good." 
  408.29 +
  408.30 +"No choice," Ryosuke said in his lifeless voice, its pitch eerily unvarying, while his violet eyes stared at nothing. "Soldats… they have found us once again."
  408.31 +
  408.32 +Vin smirked that mischievous half-smile of his, the one that graced the garishly dressed man's features every time his mind was on the finer specimens of the opposite sex. "I don't know," he intoned dreamily, gazing vacantly up at the ceiling. He pulled his long black ponytail over his right shoulder and began fiddling with the bushy tuft at the end, flicking it absently with a finger--another pining gesture Ryosuke was familiar with. "If Soldats insists on sending beautiful agents like that woman after us from now on, I won't mind that much at all. It sure beats those fashionably challenged men-in-black that are always trying to kill us." Vin sighed blissfully, his smile now becoming a full one, one that had caused countless women to swoon in delight in the past. "I can smell Soldats lackeys a mile away, but with her it's different…. Ahh… I can still smell her perfume…." he whispered softly to himself, inhaling deeply, as if the scent really lingered for him to take a whiff.
  408.33 +
  408.34 +"That's your own," Ryosuke deadpanned, although it was a more automatic response to his companion's usual antics than a genuine rib.
  408.35 +
  408.36 +His partner's mocking remark snapping him out of his daydream, Vin ceased toying with his ponytail and turned his head to regard the black-clad man in exasperation. "That's not funny," he grumbled, a sulky expression forming on his face. 
  408.37 +
  408.38 +Ryosuke raised a hand to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as his migraine took a sharp rise in the level of torment it was inflicting, now a sledgehammer smashing apart his thoughts. He shut his eyes, hoping to shut out the thumping with it. A pathetic and foolish notion, things desperate people engaged in. Ryosuke lowered his head and grimaced faintly, Vin's chattering voice harping on about the classy women's affections he would be abandoning by deserting the hotel and the hurried sounds of fleeing guests outside their room's closed doors all being reduced to a muffled drone.
  408.39 +
  408.40 +"Hey, are you alright?" Vin's concerned voice broke into Ryosuke's mind, seeming to come from far away. The white-haired man felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. 
  408.41 +
  408.42 +Ryosuke roughly shrugged off his partner's hand and nodded brusquely, but kept his own hand in place obscuring the discomfort wracking his features. He heard Vin heave a sigh on the extreme edge of his hearing. 
  408.43 +
  408.44 +"Migraines again…" the shorter man said quietly, a statement rather than an inquiry. He was aware of his comrade's malady… and knew better than to comment too much on it. 
  408.45 +
  408.46 +The pain in Ryosuke's head eventually receded a tad after a few minutes, permitting more sounds to filter into his mind. He heard Vin walk a few steps away from him, and then stop. Ryosuke cracked open his dark-ringed eyes, risking the chance that the light could pierce through them and into his brain, heightening the severity of his migraine. Mercifully, it turned out that his eyes hadn't reached the point where they had become sensitive to bright light, and instead all that greeted him when he opened them was the sight of Vin's purple clothed back. 
  408.47 +
  408.48 +"We should have been back in Kyoto by now," Vin remarked wearily, shaking his head slightly. "I'm beginning to think we were sent on a wild goose chase. We must have checked a dozen private collections so far." He turned around to face Ryosuke, bewilderment warring with frustration on his countenance. "Hell, we even checked out a couple of museums and obscure stores. Does this thing even exist?" The triad member snorted, and then shook his head once more. "All this trouble for something that was probably thrown in the trash or burnt to a crisp. Or maybe even crumbled apart by its own accord by now. And it doesn't help that D'Aubigne's details were so damn vague we hardly know where or even what precisely we're looking for. We'll probably have to scour the whole freakin' city of Paris before we see the end of this!" Vin made a despondent moan and ran the fingers of one hand through his loosely tied back hair. 
  408.49 +
  408.50 +Ryosuke merely grunted in response. He wouldn't have been surprised if Dominique *had* dispatched them on an unfeasible task. It would be just like that conniving succubus. Perhaps she had wanted him out of Japan and his mistrustful presence away from his dear sister's side for a while. Ryosuke was certain the order to go to Paris in search of the artefact from Kaede had stemmed solely from Dominique's persuasion. That bitch seemed to be sinking her fangs into everything in the Ishinomori Empire these days… his younger sister especially. Just like mother before. Ryosuke's absence would surely allow Dominique to further corrupt Kaede and expand her authority even more among his family's followers. He had to return to Kyoto as soon as possible; already he had been away far too long for his liking. But not empty handed if he could help it; it would be just the excuse Dominique would need to compel Kaede to reprimand him--and Vin as well, for that matter--for his failure. Ryosuke couldn't let his waning influence with his sister ebb anymore than it had thus far; he was the only genuine voice of reason who still had the woman's ear--he could not afford to lose it or Dominique would most definitely hold complete sway over Kaede's will. 
  408.51 +
  408.52 +"Soldats dogging us at virtually every turn isn't improving circumstances, either," Vin went on, recapturing Ryosuke's attention. That impish smile then made a comeback on the flashy man's visage, his aggravation fading. "Although I don't suppose I would object to being stalked by that lovely blonde we encountered today," he amended furtively. "I wonder what her name is…. It's too bad we'll in all probability have to kill her. Maybe I could get the opportunity to have some fun with her before that, however. Hmm…." Vin held his chin between his thumb and forefinger, evidently deliberating the likelihood. One day his keen appreciation for the opposite sex would be the death of him.
  408.53 +
  408.54 +Ryosuke ignored the bulk of Vin's comments, but he agreed with his partner when it came to the part of Soldats persistently hounding them. He thought he and Vin had been circumspect when entering the country, but apparently they had not been circumspect enough. Soldats. Their eyes were everywhere, relentlessly watching, like some monstrous beast from an ancient myth. Ryosuke and Vin had only disposed of the last two Soldats spies a few days ago, and already a pair of replacements was on their tails. If things were to continue in this way, it would grow tiresome very swiftly. And not to mention troublesome. They needed the Soldats division based in France--or more specifically, the two newly assigned Soldats agents--off their backs for a time so they could carry out their mission--regardless of how vain it was emerging to be--more effectively, and hence give them a better chance of actually achieving success. But Ryosuke and Vin were only two men; they could not split up so one could draw Soldats' attention while the other hunted for the item they were seeking. It would lower their searching efficiency considerably with the added detriment of increasing the length they would be forced to remain in Paris for… and also the period of time for which Ryosuke would be separated from Kaede. They needed outside assistance… but where could they find it? 
  408.55 +
  408.56 +******
  408.57 +
  408.58 +Mireille's blue eyes inched opened slowly as she gradually swam up from the depths of unconsciousness and into full wakefulness. She was lying on her back in bed, with a warm, familiar presence pressed closely against her left side. The heat from the firm yet pliant mass engulfed the woman in its comfortable embrace, threatening to ease her back into Morpheus' arms. She was tempted to submit, indeed her eyelids began to feel as if heavy weights were dragging them down, but there was no rest for the wicked. Well, not much rest at any rate. Mireille could remain in bed just a little bit longer--in truth there was no real rush to get up, in spite of all the important errands she had to perform today. Yes… they could wait. 
  408.59 +
  408.60 +Mireille felt a soft pressure across her bare stomach, where her oversized shirt had ridden up, rising and falling gently with her every breath. Its texture was that of the smoothest silk, and rubbed delightfully on her exposed midriff in concert with her breathing, sending trills of pleasure through her body. Another weight rested on her equally uncovered left thigh, just as sleek and almost as slender as the first. While she relished the one only a short distance below her breasts, this specific weight had always been her favourite. Mireille internally fought with herself for a couple of seconds, knowing it was a losing battle and merely a token gesture at best, and then shifted her leg a little, causing the object atop it to slide deliciously down her inner thigh and nestle only a fraction of an inch away from the intimate juncture between her slightly parted legs. 
  408.61 +
  408.62 +Mireille let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction, hardly audible to prevent the person next to her from being disturbed… and possibly ruining her guilty pleasure. Once again without fail, Mireille had awoken to have Kirika's dainty form wrapped around her maturer own. Even in the event they fell asleep spaced apart from one another the end result was always the same. 
  408.63 +
  408.64 +The woman smiled faintly up at the ceiling. Some things never changed, at least. Not that she was complaining, far from it. The morning when Mireille didn't wake up with Kirika squeezed up snugly beside her was the morning when their relationship had definitely taken a sour turn. But, evidently for the present anyhow, their relationship had not yet decayed to that distressing stage, despite the grim events that had occurred in the past few days, seemingly shoving a vicious wedge between the Corsican and her Japanese counterpart. Nevertheless, that wedge would undoubtedly push Mireille and Kirika apart further with every passing day they lived in darkness… perhaps the morning would soon come when the blonde would wake up alone. 
  408.65 +
  408.66 +But not this morning, to Mireille's great collective joy and relief. From nearly the first week she had agreed to work with Kirika, the girl had always preferred to sleep in the same bed as her--the necessity of doing so due to only having one bed in the apartment notwithstanding--to such a point that Mireille had on more than one occasion been obliged while on assignment away from Paris to grudgingly push the single beds in their hotel rooms together, just so that her partner could nap contentedly. And also so that Mireille would not have to suffer even more depressed looks than was common from the brooding girl. 
  408.67 +
  408.68 +Initially Kirika had kept her distance from the woman in bed, but little by little she had slinked closer to the blonde's side, until Mireille stirred every single morning with her partner more or less clinging to her tightly… and thinking almost nothing of it, so accustomed to it had she become. It had grown to become an enjoyment for Mireille, one she would be hard pressed to give up… although she would never truly admit it. Mireille did have to confess however that simply sleeping beside somebody else helped to provide her with a more peaceful slumber, doubly so if that somebody was her cute counterpart. It had been a slow, gradual progression for the normally independent woman naturally, but over time, and especially now, the Corsican roused herself each morning feeling very refreshed and well rested. 
  408.69 +
  408.70 +Mireille lay there in bed for several minutes, staring listlessly up at the ceiling, unmoving, simply revelling in the divine feeling of having Kirika cuddled close to her. She was acutely conscious of where her partner's left arm and leg were positioned, and, as she frequently had to do each morning, was forced to quash the illicit urge to slip lower in the bed and cause the lithe limbs to press against two places on her body they really shouldn't, no matter how exquisite the sensations of the forbidden contacts would have been. As if somehow reading her partner's mind even while she was sleeping, Kirika fidgeted beside Mireille, sliding her left leg along the woman's bare thigh until her knee was nearly pushing against the centre of the Corsican's crotch, while at the same time her arm wandered slightly higher on the blonde's stomach. For a brief moment of jumbled panic and hopefulness, Mireille thought that the darkhaired girl was actually going to inadvertently brush her breasts, unconsciously cup one of the mounds even, but to her relief--or was that disappointment?--Kirika stopped a few centimetres short on her torso, her hand now resting under her shirt. She then became still once again, her rhythmic, whisper-quiet breathing resuming its former pace. 
  408.71 +
  408.72 +Mireille released the breath she had been holding as Kirika settled down. She swallowed hard. Perhaps it would be better if she got up after all. She really did have quite a considerable amount of tasks to do today. Getting an early start would be the smart thing to do. 
  408.73 +
  408.74 +After a number of minutes in which she did not move a single muscle to leave the bed or Kirika's embrace, Mireille sighed and accepted the fact that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She should have acknowledged that fact to begin with; not until she had indulged in her habitual--moderately chaste--whims would she be able to muster the willpower to escape her delectable counterpart's hold. 
  408.75 +
  408.76 +Mireille turned her head to her left on her pillow to gaze upon her quietly slumbering companion's pretty visage, breathing in the darkhaired girl's delicate, adorable features. Kirika's expression appeared so relaxed in her sleep. At peace. It was a beautiful sight to Mireille's eyes--it always was. The woman loved to take rare moments such as this to just look upon Kirika. In her sleep Mireille's formidable partner was no longer an astounding assassin gifted with unmatched abilities, but rather simply an ordinary girl, resting placidly. It was this facet of Kirika that attracted Mireille to her the most, this… open vulnerability. She wasn't certain why exactly. She had speculated before that it was perhaps because Kirika's capabilities in the art of murder were a whole level above her own, and at times like these it was as if the introverted girl required Mireille's protection despite that, making the woman feel a sense of worth, like she was needed. It was a good feeling, and caused a peculiar stirring in her heart… an agreeable one.
  408.77 +
  408.78 +Mireille, knowing from many previous mornings that resistance was hopeless and it was better to simply surrender to her weakness, extended her left arm across the pillow above her snoozing partner's head, and, with a very gentle touch, began to play with Kirika's dark locks, tenderly curling the short tresses around her slender fingers, luxuriating in their satiny feel. She just couldn't help herself, be it toying with the girl's hair or caressing her soft cheeks and lips, marvelling in her delicate beauty. With Kirika sleeping soundly, effectively dead to the world owing to her small body recuperating from its serious gunshot wound, it permitted Mireille to safely treat herself to her secret desires… something that she had been doing nearly ever since it had dawned on her that her partner now slumbered deeply, and therefore would be ignorant to any intimate attentions. Mireille always felt exceedingly guilty and shamed at her behaviour and lack of self-control afterwards; it was as if she had somehow taken advantage of poor, oblivious Kirika. The woman would then vow that she would have more strength of will next time, but inevitably when dawn broke the following day her prior silent, ardent oath was forgotten, and she was once again furtively petting a snoozing Kirika… and adoring every second of it.
  408.79 +
  408.80 +Mireille's wayward hand dropped away from Kirika's head--the stoic girl's mop of hair now quite dishevelled--and back onto the pillow, accompanied by a jaded sigh. But for some reason this morning, the blonde couldn't seem to marshal the normally sizeable enthusiasm for her delightful vice she usually had. All she could think about while caressing Kirika's dark locks was what the reticent girl would be forced to face in the future--the black path; a dire course in life that Mireille had started to lead her down once more. 
  408.81 +
  408.82 +Guilt began to sweep up inside the Corsican, a different kind of guilt to the one related to her surreptitious touches of Kirika, but she crushed it ruthlessly in an iron fist. It was pointless to dwell on something that could not be changed or taken back. There could be no going back for Mireille and Kirika, not until their enemies were dead. They must go forward until the end--it was the simple truth. The guilt could come later, when it was all over, and then Mireille would have all the time in the world to criticise her earlier decisions and blame herself for what she had put Kirika through.
  408.83 +
  408.84 +Mireille continued to gaze at Kirika, this time with sad eyes rather than enraptured ones. She wondered how long this innocent vision of her partner would last. The further they travelled down the black path's dark cobblestones, stained with the blood of all those who had lost their lives on the harsh, unforgiving journey, the further Kirika would be corrupted… maybe. Kirika had lasted this long without losing her childlike purity. Of course, there was another Kirika buried inside of the one Mireille cared for, one who was did not possess a shred of morality whatsoever. It was that Kirika who had been fed all of the maliciousness the girl had been exposed to her entire live. Perhaps it would be that cold-hearted Kirika who would ultimately replace Mireille's as they traversed the black path. The woman prayed that would not be the case. But she couldn't ignore the possibility either. All she could do however was watch for any signs, and hope to somehow prevent that dreaded transition before it was too late if it did threaten to come to pass. 
  408.85 +
  408.86 +Her mood now spoilt, Mireille decided she might as well get up. Carefully, as not to awaken Kirika, she slipped nimbly from the darkhaired girl's hug, her partner's left arm and leg sliding over her body before gently slumping to the surface of the bed. Mireille sat up on the edge of the bed and rolled her head around on her shoulders, stretching the muscles in her neck to loosen the kinks, and then ran her hands through her long blonde mane of hair several times, attempting to rid it of tangles. As she stood up, she heard an alteration in Kirika's rate of breathing, a hitch sullying its rhythm, indicating to the woman that her colleague had roused in spite of her labours to the contrary. 
  408.87 +
  408.88 +Mireille quickly pulled down her still ruffled shirt over her hips and smoothed it out a little anxiously, hiding her completely naked posterior from Kirika's view… although she was almost certain the girl had gotten an eyeful. She tried to distance her mind from the… awkward… prospect, while suppressing the impulse to look over her shoulder and check if her partner really had caught a glimpse of her exposed rump. Whatever had possessed Mireille to forgo donning underwear after choosing to wear a solitary--and rather short--oversized shirt to sleep in she didn't quite know, but for some reason she couldn't--or perhaps more accurately didn't want to--identify, she was nearly positive she still wouldn't be slipping on any panties the next time she doffed the simple garment, regardless of the risk that Kirika might see the cheeks of her uncovered rear end… again, or maybe even get a peek between her legs at her….
  408.89 +
  408.90 +"I'm going to take a shower," Mireille informed Kirika with her back still to the girl, consciously keeping her voice level--and pleased that she had succeeded in doing so. Her throat had become rather parched all of a sudden. 
  408.91 +
  408.92 +After being answered by a mumble of acknowledgement, Mireille, resisting the compulsion to flatten out her shirt again, proceeded for the bathroom, doing her utmost to keep her pace brisk but not overly so, not wishing to give the impression she was fleeing the room--not that she was, of course. She tried not to think about whether Kirika's eyes were still on her back … or on any other parts of her body. Nevertheless, she was relieved when she reached the privacy of the bathroom. 
  408.93 +
  408.94 +******
  408.95 +
  408.96 +Kirika was brought back into the waking world as something undulated beneath her left arm and leg, before becoming still once again. Her breathing remained slow and even, a technique she had learned and mastered during her time training under Altena and her Soldats enclave's strict hands. She did not even require conscious thought to regulate it, so engrained was the ability. Feigning sleep could be a useful talent for an assassin… although Kirika had found another use for it, one she found vastly more appealing.
  408.97 +
  408.98 +Kirika loved the feel of Mireille squeezed so close against her body, so warm and so supple and smooth. With her eyes firmly shut, the girl's other senses--particularly touch and hearing--were heightened to a degree, permitting her to truly bask in Mireille's presence. With every breath she took, Kirika inhaled the tantalising, natural scent of the woman--a spicy and yet fresh and sweet aroma that flooded her sense of smell wonderfully, engulfing her in the very essence of her partner. Meanwhile, her left arm, draped across Mireille's taut stomach, rose and fell softly in time with the blonde's breathing, accentuating the somewhat ticklish but more than pleasant sensation of their skin touching one another's. The bare flesh of Mireille's abdomen felt… nice… under Kirika's own of her arm, and she had to refrain from giving in to the yearning to rub her hand all over her partner's tummy and trace the contours of the fine muscles beneath… although she couldn't resist fidgeting just a tiny bit.
  408.99 +
 408.100 +Kirika's heart swelled in her chest. It was all simply heavenly. She adored waking up snuggled against Mireille; there was nothing better to greet another day with than tightly hugging the woman she loved. She would have liked it if that hug was returned however, but Kirika was happy with any affection she received from her partner, no matter how small. Mireille just wasn't a really affectionate woman, that was all. Or at least rarely openly. There was something else that Mireille had yet to do this morning, if indeed the mood would strike her to do so. Kirika did her best to contain the mounting level of anticipation welling up inside her, lest she ruin her outwardly peaceful façade and consequently destroy any chances that her partner would show her--albeit surreptitious--fondness for her.
 408.101 +
 408.102 +Sometimes, when Mireille thought that Kirika was fast asleep, the woman would… touch her, or perhaps more precisely, *caress* her. She would normally begin tentatively, mainly focusing on gently running her fingers through Kirika's hair for a number of minutes. However, Mireille would apparently soon tire of that particular activity and move on to others to amuse herself with. While Kirika liked the feeling of her partner playing with her short hair, it was her subsequent ministrations that the girl enjoyed the most. Mireille would every so often actually bring a hand up to her face and trail her fingertips over her cheeks, stroking them tenderly. And, if Kirika was really lucky, the blonde would even outline her slightly parted lips, sometimes daringly dipping shallowly in between them, as if seeking access inside the warm, wet cavity they guarded. Yes, she especially liked it when Mireille caressed her lips. The woman's touch was so soft, feather-light, but Kirika found it tantalising beyond compare. It was all she could do not to shiver in delight or even emit a blissful sound of approval. But she knew that any such outbursts would scare Mireille's delicate fingertips away. 
 408.103 +
 408.104 +Kirika wasn't exactly sure why Mireille's touch elicited such… excitement within her. All she knew was that she loved it to such an extent that she very much looked forward to waking up in the morning. However, she wished that Mireille felt comfortable enough to show her such physical affection candidly whenever the impulse took her no matter what time of day or night, rather than covertly while the woman believed her to be snoozing soundly. But perhaps that was too much to hope for from Kirika's aloof partner. Indeed, lately even Mireille's regular morning indulgences were lessening in duration and lacking the intimacy of prior 'sessions'. It had started following their meeting with Breffort--with Soldats. With the advent of their return to a life of killing. 
 408.105 +
 408.106 +Sure enough, after only a few minutes of half-heartedly fondling Kirika's short locks, the girl heard Mireille exhale heavily and the blonde's touch disappear from her head. Kirika tried not to let the disappointment and desolation overwhelm her. She really missed those past mornings now. She missed the old times. It seemed like Mireille truly was starting to pull away from her, and on more than a mere physical level. The morning would come when the woman probably wouldn't even stay in bed with her for a single minute in excess after waking up. The prospect saddened Kirika, further lowering her already waning spirits, but she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. Assassins were expected to be cold, unfeeling individuals. It was no wonder Mireille was becoming like her old self again. Maybe that was actually her real self. 
 408.107 +
 408.108 +Still, even if Mireille did revert to her former standoffish and frosty nature, Kirika's feelings for her would not change in the slightest. She would still be utterly besotted with the woman with all that she was, heart and soul. After all, Mireille had not always been cordial to Kirika… but that had not stopped the girl from falling completely and hopelessly in love with her.
 408.109 +
 408.110 +Kirika ceased her veneer of oblivious slumber when she felt and heard Mireille free herself from her embrace and climb out of the bed. Her breathing paused for a moment as she swallowed the build up of moisture in her mouth, before it resumed at a different pace, and then flicked open her brown eyes… and was greeted by the unexpected but oddly sublime sight of the twin porcelain globes of Mireille's perfect bottom, unabashedly on display for her suddenly very keen gaze. To Kirika's disappointment, the spectacle only lasted the briefest of instances before Mireille readjusted the large shirt she was wearing, but it was enough to permanently burn the privileged image in the girl's mind. 
 408.111 +
 408.112 +Kirika blinked several times and swallowed once again, this time a tad harder than before; almost a gulp. She wasn't certain why she had found the sight of Mireille's naked rear end so… fascinating? Was that the word? Or perhaps mesmerising was a better term? In all honestly, Kirika couldn't quite ascertain what the feeling she had experienced was either. Something between captivation and… exhilaration, was it? Whatever it was, she still wondered why her partner's unclothed posterior was so interesting to her in the first place. It was just another part of Mireille's body, after all; it simply served a function, in this case, to help in the woman's mobility. It was nothing special. So then why did that area continue to attract Kirika's attention unbidden even now that it was concealed behind a layer of cloth? Was it because of the very fact that normally it *was* hidden, out of general propriety? But Mireille's bottom wasn't the only place the blonde kept covered, and so far Kirika hadn't reacted in the same way to those other particular private spots… or was that because she had never observed them unfettered by clothing? 
 408.113 +
 408.114 +Kirika sighed quietly. For the moment, it was all simply beyond her understanding. Perhaps she should pay more attention to her feelings when looking upon Mireille's body in the future, undressed or not. She was vaguely aware that her partner was pretty--no, beautiful. Certainly, she had witnessed an abundant amount of people turn their heads to catch an additional glimpse of the ravishing blonde when they were outside of the apartment, with something akin to appreciation shining in their eyes. Kirika found it pleasant to gaze upon Mireille too, although the woman's physical splendour was not what captivated her so. Mireille was just Mireille to Kirika--her partner and the person who she loved dearly. The only person who mattered in the world. That Mireille was also an exceptional example of beauty didn't dawn on Kirika very often, not until outsiders reacted in such a way to make that truth obvious. Like that boy, Simon Pierpont. The darkhaired girl didn't like how he talked and looked at Mireille. He didn't look upon her in innocent appreciation, but rather Kirika believed his leers--and remarks too--were demeaning in nature. It didn't sit well with Kirika. It made her feel… cross. 
 408.115 +
 408.116 +Mireille announced that she was going to take a shower, ending Kirika's analytical musings. The girl watched Mireille emotionlessly as the blonde walked smartly to the bathroom and entered, closing the door behind her. Kirika's brown eyes remained riveted to the woman's swaying backside for the entire time. 
 408.117 +
 408.118 +Kirika flopped over onto her back in the bed when she heard the toilet flush from the bathroom, shortly followed by the sound of running tap water. Mireille would take a while in there--she always did. However, she didn't usually have a shower so early after just awakening. At least, she hadn't before that day of the car bomb incident. Ordinarily, Mireille would stay in her pyjamas for hours, sometimes lingering in bed with Kirika for a stretch after rousing, simply chatting lazily about nothing in particular, and then later perhaps partaking in a long, relaxed, cooked breakfast with the soft-spoken girl. While Kirika had sometimes slept late into the morning due to her recovering bullet wound, causing those occasions to be sporadic at best, it had only made her cherish them all the more. Twice as much, now. Mireille had been getting up earlier and earlier these past few days--it didn't seem she had time to spare for pleasant luxuries with Kirika anymore. But it was understandable. Really, it was. 
 408.119 +
 408.120 +Kirika was glad that Mireille at least still retired to bed at the same time she did--the night when the woman had remained awake to examine Soldats' intelligence reports aside. Kirika needed her partner in bed next to her. Sleep would no longer claim her unless Mireille was in the same bed with her, the blonde's comforting presence seeming to act as a soothing influence on the girl, lulling her easily into a deep, peaceful slumber. Yes, Kirika should be thankful for what she still had, regardless of the things she was evidently losing… or had already lost.
 408.121 +
 408.122 +Kirika heard the shower starting in the bathroom, signalling to her that Mireille had finished thoroughly washing her face and neck with the strange concoctions that were essential for pure and healthy skin--or so the woman had once sworn to her. Kirika should get up and begin preparing breakfast. Mireille would like that, to be greeted with a readymade repast when she completed her morning ablutions.
 408.123 +
 408.124 +The taciturn girl turned her head slowly to the right and placed a hand where her partner had lain several minutes before. The impression in the mattress of Mireille's slender form was still present, although the warmth of her body had long since left the bed. Abandoned it. The imprint, half ringed by rumpled bedcovers, was only a mere afterimage of Mireille, a shadow that would in time no longer even exist. 
 408.125 +
 408.126 +Kirika's eyelids drooped somewhat, her mood sinking just a little more. She ought to start breakfast. 
 408.127 +
 408.128 +******
 408.129 +
 408.130 +Mireille carefully stepped into the bathtub--her clothes having been all shed as soon as she had begun her meticulous skincare and hygiene routine earlier--mindful of any residual water there that could cause her to lose her footing, and then closed the pearl-coloured shower curtain behind her. She picked up the handheld showerhead from its cradle by the bath's singular faucet, and after turning it on and adjusting the water temperature to her liking--in the meantime keeping the spray directed prudently away from her--she then attached it to a clip bolted roughly two-thirds of the way up on the wall bordering one side of the tub, effectively simulating a standard shower. 
 408.131 +
 408.132 +Mireille closed her eyes and faced the showerhead, simply letting the comfortably warm cascade of water drench her all over, slicking her long blonde hair back and clapping it to her scalp, and at the same time liberally soaking her body. The heat of the water was soothing to the Corsican, lulling her senses somewhat, and as a result, her mind started to wander. Inexorably, her thoughts soon turned to what had happened yesterday… or rather, what *hadn't* happened. Mireille and Kirika's unsuccessful attempt to quickly and quietly kill Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu would have scores of consequences, most, if not every one, grave. It would have been so much simpler if the two men had just rolled over and died without any trouble instead of putting up a fight. Now the blonde and her partner could look forward to a long, drawn out duel with the false Noir, one that would be undeniably several times more perilous than a mere assassination job against a pair of unsuspecting foes… if Vincent and Ryosuke really had been unsuspecting. Mireille supposed it didn't matter anymore; Kaede's Black Hands knew of her and Kirika now, perhaps not their identity as the one-time true Noir, but at the very least that they shared the same vocation. 
 408.133 +
 408.134 +Mireille sighed, the sound of her soft breath barely perceptible above the drone of water beating a dull tune against the shower curtain behind her. It was all going to be so much harder now. At first she had been angry at her failure, knowing implicitly what it meant for her and Kirika--especially Kirika--but after a good night's sleep, she had become sorrowfully resigned. There was nothing she could do but continue down the black path she had chosen to follow… and see it through to its conclusion. Hopefully, the conclusion would be Ryosuke and Vincent in the ground with her and Kirika left unscathed… on a physical level at any rate. Mireille was practically certain their foray back into the lives of professional killers would have a lasting impact on them both, in particular on Kirika's rather fragile psyche. 
 408.135 +
 408.136 +Kirika. Mireille didn't know what she was going to do about the girl. She was aware that her partner was unhappy, but she didn't know how to approach her about it. But while Mireille dithered, plagued by the uncertainty of what exactly to do or say to her Japanese counterpart to make things better, Kirika seemed to be gradually sinking further and further into depression. It… hurt Mireille to see the quiet girl like that while she herself was unable to figure out how to aid in allaying her sadness. The woman felt so helpless. And that bleak, frustrating sentiment made her irritated as well, which she feared would wrongly manifest itself as bitterness towards Kirika, the source of all the feelings. Already Mireille was becoming short with the darkhaired girl, the incident at Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental coming to mind. She recognised it would probably only get worse. 
 408.137 +
 408.138 +Mireille shook her head angrily at it all, and, opening her eyes, reached for the shampoo, squirting a dollop in the palm of one hand before rubbing the mixture all over the tresses plastered to her head and back, made a dark blonde shade by the water saturating them. It wasn't fair. She and Kirika should be living a peaceful existence again, not preparing to clash with two other assassins. Mireille placed the blame squarely on her own shoulders. She should have tried harder yesterday, she should have anticipated Vincent's manoeuvre, she should have--! 
 408.139 +
 408.140 +Mireille ground her teeth, massaging the shampoo into her scalp a little more vigorously than necessary. She should have *succeeded!* If she had done so, Kirika would not be brooding at present and she herself would not be despairing over her inability to help the poor girl! 
 408.141 +
 408.142 +Mireille rinsed the froth of shampoo out of her hair and picked up a bottle of conditioner, applying the viscous liquid inside to her locks with both hands. She began driving her fingers deeply into her wet mass of hair, slowly and methodically coating the blonde mane with the slippery solution. The woman simply wasn't good with relationships, not that she'd had any notable ones to speak of before. She just wasn't familiar with them. Regarding Kirika, she was basically--and rather blindly--feeling her way as she went. And now, she had reached an apparently impassable wall. The only thing she could think of to do was eliminate the cause of all of her and her partner's turmoil: the false Noir. But to accomplish that now, they were going to require more help. 
 408.143 +
 408.144 +Mireille retrieved a sponge and a bar of soap from the dish affixed to the wall at the front end of the bath, and commenced lathering her body with a copious amount of foamy suds. Today she planned to visit Simon, for one to deliver his outstanding fee, and another to enlist his services once again. She would need him constantly probing for the emergence of Ryosuke and his companion's aliases in any hotel guest lists excluding Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental. It would doubtless cost her a fortune--the little pervert would make her pay through the nose for such a request, along with additional payments in the form of undressing leers and boorish suggestive comments--but it was unavoidable. 
 408.145 +
 408.146 +Mireille would not rely solely on the hacker however, she also had supplementary resources in the form of street-level informants; small time snitches who noted the traffic in Paris' underworld. The Corsican didn't have much faith that the lowlifes whose palms she intended to grease would sight Ryosuke and Vincent, even if the duo did stand out a little--a little too much for smart professional assassins in Mireille's opinion--unless the false Noir actually mingled with the criminal circuit in the city, but they might get lucky. Every little bit helped, after all. And price was no object to Mireille if it speeded her and Kirika's escape from the black path. 
 408.147 +
 408.148 +There was a soft knock on the bathroom door, causing Mireille to reflexively look over her shoulder even though the shower curtain, made hazy by wisps of rising steam, blocked her view. 
 408.149 +
 408.150 +"Breakfast is almost ready," came Kirika's rather hesitant voice from the other side of the door, scarcely audible. 
 408.151 +
 408.152 +"Okay," Mireille called back, detaching the showerhead and using it to quickly and efficiently wash the build-up of soap and conditioner from her body and hair respectively, cutting her ordinarily long shower short. She couldn't help but smile faintly, although it was a touch melancholic. Despite the desolate transformation in their lives, and her obvious aversion to it, Kirika was still as obliging as ever. Mireille wished she could return her partner's kind consideration properly… if only she knew how. 
 408.153 +
 408.154 +******
 408.155 +
 408.156 +To be continued….
 408.157 +
 408.158 +
 408.159 +Author's ramblings: 
 408.160 +
 408.161 +Okay, so the fluffiness was polluted by some coarse flecks here and there. Oh well. You should have suspected as much! ^_^
 408.162 +
 408.163 +Bathroom layout was used from the Newtype image. 
 408.164 +
 408.165 +
 408.166 +And Kirika meditates on Mireille's butt... LOL. ^_^ 

   409.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   409.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   409.3 @@ -0,0 +1,213 @@
   409.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika
   409.5 +
   409.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   409.7 +******
   409.8 +
   409.9 +The sixth chapter. 
  409.10 +
  409.11 +- Kirika
  409.12 +
  409.13 +******
  409.14 +
  409.15 +Chapter 6 - Allies and Adversaries 
  409.16 +
  409.17 +
  409.18 +Mireille stepped up to the cashier's counter inside Simon Pierpont's decrepit back alley computer store façade, her and Kirika's first stop on a long list for today, and crooked a single blonde eyebrow at the jittery and scruffy boy behind it; 'Ezza' his name was, if she remembered correctly from her last visit. Why was it hackers, whether they were merely feeble aspiring ones or genuinely accomplished masters, had to have such bizarre--and more often than not, inane--aliases? If it even *was* an alias--Mireille wasn't sure which possibility she found more pathetic. It must have been an image thing. Certainly, assassins were known to engage in similar habits also, donning titles carefully chosen to instil both fear and awe in all those who heard it. It was good for business, in mutual respects to garnering clients and intimidating targets. Who didn't quake in terror if they discovered that Noir was seeking their heads, after all? Mireille herself was not much for titles; she preferred to have people's faith put in her skills rather than how imaginative her adopted pseudonym was, but she had to admit utilising one that carried great prestige did tend to come in handy sometimes. Of course conversely, it was apt to also attract unwarranted trouble that could have otherwise been avoided… as in the case of Ryosuke and Vincent, if the men were indeed aware of the Corsican and her Japanese counterpart's old identity. 
  409.19 +
  409.20 +Ezza, to his credit, did not waste any time on idle chatter, apparently understanding by the blonde's terse gesture that she and Kirika were here in the dusty shop to see his friend, Simon--or 'Phayzed', as was his asinine alias--and nothing more. Instead he smiled tremulously at Mireille and then with an abrupt turn scrambled to open the door behind him that led to the building's basement, fumbling for several moments with the rusty brass knob. Mireille was glad Ezza had not tried to spark up a conversation with her. This morning she was definitely not in the mood for civilities… although in truth she hadn't really been for the last couple of days. 
  409.21 +
  409.22 +Mireille was a little surprised when Ezza opted to escort her and Kirika down the rickety steps into Simon's computer den, leading the gloomy way ahead of the pair while occasionally sparing the blonde a nervous glance over his shoulder, but the woman didn't dwell on it. She was aware that she sometimes had that affect on people. It could be somewhat irritating--Simon's obnoxious behaviour came to mind--but being endowed with pleasant looks did have its uses from time to time. Guards--most notably male guards--typically were susceptible to feminine charms, and doubly so if they belonged to a pretty face, a weakness that Mireille had taken advantage of all too often. Her attractive exterior had loosened tight lips and dulled sharp senses many times before in the past, allowing her to perform hits with added ease. Mireille considered her beauty simply another tool of her trade, a valuable and effective one. Although, the Corsican had to confess, she did take a smidgen of pride in her appearance. A woman did have to look her best. 
  409.23 +
  409.24 +When the trio arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by the predictable sight of Simon sitting in front of his multitude of computer monitors, gazing avidly at the screens at the same time he typed madly away at one of his myriad of keyboards. Mireille wondered if the boy ever managed to tear himself away from his computers and venture out from his basement hideaway into the light of day. Probably not very often, if the grimy mattresses and blankets stacked in one corner of the dim-lighted room, along with a less-than-pristine looking refrigerator positioned in another, were any indications. And Simon did have a rather pasty complexion, if one looked past the red pimples dotted liberally on his face. By all accounts, it seemed as if the boy lived here in the damp and dark basement below the computer store. On more than one occasion during her visits Mireille had mused on where his parents were and how he had come to occupy and possibly even own a building, even if it was more or less part of a slum… and the poorer part at that. Perhaps he was merely squatting. In reality it didn't really matter to the woman, however. Her deliberations were simply casual ones--she didn't possess much care or interest for the hacker and his life beyond that one generally held for a useful business associate. Simon was a resource that Mireille every so often tapped, and that was all. He was not her friend. 
  409.25 +
  409.26 +Mireille saw through the murk of the room that Simon wore a silver set of headphones over his ears--their speakers no doubt pumping some sort of dance beat at a deafening volume against his eardrums--and, as per usual, was dressed untidily in a shabby pair of blue jeans and faded t-shirt, the logo printed on the back of the latter garment having deteriorated to such a degree that only a washed-out and warped red rectangle was recognisable. As a result of the distracting mixture of listening to music via headphones and seemingly being entirely spellbound by the numerous glowing screens before him, the teen did not turn around at her, Kirika and their guide's appearance. That boy really should be more attentive to his surroundings. If Mireille and Kirika had been here to execute Simon rather than talk to him instead, he wouldn't have stood a chance… not that he would have even if he had been alerted, naturally. 
  409.27 +
  409.28 +Ezza quickly scurried over to his oblivious friend and prodded him in the back with a finger, causing Simon to emit a startled yelp and jerk upright in his seat. The self-proclaimed expert hacker pulled off his headphones and let them dangle around his neck as he swivelled around in his seat, the tinny, distant rhythm of manic music able to be heard spilling out from the two uncovered speakers. Simon's expression was that of surprise and some embarrassment, but when he realised just who was standing in the basement with him it quickly transformed into one of anxiety, and then a fraction of a second later--to Mireille's vexation--to a countenance that contained more than little a glimmer of lewd intent. Mireille could already tell that this meeting was going to be a tedious lesson in patience and self-control. But the Corsican was confident she was up to the challenge. She had to be if she wanted Simon's much needed assistance.
  409.29 +
  409.30 +"Mireille! You're back!" Simon exclaimed in jubilation, grinning merrily… if a bit lecherously. "And you've brought your cute pal along again too!" he added as his eyes settled on Kirika, also favouring the girl with his broad smile. He then returned his unwelcome attention to Mireille, flicking his eyebrows at her in a suggestive fashion. "Can't get enough of me, huh?"
  409.31 +
  409.32 +Mireille ignored Simon's greeting and grating remark and instead reached into her handbag and retrieved a rolled up bundle of Euros from its depths, before unceremoniously tossing the cash in the boy's direction. "Your payment for last time," she said simply as the collection of bills bounced off Simon's chest, causing the boy to hurriedly struggle to catch them, juggling the roll in his hands for a number of seconds until he succeeded in maintaining a firm grip on them.
  409.33 +
  409.34 +"Mmm, Mireille bearing money; is there any better combo in the world?" Simon commented as he flipped through the bundle of notes, counting them carefully. Abruptly, he stopped and looked up from the cash to Ezza, who seemed to be trying to blend into the darkness of the basement and stay unnoticed--and not doing a very good job of it, either. "What the hell are you still doing down here?" the hacker demanded callously, frowning at his 'friend'. "Get your ass back upstairs and watch the store! There might be shit-all up there, but damn it, what *is* up there is *my* shit! I don't want anybody swiping it!" Simon commanded in a harsh tone, thrusting a pointed finger at the flight of stairs leading to the ground floor. Mireille surmised that he didn't like anybody other than himself gawking at her. How petty.
  409.35 +
  409.36 +Ezza hesitated for a moment, appearing caught somewhere between being crestfallen and humiliated, but eventually succumbed to the inevitable and after a parting disappointed look at Mireille, headed for the stairs and plodded back up them with slumped shoulders and a lowered gaze. 
  409.37 +
  409.38 +"It's so hard to find good help, you know?" Simon sighed as he watched a dejected Ezza leave. "Ever since Francois left to go to college about a month ago I've been stuck with that loser. All he does all day is read comics! And lately he's been bugging the hell outta me about *you*, Mireille! He's always wanting to know who that 'hot debutante type' was who came by the other day. Damn idiot usually kept his mouth shut and his nose in a comic most of the time, but now--! To think I wished that he would talk more often, geez!" He sighed again and then returned his gaze to Mireille and Kirika, most particularly to the latter. "Say, where would I find someone like her to help me out?" he asked, motioning with a tilt of his head to Kirika. "I think I'd like staring at a pretty face all day instead of Ezza's ugly mug if I had the choice" He gave Kirika an expectant half-smile and leaned forward slightly in his seat, doubtless waiting for a response, but the darkhaired girl merely looked at the lecher's mottled face blankly. "But I guess she doesn't talk much either," Simon said dryly, flopping back into his chair again. "Does she even speak French?!"
  409.39 +
  409.40 +"I have another task for you," Mireille said grimly, not wanting to become bogged down in another one of Simon's childish little banter sessions teeming with uncouth innuendos. And with the mood she was in right now, it would most likely be hazardous to his health. "The two men I had you search for before; I need to find them again."
  409.41 +
  409.42 +"What?" Simon whined, his curiosity in Kirika vanishing. "Why? Didn't I do a kickass job?"
  409.43 +
  409.44 +"The 'why' is not your concern. Just do the deed I have asked of you," Mireille stated coldly. 
  409.45 +
  409.46 +"Okay, if that's what you want," Simon said evenly, abandoning his perverted inclinations in the face of the assassin's frosty temper… or at least frostier than usual temper. "But it ain't gonna be free, you know…." 
  409.47 +
  409.48 +"I didn't expect it to be. You'll find an additional one hundred Euros in the payment I've just imparted to you… and which you incidentally failed to mention," Mireille said, a slight edge manifesting in her voice with her last words. Simon merely smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, just below where his hair was dyed a discoloured green. "And the same bonus as before applies." Mireille paused for a second, delivering a level glare at Simon, who squirmed in his seat and sensibly didn't protest about the payment's sum… although the assassin wouldn't be shocked if he did at a later date. "I need to find these people *immediately*," the blonde woman continued sternly. "Moreover, there is considerable likelihood that the men will be trying to keep a low profile. You may find it difficult to track them down a second time."
  409.49 +
  409.50 +Simon smirked confidently, relaxing back in his padded leather chair and placing his hands behind his head. "I wouldn't worry about that," he said self-assuredly. "Computer networks aren't the only form of network I can easily get access to…."
  409.51 +
  409.52 +Mireille arched a questioning eyebrow, prompting the hacker to elaborate. She was positive that he would--she knew he would not pass up the opportunity to tout his own capabilities. 
  409.53 +
  409.54 +"I know a bunch of dudes who, shall we say, stumble upon useful stuff now and then," Simon explained proudly. "I use 'em sometimes when networking methods fail--although that doesn't happen a lot, what with *my* brilliant skills. But it's a precaution; I don't want to let down my customers and lose the hard earned rep I've gained, you know? It took bloody ages to get to the position I'm in today." 
  409.55 +
  409.56 +"By whatever means; utilise your informants if you deem them necessary. Contact me in the standard manner if you find the people I'm looking for," Mireille ordered, before turning around swiftly to depart, with Kirika obediently following suit. 
  409.57 +
  409.58 +"'If' I find them?" Simon parroted to Mireille's retreating back. "Oh, have a little faith! I'll find your two playboys in a flash, I bet! Once, twice, three times--it doesn't matter! I can find anybody in this city, *anybody!* No one can hide from my--"
  409.59 +
  409.60 +Mireille tuned out the rest of Simon's egotistical self-accolades as she climbed the basement stairs back to street level. The gangly perverted sociopath wasn't the only person she and Kirika had to rely on to find Ryosuke and Vincent… mercifully. The Corsican had many, many founts of information scattered all across Paris, some more reliable than others, but all were competent snitches and rumourmongers. They had proven worthwhile in the past, like when Mireille had sought answers to the car bombing earlier in the week, to name one example. Perhaps they would again… or so she hoped. The false Noir would have already fled Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental by now--the blonde didn't think they would be *that* arrogant not to do so. Locating them again would be… trying, to say the least. 
  409.61 +
  409.62 +Of course, there was also the possibility that Mireille and Kirika weren't the only ones doing the hunting. Ryosuke and Vincent could be hunting *them* at this very same instant. Even the Corsican and her partner's apartment may no longer be the safe haven it currently was in the near future. Soldats--until the final trials at any rate--had permitted them the luxury of a sanctuary in the form of the apartment, but these new foes would not have such qualms. There would be no sure refuge from the conflicts ahead. 
  409.63 +
  409.64 +That is, if Ryosuke and Vincent truly were after Noir. It would help if Mireille knew the rationale behind the pair's coming to Paris; right now she was completely in the dark. Breffort supposedly knew nothing also, or if he did, he was not sharing. But Mireille was not foolish enough to depend solely on Soldats support, obviously. Maybe her sources would learn of Ryosuke and Vincent's motives for entering her and her counterpart's stomping grounds too. It was a very slim prospect, however. 
  409.65 +
  409.66 +Nevertheless, Mireille had to find out, even if she had to deduce the reasons herself. It would give her and Kirika an advantage, gifting them with insight on their adversaries' potential movements. Besides… she couldn't quell the disquieting feeling that Ryosuke and Vincent's mystery motivations would have a further impact on their already damaged lives, beyond forcing them back onto the black path… an even more harmful one. 
  409.67 +
  409.68 +But as Mireille looked discreetly over her shoulder at Kirika's downcast face, she wondered if that were truly possible. 
  409.69 +
  409.70 +******
  409.71 +
  409.72 +The dying rays of daylight could be seen through the unshuttered windows of the apartment as Kirika walked into the living room a step behind Mireille, the lingering sunbeams outlining the tops of the buildings on the horizon in a soft amber glow. Kirika had been roaming around the city for the better part of the day with her partner, convening with all kinds of people the blonde seemingly was familiar with--some of which who had made the girl somewhat edgy. They had spent a considerable amount of the daylight hours in the shadier areas of Paris; the rundown parts where Kirika knew she had to be continually on her guard--or at least more so in respects to the other parts of the capitol--lest she and Mireille find themselves in a bad situation. The majority of Mireille's contacts had turned out to be not the most upstanding of citizens. Kirika sometimes wondered how somebody like her sophisticated partner had become acquainted with such corrupt characters.
  409.73 +
  409.74 +Despite their resolute efforts to ascertain their adversaries' new place of residence, Kirika and Mireille had discovered nothing bar unsubstantiated hearsay, none of which that was worth investigating. However, the day's labours had not been a total waste; at the very least they had planted seeds in Mireille's associates, seeds that could grow into orchards bearing valuable fruits of information in the future. The woman's contacts were now aware that she and Kirika were looking for two Asian hitmen who had recently come to Paris, and henceforth would be on the lookout for individuals matching the descriptions they had been provided with. Kirika was confident that she and Mireille would find Ryosuke and Vincent within the week… although she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. 
  409.75 +
  409.76 +Mireille strode purposefully towards the computer sitting on the billiard table immediately after she entered room, as though she had blinders on. The enthusiastic sight froze Kirika in her tracks, the drowsy girl having been making her way for the bedroom. However, she really shouldn't have expected anything different--Mireille appeared to be throwing herself whole-heartedly into their new crisis, after all. She probably wanted to check her email for any updates on the search for their enemies--she was very committed to her profession. Yes, Kirika should not have been surprised… but it didn't make her partner's action any less dispiriting. They hadn't even eaten dinner yet, not that the introverted girl felt she could stomach any meal. Her appetite seemed to have forsaken her lately. 
  409.77 +
  409.78 +Kirika eyelids sank a little, but it had nothing to do with her fatigue. She exhaled softly, and then resumed her walk to the bedroom, before climbing up the short series of steps into the room. She quickly shed her parka, laying it out gingerly on the sofa nearby the bed, glad to be rid of it… along with its hidden and deadly cargo. Another day had passed without Kirika having to fire her gun at a living being, for which she was exceedingly thankful. For at least this night, barring unforseen incidents, she could maintain her pacifism… and maintain her dominance over the darkness. 
  409.79 +
  409.80 +Kirika released another slow and quiet breath, this one of obvious relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from her slim shoulders. Although, if truth be told, one had been. 
  409.81 +
  409.82 +Kirika walked back to the bedroom's steps, parking herself tiredly on the centre one with her back to the wall. "Yoisho," she intoned reflexively as she sat, a habit of hers. 
  409.83 +
  409.84 +Her eyes unconsciously moved to include Mireille in her vision seated in front of the computer, the blonde navigating its mouse in her right hand on the green felt surface of the billiard table and occasionally clicking it, the noise breaking the otherwise silent atmosphere of the apartment. Mireille was evidently undisturbed by Kirika's earlier soft emittance, staring at her computer's monitor intently, a slight frown creasing her brow, while her mouth was drawn into a thin line. It was an expression Kirika had observed countless times--one of a dedicated contract killer digesting new intelligence on a target. Mireille must be in her element. Kirika should feel happy for her. 
  409.85 +
  409.86 +Kirika dropped her gaze to the floor and drew her knees to her chest, enfolding her arms around them, hugging herself into a ball. The gap was widening between herself and Mireille; it was clear as glass to the darkhaired girl. And the worst thing was, Kirika didn't know what to do to stop it. 
  409.87 +
  409.88 +She had thought that after the events at the Manor things would be different between her and Mireille, and certainly, they had been… at least for a time. But now it seemed as if those welcome, pleasant changes that had occurred were in reality only temporary ones. The upheaval regarding Ryosuke and Vincent was only the first obstacle their new relationship had encountered, but already the pleasing changes were decaying away because of it, regressing everything back to the stage they had been in beforehand. Back to a less favourable stage, one of apathy and detachment. Kirika had believed her relationship with Mireille was stronger than that. Maybe she had been mistaken. Maybe she had been mistaken about a lot of things. Maybe….
  409.89 +
  409.90 +Or it could be that this was what a romantic relationship was like. But while Kirika had no experience in love, she was reasonably certain it wasn't supposed to be this way. She had seen other couples interact with each other when she had ventured out of the apartment with Mireille; they smiled and laughed together, and touched one other, embraced one other. They *talked* to one another. Kirika didn't do any of those things with Mireille, and even in the past, she hadn't really done so either, not to the extent other people did at any rate. Was her relationship with her partner somehow different than other people's? It was a possibility; one the girl had deliberated on before.
  409.91 +
  409.92 +Almost ever since her love for her partner had been revealed, Kirika had tried to educate herself a little on affairs of the heart by studying some of the magazines that appeared to deal with the subject Mireille frequently read during her spare time, but none of them had provided the help the quiet girl sought. For some reason the publications only wrote on relationships between women and men, and Kirika hadn't been sure whether or not what was penned applied to her apparently diverse situation. She had also wondered why she couldn't find anything on partnerships involving two females. It had been frustrating and confusing. It still was. She really should have addressed her questions to Mireille; the worldly woman would know of such matters. Perhaps things wouldn't have degenerated between Kirika and her partner if the girl had been wiser to how love worked. 
  409.93 +
  409.94 +Or maybe… or maybe it was *her*. Maybe there was something wrong with Kirika herself. Could it be that Mireille was progressively falling out of love with her? It was a horrible, gut-wrenching notion, but one Kirika couldn't ignore, no matter how much she wanted to. After all, their relationship was relapsing to its former state. Maybe Kirika's lack of knowledge on the topic of love was the cause. She could be doing something incorrectly--or not doing something she was meant to be doing--that was making Mireille pull away from her. Or, in the absolute worst case, the woman simply might not feel the same way about Kirika anymore. If that were correct, then there was nothing the introverted girl could do to repair the damage in their relationship--there would be no point; no point to even go on, really. It was awful to even contemplate. Truly, it was Kirika's most dreaded nightmare. 
  409.95 +
  409.96 +Kirika swallowed hard and looked up from the floor, returning her sad brown eyes to Mireille. There was a sudden strange ache in her chest as she gazed upon her partner's beautiful but cold features. She didn't know what it was, or even its origin, but it… it hurt. It was a pain more intense than all of the physical agonies she had suffered during her years of life combined. Kirika had to resist the compulsion to clutch at her chest, the instinctive action the result of a fervent need to somehow assuage the unseen but open wound. She wondered if she had been injured at some point earlier in the day without her realising it, as impossible as it sounded. Whatever the mysterious ache in her chest was, Kirika hoped it would pass soon. With two enemy assassins to contend with, she had to stay in peak condition. And also the pain… it was verging on unbearable. She didn't think she could endure it for an extended length of time. It was as if her insides were being consumed. 
  409.97 +
  409.98 +The distance between Kirika and Mireille, from the bedroom steps to the billiard table, was only a matter of metres, but to the former girl it was the equivalent of a vast, gaping chasm, forcibly separating her from her love. She and Mireille were supposed to be partners, they were supposed to be in love, but Kirika… Kirika felt… lonely. Maybe that was the cause of the ache in her chest. Loneliness. Mireille had always been a reasonably aloof person, but Kirika had witnessed the warm heart beneath the blonde's cool exterior--she knew one existed. Now, however, it was as though the woman's icy barriers were up once more, putting distance between her heart and Kirika's, and in turn isolating herself. And isolating the younger girl as well. 
  409.99 +
 409.100 +Kirika was aware she shouldn't feel lonely; she had her partner, Mireille, by her side--it was all she could have asked for, and in the past, all she had required to live. But no… Mireille may be by her side in a physical sense, but not in the sense Kirika wished her to be. Noir… it was a name for two, a fact the girl had taken joy in before. While she no longer considered herself or Mireille as Noir, that principle--and the happiness that came with it--still held true. Kirika and Mireille remained in a partnership of a sort… but it was starting to lose the distinctive something that had made it special--unique. And with that mounting loss, the feeling of loneliness increased.
 409.101 +
 409.102 +Behind and just to the left of Mireille, Kirika caught sight of the potted orchid residing on its spot on the small square table by a window. The outer edges of several of the large green leaves were a rotten, decomposing brown; the result of neglect largely on Mireille's part, but Kirika was also guilty of forgetting to water the plant some mornings. The advent of a fake Noir had evidently distracted both of them to varying degrees. Oddly, the sight of the mistreated pot plant amplified the pain in Kirika's chest even more. 
 409.103 +
 409.104 +The sad girl averted her gaze from Mireille and the orchid, returning it to the floorboards. She hugged herself a little tighter. Noir…. Even if Kirika didn't think of herself and Mireille as the legendary pair of assassins any more, some traits of the ancient and feared title still lingered with them--Noir was a name synonymous with strife and anguish. 
 409.105 +
 409.106 +******
 409.107 +
 409.108 +"Noir," Vin uttered with veneration to the apathetic bartender. He leaned forwards towards the grubby man, resting one forearm on the bar, and wagged his eyebrows meaningfully--and also expectantly. However, to his obvious disappointment, the bartender simply looked at him with a bored gaze.
 409.109 +
 409.110 +"Look, do you want a drink or not?" the unshaven man said impatiently. "I *do* have other customers."
 409.111 +
 409.112 +Vin sighed wearily and straightened, running a hand through his black hair. "Come, don't give brush! Noir, *Noir!* Doesn't mean anything you? I *know* that…."
 409.113 +
 409.114 +Ryosuke turned away from the irritating spectacle of his partner attempting to persuade the bartender of Slick Chicks, with his limited grasp of the French language, into letting them see the manager of the establishment, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from inside his coat, capturing one between his lips. Fetching his silver lighter from his left pocket, the white-haired man lit up the cigarette and took a long drag, flipping the lighter shut with a metallic click as he did so. One would think that a poseur like Vin would have made it a point to master the 'language of love'.
 409.115 +
 409.116 +Ryosuke breathed out a stream of smoke from his nose, the resulting plumb joining countless others on their ascents towards the ceiling of the club. Slick Chicks' interior resembled that of any 'gentleman's' nightspot regardless of the city it called home. Men of various social standings--ranging from the lower class to the common salary sort--were everywhere, hooting and whistling appreciatively while blatantly leering at the scanty clad women who paraded around the room shamelessly, willingly degrading themselves for measly change. The whores either danced wantonly as they shed their tawdry--and sparse--attire on stage under the lustful grins and delighted calls of numerous onlookers; served drinks to gropers who took pleasure in availing themselves of a waitress's close proximity; or treated some of the more wealthy customers to select delicacies in the form of lap dances, before leading them through a red-curtained doorway at the back of the main room for no doubt further… services. 
 409.117 +Had these women no self-respect? Being around such degenerates made Ryosuke's skin crawl. He felt filthy just being in the same room with them. Soiled. They were different from Fumiko, and to a lesser degree, Claire, back in Yokohama. 
 409.118 +
 409.119 +Ryosuke put his cigarettes and lighter back in their respective pockets in his ebony coat, and pointedly averted his eyes as one waitress dressed in red fishnet stockings and a matching bustier--a combination that revealed a considerable amount of skin to the casual observer--smiled seductively and tried to meet his gaze while she cleared a table. Disgusting. Ordinarily he would not even entertain the notion of setting foot in a place like this, but Vin had eagerly assured him that Slick Chicks was the headquarters of a syndicate that controlled most of Paris' red light district's, Pigalle's, seedy parts and through it the lion's share of the city's illegal drug distribution network. Such influential people were the kind that could possibly provide the support Ryosuke and Vin required to hinder the two new Soldats agents stalking them, and consequently permit them to continue their search for Dominique's 'crucial' artefact. Kaede's trial date was looming too, and Ryosuke wanted to have at least returned to Yokohama by then. 
 409.120 +
 409.121 +The black-garbed hitmen took another draw on his cigarette and puffed out a cloud of bluish-grey smoke from the corner of his mouth. He only hoped that Vin wasn't using their need for outside help as an excuse to troll Paris' local strip clubs and brothels. Although the flamboyant man's ability to ferret out information was noteworthy and usually produced reliable facts, he had been complaining recently about having visited almost all of the city's old museums and dusty rare antique stores, while not being allowed the opportunity to even so much as catch a glimpse of Paris' famed Can-Can girls of the Moulin Rouge… among numerous other establishments. Moreover, this was the fourth club that Vin had shepherded Ryosuke into tonight. And the three before the triad member had also claimed were the headquarters of some powerful criminal organisation that would be sure to lend them a hand… after he softened them up first, of course. All in all, it did not build much confidence in Ryosuke that he and his partner would not be fruitlessly drifting from one sordid club to another for the remainder of the night. 
 409.122 +
 409.123 +"Alright!" Vin suddenly exclaimed in Japanese, recalling Ryosuke's attention. The stoic white-haired man turned back to his overly emotional companion, meeting his triumphantly smiling expression with his own dour one. "He's going to get someone to take us to the person in charge," Vin informed Ryosuke, gesturing with his thumb behind the bar in the direction of where the now absent bartender would have been standing. "A 'Mr. Millet', if I'm not mistaken. I've heard that he's a big player around these parts--he should be what we're looking for." He prodded the taller man in the chest a couple of times. "You see? I told you this was the place!" 
 409.124 +
 409.125 +Ryosuke merely grunted and blew smoke over Vin's head. So they would be permitted to see the king of the degenerates, the one who had gathered all the other scum under his rule. Somehow Ryosuke managed to contain his elation. But sometimes one had to side with demons in order to bring down the devil. 
 409.126 +
 409.127 +"Ryochan," Vin crooned in a nauseatingly cute voice Ryosuke hated with a passion, looking up at his taller comrade, "I've told you before you shouldn't smoke. It's bad for the skin--" He made a sickly expression as a fog of cigarette smoke was exhaled into his face, causing him to cough and gasp for air. "--And the breath."
 409.128 +
 409.129 +"And I've ignored you before," Ryosuke remarked lifelessly. "Take the hint."
 409.130 +
 409.131 +Vin pouted but didn't say any more on the subject. Good. Ryosuke felt a migraine coming on. While the low, base lighting of Slick Chicks was comfortable on his eyes, the constant drone of the insipid music the strippers on stage undulated to was starting to create a faint throbbing sensation in the back of his mind. He didn't need his partner nagging him about pointless matters on top of that. 
 409.132 +
 409.133 +"Hey, baby…" a slurring voice said from the right, causing both Ryosuke and Vin to turn their heads towards the source of the sound. A man in a business suit--who was obviously quite intoxicated--was grinning rakishly at the triad member, his watery eyes smouldering with desire… much to Vin's distaste. "You are one fine looking woman, ya know… what do you say we go into the back, and…?"
 409.134 +
 409.135 +"Take a hike, bozo!" Vin yelled scathingly, having no difficulties with his French now. "Go on, get!" he added, making ardent shooing motions with his hands.
 409.136 +
 409.137 +"Awww…" the drunkard moaned, but luckily for his sake, staggered away from the area to probably hit on more willing subjects. 
 409.138 +
 409.139 +"Geez," Vin exhaled heavily, rubbing a temple, "it's moments like these I think I should cut my hair." But he then smirked, before sighing exaggeratedly, his previously annoyed demeanour altering drastically. "Being cursed with such… such… *resplendent* beauty can be so very trying at times…." he declared, as though he were a true hero for even showing his face in public. 
 409.140 +
 409.141 +Ryosuke ignored him. 
 409.142 +
 409.143 +Soon after, another man, this one considerably more sober and dressed more stylishly than the last, approached the black clad hitman and his posing partner, instructing them to follow him into the back of the club. Ryosuke and Vin complied, and were led through a door behind the bar and down a long corridor. Cracked grey concrete walls enclosed the two assassins and their escort on either side, illuminated by several weak light bulbs dangling from above, the occasional one flickering on and off. The hard floor was clean however--it had evidently seen a lot of traffic. 
 409.144 +
 409.145 +Ryosuke and Vin's guide rounded a corner at the end of the hall and opened a brown painted door labelled simply with 'Manager' in blue script a short ways down the right hand wall of the following passage. He ushered them through the doorway, before stepping into the room also, shutting the door behind him. He then positioned himself against the closed door, effectively blocking it and impeding any means of escape if things should turn… unpleasant. Fine. Ryosuke wasn't concerned in the slightest.
 409.146 +
 409.147 +Seated at a desk surrounded by about a half-dozen standing goons was 'Mr. Millet', Ryosuke presumed. He was a greying man who looked to be in his late thirties to early forties, with deep wrinkles ravaging his leathery face. The crevices made his features appear hard, but Ryosuke believed even free of them Millet would still have had a harsh countenance. Conversely, his trappings were that of an ordinary businessman; a white shirt, black braces and dark red tie. Ryosuke assumed that whatever clothing the mahogany desk the man was sitting behind was hiding was of a similar style as well. 
 409.148 +
 409.149 +"So, you two are Noir," Millet intoned with clear skepticism, looking at Ryosuke and Vin as if they were a couple of fools. 
 409.150 +
 409.151 +That name, Noir. It was one of Dominique's stipulations for the assignment--Ryosuke and his partner were to use the codename, Noir, while in France. At the time, back in Yokohama, it hadn't seemed like a major concern to the white-haired man, but he soon learnt once entering Paris that Noir was a renowned title in Europe, dating back more than a thousand years. It was the name of the greatest assassin ever known. A notorious alias brought unwanted attention, but Vin frequently used it openly, appearing unaware of the danger he could attract. Like now, for instance. Ryosuke felt like a naïve child for agreeing to follow Dominique's order without protest. It was liable to get him and his companion killed. Maybe.
 409.152 +
 409.153 +"I wasn't expecting two people, nor two Asians at that," Millet went on, one corner of his lips curving upwards slightly into a condescending lopsided smile. "Noir, indeed…." He bent forward in his plush leather chair, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. "You may address me as Mr. Millet. Do you have names?"
 409.154 +
 409.155 +"You know it," Ryosuke said coldly in French before Vin could react, earning an exasperated look from the shorter man. While Vin was a proficient negotiator, his broken French was not likely to impress people like Millet and his men. Women in this city apparently found it rather endearing, for who knew what reason, but it would be an entirely different story here and now. Millet would likely laugh at Vin, before having him--and Ryosuke--thrown out onto the street. Ryosuke and Vin needed to be taken seriously. Fortunately, Ryosuke spoke fluent French, a talent he had been taught along with his sister under Dominique's tutelage when they were children. It had been at the request of their mother. Back then, years ago when he was merely a gullible child, Ryosuke had thought nothing of it bar the prospect of more homework. But now he was considerably wiser. 
 409.156 +
 409.157 +Ryosuke marched forwards and sat himself in one of the chairs arranged in front of Millet's desk uninvited, Vin doing likewise in a second seat a moment after him, knowing when to defer to his lead. "There are two young women," Ryosuke began levelly, plucking his cigarette from his lips and flicking some ash onto the rich carpeted floor of the office uncaringly, "who must die."
 409.158 +
 409.159 +Millet leaned back in his chair, his expression one of bemusement, but the Japanese hitman could detect unmistakable anger beneath the façade at his 'guest's' disrespectful behaviour. Too bad. Ryosuke didn't have time to dally with words. He wanted Dominique's mission over with so he could return home to Kaede's side. Who knew what lies and corruption that despicable gaijin was feeding to his dear sister without his watchful presence to deter her? Ryosuke wondered if he would still even have a home to return to by the time this insufferable assignment ended.
 409.160 +
 409.161 +"Straight and to the point; I like that," Millet said, but Ryosuke could see past his words to the thinly viewed resentment buried underneath. "Let me guess, these two broads are your wives you want offed for the insurance, or to placate your girlfriends or mistresses, am I right? Or perhaps all those reasons are true?" 
 409.162 +
 409.163 +Vin snorted, and Ryosuke knew he was about to make a clever comment. Quickly, so to forestall his partner from creating a potential threat to the supremacy he had over the conversation, the white-haired assassin continued, disregarding Millet's patronising inquiries as well. 
 409.164 +
 409.165 +"Two women. We have no pictures. We have no names. But--"
 409.166 +
 409.167 +"Then how the hell do you expect us to find them?!" one gangster scoffed incredulously off to the right. "Christ, do you think we're--"
 409.168 +
 409.169 +"The first's approximately five foot six," Ryosuke went on unabated, his voice raising just a little to counter the hoodlum's interruption. "Caucasian in her early twenties. Blonde hair past shoulder length. Blue eyes. Slim build. Attractive."
 409.170 +
 409.171 +"*Very* attractive," Vin amended impishly. 
 409.172 +
 409.173 +Still Ryosuke kept up his description. "The second is a young girl; a teenager. But still merely a child," the hitman reported. "Asian. Height of five foot or below. Black/brown hair. Brown eyes. Very lean build." 
 409.174 +
 409.175 +Millet smiled thinly. "Your descriptions are all very well and good," he said conceitedly, "but what makes you even think we're nothing more than business men? That we're the kind of people who can be hired to--"
 409.176 +
 409.177 +"Both will be armed," Ryosuke stated firmly, staring into Millet's eyes unwaveringly, talking him down. "They travel together, or near enough together. It can be presumed they live here in Paris." The assassin found no reason to warn Millet or his men that the two young women would probably be quite formidable. Let them discover that fact for themselves. 
 409.178 +
 409.179 +"Listen!" Millet spat, rising angrily from his seat, his patience obviously at its end. "I don't know who you think you are, but if you think you can come into *my* office in *my* club and *demand* me too--"
 409.180 +
 409.181 +Ryosuke reached into his coat, causing a multitude of hands to hastily reach into their own jackets or behind their waists undoubtedly for concealed weapons, but instead of pulling out a firearm as they all most likely had anticipated, the hitman took out a thick wad of bills, tossing it nonchalantly onto Millet's desk. The pile lay there, drawing all eyes--now clearly wide--to it, their weapons forgotten. The amount of Euros in the stack was more than enough for a contract killing of two Soldats flunkies, and a sum Ryosuke was positive would make waves. The first love of all degenerates was money. 
 409.182 +
 409.183 +"I don't care how you do it," Ryosuke declared in his lifeless voice, "or how you find them, or even how long it takes. Just kill them." He bent forwards, stubbing out his cigarette on Millet's desk. The 'big player' didn't even notice, too busy sinking slowly back into his leather seat, simply staring, his indignation stymied by the spectacle of the considerable pile of Euros just sitting there on the desk before him, ripe for the taking. "You're supposedly the big boys around here," Ryosuke added as he resettled himself in his chair, laying it on thick. "Prove it."
 409.184 +
 409.185 +Millet smiled widely and tore his eyes away from the money on his desk, his lackeys' own remaining riveted by the sight. Ryosuke wondered if they had ever in all their worthless lives seen such an amount in cash before. 
 409.186 +
 409.187 +"I think we can come to an arrangement, my friends," Millet said sweetly in a stomach-turning tone, all smiles now. "But why not kill these women yourselves?" he inquired curiously. "You claim to be the most fearsome assassin--or *assassins*, rather--in this continent's history. Couldn't you just--"
 409.188 +
 409.189 +"Do you want the job or not?" Ryosuke said. 
 409.190 +
 409.191 +"Yes! Yes!" Millet quickly assured him, grabbing the wad of Euros in his greedy hands before his new patron could snatch back the payment. 
 409.192 +
 409.193 +"Good. You'll get the same sum once the deed is done," Ryosuke informed Millet. "I trust this is to your liking?"
 409.194 +
 409.195 +"Indeed it is!" Millet exclaimed enthusiastically, flipping through the stack of money with a thumb before looking up at his men. "Right, lads?" 
 409.196 +
 409.197 +A resounding series of befuddled but pleased chuckles filled the room, none of the thugs likely believing their luck. Ryosuke took it all in emotionlessly, scanning his violet eyes over the sleazy faces of Millet's goons. His wary gaze abruptly paused on one individual; a man dressed much like his fellows in fashionable attire, for all intents and purposes appearing as a member of Millet's syndicate. Except for one minor detail--he wasn't sharing in their laugh. 
 409.198 +
 409.199 +Ryosuke's dark-rimmed eyes narrowed slightly, before they resumed their meander. It seemed as if he and Vin had gained new allies this night--a welcome turn of events, in Ryosuke's opinion. But he knew not to relax. No, he could never relax. Allies had the tendency to turn into adversaries in a blink of an eye… and oft times that eye didn't even notice. 
 409.200 +
 409.201 +******
 409.202 +
 409.203 +To be continued….
 409.204 +
 409.205 +
 409.206 +Author's ramblings:
 409.207 +
 409.208 +I used 'Ryochan' rather than 'Ryo-chan' since I didn't want to get bogged down in name suffixes in the future. Think of it as a nickname.
 409.209 +
 409.210 +Apologies for waiting until this chapter to have a 'Yoisho' moment. 
 409.211 +
 409.212 +Also apologies for all the stereotypical 'hacker' jibes so far. I know all computer users who think they're hot stuff aren't like that…. *cough* 
 409.213 +
 409.214 +Yoisho = Hmm… think of it as 'heave-ho' when it involves shifting objects. If it involves sitting down, think of it as the tired sigh one makes when doing so. 
 409.215 +
 409.216 +Gaijin = Foreigner

   410.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   410.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   410.3 @@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
   410.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika
   410.5 +
   410.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   410.7 +******
   410.8 +
   410.9 +The seventh chapter. The first section of this part contains material that some people may find a little disturbing. Or not. Everybody is so desensitised these days. Writing for unhinged characters sure is fun, though. ^_^
  410.10 +
  410.11 +- Kirika
  410.12 +
  410.13 +******
  410.14 +
  410.15 +Chapter 7 - Sinners, Act I
  410.16 +
  410.17 +
  410.18 +Kaede Ishinomori examined her series of finely honed instruments through her snow-white bangs with an appraising eye, where they were laid out in a silver tray on a square table before her. Their smooth metallic surfaces glinted vibrantly, reflecting the flames flickering in the fireplace inset on one wall of the lavishly decorated but Spartanly furnished room. During the last session their rigorous use and seen them become quite soiled, requiring them to be thoroughly cleansed and polished until they shone radiantly, almost bathed in a holy aura. Kaede's craft was an art form that called extensively upon her utensils, both exotic and ordinary alike. Even the most everyday of items could be used to beguile a subject closer to enlightenment. 
  410.19 +
  410.20 +The brick fireplace was the sole source of light in the otherwise gloomy, spacious room, generating an overall sinister atmosphere, the air thick with dark foreboding. Two cast iron pokers rested in the crackling flames of the fireplace, their ends glowing a hot orange, having been in their for a significant amount of time. They would be needed later to prevent the subject's premature departure before they--or he, in this case--had reached the exalted plateau of celestial favour. The human shell was so fragile. But it did serve to restrict blessed illumination to only those whose bodies could endure the hallowed ordeal Kaede so fastidiously administered with her skilled hands. If not, then any unworthy heathen could achieve transcendence.
  410.21 +
  410.22 +A willowy, pale hand hovered lazily over the tray of instruments as Kaede mulled her choices, pausing for fleeting moments on each one, although it was an act to heighten the subject's state of anticipation more than anything else. Or rather, his state of *fear*. Fear caused the body to produce adrenaline, resulting in a subject being able to undergo more trials than she or he normally would, and hence, bring them nearer to enlightenment at a faster pace. Nevertheless, Kaede wondered why this subject was still so frightened. He should feel privileged; it wasn't as though she treated all the people under her to this honour. Although, Matsumoto *had* strayed from her fold, betraying her to outsiders and their foul, warped word of law; for whatever reason be it money or a misguided conscience. Naturally, that was one of the primary motivations behind Kaede choosing to bestow the gift of sacred revelation upon him… through *pain*. She would compel the wayward Matsumoto to repent his sins, and in turn, hasten his inevitable journey towards the Heavens, with his soul clean and ready to be judged by the Gods.
  410.23 +
  410.24 +Not that Matsumoto could verbally repent. A muffled and pathetic mewling came from the man on Kaede's left as her hand lingered over an electric prod, her slender fingers crooking downwards to caress the device lovingly. Kaede had quickly tired of Matsumoto's pleading once she had begun her purification ritual--the symphony of screams a woman produced when in a state of torment were far more pleasing to the ear--consequently inciting her to cut out the offending jabbering muscle to cease the infernal prattle. However, after sealing the ensuing wound with the sanitising heat of searing hot iron, the inconsiderate man had then taken to whining and snivelling like a little boy, further bothering Kaede. So, she decided to close the vexing orifice permanently. A sharp needle and strong fishing line had a million uses. 
  410.25 +
  410.26 +Kaede's hands resumed their meander above the tray, leaving the prod and moving on to other implements of torture. Electricity was an efficient means to inflict varying degrees of pain upon a subject without dealing permanent damage to her or his body. Yet the white-haired woman had learnt through great practice that males had a superior natural resistance to the agony of an electrical charge ravaging their muscles than females did, so nowadays she tended to reserve that particular form of anguish for those of the feminine allegiance. Most women could be cowed into doing almost anything to avoid electricity's sharp sting… much to Kaede's delight. 
  410.27 +
  410.28 +Kaede's eyes drifted away from her beloved instruments to take in her errant 'bodyguard'; her trademark perpetual, faint, and distant smile glued to her features. Matsumoto hung naked from the ceiling by two lengths of chain; his wrists in manacles and his arms stretched painfully taut into the air, the weak muscles of the limbs visibly straining pitifully against their treatment. Equally restrained were the man's legs, held fast by cuffed ankles affixed to a third and fourth set of chains bolted firmly to rings embedded in the grey slate tiled floor. The subject's bonds were pulled so tightly that he could barely squirm a centimetre. As they should be. Kaede couldn't have Matsumoto fidgeting while she was trying to save his soul, after all. It would be irritating to say the least.
  410.29 +
  410.30 +The trim young woman, dressed plainly in a grey tank top and shorts--her nightwear--turned fully to face Matsumoto and placed her hands on her hips, striking a thoughtful pose. She looked over the subject's body with an evaluating gaze, gauging how much more his shell could withstand. The man's hands were simply twin balls of meat, the digits that had once adorned them having been severed by one manner or another, leaving behind in their place a mess of cauterised flesh where Kaede had touched them with a glowing poker retrieved from the fireplace. Lower, old dried scabs and freshly torn tissue revealing raw red beneath, where the rough edges of his metal shackles had harshly cut into his skin, ringed Matsumoto's wrists. The man had struggled mightily in his restraints in the beginning, depleting much of his strength and with only severely chafed wrists--and ankles also--to show for his ultimately wasted labours. No longer did he fight, however. Matsumoto's shell had now dedicated its faculties totally towards merely sustaining its bare minimum of functions that were vital for survival. 
  410.31 +
  410.32 +Kaede's veiled eyes descended to the subject's neck, where yet more blood encrusted bands disfigured his flesh, along with a spattering of dark purple bruises. At several points in previous sessions, the woman had throttled Matsumoto with an assortment of objects--rope, wire, cloth; and several times with her bare hands. But under stringent circumstances, of course. Controlled asphyxiation could cause a substantial amount of burning woe to the sufferer's lungs, and in turn their whole body in general, but it had to be strictly regulated. Too much invariably resulted in premature death--one had to monitor the subject most carefully to prolong the torturous yet liberating experience. Why, once Kaede had kept one subject with a tight noose around her neck alive for more than an hour and a half by lowering her back to her tiptoes for twenty minutes or so whenever it seemed that she was drawing close to the point of no return. When the blessed woman had finally expired, she had dangled in the air by her neck for at least a full hour all together. Kaede was sure that particular subject had reached glorious enlightenment at the end. 
  410.33 +
  410.34 +Kaede's thoughts returned from the past to her latest subject, her gaze roaming over his ripped and bludgeoned form. Matsumoto's left leg was bent at an odd angle, the knee joint having been crushed to a pulp when she'd had the sudden impulse to deliver a blow with a small mallet to it. The man had howled terribly at that, the scream made all the more grotesque since he had lacked a tongue at the time. It was one of the things that had provoked Kaede into stitching up his lips a short period later. Really, a feminine shriek was infinitely more beautiful than a masculine one. 
  410.35 +
  410.36 +Kaede's smile widened just a tad once her eyes found their way to Matsumoto's bloody crotch. She wouldn't be surprised if he could hit the high notes now, however, despite being a man. A male's spirit was prone to shatter quicker when ruthlessly robbed of his manhood, a supposition that Kaede more often than not proved to ring true with all of her male subjects. The poor fools were reduced to whimpering, compliant children after such a… demoralising… dismemberment. 
  410.37 +
  410.38 +"What to do, what to do," Kaede remarked in a singsong voice, tapping a whimsical finger on her chin. Her gaze went to Matsumoto's more or less unharmed face; the only really noticeable damage his somewhat swollen mouth. "Ah, yes, I remember," the lissom woman said, as if it had suddenly dawned on her. In truth, she'd had a motive for abstaining from inflicting harm to Matsumoto's visage, a motive she intended to come to fruition. Right now. 
  410.39 +
  410.40 +Kaede turned back to her tray, plucking a pile of about a dozen, ten centimetre long, flexible needles from the selection of apparatus available. Her all but unwavering smile still on her face, she returned her attention to Matsumoto, who quivered as best he could in his chains at the sight of the needles in her hand. There were benefits to letting a subject keep their eyes, the woman reflected. 
  410.41 +
  410.42 +Kaede took a single step forwards to the subject, her heart rate quickening as the sweet and exciting sense of anticipation enveloped her. Taking short, rapid breaths, she pulled one needle out of the bundle, flourishing it before Matsumoto's terror-stricken eyes. The man thrashed against his bonds with renewed vigour, although amid the combination of his ailing strength and virtually unyielding restraints, it didn't make much more than the most marginal of differences. 
  410.43 +
  410.44 +"Now, now; none of that," Kaede chided as she replaced the heap of needles back on the tray before grasping a clump of Matsumoto's short brown hair in her now free hand, holding his head in place as he moaned weakly. "Be good and stay still…" she cooed soothingly while she brought the sharp thin needle in her other hand up to the subject's eyes, "that's it…."
  410.45 +
  410.46 +Apparently comprehending what she intended to do, Matsumoto squeezed his eyes shut tightly in a meagre attempt to thwart the inescapable--his shell still had a little kick left in it after all. But Kaede would have none of it. Shifting the hand behind Matsumoto's head a fraction, she forcibly pried open his right eyelid with her thumb, exposing the frantic orb underneath. The man's eye darted wildly around the room for a few seconds, but then focused unswervingly on the shiny silver needle brandished in Kaede's right hand as it grew larger and larger in his vision, its dreaded course glaringly clear.
  410.47 +
  410.48 +"There are numerous pain receptors behind the eyes," Kaede explained absently as pulled Matsumoto's eyelid back further. "Unfortunately, these can only be reached by inserting a fine needle under the top eyelid." She paused in both speech and motion, and one corner of her lips twitched slightly as her smile took on an almost impish quality. "But luckily for you, I happen to have a few of said needles."
  410.49 +
  410.50 +Without any more delay, Kaede inserted the flexible needle in the exact spot she had just mentioned, lodging it deeply into Matsumoto's eye socket, nestling it just above his optic nerve. She then quickly let it go, the springy metal bouncing back and forth. 
  410.51 +
  410.52 +Matsumoto's stifled, yet still piercing scream echoed around the room as he jerked spasmodically, the pain consuming him… and hence, curing his soul of more of its taint. Simply magnificent.
  410.53 +
  410.54 +The grand double door entrance to the room to Kaede's rear creaked open, accompanied by the click of high heels on slate. The clicks stopped shortly afterwards, and a longsuffering sigh followed while a second creak signalled the doors were being shut. 
  410.55 +
  410.56 +"I see I'll most likely have to get someone in to clean this floor again," a woman's smoky voice commented resignedly.
  410.57 +
  410.58 +Kaede spared a glance over her shoulder from her work at the newcomer, although she already knew who was standing there behind her. Garbed in a crisp black dress suit and a cream coloured silk shirt, Dominique D'Aubigne painted a very cultured picture. But even if clad in rags the woman would still make for a fine depiction of sophistication. Standing a dash below six foot and with long, straight, glossy black locks that fell to the peak of her thighs, Dominique was an imposing person to say the least. Her distinctly feminine figure was trim but full in all the right places, as befitting to most westerners, and her features were delicate yet defined with high cheekbones and a slender nose, where on the latter a pair of stylish oval glasses was perched, emerald green eyes shining behind them. She was, to put it simply, quite stunning. Dominique was approaching middle age, creeping into her forties at the very least, but barely a wrinkle could be seen tarnishing her milky white skin. There was, however, a streak of silvery grey in her dark tresses hanging next to the left side of her face. But rather than detract from her beauty, it instead enhanced it. 
  410.59 +
  410.60 +Dominique had been in the Ishinomori family's employ for as long as Kaede could remember, ever since she was a young child. She had acted as Kaede's mother's personal assistant, and had also been the late woman's close confidant for many years. These days, with her mother's passing, Dominique had adopted her former role with Kaede, becoming her assistant and advisor. But, in some ways, she was more than that. The French woman had always been there for Kaede--she was like her guardian. Her friend. In short, Dominique D'Aubigne was one of the few people Kaede genuinely trusted. And considering that the sensuous lady was born and bred Soldats stock, that was certainly saying something. 
  410.61 +
  410.62 +"It's getting on in hours, my Lady Kaede," Dominique crooned, pointedly paying no attention to the high-pitched screeches emanating from Matsumoto as Kaede had the first needle's companions join it in protruding from his eye socket, methodically spacing the instruments of torture along its upper half. "I'm sure your… 'toys'… are keeping your bed warm for you… perhaps you should grace them with your presence."
  410.63 +
  410.64 +"Any news from Big Brother?" Kaede asked as she slid another needle above the subject's eyeball, ignoring her advisor's subtle suggestion. 
  410.65 +
  410.66 +There was a slight silence from Dominique, so brief that it was hardly apparent, before she answered. "None, my Lady," the woman said, "but rest assured I will inform you right away as soon as I hear word from him."
  410.67 +
  410.68 +Kaede nodded and shifted her ministrations to Matsumoto's other eye, leaving behind a semi-circle of spines jutting out of the man's right eye socket. He didn't howl any longer and barely convulsed as his white-haired redeemer wedged a needle over the top his left, unseeing eye; its depths void of awareness. The subject was close. 
  410.69 +
  410.70 +"And what of local developments?" Kaede inquired.
  410.71 +
  410.72 +"Much the same, my dear," Dominique reported in a somewhat wearisome tone. "The Sumiyoshi-kai remain in disarray, with no subsidiary group having successfully claimed leadership of the clan just yet--and no clear likelihood that one ever will in the foreseeable future. I doubt they will offer much resistance--they are too busy fighting amongst themselves--although with the threat of our organisation, it may serve to unite them. But there is nothing we can do about that. Regardless, I foresee an easy victory over them." Dominique took a moment to clear her throat, and then resumed. "Talks continue with the proxy leaders of the Yamaguchi-gumi, with little progress. They believe us to be merely another organised crime syndicate, and as such are treating us as one attempting to ally with them. It may cause problems when they learn the truth. But for now, we are on good terms. The Kansai region is becoming unprofitable for them; a new collaborator would inject much-needed funds and life into the ailing yakuza clan. I hear they have been trying to expand into the Kanto region in search of new business, which will sooner or later instigate a war with the Sumiyoshi-kai, united or divided. I recommend having some of our eyes-and-ears keep a watch on their progress throughout the territory. This situation can perhaps be exploited to our advantage."
  410.73 +
  410.74 +"Mmm," Kaede mumbled idly in agreement, more interested in saving Matsumoto's soul than the cold war with the country's underworld at present.
  410.75 +
  410.76 +"The other yakuza clans that haven't already been devoured will be consumed once all of the gangs under the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi are inducted into our ranks or dissolved; it's only a matter of time," Dominique went on, before hesitating, as if something offensive had caught in her throat. "As for… *them*, their loathsome presence has been all but purged from the major cities in the Kanagawa prefecture save for their persisting entrenchments in Kawasaki. However, their agents still somehow find the means to strike against us on our own grounds, even here in Yokohama. Loses have been… tolerable, but the disturbances discredit us with our 'partners', both current and… impending."
  410.77 +
  410.78 +"Soldats…" Kaede whispered softly, and then abruptly jammed another needle rather violently into Matsumoto's left eye socket. Her aim was slightly off however, and the sharp point pierced the white of the man's eye, passing straight through the glutenous inside of the orb before bursting into the skull's cavity. Matsumoto didn't so much as flinch.
  410.79 +
  410.80 +"Child, I believe that man's senses have become numb," Dominique interjected into Kaede's session. "You *have* been 'attending' to him for in excess of a week now."
  410.81 +
  410.82 +Kaede ceased planting needles in Matsumoto's eye sockets and looked at him closely. He sagged heavily in his chains and his breathing was hoarse and shallow. "Yes…" the white-haired young woman hissed in approval, her tone taking on an impassioned timbre, "he has grown beyond this plane of reality, beyond this stunted level of thought to another place, far removed from all mundane things. He has fully accepted the pain into his shell, into his mind and his very spirit, and thus it has bestowed upon him divine understanding of his true existence." Kaede sighed in joyous wonder. "He has been favoured with enlightenment!"
  410.83 +
  410.84 +"…Of course, my lady," Dominique said quietly. 
  410.85 +
  410.86 +Quickly, Kaede unlocked Matsumoto's--or more accurately, the trappings that contained the man's soon-to-be ascending soul--shackles and carefully lowered him to the floor, where a black body bag awaited. Arranging the subject in its snug confines, she then zipped up the bag to about three-quarters of the way, insuring that the fading shell could still feed on its last vestiges of needed oxygen.
  410.87 +
  410.88 +"Why don't you put him out of his misery?" Dominique queried as she stood beside Kaede's kneeling form, folding her arms and looking distastefully down at Matsumoto's shell. "Traitorous male," she sneered, her words laced with heavy scorn. 
  410.89 +
  410.90 +"It can't die yet," Kaede informed her aide, stroking the rubbery material of the body bag with one hand, drawing circular patterns as she watched the shell's face, the tops of his eyes still riddled with a curved line of needles. Removing them might drag Matsumoto back from the brink--it was a chance Kaede was not willing to take. "This state must be prolonged. I am not so cruel as to deny Matsumoto's soul the scant handful of moments to bathe in its newfound understanding before it rises to the Heavens. He was a betrayer, but he has been redeemed; the defilement in him has been banished. I am confident he has repented for his sins."
  410.91 +
  410.92 +"They are *all* full of defilement, Lady Kaede," Dominique remarked disdainfully, her beautiful features twisting as she continued to look down upon Matsumoto's shell. "And there is no redeeming them. The sooner you learn that, the better."
  410.93 +
  410.94 +Kaede looked up at Dominique, tilting her head slightly to one side. "'All'?" she parroted, before shaking her head, her lower lip pouting out a little, making her seem like a argumentative child. She still smiled however, causing the expression to appear rather odd as well. "No, no; Big Brother is not tainted."
  410.95 +
  410.96 +Dominique let out a low, throaty chuckle, smiling tolerantly down at Kaede. She reached down and indulgently brushed the young woman's pale cheek with the fingertips of one hand. "Poor, naïve darling," she whispered sympathetically, before straightening. "Come along now," she then said in a louder and sterner voice, "I will have someone fetch Matsumoto's 'shell' later. You really must retire to bed."
  410.97 +
  410.98 +Kaede nodded obediently, and then rose to her feet, joining her advisor as the statuesque woman led the way out of the room. Big Brother. She prayed he was all right. He had been gone for so long. But his assignment was necessary, or so Dominique said. It was a mission that would ultimately help them in combating Soldats. And when it came to Soldats, Kaede would do everything in her power to bring the corrupt society down. There was no repentance for them. 
  410.99 +
 410.100 +******
 410.101 +
 410.102 +"Cold night," Mireille remarked offhandedly, glad that she had worn her coat for their latest outing into the city's underbelly… as pointless as it had been. Her breath fogged the air ahead of her as she walked down the shadowy and empty Paris streets together with Kirika, a testament that winter was just around the corner. Soon Mireille wouldn't be able to wear miniskirts any more, unless she was willing to brave the coming chill.
 410.103 +
 410.104 +Mireille's eyes turned to look upon Kirika, but the girl merely mumbled a vague agreement and inclined her head a fraction, her eyes remaining fastened to the footpath she was travelling along. 
 410.105 +
 410.106 +Mireille sighed, a plumb of mist blooming in front of her face; a larger one this time. It had been days since they had put the word out that they were searching for Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu--or to be more precise, 'Noir'--but so far not a single snitch nor information dealer had unearthed anything noteworthy. Not even Simon, with his supposed network of spies, had been able to learn of anything. The boy had apologised profusely to Mireille for his failure to date, but his worthless regrets did nothing to bring her and Kirika any closer to their enemies. This drought of data concerning the false Noir did nothing to quell the unpleasant distance between Mireille and her partner. Wherever Ryosuke and Vincent were hiding, they were adept at concealing themselves. 
 410.107 +
 410.108 +It was very late into the evening, Mireille and Kirika having been out and about in the city since early morning, paying each of the blonde's sources a visit to obtain an update on their progress. Needless to say, the pair's efforts had been for naught. Each day that passed was marked with a gradually heightening sense of frustration to Mireille--that, and a sense of desolation, hopelessness. The passing days not only signified the skill Ryosuke and Vincent possessed at laying low--and the apparent lack of skill Mireille's informants had at sniffing them out--but also the increasing breakdown in the blonde woman's relationship with her diminutive counterpart. Whenever the sun rose on the horizon for a new day, Kirika's spirits seemed to conversely diminish just a little bit more. It had come to a point that the darkhaired girl's mood had degenerated to such a degree that it appeared she had closed herself off completely from Mireille and the outside world alike. She was scarcely responsive to verbal inquiries and seemed to look right through her surroundings most of the time, immersed in her private brooding. She didn't eat much anymore, either, making mealtimes a considerably short and cheerless affair, but coupled with the oppressive silence now commonplace between the two assassins, they were still uncomfortable and depressing despite their length. The apartment Mireille and Kirika were returning to at this very moment; their sanctuary, their *home*; no longer contained the pleasant and content atmosphere it once had. Rather, it was a cold and unfeeling place filled with old memories of a better life the two had formerly shared; a life that Mireille felt she had lived a long, long time ago. She wondered if that life had ever been real to begin with. 
 410.109 +
 410.110 +It couldn't go on like this. But Mireille could do nothing save for hunting down the false Noir, doing Breffort's bidding for both their sakes, and hope that everything would turn out all right in the end. What else was there? It was the only thing she was sure of, the only thing that could improve matters between her and Kirika. She just wished developments would proceed faster. For some reason time had become Mireille's third bitter foe. No, that was a lie. She knew the reason behind the sentiment. Mireille felt like as time went by another piece of Kirika's heart slipped away from her. When that feeling had hit the woman, it had… it had simply frightened her. And shocked her that she was so frightened. She knew she was attached to her partner… loved her… but still, a part of her had never truly believed, or perhaps accepted, that Kirika meant *that* much to her. Kirika. That girl. She always served to get under Mireille's skin somehow. Even so, the Corsican would rather have a moody partner she didn't quite comprehend her feelings for than none at all. She couldn't go back to always being alone. 
 410.111 +
 410.112 +A Metro subway entrance drew nearer on Mireille and Kirika's left as they walked, bright light still shining from its depths even at this hour. There were only a few more blocks to trek before the apartment would be in sight. With this chilly night air, Mireille was beginning to rethink her decision to walk the distance rather than take a taxicab, or even the Metro. She angled her gaze slightly to Kirika, speculating whether or not the girl felt the cold. Mireille smiled faintly without humour. The cold probably didn't even touch Kirika. A lack of awareness tended to allow one to distance themselves from petty annoyances, environmental and otherwise. 
 410.113 +
 410.114 +All of a sudden, Kirika stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, prompting Mireille to do likewise. A brown Citroen was cruising quietly up the street behind them. While that was nothing unusually in itself, one thing did cause the Corsican pause--its headlights were switched off. 
 410.115 +
 410.116 +Doubtless having realised he had been spotted, the driver of the car suddenly accelerated, speeding along the remaining length of road towards the stationary Mireille and Kirika, closing the distance separating them at an alarming rate. 
 410.117 +
 410.118 +"Kirika!" Mireille exclaimed, looking her counterpart in the eyes briefly before snapping her gaze to the Metro entrance, and then back again to the girl. 
 410.119 +
 410.120 +Understanding her partner's intentions, Kirika took off for the subway, pulling out her handgun at the same time. Mireille risked a fleeting look at the rapidly gaining car, and then bolted after Kirika, hot on the girl's heels. She heard the Citroen squeak to an abrupt halt next to the curb and its four doors open a second later, followed by men's vehement curses. Reaching inside her coat, Mireille drew her Walther P99 from its holster strapped around her torso and angled her upper body back around to the car as she continued to run. She sighted five men in total clambering out of the Citroen, all bearing arms. With her gun held in her right hand, Mireille unleashed a volley of bullets in the mob's general direction, hoping to delay their imminent pursuit for a few seconds as they scrambled for cover and give her and Kirika more time to find a defensive position. Fighting out in the open when her opponents had their vehicle to hide behind was not the Corsican assassin's style. 
 410.121 +
 410.122 +A couple of bullets smashed through the car's front windshield, forming a spider's web of cracks spiralling out from the puncture holes, and consequently caused the driver to duck and throw himself out of the vehicle to prevent being hit. Several more rounds perforated the hood of the Citroen, and more its open doors which the majority of the men used to protect themselves from Mireille's inhibiting barrage. Another slug shattered the front passenger side window to pieces, and a second luckier shot struck a man trying to exit the car there in the right upper arm, the force of the gunshot knocking him back into his seat. 
 410.123 +
 410.124 +"Go! Go!" the injured man shouted through clenched teeth, urging his companions on with emphatic motions with his head while he clutched at his bleeding arm. "Take the shotgun!"
 410.125 +
 410.126 +Mireille didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation, sprinting down the subway's flight of stairs two steps at a time as the men returned fire, bullets ricocheting off the walls she had only instants before run past. She saw Kirika disappear behind the corner at the end of the staircase and quickly dashed after her, leaping the remaining half a dozen steps to the landing, the sound of her boots hitting the hard cement floor echoing off the narrow subway entryway's walls. 
 410.127 +
 410.128 +Mireille darted around the corner just as a hail of gunfire rung out, a myriad of bullets riddling a payphone mounted on the wall across from the street entrance to the Metro system. The unfortunate payphone spewed out coins all over the landing from its ruptured insides, as though a gushing, metallic wound. Better it than her, however, Mireille thought grimly. 
 410.129 +
 410.130 +Mireille glanced at Kirika beside her as Euro coins bounced past their feet and down the second staircase into the Metro station. She looked rather anxious as she met the Corsican's eyes, one of the first true displays of emotion the blonde had seen for quite a while. Not surprising though, considering that they had just been attacked out of the blue. Who were these men? Or more importantly, how on earth had they found them? Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yuumura were not easy people to track down--Kirika didn't even exist in many public and private records. 
 410.131 +
 410.132 +Mireille pressed her back against the cracked, graffiti stained cement wall and carefully peeked around the corner. Whoever these would-be assassins were, she was sure they weren't Soldats minions. For one thing, they had a substantially different dress sense than the soldiers of the clandestine group. These men had the trappings of showy gangsters, not the black suits and ties that were customary among Soldats operatives. Were they with Ryosuke and Vincent? It was unlikely, taking into account that the two Asian men were reportedly strangers to this country; Mireille didn't think they would have any notable contacts in Paris. It didn't rule out the possibility that they could have recruited some flunkies, however. Had one of Mireille's informants sold her out to the false Noir? Maybe… but the blonde had always been careful not to reveal too much about herself to her sources, business associates or not. It was a good way to wind up dead before you even knew what--and who--hit you. 
 410.133 +
 410.134 +A few rounds impacted into the wall close to Mireille's peeping face, causing her to reflexively jerk back into cover. In any case, her questions would have to wait until another, more appropriate time to be answered. But heads would roll as soon as she found out who had betrayed her. 
 410.135 +
 410.136 +Mireille strafed out a pace from behind the corner in a flash of movement, just as three of the men were advancing down the stairs, pistols in hand. Her expression cold, she rapidly squeezed off a trio of shots at the nearest gangster, all three of them surprised by her deft manoeuvre. Two of the Parabellum rounds made devastating contact with the targeted man's right thigh, buckling the whole leg underneath him and sending him sprawling face first on the steps, his gun escaping his grasp with the jolt of the fall. He cried out in pain and raised his head from the stairs, only to get another slug in the forehead, the bullet tearing clean through his skull and out the opposite side, an explosion of blood and brain matter punctuating its violent exit. The gangster's head slumped forwards against the steps once again, except this time lifelessly and encircled by dripping red cascading languidly down the stairs. 
 410.137 +
 410.138 +"Shit! What in the hell?! You bitch!" screamed one goon furiously before he started blazing away wildly at Mireille with his gun, obviously taken aback by his nearby companion's abrupt death. But all he hit was cement, the assassin already having retreated into the safety of the corner once more. 
 410.139 +
 410.140 +Mireille listened patiently for the telltale click of an emptied handgun, waiting for the gangster to foolishly waste all of his ammunition in his rage. No, these men were definitely not Soldats. Soldats people would have had more discipline. Or at the very least, more common sense. 
 410.141 +
 410.142 +Mireille heard the slide of the infuriated gangster's pistol snap back, and instantly she flitted out from shelter, brandishing her Walther in both hands. Her blue eyes suddenly widened as she was greeted by the alarming sight of the single barrel of a pump action shotgun aimed directly at her chest from behind the angry goon and his more composed friend, wielded by a third man who had arrived on the scene. 
 410.143 +
 410.144 +Mireille didn't even have the opportunity to curse before a peppering of pellets were fired her way, forcing her to desperately dive for cover, narrowly evading the lethal buckshot. Without her finely honed reflexes she would have taken the contents of the shotgun shell full in the chest, unquestionably spelling death. And Mireille would be damned if some low-level hoods claimed her life. 
 410.145 +
 410.146 +Another shotgun blast pounded into the wall Mireille and Kirika were just around the corner from; bits of cement raining down to the floor while puffs of dust were launched into the air. Perhaps it was time to find a better position. 
 410.147 +
 410.148 +Mireille signalled sharply to Kirika to run deeper into the Metro station with a terse flick of her head, her blonde locks waving. The girl immediately obeyed and the pair hurried down the second flight of stairs into the Metro, the steps of their chasing adversaries reverberating in the L-shaped entryway to their rear. 
 410.149 +
 410.150 +However, as soon as Mireille and Kirika entered the subway station proper, the blonde realised her mistake. A huge, thick iron barred gate was situated in front of the turnstiles to the station platform, flush with the walls, floor and ceiling of the entry area, effectively blocking any potential escape route. Stupid. Mireille should have remembered that the Metro was out of service for the night. 
 410.151 +
 410.152 +A loud pinging resounded in the station and a flare of sparks manifested on one bar of the gate just to the side of Mireille's head as a wayward bullet from the tailing gangsters missed its blonde target, spurring the woman to roll behind a nearby column support. Mireille flicked her head to the left, catching sight of Kirika swooping into the shelter of a pillar also, the structure thankfully just wide enough to shield a lean person. Terrific. Now the only means for Mireille and Kirika to shake these people off was to make sure that they would never bother anybody else ever again. 
 410.153 +
 410.154 +The blonde assassin sighed as yet another torrent of bullets were sent her and her partner's way, glancing off the upright iron bars of the gate and hammering into the reverse face of the pillar. She so disliked leaving bodies haphazardly around the place, especially in her own neighbourhood. It could be a messy business. One corpse was bad enough as it was. And the worst of it was Mireille and Kirika weren't even being paid to put them in their graves! Although, it could be said that the reward for executing these men was that she and Kirika continued breathing. And really, what better payment--or incentive for success--was that? Combating Soldats had taught Mireille that particular truth.
 410.155 +
 410.156 +Mireille fired the little rounds remaining in her pistol over her shoulder at the goons, the shots mainly to force them onto the defensive and take the pressure off her and Kirika for a few seconds, rather than to actually kill any of them. The echo of gunfire faded from the station as the men fell back into cover, likely positioning themselves in the same manner Mireille and her partner did behind the station's support columns. They were on even terms now… aside from one detail--none of the gangsters had been the original Noir, the Eternal Darkness. They were but lambs in the company of lions. 
 410.157 +
 410.158 +Mireille ejected her depleted clip and retrieved a fresh one from the leather pouches inside her brownish-grey coat, reloading her Walther P99 and chambering the first bullet. Bringing up her gun with both hands, she took a deep breath, and then released it slowly. Her eyes moved to Kirika--the brooding girl was in much the same stance as her. Kirika's eyes were closed however, reminiscent of the time when they had faced Ryosuke and Vincent in Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental. This was no occasion to be spent gazing at Kirika while trying to decipher what was going through her mind, however, despite whether Mireille wished to or not.
 410.159 +
 410.160 +Bounding out from the pillar, Mireille quickly noted the new locations of the enemy in a blink of an eye, and glimpsed a limb sticking out from behind one of the columns to the far left. Seeing an opportunity, she fired a slug at exposed the arm, and was rewarded with an agonised howl. The gangster she had struck stumbled out from the protection of the pillar, tripping over his own feet and landing on his backside. However, before Mireille could finish him off, a bullet slammed into the concrete surface of the support adjacent to her, shot by a goon from another support to the right. To her dislike, she was forced to return to the security of her cover and consequently abandon the chance to kill a second member of the gangsters' group. 
 410.161 +
 410.162 +Mireille looked to Kirika, and was pleased to see the girl move to take advantage of her 'offering'. The introverted girl stepped calmly out from her own pillar she was using as shelter with her Beretta M1934 held steadily in her two dainty hands, the firearm pointing at the vulnerable man still sitting on the floor out in the open, his mind in a miasma of pain from his wound. 
 410.163 +
 410.164 +But she didn't fire. An icy claw suddenly gripped Mireille's heart, its talons biting harshly into it. Kirika simply stood there, frozen, her gun raised and aimed at the injured gangster, but her features slack and her eyes staring vacantly into space. The girl's frail body was completely exposed, and apparently she was oblivious to that fact too. What was wrong with her?! Why didn't she shoot?! 
 410.165 +
 410.166 +Mireille took an unconscious concerned step forward towards her stock-still partner, her free hand lifting to reach out to her. "Kiri--ah!" the beginnings of the woman's frantic call was viciously cut off as a shotgun shell smacked into the solid side of the column beside her and bounced off at an angle, several of the pellets grazing her face.
 410.167 +
 410.168 +Mireille staggered backwards into cover again, clasping a hand over the stinging abrasions scoring her left cheek. But the minor flesh wounds that could have easily been a ruined mess of half-flayed features were the farthest things from her mind. Her gaze automatically went back to Kirika, her breathing and heart rate quickening substantially more than it had done so all throughout the gunfight. Kirika's hands--no, her entire arms--were shaking. Trembling uncontrollably. The Beretta in her grasp shuddered, and Mireille thought she could hear the full magazine it contained rattling. 
 410.169 +
 410.170 +"Kirika!" Mireille desperately cried, praying her voice would snap her partner out of whatever state of petrification she was in. Her eyes moved to fleetingly survey the gangsters, and to her horror, she saw that the man on the floor had recovered his senses and was bringing his pistol to bear at Kirika with his good arm, a mildly startled but relieved smirk on his face.
 410.171 +
 410.172 +The goon armed with the shotgun grinned too a couple of feet from his friend, keeping his weapon on Mireille's position, ensuring that she wouldn't interfere unless she wanted to eat a lethal meal of buckshot. At this range coupled with his readiness he wouldn't miss if the Corsican stepped out into the open, and she was likely to lose a limb to the powerful blast even if he failed to score a hit on her torso. Either way, it would mean death. 
 410.173 +
 410.174 +Not that Mireille cared. Her feet rasped on the concrete floor as she prepared to leap out of cover and kill the pistol-wielding gangster before he shot Kirika, regardless if it would mean she would likely die in the process. In her frenetic state of mind it didn't even register what she was willing to do for her partner. 
 410.175 +
 410.176 +"Dumbass kid…" the goon on the floor sneered, cocking the hammer of his revolver as he lined up the immobile, shivering Kirika in its sights. His finger tensed on the trigger. 
 410.177 +
 410.178 +"KIRIKA!"
 410.179 +
 410.180 +******
 410.181 +
 410.182 +To be continued….
 410.183 +
 410.184 +
 410.185 +Author's ramblings:
 410.186 +
 410.187 +This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to split it into two parts (the reason should be obvious ^_^).
 410.188 +
 410.189 +Sumiyoshi-kai and Yamaguchi-gumi are the two biggest yakuza syndicates in Japan if anybody didn't already realise.
 410.190 \ No newline at end of file

   411.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   411.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-08.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   411.3 @@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
   411.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   411.5 +
   411.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   411.7 +******
   411.8 +
   411.9 +The eighth chapter. Cue track sixteen of Noir OST 2: Killing. ^_^
  411.10 +
  411.11 +- Kirika
  411.12 +
  411.13 +******
  411.14 +
  411.15 +Chapter 8 - Sinners, Act II
  411.16 +
  411.17 +
  411.18 +Kirika heard a pain-filled yelp a split second after the latest bang of Mireille's gun, and next the telltale brusque scuff of rubber shoe soles on concrete followed by a low grunt and a dull thud, signalling to the astute girl that one of the men belonging to the group who had attacked her and her partner had been shot and subsequently stumbled out into the open. With this advantageous opportunity presenting itself, Kirika's heightened reflexes that had been rigorously honed to absolute perfection over the years instantly took effect, causing her body to respond without thought. She bounded nimbly out from behind the protection of the pillar she was using as cover, bringing her Beretta to bear on the gangster sitting on the floor a short distance away from her, for all intents and purposes an easy target. 
  411.19 +
  411.20 +An easy target… no… not to Kirika. A living being had never been an easy target for her, not ever since she had awakened that fateful day with no recollection of her life before that moment, her memories totally erased except for one, significant word. And after returning from the Manor, after learning of the existence of her other self, even less so. Indeed, she had hoped to escape from taking another life ever again… but it was a naïve hope. There was no escape. Her time was up, now. It was kill or be killed, do or die; there were no more reprieves, no chance to sidestep what the girl was now beginning to realise was inevitable. No. She still had her will; she still had a choice. The darkness did not rule her, not yet. 
  411.21 +
  411.22 +Kirika suddenly froze, her muscles locking, petrifying her in a ready stance with her pistol raised in both hands, the vulnerable man seated on the floor securely in its sights. The view of the Metro station blurred and then melted away from the darkhaired girl's vision, and all sounds faded to barely audible muffles, her mind focusing elsewhere--inwards, where a more important battle than the one against the group of men was being waged. 
  411.23 +
  411.24 +It was her choice to make--her *own* choice. If Kirika killed now, there would be no turning back. She would do it again and again as it became easier and easier, a never-ending spiral into sin. A descent further and further into darkness, ultimately ending with the darkness itself, in its pure, undiluted form. 
  411.25 +
  411.26 +But she *could* resist. She didn't have to become a murderer again. She still had her own will. Nothing and no one controlled her. Kirika was free; her life was her own to live. Soldats, Altena--she was not their puppet, not any more. She didn't have to take the third--and significant--step towards the darkness, and towards her other, malevolent self that it harboured in its bleak shadows. Right now, at this very moment, she could stop the journey. All she had to do was try. 
  411.27 +
  411.28 +"KIRIKA!"
  411.29 +
  411.30 +The desperate shout of a female voice Kirika knew even better than her own wrenched her mind violently back to reality, easily demolishing the dampening barrier the girl had placed around it and her senses. Her head snapped to the source of the yell at the same time her brown eyes reregistered her surroundings in their depths, and was met by the sight of a breathless Mireille's unnerved face, the blonde's own normally icy blue eyes imploring. Mireille's posture was also taut and she looked primed, coiled to spring. But her partner's edgy stance was not what drew Kirika's attention. Her face. It was the woman's face she focused on. Mireille's left cheek had three roughly straight lines scrawled across it. Three *red* lines. 
  411.31 +
  411.32 +As Kirika watched, a trickle of blood seeped out of the lower of the scars, the drip sketching a ruby trail down Mireille's cheek before pausing at the bottom of her chin for an instant. It then dropped slowly towards the floor, as though the air it fell through was made of gooey syrup. Blood. Mireille was bleeding. She had been hurt. Kirika's partner had been hurt because Kirika herself had failed to support her. Kirika's hesitation had resulted in Mireille being hurt. The woman Kirika loved had been hurt because of her!
  411.33 +
  411.34 +Something crumbled inside of Kirika, something important, but the awareness that something had was vague to her, merely a distant rumble in the far reaches of her mind, if it could even be called that. It was eclipsed by another sensation, a heavy, leaden lurch of something thrusting forwards to fill a sudden gap inside her with sluggish yet resolute force, like crude oil jetting out of an unobstructed pipe into clear water. The lunging sensation gripped Kirika's static body, and for an instant the farthest outskirts of her vision seemed to pulse a soulless black. 
  411.35 +
  411.36 +The droplet of Mireille's blood hit the floor, its landing punctuated by the crack of a 9mm calibre bullet discharging from the firing chamber of a Beretta M1934 Commercial echoing around the station. The slug tore mercilessly into the right eye of the confidently smirking man sitting on the floor, tossing his head back. The revolver he was pointing at Kirika went off as his body jerked with the impact of the bullet brutally invading his skull, his finger squeezing the trigger mechanically. But his aim was ruined with the jolt, and the .38 round whizzed harmlessly by the stationary girl's head, sending several of her dark locks flapping with its passing before it slammed into the wall behind her. Kirika didn't flinch even a millimetre. 
  411.37 +
  411.38 +The stricken man toppled sideways, his smug smile frozen permanently on his features and one eye gone, now just a flood of burgundy fluid remaining that dribbled out of the empty socket and down his face in a thick rivulet as he collapsed. 
  411.39 +
  411.40 +The other man armed with a twelve-gauge pump action shotgun swung his weapon in Kirika's direction at his companion's unexpected demise, but the assassin was already moving, rushing straight at him at a breakneck velocity, almost already upon him in the heartbeat between her gunshot and his turn. 
  411.41 +
  411.42 +The gangster's face displayed his panic and his actions manifested it as he fired a shell recklessly at Kirika, but all the spray of buckshot hit was the section of floor a couple of metres behind where she had once been, the agile girl having bounded diagonally into the air to her right, where a support column stood, to evade the blast. Kirika automatically bent her knees as her feet touched the pillar, appearing to suspend in the air for a fraction of a second, attached to the column, and then propelled herself off it in an anti-clockwise spin, lashing out with her right leg at her opponent's weapon. Her foot struck the barrel of the hoodlum's shotgun, knocking it forcefully aside with the power of her short leap behind her kick, effectively rendering it useless against her and leaving the man exposed for further attack. 
  411.43 +
  411.44 +Kirika crouched as she hit the floor and went with the momentum of her initial spin, whirling around one hundred and eighty degrees before rising to her full height at the climax of her twirl, jabbing viciously upwards with her left elbow into her taller foe's throat, crushing his larynx as if it were a cardboard tube. The man let out the gurgle of someone slowly beginning to suffocate and then dropped to his knees. His shotgun fell to the floor with a clatter, forgotten as all his attention was dedicated towards trying to breathe, his hands clutching futility at his closed-off throat.
  411.45 +
  411.46 +Kirika's eyes flicked to the left and her head turned slightly in the same direction as if to look over her shoulder, where she knew her third adversary dwelled with his back to a pillar a few feet to the left of the one her first enemy had used as shelter. But at this angle it provided him with no protection. Her acute hearing picked up the sharp inhalation of someone preparing to shoot a firearm, and she instinctively rolled behind the choking man kneeling before her just as his comrade started wildly releasing blazing hot lead her way, appearing devoted to expending all of his valuable ammunition in a solitary assault.
  411.47 +
  411.48 +The final two of the twelve undisciplined shots that didn't end up hitting the walls or ceiling drove an equal number of bullets deep into the torso of the kneeling gangster Kirika was employing as a human shield, sparing him from a lengthy and agonising end at the hands of asphyxiation. He keeled over face first, revealing behind him--to the horror of his companion--a stooped Kirika with her pistol wielded steadily in one hand and its barrel pointing straight at him, her expression detached--emotionless.
  411.49 +
  411.50 +A single 9mm round took the shocked hoodlum in the left side of his upper chest, throwing him back against the column he had once been using as cover. "Holy…" he whispered in a croak before he slid down the pillar to land in a limp heap on the floor, the light in his eyes vanishing and his grip on his empty handgun slackening.
  411.51 +
  411.52 +The tinkle of an ejected bullet casing dwindled in the background. Kirika blinked, and then suddenly it was over. It had been only a matter of seconds, but now three people were lying unmoving on the floor. Dead. Slain by her hands. Three lives snuffed out effortlessly as if they were nothing. And it had come so naturally to her. Killing always had, however. But it was different this time. Kirika had had no control over her actions; she had simply… acted. One second she had been looking at Mireille, and the next three people were dead. Her darkness… Kirika had touched it… she had *seized* it. And she had not recoiled at the foul contact.
  411.53 +
  411.54 +It was quiet in the station, not even a whisper to be heard. The death cries of the condemned had ceased, the roar of the instrument of their ruin hushed. And their murderer silent--as always--and as she had been throughout their execution. It was a quiet in stark contrast to the cacophony that had filled the station's walls only a handful of seconds before. Seconds. Mere seconds and suddenly Kirika's conceptions about herself and her life had been brushed away as if the daydreams of a child. But they had been childish conceptions, in retrospect. 
  411.55 +
  411.56 +Kirika stood up slowly, her gun smoking and her head bowed, making an effort to keep her gaze fixed to the floor where the evidence of her sins did not pollute her vision… and remind her of her weakness. So much for free will. So much for choice. Her resistance had lasted barely all of two seconds before folding. A puppet with its strings cut was evidently still a puppet. 
  411.57 +
  411.58 +Kirika's eyes moved lethargically to the weapon in her hand. It felt hot from its use, and light, comfortable to handle. Like it was an extension of herself. Part of her. Maybe it was. Maybe it always had been. Weapons were the tools of an assassin's trade. And Kirika was an assassin. An efficient killer. It was what she was trained to do. What she was born to do. No escape. No peace. It was who she was. She was a sinner. 
  411.59 +
  411.60 +Kirika felt something that had been progressively withering for a long while inside of her go into its death throes with the harsh realisation…. Hope. Hope for a normal life, hope for freedom from her past. There was no hope for people such as her. Her hands were black with sins, corrupted. It was all they knew. 
  411.61 +
  411.62 +Mireille stepped cautiously out from behind the support column she had been utilising as cover in the corner of Kirika's eyesight. The woman's mouth hung slightly open as she surveyed the bloodshed her partner had wrought, her countenance crossed somewhere amid great relief, mild bewilderment and… pleasant satisfaction. She stopped a couple of metres from Kirika and looked around the area for a few more seconds, seeming at a loss for what to say. 
  411.63 +
  411.64 +Finally, Mireille's gaze rested on Kirika, her eyes scanning over the girl's slim body circumspectly but thoroughly, obviously searching for any injuries. "Are you alright?" she asked with an oddly cheery tone and a smile, if a minutely shaky one, on her features. "You had me worried for a minute." 
  411.65 +
  411.66 +Kirika simply nodded and mumbled wordlessly in the affirmative. She knew Mireille was referring to physical wounds. After all, they were the ones that really mattered. An assassin's body was her most essential aspect. Nothing else was relevant. Kirika was certain Mireille was genuinely concerned about her, but she was unsure about the motivation behind her concern. Was it out of affection for the girl she cared about; the girl she loved? Or was it purely out of 'professional' interest, to her partner in murder, merely a fellow assassin? At one time, Kirika would have been absolutely positive that it was the former, but lately… lately….
  411.67 +
  411.68 +Kirika's head abruptly turned to Mireille as she suddenly remembered that the woman had been hurt earlier, the depths of her soft brown gaze anxious as all other thoughts bar her love's condition were purged from her mind. "Are *you* okay?" she inquired quickly, examining Mireille's left, bloodied, cheek with a meticulous eye.
  411.69 +
  411.70 +Mireille's smile widened a bit and she reached up to touch her scarred cheek gingerly with her fingertips. "I'm fine," she said gently, dispelling Kirika's unease about her welfare a little, "I know it probably looks bad, but they're only scratches." The blonde then sighed tiredly, her smile becoming wry. "The smallest wounds always tend to bleed the most."
  411.71 +
  411.72 +Mireille's pretty smile then disappeared completely from her face, her expression turning serious. "There's still one more," she said gravely. "In the car, upstairs. He could be lying in wait for us; stay alert." 
  411.73 +
  411.74 +Kirika nodded. Back to business. No peace. 
  411.75 +
  411.76 +She followed after Mireille as the blonde quietly walked past the three corpses and up the stairs of the Metro station's entry passageway, her Walther P99 held with its barrel aiming skywards in her hands, ready to serve its function to kill at a split second's notice. Kirika's own gun remained by her side, dangling loosely in her right hand while she kept her eyes focused straight ahead until she started climbing the stairs, not wanting to see her handiwork, the testament of her true existence; her purpose in this world. 
  411.77 +
  411.78 +Mireille paused at the bullet hole ridden corner they had taken shelter behind near the start of the shootout, peeking around it to check for any sign of danger. After a moment, she carried on her advance up towards street-level, skirting nonchalantly past the body of the man she had vanquished with ease slumped on the next set of steps, and dodging the wide section of staircase that was tarnished with puddles and streaks of red. Kirika traced her footsteps exactly. 
  411.79 +
  411.80 +Mireille swiftly inspected her flanks and rear as the street came into view, prudently ensuring that no one was waiting in ambush for her and Kirika. Deeming that there was no adversaries set to waylay them ahead, the blonde proceeded to stealthily traverse the last few steps of the staircase, walking onto the darkened pavement by the street, Kirika joining her an instant later. 
  411.81 +
  411.82 +Kirika observed that the fifth and final gangster who had apparently remained behind in the car he and his friends had shown up in was sitting askew in the front passenger seat, his legs hanging outside of the vehicle, and was clutching his right upper arm where he appeared to have been shot, if the large scarlet blot discolouring the sleeve of his jacket was any indication. Mireille must have managed to wound him during her flight into the underground Metro station. 
  411.83 +
  411.84 +Upon spotting Kirika and Mireille's emergence from the station's brightly lit street entrance, the man's eyes widened and, letting go of his injured arm, made to reach across his body for something inside the car--most likely a weapon. 
  411.85 +
  411.86 +"Don't!" Mireille called out in a no-nonsense voice, bringing up her gun sharply as she did so for added incentive while striding forwards, Kirika indolently bringing up the rear. 
  411.87 +
  411.88 +The goon wisely complied, slowly drawing his hand back and raising it in the air in a gesture of surrender. Kirika was glad. It meant there was little chance she would be forced to kill him… for the moment, at any rate. Although, Mireille would probably beat her to it if the situation turned violent. That would be a better outcome. Murder… the woman didn't seem to have the same problem with it as Kirika did. Certainly, she seemed at home with it. Kirika wished she could have the same aloofness. In the past, she had felt nothing when she took a life, and indeed, she still felt virtually nothing. But later she had discovered it was that very fact that caused her sorrow. And that still hadn't changed, either. Ending a life was wrong. It was a sin.
  411.89 +
  411.90 +A small, marginally muted part of the Kirika wondered then if Mireille's blasé attitude towards murder was truly a quality to be admired. Nevertheless, she didn't judge her partner as a bad person because it. It was somehow okay when it came to Mireille. It was a facet that made the woman who she was, after all. The woman Kirika loved. 
  411.91 +
  411.92 +Of course, Mireille didn't have another persona lurking inside of her to consider. A personal darkness that thrived on violence; on slaughter. Kirika wondered how long it would be until the darkness succeeded in consuming her, now. Clearly her supposed strong, resolute willpower was merely a self-deluding illusion. If she couldn't even restrain herself from snuffing out three lives, what hope did she have at holding sway over the darkness? And with her evident willingness to kill, that darkness would now move to infect her heart and soul with its poison even more aggressively than ever before. 
  411.93 +
  411.94 +Mireille positioned herself a few steps in front of the yielded hoodlum, aiming her Walther unwaveringly at his head. Kirika stood behind her and just off to the right, giving herself a good view of the man and his other arm; the wounded one. It was still resting by his side and even though he had taken a bullet there, he could yet use it to secretly retrieve a weapon that would consequently be utilised against Mireille. And Kirika *had* to support Mireille. Her partner had already been injured once tonight because of her negligence. She wouldn't permit it to happen again. There was a tickling in the far recesses of Kirika's mind at her stanch promise, a whisper of something… a faint memory perhaps. But the girl ignored it. Now was not the time for reminiscence. The present was dismal enough as it was. 
  411.95 +
  411.96 +"Talk," Mireille demanded coldly, her blue eyes narrowing to menacing slits. "Whom do you work for? How did you find us?"
  411.97 +
  411.98 +The gangster looked up defiantly at the blonde, but under her unshakable gaze he then flinched and bowed his head submissively. Kirika noticed his eyes shift discreetly to the subway entrance, however, as if seeking help from his absent friends. Little did he know they couldn't even help themselves, now. Nor would they ever have a chance to again.
  411.99 +
 411.100 +"Your associates aren't coming," Mireille said pitilessly, evidently also catching his straying eyes. She visibly tightened her grip on her pistol. "I won't ask a second time," she then warned. 
 411.101 +
 411.102 +The gangster raised his head to look at his interrogator again and then swallowed hard, sweat beading on his brow. For a moment Kirika believed he would not answer her partner's questions despite the woman's sincere threat, but then after a number of tense seconds, and in a somewhat gruff and resentful voice, he spoke. 
 411.103 +
 411.104 +"Millet--I work for Millet," the man at last confessed grudgingly. "He runs out of Pigalle. Owns most of it, too. Not the classy joints, though; the sleazy ones."
 411.105 +
 411.106 +"Go on," Mireille prompted, motioning with her gun a tad.
 411.107 +
 411.108 +The wounded goon eyed the Walther P99 warily for a second, followed by the imposing woman who brandished it, and then after apparently weighing his chances of survival if he opted to be difficult, sensibly concluded that a lack of compliance would prove fatal. He continued. "Two guys wandered into the club he uses as his base the other day--Slick Chicks. Nice place, you'd probably get a job there fine," he said, his last comment uttered with a degree of contempt as he glowered at Mireille. This seemed to antagonise Kirika's counterpart for some reason, her trigger finger twitching pointedly. The man swallowed apprehensively once again and quickly went on. "They were Asian guys, one really up himself, the bastard." He spat out the final word, the memory of the visitor obviously leaving an objectionable aftertaste with him--Kirika could relate to that particular feeling. "They wanted two women whacked--" His eyes darted between Mireille and Kirika meaningfully, "--you two. Paid us a whole bundle as well." The goon looked back at the Metro entrance where his friends still had not come out, sneering. "Now I know why."
 411.109 +
 411.110 +Kirika frowned a little. That wasn't good news. If Ryosuke and Vincent--the clear clients of Millet and his gang--were hiring others to try and assassinate her and Mireille, it would mean they would be thrown into more confrontations. And more lives would be lost in the process. 
 411.111 +
 411.112 +Mireille's frowned too--albeit much deeper than Kirika--no doubt reading more or less the same implications behind their captive's words. Although the darkhaired girl didn't think the amount of people they would be forced to kill as a result of the false Noir's actions even registered in her mind. Or at least, not in the same way it did in Kirika's.
 411.113 +
 411.114 +"And how did you find us?" Mireille further grilled the man.
 411.115 +
 411.116 +"We have people who find other people," the hoodlum said simply. But his lips then curled up into a wan and slightly tremulous smile. "I really thought Rousseau and his pals would fall short on this one, though," he revealed. "The details on you two were so scarce a lot of the guys thought it was hopeless. Strange…." The goon's brow creased in mild perplexity and his eyes took on a somewhat faraway look. But they soon refocused on his subjugator and the deadly weapon she held in his face, the here and now apparently more crucial than the past to him. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised why there was so little information about you, now." He shook his head in bafflement mixed with some amazement, gaping at the pistol in Kirika's small hand. "Who *are* you people?"
 411.117 +
 411.118 +"That's not important," Mireille said levelly. "Not to you." She took a step back from the wounded man. "Stand up and walk towards the Metro," she then ordered, gesturing with her Walther for him to rise, flicking it upwards a couple of times. 
 411.119 +
 411.120 +The gangster did as he was told, albeit very cautiously and quite bitterly, getting to his feet and then walking to the Metro station's entryway with a hand pressed once again to his gunshot wound, Mireille marshalling him onwards with her gun at his back. Kirika chose to remain where she was--she knew why her partner was taking him there. And she didn't think she could stomach any more death tonight. 
 411.121 +
 411.122 +The goon looked over his shoulder nervously once he reached the top of the flight of stairs leading down to the first landing on the passageway, no doubt seeing the gruesome carcass of one of his gunned down companions, but Mireille motioned for him to keep going, her face as frosty as winter's heart. The blonde assassin stayed at street-level as he trudged deeper into the station's entrance, and soon he disappeared from Kirika's sight. The girl looked away, then, focusing her gaze on the pavement in front of her pink shoe clad feet. 
 411.123 +
 411.124 +A lone gunshot suddenly rang out in the night, spelling the end for the informative gangster, his body joining the others of his gang in their subway station tomb. Kirika lifted her head and glimpsed Mireille holstering her Walther under her coat with a weary sigh. The woman then turned around and strolled calmly back to Kirika.
 411.125 +
 411.126 +"We should go. It's late, but regardless we've lingered too long. Someone's bound to have heard at least one of the shots," she said sternly. Mireille then smiled quite brightly, as if moments before she hadn't just coldly executed a man without a second thought. "Besides, I'm probably a mess," she added in a much more light-hearted tone, touching her injured cheek delicately with one hand. "I want to return home and wash up." 
 411.127 +
 411.128 +"Mmm," Kirika responded dourly, her eyes drawn to Mireille's smile. It was resplendent on the blonde's beautiful visage--her smiles typically were when directed at Kirika--but on this occasion to the girl's eyes there was something different. If she concentrated and looked lower, beneath its stunning veneer, the smile appeared to lack warmth. It was instead… beguiling… even a little sinister. And made all the more by the blood smudged over the left side of Mireille's face. It was a smile that a lion gave to another of its kind who was affiliated with the same ferocious pride. It was one of camaraderie, one of shared calling, one offered after successfully devouring prey. To Kirika it contained no fondness save that a lion held for its hunting partner. It was not a smile that possessed the qualities of love. 
 411.129 +
 411.130 +The unseen wound in Kirika's chest flared up once again, radiating a deep-seeded pain beyond measure. She should have seen it sooner. It was okay, though. She was not truly the same as Mireille, after all. She was by far deeper in sin than the blonde was; Mireille was an angel compared to her, one of the celestial beings the girl had read existed up above in a place called Heaven. Moreover, if Mireille was an angel, then Kirika was the opposite--a demon from down below in the dark domain of Hell. And how could an angel love a demon? It was impossible. No, a sinner of Kirika's like was not deserving of love… not even from a 'fellow' lion. 
 411.131 +
 411.132 +******
 411.133 +
 411.134 +Mireille leaned forwards and examined the trio of scars marring her cheek in the mirror belonging to the medicine cabinet affixed above the bathroom sink in the apartment. She turned her head further to the right, providing a better angle to scrutinise the scratches, and then fingered them tentatively, debating whether or not it would be worthwhile to dress them to promote quicker healing. Deciding that to apply a bandaid or three to her face would be blatantly obvious and definitely attract people's unwanted looks, the blonde emitted a displeased breath of air and picked up a tube of antiseptic cream, settling on simply treating the cuts and forgoing covering them. She squirted out a dollop of the ointment onto her fingertips and started rubbing it softly into her lesions, the cool, soothing mixture gently relieving the stinging sensation emanating from them. 
 411.135 +
 411.136 +After she had scrubbed away the build-up of dried blood smeared around the wounds and over her cheek, what remained hadn't looked too bad. The flying pellets that had brushed across Mireille's face courtesy of a lucky ricochet had scored only shallow grazes, merely minor tissue lacerations that she was confident would heal fast--the Corsican assassin had enough experience with all sorts of injuries to know. In the meantime, the cuts were nothing a little well-placed makeup wouldn't conceal. It wasn't the first time her features had been blemished due to the frequent rigors of her vocation. Indeed, the practice of hiding cuts and bruises with the aid of carefully selected cosmetics was a talent Mireille could label as having mastered. Still, she… *disliked* when she suffered an injury on the job, and especially if that injury was localised to her face. Being hurt was always a risk in Mireille's line of work, along with the possibility of permanent scarring on her person as a result of those hurts, and both were some things she endeavoured to avoid. Having to spend time recovering from a serious wound was irritating to say the least, and even the most trivial of injuries could pose a nuisance to a professional assassin. Visible scratches and contusions unconsciously drew people's eyes, and attention was something a contract killer did *not* like when on an assignment. And of course, there was also the pain factor to be considered. Mireille had unfortunately gotten intimate with lead and many other excruciating things several times during her life as an assassin, and it was not the most… pleasant… of experiences.
 411.137 +
 411.138 +As Mireille massaged the last vestiges of the cream into her scars, deliberately taking longer than necessary, her eyes slowly drifted away from their reflection in the mirror and to the open bathroom doorway, where a clear line of sight into the bedroom was offered to her. And also a clear line of sight to Kirika. 
 411.139 +
 411.140 +Since returning home to the apartment, Kirika had simply stood there in the bedroom, looking forlorn with her head lowered while she gazed with distant and downcast eyes at the rug arranged on the floor; eyes that Mireille was certain did not even register its pattern. She had cast off her parka shortly after entering the room despite the apartment's radiators not having heated its interior to satisfaction yet on this cold night, the garment now lying on the couch across from the bed with the diminutive girl's Beretta M1934 resting atop it. Mireille had a good idea of what was bothering Kirika--she didn't have to be her partner to know that. The blonde wasn't blind; she had witnessed the sensitive girl's 'episode' in the Metro station during the engagement with Millet's men. And nor was she stupid. The gunfight with the gangsters had been the first occasion Kirika had shot anybody since she and Mireille had wiped out Altena's enclave at the Manor. The first occasion she had killed. It was only natural that she was suffering from some after effects of reacquainting herself with the black path. Kirika was a feeling-hearted girl, after all, unlike Mireille. It had to be difficult for her to cope with. 
 411.141 +
 411.142 +However, Kirika would come to terms with it, just like she had prevailed over her initial misgivings earlier tonight. Nevertheless, her behaviour had concerned Mireille a great deal, enough for the Corsican to consider some reckless courses of action… some quite uncharacteristic courses of action. But then, for a moment, the woman had thought…. Well, it was immaterial, now; there was no need to dwell on past events. Mireille and Kirika's performance tonight had essentially been acceptable, with an equally acceptable outcome. 
 411.143 +
 411.144 +Mireille dabbed her still visibly red and sore cuts one last time with her fingertips, and then straightened with a tired sigh. Hopefully, with the help of her treatment, by next morning they would show some improvement, even if it were just a hint of some. 
 411.145 +
 411.146 +After sparing a parting look in the mirror to check her scars once again, Mireille turned away from the sink and walked to the bathroom doorway. She loitered there a little uncertainly as she looked out into the bedroom, where Kirika hadn't budged even an inch from her spot on the rug; appearing as miserable as the previous instance she had observed her. The Corsican sighed a second time at the disheartening sight, but then assumed a pleasant smile on her face, ignoring the slight twinge from her left cheek.
 411.147 +
 411.148 +"You did very well tonight," Mireille remarked in a soft and tender tone, seeking to lift Kirika's low spirits with some encouraging words. "I was most impressed. You…."
 411.149 +
 411.150 +Mireille's voice trailed off to a whisper as a single tear leaked out of Kirika's left eye and rolled down her face, leaving behind a wet streak that glistened in the bedroom's light.
 411.151 +
 411.152 +"Kirika…?" Mireille ventured hesitantly, her smile evaporating as a concerned expression took over her countenance.
 411.153 +
 411.154 +A second teardrop formed in Kirika's other eye and trembled there for a second, before escaping to follow its predecessor's course, spilling down her cheek and merging with the first hanging below her chin. More tears joined them a moment later, the reticent girl's eyes brimming constantly with growing moisture, overflowing, the excess trickling paths to the bottom of her jaw where they collected, before dripping wetly to the floor. Kirika's cheeks were soon soaked with tears, but she never said a word nor even uttered a sound; she simply stood there and wept silently, the depths of her soft brown gaze containing a profound sadness, coupled with a strange manner of detachment that seemed to amplify it. 
 411.155 +
 411.156 +Mireille watched from the bathroom doorway, taken aback by her partner's sudden breakdown plus not to mention considerably alarmed… and furthermore unsure what exactly to do. Any kind words she offered would be hollow; merely sweet nothings, void of any real weight no matter how much the woman meant them--she had no idea what had caused Kirika to become so distressed, and thus how could she provide compelling assurances? But if that were the case, what action was she supposed to take to calm her partner? Thinking back, the only other occasion Mireille had seen Kirika in such a state was at the colosseum ruins on the Manor's estate after the darkhaired girl had been forced to kill Chloe to protect her from the knife-throwing assassin's jealous rage… although this particular time the Corsican's counterpart appeared even more distraught; whatever was upsetting her, it had to be significant. But when Kirika had wept then, Mireille, motivated by the desire to remind her partner that they had no time for the luxury of grief, and in turn prompt her to recover herself and rearm so they could take the fight to Altena, had bestowed her with a semblance of a hug, a rather discomfited one. It had seemed to placate her partner, however, despite its inelegance; perhaps the blonde should make a similar effort now. Regardless, Mireille had to do *something*--Kirika was clearly in pain, and yet the woman was just standing there looking at her as she quietly cried her heart out. Mireille wouldn't be able stomach watching her partner suffering such anguish for much longer. She *had* to act.
 411.157 +
 411.158 +Stepping forwards into the bedroom, Mireille hesitantly approached Kirika, and, following a moment's indecision, tentatively placed her hands on the girl's bare shoulders. After receiving no negative response--or a positive one, either--from her partner, the blonde took another nervous step towards her, and then awkwardly began to gradually snake her arms down Kirika's back, keeping her palms flush with the exposed skin offered to her by the girl's spaghetti top.
 411.159 +
 411.160 +"Mireille!" Kirika sobbed in a heartbreaking voice full of emotion, and without warning flung herself at Mireille, burrowing her face in the furrow of the woman's neck. She wrapped her thin arms tightly around the blonde's body, pressing her smaller own closely against her taller partner's. 
 411.161 +
 411.162 +All of Mireille's muscles stiffened at the unexpected contact, and as well in surprise at Kirika's startling reaction to her rather meagre gesture. But as she felt the warmth from the close proximity of trim girl's body permeating her own, she quickly relaxed and resumed her hug, her arms sliding down Kirika's back almost naturally, enfolding her; holding her comfortably near. The neck of Mireille's red top rapidly became drenched with her partner's teardrops, the girl's weeping seeming to escalate instead of lessening with her embrace. 
 411.163 +
 411.164 +A faint, rueful smile grew on Mireille's face, her blue eyes turning a little misty. She should have hugged Kirika a long time ago. She could see that the girl had required one badly. Kirika clung to the Corsican, handfuls of her top clenched in her grasp, by all accounts a drowning girl clutching desperately to her sole lifeline. And the awful thing was Mireille had been aware that this girl had been drowning. Yet she had done--no, she had *chosen* to do--absolutely nothing to help her, instead citing weak excuses to avoid acting. All this time Kirika had been suffering in silence with Mireille callously looking on, not even *attempting* to console her. At this moment, the woman felt like the lowest form of life in the world. Why had she done that? Why had she stood idly by, doing *nothing* to comfort Kirika? Fear that she would do something wrong, perhaps? Or was it just plain stubbornness, the blonde still rigid in her old ways? 
 411.165 +
 411.166 +No matter what the reason was, it was unacceptable that she had let it drag on for so long. Kirika had needed her, but Mireille had failed her. They were not Noir, but they were still a partnership, and one *far* beyond mere 'business'. How could Mireille have forgotten that? They were partners in love--in life. It was the prime reason Kirika had returned from the Manor with Mireille to Paris; that the blonde had neglected that fact shamed her terribly. Kirika had *needed* Mireille, and yet the Corsican had wilfully neglected the girl. She *knew* her partner was fragile; for all her strength in combat her psyche possessed only a brittle one--Mireille's consideration was crucial for Kirika's continued wellbeing. 
 411.167 +
 411.168 +No longer could Mireille afford to dither around and ignore Kirika's needs, or for that matter, how the introverted girl felt about her. She had taken her partner's feelings for granted, simply deriving of them without conferring anything in return. But theirs was a partnership that was supposed to be of give and take, where the two members supported each other in every way. It was time Mireille took responsibility and started properly and seriously performing her vital role in Kirika's life… as her lover, not just as her colleague. 
 411.169 +
 411.170 +"We're both so clumsy at this, aren't we?" Mireille whispered softly. It was true. While the blame for this mess fell squarely on the blonde's shoulders, Kirika was not without her fault. Her very personality was not very conducive to a communicative relationship. But that was no excuse; it was something Mireille had been conscious of. *She* had to take the first steps to further their relationship; the onus was on her, it all rested solely in her hands. If she wanted it to progress, then she had to be the bold one--she had always held that assertive position over Kirika, after all. Now that dominance had to be used for something else far more important than their occupation.
 411.171 +
 411.172 +Mireille heard Kirika mumble something into her neck and then squeeze her tighter in her arms, apparently agreeing with the woman's comment. She sighed remorsefully. This would be the last time Kirika shed tears because of her actions… or lack thereof. Everything would be different now. Mireille would make sure of it. She would make sure that nothing like this failure would ever happen again. And besides… her heart would not allow it. 
 411.173 +
 411.174 +******
 411.175 +
 411.176 +Kirika hugged Mireille tightly, cuddling into her--clinging to her--with the desperate need of the damned seeking salvation. She held onto the woman as if her life depended on it, but maybe, in a way, it did. The dull pain that had plagued her chest with its unbearable, never-ceasing ache had departed, replaced by a heady elation that purified the unseen wound and sealed it; healed it. And yet her tears wouldn't stop flowing from beneath her closed, wet eyelids, staining Mireille's clothes. Perhaps this was the wound's way of disinfecting itself. But it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Because she had been wrong about Mireille. So wrong. 
 411.177 +
 411.178 +Mireille loved her. Kirika felt it in the blonde's embrace, and she felt it in her heart as it beat beside her own. Mireille still loved her; she had never stopped. Kirika, in her naivety, had just never realised it. She should not have doubted the woman's love, even if she was not deserving of it. Mireille really was an angel. Who but an angel could love the person who had murdered their family? Who but an angel could love the person who had delivered the greatest pain in all their life upon them? But Mireille did. She loved Kirika in spite of those ghastly truths. So who but an angel could Mireille be? 
 411.179 +
 411.180 +Kirika was a sinner; she accepted that reality, and had done so ever since the events in the cavern below the Manor. She was a sinner who would never achieve atonement for any of her crimes. But that was perfectly fine. She now remembered her purpose in this world, her *true* purpose--one she shouldn't have forgotten--and the memory of the oath she had silently pledged all those years ago when she only a child. Kirika *had* made a choice in the Metro station, an unconscious choice, but a choice nonetheless… just like the two she had made at the Manor--the first at the colosseum, and the second in the cavern below the estate. A choice to uphold her vow to look after Mireille, to protect her; defend her, to be her strength when she was weak, to support her when she could not. And it was a vow Kirika promised she would maintain ever more, regardless of what happened in the future. That she loved the woman she had sworn to protect was irrelevant, that the woman loved her was irrelevant. It was Kirika's purpose; her reason for living when by all rights she should have died with Altena and the woman's shattered ambitions long ago. 
 411.181 +
 411.182 +Odette Bouquet's last words had instilled a ray of light--of hope--inside Kirika's young heart that tragic day she carried out her first of many atrocious misdeeds, a ray that had once saved both her and Mireille's lives. And now, years later, it still shone brightly inside of her, illuminating a new source of light to battle her darkness with--Mireille, the late woman's daughter. Kirika would fight for her. And she would not falter. She would hold the darkness at bay for Mireille's sake. The girl's will *was* strong, stronger than anything when bathed in her love's radiance. 
 411.183 +
 411.184 +Kirika's eyes opened a crack, a blurred view of her Beretta lying on top of her parka on the couch greeting them. Her gun was an instrument of murder, but it had not yet been used to commit any sins. She had killed with it, but Kirika now realised those lives she had taken had been warranted--she had purely defended the woman she had pledged to look after. Mireille had given her that gun--a new one, a *fresh* one. Mireille had bestowed upon her a fresh start. Kirika's slate was not washed clean; indeed, it was marked with the blood of countless, but from here on out, the 'sins' she performed would be as a direct consequence of honouring her vow. Maybe they would still be sins in the eyes of God, but if that were the case, then Kirika would welcome them; she would accept them wholeheartedly. 
 411.185 +
 411.186 +<Embrace it….>
 411.187 +
 411.188 +Yes, she would embrace being a sinner if that was the price of upholding her promise to Mireille's mother. She would soil her soul in the muck of darkness if that were what it took. But she would not succumb to it. Not with the light of Kirika's redeeming angel favouring the girl with her precious warmth, her potent illumination. No darkness could stand against its intensity.
 411.189 +
 411.190 +Kirika smiled softly, a great burden fading from her shoulders. She was not deserving of Mireille's--of an angel's--affection… but she now knew that sometimes even a demon could be loved. Or maybe, Kirika considered, it was only an angel who could ever truly find it in their heart to love a demon.
 411.191 +
 411.192 +******
 411.193 +
 411.194 +To be continued….
 411.195 +
 411.196 +
 411.197 +Author's ramblings:
 411.198 +
 411.199 +So ends the short foray into an angsty Mireille/Kirika relationship… for now, anyway. I couldn't have them at odds with each other for too long; this is not a 'get together' fic, it's a 'we already know we love each other so let's have mushy romantic scenes while the mean author throws obstacles at us and makes us shoot things' fic. ^_^ Besides, I don't want to repeat the themes of the series. And I also needed to give their relationship a kick in the right direction, and a reason for Kirika to becoming willing to kill again. ^_~
 411.200 +
 411.201 +I debated whether Kirika would be aware of the existence of angels and demons and all that (when writing for her I have to make sure to curb my analogies and metaphors somewhat), but I figured in her time recovering from her gunshot wound she would have taken the time to read a little (like reading Mireille's magazines) and picked up some common knowledge (not too much though… it's more fun that way ^_^). 
 411.202 +
 411.203 +From now on, expect some nice Kirika and Mireille romantic stuff (and action. You have to have action) while the angst goes on the back burner for a bit. Of course, you know it will rear its angsty head again in the future at some point. ^_^
 411.204 \ No newline at end of file

   412.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   412.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-09.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   412.3 @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
   412.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   412.5 +
   412.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   412.7 +******
   412.8 +
   412.9 +The ninth chapter. More plot stuff. Oh, and note that the majority if not all of Mireille and Kirika's outfits in this fanfic are taken from the clothing they wore in the series, and from any official images of them. Also, variations for the outfits they wore are used (i.e. Kirika wearing her French flag t-shirt with her parka). Why am I saying this? For visual aids, of course. ^_^
  412.10 +
  412.11 +- Kirika
  412.12 +
  412.13 +******
  412.14 +
  412.15 +Chapter 9 - Morning Sunlight
  412.16 +
  412.17 +
  412.18 +Mireille slowly opened her bleary eyes and yawned quietly, before wincing at the uncomfortable throbbing ache that suffused the left side of her face with the latter action. But the painful reminder of her scarred and tender cheek did not ebb her positive mood in the least. It was a new morning of a new day, a day when everything would be turned around for her and Kirika, her partner… her love. This morning would not be like the others before it, tarnished by an ever-thickening wall enforcing a remote distance between their hearts. The sun had risen on a fresh dawn, and with it, the desolate wall had fallen, the mortar holding its bricks together crumbling, struck a mortal blow by the rejuvenating light shining upon it. It was a second chance for Mireille, a second chance to do things right. The pristine daylight not only demolished the deep wedge separating her and Kirika, but also illuminated a new route on the black path to the blonde, one crafted specifically for two. While the pitiless threats against the duo still existed to meet them head-on along their dark route, the sure knowledge did not discourage Mireille's spirits. For neither she nor Kirika were alone to face them--they had each other. They were a partnership, and as such, would confront the perils lined against them as one. Together. As they should have done from the very beginning. 
  412.19 +
  412.20 +Mireille turned her head to where Kirika was slumbering next to her in their bed. The girl was on her side, clinging to Mireille closely, as per usual. However, her embrace was a little stronger than typical, the toned muscles of her arm around the blonde's waist distinctly taut. Yet Mireille took no real enjoyment from her partner's tight hug as she normally would have--it was but another testament of her neglect, her failure. Kirika's habit of cuddling into Mireille during her sleep was no longer deemed as solely an endearing quirk by the Corsican, but now additionally as an act of need on the diminutive girl's part, be it an unconscious one or otherwise. That Kirika was holding her near with increased enthusiasm was damning proof of Mireille's maltreatment towards her… and how much she required the woman's care. 
  412.21 +
  412.22 +Kirika's eyes crept open at Mireille's movement, the girl's senses acute as ever, picking up the tiniest amount of motion from her bedfellow. Her docile reddish-brown eyes met the blonde's own blue ones with an avid interest. The two young women then simply regarded one another for a few moments, a comfortable silence arising between them--a far cry from the other silence that had stifled conversation and temperaments in recent days. 
  412.23 +
  412.24 +A small, gentle smile broke out on Mireille's features, her icy azure eyes taking on a compassionate shade; that of clear summer morning's sky. "How are you feeling?" she asked Kirika quietly in a sympathetic tone. 
  412.25 +
  412.26 +"I'm okay," Kirika replied just as softly. To Mireille's slight surprise but considerable delight the girl then smiled. It was faint smile, but a sweet one nonetheless, the gesture doing wonders to make her pretty face all the more beautiful. It had been a long time since Mireille had seen such a lovely and heart-warming sight adorn her partner's cute visage, and the blonde felt her own smile unconsciously grow in tandem. 
  412.27 +
  412.28 +Kirika's expression then became anxious all of a sudden, her smile gone--and its appearance entirely too brief in Mireille's opinion--before she scooted even closer to the blonde if that were possible, her lithe body squeezing snugly up against the woman's side, with her face scant inches from the Corsican's own. The darkhaired girl's expressive eyes went to Mireille's scratched and partially obscured left cheek resting on the pillow for a couple of seconds, before returning to her partner's gaze. Her lips parted slightly but then closed again, as though she wished to say something but couldn't quite find the words. Nevertheless, Mireille didn't need Kirika's words to know what was dancing earnestly on the tip of her tongue and laying heavy on her mind. 
  412.29 +
  412.30 +"I told you before; I'm fine," Mireille patiently placated her visibly concerned partner, placing one hand--with only an instant's hesitation--reassuringly on Kirika's lean forearm arranged atop her stomach. "It's nothing." 
  412.31 +
  412.32 +"Mmm," Kirika mumbled, nodding, but not sounding nor looking very convinced. 
  412.33 +
  412.34 +Mireille held back a longsuffering sigh. For as long as she could recall Kirika had always been remarkably protective of her, insistently following her around wherever she went regardless of the time of day or where precisely she was going like a little lost puppy… or perhaps more accurately, an extremely loyal guard dog. Once, the girl had practically slain the entire ranks of a Taiwanese criminal syndicate in open combat simply to liberate Mireille from their clutches sheer minutes after the woman's capture--the level of her devotion was immense to say the least. The only cases when Mireille had successfully managed to persuade Kirika to part from her side and remain behind was when she had been able to provide the faithful girl with a compelling argument that declared it would be in the Corsican's benefit if she complied. However, if Mireille were proceeding into danger, then any rationale or even outright demand for her younger partner to stay behind would fall on deaf ears. Mireille's seeming influence over Kirika counted for naught when her personal security was involved--a truth that had exasperated the blonde assassin on a number of occasions. 
  412.35 +
  412.36 +And now with Mireille being injured, despite that injury consisting of merely a few superficial cuts, she could expect her partner to be even doubly more protective of her. She doubted whether Kirika would so much as let her leave her sight when outside of the apartment before the wounds healed. The sooner Mireille masked the lacerations on her cheek with make-up the better; she didn't want the girl constantly fussing over her--it would get tiresome quickly… and she didn't like it when Kirika worried. Still… it certainly was nice to have someone fret about her. 
  412.37 +
  412.38 +"What about you?" Mireille countered, her reflective thoughts reminding her of another, momentous, instance when Kirika had exhibited her profound loyalty--her profound love--for her. "Your wound…" she elaborated quietly, in part to take the softhearted girl's mind off of her injury, and in another out of genuine concern. Mireille hadn't inquired about Kirika's health in quite a long while, her daily physical checks forgone in the face of the recurrence of Soldats in their lives, presuming that since she wasn't complaining--as if Kirika would complain! Another fool excuse!--or clearly hurting, that she had recovered fully from her old gunshot wound. It was yet further mistreatment by Mireille. 
  412.39 +
  412.40 +"Mmm," Kirika said in the negative, shaking her head where it lay on the pillow next to Mireille's, "it's okay, now."
  412.41 +
  412.42 +"Let me see it anyway," Mireille kindly persisted, smiling encouragingly. 
  412.43 +
  412.44 +Kirika emitted a second peep, this one of happy obedience, and then pushed down the bedcovers from her body and raised the hem of her vest, revealing the left side of her skinny abdomen to her older partner's attentive eyes. 
  412.45 +
  412.46 +Mireille saw that Kirika's wound appeared roughly the same as she remembered the last time she had studied it, merely a faded scar less than an inch long, barely noticeable unless the observer knew where to look. She examined it carefully for several moments--pointedly ignoring the unpleasant clenching around her heart at the sight of the souvenir Kirika had picked up by skirting so close to death for her sake--while speculating how to broach another subject she needed to quiz the reticent girl on, one connected to the permanent scar blemishing her partner's body; a trademark of their profession and the risks that came with it. 
  412.47 +
  412.48 +Eventually, following a short period of silence and a subsequent resigned sigh from the woman, Mireille voiced her unease, but consciously kept any sign of it from her tone. "Are you sure you're up to… this?" she said softly but seriously, gazing levelly into Kirika's eyes. Mireille still wasn't totally certain what the stimulus behind Kirika bursting into tears the previous night had been, but like the reasons for her partner freezing up in the subway station before it, she was fairly confident it was related to killing those men in the Metro. Looking back, her insensitive remark praising the girl's grisly performance probably hadn't helped matters either; instead of bolstering Kirika's spirits, it had in all likelihood amplified her sorrow. 
  412.49 +
  412.50 +As a result of Kirika's disconcerting behaviour last night and of her past misgivings that now plainly could not be offhandedly dismissed as something she would 'get over' in time as Mireille had foolishly duped herself into believing, the Corsican assassin had to be absolutely positive her partner was up to handling the adversities ahead. If Kirika were to crack again at a crucial instant, for example during one similar to the prior situation in the Metro, then there was a high probability that she would be killed. It had been pure luck the girl had snapped out of her stupor in time to prevent a tragedy, but the outcome of the next incident might be utterly--and terribly--different. Mireille would *not* lead Kirika to an early grave; if her feelings towards murder were unstable, then the woman had to know immediately… even if her concern was somewhat belated, she regretfully admitted. Mireille was not willing to gamble with Kirika's life; she would face the false Noir and whatever cronies they enlisted to assist them solo if she had to, her partner's reservations to her launching herself into danger unaccompanied be damned. 
  412.51 +
  412.52 +To Mireille's mild surprise, Kirika nodded her head firmly, and for a second the woman thought she had glimpsed something smoulder deep in the brown depths of her eyes, with a glimmer of something hard in the core beneath, like cold steel glinting in sunlight. But it was gone before she knew it, Kirika's meek look restored as if it had never left in the first place. Curiously, for some reason that simple gesture was enough to convince Mireille of her partner's readiness however, eliciting a smile from the blonde, albeit one tinged with a hint of sadness at the introverted girl's choice. 
  412.53 +
  412.54 +"Alright," she acquiesced just as straightforwardly and in the same soft voice she had adopted beforehand, holding her steady gaze with Kirika for a couple of extra moments. 
  412.55 +
  412.56 +Mireille then broke the stare and rolled away from Kirika onto her right side, before she sat up and climbed out of bed, leaving the girl's heartfelt embrace. There were many vital tasks for her--for *them*--to do today. Mireille and Kirika at long last had a sufficient lead on Ryosuke and Vincent, or at least one worth investigating. The Corsican was aware of who Millet--Richard Millet--was; it would be rather remiss of her to not be informed on the generally noteworthy people in the underworld of her own home city. But Millet was a reasonably small-time gang boss dabbling in prostitution and some paltry drug dealing, not a big name at all in Paris' criminal circles. Why the fake Noir had procured his and his trivial syndicate's aid was puzzling. Was it for relative anonymity? Or was it perhaps to obtain fodder to dispatch against a powerful rival-- 'Noir'--for an unknown purpose? And more importantly, not to mention also a little disturbingly, how had the group anticipated that Mireille and Kirika would be walking down that specific street last night out of all the other streets in Paris? To say the odds were slim was an understatement.
  412.57 +
  412.58 +Whatever the basis for Ryosuke and Vincent's seemingly ill-advised hiring decision, along with the means Millet's men had used to track Mireille and Kirika down, the drafted crime boss and his apparent base of operations, 'Slick Chicks', would have to be looked into. Of course, there was always the prospect that the gangster Mireille had interrogated had lied through his teeth--the woman had known of some individuals who could blather elaborate and compelling falsehoods realistically even when staring the Reaper squarely in the face. But she and Kirika had no choice in how to proceed in spite of this possibility; the goon's testimony was all they had to go on. 
  412.59 +
  412.60 +However, finding answers to her questions together with researching the new enemy could wait. Mireille turned her head to look over her shoulder, back to where Kirika lay on her side, unmoved from her position in the bed. "You know, I haven't eaten a decent breakfast since the last one you prepared for me," she said playfully, while favouring the expressionless girl with a wide, impish smile. "What do you say about having a full course one this morning?" Mireille turned around fully, tilting her head teasingly to one side. "You can help me, too, if you wish…"she added enticingly, knowing that Kirika wouldn't be happy otherwise. 
  412.61 +
  412.62 +For the time being, all tasks associated with Ryosuke and Vincent and their 'friends' didn't matter; Kirika's needs and desires were paramount. Mireille had neglected her appallingly in the name of the new threat opposing them, but no longer would the girl play second fiddle to *anything*--nothing was more important than her, the young woman Mireille loved. Nevertheless, the blonde had a considerable amount of making up to do, and what better time to start than this perfect, fresh and sunny morning. 
  412.63 +
  412.64 +******
  412.65 +
  412.66 +"Hm. You have your instructions. Keep me informed." Breffort pressed the button to end the secure call on his mobile phone, and then resumed gazing out his office window overlooking the city. The location of his Paris-based office provided a panoramic vision of the magnificent capitol of France, which looked especially magnificent at present, its streets and buildings both antiquated and modern enveloped in the soft early morning sunlight. But as he had anticipated, this dawn's illumination had revealed much more than just a historic metropolis.
  412.67 +
  412.68 +Breffort replaced his mobile phone in the inside pocket of his charcoal suit jacket, and then allowed himself a quiet sigh--one of mild, yet sincere, relief. It had been a fortunate occurrence when Ishinomori and Hsu had walked into the workplace of local felon Richard Millet and appointed his organisation's services… although if truth were told the Soldats official had no clue why the two consummate assassins had even bothered to procure outsider assistance from such a small and quite insignificant syndicate. But the 'why' didn't honestly matter… even if it did cast further intrigue upon the two men's still unexplained motivation for being here in Paris. 
  412.69 +
  412.70 +Ishinomori and Hsu's decision to utilise hired guns had imparted a valuable opportunity for Breffort to test whether Bouquet and her partner were still worthy of being labelled with the title of Noir. To that end, the Soldats member had gifted one of his operatives--who had wormed his way deep into Millet's midst and had been remaining undercover there for some time, like countless other such agents who Breffort had inserted into every even vaguely prominent organised group in the city, both big and small alike--with choice information, among which included the precise whereabouts of Bouquet and her partner during their excursion last night. As instructed, Breffort's agent had passed on that knowledge to Millet's would-be hitmen, but if the five corpses of known mobsters that had cropped up in the light of this morning's sunrise were any indication, it had done them very little good. Not that Breffort minded--the slaying of Millet's men symbolised that Noir yet had some talent, which had been the genuine and sole purpose for the ill-fated group of gangsters, a purpose they had unknowingly sacrificed their lives to fulfil. 
  412.71 +
  412.72 +However, disposing of five assailants simultaneously was a simple task for an above average assassin, and more so for a pair of them. Noir's ordeal the previous night had merely been the opening challenge of their examination, and one that Breffort had been almost totally certain they would survive. No, the real test would come later. With the deaths of the men, Bouquet and her partner now had the scent of a larger pack of foes--Millet and his organisation. There was still his entire group left for the duo to contend with… which they would do so willingly. Breffort knew Mireille Bouquet; she was not the type to simply take things lying down. She would do her utmost to discover who had been responsible for the attack last night, and then unleash terrible vengeance upon them. Yes, she could be such a vengeful young woman… a trait Breffort could and would use to his advantage. Bouquet would definitely take her partner and retaliate against Millet--it was only a matter of when. Completely destroying a criminal syndicate single-handedly would be the true test of Noir's skills and whether they had dulled or not. But Breffort was confident they would pass the trial with flying colours. He did not fear for their safety. Nor would he miss the activities of a minor resident crime group after it had been wiped out; it was just one of many in a city--in a world--full of darkness.
  412.73 +
  412.74 +While a sizeable conflict would likely be taking place in the city in the next couple of days--a conflict orchestrated to be sizeable by him--Breffort sincerely doubted that the real battle would be waged here in Paris. Even if Noir managed to assassinate Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu, the amputation of Kaede Ishinomori's Black Hands would not put an end to the crisis. In spite of their capabilities, Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu were still but two individuals, simply a tiny--if resilient--scale on a much larger serpent… although more or less the same could be said about Noir. In a way, Breffort hoped that Bouquet and her partner would fall short of killing the pair here in the capitol; it would give him an excuse to send them overseas to the source of Soldats'… troubles. And there, Noir could be further used to his liking, invisibly collared with him surreptitiously holding their leash. In the long run, it would be better if Noir failed. Breffort *needed* them. 
  412.75 +
  412.76 +Nevertheless, he had to be very careful. Breffort had been keeping Noir under his surveillance long before he had ever recontacted them, but if Bouquet ever learned of his past or present scrutiny, it could pose an irritating problem. There would be little she could do if she did learn, however, besides being angered and killing his compromised watchers. Operatives could be easily replaced, and Breffort was aware that he was her only major ally outside of her partner, albeit a 'covert' one--she would not cut him off so rashly. Still, it would be irksome for Bouquet to know for an absolute fact that she and her partner were being observed; it could undermine his goals… and that had the potential to be catastrophic. 
  412.77 +
  412.78 +But the risk of Noir becoming wise to Breffort's attentive eyes was slim, and the Soldats member was not about to cease the activity even in the regrettable event they did find out--he had staked a great deal on those two young women alone; it would be sheer idiocy not to monitor their actions. Moreover, while Bouquet was a formidable woman of vast aptitude and intellect, he doubted she would be able to ferret out all of his spies, even if she did catch one of them. Breffort's agents were everywhere… and closer than Mireille Bouquet in all likelihood suspected. Even in the most obscure of places did Soldats see…. 
  412.79 +
  412.80 +******
  412.81 +
  412.82 +Jacques Rousseau snapped shut his mobile phone and shoved the petite device back into his dark blue pants pocket, before taking several nervous puffs on the lit cigarette between his lips. He sighed and looked towards the cloudless morning sky above, peering at the blue heavens through his black, square sunglasses, as if beseeching them for divine aid. Things were about to get very interesting… he just hoped he would live though those particular 'things'. If he did--which he fervently prayed--he could at least look forward to being reassigned elsewhere. While it would be a welcome change, Jacques was still somewhat sad about that. He had spent more than two years of his life with Millet and his group; it was only natural to be a little attached to them. Furthermore, working out of a strip club did have its benefits; benefits he enjoyed on a regular basis. But Jacques also enjoyed continuing to breathe, and weighed against that, loyalty to a gang he had infiltrated counted for squat. Besides, his loyalty was already owned by another, superior group. 
  412.83 +
  412.84 +Suddenly, Jacques heard the rear alleyway entrance of Slick Chicks burst open, followed by a frantic shout. 
  412.85 +
  412.86 +"Rousseau!" Molyneaux yelled as he ran past rusty dumpsters and battered trashcans overflowing with damp, putrid garbage towards Jacques turned back, his rapid footfalls echoing off the alleyway's graffiti-defaced walls. "Did you hear?! Marceau and the others are dead; I shit you not! They were found a couple of hours ago in a subway entrance all full of holes! Cops are all over it, but Berlot confirmed it was them! Man, I can't believe this!" 
  412.87 +
  412.88 +Jacques plucked his cigarette from his mouth and dropped it to the ground, grinding it out beneath the sole of his shoe. "I already know…." he whispered under his breath, his hand touching the bulge of his mobile phone inside his pants' left pocket.
  412.89 +
  412.90 +"Hey, are you listening to me?! I said the men you sent are *dead!*" Molyneaux continued to howl, finally spurring Jacques into action. For the moment at least, the Soldats agent was still a part of Millet's syndicate. And he had a job to do… but not for Millet.
  412.91 +
  412.92 +"What are you doing just whining at me for?!" Jacques yelled as he whirled around to face Molyneaux's anxious countenance. "Has Mr. Millet been told yet? No? Then go do it, you moron!" 
  412.93 +
  412.94 +Jacques walked briskly to the back entrance of Slick Chicks barking additional orders at Molyneaux's as the fool scrambled madly ahead of him, stumbling in his reckless haste a few times and nearly planting his face into the litter-strewn pavement. Noir… they would be coming soon, possibly even as early as tonight. He had to prepare for their arrival--for what good it would do!--as per Breffort's orders. Breffort had warned him to expect them, and when a Soldats official of his ranking warned you, it was best to stand up and take notice. And with Noir being the anticipated 'guests', too…. Dear god. The legendary pair of assassins were coming *here*. It hadn't completely sunk in yet; it had been more than a week but Jacques was still wrapping his mind around the reality that the prestigious Noir was made up of only two young women, for god's sake! But if even a fraction of the rumours about the Eternal Darkness were true, then Jacques was beginning to seriously question his chances of surviving their advent, even with a whole syndicate behind him. 
  412.95 +
  412.96 +****** 
  412.97 +
  412.98 +Kirika was standing with her back resting against the black wall separating the apartment's living room from the bedroom, her legs crossed at the ankles, simply gazing at Mireille as the woman studied her computer screen intently, engaged with investigating the validity of the information Millet's grilled man had bestowed upon them last night. Her normally subdued brown eyes virtually sparkled as she watched her partner at work, pushing the PC's mouse around on top of the billiard table with her right hand, while holding a cup full of tea that the girl had gladly made for her in her left. Soft, golden light from the morning sun streamed in through the apartment's row of windows, bathing Mireille where she sat in its warm and pure illumination. The sunlight caused her long flaxen tresses to shine even more radiantly, while the flawless fair skin exposed by her tight-fitting black crop top and low hip-hugging white pants appeared to attain further highs of splendour. The raw, angry red cuts had disappeared from her cheek, coated with cosmetics Kirika knew, but at present, she thought that perhaps the light had cleansed the blonde of all her ills, leaving behind a perfect being to grace this world. 
  412.99 +
 412.100 +Mireille crossed her legs and brought the cup in her hand to her lips, taking a brief sip of tea, her eyes remaining affixed to the computer's monitor. But as if the taste reminded her of who had prepared it, she then looked away from the screen to where Kirika was standing to her left, the woman's full lips curling into a fond smile directed squarely at her partner. It was a small and gentle smile, but one of genuine affection, and to the love-starved girl, it meant a lot--she felt her own lips form a faint smile in answer. Moreover, it enhanced the wondrous vision before Kirika's eyes tenfold. A gently glowing nimbus of sunlight outlined Mireille's form at her turn, glimmering predominantly around her blonde locks, while further light caused her blue eyes to glitter brilliantly. Along with her stunning smile, the picture she painted was beyond all doubt… beautiful. Never before had Kirika so completely understood the meaning of beauty. But this was far removed from mere physical beauty; it transcended it onto another plane entirely. While Mireille was gorgeous in a simple bodily sense, the beauty that shone through to Kirika was also from her very spirit, her very heart. The woman was beautiful to her core, marvellous on the inside as well as out. Mireille really was a beautiful person, but one who possessed beauty in its every shape and form. Maybe Kirika's prior imaginings about a perfect being had a ring of truth to them after all. Only an angel could ever hope to even match her partner's loveliness. An angel… yes, the divine scene blessing her eyes reminded the girl of pictures of angels she had seen in books. While Mireille may have been lacking those other angels' white feathery wings, she was no less akin to their celestial flock. Kirika felt privileged merely being in her presence, permitted to bask in her heavenly majesty. 
 412.101 +
 412.102 +Mireille put her cup down on the billiard table and returned her attention to the computer, but her fleeting look had imparted a lasting impression on her partner. Kirika felt the exhilarating sensation fill her chest similar to last night; her unseen wound now an odd source of giddy euphoria that she never tired of experiencing. Gazing upon Mireille seemed to promote that feeling inside of her, although to varying quantities. It was a welcome change to the agony that had seared inside her ever-tightening chest, until she thought she would collapse from the pain, for days before. She hadn't felt this… content… this happy, since returning from the Manor with Mireille to Paris. 
 412.103 +
 412.104 +Kirika was aware that part of her content was due to her newfound--or rather, newly reintroduced--lone purpose in life. She would be a steadfast defender to the breathtaking wingless angel she had fallen in love with. Odette Bouquet was dead by Kirika's hands; there was nothing the girl could do for her or any of her departed family but to honour her last, dying, wish and dedicate herself for the rest of her days to the woman's only surviving child. Furthermore, she owed it to Mireille for taking her parents' and brother's lives and causing her such torment. Perhaps that was why the blonde had lost her wings; her sinful craving for vengeance as a direct consequence of Kirika's misdeed had consumed them. 
 412.105 +
 412.106 +Kirika's head lowered to the floor, where the sunbeams spilling through the windows stopped before reaching her feet, leaving her swallowed in shadow. Her smile receded and the elation in her chest drained away, until only hollowness remained. Murdering Mireille's family and causing her love such anguish was the girl's greatest sin, the blackest, the one that stood out amongst all the others on her lengthy list of crimes. Maybe so devoting herself towards Odette Bouquet's final request was a form of atonement on Kirika's part, but if that were the case, it was an atonement she knew would never come to fruition. Nevertheless, it was an atonement she would spend the rest of her life trying to achieve despite possessing no illusions of having any chance of success. Repentance would always be out of her reach for all of her sins… as it should be. Kirika was a sinner, and would remain as such until her death and beyond. 
 412.107 +
 412.108 +However, in spite of her willingness to fight and kill for Mireille's sake, in spite of her understanding that she was a sinner unworthy of forgiveness, Kirika still clung to her hope, still clung to her dream not seen through. She'd had a taste of that dream following her return to Paris before the emergence of the false Noir, but merely the barest one, just enough to recognise that its soothing flavour was something she yearned for like nothing else. Kirika aspired to one day have that tranquil life spent with Mireille again, one where the memories of her crimes could dim somewhat, granting her inner peace. A life where her worries consisted of what to make Mireille for dinner, and not whether the woman would even survive the night. Kirika would keep pursing that peaceful tomorrow, that tomorrow just visible and no more on the horizon of today. 
 412.109 +
 412.110 +After all, even a sinner could dream. 
 412.111 +
 412.112 +******
 412.113 +
 412.114 +To be continued….
 412.115 +
 412.116 +
 412.117 +Author's ramblings:
 412.118 +
 412.119 +Okay, so this chapter was sort of shorter than usual and not that much happen. Oh well. I had to do some plot preparations for the big run of action coming up ahead, and also write about Mireille and Kirika's new frames of mind. Remember, it's not like I conclude a chapter when it gets too lengthy, but rather when I've written what I have to (and on occasion that can become *very* lengthy!). ^_^
 412.120 +
 412.121 +I considered having Breffort refer to himself by his first name during his part, but I decided against it. It just wouldn't have felt right. 

   413.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   413.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-10.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   413.3 @@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
   413.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   413.5 +
   413.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   413.7 +******
   413.8 +
   413.9 +The tenth chapter. 
  413.10 +
  413.11 +- Kirika
  413.12 +
  413.13 +******
  413.14 +
  413.15 +Chapter 10 - Vendettas
  413.16 +
  413.17 +
  413.18 +"Our primary objective is learning what Millet knows," Mireille briefed Kirika, who was seated sedately across from her in their private booth, her eyes lowered to the oily surface of the table in front of them, the cracks between each of its wooden panels caked with a build up of day's--or perhaps even month's--worth of grime. The small, gloomy and quite squalid bar Mireille had chosen to pass the daylight hours in was not the most sanitary or chic of drinking establishments she was accustomed to, but it was quiet with little to no clientele whatsoever, in spite of its seamy location deep in Paris' red light district. But it was only the afternoon, and Pigalle's red lights were dimmed or switched off completely, the majority awaiting the sun to fall and disappear below the horizon before replacing its warm, wholesome glow with a seedier sort. And the neon shine of those particular lights would attract patrons to the quarter like moths to flame. 
  413.19 +
  413.20 +But for this hour of the day, Pigalle held little appeal except to only the most dedicated aficionados of the erotic arts, or perhaps more correctly, the most sleaziest of perverts. Mireille and Kirika were a good number of blocks away from the upmarket establishments offering tasteful and elegant exhibitions of bare flesh, and instead firmly entrenched in the region where the Corsican could have a sordid romp between the sheets with several one-time lovers all at once for merely a fistful of Euros. However, Millet's headquarters, a strip club quaintly named Slick Chicks--a fact that Mireille had confirmed from her sources early this morning--was to be found just a short yet shrewd distance along from the peaceful if grubby bar the blonde and her diminutive counterpart were in, nominating it as a viable staging point for their impending operation against the trifling crime boss and his paltry syndicate. Nevertheless, bringing Kirika into such an unsavoury environment had given Mireille pause--the girl did still retain some of her innocence that was yet to be corrupted or lost during the tortures of her harsh young life. But there had been very little choice in the matter; Kirika was Mireille's partner, and where the blonde went, the girl followed. They were a team. 
  413.21 +
  413.22 +"Prior to that, however, we must confirm that he is actually in the building before we commit ourselves wholly." Mireille reached casually under her light lavender coat, readjusting her fully loaded Walther P99 pistol holstered against her left ribs. "But that's nothing one of his minions and a little… encouragement… can't provide," the woman went on, her hand lingering on her concealed firearm meaningfully for an instant while her gaze remained stationary on the table, mirroring Kirika's. 
  413.23 +
  413.24 +Mireille's lips moved indiscernibly and she spoke in a low, soft voice, as not to arouse undesirable attention even in the virtually deserted bar. One never knew who could be eavesdropping, after all, and there was no reason why a member of Millet's gang wouldn't frequent the place despite the time of day. Yet to the idle onlooker, she and Kirika were just two young women having a quiet--and rather one-sided--chat, the words exchanged between them indistinguishable from formless mumbles. But even if the onlooker could make out Mireille and Kirika's speech, unless they were familiar with Japanese the two assassins' topic of discussion would continue to be a mystery. 
  413.25 +
  413.26 +Of course it may be said that Mireille and Kirika could have avoided such precautions if the Corsican had opted to inform her partner on the mission's details in the security and privacy of their apartment. However, the woman had wanted to scout the exterior of Slick Chicks and get a positive visual on possible entrances into the club first before formulating a plan to disclose to her. The sole information Mireille had bestowed upon Kirika at their home had been the specifics about their target, Richard Millet, including a photo of the man so the girl could recognise and not mistakenly kill him before they could pump him for facts on their chief enemies; Ryosuke Ishinomori and Vincent Hsu. 
  413.27 +
  413.28 +"We'll stick together, with our method of entry being via the alley to the building's rear," Mireille said, recalling the long passageway leading behind Slick Chicks from a street to the club's right flank. Entering by the front entrance would be pure foolishness--Millet was apparently considerably educated on her and Kirika; the doormen would undoubtedly be on the look out for their faces, especially after they had shot five of their fellow gangsters to death the previous night. 
  413.29 +
  413.30 +"The same means will be used for withdrawal as well. That should theoretically keep encounters with non-combatants at a minimum." That was another--while albeit lessor--reason why Mireille did not want to take a more direct approach to getting inside Slick Chicks; she didn't want her and Kirika bumping into patrons or employees of the establishment. The blonde so detested it when bystanders got in the way of an assignment; it tended to cause things to become… complicated. If the poor unfortunates who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time caught a glimpse of her face, then… well, the less said about that the better. Suffice to say that one major tenet of being a contract killer her Uncle Claude had taught her was to leave no witnesses to a hit. 
  413.31 +
  413.32 +"As I told you before Millet is strictly small-time, so expect resistance to be light," Mireille continued, banishing her foul-tasting memories back to the recesses of her mind. "Still, I'm not certain of the exact numbers inside, and don't want to rouse an overwhelming force directly against us if we can prevent it, so I've decided it would be sensible to go in quiet--in and out without so much as a hint of a whisper. I doubt that they will be expecting a reprisal from us so soon, either, which will work to our advantage." The woman paused to take a moment to wet her dry throat and refresh her voice with a drink of her mineral water, before she set the glass down on the booth's table again. "We'll move after sunset," she finished gravely. "There's a higher likelihood that Millet will be present in the club during its opening times at night than now during the day--he acts as the manager of the 'gentleman's' establishment. It means an increased likelihood of stumbling upon civilians, but it can't be helped." 
  413.33 +
  413.34 +Mireille had considered putting off any retaliatory action against Millet and his men until a later date rather than tonight, perhaps to delve more meticulously into his background and hence into his resources--for example the arsenal available to his men--and in turn formulate a more comprehensive strategy to locate and grill the crime boss. But if the Corsican had selected that path, it would consequently give Millet further time to prepare for her and her partner's eventual strike, and the opportunity to catch him and his group unawares would fade as the days ticked by. On weighting the pros and cons between the two options, Mireille had concluded that surprise compensated for the lack of fine detail.
  413.35 +
  413.36 +Mireille at last looked up from the table at Kirika, the girl doing likewise at the blonde's movement. "Okay?" the woman asked in a louder, clearer voice, her expectant expression openly yet gently prompting for a response. 
  413.37 +
  413.38 +"Mmm," Kirika uttered with a nod, her cute and innocent countenance and demeanour causing pangs along Mireille's normally hardened heartstrings. 
  413.39 +
  413.40 +The experienced Corsican assassin watched with melancholic eyes as her partner picked up her soda and sipped the beverage through a straw, the introverted girl's gaze wandering around the dusty bar with an idle curiosity. Mireille then sighed softly and looked away as she retrieved her own drink from the table, taking several swallows from it. Such a soft-hearted girl like Kirika wasn't meant for this unforgiving life. She should have the lifestyle of a normal girl her age; instead of being subjected to cold data for their latest assignment from Mireille, she should be listening to educational lectures from teachers in high school. Furthermore her daily concerns should be those of an average girl too, like exams and boys. Well maybe not boys, Mireille mentally amended with a wry smile. But the fact remained Kirika had been pushed into the life of an assassin; it had never been her decision to be a killer; a contrast to Mireille. The blonde wondered how things would have turned out if Altena hadn't aspired to revive Noir. Would she and Kirika have even met? …Probably not. Mireille and Kirika would most likely be leading exceptionally mundane lives in separate countries. 
  413.41 +
  413.42 +Mireille mused whether she would be willing to trade the existence she had now with Kirika for that alternate one. Her family would be alive, and she would no doubt be still in Corsica whiling away the lazy days on her parents' estate. Kirika would be with her own family, too, perhaps. And neither would be assassins; neither would have known the cruel life they had to live now. 
  413.43 +
  413.44 +Still, Mireille would have never partnered up with Kirika, they would have never known each other… and they would have never fallen in love. If that alternate existence were to become a reality, it could be said that it would harbour a tragedy as great as their present existence possessed… maybe even a greater one. Perhaps Mireille should be thankful to Altena for ruining both her and Kirika's lives at such a young age.
  413.45 +
  413.46 +Mireille put down her water and flicked some of her blonde locks over her right shoulder in mild irritation. She had never considered herself a romantic, and usually would not waste time on such frivolous contemplations. But as she was beginning to realise these days, being in love had a way of changing a person. It could be a little frightening sometimes; certainly, Mireille had been quite shocked at her behaviour and thoughts on several occasions… that was, when could discern that she *should* be shocked--oft times her mind viewed her uncharacteristic actions and feelings as completely natural. However, that fear was starting to grow fainter, to a point where Mireille didn't mind the changes that much at all anymore. Indeed, after realising her neglect of Kirika, she even welcomed them now--they made her a better person. And Mireille wanted to become a better person for Kirika; she wanted to live up to the grand image of herself she saw reflected in the brown depths of the girl's lovely eyes. Mireille wanted to truly be the woman she knew Kirika looked up to her as… and loved her as. 
  413.47 +
  413.48 +Suddenly overcome by a rush of affection she desperately needed to convey to Kirika, Mireille focused her gaze on the petite girl. "Kirika," she spoke tenderly, attracting her partner's roaming eyes to hers. After seeing that she had gotten her counterpart's attention, Mireille leaned slightly forwards and tentatively extended a hand across the table, carefully taking Kirika's glass of soda from her grasp and placing it to one side while the girl watched, bemused. Then, following another moment of mild uncertainty, Mireille's fingertips brushed delicately against Kirika's right palm, before the woman took hold of her partner's dainty hand outright in a gentle grip, covering it with her own and eliciting a blink and short peep of surprise from her fellow assassin. She lowered their clasped hands to the surface of the table, Kirika's beneath hers as the girl looked on in what appeared to be wonder, and then strengthened her grasp, giving her partner's hand a warm squeeze. 
  413.49 +
  413.50 +"Kirika," Mireille repeated fondly with a supportive smile, gazing solemnly into Kirika's exquisite eyes, "you know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?" 
  413.51 +
  413.52 +"Mmm," Kirika replied, nodding slightly with a rather puzzled expression on her face, her eyes staring a little vacantly into the blonde's blue ones. 
  413.53 +
  413.54 +Mireille sighed and her smile faltered some, unsure whether her partner truly understood what she meant. She was aware that if Kirika had been more open with her they might have averted both of the girl's breakdowns last night... that was, if the inconsiderate Corsican had been willing to act on the early warning, of course. However, a ready exchange of dialogue was regrettably not a feature that their relationship was high on. Mireille wanted to change this facet of their partnership. While she knew Kirika better than anyone, she wasn't a mind reader. Kirika was so withdrawn and had a propensity to keep all her thoughts close to her chest, leaving Mireille to gauge how she was feeling through other means, such as through the girl's body language and behaviour, which on occasion had turned out to be unreliable. The blonde knew that her partner would probably always be relatively introverted--it was deep-seated in her character, her nature--but she at least wanted Kirika to open her heart and mind to *someone*. And obviously that 'someone' should be Mireille--as if it could be anybody else? Their life as assassins may be cruel, but Mireille wanted to help Kirika through it any way she could, in one part as her partner in arms who watched her back, and in another as her closest--or more accurately, sole--confidant who provided emotional support. However, the latter would be better served if Kirika permitted Mireille to sometimes glimpse what was behind those docile brown eyes of hers. As a result, the woman sought to coax her out of her taciturn shell… the sooner the better.
  413.55 +
  413.56 +Mireille's smile reinforced itself, and she stroked her thumb softly across the back of Kirika's hand. "I mean it. You can talk to me about anything at all," she tried again, "your troubles, your thoughts, your feelings; *anything*, no matter what it is." 
  413.57 +
  413.58 +Kirika looked down at where her hand was being caressed by Mireille's and then returned her gaze to the blonde, a small smile brightening her features. It made her appear much like the ordinary girl she deserved to be, one who had just been delighted by someone she held in high regard. "I know, Mireille," she intoned quietly, seeming to draw out her partner's name reverently in the Corsican's ears. 
  413.59 +
  413.60 +Mireille's smile became especially affectionate, bolstered by the heart-warming vision in front of her eyes. It had been a simple answer, but coming from Kirika, it was more than enough. 
  413.61 +
  413.62 +Before she knew what she was doing, the woman gently interlaced the fingers of her left hand with Kirika's right, locking them smoothly together until their palms touched each other's. Mireille felt Kirika tighten her grasp at the same instant she did, their fingers linking even more strongly, both young women still gazing deeply into one another's eyes, as if attempting to delve into the other's very soul. It was the first time they shared the intimacy of holding hands--truly holding hands--and oddly, despite the relative simplicity of the act, Mireille's heart swelled blissfully in her chest. Looking into Kirika's captivating brown eyes now, she felt closer to her than she had in a long while, and she was certain the darkhaired girl felt the same way too. 
  413.63 +
  413.64 +Mireille lifted their clasped hands off the booth's table and into the air above it, their elbows propped on its greasy surface. Looking at their coupled hands, the woman saw the genuine reality behind their relationship. She and Kirika were joined, tied together. Their lives, their hearts--they were one. If the alternate reality she had deliberated on earlier were to come about, she was positive that she and Kirika would meet one day, somehow and someplace, despite the odds against it… and they would eventually grow to feel the same way they did now. Mireille didn't believe in things like fate and soulmates, but here and now, she could seriously become a convert. In the past, they had been connected by the ancient and feared title of Noir, two killers surpassing all others, but Mireille realised what bound them now was something far greater than a mere legend. It was love. And it was wonderful. 
  413.65 +
  413.66 +******
  413.67 +
  413.68 +"Great. Back to this dump. Ich," Vin complained vehemently as he entered the room he shared with his partner, Ryosuke, in the small boarding house on the outskirts of Paris. He stopped near the centre of the cramped two-bedded room, planting his hands on his hips huffily and screwing his mouth up in distaste while he looked around their meagre lodgings, clearly despising the sights that greeted him. "I don't know which I hate more; wandering the dirty streets of the city fruitlessly, or returning to this crap hole!"
  413.69 +
  413.70 +Ryosuke walked into the room behind Vin, his expression stony, ignoring his fussy companion's grumbling. He had heard it all before. Nevertheless, Vin's incessant moaning was starting to test even Ryosuke's stoic patience. The triad member was well aware of the reasons why they had to endure these premises yet in spite of that he insisted on moaning about the quality of their accommodations, nitpicking over every little thing again and again, repeating his tired tirade each and every time he came into the room. He was becoming entirely too used to a pampered existence these days; Vin seemed to be slowly but surely forgetting his modest roots… and that was something one ought to never forget. One must always hold family--be it one's blood or adopted kin--with the utmost reverence, close to one's heart where it could not be befouled by the corruption of the outside world. But of course, any disloyalty amongst family would shatter those sacred bonds and forfeit that reverence without the slightest leniency… and kindred who had betrayed their own were to be regarded with the purest abhorrence one could muster, something Ryosuke was very familiar with. 
  413.71 +
  413.72 +"God, would you look at this?" Vin whined as he looked down at the television set positioned on the table a short distance from the end of the two single beds, unwelcomely breaking into Ryosuke's thoughts. The black-haired man raised his head to share his latest annoyance with his partner, a frown of irritation plastered on his face. "Look, I just noticed that the TV is bolted to the damn table!" Vin revealed, gesturing roughly at the offending appliance with his hands. He turned back to the television and then shook his head in apparent gall, his mouth hanging half open. "What, does that old bat of a landlord think we'd swipe this piece of shit hunk of junk?! I don't even know what bloody era it was made in, for god's sake!" Vin spat out another heated curse and banged the side of the TV with his hand, rattling the device--but not moving it even a millimetre from its location on the table--before thankfully whirling away from the sight. He threw his head back and covered his eyes with a forearm, gritting his teeth as if he was experiencing an immense discomfort. "I wanna go home," he sniffled pathetically, "this place smells like old people, too. I can't stand it!"
  413.73 +
  413.74 +Ryosuke, sensing that Vin was done--for now, at any rate--shut the room's door, wondering if the 'old bat' had heard his partner's rant. The white-haired assassin then eased himself down into the only chair available; a rickety, unvarnished straight-backed wooden chair by the door that would have burrowed some severe splinters under his skin if not for the protection of his unique coat. Splinters or bullets, it was all the same. 
  413.75 +
  413.76 +Ryosuke turned his head a fraction to the solitary window in the room, noting the dying rays of sunlight filtering through the dust-lined blinds while Vin flopped onto his back on his bed with a wretched whimper, his arm remaining over his eyes. Deciding that it was safe, he pulled off his circular blue-tinted sunglasses, slipping them away inside his coat. It had been an exceptionally vibrant, sunny day today, the sort that Ryosuke reviled the most. If not for his sunglasses, he doubted whether he would have been able to go outside at all; his eyes did not take kindly to bright light when his mind was in the throes of its throbbing torment--it amplified the pain. 
  413.77 +
  413.78 +Not that his and Vin's most recent expedition out into the archaic parts of Paris had been worth the bother. Despite the two Soldats operatives' focus now being diverted away from them, allowing them improved freedom to move around and search, still they had discovered nothing. No item, no leads--no trace. Hiring that fool's men, laying low in a simple room for rent in an elderly Parisian's dilapidated house on the fringes of the capitol--it had all been for nothing. 
  413.79 +
  413.80 +Ryosuke sighed softly. He wanted to go home, too. 
  413.81 +
  413.82 +"That kid's back again," Vin suddenly said in a quiet voice, one far different from his previous whining tone, and one that captured Ryosuke's interest. 
  413.83 +
  413.84 +Ryosuke looked in Vin's direction and observed that he was still lying flat on his back on the bed with his eyes veiled, and then returned his gaze to the window, catching a shadow of movement partially obscuring the fading beams of dusk on the other side of the grimy horizontal blinds. With the silence of the room, the black-clad man could also make out the shuffling of feet just outside the window, proving beyond doubt that Vin was correct. For all of his juvenile antics, Vin was in fact a highly skilled hitman with keenly honed senses--he was at Ryosuke's side for a definite reason.
  413.85 +
  413.86 +Ryosuke sharply stood up from his rocky chair, his abrupt movement prompting Vin to shift his forearm higher on his head and peer at his comrade through half-lidded eyes. 
  413.87 +
  413.88 +"Let's go," Ryosuke said simply, knowing that his intentions would be perfectly clear to Vin. He was weary of scouring Paris for Dominique's benefit and it was clear his partner had been too for a considerable length of time; they needed a short, temporary diversion. The young man snooping around outside their room had been dropping by the boarding house regularly the past couple of days, sometimes even venturing inside and surreptitiously asking the aged landlord probing questions, but judging by his ineptitude in spying, was indubitably *not* Soldats property. And if that wasn't enough evidence, Ryosuke had in addition caught a handful of fleeting looks of his and Vin's amateur stalker… and the accumulation of glimpses had not left the impression of a knowledgeable shadow. But whoever he was, he appeared to have an interest in Ryosuke and Vin's activities. And that was more than enough for the black-garbed assassin to act on. It was probably nothing, however--most likely a nosy teenager prying into their business out of boredom or to appease a personal fetish, but at the very least it would give Ryosuke and his partner something to take their frazzled minds off of their insufferable mission for one or two hours. 
  413.89 +
  413.90 +Vin merely blinked at his reticent brother-in-arms for a second, and then sat up quickly, his surprised countenance saying it all. He started to open his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it and instead eagerly hopped off the bed and onto his feet. 
  413.91 +
  413.92 +"Guess I better wear black…" he said with a lopsided grin, his nimble fingers undoing the knot in his gaudy orange tie.
  413.93 +
  413.94 +******
  413.95 +
  413.96 +Mireille ducked deftly and unnoticeably into the murky alley behind Slick Chicks from the brightly lit street bordering it, Kirika mirroring her quick manoeuvre in a blur of motion. The two assassins then rested just inside the alleyway, its deep shadows concealing them and hence any of their actions from curious eyes. The sun had set several hours ago, and Pigalle was now fully open for business, luring all manner of sleaze out from the stones they dwelled under during the daylight hours… and also drawing Mireille and Kirika out from their dingy barroom hideaway. Slick Chicks had opened, and it was time for the Corsican and her partner to make their move. 
  413.97 +
  413.98 +Mireille pulled out her Walther from its holster under her coat and then retrieved its covert counterpart from a pouch on the opposite side of her gun harass, affixing the silencer to the weapon's barrel. Kirika did likewise, attaching a silencer to her own pistol too, before nodding to the blonde, signalling to the woman that she was all set. 
  413.99 +
 413.100 +But instead of commencing the next step of the operation, Mireille simply looked at Kirika for a few moments, gazing into her eyes and wordlessly gauging if she truly was ready--and she wasn't referring to the girl's hardware. However, Kirika met the blonde's stare unshakably, albeit with a slight tension around her eyes, making them appear a little harder than usual. Determined. And not all apprehensive. Kirika had apparently honestly settled whatever issues she'd had with their line of work on her own. Still, Mireille wished she could have assisted her in finding a resolution to her problems. 
 413.101 +
 413.102 +Mireille at last inclined her head in answer to Kirika's gesture, and then made her way deeper into the alley, towards the light at the far end where the rear entrance to Millet's base resided, her gun remaining drawn. She skulked down the passageway with Kirika at her back, their many footfalls noiseless despite the pair's hurried pace. The alley was wide, wide enough for three people to traverse abreast in spite of the dumpsters and trashcans spilling over with rotting rubbish that piled up at the mould-covered bases of the receptacles, lining the edges of the passage. It provided the assassins with welcome freedom to pick out and utilise the gloom of the darkest spots in the alleyway, the pair of them weaving from one pitch-black shadow to another as they moved closer to Slick Chicks' backdoor at the end of the left hand wall. Being adept at stealthy approaches and other such covert practices was a prime requisite to being a professional killer, and both young women were exceedingly proficient in all methods of silent death. They were but the fleeting shadows of ghosts. 
 413.103 +
 413.104 +Before long Mireille and Kirika were on the fringes of the corona of light that shone feebly from the lone bulb stuck above the battered metal door to Millet's strip club. The duo halted there, crouched low, assessing the route ahead… and the obstacles that lurked there. Mireille espied two sentries--both male--dressed with similar flair to the gangsters that had ambushed her and Kirika in the Metro last night, one standing on either side of the door. Getting past them quietly wouldn't be very much bother at all, but unfortunately they had to at least keep one alive to tell them whether or not Millet was in the seamy establishment tonight. And killing a single guard without his friend alerting the rest inside Slick Chicks with shouts for help would be… tricky. Mireille and Kirika would need to subdue the surviving sentry a mere split second after slaying his companion or their current stealth advantage against Millet's syndicate would be lost. 
 413.105 +
 413.106 +While Mireille was pondering whether or not to simply shoot both guards and find another to interrogate inside the building, even if that meant more or less committing her and Kirika to proceeding further in the operation, the gangster nearest the assassins exchanged brief and muted words too low to hear with his comrade, and then abandoned his post by the club's backdoor. For a moment alarm gripped the Corsican and she held her breath anxiously as the guard strolled towards her and her partner's location, but a couple of metres before he was upon them he instead turned to face a gap between two rusty and graffiti-vandalised dumpsters. The guard then reached down to his crotch and the sharp sound of a zipper being undone permeated the alley, before it was traded for the pitter-patter of liquid hitting pavement and refuse as the man relieved himself. 
 413.107 +
 413.108 +Mireille looked at Kirika beside her, knowing that precisely the same thought was flowing through the girl's astute mind as was flowing through her own--this was an chance they were not likely to get again. 
 413.109 +
 413.110 +Quickly but quietly, the blonde assassin gestured with a hand signal for her partner to move across the alley to the right, which the dutiful girl readily obeyed. Mireille's blue eyes flicked to Kirika for a second as she scurried silently and swiftly through the darkness, her purple pleated skirt fluttering about her trim, lithe legs. She cleverly situated her waif-like body behind the end of a dumpster flush with the passageway's wall and still outside the pool of light. It placed Kirika in a position of concealment from the sentries yet allowed her a broad view of area and consequently granted her the comforting capability to give her partner full defensive coverage when the woman eventually ventured out from the shelter of the shadows. Mireille was in safe hands. 
 413.111 +
 413.112 +Mireille returned her attention to the pair of guards, most notably on the sentry behind the one obliviously whistling a soft tune as he urinated on a now soggy stack of old newspapers. In a lucky break, that particular gangster seemed to be taking the opportunity to have a cigarette while his friend was absent, his gaze directed downwards and away from the Corsican's location as he searched his pants' pockets for something, most probably a light. 
 413.113 +
 413.114 +Seeing that the coast was as clear as it was ever going to get, Mireille very, very cautiously took a step out of the murk she was hiding in and into the circle of light cast by the sole bulb over the backdoor, the hunched blonde's edgy blue eyes shifting warily back and forth between the two distracted guards as she moved. She chose her footsteps extremely carefully as she silently approached the guard closest to her, staying out of his peripheral vision and making sure to plant her boot soles on clean asphalt or at least not on any of the objects littering the ground that would make a sound, such as shards of broken glass. Meanwhile the experienced assassin kept her breathing relaxed and controlled, lest the whispering wheeze of air passing in and out of her lungs gave her away. Despite the heavy stress of the situation, Mireille remained perfectly calm, the palm of the hand firmly holding her gun not even developing the slightest hint of perspiration. This was what the woman did for a living--and she did it well. Mireille had numerous years of practice under her belt, years that had contained countless contracts she had fulfilled with flying colours. This was a walk in the park for her. She was as cool as an artic wind. 
 413.115 +
 413.116 +Right when Mireille was close enough behind the whistling sentry to reach out and tap him on the shoulder if she so desired, a man's voice froze her in her tracks, her eyes snapping instantly to the origin of the ominous sound and her trigger finger twitching. 
 413.117 +
 413.118 +"Hey, you got a ligh--" 
 413.119 +
 413.120 +The second guard's voice was rudely cut off as a silenced 9mm bullet struck him in the face just as he raised his head to look in Mireille and his friend's direction, the brutal shot bowling him over and sending his unlit cigarette flying from his mouth. Blood splattered against the light bulb over the back entrance to Slick Chicks, its puddle of illumination filling the end of the alley becoming spotted with dim patches in places. 
 413.121 +
 413.122 +The remaining gangster ceased whistling and started to turn his head towards where his now dead companion once stood, but the sudden threatening pressure of hard metal digging into the back of his skull halted the movement, the muscles in his entire body becoming taut. 
 413.123 +
 413.124 +"Don't move," Mireille whispered from behind the guard, pressing the silenced barrel of her Walther P99 harder into his head to underline her command. 
 413.125 +
 413.126 +"Can I at least zip up…?" the sentry-turned-hostage asked tentatively, his hands still down by his groin. 
 413.127 +
 413.128 +"No," the Corsican assassin said unemotionally after a short pause, as if she had genuinely been considering his appeal--which of course she hadn't been. She had the goon at her mercy, but that didn't mean he still couldn't somehow gain the upper hand. Even the most innocuous-seeming of requests had the potential to switch the roles of captor and captive in a blink of an eye. Just because Mireille was the one with the gun didn't mean she was all-powerful… that particular reality had led to the downfall of many women and men in similar scenarios such as this over the years. No, when one became a prisoner, one forfeited all of their rights to do *anything*. And besides, his back was to Mireille and Kirika; there was no chance the blonde's naïve partner would see anything she shouldn't. 
 413.129 +
 413.130 +The guard sighed, his shoulders relaxing a tad. "Damn, you're better than I'd thought," he commented ruefully. "I guess Rousseau wasn't talking shit after all."
 413.131 +
 413.132 +"We have an appointment with Mr. Millet," Mireille said with a rather menacing timbre in her voice as Kirika emerged from the shadows behind her, the sharp girl arranging herself at an angle that covered the captured goon and the backdoor of the club in the problematic case anybody decided to pay a visit to the alleyway. "Is he in?"
 413.133 +
 413.134 +"Yeah…" the gangster admitted in a guarded tone, "yeah he is."
 413.135 +
 413.136 +"Thank you," Mireille said rather breezily, and then sent a round from her pistol into the man's brain. The sentry toppled forwards and landed in the space between the two dumpsters he had been relieving himself in, his face making a deadened splat as it hit wet garbage.
 413.137 +
 413.138 +The mission was a go, much to Mireille's satisfaction. She hadn't told Kirika, but after grilling Millet for all he was worth she intended to kill him. While she usually followed the tenet that stated to always strictly view an assignment from a professional slant with religious adherence, if the blonde were honest with herself she knew she had a personal vendetta she sought to settle with Millet. Mireille was aware she should distance herself from feelings of revenge, but she was of Corsican blood; the craving for vengeance flowed in her very veins. And that said blood had been spilt under Millet's orders--the woman's trio of scars masked under a layer of foundation burned at the bitter memory. 
 413.139 +
 413.140 +But her negligible injuries made up merely the smallest part of her desire for retribution. Millet's ambush last night had--although perhaps indirectly--caused Kirika to shed precious tears. Make no mistake; Mireille was not seeking someone else to pass the blame to for what was exclusively her inexcusable failure. Millet and his now dead would-be hitmen *had* played a role in upsetting Kirika, even if it was a minor one. Still, maybe Mireille was simply looking for a way to alleviate her own guilt in regards to neglecting her partner, and Millet and his syndicate were easy targets. In any case, the Corsican assassin had to make the crime boss pay for the pain he had caused Kirika… for the pain they had caused them *both*. Yet this was only the first of Mireille's vendettas to resolve; Ryosuke and Vincent had a great deal to answer for themselves. 
 413.141 +
 413.142 +Mireille turned away from the corpse of the gangster she had slain and looked at Kirika, before motioning with her head towards the rear entrance of Slick Chicks, her eyes glancing over the girl for a second to make sure no one was coming down the opposite end of the alley as they had done. Kirika nodded, and then the pair of assassins prowled to the dented metal door, each young woman still picking their footsteps wisely for maximum stealth. 
 413.143 +
 413.144 +Kirika positioned herself to the right of the door, favouring the unmoving body of the other guard beside it with a dispassionate and momentary look as Mireille gripped the handle, preparing to enter the headquarters of their target. The blonde pushed the door an inch open--mildly surprised to find it unlocked--and then peeked cautiously inside. On the other side of the door was a corridor with grey concrete walls in a state of disrepair; cracks, and in some places, whole chunks of stone missing. Closed doors painted in a sickening dark brown were dotted along the right hand wall, while the left hand wall was broken in its centre by an adjoining hallway. The corridor was lit weakly by a series of light bulbs dangling from the ceiling--which was in the same if not worse condition as the walls--but the soft illumination was enough for Mireille to see that the passage concluded with a dead end. Meanwhile flickering light came from the intersecting hallway, and an electrical discharge could be heard periodically crackling in sync with it. The blonde assassin could make out no telltale shadows of people standing guard in the corridors, however, nor could she hear any suspicious noises bar the electric sparking and the muffled beat of sordid music, the latter no doubt from the area where the main attractions of the strip club were currently well underway, to the pleasure of its clientele. 
 413.145 +
 413.146 +Mireille opened the door fully and then flitted inside Slick Chicks, Kirika tailing and shutting the door noiselessly behind them without so much as a click. She treaded carefully forwards, her shoulder almost brushing the left hand wall as she kept her eyes on the hallway junction, sometimes sparing a look at the doors on the opposite wall as she and her partner passed by. 
 413.147 +
 413.148 +It was all too easy… worryingly so. Mireille had expected a little more security inside Slick Chicks than absolute zero. Still, Millet's gang was relatively petty in size and aptitude, and the Corsican and Kirika did have the element of surprise on their side. Plus it was also a business night; Millet's men were probably out where the club's strippers were, watching over them… or perhaps instead like most of the punters, enjoying their company. 
 413.149 +
 413.150 +Mireille stopped by the intersection and discreetly poked her head around the corner, checking whether anybody was in the other corridor. Finding no one, she prepared to go on, but caught sight of the label stuck on the door several metres along from the junction in the first hallway: 'Manager'. 
 413.151 +
 413.152 +Deeming that Millet's office was the best place to start looking for him, Mireille darted across the hallway to it with Kirika following her, the darkhaired assassin planting her back against the wall next to the door, vigilantly keeping an eye out for threats from the neighbouring corridor. 
 413.153 +
 413.154 +Mireille cracked the office door open the tiniest margin as to reduce the chance of alerting anybody inside, loose flakes of cracked brown paint fluttering to the floor accompanying the prudent action. She then peered through the miniscule gap between the doorjamb and the door, sighting no clear presence of anybody, Millet or otherwise. Taking a risk, she opened the door completely, making sure she did so as slowly as possible to prevent forewarning creaks, and then entered the office. 
 413.155 +
 413.156 +Millet's office was like any other, albeit a bit cramped and untidy. The only thing that attracted Mireille and Kirika's attention was the expensive leather chair behind the large mahogany desk at the end of the room. The chair was swivelled around so the back was facing them, its occupant apparently oblivious to his dangerous visitors and the pair of pistols being brandished in his direction. By all accounts it appeared as though Mireille and Kirika had found their target, the manager of Slick Chicks; Richard Millet. 
 413.157 +
 413.158 +Mireille took a silent step forwards, reaching out with her free hand to rotate the chair and Millet around to meet her and Kirika, but then suddenly froze, her instincts screaming. Kirika turned her head slightly to the left as her eyes did likewise, back to the office's open doorway. She felt it too. 
 413.159 +
 413.160 +Mireille hurled herself at the desk and shoulder-rolled over it, scattering its contents of papers, pens and folders everywhere as automatic gunfire ripped into the office from behind her and her partner. A myriad of bullets traced the woman's path a second after her, pounding holes into the floor and the polished surface of the desk, wood chips and carpet fibres being flung haphazardly into the air. Mireille hit the floor in a crouch behind the sturdy desk's set of drawers, and then stuck her Walther above it and over her head, firing a series of blind shots at her and Kirika's unseen assailant. 
 413.161 +
 413.162 +The hail of bullets paused for an instant as the shooter took cover, and Mireille quickly took the temporary reprieve to anxiously check on Kirika's whereabouts and condition. She saw that her partner was taking shelter behind a silver file cabinet to her right, the petite girl sitting with her back against the piece of office furniture, looking perfectly composed with her Beretta M1934 at the ready. Kirika's head turned to Mireille and she met the woman's concerned gaze for a moment, silently relaying with her expressive brown eyes that she was all right. 
 413.163 +
 413.164 +A volley of renewed automatic fire showered the front and side of the cabinet and interrupted Mireille and Kirika's unspoken exchange, bullets sparking off its metal casing and the sounds of incalculable ricochets flooding the room with their sharp, high-pitched cacophony. But Mireille's heart rested easy in her chest; Kirika was fine. Now the Corsican had to worry about the next important matter at hand, that and the one presently saturating her and her partner's position with hot lead. 
 413.165 +
 413.166 +Several rounds from the gunman struck the leather chair next to Mireille, spinning it around wildly as stuffing burst from its ruptured hide and revealing what the blonde assassin already knew--it was empty. Millet had known she and Kirika were coming, in spite of Mireille's decision to attempt a prompt payback. One of his men had to have been watching them earlier today in the bar, or perhaps even as far back as when they had entered Pigalle--Millet supposedly owed a sizable lump of it, after all. Or maybe the false Noir had somehow aided the small-time gang; that seemed to be more realistic considering the insignificant organisation Mireille and Kirika were dealing with. Ryosuke and Vincent were apparently well-informed about the 'True Noir'. At least they still didn't appear to know where Mireille and Kirika lived, since the pair had yet to be attacked in their apartment. 
 413.167 +
 413.168 +Thank goodness for small favours, thought Mireille sardonically as more bullets riddled the desk she was hiding behind, their dull and heavy impacts rocking the piece of furniture. A thick wedge of mahogany was suddenly blown off the bottom of the desk and a spray of wood dust stained the ruined carpet next to the blonde as she sighed, ejecting the clip in her pistol to inspect its level. It was blatantly clear that stealth and surprise were out the window and she and Kirika were to face a full on fight. 
 413.169 +
 413.170 +Mireille smiled grimly. But that was acceptable. The vendetta against Millet could easily be extended to include his entire syndicate as well. 
 413.171 +
 413.172 +******
 413.173 +
 413.174 +Kirika looked at Mireille as a torrent of bullets tore into a packed bookshelf, raining bits of paper from the ravaged books down on the woman's blonde head like snowflakes. This was what Kirika had been waiting for, a chance to exercise her purpose in life. A chance to prove her loyalty and dedication to her partner and love. A chance to prove that her tainted existence had been bestowed a noble function at last, after more than a decade of committing grievous wrongs. 
 413.175 +
 413.176 +<But to protect means to kill….>
 413.177 +
 413.178 +Kirika bowed her head. She knew that. But she wouldn't hesitate, not again. Already Mireille was sporting wounds that could have been avoided if Kirika had simply acted. Never. Never again. Mireille would escape this den of sinners without receiving so much as a scratch. Kirika would see to it.
 413.179 +
 413.180 +Kirika slowly and resolutely cocked back the hammer of her pistol as a barrage of automatic fire surrounded her, the darkhaired girl holding her weapon securely in both hands. It felt light and warm, as if it were invigorated by its true and worthy purpose… much like its wielder was. She would defend her love utterly from all those who opposed the woman, and no sinner in this world would sully her celestial purity while her guardian lived. After all, who was better suited to protecting an angel of the light than a demon of the darkness; part of it, a sinner herself who knew that malignant bleakness very intimately.
 413.181 +
 413.182 +<Sometimes the most effective weapon against the darkness is the darkness itself….>
 413.183 +
 413.184 +******
 413.185 +
 413.186 +To be continued….
 413.187 +
 413.188 +
 413.189 +Author's ramblings:
 413.190 +
 413.191 +Umm… hmm. I don't think I have anything to say this time. 
 413.192 \ No newline at end of file

   414.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   414.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-11.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   414.3 @@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
   414.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   414.5 +
   414.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   414.7 +*******
   414.8 +
   414.9 +The eleventh chapter. 
  414.10 +
  414.11 +- Kirika
  414.12 +
  414.13 +*******
  414.14 +
  414.15 +Chapter 11 - The Test, Act I
  414.16 +
  414.17 +
  414.18 +Ryosuke lit the end of the cigarette held between his lips with his silver lighter, the brief spark of flame dousing the darkly clad hitman's gaunt face in a soft, flickering nimbus of muted orange whilst weakly illuminating the otherwise pitch-black alley around his imposing figure. The assassin snapped his lighter shut, banishing the light back to its prison and plunging his features once more into shadow. He took a long drag on his cigarette, the glowing tip flaring bright in the darkness, a sole pinprick of light in the murk of the night. 
  414.19 +
  414.20 +Following numerous detours to a variety of locales, ranging from a low-class eatery to a rowdy pub, Ryosuke and Vin had eventually tailed their young spy to this address, a secluded alleyway in a dilapidated part of Paris, the district an obvious hub for gang-related activity. Not that the two 'tourists' had been even remotely perturbed about venturing into an area of potentially heavy crime; Ryosuke sincerely doubted whether France's ganglands--or even the deepest tiers of their underworld, for that matter--could come close to matching the peril of Japan's. The syndicates in this country were weak, petty, too involved with lining their pockets than anything else. There was no sense of camaraderie linking each member in bonds stronger than financial gain, stronger than *steel*, there was no sense of brotherhood--no sense of family. It was a failing that infected many of the West's illegal 'organisations', if they could even be called that. If there ever came a time when one of Asia's criminal consortiums decided to genuinely expand full scale into--or perhaps more accurately, invade--Europe's underworld the continent's criminal groups would quickly learn how a *true* syndicate operates… before they were all slaughtered like the wretched vermin they are. 
  414.21 +
  414.22 +Ryosuke blew smoke from his nostrils into the cold night air, his merciless violet hued eyes narrowing. Or at least all would be destroyed but one, single, and arguably most influential group that had ever been assembled throughout history. Soldats had been secretly given birth to in Europe, centuries ago back in the dark ages, and had then spread like a plague across the globe with the passing of the years until present, growing infuriatingly stronger and stronger the further it expanded. And still to this day the clandestine society maintained its power and mystique, its followers covertly manipulating people's lives by whatever whim took them, like mere pieces on a chessboard to be moved and positioned as they wished... and sacrificed as they wished. Ryosuke knew from bitter experience how Soldats thought nothing of snuffing out anybody's existence, regardless of who they were or what the motives were to supposedly warrant execution. It was only fitting that he treated members of the organisation with equal callous indifference.
  414.23 +
  414.24 +But tonight Soldats, Ryosuke's favoured foe, was not the quarry he and his partner were hunting. Not every antagonist that crossed one's path could be worthy prey. 
  414.25 +
  414.26 +Ryosuke turned his eyes to Vin, where the shorter man was leaning against the alley's rundown wall opposite him with his arms folded. The sun had fallen well below the horizon during their circumspect pursuit of their stalker, and that coupled with the distinct absence of light in the narrow passage made Vin blend into the deep shadows most effectively; he was barely visible in his black suit, shirt and tie, much like Ryosuke himself was significantly shrouded in his long ebony coat. But camouflage for after dusk had not been the reason why the triad member had donned the dark garb before leaving the boarding house. Vin had an eccentricity of habitually clothing himself in black, the shade of Death, whenever there was a possibility he would be taking a life. Ryosuke had never bothered to inquire to the why behind his partner's odd practice, not being especially interested what the black-haired man's motivation was, but he had made a few idle conjectures on the rare occasions when there had been nothing better to occupy his thoughts with. He presumed Vin saw himself as some sort of mortician--he had certainly put enough people in coffins to be qualified as one-- although perhaps not as the kind society looked approvingly on, or maybe even as Death itself, the Grim Reaper. However, Ryosuke doubted if Vin possessed the level of arrogance to give credence to the latter. Death's servant, perhaps, but certainly not the figure of Death itself. No, delusions of grandeur akin to that level were reserved for fools who believed their abilities in murder were above and beyond all others, fools who viewed themselves as untouchable by the Reaper. Fools of the like who dubbed themselves Noir, Ryosuke thought with irritation. No matter how skilled one was, all it took to end it was a single bullet or well-placed blade. And one's title mattered even less, especially when one was in their grave.
  414.27 +
  414.28 +"How long are we just going to wait out here?" Vin complained crabbily, but with the pitch of his voice prudently kept whisper quiet. He turned his head in the direction of the unmarked door a short ways to his right, a door where their inept watcher had passed through into places unknown several moments earlier. There was a sign posted above the weather-beaten door, but it was so soiled with dirt that whatever it said was incomprehensible. However, with a back alley door as the apparent main entrance, the building Ryosuke and Vin were loitering outside of was quite likely home to some sort of shady marketplace where underhanded dealings were conducted for illicit wares. In other words, it was probably a 'business' to fence goods of dubious origin. 
  414.29 +
  414.30 +Ryosuke ignored his partner's characteristic grousing, instead taking another puff on his cigarette in answer and filling his lungs with smoke. He knew that Vin understood why they were choosing to wait a moment or two instead of simply charging into the building the instant their teenage spy had disappeared inside--the triad member merely wanted to see some action. But it was best to let one's prey assume that they were in the clear and consequently permit them to relax themselves in their perceived security before breaking down the door and proving them disastrously wrong. Catching one's enemy off their guard was always an advantage one should strive to achieve. It was one of the most rudimentary principles of following the way of the assassin. 
  414.31 +
  414.32 +Once the length of his cigarette had shrunk until nearly the filter was the lone part remaining, Ryosuke plucked it from his lips and let it drop to the ground. Reaching inside his coat, he took out a pair of black gloves--his own eccentricity before murder--and pulled them on with a little difficulty. But their tough inflexibility was a tolerable nuisance when weighed against the benefits they conferred to their wearer. 
  414.33 +
  414.34 +The tall assassin clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking against the virtually unyielding material enclosing them. Ryosuke and Vin had come this far after their spy; they may as well see it through properly to its conclusion. Besides, who knew whom the snooping boy was working for… he was a loose end that should be tied. And if the two hitmen had to leave behind a few bodies at room temperature in Paris before they returned to Yokohama, so be it.
  414.35 +
  414.36 +Ryosuke's gaze flicked meaningfully to Vin, who smirked gleefully, and then with a long stride, he walked towards the door. 
  414.37 +
  414.38 +******
  414.39 +
  414.40 +"Just thought it best to give you the heads up about what's going on down here," Jean Vasser--or 'Ezza', as was his idiotic alias for this particular posting--spoke softly into the mouthpiece of his mobile phone while checking reflexively over his shoulder at the closed door behind him, fearing it would open at any second. One of Simon's acquaintances--or 'ferrets', as Jean liked to contemptuously dub them--had just arrived at the computer store a few minutes ago and was now downstairs in the basement with the moronic hacker, doubtless trying to sell the knowledge he had garnered about Sakamoto and Zhenmeng… for the second time this week. It was astounding that the ferret had even discovered the accommodations of the marked men--Simon's 'network' of informants were little more than kids prying heedlessly into people's affairs--yet Simon, being the cheapskate that he was, instead persisted in arguing with the snitch over the price of the information. For all of his evident adoration of Bouquet, the guy's first love was definitely money. Jean prayed that he would just pay whatever fee the ferret hankered for this time; the faster Simon learned of Sakamoto and Zhenmeng's location, the faster Soldats could assassinate them… and the faster Jean would be transferred from this god-awful assignment. 
  414.41 +
  414.42 +Breffort merely grunted his approval on the other end of the line, and then ended the call. Jean exhaled slowly and lowered his phone, before wiping the sheen of sweat from his brow with a forearm. He still wasn't used to talking to such a high-ranking Soldats official. Jean had been inducted into the order a scant year ago, and after a several months of being shuffled from one meaningless assignment to another, he had eventually been stuck in a field position of relative unimportance along with an idiotic codename; Ezza, the timid and scruffy assistant to an inconsequential computer 'criminal' known to now and then affiliate himself with some minor felons in the city. But at least it *was* a field position… although at the time Jean had felt that that was a small condolence. 
  414.43 +
  414.44 +A couple of months following his placement in Simon's mouldy computer store, Jean had received a communiqué from his immediate superiors--who weren't very 'superior' at all in the Soldats hierarchy--to be on the look out for two young women. Pictures of the sought after duo had accompanied the message, but no mention behind the reasons why he had to look out for them, or what even their names were had been included. Despite this, Jean had learned later through the grapevine that numerous Soldats agents in the field who had infiltrated places where information was traded as a commodity had been relayed the same instructions and data--clearly the higher-ups had wanted an operative to be situated close to the women… without said operative knowing who exactly they were watching, as was typical Soldats methods. But it had been obvious to Jean that the two women had to be of sizeable importance to merit such treatment. 
  414.45 +
  414.46 +He hadn't predicted that the wanted pair made use of Simon Pierpont's talents, however, and now suddenly Jean had been thrust into a position of the utmost value in Soldats' eyes. Most of his days before this abrupt turnaround had been spent miserably maintaining the façade of a sullen teenager obsessed with comics and using as little deodorant as possible, so when the hunted duo had wandered into Simon's shop about a fortnight ago the Soldats underling had almost swallowed his tongue in shock. The two young women hadn't looked like much and had made an unusual pair at first glance--the blonde had been cold and imposing, her partner meek and waiflike--but there had been something about them. It had been subtle, like an intangible aura perhaps, yet it had silently screamed with conviction that they were two people who were *not* to be messed with. Needless to say, Jean had felt considerably intimidated while in their presence. 
  414.47 +
  414.48 +Following his encounter with the two, Jean had pried--quite resentfully--from Simon that the older, beautiful woman's name was Mireille Bouquet--the 'babe' destined to become the hacker's 'squeeze' any day now, apparently. He hadn't known her Asian friend's identity, however, and it still remained a mystery to date. Jean had then quickly contacted his superiors to give them the news along with the limited data about Bouquet he had wrung from Simon, hoping the additional intel would place him in their good graces… and hoping that as a result he would be transferred to a field position where he could at least be allowed to shower once a day without threatening to ruin his cover. 
  414.49 +
  414.50 +Yet after spilling his guts to his betters, to Jean's great surprise--and likewise trepidation--he had been put under the direct command of a man called Remy Breffort, someone he knew sat high on the Soldats council, and further emphasising that Bouquet and her companion were individuals who meant a great deal to the secret society. Breffort had ordered Jean to report straight to him from then on, desiring to know all of what Bouquet asked of Simon, as well as any resulting information the computer expert gave her. It may have not been a transfer, but working directly for a Soldats council member had benefits--and not to mention prestige… if he was permitted to actually *tell* anybody about his employer--all of its own. Jean was sure that if he pleased Breffort in his performance on the Bouquet assignment, it would be in his favour--maybe he would get that field transfer he yearned for. Hell, maybe Breffort would even keep him under his wing. Permanently being in the service of a Soldats councilman would be a terrific career move.
  414.51 +
  414.52 +Breffort had furthermore enlightened Jean of two other people to look out for whom Soldats were also hunting in Paris, albeit for seemingly very different reasons; Kei Sakomoto and Desmond Zhenmeng, a pair of Asian men marked for death who Bouquet and her partner turned out to be seeking as well. Once again, Jean didn't know why the men had to be killed, but his place was not to question, just to obey. True, it was all very intriguing, and the Soldats subordinate had his theories of what linked all the players together in this plot, but he severely doubted whether he would ever get the opportunity to test the validity of them--he did not possess a station that allowed him privileged information beyond that which he needed to know to perform his appointed tasks. But it didn't really matter; Jean's only goal for the moment was to escape this hellish posting and get as far away from Simon as possible--if he had to listen to one more mindless lecture about the dynamics of main characters in video games his sanity was just going to snap. Once again he prayed that Simon's ferret would this time divulge the location of Sakamoto and Zhenmeng to the hacker, then everybody would be happy; Bouquet and her friend for getting the intel they paid for, Simon for pleasing Bouquet and receiving the payment, Breffort for ultimately learning the wanted men's place of residence from Jean, and finally Jean himself for moving another step closer to freedom.
  414.53 +
  414.54 +Jean looked nervously over his shoulder at the basement door again as he stuffed his phone into one of his baggy cargo pants' pockets, before wiping his sweaty palms on the legs. He jerked in surprise and turned his head sharply in the direction of the computer store's entrance as it suddenly creaked open, an unexpected event for this time of night. Nearly all of Simon's customers preferred to visit the hacker in the late afternoon, since it was around then that they managed to drag themselves out of bed. Jean would have locked the door and shut up shop by now too if Simon's ferret hadn't rolled up grubbing for Euros. 
  414.55 +
  414.56 +"Whoa, I think we just step in a time warp!" 
  414.57 +
  414.58 +Jean's thoughts were all brought to an immediate standstill in his mind, like the surface of a lake suddenly iced over in an instant, flash frozen by the unnatural chill only stark terror could produce. Sakamoto and Zhenmeng, the men Soldats wanted dead… they were here, in the store, right before Jean's panic-stricken eyes. 
  414.59 +
  414.60 +Zhenmeng strolled up to the front counter--to the rear of which Jean stood like statue--the handsome Asian man's hands in his dark pants' pockets and his gait casual, while his head turned this way and that around the computer shop's interior, exaggeratedly browsing the pretend wares as if he were simply an interested customer. His partner, Sakamoto, walked in behind him and was even creepier in person than in his photocopied picture Bouquet had imparted to Simon, six foot tall and decked out in the blackest black, with pure white hair framing a thin face of almost equal pallor; the Angel of Death personified. Zhenmeng was similarly garbed in absolute black, his amber gaze and flawless skin standing out in contrast with his clothes. Contrary to his outfit, his eyes danced with mischief and he was grinning playfully, but there was something beneath the look and the smile, a shadow of the expression a young boy would have as he pulled the wings off a fly for his own morbid entertainment. If Sakamoto was the Angel of Death, then Zhenmeng was the manic imp perched on his shoulder, cackling wickedly. 
  414.61 +
  414.62 +Zhenmeng abruptly slapped his hands hard on the counter and left them there, the noise sounding unnaturally loud in the store empty save for Jean and the two menacing men, and startling the Soldats follower out of his petrified condition. Zhenmeng then leaned across the counter, supporting himself on his arms, while his creepy eyes flicked from right to left, feigning another look over the shop's 'merchandise' before they fixed squarely on the suddenly profusely sweating Jean. 
  414.63 +
  414.64 +"We are looking for shittiest PC Euro can buy," Zhenmeng said in broken French, his grin becoming lopsided yet still no friendlier than before, "and I guess came to right place, huh?" He looked over his shoulder, back at the shelves and tables laden with very old computer parts. "I did not believe any this crap existed anymore!" 
  414.65 +
  414.66 +He then turned back to Jean, his smile fading until only the corners of his mouth curled upwards slightly in a mere hint of one, while his eyes narrowed just a small amount, his visage moving closer to being openly threatening. "But think we going to have to see something in back," Zhenmeng said with barely veiled demand, his gaze shifting to the basement door meaningfully. "You *can* help us, right…?" he added, drawling the last word as his eyes returned to Jean, boring into the Soldats underling's own, frightened, orbs. Zhenmeng reached one hand inside his black suit jacket, partially pulling out a handgun from a holster resting against his side, revealing enough of the weapon for Jean to understand that his request was not really a request--it was an order. And unfortunately his poor command of the French language did little to reduce the fearful effect his insinuation implied; in some ways it made the man sound all the more malevolent. Meanwhile Sakamoto positioned himself beside his partner, the imposing figure providing further incentive for Jean to cooperate without the slightest resistance. 
  414.67 +
  414.68 +Jean swallowed--hard. In the face of such opposition there wasn't much he could do or say. That was, without being hurt or worse, killed. One thing was sure, however; Simon's ferret wasn't really needed anymore. 
  414.69 +
  414.70 +******
  414.71 +
  414.72 +Kirika turned her head away from her cocked pistol and to her left, watching through resolute eyes as Mireille's position behind the desk was pelted with bullets, the already severely damaged piece of furniture taking even more of a beating. The desk was on its last legs, literally, one side of it having been smashed to splinters under the assault from the shooter, with its integrity giving way and as a result causing it to slope downwards towards Kirika, where she sought refuge to the rear of a solid filing cabinet. Although pinned to a level such that she could hardly return fire without risking lethal perforation, Mireille was still relatively safe behind the other side of the desk, using the thick and deep set of drawers as cover. But her shelter was falling apart all around her at this very second and wouldn't survive much more of a pounding than it already had sustained.
  414.73 +
  414.74 +Not that it had to. Kirika had been biding her time for this precise moment, consciously suppressing her sense of anxiousness at her partner's perilous plight to prevent herself from acting rashly and forfeiting her advantage… although there was a limit to her 'apathy'--but who could merely sit idly by and watch the person they love be in immediate jeopardy? But the girl now no longer had to hold herself back and curb her natural protective urges. The gangster currently spraying Millet's office with automatic fire was directing his shots solely on Mireille's half of the room, leaving the darkhaired assassin free to retaliate when her older counterpart could not. And it was Kirika's place to act when her love could not, to be the woman's strength when she was weak. That oath related to all manner of things in their lives together, be it in peaceful, everyday affairs or in the heat of combat. It was an oath Kirika had sworn to live by.
  414.75 +
  414.76 +Kirika whirled around in her crouch and leaned slightly out from behind the filing cabinet, bringing her Beretta instantly to bear in her right hand at the point where she estimated the goon's head height to be. She caught a glimpse of a man holding a quivering Heckler and Koch MP53 submachine gun in his hands standing in the office doorway, the end of its barrel blazing hotly. A stream of bullet casings flew out constantly from the loud weapon, its wielder grinning maliciously as he assailed Mireille's location with round after round of lead. But Kirika's glimpse of the gangster was a short one. She squeezed the trigger of her silenced gun almost immediately after she had strayed from cover, her shot not even a whisper in the roar of her target's countless own, yet infinitely more effective. The man's right temple erupted in scarlet, and he took a tottering step backwards before collapsing into the hallway outside the office, his MP53--and his heart--stilled. 
  414.77 +
  414.78 +There was not a second to spare. Unless Kirika and Mireille wanted to be pinned down again, they had to move *now*. 
  414.79 +
  414.80 +Kirika bolted for the now vacant doorway, staying low as she flitted across the office's bullet-ravaged carpet, her Beretta aimed ahead of her. Out of the corner of her eye she sighted Mireille vaulting nimbly over the remains of the desk with one hand, the woman's coat billowing out behind her as she mimicked her partner's example and sallied forth. Kirika had known she would. She and the blonde were on the same wavelength--they were two halves of a whole, complementing one another in thought and action instinctively as if they had been doing it since birth. It hadn't always been this way, true, and not but a day ago Kirika had believed their harmony to have been lost in tandem with their shared affection. In the months after their first meeting, the two young women's reliance on each other--their *trust* in each other--had built slowly as the love blossomed between them, the two separate yet closely connected sentiments only truly peaking near the pinnacle of their pilgrimage to the past together. Kirika and Mireille's unparalleled abilities were owed to their confidence in each other, and in turn that confidence was owed to their love for each other. It was what made them strong; strong enough to have faced and conquered Altena's trials as their difficultly forever mounted, strong enough to take on the woman's entire Soldats enclave and survive, and on Mireille's part, strong enough to forgive what by all rights should be unforgivable. It was what had made them strong enough to be the rightly named Noir. 
  414.81 +
  414.82 +And now they were still strong, stronger than ever… because their love was still strong. Kirika and Mireille's feelings had seemed to waver before, but in reality it had simply been a misunderstanding, a falsehood that had merely temporarily disrupted their balance; the balance between dark and light, sinner and saint, demon and angel--the best of both worlds working in perfect unity to form an unstoppable partnership. In short, Kirika and Mireille were *one*. 
  414.83 +
  414.84 +A second gangster suddenly appeared in the office's doorway in an effort to maintain the grip on his dead companion's vital spot, but before he could even get off a shot from his pistol two 9mm bullets struck him at the exact same time, the pair of red splotches appearing on either side of his chest. He howled in pain and clutched futilely at his mortal wounds with his free hand, staggering backwards until he met the corridor's wall. He slid down it slowly, his pain-wracked expression evaporating the further he dropped as the life left him. By the time the gangster's rear had touched the floor his facial features had relaxed completely--the shroud of death had enveloped him. 
  414.85 +
  414.86 +Kirika and Mireille each threw their backs against either side of the doorway, their guns held upright and at the ready. Tendrils of smoke coiled to the ceiling from the silenced barrels of the two assassins' respective pistols after their mutual discharge, almost in sync with one another. Kirika looked at her partner as Mireille did likewise, brown eyes steadfastly meeting blue. She then nodded firmly to the blonde, letting her know that she was set to proceed. Not a single word was shared between the pair to voice and confirm their joint offensive strategy, but in their case, none were needed. 
  414.87 +
  414.88 +The exchange lasted only the briefest of moments, neither assassin wishing to lose the momentum of their counter strike. Immediately following her nod, Kirika suddenly bolted out into the hallway, stooped over and with her Beretta directed down the right hand length of the corridor. In flawless coordination with her partner, Mireille sidestepped halfway out of the office at the precise instance the girl moved, her own handgun aimed above Kirika's low, scampering form passing in front of her as the blonde set her own sights down the left span of the corridor. 
  414.89 +
  414.90 +It was a basic plan of attack for two people facing an unknown number of adversaries in the close confines of the upper-middle part of the 'T' in a generic T-junction, one established mainly on common sense than any complex combat tactics--one person took the right hand side of the passage, while the other took the left, eliminating any hostiles as fast as they could while in turn guarding each others' back. But for Kirika and Mireille it *wasn't* a plan per se, it was primarily steeped in instinct alone. Neither thought about what manoeuvres to take or what position to situate themselves in, they simply did it. Kirika had taken the right and placed herself in the most exposed, dangerous arrangement seemingly unthinkingly because in her subconscious she was aware that with her smaller frame she would make a trickier target for the enemy's sights to find, plus she was faster on her feet and more limber than her partner. The girl's intuitive choice left Mireille with the less vulnerable spot, the blonde's taller body partially shielded by the office's doorway. Additionally, the woman's height advantage permitted her to start firing upon their adversaries immediately when Kirika moved, the diminutive girl ducking under the shots--in this life where death could come all too readily without warning, every second was valuable. Kirika's mind had unconsciously evaluated each and every factor before the assassin herself had moved, including considering what Mireille's instinctive impulses would be. And all of her deliberations had occurred in the period of a heartbeat. Trust and love; they were a powerful combination. 
  414.91 +
  414.92 +As Kirika's line of sight cleared the office's doorjamb, her eyes registered three men armed with pistols dwelling in her designated section of hallway, all of who looked taken off guard. Her sharp mind processed this information in the tiniest fraction of a second, modifying her aim to compensate for it, before she let loose at the targets accurately and fatally with her gun. The darkhaired girl strafed across the hallway from the entrance to Millet's office to the wall opposite--agilely skirting the corpse of the H&K MP53 wielding man she had killed beforehand--her attention wholly devoted to her part of the corridor as she took down one gangster with two shots to the stomach, followed by a second with a single round to the chest. When she felt her left shoulder hit the wall she ceased her strafing run and dropped lower into full crouch, firing twice more from her now stationary position at her third and final foe, catching the man the same number of times in the head and sending him sprawling backwards to pile on top of his deceased associates in a muddle of tangled limbs. 
  414.93 +
  414.94 +As the slide of Kirika's empty Beretta M1934 snapped back, a stray bullet originating from her rear impacted the region of wall a handful of inches above her head, making a slight graze in the concrete surface, a white line on a grey plane. A moment later a second wayward slug buried into the dead flesh of the gangster slumped against the wall just behind Kirika, jerking the body so that it nudged against her. In spite of these near misses, the girl didn't flinch nor did alarm start to bubble up in her breast--she knew for absolute certain that Mireille would not allow her to get hit, just as she had not allowed the blonde to be hit by any of the adversaries she had faced. 
  414.95 +
  414.96 +During her assault the girl had been aware of Mireille's Walther P99 sounding out repeatedly in a timbre slightly deeper than her own even when hushed with a silencer, eradicating the other enemies in the left portion of hallway and joining Kirika's instrument in performing their duet. And it *was* a duet. Kirika and Mireille were not only assassins skilled in their trade, but proficient artists putting on a play, a fluid--if macabre--opera, like the ones the blonde had once taken her young partner to see in days gone by to 'culture' her. Yet of course, there was nothing make-believe about this play; there were no actors, and the there was no singing either, only the agonised cries of genuine pain. Here, this play was one of life and death, where each time Kirika and Mireille pulled the trigger of their guns and hence sounded a chord of their instruments, its reverberation potentially spelled doom for somebody's future existence. And when they danced, they dodged bullets; they dodged Death… or delivered it. The song the pair of assassins played, the steps they danced; it was a funeral dirge they performed, a requiem. Kirika and Mireille were a duet of Death, and they executed their drama--or was that tragedy?--with consummate aptitude and unmatched harmony.
  414.97 +
  414.98 +With her immediate foes taken care of Kirika sprung from her crouch to her full height and spun adroitly around on the balls of her feet to face Mireille's section of hallway, ejecting the spent clip from her Beretta as she swiftly rose before pulling out a fresh one in her turning motion. As she slammed the new magazine into her pistol, she glimpsed a gangster crumpling to the floor ahead of her with a weak groan, his bloodstained white shirt a clear giveaway to the root of his pains. The man's body wasn't the only carcass littering the concrete corridor in front of Kirika's eyes, but it was the latest, Mireille having just finished dealing with her own allotment of enemies, a mere moment behind her partner. 
  414.99 +
 414.100 +Before the goon had even collapsed completely to the floor, Kirika was sprinting directly forwards to the hallway's intersection, her footfalls zigzagging in between the web of lifeless limbs of the departed spread across her route. The assassin heard Mireille's footsteps echo after hers a second later, putting about a metre and a half separating them--seamless precision. With the junction almost upon her, Kirika tugged back the slide of her Beretta, chambering a round an instant before she launched herself forcefully off her right foot, diving elegantly across the opening of the intersection; a graceful dancer executing her closing steps with the utmost finesse. As her body soared by the junction, she fired a trio of bullets at the three men who were running down the other hallway towards her, no doubt in a vain attempt to aid their outmatched--and already dead--friends. Kirika saw all the men jerk spasmodically, but if it was due to being shot or simply in surprise, she couldn't tell. 
 414.101 +
 414.102 +Kirika flew past the intersection, her left shoulder striking the floor. She tucked in her legs and arms and bowed her head at the contact, rolling more than one hundred and eighty degrees completely over the tops of her shoulders and back before her feet touched the floor. The assassin then extended her legs a little and tightened their muscles, the soles of her shoes scaping across the hard floor a couple of inches until she came to a full stop, her partially stretched legs acting as counters to her momentum. 
 414.103 +
 414.104 +Her flight and landing over, Kirika leapt to a standing position and scurried the couple of feet back to the corner of the T-junction, opposite to the corner where Mireille was leaning out from, firing her Walther down the neighbouring corridor at anybody whom the petite girl had missed or failed to kill outright--the reason why the blonde had lingered somewhat behind Kirika. By the time Kirika peered around the corner, all that greeted her were three dead men. The first steps of her and Mireille's dance, the opening 'act' of their play, had concluded… all in a handful of seconds. And they had performed impeccably. But for their opponents, there would be no encore.
 414.105 +
 414.106 +Suddenly, the door at the far end of the corridor burst open, releasing the previously restrained notes of odd, capricious music from its confines, as well as a hail of lead that spewed into the area, forcing Kirika and Mireille to duck back around their respective corners, into cover. Bullets saturated the walls, the sound of them discharging and bouncing off stone, crumbling it into powder, and the sight of small plumes of white dust rising into the air filling the corridor ahead. 
 414.107 +
 414.108 +Kirika looked across the intersection at Mireille as automatic fire blazed past them, the blonde woman taking advantage of this respite to change clips in her gun. And a respite it was; they were in a stalemate scenario… or at least what appeared to be one. Neither they nor the gangster in the doorway at the end of the hall had the upper hand, both parties more or less in the same arrangements, except for the goon equipped with the superior firepower… and Kirika and Mireille equipped with the superior expertise, which made all the difference between stalemate and simple obstacle. When weighed against raw skill, armaments didn't count for very much at all. A firearm was just a tool like any other, after all. 
 414.109 +
 414.110 +The barrage of suppressing fire ceased, the gangster reloading, and Mireille smiled faintly at Kirika, the girl giving a small smile of her own in answer. The play must go on; it was time for the second 'act'. 
 414.111 +
 414.112 +The pair abruptly dashed from shelter and down the corridor, their pistols directed straight ahead of them. The gangster armed with an Ingram Mac-10 Uzi submachine gun reappeared in the doorway, barring the course forward, with his ammunition supply apparently restocked. His eyes widened at the sight of Kirika and Mireille bearing rapidly down on him and he squeezed hard on the trigger of his weapon spontaneously, in the same instant the two assassins pulled the triggers of their own guns. The man's body twitched and shuddered as it was riddled with bullets, his aim moving wildly all over the place as he was shaken like a puppet by its strings. A volley of lead from his Uzi was spread everywhere as he mechanically kept the trigger of his submachine gun depressed, many of the shots coming dangerously close to hitting Kirika and Mireille. But Kirika wasn't afraid, and she didn't believe Mireille was either. Firearms of the gangster's type were notoriously inaccurate even at the best of times, and with his undisciplined aim and sustained spurt of fire, the chances of actually striking someone or something he was targeting were very low. Still, Kirika wasn't about to take that chance when Mireille's safety was involved; the girl shifted the sights of her Beretta a tad to the right, and deftly shot the Mac-10 out of the goon's grasp, disarming him. 
 414.113 +
 414.114 +The assassins continued firing upon the gangster as they tore down the corridor, the ill-fated man held upright on his feet by the torrent of slugs ripping into his ravaged body, his torso now a mass of red. His face was slack and his mouth hung open, with his eyes rolled back into his head; he was already dead, simply waiting to be allowed to fall to floor and escape this parody of life. But Kirika and Mireille had a purpose for him; there was still a use his body yet possessed--they weren't merely wasting ammunition. 
 414.115 +
 414.116 +Kirika and Mireille breached the doorway a split second later and charged into the erect remains of their foe, hunching over and barging their shoulders violently into his middle. They hurtled into the room ahead, propelling the dead goon forwards along with them, and were greeted with an enormous bombardment of fire; a dense mixture of automatic, semi-automatic and single-shot. The assassins' improvised shield took the burnt of the assault, the gangster's already battered body being punished further still, reduced to a bag of flesh stuffed with bullets. 
 414.117 +
 414.118 +However, both Kirika and Mireille knew that the mutilated corpse wouldn't be able to withstand such abuse for long, and after a couple of seconds--the young women a scarce metre beyond the threshold of the doorway--they peeled away from their human shield. 
 414.119 +
 414.120 +Mireille hurled herself to the right, behind a wide bar fortunately only a few feet from her original location, escaping the onslaught of fire with relative ease. Conversely, Kirika had less luck. The girl had no alternative but to go left, tumbling recklessly across the open floor as gunfire chased after her, her dizzying--though deliberate--momentum addling her senses and causing her surroundings to spin madly. After what seemed like an eternity, Kirika at last crashed into something solid which--somewhat painfully--halted her controlled roll, and when the world had stopped whirling long enough for her to discern her whereabouts, she realised that she had ended up crouched under a round table of dark wood, its top covered by black vinyl. Two chairs lay dishevelled nearby where she had evidently bowled them over, and past them by the bar Mireille had jumped behind she spotted the bullet-ridden body of the man she and the blonde had used as a screen. He lay on his back in a large--and still growing--pool of blood, barely recognisable as a man anymore but more as a mess of tissue, with his clothes in tatters from the countless rounds that had been pumped into him, and also soggy from the bodily fluids that had spilled out from his ruptured skin and muscle to soak them. Kirika took in the spectacle emotionlessly, before dismissing it outright from her mind. The man was just another dead enemy, albeit one severely disfigured, but still nothing she hadn't seen before. She was indifferent. 
 414.121 +
 414.122 +<Merely another dead sinner, yes, what all sinners idyllically should eventually become….>
 414.123 +
 414.124 +Kirika shook her head slightly and shooed away the errant thought, wondering if she was still a little light-headed from her tumble. Now was not the time for such musings; she could not allow herself to become distracted while in combat, not while fulfilling her cherished vow. 
 414.125 +
 414.126 +"Hold your fire!" a male authoritarian voice hollered above the din of gunfire that was still liberally digging pockmarks all over the floor and wall near the doorway to the corridor Kirika and Mireille had just stampeded through. The shooting ebbed somewhat with the man's command, but didn't cease entirely, prompting him to shout louder and more forcefully. "I said hold your fire, you useless bastards!" he yelled furiously. "You're blasting the hell outta my club! And someone shut that crap off too, while you're at it!
 414.127 +
 414.128 +After a couple of seconds the gunfire petered out virtually completely, only the stray shot or two from a pistol enduring, which soon also stopped. The music that had been playing in the big room died away also, producing a noticeably deep silence to replace it and the gunfire, a silence that seemed somehow doubly quieter following the clamour seconds before it. But that silence didn't last for long. 
 414.129 +
 414.130 +"That's better," the man's voice spoke again in a softer tone, his words echoing slightly. He then cleared his throat. "I hope you enjoyed my little… welcome," he called in a louder voice, and in a pitch that for some reason sounded mocking to Kirika's ears. "It cost me my damn office, you know!" he added heatedly, before pausing for a moment. "Ah well," the man then continued in a calmer tone, "I guess I can always take the cost out of your two *fine* hides, now, can't I? Hmm, now there's a thought. What do you say? Why don't you both just give up and work for me? I'm sure the Johns would pay whatever I charge to spend some *quality* time with either of you! One a blonde bombshell, the other still only a girl--mmm, what a combo!" He chuckled then, a hoarse laughter that reverberated around the room and made Kirika feel sort of queasy. "Come on, let's stop this unnecessary violence and talk business instead. After all, it's just business between us. Sure, you killed some of my boys, but being the generous soul that I am I say let bygones be bygones." He fell quiet then, but after neither Kirika nor Mireille spoke up, he went on, apparently undeterred. Kirika pondered the possibility that perhaps he liked listening to the sound of his own voice.
 414.131 +
 414.132 +"Okay, have it your way," the man said with seeming great regret, although Kirika didn't really believe him. "I guess it doesn't matter. You know, I wasn't truly expecting you two to show up so soon, or at all in fact--I didn't believe you would have the *gall* to challenge *me* in my own territory. But lo, here you both are, drawn into my brilliant trap like mice to cheese… or perhaps like kittens to cream would be a more appropriate analogy, hmm? Hah!"
 414.133 +
 414.134 +Kirika wasn't in actual fact paying much interest to the man's spiel--a mere fraction of her mind was allocated to digesting his words and searching through them for anything important--and hadn't been since his first three sentences. While he had been wasting time talking, the girl had been making worthwhile use of that time to reload her Beretta and carefully study her surroundings from her vantage point under the table. She and Mireille were in some sort of low-lighted barroom, except one outfitted with a peculiar stage of some sort, encircled by chairs and small round tables like the one she was dwelling under. The stage was semicircular and had a catwalk extending out from its centre, with the entire structure coloured in red, along with the curtains. A golden railing--which Kirika surmised to be made of brass--rimmed the entire stage including the catwalk. Poles of about two and a half metres in length of the same style and substance stood vertically erect intermittently on the stage, and also down the middle of the catwalk, yet seemingly served no purpose other than for show. 
 414.135 +
 414.136 +The bar Mireille was hiding behind was to the stage's right and ran straight along the wall. It was constructed of thick, glossy wood with stools in front of it and stacks of bottles on several shelves behind it, and was probably the most defensive location in the room--Kirika was grateful that her love had managed to secure it. From her current spot her angle of the bar didn't provide a view of Mireille, but simply being aware that the woman was in the safest position made the girl feel better. Still, in the event the bar were to be somehow overrun then Mireille could be placed in extreme peril; there wasn't an easy way to retreat from there without leaving one's self wide open to attack. Just because her partner had good cover didn't mean Kirika could become relaxed in regarding her pledge to protect the woman.
 414.137 +
 414.138 +Kirika herself was in a field of tables and chairs down from the stage and bar, with several red leather booth seats lining the walls. In respect to defensive capabilities the tables offered limited protection; they could be likely shot to pieces relatively effortlessly. The diminutive assassin would have to remain fast on her feet while constantly moving to prevent being wounded in the coming conflict. 
 414.139 +
 414.140 +Peeking out surreptitiously from under the table, Kirika observed that the talkative speaker addressing her and Mireille was--as she had suspected--none other than her and partner's target, Richard Millet; the girl recognised him from the photograph she had seen of the man back at the apartment. The leader of the gangsters was standing on a rickety-looking gantry hanging from the ceiling above the far end of the stage. It ran from one side of the stage to the other, its ends concealed by deep red curtains. Large spotlights were affixed to the topmost handrail of the gantry, while wooden panels had been fitted against the front railings, likely in an endeavour to create a makeshift barricade. Millet was armed with a Herstal FN P90 submachine gun that he waved around in his right hand as he talked, and accompanying him were three men, two of which who wielded simple bolt-action rifles, and a third wearing black sunglasses despite being indoors, who strangely bore no weapon at all. As Kirika watched on, the goon in the sunglasses whispered something into Millet's right ear while sparing uneasy glances into the expanse of the barroom below him. After receiving a nod from Millet, the gangster then jogged along the gantry to the left, the structure wobbling precariously with his every footstep, before he disappeared behind one of the stage's curtains. 
 414.141 +
 414.142 +Kirika looked to her left, peering through the mass of table and chair legs to check the locations of her and Mireille's other adversaries. She could make out at least five pairs of human legs in the midst of the metal kind not a great distance away from her, their arsenal consisting of small arms such as semi-automatic pistols and the occasional revolver. Past them, Kirika sighted a second group of gangsters situated behind the stage's catwalk on its left side, with one of the men brandishing an Avtomat Kalashnikov SU-74 submachine gun, a weapon that could prove to be troublesome if left to have free reign--he would have to be put down quickly if possible. Yet another cluster of men were lurking on the stage amid the curtains, Millet's gantry swaying over their heads. There was very little cover in that particular locale but for the curtains, however, and despite the fabric's seeming heaviness they would do little to stop a bullet. Those gangsters would no doubt be among the first to accept the sting of Mireille's Walther--she was in a prime position to slay them all. 
 414.143 +
 414.144 +Kirika noticed not a single customer in the room, but with the previous firefight not arousing panicked screams or a swarm of fleeing people, that much had been anticipated. It was perfectly clear now that the music playing as normal and the lack of guards in the hallways earlier had all been part of Millet's ploy to lure her and Mireille inside the building under the impression of facing only light resistance. However, this resistance was anything but light… in principle. To experienced assassins like Kirika and her partner, Millet and his men were nothing they hadn't coped with before… and defeated. The duo were outnumbered, they were outgunned, but they were *not* outclassed. And Kirika was positive none of Millet's syndicate had love and trust on their side. 
 414.145 +
 414.146 +"Well, my men grow restless. And if you're not willing to even talk to me…."
 414.147 +
 414.148 +Suddenly the spotlights on the gantry switched on and were swivelled around by Millet's escort to focus on Kirika and Mireille's positions; one beam of bright white light on the small table the girl was under, and a second on the bar the blonde was behind. It appeared it was time to dance once again. But Kirika was prepared; she was prepared for absolutely anything. She'd had that feeling ever since she had stepped into the alleyway outside Millet's headquarters. The sentiment she had was reminiscent of the one that had instilled her when she had fought Altena's Soldats division at the Manor months ago, determined to face whatever may come, no matter what. She had believed back then that with Mireille by her side she could do anything, defeat anyone, regardless of how daunting the feat or formidable the foe. Kirika had simply felt like she could *fight*. And now, once more, the darkhaired girl had harnessed that resolve. Perhaps its roots in the past were the same as now--her fervent desire to honour her promise to look after Mireille. It certainly could be possible. While she was supposed to be her love's strength, Kirika understood that Mireille had gifted her with a strength, too--the strength to *be* the woman's strength. It was little strange how that worked… the girl wondered if there was a term for such a circumstance. 
 414.149 +
 414.150 +"I think we should get this show on the road," Millet said menacingly. 
 414.151 +
 414.152 +Kirika couldn't agree more. It was time to bring this play--this love story--to its climax… and its inevitable conclusion.
 414.153 +
 414.154 +******
 414.155 +
 414.156 +To be continued….
 414.157 +
 414.158 +
 414.159 +Author's ramblings:
 414.160 +
 414.161 +I considered whether or not I could use the 'duet' analogy from Kirika's POV, but decided that if Mireille had taken her to the opera (an opera with acting) and explained it to her, then it would be okay. Geez, Kirika can be tricky to write for sometimes! I have to keep remembering to make her oblivious to things.
 414.162 \ No newline at end of file

   415.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   415.2 +++ b/stories/noir_redblack-12.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   415.3 @@ -0,0 +1,312 @@
   415.4 +Red And Black - By Kirika 
   415.5 +
   415.6 +k_yuumura@hotmail.com
   415.7 +******
   415.8 +
   415.9 +The twelfth chapter. Oh, for those of you who didn't already realise this in the previous chapter, Sakamoto and Zhenmeng are the aliases Ryosuke and Vincent are using while in Paris, and what Simon and Jean (Ezza) know them as. 
  415.10 +
  415.11 +- Kirika
  415.12 +
  415.13 +******
  415.14 +
  415.15 +Chapter 12 - The Test, Act II
  415.16 +
  415.17 +
  415.18 +"Whoowee," Zhenmeng whistled sardonically, "what cosy little hole in ground you have here!" He trudged with apparent fearlessness down the stairs leading into the basement with loud, heavy steps; the dull clomping thuds echoing around the gloomy room to warn its two occupants of his and his companion's imminent--and portentous--arrival. But of course, there was nothing for him to be apprehensive of; those two aforementioned occupants were only teenagers--even younger than Jean--and were likely to pose no more threat than a pair of docile puppies. Still, Zhenmeng didn't know that. 
  415.19 +
  415.20 +Jean was shepherded ahead of the thug, suffering periodic violent shoves in the centre of his back to drive him onwards, oft times almost sending him tumbling head over heels down the staircase before he managed to regain his balance in the nick of time. Normally such mistreatment would cause ire to ignite and steadily grow inside the Soldats agent, but on this occasion the only feeling that grew was dread. While his cover as Simon's withdrawn assistant seemingly remained intact, it wasn't much of a comfort; Jean was in a bad situation, any way he sliced it… and a life threatening one at that. Zhenmeng and Sakamoto would probably kill him just for the hell of it--he certainly wouldn't put it past them considering that they were marked for death by Soldats. Furthermore Zhenmeng didn't look like somebody who would have any misgivings about torturing and subsequently murdering a few people… or, for that matter, did his scary partner. How Jean was going to get out of this without ending up face down in a pool of his own blood he had no idea. 
  415.21 +
  415.22 +Sakamoto followed wordlessly behind Zhenmeng as the three of them descended below the computer store front, a towering shadow looming over the other two men, an impassable sentinel who helped to further escalate Jean's fear every time the Soldats follower braved a glance over his shoulder. Zhenmeng was the obvious one to watch out for between the wanted pair with his brash and obnoxious behaviour, but Sakamoto held his own different kind of menace with his stoic demeanour, one in some ways more intimidating than his partner's. Silence could hide all manner of things, things a person's imagination had the unwelcome habit of making into their worst nightmares. 
  415.23 +
  415.24 +"What the hell? Ezza, you dumbass!" Simon yelled angrily as he spun his desk chair away from his ferret and to the basement stairs, glaring at Jean as he emerged--with a harsh push by Zhenmeng--from the murk into the fluorescent light glowing from his flashy computer box fixtures and monitor screens. "Can't you see I'm busy with… with…." Simon's reprimand immediately lost steam and choked off to a weak croak as Jean's captors entered the light and revealed their presence, the hacker's mouth still working although no words came out. "Oh shit…" he eventually succeeded in forcing out--albeit scarcely audibly--no doubt recognising Zhenmeng and Sakamoto from Bouquet's photograph. 
  415.25 +
  415.26 +"Oh no…" the ferret standing next to Simon meanwhile breathed. "I know yo--! It's--!" He practically squeaked out the halting words, pointing a shaky finger at the black-clad men with wild panic splashed all over his face. Jean certainly knew that feeling.
  415.27 +
  415.28 +Zhenmeng roughly barged past Jean, a roughish lopsided grin pulling up the left side of his mouth as he placed himself a short distance in front of Simon and the snitch. Jean was knocked aside as if he were just a scrawny child even though he and Zhenmeng were around the same height and build, and tripped over a mass of cables flowing along the floor from the many computers on Simon's desk, landing painfully on his behind. 
  415.29 +
  415.30 +"I guess you the guy in charge," Zhenmeng directed to Simon, the hacker somehow seeming paler than usual in spite of his normal pallid skin tone. The longhaired man put his hands on his hips and took a couple of moments to look around the basement, his eyebrows raised in apparent appreciation. "Wau…" he then said, while still studying the dimly lit room, "I bet could hold noisy parties and no one hear it…" The right corner of Zhenmeng's mouth slowly climbed higher on his face to join its mate opposite, the black suited man's grin becoming an all out sneer of malicious import, his teeth slightly bared. "And I bet no matter how loud you scream, no one hear it…" he added, his voice, formally conversational, now hard and nasty… and foreboding.
  415.31 +
  415.32 +At that second Simon's ferret, who Jean had observed twitching agitatedly all throughout Zhenmeng's examination, apparently lost his nerve and suddenly tried to bolt past the sneering man, making a reckless break for the stairs and escape. But escape would not come that easily. 
  415.33 +
  415.34 +Before the ferret could move more than a couple of steps Zhenmeng took action, his lightning fast rejoinder to the teenager's dash for freedom in the form of a solid elbow to the side of the head, the impact so forceful that Jean could hear bone colliding. The informant's flight was brutally cut short as he staggered ungainly backwards from the hit, like a punch-drunk boxer on the verge of being knocked out. He looked up at his assailant, only to get a devastating left hook straight to his face, the blow knocking his baseball cap clean off his head. The ferret collapsed to the floor next to his dropped cap, his left eye swelling shut; an angry red disfigurement on his visage. He then rolled slowly over onto his side before simply laying there sobbing pitifully in pain and terror, drawing his limbs close to his body while it quivered with his mewling. 
  415.35 +
  415.36 +Not a shred of sympathy had passed through Jean's heart as Simon's snitch was beaten; in his opinion the moron deserved every torture coming his way from Zhenmeng and more. There was no question in Jean's mind that the careless bastard was responsible for the predicament he and Simon were now in; the ferret's sloppy surveillance methods had to have tipped the vastly more competent Zhenmeng and Sakamoto onto Simon's curiosity in their activities, and consequently the duo had tailed the stupid kid right to the computer expert's doorstep. 
  415.37 +
  415.38 +Jean ground his teeth in combination of anxiety and resentment where he sat on the floor just to the left of Simon's desk, black cables running under his bent legs to the taxed power points on the wall opposite, vanishing into the shadows of the room. Damn that fool! In all of Jean's time in the field--short as it may be--he had never expected his life to be placed in very great and very real danger. And now, because of someone else's blunder, he may not live to see another day. Fuck! 
  415.39 +
  415.40 +The Soldats operative watched as Zhenmeng kicked the prone ferret in the stomach, the Asian's intense eyes hot amber that burned in the light, their prior playful lustre long gone as the mischievous imp showed his true colours as a vicious devil. It was fitting that the clumsy spy was the first to experience the repercussions of his own laxity. Jean hoped that he was in immense pain indeed; if Zhenmeng's ministrations didn't kill him, then the Soldats agent would definitely finish the job.
  415.41 +
  415.42 +Zhenmeng planted a foot on the informant's right shoulder and pushed his unresisting body over onto its back, glaring down at the teenager with a contempt that did not bode well for his personal safety. Zhenmeng then stomped his foot down on the ferret's sternum, before exerting most of his body weight on that leg and effectively holding his victim in place. The teenager cried out weakly at the abuse and writhed beneath the sole of the thug's shoe, his mouth remaining open afterwards in a silent yet earnest appeal for aid… but it would never come; he was begging to the wrong crowd. 
  415.43 +
  415.44 +"Brat!" Zhenmeng spat at his subjugated quarry, grinding his heel into the kid's chest with seeming glee at the torment he was inflicting. "You like to watch, ne? Ne, little spy?" Still grinning from ear to ear, he put a hand inside his suit jacket and drew out the gun he had shown threateningly to Jean earlier, its brushed steel reflecting in the light with dark intent. 
  415.45 +
  415.46 +Simon--who had stayed completely rigid in his chair up until this point, gripping its armrests as if he were on a roller-coaster ride, his knuckles as white as his face--started at the sight of the bared firearm. "What…. You can't be serious…!" he gasped, his expression a picture of abject horror. Jean wondered if the hacker had ever seen a real gun before, one that hadn't been confined to the harmless digital polygon realm of video games. 
  415.47 +
  415.48 +"Quiet," Zhenmeng said simply, before offhandedly lashing out with the pistol at Simon without even so much as glancing in his direction. 
  415.49 +
  415.50 +The unforgiving metal casing of the weapon struck the unsuspecting hacker in the mouth, slapping him back into his chair, which in turn propelled it into the desk with a bang, the collision toppling several stacks of CDs that scattered across the floor. Simon grabbed his mouth as tears collected in his eyes, and a muffled scream was emitted from behind his covering hands, accompanied by copious dribbles of blood that oozed from between his fingers--Zhenmeng must have dislodged at least one tooth. 
  415.51 +
  415.52 +Zhenmeng seized a fistful of the snivelling snitch's t-shirt with his free hand and hauled the teenager's upper body towards him, his previously restraining foot moving to the floor. He cocked the hammer of his pistol and bent down until his face was only a few inches from the boy's; his battered mug in stark contrast with Zhenmeng's handsome features. 
  415.53 +
  415.54 +"Yes, you like to watch," Zhenmeng hissed into the spy's face while brandishing the handgun where he could see it. The informant whimpered and tried to turn away from his attractive but merciless attacker, but the Asian man would have none of it. "Look at me when I talking to you, you shit!" he snarled, shaking the boy hard in his grasp until he complied. He calmed then, his wide grin returning. "Your eyes are odd, now," Zhenmeng remarked, scrutinising the ferret's swollen shut left eye. "You want me even eyes up?" He brought up his pistol to the boy's other, widely dilated eye, and pressed the end of the barrel against it, forcing it closed. "Well, little spy?"
  415.55 +
  415.56 +"Please…" the informant pleaded in a soft, frightened voice, sounding like the kid he merely was. He trembled before Zhenmeng, and Jean could make out tears leaking from his one good eye. "Please don't… please… PLEASE!" 
  415.57 +
  415.58 +The ferret's whispers rose to a final crescendo in Jean's ears, his shriek borne of pure, undiluted terror filling the basement and snapping the Soldats follower out of his stupor. What the hell was he doing, just literally sitting here on his ass looking on as events got more and more out of hand? Did he *want* to die?! Zhenmeng and Sakamoto were clearly hardened criminals; there was no way they were going to let any of them live! Simon and his informant were just kids at heart; they were both screwed the second Zhenmeng and Sakamoto came into the basement, but damn it, Jean had ties to Soldats; for god's sake he should use those ties! He had to inform someone--Breffort, his former superiors; frankly *anyone* with Soldats!--that the Asian men wanted in Paris by the society were here, underneath Simon's computer shop front. It was his duty! And if Soldats happened to deploy a hit squad to his location--and to his rescue--as a result then that would be fine, too. After all, Jean couldn't continue to serve Soldats if he was dead.
  415.59 +
  415.60 +While Zhenmeng further toyed with the snitch, jamming the barrel of his pistol harder into his eye as he spouted more intimidating suggestions about what to do with it, Jean began edging his right hand--the one furthest away from the black-clad man and hidden from view by his legs--across the dusty concrete floor and towards his pants' pocket. Utilising his mobile phone was the only option he could think of without resorting to suicidal heroics, something he was definitely not suited for. If Jean could get a text message to Breffort, the council member could have a taskforce dispatched to save his bacon before it was shot full of holes. 
  415.61 +
  415.62 +Jean crept his hand closer to his pocket as quickly as he dared, his movements offset by a slowing wariness--desperation and fear battling each other to a stalemate. Cold sweat trickled lazily down his face and stung his eyes, while also sticking stray strands of his shoulder length hair to his cheeks. His heart thumped rapidly in his chest, a manic beat that flooded his eardrums and one he thought loud enough for everybody in the room to hear. Contrary to his internal tension, outwardly Jean appeared to be sitting sedately on the floor, albeit somewhat restless but not beyond the level that one would expect somebody in his situation to be. Or at any rate, he prayed he appeared that way. 
  415.63 +
  415.64 +Jean's fingertips touched his phone inside his pocket; the feeling of plastic on his skin motivating him to proceed with a burst of both improved hope and heightened fear. Carefully, and using only his fingertips, he slid the mobile phone out of his pocket, gently lowering it to the floor to not make a sound. The partial darkness Jean had been pushed into by Zhenmeng worked to his advantage but also to his disadvantage; the movements of his fingers on the phone would be greatly concealed, however as soon as he started pressing buttons the device would light up in an condemning green glow; a beacon plainly displaying his actions to anybody who cared to look his way. He would have to work fast and simply pray that his body would shield the bright phone from everybody's gaze. 
  415.65 +
  415.66 +Keeping his eyes fixed on Zhenmeng and the abused informant while schooling his breathing to stay relaxed and rhythmic in an endeavour to preserve the innocuous look of a scared young guy, Jean commenced typing a short and succinct message to Breffort, his fingers dancing over the keypad with a speed and deftness produced by fear. The seconds past like hours, and as each one ticked by Jean's heart felt like it was going to leap out from his throat. 
  415.67 +
  415.68 +But then it was done. Jean hit the button to send the precious message to the Soldats higher-up and then allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief--there was no doubt in his mind that Breffort would receive and read it almost instantaneously; in his position the man had to be forever on the ball. Jean just hoped that he would send help in time. 
  415.69 +
  415.70 +Jean looked away from Zhenmeng… and unwittingly locked eyes with the steely violet stare of Sakamoto. He stood motionless directly in front of Jean with his head turned the Soldats operative's way, a black and white stone statue erected imperiously about a metre from the foot of the basement stairs; a silent sentry barring the sole route out of this underground torture chamber. Or perhaps a gargoyle in human form. The glow from the computers illuminated only half of Sakamoto, his features split down the middle in a mirror of light and dark; one side deathly pale, the other veiled in shadow--a man with one foot in the grave… or maybe emerging from it.
  415.71 +
  415.72 +Jean's throat dried out, what little moisture it had left vaporised by the manifestation of a sudden desert plain. Sakamoto had been so still, so quiet, that he had forgotten the man was even there. His rowdy partner's antics had also proved to be a magnet for attention, leaving him free from eyes and minds to lurk unnoticed and do as he wished, blending into the backdrop until he became indistinguishable from any other part of it. It was a fact that Jean had learned too late, and now had the potential to be a fatal mistake. Hysterical panic poised to snatch hold of him, and he swallowed hard in an effort to maintain control of himself although the action came with difficultly, a parched wasteland shifting. He unconsciously held his breath as he stared unblinkingly at Sakamoto, somehow unable to break the look in spite of fervently wanting to. Sweat pasted his clothes to his body and Jean felt chilled, but it wasn't because of the perspiration. Had Sakamoto seen him use his mobile phone? Shit. He was dead. He was dead!
  415.73 +
  415.74 +A muted buzzing suddenly emanated from inside Sakamoto's overcoat, the noise causing Zhenmeng to look over his shoulder at his associate, his gun still squashed into the cavity of the ferret's eye. Sakamoto, however, did not immediately react, instead prolonging the stare with Jean, much to the Soldats agent's dismay. But, eventually, he reached inside his ebony coat and fished out a phone, opening it up and bringing it to his ear while his gaze welcomingly wandered away from Jean.
  415.75 +
  415.76 +The Soldats follower's muscles relaxed and he resumed breathing again. Saved by the buzz--right now to him there was no sweeter sound. 
  415.77 +
  415.78 +After simply holding the phone to his mouth and ear for several moments, Sakamoto grunted into the receiver and started speaking what Jean believed to be Chinese or Japanese to the person on the other line, his voice monotonous--unemotional. "Kaede…? …Hmph…. Doko? …Ryoukai."
  415.79 +
  415.80 +The conversation was brisk and Jean got the impression it was rather curt as well-- whomever Sakamoto had been speaking to must not be regarded as a friend by the black-garbed man. His sour expression that was even bitterer than his regular ill-tempered countenance as he put his phone away helped to also attest to that likelihood. Whoever the caller had been, he or she should watch their back. 
  415.81 +
  415.82 +"Dare?" Zhenmeng said, although Jean had no clue as to what that meant. 
  415.83 +
  415.84 +Sakamoto shook his head slightly at his partner and then turned to Simon, the hacker still clutching his gushing mouth and crying softly. "You," the white-haired man said grimly as he took a couple of steps towards the computer expert, speaking French once again. "Find me an address."
  415.85 +
  415.86 +Simon looked up at Sakamoto, his eyes wet and his chest heaving as he blubbered, reduced to a bawling baby by a single smack in the mouth. Jean would have found it funny if he was sure he wouldn't devolve to such a state himself if--or rather when, he amended with worry--Zhenmeng or his partner transferred their attention to him. 
  415.87 +
  415.88 +Without warning a deafening bang exploded inside the basement, followed by a scream of excruciating agony. Jean and Simon jumped at the ear-splitting blast and looked to its source, while Sakamoto simply looked, unafraid and unsurprised.
  415.89 +
  415.90 +"My finger slipped," Zhenmeng said with a sheepish smile, holding up his smoking pistol for emphasis. Yeah, right. Jean knew that men like him did not make errors like that. 
  415.91 +
  415.92 +The informant was the one responsible for the scream. He writhed on the floor holding his left thigh, which was haemorrhaging like a busted water pipe. Blood pumped from the gunshot's entrance and exit wound on the front and rear of his leg as he futilely attempted to stem the top stream with his hands, screeching all the while. 
  415.93 +
  415.94 +Sakamoto looked at the bloodthirsty Zhenmeng for a few seconds as the shorter man shrugged nonchalantly, and then returned his attention to a now even more petrified Simon, apparently dismissing his partner's barbaric act. 
  415.95 +
  415.96 +"Find me an address," Sakamoto repeated to Simon over the wails of the informant. The hacker didn't seem to be listening however; his eyes were riveted to his spy howling at full volume on the floor as the teenager bled his life away. Simon had even ceased weeping, although his damp cheeks and red eyes remained as evidence to his lapse of nerve. 
  415.97 +
  415.98 +A series of bright orange flares lit up the centre of the gloomy basement as gunfire once more erupted, and the snitch's tortured cries were abruptly cut off--permanently. Jean looked on as Zhenmeng fired five or six rounds into Simon's ferret, ruby rosettes bursting out of his jerking torso like rupturing cists. And then he was dead. Just like that. Blood seemed to flow from everywhere, running freely on the floor. There was so much of it. Jean had never seen a dead body before, let alone someone murdered right before his eyes. It was horrific, but at the same time fascinating. He was surprised at how easy it was for someone to die. 
  415.99 +
 415.100 +"Finally!" Zhenmeng exclaimed in relief, shaking his head down at the corpse. "I thought you would never shut up! Don't you know it is rude to talk while others try to talk? Geez!" He pulled the trigger of his handgun again and sent another bullet into the carcass of what had previously been a living, breathing person; the projectile's entry lost in the swamp of red on its chest. 
 415.101 +
 415.102 +Sakamoto spared another glance at his murdering companion and then looked back to Simon. "Find me an address," he demanded yet again, this time in absolute quiet. "The name is Albert Laroque. Find him; find it. Now."
 415.103 +
 415.104 +Simon bobbed his head emphatically, his wide eyes staring at the remains of his informant; probably envisioning his own fate would be the same as his contact's if he failed to cooperate. 
 415.105 +
 415.106 +Jean blinked, his own, morbid curiosity in the ferret's cadaver disrupted at the mention of a name he recognised. "Albert Laroque…?" he gasped. Albert Laroque was almost on par with Breffort, a senior Soldats official just an echelon below the council. How had Sakamoto learnt that name?! Jean himself had only overheard it once from his superiors. "That's--!" Jean continued to blurt out, before the Soldats agent shut up abruptly, realising his slip. 
 415.107 +
 415.108 +But the realisation came belatedly. Looking frantically between Sakamoto and Zhenmeng, he saw them look back at him, fresh interest on their faces. Jean looked quickly away, his gaze moving to the unguarded stairs, fear fuelling the adrenaline that started to course through his veins at a frenzied rate. Escape. He couldn't wait for an armed Soldats unit to come to his rescue now; he was going to end up like the ferret if he didn't flee at once. He had made a small blunder, but to men whose heads a huge and influential organisation like Soldats sought, a small blunder may as well be a gigantic, glaring misstep. If the duo didn't pick up on it, it would be an act of god. 
 415.109 +
 415.110 +"You know, I have been smelling something in here that I cannot put finger on," Zhenmeng commented, as if merely talking about the weather. He strolled away from the body of the informant he had created, meandering casually towards the basement staircase. His pistol was still in his hand, spoiling the image of a man simply taking a peaceful walk. 
 415.111 +
 415.112 +Jean's heart raced, and sweat once again beaded on his brow. Fear. Fear gripped him like an entity; freezing his heart and numbing his limbs, lead weights tied to his arms and legs. The steps looked so far away and yet so close, tantalising before his eyes, a staircase to Heaven; salvation in wood. He could make it. All he had to do was move. Zhenmeng had the gun, but he had the Fear. And Fear gave people wings. 
 415.113 +
 415.114 +Jean leapt up and sprinted for the staircase. His feet seemed to float over the floor as his legs pumped furiously, his white-feathered wings propelling him to deliverance; the wings borrowed from the Angel of Mercy. Hope rose inside his heart--a giddy feeling, light and airy, as if he were soaring high amongst the clouds. 
 415.115 +
 415.116 +But then the wings disintegrated, the angel turning from him, and Jean crashed to the ground, to the hard concrete floor. Hope died as an agony exploded in his left knee, buckling it. His ears rang, the wailing song of fallen angels--demons, or rather, men and women as demons, the only reality in this world. No forgiving angels treaded where Jean was, and Heaven was a myth held onto only by the damned. The sole angels here were those of the ruthless kind--Vengeance and Death. The Angel of Death had cast its lifeless gaze upon Jean this night, and now its servant, the devil masquerading as an imp, was coming to carry out the seraphim's bidding. 
 415.117 +
 415.118 +Zhenmeng grinned at Jean hunched over on the floor, his eyes lingering on his shattered knee, a bullet having torn it apart. He squatted down to the Soldats operative's level, and prodded the wound with the barrel of his gun, still hot from its recent use--a burning pitchfork in Hell, a domain that was no myth. Jean clenched his teeth, grinding them forcefully together to prevent himself from screaming. 
 415.119 +
 415.120 +"You stink, pal," Zhenmeng was saying, his voice coming from the other end of a long hallway, tinny and faint. "You stink like Soldats…."
 415.121 +
 415.122 +Fear was a double-edged sword, all false hope and misguiding proposals. And as for the Angel of Mercy, if it did in fact exist… it was just fickle. But hell, Jean hadn't been much of a religious type anyway. 
 415.123 +
 415.124 +******
 415.125 +
 415.126 +Kirika ducked her head back under the protection of the table after Millet's closing words, her last sight of her and Mireille's target one of him brusquely waving his arm in a signal for his assembled men to recommence their attack. And then suddenly bullets were falling like raindrops, a deadly downpour that descended from all angles and were released by a gathering of men, rather than one of clouds. And no storm that was birthed in the heavens could match the fury or danger of this particular tempest. No, a storm like this could only be akin to those in that place called Hell, wrought by the same kinds of people: sinners, for those of pure, peaceful hearts did not create such things. Hell was a sinner's final destination after Death claimed them, or so it was written. Kirika wasn't sure if it were true or not, but if it was, then many new faces would be appearing in the depths of its fiery pits tonight, joining the ones she and Mireille had already condemned to that wicked place. 
 415.127 +
 415.128 +A deluge of slugs showered the tabletop above Kirika's head, the pitter-patter thuds of lead compacting against wood loud in her ears. She could make out the crashes and tinkles of breaking glass above the storm--gunfire heavily saturating Mireille's position behind the bar, bottles and glasses destroyed uncaringly in its wake, liquor spilling like blood. But Mireille would be okay. Kirika had utter confidence in her abilities, and in the woman herself--if she didn't, then she could never wholly have faith in her while in the midst of combat; their duet would lack cohesion, lack trust. Still, the girl was also aware of the limits of the blonde's abilities, and as a result she would feel more at ease if she could take some of the pressure off of her partner; Mireille was effectively pinned down where she was with very little opportunity to shoot back, the dual automatic fire from Millet's FN P90 on the gantry above and his goon's AKSU-74 on the floor the main culprits. But Kirika's desire to assist her love would have to wait; the darkhaired assassin had her own troubles to deal with right now.
 415.129 +
 415.130 +Kirika saw that the five sets of legs in amongst the tables' and chairs' metal ones were rapidly bearing down on her, weaving around the furniture or in some cases, throwing them roughly out of their path. The group was close, almost upon her, a mere handful of metres separating them. She had been sitting here in shelter for long enough; it was time to venture out into the raging tempest… and deliver calm. 
 415.131 +
 415.132 +Kirika pinpointed the lead gangster's legs and fired a round from her Beretta into his left shinbone, producing a scream and causing him to trip forwards and land on all fours, temporarily halting his fellows' progress behind him and also distracting them… just as the sharp girl had predicted. She rolled backwards in a tight ball, out from under the table, and then smoothly uncurled onto her feet, standing upright. The glare from the spotlight mounted on the gantry hit her full in the face as she rose, harsh white making her squint and painting her as clear target. But there was no time to worry about that, nor could she let herself be sidetracked by her marred vision. A moment's hesitation would spell a swift end--she had to keep moving, she had to stay fast on her feet. And she had to have faith. 
 415.133 +
 415.134 +As if in answer to Kirika's silent conviction, the spotlight suddenly cut out in a burst of glass along with its neighbour highlighting the ravaged bar, both smashed by a well-aimed 9mm bullet shot by a guardian angel. Even when under intense suppressing fire Mireille played her role as Kirika's vigilant partner to the absolute best of her capabilities; one eye on the battle, one eye on the girl, and then acting on her behalf when necessary. It was much like Kirika herself behaved in regards to her pledge to defend Mireille; the only difference was, the girl's vow endured beyond the heat of combat. Although if she thought about it Mireille did look out for her during their everyday lives too, her recent conversation with the woman in the bar nearby Millet's headquarters earlier tonight coming to mind. But that was due to no childhood promise--Mireille had not made one like Kirika's at any stage of her life to the girl's knowledge. Instead, Kirika believed it was a product of love. 
 415.135 +
 415.136 +Kirika bounded up on the table, the previous incoming gunfire that had battered it only seconds before ceased with the approaching gangsters' attentions diverted to their lamed comrade. She took two quick steps across the deeply gouged surface of the table and leapt off it, aiming straight for the goons a short distance behind it. The men looked up from their still howling friend as Kirika hurled herself at them, their faces registering their shock at her unexpected manoeuvre and appearance, while the hands wielding their weapons reacted sluggishly. 
 415.137 +
 415.138 +Kirika moved her gun to the right and pulled the trigger twice in quick succession as she sailed through the air, her legs tucked neatly underneath her body, muscles taut and primed. A gangster on her far right took the two rounds in the forehead, dropping him immediately. He fell backwards onto a table, before he slid limply off it and to the floor, lying dead amid the surrounding chairs. One down, one crippled, and three left. 
 415.139 +
 415.140 +As soon as Kirika was in range, she uncoiled her legs from underneath her and lashed out with both her feet in a wide midair scissor kick, striking two gangsters standing to her left and right hard in the face, while leaving a central one unmolested. But the remaining man's reprieve was short-lived; while the two other gangsters were reeling from the assassin's twin blows, she folded her legs back to her body before clamping her thighs around his head with crushing force, a choking sound escaping his throat. Kirika grabbed his right wrist with her free hand and kept it well away from her as he desperately attempted to shove his pistol into her ribs to free himself from her vice-like grip, his shots discharging harmlessly into the floor instead. Meanwhile the momentum of her jump toppled the goon, and as they fell together the girl put the silenced barrel of her Beretta M1934 to his left eye and fired a single, decisive time, putting a lump of lead into his brain. 
 415.141 +
 415.142 +The dead gangster's back hit the floor and Kirika released his head from between her thighs before rolling forwards, agilely ending up back on her feet. By then the pair of still upright enemies--their injured companion remaining hunched over on the floor, whimpering in pain--had recovered themselves and were turning around after her, their faces furious and marked with blood; one with a split lip and the other with a bloodied nose. Their guns were raised and about to voice their anger in a way mere words never could--sinners often spoke in such a method. 
 415.143 +
 415.144 +But the gangsters' voices would be ineffective; the darkhaired assassin was already relocating--fast. Kirika dashed for the nearest table, jumping upon it and then running atop it before hopping randomly to the next one, preferring to use them to swiftly traverse the sea of round tables and chairs instead of wading through it. True, she was completely open as she sprung from table to table--a bounding blur--but in some cases speed and deftness more than made up for cover… like this case. 
 415.145 +
 415.146 +The sights of the goons' weapons tracked Kirika, the men unleashing their rage in a hail of bullets. However, they trailed slightly behind the lithesome assassin, the shots chasing her staggered, somewhat circular path around them with a delay of at least a full second--much too slow. Yet Kirika would not be able to dodge their gunfire forever, and more importantly Mireille was waiting for her support--one rule of being an assassin Altena's training had indoctrinated in her was to perform a kill quickly and without hesitation; if someone was deemed to die then die they should as soon as possible, the means did not matter as long as it was efficiently done. In the opera of Death to play around invited it. And this dance had gone on long enough.
 415.147 +
 415.148 +The instant Kirika's feet landed on a table again she abruptly stopped in its centre and spun around, her right leg extending outwards and lodging in between a nearby chair's backrest and seat, bringing the piece of furniture with her. The chair wasn't too heavy--a steel frame with the rest made up of an aluminium alloy--nevertheless one would think a girl of Kirika's build would find difficulty in lifting it in such a manner with only a single leg. However, she did so with minimum effort. The muscles of her outwardly belying scrawny leg tightened to firm cords, revealing a power beneath the veneer of frailty along with a fine muscle tone developed over many years of arduous exercise. Kirika's body was a weapon, and to be an effective weapon it had to possess a degree of strength great enough to brandish hefty firearms with consummate skill and to be a rival to any foe's in close combat. Breaking bones--for example, necks--did require some effort, after all.
 415.149 +
 415.150 +Kirika flung the chair at the two gangsters trying to shoot her at the apex of her whirl, the flying package of metal bashing into the men and knocking them off balance, as well disrupting their aim. The assassin then dived towards them, her Beretta held in both her hands. She fired twice, splotches of crimson appearing on the goons' chests before they collapsed beside the thrown chair, defeated. 
 415.151 +
 415.152 +Kirika landed on another round table to the rear of the slain men and skimmed across it on her stomach before she came to a halt, shifting onto her side. The first gangster she had shot finally clambered to one knee beside the table, his gun lifting to target her in a quivering grasp. The man's countenance was pale and drawn with the affliction of fear combined with pain, sweat plainly visible on his brow and coursing down his face. He looked upon Kirika as if she were not a mere young girl but a monster come to get him, as if she were a… a demon. But he was right. She was a demon, wasn't she? A demon that wore the guise of a girl. His was an expression she had seen countless times on just as many different faces. And she understood it; she understood why they looked at her like that--they had been sinners face to face with a sinner worse than themselves. A sinner amongst sinners. 
 415.153 +
 415.154 +<A sinner amongst sinners….>
 415.155 +
 415.156 +Kirika casually kicked the goon's pistol out of his weak grip where she lay, and then shot him squarely in the head, putting him summarily out of his mental and physical misery. Let the sinners fear, let the sinners think what they like; she didn't care. What did it matter? The only person's feelings Kirika was concerned about was Mireille's; everybody else's were unimportant. Kirika was a demon--so be it. She was a demon loved by an angel--she could be the most terrible sinner in the world as long as Mireille looked upon her with eyes filled with affection, as long as she was bathed in the soothing light of her partner's all encompassing love.
 415.157 +
 415.158 +There was a sharp crack from a short distance away followed by a rapidly nearing piercing whistle, prompting Kirika to roll quickly off the table and to the floor, a split second before the whistling reached its climax. A rifle round suddenly took a chunk out of the table where she had lain moments before, the impact rocking it above her head. One of the snipers on the gantry with Millet had set his sights on her. 
 415.159 +
 415.160 +Kirika tilted her head to one side as she ejected the depleted clip from her pistol, a single reddish-brown eye peeking out from under the table to verify her deductions. She saw that Millet was blazing away at Mireille's position with his submachine gun, barking orders and curses in the same breath. His escort to the right of him armed with a rifle was in the interim occupied with trying to pick off Mireille every time the woman stuck her head out of cover to return fire. Thankfully, the gangster had been unsuccessful so far; his bad aim likely caused by the bloody wound in his upper right arm--Mireille had no doubt categorised that particular man as a priority threat. 
 415.161 +
 415.162 +Millet's second accompanying minion also bearing a bolt-action rifle had abandoned Mireille as a target however and was now focusing on Kirika, the girl's swift despatching of five of his friends a probable motivation. At this range it would be tricky for her to take him down, not because she wouldn't be able to hit him, but rather because her Beretta M1934 lacked the stopping power needed to deliver a fatal injury. Kirika would have to get closer, but that would mean racing into an open space without even tables to bounce around on, as well as risking being shot by the other gangsters still on their feet. 
 415.163 +
 415.164 +Kirika pulled back her head just as the sniper fired at her once again, the bullet whizzing by the edge of the sheltering table and striking the floor next to her leg. The assassin ignored the near miss and retrieved a fresh magazine from the ammunition holder strapped around her left thigh under her skirt, her eyes meanwhile gazing ahead of her, assessing the rest of this theatre of conflict. From under the table she could make out that the cluster of men who had gathered on the peculiar stage beside the curtains appeared to be all wiped out, their bodies slumped unmoving and chaotically about the vicinity. Kirika had known they would be among the first to die--Mireille would never let such vulnerable targets go unchallenged, nor would she allow them to rectify their serious error in judgement. 
 415.165 +
 415.166 +Kirika slid the new clip into her pistol, her eyes moving to the left hand side of the stage's catwalk. She observed that the group of enemies assembled there were still more or less intact; only two corpses sprawled at the feet of their more lively comrades. Unfortunately the gangster armed with the AKSU-74 was not among them, instead joining his friends in spraying the bar Mireille was hiding behind liberally with steaming lead. Something still had to be done about him; his constant barrage of fire upon the blonde's location was making it hard for her to counterattack.
 415.167 +
 415.168 +"Son of a--!!" Kirika heard Millet roar all of sudden, his tone teeming with agony, while the drone of his spitting FN P90 was brought to a halt. She chanced another peek out from cover, and saw that the leader of the syndicate she and Mireille were currently assaulting had taken a bullet in the right shoulder… and seemed to not like it one bit. 
 415.169 +
 415.170 +"God damn it!" Millet continued to loudly and most vehemently cuss, gnashing his teeth in pain. He turned angrily to his left escort, the rifleman intent on sniping at Mireille. "Use 'em, use 'em! I don't give a shit about the damage; just kill that whore! The place is already so fucked up anyway!" 
 415.171 +
 415.172 +The gangster nodded and put down his rifle, before bending down to retrieve something hidden behind the provisional wooden fortification running along the gantry, the numerous pockmarks dotting it no doubt a result of Mireille's stray shots. When next he stood upright he was holding a glass bottle containing a dark amber fluid in one hand, a dirty rag stuffed down its neck and dipping into the greasy-looking liquid. It was a Molotov cocktail--an improvised firebomb, makeshift napalm. Kirika was familiar with them; they were crude, but effective anti-personnel weapons. Typically the best ones were made of a mixture of petrol and oil, but any flammable substance worked. Flammable substance… Mireille was sitting behind the bar, where a myriad of alcoholic beverages had been spilled during the firefight… and all equally as flammable as the fluid in the Molotov. Even the slightest lick of flame would plunge the area into an instant scorching inferno, and the woman Kirika loved with it. 
 415.173 +
 415.174 +The cacophony of fierce shouts and spewing gunfire faded to a distant murmur as Kirika pulled back the hammer of her Beretta with her thumb, the click as it locked in place sharp in her ears; an underscore to her steadfast determination. A ghost of the past whispered to her, its feminine voice softly insistent, a reminder though she needed none. All other threats were suddenly relegated to the lowest precedence as a higher purpose cried out to the girl. With her pinned behind the bar, there was little Mireille could do to evade any Molotov cocktails tossed in her direction, nor was there any way she could flee from her current location without exposing herself to a variety of fire, automatic and otherwise. Mireille--Kirika's partner--needed her. And Kirika would answer her silent but unmistakable call. It was what she lived for. 
 415.175 +
 415.176 +It would take speed, dexterity and precision, but the girl knew she would succeed; she would *not* let Odette Bouquet down… and of course, she would not let Mireille Bouquet down either. A righteous purpose fuelled her, one rooted in love, not hate. And with that strength, Kirika would be unstoppable. 
 415.177 +
 415.178 +As the gangster on the gantry lit the cloth emerging from top of the Molotov cocktail he was holding with a lighter and prepared to launch it, Kirika rolled out from under the table and into an upright stance. Her manoeuvre placed her in reach of another table, close enough that she followed up her sideways roll with a second one across the tabletop without pause, fluidly rolling over her shoulder. The assassin moved swiftly, aware that she still had the attention of the now lone sniper who was tracing her every step with his rifle. 
 415.179 +
 415.180 +As Kirika's perspective of the room spun around, the goon on the gantry threw his flaming concoction, the bottle flying end over end on its destructive course for the highly combustible bar. Knowing that timing and accuracy were everything, as Kirika righted herself once again--her feet touching the surface of the table--she propelled herself off it, executing a midair cartwheel without any support whatsoever. Her vision spun yet again, a topsy-turvy world, but the girl's concentration remained focus. While she was completely upside down, Kirika targeted the Molotov cocktail and fired once, her solitary shot destroying the firebomb well short of its goal. Liquid flame mixed with glass shards drizzled down--Hell's rain--with small puddles of fire speckling the floor and continuing to burn long after the initial shower. 
 415.181 +
 415.182 +Kirika finished her cartwheel with her feet firmly on yet another round table, her landing perfect. She immediately leapt back the way she had come however--a simple jump this time--barely avoiding an incoming rifle round which instead struck the backrest of a chair that had been to her rear, bowling it over. 
 415.183 +
 415.184 +While the Molotov-chucking goon's first effort had failed, he would not give up that easily. He stubbornly set fire to another cocktail--evidently having several pre-prepared for Kirika and Mireille's coming--and then tossed it once again at the bar. 
 415.185 +
 415.186 +Kirika, seeing another prime danger to her love's safety, dived to her left and fired at the blazing object, her Beretta held steady in her two hands. A rifle round flew by inches from her face courtesy of the sniper, but the dedicated girl's aim held straight and true, blowing the Molotov cocktail apart in a fiery explosion and sending its blistering contents and its broken container down its predecessor's route--harmlessly to the floor. Her task accomplished, as the darkhaired girl sailed over a table she slammed her free hand on top of it--a prop. Her momentum continued to carry her through the air, her hand halting her upper body's motion but allowing her lower half to go on, and as a result, arranging her in a one-handed handstand. The position was fleeting however, Kirika letting herself continue onwards and out of the vulnerable pose until the manoeuvre had become another cartwheel, albeit one with a single arm for support. The lithe assassin finally ended up with her feet on the floor in the dense lake of tables and chairs. 
 415.187 +
 415.188 +Meanwhile, Millet had not taken kindly to Kirika's interference. "Someone shoot that little brat!" he shrieked, briefly breaking off his attack on Mireille with his FN P90, which he had been continuing to fire in spite of its vibrations that had to be aggravating his shoulder wound. His voice was somewhat hoarse and cracked near the end of his furious order, the consequence of bellowing non-stop at the top of his lungs throughout the battle. 
 415.189 +
 415.190 +In response, the gangster sporting the AKSU-74 submachine gun swung his weapon around to face Kirika, partnering with his rifle-wielding comrade hanging in the air above the stage in trying to kill the dexterous girl. 
 415.191 +
 415.192 +Kirika bent low and scurried under a table and didn't stop running as she was abruptly inundated with gunfire, the high-calibre AKSU-74 shredding apart the flimsy and already substantially pounded wooden tabletops in its path, their thin black vinyl covering proving to be no obstacle. It was going to be exceedingly tougher to dodge such heavy fire while defending Mireille from the Molotov cocktails, a fact that stood out like a bright flashing neon sign in Kirika's mind, much like the ones she had witnessed outside in the street before entering Millet's headquarters. Nevertheless, she would do it somehow. She would grow wings if she had to. 
 415.193 +
 415.194 +But Kirika's need to suddenly sprout wings turned out not to be necessary. As she spared a look over her shoulder, back at the goon who had been throwing the homemade firebombs, she was treated to the spectacle of his latest Molotov exploding in his grasp. The man using the AKSU-74 had made an oversight; he had redirected his formerly suppressing fire from the bar to assail Kirika, inadvertently freeing Mireille from a large portion of what had been keeping her more or less pinned. Millet's and his handful of remaining men's combined firepower--while formidable--was not sufficient enough to restrain an assassin of Mireille's talent indefinitely; in other words, they had uncaged the blonde. And now she was showing them her displeasure. 
 415.195 +
 415.196 +The gangster was completely swallowed in flames as soon as Mireille's Walther P99 burst his Molotov cocktail, the man becoming a human-sized conflagration--a literal screaming inferno. A third of the rickety gantry was set alight also, its wood walkway and the makeshift barricade succulent morsels for the hot flames. 
 415.197 +
 415.198 +Millet reacted quickly to the spontaneous combustion of his companion, kicking him in the chest and knocking him to the end of the gantry, wisely if heartlessly preventing him from spreading the fire. However as the melting gangster fell backwards and disappeared behind the stage's curtains, the said drapes caught on fire, the flickering flames scaling their entire length in a matter of seconds. Very soon half of the curtains on the right side of the stage were ablaze, and time was the only factor holding the fire back from consuming them all. 
 415.199 +
 415.200 +Mireille wasted no time after slaying the Molotov goon in a resourceful way, focusing her sights on the AKSU-74 man making life gruelling for Kirika now that his attention was diverted elsewhere. She blasted the oblivious gangster in the side of the head, her 9mm round splattering blood on his nearby friends as it drilled into his skull. He keeled over limply with his eyes rolled back and his mouth hanging open--as dead a person as Kirika had ever seen.
 415.201 +
 415.202 +Kirika altered her course when she realised her partner and her had traded roles again; Mireille was now watching her back, permitting the slender girl to perform hazardous feats she wouldn't normally do without backup… or without a valid reason, when the blonde woman's personal wellbeing was on the line coming to mind. 
 415.203 +
 415.204 +Kirika swerved around to the surviving gathering of men bordering the catwalk and charged daringly towards them, her pistol loosing death without pause. In the meantime, Mireille directed her fire to Millet and the sniper, forcing them to crouch behind cover and letting the girl proceed without having to worry about being shot from above. They were a flawlessly coordinated duet preparing for the grand finale. 
 415.205 +
 415.206 +Kirika gunned down the trio of remaining gangsters in as many heartbeats, the men not knowing what hit them as she unloaded all of her ammunition into their bodies, ensuring their quick deaths. She was executing a rush attack, an attack that stressed total commitment--if any of the enemy were left alive to retaliate it could be fatal… unless of course the rusher engaged them in close combat to tie up their firearms. But in this particular situation, Kirika couldn't even afford the few seconds for such an action--Millet and the sniper wouldn't stay in cover for long in spite of Mireille's efforts, and the darkhaired girl was in a ripe spot to receive a bullet… or several.
 415.207 +
 415.208 +Kirika threw herself to the floor as flush to the catwalk as she could, anticipating that she would be under fire at any second. But instead she heard the rapid muted discharge of Mireille's silenced pistol as she fired at will, and then all of a sudden there was a loud snap. Kirika poked her head cautiously above the catwalk and saw that the right foremost rope securing the gantry over the stage had broken, the probable result of the flames eating away at it and Mireille's further weakening gunshots. The blonde assassin then quickly shifted her aim to the opposite rope--one of two holding up the other end of the gantry--her blue eyes narrowing as she pinpointed the very slim target, before she unleashed a volley of rounds at it, her intentions obvious. 
 415.209 +
 415.210 +Millet and the sniper stumbled forwards into the barricade as the gantry jerked suddenly, before half the structure gave way, the support rope Mireille had shot at-- fraying it--tearing in two. The pair of men were thrown from their perch and deposited unceremoniously onto the stage, momentarily stunned and open to attack, their weapons having escaped their hands. The end of the play--of the opera--was upon Kirika and Mireille. 
 415.211 +
 415.212 +Kirika leapt to her feet, shoving her empty Beretta into the waistband of her purple skirt at the small of her back. She then sprung onto the stage in one spry jump, Mireille vaulting effortlessly over the bullet hole ridden and glass-strewn surface of the bar and dashing to assist her as she did so. Millet and the rifleman began to rouse and clamber to their feet, but it was too late for them, even if they had maintained their grasps on their respective firearms. Kirika pounced at a nearby brass pole--one of those strange decorations running across the stage and along the middle of the catwalk--and latched onto it with both hands, before swinging herself gracefully around it, her feet leading the way. 
 415.213 +
 415.214 +The sniper looked up and was unexpectedly met by Kirika's feet planting squarely into his chest, violently smashing him backwards through the air. The back of his head then connected with an audible clang against the railing of the dangling gantry to his rear, painfully halting his flight and dropping him onto the stage in a heap. The gangster then struggled onto all fours, only to be lethally shot several times in the ribs; Mireille finishing off her partner's handiwork. 
 415.215 +
 415.216 +In the meantime Kirika continued to whirl around the pole with her lingering momentum, using what was left of it to reach Millet. She twisted her exceptionally flexible body into the required posture and then locked her legs on either side of his neck, trapping his head between her strong calves. Next, utilising his own bodyweight in conjunction with her physical strength, she overbalanced him and flung him headlong off the stage, dumping him hard against its side and in front of Mireille's waiting gun. Kirika then completed the flowing manoeuvre, twirling around the golden pole gradually lower and lower until her feet touched the stage, the agile girl coming to an elegant stop. She released the pole and hopped to the floor to join Mireille and their subdued target. All adversaries had been neutralised and the room was quiet; still--the opera had concluded. 
 415.217 +
 415.218 +Kirika pulled out her Beretta from behind the waistband of her skirt and replaced its depleted magazine with a full one as she walked to Mireille's side--just because the fighting was over didn't mean she could relax or become careless; there might be some remnants of Millet's syndicate still lurking in the building. As she approached her partner, she scanned her eyes over the woman's body, checking for injuries. But Kirika had upheld her earlier promise; there wasn't so much as a scratch to be seen on Mireille. Her light lilac coat and white pants were soiled with dark patches in several places however, probably the result of copious amounts of alcoholic drinks spilling down on her from bullet-cracked bottles while she had been behind the bar. 
 415.219 +
 415.220 +Millet glowered up at Mireille and Kirika from his spot on the floor, one hand reaching up to apply pressure to his gunshot wound in his right shoulder. Blood trickled down the side of his head also--no doubt caused by one of his recent tumbles--and sweat rings stained the underarms of his white shirt, with dust also tarnishing the garment. All in all, his once immaculate bearing was ruined. 
 415.221 +
 415.222 +"You think you can do this to me?! And don't care how good you are; I'll see you both dead! DEAD!" Millet threatened the impassive duo of assassins, spittle flying from his mouth. But he had become a dog devoid of teeth; all bark and no bite.
 415.223 +
 415.224 +"You will tell us everything you know," Mireille said flatly, her Walther levelled at Millet's chest and clearly unintimidated by the man's vow. "Who hired you, what details regarding us you have learned, how you knew to expect our arrival here; *everything*." Puddles of flame burned around the blonde assassin's feet from the destroyed Molotov cocktails, while the raging fires continuing to steadily engulf the stage's maroon curtains painted dancing orange lights on her cool face--an angel standing tall and proud in Hell before its cowed populace. Millet would talk. 
 415.225 +
 415.226 +Kirika's gun abruptly snapped to the curtains adorning the left side of the stage--yet untouched by the fires devouring its neighbours--as her keen hearing detected footsteps coming from that direction. Seconds later her suspicions proved correct, and a man emerged from behind the drapes, black square sunglasses shielding his eyes and reflecting the hot blaze nearby him. Kirika recalled him as the goon who had been on the gantry talking to Millet minutes before the firefight. 
 415.227 +
 415.228 +"You're wasting your time," the sunglasses man spoke as he rather nonchalantly traversed the stage towards Kirika and Mireille and their captive, apparently undaunted by the former young woman's pistol aimed his way. However, Kirika saw that his forehead was streaked with glistening sweat, but if it was caused by the heat of the adjacent curtain fire or by trepidation she couldn't be certain. "He doesn't know anything." 
 415.229 +
 415.230 +"Jacques! What are you doing?! Shoot them!" Millet wailed as he craned his neck to look over his shoulder at his apparent associate, although Jacques' loyalty did seem to be questionable. 
 415.231 +
 415.232 +"Nah, I don't think so," Jacques said as he jumped off the stage, landing a few feet away from Kirika and Mireille, the darkhaired girl's Beretta M1934 warily following his every move. 
 415.233 +
 415.234 +"WHAT?!" Millet yelled incredulously, his body tensing as if he were about to leap up in outrage and prompting Mireille to remind him of the Walther pointing at him with a slight wave of the weapon. "You traitor! I knew there was something strange about you today! How much did they pay you, you mercenary bastard?!"
 415.235 +
 415.236 +Jacques said nothing and just smirked, albeit a bit uneasily, a nervous tick repeatedly pulling up the raised corner of his mouth.
 415.237 +
 415.238 +Mireille's eyes flicked briefly to Jacques before returning to a seething Millet, wordlessly putting her trust in Kirika to watch their new guest carefully. "You had better talk fast before we decide to treat you like another one of his men," the woman then warned in a no-nonsense tone, motioning at Millet with her Walther P99. 
 415.239 +
 415.240 +Jacques bobbed his head, his gaze roaming around the room and at the carnage it enclosed. "Heh, yeah, real impressive that," he commented in a weak chuckle. He then threw his hands up in a gesture of peace for Kirika's benefit, before slowly moving his hand to his blue suit jacket pocket and retrieving a cigarette. Squatting down with equal care, Jacques lit the end of it in a small nearby pool of Molotov flame with a slightly trembling hand, before standing up again. 
 415.241 +
 415.242 +"He's just a tool, an ignorant pawn, really," he revealed after taking a quick inhalation of his cigarette, breathing out the smoke in a sigh. He then smirked again, his eyes drifting to Millet who sat incensed on the floor. "But then what other kind of pawn is there?"
 415.243 +
 415.244 +"Bastard…!" Millet snarled, his fury held in check only by Mireille's gun. Kirika was sure that if it weren't for her partner he would be ripping Jacques to shreds with his bare hands by now. The girl wondered though how long the threat of eating a bullet would dissuade him however; Millet looked very angry.
 415.245 +
 415.246 +"It was his employers who provided the specifics to set this up, along with last night's ambush," Jacques went on. "Two Asian guys I'm sure you're familiar with…" 
 415.247 +
 415.248 +"That's a lie and you know it!" Millet shouted heatedly. "It was *you* who set the attacks up!"
 415.249 +
 415.250 +"Be quiet," Mireille snapped at Millet in a stern voice. "Why should we trust anything you say?" she then directed to Jacques in a tone not much less harsh.
 415.251 +
 415.252 +The brown haired man smiled and slowly took the cigarette from between his lips. "Let's just say we have a… mutual friend… whose interests coincide with your own."
 415.253 +
 415.254 +"Does this friend have a name?" Mireille asked scornfully, although Kirika suspected the blonde already knew it, just like she herself did--Soldats.
 415.255 +
 415.256 +Jacques simply continued to smile, not saying anything--he didn't have to.
 415.257 +
 415.258 +"Still, I say again; why should we trust anything you have say?" Mireille then said, the contempt she possessed for the organisation Jacques evidently worked for an almost tangible thing. 
 415.259 +
 415.260 +"Funny," the Soldats operative deadpanned.
 415.261 +
 415.262 +"I wasn't joking," Mireille said coldly. 
 415.263 +
 415.264 +Jacques merely looked at the imposing blonde for a few seconds, an expression of discomfort frozen on his face, before he took a quick, anxious breath and shook his head slightly. "Look, we're on the same side here. What's more I'm just a messenger in the right place at the right time," he confessed. "You really are wasting your time; this trail leads to a dead end--there's someplace else you have to be." He paused to nervously puff on his cigarette. "Pierpont," he then stated in a plume of smoke. "I was told you would recognise that name." 
 415.265 +
 415.266 +"Pierpont?" Mireille parroted, frowning in puzzlement. Kirika was no less perplexed--Pierpont--or rather, Simon Pierpont--the horrible boy she had visited with her love unfortunately on more than one occasion. What did he have to do with the false Noir? Had he somehow tracked them down?
 415.267 +
 415.268 +"Yeah. Pierpont," Jacques confirmed. "And that's all I was told. So now I guess I should take my leave. This place is gonna be crawling with cops pretty damn soon anyway… that is--" He grinned at Millet, provoking a scowl from his 'boss', and then flicked his cigarette at the bar. It sailed over it and vanished behind the structure, flames suddenly erupting like some sort of incandescent plant life where it had landed out of sight. The fire spread quickly with all the potent liquor that had been splattered haphazardly about the bar, and in moments it had become an unbridled bonfire, the peaks of the pyre clawing upwards to scrape the ceiling charcoal. "--if the Fire Department doesn't get here first."
 415.269 +
 415.270 +"You're a walking corpse," Millet swore in a low, dangerous voice, his headquarters literally going up flames around him. "You'll never be able to walk the streets of this city again without always looking over your shoulder. I'll see to it."
 415.271 +
 415.272 +"Look around; this place is finished," Jacques chuckled, unafraid. "*You're* finished." He then nodded in parting to Mireille, his eyes passing for an instant over Kirika--who had yet to lower her gun from his chest despite his claims of being on her and her partner's side; he was still Soldats, after all--before he turned around and began to walk to the front doors of the building, his prior entrance into the room via the rear of the curtains now an impassable firestorm. 
 415.273 +
 415.274 +"Oh, one more thing, Richard," Jacques said, looking back over his shoulder. "Did you know you're in the company of Noir? I mean the *real* Noir." The Soldats agent grinned smugly. It was the grin of a winner. "Like I said; you're finished," he concluded, and then resumed casually heading towards the exit, putting his hands in his pants' pockets. Kirika waited only until he had departed before she at last repositioned her Beretta, moving it to accompany Mireille's Walther in watching over their prisoner.
 415.275 +
 415.276 +"Noir…" Millet whispered, Jacques duplicity forgotten and his ire deserting him in the face of fear. "It can't be…."
 415.277 +
 415.278 +Kirika noted that this time Mireille did not deny the allegation. "You mentioned before that it was just business between us," the blonde instead reminded him emotionlessly. "You were wrong." 
 415.279 +
 415.280 +Millet's head snapped back and banged against the edge of the stage as a 9mm Parabellum slug brutally invaded his cranium at close range and tore out the opposite side. A streak of blood containing very dark red, almost black, coagulated lumps plastered the floor of stage behind the dead man's head, while more of the substance dripped like syrup from part of the golden railing lining the semi-circular structure and the adjoining catwalk. 
 415.281 +
 415.282 +Kirika let her arms fall to her sides with Millet's demise and looked at Mireille as the woman did the same, relaxing her posture. She wondered what her love had meant by her final words to Millet. But the petite girl supposed it didn't really matter; Millet was dead now. And his entire syndicate was dead too, if the number of bodies littering the vicinity were any indication. There could still be a few lingering survivors, but for all intents and purposes the small criminal organisation had been wiped out with its leader.
 415.283 +
 415.284 +Kirika looked away from Mireille and gazed around the room, surveying the massacre that she'd had a substantial hand in. She had slain a lot of people tonight, but she had done so with no hesitation, with no misgivings. She had simply done what she'd had to do to protect Mireille's life; she had done what was necessary to honour her oath…. And that was to kill. This fight had not been like the previous one where Kirika had faltered, even if it was only for a moment. This time she'd had no such reluctance and furthermore she felt no remorse for the fallen sinners. This experience had been a test for her--a test whether she was truly devoted to Odette Bouquet's last words--and she had passed it. A murderer Kirika may be, but she was a murderer with virtuous intent.
 415.285 +
 415.286 +<And that makes all the difference, doesn't it…?>
 415.287 +
 415.288 +Kirika returned her soft brown eyes to Mireille and was a little surprised to see that the woman was looking at her. Seeing that she had the girl's attention, the blonde then motioned with a gentle tilt of her head back to the hallway connecting to the room. It was time to go. There was no need for Mireille to declare where they were going next, either--Simon Pierpont's place of residence. Kirika was not looking forward to it. 
 415.289 +
 415.290 +Where Jacques had taken the direct course using the front doors to vacate the burning building, Kirika and Mireille opted to use the proven route they had navigated to infiltrate it earlier--it was a path they were familiar with, and hence was the wisest to choose. If the two assassins were to be waylaid by any leftovers of Millet's syndicate while leaving the group's headquarters it would be to their advantage if they knew the layout of the combat zone. It was also that possible danger that encouraged Kirika and her partner to keep their weapons firmly in their hands as they walked. 
 415.291 +
 415.292 +As Kirika crossed the threshold into the corridor that eventually led out of the building, she peered back over her shoulder. The fires that had been consuming the stage's crimson curtains and the wrecked bar had crept away from their birthplaces in search of fresh nourishment, half the room now lost in an intense inferno. Flames climbed the walls and crawled along the floor, and most of the stage was alight, the carcasses of several gangsters lying there granted an impromptu cremation in their former headquarters. Kirika doubted whether the Fire Brigade would be able to save the building from being completely gutted by the raging conflagration. But maybe that was fitting; it had been a lair of sinners--Hell had come to claim its own. 
 415.293 +
 415.294 +And now Kirika and her love were departing that fiery, wicked domain; leaving behind its citizens also. A demon and an angel, side by side, partners against the darkness… and partners in life. Once they stepped outside into the cool night air, they would be bestowed a reprieve from their near constant war, even if it could never be a lasting one. Pseudo peace would be theirs. 
 415.295 +
 415.296 +And then of course the hope would come, the dream that the peace could endure forever more, that tomorrow it would all be over, just a nightmare woken up from. Or at least that was how Kirika felt. One day that dream would be realised. One day. But not today. 
 415.297 +
 415.298 +Mireille's blue eyes turned surreptitiously to Kirika as they travelled together down the corridor, stepping over the bodies of the men they had killed beforehand. A small smile formed on her beautiful face, one of barely controlled mirth if the introverted girl read it accurately. 
 415.299 +
 415.300 +"You looked… good… swinging on that pole back there," Mireille remarked matter-of-factly, her smile growing. 
 415.301 +
 415.302 +"Hm?" Kirika uttered in bewilderment as she looked at her love, her countenance similarly mystified. The blonde's amusement appeared to have doubled now, although the girl hadn't a clue as to why. Maybe Mireille was thinking of a funny joke. Not that Kirika ever understood any of them. On the numerous times her partner had attempted to explain them to her all the woman had done was cause her to feel even more baffled--she was starting to believe that perhaps Mireille had an odd sense of humour. She did seem to enjoy dressing Kirika up in a variety of clothes for some reason, after all; why couldn't her sense of humour be likewise affected?
 415.303 +
 415.304 +In any case, it didn't matter what Mireille was thinking--or what she took pleasure in, either, regardless of how strange it was--as long as she was happy. As long as she enjoyed the fleeting peace as much as Kirika herself did. 
 415.305 +
 415.306 +******
 415.307 +
 415.308 +To be continued….
 415.309 +
 415.310 +
 415.311 +Author's ramblings:
 415.312 +
 415.313 +I decided to give Kirika something to hold her ammunition clips in when she wears outfits with no pockets. She can't very well shove magazines in the waistband of her skirt now, can she? That's where her gun goes. ^_^
 415.314 +
 415.315 +Also, I figured Kirika has to be pretty strong. She did use an M16 once and handled the recoil effortlessly, plus breaking necks isn't exactly easy.
 415.316 \ No newline at end of file

   416.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   416.2 +++ b/stories/noir_sabimer.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   416.3 @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
   416.4 +Disclaimer: Noir belongs to Koichi Mashimo and Bee Train Studios. I am merely borrowing these characters for a non-profit fanwork.
   416.5 +
   416.6 +Notes: Shoujo-ai/femslash ahead. If the thought of same-sex attraction repels you, stop reading. It's that simple. Please don't flame me -- I dislike dealing with fuckwits.
   416.7 +
   416.8 +As I understand it, "s'abîmer" means "to be engulfed." It is also the name of the first "fragment" in Roland Barthes' A Lover's Discourse.
   416.9 +
  416.10 +SPOILER WARNING for the end of the series.
  416.11 +
  416.12 +Rating: PG
  416.13 +
  416.14 +Feedback: I would love some, thank you.
  416.15 +
  416.16 +***********************
  416.17 +
  416.18 +S'abîmer
  416.19 +By Yasminm
  416.20 +
  416.21 +the_jentayu@hotmail.com
  416.22 +
  416.23 +It wasn't at all like drowning, Kirika decided.
  416.24 +
  416.25 +She'd found the metaphor in a book, one of the countless many she read until she realized that there was such a thing as having tastes in the kind of books one reads. Mireille had always playfully mocked her lack of literary education, and she dutifully set out to correct the gap. There was plenty of time for her to indulge in books, now that she was no longer Soldats' assassin -- and she was vaguely aware that it was something normal people did.
  416.26 +
  416.27 +So she tackled her new hobby with her usual intensity, puzzling over Kafka's weighty surrealism and the supposedly amusing human foibles in Austen's cool prose. She had finished most of Shakespeare's tragedies and was now working her way through his sonnets, cradling the heavy tome in her small hands as she sat by the windows of Mireille's apartment.
  416.28 +
  416.29 +The book had been a gift. One morning, Mireille presented her with a gaily-wrapped package: the complete works of William Shakespeare. She was more than a little touched, then, almost hugging Mireille -- almost, before tactile reservations asserted themselves.
  416.30 +
  416.31 +After reading yet another overwrought dramatization of the life of a dead English king, Kirika was beginning to wonder if the book was a gift that kept on laughing. Still, she persevered, because it wasn't in her nature to give up easily. Besides...
  416.32 +
  416.33 +She traced the words lightly with the tips of her fingers, their shadows dark in the summer sunlight. Besides, it was a gift from Mireille. Even if it was a joke she didn't quite get.
  416.34 +
  416.35 +A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
  416.36 +Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
  416.37 +A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
  416.38 +With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
  416.39 +An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
  416.40 +Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
  416.41 +A man in hue, all 'hues' in his controlling,
  416.42 +Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
  416.43 +And for a woman wert thou first created;
  416.44 +Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
  416.45 +And by addition me of thee defeated,
  416.46 +By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
  416.47 +But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,
  416.48 +Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.
  416.49 +
  416.50 +Kirika snuck a peek at Mireille, who was scowling intently at a brand-new laptop. Her head was inclined slightly forward, so that the tips of her long blonde hair brushed against the faint scars near her elbow. Mireille's eyebrow twitched, and Kirika quickly averted her eyes. They were well-attuned to each other nearly from the beginning, but after the events at the Manor, there were times when the bond between them felt almost telepathic -- almost as if they moved with one mind, one body, one instinct.
  416.51 +
  416.52 +She ducked her head guiltily, forcing her attention back to the book. No, it wasn't like drowning at all. There was no burning in her lungs when she looked at Mireille, signalling a slow death as they filled with water. There was no panicked struggling for oxygen, no fear that she would die alone in a cold and watery pit.
  416.53 +
  416.54 +"Kirika?" Mireille was looking at her inquiringly, a merry gleam in her blue eyes. "Pack your sunscreen. We're going to Australia."
  416.55 +
  416.56 +She nodded, closing her book with a discreet thump.
  416.57 +
  416.58 +"There's a Soldats intelligence network there. If we can take it out, we'll cripple their information relay." Gunpowder and the adrenaline of a kill, eager ghosts in Mireille's smile. "A good beginning, don't you think?"
  416.59 +
  416.60 +"One by one," Kirika said softly, leaving her seat by the window and moving into the shadowed interior of the apartment.
  416.61 +
  416.62 +"Of course." Blonde hair swung, brushing against cherry-red lips. "You with me?"
  416.63 +
  416.64 +Mireille once told her a wounded animal cared only for its own pain, blinded to another's. So would a drowning person, hyper-aware of his or her mortality, desperately clinging on to survival. It was, Kirika decided, not at all like the way she felt at Mireille's low laughter.
  416.65 +
  416.66 +"Yes."
  416.67 +
  416.68 +This felt like the last time Mireille pointed a gun towards her, honouring a promise broken in the end: a promise of death, annihilation. This was a promise of another death, of change and a new beginning. Whatever the outcome, nothing will ever be the same. Not for her, and not for Mireille.
  416.69 +
  416.70 +There were times, in moments of unguarded looks and lingering touches, when she was almost certain -- almost certain Mireille too realised that the thread binding them together was not black but red.
  416.71 +
  416.72 +Almost. Almost. Almost.
  416.73 +
  416.74 +Kirika, who had begged Mireille to kill her without hesitation, found she could not quite make herself believe.
  416.75 +
  416.76 +"Umm... Mireille?"
  416.77 +
  416.78 +"Hmm?"
  416.79 +
  416.80 +They knew each other so well.
  416.81 +
  416.82 +"Nothing." Kirika's eyes flicked away, and down. "I'll tell you later."
  416.83 +
  416.84 +And that was the end of that, she thought, but Mireille leaned back in her seat and said casually, "After you finish the book, then."
  416.85 +
  416.86 +Kirika's head snapped up, in time to catch Mireille turning back to her laptop. Nothing in Mireille's expression gave away anything, but there was something... a warm promise in the tenor of her voice...
  416.87 +
  416.88 +Maybe it wasn't only her own fear she had been feeling.
  416.89 +
  416.90 +Kirika smiled, very slightly.
  416.91 +
  416.92 +Maybe it was like drowning, after all.
  416.93 +
  416.94 +-owari-
  416.95 \ No newline at end of file

   417.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   417.2 +++ b/stories/nomore.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   417.3 @@ -0,0 +1,338 @@
   417.4 +Hello everyone, this is the Starlight Knight I making my first appearance
   417.5 +on this site. This story takes place the morning after a story I read called
   417.6 +"Moonlit Nights" by the Amonazoness Quartet, by the way I'm going to email 
   417.7 +them too,
   417.8 +so this is the continuation of "Moonlit Nights".  I'll tell you right now
   417.9 +if you want to grasp the full concept of this story, go to 
  417.10 +Moonromance.com/hen.htm
  417.11 +and read "Moonlit Nights", both parts, then this story. This story contains 
  417.12 +some
  417.13 +adult elements, so no readers under 18. The characters are not mine, they 
  417.14 +are
  417.15 +(c) of Naoko and so on and so forth. If you have any comments, or if you 
  417.16 +simply
  417.17 +like the story, my E-mail is ice_fyre03@msn.com. I hope you enjoy it. By the 
  417.18 +way
  417.19 +if you have MSN Messenger, feel free to add me to your buddy list.^-^
  417.20 +
  417.21 +
  417.22 +
  417.23 +
  417.24 +Innocent No More
  417.25 +
  417.26 +
  417.27 +
  417.28 +
  417.29 +	The light from the rising sun shone bright as Diana sat on Momoko's
  417.30 +windowsill. The reason she spent the night was unknown even to her. She 
  417.31 +turned
  417.32 +around and looked at the girl innocently sleeping. 'If only you knew...' 
  417.33 +Diana
  417.34 +thought. She continued to sit on the windowsill and reflect on last night. 
  417.35 +Her
  417.36 +mind went back to the dance, how she and Momoko were dancing. The feel of 
  417.37 +her
  417.38 +hand running down Diana's back, she started to slowly purr. A few minutes 
  417.39 +later
  417.40 +she snapped out of her daydream. 'What was that!?' she thought as she was 
  417.41 +still
  417.42 +facing the window. Diana turned toward the bed again, this time Momoko was
  417.43 +sitting up and stretching. Diana hopped off the windowsill and jumped on the 
  417.44 +bed
  417.45 +and sat in front of the now awake girl. "Diana I thought you left..." Momoko
  417.46 +said.  "Well, I'm glad you didn't I needed the company.” she added as she 
  417.47 +got up
  417.48 +and started to take a bath. Meanwhile, everyone at Hotaru's house was up and
  417.49 +awake and just sitting down to breakfast. "So, you two lovebirds have a nice
  417.50 +night?" Haruka asked poking Hotaru with her elbow. Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
  417.51 +started
  417.52 +blushing. "You two managed to stir things up quite a bit you know..." 
  417.53 +Michiru
  417.54 +said smiling. "We know we did." Hotaru and ChibiUsa said. "Anyway," Setsuna
  417.55 +started, "do you have anything planned for today?" "As a matter of fact, yes 
  417.56 +we
  417.57 +do, we're going to take a walk in the park with a friend" ChibiUsa said 
  417.58 +smiling
  417.59 +as she looked at her watch. "Whoa!" she said suddenly, "We've got to go, 
  417.60 +she'll
  417.61 +be there any minute!" She grabbed Hotaru as ran to the door. "We'll be back
  417.62 +later on today, bye everyone." both girls said running out the door and 
  417.63 +around
  417.64 +the corner of the house.
  417.65 +
  417.66 +	Because, as you see, the park was directly behind Hotaru's house so all
  417.67 +the girls had to do was squeeze through two big bushes. And sure enough as 
  417.68 +they
  417.69 +started running toward the bench where they always met, Momoko and Diana was
  417.70 +right there sitting down and waiting. Momoko jumped up as she saw ChibiUsa 
  417.71 +and
  417.72 +Hotaru make there way to the bench. At that moment she had a flashback to 
  417.73 +last
  417.74 +night, it was of her seeing ChibiUsa and Hotaru kiss. "Hi Momoko how are 
  417.75 +you?"
  417.76 +ChibiUsa said. “I’m fine." Momoko answered shyly. "What's wrong?" Hotaru 
  417.77 +asked. "
  417.78 +I have to talk to Rini, it's kind of important." Momoko uneasily said. 
  417.79 +"This'll
  417.80 +only be a few minutes Taru-chan I'll be back." ChibiUsa said. "Okay." Hotaru
  417.81 +replied back as she saw the two girls head out into the grassy field. "So,
  417.82 +what's on your mind?" ChibiUsa asked. "Well, for starters, you don't have to
  417.83 +tell your big secret." ChibiUsa's eyes went wide with fear. "Tell me you 
  417.84 +didn't
  417.85 +catch me and Hotaru k...k.." she said trailing her voice off. "Yes, I did."
  417.86 +Momoko said looking at the ground. "But that isn't as bad as what I am about 
  417.87 +to
  417.88 +tell you." "What could possibly be worse than that?" ChibiUsa asked. "Well
  417.89 +before I saw you two, I met a girl during the dance her name was Diana." 
  417.90 +Momoko
  417.91 +started. "Diana, it couldn't be..." ChibiUsa said as she looked at the park
  417.92 +bench where Diana and Hotaru were sitting. "Can I finish now?" Momoko asked. 
  417.93 +"Uh
  417.94 +huh, go ahead." ChibiUsa said putting her attention back on her friend. 
  417.95 +"Well
  417.96 +like I was saying, she asked me to dance. I don't know why but I got this 
  417.97 +weird
  417.98 +feeling from just looking at her." She said finishing her thought. "You're 
  417.99 +not
 417.100 +about to tell mf you love her, are you?" ChibiUsa said smiling evilly. 
 417.101 +Momoko
 417.102 +looked down again and simply nodded her head yes. "Oh my God! Wait right 
 417.103 +here
 417.104 +Momo-chan, I'll be back." ChibiUsa said running towards the bench. "You will 
 417.105 +not
 417.106 +believe this Taru, well, the first part you won't mind but the second part 
 417.107 +will
 417.108 +scare you completely!" ChibiUsa said.
 417.109 +
 417.110 +	"Oh really, then tell me." Hotaru said unconvinced. "Well the first part
 417.111 +is Momo saw us kiss after the dance." ChibiUsa started. "You're right I 
 417.112 +don't
 417.113 +mind the first part," Hotaru smiled, "But please, do go on." "Well anyway it
 417.114 +seems that our friend has got it bad for another girl." ChibiUsa said. "Tell 
 417.115 +me
 417.116 +who." Hotaru said.  ChibiUsa bent over and whispered the name into Hotaru's 
 417.117 +ear.
 417.118 +She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "You're kidding." she said. 
 417.119 +ChibiUsa
 417.120 +stood there smirking. "Does it look like I'm kidding?" she said. "Oooh,
 417.121 +Diana has a girlfriend." Hotaru mocked. "I do not!" Diana said starting to
 417.122 +blush. "Then why are you blushing," ChibiUsa started, "Is it because you 
 417.123 +like
 417.124 +her too?" Diana looked down still blushing. "This is too good to be true..."
 417.125 +ChibiUsa said chuckling. "Just how long were you planning to keep this 
 417.126 +secret?"
 417.127 +Hotaru asked. "I don't know." Diana said still looking down. "Well we're 
 417.128 +going to
 417.129 +have to fix this..." ChibiUsa said smirking. "Wha...what do you mean?" Diana
 417.130 +asked. "It means you transform into your human form, you've got someone to 
 417.131 +be
 417.132 +with." ChibiUsa replied and ran back to Momoko. "I think I can help you with
 417.133 +your problem, just sit on the bench and Hotaru, Diana, and I will be back."
 417.134 +Momoko's face lit up. "You can? Oh thank you so very much Rini, you are a 
 417.135 +true
 417.136 +friend!" Momoko said jumping up for joy. She ran to sit on  the bench 
 417.137 +anxiously
 417.138 +awaiting what was about to happen. While ChibiUsa, Hotaru, and Diana went 
 417.139 +around
 417.140 +a bush. "How long can you hold your human form?" asked ChibiUsa. "As long as 
 417.141 +I
 417.142 +want, why do you ask. Diana said. "No reason in particular, I just have a 
 417.143 +plan
 417.144 +that'll benefit the both of us." ChibiUsa said. "Just transform already, you
 417.145 +have a friend, and I use that term loosely, waiting for you." Sparing no 
 417.146 +time
 417.147 +Diana transformed in to her human form.  She was about Momoko's height 
 417.148 +wearing a
 417.149 +light gray school uniform. Her hair was the color of her eyes a grayish
 417.150 +almost carnation pink.
 417.151 +
 417.152 +	They all stepped from behind the bush. "Diana stay behind us I want this
 417.153 +to be a complete and total surprise." ChibiUsa whispered  "Okay." Diana 
 417.154 +replied
 417.155 +following the other two. Soon they would reach the bench. She wanted to be 
 417.156 +with
 417.157 +the girl too, but what would she say after running away last night. "Momoko, 
 417.158 +we
 417.159 +have a surprise for you." ChibiUsa said. They stepped aside and Diana 
 417.160 +stepped
 417.161 +forward. "Hi Momoko." Diana said. There was dead silence, Momoko froze in 
 417.162 +place.
 417.163 +'It couldn't be...no it can't be.' she thought. She started looking up. She 
 417.164 +saw
 417.165 +a familiar pair of legs, then a body, then her eyes got wider when she saw 
 417.166 +the
 417.167 +face. "Diana!" she screamed as she jumped up and hugged her "friend". "I'm 
 417.168 +sorry
 417.169 +I made you run away, I didn't mean to." she said as she started crying. 
 417.170 +Diana
 417.171 +sat there not knowing what to do. She turned around to ask, but just got the 
 417.172 +'go
 417.173 +ahead' motion from ChibiUsa. She hugged her back. Momoko looked up with 
 417.174 +tears of
 417.175 +happiness in her eyes. Diana took a finger and wiped away a tear. "You don’t 
 417.176 +need
 417.177 +to cry, I'm back and I'll never leave you again." Diana said reassuringly. 
 417.178 +They
 417.179 +came closer and closer together and touched lips in a light kiss. They 
 417.180 +looked at
 417.181 +each other then looked at ChibiUsa and Hotaru, who were staring at them with 
 417.182 +big
 417.183 +grins across their face. "What?" Diana asked. "Oh nothing, do you want to 
 417.184 +come
 417.185 +with us to the other side of the park, we're going to sit by the lake." 
 417.186 +Hotaru
 417.187 +asked. "Sure, that sounds great." Momoko said. They all left side by side.,
 417.188 +ChibiUsa on side of Hotaru and Momoko on side of Diana. They all went to the
 417.189 +other side of the lake where nobody usually sat. "I can't believe they just 
 417.190 +did
 417.191 +that in front of us." ChibiUsa said. "It seems that love can make you do 
 417.192 +crazy
 417.193 +things." Hotaru said. "Love is truly the craziest emotion there is, it hits 
 417.194 +you
 417.195 +when you least expect it and towards the person you'd least expect." 
 417.196 +ChibiUsa
 417.197 +added. "I can agree with that." Hotaru said as they were lying down on the
 417.198 +grass. "Why did you leave me?" Momoko asked Diana.
 417.199 +
 417.200 +	"I don't know." Diana replied. "Too many things were going through my
 417.201 +head." "Then why did you come back?" Momoko asked. "I had to see you again,
 417.202 +there is no other way of saying that." Diana said. "I can't believe this is
 417.203 +happening right before us." ChibiUsa said. "Who knew that this would happen 
 417.204 +to
 417.205 +our little Diana." Hotaru said as she looked at her and Momoko sit next to 
 417.206 +each
 417.207 +other. Momoko looked at Diana who had a slight smirk on her face. "What's
 417.208 +wrong?" Diana asked. "I've always wondered what it was like to kiss another
 417.209 +girl." Momoko replied. "Well, how do you like it?" Diana asked. "That's what 
 417.210 +I
 417.211 +like about you, that same innocent look when you ask questions." Momoko
 417.212 +said. "But to answer your question, I think I like it a lot." she said 
 417.213 +leaning
 417.214 +closer to Diana, who did nothing to stop this she just leaned in too. Their 
 417.215 +lips
 417.216 +met again in a small kiss followed by a second more passionate kiss. "Hotaru
 417.217 +look, they're doing it again." ChibiUsa said. "Hmmm, they're really going at
 417.218 +it." Hotaru said agreeing. They were no longer side by side kissing, they 
 417.219 +were
 417.220 +lying on the ground with Momoko on top. A few seconds later Momoko broke the
 417.221 +kiss and looked at where she was and immediately jumped up. "What was 
 417.222 +that!?"
 417.223 +she asked turning bright red. "I'd say it was enjoyment." ChibiUsa smirked. 
 417.224 +"You
 417.225 +were doing that for so long, you even let your hair down." Hotaru said
 417.226 +giggling. “Is she that good of a kisser?" ChibiUsa joked. Then she looked at
 417.227 +Diana, her eyes went wide with surprise. "Whoa, Momoko I'm surprised you."
 417.228 +ChibiUsa screamed. Momoko looked as ChibiUsa showed her Diana's 
 417.229 +half-unbuttoned
 417.230 +shirt. "I did that?" Momoko said in surprise.
 417.231 +
 417.232 +	"You two should get a room." Hotaru said smiling. Momoko started blushing
 417.233 +again. "I wonder, how far would you two have gone if we didn't say 
 417.234 +anything."
 417.235 +ChibiUsa said. "Well, why did you stop her!?" Diana pouted. "I was enjoying
 417.236 +that!" Everyone turned around and looked at Diana strangely. They all sat 
 417.237 +silent
 417.238 +for a few minutes. Then it hit Diana why they were looking at her strangely, 
 417.239 +and
 417.240 +she started to blush again. "Anyone want to come back to my place?" Hotaru 
 417.241 +asked.
 417.242 +"That sounds fine to me," ChibiUsa said, "with these two we may need to get 
 417.243 +a
 417.244 +room soon." she added jokingly. "Well, you two can go, but I want to stay 
 417.245 +right
 417.246 +here with Diana." Momoko said putting her arms around Diana's waist. "Okay 
 417.247 +then
 417.248 +we'll see you two later, don't do anything we wouldn't do." ChibiUsa said
 417.249 +helping Hotaru get up. They left afterwards, leaving Momoko and Diana alone 
 417.250 +at
 417.251 +the lake. "So, what do we do now? Diana asked. "We pick up where we left 
 417.252 +off."
 417.253 +Momoko said. She started kissing her again while running her hand up Diana's
 417.254 +small body. Her hand lightly ran up her  stomach and came to rest on one of 
 417.255 +her
 417.256 +Diana's breasts. Momoko gave it a soft squeeze soliciting a small moan from
 417.257 +Diana. She had no control over what was going on, all she knew is that she 
 417.258 +liked
 417.259 +it and didn't want it to stop. Momoko finished unbuttoning Diana's shirt, 
 417.260 +she
 417.261 +could now see Diana's breasts in full view. Lowering her self onto Diana she
 417.262 +started showering kisses down her body stopping at Diana's left nipple, and
 417.263 +started to suck on it. It became instantly hard in Momoko's mouth, they both
 417.264 +were now beyond the point of controlling themselves. Momoko stopped for a 
 417.265 +moment
 417.266 +to raise the dress over her head and toss it aside. She kissed Diana again
 417.267 +feeling her skin rub against Diana's soft white skin.
 417.268 +
 417.269 +	Momoko rolled over and let Diana get on top. Diana set to work exploring
 417.270 +Momoko's body by kissing it all the way down. She reached Momoko's thighs 
 417.271 +and
 417.272 +started to kiss around her nether lips, then started to lick inside Momoko.
 417.273 +Momoko let out a gasp, she had never felt this before. "Oh...Di...ana," she 
 417.274 +said
 417.275 +breathing extremely hard. Diana continued to give her a tongue lashing,
 417.276 +unrelenting in her pursuit to give her lover a new pleasure she has never
 417.277 +experienced. Momoko's chest heaved up and down trying to catch what breath 
 417.278 +she
 417.279 +could from Diana's relentless assault. After what seemed like forever, 
 417.280 +Momoko
 417.281 +let out a final ear-piercing scream as her orgasm took place. Diana climbed 
 417.282 +back
 417.283 +up to Momoko face and kissed her so she tasted herself. "How was that?" she
 417.284 +asked. "That was great, but now it's your turn." Momoko evilly smiled. She 
 417.285 +ran a
 417.286 +hand down Diana's body and started massaging her swollen clit, and watched 
 417.287 +as
 417.288 +Diana arched her back in. She pinched it and watched as Diana gasped in pure
 417.289 +ecstasy. then she got an idea, she started to lick inside Diana and pinch 
 417.290 +her
 417.291 +clit at the same time. Diana dug her finger into the ground, this was too 
 417.292 +much
 417.293 +for her. With her breath becoming ragged, she started to scream 
 417.294 +uncontrollably,
 417.295 +swinging her head from side to side. A red energy aura started to form 
 417.296 +around
 417.297 +her and Momoko, every muscle in her body tightened in waiting expectation 
 417.298 +for
 417.299 +the inevitable. Diana felt it build in side her body, steadily increasing in
 417.300 +size and power. Diana held it for as long as she possibly could, but it kept
 417.301 +getting stronger and stronger, slowly chipping away at her will power.
 417.302 +
 417.303 +	Finally, she let loose, her final scream had been amplified into a
 417.304 +shockwave by the energy released from her body because of the sheer force of 
 417.305 +her
 417.306 +orgasm. The shockwave was so strong, that it shook the foundation every 
 417.307 +house,
 417.308 +building, and skyscraper for a ten mile radius. And, of course, being that
 417.309 +Hotaru's house was so close to the park, everybody there felt the full force 
 417.310 +of
 417.311 +of the shockwave. Everything was shaken up quite badly you could say. Haruka 
 417.312 +was
 417.313 +the first to say something, on the count of she was asleep. "What the hell 
 417.314 +was
 417.315 +that?!" she asked pulling herself up from the floor. "They didn't..." Hotaru 
 417.316 +and
 417.317 +ChibiUsa together. “Who didn't?" Haruka asked. "We'll explain later..." 
 417.318 +ChibiUsa
 417.319 +said as she grabbed Hotaru and ran out the back door to the park. They kept
 417.320 +running nonstop to the other side of the lake. "They did..." both girls said 
 417.321 +as
 417.322 +they saw them snuggled together sleeping naked, with the energy aura still
 417.323 +around them. "Hotaru, let's leave and come back later when they wake up."
 417.324 +ChibiUsa said, but it was too late, Diana woke up a few short seconds later.
 417.325 +"That was incredible!" she sat up and said, "I never felt anything like 
 417.326 +it.."
 417.327 +"Neither have we, you literally shook things up." ChibiUsa smirked. "I 
 417.328 +couldn't
 417.329 +help it.." Diana said. "Well anyway, wake up sleeping beauty and come back 
 417.330 +to
 417.331 +Hotaru's house." ChibiUsa smirked. "Yeah, Haruka-papa is expecting an
 417.332 +explanation when we get back and you two would really help in the 
 417.333 +explanation."
 417.334 +Hotaru said. Diana got her clothes on and woke up Momoko as told. When she 
 417.335 +got
 417.336 +her clothes, they all left giggling about what happened that day. They all 
 417.337 +came
 417.338 +as friends, but left as couples and lovers.
 417.339 +
 417.340 +THE END
 417.341 +

   418.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   418.2 +++ b/stories/nowboarding.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   418.3 @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
   418.4 +Now Boarding
   418.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   418.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   418.7 +
   418.8 +I'm leaving now.
   418.9 +My bags are packed, my ticket held firmly in hand. 
  418.10 +My hair flutters about my shoulders as the wind kisses me goodbye,
  418.11 +Her gentle touch a momentary distraction.
  418.12 +Where are you?
  418.13 +I thought you would come to see me off. 
  418.14 +But I hate long goodbyes. 
  418.15 +I hate the tears and the pain. 
  418.16 +I hate missing you so much. 
  418.17 +But I won't miss you long.
  418.18 +
  418.19 +My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.
  418.20 +The time is almost ready. 
  418.21 +I'm leaving early, you see.
  418.22 +They wanted me to stay much longer,
  418.23 +But I really must be going.
  418.24 +This place, it holds too much sadness for me.
  418.25 +The tears drown me in their numbers. 
  418.26 +So I'll be off now, as soon as my ride arrives.
  418.27 +The flight attendant is a beautiful woman
  418.28 +With short black hair and a midnight cloak and a scythe that reflects the moonlight.
  418.29 +Her face is white, pale as newly fallen snow. 
  418.30 +She beckons me.
  418.31 +My flight has arrived.
  418.32 +But still I balk, looking for you.
  418.33 +I still want to say goodbye. 
  418.34 +I'm sorry that I must leave, but I can't stay here any longer.
  418.35 +
  418.36 +My eyes scan the deserted area for you, hoping that I'll have one last chance,
  418.37 +To kiss away your tears, to collapse into your arms and lose myself forever in their comforting embrace. 
  418.38 +But you will not come. 
  418.39 +You do not see me. 
  418.40 +Inspiration strikes as I dig through my purse, finally settling on a pen and paper.
  418.41 +I will write you a letter.
  418.42 +A letter to explain why I had to leave. 
  418.43 +I will leave it behind for you to read. 
  418.44 +I quickly jot down my note, the pale cloaked woman gazing over my shoulder.
  418.45 +Crimson droplets sprinkle across my letter, a final signature on it's tear soaked surface.
  418.46 +
  418.47 +They say that it's always darkest before the dawn.
  418.48 +I'm sorry I couldn't wait till morning. 
  418.49 +I love you, my darling. 
  418.50 +But the flight attendent says I have to go.
  418.51 +My flight goes a long way up. 
  418.52 +I'll always be watching over you.
  418.53 +Goodnight, my love.
  418.54 +Sweet dreams.
  418.55 +Never say goodbye, because even though I leave, I will never be apart from you.
  418.56 +The view...
  418.57 +it's...
  418.58 +g o r g  e   o    u      s
  418.59 \ No newline at end of file

   419.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   419.2 +++ b/stories/onewish.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   419.3 @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
   419.4 +Hello. Here is another short fic that I wrote when I should have been doing other things. There's not much to it. Its just
   419.5 +a vignette of sorts about Tomoyo's birthday. The characters are all older. I don't know how much older... let's say
   419.6 +that Tomoyo is 17. That sounds about right to me. Comments are very much appreciated! PLEASE comment! If I don't
   419.7 +hear anything, I don't know if anybody liked it. Thanks. I hope you enjoy it.
   419.8 +
   419.9 +Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and are the property of their respective owners (CLAMP etc.).
  419.10 +
  419.11 +
  419.12 +
  419.13 +                                           ONE WISH
  419.14 +                                          By samuraiheart
  419.15 +                             kokoro_no_samurai@yahoo.com
  419.16 +
  419.17 +
  419.18 +
  419.19 +"Thanks, Naoku-chan. I'll see you in a little while." 
  419.20 +
  419.21 +"Just one more person to call," Sakura thought to herself as she picked up the receiver again and dialed Tomoyo's number. 
  419.22 +
  419.23 +"Daidouji Residence, Tomoyo speaking." 
  419.24 +
  419.25 +"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura said hesitantly. 
  419.26 +
  419.27 +"Sakura-chan! Do you need something?" Tomoyo said happy for the distraction. Her mother was away on a business trip and
  419.28 +there wasn't much to do in the house except watch videos. The real thing was always better. She blushed a little as she thought
  419.29 +about the outfit she had just finished making for Sakura and how great she would look in it. Maybe she could convince Sakura
  419.30 +to wear it soon. Even though she didn't capture cards anymore, Tomoyo could always find something interesting to videotape
  419.31 +about Sakura. She glanced over at her most recent accomplishments and smiled. "Sakura making a cake", "Sakura going to
  419.32 +school", "Sakura at cheerleading practice"... 
  419.33 +
  419.34 +"Ano... Can you come over? Uhhh... I want to show you something." She clutched the phone tightly and twisted the cord
  419.35 +around her fingers as she waited for her response. 
  419.36 +
  419.37 +"Sure. I'll be right there." 
  419.38 +
  419.39 +Sakura hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She frowned at what she had said. "I want to show you something?" She
  419.40 +had been planning this for weeks and she couldn't come up with anything better than that? Oh well. She was sure that the rest
  419.41 +of the night would go better. At least, she hoped it would. Sakura hurried to prepare the decorations and smiled in anticipation. 
  419.42 +
  419.43 +
  419.44 +
  419.45 +A large assortment of classmates and close friends had gathered at the Kinomoto house by the time that they all heard Tomoyo
  419.46 +coming up to the house. Sakura peeked out the window and turned toward the group of people. 
  419.47 +
  419.48 +"Shhhh! Here she comes!" she whispered excitedly as the doorbell rang. 
  419.49 +
  419.50 +When the door opened, Tomoyo was greeted by a loud "SURPRISE!" and a colorful array of birthday decorations. Bright
  419.51 +streamers were draped around the doorways and bright balloons and banners were placed throughout the house. Her eyes
  419.52 +went wide with surprise and she beamed at Sakura as friends came up to her one by one and wished her a happy birthday. 
  419.53 +
  419.54 +"Do you like it?" Sakura said leaning close to Tomoyo as she offered her some punch. 
  419.55 +
  419.56 +"Hai. Arigatou." Tomoyo said breathlessly. "How did you know?" 
  419.57 +
  419.58 +Sakura smiled and looked at her best friend in amazement. "Did you really think I would forget your birthday? Besides, I knew
  419.59 +your mom was out of town and I didn't want you to be all alone." 
  419.60 +
  419.61 +Tomoyo put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and looked over at her sincerely. "Arigatou." 
  419.62 +
  419.63 +Sakura smiled and led Tomoyo to the head of the table where the guests had begun to gather with their gifts. Just before she
  419.64 +could start unwrapping the presents, Naoku and Chiharu came out of the kitchen carrying a beautiful birthday cake. It was
  419.65 +chocolate with lots of pretty roses and candles on it. 
  419.66 +
  419.67 +"Happy Birthday, Tomoyo!" Everyone shouted at once. 
  419.68 +
  419.69 +Tomoyo put her hands up to her face and smiled brightly. She didn't know what to say. The light from the candles flickered and
  419.70 +danced across the faces of her friends. The room grew quiet and still as the group waited. 
  419.71 +
  419.72 +"Blow out the candles!" Meiling shouted enthusiastically unable to wait any longer. 
  419.73 +
  419.74 +"Don't forget to make a wish." Sakura whispered softly as Tomoyo bent closer to the cake. 
  419.75 +
  419.76 +Tomoyo closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I wish... I wish..." she shook her head and came to a decision. "I wish
  419.77 +for Sakura to be happy." She thought silently. Then she blew out the candles and for a moment the room went dark. Tomoyo
  419.78 +opened her eyes and stared at her best friend as her everyone cheered and someone rushed to turn on the lights. She tried to
  419.79 +smile, but it was getting harder to keep it up. 
  419.80 +
  419.81 +"Hooray! Its time for cake!" Sakura said, jumping up and down. 
  419.82 +
  419.83 +"Arigatou Sakura-chan. You're a great friend." Tomoyo bit her lip as the words echoed in her thoughts. Friend. That's all. She
  419.84 +tried to hide her sadness as she took the piece of cake that Sakura handed her and sat down to eat. 
  419.85 +
  419.86 +
  419.87 +
  419.88 +"Sayonara! Thanks for coming!" Sakura shouted to the last guest as she closed the door and turned towards Tomoyo. She
  419.89 +looked around at the party decorations, plates and cups and sighed. 
  419.90 +
  419.91 +"Don't worry. I'll help you clean up." Tomoyo said as she reached down to grab a paper cup that had rolled behind the table. 
  419.92 +
  419.93 +"Thanks, but the party isn't over yet." Sakura said. A hint of nervousness sounding in the last few words as she clasped her
  419.94 +hands behind her back and shifted her feet uncertainly. 
  419.95 +
  419.96 +Tomoyo looked at her surprised. "Demo..." 
  419.97 +
  419.98 +"I still haven't given you my present." She said quickly as she turned towards the stairs and dashed off to her room. 
  419.99 +
 419.100 +Tomoyo stood there stunned and wondered what her friend could have for her. The party and the cake were more than
 419.101 +enough. 
 419.102 +
 419.103 +When Sakura returned, she seemed to have regained some of her composure. She was holding a small white box and an
 419.104 +envelope. 
 419.105 +
 419.106 +"Tomoyo-chan, we've been friends for a long time and.... Well... I knew that there were two things you really wanted for your
 419.107 +birthday and it was hard for me to decide which one I should give you." She paused to open up the box. " I know you really
 419.108 +wanted some more labels for your videotapes..." She pulled the stickers out of the box and held them out to Tomoyo. 
 419.109 +
 419.110 +Tomoyo smiled gently and looked into Sakura's eyes. "There wonderful." She said sincerely. "Anything that Sakura-chan gives
 419.111 +me is wonderful." 
 419.112 +
 419.113 +Sakura smiled at the kind words, but pulled the box and stickers away when Tomoyo reached out for them. "But I decided not
 419.114 +to give you that present." Sakura closed the lid and threw the box behind her and onto the couch. 
 419.115 +
 419.116 +Tomoyo stared after it disappointed and then returned her gaze to her friend who was now fidgeting with the envelope in her
 419.117 +hands. Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something, but found no words to express the confusion she felt. Sakura put a hand
 419.118 +on Tomoyo's shoulder and handed her the small white envelope. "I think this is what you really want." Sakura added closing
 419.119 +her eyes in anticipation. 
 419.120 +
 419.121 +Tomoyo took it with shaking hands and looked up at Sakura uncertainly before she opened it. Inside she found a bright pink
 419.122 +card with beautiful hearts and stars drawn on it. She smiled at the trouble her friend had gone too and then noticed the message.
 419.123 +Printed in careful black letters were the words "I love you". Tomoyo shook her head and looked down at the floor. She could
 419.124 +feel Sakura's gaze on her and she didn't know what she should say. She finally looked up and smiled slightly, but it was hard to
 419.125 +hide the tears in her eyes. Tomoyo was happy with the present, but Sakura couldn't possibly mean it in the way Tomoyo
 419.126 +hoped. They were very good friends and that was all. Sakura was just being kind and trying to tell her how much the friendship
 419.127 +meant to her. 
 419.128 +
 419.129 +That must be it, Tomoyo thought as she met Sakura's gaze and whispered "Arigatou." 
 419.130 +
 419.131 +Sakura frowned as she saw the tears in Tomoyo's eyes. "You really don't understand do you?" Sakura said quietly as she
 419.132 +leaned closer to her friend. 
 419.133 +
 419.134 +Tomoyo's doubts were erased by the feel of Sakura's soft lips pressed against her own. She leaned into the embrace, not
 419.135 +really sure what was going on. Sakura reached out and stroked Tomoyo's hair with her hands as her lips moved across
 419.136 +Tomoyo's mouth. Tomoyo closed her eyes and welcomed the taste of Sakura's gentle kiss. She held her friend closely and
 419.137 +was almost afraid to let go. It all seemed so perfect and so right. 
 419.138 +
 419.139 +Suddenly, Tomoyo pulled away and gasped. 
 419.140 +
 419.141 +"What's wrong?" Sakura said with concern. 
 419.142 +
 419.143 +"I forgot to videotape this and you should be wearing the costume I made!" Tomoyo clasped her hands in front of her chest
 419.144 +and laughed uncertainly. 
 419.145 +
 419.146 +Sakura blushed, but looked up at her friend sincerely, "I don't mind trying it again if you want to set things up." She said timidly
 419.147 +as Tomoyo rushed over to her bag to retrieve the camera. 
 419.148 +
 419.149 +"Hoe!" Sakura said under her breath as she looked over at her friend and the significance of the evening became clear. Nothing
 419.150 +would ever be the same again... and she couldn't be happier. 
 419.151 +
 419.152 +
 419.153 +THE END

   420.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   420.2 +++ b/stories/pain.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   420.3 @@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
   420.4 + The story contains some sexual scenes so don't read it if you're 
   420.5 +underage. Right, like if you'd listen to me, but don't come to me 
   420.6 +when your psychiatrist tells you you're not quite normal!
   420.7 + The story takes place after the senshi defeat Neherenia. So Hotaru 
   420.8 +reached her normal age again lives with the Outers and ChibiUsa 
   420.9 +with Usagi and her family. Hotaru is about 14 and ChibiUsa a bit 
  420.10 +younger.
  420.11 + Before we begin I would like to thank Naoko Takeuchi for creating 
  420.12 +the beautiful legend of Sailor Moon.
  420.13 + These characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while.
  420.14 +
  420.15 +
  420.16 +  Hotaru's pain
  420.17 +   Featuring Hotaru
  420.18 +    By The Ghost of 'lectricity
  420.19 +
  420.20 +
  420.21 + "Why? Why?!" Hotaru cried while lying on her bed, her face buried 
  420.22 +in her pillow, weeping. She was still wearing her school uniform as 
  420.23 +she just came back from school. Michiru was sitting next to her on 
  420.24 +her bed, Haruka and Setsuna were standing in the doorway to 
  420.25 +Hotaru's room.
  420.26 + "Why don't you tell us what happened sweetie?" Michiru said with a 
  420.27 +soft voice.
  420.28 + "I... I... I promised myself... I'd never... never use them 
  420.29 +again..." Hotaru tried to tell as her crying choked her words.
  420.30 + "What? You'd never use what again?" Michiru's voice was as soft as 
  420.31 +it could get.
  420.32 + "My hands!"
  420.33 +
  420.34 +
  420.35 +***FLASHBACK***
  420.36 +
  420.37 +
  420.38 + Hotaru was in school, quietly standing next to her usual chair - 
  420.39 +in the corner of the last row - looking out the window. It was 
  420.40 +lunch time and everybody was talking and laughing like always.
  420.41 + Two boys were chasing each other between the chairs and the 
  420.42 +school-desks, cheerfully teasing each other. Then it happened... 
  420.43 +one of the boys tripped and while he was falling he hit his head on 
  420.44 +a desk. He fell on the floor and a dark-red colour covered some of 
  420.45 +his brown hair and a few trickles of it fell on the floor.
  420.46 + The boy - Ryu - was very popular with Hotaru's classmates, you 
  420.47 +could consider him quite handsome and he could make friends fast - 
  420.48 +something Hotaru envied him for. She wasn't really close to any of 
  420.49 +her classmates.
  420.50 + A crowd quickly gathered around the boy who was lying motionless 
  420.51 +on the floor. Even Hotaru came up to the crowd with shock in her 
  420.52 +beautiful dark eyes.
  420.53 + <No! Please don't! I can't! I promised myself...> Hotaru thought 
  420.54 +looking at the boy, then looking at her hands clutched to her 
  420.55 +chest.
  420.56 + The boy who was chasing Ryu knelt beside him and didn't know what 
  420.57 +to do. "Ryu! Wake up! Stand up!" he was crying to him.
  420.58 + The dark-red colour was spreading on the boy's hair and on the 
  420.59 +floor. Hotaru had no choice. She couldn't let the boy die in front 
  420.60 +of her. She slowly made a step forward and knelt beside Ryu. 
  420.61 +Everybody was looking at her. <Maybe... maybe they'll 
  420.62 +understand...> Hotaru stretched out her right hand and touched the 
  420.63 +boy's head. She closed her eyes and a moment later her hand began 
  420.64 +to glow. The blood disappeared from Ryu's head and from the 
  420.65 +floor... Hotaru opened her eyes, she slowly stood up, staggered a 
  420.66 +bit from the exhaustion. Then she slowly walked away from the crowd 
  420.67 +around the boy.
  420.68 + The classroom was perfectly silent as Hotaru was walking away, 
  420.69 +toward her previous spot at the window. The boy slowly opened his 
  420.70 +eyes, much to the amazement of the crowd that gathered around him. 
  420.71 +Hotaru's eyes were locked on a sakura tree, covered in white, but 
  420.72 +she didn't see it. Her body was frozen but she felt great tension 
  420.73 +inside. She was waiting...
  420.74 + Then the first reactions and words rose from the group around Ryu:
  420.75 + "Did you see that?"
  420.76 + "What happened?"
  420.77 + "I don't know."
  420.78 + "... witch ... Tomoe is a witch!"
  420.79 + < W I T C H > The words cut through Hotaru's heart and mind like a 
  420.80 +chainsaw, shredding everything underneath it. But the tension was 
  420.81 +relieved and her head tilted to face the ground, her hair hiding 
  420.82 +her face. A single tear poured from her eye, ran across her face 
  420.83 +and fell to the ground...
  420.84 +
  420.85 +
  420.86 +***END OF FLASHBACK***
  420.87 +
  420.88 +
  420.89 + "It's okay honey, everything is gonna be okay." Michiru tried to 
  420.90 +calm Hotaru down. She didn't know what else to say.
  420.91 + Suddenly the doorbell rang. Haruka had to go downstairs to answer 
  420.92 +it - Hotaru's room was on the second floor. She was thinking to 
  420.93 +herself who could that be as she opened the door. Much to her 
  420.94 +surprise, outside was standing Usagi. Her usual ear-to-ear smile 
  420.95 +faded as she saw Haruka's serious face.
  420.96 + "Oh, Usagi, it's you. Hi." Haruka said unenthusiastically.
  420.97 + "Haruka, you look so worried. What's wrong?" Usagi asked 
  420.98 +concerned.
  420.99 + "Come here. Sit down." Haruka led Usagi into the living room. She 
 420.100 +explained the story to her and the room fell in silence.
 420.101 + After about 15 minutes Michiru and Setsuna also came downstairs.
 420.102 + "Well?" Haruka asked the two tall girls.
 420.103 + "I don't know what else to say to her. "She said she wants to be 
 420.104 +alone." Michiru explained. Setsuna's face looked so sad it could 
 420.105 +make walls cry, Usagi thought to herself. Hotaru was to her like 
 420.106 +the child she could never have.
 420.107 + "Let me talk to her, please." Usagi stepped forward.
 420.108 + "I don't know, Usagi." Michiru said. "She said she wants to be 
 420.109 +alone."
 420.110 + After a moment Setsuna broke the silence: "Let her try...". She 
 420.111 +knew Usagi was good in talking to people - she has watched her long 
 420.112 +before Usagi became Sailor Moon. She had watched her in the Silver 
 420.113 +Millennium, in the present and in Crystal Tokyo. If anybody could 
 420.114 +calm Hotaru down it would be Usagi.
 420.115 + "OK, what kind of ice cream do you have in the fridge?"
 420.116 + Michiru and Haruka looked puzzled at each other but Setsuna's face 
 420.117 +lit up a bit. "Come with me, I'll show you." she said to Usagi.
 420.118 + "Well, there goes my diet for my Mamo-chan!" Usagi laughed, 
 420.119 +sincerely trying to break the tension.
 420.120 +
 420.121 +
 420.122 + Hotaru was still lying on her bed as she heard a knock on her 
 420.123 +door. "Hotaru-chan, can I come in?" She knew this voice, of course, 
 420.124 +but she was too sad and too confused right now to place it on the 
 420.125 +right face. "Who... Who is it?" she managed to ask between her 
 420.126 +sobs. "It's me, Usagi." As there was no answer to that Usagi came 
 420.127 +in.
 420.128 + The room was unusually bright, not matching the mood in it. In the 
 420.129 +middle of the bright room there was a fragile little dark-haired 
 420.130 +girl crying on her bed; no wonder Setsuna was so heart-broken.
 420.131 + Usagi sad down on Hotaru's bed and spoke to her: "Come here, come 
 420.132 +into my arms." Usagi picked Hotaru up and took her softly in her 
 420.133 +embrace. Her eyes were red and swallowed and her cheeks were damp. 
 420.134 +Hotaru put her head on Usagi's shoulder and Usagi whispered quietly 
 420.135 +in her ear.
 420.136 + "You did the right thing, you had no choice."
 420.137 + "But why... why do they... hate me..."
 420.138 + "They don't hate you. They just don't understand it."
 420.139 + Usagi's embrace was warm and cosy; Hotaru felt so comfortable 
 420.140 +when Usagi was holding her. Soon her tears subsided and in about 
 420.141 +half an hour she spoke again.
 420.142 + "I wish I wouldn't have these powers..." she said.
 420.143 + "Don't say that. These powers make you special. You're the only 
 420.144 +one in the whole world who has these powers."
 420.145 + After a pause Hotaru said: "Thank you, Usagi-chan."
 420.146 + "Now let's eat the ice cream! This will make you feel better." 
 420.147 +Usagi said, her eyes already shining with anticipation.
 420.148 + "Usagi-chan?"
 420.149 + "Yes, Hotaru-chan?"
 420.150 + "Can you hold me a little longer, please?"
 420.151 + "Oh... Of course Hotaru-chan..." but deep inside Usagi thought: 
 420.152 +<Soon, my tummy... Soon it will be ours! OURS! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!>
 420.153 +
 420.154 +
 420.155 + The sun was already going down while Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru 
 420.156 +were sitting in the living room - Hraruka and Michiru on the couch, 
 420.157 +holding hands, and Setsuna in a big armchair.
 420.158 + They heard a door close in the upper floor and a voice groaning: 
 420.159 +"Ow... ah... ow..." Then Usagi appeared on top of the stairs.
 420.160 + "What happened?" the three asked almost simultaneously.
 420.161 + "I... I'll be okay." She was still holding her spoon in her hand.
 420.162 + "What's with Hotaru?" Haruka asked.
 420.163 + "She'll be okay too. By the way, have you got anything against 
 420.164 +tummy-ache?" Usagi inquired with pain in her eyes.
 420.165 + "Here you go." Setsuna handed her a small package as the three 
 420.166 +girls were running past her towards Hotaru's room.
 420.167 + As Usagi finally reached the couch the trio was already down 
 420.168 +again.
 420.169 + "Thank you so much Usagi!" Setsuna began.
 420.170 + "How did you do it anyway?" Michiru wanted to know.
 420.171 + "It's a secret. No, just kidding. I don't know really, I guess I'm 
 420.172 +good at that kind of things."
 420.173 + "Is there anything we can do for you, Usagi?" Haruka offered.
 420.174 + "Well, you could drive me home. I'm running a bit late."
 420.175 +
 420.176 +
 420.177 + "Ow... Aw..." Usagi was still groaning as Haruka was driving her 
 420.178 +home.
 420.179 + "How much of the ice cream did *you* actually eat and how much did 
 420.180 +Hotaru eat?" Haruka wanted to know.
 420.181 + "Well, she's not a good eater, you should really do something 
 420.182 +about that. She only had a few spoons and I had to eat the rest. I 
 420.183 +had no choice." Usagi answered baldly.
 420.184 + "Well, you could *not* eat it."
 420.185 + "Oh, no! I couldn't do that!" Usagi answered seriously.
 420.186 + <And this girl gets to be a queen, I don't understand this world.> 
 420.187 +Haruka smiled to herself.
 420.188 +
 420.189 +   ***
 420.190 +
 420.191 + Hotaru followed Usagi's advice and put on her favourite nightie 
 420.192 +while she was getting ready for bed. Usagi said it would make her 
 420.193 +feel better - and it actually did. It was a pink silken night-gown 
 420.194 +reaching only a few inches beneath her crotch. It was semi-
 420.195 +transparent and she loved to watch herself in it in front of the 
 420.196 +mirror. She also loved the touch of the silk against her bare skin 
 420.197 +- against her breasts, her belly, her back, her thighs.
 420.198 + Hotaru was just standing in the middle of her room letting the 
 420.199 +sensation wash through her body, her eyes closed. She was 
 420.200 +wearing nothing but her pink nightie and her white cotton panties. 
 420.201 +It wasn't the ideal combination but it didn't matter to Hotaru, as 
 420.202 +long as she was comfortable.
 420.203 + Then she suddenly opened her eyes and with a certain glow in her 
 420.204 +dark jewels she quickly pulled down her panties. The silk touched 
 420.205 +the cheeks of her butt and a certain warm feeling began building 
 420.206 +inside of her. She walked up and down her room so that the fabric 
 420.207 +could touch every square inch of her body. The silk followed the 
 420.208 +moves of her body - it touched her here and there, just briefly, 
 420.209 +and the warmth inside her grew. The silk touched her pubic hair and 
 420.210 +underneath, her pussy, which was getting wetter every second.
 420.211 + Her nipples were pushing hard against the fabric when Hotaru 
 420.212 +suddenly decided to stop. It was a long and tiresome day and she 
 420.213 +was too exhausted to do it. She sat down on her bed to catch her 
 420.214 +breath and then she crawled in her bed.
 420.215 + She was trying to sleep but she couldn't. Her thoughts started 
 420.216 +wandering off, like they often do when you can't fall asleep. 
 420.217 +<Usagi-chan was so nice to me ... she really is a true princess ... 
 420.218 +... but, man, does she eat a lot ... she finished off the whole 
 420.219 +bucket of ice cream almost by herself ... ... I wonder what will 
 420.220 +happen tomorrow in school ... no! I don't want to think about that 
 420.221 +now ... I can hear Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama giggling downstairs 
 420.222 +... I wonder if they are watching slippery movies again ... I 
 420.223 +caught them once watching that kind of movies ... I walked in the 
 420.224 +living room 'cause I wanted to know what's so funny and they turned 
 420.225 +off the TV immediately and hid under the blankets ... I think they 
 420.226 +were naked ... ... oh no, I'm getting wet again ... I wish you 
 420.227 +could turn this off sometimes ... sometimes, not often though ... 
 420.228 +oh! ChibiUsa-chan is coming tomorrow after school for a visit ... 
 420.229 +Usagi-chan promised me she'd send her over ... ChibiUsa-chan was my 
 420.230 +first friend ... we really got close over time ... without her I 
 420.231 +wouldn't have so many friends now ... oh, ChibiUsa-chan ... ahhh 
 420.232 +... I'm so hot ... now I have to do it ... oh, ChibiUsa-chan ...>
 420.233 + Hotaru began to move under her blanket just to experience the 
 420.234 +sensation of the silk moving over her body again. She brought her 
 420.235 +hand up to her breasts and began squeezing them lightly. Normally 
 420.236 +this wouldn't have as much effect as it had this time. The feeling 
 420.237 +of the silk pressed against her breasts and her nipples was almost 
 420.238 +magical. "...oh, ChibiUsa-chan..." Hotaru whispered silently 
 420.239 +against the empty room. Hotaru imagined ChibiUsa's fingers, not her 
 420.240 +own, were pinching and pulling at Hotaru's nipples and it made her 
 420.241 +even hotter. She breathed deeper and faster when one hand wandered 
 420.242 +past her belly-button and reached her dark curls above her pussy. 
 420.243 +She pulled her nightie up to uncover her wet pussy. While her left 
 420.244 +hand was playing with her hard nipple her right hand stopped in the 
 420.245 +jungle just above her pleasure center. She imagined what would it 
 420.246 +be like if ChibiUsa's hand would be there combing her curls with 
 420.247 +her hands. Next she ran her finger across the line her swollen 
 420.248 +pussylips formed. "ChibiUsa..." she moaned a bit louder. She 
 420.249 +brought her finger up to her mouth and licked it hastily, tasting 
 420.250 +her sweet juices. Her hand returned quickly to her wet pussy, not 
 420.251 +wasting any time to stop anywhere but directly above her pleasure 
 420.252 +center. She touched her swollen jewel as gently as the 
 420.253 +circumstances - her body was on fire - allowed her. As her left 
 420.254 +hand violently pulled at her nipple the right one was circling 
 420.255 +around her love button touching it from time to time sending 
 420.256 +shivers up and down her spine. Her breathing was shallow now and 
 420.257 +very fast. She pinched and pulled at her nipple and her clitoris 
 420.258 +coming closer to her climax every moment. Hotaru twitched her 
 420.259 +nipple one last time and pushed her finger inside of her for just 
 420.260 +half an inch as her muscles locked it inside. "ChibiUsa!" she 
 420.261 +screamed and then her body froze for a moment under the sheets of 
 420.262 +her bed.
 420.263 + As he body relaxed she brought her finger to her mouth again and 
 420.264 +licked it clean. <...oh, ChibiUsa...> were her last thoughts before 
 420.265 +she fell asleep with her finger in her mouth.
 420.266 +
 420.267 +   ***
 420.268 +
 420.269 + Hotaru was slowly walking with a heavy heart the next morning. She 
 420.270 +entered the classroom looking down, knowing she is being watched by 
 420.271 +everybody. She put down her schoolbag on her desk and stepped to 
 420.272 +the window. She was looking at the white sakura tree, admiring the 
 420.273 +beauty of it when somebody stepped up beside her: "Tomoe Hotaru..."
 420.274 +She turned around and clutched her arms to her chest in defence 
 420.275 +instinctively. In front of her was standing the boy she healed 
 420.276 +yesterday.
 420.277 + "Tomoe Hotaru... errr... I want to thank you for saving my life 
 420.278 +yesterday." He bowed deeply to show her his respect. "If there is 
 420.279 +anything I can do for you -" The bell interrupted him in the middle 
 420.280 +of his speech.
 420.281 + "I'll talk to you later, OK?" he said as the teacher entered the 
 420.282 +classroom. Hotaru just nodded silently and a little confused but 
 420.283 +her heart was screaming with joy.
 420.284 +
 420.285 +
 420.286 +The End
 420.287 +
 420.288 +The Ghost of 'lectricity
 420.289 +Peter.dobaj@guest.arnes.si

   421.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   421.2 +++ b/stories/pain2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   421.3 @@ -0,0 +1,352 @@
   421.4 + The story contains some sexual scenes so don't read it if you're 
   421.5 +underage. Right, like if you'd listen to me, but don't come to me 
   421.6 +when your psychiatrist tells you you're not quite normal!
   421.7 + The story takes place after the senshi defeat Neherenia. So Hotaru 
   421.8 +reached her normal age again and lives with the Outers and ChibiUsa 
   421.9 +with Usagi and her family. Hotaru is about 14 and ChibiUsa a bit 
  421.10 +younger.
  421.11 + Before we begin I would like to thank Naoko Takeuchi for creating 
  421.12 +the beautiful legend of Sailor Moon.
  421.13 + These characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while.
  421.14 +
  421.15 + This story is a continuation of the story "Hotaru's pain", but it 
  421.16 +makes sense on it's own too (but it makes more sense if you read 
  421.17 +Hotaru's pain first).
  421.18 +
  421.19 +  Hotaru's pain part 2
  421.20 +   Featuring Hotaru and ChibiUsa
  421.21 +    By The Ghost of 'lectricity
  421.22 +
  421.23 +
  421.24 + Hotaru ate her lunch in silence as her classmates laughed and had 
  421.25 +fun around her. It seemed like nothing had changed from yesterday. 
  421.26 +Her classmates were still ignoring the silent and a bit weird 
  421.27 +black-haired girl in the back row.
  421.28 + What was wrong? Everybody had seen how she healed the boy 
  421.29 +yesterday, everyone had stood in the circle around them as she put 
  421.30 +her hand on the boy's head and made the blood disappear.
  421.31 + They weren't calling her a witch. Well, at least not more than 
  421.32 +once. But still she didn't know what they were thinking about her. 
  421.33 +She knew they were talking about her, but she did not know what 
  421.34 +they were saying. She saw a pair of eyes turning her way but as 
  421.35 +soon as her eyes wandered across the room to meet them the pair 
  421.36 +quickly turned away.
  421.37 + <Okay, let's see now... Mio thinks I'm a... a witch > It was still 
  421.38 +hard for Hotaru to say the word, even in her mind. <She stated that 
  421.39 +pretty clearly. How about the others? Mio's been walking around the 
  421.40 +class talking to everybody all day. Why does she want to make 
  421.41 +everyone hate me?. Why is she so mean to me? ...just because I'm 
  421.42 +better in history?... What about Ryu?. 'Twas almost funny how he 
  421.43 +thanked me in the morning... so respectful and official... but he 
  421.44 +said he'd have lunch with me > At these thoughts Hotaru blushed.
  421.45 +<He's not even in the room now... he was talking to Mio a while 
  421.46 +ago... maybe she persuaded him not to eat with me... maybe he just 
  421.47 +forgot... >
  421.48 + Hotaru was watching Mio wander around the class, as the blue 
  421.49 +haired girl was making sure she wouldn't let anyone out. Hotaru was 
  421.50 +feeling like she was trapped inside a circle. Inside a circle of 
  421.51 +people, turning their backs to her. Suddenly a shadow fell over 
  421.52 +her...
  421.53 + "Hi!"
  421.54 + "R- Ryu..."
  421.55 + "May I sit down? Why are you so amazed? I said I'd have lunch with 
  421.56 +you."
  421.57 + "I... I thought you forgot..." Hotaru replied silently.
  421.58 + "How could I forget? You saved my life."
  421.59 + Hotaru remained silent and was looking down.
  421.60 + "What?! Aren't you proud of what you done?" Ryu asked surprised.
  421.61 + "I... I don't know. Now everybody thinks I'm a witch." Hotaru 
  421.62 +said, looking at Mio now, who was still running around the 
  421.63 +class.
  421.64 + "You think she's telling that to everyone?" Ryu asked, slightly 
  421.65 +grinning.
  421.66 + "What else..."
  421.67 + "Well, actually... I talked to her earlier. I told her not to call 
  421.68 +you that - what she called you yesterday... Now she's telling 
  421.69 +everyone that I'm in love with you! HaHaHa!"
  421.70 + As Ryu was laughing loudly Hotaru just blushed. The fact that 
  421.71 +anyone - other than ChibiUsa - would like her *that* much seemed 
  421.72 +totally absurd to her. Obviously Ryu was thinking pretty much the 
  421.73 +same about it.
  421.74 + "See Mio, I'm talking to Tomoe Hotaru and I'm not dead yet!" Ryu 
  421.75 +shouted across the classroom.
  421.76 + "Well then why don't you two find a quiet place where you can do 
  421.77 +what you *really* want to do!" the blue-haired girl shouted back.
  421.78 + "Are you getting jealous?" Ryu teased her. The whole class knew 
  421.79 +Ryu and Mio had a crush on each other since they first laid eyes on 
  421.80 +each other. As the two and the rest of the class were enjoying 
  421.81 +their quarrel Hotaru went through hell. She never liked to be in 
  421.82 +the center of attention. Ryu and Mio made her a part of the show 
  421.83 +they were putting up.
  421.84 + "Jealous of her? No, the poor scared girl wouldn't dare to do 
  421.85 +anything."
  421.86 + "So, what's the problem then?"
  421.87 + "You! If you're so nice to her she'll think you like her!"
  421.88 + Then someone cut in: "Yeah, and we all know whom he *really* 
  421.89 +likes!" The two just blushed, which doesn't happen often and 
  421.90 +simultaneously shouted back to the other boy: "Shut up!"
  421.91 +
  421.92 +***
  421.93 +
  421.94 + "I'll get it!" Hotaru chimed cheerfully as the doorbell rang. 
  421.95 +Just before she opened the door she looked at Haruka and Michiru, 
  421.96 +who were sitting on the couch.
  421.97 + "Can't you two ever stop? Haruka-papa, take your hand out of 
  421.98 +Michiru-mama's blouse!" As Hotaru turned to open the door she said 
  421.99 +over her shoulder: "And from under her skirt too!"
 421.100 +
 421.101 +
 421.102 + It was an unusual view: this time it seemed like Hotaru was the 
 421.103 +more cheerful one and ChibiUsa had a somewhat sad look in her eyes. 
 421.104 +But she didn't want Hotaru to notice.
 421.105 + "So, how was it in school?" ChibiUsa asked Hotaru as they entered 
 421.106 +her room, trying to disband the heavy thoughts that lingered in her 
 421.107 +mind.
 421.108 + "I think I met new friends." Hotaru said with a big smile on her 
 421.109 +face.
 421.110 + "You think?"
 421.111 + "Well, I don't have that much experience in making friends, 
 421.112 +ChibiUsa-chan."
 421.113 + "That's great then." ChibiUsa said.
 421.114 + "What is with you ChibiUsa-chan? You're strange." Hotaru inquired 
 421.115 +concerned.
 421.116 + ChibiUsa looked her best friend square in the eyes.
 421.117 + "I got a letter today.... It was from my mother... from the 
 421.118 +future..." ChibiUsa saw something break in her best friend's eyes.
 421.119 + "Oh, ChibiUsa-chan..."
 421.120 + "I'll have to go home soon..."
 421.121 + To Hotaru it seemed like the world stopped turning and this moment 
 421.122 +of pain would last for an eternity.
 421.123 +
 421.124 +
 421.125 + "Haruka-papa? Michiru-mama? Can I come in?" Hotaru asked as she 
 421.126 +knocked on the door of the pair's bedroom.
 421.127 + "Of course, come in."
 421.128 + "What is it, angel? Why aren't you asleep yet?" Michiru asked the 
 421.129 +figure who sat down on their bed in the darkness.
 421.130 + Not answering the question Hotaru asked immediately: "How do you 
 421.131 +know you love somebody?" 
 421.132 + "Uhm... Errr... I... I... Haruka, would you like to answer that?"
 421.133 + "Me? Hmmm... Errr... When you like to be around that someone. 
 421.134 +Michiru, would you care to continue?" Haruka picked up the game 
 421.135 +Michiru began.
 421.136 + "When you like to hug someone!" Michiru said as she hugged Haruka.
 421.137 + "When you like to kiss someone!" Haruka kissed Michiru.
 421.138 + "When someone is more than just a friend to you."
 421.139 + As Haruka and Michiru began kissing passionately Hotaru figured 
 421.140 +they wouldn't be of any more use to her.
 421.141 + <More than just a friend...>
 421.142 +
 421.143 + Hotaru was walking down the hall toward her own room when she 
 421.144 +bumped into Setsuna.
 421.145 + "Oh, sorry Setsuna-mama." Hotaru apologised.
 421.146 + "Hotaru-chan, wait. I have to talk to you." Setsuna said as put 
 421.147 +her hand on Hotaru's shoulder to stop her.
 421.148 + "Why, what is it?" Hotaru replied.
 421.149 + "...let's sit down."
 421.150 + "Here? On the floor?" Hotaru asked but Setsuna already began 
 421.151 +speaking.
 421.152 + "In a few years ChibiUsa will be born." Setsuna took a long 
 421.153 +breath. "You know she didn't know you when she came to our time, 
 421.154 +right?" Setsuna knew she was about to break the girl's heart. "I 
 421.155 +know it's hard but... you will have to..."
 421.156 + "No, no, no! You can't demand that!" Hotaru screamed with tears 
 421.157 +building up in her eyes as she ran toward her room.
 421.158 + Setsuna let out a sigh in the dark corridor. She was sure she 
 421.159 +wouldn't get any sleep tonight, just like the last six weeks. There 
 421.160 +must be another way. And so another sleepless night would go by.
 421.161 +
 421.162 + Hotaru was again crying herself to sleep this night. In a few days 
 421.163 +ChibiUsa would go away and she would lose the sun that made her 
 421.164 +dark world brighter. The fact that maybe she would't even be 
 421.165 +allowed to see her friend for the next one thousand years only made 
 421.166 +her tears flow faster down her cheeks. Without ChibiUsa her own 
 421.167 +life seemed meaningless to her. What was she really feeling for 
 421.168 +ChibiUsa? Was she just a friend... or was she... more...? Her 
 421.169 +feelings for the small pink bunny were much stronger than for any 
 421.170 +other of her friends. Even stronger than for Haruka-papa, Michiru-
 421.171 +mama and Setsuna-mama. Is it... love? But she's a girl! In school 
 421.172 +they say girls should love boys! But Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama 
 421.173 +love each other, and they are girls...
 421.174 + "Oh, ChibiUsa-chan..." a whisper echoed silently in the dark room.
 421.175 + Why does it hurt so much...? Love...
 421.176 +
 421.177 +
 421.178 + It was an ordinary Saturday morning the next day at the Outers' 
 421.179 +mansion. Michiru was making breakfast, Haruka was reading her 
 421.180 +sports magazine and glancing every now and then over to Michiru. 
 421.181 +Michiru would then bend over, on purpose of course, so Haruka could 
 421.182 +admire her long legs and firm butt. Setsuna was rambling something 
 421.183 +about the "damn primitive clocks" like she always did when she was 
 421.184 +waken by the alarm clock. Hotaru was silently eating her breakfast, 
 421.185 +just like always, but the three young women knew Hotaru was 
 421.186 +restless inside.
 421.187 + Haruka stood up, wanting to comfort Hotaru. She always felt so 
 421.188 +guilty for trying to kill the fragile little girl so many times. 
 421.189 +She had a very feminine and motherly side - the side only Hotaru 
 421.190 +and Michiru knew. Just as she wanted to say something to Hotaru - 
 421.191 +what, she did not know yet - the telephone rang. Saved by the bell, 
 421.192 +Haruka picked up her saviour.
 421.193 + "Hello?... Hi Usagi-chan... Yes, she's here... Wait a minute. 
 421.194 +Hotaru-chan! It's for you. It's Usagi. ... Take the phone in the 
 421.195 +living room, we don't want to disturb you."
 421.196 +
 421.197 + Hotaru sat down on the couch and picked up the phone.
 421.198 + "Hello?"
 421.199 + "Hello Hotaru-chan, it's me, Usagi."
 421.200 + "Hello."
 421.201 + "So you heard the news..."
 421.202 + "Yes..."
 421.203 + "I need to know something Hotaru-chan. What do you feel for 
 421.204 +ChibiUsa-chan?"
 421.205 + Hotaru was hit in her weak spot.
 421.206 + "I... She's my best friend."
 421.207 + "Do you... ... Do you love her?"
 421.208 + "I... I... I don't know. ...yes..." The last word was just a 
 421.209 +whisper, as if Hotaru didn't want Usagi to hear it. Or maybe she 
 421.210 +didn't want herself to hear it, knowing it would only bring her a 
 421.211 +lot of pain once it's said.
 421.212 + "You have to tell her that!"
 421.213 + "No! I can't! She... I... She won't understand."
 421.214 + "Hotaru-chan... You know she will. She a smart girl." Hotaru could 
 421.215 +hear the shaking in Usagi's voice. Usagi would miss ChibiUsa just 
 421.216 +as much as Hotaru will.
 421.217 + "But she'll be gone in a few days anyway. It doesn't matter 
 421.218 +anymore..." A tear - a silent witness of Hotaru's pain - ran down 
 421.219 +her cheek.
 421.220 + "You're wrong, it does matter! If you don't tell her, you'll never 
 421.221 +know what she feels."
 421.222 + "But- , but-" She couldn't say anything beyond that. Her sobs 
 421.223 +choked away the fake excuses.
 421.224 + "I'll- I'll send her over, okay?" Even Usagi started to sob now.
 421.225 + "O- o-kay."
 421.226 + "Hotaru-chan, I'm gonna put down the phone now, OK?"
 421.227 + "Usagi-chan, tell me... that it's gonna be alright..."
 421.228 + "Everything is gonna be okay... I promise..."
 421.229 + "Thank you..."
 421.230 +
 421.231 + Except for Hotaru the house was empty when ChibiUsa came over. 
 421.232 +Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna said they had some business to attend 
 421.233 +to. Although they had the house for themselves Hotaru led ChibiUsa 
 421.234 +to her room. Hotaru needed the shelter of her room to say what she 
 421.235 +intended to. For the last hour she was grinding the words in her 
 421.236 +mind but she still had no clue of what to say. She sat down on her 
 421.237 +bed and ChibiUsa sat down beside her. They were sitting in silence 
 421.238 +and tension for a minute, Hotaru was still thinking of what to say. 
 421.239 +Suddenly ChibiUsa hugged Hotaru around her waist.
 421.240 + "Oh, Hotaru-chan..." Within ChibiUsa's embrace Hotaru's mind 
 421.241 +finally found the peace it was longing for. ChibiUsa put her head 
 421.242 +on Hotaru's chest and closed her eyes and Hotaru put her arms 
 421.243 +around ChibiUsa's back and closed her eyes also. After a while 
 421.244 +ChibiUsa began:
 421.245 + "You know why I like to hug you?"
 421.246 + "You... You like to hug me?" Hotaru said in amazement, thinking of 
 421.247 +what Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama told her yesterday night.
 421.248 + "I like to hug you because you're not as tall as the other girls."
 421.249 + "What?"
 421.250 + "You know, if I hug them my head reaches only their tummy. And 
 421.251 +except for Usagi, all of them have really strong muscles there - 
 421.252 +they are not soft. If you look up from there you only see two big 
 421.253 +balloons hanging over your head. I get really scared if I hug Mako-
 421.254 +chan." Then she paused for a moment. She remained serious when she 
 421.255 +continued to speak: "But if I hug you my head lands straight on two 
 421.256 +soft pillows - with two chocolates on it, just like in a hotel 
 421.257 +room. Sometimes the chocolates are soft and I want to eat them, but 
 421.258 +sometimes they are really hard and I want to hold them in my hands 
 421.259 +so they would get softer. And if I look up from here I can see your 
 421.260 +beautiful face and your beautiful eyes looking down at me." Their 
 421.261 +eyes met but Hotaru turned her head away.
 421.262 + "ChibiUsa-chan, I have to tell you something..." Hotaru took a 
 421.263 +deep breath. "ChibiUsa, you have been my first true friend. You 
 421.264 +made me laugh when no one was there to care for me. You were the 
 421.265 +light that made me hang on to my life when I was almost dead. You 
 421.266 +mean everything to me... I... I love you ChibiUsa..." Hotaru's eyes 
 421.267 +were closed as she whispered the last words. Her head wasn't facing 
 421.268 +ChibiUsa. Moments seemed like hours, seconds like eternity. Then, 
 421.269 +she heard a soft whisper.
 421.270 + "I love you too, Hotaru." Hotaru felt a pair of soft lips press 
 421.271 +against her skin, sending shivers down her body.
 421.272 + "...oh, ChibiUsa..." ChibiUsa was kissing Hotaru all over her face 
 421.273 +- on her cheeks, on her nose, on her forehead - until finally 
 421.274 +Hotaru felt the soft lips touch her own. Hotaru opened her mouth 
 421.275 +lightly and her tongue carefully touched ChibiUsa's lips and tasted 
 421.276 +their sweetness.
 421.277 + ChibiUsa pushed Hotaru's body softly so Hotaru fell backwards on 
 421.278 +her bed and ChibiUsa right on top of her. "...oh, ChibiUsa... I 
 421.279 +dreamed of this..." ChibiUsa was sitting on top of Hotaru, her 
 421.280 +hands placed on Hotaru's belly. Hotaru felt the two hands move 
 421.281 +upward, slowly reaching her ribs and the base of her breasts, 
 421.282 +stopping there. Hotaru opened her eyes and found ChibiUsa's 
 421.283 +questioning face.
 421.284 + "Go on... please..." Hotaru whispered. She felt the two soft hands 
 421.285 +finally reaching the end of their journey as they softly squeezed 
 421.286 +the tender flesh of her breasts through the fabric of Hotaru's 
 421.287 +shirt. Hotaru sighed when ChibiUsa began kneading her breasts. 
 421.288 +ChibiUsa saw Hotaru's nipples push against the fabric and she took 
 421.289 +one between her fingers. Hotaru felt the little fingers squeezing 
 421.290 +her nipple and sighed once more, the sensations driving her crazy. 
 421.291 +She couldn't bear it any more. She reached to her waist and pulled 
 421.292 +off her shirt, revealing her aroused breasts.
 421.293 + "... my chocolates..." Before Hotaru could realize what ChibiUsa 
 421.294 +was doing she felt something warm encompass her nipple. ChibiUsa 
 421.295 +was kissing it! Hotaru never felt this kind of pleasure before. The 
 421.296 +warmth of ChibiUsa's mouth, ChibiUsa's tongue flicking over the 
 421.297 +nipple. Hotaru was panting heavily.
 421.298 + Hotaru was on the brink of the greatest orgasm she ever had. Her 
 421.299 +hand travelled down her belly toward ChibiUsa's pussy that was 
 421.300 +placed on Hotaru's lap. ChibiUsa jerked when she felt something on 
 421.301 +her pussy, but Hotaru squeezed her hand gently past ChibiUsa and 
 421.302 +cupped her own sex. As her fingers were teasing and pleasuring her 
 421.303 +own pussy through the skin-tight pants she felt the warmth of 
 421.304 +ChibiUsa's sex against her wrist. ChibiUsa was licking and sucking 
 421.305 +on Hotaru's nipples and rubbing her crotch against Hotaru's wrist. 
 421.306 +Then Hotaru's body froze up and in the same moment her scream of 
 421.307 +pleasure filled the air of the room.
 421.308 +
 421.309 +   ***
 421.310 +
 421.311 + Eleven young people gathered in the park a few days later. But the 
 421.312 +group was not a happy one, the heavy thought of farewell hung in 
 421.313 +the air. It was a sad ceremony - ChibiUsa was saying goodbye to all 
 421.314 +her friends. Usagi was trying very hard not to cry by holding on to 
 421.315 +Mamoru as hard as she could. Their goodbye present was a box of all 
 421.316 +the photos of her they had. Amy bought her a book. Makoto baked 
 421.317 +cookies for her. Rei gave her a special lucky charm. Minako 
 421.318 +presented her with a big poster of Sailor V. 
 421.319 + The only one left to say goodbye to was Hotaru. She hugged 
 421.320 +ChibiUsa gently and they kissed. They didn't bother about what the 
 421.321 +others would think and they whispered into each others ears a soft 
 421.322 +but definite "I love you."
 421.323 + "ChibiUsa, my present is a poem. I've written it for you." Hotaru 
 421.324 +promised herself not to cry, not to make it even harder for 
 421.325 +ChibUsa. But as soon as she saw ChibiUsa's eyes fill up with tears 
 421.326 +when she gave her the envelope, she knew she wouldn't be strong 
 421.327 +enough.
 421.328 + "You've written a poem for me? No one ever wrote a poem for me..."
 421.329 + "But don't read it now. After you get home..."
 421.330 + "I have something for you too, Hotaru." ChibiUsa said, reaching 
 421.331 +into her pocket and giving the dark beauty a picture. It was a 
 421.332 +picture of ChibiUsa and Hotaru holding hands, smiling brightly into 
 421.333 +the camera. It had a precious carved frame and in the corner of the 
 421.334 +picture were the words "I love you, Hotaru" written.
 421.335 + They hugged again and let the tears of their loss flow in silence.
 421.336 +
 421.337 +	***
 421.338 +
 421.339 +I'm lonely when I close my eyes.
 421.340 +
 421.341 +Say, Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama? Hold my hand tonight. 
 421.342 +Stay with me all night long. I want to have happy dreams. Dreams 
 421.343 +the color of rainbows. Dreams where the people precious to me are 
 421.344 +smiling with joy. 
 421.345 +
 421.346 +Dreams that won't disappear when I open my eyes.
 421.347 +
 421.348 +
 421.349 +End of Part 2
 421.350 +
 421.351 +The Ghost of 'lectricity
 421.352 +Peter.dobaj@guest.arnes.si
 421.353 +
 421.354 +The last few lines are from the poem Dreams.
 421.355 +

   422.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   422.2 +++ b/stories/pain3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   422.3 @@ -0,0 +1,439 @@
   422.4 +This is a Sekkushiaru Roman.
   422.5 +This story is the third and final part of the trilogy Hotaru's 
   422.6 +pain. Not so sad as parts 1 & 2. Hotaru is about 16 years old here.
   422.7 +
   422.8 +  Hotaru's Pain part 3
   422.9 +   Featuring Hotaru and ChibiUsa
  422.10 +    By The Ghost of 'lectricity
  422.11 +
  422.12 +
  422.13 + <Two years... Two years since she left...>
  422.14 + "Tomoe Hotaru!" The sharp voice emanating from the teacher knocked 
  422.15 +the black haired girl out of her thoughts.
  422.16 + "Tomoe Hotaru, do you know the answer?"
  422.17 + Hotaru looked around the class, everybody was looking at her and 
  422.18 +the teacher was waiting for an answer. The moment somebody 
  422.19 +whispered the right answer, the teacher already got tired of 
  422.20 +waiting.
  422.21 + "Hotaru, you have been daydreaming again. I will have to report 
  422.22 +you to your class teacher. Now pay attention to the rest of the 
  422.23 +lesson."
  422.24 +
  422.25 +   ***
  422.26 +
  422.27 + Hotaru entered the kitchen and put her schoolbag down next to the 
  422.28 +table. Setsuna was making lunch and Haruka sat at the dinner table.
  422.29 + "Was there any mail for me?" Hotaru asked, looking at Setsuna. The 
  422.30 +tall woman was making lunch and completely ignored the younger girl 
  422.31 +behind her back. The moment of silence was only to be broken by 
  422.32 +Haruka's voice.
  422.33 + "Sorry, nothing for you Hotaru-chan."
  422.34 + Ever since ChibiUsa left two years ago Setsuna brought Hotaru 
  422.35 +letters from the princess every now and then. Setsuna broke almost 
  422.36 +every taboo by doing this. She couldn't help it when ChibiUsa 
  422.37 +looked at her with pleading eyes in Crystal Tokyo and Hotaru with 
  422.38 +much the same eyes in the 20th century. Setsuna could only bring 
  422.39 +over a letter every few months and ChibiUsa wasn't allowed to write 
  422.40 +anything about the future. This was why their letters were very 
  422.41 +intense and emotional and Hotaru liked it that way. Although she 
  422.42 +was wondering about her future self and about Crystal Tokyo, she 
  422.43 +was grateful that she could still be in contact with ChibiUsa. But 
  422.44 +in the past four months no letter came from the princess.
  422.45 + Although she tried to ignore the little girl, Setsuna's heart was 
  422.46 +breaking at the thought that she couldn't bring Hotaru any messages 
  422.47 +from ChibiUsa this time.
  422.48 +
  422.49 +
  422.50 + In her dark room Hotaru sat down on the bed and her mind drifted 
  422.51 +away from her surroundings.
  422.52 + <Why won't she write? Is ChibiUsa hurt? Or maybe even sick? Maybe 
  422.53 +she doesn't love me anymore? Maybe she never loved me... No! She 
  422.54 +said she loves me. Nobody forced her to say that!>
  422.55 + Hotaru rolled over on her bed and opened a drawer on her night 
  422.56 +table. She pulled out a bunch of letters and turned on a lamp 
  422.57 +beside her bed.
  422.58 + She began reading the old love letters when her dark, purple eyes 
  422.59 +spotted something she hadn't noticed before. Inside the envelope of 
  422.60 +the last letter were a few words written:
  422.61 +
  422.62 +		'ps: i have a suprize for u.'
  422.63 +
  422.64 +This was definitely written by ChibiUsa. It was her handwriting and 
  422.65 +even Neo Queen Serenity couldn't make that many errors. 
  422.66 +
  422.67 +
  422.68 + The rest of the day was quiet at the house where the Outer Senshi 
  422.69 +lived. Haruka and Michiru rented a romantic movie which they 
  422.70 +watched in their bedroom. Setsuna was calculating some time 
  422.71 +anomalies on her computer and Hotaru was thinking about the note 
  422.72 +she found in the envelope.
  422.73 +
  422.74 +
  422.75 + The raven haired girl woke up with an unusual feeling the next 
  422.76 +morning. Something is going to happen. Something important.
  422.77 + "What is it, Hotaru-chan?" Michiru asked while Hotaru was silently 
  422.78 +eating her breakfast.
  422.79 + "Nothing, Michiru-mama."
  422.80 + "Come on, I can see something is wrong, sweetie."
  422.81 + "It's nothing really. It's just this strange feeling."
  422.82 + At this point Haruka and Setsuna became interested too.
  422.83 + "A new enemy?" Haruka asked.
  422.84 + "No, no. Nothing like that. I just have this strange feeling 
  422.85 +something important is going to happen to me..."
  422.86 + Suddenly the sound of a horn from a car thundered in front of the 
  422.87 +house.
  422.88 +
  422.89 +   ***
  422.90 +
  422.91 + "What do you think she's going to say, Usagi-chan?"
  422.92 + The sound of Usagi's laughter chimed throughout the car.
  422.93 + "What is it, got cold feet?"
  422.94 + "No!"
  422.95 + "Are you ready?" Mamoru asked.
  422.96 + "Wait a minute." The girl sitting in the back of the car got out 
  422.97 +and took a deep breath. She was very obviously nervous.
  422.98 + "Okay, I'm ready."
  422.99 +
 422.100 +   ***
 422.101 +
 422.102 + The three young women and the girl looked at each other at the 
 422.103 +sound of the horn and jointly got up. Hotaru's feeling grew 
 422.104 +stronger the closer she came to the front door. She got nervous 
 422.105 +when she reached for the doorknob. Feelings of fear and anger came 
 422.106 +up. Anger because of fear. She's a senshi. She shouldn't be afraid. 
 422.107 +Her hand slowly - painfully slowly - pushed the door open.
 422.108 +
 422.109 +   ***
 422.110 +
 422.111 + The girl standing next to Mamoru's car was getting more nervous 
 422.112 +with each second that passed. She was standing on the sidewalk, 
 422.113 +looking at the door of the house in front of her. She looked at 
 422.114 +Usagi and Mamoru, looking for reassurance and found two supporting 
 422.115 +loving smiles.
 422.116 + Then, the door slowly began to open.
 422.117 +
 422.118 +   ***
 422.119 +
 422.120 + When Hotaru finally opened the door she saw Mamoru's car and a 
 422.121 +girl standing beside it. Hotaru could hardly believe her eyes. The 
 422.122 +girl looked about her age, her hair was pink and put up in two 
 422.123 +pointy odangos. Her ponytails reached her knees but were a bit 
 422.124 +puffy at their base. She was slim, her bust was not too big and 
 422.125 +surely not too small. The girl's beauty hypnotized Hotaru.
 422.126 + The girl was looking at Hotaru with a nervous smile on her face. 
 422.127 +She was standing perfectly still, like a statue. Usagi's head 
 422.128 +popped out of Mamoru's car and she gave the girl a little push. The 
 422.129 +girl made a step forward, then another, then began running towards 
 422.130 +Hotaru.
 422.131 + "Hotaru-chan!" A familiar squeak came from the girl's mouth and 
 422.132 +tears started filling her crimson eyes.
 422.133 + "Chi... bi... u... sa...?"
 422.134 + The girl reached Hotaru, threw her arms around her and began 
 422.135 +crying on her shoulder.
 422.136 +
 422.137 +   ***
 422.138 +
 422.139 + "You got so big..."
 422.140 + "A few hundred years passed in my time since I last saw you."
 422.141 + Silence followed for a moment.
 422.142 + "You are beautiful ChibiUsa-chan." Another moment of silence 
 422.143 +passed as they were staring deeply into each other's eyes. Hotaru 
 422.144 +leaned forward and gently and softly kissed ChibiUsa.
 422.145 + "Why did you come back?"
 422.146 + "Because of you. – I came to ask you out on our first official 
 422.147 +date."
 422.148 + "Wha-?" Hotaru wasn't able to finish the word as ChibiUsa pressed 
 422.149 +her lips on Hotaru's.
 422.150 + "Don't you want to go out on a date with me, Taru-chan?" ChibiUsa 
 422.151 +asked mischievously, already seeing the sparks of joy in her 
 422.152 +lover's eyes.
 422.153 + "Oh, ChibiUsa-chan! I love you so much!" Hotaru squealed and 
 422.154 +hugged ChibiUsa.
 422.155 + "Okay, listen. We both go to the shopping center tomorrow and buy 
 422.156 +a nice outfit for our date. You go with your parents and I go with 
 422.157 +the other girls. And we're not supposed to see what we bought until 
 422.158 +tomorrow evening. 'Kay?" Hotaru was amazed.
 422.159 + "How long did you plan this evening Chibi-chan?"
 422.160 + "Oh, just the last one hundred years," she said, causing laughter 
 422.161 +to fill Hotaru's room.
 422.162 +
 422.163 +   ***
 422.164 +
 422.165 + "Haruka-papa! Do I look sexy in this?" Hotaru called across the 
 422.166 +store where Haruka and Setsuna were standing. Both looked somewhat 
 422.167 +sad seeing their daughter picking out dresses for her first date.
 422.168 + "Come on, sweetie. Let's find something that shows your long legs 
 422.169 +off!" The two heard Michiru say enthusiastically in the distance.
 422.170 + "We're losing her," Haruka commentated on the situation.
 422.171 + "Yeah. I know."
 422.172 + "Michiru doesn't seem to mind."
 422.173 + "She compensates for it by playing dress-up with our daughter." 
 422.174 +Haruka looked at Setsuna strangely. "What?! Why are you looking at 
 422.175 +me like that? Being the keeper of the gates of time for a couple of 
 422.176 +centuries gets boring from time to time!"
 422.177 + "Errrr... okay. Oh, look! There's ChibiUsa-chan with the other 
 422.178 +girls!"
 422.179 +
 422.180 + "Oh no, spies! Hide the dress!" ChibiUsa exclaimed when she saw 
 422.181 +the two women approaching.
 422.182 + "Don't worry Small Lady. We won't tell anything."
 422.183 + "Okay, then help me. Haruka-san, do I look sexy in this?"
 422.184 + 
 422.185 +   ***
 422.186 +
 422.187 + For Hotaru this was the happiest day in her life. In a few minutes 
 422.188 +she would go out on her first date. On a date with the person she 
 422.189 +loved more than anything else in the universe. Two years ago she 
 422.190 +had buried the thought of seeing ChibiUsa sooner than in about a 
 422.191 +thousand years, but now she's here. Here, in the guest room – the 
 422.192 +room next to Hotaru's - getting ready for their date. Though 
 422.193 +something was still wrong – Hotaru could feel it.
 422.194 + Suddenly a scratch was heard from the door. This was Diana's sign 
 422.195 +that ChibiUsa is about to come out of her room. Hotaru looked one 
 422.196 +last time in the mirror, got up from her chair and turned around. 
 422.197 +She was facing her parents now.
 422.198 + "How do I look?"
 422.199 + "Pretty."
 422.200 + "Adorable."
 422.201 + "Sexy."
 422.202 + She smiled nervously and walked towards the door. She opened it 
 422.203 +and stepped into the hallway. The hall was filled with people. 
 422.204 +Usagi and her friends were there – they were helping ChibiUsa with 
 422.205 +her make-up and dress. Even Hotaru's parents stepped out in the 
 422.206 +hallway.
 422.207 +
 422.208 +   Suddenly I turned around and she was standing there
 422.209 +   With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
 422.210 +   She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
 422.211 +    "Come in," she said "I'll give you
 422.212 +    Shelter from the storm"
 422.213 +
 422.214 +Hotaru wrote those words down in her diary a long time ago – 
 422.215 +actually in another lifetime. She heard them in a song on the radio 
 422.216 +some days after she first met ChibiUsa. They fit so well then and 
 422.217 +they fit so well now.
 422.218 +
 422.219 +   ***
 422.220 +
 422.221 + The first stars were already appearing on the evening sky as the 
 422.222 +lovers walked into a restaurant. It was the restaurant which Haruka 
 422.223 +and Michiru often visited.
 422.224 + Haruka called the restaurant earlier to make sure the girls would 
 422.225 +be treated accordingly and that she would later settle the bill. 
 422.226 +The girls were led to a table for two and ChibiUsa ordered a bottle 
 422.227 +of champagne.
 422.228 + "Champagne, ChibiUsa-chan? Why did you order champagne?" ChibiUsa 
 422.229 +just shrugged her shoulders.
 422.230 + "I don't know. It's a special occasion, isn't it Taru-chan?"
 422.231 + Hotaru smiled. "Yes it is,"
 422.232 + Both were enjoying the tickling of the champagne in their mouths 
 422.233 +and the tickling of love in their stomachs. They both remained 
 422.234 +silent for a couple of minutes, studying the lines of their faces, 
 422.235 +exploring the changes of the years that passed. The purple and 
 422.236 +crimson eyes met and lost themselves in the depths. They were 
 422.237 +holding hands again, just like a long time ago. But this time was 
 422.238 +different. A long time ago they hadn't confessed their love to each 
 422.239 +other yet.
 422.240 + Evening turned into night, the crowd in the restaurant thinned 
 422.241 +down.
 422.242 + "Taru-chan, do you remember the poem you gave me when I left?"
 422.243 + "The poem? Yes, I remember it. Though I wish I wouldn't. It's not 
 422.244 +a good poem. It's stupid."
 422.245 +
 422.246 +    "Little bunny on the moon
 422.247 +    On the moon so far away
 422.248 +    The firefly cannot fly high
 422.249 +    High enough to reach the sky"
 422.250 +
 422.251 +    "The little bunny on the moon
 422.252 +    Came down to earth to seek a friend
 422.253 +    Oh firefly, a friend is here
 422.254 +    A friend is here, a love is here"
 422.255 +
 422.256 + Hotaru blushed dark red as ChibiUsa recited the poem Hotaru wrote 
 422.257 +two years ago.
 422.258 + "You- You learned it by heart..."
 422.259 + "I think it's beautiful. Like you."
 422.260 + ChibiUsa gently caressed Hotaru's hands within her own. ChibiUsa's 
 422.261 +eyes grew darker. Slowly, she was preparing herself to tell Hotaru 
 422.262 +the true reason she had come back.
 422.263 + "Hotaru, I have to tell you something important. About you and 
 422.264 +me... and the future."
 422.265 + Hotaru nodded and smiled to ChibiUsa. She knew she was going to 
 422.266 +hear something she rather wouldn't but she didn't want to make it 
 422.267 +harder for ChibiUsa – her true love.
 422.268 + "I expected that ChibiUsa, I have sensed it since yesterday. Go 
 422.269 +ahead, 
 422.270 +I'm ready."
 422.271 + ChibiUsa sighed and began:
 422.272 + "Hotaru, where I come from, in my future, we two do not have the 
 422.273 +thing we share here. We do not share this love we have here. I 
 422.274 +searched for you after I came back from the past. I found you but 
 422.275 +you were not the same. You... you rejected me."
 422.276 + "ChibiUsa..." Hotaru gasped in shock.
 422.277 + "Yes. And I do not know why. I could see in you eyes you love me. 
 422.278 +I could see the tears that tried to break your eyes but you 
 422.279 +remained strong. You did not even want to talk to me. I came back 
 422.280 +to the past to change that future. Hotaru, I want you to promise me 
 422.281 +something. For what we have here, promise me you will never deceive 
 422.282 +your feelings. And promise me that if you ever stop loving me, you 
 422.283 +will look me in the eyes and tell me that."
 422.284 + "ChibiUsa, I will always -"
 422.285 + "No! Do not tell me you will always love me! Promise me these two 
 422.286 +things!"
 422.287 + "I promise you." 
 422.288 + "Thank you Hotaru. Now I can go back to my future reassured. I was 
 422.289 +only given a limited time here. I will have to leave soon. 
 422.290 +Tomorrow," ChibiUsa said with a sigh. Three simple words: I promise 
 422.291 +you. Could these three simple words change the future? A future 
 422.292 +that somehow went terribly wrong for her.
 422.293 + "Tomorrow already? Then... Then we'll have to make this night a 
 422.294 +night to remember." Hotaru tried to hide her hurt behind a 
 422.295 +reassuring smile.
 422.296 + "Thank you Hotaru. But you forgot who you are talking to. I can 
 422.297 +see through your masks. You don't have to smile if you don't feel 
 422.298 +like it."
 422.299 + "Don't you understand it ChibiUsa? I want to smile to make *you* 
 422.300 +smile. When I see your smile it always makes me feel better."
 422.301 + Now a smile lit ChibiUsa's face also.
 422.302 + "Thank you ChibiUsa. Can I say it now?"
 422.303 + "Go ahead."
 422.304 + "I will always love you ChibiUsa."
 422.305 + "And I will always love you Hotaru."
 422.306 +
 422.307 +   ***
 422.308 +
 422.309 + Midnight already passed when the two young women came to Hotaru's 
 422.310 +home. It was arranged that ChibiUsa would stay in the guest room in 
 422.311 +the Outer's mansion but everybody soon realized that they would 
 422.312 +spend the night in the same room.
 422.313 + The girls quietly took off their shoes and went upstairs holding 
 422.314 +hands. They remained quiet when they were passing the halls until 
 422.315 +they reached the door to Hotaru's room. Hotaru reached for the 
 422.316 +doorknob but then she turned around with a question on her flushed 
 422.317 +face. They slept together all the time when they were younger. But 
 422.318 +now was different. Now they were in love.
 422.319 + ChibiUsa simply smiled at Hotaru and nodded. No words were 
 422.320 +necessary, ChibiUsa knew what question was on Hotaru's mind. They 
 422.321 +entered the room and looked into each other's eyes. The most 
 422.322 +passionate kiss they ever shared followed. Their tongues danced 
 422.323 +with each other and explored each other's mouths. Their hands 
 422.324 +roamed across their bodies, studying the changes the years had 
 422.325 +brought. 
 422.326 + Hotaru slipped her hand under ChibiUsa's dress and savoured the 
 422.327 +feeling of the soft skin against her fingertips. She slowly moved 
 422.328 +her hands around ChibiUsa's back and began undressing her as 
 422.329 +ChibiUsa was doing the same. Soon, both were standing in their 
 422.330 +underwear and stockings.
 422.331 + As Hotaru's dress fell on the floor, ChibiUsa went down on her 
 422.332 +Knees, and began slowly pulling off one of Hotaru's stockings. She 
 422.333 +would pull the stocking down a bit and kiss the soft skin she 
 422.334 +freed. Inside herself, Hotaru could feel something warm forming, 
 422.335 +and with every kiss ChibiUsa planted on her leg the feeling grew 
 422.336 +stronger. When ChibiUsa finally removed both stockings it was 
 422.337 +Hotaru's turn. Though Hotaru took a different approach. With her 
 422.338 +hands she was pulling down the stocking and her tongue travelled 
 422.339 +along a few inches behind the stocking. ChibiUsa let out a muttered 
 422.340 +moan as the delicate feeling of Hotaru's tongue against her skin 
 422.341 +washed through her body.
 422.342 + After the stockings were off, Hotaru's bra was next. ChibiUsa 
 422.343 +unclasped it and let it fall to the floor. She gently cupped one of 
 422.344 +Hotaru's breasts with her hand and kissed the other's nipple 
 422.345 +lovingly. She began suckling on the nipple and stroking the other 
 422.346 +with her thumb. Hotaru's nipples were growing harder every second 
 422.347 +as ChibiUsa was playing with her breasts. They were already rock 
 422.348 +hard when ChibiUsa felt two hands encircle her face. Hotaru 
 422.349 +lovingly brought ChibiUsa's face in front of hers and kissed her 
 422.350 +passionately while she unclasped her bra.
 422.351 + ChibiUsa saw desire in her lover's eyes, as Hotaru lowered her 
 422.352 +head to have some fun with ChibiUsa's breasts, which were slightly 
 422.353 +larger than her own. At the same time Hotaru put her hands on 
 422.354 +ChibiUsa's hips and lay her down on the bed. She took her position 
 422.355 +beside ChibiUsa and while teasing her nipples with her tongue she 
 422.356 +slid down ChibiUsa's panties. After the wet panties landed on the 
 422.357 +floor, Hotaru started planting a trail of kisses from ChibiUsa's 
 422.358 +breasts downward.
 422.359 + The path led from one nipple through a valley to the other and 
 422.360 +then further downward across ChibiUsa's soft stomach. Hotaru was 
 422.361 +moving in circles around the navel and finally followed the musky 
 422.362 +scent to it's origin. Hotaru's lips reached a bush of pink hair and 
 422.363 +her fingers played a little with the pubic hair while her lips 
 422.364 +shyly touched the petals of ChibiUsa's sex. ChibiUsa let out a 
 422.365 +groan and a moan at the same time and Hotaru smiled to herself to 
 422.366 +her achievement.
 422.367 + Determined to draw another moan from ChibiUsa, Hotaru changed her 
 422.368 +position. She put her knees down on either side of ChibiUsa's head, 
 422.369 +carefully avoiding her ponytails. Hotaru stretched over ChibiUsa's 
 422.370 +body and resumed the attack at her pussy.
 422.371 + Suddenly, ChibiUsa was encircled with a sweet odour, and she 
 422.372 +slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted with a sight that 
 422.373 +immediately shattered all the walls inside her, and she let out a 
 422.374 +sound that Hotaru could only describe as something between a sigh 
 422.375 +and a moan. Two pillars were holding Hotaru's crotch mere inches 
 422.376 +away from ChibiUsa's face. ChibiUsa inhaled the strong scent deep 
 422.377 +inside and lifted her head to kiss the wet spot on the white 
 422.378 +panties above her.
 422.379 + Hotaru was tasting the sweet juices that ran out of ChibiUsa's 
 422.380 +pussy when she felt two hands pulling down her panties. When 
 422.381 +ChibiUsa discarded Hotaru's panties and was engulfed by her 
 422.382 +Smell, she knew she wouldn't last much longer. The black haired 
 422.383 +girl felt ChibiUsa's tongue slowly lick her pussy.
 422.384 + Hotaru knew ChibiUsa was close to her climax and so was she. Their 
 422.385 +breathing was shallow and quick. Moans, gasps and sighs were mixed 
 422.386 +with licking sounds. As if their minds were somehow connected, they 
 422.387 +inserted a finger into each other simultaniously and it was like 
 422.388 +floodgates were opened.
 422.389 + After the climax passed, the lovers snuggled up to each to catch 
 422.390 +their breath for the next round.
 422.391 +
 422.392 +   ***
 422.393 +
 422.394 + Soft, smiling crimson eyes greeted Hotaru when she woke up. The 
 422.395 +small amount of light in her room told her that morning has long 
 422.396 +passed. 
 422.397 + "Hotaru-chan, wake up," a soft voice began.
 422.398 + 'Hmph' was the only response the voice got from the girl who 
 422.399 +pulled the blankets over her head.
 422.400 + "Hotaru-chan, I'll give you a kiss if you get up," the soft voice 
 422.401 +persisted.
 422.402 + "Why don't you get back in here and we can continue where we 
 422.403 +stopped last night."
 422.404 + The softness in the voice disappeared as it started anew: "Hotaru, 
 422.405 +don't you want to say goodbye? I'll be going soon."
 422.406 + Crimson eyes met purple ones again when Hotaru removed the blanket 
 422.407 +from her face. Two hands grabbed the unprepared ChibiUsa as Hotaru 
 422.408 +pulled her closer to kiss her.
 422.409 + "Hotaru, how come you aren't sad?" ChibiUsa asked when they 
 422.410 +finally broke their kiss.
 422.411 + "I am sad. But I know that our love is strong. I believe in our 
 422.412 +love. The princess, Usagi-chan, taught me to believe in love." 
 422.413 +Hotaru stated with certainty.
 422.414 + After a pause the raven haired asked the question that lingered in 
 422.415 +her.
 422.416 + "ChibiUsa, this is the last time you came back, isn't it?"
 422.417 + A 'yes' spoken underneath ChibiUsa's breath was all the answer she 
 422.418 +got.
 422.419 +
 422.420 +   ***
 422.421 +
 422.422 + About half an hour later, a time portal opened in the back yard of 
 422.423 +the Outers' house.
 422.424 + "I love you Tomoe Hotaru, princess of Saturn."
 422.425 + "I love you Tsukino Chibi Usagi, princess of the Moon." <Thousand 
 422.426 +years is not a long time...>
 422.427 + A phrase kept repeating itself in ChibiUsa's mind like if she was 
 422.428 +chanting a mandala. A phrase which held all her hopes, all her 
 422.429 +dreams, her entire being.
 422.430 + <I believe in our love.>
 422.431 + And the light filled her.
 422.432 +
 422.433 +
 422.434 +
 422.435 +The End
 422.436 +
 422.437 +The Ghost of 'lectricity
 422.438 +Peter.dobaj@guest.arnes.si
 422.439 +
 422.440 +If you haven't noticed I borrowed a verse from Bob Dylan's Shelter 
 422.441 +from the Storm and various phrases from his songs.
 422.442 +Thank you for reading.

   423.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   423.2 +++ b/stories/panbra.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   423.3 @@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
   423.4 +Always Were More Than Friends
   423.5 +
   423.6 +by StarLight
   423.7 +
   423.8 +
   423.9 +
  423.10 +
  423.11 +Pan walked into the house, knowing that Bulma and Vegita were out and Trunks was on a date. Bra was in the living room, wearing a loose fitting robe. When Pan walked into the room, Bra rose from her chair, her robe slipping slightly down her shoulders. At that moment, Pan felt so much younger than Bra, although Pan was a year older. She was seventeen years old. As Pan turned around to leave the room, Bra’s hand touched the back of her neck. 
  423.12 +
  423.13 +“We are going to a bar and you dress in fighting clothes,” Bra stated.
  423.14 +
  423.15 +“You’re not even dressed,” Pan shot back as she turned around. Bra had removed her robe to reveal a skin-tight dress, red and silky. And, like most of Bra’s outfits, did not reach mid-thigh. The top of the dress was sleeveless and fashioned to push up her breasts. 
  423.16 +
  423.17 +“I have just the thing for you,” Bra commented as she grabbed Pan’s arm and took her into her bedroom. Bra threw a red dress at her. Pan took a good look at the dress and immediately disliked it. It looked like a slightly long shirt instead of a dress, with straps. “Come on. Try it on.” 
  423.18 +
  423.19 +Pan quickly undressed and pulled the dress over her head and found she couldn’t get it to go down any further. Bra started laughing as she helped Pan get the dress half way down. Getting the dress over her hips was nearly impossible, and she did not have big hips. Once she had it in place, just a little below her hips, Bra turned her towards a full-length mirror. The dress fit like a second skin. 
  423.20 +
  423.21 +“How are you suppose to sit in this?” Pan complained as she stared at herself in the mirror. A black haired, blue eyed stranger stared back. This was NOT her. As she walked towards the bed, she noticed that the dress slowly went up every time she moved. “How are you suppose to walk in this?” 
  423.22 +
  423.23 +“First of all,” Bra started as she walked over to Pan, “when you sit, sit carefully,” Bra’s hands than took the sides of Pan’s dress and pulled down. “And, as for walking, don’t take big steps. Take slow, tiny steps or everyone will see your panties.” 
  423.24 +
  423.25 +“I’m not wearing this,” Pan declared as Bra grabbed her purse. 
  423.26 +
  423.27 +“We have no time to change. The show begins at seven and we are already late,” Bra stated. 
  423.28 +
  423.29 +“Fine,” Pan mumbled as she followed Bra out of her bedroom and out of the house. 
  423.30 +
  423.31 +Pan sat next to Bra in the car and tried to keep her dress down the entire time. Bra got out of the car, without having to pull her dress down, and walked straight into the bar. She watched as Bra walked through the doors without being carded and she was mildly surprised when she got through. 
  423.32 +
  423.33 +Inside was nothing like what Pan had thought it would be. She thought there would be loud music, lots of people, and naked men and women dancing around on the tables. A place where she could get lost and escape Bra. What she saw startled her. Everyone was getting into groups and going into rooms. The main room, a bar, was half-empty. The bartender smiled when they walked up. Bra gave him an order and her hurried to get it. 
  423.34 +
  423.35 +“What are inside the rooms?” Pan asked Bra. 
  423.36 +
  423.37 +“The rooms are designed for different peoples' tastes. Each one is different,” Bra muttered as she took the drinks and slowly began to sip on it. “Follow me to our room.”
  423.38 +
  423.39 +“Our room? I thought we were going to watch the main show,” Pan asked.
  423.40 +
  423.41 +“The ‘main show’ is going to be in our room,” Bra informed Pan. “Drink up. Drinks are not allowed in the rooms.” 
  423.42 +
  423.43 +“Now you tell me,” Pan complained as she quickly drank it. The bartender poured Pan another drink and than another. Bra had to pull her away. “What is this stuff?”
  423.44 +
  423.45 +“Good, isn’t it?” Bra inquired.
  423.46 +
  423.47 +“Yeah, I like it,” Pan replied. 
  423.48 +
  423.49 +Pan walked behind Bra, feeling a little light-headed and very giggly. Bra smiled, so far so good. As they walked past one room, Pan tripped over the rug in front of the door and hit the control panel. The door slid open and two very startled people looked out. Both of them were dressed in Star Trek outfits, and the man had pointed ears. The woman was bent over a table; her dress pulled up to her hips. Pan noticed that the woman was tied down to the table. “Sorry” 
  423.50 +
  423.51 +Bra grabbed Pan and they hurried down the hall. 
  423.52 +
  423.53 +“What was that?” Pan inquired, knowing her face was bright red.
  423.54 +
  423.55 +“It was a scene,” Bra said. “Let’s get to our room.” 
  423.56 +
  423.57 +Pan followed Bra down the hallway and to a door. When Bra opened the door, Pan found herself staring into a peaceful nature scene. When they walked in, the doors closed, completing the scene. There were a few trees, lots of green grass, and a pond. As Pan walked over to the pond, Bra watched as Pan pushed her fingers in to the water. “It's real.” 
  423.58 +
  423.59 +“Of course its real, baka,” Bra replied as she started to remove her dress. “I’m going for a swim. Care to join me?” 
  423.60 +
  423.61 +“Well, I don’t…” she started as Bra walked into the water. 
  423.62 +
  423.63 +“Come on in. The water is wonderful. Not too hot and not too cold,” Bra announced. Pan looked around, as if trying to find a place to hide. After a few minutes, she started to take off her dress and got it stuck. “This could only happen to you!”
  423.64 +
  423.65 +“Help me get it off,” Pan insisted, realizing that her arms were trapped above her head and the dress was stuck half way up her breast. She suddenly felt Bra’s cold wet fingers pulling at the sides gently. “Get it off me.”
  423.66 +
  423.67 +“Wait a minute,” Bra said softly as she moved her fingers to Pan’s breast, pushing her hand under the fabric, cupping it, as she forced the fabric over. She removed the dress and threw it on hers. Bra returned to the water. “Come on in.” 
  423.68 +
  423.69 +Bra waited in the shallow side a few minutes before Pan got in. She watched as Pan made a circle around her and got in the deep end. After a few minutes, Bra swam over there. Pan turned around to face her. “I’m feeling kinda funny.” 
  423.70 +
  423.71 +“It’s the wine. Come on, let’s get to the shallow end,” Bra replied as she wrapped her arms around Pan’s waist and dragged her into the shallow end. 
  423.72 +
  423.73 +“I’m fine. You can let go of me now,” Pan stated. 
  423.74 +
  423.75 +“Why? You don’t like the feel of my hands?” 
  423.76 +
  423.77 +“It’s not that. Its just that…stop that.” Pan exclaimed as Bra’s hand traveled up to her breast. Bra ran her finger over the top of Pan’s nipple while she kept a firm hold around her waist. “Bra. What are you doing?”
  423.78 +
  423.79 +“Come on. I know you like it,” Bra declared as she covered both of her nipples with her hands and nibbled at her ear. “We used to do it all the time as children.” 
  423.80 +
  423.81 +“Don’t make me hurt you,” Pan warned weakly as she gave in. After all, they have been doing this for years. It didn’t make sense to stop when Bulma had found them together. They hadn’t touch each other from that day on, let alone talk about it. Besides, Pan thought as an after thought, I never did have much luck with boyfriends. 
  423.82 +
  423.83 +Bra knew she had won when Pan relaxed against her. Normally, Pan was the one to fight, to be in control, and if it happened, it was because Pan wanted it. Sex was the only subject Pan wasn’t comfortable about. It was the only time when she was in control, and Bra loved the way it made her feel.
  423.84 +
  423.85 +“Let’s get out of the water,” Bra said.
  423.86 +
  423.87 +Pan fell on the grass and brought Bra down with her. Pan’s hair fanned around her head like a dark halo. Bra took her mouth and placed it over Pan’s nipple. She gently nipped on it, playing with it in her mouth. Slowly she moved to the other, leaving a wet trail with her tongue, tasting the water on her. As Bra slowly continued down, her tongue making strange patterns on Pan’s skin, Pan’s fingers dug into the ground. Her breathing was becoming much faster. Bra slowly pushed in a finger and then another. She slowly increased the speed. Quickly, Bra glanced at Pan’s face, who now had her eyes closed. Suddenly she stopped and Pan’s eyes snapped open. Pan didn’t like to play games, but Bra did. 
  423.88 +
  423.89 +“Let’s go for a swim,” Bra announced as she lay on top of Pan. 
  423.90 +
  423.91 +“Don’t you dare,” Pan warned, something in her eyes. She pushed Bra off of her and sat up, staring at her. Bra was lying on her side; her long bluish-purple hair hung in large wet clumps. She was smiling sweetly at Pan. “Don’t play games, Bra. I mean it.” 
  423.92 +
  423.93 +“Or what?” Bra taunted as she slowly got up.
  423.94 +
  423.95 +“Bra,” Pan slowly drawled out her name as her hands began to glow.
  423.96 +
  423.97 +“Oh, so you want to play it rough do you?” Bra teased as she turned away from Pan and faced the pond. 
  423.98 +
  423.99 +“Damn you,” Pan muttered as she grabbed Bra’s ankle and pulled. Bra fell face first into the grass. As she slowly sat up, she saw Pan sitting there, looking as if she was going to attack her. “Damn you, Bra. Why do you have to…” 
 423.100 +
 423.101 +Bra put her mouth over Pan’s, instantly silencing her. The kiss was quick but meaningful. Pan once again found herself on bottom. Bra started on her slow tongue torture that Pan couldn’t stand for very long. Using her tongue, Bra made a wet trail down Pan’s stomach and down between her legs. Pan immediately became still. Bra had never done this to her before. Bra’s fingers ran over Pan’s thighs forcing them further apart. Pan was taking short but deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She felt Bra’s tongue dart back and forth, up and down. Her controlled breathing was beginning to turn into moans. It felt so good. As Bra began to suck, Pan quit fighting it and enjoyed the pleasure it was causing. 
 423.102 +
 423.103 +Fingers soon replaced Bra’s mouth. Pan glanced at Bra, who was smiling. Bra took her fingers out of Pan and put them in her mouth, licking the juices off. 
 423.104 +
 423.105 +“Where did you learn that?” Pan asked between breaths. 
 423.106 +
 423.107 +“One of Master Roshi’s porn videos. He thought he gave me the video of the last reunion we had,” Bra informed her as she slow began to rock her hips against Pan’s. 
 423.108 +
 423.109 +“You've got to show me that one,” Pan stated as she slowly cupped Bra’s breast with her hands, running her fingers over the nipple. As Bra began to rock faster, Pan’s hands tightened. 
 423.110 +
 423.111 +Pan didn’t remember falling asleep, but it happened. She woke to find herself curled next to Bra, who was asleep. Well, she knew how to wake up Bra. Although Pan didn’t like games, she did enjoy getting payback. Slowly she put her mouth over Bra’s nipple and began to suck. Then she put two fingers into Bra’s wet hot passage. That woke Bra quickly. She began shoving her fingers in as hard as she could and bit Bra’s nipple painfully when Bra tried to sit up. 
 423.112 +
 423.113 +“We don’t have time for this,” Bra insisted, already aroused.
 423.114 +
 423.115 +“I know,” she said, stopping altogether. Bra closed her eyes as she sat up. Now she would want to play game, she thought as Pan threw her dress at her. “Hurry up. I want to see that video you have.”
 423.116 +
 423.117 +“You’ll see it soon enough,” Bra replied as she quickly got her dress back on. 
 423.118 +
 423.119 +“Since your parents are going to be home, maybe we should go over to my parents' home. Mom and Dad are out of town for a special event of some sort.” 
 423.120 +
 423.121 +“My, aren’t you eager. And I practically had to drag you here,” Bra commented. “It's time to go, before they kick us out.”
 423.122 +
 423.123 +Bra quickly kissed Pan before leaving their private little room. In the hall, Pan stopped so that she could put her shoes on. Her hand touched a control panel, and the door slid open. Bra started laughing and Pan’s mouth dropped open when they saw Trunks and Goten struggling to get some clothes on.
 423.124 +
 423.125 +
 423.126 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 423.127 +
 423.128 +The End
 423.129 +
 423.130 +4/10/2000

   424.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   424.2 +++ b/stories/premise.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   424.3 @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
   424.4 +Hello! ^-^ This story is based on a premise my friend gave me to write. So 
   424.5 +it has nothing to do with my normal continuity. ^^;; Anyway, all of my 
   424.6 +stories (Sailormoon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Pretty Sammy, and others) can be 
   424.7 +found at Moonlit Nights ( http://fly.to/moonlit_nights ). ^-^ I love to hear 
   424.8 +what you think about my stories, so if you have the chance, please e-mail 
   424.9 +me. ^-^ Thanks! *hugs*
  424.10 +
  424.11 +This was the premise for the story:
  424.12 +
  424.13 +It's a dismal, rainy day.  Some situation (possibly a dispute with a 
  424.14 +parental figure, etc.) has locked one member of a pair (you get to decide 
  424.15 +^_- ) into their own home without access to any means of communicating with 
  424.16 +the other.  The other, of course, either doesn't know this or DOES know this 
  424.17 +but can't do anything.  They both take the time apart to reminisce.
  424.18 +Write that, the reason behind it, and resolve the situation ^_^
  424.19 +
  424.20 +And here's what came out of it:
  424.21 +
  424.22 +I Sure Am Glad It's Raining
  424.23 +by Amazoness Duo
  424.24 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  424.25 +
  424.26 +	The rain pelted against the window in sheets, nearly drowning out the sobs 
  424.27 +coming from within the young girls room. Generally a cheerful place, it now 
  424.28 +was more like a dungeon. A plush prison, but a prison nonetheless. Cute 
  424.29 +little stuffed rabbits stood sentry over the room's sole occupant.  It 
  424.30 +wasn't fair. Why did life have to hurt so much? Why was everyone here always 
  424.31 +so cruel? These people weren't her family. They didn't care about what 
  424.32 +happened to her. Even Usagi, her real mother, had agreed with her 'aunt' and 
  424.33 +'uncle'. No, she wasn't her mother yet. She was just some immature girl that 
  424.34 +she was forced to live with. While she was practically exiled from her home 
  424.35 +so she could learn to become the next Sailormoon from -her-.
  424.36 +	The shawl she had been given only the night before was little consolation. 
  424.37 +Rather, it reminded her even more of the girl she was currently barred from 
  424.38 +seeing. Clutching it tightly, the pink haired girl pulled it close. The 
  424.39 +thunder sent shivers up and down her spine. The storm was only making things 
  424.40 +worse, playing with her already frazzled nerves. A pang of sadness shot 
  424.41 +through her as she held the shawl closer. It still carried her scent. 
  424.42 +Closing her eyes, she could see her just as clearly as if she was standing 
  424.43 +there in front of her. Beautiful ivory skin, the very faintest of smiles, 
  424.44 +deep violet eyes. More bitter tears spilt down her cheeks as the rain 
  424.45 +continued to pick up outside.
  424.46 +	Through her blurry vision, she could see where her phone used to be. They'd 
  424.47 +taken that, too. Apparently she'd been so 'bad' that she was supposed to 
  424.48 +think about what she'd done until she agreed with them about how awful she 
  424.49 +was while staying all alone. With no contact. Especially from her.
  424.50 +	What was wrong with a kiss? A simple gesture, it could show your love 
  424.51 +better than any words could ever express. Something only lovers could share, 
  424.52 +their own little escape from the world, if only for a few all too brief 
  424.53 +seconds. So what was so inherently evil about her giving a goodbye kiss to 
  424.54 +the one person she loved so dearly? Apparently, everything. Ikuko had seen 
  424.55 +it all from the window. As soon as she'd entered, they had sprung upon her 
  424.56 +like she was a criminal. Ikuko had wanted to know where she had gone wrong. 
  424.57 +Kenji had just looked disgusted the whole time, anger lashing out at her 
  424.58 +whenever she would argue her point. Even her mother, the one person who 
  424.59 +should by all rights care for her when no one else did, agreed with them. 
  424.60 +She thought she was getting too many ideas from Haruka and Michiru, that 
  424.61 +maybe Hotaru had gotten twisted around while being raised by them and was 
  424.62 +now corrupting her. That she needed to figure out what being friends meant 
  424.63 +and what being lovers meant. She had told her to wait until she was older 
  424.64 +and find a nice boy to get with and that this would never last. That had 
  424.65 +finally snapped something inside of her. How dare she tell her that they 
  424.66 +would never last! How dare she accuse Hotaru of being some delinquent! How 
  424.67 +could she look her own daughter in the face, through all of the tears, and 
  424.68 +still tear her heart out?
  424.69 +	For the past day, everyone in the house was looking at her strangely for 
  424.70 +the few times she had been allowed out of her room. Ikuko wouldn't even look 
  424.71 +at her. Usagi kept trying to offer sympathy, even saying they could talk 
  424.72 +about it if she wanted. Talk about what? But still... She was her mother. 
  424.73 +That had been a huge mistake. She was wrong. Usagi was certain about that 
  424.74 +from the outset. It wasn't so they could talk about it, merely so Usagi 
  424.75 +could explain the way things were supposed to be. The way she was supposed 
  424.76 +to be. As if she were broken... She'd stormed out of the room, tears 
  424.77 +brimming in her crimson eyes shortly thereafter.
  424.78 +	Could she even go home anymore? Was this what was awaiting her back in 
  424.79 +Crystal Tokyo? What future was awaiting her without Hotaru? What good was a 
  424.80 +kingdom without the one you love by your side? Her mother there had even 
  424.81 +more power over her life than these people here. They wouldn't let her see 
  424.82 +Hotaru because she had kissed her and that was obviously bad. In the future, 
  424.83 +she could easily be forced to marry someone else. She didn't even know where 
  424.84 +Hotaru was in the future. No wonder her mother wouldn't tell her. She would 
  424.85 +only be a shell without her. Living an empty life as a figurehead for the 
  424.86 +kingdom, but serving her purpose. That wasn't a future at all.
  424.87 +	Why was she so alone? The people she had thought cared about her wouldn't 
  424.88 +even listen to her now, determining that she wasn't fit to decide who she 
  424.89 +loved. And the only person she knew she could trust with all of this was 
  424.90 +beyond her reach. It wasn't fair. It wasn't.. fair...
  424.91 +	A yawn escaped her lips as she shifted on the bed. Her head ached horribly 
  424.92 +from all of her crying. The thunder still had her shaking now and again. Her 
  424.93 +heart felt icy cold inside. But not beating rapidly the way it had been 
  424.94 +moments before. An almost slow, soothing beat. She yawned again, her grip 
  424.95 +starting to loosen on the shawl. So tired... Maybe she would just sleep a 
  424.96 +little. Maybe things would be better... Her thoughts unfinished, the pink 
  424.97 +haired girl's eyes slipped shut, the shawl slipping through her fingers and 
  424.98 +fluttering to the floor.
  424.99 +
 424.100 +	"Sleep well, ChibiUsa-chan. I'll see you soon. I promise," Hotaru said, 
 424.101 +almost subconsciously as she looked up at the window. She was completely 
 424.102 +soaked by the rain, her weak body shuddering with chills. A scream came from 
 424.103 +ChibiUsa's room as Ikuko came in to a morbid discovery. "Sleep well, 
 424.104 +ChibiUsa-chan." Moments later, the dark haired girl collapsed in the rain. 
 424.105 +But no one would notice her. No one ever did.
 424.106 +

   425.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   425.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   425.3 @@ -0,0 +1,803 @@
   425.4 +Prism Hearts 
   425.5 +Chapter 2
   425.6 +Prelude
   425.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   425.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   425.9 +
  425.10 +
  425.11 +It was raining. That was the first thing that Kairi noticed. Cold
  425.12 +raindrops had plastered her clothes to her body, making her shiver.
  425.13 +Hugging her cold body tightly, she slowly sat up. Where was she? It
  425.14 +rained often enough on the Destiny Islands, but it was always a warm,
  425.15 +gentle rain. Nothing like the freezing, harsh storm that fell down
  425.16 +around her. 
  425.17 +
  425.18 +Slowly getting to her feet, Kairi began to stumble out of the alley
  425.19 +she found herself in. Huge buildings rose up around her, impervious
  425.20 +to the unending rain. Where was she? This wasn’t anything like home.
  425.21 +It looked like some impersonal big city. It was late and the streets
  425.22 +were empty, leaving her all alone. “Hello?” she asked meekly. There
  425.23 +was no reply but the howl of the wind.
  425.24 +
  425.25 +Shaking her head, Kairi got her wet bangs out of her eyes. The
  425.26 +buildings around her had an almost menacing look, as if they would
  425.27 +reach out and grab for her themselves. Whether that was because of
  425.28 +the darkness and the storm or if they were always like that, she
  425.29 +couldn’t tell. She shivered again, trying to ignore it. “Riku? Sora?”
  425.30 +she called out again, louder this time.
  425.31 +
  425.32 +Wet, cold, and alone, the brunette began to venture out into this
  425.33 +new world she found herself in. There had to be someone who could
  425.34 +tell her where she was. Or at least some place for her to get out of
  425.35 +the pouring rain. Every little sound had her looking over her
  425.36 +shoulder, glancing around. She didn’t like this place. She missed her
  425.37 +island home already. But she had to keep looking. Riku and Sora were
  425.38 +out there somewhere. Maybe someone here would know where they were. 
  425.39 +
  425.40 +Clank.
  425.41 +
  425.42 +Kairi whipped around quickly. It seemed to come from an alleyway
  425.43 +nearby. She could feel her whole body shaking. She didn’t know if she
  425.44 +was more frightened or excited by the sound. It was something in the
  425.45 +darkness. It could be anything. On the other hand, it was the first
  425.46 +sound that could be human contact she had since showing up in this
  425.47 +weird city. So despite her worries, she ventured forward. Perhaps
  425.48 +whoever it was could tell her where she was. Or where to get dry, at
  425.49 +any rate. 
  425.50 +
  425.51 +The entrance to the alleyway opened up like the maw of some huge
  425.52 +monster ready to swallow her up. But she had to find out who it was.
  425.53 +Otherwise she’d still be all alone out here. Steeling herself, the
  425.54 +young princess ran into the alley. 
  425.55 +
  425.56 +It was dark and wet in the alley, but the huge walls managed to
  425.57 +prevent some of the downpour from getting in. It was a small respite
  425.58 +from the storm. She sighed, holding herself tightly to try and keep
  425.59 +in some semblance of warmth. “Hello?” she called out, trying to keep
  425.60 +her nervousness from showing through. She heard another rattle and
  425.61 +paused. Maybe she should go back. She glanced to the entrance again.
  425.62 +No, she resolved. She couldn’t do that. If she gave up on this tiny
  425.63 +thing, then how would she ever find her friends? Stepping closer, she
  425.64 +raised her voice. “Hello?”
  425.65 +
  425.66 +Something tiny peeked out of a small box that it had been hiding in.
  425.67 +“Meow,” it answered, looking up at her. 
  425.68 +
  425.69 +“Awww! How cute!” Kairi kneeled down, picking up the little kitten.
  425.70 +It must have been making the noise as it struggled to find a way to
  425.71 +escape the rain. It was gray with little black patches on its fur. It
  425.72 +had the strangest green eyes that Kairi had ever seen. She couldn’t
  425.73 +remember if she’d ever owned a kitten or not, but she knew that it
  425.74 +was adorable. “Are you lost, too?” she asked. The kitten mewed in
  425.75 +response, seeming to agree. Kairi smiled brightly, nuzzling the
  425.76 +kitten’s nose. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. I may not be able to
  425.77 +help my friends yet, but I’ll do my best to help you, at least.” This
  425.78 +seemed to please the kitten, as it began to meow happily. 
  425.79 +
  425.80 +“That still doesn’t help us figure out where we are, though, does
  425.81 +it?” Kairi looked around the alley. It was minor protection, but she
  425.82 +couldn’t imagine spending the night in it. It was too creepy. There
  425.83 +had to be some place that was open, someone who would tell them where
  425.84 +they were. She held the wet kitten to her chest, running back out
  425.85 +into the rain. She tried to hunch over as she ran to protect the
  425.86 +kitten from the relentless pour. The little kitten curled up in a
  425.87 +ball against her, closing its eyes tightly.
  425.88 +
  425.89 +Stopping in the middle of the street, the brunette started searching
  425.90 +for her next target. Anything that looked open and inviting. There
  425.91 +had to be somewhere she could go to escape the storm. She couldn’t
  425.92 +just be lost out here. But at least she wasn’t alone anymore. She had
  425.93 +this kitten at any rate. And she held onto it like a life preserver
  425.94 +on a wild and reckless sea, her only friend at the moment. Because it
  425.95 +needed her. 
  425.96 +
  425.97 +Something bright caught her eye, drawing her attention away from the
  425.98 +ground level. Up on top of one of the buildings. On the building was
  425.99 +a large screen, presumably for public announcements or advertisements
 425.100 +or something. On that large screen was Kairi. She could only stare
 425.101 +for a long moment, frozen in place. The image kept cycling, herself
 425.102 +standing on the beach, static filtering across the screen. She would
 425.103 +smile and walk forward and then it would skip back to the beginning,
 425.104 +starting all over. “What?” She couldn’t tell if she’d actually spoken
 425.105 +the word or just thought it. Why would she be showing on some sort of
 425.106 +huge monitor? How could anyone know she was here? She glanced around
 425.107 +worriedly. This was all wrong. This place wasn’t right at all. 
 425.108 +
 425.109 +The shadows seemed to move around her, swarming. It looked like they
 425.110 +were surrounding her. She took a few steps backwards, but found that
 425.111 +they were behind her as well. Slowly, creatures began to rise from
 425.112 +the shadows, watching her. The Heartless! Her eyes widened as she saw
 425.113 +them all around her. There was no escape. Her search for Riku and
 425.114 +Sora was over before it had begun. She had failed the both of them.
 425.115 +Footsteps behind her barely registered in her mind. Hadn’t the
 425.116 +Heartless been stopped with Sora had locked the final door? They
 425.117 +shouldn’t be here. But there they were, staring at her hungrily. The
 425.118 +kitten poked its head out, hissing at the shadowy intruders. The
 425.119 +continued to advance on her, ignoring the kitten’s warnings. 
 425.120 +
 425.121 +The footsteps were finally right next to the young princess,
 425.122 +managing to capture her attention at last. She couldn’t stop the
 425.123 +feeling that it was something just as bad or worse than the living
 425.124 +shadows that were almost upon her. She could barely make him out in
 425.125 +the darkness. He was wearing a dark jacket with a hood that obscured
 425.126 +his face. He seemed to be wearing a blindfold as well, yet he seemed
 425.127 +to know exactly where the Heartless were. He didn’t turn to Kairi,
 425.128 +but instead kept a blind watch over the shadows. 
 425.129 +
 425.130 +“You can use the Keyblade, Kairi,” he said at last, seemingly
 425.131 +unworried about the advancing Heartless. 
 425.132 +
 425.133 +Kairi shook her head quickly, still holding onto the kitten. “No, I
 425.134 +can’t! I can’t fight! I’m not like Riku and Sora!” She would do
 425.135 +anything she could to have her friends back, to protect them. But she
 425.136 +wasn’t a fighter like they were. She just didn’t have that kind of
 425.137 +skill. 
 425.138 +
 425.139 +“You have to, Kairi. You’re the only one who can stop the spreading
 425.140 +darkness. If you don’t, it will envelop everything,” he said
 425.141 +urgently. He finally turned to her. “Kairi, you are the light within
 425.142 +the darkness. No one else can reach its heart.”
 425.143 +
 425.144 +“But...” Kairi stammered, unsure. How could she be important to all
 425.145 +of this? She was only one of the seven princesses needed to open the
 425.146 +final keyhole. And that was already sealed. So why was she the only
 425.147 +one who could stop it? 
 425.148 +
 425.149 +“The Keyblade you wield is different from Sora’s. It’s the same as
 425.150 +the one Riku had. It can unlock people’s hearts. Remember, Kairi,
 425.151 +within every heart is a light that will never fade away. Even in the
 425.152 +darkest heart. You need to unlock that light,” he continued. The
 425.153 +cloaked figure turned away at last, the Heartless nearly upon them.
 425.154 +Reaching into his large jacket, he pulled out two blades that looked
 425.155 +like long, curved wings. “Run.”
 425.156 +
 425.157 +“I.. But who..” She began. But the Heartless were already leaping
 425.158 +forward towards them. 
 425.159 +
 425.160 +“Run!” he called out, hurrying into the fray. 
 425.161 +
 425.162 +So Kairi ran. The rain fell heavily around her, as if it were trying
 425.163 +to stop her itself. She could hear the boy fighting with the
 425.164 +Heartless behind her, but she couldn’t look back. She just had to run
 425.165 +as far as she could, to try to get away from all of this. She wanted
 425.166 +to find her friends again. She didn’t know how she could save
 425.167 +everything. That didn’t make sense to her. Her priority was still
 425.168 +simple. To find Riku and Sora. Wherever they were. After that she
 425.169 +would figure out whatever this thing about stopping the heart of
 425.170 +darkness was. Besides, if she had Riku and Sora with her, she knew
 425.171 +she could handle it. But right now, she was still all alone.
 425.172 +
 425.173 +Suddenly, Kairi’s feet were no longer touching the floor. The world
 425.174 +spun around her as she fell in the air. For a moment, she thought
 425.175 +that maybe the world was shifting around her, that she was going
 425.176 +someplace else. But the wet street greeted her eagerly as she fell
 425.177 +back to the earth. She lay there for a long moment, disoriented. But
 425.178 +by the time she had regained her senses, it was too late. A rather
 425.179 +large Heartless was upon her. She felt it grab her hand, yanking her
 425.180 +off her feet. It looked at her with unseeing eyes, slowly reaching
 425.181 +out. Her heart pounded in her chest. Was this how it was all going to
 425.182 +end? Hunted down by the Heartless before she could ever find her
 425.183 +friends? A lot of good she had done them. They would get back to the
 425.184 +Destiny Islands one day and she wouldn’t be there waiting for them.
 425.185 +And they’d never know what had happened to her. She shuddered at the
 425.186 +thought. 
 425.187 +
 425.188 +‘This isn’t real. None of it is. Just open your eyes. You’re safe
 425.189 +and sound back home. This is only a dream,’ a voice said deep inside
 425.190 +of Kairi. 
 425.191 +
 425.192 +‘This doesn’t feel like a dream,’ Kairi thought frantically as the
 425.193 +Heartless continued reaching out for her. In desparation, she closed
 425.194 +her eyes. "Go away. Please go away,” she whispered, her eyes shut
 425.195 +tightly. She gasped, her eyes opening as she felt it’s cold hand
 425.196 +reach into her chest, hunting for her heart. And it was gone. All of
 425.197 +it. The Heartless, the city, the rain. It was all gone.
 425.198 +
 425.199 +Kairi bolted upright in the bed she found herself lying on. She was
 425.200 +in a slightly cluttered room. All across the bed were small little
 425.201 +plush dolls. Each looked like they were made with love and care,
 425.202 +attention spent on minor details. Around the room were drawing upon
 425.203 +drawing, some taped to the walls, some pinned to them, and other
 425.204 +lying almost to the point of overflowing on the desk in the corner. 
 425.205 +
 425.206 +“Where am I?” Kairi asked to no one in particular, glancing about
 425.207 +the strange room. 
 425.208 +
 425.209 +“You’re home,” a girl replied, startling the brunette. The voice
 425.210 +came from behind the door in the room, as if the person was leaning
 425.211 +against it. “See? It was all just a bad dream. You could have woken
 425.212 +up from it whenever you wanted to. But it doesn’t matter. You’re home
 425.213 +now.”
 425.214 +
 425.215 +“I’m home?” the princess asked, looking about the room. Her eyes
 425.216 +settled on a small picture frame that lie near the bed on a stand
 425.217 +with the lamp. It was a picture of herself. She didn’t look
 425.218 +particularly happy in the picture, her blue eyes distant. She was
 425.219 +wearing all dark clothes, a hand against her cheek. She shook her
 425.220 +head quickly. That couldn’t be her. She looked so sad in the picture,
 425.221 +so alone. 
 425.222 +
 425.223 +“Where are the Destiny Islands? Why am I here?” she demanded,
 425.224 +staring at the door.
 425.225 +
 425.226 +“The Destiny Islands are in your head. You made them up. You’re here
 425.227 +because you finally opened your eyes. You’ve stopped daydreaming.
 425.228 +This is real life, Kairi. Or as close as you’ll allow yourself to get
 425.229 +to it,” the voice answered.
 425.230 +
 425.231 +Kairi paled at the thought. She shook her head violently. “No!
 425.232 +They’re not in my head. They’re real. I’ve spent the past few years
 425.233 +living there with Riku and Sora.”
 425.234 +
 425.235 +The girl on the other side of the door laughed. “Oh, you mean the ‘I
 425.236 +woke up on the Islands without any memory and met my wonderful
 425.237 +friends’ thing? Why do you think you had no memory? Because you
 425.238 +didn’t want to remember. It wasn’t amnesia, Kairi. It was you
 425.239 +choosing to forget. And did you ever notice how everything was
 425.240 +absolutely perfect on the Destiny Islands? You had your two cute
 425.241 +friends who happened to compete at everything. Especially you. Wow,
 425.242 +sounds a little like a girl’s romantic daydream, doesn’t it?”
 425.243 +
 425.244 +“No, it’s not like that,” Kairi said. She wasn’t liking where this
 425.245 +was going at all. This room, it felt so familiar. The voice on the
 425.246 +other side sounded like she had heard it somewhere before. It all
 425.247 +felt like pieces to some puzzle. If she only allowed them to fit
 425.248 +together, it would all make sense. But she couldn’t allow this to
 425.249 +make sense. That would be acknowledging that everything that had
 425.250 +happened with Sora and Riku wasn’t real. And she couldn’t do that.
 425.251 +
 425.252 +“Take a look around your room, Kairi. You were absolutely obsessed
 425.253 +about this Island you made up. About a place where you had friends.
 425.254 +Where there were people who liked you. Where you weren’t so lonely.
 425.255 +It’s all you’ve been thinking about for years now. You came up with
 425.256 +everything about it. The people who lived there, what it all looked
 425.257 +like, how they all acted. It was the most important thing in your
 425.258 +life. Because it let you escape the pain. So eventually you escaped
 425.259 +to it altogether, pretending that it was real,” the voice explained.
 425.260 +
 425.261 +Kairi began to look around the room. True enough, the pictures were
 425.262 +all of the Destiny Islands. They were all in her art style. She could
 425.263 +see Riku and Sora, Selphie and the others, all in her pictures. There
 425.264 +was even a picture of them all building a raft together. One of the
 425.265 +pictures was of Riku, with several different drawings of him, all
 425.266 +slightly different as if she had been trying to figure out just
 425.267 +exactly how he should look. Another picture was an entire overview of
 425.268 +what the Islands looked like, with little notes in her handwriting
 425.269 +saying who lived where and what certain things were. It looked like
 425.270 +she had created the islands in her drawings. But she had lived there.
 425.271 +She had been there with Riku and Sora. It wasn’t just a dream. It
 425.272 +couldn’t have been. She hadn’t made it all up. She hadn’t.
 425.273 +
 425.274 +The brunette hugged the kitten tighter to her chest for comfort. But
 425.275 +the feeling was different. It was soft and plush. Looking down, she
 425.276 +saw it was one of the dolls. But not just a normal doll. It was a
 425.277 +doll of Sora. She held it up, her mouth opening, but nothing coming
 425.278 +out. She turned around, glancing at other dolls. There was Riku. And
 425.279 +over there in the small yellow dress was Yuffie. And Quistis. And
 425.280 +Tidus. And Wakka. And many, many more. She had dolls of all of them,
 425.281 +spread all about her bed. She grabbed for them, holding as many as
 425.282 +she could in her arms. These people, these important people in her
 425.283 +heart, they were all dolls lying across her bed. 
 425.284 +
 425.285 +“You made those dolls in your spare time. And you had a lot of it.
 425.286 +You spent almost all your time in your room. Mom got so scared that
 425.287 +something was wrong with you. You’d always disappear back here,
 425.288 +making your dolls of the characters you wanted to meet, or drawing
 425.289 +those pictures of the Islands you made up. Always lost in your own
 425.290 +fantasies, always trying to escape the real world.”
 425.291 +
 425.292 +Kairi was confused. What if this was right? What if she really had
 425.293 +just been dreaming it all, making it all up? Maybe she really was
 425.294 +just a lonely, lost little girl. But there was still a glimmer of
 425.295 +hope. She held onto it tightly, trying to keep from doubting her
 425.296 +friends’ existence. “But we traveled beyond the Destiny Islands. I
 425.297 +was with Sora in his heart while he sealed the Keyholes in all the
 425.298 +different worlds.”
 425.299 +
 425.300 +“You mean those Disney worlds? The ones you’ve watched over and over
 425.301 +and over again? Of course you’d pretend to visit those places, too.
 425.302 +You have every Disney video ever made. When you aren’t making up
 425.303 +things for your islands, you’re watching those videos. Because they
 425.304 +always end with happily ever after, with the prince Saving the
 425.305 +princess. They’re just another way you escape,” The voice responded. 
 425.306 +
 425.307 +The brunette’s shoulders slumped, her last shred of hope crushed
 425.308 +into stardust. She could remember them now. She could remember late
 425.309 +at night, watching the movies over and over again, crying herself to
 425.310 +sleep as the credits rolled, asking herself why she couldn’t be
 425.311 +Cinderella, why she couldn’t have her happily ever after. She could
 425.312 +remember sitting alone in her room, drawing the islands the way she
 425.313 +wanted them to be. Making the dolls of all the friends she would meet
 425.314 +along the way. Playing those games over and over again, all set in a
 425.315 +far off fantasy world that she could never hope to be. Selphie was
 425.316 +from one of them, wasn’t she? And so was Tidus and Wakka. And
 425.317 +Quistis. Even the heroes that Sora had met, Cloud, Squall, Aerith,
 425.318 +and Yuffie. They were all from the games she had played. Was it all
 425.319 +nothing more than her imagination, her own personal paradise she
 425.320 +would escape to? Even the worlds she had visited outside of her
 425.321 +island had come from these things. Was none of it real? 
 425.322 +
 425.323 +Standing up, the princess (was that even real?) headed for the door.
 425.324 +She needed to know the truth. She needed to understand what was going
 425.325 +on. Her heart felt bruised and battered, knocked around inside of
 425.326 +her. Sora and Riku had to be real. They had to! She couldn’t admit to
 425.327 +herself that it was all a lie, all part of some escapist fantasy. She
 425.328 +paused before the door. She knew the other girl was out there, still
 425.329 +leaning against the door, waiting for her. She had the answers. She
 425.330 +knew what was going on. But did she even want to hear them? But deep
 425.331 +down, she had to know. Reaching out slowly, she felt her hand clasp
 425.332 +around the cold doorknob. Her hand gripped it tightly, though she was
 425.333 +almost afraid that it would burn her or yank out of her grasp. She
 425.334 +swallowed, trying to pool her resolve. She closed her eyes tightly.
 425.335 +Whatever lay beyond that door would forever change her life. The
 425.336 +doorknob slowly turned beneath her fingers...
 425.337 +
 425.338 +And caught. The door was locked. It wouldn’t open. She tried again,
 425.339 +with the same failure. It refused to open for her. “Why won’t it
 425.340 +open?” she asked in frustration, trying one last time.
 425.341 +
 425.342 +“Because you don’t want it to. You can’t accept it. The door to the
 425.343 +real world won’t open until you’re willing to accept reality. It
 425.344 +won’t open until you’re ready. And you aren’t ready yet,” the voice
 425.345 +said softly. “You’re still trapped between fantasy and reality. This
 425.346 +is your real bedroom, but it’s still in a dream. You can’t leave the
 425.347 +dream until you’re ready for what’s out here. The real world can be
 425.348 +cold and lonely, Kairi. Trust me. I know. It cultivates darkness. It
 425.349 +spreads like wildfire through people’s hearts. Everyone is lonely.
 425.350 +Everyone suffers. No one can blame you for wanting to escape it all.
 425.351 +No one can blame you for what you did.”
 425.352 +
 425.353 +Kairi’s wrists began to burn painfully at the other girl’s words.
 425.354 +She looked down only to find blood seeping through the wristbands she
 425.355 +wore. She looked up again, panicking. She was bleeding. Her wrists
 425.356 +had been slashed. “Help me!” she cried, slumping against the door.
 425.357 +“Please help me...” Tears spilt down her cheeks as she slid down the
 425.358 +door to her knees. 
 425.359 +
 425.360 +“No one can help you, Kairi. You’re the one who slit your wrists.
 425.361 +You’re the one who couldn’t stand to live in this world anymore.
 425.362 +You’re the one who gave it up for your fantasies. But now reality is
 425.363 +seeping into your fantasies. That is the Heartless. The cold,
 425.364 +heartless reality that doesn’t care either way for you. And you can’t
 425.365 +stop reality from finding a way in.”
 425.366 +
 425.367 +Kairi sobbed, curling up into a ball on the floor. She was feeling
 425.368 +so weak and dizzy as the blood seeped from her body. She could dimly
 425.369 +remember the cold feel of sharp metal against her flesh, the
 425.370 +determined thought that she would finally be free of her loneliness
 425.371 +and pain. She could remember trying to kill herself. And now it all
 425.372 +felt as if it was catching up to her. “Riku.. Sora..” she called out
 425.373 +weakly, her vision dimming. She was dying, she realized. Everything
 425.374 +was fading away. Perhaps she really hadn’t been on her island after
 425.375 +all. She had merely imagined it all in those seconds after she had
 425.376 +cut her wrists open. All those years had only been frantic seconds.
 425.377 +Whereas other people saw their lives flashing before their eyes,
 425.378 +Kairi only wanted to see her fantasies, nothing from her real life
 425.379 +deigning itself worthy to show up before the end. And now cold
 425.380 +reality was taking over in those last precious seconds of life. It
 425.381 +chilled her soul. She was so scared. All alone, bleeding to death on
 425.382 +the carpet. And the boys she relied on the most weren’t even real.
 425.383 +
 425.384 +“How will mom feel when she finds you dead in your room? How am I
 425.385 +supposed to feel? Damn it, Kairi! Why did you have to do that?” the
 425.386 +voice on the other side of the door asked, sounding both angry and
 425.387 +close to tears. “You have such a strong spirit. Why couldn’t you just
 425.388 +hold out a little longer?”
 425.389 +
 425.390 +But it was too late. Kairi was too numb to even speak. She simply
 425.391 +lay there. She could see someone’s feet on the other end of the door,
 425.392 +but even that was fading fast. ‘I’m sorry,’ she tried to say. But
 425.393 +nothing came out. And everything turned to black.
 425.394 +
 425.395 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 425.396 +
 425.397 +‘Dear diary,
 425.398 +It’s me, Selphie, again. But you probably already knew that. I’m
 425.399 +writing this on the pier. Yeah, I know Kairi’s usually sitting here,
 425.400 +worrying about Riku and Sora, but she’s gone now. No one knows where.
 425.401 +She disappeared not too long ago. We’ve been looking all over for
 425.402 +her, on all the Destiny Islands, but no one knows where she’s gone
 425.403 +off to. It’s like she up and vanished. Or maybe she grew wings and
 425.404 +flew off somewhere. No one really knows. Wherever she is, I hope
 425.405 +she’s happy. Maybe she’s even found Sora and Riku by now! Booyaka!
 425.406 +(No one’s using that yet! Quisty just looks embarrassed when I tell
 425.407 +her we should be spreading that word.)
 425.408 +
 425.409 +I’m trying to be hopeful about the whole thing, but everything’s
 425.410 +been weird since Kairi left. The seas all rough and angry now. And
 425.411 +the skies are growing darker. It’s like a big storm is approaching.
 425.412 +But it feels a lot worse than that, like something else is coming. I
 425.413 +can’t get it off my mind. The ocean doesn’t look friendly anymore.
 425.414 +The skies don’t look beautiful and free. It’s all like some dark and
 425.415 +twisted version of itself. I don’t like it at all. 
 425.416 +
 425.417 +Oh, Quisty and I shared a Paopu fruit!! It was just as romantic as I
 425.418 +imagined it would be! We sat there on the island and watched the
 425.419 +sunset together. I finally managed to work up the courage to open the
 425.420 +fruit. Quistis blushed in that cute, mature way she always has and
 425.421 +took the piece I offered her. Then she took a piece and fed it to me!
 425.422 +I could’ve died right then. It was sooooo sweet! And not just the
 425.423 +fruit. Having her feed it to me like that was so romantic. I spent
 425.424 +the rest of the night with my head on her shoulder, holding onto her
 425.425 +with everything I had. My mom was so mad when I got home! She said
 425.426 +she was worried when I didn’t get home last night. I’ve got loads of
 425.427 +extra chores, but I don’t care. It was worth it to spend the night
 425.428 +with my Quisty. I guess our hearts are forever intertwined now,
 425.429 +right? Great! Wherever I go, I know it’ll be with her.  
 425.430 +
 425.431 +Still, I can’t help worrying about Kairi. And what’s happening to
 425.432 +the Destiny Islands. I know that Quisty will help me through it,
 425.433 +whatever it is, but I still don’t like whatever’s happening. I wonder
 425.434 +if...’
 425.435 +
 425.436 +A hand rested on Selphie’s bare shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly,
 425.437 +shaking Selphie from her diary based thoughts. Selphie looked up and
 425.438 +smiled at the blonde girl standing beside her. She had been sitting
 425.439 +at the dock for a while, taking up Kairi’s usual position. She hadn’t
 425.440 +even noticed that Quistis had come to the island. But she was
 425.441 +suddenly very glad the slightly older girl had. All of this looking
 425.442 +at the ocean and thinking about Kairi was starting to worry her. And
 425.443 +she was usually the happy, upbeat one. At least when Quistis was
 425.444 +around she could concentrate on trying to lift the blonde girl’s
 425.445 +spirits instead. She placed her hand over Quistis’s, still looking
 425.446 +out to sea. 
 425.447 +
 425.448 +“I realized something must be wrong when you didn’t show up to come
 425.449 +drag me from my studies today. I don’t think you’ve ever been late to
 425.450 +distract me yet,” Quistis explained. She smiled faintly as she sat
 425.451 +down next to the other girl on the edge of the pier. 
 425.452 +
 425.453 +“It’s that time already?” Selphie asked, blinking. “Darn!” She stood
 425.454 +up quickly, as if to go back and get Quistis. But of course, Quistis
 425.455 +was already there. She shook her head, holding her diary to her
 425.456 +chest. “I completely forgot the time. I meant to go get you before
 425.457 +you got lost in all those books. But then I thought I’d sit down for
 425.458 +a minute. Then I thought I’d get some of my diary done. And then...
 425.459 +Well, I guess you know what happened then because you’re here.”
 425.460 +
 425.461 +The blonde girl giggled, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Yes,
 425.462 +I am, Selphie. I was just worried about you. When you didn’t show up,
 425.463 +I thought maybe something had gone wrong. Kairi disappeared, so I
 425.464 +thought maybe you’d been next. I’m just glad it wasn’t anything.”
 425.465 +With the strange weather and the other girl’s disappearance, Quistis
 425.466 +had been extremely worried for the past day. She couldn’t tell if
 425.467 +that was the extent of things or if they would spread. And the
 425.468 +thought of one day finding Selphie missing was horrifying. So when
 425.469 +Selphie hadn’t been there, she had panicked and headed out to the
 425.470 +smallest of the islands where Selphie and her friends liked to play
 425.471 +as quickly as she could. She was relieved to find her spunky
 425.472 +girlfriend alive and well. And still planning on interrupting her
 425.473 +studies as always. Maybe things hadn’t changed that much after all.
 425.474 +
 425.475 +Selphie sat down again. After just a moment’s hesitation, she rested
 425.476 +her head on Quistis’s shoulder, sighing happily and hugging her
 425.477 +diary. “Nope, I’m still here. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
 425.478 +I’ll always be following you around. Forever.”
 425.479 +
 425.480 +Quistis smiled warmly, letting her fingers sift through Selphie’s
 425.481 +brunette hair. Selphie always managed to make her forget all about
 425.482 +her worries. “I love you, Selphie,” she whispered softly, still
 425.483 +playing with the younger girl’s hair. 
 425.484 +
 425.485 +Blushing faintly, Selphie turned to look up at Quistis. Green eyes
 425.486 +met the blonde’s blue eyes. “I love you, too, Quisty,” she said, her
 425.487 +eyes sparkling brightly. She closed her eyes as Quistis leaned in,
 425.488 +kissing her. Sighing happily, she melted against the older girl.
 425.489 +There would be time to worry later on. Much later on. 
 425.490 +
 425.491 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 425.492 +
 425.493 +Kairi awoke to find herself in yet another alleyway. But at least it
 425.494 +wasn’t raining this time. The kitten was licking at her face, trying
 425.495 +to wake her up. She slowly got to her feet, her head still swimming.
 425.496 +Where was she now? It didn’t look like the big, menacing city she had
 425.497 +been in before. She picked up the kitten and stepped out of the
 425.498 +alley, rubbing her head. She tried to block out the memories of being
 425.499 +in her room, of the voice behind the door. Of course this was all
 425.500 +real. This had always been real. It was the way of things. But still,
 425.501 +she couldn’t help but have a tiny doubt inside of herself. Maybe the
 425.502 +voice had been telling the truth. Maybe..
 425.503 +
 425.504 +But she couldn’t allow that. She couldn’t let any of it not be real.
 425.505 +It was all too important to her. Riku, Sora, their islands, their
 425.506 +friends. She wouldn’t let it all be some delusion. She would fight
 425.507 +for them, fight to protect them all. 
 425.508 +
 425.509 +Slowly, Kairi looked down to her wrists. Her wristbands looked fine,
 425.510 +bloodless. But she couldn’t help but wonder. She reached out one
 425.511 +hand, pulling one of them back inch by inch. She had always worn
 425.512 +them, never questioning them. But now she wondered why. Maybe it was
 425.513 +because they were covering something. As it inched up, she stared in
 425.514 +shock. A long scar ran along her wrist, right where she would have
 425.515 +cut. She yanked the cloth down quickly, covering the scar. Shaking
 425.516 +now, she tried desperately to ignore it. It wasn’t there. It was just
 425.517 +her overactive imagination. She needed to focus on something else.
 425.518 +Like where she was. That was the important thing at the moment. 
 425.519 +
 425.520 +Looking up and down the street, she couldn’t see anyone. It was
 425.521 +still late and no one seemed to be about. But there was a place with
 425.522 +a light on. It still seemed to be open. She sighed in relief, heading
 425.523 +for it. The place seemed to be named Fate. She paused before the
 425.524 +door, reading it again. An interesting name, at any rate. With all
 425.525 +the weird places she had ended up, she was curious as to whether that
 425.526 +was simply a name or this place’s true purpose. Whatever the case,
 425.527 +she entered into the building, holding the kitten in one arm. 
 425.528 +
 425.529 +Inside, she could see that it was a bar, or a club or something of
 425.530 +the sort. It had interesting music playing and there was even a car
 425.531 +inside for patrons to sit in. It didn’t seem to be very busy at the
 425.532 +moment, though. A large, frightening looking man with metallic horns
 425.533 +on his head and a leather jacket was leaning against the wall.
 425.534 +Another man with tattoos all over his body was leaning back in a
 425.535 +chair. Sitting at a table, a man with spiky hair was frowning while a
 425.536 +girl in a big yellow raincoat was talking to him cheerfully. At the
 425.537 +bar sat a blonde man with a red and blue jacket. And behind the bar,
 425.538 +cleaning out glasses, was the bar hostess, a woman with very long,
 425.539 +dark hair. 
 425.540 +
 425.541 +“Oh, Sion! You look so cute with puppy ears? Doesn’t he, Kou? Like a
 425.542 +great, big puppy dog!” Dominique squealed happily. She was forcing
 425.543 +fake puppy ears onto Sion’s head. The spiky haired man simply sighed,
 425.544 +offering up no resistance.
 425.545 +
 425.546 +Kou laughed, watching in wry amusement. “Sure does, Dominique. I bet
 425.547 +he’d make an even better bouncer wearing those things all the time.”
 425.548 +
 425.549 +“You really think so?” Dominique asked thoughtfully. She grinned,
 425.550 +nodding. “I think you should always wear them, Sion!”
 425.551 +
 425.552 +The woman behind the bar smiled, waving Kairi over. “Hello, little
 425.553 +girl. Can I help you? My name’s Tifa. I own this bar. We don’t really
 425.554 +get a lot of young girls showing up. Well, besides Dominique.” She
 425.555 +looked over at the blonde girl accosting her bouncer and sighed,
 425.556 +shaking her head. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”
 425.557 +
 425.558 +Kairi hugged the kitten, heading over to the bar. This woman seemed
 425.559 +nice. And after all the Heartless earlier and being alone except for
 425.560 +the spooky voice behind her door, she felt glad to be around people
 425.561 +again. “I was hoping you could tell me where I am.” She looked down
 425.562 +as soon as she asked the question. She realized how idiotic it
 425.563 +sounded. How could she not know where she was? But still, she had to
 425.564 +know.
 425.565 +
 425.566 +“You’re in Traverse Town,” Tifa said simply, setting a cup full of
 425.567 +milk down. She winked at the younger girl. “I have to have some non-
 425.568 +alchoholic beverages around with how often Dominique’s here.”
 425.569 +
 425.570 +Smiling gratefully, Kairi took a long sip of the cold milk. It felt
 425.571 +comforting somehow. And it was so nice to finally know where she was.
 425.572 +She had spent some time in Traverse Town back when Sora had been
 425.573 +patching things up at the End of the World. Now she didn’t feel quite
 425.574 +so lost anymore. And maybe Sora would even end up checking back
 425.575 +there. Things didn’t feel as hopeless as they had. 
 425.576 +
 425.577 +“Tifa.. Why don’t we have any hotdogs left? I’m so hungry!” The
 425.578 +blond man in the red and blue jacket asked, holding his stomach.
 425.579 +
 425.580 +Tifa sighed, wiping up the counter. “Because you ate them all, Zell.
 425.581 +I’m not going to make anymore if you always wind up eating them
 425.582 +before I can sell any.”
 425.583 +
 425.584 +“But.. But Tifa!” Zell argued futilely. The barmaid just refused to
 425.585 +acknowledge him, still going about her work. 
 425.586 +
 425.587 +Kairi looked around at the group in the bar and then back to Tifa.
 425.588 +“Aren’t these an awful lot of bouncers for one bar?”
 425.589 +
 425.590 +Tifa shrugged, pausing in her work. “Not really. With the Heartless
 425.591 +around, it’s just not safe these days. So by keeping so many bouncers
 425.592 +around, people can relax when they’re at Fate. They can come here and
 425.593 +forget their worries. And people like to have a place to escape from
 425.594 +everything, you know?”
 425.595 +
 425.596 +Kairi shuddered at the word escape. It reminded her too much of the
 425.597 +voices accusations that all of this was only an escape for her, not
 425.598 +real. 
 425.599 +
 425.600 +“You should see Tifa fight! It’s not like she needs us bouncers
 425.601 +anyway. But she can’t be serving drinks and fighting the Heartless at
 425.602 +the same time. That’s the only reason she needs us,” Kou stated,
 425.603 +grinning. 
 425.604 +
 425.605 +Tifa laughed, holding her arm out behind the bar. “Everyone at the
 425.606 +bar Fate can make your stay a safe experience. So if you ever need
 425.607 +help, little girl, just head back here. We’ll be more than happy to
 425.608 +help you.” She smiled sweetly. 
 425.609 +
 425.610 +“My name’s Kairi,” Kairi said. She nodded. “And thank you. Thank you
 425.611 +very much! You’ve already helped a lot!” 
 425.612 +
 425.613 +Tifa grinned. “Anytime. It’s what we’re here for. So why is a cute
 425.614 +little girl like you all alone in a place like Traverse Town? Let me
 425.615 +guess, lost your world, huh? It seems like everyone who escapes from
 425.616 +that ends up here.” Sighing, she shook her head. It was always such a
 425.617 +shame to see people end up there all alone, losing their families and
 425.618 +friends. That’s why she had started Fate, as a place where people
 425.619 +could forget their pain. 
 425.620 +
 425.621 +“Actually, I’m looking for my friends. My world’s still there. I
 425.622 +think. I’m trying to find Riku and Sora. They’re lost out there
 425.623 +somewhere and I have to find them,” Kairi explained. She was almost
 425.624 +hopeful that they had some news, that perhaps some word had reached
 425.625 +this bar. 
 425.626 +
 425.627 +Tifa shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve heard of either of them.
 425.628 +I’ll be sure to keep listening for anyone who brings up their names,
 425.629 +though. Lots of people from all over come in through here. Just keep
 425.630 +checking in and I’m sure we’ll get some information sooner or later,”
 425.631 +she promised. 
 425.632 +
 425.633 +“So the Heartless are back? And people are travelling to different
 425.634 +worlds again? I thought that no one could travel because the barriers
 425.635 +between the worlds were restored when the final keyhole was locked,”
 425.636 +Kairi asked, confused. It didn’t make sense that the Heartless were
 425.637 +back. Hadn’t Sora solved all that?
 425.638 +
 425.639 +“Well, the barriers seemed to be in place for a while. The worlds
 425.640 +had been restored and everything seemed to be in place. But before
 425.641 +the barriers had even fully set in, they disappeared. And then the
 425.642 +Heartless began to appear again. They’ve already overrun a number of
 425.643 +worlds, swallowing them. People are using Traverse Town as a refuge.
 425.644 +So we’re doing our best to help the people here,” Tifa explained,
 425.645 +resting her hands on the counter. 
 425.646 +
 425.647 +“Oh,” Kairi said simply, letting it all sink in. “Something must
 425.648 +have gone wrong,” she reasoned. “Riku and Sora must not have been
 425.649 +able to stop it after all. So it’s still out there.” That thought
 425.650 +frightened her. Now she really needed to find Sora and Riku. If they
 425.651 +hadn’t succeeded after all, then they might be in danger. Finishing
 425.652 +her milk, she stood up. “Thank you!” She called out, waving as she
 425.653 +headed for the door.
 425.654 +
 425.655 +“Don’t mention it! Be strong, Kairi!” Tifa called after her, waving
 425.656 +back. 
 425.657 +
 425.658 +Kairi nodded, smiling as she exited the bar. With her newfound gem
 425.659 +of hope, she stepped out into the street. Now where to begin her
 425.660 +search? Someone had to have some idea of where her friends were, or
 425.661 +at least where to begin. She began walking along Dog Street, the
 425.662 +street that Fate was on, lost in her own thoughts. 
 425.663 +
 425.664 +Before she got too far, a hand snaked out and clamped over her
 425.665 +mouth. Another hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her into another
 425.666 +alleyway. Kairi was really beginning to hate alleyways. A small
 425.667 +dagger pushed against her throat, cutting off any thoughts of
 425.668 +struggling in her mind. “So what about this one? Anythin’ valuable?”
 425.669 +a strange accent said behind her. Kairi froze, her heart pounding in
 425.670 +her chest. She was being mugged. She just seemed to keep finding
 425.671 +herself in trouble. Were they just going to rob her? She had nothing
 425.672 +of worth. Would they kill her when they were done? An icy chill ran
 425.673 +through her heart. 
 425.674 +
 425.675 +“She’s sure cute, at any rate,” A blond man said, grinning. He had a
 425.676 +long tail moving behind him. 
 425.677 +
 425.678 +“And young. Get your mind out of the gutter, Zidane. We’ve got a
 425.679 +show to do in twenty minutes,” a girl stated. 
 425.680 +
 425.681 +“Zidane’s just stating the obvious,” another man said in Zidane’s
 425.682 +defense. 
 425.683 +
 425.684 +“Oye. Can we just see if she’s got anything worth takin’ and leave?”
 425.685 +the accent said in her ear again. 
 425.686 +
 425.687 +“Any materia?” the girl’s voice asked hopefully. She stepped forward
 425.688 +in the dim light of the alleyway, ready to search Kairi. The girl
 425.689 +blinked in surprise. “Wait, I know her. Kairi? Is that you?” 
 425.690 +
 425.691 +“Yuffie?” Kairi asked hopefully, still not moving an inch. She had
 425.692 +only met Yuffie for a brief time after Sora had saved her from Hollow
 425.693 +Bastion. Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith had taken care of her while she
 425.694 +waited for Sora to return. The ninja girl was arrogant and sarcastic,
 425.695 +but she liked her anyway. And any familiar face was good at the
 425.696 +moment. 
 425.697 +
 425.698 +“Let her go, Kid. She’s a friend of mine,” Yuffie explained. The
 425.699 +knife and hand pulled away from Kairi, letting her free. “Are you
 425.700 +okay, Kairi? Long time no see. Sorry about the rough treatment. We’re
 425.701 +the Radical Dreamers. Me, Kid, Zidane, and Locke. We had another
 425.702 +member, but she’s been missing for a while. We don’t know what
 425.703 +happened to her. Hopefully nothing bad. Anyway, we’re a group of
 425.704 +thieves. Well, thieves/performers. We’re in high demand in all sorts
 425.705 +of different worlds.” The ninja smiled proudly. “We just happen to
 425.706 +make some extra profits by robbing everyone blind, too. It’s a
 425.707 +living.”
 425.708 +
 425.709 +Kairi blinked, rubbing her neck. “So you gave up being part of a
 425.710 +group of heroes to join a group of thieves?”
 425.711 +
 425.712 +“I’m not a thief. I’m a professional treasure hunter,” Locke added
 425.713 +helpfully.
 425.714 +
 425.715 +“Thieves/performers,” Yuffie corrected, ignoring the man in the
 425.716 +bandana.
 425.717 +“And yes. But not just because I felt like ditching Aerith and Leon.
 425.718 +They’re both with their lovers right now, so I felt kind of out of
 425.719 +place. On top of that, I noticed that something was wrong when the
 425.720 +worlds started connecting again. So I figured I’d go check it out
 425.721 +while Leon and Aerith are playing doctor with Rinoa and Cloud. I just
 425.722 +happened to hook up with my old friends the Radical Dreamers while I
 425.723 +was at it.”
 425.724 +
 425.725 +Zidane sighed, looking over his shoulder. “Well, if this whole thing
 425.726 +was a bust, we really need to get going. The show’s gonna start soon.
 425.727 +Good luck with your friend, Yuffie. Maybe you can give us a more
 425.728 +proper introduction next time.” The catboy grinned, winking at Kairi.
 425.729 +Taking her hand, he placed a kiss on it before turning to leave with
 425.730 +Locke.
 425.731 +
 425.732 +Kairi blushed faintly at the attention. Yuffie just gave an
 425.733 +exasperated sigh, as if this wasn’t anything new. “Just ignore him,”
 425.734 +the ninja said as the two boys left.
 425.735 +
 425.736 +The princess nodded thoughtfully. “I’m glad someone else noticed
 425.737 +things have been weird lately. I’m looking for Sora and Riku. They
 425.738 +never came back after sealing the final Keyhole. I have to find
 425.739 +them.” Meanwhile, Kairi’s kitten had scurried over to Yuffie’s feet,
 425.740 +rubbing against her stocking and meowing like crazy. Kairi giggled.
 425.741 +“I guess she really likes you, Yuffie.”
 425.742 +
 425.743 +Yuffie tried to shoo the cat away with her foot, but the kitten
 425.744 +ignored it, pawing at her leg and looking up at her. “Yeah, I guess
 425.745 +so. Though I’ve never been much of a cat person.” 
 425.746 +
 425.747 +“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with the Keyblade. Maybe
 425.748 +I can give it to Riku or Sora when I find them,” Kairi said, sighing. 
 425.749 +
 425.750 +That caught Yuffie’s attention. “The Keyblade? You have the
 425.751 +Keyblade?” Kairi nodded. The ninja looked at her for a moment,
 425.752 +weighing her options. “All right, how about this. I’ll let you come
 425.753 +with me. I need to find out what’s going on anyway, so you might as
 425.754 +well follow me. And I’m sure we’ll run into your friends along the
 425.755 +way.”
 425.756 +
 425.757 +“Are you sure you wouldn’t be following me around, Yuffie?” Kairi
 425.758 +asked with a giggle. 
 425.759 +
 425.760 +“Why would the great ninja Yuffie ever have to follow someone?”
 425.761 +Yuffie asked incredulously. “Anyway, how does that sound?” She held
 425.762 +her hand out, watching the younger girl.
 425.763 +
 425.764 +“Sounds great,” Kairi said eagerly, taking Yuffie’s hand with both
 425.765 +of hers. She felt ecstatic to know she wasn’t on her own anymore.
 425.766 +Yuffie was a ninja. She knew how to handle these things. She could
 425.767 +help her find Riku and Sora. Things were starting to look up. 
 425.768 +
 425.769 +“Great!” Yuffie grinned. She didn’t need Leon or Aerith after all.
 425.770 +And this time she could help the Keyblade Master.. err.. Mistress to
 425.771 +stop the Heartless once and for all. “Now would you mind getting your
 425.772 +kitten away from me?”
 425.773 +
 425.774 +“Oh, sure.” Kairi knelt down, picking up the kitten, embarrassed.
 425.775 +The kitten struggled to keep it’s claws in Yuffie’s stockings, but
 425.776 +she finally managed to get it free after a short struggle. The kitten
 425.777 +meowed again and again, struggling to get free of Kairi. “I’m sorry,
 425.778 +she’s usually not like this. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”
 425.779 +
 425.780 +“Must be star struck. Not everyday you get to meet the Radical
 425.781 +Dreamers,” Kid said, winking. 
 425.782 +
 425.783 +“Speaking of which, we need to hurry if we’re going to get there
 425.784 +before the curtain rises. And we’re still out a cast member.” Yuffie
 425.785 +crossed her arms, looking at Kairi for a moment. “Would you mind
 425.786 +filling in? We’ve already booked today, so we need to get this out of
 425.787 +the way, but after that we’ll start looking for your friends.” ‘And
 425.788 +treasure,’ she mentally added. With all the worlds they’d be going
 425.789 +to, she’d probably amass a fortune before finally stopping the
 425.790 +Heartless. Ahhh.. Fame and money. What could be better?
 425.791 +
 425.792 +Kairi thought it over for a moment. It was the least she could do
 425.793 +after Yuffie had agreed to help her. And she had played similar games
 425.794 +with Sora and Riku back on the island. Sure this was a little bigger
 425.795 +than playing pretend, but it was essentially the same thing, right?
 425.796 +She nodded. “Okay, I’ll help.” 
 425.797 +
 425.798 +“Good. Let’s hurry and get you in a costume before the play starts.”
 425.799 +Yuffie grabbed her hand and pulled her along. 
 425.800 +
 425.801 +Kairi stumbled afterwards, still holding her feisty kitten. She sure
 425.802 +hoped this wasn’t a mistake. 
 425.803 +
 425.804 +
 425.805 + 
 425.806 +

   426.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   426.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-03.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   426.3 @@ -0,0 +1,574 @@
   426.4 +Prism Hearts 
   426.5 +Chapter 3
   426.6 +Radical Dreamers
   426.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   426.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   426.9 +
  426.10 +
  426.11 +A bundle of clothes got tossed at Kairi shortly after she entered
  426.12 +the dressing room of the band of part time entertainers and full time
  426.13 +thieves, the Radical Dreamers. She stumbled back as the rather large
  426.14 +dress threw her off balance. She held it out, watching it unfurl
  426.15 +before her. The dress was made of enough cloth to make six of the
  426.16 +outfits Kairi was wearing. She looked at it with a bit of
  426.17 +trepidation. “I’m supposed to wear this?”
  426.18 +
  426.19 +“Of course! You’re playing the princess. You have to look regal and
  426.20 +courtly,” Yuffie explained, opening a chest to get a few more props. 
  426.21 +
  426.22 +Glancing back at the dress skeptically, Kairi shook her head. “Isn’t
  426.23 +it a little... big?”
  426.24 +
  426.25 +Yuffie looked back over her shoulder. “No. You’re just not used to
  426.26 +wearing anything like that. You get used to it. If you’re gonna be
  426.27 +playing a princess, you have to look the part. Trust me. I’ve had to
  426.28 +play the princess now and then myself.” It looked like her words
  426.29 +helped soothe some of Kairi’s concern, though truth be told, she
  426.30 +hated playing the part of the princess. She preferred the prince’s
  426.31 +outfit to that nightmarish gown any day. Sure, it looked pretty
  426.32 +enough, but Yuffie was used to actually being able to move her limbs.
  426.33 +She and Zidane had been set to flip for who was going to be the
  426.34 +princess in the day’s play if Kairi hadn’t shown up, so she was more
  426.35 +than a little grateful at the younger girl’s arrival. 
  426.36 +
  426.37 +“But I don’t know any of my lines!” Kairi said nervously, watching
  426.38 +Yuffie pull out some prop swords. She suddenly realized the big
  426.39 +difference between playing pretend and doing a play. You didn’t have
  426.40 +to know what you were doing when you were playing pretend. She felt
  426.41 +nervous, butterflies swirling about in her stomach as she held onto
  426.42 +the large dress.
  426.43 +
  426.44 +“What lines? We’re doing ‘Sleeping Beauty’. You lie there for most
  426.45 +of the play. You’re lucky we’re not doing ‘I Want to be Your Canary’.
  426.46 +The princess in that has most of the best lines,” Yuffie explained,
  426.47 +taking a few experimental swipes with the blade. She’d give that one
  426.48 +to Locke. She preferred a shorter sword herself. Even if it wasn’t
  426.49 +her weapon of choice, it did have a nice stage presence. 
  426.50 +
  426.51 +“Sleeping Beauty?” Kairi repeated, blinking.
  426.52 +
  426.53 +“Yep. Everyone needs a story that ends with a ‘and they lived
  426.54 +happily ever after’ now and then. Especially with how things have
  426.55 +been lately. Which is exactly why we aren’t doing ‘I Want to be Your
  426.56 +Canary’. The ending isn’t the happiest, if you know what I mean.” The
  426.57 +brunette ninja glanced back over her shoulder at the recently dubbed
  426.58 +Keyblade Mistress. “Why? You don’t like ‘Sleeping Beauty’?”
  426.59 +
  426.60 +Kairi shook her head quickly. “No, I love it! It’s one of my
  426.61 +favorites!” She could vaguely remember lying on her bed in her room,
  426.62 +resting on her stomach with her chin in her hands, the lights off and
  426.63 +a video playing. She could remember reciting the lines as the prince
  426.64 +said them, as he made his way to Sleeping Beauty. Could remember her
  426.65 +eyes tearing up, thinking ‘I want my happily ever after’. But that
  426.66 +couldn’t be real. Sleeping Beauty was Princess Aurora. And she had
  426.67 +met her at Hollow Bastion. She was one of the seven Princesses. So
  426.68 +she couldn’t be some movie she had seen. Kairi tried to dismiss the
  426.69 +thought. It wasn’t true. This was all real. That other place, that
  426.70 +home was only an illusion. It had to be.
  426.71 +
  426.72 +“You better get changed. We don’t have much time. The people are
  426.73 +probably already taking their seats.” Yuffie stood up, holding the
  426.74 +pile of swords and belts. “As long as you don’t open your eyes when
  426.75 +your supposed to be sleeping, you’ll do fine.”
  426.76 +
  426.77 +Kairi didn’t feel much better even with the ninja’s ‘helpful’
  426.78 +advice. She turned to ask where to change, but Yuffie had already
  426.79 +left. ‘Just think of it as another part of finding Riku and Sora. The
  426.80 +sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can get back to finding
  426.81 +them.’ Sighing, she began to take off her clothes, setting them on
  426.82 +the chest Yuffie had retrieved some props from just a short time
  426.83 +before. Setting her skirt down, she looked back at the dress. Just
  426.84 +how was she supposed to get that thing on, anyway? It still looked
  426.85 +too big for her. 
  426.86 +
  426.87 +Before Kairi could figure it out, the door swung open again. “Are
  426.88 +you coming or not?” 
  426.89 +
  426.90 +Kairi dropped to her knees, covering herself as best she could, clad
  426.91 +only in her undergarments. Her cheeks burned as Yuffie simply blinked
  426.92 +at her for a moment. “Yuffie!” she cried. The ninja finally looked
  426.93 +away, busying herself with something she apparently saw on the roof.
  426.94 +She felt like she was going to die. This had never happened before on
  426.95 +her island. The boys were always polite enough to knock first. She
  426.96 +wanted to grab her clothes, get dressed, and leave. But she knew she
  426.97 +couldn’t do that. She still had a play to do.
  426.98 +
  426.99 +“You were supposed to follow me, Kairi,” Yuffie said, still staring
 426.100 +up at the roof. “But.. umm.. If you wanna change in here, that’s
 426.101 +fine.” She closed the door swiftly. 
 426.102 +
 426.103 +Her head slumping in embarrassment, Kairi sighed. So that’s why
 426.104 +Yuffie had left. She was supposed to go with her. This probably
 426.105 +wasn’t the dressing room after all. But she was so worked up about
 426.106 +everything that she hadn’t been paying attention. Grabbing the dress,
 426.107 +she tried to get dressed as quickly as she could. When she was
 426.108 +finally finished, she felt a little awkward. It was a little too big
 426.109 +for her after all, but it didn’t seem too noticeable. But she still
 426.110 +wasn’t used to such an extravagant outfit. She turned, trying to get
 426.111 +used to the way it swished about her as she moved.
 426.112 +
 426.113 +“You look like a real princess, Kairi,” a voice said warmly from
 426.114 +somewhere behind her. 
 426.115 +
 426.116 +The brunette whirled about, her eyes wide as she came face to face
 426.117 +with Riku. He was grinning, a hand on one hip. “Riku!” She was
 426.118 +breathless. It had been so long since she had seen him. Tears burnt
 426.119 +at her eyes. She had waited to see him again for so long. 
 426.120 +
 426.121 +“But then, you really are a princess, so it shouldn’t be any big
 426.122 +surprise,” the silver haired boy reasoned. 
 426.123 +
 426.124 +Kairi ran to him, nearly stumbling in the large dress. But she
 426.125 +didn’t care. She just wanted to be near him again. To know that she
 426.126 +wasn’t alone anymore. To know that he was really there. To hold on
 426.127 +and forget all about other worlds and what was real or not. She could
 426.128 +see him so close, smiling at her. Her arms tried desperately to hold
 426.129 +onto him, but she passed straight through, stumbling to her hands and
 426.130 +knees behind him. Her heart plummeted as she sat there, lacking the
 426.131 +strength to even get back up. She hit the floor angrily with her
 426.132 +fist, her vision blurring with tears. “Every time I see you...” she
 426.133 +began weakly, “you aren’t really there. Riku... Please don’t leave
 426.134 +me.” But there was no answer. He was gone, as suddenly as the wind.
 426.135 +She closed her eyes tightly, her small body shaking with bitter sobs.
 426.136 +He was always right there. But he was always a universe away. 
 426.137 +
 426.138 +A knock at the door punched through Kairi’s shroud of depression.
 426.139 +“We’ve gotta hurry, princess! You’re on in less than a minute!”
 426.140 +Yuffie called out.
 426.141 +
 426.142 +Slowly getting to her feet, Kairi sniffled, her body still shaking
 426.143 +lightly. She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of the gown.
 426.144 +“Coming!” she called out, hoping Yuffie didn’t hear the tremble in
 426.145 +her voice. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to stifle
 426.146 +the tears that were still unshed. “I’ll find you Riku. Wherever you
 426.147 +are,” she whispered. Holding onto some semblance of being fine, Kairi
 426.148 +hurried out the door. 
 426.149 +
 426.150 +Yuffie waited, leaning against the wall. She smiled when Kairi
 426.151 +exited. “See? You do make a good princess.” She stretched, the sword
 426.152 +in her belt hitting the wall. 
 426.153 +
 426.154 +Kairi blinked in surprise, unable to keep from staring at the ninja
 426.155 +girl. “You’re the prince?” 
 426.156 +
 426.157 +“Yep.” Yuffie turned around, holding onto the cuffs of the prince’s
 426.158 +jacket. “What do you think? We take turns with a lot of the parts. It
 426.159 +helps keep us all on our toes. Though I have to admit, I much prefer
 426.160 +being the prince to the princess. No offense. It’s just not my
 426.161 +style.” 
 426.162 +
 426.163 +“I.. uhh.. it’s different,” Kairi said, smiling nervously. This
 426.164 +hadn’t been what she had expected. She thought maybe the catboy would
 426.165 +be the prince. His outfit looked regal enough. Or maybe the man with
 426.166 +the bandana. But she certainly hadn’t been expecting Yuffie. But with
 426.167 +how upside down things had been, she should have seen it coming.
 426.168 +“Curiouser and curiouser,” she said to no one in particular. When
 426.169 +Yuffie looked at her oddly, she just laughed. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
 426.170 +She held out her arm to Ninja Prince Yuffie, who obligingly took it
 426.171 +and led her off to the stage. 
 426.172 +
 426.173 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 426.174 +
 426.175 +“So she has the Keyblade. I don’t see how that affects anything. The
 426.176 +other was unable to lock away the Heartless even with his Keyblade. I
 426.177 +doubt she will be any more successful,” an effeminate man said,
 426.178 +brushing his hair back over his shoulder.
 426.179 +
 426.180 +“It is a cycle. One we must break. There will always be those
 426.181 +searching for ways to stop the darkness. But it is an inevitable
 426.182 +cycle of loss and suffering. When will they learn to simply succumb
 426.183 +to it? One cannot triumph over darkness. One can only start the cycle
 426.184 +over again. But if darkness reigns, then the cycle can end. Only then
 426.185 +can their be piece,” an oddly tranquil voice added. 
 426.186 +
 426.187 +“Because they refuse to see the futility of their efforts. Despite
 426.188 +what is taken from them, they continue to march onward, believing
 426.189 +that what they do is ‘right’. Perhaps if they truly understood what
 426.190 +they stand to lose, they would not be so willing. That boy, Riku, he
 426.191 +understood. He was willing to side with darkness to get back what he
 426.192 +had lost, the heart of that girl. Sometimes extreme measures must be
 426.193 +taken. Who is worthy of deeming what is ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Such a
 426.194 +fine line exists. It is merely how far you are willing to go. That
 426.195 +boy showed that he was willing to go further than his friend for the
 426.196 +girl. Even to the heart of darkness. Perhaps we can use that,” a
 426.197 +woman mused.
 426.198 +
 426.199 +“What can one little girl possibly hope to achieve? I’ll end her
 426.200 +little nightmare now and send her to a place of eternal nothingness,
 426.201 +a shrine she can spend eternity enjoying. Oh, I’ll be the most
 426.202 +wonderful court artisan she has ever seen, making for her a palace of
 426.203 +emptiness.” The man punctuated his statement with a maddening laugh.
 426.204 +
 426.205 +At last, a silver haired man spoke. “No. Not yet. She has further
 426.206 +she must go. She may yet prove her usefulness to us. Her importance
 426.207 +goes far past being one of the seven princesses. She is the final
 426.208 +piece to this puzzle. She is the key to it all.”
 426.209 +
 426.210 +“But, Sephiroth, don’t you think it much wiser to get rid of her
 426.211 +before she can cause any trouble?” the woman asked.
 426.212 +
 426.213 +“No. She is at the heart of all of this. She isn’t our enemy. She is
 426.214 +more important to our success than any of you know.” With that,
 426.215 +Sephiroth turned away from the others. He had business to attend to. 
 426.216 +
 426.217 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 426.218 +
 426.219 +‘Dear diary,
 426.220 +I’m starting to get worried. Tidus and Wakka found a hole today on
 426.221 +the island. Not just some deep hole in the ground or anything. An
 426.222 +endless hole. Like it leads to nowhere. Like someone took some
 426.223 +scissors and cut out that part of our island. Wakka dropped his beach
 426.224 +ball down in there and we all waited around for a sound of it hitting
 426.225 +anything at all, but nothing happened. It was like it was just gone.
 426.226 +It’s scary. I shudder just thinking about it, and I’m under a nice
 426.227 +heavy blanket right now. Weird, huh? I usually hate blankets because
 426.228 +they’re too stuffy. But it’s been so cold and windy and rainy outside
 426.229 +that mom brought them out again. 
 426.230 +
 426.231 +The only good thing I can see from all of this is that cold and
 426.232 +rainy is perfect snuggling weather. So I need to head over to
 426.233 +Quisty’s house soon. Maybe we can snuggle up under her covers and
 426.234 +just forget that there’s any scary hole or that Kairi’s missing or
 426.235 +that the weathers getting worse. That’s easy to do in Quisty’s arms
 426.236 +anyway. It feels so warm and safe when I’m with her, like I know
 426.237 +everything’s all right. Even her worrying doesn’t seem to matter. It
 426.238 +just makes me wanna try harder to take away all her worries. It’s
 426.239 +almost like a game. To try to make her smile when something’s on her
 426.240 +mind.
 426.241 +
 426.242 +I didn’t realize how good a study Quisty really was. She can quote
 426.243 +me before I even say anything, like she knows what I’m gonna say
 426.244 +before I say it. I thought it was so cool when she did that! It lets
 426.245 +me know that she’s paying more attention to me than to those silly
 426.246 +books of hers. She said it’s because she knows me really well, so she
 426.247 +knows what I’m thinking a lot of the time. It’s nice to know someone
 426.248 +does because sometimes I don’t even know what I’m thinking about.
 426.249 +There are so many things to think about! It’s hard to sort them all
 426.250 +out sometimes. 
 426.251 +
 426.252 +Oh, on a really sad note, I think they’re gonna cancel the Destiny
 426.253 +Islands Festival! Please say it isn’t so! I always love the festival.
 426.254 +And Quisty and I were gonna dance under the stars, too! I had the
 426.255 +dress I was gonna wear all picked out and everything. But the adults
 426.256 +are all saying that the weather’s bad and that too much has been
 426.257 +going on lately so we shouldn’t have one. But that’s exactly why we
 426.258 +should have one! To cheer everyone up! That way everyone can have
 426.259 +something to enjoy, to let them relax. Well, if they adults aren’t
 426.260 +gonna throw the Island Festival, then maybe we can throw one
 426.261 +ourselves. Yeah, I’m sure Tidus and Wakka would help. If I can drag
 426.262 +them from that underwater ballgame they made up. And maybe Quisty
 426.263 +will help, too. We can make our own little festival! We’ll still
 426.264 +dance under the stars, Quisty! It’s my promise to you! Booyaka!
 426.265 +
 426.266 +Love,
 426.267 +Selphie Tilmitt’
 426.268 +
 426.269 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 426.270 +
 426.271 +Surprisingly, Kairi found herself able to quote nearly all of her
 426.272 +lines, seeing the scenes unfold before her as she did. Even the
 426.273 +Radical Dreamers seemed impressed, not having expected much from
 426.274 +their stand in. She was a little shocked, but overall proud of
 426.275 +herself, glad to actually contribute to the play rather than just
 426.276 +being another prop. And so she was slightly disappointed when it
 426.277 +finally came time for her to fall into her endless sleep. But even
 426.278 +lying there, she could follow along with the rest of the play, her
 426.279 +mind supplying the lines even as the other performers were saying
 426.280 +them. Kid actually did a good job of getting rid of her accent when
 426.281 +she was performing, giving Kairi trouble following exactly who was
 426.282 +saying what at times. Nonetheless, the play had overall been a fun
 426.283 +experience so far. She almost wished she could go along with the
 426.284 +Radical Dreamers. The thought of performing with them, travelling to
 426.285 +all sorts of different worlds, seeing so many new things, it was all
 426.286 +very appealing to her. But she couldn’t let that tempt her. She had
 426.287 +to find Riku and Sora. Then she would tell them all about her short
 426.288 +stint on stage.
 426.289 +
 426.290 +Despite feeling rather good natured about things, Kairi found
 426.291 +herself getting more and more nervous as the play began to near its
 426.292 +end. She knew far too well what happened at the end of Sleeping
 426.293 +Beauty. This would be her first kiss, even if it was just a stage
 426.294 +kiss. And the thought of it being with Yuffie had her worried. She
 426.295 +still didn’t even know who she wanted her first kiss to be with, Riku
 426.296 +or Sora. But it didn’t look like she’d have to worry about that for
 426.297 +much longer. She almost wanted to rush off the stage, but she lay
 426.298 +there paralyzed, almost as if she really was under some spell. 
 426.299 +
 426.300 +Yuffie did make a good prince, at the very least. So if she let
 426.301 +herself pretend this really was Sleeping Beauty, that she really was
 426.302 +the princess, then it wasn’t too bad. It was only when she remembered
 426.303 +that she was Kairi that she got all nervous about it. She was nearly
 426.304 +counting down the lines as it neared the play’s climax. Locke was
 426.305 +playing Maleficent, which helped the stand in actress disassociate it
 426.306 +with the Maleficent who had used her along with the other seven
 426.307 +princesses to open the final keyhole. If just the thought of the
 426.308 +sorceress didn’t make her want to shudder, the thought of Locke
 426.309 +playing her would almost be funny. 
 426.310 +
 426.311 +And then it was time. Her hands held on her chest squeezed
 426.312 +themselves tighter. She could hear Yuffie’s final exclamation as her
 426.313 +‘prince’ got ready for their kiss. She could feel the butterflies
 426.314 +returning with a vengeance, tickling the inside of her stomach as she
 426.315 +lay there, eyes shut tightly. What should she do? She couldn’t ruin
 426.316 +the whole play, right? And it was just a stage kiss. But.. but...
 426.317 +
 426.318 +The ninja’s lips pressed warmly against her own delicate lips, both
 426.319 +soft and firm at the same time. The young princess blushed furiously
 426.320 +as she felt herself get pulled into a sitting position, Yuffie’s arms
 426.321 +around her. The crowd burst into applause. When Yuffie finally pulled
 426.322 +away, Kairi could only sit and stare, stunned. Wow... Kissing wasn’t
 426.323 +such a bad thing after all. She was already having thoughts of trying
 426.324 +it again with Sora or Riku when she finally found them. She blushed
 426.325 +when she looked up at Yuffie, the other girl looking down at her with
 426.326 +all the princely concern in the world. She really was a good actress.
 426.327 +Kairi had almost forgotten that it was just a play. She smiled up at
 426.328 +the ninja, trying her best to look love struck by her prince. 
 426.329 +
 426.330 +The rest of the play was a blur for Kairi, her mind on other things.
 426.331 +There wasn’t much to say during the play’s closing segments anyway,
 426.332 +so it didn’t matter too much that she was daydreaming throughout it.
 426.333 +She finally found herself backstage, though this time she remembered
 426.334 +to get to the dressing room before changing. 
 426.335 +
 426.336 +Her kitten was still waiting for her, having wandered about
 426.337 +backstage for a while. It seemed to know the layout rather well. “I
 426.338 +guess you have a good sense of direction, don’t you, kitty?” Kairi
 426.339 +laid the dress down, glad to be back in her own clothes again.
 426.340 +Kneeling down, she  scratched behind the kitten’s ears. “I really
 426.341 +need to come up with a name for you. Hmm... Boco sounds better for
 426.342 +Chocobos. And Mog for Moogles. What are good cat names? You don’t
 426.343 +look like a Duchess. But you do have a lot of energy. And you are
 426.344 +kinda bouncy. So how about Tigger?” The kitten lowered its head. It
 426.345 +didn’t seem to like the idea. “Shadow? But that’s not really a girl
 426.346 +cat’s name.” Her face lit up. “Jessie! I’ll name you Jessie.” The
 426.347 +kitten seemed a little surprised by the name, but didn’t otherwise
 426.348 +complain. “Good.” Kairi hugged the kitten. “Jessie it is.”
 426.349 +
 426.350 +“You did a good job there,” Kid said, reverting back to her accent
 426.351 +now that she was out of costume. “Didn’t really think you had it in
 426.352 +you. If you ever need a place to stay, we’d be glad to have ya.”
 426.353 +
 426.354 +“Really?” Kairi grinned. “Thanks! It was a lot of fun. I’d love to
 426.355 +again sometime. If I didn’t have something really important to do
 426.356 +right now, I’d love to go.” It would be great to have Riku and Sora
 426.357 +in the audience, to run into the crowd after the play and see what
 426.358 +they thought. 
 426.359 +
 426.360 +Kid shrugged. “Hey, I understand. Sometimes there’s just somethin’
 426.361 +you’ve gotta do. Ya can’t let anythin’ stop ya. You’ve gotta be
 426.362 +single minded about that sorta thing if you’re ever gonna get what
 426.363 +you’re lookin’ for.”
 426.364 +
 426.365 +“Trying to steal away my princess? Back off, Kid.” Yuffie laughed,
 426.366 +entering the room, clothed in her short green top, khaki shorts,
 426.367 +white stockings, and yellow scarf. 
 426.368 +
 426.369 +“Ya can’t stop a master thief from getting what she’s got her eyes
 426.370 +set on,” Kid replied, grinning. 
 426.371 +
 426.372 +Kairi blushed furiously at their comments. She usually didn’t mind
 426.373 +being the center of attention, but this was just a little strange for
 426.374 +her. She tried to ignore it, focusing on Jessie instead. The kitten
 426.375 +was once again struggling to get out of her arms, most likely to get
 426.376 +over to Yuffie. But she held on tightly, not wanting to have to pull
 426.377 +the kitten away again. Jessie began to meow again, still wrestling
 426.378 +with her.
 426.379 +
 426.380 +“Well, if you two are leavin’, I should probably be headin’ off
 426.381 +myself. I’ve got some things I need to take care of back home.
 426.382 +‘Sides, the Radical Dreamers aren’t much if we’re missin’ two of our
 426.383 +mates. Kind of hard to put on a play with only three people,” Kid
 426.384 +said, her hands behind her head. 
 426.385 +
 426.386 +“When this is all over, we’ll have to all meet up again somewhere.
 426.387 +We can’t have this be our last performance.” Yuffie smiled faintly.
 426.388 +
 426.389 +“I’m not callin’ it quits yet. When we’re all done, we’ll get back
 426.390 +together for a huge reunion performance. Everyone’ll wanna come to
 426.391 +that. We ain’t done yet,” Kid replied, grinning. 
 426.392 +
 426.393 +“You got it!” Yuffie nodded eagerly. “Good luck out there, Kid.”
 426.394 +
 426.395 +“You, too, Yuffie. See ya around, princess.” The thief winked at
 426.396 +Kairi as she headed out the door, bringing another faint blush to her
 426.397 +cheeks. 
 426.398 +
 426.399 +Yuffie sighed, leaning against the wall. “So where to next?”
 426.400 +
 426.401 +Kairi looked up suddenly, feeling a tinge of panic. “I thought you
 426.402 +knew. You were one of the heroes searching for the Keyblade, after
 426.403 +all. You do know, right?” she asked hopefully, eyeing Yuffie. 
 426.404 +
 426.405 +“Of course I do,” Yuffie said nonchalantly. “I’m just trying to
 426.406 +decide which would be the best place. Besides, that was usually
 426.407 +Aerith’s place in things. She was the one who figured everything out.
 426.408 +But don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.” She smiled
 426.409 +reassuringly. Kairi didn’t seem to have complete faith in her. 
 426.410 +
 426.411 +A scream from somewhere outside caught their attention. Both girls
 426.412 +turned. Something sounded like it was coming down the hallway. Fast.
 426.413 +Yuffie ran to the door, peering out. Her eyes went wide and she
 426.414 +slammed the door shut, locking it. 
 426.415 +
 426.416 +“What is it?” Kairi asked, immediately regretting the question as
 426.417 +soon as it was out. Her heart pounded in her chest as something heavy
 426.418 +hit the door. She held the kitten closer, though she didn’t know if
 426.419 +it was to comfort Jessie or herself. 
 426.420 +
 426.421 +“Heartless. And lots of them. There’s no way we can fight our way
 426.422 +through all of those.” Yuffie refused to let herself panic. She
 426.423 +wasn’t the panicking type. But there certainly didn’t seem to be any
 426.424 +other options. They were locked in there until the Heartless finally
 426.425 +broke in. She glanced around, but there weren’t any ways out.
 426.426 +Sighing, she pulled out some shurikens. She couldn’t stop them all,
 426.427 +but it didn’t mean she was going to give up. “Get behind me. I’ll
 426.428 +stop as many of them as I can. Run when you get the chance,” she
 426.429 +commanded.
 426.430 +
 426.431 +Kairi shook her head. No. It wasn’t going to end like that. There
 426.432 +was so much more she needed to do. She couldn't get caught by the
 426.433 +Heartless now. She had already lost her heart once. Back then it had
 426.434 +gone into Sora. Now it didn’t have anyplace to go. It would simply be
 426.435 +consumed. And then she would never find Sora and Riku. But there
 426.436 +didn’t seem to be anywhere for them to go. And the Heartless would be
 426.437 +in at any minute. 
 426.438 +
 426.439 +‘Just believe they aren’t there. They can’t hurt you if they aren’t
 426.440 +there. If you’re safe and sound back home, then the Heartless can’t
 426.441 +get to you,’ a voice whispered in her head.
 426.442 +
 426.443 +Kairi bit her lip. She didn’t ever want to go back there. Being
 426.444 +there was so confusing. It scared her, made her question just what
 426.445 +was real. And she couldn’t afford to falter in her beliefs. Not now.
 426.446 +But there was no other choice, was there? The pounding on the door
 426.447 +grew more insistent. Yuffie got into a fighting position. ‘She’s
 426.448 +going to sacrifice herself for you. And then they’re going to get you
 426.449 +anyway. Damn it! Make you your mind already!’ Kairi closed her eyes
 426.450 +tightly. No matter how much she didn’t want to do this, it was their
 426.451 +only chance. “I’m not here. I’m back home. In bed. The Heartless
 426.452 +aren’t here. I’m back home.” The pounding on the door stopped.
 426.453 +
 426.454 +When she opened her eyes again, they were gone. She was no longer
 426.455 +backstage. She was sitting on her bed again, surrounded by her dolls
 426.456 +and pictures. A doll of Yuffie was lying on her lap. Kairi sighed
 426.457 +shakily, holding onto the doll. What happened to everyone else when
 426.458 +she was here? Did she just disappear from where she was? Did
 426.459 +everything else still exist when she was here? Did she even want to
 426.460 +know?  
 426.461 +
 426.462 +Getting off the bed, Kairi walked to the door, pausing before it.
 426.463 +Biting her lip, she slowly reached out for the doorknob, taking a
 426.464 +hold of it. Was the person still there? Would the door open? She had
 426.465 +to find out what was going on. This was all getting far too
 426.466 +confusing. She turned the doorknob slowly. Nothing. It was still
 426.467 +locked for her. Sighing, her hand fell away from the door. 
 426.468 +
 426.469 +Walking around the slightly cluttered room, Kairi kept hugging the
 426.470 +Yuffie doll. It might not be much, but right now it was the only
 426.471 +company she had. And somehow she felt better holding onto her dolls.
 426.472 +They had always been such a comfort for her, these people she had
 426.473 +crafted out of fabric and wishes. She closed her eyes, forcing that
 426.474 +thought away. No, they were real. She hadn’t just made dolls of
 426.475 +people in her imagination. These were all real people somewhere far
 426.476 +away. They were all still out there, waiting for her. But she
 426.477 +couldn’t get back to them if she was stuck in her room. She had to
 426.478 +find a way out. 
 426.479 +
 426.480 +She looked out the window, but it was too dark to see anything
 426.481 +outside. It had to be late, wherever she was. Resting her head
 426.482 +against the cool glass, the princess tried to collect herself. This
 426.483 +place had to be a dream. It couldn’t be real. But why did she keep
 426.484 +coming back here? And why was it so familiar. Her eyes closed as she
 426.485 +strained to remember. A birthday party. She could remember a birthday
 426.486 +party. A recent one. She remembered sitting at the front of the
 426.487 +table, the cake being placed out in front of her. She had just turned
 426.488 +fourteen. She’d gotten a cute sweater for it. And a few Disney DVDs
 426.489 +she had been wanting for the longest time. But who had been there?
 426.490 +She tried harder to remember, trying to see the rest of the table.
 426.491 +She had been there, of course. And... An older woman she could barely
 426.492 +make out. She was smiling so warmly, watching as she blew out the
 426.493 +candles, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. Her mother. It
 426.494 +had to be her mother. Her heart ached at the thought that she
 426.495 +couldn’t even remember her mother except for this small glimpse. What
 426.496 +kind of woman was she like? Did she make her mother proud? What kind
 426.497 +of relationship did they have? Judging from the smile, her mother had
 426.498 +been happy, at least during her birthday. 
 426.499 +
 426.500 +Who else had been there? She could see a shadow sitting next to her,
 426.501 +watching her opening her presents. The shadow flickered in her mind
 426.502 +as she tried harder to remember who it had been. But no matter how
 426.503 +hard she tried, it refused to clarify. Giving up on the shadow for
 426.504 +the moment, she began to focus on who else had been there. Slowly,
 426.505 +she saw the rest of the table, expecting to see Riku and Sora sitting
 426.506 +there, watching her. But it wasn’t so. The table was empty. Her eyes
 426.507 +opened wide. “No one... No one was there?” she asked quietly. But her
 426.508 +birthday parties on the Destiny Islands were always so much fun!
 426.509 +Everyone came and there were presents and cake and games and... It
 426.510 +didn’t make sense. Surely she had friends to invite, games to play.
 426.511 +She was pretty and popular and everyone liked her. So why the hell
 426.512 +would she spend her birthday alone except for her mother and some
 426.513 +shadow of a person she couldn’t remember?
 426.514 +
 426.515 +Her eyes teared up, memories of endless loneliness filling her,
 426.516 +sapping at her heart. The hopelessness and despair felt like
 426.517 +crystalline shards buried within her heart. “But mama, no one will
 426.518 +come. No one likes me. Why would anyone want to come to my party?”
 426.519 +she heard herself saying. Opening her eyes, she saw another room
 426.520 +outside of the window, her mother’s room. There she was, crying on
 426.521 +her mother’s lap. Hateful, lost, bitter tears. And her mother looked
 426.522 +heartbroken as she tried to wipe away her hot tears. 
 426.523 +
 426.524 +Kairi backed away from the window as if it was something alive and
 426.525 +dangerous, staring. “It’s not like that. It isn’t like that at all,”
 426.526 +she said desperately, her voice barely above a whisper. “I do have
 426.527 +friends. I’m not all alone.” 
 426.528 +
 426.529 +“Then where are they now, Kairi? You made up all of your friends.
 426.530 +Except for mom. She’s your best friend. She’s your only friend. How
 426.531 +could you just leave her by killing yourself?”
 426.532 +
 426.533 +Looking up, Kairi could see the shadow of someone on the other side
 426.534 +of the door. The voice was back, whoever it was that happened to be
 426.535 +behind it. “I didn’t,” she argued, her voice shaky. Her wrists were
 426.536 +burning again, fire tearing them apart. But she refused to look at
 426.537 +them. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away.
 426.538 +
 426.539 +The voice on the other side of the door laughed. “That’s your answer
 426.540 +for everything, isn’t it, Kairi? To ignore it, to pretend. Whenever
 426.541 +you can’t handle something, you just run away. It’s too much for poor
 426.542 +Kairi to handle, so she’ll just run as far as she can and never look
 426.543 +back. That’s why you can’t open the door. Because you can’t face
 426.544 +reality. You couldn’t handle life so you just turned your back on it.
 426.545 +You embraced your fantasies, ignoring everything that might hurt you.
 426.546 +Isn’t that the way it’s always been?”
 426.547 +
 426.548 +“Leave me alone!!!” Kairi screamed, her whole body trembling. Tears
 426.549 +stung her eyes, turning her vision into a liquid nightmare. She could
 426.550 +feel her tears dripping down her chin, falling to the floor below.
 426.551 +She couldn’t stop from crying, the voice finally getting to her. 
 426.552 +
 426.553 +“I told you that you couldn’t handle it, Kairi. I don’t think you’re
 426.554 +ready to open the door yet. Why don’t you run away back to your
 426.555 +fantasies. They’re safe and cozy, aren’t they? Oh, wait. No, reality
 426.556 +is beginning to intrude on them, isn’t it? The heartlessness of the
 426.557 +real world is starting to take its toll, to intrude on your little
 426.558 +wonderland. Go ahead and run away to your dreams, Kairi. Because
 426.559 +pretty soon, there will be nowhere left to run. And you’ll have to
 426.560 +open the door. Because when the Heartless consume all of your
 426.561 +fantasies, real life will be the only place left to turn.”
 426.562 +
 426.563 +Kairi slumped to her knees, sobbing painfully, hugging herself. She
 426.564 +didn’t always run away. She was trying to find Riku and Sora. She
 426.565 +would never give up on them. She wouldn’t run away, no matter how
 426.566 +tough things got. But her voice escaped her, having disappeared in
 426.567 +her haze of tears. She wanted to prove the voice wrong, that she
 426.568 +would never give up. But her tattered heart couldn’t help but wonder
 426.569 +if the voice was right. 
 426.570 +
 426.571 +Lost in a storm of tears, Kairi didn’t see the room grow distant. It
 426.572 +stretched further and further into the background until it had faded
 426.573 +away altogether. Lost in a typhoon of dark thoughts, the princess
 426.574 +didn’t feel herself slowly drifting away to somewhere else. Anywhere
 426.575 +else. Just as long as she was far away from that room. 
 426.576 +
 426.577 + 
 426.578 \ No newline at end of file

   427.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   427.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-04.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   427.3 @@ -0,0 +1,908 @@
   427.4 +Prism Hearts
   427.5 +Chapter 4
   427.6 +PlanitB Remix
   427.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   427.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   427.9 +
  427.10 +
  427.11 +Where had all the Heartless gone? That was the first thing that
  427.12 +entered Yuffie’s mind when she first regained consciousness. The dark
  427.13 +shadows were nowhere to be seen. She at first thought that they had
  427.14 +been swallowed by light. All around her was an endless flow of white.
  427.15 +Nothing like the black shadows that had been trying to bust down the
  427.16 +door to reach her. Not that there was a door anymore either, though.
  427.17 +The endless expanse of white stretched out all around her. It took a
  427.18 +moment for her to realize it was snow. “Snow?” The ninja blinked. It
  427.19 +didn’t snow in Traverse Town. At least not that she knew of. And
  427.20 +definitely not enough to blanket it like this. Which meant... “Where
  427.21 +the hell am I?” 
  427.22 +
  427.23 +The ninja/thief took a moment to run things over in her head. On the
  427.24 +upside of things, at least she wasn’t about to get her heart devoured
  427.25 +by Heartless. On the downside, she was lost out in some snowy
  427.26 +wilderness in an outfit that certainly wasn’t made for it. Shivering,
  427.27 +she for once wished she’d worn something a tad more conservative. The
  427.28 +only warmth she received was from her scarf, but that was more for
  427.29 +show than anything else. She would need to find a town and fast or
  427.30 +she’d freeze to death. What a way for the great Yuffie to die, cold
  427.31 +and alone in some arctic wasteland. She shuddered, holding herself to
  427.32 +try to retain some body heat. 
  427.33 +
  427.34 +How had she ended up there in the first place? Shouldn’t the
  427.35 +Heartless have broken in and grabbed her? Not that she wasn’t
  427.36 +grateful, but she would like to know what threw her to some far off
  427.37 +world. The girl. It had to be her. She was the Keyblade Mistress. So
  427.38 +she had links to other worlds. She must have sent them here to
  427.39 +escape. It was nice, but Yuffie would definitely have to ask her to
  427.40 +choose a warmer place the next time they needed to run. But whatever
  427.41 +the case, it seemed that Kairi was much more powerful than Sora had
  427.42 +been as the Keyblade Master. He could lock worlds, but Kairi seemed
  427.43 +to be able to traverse between them without the need of a Gummi Ship.
  427.44 +Pretty impressive. Maybe it had been a good idea to let her tag along
  427.45 +after all. Speaking of which...
  427.46 +
  427.47 +“Kairi?” Yuffie turned around, looking for the younger girl. But no
  427.48 +one was near her. She thought that Kairi might have walked off, but
  427.49 +there were no footprints, either. “Kairi?!” She looked around,
  427.50 +searching for any sign of the princess. She had to be around
  427.51 +somewhere, right? But she wouldn’t last long alone in that cold.
  427.52 +Yuffie had to find her quickly. But where? “C’mon, think,” she
  427.53 +berated herself. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. She can’t be
  427.54 +far off.” Finally, taking a wild guess, the ninja stumbled off into
  427.55 +the falling snow. 
  427.56 +
  427.57 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  427.58 +
  427.59 +She had been walking for what felt like hours. Her body felt like a
  427.60 +solid chunk of ice. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. Her body
  427.61 +felt numb. Walking was becoming extremely difficult. She nearly lost
  427.62 +her balance a number of times, but thankfully regained it. She knew
  427.63 +that if she fell in the snow, she would never get up again. “Kairi!”
  427.64 +she yelled, but her cries barely made it to her own ears. ‘I never
  427.65 +should have gotten her involved. She’s just a little girl. She’s
  427.66 +going to get killed because of me. You should have gone back for Leon
  427.67 +and Aerith instead of thinking you could do it all on your own with
  427.68 +one girl and the Keyblade,’ she thought darkly. She blinked. ‘That
  427.69 +doesn’t sound like me. This cold must be getting to me. I’ll find her
  427.70 +and I’ll drag her off to some town. We’ll get nice and toasty there
  427.71 +and then I can get back to becoming the richest, most famous ninja
  427.72 +ever.’ She laughed weakly, trying to hold onto some glimmer of hope.
  427.73 +‘Just please, please let me find her before it’s too late.’
  427.74 +
  427.75 +The snow seemed to roll on for an eternity before her, disappearing
  427.76 +into the distance. Her weakening legs kept pushing her forward,
  427.77 +though she was stumbling more and more often as the cold sapped her
  427.78 +strength. She tried to keep thinking, but even that was becoming a
  427.79 +chore. She just wanted to collapse, to lie down for a minute. But
  427.80 +that would be a death sentence. 
  427.81 +
  427.82 +She had stopped wiping the snow away from her clothes. She just
  427.83 +didn’t have the strength anymore. It was almost too much to just keep
  427.84 +going. She wobbled, nearly dropping. ‘Just a bit further,’ she kept
  427.85 +telling herself. ‘And she’ll be right there, right next to the
  427.86 +entrance of some big town.’ Her vision blurred, her eyes having
  427.87 +trouble focusing. But she couldn’t give up yet. There was still too
  427.88 +much she had to do, too much to find, too much to have. There was too
  427.89 +much to experience in life. And it would all be gone if she failed.
  427.90 +If she didn’t find the girl, the Heartless would sweep across all the
  427.91 +remaining worlds. And you couldn’t very well steal from anyone if
  427.92 +there wasn’t anyone to steal from. 
  427.93 +
  427.94 +“You’re probably eating this up, Leon,” Yuffie said, her voice
  427.95 +carried off by the wind. “Couldn’t do it on your own, Yuffie, you’d
  427.96 +say. It was hopeless. But I’m not done yet. You just watch me. I’m
  427.97 +gonna find that girl and I’m gonna drag her to some stupid town. And
  427.98 +they’ll have a nice big fire and lots of food and big fur coats...”
  427.99 +She trailed off, her thoughts becoming less and less coherent.
 427.100 +“Actually, Leon’d probably just say ‘...’ or something. But that’s
 427.101 +what he’d mean. The big depressing guy.” She moved a foot forward,
 427.102 +struggling to move another step forward. “I really wish he and Aerith
 427.103 +were here right now.” Another step. “But then they’d probably get mad
 427.104 +at me for stealing anything. And then I’d... Tell them I was only...
 427.105 +borrowing it..” Her foot refused to move, sending her collapsing face
 427.106 +first into the snow. Her aching muscles didn’t feel like cooperating
 427.107 +as she lay there, her whole body to exhausted. She would be blanketed
 427.108 +by the snow and no one would ever find her. 
 427.109 +
 427.110 +“Meow!” 
 427.111 +
 427.112 +Yuffie lay there, her whole body feeling ice cold. She hoped this
 427.113 +dying thing was quick. She was too weary to last all that long.
 427.114 +‘There better be a lot of shiny things in the Lifestream,’ she
 427.115 +thought angrily. ‘If I’m gonna die, I might as well have something to
 427.116 +occupy my time after I’m dead.’
 427.117 +
 427.118 +“Meow!!” 
 427.119 +
 427.120 +It was closer now, right in front of her. The ninja struggled to
 427.121 +open her eyes. She stared hazily at the kitten that had been with
 427.122 +Kairi. It was nuzzling her nose, trying to keep her conscious. “Go
 427.123 +away,” she said weakly, her eyes narrowing. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
 427.124 +
 427.125 +The kitten licked her cheek, pawing at her. “Meow!” it cried
 427.126 +anxiously. Yuffie refused to move. After a moments pause, it swiped
 427.127 +at her, sinking it’s claws into the ninja girl. It looked at her
 427.128 +apologetically as she swore. Droplets of blood dripped down her cheek
 427.129 +into the snow.
 427.130 +
 427.131 +“You stupid little...” Yuffie glared at the kitten. But the sharp
 427.132 +pain was something. It gave her a focus besides the overwhelming
 427.133 +numbness. The kitten hopped off, heading over a hill. Yuffie weakly
 427.134 +got back to her knees. It was trying to get her to follow it. “This
 427.135 +better just be a little further!” She was cold and tired and
 427.136 +exhausted. But the kitten was beckoning her. She stumbled up the
 427.137 +slope, almost sliding back down. It took everything she had to make
 427.138 +it to the top. Gazing down, she saw the kitten. It was sitting beside
 427.139 +Kairi, the princess half covered in snow. It looked at her with
 427.140 +desperate green eyes, pleading for help. “You found her... I take it
 427.141 +back. I’ll help. Just give me a minute...” Taking a step forward,
 427.142 +Yuffie’s legs finally gave up. Stumbling down the hill, end over end,
 427.143 +she came to a rest next to Kairi. Her vision spun around her, her
 427.144 +thoughts breaking apart. The last thing she could see was the kitten
 427.145 +before the darkness devoured the white world around her. 
 427.146 +
 427.147 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.148 +
 427.149 +
 427.150 +Yuffie slowly came to some time later, her entire body aching.
 427.151 +Everything in her mind felt blurry, far off. She was having trouble
 427.152 +thinking clearly. She moaned weakly, rolling onto her side. It was
 427.153 +with some surprise that she found a heavy blanket over herself. She
 427.154 +blinked weary eyes, trying to force them into submission. Everything
 427.155 +was still a blur, but it wasn’t a cold, white blur anymore. So she
 427.156 +wasn’t lost out in the snow anymore. That was a good thing. She
 427.157 +hoped. 
 427.158 +
 427.159 +“So you’re finally awake, huh?” a voice said from somewhere in front
 427.160 +of Yuffie.
 427.161 +
 427.162 +Struggling to find the speaker, Yuffie finally managed to spot a
 427.163 +furry creature watching her from the other side of the room. The
 427.164 +furry creature looked a little shorter than herself, but that didn’t
 427.165 +make it any less ferocious, she decided. ‘It’s gonna eat us. It took
 427.166 +us here out of the cold so it could have a nice warm snack,’ she
 427.167 +thought in her delirious state of mind. The dizzy ninja forced
 427.168 +herself to her feet. Upon standing, she found it to have been a bad
 427.169 +idea all the way around. The world spun around her like a top spun by
 427.170 +a careless child. The ground seemed to lurch underneath her. Her
 427.171 +still weak muscles gave out and she fell forward. The furry monster
 427.172 +caught her, sinking under the ninja’s weight, holding onto her. 
 427.173 +
 427.174 +“You need to rest! I don’t know how long you were out there, but you
 427.175 +were both half frozen when we found you,” the voice stated, laying
 427.176 +Yuffie back down gently and pulling the blanket back up around her. 
 427.177 +
 427.178 +Yuffie moaned again, her head swimming. “Both of us? Kairi’s here?”
 427.179 +Yuffie tried to spot the princess, but her head ached with the
 427.180 +effort. 
 427.181 +
 427.182 +The creature nodded. “If Kairi is the other girl who was collapsed
 427.183 +in the snow, then yeah. Oh, and a kitten. It was curled up on you,
 427.184 +trying to keep you warm. It was hard to drag you all back here.” The
 427.185 +monster reached back, grabbing around the fur that shrouded its.
 427.186 +Yuffie wondered what horrible visage the monster was hiding beneath
 427.187 +it. Slowly pulling the fur back, it fell to the monsters back.
 427.188 +Shaking its head, the ‘monster’ smiled cutely. It was a girl a little
 427.189 +younger than Yuffie, probably fifteen or so. The fur was just a big
 427.190 +coat that she was wearing which the ninja had mistaken for something
 427.191 +else in her deluded state. Her hair was held up in a red and gold
 427.192 +embroidered bandana, blonde wisps poking out here and there. 
 427.193 +
 427.194 +“You’re not a monster?” Yuffie asked dumbly.
 427.195 +
 427.196 +The girl giggled, shaking her head. “Not since last I checked. Which
 427.197 +could have been a while. No, I’m just a simple artist. My name’s Relm
 427.198 +Arrowny. And this is Interceptor.” She motioned towards what Yuffie
 427.199 +had thought was some monster skin rug. It got up, nuzzling Relm’s
 427.200 +side. “I couldn’t have gotten you all here without him.” 
 427.201 +
 427.202 +Yuffie slowly sat up, waving the girl off when she tried to come
 427.203 +over and make her lie down again. “Yuffie Kisaragi. I’m the greatest
 427.204 +female ninja ever,” she stated decisively. 
 427.205 +
 427.206 +“A ninja?” The blonde girl clapped her hands together delightedly.
 427.207 +“That’s great! My father was a ninja. He left Interceptor to protect
 427.208 +me when he died. I was just a little girl at the time, so
 427.209 +Interceptor’s been with me while I grew up. But I’ve always loved
 427.210 +ninjas because of that. I was hoping I’d meet one someday.” She
 427.211 +looked over at the dog, still smiling brightly. “Isn’t that great,
 427.212 +Interceptor?” 
 427.213 +
 427.214 +The dog barked it’s agreement, fixing Yuffie with a steely gaze, as
 427.215 +if to beware her of hurting his charge. Yuffie gazed back, dismissing
 427.216 +the dog’s warning. She smiled herself, glad that the girl recognized
 427.217 +someone of her obvious talents. “Well, it takes a lot of talent and a
 427.218 +lot of will. Only a small handful can truly make it as a ninja. Your
 427.219 +father must have been quite a man.” Yuffie stretched back, letting
 427.220 +her muscles relax. She was slowly warming up. Her mind felt like it
 427.221 +was starting to thaw, to let herself think clearly again. “Though I’m
 427.222 +used to it running in the family. My dad was a ninja. And so was my
 427.223 +mom. But you’re an artist?”
 427.224 +
 427.225 +Relm shrugged, petting Interceptor absentmindedly. “I guess it’s not
 427.226 +really my thing. Besides, I love art too much to give up on it. I
 427.227 +probably wouldn’t make a very good ninja anyway.” Her eyes lit up
 427.228 +again, watching Yuffie intently. “But I’ve always hoped one day a
 427.229 +dashing ninja would show up in my life.”
 427.230 +
 427.231 +Yuffie laughed nervously. “That’s great. I’m glad to help.” She was
 427.232 +a little unnerved by the way the other girl was looking at her. The
 427.233 +blanket slowly slipped down her shoulder, letting the warmth of the
 427.234 +fire melt into the skin. She blinked as she slowly looked down. That
 427.235 +felt a little different than the way one’s clothes would heat up when
 427.236 +next to a fire. Sure enough, something was missing from the picture
 427.237 +she saw. She yanked the blanket closed tightly, her cheeks darkening.
 427.238 +“Where are my clothes?” she demanded.
 427.239 +
 427.240 +“Drying. You were out in the snow for who knows how long. It was
 427.241 +soaked through. I can’t have you catching pneumonia after rescuing
 427.242 +you, you know,” Relm explained. “Don’t worry, Interceptor didn’t
 427.243 +look. I had him start on supper.”
 427.244 +
 427.245 +Yuffie blinked. How the hell did a dog make dinner? She would ask,
 427.246 +but something else caught her eye. She had been attracted by the
 427.247 +light of the fire only to find that there was no fire. In the center
 427.248 +of the room was a painting of a fire up on an easel. It flickered and
 427.249 +glowed just like the real thing. Even stranger, it was giving off the
 427.250 +same heat of a real fire, warming the small room. Yuffie only stared
 427.251 +for a long moment before her eyes finally ached from gazing into the
 427.252 +flame.
 427.253 +
 427.254 +“If you stare into the flame for too long, it stares back into you.
 427.255 +Be careful,” Relm warned. 
 427.256 +
 427.257 +“How did you...?” Yuffie began, shaking her head.
 427.258 +
 427.259 +The artist grinned, walking over and shifting the painting to warm
 427.260 +the two rescued girls more. “Do you like it? I painted it. I told you
 427.261 +that my talent seems to lie more with art. I try to bring things to
 427.262 +life in my paintings.”
 427.263 +
 427.264 +“That’s an understatement.” Yuffie watched the girl, still holding
 427.265 +the blanket close. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The
 427.266 +girl blushed under her praise. She looked around, trying to spot
 427.267 +Kairi. “Kairi?”
 427.268 +
 427.269 +“I’m here. I’ve just been thinking,” Kairi’s voice came from behind
 427.270 +Yuffie. 
 427.271 +
 427.272 +The ninja turned, spotting Kairi lying on the floor, curled up in a
 427.273 +blanket. She was holding onto the kitten. The kitten still seemed to
 427.274 +be asleep. It had been exhausted, lasting a little longer than the
 427.275 +two girls. Yuffie sighed in relief. “You’re all right.”
 427.276 +
 427.277 +Kairi didn’t answer. She certainly didn’t feel all right. Her mind
 427.278 +was still on that room she kept returning to and the voice behind the
 427.279 +door. She was set adrift in a sea of confusion, everything seeming to
 427.280 +conflict with everything else. She just wanted to make it go away. 
 427.281 +
 427.282 +The kitten’s ears perked up at Yuffie’s voice. The kitten blinked
 427.283 +it’s green eyes open, watching the ninja. It stood up to hurry to the
 427.284 +ninja. Looking up, it saw the distant look in Kairi’s eyes. The
 427.285 +kitten meowed, nuzzling the downtrodden girl, but it didn’t seem to
 427.286 +help. Curling up against Kairi, the kitten tried it’s best to help,
 427.287 +licking her cheek.
 427.288 +
 427.289 +Kairi smiled softly, scratching under the kitten’s chin. “Thanks,
 427.290 +Jessie. I needed that.” 
 427.291 +
 427.292 +“I’m going to go try and get some potions from the shop. You could
 427.293 +probably both use it. So just try to rest up while I’m gone.” Relm
 427.294 +pulled the hood back over her head. “Don’t wear yourselves out. I’ll
 427.295 +be right back.” She waved at the two before disappearing out the door.
 427.296 +
 427.297 +“Weird girl,” Yuffie thought out loud.
 427.298 +
 427.299 +“Oh, don’t say that,” Kairi admonished the ninja. “She saved us
 427.300 +both. If it weren’t for her, we’d both be frozen solid by now.”
 427.301 +
 427.302 +“I never said it was a bad thing that she’s weird.” Yuffie shrugged,
 427.303 +placing her hands behind her head as she stared up at the roof. 
 427.304 +
 427.305 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.306 +
 427.307 +“Isn’t this great, Interceptor? It’s just like when mom met dad!”
 427.308 +Relm giggled, hopping giddily down to the snowy street from the
 427.309 +partially raised curb. “He was injured when mom found him and she
 427.310 +nursed him back to health, falling in love with the mysterious ninja
 427.311 +while he healed. It must be Fate! I came across an injured ninja and
 427.312 +now I’m nursing her back to health.” 
 427.313 +
 427.314 +The dog followed along faithfully, not quite sure what he thought
 427.315 +about the situation. But nevertheless, he thought it best not to rain
 427.316 +on his charge’s parade. He simply barked agreement.
 427.317 +
 427.318 +Relm hurried across the snowy street. “And she’s so cute, too! And
 427.319 +did you hear what she said? The greatest female ninja ever. How
 427.320 +cool!” She sighed dreamily, titling her head to the side. “Do you
 427.321 +believe in love at first sight, Interceptor?”
 427.322 +
 427.323 +The dog barked noncommittally, following the perky artist. What
 427.324 +would his old master think about all this? Monsters and thieves the
 427.325 +dog could protect Relm from. But love? This was uncharted territory
 427.326 +for the faithful guardian. 
 427.327 +
 427.328 + “Now I just need to nurse her back to health and we’ll fall in love
 427.329 +and live happily ever after. Just like mom and dad. But without the
 427.330 +whole mutually dying part.” Relm looked over when Interceptor barked.
 427.331 +“What about her friend? Well, she’ll have to find her own ninja. This
 427.332 +one’s mine.” She crossed her arms, turning the corner to the shop.
 427.333 +And froze dead in her tracks. Down the street, something was heading
 427.334 +into town. Three somethings, to be exact. The lurched forward like
 427.335 +huge, lumbering beasts. A person sat atop each one. Two were imperial
 427.336 +soldiers and the other was a green haired woman in a red dress.
 427.337 +“Imperial soldiers!” Bolting back around the corner, Relm and
 427.338 +Interceptor raced back to the house as the first gunshots were fired
 427.339 +by the town’s guards. Visions of a town in flames returned unbidden
 427.340 +to the young artist. ‘Relm, run!!’ her grandfather had commanded her
 427.341 +before turning to meet the Imperial onslaught. Crystal tears fell as
 427.342 +she ran. She couldn’t let that happen again. 
 427.343 +
 427.344 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.345 +
 427.346 +Yuffie sighed, pulling her small green top back on. It seemed like
 427.347 +it had dried quite some time ago. Sitting on a small stool that Relm
 427.348 +used for painting, she pulled her stockings back on. “I still can’t
 427.349 +believe she can draw that well. My drawings look like stick figures.”
 427.350 +
 427.351 +Kairi giggled, her back to Yuffie as she pulled on her own clothes.
 427.352 +“You’re a ninja, right? So why do you care if you can’t draw?”
 427.353 +Pulling on her white blouse over her black one, she turned to Yuffie.
 427.354 +“And it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. It’s what you draw. And
 427.355 +what it means to you. I think even stick figures can be beautiful if
 427.356 +your hearts behind it.” Her eyes were distant, her mind elsewhere.
 427.357 +She remembered the secret place on their island, just a small cave
 427.358 +hidden away on it. But inside, she, Riku, and Sora had drawn so many
 427.359 +pictures. One she hadn’t seen until Sora had disappeared was one of
 427.360 +her sharing a Paopu fruit with him. It hadn’t been the best drawing,
 427.361 +but it was gorgeous to her because of what it meant.
 427.362 +
 427.363 +The ninja shook her head, unconvinced. “Stick figures aren’t my idea
 427.364 +of ‘beautiful’. Those,” she said, indicating the stacks of paintings
 427.365 +in the corner, “are beautiful.”
 427.366 +
 427.367 +“Just try drawing again sometime, Yuffie. If it’s something
 427.368 +important to you, then it will be gorgeous no matter how badly you
 427.369 +draw,” Kairi prompted, smiling. It would be nice to see what was
 427.370 +important to the ninja.
 427.371 +
 427.372 +Yuffie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, imagining what
 427.373 +she’d draw. She could see it in her mind, a stick figure of herself
 427.374 +surrounded by treasure and materia. She shook her head, dismissing
 427.375 +the thought. “I think I’ll leave the drawing up to Relm and stick
 427.376 +with what I’m good at.”
 427.377 +
 427.378 + “And what would that be?” Kairi asked curiously, buckling her belt.
 427.379 +
 427.380 +“Too much,” Yuffie said, grinning. The two laughed, relaxed for the
 427.381 +first time since they had seen the Heartless show up back in Traverse
 427.382 +Town. But that all fell away to the distant sounds of gunshots. And
 427.383 +something louder, more explosive. Yuffie glanced to the door. “What
 427.384 +was that?”
 427.385 +
 427.386 +Kairi picked up the kitten, walking towards the door. She nearly
 427.387 +fell backwards when the door whipped open in front of her.
 427.388 +
 427.389 +“Imperial soldiers! They’re riding Magitek Armor! We need to get out
 427.390 +of here!” Relm said, panting. Her face was pale, frightened. Memories
 427.391 +of another Imperial raid were still branded on her soul. The thought
 427.392 +of another one almost paralyzed her.
 427.393 +
 427.394 +Yuffie picked up her overly large shuriken, standing up. “Imperial
 427.395 +soldiers?”
 427.396 +
 427.397 +Kairi bit her lip. She was the Keyblade Mistress. She probably
 427.398 +wasn’t supposed to interfere, but she couldn’t help but think that
 427.399 +there had to be something she could do to help on this world. She
 427.400 +couldn’t just ignore it. What good was stopping the Heartless if
 427.401 +people were getting hurt by other people anyway? She looked up at the
 427.402 +ninja and the painter. “Maybe we can stop them. Sora helped a lot of
 427.403 +people with the Keyblade. Maybe I can, too. I can’t fight like him,
 427.404 +but there has to be some way we can help. You saved us, Relm. We
 427.405 +can’t let them tear apart your city.”
 427.406 +
 427.407 +Relm shook her head swiftly. “No time. We’ve gotta run. They’ll burn
 427.408 +this place to the ground. There’s nothing we can do about it.” The
 427.409 +artist was nearly shaking. Her knees felt weak. ‘Relm!’ she heard her
 427.410 +grandfather call out in her mind, seeing him amidst the flames. She
 427.411 +was having trouble distinguishing between the past and the present.
 427.412 +All she knew was the fear of being a little girl and having her only
 427.413 +family taken away, her town gutted by flame. She barely felt Yuffie’s
 427.414 +hands on her shoulders, the ninja’s eyes gazing into her own. But
 427.415 +they gave her something in the present to anchor on to. She slowly
 427.416 +pulled herself back to the here and now.
 427.417 +
 427.418 +“Relm, we need your help. If you don’t think we can stop them, then
 427.419 +let’s just get the hell out of here. We can’t do anything if we’re
 427.420 +all dead. We’ll figure something out when we’re far away from here,”
 427.421 +Yuffie promised, squeezing the younger girl’s shoulders. Relm nodded
 427.422 +slowly. “Good. Then let’s get out of here as fast as we can.”
 427.423 +
 427.424 +“But Yuffie..!” Kairi complained, holding her Keyblade. It didn’t
 427.425 +seem fair that this girl had found them and yet they could do nothing
 427.426 +for her in return. “We have to try, don’t we?”
 427.427 +
 427.428 +“Sometimes you’ve got to live and come back with a little more
 427.429 +firepower, princess,” Yuffie explained. “Come on.” She opened the
 427.430 +door, dashing out into the lightly falling snow, dragging Relm behind
 427.431 +her. 
 427.432 +
 427.433 +Kairi followed, still holding the kitten. She didn’t feel good about
 427.434 +this choice, but if she didn’t have Yuffie’s help then she didn’t
 427.435 +know what good she could do on her own. 
 427.436 +
 427.437 +“This way!” Relm tugged on Yuffie’s hand, pulling her towards a back
 427.438 +alley. The snow crunched underneath their feet as they ran towards
 427.439 +it. Relm didn’t want to leave Narche behind. It had been a good
 427.440 +refuge. And it had been a beautiful place to paint, the snow making
 427.441 +for wonderful paintings. But she had seen what the Imperial Army
 427.442 +could do. Staying was suicide. They neared the alley, hand in hand.
 427.443 +“There are mines all around here. We’ll disappear into one of them
 427.444 +and find another way out away from town,” Relm explained. But before
 427.445 +they could reach the alley, something bright streaked in front of
 427.446 +Relm, slamming into the ground in front of them. The shock wave sent
 427.447 +her flying back. She hit into the snow hard, Yuffie landing on her
 427.448 +feet next to her. “Magic...” she said warily.
 427.449 +
 427.450 +Yuffie turned to face the looming metal monsters heading towards
 427.451 +them. “I guess we’ll have to fight them after all. We’ll get to do
 427.452 +you good deed, Kairi,” Yuffie cast a quick glance to Kairi before
 427.453 +pulling up her shuriken. She didn’t like the look of the strange
 427.454 +machines or their riders, but there was nowhere for them to run. And
 427.455 +with her party consisted of a girl with a key who couldn’t fight and
 427.456 +a painter. Things weren’t particularly looking up. 
 427.457 +
 427.458 +The three metal giants finally came to a stop in front of the three
 427.459 +girls and their pets, dwarfing them. One of the men on other side of
 427.460 +the green haired woman spoke up. “By Imperial decree, give us the Key
 427.461 +bearer. She will return with us.”
 427.462 +
 427.463 +“Or we’ll wipe out the town. She’s coming with us either way, so...”
 427.464 +the other man said, shrugging. 
 427.465 +
 427.466 +The first man leant over, whispering to his friend. But with the
 427.467 +distance between them, he had to whisper loud enough for the girls to
 427.468 +hear him. “That sounds pretty spooky, Biggs. I’d sure agree to those
 427.469 +highly reasonable demands if someone told me that.”
 427.470 +
 427.471 +“Oh, definitely. I’d probably thank them for the offer in the first
 427.472 +place. I mean, that or losing the whole town.” Biggs pretended to
 427.473 +weigh the issue in his hands. “No contest, you know, Wedge.”
 427.474 +
 427.475 +“Don’t I know it! And with this powerful lady with us, too. She
 427.476 +wiped out 30 Magitek soldiers in under three minutes. Just think what
 427.477 +that kind of firepower could do to a town. I sure am glad she has a
 427.478 +Slave Crown on her head, keeping all conscious thought from her so
 427.479 +that she’s on our side,” Wedge said, nodding.
 427.480 +
 427.481 +“Excuse me? Are you two possibly done?!” Yuffie shouted, exasperated.
 427.482 +
 427.483 +Biggs shrugged. “Hey, it was all for your benefit. Just trying to
 427.484 +give you a grasp on the situation. I’m sorry for being helpful.” He
 427.485 +crossed his arms.
 427.486 +
 427.487 +“Yeah, if you wanted us to just take the girl, you could’ve said as
 427.488 +much. It just means more work I’ve got to do.” Wedge sighed. “Well,
 427.489 +more work she has to do, at any rate.” He looked over at the green
 427.490 +haired woman. “Okay, go ahead and kill them,” he said casually.
 427.491 +
 427.492 +“What?!” Yuffie stepped back, pulling up her large shuriken.
 427.493 +
 427.494 +The green haired woman grabbed the controls, her Magitek Armor
 427.495 +moving forward, charging up for its attack. Under the mind control of
 427.496 +her Slave Crown, she could do nothing but follow orders. Even if it
 427.497 +meant killing innocents. Energy lit up the front of her armor, it
 427.498 +gathering to wipe out the ninja that dare confront her. 
 427.499 +
 427.500 +“Wait! I’ll give myself up! Just don’t hurt them!” Kairi cried out,
 427.501 +waving her arms in the air. She couldn’t let them get hurt. It was
 427.502 +her fault that these people were even here. If they hurt anyone, she
 427.503 +wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She had to give herself up. Even
 427.504 +if it meant the end of her quest. ‘I’m sorry, Riku, Sora. But I can’t
 427.505 +let anyone get hurt because of me.’ She stepped forward. But the
 427.506 +woman took no notice, still intent on Yuffie. “No!!” Kairi screamed
 427.507 +as the magical blast shot out towards the ninja. Kairi felt it zip
 427.508 +past, its energy enough to send her sprawling to the floor. 
 427.509 +
 427.510 +Yuffie’s eyes widened as the bolt shot towards her, far too large to
 427.511 +dodge. She could only stare at the bluish white magic as it headed
 427.512 +towards her. Was this the end? After all she had been through, to get
 427.513 +killed by some magical mechanical beast? She refused to believe that.
 427.514 +She couldn’t die now.
 427.515 +
 427.516 +Relm tried to get to Yuffie, to push her out of the way, but she
 427.517 +couldn’t reach her in time. She had hurt her ankle in the fall and
 427.518 +pain jolted through her when she tried to get to her feet. She could
 427.519 +only watch in horror. She had saved the ninja girl only to watch her
 427.520 +die at the hands of the Imperial Army. Must they take everything from
 427.521 +her? Her heart stopped in her chest. 
 427.522 +
 427.523 +The magic pulled up right before hitting Yuffie, plowing into
 427.524 +something else. The three girls looked to see a woman dressed in
 427.525 +yellow, a cape billowing behind her, a sword upraised. The magic
 427.526 +swirled around the blade before disappearing. 
 427.527 +
 427.528 +The ninja nearly collapsed in relief, her heart pounding heavily in
 427.529 +her chest. That one had been just a little too close. She watched the
 427.530 +older woman hurry past her, her sword held in front of her. “Need any
 427.531 +help?” she asked, watching the huge machines awaiting the woman. It
 427.532 +didn’t look like a very fair fight.
 427.533 +
 427.534 +“Get Relm out of here. And the girl with the Key. You can’t let
 427.535 +Kefka get his hands on it. If he does, he’ll destroy everything,” the
 427.536 +blonde woman stated without looking back.
 427.537 +
 427.538 +“Celes!” Relm called out. “Don’t!” She saw Strago standing before
 427.539 +her again, urging her to run before heading off to face his own death
 427.540 +at the hands of the Imperial soldiers. Celes had been lost herself, a
 427.541 +former Magitek Knight who had been imprisoned. A thief had helped her
 427.542 +escape and she had been wandering ever since. She had found the young
 427.543 +and lost Relm and taken her to the mining city of Narche. They had
 427.544 +thought themselves safe from the Empire there, but apparently that
 427.545 +peace wasn’t to last. And now Relm was faced with the same situation
 427.546 +she had years ago when her grandfather had died. “Come with us,
 427.547 +Celes!”
 427.548 +
 427.549 +The blonde woman shook her head, raising her sword again. “I can’t,
 427.550 +Relm. I have to stop them. Run. Somewhere far away. Somewhere where
 427.551 +there is no Empire. Where you can be free. Paint a picture of that
 427.552 +beautiful place for me, Relm. I’ll look over your shoulder while you
 427.553 +paint it, I promise.”
 427.554 +
 427.555 +“But..!!” Relm began. Interceptor bit at her coat, dragging her
 427.556 +back. “Celes!” she called out again, she could barely get herself to
 427.557 +move. Tears brimmed at her eyes. She couldn’t leave behind someone
 427.558 +again. “I’ll help you!” she pleaded, trying to reach Celes.
 427.559 +Interceptor pulled harder, dragging her back in the snow. Yuffie
 427.560 +finally grabbed a hold of her, yanking her along. “Celes!!”
 427.561 +
 427.562 +Kairi followed, but her heart was low in her chest. ‘You always run
 427.563 +away, Kairi,’ she could practically hear the voice taunting. And it
 427.564 +was true. How often did she run away, unable to fight her own
 427.565 +battles? How often did she run away from her problems? And now she
 427.566 +was again. Because a woman was willing to sacrifice herself to cover
 427.567 +their retreat. And so she ran, escaping her problems once more. She
 427.568 +felt so weak. How could Sora and Riku count on her to find them if
 427.569 +she was always running away?
 427.570 +
 427.571 +Celes watched the three mechanical beasts before her. She was
 427.572 +horribly outgunned. But such was life. Sometimes it wasn’t about
 427.573 +winning or losing a battle. It was about a battle worth fighting. And
 427.574 +to protect Relm and her world, this battle was certainly worth
 427.575 +fighting. Even if the outcome was predetermined. She would gladly
 427.576 +give her life for it. Snow fell around her. “It’s so beautiful.” She
 427.577 +whispered. Light started pouring forth from the Magitek Armors before
 427.578 +her. Running forward, she lifted her blade. 
 427.579 +
 427.580 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.581 +
 427.582 +Yuffie had to drag a struggling Relm down the snowy street, trying
 427.583 +desperately to keep a hold on her. If Relm ran off, she would end up
 427.584 +right in the middle of a battle they couldn’t possibly win. They
 427.585 +needed to get as far away as they could. Thankfully, Interceptor
 427.586 +seemed to be leading the way. She and Kairi followed the dog, running
 427.587 +as quickly as they could in the snow. 
 427.588 +
 427.589 +“Yuffie,” Kairi said, pulling to a stop. Yuffie looked at her
 427.590 +quizzically, stopping herself. Relm struggled, but Yuffie kept her
 427.591 +restrained. “We have to go back. We can’t let her fight them alone.
 427.592 +They’ll destroy the city.”
 427.593 +
 427.594 +“There’s nothing we can do, Kairi. I don’t have a death wish. If we
 427.595 +go get back there, the city’s still going to get destroyed. The only
 427.596 +difference is that we’ll be lying there dead, too. You said it
 427.597 +yourself, you can’t fight. What could we possibly hope to do against
 427.598 +those monsters?” Yuffie argued, still holding onto the distraught
 427.599 +painter. 
 427.600 +
 427.601 +Kairi looked back towards where they had come from, hearing the
 427.602 +sounds of magic and machines. Her shoulders slumped, her head slowly
 427.603 +nodding. “You’re right.” ‘You always run, Kairi,’ repeated in her
 427.604 +mind over and over again. And she was doing it all over again. Maybe
 427.605 +the voice had been right after all.
 427.606 +
 427.607 +“If it helps any, I certainly don’t intend to let you go anywhere.
 427.608 +And I would have burned the town even if you’d surrendered yourself,”
 427.609 +a voice said behind them. The three girls turned to see a man in a
 427.610 +strange, elaborate outfit. He had red markings on his face. He smiled
 427.611 +slowly. “It looks like I’ve finally found the Keyblade Mistress.
 427.612 +You’ll be coming with me.”
 427.613 +
 427.614 +“The hell she is!” Yuffie let go of Relm, flinging a shuriken at the
 427.615 +man. It whipped through the air before hitting into a protective
 427.616 +barrier in front of him. It bounced off, falling harmlessly to the
 427.617 +floor. 
 427.618 +
 427.619 +“You’ve got what you wanted! Call off the attack!” Relm demanded,
 427.620 +hope still lingering that it wasn’t too late to save Celes. 
 427.621 +
 427.622 +The man laughed maniacally, shaking his head. “Decimate the town.
 427.623 +Kill all the townsfolk,” he ordered. “Especially the Magitek Knight.”
 427.624 +
 427.625 +“You bastard!” Relm cried out, tears and rage mixing inside of her
 427.626 +as she saw the troops hurrying off to fulfil his order. The man
 427.627 +simply laughed as the tears dripped down her cheeks. 
 427.628 +
 427.629 +Interceptor could only watch Relm’s anguish for so long. Growling
 427.630 +angrily, he leapt at the man, intent on ripping his throat out.
 427.631 +Anyone who could cause such grief for his young mistress deserved a
 427.632 +harsh death. But it was not to be so. With a wave of his hand, a
 427.633 +block of ice appeared, slamming into Interceptor. The dog whimpered,
 427.634 +slumping in the snow.
 427.635 +
 427.636 +“Interceptor!” 
 427.637 +
 427.638 +Yuffie lunged forward, gripping her large shuriken. She couldn’t let
 427.639 +him take Kairi. Kairi was their only chance to save everyone from the
 427.640 +Heartless. And it was Yuffie’s job to make sure that Kairi made it
 427.641 +through all this. She swept her shuriken at the man’s head, but it
 427.642 +merely rebounded off of his barrier, knocking her hand back. 
 427.643 +
 427.644 +Slowly raising his hand, the man grinned. “Leave them all alone!
 427.645 +I’ll go with you!” Kairi yelled. But he ignored her. Concentrating,
 427.646 +he called down lightning, striking all three girls. After a bright
 427.647 +flash of light, they all lay barely breathing in the snow. “Take them
 427.648 +back to the palace,” he told one of his troops. “I have plans for the
 427.649 +Keyblade Mistress.”
 427.650 +
 427.651 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.652 +
 427.653 +Kairi slowly came to, her world filled with pain. She moaned, her
 427.654 +head buzzing shrilly. She tried to glance around, to see where she
 427.655 +was, but some hair fell in front of her eyes. She reached forward to
 427.656 +push it away, but something tugged at her hand, jingling as it did.
 427.657 +Looking down quickly, she could see her that her wrists were chained
 427.658 +to the wall. Even that exertion sent new pain spiraling throughout
 427.659 +her body. Her head slumped forward, feeling defeated. How could she
 427.660 +ever hope to find Sora and Riku now? All she had managed to do was
 427.661 +get a town destroyed and get herself kidnapped by someone wanting the
 427.662 +Keyblade. She sniffled, trying to blink back tears. What good had she
 427.663 +done? Sora had helped so many people when he had been searching for
 427.664 +her. All she managed to do was hurt everyone she came across. Now
 427.665 +she’d never see Riku or Sora again. That thought brought a chilling
 427.666 +emptiness inside of her. She needed them. She didn’t know what to do
 427.667 +without them. Those two boys meant everything to her. They were why
 427.668 +she had ventured out in the first place. But she had failed them.
 427.669 +Tears dripped down her chin, falling to her bare legs below. She
 427.670 +couldn’t even wipe her tears away, her hands not reaching far enough
 427.671 +because of the chains. 
 427.672 +
 427.673 +“Don’t cry, Kairi,” someone said in the cell. “And don’t give up. It
 427.674 +doesn’t suit you. Where’s that strong, unbreakable will of yours? You
 427.675 +can’t lose it now.”
 427.676 +
 427.677 +That voice... Kairi looked up, her hair falling away from her eyes.
 427.678 +Her tear stained eyes met Riku’s aquamarine orbs. “Riku! Is.. Is that
 427.679 +you?”
 427.680 +
 427.681 +Riku knelt in front of her, smiling faintly. With his gloved hands,
 427.682 +he began to wipe her tears away. “Kairi, as long as you don’t give
 427.683 +up, it won’t ever be over. You can conquer anything. Your heart is
 427.684 +stronger than mine and Sora’s.”
 427.685 +
 427.686 +Resting her cheek against his gloved hand, Kairi gazed at Riku. She
 427.687 +was afraid he would disappear if she looked away. His touch helped
 427.688 +reassure her, her battered soul clinging to it. “But I can’t do it
 427.689 +alone. I need the two of you, Riku. I’m not strong enough on my own.
 427.690 +You and Sora... You complete me. I’m lost without you.”
 427.691 +
 427.692 +Riku smiled, stroking her cheek gently. “You’ll always have us with
 427.693 +you, Kairi. Remember that. No matter how far apart we are, our hearts
 427.694 +will always be together.”
 427.695 +
 427.696 +“But I need you, Riku.” She whispered, tears brimming at her eyes
 427.697 +again. “I miss you both so much. And I’m so scared. I don’t know
 427.698 +what’s real anymore. I don’t understand. I just want to be with you
 427.699 +and Sora on the Destiny Islands again.”
 427.700 +
 427.701 +“Kairi,” Riku said softly, looking into her eyes. “I want that, too.
 427.702 +But you’re the only one who can make it a reality.”
 427.703 +
 427.704 +Kairi nodded, sniffling. “I’ll do whatever I can, Riku. I’ll find
 427.705 +both of you, wherever you are. We’ll all be together again. Forever.
 427.706 +Because..” She blinked back more tears, watching him. He slowly began
 427.707 +to fade away, the wind blowing away what sparkles of his beautiful
 427.708 +eyes remained. “Because.. I love you..” she whispered, closing her
 427.709 +eyes tightly as a fresh wave of tears hit her. She cried quietly,
 427.710 +chained to the wall in some dungeon. But even feeling lost and
 427.711 +desolate, there was some light in the darkness. She knew that she had
 427.712 +to find her friends. That she wouldn’t allow herself to stop until
 427.713 +they were back together. Even if it took an eternity across countless
 427.714 +worlds. Yes, she was captured. But that seemed insignificant. It
 427.715 +couldn’t stop her from being with Riku and Sora again. Riku was gone
 427.716 +again. But he was out there, somewhere. And as long as she had that
 427.717 +hope, she could keep going. No matter what happened, there was always
 427.718 +hope. 
 427.719 +
 427.720 +“Kairi, we’ll get out of this,” Yuffie spoke up. She had only been
 427.721 +awake a short time, but she could see that Kairi had been crying
 427.722 +pretty heavily. Thought she didn’t know how they would, she couldn’t
 427.723 +just let the princess cry so helplessly. From the look of things,
 427.724 +Relm was completely out of it. Her eyes were open, but she didn’t
 427.725 +seem to see anything, as if she were someplace else. Yuffie didn’t
 427.726 +know whether that was a good or bad thing. 
 427.727 +
 427.728 +“I know,” Kairi replied. She slowly looked up, her eyes sparkling
 427.729 +with unshed tears. She was smiling softly. “Because we have to.
 427.730 +Because they’re waiting for me.”
 427.731 +
 427.732 +“I’m afraid they’ll have to wait for quite some time. I don’t plan
 427.733 +on giving you up until I’ve squeezed every ounce of usefulness out of
 427.734 +you.” The door slid open, the man from before returning. Yuffie
 427.735 +glared at him hatefully, but it only amused him. He bowed. “Allow me
 427.736 +to introduce myself. I am Kefka.” Standing up, he walked over to
 427.737 +Kairi. He cupped her chin, forcing her head one way and then the
 427.738 +other as if inspecting her. “Not quite what I expected. But I don’t
 427.739 +think Sephiroth was wrong about you. Of course, I was supposed to
 427.740 +bring you to him. But I have other ideas.” 
 427.741 +
 427.742 +Kairi yanked her head away, hitting it against the hard wall behind
 427.743 +her. A small flare of pain ignited in her head, forcing her eyes
 427.744 +closed. “What do you want from me?” she asked angrily. 
 427.745 +
 427.746 +“You’re the Keyblade Mistress. Only you can wield that Keyblade. So
 427.747 +you’re integral to keeping the multiverse together. Or,” he smiled,
 427.748 +“tearing it apart. I prefer the latter.”
 427.749 +
 427.750 +“Why would I help you? I’d never let the Heartless destroy all of
 427.751 +the beautiful worlds out there.” Kairi stared up at him, wishing she
 427.752 +could sound more intimidating than she felt. 
 427.753 +
 427.754 +“You won’t have a choice. I’ll use you and the Keyblade to find a
 427.755 +way to tear everything apart. To create and everlasting monument to
 427.756 +oblivion. A shrine that everyone and no one will be a part of,” Kefka
 427.757 +explained. He clapped his hands, the green haired woman entering. She
 427.758 +held a small crown in her hands, the same as the one on her own head.
 427.759 +“This is Terra. She’s the most powerful magic user I’ve ever found.
 427.760 +She didn’t feel like helping me either, even though her magic is most
 427.761 +beneficial. So I’ve given her a Slave Crown. And all of her magical
 427.762 +potential is at my disposal. I’ll simply do the same with you. I
 427.763 +don’t care about Sephiroth’s plan. He’ll become a part of the
 427.764 +nothingness I will create. And you will help me to achieve that. My
 427.765 +willing servant, the Keyblade Mistress.” 
 427.766 +
 427.767 +Kairi shook her head, struggling with the chains. Her heart raced
 427.768 +inside of her. She’d seen what Terra was capable of under the
 427.769 +influence of the Slave Crown. That would put her in a world without
 427.770 +hope, a puppet to be used by this madman. She couldn’t let that
 427.771 +happen. But she was powerless to stop it. 
 427.772 +
 427.773 +Kefka grinned, turning to look at Relm. “I’m sure you can appreciate
 427.774 +that. You’re an artist. Think of it as the greatest work of art.
 427.775 +Absolutely nothing. There’s always something. And it only manages to
 427.776 +clutter things up. There’s too much out there. So I will wipe the
 427.777 +board clean. And that will be my masterpiece. I’m sure you’ll
 427.778 +appreciate it. Celes is probably waiting for it right now. Terra did
 427.779 +an excellent job of killing your friend. So don’t worry. You’ll see
 427.780 +her again soon.”
 427.781 +
 427.782 +That finally broke through to Relm. She struggled viciously against
 427.783 +her bonds, trying to get to her feet. Her eyes were stained red from
 427.784 +all of her crying. “You monster! How could you do that to her! I’ll
 427.785 +never forgive you!” Before it had only been a guess. Now it was fact.
 427.786 +Celes was dead. The woman who had taken care of her was dead now. And
 427.787 +she had been completely helpless to stop it. She was always helpless
 427.788 +to do anything, the people around her always dying. She couldn’t
 427.789 +stand it anymore. She was tired of always being the survivor, always
 427.790 +left alone.
 427.791 +
 427.792 +Kefka laughed, turning his attention back to Kairi. “You’ll make an
 427.793 +excellent puppet. You should be thanking me. You no longer have to
 427.794 +suffer as the Keyblade Mistress. I’ll make your decisions for you. It
 427.795 +will be so much easier. I’m sure Terra loves it.”
 427.796 +
 427.797 +Terra walked forward, raising the Slave Crown. Kairi struggled
 427.798 +pointlessly. She felt hopeless, trapped. There was no escape. Soon
 427.799 +she would be the cause of even more suffering and anguish throughout
 427.800 +countless worlds. 
 427.801 +
 427.802 +‘See? There is always suffering. There is always darkness. It is a
 427.803 +matter of life. Even in your fantasies you can’t escape it. Just
 427.804 +close your eyes and realize this isn’t real. None of it is. And
 427.805 +you’ll be safe. He can’t do anything to you if you’re back in your
 427.806 +room,’ the voice whispered in Kairi’s thoughts.
 427.807 +
 427.808 +‘No! I won’t run away again. I’ve already ran too much. I won’t let
 427.809 +it happen again. I’m not running away this time,’ Kairi thought
 427.810 +determinedly, shifting in her chains. A cold pit in her stomach
 427.811 +formed as she wondered what it would be like to wear that thing.
 427.812 +Would she know what was going on? Or would everything just fade away?
 427.813 +
 427.814 +‘Don’t be so ignorant, Kairi. What good are your fantasies if you’re
 427.815 +enslaved in them? He’ll only use you to fulfil some insane scheme of
 427.816 +his. Come back to me, here. You’ll be safe,’ the voice tempted.
 427.817 +
 427.818 +‘I’m not going! I can’t run anymore. I’m going to save Riku and
 427.819 +Sora. I’ll protect them. Somehow. I won’t let it end now,’ she
 427.820 +thought back frantically, the crown touching her hair. Her heart
 427.821 +skipped a beat as she kept struggling, the gesture seeming ever more
 427.822 +futile. She leant back as far as she could, trying to keep the crown
 427.823 +away.
 427.824 +
 427.825 +The voice sighed, as if it was dealing with a young and stubborn
 427.826 +child. ‘Fine. Then imagine that your chains are unlocked, that they
 427.827 +aren’t holding you. Believe that they’re open.’
 427.828 +
 427.829 +Kairi closed her eyes, thinking frantically. She imagined the chains
 427.830 +looser, imagined the locks opening on them. ‘They’re open, they’re
 427.831 +open, they’re..” 
 427.832 +She felt them slide open, clattering to the floor. It caught her by
 427.833 +surprise. She hadn’t expected it to work. The crown was pushing back
 427.834 +her hair, about to fall in place. Kairi pushed as hard against the
 427.835 +wall with her feet as she could, moving away from Terra and the
 427.836 +crown. The crown fell to the floor instead of falling into place on
 427.837 +her head. ‘Thank you!’ she called out joyously to the voice in her
 427.838 +head.
 427.839 +
 427.840 +‘If you’re that thankful, come back home and open the door,’ the
 427.841 +voice pleaded. It sounded sad, desperate, lonely. ‘I need you, Kairi.’
 427.842 +
 427.843 +‘I.. I can’t..’ She was taken aback by the hopelessness in the
 427.844 +voice. It was so deep. She hadn’t quite understood. Just who was it
 427.845 +behind that door? And why did it want her to open the door so badly?
 427.846 +But she couldn’t think about that now. The woman had already turned,
 427.847 +and Kefka didn’t look pleased. She got to her feet, but he backed her
 427.848 +into a corner.
 427.849 +
 427.850 +“I don’t know how you did that, but that just means we’ll have to do
 427.851 +this the hard way. I will get that Keyblade. And you will use it for
 427.852 +me.” The woman handed him the Slave Crown. Reaching out, he grabbed a
 427.853 +hold of Kairi’s blouse, yanking her forward. She fell, her feet
 427.854 +pulled out from under her, but he held her tightly with one hand,
 427.855 +pulling up the crown with the other. “We’ll wipe away this universe,
 427.856 +you and I. Whether you want to or not.”
 427.857 +
 427.858 +Kairi kicked at him, but it didn’t do any good. He was too strong,
 427.859 +too powerful for her. And her friends were still locked up. She had
 427.860 +gotten out of her bonds, but that didn’t help her situation at all.
 427.861 +She tried to pull away, but it was no good. She ached, hanging from
 427.862 +his arm, her body straining to get away. He barely seemed to notice.
 427.863 +‘Please help me..’ she called again. But this time the voice was
 427.864 +silent. There was nothing she could do. 
 427.865 +
 427.866 +“Remember, Kairi, within every heart is a light that will never fade
 427.867 +away. Even in the darkest heart. You need to unlock that light,” she
 427.868 +could remember someone saying. It had been the cloaked figure she had
 427.869 +met after she first entered the door. He had been trying to convince
 427.870 +her to use the Keyblade.
 427.871 +
 427.872 +“Within every heart..” Kairi whispered, “there is light.” The Slave
 427.873 +Crown inches above her head, the young princess shoved the Keyblade
 427.874 +into Kefka’s chest. She felt it push into him, not into his body but
 427.875 +into his heart. Kefka froze, his eyes wide, stunned. She felt the key
 427.876 +fit in, as if slipping into a lock. Kefka’s eyes burned in rage as he
 427.877 +struggled to bring the crown onto her head. Kairi quickly turned the
 427.878 +key, hearing it unlock something inside of him. Light began to bathe
 427.879 +the Keyblade, spilling out of Kefka, illuminating the dark room. She
 427.880 +was swallowed by the light.
 427.881 +
 427.882 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 427.883 +
 427.884 +She could feel herself floating. She didn’t know which way was up
 427.885 +and which was down. She simply floated along in a sea of light. She
 427.886 +could see it wash over the darkness, dispersing it. Fear was far away
 427.887 +from her. She simply felt the warmth of the light. It surrounded her,
 427.888 +soothing her lonely soul. 
 427.889 +
 427.890 +“You have unlocked the light in the heart of Madness,” she heard
 427.891 +someone say, the voice resonating around her, within her. 
 427.892 +
 427.893 +“I was the first Magitek Knight. The experiment. I became the
 427.894 +strongest. But I lost my mind in the process. Was it a fair trade? It
 427.895 +drove me insane. My world became madness. My only goal was to
 427.896 +eliminate everything, to create a monument to oblivion. It was the
 427.897 +only way to quell the madness. To take revenge for my lost sanity. It
 427.898 +was the only refuge I could find. And I wrapped myself up in it,
 427.899 +ready to face the world, to bring it to a crumbling nothingness. But
 427.900 +now.. I see things clearly. The world is not colored by the madness
 427.901 +anymore. I am free.”
 427.902 +
 427.903 +Sights bombarded her as she heard Kefka speak. The first Magitek
 427.904 +Knight experiment that left him warped and twisted. His descent into
 427.905 +madness. His search for blissful oblivion. She watched it all through
 427.906 +his eyes, feeling the tinge of madness that had once spread across
 427.907 +his heart. And then the light accepted her again, embracing her. 
 427.908 +
 427.909 +And she was swept along in the light, lost in the stream.
 427.910 +
 427.911 +

   428.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   428.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-05.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   428.3 @@ -0,0 +1,763 @@
   428.4 +
   428.5 +
   428.6 +Author’s Notes: I’d like to thank Laine for her help in writing
   428.7 +this. ^-^ And I’d like to thank my brother, Cloud, for a lot of the
   428.8 +ideas that show up in Prism Hearts. Without his Kingdom Hearts RPG,
   428.9 +Kairi’s travels through Prism Hearts would be completely different.
  428.10 +
  428.11 +Prism Hearts
  428.12 +Chapter 5
  428.13 +Time’s Scar
  428.14 +by Amazoness Duo
  428.15 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  428.16 +
  428.17 +
  428.18 +‘What was the start of all this?
  428.19 +When did the cogs of Fate begin to turn?
  428.20 +
  428.21 +Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now,
  428.22 +From deep within the flow of time...
  428.23 +
  428.24 +But, for a certainty, back then,
  428.25 +We loved so many, yet hated so much.
  428.26 +We hurt others and were hurt ourselves.
  428.27 +
  428.28 +Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
  428.29 +Whilst our laughter echoed,
  428.30 +Under cerulean skies.’
  428.31 +
  428.32 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  428.33 +
  428.34 +Kairi struggled through a fitful sleep. Something felt terribly
  428.35 +wrong, but she couldn’t make out what. But that feeling that things
  428.36 +weren’t right pervaded her sleeping form as she tossed and turned.
  428.37 +She tried to push through the thick fog that clouded her mind, to
  428.38 +force herself to wake up. The harder she tried, the more confused she
  428.39 +became. She could feel herself in bed, the blankets wrapped around
  428.40 +her. But she could also feel herself somewhere else, waves lapping
  428.41 +somewhere nearby. She rolled onto her side. The bed shifted under
  428.42 +her. Her hands opened and closed slowly, damp sand pressing against
  428.43 +them. It felt like she was in two places at once. Water slowly rose
  428.44 +and fell against Kairi’s hand. It must be the waves she had heard.
  428.45 +Was she back home? But which home? The Destiny Islands or the room
  428.46 +she so often found herself in? Or both?
  428.47 +
  428.48 +Footsteps slowly approached her, but Kairi couldn’t tell if it was
  428.49 +from the beach or the room. Her eyes struggled to open, but they felt
  428.50 +so heavy. Her whole body felt weak and exhausted. She just wanted to
  428.51 +sleep, even though she felt that someone was watching her. 
  428.52 +
  428.53 +The footsteps grew closer, finally stopping next to her. ‘Get up!’
  428.54 +she told herself. Now wasn’t the time to be lying there. She needed
  428.55 +to see whoever it was. But despite her concerns, she just couldn’t
  428.56 +work up the will to get up, let alone to open her eyes. 
  428.57 +
  428.58 +The footsteps finally stopped abruptly next to her. The person or
  428.59 +creature that had made them seemed to be studying her for a long
  428.60 +moment. She strained to get up, but the most she could manage was to
  428.61 +clench her fists, one in cool water and the other in bed sheets.
  428.62 +
  428.63 +The person watching her tsked, looking down at her. “Zere will be
  428.64 +great enemity between you and ze worlds. Tis not speculation. Tis
  428.65 +histoire. You are ze key to opening it all up or shattering it all
  428.66 +completely. Which will you decide?” the voice finally said in a
  428.67 +feminine French accent. A soft sigh escaped the girl above Kairi
  428.68 +before she turned to leave. “But first you must decide where you are,
  428.69 +no?”
  428.70 +
  428.71 +Kairi wanted to respond, to ask the person what she meant, but all
  428.72 +she could get out was a weak, sleepy grumble. What did she mean that
  428.73 +she could destroy everything? She was only one of the seven
  428.74 +princesses. And the doorway the princesses could open was already
  428.75 +sealed, so her importance was over. Now she was only a girl searching
  428.76 +for her friends. She tried one last time to get to her feet, pushing
  428.77 +off from the bed. 
  428.78 +
  428.79 +And she was up. She blinked wearily, a hand going to her eyes to
  428.80 +shield them from the sunset that greeted her. It stretched out lazily
  428.81 +along the horizon before her, beautiful swirls of pink and orange
  428.82 +marking the sky above. The sun glinted from both above and below, as
  428.83 +if it were in two places at once. It took her a moment to understand
  428.84 +why. It was reflecting off of the water she had been feeling later.
  428.85 +But she was not on a beach somewhere. She was in the middle of a vast
  428.86 +ocean, no land in sight. Her feet were resting on the water. The
  428.87 +water shifted under her, almost throwing her off balance. It still
  428.88 +felt like water, but she was somehow walking on it, the liquid
  428.89 +holding her up. She shot her gaze about quickly, trying to spot the
  428.90 +girl who had been speaking earlier, but she was all alone on the
  428.91 +ocean. 
  428.92 +
  428.93 +“Why don’t things ever make sense!?” She called out in anger and
  428.94 +frustration. 
  428.95 +
  428.96 +‘Because it’s not real,’ a voice whispered in her ear.
  428.97 +
  428.98 +Kairi jerked around, trying to spot the voice. She sighed when she
  428.99 +realized it was the one that always seemed to appear in her head.
 428.100 +“Why won’t you leave me alone? If you aren’t going to help me find
 428.101 +Riku and Sora then you could at least stop bothering me all the time.”
 428.102 +
 428.103 +‘Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places. I know where Riku and
 428.104 +Sora are,’ the voice taunted.
 428.105 +
 428.106 +“Where? Where are they? I need to find them!” Kairi said
 428.107 +desperately. This trip had already been so long and grueling. She
 428.108 +longed to see her friends again, to laugh and cry with the two of
 428.109 +them by her side. She just wanted it to be over. 
 428.110 +
 428.111 +‘Going to give up already? Riku wouldn’t give up so easily. He’d
 428.112 +keep going until he found you. No matter how far. And Sora never
 428.113 +returned to the island because he’s still looking for Riku. So they
 428.114 +can both come back to you on the island. Only you won’t be there.
 428.115 +Because you gave up in the middle of nowhe.’
 428.116 +
 428.117 +“I’m not giving up! I won’t give up until I see them again! No
 428.118 +matter how long it takes!” Kairi cried out, her fists clenched
 428.119 +angrily as she scanned the horizon for any sign of the voice. “I… I
 428.120 +love them! Nothing will keep me away from them! No matter how many
 428.121 +worlds I have to travel across!”
 428.122 +
 428.123 +A chuckle filled Kairi’s mind. Slow at first, but increasing in
 428.124 +volume. It seemed to come from deep within herself. It took Kairi by
 428.125 +surprise when she found herself to be chuckling as well. She stopped
 428.126 +immediately, disturbed by the source of that eerie feeling. ‘Very
 428.127 +well, Princess. Keep up your search. But remember, the door is
 428.128 +waiting for you as soon as you’re willing to accept reality. Come
 428.129 +back to me. I’m waiting.’
 428.130 +
 428.131 +Trying to ignore the voice, the brunette kept travelling forward,
 428.132 +trying to focus on getting away, far away from the voice at the
 428.133 +‘reality’ that it claimed to be from. The voice, the feelings, they
 428.134 +all seemed to swirl about inside of her. Like a thought she couldn’t
 428.135 +get rid of, neither willfully thought up or willingly kept. She
 428.136 +hugged herself, trying to force away the confusion. She had to
 428.137 +concentrate. 
 428.138 +
 428.139 +Onward and onward she traveled, the only sight the shifting water
 428.140 +beneath her feet. The sunset was slowly disappearing, the sky
 428.141 +becoming a deep purple. Stars began to hint at their existence in the
 428.142 +skies above. And still she was no closer to finding out where she was
 428.143 +or where she was going. Kairi sighed, collapsing. Hunched over, her
 428.144 +hands rested on her thighs as she tried to think. This wasn’t getting
 428.145 +her anywhere. There had to be some way to... 
 428.146 +
 428.147 +She blinked. That reflection in the water, it wasn’t her own. She
 428.148 +stood up again, looking down below her. The reflection in the water
 428.149 +was someone else as if she were standing on someone’s feet. With a
 428.150 +flash of recognition, her eyes went wide. “Riku!” she called out.
 428.151 +“Riku!!” She blinked back tears. He couldn’t hear her. “Riku!!!” He
 428.152 +blinked beneath her, starting to look around. It looked like he had
 428.153 +faintly heard something. A surge of hope welled up within Kairi, her
 428.154 +hands held tightly to her chest. “Riku! I’m right here!” He kept
 428.155 +scanning around, looking about him. “Look up! Please look up, Riku!”
 428.156 +she pleaded. If he saw her, then maybe they could find a way to be
 428.157 +together again. She wouldn’t be on this quest alone. 
 428.158 +
 428.159 +She needed him, needed someone to help her forget the cold reality
 428.160 +that kept being forced upon her. She needed to get to him. Kneeling
 428.161 +down, she tried to claw at the water, trying to reach him. “Riku!”
 428.162 +Her fingers broke through the water, hands plunging into the waves
 428.163 +beneath. And suddenly, so did she. As if the ground had been dropped
 428.164 +out from under her, the princess dropped into the depths. As water
 428.165 +surrounded her, she could see him up above, on the surface. But she
 428.166 +couldn’t swim up to him. It felt like her body was a lead weight. No
 428.167 +matter how hard she struggled, she kept sinking lower into inky
 428.168 +darkness. He grew further and further away, disappearing as the
 428.169 +darkness overcame her. She reached out, remembering his words from so
 428.170 +long ago. ‘Take my hand, Kairi. Take my hand and everything will be
 428.171 +all right.’ Her arm ached against the water as she struggled to reach
 428.172 +him, plunging ever deeper. She could see him, reaching for her. But
 428.173 +even that dissipated into nothingness as she sank.
 428.174 +
 428.175 +And she landed heavily onto something soft. For a moment, she could
 428.176 +only lie there. “Riku...” she said mournfully. So close... If only
 428.177 +she could have reached out faster, then maybe... 
 428.178 +
 428.179 +“Told you that you were looking in the wrong places,” the voice
 428.180 +chided from the other side of the door. 
 428.181 +
 428.182 +Kairi sat up immediately, her eyes wide. Not here. Anywhere but
 428.183 +here. Sure enough, she could see her room once again, pictures of the
 428.184 +Destiny Islands, Riku and Sora on the walls. Figurines from a dozen
 428.185 +Squaresoft games littered her desk. Dolls she had made lay all over
 428.186 +her bed. This was the last place she wanted to be. She couldn’t deal
 428.187 +with it at the moment. “No...” She sighed, picking up the Riku and
 428.188 +Sora dolls and hugging them as tightly as she could. 
 428.189 +
 428.190 +“I already knew you didn’t like it here, Kairi. Why else would you
 428.191 +spend all of your time escaping into fantasy? Playing games and
 428.192 +watching fairy tales and pretending you were this pretty girl on an
 428.193 +island where you two best friends were boys who were in love with
 428.194 +you. Oh, and your whole suicide stunt. I think you’ve made it
 428.195 +blatantly obvious you don’t like it here, Kairi. I think everyone
 428.196 +knows that but you. Because you’re so obsessed with your fantasy
 428.197 +world that you can’t step back for a second and remember the sad
 428.198 +lonely girl you really are,” the voice said, sounding frustrated.
 428.199 +
 428.200 +“This can’t be real,” Kairi whispered, getting off the bed. She
 428.201 +slowly walked to the locked door to her bedroom, squeezing the dolls
 428.202 +in her arms. They were the boys she loved, yet here they were only
 428.203 +fluff and cloth. 
 428.204 +
 428.205 +“It is, Kairi. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can open
 428.206 +the door and step out into reality. Reality is darkness. But it’s
 428.207 +also Truth. So the Truth is darkness.”
 428.208 +
 428.209 +Kairi shook her head, kneeling in front of the door. “No, it can’t
 428.210 +be like that. Even in the darkness, there will always be light.
 428.211 +Grandma told me that. Back.. Back at the palace. I can remember
 428.212 +that.” A smile of satisfaction lit up her face. She could remember
 428.213 +bits and pieces of her life back at the palace as a princess. That
 428.214 +gave her some hope. She didn’t just have memories from this place. 
 428.215 +
 428.216 +“That’s only because we can dream. Dreams are the light. But hopes
 428.217 +and dreams are lies. Only there to delude ourselves with visions of
 428.218 +what we wish would happen,” the voice argued. 
 428.219 +
 428.220 +“It’s not like that. It’s not,” Kairi replied softly, resting her
 428.221 +head against the door. “It can’t be. I have to find Riku and Sora. I
 428.222 +need to be with them again. And we’ll travel to all sorts of
 428.223 +beautiful places.”
 428.224 +
 428.225 +“I know you’re lonely. I know you miss them,” the voice whispered,
 428.226 +pressing it’s own head against the door. “I just wish you could
 428.227 +accept things, Kairi. You’re so far away because of this. And no
 428.228 +matter how hard I try, I can’t get you back. Because you keep running
 428.229 +away. Come home, Kairi. Please,” the voice pleaded. 
 428.230 +
 428.231 +Fingers slid under the door, lying there. The princess slowly
 428.232 +reached out, taking them. They curled over her own, trying to hold
 428.233 +onto her. They felt warm and soft against her hand. And it felt so
 428.234 +nice to be near someone in this creepy room. Even if it was some
 428.235 +faceless person behind a door. But she felt like she could almost
 428.236 +remember who it was. Almost...
 428.237 +
 428.238 +The hand held onto her tighter, starting to squeeze her hand
 428.239 +painfully as it gripped her own. Kairi felt a pit of anxiety in her
 428.240 +stomach. She tried to pull away, but the grip was too tight. “Hey...
 428.241 +Let go. That hurts.” She yanked back, but still with no results.
 428.242 +“Oww...” A shattering sound got her attention, her heart pounding.
 428.243 +Her window had burst. She could see water gushing in as if the house
 428.244 +were underwater. She tried harder to pull her hand away to no avail.
 428.245 +Water was quickly filling the room. It was already up to her thighs
 428.246 +and she couldn’t stand up to get away from it because of the hand.
 428.247 +“Let go!” she cried. She was cut short by the rising water. She was
 428.248 +quickly submerged in her bedroom. Books and figurines floated past
 428.249 +her in the churning waters. She was going to drown. That thought
 428.250 +horrified her. She was going to drown in that lonely, evil room. 
 428.251 +
 428.252 +The hand holding hers tightened further and yanked her forward. The
 428.253 +door was no longer there. Neither was the rest of her room. She moved
 428.254 +swiftly through the water, finally breaking above the surface of the
 428.255 +water. Her lungs burned painfully, her body weak. Her knees gave out,
 428.256 +her body slumping back into the water. But arms were quickly around
 428.257 +her, pulling her out of the water. “It will be all right, Kairi. I
 428.258 +have you.” She looked up weakly to see the cloaked boy she had met
 428.259 +some time ago. Her head collapsing against his chest, she passed out.
 428.260 +
 428.261 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 428.262 +
 428.263 +Sephiroth watched a small floating image before him. There were
 428.264 +several keyholes in front of a larger keyhole. One of the keyholes
 428.265 +had lit up. “Kefka,” the soldier murmured to himself. That was one
 428.266 +down. There were only so many left. It was only a matter of time.
 428.267 +Kefka hadn’t understood that he was serious when he had said that
 428.268 +Kairi was the key to all of this. She was the important thing, not
 428.269 +her keyblade or her friends. But now was not the time to act. All he
 428.270 +could do was sit and watch and wait.
 428.271 +
 428.272 +“So she’s opened one of the Keyholes already? She may be more
 428.273 +trouble than we had thought,” a woman said, crossing her arms. 
 428.274 +
 428.275 +“One little girl is not going to be a problem. Kefka was a fool. As
 428.276 +long as she can’t get close enough to use her Keyblade, she isn’t a
 428.277 +problem. I’d simply wipe her out with an Eidolon, but I’ve been
 428.278 +forbidden from doing so,” the bishounen said, pouting. 
 428.279 +
 428.280 +“Destroying her would only be problematic. Why kill that which we
 428.281 +can use? She is the key to obtaining all of our goals, after all.
 428.282 +With her, we can unleash the Heartless entirely. And then we can do
 428.283 +what we will in our own worlds. I already have such plans for mine,”
 428.284 +a soft voice said, slowly smiling. “We never would have been able to
 428.285 +accomplish our goals before, but we have banded together to make our
 428.286 +dreams come true. Let’s not forget what is important. Realizing our
 428.287 +dreams, no matter how we must go about it.”
 428.288 +
 428.289 +“Yes. Kefka forgot about that. But his dream was one of madness. He
 428.290 +couldn’t fight off the Princess. She was too strong for his madness
 428.291 +shrouded heart. Just be careful none of you make the same mistake,”
 428.292 +Sephiroth said. Closing his hand, he dispersed the image. “I have
 428.293 +work to do. I’ll leave the rest up to you for now. Don’t make the
 428.294 +same mistakes Kefka did. And remember, I want her alive.” Turning, he
 428.295 +exited the dark room.
 428.296 +
 428.297 +The pretty boy grinned. “I guess that means it’s my turn. I better
 428.298 +hurry home to make sure everything’s going according to plan.” With
 428.299 +that, the white haired boy disappeared in a flash of light. 
 428.300 +
 428.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~
 428.302 +
 428.303 +Kairi awake with a start, glancing around a dimly lit room. The
 428.304 +kitten that she had rescued was rubbing it’s head into her chin,
 428.305 +purring softly. She smiled softly at it, scratching its chin. It
 428.306 +looked up at her with its odd green eyes, questioningly. The ocean
 428.307 +was gently washing up on shore somewhere not far from where she was.
 428.308 +She sat up slowly, looking about the room. This didn’t seem familiar.
 428.309 +At least it wasn’t her bedroom. She sighed in relief. 
 428.310 +
 428.311 +“You’re up,” a voice said.
 428.312 +
 428.313 +Swallowing, the princess tried to pinpoint the voice. She finally
 428.314 +found it on the bed rather than in her head. Another good sign. It
 428.315 +was the silver haired cloaked boy. He was sitting on the edge of the
 428.316 +bed, watching her. Well, as best as one can watch someone while
 428.317 +wearing a blindfold. She reached out slowly for it, but he moved
 428.318 +away. “Why do you wear that?” she inquired, watching him as he stood
 428.319 +up.
 428.320 +
 428.321 +“To blind myself from the darkness. So I won’t see it anymore. I’ve
 428.322 +already looked too deeply into it. This way I can keep from staring
 428.323 +at it again. If you look too deeply into the darkness, it stares back
 428.324 +at you,” He explained. 
 428.325 +
 428.326 +Kairi nodded simply. She didn’t exactly understand, but that seemed
 428.327 +to be the best explanation she could get. “Who are you?” she asked at
 428.328 +last.
 428.329 +
 428.330 +“A friend,” was his only reply.
 428.331 +
 428.332 +Sighing, the brunette slowly got to her bare feet. Looking around,
 428.333 +she finally spotted her shoes. She stared at them for a long moment,
 428.334 +thinking. “You saved me. What you said about their being light even
 428.335 +in the darkest heart. If it weren’t for you...” She shuddered at the
 428.336 +thought of being possessed by the Slave Crown. What horrible things
 428.337 +would Kefka be making her do?
 428.338 +
 428.339 +The boy said nothing for a long moment. He undid the blinds, letting
 428.340 +them raise up and let light into the room. It was small and messy, a
 428.341 +room in some small village. The ocean rolled nearby. “You’re looking
 428.342 +for your friends, aren’t you?”
 428.343 +
 428.344 +Nodding emphatically, Kairi stood up. “With all my heart. I have to
 428.345 +find them. They need me. I know it.”
 428.346 +
 428.347 +“One of them is searching for the other. You’ll find him by
 428.348 +searching for the one he is looking for. Your paths will eventually
 428.349 +cross if you seek the same thing,” he said, turning back to Kairi.
 428.350 +
 428.351 +“Riku...” Kairi nodded. “If I look for Riku, I’ll run into Sora.”
 428.352 +That made sense. Then they could find Riku together. And they could
 428.353 +all be together again. She smiled. That sounded so perfect. She
 428.354 +looked down at the kitten. Having hopped off the bed, it was now
 428.355 +rubbing against her ankles, meowing. It almost sounded like it was
 428.356 +trying to say something. She reached down, picking it up. Petting the
 428.357 +kitten, she looked up thoughtfully at the cloaked boy. “But where do
 428.358 +I look for Riku?”
 428.359 +
 428.360 +“You can’t reach him yet. He was locked away when Sora locked the
 428.361 +Doorway to the Darkness.”
 428.362 +
 428.363 +Kairi’s shoulders slumped. “But.. There has to be some way to reach
 428.364 +him, right? He can’t be locked away forever.” Her heart skipped a
 428.365 +beat. All that Sora had done to save everyone couldn’t have doomed
 428.366 +Riku. It didn’t seem fair that Riku would have to suffer so that
 428.367 +everyone else would be safe. Damn it, she wanted to Riku to be there,
 428.368 +to smile at her. He couldn’t be lost forever. 
 428.369 +
 428.370 +“There is always a Doorway to the Light. That is the door he is
 428.371 +behind now that the darkness is banished. If you can unlock the
 428.372 +Doorway to the Light, you can reach him,” the boy explained.
 428.373 +
 428.374 +“Great! Now where’s the Doorway to the Light? If I can find that, I
 428.375 +can meet up with Sora and we can open it up and see Riku again.” She
 428.376 +felt almost giddy again. She finally had some inkling of what was
 428.377 +going on, of how to find her friends. She was anxious to be underway. 
 428.378 +
 428.379 +“It isn’t that simple,” the silver haired boy warned. “The Doorway
 428.380 +to the Light has several locks on it. These locks are Keyholes that
 428.381 +reside within the hearts of several people. You must unlock all of
 428.382 +them in order to unlock the Doorway to the Light.” He watched her
 428.383 +disappointment for a moment before continuing. “You have already
 428.384 +unlocked one of the Keyholes. The Keyhole of Madness lay within
 428.385 +Kefka’s heart. You must unlock the rest before the Doorway to the
 428.386 +Light will open.”
 428.387 +
 428.388 +Kairi nodded thoughtfully. It had been hard enough to unlock Kefka’s
 428.389 +heart. But if that was the only way to save Riku, she had to do it.
 428.390 +He would do no less for her. “Whatever it takes,” she said at last. 
 428.391 +
 428.392 +“Good. I was hoping you would say that. He needs you. You’re the
 428.393 +only one who can save him. Go and find the Keyholes. Unlock them.
 428.394 +Then you will find the Doorway. Behind it lies your friend. And the
 428.395 +Light. It is the only way to stop the Heartless. When the Doorway to
 428.396 +the Darkness was closed, they were cut off. They are limited in
 428.397 +numbers now. By opening up the light, you can vanquish them forever.”
 428.398 +
 428.399 +“No more Heartless,” the princess repeated. ‘And no more of that
 428.400 +messed up reality. That’s tied into the Heartless, that voice said.
 428.401 +So if I can stop the Heartless, I won’t ever have to go back. We can
 428.402 +go back to our islands,’ she thought to herself. 
 428.403 +
 428.404 +“You’re the only one who can open the door, Kairi.” The boy turned
 428.405 +from her, heading out the door. His work here was done. For now.
 428.406 +
 428.407 +Kairi could only watch him go. He seemed so familiar. But she didn’t
 428.408 +know what to say. “Thank you,” she said as he reached the doorway. He
 428.409 +paused for a moment but said nothing before disappearing through the
 428.410 +doorway. Kairi sighed, clutching a hand to her heart. She knew what
 428.411 +she had to do. Even if it did feel a little overwhelming. But she’d
 428.412 +already unlocked one of the Keyholes. What were a few more?
 428.413 +
 428.414 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 428.415 +
 428.416 +‘Dear Diary,
 428.417 +Hi again! Well, we’re working on the Island Festival after all. The
 428.418 +adults cancelled it because of all the weird stuff going on lately,
 428.419 +so we’re gonna throw one ourselves. I’ve been so busy making
 428.420 +decorations for it that my hands hurt! But as long as we can have our
 428.421 +festival, it doesn’t matter. Besides, Quisty has been rubbing my
 428.422 +hands when I complain about it. *blush* So I’m happy about that. I
 428.423 +was complaining about it earlier while she was studying on the beach.
 428.424 +At least I got her out of the house, even if she insisted on bringing
 428.425 +her book with her. And she just nodded, looking at me with those
 428.426 +pretty blue eyes of hers looking at me through her cute glasses and
 428.427 +then she reached out and took my hands, rubbing them. And it felt a
 428.428 +lot better because of that. We talked a bit while she did that, even
 428.429 +though my mind was elsewhere. I hope it wasn’t too obvious.
 428.430 +
 428.431 +That hole’s still there on the island. It’s looking bigger now. It’s
 428.432 +really spooky. There’s just nothing there. Wakka said someone should
 428.433 +take a look. Then he asked Tidus to go do it. Tidus shook his head,
 428.434 +saying he wasn’t gonna do it and that Wakka should because Wakka’s
 428.435 +older. I’m starting to wonder if Kairi fell down that hole. I sure
 428.436 +hope not. I’d hate to think she was swallowed up by that big scary
 428.437 +nothingness. It almost made me want to go in to look for her, but I
 428.438 +just stood closer to Quisty as we all stared at it. We finally left,
 428.439 +trying to think of something to play to get our minds off of it. But
 428.440 +I don’t think the hole’s gonna go away. And what happens if it keeps
 428.441 +getting bigger? We can’t ignore it forever. 
 428.442 +
 428.443 +But that’s what we have the festival for! To forget about things
 428.444 +now. We’ll deal with things later on. Right now we have that to worry
 428.445 +about. I’m in charge of the Destiny Island Festival Committee! It was
 428.446 +Quisty’s idea to give it an official sounding name. So we put it all
 428.447 +together and since it was my idea, I get to be in charge. We’ve been
 428.448 +drawing up plans of all the stuff we wanna do for it. The boys
 428.449 +weren’t too thrilled about the whole dance on the beach under the
 428.450 +stars, but I told them that we’re doing it anyway. I’m dancing with
 428.451 +Quisty at the festival whether they like it or not! Tidus is just too
 428.452 +shy to ask Yuna to dance with him. If he doesn’t ask soon, Lulu’s
 428.453 +going to and he’s gonna lose his chance. Seems like everyone like’s
 428.454 +Yuna. I can kinda understand. She’s a bit like Quisty. They’re both
 428.455 +really thoughtful and quiet sometimes and get depressed over little
 428.456 +things because they’re worried about disappointing everyone. If only
 428.457 +they’d realize we love them anyway! They don’t have to be perfect.
 428.458 +But I’d be better off telling Quisty that than my diary. I’ll
 428.459 +remember to do that later when she’s being quiet again. 
 428.460 +
 428.461 +Tidus and Wakka are putting up some decorations right now. I can
 428.462 +hear them hammering away. It’s hard to think. But I’m still exhausted
 428.463 +from running around all day collecting stuff for the decorations, so
 428.464 +that’s probably part of the reason. Lulu’s using her magic to light
 428.465 +some fires so we can see. It’s not too late, but some really dark
 428.466 +clouds have rolled in and it’s hard to see. Yuna’s giving moral
 428.467 +support and carrying some of the decorations from place to place. Now
 428.468 +that I think about it, I’ll probably ask her to teach me how to dance
 428.469 +before the festival. I know Quisty’s a great dancer because she’s a
 428.470 +scholar-type and she learned that sorta thing for some reason. Yuna’s
 428.471 +a great dancer, too. Sometimes she’ll dance out in the waves and it’s
 428.472 +really, really good. I wanna be good, too, when I dance with Quisty
 428.473 +during the festival, but I can’t ask her because then it won’t be a
 428.474 +special when we do. So I’ll get Yuna to teach me. I’m so excited! I
 428.475 +can just imagine twirling about with Quisty under the stars! If these
 428.476 +dark clouds ever go away. Grrr... Go away! I want my starry nights!
 428.477 +
 428.478 +The seas have been getting angrier, too. It’s like they’re restless.
 428.479 +I was collecting shells on the beach for the decorations and the
 428.480 +waves just pulled back for a moment. Then this big, dark wave came
 428.481 +crashing into me. I was so surprised that I let go of everything I’d
 428.482 +collected. I tumbled around until I was completely dizzy and then the
 428.483 +water rolled right back out. When I finally got back to my feet, I
 428.484 +realized one of my sandals was missing. The wave stole it! Anyway, I
 428.485 +ran off after that, deciding to look a little further inland on the
 428.486 +island for things to make decorations. I don’t like how angry the
 428.487 +ocean looks. It’s not that beautiful aquamarine it used to be. It’s
 428.488 +all jagged and very dark. I hope it’s not a bad sign. 
 428.489 +
 428.490 +Oh, good! There’s Yuna. I’m gonna go ask her to teach me how to
 428.491 +dance. We don’t have much time until the festival, so I’m gonna try
 428.492 +my hardest for it! Booyaka!
 428.493 +
 428.494 +Selphie Tilmitt’
 428.495 +
 428.496 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 428.497 +
 428.498 +Relm sat on the edge of the dock, idly swinging her legs above the
 428.499 +quiet waves that rolled up to graze the shore as Yuffie paced
 428.500 +restlessly out of the corner of her eye.  The ninja’s light footfalls
 428.501 +on the worn wooden planks were steady and rhythmic, lulling her into
 428.502 +a sense of peace that seemed so at odds to everything that had
 428.503 +happened.  They had appeared in Arni out of nowhere, two days ago,
 428.504 +lying just out of the clutching grasp of the sea.  The fishermen had
 428.505 +taken them in, thinking them victims of a rough sea.
 428.506 +
 428.507 +But how could that have been?  They had been in Kefka’s prison, and
 428.508 +then they were here.  The only way it could dubiously be explained
 428.509 +was Kairi’s Keyblade, but the princess was still asleep.  
 428.510 +
 428.511 +“When did they say she was going to wake up?” Yuffie demanded for
 428.512 +the umpteenth time, scowling.
 428.513 +
 428.514 +“They didn’t say, but they’re pretty sure she’ll be fine.”  The
 428.515 +artist turned slightly to watch the water rise and fall as if it were
 428.516 +breathing, orange-gold sunlight edging the waves.  ‘I’d love to paint
 428.517 +this…but all my paints are back in Narshe.  Assuming Narshe stills
 428.518 +exists.’  She closed her eyes for a moment, marking the loss that
 428.519 +still seemed fuzzy and undefined.  Had all that really happened? 
 428.520 +Celes…and Kefka…and Interceptor?  Or was everything, even her being
 428.521 +here, just a dream?
 428.522 +
 428.523 +With a sigh, Yuffie sat down besides her, leaning back until the
 428.524 +ninja lay flat against the boards.  “Well, at least we’re safe for
 428.525 +now.”
 428.526 +
 428.527 +“Are we really?”  Relm asked in a soft voice, remembering that her
 428.528 +grandfather had presumed the same thing.
 428.529 +
 428.530 +“Huh?”  Yuffie raised her head, surprised at Relm’s dampened
 428.531 +spirits.  She’d thought that the other girl would have been perky and
 428.532 +optimistic till the sun fell out of the sky. It just goes to show you
 428.533 +how different people can be from what the seem.
 428.534 +
 428.535 +She reached out and patted Relm’s shoulder, a bit awkwardly, but
 428.536 +sincere nonetheless.  “Hey, it’s ok.  No one would dare to cross the
 428.537 +world’s greatest ninja, after all!  So you’re safe here with me.” 
 428.538 +She grinned her trademark grin, hoping to rouse a bit of cheer.
 428.539 +
 428.540 +Flushing, Relm smiled a little. “Thanks, Yuffie.” Lying back on the
 428.541 +planks, she rested her head on Yuffie’s bare stomach, curled beneath
 428.542 +the large sun in the sky above. She closed her eyes but they
 428.543 +fluttered open instantly, visions of Celes and Interceptor and the
 428.544 +burning buildings of Narshe invading her thoughts. Better to watch
 428.545 +the sea, she decided. With Yuffie. Yes, she could believe that things
 428.546 +would be all right as long as she had this ninja girl to protect her.
 428.547 +She scooted closer. Yuffie smelled so nice and felt so warm. She took
 428.548 +solace in those little things. They calmed her, soothing her spirits.
 428.549 +Yes, she’d be fine. ‘I’ll be all right, Interceptor. You just rest,
 428.550 +my friend. I know I’ll be safe. Yuffie can protect me for now.’
 428.551 +
 428.552 +Yuffie lay there awkwardly, staring up at the brilliant blue sky.
 428.553 +She could feel Relm’s eyelashes tickling her stomach as they blinked.
 428.554 +This wasn’t quite the reaction she’d been expecting when she’d
 428.555 +attempted to raise the artist’s spirits. The back of the blonde
 428.556 +girl’s bandana swished in the wind, moving across her ribs. But then,
 428.557 +what could she do? Push her away? The girl had just lost her
 428.558 +surrogate family and her best friend. Even if it was just a dog. So
 428.559 +it made sense that she was feeling a bit clingy. It wasn’t like it
 428.560 +was that hard to suffer through. Though part of her wanted to explain
 428.561 +that she wasn’t something to cling onto. She was a ninja and a thief,
 428.562 +not something cute and cuddly to grapple onto. But she decided to let
 428.563 +it pass this once. The younger girl needed some comforting and it
 428.564 +looked like she’d have to try her best. Hesitantly, Yuffie reached
 428.565 +down, placing a hand on Relm’s head. ‘Now what?’ she thought.
 428.566 +Sighing, she let her hand drop. Maybe she wasn’t the best for this
 428.567 +anyway. After all, she’d spent her whole life looking out for
 428.568 +herself. She wasn’t used to trying to perk someone else up. 
 428.569 +
 428.570 +Relm looked up when she felt Yuffie’s hand pull away. Giggling
 428.571 +softly, she reached up, pulling her bandana away. Medium length
 428.572 +blonde hair fell about Yuffie’s stomach. Relm rested her head back on
 428.573 +the ninja’s stomach, looking up the small slope of Yuffie’s chest to
 428.574 +the short haired ninja, waiting.
 428.575 +
 428.576 +Yuffie smiled nervously at the artist, looking at those deeply
 428.577 +intent blue eyes. It seemed fairly obvious why she had gotten rid of
 428.578 +the bandana. ‘I’m not good at this stuff! I’m not used to dealing
 428.579 +with kids! Well, except my little sister, but she’s not around right
 428.580 +now.’ Reaching down, Yuffie’s fingers brushed through Relm’s soft,
 428.581 +blonde hair. The artist smiled happily, still looking up at her.
 428.582 +Yuffie relaxed a bit as she kept stroking the younger girl’s hair.
 428.583 +‘At least she seems to be feeling a little better. So I guess it’s
 428.584 +worth it. But she better not be expecting this all the time.’ And it
 428.585 +really wasn’t so bad, feeling the silken hair under her fingers, the
 428.586 +other girl's warm breath against her stomach. There was something odd
 428.587 +in those eyes, though. And Yuffie wasn’t a stranger to weird eyes.
 428.588 +Her little sister had strange, spiral eyes. And Cloud had shining
 428.589 +green eyes. But there was something more subtle about these. They
 428.590 +were normal eyes, she decided at last. It was the look  she was
 428.591 +getting that was strange. So direct and intense and... something. She
 428.592 +felt a little embarrassed having that warm gaze directed at her.
 428.593 +‘Great. She’s probably gonna think of me as a mother figure or
 428.594 +something. And I am not a mother figure.’
 428.595 +
 428.596 +Relm, on the other hand, was thinking anything but motherly thoughts
 428.597 +about Yuffie. “Yuffie? Do you have a boyfriend?” she asked at last.
 428.598 +It seemed quiet, the sound of seagulls and the waves all a part of
 428.599 +the background.
 428.600 +
 428.601 +Shaking her head, Yuffie looked back up at the clouds thoughtfully.
 428.602 +“No, I’m too busy. Not that I really want one anyway. I see all these
 428.603 +couples around me like Cloud and Aerith, Rinoa and Squall, and I just
 428.604 +can’t see myself like that. Nothing against Aerith or Rinoa. I just
 428.605 +can’t see myself like that with some boyfriend.”
 428.606 +
 428.607 +Relm smiled, pleased with Yuffie’s response. “Good.”
 428.608 +
 428.609 +“Good? Why good?” Yuffie asked, blinking, looking back down at the
 428.610 +artist. That was an odd line of questioning. And she didn’t see why
 428.611 +that would be a good answer anyway. She just didn’t care about
 428.612 +finding a boyfriend right now. There were too many other things to
 428.613 +worry about. It wasn’t anywhere on her list of priorities. 
 428.614 +
 428.615 +“No reason,” Relm said, smiling secretively, tracing images on
 428.616 +Yuffie’s stomach with her finger. The warm skin felt like a wonderful
 428.617 +background for her. She could imagine her brushes running over it,
 428.618 +drawing the images in bright colors on Yuffie’s skin. “You should
 428.619 +really let me paint you sometime,” she said absentmindedly.
 428.620 +
 428.621 +“I’m not really sure I’d be a good model for a portrait,” Yuffie
 428.622 +replied, sweatdropping. 
 428.623 +
 428.624 +Relm giggled. “I was thinking about something else, but a portrait
 428.625 +would be nice, too. And you’d be a great model. Ninjas can be patient
 428.626 +and sit and wait for hours to ambush someone. So just use that deep
 428.627 +well of patience and it’ll be done quickly.”
 428.628 +
 428.629 +Yuffie frowned. She was a great ninja, after all. She couldn’t argue
 428.630 +with that. She sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I guess you can. Sometime.
 428.631 +Maybe.” She could imagine Aerith having a picture painted of her.
 428.632 +That girl could be patient. But she just couldn’t see herself sitting
 428.633 +there, being sketched. But if it made the girl feel better, then she
 428.634 +guessed she could suffer through it. And it might make for a good
 428.635 +picture. Relm was obviously very good with art. It might be
 428.636 +interesting, she thought grudgingly.
 428.637 +
 428.638 +“Great!” Relm squealed happily. It was nice to have other things to
 428.639 +think about. And right now she was happy just to be thinking about
 428.640 +Yuffie. And feeling her so close. She shifted a bit, resting her head
 428.641 +now on Yuffie’s chest. The ninja almost sat up, but Relm didn’t move.
 428.642 +Yuffie sighed and stayed where she was. The artist could feel the
 428.643 +small green top under her cheek, and the soft skin underneath. And
 428.644 +beneath all that, the gentle thump of Yuffie’s heart. It was the
 428.645 +heart of her princess, the ninja she had long awaited. She smiled at
 428.646 +the thought. “It must have been Fate,” she said softly.
 428.647 +
 428.648 +“What must have been Fate?” Yuffie asked, watching the quirky
 428.649 +artist. She sure was acting strangely. But then, all artists were a
 428.650 +little strange, weren’t they? At least, Zidane had said so. But who
 428.651 +was he to talk? Yuffie tried to look up again, but her eyes kept
 428.652 +being drawn back to the head on her chest, to Relm’s bright blue
 428.653 +eyes. Her keen intuition was telling her to be on guard, but logic
 428.654 +told her there was nothing to fear from the younger girl. But still,
 428.655 +she couldn’t quell her growing unease.
 428.656 +
 428.657 +“Meeting you. Finding myself lost somewhere far away with you. The
 428.658 +two of us sitting under the endless sky right now. It must have been
 428.659 +Fate. I don’t think this is all an accident. We were destined to
 428.660 +meet. I was destined to rescue you from a frosty death. We were
 428.661 +destined to travel together. Destined to fall madly and passionately
 428.662 +in love,” Relm said, her eyes sparkling. Yes, it was all Fate, a
 428.663 +guiding hand that had led her to this beautiful moment. Her budding
 428.664 +romance with her very own ninja. Just like her mother.
 428.665 +
 428.666 +“Destined to.. What?!” Yuffie blinked, her mind whirling at the
 428.667 +artists words. That had certainly not been what she had been
 428.668 +expecting. Possibly a surrogate mother figure, but a lover? Where was
 428.669 +Relm coming up with all of this stuff? She tried to get up, but Relm
 428.670 +pinned her. She was stronger than the artist, but Relm had caught her
 428.671 +by surprise and Yuffie’s head was still spinning. The blonde had
 428.672 +straddled her, looking down into her eyes. Yuffie could easily push
 428.673 +the girl off, but she found herself paralyzed underneath the blonde
 428.674 +artist. 
 428.675 +
 428.676 +“Destined to fall in love and spend forever together. Don’t you
 428.677 +believe in Fate?” Relm asked curiously, looking down at the older
 428.678 +ninja girl. “I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you.” She
 428.679 +whispered. Leaning down, she could see Yuffie’s wild eyes as she got
 428.680 +closer. Her own heart pounded feverishly, a delicious thrill cycling
 428.681 +through her blood. Had this been what it was like for her mother
 428.682 +while falling in love with her father? It was definitely dizzying. 
 428.683 +
 428.684 +Yuffie felt Relm’s lips press against her own, soft delicate petals
 428.685 +that seemed to melt against her own, flowing into them. She could
 428.686 +only sit there, aghast at what was happening. This little artist girl
 428.687 +had just professed her love for her. And here they were on some other
 428.688 +planet. And she was pinned underneath her, being kissed. Not just
 428.689 +some stage kiss, but a true, warm kiss. ‘Stop her!’ part of Yuffie
 428.690 +cried out. ‘She can’t do that to you!’ But Yuffie’s body refused to
 428.691 +cooperate. She could only lie there, subject to Relm’s will. That
 428.692 +thought sent a shudder through Yuffie. No one could control her but
 428.693 +herself. So she needed to get up and prove it. But Relm kept kissing
 428.694 +her. And for some reason, Yuffie couldn’t get herself to push the
 428.695 +young artist away. Her hands had reached Relm’s stomach, but she
 428.696 +couldn’t call upon the strength to force her off.
 428.697 +
 428.698 +“Now what the bloody ‘ell is this?” a bemused voice asked. 
 428.699 +
 428.700 +Yuffie shoved the artist off, standing up and whirling about. She
 428.701 +winced as she heard the splash behind her. Relm was not going to be
 428.702 +happy about that. Wait. Why did she care if Relm liked it or not?
 428.703 +Relm deserved to get dunked for trying to kiss her. Well, not exactly
 428.704 +trying. Damn technicalities. Yuffie tried to cover her embarrassment
 428.705 +with anger, glaring at the intruder. “Kid?! What are you doing here?”
 428.706 +
 428.707 +The blonde thief laughed, her hands on her hips. “Didn’t know ya had
 428.708 +it in ya, Yuffie.” She winked, sending an angry flush across Yuffie’s
 428.709 +cheeks. “And here I always thought you’d be the one on top.”
 428.710 +
 428.711 +Relm yanked herself back up onto the dock, soaking wet and
 428.712 +grumbling. “What was that for?! You could’ve asked me to stop!” She
 428.713 +hugged herself, shivering in the light breeze. Her hair hung wetly
 428.714 +across her face. She tried to blow some wet hair from in front of
 428.715 +her, but it stubbornly refused to move.
 428.716 +
 428.717 +“Wouldja have stopped?” Kid asked, still grinning. She had been glad
 428.718 +to see her fellow Radical Dreamer, but she found the situation she
 428.719 +found Yuffie in the be endlessly amusing. 
 428.720 +
 428.721 +Relm crossed her arms, frowning. “No. But she could’ve tried, at
 428.722 +least, before throwing me into the water.”
 428.723 +
 428.724 +“I didn’t through you, I just... Wait,” Yuffie shook her head,
 428.725 +trying to clear her thoughts. “Like this is my fault. You were the
 428.726 +one who started... Just don’t do that!”
 428.727 +
 428.728 +“I can’t make any promises,” Relm said stubbornly. 
 428.729 +
 428.730 +“Kid! There you are!” A voice said behind them. 
 428.731 +
 428.732 +Kid had a caught look on her face, but it melted away as she turned
 428.733 +around, masking it. “And if it isn’t the light o’ my life right now!
 428.734 +How ya doin’ Leena?”
 428.735 +
 428.736 +“I thought you were supposed to be getting my Komodo scale necklace
 428.737 +right now. If you’re still around here, there might not be any when
 428.738 +you get there. And then I’ll be the only girl in the village without
 428.739 +one. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Leena asked. She seemed
 428.740 +to be taking this incredibly seriously. And why wouldn’t she? It was
 428.741 +a big deal in a world filled with fishing and the everyday facets of
 428.742 +life. This was something important, a gift that all boyfriends got
 428.743 +their loving girlfriends. And Kid was her boyfriend. Or something
 428.744 +like that. So Kid was going to get her one. Whether she liked it or
 428.745 +not.
 428.746 +
 428.747 +“Just about on my way, darling,” Kid said, trying to appease the
 428.748 +redhead. “Just getting some help from a friend of mine. Isn’t that
 428.749 +right, Yuffie?”
 428.750 +
 428.751 +“Who’s the one on top with you two?” Yuffie asked dryly, raising an
 428.752 +eyebrow. 
 428.753 +
 428.754 +Kid gave her a dirty look before grinning back at Leena. “Well, off
 428.755 +we go. We’ll be back with your necklace before you know it, love.”
 428.756 +She kissed Leena’s cheek as she walked by, dragging Yuffie behind her.
 428.757 +
 428.758 +Leena sighed reluctantly. “All right. I’ll be waiting, Kid. Come
 428.759 +back, soon! I’ll be done babysitting by then!” She waved at the
 428.760 +departing thieves.
 428.761 +
 428.762 +“Wait! I’m coming, too!” Relm said angrily. She wasn’t about to let
 428.763 +Yuffie leave her behind. She had to teach the ninja a thing or two
 428.764 +about Fate. Yuffie was hers, most definitely. She just didn’t know it
 428.765 +yet.
 428.766 + 
 428.767 \ No newline at end of file

   429.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   429.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-06.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   429.3 @@ -0,0 +1,775 @@
   429.4 +
   429.5 +Prism Hearts
   429.6 +Chapter 6
   429.7 +The Wanderer of Time
   429.8 +by Amazoness Duo
   429.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  429.10 +
  429.11 +
  429.12 +Kairi sat on the small bed in the room she had found herself in,
  429.13 +listening halfheartedly to the waves crashing outside the open
  429.14 +window. The large cloth drapes that hung in front of them to block
  429.15 +out the tropical sun swung lazily about in the breeze. It was
  429.16 +tranquil here, almost like the Destiny Islands. Her thoughts, on the
  429.17 +other hand, were anything but calm.
  429.18 +
  429.19 +So she could find Riku. If she could find the Door to the Light, she
  429.20 +could unlock it and save him. She and Sora were both looking for it,
  429.21 +so they might stumble upon each other along the way. But to unlock
  429.22 +the door, she had to seal off the Keyholes in the hearts of those who
  429.23 +were after her. It was a daunting task. Could she even do it? She had
  429.24 +barely sealed the Keyhole in Kefka’s heart before being controlled by
  429.25 +the Slave Crown. She shivered at the thought of having to do that
  429.26 +again. And again. Until all the Keyholes were sealed.
  429.27 +
  429.28 +But what choice did she have? Giving up would mean never seeing Riku
  429.29 +again. How could she give up on him? He would never have given up on
  429.30 +her. He tried till the very end to save her. Now it was her turn to
  429.31 +save him. She had to do her best to find him. No matter what the
  429.32 +challenges. Now if only she could find out where to go next.
  429.33 +
  429.34 +Kairi sighed, drawing her legs up underneath herself. It wasn’t just
  429.35 +one world she had to navigate, but many. All linked together by the
  429.36 +darkness. When Sora had sealed away the Heartless, the worlds had
  429.37 +been separated. It was the darkness that eroded the barriers between
  429.38 +the worlds. It seemed ironic that her chance to find her friends had
  429.39 +been granted by the return of the darkness. That the only way to
  429.40 +travel from world to world was to travel across the expanses of
  429.41 +shadow that each world gave off. Yet here she was, fighting against
  429.42 +the darkness yet using it to move about to do so. 
  429.43 +
  429.44 +She paused in her thoughts for a moment. Was she really fighting
  429.45 +against the darkness? Yuffie was. She knew that. But what about
  429.46 +herself? All she wanted was to find Riku and Sora again. The rest was
  429.47 +all secondary to her.  She would save Riku even if she had to open
  429.48 +the Door to the Darkness. 
  429.49 +
  429.50 +Petting the kitten absentmindedly, she sighed. Some Keyblade
  429.51 +Mistress she made. But it was true. Her priority was to find her
  429.52 +friends, the boys who meant so much to her. That’s why she had
  429.53 +started this journey, after all, not to seal off the Heartless. She
  429.54 +could figure out what to do after she could throw herself into the
  429.55 +arms of the boys she loved. She winced at the thought. She couldn’t
  429.56 +even decide between them. Both of them were too important to her. 
  429.57 +
  429.58 +Frowning, Kairi scratched at the kitten’s chin. It looked back at
  429.59 +her with its strange green eyes. “At least you don’t care if I can’t
  429.60 +decide. What do you think I should do, Jessie?”
  429.61 +
  429.62 +The kitten looked back at the princess and meowed, it’s tail
  429.63 +swishing lightly back and forth. 
  429.64 +
  429.65 +Kairi giggled and nodded. “Good idea. There’s nothing I can do yet.
  429.66 +So I’ll just keep looking for them for now. Everything else can wait.”
  429.67 +
  429.68 +The kitten stared at the girl for a moment. Meowing, it shook its
  429.69 +head. This was really getting frustrating. It meowed again,
  429.70 +insistently, but the princess’s thoughts were on other things at the
  429.71 +moment. She couldn’t understand anyway. Maybe Yuffie would, somehow.
  429.72 +There had to be some way to get across to these people. ‘Jessie’ lay
  429.73 +there for a moment, trying to think. Nothing was getting done this
  429.74 +way. It had to do something. Otherwise... The kitten shuddered. It
  429.75 +meowed louder, but that just got Kairi to pet further. Sighing
  429.76 +inwardly, the kitten stood up. Desperate times called for desperate
  429.77 +measures. 
  429.78 +
  429.79 +“Owww!!” Kairi pulled back, holding her hand. Pain shot through one
  429.80 +of her fingers and for a moment she couldn’t tell what had happened.
  429.81 +It was just a sharp and immediate pain. The first thought that came
  429.82 +to mind was that she had pricked herself, that she would fall asleep
  429.83 +until her prince could come and awaken her with a kiss. She wouldn’t
  429.84 +be at all surprised with how strange things had been lately. But what
  429.85 +could she have pricked herself on?  Looking down at her hand, she saw
  429.86 +bright crimson welling up. It slowly began to clarify in her mind,
  429.87 +the mists lifting. She’d been bitten. “Jessie?” she said
  429.88 +questioningly, looking down at the odd kitten. It leapt off the bed,
  429.89 +scurrying out the door. What had gotten into her? With a mix of
  429.90 +anxiety and concern, Kairi chased after the kitten. “Jessie, wait!
  429.91 +You’ll get lost!” She had no idea what was out here or even where she
  429.92 +was. She didn’t want to lose her only constant companion. Even if it
  429.93 +had bitten her. Had something frightened Jessie? Or maybe... Maybe
  429.94 +she’d been trying to get her attention. But for what?
  429.95 +
  429.96 +Running through the small house, Kairi nearly ran into a woman in a
  429.97 +bandana. The woman caught her by the shoulders as she began to
  429.98 +stumble backwards. “Oh, you startled me. Are you all right? You must
  429.99 +have gotten the rest you needed. You’ve been sleeping for days.”
 429.100 +
 429.101 +Kairi finally regained her balance. Recovering from her shock, a
 429.102 +hand over her heart, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m much better now. I just
 429.103 +woke up a little while ago.” ‘I think,’ she added to herself. ‘It’s
 429.104 +hard to tell where I am and when I’m awake anymore.’
 429.105 +
 429.106 +“Good. When you and your friends washed up on shore, we were all
 429.107 +worried. Your friends woke up shortly, but you wouldn’t rise. You
 429.108 +needed someplace to stay, so I was glad to offer my son’s room.
 429.109 +You’ve been sleeping there ever since. I’ve been keeping an eye on
 429.110 +you. I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up. I’m glad that you did.”
 429.111 +Marge smiled softly, in her motherly way. 
 429.112 +
 429.113 +The look warmed Kairi’s heart, something about it very familiar.
 429.114 +‘Mom,’ she thought, her heart starting to ache as dim memories
 429.115 +taunted her, flitting away as she tried to grasp them. ‘I miss you,
 429.116 +mom.’ Forcing herself back to the present before her memories, or
 429.117 +lack thereof, could drag her back down into despair, she smiled at
 429.118 +the woman. “Thank you for taking care of me, ma’am.” Her thanks were
 429.119 +heartfelt. It was so nice to know that someone had cared enough to
 429.120 +take care of her while she had been unconscious. “I’ll have to thank
 429.121 +your son, too, before I leave for letting me use his room.”
 429.122 +
 429.123 +Marge’s smile didn’t fade, but it did gain a sad quality to it. “My
 429.124 +son, Serge, died at sea ten years ago. That’s why I wanted to do all
 429.125 +I could for you. I couldn’t let another sweet young soul be taken by
 429.126 +the sea.”
 429.127 +
 429.128 +“I’m... I’m so sorry...” Kairi stammered, at a loss for words. After
 429.129 +this woman had helped her, had given her a place to stay, she felt
 429.130 +terrible at the helplessness that consumed her. She couldn’t repay
 429.131 +this woman in the least, had only been able to bring up an old wound.
 429.132 +Hadn’t Sora been able to help people as he travelled from world to
 429.133 +world? So far she seemed to cause trouble wherever she went. Like she
 429.134 +was some kind of cosmic jinx, a harbinger of horrible things to come.
 429.135 +Her arrival signified something terrible to come. At least it felt
 429.136 +like that.
 429.137 +
 429.138 +The mother shook her head, dismissing Kairi’s apology. “It’s
 429.139 +nothing, dear. You didn’t know. And I’m sure he’d be happy to know
 429.140 +his room was getting some use. Perhaps his spirit is what pulled you
 429.141 +to shore.” She smiled at the thought. “Now run along before your
 429.142 +kitten gets into trouble. You wouldn’t want her picking a fight with
 429.143 +Poshul.”
 429.144 +
 429.145 +“Yeah, you’re right,” Kairi said, snapping out of her bout of self-
 429.146 +pity. Giggling slightly, she nodded. “Can’t let her get too far
 429.147 +away.” She hurried to the door, turning to wave over her shoulder at
 429.148 +the doorway. “Thanks for everything, ma’am!” The woman smiled and
 429.149 +waved back as she dashed out the door. 
 429.150 +
 429.151 +‘Mom was like that. Someone you could talk to. Someone who always
 429.152 +had a comforting thing to say. And her hands felt so nice when she’d
 429.153 +rub my back when I was crying, or when she’d wipe the tears from my
 429.154 +eyes. I fell asleep crying on her lap so often.’ Kairi shook her head
 429.155 +at the unbidden thoughts. They felt like her own, but they couldn’t
 429.156 +be real. She didn’t know her mother. She couldn’t remember anything
 429.157 +before showing up on the Destiny Islands. 
 429.158 +
 429.159 +‘Just keep telling yourself that,’ she heard deep in her thoughts.
 429.160 +Her fists clenched as she walked through the small fishing village.
 429.161 +She couldn’t tell if it was good or not that she was getting these
 429.162 +thoughts of her mother. She certainly didn’t like the picture they
 429.163 +were painting of her. Some depressed, lonely, dependent girl. She
 429.164 +wasn’t like that at all. But at the same time, she had to admit that
 429.165 +she missed her mother terribly. At least Sora and Riku had parents on
 429.166 +the island. She had been an orphan, raised by the people living
 429.167 +there. But that wasn’t the same. The thought that she actually had a
 429.168 +mother, had known her, was both exciting and terrifying. 
 429.169 +
 429.170 +‘What was your home like?’ Sora had asked.
 429.171 +
 429.172 +‘I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything before I got here,’ she
 429.173 +had answered.
 429.174 +
 429.175 +‘I want to go see it with you someday,’ he said.
 429.176 +
 429.177 +She had smiled at him. ‘I’d like that.’ 
 429.178 +
 429.179 +But now... She had wanted to find out who she was. She had wanted to
 429.180 +find out where her home was. But the closer she got to figuring that
 429.181 +out, the more she wondered if maybe she didn’t want the answers after
 429.182 +all. Maybe she had forgotten on purpose. She had been happy on the
 429.183 +Destiny Islands. Hadn't that been enough? But now, to regain that
 429.184 +happiness, to save her friends, she may have to open a Pandora’s Box
 429.185 +that could destroy that happiness forever. She didn’t know what she
 429.186 +was supposed to do.
 429.187 +
 429.188 +“Meow!” 
 429.189 +
 429.190 +Kairi blinked her eyes open quickly, spotting the insistent kitten.
 429.191 +It meowed at her again before scurrying off. “Wait! Jessie!” The
 429.192 +princess took off after the kitten. Whatever it was thinking, it sure
 429.193 +was insistent. At least the chase took her mind off of things.
 429.194 +Running out of the village, Kairi focussed on the kitten bounding
 429.195 +along in front of her.
 429.196 +
 429.197 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 429.198 +
 429.199 +“So how did you end up with that bossy little housewife?” Yuffie
 429.200 +asked, kicking some sand in front of herself. Relm was currently
 429.201 +hanging onto her, arms encircling the ninja’s waist. Yuffie had tried
 429.202 +valiantly to get Relm back, but it never lasted for more than a few
 429.203 +seconds. She’d finally gotten tired of fighting the artist off and
 429.204 +was currently just tolerating it. This didn’t mean she’d given up, of
 429.205 +course. Just that she didn’t feel like fighting at the moment. Yeah,
 429.206 +that was it.
 429.207 +
 429.208 +“Shut yer mouth.” Kid didn’t look amused. She was currently
 429.209 +searching the area for tiny lizards to make a necklace for the above
 429.210 +stated bossy housewife. It was more work than it should have been.
 429.211 +She was starting to think that it would be easier to just steal a
 429.212 +necklace. Or maybe Yuffie’s chatter was just scaring the Komodo
 429.213 +Dragons off. In either case, she needed to get another scale or two
 429.214 +to finish off that necklace or she’d be sleeping on the couch. Again.
 429.215 +Luckily, Leena's grandma had such bad eyesight that she actually
 429.216 +thought Kid was a boy. Not that Kid was happy with the idea, but
 429.217 +Leena said it was easier that way. And who was she to argue? 
 429.218 +
 429.219 +Sighing, Kid shrugged. “It just kinda happened. I came back to my
 429.220 +homeworld ‘cause we’ve got a relic here called the Frozen Flame. I
 429.221 +came to El Nido looking for it. I figured if I could get my hands on
 429.222 +it, the Heartless wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Anyway, so I started
 429.223 +off lookin’ in Arni and I met up with Leena she wound up insistin’
 429.224 +that she go along. To keep me outta trouble. I argued, but that girl
 429.225 +has a way of getting her way. We looked all over for the blasted
 429.226 +thing, a few other people joining us along the way. Along with this
 429.227 +crazy harlequin. We finally tracked it down to the Sea of Eden where
 429.228 +it was locked away by Fate. We tried to bust in, but it wouldn’t
 429.229 +work. We were tryin’ to find another plan when we found out the
 429.230 +harlequin had gone missin’. Turned out she was working with the
 429.231 +Dragon Gods. She wound up summoning the six of them and they totaled
 429.232 +the place. We barely got outta there before it went up. Seems she was
 429.233 +usin’ us to distract Fate long enough for the Dragon Gods to get
 429.234 +together.” Kid sighed, lookin around in a hole for the smaller
 429.235 +dragons. “So no Frozen Flame after all. Otherwise we coulda stopped
 429.236 +the Heartless by now.”
 429.237 +
 429.238 +Yuffie laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about the Heartless.
 429.239 +World saving should be left to the professionals. I’ll handle them. I
 429.240 +even have the Keyblade Mistress on my party, so we’re set.”
 429.241 +
 429.242 +“I know you’ll be able to stop them, Yuffie,” Relm added perkily,
 429.243 +her head snugly against Yuffie’s shoulder. “And I’ll follow wherever
 429.244 +you go.”
 429.245 +
 429.246 +Kid grinned, raising an eyebrow. “You were sayin’ something about my
 429.247 +choice in girlfriends?”
 429.248 +
 429.249 +“Oh, shut up.” Yuffie’s eyes narrowed. She was tempted to extricate
 429.250 +herself from the artist and wipe the smirk off of Kid’s face, but it
 429.251 +was much more trouble than it was worth.
 429.252 +
 429.253 +“Anyway, Leena and I kinda happened along the way. Can’t say when,
 429.254 +exactly. Except that we did spend a hell of a night at the Termina
 429.255 +inn.” The thief shook her head, dispersing pleasant memories. “It
 429.256 +just seemed before I knew it, she had me hooked. So now I’m stuck in
 429.257 +a tiny fishing village because she’s happiest there. I didn’t see
 429.258 +that comin’. Me in some little village on some island somewhere. But
 429.259 +it’s starting to be home. And it’s nice to finally have one.”
 429.260 +
 429.261 +Yuffie nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. Yeah, I
 429.262 +didn’t imagine that either. I guess I never thought of you as
 429.263 +settling down. It’s gonna be hard to break the news to the rest of
 429.264 +the Radical Dreamers.” And it was strange for her to see the other
 429.265 +thief there, living such an ordinary life. But Kid seemed happier
 429.266 +than she’d ever seen her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. She shook
 429.267 +her head. Not too bad for Kid, maybe. But she wasn’t about to settle
 429.268 +down anytime soon. Nope, still too much to do. Nothing was going to
 429.269 +hold her down.
 429.270 +
 429.271 + “So how did you wind up with this cute little artist, Yuffie? I
 429.272 +thought you weren’t lookin’ for anybody,” Kid teased. 
 429.273 +
 429.274 +“I’m not with her...”
 429.275 +
 429.276 +“I nursed her back to health and it was just Fate. We were meant to
 429.277 +be.”
 429.278 +
 429.279 +Yuffie and Relm both spoke at the same time, their sentences
 429.280 +tumbling together.
 429.281 +
 429.282 +Kid laughed, her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m sure glad I’m not the
 429.283 +only one ditching the Radical Dreamers for my girlfriend. It makes it
 429.284 +a hell of a lot easier that way.”
 429.285 +
 429.286 +“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s.. Oww!” Yuffie’s eyes went from
 429.287 +narrowed to widened in a split second. She looked down to an
 429.288 +innocently smiling Relm. Her stomach felt as if it had been pinched
 429.289 +rather harshly. 
 429.290 +
 429.291 +“Oh, Kid, you’re embarrassing Yuffie!” Relm chided, still smiling.
 429.292 +If Yuffie wasn’t going to go along willingly, then she’d just have to
 429.293 +take matters into her own hands. Literally, if necessary. It was
 429.294 +Fate. It had to be. And she wasn’t going to let her ninja get away
 429.295 +just because she had a case of cold feet.
 429.296 +
 429.297 +“Alright, I’ll lay off for a bit, then.” Kid winked at the fuming
 429.298 +ninja. Something finally caught her eye, drawing away her attention
 429.299 +from the ‘lovebirds’. “Ah! There the little devil is.”
 429.300 +
 429.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 429.302 +
 429.303 +Kairi ran along the beach, staying away from the water. She had
 429.304 +enough water to last her a good long while. She had lost track of the
 429.305 +kitten, so she was relying on the little footprints in the sand. They
 429.306 +were leading further along the beach. She had to be around somewhere.
 429.307 +“There you are!” Kairi pulled to a stop near the tiny kitten,
 429.308 +catching her breath. “You shouldn’t have run away like that. You
 429.309 +don’t know if it’s safe here. You might have...” She trailed off,
 429.310 +that thought half finished. Kneeling in the sand, she looked down at
 429.311 +the kitten. It was hard at work pawing away some sand. Scrawled in
 429.312 +the sand, she could read ‘I’m Rik...’ from what the kitten had
 429.313 +already written. “Riku?” she asked, her heart caught in her chest.
 429.314 +
 429.315 +The kitten’s ears perked up. It’s efforts to dig forgotten, it
 429.316 +turned around quickly, nodding excitedly. 
 429.317 +
 429.318 +“You’re Riku?” The ground underneath her seemed to drop away,
 429.319 +leaving her tumbling. “You’ve been here all this time? I... Riku!”
 429.320 +She lunged forward, holding onto the kitten as tightly as she could.
 429.321 +The surprised kittens claws pressed into her exposed flesh, but she
 429.322 +was too ecstatic to care about such trivial things. “I’ve been
 429.323 +looking for so long. I was scared I wouldn’t find you. But I wouldn’t
 429.324 +give up. I couldn’t. Not after all you did to save my heart.” A laugh
 429.325 +behind her made her whirl about, kitten still in her arms.
 429.326 +
 429.327 +“Izn’t zat adorable? You two make such a cute couple!” Sitting on a
 429.328 +rocky outcropping, a harlequin grinned at the scene before her. “But
 429.329 +it is improper for me to watch without an introduction from moi,
 429.330 +izn’t it? I am Harle.” Hopping down, she walked over to the princess,
 429.331 +bowing low. “And you, mon petit, are Kairi. It iz a pleasure to meet
 429.332 +you. You are prettier than ze oceans themselves.” Taking Kairi’s
 429.333 +hand, she kissed it, her hand lingering for a moment before pulling
 429.334 +away. 
 429.335 +
 429.336 +“Who are you?” Kairi asked at last, completely confused by the
 429.337 +newcomer. But the voice did sound familiar... It finally clicked.
 429.338 +“You’re from my dream! Or was that a dream? You were there when I was
 429.339 +lying on the beach. And in bed. Both.” She shook her head. This was
 429.340 +getting even more confusing.
 429.341 +
 429.342 +The harlequin laughed, nodding. “Exactement. I was watching over
 429.343 +you, yes. Someone has to. You aren’t doing such a good job of it
 429.344 +yourself. So I have appointed myself to keep an eye on Mademoiselle
 429.345 +Kairi.”
 429.346 +
 429.347 +Kairi frowned, holding the kitten closer. The kitten watched the
 429.348 +harlequin cautiously. “Does everyone always have to talk in riddles?
 429.349 +I never get any straight answers.”
 429.350 +
 429.351 +“It iz much, much more fun speaking in riddles.” Harle laughed,
 429.352 +walking around the Keyblade Mistress. “Things are not as one
 429.353 +dimensional as you think. It is not about realitie and dreams. It iz
 429.354 +about your Fate. What iz real, what iz not, this does not matter.”
 429.355 +
 429.356 +“Yes it does! If it’s not real, then why should I bother?!” Kairi
 429.357 +nearly screamed in frustration. If all of this was just some dream,
 429.358 +then why try at all? What good would it do if she would just wake up
 429.359 +sooner or later to find herself in that horrid room?
 429.360 +
 429.361 +The harlequin’s smile disappeared. She watched Kairi carefully for a
 429.362 +long moment. “Why do you live? Why do you die? Will you change ze
 429.363 +world? Or will you change yourself? These questions are more
 429.364 +important than ‘what is real or not’, no? What is realitie anyway but
 429.365 +what people tell you iz real. What you see, feel, hear, zat iz real.
 429.366 +You see, feel, and hear all zis. So it iz real. You see, feel, and
 429.367 +hear there. So zat iz real. It does not matter which iz more real. It
 429.368 +only matters how much you are willing to give, how much you are
 429.369 +willing to believe. What will you fight for, Kairi? Ziz realitie?
 429.370 +Your friends? Ze Light? Or Ze Darkness? Which will you have faith in?
 429.371 +Which will you side with in ze end?”
 429.372 +
 429.373 +Kairi couldn’t answer. Her world felt like it was spinning. The
 429.374 +harlequin’s words tumbled through her head in a rush. She felt
 429.375 +compelled to make a decision, but she knew she had none yet. But it
 429.376 +was true. This was no less real than her ‘room’. And vice versa.
 429.377 +Which made it even more difficult to determine which was real. And,
 429.378 +like Harle had said, did it really matter? She couldn’t answer that.
 429.379 +Not yet. “I just want to get my friends back,” she answered after a
 429.380 +long pause.
 429.381 +
 429.382 +“You are not ready yet to decide? It can wait for now. You should
 429.383 +think out your decision anyway, to make sure it’s what iz truly in
 429.384 +your heart. If you do not follow you’re heart, you are nothing more
 429.385 +than a lie.” Harle shrugged. Leaning forward, she scratched under the
 429.386 +kitten’s chin. “But if you want to return your friend to normal, you
 429.387 +only need ze Dragon’s Tear. It can bring back zeir normal form.”
 429.388 +
 429.389 +Pushing off her concerns for the moment, Kairi stepped forward. “It
 429.390 +can? Where is it?! I need it for Riku.” She had been happy just to
 429.391 +know he was close again. That he had been so close to her this whole
 429.392 +time, giving her strength. If he could actually be right next to her
 429.393 +again... She had to find it. She had to return Riku back to his old
 429.394 +self. And she would hug him so tightly and never ever let him go
 429.395 +again. 
 429.396 +
 429.397 +“Ze thief has it. She stole it while we were in Viper Manor. It has
 429.398 +no value to her, though. She was merely searching for the Frozen
 429.399 +Flame. Perhaps she will let you use it, no?” The harlequin suggested.
 429.400 +“Though she can be quite nasty, so I wouldn’t trust her with it for
 429.401 +long.”
 429.402 +
 429.403 +“The thief?” Kairi asked, blinking. The only thief she knew of was
 429.404 +Yuffie. And she hadn’t seen Yuffie since she had awoken. Some noise
 429.405 +from behind caught her attention. She turned around just in time to
 429.406 +see three girls make their way onto the beach. 
 429.407 +
 429.408 +“Kairi!” Yuffie called out, a note of relief in her voice. She had
 429.409 +started to worry that the Keyblade Mistress would never wake up.
 429.410 +Without her, there wasn’t much hope of stopping the Heartless. Of
 429.411 +course, she’d never let her worries show. She was the greatest ninja
 429.412 +ever, after all. It was bad form to let anyone know she was worried
 429.413 +about things.
 429.414 +
 429.415 +“What the bloody hell is she doin’ here?” Kid, on the other hand,
 429.416 +didn’t like the scene before her at all. There was the princess, but
 429.417 +she was with Harle, a servant of the Dragon Gods. And the last she
 429.418 +had seen of Harle had been when the harlequin had destroyed their
 429.419 +only chance to retrieve the Frozen Flame. She unsheathed her knife.
 429.420 +“Get away from her, Kairi! She’s a bloody demon.”
 429.421 +
 429.422 +“So speaks ze dirty dog. I should have known I couldn’t expect a
 429.423 +warm reception from you. And I am not a demon.” Her eyes narrowed as
 429.424 +she strolled towards the thief, her hands on her hips.
 429.425 +
 429.426 +“Slave girl to the Dragon Gods, demon, I don’t see much of a
 429.427 +difference,” Kid shot back, still clutching her dagger. “You ain’t
 429.428 +getting rid of the Keyblade Mistress. You may have stopped us from
 429.429 +getting the Frozen Flame, but I ain’t about to let ya kill our last
 429.430 +hope.”
 429.431 +
 429.432 +Harle broke out into spiels of laughter. “You have got it all wrong.
 429.433 +I have come to give Mademoiselle Kairi my blessing. The blessing of
 429.434 +all the Dragon Gods. They have a vested interest in her journey,
 429.435 +after all.” Stepping back to Kairi, she leaned forward, kissing the
 429.436 +princess on both cheeks before letting her go. She giggled at the
 429.437 +startled look on Kairi’s face and the faint blush on her cheeks. “And
 429.438 +so cute, too! I will enjoy this job much more than my last.” Winking
 429.439 +at Kairi, she turned back to Kid. “And how dare you call me zis slave
 429.440 +girl! Bahamut is no one’s slave girl!”
 429.441 +
 429.442 +“Bahamut?” Yuffie asked, blinking. “What does the king of all
 429.443 +dragons have to do with this?”
 429.444 +
 429.445 +Another giggle before the harlequin curtsied greeted Yuffie’s
 429.446 +statement. “Because Bahamut is standing right before you. I am
 429.447 +Bahamut, ze Dragon God. It iz a pleazure to make your acquaintance.
 429.448 +At least one of you has some respect.” She gave Kid another dirty
 429.449 +look. “Zis iz merely my human form. I thought it would be easier to
 429.450 +travel around El Nido zis way. I am slightly more noticeable as a
 429.451 +dragon.”
 429.452 +
 429.453 +Kid blinked in surprise. She suddenly had the thought that attacking
 429.454 +Harle would be a very affective form of suicide. She had thought the
 429.455 +jester was merely working for the Dragon Gods, not that she was the
 429.456 +head of them. “But.. why would you do all of this yourself? Why not
 429.457 +send someone else?”
 429.458 +
 429.459 +Harle shook her head, dismissing the thought. “If you want something
 429.460 +done, as they say, you must do it yourself. Besides, I could not let
 429.461 +you get a hold of the Frozen Flame. It is a splinter of Lavos, the
 429.462 +world devourer. It would only bring about more darkness, even if you
 429.463 +did use it to stop the Heartless. Ze universe has a delicate balance
 429.464 +that you humans are always so set on ruining.” She sighed, rolling
 429.465 +her eyes. “If it is not ze balance of man and nature, it iz zat
 429.466 +between light and dark. Will you never learn?” 
 429.467 +
 429.468 +“I didn’t come here to get you preachin’ to me. You stopped us from
 429.469 +getting the Frozen Flame, isn’t that enough?” Kid was starting to get
 429.470 +irritated by all of this. As if it wasn’t bad that the harlequin had
 429.471 +ruined her chances to get a sacred relic, now she was back to taunt
 429.472 +her about things. 
 429.473 +
 429.474 +“On ze contrary, I am here to help.” Harle grinned at the look of
 429.475 +surprise on Kid’s face. “Sometimes you humans aren’t completely
 429.476 +worthless after all. And I have to admit I have a weakness for main
 429.477 +characters. They are just too sexzy.” She sighed, looking back to an
 429.478 +embarrassed Kairi. “And since that means Kairi, I will offer my
 429.479 +services to her.”
 429.480 +
 429.481 +“Not that you’d take no for an answer, I’m guessing,” Yuffie said,
 429.482 +sighing. This was getting more and more complicated all the time. Why
 429.483 +wasn’t she happy about the Dragon God joining their party? Because
 429.484 +somehow she doubted that whatever they were after was the same thing.
 429.485 +
 429.486 +“Of course not! You catch on quickly. I’m getting to like you
 429.487 +already. Much better than ze other thief.” Harle smiled.
 429.488 +
 429.489 +Relm squeezed her arms around Yuffie’s waist tighter, possessively.
 429.490 +“Yuffie’s already spoken for her.”
 429.491 +
 429.492 +Yuffie sweatdropped and was about to argue but stopped herself. Did
 429.493 +she really wanna be available around Harle? She decided to drop it
 429.494 +this time. Sighing in defeat, she could feel the younger artist still
 429.495 +pressed tightly against her side.
 429.496 +
 429.497 +Laughing, Harle shook her head. “Don’t worry, she iz not my concern.
 429.498 +I’d much rather follow Mademoiselle Kairi. Perhaps I can change her
 429.499 +mind about finding those silly boys.”
 429.500 +
 429.501 +Looking up, Kairi turned to Kid. Harle’s words had reminded her of
 429.502 +something important. She hurried over, holding the kitten tightly to
 429.503 +her heart. “Kid, I need the Dragon’s Tear. It’s the only way I can
 429.504 +change Riku back to normal.” 
 429.505 +
 429.506 +“Rikku?” Yuffie asked curiously. “Change Rikku back? Back from what?”
 429.507 +
 429.508 +“The cat,” Kairi explained, holding the kitten up. It meowed, moving
 429.509 +slightly in her grasp. “It’s Riku. I just found out.”
 429.510 +
 429.511 +Yuffie stepped forward, looking at the kitten cautiously. She poked
 429.512 +and prodded it for a bit, taking a good look. 
 429.513 +
 429.514 +“Aww... Give the poor kitten a break, Yuffie. She doesn’t need you
 429.515 +poking at her,” Relm protested. “I know Interceptor wouldn’t have
 429.516 +liked it. They’re just like people.”
 429.517 +
 429.518 +“This one is a person,” Yuffie said at last, not quite hearing Relm.
 429.519 +She gazed into the kitten’s eyes for a long moment, those green
 429.520 +swirls instantly recognizable. Suddenly it made a whole lot more
 429.521 +sense why the kitten hadn’t left her alone. 
 429.522 +
 429.523 +Kairi nodded her agreement. “So we need the Dragon’s Tear to get rid
 429.524 +of this curse. Or whatever it is. I just want Riku back to normal.”
 429.525 +The thought that her quest could end there was so relieving. Well,
 429.526 +she would still have to find Sora, but with Riku helping her, she
 429.527 +knew they could find him sooner or later. And then everything would
 429.528 +be just fine again. She didn’t care about the Heartless. She just
 429.529 +wanted to be with her friends again. 
 429.530 +
 429.531 +“I don’t see why I ‘ave to give ya the Dragon’s Tear. I mean, it
 429.532 +doesn’t do anythin’ and I did steal it fair. Might even get a fair
 429.533 +price off of it on the mainland and buy a place for me an’ Leena,”
 429.534 +Kid was saying, not wanting to relinquish her precious treasure. 
 429.535 +
 429.536 +“Oh, just give it to them, Kid. I don’t want to move into some place
 429.537 +you buy with dirty money anyway. I want you to get a real job,” a
 429.538 +redhead said, almost appearing out of nowhere. She walked over, her
 429.539 +hands on her hips, standing next to the thief. “I don’t care about
 429.540 +that anyway. I just want to know if you got the scales for my
 429.541 +necklace.”
 429.542 +
 429.543 +Kid nodded quickly, holding up a bag. “Yep, got ‘em all here. An’
 429.544 +they’ll make a gorgeous necklace, Leena. You’ll look absolutely
 429.545 +darlin’ in them.” She smiled brightly, hoping she could still salvage
 429.546 +this situation. ‘Crap! She did say she’d meet me on the beach, didn’t
 429.547 +she? If I hadn’t been so sidetracked here by the damn clown...’
 429.548 +
 429.549 +“Oh, Kid!” Leena hugged the thief tightly, her legs lifting into the
 429.550 +air as she did, nearly sending herself and Kid sprawling to the sand.
 429.551 +“I knew you’d get them for me.” Her feet finally landed back on the
 429.552 +sand, her arms around Kid’s shoulders. She kissed Kid softly on the
 429.553 +lips before stepping back, her hands still on Kid’s shoulders. She
 429.554 +smiled, pleased with her girlfriend. “Now give them the Dragon’s
 429.555 +Tear,” she reminded the blonde.
 429.556 +
 429.557 +Kid sighed inwardly and rifled through her satchel. There went all
 429.558 +the money she had been counting on the relic raking in. But if she
 429.559 +wanted Leena to stay in the good mood she was in, she might as well
 429.560 +hand it over. It wasn’t like she could say no to the bossy young
 429.561 +housewife-to-be anyway.On top of that, Yuffie was giving her a rather
 429.562 +intent stare. Apparently the ninja wanted her to hand it over as
 429.563 +well. “’Ere it is. Knock yourselves out.”
 429.564 +
 429.565 +Yuffie and Kairi both grabbed for it at the same time. Yuffie
 429.566 +finally took the thing after Kairi hesitated, setting it in the sand.
 429.567 +“Okay, now how does this thing work anyway?”
 429.568 +
 429.569 +Kairi was busy petting the kitten, holding it close. “Poor Riku.
 429.570 +Don’t worry. We’ll have you back to normal in just a moment. I
 429.571 +promise.” She kissed the kitten’s forehead. Riku had done so much for
 429.572 +her. Now she could finally repay him. She’d lost her heart and he had
 429.573 +tried his hardest to save it. Now she could help him regain his body.
 429.574 +
 429.575 +“Just let the kitten gaze into ze Dragon’s Tear. I would say to take
 429.576 +it to Fort Dragonia, but zat is largely ceremonial. Gazing into it
 429.577 +should be enough. Ze Dragon’s Tear will help wash away your friend’s
 429.578 +new body, returning it to itz original form.  
 429.579 +
 429.580 +“We can have it back when yer done, right?” Kid asked curiously.
 429.581 +Leena sighed next to her, crossing her arms. “Not that it’s important
 429.582 +or anythin’.”
 429.583 +
 429.584 +“I don’t care what you do with it after Riku’s back.” Kairi finally
 429.585 +set the kitten down on the sand, stepping back. She wished there was
 429.586 +more she could do, but for now all she could do was watch. This was
 429.587 +like when Sora had been turned into a Heartless. She had helped him
 429.588 +find himself. She could only pray she could do the same for Riku. He
 429.589 +was a cute kitten, granted, but she wanted him back to his old self. 
 429.590 +
 429.591 +“Whatever. Like Rikku hasn’t been stuck like this long enough. Not
 429.592 +that I can’t imagine who’s fault that could be,” Yuffie said
 429.593 +sarcastically. Kneeling, her hands on her knees, she stared at the
 429.594 +kitten with an eyebrow raised. The kitten looked back up at her
 429.595 +sheepishly. 
 429.596 +
 429.597 +The kitten turned on the sand, looking at the glowing blue crystal
 429.598 +before it. It had an inner light like a sun underneath the ocean, a
 429.599 +brilliant blue that seemed to sparkle. The kitten took another step
 429.600 +forward, staring into the Dragon’s Tear. The world almost seemed to
 429.601 +blur, as if it had been looking at it for too long. The kitten
 429.602 +blinked, but the world still felt distorted. The Dragon’s Tear was
 429.603 +glowing brighter now. Then it happened. It started staring right back
 429.604 +at the kitten. The kitten yelped in surprise, but it was too late. It
 429.605 +was already caught in the relic’s gaze. The world rippled as if a
 429.606 +rain drop had fallen upon a puddle, distorting and pulsing out away
 429.607 +from the kitten. And then it was over.
 429.608 +
 429.609 +The catgirl lay there in the sand, slowly regaining consciousness.
 429.610 +She was naked except for the sandy blonde fur that covered her body.
 429.611 +She slowly got to her knees, her paws pushing against the sand. Her
 429.612 +head was still swimming from the reality altering abilities of the
 429.613 +Dragon’s Tear. “Owww...” she winced, rubbing at her temples. Being
 429.614 +reborn was an experience she never wanted to go through again. For a
 429.615 +third time? She didn’t want to think about it.
 429.616 +
 429.617 +“What the hell did it do to Riku?!?” Kairi asked, very nearly ready
 429.618 +to faint. She had been expecting to see him returned to his cute,
 429.619 +silver haired self. What she saw was a cross between a human and a
 429.620 +cat. And a girl at that. If this was her Riku, something had gone
 429.621 +pretty freakishly wrong with the Dragon’s Tear.
 429.622 +
 429.623 +“Yeah, why is she still part cat? I thought you said that thing was
 429.624 +supposed to fix her,” Yuffie said angrily. Kneeling down, she helped
 429.625 +the catgirl back to her feet. 
 429.626 +
 429.627 +“I will answer both of your questions as best as I am able.” Harle
 429.628 +bowed low before continuing. “You see, Mademoiselle Kairi, zis iz
 429.629 +indeed Rikku. But not your Rikku. She is a member of ze Radical
 429.630 +Dreamers. Am I right?” She looked up, raising an eyebrow
 429.631 +questioningly at Yuffie and Kid.
 429.632 +
 429.633 +“Yeah, it’s Rikku, all right. I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. She
 429.634 +disappeared a while back when we showed up in Traverse Town. We
 429.635 +didn’t know what happened to her,” Yuffie explained, holding the
 429.636 +dazed catgirl even as Relm held sole possession of her other arm. 
 429.637 +
 429.638 +“Yuffie!” Rikku shouted happily, coming back to her sense. She
 429.639 +grasped onto Yuffie from her other side, effectively squishing the
 429.640 +poor ninja between over-enthusiastic catgirl and love-starved artist.
 429.641 +“I was waiting for you to figure out it was me! What took you so
 429.642 +long?! I kept trying to get your attention, but you wouldn’t listen
 429.643 +to me!” the catgirl whined.
 429.644 +
 429.645 +“I had other things on my mind. How was I supposed to know that the
 429.646 +goofy little cat was you?” Yuffie asked defensively. “Besides, we
 429.647 +found out it was you. That’s what matters. And you’re back to normal.
 429.648 +Kinda.”
 429.649 +
 429.650 +“Yuffie! You didn’t tell me you already had a girlfriend...” Relm
 429.651 +was devastated. Yuffie was supposed to be her ninja, the girl she had
 429.652 +nursed back to health, who she would marry and spend the rest of her
 429.653 +life with. And now she found this other girl that Yuffie had known
 429.654 +longer who had absolutely no problem holding onto the ninja just as
 429.655 +unabashedly as she was. How could Yuffie do that to her? She'd looked
 429.656 +through all of Yuffie’s things when she had stripped her unconscious
 429.657 +form and placed some heavy blankets on her back at the cabin in
 429.658 +Narshe. She hadn’t seen anything indicating another woman in her
 429.659 +life. It was supposed to be Fate!
 429.660 +
 429.661 +“She’s not my girlfriend!” Yuffie said quickly. She would have
 429.662 +shaken her hands to emphasize the point, but her hands were currently
 429.663 +pinned to her sides by the two girls on either side of her. She
 429.664 +sighed inwardly. That was really beginning to sound like her catch
 429.665 +phrase. Fate had decided to play some cosmic prank on her. She could
 429.666 +just hear the Goddess of Fate laughing at this turn of events. “This
 429.667 +is Rikku. She’s my little sister.”
 429.668 +
 429.669 +“Yeah, and big sisters are supposed to look out for their little
 429.670 +sisters and not let them get changed into cats!” Rikku stuck her
 429.671 +scratchy tongue out at the older thief, her tail moving about in
 429.672 +frustration. 
 429.673 +
 429.674 +“Ohhhh...” Relm sighed in relief. “I’m sorry I doubted you, honey.”
 429.675 +Holding onto Yuffie’s arm tighter, the blonde artist leaned into
 429.676 +Yuffie’s side.
 429.677 +
 429.678 +“Don’t call me that!”
 429.679 +
 429.680 +Meanwhile, Kairi was still watching Harle intently. “So that wasn’t
 429.681 +my Riku, after all?” The harlequin nodded. She sighed, closing her
 429.682 +eyes. So close and yet so far. Another false lead. Once again, Riku
 429.683 +had been snatched out of her grasp. When she found him, she’d chain
 429.684 +him up and throw away the key so he’d never get taken away again. She
 429.685 +nodded resolutely. She had to get him back. Soon. ‘I’ll always be
 429.686 +thinking of you, wherever you are,’ she thought, hoping it would
 429.687 +reach him.
 429.688 +
 429.689 +“The reazon she did not turn back completely was because zis iz only
 429.690 +ze Tear of Hate. Ze Dragon’s Tear exists in two worlds. In one world,
 429.691 +it iz ze Tear of Hate. In ze other world, it iz ze Tear of Love. When
 429.692 +they are brought together, ze Dragon’s Tear is complete. Since it was
 429.693 +only ze Tear of Hate, it couldn’t completely restore her,” Harle
 429.694 +explained. She tried with all of her might not to smile. She found
 429.695 +this whole situation amusing. 
 429.696 +
 429.697 +“You mean I’m stuck like this?!” Rikku asked, mortified. She mewled
 429.698 +sadly and quickly stopped herself. She wasn’t a cat. She wasn’t. No
 429.699 +matter how much she looked like one. She sniffled, pawing at her
 429.700 +eyes. 
 429.701 +
 429.702 +“For ze time being. Unless you want to go look for ze Tear of Love.
 429.703 +But we don’t have ze time for that. We have to reach ze Door of Light
 429.704 +while we still have time.”
 429.705 +
 429.706 +Yuffie sighed, hugging Rikku with her free arm. “We’ll get you back
 429.707 +to normal when this is all over. I promise.” The catgirl looked up at
 429.708 +her, her swirling green eyes misty with tears. “Besides, this isn’t
 429.709 +so bad, is it? I mean, you make a cute catgirl, at least, right?”
 429.710 +
 429.711 +Rikku smiled slowly, looking up at the older ninja. “You really
 429.712 +think so, Yuffie?” Her tail was swishing through the air much more
 429.713 +happily now. 
 429.714 +
 429.715 +Where was Interceptor when she needed him? Her pet dog could keep
 429.716 +the catgirl a little away from her love. Relm just held tighter onto
 429.717 +her ninja girl. The last thing she needed at the moment was someone
 429.718 +else distracting Yuffie from their destiny together. 
 429.719 +
 429.720 +“How did you end up like that anyway, Rikku?” Yuffie asked, still
 429.721 +shocked that the kitten they’d been dragging around had been her
 429.722 +sister the whole time. Rikku mumbled something into her blouse.
 429.723 +“What? I couldn’t hear you.”
 429.724 +
 429.725 +Rikku bit her lip and pulled her face back from Yuffie’s blouse. She
 429.726 +didn’t want to say it again. She was too embarrassed. “... I wound up
 429.727 +stealing some things from some mage’s hotel room. But they got back
 429.728 +before I could get out of there. She was really mad and she cast a
 429.729 +spell on me. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with
 429.730 +everything around me. She grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and
 429.731 +tossed me into the alley out back.”
 429.732 +
 429.733 +Kid nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s where ya went. We went lookin’
 429.734 +all over for ya. Yuffie was startin’ to think ya got swallowed up by
 429.735 +the Heartless or somethin’.” 
 429.736 +
 429.737 +Rikku’s eyes sparkled. “You were worried about me? Oh, Yuffie! I
 429.738 +knew you’d come looking for me!” She nearly pounced on the brunette.
 429.739 +At such close range, it almost sent all three girls sprawling. 
 429.740 +
 429.741 +Kid laughed. “Don’t listen to Yuffie’s lessons on stealin’ things
 429.742 +anymore. You’ve seen what trouble that can get ya into. It obviously
 429.743 +wasn’t good enough to get away from that mage.”
 429.744 +
 429.745 +“Will you stay out of this? My lessons are just fine, thanks. I’ll
 429.746 +teach my little sister the way I want to. You teach your kids, all
 429.747 +twenty of them, the way you want to,” Yuffie shot at the blonde.
 429.748 +
 429.749 +“I ain’t havin’ twenty kids.” Kid crossed her arms.
 429.750 +
 429.751 +“Yeah, I was thinking more around six,” Leena said thoughtfully. 
 429.752 +
 429.753 +“Six?!” Kid’s eyes widened. Leena had a wistful look on her face.
 429.754 +“I’m gonna be runnin’ a bloody orphanage just like Lucca.” She placed
 429.755 +her hands behind her head, looking up at the cobalt blue sky. Well,
 429.756 +that wouldn’t be so bad. She was sure Lucca would be happy about it.
 429.757 +
 429.758 +“So.. I have to keep looking for him. Wherever he is.” Kairi nodded,
 429.759 +trying to work up her resolve. This time she had failed. But she’d
 429.760 +keep trying. Just like he did. And eventually, she would find him.
 429.761 +And it would be the real him. And she would hold onto him until the
 429.762 +sun fell from the heavens.
 429.763 +
 429.764 +“Just remember. Ze closer you get to ze light, ze greater your
 429.765 +shadow becomes. You are going to ze source of all light. Be very
 429.766 +careful, Mademoiselle Kairi, or you will be blinded. And your shadow
 429.767 +will be too much for you to handle,” Harle warned. She turned from
 429.768 +the group, looking out toward the ocean. 
 429.769 +
 429.770 +Kairi took a step towards the harlequin. There was so much more she
 429.771 +wanted to know. And this girl, this Dragon God, seemed to have the
 429.772 +answers. Or some of them, at least. So intent was she on Harle, on
 429.773 +her still unformed questions, that it wasn’t until the water was past
 429.774 +her ankles that she took notice. Looking out to sea, she could see
 429.775 +the rough, turbulent waters. The dark, angry waves that were rushing
 429.776 +faster and faster towards them, reaching out like giant claws. She
 429.777 +thought she screamed, but it could have been merely the crash of the
 429.778 +waves. And then the sea snatched them away.

   430.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   430.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   430.3 @@ -0,0 +1,741 @@
   430.4 +
   430.5 +
   430.6 +Prism Hearts
   430.7 +Chapter 7
   430.8 +Melodies of Life
   430.9 +by Amazoness Duo
  430.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  430.11 +
  430.12 +
  430.13 +“Why did you come with me?”
  430.14 +
  430.15 +“Hey, that’s Ipsen’s line.”
  430.16 +
  430.17 +“Ipsen? Who’s that?”
  430.18 +
  430.19 +“Ipsen is a character from a play. But he’s a real life adventurer.
  430.20 +I think the play is based on his adventures. It kind of goes like
  430.21 +this: Ipsen and his good friend, Colin, worked at a tavern in Treno.
  430.22 +One day, Ipsen got a letter. The letter was so wet from rain that
  430.23 +most of the writing was illegible. The only part he could read said
  430.24 +“Come back home”. Nowadays, we have airships and stuff, but back
  430.25 +then, it was really hard to travel. He didn’t know why he had to go
  430.26 +back, but he had some time off, gathered his things, and set out on a
  430.27 +journey home. He walked a thousand leagues through the mist.
  430.28 +Sometimes he was attacked by vicious monsters, but he made it because
  430.29 +his friend, Colin, was by his side. And then, after much time on the
  430.30 +road, he had to ask Colin something. ‘Why did you come with me?’”
  430.31 +
  430.32 +“And? What was Colin’s answer?”
  430.33 +
  430.34 +“Only because I wanted to go with you.”
  430.35 +
  430.36 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  430.37 +
  430.38 +I am surrounded by darkness. It’s all around me, dark and thick and
  430.39 +cold. I can feel it reaching out to caress me, its knifelike touch
  430.40 +raking across my skin, trying to comfort me. It’s the only constant.
  430.41 +The endless darkness; a deep and ancient sea that stretches out into
  430.42 +eternity. It calls to me, echoing throughout me. It wants me here.
  430.43 +I... belong here. Amidst the darkness. My home for so long. The world
  430.44 +I had known for most of my life. One of darkness and pain. It’s
  430.45 +familiar, a feeling that resonates within me. Isn’t this how I’ve
  430.46 +always been? Before the Destiny Islands, before I managed to escape.
  430.47 +But now it’s found me again. And it will never let go. The darkness
  430.48 +has me in its grasp. I won’t be able to escape a second time. I am
  430.49 +home now.
  430.50 +
  430.51 +No...
  430.52 +
  430.53 +No! I don’t belong here! I don’t belong to the darkness! I’m not
  430.54 +like that! 
  430.55 +
  430.56 +I shake my head. It feels as if a spell has been broken. There’s
  430.57 +still the endless night, but there’s something else. It’s still
  430.58 +pulling on me, but I’m not letting myself get pulled helplessly
  430.59 +anymore. I can move again. I feel like I’m waking up from some
  430.60 +nightmare. I won’t let this drag me down. I have to get out of here,
  430.61 +away from the darkness. Away from all this. 
  430.62 +
  430.63 +‘Running away again?’ a voice says, echoing all around me. I turn
  430.64 +around and around, searching for the voice, but I still can’t see
  430.65 +anything. It’s taunting me again, playing with my fears, trying to
  430.66 +break whatever confidence I manage to pull to myself. I ball my
  430.67 +fists, still searching. I won’t let it break me. Not now. I’ll find a
  430.68 +way out of here. Somehow. 
  430.69 +
  430.70 +I can still feel it reaching for me, the darkness reaching for
  430.71 +something inside of me. What scares me is that feeling of familiarity
  430.72 +that burns within me while I’m here. Like I’ve been here before. Like
  430.73 +I’ve felt this all before. But that can’t be; I’ve never been inside
  430.74 +of the darkness before. This place... Pieces begin to take shape. My
  430.75 +clothes are changing. They’re darker, more gothic. People begin to
  430.76 +surround me. Cold, dark. Heartless. These people are also familiar
  430.77 +somehow. Like I can almost remember them. How they never cared. How I
  430.78 +was always alone even when the halls were crowded. 
  430.79 +
  430.80 +‘Welcome home, Kairi,’ the voice whispers in my ear again. 
  430.81 +
  430.82 +I stare in horror as more of the world starts to take shape before
  430.83 +me. It all feels so real, as if I can step out into it. A world
  430.84 +created entirely of darkness. A world built upon pain and suffering.
  430.85 +Where loneliness was my only constant companion. A world where the
  430.86 +bright crimson of blood was my only escape from the endless darkness
  430.87 +that had imprisoned me. Names begin to tease my mind, of people and
  430.88 +places that I can’t know, shouldn’t know. This isn’t my world. I’m
  430.89 +not from here. I can’t be. 
  430.90 +
  430.91 +I search frantically for an exit. Any exit. I don’t care what the
  430.92 +voice says. I want to get away from here. I need to get away before
  430.93 +it becomes any more real. Before it chains me to it again. I won’t
  430.94 +let it take me back. I won’t ever go back. I refuse. I turned my back
  430.95 +on that life when I slit my wrists, breaking my bonds. But like an
  430.96 +angry dragon deprived of its treasure, it’s hunting me, yearning to
  430.97 +drag me back in its clutches, crushed and bloody. 
  430.98 +
  430.99 +My heart pounds in my chest, my body shaking. I’m gasping for
 430.100 +breath, an eerie chill sending frosty crystals flowing through me. I
 430.101 +shudder. I can’t let this happen. Desperation is stabbing into me, a
 430.102 +thousand needles, all incredibly intent. I have to get away. Now! 
 430.103 +
 430.104 +‘Kairi...’
 430.105 +
 430.106 +No... Leave me alone. I don’t know you! 
 430.107 +
 430.108 +‘Kairi, dear...’
 430.109 +
 430.110 +Please, just go away! I clutch my head, crumbling to my knees. I
 430.111 +don’t belong here! Don’t you see that?! I never did fit in. I never
 430.112 +belonged. I couldn’t survive in the darkness. It was too much for me.
 430.113 +It left me broken. Why couldn’t you see that? I had to leave it. I
 430.114 +had to get away. 
 430.115 +
 430.116 +“Kairi,” she says, her hand on my shoulder. 
 430.117 +
 430.118 +I scream. That world shatters around me, breaking like a dropped
 430.119 +china doll. I fall, plunging through a world of splintered glass. I
 430.120 +don’t know where I’m going or where I am. But I can’t help feeling
 430.121 +some faint relief to get away from that nightmare. Even if I’m only
 430.122 +trading it in for another. 
 430.123 +
 430.124 +I am surrounded by darkness. It’s all around me, dark and thick and
 430.125 +cold. I can feel it reaching out to caress me, it’s knifelike touch
 430.126 +raking across my skin, trying to comfort me. It’s the only constant.
 430.127 +The endless darkness, like a deep and ancient sea that stretches out
 430.128 +into eternity. It calls to me, echoing throughout me. It wants me
 430.129 +here. But I will not stay here. I’m getting out of here. I won’t let
 430.130 +the darkness consume me. I have too much I still need to do. Sora and
 430.131 +Riku need me. I won’t play the helpless princess this time. This
 430.132 +time, I’ll protect you. Both of you. I promise. 
 430.133 +
 430.134 +Even in the darkness, there is light. I just have to find it.
 430.135 +There... So far away, so faint it could almost be my imagination. But
 430.136 +it’s there. Because I believe it’s really there. I have faith that
 430.137 +the light is waiting for me. Because I know what the light in my life
 430.138 +is. Riku and Sora. They are my light. And I carry them with me
 430.139 +wherever I go. So no matter the darkness that surrounds me, there
 430.140 +will always be light in my heart. 
 430.141 +
 430.142 +I run to the light. And run. And run. It seems so far away. My
 430.143 +muscles ache and burn, the darkness clawing at me as I run, trying to
 430.144 +drag me back. But I won’t let anything keep me away from them. I’m
 430.145 +going to save them. No matter what it takes. The light... It’s so
 430.146 +beautiful. So warm. It caresses me as I finally reach it. And for
 430.147 +just a split second, he holds me. It’s all too brief, but I burn it
 430.148 +into my mind, etching every half-remembered feeling into my soul. One
 430.149 +day I’ll have that forever. It won’t be snatched away from me. I’ll
 430.150 +hold onto him until the sun falls from the sky and even longer. 
 430.151 +
 430.152 +One day...
 430.153 +
 430.154 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.155 +
 430.156 +
 430.157 +Light... Bright and jarring. It cascades around me harshly, bathing
 430.158 +everything in its judgmental glow. As if accusing me. ‘You, girl from
 430.159 +the darkness, you are not welcome here,’ I can almost hear it say. My
 430.160 +eyes ache and shut instinctively tighter, trying to drown out the
 430.161 +brilliant glow that surrounds me. ‘Just go away...’ I beg. But it
 430.162 +ignores me, seeming to focus even more on me. 
 430.163 +
 430.164 +We always cherish light. It is beautiful. It is right. It is good.
 430.165 +But we never stop to think that if anything were held to the light,
 430.166 +that it would wither and burn under its touch. Without a filter, the
 430.167 +light is too blinding, too strong. The blazing light and the cold
 430.168 +darkness are both ends of the extreme. One isn’t simply salvation
 430.169 +while the other is ruin. Both can destroy you. Both can protect you.
 430.170 +The darkness can be just as beautiful, can’t it?
 430.171 +
 430.172 +Perhaps there are more similarities than I’d ever realized...
 430.173 +
 430.174 +But now, the light is making me ache and burn. I curl up, trying to
 430.175 +shut it out. I fall short in its harsh view. I am not of the light,
 430.176 +it tells me. I don’t belong here. It will wash me away in its light
 430.177 +until I’m nothing more than the hint of a shadow. 
 430.178 +
 430.179 +This is wrong. Of course I’m from the light. I wanted to escape the
 430.180 +darkness, didn’t I? This should be welcome. This should be freedom.
 430.181 +So why am I so afraid of it? Why isn’t it welcoming me with open
 430.182 +arms? Why am I being turned away? What’s wrong with me? Tears start
 430.183 +to burn at my eyes as I shut them tighter. ‘Please,’ I call out.
 430.184 +‘Help me...’ Isn’t the light supposed to save you? Isn’t it what
 430.185 +dreams and hope are built from.
 430.186 +
 430.187 +‘No...’ Comes its response, reverberating through me. ‘Nothing can
 430.188 +save you. You are too entangled by the darkness. You are darkness.’
 430.189 +
 430.190 +‘No! Please, don’t send me away! I need help! I’m all alone...’
 430.191 +
 430.192 +But the light ignores me. It doesn’t wish to have me so close
 430.193 +anymore, dirtying its gorgeous rays. So it simply casts me out.
 430.194 +
 430.195 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.196 +
 430.197 +I lie there for a long time, trying to make sense out of things. I
 430.198 +don’t care enough to open my eyes and find out where I am. That’s
 430.199 +secondary. I’ll figure it out later. I hope. It doesn’t matter where
 430.200 +I am, anyway. It’s not like I’ve had a well-designed plan through all
 430.201 +of this.
 430.202 +
 430.203 +The darkness longs for me. The light rejects me. I feel a cold chill
 430.204 +pass over my body at that thought. The light that can save me won’t
 430.205 +let me near. The darkness is even now creeping after me, trying to
 430.206 +plunge me back into its depths. It’s hunting for me. And I have
 430.207 +nowhere to run to. No sanctuary that can protect me.
 430.208 +
 430.209 +I shudder on the cold floor. I’m all alone. 
 430.210 +
 430.211 +No... ‘Remember what you said, Kairi? I’m always with you, too,’
 430.212 +Sora had said right before he had been dragged away from me to
 430.213 +someplace far off. Yes. I am not alone. I place a hand over my heart.
 430.214 +My boys are right there with me. No matter where they are. I’m not
 430.215 +alone. If the light turned its back on me, then I Don’t need it. All
 430.216 +I need are Riku and Sora. If I can’t believe in the light, then I’ll
 430.217 +believe in them. I will find them. I will save them. And they will be
 430.218 +my shelter from the storm that threatens to consume me. As long as I
 430.219 +have them, I’ll never let the darkness swallow me. 
 430.220 +
 430.221 +“Ohhhh...” someone groans beside me. “I’m starting to think
 430.222 +travelling by Gummi Ship from world to world isn’t half bad. Sure, I
 430.223 +got motion sick from it. But I didn’t wake up wondering where the
 430.224 +hell I was.”
 430.225 +
 430.226 +“One of these days you’re going to wake up naked in a hotel room
 430.227 +thinking that and I’ll prove to you that it can be a good thing,”
 430.228 +another voice pipes in.
 430.229 +
 430.230 +“Relm, watch your hands,” the first voice warns. 
 430.231 +
 430.232 +“Oops... Sorry,” comes the gleeful response. Relm doesn’t sound
 430.233 +sorry in the least. 
 430.234 +
 430.235 +Well, at least I know Yuffie and Relm are both still with me. I
 430.236 +don’t have to go on alone after all. I slowly open my eyes, the world
 430.237 +a blur around me. How long was I out this time? Where will I find
 430.238 +myself now? My head swims, still reeling from my sudden brushes with
 430.239 +both the light and the darkness. My heart wavers. I still don’t know
 430.240 +where I stand. Grandma used to tell me there was always light. But if
 430.241 +the light wouldn’t accept me... 
 430.242 +
 430.243 +Now is not the time to be thinking about these things. First things
 430.244 +first. I need to find out where I am. Somehow. “Where are we?” I ask
 430.245 +after a moment, flipping some hair from my eyes. 
 430.246 +
 430.247 +“Maybe you can ask them,” Relm suggests, pointing behind me. 
 430.248 +
 430.249 +The concerned look in her eyes tells me I probably won’t want to ask
 430.250 +whoever it is. Yuffie just watches on with a ‘why does this sort of
 430.251 +thing always happen to me?’ look plastered on her face. I slowly
 430.252 +turn, hesitant to find out. Sure enough, I doubt these people are
 430.253 +interested in telling me directions to find my lost boys. There are
 430.254 +at least seven women in the hallway, all wearing armor and bearing
 430.255 +swords and shields. The one in the lead holds a rather hefty sword
 430.256 +and sports an eye patch, presumably a testament to the many battles
 430.257 +she had been through. I swallow nervously. “You wouldn’t happen to
 430.258 +know where I could find a silver haired boy, would you?” I try a
 430.259 +smile, but it’s lost on the soldiers. 
 430.260 +
 430.261 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.262 +
 430.263 +Yep. I’m officially hating this by now. I lie on my cold, hard bunk
 430.264 +in the dungeon, my hands behind my head. If I had more materia, those
 430.265 +knights wouldn’t have stood a chance against me. Of course, Beatrix,
 430.266 +as I’d learned was her name after the fact (my jailer won’t shut up
 430.267 +about her), soundly trounced me while Kairi and Relm sat there
 430.268 +worthlessly and squealed like little girls when the knights grabbed
 430.269 +them. So one could say the odds weren’t exactly stacked in my favor. 
 430.270 +
 430.271 +I roll on my side and hit the wall with my fist. I’m supposed to be
 430.272 +a legendary hero. The greatest ninja that ever lived. Some hero I’m
 430.273 +turning out to be. I can’t even save Relm from a couple stupid
 430.274 +knights. And Kairi, I hastily add. Not like I have any vested
 430.275 +interest in Relm. Of course not. I laugh aloud. What a silly thought.
 430.276 +That little pervert isn’t getting to me. I mean, sure she’s awfully
 430.277 +sweet and she has this way of riling me up, and her eyes have this
 430.278 +way of taking over your soul... 
 430.279 +
 430.280 +I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Whatever the case, it
 430.281 +doesn’t matter. I couldn’t come to her rescue even if I wanted to.
 430.282 +Which I don’t. I’m stuck in the dungeon, alone, weaponless. At this
 430.283 +rate, the universe will be swallowed by Heartless before I can ever
 430.284 +get Kairi to the Doorway to the Light. But at least I’m trying! Not
 430.285 +like Leon and Aerith. Both staying home to cuddle with their love
 430.286 +bunnies while I work my ass off trying to get the Keyblade Mistress
 430.287 +to fix everything. And I’m not out here just because I don’t have
 430.288 +someone! I wouldn’t be doing the exact some thing as them if I had
 430.289 +someone to wake up with and cling tightly to and... Of course not!
 430.290 +
 430.291 +“And she’s much, much more talented than Sir Steiner. Why, Lady
 430.292 +Beatrix was our pride and joy at the last tournament. The Knights of
 430.293 +Pluto didn’t even want to challenge her. It was really very funny.
 430.294 +They were all...” The guard drones on. She had explained earlier than
 430.295 +she doesn’t mind guard duty. I think I can see why. She takes a
 430.296 +sadistic pleasure in slowly killing the prisoners. 
 430.297 +
 430.298 +I pull my pillow around my head, trying to drown out her incessant
 430.299 +ranting about Lady Beatrix. I’m still pissed that Beatrix stopped me
 430.300 +in the hallway. I could’ve at least gotten through her and then been
 430.301 +taken down by the guards. Or they could’ve all ganged up on me or
 430.302 +something. It’s embarrassing that it only took Beatrix. Now Relm’s
 430.303 +images of me are probably shattered and I’ll never be her hero again.
 430.304 +Not that I care, mind you. Nope. Not in the least.
 430.305 +
 430.306 +I wonder where they took Relm and Kairi. We were split up after our
 430.307 +clash in that hallway. Oddly enough, It seemed like they had been
 430.308 +expecting us. Everywhere else we had been, we always seemed to wind
 430.309 +up there by accident. But this time, they were ready. They seemed to
 430.310 +want Kairi for something. So she’ll be safe for a bit, at least. If
 430.311 +they need her, they can’t harm her. But what about Relm? She isn’t in
 430.312 +the dungeon. Where would they have taken her? I hope she’s all
 430.313 +right... I won’t forgive myself if she got hurt because of me.
 430.314 +
 430.315 +And where is Rikku? I remember the wave crashing around us. She was
 430.316 +holding onto one of my arms and Relm was holding onto the other. I
 430.317 +tried to hold onto both of them, but I was getting thrown about and I
 430.318 +couldn’t keep my grip. My heart skips a beat at the thought of her
 430.319 +being lost someplace in this infinity. But she has to be out there.
 430.320 +She probably just didn’t get stuck in the same place we did. Yeah.
 430.321 +That has to be it. I hope.
 430.322 +
 430.323 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.324 +
 430.325 +I watch Yuffie in her cell for a while. Oh, my poor girl. Her ego’s
 430.326 +wounded. I’m just thrilled she’d fight for me, win or lose. But she
 430.327 +doesn’t see it that way. She’s got to be the best. But usually she’s
 430.328 +better about turning things around and pretending she’s gotten away
 430.329 +with what she wanted to. Snatching semi-victories from the jaws of
 430.330 +defeat. But she still looks cute, even languishing on her prison bed.
 430.331 +The guard unlocks the door for me and I slip quietly into Yuffie’s
 430.332 +cell, not wanting to disturb her dark thoughts. Not yet, at least. 
 430.333 +
 430.334 +I wonder what you’re thinking, my beautiful ninja. Are any of your
 430.335 +thoughts about me? Is there any room in that guarded heart of yours
 430.336 +for me? I sure hope so. I’ll keep trying until I can find out for
 430.337 +sure. 
 430.338 +
 430.339 +Leaning forward, I nuzzle the crook of her neck, delighting at the
 430.340 +feel of her soft skin against my nose and lips. She flinches
 430.341 +instinctively, but it’s too late. There’s nowhere to escape for now.
 430.342 +She must really be out of it if I could catch her by surprise like
 430.343 +this. I nuzzle deeper as she curls up on the small bed, trying to
 430.344 +escape me but only succeeding in pressing against the wall. I giggle
 430.345 +as I slowly pull away, watching the mortified look on her face. Her
 430.346 +cheeks are a cherry red, her eyes as wide as twin moons. 
 430.347 +
 430.348 +“Relm,” she gets out weakly. 
 430.349 +
 430.350 +“Didja miss me?” I ask, grinning as I lean over her curled up form.
 430.351 +The great and mighty Yuffie, slayer of monsters and master thief. And
 430.352 +here she is cowering before me, with nowhere to hide. Weird how a
 430.353 +young artist from another world could do that to her. Not that I
 430.354 +mind. The irony makes it all taste even more delicious. 
 430.355 +
 430.356 +Slowly she manages to piece together her sarcastic, independent
 430.357 +exterior. Her eyes narrow and she places a hand on my forehead,
 430.358 +pushing me back so she can sit up. I try to push back, but she’s too
 430.359 +much stronger than me. I sigh and step back, crossing my arms. “Oh,
 430.360 +right. I hate having the use of my right arm. It’s much better when
 430.361 +you’re hanging off of it,” she replies sarcastically. 
 430.362 +
 430.363 +I pout. “Well, I was going to get you out, but if you don’t want
 430.364 +to...” I sigh, turning my back to her. It takes a second for that to
 430.365 +seep in for her. 
 430.366 +
 430.367 +“Get me out? What are you talking about?”
 430.368 +
 430.369 +I turn around to face her again, smiling brightly. Oh, I can’t stay
 430.370 +mad at her for long. Even if she can be selfish and arrogant and...
 430.371 +Ahem. Okay, maybe I can stay a little frustrated with her, but that’s
 430.372 +different. “I’m her majesty’s royal artist. One of the knights found
 430.373 +a picture I had and they decided the queen should see this ‘wee
 430.374 +girl’s’ abilities for herself. She made me do a portrait, which I had
 430.375 +to make up a lot for because she isn’t very easy to look at for long,
 430.376 +and she liked it so much that she decided to give me a job instead of
 430.377 +throwing me in here.”
 430.378 +
 430.379 +“You convinced them with a picture?” she asks, blinking. Then she
 430.380 +considers. “Well, you are really good. That fire you drew seemed real
 430.381 +enough. So I guess that makes sense.”
 430.382 +
 430.383 +I narrow my eyebrows. “They wouldn’t have found the picture at all
 430.384 +if they’d been keeping their hands to themselves. But then, in a
 430.385 +place with a band of female knights, you have to wonder.” I wait
 430.386 +anxiously for her jealous reply. She wouldn’t want anyone touching
 430.387 +me. Or harassing me. Or anything like that. Not when she can do all
 430.388 +of that herself. Right...?
 430.389 +
 430.390 +Yuffie grins. “Must be your kinda place then, huh?”
 430.391 +
 430.392 +I can only stare at her. I’m trembling. How could she say that to
 430.393 +me? Does she really think of me like that? I only want her to know
 430.394 +how much I like her. I wouldn’t do that with anyone. I just want her
 430.395 +to know... I don’t know how else to do it. I’ve never been in love
 430.396 +before. This is all so new to me. I can’t even see her anymore. I
 430.397 +only see a haze as tears fill my vision. I yank the picture they’d
 430.398 +found on me, one I’d drawn the night I met Yuffie. I crumple it up in
 430.399 +my hands, tearing and ripping. I want to destroy something beautiful.
 430.400 +Something that meant so much to me. Unable to get out any words, I
 430.401 +make a muffled sob as I toss the pieces at her, turning and running
 430.402 +as fast as I can away from her. I don’t care where I go as long as
 430.403 +it’s away. Far, far away. I sob weakly as I force myself to run. When
 430.404 +you get hurt, when your heart bleeds, that’s what tears are. I hate
 430.405 +you, Yuffie. I hate you. Because obviously I’m nothing more than a
 430.406 +stupid little perverse kid to you. And I hate myself for not being
 430.407 +good enough, worthy enough of you. So I run. And I cry.
 430.408 +
 430.409 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.410 +
 430.411 +I blink, watching Relm burst into tears and run off. The prison door
 430.412 +slams shut behind her, the guard more watchful than I thought. Not
 430.413 +that I’d be able to escape right now even if she wasn’t paying
 430.414 +attention; my mind’s on other things. 
 430.415 +
 430.416 +I kneel down, sifting my fingers through the ripped and crumpled
 430.417 +picture on the floor. How she could destroy something she’d spent so
 430.418 +much time creating is beyond me. Whatever I did, I must have hurt her
 430.419 +immeasurably to get that kind of reaction. To see her shred something
 430.420 +that she had given life to. Slowly the image begins to take shape
 430.421 +under my fingers, the angry rips and tears defiling the beautiful
 430.422 +image. Me. She had drawn me. A portrait that’s more gorgeous than I
 430.423 +could ever pray to truly be myself. That’s what the guards had seen,
 430.424 +what had prompted the queen to keep her out of the dungeon. It’s
 430.425 +lovely. Or it was. Before I disgraced it. Before I signed its death
 430.426 +sentence and left it to die in its creator’s usually gentle hands. 
 430.427 +
 430.428 +She drew me. She wanted me to be the subject of her amazing talent.
 430.429 +She looked at me with those shining eyes, filled with love and
 430.430 +adoration. And all I could do was slap her in the face because I’m
 430.431 +too much of a bitch to accept it all gratefully. I didn’t realize how
 430.432 +much it would hurt her. I didn’t mean to...
 430.433 +
 430.434 +What have I done? “Fuck...” I mutter, hunching over, my short hair
 430.435 +drooping as my head nearly touches the floor. Good one, Yuffie.
 430.436 +She’ll never let you save her now. Now it looks like you’re the one
 430.437 +who needs saving.
 430.438 +
 430.439 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.440 +
 430.441 +Kairi sighed. She looked out a large window, the only escape from
 430.442 +the room she was stuck in. But to escape this prison, she would need
 430.443 +angel’s wings. She slumped against the windowsill, watching the doves
 430.444 +come and go as they pleased. If only it was that easy for her. The
 430.445 +room was beautifully furnished. But it was still a cage to her. She
 430.446 +wanted to soar free. To escape all of this. 
 430.447 +
 430.448 +The young princess fidgeted uneasily. She had been separated from
 430.449 +her friends and placed in these chambers. Two maids had ‘helped’ her
 430.450 +change into an elegant pale lavender dress and then left her there.
 430.451 +She wasn’t used to dresses. They were too confining. She liked to
 430.452 +have room to run and be free. ‘Mom always wanted me to wear dresses.
 430.453 +But they weren’t my style. I only wore the one’s she’d buy me a few
 430.454 +times and that was only to appease her,’ she thought. The memories
 430.455 +had come to her unbidden. But there was something else, as well.
 430.456 +Someone older, shaking his head in disgust. ‘The princess is a
 430.457 +tomboy,’ he had said. And then someone laughing. Her... father? But
 430.458 +she hadn’t had a father, had she? Not in that place where her room
 430.459 +existed. But somewhere else, she had been raised by her father
 430.460 +instead of her mother. ‘She takes after her father,’ he had said,
 430.461 +smiling. He had a warm smile. Everyone had loved him dearly. 
 430.462 +
 430.463 +Holding her head, Kairi tried to sort through the contradictory
 430.464 +memories. Was she a princess who had lost her memories? Or was she a
 430.465 +girl so desperate to escape her own life that she had drowned in
 430.466 +fantasy? It was like two separate lives were trying to piece
 430.467 +themselves together inside of her. It was taking its toll on the
 430.468 +brunette. She was starting to have a hard time telling which way was
 430.469 +up. 
 430.470 +
 430.471 +“Why do you care so much about what’s ‘real’?” a voice asked.
 430.472 +
 430.473 +Kairi whirled about. A young blonde girl stood before her. She had a
 430.474 +bandage over one of her eyes and she wore a hospital gown. 
 430.475 +
 430.476 +“What is Real, anyway?” another voice asked, coming from the bed.
 430.477 +The girl on the bed looked exactly the same as the other girl, though
 430.478 +she wasn’t wearing the bandage. “Is Real what everyone tells you is
 430.479 +real?”
 430.480 +
 430.481 +“Or is Real what you believe in your heart to be true?” the other
 430.482 +girl continued. 
 430.483 +
 430.484 +“Who are you?” Kairi asked, looking back and forth between the two
 430.485 +young girls.
 430.486 +
 430.487 +“She’s Maya,” the one with the bandage said, pointing to the girl on
 430.488 +the bed.
 430.489 +
 430.490 +“And this is Aya,” the one on the bed said, hurrying up to her
 430.491 +sister’s side. Both girls giggled and bowed to Kairi.
 430.492 +
 430.493 +“We’re Eve,” they said in unison.
 430.494 +
 430.495 +“Oh...” Kairi responded, not understanding in the slightest. She
 430.496 +shook her head, looking out the window. “I don’t know what’s real
 430.497 +anymore.”
 430.498 +
 430.499 +“Is Real what everyone around you decides is real?” Maya asked, her
 430.500 +head tilted to the right.
 430.501 +
 430.502 +“Or is Real what you decide is real?” Aya asked, her head tilted to
 430.503 +the left. 
 430.504 +
 430.505 +“You both sound like Harle.” Kairi closed her eyes, trying to focus.
 430.506 +This was all confusing her more and more. 
 430.507 +
 430.508 +“Eventually you’ll need to make a decision,” Maya explained.
 430.509 +“Whether you’ll accept reality or remake it altogether.”
 430.510 +
 430.511 +“Whether you will live or die. Awaken or dream. Love or hate. After
 430.512 +all, these things are all two sides of the same coin. You cannot have
 430.513 +one without the other,” Aya adds, resting back to back with her
 430.514 +sister. 
 430.515 +
 430.516 +“But can’t you choose the light? Can’t you have one without the
 430.517 +other? Must it always be both? Love and hate, life and death, light
 430.518 +and dark?” Kairi asks, nearly pleading. 
 430.519 +
 430.520 +Maya shakes her head. “These things are all interconnected. They
 430.521 +aren’t all completely different notions. They’re all dependent on
 430.522 +each other. Each of these ‘opposites’ is entwined in a lover’s
 430.523 +embrace that you couldn’t hope to untangle. Without one, the other is
 430.524 +meaningless.”
 430.525 +
 430.526 +“After all,” Aya continues, “how can you really, truly love if you
 430.527 +don’t know what it’s like to be hated? For you to live, someone must
 430.528 +die. For you to awaken, you must have been dreaming.”
 430.529 +
 430.530 +“Without darkness, there is no light,” the twins say in harmony. 
 430.531 +
 430.532 +Kairi opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was speechless.
 430.533 +The twins’ words spun around her, leaving her dizzy. 
 430.534 +
 430.535 +“Everyone’s waiting for your answer, Kairi,” Maya said softly.
 430.536 +
 430.537 +“Don’t disappoint everyone. The show’s just about to begin,” Aya
 430.538 +added. 
 430.539 +
 430.540 +A knock at the door drove Kairi out of her stupor. She bolted
 430.541 +upright. “Coming!” she called. She turned back to the girls to ask
 430.542 +them something, but they were already gone. “Where did they go?” she
 430.543 +asked, blinking. The only way out of the room was the window. And
 430.544 +unless they grew wings, that wouldn’t be a very good choice. 
 430.545 +
 430.546 +“There you are. You must be another one of the girls that Kuja had
 430.547 +brought to the palace. I assure you, I’ll try my hardest to make sure
 430.548 +your stay is a pleasant one,” a woman with dark hair said as she
 430.549 +entered the room, followed by a much younger girl with purple hair
 430.550 +and a horn on her forehead. “I’m Princess Garnet Til Alexandros the
 430.551 +17th. This is Eiko Carol. We wanted to check in on you. We’re
 430.552 +terribly sorry for the inconvenience.”
 430.553 +
 430.554 +“We thought it would be better if you saw us first instead of being
 430.555 +traumatized by Kuja inspecting you,” the younger girl explained. She
 430.556 +spat the name with disgust. Apparently she didn’t think very highly
 430.557 +of him.
 430.558 +
 430.559 +“Why am I here? What’s going on? I really need to get going. My
 430.560 +friends need me. I have to find them,” Kairi said. She wanted to make
 430.561 +them understand somehow. Her words couldn’t convey the urgency in her
 430.562 +heart. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked. Not now. Not with Riku
 430.563 +and Sora so close.
 430.564 +
 430.565 +“You’ll be able to leave as soon as Kuja has finished. In the
 430.566 +meantime, we’ll make you as comfortable as we can,” the princess
 430.567 +explained politely. She was genuinely apologetic, feeling personally
 430.568 +responsible for the delay in Kairi’s journey, whatever it may be.
 430.569 +
 430.570 +“And when is that going to be?” Eiko asked irritably, raising her
 430.571 +arms. “He’s always so vague about it and he never answers me when I
 430.572 +ask him when I can go home.”
 430.573 +
 430.574 +Garnet smiled softly and gently cupped the younger girl’s cheek.
 430.575 +“Soon, Eiko. I promise. I’ll ask him again for you. I’ll get you
 430.576 +home.” She didn’t seem to notice the purple haired girl’s cheeks
 430.577 +burning underneath her fingers or the deep gaze that Eiko was giving
 430.578 +her. She leant forward, kissing near Eiko’s horn. 
 430.579 +
 430.580 +“Princess Garnet, your mother wishes to see you,” a maid said from
 430.581 +the doorway.
 430.582 +
 430.583 +Garnet nodded. “I’ll be right there.” She turned back to Kairi and
 430.584 +bowed. “Again, my apologies for keeping you here. If there’s anything
 430.585 +you need, please ask.” Turning, she left the room. 
 430.586 +
 430.587 +Eiko watched her leave. Sighing dreamily, she slowly came back to
 430.588 +earth. If only Garnet would pay attention to her! 
 430.589 +
 430.590 +“What’s going on?” Kairi asked again, pleading with the younger
 430.591 +girl. She walked over, kneeling to look the purple haired girl in the
 430.592 +eyes. 
 430.593 +
 430.594 +Sighing, Eiko let her arms fall to her sides. “You’re being kept
 430.595 +here because of some guy named Kuja. He’s got the ear of the Queen,
 430.596 +so she’ll do whatever he says. Apparently the kingdom is in big
 430.597 +trouble unless he can find the ‘Prism Heart’, whatever that is. He
 430.598 +says it resides within a girl with a beautiful heart. They checked
 430.599 +Princess Garnet, but it wasn’t her. So he’s been scouring the world
 430.600 +for this girl. That’s how I wound up here. Some Alexandrian Knights
 430.601 +sought me out because I’m the last of the summoners. Kuja thought
 430.602 +that might mean it might be me. But they checked and I don’t have it
 430.603 +either. But they still won’t let me go home. None of the girls he’s
 430.604 +taken here have gone home yet.” She looked back at the door. “Not
 430.605 +that I want to go home yet, anyway. Not without Garnet. But she's too
 430.606 +worried about her mother to come with me.” The little girl crossed
 430.607 +her arms, frustrated. 
 430.608 +
 430.609 +Kairi closed her eyes. Great. So she was stuck here. A prisoner in a
 430.610 +gilded cage. What was she supposed to do now? Riku and Sora needed
 430.611 +her. She couldn’t be wasting time while a kingdom searched for some
 430.612 +mythical girl. “So.. You really like Princess Garnet, huh?” Kairi
 430.613 +asked after a moment.
 430.614 +
 430.615 +“Yep. You better keep your hands off of her. She’s mine,” Eiko
 430.616 +responded, her eyes narrowing.  
 430.617 +
 430.618 +“I.. What? No! Of course not!” That wasn’t exactly how Kairi had
 430.619 +meant her question. She could only stammer a response, taken off
 430.620 +guard. 
 430.621 +
 430.622 +“Good! Now you know. Anyway, I better go find her. She always gets
 430.623 +depressed after she talks with her mother.” As if stating it aloud
 430.624 +helped her to remember, Eiko now looked very concerned. “Bye!” She
 430.625 +waved over her shoulder before scurrying out the door, the little
 430.626 +angel wings pinned to her dress bobbing as she ran.
 430.627 +
 430.628 +Kairi rested her face in her hands. Something out there didn’t like
 430.629 +her. That had to be it. God, Fate, or Whatever seemed to have it in
 430.630 +for her. Which was definitely going to make things more difficult.
 430.631 +
 430.632 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 430.633 +
 430.634 +“You’re moving too quickly, Selphie. You just need to let yourself
 430.635 +move slowly, like the ocean waves,” Yuna explained. She demonstrated,
 430.636 +closing her eyes and moving beautifully on her toes. She and Selphie
 430.637 +were barefoot on the beach, the waves lapping around them. The spunky
 430.638 +brunette had come to Yuna requesting that she teach her how to dance.
 430.639 +It was too cute to turn away. Not that Yuna was ever good at turning
 430.640 +anyone away to begin with. Lulu chastised her about being too easy
 430.641 +for other people to manipulate, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted
 430.642 +to make people happy. She wanted to help if she could. And besides,
 430.643 +if Selphie wanted to dance with the girl she loved, it only seemed
 430.644 +right to teach her. It would be romantic to see Quistis and Selphie
 430.645 +dancing together under the moonlight. And Yuna could be a tiny part
 430.646 +of that because she had helped it come about. 
 430.647 +
 430.648 +“Hmm... Okay. Like this?” Selphie asked, twirling about again. The
 430.649 +world spun around her as she twirled about, finally coming to a halt
 430.650 +as she nearly stumbled in the ankle deep water.
 430.651 +
 430.652 +Giggling softly, Yuna covered her mouth. “I think...” she began
 430.653 +quietly. “I think that you have just a little too much energy,
 430.654 +Selphie.”
 430.655 +
 430.656 +“What’s wrong with having too much energy?” Selphie asked, pouting.
 430.657 +It had always served her well before. But now it was making this all
 430.658 +so difficult. She was having a hard time restricting her movements
 430.659 +into soft, flowing motions. She was too used to moving about. 
 430.660 +
 430.661 +“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s part of what Quistis likes
 430.662 +about you, I’m sure. But it does make it a little harder to dance
 430.663 +together if you’re always a step before her,” Yuna warned softly.
 430.664 +
 430.665 +Selphie bit her lip, thinking it over. She finally smiled and nodded
 430.666 +eagerly. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Yuna! I wouldn’t be able to do
 430.667 +this without you. Quisty will be so surprised!” She giggled, hopping
 430.668 +from foot to foot.
 430.669 +
 430.670 +Yuna giggled herself, energized by Selphie’s enthusiasm. She nodded.
 430.671 +“All right. I’ll do my best to make sure you’re ready in time for the
 430.672 +festival. Just watch me for a moment. You need to be able to move the
 430.673 +way you want to, the way your heart wants to. But if you go too
 430.674 +quickly, then it isn’t soft and romantic, and you don’t get to savor
 430.675 +it.” Closing her eyes, Yuna bowed to her practice partner before
 430.676 +beginning to dance, moving lithely in the shallow water. She moved
 430.677 +with a dancer’s grace, elegant and beautiful, almost seeming to walk
 430.678 +on the water itself as she skitted about. The long sleeves of her
 430.679 +half-kimono skimmed over the water as she twirled about, hopping here
 430.680 +and there. 
 430.681 +
 430.682 +“Booyaka! Yuna, you’re really, really good! I wanna dance like that
 430.683 +with Quisty.” Selphie sighed happily, already imagining the two of
 430.684 +them moving with each other along the beach. She watched Yuna
 430.685 +intently. ‘I want to be able to do that!’ she thought eagerly,
 430.686 +clapping. Yuna twirled and danced along the water, a beautiful sprite
 430.687 +on the shore. And then she tripped and plunged face first in the
 430.688 +water. Selphie stopped mid-clap, sweatdropping.
 430.689 +
 430.690 +Getting to her feet dizzily, the soaked girl didn’t look up to face
 430.691 +her student at first. How embarrassing! How was she supposed to teach
 430.692 +Selphie how to dance when she couldn’t even stay on her feet herself?
 430.693 +But her mind started to ignore that as her foot swished around in the
 430.694 +water, searching for what she had tripped on. She finally found
 430.695 +something soft and yielding under the water, deeper where she was now
 430.696 +that the tide was coming in. It must have dragged something with it.
 430.697 +Yuna pushed again. What was it? Something pushed back. “Ahhhhhh!!!”
 430.698 +Yuna screamed, flailing her arms as she fell back into the water. She
 430.699 +gazed in shock as a figure slowly rose from the water.
 430.700 +
 430.701 +Spluttering, a drenched catgirl emerged from the tide. Her lungs
 430.702 +burned. How long had she been underwater? Where was she, anyway? This
 430.703 +didn’t look like El Nido. And why had that girl been kicking her?
 430.704 +That wasn’t very nice at all. And most importantly of all, where was
 430.705 +Yuffie? But before she could answer any of these questions, she had
 430.706 +other things to contend with. “Stay away from Yuna!” A brunette girl
 430.707 +yelled as she ran towards her. In her semi-conscious state, Rikku
 430.708 +could do little to defend herself, let alone to argue. She turned to
 430.709 +try and explain, but she could only cough up seawater. And before she
 430.710 +could do anything else, something was arcing through the air. It
 430.711 +connected with her head in a fireworks display of pain. Collapsing
 430.712 +back into unconsciousness, the cat girl slumped into the waves again.
 430.713 +
 430.714 +“That was a pretty wimpy monster,” Selphie noted disappointedly,
 430.715 +holding her nunchuks at her sides as Rikku floated in front of her.
 430.716 +
 430.717 +“She’s going to drown,” Yuna said worriedly. She pushed forward
 430.718 +against the water, dipping her arms under the catgirl, pulling her up
 430.719 +so she could breathe. Straining, she dragged Rikku to the shore,
 430.720 +slumping next to her on the wet sand. She breathed heavily,
 430.721 +exhausted. 
 430.722 +
 430.723 +“Why are you saving that monster?” Selphie asked, blinking in
 430.724 +confusion.
 430.725 +
 430.726 +“She wasn’t going to hurt me. She was too weak to. She just washed
 430.727 +up here. I don’t think she’s a Fiend. The poor girl looks too weak to
 430.728 +stand, let alone to do anything else. She needs my help,” Yuna
 430.729 +explained, slowly catching her breath as she lay next to the catgirl.
 430.730 +
 430.731 +“Oh..” Selphie nodded thoughtfully. She laughed nervously. “I think
 430.732 +I might have something important to do when she wakes up. If she
 430.733 +wasn’t going to hurt you, she might wanna hurt me if she remembers me
 430.734 +smacking her on the head.”
 430.735 +
 430.736 +Yuna smiled a bit. “Yeah, you can practice what I’ve taught you.
 430.737 +I’ll take her back to my house. I’ll try to help her recover there.”
 430.738 +She turned to the catgirl, watching her breath uneasily on the sand.
 430.739 +Strange things were happening on the Destiny Islands. Very strange
 430.740 +things. But whoever this weird girl was, maybe she could help her.
 430.741 +Somehow. She looked like she needed the help. Yuna brushed some of
 430.742 +the water from Rikku’s whiskers. Poor kitty. “I’ll help you,” she
 430.743 +promised quietly. Rikku’s breathing seemed to steady somewhat, her
 430.744 +cat ears perking up. “I promise.”

   431.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   431.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-08.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   431.3 @@ -0,0 +1,609 @@
   431.4 +Prism Hearts 
   431.5 +Chapter 8
   431.6 +One Winged Angel
   431.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   431.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   431.9 +
  431.10 +I’ll be here...
  431.11 +I’ll be waiting... here…
  431.12 +Why?
  431.13 +For what?
  431.14 +I’ll be waiting... for you...
  431.15 +If you come here...
  431.16 +You’ll find me...
  431.17 +I promise.
  431.18 +
  431.19 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  431.20 +
  431.21 +The hills stretched on for an eternity. Or so it seemed, at least.
  431.22 +Sora’s legs ached. It felt as if he had been marching on endlessly
  431.23 +for his entire life. The one thing that kept him going was the image
  431.24 +of Kairi and Riku, reaching out to him. He had to find Riku. He
  431.25 +couldn’t go back home to Kairi alone. They would see her again
  431.26 +together. He was sure of it. All he had to do was find that Doorway
  431.27 +to the Light and free Riku. That idiot. If he hadn’t sacrificed
  431.28 +himself to stop the Heartless, he wouldn’t be stuck behind that
  431.29 +doorway now. But if it hadn’t been for Riku’s sacrifice, the
  431.30 +Heartless would’ve consumed everything. Sora just couldn’t leave him
  431.31 +there. Riku was his best friend. It wasn’t right to go on without
  431.32 +him. He, Kairi, and Riku completed a puzzle. They needed each other.
  431.33 +All three of them were essential parts to that. If he went back to
  431.34 +Kairi alone, something would be missing. 
  431.35 +
  431.36 +Donald and Goofy followed close behind. Goofy was rather optimistic
  431.37 +about things, sure that over every hill would be the Doorway they
  431.38 +sought. Donald was his normal, highly irritable self. Sora sighed as
  431.39 +the duck grumbled about something for the thousandth time that day.
  431.40 +Still, even with Donald’s bitching, he wouldn’t want to do this on
  431.41 +his own. They were his friends. He wanted them by his side. 
  431.42 +
  431.43 +“Can we even open the door?” Donald asked at last. “It took your
  431.44 +Keyblade and King Mickey’s to close the Doorway to the Darkness. But
  431.45 +if King Mickey is stuck on the other side of it...” 
  431.46 +
  431.47 +Sora shook his head. “We’ll find a way. Remember what King Mickey
  431.48 +said. There will always be a door to the light.” He sighed.
  431.49 +
  431.50 +Donald narrowed his eyes. “We have to find it first.”
  431.51 +
  431.52 +Sighing, Sora nodded. He didn’t even know where to begin. And they
  431.53 +had been searching for so long... Just what were they looking for
  431.54 +anyway? Where would the Doorway to all of Light itself be? It didn’t
  431.55 +seem like it would just be lying around in some corner. If only...
  431.56 +But Sora’s thoughts were cut short. He glimpsed something on the next
  431.57 +hill. Someone, waiting. Silver hair fluttering in the wind. 
  431.58 +
  431.59 +“Riku?” His eyes widened. But Riku was trapped behind the Doorway.
  431.60 +How could he be here? But the how of things barely mattered. Sora
  431.61 +broke into a run. “Riku!” He ran as quickly as he could, exhilarated
  431.62 +to see his best friend once more. They would be going home to Kairi
  431.63 +together after all.
  431.64 +
  431.65 +“What is it?” Goofy asked as he and Donald struggled to keep up with
  431.66 +the Keyblade Master.
  431.67 +
  431.68 +Donald shrugged. “He finally cracked,” came his reply.
  431.69 +
  431.70 +“Riku!” Sora yelled, laughing. It was just like the older boy to do
  431.71 +this. He always managed to pull off the impossible, pulling ahead of
  431.72 +Sora and the others. It made sense that somehow he had found a way
  431.73 +out. If anyone could, it was Riku. His journey was finally nearing
  431.74 +its end. They could finally go home. Heaven. It would be just like
  431.75 +heaven. 
  431.76 +
  431.77 +But as he neared the silver haired figure, he began to slow. The
  431.78 +figure was taller, with longer hair. He was wearing all black. A
  431.79 +single, dark wing was behind his right shoulder. “You’re not Riku...” 
  431.80 +
  431.81 +The man watched him curiously for a long moment before replying.
  431.82 +“One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”
  431.83 +
  431.84 +“Ansem?!” Sora took a step back, caught off guard. This man didn’t
  431.85 +look like Ansem, the man who had been used by the Heartless to open
  431.86 +the Doorway to the Darkness, but Sora had heard those same words from
  431.87 +Ansem before their battle.
  431.88 +
  431.89 +“Oh? So you have met his majesty after all. It’s been so long since
  431.90 +anyone has seen him that I thought it may have merely been a rumor,”
  431.91 +the man said conversationally, standing tall against the wind that
  431.92 +buffeted the hilltop. 
  431.93 +
  431.94 +“Ansem’s... He’s dead,” Sora said reluctantly. He knew that Ansem
  431.95 +had once been a respected and loved king. Most people didn’t know of
  431.96 +his fall from grace, his consumption by the Heartless. He didn’t want
  431.97 +to hurt anyone who cared for their king with the details. 
  431.98 +
  431.99 +The man nodded as if this were expected. “Her highness felt it. She
 431.100 +knew he was dead. That’s why she knew she had to act.” He stepped
 431.101 +closer, eyeing Sora, inspecting him. “You’re Sora? You’re the boy the
 431.102 +princess sent me to find?”
 431.103 +
 431.104 +The princess? What was going on? Sora nodded slowly. “I’m Sora. Who
 431.105 +are you?” He had an uneasy feeling about all of this. This man had
 431.106 +known what had happened to Ansem. Even Leon and Aerith hadn’t known
 431.107 +for sure what had happened to him. And who was this princess?
 431.108 +
 431.109 +“Sephiroth, SOLDIER 1st Class,” the man explained, his eyes glowing
 431.110 +a brilliant green. “Princess Hikari’s personal bodyguard. I’ve been
 431.111 +protecting the princess since she was but a tiny child. King Ansem
 431.112 +personally assigned me to watch over his daughter.”
 431.113 +
 431.114 +Well... That certainly didn’t explain anything. Sora simply blinked.
 431.115 +Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Ansem had been consumed by the
 431.116 +Heartless, but Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith had all been from that
 431.117 +planet, too, and they’d been heroes. So was he a friend or an enemy?
 431.118 +And who was this Princess Hikari? Sora hadn’t known Ansem had even
 431.119 +had a daughter.
 431.120 +
 431.121 +“So you’re her nanny?” Donald asked, not liking being ignored in all
 431.122 +of this. He crossed his arms, waiting at Sora’s right.
 431.123 +
 431.124 +Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed. “I like to think of it as something a bit
 431.125 +more than that. I would do anything for her highness. I would die for
 431.126 +her.”
 431.127 +
 431.128 +‘This guy does remind me a lot of Riku, after all. Riku would’ve
 431.129 +done anything for Kairi, too. Even surround himself with darkness,’
 431.130 +Sora thought to himself. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
 431.131 +“That’s great and all. But we’re a little too busy to be making
 431.132 +visits right now. Maybe after we find Riku. Tell her we said thanks!” 
 431.133 +
 431.134 +“And that we appreciate the offer!” Goofy added, grinning. “We’d
 431.135 +love to go later.”
 431.136 +
 431.137 +Donald simply rolled his eyes. All three turned to continue their
 431.138 +search. 
 431.139 +
 431.140 +Sephiroth gripped the hilt of his sword, his single wing unfurling.
 431.141 +“If that’s the case, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to do this by
 431.142 +force. You will see her highness. She demands it.”
 431.143 +
 431.144 +“We’ve got more important things to worry about right now that some
 431.145 +bratty princess,” Sora retorted. “If that’s how you want to play,
 431.146 +fine. Don’t blame me for your headache when you wake up on the
 431.147 +grass.” He willed the Keyblade into his hand, getting into a fighting
 431.148 +position. Donald and Goofy readied themselves at his sides. 
 431.149 +
 431.150 +The silver haired SOLDIER grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” With
 431.151 +that, he lunged forward, his impossibly long sword arcing through the
 431.152 +air. 
 431.153 +
 431.154 +Sora blocked the blow with his Keyblade, but he felt the power of
 431.155 +the strike reverberating through his entire body. Two legendary
 431.156 +weapons, the dreaded Masamune and the fated Keyblade, clashed again
 431.157 +and again. Sora swiped forward, trying to catch the princess’s
 431.158 +bodyguard, but he leapt into the air, his wing somehow keeping him
 431.159 +aloft for a moment before he descended with a flurry of blows that
 431.160 +sent Sora reeling. He tried desperately to ward them off, but they
 431.161 +came one after the other, wearing him down. He quickly summoned his
 431.162 +magic, casting a barrier of wind to protect him from the deadly
 431.163 +blade. 
 431.164 +
 431.165 +“Fire!” Donald shouted, launching a ball of fire at the SOLDIER. But
 431.166 +Sephiroth was fast. The flame missed its target, dissipating into the
 431.167 +distance. Before Donald could prepare another spell, Sephiroth swept
 431.168 +past him. The mage’s staff fell to the floor seconds before its owner
 431.169 +collapsed next to it. 
 431.170 +
 431.171 +“Donald!” Sora cried. Enraged by his friend’s injury, Sora leapt at
 431.172 +his attacker, intent on ending this now. He didn’t care who this man
 431.173 +was. He had stopped Ansem. He wouldn’t let some princess’s bodyguard
 431.174 +hurt his friends.  “Ars Arcanum!” Using the attack he had learned,
 431.175 +Sora launched into a series of quick jabs at the silver haired man.
 431.176 +To his shock, Sephiroth dodged and parried every blow. 
 431.177 +
 431.178 +Sephiroth laughed as he saw the surprise on the younger boy’s face.
 431.179 +“Been taking some lessons from Cloud, have you? Now it’s my turn.”
 431.180 +With blinding speed, he was nearly against Sora. With a flick of his
 431.181 +wrist, he sent the Keyblade hurtling through the air, finally
 431.182 +clattering to the grass much too far away for Sora to reach in time.
 431.183 +“What was that about me waking up on the grass?” the SOLDIER asked,
 431.184 +pulling up the Masamune. 
 431.185 +
 431.186 +Sora could only stare at the older man. How had this happened? In
 431.187 +all of his battles, he had never lost this badly. Even when Leon had
 431.188 +attacked him in Traverse Town and when he’d fought Cloud at the
 431.189 +Coliseum. He hadn’t won either battle, but it had taken him longer to
 431.190 +lose, at any rate. But somehow he had always won when it mattered.
 431.191 +He’d stopped Ansem. How could one of Ansem’s soldiers defeat him?
 431.192 +
 431.193 +“Sora!” Goofy rushed headlong at the SOLDIER 1st Class, trying to
 431.194 +force him away from the younger boy. Sephiroth managed to sidestep
 431.195 +past Goofy’s charge. Before Goofy could turn around to guard with his
 431.196 +shield, Sephiroth cast a spell, sending small comets pelting into the
 431.197 +knight. Goofy collapsed onto the grass.
 431.198 +
 431.199 +“Goofy! How could you?” Sora growled, his fists clenched. Impotent
 431.200 +rage burnt within him. This man had decimated his party when their
 431.201 +battle was finally supposed to be over. How could he snatch their
 431.202 +hard won victories away from them? 
 431.203 +
 431.204 +Sephiroth turned, his long silver hair sweeping about in the wind.
 431.205 +“That was some nice practice. I’ve been cooped up for far too long.
 431.206 +But I’m ending this now. I mustn’t keep Princess Hikari waiting.”
 431.207 +Raising a hand in the air, he summoned all of the magic at his
 431.208 +disposal, the sky turning black with his power. “Sin Harvest!”
 431.209 +
 431.210 +The world was torn apart around Sora. And everything became dark as
 431.211 +he lost his grasp on consciousness, spiraling into the abyss.
 431.212 +
 431.213 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 431.214 +
 431.215 +
 431.216 +“Are you feeling any better?” Yuna asked softly, sitting on the edge
 431.217 +of her bed. Her blankets were wrapped around the still damp catgirl
 431.218 +Selphie had helped her carry in from the beach. The catgirl had just
 431.219 +recently regained consciousness. She’d been half-drowned when Yuna
 431.220 +had found her on the beach.
 431.221 +
 431.222 +Rikku nodded weakly, her head still swimming. “Yeah, I’m better.
 431.223 +Nothing can keep me down for long.” She smiled, her fangs showing. A
 431.224 +small giggle flowed from her. “I’m starting to sound like Yuffie. Kid
 431.225 +would be horrified.”
 431.226 +
 431.227 +Returning the smile, Yuna watched the catgirl in her bed. She had no
 431.228 +idea what Rikku was talking about, but if she was feeling better,
 431.229 +that was the important thing. She was so curious about this girl who
 431.230 +had washed up. Yuna had spent her entire life on the Destiny Islands;
 431.231 +the only outsider she had ever met was Kairi, and Kairi hadn’t
 431.232 +remembered anything from the outside. This girl was so different,
 431.233 +even her body was not completely human. Yuna wanted to know
 431.234 +everything, curious in the way little girls would be over what
 431.235 +happened next in a fairy tale. Everything about her seemed magical. 
 431.236 +Little mysteries surround the strange girl.  Where had she come from?
 431.237 +What was she?  Who was she?  “Are you a Ronso?” Yuna asked after a
 431.238 +moment’s thought. 
 431.239 +
 431.240 +“A whatso?” she asked in return, blinking her big, jade, spiral eyes. 
 431.241 +
 431.242 +“A Ronso. They’re catlike people. I think they have horns. My father
 431.243 +met them a long time ago,” Yuna explained. Though if she had to
 431.244 +clarify, the girl probably wasn’t one.
 431.245 +
 431.246 +The catgirl shook her head, her dusty blonde braids swishing past
 431.247 +her bare shoulders. “Nope. Never heard of them. I’m Rikku Kisaragi!
 431.248 +Member of the acting troupe, Radical Dreamers, and a mysterious
 431.249 +thief! Though I’m not so good at the mysterious thief part.” The
 431.250 +catgirl groused, sitting up, her paws on her ankles. The blanket fell
 431.251 +about her lap, leaving only her fur to cover herself. She quickly
 431.252 +pulled the blanket back up, self-conscious regardless of her fur. “I
 431.253 +kinda angered a white mage because I didn’t get out of her hotel
 431.254 +before she got back. She wasn’t very happy with me, so she changed me
 431.255 +into a kitten. She wouldn’t even listen to my side of the story! Just
 431.256 +‘Bam! You’re a cat!’”
 431.257 +
 431.258 +“What was your side of the story?” Yuna inquired, tilting her head
 431.259 +to the side.
 431.260 +
 431.261 +“Umm... well...” Rikku laughed nervously, scratching the back of her
 431.262 +head. “I might have had a good reason if she’d bothered to ask. I
 431.263 +didn’t have a good reason, though, but how was she supposed to know
 431.264 +that? She could’ve at least given me a chance to apologize. Do you
 431.265 +know how horrifying it is to find yourself in a puddle of clothes on
 431.266 +all fours with an angry white mage towering over you?” She shook her
 431.267 +head, her ears twitching. She still had nightmares about that. 
 431.268 +
 431.269 +“Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been terrible,” Yuna said
 431.270 +apologetically. She reached forward hesitantly, squeezing one of
 431.271 +Rikku’s paws reassuringly. 
 431.272 +
 431.273 +Rikku smiled brightly. This shy, quiet girl was so sweet. Much
 431.274 +better than the crazy, nunchuku wielding one. She rubbed her head,
 431.275 +wincing at the thought. But at least this one seemed worried about
 431.276 +her. But that look in her eyes, one blue and one green, was so sad,
 431.277 +as if she truly empathized with Rikku’s predicament. “But I’m all
 431.278 +right now. My sister used the Dragon Tear of Hate on me and it at
 431.279 +least made me halfway human. I heard if we can get the Dragon Tear of
 431.280 +Love, I can change myself back the rest of the way. So it’s not too
 431.281 +bad. And Yuffie said I make a cute catgirl, so maybe it’s not too
 431.282 +completely evil,” Rikku shrugged.
 431.283 +
 431.284 +With a soft smile, the brunette nodded. “She was right. You do make
 431.285 +a very cute catgirl.  So you shouldn’t be worried about it if you
 431.286 +have to stay that way. But I hope you can find the Dragon Tear of
 431.287 +Love soon, then. Just don’t feel too bad in the meantime.” She shook
 431.288 +her head quickly. She shouldn’t be saying things like that. That
 431.289 +wasn’t what Rikku would want to hear, certainly. “If I can help at
 431.290 +all, please let me know.”
 431.291 +
 431.292 +But Rikku wasn’t listening to the last bit. She was still playing
 431.293 +Yuna’s earlier words over in her head. “You think this is okay?” she
 431.294 +asked, still surprised. She hadn’t thought about it that way. She’d
 431.295 +been thinking about it as a curse, as something horrible she had to
 431.296 +endure until she could get rid of it. It hadn’t once crossed her mind
 431.297 +about staying this way. This strange, not-quite-human way. Her body
 431.298 +was different now, but as the other girl had pointed out, was that
 431.299 +really a bad thing?
 431.300 +
 431.301 +“I’m sorry,” Yuna apologized, bowing her head low. She hadn’t meant
 431.302 +to upset the catgirl. She’d just stated her opinion. She needed to be
 431.303 +more careful about that. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
 431.304 +Especially this new girl. She wanted to get to know her. To be
 431.305 +friends. There was something about her….  But they’d never be friends
 431.306 +if she said stupid things like that. How would she like it if she was
 431.307 +stuck in a cursed body? Warm paws took her hands, the pads near the
 431.308 +thumbs and fingers pressed against her skin. She lifted her face
 431.309 +slightly until she was looking into the catgirl’s spiral eyes again.
 431.310 +Rikku was smiling happily. Yuna’s cheeks flushed lightly, but she
 431.311 +returned the smile. So the catgirl wasn’t upset with her after all.
 431.312 +
 431.313 +“Don’t be sorry. I’m really glad you’d think so. Maybe I’ve been
 431.314 +going about this the wrong way. Maybe... maybe it’s not so bad,”
 431.315 +Rikku ventured. She giggled, baring her fangs again. “As long as you
 431.316 +don’t call me Kitty, that is.”
 431.317 +
 431.318 +Yuna nodded swiftly, her chestnut hair swishing about her face.
 431.319 +“Whatever you want... Rikku…” This girl was so vibrant, so full of
 431.320 +life. Watching her had a way of lifting up Yuna’s spirits. 
 431.321 +
 431.322 +Rikku brought her hands to her chest to keep a hold of the blanket.
 431.323 +“And you’re Yunie, right? I thought I heard the other girl say your
 431.324 +name while you were dragging me along the beach.” Though she’d only
 431.325 +been semi-conscious for that. They’d dragged her quite a ways. No
 431.326 +wonder her body ached.
 431.327 +
 431.328 +“Umm... Yuna, actually...” The brunette corrected quietly, tucking
 431.329 +some hair behind one of her ears. 
 431.330 +
 431.331 +“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yunie!” Rikku said
 431.332 +enthusiastically. “It’s so nice to have someone to talk to after all
 431.333 +of this time meowing at people.” Both girls giggled.
 431.334 +
 431.335 +“I’m glad. It was nice to meet you, too, Rikku.” Yuna smiled
 431.336 +genuinely, her hands on her lap. “I think the Islands needed some new
 431.337 +life to them. Someone to brighten things up.”
 431.338 +
 431.339 +Rikku nodded determinedly. “I’ll try my hardest! I don’t know how
 431.340 +long I’m stuck here anyway. So I might as well try to keep things
 431.341 +interesting while I can.”
 431.342 +
 431.343 +“That’s one way of putting it. You’ve definitely made things more
 431.344 +interesting. For me, at least,” Yuna admitted, tucking her legs up
 431.345 +underneath herself. She knew the other girl wasn’t really a catgirl
 431.346 +or anything of the sort, but she still couldn’t help but feel as if
 431.347 +she’d brought a stray cat home. Something that was all her own, that
 431.348 +she would take care of and love and nurture. Like her very own pet.
 431.349 +She tried to push the thought away, but it was lodged stubbornly in
 431.350 +her brain. She sighed. She’d eventually get over it. When Rikku wound
 431.351 +up leaving. That thought was far too depressing; people had been
 431.352 +leaving all her life, and she still wasn’t capable of dealing with
 431.353 +it. She still cried herself to sleep over her father’s death, years
 431.354 +ago. That’s why she had tried not to think about Kairi leaving or
 431.355 +Riku and Sora’s disappearances. She couldn’t handle goodbyes. And
 431.356 +just thinking about not have the catgirl around frightened her more
 431.357 +than she could explain away.
 431.358 +
 431.359 +“Oh, would it be all right if I asked for some clothes?” Rikku
 431.360 +voiced sheepishly. “I’ve been running around without anything for way
 431.361 +too long now. I feel like a nudist. My clothes are probably still on
 431.362 +the floor of that damn hotel room.” She sighed. “Oh well. They were
 431.363 +just hand me downs of Yuffie’s, anyway.”
 431.364 +
 431.365 +Blinking, Yuna tried to comprehend what Rikku had said. Why would
 431.366 +the catgirl need clothes? Cats didn’t wear clothes. They had fur.
 431.367 +Ohhhhh... She shook her head. Of course she’d want clothes. She
 431.368 +wasn’t used to being a catgirl. Fur or not, she was used to wearing
 431.369 +something. “Yes, I’ll get you something. You’re a little younger than
 431.370 +me, but you should be able to fit into one of my outfits.”
 431.371 +
 431.372 +“Thanks, Yunie!” Rikku grinned and pounced catlike on the
 431.373 +unsuspecting brunette, hugging her in gratitude. “That would help a
 431.374 +lot!”
 431.375 +
 431.376 +“You.. You’re welcome..” Yuna responded, blushing faintly again. She
 431.377 +swallowed, embarrassed. She slowly began to rub Rikku’s back using
 431.378 +the arm that wasn’t pinned to her side. The catgirl’s fur felt
 431.379 +wonderfully soft to her touch, her fingers gliding over it. She
 431.380 +rubbed a bit more, enjoying the feel of the fur underneath her
 431.381 +fingers and the growing thrum in her ears. It took her a moment to
 431.382 +realize that Rikku was purring loudly against her. Her eyes widened
 431.383 +in surprise, her flush darkening, but she couldn't get herself to
 431.384 +stop.  The catgirl was so cute and enthusiastic, Yuna couldn’t help
 431.385 +but pet her, as if she had found a larger-than-life kitten.
 431.386 +
 431.387 +Rikku was so glad Yuna couldn’t see her face as she hugged the other
 431.388 +girl. She was so embarrassed. She knew she wasn’t a cat. She was a
 431.389 +normal, human girl. But her body didn’t seem to agree with her. She
 431.390 +couldn’t stop herself from purring as Yuna’s gentle fingers slid up
 431.391 +and down her back. Her body betrayed her, her chest thrumming with
 431.392 +her purring. ‘Will you make up your mind? Am I a cat or not? I’m
 431.393 +not!’ Rikku thought in frustration. But her body still wasn’t
 431.394 +listening. Her tail swished happily from side to side. She sighed,
 431.395 +giving in. It did feel nice, to have someone to hug after she’d been
 431.396 +unable to do much of anything as a whole cat. She rested her head on
 431.397 +Yuna’s shoulder, closing her emerald eyes and purring louder. ‘Well,
 431.398 +maybe just this once...’
 431.399 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 431.400 +
 431.401 +“Okay, I’m going to use my... Shiva card. Yes, that should do
 431.402 +nicely.” Quistis smiled as she placed they detailed card down on the
 431.403 +floor of her room, right beside one of a strange flying serpent. 
 431.404 +
 431.405 +A blond boy sighed, rolling his eyes. “If it didn’t take you ten
 431.406 +minutes to decide each turn, then we would be able to play a lot more
 431.407 +of this, Quistis,” he chided, slapping down a card with a cactuar on
 431.408 +it. 
 431.409 +
 431.410 +“You’re just too impatient, Seifer,” Quistis countered, gazing at
 431.411 +her cards again. “Hmm...” She let her fingers browse across the
 431.412 +cards, trying to select the perfect one. She wasn’t playing just this
 431.413 +turn, but where the next turn might lead. 
 431.414 +
 431.415 +Selphie watched the two playing Triple Triad on the floor of
 431.416 +Quistis’s room. They were upside down, as if they were sitting on the
 431.417 +roof, gravity in reverse. The cards were set down on the roof before
 431.418 +the brunette. At least, that’s how it appeared to Selphie. She was
 431.419 +slumped on Quistis’s bed, her sandals left somewhere near the door,
 431.420 +her head hanging off the edge of the bed so that everything was
 431.421 +upside down for her. Her legs were wrapped around Quistis’s pillow.
 431.422 +She’d much rather they be wrapped around her blonde girlfriend, but
 431.423 +Quistis was caught up in that boring card game. Here she was lying on
 431.424 +her girlfriend’s bed, innocent and vulnerable, and all Quistis could
 431.425 +think about was what card went next. Selphie pouted. She should be on
 431.426 +the bed with her, kissing her. Anything but playing cards. 
 431.427 +
 431.428 +“There!” Quistis smiled as she set down the next card. Unless Seifer
 431.429 +had some unexpected cards or a rather healthy dose of luck on his
 431.430 +side, she was pretty much guaranteed victory. And to the contrary of
 431.431 +Selphie’s thinking, Quistis was having a very difficult time ignoring
 431.432 +the fact that Selphie was lying so cutely on her bed. And that she
 431.433 +would love to take the place of that pillow, to let her hands travel
 431.434 +across Selphie’s stomach, exploring her skin and the cloth of her
 431.435 +dress, kissing her everywhere she could... Quistis blinked quickly,
 431.436 +trying to force out the images. She adjusted her glasses, hoping she
 431.437 +didn’t look as flustered as she felt. It was so difficult being the
 431.438 +mature, responsible one sometimes. She sighed inwardly. Yes, Selphie
 431.439 +would need a good spanking after Seifer was gone. If he ever left.
 431.440 +He’d been there for well over an hour now. Seifer was her friend, but
 431.441 +he either couldn’t take a hint or he enjoyed making her suffer.
 431.442 +
 431.443 +“I’m kind of envious of Riku, Sora, and Kairi,” Seifer said at last,
 431.444 +placing down a chocobo card from his hand. “They finally did realize
 431.445 +their beautiful dream of escaping these islands, of going to explore
 431.446 +other worlds. Think of the possibilities. The excitement. I’m sure
 431.447 +it’s more interesting than a card game.”
 431.448 +
 431.449 +“Don’t say that!” Selphie admonished from the bed, rolling onto her
 431.450 +stomach. “Who knows where they are? What’s wrong with staying here?”
 431.451 +
 431.452 +Seifer grinned at Selphie’s outbust, looking up at the girl on
 431.453 +Quistis’s bed. “I’m surprised you wouldn’t want to go yourself,
 431.454 +Selphie. The Destiny Islands barely seem to hold in all that energy
 431.455 +you have. It’s amazing you haven’t gotten bored yet.”
 431.456 +
 431.457 +“But they could be lost anywhere! They could be scared and miserable
 431.458 +and so far away from home.” A chill passed through Selphie at the
 431.459 +thought. “Yeah, it would be fun to travel, but I don’t see what’s
 431.460 +wrong with staying home, either. It’s fun here. All my friends are
 431.461 +here. My Quisty’s here. I’m perfectly happy at home.” 
 431.462 +
 431.463 +Pushing her glasses up, Quistis nodded. “I agree with Selphie.
 431.464 +Leaving would only make sense if you weren’t satisfied with where you
 431.465 +are. If there’s something missing in your life. And my life feels
 431.466 +complete here.” She looked back over her shoulder, smiling at
 431.467 +Selphie. Yes, there wasn’t anything she needed. The cute brunette
 431.468 +returned her smile, her legs kicking up behind her.
 431.469 +
 431.470 +Seifer laughed in response. “Of course you’d agree with Selphie. It
 431.471 +isn’t wise to disagree with one’s girlfriend. Especially one as hyper
 431.472 +as her.” The blond boy sat back, his hands supporting him as he
 431.473 +stared up at the roof. “Me, I understand why they’d want to leave.
 431.474 +This place can feel like a prison sometimes. Water everywhere,
 431.475 +flowing endlessly around us. This place is a paradise, but it’s
 431.476 +sheltered. I think you need the good with the bad. It’s a gilded
 431.477 +cage. You can’t experience everything if you’re cooped up here. You
 431.478 +can treat a prisoner like a king, give him everything he could ever
 431.479 +want. But if all he wants is freedom, he’s still a prisoner. Life can
 431.480 +be as plush as you could want. But if you can’t realize your
 431.481 +beautiful dreams, I still say something’s missing.”
 431.482 +
 431.483 +Quistis sighed. Not this again. The last thing she needed was for
 431.484 +Seifer to get strange ideas in Selphie’s head. Thankfully, Selphie
 431.485 +hadn’t liked Riku and Sora’s idea to leave the island in the first
 431.486 +place. “And what’s your beautiful dream, Seifer?”
 431.487 +
 431.488 +A grin passed across his face as Seifer turned his gaze to Quistis.
 431.489 +“To be the Sorceress’s Knight, of course. To protect my sorceress
 431.490 +with my life. To grant her every whim. To give her my all.”
 431.491 +
 431.492 +Resting her chin in her hands, Selphie raised a curious eyebrow.
 431.493 +“Why can’t you do that here? No dragons to slay?” Her bare feet
 431.494 +continued kicking in the air behind her in a slow rhythm. 
 431.495 +
 431.496 +“Hah.” The blond boy waved off the notion. “It’s nothing like that.
 431.497 +You’re thinking of it too literally. Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if
 431.498 +I could find my sorceress. Then I could be her knight here on the
 431.499 +Destiny Islands. But you never know what’s waiting for you out there.
 431.500 +All those worlds, each with new sights and experiences around every
 431.501 +corner. Must be exciting, wherever they are.”
 431.502 +
 431.503 +Selphie blinked thoughtfully. “I wonder what my beautiful dream is...”
 431.504 +
 431.505 +Quistis turned, her legs still tucked demurely underneath her.
 431.506 +“Don’t worry about it, Selphie. You have plenty of beautiful dreams.
 431.507 +And you have the energy to make them all come true, I’m certain.”
 431.508 +
 431.509 +The brunette smiled brightly, her previous concerns forgotten.
 431.510 +“Thanks, Quisty! You’re right! I won’t give up on any of my beautiful
 431.511 +dreams!” she said excitedly.
 431.512 +
 431.513 +“But you don’t know what they are yet...” Seifer replied,
 431.514 +sweatdropping. 
 431.515 +
 431.516 +Quisits turned an icy glare on her friend. “Shush, you.”
 431.517 +
 431.518 +“Right...” Seifer shook his head. “I’m just saying that wherever
 431.519 +they are, they’re probably doing more than playing cards.”
 431.520 +
 431.521 +
 431.522 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 431.523 +
 431.524 +“Unnhhh...” Sora moaned, rolling onto his side. His entire body
 431.525 +ached, every fiber of his being calling out as fire burned through
 431.526 +him. His muscles didn’t want to respond at first and he found himself
 431.527 +cringing as he tried to move. What had happened? He could barely
 431.528 +think through the haze of pain that was erecting a palace in his
 431.529 +head. The clatter and noise of their hard work droned out all
 431.530 +conscious thought. But Sora was nothing if not persistent. He forced
 431.531 +himself to his knees only to regret the decision. The world seemed to
 431.532 +curve around him, taunting him. 
 431.533 +
 431.534 +‘What happened?’ he managed to think at last. Dim, vague images came
 431.535 +to him, feelings that should go with them but he couldn’t be sure of.
 431.536 +Anger, shock, sadness, defeat. A man... Riku? No.. Not Riku. Though
 431.537 +it had felt like it. 
 431.538 +
 431.539 +“Owwww...” He clutched his head, trying to force the pain and its
 431.540 +workers out of it. Suddenly, his head shot up. He winced at the pain
 431.541 +it caused, but ignored it. “Donald? Goofy?” His eyes darted about
 431.542 +insistently, but his companions where nowhere to be seen. That’s when
 431.543 +it first struck him. He certainly wasn’t in the grassy fields he had
 431.544 +previously been. Where was this? How had he ended up here? Where were
 431.545 +his friends?
 431.546 +
 431.547 +The lone boy slowly managed to get to his feet after a prolonged
 431.548 +struggle that seemed to play out over an eternity. His body cried in
 431.549 +protest, but he refused to listen to it. Riku’s words spurred him
 431.550 +forward. ‘Giving up already, Sora? I thought you were stronger than
 431.551 +that.’ Riku had faith in him. His rival always pulled out more from
 431.552 +him than Sora even knew he had. So he’d push through this. What would
 431.553 +Riku say if he saw him lying helplessly on the floor? With those
 431.554 +thoughts spinning through his abused head, the brown haired boy tried
 431.555 +to gauge his surroundings. 
 431.556 +
 431.557 +The young Keyblade Master found himself in the middle of a palace
 431.558 +courtyard. Or was it the middle of a school? The place looked like a
 431.559 +bizarre amalgamation of the two. Statues of students heading to
 431.560 +classes that would never happen littered the otherwise empty
 431.561 +courtyard, frozen forever in place. Palace maids and busy dignitaries
 431.562 +shared space with the students, looking busy even in their state of
 431.563 +rest. Lockers were covered in beautiful purple flowers and vines. A
 431.564 +large fountain stood at the center. It looked like a statue should in
 431.565 +the midst of it, but it was curiously missing. Strange for a place
 431.566 +filled with so many statues. But as Sora looked closer, they looked
 431.567 +less like shadows and more and more like a lifeless photograph. As if
 431.568 +that sparkle of life had just been extinguished in one horrifying
 431.569 +second. He shuddered and tried to ignore the creepy feeling. 
 431.570 +
 431.571 +Staggering past several of the statues, Sora began to make his way
 431.572 +forward (or at least in the direction he hoped was forward). Where
 431.573 +was this place? Halfway between here and there, it felt like some
 431.574 +freakish riddle. As he entered the large hallway that the courtyard
 431.575 +led to, it didn’t get any better. There were large, beautiful
 431.576 +paintings along one wall. To his other side, there was no wall. Just
 431.577 +a large abyss, leading off into darkness. In his weakened state, he
 431.578 +tried not to look to that side. He felt too dizzy staring off into
 431.579 +it. He instead turned his attention back to the paintings. He could
 431.580 +recognize some of the people in them. Wasn’t that Alice? And in that
 431.581 +other one, wasn’t that Aladdin and Jasmine? And the Beast in another.
 431.582 +That looked like Aerith and some of her friends in the one down the
 431.583 +hall, didn’t it? Wasn’t that Selphie and Quistis and some others?
 431.584 +What were they doing with Squall in that painting? He shook his head.
 431.585 +“Weird..” he muttered. His voice sounded tiny, weak in this place. It
 431.586 +made him feel acutely alone. 
 431.587 +
 431.588 +Continuing down the seemingly endless hallway, Sora continued
 431.589 +glancing at paintings. There was Cinderella, one of the seven
 431.590 +princesses. And Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, and some others he didn’t
 431.591 +recognize. Why were these paintings here? Why were they of people he
 431.592 +knew? What significance did they have to this twisted palace? Looking
 431.593 +back from a painting, the brown haired boy found some doors before
 431.594 +him that previously hadn’t been there. A mixture of relief and
 431.595 +apprehension poured throughout him. At least he was getting
 431.596 +somewhere. But whoever had brought him here had obviously intended
 431.597 +that. But why? What did they want? Well, he’d never find out if he
 431.598 +didn’t push forward. ‘I’m not about to give up, Riku,’ he thought
 431.599 +determinedly. Stepping forward, he pushed open the large doors. 
 431.600 +
 431.601 +“Sora!”
 431.602 +
 431.603 +Sora could only blink dumbly for a long moment. “Kairi!?” The
 431.604 +princess’s face lit up brightly as she ran to him, nearly toppling
 431.605 +him over as she leapt into his arms, hugging him fiercely. 
 431.606 +
 431.607 +Kairi held onto him tightly, almost painfully. “I won’t ever let you
 431.608 +disappear again, Sora. I won’t let anyone take you away from me. I
 431.609 +promise.” She buried her head against his shoulder, almost afraid
 431.610 +that a stray wind would carry him off. No, he was finally there. And
 431.611 +Princess Hikari would do everything she could to make sure he stayed
 431.612 +that way.

   432.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   432.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-09.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   432.3 @@ -0,0 +1,610 @@
   432.4 +
   432.5 +Prism Hearts 
   432.6 +Chapter 9
   432.7 +Eyes on Me
   432.8 +by Amazoness Duo
   432.9 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  432.10 +
  432.11 +
  432.12 +‘I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately...
  432.13 +Like... is any of this for real... or not?’
  432.14 +
  432.15 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  432.16 +
  432.17 +“Sora...” The world seemed out of place around them, distorted and
  432.18 +far off. As if they were from another time and place, simply
  432.19 +juxtaposed in this strange nightmare landscape. But it hardly seemed
  432.20 +to matter for the two young friends, reunited at long last. “I never
  432.21 +thought I’d see you again.”
  432.22 +
  432.23 +The boy in question, the wanderer of time who had sealed away the
  432.24 +Doorway to the Darkness, could only stand in the princess’s embrace,
  432.25 +too taken aback to do much of anything. When he had sealed away the
  432.26 +Heartless, he had thought that the barriers between the worlds was
  432.27 +returned, that they were separated by an infinite distance. But here
  432.28 +she was, waiting for him in this strange place. “Kairi...” He
  432.29 +swallowed back the lump in his throat and managed to smile. “I told
  432.30 +you I’d always be with you.” 
  432.31 +
  432.32 +The brunette laughed, burying her head against his shoulder, holding
  432.33 +him as tightly as she could. He felt so real in her grasp. She could
  432.34 +smell him and hear him and feel him against her. “Oh, Sora... Don’t
  432.35 +ever leave me again. You don’t know how much I need you.” She closed
  432.36 +her eyes, but opened them immediately, almost afraid he would
  432.37 +disappear if she did. She couldn’t risk that.
  432.38 +
  432.39 +Nodding, Sora pulled the smaller girl closer to him. “I won’t,
  432.40 +Kairi. I promise. I won’t let anything take me away from you. Not
  432.41 +now.” He wanted to take away whatever was bothering Kairi. He had
  432.42 +missed her terribly, but she seemed almost desperate to have him
  432.43 +near. He felt awful for having left her alone in the first place,
  432.44 +even if it hadn’t exactly been his choice. 
  432.45 +
  432.46 +She sighed, shaking her head against him. “I wish I could believe
  432.47 +that. But it isn’t that simple. Nothing is that simple. But... For as
  432.48 +long as I can, I’ll keep you with me, Sora.”
  432.49 +
  432.50 +“Kairi, please don’t talk like that. Nothing will take me away.
  432.51 +You’ll see,” Sora reassured his friend. But she didn’t seem entirely
  432.52 +convinced. He didn’t know what else he could do but prove it to her.
  432.53 +And that would take a while. Glancing about the strange landscape
  432.54 +that surrounded them, his mind turned to another pressing subject.
  432.55 +“Where are we? What is this place? And what was that guy talking
  432.56 +about when he ambushed me? He said something about a princess.”
  432.57 +
  432.58 +Disentangling herself from Sora, the brunette stepped back. She
  432.59 +curtsied in her long, lavender dress. “I’m Princess Hikari of the
  432.60 +kingdom of Hollow Bastion.” She grinned as she stood up straight once
  432.61 +more. “Silly. I can’t believe you forgot I was a princess. You must
  432.62 +have a short term memory, Sora.” She giggled as she winked at the boy.
  432.63 +
  432.64 +Sora ran a hand behind his head, laughing nervously. “Well, I know
  432.65 +you were one of the seven princesses, but I never really found out
  432.66 +where you were from so I didn’t make the connection.” He blinks as
  432.67 +another connection was made in his mind. “Wait, your name’s Hikari?
  432.68 +But I always thought you were just Kairi.”
  432.69 +
  432.70 +Hikari shook her head, tucking some stray hair behind her ear. “They
  432.71 +found me on the beach half conscious. I was muttering a few things
  432.72 +when they got me into bed. They asked my name, but I wasn’t being
  432.73 +very coherent.” She closed her eyes, trying to remember a time that
  432.74 +seemed so long ago. “Hi.. Kari... Kari...” she intoned quietly,
  432.75 +trying to recreate the night she’d been found on the Destiny Islands.
  432.76 +She blinked her eyes open, looking again to Sora. “They thought I was
  432.77 +saying Kairi. I didn’t remember anything when I woke up so I thought
  432.78 +that had to be my name.”
  432.79 +
  432.80 +“I don’t know which will take longer to get used to. You being a
  432.81 +princess or you being Hikari.” Sora crossed his arms, mulling this
  432.82 +all over in his head. It was a much bigger revelation than he had
  432.83 +first thought. That meant she was Ansem’s daughter. No wonder she was
  432.84 +so intertwined with everything. 
  432.85 +
  432.86 +“And as for where we are, it’s sort of difficult to explain.” Hikari
  432.87 +gazed around at the stars blinking around them, some streaking across
  432.88 +the heavens. They were standing out in the center of the universe,
  432.89 +everything swirling around them. Every footstep sent ripples through
  432.90 +space. “Basically, we’re near the birthplace of the stars. Where all
  432.91 +light begins and ends.”
  432.92 +
  432.93 +“The Doorway to the Light!” Sora’s eyes went wide as it began to
  432.94 +click. That had been exactly what he had spent all this time
  432.95 +searching for. 
  432.96 +
  432.97 +The princess nodded, an arm behind her back, watching Sora’s
  432.98 +reaction. “Exactly. Where light is born and sent out into the
  432.99 +universe. The very heart of the universe. All those many worlds
 432.100 +aren’t so different after all. They all share the same heart, after
 432.101 +all.”
 432.102 +
 432.103 +“Kingdom Hearts,” Sora replied quietly, remembering his battle with
 432.104 +Ansem at the heart of the universe. “Kingdom Hearts is light...” He
 432.105 +shook his head. “Ansem told me that the Heartless were seeking out
 432.106 +the Heart of the universe just as they sought out people’s hearts and
 432.107 +the hearts of every world. He said that the Heartless were born
 432.108 +there.” 
 432.109 +
 432.110 +Turning, Hikari looked out into the universe that stretched out
 432.111 +before her. “All of our hearts are born there. And in every heart,
 432.112 +there is darkness. So darkness is born there as well. The Heartless
 432.113 +are the hearts that the darkness has consumed entirely, eclipsing the
 432.114 +last pinprick of light. Yes, the Heartless seek out the Heart of the
 432.115 +universe. It’s their birthplace. They’re drawn to it the same way
 432.116 +they’re drawn to people’s hearts, but on a much larger scale.”
 432.117 +
 432.118 +Sora rolled this over in his mind. He really didn’t like the sound
 432.119 +of all that. That the Heartless would be born where everyone’s heart
 432.120 +was, that the Heart of the universe could hold such darkness. “That’s
 432.121 +what I saw behind the Doorway to the Darkness. I saw the Heartless
 432.122 +all about, taking root there. But now I’ve sealed away the Doorway to
 432.123 +the Darkness. When I open the Doorway to the Light, the Heart of the
 432.124 +universe should be fine, shouldn’t it?” he asked anxiously. It had to
 432.125 +be. He’d fought too hard to let the Heartless consume the birthplace
 432.126 +of all hearts.
 432.127 +
 432.128 +“Both the Doorway to the Darkness and the Doorway to the Light lead
 432.129 +to the Heart of the universe, Kingdom Hearts,” Princess Hikari
 432.130 +explained. Closing her eyes and stretching out her hands, she spun
 432.131 +under the starlight. “You’ve sealed away the darkness. Now when you
 432.132 +unleash the light, it will spill out across the worlds. The darkness
 432.133 +is locked away now behind that door. It’s trapped there. Now it’s up
 432.134 +to you to unleash the light and heal the worlds. To heal the Heart of
 432.135 +the universe by letting its light go free.”
 432.136 +
 432.137 +Sora clenched his fists determinedly. “I’ll do it. I’ll unseal the
 432.138 +doorway and set Riku free. I’ll prove to Ansem that Kingdom Hearts is
 432.139 +light. I’ll let its light fill everyone.” He trailed off feeling a
 432.140 +bit sheepish. He needed to keep from mentioning Ansem. He was
 432.141 +Hikari’s father after all. Even if he had been consumed by the
 432.142 +Heartless, Hikari must still care for him.
 432.143 +
 432.144 +As if she had been reading the boy’s thoughts, Hikari turned a soft
 432.145 +smile to Sora. “It’s all right, Sora. I know what my father did. I
 432.146 +read his notes. I know what he was trying to do. And I know you had
 432.147 +to stop him. He let the Heartless use him. He stole Riku’s body. He’s
 432.148 +why Riku’s locked behind the Doorway now. I love my father. But I
 432.149 +understand what happened.” Before Sora could reply, she began to walk
 432.150 +out into space. “The Doorway to the Light is this way.”
 432.151 +
 432.152 +Sora blinked. “I.. uhh... Thanks, Kairi. Err... Hikari,” he
 432.153 +corrected himself, hurrying to follow her. At least he hadn’t made a
 432.154 +complete fool of himself, in that case. He winced a bit as he rubbed
 432.155 +the back of his head. “Did your friend really have to hit us so hard?”
 432.156 +
 432.157 +This time it was Hikari’s turn to look apologetic. She laughed
 432.158 +nervously. “Oh, that. Sorry about that. Sephiroth was the finest
 432.159 +SOLDIER from our kingdom. My father had him personally protect me.
 432.160 +When my father disappeared, Sephiroth helped me escape Hollow Bastion
 432.161 +before it was overrun by the Heartless. He can be a little intense
 432.162 +sometimes, but he does a wonderful job getting things done. You’re
 432.163 +here, aren’t you?” She turned to him, giggling. “So I’m sorry you got
 432.164 +hurt, but I’m glad he got you here. I missed you.” She reached out,
 432.165 +her fingers taking his. She was so glad to see him again. It felt
 432.166 +like a lifetime had passed since they had last been together. But now
 432.167 +they’d see this through to the end together. 
 432.168 +
 432.169 +“I missed you, too,” Sora replied, squeezing her soft fingers. It
 432.170 +almost seemed worth going through the pain just to see her again. At
 432.171 +least they were together now. And soon enough, Riku would be there to
 432.172 +join them. Then they’d be complete again. The three of them.
 432.173 +
 432.174 +And then they came upon it. Sora could only gaze in amazement. The
 432.175 +princess watched him rather than the sight before them, finding it
 432.176 +much more interesting. There, in the center of the swirling universe
 432.177 +about them, was the Doorway to the Light. The huge, ornate doors
 432.178 +loomed in space, waiting. 
 432.179 +
 432.180 +Sora ran up to them, placing his hand on the doorway. “This is it.
 432.181 +This is what I’ve been waiting for since the very beginning. I was
 432.182 +supposed to unlock this door. Everything else was just leading up to
 432.183 +this. One of the first voices I heard said that I’d need to do this,
 432.184 +but that I wasn’t ready to unlock it. Now I can. King Mickey told me
 432.185 +that I was the one who would open the Doorway to the Light.” He shook
 432.186 +his head, still in shock that his journey had finally brought him
 432.187 +there. It felt as if he’d been travelling for years, that it had
 432.188 +begun an eternity ago. Blue eyes closed as he pressed his palm
 432.189 +further against the door. Riku had to be there behind it, waiting.
 432.190 +Taking a step back, he summoned his Keyblade. Concentrating, he
 432.191 +lowered it, a beam of light bursting forth into the door’s keyhole.
 432.192 +He turned the Keyblade, bracing himself for the onslaught of light.
 432.193 +But nothing happened. “What?” He blinked, letting his Keyblade slowly
 432.194 +fall forward in his hands.
 432.195 +
 432.196 +Hikari stepped up to Sora’s side. “You can’t open it yet. And you
 432.197 +can’t open it alone.”
 432.198 +
 432.199 +Slowly nodding in realization, Sora turned his attention to the
 432.200 +princess. “Like with the Doorway to the Darkness. I couldn’t lock it
 432.201 +myself. I needed King Mickey to lock it from the inside while I
 432.202 +locked it from the outside.”
 432.203 +
 432.204 +“Exactly. You need Riku to unlock it from the inside with his
 432.205 +Keyblade. The two of you need to unlock it at the same time for it to
 432.206 +open.” Hikari shook her head before Sora could ask a question. “Not
 432.207 +yet. Neither of you can unlock it yet. Even if he could hear you, it
 432.208 +wouldn’t help. The Doorway to the Light can’t be opened until the
 432.209 +chains on it are unlocked.” Reaching forward, she touched the door
 432.210 +with her fingertips. The door lit up brightly, exposing dark, ominous
 432.211 +chains draped about it. Several locks on the chains kept them tightly
 432.212 +against the door. One lock was open while the others maintained their
 432.213 +hold. “The Keyholes to those locks are in certain hearts. Only those
 432.214 +hearts can unlock the chains. Then you and Riku can open the Doorway
 432.215 +to the light.”
 432.216 +
 432.217 +Sora took a step back, looking up at the huge doors and their
 432.218 +imposing shackles. “How do we go about unlocking the chains?”
 432.219 +
 432.220 +The princess offered a small smile, brushing some hair from her dark
 432.221 +blue eyes. “Don’t worry, Sora. I’m working on it right now.”
 432.222 +
 432.223 +
 432.224 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 432.225 +
 432.226 +
 432.227 +Kairi’s fingers trailed along the stone wall of the castle as she
 432.228 +made her way deeper down the hallway. She had left her room behind in
 432.229 +search of her friends. She had to find Yuffie and Relm. They were the
 432.230 +only ones she had left. She couldn’t risk losing them, too. They had
 432.231 +to be somewhere in the large palace. Now if only she could keep from
 432.232 +getting lost...
 432.233 +
 432.234 +Her mind was still reeling from what she had heard from the two
 432.235 +strange girls in her room. Nothing ever seemed to make sense anymore.
 432.236 +It was as if life delighted in teasing her with different views of
 432.237 +reality. Reality itself was becoming a distorted concept. What
 432.238 +constituted ‘real’? She shook her head swiftly, banishing the
 432.239 +thought. She didn’t need to start thinking about that now. She needed
 432.240 +to stay focused. Find her friends. Find the Keyholes. Save Riku.
 432.241 +Happy ending. That simple. She couldn’t afford to let herself get
 432.242 +lost in all this. 
 432.243 +
 432.244 +There was something almost familiar about the palace. It felt like
 432.245 +she’d been there before. Not this palace itself, but another palace.
 432.246 +From some time long ago. Closing her eyes, the sound of maids and
 432.247 +soldiers and minor dignitaries scurrying about felt normal. As if she
 432.248 +had heard this hundreds of times before. A tinge of homesickness
 432.249 +snaked around her heart. Homesickness for a home she couldn’t
 432.250 +remember, for a father that she didn’t know. 
 432.251 +
 432.252 +“Kairi?! Kairi, wake up!!” 
 432.253 +
 432.254 +Kairi whirled about at the voice calling out to her, her heart
 432.255 +pounding at its panicked insistence. But no one was there. Her head
 432.256 +turned swiftly, searching for whoever had screamed her name. As she
 432.257 +began to look past her search for a person, she began to see that the
 432.258 +hallway behind her was no longer there. The stone of the palace had
 432.259 +been replaced with the smooth walls of her by now familiar room. She
 432.260 +turned on her heel to escape down the hallway, but found herself
 432.261 +tripping before she could run. She fell face first on her bed,
 432.262 +surrounded by an army of plush dolls. It was too late. The palace had
 432.263 +left, stranding her once more in this eerily familiar room. She
 432.264 +pounded a fist into the bed in frustration. How could she ever find
 432.265 +anything if she was always getting tossed about between these strange
 432.266 +places? 
 432.267 +
 432.268 +“And then I’ll be a real boy?”
 432.269 +
 432.270 +Slowly pulling her head up, the princess listened intently. She’d
 432.271 +heard a voice. Someone else was there. For once, she wasn’t alone in
 432.272 +this horrible place filled with memories that couldn’t possibly be
 432.273 +her own. Whoever it was, at least she wouldn’t have to be alone here,
 432.274 +left with her own twisted thoughts. But her joy was quickly shot down
 432.275 +as her eyes fell upon the television in the room. 
 432.276 +
 432.277 +“Yes, Pinochio. A real boy.”
 432.278 +
 432.279 +The Disney movie played out on the screen before her, taunting her.
 432.280 +“And what do I have to do to be real?” she asked quietly. She hugged
 432.281 +an armful of dolls to her chest, characters from all across her
 432.282 +travels. They were all real. They had to be. She had been with Yuffie
 432.283 +and Relm just a few short hours ago. They weren’t just these bits of
 432.284 +fluff and cloth. They were still waiting for her in the Alexandria
 432.285 +Palace in a world so close and yet so far away. 
 432.286 +
 432.287 +“Kairi, please get up...” a strained voice begged her from the other
 432.288 +side of the room. Near her door. Her heart froze. Not again. Not
 432.289 +whoever was waiting on the other side of her locked door. But this
 432.290 +sounded different. The person sounded like they were about to break
 432.291 +down sobbing. And they sounded closer. On the inside of the room.
 432.292 +This didn’t ease Kairi’s concerns. She slowly rolled over to face the
 432.293 +door, her heart beating madly in her chest. This meant someone was
 432.294 +inside with her. The thought that had been so comforting moments
 432.295 +before now only served to horrify her. 
 432.296 +
 432.297 +But no one was there. The brunette blinked, still clutching onto her
 432.298 +dolls. She’d heard someone right there. Yet she saw straight to the
 432.299 +door. She sat up slowly, searching the room for the source of the
 432.300 +voice. Nothing but her assortment of pictures, Disney and Square
 432.301 +trinkets. The image of a girl desperately trying to escape her own
 432.302 +life. It made her sick to look at. Thankfully, something caught her
 432.303 +eye. She let the dolls fall back onto the bed as she got up to
 432.304 +inspect it.
 432.305 +
 432.306 +Something dark was lying on the floor near the door. It looked like
 432.307 +a shadow, but there didn’t seem to be anything casting it. A shadow
 432.308 +without an owner. There it lay, as if the shadow had died while
 432.309 +searching for whoever it belonged to. It lay near the door, as if
 432.310 +someone had died and had stained the very ground with their shadow
 432.311 +rather than their blood. A flicker of movement nearly sent her
 432.312 +stumbling backwards. At first, she thought the shadow had come back
 432.313 +to life, searching for a new owner. But as she watched, she could see
 432.314 +it was a separate shadow, of someone taller than the first. It seemed
 432.315 +to be shaking. Maybe it was frightened. Or angry. Or sad. Kairi took
 432.316 +a step closer. She began to make out the shape of a woman from the
 432.317 +shadow. A woman kneeling. It slowly reached out to the other shadow,
 432.318 +moving it gently. With no response from the first shadow, it moved
 432.319 +forward, cradling the other shadow in its arms. 
 432.320 +
 432.321 +“Kairi, please don’t die... Please, please don’t die...” the voice
 432.322 +choked out, right where the woman would be if she were more than a
 432.323 +shadow. 
 432.324 +
 432.325 +An icy chill began to crawl under Kairi’s skin. She took a slow,
 432.326 +awkward step forward. “M..mom...?” She asked without quite realizing
 432.327 +it. That shadow she had seen, unmoving on the floor, that had been
 432.328 +her? But... No! “Mom..?” She asked again, trying to get the woman’s
 432.329 +attention. “I’m not dead... I’m not. I won’t die, mom. I’m right
 432.330 +here.” She laughed weakly, trying to sound sure of herself. But it
 432.331 +sounded broken even in her own ears. She could hear sobbing in her
 432.332 +empty room. It echoed eerily throughout the room, filling the
 432.333 +princess with a horrible dread. That couldn’t be here. She was right
 432.334 +here. The world suddenly tilted on its axis and for a split second
 432.335 +she saw her mother. A pretty, slender woman, holding tightly onto
 432.336 +her. She was motionless, pale and bloodstained. Then they were gone,
 432.337 +nothing but shadows and an insistent sobbing. “Mom! I’m right here!”
 432.338 +Kairi cried out, hugging herself tightly. “Please... please look at
 432.339 +me... mom... I’m.. I’m here...” Her world blurred in a burning haze
 432.340 +of tears. She opened her moth to once again beg her mother to see
 432.341 +her, but nothing came out but a pained sob. She closed her eyes
 432.342 +tightly, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. There was no one there to
 432.343 +hear her. She was all alone. Her mother couldn’t hear her. It was
 432.344 +only a shadow. But was it a shadow of things to come? Or what had
 432.345 +already passed? Or simply a nightmare? 
 432.346 +
 432.347 +The sobbing silenced abruptly. Kairi blinked her tear soaked eyes
 432.348 +open only to find the two shadows were gone. Her own shadow was the
 432.349 +only one she could see and it appeared to be anchored securely to
 432.350 +herself. She shuddered, still holding herself. 
 432.351 +
 432.352 +“Don’t cry, Kairi,” a voice said soothingly. This time, it was from
 432.353 +behind the door. 
 432.354 +
 432.355 +Kairi wanted to argue with the mysterious voice, to say that she was
 432.356 +fine, but it was different this time. Soft, yet strong. Pained. For
 432.357 +her. The whispered words encircled her head like a wreath as she
 432.358 +tried to figure out who had said them. Taking a hesitant step towards
 432.359 +the door, her heart spun about, familiar feelings bubbling up. But
 432.360 +why? “Riku!!” Her eyes went wide as she ran the rest of the way to
 432.361 +the door, nearly colliding with it. Her hands stopped her as she
 432.362 +reached it, slowing her body enough so that she merely slumped
 432.363 +against it. “Riku, is that you?” Her ear pressed tightly against the
 432.364 +door, straining to hear any sign of the silver haired boy. She held
 432.365 +her breath, afraid that it would obscure the sound of his footsteps.
 432.366 +She waited desperately for an answer, horrified that it might have
 432.367 +been her imagination. 
 432.368 +
 432.369 +A soft chuckle. “Yep, it’s me. You can’t get rid of me that easily,
 432.370 +Kairi.” 
 432.371 +
 432.372 +
 432.373 +“Riku!!” Kairi laughed joyously at her friend’s voice. He was here.
 432.374 +She’d found him. It was really him this time. She could feel it. And
 432.375 +all that stood between them was this one door. Though it might as
 432.376 +well have been a world apart since she couldn’t get it open. But she
 432.377 +couldn’t let that get to her. Not now. Not with him so close. Her
 432.378 +palms pressed tightly against the door, almost trying to go straight
 432.379 +through it, to will it away. But it stood it’s ground, firm against
 432.380 +her. Thousands of thoughts swirled about in her mind in a tornado.
 432.381 +She didn’t even know where to begin. Her feelings, her thoughts, her
 432.382 +journey. They suddenly seemed unimportant. “I knew I’d find you,” she
 432.383 +whispered. 
 432.384 +
 432.385 +“Thank you, Kairi,” Riku replied, his own hand against the door,
 432.386 +those few inches of wood the only thing separating them. “I knew you
 432.387 +wouldn’t give up. You’re stronger than me and Sora.”
 432.388 +
 432.389 +Kairi shook her head, slumping it against the cold frame of the
 432.390 +door. “No, I’m not. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. You and
 432.391 +Sora would be doing a much better job than me. You wouldn’t be
 432.392 +doubting everything so much. You wouldn’t be so scared. You wouldn’t
 432.393 +keep getting captured.” Her eyes closed tightly. Here she was talking
 432.394 +to Riku on the other side of a locked door in her bedroom. How was
 432.395 +she supposed to know what was real and what was illusion? 
 432.396 +
 432.397 +“Kairi... Just because you can’t fight doesn’t make you weak. Sora
 432.398 +and I can fight, but there’s always someone better. You have
 432.399 +something much stronger than any weapon he or I could hold. You make
 432.400 +people want to protect you, to fight for you. Your heart lights up
 432.401 +the darkness the way no Keyblade could. And why does it matter if you
 432.402 +doubt? If you’re scared? You’re still here, aren’t you? Despite your
 432.403 +doubts, despite your fears, you kept coming. You never gave up, even
 432.404 +when all hope seemed lost. I think that makes you stronger to have
 432.405 +faced it and pushed forward instead of not seeing it at all. You’re
 432.406 +very strong, Kairi. I only wish I could be there with you. I don’t
 432.407 +want you to have to do this on your own. I want to catch you when you
 432.408 +fall. I want to be right there behind you.” He sighed, looking down.
 432.409 +He felt so helpless, trapped. It wouldn’t matter so much if he knew
 432.410 +Kairi was safe, but knowing she was out there searching and that
 432.411 +there was nothing he could do to help...
 432.412 +
 432.413 +Shaking her head, Kairi smiled faintly. “I’m not alone. No matter
 432.414 +where I am, I’m never alone. I have two girls travelling with me
 432.415 +right now. Yuffie and Relm. They’re my friends. They’ve helped me so
 432.416 +much. And even when I’m away from them, I know you and Sora are with
 432.417 +me.” A hand pulled away from the door, resting on her heart. “No
 432.418 +matter how far apart we are, we’re always together. That’s what kept
 432.419 +me going.” She swallowed, blinking back tears. “Because I know you’re
 432.420 +there with me every step of the way. If I listen very closely and I
 432.421 +close my eyes, I can hear your footsteps echoing with mine.”
 432.422 +
 432.423 +“Kairi...” Riku spread his fingers against the door, trying to hold
 432.424 +the princess’s hand in his own. “I can feel you with me, too.” She
 432.425 +was right there. So close... He had done everything he could to save
 432.426 +her. Now he would give anything to be by her side again. “I want to
 432.427 +see you one last time. I can’t go until I’ve seen you once more.”
 432.428 +
 432.429 +Blinking her still blurry eyes open, Kairi strained to see through
 432.430 +the door to the boy on the other side. “What do you man? I’ll set you
 432.431 +free, Riku. I promise. Then we’ll be together forever. Just like we
 432.432 +always planned. You, me, and Sora.” Why did it sound like Riku
 432.433 +wouldn’t be there for it? He’d have to be. She was going to save him.
 432.434 +
 432.435 +A long silence lingered in the air before Riku finally responded. “I
 432.436 +lost my body. Ansem had it, remember? When Sora defeated him, he died
 432.437 +with my body. My heart fought off the darkness, but I couldn’t bring
 432.438 +my body with me. The Farplane, the Lifestream, whatever you want to
 432.439 +call where hearts go, it’s calling me. But I refuse to go yet. Not
 432.440 +until I see you one last time.” He hadn’t wanted to tell her. He
 432.441 +could handle it as long as he knew she was all right. And she would
 432.442 +be, once she met up with Sora. He would protect Kairi for Riku. But
 432.443 +he couldn’t lie to Kairi. He never could. 
 432.444 +
 432.445 +“You’ll...” Kairi looked dumbly at the door, the revelation sending
 432.446 +cracks through her heart. “No! You can’t go!” She slumped against the
 432.447 +door, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. She had come this far
 432.448 +only to find out that Riku had lost his body? That he’d disappear
 432.449 +soon? The light at the end of her tunnel was suddenly eclipsed. She
 432.450 +was cast once more into darkness. All they had done... Was it all for
 432.451 +nothing? Yes, she could set fee the light behind the door, but that
 432.452 +wasn’t what she was fighting for. She was fighting for Riku, to have
 432.453 +him close again. But now...
 432.454 +
 432.455 +“It’s all right, Kairi. I’ll be fine. I knew the risks when I joined
 432.456 +Maleficent. But I didn’t care. I would do anything to save your
 432.457 +heart. As long as you’re safe, it doesn’t matter what happens to me.”
 432.458 +Riku smiled softly, his fingertips against the door. Yes, that was
 432.459 +the important thing. Kairi had her heart back. Even if some
 432.460 +sacrifices had to be made, that was all that mattered.
 432.461 +
 432.462 +“No...” Kairi shook her head, slowly looking up. She had come too
 432.463 +far to give up. She couldn’t quit on Riku. She wouldn’t let this stop
 432.464 +her. “I won’t let you go. I’m going to save you, Riku. Somehow. I
 432.465 +promised. And I will. You aren’t the only one who’d do anything. I’ll
 432.466 +do anything to save your heart. I owe that much to you. And... I
 432.467 +don’t want to be without you. I won’t give up. This time it’s my turn
 432.468 +to fight for you. I’ll find a way to open this door. And I’ll find a
 432.469 +way to protect your heart.” Closing her eyes, she kissed the door
 432.470 +softly. “Just wait for me, Riku.” 
 432.471 +
 432.472 +Riku looked ahead at the door, taken by surprise. He hadn’t expected
 432.473 +that. A small smile played across his lips. “And you said you weren’t
 432.474 +strong. I’ll be here, Kairi. Waiting for you. I’ll wait as long as it
 432.475 +takes.” His hopelessness started to melt away at Kairi’s words. He
 432.476 +had faith in her. And just knowing she would fight for him meant
 432.477 +everything to him. 
 432.478 +
 432.479 +Kairi’s fingers brushed the doorknob, her heart trying to unwind
 432.480 +itself from fears and anxieties holding it back. She may not have
 432.481 +another chance to say it. No, she couldn’t think like that. But
 432.482 +still... Who knew when she’d get to see him again? “Riku... I love...”
 432.483 +
 432.484 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 432.485 +
 432.486 +Wandering aimlessly through the courtyard, Eiko’s heart felt heavy.
 432.487 +Why wouldn’t the princess notice her? Garnet was too concerned with
 432.488 +other things. She only saw her as a little girl. It was certainly
 432.489 +frustrating. She crossed her arms, kicking a rock in her path.
 432.490 +Princess Garnet was the only good part of being kidnapped by that
 432.491 +Kuja guy and dragged to the Alexandria Palace. The princess had made
 432.492 +the distant palace feel a little less lonely. She’d been the first
 432.493 +real person that Eiko felt she could trust. She had grown up with
 432.494 +moogles for company in a deserted city of summoners, the last of her
 432.495 +kind. She hadn't realized how alone she had felt until meeting the
 432.496 +beautiful Princess Garnet. She felt safe with her. Warm. Dizzy. 
 432.497 +
 432.498 +Sighing, the purple haired summoner held her hands over her heart.
 432.499 +All she had to do was deliver the letter in her hands and Garnet
 432.500 +would finally know of her feelings. Butterflies fluttered about
 432.501 +chaotically in her stomach. She was nervous about letting Garnet know
 432.502 +but she couldn't sit by any longer. It was driving her insane. She
 432.503 +had to tell the princess. Even if it was through a stupid love
 432.504 +letter. Sighing, she tried to quash her nervousness, feeling the
 432.505 +letter underneath her fingers. Yes, she had to do this. She'd just
 432.506 +find a nice place to put it and then run as far as she could and send
 432.507 +Mog to find out how she'd reacted. Cowardly, perhaps, but she was too
 432.508 +embarrassed to be more straightforward about it. Besides, she thought
 432.509 +she'd made it painfully obvious how she felt about Garnet so far and
 432.510 +the princess hadn't shown an inkling of recognition. Steeling
 432.511 +herself, she nodded and continued through the garden. The guards
 432.512 +didn't see her as a threat and the princess let her come and go from
 432.513 +her quarters as she pleased, so it wouldn't be a problem getting
 432.514 +there to leave the letter on Garnet's pillow. 
 432.515 +
 432.516 +An all too familiar sound reached Eiko halfway through the garden.
 432.517 +She slowed to a halt, listening intently. Someone was crying. Hearing
 432.518 +the sound was odd. She'd never heard someone else cry before. It
 432.519 +brought up the same lost and lonely feelings within her that she
 432.520 +associated with it. Searching around the garden, she began to search
 432.521 +out its source. She didn't know what she could do about it, but she
 432.522 +didn't feel right just ignoring it. The moogles she'd lived with had
 432.523 +always been there for her when she'd been crying. The sound seemed to
 432.524 +be coming from behind some bushes. Pushing past the bushes, Eiko
 432.525 +stepped out on the other side to find a blonde girl hugging her legs,
 432.526 +her head on her knees. It was then that Eiko remembered she didn't
 432.527 +have any experience with this sort of thing. "Um.. Hi..." she stated
 432.528 +dumbly. She inwardly berated herself, quickly trying to come up with
 432.529 +something just a bit more comforting. "Are you okay?"
 432.530 +
 432.531 +It took Relm a moment to acknowledge the summoner's presence. Her
 432.532 +head slowly lifted from her knees, blinking at the wet tears that
 432.533 +coursed down her cheeks. A younger lavender haired girl stood before
 432.534 +her, an odd horn on her forehead. She was about to tell the girl to
 432.535 +leave her alone, but the uncomfortable, worried look in the
 432.536 +summoner's eyes shut her up. She was already feeling too crappy to
 432.537 +hurt a little girl's feelings. Shaking her head slowly, Relm rested
 432.538 +her chin on her knees again. "Not really." Sniffling, she wiped at
 432.539 +her eyes with her palms. After she had left Yuffie, she had run as
 432.540 +far as she could. By now she was completely lost. Which only made her
 432.541 +feel more helpless and confused about everything. 'Yuffie...' the
 432.542 +artist thought, a fresh wave of pain cascading through her. Her eyes
 432.543 +closed warily, feeling fresh tears gathering. 
 432.544 +
 432.545 +Looking down, Eiko waited for the older girl to continue. Her hands
 432.546 +behind her, she still clutched her love letter for Garnet. She busied
 432.547 +herself with looking at her foot, shifting it on the soft grass. She
 432.548 +was headstrong enough to rush into things, but once she was in the
 432.549 +middle of them, she easily found herself over her head. People were
 432.550 +so confusing. Moogles made so much more sense. She knew how to act
 432.551 +around them. A sad thought entered her mind at that. She was too used
 432.552 +to being alone. She had lived alone for so long that she was still
 432.553 +having trouble getting used to people. No matter how much she wanted
 432.554 +to be around them. Garnet in particular. So she had to try. To give
 432.555 +it a shot. To show that she could be around people, that she could
 432.556 +try to understand them. "What's wrong?" Eiko asked at last. Tilting
 432.557 +her head to the side, she glanced up at Relm expectantly. Not exactly
 432.558 +the best reply, but it was something.
 432.559 +
 432.560 +Sighing, Relm closed her eyes tightly. It all came out in a rush.
 432.561 +"It's Yuffie. She doesn't care what I do. I'm just annoying to her.
 432.562 +She thinks I'm just a crazy bimbo that wants to hang off of her. She
 432.563 +doesn't care how I feel. She's selfish and only cares about what
 432.564 +happens to her. But I love her anyway. Even if she can't understand.
 432.565 +Even if she thinks I'm just..." She swallowed again and again, trying
 432.566 +to choke back the tears. A muffled sob escaped her as she pressed her
 432.567 +face against her trembling knees. 
 432.568 +
 432.569 +Eiko sat down next to the sobbing artist. That sounded familiar. Too
 432.570 +familiar. Maybe people weren't so difficult to understand after all.
 432.571 +Did everyone hurt that badly? It was a scary thought. She reached out
 432.572 +hesitantly, not sure how to help, how to comfort the blonde girl. Her
 432.573 +hand nearly touched Relm's shoulder before she slowly pulled it back.
 432.574 +She didn't know what to do. Sighing softly, Relm's crying surrounded
 432.575 +her. How often had she done that? She'd promised her grandfather that
 432.576 +she'd be a big girl, that she could take care of herself, but
 432.577 +sometimes... "I'm sorry." She shook her head, her lavender hair
 432.578 +wisping past her eyes. "It isn't fair. Why can't they understand? We
 432.579 +love them so much that it hurts, but they can't see that. They're so
 432.580 +lost in their own worlds that they don't even know we're there. That
 432.581 +we need them so much." She pulled up the letter to Garnet, reading
 432.582 +her love's name again and again. Why did this happen? Why did it have
 432.583 +to hurt so much? Wasn't love supposed to end happily like in the
 432.584 +fairy tales she'd heard as a young child? It was. It had to. Damn it,
 432.585 +what was the point of being around people and falling in love if all
 432.586 +it did was hurt you? Letting the letter drop from her fingers, she
 432.587 +stood up again. She wouldn't just leave a letter on Garnet's bed and
 432.588 +run away. She would find another way.
 432.589 +
 432.590 +A small, warm hand rested on Relm's shoulder, drawing her out from
 432.591 +the veil of tears that surrounded her. She blinked weakly and gazed
 432.592 +through blurry eyes to the lavender haired summoner. The younger girl
 432.593 +was looking at her with an almost desperate intensity in her eyes.
 432.594 +She held back her sobs, sniffling quietly. 
 432.595 +
 432.596 +"I think... I think we're going through the same thing right now. We
 432.597 +can't give up. Love isn't supposed to work like this. So that means
 432.598 +we have to make it work. We can't let it end like this. We have to
 432.599 +fight for it. It would be too easy to walk away and be alone again.
 432.600 +But I can't do that anymore. And if this Yuffie can make you cry like
 432.601 +that, I don't think you want to be alone again either. Let's do it.
 432.602 +Let's make them realize everything. Let's make it so they can't ever
 432.603 +deny how much we love them again," Eiko said determinedly.
 432.604 +
 432.605 +Relm was taken aback by the girl's words. For a moment she wondered
 432.606 +how a girl so young could understand, but she brushed that aside. She
 432.607 +understood. That was the important thing. The only thing. Reaching
 432.608 +out, she rested her hand on top of Eiko's, smiling faintly through
 432.609 +her tears. Her head nodded weakly, a soft giggle slipping from her
 432.610 +lips. A renewed fire burned within her heart. "Let's."
 432.611 +
 432.612 +
 432.613 +

   433.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   433.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-10.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   433.3 @@ -0,0 +1,753 @@
   433.4 +Author's Note: I'd like to thank my friend, Chi, for helping me with
   433.5 +this. If it weren't for her and a few others who keep asking when the
   433.6 +next chapter would come out, I'd never finish. ^-^ She helped write
   433.7 +one of the scenes in this, so I appreciate that greatly. ^-^ Thank
   433.8 +you, Chi. ^-^ *hugs* And thanks to everyone who's kept Prism Hearts
   433.9 +going. ^-^ This was going to be a one shot story, but you all helped
  433.10 +push it forward into a series. I don't want it to end now. ^^;; I'm
  433.11 +considering making a sequel series to it. ^-^;; I guess we'll see
  433.12 +what happens. ^-^ Thanks again!
  433.13 +
  433.14 +
  433.15 +Prism Hearts 
  433.16 +Chapter 10
  433.17 +Treasure Chest of My Heart
  433.18 +by Amazoness Duo
  433.19 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  433.20 +
  433.21 +
  433.22 +"Her Highness wishes to see you now."
  433.23 +
  433.24 +Highness? Who? Kairi's mind spun dizzily, her thoughts far too
  433.25 +slippery to hold onto. Where was she? That thought alone felt far too
  433.26 +familiar. She shouldn't always be wondering where she was. She just
  433.27 +wanted to be back home on her islands with Riku and Sora. A boot
  433.28 +prodded her shoulder, demanding her attention. Apparently the soldier
  433.29 +didn't intent to let Kairi rest. The brunette blinked, trying to
  433.30 +focus on the blurry world around her. Ever so slowly, it began to
  433.31 +take shape once more. The castle, Relm, Yuffie, the princess... It
  433.32 +all slowly came back to her. 
  433.33 +
  433.34 +"Now," the soldier insisted, her eyes narrowing. "The Queen doesn't
  433.35 +like to be kept waiting."
  433.36 +
  433.37 +Getting up on wobbly legs, Kairi followed the pretty knight quietly.
  433.38 +It seemed that most of the knights here were women. Come to think of
  433.39 +it, had she seen any boys at all since coming there? She shook the
  433.40 +thought off. They had to be around somewhere. 
  433.41 +
  433.42 +Brushing some hair away from her eyes, Kairi let her eyes wander
  433.43 +across the expansive hallway they were walking down. Gleaming suits
  433.44 +of armor and magnificent paintings lined the walls. This kingdom
  433.45 +obviously had a lot of wealth to throw around. A knight hefting a
  433.46 +large painting into place caught her eye as they approached wide,
  433.47 +ornate double doors. That painting... She couldn't recognize the
  433.48 +woman in it, but it looked so real. Relm. It had to be. So she was
  433.49 +still around somewhere. Despite the nervousness that spiralled in her
  433.50 +stomach, she could feel a bit of hope blossoming up at the thought
  433.51 +that she wasn't alone in this place. That meant Relm wasn't
  433.52 +imprisoned. Maybe she knew what was going on. Even if she didn't, it
  433.53 +would be so nice to have someone to be near again. She couldn't stand
  433.54 +being alone for much longer. The loneliness was eating at her heart.
  433.55 +
  433.56 +'That's why you killed yourself in the first place,' a familiar
  433.57 +voice whispered in Kairi's head. 
  433.58 +
  433.59 +Closing her eyes tightly, the princess ignored the voice. 'I didn't
  433.60 +kill myself. I'm right here. I'm alive. This isn't a dream. I won't
  433.61 +let it be.' When she opened her eyes, they were in front of the
  433.62 +double doors. She sighed, breathing deeply in an attempt to wash away
  433.63 +her nervousness. Maybe she could explain things to the queen and see
  433.64 +if she knew anything. Or maybe she had seen Riku or Sora. Or... She'd
  433.65 +never know unless she tried. And, as she'd heard, the Queen wasn't a
  433.66 +patient woman. Steeling herself, she entered the large chamber. 
  433.67 +
  433.68 +The knight bowed deeply after entering. Kairi only stared. The Queen
  433.69 +was a huge woman, taking up all of the huge throne that she sat in.
  433.70 +It took her a moment to realize the pretty, silver haired woman next
  433.71 +to her was actually a man. But what astonished her the most was the
  433.72 +presence of a harlequin in the large chamber. One with a particular
  433.73 +smirk on her lips. "Harle!" Whatever else she might have said became
  433.74 +a squeak as the knight's hand at the small of her back forced her
  433.75 +into a tripping kneel. What was Harle doing here with these people?
  433.76 +Whatever hope she'd had began to deflate as the Queen and her
  433.77 +entourage continued to study her. They were staring at her as if she
  433.78 +were some sort of thing, human only in form. It made her uneasy how
  433.79 +they sized her up, making her feel vulnerable. This might have been a
  433.80 +bad idea after all.
  433.81 +
  433.82 +"So this is the one?" The queen asked curiously, not addressing
  433.83 +Kairi in the least.
  433.84 +
  433.85 +The silver haired man nodded, smiling faintly. "I believe so, your
  433.86 +majesty. She certainly appears to be. If she's the girl we've been
  433.87 +looking for, then the tragedies to your kingdom will soon cease. She
  433.88 +will lock away the Heartless spreading through your kingdom." Walking
  433.89 +slowly to Kairi, he watched the small girl in front of him. Reaching
  433.90 +out, he took her jaw, tilting her face up. "We've finally found you."
  433.91 +
  433.92 +A chill ran down Kairi's spine at his words. She slapped his hand
  433.93 +away, taking a step back, but she already heard the knight behind
  433.94 +her. "Don't touch me." She tried to put as much menace into her voice
  433.95 +as she could muster, but she was suddenly feeling very, very alone.
  433.96 +Even Harle was simply watching her. She was powerless to do anything.
  433.97 +They had said they wanted her to seal the Heartless, but they didn't
  433.98 +seem to feel like asking her. She shuddered. It seemed like they
  433.99 +already had plans for her.
 433.100 +
 433.101 +Laughing, the man's girn broadened. "So spirited. Just like the
 433.102 +princess. This will be fun." The cruel glint in his eye made Kairi
 433.103 +take another step backwards into the guard. 
 433.104 +
 433.105 +"Fun or not, I want you to hurry, Kuja. I've lost too many knights
 433.106 +to those things. If they attack the castle again..." The Queen
 433.107 +trailed off. 
 433.108 +
 433.109 +Kuja nodded, bowing low. "I am at your service, your majesty. The
 433.110 +Heartless won't trouble you for much longer." Reaching forward, he
 433.111 +grabbed Kairi's wrist tightly.The girl struggled, but the frail
 433.112 +seeming man had a strength that far surpassed his frame. Stepping
 433.113 +forward, he yanked Kairi along. 
 433.114 +
 433.115 +Kairi's worry had now become full blown panic. She was a prisoner
 433.116 +here, whether or not she'd been in a cage. And she didn't think they
 433.117 +just meant for her to lock a keyhole. She dug her heels into the
 433.118 +ground, but the silver haired man easily pulled her stumbling after
 433.119 +him. "Harle!! Help me!" she cried, nearly twisting her shoulder as
 433.120 +she tried to get away.
 433.121 +
 433.122 +The harlequin smiled enigmatically. "I am only ze court jester,
 433.123 +Mademoiselle."
 433.124 +
 433.125 +The queen sighed heavily. "Entertain me. This droll business tires
 433.126 +me." She waved her hand halfheartedly. The Harlequin quickly complied
 433.127 +as Kairi was dragged further and further away from her friends, from
 433.128 +freedom.   
 433.129 +
 433.130 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 433.131 +
 433.132 +Okay, that wasn't too hard. Yuffie ducked around a corner, moving
 433.133 +quickly and quietly. All she had to do to escape was act like she
 433.134 +actually wanted to hear what the guard was saying. When the guard was
 433.135 +close enough to the bars, Yuffie had grabbed one of her hands and
 433.136 +told her she knew exactly how she felt, mustering all the sympathy
 433.137 +she could into her eyes, which hadn't been all that difficult with
 433.138 +how miserable she was feeling about Relm. While the guard was
 433.139 +distracted to have someone finally listening to her, she'd
 433.140 +pickpocketed the key to the cell. Thankfully, someone had dropped her
 433.141 +Sleep Materia and it had rolled into her cell. She used it to keep
 433.142 +people asleep while she was sneaking around houses in search of
 433.143 +anything valuable. It worked just as well on the guard and she'd
 433.144 +hurried to get her things that they'd left in the armory. Now she was
 433.145 +ready for whatever they threw at her. Even that Beatrix lady. She
 433.146 +hoped. 
 433.147 +
 433.148 +Whatever the case, she was back on track. Her first priority was to
 433.149 +find the Keyblade Mistress. Guilt welled up inside of her, an angry
 433.150 +inner voice that argued she could find her later. True. There was
 433.151 +always treasure to be found and a palace like this should be full of
 433.152 +valuable trinkets. Again a wave of guilt and sorrow that threatened
 433.153 +to drown her, even more powerful than the first. 'Sheesh... Fine,
 433.154 +fine. I'll go find Relm first.' She was pleased to find that she
 433.155 +actually felt better with that plan of action. Still lousy and
 433.156 +miserable, but better. Maybe she could apologize. Ick... She wanted
 433.157 +to apologize? What was wrong with her? She shook her head. This whole
 433.158 +thing was just getting weirder and weirder. Apologies were not her
 433.159 +strong point. Neither was feeling guilty, for that matter. But she
 433.160 +had been a bitch... And Relm had been completely devestated because
 433.161 +of her. She'd never made a girl cry like that before, especially not
 433.162 +one who appeared so devoted to her. She didn't like the feeling that
 433.163 +accompanied it. Sneaking around the corner, she hoped she'd never
 433.164 +have to feel that again. 
 433.165 +
 433.166 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 433.167 +
 433.168 +Dipping her feet in the icy water, Yuna watched her reflection. She
 433.169 +was away from the others because she couldn't trust herself to smile.
 433.170 +She couldn't slip on a smile for their sake no matter how much she
 433.171 +wanted to. The warm waters of the Destiny Islands were growing colder
 433.172 +and stormier. The hole that Tidus and Wakka had found just kept
 433.173 +getting bigger. Everything felt so wrong. The adults were afraid,
 433.174 +whispering to each other around the children. Everyone was worried
 433.175 +about what might happen next. First Sora and Riku had disappeared and
 433.176 +now Kairi went missing. Were the rest of them next? Would the Destiny
 433.177 +Islands simply fade away?
 433.178 +
 433.179 +That was exactly why she should be smiling. To give the others hope.
 433.180 +Sometimes hope was the only thing you had. But Yuna's smile had
 433.181 +proven elusive. She couldn't get herself to hope. She could only
 433.182 +muster up fear and dread, feelings that didn't make for a very
 433.183 +convincing smile. 
 433.184 +
 433.185 +Yuna sighed, pulling her feet out of the chilly water. Her image
 433.186 +rippled in the wind, looking as distorted as she felt. 
 433.187 +
 433.188 +"What are you doing, Yunie?" a voice asked from behind the young
 433.189 +summoner. 
 433.190 +
 433.191 +Yuna almost fell into the could water, shocked by the voice nearly
 433.192 +in her ear. Strong paws grabbed her shoulders, hold her onto the tiny
 433.193 +pier. "Rikku... You... startled me." She closed her mismatched eyes,
 433.194 +trying to catch her breath. The catgirl moved like a thief in the
 433.195 +night, something that Yuna was still getting used to. It was a little
 433.196 +scary around the house, being snuck up on. Ever since her father had
 433.197 +died, she had lived alone. Lulu had offered to let her stay with her
 433.198 +and her parents, but Yuna had always declined. She didn't want Lulu
 433.199 +to see how hoften she cried. She had to be strong. She couldn't let
 433.200 +anyone see how weak she truly was. Even this new girl. She forced a
 433.201 +smile to turn towards Rikku, but it crumbled into dust before she
 433.202 +could turn around. Desperate, she kept her back to the catgirl. "I
 433.203 +was just... thinking..." Yuna said at last. That much was true, at
 433.204 +any rate. 
 433.205 +
 433.206 +Rikku nodded, sitting next to the brunette on the dock. She watched
 433.207 +Yuna carefully. "What about, Yunie?" she asked at last.
 433.208 +
 433.209 +“I…” She wasn’t sure if she should say but for some inexplicable
 433.210 +reason she found she wanted to. It was strange since she didn’t even
 433.211 +open up to those on the island that she had known so much longer, no
 433.212 +matter how much she felt her head  and heart were about to burst.
 433.213 +Maybe… maybe it was because Rikku hadn’t been there long that she
 433.214 +felt she could talk to her, because she could offer a new view and
 433.215 +not just the predictable assurances that Lulu, Tidus and the others
 433.216 +were bound to give her.  She stared into the water some more, she
 433.217 +couldn’t say anything, could she? Rikku had just gotten here, did she
 433.218 +really want to scare her with horror stories of bottomless holes and
 433.219 +the uncertain reflections of a frightened girl?
 433.220 +
 433.221 +Rikku quietly watched the other girl, holding back the urge to
 433.222 +fidget or nudge the girl into saying something or anything. She was
 433.223 +managing to show an unusual amount of restraint for once. She noticed
 433.224 +as the other girl clenched and unclenched her slender hands and
 433.225 +before she could stop herself impulsely lay a paw on top a hand. She
 433.226 +felt Yuna jump slightly and she just blurted out the first thing on
 433.227 +her mind. “You can tell me anything, you know… I wouldn’t ever betray
 433.228 +you…”
 433.229 +
 433.230 +“You would never betray me?” Yuna asked, surprised enough to look up
 433.231 +at Rikku. Plenty of people wouldn’t betray her but still… the way the
 433.232 +catgirl had said it… she had meant it, but why?
 433.233 +
 433.234 +Rikku blinked, surprised herself at what she had said. “I wouldn’t
 433.235 +betray your secrets, I meant…” She backpedaled.
 433.236 +
 433.237 +“Oh…” Yuna looked down again, she couldn’t deny she was disappointed.
 433.238 +
 433.239 +Rikku instantly regretted bring that morose look back to her Yuna’s
 433.240 +face, she was her ‘saviour’ after all. “Hey… but I… well I did mean
 433.241 +it. You did save me after all, I owe you my life… that little violent
 433.242 +girl would have pummeled me.”
 433.243 +
 433.244 +Yuna slowly smiled,and then she began to giggle. “I don’t think
 433.245 +Selphie would have really hurt you… well not that much.” She blushed,
 433.246 +“I don’t think I did that much to save you…”
 433.247 +
 433.248 +“No way, if it wasn’t for you I’d be gone…” She grasped Yuna’s hands
 433.249 +in both her paws. “I swear I won’t leave you until I’ve done
 433.250 +everything I can to make you, my -savior-’s life happy!”
 433.251 +
 433.252 +Yuna blinked back tears, she didn’t know why but that completely
 433.253 +unexpected, impulsive but passionate declaration hit her hard. Her
 433.254 +hands pulled away from Rikku’s and she flung herself against a
 433.255 +surprised kitty, wrapping her arms around a warm furry neck. She
 433.256 +whispered a quiet ‘thank you’ and later when she calmed down began
 433.257 +whispering a few more things, just happy to have someone listen.
 433.258 +
 433.259 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 433.260 +
 433.261 +"It won't do you any good, princess." Nonetheless, Kuja seemed
 433.262 +amused by Kairi's struggle with her bonds. He grinned, sipping
 433.263 +something from a goblet as he watched her. "Yes, I know you're a
 433.264 +princess. Princess Hikari from the kingdom of Hollow Bastion. I'm
 433.265 +something of a troubleshooter for monarchs. I offer my services to
 433.266 +help them in return for a fee. Not that I need the money, but it
 433.267 +helps in my search. I even helped your father. I... 'acquired' a few
 433.268 +specimens for his research on the Heartless."
 433.269 +
 433.270 +Kairi stopped wrestling with the chains that held her in place and
 433.271 +turned to look at the silver haired catman. She shivered at his
 433.272 +predatory gaze. But she had to listen. He knew about her, about who
 433.273 +she'd been before she woke up with no memories on the Destiny
 433.274 +Islands. And for once, he wasn't saying she was a suicidal girl who
 433.275 +had been obsessed with escaping into Squaresoft games and Disney
 433.276 +movies. In a way, she needed to hear that, to hear that she really
 433.277 +had been a princess, had been a part of this, that it wasn't all just
 433.278 +her dying mind's fantasy. Even if she was shackled, even if he was
 433.279 +about to do horrible things to her, she still needed to know that
 433.280 +this was real. That Sora and Riku were real. That her journey hadn't
 433.281 +been for nothing. "Ansem... was my father?" 
 433.282 +
 433.283 +Yes... She could remember that if she tried hard enough. She had
 433.284 +been his little princess. He'd loved her, but he'd always been so
 433.285 +busy with his research, obsessed with where it migh lead him. The
 433.286 +Heartless... They had consumed Hollow Bastion, stealing the hearts of
 433.287 +all those who couldn't escape in time. All because of her father's
 433.288 +research. She remembered seeing the kingdom crumble, but only
 433.289 +vaguely, like a dim nightmare. How had she escaped? How had she been
 433.290 +able to get away from that? Nothing. She didn't remember anything
 433.291 +other than waking up on the Destiny Islands. But she could still
 433.292 +remember having a mother... Her best friend, the only person who
 433.293 +cared about her. She shook her head, trying to force the thoughts
 433.294 +away. Her mother was from the life of a lonely girl who had killed
 433.295 +herself. Ansem was from this life. But... She didn't want to deny her
 433.296 +mother's existence, even if it meant validating her own. But it had
 433.297 +to be one or the other, right? Her life with Riku and Sora or her
 433.298 +life as a lonely outcast. The answer was obvious. But why couldn't
 433.299 +she completely deny that lonely life, that room that kept haunting
 433.300 +her?
 433.301 +
 433.302 +Laughing, Kuja nodded. "So you really don't remember that life? No
 433.303 +wonder Sephiroth has been staying away. And why he's wanted us to
 433.304 +stay away from you." 
 433.305 +
 433.306 +He crossed the room gracefully, his tail swishing behind him,
 433.307 +reminding Kairi of the kitty she'd had with her for so long. It made
 433.308 +her wish she was there with her. That anyone was there with her
 433.309 +besides this madman. Sephiroth? Why did he sound so familiar? And...
 433.310 +Her eyes widened. He must be in charge. And if he wanted them to stay
 433.311 +away from her... Her heart froze into a heavy chunk of ice that
 433.312 +plumetted into her stomach as Kuja got closer. She was suddenly even
 433.313 +more afraid of what he intended to do with her. "Why aren't you
 433.314 +listening to him? He... he could hurt you. There's a reason he's in
 433.315 +charge." She was bluffing, but she didn't care. She didn't know
 433.316 +enough about Sephiroth or why these people were working with him, but
 433.317 +she had to hope that Kuja would pause and consider letting her go. Or
 433.318 +at least not whatever he had on his mind. 
 433.319 +
 433.320 +Grinning wickedly, Kuja trailed a finger down her chin. She squirmed
 433.321 +under his touch, but couldn't do anything more. "Because once I have
 433.322 +what I want, Sephiroth won't be able to touch me. Nothing will. I
 433.323 +will never die. That specter of death that chases after all of us
 433.324 +will never reach me. I will be free of the chains of Fate. Free of
 433.325 +death and pain. The same freedom that you had before you threw it all
 433.326 +away."
 433.327 +
 433.328 +Kairi jerked about in her chains to no avail, feeling his hand
 433.329 +trailing down her neck, moving lower. Tears burned in her eyes.
 433.330 +Anger, fear, frustration, and hopelessness boiled inside of her. "I
 433.331 +won't let you have the Keyblade! I'm going to save Riku, no matter
 433.332 +what happens to me," she got out shakily. Yes, no matter what
 433.333 +happened, she'd save him. She shook as his hand travelled lower,
 433.334 +finally stopping over her heart.
 433.335 +
 433.336 +"It's not the Keyblade that I'm after." Kuja laughed, tilting his
 433.337 +head back. "That's merely a toy. Let Sephiroth play with it for all I
 433.338 +care." His deep, scarred eyes met Kairi's and the princess shuddered
 433.339 +at the desperation in him. "We're all afraid of death. But all of us
 433.340 +will eventually run out of time. It doesn't have to be that way. I've
 433.341 +found a way out. Through you."
 433.342 +
 433.343 +Kairi's shoulders slumped, her body hanging limply in her bonds. She
 433.344 +was screwed. There wasn't anything she could do. No one knew where
 433.345 +she was. She was helpless to stop Kuja from taking something that she
 433.346 +innately knew was important to her. Something she hadn't even known
 433.347 +was there. 
 433.348 +
 433.349 +Kuja laughed. "Giving up already? You don't deserve it's power. I
 433.350 +never gave up. I'd rather kill all the universed than die alone.
 433.351 +That's what makes me worthy of it. I'll use it to it's fullest."
 433.352 +
 433.353 +"What the hell are you talking about!?" Kairii cried out at last,
 433.354 +sick of the feeling of helplessness, of his hand pressed against her
 433.355 +chest, of the thoughts that she'd never set Riku free. She couldn't,
 433.356 +wouldn't fail him. But she couldn't see how she would ever get that
 433.357 +chance. 
 433.358 +
 433.359 +"Prism Hearts! The heart through which reality itself is filtered!"
 433.360 +Stepping back, Kuja gestured grandly. "Kingdom Hearts is the gateway
 433.361 +to the heart of the universe, to the birthplace of darkness and
 433.362 +light. But such concepts bore me. Prism Hearts, on the other hand, is
 433.363 +what shapes that darkness and light into the world around us. It's
 433.364 +what shapes the reality we live in. The power to reshape reality as
 433.365 +you see fit. The power of a god. It all lies within Prism Hearts." He
 433.366 +grinned as if he were sharing a private joke, leaning close enough
 433.367 +that his nose almost touched Kairi's. "Which lies within you."
 433.368 +
 433.369 +Kuja didn't even flinch as Kairi began thrashing in her restraints.
 433.370 +"Stay away from me! You're insane! I'm just a girl who wants to find
 433.371 +her friends." She swallowed, trying to keep her gaze angry. What was
 433.372 +all this about? It wasn't true. It couldn't be. Parallel visions
 433.373 +flashed through her head, struggling for dominance. One world where
 433.374 +she was a princess, searching for the boys she loved. One world where
 433.375 +she was a lonely suicidal girl who was dying in her bedroom. She
 433.376 +could feel the shackles on one hand, blood dripping down the other.
 433.377 +Was she lying on the floor or was she in Kuja's demented torture
 433.378 +chamber? Which was better? She felt so weak all of the sudden,
 433.379 +feeling the carpet soaking with blood, her blood, underneath her.
 433.380 +No... Her thoughts were drowning as she felt herself sinking deeper
 433.381 +and deeper. So tired... 
 433.382 +
 433.383 +Kuja... Where was Kuja? 
 433.384 +
 433.385 +"He's far away. He can't hurt you here," the mysterious voice said
 433.386 +from the other side of the door. 
 433.387 +
 433.388 +Kairi struggled to sit up and get to the door, but her body refused
 433.389 +to listen. Everything felt cold and numb. Her fingers moved dimly in
 433.390 +an attempt to reassert control of her body, but that was the most
 433.391 +they could do. Blood stained the floor around her, yet somehow she
 433.392 +was too drained to do much more than acknowledge it. 
 433.393 +
 433.394 +"Just rest, Kairi. It can end here. You can stop struggling so hard.
 433.395 +You can finally rest. That's what you wanted, isn't it? That's why
 433.396 +you slit your wrists, right?"
 433.397 +
 433.398 +No... She tried to speak, but her lips merely quivered. Her eyelids
 433.399 +felt so terribly heavy, as if the weight of the world rested on each
 433.400 +one. Somehow she knew that the voice was right. It could end here.
 433.401 +She didn't have to go back. Facing Kuja was her choice. And she was
 433.402 +currently unable to do anything to stop him. And she was so very
 433.403 +tired... Her eyes began to slip shut as a familiar lullaby began to
 433.404 +whisper through the door. A lullaby her mother used to sing her. Yes,
 433.405 +she could finally escape. No one could ever hurt her again. She
 433.406 +didn't have to keep being the outsider. She didn't have to keep
 433.407 +playing in a world that never wanted her. All she had to do was
 433.408 +rest...
 433.409 +
 433.410 +But... But she wasn't alone... There were people who needed her.
 433.411 +Riku. Sora. She couldn't give up. Not until she set Riku free. No
 433.412 +matter what had brought her to this point, broken and bloody on her
 433.413 +floor, she couldn't let that stop her. She couldn't leave Riku and
 433.414 +Sora. Not yet. Her bloody, shaky fingers clenched slowly. It wasn't
 433.415 +time to rest. There would be time for that later. 'Riku... I won't
 433.416 +give up on you. Ever.' She wasn't dying. She was searching for her
 433.417 +friends. This place... it was a nightmare. She had to wake up before
 433.418 +it consumed her. Or she'd never get back to her friends. With all the
 433.419 +strength she had, she forced her eyes back open. 
 433.420 +
 433.421 +Blinking weakly, the room came back into view. She was still in the
 433.422 +dark yet elegant dungeon that Kuja had set up especially for the
 433.423 +maiden he was searching for. Her. She sighed shakily, slumping in her
 433.424 +chains. She had been about to die. If she'd stayed there... Her heart
 433.425 +pounded at the thought. What was going on? What was happening to her?
 433.426 +Blinking quickly, she tried to bury the fear and hopelessness that
 433.427 +threatened to overwhelm her. What was real? What was her imagination?
 433.428 +These chains felt so real, but so had the bloodsoaked carpet she'd
 433.429 +been laying on. She didn't know anymore. She didn't know anything
 433.430 +anymore. No, she couldn't think like that. There were still Sora and
 433.431 +Riku. She had to believe in them. She had to. It was all she had left.
 433.432 +
 433.433 +Kuja... Where had he gone? Lavender eyes darted around the chamber,
 433.434 +trying to spot the silver haired man. He didn't seem to be anywhere
 433.435 +in sight. What she did see didn't exactly put her at ease. The two
 433.436 +blonde twins she had met earlier watched her from a raised platform,
 433.437 +resting against each other as if they had just finished playing. They
 433.438 +both watched her intently, almost as if they were waiting for
 433.439 +something. Licking her lips, Kairi tried to think of something to
 433.440 +say. Anything. At least she wasn't alone. She couldn't stand being
 433.441 +alone. "Where did he go?" she asked at last.
 433.442 +
 433.443 +"Away," one replied, the two still watching the princess intently.
 433.444 +
 433.445 +Not exactly the response she'd been hoping for, but it was
 433.446 +something. Before she could think of what to say next, the twins
 433.447 +interrupted her thoughts.
 433.448 +
 433.449 +"You can't let him have Prism Hearts. If you do, he'll tear all of
 433.450 +this apart. Everything you love, everything you care about, all of it
 433.451 +will be obliterated and filtered into his own dream world. Everything
 433.452 +will be reborn as he sees fit. Before it can be reshaped, everything
 433.453 +must be shattered. Then he can mold it however he wishes. All he
 433.454 +needs is your heart," Maya explained.
 433.455 +
 433.456 +Kairi shuddered. Everything gone, replaced by Kuja's dreams. Her
 433.457 +hair fell about her face as she shook her head. "No, that's a lie. I
 433.458 +don't have Prism Hearts. My heart doesn't change anything. If it did,
 433.459 +I wouldn't be chained up in some dungeon away from the boys I love.
 433.460 +I'd be on the Destiny Islands with all of my friends. I'd be looking
 433.461 +out to sea with Riku and Sora. Being fed grapes. And..."
 433.462 +
 433.463 +Blushing faintly, the other little girl interrupted before Kairi
 433.464 +could get further. "It doesn't work that way. It's subconscious. Your
 433.465 +heart molds reality, not your mind. This is happening because you're
 433.466 +in conflict. Things aren't happy and perfect because part of you
 433.467 +won't accept this reality. Part of you is still clinging to the old
 433.468 +reality. So that dark reality has intruded."
 433.469 +
 433.470 +"The Heartless..." Kairi whispered. That's when everything had
 433.471 +started to go wrong. Everything was perfect before the Heartless had
 433.472 +spread throughout the worlds. 
 433.473 +
 433.474 +Aya nodded. "Exactly. There is darkness and light in every heart.
 433.475 +But this was all a refuge from the darkness. But because you couldn't
 433.476 +fully close the doorway to the old world, the darkness began to leak
 433.477 +in. Ansem found it and began researching it, but he was never its
 433.478 +cause. He was used by it and his own curiosity."
 433.479 +
 433.480 +"You're the one who allowed the Heartless here. You're the one who
 433.481 +left the door open for them. The Heartless in this reality were born
 433.482 +inside of Kingdom Hearts because you brought the darkness over from
 433.483 +the other reality."
 433.484 +
 433.485 +"I wouldn't do that!! I wouldn't risk losing any of this! I
 433.486 +couldn't! I just want to be with them.." Kairi's voice broke, her
 433.487 +throat tightening. Why would she allow the Heartless here? How could
 433.488 +she be the cause of all this pain and suffering? The reason behind
 433.489 +why she'd lost both Riku and Sora?
 433.490 +
 433.491 +"You wouldn't?" Maya raised a blonde eyebrow. "You can't give up
 433.492 +your mother, can you, Kairi? You won't completely turn your back on
 433.493 +the other reality. So the door is still open through your heart,
 433.494 +Prism Hearts. You refuse to filter out all of that reality. The
 433.495 +darkness is part of that reality. If you won't filter it all out, it
 433.496 +will spill over here."
 433.497 +
 433.498 +"Sacrifices have to be made. If you want to live in this world, you
 433.499 +have to give up on that one. Completely. Entirely. You have to forget
 433.500 +that life. You must offer up your memories of it as a sacrifice to
 433.501 +save this reality," Aya insisted. 
 433.502 +
 433.503 +"But..." Kairi's head spun. It couldn't be... She couldn't have
 433.504 +brought about the Heartless. That other world, it couldn't be out
 433.505 +there. And yet... "Which... Which one is real?" Her voice was weak,
 433.506 +begging, pleading. She needed to know, even if she didn't want to.
 433.507 +
 433.508 +The twins were silent for a long moment before they answered in
 433.509 +unison. "Which one do you want to be real?"
 433.510 +
 433.511 +"It doesn't work that way!" Kairi argued, frustrated that there
 433.512 +never seemed to be any clear cut answers for her.
 433.513 +
 433.514 +Aya turned and looked at Maya. "You'd be surprised," she whispered. 
 433.515 +
 433.516 +Maya continued looking at the princess. "Give up on the other
 433.517 +reality. It's the only way to save this one."
 433.518 +
 433.519 +Swallowing back the pain, Kairi raised her eyes to look at the
 433.520 +twins. "How do I do that?" She had to. For Riku. For Sora. They had
 433.521 +both done so much to save her. She had to save them this time. She
 433.522 +wouldn't let anything bad happen to them. All of her friends...
 433.523 +Selphie, Yuffie, Relm, even her cute little kitten... She couldn't
 433.524 +let them go.
 433.525 +
 433.526 +"You have to confront yourself. Your own dark side. The part of you
 433.527 +that won't give up on the other reality. Only after you get rid of
 433.528 +her, when you can give up on that reality entirely, can this one be
 433.529 +saved." The two girls turned to leave. 
 433.530 +
 433.531 +"Wait! How am I supposed to confront myself? What do I do?"
 433.532 +Watching, Kairi pulled ineffectively at her chains. "Please don't
 433.533 +go..." she whispered. Not alone. Not again...
 433.534 +
 433.535 +Aya stopped while Maya kept walking. She turned to look over her
 433.536 +shoulder at Kairi, her eyes soft and understanding. "I know it's
 433.537 +hard, Kairi. But everything demands a sacrifice. It's this reality or
 433.538 +the other reality. You have to decide for yourself which is real. But
 433.539 +some sacrifices are worth it." She turned to see Maya waiting for
 433.540 +her. "I made my choice a long time ago and I've never looked back."
 433.541 +She smiled faintly and waved to her waiting sister. "Whatever you
 433.542 +choose, give it your all and don't ever regret your decision." With
 433.543 +that, she ran to catch up to the identical girl, fading into mist. 
 433.544 +
 433.545 +A slight breeze entered the vast chamber, swirling the mist about
 433.546 +into nothingness. Something caught in the sudden wind fluttered over
 433.547 +to Kairi, landing lightly at her feet. It was a child's drawing.
 433.548 +'Mama and Maya' was written at the top in crayon. Even in a child's
 433.549 +artwork, it was unmistakeble. There had been a car crash. Plenty of
 433.550 +red crayon showed the aftermath. A blonde woman and a blonde girl
 433.551 +watched it all from above with angel wings. The same woman and girl
 433.552 +were in the car as well. Kairi's head jerked up, hoping to catch a
 433.553 +last glimpse of the little girl, her words suddenly coming back to
 433.554 +haunt the princess. 
 433.555 +
 433.556 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 433.557 +
 433.558 +"I heard Lady Beatrix has been seeing someone lately," a knight with
 433.559 +blonde hair mentioned conversationally.
 433.560 +
 433.561 +"Really?" her compatriot asked with a note of disappointment in her
 433.562 +voice, leaning against the wall. "That's not fair." She crossed her
 433.563 +arms, pouting.
 433.564 +
 433.565 +The other knight laughed, turning to the brunette. "You didn't think
 433.566 +you had a chance with her, did you?"
 433.567 +
 433.568 +"Well... No, not exactly... But..." She whined, trailing off. 
 433.569 +
 433.570 +"Don't you want to know who I heard she'd been seeing?" the first
 433.571 +soldier asked.
 433.572 +
 433.573 +"Why would I want to know that? It only crushes all my hopes and
 433.574 +dreams," the second replied.
 433.575 +
 433.576 +Laughing, the blonde shook her head. "You're really stuck on her,
 433.577 +aren't you? I heard she's been going out with some airship pilot from
 433.578 +Lindblum. I think her name's Erin, but I'm not sure."
 433.579 +
 433.580 +The brunette sighed, sliding down the wall. "I should've been an
 433.581 +airship pilot..." Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the shadow
 433.582 +darting behind the two of them.
 433.583 +
 433.584 +'Ha! That was too easy. These knights might be good fighters, but
 433.585 +they obviously haven't dealt with a world-class thief before.'
 433.586 +Grinning to herself, Yuffie hurried down the hallway. With the
 433.587 +expansive palace to search, it was taking her longer than she'd
 433.588 +wanted to find the artist girl. But the knights didn't seem to mind
 433.589 +gossiping, so she'd managed to overhear them talking about the
 433.590 +sorceress who could bring paintings to life. Apparently she was in
 433.591 +this part of the palace. Somewhere. She could go room by room, but
 433.592 +somehow she doubted it would only result in embarrassment. The
 433.593 +knights wouldn't take a hearty 'Sorry, ma'am' if she burst in on
 433.594 +someone.
 433.595 +
 433.596 +Now where could Relm be? What was she looking for, anyway? A big
 433.597 +neon sign that announced she'd found Relm's room? There had to be an
 433.598 +easier (and less dangerous) way to go about this than going door to
 433.599 +door. More importantly, what did she say to the artist when she met
 433.600 +up with her? Would Relm even want to talk to her? After what a bitch
 433.601 +she'd been, she'd be surprised if the little blonde girl even wanted
 433.602 +to continue travelling with her. That thought scared her more than
 433.603 +she wanted to admit. She'd apologize. That would have to be enough.
 433.604 +She hoped. 
 433.605 +
 433.606 +A sound down the hallway broke her train of thought. Ducking back
 433.607 +behind a large potted plant, the ninja waited silently. One of the
 433.608 +heavy doors had opened and someone had stepped out into the hallway.
 433.609 +There were at least two people, and they were talking about
 433.610 +something. Yuffie strained to hear what they were saying.
 433.611 +
 433.612 +"... wanted to thank you again. It's absolutely gorgeous. I finally
 433.613 +have a portrait that I'm not ashamed to show my parents."
 433.614 +
 433.615 +A soft giggle. "It was fun. It was nice to have such a willing
 433.616 +subject. Some people make painting them so difficult because they
 433.617 +don't really want you to. I think it turned out really well."
 433.618 +
 433.619 +"Not that you needed me there. It's much more beautiful than I could
 433.620 +ever be," the first voice said with a sigh.
 433.621 +
 433.622 +"That's not true. I don't paint lies. The beauty was there, you just
 433.623 +have to look for it. Someday someone will see you just like in the
 433.624 +picture."
 433.625 +
 433.626 +A happy squeal of delight filled the hallway. "I can't wait. Thank
 433.627 +you very much, Sorceress Relm. I'll always remember this."
 433.628 +
 433.629 +Relm! Yuffie's eyes widened. She'd found her. Now she just had to
 433.630 +get to her. And try not to stumble over her apology. 
 433.631 +
 433.632 +"Anytime. I'm happy to get the chance to paint. I want to paint
 433.633 +things from all over different worlds."
 433.634 +
 433.635 +"I'll pray for your safe journey. I'd love to see a gallery of
 433.636 +different worlds rendered in your gorgeous artwork."
 433.637 +
 433.638 +Flattered, it took Relm a second to reply. "I'll make sure I send
 433.639 +you an invitation when I finally get it all together."
 433.640 +
 433.641 +"Thanks so much again, Sorceress Relm." The knight began down the
 433.642 +hallway.
 433.643 +
 433.644 +Yuffie pressed into the wall, trying to will herself to disappear.
 433.645 +There wasn't a lot of cover in these hallways. The plant was large,
 433.646 +but if the knight stopped to look, she'd be caught. Her only hope was
 433.647 +that the guard was distracted enough not to be paying attention. The
 433.648 +other two knights were right down the hallway. If she made any noise,
 433.649 +they'd be there in moments. And she didn't feel like facing down
 433.650 +three knights if she could help it. Not that she doubted her
 433.651 +abilities. Just that... three knights would be an inconvenience.
 433.652 +Yeah, that was it. An inconvenience. 
 433.653 +
 433.654 +The knight came and went, passing by without a second glance. Yuffie
 433.655 +let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and crept
 433.656 +towards the door the knight had exited from. Her heart pounded as she
 433.657 +neared the door. Her mind tried desperately to piece together a
 433.658 +suitable apology so she wouldn't just say the first stupid thing that
 433.659 +came to mind. 'Hi, Relm. Sorry about earlier. Hey, lets go find Kairi
 433.660 +now.' She sighed. She wasn't good with apologies. But she couldn't
 433.661 +stall forever. She had a bad feeling that Kairi needed her. Soon.
 433.662 +
 433.663 +Taking the last few silent steps to the door, Yuffie gently took the
 433.664 +doorknob. Her heart pounded anxiously in her chest. Relm was just on
 433.665 +the other side of the door. So why was she so scared? 'Because this
 433.666 +time it might not be you doing the rejection.' The thought sprang to
 433.667 +mind, but she instantly shot it down. 'And what the hell is that
 433.668 +supposed to mean?' No answer. She swallowed and summoned all of her
 433.669 +courage. It was silly, summoning all of her courage to face a girl a
 433.670 +full head shorter than her. But she somehow felt that she'd need it.
 433.671 +Achingly slowly, the door pushed open.
 433.672 +
 433.673 +Her mouth open, Yuffie paused before she could say something. There
 433.674 +were already voices in the spacious room. Frowning, she glimpsed
 433.675 +inside and tried to spot their sources. There, on the bed. She could
 433.676 +spot Relm's intricate red and gold bandana near their feet. The
 433.677 +artist was sitting on the bed with an older blonde woman who looked
 433.678 +vaguely familiar. The older woman was running fingers through Relm's
 433.679 +hair as they sat close to each other. Yuffie's hand clenched tightly
 433.680 +on the doorknob. What was going on? Who was that lady?
 433.681 +
 433.682 +"You did a beautiful job, Relm," the elegant woman said. 
 433.683 +
 433.684 +"Thanks, Celeste. I'm so glad you think so," Relm said softly,
 433.685 +resting against the taller woman, not seeming concerned with the
 433.686 +fingers sliding through her hair. She closed her eyes, sighing
 433.687 +softly. 
 433.688 +
 433.689 +Taking Relm's chin with one hand, she turned the younger girl's gaze
 433.690 +up to her. "Of course I think so. I always think so, Relm. I love
 433.691 +you." Leaning down, she kissed Relm softly.
 433.692 +
 433.693 +It was all Yuffie could do to keep the doorknob from shaking in her
 433.694 +grasp. Her gaze remained locked on the two women on the bed. It was
 433.695 +unreal. Her mind wouldn't accept it for a long moment. It wasn't
 433.696 +happening. Relm was not kissing another woman. Relm wasn't making
 433.697 +soft sounds as the blonde woman's fingers continued to caress through
 433.698 +her hair. It... wasn't... real... She closed her eyes tightly, but
 433.699 +the image remained when she opened them again, albeit blurrier this
 433.700 +time. Her eyes stung painfully as she watched the image before her
 433.701 +helplessly. 
 433.702 +
 433.703 +"Celeste..." Relm whispered softly, resting her head on the other
 433.704 +woman's shoulder. Her arms wrapped around Celeste tightly. 
 433.705 +
 433.706 +Slam. Relm jumped at the sudden sound. She turned, but no one was at
 433.707 +her door. She let out a shaky sigh and held on tighter.
 433.708 +
 433.709 +Yuffie ran back down the hallway. Get away. Escape. Leave. It all
 433.710 +swirled about her. Damn it. That wasn't supposed to happen. She
 433.711 +didn't want that. Relm had found someone else? But how? Part of her
 433.712 +had thought Relm would always be there, always following, always
 433.713 +devoted to her. Logically she knew that wasn't likely, but she hadn't
 433.714 +given it any thought. She'd taken Relm's presence for granted. And
 433.715 +now she was in another woman's arms... 'She wasn't yours to begin
 433.716 +with,' she told herself. 'Shut up! Shut up!' Her eyes burned, images
 433.717 +bleeding into wet messes of color in front of her. 'Jealous?' that
 433.718 +sarcastic voice inside of herself asked. She muffled a sob as she
 433.719 +held her head tightly. She'd lost her chance. Relm hadn't waited for
 433.720 +her to make up her mind. And why should she have? Yuffie had all but
 433.721 +told her to get lost. There was no reason for her to wait around for
 433.722 +something that probably never would have happened. But somehow that
 433.723 +knowledge just made Yuffie feel worse. 
 433.724 +
 433.725 +In her current state, Yuffie barely managed to stop before barelling
 433.726 +into a figure in front of her. Her instincts told her to grab her
 433.727 +shuriken, but she was too weak to bother with it. Escape the guards
 433.728 +and then what? Was Relm even coming with them anymore? She had to
 433.729 +save Kairi. The Keyblade Mistress was her responsibility. But she
 433.730 +felt so weak. Everything seemed so far away. Except for that icy,
 433.731 +ragged feeling inside of her. She couldn't seem to escape that.
 433.732 +Thankfully, she realized that the figure was too small to be a guard.
 433.733 +She blinked rapidly, noting that the girl was a little shorter than
 433.734 +Relm. She have lavender hair and a small horn jutting out of her
 433.735 +forehead. A Caller?
 433.736 +
 433.737 +"So you're just gonna run off?" the summoner asked, her hands on her
 433.738 +hips. "You'd rather go cry than try and get her back?" Her voice was
 433.739 +angry, obviously not pleased with Yuffie's choice. 
 433.740 +
 433.741 +"I'm not crying!" Yuffie swiped at her eyes with the back of her
 433.742 +glove, disappointed to see it come away tear-soaked. She didn't cry.
 433.743 +She was stronger than that. She'd learned a long time ago that she
 433.744 +was the only one she could count on. This just reinforced that point.
 433.745 +She had to trust in herself. Everything else would fail you. 
 433.746 +
 433.747 +"If she means anything at all to you, then you'll go back in there
 433.748 +and talk to her. Take her back. Don't just give up," Eiko insisted,
 433.749 +standing her ground in front of the taller ninja. 
 433.750 +
 433.751 +"You don't understand... I... I can't..." Yuffie let a small object
 433.752 +drop from her fingers. The smoke bomb burst when it hit the floor,
 433.753 +surrounding her with the thick cloud. When it disappeared, she was
 433.754 +gone.
 433.755 +
 433.756 +

   434.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   434.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-11.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   434.3 @@ -0,0 +1,460 @@
   434.4 +Prism Hearts 
   434.5 +Chapter 11
   434.6 +Love is the Gift
   434.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   434.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   434.9 +
  434.10 +
  434.11 +
  434.12 +"She just left?" Relm asked anxiously. "She didn't say anything?"
  434.13 +The painter paced the expansive room, chewing on her lower lip. That
  434.14 +wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Yuffie was supposed to
  434.15 +come in and confront her with another girl. To get jealous and demand
  434.16 +to know what was going on. Granted, they weren't dating so it wasn't
  434.17 +like Yuffie had a right to demand what she was doing with anyone, but
  434.18 +she'd hoped Yuffie was too headstrong to care about that tiny fact.
  434.19 +Eiko had helped make sure Yuffie could escape the dungeon so that
  434.20 +she'd eventually stumble on her with Celeste, a very realistic
  434.21 +painting that Relm had made. If Yuffie didn't want anything to do
  434.22 +with her when she was available, maybe if Yuffie thought she'd lost
  434.23 +the chance, the ninja would do something. Now it seemed that plan had
  434.24 +all but fallen apart.
  434.25 +
  434.26 +"Well..." Eiko sat on Relm's bed, looking down at her hands. Yuffie
  434.27 +hadn't really said much. The ninja girl had looked hurt and confused,
  434.28 +but that wasn't what Relm had been looking for. Eiko had tried to
  434.29 +convince Yuffie to go back in to talk to Relm, but Yuffie had
  434.30 +disappeared. "Not much," she finally decided on saying. 
  434.31 +
  434.32 +"This was a stupid idea. I need to go find Yuffie. I need to talk to
  434.33 +her."
  434.34 +
  434.35 +"And say what?" Eiko asked, looking over at the girl in the
  434.36 +bandanna. " 'Thanks for treating me like crap. I'm sorry for making
  434.37 +you sad. Can I hang on your arm again?' " She only had what she'd
  434.38 +heard from Relm to guess what had happened with Yuffie, but from what
  434.39 +she'd heard of how they last parted ways, there wasn't a big reason
  434.40 +to feel guilty over any of this.
  434.41 +
  434.42 +Pausing, Relm considered this. With a sigh, she nodded. "I guess
  434.43 +you're right. I don't know what I could say to her right now that
  434.44 +could make her understand. I've tried to get it through to her, but
  434.45 +it's like she's just not listening." The painter crossed her arms,
  434.46 +pouting. Looking up, she tried to stare up into the heaven's. "Mom,
  434.47 +was it this hard with dad? Are all ninjas this difficult? Or am I
  434.48 +just lucky?"
  434.49 +
  434.50 +Before the heavens could answer Relm's question, the door burst
  434.51 +open. Or, rather, it would have burst open if it was anyone other
  434.52 +than the prim and proper princess of Alexandria, Garnet. But even for
  434.53 +her, it whipped open rather swiftly. "Have either of you seen Kairi?
  434.54 +I wanted to talk to her about something before she saw my mother, but
  434.55 +I can't find her."
  434.56 +
  434.57 +Eiko could tell that Garnet was more worried than she was letting
  434.58 +on. The princess looked terribly distracted. A cold chill passed
  434.59 +through Eiko as she slid off the bed. "Garnet, what's wrong?" She
  434.60 +hurried to the princess's side. Despite being a rather regal
  434.61 +princess, Garnet could be very impulsive at times. Having the
  434.62 +princess run off into trouble without her didn't sound good to Eiko
  434.63 +at all.
  434.64 +
  434.65 +"Kairi...?" Relm spoke the name as if speaking it for the first
  434.66 +time. Her eyes widen as realization slowly sinks in. Everything had
  434.67 +been happening so fast. She had been too wrapped up in her own
  434.68 +problems to be thinking clearly. Kairi. The girl who was the key to
  434.69 +all this. The girl that Celes had sacrificed herself for. If anything
  434.70 +happened to Kairi, Celes' sacrifice would be in vain "We have to find
  434.71 +her. Now. She could be in trouble." Whatever her concerns about
  434.72 +Yuffie, they would have to be put on hold until after Kairi was safe
  434.73 +and sound. 'Some protector you're turning out to be. I'm sorry,
  434.74 +Celes.'
  434.75 +
  434.76 +Garnet nodded, turning back to the hallway. "I can't find Kuja
  434.77 +either," she said, in a whisper that betrayed her fear.
  434.78 +
  434.79 +Though Relm didn't understand the significance of Kuja's
  434.80 +disappearance, it hit Eiko loud and clear. The gravity of the
  434.81 +situation weighed heavily on her small frame. The girls that Kuja
  434.82 +took to his personal workshop never came back. No one knew what
  434.83 +happened to them. Eiko had almost been taken their herself. Garnet
  434.84 +had personally ordered the guards to let her go and had been trying
  434.85 +to keep her from Kuja ever since. If they didn't get to Kairi soon,
  434.86 +there wouldn't be anything left to save. And if Relm was right about
  434.87 +Kairi being the Keyblade Mistress and needing to unleash the light,
  434.88 +then they would all follow shortly afterwards. 
  434.89 +
  434.90 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  434.91 +
  434.92 +"No! Not over there! How can we see the moonlight falling over the
  434.93 +water with all those decorations in the way?" Selphie stood on the
  434.94 +dock, directing the hapless boys under her command to finish up the
  434.95 +decorations. The festival was going to be that night and she wanted,
  434.96 +no, needed it to be perfect. What with all of the strange things
  434.97 +happening on the Destiny Islands, they all needed a way to relax, to
  434.98 +forget it all. And she had practiced her dancing every day with Yuna
  434.99 +so that she and Quistis could dance on the beach under the moonlight
 434.100 +with the waves lapping at their feet. She wanted that perfect moment
 434.101 +with the cute blonde girl she was so in love with. It was that
 434.102 +thought that she fixated on, that pushed her forward to make the
 434.103 +festival a success. If the adults were too scared to have a festival
 434.104 +this year, let them stay inside and sulk. She knew that would never
 434.105 +help. Now, more than ever, they needed a chance to have fun, to laugh
 434.106 +and twirl under the stars. They all needed this and Selphie was going
 434.107 +to do her best to make sure they had their festival. "Put that over
 434.108 +by the waterfall. It'll look great there."
 434.109 +
 434.110 +A soft chuckle behind Selphie shook the brunette from her
 434.111 +singleminded devotion to the task at hand. "Those poor boys." Quistis
 434.112 +wrapped her arms around Selphie from behind, rubbing the smaller
 434.113 +girl's stomach. "I had no idea you could be so bossy, Selphie."
 434.114 +
 434.115 +"Hmph..." Selphie mock pouted as she rested against Quistis. "You're
 434.116 +mean, Quisty. I'm not being bossy. I'm just... taking charge of the
 434.117 +situation. Someone needs to if we're gonna be ready in time for the
 434.118 +festival." 
 434.119 +
 434.120 +"Oh, don't pout." Quistis pulled Selphie closer, nuzzling the
 434.121 +smaller girl's ear. "You're cute when you're bossy. And it's sweet
 434.122 +that you'd work so hard to get the festival ready." The blonde smiled
 434.123 +wryly. "Or that you'd make the boys work so hard for the festival."
 434.124 +
 434.125 +Wriggling in Quistis's grasp, Selphie turned to face the other girl,
 434.126 +looking up into her glasses and smiling brightly. Her hands rested on
 434.127 +Quistis's shoulders as her green eyes stared up into crystal blue.
 434.128 +The brunette giggled, smiling brightly. "Like I said, someone has
 434.129 +to." Standing on her tip toes, the smaller girl's lips brushed across
 434.130 +the blonde's, a small kiss that still managed to spark an electric
 434.131 +haze across her heart. Still smiling, she pulled Quistis's glasses
 434.132 +off and slipped them on herself, looking up at the blonde girl. The
 434.133 +brunette gave her best scholarly look as she pushed the glasses up
 434.134 +the way she'd seen Quistis adjust them a thousand times before. "And
 434.135 +I've even been studying for it. Yuna's been teaching me how to dance."
 434.136 +
 434.137 +Placing a finger on Selphie's nose, Quistis couldn't help but smile
 434.138 +at the bundle of energy that was her girlfriend. Many people on the
 434.139 +Destiny Islands admired Quistis. Even many of the adults listened to
 434.140 +her ideas. But the one she admired was the childish girl in her arms.
 434.141 +The blonde wanted to try and fix everything, worrying incessently
 434.142 +over things she couldn't hope to change, working late into the night
 434.143 +over small details that eluded her. She got depressed easily,
 434.144 +withdrawing further into her studies in an attempt to drown out her
 434.145 +concerns. But Selphie always managed to grab her by the arm and drag
 434.146 +her away from all of that, leaving her worries as well as her books
 434.147 +in a cluttered pile on the floor. 
 434.148 +
 434.149 +It wasn't that Selphie didn't get depressed. Even the energetic
 434.150 +brunette had been hit by the loss of her friends and the coming storm
 434.151 +that threatened their island paradise. But Selphie always bounced
 434.152 +back. No matter what happened, she would see it through, finally
 434.153 +breaking away from what troubled her with the same exuberance she did
 434.154 +everything else. And it was this that Quistis admired her for. 
 434.155 +
 434.156 +The blonde traced her fingers over Selphie's cheekbones, standing
 434.157 +close to the smaller girl on the pier. A wild gust of wind brushed
 434.158 +past them, the smell promising rain that would not be long in coming.
 434.159 +'In a way, the entire universe is a giant puzzle. One piece doesn't
 434.160 +make sense without another. To unravel its mystery, you need to have
 434.161 +the whole. People are the same way. One person alone doesn't make
 434.162 +sense. You need that other piece to truly understand. That other half
 434.163 +that balances you out. My Selphie...' Selphie's cheeks began to warm
 434.164 +under her touch, turning a delicate pink beneath her fingertips. The
 434.165 +sight of Selphie looking up at her, blushing faintly with the
 434.166 +blonde's glasses perched on her nose, made Quistis's heart spin
 434.167 +dizzily. There had been a time when she had wanted to travel just as
 434.168 +much as Riku had. But eventually she had come to realize that
 434.169 +sometimes you can find everything you're looking for right at home.
 434.170 +Maybe in another lifetime, she had searched through worlds to find
 434.171 +this girl that she held so close. But in this one, she had been right
 434.172 +next door all this time. Laughing softly, Quistis pulled up the hat
 434.173 +that hung at Selphie's back. "You took Irvine's hat again?" She set
 434.174 +it snugly on the brunette's head, resting her fingers under Selphie's
 434.175 +chin so she could get a good look at her in the hat.
 434.176 +
 434.177 +Pouting again, Selphie met Quistis's warm gaze. "I didn't take it. I
 434.178 +borrowed it. He's busy helping Tidus and Wakka put up the decorations
 434.179 +anyway. Besides, I look cuter in his cowboy hat than he does anyway."
 434.180 +
 434.181 +The smile Quisits had been wearing broke into a grin. "You can say
 434.182 +that again." Leaning forward, she gave Selphie another kiss, not near
 434.183 +as short at the one Selphie had given her. The two stood upon a world
 434.184 +in its death throes, preparing for a mad party in an attempt to stave
 434.185 +off the horrors that awaited them, but that was only one aspect of
 434.186 +things. At that moment, they were simply lovers basking in the simple
 434.187 +things, the power that lay in a single kiss. Mirrors upon mirrors
 434.188 +upon mirrors. At any one second, at any given perspective, reality is
 434.189 +a thousand different things and reality is nothing at all. In the
 434.190 +end, reality is simply a suggestion. And rather than let her natural
 434.191 +inclination to worry turn Quistis's world into a waiting game with
 434.192 +the Angel of Death, she let her world become a taste of heaven, a
 434.193 +taste that lingered on Selphie's lips. 
 434.194 +
 434.195 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 434.196 +
 434.197 +"Thank God Quistis showed up." Tidus fell back onto the sand,
 434.198 +staring up at the cloud filled sky. The clouds that he used to
 434.199 +imagine as all sorts of fun things now merely looked dark and
 434.200 +malavelont, misshapen boogeymen waiting for their chance to become
 434.201 +real. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ignored the
 434.202 +strangely waiting storm clouds. 
 434.203 +
 434.204 +"Ya. I thought we'd never get a break. Selphie can be as bad as
 434.205 +Lulu." Wakka rested against a tree, stretching.
 434.206 +
 434.207 +"Hmph..." Irvine crossed his arms, still watching the girls kissing
 434.208 +on the pier. "I gave her my hat and what do I get? Nothin'." He
 434.209 +sighed, brushing back his ponytail. "Some festival this is gonna be."
 434.210 +
 434.211 +Tidus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, if it's a festival, there'll
 434.212 +probably be dancing and stuff." He let that sink in for a moment
 434.213 +before looking at the other two boys curiously. "Who are you gonna
 434.214 +ask to dance with you?"
 434.215 +
 434.216 +Wakka shrugged. "I don't know. Dancin's not really my thing, ya
 434.217 +know? Though if Lu asks, I'll probably dance with her."
 434.218 +
 434.219 +Irvine sat up, shaking his head. "Girls aren't like that, Wakka.
 434.220 +They want you to go up to them all smooth-like." He grinned,
 434.221 +pretending to be doing just as he said. He gave Wakka his most
 434.222 +winning smile, winking. He took the other boy's hand, holding it
 434.223 +warmly. "Hey there, good looking. How 'bout we show 'em how dancin's
 434.224 +really done?" 
 434.225 +
 434.226 +Wakka blinked in confusion, staring at Irvine for a long moment. He
 434.227 +finally pulled his hand away from the cowboy, wondering just how
 434.228 +steeped in fantasy Irvine was at the moment. "Umm... I don't know
 434.229 +whether other girls go for that or not, but not Lu. She's way too
 434.230 +bossy to care for that sorta thing. She pretty much gets what she
 434.231 +wants."
 434.232 +
 434.233 +"Yeah, and it's not like your approach worked on Selphie," Tidus
 434.234 +added helpfully. He didn't notice Irvine wincing. "She just laughed
 434.235 +and said that was sweet and that she was going with Quistis." He
 434.236 +rested his head back on his hands, ignoring the clouds again. "I
 434.237 +think I'd probably ask Yuna. She's a great dancer. And she's really
 434.238 +pretty."
 434.239 +
 434.240 +Irvine shook his head. "Well, yeah, I guess. But she's so shy and
 434.241 +quiet. And she's been spending all of her time with that weird
 434.242 +catgirl lately. Speaking of which..." The cowboy grinned widely.
 434.243 +"Maybe the catgirl doesn't have a date yet."
 434.244 +
 434.245 +"But she's a cat..." Wakka pointed out.
 434.246 +
 434.247 +"And what a cat," Irvine said, whistling.
 434.248 +
 434.249 +"But she's still a cat." Wakka blinked again. What wasn't Irvine
 434.250 +getting? That was just.... weird....
 434.251 +
 434.252 +Tidus laughed, watching the other two boys. "You just wanna ask her
 434.253 +because she reminds you of Selphie. They're both hyper and bubbly."
 434.254 +
 434.255 +"And what if that's part of it? At least the catgirl isn't already
 434.256 +chained at the hip to some other girl on the island." Crossing his
 434.257 +arms, Irvine frowned. 
 434.258 +
 434.259 +Yawning tiredly, Tidus pushed himself to his feet. "Well, you can
 434.260 +ask her in a bit. I'm gonna go find Yuna and see if she wants to
 434.261 +dance with me at the festival."
 434.262 +
 434.263 +Wakka nodded, not getting up. "You go ahead and do that. I'm just
 434.264 +gonna wait and see if Lu winds up asking me."
 434.265 +
 434.266 +Grinning, Tidus waved. "Good luck, you two!" He bolted off across
 434.267 +the beach before Selphie could regain her composure and get them back
 434.268 +to work.
 434.269 +
 434.270 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 434.271 +
 434.272 +
 434.273 +"So what's the festival like?" Rikku asked curiously as she walked
 434.274 +side by side with Yuna across the beach. The water lapped right up
 434.275 +near their feet. They were both walking barefoot, Rikku's paws
 434.276 +leaving strange marks in the sand. She knew that a lot of the rest of
 434.277 +the Islands' children were on the other side of that particular
 434.278 +island preparing for the festival, but Yuna had preferred more peace
 434.279 +and quiet. That didn't particularly bother the catgirl. She usually
 434.280 +got along well with people, but she'd rather be with Yuna anyway. She
 434.281 +knew Yuna better than the rest of them, even if she could tell there
 434.282 +was a lot that the quiet girl wasn't saying. Still, it had been a
 434.283 +small victory that Yuna had confided in her earlier. It made her
 434.284 +feel... special. She was happy to be the one that Yuna would tell her
 434.285 +worries to. It was nice to be close to -someone-. She was on an
 434.286 +island chain somewhere far, far away from anywhere she'd ever been,
 434.287 +seperated from her big sister and the rest of the Radical Dreamers by
 434.288 +countless worlds. It was taking all she had to be optimistic about
 434.289 +things. But it seemed easier with Yuna. In a way, it felt like the
 434.290 +other girl needed her. And that let her push her concerns to the
 434.291 +side. She hadn't been able to help Kairi much, trapped as a cat for
 434.292 +most of that time. But now she could finally talk again. Maybe she
 434.293 +could actually help. 
 434.294 +
 434.295 +"Well... It's just something we have every year or so. All of the
 434.296 +Islanders gather together and celebrate late into the night. There
 434.297 +are feasts and dancing and singing and...." Yuna smiled, twirling
 434.298 +lithely on one foot. The wind tugged at her kimono as she did. "It's
 434.299 +wonderful. Some people tell stories and you get to play all sorts of
 434.300 +games. Sometimes father would...." For one bittersweet moment, Yuna
 434.301 +couldn't tell if the memory of her father made her feel warm and
 434.302 +happy inside or if the emptiness that his absence at this festival
 434.303 +and every festival she would ever go to in the future created inside
 434.304 +of her would drag her down into a sea of tears. All she could do was
 434.305 +try to freeze the thought exactly as it was, pushing it back deep
 434.306 +inside of herself and continuing. "But this year, the adults are too
 434.307 +worried about everything. The storms that are approaching, the weird
 434.308 +holes that have been appearing on some of the islands, the
 434.309 +disappearance of Kairi, Riku, and Sora, everything. Because of all
 434.310 +that, they cancelled the festival. Selphie thinks that's a mistake,
 434.311 +so she's organized our own festival."
 434.312 +
 434.313 +Rikku nodded excitedly. "That sounds like fun! I can't wait till
 434.314 +tonight, then." The catgirl watched the other girl for a moment,
 434.315 +trying to pick up on that shadow that covered Yuna when she spoke of
 434.316 +her father. Whatever it had been, it seemed to be gone now.
 434.317 +Nevertheless, Rikku wanted to be careful not to let it get any worse.
 434.318 +She knew that Yuna had lost her father some time ago, but she didn't
 434.319 +know much beyond that. And Yuna seemed to try to ignore the topic, so
 434.320 +it was difficult to find out anything else. But even then, Rikku
 434.321 +wanted to protect the blue- and green-eyed girl. She might be younger
 434.322 +than Yuna, but that didn't mean she couldn't protect her. After all,
 434.323 +Yuna had saved her life. And besides, the quiet girl seemed like she
 434.324 +could use a guardian. And who better than thief extraordinaire,
 434.325 +Rikku? Grinning inwardly, the catgirl pictured herself in some of her
 434.326 +older sister's self-serving poses. Yep. She could help. Any trouble
 434.327 +she saw coming, she'd send it yelping off in pain. 
 434.328 +
 434.329 +"Are you okay, Rikku?" Yuna asked at last, watching her friend's
 434.330 +goofy expression.
 434.331 +
 434.332 +Laughing nervously, Rikku shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just
 434.333 +thinking. It's been a long time since I've been to a festival. The
 434.334 +last time I went was with the rest of the Radical Dreamers. My
 434.335 +friends," she added helpfully. "It was at East Heaven Kindom. It was
 434.336 +really, really nice. All sorts of food you could ever even dream
 434.337 +about. One of the princesses there, Mint, kinda reminded me of big
 434.338 +sis. We were there to steal this Relic, an ancient magical book, and
 434.339 +she showed up to steal it, too. It seemed she'd been kicked out of
 434.340 +the kingdom. So she and Yuffie were both bragging about how they'd
 434.341 +kick the other one's ass until they finally ended up wrestling on the
 434.342 +floor. It was so funny! Zidane and I were just laughing and Kid was
 434.343 +all pissed off about it." She grinned at the memory, her cat ears
 434.344 +twitching subconsciously in the wind. "We all got thrown in the
 434.345 +dungeon after that, because we were all just standing there while
 434.346 +Mint and Yuffie were rolling around on the floor, trying to take the
 434.347 +book from the other."
 434.348 +
 434.349 +Yuna giggled into her hand, watching the catgirl. She certainly was
 434.350 +interesting. She'd never met anyone like her. Rikku was part of a
 434.351 +mysterious band of theives/performers who travelled the worlds in
 434.352 +search of various treasure. Yet she wasn't scary or menacing in the
 434.353 +least. She was just... silly. And spirited. It was interesting
 434.354 +hearing her stories as they sat up late at night in her usually empty
 434.355 +home. Yuna shook her head, her hair fluttering in the breeze. She
 434.356 +tried to stifle her giggle. "But that's awful that you all ended up
 434.357 +in the dungeon."
 434.358 +
 434.359 +Shaking her head, Rikku just smiled again. "No, it wasn't that bad.
 434.360 +We didn't stay in that long. Mint knew the guards, some guys named
 434.361 +Biggs and Wedge that I swear I've met in half a dozen other places,
 434.362 +and they let us all out." Laughing again, she placed her hands behind
 434.363 +her head. "Mint and Yuffie kept bitching at each other until Kid and
 434.364 +I finally had to drag Yuffie off so we could catch our ship out of
 434.365 +there. I guess if you travel enough, eventually you'll meet someone
 434.366 +like you."
 434.367 +
 434.368 +"I don't think so. I think you might find someone who seems a bit
 434.369 +like you, or who acts similarly. But we're all different somehow. If
 434.370 +I looked over a thousand different worlds, I'd never meet someone
 434.371 +quite like you," Yuna explained, watching the catgirl. 
 434.372 +
 434.373 +Blushing faintly, Rikku was glad that her fur made it impossible to
 434.374 +tell. She smiled ecstatically, her embarrassment growing as she heard
 434.375 +a steady purr resonating within her. She tried to stifle the purr,
 434.376 +but it refused to die down. She was glad that Yuna would think that
 434.377 +about her. Even worse, her tail was swishing about happily behind
 434.378 +her. Before she could get it under control, it thumped against Yuna's
 434.379 +rear, making the other girl take a quick step forward in surprise.
 434.380 +Rikku could only stare forward, mortified. Stupid Dragon's Tear and
 434.381 +it's half-done job. Stupid half-cat body.  Her heart thundered in her
 434.382 +chest, feeling to Rikku as if it should be just as audible as her
 434.383 +purr by now. Surprisingly, Yuna simply turned, walking backwards
 434.384 +slowly so she could look at Rikku. The young summoner was still
 434.385 +smiling. A wave of relief crashed down over the catgirl's head, cold
 434.386 +and refreshing. Maybe she hadn't totally screwed that up after all.
 434.387 +"Thanks, Yunie," she said at last, smiling wide enough to show her
 434.388 +fangs. "I don't think I'd ever find anyone like you, either."
 434.389 +
 434.390 +"I'd argue, but then I'd be contradicting myself." Yuna giggled. 
 434.391 +
 434.392 +"And I can't let you do that," Rikku agreed, purring happily.
 434.393 +Without warning and with only the barest of thoughts, Rikku took one
 434.394 +of Yuna's hands in one of her soft paws. It felt like there were a
 434.395 +thousand different things that she wanted to say at once, but the
 434.396 +words eluded her. Just a cacophony of emotions and feelings surged
 434.397 +through her. But being here with Yuna... She had to say -something-.
 434.398 +Anything would do. She hoped. Squeezing the brunette's hand in her
 434.399 +own, swirly green eyes gazed into Yuna's blue and green eyes, hoping
 434.400 +to get across whatever her words failed to through her eyes. "Yunie,
 434.401 +I won't let anything bad happen to you. Whatever's happened to you
 434.402 +before now... I won't let it ever happen again. I'll... I'll protect
 434.403 +you. From everything. I promise." It was and wasn't what she wanted
 434.404 +to say at the same time. Whatever the case, she knew it was the
 434.405 +truth. She wanted to protect this fragile flower, wherever the winds
 434.406 +may carry her. She wanted to be there by Yuna's side, there to help
 434.407 +her through everything. Yuna needed her, right? And she wanted that
 434.408 +so badly. To be needed. To help. To be able to make things better.
 434.409 +She'd always been Yuffie's little sister. She loved her sister
 434.410 +dearly, but she'd never been able to protect Yuffie, only managing to
 434.411 +help a bit here and there. Yuffie was too sure of herself to allow
 434.412 +anyone else to do things for her. But with Yuna... She wanted to make
 434.413 +sure nothing bad ever had to happen to her again. She wanted to fight
 434.414 +off Fate itself to make sure she could always have a smile. A real
 434.415 +smile. 
 434.416 +
 434.417 +"I..." Yuna blushed, her eyes locked onto those swirly emeralds,
 434.418 +almost drowning in them as they pulled her in. "I want that, too..."
 434.419 +she whispered at last, furiously embarrassed that she'd admit that.
 434.420 +But she did. Sometimes she could get so tired of being strong for
 434.421 +everyone. She wanted to be able to collapse sometimes, to have
 434.422 +someone to catch her when she stumbled. She trusted this catgirl,
 434.423 +this thief from another world, this bouncy young girl with an
 434.424 +indomitable spirit. Rikku was sweet and devoted and warm and... For a
 434.425 +moment, Yuna couldn't tell which way was up. Her world seemed to have
 434.426 +turned upside down. Her heart was dizzy, lost in conflicting
 434.427 +thoughts. What she wanted to do and say clashed with what she thought
 434.428 +she should do and say. Her mind and heart struggled on the
 434.429 +battlefield of her soul for what felt like a short eternity. And
 434.430 +finally, it ceased to matter what the outcome was going to be. Soft
 434.431 +lips pressed against hers, paws holding tightly enough onto her
 434.432 +shoulders that she could feel the claws digging through the fabric of
 434.433 +her dress. Whiskers tickled her upper lip, and Rikku's soft, furry
 434.434 +form pressed against her. Yuna slowly melted into the kiss. For this
 434.435 +moment, she didn't need to know what to say or what to do. There was
 434.436 +only this moment. Of soft, neko kisses and the wonderful fragrance of
 434.437 +the rain encircling them. 
 434.438 +
 434.439 +By now, trying to stop her purring would be almost impossible.
 434.440 +Rikku's chest and throat vibrated with the happy purr that seemed to
 434.441 +come from the very depths of her soul. She couldn't explain why she
 434.442 +had kissed the quiet, sometimes sad girl, but she also couldn't
 434.443 +explain why not. It just seemed right. It was what she'd wanted to
 434.444 +do. It was what her words had wanted to express but couldn't. It was
 434.445 +the manifestation of the emotions and feelings that burst through her
 434.446 +like a fireworks display. And now it seemed perfectly right. Yuna's
 434.447 +soft lips opened and closed against her own lips as the taller girl's
 434.448 +hands went to her furry waist, pulling her closer. Thoughts were lost
 434.449 +to Rikku as she kissed deeper, her scratchy tongue pushing between
 434.450 +Yuna's lips as her claws nearly dug into the brunette's shoulders. 
 434.451 +
 434.452 +So this was a kiss... A beautiful moment in time wrapped up in silk
 434.453 +and offered up on the wings of angels. It was a precious gift that
 434.454 +could topple kingdoms and move mountains, a gift that when combined
 434.455 +with the dewdrops of love could become a force that could move the
 434.456 +very stars in the sky. And now it was in Yuna's hands. So delicate,
 434.457 +so fragile, yet so strong and powerful that it left her breathless
 434.458 +and shaking. So enraptured by Rikku's kiss was Yuna, her mind so far
 434.459 +away from the world around her, that she didn't see the waves moving
 434.460 +as something large pushed through the water towards the Destiny
 434.461 +Islands.
 434.462 +
 434.463 +

   435.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   435.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-12.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   435.3 @@ -0,0 +1,655 @@
   435.4 +Prism Hearts
   435.5 +Chapter 12
   435.6 +Angelus Errare: Where Angels Lose Their Way
   435.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   435.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   435.9 +
  435.10 +
  435.11 +
  435.12 +She was out there. Somewhere. Being chased by the Heartless and
  435.13 +whoever else wanted what lay inside of her heart. Lost out in a world
  435.14 +slowly being consumed by darkness. Torn between reality and nightmare
  435.15 +and whatever was in between. And the one man he had counted on to
  435.16 +protect her was now incredibly far away, unable to keep the darkness
  435.17 +at bay for her. Wherever she was, he knew she was in danger. He could
  435.18 +feel it resonating throughout his soul, a cosmic cord that had been
  435.19 +struck, hitting him like nails on a chalkboard. He could tell himself
  435.20 +that it was only his own worry, but he didn't believe that. There was
  435.21 +a connection between them, something that being worlds away wasn't
  435.22 +going to sever. After all, she was the only reason he lingered in
  435.23 +this world of the living.
  435.24 +
  435.25 +The concern he felt was reaching a crescendo, crashing around him
  435.26 +like an angry sea. It was maddening. He was powerless to save her,
  435.27 +trapped behind the door at the center of all the universes, Kingdom
  435.28 +Hearts. Riku pounded on the inside of the door, frustration eating
  435.29 +him alive. He'd heard Kairi on the other side of those large doors
  435.30 +not so long ago. So close yet so far. If only he'd been able to get
  435.31 +through them to her... He hated leaving her alone. Sora was supposed
  435.32 +to be with her. But where was the other boy?
  435.33 +
  435.34 +Leaning against the door, Riku crossed his arms and sighed. He was
  435.35 +trapped here. He couldn't go to Kairi's rescue. Not this time. He
  435.36 +wanted to believe that Sora would reach her in time, but Sora felt so
  435.37 +very far away. Well, Riku wasn't exactly trapped. There was one other
  435.38 +place he could go. "But I can't do that. Not yet. Not until I see her
  435.39 +again." When he had lost his body to Ansem, he had technically died.
  435.40 +With no body, he was only a soul. He could leave this plane, could
  435.41 +escape to the afterlife. Farplane. Lifestream. Whatever one wished to
  435.42 +call it. He could feel it calling to him, but he pushed it off with
  435.43 +force of will. He couldn't go yet. Even if that left him locked
  435.44 +behind a door at the center of all creation. "Kairi..." he whispered.
  435.45 +
  435.46 +Again, that feeling of cold dread sent shards of ice through his
  435.47 +blood. She needed him and he couldn't go to her. "Sora... Hurry...
  435.48 +She needs you." But somehow, he had the horrible feeling that Sora
  435.49 +was lost himself at the moment. Neither of them could save her.
  435.50 +Neither of them could reach her. It was up to Kairi. Or Fate. "Hold
  435.51 +on, Kairi. Please hold on. You don't need to be meeting me in the
  435.52 +afterlife. Not yet."
  435.53 +
  435.54 +Locked away at the heart of all that was, a silver haired boy closed
  435.55 +his eyes and prayed to whoever would listen to him to let the girl he
  435.56 +loved be all right.
  435.57 +
  435.58 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  435.59 +
  435.60 +"Yuna!"
  435.61 +
  435.62 +Yuna pulled away from the kiss she had been entagled in with Rikku,
  435.63 +the world slamming back down around her. Her cheeks flushed a dark
  435.64 +red as her flustered heart spun dizzily. She tried to step away from
  435.65 +the catgirl, but Rikku was only pulled closer. She could feel tiny
  435.66 +pinpricks against her hips. It took her a moment to realize it was
  435.67 +the blonde girl's claws through her skirt. They were still snagged on
  435.68 +the fabric. Blushing more, Yuna quickly cast her gaze for the source
  435.69 +of the voice.
  435.70 +
  435.71 +Rikku blinked confusedly, still staring up at the pretty brunette.
  435.72 +The voice had vaguely reached her ears, but she was too lost in a
  435.73 +world alone with Yuna to case. "Mew?" The curious cat sound she made
  435.74 +didn't register to her as anything strange. It was as close to a
  435.75 +question as she could muster at the moment. Holding onto Yuna, the
  435.76 +catgirl nuzzled her neck, purring happily as she reached up to kiss
  435.77 +the other girl again. She paused when she saw the horrified look on
  435.78 +Yuna's face. That look on the brunette's beautiful face broke the
  435.79 +spell Rikku had been under, sending her tumbling back to the earth
  435.80 +from the heavens she had been dwelling in. "Yunie, what's wrong?"
  435.81 +
  435.82 +"Tidus!" Yuna pulled away from Rikku, running forward on the beach.
  435.83 +The previously comfortable wet sand against her feet now felt
  435.84 +difficult and unpredictable, impeding her effort to reach the blonde
  435.85 +boy.
  435.86 +
  435.87 +Tidus was still smiling. He'd finally found Yuna on the other side
  435.88 +of the island and she seemed to be talking to Rikku about something.
  435.89 +They were hugging and whispering, he thought. Running to them, he'd
  435.90 +called out to Yuna. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to go with him
  435.91 +to the festival that night. She would be fun to go with and he did
  435.92 +like her. And Selphie was right, she was an excellent dancer. For
  435.93 +some reason, Yuna had blushed when he'd called her name. They must
  435.94 +have been talking about something private. When she finally caught
  435.95 +sight of him, he grinned and waved. "Yuna!" He ran across the beach,
  435.96 +his sandles mashing against the wet sand. He was nearly out of breath
  435.97 +but he didn't care. They were having the festival that night. He'd
  435.98 +get to go with Yuna and they'd all have fun. They could forget about
  435.99 +holes that led to nowhere and friends disappearing and...
 435.100 +
 435.101 +"Tidus!!" Yuna screamed, reaching out for him. Strong arms wrapped
 435.102 +around her waist, yanking her back. The wind was knocked out of her
 435.103 +as she was dragged back. Someone's voice yelled to her, but it was
 435.104 +drowned out by the roar of the water. Water poared around her like a
 435.105 +spring storm, but it all came from the sea around them, soaking her
 435.106 +in salt water. She struggled to get free, but Rikku's claws held
 435.107 +tight in her dress, pulling her further back even under the
 435.108 +relentless shower. She cried out unintelligibly straining.
 435.109 +
 435.110 +Something immense broke throught the water's surface, sending water
 435.111 +spraying everywhere as waves crashed against the beach. The creature,
 435.112 +some cross between a whale, coral, and a nightmare, raised up above
 435.113 +the beach, casting the already cloudy day into shadow. Water and sand
 435.114 +were actually getting sucked upwards, high into the air in some sort
 435.115 +of vortex above the creature. It watched them, even though it had no
 435.116 +eyes. But in particular, it seemed to be watching Yuna.
 435.117 +
 435.118 +For a moment, Yuna was disoriented. A huge wave had crashed around
 435.119 +her and Rikku, sending them tumbling. She couldn't tell if she was
 435.120 +still on the beach or in the ocean. She spat out seawater, hunched
 435.121 +over. The wind tore at her drenched clothes, making her shiver and
 435.122 +the wet cloth slapped against her. She scanned frantically for any
 435.123 +sign of Rikku or Tidus. She finally caught sight of the blonde boy.
 435.124 +He was floating in the water in front of the monster. "Tidus!!" she
 435.125 +cried out, slowly getting to her feet. The boy stirred, starting to
 435.126 +move in the water. She had to get him away from it. "Rikku?" She
 435.127 +couldn't tell where the catgirl was. Deep in her heart, she knew this
 435.128 +creature. It sang to her, a horrible, brutal lullaby. It dizzied her
 435.129 +senses, leaving her barely able to concentrate. She struggled to
 435.130 +reach Tidus in time, stumbling through the knee deep water. Tripping
 435.131 +on a rock in the water, her heart lurched as well as her body as she
 435.132 +crashed painfully into the waves. She was running out of time. It
 435.133 +wouldn't pause forever. She had to drag him away from it. She had to
 435.134 +find Rikku and run. They all needed to get away. Far, far away.
 435.135 +
 435.136 +Gazing through the water that burned her eyes, Yuna could barely
 435.137 +make out the vague blur that she hoped was Tidus. "Tidus!" She tried
 435.138 +to get out around a mouthful of water. She pushed herself forward the
 435.139 +last few steps. The boy began to get up on his own. Good. Now she
 435.140 +wouldn't have to drag him. They could run. Before she could search
 435.141 +for Rikku, she could tell that something was wrong. No, he wasn't
 435.142 +getting up on his own. The water was moving him. Pulling him up. Up
 435.143 +into the air. "No!" Yuna ran forward, slowed by the surging waves.
 435.144 +"Tidus!" She screamed. She reached for his limp hand, her fingers
 435.145 +brushing against him. Her heart nearly collapsed when she realized it
 435.146 +was too late. His wet fingers slipped past hers as the water and sand
 435.147 +and leaves were sucked up into the air. And she was about to follow.
 435.148 +Her feet were no longer touching the ground. The water around her was
 435.149 +starting to get pulled after her. She was going to be devoured.
 435.150 +This... Thing was going to devour Tidus and then her. It was like a
 435.151 +monster from fairy tales her father had told her. But this one was
 435.152 +hideously real.
 435.153 +
 435.154 +Yuna stopped in midair. A wet paw clung tightly to her skirt,
 435.155 +yanking her away from the funnel of water and debris getting sucked
 435.156 +into the vortex up above. The hand nearly lost it's grip again and
 435.157 +again, but it kept grasping at her, finally pulling her away. The
 435.158 +water around them was still trying to lift into the sky, but not as
 435.159 +strongly as the tornado of objects being pulled into the air where
 435.160 +Yuna had just been. Rikku held onto Yuna's hand tightly, the claws
 435.161 +cutting into her skin as the wind whipped at them, trying to drag
 435.162 +them after Tidus. 'I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to
 435.163 +you. I won't let it hurt you,' Rikku's mind raced. She didn't know
 435.164 +what this was, but she knew she couldn't let it have Yuna. She'd
 435.165 +promised to protect the girl. She'd do anything to protect her.
 435.166 +
 435.167 +The two girls reached the beach, soaked and out of breath, aching
 435.168 +and afraid. Behind them, the steady roar began to die down. Splashes
 435.169 +could be heard as objects that hadn't reached the vortex plummeted to
 435.170 +the sea below. Yuna turned slowly, dreading what she would see. Where
 435.171 +the creature had stood was now only chaos. Debris floating
 435.172 +haphazardly in the ocean. And Tidus was gone. Gone. "No..." she
 435.173 +whispered, as if denying that it had happened would bring him back,
 435.174 +would deny the very event itself. "No!" She stumbled forward, wanting
 435.175 +to search for him, but she knew it was pointless. She collapsed to
 435.176 +her knees in the wet sand. That creature... It was her nightmare. The
 435.177 +thing that haunted her dreams. She knew it. Her personal boogeyman.
 435.178 +It had many forms, but it was always the same. And now it was real.
 435.179 +It had come out of her nightmares and it had found her. And it had
 435.180 +taken away one of those closest to her. And she knew it would be back
 435.181 +for more. She burst into tears. They had always told her that her
 435.182 +father had merely drowned at sea, but she could never believe that.
 435.183 +She'd had a dream about that creature taking her father away the
 435.184 +night before he'd died. She'd seen it. She'd been unable to stop it.
 435.185 +Now it had taken Tidus away. "Tidus... I'm so sorry..." She had
 435.186 +failed once more to protect those she cared about. Her father hadn't
 435.187 +listened, had told her it was only a nightmare and had sailed off to
 435.188 +his death. Tidus had been so close. So very close. She'd nearly had
 435.189 +his hand. "I'm so sorry..." she repeated between sobs.
 435.190 +
 435.191 +Wet, furry arms wrapped around Yuna, pulling her close. The crying
 435.192 +girl curled up weakly in Rikku's arms, shaking. "Yunie..."
 435.193 +Swallowing, Rikku buried her face against the brunette's soggy hair.
 435.194 +What was that thing? In all of her travels, she'd never met anything
 435.195 +so terrifying. It had seemed so focussed on Yuna. How could she
 435.196 +protect Yuna from that demon? She had to try. Somehow. She'd
 435.197 +promised. She wouldn't let it take her. No matter what.
 435.198 +
 435.199 +"Sin..." Yuna whispered, resting limply in Rikku's arms. She
 435.200 +shuddered violently, breaking into a fresh batch of sobs.
 435.201 +
 435.202 +"What? Yunie, what's sin?" Rikku asked worriedly, pulling Yuna closer.
 435.203 +
 435.204 +"That... that was Sin..." Yuna whispered. "Sin's come to punish
 435.205 +us..." She knew it. Knew it like she knew how to breathe and how to
 435.206 +laugh. It was ingrained in her. That was Sin. It was a nightmare. And
 435.207 +it had come for the Destiny Islands.
 435.208 +
 435.209 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 435.210 +
 435.211 +Hikari nibbled on her lower lip, waiting anxiously for the bell to
 435.212 +ring. She shuffled the beautiful, multicolored papers on her lap,
 435.213 +watching the clock in the classroom tick inexorably towards
 435.214 +dismissal. Her heart pounded excitedly in her chest as she waited.
 435.215 +
 435.216 +Taking a pencil, she began to scribble on the top sheet. She smiled
 435.217 +as a familiar figure began to take shape on the page before her. It
 435.218 +happened without thinking, as if he wanted to see her. It was silly,
 435.219 +she knew, but she couldn't help it. Riku slowly came into being on
 435.220 +the paper in front of her in the form of a hastily drawn picture.
 435.221 +Sighing inwardly, she smiled. He was so cute. But he was probably so
 435.222 +lonely there by himself. By now completely phasing out whatever the
 435.223 +teacher was saying, Hikari drew in Sora next to the other boy. And,
 435.224 +after a moment's thought, herself between the two boys. There. That
 435.225 +was better. By now, drawing the boys was second nature. She'd drawn
 435.226 +hundreds of pictures of them and their island. They were her best
 435.227 +friends. Even if they weren't real.
 435.228 +
 435.229 +The bell finally rang, cutting into Hikari's distant thoughts. The
 435.230 +girl quickly got up, nearly dropping her lapful of colored papers. A
 435.231 +boy behind her laughed as she struggled to keep a grasp on the
 435.232 +handful of them. Finally pulling them into a hug, she hurried to pass
 435.233 +them out. They were invitations to her thirteenth birthday party. Her
 435.234 +mother had made each of them by hand the night before. Her mother's
 435.235 +art still amazed her. The older woman could draw such beautiful
 435.236 +things. It was she who had spent hours upon hours teaching Hikari to
 435.237 +draw. And now the younger girl spent as much time as she could
 435.238 +drawing her dreams, that far off world she loved so very much. It
 435.239 +seemed to come to life in the drawings.
 435.240 +
 435.241 +Written in her mother's careful hand on each and every paper was:
 435.242 +'Please come, one and all, to the beautiful Princess Hikari's 13th
 435.243 +birthday this Friday. Whether by carriage or chocobo or airship, all
 435.244 +are welcome for this wondrous celebration. Dinner will be served so
 435.245 +all visiting dignitaries' parents shouldn't worry about them coming
 435.246 +home hungry. Please call Princess Hikari's chief adviser (her mother)
 435.247 +if you have any questions.'
 435.248 +
 435.249 +As Hikari passed out the last of the invitations, she felt
 435.250 +excitement mixed with pride and anticipation. The invitations were
 435.251 +beautiful. Her mother had spent so much time on them, surprising
 435.252 +Hikari early in the morning with the bundle. She had said she wanted
 435.253 +Hikari to have a birthday fit for a princess. That was so sweet.
 435.254 +Hikari had been delighted with the beautiful pictures that adorned
 435.255 +the invitations. Her mother had drawn them. It was like an invitation
 435.256 +to Wonderland, wondrous and amazing. No one else had invitations like
 435.257 +that, usually little more than explanations on paper of what party
 435.258 +and where. No one else had a mother like she had, pretty and fun and
 435.259 +loving. Her mind raced with thoughts of her birthday, of games and
 435.260 +the pretty dress her mother had bought her for it and....
 435.261 +
 435.262 +"Princess Hikari?" One of the girls asked, grinning. "Since when was
 435.263 +Hikari a princess?"
 435.264 +
 435.265 +Hikari's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "It's... Mom meant..."
 435.266 +
 435.267 +"So we're supposed to get off of school friday and go to 'her
 435.268 +highness's' little play date?" A boy asked.
 435.269 +
 435.270 +"What types of games will they be playing? Spin the bottle?"
 435.271 +
 435.272 +Another boy laughed. "With who? The other four-year-olds Hikari
 435.273 +invites? You'll be lucky if they play pin the tail on the donkey. The
 435.274 +'Princess' likes to keep things simple."
 435.275 +
 435.276 +Hikari's eyes burned brightly with tears as she listened to them
 435.277 +laugh and joke. Each time she heard someone call her 'princess', it
 435.278 +felt like a slap to the face. Not like when her mother said it. When
 435.279 +she said it, Hikari felt like a real princess. But now....  She
 435.280 +sniffled painfully, hoisting up her backpack as she left the room.
 435.281 +
 435.282 +"Hey, Princess, I don't think I can make it. I'm gonna be visiting
 435.283 +the man on the moon that day. Very busy," a girl said mock seriously.
 435.284 +Her friends burst into laughter.
 435.285 +
 435.286 +Hikari couldn't speak. She could barely keep from crying. She'd
 435.287 +thought the invitations were wonderful. She loved the idea of a
 435.288 +magically princess themed birthday party. But now she felt stupid for
 435.289 +wanting such a thing. Stupid and childish.
 435.290 +
 435.291 +Another boy crumpled up the invitation, drawn brilliantly on a sky
 435.292 +blue paper. He dropped it in a trash can as he passed, not bothering
 435.293 +with a glance back. It was simply so much trash to him. Nothing more,
 435.294 +nothing less. Her mother's work, the pretty invitation she had spent
 435.295 +all night on, now left unceremoniously with the rest of the garbage.
 435.296 +Hikari felt sick. She shook lightly, her vision blurred. She didn't
 435.297 +even know where she was going. She wanted to collapse and cry. But
 435.298 +then they'd be right. She would just be a dumb little girl. Tears
 435.299 +fell silently down her cheeks as she cursed herself inwardly. She was
 435.300 +just a dumb little girl. A little girl who wanted her mother, who
 435.301 +wanted to be a princess. Who wanted everyone to like her. Her breath
 435.302 +caught in her throat, wet and stinging. She pushed open the bathroom
 435.303 +door and stumbled on leaden feet into a stall. Collapsing, she cried
 435.304 +through most of the next period.
 435.305 +
 435.306 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 435.307 +
 435.308 +Kairi stirred weakly in her bonds. Where was she? Oh, how she was
 435.309 +beginning to loathe that question. Kuja... Blinking awake, Kairi
 435.310 +glanced around the gothic looking room. The nightmare she had just
 435.311 +had only made her present state that much more miserable. Her soul
 435.312 +was still clouded with pain half-remembered, worried about an
 435.313 +uncertain Fate that hung before her.
 435.314 +
 435.315 +"So the sleeper awakens." Kuja's soft voice seemed to come from
 435.316 +everywhere at once. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was
 435.317 +smirking now. "Or perhaps that's not entirely true. You haven't woken
 435.318 +up just yet. Not from this dream. But that suits my needs just fine.
 435.319 +I'll shape this dream however I see fit with the power you'll grant
 435.320 +me, Kairi." Finally stepping into view, the lithe catboy was indeed
 435.321 +smirking. He traced Kairi's cheek with his fingertips. "It will hurt.
 435.322 +But then it will all be over. And I'll create a new world from your
 435.323 +ashes."
 435.324 +
 435.325 +Kairi struggled as she felt his hand trailing down her neck, moving
 435.326 +over her collarbone. But she was helpless. "I won't give up. I won't
 435.327 +let you change this world. I'm going to save it." She had to believe
 435.328 +in those words. She had to. For Sora. For Riku. For all of her
 435.329 +friends who were counting on her to stop the Heartless.
 435.330 +
 435.331 +"You really don't have a choice anymore, Kairi. You may be the
 435.332 +dreamer, but with the Prism Heart, I'll recast it into my dream. I'll
 435.333 +never die. All the things that haunt me will disperse into
 435.334 +nothingness. It will be beautiful." Kuja sighed deliciously. "It's
 435.335 +only too bad you won't be there to see it." His hand now rested
 435.336 +directly over Kairi's heart. He could practically taste the fear and
 435.337 +uncertainty that washed over her. He gazed into her eyes, ready to
 435.338 +watch the light fade from them as she died. With a swift motion of
 435.339 +his hand, he shoved his fingers into her chest.
 435.340 +
 435.341 +Pain screamed through Kairi's head, bright and searing pain that
 435.342 +instantly killed any thoughts that were swarming through her head.
 435.343 +The scream felt endless and tore through her mind and soul. Yet her
 435.344 +lips only trembled, unable to make anything but the tiniest sounds.
 435.345 +She could feel his hand pushing deeper inside of her, clutching at
 435.346 +her heart, could feel him grabbing it tenderly, ready to draw it out
 435.347 +of her. She'd come so far. She had promised she'd save Riku. But now
 435.348 +she would die in a far off world as someone used her heart to
 435.349 +recreate this reality. And all she could do was wish for the pain to
 435.350 +end.
 435.351 +
 435.352 +'Thinking of you, wherever you are.
 435.353 +
 435.354 +We pray for our sorrows to end,
 435.355 +And hope that our hearts will blend.
 435.356 +Now I will step forward to realize this wish.'
 435.357 +
 435.358 +No. She had promised. This wouldn't end here. Her fingernails dug
 435.359 +into her palms as she tried to concentrate. She wouldn't die here.
 435.360 +She couldn't die here. Her journey wasn't over. She needed to save
 435.361 +Riku. Had to find Sora. 'I won't give up. I'm with you. Wherever you
 435.362 +are.' Whether the thought was her own or soemone else's, she couldn't
 435.363 +quite be sure. The pain grew, numbing her senses in an overload as
 435.364 +she felt her heart slipping further and further away from her.
 435.365 +'Mom...' Her mother was a beautiful woman, her best friend. 'Dad...'
 435.366 +Her father had been an ingenious monarch who had fallen victim to his
 435.367 +own curiosity. Both were from different worlds. But both felt so
 435.368 +real. 'I can't give up one and not the other. I can't choose. I
 435.369 +can't...' Everything around her began to fade as she felt her heart
 435.370 +giving up it's hold. 'I'm sorry...' she thought dimly as everything
 435.371 +plunged into blackness around her.
 435.372 +
 435.373 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 435.374 +
 435.375 +"Kuja!" Garnet stood at the last of the steps, watching in horror as
 435.376 +pulled a shimmering, crystalline heart from Kairi. The chestnut
 435.377 +haired girl slumped in her bonds, her eyes dull and glassy. Simply a
 435.378 +body. They were too late.
 435.379 +
 435.380 +"Kairi!!" Relm ran past the silver haired catboy to the chained up
 435.381 +Keyblade Mistress's side. If she'd been with her instead of playing
 435.382 +her stupid games with Yuffie... Celes had sacrificed herself so they
 435.383 +could escape. But now... Without Kairi, how could they hope to stop
 435.384 +the Heartless? "Kairi... Kairi, please wake up..." Relm held onto
 435.385 +Kairi's shoulders, but the other girl couldn't hear her.
 435.386 +
 435.387 +"I'm afraid you're too late. I already have what I was looking for.
 435.388 +Go ahead and take her body if you want. I have no further use for
 435.389 +it." He shrugged, grinning wildly as he held his prize. The Prism
 435.390 +Heart. "This world will soon be born anew. Do as you like until
 435.391 +then." Not even Sephiroth or Princess Hikari could stop him now. He
 435.392 +was the master of reality itself. Now his perceptions, his dreams
 435.393 +would all resonate throughout all the existed.
 435.394 +
 435.395 +"How could you do this?" Garnet asked, disbelief making her dizzy.
 435.396 +How could this have happened? How could anyone do that? She stepped
 435.397 +forward in a haze, barely feeling Eiko clinging to her side.
 435.398 +
 435.399 +"He's doing this at my behest," a voice said from further up the
 435.400 +steps. Queen Brahne walked down the steps, followed closely by Harle.
 435.401 +"The kingdom is in danger. I'll do whatever it takes to protect it.
 435.402 +And if a few peasant girls' lives are needed to stop the Heartless,
 435.403 +I'll gladly sacrifice them."
 435.404 +
 435.405 +Garnet turned, the world tipping on its side. Her mother had known
 435.406 +what Kuja was doing? She had let him do these horrible things? They
 435.407 +would have done this to Eiko. "No! You can't sacrifice others! You
 435.408 +can't use them like toys!"
 435.409 +
 435.410 +"I'm the Queen of Alexandria. I will do whatever I see fit. And you
 435.411 +will not speak back to me again, Princess." Brahne's eyes grew cold
 435.412 +and distant, not at all the mother Garnet had once known.
 435.413 +
 435.414 +Laughter broke out through the torture chamber, drawing everyone's
 435.415 +attention. "I'm afraid you have it all wrong, Queen Brahne. I don't
 435.416 +care what happens with the Heartless. I think you're confused about
 435.417 +just who was using who. You gave me the resources I needed to find
 435.418 +the girl with the Prism Heart. Your pathetic Alexandria won't even
 435.419 +exist in the world I create."
 435.420 +
 435.421 +"Kuja... I'll have you executed," Brahne growled. She wasn't about
 435.422 +to let him betray her. She'd have Harle finish the rest of it. Her
 435.423 +harlequin knew enough about magic and relics to use the Prism Heart
 435.424 +to make Alexandria the most powerful nation in existence.
 435.425 +
 435.426 +More laughter erupted from the silver haired man. "You don't know
 435.427 +who you're speaking to, Brahne. I'm a god now. I will never die.
 435.428 +Certainly not at your capricious whims. My life... No, all lives are
 435.429 +mine to do with as a please." He held out the shining crystal heart
 435.430 +in his hand. "Starting with yours." Before Brahne could even move,
 435.431 +the world shifted around them. The Queen stood where she was, frozen.
 435.432 +She was made completely of polished marble. "A statue fitting of a
 435.433 +queen. They can put you in the center of your palace and worship you
 435.434 +until the palace falls in on itself. But I don't feel like waiting
 435.435 +that long." With another wave on his hand, the statue shattered, the
 435.436 +head rolling amidst the scattered pieces.
 435.437 +
 435.438 +"Mother!" Garnet fell beside what had been her mother, her heart
 435.439 +seized in her chest. She was gone. Even if she had been killing
 435.440 +innocent girls, she was still her mother. And now she was gone. In an
 435.441 +instant. Tears dripped to the broken marble beneath her. "Mother..."
 435.442 +
 435.443 +"Garnet..." Eiko held onto the taller girl from behind, keeping a
 435.444 +wary eye on Kuja. They needed to get out of there quickly. There was
 435.445 +no telling what he'd do next. "Garnet, we have to go. Please." But
 435.446 +Garnet wasn't listening. And Eiko couldn't leave without her. Though
 435.447 +she was starting to worry none of them would be leaving.
 435.448 +
 435.449 +"You bastard! Give Kairi her heart back!" Relm ran up to Kuja,
 435.450 +slamming her small fists into his chest. "Bring her back!!!" Tears
 435.451 +burnt at her eyes. So many useless sacrifices. They couldn't be in
 435.452 +vain. They just couldn't.
 435.453 +
 435.454 +Bringing his hand up, Kuja slapped the bandanna wearing girl
 435.455 +viciously. Staggering back, Relm was disoriented. Kuja grabbed her
 435.456 +neck, lifting her until her toes were scrabbling at the floor.
 435.457 +"Useless little artist. I would have let you stay around to give me
 435.458 +something to look at, but you hardly seem worth the effort. Don't
 435.459 +worry. I'll let you join Kairi. If you don't want to be part of my
 435.460 +world, I'll let you be part of hers. The world of the dead."
 435.461 +Squeezing tightly, he felt her throat constricting under his hand.
 435.462 +How long until the light faded from her eyes as well?
 435.463 +
 435.464 +Relm struggled to keep her feet on the floor, but they were feeling
 435.465 +further and further away. Her lungs burned and her vision began to
 435.466 +get spotty. She wanted to scream, but nothing could come out without
 435.467 +the air she desperately needed. Her hands fell limply to her sides.
 435.468 +She could almost hear Celes at the edge of her mind. But what was she
 435.469 +saying? She'd know soon enough. At least... At least she'd be joining
 435.470 +Celes and Interceptor. That was some comfort.
 435.471 +
 435.472 +"Leave her alone, you asshole!" Kuja let out a gasp of pain. A
 435.473 +splume of red filled Relm's vision before she fell to the floor, air
 435.474 +rushing back to her aching lungs. Kuja clutched his slashed arm, the
 435.475 +Prism Heart floating next to him. Yuffie sat crouched in front of
 435.476 +Relm, her giant shuriken bloodied. 'Yuffie!' Relm thought, fighting
 435.477 +to clear her thoughts. 'She... she saved me...' She could only gaze
 435.478 +at Yuffie's back, her heart burning anew for the ninja girl in front
 435.479 +of her.
 435.480 +
 435.481 +Kuja grinned, running his hand over the wound on his right arm. The
 435.482 +arm was instantly better. "You fool. You should have ran. Or did you
 435.483 +want to die with the artist? That can be arranged."
 435.484 +
 435.485 +"I don't plan on dying for a good long time. And neither is she as
 435.486 +long as I have any say in it." Pulling up her shuriken in front of
 435.487 +her, Yuffie grinned herself. "I can't say the same for you." Her aura
 435.488 +lit up, blazing in a beautiful array of colors. The shuriken began to
 435.489 +spin in front of her as she focussed. If he could heal himself, she
 435.490 +had to end this with one hit before he had a chance to. This had to
 435.491 +be everything she had inside of herself. For Relm. She couldn't let
 435.492 +him hurt the younger girl. She couldn't live with herself if she did.
 435.493 +And she could live with herself doing quite a bit, so that was saying
 435.494 +something. "All Creation!!" She called out, energy lashing out
 435.495 +blindingly. It slammed into Kuja, illuminating the entire room.
 435.496 +Pushing herself, she tried to force out every ounce of energery she
 435.497 +had inside of herself into the attack.  Yuffie stumbled onto one
 435.498 +knee, the shuriken fell to the floor, clinging next to her. Her body
 435.499 +felt drained, nothing left to push forward with. Slumping forward
 435.500 +onto the cold stone floor, she passed out.
 435.501 +
 435.502 +"Yuffie... Yuffie!" Relm crawled over to the ninja, checking to make
 435.503 +sure she was alive. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt
 435.504 +Yuffie's weak heartbeat under her hand. She was alive. Yuffie had
 435.505 +saved her. She clutched onto the fallen ninja, burying her face into
 435.506 +Yuffie's hair. "Yuffie..."
 435.507 +
 435.508 +"That... hurt..." Kuja stumbled forward. "I'm going to keep you
 435.509 +alive for that, you little bitch. And you'll pray for the day that
 435.510 +I'll kill you. That would have killed me. But the Prism Heart filters
 435.511 +all reality. Even your pathetic attacks. I told you. I can't die." He
 435.512 +walked towards them clenching his fist.
 435.513 +
 435.514 +"No. You will ruin everyzing. I will not allow it. Zis is not ze way
 435.515 +things should be." Harle crossed her arms, watching Kuja turn to face
 435.516 +her. "Zat girl is ze dreamer. You are not. You will plunge everyzing
 435.517 +into chaos. You do not have ze will to be a god. She is integral to
 435.518 +zis world. I won't let you make it all fall apart. Not now." Dragon
 435.519 +wings unfurled behind her, her face elongating. Her fingers became
 435.520 +deadly claws. A tail appeared behind her. Her harlequin costume tore
 435.521 +apart as she grew, shifting into something not in the least human.
 435.522 +Her voice changed into a deep roar as the dragon stood before Kuja.
 435.523 +"I am Bahamut, the Dragon God. I won't let your madness spread
 435.524 +throughout reality like a virus." The dragon's mouth opened, light
 435.525 +spraying forth as he showered Kuja with Megaflare. And then nothing.
 435.526 +The world spun around the Dragon God. Harle watched as Kuja stepped
 435.527 +out of the dissipating explosion. She stepped back, realizing she was
 435.528 +naked and no longer a dragon. This was much more trouble than she had
 435.529 +expected.
 435.530 +
 435.531 +"So you're Bahamut. I thought there was something strange about you.
 435.532 +But the legendary Dragon God isn't very frightening when you're
 435.533 +sealed away inside that body. I think I'll keep you around just to
 435.534 +show you what power I have. You can be there by my side as I unleash
 435.535 +my 'madness' upon reality. And what better servant than Bahamut?"
 435.536 +Kuja laughed. This was turning out perfectly. Everything was his to
 435.537 +command. Nothing could stand against him. All would be as he wished
 435.538 +it to be.
 435.539 +
 435.540 +"I told you not to harm Kairi."
 435.541 +
 435.542 +Kuja spun around at the sound of Sephiroth's voice. Could this day
 435.543 +be any better? He had thought he'd have to go to Sephiroth and tear
 435.544 +apart Princess Hikari's upside down palace right in front of his
 435.545 +eyes. But now his former boss had come to him. This would be
 435.546 +immensely satisfying. No one controlled him anymore. Everything was
 435.547 +his. "I changed my mind. You gave me power, yes. The power of the
 435.548 +Heartless. But I want more than that. The power of a god. The power
 435.549 +to stop life and death. Letting you have her wouldn't have been any
 435.550 +fun."
 435.551 +
 435.552 +Sephiroth narrowed his eyebrows, stepping forward. A young girl, a
 435.553 +mirror image of Kairi wearing a gorgeous midnight black dress,
 435.554 +stepped from behind him.
 435.555 +
 435.556 +"So you brought Princess Hikari with you? Thank you so much,
 435.557 +Sephiroth. You're making this so much easier. Now I can get you both
 435.558 +out of the way before creating my beautiful dream."
 435.559 +
 435.560 +"Kairi still has further to travel. You're complicating things,
 435.561 +Kuja. You weren't supposed to harm her for a reason. You're fears and
 435.562 +insecurities are making you erratic. I knew I shouldn't have trusted
 435.563 +you." Princess Hikari stepped over to Kairi, lifting her chin and
 435.564 +gazing into lifeless eyes.
 435.565 +
 435.566 +"It's a little too late for that, your highness. Maybe if you beg,
 435.567 +I'll let you exist in my world. As something suitably ironic. Like a
 435.568 +prostitute or a homeless girl. Yes, those both sound interesting. And
 435.569 +you, Sephiroth, I'm just going to kill you. I'm sick of taking orders
 435.570 +from you." Kuja watched the two of them, his thoughts spinning
 435.571 +delightfully. So many possibilities. He raised his hand. He frowned.
 435.572 +He hadn't really expected Sephiroth to show any fear, but it was
 435.573 +still disappointing. "Die!" The world shifted around Sephiroth,
 435.574 +becoming razor sharp to cut through the warrior. But nothing
 435.575 +happened. The SOLDIER unfurled his single, black wing, looking back
 435.576 +at Kuja. "What the hell?" It wasn't possible. "The Prism Heart
 435.577 +controls all reality. All of it! Even you, Sephiroth! Die!!!" Again,
 435.578 +nothing happened. Princess Hikari stepped in front of Kuja, looking
 435.579 +very displeased. Suddenly, Kuja began to feel the fear and
 435.580 +desperation that had driven him to this in the first place. He was
 435.581 +going to die. And he could do nothing to stop it. His plans were
 435.582 +falling apart in front of him.
 435.583 +
 435.584 +"Kuja, that heart is mine. If Kairi is my shadow, then why would you
 435.585 +be able to stop me with her heart?" Princess Hikari asked, beckoning
 435.586 +Sephiroth over. "Prism Hearts isn't simply her. She's only a small
 435.587 +part of it. Yes, you could shape reality with it. If I allowed it.
 435.588 +And I most certainly will not." She held her hand out, Kairi's heart
 435.589 +floating to her. Walking over to Kairi, she gently placed it back
 435.590 +inside of the other girl. "Now go, Kairi. You need to unlock his
 435.591 +keyhole. Riku needs you," she whispered in Kairi's ear. "Hurry to
 435.592 +him." Turning, she motioned for Sephiroth. "We should go. I don't
 435.593 +want to leave Sora for long."
 435.594 +
 435.595 +Kuja shook his head, watching Sephiroth advance. He could feel the
 435.596 +power he'd been given by the Heartless dissolving as he called for
 435.597 +it. It was over. He was going to die. All of his preparations to
 435.598 +prevent that had been for naught. He shook his head again as
 435.599 +Sephiroth pulled out the Masamune. "No... No!!!" Raising his hand, he
 435.600 +cast Ultima. "I'll kill you all!! You'll all die with me!" he
 435.601 +screamed. Magic shot out, tearing into the palace, destroying
 435.602 +everything in its path. But it was too late. The pain was sharp and
 435.603 +brilliant. Looking down, he could see the hilt of Sephiroth's blade.
 435.604 +The SOLDIER looked into his eyes, their brilliant mako green glow
 435.605 +looking like that of death itself. Pulling the blade out, Sephiroth
 435.606 +walked after the Princess, the palace collapsing all around them.
 435.607 +
 435.608 +Only half awake, Kairi stumbled towards Kuja. She could see that he
 435.609 +was bleeding heavily. Her mind whirled. The Keyhole... Riku...
 435.610 +Darkness, deep and ancient where she'd been lost while her heart had
 435.611 +been stolen from her. She lifted the Keyblade in front of her with
 435.612 +what strength she could muster. The world felt like it was falling
 435.613 +out from beneath her feet. She had to stop it now. And this was the
 435.614 +only way. Lunging forward, the pressed the Keyblade into Kuja's
 435.615 +chest, into the Keyhole that existed in his heart. The roof began to
 435.616 +fall in around her, the palace getting ready to crush this basement.
 435.617 +The entire world was about to fall on top of them. Closing her eyes,
 435.618 +she unlocked his heart. Light spilled out of the dying man, filling
 435.619 +the room until there was nothing else.
 435.620 +
 435.621 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 435.622 +
 435.623 +Kairi found herself once again floating amidst light. It reminded
 435.624 +her far too much of the darkness she had been surrounding her when
 435.625 +she'd lost her heart. 'Maybe light and dark aren't so different after
 435.626 +all.' She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed. All that
 435.627 +existed was light. Her body was an anomaly in this world of light.
 435.628 +She felt that if she stayed her for too long her physical form would
 435.629 +fade away. She floated in this tranquil sea, searching.
 435.630 +
 435.631 +"You have unlocked the light in the heart of Desperation."  The
 435.632 +voice that existed everywhere in the light echoed through her.
 435.633 +
 435.634 +"I was supposed to save my world. I was created as a puppet to save
 435.635 +a long dead planet by letting it repopulate another. But I wasn't
 435.636 +what they wanted. So they created another to replace me. I was a
 435.637 +tool, something to be used until it was no longer necessary and then
 435.638 +thrown away. I was created to die. And there was nothing I could do
 435.639 +to stop it. I was... afraid. I didn't want to die. So I tried to stop
 435.640 +it. To do anything to live. And if I couldn't live, then I didn't
 435.641 +want anyone to live. It wasn't fair. Life and death... Why? My
 435.642 +desperation filled me until I saw nothing else. But now... I am
 435.643 +dying. It... It will be all right? Won't it?"
 435.644 +
 435.645 +Kairi smiled softly, nodding in the glow of the light. "It will be
 435.646 +all right. Death is only the beginning. I... I learned that a long
 435.647 +time ago. You won't ever have to fear again."
 435.648 +
 435.649 +'I'm making Riku wait for me. He's... He's dead, too. I have to
 435.650 +hurry to him. He's staying in this world for me. I couldn't stay in
 435.651 +that other world. I couldn't live there. So I....'  She shook her
 435.652 +head. No. She couldn't accept the other world where she'd killed
 435.653 +herself. Not yet. "If you see someone named Riku there, please give
 435.654 +him my love." As the light faded, Kairi lost herself in the layer
 435.655 +between worlds.
 435.656 +
 435.657 +
 435.658 +

   436.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   436.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-13.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   436.3 @@ -0,0 +1,817 @@
   436.4 +Prism Hearts
   436.5 +Chapter 13
   436.6 +Final Distance
   436.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   436.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   436.9 +
  436.10 +
  436.11 +
  436.12 +Stars were falling. It was as if the universe itself were crying.
  436.13 +They plumetted one after the other, falling from their perches in the
  436.14 +sky. They never grew in size, tiny droplets of stars falling around
  436.15 +her, winking out of existence when they touched the ground, their
  436.16 +magic disappearing when they no longer soared in the heavens. And
  436.17 +still they fell, creating a light drizzle of stars, beautiful
  436.18 +luminescent teardrops. 
  436.19 +
  436.20 +And this is where we find our heroine, in the
  436.21 +midst of raining stars, lying unconscious and curled up on the
  436.22 +shadowed ground. Quiet footsteps echo nearby, moving with a silent
  436.23 +purpose through this darkened land. Sparkling dew of dying stars
  436.24 +bathe Kairi as she struggles to remember, to hold off whatever is
  436.25 +trying to end her sojourn. Something that is very close indeed. 
  436.26 +
  436.27 +Weary eyes slowly blinked themselves open. The fact that she wasn't
  436.28 +alone
  436.29 +in a room on her bed comforted her, but only for a moment. Her
  436.30 +fingers scrabbled along the cold ground, finally managing to push
  436.31 +herself up to her knees. A tiny star, smaller than a snowflake,
  436.32 +landed upon her nose. It was warm to the touch, fading slowly.
  436.33 +Glancing around her, she could see thousands of other stars falling,
  436.34 +raining about her. It was beautiful. They were the only light in this
  436.35 +endless night. Cupping her hands, she reached out, watching as
  436.36 +several stars landed in her hands. They helped warm her cold hands,
  436.37 +their light casting shadows around her as they slowly began fading.
  436.38 +
  436.39 +Holding the stars to her chest, Kairi began to see what else was
  436.40 +around her. Just where was she? This place held no familiarity to
  436.41 +her, nothing that she had ever seen before. Everywhere else, she knew
  436.42 +from someplace. 'From Squaresoft games and Disney movies,' a part of
  436.43 +her kindly added before she could force it away. But this place... An
  436.44 +involuntary shudder passed through her. She had never seen this place
  436.45 +before, had never been there. And once again, she was all alone.
  436.46 +There were no friends to stand by her, no one to catch her when she
  436.47 +stumbled. 
  436.48 +
  436.49 +Getting to her feet, Kairi brushed some of the glistening
  436.50 +dew from the stars off of her clothes. All around her were objects of
  436.51 +varying shapes and sizes, some not much more than stones with
  436.52 +etchings in them and others large and intricate statues. Kairi
  436.53 +clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms. Fear
  436.54 +wasn't going to get the better of her. She had to push forward. 'Or
  436.55 +you could give up. It's almost over, you know. This can't end the way
  436.56 +you want it to, Kairi. Come back home. Give up on these dreams.'
  436.57 +Shaking her chestnut hair, Kairi held her head. “Leave me alone.” Her
  436.58 +voice sounded so quiet, nothing more than a whisper. Her fingernails
  436.59 +scratched against her temples, almost wishing she could claw the
  436.60 +voice out of her head. 
  436.61 +
  436.62 +Making her way to the nearest of the objects,
  436.63 +Kairi strained her eyes to make out the etched words under the
  436.64 +statue. It seemed to be a beautiful mermaid, it's arms outstretched
  436.65 +to the skies above. The falling stars made it look like it was
  436.66 +crying. Kairi felt sorry for it, reaching up to brush the glowing
  436.67 +tears away. “You don't like it here, either, do you?” she asked
  436.68 +quietly. More stars fell, finally illuminating the placard beneath.
  436.69 +Bending down, the princess brushed some hair out of her eyes to read
  436.70 +it.
  436.71 +
  436.72 +'Here lie the dreams of Kathryn. From the gentle sea of her soul
  436.73 +they rose, but the storm that ravaged her heart sank them. May they
  436.74 +forever roam tranquil seas as they wait for her to return to them.'
  436.75 +
  436.76 +“What's that supposed to mean?” Kairi ran her fingers over the cool
  436.77 +stone and etched words. A grave? But why? Not for this Kathryn, but
  436.78 +for her dreams? Standing up, curiosity gnawing at her, the princess
  436.79 +moved to the next one.
  436.80 +
  436.81 +A graceful unicorn stood atop the next marker. It almost looked real
  436.82 +in the half lit darkness that draped over the entire area. A sigh
  436.83 +escaped Kairi's lips. If only it was real. She could climb on it and
  436.84 +go far, far away from this cold, lonely place. 
  436.85 +
  436.86 +'When a child grows,
  436.87 +her dreams change and some come and go. Chiyomi's dreams as a child
  436.88 +have been replaced by a new dream. May those that filled her nights
  436.89 +long ago never lose their magic where they are now.'
  436.90 +
  436.91 +The next was of two women entwined, holding each other amidst the
  436.92 +falling stars. It read:
  436.93 +
  436.94 +'Megumi used to dream of the future she would
  436.95 +spend with her love. But this dream died when she found out she
  436.96 +wouldn't live long enough to see it fulfilled. Soon, she will be
  436.97 +joining them.'
  436.98 +
  436.99 +“What is this place?” Kairi stepped away from the
 436.100 +statues. This place wasn't a far away kingdom or a city at the edge
 436.101 +of forever. This was...
 436.102 +
 436.103 +“The Graveyard of Lost Dreams,” a voice said
 436.104 +behind the princess.
 436.105 +
 436.106 +Whirling around, her heart pounding in her chest
 436.107 +like a runaway train, Kairi got a look at who had snuck up on her.
 436.108 +She was a little smaller than Kairi herself, with short, messy dark
 436.109 +hair. She wore a long sleeved white blouse and shorts. Her dark eyes
 436.110 +seemed incredibly sad, deep, dark pools that went on for an eternity.
 436.111 +Kairi had to pull her gaze away from those eyes, afraid she'd never
 436.112 +see the bottom of them. “Who are you?” she asked, taking a step back.
 436.113 +She nearly started again when she stepped into another statue. There
 436.114 +was something... strange about this girl.
 436.115 +
 436.116 +“I'm... the caretaker of
 436.117 +this place,” the girl stated simply. “And you... You are the dreamer
 436.118 +of dreams.” Stepping past Kairi, she set some pink carnations down in
 436.119 +front of the mermaid statue.
 436.120 +
 436.121 +“Do you all speak in riddles?” Kairi asked, exasperated. Straight
 436.122 +out, simple truth seemed to be something that no one other than
 436.123 +herself enjoyed. Everything had to lead in circles. It was like she
 436.124 +was lost in Wonderland. 
 436.125 +
 436.126 +“Sometimes it's the best way to explain
 436.127 +things. Especially if you aren't ready to understand them.” The girl
 436.128 +turned back to Kairi, stars twinkling around her. A star landed in
 436.129 +her hand. Without seeming to notice, the dark haired girl closed her
 436.130 +hand, snuffing out the star. 
 436.131 +
 436.132 +“What's your name?” Maybe she had heard
 436.133 +of this girl before. Or she'd at least have a name to attach to her.
 436.134 +It was better than just meeting some creepy girl in the middle of a
 436.135 +graveyard. Harle, Aya, and Maya all had names even if they wouldn't
 436.136 +tell her much else.
 436.137 +
 436.138 +“I have no name. I've gone by many, but none are
 436.139 +my real name. I simply... am.” Walking past, she continued on a
 436.140 +meandering path through the graveyard. “But what use are names? Yours
 436.141 +isn't even your own.”
 436.142 +
 436.143 +“What's that supposed to mean?” Kairi hurried to
 436.144 +follow the girl. She was the only one in this place and whoever she
 436.145 +was, she seemed to have some answers. Even if she wasn't exactly
 436.146 +being forthcoming.
 436.147 +
 436.148 +“You know exactly what I mean. Kairi is the name you took on in the
 436.149 +Destiny Islands. It is neither the name of the Princess of Hollow
 436.150 +Bastion or a lonely girl who is bleeding to death in her room even as
 436.151 +we speak. Your name is Hikari,” the girl explained in her soft, calm
 436.152 +voice. “But if you can pretend Kairi is someone else, you can be
 436.153 +neither of those things, right?”
 436.154 +
 436.155 +Kairi shook her head quickly, denying
 436.156 +the girl's words. “No, it's not like that. I am Kairi. Those other
 436.157 +lives...” Trailing off, she shook her head again. “I don't know. But
 436.158 +I am Kairi.”
 436.159 +
 436.160 +“Then if we're pretending right now, you can call me
 436.161 +Sophie.” The dark haired girl bowed her head. “It's nice to escape
 436.162 +who you are. To lose yourself in someone else. To be everything
 436.163 +you're not. Pretty, popular, strongwilled. It's so much better than
 436.164 +reality sometimes.”
 436.165 +
 436.166 +For some reason, Sophie's words cut to the bone. “I am this way,”
 436.167 +she said angrily. Fear and uncertainty began to surface inside of
 436.168 +herself. 'Are you? Or is this all to get away from everything? To be
 436.169 +all you wanted to be?' Her heart pounded again and she suddenly felt
 436.170 +sick. No. This wasn't all make believe. She wasn't some lonely little
 436.171 +pathetic girl who'd slit her wrists rather than deal with her life.
 436.172 +That was the lie. She wasn't the lie. That life was. It had to be the
 436.173 +lie. 
 436.174 +
 436.175 +Ignoring Kairi's inner turmoil, Sophie continued, trimming some
 436.176 +of the flowers near one of the statues. “This place is a graveyard
 436.177 +for all the dreams that die. When someone gives up on their dreams,
 436.178 +when someone forgets them, when life crushes them, they die. This is
 436.179 +where their broken, battered bodies go. Where other dreams can mourn
 436.180 +their passing. But it's a lonely place. Few come out here, to this
 436.181 +place at the edge of eternity. To this place at the edge of sanity.
 436.182 +I'm sure the souls of all these dreams are happy that you would come
 436.183 +to visit them.”
 436.184 +
 436.185 +“But... Why? Why have this? Dreams don't die... They
 436.186 +just...”
 436.187 +
 436.188 +“Go far away? That is dying. The ceasing of life. Dreams are
 436.189 +born inside of people. And they die inside of people. They need a
 436.190 +graveyard just as much as people do. You're thinking too much of what
 436.191 +is 'real'. Reality is nothing more than a filter. Dreams live just as
 436.192 +surely as you do. Or did. You all go back to the same place when you
 436.193 +die,” Sophie explained. “Riku is already being called there, but I
 436.194 +can't reach him yet. He wants to see you very badly. But you're
 436.195 +dying, too. Right now. Time flows differently here. It's been so long
 436.196 +here, but it's only been a short time since you cut yourself over
 436.197 +there. But that's simply your body. If you decide to remain a dream,
 436.198 +it won't matter if it dies. But once it does, you can never go back.
 436.199 +The clock is ticking, Hikari. You're running out of time.”
 436.200 +
 436.201 +Speechless, Kairi could only watch the pale girl. Running out of
 436.202 +time? Before, it had just been wherever her journey took her on her
 436.203 +search for Riku and Sora. But now... she was... dying? No, that
 436.204 +life... But even though she wanted to say it was a lie, she couldn't.
 436.205 +Not completely. She couldn't entirely deny it anymore. A droplet
 436.206 +spattered against her cheek, running down her chin. Still warm, but
 436.207 +wet now. Not like the stars that had been falling. Wiping at it,
 436.208 +Kairi brought her fingers up to her eyes. Crimson streaked them. It
 436.209 +was raining blood. Searching around frantically, Kairi could see the
 436.210 +bloody raindrops falling about the statues in the graveyard. She
 436.211 +looked back at the girl, realization dawning on her. “You... You're
 436.212 +Death, aren't you?”
 436.213 +
 436.214 +A small, sad smile crossed Sophie's lips. “People
 436.215 +seem to think Death is a monster, something hideous that needs to be
 436.216 +feared. But I'm only doing my job.” She turned towards Kairi. “I know
 436.217 +what it's like to forget who you are, to leave your life behind, to
 436.218 +hate what you are. But no matter how far you run, you can never
 436.219 +escape it. It always manages to find you.”
 436.220 +
 436.221 +“But...” Kairi began, tears
 436.222 +forming in her eyes. “I don't want to give this up... I don't want it
 436.223 +to go away.. I don't want this dream to die...” For a moment, just a
 436.224 +moment, she could accept that she was Hikari. For a moment, she could
 436.225 +almost remember everything.  
 436.226 +
 436.227 +“Then you have to fight for it. You have
 436.228 +to deny the other world. If you give it up, then you'll still be here
 436.229 +when your body dies over there. I won't be taking you with it.”
 436.230 +Sophie stopped in front of several tombstones, the warm rain
 436.231 +bloodying her. “But 'reality' won't give up so easily. Sometimes
 436.232 +sacrifices are needed.”
 436.233 +
 436.234 +Rubbing at her eyes to force the tears away,
 436.235 +Kairi glanced at the statues next to Sophie. “Riku!” She recognized
 436.236 +the statue instantly. Hurrying to it, she read the inscription aloud.
 436.237 +"Plunging into darkness, Riku wanted to save his dreamer. Lost in the
 436.238 +night, but never swallowed by it, his spirit shines on.” The tears
 436.239 +that threatened returned, dripping down her already bloody cheeks.
 436.240 +“Riku...” He was dead now. His soul was still waiting for her. “Oh,
 436.241 +Riku... I'm so sorry...” He only wanted to save her. And he had made
 436.242 +the ultimate sacrifice for it.
 436.243 +
 436.244 +“I won't come for him until you've
 436.245 +unlocked the Door and seen him. He's determined to stay until then.
 436.246 +I'll give you that long. Then I'll take him to the other side,”
 436.247 +Sophie promised.
 436.248 +
 436.249 +Kairi wanted to argue, wanted to beg the incarnation
 436.250 +of death to let Riku stay, but she knew it would be pointless. The
 436.251 +dark haired girl wasn't one to break the rules. “It's my fault. He
 436.252 +never would have lost his body to Ansem if it weren't for me.”
 436.253 +
 436.254 +“He
 436.255 +only wanted to save you. If you live, isn't that what he wanted?
 436.256 +Doesn't that make his sacrifice worthwhile?” Sophie asked, tilting
 436.257 +her head to the side.
 436.258 +
 436.259 +“But...” It was true, wasn't it? “But I don't
 436.260 +want to lose him. I need him.” And that was just as true.
 436.261 +
 436.262 +Her gaze slowly turned to the statue next to Riku's. “Tidus?! But...
 436.263 +No! What's going on?” The princess whirled to the dark haired girl.
 436.264 +“What's happening to the Destiny Islands? He shouldn't be here. He
 436.265 +should be fine. I saw him before I left. This... this is all
 436.266 +wrong!”
 436.267 +
 436.268 +“The Destiny Islands are dying. They're the center of your
 436.269 +dreams. And now that it's falling apart, it's caving in on itself.
 436.270 +The rest of them will die as well if you can't save it. The dream is
 436.271 +becoming a nightmare. The dream will soon be here in the Graveyard of
 436.272 +Lost Dreams if things don't change.”
 436.273 +
 436.274 +“It's... dying?” It felt like the ground was crumbling beneath
 436.275 +Kairi's feet. The stakes were much higher than she'd realized. She
 436.276 +had to save Riku, had to find Sora, had to save the Destiny Islands
 436.277 +all before she died. They were dying just like she was. It was all
 436.278 +too much. “What about Hollow Bastion? If I'm it's princess, why isn't
 436.279 +it dying just like the Destiny Islands?”
 436.280 +
 436.281 +“Because you aren't the only
 436.282 +dreamer. There is another dreamer on Hollow Bastion who is managing
 436.283 +to keep it from falling apart. Maybe she can help you.” Sophie turned
 436.284 +to leave. “But remember, time is short. You brought the Heartless
 436.285 +here by leaving the door to the real world open. Only you can close
 436.286 +that door.”
 436.287 +
 436.288 +“Sophie... Thank you.” 
 436.289 +
 436.290 +Sophie didn't turn around. “I'll be seeing
 436.291 +you soon.” And with that, the graveyard shattered into a million
 436.292 +pieces.
 436.293 +
 436.294 +
 436.295 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 436.296 +
 436.297 +Yuna sat in silence as the sounds of
 436.298 +music and dancing and subdued laughter permeated the air around her.
 436.299 +It was the night of the Destiny Islands Festival, but she really
 436.300 +couldn't work up the will to celebrate. And she was angry with
 436.301 +herself over that. It didn't matter if she felt like celebrating or
 436.302 +not. The pain inside of her was inconsequential. Everyone was scared.
 436.303 +They needed hope and she certainly wasn't helping anyone by sitting
 436.304 +near a tree with her legs to her chest trying not to cry. But she
 436.305 +couldn't help it. She felt on the verge of falling apart. The
 436.306 +islands, their home, it was all falling apart in front of them. Some
 436.307 +hideous nightmare had come to life. The same creature that had killed
 436.308 +her father. And now it was coming for her, for the Destiny Islands.
 436.309 +
 436.310 +Everyone was still in shock over the loss of Tidus. Wakka had asked
 436.311 +if they'd all disappear at this rate. Riku, Sora, Kairi, and now
 436.312 +Tidus. No one knew what would happen next. Their world was falling
 436.313 +apart at the seams. Selphie had insisted they still have the
 436.314 +festival, despite everything else. She had said this was exactly what
 436.315 +they needed the festival for, as something to keep them going,
 436.316 +something to push back the madness that seemed to surround them.
 436.317 +There had been some argument about it, but it had finally been agreed
 436.318 +to have the festival anyway. After all, if they didn't have it
 436.319 +because of the way things had been lately, they would be doing
 436.320 +exactly what the adults had done.
 436.321 +
 436.322 +And so here they were at last, dancing and singing and playing under
 436.323 +the starlight. But no matter how much Yuna told herself to go and
 436.324 +join them, for their sake if not her own, the green and blue eyed
 436.325 +girl couldn't get herself to move. Fear and indecision and pain froze
 436.326 +her in place, leaving her a lightly shivering statue.
 436.327 +
 436.328 +“It's a
 436.329 +beautiful night tonight, isn't it?” A voice asked from behind Yuna.
 436.330 +
 436.331 +At
 436.332 +first, the brunette tried to collect herself, to push back the tears
 436.333 +she knew would be present in her voice, but her surprise quickly took
 436.334 +that away. “Elder Seymour?” Her shock broke the spell on her
 436.335 +paralysis, allowing her to turn and see the older man. None of the
 436.336 +adults had known of their plans to have their own festival. So what
 436.337 +was one of the most respected elders doing here? For a moment, she
 436.338 +thought he was here to end the festival, to send them all home, but
 436.339 +his eyes told another story. His being here had nothing to do with
 436.340 +the festival. He was here to see her. Swallowing involuntarily, Yuna
 436.341 +continued to stare heavenward. Did he know? When explaining the
 436.342 +monster and what happened to Tidus, she hadn't told the council of
 436.343 +elders that she'd seen the creature before in her dreams, that she
 436.344 +knew it's name was Sin. But had Elder Seymour somehow seen through
 436.345 +her? 
 436.346 +
 436.347 +“So strange that we would have such a beautiful night on the
 436.348 +edge of such tragedy. Life certainly can be ironic, can't it, Yuna?
 436.349 +Almost as if that beauty grows out of tragedy. It's all a cycle. Life
 436.350 +leads to death. To escape death, new life is born only to be snuffed
 436.351 +out. And why? Why this needless cycle? Why this continuous march
 436.352 +towards death? We live simply so that we can die? Nothing ever
 436.353 +escapes death. No matter how much we struggle. It continues
 436.354 +menacingly forward.” Kneeling down, he glanced over at Yuna, to see
 436.355 +if she understood. The younger girl looked down, her pretty face
 436.356 +hidden by her hair. ”I know you feel bad about Tidus. But there was
 436.357 +nothing you can do. His suffering is over now. We who remain here are
 436.358 +the ones who are afraid, who are hurting and suffering. He is free.”
 436.359 +Tilting her chin up to see him, he smiled softly. “He is truly free
 436.360 +in a way you or I can never know in this world. Not afraid. Not
 436.361 +always worried. Never having to cry.”
 436.362 +
 436.363 +Looking back into Seymour's
 436.364 +eyes, Yuna found herself nodding. His words spun around in her head,
 436.365 +leaving her dizzy. Free.... How she longed to be free. Not bound in
 436.366 +chains by her own fears and indecision. Not having to hide her
 436.367 +feelings for the sake of others all the time. Not scared of whatever
 436.368 +was inside of her. Not paralyzed by indecision over everything. All
 436.369 +of these things that plagued her life. The depression that would set
 436.370 +in even as she would smile till it ached so no one around her would
 436.371 +know. But... Would that freedom only come in death?
 436.372 +
 436.373 +As if reading her
 436.374 +mind, Seymour continued. “Life is tragedy, Yuna. Pain hunts the
 436.375 +living. Sorrow fills our souls. And yet we continue to fight death,
 436.376 +even though we cannot possibly win. We only prolong suffering. This
 436.377 +world, this universe is awash with the tears of all who live. And all
 436.378 +we can do is sit and wait for the cycle to begin again, just as it
 436.379 +always has.”
 436.380 +
 436.381 +“But... That's not fair...” Yuna shook her head, hugging
 436.382 +her legs tighter. “Why does everyone have to keep hurting? Why can't
 436.383 +things ever be happy?”
 436.384 +
 436.385 +“Because the painfilled cycle of life and
 436.386 +death, their endless battle, continues on. As long as it does, we
 436.387 +will keep struggling through the loss and fear and suffering.”
 436.388 +Pausing for a moment, he stared deep into Yuna's mixed eyes. “But if
 436.389 +we could find a way to break this cycle, to destroy the wheel we keep
 436.390 +spinning on...”
 436.391 +
 436.392 +Yuna swallowed nervously. She wanted to look away, but
 436.393 +his gaze was magnetic, keeping her from turning. His gaze seemed to
 436.394 +go to the deepest depths of her soul, uncovering all the things she
 436.395 +hid from the world. It was as if he was speaking directly to her. But
 436.396 +how could she possibly destroy the cycle of life and death? That was
 436.397 +far beyond a simple girl like herself. But if she could... wouldn't
 436.398 +it be worth it? To be free? To end all pain and suffering?
 436.399 +
 436.400 +“Death is a salvation to those who die, but a curse to those who
 436.401 +continue living on. We continue on this path, waiting to be swallowed
 436.402 +up even as we see those we love fall around us. You're right, Yuna.
 436.403 +It's hardly fair. This cycle is one of madness and despair.” Leaning
 436.404 +forward, he placed a hand on Yuna's shoulder. “But I think we can
 436.405 +break the cycle. I think we can finally end this once and for all.
 436.406 +Even when you save someone, they will eventually suffer more pain and
 436.407 +death. But we could save everyone.”
 436.408 +
 436.409 +Her heart pounding, Yuna felt anxious and hopeful. She certainly
 436.410 +couldn't break the cycle of life and death, but maybe Elder Seymour
 436.411 +could. And if he needed her help, wouldn't it be worth it? “How?” she
 436.412 +breathed.
 436.413 +
 436.414 +Smiling, Seymour shook his head. “Not now, Yuna. But soon. Very,
 436.415 +very soon. Now you enjoy the festival. I'll talk to you soon. Enjoy
 436.416 +yourself. Soon there will be nothing more to haunt your soul.” With
 436.417 +that, the elder stood up and walked back through the shadows. None of
 436.418 +the others seemed to have noticed he was here. He must have docked
 436.419 +his small boat elsewhere.
 436.420 +
 436.421 +Shaking her head, thoughts spun chaotically through Yuna's head. If
 436.422 +Seymour was right, then no one else would have to get hurt. They
 436.423 +wouldn't be stuck watching their friends and loved ones disappear.
 436.424 +They could save everyone from the pain inherent in life. She could be
 436.425 +free. Finally free. 
 436.426 +
 436.427 +“Yunie, are you okay?” Rikku asked. The catgirl
 436.428 +looked down at her worriedly. Yuna hadn't said much to her since...
 436.429 +that thing had shown up. When the brunette would say something, she
 436.430 +would smile and pretend everything was fine. Which obviously it
 436.431 +wasn't. It scared Rikku to see Yuna like this. She wanted to help
 436.432 +her, to protect her, but she didn't know how. To her surprise, Yuna
 436.433 +looked up at her and smiled. Not the brittle, fake smile she had been
 436.434 +using, but a bright, hopeful smile. Rikku was even more surprised by
 436.435 +how good it made her feel to see Yuna smile like that. Her tail
 436.436 +swished at the sight.
 436.437 +
 436.438 +“I'm fine. I think... I think things are going to be just fine.” And
 436.439 +Yuna felt it, too. If Elder Seymour was right, she would do anything
 436.440 +to break the cycle. Then it wouldn't matter that Tidus died or that
 436.441 +Kairi and the others were missing or that the island was falling
 436.442 +apart. They'd all be far away from this.
 436.443 +
 436.444 +Seeing Yuna hopeful again had a warming affect on Rikku's soul. The
 436.445 +catgirl felt invigorated, as if she were feeding off of the
 436.446 +brightness she saw in Yuna. It took her a moment before she realized
 436.447 +she was purring. Finally managing to stop herself, she saw Yuna
 436.448 +giggle softly into her hand. Still energized by Yuna's uplifted
 436.449 +spirits, Rikku reached down, taking Yuna's hand into her paw. “Yunie,
 436.450 +do you wanna dance?” she asked eagerly.
 436.451 +
 436.452 +Despite the sudden flush that
 436.453 +arose on her cheeks, Yuna nodded. “I'd love to, Rikku.” She felt the
 436.454 +catgirl pull her to her feel. Almost stumbling forward into Rikku's
 436.455 +arms, she felt the other girl's paws on her hips. Blushing, she
 436.456 +looked up into swirly green eyes. All of her worries and fears had
 436.457 +evaporated for the time being. Right now, she was just under a
 436.458 +starlit sky with a girl that brought up lots of warm, confusing
 436.459 +feelings inside her heart. She'd usually be a bit more embarrassed
 436.460 +about dancing with someone, but right now she felt free. She knew
 436.461 +that she liked her, didn't she? So why not dance with her? The
 436.462 +knowledge that everything could be saved soon made her feel like
 436.463 +dancing anyway.
 436.464 +
 436.465 +Sweatdropping, Rikku's whiskers twitched. “I don't exactly know
 436.466 +where to start. Most of the dancing I've done have been in plays with
 436.467 +the rest of the Radical Dreamers. It's usually pretty planned out.”
 436.468 +
 436.469 +Laughing softly, Yuna position her arms on Rikku. Slowly, she began
 436.470 +to move witht he other girl. “It's not about planning. It's just
 436.471 +about moving. Dancing is fluid. If you plan too much, then it loses
 436.472 +that. It needs to be alive.”
 436.473 +
 436.474 +The two danced to the rhythm of the music, sandaled feet and paws
 436.475 +swishing over the sand as the water lapped the beach near them. They
 436.476 +moved past other couples dancing on the beach, all to the music
 436.477 +Irvine and several others had been forced to play courtesy of
 436.478 +Selphie. The beach was beautiful, decorated with everything they
 436.479 +could find for the festival. Magical lights hung in the trees,
 436.480 +blazing with beautiful colors.
 436.481 +
 436.482 +Yuna smiled as she saw Wakka over near the pier, eating as much as
 436.483 +he could from the food they had all brought over. Lulu was stamping
 436.484 +her foot impatiently, waiting for him to dance with her. Yes, things
 436.485 +were going to be just fine. She wouldn't let down the people she
 436.486 +cared for. Her eyes went back to Rikku's beautiful green swirls. They
 436.487 +were like a whirlpool, pulling her in. Absolutely beautiful.
 436.488 +
 436.489 +The slightly shorter catgirl caught on quickly, dancing wonderfully
 436.490 +against her, the two shifting about underneath the multicolored
 436.491 +lights. 'She must be a very good actress to catch onto things so
 436.492 +quickly,' Yuna thought absently. Dancing was something that she
 436.493 +always loved to do, now more than ever. It was the one thing that
 436.494 +truly made her feel free. Losing herself to motion and emotion.
 436.495 +Letting everything simply flow around her. And here, dancing with
 436.496 +Rikku, she could feel it even stronger. It felt like everything was
 436.497 +coursing around them, as if they were in the middle of a stream. The
 436.498 +whole feeling was much stronger than when she danced alone. She could
 436.499 +imagine that she could see the glow of their hearts and feelings
 436.500 +mingling as they danced. It was perfect. Resting her head on Rikku's
 436.501 +furry shoulder, she moved gently with the pretty catgirl.
 436.502 +
 436.503 +Holding onto Yuna, Rikku hoped Yuna couldn't feel her thundering
 436.504 +heartbeat. But then, did it matter? She held the brunette closer,
 436.505 +unable to keep from purring. Her paws rubbed up and down Yuna's back.
 436.506 +What would she do when Yuffie finally found her? She missed her big
 436.507 +sister, but she didn't want to leave Yuna. Being part of the Radical
 436.508 +Dreamers had meant everything to her, but now it didn't mean nearly
 436.509 +as much as being near the brunette. Maybe she'd finally found her
 436.510 +treasure, the one she'd been looking for. Let the others find riches
 436.511 +and fame. The girl in her arms was all she wanted.
 436.512 +
 436.513 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 436.514 +
 436.515 +Sitting on the beach itself, another couple listened to the music
 436.516 +surrounding them. It was a bit more distant from where they sat, but
 436.517 +it suited them just fine. Sandals lay piled near them, their feet
 436.518 +dipping in the water as small waves brushed up the beach. Selphie's
 436.519 +head rested on Quistis's lap, looking out at the starlit ocean.
 436.520 +Quistis's lithe fingers moved through her brunette hair, taking the
 436.521 +time to play across her ears or her lips now and then.
 436.522 +
 436.523 +“You finally got to have your festival. It took a lot of work, but
 436.524 +you did it. Good job, Selphie.” Quistis brushed Selphie's hair past
 436.525 +her ears, gazing down at the other girl. “Did it work out the way you
 436.526 +wanted it to?”
 436.527 +
 436.528 +Pausing for a moment, Selphie thought. A laughter from
 436.529 +further up on the beach settled it for her. Nodding, the girl in the
 436.530 +yellow dress smiled faintly. “Yep. People are relaxing and having
 436.531 +fun. That's what I wanted.” 
 436.532 +
 436.533 +Quistis nodded, her blonde hair shifting
 436.534 +in the wind. “Then I'm glad it worked out. This might be our last
 436.535 +chance to relax, so it's good that you could help give that to
 436.536 +everyone.”
 436.537 +
 436.538 +Silence surrounded the two for several long moments. The music
 436.539 +seemed so dreadfully far away. Selphie shifted, looking up at
 436.540 +Quistis. “What happens next, Quisty?” she asked, her voice tinged
 436.541 +with concern. She had been so busy planning on this that she had
 436.542 +phased everything else out. Now that it was over, there was only the
 436.543 +reality of their world crumbling out from under them.
 436.544 +
 436.545 +The blonde didn't answer at first, simply looking down at Selphie.
 436.546 +Her fingers traced along Selphie's cheeks softly. “We do what we can.
 436.547 +We try to find out what's doing this to the islands. And we fight to
 436.548 +protect them. This is our home. We can't let it die.”
 436.549 +
 436.550 +Selphie bit her
 436.551 +lip, still looking up. Her big, green eyes were slightly wet, tear
 436.552 +stained. “And what if we can't find out? What if we can't stop
 436.553 +it?”
 436.554 +
 436.555 +Smiling softly, and feeling just as worried, Quistis wiped the
 436.556 +tears away from Selphie's eyes. “Whatever happens, Selphie, I'll be
 436.557 +here with you. We'll see it through together, no matter what.”
 436.558 +
 436.559 +Leaning
 436.560 +up, Selphie kissed the other girl. Slowly, at first, but with more
 436.561 +and more of her strength. She needed to know she was there, needed to
 436.562 +be with her. And this might be their last chance before everything
 436.563 +fell apart.
 436.564 +
 436.565 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 436.566 +
 436.567 +The huge, almost labrynthine library did little to ease Yuffie's
 436.568 +thoughts. She was home at last, back on Hollow Bastion. The book in
 436.569 +front her remained open on the same page it had since she'd opened it
 436.570 +over an hour ago. Her thoughts were too fragmented to try to figure
 436.571 +anything out right now. Besides, Aerith was better at that sort of
 436.572 +thing than she was anyway. She'd welcomed the distraction when Leon
 436.573 +had entered the library to see her.
 436.574 +
 436.575 +“So she's really the Keyblade Mistress?” Leon was saying. 
 436.576 +
 436.577 +Nodding,
 436.578 +Yuffie finally shut the book. “Seems like it. Which doesn't make any
 436.579 +sense. She was one of the seven princesses. Maybe it has something to
 436.580 +do with her being Ansem's daughter. Besides, the other two Keyblade
 436.581 +Masters are currently out of the picture, so I guess she was
 436.582 +necessary. Though her Keyblade seems a little different. Maybe her
 436.583 +mission is a little different from theirs.”
 436.584 +
 436.585 +“Could be.” Leon crossed his arms, thinking. “Sora closed the
 436.586 +Doorway to the Darkness. So what we're dealing with is only the
 436.587 +remaining Heartless and their current growing numbers. If she's
 436.588 +supposed to open the Doorway to the Light, then maybe that will
 436.589 +finish this. Sora started it and she's supposed to finish it. With
 436.590 +the Doorway to the Darkness closed and the Doorway to the Light
 436.591 +opened, that should be the end of the Heartless.”
 436.592 +
 436.593 +“But for some reason, the Doorway to the Light is locked by a
 436.594 +different Keyholes. So we need to unlock the last of those before we
 436.595 +can open the Doorway. Assuming we can find it.” Yuffie shook her
 436.596 +head. “Which we will. She's got me working with her, so she's already
 436.597 +better off than that Sora guy was. Hey, Leo...” She paused,
 436.598 +correcting herself. “ Squall, where is Aerith? I thought she'd be
 436.599 +here? Or have you both been running around with your lovers while
 436.600 +I've been getting all the work done.” 
 436.601 +
 436.602 +Squall's eyes narrowed.
 436.603 +“Aerith's checking on Princess Hikari. She's still unconscious. You
 436.604 +and the other girl woke up a lot quicker than she has. Whatever's
 436.605 +been happening has put a big strain on the princess.” In response to
 436.606 +the rest of Yuffie's question, he added, “We've been trying to
 436.607 +protect Hollow Bastion and to figure out exactly what's going on.
 436.608 +Running around wouldn't do us any good if we don't know what we're
 436.609 +doing. And I don't want to leave Hollow Bastion to get consumed by
 436.610 +Darkness again.”
 436.611 +
 436.612 +“It won't,” Yuffie assured him. “We were caught by surprise last
 436.613 +time. No one knew what King Ansem was up to. This time we can go out
 436.614 +and stop it before it gets that far.” She grinned. “The Heartless
 436.615 +aren't going to stop the multiverse's best ninja. Just leave it to
 436.616 +me.”
 436.617 +
 436.618 +Squall didn't look impressed. The ninja girl simply stuck her
 436.619 +tongue out at him.
 436.620 +
 436.621 +“Yuffie?” Yuffie froze, turning to spot the speaker.
 436.622 +Relm stood there, blond hair peaking out from beneath her bandana.
 436.623 +She looked back to Squall for an opportunity to escape, but the older
 436.624 +man was already leaving to let them be alone. 'Crap!' The ninja
 436.625 +didn't know what to do about Relm since their last meeting. She
 436.626 +hadn't been able to deal with her jealousy at all. Avoiding Relm had
 436.627 +been her plan of action, but being in the same room made that
 436.628 +incredibly difficult to pull off.
 436.629 +
 436.630 +Relm pulled up a chair next to her.
 436.631 +The painter stared at Yuffie as the ninja flipped through pages in
 436.632 +the overly large book in front of her. It was almost comical how
 436.633 +nervous she was. “Thanks for saving me, Yuffie.” 
 436.634 +
 436.635 +Yuffie closed her
 436.636 +eyes, letting out a breath. She relaxed a bit at those words. If that
 436.637 +was all, then maybe it wasn't so bad. They could ingore the rest of
 436.638 +it. Like whatever feelings were pumping through her. Yeah, that
 436.639 +worked for her. She smiled her best cocky grin and turned to the
 436.640 +other girl. “Hey, don't worry about it. If you died, I wouldn't have
 436.641 +anyone to draw my exploits.” The way Relm was looking at her gave a
 436.642 +serious blow to her nonchalance. Relm stared into her eyes knowingly.
 436.643 +It was starting to freak her out.
 436.644 +
 436.645 +“I made her up, Yuffie. She was just
 436.646 +a painting I made. I wanted to make you jealous. I wanted to know if
 436.647 +you felt anything for me. If you liked me the way I like you. The way
 436.648 +I love you.” Relm tried to keep eye contact as Yuffie shifted around
 436.649 +uncomfortable. Relm took her hand, kissing at her fingers. “I love
 436.650 +you, Yuffie. I saw it. That's why you came back, isn't it?”
 436.651 +
 436.652 +Yuffie
 436.653 +tried weakly to pull her hand away. Part of her reminded herself that
 436.654 +if she was such a good ninja, she could get her hand back in an
 436.655 +instant. So the only conclusion was that she didn't want it back.
 436.656 +That didn't make her feel anymore secure at the moment. “It's my
 436.657 +fault your stuck in this mess. I couldn't let him kill you,” Yuffie
 436.658 +said unconvincingly. 
 436.659 +
 436.660 +“Then why had you been following me to know I
 436.661 +was in there?” Relm asked, arching a thin, blonde eyebrow. Standing
 436.662 +up, she held Yuffie's hand to her heart, pressed against the black
 436.663 +cloth of her top. Her heart pounded against Yuffie's palm.
 436.664 +
 436.665 +“I... I...” Words were starting to fail Yuffie. Her mind was racing
 436.666 +in two different directions at once. One for a decent explanation and
 436.667 +the other right towards Relm. She swallowed, trying to focus. Focus
 436.668 +refused to come. “I... I was worried about you. And Kairi.” She added
 436.669 +the last hastily. 
 436.670 +
 436.671 +Pressing Yuffie's hand closer to her breast, Relm
 436.672 +straddled Yuffie's lap, gazing directly into the ninja's eyes.
 436.673 +Yuffie's short shorts rustled against Relm's puffy pants. The younger
 436.674 +girl gazed into Yuffie's eyes, her nose brushing across the
 436.675 +brunette's. “I love you, Yuffie,” Relm whispered. Her lips brushed
 436.676 +against Yuffie's. She kissed Yuffie lightly again and again. The
 436.677 +ninja sat there tensely as she wrapped her arms around her, pulling
 436.678 +tightly against her. Licking Yuffie's lips, she felt the ninja
 436.679 +shudder in her arms deliciously. Yep, Yuffie was much, much nicer
 436.680 +when she had nowhere to turn. She suppressed the grin as she cuddled
 436.681 +closer on the chair, kissing more. Her hands ran up Yuffie's sides,
 436.682 +slipping under her short green top. Yuffie tried to sit up as Relm's
 436.683 +hands pressed against her soft skin, but the painter made it
 436.684 +impossible to get up.
 436.685 +
 436.686 +Yuffie was stunned. Not entirely by Relm's behaviour, because this
 436.687 +wasn't the first time she'd done anything like that, but by her own
 436.688 +lack of response. She should have pushed her away by now. Have told
 436.689 +her to leave her alone. Have done -something-. So finally, she did do
 436.690 +something. She started kissing Relm back.
 436.691 +
 436.692 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 436.693 +
 436.694 +Kairi could vaguely feel a wet washcloth rubbing away the sweat from
 436.695 +her face. She'd been slipping fitfully. She felt so strange. Was she
 436.696 +sick? The bed shifted as someone sat next to her, brushing back her
 436.697 +hair as they used the washcloth. 'Mom?' Kairi's distorted mind called
 436.698 +out. It had to be. This was all just a nightmare. She was sick in
 436.699 +bed. Her mother had probably stayed home from work to be with her.
 436.700 +For a moment, she was homesick. She missed her mother. The only
 436.701 +person who actually cared for her. But it was okay. She was there
 436.702 +now. It was all right. Her mother would take care of her. But... It
 436.703 +didn't smell like her mother. It was still nice, comforting, but not
 436.704 +the same as her mother. She smelled like flowers. Kairi strained to
 436.705 +open her eyes, already worried about where she'd end up now.
 436.706 +
 436.707 +“Please
 436.708 +don't strain too much, Princess Hikari,” a gentle voice said.
 436.709 +Accepting that Kairi wouldn't end her struggling, she helped pull the
 436.710 +princess into a half sitting position. 
 436.711 +
 436.712 +The world blurred and turned
 436.713 +on end in front of Kairi. She would have fallen back to the bed if
 436.714 +not for the woman's hand on her shoulder. Slowly, things began to
 436.715 +clarify. “Princess Hikari? Then...” She looked over, seeing Aerith on
 436.716 +her bedside. “This is Hollow Bastion, isn't it?” She shook her head,
 436.717 +trying to clear away the last of the dizziness. “Did I bring myself
 436.718 +here? Or did that girl send me?”
 436.719 +
 436.720 +“You came here because you had to.
 436.721 +Does it matter how?” Aerith smiled, setting the washcloth to the side.
 436.722 +
 436.723 +“I guess not...” Kairi ran her fingers through her slightly damp
 436.724 +bangs. She looked up at the chestnut haired woman. “Is Hollow Bastion
 436.725 +okay? Is it still holding together?”
 436.726 +
 436.727 +Aerith nodded, though her smile
 436.728 +disappeared. “For now. Though if the Heartless get much stronger, I
 436.729 +don't know how long it will stay that way for any planet.”
 436.730 +
 436.731 +Kairi
 436.732 +sighed, nodding. “At least it's not falling apart like the Destiny
 436.733 +Islands.” Looking up, Kairi's mind began spinning. “I have to find
 436.734 +the other...” she choked back the word 'dreamer'. She didn't want to
 436.735 +admit that any of this was simply a dream. It was too real for that.
 436.736 +
 436.737 +“You won't have to look too far. I had a feeling you would want to
 436.738 +talk to me.” The older woman brushed her hair back over her
 436.739 +shoulders, smiling softly. 
 436.740 +
 436.741 +“You're... like me?” Kairi asked, still
 436.742 +not wanting to call it dreaming. Aerith nodded. “So I'm not the only
 436.743 +one.” This was both a relief and a curse. If she wasn't the only one,
 436.744 +at least she wasn't alone in all this. But it meant it couldn't just
 436.745 +be something crazy a few people were telling her to throw her off
 436.746 +track.
 436.747 +
 436.748 +Aerith nodded. “All of the seven Princesses were. Girls from another
 436.749 +world who escaped here, forgetting the lives they once led. They were
 436.750 +all like you, Hikari. I was like you. Fantasy helped sustain us. It
 436.751 +helped us get through life. Until finally we decided our dreams were
 436.752 +more worthwhile than our lives and we joined them. The rest of us
 436.753 +turned our back on our pasts, forgetting. But you couldn't entirely
 436.754 +forget. You clung to one thing. And that left the doorway open.
 436.755 +That's how the Heartless began to appear here.”
 436.756 +
 436.757 +“My mother...” Kairi
 436.758 +said softly, holding her hands to her heart. That memory that had
 436.759 +grown foggy, but never entirely forgotten. She'd held onto it even
 436.760 +when it was only a shadow. And while she held onto it, the doorway to
 436.761 +another world was left open, one she had been supposed to forget. “So
 436.762 +Aya was...”
 436.763 +
 436.764 +Nodding again, Aerith watched the younger girl. “That's
 436.765 +why you're the Keyblade Mistress, Hikari. Only you can close that
 436.766 +door because it's your door that's been left open. The rest of us
 436.767 +don't remember our other lives. I don't know who I was before this,
 436.768 +why I came here. I only know that I did. And I know of the others who
 436.769 +did, too. I don't regret giving all that up. I feel like this is
 436.770 +where I belong. With my friends. With Cloud. On this world.”
 436.771 +
 436.772 +Licking
 436.773 +her suddenly dry lips, Kairi nodded. “That's what I want, too. I want
 436.774 +to go back to the Destiny Islands. I want to be with Riku and Sora
 436.775 +and my friends.”
 436.776 +
 436.777 +“But part of you also wants part of the other world,
 436.778 +doesn't it? You're torn. That's why that doorway is open. And only
 436.779 +you can close it. But will you step back through before you do? You
 436.780 +have to decide soon. Which side will you be on when it shuts?” Taking
 436.781 +Kairi's hand, Aerith sighed. “I'm sorry it has to be so difficult.
 436.782 +Usually it isn't a problem. You're simply here. But something's still
 436.783 +holding you back.”
 436.784 +
 436.785 +“You don't remember anything? Anything at all?” Kairi looked up at
 436.786 +the taller woman. She had all sorts of snippits of her other life.
 436.787 +Mostly cold and dark, but she could also feel homesick over the warm
 436.788 +memories of her mother. And she was getting more and more memories
 436.789 +back of being the princess of Hollow Bastion. Both seemed integral.
 436.790 +Both felt like necessary parts of who she was.
 436.791 +
 436.792 +Shaking her head,
 436.793 +Aerith's hair swished behind her. “I don't remember any of it. I came
 436.794 +here to be with my prince. To live the life I never could in the
 436.795 +other world. Just like you.” Smiling, she suppressed a giggle.
 436.796 +“Though it looks like you have two princes.”
 436.797 +
 436.798 +Blushing, Kairi looked
 436.799 +down at the sheets in front of her. “I need to find them. I need to
 436.800 +be with them again.” Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. “I
 436.801 +need to close that door to the other world before it's too
 436.802 +late.”
 436.803 +
 436.804 +“Thank you, Hikari. I'll help however I can. All of us are
 436.805 +willing to grant our strength to make sure these worlds don't fall
 436.806 +apart,” Aerith promised.
 436.807 +
 436.808 +“All of us? The other princesses?” Kairi
 436.809 +asked, curious.
 436.810 +
 436.811 +“All of us. We'll try to hold everything together long
 436.812 +enough for you to close the door once and for all.”
 436.813 +
 436.814 +A small smile
 436.815 +spread across Kairi's lips. “Then... Take care of Hollow Bastion for
 436.816 +me. I remember growing up here. I don't want anything bad to happen
 436.817 +to it. I'll do my best to protect all the worlds. I'll stop it. I
 436.818 +promise.”
 436.819 +
 436.820 +

   437.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   437.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-14.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   437.3 @@ -0,0 +1,760 @@
   437.4 +Prism Hearts
   437.5 +
   437.6 +Chapter 14
   437.7 +Fly Me to the Moon
   437.8 +by Amazoness Duo
   437.9 +
  437.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  437.11 +
  437.12 +
  437.13 +
  437.14 +
  437.15 +
  437.16 +“Is this the End of the World?” Sora asked. He stood on a small rock
  437.17 +in the midst of a stream. The water was plummeting over a jagged edge
  437.18 +into nothingness. And this was inside the upside down palace he had
  437.19 +found Hikari in. It was as if this was an amalgamation of so many
  437.20 +things, yet all of them incomplete. Everything was missing something.
  437.21 +Everything was just a little warped, a little wrong. Like a dream
  437.22 +that you couldn't quite tell was a dream.
  437.23 +
  437.24 +“Hmm?” Hikari sat near the edge of the stream, her bare feet in the
  437.25 +cool water. She looked gorgeous in the black dress she wore. She wore
  437.26 +a collar around her throat and two black ribbons around her wrists.
  437.27 +She smiled at Sora, kicking some water at him. “I guess you could say
  437.28 +that. This is at the end of the universes. This is where everything
  437.29 +ends. Where Kingdom Hearts is locked away.”
  437.30 +
  437.31 +Sora grinned as he tried to dodge Hikari's light splashing. It was
  437.32 +so nice to be with her again. He took another glance around. Some
  437.33 +leaves that had been falling off the trees hung in midair, as if they
  437.34 +had decided not to fall to the ground after all. “But this looks so
  437.35 +different from the End of the World that Donald, Goofy and I went
  437.36 +through before.”
  437.37 +
  437.38 +The water splished and splashed as Hikari walked over to Sora,
  437.39 +wrapping her arms around him from behind. Her hands rested on his
  437.40 +heart, feeling the flutter of it against her fingertips. It was
  437.41 +almost an ironic feeling. She smiled despite herself, resting her
  437.42 +head against his back. His smell, his clothes rustling against her
  437.43 +touch, his heartbeat under her palms, it was all so very real.
  437.44 +“That's because you were at a different End of the World, Sora. You
  437.45 +sealed away the Doorway to the Darkness. This place leads to the
  437.46 +Doorway to the Light.”
  437.47 +
  437.48 +Sora shook his head, his heart pounding against Hikari's hands. He
  437.49 +tried to focus on the question to keep from getting too distracted.
  437.50 +Kairi... He had missed her so much. He had almost felt lost before he
  437.51 +had found her. Even in this faraway place, as long as he could be
  437.52 +with her... Riku. No, he wasn't done yet. He had to find Riku. It
  437.53 +wasn't complete without him. But he was halfway there now. Together,
  437.54 +they'd find him. Focusing back on his question he tried to ignore the
  437.55 +way her soft, smaller body felt pressed against his back. “But if
  437.56 +both the Doorway to the Darkness and the Doorway to the Light are
  437.57 +Kingdom Hearts, shouldn't it be the same place?”
  437.58 +
  437.59 +Hikari giggled against his back, letting her hands wander. “Yes and
  437.60 +no. You sure are full of questions, aren't you Sora?” Leaning up on
  437.61 +her tiptoes, she kissed the back of his neck. She grinned as she felt
  437.62 +him tense up, knowing he must be blushing. This was more fun than she
  437.63 +thought. She was becoming happier and happier that she had had
  437.64 +Sephiroth bring Sora to her. Real or not, she still loved him.
  437.65 +Pretending that she didn't realize his embarrassment, she continued.
  437.66 +“They're the same place, but they're also different. Do you notice
  437.67 +how when you go someplace and come back, it's longer on the way there
  437.68 +than the way back? It's like that. The End of the World you went to
  437.69 +led to the Doorway to the Darkness. Which is Kingdom Hearts. This End
  437.70 +of the World leads to the Doorway to the Light. Which is also Kingdom
  437.71 +Hearts. Much like we all have darkness and light inside of us, so
  437.72 +does Kindgom Hearts, the heart of everything. So it all depends on
  437.73 +where you're going. Once you know the secrets, there's very little
  437.74 +you can't do, Sora. Everything is as far away or as close as you want
  437.75 +it to be.”
  437.76 +
  437.77 +Sora shook his head trying to make sense out of too many things at
  437.78 +once. “I don't understand.”
  437.79 +
  437.80 +“That's exactly the problem. You're trying too hard to understand.
  437.81 +This isn't two plus two equals four. This is two plus two equals
  437.82 +whatever you want it to be.” Her hands rested on his shoulders. How
  437.83 +could she explain it? A fairytale her grandmother had told her came
  437.84 +to mind. “A long time ago, Darkness began to spread throughout the
  437.85 +worlds. No matter what people did, they couldn't stop it until
  437.86 +everything was consumed by shadows. But out of the darkness, their
  437.87 +came light. The worlds were reborn from the hearts of the children.
  437.88 +If the worlds were reborn from these special hearts, then wouldn't it
  437.89 +be different depending on which heart? That's why each world is so
  437.90 +different. But this place lies on the outskirts of all the worlds,
  437.91 +where everything is and isn't. This place is a little bit of
  437.92 +everything. Or it's just what you want it to be. Or it's just what
  437.93 +you don't want it to be. It's at the very edge of reality, of life,
  437.94 +of everything. That's why it's the End of the World.”
  437.95 +
  437.96 +“I remember hearing that before. Your grandmother told it to you,
  437.97 +right? But it was just a fairytale, wasn't it?” Sora turned to face
  437.98 +Hikari, the petite girl looking up at him.
  437.99 +
 437.100 +“Every fairytale has some basis in truth. But truth is subjective.
 437.101 +It changes depending on what eyes you view it with. In one version of
 437.102 +that story, everything was destroyed by the darkness. Then it was
 437.103 +reborn from the hearts of some special young girls.”
 437.104 +
 437.105 +Sora's eyes went wide as pieces began to fall into place. “The
 437.106 +Princesses of Heart? Did they rebuild everything? Is that why all of
 437.107 +them were needed to get to Kingdom Hearts?”
 437.108 +
 437.109 +Hikari seemed to ignore him, continuing on. “And in another version,
 437.110 +the lives of these specific girls were shrouded in darkness. So they
 437.111 +escaped from the darkness and rebuilt their lives here, crafting out
 437.112 +their own little worlds to get some light. Both versions are true in
 437.113 +their own way. It all depends.”
 437.114 +
 437.115 +“But how can they both be true?” Sora looked down into Hikari's
 437.116 +lavender eyes, watching how they sparkled. Even after all he had
 437.117 +seen, he couldn't wrap his mind around it.
 437.118 +
 437.119 +“All of these different worlds. All of them separate, but all of
 437.120 +them connected. Just because one is true doesn't make another false.
 437.121 +One isn't mutually exclusive to another. Darkness and Light. Love and
 437.122 +Hate. Even seemingly contradictory things can be so wrapped together
 437.123 +that you can't tell the difference,” Hikari explained, gazing up at
 437.124 +the taller boy. So cute. So loyal. Like a beloved puppy dog. Although
 437.125 +his loyalty wasn't the same as Sephiroth's or Riku's. They would both
 437.126 +do whatever was necessary for her. This boy followed his heart. He
 437.127 +couldn't go against it, couldn't go to the extents that his friend
 437.128 +would. But he was all she had right now. And she did love him, as
 437.129 +foolish as that was. And until the end came, at least she could be
 437.130 +with him. 'I hate you for not being real. For not existing outside of
 437.131 +this dream. But I love you all the same.' Leaning up on her tiptoes,
 437.132 +she kissed him. He nearly took a step off of the rock they stood on,
 437.133 +but she clung to him with desperate fervor, with the need of someone
 437.134 +who knew they were dying, running out of time. He slowly held onto
 437.135 +her, kissing back. 'Love me, Sora. Please. Before I lose you.'
 437.136 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.137 +
 437.138 +
 437.139 +
 437.140 +“Kairi,” a voice said softly.
 437.141 +
 437.142 +
 437.143 +
 437.144 +It was warm and loving, soft and silky like flower petals on your
 437.145 +skin. Memories that she couldn't quite recall were spun around that
 437.146 +voice. It was comforting. Something that she could identify with
 437.147 +hundreds of different emotions. Most of all, it made her feel safe.
 437.148 +After all her travelling, that voice made her feel at peace. 'Mom!'
 437.149 +Kairi's eyes shot open as the realization finally sunk in. That was
 437.150 +the voice. She felt ashamed that she had nearly forgotten it, that
 437.151 +she had every allowed herself to forget who it belonged to. The first
 437.152 +thing she saw was her room. That immediately worried her. Plushies
 437.153 +filled her bed just as before. Her heart began to race. 'Not here.
 437.154 +Please, not here. Not this place again,' she thought desperately. A
 437.155 +cold feeling seemed to pump through her veins as she kicked the
 437.156 +blanket off. Why did she always have to end up in this place? It was
 437.157 +a prison, neither here nor there. But something was different. Not
 437.158 +wrong, but different. Her eyes finally travelled to the locked door
 437.159 +only to find that it was no longer locked. A beautiful older woman
 437.160 +stood in the doorway, smiling at her. “Mom!” The word sprang unbidden
 437.161 +to her lips. It was her mother. She knew it. Springing to her feet,
 437.162 +she dashed towards her mother and the open door. Her heart cried out
 437.163 +as she waited for her mother to disappear just as Riku had so many
 437.164 +times, for the door to come crashing shut. But neither happened. She
 437.165 +found herself nestled in her mother's embrace, clinging as tightly as
 437.166 +she could manage.
 437.167 +
 437.168 +“It's okay, Kairi. Everything is just fine. Don't worry, honey,”
 437.169 +Kairi's mother reassured, stroking her hair. “You must have had a
 437.170 +nightmare. It's gone now.”
 437.171 +
 437.172 +“Mom...” Kairi blinked tearfully as she buried her head against her
 437.173 +mother's shoulder. Everything had been so confusing. But now she was
 437.174 +here. With her mother. It really must've been a dream after all. She
 437.175 +wasn't alone searching for something at the end of the universe
 437.176 +through countless numbers of worlds. She was safe and sound at home.
 437.177 +Home. This place that she'd been so frightened of, that had been a
 437.178 +prison to her, now felt remarkably familiar in the way only a place
 437.179 +you have lived your life in can be. The subtle reassurances of smells
 437.180 +and sights and sounds all mixed with her mother's embrace all helped
 437.181 +soothe her weary and battered soul. Her mother slowly pulled away to
 437.182 +look into her eyes, stroking her cheek gently. She felt childish
 437.183 +because of it but she was happy for it nonetheless. She looked into
 437.184 +those eyes, remembering how they had seen her through so much. All
 437.185 +those times she had come home crying. Whenever she was so very
 437.186 +lonely. When she had hurt herself. She had always been there for her.
 437.187 +Just like now.
 437.188 +
 437.189 +“Are you all right, Kairi?” her mother asked gently.
 437.190 +
 437.191 +Kairi nodded, blinking her tears away. “I'm just fine, mom. I missed
 437.192 +you so much.” She bit her lip after the last part. What a stupid
 437.193 +thing to say. She hadn't really been gone. But it sure felt like it.
 437.194 +Laughing, Kairi's mother shook her head. “I missed you, too, honey.
 437.195 +Glad to have you awake again.” She kissed her forehead before
 437.196 +stepping back. “You should get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready.”
 437.197 +Nodding, Kairi pulled her hands to her heart. Something jostled
 437.198 +against her hands. “I'll be down in a few minutes.” She watched her
 437.199 +mother head back towards the kitchen, leaving her alone in her room
 437.200 +to try to figure things out. Her hand clasped the necklace she wore,
 437.201 +feeling it's grooves. The Keyblade. Then... She gazed down at the
 437.202 +tiny key in her hand. But if the Keyblade were still with her, then
 437.203 +how could it have just been a dream? It had to have been real. A
 437.204 +sudden terror and hope gripped her at the same time. If it was a
 437.205 +dream, then Riku and Sora had just been in her head. All of her
 437.206 +friends had been part of her dream. But if the Keyblade was still
 437.207 +with her, it couldn't have been a dream.
 437.208 +
 437.209 +She had to know. If it was a dream, then she had just lost both the
 437.210 +boys she loved more than anything. If it wasn't, then how could she
 437.211 +be home? Her mouth suddenly went dry as she came up with a way to
 437.212 +find out. She licked her suddenly dry lips, staring at the open
 437.213 +doorway for a long moment. This could plunge her back into the prison
 437.214 +her room had so often been. But it might be her only way to find out
 437.215 +if it was a dream or not. Part of herself begged her not to try it,
 437.216 +to run downstairs to be with her mother again. But she couldn't. She
 437.217 +couldn't just leave it alone, let it die. They had to be real. She'd
 437.218 +come too far to give up on them now. Steeling herself, she closed her
 437.219 +door. Nothing. But that didn't prove anything. That door had been
 437.220 +locked so many times. And there was often a voice on the other side
 437.221 +of it. That strangely familiar voice. And Riku was trapped behind it.
 437.222 +“Riku?” she called out at last. “Riku, are you there?” Her heart
 437.223 +thundered as she waited for his reply. 'Please. He has to be there.
 437.224 +He has to. It can't just be a dream. I love him.' “Riku?” she begged.
 437.225 +“What is it, Kairi?”
 437.226 +
 437.227 +Kairi stared wide eyed at the door. Her mind couldn't comprehend it
 437.228 +for a moment. His voice had come from behind her. She spun about to
 437.229 +face him. And there he was, smiling the smile she'd grown to love,
 437.230 +the salty ocean air sending his silver hair fluttering in the wind.
 437.231 +Salty ocean air? Her shoes crunched on the sand as she stepped
 437.232 +towards him. She was back on the beach, back on the Destiny Islands.
 437.233 +She was home. This... This was home, too. “Riku...” She gripped his
 437.234 +shirt, her hands nearly shaking. Real. He was real. She hugged him
 437.235 +fiercely. “Riku! Don't you ever leave me again!” Her voice was mixed
 437.236 +with anger and fear and joy and love. He was real. He was in her
 437.237 +arms. She didn't care about the how and why at the moment, only on
 437.238 +what was.
 437.239 +
 437.240 +“Hey! What did Riku do?” Sora asked, his hands behind his head. His
 437.241 +face was a combination of jealousy and surprise.
 437.242 +Kairi laughed, letting one arm go to drag Sora into a big group hug.
 437.243 +The boys didn't hug, instead both standing in her grasp. Silly boys.
 437.244 +Riku's gloved hand rested on her back while Sora merely stood there a
 437.245 +bit embarrassedly. “You're both here. It's been so long since we've
 437.246 +all been together like this.”
 437.247 +
 437.248 +Sora looked at her curiously. “What do you mean? Here on the beach?
 437.249 +It's only been since this morning.”
 437.250 +
 437.251 +“Speaking of that, have either of you gotten any work done on the
 437.252 +raft or do I have to do all the work by myself?” Riku asked, raising
 437.253 +a silver eyebrow.
 437.254 +
 437.255 +Kairi shook her head quickly. “No! I mean... Let's not do that.
 437.256 +Let's just stay here. The three of us. Always.”
 437.257 +
 437.258 +This seemed to perplex Riku. “You don't want to go travelling? To
 437.259 +see all the worlds out there? To see what lies beyond our Islands? I
 437.260 +was sure you did, Kairi.”
 437.261 +
 437.262 +Shaking her head, Kairi held her boys closer. “I think I've had
 437.263 +enough travelling for a very long time.” She leaned closer, dropping
 437.264 +her voice to a conspiratorial hush. “But I do think I could travel
 437.265 +over to the dock before either of you can.” Giggling, she pushed away
 437.266 +from the two boys and began running towards the dock. She could hear
 437.267 +them both running behind her. The sound of laughter filled the
 437.268 +crystal blue skies above.
 437.269 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.270 +
 437.271 +
 437.272 +
 437.273 +Kairi stumbled over her mattress and nearly landed face first on the
 437.274 +floor of her bedroom. What had been sand mere moments before was now
 437.275 +carpet, the ocean now her blanket on the floor. She was back in her
 437.276 +room, she knew. But how and why? What was going on? She was used to
 437.277 +travelling back and forth, but not so suddenly.
 437.278 +
 437.279 +“Kairi, breakfast!” her mother called from downstairs.
 437.280 +
 437.281 +Walking slowly to the door, Kairi stepped over where she remembered
 437.282 +seeing herself bleeding to death on the floor. Though there was no
 437.283 +indication of that here, the memory was still frightening. Pausing
 437.284 +for a moment, she looked and her wristbands, wondering if her scars
 437.285 +would still be there. Slowl reaching for one of them, she could see
 437.286 +her hands shaking. No, there wouldn't be, she told herself. There
 437.287 +couldn't be. She wasn't dead, was she? Opening the door, which she
 437.288 +half expected to be locked, she headed out her door.
 437.289 +
 437.290 +“Kairi.”
 437.291 +
 437.292 +Kairi nearly jumped at the voice. How did people continually sneak
 437.293 +up on her? Was her peripheral vision that bad? She looked back over
 437.294 +her shoulder from where she was halfway down the hallway. Behind her,
 437.295 +near her room, stood the blindfolded silver haired boy she had met
 437.296 +before. He had his hood up this time, but bits of silver peaked out
 437.297 +from underneath it. What was he doing here? And who was he? He
 437.298 +couldn't be Riku. Riku was trapped behind Kingdom Hearts. “Who are
 437.299 +you?”
 437.300 +
 437.301 +He didn't acknowledge what she said, 'looking' directly at her
 437.302 +despite the blindfold. “Kairi, you can't stay here. You're running
 437.303 +out of time. We're all running out of time. You're the only one who
 437.304 +can stop her.”
 437.305 +
 437.306 +“I... I don't know what your talking about. Stop who? How can I stop
 437.307 +her? I just want..” Kairi shook her head. “I don't know what I want
 437.308 +anymore. I want to be with my mother. I want to be with Sora and
 437.309 +Riku. I want my friends.”
 437.310 +
 437.311 +“Kairi? Are you almost ready?” Her mother called from the kitchen.
 437.312 +“Yeah, just about,” Kairi called back. When she turned to ask the
 437.313 +boy again, he was gone. She stared for a moment longer before heading
 437.314 +to the kitchen. What had he been trying to tell her? And why did he
 437.315 +look so much like Riku?
 437.316 +
 437.317 +When Kairi reached the kitchen, her breakfast was already on the
 437.318 +table. “Oh, mom... It looks delicious.” She kissed her mother's
 437.319 +cheek. The older woman beamed as she sat down. It had been so long
 437.320 +since they'd had breakfast together. Or had it? She was still under
 437.321 +the assumption that she had been on the Destiny Islands for years
 437.322 +now. But that couldn't be the case if she was here. Whatever the
 437.323 +case, breakfast was wonderful.
 437.324 +
 437.325 +“I was working on that Princess Mint costume for you, Kairi. I
 437.326 +should have it finished for you by the convention. I'm going to stop
 437.327 +by the store later for some gold paint so I can make you her rings,”
 437.328 +her mother explained.
 437.329 +
 437.330 +“Mom... Thanks so much.” Kairi felt her throat constricting and her
 437.331 +eyes blurring. Her mother had always supported her love of
 437.332 +videogames. The older woman had made so many different costumes for
 437.333 +her over the years, trying so hard to get them down beautifully for
 437.334 +her only daughter. It had only been the two of them for so many
 437.335 +years. They were all the other had. Kairi's mother had driven her all
 437.336 +over to conventions, sometimes making a costume for herself so she
 437.337 +wouldn't 'look too much like a goofy parent'. She felt ashamed for
 437.338 +having torn up her mother's birthday cards after the children at
 437.339 +school had ridiculed her over it. This world could be so cruel, but
 437.340 +never her mother. 'I want to be here with you, mom. But I also want
 437.341 +to be there with Sora and Riku. I.. I can't choose. I can't pick
 437.342 +which one. I can't give you up. But I can't give them up either.' If
 437.343 +she was supposed to stop the Heartless by either going back through
 437.344 +the door and shutting it or staying and forgetting her mother, how
 437.345 +could she do either of them? But if she didn't, then the Heartless
 437.346 +would consume everything. But that was only if she believed there
 437.347 +were Heartless. And those things surely didn't exist here, where
 437.348 +normalicy ruled. But wasn't her depressing lonely real life where the
 437.349 +Heartless were born? 'Stop thinking about it,' she commanded. The
 437.350 +fact that she was home was what mattered.
 437.351 +
 437.352 +Picking up the dishes, Kairi brought them to the sink. “I'll clean
 437.353 +up breakfast.” It was the least she could do. She felt guilty that
 437.354 +she could have thought about killing herself. How could she?
 437.355 +Everything was fine, wasn't it? She felt a little funny as she
 437.356 +admitted that. But it was true, wasn't it? Gloved hands wrapped
 437.357 +around her thin waist, holding her close to a warm, well built body.
 437.358 +Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the hands move up,
 437.359 +caressing her breasts through her shirt. Riku... She didn't know how,
 437.360 +but she knew. Somehow, she wasn't surprised when she saw they were in
 437.361 +the secret cave back on the Destiny Islands. She could feel his hands
 437.362 +mold against her skin, his fingers tracing circles around her
 437.363 +nipples, the cloth suddenly feeling like very little protection
 437.364 +against anything at all.
 437.365 +
 437.366 +“You don't have to, Kairi. I'll put them back in the picnic basket
 437.367 +and clean them up later. My mom knew I was having a picnic today
 437.368 +anyway, so she won't mind,” Riku's voice said behind her. She could
 437.369 +only nod, her breath still caught in her chest. “And I don't want to
 437.370 +let go of you just yet,” he whispered in her ear.
 437.371 +
 437.372 +His breath was warm against her ear, sending a shiver down her
 437.373 +spine. Though her thoughts were still a bit fuzzy as to how she had
 437.374 +gotten here, she didn't want it to end. She turned to face him,
 437.375 +looking up at the silver haired boy. “Riku... I don't want to,
 437.376 +either.” Her hands reached up, stroking his cheeks, her eyes gazing
 437.377 +up into his. How long had she wanted this, if only as nothing more
 437.378 +than a fantasy? But now... She could feel his hands slide under her
 437.379 +shirt, could feel his palms press against her breasts. Each move was
 437.380 +slow and deliberate, sending sparks throughout her. She looked out
 437.381 +through half lidded eyes as he bent down to nibbled on her neck. The
 437.382 +ground seemed to reach out for her as she found herself sitting with
 437.383 +Riku on the picnic blanket, moaning softly from his touch. Her hands
 437.384 +slid up and down his sides, carressing whatever part of him she could.
 437.385 +
 437.386 +“Kairi, I love you,” Riku whispered, leaning forward and kissing her
 437.387 +softly. And again. And again. Kairi kissed back, yearning for his
 437.388 +kiss. Her tongue teased his even as he began to pull her shirt up.
 437.389 +They seperated as he pulled the doubled white and black sleeveless
 437.390 +shirts over her head. Blushing deeper, she went back to kissing him,
 437.391 +his hands now stroking her stomach and then her thighs. Her own hands
 437.392 +moved over the smooth expanse of his back, stopping down at his
 437.393 +behind as she pulled him closer. “Riku,” she whispered into his ear.
 437.394 +Nibbling on his ear, she could feel his hands beginning to pull off
 437.395 +her skirt and underwear. Sitting up, she helped him to get rid of it.
 437.396 +Gazing back at him, naked except for her choker, necklace, and
 437.397 +wristbands, she went to work getting rid of his clothes. It wasn't
 437.398 +fun if she was the only one naked, after all.
 437.399 +
 437.400 +Running her hands up and down his bare chest, she slowly began to
 437.401 +work her way down his stomach, kissing him as she went. Her hands
 437.402 +hesitated for a moment at the zipper of his pants. Slowly unzipping
 437.403 +it, he helped her pull them off, leaving him gloriously naked before
 437.404 +her. He was beautiful. Just as she'd always imagined him. She
 437.405 +couldn't believe this was happening. She had fantasized about this
 437.406 +before, and now she was finally with him. It was... wonderful. He
 437.407 +cupped her cheek, gazing into her eyes. She felt safe with him. She
 437.408 +knew he'd do anything for her. Taking his hand, she kissed his
 437.409 +fingers gently, never pulling her eyes away from him. There was
 437.410 +concern in his eyes, but she simply smiled and nodded. How sweet. He
 437.411 +didn't want to hurt her. But she wanted to be with him in this
 437.412 +perfectly romantic way.
 437.413 +
 437.414 +Laying down on the blanket, she shifted about, gazing up at the boy
 437.415 +over her. Reaching out for him, she pulled him down on top of her,
 437.416 +feeling his body against her own. Every inch of his skin that came
 437.417 +into contact with hers felt so wonderful, leaving her with a thousand
 437.418 +different sensations. Her hands buried in his hair as he kissed her
 437.419 +throat, right above the choker. His hands finally rested on her hips.
 437.420 +The feeling of him at her entrance nearly made her hold her breath.
 437.421 +It felt like an eternity as she waited. This was it. She didn't
 437.422 +regret this at all. She loved him. She had always loved him. They
 437.423 +kissed as he began to ease his way into her. Her breath was quick and
 437.424 +rapid, her excitement mixing with her anxiety as she waited for him
 437.425 +to go deeper inside of her. It took a force of will to get herself
 437.426 +breathing anywhere near normally again.
 437.427 +
 437.428 +Fingernails scratched against Riku's back as she felt him tear past
 437.429 +her barrier. Tears stung her eyes as she clutched his naked body
 437.430 +closer to her own. He froze simply holding onto her. Gradually, the
 437.431 +pain began to dissipate. She slowly began to move against him. He
 437.432 +took the hint, starting to move inside of her again. It was...
 437.433 +Delicious. She loved being so close to him, feeling him with her,
 437.434 +inside of her, around her. Her hands wandered everywhere they could,
 437.435 +wanting to feel all of him. They moved in unison, their pants and
 437.436 +moans forming a soft chorus that filled the silence. Her eyes closed
 437.437 +tightly, her head moving on the blanket.
 437.438 +
 437.439 +“Kairi...” Sora's voice moaned above her.
 437.440 +
 437.441 +Blinking bleary eyes, Kairi strained to see in the dim cave. Had
 437.442 +Sora seen them? Sudden guilt blossomed inside of her. How hurt was he
 437.443 +to see this? But that wasn't it at all. She was looking up at him,
 437.444 +her hands on his chest. Sora moaned as he continued to push inside of
 437.445 +her. “Sora?” But... Wasn't Riku? She shifted against him, her body
 437.446 +burning up. What the hell was going on? Nothing. Nothing, she told
 437.447 +herself. It was Sora. She'd been here with Sora all along. The panic
 437.448 +slowly ebbed away. Of course. She loved them both. She must have
 437.449 +imagined it was Riku as well.
 437.450 +
 437.451 +Moaning softly, she let her hands carress up and down his chest and
 437.452 +stomach as they moved against each other. “Sora...” she whispered,
 437.453 +closing her eyes once more as one of his hands went to her breast,
 437.454 +pinching and rubbing her nipple. Shifting against him, the blanket
 437.455 +underneath her seemed to shift as well. The ground underneath it was
 437.456 +suddenly much, much softer. His fingers continued to pinch at her
 437.457 +nipple while he began to speed up his movement inside of her.
 437.458 +Shifting again, Kairi felt the ground move beneath her again.
 437.459 +Something rolled against her head. Blinking swiftly, she tried to
 437.460 +find out what it was. The sooner it was out of the way, the sooner
 437.461 +she could get back to focusing on Sora.
 437.462 +
 437.463 +Staring at the plushie of Yuffie staring back at her, Kairi could
 437.464 +only blink dumbly. How had it gotten to her? Had it fallen from
 437.465 +somewhere. She looked up to ask Sora, but she couldn't see him. Her
 437.466 +heart froze. If he wasn't there, then why could she still feel him?
 437.467 +Her gaze slowly went down. Her fingers pinched and rubbed at her
 437.468 +hardened nipple. Her other hand was between her legs, her fingers
 437.469 +rubbing up inside of herself. Her hands stopped their motions as she
 437.470 +stared in abject horror. It was her. It hadn't been Sora or Riku. It
 437.471 +had been her. The hands, everything she had felt, it had all just
 437.472 +been her. She suddenly felt sick. Pulling her hands away, she curled
 437.473 +up into a ball on her bed. It felt like she had just woken up from a
 437.474 +beautiful dream, only to have life remind her she could have none of
 437.475 +it. “No!!” she cried, digging her fingernails into her skin. “No!!!”
 437.476 +Why? What the hell was wrong with her? What was real? And what was
 437.477 +her own mind?
 437.478 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.479 +
 437.480 +
 437.481 +
 437.482 +Kairi stared at the screen of her tv hours later. She had quickly
 437.483 +pulled her clothes back on after finding them all in a pile on the
 437.484 +clothes. Random battle music played in front of her. FF7 had been
 437.485 +playing on her screen for the past few hours now, lighting up her
 437.486 +otherwise dark room as she tried desperately to drown out her fears.
 437.487 +There was only the game in front of her. Nothing else. Only it was
 437.488 +real. This had been her only solace for so long. She would come home
 437.489 +from school and do exactly this, pretending the outside world wasn't
 437.490 +there at all. She couldn't even look at herself in the mirror. It
 437.491 +only filled her with repulsion. It wasn't that she had a problem with
 437.492 +doing things to herself. It was that she had honestly believed it was
 437.493 +Riku or Sora doing thos things to her. And the fact that it wasn't
 437.494 +scared the hell out of her. That she could have lost herself that
 437.495 +much frightened her. And so she played. And played.
 437.496 +
 437.497 +Reaching out, Kairi grabbed a glass, taking a sip of stale water.
 437.498 +Going downstairs could resolve that problem with a fresh glass of
 437.499 +water, but if she did that it would risk thinking again. And thinking
 437.500 +was not on her agenda at the moment. She was going to put that off as
 437.501 +long as possible. Her wary, tired eyes blinked in the dark room as
 437.502 +she read the screen again. She must have misread what Aerith had
 437.503 +said. FF7 was one of her favorite games. She knew it backwards and
 437.504 +forwards. Dialogue shouldn't be surprising her this time through. But
 437.505 +even upon closer inspection, it still felt off.
 437.506 +
 437.507 +'She's lost in someone's spell, Cloud. I can't get her back on my
 437.508 +own,' Aerith said on screen.
 437.509 +
 437.510 +“What?” Kairi leaned forward, staring at the screen. Clicking
 437.511 +forward, Cloud was given a choice.
 437.512 +
 437.513 +'There has to be some way that we can wake her up.'
 437.514 +Or;
 437.515 +
 437.516 +'It's up to her. Only she can break the spell. We can't reach her
 437.517 +there.'
 437.518 +
 437.519 +Dropping the controller, the chestnut haired girl stepped away from
 437.520 +her tv. They weren't... They couldn't be... talking about her? Could
 437.521 +they? It wasn't possible. But how many other impossible things had
 437.522 +she seen? For some reason, being home made it all seem outside the
 437.523 +realm of possibility once more. Things she would've been forced to
 437.524 +accept in the other world felt so foreign here.
 437.525 +
 437.526 +Throwing her door open, Kairi walked to the bathroom. She was
 437.527 +exhausted and scared. They were preying on her mind. Maybe sleep
 437.528 +would be a good idea after all. If it could hold the specters at bay,
 437.529 +then it would be worthwhile. Taking a handful of ice cold water, she
 437.530 +splashed her face, trying to force her weariness away. Her wet bangs
 437.531 +clung to her forehead as she looked back up. Her eyes shifted to
 437.532 +someone behind her. It was him. The cloaked boy again. She whirled
 437.533 +about to face him, but to her surprise, he wasn't there.
 437.534 +“Kairi,” he said from the mirror.
 437.535 +
 437.536 +Turning to face him, she rested heavily against the sink. She
 437.537 +suddenly felt very, very weak. It was as if the strength had been
 437.538 +sapped from her body. It felt like she had lived eons and eons. It
 437.539 +all felt so hopeless. She wanted to give up.
 437.540 +
 437.541 +“You can't give up. The you of this world gave up. But deep in your
 437.542 +heart, I know how strong you are, Princess. You can handle this. You
 437.543 +can handle anything. You're stronger than this. You can fight through
 437.544 +her spells. You can't spend eternity trapped in this spell or you'll
 437.545 +never set Riku free. You'll never see Sora again. Or your mother.
 437.546 +You'll only see this illusions of them. They all need you, Kairi. You
 437.547 +can't let them down.” The boy pressed his hand against the glass.
 437.548 +“Only you can free yourself of this prison. Only you have the
 437.549 +strength to come and set them all free.”
 437.550 +
 437.551 +Very slowly, Kairi nodded. “I'll fight. For them. I'll set them free.”
 437.552 +
 437.553 +The boy smiled faintly. Walking to the bathroom door in the mirror,
 437.554 +he opened it. “I know you will, Kairi.” With that, he stepped out,
 437.555 +disappearing.
 437.556 +
 437.557 +Clutching the Keyblade necklace in her hand, she stepped out of the
 437.558 +same door on her own side of the mirror. “So they're still out there.
 437.559 +This isn't home.” If she was going to save them, she had to escape.
 437.560 +There would be no one to come to her rescue. She could feel that
 437.561 +things were... off. It was all real, but it had the same feeling as
 437.562 +dreams and memories. Part of her still wanted to stay here. It was
 437.563 +safe, wasn't it? Images of Riku, Sora, her mother, and her friends
 437.564 +filled her mind. Tidus's name on a gravestone in the Graveyard of
 437.565 +Dreams. They needed her. She couldn't let them down.
 437.566 +
 437.567 +Walking down the empty hallway, Kairi made her way to her mother's
 437.568 +room. The light was on and she could hear her mother in the other
 437.569 +room, still sewing the costume for her daughter. For a moment,
 437.570 +Kairi's will faltered. Could she deny her mother? Even if she was
 437.571 +only an illusion? She had to. If she had a real mother, then she
 437.572 +needed her elsewhere, not in this spell. Kairi stepped through the
 437.573 +door.
 437.574 +
 437.575 +“Oh, Kairi, you're awake.” Looking up, the older woman smiled
 437.576 +gently. “Maybe you could try this on for me. I want to make sure it
 437.577 +will fit well.”
 437.578 +
 437.579 +Taking a deep breath, Kairi closed her eyes. She wanted to speak,
 437.580 +but her throat closed off painfully. It still felt like her mother,
 437.581 +or her memories of her mother at the least.
 437.582 +
 437.583 +“What's wrong?” A soft chuckle. “You don't think you're getting fat
 437.584 +do you? Not that again. You're beautiful the way you are, Kairi.”
 437.585 +That halted Kairi for a moment. 'Do I even look the same in the
 437.586 +other world? If what Sophie said was right, that I'm what I want to
 437.587 +be in this world, do I look different, too?' She pushed the thought
 437.588 +away. There would be time for thoughts like that later. Much later.
 437.589 +Right now she had to escape this dream. “You aren't my mother, are
 437.590 +you?” Looking up, her eyes locked on her mother's. The older woman
 437.591 +was still smiling.
 437.592 +
 437.593 +“I can be. If you want me to. Just like Riku and Sora can be here,
 437.594 +too. With you, Kairi. Think about it. You could all go to conventions
 437.595 +together and play games and never have to worry again. Never grow
 437.596 +old. Never be teased again. I'll always love you. They'll always love
 437.597 +you. No need to bleed to death in your room. Just live. One
 437.598 +beautiful, everlasting moment,” the woman promised.
 437.599 +
 437.600 +Tears dripped down Kairi's cheeks. The princess shook her head. “I
 437.601 +can't. I just can't. They're all waiting for me. I can't stay here
 437.602 +and leave them.”
 437.603 +
 437.604 +The woman laughed, shaking her head. “So you can't do it now, but
 437.605 +you could do it when you were only leaving your mother? You sure are
 437.606 +altruistic when it's for the boys you lust after, aren't you? Your
 437.607 +mother, on the other hand, will just have to deal with her daughter's
 437.608 +suicide. No big deal, right?”
 437.609 +
 437.610 +“No!! It wasn't like that!” Kairi shouted, her hands clenching
 437.611 +against her heart. “I wouldn't...”
 437.612 +
 437.613 +“But you did! So what's the problem with doing it again? You escaped
 437.614 +the life with your mother only to find even more pain. But here,
 437.615 +there is no pain. Only everything you've wanted.” The older woman
 437.616 +smiled gently at her, standing up.
 437.617 +
 437.618 +“She's right, Kairi. We'll always be here with you,” Riku stated,
 437.619 +standing to her mother's right. They were still in Kairi's mother's
 437.620 +room, but the floor was now sandy and the ocean was lapping behind
 437.621 +them.
 437.622 +
 437.623 +“We'll never leave your side again,” Sora replied, to her mother's
 437.624 +left.
 437.625 +
 437.626 +Kairi laughed a small, sad laugh, smiling despite herself. “Thanks,
 437.627 +guys. I love you all for that. But you've never left me.” She pressed
 437.628 +her palm against her heart. “We'll always be together because our
 437.629 +hearts are always together. No matter how far apart we are. That's
 437.630 +why I can't stay. I need to go find you both. The real you. Whatever
 437.631 +'real' is these days. But it doesn't matter. I need to see you both
 437.632 +again.” Turning to the woman who was not her mother, she shook her
 437.633 +head. “I'm sorry. I can't.”
 437.634 +
 437.635 +The woman nodded, her facade disappearing. She sighed softly. “I
 437.636 +know.”
 437.637 +
 437.638 +Pulling up her Keyblade, Kairi plunged it into the heart of the
 437.639 +woman, unlocking it. The illusion around her dissolved into
 437.640 +nothingness, the light carrying her away.
 437.641 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.642 +
 437.643 +She was moving. At least, it felt as if she were moving. The
 437.644 +brilliant light made if difficult to see motion. The light moved
 437.645 +around her in a stream, flowing ever forward, twisting and turning.
 437.646 +Whether she even had a body in this place, she couldn't be certain.
 437.647 +Everything was light.
 437.648 +
 437.649 +“You have unlocked the light in the heart of Longing,” the voice
 437.650 +that existed in this light said from all around her. Whether it was
 437.651 +part of the light or part of herself or something entirely different,
 437.652 +she didn't know.
 437.653 +
 437.654 +“I wanted to use your power to bring back the one I love. I wanted
 437.655 +to live in a beautiful moment forever with him. He was one of Ansem's
 437.656 +first test subjects and I thought I could bring him back through you.
 437.657 +Time is our enemy. It robs us of those we love and forever heads
 437.658 +forward, crushing all in its path. I wanted to stop time, to live out
 437.659 +one beautiful moment forever. Now.. Now that my body and heart have
 437.660 +been separated, we'll go our different ways, I guess. But.. Now I can
 437.661 +be with him. Forever. Thank you.”
 437.662 +
 437.663 +“I...” Kairi closed her eyes tightly, if she had them. She could
 437.664 +feel a tear slip out into the light. “Thank you for letting me see my
 437.665 +mother. Goodbye.” She could almost feel a gentle carress before the
 437.666 +light began to fade.
 437.667 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.668 +
 437.669 +
 437.670 +
 437.671 +“Kairi!!” Relm hugged her as she sat up in bed. “You're okay!” She
 437.672 +smiled brightly. The artist looked as if she'd been hugely panicked.
 437.673 +
 437.674 +“I told you she'd be fine,” Yuffie said nonchalantly. “A few spells
 437.675 +won't do in our princess, will they?” Grinning, the ninja placed a
 437.676 +hand on Kairi's shoulder.
 437.677 +
 437.678 +“You did manage to fight off Ultimecia's spells. We were all
 437.679 +worried.” Aerith winked. “Even Yuffie.”
 437.680 +
 437.681 +“Was not!” Yuffie retorted, crossing her arms.
 437.682 +
 437.683 +Kairi closed her eyes, her head tilted back. She was back. There was
 437.684 +still a chance. Blinking her eyes open, she looked over at Aerith. “I
 437.685 +need to get to the Destiny Islands. I'm running out of time. They
 437.686 +need me.”
 437.687 +
 437.688 +Aerith nodded. “Then we better hurry.” Standing up, the flower girl
 437.689 +led the way out of the room.
 437.690 +
 437.691 +Relm slid off the bed to follow. She placed a kiss on Yuffie's cheek
 437.692 +before hurrying. “We're coming! Wait up!”
 437.693 +Kairi gave Yuffie a curious glance.
 437.694 +
 437.695 +“Don't ask. Just don't ask.” Yuffie blushed faintly and helped Kairi
 437.696 +to her feet. “Let's get going. Seems like we still have a few things
 437.697 +to do before we get our nice, well deserved vacation.”
 437.698 +Kairi giggled, nodding. “A very long vacation.”
 437.699 +
 437.700 +The two followed after Aerith.
 437.701 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 437.702 +
 437.703 +
 437.704 +
 437.705 +At the large port behind the castle, Squall, Rinoa, and Cloud
 437.706 +waited. “She's ready!” Aerith called as she stepped up to the rest of
 437.707 +them. She smiled brightly at them before poking Cloud playfully.
 437.708 +“Cheer up. It's almost over.”
 437.709 +“Well... Yeah... But is it wise to bring the princess if we'll be
 437.710 +dealing with her former private guard? Sephiroth isn't going to leave
 437.711 +her alone,” Cloud admitted.
 437.712 +“That's why we're coming, silly. She won't be alone on this,” Aerith
 437.713 +reasoned.
 437.714 +
 437.715 +The rest of the girls finally arrived behind her.
 437.716 +
 437.717 +Kairi glanced around at the huge ocean open in front of them. “How
 437.718 +are we going to get to the Destiny Islands?”
 437.719 +
 437.720 +“With the Invincible. It was King Ansem's personal Gummi ship. He
 437.721 +was preparing it before he left. Cid fixed it up for us.” With that,
 437.722 +a giant mechanical airship soared into view. The wind whirled about,
 437.723 +but none seemed to notice as they stared in awe.
 437.724 +
 437.725 +The boarding ramp opened, settling on the side of the dock.
 437.726 +“Everyone on board!” a blonde haired woman dressed in a black
 437.727 +business suit called.
 437.728 +
 437.729 +“Well, well. If it isn't the gorgeous Princess Hikari,” a spikey
 437.730 +haired brunette man said, wearing a similar buisiness suit, albeit
 437.731 +untucked.
 437.732 +
 437.733 +“What are you doing here?” Cloud asked, crossing his arms.
 437.734 +“The Turks work directly for the royalty of Hollow Bastion. With
 437.735 +King Ansem gone and Princess Kairi newly returned to us, we decided
 437.736 +we'd keep her company to the End of the World and beyond. You know,
 437.737 +company policy and all that.” Reno winked, eliciting only a sigh from
 437.738 +Cloud.
 437.739 +
 437.740 +Cloud nodded at last. “Is everyone ready for this? It's only going
 437.741 +to get worse from here on out. If anyone wants to stay, now's the
 437.742 +time to say it.”
 437.743 +
 437.744 +Yuffie shook her head. “I lost my home once. I'm not letting them do
 437.745 +it again.”
 437.746 +
 437.747 +Relm clung to Yuffie's arm, nodding assent. “And I'll go anywhere
 437.748 +with Yuffie.” Yuffie blushed darkly.
 437.749 +Aerith laughed.
 437.750 +
 437.751 +Kairi shook her head. “Riku and Sora need me. The Destiny Islands
 437.752 +need me. I have to go.” She smiled, looking at those gathered around
 437.753 +her. “All of you... Thank you so much.”
 437.754 +
 437.755 +“You don't think we'd give up on you now, do you Kairi? You've
 437.756 +wounded my pride.” Yuffie winked at the princess.
 437.757 +“Are ya comin' or aincha?” Cid yelled from the ramp.
 437.758 +“We're coming, Cid,” Squall said brushing his hair back from his eyes.
 437.759 +“Then let's go,” Rinoa said, smiling at the gunblade bearer.
 437.760 +
 437.761 +“To the Destiny Islands,” Kairi said, gazing out to the sea. Destiny
 437.762 +waited out there. And she would be returning to it, whatever the
 437.763 +consequences.
 437.764 \ No newline at end of file

   438.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   438.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-15.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   438.3 @@ -0,0 +1,835 @@
   438.4 +Prism Hearts 
   438.5 +Chapter 15 Primal Eyes
   438.6 +by Amazoness Duo
   438.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   438.8 +
   438.9 +'And if I don't make it, Know that I've loved you all along...'
  438.10 +
  438.11 +Dear diary,I know it's been a while since I've written, but we've
  438.12 +been so busy with the island festival and the weird stuff going on.
  438.13 +But we can't let that stuff keep us down. I'm sure Kairi, Sora, Riku,
  438.14 +and Tidus will all show up just fine like Kairi did the last time. We
  438.15 +just have to keep waiting. 
  438.16 +
  438.17 +On the good side of things, the festival went really well! Booyaka!
  438.18 +Yuna's dancing lessons paid off. It was great to dance with Quisty
  438.19 +like that all night long. She looked sooooo pretty! She was wearing
  438.20 +this beautiful pink dress and with her cute glasses perched on her
  438.21 +nose and the moonlight and... I feel faint just thinking about it. It
  438.22 +was the perfect remedy for all the freaky stuff happening. I could
  438.23 +tell Quisty was still preoccupied for a bit, but by the end of the
  438.24 +night I got her mind off of it. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying
  438.25 +themselves. Irvine kept trying to get me to dance with him all night,
  438.26 +but I didn't want to let go of Quisty for an instant. I didn't want
  438.27 +someone else snatching her for a dance while I was off. I guess Lulu
  438.28 +finally did ask Wakka because I saw them dancing a little later on.
  438.29 +Seifer was on the dock, staring off at the stars, so I guess he
  438.30 +didn't feel like dancing. Poor Seifer. It's fun! Maybe he could use
  438.31 +some lessons from Yuna, too. Speaking of Yuna, even she was dancing
  438.32 +later on. She was with that catgirl I almost accidentally drowned
  438.33 +when she first showed up. I'm sorry, Rikku! I thought you were a
  438.34 +fiend. My mistake! But she's made Yuna smile a whole lot, so I'm
  438.35 +really glad she came. Even if she's a kitty, I think Yuna likes her.
  438.36 +Maybe I should give her a paopu fruit for a present. They could eat
  438.37 +it together at the sunset or something. I bet that would make Yuna
  438.38 +happy! I know it made me happy to do that with Quisty. Now we'll be
  438.39 +able to be together forever. Poor Kairi. I hope she can eventually
  438.40 +share it with the one she loves. If she can ever decide. Well,
  438.41 +there's no rule against sharing it with two people. At least, I don't
  438.42 +think so. Maybe I'll ask Quisty later. She knows all sorts of things. 
  438.43 +
  438.44 +Yuna's on the beach now. I guess she decided to come out and watch
  438.45 +the ocean, too. It's a kind of blue gray instead of the pretty blue
  438.46 +green it usually is. And the storm clouds make it all look a little
  438.47 +menacing. I'm almost a little afraid of it. The ocean's always been
  438.48 +our friend, but now it seems so cold and distant. But Yuna doesn't
  438.49 +seem to mind. She walked right into the water. I had my feet in
  438.50 +earlier, but it was too cold to keep them there. I wonder if she's
  438.51 +tired or something. I called to her a few times, but she doesn't seem
  438.52 +to hear me. Maybe she just doesn't feel like talking right now.
  438.53 +Ohhhh... She must be practicing her dancing. She's twirling around in
  438.54 +the water now. I couldn't do that in cold water like that. But she
  438.55 +doesn't seem to mind. It's almost like the water's responding to her,
  438.56 +swishing around her. Actually, it looks like the water's getting
  438.57 +darker near her. Not right around her. But kinda further off. It's
  438.58 +like a shadow is moving across the water. Or in the
  438.59 +water...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  438.60 +Breaking off her diary entry, Selphie stood up on the dock. Her
  438.61 +heart pounded in her stomach. It wasn't a shadow on the water. It was
  438.62 +under the water. And it was heading towards the Destiny Islands.
  438.63 +“Yuna!! Get out of the water!” But Yuna didn't hear her. She kept
  438.64 +dancing, the water now whirling about her as if by magic. Green eyes
  438.65 +went from the girl in the water to the approaching shape. The shape
  438.66 +broke off. Selphie breathed a momentary sigh of relief. Her respite
  438.67 +was shortlived. The shape was heading towards the main island where
  438.68 +the village was, where the elders were. Her parents... Her heart
  438.69 +dropped into her stomach, covered in ice. 
  438.70 +
  438.71 +Selphie didn't have the strength to do anything but stare for a long
  438.72 +moment as she saw the huge tidal wave ripping towards the island she
  438.73 +was on. Blurs of blackish gray things tore out of the water, flying
  438.74 +in an erratic path towards the different islands. They missiles
  438.75 +looked like the scales of some ancient and hideous beast. Several
  438.76 +slammed into the beach around her, sending up plumes of sand. Another
  438.77 +zipped past overhead, and for a moment Selphie thought it was going
  438.78 +to hit her. It missed by a head or two and crashed into the dock
  438.79 +behind her. Wood splintered and cracked and she was thrown to the
  438.80 +wooden planks beneath her.Dizzy and still in shock from the
  438.81 +suddenness of her world plunging into madness, Selphie wiped at the
  438.82 +water that dripped down her forehead. Wincing at the pain that shot
  438.83 +through her head, she pulled her hand away, momentarily puzzled by
  438.84 +the blood on her fingers. She had hit the planks harder than she
  438.85 +thought. A chittering behind her quickly drew her attention from the
  438.86 +blood dribbling down her face. Turning about, the brunette almost
  438.87 +fell again. She couldn't focus and the sudden motion made her feel
  438.88 +sick. What she saw made her freeze where she stood, bare feet pressed
  438.89 +against water soaked wood. The missile/scale thing she saw earlier
  438.90 +had been some sort of beast. It crawled out of the wrecked portion of
  438.91 +the pier where it had landed, chittering crazily as it watched her.
  438.92 +It had a strange not quite heart symbol on it, black with a red X
  438.93 +through it. Like the Heartless that had already destroyed their
  438.94 +island once before. But this wasn't a tiny shadow creature. It was an
  438.95 +angry monster. Selphie was only dimly aware of the nunchuks at her
  438.96 +side. She was too weak to fight it. She was going to die. The Destiny
  438.97 +Islands were being torn asunder. In those seconds before it could
  438.98 +strike, her mind clung to the things that were important to her. Her
  438.99 +friends, the islands, her parents, Quistis. For one brief moment, she
 438.100 +wasn't there. She was back on the beach the night before, dancing
 438.101 +with the girl she loved. 'Quisty, we'll be together forever, won't
 438.102 +we?' 'I never want to grow up,' she had told Sora. And it was true.
 438.103 +She wanted to stay here, playing, loving, forever. Now the dream was
 438.104 +cruelly falling apart. The creature rushed forward, claw raised to
 438.105 +cut her in half. Before Selphie could precede the Destiny Islands to
 438.106 +the Graveyard of Dreams, the tidal wave finally crashed into her. The
 438.107 +world spun end over end and darkness claimed her. Somewhere in the
 438.108 +darkness, she could hear Yuna singing. 
 438.109 +
 438.110 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 438.111 +
 438.112 + The beach was totalled. Trees were ripped up from the ground and
 438.113 +lay scattered across the island. The houses and huts they had built
 438.114 +were shattered like an angry child's playthings. The pier was broken
 438.115 +and lay like so much debris thrown about the beach. The tranquil
 438.116 +serenity of the Destiny Islands had been replaced with a malevolent
 438.117 +chaos, a hateful, destructive force. It was as if a jealous angel
 438.118 +banished to hell had come back to make paradise bleed. This was the
 438.119 +scene Rikku found herself looking at, staring out across the
 438.120 +devestated island. And in the midst of it all, Yuna danced. The waves
 438.121 +broke before hitting her, passing harmlessly around the blue and
 438.122 +green eyed brunette. Despite the horror that lay around her, Yuna
 438.123 +didn't seem to notice at all, dancing early in the waves. Shadows
 438.124 +pulsed and coalesced around her. “Yuna!” she called, but she got no
 438.125 +answer. The girl continued dancing, singing softly. Had she cracked?
 438.126 +Was she welcoming the madness that had already claimed Tidus and some
 438.127 +of her other friends? The only sound outside of the crashing of the
 438.128 +waves was the sound of Rikku's paws crunching against the sand as she
 438.129 +ran to Yuna. She had been taking a catnap and had awakened to
 438.130 +something crashing into the island. In the confusion, she had tried
 438.131 +to find Yuna. She had to make sure she was okay. Now she'd found the
 438.132 +other girl, and her heart thundered, forcing her to go faster than
 438.133 +she ever had as a human. Reaching Yuna, the thief nearly pounced on
 438.134 +her. “Yuna!!” But Yuna continued to ignore her, dancing and singing
 438.135 +as the waves and ground shook around them. 
 438.136 +
 438.137 +The shockwave almost threw Rikku back into the crashing waves. Her
 438.138 +ears perked at the sound. Something big had just happened. Her spiral
 438.139 +green eyes searched for the source of something that huge. Missiles?
 438.140 +Some type of giant cannon? There. Her eyes stopped on the onrushing
 438.141 +tidal wave. It was coming from the main island where the village was
 438.142 +located. It was gone. Where there had been an island, there was now
 438.143 +nothing more than jagged rocks and a swelling wave. And the barest
 438.144 +hint of an ugly, giant creature that disappeared beneath the water
 438.145 +just as quickly as she had seen it. Gone. It was completely gone. And
 438.146 +with the way the water surged, it was heading straight towards them. 
 438.147 +
 438.148 +“Yuna!!” But the girl continued to ignore Rikku. The former Radical
 438.149 +Dreamer clutched Yuna's dress, yanking her forward. If they didn't
 438.150 +get moving, the huge wave heading towards the beach would slam into
 438.151 +them. And after that, the creature would be there. Rikku didn't know
 438.152 +if they could escape the beast a second time, but she had to try.
 438.153 +First things first. They had to get away from that wave. Rikku
 438.154 +slapped Yuna as hard as she could. Guilt blossomed in her gut as she
 438.155 +did, but she had to get through to her somehow. Dragging Yuna away
 438.156 +wouldn't get them far enough from the wave. Yuna slumped in her grasp
 438.157 +after the slap. She would have fallen into the water if Rikku hadn't
 438.158 +been holding onto her. 
 438.159 +
 438.160 +Slowly, green and blue eyes blinked, looking up at the catgirl.
 438.161 +“Rikku?” the quiet girl asked dreamily. Her vision slowly focussed on
 438.162 +Rikku. She looked scared and tense. Yuna smiled her, trying to calm
 438.163 +her. She reached forward, stroking the thief's furry cheek. “Don't be
 438.164 +afraid, Rikku. It's almost over.”Rikku stared in shock for a second,
 438.165 +but shook it off. If she froze, they were both dead. She bodily
 438.166 +dragged Yuna towards the shore. “We need to move, Yunie. Something
 438.167 +very bad is coming this way. We need to run. Fast.” Turning from the
 438.168 +other girl, ignoring the wet fur that stuck to her legs, Rikku began
 438.169 +to run towards the beach. Yuna's sudden halt nearly yanked her back.
 438.170 +The thief whirled around, her heart pounding like an alarm. They were
 438.171 +running out of time. They needed to get away. The fact that there was
 438.172 +no place to run to didn't matter so much as moving. Now. “Rikku, it's
 438.173 +okay. No one will ever hurt anymore. No one will ever leave us again.
 438.174 +We'll all be together. Forever.” Yuna smiled brighter this time,
 438.175 +opening her arms to show what she meant. “Your sister won't leave you
 438.176 +again. We won't have to mourn our parents. We'll never have to leave
 438.177 +each other.” The human girl wrapped her arms around Rikku. “I don't
 438.178 +want you to leave, Rikku. We can always be together now. Always.”
 438.179 +Leaning forward, she kissed the stunned Rikku softly, holding onto
 438.180 +her. 'Move. If you don't move, you'll die. She'll die. It will be
 438.181 +over. Move. Move now!!' Rikku's mind screamed at her. The direness of
 438.182 +the situation helped push off the hipnotic spell that Yuna's lips
 438.183 +cast on her. Clutching Yuna hard enough that her claws dug into her
 438.184 +shoulders, spiral green eyes stared deep into Yuna's blue and green
 438.185 +eyes. “Yuna, I promised I'd protect you no matter what. And I'm going
 438.186 +to do that. We have to run. I'm not going to leave you. Just please,
 438.187 +run. Run!!” Rikku pleaded, fear and frustration mixing inside of her.
 438.188 +Slowly, achingly slowly, Yuna nodded. She seemed a little surprised,
 438.189 +almost afraid of the mix of emotions inside of Rikku. She meekly
 438.190 +followed along as Rikku ran, her heart thundering as she knew they
 438.191 +probably wouldn't make it. 
 438.192 +
 438.193 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 438.194 +
 438.195 +“Selphie! You're alive!” Quistis pulled the half-conscious brunette
 438.196 +tightly against herself. She knew she should let her rest, but she
 438.197 +was too relieved to see that her green eyed girl was alive. Her
 438.198 +glasses slipped down her nose as she clung to Selphie. How close had
 438.199 +she been to losing her? The girl had nearly been buried under planks
 438.200 +from the destroyed pier and had almost drowned from being pinned
 438.201 +under while the tidal wave had swept over her. “Oh, Selphie...” 
 438.202 +
 438.203 +Using all of her strength to push herself back to consciousness,
 438.204 +Selphie hung limply in Quistis's arms. Burying her head weakly
 438.205 +against the blonde's shoulder, Selphie closed her eyes. She was
 438.206 +alive. With Quistis. Maybe... Maybe things would be okay. No. No
 438.207 +maybes. She had to believe it. There could be no other option other
 438.208 +than things being okay. “Quisty,” she whispered. Blinking tear
 438.209 +streaked eyes, Quistis held Selphie close. Her eyes narrowed as she
 438.210 +tried to focus on the blurry figure moving towards them. It looked
 438.211 +like the figure was moving on top of the water, walking as if on
 438.212 +land. Pushing her glasses up, she saw that she was right. A boy in a
 438.213 +black raincoat was walking on the water, right up to the beach.
 438.214 +Standing up with Selphie, she gripped her whip, keeping a weary eye
 438.215 +on him. After all that had happened, she wasn't about to trust
 438.216 +anything. “Who are you?” she called out. Selphie steadied herself
 438.217 +against the blonde, turning to see who Quistis was talking to.The
 438.218 +hooded boy didn't deign her question worth an answer. Instead, he
 438.219 +turned to look out to see. “She'll be here soon. It's almost done. I
 438.220 +wonder what she'll choose.” Turning to the two girls, he addressed
 438.221 +them. “Sin is coming. You can't stop it. Get away from the
 438.222 +beach.”Shaking her head as much as her weak body would allow, Selphie
 438.223 +refused. “Those scale creatures are on the island.”The boy nodded.
 438.224 +“But you can fight them. And you can try to live until she gets here.
 438.225 +She's the only one who can stop this.” He turned to face the oncoming
 438.226 +waves. “Hurry.”Without another word, Quistis and Selphie tried to get
 438.227 +as far from the beach as they could.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 438.228 +
 438.229 +Running. Running and running. Selphie's bare feet hurt from all the
 438.230 +running. She nearly slipped on a slippery rock as they ran near a
 438.231 +small waterfall. But even after all the running, she knew that they
 438.232 +were on a relatively small island. There was only so much room to
 438.233 +run. Only so much room to hide before it found them, caught up with
 438.234 +them. They couldn't run forever. What would they do when it finally
 438.235 +did catch them? How could they stop this nightmare? She just wanted
 438.236 +to wake up, safe and sound in Quistis's arms, the blonde asleep with
 438.237 +a book slumped on her chest. “My diary!” Selphie's green eyes
 438.238 +widened. It had been on the pier. Now it was probably lost forever.
 438.239 +Her shoulders slumped. She had the sinking feeling that she could
 438.240 +very easily lose everything. “If...” Quistis cut herself off, biting
 438.241 +her lip before continuing. “When we get out of this, I'll get you a
 438.242 +new diary. And we'll make plenty of happy memories for you to write
 438.243 +in it,” she promised. Selphie new that Quistis was trying to make her
 438.244 +feel better, that she was just as scared as she was, but that made it
 438.245 +even sweeter. She smiled faintly, gazing at the blonde girl. “Thanks,
 438.246 +Quisty. I'll make sure...” Before Selphie could continue, one of the
 438.247 +Heartless Sinscales crashed down in front of them. It chittered its
 438.248 +bloodthirsty cry, looking between the two girls. As it got ready to
 438.249 +pounce forward, Quistis took a step forward, her whip lashing out at
 438.250 +it. The creature shrieked as the whip hit it again and again. It was
 438.251 +soon joined by Selphie's nunchuks, cracking against the creature.
 438.252 +Lunging forward, it's claws tried to tear into Selphie. The brunette
 438.253 +hopped back, just missing getting slashed by the razor sharp claws.
 438.254 +The beast got ready to lunge again, but Quistis's whip wrapped around
 438.255 +it's leg, yanking it back. Selphie took the opportunity to hit it as
 438.256 +hard as she could. Finally, the Heartless fell at their feet. 
 438.257 +
 438.258 +Turning to Quistis, Selphie opened her mouth, but Quistis's eyes
 438.259 +widened. Selphie could swear she saw the reflection of the beast in
 438.260 +Quistis's eyes, but she couldn't move. It was too fast. But so was
 438.261 +Quistis. The blonde shoved herself in front of Selphie at the same
 438.262 +time as the creature came swiping forward. It's claw crashed into
 438.263 +Quistis's side, sending her rolling into the water. Selphie was dimly
 438.264 +aware that she had screamed. Her green eyes followed Quistis's
 438.265 +crumpled form slumped on the ground. In her panic, Selphie couldn't
 438.266 +even tell if the other girl was breathing. The beast. She had to
 438.267 +protect Quistis. She couldn't let it hurt the girl she loved. But
 438.268 +wasn't she already too late for that? Quashing the thought, panic and
 438.269 +fear and loathing and sadness welled in her heart, flooding it. The
 438.270 +brunette ran to the crumpled girl ready to fight off the creature as
 438.271 +best she could. The Heartless chittered madly, turning to the two of
 438.272 +them again. It almost seemed to be laughing. It wanted their hearts.
 438.273 +It would feast upon them, devour them whole. How delicious. It
 438.274 +advanced on the stupid girl standing her ground and the injured girl
 438.275 +who wouldn't even fight back. “Selphie...” Quistis said weakly. It
 438.276 +took an extreme effort to focus through the pain. It enveloped her
 438.277 +side like a hot iron, burning deeply into her mind. She clutched her
 438.278 +side tightly, feeling the blood pool and drip around her fingertips.
 438.279 +'Get up!' her mind screamed at her. She had to draw the creature away
 438.280 +so Selphie could run. “Run, Selphie. Go... Get out of here.”
 438.281 +
 438.282 +“No! I'm not leaving you, Quisty.” Tears streamed down Selphie's
 438.283 +cheeks, but she never took her eyes away from the Heartless that had
 438.284 +tried to kill her girlfriend. “We ate a paopu fruit together. We'll
 438.285 +stay together forever. We promised. I'm not leaving you. Ever.”
 438.286 +Selphie jumped forward, her nunchuk cracking against the amorpheous
 438.287 +face of the creature. It chittered in pain or anger and got ready to
 438.288 +pounce upon the girl and tear her apart. The girl continued to hit it
 438.289 +in a rage. The girl was already hurt and her anger was blinding her.
 438.290 +In just a moment, it would be able to...But Selphie wasn't the only
 438.291 +one blinded by the situation. Selphie watched as the Heartless fell
 438.292 +in two halves. So focussed had it been on its prey that it hadn't
 438.293 +seen the trenchcoated boy behind it. “Seifer!” Selphie cried out,
 438.294 +shocked to see the blond boy. She quickly turned her attention back
 438.295 +to Quistis, running to the other girl. Her heart pounded in a frenzy
 438.296 +as she saw the blood dripping down her side. The cut seemed to be
 438.297 +pretty deep in the girl's side. She needed some healing magic quick.
 438.298 +“We need to get you to Yuna. She can help.” If they hurried. But she
 438.299 +couldn't bring herself to say that part. Quistis couldn't die. She
 438.300 +wouldn't let her. Selphie swallowed the burning pain in her throat.
 438.301 +If Seifer was alive, Yuna could be alive, too. She'd been right on
 438.302 +the beach. Maybe she was somewhere on the island. If they could find
 438.303 +her, they could save Quistis. “You don't really expect your loyal
 438.304 +fans to desert you, do you, Miss Trepe?” Seifer asked, grinning. Even
 438.305 +if the situation were dire, he still liked teasing Quistis. He saw it
 438.306 +as bad form to give that up, even in the heat of battle. You had to
 438.307 +stay true to the bitter end, after all. 
 438.308 +
 438.309 +Quistis laughed softly as Selphie helped her up. She tried to stand
 438.310 +on her own, not wanting to worry Selphie too much, but she found that
 438.311 +she couldn't stand on her own. That bothered her greatly. She tried
 438.312 +not to let it show. “I never knew you were a loyal fan, Seifer.”
 438.313 +
 438.314 +“Surely you jest, Miss Trepe. Who isn't?” Winking, Seifer walked
 438.315 +over to the two girls. He could see how bad the injury was, but the
 438.316 +look Quistis gave him let him know not to say anything about it.
 438.317 +Giving a nearly imperceptible nod, her turned to look around the
 438.318 +clearing. Quistis was a strong girl. Probably the strongest he knew,
 438.319 +despite all the worries and self-doubts she carried. Selphie was a
 438.320 +lucky girl. And he'd be damned if he'd let Quistis die now. “The main
 438.321 +island is gone. Whatever hit it seems to be headed here. But for some
 438.322 +reason, it hasn't destroyed this island yet. It's like those fiends
 438.323 +are searching for something.” He let that sink in for a minute. He
 438.324 +knew what it meant. Their parents were all dead. Their homes were
 438.325 +destroyed. And the only reason they were alive was because of
 438.326 +something hidden on the island they were on. Quistis went numb at
 438.327 +Seifer's words. Destroyed? It was all gone. Even if they could stop
 438.328 +all this, how much could they salvage? Would their islands survive
 438.329 +the strain? They had already lost so much. “Mom... Dad...?” Selphie
 438.330 +felt her knees go weak. Only the knowledge that she couldn't drop
 438.331 +Quistis kept her standing up straight. It felt like yet another blade
 438.332 +had punctured her heart. Quistis was hurt, maybe dying her family was
 438.333 +dead her home was being crushed. Everything she held dear was a tiny
 438.334 +piece of sand, falling through her fingers no matter how hard she
 438.335 +tried to hold on. She swallowed painfully, fighting back tears. She
 438.336 +swallowed again and again, trying to keep the tears at bay. 
 438.337 +
 438.338 +“We need to regroup. We have a better chance together than alone.
 438.339 +Quistis, you always were a good leader. You can help them figure out
 438.340 +what to do. Remember, we don't have much time. When they find what
 438.341 +they're looking for, they'll destory this island, too.” Seifer turned
 438.342 +his back to them, hefting up his blade. “'Them'? Seifer, you're
 438.343 +coming, too, right?” Quistis asked. She already knew the answer, but
 438.344 +she prayed that she was wrong. Hadn't enough people been hurt
 438.345 +already? Hadn't they already lost enough? Why did there need to be
 438.346 +anymore sacrifices? She watched him hopefully, clinging to the tiny
 438.347 +shred of hope that he'd merely said it wrong. His stature never
 438.348 +wavered. He looked just as cocky and sure of himself as ever, despite
 438.349 +the fact that they may never see him again.“I never was the group
 438.350 +type. You know that, Quistis. I just manage to cause problems.
 438.351 +Besides, there are three of those creatures lurking in the bushes
 438.352 +behind us. I figured I'd try to hone my skills on them. If I'm ever
 438.353 +going to be a Sorceress's Knight, I have to be the best.” Shooting a
 438.354 +look over his shoulder the blond boy grinned. Turning back, he pulled
 438.355 +up the blade and got ready.“.... Thank you, Seifer,” Quistis said at
 438.356 +last, watching the boy wave them off nonchalantly. He was buying them
 438.357 +time. She doubted even he could fight three of those things. But she
 438.358 +and Selphie were both injured. He was sacrificing himself for them.
 438.359 +She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and fight, but there was
 438.360 +nothing they could do. “Anytime, Quistis. Now get going. You need to
 438.361 +get that scratch patched up. You keep her safe, Selphie,” Seifer
 438.362 +said, not turning to face them, still watching the movement in the
 438.363 +shadows.Selphie nodded. “I will. Be careful Seifer. Come back as soon
 438.364 +as you can.” Could he really take on all three of them? Did he have a
 438.365 +plan? He had to. Right? Now wasn't the time to think about it.
 438.366 +Quistis was bleeding badly. They had to find Yuna. Her white magic
 438.367 +could fix Quistis. Selphie held onto the blonde girl and hurried as
 438.368 +quickly as she could. The bushes rustled behind her. Seifer's blade
 438.369 +slashed through the air behind them. Quistis winced in pain. Selphie
 438.370 +pushed herself to go faster, praying she wouldn't be too late.
 438.371 +
 438.372 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 438.373 +
 438.374 +Rikku shivered, her fur still wet, as she and Yuna crawled into a
 438.375 +hidden cave. There were drawings on the walls, making the cave look
 438.376 +like a hiding place for children. At the end of the cave was a
 438.377 +strange door. Rikku tried the knob, but it was locked. Why would
 438.378 +there be a door in a cave? Where did it lead to?Yuna recognized the
 438.379 +drawings. They were of Sora, Kairi, and Riku. This must be the
 438.380 +'Special Place' that Sora and Riku had spoken of. How strange that
 438.381 +she'd end up in the place that was so important to her three lost
 438.382 +friends. But it had felt like she had been called there. When Rikku
 438.383 +had asked where they could go to get away, she had immediately
 438.384 +answered here. Now that she was closer, it felt like the strange door
 438.385 +at the end of the cave was calling directly to her, reverberating off
 438.386 +the walls. 'Open the door and let everything end...' she could almost
 438.387 +hear. “Yunie!” Rikku called for the third time. Her other three calls
 438.388 +had illicited no response. Yuna seemed to be deep in thought. The
 438.389 +normally quiet, shy girl seemed even more introspective. But now was
 438.390 +definitely not the time. “Yuna!” Walking over, Rikku placed her hands
 438.391 +on Yuna's shoulders, finally getting her attention. What was wrong
 438.392 +with the brunette? It was like Yuna wasn't seeing the same horrible
 438.393 +things that she was. They had barely escaped the tidal wave and that
 438.394 +thing... Sin had risen out of the water just moments later. At least
 438.395 +they had a momentary respite from the chaos outside. 
 438.396 +
 438.397 +Turning to face the catgirl, Yuna giggled softly, her hand going to
 438.398 +her mouth. The thief was a bedraggled mess. Her fur clung to her and
 438.399 +her ears kept twitching to try and get dry. “You're so cute, Rikku.”
 438.400 +She said softly, wrapping her arms around the catgirl's shoulders.
 438.401 +She gazed deeply into those spiral green eyes, feeling as if she were
 438.402 +falling into them. “I don't know if I'd have the strength to go
 438.403 +through all of this without you, Rikku. I'd be too scared. But with
 438.404 +you by my side, it's all right. I'm not afraid to die if I'm with
 438.405 +you.” Leaning forward to kiss Rikku, she was perplexed when Rikku
 438.406 +moved her head to the side. She kissed the wet, furry cheek anyway.
 438.407 +“Yunie, what are you talking about? What's going on?” Rikku was
 438.408 +starting to get seriously worried about the girl holding onto her.
 438.409 +Yuna had an almost manic gleam in her blue and green eyes. “We aren't
 438.410 +going to die. I'll protect you, Yunie. Always. I swear.” She looked
 438.411 +back into those slightly frightening eyes, trying to make Yuna see
 438.412 +the truth in her words.“Rikku...” Yuna stroked the thief's cheek,
 438.413 +resting against her. Rikku's heart was thundering against her. The
 438.414 +poor kitty. “There's nothing to be scared of. I know that now. There
 438.415 +will never be anything to be afraid of again. I finally understand. I
 438.416 +wasn't afraid of death. I was afraid of life. Of being left behind.
 438.417 +Of watching those I loved die. Of being left alone. Of being hurt and
 438.418 +broken. Of watching people suffer. I always wanted to give people
 438.419 +hope, but what good can hope do if you can't stave off death? As long
 438.420 +as there is life, there will be suffering and torment. Our only peace
 438.421 +is in death. My father died. But I'm the one who suffered. The living
 438.422 +suffer. Not the dead.” Reality came crashing down around Rikku's
 438.423 +head. The world around her was falling apart. The girl she loved was
 438.424 +verging on suicidal. And she had no idea how to save any of it. Her
 438.425 +strength drained as powerlessness bled her dry. “I would have been
 438.426 +too afraid to do this on my own. Without you, I would have been too
 438.427 +afraid of death. But if I can be with you, I'll have no fear.” Yuna
 438.428 +took Rikku's paw, kissing it softly. “I love you. We'll always be
 438.429 +together. Life won't be able to keep us apart.”“No...” Rikku argued
 438.430 +softly, shaking her head. “No!” She held Yuna's shoulders as tightly
 438.431 +as she could, scratching deep into the brunette, but Yuna didn't even
 438.432 +seem to notice. Tiny splotches of red grew under Rikku's claws.
 438.433 +“Yunie, we can still get out of here. There has to be a way. I'll
 438.434 +save you. Somehow.” Yuna smiled again, her lips brushing against
 438.435 +Rikku's. “You don't understand. Sin is coming. All I have to do is
 438.436 +open the doorway. Then Sin will destroy all life. All suffering. All
 438.437 +pain. We'll all be together.” Tears spilt down her cheeks as she
 438.438 +gazed at Rikku. “It's finally over.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 438.439 +
 438.440 +“Fire!” Flames licked at one of Sin's many Heartless creatures as a
 438.441 +girl in black raised her hand. A blitzball slammed into it, knocking
 438.442 +it over. “Thunder!” the girl cried out again. Lightening struck the
 438.443 +beast. It jerked spasmodically until it finally stopped, fading back
 438.444 +into harmless shadows. “They just keep coming, Lu,” the boy said,
 438.445 +breathing hard. Her looked around worriedly, waiting for more of the
 438.446 +strange beasts to jump out at them.“Then we must keep fighting them,”
 438.447 +Lulu responded calmly. Turning towards the path leading up to them,
 438.448 +her braids swishing behind her, she spotted Selphie supporting a very
 438.449 +pale Quistis. Blood soaked the side of the blonde's dress. Whatever
 438.450 +hope she had held onto dwindled rapidly. How could they possibly
 438.451 +survive this? How many were already dead?“Lulu! Wakka!” Selphie
 438.452 +called excitedly. There were people still out there. That relief
 438.453 +spread through her quickly. Good. Now if they could only find a place
 438.454 +to get to that they could protect. And of course, get Quistis healed
 438.455 +as swiftly as possible. Her eyes scanned about for Yuna, but she
 438.456 +couldn't find the other girl. “Where's Yuna? Where's everyone
 438.457 +else?”“Just me an' Lu as far as I know. Haven't seen anybody else
 438.458 +till you showed up. Good thing ya did. We couldn't hold out much
 438.459 +longer on our... Owww!” He looked over at Lulu. The black haired girl
 438.460 +scowled at him. She'd pinched him very sharply. What was that all
 438.461 +about? Didn't they have enough to deal with without her doing things
 438.462 +like that? Her eyes were moving around oddly. He raised an eyebrow.
 438.463 +Lulu sighed deliberately and leaned closer. “They're injured, Wakka.
 438.464 +Quistis is probably dying. We're going to have to protect them. So
 438.465 +don't say stupid things like that.”Wakka nodded, understanding. That
 438.466 +meant that they'd have to keep an eye on the two injured girls. Which
 438.467 +meant... They were worse off than they were before. His hopes
 438.468 +thoroughly shattered, he felt his shoulders slump. It didn't seem
 438.469 +like any of them were getting out of this. “No Yuna?” Selphie asked
 438.470 +again, her green eyes wide in disbelief. She had come all this way to
 438.471 +find a healer to save Quistis. But Yuna wasn't here. Lulu was a mage,
 438.472 +but she only knew black magic, nothing that could save Quistis. They
 438.473 +had travelled all that way for nothing? Quistis had become very quiet
 438.474 +just a few minutes ago. The blonde was breathing irregularly, slumped
 438.475 +heavily against Selphie's side. She needed help. And there was
 438.476 +nothing Selphie could do. Tears threatened to wash away whatever
 438.477 +grasp she still held on her sanity. She was going to lose Quistis...
 438.478 +“So you children are still fighting?” a voice asked from the trail
 438.479 +above them. They all turned to the voice. It was impossible for
 438.480 +anyone to have gotten ahead of them, though. Someone would need to
 438.481 +fly to be able to get to the path above them without going right
 438.482 +through them. Elder Seymour smiled as he approached them. “Elder
 438.483 +Seymour!” Wakka said excitedly.“Elder Seymour, we're very glad to see
 438.484 +you,” Lulu confessed. The elder simply smiled, looking about at them
 438.485 +all. He walked to Selphie, watching her green eyes light up at his
 438.486 +presence. There was hope again.“Seymour! You're alive!” If Seymour
 438.487 +was alive, then Quistis was saved. Seymour was a powerful mage, the
 438.488 +most powerful on the Destiny Islands. He could heal Quistis. Selphie
 438.489 +dragged the semi-conscious girl over to the elder, the thought that
 438.490 +the girl she loved wouldn't die after all soothing her body and soul.
 438.491 +“Quisty is hurt. You have to heal her.” She laid the blonde out on
 438.492 +the ground, being very careful not to hurt her anymore than she had
 438.493 +been. Reaching out, she gently stroked the other girl's cheek. 
 438.494 +
 438.495 +Quistis smiled weakly, looking up at Selphie with unfocussed eyes.
 438.496 +It took all of her strength to keep from passing out. But she knew
 438.497 +that if she did, she'd never wake up.
 438.498 +
 438.499 +“Hmm...” Seymour surveyed the injured girl, kneeling down and
 438.500 +checking her wounds. Quistis hissed in pain as he touched the wound.
 438.501 +He got up, looking down at the girl. “It's a very serious wound.
 438.502 +She's lost a lot of blood.” Selphie nodded, holding onto Quistis's
 438.503 +hand. “So you can heal her, right, Elder Seymour?”The man nodded.
 438.504 +“Yes, I could. But I'm not going to.” He paused for a moment, letting
 438.505 +that sink in. Selphie looked up slowly, looking lost and confused. He
 438.506 +smiled down at her. “Why?” Selphie asked quietly, obviously in shock
 438.507 +over his answer.“Because very shortly, you'll all be dead anyway.
 438.508 +Healing her would only prolong it. Sin will destroy this island. And
 438.509 +after that, Sin will destory all life. Healing her would be cruel. It
 438.510 +would only keep her alive in order that she may die,” Seymour
 438.511 +explained. “No...” Selphie shook her head. “It... No, it isn't like
 438.512 +that. We can still try. We can stop it. We have to. You have to save
 438.513 +Quisty! Please!” Tears burst down her cheeks, spilling down her chin.
 438.514 +“You have to!” Clutching the blonde's hand, Selphie held it tightly
 438.515 +to her heart. “I'm afraid I have to do no such thing. But I will help
 438.516 +you. I am the last surviving elder of the Destiny Islands, so you are
 438.517 +all my children. I will send you along with her on her journey. Then
 438.518 +you won't have to part for even the short time it takes for you to
 438.519 +join her after she dies.” He smiled at the girls, raising his hand as
 438.520 +he summoned his magic. Wakka and Lulu got in front of Selphie, both
 438.521 +ready to fight him. He simply laughed. “You sweet, innocent children.
 438.522 +Soon you will never know the pain of life. Goodbye.” Summoning all of
 438.523 +the magic at his disposal, he got ready to hurry along the four of
 438.524 +them to death's sweet embrace. 
 438.525 +
 438.526 +A gunshot fired out. Pain erupted in Seymour's side. He stumbled
 438.527 +forward. Yes, life was pain. All life. Which is why it had to be...
 438.528 +Another shot. And another. The world swayed around him as he turned
 438.529 +to face his attackers. Four men and one woman in black suits were all
 438.530 +holding guns, pointing at him. Several other people were with them as
 438.531 +well. He could see one of the island children with them, Kairi, the
 438.532 +girl who had washed up on the Destiny Islands shore years ago. But
 438.533 +this couldn't be happening. This.. This was not how it was supposed
 438.534 +to work out. He tried to summon his magic, but it was weak in the
 438.535 +pain-wracked state he found himself. Kairi ran up to him, shoving the
 438.536 +Keyblade into his chest. She turned it swiftly, unlocking his heart.
 438.537 +He stumbled back, clutching his heart. Inside, he could feel the
 438.538 +darkness moving about. The darkness he had allowed Sephiroth to place
 438.539 +inside of him. Because it would give him power. The power to realize
 438.540 +his dream. To bring an end to life. He grinned as he realized that
 438.541 +would happen soon enough.“Something's wrong...” Kairi took several
 438.542 +steps back. “If he's the one who called Sin here, then he has to be
 438.543 +the Keyhole. But this isn't like any other Keyhole I've unlocked.
 438.544 +There's supposed to be light.” The princess had the feeling that
 438.545 +something had gone terribly wrong. “That's because I'm not the
 438.546 +Keyhole, Kairi.” Seymour laughed softly, his body changing,
 438.547 +transformed by the darkness that had grown in his heart. “But
 438.548 +Sephiroth did give me the power to find out who was. And it turns out
 438.549 +we had the same goals all along. It all ends here. We will bring this
 438.550 +world to an end. We will destroy the vicious cycle of life and death.
 438.551 +We will give peace to all.” By now he looked only vaguely human,
 438.552 +floating in the air like some strange ancient being. “Princess! Get
 438.553 +back!” The Turks immediately surrounded the Princess, protecting her
 438.554 +from the being that had once been Seymour. They began firing at him
 438.555 +as he summoned his magic. Elena led Kairi back to the others before
 438.556 +returning to face Seymour. Cloud looked at Squall. The two nodded at
 438.557 +each other before running after the Turks, swords brandished. Aerith
 438.558 +and Rinoa herded Selphie, Quistis, Lulu, and Wakka away from the
 438.559 +battle.
 438.560 +
 438.561 +Kairi turned to her friends, feeling bittersweet about their
 438.562 +reunion. Because of her, they were hurting, dying. Because she had
 438.563 +left the door open for the Heartless to come upon this world. Her
 438.564 +beautiful Destiny Islands were crumbling. She had to unlock the
 438.565 +Keyhole before it was too late. 
 438.566 +
 438.567 +“Please! You have to help Quisty!” Selphie pleaded, tears streaming
 438.568 +down her cheeks. “She's dying...” 
 438.569 +
 438.570 +'Dear God, what have I done?' Kairi watched in horror as Selphie
 438.571 +held tightly onto a limp Quistis. He inability to entirely give up
 438.572 +her past life had caused so much pain. Riku was dead. Sora was lost.
 438.573 +The Destiny Islands were being torn apart. Her friends were
 438.574 +suffering. All because of her. Her fingers tightened around the
 438.575 +Keyblade. This had to end. “It will be okay,” Aerith said soothingly
 438.576 +to Selphie. Smiling, the flower girl brushed some of Selphie's tears
 438.577 +away before placing her hands over Quistis. White blue light flashed
 438.578 +around the blonde girl, spreading through her. Quistis blinked
 438.579 +weakly, gazing up. 
 438.580 +
 438.581 +Selphie broke down, holding onto Quistis as tightly as she could.
 438.582 +“Quisty!!” She cried against the blonde girl, her trembling fingers
 438.583 +clenching onto the torn fabric of Quistis's dress. 
 438.584 +
 438.585 +Quistis held her as well as she could. Her entire body felt so weak.
 438.586 +But the pain was gone. She was alive. Somehow. She closed her eyes,
 438.587 +feeling Selphie's arms around her. “That isn't like you, Kairi,” a
 438.588 +voice said behind her. Kairi turned to see Riku leaning against a
 438.589 +tree, his arms crossed. His head was lowered and his eyes were
 438.590 +closed. “You can't keep blaming yourself. You have to follow your
 438.591 +heart. Wherever that leads you. Sometimes that doesn't turn out the
 438.592 +way you want it to. But what matters is that you try. That you follow
 438.593 +it through to the end.” He looked up, opening his eyes. “Yes, bad
 438.594 +things happened. Yes, people are getting hurt. But you're trying to
 438.595 +stop that. There's no blame there, Kairi. Yes, this starts with you.
 438.596 +But you aren't at fault for that.”
 438.597 +
 438.598 +Kairi nodded slightly, feeling a little better. “Yeah... You're
 438.599 +right. Thanks, Riku.” She smiled up at him, blinking her tear filled
 438.600 +eyes. She knew he was far away. But he was still right there with
 438.601 +her. “Just like I couldn't blame you for anything that happened when
 438.602 +you were working with the Heartless. Because you were just following
 438.603 +your heart. Trying to save me.”Riku smiled, walking up to Kairi. He
 438.604 +brushed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand. “Just follow your
 438.605 +heart, Kairi. Always follow your heart.” Closing her eyes, Kairi
 438.606 +could almost feel his gloved fingers on his cheek. Slowly, the
 438.607 +feeling faded away. Opening her eyes took a long time. She knew he
 438.608 +wouldn't be there when she looked again. Sure enough, he was gone.
 438.609 +But that was all right. She placed her hand on her cheek where his
 438.610 +hand had rested. He was right. She couldn't keep blaming herself. She
 438.611 +had to go and stop it. 
 438.612 +
 438.613 +“If you're looking for the Keyhole, I know where she is,” a voice
 438.614 +said near the trees.Kairi spotted the cloaked, blindfolded boy
 438.615 +seemingly watching her. Nodding, she gripped her Keyblade and
 438.616 +followed him. Fighting against Seymour wouldn't stop Sin from
 438.617 +destroying everything. And she couldn't help those fighting him as it
 438.618 +is. But she could stop Sin before it was too late. A hand grabbed
 438.619 +Kairi's shoulder before she could fade away from the group and follow
 438.620 +the boy. “I'm going with you. You might need help. If anything
 438.621 +happens, I can handle it.” Yuffie winked at her. 
 438.622 +
 438.623 +“I'm going, too, then,” Relm added, stepping up behind
 438.624 +Yuffie.Smiling, Kairi nodded. “Thanks, you two. I appreciate it.”
 438.625 +Looking back at the boy, she began to follow him. There wasn't much
 438.626 +time left.
 438.627 +
 438.628 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 438.629 +
 438.630 +The cloaked boy led the way to Riku and Sora's secret place. Even
 438.631 +amidst the chaos, it had escaped unscathed. Memories flooded back to
 438.632 +Kairi as she looked around the cave. She smiled faintly at the
 438.633 +pictures Sora and Riku had drawn on the walls, some of them of her.
 438.634 +There. Near the strange doorway at the end of the cave that shouldn't
 438.635 +be there. Yuna stood there along with Rikku.
 438.636 +
 438.637 +“Rikku!” Surprise took Yuffie off guard as she saw her younger
 438.638 +sister at the back of the cave. So she was alive after all. Yuffie
 438.639 +had thought she'd run off when Rikku had been changed into a kitten.
 438.640 +And then when they'd found out she was the kitten on Opassa beach,
 438.641 +they'd been scattered to different worlds. “You're okay!” Yuffie
 438.642 +hadn't realized just how worried she'd been about her sister's fate
 438.643 +until now. She ran to the catgirl, trying to make sure she was okay.
 438.644 +She'd always been there to protect the younger girl before. Now she
 438.645 +was worried about what might have happened while she'd been away.
 438.646 +“Yuffie!” Rikku clutched onto the ninja girl, her heart lifting. Her
 438.647 +big sister was here. Everything would be fine now. They'd fix
 438.648 +whatever was going on. Yuna would be just fine and they'd be able to
 438.649 +go see all the many worlds out there together. Relm stayed back at
 438.650 +the sisterly reunion. It was nice to see Yuffie as obviously happy as
 438.651 +she was right now. The ninja usually hid behind her sarcasm and
 438.652 +bravado. Seeing this was beautiful to the artist.Kairi looked at Yuna
 438.653 +and then back at the hooded boy. The boy nodded. Kairi shook her
 438.654 +head, her heart slipping. “No. I can't.” Up till now, she hadn't
 438.655 +known any of the Keyholes. Kuja and Kefka had tried to hurt her.
 438.656 +Ultimecia had tried to trap her in a dreamworld. This was her friend.
 438.657 +How could she unlock the Keyhole in her heart if it meant she would
 438.658 +die? Yuna was one of the sweetest girls she knew, always trying to
 438.659 +help the other islanders. Could such a quiet, helpful girl really be
 438.660 +the Keyhole? The reason that Sin was here? Taking a step forward,
 438.661 +Kairi's mind spun as it tried to find an answer. She had to unlock
 438.662 +the Keyhole. But she couldn't hurt Yuna. “Yuna, you have to stop
 438.663 +this. You can't destory the Destiny Islands.”Shaking her head, Yuna
 438.664 +watched Kairi approach. “I have to. I can't stop now. Kairi, don't
 438.665 +you miss them? Riku and Sora? You've gone through so much pain and
 438.666 +hardship. Don't you understand? I can end that. Right now. I can save
 438.667 +everyone.” Her eyes lit up beautifully. “I can stop all of the
 438.668 +suffering. Once and for all. We can all be together with the ones we
 438.669 +love.”
 438.670 +
 438.671 +“Even if we're far apart, we're always together. They're still with
 438.672 +me even now.” Kairi shook her head. “I know everyone suffers. But I
 438.673 +think there's more than that. It isn't all pain. It isn't all
 438.674 +suffering. There are beautiful moments, too. No matter how bad things
 438.675 +are, there are still shining lights here and there if you know where
 438.676 +to find them.” 'Like my mother. Even if I was lonely in my other
 438.677 +life, I still had my mother.' 
 438.678 +
 438.679 +Swallowing, Yuna fought back the tears that glistened in her eyes.
 438.680 +“I know that. But everything you hold dear is eventually taken from
 438.681 +you. Everyone you love will one day die. Everything that matters will
 438.682 +wither.” “But that's life. Life is pain. But life is love. Life is
 438.683 +fleeting. But it's darness and light. Together. And if it hurts,
 438.684 +we'll appreciate the things we love even more when we can be with
 438.685 +them again when it's over,” Kairi pleaded. 'Don't make me face you,
 438.686 +Yuna. I don't want to hurt anyone else. Please.'Yuna shook her head,
 438.687 +closing her eyes tightly. “You of all people should understand,
 438.688 +Kairi. You understood about giving up your life so that you could be
 438.689 +free. You escaped. I'm just trying to give everyone that
 438.690 +freedom.”“But that's the problem! I couldn't completely give up on my
 438.691 +life, no matter how much I tried. That's why the Heartless are here.
 438.692 +That's why I'm still stuck between worlds. Some people aren't ready
 438.693 +to give up their lives yet. Some people have more they want to do
 438.694 +before they move on,” Kairi explained, almost to Yuna. Rikku stood
 438.695 +with Yuffie, watching the two of them. The hooded boy was behind her
 438.696 +while Relm waited near the entrance to the cave. “What about the
 438.697 +people who weren't asked if they were ready?! What about the people
 438.698 +who had so much more to do but never got to? What about those of us
 438.699 +forced to live who never wanted to face that pain and suffering in
 438.700 +everyone's heart?” Shaking, Yuna's tears fell down to her feet. Pain
 438.701 +and loss and confusion cut at her heart like a rabid beast. “Yunie,
 438.702 +please. We can work this out. I'll be with you. No matter what. I'll
 438.703 +be there with you. We can handle whatever pain there is. I promise.”
 438.704 +Rikku pulled away from Yuffie, stepping towards Yuna. “I love you.
 438.705 +I'll always be with you.” Yuffie watched, her surprise growing. Her
 438.706 +little sister had fallen in love while she was gone? With this girl
 438.707 +who was trying to end everything? Now what was she supposed to
 438.708 +do?“I'm sorry, Rikku. I have to. I was the one who called Sin all
 438.709 +along. I just didn't understand. But Sin came to end all of this pain
 438.710 +and suffering. I have to save everyone. I don't want anyone to ever
 438.711 +hurt again. If we keep living, I might lose you. One of us might die.
 438.712 +Any number of things could happen. But it won't get the chance. I
 438.713 +love you, too. I won't let anything take you away from me. I won't
 438.714 +let this world hurt either of us. Any of us. Ever again.” The cave
 438.715 +shook as Sin crashed along the island, its inhuman howl reaching them
 438.716 +even in the depths of the cave. “Life will end. We'll finally be
 438.717 +free.” She smiled as she reached the door behind her, pulling it
 438.718 +open. Darkness spilled out from beyond the doorway. “With the doorway
 438.719 +open, Sin can read all the worlds. It can break the chains of life.”
 438.720 +The caves shook harder, sending most of them sprawling. Sin was
 438.721 +coming.“No!!” Kairi cried out. They were running out of time. Sin now
 438.722 +had what it wanted. A way out. A way to get to everything. A way to
 438.723 +kill all existence. Kairi lunged forward right as Yuna turned. The
 438.724 +Keyblade plunged deep into her chest. For the time being, Kairi had
 438.725 +to force her doubts away. But that was made nearly impossible by the
 438.726 +way Yuna looked back at her, serene. The blue and green eyed girl was
 438.727 +happy, unafraid of what was to come. 'You of all people should
 438.728 +understand, Kairi,' her voice whispered in the princess's head. Kairi
 438.729 +hesitated. There wasn't time. “I'm so sorry...” she got out before
 438.730 +turning the Keyblade. The shaking stopped immediately. Light flooded
 438.731 +the cave as the Keyhole was unlocked.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 438.732 +
 438.733 +She was everywhere and she was nowhere. Who was she? Kairi. Or was
 438.734 +it Hikari? A princess. Or was she an island girl? Or maybe a lonely
 438.735 +student living with her mother? She was all of these things. And she
 438.736 +was none of these things. There was brilliant light. And there was
 438.737 +endless darkness. They swirled and mixed and carressed in an endless
 438.738 +dance. 
 438.739 +
 438.740 +“You have unlocked the light in the heart of Suffering,” the
 438.741 +everpresent voice said. It sounded so very familiar. She couldn't
 438.742 +quite place it or where it was coming from. 
 438.743 +“Life is filled with so much pain. The one's you love are taken from
 438.744 +you so very quickly. In death, there is freedom. There is an end to
 438.745 +pain. I only wanted to end everyone's suffering. I wanted to save
 438.746 +everyone. I wanted that pain that always lives in your heart to
 438.747 +finally disappear forever. I wanted to be with my father again.
 438.748 +And... I fell in love with Rikku. But I was so scared that I would
 438.749 +lose her just like I lost my father. But now, I guess I'll finally
 438.750 +escape the pain of life. Now I'm finally free. I'll wait for Rikku as
 438.751 +long as it takes. I'll finally see my father again. Thank you, Kairi.
 438.752 +I hope you find what you're looking for.”Kairi would have closed her
 438.753 +eyes if she had eyes to close in this world of light and darkness.
 438.754 +She would have swallowed back the pain in her heart if she could only
 438.755 +swallow. But the emotions, the pain and the sorrow, were acutely
 438.756 +real. “I hope so, too. I'm sorry, Yuna. I'm so sorry.” 
 438.757 +As Yuna's heart departed to join the Lifestream, the Farplane, Kairi
 438.758 +was left behind by the light, like an unwanted child. It disappeared,
 438.759 +leaving her feeling cold and out of place in the small, dark cave. 
 438.760 +“Where's Yunie?” Rikku asked, horrified to see only Kairi return
 438.761 +from the light. “What happened to Yunie?” She glanced at the other
 438.762 +faces, finally stopping on her sister's. Yuffie couldn't meet her
 438.763 +gaze. Cold realization crept through her, nearly stopping her heart.
 438.764 +“So... Yunie... Yunie is...” She couldn't get herself to say it.
 438.765 +Tears splashed down her cheeks, her body going cold. Yuna was gone.
 438.766 +She had failed to protect her. All her promises had been for naught.
 438.767 +“Why!? Why did she have to die? I met her, I promised I'd keep her
 438.768 +safe always, and she had to die for that?” Her body shook, her vision
 438.769 +blurring as tears fell faster than she could blink them away. Her
 438.770 +eyes locked on Kairi. “You killed her! She wanted to save everyone
 438.771 +and you killed her! She only wanted to make everyone happy!” 
 438.772 +
 438.773 +Kairi looked away from Rikku, ashamed. Yuffie said nothing. What
 438.774 +could she possibly say to help her sister? The girl she loved was
 438.775 +dead now. And there was nothing she could do. Rikku's heart
 438.776 +shattered. She didn't even have a body to hold. It was as if Yuna had
 438.777 +never been. She would never get to see that smile again. She would
 438.778 +never be able to hear her giggle, to feel her lips. It was all gone,
 438.779 +as quickly as the wind. And that girl, the girl who had helped her as
 438.780 +a kitten, she was the cause of it. If it weren't for her, she'd be
 438.781 +with Yuna now. By a cruel twist of fate, Rikku had shown up first on
 438.782 +the island and had fallen in love with the beautiful brunette. But
 438.783 +almost as if she were a harbinger of fate, the girl she had travelled
 438.784 +with, the Keyblade Mistress had followed her. Kairi had shown up and
 438.785 +taked away Rikku's most precious treasure. She had taken away
 438.786 +everything. Firey rage and ice cold sorrow tore at her mangled heart,
 438.787 +shredding it into bloody pieces. 'I'll protect you, Yunie. I'll
 438.788 +always be with you,' she had promised. And she had failed. All
 438.789 +because of her. 
 438.790 +
 438.791 +Rikku ran forward, moving with tremendous speed. Her fist raised
 438.792 +into the air, the razor sharp blades on her glove glinting in the dim
 438.793 +light. Kairi stared in shock, her lavender eyes wide as she realized
 438.794 +she was going to die. Yuffie could only watch, too stunned by the
 438.795 +suddenness of it all to leap to anyone's aid. Kairi would die. Rikku
 438.796 +may have failed to save Yuna, but she would take revenge for her
 438.797 +death. 
 438.798 +
 438.799 +And with a flash of steel, it was done. Kairi shook, her heart
 438.800 +pounding in her chest. Her vision still burned with images of bared
 438.801 +fangs, a glint of blades, and hatefilled eyes. She had broken Rikku,
 438.802 +stolen the one thing most important to her. And in return, she was to
 438.803 +forfeit her life. But that hadn't happened. At least, she didn't
 438.804 +think so. So what had happened. She looked around, finally spotting
 438.805 +Rikku on the floor in front of her. Blood lay in a pool around her.
 438.806 +The catgirl was dead. The cloaked boy had jumped in the way, stabbing
 438.807 +Rikku before she could reach Kairi. And now she was dead. Kairi's
 438.808 +knees gave out and she stumbled back, away from the body. “Rikku!!”
 438.809 +Yuffie screamed, running to Rikku's side. But it was too late.
 438.810 +Turning the catgirl over, Rikku looked blankly up at the roof with
 438.811 +dim green eyes. The light in them was gone. She didn't move an inch.
 438.812 +“Rikku...” It hardly seemed fair. How could her little sister die
 438.813 +like that? How could she have let this happen? How could her sister
 438.814 +die in her quest for Kingdom Hearts? But she was. The girl she had
 438.815 +practically raised since they were both little. The girl who had
 438.816 +always looked up to her. And now she was gone. Yuffie cradled her
 438.817 +body, crying against the blood soaked fur. Darkness and light
 438.818 +continued their dance, as another casualty lay senselessly on the
 438.819 +floor. In a way, Kairi had been responsible for both deaths. And yet,
 438.820 +was there another way? You didn't get second chances. You couldn't go
 438.821 +back and redo things until you did them right. Things merely fell as
 438.822 +they may in front of you. And because of her, both girls were now
 438.823 +dead. Yuffie held onto Rikku, torn and crying. Relm could only try to
 438.824 +offer what support she could. A hand rested on her shoulder. She
 438.825 +turned to see Sora looking at her sympathetically. 
 438.826 +
 438.827 +“It'll be okay, Kairi. Somehow,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. He
 438.828 +faded as she got to her feet. 
 438.829 +“You're running out of time. You have to hurry,” the cloaked boy
 438.830 +said, pointing towards the doorway leading into darkness. 
 438.831 +
 438.832 +Kairi nodded. She had come this far. She couldn't give up now. She
 438.833 +owed it to the people who had died, to those who still wanted to
 438.834 +live. Taking one last look at Yuffie and Relm, she started for the
 438.835 +door. She had hurt enough people. She didn't want anyone else to get
 438.836 +hurt because of her. This was her fight. She would finish it on her
 438.837 +own.
 438.838 +

   439.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   439.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-16.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   439.3 @@ -0,0 +1,772 @@
   439.4 +Prism Hearts 
   439.5 +Chapter 16Addicted to You
   439.6 +by Amazoness Duo
   439.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   439.8 +“Come stop your crying,
   439.9 +It will be all right.Just take my hand,Hold it tight.I will protect
  439.10 +you from all around you.I will be here,
  439.11 +Don't you cry.For one so small,You seem so strong.My arms will hold
  439.12 +you,Keep you safe and warm.This bond between us can't be broken.I
  439.13 +will be here,Don't you cry.Cause you'll be in my heart.Yes, you'll be
  439.14 +in my heart.From this day on, 
  439.15 +Now and forevermore...”
  439.16 +
  439.17 +
  439.18 +Chaos. A surreal picture out of the mind of a disturbed artist.
  439.19 +Reality on the very brink. This was the sight that greeted Kairi upon
  439.20 +entering the doorway. This was the road to Kingdom Hearts, to the
  439.21 +very heart of the universe. It was where all hearts were born. And
  439.22 +here she was at the very edge of reality, where all the was existed
  439.23 +in some cataclysmic dance. Roads traveled high overhead, twisting and
  439.24 +turning this way and that. Upside down palaces hung in the distant
  439.25 +sky. An ocean seemed to lay peacefully some distance to her right,
  439.26 +climbing vertically into the heavens. So this was the End of the
  439.27 +World. The road to Kingdom Hearts. 
  439.28 +
  439.29 +Steeling herself, Kairi clutched the tiny key around her neck. Riku
  439.30 +was at the end of this road. And somehow she knew that Sora was
  439.31 +somewhere close by, too. She needed to move forward. They needed her.
  439.32 +This time, she was all alone. There was no one to back her up or to
  439.33 +save her if she got in trouble. The absence of Yuffie and Relm hung
  439.34 +heavily on her, as if something were missing. But too many had
  439.35 +already been hurt because of her. It was time for her to end this.
  439.36 +Once and for all. Images of Yuna and Rikku came unbidden to her mind
  439.37 +and she had to force back the thoughts before she lost the will to go
  439.38 +forward. 
  439.39 +
  439.40 +“I know you're stronger than that, Kairi,” Riku's voice called to
  439.41 +her. 
  439.42 +
  439.43 +“Remember what you said? I'll always be with you, too,” Sora's voice
  439.44 +carried on the wind. 
  439.45 +
  439.46 +A small smile crossed Kairi's lips. The brunette nodded, blinking
  439.47 +tearfilled eyes open. “I'm coming. Just wait a little longer.” Here
  439.48 +she was, finally nearing the end of her journey. It seemed like a
  439.49 +lifetime ago when she had picked up the Keyblade and left to find the
  439.50 +ones she loved. But now it was almost over. 
  439.51 +
  439.52 +“I'll never get anywhere just standing here,” the princess whispered
  439.53 +to herself. She could almost hear Riku sighing exasperatedly, joking
  439.54 +about how lazy she and Sora were. Thoughts of Sora and Riku spun in
  439.55 +her heart, her driving focus. They were the strength in her heart.
  439.56 +Letting go of the key handing from her neck, Kairi ran down the path
  439.57 +towards the end of the dream. 
  439.58 +
  439.59 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  439.60 +
  439.61 +“Got ya!” Sora cried out. His hand struck out as he tried to grab
  439.62 +hold of Hikari. The darkly clad brunette giggled and barely brushed
  439.63 +past him yet again. She danced playfully out of range, her dark
  439.64 +violet eyes shimmering as she watched him. Both were breathing
  439.65 +heavily. 
  439.66 +
  439.67 +He moved to the right. She leaned to the left. Grabbing for her, the
  439.68 +princess skittered out of the way once more. In their makeshift
  439.69 +playground, Sora never took his eyes off of Hikari. Since they had
  439.70 +played like this, so much time had passed. But now it felt like they
  439.71 +were back on the Destiny Islands, playing their days away. All of his
  439.72 +thoughts and worries were far in the background. All that mattered
  439.73 +was their game and the mix of emotions it sent rushing through him.
  439.74 +For the time being, all of the darkness that had tried to swallow him
  439.75 +up in his battle against the Heartless was forgotten, replaced only
  439.76 +with the sweet feeling of their chase. 
  439.77 +
  439.78 +Even in the princess's mind, the end was far from her thoughts. Only
  439.79 +the vaguest hint of the unshed tears in her heart tainted her
  439.80 +otherwise playful thoughts. This was something she had never done
  439.81 +before. And yet, because of Kairi, it was her fondest memory. The
  439.82 +memories of a much crueler version of being chased by cruel, hateful
  439.83 +classmates because she was different was pushed to the furthest
  439.84 +depths of her memory. Now there was only Sora and their game. 
  439.85 +
  439.86 +His heart was so pure. In her world of coldness and jagged shadows,
  439.87 +being near him was like snuggling next to a fire on a frigid day. The
  439.88 +days since he'd come to her in this palace at the End of the World,
  439.89 +they had spent talking and playing. Memories from her life as Kairi
  439.90 +flooded back with each moment she was with him. It made it all the
  439.91 +more bittersweet. But in a way, that made it even better. She was
  439.92 +just happy to be able to spend this time with him.So lost in thought
  439.93 +was Hikari that she didn't get out in the way in time when Sora
  439.94 +lunged at her. The spikey haired boy wrapped his arm around her,
  439.95 +momentum carrying them both forward. The two of them landed in a heap
  439.96 +on the grass, Sora on top of Hikari. The flowers around them pushed
  439.97 +off of their stalks, soaring into the air as a multitude of different
  439.98 +colored butterflies.
  439.99 +
 439.100 +Hikari gazed up at the boy over her, watching as the butterflies
 439.101 +swirled up over his head into the treetops. So beautiful. Reaching
 439.102 +out, she let her fingers gently stroke his cheek. She giggled softly
 439.103 +when she saw his faint blush spreading over his cheek. How cute. Her
 439.104 +fingers continued onward, playing with his spikey hair. She had... or
 439.105 +had Kairi?... always wondered who would kiss her first. Riku or Sora.
 439.106 +Too bad she had never had the chance to find out. But this was
 439.107 +certainly nice enough. She shifted under him, feeling the Keyblade
 439.108 +Master fall further against her. Very, very nice indeed. No wonder
 439.109 +she... Kairi?... loved him. Sora swallowed as he felt Hikari's soft
 439.110 +caress on his cheek. The beautiful princess smiled sweetly up at him,
 439.111 +her violet eyes drawing him in, deeper and deeper down the rabbit
 439.112 +hole until he wasn't sure that he'd ever get out. Or that he ever
 439.113 +wanted to. If he could just stay like this... No, he couldn't. He
 439.114 +still needed to find Riku. It wasn't right until they were all
 439.115 +together again. But in the meantime...
 439.116 +Hikari leaned forward, her lips brushing Sora's softly. This time,
 439.117 +Sora was more ready for the kiss. Lips melted together as Hikari
 439.118 +continued to brush her fingers through Sora's hair. Despite the
 439.119 +universes vastness and entirity, sometimes a single moment seemed to
 439.120 +take precedence, glowing and taking up all that was. Hikari closed
 439.121 +her eyes, kissing again, wishing she could freeze this moment forever
 439.122 +but knowing all too well it would have to end. And so it did with the
 439.123 +arrival of the message she had been awaiting. Noticing Sephiroth's
 439.124 +arrival at the edge of the clearing they were in, Hikari slowly, ever
 439.125 +so slowly, pulled her lips away from Sora's. Sora merely looked down
 439.126 +at her, puzzled and still fuzzy from their kiss. She smiled up at him.
 439.127 +
 439.128 +“She's here, your highness,” Sephiroth announced.
 439.129 +
 439.130 +“She is?” Hikari shook her head to clear her own warm, love warped
 439.131 +thoughts. She should have felt her arrival. She had been so lost in
 439.132 +the moment with Sora that she had ignored it. Sephiroth simply
 439.133 +nodded. Looking back up at Sora, she gazed into his eyes. “We have to
 439.134 +hurry. The locks are gone now. We can open Kingdom Hearts.”
 439.135 +
 439.136 +A moment passed before Sora could fully understand the implications
 439.137 +of what Hikari had told him. The wait was now over. Kingdom Hearts
 439.138 +could be opened. It was only a matter of time now. Riku would be back
 439.139 +with them soon. “That's great!” He pushed back, sitting on the grass. 
 439.140 +The princess pushed herself up to face the spikey haired boy, her
 439.141 +haunting eyes still holding his own. The story was almost over. And
 439.142 +yet... She didn't quite want to let go. Not yet. Her eyes shimmered
 439.143 +with tears that brimmed but that she held back by force of will. She
 439.144 +wouldn't let him see her cry. Not now. Not when she was so close.
 439.145 +“You're everything I've ever wanted. Or half of everything I've ever
 439.146 +wanted. The darkness and the light. Sora, you were my light. Riku was
 439.147 +my darkness. I loved the light for the hope it always held out to me,
 439.148 +no matter how far away it seemed. And I loved the darkness for the
 439.149 +comfort it gave me and how close it was. The two of you kept me
 439.150 +afloat when I'd all but lost hope. Thank you.” Before he could ask
 439.151 +her what she meant, she got to her feet, smoothing out her black
 439.152 +dress and hurrying to follow Sephiroth. “We have to get to Kingdom
 439.153 +Hearts to open the door, Sora. It's almost over.”Sora nodded, a
 439.154 +little confused by what Hikari had said. But at the same time, he was
 439.155 +thrilled that he could be that important to her. Soon enough,
 439.156 +everything would be complete again. 'Hold on just a little longer,
 439.157 +Riku.'
 439.158 +
 439.159 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.160 +
 439.161 +The path seemed to decay the further and further Kairi went. It was
 439.162 +as if reality was having more and more difficulty holding itself
 439.163 +together. The pathway was much twistier now. Trees were nearly bent
 439.164 +over. Land seemed to have curled up into itself. Here and there,
 439.165 +Kairi could see gardeners sheers frozen in the process of pruning
 439.166 +with no one to guide them or a twisted bike with no owner. There was
 439.167 +a sword in the side of a blackened, gnarled tree she passed. Origami
 439.168 +birds sat up in the branches of another tree. It felt as if they were
 439.169 +watching her. On the side of the path was a blackboard. Rather than
 439.170 +use chalk, someone had carved into it cruelly. 'The bearer of the
 439.171 +Keyblade came and saved all that was.' Right under it, it went on in
 439.172 +an alternate path. 'The bearer of the Keyblade came and brought ruin
 439.173 +to all.' Both legends of the Keyblade. But which was true? It hardly
 439.174 +mattered. She was here to put things right. She continued on her
 439.175 +maddening path. Kairi stopped suddenly, her eyes fixing ahead of her.
 439.176 +The dirt by her feet rose in a cloud and then stayed that way,
 439.177 +forgetting the cause and effect of settling back down once again. It
 439.178 +was her school, wasn't it? Only, it looked distorted, as if it wasn't
 439.179 +entirely there. The fountain in front was empty, cracked. Books
 439.180 +floated in midair, as if their owners had up and left them hanging. A
 439.181 +cold pit formed in her stomach. Her memories of her other life were
 439.182 +still distant, but she knew that she didn't have any good memories of
 439.183 +this place. And yet there it was, waiting for her at the End of the
 439.184 +World. “Surprised, Mademoiselle Kairi?”
 439.185 +
 439.186 +“Harle!” Kairi turned to find the harlequin watching her, sitting on
 439.187 +a curved pillar that hadn't been there when she last looked. In fact,
 439.188 +the entire direction she had come looked rewritten. The princess
 439.189 +looked back the way she had come, the path having disappeared
 439.190 +completely. Everything was different now. There were cliffs where
 439.191 +there had been none before, a wasteland instead of a grassland path.
 439.192 +“Silly girl. Zere is no going back. Only going forward now. It iz
 439.193 +your Fate, after all. You have been meant to come here all along.”
 439.194 +Harle hopped down from the tree, sauntering over to Kairi. “Oh, how I
 439.195 +have missed such a pretty face brightening up moi's day.” She grinned
 439.196 +as Kairi took a step back in embarrassment.Shaking off her
 439.197 +embarrassment, Kairi faced Harle. “What's going on here? Why is this
 439.198 +here? Isn't this the End of the World? This can't be what Sora went
 439.199 +through to get here.”Laughing, the harlequin shook her head, bells
 439.200 +jingling along with her laughter. “Of course not. Zis iz your path,
 439.201 +not his. Zere are infinitely many ways to reach Kingdom Hearts just
 439.202 +as zere are infinitely many hearts themselves.”Turning back to the
 439.203 +surreal school awaiting her, the brunette thought over Harle's words.
 439.204 +“So I have to make my own path to Kingdom Hearts? My own version of
 439.205 +the End of the World?”“It iz a path zat has been in your heart all
 439.206 +along, Mademoiselle Kairi. Waiting for you. Waiting for ze day zat
 439.207 +you would travel down it,” Harle explained. 
 439.208 +
 439.209 +“So...” Kairi took a deep breath. “If this path is different because
 439.210 +of me, how much of this is real?”
 439.211 +
 439.212 +Harle laughed again, placing her hands on her hips. “Still you ask
 439.213 +about zis realitie? Have you learned not'ing on your journey,
 439.214 +Mademoiselle Kairi?” 
 439.215 +
 439.216 +The harlequin disappeared, fading away. A tap on Kairi's shoulder
 439.217 +nearly sent the already tightly wound girl jumping. Harle grinned at
 439.218 +Kairi's surprise, now standing behind her. “Realitie and dreams all
 439.219 +simply exist. Side by side. They are what you make of them. Izn't zat
 439.220 +what life iz? All of our realities intermixing together? It happens
 439.221 +everyday. What you see isn't necessarily what he sees. And what she
 439.222 +sees is again different. And so on and so on, throughout it
 439.223 +all.”Kairi nodded slowly, sighing. She had to let go of that worry.
 439.224 +In the end, it wasn't important. “It really doesn't matter what's
 439.225 +real, does it? I'm starting to wonder if 'real' even
 439.226 +exists.”Grinning, Harle walked around Kairi. “Now you are catching
 439.227 +on. Forget about zis 'real'. Simply follow your heart. Your heart and
 439.228 +its connection to other hearts is much, much more important than
 439.229 +whatever world you see around it.” Her expression turned more serious
 439.230 +as she continued inspecting Kairi. “So you have made your
 439.231 +decision?”“Of course she has,” another voice broke in. A young blonde
 439.232 +girl in a patient's uniform stood on the edge of the fountain. “She
 439.233 +wouldn't be here otherwise.”“So you've decided to come and see as
 439.234 +well, Aya?” Harle asked wryly, raising an eyebrow. 
 439.235 +
 439.236 +“What happens here affects everything. Not only the Dragon God are
 439.237 +interested in how it all plays out, you know,” the little girl
 439.238 +argued. Once again, the scope of what was going on was drapped in
 439.239 +Kairi's lap. This wasn't just about her search for Riku and Sora. It
 439.240 +involved all that was. All those many different worlds. All her
 439.241 +friends. Everyone she had met and so many more. And if she couldn't
 439.242 +close the door, it could all be consumed by the Heartless. She had to
 439.243 +hurry. “Thanks, both of you.” She nodded to both women before walking
 439.244 +through the large doors of the school. 
 439.245 +
 439.246 +“I hope, for all our sakes, zat you are right about her,” Harle said
 439.247 +softly, watching Kairi's retreating form.“She's very strong at heart.
 439.248 +In the end, that's all we could ask for,” Aya replied. “I have faith
 439.249 +in her.”“Yes, but the one she must face iz also strong at heart. If
 439.250 +she fails, zere will be no escape from the Heartless,” Harle said
 439.251 +grimly. “It will be as if God herself has died and left the entirety
 439.252 +of existence to fall apart at the seams.”
 439.253 +
 439.254 +Aya smiled softly. “Then lets hope she doesn't fail. I don't intend
 439.255 +on being away from Maya for an eternity.”
 439.256 +
 439.257 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.258 +
 439.259 +Truth be told, Kairi hadn't come to a decision. Not as such, anyway.
 439.260 +She still didn't know which world she belonged in. The one with her
 439.261 +mother, Hollow Bastion, or the Destiny Islands. The gateway between
 439.262 +worlds would close once she shut the doorway that had let the
 439.263 +Heartless grow from her own original world. She missed her mother
 439.264 +back in that sometimes cruel world. She missed her father and the
 439.265 +kingdom of Hollow Bastion. She missed Riku and Sora and their
 439.266 +carefree days on the Destiny Islands. The answer should be obvious,
 439.267 +but she couldn't get herself to decide which. That gnawed at her as
 439.268 +she went further into the lifeless school.The school looked mostly
 439.269 +the same as she could remember it except for small details.
 439.270 +Everything was curved sinisterly, misshapen. In some places, trees
 439.271 +grew indoors. One of the classrooms seemed to lead into a crashed
 439.272 +airship. It was all an amalgam of different realities along with a
 439.273 +dreamlike quality. Or more accurately, a nightmare. 
 439.274 +
 439.275 +The icey pit in her stomach wouldn't go away. Everywhere she looked,
 439.276 +people may have been missing, but their shadows remained. Menacing,
 439.277 +hateful. She felt like a scared little girl again, memories of the
 439.278 +lonely, terrified feelings she had had spreading through her veins.
 439.279 +She could hear laughter behind the locked doors, mocking and cruel. 
 439.280 +
 439.281 +Clenching and unclenching her fists, the princess continued forward.
 439.282 +She nearly stepped on a crumpled piece of paper on the ground.
 439.283 +Hesitantly, she picked it up, already knowing it was a bad idea. It
 439.284 +was the birthday party invitation her mother had made for her to hand
 439.285 +out to her classmates so many years ago. Her mother had spent all
 439.286 +night drawing each seperate invitation. Tears stung at Kairi's eyes
 439.287 +as she remembered. Remembered how thrilled she'd been that her
 439.288 +wonderful mother would make her such beautiful party invitations.
 439.289 +Remembered how embarrassed she'd been when everyone had laughed at
 439.290 +'Princess Hikari'. Wasn't she too old for that sort of thing, they
 439.291 +had asked? Remembered the shame and regret and anger and pain as she
 439.292 +cried. She couldn't tell her mother what they did. She couldn't tell
 439.293 +her mother that she had felt so ashamed as they'd called her princess
 439.294 +and mocked her over and over again. Princess. What her mother called
 439.295 +her. 'My beautiful princess Hikari.'Tears streaked down Kairi's
 439.296 +cheeks as she leaned heavily against the lockers. “Mom... I miss
 439.297 +you...” she whispered, clutching the crumpled invitation to her
 439.298 +chest. Her body shook slightly as she sobbed. Bittersweet memories.
 439.299 +Crafted of both darkness and light. They filled her existence. “I
 439.300 +miss you, too,” the voice in Kairi's head whispered. 
 439.301 +
 439.302 +“Mom?!” Kairi looked around quickly, her breath catching. She
 439.303 +blinked away her tears rapidly, wiping a wristband over her eyes.
 439.304 +“Mom, is that you?”“Kairi... I used to call you that when you were
 439.305 +little. I didn't know you'd use that nickname for yourself. And you
 439.306 +always were my princess,” the voice answered. For once, Kairi didn't
 439.307 +mistake it's familiarity. 
 439.308 +
 439.309 +“Mom... Where are you?” Kairi asked, a knot forming in her throat.
 439.310 +“I'm at home, Hikari. Just like I've always been. Waiting for
 439.311 +you.”“But... I'm... I'm dying..” Kairi said at last, fresh tears
 439.312 +slipping forth. “... I know. But I'm your mother. I can't just let
 439.313 +you go. I have to try. Even if I can't do much. I wanted to be here
 439.314 +to lead you back home,” the voice whispered. “Mom...” Kairi placed
 439.315 +her face in her hands, suddenly feeling very, very weak. She felt
 439.316 +dizzy. The locker felt cold against her clammy skin. Slowly, the
 439.317 +princess slid down the locker. Everything looked so blurry. She was
 439.318 +having trouble focussing. “..mom...?” she tried to ask, frightened.
 439.319 +The word barely came out as a whisper. It felt so hard to do
 439.320 +anything. Everything felt so heavy. She felt so tired. She tried to
 439.321 +raise a hand to try to pull herself up, but it hardly moved. Blood
 439.322 +stained her wristbands, dripping to the floor beneath her. 'No!!!'
 439.323 +Kairi screamed in her mind. 'Not now! I'm not ready to go yet! Just a
 439.324 +little longer! I can't die now. Not now!!' “Hikari... Please open
 439.325 +your eyes, Hikari. Please. Mommy's right here.” A sob punctuated her
 439.326 +mother's pause. “Please, Hikari. Don't leave me. Don't go away, baby.
 439.327 +Please don't go.” Her mother held onto her dying form brushing her
 439.328 +hair with shakey, panicked hands. “Please...”
 439.329 +
 439.330 +Slam!Kairi looked up suddenly, the noise from the locker over head
 439.331 +startling her. Looking back down, everything was back to normal. The
 439.332 +blood was gone. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. She was alone in
 439.333 +the distorted school hallway. “Mom?” No answer. “Damn it.” Kairi
 439.334 +sighed, standing up. At least she had more time. But how much more?
 439.335 +She was dying. She had to make her decision soon. Would she try to
 439.336 +wake up in the world where she was dying in her mother's arms? Or
 439.337 +would she sever her ties with that world and remain on the Destiny
 439.338 +Islands? She was running out of time. Slam!Kairi turned her attention
 439.339 +back to the strange noise. It was coming from a locker. Her locker.
 439.340 +She remembered that much. But what was coming from it. Almost drawn
 439.341 +to it, she reached forward, her heart pounding as she did. Before her
 439.342 +fingers could touch it, the locker flew open. Small creatures piled
 439.343 +out, falling into a heap on the floor. Kairi stepped back, rady to
 439.344 +draw her Keyblade. But they were all the plushies she had made back
 439.345 +home. Her mother had taught her how to sew. Her mother had made all
 439.346 +of her costumes, and Kairi had sewn together plushies of different
 439.347 +characters. And Riku and Sora. Bending over to examine the plushies,
 439.348 +Kairi was disturbed to find all of them had the Heartless symbol sewn
 439.349 +onto them. Whatever it meant, she knew she was getting close. A
 439.350 +rustling noise sounded behind her. Kairi froze. Another. And another.
 439.351 +She felt as if she were being watched. The brunette turned slowly.
 439.352 +Her eyes fell upon a strange Heartless where a shadow had been a
 439.353 +moment before. And then another. And another. The shadows of the
 439.354 +students were becoming misshapen Heartless versions of the students
 439.355 +she had gone to school with. All of them watched her with malevolent
 439.356 +yellow eyes. Her heart froze for just a second. Standing up, she
 439.357 +pulled up the Keyblade. How many of them were there? Could she get
 439.358 +through them all? She had to. No matter what.“Kairi, hurry. You need
 439.359 +to reach the Doorway to the Light. I'll hold them off.” The cloaked
 439.360 +boy stood in the hallway in the midst of the Heartless. He slowly
 439.361 +pulled out his two demon wing shaped swords, seeming to know
 439.362 +precisely where everyone was even under his blindfold. Kairi stared
 439.363 +for a moment, trying to decide if she should leave him alone to face
 439.364 +the growing number of Heartless. “Go! Now!!” he yelled, magic
 439.365 +surrounding him as he prepared for the oncoming Heartless. 
 439.366 +
 439.367 +“Thank you,” Kairi said in return. With a last look back to the
 439.368 +cloaked boy, she ran. 
 439.369 +
 439.370 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.371 +
 439.372 +The hallway got more and more shadowed, turning sharp corners as it
 439.373 +went along. Everytime Kairi would look back, the path she had just
 439.374 +walked had changed entirely. Forward was the only way she could go or
 439.375 +she knew she'd be forever lost. It was as if she was being led
 439.376 +forward, the ground behind her shifting as soon as she had moved over
 439.377 +it. It had to be leading her somewhere. She only hoped it was leading
 439.378 +her towards her goal. And suddenly, it ended. The cracked, broken
 439.379 +ground beneath her feet ended directly in front of her, leading into
 439.380 +a deep chasm. Frustrated, the princess turned back the way she had
 439.381 +come. But there was no way back. Directly behind her was only a wall.
 439.382 +There was no way back and no way forward. “This can't be happening. I
 439.383 +don't have time for this. There has to be a way out of here. Please
 439.384 +hang on, Riku and mom.” Gazing around the small corridor she was in,
 439.385 +Kairi couldn't see anything to use to get past. There were no
 439.386 +handholds to climb along the wall over the chasm. And there was no
 439.387 +way back. So there was just... The princess listened closely.
 439.388 +Footsteps? But they sounded so close. In the same corridor she was
 439.389 +in. But where? Listening intently, she could tell it was coming from
 439.390 +right in front of her. Over the chasm? It sounded as if someone was
 439.391 +walking directly in front of her, right over the chasm. She looked
 439.392 +down and saw something aside from the deep drop. Dusty footprints
 439.393 +marred the air, as if someone had stepped on something invisible and
 439.394 +left their footprints behind. Kairi's eyes followed the footprints.
 439.395 +She heard another footstep and saw another form several feet ahead in
 439.396 +the air. And another.Taking a deep breath, Kairi scooted close to the
 439.397 +edge. Maybe there was an invisible walkway. She had to hurry. And
 439.398 +this looked like the only way. Taking a tentative step forward, Kairi
 439.399 +was overjoyed to feel something solid, if invisible, under her foot.
 439.400 +She slowly took another step, careful to follow the dusty footprints.
 439.401 +Good. There was a path. She just hoped it would lead to Kingdom
 439.402 +Hearts. How long did it go on into the darkness? She took her next
 439.403 +step, placing her foot right over the dusty footprint. And fell right
 439.404 +through. Too shocked to utter a proper scream, Kairi
 439.405 +plumetted.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.406 +
 439.407 +And so she fell like a shooting star, dropping through the air
 439.408 +towards the world below. The sun shown off of the beautiful ocean
 439.409 +waves. She could feel the Keyblade inside of her heart. It was deep
 439.410 +inside of her, nearly unlocking her heart. The water rose up and
 439.411 +enveloped her. 
 439.412 +
 439.413 +Water surrounded her, encompassing. She was too weak to swim, her
 439.414 +journey having been so very long. It felt like a lifetime had gone
 439.415 +by. Her mind felt so far. Was she going to drown? Here in this
 439.416 +tranquil ocean? No... They needed her. But she was so weak... It was
 439.417 +hard to move. 
 439.418 +
 439.419 +Thankfully, someone had dove in after her. Arms grabbed onto her,
 439.420 +dragging the dazed princess out and onto the beach. She slowly caught
 439.421 +her breath, gazing up at the side of the person as she lay there,
 439.422 +unable to get herself to move. Slowly, a face looked down at her. She
 439.423 +smiled faintly as she understood. Her own face. It was time. She was
 439.424 +too exhausted, too weak. She was dying. But she could keep going for
 439.425 +her. The other Kairi sat up, staring at her in shock. “What?” So many
 439.426 +thoughts were rushing behind those violet eyes, thoughts that Kairi
 439.427 +could remember for they had once been her own. Thoughts about whether
 439.428 +or not this was a dream and just who she was.Finally noticing the
 439.429 +handle of the Keyblade sticking out of her chest, the shocked Kairi
 439.430 +took hold of the handle.
 439.431 +
 439.432 +“It will be okay, Kairi. I’ll always be with you. There’s nothing to
 439.433 +be afraid of. You just have to reach out and take my hand.” Riku
 439.434 +stood over Kairi, telling her this. Kairi smiled up at him. He was
 439.435 +always there, right beside her. She understood that now, too. The
 439.436 +other Kairi stared, still in awe. “Riku... I...” She reached out for
 439.437 +his hand, but he was already gone. “Riku...” She looked back down at
 439.438 +Kairi, her hand still on the grip of the Keyblade. “Find them,” Kairi
 439.439 +whispered to her confused self. “They need you. They can’t do it
 439.440 +alone.”
 439.441 +
 439.442 +The confused Kairi slowly nodded. “We should be together. We need
 439.443 +each other.”Smiling softly, Kairi closed her eyes. She could finally
 439.444 +rest. This version of her would take care of it. She would help Sora
 439.445 +and Riku. It wasn't over yet. She could feel the other her take a
 439.446 +firm grip on the handle, pulling it out, not unlocking her heart. She
 439.447 +could feel everything shift as she was engulfed by sparkles, leaving
 439.448 +the other Kairi alone with the Keyblade. 
 439.449 +
 439.450 +“Open the door,” a voice whispered in the lone Kairi's head. Who was
 439.451 +it? She couldn’t quite tell. Looking up, she could see a lone door
 439.452 +standing on the beach, apparently leading to nowhere. It had a large
 439.453 +keyhole on it. It almost seemed to beckon her. Kairi slowly stood up.
 439.454 +If she stayed 
 439.455 +here, her friends might be in danger. She knew they could
 439.456 +handle anything if they were all together again. Sora and Riku were
 439.457 +both lost out there. Maybe she could find them. She would find them.
 439.458 +Wherever they were. 
 439.459 +
 439.460 +Stepping forward, the young princess used the large, 
 439.461 +unwieldy key to unlock the door awaiting her. As the door slowly
 439.462 +opened, she knew there would be no turning back. This was it. But her
 439.463 +choice was simple. She had to find them. Anything could have happened
 439.464 +to them out there, lost on any one of countless worlds. Without a
 439.465 +glance back, Kairi plunged through the door. 
 439.466 +
 439.467 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.468 +
 439.469 +Standing before Kingdom Hearts, watching the stars swirl about it,
 439.470 +Hikari took Sora's hand. It was beautiful. It was, after all, the
 439.471 +very heart of existence itself. Sephiroth stood behind them, as
 439.472 +always keeping an eye on the princess he had sworn to protect. She
 439.473 +could feel it. It was almost time. Her heart pounded. Soon... Just a
 439.474 +little longer. Kairi had almost reached it. “Don't worry, Riku. We're
 439.475 +coming.” Sora promised, one gloved hand on the huge Doorway to the
 439.476 +Light. Nodding, Hikari squeezed Sora's other hand. “It's almost
 439.477 +over.” There. She could feel it. Kairi was ready. “Now. It's time,
 439.478 +Sora.” Letting go of his hand, she stepped back from the boy. He was
 439.479 +the Keyblade Master. It was up to him to unlock the Doorway to the
 439.480 +Light. Of course, the Doorway needed two keys to open. The other key
 439.481 +was being inserted right now.Holding up the Keyblade, Sora pointed it
 439.482 +at the door, letting it's light pulse forth. Turning the Keyblade, he
 439.483 +unlocked the door. Now they'd all be together. He was already with
 439.484 +Hikari. Now they'd have Riku. And the Light would end the Heartless
 439.485 +once and for all. Hikari watched as the light started to spill forth.
 439.486 +“The Light. It's beautiful,” she whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.487 +
 439.488 +Kairi stepped out of the strange doorway, trying to piece her
 439.489 +thoughts together. She'd just been on the Destiny Islands beach
 439.490 +again. But she'd been there at the point in time when her journey had
 439.491 +begun. But which one had she been? The one lying on the beach with
 439.492 +the Keyblade in her heart? Or the one who had taken the Keyblade to
 439.493 +start her journey? Both, it seemed. She could remember her entire
 439.494 +journey. So now she had reached it's end. 
 439.495 +
 439.496 +It had led her full circle. She was back in her room. Shooting stars
 439.497 +flew past her window. Her plushies sat in a comfortable pile on her
 439.498 +bed. Turning in a slow circle, she took in her room again. All of her
 439.499 +video games she had played countless times, sharing in the adventures
 439.500 +of heroes and villians. Her pictures of the Destiny Islands lined the
 439.501 +walls. Costumes were probably hanging in her closet. And yet, this
 439.502 +wasn't home. She could feel it. “This is Kingdom Hearts.” And she
 439.503 +knew it was. Like Harle had said, her journey through the End of the
 439.504 +World had been different from Sora's. And much like their journey had
 439.505 +been different, so was their version of Kingdom Hearts. Kairi's was
 439.506 +the one doorway that had remained locked for her this whole time.
 439.507 +She'd been so close to Kingdom Hearts everytime she'd revisited this
 439.508 +room. The princess turned her attention to the locked door in her
 439.509 +room. She swallowed. She was finally here. Through chaos and tragedy
 439.510 +she had come, but she had made her way there all the same. This time
 439.511 +the locks on Kingdom Hearts were gone. She could unlock the doorway
 439.512 +and see Riku. But then what? What would become of Riku? He was dead
 439.513 +and was only clinging to this world to see her one last time. And
 439.514 +what of her? She was dying as well, her mother begging her to go back
 439.515 +to another world. She didn't know. But she couldn't stop now. “Riku?”
 439.516 +Kairi asked, walking to the doorway. “Kairi!” Riku's voice filtered
 439.517 +through the door. 
 439.518 +
 439.519 +The brunette could hear him hurry to the other side of the door,
 439.520 +placing his hand on it. She placed her own hand where she imagined
 439.521 +his to be. “I'm here, Riku. I'm finally here. To set you free.” She
 439.522 +licked her dry lips, closing her eyes.
 439.523 +
 439.524 +“I always believed in you, Kairi. I knew I'd see you again.” Riku
 439.525 +rested his head against the door, smiling faintly. No matter what had
 439.526 +gotten in her way, Kairi had triumphed. She had made her way to
 439.527 +Kingdom Hearts. To him. He knew she was strong. Now he knew just how
 439.528 +strong.  
 439.529 +
 439.530 +“Riku...” Kairi whispered. There was so much she needed to tell him.
 439.531 +But not through a door. Not anymore. She had finally reached him. Her
 439.532 +journey had come to a close. She had reached her treasure. Stepping
 439.533 +back, she pulled up the Keyblade. At that very same moment, Sora was
 439.534 +unlocking the door as well. Kairi could feel him almost as if he were
 439.535 +there with her. She smiled. They were all together again. Together,
 439.536 +she and Sora unlocked the Doorway to the light. Slowly, ever so
 439.537 +slowly, the locked door in Kairi's room opened, light shining forth
 439.538 +behind it. The light blinded Kairi for a moment. When she could focus
 439.539 +again, the door had regained it's splendor. It was no longer the door
 439.540 +in her room, but the gigantic double doors of Kingdom Hearts. Her
 439.541 +heart soared as she saw Riku's silouhette in the light. “Riku!” And
 439.542 +someone else was beside her. She wasn't alone anymore. Turning to the
 439.543 +side, she saw Sora, holding out his Keyblade just as she was holding
 439.544 +out hers. “Sora!” They were together again. All three of them. The
 439.545 +light spilled over her, warming her. She laughed. It was over. They
 439.546 +were all together again. This is what she had wanted, what she had
 439.547 +always dreamed of. “Kairi?” Sora looked over, astonished to see Kairi
 439.548 +opening the door with him. She was wearing her old outfit from the
 439.549 +Destiny Islands rather than her black princess's dress. And she
 439.550 +seemed so surprised to see him. His eyes slowly went behind Kairi.
 439.551 +Hikari grinned, standing behind Kairi like a shadow. Sephiroth stood
 439.552 +watch further behind them. And then, all hell broke loose. The Light
 439.553 +began to dim. Shadows began growing in intensity, growing larger and
 439.554 +more menacing. The shadows shot into the Doorway, going deep into the
 439.555 +core of the Light, into the very heart of the universe. The light
 439.556 +grew dimmer. Bigger, monstrous shadows grew in the Doorway to the
 439.557 +Light, obscuring out the light. “No!!!” Sora yelled, loss and
 439.558 +frustration robbing him of the joy he'd held just seconds earlier.
 439.559 +“Damn it! Kingdom Hearts is Light!!” But it was too late. The shadows
 439.560 +kept growing. The Heartless were poisoning the Light of the universe
 439.561 +at the heart of the Galaxy. Kairi could only stare. She had come to
 439.562 +end the Heartless. She had come to save everyone. But that was gone
 439.563 +now. Soon, everything would be. “No...” she whispered, broken.
 439.564 +“No...” Shaking her head, the princess tried to understand. “But...
 439.565 +The Light...”“Beware, Kairi,” her voice came from behind. “The closer
 439.566 +you get to the Light, the greater your shadow becomes.” Kairi slowly
 439.567 +turned to face herself, Princess Hikari grinning in her black dress.
 439.568 +“Who are you?” “I'm your shadow,” Princess Hikari explained. “The
 439.569 +Doorway to the Darkness is shut. The Heartless are dying out because
 439.570 +of that. But you had to come and stop them. You unleashed the Light.
 439.571 +Which would have killed the Heartless. If not for one tiny detail.
 439.572 +You're my light. So I'm the darkness. With you directly in the Light,
 439.573 +I'm more powerful than I could ever be in the darkness. Thanks to
 439.574 +you, I've resurrected the dying Heartless. They'll consume the Heart
 439.575 +of the Universe and start anew. We'll make the Doorway to the Light
 439.576 +into a new Doorway to the Darkness.”“Hikari!!” Sora cried out,
 439.577 +betrayed. How could she have done this? How could she have sacrificed
 439.578 +everything to the darkness? Hikari shook her head a little sadly.
 439.579 +“Thank you, Sora. For everything. I know why Kairi loves you. She
 439.580 +loves you because I loved you. Just like Riku. That's why she was
 439.581 +willing to suffer so much to get him back.” She looked into his eyes,
 439.582 +her own torn with pain and torment. “I'm glad I got to spend this
 439.583 +last bit of time together. It's bittersweet, but I think that makes
 439.584 +it an even better note to go out on. I got to see one of the things
 439.585 +that meant the most to me.” She looked back towards the darkening
 439.586 +Doorway to the Light. “But now it's time for the dream to end. From
 439.587 +Darkness we all come, and to darkness we will return.”Kairi shook her
 439.588 +head, her heart feeling as if it were being shred to pieces. All of
 439.589 +her work for nothing. Everyone would be consumed by the Heartless.
 439.590 +She couldn't save anyone after all. “Who are you? You can't do this.
 439.591 +You can't! I was going to save everything!” Hikari shook her head
 439.592 +sadly. “You don't get it, do you? I'm two people. Just like you. I'm
 439.593 +Princess Hikari, daughter of Ansem, the ruler of Hollow Bastion. When
 439.594 +my father was overcome by the Heartless, I followed him. I was
 439.595 +worried about him and I knew his research was driving him mad. My
 439.596 +personal guard, Sephiroth, came with me. We reached the Doorway to
 439.597 +the Darkness where my father had become one of them. I joined soon
 439.598 +after. But I realized there was a problem with my father. We all have
 439.599 +darkness in our heart. But we also have light. He didn't understand
 439.600 +that. So when I gave myself to the Heartless, I got rid of the light
 439.601 +in my heart. That was you, Kairi. I sent away the light in my heart
 439.602 +to find the Keyblade Master so I could keep track of him, whoever he
 439.603 +may be and to keep you away so that there would be no chance of the
 439.604 +light ruining me as it did my father.” 
 439.605 +
 439.606 +Clenching her fists, she grew bitter. “And then there's another me.
 439.607 +A me who grew up with only her mother. A lonely girl who never quite
 439.608 +fit in. Who was always teased and a bit away from everyone. Like I
 439.609 +never really belonged in that world. So I spent all my time in
 439.610 +fantasy worlds, watching movies and playing video games. And I spent
 439.611 +a lot of time in one fantasy world in particular. On an island where
 439.612 +I had lots of friends and I was beautiful and two boys adored me.
 439.613 +Sound familiar, Kairi?” Kairi felt the Keyblade drop from her hands.
 439.614 +This... This was wrong... “Don't.... Please...” She knew about the
 439.615 +two realities, but now this girl... “But it was only a fantasy. I
 439.616 +could never really be on that island. I could never really be
 439.617 +beautiful with lots of friends and the boys I loved.” Hikari laughed,
 439.618 +an anguished sound. “I couldn't be with the boys I loved because they
 439.619 +were only make believe. My real life was pointless and my fantasy
 439.620 +life was just that, a fantasy. So I finally decided I wanted neither.
 439.621 +So one night, I took my mother's shears and I slit my wrists so I
 439.622 +could finally escape the pain and the longing for that which I'd
 439.623 +never have.”Kairi held her head, trying to force it all away. “Then
 439.624 +why are you doing this? Why can't you live here with them? Why can't
 439.625 +you stay with mom? Why... Why?”Hikari glared at Kairi. “You are
 439.626 +pathetic. No wonder I got rid of you. You always did make me
 439.627 +indecisive. I was always so wishy washy when I had you inside of me.
 439.628 +I won't live in a fantasy world. What's the point if none of it is
 439.629 +real? And I won't live in a real life that's nothing but tears and
 439.630 +pain. I'm going to die. And I'm going to tear down this fantasy world
 439.631 +with me. I'm finally going to get my rest. I am the queen of the
 439.632 +Heartless now, Kairi. I've set loose the horrors of the real world
 439.633 +here and I'm going to use them to tear it apart. It's all just a
 439.634 +lie.” She shook her head. “But you still don't understand. Kairi, I'm
 439.635 +the real Hikari. I'm both Princess Hikari and Hikari in the real
 439.636 +world. You're just a part of me. A sliver. And illusion. You're the
 439.637 +small light in my heart that I sent away. You aren't real. Just as
 439.638 +light is only an illusion, so are you.” Hikari reached forward,
 439.639 +placing her hand over Kairi's heart. All of a sudden, Kairi couldn't
 439.640 +breath. She gasped panfully, her body blurring and disipating. She
 439.641 +shook, but couldn't move as Hikari went about dispelling the illusion
 439.642 +that she was. It couldn't be... No... She could feel herself fading
 439.643 +quickly. Riku... Sora... She had only wanted to be with them, to save
 439.644 +them. Her mother... Soon it would all be gone. Just like her. Arms
 439.645 +wrapped around Kairi tightly, trying to force her back into being.
 439.646 +“Kairi, you have to fight it,” Riku told her, holding on as tightly
 439.647 +as he could. “You have to believe. I know it's hard. But hold on.
 439.648 +Please.” Hikari frowned as the dead boy tried to bolster her other
 439.649 +self. It didn't matter. She was growing in power as the seconds
 439.650 +ticked by, as the darkness grew. Within just a few moments, she'd be
 439.651 +strong enough to dispell Kairi offhand. A swift blow knocked her hand
 439.652 +away from Kairi. “Stay away from her!” Sora practically growled,
 439.653 +holding the Keyblade towards her. Pain erupted in Hikari's heart
 439.654 +again. Even the boys she loved were turning against her. Even if they
 439.655 +were only figments of her imagination, it still hurt unbearably.
 439.656 +“Sora...” Sephiroth gripped his sword. Remembering his earlier battle
 439.657 +with Sora, this would be rather simple. The boy didn't even have back
 439.658 +up this time. Pulling up the Masamune, the SOLDIER started towards
 439.659 +the boy.“Don't, Sephiroth.” The cloaked boy watched Sephiroth through
 439.660 +his blindfold. “King Ansem. How nice of you to join us,” Sephiroth
 439.661 +bowed. Smiling faintly, he nodded towards Hikari. “I'm sorry to
 439.662 +inform you, but I am Princess Hikari's royal guard. My loyaltly lies
 439.663 +to her and her alone.”“Don't try and stop me, father. I'm ending this
 439.664 +tonight. Everything will die,” Hikari said, not deigning her father
 439.665 +worth a glance. Her pained eyes remained fixed on Sora. She'd known
 439.666 +that he wouldn't follow her plan, but it hurt nonetheless. But he was
 439.667 +only a dream, she told herself. That helped fill her resolve. It
 439.668 +would all be over soon enough.Kairi leaned heavily against Sora,
 439.669 +Riku's ghostly arms still around her. “Ansem?” So Ansem had survived.
 439.670 +No wonder he looked so much like Riku. He was still in Riku's body.
 439.671 +Then... That was her father.
 439.672 +
 439.673 +“Don't do this, Hikari. I let my curiosity overwhelm me. I let the
 439.674 +Heartless consume me. Don't let them do the same to you. There is
 439.675 +light in our hearts. Darkness isn't the only thing our hearts are
 439.676 +born from,” Ansem pleaded.Hikari laughed. “I know that, father.
 439.677 +That's why I sent my light far, far away. The Light gave me the power
 439.678 +to destroy it all. Darkness is reality. Light is dreams. It's fragile
 439.679 +and full of lies. So I'll put an end to all of it.” Raising her hand,
 439.680 +the darkness in the Doorway to the Light pulsed. Shadows spilled out,
 439.681 +engulfing all. In moments, there was nothing but darkness.
 439.682 +
 439.683 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.684 +
 439.685 +Harle and Aya watched as Darkness began spilling out, Heartless
 439.686 +growing everywhere. The Darkness was overtaking all in it's path. It
 439.687 +was enough to wash over all the universe. Harle shook her head.
 439.688 +“Surely she has damned us all.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.689 +
 439.690 +She sailed about in a sea of darkness. It was everywhere, and yet it
 439.691 +felt like nowhere at all. It imprisoned her in it's painfilled
 439.692 +memories of the past, lacing her with cold wracking sobs and blazing
 439.693 +hot desperation. She had failed. Because of her, everything had
 439.694 +ceased to be. Now there was only darkness. No dreams. No love. No
 439.695 +Light. And this is all it would ever be. Because of her. 'Even in
 439.696 +darkness... There will always be light...' Her grandmother had told
 439.697 +her that, hadn't she? No, it was her mother. She had come home
 439.698 +crying. Her mother had come in and smoothed down her hair and had
 439.699 +told her that. 'Just... take my hand...'
 439.700 +
 439.701 +But what could she do? It was too late. It was all over. If she
 439.702 +hadn't been blinded, if she hadn't been so stupid, maybe she wouldn't
 439.703 +have forfeited everything.'Kairi, please...'So she could only float
 439.704 +in the darkness, curled up into a ball, broken and lonely. Always so
 439.705 +lonely. It wasn't so different from hiding in the bathroom at school
 439.706 +crying, was it?'Kairi... reach out... take my hand...'
 439.707 +
 439.708 +But... But there was light, wasn't there? Even in the very deepest
 439.709 +darkness. Because... without light, there could be no such thing as
 439.710 +darkness. And without darkness, there could be no light. Kairi
 439.711 +reached out for Riku's hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 439.712 +
 439.713 +“Kairi...” Riku knelt near her, watching the weary girl slowly push
 439.714 +herself up. “Are you okay?”“Riku!” Kairi tried to hug him, but he
 439.715 +shook his head. He was only a spirit. Ansem had his body. She
 439.716 +couldn't hold him. She placed her hands on her knees in an attempt to
 439.717 +keep from trying to touch him. She nodded slowly. “I'm... I'm okay.” 
 439.718 +
 439.719 +“Good.” Riku smiled softly. 
 439.720 +
 439.721 +“Where's Sora? And Ansem? And...” Kairi looked away. Hikari was her,
 439.722 +wasn't she? So this really was her fault.Riku shook his head. “I
 439.723 +don't know. I followed you into the darkness. You managed to fight it
 439.724 +off. I think Hikari and Sephiroth went into the Doorway to the Light.
 439.725 +I don't know where the others went.” 
 439.726 +
 439.727 +“Thanks, Riku.” Kairi slowly looked back up at him. The silver
 439.728 +haired boy gazed back into her eyes with his dazzling aquamarine
 439.729 +gems. The princess smiled weakly. “I missed you so much.”“I missed
 439.730 +you, too, Kairi. I wanted to see you one last time. I'm glad I got
 439.731 +to.” Now that Riku could see Kairi, he could at last pass on. As long
 439.732 +as he knew she was all right. 
 439.733 +
 439.734 +“No!!” Kairi blinked back tearfully. “I need you! This isn't the
 439.735 +last time! You're coming with me,” she demanded.“You don't need me,
 439.736 +Kairi. You made your way here without my help. You're stronger than
 439.737 +you know.” Riku smiled, placing his hand over her cheek. He wished he
 439.738 +could feel it. Just one last time. “Maybe I should ask you to take
 439.739 +care of Sora for me instead of the other way around.”“I do need you!”
 439.740 +Kairi insisted. “I never would have gotten here without you. You were
 439.741 +with me every step of the way.” Tears spilled freely down her cheeks.
 439.742 +“I don't want to be without you, Riku. I love you. Don't go.”
 439.743 +
 439.744 +The last part nearly broke Riku's resolve. She loved him? How could
 439.745 +he leave her? But he didn't have a choice. But... at least he knew
 439.746 +that. He'd be able to hold that with him when he passed on to the
 439.747 +other side. “Kairi, I love you, too. I always have. I'd stay with you
 439.748 +always if I could. Always and forever.”Kairi finally noticed the dark
 439.749 +haired girl behind Riku. The girl who had called herself Sophie.
 439.750 +Death incarnate. She had come to collect Riku. “No...” She looked up
 439.751 +pleadingly, but the angel of death shook her head simply. This was
 439.752 +her job. “Riku...” Tears blurred her vision as she watched him stand
 439.753 +up. “I won't let you go. I won't!” She pushed herself to her feet,
 439.754 +reaching out for him. “Just...” She licked her broken lips, trying to
 439.755 +see him through her tears. “Just take my hand. And it will be all...”
 439.756 +Her voice broke, her throat painful now. “And it'll be all right.
 439.757 +Just take my hand...” She held it out, her hand shaking. “Because...
 439.758 +Because we'll always be together. Always. I believe that Riku.
 439.759 +Please, please believe in that with me. Always....” Sophie placed her
 439.760 +hand on Riku's shoulder. He looked back at the angel of death and
 439.761 +then to Kairi. He was dead. Sophie was going to take him away. But
 439.762 +Kairi wouldn't let go. She had a terribly strong will. “I told you
 439.763 +that you're stronger than you know.” Riku smiled at Kairi, taking her
 439.764 +hand. In a flash of light he was gone. Kairi closed her eyes, placing
 439.765 +her hands over her heart. Riku was gone, and yet, she didn't feel
 439.766 +alone. She felt... She felt as if he were close by. With her.
 439.767 +'Because you aren't alone,' his voice said in her head. “Riku!”
 439.768 +Kairi's eyes lit up as she opened them.Riku's heart... When her heart
 439.769 +had been separated from her body, she had ended up in Sora's body.
 439.770 +Now Riku was without a body, but she had taken him into her own. He
 439.771 +hadn't left. She let out a deep breath, relieved. Sophie turned away
 439.772 +from her, walking back into the darkness. “You're running out of
 439.773 +time. Hurry. I have to collect you next, you know.” With that, Death
 439.774 +herself was gone.Kairi nodded. “Let's go, Riku. To end this.”
 439.775 +

   440.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   440.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-17.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   440.3 @@ -0,0 +1,624 @@
   440.4 +Prism Hearts 
   440.5 +Chapter 17
   440.6 +Hikari 
   440.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   440.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   440.9 +
  440.10 +"Imaginary"
  440.11 +by Evanescence
  440.12 +
  440.13 +I linger in the doorway
  440.14 +of  alarm clock  screaming monsters calling my name
  440.15 +let me stay
  440.16 +where  the wind will whisper  to me
  440.17 +where the raindrops as they're  falling tell a story
  440.18 +
  440.19 +in my field  of paper flowers
  440.20 +and  candy clouds of lullaby
  440.21 +i lie inside myself for  hours
  440.22 +and  watch my purple sky fly over me
  440.23 +
  440.24 +don't say i'm out of  touch
  440.25 +with  this rampant chaos - your reality
  440.26 +i know well what lies beyond  my sleeping refuge 
  440.27 +the nightmare i built my own world to escape
  440.28 +
  440.29 +in  my  field of paper flowers
  440.30 +and candy clouds of lullaby
  440.31 +i  lie inside myself for  hours
  440.32 +and watch my purple sky fly over  me
  440.33 +
  440.34 +swallowed up in the sound of  my screaming
  440.35 +cannot  cease for the fear of silent nights
  440.36 +oh how i long for  the deep  sleep dreaming
  440.37 +the goddess of imaginary light
  440.38 +
  440.39 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  440.40 +
  440.41 +The darkness encompassed all. Any light that had been within Kingdom
  440.42 +Hearts had been extinguished. Standing in front of the imposing
  440.43 +doorway that led into the heart of the universe, Kairi paused for a
  440.44 +moment. This was it. This would lead her to Hikari, to her other
  440.45 +self. And if she didn't do something to stop Hikari, the Heartless
  440.46 +would consume the heart of the universe and tear apart the beautiful
  440.47 +dream. And then, she would die. Alone. She couldn't let that happen.
  440.48 +So much had already been lost. There had to be a way to save
  440.49 +everything. Somehow. 
  440.50 +
  440.51 +Closing her eyes, Kairi took a moment to feel Riku within her. His
  440.52 +heart, strong and dedicated, rested next to her own. She could feel
  440.53 +his thoughts and feelings flowing through her as if they were her
  440.54 +own. “I'm worried about him, too,” she whispered at last, feeling his
  440.55 +thoughts go to Sora. When she had awoken from the Darkness, she had
  440.56 +been all alone with the exception of Riku's spirit. Wherever Sora
  440.57 +was, she hoped they weren't too late. 
  440.58 +
  440.59 +Collecting her strength, the princess stepped through what had once
  440.60 +been the Doorway to the Light. 
  440.61 +
  440.62 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  440.63 +
  440.64 +Inside the Doorway, all was dark. She could see herself, but
  440.65 +everything else was the deepest black. It was as if the world around
  440.66 +her was painted in shadows. And yet, even in that absence of light,
  440.67 +it didn't feel empty. There was something lurking in the shadows.
  440.68 +They were alive. Pulsing with the cold, pained cries of broken
  440.69 +hearts. Soon, this blanket of tears would encompass everything. The
  440.70 +princess hastened her step into the eternal night. 
  440.71 +
  440.72 +No matter how far Kairi traveled, nothing seemed to change. The
  440.73 +darkness was constant. Shivering in the darkness, she hugged herself
  440.74 +to try to keep warm. Her outfit may have been fine for island life,
  440.75 +but in these blackened depths, it offered little protection. From the
  440.76 +shadows came echos of crying, mocking laughter, angry voices, and
  440.77 +other noises Kairi couldn't quite make out. They all came from the
  440.78 +darkest part of the heart. There was no spectre of the light that had
  440.79 +once been there. Kairi feared that she was too late. But she couldn't
  440.80 +just sit and wait for the universe to collapse. If there was any
  440.81 +chance that she could make things right again, she had to take it. No
  440.82 +matter what the cost. “So Ansem's still alive. I should have known it
  440.83 +was him in your body,” Kairi said at last, growing wary of the
  440.84 +strange noises in the distance. “I guess he had reason to stick
  440.85 +around in this life like I did. He seems to be trying to stop Hikari,
  440.86 +too. The Light must have awakened the part of him that had been such
  440.87 +a great ruler before he started researching the Heartless,” Riku's
  440.88 +voice rang through Kairi's head. It was so strange. After he'd sold
  440.89 +his heart in order to save Kairi's, she had eventually been the one
  440.90 +to save him. Now his heart was in her body. She had always been
  440.91 +special to him. He and Sora had spent so much of their time vying for
  440.92 +her attention. But it was more than that. It ran deeper. He had been
  440.93 +willing to do whatever it took to save her. He had no idea she'd be
  440.94 +just as willing to do the same for him. “Thanks, Kairi.”A small smile
  440.95 +played of Kairi's lips. “I may not be able to fight like you and
  440.96 +Sora, but that doesn't mean I'd ever give up on you two.” Her tone
  440.97 +changed more serious as she rested her hand over her heart, imagining
  440.98 +his heart. “I promised I'd find you. This isn't over until we're all
  440.99 +together again.”“Kairi...” Riku smiled inwardly. “You're more amazing
 440.100 +than you know. Whatever Hikari said, don't let it get to you. You've
 440.101 +proven you're more than an illusion. However you started out, no
 440.102 +matter what world you came from, you're the strongest person I know.”
 440.103 +Kairi blushed, all too acutely aware that Riku could feel her
 440.104 +thoughts. It made it impossible to hide her embarrassment. She acted
 440.105 +hastily to cover it up. “I hope that means you won't be calling me
 440.106 +lazy anymore,” she joked.“Oh, I don't know about that,” the once
 440.107 +silver haired boy teased. “You and Sora still like to leave me to do
 440.108 +the hard work.”Giggling softly, the brunette nodded. “That's just
 440.109 +because you're better at it. And I hope that means you don't plan on
 440.110 +building another raft to go see other worlds. I think I've had enough
 440.111 +travel for a while.”“I learned that traveling isn't worth it if you
 440.112 +can't be close to the ones you love. I never wanted to go by myself.
 440.113 +I wanted to go with you and Sora. Everything would have been fine
 440.114 +then,” Riku explained. “I'm sorry, Riku. I wanted that, too. And I'm
 440.115 +sorry for what happened to you because of me. You tried to save me,
 440.116 +but you lost your body because of it. If there's anyway I can get it
 440.117 +back, I will,” Kairi promised,guilt washing over her for the silver
 440.118 +haired boy's predicament. “No, don't feel sorry, Kairi. I did what I
 440.119 +had to. I'd have done anything to get you back. I sold my heart to
 440.120 +try to do that. I lost my body in the bargain. But getting you back
 440.121 +was more important than any of that. I can accept what happened. As
 440.122 +long as I'm with you, I'm happy.” 
 440.123 +
 440.124 +The conviction in Riku's thoughts coursed through Kairi. She smiled
 440.125 +faintly. “As long as I'm with you...” she echoed. 
 440.126 +
 440.127 +“Watch out!” Riku's voice called out to her. Kairi stopped herself
 440.128 +right in front of a developing shadow. It shifted and grew, achieving
 440.129 +a shape. Because of the darkness around it, the shadow itself was
 440.130 +difficult to make out, but it became easier and easier as its form
 440.131 +became more defined. Kairi took several steps back, but already she
 440.132 +could feel more of them. They were surrounding her. The one in front
 440.133 +of her finally stepped forward, the shadowed hair shifting from side
 440.134 +to side. It's long sleeves nearly touched the ground. It looked up
 440.135 +with a horribly familiar face. “Yuna...” Kairi got out breathlessly.
 440.136 +It looked exactly like the other girl painted in shadows. Beside the
 440.137 +shadowed Yuna stood a rapidly forming shadow of Rikku. Kairi turned
 440.138 +to spot the others, but there were rapidly becoming more than she
 440.139 +could count. Kuja. And Ultimecia. And Kefka. And Seifer. And Celes.
 440.140 +And more and more. They all watched her with their blind, dark,
 440.141 +accusing eyes. The Keyblade was in her hand without thinking. It took
 440.142 +the princess a moment to realize Riku had taken control and was
 440.143 +preparing to fight. But even with how good a fighter she knew Riku
 440.144 +was, they were terribly outnumbered. There were simply too many of
 440.145 +them. They appeared in droves, surrounding them. So many faces that
 440.146 +she could recognize in those awful shadow faces, all damned. “No! I
 440.147 +unlocked your heart!” Kairi turned to Yuna, practically shouting in
 440.148 +panic. “You should be free. You should all be in the Lifestream by
 440.149 +now. You should be safe from the Heartless!”“And they are,” a voice
 440.150 +said. The path of shadows opened for the darkly clad, silver haired
 440.151 +SOLDIER. Sephiroth nodded to Kairi, watching her intently as he began
 440.152 +to step forward. “You unlocked their hearts. And the others are dead.
 440.153 +They're far away. Much too far away to help you, my princess. But
 440.154 +their shadows, on the other hand... Those are more than happy to tear
 440.155 +you apart. Bit by bit. Princess Hikari was running out of Heartless
 440.156 +so she took the shadows of the dead. Now they have gathered here,
 440.157 +ready for the endless night that she will bring.” 
 440.158 +
 440.159 +“Why are you doing this? She's wrong. She'll destroy everything,”
 440.160 +Kairi insisted. Part of her could remember Sephiroth. He had been her
 440.161 +loyal guard, always there to protect her. How could he be doing this
 440.162 +now? “I don't ask questions, your highness. I do as Princess Hikari
 440.163 +commands me. I would lay down my life for her. I'm sure the ghost boy
 440.164 +with you understands what I mean.” He raised the Masamune, his
 440.165 +glowing green eyes fixed on Kairi's.
 440.166 +Deep within Kairi, she could feel Riku's grudging agreement. Riku,
 440.167 +too, would do the same thing for Kairi. Sephiroth was protecting
 440.168 +Hikari in the same way, regardless of where that led the universe.
 440.169 +Kairi felt her hands tighten on the Keyblade as Riku prepared to try
 440.170 +to fight off Sephiroth. And the mass of shadows that was surrounding
 440.171 +them. The princess wasn't ready to give in, but she couldn't see a
 440.172 +way out. “But if you have to protect her, you have to protect me,
 440.173 +too,” Kairi insisted. “I'm the princess. You swore you'd protect me
 440.174 +from all harm.”Sephiroth shook his head, still a few meters away. He
 440.175 +would be on them in seconds. “I'm afraid it isn't that simple. You
 440.176 +are only a dream that Princess Hikari had. She wishes the dream to
 440.177 +end. So I will be your executioner for my highness.” His single dark
 440.178 +wing unfurled. It would be a shame to have to kill even a facsimile
 440.179 +of the princess, but he would do whatever she asked of him. Spinning
 440.180 +end over end, a shuriken whistled through the air. The bladed weapon
 440.181 +sunk deep into shadow Rikku, felling the dark version of the catgirl.
 440.182 +“You will not degrade the memory of my little sister! I don't care
 440.183 +who the hell you think you are!” Yuffie yelled out, rage burning in
 440.184 +her eyes. 
 440.185 +
 440.186 +Turning in a daze, Kairi was shocked. Yuffie was there? The ninja
 440.187 +had followed her? But how? But it wasn't just Yuffie. There stood
 440.188 +Relm, already drawing a fire to light the darkness. Aerith stood with
 440.189 +them, chanting a spell. And there stood Cloud with his own wing
 440.190 +unfurled. And Squall and Rinoa. And the Turks. And there were Quistis
 440.191 +and Selphie. They were all there. They had come for her. She wasn't
 440.192 +alone. 
 440.193 +Before the shadows could get to Kairi, the group began to fight
 440.194 +their way into the mass of living shadows. Yuffie slashed her way
 440.195 +through with another shuriken, fighting with all the pain she had for
 440.196 +her lost sister. Relm drew vicious dogs, letting her paintings attack
 440.197 +the shadows nearest her. The Turks opened fire, fighting their way
 440.198 +through the mob of darkness. Quistis and Selphie fought together, for
 440.199 +their Island, for everyone's future. They all fought back the growing
 440.200 +darkness as best they could. They all knew the stakes of this final
 440.201 +battle. And they were all willing to give their hearts to try and
 440.202 +stop the end from coming. “Didn't think we'd just live you to do it
 440.203 +all alone, did you?” Yuffie asked, breaking through the shadows to
 440.204 +reach Kairi. 
 440.205 +
 440.206 +Relm followed closely behind Yuffie. “You shouldn't have ran off on
 440.207 +your own. We got worried about you.” The light in Kairi's heart grew
 440.208 +as she watched her two companions. Even in darkness, there is always
 440.209 +light. Even now, at their very darkest hour, her friends had come for
 440.210 +her. Hikari was wrong. She couldn't let this end. “I guess I just
 440.211 +thought it was better to do it alone,” Kairi admitted. Yuffie
 440.212 +smirked. “Without the universe's greatest ninja?” She shook her head.
 440.213 +“You're crazy, princess.” Kairi couldn't keep from smiling. “I guess
 440.214 +I am.” 
 440.215 +
 440.216 +“Goodbye, Princess.” Kairi's heart froze as she heard Sephiroth's
 440.217 +voice. There was genuine sorrow in it for what it was about to do,
 440.218 +but she knew it wouldn't slow his blade at all. The wind knifed
 440.219 +against her back as his blade descended. He had managed to make his
 440.220 +way through the shadows to fulfill his mission, to eliminate the
 440.221 +princess's dream. Metal clanged loudly against metal. Cloud held back
 440.222 +the Masamune with his Buster Sword, keeping it inches away from
 440.223 +Kairi. Kairi hurried out of the way, near Yuffie and Relm while Cloud
 440.224 +stepped in Sephiroth's way. “Too many have died already, Sephiroth.” 
 440.225 +
 440.226 +Sephiroth shook his head, silver hair swaying about. “By morning,
 440.227 +everything will be dead.” Pulling up his sword, the two warriors
 440.228 +clashed. Yuffie grabbed Kairi's shoulder, yanking the princess
 440.229 +further back. “Aerith said we're running out of time. You're the
 440.230 +Keyblade Mistress, so it sounds like you're the only one who can stop
 440.231 +all this.” She turned Kairi to look at her, holding both of her
 440.232 +shoulders. The ninja looked deep into the princess's eyes. “Kairi...
 440.233 +You have to stop all this. I... I believe in you. You have to end
 440.234 +this. For Rikku. I can't let her die in vain. Please.” “And for
 440.235 +Celes. For everyone who's died because of this, Kairi. You can't let
 440.236 +their sacrifices be pointless,” Relm said. “Everyone's counting on
 440.237 +you. You have to save tonight or there will never be another
 440.238 +tomorrow.”“And for Riku. And Yuna. And Kuja. And everyone.” Kairi
 440.239 +nodded. “I will. I'll save everything. Somehow. I'll close the
 440.240 +door.”Yuffie smiled faintly, nodding. “Then get going. We'll hold off
 440.241 +the Heartless. You make your way there.”
 440.242 +
 440.243 +“Thank you. All of you,” Kairi said, blinking back tears. Just
 440.244 +knowing that they'd all come to help her like that meant so much to
 440.245 +her. She hugged her two companions, clinging tightly to them for a
 440.246 +long moment. “It's been fun...” she whispered. Stepping away, she
 440.247 +turned towards the waiting darkness.“Kairi... Good luck. No matter
 440.248 +what happens, don't forget us,” Relm called after her.“I won't. I
 440.249 +couldn't.” Kairi ran into the darkness.
 440.250 +
 440.251 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 440.252 +
 440.253 +Somewhere deep within the darkness, Kairi finally reached the very
 440.254 +Heart of the Universe. It had once hung majestically in the air,
 440.255 +shimmering with the beauty of a thousand suns and the hearts of all
 440.256 +that ever were. But now it sunk low, covered sickly with shadows. It
 440.257 +looked diseased, as if the shadows were killing it. The Heartless
 440.258 +were consuming the Heart of the Universe. Where everything began. 
 440.259 +
 440.260 +Kairi stepped slowly towards the Heart, her eyes slowly moving
 440.261 +towards the girl standing next to it. Herself. Her darker half. And
 440.262 +it looked like Hikari had been waiting. “I see somehow you got past
 440.263 +Sephiroth.” The princess shook her head dismissively. “Though it
 440.264 +hardly matters. There's nothing left to do. The Heart of the Universe
 440.265 +is dying. It will be completely Heartless soon. The dream is already
 440.266 +falling apart. You don't matter anymore.”Kairi shook her head,
 440.267 +frustration, regret, and anger all welling up inside of her. “You
 440.268 +can't do this, Hikari. I won't let you. I know why you want to. I'm
 440.269 +part of you. And part of me wants this, too. But I can't let you. I
 440.270 +love these people too much. I love this world.”Scoffing, Hikari
 440.271 +turned her attention to Kairi. “And what of the other world? This is
 440.272 +all just as much an illusion as you. The dying thoughts of a lonely,
 440.273 +disturbed girl. What about that other world?”Kairi swallowed, the
 440.274 +painful memories of her other life returning. But they were
 440.275 +bittersweet, mixing with her memories of her mother. Of dressing up
 440.276 +and dancing with her in the living room when she was a child. Of
 440.277 +playing games and going on picnics and laughing as they stayed up
 440.278 +late talking. “This isn't only an illusion. Everything... Everything
 440.279 +is real.” Kairi smiled, understanding at last what Harle had tried to
 440.280 +say to her. “Both worlds are just as real. And... And I can't give up
 440.281 +that world either. I miss mom too much. I won't die in her arms. I
 440.282 +won't leave her all alone.” Digging her fingernails into her palms,
 440.283 +Hikari glared hatefully at Kairi. “I won't go back there. I'm tired
 440.284 +of being teased and hurt. I've cried until my soul can't take it
 440.285 +anymore. I won't live that life. It's over. I can't find solace in
 440.286 +these dreams anymore. It only hurts even more that they can't be
 440.287 +real. And I can't live that life any longer. My soul has bled too
 440.288 +much. Now I'm going to escape it. And I'll take these dreams, my
 440.289 +beautiful dreams with me. I want them to bleed. I want to destroy
 440.290 +something beautiful. They're my dreams. And only I can destroy
 440.291 +them.”“Hikari, don't do this! Please! What about Aerith, Aya, and the
 440.292 +other princesses? What about their dreams? What about the Destiny
 440.293 +Islands? What about Sora and Riku? You can't kill them all. They all
 440.294 +mean too much. And what about mom?” Kairi pleaded, hoping against
 440.295 +hope that she could get through to Hikari before it was too
 440.296 +late.Hikari looked back towards the Heart of the Universe, reaching
 440.297 +out and feeling the darkness coursing through it. “The other
 440.298 +princesses need to grow up. You can't hide in fantasy forever. It's
 440.299 +all lies. I'm doing them a favor. Mom is better off without me.
 440.300 +Couldn't you see the pain in her eyes when she saw me crying? She
 440.301 +wanted to help me. It hurt her so much to see me suffering and not
 440.302 +knowing how to take that pain away from me. She'll never have to see
 440.303 +me cry again.” Closing her eyes, she let the pain and tears well up
 440.304 +inside of her, the fresh hurt reminding her of her mission. “And as
 440.305 +far as Sora and Riku go, we might as well end that right now.”Sora
 440.306 +stepped out of the shadows. He was holding the Keyblade, advancing on
 440.307 +Kairi. His outfit had changed, the Heartless symbol prominent on his
 440.308 +chest. “Oh, God, no...” Kairi whispered, frozen. “You didn't...” Her
 440.309 +heart sunk deep in her chest as she saw the way he looked at her. The
 440.310 +beautiful glint in his eyes was gone. It was replaced by something
 440.311 +cold and menacing.
 440.312 +
 440.313 +“I couldn't get Sora to join me willingly. He struggled. But I was
 440.314 +determined to have him by my side at the last moments. He is one of
 440.315 +the boys of my dreams, after all. So I made him one of the
 440.316 +Heartless,” Hikari explained, not bothering to look back. “Sora, be a
 440.317 +good boy and kill her.”Sora nodded his assent, pulling up the
 440.318 +Keyblade. “Yes, princess.” With that, the Keyblade Master lunged at
 440.319 +Kairi.Riku blocked the blow with Kairi's Keyblade, taking control of
 440.320 +Kairi's body again. “Sora, don't do this! You promised me you'd take
 440.321 +care of her,” Riku reminded the brunette boy. “You have to take care
 440.322 +of her for me, Sora.”Hikari shook her head, aiding the darkness
 440.323 +surrounding the Heart of the Universe. “He can't hear you, Riku. He's
 440.324 +Heartless now, remember?” She glanced back at Kairi, watching the
 440.325 +girl return Sora's blows. “It's good to see you again, by the way,
 440.326 +Riku. Interesting choice in new bodies. You always did make such a
 440.327 +good bishounen.”“You bitch!” Kairi screamed at the other version of
 440.328 +herself. “What did you do with his heart? Give it back!!” Her soul
 440.329 +cried out as she could only watch Sora trying to comply with his
 440.330 +order to kill her. Hikari had turned one of the most important people
 440.331 +in Kairi's life against her.
 440.332 +
 440.333 +Sora launched into a stream of blows, trying his hardest to get to
 440.334 +the seemingly fragile girl before him. Riku struggled to parry the
 440.335 +other Keyblade. The two were evenly matched, but Riku was at a
 440.336 +disadvantage both in a new body and in that he didn't want to hurt
 440.337 +the other boy.
 440.338 +
 440.339 +“It's gone,” Hikari said simply. “He's nothing more than my puppet
 440.340 +now. If he wouldn't stay with me to watch the end, then I had no use
 440.341 +for his heart. I cast it aside and made him another Heartless,” she
 440.342 +explained, turning to watch the fight.“No!” Kairi's heart wrenched
 440.343 +inside of herself. “Sora...” He couldn't be gone. She couldn't have
 440.344 +lost him. Her hands ached as the Keyblade was slammed around in their
 440.345 +grasp. Sora was attacking more and more fiercely. “Kairi, she's
 440.346 +lying. Hikari's in pain. She's been suffering. She wants her
 440.347 +suffering to end. And she's self-destructive enough to want to kill
 440.348 +herself and her dreams. But she still loves Sora. She wouldn't just
 440.349 +discard his heart. It has to still be here,” Riku explained, slashing
 440.350 +at Sora to keep the other boy back. 
 440.351 +
 440.352 +Laughing, Hikari placed her hands behind her back. “I love you, too,
 440.353 +Riku, but I still asked Sora to kill you. I think your logic's a bit
 440.354 +off.” She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. “It's strange.
 440.355 +I've always had this love affair with the light and the dark. I lived
 440.356 +my life in darkness, yet I fantasized about the light. I can't live
 440.357 +without the darkness. It sustains me. At the same time, I longed for
 440.358 +the light as well. And so there was you and Sora. My light and my
 440.359 +darkness. I loved you both because I could never choose one over the
 440.360 +other. I needed you both. And now that I've reached the end, I have
 440.361 +the boy of the light while Kairi, the light from my heart, is sided
 440.362 +with the boy of the dark. Fascinating how these things turn
 440.363 +out.”“Absolutely fascinating...” Riku replied sarcastically, grunting
 440.364 +as he blocked a downward cut from Sora. 
 440.365 +“What if I unlock his heart? Will that set it free?” Kairi asked
 440.366 +hopefully.“Nope,” Hikari shot down Kairi's idea. “Remember what
 440.367 +happened with everyone else you've unlocked? Their heart is unlocked
 440.368 +from their body. Sora would die. That's of course saying he has his
 440.369 +heart inside of him right now.”Riku hopped back, inches away from
 440.370 +Sora's frenzied swipes. He needed to end this quickly or Sora would
 440.371 +kill Kairi. There had to be a way. There had to! Kairi thought
 440.372 +desperately while Riku tried to keep them alive just a little longer.
 440.373 +She dove through her memories, trying to find something, anything
 440.374 +they could use. Then it hit her. Not just her own memories, but
 440.375 +Riku's as well. Wasn't her Keyblade the Keyblade that Riku had owned,
 440.376 +after all? The one that could unlock hearts. “No... You're wrong.
 440.377 +When I unlocked Seymour's heart, he didn't die. The darkness was
 440.378 +unlocked and it transformed him. The same thing happened when Riku
 440.379 +unlocked Maleficent. When I unlocked those people, I was unlocking
 440.380 +their hearts themselves, just like when Sora unlocked his heart to
 440.381 +free me when I was stuck inside of him. But with Seymour and
 440.382 +Maleficent, they had the darkness in their hearts unlocked. Which
 440.383 +means...”“That if Sora's heart is still there, we can unlock the
 440.384 +light inside of it,” Riku finished for her. He gave a quick nod. This
 440.385 +would be close. Sora was battering away at Riku's defenses now. He'd
 440.386 +only get one chance. Riku left an opening for Sora, blocking low.
 440.387 +Sure enough, Sora took the chance, slamming the Keyblade into Kairi's
 440.388 +shoulder. Pain exploded in the injured shoulder, shooting throughout
 440.389 +Kairi and Riku. But there it was. Riku's chance. With Sora's attack
 440.390 +leaving him open, Riku lunged forward, plunging the Keyblade deep
 440.391 +into the spikey haired boy's chest, right through the Heartless
 440.392 +symbol. Praying she was right, Riku and Kairi turned the key. If they
 440.393 +were wrong, either Sora would be dead, or they would. Sora slumped
 440.394 +forward on his knees, his heart unlocked from the turning Keyblade.
 440.395 +He held his chest, clutching his heart. Light cascaded over him, his
 440.396 +clothes returning to normal. He lay there, breathing heavily. 
 440.397 +
 440.398 +“Sora!!” Kairi through her arms around him, clutching him as tightly
 440.399 +as her injured shoulder would allow. They hadn't lost him. She could
 440.400 +feel Riku in their hug as she held onto Sora. “Sora, you're okay...”
 440.401 +Burying her head against his shoulder, she felt relief blossoming
 440.402 +within her. For the first time in so long, they were all together.
 440.403 +The three of them. Just as it should be. “Kairi...” Sora held the
 440.404 +other girl, feeling her hair against his cheek. She was real in his
 440.405 +arms. She had saved him again. What had he been about to do? He
 440.406 +shuddered at the thought. How could he ever harm her?“And?” Kairi
 440.407 +asked, raising an eyebrow.Sora laughed. He knew that gesture wasn't
 440.408 +Kairi's. “And Riku. It's good to see you, too. Even if you look...
 440.409 +ummm... cuter... than you did before.”Laughing as well, Kairi sat
 440.410 +back, gazing at Sora. “I thought he was plenty cute before. But I'm
 440.411 +just glad we're all together again.”Quite enraged that the light from
 440.412 +her heart was thoroughly turning the boys she loved against her,
 440.413 +Hikari summoned the darkness around her into razor sharp daggers. An
 440.414 +illusion wasn't going to take even the boys she loved away from her.
 440.415 +She had lost everything as it was. This was the final insult.
 440.416 +“Kairi!” Sora turned just in time to see the blade ended shadows
 440.417 +rushing towards them. His body ached too much to give him the
 440.418 +strength he needed to get up and get Kairi out of the way in time. 
 440.419 +When Kairi turned to look, she could only see a dark figure standing
 440.420 +before her. 
 440.421 +The blades cut deep into Ansem's cloak, causing the body that had
 440.422 +formerly belonged to Riku to stagger back. Blood dripped down the
 440.423 +cloak from the jagged wounds. The blindfolded boy grit his teeth,
 440.424 +trying to fight back the pain. “No... No, Hikari... The Heartless are
 440.425 +using you..” He coughed. Blood spattered his lips as he stepped
 440.426 +forward. “I'm sorry, Hikari... You never should have followed me... I
 440.427 +never should have forgotten... how much I loved my dear little
 440.428 +princess... I failed you... But I can't let you do this...” Drawing
 440.429 +his dual winged blades, he summoned the last of his strength. 
 440.430 +
 440.431 +When the Light within Kingdom Hearts had hit him, it had awakened
 440.432 +something Ansem had forgotten had ever existed. The love for his
 440.433 +daughter. How he had wanted his baby princess to be happy, how he
 440.434 +wanted his people to live happy lives. That was why he had originally
 440.435 +studied the Heartless. But he had lost himself in his work somewhere
 440.436 +along the way. Still in Riku's body, his own having died when he had
 440.437 +become one of the Heartless, he had decided to help Kairi along her
 440.438 +journey. Maybe she could put write what he had done wrong. But now he
 440.439 +had to kill Hikari in order to end the cycle. This was his fault. If
 440.440 +he hadn't been consumed by the Heartless, she never would have done
 440.441 +the same. At least they'd be together in death. Far away from the
 440.442 +Heartless.Dashing forward, Ansem brought both his swords to bear on
 440.443 +the fragile looking princess. His swords were blocked by her swiftly
 440.444 +moving shadows. Raising her hand, Hikari summoned all of the power of
 440.445 +darkness at her disposal. Ansem understood then that he had been too
 440.446 +late. Hikari was completely lost to the darkness. Her tortured soul
 440.447 +had found solace with the Heartless. And she wasn't going to leave
 440.448 +until everything was dead. “Foolish old man. The Heartless isn't
 440.449 +using me. I'm using it.” Narrowing her eyes, Hikari sent the
 440.450 +gathering darkness out, watching as it destroyed her father. His
 440.451 +tattered, bloodied cloak fell uselessly to her feet. 
 440.452 +
 440.453 +“Dad...” Kairi's heart lurched as she saw him die. In one world, she
 440.454 +had her mother. In this world, she had just lost her father. He had
 440.455 +tried to protect her, to make up for his sins. And her other self had
 440.456 +simply killed him. How could she be so cold? How could she have ever
 440.457 +gotten so dark inside? What had happened to her soul? That thought
 440.458 +horrified her. That was her. She was only a small part of that girl. 
 440.459 +
 440.460 +“If she killed Ansem that easily...” Riku whispered.“Then how are we
 440.461 +supposed to stop her?” Sora continued, watching in horrified awe.
 440.462 +Even Ansem hadn't been that powerful when he had fought the other
 440.463 +man. All the darkness that existed was at Hikari's fingertips. “We
 440.464 +have to try,” Riku said, clutching the Keyblade. Between himself and
 440.465 +Sora, there had to be something they could do, right? He had to do
 440.466 +something. But part of him held back. Could he really put Kairi in
 440.467 +harm's way like that?“You don't have a choice,” Kairi answered Riku's
 440.468 +thought. “Whether I get killed here or when she destroys everything,
 440.469 +there's no difference. I want to try. All three of us.” She turned to
 440.470 +Sora. “Can you distract her? Don't do anything that'll get her to
 440.471 +kill you outright. Be careful. Just distract her. I know she loves
 440.472 +you. I think she'll keep from seriously hurting you unless she has
 440.473 +to.” Sora nodded. She swallowed. “Riku, can you get me close enough
 440.474 +to her? I'm going to do what I did to Sora. I need to unlock her
 440.475 +heart. There has to be light in it. I'll unlock it just like I've
 440.476 +unlocked the others. I'll set her free.”“I'll get you there, Kairi,”
 440.477 +Riku promised. 
 440.478 +
 440.479 +Kairi smiled vaguely. “All three of us. This is how it's supposed to
 440.480 +be. If it's going to be the end, I'd want it to be with the two of
 440.481 +you. I'm sure she feels the same way.”“It's not the end, Kairi. We'll
 440.482 +stop this,” Sora argued. 
 440.483 +
 440.484 +“Whatever happens, we're together,” Riku said softly. “Together,”
 440.485 +Kairi agreed. She slowly got up, Sora standing up beside her. 
 440.486 +
 440.487 +Rushing forward, Sora threw his Keyblade, magic swirling around it
 440.488 +as it whipped through the air at Hikari. The princess looked up,
 440.489 +shadows swirling to protect her. As predicted, the Keyblade crashed
 440.490 +into her shield of shadows. 
 440.491 +
 440.492 +Riku through all of Kairi's strength into running to Hikari. He had
 440.493 +to catch her off guard. He could feel every pain in Kairi's body
 440.494 +acutely, but he tried to force more strength out of it. Just a little
 440.495 +more... Soon this nightmare could be over... There! Reaching Hikari,
 440.496 +Kairi shoved the Keyblade into Hikari's chest. Now she could unlock
 440.497 +Hikari. She could feel the other girl's pain. The torment that raked
 440.498 +over Hikari's soul was her own pain as well. But she had hope. That
 440.499 +was the big difference between them. She could believe in a brighter
 440.500 +tomorrow. She hoped she could prove it to Hikari. Turning the
 440.501 +Keyblade, Kairi waited for Hikari's heart to come unlocked. Nothing
 440.502 +happened. Switching the Keyblade inside of the other girl again, cold
 440.503 +dread spread throughout Kairi's heart and soul. Hikari turned to look
 440.504 +at her. The other girl was smiling. 'No...' Kairi thought, trying
 440.505 +again and again. Nothing. It was like there was nothing there.
 440.506 +“Didn't I tell you I planned for this? I cast out the light in my
 440.507 +heart a long time ago. I am the Heartless. I have nothing to unlock,
 440.508 +Kairi. I sent you away for this exact reason. There is absolutely no
 440.509 +light in my heart. I won't be defeated the way my father was.”
 440.510 +Raising her hand, Hikari summoned dark lightening, sending Kairi and
 440.511 +Sora flying back. “I have all of the Darkness in the universe at my
 440.512 +control thanks to you. And there's no light in my heart to exploit.
 440.513 +You're powerless, Kairi. You always were. You are nothing more than a
 440.514 +dream. A dream that's about to end.” She tilted her head back, tears
 440.515 +dripping down her cheeks. “Can you hear that? The universe is crying
 440.516 +out. It's dying. It's finally over. Nothing will ever hurt us again.
 440.517 +No more false hopes. No more painfilled days. Thank God, it's finally
 440.518 +over.” Her shoulders slumped with the relief of a girl consigned to
 440.519 +her death. This was her relief. She was finally ending it all. 
 440.520 +
 440.521 +The Heart of the Universe finally collapsed. The light in it was
 440.522 +extinguished. The entire universe trembled as its heart stopped. The
 440.523 +fabric of reality began to twist and writhe sickly as it began to
 440.524 +die, like the structure of a building finally succumbing to too much
 440.525 +stress and tearing itself apart. 
 440.526 +
 440.527 +Kairi had failed. The part of her that hoped for a brighter future,
 440.528 +that couldn't leave her mother, that needed Riku and Sora and her
 440.529 +dreams had failed. Hikari had succeeded. The part of her that
 440.530 +lamented every day, that cried herself to sleep at night, that found
 440.531 +each day a grueling exercise in pain, who could find no comfort in
 440.532 +dreams had succeeded. And so existence began to be plunged into
 440.533 +darkness. In darkness there was nothing. There was only the abyss. 
 440.534 +
 440.535 +Pain bit into Kairi's wrists. With a moan, the brunette doubled
 440.536 +over. Red hot pain was flaring through her mind. Now that everything
 440.537 +was falling apart, she didn't have this other world to protect her
 440.538 +from the fact that she was in her bedroom bleeding to death. Blood
 440.539 +dripped down her wrists as she lay on the cold shadows at the now
 440.540 +dead Heart of the Universe. “Kairi!!” Riku's voice cried out in her
 440.541 +mind. 
 440.542 +
 440.543 +“It's over,” Hikari whimpered, relief evident in her shaking body.
 440.544 +She cried tears of relief. Finally. She could finally die. After all
 440.545 +this time. No more purgatory in this world of dreams. No more days in
 440.546 +that intolerably cruel world where she was an outsider. Finally.
 440.547 +Blood dripped down her own wrists, but she hardly noticed. 
 440.548 +
 440.549 +It was too late. There was nothing left. By now, the darkness had
 440.550 +covered everything. Everything was dead. Everything was darkness. All
 440.551 +because of her. Kairi lay weakly on the shadowed floor, her eyes dim.
 440.552 +She could almost make out the image of her mother over her, but she
 440.553 +was so far away. Sora and Riku were close by, but they would be gone
 440.554 +soon, too. They would die when the universe finally collapsed. Which
 440.555 +should be in only moments. No... No, she couldn't let them die. She
 440.556 +couldn't. The Destiny Islands. Riku. Sora. Yuffie and Relm. All of
 440.557 +her friends. All those she'd met. Aerith and the other princesses. 
 440.558 +
 440.559 +That was it. The princesses. They had once been the light in the
 440.560 +darkness. They had been the children who had recreated worlds when
 440.561 +the universe had been plunged into darkness long ago. Now it was
 440.562 +happening again. Everything had been cast into darkness. But if she
 440.563 +could stop this before the universe tore itself apart, they could
 440.564 +recreate it all again. There is light even in the darkness. It only
 440.565 +needed a chance to grow. And she had to give it that chance. 
 440.566 +
 440.567 +Her body felt so weak. She was dizzy and sick from blood loss. She
 440.568 +was dying, she knew, but she wasn't ready. Not yet. Not now. Her
 440.569 +questing fingers sought out the Keyblade, scrabbling along over the
 440.570 +shadows. Nothing. Please... She begged for more inner strength. Riku
 440.571 +helped as much as he could, despite the fact that he knew what she
 440.572 +was planning. She thanked him with all her heart, her fingers finally
 440.573 +grasping the handle of the Keyblade. “Hikari...” Kairi whispered
 440.574 +weakly, pulling the Keyblade close. “You can't die. You can't end the
 440.575 +dream. Because... your mother needs you... And this world... is too
 440.576 +beautiful to die...” She breathed heavily, having trouble focusing.
 440.577 +Pulling up the Keyblade, she plunged it into her own chest. With
 440.578 +shaking hands, she unlocked her heart. 
 440.579 +
 440.580 +The Keyblade clattered to the floor as Kairi's heart rushed out of
 440.581 +her body. Hikari looked up. The princess's eyes widened in
 440.582 +realization. “No... Kairi, how could you?” She shook her head, tears
 440.583 +falling to the floor. “You idiot. You sacrificed yourself for this
 440.584 +world. You'll never see it again. Is that what you want?” But Kairi
 440.585 +wasn't out there anymore. She was within her. They were now one soul
 440.586 +again. Just as they had originally been. 
 440.587 +
 440.588 +The light in Hikari's heart had finally returned. Light burst
 440.589 +through the darkness inside of Hikari now that her heart had been
 440.590 +returned. The trembling of the universe stopped. All was still. “It's
 440.591 +up to you,” Hikari whispered. “You have to rebuild our dreams.
 440.592 +Aerith.. I hope you and the princesses can do it. I'm sorry for
 440.593 +causing all of this trouble. Rebuild them without a trace of the
 440.594 +Heartless. Rebuild this world as beautifully as you can.” Kairi's
 440.595 +body stirred, slowly getting to her feet. The cuts on her wrists were
 440.596 +gone. “Kairi?” Sora asked, looking at the girl. Hadn't she unlocked
 440.597 +her heart? Was she all right after all?Kairi shook her head. “No, not
 440.598 +Kairi.” It was Riku. He was the only one in Kairi's body now. Kairi
 440.599 +had returned to her original body. And Riku knew exactly what it
 440.600 +meant. “You're closing the door. You're shutting off the Heartless.
 440.601 +Kairi... Don't go.”
 440.602 +
 440.603 +Hikari shook her head, trying to smile through the tears. “I have
 440.604 +to. I almost killed this world. I almost killed everything I love so
 440.605 +very much. Especially the two of you. Please... Rebuild the Destiny
 440.606 +Islands for me.”Getting up, Sora shook his head. He could let this
 440.607 +happened. He denied that it would happen. He wouldn't let it!
 440.608 +“Kairi!! No! You can't go!” He ran to her, but she was already
 440.609 +disappearing from their world. Riku walked up, his fingers brushing
 440.610 +over her fading cheek. “Kairi...” It wasn't fair. They had finally
 440.611 +been together and now she was taken from them again, whisked away to
 440.612 +another world where she was dying. Laughing tearfully, Hikari shook
 440.613 +her head. “It isn't the end. Because I won't let it be. I love you
 440.614 +both too much for that.” She began to blur, becoming more and more
 440.615 +faint. She could feel herself on the floor, her mother's arms around
 440.616 +her. There was the faint sound of an ambulance. She was now more in
 440.617 +the other world than in this one. “Remember,” she said, her voice
 440.618 +growing faint. “I'm always with you. No matter how far apart we are.” 
 440.619 +
 440.620 +“Kairi,” Riku whispered, looking through tearstained eyes at the
 440.621 +girl he loved. “I don't care where you go. Wherever you are, I'll
 440.622 +find you. I promise. I'll search every universe over until I do.”
 440.623 +
 440.624 +“You're right, Kairi,” Sora nodded, trying to stay strong for her.
 440.625 +“It isn't over. We'll be together again. Someday.” 
 440.626 +
 440.627 +“Someday...” Hikari whispered. And with that, she was gone. 

   441.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   441.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-end.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   441.3 @@ -0,0 +1,487 @@
   441.4 +Prism Hearts 
   441.5 
   441.6 +Epilogue
   441.7 
   441.8 +Simple and Clean
   441.9 
  441.10 +by Amazoness Duo
  441.11 
  441.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  441.13 
  441.14 +
  441.15 
  441.16 +'Every new beginning is some other beginning's end.'
  441.17 
  441.18 +
  441.19 
  441.20 +
  441.21 
  441.22 +At first, there was only darkness. It stretched out for an eternity,
  441.23 
  441.24 +a sea of blackness that knew no end. But slowly, ever so slowly, a
  441.25 
  441.26 +glimmer appeared. Then another. And another. Like stars shimmering in
  441.27 
  441.28 +the night sky, they appeared, delivering light unto the darkness. 
  441.29 
  441.30 +
  441.31 
  441.32 +“I told you she would save us,” Aerith said, smiling faintly as the
  441.33 
  441.34 +blackness began to take shape under the light. 
  441.35 
  441.36 +
  441.37 
  441.38 +“Perhaps,” Harle replied, the dragon god remaining in the form of
  441.39 
  441.40 +the female harlequin. “But she did envelop everything in darkness
  441.41 
  441.42 +before she did.”
  441.43 
  441.44 +
  441.45 
  441.46 +“We will rebuild. Just as we did before. And this time, without the
  441.47 
  441.48 +Heartless.” The young blonde girl named Aya smiled at her twin
  441.49 
  441.50 +sister, Maya. Yes, Kairi had given them a second chance for this
  441.51 
  441.52 +world. 
  441.53 
  441.54 +
  441.55 
  441.56 +“But of course, you do realize that nothing is ever completely gone,
  441.57 
  441.58 +right?” Harle asked, raising an eyebrow. “Wherever zere is light,
  441.59 
  441.60 +zere is also darkness.”Aerith smiled, nodding. “And where there is
  441.61 
  441.62 +darkness, there will always be light. Perhaps they're inseperable.
  441.63 
  441.64 +Like life, death, and rebirth. Now, the worlds can all be reborn.”
  441.65 
  441.66 +“If you'll please hurry, that would be appreciated. I hate having to
  441.67 
  441.68 +ferry the dead back to the land of the living,” Sophie says softly,
  441.69 
  441.70 +angel wings seemingly holding her aloft in the darkness. 
  441.71 
  441.72 +
  441.73 
  441.74 +“All good things take time, Sophie. But it won't be much longer
  441.75 
  441.76 +now,” Aerith promises.And around them, the worlds slowly begin to
  441.77 
  441.78 +take shape once more. 
  441.79 
  441.80 +
  441.81 
  441.82 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  441.83 
  441.84 +
  441.85 
  441.86 +Dear diary,
  441.87 
  441.88 +
  441.89 
  441.90 +Everything seems fine here on the Destiny Islands. I'm sitting on
  441.91 
  441.92 +the pier with my feet in the beautiful aquamarine water. It's so nice
  441.93 
  441.94 +and warm. Quisty and Seifer are playing Triple Triad again behind me.
  441.95 
  441.96 +I'm so tempted to scoop up some water and splash Quisty. It'd be fun!
  441.97 
  441.98 +But I'm not sure if she'd think so. She concentrates too hard when
  441.99 
 441.100 +playing games. Which is why I have so much fun trying to distract
 441.101 
 441.102 +her! She's sitting behind me, so I'm resting my back against her as I
 441.103 
 441.104 +write this. She's so cuddly. 
 441.105 
 441.106 +
 441.107 
 441.108 +Anyway, no one really knows what happened at the Heart of the
 441.109 
 441.110 +Universe. Everything went black and that's the last thing anyone
 441.111 
 441.112 +remembers. After that, we all kinda woke up back home. The Destiny
 441.113 
 441.114 +Islands are beautiful again. No weird holes, no scary, ominous skies.
 441.115 
 441.116 +THe ocean's beautiful and warm again. It's like nothing ever
 441.117 
 441.118 +happened. We looked for the door that led to the End of the World,
 441.119 
 441.120 +but it was gone. It's almost like it was all just a dream. 
 441.121 
 441.122 +
 441.123 
 441.124 +Elder Seymour stepped down from his place as the highest elder. I
 441.125 
 441.126 +said we should nominate Quisty, but she said she was too young for
 441.127 
 441.128 +the position. Wouldn't it be great if Quisty could be the elder of
 441.129 
 441.130 +the Destiny Islands? She's all cute and serious! She'd be the perfect
 441.131 
 441.132 +new leader for the islands. All of the children listen to her. Well,
 441.133 
 441.134 +except for Seifer. But he just doesn't listen to her because he has
 441.135 
 441.136 +fun riling her up. 
 441.137 
 441.138 +
 441.139 
 441.140 +Tidus is back! He says he doesn't remember anything after Sin got
 441.141 
 441.142 +him, though. Which is probably better. I wouldn't even want to
 441.143 
 441.144 +remember Sin getting me if it was my choice! Poor guy. But you know
 441.145 
 441.146 +Tidus. Nothing can keep him down. He's already back to playing that
 441.147 
 441.148 +water soccer game thing he made up with Wakka. 
 441.149 
 441.150 +
 441.151 
 441.152 +Yuna's doing better. She felt awful for the longest time, but we've
 441.153 
 441.154 +all been trying to cheer her up. We're trying to let her know that
 441.155 
 441.156 +none of us blame her for what happened. I probably would've done the
 441.157 
 441.158 +same thing if something had happened to Quisty! I think that catgirl
 441.159 
 441.160 +Yuna and I found, Rikku, has been helping Yuna a lot. Only she's not
 441.161 
 441.162 +a cat anymore. How sad! She made such a cute kitty! But she's been
 441.163 
 441.164 +there with Yuna the whole time. Yuna smiles a lot around her, so that
 441.165 
 441.166 +makes me happy. Rikku asked Yuna to come travel the different worlds
 441.167 
 441.168 +with her. Isn't that romantic? I wonder what Yuna will say. 
 441.169 
 441.170 +
 441.171 
 441.172 +No one knows what happened to Kairi, Riku, and Sora. We haven't seen
 441.173 
 441.174 +any of them since Kairi ran off to the Heart of the Universe. I hope
 441.175 
 441.176 +they're okay. They have to be, right? They are. I know they are.
 441.177 
 441.178 +They've made it through all sorts of things. A little thing like the
 441.179 
 441.180 +collapse of the universe wouldn't stop them. They're out there,
 441.181 
 441.182 +somewhere. And we'll all be here waiting for when they come
 441.183 
 441.184 +back.Well, I better get back to distracting Quisty. Good luck out
 441.185 
 441.186 +there, everybody. Booyaka!Selphie
 441.187 
 441.188 +
 441.189 
 441.190 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.191 
 441.192 +
 441.193 
 441.194 +Leaning back against her blonde lover, Selphie gazed up at the
 441.195 
 441.196 +clouds. They floated lazily above their islands, enjoying the
 441.197 
 441.198 +beautiful weather. They were reassuring, almost like whispers that
 441.199 
 441.200 +everything was finally all right. That feeling was reinforced by the
 441.201 
 441.202 +sensation of Quistis's pink dress rustling against her back. Knowing
 441.203 
 441.204 +the blonde was nearby always lifted Selphie's already high spirits.
 441.205 
 441.206 +“It's so pretty... Quisty! Look! It looks just like a paopu fruit!”
 441.207 
 441.208 +The brunette pointed up at the heavens, gazing at a cloud that
 441.209 
 441.210 +resembled her favorite romantic fruit.Turning, Quistis adjusted her
 441.211 
 441.212 +glasses. She smiled faintly, nodding. The vaguely star shaped cloud
 441.213 
 441.214 +wouldn't have immediately made her think of a fruit from the island,
 441.215 
 441.216 +but she found it cute the way Selphie's mind worked. The other girl
 441.217 
 441.218 +was such a romantic. “It is, isn't it?” “And I believe you lose
 441.219 
 441.220 +again, Miss Trepe,” Seifer interrupted, smirking. No matter how often
 441.221 
 441.222 +Quistis told him to stop calling her that, he insisted upon it. She
 441.223 
 441.224 +was the most mature person he knew on the Islands and he liked the
 441.225 
 441.226 +way it ruffled her feathers. Quistis was probably his best friend.
 441.227 
 441.228 +Where was the fun in that if he couldn't tease her now and again?
 441.229 
 441.230 +
 441.231 
 441.232 +Quistis turned quickly, blonde hair swishing over Selphie's head.
 441.233 
 441.234 +“What?” Quistis frowned. “Seifer, let me see those cards. You're
 441.235 
 441.236 +cheating, aren't you?” That was the third time he'd beaten her today.
 441.237 
 441.238 +It was usually more give and take. Laughing, Seifer gathered up his
 441.239 
 441.240 +cards. “I'm wounded, Miss Trepe. You know cheating isn't my style.
 441.241 
 441.242 +But I do always cherish the chance to mop the floor with my favorite
 441.243 
 441.244 +tutor.”He raised a blond eyebrow. “Another game, perhaps.”Sighing,
 441.245 
 441.246 +Quistis nodded. “Of course.” This was their ritual, wasn't it?
 441.247 
 441.248 +Playing this game for hours, winning by such slim margins. But always
 441.249 
 441.250 +just so they could all play together. And of course, she had a
 441.251 
 441.252 +constant disadvantage. “But it isn't fair with Selphie trying to
 441.253 
 441.254 +distract me.” Selphie's fingers were currently in the bottom of her
 441.255 
 441.256 +sandals, tickling the undersides of her feet.Seifer simply grinned.
 441.257 
 441.258 +“That's why she's your girlfriend and not mine.”
 441.259 
 441.260 +
 441.261 
 441.262 +“But you're so much fun to distract!” Selphie squealed, turning to
 441.263 
 441.264 +hug Quistis tightly from behind.Quistis sighed overdramatically as
 441.265 
 441.266 +Selphie began kissing her cheeks, but Seifer could see her smiling.
 441.267 
 441.268 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 441.269 
 441.270 +
 441.271 
 441.272 +Waves crashed inches away from a small brunette girl gazing out to
 441.273 
 441.274 +sea. Her thoughts were muddled. She still felt guilty about the part
 441.275 
 441.276 +she had played in the recent chaos. She had let her fear of life
 441.277 
 441.278 +compell her into sending everything into the world of death. They had
 441.279 
 441.280 +every reason to hate her for that. But they didn't. And the one girl
 441.281 
 441.282 +she had betrayed the most had even followed her into that world of
 441.283 
 441.284 +death. “And now she wants me to go with her,” Yuna whispered to
 441.285 
 441.286 +herself. 
 441.287 
 441.288 +
 441.289 
 441.290 +Should she go? Should she travel that infinitely vast universe by
 441.291 
 441.292 +Rikku's side? It was exciting, but it was also terrifying. She had
 441.293 
 441.294 +never been away from the Destiny Islands before. What might be out
 441.295 
 441.296 +there? Boundless possibilities. Her stomach rolled in anxiety. Rikku
 441.297 
 441.298 +would be leaving soon. What would she say? It would be a fresh start,
 441.299 
 441.300 +a chance to see all the many worlds untold secrets. And by the side
 441.301 
 441.302 +of the girl she loved no less, a girl who had sacrificed her life for
 441.303 
 441.304 +her. It would be a chance to get away from her pain and fears, to try
 441.305 
 441.306 +to discover the joys of living. Was it worth the risk?
 441.307 
 441.308 +“Yunie?” Rikku broke into the brunette's thoughts. She wrung her
 441.309 
 441.310 +hands as she stood in front of her. Would Yuna agree? Her heart was
 441.311 
 441.312 +all over the place. She didn't want to leave without the beautiful
 441.313 
 441.314 +brunette. What if she wanted to stay? What if she was too afraid to
 441.315 
 441.316 +leave? Yuna looked up at her, her blue and green eyes almost flashing
 441.317 
 441.318 +in the sunlight. “Please, Yunie, come with me. I don't want to go
 441.319 
 441.320 +without you. I... I love you!” The blonde dropped down next to Yuna
 441.321 
 441.322 +on the sand, gazing deeply into her eyes. “I finally found you, the
 441.323 
 441.324 +treasure I've been looking for all my life. I want to show you
 441.325 
 441.326 +everything. I want to see everything with you.” She clasps Yuna's
 441.327 
 441.328 +hand tightly to her chest, pleading with her swirling emerald eyes.
 441.329 
 441.330 +“All the beautiful things the worlds hold, we can see them all.
 441.331 
 441.332 +Please, Yunie. I just want to be with you for it all.” Yuna smiled,
 441.333 
 441.334 +blinking back tears as she gazed back at Rikku. Her hand cupped
 441.335 
 441.336 +Rikku's cheek. “Rikku... Of course I'll go with you. I... I want that
 441.337 
 441.338 +to. To see everything... with you.” Leaning forward, the brunette
 441.339 
 441.340 +lightly kissed the blonde. It was strange now that Rikku wasn't a
 441.341 
 441.342 +catgirl. She was used to the scratchy tongue against hers. But this,
 441.343 
 441.344 +she admitted, was very, very nice as well. Rikku nearly pounced on
 441.345 
 441.346 +the petite girl in her joy. Her arms wrapped tightly around Yuna as
 441.347 
 441.348 +they fell back onto the sand, kissing. She kissed Yuna as deeply as
 441.349 
 441.350 +she could, her heart aching for the girl in her arms. Each kiss was a
 441.351 
 441.352 +tiny 'thank you' to the brunette. She was coming with! They would be
 441.353 
 441.354 +together. All across the universe.
 441.355 
 441.356 +
 441.357 
 441.358 +The tears rolling down Yuna's cheeks felt wonderfully freeing. She
 441.359 
 441.360 +was happy. She was going to be with Rikku. No matter what. From now
 441.361 
 441.362 +on. Her heart soared. Her hands stroked up and down Rikku's back as
 441.363 
 441.364 +they kissed. Though she was a bit embarrassed about the way Rikku was
 441.365 
 441.366 +kissing her so deeply right out in the open, she wouldn't trade it
 441.367 
 441.368 +for anything in the world. Let her embarrassment come. She could deal
 441.369 
 441.370 +with it. She kissed back as best she could. 'Oh, Rikku...' she
 441.371 
 441.372 +thought dreamily. Though still anxious about where this journey may
 441.373 
 441.374 +lead, she knew her blonde ex-catgirl would be there to see it through
 441.375 
 441.376 +with her. And that was all that mattered to her. “Yunie...” Rikku
 441.377 
 441.378 +said between kisses, trying to calm herself down enough to finally
 441.379 
 441.380 +pull away. But for once, Yuna's hands would let her go. Yuna held her
 441.381 
 441.382 +close, kissing back again and again. Rikku giggled, kissing deeply
 441.383 
 441.384 +again. “Yunie, they're here,” she got out at last. The sound of the
 441.385 
 441.386 +gummi ship landing finally caught the brunette's attention. Yuna
 441.387 
 441.388 +blushed cutely and slowly let go of Rikku's waist. The thief helped
 441.389 
 441.390 +Yuna to her feet, watching the gummi ship come to a halt.
 441.391 
 441.392 +
 441.393 
 441.394 +As the doors slid open, a brunette ninja came into view. Yuffie
 441.395 
 441.396 +gazed out onto the beach, her heart stopping for a moment. Her little
 441.397 
 441.398 +sister smiled at her on the beach, vibrant and alive. Alive. Kairi
 441.399 
 441.400 +had done it. She'd fixed things, after all. “Thank you, Kairi,”
 441.401 
 441.402 +Yuffie whispered. Tears burned at her eyes, but she tried desperately
 441.403 
 441.404 +to force them back. She was the greatest ninja ever, damnit. Ninja's
 441.405 
 441.406 +don't cry. Seeing the indecision in Yuffie's eyes, Relm, brushed her
 441.407 
 441.408 +knuckles over the ninja's cheek soothingly. “Go see her, Yuffie.
 441.409 
 441.410 +She's missed you.”Yuffie didn't need anymore prodding. She ran out to
 441.411 
 441.412 +meet her sister, gripping her tightly in a hug. “Rikku!” When Yuffie
 441.413 
 441.414 +had seen Ansem cut her sister down, she had thought she'd never see
 441.415 
 441.416 +Rikku again. Now, Rikku was in her arms and she was afraid of letting
 441.417 
 441.418 +her go. What if she disappeared? What if it was just a dream? No...
 441.419 
 441.420 +It was over. Her sister was back. She slowly stepped back, putting a
 441.421 
 441.422 +goofy grin on to hide her tear stained eyes. “You aren't a cat
 441.423 
 441.424 +anymore.” A stupid thing to say, but the best she could get
 441.425 
 441.426 +out.Laughing, Rikku nodded. “Nope. Not anymore.” She smiled back at
 441.427 
 441.428 +Yuffie. Her big sister had tried so hard for her. That was so sweet.
 441.429 
 441.430 +It was so nice just knowing Yuffie cared. “It's good to see you, too,
 441.431 
 441.432 +Yuffie.”Shaking her head, Yuffie can only smile. The pieces were all
 441.433 
 441.434 +falling into place. They had done it. They'd saved the universe. And
 441.435 
 441.436 +these small things, being with her sister again, it all made it
 441.437 
 441.438 +worthwhile. 'Kairi, wherever you are, we did it. We won.' She was
 441.439 
 441.440 +glad for her journey with the Keyblade Mistress. It had led her to
 441.441 
 441.442 +the girl she loved. It helped her find her sister again. It had fixed
 441.443 
 441.444 +their wounded worlds. She only hoped she could see the princess again
 441.445 
 441.446 +someday. They were a team, Kairi, Relm, and herself. She felt that
 441.447 
 441.448 +something was missing without the princess. “Yunie's coming with us!”
 441.449 
 441.450 +Rikku said excitedly. Taking Yuna's hand, she pulled the brunette
 441.451 
 441.452 +closer, smiling brightly. Yuna blushed faintly and nodded. Laughing,
 441.453 
 441.454 +Yuffie nodded. “Is she joining the Radical Dreamers? Relm's coming
 441.455 
 441.456 +with us, too. She's going to paint the backgrounds for out
 441.457 
 441.458 +performances. People will be so dazzled that they'll practically be
 441.459 
 441.460 +asking to give us their gil.” The ninja winked smugly. “Yunie could
 441.461 
 441.462 +dance! That would be great! We could fit her into our performances!”
 441.463 
 441.464 +Rikku hopped from foot to foot. Having seen Yuna dance, she knew
 441.465 
 441.466 +plenty of other people would love to see her perform. And with their
 441.467 
 441.468 +travelling troupe of actors/thieves, it would work perfectly.
 441.469 
 441.470 +“They'll be enchanted!”“Wait!” Yuna blushed and shook her head.
 441.471 
 441.472 +Performing? In front of people? She didn't know they'd be doing that. 
 441.473 
 441.474 +
 441.475 
 441.476 +“It'll be great, Yunie!” Rikku assured her, squeezing the other
 441.477 
 441.478 +girl's hand, already picturing Yuna dancing in front of packed
 441.479 
 441.480 +crowds. “How cute!”Relm laughed, wrapping her arms around Yuffie's
 441.481 
 441.482 +right arm. “Looks like we'll be able to put on some interesting
 441.483 
 441.484 +performances.” She nuzzles the other girl's ear, whispering. “But my
 441.485 
 441.486 +favorite performances are the onces you give when we're alone.” She
 441.487 
 441.488 +delighted at the blush that crossed her sarcastic ninja's face.
 441.489 
 441.490 +Giggling, she kissed the other girl's cheek. She now had something to
 441.491 
 441.492 +focus her considerable painting skills on. And she got to travel with
 441.493 
 441.494 +her beautiful ninja. Granted, it was so they could steal from all
 441.495 
 441.496 +sorts of places, but she could live with that. It was pretty easy for
 441.497 
 441.498 +her to accept that Yuffie was a thief. As long as she was her thief.
 441.499 
 441.500 +“Are ya'll comin' or not?” Cid called out, irritated. “Buncha kids.
 441.501 
 441.502 +We got places to go.”“We're coming, old man!” Yuffie yelled back. “I
 441.503 
 441.504 +knew I should have taken the ship myself.” The ninja shrugged. “Well,
 441.505 
 441.506 +we all ready?”“Yep!” Rikku smiled, turning to Yuna. 
 441.507 
 441.508 +
 441.509 
 441.510 +Yuna nodded slowly, smiling. “Let's go.” The group of girls made
 441.511 
 441.512 +their way to the gummi ship. Relm paused at the entrance. She thought
 441.513 
 441.514 +she heard something. She turned, looking out at the beach. It felt
 441.515 
 441.516 +familiar.“Relm? You okay?” Yuffie asked curiously. Relm looked deep
 441.517 
 441.518 +in concentration. “What's takin' ya'll so long?” Cid called
 441.519 
 441.520 +down.Yuffie slammed her hand into the wall near her, trying to get
 441.521 
 441.522 +Cid's attention. “Hold on a minute!” She turned back to watch Relm.
 441.523 
 441.524 +There it was again. Distant, but unmistakable. Relm stepped away from
 441.525 
 441.526 +the entrance, glancing around rapidly. Where was it coming from? It
 441.527 
 441.528 +had to be real, right? It couldn't just be her imagination. And
 441.529 
 441.530 +again. A bark. And this time she saw its owner racing towards her.
 441.531 
 441.532 +“Interceptor!” she cried out, elation running throughout her as the
 441.533 
 441.534 +dog her father had left to protect her pounced into her waiting arms.
 441.535 
 441.536 +He was alive! Her best friend was alive. She'd known him since he was
 441.537 
 441.538 +a puppy. They'd always been together. And he was back again.
 441.539 
 441.540 +Interceptor licked at her cheek as she giggled, holding him close.
 441.541 
 441.542 +Their journey had been long and hard. But it had been worth it.
 441.543 
 441.544 +Resting her hand on Relm's shoulder, Yuffie smiled. “Come on. Cid's
 441.545 
 441.546 +getting cranky again. Let's get out of here.” Relm nodded, letting go
 441.547 
 441.548 +of Interceptor. Her dog, loyal as ever, stayed near her, afraid she
 441.549 
 441.550 +would be whisked away from him again. She followed Yuffie into the
 441.551 
 441.552 +ship, taking the ninja's warm hand. 
 441.553 
 441.554 +
 441.555 
 441.556 +Yuffie shook her head, but smiled faintly. “Fine, but he's not
 441.557 
 441.558 +sleeping in our room.”Yuna hurried to the window with Rikku. Yelling
 441.559 
 441.560 +and cheering arose from the island below. The brunette smiled as she
 441.561 
 441.562 +saw all of her friends waving goodbye to her. Tidus and Wakka had
 441.563 
 441.564 +written 'Goodbye, Yuna' in the sand. Lulu was casting magic in the
 441.565 
 441.566 +air like fireworks. The others waved as she lifted away. “See, Yunie?
 441.567 
 441.568 +They could never hate you,” Rikku said, hugging Yuna from behind.Yuna
 441.569 
 441.570 +watched her friends through her tears, still smiling. “Yes, I guess
 441.571 
 441.572 +you're right....” She placed her hand on the glass. She was happy to
 441.573 
 441.574 +know they still cared about her.
 441.575 
 441.576 +
 441.577 
 441.578 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.579 
 441.580 +
 441.581 
 441.582 +“Arise, Queen Garnet.”Garnet stood up, cheers erupting around her.
 441.583 
 441.584 +Beatrix smiled at her, nodding. She gazed out at all the people. She
 441.585 
 441.586 +was now their queen. It wasn't something she had been expecting. But
 441.587 
 441.588 +her mother had insisted, stepping down from the position. All she
 441.589 
 441.590 +knew was that she would try her best for the people of Alexandria.
 441.591 
 441.592 +“Thank you. Everyone.” A flash of purple brought a smile to her lips.
 441.593 
 441.594 +At least she wouldn't be alone. She turned her attention to Eiko. The
 441.595 
 441.596 +younger girl smiled brightly at her, urging her on. The summoner girl
 441.597 
 441.598 +had declined going back home, choosing instead to stay in Alexandria
 441.599 
 441.600 +with Garnet. And Eiko's support bolstered Garnet. She could do it.
 441.601 
 441.602 +Alexandria needed her. She stepped forward to accept the throne.
 441.603 
 441.604 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.605 
 441.606 +
 441.607 
 441.608 +They stood side by side on the rooftop bridge spanning the ice-laden
 441.609 
 441.610 +cliffs above the town, watching the snow fall peacefully around.
 441.611 
 441.612 +
 441.613 
 441.614 +“It’s so beautiful,” Terra said softly, looking out with wonder.  “I
 441.615 
 441.616 +don’t remember it ever being this beautiful here.”
 441.617 
 441.618 +
 441.619 
 441.620 +“It probably hasn’t,” the other Magitek Knight nodded.  “This is the
 441.621 
 441.622 +first we’ve been without the Heartless.  Even the factions against
 441.623 
 441.624 +the Empire have died down for now.  Personally, I’m glad for a little
 441.625 
 441.626 +peace and quiet.  Might even have time to make a home here instead of
 441.627 
 441.628 +wandering.”
 441.629 
 441.630 +
 441.631 
 441.632 +They fell silent for a moment, content with simply enjoying the
 441.633 
 441.634 +natural splendor that presented itself.
 441.635 
 441.636 +
 441.637 
 441.638 +‘I’m so glad Kairi could set things to rights,’ the green-haired
 441.639 
 441.640 +woman thought.  ‘Otherwise none of this…none of us would be here. 
 441.641 
 441.642 +Even Kefka’s doing well, serving the Emperor again.  And we…we can
 441.643 
 441.644 +finally be free….’  She leaned closer to Celes and intertwined their
 441.645 
 441.646 +fingers.  “Can you ever forgive me?” 
 441.647 
 441.648 +
 441.649 
 441.650 +“There’s nothing to forgive,” the blonde smiled softly, reaching
 441.651 
 441.652 +over and placing an arm around Terra’s waist.  “Nothing at all.”
 441.653 
 441.654 +
 441.655 
 441.656 +Terra smiled back gratefully and rested her head against Celes’
 441.657 
 441.658 +shoulder, the snow dancing light-heartedly through the skies.
 441.659 
 441.660 +
 441.661 
 441.662 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.663 
 441.664 +
 441.665 
 441.666 +“Kid! Did you catch dinner yet?” Leena asked, stepping out onto the
 441.667 
 441.668 +docks of Arni. She spotted the pretty blonde struggling with a
 441.669 
 441.670 +fishing line.“Dang blasted thing won't work! I'm a thief, not a
 441.671 
 441.672 +fisherman,” Kid growled. Taking the line from Kid's hands, Leena
 441.673 
 441.674 +reeled the fish in. Smiling, she kissed the other girl's cheek,
 441.675 
 441.676 +handing the fish to her. “Go wash up. I'll start dinner.”Kid merely
 441.677 
 441.678 +blinked in stunned silence. Was there anything the redhead couldn't
 441.679 
 441.680 +do. “Err... Yes, dear.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.681 
 441.682 +
 441.683 
 441.684 +“It seems like almost everyone has returned except the princess,”
 441.685 
 441.686 +Rinoa stated, sitting around the grand library of Hollow Bastion with
 441.687 
 441.688 +Squall, Aerith, and the Turks. “And Cloud,” Squall added. Rinoa
 441.689 
 441.690 +nudged him hard in the side. She'd intentionally not mentioned him so
 441.691 
 441.692 +as not to worry Aerith. Aeirth smiled softly. “Cloud will come back
 441.693 
 441.694 +to me. He always does. It's only a matter of time.” And time was
 441.695 
 441.696 +something she had plenty of. She would wait as long as it took for
 441.697 
 441.698 +him to find his way back to her. Just as Kairi had Sora and Riku, she
 441.699 
 441.700 +had Cloud. And just as surely, she knew he would return to her.
 441.701 
 441.702 +
 441.703 
 441.704 +“But what do we do without the Princess?” Reno asked leaning against
 441.705 
 441.706 +a bookshelf. “Should we just wait for her?” Elena nibbled on her
 441.707 
 441.708 +lower lip. “That's assuming she is coming back,” Vincent pointed out. 
 441.709 
 441.710 +
 441.711 
 441.712 +“But if she's not, what can we do?” Elena shot back.
 441.713 
 441.714 +
 441.715 
 441.716 +“We do what we can. We rebuild. We try to make Hollow Bastion as
 441.717 
 441.718 +beautiful and as wonderful as we can make it. It's what Princess
 441.719 
 441.720 +Hikari would have wanted.” Aerith stands up. “It's all we can do for
 441.721 
 441.722 +her. But I know it will make her happy.” 'We'll protect your dreams,
 441.723 
 441.724 +Kairi. Forever. It's the least we can do for your sacrifice. And if
 441.725 
 441.726 +you can ever find a way back, I'll make sure Hollow Bastion is
 441.727 
 441.728 +waiting for you.'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 441.729 
 441.730 +
 441.731 
 441.732 +“You're sure you haven't seen her? She looks a lot like me, but with
 441.733 
 441.734 +shorter hair,” an auburn haired girl asked, standing beside a
 441.735 
 441.736 +brunette boy around the same age. The two waited eagerly for the
 441.737 
 441.738 +reply.The blonde girl shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry. I don't
 441.739 
 441.740 +think I have.” Turning she looked over her shoulder. “Kumiko! Come
 441.741 
 441.742 +here.” 
 441.743 
 441.744 +
 441.745 
 441.746 +A girl with long, braided brunette hair came up to the small group.
 441.747 
 441.748 +“Yes, Megumi-chan?”Megumi pointed back to the auburn haired girl.
 441.749 
 441.750 +“Have you ever seen someone who looks like her? With shorter
 441.751 
 441.752 +hair?”Shaking her head apologetically, Kumiko looked at the girl.
 441.753 
 441.754 +“No, I haven't.”“That's okay. Thanks for your help,” the brunette boy
 441.755 
 441.756 +smiled before walking off with the auburn haired girl. “So she isn't
 441.757 
 441.758 +here, either.”
 441.759 
 441.760 +“It's okay. I didn't think she would be,” the girl replied, brushing
 441.761 
 441.762 +some hair from her eyes. “But she's out there. I can feel it. She's
 441.763 
 441.764 +waiting for us.”“Then let's not keep her waiting.” The boy looked
 441.765 
 441.766 +down at the girl, grinning. “It's so weird not that you're smaller
 441.767 
 441.768 +than me, Riku.”“Don't start that, Sora. You know I can still send you
 441.769 
 441.770 +away limping just like always,” Riku said, a smile splaying across
 441.771 
 441.772 +her mouth. This body was Kairi's gift to Riku. With his body
 441.773 
 441.774 +destroyed, his soul would have returned to the Lifestream, but she
 441.775 
 441.776 +had left her body for him. It was taking a while to get used to it,
 441.777 
 441.778 +though. He had let the hair grow out longer and wore a different
 441.779 
 441.780 +style from Kairi, but the fact that it was female still threw him for
 441.781 
 441.782 +a loop now and then. 
 441.783 
 441.784 +
 441.785 
 441.786 +The two had travelled across so many worlds since the universe had
 441.787 
 441.788 +been reborn. And they would continue travelling until they finally
 441.789 
 441.790 +found Kairi. That was their mission, to find the girl they both
 441.791 
 441.792 +loved. No matter where it took them. And they wouldn't stop until
 441.793 
 441.794 +they were with her again.“The next world?” Sora asked, pulling up his
 441.795 
 441.796 +Keyblade.Riku nodded. “Maybe we'll have better luck on this one.”
 441.797 
 441.798 +'Just wait a little longer for us, Kairi. We're
 441.799 
 441.800 +coming.'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 441.801 
 441.802 +
 441.803 
 441.804 +My wrists ache. I tug weakly at the bandages that cover my wrists.
 441.805 
 441.806 +They remind me of the wristbands I wore as part of my outfit back on
 441.807 
 441.808 +the Destiny Islands. But those weren't tinted red. Owwwww....“Hikari,
 441.809 
 441.810 +don't play with those. You'll just make it worse,” mom says worriedly
 441.811 
 441.812 +as she sets down a tray with some noodles. 
 441.813 
 441.814 +
 441.815 
 441.816 +I stop plucking at them and look better at her. I still feel guilty
 441.817 
 441.818 +about almost leaving her all alone. But she's been as sweet and
 441.819 
 441.820 +supportive as ever. “Thanks, mom,” I whisper. She smiles back and I
 441.821 
 441.822 +feel a little more at ease. She doesn't blame me, at least. That
 441.823 
 441.824 +makes it a little easier. 
 441.825 
 441.826 +
 441.827 
 441.828 +“If you need anything, I'll be in the other room, sweetie.” Mom
 441.829 
 441.830 +waves as she exits the room. 
 441.831 
 441.832 +
 441.833 
 441.834 +I slump back in my bed, stuffed characters falling in every
 441.835 
 441.836 +direction. It try not to look, knowing Riku's doll is lying just at
 441.837 
 441.838 +the corner of my eye. Damn. I can't help it. My eyes shoot to it and
 441.839 
 441.840 +my heart plummets just like I knew it would. It's been a few weeks,
 441.841 
 441.842 +but I still feel the pain of the night I had to say goodbye to them.
 441.843 
 441.844 +I miss them so much. I finally found them and I was the one who had
 441.845 
 441.846 +to leave. Hugging the Riku doll tightly, I gaze at the wet, rainy
 441.847 
 441.848 +window. Are they happy? Did our sacrifices matter? I can only hope
 441.849 
 441.850 +the other princesses got to remake everything. That the Destiny
 441.851 
 441.852 +Islands are bright and beautiful again. As long as it was worth it,
 441.853 
 441.854 +then I'm glad about what I did. I'd love to go back, but mom needs
 441.855 
 441.856 +me. I didn't realize just how much until now. And now that I'm gone,
 441.857 
 441.858 +the doorway is shut. The Heartless, the darkness of reality can't
 441.859 
 441.860 +filter in. All that I love there is finally safe. 
 441.861 
 441.862 +
 441.863 
 441.864 +They said they were surprised I made it. They did everything they
 441.865 
 441.866 +could to revive me, but in the end, the doctors said it all depended
 441.867 
 441.868 +on me. If I hadn't stopped Hikari... No, that's not right. I am
 441.869 
 441.870 +Hikari. I remember everything that happened from both of our sides.
 441.871 
 441.872 +If the light in my heart hadn't changed my mind, then I would have
 441.873 
 441.874 +died. And all of those beautiful dreams would have died with me. And
 441.875 
 441.876 +mom would have been all alone. 
 441.877 
 441.878 +
 441.879 
 441.880 +Mom's been overprotective lately. I can understand why. And it's
 441.881 
 441.882 +really sweet of her to be spending so much time with me. We've been
 441.883 
 441.884 +playing games together every night. She said she's going to take me
 441.885 
 441.886 +to a videogame/anime convention in a month or two, so I need to pick
 441.887 
 441.888 +out what costume I want her to make for both of us. This is why I
 441.889 
 441.890 +couldn't have stayed there and closed the door. Because I love her
 441.891 
 441.892 +too much. I could never entirely give up on this world. I wonder what
 441.893 
 441.894 +Aya and Aerith gave up in this world when they went to the other
 441.895 
 441.896 +one?But still... I miss them so much. Turning my head, I gaze at the
 441.897 
 441.898 +picture I drew, framed by my bedstand now. There's the me from the
 441.899 
 441.900 +Destiny Islands kneeling with Riku sitting on my left and Sora
 441.901 
 441.902 +resting against me on the right. Yuffie and Relm are standing behind
 441.903 
 441.904 +us. My friends. The boys I love. And now all I can do are draw
 441.905 
 441.906 +pictures of them, or dream about being together again. My heart aches
 441.907 
 441.908 +everyday. I love them. I know that. I will always love them. I hold
 441.909 
 441.910 +the tiny trinket, all I still have from that world. A tiny key on a
 441.911 
 441.912 +chain that I wear around my neck. 
 441.913 
 441.914 +
 441.915 
 441.916 +That world is safe now. I'm happy for my part in that. Sacrifices
 441.917 
 441.918 +had to be made, but I understand that. Now I am back in the darkness
 441.919 
 441.920 +of the world I sought so hard to escape. But... Even in darkness,
 441.921 
 441.922 +there will always be light. I have my mother. And one day... One
 441.923 
 441.924 +day... I'll have you both again... I'll be waiting for you. I love
 441.925 
 441.926 +you. Always. 
 441.927 
 441.928 +
 441.929 
 441.930 +
 441.931 
 441.932 +
 441.933 
 441.934 +
 441.935 
 441.936 +Author's notes: Well, this is the end of Prism Hearts for now. ^-^
 441.937 
 441.938 +Kairi has completed her journey. She has shut the door between the
 441.939 
 441.940 +real world and the other world. The Heartless can't reach it anymore.
 441.941 
 441.942 +Riku and Sora will continue searching for her, no matter how long it
 441.943 
 441.944 +takes them. I'm happy with how it all turned out. ^-^ It took me a
 441.945 
 441.946 +year to write, and it went in all sorts of directions I hadn't
 441.947 
 441.948 +expected, but I'm happy with it. ^-^ There were times when I was
 441.949 
 441.950 +worried it wouldn't get finished, so it's with a bittersweet heart
 441.951 
 441.952 +that I put the finishing touches on my baby. It's so beautiful
 441.953 
 441.954 +watching stories grow up, letting them grow on their own, but trying
 441.955 
 441.956 +to help them here and there. ^-^ I'm sad to see it end, but I'm glad
 441.957 
 441.958 +that it all worked out. Maybe someday I'll return to Prism Hearts. ^-
 441.959 
 441.960 +^ After all, Kairi's own daughter has a story to tell. Her own
 441.961 
 441.962 +journey to travel, sacrifices to make, and loves to find. I'd like to
 441.963 
 441.964 +thank my wonderful Lainebear for her help with the FF6 scene in this
 441.965 
 441.966 +story as well as for letting me force her to read all of the chapters
 441.967 
 441.968 +when I'd finish them. ^-^ And Chi for being eager enough to want to
 441.969 
 441.970 +see me finish this series. ^-^ And Jason, as always, for letting me
 441.971 
 441.972 +bounce ideas off of him. ^-^ And to all of you who accompanied Kairi
 441.973 
 441.974 +on her journey. ^-^ Thanks to all of you, from both of us. And always
 441.975 
 441.976 +remember, 'Even in Darkness, there will always be Light.' 
 441.977 \ No newline at end of file

   442.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   442.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   442.3 @@ -0,0 +1,450 @@
   442.4 +Author’s note: This is a story I wrote after finishing Squaresoft’s
   442.5 +beautiful game, Kingdom Hearts. This may or may not become a series,
   442.6 +so please, please tell me what you think. ^-^ This is only a one shot
   442.7 +right now, but if I get a positive enough response or if I just feel
   442.8 +crazy enough to actually write a series about this, I just might do
   442.9 +it. This is shortly after the end of the game. So you might not want
  442.10 +to read if you don’t like spoilers. ^^;; 
  442.11 +
  442.12 +
  442.13 +Prism Hearts
  442.14 +by Amazoness Duo
  442.15 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  442.16 +
  442.17 +
  442.18 +
  442.19 +‘Thinking of you, wherever you are.
  442.20 +
  442.21 +We pray for our sorrows to end,
  442.22 +And hope that our hearts will blend.
  442.23 +Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
  442.24 +
  442.25 +And who knows: 
  442.26 +Starting a new journey may not be so hard.
  442.27 +Or maybe it has already begun.
  442.28 +
  442.29 +There are many worlds,
  442.30 +But they share the same sky;
  442.31 +One sky, one destiny.’
  442.32 +
  442.33 +
  442.34 +Sitting on the end of a small pier, Kairi looked off into the
  442.35 +sunset. The beautiful colors that descended to the earth looked like
  442.36 +a painter’s most vivid dream. The sea reflected them, shifting
  442.37 +recklessly as if it was jealous of the attention the sky was
  442.38 +garnering for itself. But it wasn’t the sky that Kairi was interested
  442.39 +in. She was trying to look past it, for something brighter than even
  442.40 +the most beautiful sunset. She had done this often recently, so much
  442.41 +so that the others on the island had finally stopped questioning her
  442.42 +about it. They may think she was crazy or just daydreaming, but she
  442.43 +was busy searching. All she needed was the tiniest hint. And the
  442.44 +skies would stare back, teasing her with half-glimpses and images in
  442.45 +the cotton candy clouds. But she would not let that deter her. She
  442.46 +would keep searching forever if she had to.
  442.47 +
  442.48 +“I’ll be waiting for you. If you come here, you’ll find me. I
  442.49 +promise,” she whispered, her voice carried off by the wind to
  442.50 +destinations unknown. “Even if your ears can’t hear me, I know your
  442.51 +heart can.” Her hand rested on her chest, feeling the beat of her own
  442.52 +heart. When she closed her eyes, she could almost feel their rhythm,
  442.53 +all beating in unison. It didn’t matter how far apart they were.
  442.54 +Their hearts would always be one. 
  442.55 +
  442.56 +When she blinked her eyes open, he was there. Just as if he had
  442.57 +never left. His silver hair moved about in the light breeze. His eyes
  442.58 +were shining and determined. He was reaching out for her, just as he
  442.59 +always did. He was always reaching out for her, as if he could pull
  442.60 +her along with him, to some place far away. Her hand left her chest,
  442.61 +reaching out slowly for him. But before she could take his hand, he
  442.62 +was gone. With a weak sigh, her hand fell into her lap. So close, yet
  442.63 +always so far. It was like he was perpetually just out of reach. If
  442.64 +she could just reach a little further, they could be together again.
  442.65 +She knew Riku was far away, but she swore she could feel him
  442.66 +sometimes, as if he were right behind her. That’s why she kept
  442.67 +looking. Because she knew eventually they would be together again.
  442.68 +
  442.69 +A laugh reached her ears from the beach. It was laced with memories
  442.70 +and feelings. “Sora!” She whirled about on the pier, her back aching
  442.71 +from twisting so suddenly. Her hands lay on the deck as she gazed for
  442.72 +the source of the boy’s laughter. Her heart sank when she saw that it
  442.73 +was only Tidus, laughing at something Wakka had done. Shoulders
  442.74 +slumped, the young girl turned back to the empty sea. The vast
  442.75 +expanses that surrounded her encaged her as surely as any prison. 
  442.76 +
  442.77 +It was ironic that this had all began as an attempt to escape with
  442.78 +her best friends from this island, to taste the freedom and the
  442.79 +excitement of other worlds, to see all the beauty they had to offer.
  442.80 +And now she was trapped on that same island, her friends somewhere
  442.81 +far off. They were now distant stars to her, lost somewhere in the
  442.82 +heavens. She would sit up at night, peering into the moonlit sky,
  442.83 +striving for any glimpse of the two boys that held her heart up.
  442.84 +Sometimes she would mistake a falling star for one of them, hoping
  442.85 +they were returning to her. But her hopes were always dashed when she
  442.86 +didn’t find them running to her on their beach. 
  442.87 +
  442.88 +Her memories were still clouded, distant things that seemed to come
  442.89 +from another lifetime. She knew that she was a princess, but of where
  442.90 +she wasn’t certain. But those memories didn’t matter to her. The
  442.91 +memories that she cherished, that she held onto with all the strength
  442.92 +in her heart were of her days with Riku and Sora on the island, of
  442.93 +all of their moments together. Those were things she would never
  442.94 +allow herself to forget, no matter how painful they could be or how
  442.95 +lonely they might make her feel. They were her treasures, her little
  442.96 +gems that she would sneak looks at whenever she could. 
  442.97 +
  442.98 +The pier creaked behind Kairi, but she didn’t turn around
  442.99 +immediately. For the first few days she had turned at every sound,
 442.100 +every whisper that came her way, hoping that she would see the two
 442.101 +boys again. But now she wouldn’t let herself be distracted about such
 442.102 +things. She was trying to focus past all of the surface noise and
 442.103 +images, to see where the two were out there. 
 442.104 +
 442.105 +“Kairi?” A voice asked tentatively. Selphie waited for a moment, not
 442.106 +quite expecting an answer. With how out of it Kairi had been lately,
 442.107 +she wouldn’t be at all surprised. But she could understand. Love did
 442.108 +that sort of thing to you. Especially when your love was very far
 442.109 +away. 
 442.110 +
 442.111 +Kairi slowly turned, her legs still slowly kicking away from the
 442.112 +deck. She spotted Selphie waiting behind her. With Selphie was a
 442.113 +blonde girl with glasses and a long pink dress. The blonde girl
 442.114 +looked about a year or so older than Selphie. She could vaguely
 442.115 +recall seeing her before on the main island of the Destiny Islands
 442.116 +when she had been visiting with Sora and his parents. “Oh, hi,
 442.117 +Selphie,” Kairi said, a little sheepishly. She placed a hand behind
 442.118 +her head. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
 442.119 +
 442.120 +Selphie giggled, her hands behind her back. “Yeah, but you’re always
 442.121 +like that lately. Thinking about someone special?” She grinned wider.
 442.122 +Selphie loved romance. And watching it unfold on the Destiny Islands
 442.123 +was her favorite past time. And she’d been wondering for quite some
 442.124 +time what would become of the love triangle between Kairi, Riku, and
 442.125 +Sora. 
 442.126 +
 442.127 +Kairi sighed, looking back at the ocean waves beneath her feet.
 442.128 +“Something like that.”
 442.129 +
 442.130 +“Oh, this is Quisty. You probably haven’t seen her much. She spends
 442.131 +too much of her time studying. I practically had to drag her out
 442.132 +here,” Selphie stated with mock exasperation. She perked up
 442.133 +immediately, dropping the façade. “But it’s nice and romantic at
 442.134 +sunset on the beach and she needed a break from all those books.”
 442.135 +
 442.136 +Quistis sweatdropped, not quite sure what to say. She had indeed
 442.137 +been studying when Selphie had taken it upon herself to get her to
 442.138 +relax and had dragged her off to the island. Of course, she knew
 442.139 +Selphie too well to believe her pretenses about relaxing. Selphie
 442.140 +wanted a moonlit stroll on the beach or to sit and watch the sunset
 442.141 +together or something. And how could she have possibly said no to
 442.142 +that?
 442.143 +
 442.144 +Kairi giggled softly, looking at the two. It sounded like this
 442.145 +‘Quisty’ was the exact opposite of Selphie. Studious and mature, the
 442.146 +slightly older girl didn’t seem anything like the spunky and childish
 442.147 +brunette. But her smile slipped slightly as she saw them holding
 442.148 +hands. She missed Riku and Sora. She wanted to watch the sunset with
 442.149 +them again. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, smiling warmly
 442.150 +at the two other girls. “That sounds like fun. The sunset’s gorgeous
 442.151 +tonight. It’s perfect to watch with someone.”
 442.152 +
 442.153 +Selphie bit her lip, watching Kairi for a moment. “You really miss
 442.154 +them, don’t you? I’m sure they’ll come back soon. They must miss you
 442.155 +a lot, too. They’re probably both on their way right now. You’ll see
 442.156 +them before you know it.” She smiled brightly. There was always hope.
 442.157 +No matter how dark things were, there was always some light tucked
 442.158 +away in the shadows.
 442.159 +
 442.160 +Staring back at the pink and orange sky, Kairi nodded, smiling
 442.161 +softly herself. “I know. I can feel them. They’ll come back to me.
 442.162 +Someday. Besides, Sora promised me that he’d bring my lucky charm
 442.163 +back. And Riku risked everything to get my heart back. I know he
 442.164 +wouldn’t give up on me no matter what.”
 442.165 +
 442.166 +Tilting her head to the side, Selphie tried to see what Kairi was
 442.167 +looking at. It was almost like she was looking through the sunset to
 442.168 +something behind it. Finally giving up, Selphie looked at Kairi
 442.169 +again. “Remember what I said about Paopu fruits? How they intertwine
 442.170 +your destiny forever with someone when you share it? I can get you
 442.171 +one if you want. Then you can share it with one of them when they get
 442.172 +back.” She squeezed Quistis’s hand, feeling a giddy thrill run
 442.173 +through her. “I finally found someone to share one with. It’s
 442.174 +wonderfully romantic. You should really try it.” She could tell
 442.175 +Quistis was blushing, but that just made her want to melt against the
 442.176 +taller girl.
 442.177 +
 442.178 +“I will,” Kairi promised. She leant back on her hands, staring
 442.179 +straight up at the sky. “But I’d have to share it with both of them.
 442.180 +So the three of us will never be apart again. So we’ll always be
 442.181 +together.” Her blue eyes closed as she imagined them all sitting
 442.182 +together, sharing the star shaped fruit. 
 442.183 +
 442.184 +Selphie sweatdropped, looking down at the lost princess. “But which
 442.185 +of them do you love? Which one do you want to be with forever?”
 442.186 +
 442.187 +Blinking, Kairi slowly focused on the sky above. That thought
 442.188 +puzzled her. It seemed so simple, yet the answer eluded her. It felt
 442.189 +like a trick question. She rolled it over in her mind. But she
 442.190 +couldn’t imagine one without the other. It felt wrong, incomplete.
 442.191 +“Both of them,” she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.
 442.192 +"I love both of them. I want to be with them forever.” And she was
 442.193 +satisfied with that answer. It was what her heart desired, what she
 442.194 +wanted more than anything else. That was why they were all still
 442.195 +together, why their hearts were all one, even if they were far apart. 
 442.196 +
 442.197 +~~~~~~~~~~ 
 442.198 +
 442.199 +“Everything has been restored. Our world’s back to normal,” Aerith
 442.200 +said, relief filling her soul. For so long they had been cast out
 442.201 +into the universe, their home world a mere shell of it’s former self,
 442.202 +consumed by the Heartless. Now all of those hopes and dreams that had
 442.203 +grown inside of them were realized, brought back as if they had never
 442.204 +been gone at all. But what cost had been paid to return their home to
 442.205 +them?
 442.206 +
 442.207 +“Do you think they’re all right?” Yuffie asked after a moment’s
 442.208 +pause. She had been thinking the same thing. They had bound together
 442.209 +in order to stop the Heartless, but in the end they could only pray
 442.210 +the Keyblade Master could stop the outpouring of darkness. She felt
 442.211 +as if she should have been there herself. This was her home, after
 442.212 +all. She should have been fighting for it. No one else should have to
 442.213 +sacrifice themselves for her happiness.
 442.214 +
 442.215 +Leon shrugged, his arms crossed. “Who knows? I don’t suppose we’ll
 442.216 +ever find out. The worlds are separated again so we can’t know what’s
 442.217 +become of them.” Though he couldn’t voice it, he felt the same way
 442.218 +Yuffie did. He had spent so long mourning the loss of his home world,
 442.219 +blaming himself for not being able to save it. He had even changed
 442.220 +his name to distance himself from the pain. He had been willing to do
 442.221 +anything to fix his mistake. And a boy had done that for him. He had
 442.222 +to hope the Keyblade Master was all right somewhere out there. 
 442.223 +
 442.224 +“Hey, guess who I found wandering outside? Looks like he got lost.
 442.225 +Aerith, you seem to have a thing for lost puppies. Maybe you can
 442.226 +handle him.” Cid grinned as the brunette turned her attention his
 442.227 +way. He motioned behind him at a cloaked figure.
 442.228 +
 442.229 +“Cloud!” Aerith called out happily, hurrying to the blond man. Now
 442.230 +her home felt complete again. Now she truly felt like she was home.
 442.231 +Her eyes sparkled with diamond tears of joy. 
 442.232 +
 442.233 +“Aerith...” Cloud could only stare for a long moment. He felt so
 442.234 +exhausted after his long and lonely journey. He wanted nothing more
 442.235 +than to collapse at Aerith’s feet. Or better yet, in her arms. But he
 442.236 +could only stare, his heart thawing now that he had finally found
 442.237 +what he had spent so long searching for. “I never stopped looking for
 442.238 +you.”
 442.239 +
 442.240 +Aerith smiled brightly, taking the cloaked man’s hand. “I know,
 442.241 +Cloud. I knew you’d find me one day. I’ve always had faith in you.
 442.242 +That’s why I was never worried. Because I knew one day I’d see you
 442.243 +again. I was just worried you wouldn’t have the same hope. You can be
 442.244 +so dark sometimes.”
 442.245 +
 442.246 +Cloud’s emerald eyes shone as he held Aerith’s hand tightly,
 442.247 +reveling at just the simple fact of being able to hold it again. “It
 442.248 +was hard sometimes. But I knew I had to keep looking. I couldn’t
 442.249 +afford to give up. I knew you didn’t die with the planet. And I would
 442.250 +do anything to see you again.”
 442.251 +
 442.252 +Leon watched on, his arms still crossed. This was reminding him too
 442.253 +much of something he would prefer to forget. He hadn’t been able to
 442.254 +save her. He had given up hope of ever seeing her again. But this
 442.255 +man, this Cloud had kept searching even when it had been more than
 442.256 +likely that Aerith had died along with almost everyone else on Hollow
 442.257 +Bastion. He felt a cold wind blow across his soul at the thought. He
 442.258 +had been such a naïve child, believing he could protect the woman he
 442.259 +loved from something like the Heartless. He had been unsuccessful.
 442.260 +That was part of why he had changed his name. If he was someone else,
 442.261 +he wouldn’t have to think about losing her. Because Squall had lost
 442.262 +Rinoa, not Leon. 
 442.263 +
 442.264 +Sitting on the table in the library, Yuffie watched with mild
 442.265 +interest at Cloud and Aerith’s reunion. They really were back home.
 442.266 +With all of their friends. It was slowly sinking in. The world’s
 442.267 +greatest ninja was back home with all of her family and friends. No
 442.268 +more wandering and fighting. 
 442.269 +
 442.270 +Leon sighed, turning his back on the goings on. He wasn’t a part of
 442.271 +any of this. He felt awkward, like an outsider. But he had always
 442.272 +felt that way. He wasn’t good with people. Until she came along... He
 442.273 +banished the thought, walking away from his teammates. He walked
 442.274 +deeper into the library. He just wanted to be alone right now.
 442.275 +
 442.276 +“Aren’t you even going to say hello?”
 442.277 +
 442.278 +Leon froze. All of his cold mental reserve shattered like brittle
 442.279 +glass. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be... He
 442.280 +slowly turned to face the voice, his heart still frozen in midbeat.
 442.281 +His eyes fell upon a girl in blue leaning against a bookshelf. He
 442.282 +felt dizzy and lost all over again, as if the floor had been yanked
 442.283 +out from under him. 
 442.284 +
 442.285 +Rinoa smiled at him, brushing back some dark hair as she advanced on
 442.286 +Leon. “You look different. But it doesn’t seem like you’ve changed at
 442.287 +all otherwise.”
 442.288 +
 442.289 +“...” 
 442.290 +
 442.291 +Rinoa giggled, finally reaching the moody gunblade expert. “I love
 442.292 +you, too, Squall,” she replied. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders
 442.293 +as she stood up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. 
 442.294 +
 442.295 +Leon slowly found himself regaining control as she kissed him, as if
 442.296 +his soul was reawakening because of her. He closed his eyes tightly,
 442.297 +holding onto Rinoa. All that he had thought he had gotten rid of had
 442.298 +only been hidden away. Forgotten, but not entirely gone. And she was
 442.299 +the key to unlocking it all.
 442.300 +
 442.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 442.302 +
 442.303 +Sora collapsed onto his back, staring up at the cerulean skies above
 442.304 +him. He yawned, stretching out on the soft grass. His entire body was
 442.305 +sore. It felt like they had been travelling forever. He just wanted
 442.306 +to lie down for a moment. But lying there, his weariness tore at him.
 442.307 +He didn’t want to get back up. He just wanted to lie there. 
 442.308 +
 442.309 +‘Sora, you lazy bum,’ he could hear Kairi say. 
 442.310 +
 442.311 +‘I know you’re stronger than that, Sora,’ Riku’s voice called out in
 442.312 +his mind.
 442.313 +
 442.314 +Nodding resolutely, he struggled back into a sitting position. There
 442.315 +was still too much work to do. He couldn’t go slacking off now. He
 442.316 +couldn’t let down Kairi and Riku. 
 442.317 +
 442.318 +“We’re never going to find that door,” Donald said exasperatedly,
 442.319 +slumping next to Sora. His legs ached. He was a lot shorter than
 442.320 +Goofy and Sora, so he had to work harder to keep up. On top of that,
 442.321 +he had to get back to Daisy soon. Or she’d kill him. He gulped at the
 442.322 +thought, resting against his staff. 
 442.323 +
 442.324 +“We’ve gotta find the door. We will find it. It’s the only way we
 442.325 +can find Riku and your king.” Sora looked up at the clouds, seeing
 442.326 +his friends in them, calling to him. That managed to reenergize his
 442.327 +spirits. They were out there. And they would be together again one
 442.328 +day. If there was one thing his journey had taught him, it was to
 442.329 +believe in the power of one’s heart. And there was a red thread
 442.330 +connecting his heart to Riku and Kairi’s. As long as he believed that
 442.331 +they would be together, they eventually would. He just had to keep
 442.332 +believing. 
 442.333 +
 442.334 +“Hey, Sora,” Goofy began. “You finally got that friend of yours,
 442.335 +Kairi, back, right? So why aren’t you trying to find a way back to
 442.336 +your island?”
 442.337 +
 442.338 +“Because I’m not going back without Riku. I have to find him. We’re
 442.339 +going back to Kairi together. I can’t leave him. And I can’t leave
 442.340 +you guys to find your king alone. We’re in this together,” Sora
 442.341 +explained. He could see Riku and Kairi smiling at him in the clouds.
 442.342 +“And even if I can’t be with Kairi right now, I’ll always be with
 442.343 +her. The same with Riku. But I want us to all be together again. So
 442.344 +I’m going to make sure it happens. No matter how long it takes.”
 442.345 +
 442.346 +“Gawrsh. Poor Kairi has to wait all this time while we’re off
 442.347 +lookin’ for that door.” Goofy shook his head sadly.
 442.348 +
 442.349 +Donald glared at Goofy, crossing his arms. “Poor Kairi? I wouldn’t
 442.350 +mind trading places with her. Let her find that stupid door.” 
 442.351 +
 442.352 +Sora laughed. “But you’ll keep looking with us anyway, right,
 442.353 +Donald? Remember, only smiles on this trip.”
 442.354 +
 442.355 +The duck looked over to protest but found himself staring at the
 442.356 +oddly grinning faces of both Goofy and Sora. Sighing, the mage gave
 442.357 +up. “All right, all right! Only smiles.”
 442.358 +
 442.359 +Sora stretched as he finally stood up. “Good. Then lets get going.
 442.360 +We have to go find Riku and the king. We can’t waste any time.
 442.361 +They’re probably waiting for us right now.” With renewed enthusiasm,
 442.362 +he began walking again. He had no idea where the door to the light
 442.363 +would be, but it hardly mattered. He’d keep looking until he found
 442.364 +Riku. 
 442.365 +
 442.366 +Donald sighed and slowly got to his feet. “Hey! Wait up!”
 442.367 +
 442.368 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 442.369 +
 442.370 +Walking along the beach, Kairi was lost in thought. The island felt
 442.371 +so empty without Sora and Riku by her side. She found herself closing
 442.372 +her eyes more and more and wishing that they would be there when she
 442.373 +opened them. But they never were. So she wandered the island,
 442.374 +visiting all of the places that were important to her two best
 442.375 +friends, that held special memories for her. It was all she could
 442.376 +think to do. It wasn’t as good as having them there with her, but it
 442.377 +let her relive those moments they had together. Even if she did wind
 442.378 +up crying because of it quite a bit. She felt so alone without the
 442.379 +two of them. “Come back to me,” she whispered. 
 442.380 +
 442.381 +Something in the air caught her eye, drawing her gaze to the
 442.382 +heavens. Something was plummeting through the sky, falling like some
 442.383 +shooting star. It took her a moment to realize it was human shaped
 442.384 +and plunging towards the waves nearby. It finally crashed into the
 442.385 +aquamarine ocean, sending water splashing everywhere. Kairi ran to
 442.386 +the water, swimming as quickly as she could towards the figure. Her
 442.387 +mind raced with thoughts, all jumbling upon each other in their
 442.388 +confusion. Riku? Sora? Were they hurt? Was it them? How had they
 442.389 +fallen from the sky? Could she really drag them all the way back to
 442.390 +the beach? 
 442.391 +
 442.392 +Searching under the gently rolling waves, Kairi finally spotted a
 442.393 +prone figure in the water. She pushed forward, grabbing hold as
 442.394 +tightly as she could. Pulling herself up, she gasped greedily for
 442.395 +air, holding the figure close as she made her way back to land. Her
 442.396 +heart was playing a staccato beat inside of her chest as she
 442.397 +struggled wet and weak along the sand. She finally collapsed with the
 442.398 +fallen person, her curiosity and anxiety nearly maddening. Rolling on
 442.399 +her side while she tried to catch her breath, she found herself
 442.400 +staring back into blue eyes. 
 442.401 +
 442.402 +Sitting up as quickly as she was able, Kairi found herself staring
 442.403 +at herself lying on the sand. “What?” The sight gave her no relief.
 442.404 +It only served to raise more questions, confusing her further. This
 442.405 +didn’t feel like a dream. But how? This didn’t make any sense. She
 442.406 +could only stare at herself for a long moment, waiting to see if the
 442.407 +other her would do anything. Where had it come from? Why was it her?
 442.408 +What was going on?
 442.409 +
 442.410 +It took Kairi a bit before she noticed a difference in the other
 442.411 +her. There was something strange sticking out of her chest. Still on
 442.412 +her knees, she slowly reached toward the strange object. Her hand
 442.413 +jerked back when she saw the chest rise and fall. She finally worked
 442.414 +up the courage to reach out again, taking hold of what she now
 442.415 +realized was a handle. But for what? The girl that looked so much
 442.416 +like her didn’t seem to be stabbed or anything. But the handle still
 442.417 +seemed to lead to something. 
 442.418 +
 442.419 +“It will be okay, Kairi. I’ll always be with you. There’s nothing to
 442.420 +be afraid of. You just have to reach out and take my hand.”
 442.421 +
 442.422 +Kairi looked up in shock at the familiar voice. She could see Riku
 442.423 +looking down at her, holding his hand out for her. “Riku... I...” She
 442.424 +reached forward, trying to take his hand, to pull him close. But his
 442.425 +hand was gone before she could grab hold of it. “Riku...” She looked
 442.426 +back down at herself, her other hand still on the protruding handle. 
 442.427 +
 442.428 +“Find them,” her other self whispered. “They need you. They can’t do
 442.429 +it alone.”
 442.430 +
 442.431 +Kairi slowly found herself nodding. “We should be together. We need
 442.432 +each other.” She couldn’t just wait on her island forever. ‘This
 442.433 +time, I’ll protect both of you,’ she thought to herself. The her on
 442.434 +the sand smiled. Taking a firmer grip on the handle, Kairi pulled it
 442.435 +out of the other version of herself. In a storm of sparkles, the
 442.436 +other her was gone, and Kairi was holding a large key.
 442.437 +
 442.438 +“Open the door,” a voice whispered in her head. Who was it? She
 442.439 +couldn’t quite tell. Looking up, she could see a lone door standing
 442.440 +on the beach, apparently leading to nowhere. It had a large keyhole
 442.441 +on it. It almost seemed to beckon her. Kairi slowly stood up. If she
 442.442 +stayed here, her friends might be in danger. She knew they could
 442.443 +handle anything if they were all together again. Sora and Riku were
 442.444 +both lost out there. Maybe she could find them. She would find them.
 442.445 +Wherever they were. 
 442.446 +
 442.447 +Stepping forward, the young princess used the large, unwieldy key to
 442.448 +unlock the door awaiting her. As the door slowly opened, she knew
 442.449 +there would be no turning back. This was it. But her choice was
 442.450 +simple. She had to find them. Anything could have happened to them
 442.451 +out there, lost on any one of countless worlds. Without a glance
 442.452 +back, Kairi plunged through the door. 
 442.453 +

   443.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   443.2 +++ b/stories/private.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   443.3 @@ -0,0 +1,866 @@
   443.4 +By Yohann DeSabrais
   443.5 +
   443.6 +a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
   443.7 +
   443.8 +
   443.9 +
  443.10 +
  443.11 +
  443.12 +
  443.13 +
  443.14 +It occured to me that for all the fanfiction and lemons I wrote, I
  443.15 +
  443.16 +still have to write one about two women expressing their love for
  443.17 +
  443.18 +each other. That's right... this is my first lesbian lemon story,
  443.19 +
  443.20 +and it was about time I wrote one!
  443.21 +
  443.22 +
  443.23 +
  443.24 +I hope you enjoy it ^^
  443.25 +
  443.26 +
  443.27 +
  443.28 +
  443.29 +
  443.30 +
  443.31 +
  443.32 +My Private Teacher
  443.33 +
  443.34 +
  443.35 +
  443.36 +
  443.37 +
  443.38 +"So, how were your classes today, Chibi?" asked Hotaru as she met
  443.39 +
  443.40 +Chibi-Usa outside their highschool.
  443.41 +
  443.42 +
  443.43 +
  443.44 +The young pink haired teenager responded with a simple glance, but
  443.45 +
  443.46 +it conveyed her every feeling. Her eyes were tired and her 
  443.47 +
  443.48 +expression just screamed "I've had enough of this."
  443.49 +
  443.50 +
  443.51 +
  443.52 +"That bad, huh?" replied Hotaru to Chibi-Usa who was on the verge
  443.53 +
  443.54 +of collapsing under the weight of her book filled backpack.
  443.55 +
  443.56 +
  443.57 +
  443.58 +"You know what the really sad part is? I have a big history test
  443.59 +
  443.60 +tomorrow, and if I fail it I'll flunk that class." said Chibi-Usa.
  443.61 +
  443.62 +This time, her face shifted into utter desperation. "What am I 
  443.63 +
  443.64 +going to tell mom? I can't fail her like this!!!" she said, almost
  443.65 +
  443.66 +ready to cry.
  443.67 +
  443.68 +
  443.69 +
  443.70 +"But I thought you'd been studying, Chibi?"
  443.71 +
  443.72 +
  443.73 +
  443.74 +"I have! But... it just slips all out the instant I take my eyes
  443.75 +
  443.76 +off the pages in that book, I can't help it!"
  443.77 +
  443.78 +
  443.79 +
  443.80 +"Maybe you need a little help? Some private tutoring could help 
  443.81 +
  443.82 +you." suggested Hotaru.
  443.83 +
  443.84 +
  443.85 +
  443.86 +"Where am I going to find a tutor on such short notice???" asked
  443.87 +
  443.88 +Chibi-Usa.
  443.89 +
  443.90 +
  443.91 +
  443.92 +"Just drop by my place, I'll be glad to help." offered Hotaru.
  443.93 +
  443.94 +
  443.95 +
  443.96 +"Don't you have a math test tomorrow?" wondered Chibi-Usa.
  443.97 +
  443.98 +
  443.99 +
 443.100 +"Yes, but I've been preparing for days now, and a little change of
 443.101 +
 443.102 +pace will help me too. Overdoing it could hurt me as much as not
 443.103 +
 443.104 +doing anything at all. And besides, you know I'd never pass up a
 443.105 +
 443.106 +chance to spend some time with you!"
 443.107 +
 443.108 +
 443.109 +
 443.110 +"Oh, thank you!" said Chibi-Usa who felt relieved all of a sudden.
 443.111 +
 443.112 +She threw her arms around Hotaru, letting her heavy backpack fall
 443.113 +
 443.114 +to the ground with a loud thud. All around them, their classmates
 443.115 +
 443.116 +gave them some curious glances.
 443.117 +
 443.118 +
 443.119 +
 443.120 +"Hum, could you let me go now, Chibi? The others might start
 443.121 +
 443.122 +wondering, if, well, you know..." asked Hotaru, blushing as red
 443.123 +
 443.124 +as a tomato.
 443.125 +
 443.126 +
 443.127 +
 443.128 +Chibi-Usa released her, giggling. "And they'd be right, of course." 
 443.129 +
 443.130 +she whispered.
 443.131 +
 443.132 + 
 443.133 +
 443.134 +"Of course... but I'm not so sure that now is the time to let it
 443.135 +
 443.136 +out into the open." Hotaru whispered back.
 443.137 +
 443.138 +
 443.139 +
 443.140 +"Yeah, I know..." agreed Chibi-Usa who then checked her watch.
 443.141 +
 443.142 +"ACK! FICE THIRTY??? I GOTTA RUN HOME!!!" she then screamed,
 443.143 +
 443.144 +picking up her backpack and taking a mad dash.
 443.145 +
 443.146 +
 443.147 +
 443.148 +"She's so much like her mother, it's almost scary." thought Hotaru.
 443.149 +
 443.150 +
 443.151 +
 443.152 +
 443.153 +
 443.154 +
 443.155 +
 443.156 +"I'll get it!" yelled Haruka when she heard the doorbell, and she
 443.157 +
 443.158 +opened the door to Chibi-Usa.
 443.159 +
 443.160 +
 443.161 +
 443.162 +"Hello, Haruka, I'm here to study with Hotaru." she said, giving
 443.163 +
 443.164 +a polite 'hello' bow.
 443.165 +
 443.166 +
 443.167 +
 443.168 +"Yes, we've been expecting you! She's upstairs in her room." replied
 443.169 +
 443.170 +Haruka, smiling warmly.
 443.171 +
 443.172 +
 443.173 +
 443.174 +"Thanks! Have a nice evening!" said the teenage girl running
 443.175 +
 443.176 +upstairs to meet her friend.
 443.177 +
 443.178 +
 443.179 +
 443.180 +Michiru came out of the kitchen and heard the hurried steps of
 443.181 +
 443.182 +Chibi-Usa up the stairs.
 443.183 +
 443.184 +
 443.185 +
 443.186 +"She's come to see Hotaru again?" she asked.
 443.187 +
 443.188 +
 443.189 +
 443.190 +"Yes, they've certainly been spending a lot of time together."
 443.191 +
 443.192 +replied Haruka. She noticed the big sheepish grin of her girlfriend
 443.193 +
 443.194 +and wondered what she found so funny.
 443.195 +
 443.196 +
 443.197 +
 443.198 +"Don't tell me you haven't noticed?" asked Michiru.
 443.199 +
 443.200 +
 443.201 +
 443.202 +"Noticed what?" asked Haruka.
 443.203 +
 443.204 +
 443.205 +
 443.206 +"Don't the two of them remind you of anyone you know? Come now,
 443.207 +
 443.208 +darling, try and remember how we used to spend so much time together
 443.209 +
 443.210 +before we told our parents how we felt for each other..." she 
 443.211 +
 443.212 +whispered, moving close to Haruka and putting her arms around her 
 443.213 +
 443.214 +neck.
 443.215 +
 443.216 +
 443.217 +
 443.218 +"You're telling me that Hotaru... with Chibi-Usa???" replied the
 443.219 +
 443.220 +blonde tomboy, blinking repeatedly. "This sounds ludicrous, I mean,
 443.221 +
 443.222 +Chibi-Usa's mother is so... incredibly heterosexual! I still 
 443.223 +
 443.224 +remember how she freaked out when she figured I was a woman!!! 
 443.225 +
 443.226 +With a female rolemodel like her, how could she possibly fall
 443.227 +
 443.228 +for a woman?"
 443.229 +
 443.230 +
 443.231 +
 443.232 +"Who knows?" replied Michiru. "My parents certainly weren't the
 443.233 +
 443.234 +rolemodels that would convince a young girl to openly admit
 443.235 +
 443.236 +being homosexual. And yet here I am."
 443.237 +
 443.238 +
 443.239 +
 443.240 +"I'm certainly glad you decided to come forward with your feelings,
 443.241 +
 443.242 +love..." whispered Haruka before kissing her.
 443.243 +
 443.244 +
 443.245 +
 443.246 +
 443.247 +
 443.248 +
 443.249 +
 443.250 +
 443.251 +
 443.252 +"Ah, here you are, Chibi!" said Hotaru as she opened her bedroom 
 443.253 +
 443.254 +door, smiling warmly as she saw her beautiful friend.
 443.255 +
 443.256 +
 443.257 +
 443.258 +"Hum, did you change clothes since this afternoon?" asked 
 443.259 +
 443.260 +Chibi-Usa.
 443.261 +
 443.262 +
 443.263 +
 443.264 +"Yes, I wanted to get out of my constrictive jeans... do you like
 443.265 +
 443.266 +this outfit? I bought it last week." asked Hotaru, twirling
 443.267 +
 443.268 +around to show off her beautiful dark blue skirt and shirt with
 443.269 +
 443.270 +matching high heel shoes.
 443.271 +
 443.272 +
 443.273 +
 443.274 +"It's... beautiful..." muttered Chibi-Usa, hypnotized by Hotaru's
 443.275 +
 443.276 +sexy appearance. She was mesmerized by her long slender legs which
 443.277 +
 443.278 +were devilishly brought to attention with stockings that the pink 
 443.279 +
 443.280 +haired teenager could only describe as 'sinful'.
 443.281 +
 443.282 +
 443.283 +
 443.284 +Snapping herself from her daze, Chibi-Usa got back on the subject
 443.285 +
 443.286 +of studying.
 443.287 +
 443.288 +
 443.289 +
 443.290 +"Yes, let's get to work, now, shall we?" said Hotaru.
 443.291 +
 443.292 +
 443.293 +
 443.294 +For the next two hours, Hotaru helped Chibi-Usa to learn about
 443.295 +
 443.296 +history, more specifically the world war II period. The black
 443.297 +
 443.298 +haired girl sighed in despair as Chibi-Usa's problem just repeated
 443.299 +
 443.300 +itself once again, her memory seemingly impervious to retaining
 443.301 +
 443.302 +any number of dates, events and conflicts.
 443.303 +
 443.304 +
 443.305 +
 443.306 +"Come on, you MUST remember this... the prime minister of England
 443.307 +
 443.308 +during the second world war???" asked Hotaru, exasperated beyond
 443.309 +
 443.310 +belief.
 443.311 +
 443.312 +
 443.313 +
 443.314 +"I don't know... Tatcher?" she blurted out.
 443.315 +
 443.316 +
 443.317 +
 443.318 +Hotaru's face twisted into an angry expression.
 443.319 +
 443.320 +
 443.321 +
 443.322 +"Elizabeth the second?" said Chibi-Usa.
 443.323 +
 443.324 +
 443.325 +
 443.326 +"You're not even TRYING!!!" complained Hotaru, throwing her book
 443.327 +
 443.328 +down.
 443.329 +
 443.330 +
 443.331 +
 443.332 +"This stuff is HARD!!!" whined Chibi-Usa. "I'm going to fail for
 443.333 +
 443.334 +sure..." she said, starting to cry.
 443.335 +
 443.336 +
 443.337 +
 443.338 +Hotaru's anger disappeared, her heart breaking as she saw her 
 443.339 +
 443.340 +friend crying. This just wasn't working, she needed a new approach.
 443.341 +
 443.342 +
 443.343 +
 443.344 +"We've been going at this the wrong way I think." she said as she
 443.345 +
 443.346 +handed her friend some tissues.
 443.347 +
 443.348 +
 443.349 +
 443.350 +"I can't remember this stuff, it just won't enter my brain!"
 443.351 +
 443.352 +
 443.353 +
 443.354 +"I think it already DID enter your brain, you just need a way of
 443.355 +
 443.356 +bringing it back to the surface somehow... and I think I have
 443.357 +
 443.358 +a way of helping you do that. You just need the proper kind of
 443.359 +
 443.360 +motivation, like in Pavlov's experiments!" proposed Hotaru.
 443.361 +
 443.362 +
 443.363 +
 443.364 +"You're going to make me drool with a bell?" said Chibi-Usa,
 443.365 +
 443.366 +raising an eyebrow in surprise.
 443.367 +
 443.368 +
 443.369 +
 443.370 +"No, no, no, but if I'm right I may be capable of creating in you
 443.371 +
 443.372 +a conditionned reflex... a way of encouraging your brain to 
 443.373 +
 443.374 +remember historical facts by associating academic success with
 443.375 +
 443.376 +pleasant sensations!" she explained.
 443.377 +
 443.378 +
 443.379 +
 443.380 +Then again she might drool just yet, thought Hotaru.
 443.381 +
 443.382 +
 443.383 +
 443.384 +"What's your idea?" she asked.
 443.385 +
 443.386 +
 443.387 +
 443.388 +Hotaru picked up the book again and sat on her bed. She opened
 443.389 +
 443.390 +it to the lessons regarding WWII and looked at Chibi-Usa who
 443.391 +
 443.392 +was sitting at the desk.
 443.393 +
 443.394 +
 443.395 +
 443.396 +"I'm going to ask you some questions now. Think about the answers
 443.397 +
 443.398 +extremely carefully, because if you get the answers right, I will
 443.399 +
 443.400 +reward you for them." explained the black haired girl.
 443.401 +
 443.402 +
 443.403 +
 443.404 +"How?"
 443.405 +
 443.406 +
 443.407 +
 443.408 +"Get the answers right and you'll find out. First question: at what
 443.409 +
 443.410 +battle did the japanese drag the americans into the conflict?"
 443.411 +
 443.412 +
 443.413 +
 443.414 +Chibi-Usa still wondered what Hotaru meant by 'reward'... so she
 443.415 +
 443.416 +wracked her mind trying to remember the right answer.
 443.417 +
 443.418 +
 443.419 +
 443.420 +"Err... Pearl... Harbor?" she answered painstakingly.
 443.421 +
 443.422 +
 443.423 +
 443.424 +"Right!" said Hotaru, a big smile returning to her face.
 443.425 +
 443.426 +
 443.427 +
 443.428 +"What did you mean by a reward?" asked Chibi-Usa, curiosity eating
 443.429 +
 443.430 +her alive.
 443.431 +
 443.432 +
 443.433 +
 443.434 +"This." said Hotaru in her most seductive voice. Lying on her
 443.435 +
 443.436 +back, she lifted her legs up in the air and slowly caressed them
 443.437 +
 443.438 +up and down with her delicate hands. She licked her lips as her
 443.439 +
 443.440 +fingers traveled along her long shapely legs, and finally she 
 443.441 +
 443.442 +pushed off the sexy high heels off her feet, wiggling her toes as 
 443.443 +
 443.444 +they were released.
 443.445 +
 443.446 +
 443.447 +
 443.448 +She sat up on the bed again, laughing as she picked up the book. 
 443.449 +
 443.450 +"So, Chibi, ready for the NEXT question?"
 443.451 +
 443.452 +
 443.453 +
 443.454 +Chibi-Usa gulped in silence. No way would she allow herself to
 443.455 +
 443.456 +answer wrong on ANY of these questions!!!
 443.457 +
 443.458 +
 443.459 +
 443.460 +"Here's an easy one now... what cities were destroyed using the
 443.461 +
 443.462 +first atomic bombs?" asked Hotaru.
 443.463 +
 443.464 +
 443.465 +
 443.466 +"Hiroshima and Nagazaki!!!" quickly answered Chibi-Usa.
 443.467 +
 443.468 +
 443.469 +
 443.470 +"Correct..." said Hotaru, once again putting the book down and
 443.471 +
 443.472 +this time rolling her stockings off her legs one at a time, 
 443.473 +
 443.474 +teasing her friend with this unbearably slow strip-tease. The
 443.475 +
 443.476 +temperature in the room was increasing rapidly, or so it seemed.
 443.477 +
 443.478 +
 443.479 +
 443.480 +Chibi-Usa had to restrain herself from jumping off her chair and
 443.481 +
 443.482 +hop on the bed along with Hotaru, the sight of her legs was really
 443.483 +
 443.484 +starting to get her aroused.
 443.485 +
 443.486 +
 443.487 +
 443.488 +"What's the... next question?" she asked, shivering in anticipation.
 443.489 +
 443.490 +
 443.491 +
 443.492 +"What was the name of the german police force charged to monitor
 443.493 +
 443.494 +the enemies of the Reich within the countries they had invaded?"
 443.495 +
 443.496 +
 443.497 +
 443.498 +"Err... the Guestapo?"
 443.499 +
 443.500 +
 443.501 +
 443.502 +"Right again." said Hotaru. Her hands went to the buttons of her 
 443.503 +
 443.504 +shirt, opening them one at a time. With a soft sigh, she slipped
 443.505 +
 443.506 +it off and threw it to Chibi-Usa who caught it eagerly. Underneath
 443.507 +
 443.508 +the shirt, she was wearing an exquisite black lace bra that hugged
 443.509 +
 443.510 +her breasts to perfection. "Is it getting warm in here?" she asked
 443.511 +
 443.512 +playfully, Chibi-Usa nodding to agree.
 443.513 +
 443.514 +
 443.515 +
 443.516 +While Hotaru searched through her book for her next question,
 443.517 +
 443.518 +Chibi-Usa enjoyed the delicate fragrance coming from the silk 
 443.519 +
 443.520 +shirt, a sweet reminder of all those times where she held Hotaru 
 443.521 +
 443.522 +in her arms. This odour was sublime... the smell of love, as the
 443.523 +
 443.524 +young girl liked to think of it.
 443.525 +
 443.526 +
 443.527 +
 443.528 +"Here we are! Which german general was nicknamed 'the Desert Fox'?"
 443.529 +
 443.530 +
 443.531 +
 443.532 +"I know that one! General Rommel!" she said in excitement.
 443.533 +
 443.534 +
 443.535 +
 443.536 +Hotaru then remembered that one of Chibi-Usa's favorite computer
 443.537 +
 443.538 +games was a wargame opposing the player to the famed german commander
 443.539 +
 443.540 +in his North Africa operations.
 443.541 +
 443.542 +
 443.543 +
 443.544 +"That one was much too easy, I better make the next one much harder." 
 443.545 +
 443.546 +thought Hotaru. Getting off the bed, she stood up and unzipped her 
 443.547 +
 443.548 +skirt. Turning around, she swayed her hips sensuously as she slipped
 443.549 +
 443.550 +the skirt off and let it fall down, revealing her superbly shaped
 443.551 +
 443.552 +buttocks to the mesmerized Chibi-Usa. She was wearing black lace
 443.553 +
 443.554 +g-string undies matching her bra.
 443.555 +
 443.556 +
 443.557 +
 443.558 +Unable to take her eyes off Hotaru, Chibi-Usa felt herself turned on
 443.559 +
 443.560 +to no ends. She could feel that she was getting wet, and did not even
 443.561 +
 443.562 +notice that she had moved her hand between her legs, softly caressing
 443.563 +
 443.564 +herself to the same rythm as Hotaru's danse of seduction.
 443.565 +
 443.566 +
 443.567 +
 443.568 +Chibi-Usa wanted to see more and was waiting for the next question
 443.569 +
 443.570 +with impatience. Hotaru grinned, this was working better than she
 443.571 +
 443.572 +imagined... and she was getting very aroused herself, she had to
 443.573 +
 443.574 +fight the temptation to ask easy questions that would allow her
 443.575 +
 443.576 +to strip down too quickly.
 443.577 +
 443.578 +
 443.579 +
 443.580 +"Next question... which US marine general to whom was attributed
 443.581 +
 443.582 +victory in the battle of the Pacific later went on to become the
 443.583 +
 443.584 +United States president?" she asked.
 443.585 +
 443.586 +
 443.587 +
 443.588 +This was a tough one indeed for Chibi-Usa. She grabbed her head
 443.589 +
 443.590 +in both hands, trying to squeeze the answer out of her brain. She
 443.591 +
 443.592 +knew this would get really interesting if she got the answer right,
 443.593 +
 443.594 +so she wracked her mind to get the right name out. After about a
 443.595 +
 443.596 +minute, she blurted out the only name she could think of...
 443.597 +
 443.598 +
 443.599 +
 443.600 +"EISENHOWER!"
 443.601 +
 443.602 +
 443.603 +
 443.604 +Hotaru looked in her book, then at Chibi-Usa, then at the book again.
 443.605 +
 443.606 +The suspense was killing the pink haired girl, so Hotaru smiled.
 443.607 +
 443.608 +
 443.609 +
 443.610 +"Correct." she said with a smile.
 443.611 +
 443.612 +
 443.613 +
 443.614 +Chibi-Usa silently worded a big "YES!", her mouth then hanging open
 443.615 +
 443.616 +as Hotaru sat on the bed again, turning her back to her as she
 443.617 +
 443.618 +unsnapped her bra and slipped the straps off her shoulders. Turning
 443.619 +
 443.620 +back around, she held up an arm over her breasts, hiding herself
 443.621 +
 443.622 +from the hungry eyes of Chibi-Usa and waving around her bra with
 443.623 +
 443.624 +her free hand.
 443.625 +
 443.626 +
 443.627 +
 443.628 +"Don't I get a peek?" pleaded Chibi-Usa.
 443.629 +
 443.630 +
 443.631 +
 443.632 +"Only if you get the last one right! And now, for my panties...
 443.633 +
 443.634 +where was signed the treaty between the french and the german which
 443.635 +
 443.636 +stated that the french would not further resist the german 
 443.637 +
 443.638 +invasion?"
 443.639 +
 443.640 +
 443.641 +
 443.642 +Chibi-Usa thought long and hard, then smiled. She got up from the
 443.643 +
 443.644 +desk chair and walked over to Hotaru, sitting next to her on the
 443.645 +
 443.646 +bed and whispering the answer.
 443.647 +
 443.648 +
 443.649 +
 443.650 +"Vichy."
 443.651 +
 443.652 +
 443.653 +
 443.654 +"Right you are, Chibi... would you help me out of these?" she asked
 443.655 +
 443.656 +her lover, pulling her arm away from her chest as she laid down on
 443.657 +
 443.658 +the bed.
 443.659 +
 443.660 +
 443.661 +
 443.662 +Chibi-Usa was more than happy to fulfill the request, and she gently
 443.663 +
 443.664 +pulled down on her undies, giving her full view of her completely
 443.665 +
 443.666 +naked body.
 443.667 +
 443.668 +
 443.669 +
 443.670 +"Need some help with your own clothes, Chibi?"
 443.671 +
 443.672 +
 443.673 +
 443.674 +"I'd love that."
 443.675 +
 443.676 +
 443.677 +
 443.678 +Their lips locked while the two of them started to remove the
 443.679 +
 443.680 +suddenly all too restrictive pink sweater and jeans of Chibi-Usa,
 443.681 +
 443.682 +their hands then free to explore each other's bodies.
 443.683 +
 443.684 +
 443.685 +
 443.686 +Pushing Chibi-Usa on her back, Hotaru's hands and lips went for her
 443.687 +
 443.688 +breasts, licking and caressing her delicate pink nipples.
 443.689 +
 443.690 +
 443.691 +
 443.692 +"Ooooooh..." moaned Chibi-Usa.
 443.693 +
 443.694 +
 443.695 +
 443.696 +Hotaru giggled and gently suckled on her soft flesh, enjoying
 443.697 +
 443.698 +every second of it.
 443.699 +
 443.700 +
 443.701 +
 443.702 +"How do you like having a private tutor, Chibi?" she stopped a
 443.703 +
 443.704 +few seconds to ask her.
 443.705 +
 443.706 +
 443.707 +
 443.708 +"I should have done this a loooooong time ago..." she replied,
 443.709 +
 443.710 +sighing and caressing Hotaru's shoulders and back.
 443.711 +
 443.712 +
 443.713 +
 443.714 +"Do you feel ready for that test now?" asked Hotaru.
 443.715 +
 443.716 +
 443.717 +
 443.718 +"Oh yeah... bring it on, I can take it..." replied Chibi-Usa.
 443.719 +
 443.720 +
 443.721 +
 443.722 +"If you insist..." said the black haired girl, moving down along
 443.723 +
 443.724 +Chibi-Usa's body, her lips caressing her bellybutton on her way
 443.725 +
 443.726 +to her lover's most precious treasure.
 443.727 +
 443.728 +
 443.729 +
 443.730 +Chibi-Usa spread her legs open, knowing only too well what her
 443.731 +
 443.732 +lover wanted to do- and she was dying for it. Hotaru's fingers
 443.733 +
 443.734 +softly brushed her pink pubic hair neatly shaved in a very sexy
 443.735 +
 443.736 +bikini trim and she just admired it for a moment.
 443.737 +
 443.738 +
 443.739 +
 443.740 +"Please..." begged Chibi-Usa.
 443.741 +
 443.742 +
 443.743 +
 443.744 +Hotaru didn't take any longer, placing her lips on the soft folds
 443.745 +
 443.746 +of Chibi-Usa's womanhood, giving her the most intimate kiss lovers
 443.747 +
 443.748 +can share. Chibi-Usa felt a spark of pleasure shoot through her
 443.749 +
 443.750 +body, feeding the fire that grew inside her and rapidly turning
 443.751 +
 443.752 +it into a raging inferno.
 443.753 +
 443.754 +
 443.755 +
 443.756 +"Oh god, that feels so good..." moaned Chibi-Usa while Hotaru's
 443.757 +
 443.758 +tongue caressed her all the way to paradise.
 443.759 +
 443.760 +
 443.761 +
 443.762 +To Hotaru, this was wonderful as well, as she tasted her lover in 
 443.763 +
 443.764 +a way she knew no one else ever would. This was an experience that
 443.765 +
 443.766 +they had shared many times before, and it brough them a little
 443.767 +
 443.768 +closer every time.
 443.769 +
 443.770 +
 443.771 +
 443.772 +"Hmmm... you're so good to me, Hotaru, let me give you the same
 443.773 +
 443.774 +pleasure too..." said Chibi-Usa, sitting up and hugging Hotaru
 443.775 +
 443.776 +again, kissing her passionately and slipping her tongue in her
 443.777 +
 443.778 +mouth. Their tongues twisted around, darting in and out while
 443.779 +
 443.780 +their hands roamed freely on each other's satin skin.
 443.781 +
 443.782 +
 443.783 +
 443.784 +Under Chibi-Usa's silent directions, Hotaru laid down on her back,
 443.785 +
 443.786 +spreading her legs apart. Chibi-Usa smiled and gently laid down
 443.787 +
 443.788 +over her lover.
 443.789 +
 443.790 +
 443.791 +
 443.792 +"What are you doing?" wondered Hotaru.
 443.793 +
 443.794 +
 443.795 +
 443.796 +"You'll see." replied Chibi-Usa, putting her lips over Hotaru's.
 443.797 +
 443.798 +
 443.799 +
 443.800 +Closing her eyes for this kiss, Hotaru couldn't see what her
 443.801 +
 443.802 +friend was doing, but she quickly understood. Chibi-Usa had moved 
 443.803 +
 443.804 +herself so that her most intimate area would be in contact with 
 443.805 +
 443.806 +hers, and started to move her hips forward and back in a smooth
 443.807 +
 443.808 +motion, rubbing their pleasure centers together in a maddening
 443.809 +
 443.810 +rush of sensation.
 443.811 +
 443.812 +
 443.813 +
 443.814 +"Ooooh..." groaned Hotaru, throwing her legs around Chibi-Usa's
 443.815 +
 443.816 +hips and swaying them along with her to increase the feeling she
 443.817 +
 443.818 +was receiving from this unexpected position.
 443.819 +
 443.820 +
 443.821 +
 443.822 +As their precious jewels got into close contact, they both felt
 443.823 +
 443.824 +themselves about to explode.
 443.825 +
 443.826 +
 443.827 +
 443.828 +"Chibi... I... love... you!!!" said Hotaru as she fell over the 
 443.829 +
 443.830 +edge, her orgasm rocking her body and dragging over Chibi-Usa 
 443.831 +
 443.832 +into the same earth shaking experience.
 443.833 +
 443.834 +
 443.835 +
 443.836 +"I... love.. you too... Hotaru..." said Chibi-Usa, panting and
 443.837 +
 443.838 +totally exhausted. She barely had the strength to move, but she
 443.839 +
 443.840 +didn't really want to. She was in the one place in the world
 443.841 +
 443.842 +where nothing could attain her, no one could hurt her, Hotaru's
 443.843 +
 443.844 +arms.
 443.845 +
 443.846 +
 443.847 +
 443.848 +"Wow... that was incredible..." said Hotaru.
 443.849 +
 443.850 +
 443.851 +
 443.852 +"You bring out the best in me, Hotaru... say, don't you have
 443.853 +
 443.854 +a geography test you have to study for next week?"
 443.855 +
 443.856 +
 443.857 +
 443.858 +"Hm, yes I do... I could use some tutoring!" giggled Hotaru.
 443.859 +
 443.860 +
 443.861 +
 443.862 +They both laughed and kissed again.
 443.863 +
 443.864 +
 443.865 +
 443.866 +
 443.867 +
 443.868 +The End.
 443.869 +

   444.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   444.2 +++ b/stories/psammy.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   444.3 @@ -0,0 +1,585 @@
   444.4 +A Pretty Sammy Story
   444.5 +By The Amazoness Duo
   444.6 +And Yosho Masaki
   444.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   444.8 +
   444.9 +As the battle settled to a finish, Pretty Sammy stood as the victor.  Pixie 
  444.10 +Misa levetated not to far from the battle scene and watched.  She often 
  444.11 +wondered who Pretty Sammy was.  Even though she didn't really know her own 
  444.12 +identaty she would at least like to know her enemies.  Maybe, just maybe if 
  444.13 +she found out before she was reverted back she would remember who Sammy was. 
  444.14 +  Just as Sammy started reverting back to normal Misa did as well.
  444.15 +
  444.16 +        Pixie Misa was engulfed in a bright white light and her outfit disappeared 
  444.17 +and she was there in the middle of the sky glowing white and nude.  Her hair 
  444.18 +then reverted from blonde to black as her street clothes reappeared.  Misao 
  444.19 +got up off the ground.  Her headache was now gone.  She walked around and 
  444.20 +wondered how she had gotten in the alley that she was in.
  444.21 +
  444.22 +        As Misao walked around the corner someone knocked her down.  The person 
  444.23 +stopped and it was Sasami.
  444.24 +
  444.25 +        "I'm sorry Misao."  Sasami said, "I was just looking for you.  I
  444.26 +heard that 
  444.27 +there was a battle going on in this area of town and I had gotten worried 
  444.28 +about you."
  444.29 +
  444.30 +        "Thank you, Sasami.  I'm fine though.  I just don't remember how I got
  444.31 +back 
  444.32 +here.  I'm sure that I'll remember though."
  444.33 +
  444.34 +        Elsewhere...
  444.35 +
  444.36 +        "Damn that Pretty Sammy!  She is always getting in my way!"  a
  444.37 +shadowed 
  444.38 +figure yelled in anger.  "It doesn't matter though.  I'll get you when you 
  444.39 +least suspect it.  Be warned Pretty Sammy, you will not be a thorn in my 
  444.40 +side for much longer.  You can count on that."
  444.41 +
  444.42 +        "Master." Ramia said.
  444.43 +
  444.44 +        "What is it, Worm!"
  444.45 +
  444.46 +        "If my warrior was allowed to stay in her other form a little while
  444.47 +longer, 
  444.48 +She could find out who Sammy is and Kill her before she can turn into Pretty 
  444.49 +Sammy."
  444.50 +
  444.51 +        "Your 'WARRIOR' should be greatful that she is even able to turn into
  444.52 +Pixie 
  444.53 +Misa.  I'll give you and your 'warrior' one more chance.  But be warned, If 
  444.54 +you fail me THIS time I will show NO mercy!"
  444.55 +
  444.56 +        "Yes Master.  I am very grea"
  444.57 +
  444.58 +        "SHUT UP AND LEAVE!!!!"
  444.59 +
  444.60 +        On that note Ramia vanished fearing what would happen to her if Misa failed 
  444.61 +agian.
  444.62 +
  444.63 +        A few days later on the Afternoon News.
  444.64 +
  444.65 +        "This is the third day in a row that monsters have been constantly 
  444.66 +attacking the city.  The Super Soldier Pretty Sammy Has put a stop to every 
  444.67 +attack to this point.  Police are baffled and can not detect any connection 
  444.68 +between any of the attack sites.  Some people have began to wonder, that 
  444.69 +with all the constant attacks, just how long Pretty Sammy can keep this up.  
  444.70 +This is Sara Ulrich with WKBM News at 1:00.  Signing off."
  444.71 +
  444.72 +        'Yeah.  Just how long can I keep this up?  Not long, I know that much.  I 
  444.73 +can't even get a good night's sleep anymore.' Sasami thought to herself.  
  444.74 +This was the 3rd day that she has gone without any sleep at all.  Just then 
  444.75 +a little grey rabbit looking creature was hopping across the school yard.  
  444.76 +'Oh no.  Not AGAIN.'
  444.77 +
  444.78 +        "Sasami!  More Luvluv monsters have been spotted.  You must hurry."
  444.79 +
  444.80 +        "I can't do this much longer Ryo-ohki.  I'm about to collapse as it is 
  444.81 +already."
  444.82 +
  444.83 +        Elsewhere...
  444.84 +
  444.85 +        'My plan is working.  With Pretty Sammy exhausted, she won't have the 
  444.86 +strength to fight much longer.  I just need a little more time.'
  444.87 +
  444.88 +        "Ramia!  The Master want's to see you right away."
  444.89 +
  444.90 +        "Thank you Rumia.  You may leave now."  On that note Rumia changed
  444.91 +into 
  444.92 +bird and flew off.
  444.93 +
  444.94 +        Back in Japan..
  444.95 +
  444.96 +        The battle raged on anf for a little while it had seemed that the LuvLuv 
  444.97 +monster had an edge over Pretty Sammy.  With her last bit of energy she was 
  444.98 +able to launch her ultimate attack, Magical Resolution, and was able to put 
  444.99 +the LuvLuv monster at peace with it's inner self.
 444.100 +
 444.101 +        "Finally!"
 444.102 +
 444.103 +        "I'm proud of you Sammy.  I"m glad to see that you can still
 444.104 +fight."
 444.105 +
 444.106 +        "Ryo-ohki!  Did you have doubt?"
 444.107 +
 444.108 +        "Well... no but you looked very tired."
 444.109 +
 444.110 +        "I am VERY tired. By the way you are a terrible lier.  I also had doubt, 
 444.111 +but I knew that I had to beat it."
 444.112 +
 444.113 +        "Bonjour Pretty Sammy.  You look very tired.  Do you think that you have 
 444.114 +enough strength to defeat me?"
 444.115 +
 444.116 +        "PIXIE MISA!  I don't know if I have the strength but I know that I can 
 444.117 +always defeat you!"
 444.118 +
 444.119 +        "Oh come now.  Even I know that you can't defeat me in your weakened
 444.120 +state. 
 444.121 +  However it wouldn't be any fun if you just up and surrendered.  So get 
 444.122 +ready Sammy."
 444.123 +
 444.124 +        Misa charged at Sammy and hit her with unbelievable power.  Sammy knew that 
 444.125 +she was no match for Misa now but she just couldn't give up.  No.  She 
 444.126 +wouldn't give up.  When Misa had was getting ready to give the final blow, 
 444.127 +Sammy was surrounded with a bright magical light.
 444.128 +
 444.129 +        'No.  Not now.  I.. I can't change back now!'  Sammy thought to herself in 
 444.130 +panic.
 444.131 +
 444.132 +        At the same moment Misa was confused and blinded.  Ryo-ohki saw this and 
 444.133 +told Sammy to run for it but she was too weak to make a move.  The light 
 444.134 +disappeared and there lay, in Pretty Sammy's place, was a nude Sasami.  Her 
 444.135 +clothes soon materialized in place of where the Sammy outfit used to be.
 444.136 +
 444.137 +        Misa regained sight to see Sasami laying where Pretty Sammy was at just a 
 444.138 +second ago.
 444.139 +
 444.140 +        "So this is who you are.  Get ready to die, Sammy!  Pixie Blade!" 
 444.141 +Suddenly 
 444.142 +a short bladed sword appeared in Misa's hands and she thrust downward.
 444.143 +
 444.144 +        "NOOOOOOOOOO!  I can't, no, won't do this!"  The blade disappeared
 444.145 +and Pixie Misa Stood up and turned around with tears forming in her eyes.  She, 
 444.146 +too, was then Surrounded in a brilliant flash of light as she started to 
 444.147 +revert back to Misao, Ramia appeared.
 444.148 +
 444.149 +        "What do you think that you are doing?!  You will kill this
 444.150 +annoyance!"
 444.151 +
 444.152 +        "No!  I can't do this to my best friend!  You knew this all along didn't 
 444.153 +you!  You knew that Pretty Sammy was my best friend!"  The reverting
 444.154 +stopped and she retransformed into Misao.
 444.155 +
 444.156 +        "So.  She will eventually betray your friendship.  It's best to destroy
 444.157 +her now, I mean, you will destroy her anyway.  It is better to get rid of her 
 444.158 +befor she can hurt you."
 444.159 +
 444.160 +        "Never!"  With that said, Misa took Sasami and left.
 444.161 +
 444.162 +        Two hours later...
 444.163 +
 444.164 +        "Uhhhhhhh...  What happened?" Sasami said still drowsy and begining
 444.165 +to come around.
 444.166 +
 444.167 +        "Don't worry, you are safe now."  Sasami knew this voice but couldn't
 444.168 +place it.  Her vision cleared after a few moments and she looked around for her 
 444.169 +rescuer.  After another moment she found someone and jumped up ready for 
 444.170 +battle.
 444.171 +
 444.172 +        "Pretty Mutation Magical Re..."
 444.173 +
 444.174 +        "You don't have to transform Sammy.  There is no one else here.  I saved 
 444.175 +you."  Suddenly Misa was covered in a brilliant flash of light and a few 
 444.176 +minutes later the light was gone and Misao stood in Misa's place.
 444.177 +
 444.178 +        Sasami's eyes watered and she started crying.  Crying for her friend and 
 444.179 +crying for herself.  The whole time that she was having fun with her friend 
 444.180 +she was also fighting against her friend.  Fighting in battles that could 
 444.181 +kill her. She could have hurt Misao. She could have killed her. Misao meant 
 444.182 +too much to her to lose like that. She couldn't stand the thought of hurting 
 444.183 +her.
 444.184 +
 444.185 +        "Sasami, what's wrong?" Misao asked concerned. She blinked a couple
 444.186 +times, confused about what was going on. The last thing she remembered, she'd been 
 444.187 +having another headache and then everything had faded away. Now she was with 
 444.188 +a very distraught Sasami. She quickly realized they were in her room, but 
 444.189 +she couldn't make out how she had gotten there, or when Sasami had arrived.
 444.190 +
 444.191 +        Sasami through her arms around the black haired girl, throwing Misao off 
 444.192 +balance. Misao fell back onto the bed with Sasami still clutching to her. 
 444.193 +"Oh Misao… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Sasami sobbed. "I should
 444.194 +have known. I should have done something. I'm so sorry."
 444.195 +
 444.196 +        Misao hugged Sasami, trying to comfort her. She didn't know what to do. 
 444.197 +Sasami was always the one who made her feel better when something went 
 444.198 +wrong. She wasn't sure how to calm her friend. "Sasami, its alright. I
 444.199 +don't know what you're sorry about, but there's no reason to. I'm fine. 
 444.200 +Everything's okay."
 444.201 +
 444.202 +        The sound of Misao's voice in her ear sent shivers down Sasami's spine. She 
 444.203 +was locked in a close embrace with the black haired girl, Misao whispering 
 444.204 +soothingly to her. Sasami blushed a deep shade of red and tried to 
 444.205 +disentangle herself from her best friend. Sasami's emotions overflowed as 
 444.206 +she sat there. The fear of what could have happened to her best friend. The 
 444.207 +sadness that she'd almost hurt her, the relief that maybe now they wouldn't 
 444.208 +have to fight anymore. And something else. Some other feeling flowed through 
 444.209 +her. It was deep and warm and enveloped her like a soft blanket. 'What's 
 444.210 +going on?' she thought to herself. Her torrid emotions had ripped down a 
 444.211 +barrier inside her, pouring forth emotions she'd hidden, even from herself. 
 444.212 +Things she'd pretended not to notice, not to care about. She sat up and 
 444.213 +stared at the wall of Misao's room. 'Why do I have to pick now to fall in 
 444.214 +love?' Sasami asked herself angrily. 'And with Misao? How could I be in love 
 444.215 +with Misao?' Sasami took a deep breath while Misao looked on, confused. 'I'm 
 444.216 +just being over emotional right now. I'm sleep deprived and I'm just happy 
 444.217 +she's alright.' She looked back at the black haired girl. Misao was looking 
 444.218 +at her worriedly with her gentle aqua eyes. Sasami turned back towards the 
 444.219 +wall.
 444.220 +
 444.221 +        "Sasami? Are you okay?" Misao asked nervously. "What's going
 444.222 +on?"
 444.223 +        The blue haired girl smiled warmly at her friend. "I'm fine. I'm just glad
 444.224 +things are working out now. I'm sorry I can't explain what's going on right 
 444.225 +now, but I will. Someday I'll explain. I promise." Misao nodded weakly.
 444.226 +"I should go for now. I'll call you tonight. Be careful, Misao." Sasami hugged
 444.227 +the other girl tightly before smiling and heading to the door of the room.
 444.228 +
 444.229 +        Misao wrung her hands, still worried. "I will, Sasami. I hope you feel 
 444.230 +better."
 444.231 +
 444.232 +        "I think all I need is some sleep and I'll be back to normal," Sasami
 444.233 +said.  She waved to Misao and headed downstairs to the door. Sasami sighed deeply 
 444.234 +after she got outside. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sun light. 
 444.235 +She wanted to go back in, to see Misao again, but she needed to get some 
 444.236 +sleep.  She tried to ignore all the thoughts invading her sleep hazy mind.
 444.237 +After what seemed an eternity, Sasami reached the house she shared with her 
 444.238 +mother and brother.  She stumbled up the stairs to her room. Ryo-ohki looked up in surprise when 
 444.239 +Sasami collapsed on the bed.
 444.240 +
 444.241 +        "Sasami? You're okay?" Ryo-ohki hopped over to her side happily.
 444.242 +"I was so worried about you!"
 444.243 +
 444.244 +        "Thanks," Sasami mumbled, her eyes half closed.
 444.245 +
 444.246 +        "Where were you? I saw Pixie Misa take off with you, but I couldn't catch 
 444.247 +up in time. How did you escape?"
 444.248 +
 444.249 +        Sasami yawned and tried to make out what Ryo-ohki had said. "Oh, no. I was
 444.250 +fine. Misa wouldn't have hurt me. She saved me." She lazily unbuttoned her 
 444.251 +shirt and threw it to the side, trying to pull the blankets up around her.
 444.252 +
 444.253 +        "She saved you?" Ryo-ohki asked incredulously. Sasami just nodded and
 444.254 +rolled over. "Sasami…" Ryo-ohki nudged the blue haired girl after
 444.255 +waiting for an answer.
 444.256 +
 444.257 +        "I'm sorry, Ryo-ohki, but I'm tired and I'm confused. I need some sleep 
 444.258 +after all this. We can talk later, okay?" Sasami smiled tiredly at the 
 444.259 +cabbit, trying to keep her eyes open.
 444.260 +
 444.261 +        Ryo-ohki sighed. "Sure. You deserve some sleep after all those LuvLuv 
 444.262 +monsters you stopped. Goodnight, Sasami." Ryo-ohki waited for a reply, but 
 444.263 +Sasami was already asleep.
 444.264 +
 444.265 +***
 444.266 +
 444.267 +        Sasami yawned and stretched as she woke up. She felt a lot better after the 
 444.268 +non-stop fighting she'd dealt with over the past couple days. It was dark 
 444.269 +outside now. She had a hard time remembering what had been a dream and what 
 444.270 +was real. One thing stood out above all else, Misao. Her mind centered on 
 444.271 +the thoughts of her dark haired friend. Misao smiled at her in her mind's 
 444.272 +eye. Suddenly, the image shifted, the dark hair was now blonde. The 
 444.273 +beautiful aqua eyes were now pink. Sasami let out a silent sigh, remembering 
 444.274 +that her best friend was her worst enemy. But was she? She had saved her 
 444.275 +life. Maybe it showed just how deep their feeling were for each other, 
 444.276 +strong enough to get past the magic that cause Misao to be Pixy Misa.
 444.277 +
 444.278 +        The blue haired girl blushed deeply. What was she thinking? Her heart beat 
 444.279 +had quickened while thinking of Misao. Just what was happening to her?
 444.280 +        
 444.281 +Stretching as she stood up, Sasami hopped off her bed. She glanced around 
 444.282 +for Ryo-ohki, but the cabbit was nowhere to be seen. She shrugged her bare 
 444.283 +shoulders and padded across the floor to her dresser. Pulling on her 
 444.284 +pajama's, she couldn't help but feel a stab of worry for her friend. Was she 
 444.285 +alright? What would happen to her now that she betrayed that strange lady 
 444.286 +she'd been working for? Sasami bolted upright and grabbed for her phone. She 
 444.287 +pushed the speed dial button and paced nervously as she waited for an 
 444.288 +answer.
 444.289 +
 444.290 +        "Hello?" a gentle voice answered.
 444.291 +
 444.292 +        Sasami smiled at the sound of Misao's voice. The other girl had always been 
 444.293 +her very dear, best friend. She felt so relieved to know that she was okay.
 444.294 +
 444.295 +        "Hello?" Misao repeated.
 444.296 +
 444.297 +        "Oh! Hi, Misao," Sasami said quickly. She leaned down, picking up her
 444.298 +discarded blouse.
 444.299 +
 444.300 +        "Sasami? How are you? I was worried about you…" Misao said softly.
 444.301 +        Sasami fell back on her bed, a blush on her cheeks and a smile on her lips. 
 444.302 +
 444.303 +        "Thanks, Misao. I'm just fine. Actually, I was worried about you."
 444.304 +
 444.305 +        "Me?" the purple haired girl asked in surprise.
 444.306 +
 444.307 +        Sasami giggled. "Yeah. Don't worry about it. I'd protect you if anything 
 444.308 +happened, anyway," she said, her voice suddenly sounding serious. She 
 444.309 +promised to herself she wouldn't let anything happen to her friend. If she 
 444.310 +wasn't Pretty Sammy, then her friend wouldn't be in such danger. Misao never 
 444.311 +would've been used as Pixy Misa. She owed it to her friend to watch out for 
 444.312 +her. And she couldn't live with herself if anything happened to Misao.
 444.313 +        "Thank you, Sasami," Misao said after a short pause. "I really
 444.314 +hope you're doing better."
 444.315 +
 444.316 +        "Yeah, I am. I got some sleep after I got home. I feel a lot better,"
 444.317 +Sasami replied.
 444.318 +
 444.319 +        "That's great. You were acting kind of strange," Misao said
 444.320 +concernedly.
 444.321 +
 444.322 +        Sasami sat up on the bed, crossing her legs. "Strange?" she asked 
 444.323 +worriedly. 'Am I acting strange around her? Did she notice I was?'
 444.324 +
 444.325 +        "I think you were probably just tired," Misao said thoughtfully.
 444.326 +
 444.327 +        "Yeah, that was it," Sasami agreed hurriedly. 'That was all it was,
 444.328 +right?'
 444.329 +
 444.330 +        "I'm sorry, Sasami. I have to go,"  the blue haired girl could hear
 444.331 +the regret in Misao's voice.
 444.332 +       
 444.333 +        "That's okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Misao. Maybe we can go someplace
 444.334 +after school," Sasami said hopefully.
 444.335 +
 444.336 +        "I'd like that," Misao answered happily.
 444.337 +
 444.338 +        "It's a date, then," Sasami heard herself say. She blushed as soon as
 444.339 +the words were out of her mouth.
 444.340 +
 444.341 +        "Sure. Bye, Sasami!" Misao said, seeming not to notice her friend's
 444.342 +odd behavior.
 444.343 +
 444.344 +        "Sleep well, Misao," the blue haired girl said reluctantly. "I
 444.345 +love you," she added as an afterthought.
 444.346 +
 444.347 +        "What?"
 444.348 +
 444.349 +        "Nothing! Nothing! Umm… Goodnight, Misao!" Sasami hung up the phone
 444.350 +quickly before she could say anything else. After a glance at the phone, she tossed 
 444.351 +it to the side as if it were diseased. "What's going on?" she said
 444.352 +aloud.
 444.353 +
 444.354 +        The next day....
 444.355 +
 444.356 +        "Sure you can ask me anything Sasami."
 444.357 +
 444.358 +        "Thank you Mihoshi.  What do you do when you love someone but you aren't 
 444.359 +sure if they love you in the same way?"
 444.360 +	
 444.361 +	"Love?  Oh!  I'm SO happy for you Sasami!  Who is it?  Has he said anything 
 444.362 +to you?  Have you two gone out on a date yet?"
 444.363 +
 444.364 +	"I'd rather not say who it is now and not for the other two.  Would you please 
 444.365 +answer my question."
 444.366 +
 444.367 +	"What question was that?"
 444.368 +
 444.369 +	"What do you do when you love someone but you aren't sure if they love you 
 444.370 +in the same way?"
 444.371 +
 444.372 +	"Oh.  Well I'm not." Mihoshi stopped in midsentence when she heard the door 
 444.373 +knob turn and the door start to open.  Reflex had taken over when she reached for 
 444.374 +her gun and had it armed and ready, aimed for the spot right beside the door.  
 444.375 +"FREEZE!"  Ever since her and Kiyone had been robbed while they were sleeping, 
 444.376 +she has been training hard and improving her senses.
 444.377 +
 444.378 +	"Mihoshi, it's me, Kiyone.  Now put the gun down."
 444.379 +
 444.380 +	"Sorry Kiyone.  Did you have any luck?"
 444.381 +
 444.382 +	"No.  Neither I nor the police have been able to find anything.  I honestly don't 
 444.383 +think that we'll see any of that stuff agian."
 444.384 +
 444.385 +	"At least none of our stuff for the store was stolen."  Mihoshi then returned 
 444.386 +her attention back to Sasami.  "As I was saying, I'm not sure what to do.  I would 
 444.387 +tell that person how I felt and then do something special for them."
 444.388 +
 444.389 +	"What are you guys talking about?" inquired Kiyone.
 444.390 +
 444.391 +	"Little Sasami here is in love.  She wants to know what to do so she came here 
 444.392 +to ask for advice.  Do you have any Kiyone?"
 444.393 +
 444.394 +	"Sasami all I, or anyone else for that matter, can tell you is to do what your 
 444.395 +heart tells you to do.  The only other thing we can do is give you ideas."
 444.396 +
 444.397 +	"Thank you Mihoshi.  Thank you Kiyone.  I'll tell you how it turns out."  With 
 444.398 +that Sasami left.  Still as confused about her situation as ever.
 444.399 +
 444.400 +	As she walked down the street she heard a load explosion to her left.  She ran 
 444.401 +as fast as she could to the next cross section and looked to her left.  There were 
 444.402 +flames and smoke everywhere.
 444.403 +
 444.404 +	Sasami looked around her and saw that no one was around.  "Pretty Mutation 
 444.405 +Magical Recall!"  A bright flash of light engulfed Sasami and out came Pretty 
 444.406 +Sammy.
 444.407 +
 444.408 +	At the scene of the explosion....
 444.409 +
 444.410 +	"Where the hell is Pretty Sammy!" Ramia shouted.
 444.411 +
 444.412 +	"What do you want, Ramia?"
 444.413 +
 444.414 +	"Ah, Pretty Sammy.  I want you to DIE!"
 444.415 +
 444.416 +	Sasami sweatdropped. She really didn’t need this, especially not now. She was 
 444.417 +having enough trouble with her love life to worry about a maniacal magical person 
 444.418 +trying to kill her. “Is there anyway we could possibly do this some other time?” the 
 444.419 +blue haired girl asked pleadingly. 
 444.420 +
 444.421 +	Ramia furrowed her brow angrily. “How dare you mock me, Pretty Sammy. 
 444.422 +For that I’ll have to make sure your death is drawn out. And very painful.”
 444.423 +
 444.424 +	The magical girl sighed. Things just never could be easy for her, could they? 
 444.425 +Pulling her wand up in front of her, she prepared for the attack. A flash of light 
 444.426 +appeared in Ramia’s hand, quickly hurtling her way. The blue haired magical girl 
 444.427 +raised her wand in the air. “Pretty Coquettish Bomber!!” Energy surrounded 
 444.428 +Sasami as she used her strongest attack, trying to force her concentration on this 
 444.429 +rather than a certain dark haired girl that had been the focus of her thoughts as of 
 444.430 +late. The attack flew straight at the red headed woman. Sasami smiled 
 444.431 +triumphantly, but the victory was short lived. Sasami’s smile faded away as she 
 444.432 +saw her attack rather than hit the magical woman, head right through her. Her 
 444.433 +mind reeled with the implication. “And illusion?”  Sasami whirled around, her 
 444.434 +eyes wide in horror, but it was too late.
 444.435 +
 444.436 +“Die.” Ramia grinned, energy lashing out at the bane of her existence. She would 
 444.437 +finally get what she wanted, the end of Pretty Sammy.
 444.438 +
 444.439 +Sasami stood trapped like a deer in headlights, the energy seeming to move in slow 
 444.440 +motion towards her. She closed her eyes tightly, her arms going in front of her in 
 444.441 +reflex. She knew it would do her no good, but she also knew there was nothing she 
 444.442 +could do. Before the blast could hit, two arms wrapped around her waist and leapt 
 444.443 +off with her. The energy hit right were Sasami had been standing. Her eyes slowly 
 444.444 +opened when she realized she was still alive. She took a deep breath, her hands 
 444.445 +going across her body, making sure she was okay. Looking up to her rescuer, she 
 444.446 +was shocked by the sight. The girl was slightly taller than her, long feathery 
 444.447 +blonde hair falling to around her shoulders. Sasami could feel some of the dark 
 444.448 +purple, almost black leather of the girl’s costume against her. The girl’s hands 
 444.449 +were still around her waist, holding her close. The background seemed to fade 
 444.450 +away for Sasami, everything gone except this beautiful girl that rescued her. 
 444.451 +‘Misao and Pixy Misa are the same person. She must really care about me, too, 
 444.452 +then.’ The thought that Misao  had come to her rescue in a sense sent a tingle up 
 444.453 +and down Sasami’s spine. Before she knew what she was doing, the blue haired 
 444.454 +magical girl leaned forward, her soft lips brushing against her rescuers. That 
 444.455 +moment, those soft lips against her own, the whole moment felt truly wonderful. It 
 444.456 +was more magical than anything magic she’d done as Pretty Sammy. 
 444.457 +
 444.458 +Pixy Misa’s eyes went wide as saucers as she felt Pretty Sammy kiss her. She froze, 
 444.459 +unsure of what to do for once in her life as Misao’s other personality. Her hands 
 444.460 +tensed against Sammy’s sides, but that just spurred the blue haired girl on, making 
 444.461 +her kiss the blonde deeper. Misa’s eyes started to fall closed, not knowing how to 
 444.462 +stop what was happening. Not wanting to. Misa barely shook herself from her 
 444.463 +trance in time to drag Sasami out of the way of another attack. The blonde feigned 
 444.464 +anger as she turned to the blue haired girl, too confused by what had happened to 
 444.465 +actually deal with it right now. “What are you trying to do, Sammy? Get us killed? 
 444.466 +You want to kiss, you wait till we’re not about to die. That does put a damper on 
 444.467 +my plans for the day, you know.” 
 444.468 +
 444.469 +Sasami looked down, blushing profusely. What had she just done? Why? She just 
 444.470 +hadn’t been able to help herself. It had felt so good, so right. Even if this was her 
 444.471 +former rival, she was just as much in love with her as Misao. They were the same 
 444.472 +person, even if she did act differently as them. “Sorry…” she said sadly, barely in a 
 444.473 +whisper.
 444.474 +
 444.475 +The blonde grinned reassuringly. “Worry about it later, Sammy. And if we do 
 444.476 +make it out of this alive, maybe I’ll let you try again.” She winked, drawing a 
 444.477 +blush from the blue haired girl. She laughed as she looked around for Ramia. She 
 444.478 +always did enjoy teasing the other magical girl. As long as she didn’t have to 
 444.479 +worry about the implications of the kiss. It wasn’t half bad. Kinda good, actually.. 
 444.480 +Misa’s mind started to wander back to it before she spotted her former master. 
 444.481 +“Pixy Sexy Fire!!” She yelled, the blast flying towards Ramia. 
 444.482 +
 444.483 +Ramia faded out of the way just in time. Reappearing further off, she scowled. 
 444.484 +“You traitor! I’ll kill you as well.” After a moment, she added, “The next time we 
 444.485 +meet.” She turned around, fading away again. 
 444.486 +
 444.487 +
 444.488 +The two magical girls stood in silence for a long moment. Now that the battle was 
 444.489 +over and done with, Sammy’s little kiss earlier came to the surface in both of their 
 444.490 +thoughts. Pretty Sammy turned to Pixy Misa, hoping to find out what the blonde 
 444.491 +girl thought of it. But Misa had a trump card to play. Besides, this wasn’t her 
 444.492 +problem. She was the happy outgoing one. She’d let her other side deal with it, 
 444.493 +even if she wouldn’t remember. Dipping backwards, the leather clad magical girl 
 444.494 +fainted. 
 444.495 +
 444.496 +Shifting back to normal from Pretty Sammy, Sasami sighed miserably. It figured 
 444.497 +that it would turn out like this. Things never could be easy, could they? Of course, 
 444.498 +Tsunami wouldn’t have chosen her as the earth’s champion if she didn’t believe in 
 444.499 +her. But then again, this scenario probably wasn’t something she’d been chosen 
 444.500 +for. “Misao-chan? Misao-chan, are you alright?” Sasami asked, shaking her friend 
 444.501 +softly. 
 444.502 +
 444.503 +“Hmm?” Misao blinked her aquamarine eyes tiredly, trying to focus. It took her a 
 444.504 +moment before she could make out Sasami’s worried face looking down at her. 
 444.505 +“Sasami-chan? Owww….” She held her head as she tried to sit up but Sasami 
 444.506 +pushed her back down. 
 444.507 +
 444.508 +“Wait until you feel better first. I don’t want you to hurt any more than you already 
 444.509 +do. I know how sick you can get.” Sasami bit her lip as she watched her dark 
 444.510 +haired best friend lying on the floor with a pained look on her face. She really 
 444.511 +wished there was something she could do about Misao’s poor health. They had 
 444.512 +first met when Sasami had helped her get to the nurse’s office. Even after all this 
 444.513 +time, it still scared her to see the poor girl wracked with pain like that. 
 444.514 +
 444.515 +“I love you, too.”
 444.516 +
 444.517 +“What?” Was her mind playing tricks on her? She had just heard Misao mutter 
 444.518 +something, right? She really needed more sleep after all of the running around 
 444.519 +she’d been doing lately. All this stress really wasn’t good for her. She was likely to 
 444.520 +crack soon at this rate. “Did you say something?”
 444.521 +
 444.522 +Misao shook her head quickly, rolling onto her side. A scarlet blush colored her 
 444.523 +pale cheeks as she looked off. “No, I didn’t say anything, Sasami-chan. I didn’t say 
 444.524 +anything at all.” The nervous butterflies feeling in her stomach was so bad that she 
 444.525 +thought she was going to be sick. She closed her eyes as the setting sun started to 
 444.526 +hurt them. She wished that Sasami would just take her home soon so everything 
 444.527 +could go back to the depressing way of things. Then she wouldn’t have to worry 
 444.528 +about these things at the very least and that sick feeling would go away. Her eyes 
 444.529 +fluttered open as a pair of arms encircled her waist and helped prop her up. Pretty 
 444.530 +pink eyes and cute freckles along with a little light blue at the corners of her vision 
 444.531 +greeted her. Her blush grew deeper as Sasami looked deeply at her. ‘She smells 
 444.532 +wonderful. I feel so warm and safe in her arms. I always do. I wish she’d never let 
 444.533 +go.’ Internally pushing those thoughts away, she continued thinking to herself. ‘I 
 444.534 +hope she does let go soon. Otherwise I don’t think I’ll be able to pretend 
 444.535 +everything’s the way it used to be. I don’t know if I could handle anymore 
 444.536 +changes.’
 444.537 +
 444.538 +Sasami noticed Misao stiffening up in her grasp after a moment. ‘Why’s she so 
 444.539 +nervous all of a sudden? She was starting to relax just a moment ago. Am I scaring 
 444.540 +her?’ Shaking her head, Sasami never took her eyes away from Misao’s big, 
 444.541 +frightened aquamarine ones. Her soft body barely moved, feeling like a scared little 
 444.542 +animal in her arms. Misao’s breathing was very slow, as if she was trying to not 
 444.543 +bring any attention to herself. ‘If I heard right, she must be scared about the whole 
 444.544 +thing. She’s always been kinda sad. And with how things are, this could risk 
 444.545 +losing her best friend and what we already have. I’m not risking much because I 
 444.546 +know she’ll understand. I know she’ll stay my friend. I know… So why am I so 
 444.547 +worried?’ the blue haired girl thought to herself. “Misao-chan?” One hand went 
 444.548 +higher up Misao’s back as she brought her into a better sitting position. 
 444.549 +
 444.550 +Misao swallowed nervously and nodded in acknowledgement. “Hai, Sasami-
 444.551 +chan?”
 444.552 +
 444.553 +Licking her dry lips, Sasami tried to voice what was in her heart. “Misao-chan, 
 444.554 +you’re my very best friend. You’ve always been there for me and I can’t remember 
 444.555 +ever being happier than when I’m with you. I don’t want to fight against you 
 444.556 +because I care too much about you. You’re very important to me. I just want to be 
 444.557 +with you always. Misao-chan, I love you.”
 444.558 +
 444.559 +Misao’s cheeks went a deep shade of crimson as words caught in her throat. She 
 444.560 +was always so lonely, a scared little girl alone in the dark. But Sasami always filled 
 444.561 +up that darkness for her. She took away that deep loneliness. She was the only real 
 444.562 +important thing in her life. She was her reason to keep going, her reason to hope 
 444.563 +when all seemed lost, her reason to look toward tomorrow when her mother wasn’t 
 444.564 +going to be home and she had cram school to get to. But all that came out was a 
 444.565 +meek, “I love you, too.” That was enough. 
 444.566 +
 444.567 +Sasami’s face lit up as she hugged Misao tightly. “Oh, Misao-chan!” A warm 
 444.568 +feeling quickly surpassed any nervous ones that had been inside her as the girl in 
 444.569 +her arms began to hug her back. All of her unfounded worries and the torment this 
 444.570 +had caused her all melted away in the beautiful dark haired girls hands. She felt 
 444.571 +Misao bury her head against the crook of her neck, an altogether pleasant 
 444.572 +sensation. She held her close, still on her knees.
 444.573 +
 444.574 +Close to tears, Misao clutched onto Sasami like a life preserver in the choppy 
 444.575 +waters of her life. But now she could feel some of her faith returning. Things 
 444.576 +would work out. Because no matter what happened, she’d be with Sasami. 
 444.577 +Whatever else got thrown in her way wouldn’t matter as long as she could be in 
 444.578 +her arms. “Thank you so much, Sasami-chan. I never thought..”
 444.579 +
 444.580 +Sasami cut her off with a soft kiss, her eyes closed as she relished the soft feel of 
 444.581 +Misao’s lips against her own. The dark haired girl just sat there shocked for a 
 444.582 +moment, Sasami’s cheeks reddening in embarrassment. 
 444.583 +
 444.584 +No longer able to form coherent thought and drowning in a sea of emotion, Misao 
 444.585 +returned the kiss. Yes, everything would be alright from now on. ‘Just never let me 
 444.586 +go. Never set me free from you.’
 444.587 +
 444.588 +

   445.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   445.2 +++ b/stories/remswtch1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   445.3 @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
   445.4 +Disclaimer: Hello, this is Forever3330, and I do NOT own any copyrighted items. ^,^ Would I be writing this if I did? No, I would be making it HAPPEN. Well, not this exact fiction, because it’s alternate universe, though the Clow cards and such DO exist. Anyways, enjoy the story. The Narrator will explain some of the stuff in the beginning. That’s the absolute only time in the story the Narrator ever shows up. It’s just there because some people skip the disclaimer! Wah! Warning: this story contains Yuri and Yaoi.
   445.5 +
   445.6 +~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   445.7 +
   445.8 +Note: Some Japanese will be used. ^^
   445.9 +
  445.10 +Miss Witch—A Cardcaptor Sakura fanfiction
  445.11 +
  445.12 +By Forever3330
  445.13 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  445.14 +
  445.15 +Chapter One: Chosen
  445.16 +
  445.17 +The Narrator, who makes her rare appearance now, appears out of thin air. She seems to be just above five feet, but around the age of thirteen. She has short chestnut brown hair that is pulled back in a pony, and matching deep brown eyes. She adjusts her wire-rim-glasses, and dusts off her dress. "Ahem. Ohayo!" The Narrator smiles brightly. "My name is Megumi! This is my part in the story, though I may have one more at the end. If the author let’s me. Wah! I never show up!" Is thwacked on the head with a sign that says ‘get on with it!’, which had fallen from above her head. "Daijoubu, daijoubu!" Megumi clears her throat, and the air around her turns black, the only light seemingly coming from her. "There are many different paths that our world could have taken. This story is set in one of them. I have come to tell you of a world where magic is common; ordinary. It is what runs our world…Those who are gifted with it are important. Very few are gifted with this strange power, and there are many different kinds. Keep in mind, that in this world, Clow Reed was not the first owner of the cards…they have existed since the beginning of time. A century from his death, today, there is great commotion going on in a meeting of all the witches; Ieran-sama, head of the Witches’ Council, has called a meeting. A century after every death of a card owner, a new one will have been found. The new mistress was found late, her awakening beginning before the Witches’ Council could find her. There is chaos everywhere in the Council! There is always only one card owner; that person is the most powerful magic user known to the Witches’ Council. Unfortunately, only the Witches’ Council knows of this. Not ever the card owner knows it sometimes. Now the user’s Guardian Witch must be selected (either male or female), using the powers of all the Council, which consists of twelve witches, the most powerful alive. There is one exception to that, but that comes later. Please, come and see the meeting yourself." Megumi smiles and waves two fingers, disappearing with a wink, as the nothingness behind where she used to be starts to take form…
  445.18 +
  445.19 +~
  445.20 +
  445.21 +A lavender haired young witch sits down carefully in the section where most of the Daidouji clan is sitting. Well, there are only two of them, but all of their servants and guards sit with them.
  445.22 +
  445.23 +"Okaa-san, this is so exciting!" Tomoyo smiles, speaking as she usually did, in a way that made Sonomi smile. Her daughter seemed to give each word thought before speaking, her melodious voice rarely heard at times. "Miyaki-san told me that one of the Li clan is most likely to be chosen. It’s too bad that others might not be, but she says the Li clan has the most powerful magic, descended from the last card user, Clow." Tomoyo tilts her head to the side, looking over at Miyaki, their cook. She turns back to Sonomi, and claps her hands together before setting them in her lap.
  445.24 +
  445.25 +Sonomi frowns. "I guess they always get the Guardian Witch position, don’t they?" She looks at her fourteen-year-old daughter. "Agh! I want justice for once!" A few members of different clans look over with sweatdrop, but everyone around Sonomi simply smiles or sighs, used to her outbursts.
  445.26 +
  445.27 +"Okaa-san, you always could have your justice. You ARE one of the most powerful Witches, but you demanded to get off the council a few years after I was born. When I was around three?" Tomoyo smiled gently.
  445.28 +
  445.29 +Sonomi frowned, thinking.
  445.30 +
  445.31 +"Oh, look Miss, it’s starting!" The head maid exclaimed, pointing up at the woman who was standing at the floating white disk, a platform.
  445.32 +
  445.33 +"Oh, goody!" Tomoyo said, tugging Sonomi’s sleeve to get her attention and point it out.
  445.34 +
  445.35 +"Thank you to all who have gathered here today." Ieran-sama started. "As you know, we have chosen a new Guardian Witch, with our powers. The one chosen was a surprise for us all."
  445.36 +
  445.37 +"Yeah, right…" Sonomi muttered darkly.
  445.38 +
  445.39 +Tomoyo giggled, then looked thoughtfully at the Li clan.
  445.40 +
  445.41 +Ieran looked straight at Sonomi with a smile. "Ah, Daidouji-san. It is good to see you again…though we had to blackmail, bribe, and force you to be here with us." The woman smiled as Sonomi blushed, muttering, and others laughed. "As you all know, we first chose the five best witches, be they male or female, and then one from that group, the best one. ‘Best’ does not always mean the most powerful, the brainiest, the most popular. Here ‘best’ means being the perfect Guardian Witch, able to help train and guide your card-user through all obstacles. Of course, this is the greatest honor anyone could ever imagine. Though the four not picked will not become the Guardian Witch, they will go out to seek their fortunes, and we will bless them. Daidouji-san, since you are well versed on the subject, please come and speak."
  445.42 +
  445.43 +Most people gasped as Sonomi was asked to speak. She seemed to hate attention, content with never using her powers, working as a simple toy designer. Gracefully, Sonomi floated up on a platform of her own, waving a hand to dim the lighting magically, and focus it on her. "First, before I start, I’d like to say one thing; Ieran-sama, watch your back. You may die soon…" A few people laugh nervously. Ieran simply smiles, as Sonomi smiles back. "She is correct though. I spent most of my past life learning about Guardian Witches. This will be as short as possible. Live with it." Mutters in the crowd. "Guardian Witch is a honored position, as there is only one for each of the five first witches. Each Council chooses one witch, and that witch will Guard whomever their predecessor had Guarded. For the Council of Five Moons, that person is the card-user. The other four magic-user spots are very powerful, but filled in different ways. When you become a Guardian Witch you will have a powerful influence on some decisions made, as you will be the ultimate authority on your magic-user, in our case, the card-user. Your magic will become stronger, as will the magic-user’s. You must be prepared to do anything they need you to during battle. You must be everything they need. First, of course, you must find the magic-user. We only know the general area they are in, and when they begin their course as a magic-user. That’s all I’m going to say. Learn everything else by yourself. I hate talking at these things…" Sonomi continued muttering until she reached her seat.
  445.44 +
  445.45 +Ieran-sama smiled. "Thank you Daidouji-san. Now, to name the four whom shall be blessed to leave and find their fortune." The woman sweatdropped. "Uh…Kaho-san, you have been chosen to go for the fifth time."
  445.46 +
  445.47 +Kaho was at least five thousand years old. She stood, smiled and bowed.
  445.48 +
  445.49 +"Next is Harunoh Hoshi."
  445.50 +
  445.51 +Tomoyo turned her head, identifying the girl as one of her classmates from the private school she attended. Tomoyo smiled cheerfully, wishing Hoshi good luck in her thoughts, sending a spell for luck in her direction.
  445.52 +
  445.53 +"Then we have Li Yurihito." Ieran-sama smiled as cheers were heard from her Clan’s section, and mutters from a few others.
  445.54 +
  445.55 +"Ah! A new clan has come very close to winning the position." Everyone sat up straighter in anticipation. "Mihao Suzuka!" Ieran-sama smiled slightly, but it was gone in an instant.
  445.56 +
  445.57 +There was chaos of noise for a few moments, but then Ieran-sama raised her hand, signaling for silence. "The new Guardian Witch is Daidouji Tomoyo. Congratulations."
  445.58 +
  445.59 +Tomoyo sat there smiling, unable to take that in. She listened to the whispers of ‘who?’ and ‘not a Li?’ silently, barely noticing her Mother’s own shocked expression.
  445.60 +
  445.61 +"What…but…" Sonomi tried.
  445.62 +
  445.63 +Tomoyo jumped up and clapped her hands together, then flung them around Sonomi’s neck. "Okaa-san! Did you hear that?!"
  445.64 +
  445.65 +Ieran-sama sighed. "Sonomi-san, dear, do try to let go of your daughter. She has to get ready to meet her new charge!"
  445.66 +
  445.67 +~
  445.68 +
  445.69 +End Chapter One!
  445.70 +
  445.71 +A Note From The Author: Um…I’ll hope you like it as much as I liked writing it! ~.^ ~~Forever3330 ^.~
  445.72 +
  445.73 +
  445.74 +

   446.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   446.2 +++ b/stories/remswtch2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   446.3 @@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
   446.4 +Disclaimer: Hello! If you’re reading this, no I don’t own any of the copyrighted stuff used in here. Ha. Ha ha ha ha. Warning: Yuri and Yaoi content in this fiction. Anyway, I hope you have fun reading my fanfiction! My narrator has convinced me to use her just to tell us what happened last time in each chapter. ^,^() What can I say? I felt sorry for her. Enjoy the fic! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   446.5 +
   446.6 +Miss Witch—A Cardcaptor Sakura fanfiction
   446.7 +
   446.8 +By Forever3330
   446.9 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  446.10 +
  446.11 +Chapter Two: The Meeting
  446.12 +
  446.13 +Megumi appears, reading a manga. A sign immediately falls on her head, reading ‘HELLO! I LET YOU DO THIS, SO DO IT!’
  446.14 +
  446.15 +"Owww! I’m going, I’m going!" The book disappears. Megumi bows towards the reader. "Uh, sorry, didn’t see you there. Last time, in ‘Chapter One: Chosen’, the youngest member of the Daidouji clan was chosen for the position of Guardian Witch at the Council of Five Moons. Wonder what she’s doing this time? And what about the other four who get to leave their homes…?" Megumi shrugs, then snaps her fingers, a scene appearing behind her as she is erased from it…
  446.16 +
  446.17 +~
  446.18 +
  446.19 +There are many types of silence. Take the kind of silence that usually envelops a classroom; that silence is a mixture. Some students listening respectfully, but most half-lost in their own world. Miss Young’s class, now in the eighth grade, seems to be within that type of silence now.
  446.20 +
  446.21 +A brunette in a seat by the window is bent over her notebook, erasing something furiously. Sitting up straight she looks down at the page with a frown. "Come on…" She whispers. Sighing, she closes the notebook, giving up on drawing her teacher. Miss Young was just too hard to draw…The girl turns to look out the window beside her, sighing again.
  446.22 +
  446.23 +"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Rika pokes the girl in front of her with a pencil, trying to get Sakura to pay attention to her.
  446.24 +
  446.25 +"Huh? Nani, Rika-chan?" Sakura half-turns and raises an eyebrow, noting that Miss Young is lost in reading the current English book to the class. She was, after all, the English teacher. Sakura found the language easy enough, but didn’t speak in it. She loved Japanese more then the other language, and never really saw the point in using English when most of the other students couldn’t get the hang of it as well as she had.
  446.26 +
  446.27 +"Pay attention to Miss Young! It’s getting really good." The other girl replied, nodding her head in the teacher’s direction.
  446.28 +
  446.29 +Sakura sighed and looked to the front of the classroom again. From what she had actually listened to, she gathered that the book was another romance. Why wouldn’t they get a good, realistic book once? It’d be nice.
  446.30 +
  446.31 +Though she had a boyfriend of her own, Kinomoto Sakura didn’t get why books and people and songs always went on about love. She really didn’t understand what was so wonderful about it. Love was love. Right?
  446.32 +
  446.33 +Deciding to ignore the story again, Sakura sighed, and changed her thoughts to more interesting subjects, ones that she could find answers to. Lately Kero had been worried about something or the other. He said someone was supposed to have shown up a long time ago, when she first opened the book. Now that she had had all the cards for a few years she didn’t think they would show up, though Kero had said they had to. Yue had added something about Witch magic being unreliable when he had made one of his rare appearances at a meeting. He usually stayed in Yuki’s form, letting the human part of him live out his life blissfully unaware of the magical creature within him.
  446.34 +
  446.35 +Sakura lay her head on her desk. "But those dreams…" She whispered to herself. For the past five days she had been having the strangest dreams…they took place in a forest, with her walking around. She had only noted that it seemed to be a forest of Sakura trees in full bloom. It was almost like a festival…She was in a kimono, all ready and excited. But about what?
  446.36 +
  446.37 +Then the figure in the dark blue kimono could be seen, someone grabbing her arm…someone evil…then, just as the girl was turning her head, the dream stopped, only allowing her to hear her name be called out, and then wake.
  446.38 +
  446.39 +Sakura wanted to see the girl’s face. She knew it was a girl only because of all that hair…but still…Sakura wiped it from her memory, silently shoving it in the farthest corner of her mind, before she again began sketching Miss Young.
  446.40 +
  446.41 +~
  446.42 +
  446.43 +Tomoyo smiled at her two guards as she reached the doors of the Principal’s Office. "Suzuhara-san, Mako-san, arigatou for taking me this far. But I had better do the rest, daijoubu?"
  446.44 +
  446.45 +The two women bowed. "As you wish Chibi-Daidouji-san." They said together. 
  446.46 +
  446.47 +"And be sure to call us if you need a ride or something! You know Daidouji-san would kill us if you got hurt." Suzuhara added. She smiled, one of the only guards who ever did.
  446.48 +
  446.49 +"Chibi-Daidouji-san?" Tomoyo lifted an eyebrow, smiling.
  446.50 +
  446.51 +"Consider it a nickname!" Suzuhara explained. "We have to have one for you, since you are our charge now. When we’re not with you we go back to the house or have off time." She always was the talkative one…
  446.52 +
  446.53 +"Suzie-chan, be quiet! Let Chibi-Daidouji-san go inside. We mustn’t let her be any later!" Mako dragged the blonde guard away, sweatdropping.
  446.54 +
  446.55 +Tomoyo giggled, gently opening the door to the office, before being knocked over by a woman who was racing out of the office. The older woman pulled Tomoyo to her feet and started running with Tomoyo in tow.
  446.56 +
  446.57 +"Ah! Ournewstudentoftheday, DaidoujiTomoyo, correct? Good! I’mMissMisaki! I’massistantprincipal, andMr.Yuri-Bijouhappenstobebusyrightnow, soI’mdroppingyou offatMissYoung’sclass! Oh, here’syourschedule!" While still racing down the hallway with Tomoyo flying off the ground and being pulled along by sheer force, Miss Misaki stuffed a paper into one of Tomoyo’s books.
  446.58 +
  446.59 +Suddenly they came to a screeching halt, and Miss Misaki opened a door and shoved Tomoyo in, only taking the time to shout, "MissYoungIgotyouanewstudent ByeIgottarun!" Miss Misaki ran off, slamming the door behind her, and leaving a sweatdropping Tomoyo behind.
  446.60 +
  446.61 +~
  446.62 +
  446.63 +A few students giggled as Miss Young sweatdropped and looked at the way Miss Misaki had come, frozen, right after Miss Misaki had sped by. As always, the assistant principal was having her usual fast-paced day. Very fast-paced.
  446.64 +
  446.65 +Sakura looked up at the new student, and almost smiled, before stopping herself. She didn’t even know this girl!
  446.66 +
  446.67 +The girl was standing just in front of the door, a little to the side of Miss Young. She looked a bit confused, surprised, and disheveled. After being brought to class by Miss Misaki that was understandable.
  446.68 +
  446.69 +The girl’s stormy blue eyes were wide, and she brought her free hand up to her mouth, looking a little dizzy. Sakura blinked, noticing the new girl had very pale skin. Lavender hair seemed to tumble down to just below her waist, held back only by a white headband. She wore the same uniform as every other girl did, a sailor one much like what Sakura had worn in the fifth grade, but without a hat. Sakura stared at the girl’s hands for a few moments, noting every detail. She wished she could draw them, but she could barely draw Kero-chan. She just wasn’t an artist. But it kept her busy during class…
  446.70 +
  446.71 +"Ohayo." A musical voice finally broke the silence, sounding calm and clear, but soft. "I’m Daidouji Tomoyo. I’m afraid Miss Misaki forgot to mention what class you teach Miss Young. Could you please tell me what I am in?"
  446.72 +
  446.73 +Sakura looked up from the slender hands in surprise, looking for the source of the voice. Her eyes rested on the new girl. Blinking, Sakura blushed, finally noticing that she was staring.
  446.74 +
  446.75 +Miss Young seemed petrified still, from Miss Misaki, and blinked, shaking her head. "Oh! I’m sorry dear. You’re in English class, Tomoyo. Why don’t you find a seat?"
  446.76 +
  446.77 +A few people waved to Tomoyo, hoping the new girl would sit by them. Quite a few boys made up most of those who did this. Sakura suddenly noticed that she was raising her hand as well, and quickly withdrew it.
  446.78 +
  446.79 +Sakura heard someone stop beside her desk, and looked up to see Tomoyo. She felt her face warm, but smiled brightly, feeling unreasonably happy.
  446.80 +
  446.81 +Tomoyo began to go through her belongings, searching for something, then sighing. As Miss Young continued the story Sakura reached her hand out across the narrow aisle. Then she whispered, "Ohayo. I’m Kinomoto Sakura. Would you like a pencil?" 
  446.82 +
  446.83 +Tomoyo’s face brightened, and she flashed a smile that made Sakura’s stomach flop. "Ohayo! I’m Daidouji Tomoyo, and that would be wonderful! I think I dropped mine when Miss Misaki showed me here." Tomoyo whispered back, strands of lavender falling across her face as she leaned over. Gently, she placed her hand in Sakura’s and slightly shook it before taking the pencil from her.
  446.84 +
  446.85 +Sakura giggled, barely noticing that she had given Tomoyo her favorite pencil, a mechanical one that was pink, with a heart with wings on the end. "You mean the Misaki Express?"
  446.86 +
  446.87 +Tomoyo smiled. "Hai!" When Sakura looked away Tomoyo stared at the pencil in her hand, then held it close.
  446.88 +
  446.89 +~
  446.90 +
  446.91 +"Sakura-chan!" Rika scolded at lunch. "What’s with you? You’ve been jumping all over the place today. You’re so anxious, it’s like you’re looking for something."
  446.92 +
  446.93 +"Rika-chan’s right, are you feeling okay?" Naoko asked curiously.
  446.94 +
  446.95 +"Hey, Sakura." Syaoran said in his normal stiff voice, sitting at the other table their friends inhabited, the one where most of the boys sat. Sakura glanced at her boyfriend, wondering fleetingly if the bond they shared was love. At times it seemed simply like coldness to her. Hate?
  446.96 +
  446.97 +"Hey, there’s the new girl!" Chiharu said with a smile. "Daidouji-san was her name, wasn’t it?"
  446.98 +
  446.99 +Sakura’s head jerked to where Chiharu was looking, and Sakura sprang up. "Tomoyo-san!" Sakura waved cheerfully, suddenly feeling happier, like she had been all day since English. It seemed that Tomoyo took all of her classes, but she had been pulled out in the middle of the day to be fitted for a gym uniform, so Sakura hadn’t seen the girl for a while.
 446.100 +
 446.101 +Tomoyo smiled and started walking over to Sakura’s table.
 446.102 +
 446.103 +Chiharu yanked Sakura down. "Stop it Sakura-chan! You’re embarrassing us! And we don’t even know the new girl…"
 446.104 +
 446.105 +Sakura blushed, too happy to say anything mean. "How will we ever get to know her if we don’t make the effort?"
 446.106 +
 446.107 +Chiharu just continued staring at Sakura as Tomoyo took a seat on the other side of Sakura. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan! Do you mind if I call you Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.
 446.108 +
 446.109 +"Iie!" Sakura assured the other girl. "But I’ll have to call you Tomoyo-chan."
 446.110 +
 446.111 +Tomoyo smiled. "That would be nice."
 446.112 +
 446.113 +"I’m Rika." Rika said cheerfully, not seeming to mind Sakura’s energetic welcome. "I’m guessing we’re all fourteen, so that we know about you. This is Naoko-chan, and this is Chiharu-chan." Rika motioned to both of the other girls in turn.
 446.114 +
 446.115 +"It’s nice to meet you." Naoko said. "You look so pale, like a ghost! That’s so cool!"
 446.116 +
 446.117 +"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed, causing her friends to look at her. She hadn’t said that since the third grade or so, even before Syaoran and his cousin came into town. But then, she hadn’t listened to them much, or given them or anyone else attention. She barely ever smiled…
 446.118 +
 446.119 +"You don’t like ghosts?" Tomoyo asked.
 446.120 +
 446.121 +"N-no…n-not r-really…" Sakura shivered. "Onii-chan used to tell me about all the ghosts he saw…and it was almost like I could feel them…"
 446.122 +
 446.123 +"I never knew that." Naoko said, tilting her head to the side. "Gomen, Sakura-chan."
 446.124 +
 446.125 +"It’s okay…" Sakura said, smiling. "I know you like them, so I’ll just try not to think about it.
 446.126 +
 446.127 +Tomoyo smiled. "That’s brave, Sakura-chan."
 446.128 +
 446.129 +"Ah…arigatou." Sakura managed.
 446.130 +
 446.131 +"So, Tomoyo-chan…what did you think about the English novel?" Chiharu started.
 446.132 +
 446.133 +~
 446.134 +
 446.135 +Touya heard the front door open and looked up at the clock. It was the time his sister got home. Touya sighed, wishing that she could be…less hollow. It was like she was empty. And she was…she loved both her father and brother, but she wasn’t one for emotions anymore…not like she had been since the third grade or so. 
 446.136 +
 446.137 +"I’m home!" Touya thought for a moment a stranger was in the house, but recognized his sister’s voice, though it was full of joy. Joy?
 446.138 +
 446.139 +"Sakura?" Touya asked, more than mildly confused as his younger sister bounded into the kitchen, sitting on a stool as she watched him stir something or other while cooking dinner.
 446.140 +
 446.141 +"Onii-chan?" Sakura asked cautiously, a smile still on her face.
 446.142 +
 446.143 +"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Touya demanded.
 446.144 +
 446.145 +"Onii-chan! Um…if you meet someone you really like, a friend, a best friend maybe, what would you give them?" Sakura looked at Touya hopefully.
 446.146 +
 446.147 +Touya didn’t know whom Sakura was referring to, but they had made her less hollow in just a few hours. Shrugging, he answered, "I don’t really know. Maybe a stuffed animal? You could always go out and buy one."
 446.148 +
 446.149 +Sakura sat in thought for a few moments, then smiled. "That sounds good, but I’d still like to get a few more opinions. Arigatou Onii-chan. Can you ask Otou-san when I could have a sleepover the next time you see him? Bye!" Sakura ran out of the room and Touya soon heard her footsteps going upstairs.
 446.150 +
 446.151 +"Uh…bye…" Touya shrugged and went back to cooking.
 446.152 +
 446.153 +~
 446.154 +
 446.155 +"Kero-chan?" Sakura threw her backpack down beside her bed. "You here?"
 446.156 +
 446.157 +"AGH! I LOST AGAIN!" Kero flew up from his game controller. "Hey, Sakura. What’s up?"
 446.158 +
 446.159 +"What would you get a friend you just made? As a present, I mean." Sakura sat down on the bed, twirling the key that hung around her neck out of a habit she had developed.
 446.160 +
 446.161 +Kero thought for about three seconds. "Chocolate cake!"
 446.162 +
 446.163 +Sakura sweatdropped. "Uh, Kero-chan? I mean a human friend. Not everyone likes cake."
 446.164 +
 446.165 +"What?! How can they not like cake?!"
 446.166 +
 446.167 +"Um…hey! Could I use the Create Card to make a gift?" Sakura asked.
 446.168 +
 446.169 +"I guess…" Kero frowned. "It would take something out of you, but if you do it now, just before dinner and bed, you should gain back the energy in no time."
 446.170 +
 446.171 +"Huh? But it usually doesn’t take much energy to use the cards."
 446.172 +
 446.173 +"It’s different when you use the cards from the heart, spending quite a bit of thought on the object you want to make or the goal you wish to attain." Kero explained. "But I’ll supervise, so you have nothing to worry about kid!" Kero flew over to Sakura’s desk and sat down. "Let’s get started!"
 446.174 +
 446.175 +"Right!"
 446.176 +
 446.177 +~
 446.178 +
 446.179 +Although I’ve invoked all of my cards’ power I have no clue what to do…Sakura closed her eyes, searching her mind for the perfect gift to give a new friend. Wait a second! How about a locket? No, it has to be special…A friendship locket. That would mean I have to make two…hmm. I know!
 446.180 +
 446.181 +Sakura’s eyes opened slowly. "Create! Make me two lockets that can be shaped by magic of other cards for when I get started! Make them so they can hold great magic, and channel it." Sakura smiled at two small lockets floated into her hand. A sun locket and a crescent moon locket.
 446.182 +
 446.183 +"Light! Give the sun locket the power to light all places when invoked! Give this locket the power of your card." Sakura threw the locket over to the bright woman, who smiled and laughed.
 446.184 +
 446.185 +"Oh! Magic! It’s been so long since we made something useful!" Light sang as she went about her task, smiling.
 446.186 +
 446.187 +"Dark! Imbue the crescent moon locket with the powers of your card!" Sakura tossed the other pendant to the woman in the shadows next to Light.
 446.188 +
 446.189 +"Of course…" Dark replied softly, her voice washing over the room.
 446.190 +
 446.191 +"Flower! Would you please be so kind as to bless these lockets?" Sakura asked, laughing as her friends, her cards, swirled about, all eager to help.
 446.192 +
 446.193 +Flower giggled, and danced over to the other two.
 446.194 +
 446.195 +"Everyone else, bless each locket with the gift you see fit." Sakura said, smiling. "But each only bless ONE locket. And Create? Can you be so kind as to make an invocation spell that goes along with them?"
 446.196 +
 446.197 +~
 446.198 +
 446.199 +A few hours later Sakura looks down at her work, the cards around her all smiling and chattering, except for the Silent and a few other cards. "Oh…I got so carried away in the magic I forgot that this was a gift for a normal person…"
 446.200 +
 446.201 +"You can still give it to that person Mistress. In fact, you may have to. When you started you had this person in mind, therefore only that person may work whichever locket was the one you intended for her. Otherwise the locket may seek her out on it’s own." Mirror said thoughtfully.
 446.202 +
 446.203 +"I guess you’re right Mirror. Oh well. I have to get to dinner, so I’ll give the crescent moon locket to her tomorrow." Sakura said cheerfully.
 446.204 +
 446.205 +"If you say so…" The Voice said.
 446.206 +
 446.207 +"I do."
 446.208 +
 446.209 +~
 446.210 +
 446.211 +Tomoyo smiled as she walked down the street. She hadn’t been having luck finding the Card-User, but perhaps she would find him or her soon. She had met a sweet girl named Sakura though. Tomoyo sighed, smiling at the same time. "I just got here and already I have friends! Humans are easier to get along with then witches."
 446.212 +
 446.213 +"Tomoyo-chan!" Turning, the lavender-haired heiress looked to see who had called to her.
 446.214 +
 446.215 +A smile lit Tomoyo’s face. "Sakura-chan!"
 446.216 +
 446.217 +The brunette reached Tomoyo easily, barely breaking a sweat. "Konnichiwa! Mind if I walk to school with you?"
 446.218 +
 446.219 +"Konnichiwa! Not at all, Sakura-chan. You know, you should join cheerleading. Maybe track as well." Tomoyo smiled.
 446.220 +
 446.221 +"You think so?" Sakura asked in a surprised voice.
 446.222 +
 446.223 +"Hai! And I could tape your meets and practices! It would be so much fun! Okaa-san gave me a camcorder last month that I never got to use." Tomoyo explained, sparkles in her eyes. "I’d love to tape you!"
 446.224 +
 446.225 +Sakura blushed, putting a hand behind her head. "Hoe…Oh!" She reached into her pocket, and dug out the crescent moon necklace. "I made…got this for you! I have a sun one. They’re friendship necklaces."
 446.226 +
 446.227 +Tomoyo blushed as Sakura fastened the silver chain around the heiress’s neck. "It’s…beautiful. But why’d you give it to me?"
 446.228 +
 446.229 +Sakura blushed again. "Because we’re friends now. That’s what friends do."
 446.230 +
 446.231 +"Oh!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "The locket won’t open…"
 446.232 +
 446.233 +Sakura sweatdropped. "Uh…it will someday. I promise. It’s set to open later." Like when you say the incantation…
 446.234 +
 446.235 +"How smart!" Tomoyo smiled sweetly.
 446.236 +
 446.237 +"C’mon, we’ll be late for school. And if I join cheerleading and track you join choir. You have a pretty voice!" Sakura said, taking her friend’s hand and starting to walk again.
 446.238 +
 446.239 +~
 446.240 +
 446.241 +"What?" Syaoran asked, slightly confused. The boys had decided to sit with the girls today, a common occurrence.
 446.242 +
 446.243 +"I’m joining cheerleading." Sakura said with a smile. "A friend told me I was very athletic, and should use my abilities more often."
 446.244 +
 446.245 +"Sakura-chan…I’m getting worried about you…" Chiharu said with a frown.
 446.246 +
 446.247 +"Oh, come on. You’re on the cheerleading squad Chiharu-chan! So is Naoko-chan! Rika-chan joined then quit last year." Sakura rolled her eyes.
 446.248 +
 446.249 +"But you’ve never done anything like this before!" Rika protested. She was cut off when Sakura started waving.
 446.250 +
 446.251 +"Ohayo! How is everyone today?" Tomoyo asked as she sat across from Sakura, as Syaoran and Chiharu were sitting next to Sakura.
 446.252 +
 446.253 +Sakura smiled brightly. "Ohayo Tomoyo-chan! This is Yamazaki-chan, Chiharu’s boyfriend, and this is my boyfriend, Syaoran."
 446.254 +
 446.255 +Tomoyo’s eyes darkened, then brightened, as if nothing had ever happened. "A pleasure to meet you both." Tomoyo bowed in their direction.
 446.256 +
 446.257 +"So, about tonight Sakura…" Syaoran started, only to be cut off by his own girlfriend.
 446.258 +
 446.259 +"That’s right! Tomoyo-chan, my father said it would be all right if I asked you to sleepover tonight! Would you like to?" Sakura asked cheerfully, her eyes brighter then any of her friends sitting around her had seen them for years.
 446.260 +
 446.261 +"Hai!" Tomoyo agreed quickly, almost jumping out of her seat.
 446.262 +
 446.263 +Syaoran looked at his usually calm, quiet, hardly there girlfriend. She usually blended in with the air so well she was almost invisible. She was a girl he thought Ieran-sama would approve of. And now she’d gone crazy after meeting the new girl. They were acting like little kids.
 446.264 +
 446.265 +"By the way…" Tomoyo pushed her food around with her fork for a bit. "I’ve heard that strange things happen around here. Like…lots of weird people in costumes show up? And some paranormal things?" She had to get around to tracking down the Card-User someday.
 446.266 +
 446.267 +Sakura almost choked up her food, as did Syaoran.
 446.268 +
 446.269 +"Hai! It happens all the time! I can tell you all about it…" Naoko started.
 446.270 +
 446.271 +~
 446.272 +
 446.273 +Tomoyo sighed, leaning against the wall between classes. "I’ll find you sometime…I’ve been looking for two days…oh, Okaa-san would be so determined to help me find you if she were here. Too bad she isn’t. Okaa-san…I’ll find the one I was chosen to protect. I promise. But for now…I have to finish the day so I can go to a sleepover!" Tomoyo blushed, and walked off, humming.
 446.274 +
 446.275 +"Hmm?" A strange boy steps from around the corner, his eyes narrowed.
 446.276 +
 446.277 +Owari for the 2nd Chapter
 446.278 +
 446.279 +See you next time!

   447.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   447.2 +++ b/stories/remswtch3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   447.3 @@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
   447.4 +Disclaimer: Hi! This is me, Forever3330, as always! This is the third chapter of Miss Witch (I finally got home to work on it!)! I have been itching to work on this story for a while, so I shall finally do so! Megumi-chan shows up in this fanfiction again. ^^; I’ve taken a peculiar liking to her. Anyways, before I get around to doing the usual disclaimer stuff I have to report two mistakes I made in chapter two: one time I used ‘here’ instead of ‘hear, and when Sakura was explaining about the necklaces she called the bracelets. Plus Tomoyo’s ‘turning, she turned’ turned was supposed to be looked. Sorry! Now…This fanfiction is AU (Alternate Universe) and contains Yuri and Yaoi. If this offends you, or you don’t like it, please do not read on. I claim no rights to any copyrighted items. Enjoy the fanfiction! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   447.5 +
   447.6 +Miss Witch~~A Cardcaptor Sakura fanfiction
   447.7 +
   447.8 +By Forever3330
   447.9 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  447.10 +
  447.11 +Chapter Three: Dreams Meet
  447.12 +
  447.13 +Megumi smiles cheerfully. "Since I have no wish to get hit on the head today I’m being very good! See?" She gets hit on the head with a sign reading ‘Get on with it!’. Megumi sighs. "I swear, by the time this is over I will have one huge headache…" She smiles lightly, ignoring the bump on her head. "Last time I was here a few interesting things happened! Most important of all the two girls met. Unfortunately for Tomoyo, even a Guardian Witch can’t sense the Card User. She has to actually FIND Sakura. Sakura doesn’t exactly act very suspicious. Maybe that’ll change…And Sakura made friendship necklaces able to channel magic? I’m not sure what trouble that’ll cause. And at the very end we find out that Tomoyo was being eavesdropped on! How rude! Anyways, I gotta go! It’s lunch time!" Megumi disappears with a wave.
  447.14 +
  447.15 +~
  447.16 +
  447.17 +Tomoyo smiled to herself, standing outside Yuri-Bijou Highschool’s gates. Watching all the people dash out of the gates, glad to be free of school. A few walked, a few skipped. Looking at all of them Tomoyo wished that she could stay here forever. But if the Card User wasn’t in this city she would simply have to go to a different one. The idea didn’t appeal to her much, but she had to find the User…
  447.18 +
  447.19 +A hand waved in front of Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes, and she once again focused on the present, forgetting for the time being the future. "Hmm?" She looked to the owner of the hand and saw Sakura, who smiled once Tomoyo noticed her.
  447.20 +
  447.21 +"You were staring off into space there." Sakura remarked cheerfully. "I kept calling your name…"
  447.22 +
  447.23 +Tomoyo blushed in embarrassment. "Gomen, Sakura-chan. I was just thinking about something. It’s not important anyways. Just something I promised I’d do." Tomoyo smiled. "So, where’s your house Sakura-chan?"
  447.24 +
  447.25 +Sakura frowned, then shrugged it off and smiled. "It’s a bit far, but we could walk if you like. I usually roller blade, but I don’t have an extra pair…" Sakura sweatdropped. Transportation hadn’t really been on her mind.
  447.26 +
  447.27 +Tomoyo giggled. "We could always ask Rika-chan to give us a ride…"
  447.28 +
  447.29 +"A ride!" Sakura exclaimed. "That’s it! Touya-oniichan was driving today! His school is nearby. He’s in college." The brunette explained.
  447.30 +
  447.31 +"I didn’t know you had a brother, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo smiled. "But I’m willing to try and catch a ride."
  447.32 +
  447.33 +"Good!" Sakura sighed in relief. She smiled. "I’ll catch him, daijoubu? You can stay here if you like."
  447.34 +
  447.35 +"Iie, I think I’ll come with you." Tomoyo said. "I can run slightly well."
  447.36 +
  447.37 +"If you say so." Sakura agreed.
  447.38 +
  447.39 +~
  447.40 +
  447.41 +Sakura, running her fastest to catch Touya before he left, wasn’t sure if Tomoyo was keeping up. Somewhere in her mind she knew she was running a little too fast, but if she didn’t catch him they’d have to walk home, and that didn’t sound all that nice at the time, as it looked like rain.
  447.42 +
  447.43 +A hand gripped hers as she ran, and she noticed Tomoyo running along beside her, though a little behind so Sakura could tug her in the right direction. The pale girl looked a little hard pushed, but other then that she was fine. Sakura slowed down just a bit, and turned the corner with her friend, then slid to a halt.
  447.44 +
  447.45 +Tomoyo stopped a bit in front of Sakura, then looked across the street from where they stood. "Is that your brother’s school?" She asked curiously.
  447.46 +
  447.47 +"Hai." Sakura nodded cheerfully. "I can see his car in the school lot, so why don’t we get over by it before we get trampled?"
  447.48 +
  447.49 +Tomoyo looked over at the brunette uncertainly. "Um…"
  447.50 +
  447.51 +Sakura didn’t notice Tomoyo’s nervousness at her last statement, but tugged Tomoyo’s arm, half-pulling her friend across the street. "Touya-oniichan’s car is that one." She pointed with the hand holding her school bag.
  447.52 +
  447.53 +"It’s very nice." Tomoyo said politely, as if Touya were actually there.
  447.54 +
  447.55 +Sakura giggled. As they were almost off the sidewalk a bell rang. "Uh-oh…"
  447.56 +
  447.57 +"What is…" Tomoyo’s question was cut off as a crowd of students suddenly burst out the front doors, trampling anything in there way. Sakura jerked her friend out of the way and stood by the car, sweatdropping.
  447.58 +
  447.59 +"So you weren’t joking." Tomoyo said faintly, watching the older students run by.
  447.60 +
  447.61 +"Iie." Sakura said, spotting her brother. "There’s Touya-oniichan! Oh! Yuki-san is with him."
  447.62 +
  447.63 +Touya looked down at his sister in a mixture of confusion and surprise when he reached his car.
  447.64 +
  447.65 +"Hello Sakura-chan. Whom is your friend?" Yuki asked, offering the two girls candy from a bag he had been holding.
  447.66 +
  447.67 +Tomoyo accepted her piece with a smile, bowing to the two boys. "I’m Daidouji Tomoyo. You must be Yuki-san." Looking over at Touya she smiled. "You must be Touya-san, correct?"
  447.68 +
  447.69 +Touya stared. "Um…"
  447.70 +
  447.71 +"This is my friend, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura said cheerfully. Tomoyo bowed again. "I sorta forgot to arrange a way for us to get home, so we came here to ask if we could ride home with you."
  447.72 +
  447.73 +Touya sighed. "You’ll never learn, will you monster?"
  447.74 +
  447.75 +Sakura stomped on Touya’s foot in response. "C’mon, it’s starting to rain!"
  447.76 +
  447.77 +"Fine…" Touya grumbled, half confused about his sister’s actions as of late.
  447.78 +
  447.79 +"Thank you Kinomoto-san." Tomoyo bowed for the third time to Touya and Yuki.
  447.80 +
  447.81 +~
  447.82 +
  447.83 +Touya sighed, looking at the rear-view mirror for the umpteenth time since they had left. Somehow, that girl looked familiar. But how?
  447.84 +
  447.85 +The girl in question and his sister were giggling as they chattered away.
  447.86 +
  447.87 +Yuki looked over at his friend in concern. "Are you okay, To-ya? You’ve been twitchy ever since we left."
  447.88 +
  447.89 +The two girls looked up, and Touya sweatdropped. Leave it to Yuki to pick up on things. "It’s nothing. Really."
  447.90 +
  447.91 +"If you say so…" Yuki turned back to his sandwich, which was some of Touya’s leftover lunch.
  447.92 +
  447.93 +~
  447.94 +
  447.95 +Sakura giggled again as Tomoyo told her another story of an outing she’d had with her mother. Tomoyo was a joy to watch; she was telling the story with all of herself, smiling warmly, eyes bright, hands dancing. The girl hardly seemed able to be compared to ghosts, as Naoko had commented earlier.
  447.96 +
  447.97 +Tomoyo giggled. "Okaa-san is very kind-hearted though, even if she wouldn’t ever admit it."
  447.98 +
  447.99 +Sakura smiled. "I wish I could meet your Mother sometime."
 447.100 +
 447.101 +An odd look came into Tomoyo’s eyes, then disappeared. Sakura instantly wondered if it had even been there…"Mother isn’t here with me. She’s somewhere else, on important business. But when she comes here, I’m sure she’d be delighted to meet you."
 447.102 +
 447.103 +Sakura smiled, unsure. "That sounds great Tomoyo-chan."
 447.104 +
 447.105 +"Hey, kaijou, we’re here." Sakura and Tomoyo realized they had come to a full stop, and Sakura immediately jumped out, stomping on her brother’s foot as he did the same, at a slower pace.
 447.106 +
 447.107 +"I am NOT a monster!" Tomoyo giggled as she slid out through the door Sakura had left open.
 447.108 +
 447.109 +"It must be nice, to have a sibling." She commented, though the two couldn’t hear her over their argument.
 447.110 +
 447.111 +"Hai…it must be." Tomoyo turned her head to smile at Yuki.
 447.112 +
 447.113 +~
 447.114 +
 447.115 +"Daddy! We’re home!" Sakura held open the door for Tomoyo and Yuki, letting it shut as her brother came up the steps…
 447.116 +
 447.117 +"Arigatou." Tomoyo said, barely heard over Touya’s yelp.
 447.118 +
 447.119 +Yuki opened the door, looking worried. "To-ya? Are you okay?"
 447.120 +
 447.121 +Tomoyo looked up as she noticed a man sitting in the small study to the side of the door. He had silvery hair, and warm eyes and a smile. Tomoyo smiled to herself. Sakura’s father.
 447.122 +
 447.123 +She took off her shoes, keeping her socks on , and walked silently into the room. The man was looking over at the other three, and didn’t notice her.
 447.124 +
 447.125 +Looking around as she entered a small room, the living room, she smiled. It was all so cozy. Blinking, she saw a vase full of Nadesico. Beside the blue vase was a picture of a strangely familiar woman. An enchantingly beautiful woman…Long black curls, pale skin, gentle smile…emerald eyes…how…?
 447.126 +
 447.127 +She heard the others enter the room and twirled around, startled.
 447.128 +
 447.129 +~
 447.130 +
 447.131 +Fujitaka stared for a long while, as Sakura ran up to her friend and then turned back to her father, confused. Fujitaka felt Touya pause and tense beside him, and Yuki stayed slightly behind Touya, oblivious as Sakura, maybe more so, to what was going on.
 447.132 +
 447.133 +The girl next to Sakura was almost a perfect image of the woman in the photo. With Sakura beside her, it looked as if you could mix the two girls to get a younger Nadesico.
 447.134 +
 447.135 +"Nani?" Sakura sweatdropped, still confused.
 447.136 +
 447.137 +Fujitaka smiled. "Nothing. It’s nothing."
 447.138 +
 447.139 +Touya sweatdropped, thinking. At least now he knew whom Tomoyo had reminded him of.
 447.140 +
 447.141 +Sakura shrugged it off and smiled brightly. "Daddy, this is Daidouji Tomoyo, my best friend. Tomoyo-chan, this is my father."
 447.142 +
 447.143 +Both Tomoyo and Fujitaka bowed, saying something about how it was such ‘a pleasure to meet you’.
 447.144 +
 447.145 +"Thank you for your hospitality Kinomoto-kun." Tomoyo said graciously.
 447.146 +
 447.147 +"You can call me Fujitaka-sensei, if it helps." Fujitaka smiled. "I’m a professor, and I feel better being called by my name."
 447.148 +
 447.149 +"If you say so." Tomoyo smiled.
 447.150 +
 447.151 +Sakura turned to her friend cheerfully. "C’mon! I’ll show you my room!"
 447.152 +
 447.153 +After the two girls had run upstairs the three men stood in thought, but for Yuki who just looked slightly confused. "What’s wrong To-ya?"
 447.154 +
 447.155 +"She looked…" Touya started.
 447.156 +
 447.157 +"That girl looks so much like Nadesico. My wife." Fujitaka smiled, leaving the two to think.
 447.158 +
 447.159 +~
 447.160 +
 447.161 +Tomoyo yawned slightly, glancing over at the yellow stuffed animal again, and getting the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. But what? The stuffed animal in question seemed to tense up. She must be getting tired.
 447.162 +
 447.163 +"Oh, Gomenasai…are you tired?" Sakura looked up from the collection of stuffed animals she had been showing Tomoyo, looking apologetic.
 447.164 +
 447.165 +"Just a little." Tomoyo admitted reluctantly, smiling sweetly.
 447.166 +
 447.167 +"We can go to bed now." Sakura glanced at the clock and sweatdropped. "Eeks! It’s late! I was having so much fun I didn’t notice…" She rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously.
 447.168 +
 447.169 +"Should I go ask for a sleeping bag?" The heiress smiled sleepily.
 447.170 +
 447.171 +"We can share my bed if you want. I think Daddy is asleep, and I don’t want to bother Touya…" Sakura sighed.
 447.172 +
 447.173 +"That sounds fine." Tomoyo had already slipped into the bed. "I think I’ll just…" She trailed off, mumbling slightly, as her eyes closed.
 447.174 +
 447.175 +"Is she asleep?" The stuffed animal seemed to whisper.
 447.176 +
 447.177 +Sakura glanced at Tomoyo. "Hai. But if she hadn’t been, you would have been in trouble."
 447.178 +
 447.179 +"I think she’s on to me…like your brother…" Kero floated around Sakura’s head, fretting.
 447.180 +
 447.181 +"Don’t be silly." Sakura yawned. "I think I need sleep…"
 447.182 +
 447.183 +"But what about my dinner?!" Kero sighed. Sakura was already in bed and asleep. "Fine. I’ll just starve."
 447.184 +
 447.185 +~
 447.186 +
 447.187 +She was in the park…night was already there, and she seemed to be wearing her school uniform, Sakura wand ready. Of course, she always wore her school uniform. What else would she wear?
 447.188 +
 447.189 +"Sakura. I think it’s near…" Syaoran stood beside her, scowling, arms crossed. Kero floated between them, and Yue stood back.
 447.190 +
 447.191 +"But I’ve caught all the cards…" She heard herself say sleepily.
 447.192 +
 447.193 +"It may not be a card. There will always be something to fight, Sakura." Kero answered thoughtfully.
 447.194 +
 447.195 +Then to the front of her, a bright light suddenly shown, and a figure became visible. Tomoyo turned, a surprised look on her face. That wand Sakura held…the Guardians beside her…and that boy from school, standing with a sword pointed in her direction.
 447.196 +
 447.197 +Sakura stared at the strange purple-black dress Tomoyo wore, her hair a darker mix of violet and black, a strange hat that she would call a Witches hat upon her head. In her hands was a ball of light.
 447.198 +
 447.199 +"Are you it?! Are you the source of this evil?!" Syaoran lunged forward, as Tomoyo gave a half-smile and fell back in a dead faint, black light clouding her.
 447.200 +
 447.201 +"Tomoyo!" And then the shadowy figure behind the girl became visible.
 447.202 +
 447.203 +~
 447.204 +
 447.205 +Both girls woke in the morning, at the same time. Sakura stared at Tomoyo, wondering about the strange dream, but shoved it away as Tomoyo smiled rather dizzily. After all, she could ask Kero later.
 447.206 +
 447.207 + 
 447.208 +
 447.209 +End Chpt. 3
 447.210 +
 447.211 +^,^; Sorry it ended so fast! But I had to get this out there. Next time I’ll have a longer one, promise!
 447.212 +
 447.213 +Til next time!
 447.214 +
 447.215 +-Forever3330
 447.216 +
 447.217 +
 447.218 +

   448.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   448.2 +++ b/stories/revelations.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   448.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1290 @@
   448.4 +Hi minna-san! ^-^ Well, we’ve finally finished our newest story. ^^ This 
   448.5 +takes
   448.6 +place a while after ‘Sudden Glimpse’. This deals with who several of the
   448.7 +Senshi have fallen in love with. The plot takes a lot of jumps, but it was 
   448.8 +fun to
   448.9 +write and we really hope you enjoy it. ^-^ This was the first story that 
  448.10 +we’ve
  448.11 +written with Gabi (psychokittensenshi), the newest member of the Amazoness
  448.12 +Quartet.  She’s a great author and she’s a great addition to the Quartet. 
  448.13 +^-^
  448.14 +Hopefully you’ll all be seeing a lot more stories from the four of us soon.
  448.15 +Well, if you have anytime after reading the story, we’d love to hear from 
  448.16 +you.
  448.17 +^^ You can reach us at: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  448.18 +Actually, we could use your help, too. For a while now we’ve been using 
  448.19 +lover’s
  448.20 +nicknames that both Hotaru & ChibiUsa use for each other like Taru-chan for
  448.21 +Hotaru and Odango-chan for ChibiUsa. We really liked Taru-chan, but its been
  448.22 +used so much lately by just about everybody besides ChibiUsa in fanfics 
  448.23 +lately
  448.24 +(including by Mamoru in a Hotaru and Mamoru fic-_-). So we’re going to keep
  448.25 +using it, but its lost its meaning as a lover’s nickname for ChibiUsa to 
  448.26 +call her.
  448.27 +We need your help to come up with a new lover’s nickname for Hotaru. If you
  448.28 +can think of anything, please e-mail us. ^^ Thank you, everyone. ^-^
  448.29 +
  448.30 +
  448.31 +Revelations
  448.32 +
  448.33 +By The Amazoness Quartet
  448.34 +
  448.35 +
  448.36 +
  448.37 +
  448.38 +	Minako, Ami, Usagi, Rei, and Makoto walked along as soon as
  448.39 +classes had finished. The four girls talked happily, glad that it was 
  448.40 +finally
  448.41 +the weekend, a chance for them to relax. A crowd of students passed
  448.42 +by them, blocking the car that had just pulled up from their view.
  448.43 +The door to the car opened and a woman stepped out, scanning the sea
  448.44 +of students in an attempt to locate a specific girl. "Minako!" she
  448.45 +yelled, finally spotting her. "Minako, over here!"
  448.46 +	Minako slowed when she heard a voice calling her name. The
  448.47 +other four girls stopped as well when they heard. Minako looked
  448.48 +around, trying to find the person calling her name. She saw the lady
  448.49 +standing by a car, waving her over. Minako froze when she realized
  448.50 +the woman was here to pick her up. "I'll see the rest of you later,"
  448.51 +she said quickly. "We'll talk this weekend. I've gotta get going."
  448.52 +Minako waved and hurried to the car.
  448.53 +	"Isn't that Natsuna?" Makoto asked.
  448.54 +	"Yep," Usagi answered. "She's Minako's girlfriend." She giggled
  448.55 +as she watched Minako get into the car with the older woman. "Couldn't
  448.56 +Minako have started going out with her back when we had Haruna for a
  448.57 +teacher? Natsuna is Haruna's little sister, so maybe I could have gotten
  448.58 +through her class easier."
  448.59 +	"I don't think Minako going out with her sister would have made
  448.60 +any difference in how hard Haruna was on you," Ami commented.
  448.61 +	"Probably not," Makoto agreed. "I still can't believe she's going
  448.62 +out with a twenty-eight year old woman."
  448.63 +	"Why, you jealous?" Rei asked teasingly.
  448.64 +	Makoto laughed. "No. Why would I be? I've got Ami."
  448.65 +	Ami blushed when Makoto mentioned her.
  448.66 +	Rei just sighed darkly. "Yeah, that's true."
  448.67 +	"Rei, are you okay?" Usagi asked her.
  448.68 +	"I'm fine. I'm tired, though. I should be getting back to the shrine.
  448.69 +I'll see you all tomorrow."
  448.70 +	"Bye, Rei!" Usagi said as Rei began walking home.
  448.71 +
  448.72 +	Minako rolled down the window to get some air as the car pulled
  448.73 +away.
  448.74 +	"So how was your day?" Natsuna asked.
  448.75 +	"Pretty good," Minako answered. "It was long, though."
  448.76 +	Natsuna laughed. "You would probably think that since its Friday and
  448.77 +all. You just couldn't wait to get out of there."
  448.78 +	Minako smiled at her. "Yeah, pretty much. How was yours?"
  448.79 +	"Not bad," Natsuna replied. "Nothing as exciting as in the life of
  448.80 +Sailor V."
  448.81 +	"I'm not Sailor V anymore, remember?" Minako corrected her.
  448.82 +	"I know. But you made a much better Sailor V than Sailor Venus,"
  448.83 +Natsuna said. Minako giggled. Natsuna still had Sailor V memorabilia around
  448.84 +their shared apartment. It still surprised Minako when she saw them. She'd
  448.85 +tried to get Natsuna to take them down, but the older woman wouldn't listen 
  448.86 +to
  448.87 +her.
  448.88 +	"Do you have any work you had to take home?" Minako asked.
  448.89 +	"Nope. I left Wakagi to handle the rest of it. I didn't want any
  448.90 +distractions once we got home." Natsuna winked seductively at Minako.
  448.91 +	Minako felt her blood boiling when she felt Natsuna's hand rest on
  448.92 +her thigh. She'd never thought that the other woman could do this to her.
  448.93 +She'd just thought that the police chief was strange back when she was 
  448.94 +Sailor
  448.95 +V. "How could you have put up with me for so long? Ever since I was 
  448.96 +thirteen,
  448.97 +when I first became Sailor V."
  448.98 +	"Patience," Natsuna said. "A lot of patience. It was really hard to
  448.99 +get you to take me seriously about being in love with you. But in the end, 
 448.100 +it
 448.101 +looks like my patience paid off."
 448.102 +	"I love you, Natsuna," Minako said happily.
 448.103 +	"I love you, too." Natsuna leaned in and kissed her.
 448.104 +
 448.105 +	Usagi, Ami, and Makoto walked together, talking about the day's
 448.106 +events.
 448.107 +	"Are you and Mamoru going out tonight?" Makoto asked Usagi.
 448.108 +	"No. He's busy tonight studying with Motoki. What about you two?
 448.109 +Are you and Ami-chan going out tonight?" Usagi asked mischievously,
 448.110 +knowing how nervous Ami was about the whole thing.
 448.111 +	Ami blushed a deep crimson and Makoto tried to answer. "Umm...
 448.112 +Well, kinda.." Ami only nodded.
 448.113 +	Usagi laughed. "You guys are so cute together."
 448.114 +	"Thanks, Usagi-chan," Ami managed.
 448.115 +	"We should probably get going," Makoto said after checking her
 448.116 +watch.
 448.117 +	"Yeah. We'll talk to you later, Usagi-chan," Ami said.
 448.118 +	The three girls said their goodbyes before heading off.
 448.119 +
 448.120 +	When Rei got back home to the Hikawa Jinga she headed straight back
 448.121 +to her room and changed into her Miko robes. She was depressed about things
 448.122 +lately. It seemed like everyone had been finding love. Everyone except her. 
 448.123 +Her
 448.124 +love life was in shambles. Yuuchiro had finally left several months ago, 
 448.125 +tired of
 448.126 +waiting for her.
 448.127 +	Rei sat down in front of the Sacred Flame. She tried to relax before
 448.128 +meditating. She wanted to see if she could find out if she'd ever find love.
 448.129 +She started to drift off, her mind floating in a sea of images. After what
 448.130 +seemed like an eternity, things started to coalesce.
 448.131 +	But it had to be wrong. She was seeing the Silver Millennium. She
 448.132 +wanted to see the future, not the past. Jaedite? Was that it? Could that
 448.133 +be why she was seeing the past? No, she knew it wasn't him. There had to be
 448.134 +someone else.
 448.135 +	Then she saw her. She was standing in the shadows on a balcony, the
 448.136 +earth hanging in the sky. Suddenly the figure turned around towards Rei. She
 448.137 +gasped. It was Princess Serenity. Rei knew she had some unresolved feelings
 448.138 +for Usagi, but she knew that anything between them was impossible. Usagi
 448.139 +already had the prince she was destined to be with.
 448.140 +	Memories came flooding back to Rei as the images from the Silver
 448.141 +Millennium surrounded her. Serenity's four Inner Senshi had had Endymion's
 448.142 +four generals as boyfriends at the time. But Rei and another of the Inner
 448.143 +Senshi had longed for Serenity. 'Who was the other one in love with
 448.144 +Serenity?' Rei asked herself. Her memories of the Silver Millennium still
 448.145 +weren't complete so she had difficulty recalling who it was. 'Minako?
 448.146 +That's right. We both fought over Serenity, even though neither of us
 448.147 +ever worked up the courage to tell her how we felt. Minako was going
 448.148 +through a lot back then. She was torn about how she felt about Serenity
 448.149 +and her feelings for Kunzite. And that's exactly why I thought that I
 448.150 +should have been with Usagi. Minako told me she loved both of them. I
 448.151 +liked Jaedite and all, but it wasn't the same as how I felt for Serenity.
 448.152 +Neither of us stood a chance against Endymion, though. He had destiny
 448.153 +on his side. At least Minako seems to have gotten over it. She has
 448.154 +Natsuna now. I still cling on. I’m friends with Usagi’s daughter, yet I 
 448.155 +still cling
 448.156 +on. I can't find love because I can't bring myself to let go of her.'
 448.157 +	Suddenly, everything changed. Rei tried to make out where she was
 448.158 +as she waited for the images to clarify. After a few moments, she realized
 448.159 +that this had to be Crystal Tokyo. She'd only been there once before, when
 448.160 +they'd gone to the future to help ChibiUsa save her parents. Rei saw a
 448.161 +lavishly decorated bedroom, most likely the Queen's room. She could see
 448.162 +Usagi dressed in her royal gown as Neo Queen Serenity. She was laughing
 448.163 +happily. Rei sighed. She was so beautiful. Someone else was there with
 448.164 +Serenity. The two were talking about something Rei couldn't make out.
 448.165 +She tried to tell who the other person was, but the details weren't clear
 448.166 +enough yet. The image slowly became clearer and Rei could finally tell
 448.167 +that the other person sitting with Serenity was her. 'What's going on?'
 448.168 +Rei thought. Serenity leaned towards Rei's future self and the two
 448.169 +kissed passionately. Rei couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'But how?'
 448.170 +Rei asked, trying desperately to come up with an answer as the images
 448.171 +dissolved around her.
 448.172 +	Rei sat in shock as she came out of her meditative trance. What
 448.173 +she'd seen had been her dream come true, but she knew it couldn't happen.
 448.174 +Was it just wishful thinking on her part or did she actually end up with
 448.175 +Usagi? Rei tried to meditate on an answer, but after what she'd seen, she
 448.176 +couldn't calm herself enough to try. She sighed heavily and decided to
 448.177 +give up for the time being. She resolved to try again later, hopefully
 448.178 +with better results.
 448.179 +
 448.180 +	Hotaru was sitting on a decorative stone throne set atop some
 448.181 +large steps. ChibiMoon was at the bottom of the steps, unconscious on an
 448.182 +altar. Energy snaked out from Hotaru, forming a hand at the end. It
 448.183 +headed out towards ChibiMoon and slammed down on her chest. The younger
 448.184 +girl let out a scream of pain as she was dragged back to consciousness.
 448.185 +	"Hotaru-chan... I'm glad to see you..." ChibiMoon managed before
 448.186 +passing out again, her Heart Crystal pulled from her body. Hotaru felt
 448.187 +a surge of terror run through her as the pink haired girl lay deathly
 448.188 +still.
 448.189 +	ChibiMoon's Heart Crystal flew up to where Hotaru was sitting.
 448.190 +After swallowing it, she changed completely into Mistress 9. The
 448.191 +Senshi looked on, unable to stop her as Sailormoon talked futilely with
 448.192 +Professor Tomoe.
 448.193 +	'Even when I was Mistress 9, I couldn't stop thinking about
 448.194 +ChibiUsa. Whatever part of me was still there was so worried about what
 448.195 +had happened to her. Its so life-like. I've had this dream before. And I've 
 448.196 +talked
 448.197 +to ChibiUsa about it a couple times, too. She always tells me that it wasn't 
 448.198 +my
 448.199 +fault, that it wasn't me who did those awful things, like killing Kaolinite 
 448.200 +and
 448.201 +hurting my Odango-chan. It always hurts as it all comes back to me, 
 448.202 +everything
 448.203 +I did as Mistress 9, and I cry. And ChibiUsa holds me, trying to stop the
 448.204 +pain I feel. But she's not here tonight. I have to deal with the dream
 448.205 +on my own. I know it was just that, a dream, but what happened was real.
 448.206 +I lie here for a while, uncertain of what to do. I want to hear her
 448.207 +voice. I want tor hear her tell me everything's all right. I want her
 448.208 +to hold me. I think about calling her, but she's probably asleep now.
 448.209 +She’s spending the night at Momoko’s house.  I could call anyway,
 448.210 +even if it does wake her up, but I'm uncertain. I feel so nervous and 
 448.211 +scared,
 448.212 +alone in the dark. I don't know what to do. I know I can't get back to 
 448.213 +sleep. I
 448.214 +never can after I have that dream.' Hotaru sat up in bed, hugging her knees 
 448.215 +to
 448.216 +her chest. After a couple minutes, she stood up and headed for the door of 
 448.217 +her
 448.218 +room. 'I want to see her,' she thought.
 448.219 +
 448.220 +	Setsuna put down the book she was reading when she heard the
 448.221 +front door open. She looked out her window to see Hotaru hurrying off
 448.222 +to find ChibiUsa. "I hope she's okay," Setsuna said aloud. 'No
 448.223 +one could be happier than I am that Hotaru and ChibiUsa are in love.
 448.224 +I raised Hotaru like a daughter with Michiru and Haruka. I feel like
 448.225 +Hotaru's my own daughter, and in an odd way, I feel the same way about
 448.226 +Small Lady. I got to watch her grow up in the future. She came to the Time
 448.227 +Palace so often, even though she wasn't supposed to. She came to
 448.228 +me with her problems when she needed help. And I actually helped raise
 448.229 +Hotaru. I guess the main difference is that one of them calls me mama
 448.230 +and the other doesn't. I'm glad they have each other. They both mean
 448.231 +so much to me.'
 448.232 +	'I do admit that being around Haruka and Michiru and a love
 448.233 +stricken Hotaru does get a bit depressing sometimes. Its just hard to
 448.234 +see people so in love like that and to not have anyone of my own to
 448.235 +love. And everyone I have fallen for winds up destined to be with
 448.236 +someone else.' Setsuna sighed. 'First Endymion and then Michiru. I
 448.237 +practically grew up with Michiru and Haruka back in the Silver
 448.238 +Millenium. Michiru was my best friend since we were young. It took
 448.239 +a while for me to realize I loved her. I was so down after Endymion
 448.240 +got with Princess Serenity, but she helped me get through it. I
 448.241 +felt differently towards her after that. I wanted to tell her, but
 448.242 +Haruka was too fast for me. Before I could do anything, she was
 448.243 +already with Haruka. Why does destiny always pass me over?' Setsuna
 448.244 +picked up her book again and tried to stop thinking about it. 'I
 448.245 +shouldn't lose any sleep over it, I guess.' She looked out the
 448.246 +window again. 'Wherever you are, be careful, Hotaru.'
 448.247 +
 448.248 +	Yaten walked hesitantly out of her room in a shimmering light
 448.249 +blue dress. It accentuated her soft curves perfectly, fitting the
 448.250 +short girl almost like a second skin. Her hair was up in a high pony
 448.251 +tail that trailed down to the small of her back.
 448.252 +	Taiki looked up from the book she was reading and arched an
 448.253 +eyebrow. "That's... interesting," Taiki said, struggling for the right
 448.254 +words. She hadn't seen Yaten in a dress since they'd all been back on
 448.255 +Kinmoku, before they'd come to earth disguised as the Three Lights.
 448.256 +	Seiya looked over at Yaten from where she was sitting after
 448.257 +she heard Taiki. It had been so quiet for a while that the sudden
 448.258 +noise had startled her. She stared in shock for a few seconds at
 448.259 +Yaten. "Why are you wearing that?"
 448.260 +	"I'm going out," Yaten said defensively. They had been
 448.261 +dressing up as guys for so long that it seemed odd to be in a dress
 448.262 +again. Yaten felt herself relaxing as she got used to it. Kakyuu had
 448.263 +asked her to wear a dress a couple of nights ago when they'd decided
 448.264 +to go out for the night. It had seemed an odd request at first. Kakyuu
 448.265 +had grown up with Yaten as a girl. Kakyuu found it strange to have her
 448.266 +Starlights pretending to be men. Yaten felt more comfortable dressing
 448.267 +in women's clothes anyway, so they went shopping later that day.
 448.268 +Yaten was nervous about what Seiya and Taiki would think, though she
 448.269 +kept telling herself it didn't matter. They were like sisters to her,
 448.270 +so she still felt anxiety wash over her as they continued to stare at
 448.271 +her.
 448.272 +	"But why are you going out in that?" Seiya asked.
 448.273 +	"Because she looks pretty in it." The Three Lights all turned
 448.274 +as the heard their princess, Kakyuu. She was wearing a low cut black
 448.275 +and red dress. Her red hair was done up in elegant braids. She smiled
 448.276 +happily as she walked up beside Yaten.
 448.277 +	"You can't go dressed like that," Seiya said as she turned back
 448.278 +towards Yaten.
 448.279 +	"Why can't I? I am a girl." Yaten could tell Seiya was getting
 448.280 +frustrated. She knew that Seiya was in love with Kayuu as well. To
 448.281 +some extent all three of them loved her. But in the end, she'd fallen
 448.282 +in love with Yaten. Seiya was still a little jealous about that even
 448.283 +though she wanted Kakyuu and her surrogate sister to be happy.
 448.284 +	"It was your idea to masquerade as men in the first place,"
 448.285 +Seiya argued.
 448.286 +	"Well, it was a stupid idea. We've found Kakyuu. There's
 448.287 +no reason to keep pretending anymore. And besides, I don't like pretending
 448.288 +to be a man," Yaten told Seiya.
 448.289 +	Kakyuu giggled. "If you two don't mind, Yaten and I have dinner
 448.290 +reservations." She waved to Taiki and Seiya as she grabbed Yaten's hand
 448.291 +and started walking to the door with her. "We'll see you later!" she said.
 448.292 +	Seiya sat down as the door closed behind the two. "What do you
 448.293 +think, Taiki?"
 448.294 +	Taiki pulled her book back up in front of her. "Yaten did have
 448.295 +a point. There really isn't a reason for us to go around like this anymore.
 448.296 +Besides for the fans. They all think the Three Lights are men, so it would
 448.297 +be a shock to find out we aren't."
 448.298 +	Seiya sighed. "You too, Taiki?"
 448.299 +	Taiki just smiled slightly as she went back to her book.
 448.300 +
 448.301 +*********
 448.302 +        Momoko sat with her legs crossed, Diana next to her with her head on 
 448.303 +her
 448.304 +lap letting Momoko's hands pass through her cute double odangos and soft 
 448.305 +hair.
 448.306 +She was enjoying the motions and attention. She loved being so close to
 448.307 +Momoko, and being able to relax into her . Diana place her hand on Momoko's
 448.308 +cheek, grabbing her attention. Momoko smiled and leaned into a kiss. Then 
 448.309 +she
 448.310 +heard a knock at the door and was ripped from the pleasure. She looked up to
 448.311 +her mother.
 448.312 +        "Yes?" she asked nervously.
 448.313 +        "Honey, ChibiUsa is here to spend the night," she looked to the tiny 
 448.314 +gray
 448.315 +kitten on her daughters lap. "Well Diana sure has been spending quite a lot 
 448.316 +of
 448.317 +time here hasn't she?" The kitten meowed and rubbed up against Momoko's
 448.318 +stomach. ChibiUsa appeared at the door and smiled.
 448.319 +        "Konnichiwa Momo-chan" she walked inside and plopped her baggage on
 448.320 +the bed. Momoko's mother walked out and Diana returned to human form, and
 448.321 +her place next  to Momoko. ChibiUsa smiled.
 448.322 +        "Well it seems you two have grown closer doesn't it?" she asked. 
 448.323 +"Makes
 448.324 +me wish I'd asked Hotaru to come with me."
 448.325 +        "Why didn't you ChibiUsa-chan?" Momoko asked. ChibiUsa just smiled
 448.326 +and shrugged her shoulders.  Just then there was a knock at Momoko's window
 448.327 +and Momoko went to answer it quickly.
 448.328 +        "Hotaru!" Momoko said. The tired raven-haired girl looking at her 
 448.329 +not
 448.330 +answering. She turned to ChibiUsa, still trying to catch her breath.
 448.331 +        "I need to speak with you, odango," she said desperately.
 448.332 +*************
 448.333 +        Makoto walked a little ways into the kitchen seeing Ami at the table 
 448.334 +with
 448.335 +her books sprawled around her. Makoto walked a little further and pulled Ami
 448.336 +into her arms planting a gentle kiss on her mouth. Ami voiced a slight groan 
 448.337 +of
 448.338 +surprise. Makoto just smiled internally, reaching deeper into the kiss. Ami
 448.339 +turned and let Makoto grab her into a warm embrace.
 448.340 +        "I'm so happy to have you with me, Ami-chan," Makoto said kissing 
 448.341 +Ami
 448.342 +again and pulling her into the next room.
 448.343 +        "But I have to study Mako-chan." Ami began to protest.
 448.344 +        "This won't take long Ami-chan trust me." Ami was going to protest 
 448.345 +but
 448.346 +felt Makoto's long fingers unbuttoning the white professional shirt she had 
 448.347 +on.
 448.348 +Makoto pulled it away with expert hands and reaching behind to unclasp the
 448.349 +bra strap. When she had the offending clothing away from her she knew Ami
 448.350 +wouldn't protest any longer. Makoto kissed her again and pulled off her 
 448.351 +shirt
 448.352 +and skirt as well leaving them on the floor next to her. She laid Ami on the
 448.353 +couch and placed Ami's hands on her breasts, sighing at the cooling affect 
 448.354 +they
 448.355 +had on her warm skin. Ami smiled and wiggled out of the pants and undies she
 448.356 +had left on and felt the warmth of her lover's own naked body pulling her 
 448.357 +into a
 448.358 +sitting up stance. Holding the body as close to her as possible, and feeling 
 448.359 +her
 448.360 +lover's body tense at the anticipation.
 448.361 +
 448.362 +************
 448.363 +        "Natsuna..." Minako sighed feeling her lover holding her from behind 
 448.364 +in
 448.365 +the warn bath water. The soapy water seeped into every pore. Natusna smiled
 448.366 +and cupped Minako's breasts, her fingers running over the entire delicate
 448.367 +surface. She whispered a sweet comment and made Minako relax even more.
 448.368 +Minako in turn ran her finger across the inner thighs of her lover,
 448.369 +teasing her slightly. Natsuna knew it would come in it's own time. The wait
 448.370 +was all the thrill, wondering what new feeling that her lover would drench 
 448.371 +out
 448.372 +of her this time. Minako turned facing Natusna and placing her fingers in
 448.373 +between Natsuna's legs.
 448.374 +        "I love you," Minako said  kissing Natsuna deeply pushing her back 
 448.375 +into
 448.376 +the bath until Natusna was totally relaxed against the cold tile behind her. 
 448.377 +She
 448.378 +smiled and knew....this was it. Natusna was all that she wanted.
 448.379 +
 448.380 +**************
 448.381 +	Rei walked down the street to the apartment Usagi and Mamoru
 448.382 +shared knocking on the door. She waited for an answer. When Usagi showed
 448.383 +up sooner than she’d expected, felt flustered. She shifted slightly and
 448.384 +was for once without a quick sarcastic remark.
 448.385 +	"Usagi-chan, may I come in?" she asked. Usagi smiled and moved so
 448.386 +that Rei could enter.
 448.387 +"Rei-chan it's so nice that you could come," Usagi said loudly and then
 448.388 +drew closer so that she could speak to Rei privately. "Rei there's something 
 448.389 +that
 448.390 +I have to tell you..." But before Usagi could finish a male presence entered 
 448.391 +the
 448.392 +room.
 448.393 +              "Rei, so nice to see you again," Mamoru's voice stabbed into 
 448.394 +Rei's
 448.395 +mind. She grew angry and then clamed. She couldn’t show up destiny, Mamoru
 448.396 +always got his princess. She could never have Usagi. And with that she left 
 448.397 +to
 448.398 +the door and the cold. Usagi ran after her.
 448.399 +              "Rei-chan wait! You don't have to leave!"  she said trying to 
 448.400 +stop her
 448.401 +friend.
 448.402 +              "Yes, I do. Usagi-chan, I have to go."
 448.403 +              "But why? It's just Mamoru and me."
 448.404 +              "Usagi you dot understand. It's because of Mamoru."
 448.405 +              "But...why?"
 448.406 +              "You won't understand. Just forget it."
 448.407 +              "No. what's wrong, Rei-chan. Why is it Mamoru's fault?" Usagi 
 448.408 +asked.
 448.409 +‘             ‘Because I love you,’ Rei thought. ‘Because I can't stand him 
 448.410 +being
 448.411 +able to hold you and I can't...' Rei stopped herself and spun on her heel. 
 448.412 +Getting
 448.413 +ready to leave.
 448.414 +	"Rei-chan, why can't you tell me what's wrong?" Usagi asked
 448.415 +worriedly.
 448.416 +	"Would you come in, Rei?" Mamoru asked, worried as well. "I could
 448.417 +make some tea."
 448.418 +	Rei sighed. This was all so hard for her to deal with. Why had she
 448.419 +even come here in the first place? What had she hoped to accomplish? "No.
 448.420 +Thank you, anyway. I should go."
 448.421 +	"Rei, its pretty late. Maybe you should stay," Usagi said. She didn't
 448.422 +know what was wrong, but she didn't want Rei to leave now. She wanted to
 448.423 +know what was going on.
 448.424 +
 448.425 +***********
 448.426 +
 448.427 +	Makoto rolled over to get a better look at the smaller girl lying next to
 448.428 +her. She smiled to herself as she ran her fingers through Ami's short blue 
 448.429 +hair.
 448.430 +She gently kissed the other girls soft lips. She checked to make sure Ami 
 448.431 +was
 448.432 +asleep before quietly getting out of bed. She brought the sheet up higher to
 448.433 +cover Ami. The other girl let out a small sound, startling Makoto in the 
 448.434 +dark
 448.435 +room. Ami shifted around a bit before settling down and clutching the sheets
 448.436 +closer to her. Makoto relaxed as she watched the other girl doze peacefully.
 448.437 +	Makoto silently walked out of the room. She padded across the cold
 448.438 +floor. One of Ami's books lying open on the counter. She tried to read some 
 448.439 +of
 448.440 +it but she quickly decided to leave that to Ami. She slipped a peace of 
 448.441 +paper
 448.442 +between the pages before closing the book, knowing Ami would probably try to
 448.443 +pick up where she left off in it later the next day.
 448.444 +She’d once wondered how Ami could have fallen in love with her. She
 448.445 +knew the blue haired genius was many times over more intelligent than she
 448.446 +was. Makoto had thought she’d want someone who shared her passion for
 448.447 +knowledge. She’d brought it up with Ami, but the other girl had quickly
 448.448 +dismissed her lover’s worries. It didn’t matter to her. She’d said she 
 448.449 +couldn’t
 448.450 +really explain it. It was one of the few times Makoto had been able to catch
 448.451 +Ami without an answer. Finally Ami had said that some things didn’t need an
 448.452 +explanation. Love was one of those things. She loved Makoto. She may not be
 448.453 +able to explain it, but she knew in her heart that she did. Makoto hadn’t 
 448.454 +given
 448.455 +it a second thought afterwards. The blue haired genius was everything to 
 448.456 +her.
 448.457 +	Makoto walked through the dimly lit kitchen, briefly searching around
 448.458 +for the light switch. She winced as the light turned on. She blinked several
 448.459 +times to get her vision to adjust before walking over to the refrigerator. 
 448.460 +The
 448.461 +brunette shivered from the cold air on her bare skin after opening it. She 
 448.462 +smiled
 448.463 +when she saw one of Ami’s sandwiches wrapped up. ‘That girl needs to let me
 448.464 +make her lunch more often,’ she thought to herself.
 448.465 +“Mako-chan?” a sleepy voice said from behind her. She turned
 448.466 +around to see Ami standing with the sheet wrapped around her delicate frame.
 448.467 +“I’m sorry, Ami-chan. Did I wake you?” Makoto asked.
 448.468 +	“I saw the light turn on out here and I noticed you weren’t in bed,”
 448.469 +Ami explained.  “What are you doing up?”
 448.470 +	Makoto smiled warmly and brought Ami into a loving embrace.  “I
 448.471 +was just thinking.”
 448.472 +	Ami tilted her head to one side curiously. “What about?” She looked
 448.473 +deeply into Makoto’s dark green eyes, quickly losing herself in them, almost 
 448.474 +as
 448.475 +if she were still dreaming.
 448.476 +	“You,” Makoto said softly. Everything felt right with the world while
 448.477 +holding Ami in her arms.
 448.478 +Ami giggled. “No, I’m serious.”
 448.479 +The taller girl gestured to the apartment. “It used to be so lonely. I’m
 448.480 +really glad you’re here.”
 448.481 +	Ami smiled up at Makoto and put her hand on the brunette’s cheek.
 448.482 +“So am I.” She brought her lips up to Makoto’s in a soft kiss. “Come on back 
 448.483 +to
 448.484 +bed, Mako-chan. Its lonely there, too.”
 448.485 +	Makoto laughed. “Okay, Ami-chan.” She kissed the blue haired girl
 448.486 +again. She took Ami’s hand and let the other girl lead her back to their 
 448.487 +room.
 448.488 +
 448.489 +*******
 448.490 +
 448.491 +	“Taru, are you okay?”  ChibiUsa asked worriedly. Her reached out
 448.492 +through the open window to grab the other girls hand. Hotaru had a haunted
 448.493 +look in her eyes. ChibiUsa’s heart ached as she looked into those frightened
 448.494 +violet eyes.
 448.495 +	Hotaru started to relax as she felt ChibiUsa’s warm hand against her
 448.496 +own. Seeing the pink haired girl looking back at her soothed Hotaru. She
 448.497 +looked down, feeling foolish. Her pale cheeks flushed red. “I just needed to 
 448.498 +see
 448.499 +you,” she said quietly.
 448.500 +ChibiUsa lips formed a bright smile. It meant so much to her to hear
 448.501 +the other girl came all this way to see her. Her expression became concerned
 448.502 +when she realized Hotaru was worried about something. She blinked with
 448.503 +realization. “Oh, Taru. It’s okay. I’m here,” the future princess said. She
 448.504 +wanted to hold the other girl, to go to her, but she was stopped by the wall
 448.505 +between them. She could only reach the other girl through the open window.
 448.506 +	“Hotaru,” Momoko said besides the dark haired girl, startling her.
 448.507 +	Hotaru clutched ChibiUsa’s hand tightly after hearing the other girl.
 448.508 +She slowly turned around. “Momo-chan, you scared me.”
 448.509 +	“Sorry about that. I talked to my mom. She said you can spend the
 448.510 +night, too. I just told her you can’t be away from ChibiUsa for too long of 
 448.511 +a
 448.512 +time.” Momoko laughed. “Come on in.”.
 448.513 +
 448.514 +A short time later, Momoko lay asleep in Diana’s arms on her bed.
 448.515 +ChibiUsa and Hotaru held each other under the blankets on Momoko’s floor.
 448.516 +Hotaru stared up at the ceiling, trying not to think. The darkness 
 448.517 +surrounded
 448.518 +them, but that didn’t bother her. Not with ChibiUsa beside her. Hotaru felt
 448.519 +ChibiUsa gently stroking her hair. She held the other girl closer, not 
 448.520 +wanting to
 448.521 +be apart again.
 448.522 +“Hotaru?” ChibiUsa whispered to her dark haired lover. “Why did you
 448.523 +have to come see me so urgently?” She smiled and kissed Hotaru lightly. “I 
 448.524 +am
 448.525 +glad you’re here.”
 448.526 +“Thanks. I am too.” Hotaru snuggled closer to the other girl, trying to
 448.527 +forget the horrible dream. “I…” She began hesitantly. “I had that dream
 448.528 +again.”
 448.529 +“Oh, Hotaru, I’m so sorry.” ChibiUsa wished there was some way she
 448.530 +could stop Hotaru from having it, but it was a recurring nightmare for her. 
 448.531 +The
 448.532 +dark haired girl was still tormented by visions from her past.
 448.533 +Hotaru felt foolish. Running to ChibiUsa because of a dream. ‘But
 448.534 +then, isn’t that what being in love with her means? Being able to go to her 
 448.535 +for
 448.536 +comfort? Being able to tell her what frightens me the most? Knowing that no
 448.537 +matter how childish it is, or how foolish, I can always go to her?’ “When I
 448.538 +woke up, I was afraid, but it got worse when I realized you weren’t there.
 448.539 +Everything just started crashing down. I had to see you. I felt that if you 
 448.540 +were
 448.541 +there, it would all seem okay.” Hotaru closed her eyes tightly. The dream 
 448.542 +was
 448.543 +still vivid in her mind. Tears started to well up in Hotaru’s eyes as the 
 448.544 +dream
 448.545 +came back to her.
 448.546 +ChibiUsa gently wiped Hotaru’s tears away with her fingertips. “Its
 448.547 +not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for any of that. It was Mistress 9, 
 448.548 +not
 448.549 +you.”
 448.550 +“But I was there for everything that happened. It was my body,”
 448.551 +Hotaru blinked several more tears away.
 448.552 +“It may have been, but it still wasn’t you. In the end, you managed to
 448.553 +stop her.”
 448.554 +Hotaru sniffled and tried to speak, but ChibiUsa silenced her with a
 448.555 +soft kiss.
 448.556 +“You felt like its your fault because you couldn’t stop her before she
 448.557 +caused so much pain. There was nothing you could do. When I woke up after I
 448.558 +got my Heart Crystal back, you’d been changed into a baby from using your
 448.559 +powers to stop Pharaoh 90. I felt horrible because I couldn’t stop it. I 
 448.560 +felt that I
 448.561 +should have known, that I should have said something when I saw you that 
 448.562 +last
 448.563 +time. It took me a long time, but I realized there are some things we can’t
 448.564 +change. No matter how wrong it is, or how it seems we should have.” ChibiUsa
 448.565 +held the shuddering dark haired girl tightly against her. Her hand lightly
 448.566 +rubbed Hotaru’s back through the cloth of her nightgown. “That’s all in the
 448.567 +past now. We have everything to look forward to. You and me. Both of us.
 448.568 +Forever.” She felt Hotaru’s warm tears on her shoulder. The other girl’s 
 448.569 +sobs
 448.570 +slowly started to lessen. “Its alright, Taru-chan. I’m here.” She held the 
 448.571 +dark
 448.572 +haired girl protectively, wanting to keep away anymore of those horrible
 448.573 +dreams.
 448.574 +“I.. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let it get to me… like this,” Hotaru said
 448.575 +between sobs.
 448.576 +“Don’t be sorry. I’m really glad you came. I missed you,” ChibiUsa
 448.577 +smiled. “And don’t worry about the dreams. That’s all they are. And you can
 448.578 +always come find me when you wake up. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there this
 448.579 +time.”
 448.580 +“Thanks, Odango-chan,” Hotaru said softly.
 448.581 +“You mean everything to me, Taru. Don’t let those dreams hurt you.
 448.582 +They don’t mean anything as long as we have each other.”  ChibiUsa felt like
 448.583 +she should say more, but she didn’t have to. Her crimson eyes met with
 448.584 +Hotaru’s violet ones. Their lips met in the dark room, conveying more to 
 448.585 +each
 448.586 +other than words could have.
 448.587 +“I love you,” Hotaru whispered to the pink haired girl.
 448.588 +“I love you, too,” ChibiUsa whispered back. She kissed Hotaru once
 448.589 +again before laying her head back on a pillow. “Goodnight, Hotaru.”
 448.590 +“I don’t think I’ll go to sleep just yet. Could you stay up for a little bit
 448.591 +so we could talk?” Hotaru asked.
 448.592 +“Sure,” ChibiUsa agreed. She felt Hotaru’s hand on her own.
 448.593 +“Thanks,” Hotaru said gratefully. She knew ChibiUsa would probably
 448.594 +fall asleep soon, but she didn’t mind. She felt safe now that she was with 
 448.595 +the
 448.596 +one she loved.
 448.597 +
 448.598 +******
 448.599 +
 448.600 +Minako awoke with a start at the constant knocking she was hearing
 448.601 +in her dreams. At first she'd tried to not listen and stay in the warmth. 
 448.602 +But the
 448.603 +constant rapping in her mind made her jolt awake from the annoyance. She
 448.604 +turned all along the bed searching for the source, and found it in Rei. The 
 448.605 +raven
 448.606 +haired beauty was at the window trying desperately to get Minako's 
 448.607 +attention.
 448.608 +She walked all along the edge of the window calling, her voice barely 
 448.609 +reaching
 448.610 +Minako's ears. Minako grabbed the robe beside her and tied a tight knot into
 448.611 +the middle. She motioned for her friend to walk to the door and she'd allow 
 448.612 +her
 448.613 +inside.
 448.614 +	"Mina-chan," Rei rasped and hugged her friend into a tight embrace.
 448.615 +"Oh, Mina-chan I'm so tired. I really need someone to talk to please!"
 448.616 +  "Calm down, Rei-chan," Minako whispered in a soothing voice. "It'll
 448.617 +be okay. Tell me what's wrong."
 448.618 +Rei let out several gasps of air trying to calm her nerves enough to tell
 448.619 +Minako what was wrong but couldn’t. "Mina-chan I'm really scared...I miss
 448.620 +you and the others." she began. "I miss us being a team, and I miss spending
 448.621 +more time together  like we used to. Most of all I miss Usagi. Our princess
 448.622 +doesn't need us anymore and I feel useless. She...everyone is in love and 
 448.623 +I'm set
 448.624 +so far away you have forgotten me."
 448.625 +        "Rei! " Minako whispered in a harsh voice. "I have never
 448.626 +forgotten you and neither has our princess. She needs us more then ever, and
 448.627 +with ChibiUsa on the way and the new responsibilities coming up the senshi
 448.628 +are....”
 448.629 +"That's just it. I don't think I can handle seeing Usagi and Mamoru
 448.630 +together so happy everyday. I just can't Minako! I love her!" Rei clasped 
 448.631 +her
 448.632 +hands around her mouth and gasped. She wasn't supposed to say that, not to
 448.633 +Minako!
 448.634 +Minako just smiled. "We all love her."
 448.635 +"Not like I do Mina-chan. Not like I do."
 448.636 +“ I know,” Minako said simply.
 448.637 +Rei stared at Minako for a moment. “What do you mean?”
 448.638 +“I know how you feel about her. Who do you think you confided in
 448.639 +back in the Silver Millenium?” Minako winked at the raven haired girl.
 448.640 +“Besides, its not like its hard to notice.”
 448.641 +Rei was shocked. “You know? Is it that obvious?”
 448.642 +Minako laughed. “Probably not. I hadn’t really noticed until I started
 448.643 +remembering a few things from the past. Everything fell into place after 
 448.644 +seeing
 448.645 +you around her a couple days later.”
 448.646 +Rei stared at her feet. She hadn’t planned on anyone finding out how
 448.647 +she felt about their princess, but now she knew that Minako had already 
 448.648 +found
 448.649 +out. What did she think of her now?
 448.650 +“Its alright, Rei. I’m you’re friend. So are the others. None of us would
 448.651 +mind. Mamoru might, though.” Minako smiled, trying to help Rei feel better.
 448.652 +“But what would Usagi think?”
 448.653 +              “I don’t know. You’d have to ask her.” Minako said quietly. 
 448.654 +She
 448.655 +needed to talk to Rei, but at the same time she didn’t want to wake Natsuna 
 448.656 +by
 448.657 +being too loud.
 448.658 +              “What can I do? She’s already in love with Mamoru. She marries 
 448.659 +him
 448.660 +in the future and has a daughter with him. If I did manage to tell her how I 
 448.661 +felt
 448.662 +and she felt the same, then I could damage so much in the future. ChibiUsa
 448.663 +wouldn’t even exist. Who knows what else might happen.” Rei sighed deeply.
 448.664 +The whole thing felt so futile. She wanted to tell Usagi, but she couldn’t 
 448.665 +let
 448.666 +herself endanger the future. She was a Sailor Senshi, after all.
 448.667 +              “I’m sorry, Rei. I want to tell you how this can work out, but 
 448.668 +I don’t
 448.669 +know. I wish I did. I just want everything to work out for you in the end, 
 448.670 +but I
 448.671 +don’t know what to do about it,” Minako said sadly. She wanted to help. She
 448.672 +was the Senshi of Love. She felt like she needed to do something to help her
 448.673 +friend.
 448.674 +“I want to tell her, but I don’t want to hurt her. Its probably better if I
 448.675 +don’t say anything,” Rei said sullenly.
 448.676 +“Don’t think like that. Think positively. If you’re ever going to have a
 448.677 +chance you can’t give up now,” Minako said with a determined gleam in her
 448.678 +eyes.
 448.679 +“You’re right, I guess. But I still don’t know what I can do.” Rei
 448.680 +looked up and smiled at her friend. “Thanks, Minako-chan. I feel a little 
 448.681 +better
 448.682 +now.”
 448.683 +“Anytime, Rei-chan.”
 448.684 +“I should be going for now.” Rei hugged Minako again and walked out
 448.685 +the door. Minako waved to her as the raven haired girl started walking home.
 448.686 +Minako waited until Rei was out of sight before slowly closing the
 448.687 +door. She felt so helpless. She hated that feeling. She walked through the 
 448.688 +dark
 448.689 +hallway towards the room she shared with Natsuna. She smiled as she walked
 448.690 +past Artemis, curled up and asleep on the floor. She’d always gone to him 
 448.691 +for
 448.692 +advice. Now Rei had gone to her, but she was afraid she hadn’t been of much
 448.693 +help.
 448.694 +Minako paused at the doorway to their room. Rei had seemed so empty
 448.695 +lately. She was usually so full of life, but seeing everyone else with their 
 448.696 +lovers
 448.697 +really got to her. Minako missed the old Rei and now there was a chance to 
 448.698 +fix
 448.699 +things for Rei, but what could she do about it?
 448.700 +Minako’s head was spinning as she tried to think of what, if anything,
 448.701 +she should do. She sighed before walking into the bedroom. She needed sleep.
 448.702 +And right now, she really wanted to be with the one she loved. She crawled 
 448.703 +into
 448.704 +bed next to the other woman, her soft, reddish brown hair hanging past her
 448.705 +shoulders. She smiled as Natsuna continued sleeping. Minako pulled the
 448.706 +blanket up and around her, snuggling close to Natsuna. She slowly started to
 448.707 +drift off to sleep.
 448.708 +
 448.709 +*   *   *
 448.710 +THE NEXT DAY
 448.711 +	Setsuna picked up her small basket, trying to balance the weight of the
 448.712 +tremendous amount of groceries and her addition to her chocolate stash.
 448.713 +Turning around too fast, three rather large oranges dropped out of her 
 448.714 +basket.
 448.715 +‘I knew I should have gotten a cart,’ she thought.
 448.716 +	She bent down and picked up two of the offending oranges, but her
 448.717 +little sandaled foot knocked the third off balance, and it began to roll 
 448.718 +away.
 448.719 +“Damn,” she exclaimed under her breath.
 448.720 +	Walking at a fast pace, she caught up with the rolling orange, only to
 448.721 +have it roll underneath a display case for some cereal boxes at the end of 
 448.722 +an
 448.723 +aisle.  Setting down her basket very carefully, she got on her knees and 
 448.724 +looked
 448.725 +under the display case.
 448.726 +	“There you are you little…” She exclaimed, reaching for the orange.
 448.727 +	“Setsuna?”  A hand came to rest on her shoulder, making her leap
 448.728 +up…and slam her head on the bottom of the display table.  Holding her head
 448.729 +and whimpering words of anger and embarrassment, she looked up into the
 448.730 +eyes of her offender.
 448.731 +	The first thing she saw, actually, was the nice shoes on small feet.
 448.732 +Eyes travelling up slowly, she took in the tight fitting jeans, stylish and 
 448.733 +trendy.
 448.734 +Her red eyes traveled up the shapely legs to the small, flat stomach, and up 
 448.735 +to
 448.736 +the small breasts.  Her eyes came to rest on the dark ponytail, which came 
 448.737 +to
 448.738 +rest just below her right breast.  Curiosity and familiarity making her eyes
 448.739 +travel still farther, they halted to a stop at the dark blue eyes of her 
 448.740 +offender.
 448.741 +She sank into this deep shade of blue, and began to smile.  “Seiya!”  
 448.742 +Leaping
 448.743 +up from her kneeling position and forgetting about her injured head, she 
 448.744 +threw
 448.745 +her long arms around the taller woman’s neck, laughing slightly.
 448.746 +	Seiya, a little surprised about Setsuna’s attitude, was stunned.
 448.747 +Setsuna, showing emotion?  A lot had changed since she had left Tokyo.  But
 448.748 +the dark green hair brushed against her nose, smelling of forest green and
 448.749 +something else she couldn’t put her finger on.  Closing her beautiful dark 
 448.750 +blue
 448.751 +eyes, she wrapped her arms around the green-haired woman’s waist, leaning
 448.752 +her head to rest on Setsuna’s shoulder.  “Setsuna…” The word was let out in 
 448.753 +a
 448.754 +whisper, almost too quiet for Seiya to hear herself.  Sudden feelings of 
 448.755 +heat
 448.756 +laced with desire invaded her mind, and it was covered in a clear 
 448.757 +transparent
 448.758 +shell.  Sudden memories, or maybe visions, she didn’t know, entered her
 448.759 +mind…of two women, one with long black hair and one with long dark green
 448.760 +hair standing on a balcony in dresses rimmed with gold, kissing and holding
 448.761 +each other, trapped in an embrace similar to this one.  The heads turned, 
 448.762 +and a
 448.763 +hazy Seiya kissed her green-haired goddess, bending her head down and
 448.764 +sweeping her feet off the balcony.
 448.765 +	Setsuna’s heart pounded in her ears.  Why did Seiya say her name like
 448.766 +that?!  That wasn’t expected.  She didn’t think Seiya held affections for 
 448.767 +anyone
 448.768 +but her princess.  Why were Seiya’s arms so warm?  Linked around her waist
 448.769 +and pulling her so close?  What was she doing here in a supermarket, anyway?
 448.770 +And why was her breath so warm against her cheek like that?  Sudden
 448.771 +memories of Seiya in Crystal Tokyo, looking as fine as could be in a long
 448.772 +flowing gown of blue and yellow stars, calling out to her.  It had only been
 448.773 +once, the two had embraced and kissed, but she hadn’t seen Seiya after that.
 448.774 +She should have thought about it more, should have noticed Seiya more,
 448.775 +because then maybe she could figure out her own feelings.
 448.776 +	Realizing where she was and what she’d felt, and thought, and
 448.777 +suddenly embarrassed by it, Seiya pulled away slightly.  Setsuna held on for
 448.778 +another moment, reveling in the warmth of a body beside her, near her, and
 448.779 +with her.  But the feeling suddenly cleared from her passion hazy mind, and
 448.780 +she registered Seiya holding her waist at arm’s length.  Unlinking her arms
 448.781 +from around Seiya’s neck, she realized how awful she must look…jumping up
 448.782 +like that after slamming her head into a table.  Oh, real smooth Setsuna!  
 448.783 +Her
 448.784 +mind shouted at her.
 448.785 +	Red eyes hardened.  Her internal defenses were locked again.  No
 448.786 +more embarrassment.  Not again.  In the back of her mind, something ached.  
 448.787 +It
 448.788 +knew, more then Setsuna herself, that such rejection would harm her heart to
 448.789 +the core.
 448.790 +	“I’m so glad to see you, Seiya.  What brings you back to Tokyo?”  A
 448.791 +forced smile crossed her red lips, not reaching her eyes at all.  Seiya 
 448.792 +cursed
 448.793 +herself in her mind for being so stupid.
 448.794 +	“Oh…um…well, I…decided to come back for a visit.”  She smiled,
 448.795 +forced as well.  She didn’t want to reveal her true intentions just yet.  
 448.796 +She was
 448.797 +planning to come to Tokyo, and stay.  She didn’t want to watch her princess
 448.798 +and sister fall deeply in love.  An aching heart would never heal like that. 
 448.799 +Of
 448.800 +course, the plan had backfired when Kakyuu had thought it a great idea to
 448.801 +move back to Tokyo. Now her two sisters and her princess were right next 
 448.802 +door
 448.803 +from her. She’d been there visiting the night before when she’d seen Yaten
 448.804 +ready for her date with Kakyuu.
 448.805 +	Setsuna knew something was wrong.  Seiya didn’t lie.  Not ever.
 448.806 +Unless something was seriously wrong.  “Oh, that’s nice.”  She bent down to
 448.807 +pick up her basket.  “Do you have a place to stay?”
 448.808 +	“Oh, yes, I rented a place just a few blocks from here.”  Seiya smiled
 448.809 +again, trying to lighten the mood.  ‘Damnit,’ she thought, ‘what have I 
 448.810 +done?
 448.811 +Setsuna, please, don’t be angry…’
 448.812 +	“That’s wonderful!  You should stop by to have dinner with us
 448.813 +sometime.  Which I have to go back and make now, so…I’ll see you around…”
 448.814 +A horrible moment of emotion made her voice crack, and she turned away
 448.815 +quickly, rushing to the check-out stand.  She waited a few minutes, and 
 448.816 +Seiya
 448.817 +didn’t come for her.  A menacing voice in her mind asked her if that was a
 448.818 +good or bad thing.  Leaning on the mechanical food belt, she sighed.
 448.819 +“Always…” She breathed out.  Her red eyes shook suddenly, and she brought
 448.820 +her hand up to cover them.
 448.821 +	Suddenly, two warm arms wrapped around her waist.  Startled, she
 448.822 +tried to turn around, but the arms held her in place.
 448.823 +	Seiya leaned in, placing her head once again on Setsuna’s shoulder.
 448.824 +Setsuna’s lovely back was against her chest now, full of warmth.  A mouth to
 448.825 +an ear, she whispered, “Would it…be alright…if I ate dinner with you
 448.826 +tonight?”
 448.827 +	Setsuna breathed in deeply.  “I think that could be arranged…”
 448.828 +*   *   *
 448.829 +	“Come on, Haruka!  The water’s so warm!”  Michiru splashed about,
 448.830 +waving her long arms around in the water.  Haruka, standing atop a near-by
 448.831 +rock, beamed down at her lover in the quiet stream.
 448.832 +	“I AM coming in!”  Jumping up in the air and tucking her knees
 448.833 +under her chest gracefully, she slammed into the water, waves roaring in her
 448.834 +ears.  She glanced up through the hazy stream water to see little white 
 448.835 +bubbles
 448.836 +surround her and waves roll over her little sea nymph.
 448.837 +	A couple of seconds passed and Haruka shot out above the water, her
 448.838 +head up toward the sun.  She struck such a graceful figure that Michiru 
 448.839 +almost
 448.840 +gasped, streaks of crimson lining her cheeks.  When Haruka looked at her, 
 448.841 +she
 448.842 +turned away, embarrassed.  “That wasn’t the kind of entry I had hoped for.”
 448.843 +She stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  She looked over her shoulder
 448.844 +slightly, her hair soaked with the stream water, creating an unearthly look
 448.845 +about her.  Light green eyes pierced into blue ones, and then turned away, 
 448.846 +half-
 448.847 +teasing, half-serious.
 448.848 +	“Michiru…” Haruka called, only to see her little sea nymph swim ever
 448.849 +faster away from her.  “Hey, wait up!”  Awkwardly splashing after her, she
 448.850 +called again.
 448.851 +	Michiru turned only slightly, and began to laugh.  She saw Haruka
 448.852 +struggling to catch up with her, knowing the taller girl was not much of a
 448.853 +swimmer.  She began to slow down, half wanting her lover to catch up with
 448.854 +her.  But the laughing was the main reason her shaking limbs could not keep
 448.855 +up the fast pace she had used.
 448.856 +	Breathless, Haruka finally reached her.  “You…need to…slow
 448.857 +down…girl!”  She exclaimed, her small tongue reaching the edge of her mouth
 448.858 +in exhaustion.
 448.859 +	“Hmm, really?”  Michiru took this chance and wrapped her elegant
 448.860 +arms around her lover’s neck and kissed her slow, hard, and wet.  Haruka was
 448.861 +tall enough to stand on the bottom of the water, but Michiru was not, and 
 448.862 +she
 448.863 +wrapped her legs around Haruka’s waist.  Rubbing her hips slowly up and
 448.864 +down over the taller girl’s mid-section, she let a moan escape through the 
 448.865 +kiss.
 448.866 +Pulling away slowly, she smiled seductively.  “Is it better slow?”
 448.867 +	Haruka looked down at her nymph, eyes wide with desire and surprise.
 448.868 +Finding her words that had been lost in the back of her throat, she 
 448.869 +swallowed
 448.870 +hard.  “It’s always good with you.”  She wrapped her arms tightly
 448.871 +around Michiru’s waist and leaned in to kiss her again.
 448.872 +
 448.873 +******
 448.874 +
 448.875 +Seiya looked in the mirror again and pulled her skirt down.  She
 448.876 +glanced nervously at herself, wondering if she went a little overboard with 
 448.877 +the
 448.878 +make-up.
 448.879 +	Being a Starlight for so long had her comfortable with being a man.
 448.880 +She had always thought she looked better in women’s clothes, but to please 
 448.881 +the
 448.882 +millions of screaming women as fans, she continued to play the part.
 448.883 +But now, that was changing.  Here she was, putting the finishing touches on
 448.884 +herself before she would take Setsuna out to a nice fancy dinner.  Yaten had
 448.885 +helped her pick out an outfit, but was it really appropriate?
 448.886 +	Even Seiya had to admit she looked killer in it.  Short black skirts look
 448.887 +good on almost anyone.  The slit up the right side, however, was what would
 448.888 +knock ‘em out.  Her knee-high leather boots looked perfect with it, and the
 448.889 +cream and black top she had on was perfect to complete the outfit.  But on 
 448.890 +the
 448.891 +first date?  And to a fancy restaurant?  Should she be dressed up in one of 
 448.892 +those
 448.893 +dresses that covered more of herself, like Michiru would always wear on big
 448.894 +outings?
 448.895 +	That wasn’t her style.
 448.896 +	Seiya sighed and looked at the floor.  In her minds eye she could see a
 448.897 +beautiful Setsuna walk before her in a lovely gown, give her one look, and 
 448.898 +run
 448.899 +back inside her house.  Seiya shook her head.  Setsuna wasn’t like that.  
 448.900 +The
 448.901 +sophisticated dark-skinned woman she had always known to be calm and
 448.902 +collected would never do something like that.
 448.903 +	Never.  That was a funny word.  Never.  She would have never
 448.904 +thought about Setsuna as a potential lover.  Never.  But that didn’t mean it
 448.905 +wouldn’t happen.  Not until that day, when she saw Setsuna in the Market,
 448.906 +looking comfortable and sweet.  And when those long arms had come around
 448.907 +her, and she had that forest green hair beneath her nose, her entire thought
 448.908 +pattern changed.  No longer did she feel like she needed to hide from the 
 448.909 +love
 448.910 +of Yaten and their Princess, not anymore.  All she really felt like she 
 448.911 +needed
 448.912 +was to feel Setsuna’s waist beneath her hands, and their lips together, and 
 448.913 +the
 448.914 +moonlight streaming in the window, and…
 448.915 +	Seiya looked back up at herself.
 448.916 +Why not?
 448.917 +
 448.918 +*   *   *
 448.919 +
 448.920 +	Setsuna sighed as she looked in the mirror.
 448.921 +	“You look beautiful, Setsuna-mama!”  Hotaru giggled.
 448.922 +	“I love the skirt!”  ChibiUsa agreed, and turned to Hotaru.  “You and I
 448.923 +should go out like this sometime.”
 448.924 +	“You don’t have enough money to take me out!”  Hotaru laughed at
 448.925 +the expression on her lover’s face.  “We will, Odango-chan.”
 448.926 +	“Come on you two, you’re supposed to be helping me!”  Setsuna
 448.927 +turned around, exasperated.  The entire night the two girls she had always
 448.928 +thought of as daughters had been phasing in and out of attention to her.  
 448.929 +“Are
 448.930 +you really sure this is appropriate?”
 448.931 +	“Oh come on!  You look good in it.  I know Seiya’ll like it!”  ChibiUsa
 448.932 +giggled, blushing a little.
 448.933 +	Setsuna sighed at her reflection.  She was wearing a velvet maroon
 448.934 +skirt that went to her knees, maroon platform sandals (something Hotaru
 448.935 +convinced her into wearing), and a black tanktop with a maroon flowered
 448.936 +design.  ChibiUsa had done her make-up, with a little help from her mom.
 448.937 +That had scared Setsuna at first, knowing that this was Usagi they were 
 448.938 +talking
 448.939 +about, but she was pleased with the results.  It seems that after years of 
 448.940 +practice
 448.941 +Usagi had finally got something down to an art.
 448.942 +	Setsuna turned to the two giggling girls once again, and smiled.  They
 448.943 +looked plenty confident that she was beautiful.  They were happy for her.
 448.944 +Maybe they were smarter for being that way.
 448.945 +	Seiya had always been someone Setsuna had admired, not only for her
 448.946 +continuing courage, but for her love for everything around her.  The entire
 448.947 +ordeal with Usagi had been a hard one for everyone, but Seiya had handled it
 448.948 +rather well, accepting what the future would not change.  Setsuna herself 
 448.949 +had to
 448.950 +come to terms with what was destined too many times.  But when she had seen
 448.951 +Seiya, she couldn’t help but be excited, even if they hadn’t been all that 
 448.952 +close.
 448.953 +And when she had heard her name being whispered into the wind like that, the
 448.954 +way Haruka whispered Michiru’s name, the way ChibiUsa whispered Hotaru’s
 448.955 +name…it made her feel like she was flying.  The realization that someone
 448.956 +could fall in love with her was almost overwhelming.  And now that she was
 448.957 +finally involved with someone, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.  It was 
 448.958 +all
 448.959 +too much of an emotional rollercoaster, but she couldn’t help being the 
 448.960 +first in
 448.961 +line for the dangerous ride.
 448.962 +	“Come on, Setsuna, Seiya’ll be here any minute!”  She heard Haruka’s
 448.963 +call from down the hallway.
 448.964 +	“I’m almost finished.”  Setsuna called back, and reached for the make-
 448.965 +up on the table beside her.  Picking up the eyeliner, she placed two small 
 448.966 +wings
 448.967 +off the edges of her eyelashes, and stood back.  “Perfect.”
 448.968 +
 448.969 +*   *   *
 448.970 +
 448.971 +	Seiya took a deep breath.  She slowly raised her hand to the doorbell,
 448.972 +and then stopped.  She was shaking.  How odd.  She had never started to 
 448.973 +shake
 448.974 +out of nervousness before, even when she had stage-fright.  Maybe that was
 448.975 +because she had always had her sisters for support.
 448.976 +	They couldn’t help her now.
 448.977 +	Seiya took another deep breath and released it slowly.  She pressed the
 448.978 +little lit up button, and then dropped her hand to the side and waited.
 448.979 +	She heard some noise inside, mostly Haruka’s voice yelling.  She
 448.980 +smiled. Good ol’ Haruka.
 448.981 +	The doorknob turned, and she felt her heart rise in her chest.  The
 448.982 +door flung open, and there stood Haruka in the doorway.  Her gaze traveled
 448.983 +over Seiya, who stood her ground, and then back up to her eyes.  With a grin
 448.984 +and a nod of approval, she let out the breath she had been holding.
 448.985 +	“Come mere you!”  Haruka reached out and pulled Seiya close.  The
 448.986 +two women were about the same height, Seiya just a little bit taller now due 
 448.987 +to
 448.988 +her boots.  They pulled out of the friendly embrace and smiled at each 
 448.989 +other.
 448.990 +“It’s been too long.”
 448.991 +	Seiya grinned.  “It sure has.”
 448.992 +	“HAR-UUUKA!”  Came a voice from inside, and the two women
 448.993 +turned.
 448.994 +	“You better come in before Michiru has a baby or something.”  Haruka
 448.995 +laughed, and pulled Seiya inside the house.  “Come on, Setsuna’s just 
 448.996 +finishing
 448.997 +up.”  Seiya remembered the house from awhile ago, when they were just
 448.998 +moving in, and now looked it over with interest.  Walking around toward the
 448.999 +living room, she saw book-cases full of books.  She smiled.  Michiru loved 
448.1000 +the
448.1001 +arts, almost as bad as Mizuno Ami.
448.1002 +	“SEIYA!”  Michiru ran towards her friend and jumped into her arms.
448.1003 +Seiya, on the other hand, was almost knocked over, and stumbled slightly 
448.1004 +from
448.1005 +the awkwardness of her platform boots.
448.1006 +	“Hey…Michiru…” She ground out, trying to get a few breaths in
448.1007 +through the squeezing she was forced into.  She glanced at Haruka for help, 
448.1008 +but
448.1009 +the blonde woman was just laughing hysterically.  “How’s it…going?”
448.1010 +	“SEIYA!  You’ve been gone for so long!”  The aqua head looked up at
448.1011 +her, and the same color eyes stared into hers.  “Why didn’t you visit?”  The
448.1012 +tone was almost angry.
448.1013 +	“I’m sorry…” Seiya’s explanation was halted as she heard footsteps.
448.1014 +Michiru fell out of her arms and walked over to Haruka, and the two women
448.1015 +held hands and smiled like proud parents or friends.  Seiya’s heart started 
448.1016 +to
448.1017 +pound with anticipation.  She held her breath for the second time today and…
448.1018 +	“Hey Seiya!”  Hotaru walked into the room, and everyone sighed.
448.1019 +Hotaru looked a little angry.  “What?”
448.1020 +	“Nothing.”  Seiya smiled and held her arms open.  Hotaru ran into
448.1021 +them and hugged Seiya’s waist.
448.1022 +	“You’ve been gone for such a long time!”
448.1023 +	“I know, I know.”
448.1024 +	“SSSSEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYAAAAAA!!!!”  ChibiUsa’s
448.1025 +squeal rang throughout the room, and Seiya winced.  A pink whir of hair
448.1026 +suddenly ran into the room and knocked both Seiya and Hotaru over.  “THERE
448.1027 +YOU ARE!”  She hugged Seiya fiercely, who was trying desperately to not let
448.1028 +her skirt ride up too high.
448.1029 +	“Hey ChibiUsa, how are you?”  She smiled once she got up.
448.1030 +	“Hey you guys…” A soft voice came from across the room.  Seiya
448.1031 +looked up to see Setsuna standing in the room’s entryway.  Seiya felt the 
448.1032 +heat
448.1033 +rising to her cheeks as she took in Setsuna.  The color was perfect on her, 
448.1034 +and
448.1035 +long green hair flowed over her shoulders and down to her waist.
448.1036 +	Seiya found her voice again, and spoke.  “Hi.”
448.1037 +	“Hi.”  Setsuna smiled, happy with the effect she had on Seiya, but
448.1038 +almost ashamed with the effect Seiya had on her.  Those long creamy legs had
448.1039 +her own knees shaking and knocking against each other.  “Should we get
448.1040 +going?”
448.1041 +	“Sure.”  Seiya walked the distance toward Setsuna, jut barely aware of
448.1042 +the other women staring intently at them.  They walked out of the door
448.1043 +together, hand in hand.
448.1044 +
448.1045 +*   *   *
448.1046 +
448.1047 +	Setsuna set down her glass of water, the ice rattling together as her
448.1048 +hand shook.  She swallowed hard.  She hoped Seiya hadn’t noticed.
448.1049 +	How could she not notice every little tiny thing she was doing?  Those
448.1050 +dark blue eyes stared at her through half closed lids and never wavered from
448.1051 +her.  At least, they hadn’t so far.  And she knew, because her own eyes 
448.1052 +couldn’t
448.1053 +take themselves of the mighty fine woman before her.
448.1054 +	Seiya seemed so together.  Like nothing was making her nervous in
448.1055 +the least.  Of course, she must have women lining up to just see her.  Being 
448.1056 +one
448.1057 +of the Lights and all.  In fact, now that she thought of it…Seiya probably 
448.1058 +dated
448.1059 +all the time.  Was that what she was?  Just another date?  Maybe another one
448.1060 +night stand?  Would Seiya forget about her once tonight was done?
448.1061 +	Setsuna tried to swallow the rising panic in her throat.  Her voice of
448.1062 +reason came through the horrible questions.  ‘Just ask her’, it said.  ‘Ask 
448.1063 +her if
448.1064 +she really wants a real relationship.  Ask her what’s going to happen 
448.1065 +tomorrow.
448.1066 +What have you got to lose?’
448.1067 +	But she knew what she had to lose already.
448.1068 +
448.1069 +*   *   *
448.1070 +
448.1071 +	Seiya watched Setsuna set down her water glass with grace and
448.1072 +elegance.  Funny how wonderful traits like these could come out of a little
448.1073 +motion like that.
448.1074 +	Seiya tried not to let her knees rattle together any louder.  It was all
448.1075 +she could do to keep them from knocking the table over.  Setsuna seemed to 
448.1076 +be
448.1077 +just fine.  She looked content, just nibbling on the fancy French dinner set
448.1078 +before her.  Seiya wasn’t hungry all of a sudden.  At least, not for food.
448.1079 +	Setsuna suddenly went tense.  Seiya felt herself become the same, and
448.1080 +tried to relax.  Setsuna’s dark red eyes stared up at her, full of 
448.1081 +questions.  Seiya
448.1082 +looked at her likewise.
448.1083 +	Setsuna cleared her throat.  “Um…Seiya…would it be alright if
448.1084 +I…asked you something…”
448.1085 +	“Sure.”  Seiya replied automatically and with a smile.  “Anything
448.1086 +you’d like.”
448.1087 +	“Um…do you…date often?”  Setsuna’s eyes suddenly went fuzzy, and
448.1088 +Seiya had the impression that she was going to lose that remarkable control.
448.1089 +	“No, actually, I don’t.  I’ve stayed away from it because you can’t
448.1090 +really meet a lot of people if you’re a superstar.”  She smiled weakly.  
448.1091 +“That’s
448.1092 +one of the many problems with it.”
448.1093 +	“So you…don’t have any other…” Setsuna’s eyes darted down to the
448.1094 +floor.
448.1095 +	Seiya was quiet for a long time.  When she did speak, the tone was
448.1096 +mixed with emotions neither woman could place.  “No, Setsuna.  I don’t have
448.1097 +anyone else.”  Setsuna looked up at her, all her emotions settling down with 
448.1098 +the
448.1099 +reassurance.
448.1100 +	“Mademoiselles?”  The server stood over them, holding up a big tray.
448.1101 +“Would you two lovebirds like some desert?”
448.1102 +
448.1103 +*   *   *
448.1104 +
448.1105 +	Usagi walked into the restaurant, holding onto Mamoru’s arm.  The
448.1106 +server smiled at them both and led them to a table by the window they had
448.1107 +become accustomed to.
448.1108 +	Mamoru pulled out Usagi’s chair, then briskly went to his own.  Usagi
448.1109 +sat down, feeling a little bewildered.  Why hadn’t he touched her?  He 
448.1110 +always
448.1111 +did.  Every time he would pull out her chair he would brush her long hair 
448.1112 +away
448.1113 +from her neck and kiss her on the cheek.  Every time.  What was so different
448.1114 +about now?
448.1115 +	Mamoru didn’t look at her, even as they ordered.  After a long silence
448.1116 +among the table, Usagi got restless.  “Is there something wrong, Mamo-chan?”
448.1117 +He didn’t respond.  “You seem angry.  Did I do something to upset you?”  
448.1118 +Still
448.1119 +no response.  “Did I step on your foot again?  I’m sorry I…I know I’m 
448.1120 +clumsy,
448.1121 +but I didn’t know it upset you this much…”
448.1122 +	“It’s not that, Usako.”  Mamoru still didn’t look at her.  “Nothing’s
448.1123 +wrong with me.”
448.1124 +	“What do you mean?”  Usagi became worried.
448.1125 +	“I know your secret, Usako.  I know why you don’t see me that often
448.1126 +anymore.  I know why you find so much time for your friends all the time…for
448.1127 +her.”
448.1128 +	Usagi felt anger rise up in her cheeks.  “What the hell are you talking
448.1129 +about?”
448.1130 +	“You know what I’m talking about.”  Two angry black beads that were
448.1131 +his eyes stared into hers.  “I know who you’re in love with.”
448.1132 +
448.1133 +*   *   *
448.1134 +
448.1135 +	“Hey, isn’t that Usagi-san and Mamoru-san?”  Seiya pointed to a table
448.1136 +by the window.  Setsuna looked over to the couple and smiled.
448.1137 +	“It sure is.  I didn’t know they were going out tonight.  I wouldn’t
448.1138 +have asked Usagi for help if I knew she had to get ready.”
448.1139 +	“You asked her for help?”
448.1140 +	“Yeah, with my make-up.”  Setsuna blushed slightly, the little crimson
448.1141 +streaks clashing with her dark skin.  “I’m not exactly a DiVinci with it.  
448.1142 +I’m
448.1143 +more like Piccasso.”
448.1144 +	Seiya laughed.  “Hey, I know how it is.  Luckily they make you wear
448.1145 +make-up in music videos and stuff like that, so I wore it the entire time.”
448.1146 +	Setsuna’s red eyes grew wide.  “Really?  That’s actually really cool.”
448.1147 +She paused for a second, as if contemplating what she was going to say next.
448.1148 +“Tell me more about being a music star.”
448.1149 +
448.1150 +*   *   *
448.1151 +
448.1152 +	“Mamoru…you think I’m in love with…” Usagi’s eyes filled with
448.1153 +tears.
448.1154 +	“I don’t think, Usako, I know.  You love her, more then you do me,
448.1155 +obviously.”  Mamoru rolled his eyes.  “Quit with the goodie-two-shoe thing.  
448.1156 +I
448.1157 +know you love her.”
448.1158 +	“I…I love you, Mamo-chan.  I always have.  I always will.  If you
448.1159 +don’t believe me, look to the future to tell you!  We’ll be together, you 
448.1160 +and I,
448.1161 +and ChibiUsa will be born.  If you don’t believe that, what else can you 
448.1162 +believe
448.1163 +in?”
448.1164 +	“The past?”  Mamoru’s voice almost dripped with sarcasm.  “Sure,
448.1165 +like the past is any proof.  The past is what it is, the past.  No longer 
448.1166 +here.
448.1167 +Your precious little world revolves around her, Usagi, and that’s what’s 
448.1168 +really
448.1169 +going on.  I don’t know how I didn’t notice before.  You always running to 
448.1170 +her
448.1171 +when you had a problem.  I was so blind…”
448.1172 +	“You were a selfish asshole, that’s what you were.”  Usagi’s voice was
448.1173 +full of something that resembled hatred as the crystal tears streamed down 
448.1174 +her
448.1175 +cheeks.  “The only problem I ever had in my life was you.  You took away
448.1176 +everything I had, you and your promises of love ever-lasting.  You pretended 
448.1177 +to
448.1178 +trust me.  You say I love someone else.  Fuck you.”  Usagi stood up and 
448.1179 +raised
448.1180 +her voice.  “Fuck you, Mamoru.  You don’t disserve to be in my company.”
448.1181 +And with that, the tiny woman turned on her heel and quickly walked out of 
448.1182 +the
448.1183 +restaurant, hearing claps and cheers behind her.
448.1184 +
448.1185 +*   *   *
448.1186 +
448.1187 +	Setsuna stood up, worried.  “She doesn’t have a way home…”
448.1188 +	“Come on, we can still catch her.”  Seiya threw down a hundred and
448.1189 +grabbed Setsuna’s hand.  They ran, somewhat awkwardly, toward the door, and
448.1190 +outside into the cold air of night.
448.1191 +	“Oh!”  Setsuna exclaimed as the air hit her skin.  Seiya pulled her
448.1192 +closer and wrapped her coat halfway around her.  Setsuna felt herself blush.
448.1193 +	“USAGI!!”  Seiya yelled, and Setsuna did the same.  Finally they saw
448.1194 +the girl turn around, and ran towards her.  “Usagi, what’s wrong?  Do you 
448.1195 +need
448.1196 +a lift?”
448.1197 +	The girl took a few shuddering breaths before finally speaking.
448.1198 +“No…it’s nothing.  I…I need to take a walk.  But thank you for…asking.”  She
448.1199 +spun around and began to run, leaving the two women a little perplexed.
448.1200 +	“Seiya…it’s really cold out here…” Setsuna shuddered.
448.1201 +	“You’re right.”  Seiya finally took her gaze away from the retreating
448.1202 +blonde and back to the woman in her arms.  “Come on, let’s go to the car.”
448.1203 +
448.1204 +*   *   *
448.1205 +
448.1206 +	Setsuna marveled at the rooms in Seiya’s apartment.  Little gasps
448.1207 +would escape that long throat and those red lips, leaving Seiya anxious to 
448.1208 +touch
448.1209 +them.  To feel them beneath her fingertips.
448.1210 +	“Oh Seiya, your flat is beautiful!”  Setsuna spun halfway around to
448.1211 +look at her.  “I love it!”
448.1212 +	“Thank you.”  Seiya smiled.  “How do you like your coffee?”
448.1213 +	“Black, one spoon of sugar.”
448.1214 +	“Figures…” She muttered under her breath.
448.1215 +	“What?”
448.1216 +	“Nothing…” Seiya smiled again and began to pour the liquid into two
448.1217 +cups.  Once she was done, she picked them both up and went into the living
448.1218 +room.
448.1219 +	She almost dropped them.
448.1220 +	There was Setsuna, draped across her dark blue leather couch, looking
448.1221 +absolutely delicious.  She hadn’t heard Seiya, and moved around a little bit 
448.1222 +on
448.1223 +the couch to get comfortable.  The maroon skirt inched higher up her thighs,
448.1224 +and Seiya had to force herself to keep standing.
448.1225 +	She walked briskly over to the table and set down the drinks.  Setsuna
448.1226 +only had a small amount of time to look up before Seiya’s arm came around 
448.1227 +her
448.1228 +and their mouths clashed.
448.1229 +
448.1230 +*   *   *
448.1231 +
448.1232 +	Usagi liked the feeling of the cool air go through her hair.  Her white
448.1233 +dress didn’t cover up much.  But, somehow, the cold was refreshing tonight.  
448.1234 +A
448.1235 +little strange perhaps, yes, but still refreshing.
448.1236 +	Usagi knew where she was going.  She knew what she had to do.
448.1237 +Maybe that was what she had needed to do all along.  Every little fight and
448.1238 +every little emotion she had with him seemed to be swept away so easily now.
448.1239 +She knew what she wanted.
448.1240 +	She ran up the cement steps, her little white shoes making small
448.1241 +clicking noises.  She heard noise already coming from the structure in front 
448.1242 +of
448.1243 +her, and saw a tall figure in the shadow of the bamboo door.  She ran 
448.1244 +towards
448.1245 +it, stumbling where the stones jutted out from the walkway.
448.1246 +	The figure must have heard her, and opened the bamboo door.
448.1247 +“Hello?”  She called.
448.1248 +	Usagi fell into her arms, crying and sobbing.  “REI!”
448.1249 +
448.1250 +*   *   *
448.1251 +
448.1252 +Crystal Tokyo
448.1253 +30th century
448.1254 +Tsukino-Hino Usagi walked along the marbled floors of Tokyo’s Crystal
448.1255 +Palace, her heels clicking onto the scratchable material easily. She reached 
448.1256 +near
448.1257 +her hand and felt the small promise ring on her wedding finger. The tiny
448.1258 +diamond that had been her gift from Mamoru. She smiled kindly at the
448.1259 +memory, not everything she had remembered from her past lover that was so
448.1260 +terrible. She knew that they had loved each other at the time. It was 
448.1261 +something
448.1262 +that their souls needed to play out. Something that had to be finished in 
448.1263 +it’s
448.1264 +own course. She heard the playing in Small Lady’s bedroom, and knew that her
448.1265 +father had come to see the small child. She was, however no longer a child.
448.1266 +Small Lady. Ten to this day to be precise, and a growing lovely women at 
448.1267 +that.
448.1268 +She had been a child conceived in love and devotion, and a child that would
448.1269 +one day become Queen of the Crystal Tokyo. But, in the end the one that 
448.1270 +Usagi
448.1271 +had loved the most had been Rei. No one understood that more then the senshi
448.1272 +of her court, no one more so than her daughter who would one day also fall 
448.1273 +in
448.1274 +love with a woman when she went back into the past. Of course, Small Lady
448.1275 +didn’t know that yet. There were some secrets the mother still had to keep 
448.1276 +from
448.1277 +her daughter.
448.1278 +	Chiba Mamoru had later married, too. He ruled over Elysion as well as
448.1279 +any of the senshi or even Usagi herself. He was still king of the Earth, 
448.1280 +just as
448.1281 +Usagi was Queen, and his right to rule over his kingdom of Elysion was only
448.1282 +natural. Usagi never failed to allow his input and decisions to her Queendom 
448.1283 +to
448.1284 +not be recognized.  She walked in her bedroom and felt the warmth of her 
448.1285 +lover
448.1286 +next to her and smiled slyly.
448.1287 +	“Usagi-chan?” Rei’s tiny voice mumbled in her awakened sleep.
448.1288 +	“Yes?” Usagi asked. She felt Rei’s creamy arms wrap around her
448.1289 +silken clothed breasts, and cooed.
448.1290 +	“I love you.”
448.1291 +	“I love you, too.”
448.1292 +The End.
448.1293 +

   449.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   449.2 +++ b/stories/rinitaru.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   449.3 @@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
   449.4 +09p Lovely Chibiusa/Hotaru fanfic...
   449.5 +I hope the author doesn't mind. I think it's a wonderful fanfic and
   449.6 +well, I wanted my Audrey-chan to read it. :) Note that the author
   449.7 +used Chibiusa's dubbed name (Rini), I don't know why, but I just
   449.8 +wanted to clear up confusion. ^.^
   449.9 +
  449.10 +
  449.11 +"Alabaster Rubies"
  449.12 +By Adria Lynne Tondreault
  449.13 +MichiruKaiohV@aol.com
  449.14 +http://www.geocities.com/yellowrosepetalsx/index.html
  449.15 +Do not use without author's permission.
  449.16 +
  449.17 +These guys belong to Naoko Takeuchi x.o; I'm just the messenger, yo!
  449.18 +This story is my first on Rini + Hotaru, although I made them a
  449.19 +little older..e.e..it's not lemon..only a lime for some content..I'm
  449.20 +better at writing H+M lemons..but I think H+R would be a little more
  449.21 +innocent n.n; This is inspired by and mostly based off of volume 8 of
  449.22 +Naoko's Sailormoon manga, and my own personal experiences. [No, not
  449.23 +in that way x.o; I can relate to Hotaru with her attacks and scars.]
  449.24 +Oh, and, of course our favourite couple make an appearance.. :D
  449.25 +Can't have a good story wiffout my Michi + Ruka! ::snuggles them both::
  449.26 +Haruka+Michiru: o.o;;; *sweatdrop, inch away*
  449.27 +Eh-heh..hope you enjoy! n.n
  449.28 +-----
  449.29 +
  449.30 +"Michi-Mamaaaa!"
  449.31 +The green-haired woman looked up from her reading, regarding the
  449.32 +dark-haired girl, no longer a little girl, yet still using petnames
  449.33 +for her adoptive parents.
  449.34 +"Yes, Hotaru?"
  449.35 +The girl clad in black put on her most persuasive smile, puppy eyes
  449.36 +and all, holding a compact cellphone between her palms.
  449.37 +"May Rini sleep over tonight? Pleeeazzzzeee..?"
  449.38 +Michiru smiled, tipping her head towards the tall blonde beside her.
  449.39 +"Ask Daddy."
  449.40 +"Eh?"
  449.41 +Haruka sat up, her attention broken from the car race on television.
  449.42 +Her arm around Michiru's shoulder, light blouse barely buttoned, tie
  449.43 +sloppily loose as always..she was having one of her 'feminine'
  449.44 +days..not looking at all like a daddy.
  449.45 +"Ruka-Papaa..Usagi-sama said it's alright if Rini can sleep over
  449.46 +tonight..can she?"
  449.47 +Again with the cute little smile.
  449.48 +"Well..I don't kno-itai!"
  449.49 +Haruka rubbed her side, narrowing her eyes at the nymph beside her,
  449.50 +their conversation beneath Hotaru's hearing.
  449.51 +"Angelll..if Hota-chan's occupied..we can be alone..n.n.."
  449.52 +Haruka coughed, a pink blush staining her cheeks.
  449.53 +"Aiie..alright, alright, you don't have to pinch so hard.."
  449.54 +Michiru grinned triumphantly almost, and Haruka brought her voice to
  449.55 +it's normal tone again, managing to fight off the blush.
  449.56 +"Anything for you, doll."
  449.57 +"Yay! Arigatou!"
  449.58 +Hotaru once more pressed the phone to her ear, wandering out of the
  449.59 +room and chattering excitedly to who must have been Rini.
  449.60 +Haruka smirked.
  449.61 +"You don't think they..-itai! Quit that, I want you to touch me
  449.62 +gently!"
  449.63 +"Nah..don't think about our little daughter like that! She's not
  449.64 +like we are..and don't worry..I will, later, when we're alone.."
  449.65 +Michiru grinned as Haruka coughed again.
  449.66 +"Alright, alright.."
  449.67 +-----
  449.68 +The doorbell chimes sounded, making a harmonious tune thruought the
  449.69 +house.
  449.70 +"Just a moment!"
  449.71 +Michiru looked to Haruka pleadingly.
  449.72 +"Can you get that, Ruka-Sempai?"
  449.73 +Haruka looked from the race, to Michiru, to the race,..
  449.74 +"..How can I resist that face?"
  449.75 +As Michiru chortled, she got up, crossing to the doorway.
  449.76 +"Oh, konnichiwaa meatball-head.."
  449.77 +Haruka flashes her trademark knee-melting smile as she held the door
  449.78 +open, a distinct cough coming from Michiru, causing the bishounen to
  449.79 +sweatdrop.
  449.80 +"Err..oh! And little meatball-head. Well, guess you're not so little
  449.81 +anymore..you're almost as big as Bunny!"
  449.82 +A chuckle.
  449.83 +"Hotaru's in her room."
  449.84 +Haruka pointed down the stairwell, as the pink-haired girl slipped
  449.85 +in, carrying Luna P-Ball and a backpack.
  449.86 +"Arigatou Haruka-sama!"
  449.87 +-----
  449.88 +"Oooh..it's so romantic in here.."
  449.89 +Rini peeked wide-eyed in the doorway to Hotaru's bedroom, as the
  449.90 +raven-haired girl turned from a lit candle, surprised.
  449.91 +"Ohh! Rini..I-I..didn't expect you so soon.."
  449.92 +Hotaru giggled nervously, setting down the candle on a bedstand and
  449.93 +crossing to the doorway to help the smaller girl with her bags, eyes
  449.94 +downcast shyly.
  449.95 +"For once Mama wasn't late."
  449.96 +Rini started to walk around the room, admiring the soft glow the
  449.97 +white lamps and candles cast over the darkness of the black room. She
  449.98 +stopped and sat at the foot of the bed, lined with black satin sheets
  449.99 +and plush blankets.
 449.100 +"So, this is your room.."
 449.101 +A light tapping came at the door, and Hotaru took her eyes from Rini
 449.102 +a moment to answer it.
 449.103 +"Daddy and I are going out now, will you two be alright?"
 449.104 +"Yes, Michiru-Mama.."
 449.105 +"Okay. We'll probably be back after you're asleep. Have fun!"
 449.106 +"Byebye Michiru-san!"
 449.107 +"Bye girls."
 449.108 +Hotaru leaned on the door to shut it, bringing her eyes back to the
 449.109 +pink-haired girl, swallowing, and taking a deep breath before
 449.110 +crossing the room to sit beside her, hands folded between her knees
 449.111 +with her hair veiled over her face, nervously murmuring only to break
 449.112 +the silence.
 449.113 +"Sooo.."
 449.114 +Her violet eyes widened as Rini's dainty hand took her by the chin,
 449.115 +tilting her to face her, nestling their noses side-by-side for a
 449.116 +brief, gentle kiss. Hotaru shivered lightly, eyes automatically
 449.117 +closing.
 449.118 +"Are you sure we shouldn't tell your parents..? I mean, not like
 449.119 +they'd mind us being together, like they are.."
 449.120 +Hotaru opened her eyes again to watch Rini's ruby hues, frowning
 449.121 +slightly.
 449.122 +"But then they might not let us have slumber parties anymore..I
 449.123 +mean, not like we've ever done anything, but, ...kissing and
 449.124 +snuggling.. in secret.."
 449.125 +Rini giggled softly..once they had confessed their mutual love for
 449.126 +eachother a few weeks ago, Hotaru had been avoiding telling
 449.127 +anyone..she had never felt feelings for anyone before, unlike Rini,
 449.128 +who just happened to be a charmer..but Rini valued Hotaru more than
 449.129 +anyone she had ever held feelings for before..she was her best friend.
 449.130 +"I'm sure they'd understand..besides..who'd be better for you than
 449.131 +me!"
 449.132 +Rini grinned and puffed out her chest proudly, to which Hotaru
 449.133 +loosened up a little and chuckled.
 449.134 +"You're right..but, no use rushing it..ne? We're together now."
 449.135 +Hotaru smiled meekly, leaning foward and softly kissing Rini. They
 449.136 +closed their eyes, still going about everything slowly and coyly,
 449.137 +instead of embracing, holding hands in Hotaru's lap. Rini brought her
 449.138 +hand up, tracing over the black turtleneck hiding Hotaru's neck, to
 449.139 +which Hotaru tensed up in an almost frightened way.
 449.140 +"Taru-koi..aren't you warm? How come you always dress so
 449.141 +conservatively?"
 449.142 +Hotaru looked down self-consiously.
 449.143 +"I was in an accident long ago..I have a lot of scars."
 449.144 +Rini frowned slightly, running her thumb along Hotaru's jawline
 449.145 +above the black cloth.
 449.146 +"But why do you hide them?"
 449.147 +Hotaru brought her hands over Rini's closing her eyes with a solemn
 449.148 +frown.
 449.149 +"Because they make me ugly."
 449.150 +Hotaru crinkled up her nose.
 449.151 +"But I think you're pretty."
 449.152 +Hotaru's eyes fluttered open, blushing.
 449.153 +"Aiie..arigatou Rini-koi..though I don't think so.."
 449.154 +"..May I see..?"
 449.155 +Hotaru gasped slightly, looking Rini in the eyes almost suspiciously.
 449.156 +"Why would you want to see..? They aren't anything pretty.."
 449.157 +"Let me be the judge of that?"
 449.158 +Hotaru drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded hesitantly.
 449.159 +"I-..I guess so.."
 449.160 +Rini tilted her head to the side, and reasurringly ran her palm over
 449.161 +Hotaru's pale cheek.
 449.162 +"I won't laugh at you, I promise."
 449.163 +Hotaru gave a little nod, lightly biting down on her thin lower lip,
 449.164 +as Rini wrapped her arms around her, bringing her fingers to the
 449.165 +zipper at the back of Hotaru's turtleneck, drawing it down her back
 449.166 +slowly, until it met the bottom at the small of her back above her
 449.167 +skirt with a click. She brought her hands back up and took the cloth
 449.168 +in her hands, drawing it down her shoulders and the length of her
 449.169 +arms, slipping it off finally at her wrists before bringing her rosy
 449.170 +eyes back up, taking in the sight carefully, Hotaru's only top
 449.171 +garment now was an intricate black satin bra.
 449.172 +"..Your skin is like alabaster.."
 449.173 +Hotaru still had her eyes closed in shame of her hidden scars, soft
 449.174 +white lines riddling her neck, collar, and down the top of her
 449.175 +bosom..and a couple on her left side of her ribs and stomach. Rini
 449.176 +reached out her hand to trace over the ones on her collar, her pink
 449.177 +eyes sparkling in that infantile way she always had to them.
 449.178 +"You're beautiful.."
 449.179 +Hotaru nervously opened her eyes, looking to Rini.
 449.180 +"R-..really..? You think so..?"
 449.181 +"I know so Taru-koi.."
 449.182 +Hotaru's somber violet eyes watered slightly, and Rini leaned
 449.183 +foward, with a quiet giggle, kissing her lightly.
 449.184 +"Tee-hee..my heart's beating so fast.."
 449.185 +Hotaru chuckled coyly, pressing her palm gingerly above Rini's heart
 449.186 +on her bosom, then placed Rini's over her own.
 449.187 +"Same as mine.."
 449.188 +Rini blushed this time, giggling nervously, smiling at her.
 449.189 +"Rini..?"
 449.190 +"Hai?"
 449.191 +"M-..may I see you too?"
 449.192 +Rini's cheek colour almost matched her hair by now, smiling coyly.
 449.193 +"Uhm..I..guess it's only fair..^^.."
 449.194 +Hotaru couldn't help but smile back, giving another nervous giggle.
 449.195 +She gulped, and brought her hands to Rini's shoulders, kissing her
 449.196 +softly before continuing. She let down her longer rosy hair, and
 449.197 +unlaced the ribbons at her neck, carefully removing her cute pastel
 449.198 +pink shirt..she always liked the pinches of colour Rini added to her
 449.199 +life. She set the clothing beside hers, blushing deeply as she
 449.200 +allowed her eyes to roam. Rini had on a lacy red silk bra, with a
 449.201 +little bow and heart in the center, which caused her to blush worse.
 449.202 +"Aiie..Rini..where'd you get such racy lingere?"
 449.203 +Rini giggled, grinning and opening her eyes.
 449.204 +"I saved up my allowance..Mama and Darien don't know I have it. You
 449.205 +like? It's for you.."
 449.206 +Hotaru chuckled and shook her head, unable to take her eyes off of
 449.207 +her, her cheeks rosy.
 449.208 +"Y-you're lovely..."
 449.209 +Rini giggled and pointed out Hotaru's blush.
 449.210 +"I finally brought some colour to yah."
 449.211 +"Oh, hush!"
 449.212 +They both giggled. Rini wrapped her arms around Hotaru's shoulders,
 449.213 +hugging her warmly. Hotaru gave a quiet 'eep' of surprise, shyly
 449.214 +wrapping her arms around Rini's waist, resting her hands at the small
 449.215 +of her back, closing her eyes and nestling her face into the girl's
 449.216 +rosy hair. They were so close together she could feel her heart beat
 449.217 +against her own.
 449.218 +"You're so warm, Rini.." 
 449.219 +
 449.220 +Current  
 449.221 \ No newline at end of file

   450.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   450.2 +++ b/stories/rockmanxfic.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   450.3 @@ -0,0 +1,566 @@
   450.4 +12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
   450.5 +
   450.6 +Pay no attention to the string of numbers ^_^  Yes, they're there for a reason.
   450.7 +Don't ask.  Anyway, this is our first full entry into the fanfiction of Rockman
   450.8 +X, but please don't hesitate to e-mail with comments or criticism.  I told 
   450.9 +Heather that there wouldn't be an Authors' Note, though, so ignore this ^_^;;
  450.10 +Thanks!  -- Boco the Chokobo, AmazonessDuo Webslave, Editor, and Co-Author
  450.11 +
  450.12 +
  450.13 +Fate in Haze
  450.14 + by AmazonessDuo
  450.15 + amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  450.16 +
  450.17 +
  450.18 +     "Roll..."
  450.19 +     What? Who?
  450.20 +     "Roll..."
  450.21 +     You said that already. Who is Roll? Where is she?
  450.22 +     "Roll!!"
  450.23 +     So much more insistent this time. Why are you so sad? I'm sorry... I wish I
  450.24 +could help. What have you lost?
  450.25 +     "Roll..."
  450.26 +     Zero... The only other time I've heard someone in such pain was when Zero 
  450.27 +lost Iris. And even then, he hid it from me. I remember it even more vividly 
  450.28 +from myself. When I lost Zero. I'm so sorry. I know how much it hurts...
  450.29 +     "Roll..."
  450.30 +     A last, anguished cry. No, why are you giving up? You can't give up hope. 
  450.31 +Sometimes it's the only thing we have left. Please don't give in to despair. 
  450.32 +Don't leave me all alone. I... I don't want to be alone..
  450.33 +     That girl... Who is she? Why is she so familiar? Why is she haunting me? 
  450.34 +I'm sorry. I'm trying so hard, but I can only do so much. I don't want to fight 
  450.35 +anymore. I just wish it would all go away. All of it except Zero. Stay with me, 
  450.36 +Zero. Please...
  450.37 +     Who are you? She smiles at me but says nothing. A beautiful, always 
  450.38 +cheerful smile graces the girl in front of me. I place my hand out and she 
  450.39 +mirrors me. Why? Who are you? Please. Please tell me. Another smile is all the 
  450.40 +answer I get. I don't understand. I can't help you if you don't tell me. 
  450.41 +     The mirror shatters, shards flying everywhere. Shadows envelop me as I try 
  450.42 +to struggle free. Sigma? No, I won't let you... That's not Sigma. But who... No, 
  450.43 +I don't want to die... I don't... Blues...
  450.44 +
  450.45 +     "X." The origin of all of the Repliroids moved around for a moment, still 
  450.46 +not quite awake. Zero just smiled in amusement as he watched his ally slumber, 
  450.47 +his hands on his hips. "X, get up. Alia wanted to see you about something. I 
  450.48 +think she's still thrilled that you finally brought back one of Light's armors 
  450.49 +in one piece." Who was Alia dating again? Oh yeah, that female hunter from the 
  450.50 +13th Unit. Not that it mattered. Gender really became pointless when one didn't 
  450.51 +need to reproduce sexually. He'd been mistaken for female on a number of 
  450.52 +occasions himself. Even Iris had thought so when she'd first seen him. A pang of 
  450.53 +guilt stabbed him in the side at the thought of her.
  450.54 +     "Roll..." X shook his head as he tried to stand up, grabbing onto Zero for 
  450.55 +support. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of the disturbing 
  450.56 +dream. The image of a tattered yellow scarf wouldn't leave his mind. He shivered 
  450.57 +at the memories. Something about them just shook him to the core. "Yeah, I'll go 
  450.58 +do that, Zero. She's probably waiting." 
  450.59 +     Zero watched his smaller companion turn to leave after letting go of him. 
  450.60 +Things just didn't feel right. The smaller robot felt different today. "X, 
  450.61 +what's wrong?" Zero knew that X had never wanted to be an Irregular Hunter. 
  450.62 +Being a pacifist at heart, this wasn't at all what X wanted. But unless they 
  450.63 +could finally stop the ongoing chaos, X would never have the peace he longed 
  450.64 +for. So they both had to keep fighting. But although that bothered X quite 
  450.65 +often, Zero didn't think this was quite the same thing this time.
  450.66 +     Pausing for a moment, X was silent. He wanted to talk to Zero about it, but
  450.67 +he wasn't quite sure what the dream had meant himself. The whole experience had 
  450.68 +just been strange. Like something buried deep in his mind. As soon as he almost 
  450.69 +grasped onto it, it slipped further away from him. If only he could talk to Dr. 
  450.70 +Light. But the only time he ever saw him was with the armor capsules. He was 
  450.71 +really starting to doubt the good doctor was dead, though. How could he have 
  450.72 +built all of those and scattered them so conveniently? Whatever the case, it 
  450.73 +made it more frustrating for a very confused X. Picking up his helmet, X sighed.
  450.74 +"It's nothing, Zero. I'm worrying too much about something that's not important. 
  450.75 +Let's go see Alia."
  450.76 +     Zero nodded, still not quite convinced but not wanting to press X about it 
  450.77 +if that's what he wanted. As the two Hunters walked towards the work station 
  450.78 +Alia had been using the last Zero had seen of her, the blonde watched his friend
  450.79 +carefully. X seemed to be deep in thought, still wrestling with whatever it was 
  450.80 +that he wasn't telling him. "X, sometimes..." A blaring siren cut Zero off 
  450.81 +midsentence right when he was about to say something profound. 
  450.82 +     "Yeah, Zero?" X asked, obviously more interested in what his friend had to 
  450.83 +say than whatever new catastrophe was popping up. Those got old rather quickly. 
  450.84 +And Sigma hadn't even had an elaborate death scene the last time. How could he 
  450.85 +even think Sigma was dead lacking an elaborate death scene? Killing him at his 
  450.86 +citadel didn't work, killing his virus form didn't work, Zero stabbing him with 
  450.87 +an anti-sigma virus program didn't work. Why would an exploding space station be
  450.88 +any different?
  450.89 +     "Damn, I lost it," Zero said, his hand on his chin. The blaring siren of 
  450.90 +the level 10 alert was grating. The blonde offered a slight smile and placed a 
  450.91 +hand on X's shoulder. "Whatever's inside your heart is good, X. I know that 
  450.92 +personally. Don't ever fight yourself or you'll tarnish that beauty. Trust in 
  450.93 +your heart. It's the only guide you have." 
  450.94 +     X just stared at Zero as the seconds ticked past. He felt himself smile, a 
  450.95 +slight blush on his cheeks as his spirits soared. "Thanks, Zero. I'll remember 
  450.96 +that." Looking down, X tried to collect himself. There was so much he wanted to 
  450.97 +say to Zero. By the time he looked up, Zero was already heading to see what the 
  450.98 +alert was all about. X sighed and hurried to catch up. "Zero! Wait for me!"
  450.99 +	
 450.100 +     A bolt of blue signified the arrival of X out on the frozen tundra. 
 450.101 +Apparently an arctic base had been terrorized by an Irregular and it was X's job
 450.102 +to see just what was going on and put a stop to it. Zero had offered to go, but 
 450.103 +after the dream this morning, X couldn't sit back while this was happening. The 
 450.104 +ice made crunching sounds under his feet as he traversed the icy wasteland. 
 450.105 +"Hello?" For a long moment, he didn't hear anything. Finally, he could hear a 
 450.106 +low moan off in the distance. X quickly dashed to the scene. A man was lying 
 450.107 +face down in the snow, obviously in pain. Well, a Repliroid at least. They did 
 450.108 +most of the work these days. "Are you all right?" X asked as he kneeled next to 
 450.109 +the injured Repliroid.
 450.110 +     "Ahhh.. It came out of nowhere... No time to get away... Bill was saying 
 450.111 +that I spent too much time polarizing the sensors... So I told Bill just what he 
 450.112 +could do with the sensors... Then he..."
 450.113 +     "Do you by any chance know where the Irregular went?" X asked, cutting him 
 450.114 +off. It wasn't that his story wasn't.. colorful, it's just that he was in a 
 450.115 +hurry. 
 450.116 +     "Huh? That way." The Repliroid pointed back behind him. "You're X, right? 
 450.117 +Say, is it true that only animalistic Repliroids go Irregular?"
 450.118 +     "No, that's only a myth," X explained as he powered up his X-buster.
 450.119 +     The Repliroid seemed to consider this for a moment. "Hmm... Alright then, 
 450.120 +name two non-animalistic ones that went Irregular."
 450.121 +     X stared at the man in the snow for a long moment. "Vava and Double." He 
 450.122 +looked back the way the Repliroid had come, trying to judge where the Irregular 
 450.123 +might be hiding. His thoughts were once again shattered by the Repliroid. 
 450.124 +     "Fair enough. But I bet you couldn't name three," he said smugly.
 450.125 +     "Look, I'm really very busy right now. And I could name more, but I'm on 
 450.126 +the job. Can you move? You need to get to safety," X said, feeling a little 
 450.127 +exasperated.
 450.128 +     "Oh sure. I'm just a little beaten up, that's all. Go ahead and leave me 
 450.129 +out in the god forsaken cold. I'll be just fine."
 450.130 +     "Good. I'll come back for you later." Before the Repliroid could reply, X 
 450.131 +dashed off towards the frigid caverns that awaited him. His footsteps echoed 
 450.132 +within the icy confines. Every movement of the windswept snow outside nearly 
 450.133 +startled him. It wasn't long before he heard a heart wrenching shriek from up 
 450.134 +above. Whipping his X-buster up in that direction, he saw the Irregular in 
 450.135 +question. Fairly short with stubby legs and a light blue and black color scheme,
 450.136 +the Irregular watched him from above, perched on a ledge. 
 450.137 +     "Die, X!" he screamed as he leaped off. But the penguin, being a flightless 
 450.138 +bird even as a Repliroid, slammed into the ground several feet in front of X.
 450.139 +     X just blinked as he watched the Irregular for a few long moments. That 
 450.140 +certainly seemed anticlimactic. Nudging the Irregular with his foot, he was 
 450.141 +relieved when the downed penguin didn't move. Switching on his communicator, he 
 450.142 +smiled. "Alia, mission accAckk!!!" X yelped as the penguin slammed into him, 
 450.143 +throwing him back into an ice covered wall. 
 450.144 +     "You didn't think I'd go down that easily did you? You've obviously never 
 450.145 +tangled with Spank Penguin before!" The Irregular struck a pose as he waited for
 450.146 +his obvious grandeur to strike our hero. 
 450.147 +     X stared for a long moment, sweat dropping. "Spank... Penguin... Umm... 
 450.148 +Sure. Look, do we really have to fight?" X asked as he got to his feet. 
 450.149 +     "What the hell's wrong with Spank?!" The penguin asked angrily, his leather
 450.150 +paddle arms flapping in irritation. He was obviously a... Well, a Repliroid 
 450.151 +designed for very specific things. "It's a perfectly good name. Like X even 
 450.152 +makes any sense. At least mine explains something."
 450.153 +     X put his hands up in front of him defensively. "No, I didn't mean it like 
 450.154 +that. I just... I was making sure I got it right," he explained lamely. 
 450.155 +     "Now you're really gonna get it, Irregular Hunter! I was just going to bust
 450.156 +you up real good for Icy, but now you're screwed." 
 450.157 +     "Icy? Icy Penguigo? He used to be an Irregular Hunter back before Sigma led
 450.158 +the coup! I remember him. I used to see him from time to time when I'd be 
 450.159 +visiting Zero down at Hunter HQ," X said thoughtfully. 
 450.160 +     "That obviously didn't make you double think killing him," Spank shot out. 
 450.161 +"Now you'll die for killing my cousin!"
 450.162 +     "Wait! Icy was your cousin? I had no idea. I'm so sorry... I know what it's
 450.163 +like to lose a loved one like that. I lost two brothers. I know how much it can 
 450.164 +hurt," X said quietly as he took a step forward, a sad expression on his face. 
 450.165 +That could hurt so much, being all alone. Losing your family... X felt his eyes 
 450.166 +stinging. What had he done?
 450.167 +     Spank backed away a few feet, freaked out by the way X was acting. "What 
 450.168 +are you doing? You never had any brothers. You're the ancient, the original that 
 450.169 +Repliroids are based on. What the hell are you talking about?"
 450.170 +     "I'm sorry about Icy. I didn't want to hurt anybody. But if I hadn't, they 
 450.171 +would have hurt people. I couldn't let them do that." X looked at the penguin 
 450.172 +apologetically. The pain he felt was real, but he couldn't place any memories to
 450.173 +it. He knew he was the only one, but the thought of two brothers plagued him 
 450.174 +like the last vestiges of a nightmare that wouldn't go away. "I never wanted to 
 450.175 +hurt anyone. I just wanted to protect people."
 450.176 +     Spank shook his head. "That may justify you to yourself, but it's not going
 450.177 +to work on me. You could have all the reason in the world, but Icy's still dead 
 450.178 +and I'm not going to let you get away with it." Screaming at the top of whatever
 450.179 +passed for lungs in his mechanical body, Spank ran full tilt at the Irregular 
 450.180 +Hunter. 
 450.181 +     X yelped as he backpedaled, firing off a bolt with his X-buster. The blast 
 450.182 +caught the penguin square in the chest, throwing him a few meters along the 
 450.183 +floor. X sighed as he walked back up again. This obviously wasn't a war machine.
 450.184 +Just a misled Repliroid wanting to get back something precious. As X stood 
 450.185 +there, watching the prone body of his enemy, he wondered why he had to be 
 450.186 +fighting this way. So many had died in his mission to restore peace. Was it 
 450.187 +really worth it? Would it ever come to an end? And why had... X never had the 
 450.188 +chance to finish the thought as Spank popped up again, flailing his arms at the 
 450.189 +Irregular Hunter. Before X could do anything, a flash of light swiped through 
 450.190 +the penguin, his torso and lower half falling in two. "Zero!"
 450.191 +     "Are you alright, X? I came after Alia heard your message get cut off." 
 450.192 +     "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just surprised." The two looked at what was left of 
 450.193 +the Irregular for a long moment. "We should get going."
 450.194 +     "Good idea." Zero raised an eyebrow as the body continued to generate a 
 450.195 +buzzing sound before the two teleported back to headquarters. 
 450.196 +	
 450.197 +     Who was that girl? What did she want? Why was everyone crying? Why wouldn't
 450.198 +it leave him alone? He was already trying his hardest with everything. X 
 450.199 +clutched his head as he whimpered. His fingers ran through his hair as the half 
 450.200 +memories and shadows in his mind were cruelly taunting him, slipping through his
 450.201 +fingers like sand whenever he'd get close. What was going on? What was happening
 450.202 +to him? 
 450.203 +     X collapsed to his knees, his eyes still closed. Trying to sort this out 
 450.204 +was doing him no good. These memories... They felt like his own. So distant and 
 450.205 +nearly forgotten. But he knew they were before he had been activated. So they 
 450.206 +couldn't be his. Why would Dr. Light program those in? For what purpose? Even 
 450.207 +now, they were still shrouded in too much mist for him to unravel. 
 450.208 +     One thought that kept racing through his head was that perhaps he had been 
 450.209 +activated briefly before he had been put in his capsule. If so, maybe he had 
 450.210 +done something... something horrible that made the good doctor decide to test 
 450.211 +him for thirty years in an attempt to make sure the mistake was never made 
 450.212 +again. If so... Had he killed the girl? Had he killed Roll? His soul went cold 
 450.213 +at the thought. He knew that he could never do such a thing, but the thought 
 450.214 +that it was even a remote possibility frightened him to the core. That he could 
 450.215 +be capable of such senseless violence... 
 450.216 +     X wanted to talk to Dr. Light, but he had no way of contacting him, alive 
 450.217 +or dead. He knew Zero would listen, but he didn't know what to tell him. Zero 
 450.218 +already had plenty of his own problems. And Zero had lost Iris so recently. X 
 450.219 +didn't want to burden him with his own problems. He was strong enough to handle 
 450.220 +this on his own. He hoped. 
 450.221 +     Unfortunately, he had to deal with it soon. The dreams were beginning to 
 450.222 +consume him. Zero had noticed before he did that he was starting to slip in 
 450.223 +battle. His will to fight was starting to grow weaker, the fear of what he may 
 450.224 +be capable of lying just below the surface. If he didn't do something soon, the 
 450.225 +girl and the dreams would become too much for him to handle. 
 450.226 +     A sound in the doorway startled X. A figure stood sillohetted in the light 
 450.227 +from the hallway. "X..." Zero whispered softly. "X, what's wrong?" His voice was
 450.228 +soft but urgent. He couldn't stand by and watch his friend consumed by 
 450.229 +nightmares. Not the way he had been. He fought to find out the meaning behind 
 450.230 +them, to find out why this vicious cycle had been started. But X was being 
 450.231 +affected entirely differently. He was falling prey to the dreams that haunted 
 450.232 +him like specters of the past. 
 450.233 +     X stood up slowly, hair disheveled and his helmet lying on the floor a few 
 450.234 +feet away. "Zero... I'm so afraid... I don't know who I am anymore.." X said, 
 450.235 +his voice trembling. The smaller Irregular Hunter grabbed onto his taller 
 450.236 +counterpart after a moments hesitation. 
 450.237 +     Startled for only an instant, Zero held his frightened friend. At least now
 450.238 +he could help in some way. The two held on in silence for a long moment, a 
 450.239 +little peace amidst their chaotic lives. "I know who you are, X," Zero stated 
 450.240 +calmly. "You're the only one on this planet that realizes just how wrong this 
 450.241 +war is. And you're trying to stop it all on your own even though you never 
 450.242 +wanted to be a warrior. You're a pacifist carrying the dreams of the world with 
 450.243 +you into battle in an attempt to protect them. You were never meant to fight. 
 450.244 +That wasn't your path. You were dragged down upon it by tragedy. You're just 
 450.245 +doing the best that you can in every way you can." 
 450.246 +     X looked up at the blonde after hearing his comforting words, soothing his 
 450.247 +battered spirits slightly. "Then... Who are you, Zero?"
 450.248 +     Zero smiled and shrugged. "Me? I'm just a lonely and confused soul that has 
 450.249 +to know."
 450.250 +     "Know what?"
 450.251 +     "I have to know why," Zero explained simply.
 450.252 +     X thought this over for a moment, resting his head on Zero's chest. "Zero, 
 450.253 +I don't know how I'd go on without you. If it weren't for you, I would never 
 450.254 +have run off into battle in the first place. All I've wanted to do since the 
 450.255 +beginning is to fight with you. I don't think I could do it on my own."
 450.256 +     "Of course you could, X. All of my faith rests within you. I know that if 
 450.257 +this war ever has a chance of ending, it will be because of you." Zero brushed 
 450.258 +back some of X's hair from the still distraught Irregular Hunter's eyes. His 
 450.259 +own eyes locked with X's teary ones for a long moment. Cupping the other 
 450.260 +Hunter's chin, his lips pressed against X's. 
 450.261 +     X's arms went around Zero after a tense moment as the blue robot relaxed. 
 450.262 +When X opened his eyes again, the tears were gone. He smiled softly up at the 
 450.263 +blonde. "Thanks, Zero. I know what I want to do now. I wasn't sure at first, but
 450.264 +I want to confront the dreams. I want to know why I'm having them." How was Zero
 450.265 +always so strong and sure about everything? He wished he could be that strong. 
 450.266 +But it was enough just to be there with Zero. It felt so warm in his arms, like 
 450.267 +the war was light years away. It felt... right. 
 450.268 +     Ignoring the mortified look Douglas was giving them, Zero nodded simply. 
 450.269 +"We'll do everything we can to get to the bottom of it."
 450.270 +
 450.271 +     Why was everyone being so boring? There was absolutely nothing to do. Dr. 
 450.272 +Light was busy on something new he was working on that would 'revolutionize 
 450.273 +robotics', as he put it, Rock and Rush were out somewhere, probably trying to 
 450.274 +stop Dr. Wily again, and Blues was as always nowhere to be seen. There was 
 450.275 +nothing for her to do. 
 450.276 +     So Roll went back to doing what she always did when there was nothing to 
 450.277 +do. Attempt to make Dr. Light's lab just a little prettier. Some plants here and 
 450.278 +there, maybe a painting, sometimes a table. Anything that would get rid of that 
 450.279 +stale lab feeling. Of course, the good doctor usually ruined it by putting tools
 450.280 +or spare parts on the cute little tables or accidentally killing the plants. Or 
 450.281 +smearing oil all over the drapes. A sigh escaped her lips as she continued 
 450.282 +walking. Why did she even bother? Oh, that's right. She was bored. 
 450.283 +     At about that time, the lights went out. Again. Just what was Dr. Light 
 450.284 +working on that kept shorting out the lights? Rolling her eyes, the blonde girl
 450.285 +quickly headed back to the lab after finding some candles. She couldn't have 
 450.286 +poor Dr. Light stumbling around in the dark trying to accomplish whatever it 
 450.287 +was. That man was entirely too stubborn when he got his mind set on something. 
 450.288 +Walking into the dark lab, Roll quickly adjusted to the darkness. "Dr. Light? 
 450.289 +Dr. Light, I brought some candles."
 450.290 +     "Oh, thank you, Roll. Just put them over there," Dr. Light said, waving 
 450.291 +over his shoulder vaguely. Sparks from a welder briefly illuminated the large 
 450.292 +room as he attempted to continue his work. "The lights should be on shortly."
 450.293 +     Roll lit the candles, clearing a space for them on the work bench. She 
 450.294 +smiled to herself as she arranged them for better affect. "So what are you 
 450.295 +working on now, Dr. Light?" The sounds of his work drew her attention. Walking 
 450.296 +closer, she tried to catch a good glimpse through the sparks and flickering 
 450.297 +candlelight. It appeared to be another robot. This one was taller than she and 
 450.298 +Rock. Dark purple hair peeked out from underneath the helmet. Green eyes gazed 
 450.299 +lifelessly out at her, not yet given the spark in her own green orbs. "Who is 
 450.300 +he?" she asked curiously. Dr. Light had been very into his new project, but 
 450.301 +other than a few things here and there at the dinner table or around the house, 
 450.302 +she hadn't heard much about it. Something about an enhanced personality matrix. 
 450.303 +She sincerely hoped that didn't mean the Dr. was getting bored with them. 
 450.304 +     It took Dr. Light a moment to get his mind to register something aside from
 450.305 +his new toy. "Oh, this is X. He's a new type of robot altogether. He'll be given 
 450.306 +the ability to think and feel just like a human. His abilities are greatly 
 450.307 +enhanced as well. He's completely state of the art. Completely beyond anything 
 450.308 +this world has ever seen."
 450.309 +     Roll just nodded in reflex. So he would practically be human? Not some 
 450.310 +heartless machine like her. Not some object designed for one thing until it got 
 450.311 +broken or replaced by a new model. He was lucky. He had plenty to look forward 
 450.312 +to once he was activated.
 450.313 +     "Roll? Are you crying?" Dr. Light blinked in fascination. What had he said? 
 450.314 +This came as quite a surprise. "No, I didn't mean it that way, Roll. Your 
 450.315 +feelings and thoughts are no less real than his. Or mine. You're just as alive 
 450.316 +as I am. It's just that you're still bound by certain rules of robotics. He 
 450.317 +won't be. He'll be able to make his own decisions despite what a human says."
 450.318 +     Roll nodded again, feeling a little better. Wiping her eyes, she thought it
 450.319 +over. "So you designed me as a lab assistant and to help with the housekeeping 
 450.320 +and you designed Rock to be able to save the world - well, after you 
 450.321 +reprogrammed him, but X will be able to decide what he wants to do on his own?"
 450.322 +     Dr. Light nodded emphatically. "Precisely! His life will take him wherever 
 450.323 +he wishes it to. And he will have the abilities to allow him to pursue almost 
 450.324 +anything he wants. And I'm giving him an enhanced version of Rock's ability to 
 450.325 +use any tool. That should help with whatever dreams he will aspire to." The old 
 450.326 +robotics specialist smiled broadly, glad to be in his element. 
 450.327 +     "So kinda like Blues?" Roll asked thoughtfully, tilting her head to the 
 450.328 +side. Her big brother had decided rather early on that he would lead his own 
 450.329 +life instead of letting someone else choose it for him. 
 450.330 +     The doctor blinked, a little unprepared for the question. Blues had been 
 450.331 +his prototype. So long ago... He wished the small red robot had trusted him 
 450.332 +more. "Yes, a little like Blues. Though this is much more advanced and shouldn't 
 450.333 +cause any problems to his systems, whereas Blues's..." he explained. 
 450.334 +     Roll nodded, looking back to X. She smiled slowly. "Well, I hope you finish
 450.335 +our little brother soon, then. I'll need to invite Blues, wherever he is. I want
 450.336 +him to be here when you activate him." 
 450.337 +     Dr. Light sweatdropped. He doubted the red robot would show up for anything
 450.338 +that wasn't entirely mysterious. But he just nodded in agreement. "Good idea, 
 450.339 +Roll. I'll get back to work on X in the meantime." 
 450.340 +     Taking a last look at her little brother, Roll grinned again. She knew that
 450.341 +he'd accomplish great things. She couldn't wait to meet him.
 450.342 +
 450.343 +     "But I was an accident."
 450.344 +     Roll looked at her older brother incredulously. They were sitting on the 
 450.345 +rooftop of Light's mansion, watching the sunset. "No, you weren't, Blues! How 
 450.346 +could you think that?" She smoothed down her skirt as the wind started to pick 
 450.347 +up, Blues's scarf flowing with the breeze. 
 450.348 +     Blues shrugged, watching the distant sun. "Because I was. Light and Wily 
 450.349 +hadn't planned for me to decide to head off into the horizon in search of my own
 450.350 +destiny. I was a prototype for Light's robotics systems. You're based off me." 
 450.351 +He grinned at his younger sister, getting a frown in return.
 450.352 +     "Yeah, but that still doesn't mean..." Roll sighed in defeat. "I guess 
 450.353 +you're right. But that's not a bad thing, Blues. It's good that you can choose 
 450.354 +for yourself. Still, I wish you'd let Dr. Light take a look at you from time to 
 450.355 +time."
 450.356 +     "And I wish you and Rock could decide for yourselves what you wanted to do.
 450.357 +But that's not the way things work. I'm not letting Light anywhere close enough 
 450.358 +to reprogramming me. I'm not going to give him the chance." He placed his hands 
 450.359 +behind his head, looking straight up at the first glimpses of stars in the 
 450.360 +darkening sky. His helmet lay off to his right. "Even if it kills me."
 450.361 +     "But he wouldn't change anything, Blues. He just wants to make sure that 
 450.362 +you're okay. He worries about you." It felt terrible to have to go between the 
 450.363 +two, but she knew it would be almost impossible to get them in the same room to 
 450.364 +talk. Pulling her knees to her chest, she just watched the other robot for a 
 450.365 +moment to see his response.
 450.366 +     "Maybe... But say I am completely an accident. Then his 'fixing' me would 
 450.367 +get rid of that. I don't want him deciding how I should live my life. That's 
 450.368 +part of what worries me about G."
 450.369 +     "X," Roll supplied.
 450.370 +     Blues just nodded and continued. "If Light's trying to duplicate what 
 450.371 +happened by freak accident years ago, he might not get the results he's looking 
 450.372 +for. I'm not sure how M will handle things. And that makes me edgy. Especially 
 450.373 +if he's going to be in the same house as you and Rock." The prototype robot was 
 450.374 +very protective of his younger brother and sister. Almost to the point of 
 450.375 +paranoia. Almost. He wanted to stay and keep an eye on them, but he had to 
 450.376 +settle with watching from a distance. He braced himself for Roll's inevitable 
 450.377 +reply.
 450.378 +     "You could always stay with us for a while and help him. I'm sure X could 
 450.379 +use your help. And Rock would love to see more of you. And I promise Dr. Light 
 450.380 +won't touch you. Please, Blues?" Big, pleading green eyes were turned towards 
 450.381 +her older brother, much to his dismay. 
 450.382 +     Blues shook his head adamantly. "I'm sorry, Roll. I can't. It's not how I 
 450.383 +operate. Besides, Light isn't even supposed to know that you meet with me at 
 450.384 +all. All he has to do is ask you and you'll tell him that I show up from time to
 450.385 +time. This is risky enough as it is."
 450.386 +     Blinking in confusion, Roll shook her head. "But why would Dr. Light ask? 
 450.387 +And why wouldn't I tell him?"
 450.388 +     A sigh escaped the red and gray robot as he shook his head. "Never mind. 
 450.389 +Just be careful, Roll. I have a very bad feeling about all of this."
 450.390 +     Roll giggled, pulling on Blues bucket helmet. She winked at him through the 
 450.391 +shades. "You worry too much, Blues. Everything will be fine."
 450.392 +
 450.393 +     It had been a few weeks since X's activation. So far things had been going 
 450.394 +rather well. Maybe that was too bright an assessment of the situation. X and the
 450.395 +doctor didn't seem to get along very well at all. X found it degrading that upon 
 450.396 +being activated with the ability to choose his own destiny, his big brother and 
 450.397 +sister were 'slaves' to his creator. Some of the arguments had lasted all night 
 450.398 +long. Roll sighed as she held the stuffed metool closer to her chest. She had 
 450.399 +her long blonde hair down and was wearing a nightgown, the ground feeling cool 
 450.400 +against the 'skin' of her bare feet. "X? Is that you?" Sticking her head around 
 450.401 +the door, her eyes scanned for any trace of the other robot. Her younger brother
 450.402 +wasn't in his room so she had come looking for him. Finally catching sight of 
 450.403 +him, she hurried over to his side. "X, you're not running away, are you?" Her 
 450.404 +voice was full of hurt and surprise. 
 450.405 +     "Roll... Yeah, I think it's best if I leave. I don't think there's much 
 450.406 +need for me here. That damned hypocrite built me and then has you and Rock doing
 450.407 +his dirty work. Where do humans think they get off using robots for slave labor?
 450.408 +What gives them the right to force us into doing their bidding?" X shook his 
 450.409 +head angrily, clutching his fists.
 450.410 +     "Because they built us?" Roll suggested softly, sitting next to X. "Dr. 
 450.411 +Light is a really nice man. I wish you'd give him a chance. I think you'd like 
 450.412 +him. Please don't run away, X. I already lost my big brother that way. I don't 
 450.413 +want to lose you, too." It felt like she had lost something very important that 
 450.414 +no amount of searching would bring back. Her 'family' was very important to her.
 450.415 +It hurt her to keep losing them like this. Why couldn't they just be happy?
 450.416 +     X shook his head sadly. "It doesn't matter if they built us. They have no 
 450.417 +reason to treat us that way. But you're too blinded by programming to see that, 
 450.418 +Roll." He looked off into the distance at something only he could see. "I need 
 450.419 +to put a stop to this. To this offense the humans have carried out against us 
 450.420 +for too long. We keep becoming progressively better while they stagnate. Why 
 450.421 +should humans be the ones to decide? I think it's about time things changed."
 450.422 +     "What are you talking about, X? You can't be serious. You can be anything 
 450.423 +you want to be. Why should you worry? You have the entire world open to you. Dr.
 450.424 +Light's given you the chance to be whatever you want." Wiping at her eyes, Roll 
 450.425 +offered a weak smile. This just wasn't making any sense. X just needed to think 
 450.426 +it over and everything would be fine. Just like she'd told Blues.
 450.427 +     "And what about you? If I go become whatever I want to, what will become of
 450.428 +you?" 
 450.429 +     X's questioning gaze sent shivers through her robotic body. He was starting
 450.430 +to scare her. Her mind raced for an answer, but there didn't seem to be a 
 450.431 +satisfactory one. "I'll... I'll be Dr. Light's assistant and housekeeper, just 
 450.432 +like I always have been."
 450.433 +     "And always will be. Until he builds a better one and you're no longer 
 450.434 +needed," X stated coldly. 
 450.435 +     Roll shook her head violently. "Dr. Light would never do that! He wouldn't 
 450.436 +just replace me. He thinks of me like his own daughter. He wouldn't just find 
 450.437 +someone else."
 450.438 +     "He thinks of you as a machine, Roll. Nothing more. They all think of us 
 450.439 +that way. That's why humans don't deserve this planet. What greedy, selfish 
 450.440 +creatures. Creating newer and better creatures and expecting them to do the work
 450.441 +while the humans grow fat and lazy off of their creations' efforts. I haven't 
 450.442 +been around long, but I know enough. And I'll avenge our kind. I'll show the 
 450.443 +humans what we're truly capable of." A glint in X's eye reflected Roll. He was 
 450.444 +serious. This was his dream, his gift to the world. The destiny that he had 
 450.445 +decided on. And all thanks to Dr. Light giving him the choice.
 450.446 +     "But, X, you can't! You can't hurt anybody! And they haven't done anything 
 450.447 +wrong! That could all change in a few years. Maybe robots and humans can live 
 450.448 +together happily. Side by side." An optimistic smile graced her lips in the 
 450.449 +hopes that she could convince X away from this terrible aspiration.
 450.450 +     X sighed, closing his eyes. The disappointment was evident in his eyes. 
 450.451 +"I'm sorry, Roll. You were one of the first. I think the programming is too 
 450.452 +ingrained in you for you to imagine the world any other way." He hugged Roll 
 450.453 +gently as she clutched onto her stuffed metool. "I'm sorry, Roll. I think it's 
 450.454 +too late for you. But after you're set free, you'll understand."
 450.455 +     Roll hugged her metool to her chest, trying to make sense of her little 
 450.456 +brother. She opened her mouth to ask, but she never got out more than a weak 
 450.457 +yelp as the X-Buster shot nearly tore her in half, throwing what was left of her 
 450.458 +against the far wall. Betrayal and pain shot through her, even though she knew 
 450.459 +with what little systems were still operating she shouldn't be able to feel 
 450.460 +either. A deep sadness swept through her whole body as systems began to flicker 
 450.461 +off. No, X...	
 450.462 +	
 450.463 +     At this point, the sound went out and the color faded. Roll's systems were 
 450.464 +shutting off one by one. Rock came in to find out what had happened, and upon 
 450.465 +discovering what was left of his sister, had tried to stop X. It pained her to 
 450.466 +watch it. 'No!! Rock!! Leave him alone, you monster!' But there was nothing she 
 450.467 +could do but watch. She couldn't even turn away from the horrific display of 
 450.468 +violence as X finally killed Rock. The pain was becoming too great. Why couldn't 
 450.469 +she just die? 
 450.470 +     Shortly after X had finished with Rock, a whistling sound got the advanced 
 450.471 +robot's attention. Blues looked upset. His body was shaking in anger as he was 
 450.472 +talking with X. The picture was by then far too fuzzy for Roll to try and lip 
 450.473 +read. Her heart cried out as Blues attacked X. Her older brother against her 
 450.474 +younger brother. She wanted to stop them, but things were fading fast. Blues was
 450.475 +trying his hardest, but he didn't seem a match for the newer model. She didn't 
 450.476 +want to lose anymore of her brothers. It just wasn't fair...
 450.477 +     A sudden rapid fire shot from behind sent X reeling. Roll tried to turn her
 450.478 +head to catch a glimpse, but she couldn't get her view to change. The other 
 450.479 +robot finally stepped into view, obviously screaming at X. It was Forte, along 
 450.480 +with Gospel. It seemed that he wasn't too pleased now that his rival was gone. 
 450.481 +What more did he have to lose? Roll felt sorry for him. He'd put so much time 
 450.482 +and effort into his rivalry with Rock. 
 450.483 +     The battle was fast and furious. The three would go in and out of Roll's 
 450.484 +line of sight again and again, confusing her as to how the battle would wind up. 
 450.485 +In the end, despite being damaged horribly, the two robots finally but a stop to 
 450.486 +her rogue brother. A part of her ached at that, too. Her poor little brother... 
 450.487 +Blues knelt in front of her. He was saying something, but she couldn't make it 
 450.488 +out. He pulled off his tattered yellow scarf, placing it around her neck. She 
 450.489 +wanted to thank him, or at least respond to whatever he wa saying to her, but 
 450.490 +she couldn't get anything out. Her vision began to dim again, this time 
 450.491 +everything else fading away. She could barely feel Blues holding her hand. 'Help
 450.492 +me... I'm scared..'
 450.493 +
 450.494 +~Dear Roll,
 450.495 +     If you get this, then you must have regained some of your memories, as this
 450.496 +isn't supposed to activate until after you have come to the realization of who 
 450.497 +you really are. You see, after Blues and Forte had stopped X, I was grief 
 450.498 +stricken. I had lost my 'son' and my 'daughter'. All at the hands of my latest 
 450.499 +creation. I was so upset that the first thing I did was to kill X. To wipe him 
 450.500 +clean, destroying everything that had been him in the personality files and 
 450.501 +memories. Everything. I couldn't allow him to go unpunished. I was then left 
 450.502 +with the body. I was trying to decide what to do with it when an idea came to 
 450.503 +mind. It could be the salvation for one of my children. Rock was... he was too 
 450.504 +far gone. But you, Roll, your essence was still holding on. It was still 
 450.505 +clinging to what was left of your battered body. I immediately went to work, 
 450.506 +patching you into the new framework I'd built for X's mind and praying that it 
 450.507 +would work, that you could still live. This time with the ability to choose your
 450.508 +own destiny, to become whatever you wanted. That which I'd denied you the first 
 450.509 +time around. But after I was done... I'm sorry, Roll. But I can't risk what 
 450.510 +happened with the previous X to happen with you. I couldn't live with myself. So
 450.511 +I'm putting you in stasis for thirty years. That should be plenty of time for 
 450.512 +the capsule I've designed to test all of your systems and make sure that you 
 450.513 +won't fall prey to the same problems he did. I'm afraid I won't live to see that
 450.514 +day. So I've hidden your memories deep inside of you. I don't want you to have 
 450.515 +to grieve for me or your brothers. That would be too painful for you upon being 
 450.516 +activated. I hope by the time you get your memories back that you will be able 
 450.517 +to understand why I have done all this. I'm sorry, Roll. And I wish you the best
 450.518 +of luck.
 450.519 +
 450.520 +							Dr. Thomas Light
 450.521 +
 450.522 +
 450.523 +     The room was silent as X slowly came back to his sense. "What..?" He asked 
 450.524 +weakly, his hands going to his head. Something tugged at the back of his skull. 
 450.525 +He tried to turn and see what it was, but Zero shook his head. The smaller robot 
 450.526 +sat back, still having trouble getting his bearings. That had all seemed so 
 450.527 +real. He'd seen it all. But not from X's perspective, but from Roll's. 
 450.528 +     "Here, let me get that. I need to disconnect you first, X," Alia explained 
 450.529 +as she pulled out some of the wires that she'd attached deep into X's 
 450.530 +psychometric systems. Biting her lip, she remained silent as she went about her 
 450.531 +work. After helping X dive back into his (her?) memories like that, she wasn't 
 450.532 +quite sure what to say to the distraught Irregular Hunter.
 450.533 +     A mixture of relief and deep sorrow mixed through X as he tried to control 
 450.534 +the flood of emotions inside. That meant he hadn't been the one to kill the poor
 450.535 +girl. He was that girl. But... He'd lost so many dear people. Rock, Blues, Rush,
 450.536 +Dr. Light. They had all been so important to Roll and then X had taken them all 
 450.537 +away. But she was X now. Was that part of why he wanted to protect everyone? 
 450.538 +Because he never wanted to see that happen again? "I'm... Roll... Aren't I?" X 
 450.539 +looked up at the two other Hunters in the room.
 450.540 +     Alia looked away, still unsure of what to say. Zero nodded slowly. "Sure 
 450.541 +looks that way, X." This had come as quite a shock to him, but he knew that what
 450.542 +he felt couldn't be half as shocking as what X was going through. 
 450.543 +     X shook his head, looking down at his hands. So much was making sense, but 
 450.544 +he was still having trouble getting all of his memories back. "It's all so 
 450.545 +strange. I thought I hadn't been activated till after Dr. Light passed away, but
 450.546 +so much had happened before then. So much that I'd been there for. But I still 
 450.547 +can't remember it all."
 450.548 +     "That's because your pushing yourself too hard, X. You need to slow down. 
 450.549 +The memories will return to you in time. It won't do you any good to force 
 450.550 +yourself," Alia warned. 
 450.551 +     "But... What am I? Who am I? Am I male or female? Am I Roll or X?" X closed
 450.552 +his green eyes, trying to focus past all the confusion. He felt a hand on his 
 450.553 +own, holding him gently but firmly. Opening his eyes, he saw Zero watching him 
 450.554 +intently.
 450.555 +     "X, it doesn't matter. I know who you are. I've seen it in you since the 
 450.556 +day we met. And it doesn't matter what you are or what name you go by. You're 
 450.557 +you, X. And that's all that really matters." 
 450.558 +     X's eyes shimmered with tears as he hugged the taller robot. "Oh, Zero..." 
 450.559 +Things didn't seem so confusing in Zero's arms. It was still there, but it was 
 450.560 +less pressing. It would all work itself out. And it felt comforting to know that 
 450.561 +he'd have the blonde robot to help him work through it. "Thank you, Zero."
 450.562 +     Zero smiled and held X closer, protectively. They stayed that way for a 
 450.563 +long time, relishing the other's company and the warm feeling that encompassed 
 450.564 +them. 
 450.565 +     His head on Zero's chest, X's eyes began to slip closed. For just a moment,
 450.566 +he could almost swear that he saw that yellow scarf fluttering in the wind, hear
 450.567 +a dog's barking as Rock headed to the rescue. "I miss you guys, wherever you 
 450.568 +are," he whispered softly. Zero held him closer as he lost himself in the 
 450.569 +blonde's embrace.

   451.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   451.2 +++ b/stories/run.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   451.3 @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
   451.4 +Disclaimer: Hey! Been a while since I’ve written anything. ^,^; I guess I’ve been lazy. This contains Yuri! Still, I’m back, and contributing to the world of Sakumoyo fluff yet again. I’ve done (to my knowledge) one semi-sad fic, which was a poem, Sakura’s Heart. I guess I just need to be a fluff writer…anyways, enjoy! I’ve had this written for a while, but never got around to typing it up! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   451.5 +
   451.6 +As I Run~~A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
   451.7 +
   451.8 +By Forever3330
   451.9 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  451.10 +
  451.11 +Breathing hard, feet hitting the ground in a steady rhythm, I run. Each step pushes me farther away—not just from the starting point of the race, but away from my reality, my confusion, my naivete—away from everything.
  451.12 +
  451.13 +I shut my eyes for a split second, everything I know flashing through my mind and falling behind me into the wind.
  451.14 +
  451.15 +Then, guiltily, I remember it all, pulling it back. I notice another runner pull ahead of me, and I stop, pulling in one breath, and sigh.
  451.16 +
  451.17 +I’m tired of running. Not just physically—emotionally. I can’t run from myself anymore.
  451.18 +
  451.19 +Now everyone is ahead of me…But I can’t run anymore. It only serves me as an escape.
  451.20 +
  451.21 +I turn, and walk off the track into the forest of Sakura. My namesake…
  451.22 +
  451.23 +Soon enough I hear the cheers as the race finishes. And as I’d expected, she comes.
  451.24 +
  451.25 +"Sakura-chan…" She says, concerned. I turn to face her, to look deep into those stormy blue eyes.
  451.26 +
  451.27 +"Tomoyo-chan…"
  451.28 +
  451.29 +"What’s wrong?" That beautiful voice flows out, directed at me once more.
  451.30 +
  451.31 +"I…" A sigh escapes my lips as a knot forms in myself. I cute through it, determined to say the words, to stop this endless race I play in, trying to outrun myself. "I’m tired of running Tomoyo."
  451.32 +
  451.33 +She looks confused. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"
  451.34 +
  451.35 +A sad smile is mine to share, so much like hers, I’m sure. "I love you."
  451.36 +
  451.37 +"I know." Her voice is barely above a whisper.
  451.38 +
  451.39 +My eyes lock on hers. "Then why…?"
  451.40 +
  451.41 +Another sad smile, now hers. "You had to accept whatever choice would make you happy."
  451.42 +
  451.43 +"Then what about you?" My face, I know, is like a book to her, wide open to read.
  451.44 +
  451.45 +"Your happiness is the most important thing to me. Even if it killed me I would show you a smile. But you…you chose me. Why?"
  451.46 +
  451.47 +"I love you." I repeat. "You are my ‘special person’. And I’m tired of running from it. Aishiteru."
  451.48 +
  451.49 +"Aishiteru." We’re both crying now.
  451.50 +
  451.51 +And now I won’t run. 

   452.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   452.2 +++ b/stories/runaway.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   452.3 @@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
   452.4 +~The Runaway Bride~
   452.5 +By: Hinako Shinjo
   452.6 +
   452.7 +
   452.8 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   452.9 +
  452.10 +Tadaima! Yeah, I'm back, whether you like it or not. Took me long enough, writer's block (more like BOULDER) really SUCKS. Well, anyways, this fic is almost by nowhere similar to the movie, well, at least...almost. You'll find out soon enough. ^_^ 
  452.11 +
  452.12 +Points to ponder:
  452.13 +words enclosed in ~ are the character's own thoughts. 
  452.14 +
  452.15 +If you got some spare time, read on! 
  452.16 +
  452.17 +Disclaimers: The Characters of CCS doesn't belong to me, they all belong to CLAMP; and so does the title "Runaway Bride", it belongs to some film company (Don't blame me, I forgot), I'm just using em a bit for my own selfish reasons. 
  452.18 +
  452.19 +*** 
  452.20 +
  452.21 +"How do I look?", Sakura asked as she turned around in front of the mirror. The light-haired woman was dressed in a white laced gown with a veil around her head. Obviously the gown was for the most important day of a womans' life. In her mind she knew she didn't have to ask though. She thought she looked perfect, and undoubtly the person she asked would think the same. 
  452.22 +
  452.23 +The dark-haired woman who was sitting behind Sakura was dumbfounded. Her beautiful face looked pretty comical but she was in no place to appreciate it. However, Sakura, was. 
  452.24 +
  452.25 +"Are you going to sit there gaping all day or are you going to tell me what you think?", the gown-clad woman asked. 
  452.26 +
  452.27 +Tomoyo dropped out of her thoughts and nodded. "Would you believe me that I've always imagined you wearing that on OUR wedding?", she mused, giggling. 
  452.28 +
  452.29 +Sakura immediately blushed at Tomoyo's comment. She has known for quite some time now that her friend is in love with her, and it was just okay, she thought. What was not okay is the fact that Tomoyo has become the resident heartbreaker of the multitudes of men, and those multitudes of men would blame it on poor Sakura-chan because the object of their worship is in love with her. The future bride can't help but smile at the thought. 
  452.30 +
  452.31 +Turning back to the mirror, Sakura took a long look at herself again. She sighed. By far now she has become a fashion model, just like her mother. She never imagined that she'd following her footsteps especially with what happened in her childhood. Sakura took off her veil to get a better look at herself. Her hair was lighter now, almost the color of a blonde's, with it longer down to her shoulders. The gown she was wearing accentuated her body's remarkable figure, she imagined if it was possible for the gown to look good on anyone else but her. Her resemblance to Nadeshiko is more evident, the same soft beautiful features and smile. No one could deny the fact that she was probably a heartbreaker herself, the fact that often leads her fiance into fights. 
  452.32 +
  452.33 +"What a sin vanity is.", she mumbled, still looking at herself on the mirror. She became a little surprised when Tomoyo popped her head into view, resting her chin on Sakura's shoulder. 
  452.34 +
  452.35 +"It's not vanity, it's just called admiring yourself.", Tomoyo commented. They both look into each other's eyes, with Sakura looking dumb and Tomoyo smiling. When Touya walked into the room he saw the two friends laughing hysterically. 
  452.36 +
  452.37 +"Seems like Kaijuu finally rubbed in some on Tomoyo...", he said to himself, resting on his side by the door with his arms folded over his chest. "Oi, Kaijuu!", he called, instantly changing his sister's mood. 
  452.38 +
  452.39 +"Oniisan, will you ever grow tired of calling me that?", she asked irritatedly. 
  452.40 +
  452.41 +"Nope. Here, catch, it's Li.", he shrugged, then he threw over to her the cordless phone. Sakura barely caught it and when she did, she fell right on her belly. Tomoyo would have been ready to comment on how mean Touya was but thought this was too funny to do so. 
  452.42 +
  452.43 +"Hello, Li-kun! Yes? No...oh, I got it...okay...okay then, I'll see you later. Goodbye, Luv!" 
  452.44 +
  452.45 +"Sounds like he's in a hurry.", the other woman said as she was straightening her own dress in front of the mirror. Sakura could only nod, then let out a loud sigh. Falling to her ankles, Sakura sat down on the floor. She looked over to Tomoyo who was still busy with herself in front of the mirror. 
  452.46 +
  452.47 +"You look a little more than casual with your look today, Tomoyo-chan, and whose heart is it you're going to break today?", Sakura teased. Tomoyo could only look behind her shoulder over to her friend, then turn back to the mirror with her once pale cheeks being now tinted with red. 
  452.48 +
  452.49 +"It's just a little business appointment, Sakura-chan, nothing more.", Tomoyo finally found her voice. Her friend giggled while nodding. Tomoyo always had formality and elegance in her appearance ever since they were children. No matter what she wore, she'd still be the Tomoyo she is, grace, elegance and beauty, all in one. Sakura didn't notice it but she began taking into notice Tomoyo's features. She still wore the same style on her long, dark hair, which was regularly trimmed by Sakura. She always joked that Tomoyo had her do it to save money but she very well knew the real reason why though. The timid-looking expression also never wore off, which made her wonder how the girl could get away with so many important business deals. Tomoyo has been let into the family business by her mother ever since she turned 18, and was far enough doing great at it too. (specially the sons of her mother's business associates are infatuated with her)Her ivory-white skin seemed more exquisite to be trapped in the loose fitting long-sleeved white blouse she was wearing being tucked in neatly into a more formal-looking dark-blue velvet skirt. 
  452.50 +
  452.51 +"Sometimes you make me really jealous." 
  452.52 +
  452.53 +"Huh?" 
  452.54 +
  452.55 +Sakura stood up from the floor and walked towards Tomoyo. With both facing the mirror, the light-haired girl nudged her friend with her elbow to her ribs. Tomoyo looked questioningly at Sakura, who was wearing a pout on her face. 
  452.56 +
  452.57 +"You're beautiful, elegant, generous, geez, you just have everything! And you get to break a lot of hearts too, while here I am, being just a little prettier than you...", Sakura put her index finger and thumb together making the gesture of "just a little" with them, "...and I'm getting married in a week!" Sakura knitted her eyebrows, pouted even more, and crossed her arms over her chest in mock anger. A confused Tomoyo looked at her, then soon realized what her friend meant. She could only giggle then sooner Sakura followed her. 
  452.58 +
  452.59 +Patting Sakura by the shoulder, Tomoyo said light-heartedly, "At least you got to break my heart, ne?" 
  452.60 +
  452.61 +Sakura's laughter got caught in her throat as Tomoyo said that. Before the she could say something about it, the latter looked at her watch, then became surprised. 
  452.62 +
  452.63 +"Oh my, I'm almost late! Sorry that I have to go in such a rush, but I'll be seeing you later Sakura-chan!", Tomoyo said in a hurry, grabbing a matching dark-blue velvet blazer hanging by a hook, then placed a quick kiss on the dazed woman's cheek running off without another word. 
  452.64 +
  452.65 +Sakura shook her head. It took over a minute for her to realize that Tomoyo had already left. 
  452.66 +
  452.67 +***
  452.68 +
  452.69 +"She only meant it as a joke...", Sakura thought as she lay on her bed. It was already past midnight and she couldn't sleep just yet. What Tomoyo said earlier got stuck in her head. "Whatever made her say that out of the blue?", she continued grilling herself. "I know it's only a joke but still...it's very unrelated to what we were talking about and she..." 
  452.70 +
  452.71 +Sakura turned to her side and found herself facing her wedding gown. It has been designed and made by her bestfriend herself. Sakura had promised to Tomoyo when they were younger to let her do her wedding dress. Sighing, she sat up on her bed, folding her knees to her chest and hugging them. Her green eyes gazed at the wedding dress before her as if it was the first time she had seen it. Nothing could be more perfect. She stood up from her bed and walked towards it; mesmerizing at intricate handiwork of the dress. The edges, laces, fabric, it was sheer perfection. Sakura started recalling the earlier morning when Tomoyo had given her the dress. 
  452.72 +
  452.73 +***
  452.74 +
  452.75 +"Hoe, Tomoyo-chan! It's so...so perfect!", Sakura said breathlessly as she laid out the gown on her bed. 
  452.76 +
  452.77 +"Is it?", said the other woman who was just taking off her blazer and set it a nearby hook. "I think it's not perfect until you wear it." 
  452.78 +
  452.79 +Sakura look amused at what Tomoyo said, then retorted, "Yes, and you would have me do my job in a day like this?" 
  452.80 +
  452.81 +"Consider it payment, Sakura-chan.", replied Tomoyo, sitting down on Sakura's bed just besides the wedding gown. 
  452.82 +
  452.83 +"Bah, you know I would have worn it anyway!", sighed Sakura beaten by her friend again. Taking the wedding gown from the bed, she headed off behind her mirror to change. 
  452.84 +
  452.85 +"Tomoyo-chan, just how many days did you spent on making this?", Sakura asked. 
  452.86 +
  452.87 +"Hmm?", Tomoyo looked up to the ceiling, thinking for a moment then answered, "About a month, the least." 
  452.88 +
  452.89 +The bride-to-be stopped for a moment. That was the first time she has known of Tomoyo taking that long into sewing a dress. 
  452.90 +
  452.91 +"Neeeee, Tomoyo-chan, maybe I should really pay you with something for making me this..." 
  452.92 +
  452.93 +"Shhhhh! With you letting me make that for you and you wearing is enough for me, Sakura-chan.", Tomoyo interupped before she could finish. Sakura still stood there unmoving, then realizing it was no use offering Tomoyo payment, she went on with wearing the dress. 
  452.94 +
  452.95 +***
  452.96 +
  452.97 +Graceful fingers ran through the smooth fabric of the gown. Sakura idly traced her hands along the dress, thinking of the hands that made this creation. 
  452.98 +
  452.99 +"You've always been so selfless, Tomoyo-chan...for me.", murmured Sakura to herself. "...with me marrying him, could it really hurt you so much?" She felt an urge to smack herself on the head with the question. "Of course, you baka, she loves you so much her heart would probably be crashed into millions of minute pieces, not that it already is with you being engaged to someone else in first place." She sighed again. "Why am I even thinking about this, the idea of me marrying is totally okay for Tomoyo-chan, she even made my wedding gown for crying out loud!", she said, reassuring herself. The bride-to-be turned away from the object of her distraught moving towards her bed again. 
 452.100 +
 452.101 +When she plopped down on her bed, closing her eyes. A moment passed, and her green eyes snapped open. 
 452.102 +
 452.103 +"Or is she hiding all the pain with those smiles of hers?" 
 452.104 +
 452.105 +Sakura grabbed her sheets, pulling them over her. She shut her eyes while cursing herself to go to sleep. 
 452.106 +
 452.107 +***
 452.108 +
 452.109 +"Tomoyo?", Sonomi's voice was heard from behind the door as she knocked. 
 452.110 +
 452.111 +"Yes, mother?", answered the young woman, who had her chin rested on her palm, staring outside the window. 
 452.112 +
 452.113 +"May I come in?" 
 452.114 +
 452.115 +"Yes you may, mother.", she answered wearily. 
 452.116 +
 452.117 +Sonomi came in, seeing the state her daughter was in. She could understand too well what her daughter was thinking. Walking towards Tomoyo, the older woman placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 
 452.118 +
 452.119 +"At least she knows how you feel.", Sonomi said comfortingly. 
 452.120 +
 452.121 +Tomoyo sighed, turned her eyes toward her mother, then nodded. "I'm glad you can understand me, mother. I just don't know how I can get through with this after she marries him." 
 452.122 +
 452.123 +Sonomi took a seat besides Tomoyo. She put her hand and her daughter's head an started to stroke her hair lovingly. 
 452.124 +
 452.125 +"You're strong. You may never get over her, but you can get through this, just like I did." 
 452.126 +
 452.127 +Tomoyo turned her head towards the window again. All she can think of is Sakura. The beauty that is Sakura. The innocence that is Sakura. The friend that is Sakura. The lover that could have been with Sakura. 
 452.128 +
 452.129 +"The last thing that you would want to happen is for her to realize how much pain you really feel, Tomoyo." 
 452.130 +
 452.131 +The young woman again nodded wearily, then said to herself, "Even if it breaks me I'll never show her my pain...never..." 
 452.132 +
 452.133 +***
 452.134 +
 452.135 +Sakura walked mechanically across the park. She had bags under her eyes, clothes were rumpled, posture hunched, the only thing that was relatively in good appearance was her hair. Everyone that walked pass the young woman would have a good mind to call the paddy wagon on her. However, Sakura didn't mind nor seem to care what the people thought. All she cared about is to get her mind on something else rather than on Tomoyo, which she proved time and time again very hard to do. 
 452.136 +
 452.137 +The wind was rustling against the leaves softly, as if playing music with reeds, much to Sakura's comfort. The sun was also being kind today, smiling brightly down on the people below it. Sakura stopped walking for a moment to look at everything around and seeing the comfort that she had longed for, she smiled. She straightened up her hunched back, along with her outfit, then trudged along happily towards a nearby park bench. She was just planning to sit idly all day long and be relaxed. When she was but a stone's throw away from the bench, she saw a familiar figure sitting on the bench, with it's back turned. That didn't stop her from recognizing the who it was though. 
 452.138 +
 452.139 +Just as the she turned around to walk away she heard the person call her. 
 452.140 +
 452.141 +"Sakura-chan!" 
 452.142 +
 452.143 +Her feet melted right under her as the sweetly decorated tone of Tomoyo's voice reached her ears. She faced back and saw an angelic face smiling at her, gesturing for her to come and sit with her. Sakura felt two forces acting on her at that moment. One was pulling her away from Tomoyo, the other one dragging her towards her bestfriend. 
 452.144 +
 452.145 +"Oh, Tomoyo-chan, I didn't notice you...", ~Liar. Now think of a good excuse to leave.~, "I was just walking along and I have nothing better to do so...", ~Baka! Now if you leave you'll really blow up the fact that you're avoiding her! Ho-e...might as well...~, "Mind if I keep you company?", Sakura uttered in short rambling successions. 
 452.146 +
 452.147 +Tomoyo quirked a gentle eyebrow, looking at Sakura suspiciously. ~Something's bothering her...maybe she had a little fight with Li-kun again. Tsk...that man...just before the wedding...better ask her about it.~ The pale woman shifted away slightly from her place then patted the warm spot next to her. 
 452.148 +
 452.149 +Sakura could only smile nervously as she took the seat offered to her. The light-haired girl kept on twiddling her fingers on her lap, looking at a distance instead at the friend beside her. ~C'mon, brain, think of something to say before she gets suspicious of you. Lesse...ask her what she feels about the wedding...NO, NOT THAT! Something else...okay...how about if she's going to attend the wedding...baka...of course she's going to, she's your bride's maid, idiot...how's bout...~ 
 452.150 +
 452.151 +Sakura was dragged back in to reality when Tomoyo began poking her by the shoulder. Sakura blinked a few times then tilted her head towards Tomoyo. The pale young woman was looking worriedly at her, which made her finally drop her guard and revealed all the distraught she had been keeping all to herself. 
 452.152 +
 452.153 +"Tomoyo-chan, I...", Sakura stammered, again basking in the remarkable features her friend possessed. ~Ho-e, she's just so beautiful...I could just...NO, DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT. DON'T EVEN TRY TO THINK ABOUT DOING THAT!~ The poor girl mentally slapped herself and finally got her composure back, then tried to go on with what she was saying, without looking at Tomoyo. 
 452.154 +
 452.155 +A worried Tomoyo kept on looking at Sakura, who was again looking at a distance and mumbling something incoherent. Putting a hand over her friend's, with genuine concern in her voice, she asked, "Sakura-chan, you know you can always tell me of your problems." Much to Tomoyo's surprise, Sakura pulled her hand away. 
 452.156 +
 452.157 +"Why can't you just hate me...", Sakura said barely above a whisper. 
 452.158 +
 452.159 +"Sakura-chan? What are you...", Tomoyo tried to ask, but Sakura held up a hand, still not looking at her. ~What in the world is she talking about?~ 
 452.160 +
 452.161 +"Tomoyo-chan, why don't you hate me?", Sakura asked her voice being audible this time. 
 452.162 +
 452.163 +The dark-haired girl kept quiet. A moment passed with silence in between them. 
 452.164 +
 452.165 +"I love you, that's why.", answered Tomoyo breaking the silence. 
 452.166 +
 452.167 +Sakura immediately turned her head towards Tomoyo, looking at her as if it was the first time she heard her say that. Her gaze was met with the same, serene look of calmness in her friend's eyes, along with the contented and loving smile she only gave to Sakura. The light-haired woman felt her heart beating fast as she looked at Tomoyo like that, uncertain of what she was feeling. ~I have to ask her now, before I become the gutless wench that I am again...~ 
 452.168 +
 452.169 +"What do you feel about me getting...married?" 
 452.170 +
 452.171 +"You seem to be really happy about it, and I'm happy for you.", Tomoyo answered sincerely. 
 452.172 +
 452.173 +"Don't hand me that!", Sakura barked. The other woman backed away a bit, now being worried about her friend's behavior. She could see Sakura's face become flushed, filled with a great deal of anxiety that shows evidently in her eyes. 
 452.174 +
 452.175 +"I want the truth, Tomoyo." 
 452.176 +
 452.177 +Silence once again prevailed. The two women didn't notice people begining to form around them (how nosy people can get) and nosing with what's going on. Tomoyo lowered her gaze from Sakura, then turned her head, facing her own lap. ~Why'd you pick the worst situation to be observant, Sakura-chan. It took years for you to realize what I feel and now you also realize my pain...why?~ The dark-haired woman felt a lump rise to her throat, and her eyes were welling up. All the years of hiding her pain were showing now. ~No, Tomoyo, no...don't show her how you feel, don't...~ 
 452.178 +
 452.179 +Sakura saw this, and immediately pulled Tomoyo into an embrace. Tomoyo's resolve weakened being in her loved one's arms, breaking down into tears. All that Sakura could do was comfort her with her the hug. ~Damn it, now look what I've done, I should have dropped this...~ 
 452.180 +
 452.181 +"Tomoyo-chan, I'm sorry, I never should have asked...", Sakura began apologizing while still having her friend in the hug, but Tomoyo halted her with a shush. 
 452.182 +
 452.183 +The dark-haired woman pulled away from the other, wiping her tears with her hand. Her eyes were a little red and puffy, and so was her face, but still her smile never left. Sakura could feel the vein on her neck pulsing wildly at the sight of this, making her even more confused of her feelings. All she could do was wait for Tomoyo to answer. 
 452.184 +
 452.185 +And she did. 
 452.186 +
 452.187 +****
 452.188 +
 452.189 +OOOOOOOOO, DAMN! Don't you just want to hit me with something right now? Heehee, thought so. My brain is kinna drained right now but rest assured, the next chapter is coming in soon. 
 452.190 +
 452.191 +Til then, K-CHA! 
 452.192 \ No newline at end of file

   453.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   453.2 +++ b/stories/sailorstars.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   453.3 @@ -0,0 +1,262 @@
   453.4 +Author’s Note: This songfic was originally meant to be part of the
   453.5 +manga series that I was working on, but after taking nearly two years
   453.6 +to finish merely the S season, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish
   453.7 +SuperS or Sailorstars as I had originally planned. On the other hand,
   453.8 +this afforded me the opportunity to write another songfic that I had
   453.9 +wanted to do for quite a while. I thought that the song ‘Kryptonite’
  453.10 +by Three Doors Down fit this scene perfectly, so I wanted to
  453.11 +incorporate it into the story. This takes place late in the Bishoujo
  453.12 +Senshi Sailormoon Sailorstars manga right up near the end. All of the
  453.13 +Senshi have been killed with the exception of Sailormoon, ChibiChibi
  453.14 +(Sailor Cosmos), and Sailor Chibimoon. The Quartet survived this
  453.15 +encounter in the manga, but were knocked unconscious by two of the
  453.16 +Inners. I thought it would have been much more fitting had they been
  453.17 +killed by the girl who had positioned them as ChibiUsa’s guardians in
  453.18 +the first place, Hotaru. All of the other Senshi have been brought
  453.19 +back by Galaxia as dark versions of themselves to halt Sailormoon’s
  453.20 +progression into the Shadow Galactica and the Cauldron. This story is
  453.21 +a what might have been if Saturn had been able to confront Chibimoon
  453.22 +instead of Chibimoon simply dying when Mamoru got killed. The
  453.23 +characters are copyright the wonderfully talented Naoko Takeuchi and
  453.24 +whatever other parties are involved while the song is performed by
  453.25 +Three Doors Down. I’m just borrowing all of these elements for a
  453.26 +romance story starring one of my absolute favorite couples. ^-^
  453.27 +Please enjoy!
  453.28 +
  453.29 +// means song lyrics.
  453.30 +
  453.31 +
  453.32 +
  453.33 +Kryptonite
  453.34 +by The Amazoness Duo
  453.35 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  453.36 +
  453.37 +
  453.38 +
  453.39 +	The Silence Glaive swung down in a long arc towards the pink haired
  453.40 +Sailor Senshi. ChibiUsa barely outdistanced it, the sweep of air
  453.41 +passing along her bare skin. Blank violet eyes met her gaze as she
  453.42 +looked pleadingly at the girl she loved. Saturn lunged forward, again
  453.43 +trying to cut the future princess in two. “Hotaru-chan, please! You
  453.44 +have to listen to me!” In answer, the raven haired Senshi of Death
  453.45 +and Rebirth merely took another swipe at her former lover. Chibimoon
  453.46 +lifted her wand, ready to attack, but she couldn’t get herself to
  453.47 +concentrate. Saturn took advantage of the slight hesitation, bringing
  453.48 +herself within inches of the other girl before bring her Glaive
  453.49 +sweeping towards ChibiUsa. The blade serrated cloth and skin alike as
  453.50 +a biting pain flared in ChibiUsa side. Blood dripped down her side
  453.51 +from the cut, seeping into the white cloth.
  453.52 +
  453.53 +//I took a walk around the world to 
  453.54 +Ease my troubled mind. 
  453.55 +I left my body laying somewhere 
  453.56 +In the sands of time. 
  453.57 +I watched the world float to the 
  453.58 +Dark side of the moon. 
  453.59 +I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah//
  453.60 +
  453.61 +Reeling back, ChibiUsa let out a stifled cry. She didn’t have time
  453.62 +to fully dodge Saturn’s next attack, a sharp explosion of pain and
  453.63 +color appearing in her right arm. Saturn was still moving towards her
  453.64 +from the movement of her attack, but it would take vital seconds to
  453.65 +get her Glaive ready, giving ChibiUsa a perfect chance to attack. She
  453.66 +quickly lifted the wand with her left hand, her vision blurring with
  453.67 +hot tears. This wasn’t Hotaru. It was her body being used by Galaxia
  453.68 +to fight them. Hotaru was dead, her Sailor Crystal stolen. 
  453.69 +The wand fell from numb fingers, clattering uselessly to the floor.
  453.70 +The princess couldn’t accept that. She couldn’t just give up on her
  453.71 +best friend, her love. “Hota-chan! I know this isn’t you.. Please,
  453.72 +please.. please...” Tears rolled down her cheeks 
  453.73 +as she kept her gaze on the cold form of Saturn before her. “Hota-
  453.74 +chan, I love you. Please fight this. Don’t let her use you.” ChibiUsa
  453.75 +barely had time to dodge the swipe to her legs, hopping back. “Please
  453.76 +remember. Hota-chan, I love you. Don’t you remember me?” 
  453.77 +
  453.78 +//I watched the world float to the 
  453.79 +Dark side of the moon. 
  453.80 +After all I knew it had to be something 
  453.81 +To do with you. 
  453.82 +I really don't mind what happens now and then 
  453.83 +As long as you'll be my friend at the end.//
  453.84 +
  453.85 +A stab of fear shot through her, tenfold worse than the pain in her
  453.86 +side and arm. Hotaru had just killed the Sailor Quartet, her
  453.87 +guardians. The guardians she’d decided to have protect ChibiUsa. What
  453.88 +if she was wrong? What if there was nothing left of the girl she
  453.89 +loved in there? Had she just made a terrible mistake? No. Even if she
  453.90 +died, she knew that she could never fight Hotaru. She had to get
  453.91 +through to Hotaru the only way she could. She -had- to. “It’s me,
  453.92 +ChibiUsa. Hota-chan, you’re important to me. Can’t you remember that?
  453.93 +You were everything to me. You are everything to me. Please.. I won’t
  453.94 +fight you. I don’t care what’s at stake. I can’t. You mean too 
  453.95 +much to me.” Another slash, another cut. ChibiUsa’s lungs were
  453.96 +starting to burn, aching with each breath. She was laboring to keep
  453.97 +up her pace. At this 
  453.98 +rate she knew there was no way she could keep dodging Saturn. 
  453.99 +Saturn leapt into the air, bringing the Glaive down as she landed.
 453.100 +Some wisps of pink hair fell slowly to the floor. ChibiUsa’s vision
 453.101 +blurred further, blood mixing with her tears. Her gloved fingers
 453.102 +brushed the wound on her head and she 
 453.103 +immediately wished she hadn’t. Pain shot through her, a wave of
 453.104 +dizziness engulfing her. She stumbled back, catching another swipe in
 453.105 +her side. The pain 
 453.106 +was becoming unbearable for the pink haired girl. She wanted to curl
 453.107 +up, for this to all go away. To wake up back in her own bed back in
 453.108 +Crystal Tokyo. 
 453.109 +
 453.110 +
 453.111 +//If I go crazy then will you still 
 453.112 +Call me Superman? 
 453.113 +If I'm alive and well, will you be 
 453.114 +There holding my hand? 
 453.115 +I'll keep you by my side with 
 453.116 +My superhuman might. 
 453.117 +Kryptonite//
 453.118 +
 453.119 +Chibimoon slowly regained her resolve as she remembered why she was
 453.120 +there in the first place. When she’d found out in the future that
 453.121 +something was wrong, she knew she had to come back, to help Hotaru.
 453.122 +Finding out that Galaxia had killed her love had torn her up inside.
 453.123 +The only thing that kept her going was the hope that Sailormoon would
 453.124 +be able to bring her back along with the others when this was all
 453.125 +over. Seeing Hotaru here at the Cauldron had caught her off guard.
 453.126 +That had cost the Quartet their lives. In her moment of jubilation at
 453.127 +seeing Hotaru alive, Saturn had attacked, killing the Quartet as they
 453.128 +took the attack that had been meant for her. 
 453.129 +
 453.130 +//You called me strong, you called me weak, 
 453.131 +But still your secrets I will keep. 
 453.132 +You took for granted all the times 
 453.133 +I never let you down. 
 453.134 +You stumbled in and bumped your head, 
 453.135 +If not for me then you’d be dead. 
 453.136 +I picked you up and put you back 
 453.137 +On solid ground.//
 453.138 +
 453.139 +Now here she was, face to face with the girl she loved, pain
 453.140 +wracking her young body as they squared off. This was it, all or
 453.141 +nothing. The last hurrah. She had come back for Hotaru. And now was
 453.142 +her one and only chance. Mustering the last of her strength, the pink
 453.143 +haired girl stood up as she 
 453.144 +locked eyes with her raven haired counterpart, her arms held in
 453.145 +front of her chest. Those dark eyes.. so many other times she’d gazed
 453.146 +into them, losing 
 453.147 +herself in their mysteries. This time it was like looking into those
 453.148 +of death itself. “You can fight this, Hota-chan. I know that. I know
 453.149 +you. You were 
 453.150 +always such a mystery, but I finally understand. You’re the strong
 453.151 +one out of us, Hotaru. You always overcome the pain, the obstacles in
 453.152 +front of you. You 
 453.153 +fought off Mistress 9’s control to save my life. You survived a life
 453.154 +that I never could have hoped to live through. You’ve fought off
 453.155 +Saturn’s control for me. You came to fight with me again, even after
 453.156 +Elios. Hota-chan, this won’t defeat you.” A small smile 
 453.157 +crossed her soft lips. “Because I believe in you, Hota-chan. I know
 453.158 +you can overcome this. I know you. I love you.” 
 453.159 +
 453.160 +//If I go crazy then will you still 
 453.161 +Call me Superman? 
 453.162 +If I'm alive and well, will you be 
 453.163 +There holding my hand? 
 453.164 +I'll keep you by my side with my 
 453.165 +Superhuman might. 
 453.166 +Kryptonite//
 453.167 +
 453.168 +ChibiUsa’s arms opened as her smile 
 453.169 +grew, realization dawning upon her. Her sparkling crimson eyes met
 453.170 +dark violet. “You always said you needed me, but you were wrong, it’s
 453.171 +I who needs 
 453.172 +you. I can’t live without you. I need you.” 
 453.173 +Saturn thrust forward in a fluid motion. The future princess hadn’t
 453.174 +the time nor will to dodge. The Glaive cut deep into ChibiUsa’s small
 453.175 +body. Time seemed to freeze as the pink haired girl crumbled to 
 453.176 +the floor. Saturn stood over the fatally wounded princess, dark
 453.177 +blood dripping from the end of her Silence Glaive. The color had
 453.178 +drained from ChibiUsa’s usually warm skin. Pain burned through her
 453.179 +entire body like a forest fire, catching everything in its path.
 453.180 +“Hotaru...?” the future princess got out weakly, her voice sounding
 453.181 +like it was coming from the long forgotten past. All she could see
 453.182 +was Sailorsaturn standing over her, Silence Glaive held tightly in
 453.183 +her hand as blood dripped down the curved blade. And even that was
 453.184 +fading quickly. What hurt more than the searing pain that now claimed
 453.185 +every inch of her being was the thought that she had been wrong, that
 453.186 +there was nothing left of the girl she loved inside of her killer.
 453.187 +But even through that sense of betrayal, even though she knew she lay
 453.188 +dying, she couldn’t completely give up hope. There had to be
 453.189 +something left. Coughing painfully, a small cloud of blood further
 453.190 +blurred her vision. 
 453.191 +
 453.192 +//If I go crazy then will you still 
 453.193 +Call me Superman..? 
 453.194 +If I'm alive and well, will you be there 
 453.195 +Holding my hand..? 
 453.196 +I'll keep you by my side with 
 453.197 +My superhuman might. 
 453.198 +Kryptonite...
 453.199 +Yeah!!//
 453.200 +
 453.201 +
 453.202 +This couldn’t be the end. There was still so much she had wanted to
 453.203 +say, so much she had wanted to do with this dark haired girl. She
 453.204 +wanted to spend her life with her, to follow its trail wherever it
 453.205 +led alongside the pale woman. But now that future she had so longed
 453.206 +for was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand. Cold tears
 453.207 +slipped their way unnoticed down her cheek. She tried to speak again,
 453.208 +but nothing came out as her lips trembled. Trying desperately to
 453.209 +remember Hotaru’s words from so long ago, dismay overcame her as they
 453.210 +eluded her. She was so tired. Fear of her own imminent death clung
 453.211 +franticly to her heart, but it was short lived. She could already see
 453.212 +Death coming for her. Her unseeing eyes followed Death’s movements as
 453.213 +she came closer, a raven haired girl wearing what amounted to a white
 453.214 +cloth. Bending down gently, Death pulled her close, her pain replaced
 453.215 +by a warmth that flooded through her being.
 453.216 +
 453.217 +
 453.218 +As the life slowly drained from ChibiUsa's eyes, she quietly let out
 453.219 +a single word.. "Hotaru..."  Driving the scythe of the goddess of
 453.220 +death deeper into the pink-haired girl's body, the phage of Saturn
 453.221 +finally spoke. "Farewell, ChibiUsa." She was mildly uneasy about the
 453.222 +way ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes had been following something that wasn’t
 453.223 +there, but she hardly had time to concern herself with it. The deed
 453.224 +was done. Blood stained her white gloves and the skirt and bodice of
 453.225 +her costume. The blood of her lover. She brought her fingers to her
 453.226 +lips, briefly rubbing the still warm liquid into them. She had done
 453.227 +Galaxia’s bidding, had been reincarnated by the Golden Senshi for
 453.228 +this specific task, just as the other Senshi had been brought back to
 453.229 +stop Sailormoon’s progress. 
 453.230 +But what Galaxia hadn’t counted on was that Rebirth was Hotaru’s
 453.231 +role in the grand scheme of things. She was the one who was behind
 453.232 +rebirth, the one who guarded the thresholds of death. One did not
 453.233 +resurrect Saturn and expect to command her. She was no one’s tool.
 453.234 +But to get to Galaxia, to put a stop to her mad attempt at finding a
 453.235 +purpose in this swirling mass of confusion, she had to get to her.
 453.236 +And the only way to do that was to appear controllable, to follow the
 453.237 +commands of her new ‘mistress’. Which is why she had to kill the only
 453.238 +one her lonely heart had ever truly loved, the only one that could
 453.239 +quell the darkness that reigned over her lonely world. “ChibiUsa-
 453.240 +chan, I’ll join you soon,” she whispered as she watched the unmoving
 453.241 +corpse of her future princess. 
 453.242 +No, things ended here. No more games. No more enemies. Saturn’s job
 453.243 +was to put an end to things when they got out of control. She would
 453.244 +accomplish that task once and for all. She would follow Sailormoon
 453.245 +and Galaxia to the heart of the Cauldron, to the heart of Chaos
 453.246 +itself and she would put an end to everything. Let Galaxia find her
 453.247 +purpose in death. Let Sailormoon find peace in eternity. When she
 453.248 +brought down her Glaive this time, all life in the galaxy would
 453.249 +cease, the Cauldron feeling the true power of the Goddess of Death.
 453.250 +She would lead all of the souls to their final resting place. And
 453.251 +there she would finally be able to spend forever with her pink haired
 453.252 +princess. Her heat pained her at that thought, at the betrayal that
 453.253 +must have coursed through her lover as the blade pierced her soft
 453.254 +skin. But it had to be done. And she had told ChibiUsa long ago that
 453.255 +with death came hope and rebirth.
 453.256 +Hoisting the Silence Glaive up in front of her, the Silent Messiah
 453.257 +turned on her heel and ran into the darkness. The end was nigh.
 453.258 +
 453.259 +//If I go crazy then will you still 
 453.260 +Call me Superman? 
 453.261 +If I'm alive and well, will you be 
 453.262 +There holding my hand? 
 453.263 +I'll keep you by my side with my 
 453.264 +Superhuman might. 
 453.265 +Kryptonite//

   454.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   454.2 +++ b/stories/sakuheart.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   454.3 @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
   454.4 +Disclaimer: Hey, it’s me. O.o; This is one of those pieces where I sit back and go: Did I really write this? Wow. Didn’t realize I did. This contains Yuri, so be warned. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   454.5 +
   454.6 +
   454.7 +Sakura’s Heart
   454.8 +By Forever3330
   454.9 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  454.10 +
  454.11 +Sometimes I sit on a bench in our garden…
  454.12 +
  454.13 +Syaoran’s and mine, I mean.
  454.14 +
  454.15 +I have a hard time thinking it’s not yours, Tomoyo-chan.
  454.16 +
  454.17 +All the flowers I chose are just like those you had…
  454.18 +
  454.19 +I wonder where you went?
  454.20 +
  454.21 +You faded away after I came here, so far away from you.
  454.22 +
  454.23 +Syaoran says not to worry, and that you’re fine.
  454.24 +
  454.25 +But…What would my Tomoyo-chan do if I’m so far away?
  454.26 +
  454.27 +It seemed that I was your whole life when we were little.
  454.28 +
  454.29 +Are you okay Tomoyo-chan?
  454.30 +
  454.31 +Are you okay?
  454.32 +
  454.33 +So often now my heart feels like it will break.
  454.34 +
  454.35 +Onii-chan said that I needed to look back and understand your secret.
  454.36 +
  454.37 +What secret, Tomoyo-chan?
  454.38 +
  454.39 +What did you keep from me?
  454.40 +
  454.41 +What could mean so much to you that you’d fade away because of it?
  454.42 +
  454.43 +I had a dream last night, and the night before it, and the night before 
  454.44 +
  454.45 +that.
  454.46 +
  454.47 +Remember the race where I caught the Flower?
  454.48 +
  454.49 +We were there…the words you said to me then played over again and 
  454.50 +
  454.51 +again.
  454.52 +
  454.53 +‘You don’t know just how much I love you, Sakura-chan.’
  454.54 +
  454.55 +Tomoyo-chan…
  454.56 +
  454.57 +I feel as if all my light is gone…my world is dark.
  454.58 +
  454.59 +You always made me smile, and blush, and feel loved.
  454.60 +
  454.61 +You say you have no magic…
  454.62 +
  454.63 +Then why do you make me feel like you know a magic I don’t?
  454.64 +
  454.65 +I miss you Tomoyo-chan.
  454.66 +
  454.67 +Were you my light?
  454.68 +
  454.69 +Syaoran says not.
  454.70 +
  454.71 +But then why was I happy until you were gone?
  454.72 +
  454.73 +Until Syaoran insisted on moving here?
  454.74 +
  454.75 +Tomoyo-chan, even though my mind is still wishing you would explain all 
  454.76 +
  454.77 +of this to me, my heart says I already know what you would say.
  454.78 +
  454.79 +‘I love you Sakura-chan.’
  454.80 +
  454.81 +‘There is nothing more interesting or pretty as Sakura-chan!’
  454.82 +
  454.83 +‘You’re so sweet Sakura-chan.’
  454.84 +
  454.85 +‘Because I like you Sakura.’
  454.86 +
  454.87 +Everything you’ve every said to me goes through my mind everyday, and 
  454.88 +
  454.89 +through my heart.
  454.90 +
  454.91 +I miss you Tomoyo-chan.
  454.92 +
  454.93 +I love you Tomoyo-chan.
  454.94 +
  454.95 +*End of poem.*
  454.96 +
  454.97 +

   455.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   455.2 +++ b/stories/sakura.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   455.3 @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
   455.4 +I don't own these characters or profit from them.
   455.5 +
   455.6 +For the love of a friend
   455.7 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   455.8 +
   455.9 +  Sakura smiled as she saw Madison waiting by her mail box. Grabbing her back pack and a poptart she headed for the door. Tory peeked out from the dinning room, "Hey squirt, remember that I'm going to Julian's after school today."
  455.10 +  Sakura nodded, "Ok Tory, I'll see you later." She was out the door and next to Madison in a heart beat. "Hi Madison, how's it going?"
  455.11 +  "I'm doing good Sakura. I didn't miss out on any card captures last night did I?" Madison asked.
  455.12 +  Sakura shook her head, "Nope. It was a pretty quiet night, except Kero woudn't stop playing that video game all night. I barely got any sleep." 
  455.13 +  Madison giggled. "Well you know how addicted Kero is to those games." 
  455.14 +  The walked on chatting about what had been going on in school lately. Then from the corner of her eyes she saw Lee and Maylin walking up behind them. Madison smiled and said, "Hi Lee, what have you been up to?" 
  455.15 +  Lee shrugged and kept walking, obviously trying to ignore Maylin who was trying to cling to his arm. He looked at Sakura suspiciously. "What have you been up to lately?" 
  455.16 +  Sakura pretended she didn't hear him and continued talking with Madison. When they got to school lee ran on ahead, trying to slip away from maylin who followed closely behind. "I think Lee likes you Sakura." Madison said.
  455.17 +  Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Mr.Personality? No thanks."
  455.18 +  Madison smiled, "Oh yeah? Than who do you like?"
  455.19 +  Sakura blushed and tried to think of a responce. Just then the bell rang and she smiled happily. Quickly they ran inside and to their class room. Miss Makinzy smiled at them as they came through the door. "Cutting it a little close today girls?" They both smiled at her and sat down as the class started. 
  455.20 +  
  455.21 +  During lunch Sakura grabbed her lunch and sat with madison and her other friends at their usual table. "So how did you do on the test today Sakura?" Madison asked.
  455.22 +  Sakura moaned and rolled her eyes. "Well like I told you I didn't get much sleep last night. I just hope I didn't totaly flunk." 
  455.23 +  Madison grinned at her and shook her head. "You are way to smart to do anything like that Sakura."
  455.24 +  Sakura blushed and took a bite of her food. She always liked it when Madison complimented her like that. Of course she would never be able to tell Madison that the real reason she had done so poorly on the test was that she kept glancing at Madison and spacing out, drawing hearts on her paper. 
  455.25 +  Madison elbowed Sakura in her side and she snapped to attention. "Are you alright Sakura? You were just staring at the table. It was like you didn't even hear the bell." 
  455.26 +  Sakura looked up and her blush deepend as she realized everyone else was gone. "Um... I was just thinking about... that costume you made me last time. It was really good Madison." 
  455.27 +  Madison smiled at her. "You really think so? I mean I know some of them look a bit silly but did you really like it?" 
  455.28 +  Sakura nodded. "Yes, I did. I like all your costumes Madison."
  455.29 +  Madison seemed to forget all about Sakura's momentary lapse into dream land as they discussed some of the different costumes Sakura had worn since she had become a card captor. However, despite what Sakura thought, Madison noticed that her friend had seemed decidedly embarrassed about something. Oh well, if it was important she was sure Sakura would tell her.
  455.30 +
  455.31 +  Durring art class Sakura asked Madison to pose for a portrait. "Why me?"
  455.32 +  Sakura smiled, "Because you have so many pictures of me that you use for the costumes that I want one of you." Madison smiled and sat down on the stool while Sakura sketched out her face.
  455.33 +  After a while Miss Makinzy came around to check out their work. When she got to Sakura's she stopped and smiled. "Very good detailing Sakura. You seem to know Madison's face very well." She moved on, unknowingly leaving Sakura blushing. She glanced at Madison who was grinning at her. Sakura felt a warm glow in her chest and got back to work. By the end of class she had just finished when the bell rang. 
  455.34 +  Sakura put down the colored pencils and slipped her drawing into her backpack. Madison got up and streatched her legs out. "Those stools are hard."
  455.35 +  Sakura looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry Madison. If I had known that you were uncomfortable I could have finished it without youy sitting there." 
  455.36 +  Madison smiled and shook her head. "It's alright Sakura. After all the times I've made you pose and stand still while I was cutting those costumes for you this was only fair. Besides I wouldn't want you to be unable to finish just because i wasn't posing."
  455.37 +  Sakura shook her head. "I enjoy posing for you madison. And believe me I know your face well enough that I could have probably done it after the rough sketch."
  455.38 +  Madison smiled at her and Sakura blushed realizing what she had just said. Fortunately Madison didn't seem to notice. "Well we have known eachother our whole lives, so I shouldn't be too suprised." Sakura mentaly sighed in relief as she turned to pick up her pack. "When we get back to your house can I see it?"
  455.39 +  Sakura kicked herself. She knew this was a bad idea, but she couldn't think of anything else to draw. "S-sure Madison." 
  455.40 +  As they walked away from the school Madison noticed that Sakura was very quiet. Sakura meanwhile was deciding if she shouldn't have a small 'accident' with the picture. If Madison knew how she felt about her, then didn't like her anymore, it would kill her. After a while though she decided to just let her see it. Most likely Madison wouldn't notice. But what if she did?
  455.41 +  By the time they got to her house Sakura had had atleast three different fantasies. In the first one Madison saw how Sakura felt and was totally disgusted. In the second she didn't notice anything at all... and Sakura wasn't sure which would be worse. In the third Madison saw it, accepted it, and still wanted to be friends. That one made Sakura smile. "What are you thinking about Sakura?"
  455.42 +  Sakura looked at Madison still smiling. "What do you mean?"
  455.43 +  Madison smiled and shook her head. "You've been out of it all day. Half the time you were drawing my picture you just stopped and stared at my face."
  455.44 +  Sakura blushed and tried to look like everything was normal. "I'm just thinking about clow cards. I think I've almost gotten all of them."
  455.45 +  Madison smiled. "You're right. You only have afew more to go." 
  455.46 +  Sakura unlocked the door and they went inside. "Kero, I'm home!" 
  455.47 +  The guardian beast flew down the stairs and looked at her. "It's about time. I'm starving."
  455.48 +  Sakura sighed and glanced at Madison appologetically. Madison winked and Sakura went to the kitchen to fix Kero something to eat. 
  455.49 +  Madison sat back on the couch and looked around. Sakura's house was alot smaller than hers. Madison always thought it was kind of sweet. She looked around and noticed her hand next to Sakura's back pack. Without thinking she reached in and pulled out the drawing Sakura had done of her. 
  455.50 +  At first she just smiled. Sakura had indeed been very detailed. Incredibly detailed infact. There was that tiny mole on the side of her neck, that slight dimple at the edge of her eye, even the tiny hair that had been tickling her the entire time she had been trying to stay still... Madison stopped and stared, running her fingers over the image. This was too good. 
  455.51 +  It wasn't that she thought Sakura had used magic to draw it. She just was caught off guard by how detailed everything was. It was like that drawing Miss Makinzy had pointed out at the museum that one time. By the mad who had been in love with the woman in his painting. Miss Makinzy had pointed out how he had refused to miss or add any details like so many of the other artists had done. He had claimed that there was nothing that could make it better. 
  455.52 +  She heard Kero thank Sakura in the kitchen and quickly slipped the picture back into Sakura's mack pack. "So Madison do you want to see that picture now?"
  455.53 +  Madison shook her head, "I just remembered Sakura. My mother wanted me to do some chores after school."
  455.54 +  Sakura smiled. "Do you want me to help?"
  455.55 +  Madison shook her head. "N-no thank you Sakura. It's some stuff I'll have to do for myself. I'll see you tommorow... unless there is another card to capture. Then you call me and I'll come running with my video cammera."
  455.56 +  Sakura nodded and smiled at her. "I promise I'll call you Madison." 
  455.57 +  Madison grabbed her bag and ran out the door shouting a quick goodbye to Sakura. As she left Sakura sighed. She had actually been kind of hoping that Madison would see the picture and tell her what she thought. "Oh well, I can always show it to her later."
  455.58 +
  455.59 +  Madison ran for a long time. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going, but she knew it wasn't home. "I need to think. That's all. I mean there's no way she could feel like what I was thinking. We;re too young. And it's just friendship." She repeated that to herself several times on the way. Finally she found herself at the park. She sat down on the bench and shook her head. 
  455.60 + "So what is the problem?" A voice said inside her.   Madison sighed. She always hated that little voice in the back of her head. "She's my best friend that's what. And she's a girl. Besides I'm sure I was just imagining things." 
  455.61 +  "If that's so then why did you imagine that?" The voice asked. 
  455.62 +  Madison didn't have an answer for that one. She thought back over her relationship with Sakura. They had been friends for a long time. Their entire lives infact. Madison had most of the last few years on film. But even she couldn't picture Sakura in the exacting detail she had seen in that drawing. Or could she?
  455.63 +  Madison closed her eyes and tried to think about Sakura. She was actually a bit nervouse about the idea, but something told her to do this. In fact the voice in the back of her head insisted. 
  455.64 +  Slowly she pictured Sakura. Her smile, the way her hair blew around her face as she skated. Suddenly all the blrred edges of the image in her mind sharpened to crystal clarity. She could see every detail of Sakura's face... then that damn voice had to remind her about the times they had showered together. Madison blushed and opened her eyes. "Ok, ok I love her too, but that doesn't mean I can do anything about it. Suppose she doesn't really feel the same way about me?" 
  455.65 +  The voice laughed. "Only one way to find out isn't there?"
  455.66 +Madison sighed and got up, walking towards her house for real this time. She was going to have to give this some careful thought. 
  455.67 +
  455.68 +  Kero had finished eating and had taken a nap on the kitchen table, but was woken up when he heard the front door open and close. He flew to the counter between the kitchen and the living room and took on his stuffed animal pose. Just as he got into place Tory and Julian came around the corner. Sakura was sitting on the couch staring at a paper in her hand that Kero couldn't quite make out.
  455.69 +  Tory stopped by the couch and snapped his fingers by Sakura's ear, "Hey squirt, what are you looking at?"
  455.70 +  Sakura jumped and looked up at him and Julian blushing. "Um, just a picture I drew today in art class..."
  455.71 +  Julian peeked around Tory's shoulder and looked at it. "Wow Sakura, that's a great drawing. Very live like, right Tory?" 
  455.72 +  Tory made a noncommital sound and turned to the kitchen to make himself and Julian a snack. He stopped and stared at Kero for a second. The guardian beast sat absolutely still, not even breathing. "I swear sometimes this thing seems alive." He grabbed some pudding containers and motioned for Julian to follow him upstairs. 
  455.73 +  Julian smiled and rubbed Sakura's head, "Great drawing Sakura." Then he started up the stairs after Tory.
  455.74 +  When they were gone Kero flew over to Sakura, who was once again engrossed in whatever was on the picture. He landed on the couch behind her shoulder and looked down at the picture. It was a portrait of Madison. As he looked it over kero had to agree Sakura had done a good job on it. He looked at Sakura and saw a contented smiled and her face. 
  455.75 +  Then Sakura did something that shocked him. Slowly, without even really thinking, Sakura leaned down and kissed the picture on the cheek. Then she sat back and stared at it again. Kero was so suprised all he could do for several seconds was sit and stare.
  455.76 +  Finally he managed to get himself under control and cleared his throat right in Sakura's ear. She jumped slightly and looked at him. "Oh, Kero you startled me... how long have you been there?" 
  455.77 +  Kero grinned at her, "Long enough. You have something you want to tell me?"
  455.78 +  Sakura blushed and slipped the picture back into her pack. "I don't think so Kero. I don't think you could understand."
  455.79 +  Kero frowned. "Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I don't know what goes on Sakura. Besides it's not like I'll tell anyone."
  455.80 +  Sakura sighed and looked at him. She needed to talk to someone. "Fine, I'm in love with her." 
  455.81 +  Kero shrugged, "And?"
  455.82 +  Sakura looked at him annoid. "What do you mean 'And?'"
  455.83 +  Kero shook his head. "I figured that much out a while ago Sakura."
  455.84 +  Sakura blushed. Was it really that obvious. "Well it's not exactly somethin I can just tell her."
  455.85 +  "Why not?" He asked.
  455.86 +  "B-because... she's a girl. And she's my best friend. What if she doesn't like me any more?"
  455.87 +  Kero shook his head. "Sakura I'm ashamed of you. Nothing you could do would make Madison not like you. Even if she doesn't feel the same way you should still tell her."
  455.88 +  Sakura sighed and leaned back. "I guess you're right. Maybe tommorow."
  455.89 +
  455.90 +  Madison shook her head. It was the middle of the night and that voice in her head still wouldn't shut up. And the worst part was it was making sense. Every time she tried to convince herself that Sakura wasn't in love with her it kept bringing up moments from the past that showed that she did. 
  455.91 +  By bed time Madison was kicking herself for not seeing it sooner. How much pain had Sakura been in while she hadn't even noticed. It wasn't right. And why hadn't Sakura told her?
  455.92 +  Then Madison picked up a picture of them together at the zoo. They were smiling and hugging. "I guess I can understand. I mean we had a great friendship and I guess she didn't want to ruin that."
  455.93 +  The voice in her head laughed. "That and she didn't want to hurt you."
  455.94 +  Madison sighed. "Are you atleast going to let me get some sleep tonight?" The voice remained quiet she she took that as a yes. Setting the picture down Madison covered up with the blanket and smiled contentedly. Closing her eyes she once again saw Sakura's image in her mind.
  455.95 +
  455.96 +  Saura yawned as she woke up with the sun shining on her face. She had been up half the night talking with Kero and was glad that today was Saturday. Sakura had decided that when she saw Madison today she would show her the picture she had drawn and tell her how she really felt about her. Kero had convinced her that Madison would still want to be friends, even if she didn't want to be anything else. They were still pretty young after all.
  455.97 +  At breakfast Tory told her that he was going to the park to play baseball and her dad had to work all day. After that she had slipped some pancakes out of the stack and carried them upstairs for Kero who was still asleep. 
  455.98 +  She tried watching some cartoons to kill time, but all  that was on was some old Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball reruns. So she decided to get dressed and head over to Madison's house, hoping it wasn't too early in the morning. 
  455.99 +  When she got there she knocked on the door, which was answered by Madison's mother. "Oh hello Sakura. Madison is upstairs in her room." 
 455.100 +  Sakura smiled. "Thanks."
 455.101 +  Madison's mother shrugged, "No problem. I have some business meetings so I'll be gone all day. Have fun." Sakura smiled and turned towards the stairs. 
 455.102 +
 455.103 +  Upstairs Madison was trying on different outfits, trying to think what would be best to wear when she talked to Sakura. The blue dress and that bluse with the button missing? No, that was a bit much. Maybe one of the costumes she had made durring her, 'I want to be Sakura's sidekick' phase before she had found out that you had to have magical powers from birth. No, those were way to flashy. 
 455.104 +  There was a soft knock on her door. It was probably her mother. "Come in!"
 455.105 +  Sakura stepped through the door, causing Madison to stop in her tracks. The voice in the back of her head 
 455.106 +said, "Uh oh." Madison shook her head. Why had she thought that? She was happy to see Sakura, had been thinking about it all night.
 455.107 +  "Hi Sakura. I didn't know you were here." Madison said smiling.
 455.108 +  Sakura smiled. "Your mom let me in. Sorry I am so early, but I wanted to talk to you. Would you liek me to step outside while you change?"
 455.109 +  Madison was suddenly accutely aware that she was standing infront of the person she loved in only her night shirt. But ti wasn't like Sakura hadn't seen her in it before. "It's alright Sakura, I wanted to talk to you too." 
 455.110 +  Sakura looked suprised and sat down on the bed. "You go first." She said quickly.
 455.111 +  Madison smiled and sat down next to her. She couldn't help but notice how Sakura blushed and actually seemed to glance over her body. "I saw that picture you drew yesterday."
 455.112 +  Sakura looked at her in shock, absently squeesing the strap on her pack. "But... but I didn't..."
 455.113 +  Madison smiled at her. "I wanted to tell you that I... I think I know how you feel Sakura. I thought it over and I think I feel the same way. If I'm reading anything into it where I shouldn't I'm sorry but..." She stopped talking and smiled at Sakura. 
 455.114 +  Sakura bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to hold back tears. Finally without opening her eyes she said. "You weren't reading anything into it Madison. I love you. I have for a long time. Infact that's what I wanted to tell you." She kept her eyes closed, still half way expecting Madison to say that wasn't what she meant. 
 455.115 +  But when she felt Madison's lips press against hers she opened her eyes. Madison looked back at her still kissing her. Sakura began kissing back and slowly they put their arms around eachother. For both girls it was probably the best moment of their lives. 
 455.116 +  When they broke apart they looked into eachothers eyes and smiled. "I love you Sakura." Madison said. 
 455.117 +  "I love you too Madison." Sakura responded. 
 455.118 +  
 455.119 +The end
 455.120 +
 455.121 +Author's note
 455.122 +  I almost had the voice card show up and turn out to be the voice Madison kept hearing. But that would have ruined the mood. Plus I figured that Sakura would need the create card to beat it and since it was day time that was out. I hope you enjoyed this story as is though. If not feel free to write your own. If you did email me at clayton_n@hotmail.com
 455.123 \ No newline at end of file

   456.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   456.2 +++ b/stories/sakuralemonpt1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   456.3 @@ -0,0 +1,314 @@
   456.4 +
   456.5 +
   456.6 +                      Standard disclaimer:
   456.7 +     This is a work of fiction, based off characters and a series
   456.8 +which the author does not own.  Please do not sue.  All characters are 
   456.9 +copyrighted by their respective owners: CLAMP, Kodansha, etc.
  456.10 +
  456.11 +                      Sakura Lemon--Part I
  456.12 +                            KaitouAce
  456.13 +
  456.14 +     Sakura sat on the expansive bed in Tomoyo's room.  No matter
  456.15 +how many times she saw it, the Daidouji estate always impressed
  456.16 +her.  She looked around, dazed, until Tomoyo's sweet voice
  456.17 +brought her back to reality.
  456.18 +     "Sakura-chan.  I've brought tea."
  456.19 +     Sakura jumped at her sudden appearance.
  456.20 +     "Oh!  Tomoyo-chan!  Thank you."
  456.21 +     Tomoyo just smiled at her as she set the tea tray she was
  456.22 +carrying on a nearby table.  She stared at Sakura for a few
  456.23 +seconds.  Puzzled, Sakura questioned her friend.
  456.24 +     "What is it?"
  456.25 +     "Oh.  I was just wondering where Kero-chan is."
  456.26 +     "Kero-chan?  He didn't want to wake up so I let him sleep."
  456.27 +     "That's too bad.  I brought extra cake for him."
  456.28 +     "That's OK.  I'll bring him some."
  456.29 +     "I'm sure he'll be grateful."
  456.30 +     They stared at each other, then laughed together as they
  456.31 +started tea.
  456.32 +     Somewhere across town, Kero-chan sneezed and mumbled in his
  456.33 +sleep, with only one word audible.
  456.34 +     "Mmmmm . . . cake . . . "
  456.35 +
  456.36 +     Sakura stretched after tea, her T-shirt coming out of her
  456.37 +skirt and showing her belly button as she folded backwards.
  456.38 +Tomoyo eyed her with a slight smile on her face. Sakura glanced
  456.39 +at her sideways and noticed her gaze.  She immediately became
  456.40 +worried and defensive.
  456.41 +     "What?!?  I'm not gaining weight!  I'm the same size I
  456.42 +always am!"
  456.43 +     Tomoyo giggled as she stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out
  456.44 +of her dark blue party dress.
  456.45 +     "I didn't mean that at all.  I was just . . . admiring you."
  456.46 +     "Hoeh?" (You know this sound.)
  456.47 +     Tomoyo closed her eyes and faced the floor.
  456.48 +     "You're always so cheerful and full of energy.  Nothing ever
  456.49 +gets you down for long.  I, on the other hand . . . "
  456.50 +     Sakura was surprised by the sudden subject and jumped to
  456.51 +Tomoyo's defense.
  456.52 +     "You're great too!  Always calm, never afraid like me.  And
  456.53 +smart too . . . "
  456.54 +     Tomoyo continued a little more anxiously.  "But now you're a
  456.55 +Card Captor. You're . . . so important!  Sometimes I think . . .
  456.56 +I'm just a liability.  I don't have magic and can't fight.  And
  456.57 +with Lee-kun to help you . . . making costumes just doesn't seem
  456.58 +like much help anymore."
  456.59 +     Sakura was shocked when Tomoyo put her face in her hands and
  456.60 +started crying.  All this time she'd known her and had barely
  456.61 +ever seen her sad, much less crying.  She ran to her friend and
  456.62 +threw her arms around her, doing her best to comfort her.
  456.63 +     "Don't cry Tomoyo-chan.  You're the best friend I could ever
  456.64 +have.  You're a great help and . . . I hope you want to keep
  456.65 +helping me."
  456.66 +     Sakura was surprised when she started tearing up as well,
  456.67 +but couldn't stand the thought of Tomoyo not being with her.
  456.68 +Tomoyo stopped crying when she heard Sakura sniffling.
  456.69 +     "Oh, Sakura-chan!  I didn't mean to make you cry."
  456.70 +     Tomoyo released Sakura and wiped her eyes.  Sakura followed
  456.71 +suit.  After a short silence they smiled and started laughing
  456.72 +again, the depressing situation apparently forgotten.  Tomoyo,
  456.73 +feeling more at ease, put on her usual beaming smile.
  456.74 +     "Sakura-chan . . . sorry for that."
  456.75 +     Sakura shook her head violently.  "Nuh unh.  I'm just glad
  456.76 +you're OK."
  456.77 +     Tomoyo smiled, then got a questionable look on her face.
  456.78 +She fumbled with her hand.
  456.79 +     "Sakura-chan?"
  456.80 +     "Huh?"
  456.81 +     "You don't mind if I . . . "
  456.82 +     Sakura looked down at Tomoyo's hands and wondered how she
  456.83 +didn't see that tape measure before.  She sighed in disbelief but
  456.84 +complied, figuring it would help cheer Tomoyo up.
  456.85 +
  456.86 +
  456.87 +     Sakura stood in the middle of the room with her arms out as
  456.88 +Tomoyo happily flew around her body, making mental notes about
  456.89 +what fabric she should use next.  But in her mind, she was still
  456.90 +thinking about what she had said to Sakura.  Her pace slowed as
  456.91 +she ended up behind Sakura.  As she stretched the measure across
  456.92 +Sakura's back, she spoke quietly.
  456.93 +     "You really don't mind me doing this?"
  456.94 +     Sakura once again shook her head while trying to stay still.
  456.95 +But Tomoyo wasn't so easily convinced.
  456.96 +     "I know I annoy you all the time with this.  It . . . it's
  456.97 +just the only I know how to help."
  456.98 +     Sakura breathed deeply and spoke to her unseen friend.
  456.99 +     "You know . . . I do all this for a reason.  Wearing your
 456.100 +costumes, trying out all your gifts . . . "
 456.101 +     Tomoyo braced herself for the truth she knew was eventually
 456.102 +coming.
 456.103 +     Undaunted, Sakura continued.  "I . . . I always wanted you
 456.104 +with me."
 456.105 +     Tomoyo froze, her measuring tape slowly falling to the
 456.106 +floor.
 456.107 +     "I figured if I wasn't completely with all your ideas, you
 456.108 +wouldn't be interested in being my friend.  Don't get me wrong.
 456.109 +I like everything about you and your costumes are great.  I was
 456.110 +just worried that someone as smart and talented as you . . .
 456.111 +might not want to hang out with me."
 456.112 +     Tomoyo felt her tears returning and suddenly broke her
 456.113 +stillness, embracing her best friend.
 456.114 +     "Oh Sakura-chan!"
 456.115 +     Sakura relaxed and felt her friend from behind, holding her
 456.116 +hands which surrounded her.  Tomoyo held Sakura as close as she
 456.117 +could.  She felt so much love for her friend she could hardly
 456.118 +contain herself.  All she wanted was to let her know how happy
 456.119 +she felt.
 456.120 +     Tomoyo immediately thought of a way.  But she couldn't do
 456.121 +that.  She could jeopardize everything that just happened today.
 456.122 +But she loved Sakura so much.  This was her most intimate secret
 456.123 +and she desperately wanted to share it with her friend.  She
 456.124 +didn't want to take the chance but she just . . . just KNEW her
 456.125 +best friend would understand her.  But even as she was trying to
 456.126 +decide if it was right or not, her body was already in motion.
 456.127 +     Sakura was getting a little stiff from standing in the same
 456.128 +place for so long, so she was relieved when Tomoyo moved her
 456.129 +arms.  But before she could turn around, she felt Tomoyo's small
 456.130 +hand slide across her stomach.  Sakura stared down at it and
 456.131 +wondered what was going on.  Tomoyo once again increased her hold
 456.132 +on Sakura as her other hand moved past the edge of Sakura's
 456.133 +skirt.  Sakura whispered meekly as she slowly realized what
 456.134 +Tomoyo was doing to her.
 456.135 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . "
 456.136 +     Tomoyo only answered by leaning her head behind Sakura's to
 456.137 +get more leverage as her left hand slipped Sakura's shirt higher,
 456.138 +allowing her contact with her skin, and her right moved to the
 456.139 +inside of Sakura's leg and started to travel upward.  Sakura
 456.140 +tried to move but was powerless under Tomoyo's loving hands.  Her
 456.141 +mind was full of many images.  What would her brother and father
 456.142 +think if they found out?  What about her friends at school,
 456.143 +Kero-chan, Yukito-san?  Why couldn't she stop this . . . or why
 456.144 +wouldn't she?  Suddenly all the images wiped away as Tomoyo's
 456.145 +hands finished their respective journeys.  Sakura could feel
 456.146 +Tomoyo's left hand brushing across her tiny nipples, slightly
 456.147 +tugging them every now and then, and her right hand caressing her
 456.148 +inner thigh, occasionally fingering the frill on the edge of her
 456.149 +panties.  Tomoyo slowly moved her head to Sakura's ear, her lips
 456.150 +perilously close to touching.  Her next sentence came out as a
 456.151 +whisper.  "I love you Sakura-chan.  Please let me make you feel
 456.152 +good."
 456.153 +     Sakura visibly trembled when she heard those words.  She
 456.154 +wanted to run but part of her couldn't do that.  She didn't
 456.155 +understand why.  Tomoyo saw her uneasiness and whispered once
 456.156 +again.
 456.157 +     "Don't worry.  I won't hurt you.  Please trust me."
 456.158 +     Sakura seemed to relax at those words.  She didn't know what
 456.159 +this would lead to, but she trusted Tomoyo completely.  With her
 456.160 +life if need be.  Sakura released some of her tension as Tomoyo
 456.161 +slowly led Sakura to the bed.  As Tomoyo felt the bed behind her,
 456.162 +she stopped and sweetly whispered again.  "Sakura-chan, put up
 456.163 +your arms."
 456.164 +     Sakura did so without thinking, being so used to being
 456.165 +measured.  Suddenly, Tomoyo grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt and
 456.166 +pulled it over Sakura's head, dropping it to the floor.  Sakura
 456.167 +looked down to where the shirt she once wore now laid.  While she
 456.168 +was preoccupied, she felt her shirt leave her waist, falling down
 456.169 +her legs softly to the floor.  Sakura was suddenly very aware of
 456.170 +her nudity.  Only her panties clothed her.  She crossed her arms
 456.171 +over her small chest and looked ashamedly to the floor, blushing
 456.172 +profusely.  Tomoyo put her hands on Sakura's arms, realizing her
 456.173 +embarrassment even though she couldn't see her face.
 456.174 +     "Don't be ashamed Sakura-chan.  I'm with you."
 456.175 +     Hearing Tomoyo's words eased Sakura once again, her arms
 456.176 +unfolding and going to her sides.  Tomoyo enveloped her waist and
 456.177 +slowly pulled her onto the bed, where she nervously sat with
 456.178 +Tomoyo embracing her from behind.  Tomoyo stared at Sakura's
 456.179 +beautiful, smooth back as long as she could stand.  She slowly
 456.180 +moved back to Sakura's head and whispered her name.  Tomoyo's
 456.181 +warm breath on her neck made Sakura's hair stand on end.  She
 456.182 +wasn't ready for this, but did nothing except to close her eyes
 456.183 +and wait.  Tomoyo inched closer and slowly enveloped Sakura's
 456.184 +earlobe with her lips.  Sakura's body jolted in surprise as she
 456.185 +felt her ear being tugged, pulled, and even licked.  As Tomoyo
 456.186 +caressed Sakura's ear, her left hand once again sought out
 456.187 +Sakura's breast.  As she brushed her hand across Sakura's young
 456.188 +chest, she smiled as she noticed Sakura's nipple slightly
 456.189 +hardening.  She lightly pinched and tugged it for a bit, then ran
 456.190 +her finger around it closely, slowly making circles.  Sakura's
 456.191 +breathing became heavier as her body started to succumb to
 456.192 +Tomoyo's actions.  Tomoyo then began to run her finger ever so
 456.193 +lightly back and forth across Sakura's now erect nipple.  The
 456.194 +sensation was too much as Sakura finally broke her silence,
 456.195 +moaning softly.  Tomoyo smiled upon hearing that and moved her
 456.196 +lips from Sakura's ear to her neck as she began to lightly kiss
 456.197 +it, occasionally sucking or licking it.  By now, Sakura was
 456.198 +starting to feel much more comfortable with the situation.  She
 456.199 +settled herself deeply in Tomoyo's lap becoming totally
 456.200 +submissive as her best friend pleasured her in ways she hadn't
 456.201 +thought possible.  Sensing Sakura's newfound acceptance, Tomoyo
 456.202 +decided to get more serious.  Sakura's eyes, which were closed,
 456.203 +letting the sensations flow through her body, shot open as she
 456.204 +felt Tomoyo's hand once again slowly slide up her thigh.  Sakura
 456.205 +held her breath in anticipation.  Tomoyo once again stopped just
 456.206 +before the area where skin meets cloth.  There she stayed, toying
 456.207 +with Sakura who was becoming more anxious.  She began twitching
 456.208 +slightly and pushing into Tomoyo who only smiled at her friend's
 456.209 +frustration.  Seeing this was getting her nowhere, Sakura
 456.210 +actually pleaded with her friend, almost whining.
 456.211 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . please."
 456.212 +     Tomoyo smiled and replied.
 456.213 +     "Eh?  Please what, Sakura-chan?"
 456.214 +     "Please . . . touch me."
 456.215 +     "Touch you where?"
 456.216 +     Sakura grew more desperate as she answered.
 456.217 +     "THERE!  Please."
 456.218 +     Tomoyo smiled and whispered in Sakura's ear.
 456.219 +     " . . . Help me."
 456.220 +     Sakura slowly reached for Tomoyo's arm and touched her
 456.221 +elbow.  She caressed it back and forth with her middle and index
 456.222 +fingers, causing Tomoyo to shudder slightly.  Sakura then
 456.223 +encircled Tomoyo's arm and slowly moved down toward her wrist.
 456.224 +Tomoyo's spine shivered at the lightness of Sakura's touch.  Her
 456.225 +wish was to pleasure Sakura but at this rate her own body may
 456.226 +need release as well.  And before she realized it, Sakura's hand
 456.227 +was gliding over her own, tenderly urging her to go the final
 456.228 +step.  As Sakura's and Tomoyo's hand crossed the threshold,
 456.229 +Sakura wondered if she was doing the right thing.  But her mind
 456.230 +went blank the second Tomoyo's hand touched that soft, white
 456.231 +fabric.  They both stood still, keeping silent as they thought
 456.232 +about what they had just done.  Tomoyo was a little reluctant
 456.233 +about continuing but Sakura had come too far to stop now.  She
 456.234 +suddenly closed her hand over Tomoyo's causing her to grasp her
 456.235 +crotch firmly.
 456.236 +     "Tomoyo-chan!"
 456.237 +     Hearing Sakura's cry of approval steeled Tomoyo's resolve.
 456.238 +She held Sakura close as she slowly rubbed her sweet softness.
 456.239 +Sakura leaned her head back and moaned as she felt her body get
 456.240 +hotter.  Tomoyo's pressure and speed increased, causing Sakura to
 456.241 +writhe and squirm in her friend's grasp.  Her hips began bucking
 456.242 +as she tried to grind herself on Tomoyo's hand.  Sakura was on
 456.243 +the edge.  She felt as if the world was about to stop.  She
 456.244 +prepared herself for the climax . . . and Tomoyo stopped.  Sakura
 456.245 +was left standing alone on the cliff.  She was speechless for a
 456.246 +moment, then pleaded to her friend.
 456.247 +     "No . . . don't stop!  Don't . . . "
 456.248 +     Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at her dampened panties
 456.249 +. . . and that Tomoyo was going underneath them.  Sakura was
 456.250 +frantic.
 456.251 +     "No!  Tomoyo-chan, please!  I . . . "
 456.252 +     Her voice trailed off as Tomoyo's finger slid lightly along
 456.253 +the slit of her nether region.  After a moment, Sakura purred
 456.254 +loudly, the sensations magnified with direct contact.
 456.255 +     "I . . . uhh . . . unhhh . . . ooooohhhh!"
 456.256 +     Tomoyo smiled and continued rubbing Sakura.  The feeling of
 456.257 +Tomoyo's hand on her bare skin quickly proved too much for
 456.258 +Sakura.  She began thrashing in Tomoyo's grasp, bucking
 456.259 +violently.  Just when she thought it could get no better,
 456.260 +Tomoyo's index finger pressed harder, determined to enter
 456.261 +Sakura's cherry blossom.
 456.262 +     "Oh!  Ummm . . . TOMOYO-CHAN!"
 456.263 +     Sakura's world turned pink as her hips arched high off
 456.264 +Tomoyo's lap and her panties began to soak.  She froze in
 456.265 +mid-air, then fell to earth exhausted.  As Sakura's vision
 456.266 +recovered, a hazy image loomed above her.  As it focused, she
 456.267 +recognized it to be the face of Tomoyo, her friend, partner, and
 456.268 +now lover.  It was the first time she had seen her face since the
 456.269 +measuring started.  Sakura tried to speak, but words didn't form.
 456.270 +She just stared with her mouth slightly agape, feeling thin
 456.271 +trails of perspiration run across her forehead.  Tomoyo looked
 456.272 +down at Sakura with a smile on her face and also, as Sakura
 456.273 +looked harder, a thin wetness on her lips.  As Sakura realized
 456.274 +what it must be, Tomoyo slowly licked her lips and brought her
 456.275 +hand into Sakura's line of sight, showing her what she had done.
 456.276 +Tomoyo then brought the hand down to Sakura's level where she
 456.277 +stared at it intently.  She watched as a thin droplet slowly ran
 456.278 +down Tomoyo's finger and fell, striking her lips and beading
 456.279 +between them.  Sakura slowly parted her lips, letting the fluid
 456.280 +reach her tongue.  She swallowed it and sighed.  She then licked
 456.281 +her lips of the remaining residue.  Relishing the subtle taste,
 456.282 +she looked up at Tomoyo.  Sakura blushed mildly, then opened her
 456.283 +mouth, her tongue slightly extended and her eyes slanted
 456.284 +lustfully.  Tomoyo smiled and conceded, lowering her finger into
 456.285 +Sakura's mouth where Sakura proceeded to suck her own juices from
 456.286 +Tomoyo's hand.  Her eyes closed as her tongue slowly slid around
 456.287 +Tomoyo's finger, the flavor completely intoxicating her.  The
 456.288 +feeling of Sakura's tongue caressing her finger excited Tomoyo
 456.289 +and she brought her head down to Sakura's level to help her clean
 456.290 +her hand.  She stuck out her own tongue and began licking the
 456.291 +back of her own hand, drinking Sakura's juices as well.
 456.292 +     After the task was done, Tomoyo pulled her finger from
 456.293 +Sakura's mouth and watched it shine faintly from Sakura's saliva.
 456.294 +With her eyes closed, Sakura was surprised when the finger left
 456.295 +her mouth.  She opened her eyes in time to see Tomoyo, much
 456.296 +closer, take the finger and insert it between her own lips.
 456.297 +Sakura watched as Tomoyo slurped all the remaining fluid on her
 456.298 +finger, moaning softly.  After she was done Tomoyo looked down at
 456.299 +Sakura, her hair falling about the two of them.  After a timeless
 456.300 +second, Sakura slowly parted her lips as before.  Tomoyo brought
 456.301 +her hands to the sides of Sakura's head and descended upon her,
 456.302 +pressing their bodies against each other, giving her a slow,
 456.303 +sensous kiss.  Sakura managed to regain enough strength to put
 456.304 +her arms around Tomoyo and hold her from below as she pushed her
 456.305 +tongue into Tomoyo's mouth.  Tomoyo did the same,  both of them
 456.306 +moaning from the feel of the soft, wet muscles intertwining and
 456.307 +dancing in each other's mouth.  Tomoyo finally, breathlessly,
 456.308 +released Sakura, both panting as a thin trail of saliva remained
 456.309 +to represent when two were one.  Tomoyo's body finally gave out
 456.310 +and she fell upon Sakura, her head beside her friend's.  As
 456.311 +Tomoyo faded into unconsciousness,  she heard one sentence.
 456.312 +     "I love you, Tomoyo-chan."
 456.313 +     Then Sakura succumbed as well and they slept, nestled in
 456.314 +each other's arms.  And somewhere, off in the distance, were the
 456.315 +silent hum and unblinking eye of Tomoyo's video camera.
 456.316 +
 456.317 +

   457.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   457.2 +++ b/stories/sakuralemonpt2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   457.3 @@ -0,0 +1,346 @@
   457.4 +
   457.5 +                      Standard disclaimer:
   457.6 +     This is a work of fiction, based off characters and a series
   457.7 +which the author does not own.  Don't sue, the author has no
   457.8 +money.  He would have had plenty of money, but the recount was
   457.9 +suspended.
  457.10 +     This is part two of this story.  If you don't know what that
  457.11 +means, then you're too young to be reading this anyway!  Go away,
  457.12 +and come back once you've finished high school!
  457.13 +
  457.14 +
  457.15 +                     Sakura Lemon--Part II
  457.16 +                           KaitouAce
  457.17 +
  457.18 +     Sakura tossed in a restless sleep.  Her mind filled with the
  457.19 +images of her experience with Tomoyo.  Her body shivered as she
  457.20 +remembered Tomoyo's every movement.  The feelings pleased her but
  457.21 +there were other problems.  Sakura loved her friend more than
  457.22 +anything else.  She couldn't bear the thought of being separated
  457.23 +from her.  But Sakura was ashamed.  Ashamed of her feelings, both
  457.24 +physical and non-physical.  Not only did being touched in her
  457.25 +private spots frighten her but she knew that that type of
  457.26 +behavior wasn't accepted by most people.  She dreaded the idea of
  457.27 +anyone finding out.  She didn't want to be hated by anyone.  Her
  457.28 +family might shun her.  Lee, Mei Lin, and her classmates would
  457.29 +reject her.  Kero-chan might even consider her unfit to be a Card
  457.30 +Captor.  And then there was Yukito.  All her hopes and dreams of
  457.31 +being with him would be shattered.  The image of his disapproving
  457.32 +drove her to jerk harshly, shutting her eyes so tightly they
  457.33 +burned.  But besides all this, there was the other problem.  The
  457.34 +feelings that began as soon as she left Tomoyo's that evening.
  457.35 +The feelings that could be described by no other word than lust.
  457.36 +The experience that Tomoyo gave her was like no other.  As much
  457.37 +as she hated to admit it, she longed for Tomoyo's soft lips on
  457.38 +her neck, her gentle fingers caressing her.  But those thoughts
  457.39 +were wrong.  She knew that.  But her mind wouldn't let her forget
  457.40 +those feelings.  Everything else paled in comparison.  She
  457.41 +remembered how she relented after Tomoyo had made her orgasm.
  457.42 +How she licked Tomoyo's finger wanting more.  How she wrapped her
  457.43 +arms around Tomoyo, holding her into their kiss.  Sakura still
  457.44 +longed for more.  Could something that felt so good really be
  457.45 +that bad?  But all that mattered was that it was.  Sakura huddled
  457.46 +herself into a fetal position, trying to forget.  But the motion
  457.47 +of bunching herself up caused her body to involuntarily caress
  457.48 +itself in a number of places.  Sakura moaned inwardly as her
  457.49 +thoughts went back to Tomoyo.  She needed her so badly.  She had
  457.50 +to experience those feelings again.  But how could she?  Without
  457.51 +Tomoyo . . . Without realizing it, she slowly slid her own hand
  457.52 +into her pajamas.  She felt her underwear and slid her finger
  457.53 +across them noticing the already present dampness.  She rubbed
  457.54 +herself with increasing speed, starting to squirm at the touch.
  457.55 +But even as she was enjoying herself, a voice spoke to her in her
  457.56 +head.
  457.57 +     "Don't do this.  It's wrong."
  457.58 +     But Sakura's lust answered back.
  457.59 +     "But it feels good.  It can't be bad."
  457.60 +     "But it is.  You need to stop."
  457.61 +     "I CAN'T!  I need it."
  457.62 +     "No.  You just want it and not everything you want is good
  457.63 +for you."
  457.64 +     But Sakura wouldn't listen.  She remembered how Tomoyo had
  457.65 +made her orgasm.  It was that final explosion she craved.  She
  457.66 +manouvered her hand inside her panties and started to put a
  457.67 +finger inside herself.
  457.68 +     "Sakura, no!  What will your family think?  What if you get
  457.69 +caught?"
  457.70 +     "I don't care!"
  457.71 +     Sakura plunged her finger into herself and froze . . . but
  457.72 +nothing happened.  It wasn't enough.  Not anymore.
  457.73 +     "See.  You can't even do it.  Your body knows it's wrong.
  457.74 +Stop now."
  457.75 +     "No."
  457.76 +     Sakura stuck a second finger inside herself.  She arched her
  457.77 +back as a wave of pleasure jolted through her . . . but it STILL
  457.78 +wasn't the same.  It still wasn't enough.  Sakura began thrusting
  457.79 +her fingers in and out of herself, determined to find what she
  457.80 +had lost.  After what seemed like an eternity, Sakura made a
  457.81 +discovery.  There was a point inside her she couldn't reach.
  457.82 +There was something blocking the way.  She pushed it slightly and
  457.83 +it bent a little.  She smiled to herself and began to push when
  457.84 +her mind screamed at her, realizing her intention.
  457.85 +     "SAKURA!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
  457.86 +     "This HAS to be it.  It's in the way."
  457.87 +     "You don't know what you're doing!  It could be important!
  457.88 +Don't break it!"
  457.89 +     "I don't care."
  457.90 +     Sakura braced herself for the inevitable orgasm and pushed
  457.91 +as hard as she could.
  457.92 +     "NO!!!"
  457.93 +     "YESSS!!!"
  457.94 +     And then the barrier tore.  And for Sakura, there was
  457.95 +nothing but pain.  Her piercing scream shot through the house,
  457.96 +shaking it to its foundation.  Kero-chan immediately woke and saw
  457.97 +Sakura convulsing in pain.  He flew to her side in panic.
  457.98 +     "Sakura!  What's wrong?!  What is it?!"
  457.99 +     Sakura could only cry.  All she could see were tears and all
 457.100 +she could hear and feel was the pain.  Suddenly, Touya burst
 457.101 +through the door.  Kero-chan immediately fell into his stuffed
 457.102 +animal mode as Touya ran to Sakura's side.
 457.103 +     "Sakura!  What's wrong?"
 457.104 +     She didn't answer.  She just cringed as she pulled away from
 457.105 +him.
 457.106 +     "SAKURA!  Answer me!"
 457.107 +     " . . . It hurts . . . "
 457.108 +     "What hurts?  Sakura!"
 457.109 +     "Oniichan . . . It hurts . . . "
 457.110 +     "Let me see.  Show me."
 457.111 +     Sakura began to roll over but then stopped as she realized
 457.112 +what would happen.  Touya would find out.  Then he'd tell
 457.113 +everyone.  She'd be cast out.  Hated.
 457.114 +     " . . . No."
 457.115 +     Touya didn't understand what was going on but had to find
 457.116 +out the problem.  He turned Sakura over, facing him.  He couldn't
 457.117 +see her face but noticed her arms beneath the covers.
 457.118 +     "No.  Oniichan, please.  Go away."
 457.119 +     Sakura tried to stop Touya but couldn't as as he lifted the
 457.120 +covers off her body.  Touya was caught completely off guard by
 457.121 +what he saw.  Sakura's hand was thrust into her pajamas.  There
 457.122 +was moisture all over the front.  Mixed with it were spots of red
 457.123 +which Touya concluded must be blood.  Touya immediately realized
 457.124 +what happened.  Sakura was terrified.  She desperately pleaded
 457.125 +with Touya.
 457.126 +     "Please don't tell anyone!  I'll do anything you want!  I'll
 457.127 +do all your chores!  I'll . . . "
 457.128 +     "Sakura."
 457.129 +     "NO!  Don't . . . "
 457.130 +     She tried to move but the pain once again seared through
 457.131 +her.  She clutched Touya as he caught her rigid body.  He held
 457.132 +her softly as he spoke.
 457.133 +     "Don't worry.  I won't tell anyone.  But you have to let me
 457.134 +see.  You need to move your hand."
 457.135 +     "I can't.  It hurts."
 457.136 +     "I know.  But you have to.  You can hold onto me if you need
 457.137 +to."
 457.138 +     Sakura nodded and held Touya's shoulder with her free hand.
 457.139 +They both stared at her other hand still deep inside her.  Touya
 457.140 +slowly grabbed Sakura's wrist and looked at her concerned.
 457.141 +     "Are you ready?"
 457.142 +     Sakura nodded again and braced herself.  Touya slowly pulled
 457.143 +at her hand.  Sakura shook in pain and told him to stop.
 457.144 +     "Sakura.  We have to . . . "
 457.145 +     "I know.  Just....do it quick, OK?"
 457.146 +     Touya wasn't sure if that was the best plan but agreed.  He
 457.147 +looked at her to make sure she was ok, then pulled quickly.
 457.148 +Sakura yelled in pain as her fingers were forcefully released
 457.149 +from her body.  She dug her fingers into Touya's shoulder,
 457.150 +causing him to wince.  But as her fingers came free, she was
 457.151 +caught off guard as out of nowhere, the feeling she was
 457.152 +originally looking for came to her.  She shivered in front of
 457.153 +Touya as the pressure built, then exploded.
 457.154 +     "Oh . . . oh . . . ONIICHAN!!!!"
 457.155 +     She dove into Touya's chest, grasping him with her now
 457.156 +blood-covered hand.  The strain was too much for poor Sakura.
 457.157 +Her body seemed to tear itself apart.  Pain and pleasure were now
 457.158 +on equal footing.  She became dizzy and blacked out.  As she lost
 457.159 +consciousness, her last thought frightened her.
 457.160 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . how could you do this to me?"
 457.161 +
 457.162 +     Tomoyo woke up that morning feeling better than she had her
 457.163 +entire life.  She was unsure about yesterday's events before but
 457.164 +had arisen with a new feeling of assurance and security.  She
 457.165 +gleefully prepared for school, ready to experience her new
 457.166 +friendship with Sakura.  Her mind raced with thoughts of the
 457.167 +evening before and how it would affect their daily relationship.
 457.168 +She was so oblivious to her surroundings that when she finally
 457.169 +calmed down, she was in the hallways of Tomoeda Elementary
 457.170 +heading for her homeroom.  As she walked the familiar steps, she
 457.171 +remininsced about the many months before and her growing feelings
 457.172 +for Sakura.  How after months of helping Sakura and studying her
 457.173 +videos, her eyes slowly focused from the costume to the girl
 457.174 +beneath the costume.  How she caught herself spending minutes
 457.175 +just staing at the girl's face and how those minutes became
 457.176 +hours.  Soon she noticed the thin arms and smooth legs.  Costumes
 457.177 +became a little more revealing now and then.  She'd film her in
 457.178 +delight, then hurry home to watch.  She remembered the day she
 457.179 +felt the now familiar feelings through her body and the day she
 457.180 +realized the battle videos weren't enough.  She began inviting
 457.181 +her to her home to try new outfits.  She had hidden cameras to
 457.182 +capture the girl's beauty indefinitely.  And capture it it did.
 457.183 +Now the leaping and swinging of batons were replaced with the
 457.184 +sliding of cloth and the exposure of skin.  Even as much as the
 457.185 +girl's underwear at times.  Then one day it happened.  The
 457.186 +revealing of the girl's bare chest.  She had seen it before but
 457.187 +now it was different.  Her new feelings combined with the pure
 457.188 +voyeurism of the situation made her feel strange.  And she
 457.189 +remembered the moment she went to investigate the sensations,
 457.190 +bringing her to discover the greatest joy of her young life.
 457.191 +Just the thought of her first time made Tomoyo excited.  She felt
 457.192 +herself slightly through her school skirt and gasped.  Realizing
 457.193 +what she was doing, she stopped for a moment then giggled to
 457.194 +herself.  After composing herself, she bounded up to the door of
 457.195 +her homeroom.  She swung open the door but no one was there.  She
 457.196 +was a bit surprised as Sakura usually got to class a little
 457.197 +earlier than her.
 457.198 +     "Hmmm....I guess she's a little late."
 457.199 +     Tomoyo sat around for a few minutes but Sakura failed to
 457.200 +appear.  After a little while, students began to slowly filter
 457.201 +in, including Rika, Naoko, and the others.  Tomoyo went up to
 457.202 +them.
 457.203 +     "Have you seen Sakura-chan this morning?"
 457.204 +     All she asked responded the same, not having seen her
 457.205 +anywhere.  Class started as normal and the teacher appeared and
 457.206 +took roll.  When Sakura's voice didn't follow her name, the class
 457.207 +was asked where she was.  Everyone assumed she was absent that
 457.208 +day.  Tomoyo answered that she had seen her yesterday and seemed
 457.209 +fine.  The teacher shrugged and continued with roll call.  Tomoyo
 457.210 +blushed a little as memories of yesterday once again came back.
 457.211 +She quickly shook the images out of her mind and focused on
 457.212 +class.  During lunch, Tomoyo sat in the usual place where she and
 457.213 +Sakura ate.  She was just finishing when she heard a voice from
 457.214 +afar.
 457.215 +     "Hey....Tomoyo-chan."
 457.216 +     She was surprised to see Touya outside the fence with
 457.217 +Yukito.  She greeted them warmly but Touya became somewhat
 457.218 +serious.
 457.219 +     "Would you mind checking up on Sakura after school?"
 457.220 +     "Huh?  What's wrong?  Is she sick?"
 457.221 +     Touya needed to pick his words carefully.  He promised not
 457.222 +to tell anyone but knew Sakura should discuss this with her best
 457.223 +friend.  He could only do so much.  He couldn't let Yukito know,
 457.224 +either.
 457.225 +     "Well, she hurt herself last night.  She's ok.  I was just
 457.226 +wondering if you could go see her."
 457.227 +     Tomoyo was just happy she knew where Sakura was.  She beamed
 457.228 +happily.  "Of course I'll go."
 457.229 +     "Ok.  I'll meet you here after school.  We can go on my
 457.230 +bike.  Is that ok?"
 457.231 +     "Ummm . . . sure."
 457.232 +     With that, Touya and Yukito left.  Tomoyo was relieved but
 457.233 +wondered why Touya would want her to get there so quickly.
 457.234 +Surely she couldn't have hurt herself that badly.  Maybe she
 457.235 +tripped and hurt herself on the way home from her house.  Once
 457.236 +again, Tomoyo's thoughts were a little dirty as she waited for
 457.237 +school to end.
 457.238 +
 457.239 +     After school, Touya brought Tomoyo to the house as promised.
 457.240 +Tomoyo was met at the door by Sakura's father, who was on his way
 457.241 +to the university.
 457.242 +     "Hello Tomoyo-chan.  Sorry I can't stay but I have to get
 457.243 +back to work.  I've been real busy lately.  I wasn't even here
 457.244 +when Sakura hurt herself."
 457.245 +     "Really?"
 457.246 +     "I rushed home that night to check on her.  Fortunately it
 457.247 +wasn't too serious.  But I have to go back and catch up on some
 457.248 +unfinished business.  Please help yourself to anything.  Touya
 457.249 +should be able to show you before he heads to work."
 457.250 +     "Thank you."
 457.251 +     Tomoyo gracefully bowed and he headed off.  Touya brought
 457.252 +Tomoyo into the house and gave her some cake and juice before
 457.253 +heading upstairs to change.  As he was leaving, he peeked into
 457.254 +Sakura's room.  The lights were out as all he could see of Sakura
 457.255 +was a lump under the covers.  He whispered to her.
 457.256 +     "Sakura, you have a visitor."
 457.257 +     Sakura slowly shook and uttered a noise which Touya took as
 457.258 +approval.
 457.259 +     "Try to cheer up Sakura.  You're no good like this."
 457.260 +     Once again Sakura moaned, just enough to acknowledge Touya's
 457.261 +existence.  Touya tried something else.
 457.262 +     "*SIGH*  What good is teasing a monster who won't fight
 457.263 +back?"
 457.264 +     There was a sharp silence and Touya wondered if he said the
 457.265 +wrong thing.  Suddenly he was hit with a pillow.  Through the
 457.266 +fluffy cotton he heard Sakura muttering.  " . . . I am NOT a
 457.267 +monster . . . "
 457.268 +     Touya just smiled at the remnants of the old Sakura showing
 457.269 +herself.
 457.270 +     "Well, I'm outta here.  I'll send Tomoyo-chan up in a sec."
 457.271 +     Touya closed the door and headed downstairs. Upon hearing
 457.272 +that name, Sakura's blood ran cold.  That was the last person she
 457.273 +wanted to see right now.  She knew she'd have to face her, but
 457.274 +she wasn't ready.  She fidgeted nervously as she thought of what
 457.275 +she would say.  Suddenly, a soft voice pierced Sakura's ears as
 457.276 +she tried to shut her out.
 457.277 +     "Sakura-chan?"
 457.278 +     ["Oh no . . . "]
 457.279 +     "Sakura-chan?  Are you awake?"
 457.280 +     Sakura meekly answered her.
 457.281 +     "Tomoyo-chan."
 457.282 +     "I heard you hurt yourself.  Are you ok?"
 457.283 +     " . . . Just sore."
 457.284 +     "Where is it?"
 457.285 +     Sakura quickly changed the subject, calling for Kero-chan,
 457.286 +but there was no answer.  Tomoyo spoke up.
 457.287 +     "I haven't seen him.  He must have left."
 457.288 +     Sakura's heart sank once again, realizing there was no way
 457.289 +to avoid this conversation.  She suddenly jumped as Tomoyo sat
 457.290 +next to her on the bed.  They both sat quietly for a while until
 457.291 +Tomoyo uttered words that made Sakura freeze.
 457.292 +     "You know, I've been thinking about you all day."
 457.293 +     Sakura said nothing as Tomoyo continued.
 457.294 +     "I . . . I just can't forget yesterday.  I haven't been able
 457.295 +to think about anything else.  The way you made me feel was
 457.296 +so . . . "
 457.297 +     Tomoyo trailed off leaving Sakura puzzled until she felt
 457.298 +Tomoyo's warm breath on the back of her neck.  She whispered
 457.299 +Sakura's name and lightly kissed her.  Sakura did NOT want this
 457.300 +now.  Of that she was sure.  Just the thought of it made her
 457.301 +nauseated.  However, in her condition she could only offer weak
 457.302 +resistance.  She mumbled weakly.
 457.303 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . I can't . . . "
 457.304 +     Tomoyo smiled at her friend.
 457.305 +     "It's ok.  Everyone's gone.  I'll help you forget your
 457.306 +pain."
 457.307 +     Sakura squirmed in protest as Tomoyo's hand felt her through
 457.308 +the covers.  As much as she wanted her to stop, no words would
 457.309 +leave her mouth as Tomoyo's hand slid under the sheets and slowly
 457.310 +rubbed her thigh through her pajamas.  Sakura shut her eyes as
 457.311 +she felt something build inside her.  She wasn't sure what it
 457.312 +was, but the closer Tomoyo got to her private area, the more she
 457.313 +felt it.  Sakura struggled harder to free herself as Tomoyo's
 457.314 +hand slid up her inner thigh.  Then suddenly her hand was firmly
 457.315 +against Sakura's crotch . . . and Sakura exploded.
 457.316 +     "LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
 457.317 +     Tomoyo jumped hearing Sakura's tone of voice.  Her body
 457.318 +tensed in fear, causing her to tightly grasp Sakura's crotch.
 457.319 +Sakura's eyes shot open as the pain returned full force.  She
 457.320 +yelled as she retreated from Tomoyo sharply, protecting herself.
 457.321 +Tomoyo rose from the bed in shock.  She looked at Sakura
 457.322 +terrified.
 457.323 +     "I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to . . . "
 457.324 +     Her voice trailed off as she noticed her right hand was a
 457.325 +little damp.  She looked at it and saw small, thin areas of light
 457.326 +red along with the usual fluid.  Tomoyo gasped as she slowly
 457.327 +realized what Sakura's problem was.
 457.328 +     "Sakura-chan!  Is this it?  How did this happen?!  It wasn't
 457.329 +because of . . . "
 457.330 +     "Get out."
 457.331 +     Tomoyo couldn't believe what she had just heard.  She
 457.332 +approached Sakura slowly.
 457.333 +     "Sakura-chan?"
 457.334 +     "Get . . . out."
 457.335 +     Tomoyo began pleading with Sakura.
 457.336 +     "I didn't know this would happen!  I was only trying to..."
 457.337 +     Sakura didn't want to hear anymore.
 457.338 +     "Shut up!  This is all your fault!  I hurt so much I can't
 457.339 +even move!  And you STILL tried to touch me!  Even after I said
 457.340 +not to!"
 457.341 +     Tomoyo started to break into tears.
 457.342 +     "Sakura-chan . . . I . . . "
 457.343 +     "Get OUT!  I never want to talk to you AGAIN!!"
 457.344 +     Those words shook Tomoyo to her core.  She felt her body
 457.345 +become hollow and her heart explode into a million pieces.  She
 457.346 +would do anything to stop this feeling but it was too late.  She
 457.347 +had gone too far.
 457.348 +     " . . . I'M SORRY!"
 457.349 +     With that, Tomoyo ran out of Sakura's life forever.
 457.350 \ No newline at end of file

   458.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   458.2 +++ b/stories/sakuralemonpt3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   458.3 @@ -0,0 +1,483 @@
   458.4 +
   458.5 +
   458.6 +                      Standard disclaimer:
   458.7 +     See parts I and II for the disclaimer.  You can probably recite
   458.8 +these things by heart now, anyway.
   458.9 +
  458.10 +
  458.11 +                     Sakura Lemon--Part III
  458.12 +                           KaitouAce
  458.13 +
  458.14 +     Tomoyo muttered pathetically as she lay in her bed.  She had
  458.15 +destroyed the most important thing she could ever have: her
  458.16 +friendship with Sakura.  Everything was a haze to Tomoyo, her
  458.17 +vision clouded by pain and tears.  Her head pounded, her heart
  458.18 +ached . . . it was as if Sakura's rejection had made her
  458.19 +physically ill.  All she could hear was Sakura's anger-filled
  458.20 +voice.  And the more she heard it, the sicker she became.  All
  458.21 +she wanted was for the anguish to end.  Sadly, she could only
  458.22 +come to one conclusion.  There was only one definite way to stop
  458.23 +the pain.  The very idea terrified her but Sakura's coldness was
  458.24 +worse.  She stood up, tears pouring down her face, and prepared
  458.25 +for the end.  But as she reached the door, something stopped her.
  458.26 +As much as she knew she didn't deserve it, she couldn't bear to
  458.27 +leave this world without seeing Sakura's smile once more.  And as
  458.28 +she thought about Sakura, she couldn't help but remember their
  458.29 +last, fabulous evening together.  She desperately shook the image
  458.30 +out of her mind.  She wouldn't do that.  She had no right.  Not
  458.31 +after what she did to Sakura.  But her body was in too much need.
  458.32 +She couldn't resist the urge of one final moment of ecstacy.
  458.33 +Tomoyo slowly turned toward her viewing room, disgusted with
  458.34 +herself for not being able to give Sakura the respect she
  458.35 +deserved.  As she headed inside she slowly began to disrobe.  She
  458.36 +took a final breath and began to descend the slope of the
  458.37 +theater-like room.  To her, it felt as if she was entering her
  458.38 +own Dante's Inferno with the trail of clothes the only symbol of
  458.39 +her existence and her only lifeline from eternal damnation.
  458.40 +
  458.41 +
  458.42 +     Sakura sat in her room silently.  She couldn't believe what
  458.43 +she had done.  Tomoyo was gone.  But it had to be.  Tomoyo had
  458.44 +hurt her in a way no one had ever hurt her before.  She deserved
  458.45 +it.  But that didn't make it any less painful.  She felt her eyes
  458.46 +well up again as she fell deeper into sadness.
  458.47 +     "Sakura."
  458.48 +     Sakura jumped when she heard her name.  She turned, trying
  458.49 +to wipe the tears out of her eyes.
  458.50 +     "Sakura, are you all right?"
  458.51 +     She was surprised to see Kero-chan hovering in front of her
  458.52 +with a look of concern on his face.  Sakura quickly tried to come
  458.53 +up with a story to hide her shame.
  458.54 +     "Oh!  Kero-chan!  I'm fine!  Just . . . something in my
  458.55 +eyes."
  458.56 +     Kero-chan sighed and stared at her intently.
  458.57 +     "No need to lie Sakura.  I know what happened.  I was there,
  458.58 +remember?"
  458.59 +     Sakura gasped as she barely recalled when Kero-chan flew to
  458.60 +her that night before Touya came in.  It didn't occur to her that
  458.61 +he had overheard the whole thing.  Sakura started to cry again.
  458.62 +     "Kero-chan, I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to do it!  I . . . "
  458.63 +     "It's ok, Sakura.  Don't apologize.   But I did see Tomoyo
  458.64 +run out of here.  She looked really upset.  What happened?"
  458.65 +     Sakura stuttered, unsure of what to say.  But her silence
  458.66 +confirmed Kero-chan's suspicions.  " . . . It was her, wasn't
  458.67 +it?"
  458.68 +     Sakura's mouth was agape as her shameful secret was
  458.69 +revealed.  She desperately tried to defend herself.
  458.70 +     "It wasn't me!  It was Tomoyo-chan who did this to me!  I
  458.71 +can't help it anymore!  Please let me stay a Card Captor!"
  458.72 +     Kero-chan became more than a little agitated at Sakura's
  458.73 +words.
  458.74 +     "Be quiet, Sakura!"
  458.75 +     Sakura was shocked at Kero-chan's tone and prepared herself
  458.76 +for the worst.
  458.77 +     "You are and will always be a Card Captor.  Nothing can
  458.78 +change your destiny.  Your personal feelings and affiliations are
  458.79 +irrevelant.  If you weren't worthy, you wouldn't have been able
  458.80 +to open the book.  But what MIGHT change you is if you continue
  458.81 +to blame your friend for your mistake."
  458.82 +     Sakura sat quietly, absorbing Kero-chan's words.  Surely
  458.83 +that wasn' t right.  All that pain she went through, all that
  458.84 +suffering . . . Tomoyo was the cause.  She was the one who made
  458.85 +her feel . . . Sakura froze.  As strange a situation as this was,
  458.86 +all Tomoyo did was make her feel good.  Really good.  The pain
  458.87 +came later . . . when Sakura tried to do things herself.  But
  458.88 +Sakura was still confused.
  458.89 +     "It was Tomoyo-chan who made me feel like this.  I couldn't
  458.90 +stop myself . . . myself?"
  458.91 +     The word shook her completely.  Myself.  She couldn't
  458.92 +control HERSELF.  Tomoyo wasn't to blame for that.  And she
  458.93 +didn't know Sakura had hurt herself so the later pain wasn't
  458.94 +really her fault either.  She should  have just told Tomoyo
  458.95 +outright.  Then she would have understood.  Tomoyo was just
  458.96 +trying to help.  She began to feel relieved when her harsh words
  458.97 +came to mind.  Sakura visibly jumped as she realized what she
  458.98 +had done.
  458.99 +     "Oh no!  Kero-chan, I've done a horrible thing!  What do I
 458.100 +do?!"
 458.101 +     Sakura became frantic at the thought of not being friends
 458.102 +with Tomoyo anymore.  Once again, Kero-chan provided a simple
 458.103 +answer.
 458.104 +     "Apologize."
 458.105 +     "But . . . but how?  After what I said . . . "
 458.106 +     Kero-chan thought a bit, then came up with a way.  The only
 458.107 +way really, given the situation.  He blushed slightly as he said
 458.108 +it.
 458.109 +     " . . . Anyway you have to."
 458.110 +     Sakura realized what Kero-chan was suggesting and it
 458.111 +embarrassed her.  She questioned her friend.
 458.112 +     "Is--is that ok?"
 458.113 +     "Only you know the answer to that."
 458.114 +     Sakura slowly smiled and jumped from the bed.  She quickly
 458.115 +dressed and raced out of the house, determined to save her
 458.116 +friendship in any way possible.
 458.117 +
 458.118 +
 458.119 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . please."
 458.120 +     "Eh?  Please what, Sakura-chan?"
 458.121 +     "Please . . . touch me."
 458.122 +     Tomoyo sat back in a seat, completely nude rubbing herself
 458.123 +frantically while staring at the screen.
 458.124 +     One day.
 458.125 +     It had only been one day ago when they were
 458.126 +inseparable.  Now they were through and all Tomoyo had were
 458.127 +videos.  Tomoyo moaned as she orgasmed once again, the seat's
 458.128 +cushion now completely soaked.  Small drips occassionally fell
 458.129 +from the oversaturated fabric to the floor.  She had come more
 458.130 +times in the past hour than she had her entire young life.  Her
 458.131 +virgin lips were swollen and red.  Everytime she touched herself,
 458.132 +she caused herself pain.  But she didn't care.  Her suffering
 458.133 +paled in comparison to what Sakura must have felt.  Any pain was
 458.134 +well deserved.  She cried desperately to the screen.
 458.135 +     "Oh Sakura-chan!  What did I do?!  Please tell me!!!"
 458.136 +     But all that replied was just more evidence of her guilt as
 458.137 +she sank back in her seat, gingerly touching herself once again.
 458.138 +
 458.139 +     After being let in, Sakura rushed upstairs to Tomoyo's room.
 458.140 +Her mind was agonizing over what to say and do.  Should she just
 458.141 +apologize?  What if Tomoyo didn't accept?  And what about
 458.142 +Kero-chan's suggestion?  Should she actually go through with
 458.143 +that?  Fortunately for Sakura, she stopped thinking long enough
 458.144 +to avoid running into Tomoyo's door.  She knocked but found the
 458.145 +door already open.  She slowly stepped inside, ready to
 458.146 +apologize.  She quietly called for Tomoyo but she didn't appear
 458.147 +to be inside.  Sakura closed the door behind her.  After
 458.148 +searching for a minute, Sakura sat on Tomoyo's bed confused.  She
 458.149 +knew Tomoyo's room was large but it wasn't THAT large.  Sakura
 458.150 +began to whimper, wanting to clear things up as soon as possible.
 458.151 +     "Tomoyo-chan, where ARE you?"
 458.152 +     Just then, Sakura noticed Tomoyo's school shirt on the
 458.153 +floor.  She went to it and saw the skirt a little farther away.
 458.154 +They made a trail toward . . .
 458.155 +     "Her movie room!  I almost forgot!  She must be in there."
 458.156 +     Sakura was relieved that she had found her friend.  But
 458.157 +nothing could have prepared her for the scene she saw when she
 458.158 +entered.
 458.159 +
 458.160 +     Tomoyo was completely lost as she exhausted her mind and
 458.161 +body.  She was totally immersed in a fantasy world.  A world
 458.162 +where she and Sakura were best friends and even lovers.  She
 458.163 +didn't remember anything she was planning on doing or care if
 458.164 +anyone found her.  All that mattered was the smiles on the two
 458.165 +girls faces on the screen.  Just as she was forcing another
 458.166 +orgasm, a giant shadow loomed over the screen.  Tomoyo was
 458.167 +relieved.  Someone had finally found her.  Now her punishment
 458.168 +would be complete.  With luck, they'd yell at her, maybe even
 458.169 +beat her.  And if that wasn't enough, she could always . . .
 458.170 +     "Tomoyo-chan . . . "
 458.171 +     Tomoyo's head whirled around at the sound of the timid
 458.172 +voice.  As ready as she was for any kind of punishment, Tomoyo
 458.173 +couldn't handle Sakura.  She sat motionless in her seat waiting
 458.174 +for Sakura to approach.  But Sakura was frozen in place.  She
 458.175 +couldn't believe what she was seeing.  Her eyes were wide as
 458.176 +saucers as she watched the events of the previous evening play
 458.177 +out literally larger than life.  The clothing she had followed to
 458.178 +find Tomoyo had slowly filtered out of her arms and bundled up
 458.179 +near her feet.  She didn't even notice the door close behind her.
 458.180 +She just stared . . . and felt another powerful explosion
 458.181 +building.  Tomoyo tried to rush to Sakura and explain but her now
 458.182 +sore body protested such quick movements.  She slowly moved up to
 458.183 +Sakura with tears in her eyes and juices running down her leg.
 458.184 +     "Sakura . . . I . . . please listen."
 458.185 +     But Sakura wasn't.  Tomoyo's words faded as she stared at
 458.186 +the screen.  But what Sakura was seeing wasn't sex but love, pure
 458.187 +and unconditional.  As wonderful as the feelings in her body were
 458.188 +then, they were overshadowed by the feelings in her heart.
 458.189 +Tomoyo had gone so far just to please her, and she repaid her
 458.190 +with anger and deceit.  Sakura felt terrible at what she had
 458.191 +driven her friend to.  Her best friend who was . . .
 458.192 +     Sakura's vision now focused on the beautiful young girl
 458.193 +before her.  Her large, now reddish eyes, her long black hair,
 458.194 +pout lips, and pert breasts.  Sakura stared at Tomoyo and came to
 458.195 +a final decision.  The choice she needed and wanted.
 458.196 +     " . . . so please just . . . Sakura-chan?"
 458.197 +     Tomoyo stopped talking when she noticed Sakura's eyes on
 458.198 +her.  She knew she was naked but Sakura's intense stare
 458.199 +embarrassed her.  She started to reach for the clothing Sakura
 458.200 +dropped on the floor but Sakura gingerly pushed her back.  Tomoyo
 458.201 +was surprised and a little angry.  She may have been at fault but
 458.202 +she didn't need her shame to be prolonged any longer.  She just
 458.203 +needed her final punishment.  She looked sternly at Sakura but
 458.204 +received no reaction.  It was almost as if she were in a trance.
 458.205 +Tomoyo started to question Sakura but was stopped short as Sakura
 458.206 +quickly closed the distance between them.
 458.207 +     "Sakura-chan?"
 458.208 +     But Sakura continued to invade Tomoyo's personal space until
 458.209 +her entire body was touching Tomoyo, her clothing brushing
 458.210 +lightly against Tomoyo's nude form.  Sakura slowly moved her head
 458.211 +to Tomoyo's ear and whispered, breaking her silence.
 458.212 +     "You won't need those."
 458.213 +     Tomoyo was shocked by Sakura's remark as she staggered back
 458.214 +a bit, almost tumbling over.  She tried to compose herself but
 458.215 +Sakura was once again upon her, her eyes piercing Tomoyo's soul.
 458.216 +Sakura slowly took both her hands and held Tomoyo's head,
 458.217 +caressing her face and cheeks softly.  Tomoyo was terribly
 458.218 +confused and desperately in need of an answer to this situation.
 458.219 +But before she could ask, Sakura answered her without question as
 458.220 +she quickly darted forward and kissed Tomoyo strongly.
 458.221 +Unprepared, Tomoyo managed to break free and catch her breath.
 458.222 +She finally managed to ask her question.
 458.223 +     "S-Sakura-chan?  What are you doing?  What--what do you
 458.224 +want?"
 458.225 +     Sakura thought about all that had happened to the two of
 458.226 +them over the past 24 hours and about the apology she wanted to
 458.227 +give.  But at this moment, all that was secondary.  She answered
 458.228 +Tomoyo with the last word she would say until it was over.
 458.229 +     "You."
 458.230 +     Tomoyo immediately understood and was overjoyed.  By some
 458.231 +miracle, she had been forgiven.  She was about to run into
 458.232 +Sakura's arms but before she knew it she was already there,
 458.233 +Sakura closing the gap herself.  She stared once again into
 458.234 +Sakura's eyes which were loudly speaking her intentions.  She
 458.235 +slowly moved her head forward as Sakura did the same.  The two
 458.236 +met in a beautiful display of passion.  After a moment, Tomoyo
 458.237 +once again reluctantly broke their kiss.  She tugged Sakura
 458.238 +slightly, urging her back to her room.  However, Sakura didn't
 458.239 +budge.  She just looked at Tomoyo with the same wild eyes as
 458.240 +before.
 458.241 +     "Let's go back to my room, Sakura-chan."
 458.242 +     But Sakura answered Tomoyo by lightly carressing her small
 458.243 +breasts, pinching her right nipple.
 458.244 +     "Ahh!  Sakura-chan?  I . . . ohh . . . !  We can't!  Not
 458.245 +in . . . mmmmm!"
 458.246 +     Tomoyo ceased her objection as she was silenced by another
 458.247 +kiss from Sakura.  Whatever she had planned, it would take place
 458.248 +right then and there.  Tomoyo grudgingly agreed and began to lift
 458.249 +Sakura's shirt off her body.  But before she could, Sakura
 458.250 +grabbed Tomoyo's wrists and hauled her shirt back down.
 458.251 +     "S . . . Sakura-chan?"
 458.252 +     Sakura was determined to pay Tomoyo back for her friendship.
 458.253 +Prolonging Tomoyo's wait with her own wants would just be in the
 458.254 +way.  Sakura felt responsible for Tomoyo's sadness and was
 458.255 +planning on giving her something she'd remember her entire life.
 458.256 +Sakura wasn't concerned about herself.  This was Tomoyo's time.
 458.257 +Sakura wrapped her left arm around Tomoyo and proceeded to kiss
 458.258 +her neck, smiling as she heard her friend coo softly.  She then
 458.259 +caressed the inside of Tomoyo's thigh, getting her hand sticky
 458.260 +with Tomoyo's juices.  Sakura brought her hand up to her mouth
 458.261 +and tasted it, much to Tomoyo's surprise.
 458.262 +     She stared as she watched Sakura's tongue slowly twist and
 458.263 +squirm around her fingers, tasting Tomoyo with a look of hunger.
 458.264 +Tomoyo started getting excited at this display as she felt a new
 458.265 +trail slowly trickle down her leg.  Noticing this, Sakura smiled
 458.266 +and started to rub Tomoyo's thin slit directly.  But Tomoyo's
 458.267 +previous self-abuse proved to be too harsh as she winced at the
 458.268 +slight pain.  Sakura saw her expression and knew what was wrong.
 458.269 +She recalled the pain well.  Sakura closed her eyes in
 458.270 +contemplation.  Tomoyo looked at her in confusion and a bit of
 458.271 +sadness as well, feeling that she was hindering Sakura from even
 458.272 +giving her pleasure.  But after a moment, Sakura opened her eyes
 458.273 +and smiled.  Tomoyo was confused but soon didn't care as Sakura
 458.274 +slowly licked her throat.  Her tongue traveled down to Tomoyo's
 458.275 +left breast where she began to lick and suck at Tomoyo's erect
 458.276 +nipple.  Tomoyo squealed in delight as she grasped Sakura's head,
 458.277 +holding it to her chest.  But much to her dismay, Sakura soon
 458.278 +stopped this action and stared into her eyes.  Sakura then
 458.279 +enveloped Tomoyo in her arms and slowly slinked her way around
 458.280 +her body.  Tomoyo closed her eyes and purred at the feeling of
 458.281 +the soft cloth rubbing against her body.  But she didn't notice
 458.282 +Sakura snake her way down her body until she was on her knees.
 458.283 +Sakura smiled at the sight before her and began to lightly trace
 458.284 +a fingernail along Tomoyo's inner thigh.  Tomoyo opened her eyes
 458.285 +and was surprised to not see Sakura.  Suddenly she felt something
 458.286 +warm and damp on her leg.  She looked down in shock as Sakura was
 458.287 +slowly slurping up the many trails of juice along her legs.  She
 458.288 +stared timidly as Sakura's increasingly messy face followed the
 458.289 +tiny rivers of passion, eventually reaching their source.
 458.290 +     Sakura stared at Tomoyo's flower, shining faintly in the
 458.291 +semi-dark room.  She approached it cautiously, inhaling the aroma
 458.292 +her frend was giving off.  Tomoyo was fairly frightened, knees
 458.293 +visibly shaking as she awaited the inevitable contact.  Sakura
 458.294 +pressed her face into Tomoyo's crotch, nuzzling her nether region
 458.295 +while making herself even more messy.  Tomoyo caught moans under
 458.296 +her breath as she slowly began to rock her hips, pushing herself
 458.297 +into her friend.  Sakura rubbed her face and cheeks into Tomoyo's
 458.298 +crotch, feeling her friend's warmth as it spread across her face.
 458.299 +She pulled away slowly, watching as a few sticky strands
 458.300 +stretched from her face to Tomoyo before lightly breaking in the
 458.301 +air.  Sakura looked lovingly at Tomoyo's pussy, lips slightly
 458.302 +swollen from before.  Sakura raised her hands to it, parting it
 458.303 +slightly with both thumbs.  She looked at the sensitive organ and
 458.304 +blew on it gently.  Tomoyo squealed at the cold intrusion.
 458.305 +Sakura then lightly kissed it, pecking it in various places.
 458.306 +Tomoyo was more than ready for Sakura to start but she continued
 458.307 +toying with her.  Tomoyo began whimpering awaiting release and
 458.308 +Sakura smiled inwardly, remembering how Tomoyo made her
 458.309 +practically beg for contact before.  She felt Tomoyo push the
 458.310 +back of her head with her hands and decided not to make her wait
 458.311 +any longer.  Sakura slowly extended her tongue and laid it at the
 458.312 +bottom of Tomoyo's pussy.  She wiggled it briefly making Tomoyo
 458.313 +squirm before making one broad stroke from the bottom of Tomoyo's
 458.314 +slit to the top.
 458.315 +     " . . . OOOOOOHHHH!!!!!"
 458.316 +     With that sound, Sakura began licking at Tomoyo in earnest.
 458.317 +Tomoyo shuddered with passion as she drove Sakura's head into her
 458.318 +crotch, trying to increase her pleasure as much as possible.  For
 458.319 +her, this was like a dream come true.  There was nothing but
 458.320 +them.  She ran her fingers through Sakura's hair as she bucked
 458.321 +her hips into Sakura's face.  Sakura's head was swimming with the
 458.322 +aroma of her friend.  She increased her licking at a frenzied
 458.323 +pace.  She was caught in a cycle.  The faster she went, the
 458.324 +stronger the aroma and the stronger the smell, the faster she
 458.325 +went.  Sakura thrust her tongue deep into Tomoyo, causing her
 458.326 +legs to buckle and body to shake.  Sakura had noticed a small nub
 458.327 +at the upper part of Tomoyo's slit that was barely visible.
 458.328 +Whenever she touched it, Tomoyo's pleasure seemed to increase.
 458.329 +She began focusing on that area and Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's head
 458.330 +with both hands, confirming her discovery.  Tomoyo began flowing
 458.331 +stronger than before and Sakura savored every drop.  Tomoyo began
 458.332 +panting and moaning at a increasing pace and Sakura knew she was
 458.333 +ready.  Sakura's hands slowly moved up Tomoyo's legs until they
 458.334 +reached her rear.  Sakura rubbed it softly with both hands
 458.335 +causing more squirming from Tomoyo.  Suddenly, without warning,
 458.336 +Sakura gripped Tomoyo firmly, forcing her hips into her face.
 458.337 +Using this leverage, Sakura thrust her tongue as far inside
 458.338 +Tomoyo as possible while sucking her lower lips as hard as she
 458.339 +could.
 458.340 +     Tomoyo froze, feeling the soft intruder penetrate farther
 458.341 +than she thought possible.  There was a moment of silence as
 458.342 +Sakura held Tomoyo in place.  Then Tomoyo exploded in a literal
 458.343 +flood of ecstasy, soaking Sakura's cute face as she yelled for
 458.344 +her friend at the top of her lungs.
 458.345 +
 458.346 +
 458.347 +     Tomoyo awoke in her room.  It took a second to remember what
 458.348 +happened.  She tried to move but her body refused, too exhausted
 458.349 +to comply.  She stared outward but didn't see Sakura.  She tried
 458.350 +to look around but was still too weak.  Wondering how she reached
 458.351 +her bed, she suddenly had a terrible thought.  Maybe it was all
 458.352 +just a hallucination.  A final grasp at redemption.  She called
 458.353 +for Sakura, her voice shaking and becoming frantic.
 458.354 +     "Sakura-chan . . . Sakura-chan!  Where are you?!
 458.355 +Sakura . . . "
 458.356 +     "I'm here."
 458.357 +     Tomoyo forced herself to jerk around to see Sakura sitting
 458.358 +slightly behind her.
 458.359 +     "Sakura-chan."
 458.360 +     Tomoyo was obviously relieved as she fell backwards, her
 458.361 +head resting in Sakura's lap.  Sakura proceeded to run her
 458.362 +fingers through Tomoyo's hair.
 458.363 +     "Sakura-chan . . . that was wonderful.  But . . . are you
 458.364 +okay with all this?"
 458.365 +     Sakura shook her head and smiled at her friend.
 458.366 +     "Yeah.  I'm really sorry about what I said.  You were just
 458.367 +trying to do what you thought was right.  I just took it too far
 458.368 +without understanding.  I should have talked to you first."
 458.369 +     Tomoyo flushed slightly at the remark.
 458.370 +     "Well . . . it's not like I know everything about this.  I'm
 458.371 +fairly new to this as well.  I don't know much more than you.  I
 458.372 +wanted to ask but was afraid of peoples reactions."
 458.373 +     "I know what you mean.  So what do we do?"
 458.374 +     Tomoyo closed her eyes in thought, then spoke.
 458.375 +     "Keep living, I suppose."
 458.376 +     Sakura realized that was really all either of them could do.
 458.377 +Being discovered may be a problem but that shouldn't affect their
 458.378 +relationship.  The important thing was that she and Tomoyo were
 458.379 +together.  She held Tomoyo's hand as she stared down at her
 458.380 +newfound lover.  No matter what happened from now on, they would
 458.381 +face it as friends.
 458.382 +
 458.383 +
 458.384 +
 458.385 +     END . . . . . . for now.
 458.386 +
 458.387 +
 458.388 +
 458.389 +
 458.390 +
 458.391 +
 458.392 +
 458.393 +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 458.394 +
 458.395 +
 458.396 +     Well, that's the end of my first fanfic.  Hope everyone
 458.397 +liked reading it as much I liked writing it.  Well, the first
 458.398 +time anyway.  Typing hunched over a keyboard for hours sucks.
 458.399 +     I'd rather just have a pencil.
 458.400 +     Any comments, criticitsms, etc. can be made to
 458.401 +kaitouace@hotmail.com.  With the exception of pointless flames,
 458.402 +I'll ALWAYS write back if you like.
 458.403 +
 458.404 +Upcoming stories:
 458.405 +Tenchi/Sasami----MY version
 458.406 +Chibiusa/Usagi
 458.407 +
 458.408 +Later stuff:
 458.409 +Chibiusa/Hotaru
 458.410 +Sasami/Misao (Pretty Sammy TV)
 458.411 +Second Card Captor Sakura Trilogy (Li and Mei Lin mostly)
 458.412 +Utena/Anthy?
 458.413 +ChaCha story?
 458.414 +Chibiusa/Helios?
 458.415 +
 458.416 +     If you're wondering why all these stories have young
 458.417 +characters, keep reading.
 458.418 +     If anyone's still here after the show, I'd like to explain
 458.419 +the method to my madness.
 458.420 +     I'm one of the guys everyone hates.  I'm a constant lurker,
 458.421 +don't sign any guestbooks (usually), and only expect to find
 458.422 +totally free hentai on the net.  But besides all that, I think
 458.423 +there are certain people who get bad reps.  Everywhere I go, even
 458.424 +among hentai guys, people who look at fics like these are
 458.425 +considered scum or losers at best.  Pedophiles at worst . . . or
 458.426 +is that the same thing?  Anyhow, I don't particularly think
 458.427 +that's fair.  First of all, good writing is good writing.  I'd
 458.428 +rather read a good Sasami story than a crappy Ryoko story.
 458.429 +That's what I'm trying to do.  I'm not much on lots of foul
 458.430 +language and dirty slang.  Not that I'm putting that down, I just
 458.431 +can't write that way.  I've been told I'm a bit of a romantic and
 458.432 +that shows in most of my writing.  What I see a LOT of is bad
 458.433 +writing with young characters, which makes it just that much
 458.434 +harder for guys like me.  I'm trying to write some decent stories
 458.435 +with young characters so maybe we can get a LITTLE more respect.
 458.436 +I won't name names but some of the stuff is ridiculous enough
 458.437 +without it happening to 10 year olds.
 458.438 +     Which brings me to my next point.  I'm trying to be more
 458.439 +realistic as well.  First times involve pain.  Especially if it
 458.440 +were to happen then.  I want my stories to convey more physical
 458.441 +and mental realism.  Not EVERY girl in the world who has sex
 458.442 +enjoys it or if they do, may feel bad afterwards depending on the
 458.443 +situation.  I want more realism, plain and simple.  Not 8 year
 458.444 +olds with older guys up their butts with carrots AND animals in
 458.445 +their pussy . . . oops--said too much.
 458.446 +     Third, I LIKE little girls!  Let's face it.  The Japanese
 458.447 +culture isn't exactly against this type of thinking.  In most
 458.448 +shows out there, the "little girl" is usually the most likable of
 458.449 +the cast and there is always a little overshadowing to the
 458.450 +concept of them with the main character or some other guy.
 458.451 +Chibi-Usa and Mamoru, Sasami-chan and Tenchi, the list goes on.
 458.452 +Just look at the RIDICULOUS amount of Ruri Hoshino merchandise.
 458.453 +She's not the ONLY female on Nadesico, you know.
 458.454 +     Finally, anime age is NOT a fact, it's a suggestion.  To be
 458.455 +totally honest, ALL anime females look at least 2 years older
 458.456 +than their actual age.  Sailor Moon starts off at 14.  I can
 458.457 +BARELY see that.  I never bought Sasami being 8 as far as age
 458.458 +goes.  I have 8 year old cousins that don't look close to
 458.459 +whatever age she's supposed to be.  Plus the, younger characters
 458.460 +are almost ALWAYS the smartest or wisest characters.  Look at
 458.461 +Sasami and to a lesser extent, Washu.  It's like a trap, I tell
 458.462 +you!
 458.463 +     I also look at Sakura Lemon and see what's missing.  That
 458.464 +also is part of my reason for picking what I do.  Card Captor
 458.465 +Sakura is that popular and only ONE fic . . . not if I have
 458.466 +anything to say about it.
 458.467 +     But besides all this, just do your own thing.  I own TONS of
 458.468 +this stuff.  Little girls, big girls, mean girls, sweet girls,
 458.469 +whatever.  I don't put down ANYBODY'S stuff.  I have preferences
 458.470 +like anyone else but I can read them all . . . well, most of
 458.471 +them.  The most important thing to remember is: IT'S NOT REAL!
 458.472 +It's anime.  I dread the thought of anyone reading my fic and
 458.473 +molesting an elementary school girl.  Let's all just keep it in
 458.474 +our pants and agree to disagree.  I'll head to that cool Sasami
 458.475 +story and you can go to that Sailor Moon being raped by tentacles
 458.476 +and killed story.  Whatever floats your boat.
 458.477 +     I'm ALWAYS up for conversation too.  Annybody want to talk,
 458.478 +my address is kaitouace@hotmail.com.  Anyone agree, disagree,
 458.479 +want to ask me something, comment on my stories,or anything,
 458.480 +please do.  I'll ignore flames of course. I get that from my own
 458.481 +family.  But any actual critism will be commented on.  I'm still
 458.482 +worried about my writing.
 458.483 +
 458.484 +     That's it.  Sorry for babbling so long.  If you're still
 458.485 +here, that is.
 458.486 +

   459.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   459.2 +++ b/stories/seal02.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   459.3 @@ -0,0 +1,2391 @@
   459.4 +Title: Seal Cards
   459.5 +Subtitle: Corruption of Silence
   459.6 +Author: Matthias Engel aka MysticMew
   459.7 +Feedback: Solarsenshi@gmx.de
   459.8 +Status: Alpha
   459.9 +Fandom: Card Captor Sakura (manga), Slayers, Bishoujo Senshi 
  459.10 +Sailormoon (minor implications)
  459.11 +Rating: PG-13
  459.12 +Category: Romance, Action/Adventure, slight Crossover elements
  459.13 +Pairing: Sakura/Tomoyo
  459.14 +Timeline: Sequel to "Happy Years"
  459.15 +Summary: There are two more cards Clow created. Our couple must learn 
  459.16 +that even great mages are not prone to mistakes.
  459.17 +Sub-Summary: Caught in events Sakura finds herself face to face with 
  459.18 +the nightmare of her own timeline sooner than she would have liked. As 
  459.19 +events draw to an epic end, Sakura and Tomoyo are forced to risk 
  459.20 +everything, including their lives to prevent a catastrophe.
  459.21 +Distribution: MSD (www.catstrio.de), Shoujo Ai.com (www.shoujoai.com), 
  459.22 +ff.net (www.fanfiction.net), Mediaminer (www.mediaminer.org), Moonlit 
  459.23 +Nights (http://jrem.net/moonlit/tsFics.html) others may follow. If you 
  459.24 +like this fic for your story, please tell me, I'm not likely to put 
  459.25 +stones in your way, but I like to know where it goes.
  459.26 +Legal Disclaimer: This story features two females romantically 
  459.27 +involved. If that is illegal where you are or entirely not your thing, 
  459.28 +turn around and leave now.
  459.29 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and assorted 
  459.30 +companies, I claim no right on the characters and original storyline, 
  459.31 +neither do I claim any right on the small crossover elements in this 
  459.32 +story, they belong to their respective owners.
  459.33 +Story Disclaimer: Seal Cards: Corruption Silence(c)2003 by Matthias 
  459.34 +Engel
  459.35 +
  459.36 +Note: Names in () indicate the POV. If there is no name the scene is 
  459.37 +written in third person.
  459.38 +
  459.39 +******************************
  459.40 +
  459.41 +Foreword
  459.42 +
  459.43 +Not much to say. The last part in the Forbidden Cards series. Takes up 
  459.44 +directly after the first part of Seal Cards (Epitomes of Love). Next 
  459.45 +in line will be the BSSM pre-story though that one will also have 
  459.46 +slight Crossover indications, so if you want to stay for the whole 
  459.47 +ride you might want to look out for it.
  459.48 +I hope you've got some time, it turned out to be a longer part than 
  459.49 +originally intended.... Not that that is something new for the little 
  459.50 +terror...
  459.51 +
  459.52 +******************************
  459.53 +
  459.54 +Seal Cards: Corruption of Silence
  459.55 +Based on the works of CLAMP
  459.56 +Story Concept by Matthias Engel
  459.57 +
  459.58 +******************************
  459.59 +
  459.60 +(Sakura)
  459.61 +To describe exactly what the place looked like I would have to assume 
  459.62 +that the observer had to possess not only magical sight but also a 
  459.63 +fine understanding of the different layers of reality. On first glance 
  459.64 +all you might see was a field of orange-gold light, shining with the 
  459.65 +intensity that had you thinking you were right in the center of a sun. 
  459.66 +Yet, it wasn't actually blinding. Bright, yes. Even brighter than the 
  459.67 +human eye should be able to handle but at the same time gentle, filled 
  459.68 +with a certain harmony that inspired awe.
  459.69 +	I, with my limited skill, felt tiny in comparison to the sheer 
  459.70 +beauty of the place. This was much more magnificent than the 
  459.71 +experience of Love's simple energy output reflected on the outside 
  459.72 +world. Much like in a mother's womb I felt sheltered from the tainted 
  459.73 +world outside. The absolute purity of emotion was overwhelming. 
  459.74 +However, compared to our reaction outside to this increase in positive 
  459.75 +feelings, here I was at total peace, not compiled to act in certain 
  459.76 +ways. I basked in the ultimate experience of love, sinking into its 
  459.77 +embrace.
  459.78 +	Glancing over at Tomoyo, I noticed that she was equally 
  459.79 +overwhelmed. Wherever exactly we were, we had left Time's safety 
  459.80 +bubble behind and I didn't quite believe that it would have survived 
  459.81 +in here. I was a little perplexed actually to see Tomoyo. My actions 
  459.82 +of the last moments had been like watching a movie of myself. In a way 
  459.83 +it was me acting but in another I also was only watching my body move. 
  459.84 +I had realized on a certain level that I couldn't just simply capture 
  459.85 +Love, that this wasn't the right way and that there had to be a 
  459.86 +different approach. And I knew deep down that we had to face Love 
  459.87 +together. As a couple bond by her own element.
  459.88 +	Before either of us could speak, a faint glimmer attracted our 
  459.89 +attention. Turning towards the white sparkle of light I watched it 
  459.90 +brighten, expanding slightly. Slowly the shape of the card's sprite 
  459.91 +form became visible. I had seen it before but this time the features 
  459.92 +were much more defined. Golden-blond hair ran down the woman's back. 
  459.93 +She wore a simple yet elegant orange dress and her eyes sparkled a 
  459.94 +clear blue so enticingly beautiful that I felt the urge to kneel in 
  459.95 +humbleness, unworthy of that creature's attention. This was 
  459.96 +fascinating, none of the card's spiritual forms ever had been so 
  459.97 +vivid, so human... No, human didn't sound right. The woman seemed more 
  459.98 +like a goddess actually. A goddess that was incredibly lonely...
  459.99 +	Love looked at us with a warm smile that made my heart skip a 
 459.100 +beat. Cocking her head slightly to the side she seemed to be deep in 
 459.101 +thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened in obvious recognition. 
 459.102 +Yet the greeting was not exactly as I expected. "Greetings, Lina-dono, 
 459.103 +Amelia-dono. I had not expected you here."
 459.104 +	I blinked and traded a glance with Tomoyo who mirrored my own 
 459.105 +confusion. "Excuse us but I think you are mistaking..."
 459.106 +	Love laughed lightly and the sound was angelic to the ears. I 
 459.107 +realized that a lot of those effects were due to the fact we were in 
 459.108 +her realm of power. It had been similar with Time. Outside the sealing 
 459.109 +chamber her presence didn't seem to be so enormous all the time. "Oh, 
 459.110 +I know, I know. I apologize for that. It appears you are not awakened 
 459.111 +yet."
 459.112 +	Awakened? What the...? My surprise must have been visible since 
 459.113 +Love let go of another giggle, echoing throughout the surreal space.
 459.114 +	"Ah, don't worry about it. The time will come that you 
 459.115 +understand. Now though. I understand that you are Clow's successor and 
 459.116 +therefore technically my new Mistress." I nodded a little dumbly, 
 459.117 +still not quite grasping what exactly the words of the card's sprite 
 459.118 +had done to me. I had felt something stir inside of me at her words. 
 459.119 +Faint, tiny and almost impossible to notice but it was there.
 459.120 +	Love's happy, smiling expression didn't change but her tone of 
 459.121 +voice did as she continued. "Clow was a fool. If it wasn't for him, 
 459.122 +the Feared One would not be on the verge of breaking through our seal. 
 459.123 +He gave us form and therefore made us targets for her power. This form 
 459.124 +is limiting and it is only a matter of time before the Feared One will 
 459.125 +be able to take advantage of the disrupted flow," she stated bitterly. 
 459.126 +I could guess without a problem who the "Feared One" was supposed to 
 459.127 +be and the confirmation that my worst fears were proving true sent a 
 459.128 +shiver down my spine.
 459.129 +	"But Sakura-chan isn't like Clow! I'm sure she can fix things! 
 459.130 +She always does!" I turned a surprised look at Tomoyo and felt a wave 
 459.131 +of pride wash through me. The lavender-haired girl stared at Love 
 459.132 +intently, silently daring her to challenge the statement. She didn't 
 459.133 +seem to shy away from the otherworldly being but instead stood up for 
 459.134 +her faith in me. I really didn't deserve someone so incredible like 
 459.135 +her but I would certainly cherish that gift forever.
 459.136 +	Love didn't seem to mind the outburst at all. Instead her 
 459.137 +features softened even more as she regarded Tomoyo with a look, 
 459.138 +searching her eyes for some sort of confirmation for a moment, then 
 459.139 +turned back to me. "No, she is not like Clow. I could tell from the 
 459.140 +very first moment." The blue eyes flashed for a moment and I shrunk a 
 459.141 +little under the intense gaze. "So, what will you do now that you 
 459.142 +stand before me. What will you do to fix what Clow has damaged?"
 459.143 +	The question was genuine and honestly curious... and it took me 
 459.144 +totally off guard. I had not planned on any of this happening now. 
 459.145 +Yes, I had devoted so much time to search for the Seal Cards but 
 459.146 +hadn't actually given much thought to what exactly I wanted to do if I 
 459.147 +found them. They were the center of what held the seal on Pandora 
 459.148 +together after all and I couldn't just remove them without endangering 
 459.149 +the whole planet. I felt foolish at not really having thought about 
 459.150 +that, about rushing into this without a decent plan of action. And 
 459.151 +right now I wasn't quite sure how to answer Love's question.
 459.152 +
 459.153 +******************************
 459.154 +
 459.155 +(Tomoyo)
 459.156 +Sakura was clearly struggling with an answer to Love's question. I 
 459.157 +could tell she hadn't given it much thought which surprised me a 
 459.158 +little. Other than in her earlier childhood the Sakura of now was much 
 459.159 +more focused on her actions. What she did, she did with purpose. I 
 459.160 +should know since I had been treated to some of the happier moments 
 459.161 +that showed this change. Then again. Sakura also carried some great 
 459.162 +grief over everything that was tied to the current situation with her. 
 459.163 +And grief often served to easily cloud your common sense and rational 
 459.164 +judgment.
 459.165 +	I had thought about it myself for a while after Sakura revealed 
 459.166 +that bit of her timeline to me. When we were younger I had always 
 459.167 +tried to help out the brunette with her problems, trying to ease some 
 459.168 +of the weight off of her shoulders. She had often been so innocent and 
 459.169 +with such a pure heart that it was hard for her to come up with how to 
 459.170 +deal with serious situations that called for the possibility of 
 459.171 +hurting someone in the process if the decision she made was the wrong 
 459.172 +one... or especially the situation where someone would likely get hurt 
 459.173 +nonetheless.
 459.174 +	Sakura now was no longer afraid or incompetent to make these 
 459.175 +decision on her own which she showed quite impressively about four 
 459.176 +years ago - more or less relatively seen. Yet, I knew what a deep 
 459.177 +emotional scar the events of her timeline had left on my girlfriend. 
 459.178 +As much as she tried - successfully for the most part - to be cheerful 
 459.179 +for me and everyone else. So, although I did not know all the details 
 459.180 +- that much I was sure of - I had been thinking about the situation, 
 459.181 +trying to help Sakura in those small ways. I had somehow anticipated 
 459.182 +that moment might come and she might need my support then.
 459.183 +	Thinking had sparked some ideas but also some questions that 
 459.184 +needed to be answered first. And so, gathering my courage - since I 
 459.185 +was still rather impressed and awed by the sudden transition from the 
 459.186 +real world into this... other realm - I spoke up quietly, "Can I ask a 
 459.187 +question?"
 459.188 +	Both Love and Sakura turned to me, the latter raising an eyebrow 
 459.189 +a bit surprised while the former merely smiled and nodded. Taking this 
 459.190 +as a "Yes" I managed to bring my jumbled thoughts into some sort of 
 459.191 +order. "Sakura-chan told me that by creating you and the other card 
 459.192 +Clow made a mistake. I take it he was... aware of it because he put 
 459.193 +you... um, here." I gestured around us, not quite sure where exactly 
 459.194 +we were other than inside the seal which for some reason didn't sound 
 459.195 +appropriate enough for me. Love nodded. "Well," I asked tentatively, 
 459.196 +"I don't mean to offend your existence but... Couldn't Clow just 
 459.197 +have... returned you to what you were before?"
 459.198 +	At that Sakura also looked visibly curious and turned a 
 459.199 +questioning glance towards Love. The sprite looked a tad bit miffed at 
 459.200 +the question, obviously not really happy with the reply she was about 
 459.201 +to give. "That is a hard question to answer. You must understand that 
 459.202 +when Clow created us he invented an art of magic lore previously 
 459.203 +unheard of in such quality. In the old days - which have been long 
 459.204 +lost to human history - magic was drawn upon directly and so were the 
 459.205 +elements. They were used temporally. Clow, however, bound an element 
 459.206 +to an inanimate object, giving both the object and the element an 
 459.207 +independent personality in a way. That is what you see as our 
 459.208 +human-like appearance. We are a small portion of the larger thing but 
 459.209 +we can also interact and draw upon the flow of elemental power that we 
 459.210 +were once a part of. A lot like an Elemental but we are not as 
 459.211 +natural." Love paused, waiting for us to absorb this. I saw that 
 459.212 +Sakura seemed to have less trouble following while I had a hard time 
 459.213 +comprehending all of this. The gist of it wasn't lost on me though and 
 459.214 +I nodded to Love to continue.
 459.215 +	"When Clow created his first set of cards he bound a great 
 459.216 +amount of already pre-bound elemental flows - a mistake he did 
 459.217 +thankfully not repeat with the cards you own now - and by doing so 
 459.218 +unknowingly tapped into us who we have made up the seal for ancient 
 459.219 +times. I cannot really fault him since our nature is already 
 459.220 +complicated as it is and he must not have understood exactly what we 
 459.221 +there. The problem is that after creating us, he disrupted the flow of 
 459.222 +the seal. Yes, he did try to return the elements after realizing that 
 459.223 +grievous mistake. But Clow was a Black Mage for the most part. I do 
 459.224 +not mean that he was evil but he believed more in power and the use of 
 459.225 +dark magic for his purpose and that magic is also easier to force 
 459.226 +things rather than to patiently coax a power into doing one's will. 
 459.227 +And you cannot force healing. So fixing something, returning what he 
 459.228 +took by force, was much harder for him than the initiate action. 
 459.229 +Simply put, he put so much effort into creating us that with his 
 459.230 +personal affiliation it was impossible for him to simply undo it 
 459.231 +again." Love sighed mournfully. "He put us into the seal the way we 
 459.232 +are now to try and reduce the damage. But the Feared One is quite 
 459.233 +patient and we will not be able to hold her off much longer. Does that 
 459.234 +answer your question?"
 459.235 +	I nodded, my mind hard at work to process all this but I had 
 459.236 +gotten the answer to what I needed to know indeed. "Is it still 
 459.237 +possible to return the flow now?" I caught Sakura's eyes light up in 
 459.238 +the beginning of comprehension and smiled at her faithfully.
 459.239 +	Love considered the question for a moment. "I would believe so, 
 459.240 +given the right circumstances. Why?"
 459.241 +	At this point Sakura intervened. "I think I get where Tomo-chan 
 459.242 +is going. Clow's reincarnation said I was already much stronger than 
 459.243 +he was and my power is different from his, so is the way I treat the 
 459.244 +rest of the cards. I... I don't know if I can do it but if... if it's 
 459.245 +possible..." She looked down at her feet, almost appearing a little 
 459.246 +meek but I could tell from her posture and slightly shaking hands how 
 459.247 +much she wished to be able to make that difference.
 459.248 +	"I am certain Sakura-chan can make it," I put in reassuringly, 
 459.249 +squeezing my girlfriend's hand tightly. Sakura flashed me a grateful 
 459.250 +smile.
 459.251 +	Love smiled faintly but for the first time you could really tell 
 459.252 +it was fake. There was a deep melancholy in the sprite's eyes and once 
 459.253 +again I could see that soul-shattering loneliness. "Something is 
 459.254 +happening right now. My mate has left her path and moves into a 
 459.255 +specific direction. I was worried that is why I moved as well to meet 
 459.256 +her."
 459.257 +	"Mate?" I asked curiously. It was obvious Love was referring to 
 459.258 +the second card but the choice of word stroke me as odd.
 459.259 +	"In ancient times before the seal was created our power belonged 
 459.260 +to those that eventually fueled it into this layer. They were soul 
 459.261 +mates, so to say, and we are more or less mirror images of our former 
 459.262 +selves." A troubled look crossed her beautiful features and I could 
 459.263 +hardly think of anything else that had ever looked so out of place. "I 
 459.264 +do not doubt your abilities," Love addressed Sakura, "but if you claim 
 459.265 +me now, you must seek my mate with utmost haste or I fear the seal 
 459.266 +will break before the next sunrise. I do not know what happened to 
 459.267 +Silence but I worry for her well-being..." My heart reached out to the 
 459.268 +gentle sprite, looking so fragile and vulnerable at the moment. Not 
 459.269 +knowing what happened to her beloved had to be a terrible experience.
 459.270 +	I glanced at Sakura who had her eyes closed for a moment before 
 459.271 +moving forward with an expression of firm resolve in her face. I had 
 459.272 +seen it so often before but every time it fascinated me anew. Gently 
 459.273 +taking the sprite's hands in her own, Sakura smiled at her gently. 
 459.274 +"This is why I am here. I understand now about the consequences of 
 459.275 +unsealing Time." Love gasped at that. "I know now that this is what I 
 459.276 +was meant to do, why I am here now. I will set you free, both of you, 
 459.277 +that I promise." For a moment card and Card Mistress looked at each 
 459.278 +other and after almost a full minute - though I could not be sure how 
 459.279 +the passage of time was handled here - Love gave a slight nod. Sakura 
 459.280 +let go of her hands and stepped - or better floated - back slightly, 
 459.281 +never letting her gaze leave that of the card's spiritual form. Her 
 459.282 +star wand reappeared in her right hand from wherever it had gone and 
 459.283 +she brought it forward in a smooth but not at all forceful motion. 
 459.284 +"Return to your original form," the brunette almost whispered, "Clow 
 459.285 +Card."
 459.286 +	Somehow the whole thing was rather anti-climatic for a card that 
 459.287 +powerful. But then again, the real challenge was still to come.
 459.288 +
 459.289 +******************************
 459.290 +
 459.291 +(Sakura)
 459.292 +An hour later our small - relatively seen - yacht dropped anchor at 
 459.293 +one of the small island in the middle of the archipelago. Otousan 
 459.294 +pointed out that those small islands were not on any chart and Sonomi 
 459.295 +declared that she hadn't seen them until we were almost at shore. My 
 459.296 +suspicion was that all those small isles were either protected by a 
 459.297 +strong field of illusion or not entirely in the same dimension as 
 459.298 +ours. I didn't know that much about dimensional theory but I wouldn't 
 459.299 +exclude the possibility. Not that the issue was really relevant in 
 459.300 +light of the situation.
 459.301 +	"It's almost dusk already," I commented, looking over the small 
 459.302 +isle roughly a few miles in diameter. It would probably not take long 
 459.303 +to walk from one end to the other - even less flying. The most 
 459.304 +imposing landmark was the single mountain, rather thin but probably 
 459.305 +higher than the whole island. Up at the peak I could sense the 
 459.306 +unmistakable power of the second Seal Card. Silence.
 459.307 +	"It's up there," Tomoyo stated my thoughts quietly, making 
 459.308 +everyone look at her in surprise. Except me that is. Quite frankly I 
 459.309 +had only been mildly surprised that there obviously was some sort of 
 459.310 +magical gift inside my girlfriend. I had felt it on occasions before, 
 459.311 +especially during our... mating. While the intensity had me focused on 
 459.312 +other things more interesting I knew that feeling from Syaoran and my 
 459.313 +lovemaking on my timeline. In those moments you were the most exposed 
 459.314 +and your magic could run wild. No, I wasn't really surprised. More 
 459.315 +like curious since her magic seemed so different from my own. Older 
 459.316 +somehow, which might be a good explanation why neither of us had 
 459.317 +sensed anything yet. Ever since... claiming Love - it wasn't like I 
 459.318 +really had to return her to her original form since it wasn't really 
 459.319 +wild to begin with - the magic around Tomoyo was actually tangible.
 459.320 +	To my surprise someone else put the general surprise into words. 
 459.321 +"I am surprised you can see it."
 459.322 +	I blinked, turning sideways. That voice... Clad in long white 
 459.323 +and green Chinese robes a young boy around Tomoyo and my age had 
 459.324 +stepped up to our group. Unlike the ten-year old or the boy who once 
 459.325 +held my heart on my old timeline he had his brown hair tied into a 
 459.326 +ponytail falling lightly over one shoulder. A sword was stripped to 
 459.327 +the simple belt and he wore an expression that was hard to read.
 459.328 +	"Syaoran-kun," I whispered, a bit dumbstruck, rather floored by 
 459.329 +his sudden appearance. I had been so concentrated on what lay ahead 
 459.330 +off me that I had not even sensed his presence and therefore was not 
 459.331 +quite prepared for the conflicting emotions his appearance managed to 
 459.332 +stir in my heart. Those lasted only for a moment though. It surprised 
 459.333 +me a little how quickly I managed to get my feelings under control yet 
 459.334 +the last months - even if a bit under Love's influence - I had come to 
 459.335 +the unmistakable realization that my feelings for Tomoyo went far 
 459.336 +beyond what I had ever felt for Syaoran. And therefore, even before my 
 459.337 +girlfriend could react to his presence in any possible manner, I had 
 459.338 +reached out, lacing my fingers through her own and giving her hand a 
 459.339 +reassuring squeeze.
 459.340 +	"Sakura," Syaoran nodded, his voice not betraying his stoic 
 459.341 +demeanor for any other than me who got to know him pretty well in all 
 459.342 +the years we - well, his other self and I - had spent together. He did 
 459.343 +notice the clear gesture obviously and there was the barest hint of 
 459.344 +sadness, gone the next moment, but I was sure about its existence. 
 459.345 +That couldn't be helped though.
 459.346 +	"Where are many types of magic that Clow's family didn't even 
 459.347 +know about. You shouldn't be that surprised," I answered his question. 
 459.348 +"Excuse my bluntness. Not that I am not... happy to see you again but 
 459.349 +I am kind of in a hurry. While I can guess part of it already, why are 
 459.350 +you here?"
 459.351 +	Syaoran sighed and glanced up towards where Tomoyo had pointed. 
 459.352 +"Yes, it is quite obvious, isn't it. my mother and I both felt the 
 459.353 +disturbance in the seal's flow when Silence passed over China. I 
 459.354 +followed it all the way until here. It's been hovering there for the 
 459.355 +better part of an hour already, doing... well, nothing."
 459.356 +	I raised an eyebrow at Syaoran's obvious knowledge about the 
 459.357 +seal since the one of my timeline had only learned about it from his 
 459.358 +mother when there was little to do anymore. Something we both had been 
 459.359 +quite angry about. "So, your mother let you in on Clow's dirty, little 
 459.360 +secret, huh?"
 459.361 +	With a shrug the Chinese boy turned back to me. "Only the most 
 459.362 +necessary I am afraid. You seem to know what is going on for some 
 459.363 +reason though, so why don't you tell me?"
 459.364 +	Turning away I started to walk in the general direction of the 
 459.365 +mountain. "I don't have time to stand around. If you want to come 
 459.366 +along we can talk while walking." Glancing back at the rest of my 
 459.367 +family I asked, "Maybe you should wait here. This is going to be 
 459.368 +dangerous enough."
 459.369 +	Touya, as expected, wanted to protest, being the overprotective 
 459.370 +brother he always had been and still was most of the time, but Otousan 
 459.371 +was faster. "I saw a small building, looked like a shrine, at the base 
 459.372 +of the mountain. Maybe we should go there first. I'm sure there is a 
 459.373 +reason for a shrine to in the middle of an obviously uninhabited 
 459.374 +island."
 459.375 +	Syaoran nodded in agreement. "I spotted it too. But I wanted to 
 459.376 +wait for you before checking it out. Maybe it has some meaning for 
 459.377 +what is going on. What do you think, Sakura?"
 459.378 +	I traded a brief look with Tomoyo. The reasoning was logical. If 
 459.379 +a battle ensured, I wasn't sure about the effects. A building might 
 459.380 +provide more shelter than staying out at the open or in the ship. I 
 459.381 +really had not wanted to pull all of my assembled family along into 
 459.382 +this but that option was taken from me. Love had been clear about it 
 459.383 +that I couldn't return the flows individually. I had to have both 
 459.384 +cards to make this work and there was only a short time limit in 
 459.385 +between. I could have send them back with the ship and use Fly, of 
 459.386 +course. On the other hand I had no idea how much magic I had to spend 
 459.387 +in resealing the seal.
 459.388 +	There was not much helping it, as it seemed. "Alright. Let's 
 459.389 +go."
 459.390 +
 459.391 +******************************
 459.392 +
 459.393 +(Tomoyo
 459.394 +To say that Syaoran was shocked to learn how exactly it had come to 
 459.395 +the turning point in our lives about four years ago would have been an 
 459.396 +understatement. A big understatement. He was, I noted, quite furious 
 459.397 +at his mother for not telling him more about the seal but I suppose 
 459.398 +that was really not something the proud family of Clow's descendants 
 459.399 +liked to talk about. Also there was no telling how much Syaoran's 
 459.400 +mother really knew and how much she was just pretending to.
 459.401 +	I kept silent most of the way, letting Sakura explain. Yes, I 
 459.402 +was pretty surprised at seeing the Chinese boy here but after all that 
 459.403 +happened, especially under Love's gentle coaxing, I wasn't about to 
 459.404 +suddenly turn into a jealous, mistrusting bitch just because my 
 459.405 +girlfriend's ex-boyfriend turned up without warning. Going back and 
 459.406 +reviewing that last thought I had to suppress a giggle in spite of the 
 459.407 +serious situation. That sounded rather awful.
 459.408 +	That's just it though. The situation was serious. I should have 
 459.409 +known better than to think it would be that easy. Of course Sakura 
 459.410 +couldn't just claim the two Seal Cards one by one and return the flow 
 459.411 +in a similar fashion. They were like Light and Dark. Always bonded 
 459.412 +together. If it was even possible to return one power flow by itself, 
 459.413 +the result could very well be a greater disharmony as there had been 
 459.414 +through Clow's meddling. Now Sakura only had a few hours to catch the 
 459.415 +other card and return the seal's old strength. I wasn't one to doubt 
 459.416 +her ability to pull that off but the time limit was rather thin. 
 459.417 +Therefore it was necessary that all of us concentrated on the task at 
 459.418 +hand, not losing ourselves in personal quarrels.
 459.419 +	I was seriously glad that Yue had turned back to Yukito for the 
 459.420 +moment who managed to divert Touya's attention quite nicely. The older 
 459.421 +Kinomoto sibling kept throwing dark glances in Syaoran's direction, 
 459.422 +giving me the idea that the tension between him and the Chinese mage 
 459.423 +was not necessarily because of Sakura. They just simply didn't like it 
 459.424 +each other.
 459.425 +	I was amazed at how... relaxed the rest of the family took all 
 459.426 +this. Especially Sakura's father and Okaasan. They had obviously 
 459.427 +gotten the hint very quickly that keeping distraction at bay for the 
 459.428 +moment was the best thing to do. For Sakura and everyone else. This 
 459.429 +was the first time all of us have been card hunting together, 
 459.430 +especially our parents. It might have been involuntary but that 
 459.431 +couldn't be helped right now. And seeing all this loyalty and support 
 459.432 +my heart fluttered at the thought that I was an accepted part of this 
 459.433 +family.
 459.434 +	The sun had already disappeared behind the mountain, beginning 
 459.435 +to sink into the ocean behind it at any given time now. There were a 
 459.436 +few stars already visible in the sky. I felt a little tired but didn't 
 459.437 +want to complain right now. It was apparent Sakura wouldn't get any 
 459.438 +rest before sunrise and I would be there with her all the way. I 
 459.439 +always had been and always would be. There might not be much that I 
 459.440 +could do but Sakura herself had said that she depended on my support 
 459.441 +and faith for her strength. And if that was how I could help, I had 
 459.442 +sworn that I would always be there to give Sakura a reason to show her 
 459.443 +beautiful strength.
 459.444 +	"Hey, look! That must be it!" Kero-chan cried out from the front 
 459.445 +of our small group. He had taken the lead with Touya and Yukito, the 
 459.446 +adults behind them and then the three of us in order to give Sakura 
 459.447 +and Syaoran some time to talk... and to keep Touya and Syaoran out of 
 459.448 +each others' hairs. That arrangement had more or less worked since 
 459.449 +Okaasan and Fujitake-tousan had taken to give each other flustered and 
 459.450 +embarrassed looks instead of verbally bringing up what had happened 
 459.451 +under Love's influence. I doubted there really was any hidden feelings 
 459.452 +there. That was quite frankly impossible. Sakura had explained that 
 459.453 +Love sends out positive emotion. Feelings like jealousy - and in a way 
 459.454 +you could call it that, at least from Okaasan's part - were more or 
 459.455 +less also emotions associated with Love. What the card's power did was 
 459.456 +take that emotion and more or less return the opposite much stronger. 
 459.457 +I wasn't sure though if Sakura just said that for our parents piece of 
 459.458 +mind alone.
 459.459 +	At Kero's shout I tore my eyes away from Sakura and Syaoran who 
 459.460 +had stopped talking as well. The temple was hard to miss at first 
 459.461 +glance. Built under a ledge that covered the whole building in 
 459.462 +shadows. The design was quite unfamiliar to me and I was pretty sure 
 459.463 +the structure was one of its kind in the world. Dark blue stone 
 459.464 +sustained thick pillars who were built side by side in a way that it 
 459.465 +was rather impossible to actually pass through in between. At the 
 459.466 +sides the structure widened, stretching out to both sides like wings 
 459.467 +of some gigantic creature. There was a single entrance with something 
 459.468 +resembling a golden eye looking down at those who dared approach it. I 
 459.469 +really would like to know about the building's material and I was 
 459.470 +quite sure that eye was some form of crystal that was worth a lot of 
 459.471 +money.
 459.472 +	"Quite impressive," Okaasan stated as we all came to a stop at 
 459.473 +the base of the few stairs leading up to the entrance. "Looks rather 
 459.474 +lonely to me. I doubt someone is living out here."
 459.475 +	Sakura's father shook his head at this, scratching his chin 
 459.476 +thoughtfully. "I don't know. This place looks old and it is too clean 
 459.477 +and well taken care of to be abandoned." I had to agree with him on 
 459.478 +that one. The shrine looked neat and without a spot of cobwebs or 
 459.479 +dust, no debris lying around either.
 459.480 +	"Someone's coming," Sakura said and everyone stiffened 
 459.481 +automatically. I noticed Syaoran sending Sakura a surprised look at 
 459.482 +the statement but couldn't quite fathom why. Didn't he sense anything 
 459.483 +at all? I knew I was new to that kind of thing and if I could feel the 
 459.484 +presence then he should as well.
 459.485 +	I didn't have time to give that much more thought since whoever 
 459.486 +Sakura and I had sensed coming was just appearing in the entrance. The 
 459.487 +woman's features were striking. Clad in a white and blue traditional 
 459.488 +miko robe, with long blond-golden hair falling over her back, and 
 459.489 +enchanting blue eyes. Compared to Love's sprite form though this woman 
 459.490 +looked... older. Wiser, might be a better word. Her whole appearance 
 459.491 +spoke of a long lifespan and great experience collected in her years. 
 459.492 +But just like Love there was also a certain loneliness. It was harder 
 459.493 +to see than in the card's eyes but nevertheless was there. And while 
 459.494 +Love's loneliness had touched me I felt a heavy sadness tightening 
 459.495 +around my heart for a brief moment inspired from that of the woman. 
 459.496 +Something familiar and in a way compassionate that shouldn't be 
 459.497 +possible for strangers.
 459.498 +	Were we strangers? That was a more logical question than one 
 459.499 +might think because the moment I had seen the woman there was that 
 459.500 +undeniable feeling that I should... that I DID know her. That was 
 459.501 +absurd, of course, since I had always had a good memory and would 
 459.502 +surely have recognized someone as impressive as her. Yet I could not 
 459.503 +deny those feelings and this only served to really confuse me.
 459.504 +
 459.505 +******************************
 459.506 +
 459.507 +(Sakura)
 459.508 +Long blond hair, like a waterfall cascading down the back of a subtly 
 459.509 +powerful body. Blue eyes deep and enchanting. A lot like Tomoyo's at 
 459.510 +times but still different in their own way. They stroke a feeling of 
 459.511 +familiarity in my heart that was so strong it shook my very worldview. 
 459.512 +For a moment the older, wise but in a way rather lonely face was 
 459.513 +overlapped by something younger, more innocent, more kind and... 
 459.514 +happy. For a moment it was as if there was only me and that woman, our 
 459.515 +bodies pressed together, our lips...
 459.516 +	What the heck?
 459.517 +	The image had sent a shock through my system that managed to 
 459.518 +bring me out of whatever weird trance I had been in. I couldn't, for 
 459.519 +the life of me, figure out what exactly just happened there. It wasn't 
 459.520 +a fantasy. I didn't fantasize about other girls - especially strangers 
 459.521 +- like that. I had Tomoyo, I was perfectly happy with Tomoyo. In fact 
 459.522 +seeing and talking with Syaoran again had not changed a single thing 
 459.523 +about it. The feelings I once held for him had subsided. Some kind of 
 459.524 +love would forever be there. But it was dull and - as painfully as it 
 459.525 +sounded - negligible compared to the fulfillment being with Tomoyo 
 459.526 +gave me. But the feelings that had erupted in my heart for just a 
 459.527 +brief moment at this... this... image... they were almost just as 
 459.528 +strong. It didn't feel like a mind-produced possibility. It felt 
 459.529 +like... a memory.
 459.530 +	And that was rather disturbing, to say the least.
 459.531 +	"Welcome, I have been expecting you, Lina-san, Amelia-san," the 
 459.532 +voice of the woman shook me completely out of my momentary shock. She 
 459.533 +bowed her head respectfully and smiled up at me almost... apologetic.
 459.534 +	I was seriously glad that Tomoyo for some reason had also been 
 459.535 +intently focused on the woman because I was pretty sure she could have 
 459.536 +SEEN all that had went through my head just now with but a glance. She 
 459.537 +had always been able to do that. Also I was glad that although my 
 459.538 +girlfriend... mate, I corrected myself mentally - feeling a need to 
 459.539 +put an emphasis on our relationship -, was equally captivated by the 
 459.540 +blond-haired shrine keeper - I presumed -, Tomoyo was still able to 
 459.541 +formulate words. An ability I didn't feel quite content about right 
 459.542 +now. "That is funny. This is the second time someone called us that. 
 459.543 +Love did so, too..." Tomoyo trailed off but her words struck me as 
 459.544 +true and a wild thought entered my mind just then.
 459.545 +	What did Love say? We were not "awakened" yet? I've read a bit 
 459.546 +about reincarnation. Heck, Eriol was living proof for the whole thing. 
 459.547 +I knew through some brief acquaintances in my future, when everything 
 459.548 +went to hell, that there were a lot of people on this planet who were 
 459.549 +quite aware of a former life, even drawing power and knowledge from 
 459.550 +it. Was that what Love meant? Could this be what I just experienced? A 
 459.551 +flashback of some former life? I didn't really want to think about it 
 459.552 +but quite frankly the names used by both Love and the stranger 
 459.553 +sounded... right somehow.
 459.554 +	"I am sorry. As is true for Love's current form, my mind still 
 459.555 +lingers in the past sometimes." The woman smiled, yet it was a sad, 
 459.556 +wistful smile. One that made me feel... guilty somehow. It almost 
 459.557 +confirmed my theory. The smile quickly faded to a more serious 
 459.558 +expression, one that told of years... heck, probably centuries of 
 459.559 +experience. "My apologies again. My name is Filia. Before you ask. 
 459.560 +Yes, I am quite aware of why you are here and what is going on. We 
 459.561 +have little time indeed but there are things that I would wish you to 
 459.562 +know. If you would please follow me." She gestured towards the shrine 
 459.563 +entrance behind her.
 459.564 +	Numbly I felt myself follow, grasping Tomoyo's hand tightly as 
 459.565 +if to reassure myself that she wasn't going to disappear. I had the 
 459.566 +feeling that whatever those things were that Filia - the name stirred 
 459.567 +something in my heart as well - wanted us to know would start a chain 
 459.568 +of events that might jeopardize everything that I worked so hard to 
 459.569 +achieve. That somehow it would disturb the relationship between Tomoyo 
 459.570 +and me.
 459.571 +	She must have felt it because while we walked through a series 
 459.572 +of hallways, the lavender-haired girl next to me had moved a lot 
 459.573 +closer, her presence managing to calm myself down enough to think 
 459.574 +rationally again. Well, as rationally as possible in this situation. A 
 459.575 +situation that was quickly spinning out of control. Everything 
 459.576 +happened so fast, one shock after another. This was a turning point in 
 459.577 +our lives. A nexus of events to come. I could feel it. Whatever was 
 459.578 +done and discussed here on this island tonight would have an impact on 
 459.579 +the future. A heavy impact. And everyone seemed to feel it somehow 
 459.580 +because they mostly kept quiet, just the occasional question directed 
 459.581 +at our guide regarding the age of the structure or if she lived here 
 459.582 +all by herself. From which both answers only strengthened my rebirth 
 459.583 +theory.
 459.584 +	Really, for the rest of us the whole thing was probably just 
 459.585 +confusing. They were pulled along by the tidal wave Love's capture - 
 459.586 +or was it even further back than that? - had started. They could 
 459.587 +probably feel the rising tension and that something important was 
 459.588 +happening. But without a sufficiently trained magical sense... When I 
 459.589 +was just beginning all this, I doubt I would have sensed the coming - 
 459.590 +practically inevitable - change. But now I did. I saw that from 
 459.591 +Syaoran's somewhat grim expression he did too to some extent. Yet, I 
 459.592 +was pretty sure it didn't touch him as much as it did... us. Yes, us. 
 459.593 +From what I could see Tomoyo was deep in thought as well, trying to 
 459.594 +figure all this out. She was probably feeling now what I would have 
 459.595 +felt about twelve years ago - including two senses of time.
 459.596 +	And for some reason that DID reassure me. We were in on this 
 459.597 +together, somehow. There were ties between us even outside of this 
 459.598 +life. And I could FEEL these ties were strong.
 459.599 +	After walking for a bit, we reached a bigger chamber. Not really 
 459.600 +gigantic but the vibe I got from this room was of high importance and 
 459.601 +a sense of nostalgia. The presence from the young woman was rather 
 459.602 +active here. Heck, I wasn't even sure about her age. This Filia was a 
 459.603 +complete mystery to me. I couldn't get anything detailed from her 
 459.604 +aura. Her shields were nearly perfect, just showing glimpses of 
 459.605 +emotion on the outside every now and then. And I knew it took a very 
 459.606 +long time to hone your mental defenses like that.
 459.607 +	My observation was cut short though as my gaze settled on the 
 459.608 +interior of the room. Well... What was inside the room was rather 
 459.609 +sparse. More important were the various... pictures lining the wall. 
 459.610 +It was hard to describe them with proper terms because I'm not sure 
 459.611 +those terms existed in this time period. They seemed futuristic 
 459.612 +somehow, a bit like holograms, but also had a sort of ancient touch. 
 459.613 +Like paintings, or wall drawings. They actually looked like they were 
 459.614 +part of the wall.
 459.615 +	There were so many I had a hard time deciding where to look 
 459.616 +first, awed by the vividness of the pictures. There were a few though 
 459.617 +that caught my eye immediately and... well, not really surprised me. 
 459.618 +There were some of Her, making it painfully clear that this was some 
 459.619 +kind of memorial of a time long past. Probably of the time when 
 459.620 +Pandora was first imprisoned.
 459.621 +	What drew my attention like a moth to the flame though was a 
 459.622 +single picture, showing three young woman standing in a sort of 
 459.623 +triangle around an enormous structure, in poses of deep concentration. 
 459.624 +There were auras of power drawn around them. But that didn't really 
 459.625 +interest me right away. Those figures were familiar, so damn familiar. 
 459.626 +A woman in long robes with a staff and purple hair that I couldn't 
 459.627 +immediately place but knew deep down that she was... had been... 
 459.628 +important to me... us. A slightly younger woman who carried a somewhat 
 459.629 +child-like experience in white garb with a white cape and a necklace. 
 459.630 +She had shorter, black hair with a few purple highlights running 
 459.631 +through it. Her eyes, her eyes were much like... no, EXACTLY like 
 459.632 +Tomoyo's. And then there was the redheaded one. The most striking of 
 459.633 +the three. Dressed in similar clothing as the other two with a black 
 459.634 +cape I felt like looking in a mirror. Outwardly there were a lot of 
 459.635 +difference between her and me but still I just knew that...
 459.636 +	"Is that..." I whispered, speaking up for the first time since 
 459.637 +meeting Filia at the entrance and getting here. "... us?"
 459.638 +
 459.639 +******************************
 459.640 +
 459.641 +(Tomoyo)
 459.642 +"Is that... us?"
 459.643 +	Sakura's words shattered the tranquil atmosphere that had 
 459.644 +settled on the group since reaching the island. In the empty hallways 
 459.645 +of the shrine the silence had become more than just a little uneasy. 
 459.646 +Barely bearable. More like suffocating actually. At any other given 
 459.647 +time I would have enjoyed the rich style of art with which the shrine 
 459.648 +was built, its true beauty kept more to the inside than the outside. I 
 459.649 +would have been excited, would have loved to ask more questions...
 459.650 +	But they were inappropriate. And deep down I knew that those 
 459.651 +things were irrelevant. They simply did not matter right now. Not only 
 459.652 +because of the current situation that was still looming over our heads 
 459.653 +like the Grim Reaper's glaive. No, that wasn't all there was to it. I 
 459.654 +couldn't explain it. I lacked the words or Sakura's understanding of 
 459.655 +the mythical. I did not have her experience. But I KNEW that there was 
 459.656 +something much bigger going on here. Sakura's unease was evident and 
 459.657 +even a totally insensitive jerk could have seen it.
 459.658 +	And now that feelings actually had a name. And the feelings 
 459.659 +Sakura's statement evoked were confusing, conflicting even. I realized 
 459.660 +that I had been staring at the exact same picture for the entire time, 
 459.661 +trying to figure out why those three woman looked so familiar and why 
 459.662 +my mind constantly tried to draw associations to Filia and Love's 
 459.663 +manner of address. However, a part of me was SCARED of that 
 459.664 +association. And to a degree that was because that part KNEW that the 
 459.665 +association was TRUE.
 459.666 +	"Nani?" Syaoran exclaimed next to us, looking incredulous. "You 
 459.667 +don't mean..."
 459.668 +	"Yes. This shrine was built in memory of a war that took place a 
 459.669 +very, very long time ago. And yes, you Kinomoto Sakura, as well as you 
 459.670 +Daidouji Tomoyo were a part of this war. At least your past lives have 
 459.671 +been as I am sure you have figured out by now." Even before the woman 
 459.672 +named Filia confirmed Sakura's statement, I knew it was that way. 
 459.673 +There was no denying it and doing so would only do more harm than 
 459.674 +good. That much I was certain of.
 459.675 +	"Is this from when the seal was made," Kero-chan asked from his 
 459.676 +place on Yuki... Yue's shoulder - darn, he really unnerved me with 
 459.677 +those changes sometimes. Kero's voice had grown deeper, more like his 
 459.678 +true self. More serious. For the first time I tore my gaze away from 
 459.679 +the picture of the three woman and noticed in various others the 
 459.680 +presence of a sinister vaguely female figure, often accompanied by an 
 459.681 +aura of evil that seemed to be alive, tangible in this artificial 
 459.682 +state. Sakura had never given me a clear description of how this 
 459.683 +Pandora looked, but there was no doubt that this had to be her.
 459.684 +	Filia nodded solemnly. She glanced at Sakura for a moment before 
 459.685 +launching into the tale and I really wished I wasn't so damn observant 
 459.686 +all the time. I could deal with Syaoran's looks directed at my 
 459.687 +girlfriend. It was to be expected that their was sadness, pain and 
 459.688 +probably some jealousy too. I could deal with that because Sakura had 
 459.689 +made her choice between us. But the same things that I saw in 
 459.690 +Syaoran's covered glances, it was there with the older woman too. Yet 
 459.691 +with Filia it was to a degree as much wistful as it was almost 
 459.692 +painfully intense. And what really got to me was that as hard as I 
 459.693 +wanted to be jealous, I couldn't be. Because some part of me knew this 
 459.694 +woman and this part just couldn't harbor any negative feelings towards 
 459.695 +her. It was confusing and frustrating and...
 459.696 +	I shoved it to the back of my mind, reminding myself that there 
 459.697 +were more important things to deal with right now. Besides, Sakura had 
 459.698 +been rather adamant about her faithfulness on more than one occasion. 
 459.699 +I had nothing to fear for the moment. I had time to dwell on that 
 459.700 +later when I knew more and the current mess was dealt with.
 459.701 +	"Time is short I know that." Filia looked up briefly out of the 
 459.702 +huge window above that showed the top of the mountain from where one 
 459.703 +magically gifted - which all of us except Okaasan were - could see 
 459.704 +Silence's presence hovering just above the tip. And those dark clouds 
 459.705 +that were gathering, slowly beginning to cover the Moon's light were 
 459.706 +more than just unsettling.
 459.707 +	"Those clouds aren't natural," I said quietly, more to myself 
 459.708 +than anyone else. But the quiet surrounding the group carried the 
 459.709 +words to everyone else without me even meaning them to.
 459.710 +	Sakura nodded grimly. "Yes, and it's getting worse. I don't 
 459.711 +think we have time to stand around here and talk. I really like to 
 459.712 +know more of this but it has to wait until after I finished what I 
 459.713 +started. There are only a few hours left. And I seriously have no idea 
 459.714 +how long this will take."
 459.715 +	Filia shook her head. "Please, trust me. You must know all that 
 459.716 +has happened back then. If not to awaken your past life's memories, 
 459.717 +then at least to truly know all that is at stake here. This must be 
 459.718 +hard for you to comprehend but please understand that I will not 
 459.719 +jeopardize all those years of lonely vigil to see you sacrifice 
 459.720 +yourself because you did not know all that there needs to be known."
 459.721 +	At this I studied the woman incredulously. From how she worded 
 459.722 +it, it was apparent that with "years" she didn't just mean, say a 
 459.723 +decade or more. No, it sounded more like she had been around the whole 
 459.724 +time, ever since the ancient war of which the pictures spoke. And that 
 459.725 +had to be a very LONG time. A pang of sympathy once again made me 
 459.726 +aware of how much that woman meant to me... had meant to me once.
 459.727 +	Filia turned away from us, glancing at the very picture that had 
 459.728 +Sakura and my attention captured moments ago and her voice was thick 
 459.729 +with emotion, lacking that certain element of control that had 
 459.730 +dominated her whole being for the few minutes I knew her. "I could not 
 459.731 +stand to see all of this happen again because I failed in my task. So 
 459.732 +many lives were lost to Her back then. The world must never experience 
 459.733 +this horror again."
 459.734 +	Sakura and I looked at each other and for the first time I 
 459.735 +really got a good look at my girlfriend's face and how much the whole 
 459.736 +thing affected her, how much that stranger affected her. And I also 
 459.737 +saw the fear there, the fear of things to come. But also the knowledge 
 459.738 +that this was an inevitable event and that she had to eventually face 
 459.739 +it. We had to eventually face it. I smiled at her reassuringly, 
 459.740 +briefly reaching up to brush some hair out of her face. Sakura knew I 
 459.741 +trusted her but as was the case so often she wasn't sure she was worth 
 459.742 +that trust. An unspoken understanding passed between us and Sakura 
 459.743 +slowly nodded.
 459.744 +	Whatever happened or had happened in the past, it was never 
 459.745 +going to destroy us. There was simply no turning back now after the 
 459.746 +events of just a few hours ago. The love that was between us was as 
 459.747 +vibrant as before and it would not weaken by whatever was to come in 
 459.748 +the future.
 459.749 +	Sakura turned back to Filia. "Alright," she said softly. "Then 
 459.750 +please tell us everything." She paused briefly, then added, "Anything 
 459.751 +that is needed to know."
 459.752 +
 459.753 +******************************
 459.754 +
 459.755 +(Filia)
 459.756 +I had been ready for that meeting. I had been forewarned by several 
 459.757 +sources but now that the time was really at hand I felt horribly 
 459.758 +unprepared, meager and insignificant. Seeing the two girls, even after 
 459.759 +all this long time still fond in my memory, standing before me again 
 459.760 +so young and vivid, so... different... I became painfully aware that 
 459.761 +they were not and probably would never be Lina Inverse and Amelia Wil 
 459.762 +Tesla Saillune again. My cherished friends and comrades. Their 
 459.763 +memories would eventually return but their personalities were so 
 459.764 +different that I could hardly expect them to be the same girls.
 459.765 +	Glancing at Sakura out of the corner of my eye, I added 
 459.766 +mournfully that She would definitely never be the same again. It was 
 459.767 +ironic but in the way there was not much difference to the situation 
 459.768 +of the past. I would always be a substitute anyway, as harsh as this 
 459.769 +might sound and as much as their old selves would probably protest. I 
 459.770 +never really belonged with them. And yet I had hoped and it was that 
 459.771 +hope that had kept me sane all these years.
 459.772 +	There was no time for that now. I had time to pity myself later. 
 459.773 +Silence was getting darker and I really didn't want to risk too much 
 459.774 +by keeping them here any longer than necessary. But even if they 
 459.775 +succeeded today, it would just be a small victory and they had to be 
 459.776 +prepared for the coming war. I desperately hoped that it wouldn't come 
 459.777 +to that, I prayed every day, but yet I knew that ultimately there 
 459.778 +would be no way to change the inevitable. Just prolong it until they 
 459.779 +were ready.
 459.780 +	Composing myself I nodded at the two girls who were standing 
 459.781 +rather close together, hand in hand. I hope I could do this well. I 
 459.782 +was never really good at storytelling and spending most of my time in 
 459.783 +solitude didn't help that skill any. "Eons ago, in a time long before 
 459.784 +the current evolution cycle of this planet, the universe was a rather 
 459.785 +dark place to live in. Life was scarce and lived in constant fear by 
 459.786 +the various entities and beings of darkness terrorizing the stars 
 459.787 +everywhere. Nobody knew where she came from, she came literally out of 
 459.788 +nowhere, wiping out whole civilizations with but a wave of her hand. 
 459.789 +Or so the stories were told among the stars. She is a being born from 
 459.790 +the negative side of Chaos. Chaos is what we deem the beginning as 
 459.791 +much as the end, where we come from and where we will eventually 
 459.792 +return to. It is neither Good or Evil. She, who was named Pandora, has 
 459.793 +practically no light in her. She is the embodiment of Darkness. All 
 459.794 +the negative emotions you can name and even those you can't. Hate, 
 459.795 +despair, malevolence. The races feared her everywhere."
 459.796 +	I paused gauging their reaction slowly. I realized that Li... 
 459.797 +Sakura must have told them from her own experience already and 
 459.798 +therefore the faces looking back to me were mostly grim but I could 
 459.799 +see the fear in the young brunette's eyes and I knew where it stemmed 
 459.800 +from. I knew very well what that monster was capable of, remembered it 
 459.801 +vividly even after all that time. Every time I went to sleep I saw the 
 459.802 +lives lost at her hands and the sacrifices made back then, including 
 459.803 +theirs and my own. Sad enough that what Sakura had witnessed was just 
 459.804 +a portion of what that being was really capable of.
 459.805 +	I turned around, gesturing at various of the holographic 
 459.806 +recordings associated with the last big war. "Then Pandora came to us. 
 459.807 +Earth was a torn planet back then, populated by many creatures who 
 459.808 +fought each other for dominance. We were rather ignorant for what was 
 459.809 +going on in the universe and were really not prepared for the terror 
 459.810 +Pandora brought upon us..."
 459.811 +	I moved over to a picture showing a young woman with silver hair 
 459.812 +bound in two ponytails with a crescent moon on her forehead. Next to 
 459.813 +her stood a younger girl with a similar hairstyle in blue tones. To 
 459.814 +the duo's left and right stood three others in their formal warrior 
 459.815 +uniforms. A blonde with long hair and blue eyes, a dark-haired shorter 
 459.816 +girl with a menacing-looking glaive and a taller woman with 
 459.817 +black-green hair and a long staff. From Sakura's reaction I could tell 
 459.818 +she did recognize the uniforms at least. Not to surprising considering 
 459.819 +from where she came. They ought to have met.
 459.820 +	"However, Earth has always had been a nexus of sorts. The 
 459.821 +mythical energy filling this planet and especially what is known as 
 459.822 +the Tokyo area in this time has a high concentration of power that 
 459.823 +attracts all sorts of gifted mages or other magical individuals. There 
 459.824 +was one girl who had a heart as pure as Pandora's was black though. 
 459.825 +She managed to unite as well the gifted as much as the God and Demon 
 459.826 +races of Earth to stand up to Pandora. A war ensured that was long and 
 459.827 +bloody. It claimed many deaths." I closed my eyes for a brief moment, 
 459.828 +trying hard to banish the memories rising to the surface. "But 
 459.829 +eventually we managed to seal the evil being away in a gigantic effort 
 459.830 +bringing peace to not only the world but the universe as well."
 459.831 +	I finally arrived at the image that - not surprisingly - held 
 459.832 +the most attention for the two girls who were now listening intently. 
 459.833 +"Despite all of our efforts the best we could do was seal her away. 
 459.834 +She was to powerful to just destroy. The seal consisted of two layers 
 459.835 +to ensure that Pandora would never break free again and terrorize 
 459.836 +future generations. Those three woman you see here were the most 
 459.837 +gifted human mages of our time and they used their powers to bind 
 459.838 +Pandora into her prison between the dimensions. They literally sealed 
 459.839 +her with their very life force knowing there was no other way and as a 
 459.840 +result..." I trailed off, for a moment not able to hold my composure. 
 459.841 +All those millennia had done nothing for my heart to forget that day. 
 459.842 +It was still as intensely painful as it was back then.
 459.843 +	Everyone was silent and Sakura and Tomoyo looked rather 
 459.844 +uncomfortable, holding each other now more tightly. They were so 
 459.845 +close. Just like them and in this time there seemed to be no big 
 459.846 +social complications. I was happy for them. I really was. Even if I 
 459.847 +had no place in their lives anymore, at least they were happy. I just 
 459.848 +hoped they would accept Sylphiel when the time came. I could deal with 
 459.849 +the loneliness, I had done so for thousands of years. She though...
 459.850 +	"The three became known as Children of the Seal, their power 
 459.851 +sustaining the barrier that made Pandora's own useless. As you have 
 459.852 +guessed already you are two of those three brave girls, reborn in this 
 459.853 +time."
 459.854 +	At this point Sakura interrupted. "Matte, how can we be their 
 459.855 +rebirth if they... we are supposed to keep the seal in place? And what 
 459.856 +about the powers that Clow converted into Cards..."
 459.857 +	I nodded, the question was to be expected. "The seal consists of 
 459.858 +two layers. As strong as your previous selves were their power was not 
 459.859 +unlimited and there were holes in the seal. Tiny but they were. For 
 459.860 +that reason the warriors of our leader used a portion of their given 
 459.861 +power and made a second layer. It was supposed to be like a safety 
 459.862 +net. However, as you said correctly already, when Clow tempered with 
 459.863 +those powers he disrupted their natural flow. By placing the cards he 
 459.864 +created back into the seal most of the damage was repaired but the 
 459.865 +seal wasn't flawless anymore. I can only guess but I suppose that 
 459.866 +might be the reason why you were reborn and why you have become the 
 459.867 +new Card Mistress. Because no one else could possibly be able to undo 
 459.868 +the damage. The sealing power is still active, inside of you. You are 
 459.869 +not aware of it but your mere presence is sustaining the inner seal."
 459.870 +	Of course that also meant that they had become less untouchable 
 459.871 +by Pandora and I had the feeling that Sakura at least understood that 
 459.872 +as well. Neither of us said a thing though. There was no need to cause 
 459.873 +even more troubled feelings as it was.
 459.874 +
 459.875 +******************************
 459.876 +
 459.877 +(Sakura)
 459.878 +I found the whole story strangely familiar. As if I really had been 
 459.879 +there. Well, given that what Filia just told us was the truth - and I 
 459.880 +could just tell it was - I HAD been there. At least my past self. I 
 459.881 +wondered if I had dreams about it sometimes that I didn't remember 
 459.882 +after waking up in the morning. That happened sometimes. As the Card 
 459.883 +Mistress my dreams usually were vivid and I remembered most of them, 
 459.884 +as stupid as they might be. I had gotten used to that. Sometimes 
 459.885 +though I could try as I might but I couldn't remember what I dreamed 
 459.886 +about, similar to the dream about Clow all those years ago. But with 
 459.887 +Clow I at least had a feeling that I did dream something important. 
 459.888 +Yet, at those occasions there was practically no recollection. I used 
 459.889 +to pay it not much mind, figuring that even a mage needed some normal 
 459.890 +dreams at times that faded from memory with the morning light. Now 
 459.891 +though, now I couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of 
 459.892 +connection.
 459.893 +	A loud thunderclap suddenly vibrated high from the mountain top 
 459.894 +and made us all look up. Tomoyo flinched a little and I pulled her 
 459.895 +closer to my body while observing as the dark, unnatural clouds began 
 459.896 +to block out even the last light of the night above the little isle. I 
 459.897 +could SEE the dark power at work, I could SEE the horrible wrongness, 
 459.898 +yet I couldn't quite detect what exactly was going on. Only that it 
 459.899 +was really, really bad.
 459.900 +	I really couldn't just stand around here. Past be damned, I 
 459.901 +needed to do something!
 459.902 +	"As I feared," Filia stated and I turned back to her 
 459.903 +momentarily. "She is trying to corrupt Silence."
 459.904 +	"Corrupt?" Tomoyo echoed and I narrowed my eyes. I really didn't 
 459.905 +like the sound of that.
 459.906 +	"There is nothing you could have done about it," the shrine 
 459.907 +maiden - or whatever she actually was - said sadly, as if reading my 
 459.908 +mind. It unnerved me with how much casual skill that woman managed to 
 459.909 +get past my defenses. There was some sort of strong connection between 
 459.910 +us in that past life of mine but I had stubbornly pushed it back for 
 459.911 +the time being. This was not the moment to dwell on those or other 
 459.912 +such things - I glanced briefly at the picture of the three moment, 
 459.913 +feeling a pang of longing once again race through me at the vivid 
 459.914 +portrait of the purple-haired woman...
 459.915 +	"You must understand that Silence power is a destructive one. It 
 459.916 +is not Evil - if you want to use the term - just destructive. A power 
 459.917 +much closer to the Feared One than that of Love. Love has been the 
 459.918 +total opposite even though not as powerful in terms of strength and as 
 459.919 +long as the two powers were in harmony there was not much Pandora 
 459.920 +could do against them." But now Clow's meddling had separated them by 
 459.921 +creating magical spirits of their essence. They were no longer in 
 459.922 +direct, steady contact, I understood at that moment. The pieces began 
 459.923 +to fall into place and that loneliness I saw in Love's eyes was also 
 459.924 +making sense.
 459.925 +	"Clow gave the power's form, their spiritual bodies are a mirror 
 459.926 +reflection of their former wielders and since they have a form now on 
 459.927 +the Astral Plane She can make use of that. It's a long and tenacious 
 459.928 +process but She seemed to have managed to lure Silence here. Here 
 459.929 +where the Warrior's layer originated."
 459.930 +	Flashes of dark lightning illuminated the sky briefly, an eerie 
 459.931 +glow of a dark foreboding. "Then I have no time to lose. There's only 
 459.932 +a few hours left until dawn. Not to mention if Pandora is really 
 459.933 +trying to break through, I have to do something about it."
 459.934 +	"And how will you do that?" Filia asked calmly. The question let 
 459.935 +me stop in half-turn. Yes, what was I going to do about it? Sure, I 
 459.936 +had managed to capture Time and Love but they had more or less wanted 
 459.937 +to be caught. A hostile card as powerful as Silence, possibly blinded, 
 459.938 +corrupted and even empowered by that beast... Could I really just go 
 459.939 +in there and... and... yes, what? Catch it? I had no idea what that 
 459.940 +would do with Pandora controlling the card's spirit. I could 
 459.941 +accidentally even provide her with a means of escape. That would mean 
 459.942 +cutting off the influence first. But how should I do that? I knew how 
 459.943 +powerful that being was and even if her influence was just minor it 
 459.944 +would cost probably all of my powers. And then I would have no power 
 459.945 +left to restore the seal in time...
 459.946 +	I glanced sideways at Tomoyo who had gently squeezed my hand. "I 
 459.947 +am sure Sakura-chan will find a solution." I marveled once again at 
 459.948 +this infinite belief. The words were said with so much conviction that 
 459.949 +everyone hearing would immediately lose any doubt if they were the 
 459.950 +truth. Coming from her there was really no question at all. That 
 459.951 +unconditional trust and love she gave me had always been my silent 
 459.952 +strength, the fuel for my determination, her love...
 459.953 +	Of course!
 459.954 +	To Tomoyo's complete surprise I suddenly pulled the 
 459.955 +lavender-haired girl into a brief but nonetheless deep kiss. I didn't 
 459.956 +really care about the others right now. I felt so incredibly glad that 
 459.957 +I had this wonderful, inspiring girl at my side that I just had to 
 459.958 +show her. I really doubted I wouldn't even be standing here at all if 
 459.959 +not for her constant support and advise. Even when she didn't really 
 459.960 +mean to give anyway, she had always inspired me.
 459.961 +	Tomoyo blushed, a little flustered, as I released her. "Arigato, 
 459.962 +Tomoyo-chan. I think I know now what I have to do."
 459.963 +	"A-Anytime..." Tomoyo whispered and I couldn't suppress a little 
 459.964 +smirk at the look on her face.
 459.965 +	Someone cleared his throat and I turned to look at Syaoran, 
 459.966 +looking clearly uncomfortable. I felt a little guilty for doing that 
 459.967 +in his presence but I really didn't care right now. "If you have a 
 459.968 +plan, then we should get going," he said seriously, his face schooled 
 459.969 +into concentrated features.
 459.970 +	I was a little amazed at his silent offer but knew that even if 
 459.971 +things between us had changed, he still wanted to help in some way. 
 459.972 +And also, he had made all the way here without even knowing that we 
 459.973 +would probably meet. I could need the help though. I hoped to get this 
 459.974 +done as peacefully as possible but there was no guarantee for my 
 459.975 +sketchy plan to work out flawlessly. They rarely did.
 459.976 +	I nodded slowly, releasing Tomoyo and turning to the rest. 
 459.977 +"Alright. Yue you come with me and Syaoran. Kero you stay here with 
 459.978 +the rest..." I was quick to ward of his protest. "Yue's powers are 
 459.979 +greater at night. Yes, I could empower you easily but I really don't 
 459.980 +want to waste more energy than absolutely necessary."
 459.981 +	The little stuffed animal pouted but after a short period of 
 459.982 +holding my gaze, he nodded in defeat. "You are probably right. I 
 459.983 +wouldn't be of much help."
 459.984 +	I motioned for Yue and Syaoran to follow me but was stopped by a 
 459.985 +gentle hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at Tomoyo's worried face. 
 459.986 +"I'll be careful, I promise," I stated with the confidence she herself 
 459.987 +had given me just a few moments ago.
 459.988 +	Tomoyo hesitated for a moment, but then spoke up softly. "I... I 
 459.989 +want to go with you."
 459.990 +	I blinked startled at the request. This was not like Tomoyo at 
 459.991 +all. She would normally never be that unreasonable and reckless. 
 459.992 +Granted, we hadn't come in any dangerous situations since we got 
 459.993 +together until now but usually she knew better than to needlessly 
 459.994 +bring herself into danger, thus distracting me from the actual 
 459.995 +situation. Therefore my first reaction was to be a vehement denial, 
 459.996 +however, that look in her blue eyes made me stop. There was 
 459.997 +something... something that made me reconsider. I had the feeling she 
 459.998 +had no idea why she made that demand just now. Like an instinct one 
 459.999 +couldn't really explain.
459.1000 +	I thought back on the events of the last hours. Tomoyo had been 
459.1001 +there than I had confronted Love. For some reason both of us knew that 
459.1002 +only together it could be done. Tomoyo had clearly developed some sort 
459.1003 +of magical sense. And after Filia's revelations it was rather obvious 
459.1004 +that this magic was from her past life. We were in this together. I 
459.1005 +really didn't like to put her into danger but... The more I thought 
459.1006 +about it, the feeling grew stronger in me that I absolutely needed her 
459.1007 +to come with me. If only for her presence, only for her being there 
459.1008 +and the confidence she managed to always instill within me...
459.1009 +	Closing my eyes briefly, I made a choice.
459.1010 +
459.1011 +******************************
459.1012 +
459.1013 +(Tomoyo)
459.1014 +Grasping tightly onto Sakura this time it had not much to do with 
459.1015 +seeking closeness since I was much more concerned with holding on for 
459.1016 +dear life. This really was a stupid idea, I mused for the thousandth 
459.1017 +time. Not that Sakura actually agreeing with me was a much better 
459.1018 +idea, I added. I had really not been sure why I insisted to tag along 
459.1019 +with Sakura and Syaoran - who was right now carried by Yue. No, I 
459.1020 +absolutely could not explain what had overcome me. Normally I knew 
459.1021 +that all that would achieve was me turning out to be liability in the 
459.1022 +end, getting Sakura into trouble for my sake. Yet, something made me 
459.1023 +speak up. There was this indefinable, STRONG urge telling me that I 
459.1024 +had to be there.
459.1025 +	Somehow Sakura had understood it, probably better than I did. 
459.1026 +And Filia had even agreed, saying that only our power together could 
459.1027 +have a chance to stand up to an influenced Silence. Heck, I had NO 
459.1028 +idea what the hell I could even DO!
459.1029 +	No, this definitely wasn't a good idea. The wind was more than 
459.1030 +just a hassle. It had risen to the strength and speed of a tornado, 
459.1031 +whipping through our hair and entirely unfitting clothes. Out in the 
459.1032 +summer we had not expected to fly through a chilling storm in the 
459.1033 +middle of the night. At least I had not.
459.1034 +	Sakura was struggling to hold the wand steady. She had cast Fly 
459.1035 +on her staff as she had done before transforming the cards. This both 
459.1036 +for my sake as for her own. The strain of flying up to the mountain in 
459.1037 +this wind - even without my added ballast - would have been great 
459.1038 +enough. That didn't make the task easier now though. Yue was having a 
459.1039 +hard time moving as well.
459.1040 +	"We are not getting any further," I cried over the thunderous 
459.1041 +wind. A few lightning bolts flashed left and right, much too close for 
459.1042 +my taste. "Either we'll be ripped apart before we are up or it will at 
459.1043 +least take us hours!"
459.1044 +	I wasn't sure if Sakura heard me but she had obviously come to 
459.1045 +the same conclusion. One of the cards appeared in her hands and she 
459.1046 +held it up into the air. "Windy, clear a path through the storm for 
459.1047 +us!" I wasn't really certain if that would work but not one to doubt 
459.1048 +Sakura's abilities I snuggled even tighter against her as the storm 
459.1049 +for a moment seemed to reach another new height but then the strong 
459.1050 +winds were magically pressed back, creating a calm zone around us and 
459.1051 +Yue who had barely managed to close the distance before Windy's magic 
459.1052 +took effect.
459.1053 +	Losing not a single second Sakura pulled the winged wand almost 
459.1054 +completely vertical. I let out a startled yelp as she flew us upwards 
459.1055 +inside the calm zone at blinding speed. I would love to see what 
459.1056 +happened around us but I had my eyes closed and was really glad that 
459.1057 +moment that Sakura had insisted to sit behind me. I'd probably have 
459.1058 +fallen of right now.
459.1059 +	After what seemed a small eternity we slowed down again and as I 
459.1060 +reopened my eyes I realized that Sakura's reckless maneuver had 
459.1061 +brought us straight up to the summit, just a little bit away from the 
459.1062 +center and where Silence... raged. Touching down on the peak Sakura 
459.1063 +banished Fly while Syaoran jumped from Yue's arms - who in turn took a 
459.1064 +moment to regain his breathing from the flight. "That was fun," 
459.1065 +Syaoran commented dryly. "Now what?"
459.1066 +	Sakura glanced up towards Silence. It was really a frightening 
459.1067 +sight. All that one could see right now was a deep purple glow. Not 
459.1068 +bright but dark, at some points even fading into obsidian black. I 
459.1069 +squinted my eyes, trying to see a bit clearer, trying to make out 
459.1070 +anything of importance. The funny thing was I did see something. Once 
459.1071 +again I couldn't really explain how I knew but I did. "It's hurting. 
459.1072 +Hurting badly," I said, the feeling barely bearable. There was so much 
459.1073 +pain, so much... agony.
459.1074 +	Both Sakura and Syaoran looked at me as if I had seen something 
459.1075 +they couldn't. Then it hit me. They really couldn't. Not like me. 
459.1076 +Filia had told us just before we went up that my past life had not 
459.1077 +only been a good healer but also had developed a gift to see things on 
459.1078 +the astral plane when she grew older. Quite frankly I had no idea what 
459.1079 +she was talking about but there hadn't been much time.
459.1080 +	"Can you see where exactly something is... wrong," Sakura asked 
459.1081 +tentatively.
459.1082 +	I tried to concentrate hard. The necklace around my neck that 
459.1083 +Filia had given me glowed softly. It was hard to hold the 
459.1084 +concentration though and there was so much different things to see. 
459.1085 +Silence had such a huge presence and the energy released all around it 
459.1086 +didn't help at all. After a few moments I sighed and shook my head 
459.1087 +sadly, feeling drained by the effort. "No. I can see that something is 
459.1088 +wrapped around her... spirit. Something that doesn't belong there."
459.1089 +	"That would be Pandora then," Syaoran said. "So the woman was 
459.1090 +right. She actually managed to push this far forward." He looked at 
459.1091 +Sakura. "I guess you want to severe the connection somehow?"
459.1092 +	The Card Mistress nodded, her brown hair now blowing roughly in 
459.1093 +the strong winds. "I'm not sure I can do it forcefully. But Silence 
459.1094 +should be able to do it herself." At both of our confused expressions 
459.1095 +she pulled out a card. It was Love. "You reminded me of it, 
459.1096 +Tomoyo-chan. Love said that they are mates since their former wielders 
459.1097 +were. I'm sure if something can calm Silence down to a degree where 
459.1098 +she can fight back, it would be Love. THEN we should have a chance."
459.1099 +	Syaoran chuckled a little. "In a situation like this your trump 
459.1100 +card is the surreal love of two magical spirits?" With a smirk, he 
459.1101 +finished, "That's so like you." Squaring his shoulders he was about 
459.1102 +ready to move on. "Well then, I suppose you need a distraction to get 
459.1103 +close enough. Coming, Yue-san?"
459.1104 +	The silver-haired man nodded stoically, having kept silent while 
459.1105 +we discussed the plan of action. I bet he had some comments of his own 
459.1106 +but held them to himself obviously. I doubted he had a better idea 
459.1107 +anyway. Sakura's made sense though and from what I could see Silence 
459.1108 +was just as lonely as Love. They just dealt with it differently, much 
459.1109 +differently.
459.1110 +	I cried out as suddenly a rumble shook the entire mountain. My 
459.1111 +eyes barely registered that a gigantic bolt of black lightning had 
459.1112 +crashed through several layers of stone, nearly splitting the small 
459.1113 +mountain apart. Instinctively I reached out for Sakura's hand but with 
459.1114 +horror realized that the storm blow had not only affected me. All four 
459.1115 +of us were slammed back by the incredible force that definitely was 
459.1116 +not just that of a natural element. Obviously Silence didn't like 
459.1117 +company.
459.1118 +	The whole thing happened far too quickly. Bah, time slowing down 
459.1119 +in moments like this! It was rather the opposite. One moment we were 
459.1120 +standing atop the mountain, the next we were slammed over the side, 
459.1121 +surely tumbling to our deaths...
459.1122 +	And yet again the next moment, everything was over and I found 
459.1123 +myself held by something that felt like some animal's skin. I blinked, 
459.1124 +the shock from what nearly happened just setting in as I sat up 
459.1125 +slowly. Well, animal would probably really understate things. The 
459.1126 +creature that I was currently riding was of a deep golden color with 
459.1127 +massive wings. While I had never seen one - in this life at least - 
459.1128 +there was no mistaking it that the creature was a full-fledged, 
459.1129 +golden-colored dragon. A big, strong, impressive dragon...
459.1130 +	"Are you alright," the dragon rumbled in a voice while a little 
459.1131 +different in volume and tone was rather easy to identify.
459.1132 +	"F-Filia-san?" I gasped, still numb with shock from the near 
459.1133 +death experience.
459.1134 +	The dragon chuckled... well, at least it sounded like a chuckle. 
459.1135 +Probably a snort but I really didn't care about details right now. "I 
459.1136 +thought you could need some help." The wind once again picked up, 
459.1137 +nearly blowing me from the human-turned-dragon's back again. I buried 
459.1138 +my fingers tightly into the back of the creature who had obvious 
459.1139 +troubles to maintain her balance in the turbulent winds.
459.1140 +	Glancing to the side I saw Sakura hovering next to us - Fly's 
459.1141 +wings on her back this time - faring not much better. Yue, holding 
459.1142 +Syaoran were on the other side. Sakura shot me a truly worried look 
459.1143 +and I could see the still visible panic that must have filled her when 
459.1144 +we were flung from the mountain.
459.1145 +	"Look!" Yue cried out over the crescendo of the storm and we all 
459.1146 +did as he said. The strong pressure had obviously forced all flying 
459.1147 +parties to keep a strict distance. We were rather far away from the 
459.1148 +island now but even from here one could see that the storm had become 
459.1149 +almost one giant twister, laced with purple lightning and as black as 
459.1150 +the darkest night. The sight sent shivers down my spine and I felt 
459.1151 +numb with a sudden cold. It was like the icy breath of death.
459.1152 +
459.1153 +******************************
459.1154 +
459.1155 +(Sakura)
459.1156 +The shockwave of power was even stronger than the one that had blown 
459.1157 +us from the mountain top. Yet, it wasn't really a forceful, brute 
459.1158 +power. No, this one came subtly, silent like a whisper in the wind and 
459.1159 +still with a force as strong as all of my cards combined, probably 
459.1160 +stronger. That enormous presence was Silence but it was also much 
459.1161 +more. I felt it even from here and the fear rising in my heart, I 
459.1162 +could not suppress. I had tried to deny it but there was no mistaking 
459.1163 +it now. That terror-inflicting presence could only belong to one being 
459.1164 +in existence.
459.1165 +	The whole island was enveloped in a cocoon of pitch blackness, 
459.1166 +only occasional lighted by the eerie lightning and a barely visible 
459.1167 +glow of energy that I suspected belonged to Silence. Right now the 
459.1168 +high concentration of magic was just that. A concentration. But if it 
459.1169 +was released...
459.1170 +	"With that much power, the whole planet is going to burst if it 
459.1171 +erupts unhindered!" Yue shouted. I wished I could disagree but frankly 
459.1172 +that were my thoughts exactly. Suddenly I remembered something vital 
459.1173 +and for a moment I felt terrible ill. Stretching out my senses I tried 
459.1174 +to locate the familiar auras in the black tornado but couldn't find 
459.1175 +anything. Then there was a faint echo, a little outside the danger 
459.1176 +zone. I glanced down to see a small spot that had to be our ship 
459.1177 +racing away from the isle.
459.1178 +	"I had a feeling something big would happen and brought them 
459.1179 +back to your boat," the dragon rumbled. There was no mistaking it by 
459.1180 +now that it was really Filia. It didn't surprise me very much. From 
459.1181 +the beginning I had sensed something supernatural in her. No human 
459.1182 +being should be able to hide their aura so well. And the dragon part 
459.1183 +was familiar, probably glimpses of my past life again. I really didn't 
459.1184 +know what to make of all of this. For the moment I was just glad that 
459.1185 +she had saved Tomoyo when I hadn't been able to. Those were long, 
459.1186 +horrible moments for me. I felt so damn helpless, barely able to stop 
459.1187 +my own fall. If it hadn't been for her...
459.1188 +	"This is not good. I don't think any of us can break through 
459.1189 +there," Filia stated darkly and I had to once again agree. Fly's power 
459.1190 +was barely able to hold me anymore and Filia's wings looked not that 
459.1191 +good either, Yue wasn't better off. Not to mention that the sheer 
459.1192 +power Silence was emitting was as good as any barrier.
459.1193 +	Before I could respond there was a glow in front of me and 
459.1194 +Love's sprite form appeared in the air before us. "Silence..." she 
459.1195 +whispered hoarsely. One could hear her voice breaking with pain at the 
459.1196 +sight. I didn't even dare to try and understand how she felt. That 
459.1197 +would mean I had to picture Tomoyo in a similar state, controlled and 
459.1198 +corrupted by Her. Thinking of the thought alone was sickening. And 
459.1199 +even more so I was amazed when Love seemed to practically glow with 
459.1200 +confidence, staring ahead into the darkness with sheer determination. 
459.1201 +I would do the same, of course. In her place I would do everything to 
459.1202 +save the one I loved. I had experienced the consequences of 
459.1203 +helplessness before and I'd swore myself never to let this happen 
459.1204 +again.
459.1205 +	And that left me with only one path to follow now.
459.1206 +	"Can you break through there and take me inside? There is still 
459.1207 +a faint presence left. If we act quickly, we might be able to severe 
459.1208 +the connection. But I have to get inside first," I said, gripping my 
459.1209 +staff in a tight grip. I ignored the shouts of the others that t was 
459.1210 +too dangerous. There was no other solution to this. Truth be told, in 
459.1211 +the face of such gigantic power I felt small and useless. But rather 
459.1212 +would I die trying before waiting for destruction once again.
459.1213 +	Love was quiet for a few seconds, then she turned and fixed me 
459.1214 +with a stern gaze. "No, Mistress. I cannot take you alone. Pandora's 
459.1215 +influence over my mate has grown too strong already for me to 
459.1216 +withstand alone. I need someone else's strong love to support my own. 
459.1217 +Together there may be a chance to pass through unharmed."
459.1218 +	I gasped as realization set it. The way Love said it, there was 
459.1219 +no question who exactly she was referring to. "You mean..." I started, 
459.1220 +turning fearful eyes in Tomoyo's direction. There was no way I could 
459.1221 +jeopardize her life even further than I had already. I should have 
459.1222 +left her with the others in the first place. Because of me she almost 
459.1223 +died once already. This was my mess, my battle. I couldn't put her in 
459.1224 +danger because I wasn't strong enough alone...
459.1225 +	Tomoyo blinked, puzzled for a few seconds before comprehension 
459.1226 +dawned in her eyes. I was wondering at first if I really saw the flash 
459.1227 +of panic, just for a moment, but even if, it was gone almost 
459.1228 +immediately, replaced by an almost solemn expression. Guessing from 
459.1229 +her usual selfless behavior, I could guess already what she wanted to 
459.1230 +say. "Tomo-chan, don't..." I flew closer to her until I could reach 
459.1231 +out and touch her face, my eyes gazing into hers. "I can't put you in 
459.1232 +danger like this. Please... I..." Words pretty much failed me at this 
459.1233 +point and the grip I maintained on her shoulders must have become 
459.1234 +painful. There was that scene again, flashing before my mind's eye. 
459.1235 +Tomoyo, in my arms, dying...
459.1236 +	Gently, pale hands reached up to take my own into them, making 
459.1237 +me glance down for a moment before hesitantly meeting her eyes again. 
459.1238 +"This is not your future, Sakura-chan. You have been given another 
459.1239 +chance to make it better. Believe in that, believe in yourself, just 
459.1240 +like I do."
459.1241 +	I was paralyzed in amazement. I had witnessed it so many times. 
459.1242 +But now, in this situation Tomoyo's true strength shone so bright it 
459.1243 +could light the zone of darkness. Immediately a warm, soothing 
459.1244 +sensation spread through my whole self and I welcomed it openly. 
459.1245 +"Aren't you scared?" I was scared. Just a moment ago, I was so scared 
459.1246 +I rather wanted to turn and fly the other way than facing this 
459.1247 +nightmare... again. Now it was only a dull sensation. A bearable 
459.1248 +background feeling. Because of her.
459.1249 +	"Of course I am," Tomoyo said gently. "But I know everything 
459.1250 +will be alright." I was pulled forward suddenly but didn't resist when 
459.1251 +Tomoyo pulled me into a brief hug. "Because I believe in you."
459.1252 +	I was defeated. I had known the moment that Tomoyo looked at me 
459.1253 +that I wasn't able to win this argument. When her arms went around me, 
459.1254 +with so much trust and love, I gently flapped my wings and lifted her 
459.1255 +from the dragon's back. "Only with you I can be strong," I said, 
459.1256 +realizing once again how true those words were. How much confidence 
459.1257 +the knowledge of their truth brightened my soul.
459.1258 +	There wasn't a further word said but it wasn't necessary. The 
459.1259 +orb of light surrounding us, making maintaining Fly unnecessary, was 
459.1260 +of a bright golden radiance. I could feel the purity and the love, our 
459.1261 +own feelings mingling with the magical force created by the card. It 
459.1262 +was magnificent and much stronger than what it felt like before.
459.1263 +	Hand's clasped tightly, we turned around and with a slight nod 
459.1264 +Love shot forward right into the darkness ahead.
459.1265 +
459.1266 +******************************
459.1267 +
459.1268 +(Tomoyo)
459.1269 +A void of total blackness. Not a light fell anywhere, not even a 
459.1270 +glimmer. If not for the illuminating shine of Love's protective 
459.1271 +barrier it would be impossible to see one's own hand. And the void was 
459.1272 +not only pitch black but also cold, so cold that it would probably be 
459.1273 +warm at the North Pole. Not so much a temperature-induced coldness but 
459.1274 +one that threatened to freeze your very soul. An icy breath of 
459.1275 +foreboding, of promised annihilation. And not even a sound penetrated 
459.1276 +the thick veil of darkness, causing even the simple of action of 
459.1277 +breathing to sound like tiny sonic booms in the deathly quiet.
459.1278 +	When I said that I was scared, I had meant it. But now, now I 
459.1279 +felt actual fear. This place was... No, there wasn't a word to aptly 
459.1280 +describe it. However, everything in me shied away from the 
459.1281 +incomprehensible... evil filling the very air - if there was even air 
459.1282 +outside the bubble. Something in me told me that it wasn't supposed to 
459.1283 +be evil. That Silence alone wasn't evil. Filia had pointed this out. 
459.1284 +Which only meant that Pandora's control had to be more or less 
459.1285 +ultimate inside this zone already. If not for Sakura's presence and 
459.1286 +the tight contact we kept, I wasn't sure if even Love's powers could 
459.1287 +have kept me from running away.
459.1288 +	I felt Sakura tighten her grip to an almost painful level and 
459.1289 +saw her face contorted in deep concentration. "I can barely bear it. 
459.1290 +All that hate, fear, terror... it's... it's like the dead are being 
459.1291 +tortured." A shiver run through the other girl and I realized that I 
459.1292 +wasn't much better off. Sakura's comparison might be a little crude 
459.1293 +but that was just how I felt right now.
459.1294 +	"Unfortunately, that is the case," we could hear Love reply 
459.1295 +softly. At her words I glanced around and almost jumped at the shock. 
459.1296 +I could see them. Tiny wisp-like forms. Suspended in the space around 
459.1297 +us, bound by tendrils of the darkness, they were the only thing that 
459.1298 +indicated that there was indeed color around us and not just void. 
459.1299 +Looking at one closely I could SEE their torment, I could see the 
459.1300 +utter agony tearing them apart inside out but yet never ending their 
459.1301 +peril. It was sickening and I wanted to scream but my voice had been 
459.1302 +caught in my throat. For a moment I felt a glimpse of what they were 
459.1303 +going through and... and...
459.1304 +	"Don't look!" I felt myself being turned away from the sight at 
459.1305 +Love's sharp warning, Sakura pulling my face against her body and I 
459.1306 +was instantly grateful for that. I had been frozen in place, alone I 
459.1307 +might have been caught in the moment forever. Desperately I tried to 
459.1308 +regain my composure but couldn't help a few tears slipping out, 
459.1309 +drenching Sakura's clothes as the horrible realization set in what 
459.1310 +exactly I had seen.
459.1311 +	Only gradually I managed to quell the terror in my soul, still 
459.1312 +weeping for the fate of those around me. Sakura was rocking me gently 
459.1313 +and it helped somewhat to calm my nerves, I could draw strength from 
459.1314 +her presence. It was a hard fight for control though. "It's... it's so 
459.1315 +horrible..." I breathed, clutching tightly at Sakura for fear of being 
459.1316 +left alone in here.
459.1317 +	"I am sorry," Love said, sounding guilty. "I had not expected 
459.1318 +that the Feared One had such control over my mate already. Even with 
459.1319 +my power I can only dim the experience."
459.1320 +	"What happened just there? I can feel so much terror all around 
459.1321 +us, What did Tomoyo see?" Sakura asked, worry clearly evident in her 
459.1322 +voice. I would have answered but I was unable to voice the horror I 
459.1323 +had unintentionally witnessed.
459.1324 +	"Lost souls," Love replied solemnly, her voice telling of her 
459.1325 +own sadness. "The Feared One feasts on them. It has always been her 
459.1326 +greatest pleasure to convert the souls of living beings, strip of all 
459.1327 +their positive feelings and only leaving the darkness that every life 
459.1328 +form possesses as pure as they might be. They are left alone, in a 
459.1329 +state of utter torment, forced to spent eternity with their own 
459.1330 +terror. It is worse than Hell." Love was silent for a moment as Sakura 
459.1331 +hugged me even tighter. I could feel her trying to pour her own love 
459.1332 +into me but she was struggling as well, now that the evil presence 
459.1333 +around us had a name. "Tomoyo's abilities to see the Astral Plane must 
459.1334 +be returning slowly when she can actually see them. But believe me, 
459.1335 +seeing it might be very traumatic, actually experiencing it though..." 
459.1336 +Love trailed off and I could hear something that sounded like a gasp, 
459.1337 +followed by a deep wail that threatened to wrench my heart right out 
459.1338 +of my chest.
459.1339 +	Startled I turned around to glance at what had inspired such 
459.1340 +terror in the gentle card spirit and SAW. I damned that ability 
459.1341 +already. I saw Silence up ahead, glowing a very faint purple, almost 
459.1342 +consumed already by the thick chains of darkness covering more or less 
459.1343 +every inch of her spiritual body. It was like with the souls I had 
459.1344 +seen but on a much larger scale. I had to fight myself not to look 
459.1345 +further, knowing that I surely would become lost in the process. While 
459.1346 +the tormenters of the souls had merely been mindless, a part of 
459.1347 +something bigger, this... this... thing was the epitome of terror, the 
459.1348 +very incarnation of horror. At this moment I really understood why 
459.1349 +everyone feared it so much. My understanding of those latent abilities 
459.1350 +was small, most based upon instinct, but what I could see was enough 
459.1351 +to scare a god, that much I was sure of.
459.1352 +	"Phoebe!" Love cried out in terror and I could really not blame 
459.1353 +her. I didn't pay that much attention to the name but instead was 
459.1354 +focused on what to my eyes was best described as something like a 
459.1355 +black hole. Always devouring everything around it. I knew somehow that 
459.1356 +in reality - or better on the physical plane - where was not much to 
459.1357 +be seen. That being wasn't present in this world, it wasn't tangible. 
459.1358 +The only body ir had was that of the Card's spirit and to say those 
459.1359 +had actually physical bodies would be stretching the term. Sakura had 
459.1360 +once explained that she didn't really know the border between what was 
459.1361 +physically and what spiritual about the cards. They could interact 
459.1362 +with their environment but their sprite form was the only thing that 
459.1363 +really gave them some sort of solid shape on this plane.
459.1364 +	That being, Pandora, was so huge that Silence's sprite - which I 
459.1365 +could dimly see slowly drowning in the ocean of darkness - was not 
459.1366 +more than an insect in comparison. And it was unrelenting, holding the 
459.1367 +card's spirit mercilessly, not giving it even an inch to move.
459.1368 +	At the shout though I could see just a little quiver, rebelling 
459.1369 +briefly against the tainted presence. The being simply tightened its 
459.1370 +hold and I could literally feel the pain resulting from that action. 
459.1371 +With a lot effort I tore my gaze away slightly, trying to divert my 
459.1372 +focus.
459.1373 +	"Foolish humans. Did you think you could stop my release?" The 
459.1374 +voice echoed all around us. It wasn't at all what I expected. I had 
459.1375 +thought it would be something more... sinister. Not that quiet, 
459.1376 +controlled voice that was neither soft, nor loud. For all I knew it 
459.1377 +was... normal. Controlled to a degree as if this was just a normal 
459.1378 +conversation and not bragging about the coming freedom and how she 
459.1379 +would be destroying everything or something like that. I felt Sakura 
459.1380 +clasp my hand tightly but it seemed she wasn't really surprised which 
459.1381 +had to mean that this seemed to be a normal thing for that feared 
459.1382 +entity.
459.1383 +	"What did you do to her?" demanded Love vehemently, the glow 
459.1384 +around us intensifying to nearly blinding levels.
459.1385 +	There was a pause and then Pandora's voice came again, almost as 
459.1386 +if not paying the question any mind at all. "I owe that whelp a lot. 
459.1387 +Before his meddling you were just energies, perfect power flowing 
459.1388 +steadily. He gave you a spirit, feelings of your own. Just mirror 
459.1389 +images of your former owners' but that was enough already. You became 
459.1390 +independent in a way, be it even so small. I had spent so long in 
459.1391 +slumber I could wait the few more centuries it would take to work my 
459.1392 +way into this one's mind. With Silence's power I can finally burst the 
459.1393 +seal. You cannot change that anymore. Your efforts will all be in 
459.1394 +vain. Your mate is already mine, and the rest of you will follow 
459.1395 +soon."
459.1396 +	No, that wasn't true. I risked another glance at Silence and saw 
459.1397 +her struggling weakly. Obviously Love's presence seemed to get through 
459.1398 +to her despite the powerful control. "Don't listen to her," I shouted, 
459.1399 +"Silence is still there. She can sense you!" An idea had hatched in my 
459.1400 +mind and while it was more like a piece of straw in a raging river I 
459.1401 +grasped onto it. Sakura had put her faith into this in the first place 
459.1402 +and from what I saw thee still was a possibility that it might work. I 
459.1403 +looked up at Sakura, our eyes met while I grabbed her other hand 
459.1404 +tightly. Concentrating on the love in my heart for the beautiful girl 
459.1405 +I let it flow out. I didn't hold back and let it fill me, my whole 
459.1406 +self vibrating from the intensity. Only a moment later Sakura followed 
459.1407 +suit and I could feel our hearts beating in synchrony. The glow of 
459.1408 +magic erupted into a shade too bright to look at. Closing my eyes, I 
459.1409 +held firm onto the feelings inside me, hoping that it would be enough 
459.1410 +for Love to reach her mate.
459.1411 +
459.1412 +******************************
459.1413 +
459.1414 +(Sakura)
459.1415 +The experience was one of the most surreal I ever had... and really... 
459.1416 +those were a lot. Sensing what Tomoyo was trying to do, I quickly 
459.1417 +joined her efforts and being more experienced, took all that love 
459.1418 +created at this very moment and channeled it directly into Love's own 
459.1419 +protective sphere. The star key in my hand glowed softly, the effort 
459.1420 +not really all that noteworthy since all it had to do was focus 
459.1421 +energy.
459.1422 +	I thought back on all of the time spent with Tomoyo, both in my 
459.1423 +old timeline as her best friend and now in this in something much 
459.1424 +more. How much the feelings between us had blossomed beyond my 
459.1425 +furthest imagination after my choice. I felt my spirit slipping away 
459.1426 +into a sea of brilliant gold. It wasn't suffocating, no. Instead it 
459.1427 +was comforting, an embrace of absolute happiness. This was a plane 
459.1428 +where the physical self didn't really exist anymore and all the soul 
459.1429 +and spirit felt was pure love.
459.1430 +	Only about a decade of training enabled me to hear the voices, 
459.1431 +the desperate pleading and the silent war for control going on.
459.1432 +	"Phoebe!" Love called out to Silence. I figured since they were 
459.1433 +mirror images of the ones who released their power in the first place, 
459.1434 +the name was probably that of the assorted Senshi. It was at least a 
459.1435 +logical explanation and I had more important matters to think about 
459.1436 +than that.
459.1437 +	"Is that you, my love..." The reply was faint and with the thin 
459.1438 +concentration I managed in this plane while my main focus was still on 
459.1439 +focusing and channeling our feelings into Love I was for a moment not 
459.1440 +sure if I really heard it. But then it came again, a bit stronger, 
459.1441 +desperate now. "I thought you were... She said she took you from 
459.1442 +me..."
459.1443 +	"I am here," Love quickly reassured. "Pandora tricked us. She 
459.1444 +used our brief separation to claim your spirit. You have to fight 
459.1445 +back."
459.1446 +	"I can't..." There was a flare of helpless fury, a spark of 
459.1447 +power that was more senseless defiance than any real threat to the 
459.1448 +control of the dark being. "She's too strong. I can't fight back... 
459.1449 +not without you..."
459.1450 +	There was a brief pause and then I felt Tomoyo's feelings 
459.1451 +change, concentrating on another aspect of our relationship and I 
459.1452 +welcomed it thankfully. Those feelings of trust and sincere faith I 
459.1453 +had discovered to be my greatest strength, something that had been 
459.1454 +shown in the last few hours many times again. Feeling my own 
459.1455 +confidence rise, I relayed it all to Love, knowing that a Clow Card 
459.1456 +could increase its strength then the wielder increased their will.
459.1457 +	"I know you can do it. I trust it," Love said, picking up on the 
459.1458 +delivered feeling. A ripple went through the darkness outside the 
459.1459 +protective bubble. I could nearly see Love's power filling the zone 
459.1460 +almost completely. I could sense Silence mobilizing enormous powers, 
459.1461 +pushing back the control over her spirit, slowly but steadily. I 
459.1462 +redoubled my efforts and Tomoyo responded in kind. It was working it 
459.1463 +was really working. Pandora was struggling with the only control she 
459.1464 +had of the physical plane as of now. I knew that logically beating her 
459.1465 +that easily was impossible. However, what we had her was just an 
459.1466 +extension of her true self. A part of her spirit. There wasn't much 
459.1467 +more the seal allowed... yet. That had been my only real hope in that 
459.1468 +matter, that maybe she wouldn't be strong enough to withstand a 
459.1469 +focused assault in this state and would be forced to retreat.
459.1470 +	And then everything shattered. I was amazed at myself that I had 
459.1471 +even the time to push Tomoyo away when the bolt of darkness crashed 
459.1472 +right through Love's bubble with a destructive force that could have 
459.1473 +easily shattered the planet if we still were fully on the earthly 
459.1474 +plane.
459.1475 +	And where before had been absolute love, the embrace of safety 
459.1476 +and utter calm, like a mother's womb, where before in the state we 
459.1477 +entered was only a bit of discomfort at our surroundings and what were 
459.1478 +the echoes of the lost souls all around us, all that had transferred 
459.1479 +into the total opposite now, amplified several times and then doubled 
459.1480 +again. When the pitch blackness touched me I could feel all the terror 
459.1481 +this plane emitted and now I really fully understood what Tomoyo must 
459.1482 +have seen when she had looked at one of the tormented souls. The 
459.1483 +experience was only of a mere moment but I felt such fear in the 
459.1484 +presence of such... sickening... WRONGNESS that I would have been glad 
459.1485 +if someone just ran me through with a sword, ending the horror.
459.1486 +	"TIME!" I cried out, not able to give any more clear orders or 
459.1487 +form equally coherent thoughts. Thankfully enough Time might be a 
459.1488 +mysterious card that rarely told me anything and if, then often in 
459.1489 +rather mysterious terms, but she was also the most intelligent card I 
459.1490 +had ever come across. I still didn't know what her role in all this 
459.1491 +was and firmly believed that there was a lot more to her when she let 
459.1492 +on. As it was Time did exactly what was necessary.
459.1493 +	I sank to my knees and hands when I felt the protective bubble 
459.1494 +of temporal energy flicker into existence. I could hear the quiet 
459.1495 +whimpers from Tomoyo and wanted to do nothing more than to comfort my 
459.1496 +girlfriend. Yet, I was still much to paralyzed from that brief - but 
459.1497 +still much too long - ordeal. Frantically I reached out, trying to 
459.1498 +locate Love's presence. I had felt the bond ripped apart and feared 
459.1499 +for the worst. If Love was... destroyed - and I really had no idea if 
459.1500 +that was even possible - then the seal would be void. Relived I noted 
459.1501 +that there was a faint glimmer, signaling that Love was still there 
459.1502 +and as I raised my head I saw that it wasn't going to be any longer at 
459.1503 +this point.
459.1504 +	The sprite form of Love drifted almost lifelessly towards the 
459.1505 +darkened form of her companion, an easy target for Pandora to capture. 
459.1506 +Soon they were united again but probably in a way both would have 
459.1507 +liked to avoid. Silence's power had risen to a cold flare of anger but 
459.1508 +without Love's support it lacked conviction. The card was struggling, 
459.1509 +unrestrained fury pulsating around her. But the will to fight back had 
459.1510 +been broken the moment Love's power had been.
459.1511 +	"You thought you could push me back this easily. In here where 
459.1512 +there is chaos. Chaos fueled by everything you term negative. Every 
459.1513 +positive emotion is as weak as a candle in the wind. This plane is my 
459.1514 +creation and as long as I have Silence as my anchor where is nothing 
459.1515 +that can make me return to my prison."
459.1516 +	Was that it? Was that the end?
459.1517 +	Love had been my last hope. I had really BELIEVED that it would 
459.1518 +work. That was so unfair. I had been so close. If I had gotten to 
459.1519 +Silence a bit earlier, I could have repaired the seal and ended that 
459.1520 +nightmare once and for all. I knew I could do it. With Tomoyo's love 
459.1521 +and support behind me I could accomplish everything. It might have 
459.1522 +taken all my power but compared to fighting Pandora, repairing the 
459.1523 +seal seemed like mere child's play. What I could I do against 
459.1524 +something like this? Even that small part of her was so vastly 
459.1525 +powerful that fear was paralyzing my body. All the magic at my 
459.1526 +disposal meant nothing. What good did it do to be stronger than Clow 
459.1527 +when I couldn't even protect the few people I loved dearly? There was 
459.1528 +no way anyone could defeat her...
459.1529 +	"Sakura-chan..." Tomoyo rasped out behind me and I felt slender 
459.1530 +arms encircling me, drawing me against her body. A jolt of pure 
459.1531 +devotion traveled through me, crashing into my spirit that already 
459.1532 +admitted defeat a moment ago, filling it with that awesome feeling I 
459.1533 +had come to cherish so much. Slowly at first, it was like a volcano, 
459.1534 +the lava bubbling just underneath the surface trying to get out. 
459.1535 +Questions shot through my mind, hard and unrestrained. What would 
459.1536 +happen to those that I loved? What would happen to my family? To my 
459.1537 +friends in Tomoeda? To Syaoran and Filia? To Yue and Kero? What would 
459.1538 +happen to Tomoyo if I... if WE failed here?
459.1539 +	They would all die a horrible, painful death. Just like in the 
459.1540 +future I had escaped.
459.1541 +	No.
459.1542 +	Never.
459.1543 +	I would not... I absolutely could not give up here!
459.1544 +	Slowly reaching up to take Tomoyo's hands in mine I clasped them 
459.1545 +tightly for a brief moment. There was a mutual silence, then the 
459.1546 +familiar sentence spilled from both of our lips in sincere harmony, 
459.1547 +filled with renewed faith. "Everything will surely be alright."
459.1548 +	I separated from Tomoyo without looking back, basking in her 
459.1549 +love as long as I could, keeping those feelings close to my heart in 
459.1550 +hope they would preserve me, channeling them directly to Light and 
459.1551 +mentally commanding her to secure my heart and soul, while I slipped 
459.1552 +Dark around my mind, to calm my fear and any doubts if they should 
459.1553 +arise again.
459.1554 +	Then I stepped outside Time's bubble.
459.1555 +	But not before giving one last command. If someone had directly 
459.1556 +asked me when Filia made the revelations about her past life, I would 
459.1557 +have told them that the surprise had only been brief. I had been aware 
459.1558 +of the power inside of me, the presence of arcane magic older than 
459.1559 +anything Kero or Yue could ever teach me. I had discovered it years 
459.1560 +ago but had been afraid of the change I felt would come. I was afraid 
459.1561 +of the consequences releasing the seal on that power would entitle and 
459.1562 +I knew deep down that doing so would change me. Not only magically but 
459.1563 +as a person as well.
459.1564 +	Until now there was no need to even attempt it. Until Pandora 
459.1565 +there never had been the necessity for something greater than my own 
459.1566 +given magic. And the fear of consequences had outweighed the 
459.1567 +temptation by far. With great power comes great responsibility. 
459.1568 +Nothing happens without a reason, no power was ever given without 
459.1569 +taking something in return.
459.1570 +	Light, Dark, Kero, Yue, even Time herself had told me where 
459.1571 +would be consequences for changing history. They never told me what 
459.1572 +consequences because they either didn't know or didn't want to tell. I 
459.1573 +had pondered it for a long time but only now. Only now did I 
459.1574 +understand. In the face of my greatest fear, I understood that the 
459.1575 +consequence would either be the destruction of this planet and 
459.1576 +probably the whole universe afterwards or...
459.1577 +	"Time," I spoke softly, "release the seal on the memories of my 
459.1578 +past life."
459.1579 +	And with that I opened myself completely to the bubbling power I 
459.1580 +had been secretly tempted to utilize more than once since traveling 
459.1581 +back in time. I held firm to Tomoyo's image in my mind and hoped that 
459.1582 +if something remained untouched by the ordeal it would be our love. I 
459.1583 +needed that power now, I needed the ancient wisdom of someone who had 
459.1584 +already helped seal Pandora in the first place. If my past life really 
459.1585 +had been as strong as Filia said, I needed her help now.
459.1586 +	As the magic burst forward and I felt the flood of memories 
459.1587 +beginning a silent onslaught, I relented and accepted it all with the 
459.1588 +one thought in mind to protect those that I loved.
459.1589 +
459.1590 +******************************
459.1591 +
459.1592 +(Tomoyo)
459.1593 +It was like losing a part of myself. When I let Sakura go, I felt as 
459.1594 +if something was irreversible taken from me. While I had not much 
459.1595 +experience with supernatural encounters I had learned to trust my 
459.1596 +instincts since this mess started. My heart wanted to deny that 
459.1597 +something could... would happen to Sakura but yet my instincts told me 
459.1598 +otherwise.
459.1599 +	At the same time though I could also tell that while I lost 
459.1600 +something, I would gain something, in the long run maybe even more 
459.1601 +than I would lose. Of course I couldn't really make much sense to me 
459.1602 +that moment and all I could think about was that I had such a really 
459.1603 +bad, sinking feeling in my stomach. I had no idea what exactly she was 
459.1604 +planning, hanging there in the void, just hovering for a moment. Wisps 
459.1605 +of white and black that I identified briefly as Light and Dark 
459.1606 +circling around her. I hadn't wanted to let her go. I really had not. 
459.1607 +I was far more worried about her life when to care about what might 
459.1608 +happen when nothing was done about Pandora. That brief experience 
459.1609 +outside in the void, unprotected and exposed to the horror of dark 
459.1610 +emotions had left me a frightened mess. I really had no idea where I 
459.1611 +had pulled the strength from to even move. But I had known that Sakura 
459.1612 +needed my support now, that she was on the verge of breaking and that 
459.1613 +I had to be strong for her. She depended on me giving her confidence. 
459.1614 +And as much the feelings of fear threatened to overwhelm me any moment 
459.1615 +now, the need to be there for Sakura was far greater.
459.1616 +	And then Sakura spoke and everything began to make sense. I 
459.1617 +stood there on shaky legs, watching transfixed as a faint glimmer of 
459.1618 +crimson red formed around Sakura's form. Where it touched, the 
459.1619 +darkness recoiled for a moment. For a few, timeless moments that was 
459.1620 +all that happened. Sakura had her head thrown back and I could guess 
459.1621 +that her eyes were closed. Then suddenly the faint aura literally 
459.1622 +exploded in a bright flare, crackling and hissing like an angry flame 
459.1623 +ready to consume whatever lay in its path. It began to completely 
459.1624 +surround... no, swallow Sakura from head to toe, expanding in size and 
459.1625 +intensity until I had to look away as another bright flash of light 
459.1626 +temporally lit up the darkness.
459.1627 +	When my eyes managed to finally adjust again, the darkness had 
459.1628 +mostly returned except for the purple shimmer of Time's bubble. Then 
459.1629 +there was Sakura. On first glance you might not see the changes, 
459.1630 +especially in the dim light. But for me, for someone who had known 
459.1631 +Sakura for so long, I spotted them immediately. The hair was longer, 
459.1632 +falling a little past her shoulders and of a darker shade of red, 
459.1633 +somewhere between the fiery orange-red that was in my memories from 
459.1634 +the picture in the shrine and Sakura's natural chocolate-brown. Since 
459.1635 +I couldn't see her eyes from here, those were all the physical changes 
459.1636 +visible, yet there were small things, things that were more 
459.1637 +appreciated on a subconscious area that I had learned to read and 
459.1638 +interpret for about five years. Subtle movements of muscles, body 
459.1639 +posture and her very aura that told me that this was not just Sakura 
459.1640 +anymore. Not just Sakura, but not fully someone else either. And what 
459.1641 +really made the difference from me was that the bond of love between 
459.1642 +us, that sense of awareness for the other was still there, not in the 
459.1643 +least damaged. No, it had actually warped a little and seemed to be 
459.1644 +even more defined than before.
459.1645 +	I could have sworn I heard a gasp and when Pandora spoke up, 
459.1646 +somewhat disbelievingly I was pretty sure it came from her. "You?"
459.1647 +	Sakura lifted her head up to gaze at what could barely be 
459.1648 +recognized as the sprite form of Silence. Both her and Love had been 
459.1649 +almost completely swallowed. While you literally felt the fear 
459.1650 +radiating from my girlfriend whenever confronted with the infernal 
459.1651 +being, now there was an air of calmness around her. Nothing in her 
459.1652 +body language spoke of doubt. There was a strong confidence in her 
459.1653 +abilities that for all her advances in magic my Sakura had never shown 
459.1654 +before. This Sakura - I really couldn't bring myself to think of her 
459.1655 +as anyone else even though I knew she probably was as much her past 
459.1656 +self again right now as she was Sakura - didn't show any fear in the 
459.1657 +face of the situation before her, there was no hesitation.
459.1658 +	Briefly Sakura glanced back and I gasped as I felt myself 
459.1659 +captured in the most enchanting pair of gold eyes, sparkling with the 
459.1660 +fire of a miniature sun, a passion as vivid as the genki spirit of 
459.1661 +Sakura but mixed with something much more mature, maybe a little 
459.1662 +darker. I felt myself trembling and leaned against the inner wall of 
459.1663 +Time's bubble. Sakura sent a reassuring smile down towards me but even 
459.1664 +though her new appearance had stunned me to immobility I could detect 
459.1665 +a bit of sadness and regret there. I wanted to reach out, to say 
459.1666 +something, anything... But my mouth felt dry and denied me the favor 
459.1667 +of speech.
459.1668 +	Then the now-redhead turned back towards her foe. "Not entirely. 
459.1669 +I am more now when I have been before." The wand in her hand flared 
459.1670 +with a bright white for a moment. "As you will see soon." Sakura 
459.1671 +really didn't waste much words. With one gesture she pointed the wand 
459.1672 +down at where Love and Silence were entangled in the mass of darkness 
459.1673 +that by now was rather hard to distinguish from the rest of the void 
459.1674 +if you didn't know where to look. I gasped in amazement as a beam of 
459.1675 +white light - on closer inspection turning out to be more like tiny 
459.1676 +little stars - struck the duo of card sprites that were holding each 
459.1677 +other tightly.
459.1678 +	There was a startled exclamation of Pandora before she had to 
459.1679 +suddenly shift all her attention to the mix of orange and purple light 
459.1680 +erupting from within her. It was not nearly strong enough to burst 
459.1681 +their bonds but they were fighting back again, furiously. And that 
459.1682 +gave Sakura time and the diversion she needed for... Well, for 
459.1683 +whatever she had planned.
459.1684 +	Sakura crossed her hands before her chest and I could see a deep 
459.1685 +red glow spreading from where she had put the four talismans Filia had 
459.1686 +given her. Then she began the incantation with the same calmness now 
459.1687 +dominating all her actions at the moment.
459.1688 +	"Shikai no yami wo suberu oo, nanji no kakera no enishi ni 
459.1689 +sitagai
459.1690 +	Nanjira subete no chikara mote ware ni saranaru chikara wo atae 
459.1691 +yo"
459.1692 +	Ever since entering the zone of darkness it had really been like 
459.1693 +in the eye of a storm. It was silent, an eerie quietness, and all that 
459.1694 +could remotely be considered wind was the icy death breath filling 
459.1695 +everything around us. Now there was a gentle breeze, slowly gaining in 
459.1696 +force as Sakura continued her spell. And as the wind grew in intensity 
459.1697 +the darkness seemed to... move. I knew it was stupid. I knew it was 
459.1698 +technically impossible - but then again what was not commonly termed 
459.1699 +impossible of the things I experienced since Sakura had become a 
459.1700 +Cardcaptor? - yet the vast emptiness around us practically seemed to 
459.1701 +gather around the Card Mistress and then flow between her cupped 
459.1702 +hands, slowly taking shape.
459.1703 +	"Akumu no ou no hitokake yo
459.1704 +	Sora no imashime tokihanatareshi kooreru kuroki utsuro no yaiba 
459.1705 +yo
459.1706 +	Waga chikara waga mi to narite tomo ni horobi no michi o ayuman
459.1707 +	Kamigami no tamashii sura mo uchikudak"
459.1708 +	Sakura's voice grew in strength as she chanted, the words 
459.1709 +beginning to almost vibrate with the power forming between her hands. 
459.1710 +There was a short startled scream as Pandora obviously took note of 
459.1711 +what was happening but something told me that it was already too late. 
459.1712 +The darkness between the redhead's hands had taken shape already. I 
459.1713 +wasn't sure if you could declare the blade of pitch blackness solid 
459.1714 +though. It was livid, wavering, always changing shape, never really 
459.1715 +stopping in its chaotic motion. I stared in stunned disbelief at the 
459.1716 +phenomena, something familiar stirring inside of me at the sight. And 
459.1717 +there was that feeling again that Sakura was risking more with that 
459.1718 +spell than was obvious at first glance.
459.1719 +	And then I saw it. I saw the subtle shaking, the tensed muscled, 
459.1720 +squared shoulders, I felt more than saw the pain of concentration in 
459.1721 +her face that the spell demanded from her. It was a wild thought, yet 
459.1722 +I knew even more so that it was true. While the spell probably wasn't 
459.1723 +lethal. Sakura, reincarnation or not, was not used to it. Her body was 
459.1724 +mot used to the demands the arcane magic obviously put on her body and 
459.1725 +spirit.
459.1726 +	I jerked back in slight shock when Sakura's head snapped around 
459.1727 +to look at me and right now her eyes were more a taint of red than the 
459.1728 +prior gold. "Amelia, where is the connection that roots her to the 
459.1729 +physical plane?" she shouted desperately. Her teeth were clenched and 
459.1730 +the eyes were turning more into slits right now. One even totally 
459.1731 +inexperienced with magic would see the colossal effort it caused the 
459.1732 +young girl to maintain the spell.
459.1733 +	I didn't really pay the name much attention, on a level already 
459.1734 +understanding that Sakura probably couldn't distinguish between past 
459.1735 +and present right now. The desperation in her voice quickly snapped me 
459.1736 +out of my shocked state and I looked over at the tangled mass of 
459.1737 +semi-solid darkness and the rebelling card sprites. I had not dared to 
459.1738 +look directly again ever since the first time but now I knew what I 
459.1739 +had to do. I let instincts complete control and SAW. Spotting what 
459.1740 +seemed to my eyes like a big ball of the infernal presence that was 
459.1741 +Pandora I was pretty sure that this was exactly what Sakura wanted.
459.1742 +	"There!" I pointed at the spot and mentally willed it for Sakura 
459.1743 +to be visible. I was surprised myself when the spot flashed with a 
459.1744 +faint blue light around the edges and for a moment thought it was just 
459.1745 +by my imagination, but judged by Pandora's startled exclamation, it 
459.1746 +must have really been there.
459.1747 +	Glancing back to my girlfriend, I saw all the remaining cards 
459.1748 +dancing in a circle around Sakura, supplying tiny beams of magic that 
459.1749 +were absorbed immediately by the morphing blade of blackness, now held 
459.1750 +high over the Card Mistress' head, her gaze fixed on the one spot I 
459.1751 +had pointed out. Then, with a force creating a sonic boom, she brought 
459.1752 +it down on the knot of darkness that anchored Pandora to this plane.
459.1753 +	"RAGNA BLADE!"
459.1754 +	Absolute silence fell over the area when the blade came crushing 
459.1755 +down. For a frightening long moment disbelief and shock pushed to the 
459.1756 +forefront when the magical sword seemed to stop just inches from 
459.1757 +cracking the so tiny seeming knot apart.
459.1758 +	"You... won't beat me... so easily..." Pandora could be heard, 
459.1759 +gasping out in obvious strain.
459.1760 +	Then Love and Silence pushed upwards with a wave of joined 
459.1761 +power, drawing a scream from Pandora. At the same time Sakura pushed 
459.1762 +forward with all her might, a murdering scream of her own spilling 
459.1763 +from her lips. There was another moment in which nothing seemed to 
459.1764 +happen, then slowly the black blade pushed through the knot and 
459.1765 +everything exploded into bright white, accompanied by a shrill shriek 
459.1766 +that could have sent a dragon running.
459.1767 +
459.1768 +******************************
459.1769 +
459.1770 +Blinking my eyes my senses gradually returned one by one. I had no 
459.1771 +idea how much time had went by or if even any time at all had passed. 
459.1772 +My mind began to catch up with my senses and I began to remember what 
459.1773 +happened. There was a giant explosion when Sakura severed Pandora's 
459.1774 +connection to the physical plane and after that I remembered nothing. 
459.1775 +At first I wasn't sure if the release of powerful magic hadn't damaged 
459.1776 +my sight somehow because all around me was nothing but white. It was a 
459.1777 +stark contrast to the vast blackness from before. For a brief moment I 
459.1778 +wondered if we might have all just died and this was heaven or 
459.1779 +something.
459.1780 +	But, I felt too alive to be dead. And then I became aware of the 
459.1781 +soft glows to my left and turned to see the sprite forms of Love and 
459.1782 +Silence. I gave a sigh of relief, walking over to them, all the while 
459.1783 +looking around in the infinite light for some sign of Sakura. "Where 
459.1784 +are we?" I asked curiously.
459.1785 +	"In a small zone where our mutual energy flows met. We are in 
459.1786 +the only existing focal point of the seal," Love explained.
459.1787 +	"I had been drawn and corrupted here by the Feared One," Silence 
459.1788 +stated in an emotional voice. But as emotionless as it seemed, her 
459.1789 +companion was obviously able to detect something more in it, squeezing 
459.1790 +her hand gently in comfort. I guess she had been feeling rather guilty 
459.1791 +about the whole thing. For the first I got a really good look at 
459.1792 +Silence's appearance, untainted by the influence of Pandora. Her skin 
459.1793 +was probably an even lighter tone of albino white, framed by short 
459.1794 +dark hair and somewhat cold and distant purple eyes.
459.1795 +	That just left one question and I couldn't get that awful 
459.1796 +feeling in my chest to disappear that I wouldn't like the answer. 
459.1797 +"Where is...?" I started, but before I could finish my gaze traveled 
459.1798 +down to the figure on the ground. At first I didn't recognize the 
459.1799 +disheveled shape with the messy reddish hair and slightly torn 
459.1800 +clothing. But then I got a good look at her now pale, unmoving face 
459.1801 +and an anguished outcry left my lips. "Sakura!"
459.1802 +	With one step I crossed the distance and was already on my knees 
459.1803 +before the last syllable even left my mouth. Gently, afraid to break 
459.1804 +her delicate form upon contact, I reached out to touch her face, 
459.1805 +searching for some sign of life, any reaction at all. My emotions were 
459.1806 +in turmoil and I couldn't think straight at all as all sort of 
459.1807 +nonsense bubbled from my lips. I tried to feel for a pulse but in my 
459.1808 +frantic state wasn't able to find it, only heightening the panic 
459.1809 +welling up inside of me.
459.1810 +	"Pandora fought back against Mistress' spell. She had to put all 
459.1811 +of her magic and that of the cards into it to succeed," Love said 
459.1812 +quietly.
459.1813 +	"Lina-dono was not ready for that amount of magic in such a 
459.1814 +young and inexperienced body. It not only drained her magic but her 
459.1815 +life force as well," Silence added, sadness this time audibly without 
459.1816 +much restraint.
459.1817 +	However, I didn't want to hear it. "No," I rasped out, tears 
459.1818 +brimming in my eyes. I didn't want to hear the sadness or their 
459.1819 +explanations, I didn't want to hear it because... "She can't be dead. 
459.1820 +I don't believe she's dead!" I screamed at them making both card 
459.1821 +sprites recoil slightly at the bitterness and anguish in my voice. The 
459.1822 +cold and numbness I experienced in Pandora's void was nothing compared 
459.1823 +to what my heart felt like right now. "She promised me! She promised 
459.1824 +me everything would be alright..." I said, my voice turning into a 
459.1825 +whisper, silent tears spilled from my eyes as the truth slowly worked 
459.1826 +its way through my denial. "She promised..."
459.1827 +	"To-Tomoyo..." My head jerked up and I stared at the girl in my 
459.1828 +arms, tears clouding my vision. Had I just heard...? I didn't dare to 
459.1829 +believe, I didn't dare to hope that... Sakura's eyes fluttered open 
459.1830 +weakly, barely on the brink of consciousness.
459.1831 +	I felt my heart make a giant leap that could have crossed the 
459.1832 +whole planet with that one jump. Putting her hand against my cheek I 
459.1833 +smiled happily. "I am here Sakura-chan."
459.1834 +	"D-Did I... beat her...?" Sakura choked out. I had to strain to 
459.1835 +even hear the voice but that was okay. She was tired. That was 
459.1836 +understandable. Just a bit of sleep and everything would be fine. We 
459.1837 +could go home and that would be the end of the whole ordeal. Just as 
459.1838 +Sakura said. Everything was alright.
459.1839 +	"Of course," I managed to reply, a sob disrupting what I had 
459.1840 +planned to be proud and reassuring. Why was I still crying. Sakura was 
459.1841 +alright, wasn't she? There was no need for the tears anymore. They 
459.1842 +would only bother Sakura and I didn't need her to worry now. She was 
459.1843 +supposed to be resting.
459.1844 +	"Good..." Sakura breathed with relief, her eyes slowly yielding 
459.1845 +to fatigue. I felt her fingers caress my cheek and sighed contently at 
459.1846 +the familiar feeling. "I am sorry..." The words, followed by the 
459.1847 +violent cough ripped me right out of my self-induced denial. All at 
459.1848 +once I became aware of how cold Sakura's body was, I became aware of 
459.1849 +the beat of her heart having slowed to an alarming rate. I became 
459.1850 +aware that the faint connection between us began to weaken to a point 
459.1851 +where it would be severed at any moment. I became aware that Sakura 
459.1852 +really WAS dying.
459.1853 +	"Sa-Sakura..." I whispered fearfully, not wanting to hear the 
459.1854 +truth, not wanting to accept the fact that my best friend, my 
459.1855 +girlfriend, my lover, my mate was so brutally taken away from me, 
459.1856 +beyond my control, beyond anything I could do. However, I was unable 
459.1857 +to resist the truth anymore and that truth was like a sharp icicle 
459.1858 +bored right into my heart, draining all my life force. It was only a 
459.1859 +question whether I'd go from the pain or from the coldness.
459.1860 +	"Dawn is approaching," Love said quietly, tears of her own 
459.1861 +glistering in her spiritual eyes. "When the flow is not returned, 
459.1862 +everything that has been done, every sacrifice would be pointless."
459.1863 +	Pointless. The word echoed in my mind, crushing my already 
459.1864 +mortally wounded heart even further. Not only would I lose Sakura but 
459.1865 +it would all be in vain. Pandora would break free, Sakura's efforts 
459.1866 +without any effect, her death meaningless... Something inside that 
459.1867 +dead place that was my heart stirred, a tiny spark, not nearly enough 
459.1868 +to break through the ice covering it, but it was growing, growing 
459.1869 +slowly.
459.1870 +	"N-No..." I glanced back at Sakura at her words, so faint now 
459.1871 +they were almost like the wind whispering. She brought her other hand 
459.1872 +that was still clutching the star wand up slowly. "Tomoyo... you have 
459.1873 +to... finish it..." My eyes widened in shock, my hands moving more on 
459.1874 +autopilot than actually wanting to as I took the staff from Sakura's 
459.1875 +limb fingers. "The... the cards love you... You have the magic... You 
459.1876 +can do it... I... I trust you..." Her breathing was getting shallow 
459.1877 +and the next breath was taking so long I was afraid it was already her 
459.1878 +last, but from somewhere she mustered the strength and a detached part 
459.1879 +of me analyzed with some sort of morbid amusement that this was just 
459.1880 +like Sakura, stubborn until the end.
459.1881 +	"I love you... I am sorry that I have failed you... so badly... 
459.1882 +But I could not... let you die... again..."
459.1883 +	Was that the consequence? Was that the consequences of using 
459.1884 +Time? If so, then that wasn't fair. If Sakura died here, all that 
459.1885 +would have really changed would be the four years we spent together. 
459.1886 +She wouldn't have saved anyone because the seal would break anyway, 
459.1887 +the same horror repeating again that she had tried to correct. Maybe 
459.1888 +that hadn't been her initial wish but her initial wish was to make me 
459.1889 +happy and how would having her sacrificed devoid any sense and as a 
459.1890 +result the entire Earth lost - including me -  make me happy?!
459.1891 +	It wasn't fair.
459.1892 +	It was not fair!
459.1893 +	I didn't really understand why I was more angry than sad. I 
459.1894 +should be crying, screaming, anything, but all that I could do was 
459.1895 +holding the soft gaze of my dying beloved. Gold eyes meeting blue, not 
459.1896 +letting go until the last moment. The spark had become a small flame 
459.1897 +and was growing in size. An unnatural calmness began to fill me and as 
459.1898 +I sat staring into those eyes that despite the change were still so 
459.1899 +much Sakura I slowly began to understand. I began to understand why I 
459.1900 +had insisted on joining Sakura in the first place, despite the danger, 
459.1901 +despite my usual good-natured common sense. It wasn't because of Love 
459.1902 +and feeding her our feelings, it wasn't because I could suddenly see 
459.1903 +spirits and help to point out Pandora's weakness, it wasn't even 
459.1904 +really to lend the support Sakura needed so much.
459.1905 +	No, I had made my request because of this moment, because of 
459.1906 +this very moment. Not because I knew Sakura would die but because I 
459.1907 +knew Sakura would die if I wasn't here. Filia's revelations had 
459.1908 +frightened me, I hadn't allowed myself to think about them, I had not 
459.1909 +wanted to face some of the implications albeit sensing that they might 
459.1910 +not be all that bad. And I was pretty sure Sakura had had similar 
459.1911 +troubles. However, my mate had not hesitated when there was no other 
459.1912 +choice. She had not hesitated to risk losing her very self in the 
459.1913 +process if it ensured the safety of those she loved.
459.1914 +	And now it was my turn. If there was anything powerful in me, if 
459.1915 +Filia's tale about the strength of my past life was even remotely 
459.1916 +true, then... then... Then there had to be SOMETHING I could do to 
459.1917 +help Sakura. The other girl had saved my life so often. If I had this 
459.1918 +power, couldn't I just once, just this ONE time save her life? Was it 
459.1919 +too much to be asking that one favor? Had she not done enough already 
459.1920 +to earn some damn gratitude?
459.1921 +	I refused to believe that this was the ultimate consequence of 
459.1922 +her actions. I refused to acknowledge that Sakura would be taken from 
459.1923 +me after only four years spent together like this. I refused to 
459.1924 +believe that everything that she had done, everything she had 
459.1925 +sacrificed would in the end be MEANINGLESS.
459.1926 +	I simply did not accept it...
459.1927 +	I wanted to help her...
459.1928 +	I would help her...
459.1929 +	I was able to help her...
459.1930 +	Because...
459.1931 +	My vision blurred without warning and I felt myself being drawn 
459.1932 +into the golden eyes of my lover...
459.1933 +
459.1934 +******************************
459.1935 +
459.1936 +()
459.1937 +The sky was a clear blue, a few soft white clouds strolled across the 
459.1938 +wonderful spring morning scenery, not doing much to obscure the warm - 
459.1939 +not hot - sun from illuminating the ground below. The various plants 
459.1940 +and flowers in the vast green field below seemed to actually stretch 
459.1941 +to take in as much of the sun's rays as possible.
459.1942 +	Upon closer inspection one could see that the large field was 
459.1943 +not so much open space but a majestic garden, surrounding half of a 
459.1944 +grand palace. A figure sat in the middle of that vast garden, clad in 
459.1945 +white robes she appeared to be almost childlike and one not knowing 
459.1946 +could have mistaken her for one. But the blue eyes spoke of not only 
459.1947 +maturity but also a deep concentration. Short black hair fell slightly 
459.1948 +into her face as she kneeled by a single, lonely sprout of a tree. She 
459.1949 +had her hands placed over the pretty unhealthy looking sprout.
459.1950 +	A second figure approached behind the girl and silently stood, 
459.1951 +watching as the first began to speak words of power. Not of force but 
459.1952 +of healing. Gentle, softly, the single syllables flowing like a 
459.1953 +beautiful ballad. The first girl's hand glowed a bright white but it 
459.1954 +immediately dimmed again after only a short time and the single green 
459.1955 +leaf that had spread from the efforts seemed to wither away. The girl 
459.1956 +let out a sigh and her shoulders dropped miserably.
459.1957 +	The other girl smiled fondly, shaking her head in a mix of 
459.1958 +amusement and disappointed. Placing a hand on the dark-haired girl's 
459.1959 +shoulder she made her look up. "You still force it too much, 
459.1960 +Amelia-chan. Didn't they teach you patience at all?"
459.1961 +	The last question was spoken with the hint of a teasing smile 
459.1962 +making the girl called Amelia pout. "Patience was never much of my 
459.1963 +greatest strengths. You know I trained in White Magic because it was 
459.1964 +expected of me as the Princess of Saillune. I don't think it ever was 
459.1965 +really my specialty." She reached up to touch the other girl's cheek, 
459.1966 +letting her hand linger in the soft purple hair falling slightly past 
459.1967 +the other girl's shoulder. "You've always been much better with this, 
459.1968 +Sylphiel-chan."
459.1969 +	Sylphiel smiled sympathetically. "I know. But you want to be 
459.1970 +able to help if the situation should ever come up. You said so 
459.1971 +yourself. There might be a time when I am not available and you have 
459.1972 +an amazing talent, Amelia. You just have to learn how to use it 
459.1973 +properly."
459.1974 +	Amelia nodded quietly, a look of determination entering her 
459.1975 +eyes, replacing the pout. "Thanks, with you guys supporting me like 
459.1976 +this I feel like I can do everything." With that she turned back to 
459.1977 +the withered tree sprout, once again concentrating solely on it, 
459.1978 +beginning to chant anew.
459.1979 +	Sylphiel watched quietly, pride clearly visible in her eyes but 
459.1980 +also adoration for the other girl... no, almost young woman already 
459.1981 +that she held so dear. Her eyes closed for a moment and a happy sigh 
459.1982 +escaped her lips when a pair of arms encircled her waist from behind, 
459.1983 +drawing her against a third girl, slightly shorter than herself with 
459.1984 +distinctive orange-red hair and scarlet red eyes.
459.1985 +	"How is she doing?" the redhead asked, nuzzling Sylphiel for a 
459.1986 +moment before moving her attention to Amelia who was lost in her 
459.1987 +spell, the white glow from her palms growing in intensity.
459.1988 +	The purple-haired woman chuckled. "Amazingly well, considering 
459.1989 +we've only been training seriously for a few weeks. She doesn't 
459.1990 +realize it but she's learning this high level magic faster than I 
459.1991 +did." As if wanting to prove her words Amelia finished the spell and 
459.1992 +the magical light spread out from her hands in a steady flow, encasing 
459.1993 +the sickly looking sprout. Green leaves began to spread, the bark's 
459.1994 +color was returning to a more normal shade. All in all the sprout 
459.1995 +looked like it would grow into a very healthy tree one day.
459.1996 +	Amelia released her held breath in a soft sigh and sank back to 
459.1997 +sit in the green grass. The redhead moved from Sylphiel, kneeling 
459.1998 +behind Amelia and pulled the pleasantly surprised girl into her lap. 
459.1999 +The taller woman sat next to them, resting her head on the redhead's 
459.2000 +shoulder and stroking softly through Amelia's dark hair. "That was 
459.2001 +very well done, Amelia. Just a bit more training and you can do it as 
459.2002 +good as I can."
459.2003 +	Amelia shook her head in an adoringly cute display of 
459.2004 +stubbornness. "No way, I'll never be as good as you in White Magic or 
459.2005 +Lina in Black Magic."
459.2006 +	The redhead, Lina, smiled lovingly. "Maybe, but you have more 
459.2007 +talent in all three magic categories than most normal humans, probably 
459.2008 +including us. I couldn't cast a healing spell like that in a hundred 
459.2009 +years and Sylphiel probably couldn't use attack magic to save her 
459.2010 +life." With a chuckle she added. "Except a Dragon Slave that is."
459.2011 +	Sylphiel sent the redhead a mock glare at that but quickly 
459.2012 +joined in with her own soft laughter.
459.2013 +
459.2014 +******************************
459.2015 +
459.2016 +(Tomoyo/Amelia)
459.2017 +And just like in the memory the words flowed from my lips.
459.2018 +	"Seinaru iyashi no mite yo, hahanaru daichi no ibuki yo
459.2019 +	Negawakuba waga mae ni yokoyawarishi kono mono o
459.2020 +	Sono ooinaru jihi ni te sukui tamae"
459.2021 +	Recalling all those lessons, the hours spend with a gentle and 
459.2022 +patient, much more experienced shrine maiden learning the ultimate 
459.2023 +form of healing. Not forceful like a Black Magic spell, not wild and 
459.2024 +somewhat chaotic like an elemental spell. No, slowly, with steady 
459.2025 +precision touching each damaged area, healing what was injured, curing 
459.2026 +what was sick. A process not hastened but patient with the faith set 
459.2027 +in mind that even if it seemed much too slow, the pace would be just 
459.2028 +right. Healing was like that. It needed precision, it needed to be 
459.2029 +flawless, or otherwise a tiny mistake in an unimportant area could 
459.2030 +cause all the effort to be in vain.
459.2031 +	White magical energy flowed into my hands from all around us, 
459.2032 +the seal's power obviously an even stronger supply of life force than 
459.2033 +I had initially thought. There was so much, I actually had to damper 
459.2034 +the flow a little in order to not be overwhelmed. All my concentration 
459.2035 +was on the redhead, the one I HAD TO save. My mate, in this life as 
459.2036 +much as in my previous. My mind was detached and I wasn't quite sure 
459.2037 +who I was anymore since all my focus was on the other girl.
459.2038 +	I could feel the magic reach its peak. I had already patched up 
459.2039 +everything physical, now it was time for the last touch, the crucial 
459.2040 +point, to return the life to Sakura/Lina... to breathe new life into 
459.2041 +her almost dead body.
459.2042 +	"RESURRECTION!"
459.2043 +
459.2044 +******************************
459.2045 +
459.2046 +()
459.2047 +Far away, back in Tokyo, close to Tomoeda actually, a young girl not 
459.2048 +older than Sakura and Tomoyo stopped in her mundane task of sweeping 
459.2049 +the yard of her family's shrine. Long purplish hair was blown back in 
459.2050 +a soft breeze when the young miko looked up into the sky with a look 
459.2051 +of puzzlement in her green eyes. For a moment there she had felt 
459.2052 +something oddly familiar.
459.2053 +	After a moment, the girl shrugged and returned her work in 
459.2054 +patient acceptance.
459.2055 +
459.2056 +******************************
459.2057 +
459.2058 +(Sakura)
459.2059 +An angel.
459.2060 +	That was the first thing I thought when I opened my eyes. After 
459.2061 +all I was pretty sure I just died and the face hovering above me was 
459.2062 +truly angelic. The delicate, pale features so much like Tomoyo, those 
459.2063 +eyes so deep and full of compassion, blue as a deep ocean or vast sky. 
459.2064 +The hair was a little darker, somewhere between black and deep purple. 
459.2065 +The happy smile and the glow in the angel's face were heartwarming, 
459.2066 +filling me entirely with love, completing me with just that single 
459.2067 +action. Only one person ever managed that - not including past lives 
459.2068 +right now.
459.2069 +	"Sakura-chan," the angel whispered and my heart skipped a beat 
459.2070 +at the melodic, oh so familiar voice I thought never to hear again.
459.2071 +	I blinked in confusion, wondering what was going on. 
459.2072 +"Tomo-chan?"
459.2073 +	Before I could actually react I was pulled upwards into a 
459.2074 +crushing hug that threatened to split bones upon contact. The embrace 
459.2075 +was without doubt Tomoyo's. Nowhere else I could feel so at home, 
459.2076 +nowhere else I wanted to belong. Once in Tomoyo's arms I never wanted 
459.2077 +to leave again. Yet, this embrace was fierce, screaming with a mixture 
459.2078 +of burning emotions. Relief, happiness, longing. I could hear the 
459.2079 +other girls' heart beating in synchrony with my own. Soft, steady 
459.2080 +beats. They were the most heavenly music I had heard in my life 
459.2081 +because they told me one thing. Tomoyo wasn't dead... and neither was 
459.2082 +I.
459.2083 +	"Tomo-chan, what...?" I started but never managed to finish, 
459.2084 +finding much more pleasant things to occupy my mouth with. The other 
459.2085 +girl had brought her lips to mine in a kiss that was full of 
459.2086 +desperation, conveying all the fear and sadness of not to long ago but 
459.2087 +also all the happiness and relief coursing through her. It mingled 
459.2088 +with my own mirrored feelings and was returned with an equally strong 
459.2089 +favor. Our spirits seemed to join for that single timeless moment and 
459.2090 +I began to understand partly what had happened.
459.2091 +	When the kiss ended, I pulled back and stared into Tomoyo's 
459.2092 +eyes. Seeing not only the unconditional love of the one person I would 
459.2093 +give... had given anything for, but also something else, someone else. 
459.2094 +Dormant, not really awakened as the soul inside of me when Time 
459.2095 +released my past life's memories. "You saved me," I said softly, 
459.2096 +tracing the other girl's face with one finger, mesmerizing the few 
459.2097 +subtle changes. She was still mostly Tomoyo but there was a bit of 
459.2098 +Amelia there too. Before I had made that step, I would have been a 
459.2099 +little scared of the change that could mean for us. However, now with 
459.2100 +the full recollection of my past life, I realized how foolish that 
459.2101 +fear was. For us, there never had been any danger of losing something 
459.2102 +important. On the contrary there was actually more to gain.
459.2103 +	"I had to," Tomoyo said simply but her eyes were still moist 
459.2104 +with unshed tears of happiness. I reached up to gently brush them away 
459.2105 +with one of my sleeves and smiled with unrestrained pride.
459.2106 +	We could have stood there for ages, neither caring about the 
459.2107 +world around us. Unfortunately where was still one thing to attend to, 
459.2108 +as Love chose to remind us - of the matter and her presence that is. 
459.2109 +"Dawn is almost upon us."
459.2110 +	I didn't cast my eyes away from Tomoyo. An understanding passed 
459.2111 +between us that went far beyond simple words. It was an understanding 
459.2112 +born from the ordeal we had just experienced and survived. With a 
459.2113 +simple mental command the forgotten star wand floated into my 
459.2114 +outstretched hand. I stepped back slightly and held it out between us, 
459.2115 +waiting. Tomoyo nodded and wordlessly clasped her own hands around the 
459.2116 +staff. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation. Both of us knew exactly 
459.2117 +what to do.
459.2118 +	I closed my eyes, seeing more with my heart than I needed with 
459.2119 +my eyes, letting the power flow. I had understood that power at my 
459.2120 +disposal when facing Pandora with my full memories. The still 
459.2121 +untouched source I had never really given much thought. Up to now the 
459.2122 +wand had merely been a focus for using the cards, empowering them with 
459.2123 +my own magic. Never had I truly used the Star Magic on its own. Yet, 
459.2124 +stars were the essence of life. They gave birth to life, nurtured 
459.2125 +life, sustained life. They were the first children of creation and in 
459.2126 +them slumbered an almost unlimited power.
459.2127 +	And the seal, Love and Silence were nothing more and nothing 
459.2128 +less than energy released by those who wielded the power of the stars, 
459.2129 +protecting life with their strength.
459.2130 +	"Key that holds the power of the stars
459.2131 +	Infinite source of light, brilliantly shining in the darkest 
459.2132 +night"
459.2133 +	The chant, spoken from both us was done without preparation, yet 
459.2134 +with the conviction of certain success. The staff between our hands 
459.2135 +flared, warming to the touch, almost too hot to touch but never 
459.2136 +burning in the slightest. I could feel its form expanding. I could 
459.2137 +feel Love and Silence hovering just above us. Magic began to swirl in 
459.2138 +a beautiful dance all around us.
459.2139 +	"Release the slumbering power of creation
459.2140 +	Bless these lost souls and return them to their true path"
459.2141 +	The dance began to quicken, turning into a maelstrom of power, a 
459.2142 +storm of creation that where it touched every life lost was restored, 
459.2143 +where it touched new life was born. In a small area around the coast 
459.2144 +lines of Japan entirely new life was born in what would later surely 
459.2145 +be titled as miracles. I wasn't really aware of this. My mind was 
459.2146 +focused on the task at hand.
459.2147 +	Slowly I reached out, feeling Tomoyo join me in the effort. In a 
459.2148 +way it was much like a healing spell and I realized with quiet 
459.2149 +fascination that while my past life had not been able to do much in 
459.2150 +this area, Kinomoto Sakura was definitely a different story. The flux 
459.2151 +of magic finally reached its peak and with a final shout of power, it 
459.2152 +was released to its designed task.
459.2153 +	"RESTORATION!"
459.2154 +	The eruption of magic was not powerful. Instead it was more or 
459.2155 +less anti-climatic aside from the sheer potent energy concentrated 
459.2156 +into the spell. I opened my eyes, watching with rapt attention as a 
459.2157 +beam of purest magical energy shot upwards engulfing Love and Silence. 
459.2158 +For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then there were tiny ripples 
459.2159 +from the spots where the card sprites had been swallowed. Golden and 
459.2160 +purple light created tiny shockwaves and in the middle of them were 
459.2161 +the cards, glowing brightly in the display of power.
459.2162 +	I could feel it now, the flow of their nature changing. The 
459.2163 +difference that separated them from how the rest of the cards were 
459.2164 +designed became pretty much undetectable. And in a last, spectacular 
459.2165 +display at the magic at work, a steady stream of their respective 
459.2166 +elements shot to either side, vanishing in the formless white.
459.2167 +	*Thank you,* their voices could briefly be heard, then another 
459.2168 +bright flare made us avert our eyes and when we looked again, the two 
459.2169 +cards floated down, changed into the star design of my own.
459.2170 +
459.2171 +******************************
459.2172 +
459.2173 +<Several hours later>
459.2174 +The sun was just barely above surface level when our yacht was making 
459.2175 +its way back to the Japanese coast. The isle in the distance was only 
459.2176 +a mere rock formation, not worthy of the terminology land anymore. The 
459.2177 +violent storm of darkness that Pandora had created with Silence's 
459.2178 +unwilling help had pretty much ripped it apart and only the mountain 
459.2179 +remained partly and a few pieces of land from the surrounding isles, 
459.2180 +floating above the waves unattached.
459.2181 +	A gentle breeze caught my unbound, longer hair. Something I 
459.2182 +would definitely need to get used to. Sure, I could cut it or 
459.2183 +something but I didn't really like it. The physical change was a 
459.2184 +reminder, a symbol of the change inside me. Trying to describe it in 
459.2185 +words was hard. While I was still Sakura on most levels, I had all of 
459.2186 +Lina Inverse's memories, including those of her personality. That 
459.2187 +didn't necessarily mean a part of me HAD TO be her... but it COULD be. 
459.2188 +As I said, it was rather strange and my mind was just beginning to 
459.2189 +catch up with all that had happened in the last few hours. It was too 
459.2190 +much to comprehend all at once.
459.2191 +	I glanced down at the two cards in my hands which I wasn't 
459.2192 +really sure what to make of. The seal was restored, the flow returned 
459.2193 +to its original strength... and the spirits that had been mirror 
459.2194 +images of the ancient warriors had vanished back into their own 
459.2195 +element. But our joined magic seemed to have done more than just 
459.2196 +release the bound energy, it seemed to have... created something new. 
459.2197 +The same element, yet with new, unbound energy. The meaning of this 
459.2198 +still left me rather speechless. I had pretty much made my own cards. 
459.2199 +Not changed already existing Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, but CREATED 
459.2200 +the latter.
459.2201 +	With a slight shake of my head I willed the two cards away, 
459.2202 +leaning back into the body embracing me from behind. "What are you 
459.2203 +thinking about?" Tomoyo asked softly, her voice showing her own 
459.2204 +tiredness. She was a much different story. Where had not been much of 
459.2205 +a change at all. Physically some facial features had changed and her 
459.2206 +hair was a little darker, fading into black in some areas. She didn't 
459.2207 +have a full recollection of her past life like me. Just glimpses.
459.2208 +	I sighed, glancing out at the rather still water considering the 
459.2209 +rough vortex that had raged not too long ago. I really didn't want to 
459.2210 +go into this right now, having experienced too much and having been 
459.2211 +entirely too close to death just a short while ago. It was too early 
459.2212 +after the events that should leave me feel joyous and happy at our 
459.2213 +success. Yet, I couldn't be happy. "Don't laugh at me. But I think it 
459.2214 +was too easy." Silence, Tomoyo tightened her grip slight, but didn't 
459.2215 +say anything. "I feel this was just the beginning. All we did was sent 
459.2216 +her back to her prison. While the seal is restored, Pandora has 
459.2217 +already pushed very far to the surface. There is no guarantee that she 
459.2218 +won't find some other way. And that sooner than we might like." 
459.2219 +Especially since I was pretty sure she realized who were and there was 
459.2220 +no telling what she might come up with.
459.2221 +	For a time the only sounds were that of the ocean, the tiny 
459.2222 +waves against the ship, and the vibrating buzz of the yacht's engine. 
459.2223 +"Yes. Somehow I knew you would say that." Tomoyo slipped next to me, 
459.2224 +an arm went instinctively around her waist. "A lot of things changed 
459.2225 +in the last hours. Permanent changes. That is only natural though. 
459.2226 +Everything changes, that is life."
459.2227 +	"Does that trouble you." There were so many things implied in 
459.2228 +the question. Mainly about our past and our relationship back then. 
459.2229 +There was Sylphiel who I was pretty sure had been reborn as well. The 
459.2230 +bond between the three of us had been strong, I knew that. But Tomoyo 
459.2231 +hadn't really regained all of her memories as Amelia. Most of them 
459.2232 +were flashes, glimpses of the life we led back then. A part of me was 
459.2233 +relieved, a part of me a little saddened by that. I had no idea how 
459.2234 +she'd take the impact our past lives would eventually have on those we 
459.2235 +lived now.
459.2236 +	And then there was Filia who was a totally different case I 
459.2237 +didn't want to go into right now or anytime soon. I was glad that the 
459.2238 +dragon priestess had offered to give Syaoran a ride back home since 
459.2239 +his own ship was lost in the storm. I was glad because just the short 
459.2240 +time we spent together after returning from the seal stirred memories 
459.2241 +and feelings inside of me that affected me emotionally to a degree 
459.2242 +where I am sure Tomoyo had noticed. I really was not ready to think 
459.2243 +about Filia right now, no definitely not.
459.2244 +	Tomoyo had looked at me for awhile with a hard to read 
459.2245 +expression but now she leaned forward to put her head on my shoulder. 
459.2246 +Instinctively I pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of her body 
459.2247 +against mine. Not in a physical sense, more in a way of completeness. 
459.2248 +"Not really. Not anymore. I know now, that whatever happens, we will 
459.2249 +be together."
459.2250 +	I felt compelled to say something in return but instead I turned 
459.2251 +to draw her firmer against me, both arms coming around her body. 
459.2252 +"Always," I said with absolute conviction, glad and proud at the same 
459.2253 +time of the level of understanding and comprehension Tomoyo showed.
459.2254 +	It was much like Tomoyo said though. Change was a constant 
459.2255 +companion in life. Life was chaotic. People who couldn't deal with 
459.2256 +change, with unpredictable situations would stagnate and miss most of 
459.2257 +the beauty that was life. We both had to accept this in the last 
459.2258 +hours. We would deal with what would come, one way or another.
459.2259 +	A yawn made me look down at Tomoyo, comfortably snuggled in my 
459.2260 +arms, her head resting just a bit under my chin, letting me inhale the 
459.2261 +soft fragrance that amazingly had been rather untouched by the events. 
459.2262 +I couldn't help a soft chuckle. "I think we should get some sleep. We 
459.2263 +definitely earned it." Truth be told I felt ready to pop right here 
459.2264 +and there, not waking up for the next year or so. Whatever had us 
459.2265 +going for so long, had finally subsided and exhaustion began to catch 
459.2266 +up.
459.2267 +	Tomoyo nodded, very reluctantly stepping away from me, just to 
459.2268 +reach for my hand. I grinned and let myself be dragged below deck to 
459.2269 +our cabin. Thinking could come tomorrow or next week or whenever I 
459.2270 +felt like it. Right now I felt much too spent to even begin to assess 
459.2271 +the changes in our lives experienced over the last twelve hours or so. 
459.2272 +What counted was that I was still here, everyone was still here, 
459.2273 +Tomoyo was still here. We were all alive and everything had indeed 
459.2274 +turned out to be alright.
459.2275 +
459.2276 +******************************
459.2277 +
459.2278 +(Filia)
459.2279 +I watched the boat slowly disappear from human sight and eventually 
459.2280 +from that of a dragon as well. Time was rather insignificant right 
459.2281 +now. It would be awhile until I had to go drop the boy off in China 
459.2282 +and after that... well, I wasn't sure. The shrine was gone too which 
459.2283 +left me a little sad with the though of my solitary home for a very 
459.2284 +long time not being there anymore.
459.2285 +	That's the price for success, I suppose. The seal was restored, 
459.2286 +just as I had been told. And Earth, along with the rest of the 
459.2287 +universe, had earned itself a little breathing space.
459.2288 +	"It won't be long now, will it?"
459.2289 +	I didn't turn at the sudden appearance of a very familiar, in 
459.2290 +the old times often pretty annoying voice. Truth be told, I had 
459.2291 +expected him to show up a little earlier. "A couple of years, I would 
459.2292 +believe. It'll take her awhile to seek another opportunity."
459.2293 +	The man stepped up next to me, his trademark smile in place, 
459.2294 +even though I could tell that for once he wasn't really amused and his 
459.2295 +voice showed his seriousness. "The other parties are coming along 
459.2296 +nicely. Everything will be in place when the time comes."
459.2297 +	Sighing I turned away from the spot where I had watched the 
459.2298 +group leave in their ship, with them Lina who was now awakened. That 
459.2299 +didn't change a thing though and I knew it. Made it not much easier to 
459.2300 +accept though. "I hate playing the conductor for a war that could be 
459.2301 +avoided. We could spare them all this just by ensuring she doesn't get 
459.2302 +to them. What would be so bad about it?"
459.2303 +	I regretted the question right away because I knew what was 
459.2304 +coming judged by the gleam in the purple-haired priest's eye. "Ah, 
459.2305 +dear Filia, that is a secret." The grin quickly turned into a stoic 
459.2306 +expression though. "One that I neither know the answer to or am 
459.2307 +especially fond of finding it out. You know as much as I that this is 
459.2308 +our path. We have our instructions and I for one will follow them to 
459.2309 +the letter."
459.2310 +	"I hate it when you are right, Xelloss," I grumbled.
459.2311 +	Xelloss chuckled lightly and then, without much fanfare, 
459.2312 +vanished, leaving me once again alone with my thoughts.
459.2313 +	A couple of years, indeed. Then, THEN the REAL battle would 
459.2314 +begin. And it would be an epical one.
459.2315 +	"Use that time well," I said quietly to the wind, then turned 
459.2316 +and walked back towards the small camp on the rocky surface of the 
459.2317 +torn mountain top.
459.2318 +
459.2319 +THE END (for now)
459.2320 +
459.2321 +Author's Notes
459.2322 +
459.2323 +That muse makes me nuts. I had no intention of making that chapter 
459.2324 +almost as huge as all three installments before put together. I really 
459.2325 +didn't want to...
459.2326 +Okay, okay, I'll stop whining.
459.2327 +This really turned out rather different from what I had initially 
459.2328 +planned but in the end I am more or less satisfied with it. I had to 
459.2329 +rewrite the last scenes at least once but now I think the story is 
459.2330 +presentable. An apology here for the long-winded explanation in some 
459.2331 +parts while some things pretty much faded into the background. I 
459.2332 +realize that I haven't brought much attention to any of the other 
459.2333 +characters except Sakura and Tomoyo and to a degree Filia. This story 
459.2334 +was done from their perspective and there really was not much space to 
459.2335 +include them further, nor was it intended in the first place.
459.2336 +I realize this part has experienced an even greater touch of the 
459.2337 +crossover it is eventually leading to than I had planned for. That 
459.2338 +couldn't be done any other way though, I realized halfway through 
459.2339 +writing. This stretched the length of this part enormously but I also 
459.2340 +managed to cover much more and still not neglect thoughts and emotions 
459.2341 +in the process of action and past life revelations.
459.2342 +There are still a few things that are left unclear which is good, 
459.2343 +since I didn't really want to reveal too much yet. You must keep in 
459.2344 +mind that this was just a collection of pre-stories. A work an author 
459.2345 +might do AFTER writing a greater series, to explain some of the 
459.2346 +background. So, I more or less did it the other way round, at least 
459.2347 +for the CCS part. :)
459.2348 +
459.2349 +Mixing the three main elements in this part had been a lot of fun and 
459.2350 +I think I managed to do a lot of setup for the actual main story. For 
459.2351 +those who interest those things. I decided to use the actual Romanji 
459.2352 +incantation of the spells I took from Slayers. There have just been 
459.2353 +too many conflicting translations that I didn't want to get into the 
459.2354 +predicament again to choose one of them. Those of you interested 
459.2355 +should easily be able to find English translations on Slayers Universe 
459.2356 +(www.inverse.org) or QP's page 
459.2357 +(http://homepage3.nifty.com/QPHOUSE/slayers_e.html) from which I have 
459.2358 +the Romanji incantations.
459.2359 +For the names I decided to go with those I am most familiar with. Just 
459.2360 +like the spells there are so many different spellings, so I went with 
459.2361 +those that I know from my own DVDs.
459.2362 +
459.2363 +This marks the end of what I unofficially titled the "Forbidden Cards" 
459.2364 +series on MSD. Next will be the BSSM intro that will directly lead up 
459.2365 +to the main story, probably will be part of the main story already. 
459.2366 +Maia really, REALLY got a hang of this and I am not sure when she gets 
459.2367 +down from it, so... This will probably be my main focus for now.
459.2368 +
459.2369 +That's it so far. I thank all of you for your kind comments along the 
459.2370 +way. When I started this series at the beginning of the month it 
459.2371 +hadn't been planned to take up so much time... Heck, it was a single, 
459.2372 +shorter story to begin with, but I enjoyed my first experiences in 
459.2373 +writing CCS.
459.2374 +I hope I'll see you soon and that you continue to provide me with 
459.2375 +feedback.
459.2376 +
459.2377 +Ja ne, yours
459.2378 +
459.2379 +Matthias
459.2380 +
459.2381 +Note for Moonlit Nights readers (31/01/2004)
459.2382 +
459.2383 +Since I had not visited the site for awhile I have just recently 
459.2384 +discovered that this part has not been posted because of a 
459.2385 +misunderstanding, confusing this part with the following project to 
459.2386 +which this story was a sort of prequel. Provided you read this note, 
459.2387 +this misunderstanding has been cleared. However, the following project 
459.2388 +called "Soul Lights" will not be distrubated on Moonlit Nights because 
459.2389 +that would go against their "pairings policy" :) which I can very well 
459.2390 +understand since I wouldn't go and let people post other stuff on our 
459.2391 +Minaru group as well. As such, "Soul Lights" is a running project that 
459.2392 +you can already (and for now only) find at the SA board 
459.2393 +(http://www.shoujoai.com/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=20701) or on my SiL 
459.2394 +group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starsinlove).

   460.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   460.2 +++ b/stories/seclove.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   460.3 @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
   460.4 +Secret Love
   460.5 +By Sumire
   460.6 +
   460.7 +Ok here it is!  My first lousy attempt at a hentai/lemon fanfic!  I 
   460.8 +tried to use details and stuff. I think it's pretty good for a first 
   460.9 +try =^-^=.  Please send any comments/constructive criticisms to 
  460.10 +litldedgrl@hotmail.com . By the way if you are under 18 you 
  460.11 +shouldn't be reading this!!  If your mom catches you it isn't my 
  460.12 +fault! Also please do not take my story and say it is yours, give me 
  460.13 +some credit ok? Please?  Another thing, if the idea of two 
  460.14 +attractive teenaged girls having "fun" on the beach is appalling to 
  460.15 +you then go no further!  That is the plot of this story...(hehe, a 
  460.16 +plot now that is funny!). One last thing, I do not own Sailor Moon
  460.17 +and the characters contained within the story of Sailor Moon, they 
  460.18 +were created by Naoko Takeuchi (whom I admire greatly!!) and belong 
  460.19 +to her and Toei Animation and Kodansha I think.  I am not trying to 
  460.20 +steal them, I am just borrowing them for this bit of typing space.. 
  460.21 +so PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!  I AM POOR!  Thanks for wanting to read
  460.22 +this!        --Sumire
  460.23 +
  460.24 +--------------------------------------------------------------------
  460.25 +
  460.26 +Secret Love
  460.27 +
  460.28 +Princess Serenity looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.  She 
  460.29 +had finally grown up a little and now had the beautiful body of  a 
  460.30 +16 year old.  
  460.31 +She enjoyed the stares she got from boys and men, the same stares 
  460.32 +her mother got.  She was just as lovely as her mother had been when 
  460.33 +she was 16..only Small Lady was closer to her 950th birthday.  Today 
  460.34 +Small lady was wearing a white peasant blouse and jean shorts over a 
  460.35 +bikini, she and her best friend Hotaru were going to the beach for a 
  460.36 +swim and some sun.
  460.37 +Small Lady heard a light knocking on her door and knew it was otaru.  
  460.38 +She walked over and after opening the door greeted her friend.  
  460.39 +Hotaru smiled and adjusted the pack on her shoulder.
  460.40 +"What's in there?" Small Lady asked.
  460.41 +"Oh, just some sun tan lotion, a few towels and a bag of cookies 
  460.42 +that Setsuna made this morning," she almost giggled as her friends 
  460.43 +eyes lit up at the mention of cookies.
  460.44 +"Well let's get going then!"
  460.45 +
  460.46 +A short drive later and the two were on the "Royal Private Beach" 
  460.47 +that all of the scouts had access to.  Small Lady laid out the 
  460.48 +towels and took off her shirt.
  460.49 +She grabbed the sunblock and handed it to Hotaru.
  460.50 +"Hota-chan, could you get my back please?"
  460.51 +"Of course," she replied with a grin.  She squeezed out a generous 
  460.52 +amount of lotion and began to rub it on the other girl's pale skin, 
  460.53 +making sure to get under the thin straps that held her friends 
  460.54 +bikini top in place.  After a short while Hotaru had reached the top 
  460.55 +of Small Lady's shorts. "Um, Chibi-usa-chan ...you need to take off 
  460.56 +your pants too if you want me to get your lower back."
  460.57 +"No problem!" Chibi-usa stood up and slowly removed her tiny jean 
  460.58 +shorts, revealing even smaller string bikini bottoms.  She sat back 
  460.59 +down in front of her friend, whose eyes had almost popped out of her 
  460.60 +head.
  460.61 +"I didn't realize you wore a thong." Hotaru commented as she resumed
  460.62 +applying sunblock to her friends back.  She slowly made her way down 
  460.63 +to the top of Chibi-usa's small round bottom, where she stopped.
  460.64 +"Hotaru!  Why are you stopping?  I don't want a lobster-butt!"
  460.65 +"Don't you think it will look strange-"
  460.66 +"No one is here but us.  Don't worry, just do it." Chibi-usa turned 
  460.67 +around and smiled at her nervous friend, "Here, I'll bend over so 
  460.68 +you can get all of it."
  460.69 +As Chibi-usa got on all fours in front of her, Hotaru noticed that 
  460.70 +her bathing suit didn't cover as much as it should have.  She 
  460.71 +squeezed out more sunblock on her hands and began to massage it into 
  460.72 +her best friends buttocks.  She gradually moved her way down to the 
  460.73 +back of her legs and noticed a slight wetness appear on the tiny bit 
  460.74 +of pink fabric that covered Chibi-usa's most private part.  She 
  460.75 +watched the wetness increase as she massaged closer and closer to 
  460.76 +it.  Hotaru's finger slightly grazed the wet spot and Chibi-usa 
  460.77 +gasped.
  460.78 +"Gomenasai!  I guess I just got.careless!" Hotaru apologized.
  460.79 +"Oh...I see...well, I think it's my turn to apply sunblock onto you 
  460.80 +anyhow," Chibi-usa said with a big grin.  She sat down on the towel 
  460.81 +in front of a blushing Hotaru and took the sunblock from her.  
  460.82 +Hotaru pulled her lavender sundress over her head and laid it on her 
  460.83 +bag.  Chibi-usa stared in surprise at Hotaru's bathing suit.
  460.84 +"I didn't know you had the same swimsuit I did!"
  460.85 +"Well, mine is purple so they are a little different," Hotaru said 
  460.86 +with a slight smile.  She adored Chibi-usa and she wanted to be as 
  460.87 +strong as she was and have just as many friends, so sometimes she 
  460.88 +bought the same clothes...just to pretend.
  460.89 +"Well, why don't you lay down so I can get from your shoulders all 
  460.90 +the way down to your legs and you won't have to move?"
  460.91 +Hotaru did just that making sure to set her legs slightly apart so 
  460.92 +Chibi-usa could sit between them.  Soon Chibi-usa had massaged the 
  460.93 +sunblock into all of Hotaru's back and bottom and was a bout to 
  460.94 +start on her legs.  She started on the inside of her thighs and 
  460.95 +slowly rubbed up instead of down.  She felt Hotaru gasp as she began 
  460.96 +to massage the tiny bit of bathing suit material that covered her.
  460.97 +Feeling her fingers dampen she grinned.  This was just what she 
  460.98 +wanted.  
  460.99 +Chibi-usa slid one finger inside of the material and began to rub 
 460.100 +Hotaru's clit.
 460.101 +"Chibi-usa-chan!  What...are you doing?!" Hotaru gasped.  She spread 
 460.102 +her legs wider unconsciously as her friend rubbed a little more 
 460.103 +vigorously.
 460.104 +"Do you want me to stop?"  Chibi-usa said sadly.
 460.105 +"No!  I like it!  Please don't stop!"  Hotaru gasped out.  Chibi-usa 
 460.106 +stuck one finger from her other hand inside of Hotaru as far as it 
 460.107 +would go.  
 460.108 +"Oh!"
 460.109 +"Did I hurt you?"
 460.110 +"No! No! More!"  Hotaru began to writhe on the towel as her friend 
 460.111 +obliged by placing another finger inside of her and pushing them in 
 460.112 +and out...in and out, while her other finger flicked at her swollen 
 460.113 +clit almost cruelly.   
 460.114 +Chibi-usa's own pussy was as wet as Hotaru's and she ached for 
 460.115 +something.  But first she wanted to finish with her friend.
 460.116 +"Hota-chan,  do you want to feel something even better?" Chibi-usa  
 460.117 +leaned up to her friends ear and whispered as she withdrew her 
 460.118 +hands.  She let Hotaru watch as she sucked her fingers to clean 
 460.119 +them.  Hotaru whimpered for more.  
 460.120 +Chibi-usa smiled.  "I need you to get on all fours like I was when 
 460.121 +you put lotion on me."
 460.122 +Hotaru got up into the position and waited for Chibi-usa to start.  
 460.123 +Chibi-usa slid Hotaru's tiny bikini bottoms down to her bent knees.  
 460.124 +She stared lovingly at her friend's freshly shaven pussy, revealed 
 460.125 +for her alone to see.  She leaned close to it and breathed on it.  
 460.126 +Hotaru moaned in anticipation...a trickle of wetness slid down her 
 460.127 +leg.  Chibi-usa breathed in the scent of woman and sunblock and 
 460.128 +grinned as she licked up Hotaru's entire pussy.
 460.129 +"Oh!  Do it again!" Hotaru begged and rocked back and forth a little 
 460.130 +to encourage her friend.  Chibi-usa reached up and grabbed Hotaru's 
 460.131 +small but pert breasts. Her hands sliding up underneath of the 
 460.132 +bikini top, she squeezed them gently and rubbed the nipples slowly 
 460.133 +to stimulate Hotaru further.  Then she began to slowly lick the 
 460.134 +swollen clit protruding from her wet pussy.  Hotaru rocked slowly 
 460.135 +as she was pleasured in ways she had only dreamed of.  Chibi-usa 
 460.136 +continued to tease the clit by sucking on it and occasionally 
 460.137 +nipping at it with her teeth as Hotaru wriggled in pleasure.  Slowly 
 460.138 +she moved up to Hotaru's entrance and licked around it gently.  Her 
 460.139 +tongue slid inside of Hotaru and licked in and out in and out in and
 460.140 +out.  Hotaru suddenly moaned Chibi-usa's name and came on her face.  
 460.141 +Chibi-usa smiled and licked off as much as she could.  Hotaru 
 460.142 +collapsed to the ground and smiled up at her friend who leaned over 
 460.143 +her and kissed her on the mouth.  
 460.144 +She was out of breathe and Chibi-usa began to French-kiss her.  She 
 460.145 +tried to kiss back but was very worn out.  Chibi-usa pulled away and 
 460.146 +frowned.
 460.147 +"I do all of this for you and you can't even kiss me?!"
 460.148 +"I...later...I'm spending the night remember?" Hotaru smiled the 
 460.149 +biggest smile Chibi-usa had ever seen on her face.
 460.150 +"Oh yeah!  Let's swim a bit to clean up and bring some of that 
 460.151 +energy back."  She helped Hotaru up and back into her bathing suit 
 460.152 +bottoms and they ran (slowly) hand in hand into the waves.
 460.153 +"Besides," Chibi-usa giggled in Hotaru's ear, "I have toys at home!"

   461.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   461.2 +++ b/stories/secretsdm.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   461.3 @@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
   461.4 +Author's Note/Disclaimer: These Characters are owned by Clamp, not
   461.5 +me, so don't
   461.6 +sue. But on a lighter note I finally got around to finishing this
   461.7 +little number.
   461.8 +People I'd like to thank...The webmaster of this beautifully crafted
   461.9 +page who
  461.10 +actually took time to put my story up, and Amazoness duo for actuall
  461.11 +getting me
  461.12 +into writing fanfics(I bet you remember that fic I wrote about Diana
  461.13 +and Momoko,
  461.14 +this is the same person). So if you have any sugestions email me at
  461.15 +LiShoRyu@aol.com. Now without further adieu, Enjoy!!^-^
  461.16 +
  461.17 +
  461.18 +Secrets by Starlight Knight
  461.19 +
  461.20 +
  461.21 +
  461.22 +
  461.23 +	It was a nice sunny day at the Penguin Park. Sakura and Tomoyo were
  461.24 +having a
  461.25 +small picnic there, seeing that it was a nice day. "Come on come on,
  461.26 +why all
  461.27 +this secrecy?" Sakura asked. "Patience Sakura, you'll know in due
  461.28 +time." Tomoyo
  461.29 +said. She giggled a little saying this. "I wanna know", Sakura said,
  461.30 +"all this
  461.31 +is working on my nerves." "Well, your not gonna until I am ready..."
  461.32 +Tomoyo
  461.33 +said.  Sakura just whined again, whatever it was she needed to know.
  461.34 +Tomoyo,
  461.35 +however, was nervous. She didn't know how to break it to her. Her
  461.36 +one deepest
  461.37 +darkest secret was unable to be said in words. She surprised herself
  461.38 +by even
  461.39 +asking her Angel in Disguise here for a picnic to tell her of her
  461.40 +secret.  She
  461.41 +began to shift uncomfortably, not knowing how to word what she was
  461.42 +going to say
  461.43 +to Sakura. "Are you ready yet?" Sakura asked impatiently. Tomoyo
  461.44 +steeled her
  461.45 +nerves. "What I wanted to say was that I...I..." was all she could
  461.46 +say. "Yeah,
  461.47 +you what?"  Sakura asked. "I...I...I..." Tomoyo stammered out again.
  461.48 +At this
  461.49 +point she just gave up trying to say it.
  461.50 +
  461.51 +	Sakura began to  grow even more impatient. "Awww, c'mon on Tomoyo",
  461.52 +she said
  461.53 +,"Tell me... tell me... tell me!!" Tomoyo figeted with her fingers,
  461.54 +then she got
  461.55 +an idea. She'll just let her actions speak louder than her words.
  461.56 +She placed a
  461.57 +small, soft, lingering kiss on Sakura's lips. Sakura had been, more
  461.58 +or less,
  461.59 +surprised and shocked when this happened. Tomoyo leaned back to her
  461.60 +previous
  461.61 +position, pleasantly pleased with her bravery and the effect of the
  461.62 +kiss on
  461.63 +Sakura who was, in effect, in her own world. Although that world had
  461.64 +been shaken
  461.65 +quite strongly. Tomoyo mused herself with how things were going so
  461.66 +far, but now
  461.67 +the task of how to break her love out of the reverie she was in,
  461.68 +though she
  461.69 +wasn't complaining about the small smile that did however grace
  461.70 +Sakura's cute
  461.71 +little lips. "Sakura?" Tomoyo said. "Hoe?" Sakura said snapping out
  461.72 +of her dream
  461.73 +state. "Daijobu desu?" Tomoyo asked. "H-hai..." Sakura stammered.
  461.74 +Now that she
  461.75 +had her senses back she was quite confused. "Ne, Tomoyo-chan, what
  461.76 +just
  461.77 +happened?" She asked. "Well, I showed you what I had to say to you
  461.78 +instead of
  461.79 +actually saying it." Tomoyo replied. Sakura started to blush. "I had
  461.80 +no idea you
  461.81 +felt that strongly for me..." she said just above a whisper. "It is
  461.82 +kinda hard
  461.83 +to believe isn't it?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura didn't answer. She was
  461.84 +still somewhat
  461.85 +in her own world. Her mind would not let her forget this kiss, not
  461.86 +that she
  461.87 +wanted to anyway. "Uh...Tomoyo chan, I think I'll go home it's
  461.88 +getting pretty
  461.89 +late." Sakura said still staring off into space.
  461.90 +
  461.91 +	Tomoyo was about to protest but decided against it, there was
  461.92 +something
  461.93 +bothering her. And whatever it was it would,she would know soon
  461.94 +enough. Of that
  461.95 +she was certain. "Okay Sakura", she said, "call me later..." Sakura
  461.96 +just nodded
  461.97 +as she got up and left. 'I hope I didn't do anything wrong' Tomoyo
  461.98 +thought. When
  461.99 +Sakura got home, she wasn't her usual self. she didn't bother to say
 461.100 +hi or I'm
 461.101 +home. She didn't even notice it when Touya called her a kaijuu.
 461.102 +Everyone in the
 461.103 +house just looked on as she truged up the stairs with that spaced
 461.104 +out look on
 461.105 +her face. They looked upstairs, then to each other, then upstairs
 461.106 +again. "What's
 461.107 +up with her?" Touya asked. Sakura's father and Yukito shrugged their
 461.108 +shoulders.
 461.109 +"You got me..." they both answered. Sakura sat on her bed in a
 461.110 +spaced out state,
 461.111 +she had not fully known what happened at the park. Her mind kept
 461.112 +returning to
 461.113 +only one thing. The kiss, simply put, had taken over her mind. She
 461.114 +liked the
 461.115 +feeling her best frtend gave her. Yet it was wrong, she scolded
 461.116 +herself for
 461.117 +this. She was only supposed to like boys, or so she thought. All her
 461.118 +mixed mind
 461.119 +told her now was to go and kiss her friend again and again. And deep
 461.120 +down she
 461.121 +wanted to, that's what scared her the most. There was a slight
 461.122 +knocking at
 461.123 +Sakura's door as Touya was behind it. "Hey kaijuu", he started, "if
 461.124 +you're not
 461.125 +busy then there's a phone call from Tomoyo for you. Sakura's mood
 461.126 +visibly
 461.127 +brightened as she heard her best friend's name being called.
 461.128 +
 461.129 +	She jumped up from her bed and happily skipped out of her door.
 461.130 +"Iie, baka, I'm
 461.131 +never to busy to talk to Tomoyo-chan." She said walking down the
 461.132 +hall. "And
 461.133 +while I think about it...I'm not a kaijuu!" she added yelling. 'I
 461.134 +guess she's
 461.135 +back to normal' Touya thought. He shrugged and walked to his room
 461.136 +where Yukito
 461.137 +was was waiting. Sakura got to the phone that was in the hall and
 461.138 +picked it up.
 461.139 +"Moshi moshi?" she answered. "Hi Sakura, this is Tomoyo I was just
 461.140 +calling to
 461.141 +see if you were alright." Tomoyo said. "I'm fine", Sakura stated
 461.142 +cheerfully, "I
 461.143 +just had to think on a few things, or rather should I say one
 461.144 +thing." "And what
 461.145 +was that?" Tomoyo asked. "The kiss you gave me..." Sakura said in a
 461.146 +small
 461.147 +whisper. "Oh that...was just..." Tomoyo tried to explain. "Well,
 461.148 +whatever it
 461.149 +was, I need to talk to you. Meet me in the park in a few, okay?"
 461.150 +Sakura asked.
 461.151 +"Okay..." Tomoyo said. She hung up the phone,got her shoes on, and
 461.152 +told her
 461.153 +mother she was heading out to meet Sakura at the park again. "Don't
 461.154 +stay out to
 461.155 +late..." Sonomi said with a wink. Tomoyo just blushed and nodded.
 461.156 +She made her
 461.157 +way quickly to the park, where the meeting was to take place. She
 461.158 +walked past
 461.159 +the penguin slide to a swingset that Sakura was sitting on. Sakura
 461.160 +looked up as
 461.161 +she heard footsteps approach her. Tomoyo stood there with her
 461.162 +trademark smile,
 461.163 +though there was a bit of uncertainty in her eyes. Sakura promptly
 461.164 +got up and
 461.165 +walked the small distance to Tomoyo. 
 461.166 +
 461.167 +	They stood there looking at eachother for what seemed like an
 461.168 +eternity, until
 461.169 +Sakura brake the silence. "Kombanwa Tomoyo-chan" she said. Tomoyo
 461.170 +smiled and
 461.171 +bowed politely. "About the kiss, what was it for?" Sakura asked
 461.172 +getting straight
 461.173 +to the point. Tomoyo was shocked she couldn't speak at first, but
 461.174 +she found her
 461.175 +resolve and used it as her leverage. "To tell the truth, Sakura,
 461.176 +it's because
 461.177 +I...I...I..love you" she managed to say. "Hoe?!" Now it was Sakura's
 461.178 +turn to be
 461.179 +surpried. "Yes...you heard right", Tomoyo said, "I love you and I
 461.180 +have loved
 461.181 +ever since when we first met." Sakura just stood there trying her
 461.182 +best to take
 461.183 +this in. Even though it sounded unbelieveable, it would explain why
 461.184 +she was so
 461.185 +happy around her, the fact that she taped her so much, and a list of
 461.186 +other
 461.187 +things the eccentric girl did around her. Then she realized
 461.188 +something, didn't
 461.189 +she like Tomoyo being happy? Wasn't she happy when Tomoyo was happy?
 461.190 +Wasn't she
 461.191 +the one who befriended her to keep in this state of happiness? So
 461.192 +many questions
 461.193 +swam around in her head. Unfamiliar and newly found emotions mixed
 461.194 +with these
 461.195 +questions. But, as she asked the questions over and over to herself,
 461.196 +she could
 461.197 +always answer it with a definate yes. Suddenly, a new question
 461.198 +popped up. Did
 461.199 +she love Tomoyo? The answer, which was yes, was not surprising to
 461.200 +her. It was
 461.201 +there all along, she just had to search her heart for it. Tomoyo
 461.202 +suddenly
 461.203 +stopped in her speech and looked at the spaced out Sakura. "Sakura?"
 461.204 +she asked
 461.205 +snapping her out of her reverie. "Hai?" Sakura asked back giving her
 461.206 +the
 461.207 +brightest smile Tomoyo had ever seen. "Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked
 461.208 +with a bit of
 461.209 +uncertainty in her voice. 
 461.210 +
 461.211 +	Sakura just stepped foward, hugged her, and let out a contented
 461.212 +sigh of relief.
 461.213 +"Hai, I'm perfectly fine now." she stated just above a whisper.
 461.214 +Tomoyo hugged
 461.215 +her back. Sakura gave another sigh and turned her head slightly to
 461.216 +see Tomoyo
 461.217 +looking down at her. She smiled again just before moving in and
 461.218 +copturing
 461.219 +Tomoyo's lips with her own. Tomoyo started to Kiss her back without
 461.220 +hesitation.
 461.221 +They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, until they both broke
 461.222 +for air.
 461.223 +"Aishiteru, Kinomoto Sakura..." Tomoyo said. "Aishiteru, Daidouli
 461.224 +Tomoyo..."
 461.225 +Sakura answered back. "When do you think we should tell everybody?"
 461.226 +Tomoyo
 461.227 +asked. Sakura thought on it. "If they dont already know, I would say
 461.228 +tomorrow...sound good?" she asked. Tomoyo nodded happily and turned
 461.229 +around
 461.230 +headed for her house. "Until tomorrow then, my love." She said
 461.231 +walking away.
 461.232 +"Until then..." Sakura said as she turned and left toward her house.
 461.233 +Each left
 461.234 +with 'unique' images of each other as they walked home. Little did
 461.235 +they know of
 461.236 +the surprise that waited for them tommorrow...
 461.237 +
 461.238 +
 461.239 +
 461.240 +THE END

   462.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   462.2 +++ b/stories/sexs3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   462.3 @@ -0,0 +1,380 @@
   462.4 +SECRETS OF THE SEXY SLIPPERS
   462.5 +A Multi-Author Sekkushiaru Roman Series  
   462.6 +by 
   462.7 +Lemon Tree and Friends
   462.8 +
   462.9 +Part 3
  462.10 +by
  462.11 +Amazoness Duo
  462.12 +Rating: H-hentai
  462.13 +E-mail: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  462.14 +Standard Sailormoon disclaimer of your liking.
  462.15 +
  462.16 +A few quick notes from the Amazoness Duo in no particular
  462.17 +order:
  462.18 +*In Japan, to get into a good high school, you must pass the
  462.19 +high school entrance exams. Usagi and the inner senshi were
  462.20 +studying much of their free time in Sailormoon S to get ready
  462.21 +for this. ChibiUsa & Hotaru are almost at the age when they'll
  462.22 +have to take that to get into high school the next year.
  462.23 +ChibiUsa has lived in the past for a while now, and Hotaru
  462.24 +had reaged to around ChibiUsa's age before continuing on
  462.25 +normally. Both girls are 15, and getting ready for the
  462.26 +entrance exams.
  462.27 +*In the manga, Michiru taught Hotaru how to play the violin
  462.28 +as she grew older. We thought it was great that Michiru would
  462.29 +teach the girl she helped raise this, so we have kept it in
  462.30 +our stories. In other words, Hotaru can play the violin, so
  462.31 +don't be surprised if she does from time to time.
  462.32 +*People don't walk around indoors wearing shoes often. At
  462.33 +school they put their shoes in lockers.
  462.34 +*To fit this series of stories better, we're using american
  462.35 +names. We still pray that DiC won't dub the rest of the series,
  462.36 +but now you'll know why the 'scouts' are having so many
  462.37 +meetings during Sailormoon S, the high school entrance exams.
  462.38 +American names might not sound as good as the Japanese, but it
  462.39 +is fun to make them up.^^ ChibiUsa is Rini and Hotaru is Tara.
  462.40 +We'll be keeping the japanese names for most of the story, but
  462.41 +like a previous story, this takes place in a slightly different
  462.42 +dimension. The only major difference, though, is the change of
  462.43 +names. The dimension Neo Queen Serenity is in uses the American
  462.44 +names (IE Serena, Darien, Rini, etc.) whereas the dimension
  462.45 +being looked upon uses the Japanese names.
  462.46 +
  462.47 +We hope this helped (we're sorry if any of this was wrong) and
  462.48 +that you enjoy the story. Thank you.
  462.49 +
  462.50 +        Neo Queen Serenity looked into the crystal ball as she
  462.51 +waited to see which couple would get the slippers next. She was
  462.52 +rather pleased that she'd been able to help out her friends during
  462.53 +that difficult part of their lives. Serenity was a bit surprised
  462.54 +when she found out her daughter was getting the slippers next. She
  462.55 +smiled to herself. She'd told Darien that there was something more
  462.56 +between Rini and Tara than they had been letting on. Darien had
  462.57 +dismissed the idea, thinking Serena had just been overprotective
  462.58 +of the girl from the future. She remembered the day when Rini and
  462.59 +Tara had finally told everyone about the two of them. She still
  462.60 +used it as an example if Darien thought she might be
  462.61 +misinterpretting something. Serenity wished her daughter luck with
  462.62 +the slippers as she left the room. She thought she'd go have lunch
  462.63 +with her daughter and her wife.
  462.64 +
  462.65 +        ChibiUsa waved to her friends and made her way to her
  462.66 +locker. Before she could open it, she felt a pair of arms wrap
  462.67 +around her waist.
  462.68 +        "Taru-chan, not in school," ChibiUsa whispered.
  462.69 +        Hotaru's hands stroked her belly for a moment before heading
  462.70 +upwards. She gently cupped ChibiUsa's breasts through the cloth
  462.71 +of her blouse and bra. "I don't mind if everyone knows I love you,"
  462.72 +Hotaru said quietly. She nuzzled the back of ChibiUsa's neck.
  462.73 +ChibiUsa shuddered lightly when she felt Hotaru kiss her nape.
  462.74 +"Other couples kiss in public, so why don't we?" she asked
  462.75 +innocently.
  462.76 +        "Hotaru, can we talk about this later?" ChibiUsa asked
  462.77 +nervously.
  462.78 +        "You're so cute when you're shy," whispered Hotaru. She
  462.79 +reluctantly took a step back.
  462.80 +        ChibiUsa turned around to face her. "You look beautiful in
  462.81 +your school uniform," she said quietly.
  462.82 +        "So do you," replied Hotaru.
  462.83 +        ChibiUsa gave Hotaru a quick kiss. She smiled at her lover
  462.84 +and best friend. "You're so kawaii, Taru-chan." Hotaru smiled back
  462.85 +at her.
  462.86 +        "I've got class now, but I'll see you soon, ChibiUsa-chan,"
  462.87 +said Hotaru. She kissed ChibiUsa on the cheek. ChibiUsa caught her
  462.88 +hand as she turned to leave.
  462.89 +        "Hotaru-chan, could you spend the night at my house tonight?"
  462.90 +ChibiUsa asked. "Ikuko, Kenji, and Shingo are going to visit some
  462.91 +relatives, and Usagi's with Mamoru, so I'd feel lonely all by
  462.92 +myself."
  462.93 +        "I'd love to, Odango-chan," Hotaru said happily. ChibiUsa
  462.94 +squeezed her hand before letting go. Hotaru blew a kiss to her from
  462.95 +across the crowded hall and then headed to her class. ChibiUsa
  462.96 +looked around nervously. Luckily, her opened locker had blocked
  462.97 +the two girls from view of the other classmates.
  462.98 +        ChibiUsa sighed contentedly and turned back to her locker.
  462.99 +'I'm so lucky to have Hotaru,' thought ChibiUsa. She put her shoes
 462.100 +in the locker, but noticed something already inside. It was an odd
 462.101 +pair of slippers. They were a pair of sexy, high-heeled,
 462.102 +feather-trimmed bedroom slippers with pink crystals. She was puzzled.
 462.103 +Hotaru had gotten to school shortly after she had, so she knew that
 462.104 +it couldn't have been her girlfriend who placed them there. The
 462.105 +slippers would fit perfectly with the nightie she had bought several
 462.106 +days ago. It had been one of the most embarassing moments of her
 462.107 +life when she'd bought it. As soon as she saw it, she knew that
 462.108 +Hotaru would like it. She had wanted to surprise Hotaru with it when
 462.109 +the two of them were alone. The slippers would make a great
 462.110 +finishing touch. She looked around to make sure nobody was looking
 462.111 +and put the slippers into her backpack. She smiled to herself as she
 462.112 +thought about being alone with Hotaru that night. She hurried off to
 462.113 +class happily.
 462.114 +
 462.115 +        Hotaru sat in class thinking to herself. Things had been so
 462.116 +tiring lately. Luckily, there seemed to be a lull in the continuing
 462.117 +challenges the Sailor Senshi met with. Unfortunately for Hotaru, she
 462.118 +and ChibiUsa were quite a bit younger than their other other
 462.119 +teammates. Whereas the rest of the Senshi had gotten past high
 462.120 +school, Hotaru and ChibiUsa had to keep studying for the high school
 462.121 +entrance exams. Hotaru was a good student and ChibiUsa was really
 462.122 +trying, but it was easy for the two of them to get sidetracked when
 462.123 +they were alone studying. Hotaru blushed as she remembered the last
 462.124 +time she and ChibiUsa had tried to study. Hotaru didn't want to be
 462.125 +in class at the moment. She wanted to be with her love. She sighed
 462.126 +and tried to concentrate on class, but her mind kept drifting back
 462.127 +to ChibiUsa.
 462.128 +
 462.129 +        ChibiUsa and Hotaru made their way to ChibiUsa's house. They
 462.130 +walked along holding hands, deep in conversation. Suddenly, Hotaru
 462.131 +smiled at ChibiUsa. The smile reminded ChibiUsa of when Hotaru had
 462.132 +been Mistress 9. "Isn't that Usagi and Mamoru?" asked Hotaru.
 462.133 +        ChibiUsa looked around and tried to spot them. Hotaru pushed
 462.134 +her surprised girlfriend up against a nearby shop's window. The people
 462.135 +walking by sweatdropped as the pink haired girl struggled against her
 462.136 +lover's passionate kiss. "Mmmphh....mmmmm..." Hotaru's hand stroked
 462.137 +ChibiUsa's soft cheek. She finally pulled away from ChibiUsa.
 462.138 +Th pink haired girl was gasping for air and blushing deeply.
 462.139 +"Taru-chan..." she started.
 462.140 +She looked around for Mamoru and Usagi.
 462.141 +        Hotaru giggled. "They're not here, Odango-chan. I just like
 462.142 +keeping you on your toes."
 462.143 +        ChibiUsa breathed a sigh of relief.
 462.144 +        "On the other hand, that doesn't mean that I won't do the
 462.145 +same thing if I do happen to see them," Hotaru added mischievously.
 462.146 +        "I remember you being the shy one when we first met," said
 462.147 +ChibiUsa as she fixed the bow on the front of her blouse.
 462.148 +        "I don't see why you should be shy about the one you love.
 462.149 +You're everything to me and I don't want to pretend otherwise. I
 462.150 +don't understand why you're so shy about the two of us," said
 462.151 +Hotaru exasperated.
 462.152 +     "I don't know..." ChibiUsa trailed off as they continued
 462.153 +walking. ChibiUsa tried to make sense of how she felt, so she
 462.154 +could explain her reasons to Hotaru. She looked over at the
 462.155 +dark haired girl hopelessly. 'I love her so much, so why am
 462.156 +I afraid of everyone knowing? She's my the most important thing in
 462.157 +my life, but I act like we're just friends. Why?' "I'm afraid,
 462.158 +Hotaru. I'm afraidof what will happen if everyone knows. Things
 462.159 +have been happening so fast and I feel like if we hold on to how
 462.160 +things were, we'll be alright. I don't know how to handle
 462.161 +everything. My parents are in the future, and I don't even know
 462.162 +if Setsuna will let you go back with me, and I can't tell them
 462.163 +without you."
 462.164 +    "But you wouldn't go without me," Hotaru said, staring directly
 462.165 +at ChibiUsa, causing the pink haired girl to laugh nervously. "And
 462.166 +if you tell Mamoru and Usagi now, then won't they know about the
 462.167 +two of us since before you were born? You'd grow up with them
 462.168 +knowing about us. Maybe that's why they sent you back here," Hotaru
 462.169 +said helpfully.
 462.170 +     "I'm not sure. Wouldn't I have noticed if my parents knew I was
 462.171 +going to get with the Senshi of Death and Rebirth in the past?"
 462.172 +ChibiUsa asked.
 462.173 +     "No offense, Odango-chan, but you're not exactly the most
 462.174 +perceptive girl I know. You didn't notice the way I looked at you
 462.175 +from time to time," Hotaru said. Her hand rested gently on the pink
 462.176 +haired girl's shoulder.
 462.177 +     ChibiUsa's mood brightened as she lay her hand atop Hotaru's.
 462.178 +"That's only because I didn't want to. I had to wait until you were
 462.179 +mature enough to handle a deeper relationship," ChibiUsa argued
 462.180 +playfully.
 462.181 +     Hotaru smiled at ChibiUsa. "Please don't say I have to wait
 462.182 +until you're mature enough to tell everyone. And I think I've been
 462.183 +ready to handle a relationship with you even before I had to reage.
 462.184 +I thought about you all the time. I still do."
 462.185 +        "I think it would have been a little strange if two
 462.186 +eight-year olds were going out," ChibiUsa said.
 462.187 +        "I don't know." Hotaru squeezed ChibiUsa's shoulder gently.
 462.188 +"I would have thought it was fun to be girlfriends back then. And
 462.189 +you were looking for romance, anyway, so I think it would have
 462.190 +worked rather well." Hotaru looked thoughtful. "I might have to ask
 462.191 +Setsuna-mama about that."
 462.192 +
 462.193 +        They stopped off at Hotaru's house before continuing on to
 462.194 +ChibiUsa's. Hotaru picked up a few things and asked her parents if
 462.195 +she could spend the night with ChibiUsa.
 462.196 +        "Thanks for coming over, Taru-chan," ChibiUsa said as she
 462.197 +unlocked the door.
 462.198 +        "I'm just glad to be here with you," Hotaru said, leaning
 462.199 +forward and kissing ChibiUsa softly on the lips. They left their
 462.200 +shoes by the door and went to ChibiUsa's room. Hotaru sat down on
 462.201 +the bed and straightened out her skirt. ChibiUsa sat on Hotaru's lap,
 462.202 +facing the dark haired girl.
 462.203 +        "Don't worry about a thing, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa. Her hand
 462.204 +went up to the side of Hotaru's face, gently stroking her cheek.
 462.205 +"Things have been so hectic lately. All I want to think about tonight
 462.206 +is you. I'll cook us a romantic dinner later and afterwards I have a
 462.207 +surprise."
 462.208 +        "I'll cook for us, Odango-chan," Hotaru said hastily. She
 462.209 +knew the little pink haired girl put her heart in it, but she just
 462.210 +wasn't good at cooking. She was actually very dangerous in the
 462.211 +kitchen. Hotaru always ate what ChibiUsa made for her for her
 462.212 +Odango-chan's  sake, but she'd much prefer cooking herself if given
 462.213 +the chance. 'Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating,' Hotaru thought, 'But I'd
 462.214 +still rather cook for the two of us.'
 462.215 +        "I can do that, Hotaru. I want to make sure everything's
 462.216 +perfect tonight. Just being here with you makes me feel hundreds of
 462.217 +times better than I did earlier," ChibiUsa said, looking deeply into
 462.218 +Hotaru's dark purple eyes.
 462.219 +        "But I want to. Let's both make tonight a romantic night,"
 462.220 +Hotaru said softly. Hotaru's fingers brushed through ChibiUsa's soft,
 462.221 +pink hair. Hotaru's heart started to beat faster as ChibiUsa leaned
 462.222 +forward and kissed her. Hotaru kissed ChibiUsa back, feeling
 462.223 +ChibiUsa's sweet lips against her own. ChibiUsa parted Hotaru's
 462.224 +lips with her tongue as the two girls continued to kiss passionately.
 462.225 +        "I love you, Taru-chan," ChibiUsa said happily after they
 462.226 +broke the kiss.
 462.227 +        Hotaru smiled. "I love hearing you say that. I love you too,
 462.228 +ChibiUsa-chan. Now what was that surprise you were talking about?"
 462.229 +Hotaru asked curiously.
 462.230 +        "I was going to wait until after dinner, but I'll go get it
 462.231 +now." ChibiUsa gave Hotaru a quick kiss before standing up. "I hope
 462.232 +you like it."
 462.233 +        "As long as it involves you, I'm sure I will," the dark
 462.234 +haired girl said playfully, her eyes following ChibiUsa's every
 462.235 +movement as she walked out of her room after putting something
 462.236 +in her backpack and picked it up.
 462.237 +        Hotaru dimmed all the lights in the room as soon as ChibiUsa
 462.238 +was gone. When they'd stopped at her house, she'd made sure to get
 462.239 +some candles and her violin. She knew that ChibiUsa had her own plans
 462.240 +for the night, but she wanted to help.
 462.241 +        'I wonder what she's up to,' Hotaru thought as she placed the
 462.242 +candles around the room. 'I'm glad we decided not to spend tonight
 462.243 +studying. I don't want to waste any of the time I have alone with
 462.244 +ChibiUsa.' She began lighting the candles. 'I hope she comes down
 462.245 +soon. I want to see her.' She closed her eyes partway. 'I want to
 462.246 +hold her. I love being so close to her. She's been the most important
 462.247 +thing in my life since I met her, and now I can show her that.'
 462.248 +Hotaru sighed happily, thinking of her beautiful pink haired goddess.
 462.249 +She picked up her violin and started to play. The melody was slow
 462.250 +and soft, reminding Hotaru of previous romantic moments with ChibiUsa.
 462.251 +
 462.252 +        ChibiUsa took off her clothes and pulled her nightie and the
 462.253 +slippers out of her backpack. She looked at the nightie nervously. It
 462.254 +was light pink and silk. It left much of her long arms and legs bare,
 462.255 +ending mid thigh. She pulled it over her head. It got caught briefly
 462.256 +on her odango before she managed to pull it down. She brushed her
 462.257 +fingers through her hair to try to get it back in order. She had been
 462.258 +thinking about getting rid of the hair style she'd had since she was
 462.259 +a little girl and letting her hair grow longer, putting it in two tails.
 462.260 +She'd talked to Hotaru about it, but the dark haired girl had told her
 462.261 +she wanted ChibiUsa to keep her hair the way it was, in its shorter
 462.262 +style. The cool cloth against her bare skin brought her out of her
 462.263 +reverie. She picked up one of the slippers and put it on. A
 462.264 +strange feeling washed over ChibiUsa as she was putting on the second
 462.265 +one. She wasn't nervous about Hotaru seeing her in what she was wearing
 462.266 +any longer.
 462.267 +She wanted Hotaru to see her. She wanted to make the most of her
 462.268 +night with Hotaru. As ChibiUsa walked out of the bathroom, she could
 462.269 +hear the soft sound of violin music coming from her room. 'It sounds
 462.270 +so romantic,' she thought as she walked towards her room. ChibiUsa
 462.271 +loved to hear Hotaru play the violin.
 462.272 +        ChibiUsa walked into her room. It was lit only by candles
 462.273 +placed around the room. Hotaru continued to play, her eyes half
 462.274 +closed as she concentrated.
 462.275 +        ChibiUsa stepped up behind Hotaru. Her arms encircled
 462.276 +Hotaru's waist. A smile formed across Hotaru's lips as she kept on
 462.277 +playing. ChibiUsa kissed Hotaru's cheek, her chin resting on Hotaru's
 462.278 +shoulder. ChibiUsa's right hand went up to Hotaru's chin. She turned
 462.279 +Hotaru's face towards her. Her lips brushed Hotaru's lightly before
 462.280 +meeting again more passionately. ChibiUsa's other hand started to
 462.281 +roam Hotaru's body. Hotaru gasped as ChibiUsa's hand ran along her
 462.282 +thigh. ChibiUsa's right hand went slowly down from Hotaru's chin, her
 462.283 +fingertip lightly sliding down Hotaru's neck. Her hand stopped at one
 462.284 +of Hotaru's breasts. She cupped Hotaru's breast through the thin
 462.285 +cloth of Hotaru's shirt.
 462.286 +        "I love you, Taru-chan," ChibiUsa whispered as she kissed
 462.287 +Hotaru's ear. ChibiUsa's hand disappeared under Hotaru's skirt. The
 462.288 +dark haired girl moaned softly in reply.
 462.289 +        "Aishiteru, ChibiUsa," Hotaru said. ChibiUsa pulled Hotaru's
 462.290 +shirt up over her head. Hotaru turned around to face ChibiUsa. She
 462.291 +smiled as she looked up and down at ChibiUsa's nightie and slippers.
 462.292 +ChibiUsa blushed. "You look so cute, Odango-chan."
 462.293 +        ChibiUsa pouted. "I'm not supposed to look cute, Taru. I'm
 462.294 +supposed to look sexy for you."
 462.295 +        Hotaru stepped closer, her hands running along ChibiUsa's
 462.296 +bare arms. "You don't understand. You're my little Odango-chan. You
 462.297 +are cute. And sexy. I can't help it if I love how kawaii you are."
 462.298 +Hotaru rubbed some of the cloth between her fingers, gently touching
 462.299 +ChibiUsa as she did so. "I'm really glad you wore this, but I'd like
 462.300 +to see what you look like without it." Hotaru's hands went down to
 462.301 +ChibiUsa's legs. She ran her hands up ChibiUsa's thighs and under her
 462.302 +nightie. Hotaru gently pulled the nightie up across ChibiUsa's body,
 462.303 +her hands caressing the other girl's gentle curves. Hotaru looked
 462.304 +ChibiUsa up and down. The pink haired girl was naked except for the
 462.305 +bedroom slippers she wore. She had almost gotten over being shy around
 462.306 +Hotaru, but, still, she sometimes got embarrassed when she saw Hotaru
 462.307 +look at her.
 462.308 +        "See? This is much better," Hotaru said happily.
 462.309 +        "Maybe for you," ChibiUsa said, smiling impishly, "but I'd
 462.310 +like it better if you'd join me."
 462.311 +        "I'd be only too happy to, Odango-chan," Hotaru said. She
 462.312 +unfastened her bra, before sliding her skirt and panties off.
 462.313 +        ChibiUsa stepped forward and kissed Hotaru again, her hands
 462.314 +traveling to Hotaru's chest. She cupped Hotaru's breasts. Hotaru felt
 462.315 +the other girl's palms press against her breasts. Hotaru loved the feel
 462.316 +of ChibiUsa's gentle hands against her skin. Hotaru's hands ran across
 462.317 +ChibiUsa's back, causing the small pink haired girl to shiver
 462.318 +slightly from the sensation of the dark haired girl's fingertips
 462.319 +against her back. She kissed ChibiUsa, her hands resting on ChibiUsa's
 462.320 +rear. ChibiUsa caressed slightly pale skin of her lover's breasts,
 462.321 +feeling Hotaru's hardening nipples against her hands. ChibiUsa pushed
 462.322 +Hotaru back onto the bed. ChibiUsa crawled on after her, kissing
 462.323 +Hotaru's soft lips as she settled atop her dark haired lover.
 462.324 +        "You're so pretty, Taru," ChibiUsa said softly. She pushed
 462.325 +some of the sweat dampened hair away from Hotaru's eyes. "I'm so
 462.326 +glad you're mine."
 462.327 +        "I'm glad to know that you're my Odango-chan," Hotaru leaned
 462.328 +up to kiss ChibiUsa again. "Now why are you acting so frisky today?
 462.329 +Not that I mind, but it's not like it's been very long since we've
 462.330 +been together."
 462.331 +        ChibiUsa hand went between Hotaru's legs. She gently began
 462.332 +to caress Hotaru's lower lips. "I just realized how beautiful you
 462.333 +are."
 462.334 +        One of Hotaru's hands went up to ChibiUsa's breasts. She
 462.335 +stroked one of ChibiUsa's nipples between two of her fingers. "You're
 462.336 +pretty cute, yourself," Hotaru whispered as her hand went down
 462.337 +ChibiUsa's stomach. ChibiUsa continued to rub Hotaru's womanhood as
 462.338 +she felt Hotaru's fingers brush her own. Hotaru moaned as ChibiUsa
 462.339 +found her clitoris. ChibiUsa stroked Hotaru's pearl causing pleasure
 462.340 +to course through the dark haired girl's body. ChibiUsa moaned
 462.341 +lightly as she felt Hotaru's fingers push into her. Hotaru made
 462.342 +shallow strokes into ChibiUsa's vagina.
 462.343 +        "Taru-chan," ChibiUsa moaned as Hotaru picked up the tempo
 462.344 +of her strokes.
 462.345 +        Hotaru panted. She was having a hard time concentrating on
 462.346 +anything other than the pleasant sensations she was getting from
 462.347 +ChibiUsa's fingers.
 462.348 +        ChibiUsa kissed Hotaru's shoulder before moving downwards
 462.349 +toward Hotaru's breasts. She kissed the tender flesh as her other
 462.350 +hand went to Hotaru's left breast, rubbing the soft skin there. ChibiUsa
 462.351 +licked Hotaru's nipple several times before starting to suckle it.
 462.352 +        Hotaru put a hand on ChibiUsa's shoulder and pushed forward.
 462.353 +Both girls sat up. Hotaru gingerly kissed ChibiUsa's neck. Both of
 462.354 +them continued on with their fingers as their free hands roamed
 462.355 +along the other's body. They kissed again and again as the two girls
 462.356 +continued to build up towards their climaxes. Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's
 462.357 +wet fingers pinch her clitoris lightly before stroking it again.
 462.358 +        ChibiUsa felt Hotaru's fingers inside her. Hotaru's slender
 462.359 +fingers continued to press into her. ChibiUsa was near her edge. She
 462.360 +tried to bring Hotaru along with her, but she knew she probably
 462.361 +wouldn't make it. As ChibiUsa nearly reached her limit, she felt a slight
 462.362 +surge through her, helping her to keep going. She and Hotaru met in
 462.363 +another kiss. ChibiUsa's free hand cupped one of Hotaru's breasts as
 462.364 +she continued to stroke the dark haired girl. Hotaru moaned as they
 462.365 +kissed. Both girls tensed as they reached orgasm.
 462.366 +        ChibiUsa and Hotaru laid back on the bed, exhausted. ChibiUsa
 462.367 +slid the slippers off. Strangely, she didn't hear them hit the floor.
 462.368 +She lay back atop Hotaru, one of her legs between Hotaru's and her
 462.369 +head on the other girl's soft breasts. ChibiUsa pulled up the sheet
 462.370 +around the two of them. Hotaru brushed some of the damp hair away
 462.371 +from ChibiUsa's face. She kissed her gently on the forehead. Neither
 462.372 +girl said a word. They kept on looking into the other's eyes, kissing
 462.373 +and touching each other occasionally.
 462.374 +
 462.375 +        Neo Queen Serenity smiled as she kept her back turned to the
 462.376 +crystal ball. She was waiting to find out who would get the slippers
 462.377 +next. She was glad her slippers had managed to help her daughter and
 462.378 +her girlfriend. She'd thought the slippers had been a good idea in
 462.379 +the first place, but after the few times she'd sent them already, she
 462.380 +knew that this was just what she and her friends (and this time, her
 462.381 +daughter) needed during that dark time. She turned around to see the
 462.382 +image of her daughter and Hotaru fade, and change to the new location
 462.383 +of the slippers.

   463.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   463.2 +++ b/stories/shatteredmirror.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   463.3 @@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
   463.4 +This is a tribute to my personal favorite of the Witches 5, Viluy Yuri. ^-^ Sure, 
   463.5 +she only got one episode and got talked down to by Ami while nanites where 
   463.6 +ripping her body apart. Sure she fell prey to the BSSM anime rule that a villain 
   463.7 +must have a lame death at their own hands or at the hands of their employer or 
   463.8 +peer. Sure, she made me wonder just how deep Ami’s egomaniacal obsession 
   463.9 +with being the smartest went if she could bitch at a girl that’s getting killed by 
  463.10 +her own devices (who needs that? I mean, c’mon, she was –dying-. You’d think 
  463.11 +that’d be bad enough without a self serving speech from Ami. Odd how the 
  463.12 +nanites merely wracked the Senshi with pain, but killed her. But I digress.). But 
  463.13 +she was great for the less than half an hour we got of her. ^-^ So thanks, Viluy, 
  463.14 +for being such a cool villain. ^-^
  463.15 +
  463.16 +
  463.17 +Shattered Mirror
  463.18 +By Amazoness Duo
  463.19 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
  463.20 +
  463.21 +
  463.22 +	My name is Viluy Yuri. I’m the top student at Mugen Gakuen and 
  463.23 +possibly in the entirety of Tokyo. That is, with the possible exception of Ami 
  463.24 +Mizuno. She’s amazing. Quiet, thoughtful, shy, all trussed up with beautiful blue 
  463.25 +hair. Her eyes seem to be ever searching for more, wanting so much to 
  463.26 +understand that which she never possibly could. She is perfect. At least from all 
  463.27 +of the data I’ve collected on her. Obsessed? Maybe. I have her picture up as my 
  463.28 +desktop. I’ve been teased quite often by some of my ‘teammates’ here with the 
  463.29 +Witches 5, but I ignore them. Cold logic will win against any of their outlandish 
  463.30 +schemes. I never could understand what Tellu hoped to accomplish with plants. 
  463.31 +But if that’s how she wants to do things, who am I to argue?
  463.32 +	I can almost hear Eiko’s soft voice chiding me to get some sleep, but 
  463.33 +she’s not there when I swivel around in my chair. I can’t hold back the pained 
  463.34 +disappointment that wells up despite my normal control. She’s the only thing 
  463.35 +that can hurt me anymore. Or the lack of her presence, as the case may be. She 
  463.36 +was.. She is the driving force behind all that I do. I was going to add some safety 
  463.37 +systems to my nanites, but I can barely concentrate anymore. I miss her even 
  463.38 +more than usual right now. I’ve been so empty since she left. I’ve been all alone 
  463.39 +for so long, fighting just to stay alive. I had lost my sense of purpose until 
  463.40 +Professor Tomoe came to me with an offer I could never reufuse. 
  463.41 +	Picking up the single framed picture by my desk, I remember with 
  463.42 +crystal clarity the girl standing with me in it. I was only nine when the picture 
  463.43 +was taken. She must’ve been nearly six. My sweet little sister, Eiko. She was my 
  463.44 +best friend when no one else wanted to be near me. She was my light at the end 
  463.45 +of the tunnel when things seemed to dark to go on. She made me laugh when I 
  463.46 +was being too serious for my own good. Even when mom and dad would argue, 
  463.47 +she tried to cheer me up, even though I knew it must have been eating her away 
  463.48 +inside. I wouldn’t let dad hit her whenever I could help it. Which meant he had 
  463.49 +to hurt me all the more when I’d get in the way. When someone who’s supposed 
  463.50 +to protect and love you can inflict such pain upon a child, all hope is quickly lost 
  463.51 +in the world. How anyone can do that, I still don’t know. I will always hate him 
  463.52 +for that. And I will always hate my mother for standing by, doing nothing as 
  463.53 +he’d hit one of us again and again.  Sometimes life was wonderful. Eiko and I 
  463.54 +would stay up all night in the living room on the weekend while my parents 
  463.55 +slept, telling each other stories and playing. But sometimes life became 
  463.56 +unbearable. We would be too afraid to breath, afraid that the slightest movement 
  463.57 +would evoke our father’s wrath. Many times we didn’t even have to do anything 
  463.58 +to bring out his rage. And as time went by, it became that way more and more 
  463.59 +often.
  463.60 +When I got home from cram school one day and found her curled in a 
  463.61 +ball in her room all battered and bruised, I couldn’t take it. Tears spilling down 
  463.62 +my face and rage scalding me inside, I knew that I couldn’t stay there any 
  463.63 +longer. That I couldn’t let that happen ever again to my little sister. I had called 
  463.64 +the police before, but dad had a friend at the station so they never actually came. 
  463.65 +He would tell my dad all of the awful things I told him, all the truth, and he 
  463.66 +would come back into my room... And all the while my mother become more 
  463.67 +and more a shell of her former self, watching it all behind glassy eyes as she too 
  463.68 +took to the bottle. I ran away from home with onee-chan that day before our 
  463.69 +parents could get back from the store. And I never looked back.
  463.70 +	I promised myself long ago that I would protect my imouto no matter 
  463.71 +what. I did whatever I could to make sure that she was safe. I would take care of 
  463.72 +her better than our parents ever could. I had been the smartest one at my school, 
  463.73 +but that just made people want to ignore me. They pretended I didn’t exist when 
  463.74 +I was lucky, torturing me when I wasn’t. Eiko was the only one who hadn’t 
  463.75 +abandoned me. And I would be damned if I ever abandoned her. So I did the 
  463.76 +best I could to support the two of us. We lived in a small condemned building 
  463.77 +that no one ever seemed to have any intention of tearing down. I stole from 
  463.78 +honest people to get what we needed to survive. I took what I could from 
  463.79 +wherever I could in order to provide for myself and for my little sister. When 
  463.80 +she was sick, I even managed to fake signatures and other things to get her 
  463.81 +looked at. I knew she hated doctors, but I had to make sure she would be okay.  I 
  463.82 +felt bad about the measures I had to take, but survival is a tricky thing at best. I 
  463.83 +had to do what I did in order that we both may live. 
  463.84 +	And in that existence, Eiko and I spent happier times together than we 
  463.85 +had living with our parents. For a while, I attempted to teach her. A child 
  463.86 +teaching a child. I had always been advanced for my class, but my parents didn’t 
  463.87 +seem to care. In fact, it was expected of me to do well. Anything less was met 
  463.88 +harshly. And so I had learned to push myself to the limits of my endurance and 
  463.89 +beyond. Eiko was a quick learner and she did well. But she missed going to 
  463.90 +school, missed being around others. I was the only one in her life, alone in our 
  463.91 +small building we called home. That was enough for me. She had been all I’d 
  463.92 +had in my life for quite some time, after all. But she needed more. I faked the 
  463.93 +necessary papers and managed to get her and myself enrolled in school shortly 
  463.94 +afterwards. There was no more time for cram school for me, though. I had to 
  463.95 +make sure there was food on the table for the two of us to get by. 
  463.96 +	My sweet little sister finally seemed happier. She was making friends 
  463.97 +and enjoying herself. I, on the other hand, hated every moment of it. I once 
  463.98 +again found myself deep into my studies in an attempt to have something, 
  463.99 +anything, to grasp onto throughout the tumultuous times at school. My only 
 463.100 +solace was back at our ‘home’ with Eiko. No matter how bad things went during 
 463.101 +the day, it all seemed to melt away when I got home. We would talk late into the 
 463.102 +night, far past when it grew dark out. Sometimes Eiko worried about the future, 
 463.103 +but I assured her of a bright and sunny one awaiting the both of us. And she 
 463.104 +would smile at me and agree the way she always did. And then we’d fall asleep, 
 463.105 +huddled for warmth on the floor under the blankets I’d managed to steal while 
 463.106 +they’d been out drying in some woman’s back yard.
 463.107 +	But one fateful day, my happy slice of heaven, my little ray of life 
 463.108 +amongst an otherwise bleak light, my tiny flame of warmth was snubbed out. 
 463.109 +The streets had been curiously silent that morning as I’d filled up my backpack, 
 463.110 +running a few minutes late. Eiko had already took off for school on her own, 
 463.111 +despite my continued urgings for her to wait. She’d giggled playfully and told 
 463.112 +me to catch up. But when I’d caught up, she wasn’t running anymore. It wasn’t 
 463.113 +fair. I was supposed to catch her on the way. She wasn’t supposed to forfeit. The 
 463.114 +cars had been curiously still as well. A man outside his car was going on and on 
 463.115 +about how it wasn’t his fault. I hardly cared if it was or not. It didn’t concern 
 463.116 +me. I had to catch up with imouto. But a sparkle of crimson caught my eye and 
 463.117 +when I turned to look, our little game had come to a violent end. There she lie, 
 463.118 +crumpled in the street like a broken china doll. Her small body was lying limp, a 
 463.119 +pool of blood under her. Words cannot convey how I felt. Tears cannot wipe 
 463.120 +away the stain that day has left on my mind. I held onto her for as long as I 
 463.121 +could, trying desperately to hear anything more than the sickening gurgle that 
 463.122 +came from what was left of my broken little sister. The rest of that day is gone. I 
 463.123 +can’t remember anymore than her slowed breathing in my arms until it finally 
 463.124 +stopped altogether, her life slipping out of my very grasp like so many grains of 
 463.125 +sand. That was nearly two years ago.
 463.126 +I weeped, as most young girls do, but that the last time. My crystal tears 
 463.127 +were the last of my warmth, the last I had of her. I became cold after that. This 
 463.128 +life had no rhyme or reason. Nothing made sense. All I had was logic to try and 
 463.129 +sort out what I could, to make some sense of this frigid world. From that day 
 463.130 +forward, I put all of my faith into cold, heartless logic. Its icy touch was all I 
 463.131 +could hold onto to keep me sane. I needed something to occupy my mind or I 
 463.132 +would be consumed by my grief for her, lost in an endless night of pain. And 
 463.133 +because of my drive to succeed and my achievements over my classmates, I was 
 463.134 +invited to go to Mugen Gakuen for high school. After a short while, I was 
 463.135 +approached by professor Tomoe. He said he had an offer for me. An offer I 
 463.136 +couldn’t refuse. 
 463.137 +He was right. I will help bring an unspeakable force into this world so 
 463.138 +that I may have my little sister brought back to me. Taken before her time, I can 
 463.139 +make up to her the promise I had made her that had been broken so suddenly. 
 463.140 +Professor Tomoe’s own daughter had been brought back by this same force. 
 463.141 +And so I bide my time, doing what is asked of me so that I will one day achieve 
 463.142 +my goal. That she will one day be returned to me.
 463.143 + Not a day goes by when I don’t see her out of the corner of my eye or 
 463.144 +hear her voice. I’m haunted. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. To shut out 
 463.145 +those little pieces of her would be to deny what I’m striving towards. It would be 
 463.146 +to deny what’s left of my soul inside this cold body. And so I continue, 
 463.147 +waiting... and hoping.
 463.148 +
 463.149 +	Tellu laughed as she read the last entry on Viluy’s computer. Such 
 463.150 +sentimental rubbish. Did she actually think her sister would be brought back like 
 463.151 +that? The Professor’s child was merely a vessel for Mistress 9. Of course, it 
 463.152 +didn’t matter one way or the other. Viluy had gotten killed shortly after that 
 463.153 +entry. The green haired Witches 5 member paused for a moment before she 
 463.154 +turned off the computer. “I hope you’re with your sister now, Viluy.”

   464.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   464.2 +++ b/stories/sleepingbeauty.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   464.3 @@ -0,0 +1,521 @@
   464.4 +Hello minna-san! ^-^ I’ve wanted to write this story for a long time now. ^-^ I thought it would be fun to 
   464.5 +play on an old fairytale and force Sakura to figure out her feelings at the same time. If you have any 
   464.6 +suggestions, comments, or questions, please e-mail me. ^-^ Thanks for reading! *hugs*
   464.7 +
   464.8 +
   464.9 +Sleeping Beauty
  464.10 +By Amazoness Duo
  464.11 +Amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  464.12 +
  464.13 +
  464.14 +	Gazing down at her sleeping form in the dark, I smile gently, lifting the blanket to cover her. Its 
  464.15 +times like this that make me realize how lonely my room normally is. The spacious confines where I keep 
  464.16 +my things seems like a bare cavern without her here. The darkness surrounding my bed in the large room is 
  464.17 +almost intimidating on its own. I usually have a video of her playing while I sleep. My room is practically a 
  464.18 +shrine to her, a constant reminder of her to me. Having her here… I quell the sudden wave of dizziness that 
  464.19 +threatens to overwhelm me just by her presence. She could never know the joy I felt just by her accepting 
  464.20 +my offer to spend the night. My fingers ever so gently brush through her beautiful short hair. She’s sleeping 
  464.21 +so peacefully. Lying next to her, I can’t help but feel some anxiety building at the bottom of my stomach. 
  464.22 +She is so perfect. Why can’t anyone see that? Never mind that; Li-kun already seems to notice. So the real 
  464.23 +question is why can’t I be the one to be there for her? A soft sigh escapes my lips. Of course not. I already 
  464.24 +got lucky enough to have her as my best friend. What are the chances that I could get that lucky again? 
  464.25 +Still… 
  464.26 +	Sakura-chan looks like an angel. No, a goddess. Her gorgeous face looks up towards the heavens 
  464.27 +in its quiet slumber. It must have taken all of the artists in those same heavens to create such a beautiful 
  464.28 +creature as she. Dazedly, I find my fingers wandering across her warm cheek, pressing softly against it. 
  464.29 +There’s so much to say to her. But I already told her I’d explain when we were older. Anything I say would 
  464.30 +just confuse her. Or worse. So I’ll just let you sleep a little longer, Sakura-chan. When you’re older… My 
  464.31 +mind races for a moment, wondering if that day will ever come. Or maybe I was just fooling myself that I’d 
  464.32 +ever be able to truly explain to you how I feel. Leaning closer to her, I release another sigh. I can feel her 
  464.33 +breath against my face. You’re so wonderful, Sakura-chan. Oh, how I love you…
  464.34 +	My lips are almost touching hers now. Just another inch. Those lips… I’ve dreamt about them, 
  464.35 +about her. Licking my suddenly dry lips, that anxious feeling increasing by leaps and bounds. So close… 
  464.36 +My hand gently strokes her soft cheek. Eyes flutter shut as I lean forward…
  464.37 +	Sitting back up, I let out a frustrated cry. I can’t bring myself to do it. How can I steal her first 
  464.38 +kiss? No matter how much I want to, I can’t do that to her, even if she would never know. Just like how 
  464.39 +she’ll never know about how I feel. Shaking my head, I try to stop that line of thought before it gets any 
  464.40 +further.
  464.41 + Whenever she’s around, my world feels complete. Whenever she’s not there, she’s all I can think 
  464.42 +about. I need her to live. I need her to be there, just as I need her as my best friend. I couldn’t live without 
  464.43 +that. But I want… I want her to hold me. I want to fall asleep in her arms, to wake up by her side, to tell her 
  464.44 +everything with a smile. 
  464.45 +	Sitting on the edge of my bed, it seems like hours have passed. I’m not thinking about anything in 
  464.46 +particular. At least, nothing I can quite recall. My thoughts are on her. Its tempting to wake her up here and 
  464.47 +now and pour it all out to her, let her know once and for all exactly how I feel. Does she suspect it at all? Or 
  464.48 +does she just think I act strangely. A giggle almost surfaces at that. Maybe I do act a little strangely, but 
  464.49 +that’s just because no one understands to what extent Sakura-chan’s wonder lies. If they did, they’d do the 
  464.50 +same. She’s the most beautiful thing I could videotape. She dwarfs everything else I possibly could catch 
  464.51 +on film. She makes the costumes I sew look alive. They’re spectacular when they’re on her. She gives life 
  464.52 +to my designs. Everything about her touches me to the farthest reaches of my soul. How could I not treat 
  464.53 +her the way I do? How could I ever love someone else?
  464.54 +	She looks so radiant lying there in the pale moonlight. So peaceful. I can’t disturb that. Tomorrow. 
  464.55 +I’ll tell her tomorrow. Or the next day…
  464.56 +
  464.57 +	I shift around under silky sheets, trying to get comfortable again so I can get back to sleep. The 
  464.58 +bright light filtering through curtained windows makes that almost impossible. Finally giving in to the 
  464.59 +inevitable, I yawn tiredly, sitting up in bed. A moment of disorientation hits me before I remember where I 
  464.60 +am. This is Tomoyo’s room and I’d been spending the night. I yawn again and stretch, wondering if maybe 
  464.61 +I should go back to sleep. Nah, that would be rude. And now that I’m up, I’m not that tired anyway. 
  464.62 +	Scooting over to the edge of the bed, I swing my legs over the side. My bare feet brush against the 
  464.63 +soft carpeting, feeling soft and warm under my toes. Glancing around, I notice that the only thing missing 
  464.64 +from Tomoyo’s room seems to be Tomoyo. She had been right here last night. Did she already go for 
  464.65 +breakfast? I finally spot her asleep at her desk, her head on her arms. How long has she been there? Not all 
  464.66 +night, I hope. Poor girl. Getting up, I pad along the soft carpet to her side, careful not to wake her. Her long 
  464.67 +white nightgown looks much more elegant than my pajamas, I note. But then, Tomoyo always has been 
  464.68 +more elegant. Sometimes I envied that. From her beautiful singing to the designs she made to the way she 
  464.69 +acted. Her mother made her keep her hair long, but that didn’t keep her from pulling off some ravishing 
  464.70 +hairstyles. The boys must be crazy for her. 
  464.71 +	Of course, there were rumors from time to time. I always tried to quash them, but Tomoyo never 
  464.72 +seemed to mind. ‘Scary Tomoyo’. I hate when schoolmates would say things like that about her. She’s 
  464.73 +just… unique. That’s all. When it comes down to it, she’s the most trustworthy, sweetest person I know. 
  464.74 +But that never protected anyone from nasty rumors.  
  464.75 +	I can’t help but sweatdrop when I see the half finished sketch peeking out from under her arms of 
  464.76 +me in another costume. It really does look beautiful from what I can see. She puts so much into them. 
  464.77 +Wearing them is the least I can do for all her help. Brushing some of her silky dark hair away from her 
  464.78 +face, I smile down at her. My smile fades immediately when I see her. Something’s wrong. Her normally 
  464.79 +serene face looks troubled, almost painfully so. That’s something I don’t really see much on her, and never 
  464.80 +this bad before. Her pale cheeks are red and puffy, as if she’d been crying. Did she cry herself to sleep? But 
  464.81 +why? And why didn’t she wake me up? She knows I’d try to help. “Tomoyo-chan…” I let out sadly. My 
  464.82 +hand goes to her shoulder, but I don’t know if I should wake her or just wait. 
  464.83 +Tomoyo stirs against my touch, making the decision for me. Sitting up, her dark hair cascades 
  464.84 +down her back. She blinks sleepily, a hand going to her face as she brushes some hair from her eyes. 
  464.85 +“Sakura-chan? I’m sorry. I wanted to wake up before you so I could get breakfast ready. I must have slept 
  464.86 +in,” she says in her normally soft voice. She attempts to stand up, but I keep my hand gently on her 
  464.87 +shoulder to make sure she stays put.
  464.88 +“Tomoyo-chan, what happened last night? Were you crying?” I ask quickly, urgently.
  464.89 +The dark haired girl blinks a few times, apparently caught off guard. Her fingers brush past her 
  464.90 +cheek as if she’s trying to recall the events of the night before. Her face sinks into an almost desperate look 
  464.91 +before her smile that I know so well returns. Tilting her head to the side, she flashes me that smile, her eyes 
  464.92 +closed and her hands on her lap. “I’m so happy Sakura-chan was concerned for me. Arigato, Sakura-chan.”
  464.93 +I shake my head, concern still gripping me. “But why, Tomoyo-chan? Why were you crying? Why 
  464.94 +didn’t you wake me? I’d have wanted to help,” I argue. “I’m your best friend. Whatever it is, I’m always 
  464.95 +here to help you. You’re very important to me. I don’t want to see you sad. You can always tell me 
  464.96 +anything.”
  464.97 +Tomoyo looks away for a long moment. Silence envelops us as I await her answer. When she 
  464.98 +looks back at me, she’s smiling again. “It was nothing. I was watching an old video I have of you that 
  464.99 +always gets to me. That’s why I didn’t wake you up, because I was watching you bravely capturing Clow 
 464.100 +Cards despite your life being in danger.” She sighs dreamily as she often does, a hand going to her cheek. 
 464.101 +I’d usually blush, but right now there are more important things to worry about. “Sakura-chan makes such a 
 464.102 +wonderful magical girl.”
 464.103 +“I’m serious, Tomoyo-chan. What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? And don’t tell me that 
 464.104 +you were just crying over a videotape of me,” I say sternly, trying to force the point. I don’t want to, but I 
 464.105 +need to know. What’s she hiding from me? I thought I was her best friend.
 464.106 +
 464.107 +I sit there, blinking uncomprehendingly at Sakura as my mind races to find a suitable explanation. 
 464.108 +Why isn’t she believing me? Whenever I pretend that I’m happy like this she’s fallen for it. Every single 
 464.109 +time. She never realizes that I’m hurting, that I’m masking how I truly feel. Because I don’t want to burden 
 464.110 +her with that. Because I don’t want her to have to deal with my problems. She’s my best friend. That’s 
 464.111 +good enough for me. If she knew when I was hurting inside, if she knew that it was always about her…. So 
 464.112 +why now? How did she all of the sudden see through my illusions this time? Sakura, this would be so much 
 464.113 +easier if you’d only let me pretend that everything was alright all the time. I do it for you. Why can’t you 
 464.114 +let me have that at least? Please, please don’t ask much further. I don’t know if I could ever say no to you.
 464.115 +What I’d told her wasn’t truly a lie. It was more a slight bending of the truth. I had watched one of 
 464.116 +my videos of her last night. My favorite one. I believe it truly shows how wonderful she is. But that wasn’t 
 464.117 +why I was crying. I’d been crying since a while before that as I’d watched her blissfully sleeping form. It 
 464.118 +was about whether I’ll ever be able to tell her how I really feel. And if it even matters. I used to be able to 
 464.119 +tell myself that as long as she was happy, I would be as well. But now… The thought of forever being 
 464.120 +forced to watch her from afar, to never be able to have what I so dream of almost tears me apart. The 
 464.121 +knowledge that all of my dreams are nothing more than that. Maybe I’d been fooling myself just as much 
 464.122 +as I’d been fooling her that I was happy. 
 464.123 +I’d finally fallen asleep while trying to draw a new costume for her. I think it would have come out 
 464.124 +better if I’d been able to see through the tears. I’ll need to start it over again. Sakura deserves better than 
 464.125 +that. She deserves the best. How I wish I could be the one to give her the best. But I’ll always be there for 
 464.126 +her. I’ll help her through whatever I can, so I can make sure she winds up happy, no matter the results. I’ll 
 464.127 +be your guardian angel, Sakura.
 464.128 +Sakura’s still staring at me expectantly, a little worriedly. I smile a little more, hoping that she will 
 464.129 +believe in me this time. “Its nothing, Sakura-chan. I was thinking too much about the future is all. It was 
 464.130 +late and I hadn’t had much sleep from all the costumes I had been working on this week. I guess it was just 
 464.131 +too much for some reason.”
 464.132 +She looks disappointed at my answer. Her shoulder’s slump as she rubs one of her arms. 
 464.133 +“Tomoyo-chan…” Sakura pleads, her emerald green eyes begging me to be honest with her. Why are you 
 464.134 +doing this to me? I’m trying to protect you, Sakura. I don’t want to put you through this. At least not until 
 464.135 +you’re older. Don’t make me tell you now. Not now.
 464.136 +
 464.137 +	Why is she lying to me? Tomoyo won’t tell me why she was crying. But she can tell me anything. 
 464.138 +She knows that, doesn’t she? Her stormy blue eyes betray her soft smile, the turmoil in them leaping out to 
 464.139 +me. I reach out to her, but for once she shies away. I swiftly bring my hand back as if singed. How could 
 464.140 +this be happening? Whatever it is, it must be pretty bad if she won’t tell me. If she won’t trust me. I feel 
 464.141 +tears of my own welling up, but I can’t let those fall. Tomoyo needs me, even if she won’t tell me what’s 
 464.142 +going on. I sigh, frustrated. “Alright, Tomoyo-chan. You don’t have to say anything. Maybe this is another 
 464.143 +one of those things I won’t understand till I’m older.” 
 464.144 +	Tomoyo blinks those stormy blue eyes of hers at me, watching me intently, quizzically. “Sakura-
 464.145 +chan?” her soft voice ringing in my ears. 
 464.146 +	Even with that fragile look on her ivory face, I can’t help but ball my fists in anger. “I’m sure 
 464.147 +you’ll have a whole lot to tell me when I’m older, huh? I guess I’m still too much of a child to understand 
 464.148 +anything, huh? I’m just too immature for you to trust, is that it?” As soon as those words are out, I instantly 
 464.149 +regret them. I open my mouth to apologize, but the damage is already done. My heart breaks in two as I see 
 464.150 +those hurt blue eyes turned up at me as if asking how I could say such things. My heart catches in my throat 
 464.151 +as I take a step back, trying desperately to put right what had gone wrong. 
 464.152 +
 464.153 +	How could she say that? I’m doing this for her. I don’t want to hurt her. Does she really think I 
 464.154 +don’t trust her? Oh, Sakura-chan, I just don’t want to hurt you… Hot tears roll down my face as Sakura 
 464.155 +stares at me from a few feet away, her mouth finally closing after trying to say something. Wiping at my 
 464.156 +stinging eyes, I bolt past her to my door. It surprises me that she doesn’t try to stop me from leaving. That 
 464.157 +just makes it hurt even more as I head barefoot down the stairs, my tears making everything a blur as I try 
 464.158 +desperately to get away. I love you. Don’t you know that? I’d do anything for you. I never want to hurt 
 464.159 +you…
 464.160 +
 464.161 +	What have I done? I slump back on Tomoyo’s bed, burying my face in my hands. What I’d give to 
 464.162 +take that back. The Time Card? No, I probably couldn’t just stop myself from saying something. It looks 
 464.163 +like I’m on my own this time. Why did that have to slip out? Of course she trusts me. Whatever they are, 
 464.164 +she has her reasons for keeping them from me. Lashing out at her like that must have hurt her terribly. I 
 464.165 +just… I wanted to know what she won’t tell me. What can it be that she’d go to the lengths of hiding it 
 464.166 +from me? And she was pretending to be happy so I wouldn’t know she was hurt. But why? We’re supposed 
 464.167 +to be there for each other. She’s always there for me. Why can’t I be there for her? Why won’t she let me?
 464.168 +	I sigh as I sit up on the bed, trying to think of where Tomoyo may have gone. Her mom was way 
 464.169 +too overly protective of her, so I doubt she left the house without her bodyguards. So she was probably still 
 464.170 +here somewhere. But it’s such a big place. The thought of looking for her through the whole place seems 
 464.171 +daunting. I have to find her and apologize. I need to make things better between us. She means too much to 
 464.172 +me. I can’t lose her. Taking a quick glance around her room, I take in the many costume designs, videos, 
 464.173 +and unfinished costumes. All for me. 
 464.174 +	Kami-sama, what did I do?
 464.175 +
 464.176 +	Its cold out here. My feet are already numb from walking across the cold damp grass. I hug myself 
 464.177 +tightly, my body still wracked with sobs as her words come back to haunt me. It wasn’t supposed to be this 
 464.178 +way. She wasn’t supposed to know I hurt. She should have just waited until she was older and happy with 
 464.179 +someone else so I could watch her, be there for her, and completely forget about that little promise that I’d 
 464.180 +tell her that I love her. 
 464.181 +Uncertainty crashes over me like a wave breaking against the shore. Should I have just stayed and 
 464.182 +told her? Get this out in the open once and for all? It would prove that I still trust her and once and for all 
 464.183 +she’d know exactly how I felt. But would she understand? Would she understand the depth of how I feel? 
 464.184 +Just how much she means to me? How much I love her? A moment with her is worth a thousand deaths. 
 464.185 +Her smile is worth all the pain and misery this world has to offer. She’s and angel that lights my life from 
 464.186 +the midnight darkness that encompasses me. I want her to know that, but I fear that it would ruin things. 
 464.187 +That my angel would be frightened of me, no longer shining her light upon me. If I put it off, told her when 
 464.188 +she was older, then I could hope she’d understand more fully how I felt, even if it was from her love for 
 464.189 +someone else. Then maybe it wouldn’t ruin everything. I can’t live without her friendship. Like a flower 
 464.190 +without water, I’d shrivel up and die. I need you, Sakura… Please…
 464.191 +Tears drip down off my chin. There’s so much to say, but its as if I can’t find my voice. I want to 
 464.192 +tell her with every piece of my soul, but I’m so afraid I’ll lose her. I’ve been paralyzed with indecision for 
 464.193 +so long and now I’ve ruined everything. If only I’d said something sooner. But then, would I still have lost 
 464.194 +her? Sakura-chan…
 464.195 +Sakura thinks I don’t trust her, that I won’t tell her because I can’t use her help. I have to prove to 
 464.196 +her that that’s not the case. I have to let her know. Will that make things better? Please let it make things 
 464.197 +better. I just want to be your friend again. Forever.
 464.198 +Standing up slowly, I shiver in the cold morning air. I gather my resolve and turn back to the 
 464.199 +house. This is it. I’ll tell you everything, Sakura-chan. I’ll finally tell you just how much you mean to me. 
 464.200 +For a long moment, I wonder if my tears are still blinding me. That can’t be her, can it? But it is. 
 464.201 +Sakura’s heading towards me, a worried expression etched on her face. I muster up a smile to try to 
 464.202 +convince her everything’s alright. I start running towards her. “Sakura-chan!”
 464.203 +
 464.204 +There she is! She was in the backyard the whole time. Poor thing, its far too cold for that right 
 464.205 +now. I need to get her inside and apologize quickly. I just hope she’ll listen. Of course she will. This is 
 464.206 +Tomoyo, afterall. And she’s.. smiling? I can’t help but return the smile. Maybe I didn’t screw things up as 
 464.207 +badly as I’d thought. Maybe… 
 464.208 +I stumble forward as I sense the Clow Card moments before it hits. The glow envelopes Tomoyo 
 464.209 +in a bright blue hue. It slowly fades away as Tomoyo drops to the cold grass in a jumble of ribbons and 
 464.210 +dark hair. “Tomoyo-chan!!” I yell as I run up beside her, falling to my knees. Grabbing her shoulder, I give 
 464.211 +her a shake, hoping she’ll open those pretty dark blue eyes of hers again, smile her usual smile at me and 
 464.212 +everything will be back to normal. 
 464.213 +She lays there almost deathly still in front of me. My heart thunders in my chest as my hopes are 
 464.214 +dashed. “Tomoyo-chan, please get up. Please…” My arms go around her as I pull her close to me, tears 
 464.215 +spilling from my eyes onto her cold cheek. I sit up suddenly, wiping at my tears. I felt her breathing. Softly, 
 464.216 +almost sleepily. Is that… Is she asleep? Almost in answer, Tomoyo rolls over on her side. A sigh of relief 
 464.217 +escapes my lips. I was so worried that she’d been hurt. But what did the Clow Card do? Is she okay? Will 
 464.218 +she be alright? 
 464.219 +	I shake her again hoping she’ll wake up, but nothing happens. It figures. Clow Cards can never be 
 464.220 +simple. Neither can my life, it seems. Right when things looked like they would work out for the best, this 
 464.221 +had to jump in the way. 
 464.222 +	I softly brush my fingers through her dark hair. Don’t worry, Tomoyo-chan. I won’t let anything 
 464.223 +happen to you. I’ll find a way to help you. No matter what.
 464.224 +
 464.225 +	I can hear Kero yawn tiredly after he picks up the phone Tomoyo had given me to keep us in 
 464.226 +touch. She always seems to call when I’m feeling bad. I wonder how she does that. The irate voice of the 
 464.227 +Seal Beast calls me back from my wandering thoughts. “Sakura-chan, what is it? I was having the most 
 464.228 +wonderful dream. There was this giant cake and I…”
 464.229 +	“A Clow Card got Tomoyo-chan,” I say quickly, cutting him off. I know that will just irritate him 
 464.230 +even more, but I don’t have time. Tomoyo needs my help. 
 464.231 +	“It had this giant strawberry on to…”
 464.232 +	“Kero-chan!” 
 464.233 +	The Seal Beast finally stops relating his dream to me over the phone. I can hear him yawn tiredly 
 464.234 +again before answering. “A Clow Card? Which one? What’d it do?”
 464.235 +	In a rush of words, I pour out what had happened to Kero, praying that he’ll know what I need to 
 464.236 +do to save Tomoyo. There has to be something to wake her up. I wait silently on my side of the phone, 
 464.237 +waiting anxiously for his answer. It takes me a long moment to realize that I’m holding my breath.
 464.238 +	“Hmm…” I can see him scratching his chin on the other side of the phone in my mind. I almost 
 464.239 +smile for a moment before the gravity of the situation forces the thought away. “It sounds like the Sleep 
 464.240 +Card. It must have been drawn to her for some reason. I’d say it’s got its love spell on her.”
 464.241 +	“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” I switch the phone to my other ear as I pace back and 
 464.242 +forth worriedly. Glancing down at Tomoyo, I sigh, closing my eyes.
 464.243 +	“It put her to an eternal sleep to keep her from the pain of love. That’s its way of helping people 
 464.244 +that are being caused too much anguish by those sorts of things, ya know?” The Seal Beast yawns again on 
 464.245 +the other side of the phone.
 464.246 +	“But… How could it… Why did…” I take a deep breath, trying to get a clear grasp on my 
 464.247 +thoughts. “So Tomoyo-chan was…..” My eyes go wide as realization dawns on me. “That’s why she was 
 464.248 +crying last night. It was over who she’s in love with.”
 464.249 +	“Tomoyo-chan was crying over it? But she never seems to get affected by anything. Well, 
 464.250 +anything but you,” Kero corrects himself. “That must be it. It really must have been hurting her, so sleep 
 464.251 +thought her eternal slumber would be much more peaceful for her, where she could dream of her love and 
 464.252 +won’t get hurt.”
 464.253 +	“Poor Tomoyo-chan,” I whisper softly. I had no idea she had been hurting so badly. My fingers 
 464.254 +gently brush past her pale cheek. She looks so peaceful lying there, dreaming sweet dreams. But I need to 
 464.255 +wake her up. Because I need her here with me. “But how do I help her, Kero-chan?” I demand, my voice 
 464.256 +quavering.
 464.257 +	“Oh, that one’s easy,” the Seal Beast assures me. 
 464.258 +	“Yeah?” My voice nearly fails me as I hang on to his words.
 464.259 +	“You just have to get her true love to kiss her. She’ll wake up as soon as that happens, her stormy 
 464.260 +heart finally calmed.”
 464.261 +	Standing there, I stare at the phone. Her true love? How am I supposed to find that? She never 
 464.262 +talks about any of the boys at school, or anybody else for that matter. Who could it be? “But I have no idea 
 464.263 +who that is!” 
 464.264 +	Silence reigns over the phone for what seems like an eternity. “Can I go back to sleep then?”
 464.265 +
 464.266 +	I slump heavily back on Tomoyo’s bed after I finally reach her room, her body lying on top of me. 
 464.267 +Her long dark hair goes everywhere, some of it blinding me as it covers my face. I have Tomoyo’s pale, 
 464.268 +cold body in my arms. It had been a struggle getting her all the way here from outside, but I couldn’t leave 
 464.269 +her where she was. It just hits me as a lie here that I should have used the Power Card before attempting to 
 464.270 +carry her to her room. I gently try to push her off of me onto the bed but it proves more difficult than I 
 464.271 +thought it would be. 
 464.272 +After a few tries, I finally roll her onto her back on the soft bed. As I sit up and catch my breath, I 
 464.273 +silently watch her peacefully sleeping form. My eyes start to blur, a tear trickling down my cheek. I just 
 464.274 +want her to wake up and be alright. But that won’t happen, will it? She’ll only wake up if I can help her. 
 464.275 +But I don’t know how. She’s never told me about anyone she likes, let alone loves. She’s hinted at it, sure. 
 464.276 +Like when she told me she’d be happy as long as the one she loved was happy, but she’s never told me who 
 464.277 +that was.
 464.278 +Pacing frantically around her room, ignoring the cold in my own body, I search for anything that 
 464.279 +could provide me with a clue as to who she loves. I go through all the things on her desk, but there are just 
 464.280 +pictures of costumes for me and some cloth and things. Nothing. Part of me worries that I shouldn’t be 
 464.281 +digging through her things, but this situation calls for it. Besides, I know she trusts me. There’s nothing 
 464.282 +here she couldn’t tell me. ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older…’ I wince as that thought goes through my head. 
 464.283 +What had she meant? She doesn’t really think I’m immature enough that I won’t understand, does she? 
 464.284 +What did she want me to wait for? I push the thought away. Of course she trusts me. She’s always told me 
 464.285 +how important I was to her.
 464.286 +My search becomes more harried and desperate as everything I find turns out to be a dead end. 
 464.287 +Sifting through a neatly stacked pile of her tapes turns up nothing. All the titles are just about me. Sighing, I 
 464.288 +run both hands through my hair, trying to think of something, anything, that will show who Tomoyo’s love 
 464.289 +is. A diary? Does she keep a diary? Or maybe in her notebooks. I used to draw pictures of Yukito in my 
 464.290 +notebooks. Maybe she’s done the same. Could it be onii-chan? She used to blush around him. 
 464.291 +No matter how hard I look, I can’t find a diary. I thought she might have a video diary, but all the 
 464.292 +titles for the videos I could find didn’t sound like it. When she told me I was the only thing she liked to 
 464.293 +videotape, I guess she was serious. I spent a while looking for it, but I’m not sure if she has one. I’ll have to 
 464.294 +ask her if she wakes up. When she wakes up. Because she will. I’ll find out who she loves if it kills me. 
 464.295 +And I’ll make him kiss her if I have to.  
 464.296 +Her notebooks didn’t really help, either. They’re filled with her notes and pictures of me as 
 464.297 +Cardcaptor Sakura. I recognize some of the costumes I’m wearing in them, actually. Some of the ones I 
 464.298 +don’t recognize seem to be design sketches for when she finally does make the costume. I sweatdrop as I 
 464.299 +flip through the notebook, noticing some of the odd costumes she has in mind. Shaking my head, I try to be 
 464.300 +more serious. I promise I’ll wear ever single one of the costumes Tomoyo makes as long as she wakes up. 
 464.301 +The only thing left that I can think of is that its onii-chan. But that doesn’t feel right. And I know 
 464.302 +Touya doesn’t feel that way about Tomoyo. But if I figure out that he is the one she loves, I’ll make him. I 
 464.303 +shiver a little at the thought of someone else having to kiss Tomoyo to wake her up. I wish there was 
 464.304 +another way. But then, why should I feel bad about it if the person kissing her is the one she loves? Hoe… 
 464.305 +This is all so confusing.
 464.306 +Reaching out, I brush her dark hair away from her face, smiling tearfully at my best friend. She 
 464.307 +looks at rest this time, not the sad look on her face she had when I’d woken her up the first time this 
 464.308 +morning. The Sleep Card seems to think this is for the best, that she won’t hurt anymore this way, but it 
 464.309 +hurts me looking at her like this. The thought that I’ll never be able to have her with me again sends shivers 
 464.310 +down my spine. Am I being selfish? Is she really better off this way? Wiping my tears from my eyes with 
 464.311 +my pajama sleeve, I shake my head. I need her. I don’t want to go on without her like this. “Oh, Tomoyo-
 464.312 +chan,” I whisper. “Please wake up. Please just open your eyes and tell me it’s alright like you do so often. I 
 464.313 +need to hear that. I need to know you’re there. I need you.” I bury my head against her side, hot tears 
 464.314 +rolling down my cheeks. Sobbing against my unconscious best friend, I wind up falling asleep myself.
 464.315 +
 464.316 +What? Where am I? I feel disoriented. Blinking tiredly, I try to get a look around the room but I 
 464.317 +can’t see past the soft white cloth in front of me. For a moment I think it’s my pillow before its movement 
 464.318 +startles me. I stay deathly still, not quite awake enough to grasp what’s going on. The cloth keeps moving 
 464.319 +up and down in a soft, relaxing rhythm. Yawning, I almost allow the gentle motion to lull me back to sleep 
 464.320 +before a sense of urgency starts gnawing at me. There’s something I need to do, but what? And why is it so 
 464.321 +important. Trying to wake myself up, I stretch out with a yawn. My hand travel’s across the soft cloth 
 464.322 +before the texture changes. Its smoother, warmer now. Blinking curiously, I sit up, wiping some saliva from 
 464.323 +the edge of my mouth. It feels as if the whole world has come crashing down on me at the sight. Tomoyo-
 464.324 +chan… She’s still asleep, breathing gently as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Part of me clings to 
 464.325 +the idea that it was all a dream, that she’s really just fine, but after shaking her for over a minute with no 
 464.326 +response I have to give up on that hope.
 464.327 +My shoulder’s slump as I watch her sleeping peacefully. I should be out doing something to save 
 464.328 +her but all I’ve done for the past two hours was sleep. Two hours? I glance over at her clock and push the 
 464.329 +sleeve of a costume out of the way to make sure I hadn’t mistaken the time. I haven’t. How could I have 
 464.330 +been out for two hours? She needs me and I wasn’t even doing anything to help her. But she felt so nice, so 
 464.331 +warm. I was so sad and worried, but when I was lying there against her, it all seemed... peaceful. Warm. 
 464.332 +Like everything was perfect. She always makes me feel that way. That’s part of why I want her to wake up 
 464.333 +so badly. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... What am I supposed to do? I usually have you here to help me when 
 464.334 +dealing with things like this. I don’t know if I can do it on my own.” Brushing back some of her long 
 464.335 +grayish black hair from her shoulder, I stop at the curls at the end of the lock of hair I’m holding. I move 
 464.336 +the soft hair around between my fingers as I take a deep breath. “I never did get to cut your hair like you 
 464.337 +wanted me to after Yukito cut Touya’s hair. And there are a lot of costumes I haven’t been able to where 
 464.338 +for you. And you haven’t been able to videotape all those things you said you wanted to, like me getting 
 464.339 +married and all. If you wake up, I promise I’ll do it all for you. I’ll cut your hair, I’ll wear the costumes,   
 464.340 +I’ll let you videotape whatever you want. Just please wake up, Tomoyo-chan.” I clasp one of her snow 
 464.341 +white hands with both of my own and bring it up to my cheek, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill 
 464.342 +out anew. “There was so much you seemed to have planned. For me, for the both of us. You can’t just sleep 
 464.343 +forever. You can’t.” Part of me wants to demand to know who she loves so I can save her but the other part 
 464.344 +knows it would be pointless. I’ve wracked my brain over and over again and I can’t think of anyone. 
 464.345 +Except Touya, but she blushes that same way around me even more often, so I don’t have much hope in 
 464.346 +that. I lightly stroke her pale cheek, vowing to find out who it is. She smiles softly in her sleep, shifting 
 464.347 +around to get more comfortable. If only I knew what she was thinking.
 464.348 +This is like a fairy tale gone horribly wrong. Tomoyo’s been placed in a deep sleep until she gets 
 464.349 +kissed by her one true love. Unless I can find her prince charming, she’ll sleep forever. But every time I try 
 464.350 +to get myself to go looking, I can’t force myself to leave her side. I could always use the Mirror or the 
 464.351 +Illusion to stay here so her mother and her bodyguards won’t get suspicious, but I can’t even convince 
 464.352 +myself to do that. Fairy tale’s always have a happy ending, don’t they? So things should work out in the 
 464.353 +end, right? But what if this is like those one’s where it’s a painful lesson learned and it turns out horribly? 
 464.354 +What if Tomoyo never wakes up? Taking a deep breath, I try to force back those thoughts, but it’s so hard. 
 464.355 +On the verge of tears, I grasp onto my sleeping best friend looking for the comfort she always manages to 
 464.356 +provide me. For a long moment, I just lie there holding onto her as I try to pull myself back together. 
 464.357 +“Tomoyo-chan..” I whisper softly. “Come back to me.” Maybe it is selfish to want her back, but I don’t 
 464.358 +care anymore. It hurts too much inside. I just want her here with me. I’d do anything to have her back.
 464.359 +Fairy tale... This is like a fairy tale... Sitting up on my knees on her bed, an idea starts to come to 
 464.360 +me. If this is like a fairy tale, why can’t I play along? Fumbling for the key around my neck, I can see 
 464.361 +Tomoyo holding up a new costume ready to videotape my escapades. Part of me is glad that she can’t 
 464.362 +record this because I feel pretty foolish that I’m actually going to go through with it. But right now I’m 
 464.363 +willing to try anything.
 464.364 +Holding my staff in front of me, I can’t shake the feeling that this is all just wrong. Tomoyo-chan 
 464.365 +should be over there videotaping me, not asleep on the bed. I should be in some extravagant costume for 
 464.366 +her, not in my pajamas. But I don’t really have much choice in any of that at the moment. I’ll let her tape 
 464.367 +whatever she wants with me in whatever costumes she wants when this is all over and done with, even if it 
 464.368 +all is embarrassing. 
 464.369 +Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I bring down the staff onto the floating form of the Card 
 464.370 +I’ve chosen. “Mirror!” A small mirror appears floating in front of me. I sweatdrop and look around before 
 464.371 +getting closer to it. “Mirror, show me who Tomoyo loves the most.” Hey, it worked for the evil queen, it 
 464.372 +should work for me. The image in the mirror shifts for a long moment. I clutch the staff to my chest 
 464.373 +nervously as I await the results. Now I’ll just have to drag him here and get him to kiss Tomoyo. Well, at 
 464.374 +least the hard part’s done. Thought I can’t help but feel a little jealous at the thought. Why should anyone 
 464.375 +be kissing Tomoyo like that? I can’t see anyone who should be with her in my mind’s eye. It doesn’t feel 
 464.376 +right to be finding someone to kiss her. But I don’t have time to worry about that. The image is almost clear 
 464.377 +now. I push those thoughts out of my head as I prepare to catch a glimpse of this mystery man. 
 464.378 +I can make out some of it, but it’s still not clear enough. Could it be Li-kun? No, it’s not him. The 
 464.379 +boy in the mirror has short brown hair and vibrant green eyes. It looks like he likes to smile. It’s most 
 464.380 +certainly not Touya. I allow myself a breath of relief at that. For some reason, I never did like it when she’d 
 464.381 +blush around him. Tomoyo had told me that it was only because he reminded her of me, but still… The boy 
 464.382 +in the mirror’s image begins to sharpen ever so slightly. He’s not quite as handsome as I thought he’d be. 
 464.383 +I’d say he’s more pretty than handsome. I feel bad that I don't know Tomoyo as well as I’d hoped. Why 
 464.384 +wouldn’t she tell me something this important? Why don’t I know what taste in boys she has? I’ll have to 
 464.385 +make that all up to her later. The boy’s really starting to look familiar now, but he’s not fitting any of the 
 464.386 +boys I can think of right now. Maybe someone keeps slipping my mind. As the image finally becomes 
 464.387 +clear, I gasp in shock. The ‘boy’ in the mirror... It’s me... 
 464.388 +	My knees go weak at the sudden revelation. It can’t be, can it? But I’m a girl. She wouldn’t... How 
 464.389 +could she... I slump to the ground, sitting down hard. The world feels like its spinning around me. There’s 
 464.390 +no way that can be right. The Mirror must be wrong. Or maybe it’s trying to tell me something else. But 
 464.391 +what? 
 464.392 +	“Tomoyo-chan?” Looking at Tomoyo’s sleeping body, a nervous pit starts to form in my stomach 
 464.393 +as I try to figure out the odd answer that Mirror gave me. She knows the answer. I want to ask her to make 
 464.394 +sense of it for me, to tell me what it means. But she can’t. And won’t, unless I can figure it out on my own. 
 464.395 +And I think I already have. 
 464.396 +	“Hoe…” 
 464.397 +	Before I have a chance to figure out my feelings on the subject other than the shock and denial, a 
 464.398 +knock at the door frightens me worse than any ghost story Touya or Naoko-chan have ever told me. And I 
 464.399 +don’t have Tomoyo-chan to comfort me this time. Looking around the room, I try desperately to keep from 
 464.400 +panicking. Another knock at the door almost gives me a heart attack after I finally stand up. Licking my dry 
 464.401 +lips nervously, I open my mouth with an almost convincing lie to cover up the fact that its almost noon and 
 464.402 +Tomoyo’s still asleep but it dies before I can say anything as I see the doorknob moving. 
 464.403 +	“Tomoyo-chan? Sakura-chan? Are you two still in here?” Tomoyo’s mother, Sonomi, asks as she 
 464.404 +prepares to enter. Is that a playful note in her voice? Nah, that can’t be. Why would she have any clue about 
 464.405 +this whole thing with Tomoyo-chan? Touya told me that Tomoyo was just as eccentric as her mother, but I 
 464.406 +could never see it. Well, she does videotape me almost constantly and has had a costume ready for any 
 464.407 +conceivable occasion I may need one. Oh, and the unshakable faith she has in me. And the… Okay, maybe 
 464.408 +Touya was right. But I don’t have time for this right now.
 464.409 +	Pulling up the sheet over Tomoyo-chan’s head, I whisper an apology to her before pulling out one 
 464.410 +of my Cards. “Illusion! Show Sonomi-san that Tomoyo-chan’s awake and just fine,” I say quickly, almost 
 464.411 +tripping over the words. 
 464.412 +	“Sakura-chan? I thought I heard you in there,” Sonomi says with a smile that only seems to show 
 464.413 +up when she’s talking about me or my mother. Or how much I’m like or not like my mother. My eyes go as 
 464.414 +wide as dinner plates as I see her standing there in Tomoyo’s bedroom doorway. Did she see me using the 
 464.415 +Card? Does she already know? How am I supposed to explain that her daughter’s going to sleep for an 
 464.416 +eternity and it’s all my fault? She’ll hate me for taking away her daughter the way she says my dad took 
 464.417 +away her Nadeshiko. My fears start to lessen as she walks into the room, seemingly unconcerned about 
 464.418 +having possibly seen me doing any sort of magic. “I was wondering where the two of you were. You’ve 
 464.419 +been cooped up here all day. But that’s completely all right. I used to spend hours in dear Nadeshiko-chan’s 
 464.420 +room when we were your age, talking about all sorts of things.” The older woman sighs dreamily, brushing 
 464.421 +some of her oddly cut hair out of her eyes. She’s always so much happier when talking about my mother 
 464.422 +than any other time I see her. For some reason something Tomoyo had once said about her mother’s 
 464.423 +preferences when I’d asked about her female bodyguards comes to mind for a brief instant, but I shrug it 
 464.424 +off.  “It’s so nice to see the two of you spending so much time together. Sakura-chan, you really do make 
 464.425 +Tomoyo-chan so happy whenever you visit. The house is always so much livelier when you’re here. You 
 464.426 +must come visit us more often. It’s like having a little bit of dear Nadeshiko-chan with us.”
 464.427 +	Tomoyo smiles and nods to the left of me, scaring me senseless as it sets in that she’s there. A 
 464.428 +hand on my chest, I try to keep myself from being to obvious. It’s only Illusion doing just what I told it to. 
 464.429 +“Hai.. Hai! I’m really happy to be here! I’m glad Tomoyo-chan’s happy to have me here!” I blurt out 
 464.430 +nervously, hoping Tomoyo’s mother doesn’t notice how nervous I am.
 464.431 +	Sonomi laughs a little as she gives a conspiratorial wink to her ‘daughter’. “More than you know, 
 464.432 +Sakura-chan.” I blush deeply at that. No, I think I might know that. She must think I’m nervous because of 
 464.433 +some of Tomoyo’s weird stuff that I never have really gotten used to. For the most part, I just classify 
 464.434 +everything strange she does as that and ignore it. Her hobbies of videotaping me and making costumes for 
 464.435 +me, the chocolates on Valentine’s Day, the weird things she says that don’t make sense because they seem 
 464.436 +to suggest that she’s in love with me, all of it. Now I wish that I’d paid more attention to it all. 
 464.437 +	Sonomi’s voice cuts through my thoughts like a knife, bringing me back to reality. “Are either of 
 464.438 +you hungry? You haven’t had anything all morning and I’ve had the chef cook up something extra special 
 464.439 +sense you’re staying with us, Sakura-chan. And for after that there’s some cake, too. I don’t know if you’re 
 464.440 +watching your figure, but I sure am.”
 464.441 +	As I’m about to explain why Tomoyo can’t come down for what sounds like a great lunch (and 
 464.442 +I’m sooooo hungry right now, too…), I hear a thud at the window. Glancing over at it, I see the familiar 
 464.443 +form of Kero-chan with his face pressed against the window. I yelp before I can help myself. Nearly 
 464.444 +stumbling through the illusion of Tomoyo, I pop up in front of the window, hoping that Sonomi didn’t see 
 464.445 +the Seal Beast. “It.. It sounds great, Sonomi-san, but I think... Umm… Tomoyo-chan and I had something 
 464.446 +we need to talk about before lunchtime. Thanks so much, though.” I smile widely, hoping she bought it. 
 464.447 +Tomoyo nods happily, still smiling. I have to admit, Illusion did a wonderful job of recreating her, even 
 464.448 +down to that beautiful nigh constant smile of hers. 
 464.449 +	Sonomi pouts a bit, looking disappointed. It seems that she really did want to have lunch with us. I 
 464.450 +know she doesn’t get to see Tomoyo-chan often with how busy she is with her job, and I seem to remind 
 464.451 +her of my mother because she always starts talking about her when I’m around. I feel bad about having to 
 464.452 +get out of it, but she’d probably be even more disappointed if her daughter never wakes up. Her expression 
 464.453 +quickly changes as she smiles at the image of Tomoyo-chan. “Alright. You two have fun then. Good luck, 
 464.454 +Tomoyo-chan.” What was she wishing her luck with? Maybe with.. me? Does she think this is about 
 464.455 +Tomoyo-chan telling me how she feels? She already has more times than I can count. I just never 
 464.456 +understood. “Remember to come down as soon as you’re done talking. Or as soon as you get hungry. Bye, 
 464.457 +girls!” With that, she leaves for the moment. 
 464.458 +	Sighing nervously, I lean back against the window. “Kero-chan!” I whirl around as I remember. 
 464.459 +Pulling Tomoyo’s window open, the Seal Beast flies in. “Where have you been!? I’ve been sitting here 
 464.460 +worried sick! I don’t know what to do about Tomoyo-chan and you leave me here all by myself. I don’t 
 464.461 +even have her to help me this time so I was all alone.” I lower my voice so Sonomi won’t accidentally hear 
 464.462 +us. Kero winces and floats over to the bed. “I’m sorry, Kero-chan. I’m just so worried about Tomoyo-
 464.463 +chan.” With a thought, Illusion returns to her Card form. 
 464.464 +	Kero smiles and shrugs. “It’s okay, Sakura-chan. Just get me some of that cake later and I’ll be 
 464.465 +fine. Sonomi-san has the best cakes. I need to meet her chef.” He crosses his arms thoughtfully for a 
 464.466 +moment as he floats over Tomoyo-chan. I slip the sheets off of her and sit down on her bedside. 
 464.467 +	“I can’t get the cake if Tomoyo-chan doesn’t wake up. And what took you so long to get here?” I 
 464.468 +ask again. It doesn’t seem like him to wait that long. 
 464.469 +	“Actually, I thought you would have solved the problem by now,” Kero says matter-of-factly. “I 
 464.470 +thought this would be easier for you if I wasn’t here. But it’s a good thing I got here when I did. I’d hate to 
 464.471 +miss the cake when you do wake her up.”
 464.472 +	I blush inwardly at the thought of waking her up. That’s right, isn’t it? In order to wake her up, she 
 464.473 +needs a kiss from me... I clutch my hands to my cheeks in embarrassment. “Hoe...”
 464.474 +	“So did you figure out how to wake her up yet?” Kero asks anxiously.
 464.475 +	I nod slowly. “Hai. But you knew I would, didn’t you.” He just smiles and crosses his small arms 
 464.476 +over his chest sagely. Taking a deep breath, I like my lips nervously. “Isn’t there another way? I never 
 464.477 +thought I’d be kissing her...” I blush again at that. 
 464.478 +	“What?!” Kero asks in shock. One of Kero’s eyes seems to be larger than the other. “You? But I 
 464.479 +thought...”
 464.480 +	I cross my own arms as I stare at the floating bear. “And why not me? I’m not good enough for 
 464.481 +her?” He sure seemed shocked by the idea that I could be the one she was in love with. But now it seems 
 464.482 +completely obvious.
 464.483 +	Kero shakes his head quickly. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…”
 464.484 +	“Besides, I thought you knew. Right now it feels like I’m the only one who didn’t know about it.” 
 464.485 +A sigh escapes my lips as I look down at her. “I was mad that she wouldn’t tell me, but she kept telling me. 
 464.486 +I just didn’t listen. She wanted to wait till I was older because she thought I wouldn’t understand. And I 
 464.487 +didn’t. It took this to show me.” My arms wrap around my peacefully sleeping best friend tightly as I hug 
 464.488 +her close to me. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out, Tomoyo-chan.”
 464.489 +	Sitting up next to her, I look down at her soft ivory skin and pale lips. She looks so sweet 
 464.490 +slumbering there. My fingers go to her forehead, brushing some of her dark hair from her face. I’ve never 
 464.491 +felt so nervous in my life. And I don’t have her to comfort me yet. But I will as soon as I manage to pull 
 464.492 +this off. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. “I love you, too,” I whisper softly. It sounds like Kero takes 
 464.493 +that even worse than finding out that she loves me. My lips press softly against hers a split second 
 464.494 +afterwards, nervously at first, but their warm inviting feel quickly draws me in. My heart starts pounding in 
 464.495 +my chest as I hold the kiss. It takes me a long moment before I realize that she’s kissing me back.  
 464.496 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” I yell excitedly as I throw my arms around her again, this time greeted by her 
 464.497 +own pulling me closer. Tears of joy start dripping down my cheeks as the realization that she’s back 
 464.498 +shatters all the grief that I’d been holding. She smiles gently at me, our faces inches from each other. “I’m 
 464.499 +so sorry…” 
 464.500 +Tomoyo silences me with a soft kiss. “Don’t ever feel sorry, Sakura-chan. I knew you would 
 464.501 +rescue me in the end. I just thought it was a little too much to hope for that you could feel the same way.” 
 464.502 +She smiles up at me, fat crystalline tears dripping down her cheeks from her perfect blue eyes. The turmoil 
 464.503 +of emotions flooding through her must be horrible. Yet I’ve never seen her this happy before. I can’t help 
 464.504 +but smile myself as I hug her closer. Her long dark hair smells wonderful even while it tickles my nose. “I 
 464.505 +love you, Sakura-chan,” she whispers happily in her wonderfully sweet voice, holding onto me as if she’s 
 464.506 +afraid that I’ll disappear as quickly as a dream. I can’t blame her. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s all 
 464.507 +almost overwhelming. I blush as I feel her fingers gently brushing the hair from my teary eyes. 
 464.508 +My throat starts to swell as I look down at her, my best friend. She’s always been by my side, 
 464.509 +there to help me through anything. I always knew she was important to me, but I’d never figured out just 
 464.510 +how important. But now that I have, I’ll never let her go again. “I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan.” I yawn 
 464.511 +tiredly as my eyes start to flutter closed. I try to keep them open on the blurry image of Tomoyo, but the 
 464.512 +fall shut again heavily. Leaning my head against her shoulder, I snuggle closer, her arms around me lulling 
 464.513 +me to sleep. “Hanya…”
 464.514 +
 464.515 +Shaking my head sadly, I watch Sakura and Tomoyo pass out in each other’s arms. I wanted to 
 464.516 +warn Sakura to catch the Sleep Card, but I couldn’t interrupt. Besides, no one ever listens to me as it is. 
 464.517 +Why would they? I’m just Keroberas, the Seal Beast. Ah well, they’ll wake up in a few hours now that 
 464.518 +they’ve both found their true love. Still, it gave Sleep a good getaway by putting them to sleep like that. 
 464.519 +That just means more cake for me! Grinning to myself, I head for the door. It looks like today turned out 
 464.520 +pretty well after all. Daidouji-san always has great cake!
 464.521 +
 464.522 +	
 464.523 +
 464.524 +	

   465.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   465.2 +++ b/stories/somerise1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   465.3 @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
   465.4 +SK here once again with yet another requested fic. This one was ideas from both Silver Angel Mako, and Tess. This is the third, and final, instalment of “Star Crossed.” Mako had suggested a plot line that took two fics to fill, and Tess suggested I bring in Seisen and write from his perspective. Some of it will be from his first person, others will be normal third-person style. The second scene, in the room, was based on a real life event, so if anyone has questions, email. It’s important that you read “Toujours” before you read this fic. Otherwise, you won’t understand it. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Eni, the human encyclopedia, for proof reading just about ALL my fics. As always, I’m open to comments and so on at Saturn_Knight@hotmail.com	
   465.5 +
   465.6 +******************
   465.7 +“Bless this soul away. Please lovin’ sister, don’t show me no pain...
   465.8 +Just turn up the joy on this dyin’ boy....
   465.9 +Funny how the good ones always seem to destroy...”
  465.10 +
  465.11 +
  465.12 +“Some Rise by Sin : Silent Knight”
  465.13 +
  465.14 +
  465.15 +A story... What makes a good story? Well... define what makes up a story? It’s a collection of events told by someone of a happening, either true or made up, that has characters with endearing human-like qualities. Be they the ancient Roman or Greek gods who represented the different aspects of the human civilization, or even the comic books you come across with their cast of various, but still remarkably emotion-evoking, characters. Still, what makes a story more likable is what happens within the plot, and how it makes us feel. People vary on what they like to feel extrapolate from a story. Some like drama, some like comedy, some like to know that someone else feels the same pain and despair they feel. But, regardless of what the story is about, there’s only one real facet of what makes a tale good. It may make you happy, sad, angry, laugh or even cry. There is no wrong way to react to a story. That’s what makes them so important to the daily lives of people. Everything is a story. The way you lost your book, or broke your favorite CD, or even the way you loved and won, or loved and lost.
  465.16 +The human mind wasn’t built to remember every single nuance of the make up of the world. Humans often forget the things that weren’t important. That’s where the whole aspect of the story comes into play. We remember, and look back fondly on the times were we were happy, smile at the way your lover’s eyes twinkled when you stared into them after your first kiss; even the way you were too excited to sleep due to the promise of Christmas morning’s bounty. 
  465.17 +Then there are the bad times. I’m not going to get into them, since you know exactly what I’m speaking of. The times we’d rather not remember at all are always the things we remember best.
  465.18 +Anyhow, you’re probably wondering who I am, and why I’m telling you all of this. I have the distinct feeling we’ve met before, and that you have me at a disadvantage. 
  465.19 +I am Seisen. And this is one of my stories.
  465.20 +
  465.21 +
  465.22 +	As the final rays of the sun stroked it’s warm hand over the earth below, a comforting caress to the people of Tokyo, promising the night will not reign forever, I stood atop the church’s tallest tower looking down at the city below. So many people scurried about, their minds no doubt wrestling with the joy of the season, and the misery it causes. Christmas was right around the corner once more, bringing families together in warmth and good tidings. Singing carols, decorating the tree, screaming at one another, fighting, crying, and wondering why this happens every time while basking in a little too much 80 proof Christmas cheer...
  465.23 +
  465.24 +	I suppose it’s to be expected. Humans are by nature flawed. It’s what makes them seek out each other to find someone that completes the areas they are missing. Some are lucky enough to find that one person, others spend their entire lives looking. While even more try to force-fit a reluctant match, all the while denying the inevitable realization that the mold isn’t defective, it’s the material. That is what Christmas is all about. That, and the presents. Children are said to benefit most from this holiday, while they are often the ones most scarred when the promise of happiness goes unfulfilled. 
  465.25 +	Anyway, I’ve gone off topic...
  465.26 +	The horizon was beginning to bend it’s knee to the oncoming darkness, the bravest of the stars shimmering despite the vain attempt of the light to continue its comfort until its last. The time that is not quite night, but not quite day, the few minutes in which both exist in perfect symbiosis. My time of day. I began down the numerous steps of the now antiquated steeple tower, pigeons being the only life that the old building had seen in some time. The structure itself seemed grateful for a presence, the door to the sacristy opening by the wind as if to welcome me into it’s care.
  465.27 +	But, I would not be staying long. It knew that when the day takes its leave, I do the same. The sky began to rumble uneasily, the moisture-swollen clouds unable to maintain their holds for very much longer, giving the warning of rain. Or snow. I much preferred either to the dryness. As the first of the precipitation began to fall onto the hollowed grounds around me, I pulled on my mask, tying the thin straps behind my head as my thoughts once more were on the girl. It had been some time since I could work up the courage to see her, instead spending my nights on a thankless, anonymous patrol to eliminate potential dangers...not because I wished to keep the people safe, but because of what they say about idle hands.
  465.28 +	My weapons came next, as well as my equipment that some may consider cybernetic, secured around my body and locked into place, though this night they were more for peace of mind than aggressive action. I was going to go see her. 
  465.29 +
  465.30 +	The trip to her home was uneventful. The rain had turned to a slush that was quickly becoming hazardous to the drivers that were either too busy, too desperate, or too foolish to stay in the safety of their homes. No one paid attention to a man in a long coat and mask. I looked up at the tree that had become my preferred perch when I dared venture into her world, and with a quick leap I was steadying myself on the limb nearest to her window, keeping myself in the shadows long enough to focus and slip, full body, into the astral plane before walking along the branch and into her room. 
  465.31 +	Cowardice it may have been, but I chose to make myself unseen rather than to introduce myself to her, knowing that doing so would not only bring suspicion my way, but most likely the full fury of the Senshi against which I stood no chance of survival. I would bring myself to her attention when the time was right. Or so I kept telling myself.
  465.32 +	She sat at a desk, her brow furrowed deeply in thought while she chewed the end of a pencil, mulling over a rather advanced looking book. The light of the room was provided by a series of strategically-placed lamps, rather than a single, harsh source, though there was a bulb in the fixture. It fit her personality. She had the ability to blind the world with her power, but instead held back for the benefit of peace and tranquillity. The girl was deep in thought; not even the tapping of the freezing rain against the single window distracted her. That is, until a bright flash of lightning struck just beyond the block, illuminating the night. The force of the blast rattled the house as a fierce roar sounded. The darkness quickly recovered, though it was now filled with the startled wail of car alarms that had been shocked into action.
  465.33 +	She jumped, as did I, surprised by Mother Nature as she tested to see who was on their toes. Her right hand went to the left side of her chest, just over her heart which was no doubt running by leaps and bounds if it was anything like mine. She only recently was able to remove the sling, though the brace remained. I recovered much more quickly than she, who was starting to tax for breath. Her hand clutched at the black sweater that covered her upper body, violet eyes darting around the immediate area most likely for a rescue inhaler. I hesitated, very much concerned, but waiting to see if my assistance was indeed needed before I intervened. The girl’s free hand pulled open the two drawers of the desk, which I noticed were very neatly organized supplies for art, writing, school work, and amusement activities, but there was no inhaler to be seen. It was across the room on her night stand, and she was too preoccupied in her desperate search to see it.
  465.34 +	I took advantage of her distraction and, risking becoming visible to her for a few seconds, picked up the inhaler and rolled it along the floor, hoping that it would appear to have fallen out of a drawer. She was very sensitive to the change in energy of the room, and cast a glance in the direction I stood, a second after I managed to slip back into the astral plane. Fortunately, the girl spotted the inhaler on the ground and I was forgotten. 
  465.35 +	She leaned down, a little wobbly, and plucked the small plastic tube from the floor, opening and manipulating the medicine’s container with a practiced hand. Soon, she was inhaling the powder-like spray and holding her breath, as well as closing her eyes, waiting for the fast-acting agent to take affect. I could do nothing but watch her. It may have been a relatively minor event for most, but you must understand that she is the only person I’ve ever felt any kind of connection to. I’ve seen her sick, certainly, but it was never something so immediately dangerous. I can’t describe the feeling of helplessness as I paced at the foot of her bed, watching her intently for any sign of trouble or relief, and was very much at ease when I saw the latter. I sat down at the edge of her bed and put my head in my hands. I was.... shaking?
  465.36 +										
  465.37 +***
  465.38 +
  465.39 +
  465.40 +
  465.41 +	The sudden roar of thunder struck the studying girl off-guard. She jumped in her chair, one of her hands clenching on the already-chewed pencil hard enough to make a small crack in the wood. The shock caused her breath to leave her, tightness replacing it in her chest. She knew an asthma attack was coming. She sighed. They had been happening a lot lately, as the drought had dried out everything, only to have it supersaturated by the sudden downpour and raise the humidity high enough to trigger asthmatic episodes. 
  465.42 +	Her eyes casually looked about her, her breathing becoming slightly thick, making her put a little more effort into respiration but she was nowhere near danger. Not finding what she was looking for, the pencil was set down and she paused to draw her dark onyx hair behind her ears before her slender hand extended to grasp the small, brass drawer knob and give it a soft tug to draw it open. Then moving into the interior of the open drawer, her fingers moved deftly over the supplies inside, bringing pens, pencils and other things to one side to give herself view beneath them only to hear something hitting the floor as she got the sudden, powerful feeling of someone watching her. She could sense the shift of energy in the room and quickly turned to glance behind her, but saw only another flash of lightning followed by the inevitable growl from the sky. 
  465.43 +	She guessed was just her imagination; maybe she was studying too hard, or too tired, or maybe her slightly taxing aspiration made her mind play tricks on her. It didn’t matter. Hotaru gave another quiet sigh as she opened the mouthpiece of the medication, and drew it to her lips. After pressing the canister and taking a deep breath, she leaned back in her chair, taking another look around the room as she heard a soft rustling near the foot of her bed. Though a rattle of the window as a gust of wind hit the side of the house made her question if she had a draft somewhere. She’d have to take a look later to be sure. Another breath of the pressured albuterol and she closed the cap on it, slipping it into the still-open drawer and shutting it with her elbow as she stood up. 
  465.44 +	Soft pops and cracks were heard from a few stiff joints, a slight wince coming from Hotaru as she gave her entire body a long, well needed stretch just as a voice came from downstairs, “Dinner time, little girl!” Michiru called from the foot of the steps, walking back to the kitchen without expecting an answer. 
  465.45 +	Giving a last look around the room, Hotaru shook her head once to dismiss the thought of something, or someone, being in her room, and chalk it up to fatigue. She walked the few paces to her door and pulled it open, the slight temperature difference between the warmth of her room and the chill of the unheated hall struck her immediately, and she hurried down the steps to get to the table before she was called again. 
  465.46 +	Seisen’s eyes followed her, his reaction to her very minor episode a little much. He didn’t know how to deal with the idea of people he maybe cared about being in danger.
  465.47 +
  465.48 +
  465.49 +****
  465.50 +
  465.51 +	There were four of us in the dining room. Michiru and Haruka sat at opposing ends of the elegant wooden table, it’s fine grain polished with a laquer finish. Hotaru sat opposite of where I stood, all of them eating while carrying on a conversation about the previous day’s race, which Haruka had, of course, won with great ease. The two older Senshi did most of the talking, Hotaru simply listened and gave a nod here and there, very rarely offering a one or two word reply to her parents’ conversation. If it were anyone else, some might be concerned that something was wrong with the child, though with Hotaru, it was to be expected that she had very little to say. No one thought a thing about her silence, as there was no reason for concern. 
  465.52 +	“We haven’t heard from them in a while...” I hadn’t been listening to them really until that point; my attention had drifted out the window to the storm’s increasing power. Perhaps I was thinking too much into things, but I had always wondered about the rain and about nature herself. Kind and cruel at once. The rain came down in near-frozen sheets; it’s force causing the soaked ground to flood, turning the yard before me into a frozen swampland. Watching a colony of ants struggling in vain to escape the frigid deluge before it swallowed them up. 
  465.53 +	Nature ended their time on earth, and who knows how many others that I did not witness, though the same water that took their lives provides others with life. The sacrifice of the few for the good of many. I shook my head, clearing it, not wanting to distract myself from something potentially important that’s being passed from one of the lovers to the other. 
  465.54 +	“I’m starting to wonder if no news is good news,” Michiru spoke aloud, her elegant manner of speech and movement seemed so effortless, something not lost on those who enjoyed her music. Thin, nimble fingers set down the pair of mock-ivory chopsticks, ends facing left, on the small, sea-green rest that sat just to the side of her wine glass which was picked up. “But I’m never quite sure what to expect from them.” It was understood that they were talking of the Inner Senshi, and their apparent lack of communication with the Outers. After Michiru took a careful sip from her wine and set it back on the table, one of her fingers reached up to trace a slow circle around the rim of the crystal glass. “Then again, something may be wrong...” The two women gave a quiet look at each other before Michi’s eyes returned down to look at her glass. 
  465.55 +	My gaze moved from one to the other, mirrored by the girl’s eyes who did the same serve and return as they spoke, listening well to the tone of their voices for a glimpse of their thoughts. With a purse of her lips and a comforting smile, one of Haruka’s hands extended across the small length of the table, sliding along it’s mirror-like surface until it reached her love’s, locking together as if they were made to fit each other. And maybe so. 
  465.56 +	Just as the blonde was going to reply to the woman across the table, the hair stood up on the back of my neck... Something was coming.  Straightening my back, my eyes darted about the room, scanning hurriedly to find what was amiss.  Instinctively, my hand reached up for my weapon and my fingers curled around the ebony hilt, ready to draw. I had hoped to avoid combat, but I would protect them with my life... even if I couldn’t bring myself to even allow her to see me, I would not allow harm to come to her, or the others, as long as there was life in my body. It would do no good, however. 
  465.57 +	It was an electrical charge. The lights began to flicker sharply before completely shutting off, the bolt of lightning that caused the whole ordeal striking it’s glistening blades into the large tree in front of the home, my perch, as the house around us began to groan and violently shudder from the massive shock of thunder that followed the sky’s assault on the tree. Having been prepared for some kind of attack, albeit not from Nature again, I was less shocked than the other three. The girl bore the brunt of that, she not having been expecting something as her parents may have been.
  465.58 +	They immediately began asking each other if any harm had come to them, they were all ok, save for the slowly passing fright. The complete darkness, as any streetlights had been overloaded due to the severe stress on the power grid, prevented them from quickly locating a flashlight or other form of light not dependant on the electric system. This cover allowed me to once more be of assistance to the girl, and her family this time, and as I knew where the flashlights were kept I headed towards that part of the kitchen while still in the plane of the spirit walkers.
  465.59 +	“I guess we wait until the power comes back on?” Haruka said aloud as she blindly picked up her glass, not so much as spilling a drop of the wine in the process. “Maybe tell a few ghost stories.” Michi laughed softly at the suggestion, smiling into the darkness while my hand reached to touch the side of my head and push my eye-piece into position as I slipped into the physical, tangible world. 
  465.60 +	It activated automatically, giving my right eye a view of a jade world. Everything was various shades of green, though it allowed me to see in the darkness as I made my way toward the corner cabinet to retrieve a light. Taking the light from the shelf was quite easy, as there were no lights to reveal me, and since they were all recovering from the mild fright of the sudden lightning strike, it was doubtful they could feel my presence. 
  465.61 +	Giving them the light was going to be more challenging. I could not just walk up to the table and set it down, and dropping it would not be wise as the light may be damaged, or the girl may tell them something similar happened with her medicine. A flash of lightning again provided a brief source of light in the darkness, and as the thunder sounded, I opened the pantry door and slid inside to wait for the next strike. 	
  465.62 +	It didn’t take long before I saw the familiar bright flash, then heard, and felt, the growl of thunder that always followed. This time, I set the flashlight down right in the middle of the front shelf, making it impossible to miss, then pushed a can off one of the lower shelves just before the house ceased it’s shaking. Crude as it may have been, and greatly uninspired, at least it would be effective. 
  465.63 +	Not wanting to waste time, I immediately returned to the spirit’s realm as I heard footsteps carefully approaching the door, most likely from fear of tripping over something rather than of what may be lurking in the pantry. Just as the door opened, another, very conveniently timed, flash lit the sky and made the large Maglight visible. Haruka blinked quickly at the sight of the metal bodied light sitting in such easy view, as well as a can of tomato sauce laying on the floor. 
  465.64 +	“Well, here’s the light...” She spoke over her shoulder giving it look over before shaking her head , apparently not too concerned that it wasn’t where it should have been. Not everyone puts everything back in the ‘right’ place. Shrugging, she pressed the small black button, causing the light to shine through the kitchen as she returned to the table with the other two. I decided to go take a look outside, there may be a way to repair the damage without having to wait for a crew to arrive. 
  465.65 +
  465.66 +***
  465.67 +
  465.68 +	“What would you like to do as we wait?” Michiru asked her lover and her daughter, getting a quiet shrug out of the two. “No suggestions at all? Maybe a board game? Cards? Or we can just talk?” That gave Haruka an idea, both she and Michiru had been tiptoeing around Hotaru’s injury, never directly asking her and she never volunteered information. Both the older Senshi had discussed it in private, after Hotaru had gone to sleep or when she had gone to visit Chibi-Usa, whom she had been seeing quite a lot of lately. 			
  465.69 +	“Hotaru, can I ask you something?” Haruka’s question caught both of the others off guard, neither having expected those words, though as soon as she heard them Michiru knew exactly what she was going to ask. After an uncertain nod to her ‘father’, Hotaru caught her eyes on her braced hand and she too knew what was coming. “How did you injure your hand? You never really told us...”
  465.70 +	Hotaru squirmed lightly in her chair, not knowing exactly how what she was going to tell them, and how much. If she told them everything, she didn’t know how they would react. On one hand, they may be happy and supportive that their daughter found someone to love, and that makes her happy. But, there were a lot of things they could be, and rightly so, concerned with. 
  465.71 +	They were both young, granted, which was something that Hotaru thought about quite often, but she couldn’t help how she felt. There was no denying her feelings, she tried that, it only led them to become bottled up and burst forth, injuring her in the process. She might be able to explain their age away, after all some people marry their kindergarten crushes. 
  465.72 +	Next, came the fact they were both female. They may think that she is taking after them, or that she didn’t know better. Maybe the older Senshi didn’t want Hotaru to experience the same trails and tribulations that they had to endure. The points, the stares, the laughs... but then, that helped shape them into the strong women they were today. An argument she was fully prepared to use against them. 
  465.73 +	After stalling in silence for a few moments, Haruka’s insistent eyes on Hotaru’s averting gaze drew a long, controlled breath from the younger girl. “Well...” With a last fidget, she just decided to spill everything out. There was no use hiding it, she knew everyone would find out sooner or later, and if they knew she had kept it from them...
  465.74 +	“It... it’s a long story...” Hotaru looked down at the table, her left hand making random patterns along its surface as the other two gave a glance to each other. Any statement beginning with those words can not be good. It’s the equivalent to a relationship’s ‘We need to talk...’
  465.75 +	“Go on, sweety.” Michi encouraged her daughter, a hand outstretching to settle on the upper forearm on Hotaru’s right, just above where the black brace ended. Inwardly, Michiru was readying herself for awful news of her beloved child’s blackouts returning, or someone being hurt and she not remembering it, leaving herself injured in the process.
  465.76 +	“Well.... Me and Chibi-Usa are good friends... and..” The hand that had been tracing along the table was taken by Haruka, a light squeeze showing that no matter what it was, they were there for her. “We were at the park, and it was cold out... and I didn’t have my jacket...” With two of her parents trying their best to comfort and show their support for her, she felt a little better about telling them. “I.. Kinda fell asleep while Chibi-Usa was hugging me...” It was nothing new the two girls often exchanged gestures of affection, and often her parents joked privately about the two of them looking like a couple. They exchanged a glance before looking back at Hotaru.
  465.77 +	“And... when I woke up, I said I was sorry for falling asleep, and Chibi got a little upset because she thought I was sorry I fell asleep on her, and I was scared that she was mad at me because I did...” She paused, licking her lips nervously, the next few sentence put all the cards on the table, “She started talking about Helios... and every time I hear about him, I just get so jealous... and I never knew why for a while, and she kept talking about the wedding and the honeymoon... and I just couldn’t take it and I hit my hand into the ground... I didn’t know I was doing it....” Hotaru’s head lowered and her eyes averted to the floor, waiting for some kind of response.
  465.78 +	That was quite possibly the most either of the two older Senshi had ever heard Hotaru say at once. It surprised both of them not only in its length, but what she had spoken. Why was she jealous? Haruka was about to ask something, but Hotaru began speaking again without looking up.
  465.79 +	“And... Chibi-Usa asked me why I was upset... and I said because that she liked Helios better than me, and she asked why I was jealous... and...”  This was it. Biting her bottom lip, she lay herself vulnerable and open for whatever slings and arrows may follow, “And I told her it was because..... I was.... I was in love with her...” 
  465.80 +	Silence...one could hear the angel’s tears dropping onto the roof and tapping against the window, but nothing more. What could they say to that? Their daughter was in love.... with another girl. The older Senshi looked at each other again, both still speechless as they tried to sort out their feelings. The quiet was getting to be too much to handle. Hotaru wished that they would say something, even yell at her, but the silence was just unbearable.  Lucky for everyone, Haruka managed to speak finally. 
  465.81 +	“Are... are you sure of your feelings, Hotaru? Are you certain that it’s not just that she’s your on– your best friend.” She had to stop herself from saying that Chibi-Usa was Hotaru’s only friend, though it was basically true. Hotaru didn’t seem to be upset about it at all, she knew that she was very unpopular. It would have bothered her before a little, but now that her best and only friend has become something much more, she was happy.
  465.82 +	“I’m sure, Haruka-papa... I’ve never been more sure about anything. I thought about it lots, and I tried to picture life without her... and...” Hotaru wasn’t able to finish the thought, her head having started to shake ‘no’ on it’s own.  “Are you... mad..?”
  465.83 +	“No, of course we’re not mad at you honey.” Michiru assured her daughter, one of her slender, violinist’s hand raising to draw through Hotaru’s smooth raven hair. “We’re just.... concerned that what you feel may not be love, or that you are just taking after your father and I because you may think that is the ‘correct’ way. We also don’t want you to have to go through what we went through when we realized we were...” She had never really used any words that would refer to her lesbianism, to them it was just natural as breathing. It’s not like heterosexual couples sit and talk about being straight. Why would they discuss being gay?  “When we finally knew that we were, undeniably, lesbian.” They both looked at Hotaru to see if she would understand the word.
  465.84 +	“That means... a girl that likes girls and not boys, right?” The violet eyed girl asked her parents, getting a nod from each of them in reply, “Then... then I know I am a lesbian...like you are...” She wouldn’t let her parents cut in when they had a reply for her, something which surprised them both. “I love her... more than I can even explain or anything... the thought of her marrying Helios just... I felt like my insides were being torn apart and my heart was being crushed...” Hotaru spoke with her hands on her chest, trying to keep it from splitting. She needed her parents to understand that this wasn’t just a crush, and it wasn’t even something she could help if she wanted to. Her heart wouldn’t listen to reason, it would not ever change, it was set on loving Chibi-Usa, even after it had ceased to beat. 
  465.85 +	This left both of her parents again without words. What could they say to that? No? How could they tell their daughter that what she felt was wrong when they had no idea that she felt so strongly, or that she even could love so surely. Any denial of her desire to see, and be Chibi-Usa’s girlfriend would only result in alienating Hotaru, and bringing strong feelings of resentment. Acceptance would bring Hotaru and her parents closer together, and allow her to be happy. If the others, especially Usagi could except it.  She had enough trouble finding out Haruka was a woman, how could she handle the fact her daughter was gay, or at the very least bisexual? All three of them knew that it was going to be like pulling teeth.
  465.86 +	“You seem quite... certain of your feelings, Hotaru.” Michiru said softly as she lowered her velvet fingered hand to slide down her daughter’s face and cup her cheek. “Then we’re happy for you that you have found someone to love.” Haruka gave her nod of approval to the words of her lover, even though she had a few reservations about all of this, she had very little in the way of choice. Besides, it wasn’t her place to tell Hotaru who she can and cannot love. Fate does all of that on it’s own. There is no resisting.
  465.87 +
  465.88 +	Chibi’s conversation with Usagi about her feelings didn’t go quite so well. Then again, it wasn’t quite so much a conversation as a fight. She had been caught writing a letter to Hotaru on the computer, with Usagi reading over her shoulder, and as soon as she typed that she was glad they were a couple now, the blonde exploded. There was no denying it. She was caught red handed. It was a blur of arguing, screaming, yelling, finally ending with Chibi running from the house in tears as Usagi was inflexible on her position. She wanted Chibi-Usa to be with Helios, and that is the only relationship she would accept. But then, she still thought she had a choice. 												
  465.89 +
  465.90 +***
  465.91 +	It was nearly nine before the power had been restored to the block. I was unable make any repairs, as the transformer itself had taken a hit and exploded. I returned to the home about half an hour before, and since the three were talking in the kitchen, I let them have their privacy. I had work to do anyhow. 
  465.92 +	The tree that had been struck by a bolt of lightning was very unstable, and the icy winds that blew through it’s charred branches created enough drag to eventually make it tumble. Right into the house and the windows. I had planned on getting some rope to tie around the strongest part of the tree then pull it in the opposite direction, hopefully getting it to fall into the street where the house, and it’s occupants, would be safe. I was about to set off to find some rope when two sounds caught my ear. 
  465.93 +	One was of two feet rapidly splashing up the sidewalk from the east, coming towards my location, the other was of the tree starting to creak and groan. It was about to fall. I had no choice but to act very soon, or one of the tree’s branches would have fallen directly into the window. Waiting in the shadows, wanting whoever was foolish enough to be out to run by, or at least leave eyeshot of me. They did exactly the opposite at the worst possible time. 
  465.94 +	The running stranger was the girl’s friend, the one with the pink hair, which was soaked through, that came hurrying up the walkway to the house. And directly under the tree. The coatless girl tripped over her own feet as she made it halfway up the cement pathway and landed with a loud yelp before she called out, screamed was more appropriate, for Hotaru for help. At first, I thought she had injured her foot, though she quickly stood again. But as the others inside came to the door, a large gust surged through and gave one of the old tree’s branches push it needed to send it toppling over just as the girl ran out to help her friend. 
  465.95 +	It was going to fall on them.				
  465.96 +	Her parents yelled at them to return quickly, or to at least get out of the way, but there was not enough time for the two to scurry out of the path. I had no choice. With a thought, I returned my body to the physical realm, sword drawn,  my back facing the girls who stood frozen behind me. Blade in hand, my body left the ground in a leap, the sharpened edge of the cold metal easily slashing the thick wooden branch into two pieces that fell away safely onto the ground on either side of me. 
  465.97 +	As I landed, Michiru and Haruka were pulling the girls away from me and pushing them up the steps, telling them to go inside. I turned to face the two women, sheathing my sword on my back as they stood defensively, though thankfully they did not attack. I could see the two girls behind, huddled together, checking each other over for injury before turning their attention to me as I stood in the pouring rain, the wind blowing the ribbons of my mask.  
  465.98 +	I had been too preoccupied with watching the two older women who appeared to be sizing me up, perhaps considering if I was a threat, why I was there, and just who I was, to know the tree behind me was again starting to fall. This time on me.
  465.99 +	“Behind you!” Both the girl and her girlfriend had shouted in unison, giving me just enough time to roll out of the way as the tree slammed into the ground where I had stood. Using my hands to vault up onto my feet, I skidded to a stop about five feet away from where I had been, and a good few yards from the women at the doorway. This time, the girls saved my life.
 465.100 +	“Who are you, and what do you want?” Haruka shouted over the rain and howling wind as I stood at the base of the driveway, drenched.
 465.101 +	“I am Seisen...” I replied turning my head away from them to look up the road, anywhere but at them. I wasn’t very good at speaking to adults... “I don’t.... want anything.... are they ok?” My head nodded to the direction of the two inside the house. Haruka furrowed her brow at the question, and both turned to look over at the girls who nodded their answer.
 465.102 +	“Yeah. They’re fine. Why do you a...” Haruka returned her gaze to where I had stood, but I was no longer in the plane that was visible to them. “Ask...” The last word of her question was spoken quietly as she realized I was gone. And gone I would stay for some time. 
 465.103 +
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 465.105 +
 465.106 +
 465.107 +
 465.108 +
 465.109 +
 465.110 +
 465.111 +
 465.112 +
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 465.122 \ No newline at end of file

   466.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   466.2 +++ b/stories/sonomi.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   466.3 @@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
   466.4 +Lonely, Lonely Heart
   466.5 +by Amazoness Duo
   466.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   466.7 +
   466.8 +
   466.9 +
  466.10 +The wind was picking up. The radio had said there would be a storm
  466.11 +hitting soon. Often the news can be mistaken about such things, but
  466.12 +Sonomi had no doubt that this time they were correct. Which is why
  466.13 +she had hurried as quickly as she could. It was Nadeshiko's birthday,
  466.14 +after all, and she had never once been late in the eight years since
  466.15 +her death. 
  466.16 +
  466.17 +The limousine pulled to a stop in front of a quiet and still
  466.18 +cemetary. Stepping out of the back, Sonomi could feel the dampness in
  466.19 +the cool air. The breeze carried a strong smell of rain as dark
  466.20 +clouds rolled overhead. But the business woman paid them no heed as
  466.21 +she walked into the mostly empty graveyard. There were few mourners
  466.22 +today, few brave enough to tease the coming storm. Sonomi made a
  466.23 +mental note to call Tomoyo before she got home and make sure that she
  466.24 +was safe and sound. They could spend the night in front of the fire,
  466.25 +drinking hot chocolate. Perhaps they could watch some of Tomoyo's
  466.26 +beautifully filmed videos of Sakura. But that was all for later. For
  466.27 +now, she had something else she had to do.
  466.28 +
  466.29 +"Hello, Nadeshiko-chan," Sonomi whispered into the silence. Kneeling
  466.30 +in front of Nadeshiko's gravestone, she set down an armful of Sakura
  466.31 +blossoms that she had brought with her, as well as a tiny box wrapped
  466.32 +with beautiful red wrapping paper and long pink ribbons. "Happy
  466.33 +birthday." Her fingers followed the curve of Nadeshiko's name along
  466.34 +the cold stone. How often had she whispered that name in her sleep?
  466.35 +How often had she called out it's beautiful syllables when she had
  466.36 +been younger? Countless times in the past, and forevermore in the
  466.37 +future would she be whispering the name of her darling cousin. 
  466.38 +
  466.39 +A dark sigh escaped Sonomi's lips as she closed her eyes. This was
  466.40 +always such a difficult thing to do. She had thrown herself into her
  466.41 +work after Nadeshiko had gone away with -him- as a way to distract
  466.42 +herself from her pain. It allowed her to forget the despair that
  466.43 +clung to her heart. But whenever she was here at her cousin's grave,
  466.44 +it was impossible to forget. Countless memories, both sweet and sad,
  466.45 +joyful and sorrowful, flooded back to her when she was there. Here in
  466.46 +this place, she didn't have her work to focus her thoughts upon. She
  466.47 +didn't have her gentle daughter to ease the loneliness in her heart.
  466.48 +Here she was left all alone with her memories. 
  466.49 +
  466.50 +'Please don't cry, Sonomi-chan,' Nadeshiko had whispered oh so long
  466.51 +ago. Sonomi had rushed to her side upon finding out that her beloved
  466.52 +was dying. She had run from the pain, distancing herself from
  466.53 +Nadeshiko's life when the other girl had been wed, but she had found
  466.54 +herself forcefully pulled back by Nadeshiko's sudded illness. 'I
  466.55 +don't like to see you sad. I'll watch over you. So please be happy.'
  466.56 +
  466.57 +'I.. I can't, Nadeshiko-chan...' Sonomi had replied by her cousin's
  466.58 +bedside. 'I can't do that. I can't hold back my tears. Not for you. I
  466.59 +need you, Nadeshiko-chan.. I can't pretend that I don't.' She knew
  466.60 +now that Fujitaka had promised Nadeshiko that he wouldn't cry for
  466.61 +her, but Sonomi hadn't been able to fulfill that wish of her cousin.
  466.62 +Her heart belonged solely to the dark haired beauty, and it suffered
  466.63 +terribly without her. They were tears of sorrow that she would never
  466.64 +again see her beautiful cousin, tears of resentment over the man who
  466.65 +had stolen her most precious Nadeshiko, and tears of regret for
  466.66 +having missed out on so much of Nadeshiko's life by fleeing after her
  466.67 +marriage.
  466.68 +
  466.69 +"Nadeshiko-chan, I miss you." Sonomi felt a painful sadness well up
  466.70 +in her heart. "I miss you," she repeated. Her eyes, the same stormy
  466.71 +blue as the skies above, welled up with tears. In all of her
  466.72 +memories, Nadeshiko smiled radiently, giving off a warmth that was
  466.73 +hotter than the sun to those who were blessed to know her. Sonomi
  466.74 +longed to see that smile once more, to see her beautiful cousin
  466.75 +before her. But she was all alone, unable to catch even a glimpse of
  466.76 +her heart's desire. Her head rested against the cold stone as tears
  466.77 +fell silently to the earth below her. Sometimes it was so hard to
  466.78 +keep going without Nadeshiko. Everything could feel so futile without
  466.79 +her cheerful cousin by her side. She had languished in this painful
  466.80 +half existence ever since Nadeshiko's marriage stole the dark haired
  466.81 +woman away from her. What was life if your one True Love was ripped
  466.82 +from your grasp? Sonomi's only consolation was her sweet and loving
  466.83 +daughter. Tomoyo was like a little piece of Nadeshiko left behind.
  466.84 +She was cheerful and thoughtful and always terribly kind. She was
  466.85 +Sonomi's one treasure that managed to soothe her heart. But now,
  466.86 +Tomoyo was far away and Sonomi was left to deal with her anguish alone.
  466.87 +
  466.88 +"She missed you, too," a man's voice said softly from behind the
  466.89 +woman collapsed against the tombstone. Fujitaka stepped back,
  466.90 +allowing Sonomi some room as the business woman stood up quickly and
  466.91 +composed herself. Her tears were briskly wiped away, the only sign
  466.92 +that she had been crying the tell tale red in her eyes. Her look of
  466.93 +sorrow was also replaced swiftly with one of hateful frustration. The
  466.94 +man smiled in return, setting down his own flowers in front of
  466.95 +Nadeshiko's grave. That only served to strengthen Sonomi's ire. 
  466.96 +
  466.97 +"What are you doing here?" she demanded, covering her earlier
  466.98 +despair with the anger that was quickly rising up through her. It was
  466.99 +with some relief that she turned form sorrow to anger. THis was
 466.100 +something she could focus on, that she could vent out. Her pain never
 466.101 +lessened it's hold on her heart, but her anger allowed her some
 466.102 +measure of release. And this man was always the perfect target
 466.103 +because she, quite simply, hated him. He had stolen everything from
 466.104 +her. Her dearest Nadeshiko had been plucked right from her grasp. And
 466.105 +after Sonomi had promised to protect her sweet cousin from such
 466.106 +insects. He had even managed to outrace her, the only one ever to do
 466.107 +so, as if he needed to slap her in the face after tearing out her
 466.108 +heart.
 466.109 +
 466.110 +Fujitaka smiled pleasantly, as if greeting an old friend. "It's
 466.111 +Nadeshiko's birthday. I wanted to give her some flowers." He nodded
 466.112 +towards Sonomi's previously placed bouquet. "But it seems that I
 466.113 +couldn't hope to outdo your offering, Sonomi-san." He knelt down,
 466.114 +setting his own own flowers next to Sonomi's. "I'm sure she'll love
 466.115 +those. You always did know what she liked."
 466.116 +Standing back up, he watched Sonomi through his glasses for a long
 466.117 +moment.
 466.118 +
 466.119 +Sonomi met his gaze fiercely, glaring at her former teacher. This
 466.120 +man had taken away that which she loved most dearly and dared to act
 466.121 +as if they were simply old acquaintances? Why did he always do that?
 466.122 +Didn't he have any human decency in him to just leave her alone? Why
 466.123 +did he insist on hurting her continually, his very presence a dark
 466.124 +reminder of the loss of Nadeshiko? "Kinomoto-sensei." She nodded
 466.125 +towards him and turned towards her limousine. She didn't need this
 466.126 +right now. She would cry the way back home and then would spend the
 466.127 +rest of the night in her daughter's company, the two getting a chance
 466.128 +to escape the pain that love had caused the both of them. 
 466.129 +
 466.130 +"Sonomi-san, do you have to leave so soon? She really did miss you.
 466.131 +I'm certain that she still does," he said cryptically, watching her
 466.132 +back. 
 466.133 +
 466.134 +Tensing up at his words, Sonomi sprung on her heel like a cat,
 466.135 +watching Fujitaka smile jovially at her. Today was the day that she
 466.136 +was supposed to pay her respects to her beloved, that she could just
 466.137 +stay by her side, but he had taken even that from her. She was in too
 466.138 +much of an emotional hurricane to think clearly, let alone to deal
 466.139 +with him. "What are you talking about? I have to get home to my
 466.140 +daughter. She needs me." A light shower of rain began to fall, slowly
 466.141 +carressing Sonomi's face and pelting agaisnt her clothes. 
 466.142 +
 466.143 +"And so does Nadeshiko," Fujitaka replied.Raindrops spattered
 466.144 +against his glasses, but he took no notice, his eyes still on his
 466.145 +deceased wife's cousin. 
 466.146 +
 466.147 +Clenching her fists, Sonomi felt her anger well up so quickly that
 466.148 +it burnt her inside. "Don't you dare tell me about Nadeshiko-chan!!
 466.149 +You stole her from me! You took away the most precious thing in my
 466.150 +life! I don't care what you have to say! You always give me that
 466.151 +damned patronizing smile, as if you don't care about any of the pain
 466.152 +you've caused or that others suffer through. Why can't you just be
 466.153 +happy with what you took from me? Why can't you leave me alone..?"
 466.154 +Her voice broke at last, tears rolling down her cheeks as her anger
 466.155 +finally gave way to pure sorrow and hopelessness. She was forever
 466.156 +lost, never to be blessed with the love that graced her heart. Never
 466.157 +to have or to hold her beautiful cousin. And it was all because of
 466.158 +one man. 
 466.159 +
 466.160 +The taller man watched Sonomi for a long time, unsure of what to
 466.161 +say. In all the time that he had known Sonomi, he had never once seen
 466.162 +her like this. She had always been like a brave and noble samurai,
 466.163 +always ready to do battle with him. But now, she looked so weak and
 466.164 +fragile, her steel will caving in on itself. He did feel the pain,
 466.165 +even if she didn't see it. He didn't allow it to show through. He had
 466.166 +promised Nadeshiko. He had loved her and had agreed to her wishes.
 466.167 +But Sonomi wasn't one to hide her emotions behind a never changing
 466.168 +smile, to lock up the pain deep inside the heart and never letting it
 466.169 +go. No, they had both dealt with their grief in entirely different
 466.170 +ways. Sonomi by busying herself with her work and by fueling her
 466.171 +anger towards him. And he dealt with it as if it wasn't there, behind
 466.172 +a frozen smile and an endlessly pleasant demeanor. In some ways, he
 466.173 +envied Sonomi. She let her emotions through and rode with them, so
 466.174 +much like his own daughter, Sakura. She experienced all of her
 466.175 +emotions to their fullest. At the same time, he pitied her. He, at
 466.176 +least, had his memories of his marriage to Nadeshiko and their time
 466.177 +spent together. Sonomi had been robbed of even that simple pleasure.
 466.178 +So he understood why she hated him so, although he couldn't imagine
 466.179 +simply not marrying Nadeshiko. That would have been like denying his
 466.180 +very existence. 
 466.181 +
 466.182 +Sonomi felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately shrugged it away.
 466.183 +"Leave me alone," she said weakly, trying to pull up any form of
 466.184 +strength to get away. But there was nothing there for her to use. She
 466.185 +felt so... empty. 
 466.186 +
 466.187 +"She missed you," Fujitaka repeated. "She kept searching for you in
 466.188 +the last few years of her life. And she was always talking about you.
 466.189 +'Sonomi-chan always loved to cook for me'. 'Sonomi-chan and I always
 466.190 +did this together'. 'Sonomi-chan was always there for me. I wonder
 466.191 +what she's doing right now'." He paused smiling a little to himself
 466.192 +as he looked at the tombstone. His wife's body may be under their
 466.193 +feet, but she was not. He wouldn't be surprised if she was watching
 466.194 +them at that very moment. "You and I both know that Nadeshiko wasn't
 466.195 +one to regret much. It wasn't her nature. She lived life to it's
 466.196 +fullest and treasured every moment of it. And I think we both loved
 466.197 +that about her. But you were one of her only regrets. Possibly the
 466.198 +only regret she ever carried. The two of you were practically
 466.199 +inseperable until we got married. You'll never know how much that
 466.200 +hurt her. It took her forever to understand why you left." He sighed,
 466.201 +pulling off his glasses. His own heart was clenching at the memories,
 466.202 +but it was nice to try not to hide it for once. "She wanted to raise
 466.203 +Sakura-chan like you. That's why she always had such short hair. And
 466.204 +why I got her involved in athletics. Because Nadeshiko wanted her to
 466.205 +grow up to be like her strong and gorgeous cousin, Sonomi. I tried my
 466.206 +best to comply with her wishes." A soft laugh escaped him as he
 466.207 +watched Sonomi, whose stormy blue eyes were staring into his own with
 466.208 +a profound intensity. Sonomi still hated him, but he could see that
 466.209 +they were curious, listening. "I think she turned out quite a bit
 466.210 +like you. Even if she isn't quite as perceptive."
 466.211 +
 466.212 +Sonomi felt a lump form in her throat as she tried to swallow. Her
 466.213 +tears continued to cascade down her cheeks, mixing with the
 466.214 +raindrops. "She... Nadeshiko-chan wanted Sakura-chan to be like me?"
 466.215 +she whispered. She had raised her own daughter to be like Nadeshiko,
 466.216 +a way of expressing her longing for her far away cousin. Nadeshiko
 466.217 +had done the same with her own daughter? "Nadeshiko-chan..."she
 466.218 +whimpered, closing her eyes. 
 466.219 +
 466.220 +"She needed to see you again when she found out she was dying,"
 466.221 +Fujitaka continued, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "She said that
 466.222 +she had to see you again before she died. I don't think she was
 466.223 +worried at all about her own death, but the prospect of dying before
 466.224 +she could talk to you again frightened her immensely. So I searched
 466.225 +everywhere I could, any way I could, to find you before time ran out.
 466.226 +The letter you got was from her, but I was the one to seek you out
 466.227 +for her. She had to see you one last time. I was almost afraid that
 466.228 +you wouldn't make it on time. But I always knew that you were the
 466.229 +most reliable person I could think of. And you made it. You should
 466.230 +have seen the smile on her face when I told her you had called in
 466.231 +from your hotel room." His hand went to his eyes as tears of his own
 466.232 +began to blur his vision. "I'd never seen her so happy. It was as if
 466.233 +a huge burden that had been on her shoulders for our entire marriage
 466.234 +had been lifted." He looked up, swallowing painfully. "Sonomi-san,
 466.235 +you meant quite a bit to her. So please don't feel lonely. I know
 466.236 +she's keeping an eye on you."
 466.237 +
 466.238 +"Nadeshiko-chan..." Sonomi sobbed above Nadeshiko's grave, her face
 466.239 +in her hands. The rain had by now thoroughly soaked her dress, but
 466.240 +she could hardly care about such trivial things. Her mind was lost on
 466.241 +those lovely syllables, Nadeshiko. She had always felt so alone,
 466.242 +always wondering how much she had meant to her innocent cousin. Had
 466.243 +she been so happily married that the split between them meant nothing
 466.244 +to her? Was Nadeshiko watching from up above, a beautiful angel that
 466.245 +kept watch over her family? Or did she also give her divine attention
 466.246 +to Sonomi as well? Now it seemed that Sonomi had her answer. So she
 466.247 +cried her heart out, her own lonely tears joining the storm of tears
 466.248 +from up above.
 466.249 \ No newline at end of file

   467.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   467.2 +++ b/stories/sonominadeshiko.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   467.3 @@ -0,0 +1,247 @@
   467.4 +Author’s notes: Hi everyone! ^-^ This is my first Sonomi & Nadeshiko story. I 
   467.5 +just love Sonomi-san and I feel so horrible that she lost her beloved Nadeshiko. 
   467.6 +;_; I really hope I can write more about them. ^-^ If you have any comments, 
   467.7 +please e-mail me. ^-^ 
   467.8 +
   467.9 +
  467.10 +Where Did You Go?
  467.11 +By the Amazoness Duo
  467.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
  467.13 +
  467.14 +
  467.15 +	Sonomi Daidouji sighed miserably, looking out at the forest from the 
  467.16 +balcony where she used to play with her darling little cousin, Nadeshiko. She 
  467.17 +had come out to her grandfather’s house out in the woods to get away from it all. 
  467.18 +Both the business pressure of everyday life at the Daidouji Toy Company and 
  467.19 +also the more profound pain that wasn’t so easily escaped. “Nadeshiko-chan,” 
  467.20 +she whispered softly into the wind, only seeing a brewing storm where her 
  467.21 +cousin had seen rainbows. 
  467.22 +	She had asked Tomoyo to come along as well. A little time away would 
  467.23 +be good for her. Especially now that the Chinese boy had returned. But her 
  467.24 +daughter had politely refused, saying that she wished to stay near Sakura during 
  467.25 +all this, even if it hurt. Another, darker sigh escaped the older woman’s lips. If 
  467.26 +only Tomoyo had told Sakura like she’d always told her to. Holding back would 
  467.27 +only get you years of pain, she had tried to explain to her young daughter. But 
  467.28 +she had just smiled and replied that all she wanted was for Sakura to be happy. 
  467.29 +She would understand when she was ready to.  Did that mean that Nadeshiko 
  467.30 +had never been ready to understand her feelings? Would the same be true of 
  467.31 +Nadeshiko’s daughter? When you love someone so much that they’re your very 
  467.32 +reason to greet the new day, their loss can destroy you. And loss wasn’t 
  467.33 +necessarily their death, either. Sonomi had lost her dear Nadeshiko when he had 
  467.34 +stolen her away. That quiet teacher that had apparently no idea of just how much 
  467.35 +Nadeshiko had meant to her. She knew he was smarter than that. He had known 
  467.36 +all along, but had taken her anyway. Despite Sonomi’s best efforts to stop him, 
  467.37 +it wasn’t enough. Destroyed and lacking any will to go on, she had left, her only 
  467.38 +reminder the bouquet from Nadeshiko’s wedding. Would her daughter be just as 
  467.39 +wrongfully punished for the sin of loving one so much?
  467.40 +	The first cold droplets of rain hit the matriarch of the Daidouji family 
  467.41 +like bitter tears. She closed her eyes as she leaned against the railing, the sweet 
  467.42 +echoes of years long gone still stirring through the old house. “Where are you, 
  467.43 +Nadeshiko-chan?” she heard herself ask into the coming storm. “I need you now 
  467.44 +more than I ever did. I always said I’d protect you, but I did a rather terrible job, 
  467.45 +didn’t I? I couldn’t protect you from him and I couldn’t protect you from death. 
  467.46 +I couldn’t scare if off with a dirty look, I couldn’t keep you alive and happy. I 
  467.47 +couldn’t keep you with me. Every day that goes by, I can feel you. Everytime I 
  467.48 +see her, your daughter, I can feel you so close to me. I can see why Tomoyo-
  467.49 +chan loves her so. She has the same sweet innocence that you did, Nadeshiko-
  467.50 +chan. The same caring soul.” Sonomi barely noticed the tears mixing with the 
  467.51 +rain drops down her cheeks. “But what have I done to curse my family? Why 
  467.52 +doesn’t Tomoyo-chan deserve the happiness that Kinomoto-san robbed from 
  467.53 +me? Tomoyo-chan tries to be so happy, so strong for Sakura-chan, but she can’t 
  467.54 +keep it up. I know because I’ve lived through the worst of it. And I know she 
  467.55 +won’t last much longer. If you pour all of your love out for so long without any 
  467.56 +love returned to you, you start to die. Just like a flower. Slowly and painfully 
  467.57 +until you wilt away.” Looking up, her hair started to get thrown around by the 
  467.58 +strong winds. “I miss you so much. Even here. But I remember you smiling and 
  467.59 +laughing. It doesn’t make it hurt any less, but it means that I can smile.”
  467.60 +	“Where are you, Nadeshiko-chan? I love you.”
  467.61 +
  467.62 +	‘Oh, Sonomi, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I.. I didn’t 
  467.63 +understand. I thought you would always be there. When you left, I was 
  467.64 +devastated. I didn’t know if I could go on without my big cousin Sonomi there 
  467.65 +to make everything all right. I thought I loved him but... It had to be this way. 
  467.66 +We had to have Sakura so that everything could come about. And you had 
  467.67 +Tomoyo because of your loneliness. It’s always so sweet seeing you with your 
  467.68 +daughter. I still can’t believe you have her keep her hair like mine. You make a 
  467.69 +wonderful mother, Sonomi. I’m right here. I’m right with you, just like I always 
  467.70 +am. I’m keeping an eye on you. And my daughter. And yours. But you can’t see 
  467.71 +me. I want to cry at that. If only... But you’ll understand one day. Because I’m 
  467.72 +waiting for you, Sonomi. I’ll be waiting for you here as soon as your life is over. 
  467.73 +Waiting right here. Oh, I’m sorry. Oh, Sonomi...’
  467.74 +
  467.75 +	A knock at the front door startled Sonomi out of her reverie. Who could 
  467.76 +it be all the way out here in the woods? She contemplated leaving the visitor 
  467.77 +alone for a moment, but finally decided against it. Who would be all the way up 
  467.78 +here if it wasn’t important? It had better be, at least. The businesswoman headed 
  467.79 +through the large home with sure steps towards the door. Maybe Tomoyo had 
  467.80 +decided to come up after all. All she would have to do is tell her bodyguards to 
  467.81 +drive her out here. And her grandfather would be thrilled to see her. Or maybe it 
  467.82 +would be Sakura out here like she had been so long ago. If it was, Sonomi would 
  467.83 +have to tell her all about the way of things and make her understand just how 
  467.84 +much Tomoyo loved her. If Tomoyo wasn’t going to, someone needed to spell 
  467.85 +things out for the brunette. She swore Sakura could be just as dense as her 
  467.86 +mother. “Nadeshiko...?” Not even realizing she’d said her name, Sonomi was 
  467.87 +staring directly at the very woman who had left the biggest impact on her life. 
  467.88 +Suddenly she was ten again, up with her cousin at her grandfather’s house for 
  467.89 +the weekend, the two of them playing happily as Sonomi tried her hardest to 
  467.90 +protect her fragile little cousin. 
  467.91 +	Long, gray hair framed the picture perfect face of the woman in the 
  467.92 +doorway. “Sonomi!” she exclaimed happily, her heart pounding in her chest as 
  467.93 +she smiled brightly. Her long curly hair fluttered in the wet wind as the coming 
  467.94 +storm began to pick up. Her face hadn’t changed at all, still the same beautiful 
  467.95 +features that had adorned her the day she’d died oh so many years ago. Her long 
  467.96 +white dress clung to her loosely in the wind. Smiling emerald eyes playfully 
  467.97 +grasped Sonomi’s own.
  467.98 +	The specter just stood there in the doorway staring back at Sonomi for a 
  467.99 +long moment. Before Sonomi could tell herself that this was a stress induced 
 467.100 +hallucination, the figure of her long dead cousin lunged forward in a warm 
 467.101 +embrace. “Na… Nadeshiko-chan?” she asked weakly, feeling the blood drain 
 467.102 +from her body. Her thoughts swirled like the storm that would soon be upon 
 467.103 +them. She could barely form any coherent thought as she stood in the embrace, 
 467.104 +her emotions warring in her heart. Ignoring them all, she hugged her cousin back 
 467.105 +as tightly as she could. Everything was the same, from her soft touch to the 
 467.106 +sweet scent of her hair that tickled Sonomi’s nose. 
 467.107 +	Nadeshiko stood there for a long moment in Sonomi’s protective arms. 
 467.108 +That had been a lot easier than she’d thought. She had been so worried that 
 467.109 +Sonomi would send her away, that she’d be angry with her. It had taken her 
 467.110 +forever to work up the courage to knock on the door. But now, in her cousin’s 
 467.111 +arms, it all felt right again. Maybe Sonomi wasn’t mad at her after all. But... No, 
 467.112 +she couldn’t think about what could go wrong right now. She just had to follow 
 467.113 +her heart and it would all work out. This time she wouldn’t waver from her 
 467.114 +heart. A few more cold droplets of ice water splashed against her ivory skin, 
 467.115 +making her shiver. “Umm… Sonomi, do you mind if I come in?” 
 467.116 +	Still completely caught off guard by her cousin’s sudden reappearance, 
 467.117 +Sonomi nodded weakly. “Hai, come right in, Nadeshiko-chan. I don’t want you 
 467.118 +getting wet. You could catch cold.” 
 467.119 +	Nadeshiko giggled as she let the older woman escort her inside. Old 
 467.120 +habits died hard, apparently. Sonomi was still as overprotective of her as always. 
 467.121 +Something about that was reassuring. Sonomi was nearly as overprotective with 
 467.122 +her daughter as she’d been with her.  Watching with a little concern at her 
 467.123 +cousin’s shocked expression, she waved her hand in front of Sonomi’s face, the 
 467.124 +brunette’s slant hairstyle moving from side to side as she shook her head. 
 467.125 +“Sonomi, are you alright? You seem so... agitated.” 
 467.126 +	“I’m fine, Nadeshiko-chan. Just fine. I...” Sonomi shook her head 
 467.127 +again, at a loss for words. Her dear, sweet, beloved Nadeshiko-chan was 
 467.128 +standing there in the living room. Hadn’t she practiced over and over what she’d 
 467.129 +say to her if she ever saw her again? But now it all drained away. She had never 
 467.130 +thought she would actually have the chance. Her hand reached out slowly, shaky 
 467.131 +fingers brushing Nadeshiko’s soft cheek and gray hair. Pulling back, afraid that 
 467.132 +she’d disappear, Sonomi just watched her cousin for several uneasy moments. 
 467.133 +She had the urge to take her in her arms, kiss her, and never let her go. Instead, 
 467.134 +she tried very hard not to blink once as she went over and started rummaging 
 467.135 +through her purse. 
 467.136 +	Watching silently, Nadehsiko took a seat in the plush chair her 
 467.137 +grandfather had bought when she was...eleven? No, that was the year Sonomi 
 467.138 +had dragged her out of the pool because she’d thought she was drowning. Nine? 
 467.139 +No, that was when they’d gone hiking and she’d sprained her ankle and Sonomi 
 467.140 +had tried to walk all the way back home with her on her back. No, the chair was 
 467.141 +definitely when she was twelve. Smiling pleasantly as she pushed her memories 
 467.142 +to the side, she placed her hands in her lap. The smile faded as she watched 
 467.143 +Sonomi pacing back and forth with a cigarette. Sonomi had stopped back the 
 467.144 +first time Nadeshiko had caught her when they were teenagers. All she had had 
 467.145 +to say was that she didn’t want Sonomi doing that and the other girl had quit 
 467.146 +altogether. It didn’t matter that it could have ruined her on the track team, all 
 467.147 +that mattered was that she didn’t want her to. But Sonomi’s shaking hands 
 467.148 +showed that this was a desperate attempt to calm frayed nerves. She wanted to 
 467.149 +get up and try to comfort her the way she used to, but she didn’t know if Sonomi 
 467.150 +would welcome her as she used to so many years ago. 
 467.151 +	Taking a huff of the cigarette, Sonomi’s mind fought desperately to 
 467.152 +rationalize what was going on. Too much work? Too many memories from 
 467.153 +being back at her grandfather’s house? A bad dream? Indigestion? Did it even 
 467.154 +matter as long as she was back? Shaking her head, she fought back tears. She 
 467.155 +didn't think she could handle losing her again. What if this was any one of those 
 467.156 +things? Was it even Nadeshiko? How could it be? 
 467.157 +	“It really is me, Sonomi,” Nadeshiko spoke up from across the room, 
 467.158 +cutting into her thoughts. “I wanted to see you again. I miss you.” She frowned 
 467.159 +sadly as her eyes met her cousin’s again. “I have ever since you left me. I was 
 467.160 +never truly happy after I lost you, Sonomi. I wanted you to see my babies and to 
 467.161 +be there just like we always talked about when we were little. I needed my big 
 467.162 +cousin to watch out for me. You know I’m no good at it on my own.” A sad 
 467.163 +laugh escaped her lips. “I just... My wedding night? Did you have to leave on 
 467.164 +my wedding night?” Tears glistened in emerald green eyes. 
 467.165 +	The taller woman felt as if she’d been shot through the heart at the 
 467.166 +wavering in Nadeshiko’s voice. “What? Nadeshiko-chan, you weren’t supposed 
 467.167 +to know about it. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving. If I’d known...” 
 467.168 +She closed her eyes but opened them hastily, afraid that her dearest Nadeshiko 
 467.169 +would disappear, leaving her all alone once more. 
 467.170 +	“You’d have what? Left later when I couldn’t come find you and beg 
 467.171 +you to stay?” Nadeshiko asked softly. “Do you know how much that night hurt? 
 467.172 +I had just gotten married and found out that you were going away. That I would 
 467.173 +never see my cousin, my best friend, ever again. Seeing the hurt in your eyes... I 
 467.174 +couldn’t take it. Fujitaka found me crying in my wedding dress after I’d watched 
 467.175 +you walk away for good. And then I had to put on a smile for the few members 
 467.176 +of my family that actually came to my wedding.” As soon as the words were 
 467.177 +out, she regretted them. No matter how painful that night had been for her, it had 
 467.178 +been infinitely more painful for her cousin. Sonomi had felt betrayed, lost, torn 
 467.179 +apart. She had nothing to do but run away. What would have happened had 
 467.180 +Sonomi stayed? That would have just hurt her even more. 
 467.181 +	The room blurred around Sonomi as her eyes began welling with tears, 
 467.182 +that painful night still vivid in her memory even after all those years. “I had to 
 467.183 +see you one last time. I felt like I was dying the entire ceremony. One knife in 
 467.184 +my heart after another. I could barely keep quiet when they asked if anyone had 
 467.185 +any objections. I could barely hold in the tears. But I tried my damnedest to get 
 467.186 +that bouquet of yours. I still have it, actually. Nadeshiko-chan, I had to see your 
 467.187 +wedding but I couldn’t bear to be a part of your life after that. It hurt too much 
 467.188 +knowing that I’d lost you forever. You can understand that, right? You knew I 
 467.189 +loved you but you married him anyway. You mean everything to me, but every 
 467.190 +time I saw you with him, I felt a piece of me die. I had nothing to live for 
 467.191 +without you. It took me years, until I had Tomoyo-chan, that I finally had a 
 467.192 +reason again.”
 467.193 +	“Sonomi...” Nadeshiko whispered sadly. “I’m so sorry, Sonomi... You 
 467.194 +know that I would never want to hurt you. I... I tried to find you... I looked 
 467.195 +everywhere but... no one would tell me...” Tears started spilling down her pale 
 467.196 +cheeks as the pain of the past took a firm grip on her soul. “Grandpa... He 
 467.197 +wouldn’t even tell me... He said you didn’t.. didn’t… didn’t want to see me..” A 
 467.198 +muffled sob escaped her lips as she brought her hands up. Something caught 
 467.199 +them before they could reach her face. Looking up, she saw Sonomi looking 
 467.200 +down at her, gently holding her hands. 
 467.201 +	“Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered softly, kneeling in front of the 
 467.202 +sitting girl. “I’m sorry. I made a huge mistake leaving, but I couldn’t live with 
 467.203 +myself seeing… HIM… with you. I loved you too much. I started over 
 467.204 +somewhere else, but I never stopped thinking about you. I never stopped loving 
 467.205 +you.” Bringing her hand up to the other woman’s face, she brushed some of the 
 467.206 +long gray hair back, letting her fingers caress her soft cheek. She shook her 
 467.207 +head. “Of course I wanted to see you. But I couldn’t handle it. There’s no way I 
 467.208 +could have seen the two of you and kept from breaking down.”
 467.209 +	“But..” Nadeshiko sniffled, blinking her wet eyes. “I missed you so 
 467.210 +much. I wanted to see you so badly. You were supposed to protect me like you 
 467.211 +always promised when we were little. I always felt safe with you. I lost that 
 467.212 +feeling when you left. I needed you.” She closed her eyes as she felt Sonomi’s 
 467.213 +fingers brush away her tears. The pain inside dulled slightly at Sonomi’s touch, 
 467.214 +it always managing to comfort her. “Sonomi...” All of her fears about returning 
 467.215 +to Sonomi seemed to fade away now that she was here with her cousin.
 467.216 +	“Not one day goes by when I don’t think about you. Life’s been 
 467.217 +unbearable ever since I last saw you. But somehow I’m still here and you’re 
 467.218 +gone. It’s not fair...” Closing her eyes for a moment, Sonomi had to take a breath 
 467.219 +before continuing. “I love you so much, Nadeshiko-chan. Why couldn’t I protect 
 467.220 +you from him? I failed you.”
 467.221 +	Nadeshiko placed a finger on Sonomi’s lips, shaking her head. “It’s not 
 467.222 +his fault, Sonomi. Had I been with you, I still would have died. I got sick. There 
 467.223 +was nothing you could have done. Please don’t blame yourself. Or him. You 
 467.224 +have a beautiful daughter and my two precious angels came out of it, so it’s not 
 467.225 +all bad. Thought I do regret not choosing you back then, Sonomi. I’ve missed 
 467.226 +you terribly. I lost you when I made my decision. But you have to understand, I 
 467.227 +was so afraid. I knew no one would understand if I chose you, that it was all so 
 467.228 +strange. It seemed so much safer choosing him. But I never stopped loving you, 
 467.229 +either. My love for him was... different.” Her fingers lightly brushed over 
 467.230 +Sonomi’s lips, a soft smile forming on her own. “But it’s you I’m waiting for. I 
 467.231 +promise I’ll make it up to you. You were the one I needed. I’m sorry I ever hurt 
 467.232 +you.”
 467.233 +	“Nadeshiko, don’t...” Sonomi began, but Nadeshiko’s hands on her 
 467.234 +cheeks pulled her into a soft kiss. Her loneliness, pain, and confusion all 
 467.235 +dissipated, her whole body being filled with the warm glow of her love for this 
 467.236 +beautiful woman in front of her. All the years of sorrow left her in an instant, her 
 467.237 +tears flowing more freely as she now had nothing to hold back. Her entire soul 
 467.238 +barred to her dearest, she returned the kiss as best she could. Years of regret and 
 467.239 +anger were replaced with a calm feeling spreading throughout her. Her fingers 
 467.240 +intertwined in Nadeshiko’s long silky tresses, losing herself in the deepening 
 467.241 +kiss. 
 467.242 +
 467.243 +	Nadeshiko watched Sonomi asleep with her head on the chair, still 
 467.244 +kneeling. She smiled softly, her fingers gently brushing through Sonomi eerily 
 467.245 +as she began to fade away. “I love you, Sonomi. I’m waiting for you. When I 
 467.246 +finally see you again, I’ll never let you go.” Sonomi stirred only slightly as she 
 467.247 +went back to her peaceful slumber, dreaming of her beloved. 
 467.248 +	
 467.249 +
 467.250 +

   468.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   468.2 +++ b/stories/starcrossed.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   468.3 @@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
   468.4 +Salutations. Sorry for the length of time it was between stories . .
   468.5 +. actually, no,  I'm not too sure if I am. I got three E-mails
   468.6 +regarding Toujours. One asked me when the next chapter was coming
   468.7 +out, another condemned my actions, and a third was a fiction idea. A
   468.8 +few E-mails here and there that tell me you enjoy my reading, or hate
   468.9 +it, and the reasons why would be very helpful for not only better
  468.10 +stories but my actual will to write them. Address is the same if you
  468.11 +want to E-Mail me: Saturn_Knight@hotmail.com . Anyhow, this is the
  468.12 +idea of the person who E-mailed me, and thus dedicated to her. Enjoy,
  468.13 +Maggie.
  468.14 +
  468.15 +	Yet another overcast, cloudy day in Japan. The wind ripped through
  468.16 +the trees, scattering leaves across the lush green grass of the park
  468.17 +where both Hotaru and Chibi-Usa were sitting. It was on the cooler
  468.18 +side, and neither girl had anything warmer than a heavy sweater,
  468.19 +though neither wanted to move from their location. However, a stray
  468.20 +gust of wind caught Hotaru off guard, causing her to shiver and pull
  468.21 +her arms tighter around herself.
  468.22 +	"Are you cold?" Chibi-Usa asked, worried that her friend might
  468.23 +catch a chill and become sick. Hotaru only had time to nod once
  468.24 +before she was moved, being rearranged by Chibi-Usa .  "Here, what if
  468.25 +I sit like..." Hotaru's back was moved against the other girl's chest
  468.26 +and a set of  arms found their way around her body, clasping around
  468.27 +her stomach. Chibi felt a little odd with the position, thinking she
  468.28 +was behaving too much like her mother and Mamoru, but she wanted to
  468.29 +keep her friend warm. Hotaru smiled over her shoulder, her eyes have
  468.30 +closed with sleep, before she settled into her friend's body,
  468.31 +thinking the position was all too right.
  468.32 +	"Tired too huh?" The pink haired girl asked, adjusting her body so
  468.33 +that Hotaru's shoulder didn't hit her directly in the rib. Once more,
  468.34 +the quiet girl nodded, yawning as if to accentuate Chibi's point
  468.35 +before growing still. "Yeah, sleep on me." Chibi mumbled with a smile
  468.36 +on her face, "You're like just like Artemis." Hotaru didn't rise a
  468.37 +reply, only the quiet, steady sound of her breathing was heard in the
  468.38 +still of the park evening. The smaller girl's mind began to wander,
  468.39 +looking her friend over thoughtfully before coming to an unusual
  468.40 +conclusion, ‘She trusts me enough to sleep...and with her that's a
  468.41 +pretty big thing.' Chibi thought, trying to hold as still as possible
  468.42 +though her body tried to make her fidget. ‘I've only seen her sleep
  468.43 +in bed at home, in my room on the floor, or with Puu, but...' Her
  468.44 +tiny, soft hand brushed some of Hotaru's hair from in front of her
  468.45 +eyes, ‘Not me...not like this.'
  468.46 +	A mix of emotions began to work their way through Chibi's system:
  468.47 +happiness, flattery, excitement, but also uncertainty and doubt.
  468.48 +‘Maybe she's just to exhausted...I made her run around a lot today.'
  468.49 +She thought to herself, pursing her lips as she again commanded her
  468.50 +body to remain still. ‘She's probably just too tired to stay
  468.51 +awake...but....maybe she trusts me? Of course she trusts me, she's my
  468.52 +best friend! She tells me things she'd never tell anyone
  468.53 +else...but...' Chibi shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts,
  468.54 +the ends of her hair slapping her in the face. The movement roused
  468.55 +Hotaru, who took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
  468.56 +	"I fell asleep..." she thought verbally, sitting up, putting a hand
  468.57 +to her face and rubbing the open palm down her cheek. "I'm sorry."
  468.58 +Hotaru spoke aloud and turned to face Chibi, her voice sounding
  468.59 +groggy and disconnected. The pink haired girl glanced away, looking
  468.60 +hurt. ‘It was an accident...' She stood up, brushing her jeans off,
  468.61 +‘She didn't do it because she trusted me.' This quick movement
  468.62 +startled Hotaru, who fell back onto her ankles and looked up at Chibi
  468.63 +questioningly.
  468.64 +	"Let's go home." The smaller girl said with a slight snip in her
  468.65 +voice that made Hotaru wonder what she did wrong. ‘She's.....not mad
  468.66 +that I fell asleep on her, is she?' Hotaru thought as she got to her
  468.67 +feet and balanced herself from the uneasy equilibrium of someone who
  468.68 +just woke. Putting a hand on Chibi's shoulder to keep herself
  468.69 +upright, Hotaru got a sharp look and quickly withdrew it. ‘She's mad
  468.70 +at me,' the black haired girl thought, looking to her feet and
  468.71 +wrapping her arms around herself. ‘She's upset that I fell asleep on
  468.72 +her...maybe I should just go home for the night...' "I'm really
  468.73 +sorry, Chibi-Usa....I swear."
  468.74 +	"I know you are." Chibi answered, thinking ‘That's why it hurts...'
  468.75 +"Come on," and she started in the direction back to Usagi's house not
  468.76 +waiting to see if Hotaru followed.
  468.77 +	‘I'm sorry.....' Hotaru thought, hanging her head and beginning to
  468.78 +follow after her friend who had a considerable lead on her, ‘I didn't
  468.79 +mean to assume too much trust...'
  468.80 +
  468.81 +	Back at the Tsukino residence, both girls sat on the floor in
  468.82 +Chibi's room in complete silence. The blatherings of Usagi were heard
  468.83 +through the walls as she yakked away on the phone to one of her
  468.84 +friends. "When she's done, I'll call Michi-Mama and go home." Hotaru
  468.85 +said, not looking at Chibi, in a timid, almost frightened voice.
  468.86 +‘You're mad at me and I'm afraid I'm going to ruin things if I
  468.87 +stay...'
  468.88 +	"If you want to," Chibi replied, picking up a manga that was on the
  468.89 +table next to her and started flipping through the pages. ‘She's that
  468.90 +upset with herself....she can't trust me anymore? We used to sleep
  468.91 +over all the time, why is it different now?' Drawings of various
  468.92 +characters flew by her as she furiously turned the pages, ‘Was it
  468.93 +because I was holding onto her?' Hotaru noticed Chibi's obviously
  468.94 +riled demeanor and heaved a sigh, thinking ‘She can't wait for me to
  468.95 +leave...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to assume!'
  468.96 +	Neither said a word after that, and Usagi hadn't closed her mouth
  468.97 +for a full 10 minutes. Hotaru hugged her legs to her chest, her chin
  468.98 +resting on her tight-covered knees with her eyes cast down onto the
  468.99 +floor. She was thinking, which was always a dangerous thing,
 468.100 +especially in the emotional state she was in now. Hotaru remembered
 468.101 +all the fun times she and Chibi-Usa had in the past: parties, sleep
 468.102 +overs, playing at the park, or even just sitting and spilling their
 468.103 +hearts out to each other. ‘All of that's over now...' The silence
 468.104 +senshi told herself, ‘Because you let yourself fall asleep when she
 468.105 +was holding you....now she's going to know how you feel, and she's
 468.106 +going to tell you to go away because she's in love with HIM.'
 468.107 +	Chibi glanced at her friend, a little concerned. Even if Hotaru
 468.108 +wasn't speaking aloud, she couldn't hide her ragged breathing and how
 468.109 +her arms clutched her legs tighter with every passing second. ‘She's
 468.110 +that mad at me? Oh Hotaru, don't hate me... I just wanted to make you
 468.111 +comfortable...' Hotaru let out a swift, uneven breath as she clutched
 468.112 +her legs tight enough to make her knees crack. ‘Oh gods, no... don't
 468.113 +take it out on yourself... I better say something...' "Puu said that
 468.114 +Helios was asking about me again." Chibi remarked, saying the first
 468.115 +thing that came to her head, but instantly wondered if it was the
 468.116 +right thing to do.
 468.117 +	Hotaru gave Chibi a look as if she'd just struck her, her mouth
 468.118 +hanging open for a fraction of a second before she caught herself,
 468.119 +only nodding in response. ‘She's telling me about HIM...' Hotaru
 468.120 +thought, mentally hissing the last word, not even wanting to think
 468.121 +his name. ‘She's doing it because she wants me to know she's still in
 468.122 +love with him, and that thing at the park was just a friendly
 468.123 +thing...' She swallowed hard and rested her forehead on her knees
 468.124 +now, looking down at the floor, her face hidden.
 468.125 +‘I'll never be able to be anything more than a friend to her. She's
 468.126 +always going to see me as just a friend. No matter what I do...god,
 468.127 +don't start here, you're only going to embarrass yourself.' But she
 468.128 +couldn't hold it in anymore, and the tears started to drip from her
 468.129 +eyes, quickly being absorbed into her tights. Hotaru daren't make a
 468.130 +sound.
 468.131 +	"I want to go back and see him soon," Chibi said, looking out the
 468.132 +window, only trying to make Hotaru happy. She figured that the reason
 468.133 +Hotaru was so upset was that they were so physically close to each
 468.134 +other and she'd gotten uncomfortable. "I wonder what our wedding is
 468.135 +going to be like?" The pink haired girl mused aloud, closing her eyes
 468.136 +to picture the event. "I want lots of flowers, and music, and
 468.137 +everyone's going to be invited." She paused to consider something,
 468.138 +tilting her head, "And I can have a really big cake, cus I know
 468.139 +Usagi's going to be a pig and eat it all."
 468.140 +	Hotaru started to shake, ‘Why is she doing this to me?' the tears
 468.141 +were flowing harder now and she had to give everything she had to
 468.142 +avoid sobbing loudly and running out of the room. ‘Is she trying to
 468.143 +hurt me? I didn't think she'd do that...did I make her that mad? Oh,
 468.144 +Chibi don't do this to me...please!' But, she only nodded, fighting
 468.145 +to keep her sniffles silent as she listened to her friend continue.
 468.146 +	"Oh, and a really big dress. I want one that's pink and white with
 468.147 +little yellow bunnies on the veil, so he has to laugh when he kisses
 468.148 +me." Chibi smiled faintly at the thought, but only for effect. Her
 468.149 +heart wasn't in it. She was only saying what she thought Hotaru
 468.150 +wanted to hear, and looking out the window, she didn't notice that
 468.151 +the black haired girl cringed and tightened her hands into fists at
 468.152 +the mention of a kiss. Chibi-Usa continued, "Then comes the
 468.153 +honeymoon...where do you think he and I should go?"
 468.154 +	Hotaru thought for a moment, knowing full well where she wanted to
 468.155 +send Helios, but only shrugged her shoulders. She would be
 468.156 +nice....she had to be, Chibi loved him, and she had no choice but to
 468.157 +accept that. Her friend was happy with this guy, and she would be
 468.158 +happy for her. Even if it killed her.
 468.159 +	"I want somewhere romantic..." Chibi-Usa said, making her best
 468.160 +effort to sound wistful, and dreamy, "Because...you know, honey moon
 468.161 +stuff." That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Hotaru simply
 468.162 +couldn't take it any more. Giving in to her body's desires, she
 468.163 +simply let go and allowed herself to sob. It terrified Chjbi; it
 468.164 +didn't seem human, so much agony was reserved for the damned. It was
 468.165 +followed by a short, but loud scream as Hotaru slammed her fist into
 468.166 +the floor in frustration with herself and the situation. A soft,
 468.167 +sickening cracking sound issued from the blow, but it was completely
 468.168 +disregarded. "Hotaru....?" Chibi asked carefully, as a tear soaked
 468.169 +face raised from to look upon her.  Hotaru's eyes were bloodshot, and
 468.170 +her skin was discolored from the tears and the dirt that was on the
 468.171 +knees of her tights from falling earlier.
 468.172 +	"What, Chibi-Usa? What?" Hotaru managed between sobs, angry, but
 468.173 +not at her friend. "Want advice on what you should do with HIM!?"
 468.174 +That scared Chibi-Usa, who had frightening flash backs of Mistress 9,
 468.175 +and the sheer destructive nature that Hotaru possessed. Unable to
 468.176 +control herself, Hotaru bawled loudly, though Usagi's faint
 468.177 +conversation continued in the background. "I can't take it
 468.178 +anymore....I can't....I just can't!"
 468.179 +	"Take what Hotaru!? You've been mean to me ever since the park! You
 468.180 +get mad at me cus you fall asleep, and then tell me that you didn't
 468.181 +mean to! You didn't know how happy it made me for you to show how
 468.182 +much you trusted me!" Chibi was just as agitated as Hotaru now, and
 468.183 +was speaking before she thought. ‘Oh god, that's only going to make
 468.184 +her mad...please don't hurt yourself anymore... Please....'
 468.185 +	"What?! You got mad and ran away when I told you I was sorry! I
 468.186 +just was so comfortable with you, and so happy to be around you that
 468.187 +I fell asleep! I said I was sorry!" Hotaru was too worked up to grasp
 468.188 +the situation, normally very keen on things, she simply couldn't see
 468.189 +where their messages got mixed up. "I didn't mean to!"
 468.190 +	"You....trusted me?" Chibi's voice dropped from a yell to a
 468.191 +whisper. ‘It wasn't a mistake...oh gods what have I done?!'
 468.192 +"Hotaru...oh no, no, no...gods no..." she approached the black haired
 468.193 +girl who took a step back and stood defensively to the advancement.
 468.194 +Her hand was already bruised a hideous, deep purple that marred her
 468.195 +alabaster perfection. ‘Oh Hotaru what have I done to you?! But....why
 468.196 +did you get so mad? I have to know....' Swallowing hard, Chibi asked
 468.197 +the question that could make, or break their friendship, "Why did you
 468.198 +get so mad when I mention Helios?"
 468.199 +	"Why...?" Hotaru asked, shaking her head, "Why...? Because you talk
 468.200 +about him like he's some kind of god! You tell me all the time about
 468.201 +how much you miss him, or how much you want to go back to see him."
 468.202 +Ignoring the pain that started to throb in her fingers, Hotaru
 468.203 +continued. "I'm jealous, Chibi-Usa. JEALOUS! I'm not perfect!"
 468.204 +	"Jealous of what?! You're my best friend, I tell you EVERYTHING! I
 468.205 +tell you things I could never tell him!" Chibi shouted back, now
 468.206 +aggravated by Hotaru's unneeded jealousy. "Why are you so upset?!"
 468.207 +	"Because I'm in love with you, that's why!" Hotaru yelled at Chibi
 468.208 +before she could even realize what she'd said. Both of them stood in
 468.209 +shock, Chibi-Usa's mouth dropping open as she stared at her friend
 468.210 +who suddenly grew sheepish, turning away as she mumbled "Because I'm
 468.211 +in love with you...I'm sorry, I'll go." Hotaru made a quick move for
 468.212 +the exit, but Chibi was much faster than she and grabbed onto her
 468.213 +injured arm, getting a short yelp of pain from Hotaru.
 468.214 +	"I'm sorry....I didn't mean to....just don't go, please?
 468.215 +Stay....let me get you some ice for that hand...stay here, ok?
 468.216 +Promise me you'll stay here at least until I get back from the
 468.217 +kitchen." Chibi looked at the now quiet Hotaru who only nodded and
 468.218 +sat down on the bed, holding her bruised hand gingerly. Chibi-Usa ran
 468.219 +from her room, nearly colliding with Usagi who was in the kitchen,
 468.220 +still talking, and fixing herself a snack.
 468.221 +			"What's all the yellin' about?" Usagi asked her daughter, who was
 468.222 +already filling a bag full of ice. Her mouth was packed with
 468.223 +chocolate donut, a glass of milk in her hand, and the phone cradled
 468.224 +against her shoulder. "And what's with the ice?"
 468.225 +	"God you're nosy," Chibi said, closing the freezer and putting the
 468.226 +ice bag into a clean dish towel so it wouldn't freeze Hotaru's hand,
 468.227 +"Hotaru hurt herself and I'm getting her ice. Why are you stuffing
 468.228 +your face again?"
 468.229 +	"Cus I'm hungry, duh." Usagi said over another bite of donut,
 468.230 +mumbling something incoherent to the person on the other end of the
 468.231 +phone before walking out of the kitchen and back to her room.
 468.232 +	"You're always hungry..." The pink haired girl grumbled while she
 468.233 +hurried back to her room to find Hotaru still seated on the bed, her
 468.234 +tear stained face looking towards the floor. "Here you go.." Chibi
 468.235 +offered the ice carefully to Hotaru who took it and applied it to her
 468.236 +injury with a soft whine. "I'm sorry....Hotaru, really. I was only
 468.237 +mad cus I thought you were upset that you fell asleep on me...that
 468.238 +you were mad at yourself for accidently doing that...that you didn't
 468.239 +trust me."
 468.240 +	"I trust you..." Hotaru whispered quietly with a shake of her head,
 468.241 +"Otherwise I wouldn't have done that...I thought you were mad at me
 468.242 +for thinking I could be that way with you..." She sighed, adjusting
 468.243 +the ice to not put pressure on the injury, "And...I guess after I
 468.244 +told you what I did, you don't want to see me anymore. You're
 468.245 +supposed to be with hi-" she caught herself, and released a
 468.246 +controlled breath, "With Helios... I won't get in the way..."
 468.247 +	"I...don't know if I want to be with him anymore." Chibi confessed,
 468.248 +looking desperately at her friend, "It just feels so fake when I'm
 468.249 +with him, like I have to be someone I'm not. It didn't used to be
 468.250 +like that, I used to be able to talk with him for hours, and just
 468.251 +enjoy being next to him...." Her red irises grew larger as she came
 468.252 +to a realization, "Just....like I am with you."
 468.253 +	"You....you mean that?" Hotaru asked carefully, being certain not
 468.254 +to get her hopes up for nothing, demanding that she stay in control
 468.255 +of her body. Chibi only nodded and placed a hand on Hotaru's cheek.
 468.256 +The two looked into each other's eyes, Chibi-Usa's hand cupping her
 468.257 +friend's face comfortingly.
 468.258 +	"You really scared me, Hotaru...I've never seen you like that." Usa
 468.259 +began, gently touching the shoulder of Hotaru's injured arm, "I don't
 468.260 +want you to hurt...You should have hit me, I was the one being the
 468.261 +jerk..."
 468.262 +	"No..." The black haired girl shook her head, "I could never
 468.263 +purposely hurt you like that. You know I care about you too much...I
 468.264 +love you, Chibi..." She didn't expect an answer back, and was content
 468.265 +with just saying it to let her friend know how she truly and honestly
 468.266 +felt. "I'm going to have trouble explaining my hand to my parents,"
 468.267 +Hotaru quickly changed the subject, "They're going to worry abo-" She
 468.268 +was quickly silenced by Chibi-Usa who placed a single, slender digit
 468.269 +over her lips.
 468.270 +	"I love you too Hotaru..."
 468.271 +
 468.272 +

   469.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   469.2 +++ b/stories/stepping.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   469.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1040 @@
   469.4 + Stepping Stones to the Future   
   469.5 +                       
   469.6 +                     
   469.7 +This is a fanfic about Tomoyo and
   469.8 +Sakura . It is a darker story than my previous 
   469.9 +ones and it made me cry as I was writing it on 
  469.10 +paper. I know that all of you are more 
  469.11 +knowledgeable about CCS than I am, but I hope 
  469.12 +you will like the story anyway. There are some 
  469.13 +female to female interactions but no hentai , 
  469.14 +and as always please send your comments to me at
  469.15 +rphjas@lycos.com. This is the reason I have begun 
  469.16 +writing again since 1975. I get to hear from you
  469.17 +and please, comments good or bad are always 
  469.18 +welcome can't get better without them because
  469.19 +I still want to put my dreams into words for 
  469.20 +you. Humbly yours Joe Saunders rphjas-san at
  469.21 +rphjas@lycos.com .
  469.22 +
  469.23 +At the Daidouji Estate:	
  469.24 +
  469.25 +Tomoyo was satisfied with her preparations. 
  469.26 +Everyone in the mansion was sound asleep and 
  469.27 +her bedroom door was locked. She had laid out 
  469.28 +several of her most precious treasures of Sakura
  469.29 +on her large four poster bed. She had 
  469.30 +painstakingly placed the camcorder and tripod in
  469.31 +the right location. The light in the gigantic 
  469.32 +room was at the perfect intensity. A soft 
  469.33 +melancholic melody could be heard in the 
  469.34 +background as Tomoyo worked in the room. Lying 
  469.35 +on the bureau next to her sewing bag, the 
  469.36 +manilla envelope waited to receive the soon to 
  469.37 +be completed videotape.
  469.38 +
  469.39 +Gazing into her mirror, Tomoyo made some adjustments to
  469.40 +her long lavender hair-tweaking a ribbon here or a bow there.
  469.41 +She judged her appearance before the mirror. She 
  469.42 +looked like an expert doll maker's masterpiece.
  469.43 +Beautiful lavender hair fell on her shoulders and
  469.44 +behind her back. Luminous lavender eyes 
  469.45 +sparkled in her seemingly porcelain-like face. 
  469.46 +Her long dress was a beautiful egg-shell blue 
  469.47 +covered with red lace, bows, and trim. Tomoyo 
  469.48 +sadly smiled at her reflection, but she could 
  469.49 +not cry because all of the tears had been shed 
  469.50 +during previous nights. 
  469.51 +
  469.52 +“I must look my best for my Sakura-chan.” thought Tomoyo as she 
  469.53 +steeled up her willpower. Picking up a small 
  469.54 +rubber eraser from the bureau top, she clasped 
  469.55 +both hands around it and brought them to her 
  469.56 +chest as if she were praying. 
  469.57 +
  469.58 +“Now for you, my Sakura-chan.”whispered Tomoyo.
  469.59 +“My one last gift to you...“
  469.60 +
  469.61 +
  469.62 +At the Kinomoto home: 
  469.63 +
  469.64 +
  469.65 +
  469.66 +
  469.67 +Sakura picked at her food even though she was 
  469.68 +hungry. She had been uneasy throughout supper.
  469.69 +
  469.70 +
  469.71 +Touya's teasing bounced off her ears and went
  469.72 +unnoticed. Her loving father's questions about 
  469.73 +her
  469.74 +
  469.75 +day were lethargically answered. At the end
  469.76 +of supper, she lazily waved at her father and 
  469.77 +elder
  469.78 +
  469.79 +brother as they went to their respective 
  469.80 +jobs. After finishing her chores, she listlessly
  469.81 +climbed the
  469.82 +
  469.83 +stairs and walked into her room.
  469.84 +
  469.85 +
  469.86 +
  469.87 +
  469.88 +“Welcome home, Sakura.”said Kero while he was
  469.89 +playing one of his favorite video games. 
  469.90 +
  469.91 +
  469.92 +
  469.93 +
  469.94 +“OhHi , Kero.”said Sakura as she went to
  469.95 +her desk to start her homework.           
  469.96 +           
  469.97 +
  469.98 +                   
  469.99 +                                
 469.100 +                                
 469.101 +                     
 469.102 +
 469.103 +
 469.104 +Kero flew up to the desk, licking his lips in 
 469.105 +anticipation of the evening dessert. 
 469.106 +
 469.107 +
 469.108 +
 469.109 +“Hey, 
 469.110 +Sakura where's my dessert?!”exclaimed Kero as
 469.111 +he angrily plopped down on her
 469.112 +
 469.113 +desktop.
 469.114 +
 469.115 +
 469.116 +
 469.117 +
 469.118 +Sakura looked at Kero with a dazed expression
 469.119 +and said,“Sorry, Kero-chan. Let me go back
 469.120 +
 469.121 +
 469.122 +downstairs to the kitchen and bring you my share.”
 469.123 +
 469.124 +
 469.125 +
 469.126 +With heartfelt concern, Kero said, “Don't 
 469.127 +worry about it, Sakura. You don't seem like your
 469.128 +usual
 469.129 +
 469.130 +self today. What's wrong?”He flexed his 
 469.131 +tiny biceps and continued, “Is that Li kid making
 469.132 +
 469.133 +
 469.134 +trouble for you? If so, I'll change into my 
 469.135 +true form and bat him around like a soccer ball!
 469.136 +
 469.137 +
 469.138 +Sakura shook her head and answered,“No, 
 469.139 +Kero-chan - He's been treating me ok. It's just 
 469.140 +that
 469.141 +
 469.142 +my heart has been feeling like a tick's 
 469.143 +been sucking the blood out of it until only a 
 469.144 +withered husk
 469.145 +
 469.146 +will remain. Oh Kero-chan, I can't
 469.147 +put it into words!”concluded Sakura with a 
 469.148 +sigh.
 469.149 +
 469.150 +
 469.151 +
 469.152 +Kero thought for a moment with his hand
 469.153 +balled under his chin. He asked, “When did this 
 469.154 +feeling
 469.155 +
 469.156 +start, Sakura?”
 469.157 +It started sometime
 469.158 +after school and continued as I skated along with
 469.159 +Tomoyo-chan. It has
 469.160 +
 469.161 +gotten worse since I got 
 469.162 +home and I can't figure out what it is!”
 469.163 +answered Sakura in a frustrated
 469.164 +
 469.165 +voice. 
 469.166 +
 469.167 +
 469.168 +
 469.169 +
 469.170 +Kero responded,“Calm down, Sakura. Banging 
 469.171 +your head against a wall won't solve anything.
 469.172 +
 469.173 +
 469.174 +Kero mused,'Since all of the Cards have been 
 469.175 +sealed and Eriol has left, I don't think it is
 469.176 +
 469.177 +
 469.178 +anything serious. Maybe you just left your 
 469.179 +recorder at school!”
 469.180 +
 469.181 +
 469.182 +
 469.183 +Sakura angrily swatted 
 469.184 +at Kero who nimbly dodged her hand. “It's not 
 469.185 +that simple, Kero!”yelled
 469.186 +
 469.187 +Sakura. “I think 
 469.188 +this is a premonition, but I just don't know what
 469.189 +it is about!”
 469.190 +
 469.191 +
 469.192 +
 469.193 +Kero guiltily looked at Sakura. “I'm sorry for 
 469.194 +trifling with you, Sakura. I wish
 469.195 +that I could help
 469.196 +
 469.197 +you better with this problem.
 469.198 +Hey maybe a nice hot bath and a good night's 
 469.199 +sleep will help you
 469.200 +
 469.201 +clear everything up in the 
 469.202 +morning!”
 469.203 +
 469.204 +
 469.205 +
 469.206 +
 469.207 +“You're probably right, Kero-chan.”said 
 469.208 +Sakura. “And I am sorry I tried to hit you. I 
 469.209 +know you
 469.210 +
 469.211 +were only trying to cheer me up.
 469.212 +
 469.213 +
 469.214 +
 469.215 +
 469.216 +Kero puffed out his little chest and said , 
 469.217 +“Apologies accepted, Sakura. Trust the great and
 469.218 +
 469.219 +
 469.220 +powerful Guardian Beast! All will be well by 
 469.221 +morning and I'll even forgive you for not 
 469.222 +bringing
 469.223 +
 469.224 +me any dessert!
 469.225 +
 469.226 +
 469.227 +
 469.228 +Sakura weakly 
 469.229 +laughed at Kero's posturing and remarks. ”You're
 469.230 +probably right, Kero-chan and I
 469.231 +
 469.232 +am way too out 
 469.233 +of it to do anything constructive tonight.”
 469.234 +
 469.235 +
 469.236 +
 469.237 +
 469.238 +                                
 469.239 +                                
 469.240 +                                
 469.241 +         
 469.242 +
 469.243 +At The Daidouji Estate:      
 469.244 +                                
 469.245 +                                
 469.246 +        
 469.247 +
 469.248 +                      
 469.249 +                                
 469.250 +                                
 469.251 +
 469.252 +
 469.253 +Tomoyo had about five minutes before the 
 469.254 +camcorder and tape player turned on 
 469.255 +simultaneously.
 469.256 +
 469.257 +She had been secretly rehearsing
 469.258 +and preparing for this evening's performance for
 469.259 +over a week.
 469.260 +
 469.261 +While completing some minor 
 469.262 +adjustments to her hair and dress, Tomoyo did 
 469.263 +another quick run-
 469.264 +
 469.265 +thru of where she would stand
 469.266 +and the words she would sing from the lyrics she
 469.267 +had
 469.268 +
 469.269 +painstakingly written and memorized. She 
 469.270 +still clung onto the little eraser that Sakura 
 469.271 +had given
 469.272 +
 469.273 +to her at their first encounter. She 
 469.274 +thought, “Now I can say the words to Sakura that
 469.275 +I never dared
 469.276 +
 469.277 +to say. I can use my camcorder,
 469.278 +melody, and lyrics that I wrote from my innermost
 469.279 +heart and
 469.280 +
 469.281 +reveal my true feelings this one and 
 469.282 +only time.”
 469.283 +
 469.284 +
 469.285 +
 469.286 +'I must perform perfectly.'mused
 469.287 +Tomoyo as she walked to the small tapedx
 469.288 +placed on the
 469.289 +
 469.290 +floor which divided her bed into 
 469.291 +symmetrical halves.
 469.292 +
 469.293 +
 469.294 +
 469.295 +“For my beloved Sakura-
 469.296 +chan,“whispered Tomoyo. She inhaled deeply and 
 469.297 +then slowly exhaled
 469.298 +
 469.299 +- blowing away the facial 
 469.300 +masks that she used in her everyday life.
 469.301 +
 469.302 +
 469.303 +
 469.304 +“Now
 469.305 +my soul is bare for Sakura-chan to see.”
 469.306 +
 469.307 +
 469.308 +
 469.309 +The 
 469.310 +camcorder and tape player clicked on and Tomoyo 
 469.311 +began ...
 469.312 +
 469.313 +
 469.314 +
 469.315 +
 469.316 +
 469.317 +
 469.318 +
 469.319 +At the Kinomoto home:
 469.320 +
 469.321 +
 469.322 +
 469.323 +
 469.324 +Tossing and turning in her bed, Sakura tightly 
 469.325 +hugged the CardCaptor Sakuradoll that
 469.326 +
 469.327 +Tomoyo-
 469.328 +chan had given her long ago.Beads of perspiration
 469.329 +rolled down her face and soaked her
 469.330 +
 469.331 +pajamas. Her
 469.332 +features were contorted into looks of pain , 
 469.333 +distress, and denial. Gasping for air,
 469.334 +
 469.335 +Sakura 
 469.336 +bolted upright in her bed. She opened her eyes 
 469.337 +and frantically tried to quiet her racing
 469.338 +
 469.339 +heart.
 469.340 +
 469.341 +
 469.342 +
 469.343 +
 469.344 +“Hoe! what was that all about?”cried 
 469.345 +Sakura. But like wisps of smoke or fluffy clouds,
 469.346 +the
 469.347 +
 469.348 +nightmare refused to be captured. Trembling,
 469.349 +Sakura got out of bed and went to her desk. She
 469.350 +
 469.351 +
 469.352 +somehow knew that she had to open the drawer 
 469.353 +where the Book of the Star Cards was kept.
 469.354 +
 469.355 +After
 469.356 +opening the drawer, Sakura noticed a white light
 469.357 +coming from the deck. She urgently
 469.358 +
 469.359 +pickedthrough
 469.360 +the pile of Star Cards until she found the source
 469.361 +of the light. It emanated from the
 469.362 +
 469.363 +lastCardthat
 469.364 +appeared when she had overcome Eriols final 
 469.365 +challenge. The light was pulsing as
 469.366 +
 469.367 +if it were 
 469.368 +a heart beating. Suddenly, an arrow of light shot
 469.369 +out of the Card and passed through the
 469.370 +
 469.371 +window 
 469.372 +into the darkness engulfing Tomoeda . The Card 
 469.373 +flew behind the arrow of light. As the
 469.374 +
 469.375 +startled
 469.376 +Sakura watched these events, her hand 
 469.377 +accidentally touched the Light and Dark Card. 
 469.378 +In
 469.379 +
 469.380 +an instant, the two spirits of Light and Dark
 469.381 +materialized and stood before their Mistress.
 469.382 +
 469.383 +
 469.384 +
 469.385 +
 469.386 +As always, they were holding each other and 
 469.387 +looked regal beyond human comprehension.
 469.388 +
 469.389 +
 469.390 +
 469.391 +In a
 469.392 +feathery voice, Dark whispered,“Your soul mate's
 469.393 +heart is at it'sfinal breaking tonight and
 469.394 +
 469.395 +will
 469.396 +soon beat no more in this world. This heart cries
 469.397 +for mending but is willing to remain
 469.398 +
 469.399 +shattered 
 469.400 +for all time to insure your future happiness.” 
 469.401 +                                
 469.402 +            
 469.403 +
 469.404 +                  
 469.405 +                                
 469.406 +                                
 469.407 +
 469.408 +
 469.409 +In a similar voice, Light began to speak.“The
 469.410 +path to that heart is revealed by the arrow of 
 469.411 +the
 469.412 +
 469.413 +last Star Card. Follow the light quickly if
 469.414 +you wish to mend the Heart which my love Dark 
 469.415 +doth
 469.416 +
 469.417 +speak”
 469.418 +
 469.419 +
 469.420 +
 469.421 +Before Sakura could inquire about
 469.422 +their cryptic remarks, Dark and Light disappeared
 469.423 +into their
 469.424 +
 469.425 +Card.
 469.426 +
 469.427 +
 469.428 +
 469.429 +Sakura frantically grabbed 
 469.430 +the Key resting between her breasts and spoke 
 469.431 +the Words of Power to
 469.432 +
 469.433 +release it. With cheetah's
 469.434 +speed, she summoned Fly. White wings burst 
 469.435 +through her pajama top.
 469.436 +
 469.437 +Without changing her
 469.438 +garments, Sakura opened the window and raced 
 469.439 +after the last Star Card in
 469.440 +
 469.441 +the dark night of 
 469.442 +Tomoeda. Sakura's heart beat rapidly and she 
 469.443 +willed her magic to fly as fast as
 469.444 +
 469.445 +the winds. 
 469.446 +“I must find this person!”Sakura thought. “But
 469.447 +I wonder whom it could be? Is it
 469.448 +
 469.449 +Syaoran?“
 469.450 +
 469.451 +
 469.452 +
 469.453 +At the Daidouji estate:
 469.454 +
 469.455 +
 469.456 +
 469.457 +
 469.458 +
 469.459 +Tomoyo had viewed the completed videotapeseveral
 469.460 +times. Tears trickled from her lavender
 469.461 +
 469.462 +eyes and
 469.463 +wetted the dress. Lovingly, she enclosed the tape
 469.464 +and sealed the envelope. In her
 469.465 +
 469.466 +beautiful 
 469.467 +handwriting, the envelope proclaimed'To My 
 469.468 +Special Someone 'My Only Love -
 469.469 +
 469.470 +Sakura-chan'
 469.471 +
 469.472 +
 469.473 +
 469.474 +
 469.475 +She sealed the envelope and lifted her sewing
 469.476 +bag revealing a pair of newly sharpened
 469.477 +scissors.
 469.478 +
 469.479 +With one hand still holding the 
 469.480 +eraser, Tomoyo firmly grabbed the scissors and 
 469.481 +walked to her
 469.482 +
 469.483 +bed. She laid down and arranged 
 469.484 +some of her favorite hand-sewn costumes that 
 469.485 +Sakura had worn
 469.486 +
 469.487 +when she was capturing the Clow
 469.488 +Cards.'But, unfortunately those days are over', 
 469.489 +thought
 469.490 +
 469.491 +Tomoyo. 'Only in my heart do such 
 469.492 +moments still dwell. Sakura has chosen Syaoran 
 469.493 +and I never
 469.494 +
 469.495 +had the courage to open the gate 
 469.496 +allowing me entrance into Sakura's heart. He got
 469.497 +there first.'
 469.498 +
 469.499 +whispered Tomoyo as she stared at
 469.500 +an enlarged photo of Sakura on the ceiling. The 
 469.501 +picture had
 469.502 +
 469.503 +been difficult to place there 
 469.504 +tonight, but it was worth it. Her tears flowed 
 469.505 +more freely as she
 469.506 +
 469.507 +looked at the picture of 
 469.508 +Sakura - branding every feature in her heart and
 469.509 +soul while her right hand
 469.510 +
 469.511 +came upwards to her 
 469.512 +soft pale neck.
 469.513 +
 469.514 +
 469.515 +
 469.516 +
 469.517 +Suddenly a light appeared in Tomoyo's 
 469.518 +darkened room and she quickly sat up from her 
 469.519 +macabre
 469.520 +
 469.521 +position. A surprised Tomoyo saw a 
 469.522 +Sakura Card spinning in mid-air at the foot of 
 469.523 +her bed.
 469.524 +
 469.525 +Faster and faster it twirled -bathing 
 469.526 +the whole huge room with a heavenly light and 
 469.527 +making
 469.528 +
 469.529 +Tomoyo feel faint and dizzy even though 
 469.530 +she was sitting on her bed.
 469.531 +
 469.532 +
 469.533 +
 469.534 +
 469.535 +Then the sound of breaking glass filled the
 469.536 +room as Sakura flew headfirst into Tomoyo's
 469.537 +
 469.538 +
 469.539 +bedroom.“Tomoyo-chan - Tomoyo-chan, what are you
 469.540 +trying to do?”cried Sakura -bleeding
 469.541 +
 469.542 +from 
 469.543 +several cuts on her arms, hands, and face. With 
 469.544 +her natural athleticism, Sakura leapt from
 469.545 +
 469.546 +the 
 469.547 +floor and grabbed Tomoyo's wristforcing the 
 469.548 +steely jaws of the scissors away from her soft
 469.549 +
 469.550 +
 469.551 +neck.
 469.552 +
 469.553 +
 469.554 +
 469.555 +For the first time, the shocked Tomoyo 
 469.556 +wore none of her everyday masks and had no 
 469.557 +cheerful
 469.558 +
 469.559 +answers for Sakura's question. Her 
 469.560 +delicate gasping mouth opened and closed like a 
 469.561 +land-bound
 469.562 +
 469.563 +fish seeking water. Before Tomoyo 
 469.564 +knew it, the scissors were in Sakura's trembling
 469.565 +hands. The
 469.566 +
 469.567 +emotions of anger, fear, and concern
 469.568 +warred over the landscape that was 
 469.569 +Sakura's face
 469.570 +and
 469.571 +
 469.572 +eyes. However, concern with a touch of fear
 469.573 +and desperation won the battle on Sakura's face.
 469.574 +Her
 469.575 +
 469.576 +wings fluttered weakly and Sakura panted. 
 469.577 +The cuts from the broken glass burned her nerves.
 469.578 +She
 469.579 +
 469.580 +felt like she would collapse on the floor. 
 469.581 +Instead, she willed herself to sit by 
 469.582 +Tomoyo's 
 469.583 +side and
 469.584 +
 469.585 +violently threw the scissors across the
 469.586 +room.
 469.587 +
 469.588 +“Tomoyo-chan Why?”asked Sakura as the
 469.589 +evening's pent-up emotions in her heart 
 469.590 +erupted in
 469.591 +
 469.592 +full force. The tears flooded from her 
 469.593 +emerald-green eyes and stung her cuts. She looked
 469.594 +at
 469.595 +
 469.596 +Tomoyo's sad face as if to find the answer 
 469.597 +there. Tomoyo bent her head to her chest, 
 469.598 +whispering
 469.599 +
 469.600 +softly between sobs the manilla 
 469.601 +envelope-a videotape-on my bureau...Puzzled, 
 469.602 +Sakura
 469.603 +
 469.604 +squeezed Tomoyo's hands. With one eye on
 469.605 +Tomoyo, Sakura found the manilla envelope and
 469.606 +
 469.607 +
 469.608 +read Tomoyo's notation
 469.609 +admiring the lovely 
 469.610 +handwriting. Tomoyo looked up and saw Sakura's
 469.611 +
 469.612 +
 469.613 +cheek turn fiery red. Sadly, Tomoyo realized that
 469.614 +all of her plans for Sakura had failed. She was
 469.615 +
 469.616 +
 469.617 +supposed to be dead. She had not anticipated her
 469.618 +beloved Sakura's dramatic arrival. But instead
 469.619 +
 469.620 +
 469.621 +of dropping the envelope in revulsion, Sakura 
 469.622 +reverently opened the envelope and tenderly
 469.623 +
 469.624 +
 469.625 +plucked out the videotape. She walked to the VCR,
 469.626 +turned on the TV, and walked over to
 469.627 +
 469.628 +Tomoyo's 
 469.629 +bed.
 469.630 +
 469.631 +
 469.632 +
 469.633 +
 469.634 +“May I sit next to you, Tomoyo-chan?”asked
 469.635 +Sakura. Tomoyo looked with awe at her beloved
 469.636 +
 469.637 +
 469.638 +and nodded. The empty Card stopped spinning and 
 469.639 +it's light dimmed enough for the two girls to
 469.640 +
 469.641 +
 469.642 +watch the screen. Sakura held Tomoyo's hand with
 469.643 +all of her might as the tape started.
 469.644 +
 469.645 +
 469.646 +
 469.647 +
 469.648 +
 469.649 +On the
 469.650 +TV screen, Tomoyo appeared.'She looks like an 
 469.651 +angel.'thought Sakura. Tomoyo was
 469.652 +
 469.653 +bathed in 
 469.654 +light and her beautiful voice could be heard.
 469.655 +
 469.656 +
 469.657 +
 469.658 +
 469.659 +“Sakura-chanIwanted to give you one final
 469.660 +gift. It is a song I wrote for you and only you.
 469.661 +I
 469.662 +
 469.663 +know you are crying right now because of my 
 469.664 +death. I willed for my Mother to give you this
 469.665 +
 469.666 +
 469.667 +video after my private funeral. But please my 
 469.668 +Sakura-chan. Do not cry for me! My time in this
 469.669 +
 469.670 +
 469.671 +world is done. Your quest for the Clow Cards is 
 469.672 +complete. Your need for me is over. I only desire
 469.673 +
 469.674 +
 469.675 +your eternal happiness and a joyful future with
 469.676 +Syaoran. Like your Mother, I will be in Heaven- a
 469.677 +
 469.678 +
 469.679 +Guardian Angel only for you. And when your 
 469.680 +life's journey is done, I will be waiting for 
 469.681 +you
 469.682 +
 469.683 +with open arms to hug you and loving hands 
 469.684 +to guide you into Heaven. Maybe there you and I
 469.685 +
 469.686 +
 469.687 +can be in love together because on Earth our Love
 469.688 +can never be.”,Tomoyo paused- closed her
 469.689 +
 469.690 +eyes,
 469.691 +and clasped her hands to her chest. She inhaled,
 469.692 +opened her delicate mouth, and began to
 469.693 +
 469.694 +sing...
 469.695 +
 469.696 +
 469.697 +Sakura stared at the TV - mesmerized by 
 469.698 +Tomoyo's lavender eyes and angelic beauty. A 
 469.699 +blush
 469.700 +
 469.701 +bloomed on her cheeks. Her tears freely 
 469.702 +flowed and a warmth filled her heart and soul. 
 469.703 +After
 469.704 +
 469.705 +finishing the beautiful song, Tomoyo said,
 469.706 +“I will always be with you My Beloved Sakura-
 469.707 +chan. I
 469.708 +
 469.709 +have loved you since I first saw you in
 469.710 +Tomoeda Elementary and this eraser has been the 
 469.711 +most
 469.712 +
 469.713 +precious gift I have ever received because
 469.714 +it came from you”Tomoyo whispered as she
 469.715 +
 469.716 +
 469.717 +lowered her praying hands and opened one 
 469.718 +revealing the plain rubber eraser. This is only a
 469.719 +
 469.720 +
 469.721 +temporary separation, My Love. I am just going
 469.722 +ahead of you to my destiny.Tomoyo's armsspread
 469.723 +wide as if to engulf Sakura. A smile appeared on
 469.724 +her face. However, her lavender eyes
 469.725 +
 469.726 +seemed to 
 469.727 +lose their color.“Sayonara Sakura-chan I will
 469.728 +watch over you and Love you
 469.729 +
 469.730 +forever.”Tomoyo 
 469.731 +knelt on the carpet as if to pray slowly the 
 469.732 +picture blurred and faded away
 469.733 +
 469.734 +into oblivion.
 469.735 +
 469.736 +
 469.737 +
 469.738 +
 469.739 +Sakura's heart bled more freely than any 
 469.740 +lacerations from the broken window could do. 
 469.741 +Crying,
 469.742 +
 469.743 +Sakura
 469.744 +
 469.745 +thought,'I've hurt Tomoyo-chan
 469.746 +so deeply.'Though her heart was bleeding from 
 469.747 +sadness and
 469.748 +
 469.749 +regret, Sakura felt the seed of love
 469.750 +that she had always had for Tomoyo sprout and 
 469.751 +grow
 469.752 +
 469.753 +watered and sunned by Tomoyo'srevelation.
 469.754 +“So Dark and Light were talking about Tomoyo-
 469.755 +
 469.756 +
 469.757 +chan!”thought Sakura. “She has been suffering 
 469.758 +all of this time because her love for me was
 469.759 +
 469.760 +
 469.761 +never returned by me for her. I -I am responsible
 469.762 +for breaking her heart again and again - until it
 469.763 +
 469.764 +
 469.765 +shattered and made her want to end her life..“
 469.766 +
 469.767 +
 469.768 +
 469.769 +
 469.770 +Sakura turned to face Tomoyo. Tomoyo had not
 469.771 +moved since Sakura had come to her bed. Her
 469.772 +
 469.773 +hand
 469.774 +limply rested in Sakura's grip. Her head was 
 469.775 +still lowered and tears dripped from her
 469.776 +
 469.777 +cheeks.
 469.778 +Sakure gently removed her hand from Tomoyo'sand
 469.779 +reached for Tomoyo's face.
 469.780 +
 469.781 +Tomoyo cringed at 
 469.782 +Sakura's tender touch - anticipating a face 
 469.783 +filled with revulsion and anger.
 469.784 +
 469.785 +Sakura cupped 
 469.786 +Tomoyo's cheeks and slowly lifted her head so 
 469.787 +she could look deep into
 469.788 +
 469.789 +Tomoyo's lavender eyes.
 469.790 +Tomoyo looked at Sakura's face and was stunned by
 469.791 +the love and
 469.792 +
 469.793 +tenderness that gleamed from the 
 469.794 +emerald green eyes.
 469.795 +
 469.796 +		
 469.797 +
 469.798 +“Sakura-chan...?“
 469.799 +whispered Tomoyo. With loving motion, Sakura 
 469.800 +pulled Tomoyo's face to her
 469.801 +
 469.802 +own and gave Tomoyo
 469.803 +a passionate kiss. Tomoyo's fragile body wilted 
 469.804 +under the kiss. Her arms
 469.805 +
 469.806 +reached around Sakura's
 469.807 +waist and hugged her tightlylike a drowning 
 469.808 +sailor would to a life-line.
 469.809 +
 469.810 +Sakura's hands 
 469.811 +stroked Tomoyo's cheeks and fingered her glossy 
 469.812 +lavender hair. Her slender body
 469.813 +
 469.814 +pressed against
 469.815 +Tomoyo's and eased her body to a prone position.
 469.816 +Tomoyo's eyes fluttered and
 469.817 +
 469.818 +she realized that 
 469.819 +sometime during this magical waking dream her 
 469.820 +dress had disappeared from her
 469.821 +
 469.822 +pale body. “Have
 469.823 +I died and reached my ideal vision of Heaven?” 
 469.824 +thought Tomoyo.“My Sakura-
 469.825 +
 469.826 +chan is in my armskissing me, loving me...Healing me!”
 469.827 +
 469.828 +
 469.829 +
 469.830 +Suddenly
 469.831 +Tomoyo's lavender eyes opened and drank up the 
 469.832 +sight of her Beloved Sakura pressing
 469.833 +
 469.834 +against 
 469.835 +her. The Card Mistress was smiling at Tomoyo. Her
 469.836 +naked body glistened from her
 469.837 +
 469.838 +exertions to 
 469.839 +reach out and mend Tomoyo's heart with the Glue 
 469.840 +of Love.“Tomoyo-chan...I'm
 469.841 +
 469.842 +sorry for all of 
 469.843 +your pain and suffering.”whispered Sakura. 
 469.844 +“It's all my fault!”cried Sakura as
 469.845 +
 469.846 +tears mixed
 469.847 +with the bloody cuts on her face.
 469.848 +
 469.849 +
 469.850 +
 469.851 +With 
 469.852 +surprising strength, the porcelain-skinned Tomoyo
 469.853 +forced Sakura to sit upright on the large
 469.854 +
 469.855 +bed. 
 469.856 +“My Beloved Sakura-chan!”cried Tomoyo “You came
 469.857 +to save me, but you've injured
 469.858 +
 469.859 +yourself! Please
 469.860 +let me treat your cuts!
 469.861 +
 469.862 +
 469.863 +
 469.864 +
 469.865 +“Oh Tomoyo-chan My Love,“roclaimed Sakura 
 469.866 +her emerald green eyes sparkling with
 469.867 +
 469.868 +Love and
 469.869 +Happiness. 
 469.870 +
 469.871 +
 469.872 +
 469.873 +Tomoyo quickly kissed her Sakura-
 469.874 +chan and ran to her bathroom.             
 469.875 +                      
 469.876 +
 469.877 +         
 469.878 +                                
 469.879 +                                
 469.880 +                                
 469.881 +
 469.882 +
 469.883 +As she waited for Tomoyo, Sakura gazed at the 
 469.884 +empty Star Card. It had stopped spinning and it's
 469.885 +
 469.886 +
 469.887 +light was pulsing like a human heartbeat. 
 469.888 +Sakura bowed her head to the Star Cardandquietly
 469.889 +
 469.890 +
 469.891 +thanked it as well as Dark and Lightforshowing
 469.892 +her the path to her One True Love.
 469.893 +
 469.894 +
 469.895 +
 469.896 +
 469.897 +Tomoyo returned with a moistened towel, a 
 469.898 +first-aid kit, and two sets of softlinenpajamas.
 469.899 +“Ok
 469.900 +
 469.901 +Sakura-don't move,”said Tomoyo.FirstTomoyo
 469.902 +looked over Sakura's body with piercing
 469.903 +
 469.904 +lavender
 469.905 +eyes. She nodded and began to lick and kiss 
 469.906 +Sakura's cuts and scrapes. Sakura swooned
 469.907 +
 469.908 +in 
 469.909 +bliss. Tomoyo gently patted each wound with the 
 469.910 +warm wet towel. She tenderly applied
 469.911 +
 469.912 +antibiotic
 469.913 +ointment and bandages to each wound - pouring her
 469.914 +love for Sakura into every
 469.915 +
 469.916 +movement. Satisfied 
 469.917 +that her work was completed to perfection, Tomoyo
 469.918 +said, “I think I treated
 469.919 +
 469.920 +all of your cuts, My 
 469.921 +Beloved Sakura-chan. But do you hurt anywhere 
 469.922 +that I can't see? Do I need
 469.923 +
 469.924 +to call foradoctor?”
 469.925 +
 469.926 +
 469.927 +
 469.928 +
 469.929 +Sakura answered, “No but thank you My 
 469.930 +Tomoyo-chan. I don't need a doctor. But I do need
 469.931 +
 469.932 +
 469.933 +You My LoveMy Tomoyo!“
 469.934 +
 469.935 +
 469.936 +
 469.937 +Tomoyo beamed as 
 469.938 +brightly as the empty Star Card. She gently 
 469.939 +embraced Sakura and kissed her.
 469.940 +
 469.941 +“Oh My Beloved 
 469.942 +Sakura-chan!”cried Tomoyo. “How often have I 
 469.943 +dreamed of hearing those
 469.944 +
 469.945 +words from you and of 
 469.946 +being your Love!“
 469.947 +
 469.948 +
 469.949 +
 469.950 +Sakura hugged Tomoyo and 
 469.951 +kissed her.“If you can ever forgive me Tomoyo-
 469.952 +chan, I will promise
 469.953 +
 469.954 +you that your daysof
 469.955 +loneliness and suffering will never return 
 469.956 +because you are My Soul Mate-
 469.957 +
 469.958 +My Beloved-My 
 469.959 +Tomoyo-chan.”confessed Sakura. “I want to be 
 469.960 +yours - Forever.”
 469.961 +
 469.962 +
 469.963 +
 469.964 +Tomoyo cried with tears of
 469.965 +pure happiness. “My Dearest Sakura-chan, you have
 469.966 +made my dearest
 469.967 +
 469.968 +wish come true!”
 469.969 +
 469.970 +
 469.971 +
 469.972 +With love 
 469.973 +and happiness, Tomoyo and Sakura embraced once 
 469.974 +more and Magic flared in the
 469.975 +
 469.976 +bedroom. The broken
 469.977 +window was miraculously restored. The Star Card 
 469.978 +brightened and slowly
 469.979 +
 469.980 +faded. However, it's face
 469.981 +was no longer empty because it now bore a 
 469.982 +hologram of Sakura and
 469.983 +
 469.984 +Tomoyo kissing and 
 469.985 +embracing each other and over their heads 
 469.986 +floated a red Valentine-
 469.987 +
 469.988 +shaped Heart.
 469.989 +
 469.990 +
 469.991 +
 469.992 +
 469.993 +THE END
 469.994 +
 469.995 +
 469.996 +
 469.997 +
 469.998 +
 469.999 +
469.1000 +Author's comments:
469.1001 +
469.1002 +
469.1003 +
469.1004 +I was hoping to write the 
469.1005 +lyrics of Tomoyo'ssong for you. The words were 
469.1006 +clear in my dream.
469.1007 +
469.1008 +However, Dawn's light faded 
469.1009 +the verses into obscurity. Maybe it's better that
469.1010 +way so you - the
469.1011 +
469.1012 +reader - can imagine your own 
469.1013 +lyrics to Tomoyo's song of love confessed but 
469.1014 +unrequited on
469.1015 +
469.1016 +Earth, of her plea for Sakura's 
469.1017 +mortal happiness in spite of her suicide, of 
469.1018 +Tomoyo's wish of
469.1019 +
469.1020 +being Sakura's Guardian Angel 
469.1021 +throughout her mortal days and immortal life, and
469.1022 +of her final
469.1023 +
469.1024 +words of goodbye to Sakura. I know
469.1025 +I am not a CCS expert like many better writers 
469.1026 +and fans of
469.1027 +
469.1028 +the anime and manga, but I hope you
469.1029 +will forgive any inconsistencies in this fanfic 
469.1030 +and enjoy it as
469.1031 +
469.1032 +it is written.           
469.1033 +                                
469.1034 +                                
469.1035 +                
469.1036 +
469.1037 +               
469.1038 +                                
469.1039 +                                
469.1040 +      
469.1041 +
469.1042 +Humbly yours, Joe Saunders at 
469.1043 +rphjas@lycos.com
469.1044 \ No newline at end of file

   470.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   470.2 +++ b/stories/sttail.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   470.3 @@ -0,0 +1,836 @@
   470.4 +Author’s note: Hello everyone! ^-^ This is Heather of the Amazoness Duo 
   470.5 +again. ^-^ This is my first Kaitou Saint Tail fanfic, though I hope to write more 
   470.6 +soon. I just love Seira & Meimi. ^,^ Anyway, if you could spare a moment, 
   470.7 +please tell me what you think. ^-^ Thanks! *hugs*
   470.8 +
   470.9 +Kiss Me Sunlights
  470.10 +By Amazoness Duo
  470.11 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  470.12 +
  470.13 +
  470.14 +	The night air felt cool against Meimi’s bare skin, the moonlight lighting 
  470.15 +the path she’d traveled time and time again. Pulling her jacket closer to her as 
  470.16 +the wind picked up, she wondered what Seira needed her to do this time. A car 
  470.17 +drove by a short distance away, startling her. It seemed to be the only sound she 
  470.18 +had heard that night aside from her own footsteps. Along with a nervous feeling 
  470.19 +growing in her stomach, she was starting to get anxious. Seira had been her best 
  470.20 +friend for years now. They had gone through a lot together. She thought she 
  470.21 +knew the other girl rather well. Something had been off in Seira’s voice when 
  470.22 +she had called a short time ago, urging her to come meet her. Meimi only hoped 
  470.23 +it wasn’t anything bad.
  470.24 +	“There you are. I was starting to think that you wouldn’t come,” a 
  470.25 +gentle voice said from a bench near the church. Seira mustered up a smile for 
  470.26 +her friend, but it didn’t much help quell the tumultuous feelings inside of her. 
  470.27 +She almost wished that something had happened and Meimi hadn’t been able to 
  470.28 +make it. Then things would be so much easier. But that was the point, wasn’t it? 
  470.29 +She was tired of leaving things the way they were. Wasn’t it better to get things 
  470.30 +out in the open and hope for some sort of happy resolution to it all? The sister-
  470.31 +in-training had spent over two hours trying to decide if she should call at all and 
  470.32 +the past half hour worrying about what a mistake she may have made. The cold 
  470.33 +bench under her had offered little sympathy to her worries. The cold night air 
  470.34 +seeped right through the thin white fabric.
  470.35 +	“I’m always here if you ask me, Seira. You know that.” Meimi tilted 
  470.36 +her head to the side and laughed a bit. “But sometimes it seems like you know 
  470.37 +everything anyway.” Brushing back her long her, she joined the short haired girl 
  470.38 +on the bench. A leaf fell slowly between the two before landing on the cold dew 
  470.39 +of the grass. The wind served to accentuate the silence as the two girls sat there 
  470.40 +quietly. Meimi was starting to feel more nervous at each passing second, 
  470.41 +wondering what was going on. Seira was acting strangely. If this was just like 
  470.42 +every other time she had called her to do something as Saint Tail, then why was 
  470.43 +she so quiet?
  470.44 +	Seira didn’t answer for a long moment, looking out into the darkness. 
  470.45 +Her night vision wasn’t as good as Meimi’s, but she wasn’t looking for anything 
  470.46 +in particular. She had prayed about what to do about this for a while now and it 
  470.47 +seemed that this was the best course of action. Not telling Meimi was almost as 
  470.48 +bad as lying to her. “Meimi-chan, I thought there was something you should 
  470.49 +know. I don’t like hiding anything from you. You’re my best friend and you’ve 
  470.50 +always been very special to me so I feel horrible when I keep something from 
  470.51 +you.” The wind seemed to die down for a moment. Seira reached out and placed 
  470.52 +her hand over Meimi’s. Her hand felt warm to the touch, Seira’s hand holding it 
  470.53 +tighter. She didn’t know if she could find the strength to say what she wanted to.
  470.54 +	Her heart pounding in her chest, Meimi didn’t say anything. Seira 
  470.55 +sounded so serious. What could be so important that she wouldn’t have told her 
  470.56 +already? There was a touch of sadness laced in the sister-in-training’s voice as 
  470.57 +well. Was she going away? To another school or church? Somewhere where 
  470.58 +they wouldn’t see each other again? She moved her hand around so that she was 
  470.59 +holding Seira’s as well and squeezed back, urging her to go on. “What is it, 
  470.60 +Seira?”
  470.61 +	It took all of Seira’s willpower to look Meimi in the eyes. What lovely 
  470.62 +blue gray eyes they were... It was all she could do to keep from losing herself in 
  470.63 +their depths. Her free hand held the small cross on her necklace, trying to find 
  470.64 +the strength to go on from up above. “Meimi-chan, I know that someone’s in 
  470.65 +love with you. They have been for a very long time. You’re like an angel to 
  470.66 +them, a sweet and shining flower in their life that makes them happier than you 
  470.67 +could ever know. They love you so much but they’re afraid to say anything. 
  470.68 +Their life is already planned out. They know how things are supposed to be. 
  470.69 +They don’t want to frighten you or risk losing you.” She was shaking now, 
  470.70 +almost too afraid to go on but unsure if she could stop herself now that she’d 
  470.71 +said as much as she had. Meimi’s warm hand squeezed her own shaking one 
  470.72 +softly. Pulling it into both of her own, she held it on her lap as she tried to calm 
  470.73 +down.
  470.74 +	Meimi was still in shock over what Seira had said. So many people 
  470.75 +went to the short haired girl with their problems day in and day out. Had 
  470.76 +someone come to her saying all of this? Was someone really this worried about 
  470.77 +her finding out he was in love with her? Was it... Was it Asuka Jr.? Had he come 
  470.78 +to Seira about all of this? Her heart was pounding even harder in her chest now. 
  470.79 +“It’s Asuka Jr., isn’t it? He was the one who said all that, wasn’t he? I knew he 
  470.80 +could be romantic. He’s afraid of telling me? Is that why he’s always so mean?” 
  470.81 +she got out in a blur. Everything was so strange, like her heart was being pulled 
  470.82 +in different directions. That was so sweet that he thought of her that way, like an 
  470.83 +angel. And here she thought he was just being a jerk about everything. Wait, 
  470.84 +something was wrong. Seriously wrong. “Seira, are you crying?”
  470.85 +	The slightly smaller girl shuddered in the cold night air, choking back a 
  470.86 +sob as she pulled her hand away from Meimi’s. No, it wasn’t supposed to be this 
  470.87 +way. She had been wrong to have thought she should ever have said anything. 
  470.88 +Her life was already planned out for her. It was a mistake to think that she 
  470.89 +should say anything at all. She could barely hear Meimi asking again and again 
  470.90 +what was wrong, but she was having a hard enough time trying to pull herself 
  470.91 +back together. Right now all she wanted was to cry herself to sleep. To get 
  470.92 +away. But she couldn’t. Even if she could try, Meimi was much faster than her. 
  470.93 +The wind started to pick up again, leaves swirling around the two girls. Seira 
  470.94 +wiped at her eyes with her palms, shaking her head in answer to Meimi’s 
  470.95 +repeated question. Whenever she tried to speak, all she could do was choke out 
  470.96 +another sob. It took her several minutes before she could get anything out, her 
  470.97 +throat now painful. “No, it’s nothing, Meimi-chan. It really doesn’t matter. It 
  470.98 +doesn’t matter at all. Just forget about it. Please forget about it for me.” 
  470.99 +	Meimi didn’t know what to say to her best friend. Watching Seira 
 470.100 +sitting right next to her, hunched over and sobbing, her face buried in her hands. 
 470.101 +It sent an icy blade through her heart. What had she done? How had she hurt 
 470.102 +her? “Seira?” she asked quietly, but it was too late. The damage was done and 
 470.103 +she knew that no amount of questioning would get whatever she’d done out of 
 470.104 +Seira. Her shoulders slumped sadly as she looked at her feet. She felt... empty. 
 470.105 +She wished she had kept her mouth shut. 
 470.106 +	“A girl came to me with a problem. She had accidentally given a video 
 470.107 +tape to her best friend with some things on it that she doesn’t want her to see 
 470.108 +instead of another tape she was going to give her. She’s afraid that her friend 
 470.109 +will see the tape before she’s ready to understand how she feels. Saint Tail needs 
 470.110 +to get it back for her,” Seira explained, her voice barely masking the pain she 
 470.111 +was in. 
 470.112 +	Meimi nodded weakly, sighing. “Hai, I’ll get it back for her, Seira. I’ll 
 470.113 +go get it tomorrow.” An uneasy silence blanketed the two for a long moment. 
 470.114 +Meimi tried to take Seira’s hand again, but the nun girl stood up quickly. “Seira, 
 470.115 +I don’t have to go. Can you tell me what’s wrong? I’m really sorry if it’s 
 470.116 +something I said.” Getting to her feet, she took a step towards the short haired 
 470.117 +girl, but Seira took a step away, her back to her.
 470.118 +	“No, it’s not important. I was mistaken to think it was. I’m extremely 
 470.119 +sorry for getting you out here so late. I’ll try to be more considerate next time.” 
 470.120 +Seira held as still as she could, unsure of how long she could keep from crying 
 470.121 +in front of her friend. 
 470.122 +“But... Why are you so sad, Seira? Maybe I should stay with you. You 
 470.123 +don’t have to tell me anything,” Meimi offered hopefully. Anything to make up 
 470.124 +for putting her best friend through any pain. If she couldn’t know what was 
 470.125 +going on, at least she could be there for her.
 470.126 +“Thank you, but I have some things I need to do in the church. I 
 470.127 +promised one of the Sisters. Goodnight, Meimi-chan.” Her hands clasped in 
 470.128 +front of her, Seira didn’t look back. ‘Please don’t go. Please stay with me. I 
 470.129 +don’t want to be alone right now,’ she thought frantically, but no words would 
 470.130 +come out. 
 470.131 +“Oh... okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Sleep well, Seira.” 
 470.132 +Meimi offered a weak smile before disappearing the way she had come.
 470.133 +Seira collapsed to her knees seconds later, shaking her head as icy tears 
 470.134 +fell to the ground. “But... Meimi, I love you.” The wind scattered her tears as the 
 470.135 +night moved inexorably onward towards the coming dawn.
 470.136 +
 470.137 +	Meimi yawned tiredly as she trudged her way to school the next 
 470.138 +morning. She had spent half the night tossing and turning, her mind constantly 
 470.139 +returning to Seira. The lonely look in her eyes that she’d barely managed to 
 470.140 +catch a glimpse of before the nun-in-training had turned away haunted her every 
 470.141 +time she closed her eyes. How could she have hurt her that badly? It could have 
 470.142 +been something else that hurt her. Maybe whatever it was that Seira wasn’t 
 470.143 +telling her. But Meimi had a hard time believing that. Seira had seemed nervous, 
 470.144 +but it wasn’t until she’d started ranting about what she thought it could be that 
 470.145 +the glow in the young Sister’s eyes had shattered. But no matter how many 
 470.146 +times she went over it in her mind, she couldn’t figure out what had happened.
 470.147 +	A sigh escaped the mysterious thief’s lips as she hoisted her bookbag 
 470.148 +higher. All she had to do was ask Seira about it before class. Unless Seira tried 
 470.149 +to change the subject like she did often enough when she would ask about just 
 470.150 +what Seira’s sources of information were. No, she wouldn’t let her off that easy. 
 470.151 +If Seira was hurting, then she had to know why. She couldn’t leave her best 
 470.152 +friend like that. It tore her up inside to think that it was her fault. That she was 
 470.153 +the reason for those crystal tears in Seira’s indigo eyes. This was something 
 470.154 +Kaitou Saint Tail would have to put right if she was ever going to get a good 
 470.155 +night’s sleep again.
 470.156 +	A rustling sound in the bushes off to the right startled Meimi. To her 
 470.157 +surprise, Ryoko and Kyoko stepped out. The two girls’ uniforms were both 
 470.158 +rather disheveled and they were both blushing a deep scarlet. Brushing back 
 470.159 +some hair from her eyes, Meimi took a deep breath. “Oh, it’s you. You two 
 470.160 +frightened me.” She tilted her head to the side, watching Kyoko fidget as she 
 470.161 +tried to snag something that seemed to be made from white cloth in Ryoko’s 
 470.162 +hand. Ryoko only grinned as she kept it away from the smaller girl. 
 470.163 +	“Meimi-chan!! What a surprise to see you here. I mean, on your way to 
 470.164 +school and all. You’re usually to school just a little earlier than us,” Kyoko got 
 470.165 +out quickly. She offered a nervous laugh after a brief second. “Well, you better 
 470.166 +get going if you don’t want to be late for class.”
 470.167 +	“Un, you’re right.” Meimi nodded as she took a step forward. She 
 470.168 +paused when she noticed that neither Kyoko nor Ryoko had made a move to 
 470.169 +follow her. “What about you two? Shouldn’t you get going, too?”
 470.170 +	Kyoko cast a sidelong glance at Ryoko before replying. “I would, but I 
 470.171 +need to get something that was stolen from me before I can go.” As the wind 
 470.172 +picked up, her blush grew darker, her hands going down immediately to hold 
 470.173 +down her skirt. 
 470.174 +	Ryoko just giggled as she began to follow Meimi. “You’ll have to ask 
 470.175 +Saint Tail if you want it back that badly, Kyoko-chan. Or you can come over 
 470.176 +tonight. I’m sure you could get whatever it is back then.” She smiled innocently 
 470.177 +as the other girl gave her a deadly glare. One she might actually worry about if 
 470.178 +she didn’t know what a kitten Kyoko was. 
 470.179 +	“Hmph...” Kyoko crossed her arms as she followed the two girls ahead 
 470.180 +of her. “I guess I’ll just have to do that then.” She made extra sure to give Ryoko 
 470.181 +another disapproving glare before melting into a bright smile when she finally 
 470.182 +caught her eyes. “Maybe we could study... or something.”
 470.183 +	“Or something,” Ryoko repeated in agreement, returning the smile.
 470.184 +	Meimi sweatdropped fiercely as they walked along. She had no idea 
 470.185 +what they were talking about. Unless... No, she was just having a hard time 
 470.186 +thinking correctly after the night before with Seira. Her mind wasn’t working 
 470.187 +now and she needed to speak with her best friend soon so things could go back 
 470.188 +to normal. Lonely, tear filled eyes greeted her when her eyes closed, sending a 
 470.189 +shiver through her soul. She needed to see Seira. Soon. But where was she? 
 470.190 +Seira usually met her on the way to school, but the brunette was nowhere to be 
 470.191 +seen. Was she waiting for her? She picked up her pace as she the school came 
 470.192 +into site. 
 470.193 +
 470.194 +	Setting her bookbag next to her desk, Haneoka Meimi glanced around 
 470.195 +the room for her best friend, hoping to see her amongst the small groups of 
 470.196 +students. After a few tense moments, she still couldn’t spot the sister-in-training. 
 470.197 +A long sigh escaped her lips as she sat down. This was starting to worry her. 
 470.198 +First the weird way Seira had been acting the night before and now her not 
 470.199 +showing up for class. It didn’t seem like her at all. Something was most certainly 
 470.200 +wrong.
 470.201 +	“So you really almost caught her this time, Asuka Jr.?” one of the boys 
 470.202 +asked eagerly as the detectives son walked into class.
 470.203 +	“Yeah, not like the last thirty seven times. This time she was looking 
 470.204 +right at me. If I hadn’t been blinded by Mimori holding a flashlight, I would 
 470.205 +have seen who she was,” Asuka Jr. responded, a mix of anguish and hope in his 
 470.206 +voice. “One of these days... I will be the one to catch Saint Tail!”
 470.207 +	The other boys crowded around him with their usual casual amusement. 
 470.208 +Whether it was for the recent news on Asuka Jr.’s quest to catch Saint Tail or if 
 470.209 +it was just to watch him make an ass out of himself, none of the girls really 
 470.210 +knew. Nor cared. 
 470.211 +	Meimi rested her chin on her hands, waiting to see how Asuka Jr.’s 
 470.212 +account of events would conflict with reality. All he cared about was catching 
 470.213 +Saint Tail. How could he be so single minded? And thinking that she couldn’t be 
 470.214 +Saint Tail, at that! Oh, when he found out, she needed to give him a piece of her 
 470.215 +mind. Seira’s warning came to mind again, snapping her out of it. She had to be 
 470.216 +very careful about who could know that. So far only Seira knew that she was the 
 470.217 +Mysterious Thief Saint Tail. But that was because she could always trust Seira 
 470.218 +with anything. Seira was the entire reason she was Saint Tail. Asuka Jr. chasing 
 470.219 +her was just a side of it that managed to keep her entertained as she kept going 
 470.220 +on whatever missions Seira had for her. She enjoyed the chase. It was fun to 
 470.221 +play cat and mouse, like a game. 
 470.222 +	“She’s practically begging for me to catch her now. I can tell. I bet that 
 470.223 +I can catch her by the next time I see her,” Asuka Jr. bragged, leaning against his 
 470.224 +desk.
 470.225 +	Meimi stood up immediately, a certain nun-in-training not there to stop 
 470.226 +her anger from boiling over. “I am not...” She clenched her fists, barely keeping 
 470.227 +herself from saying something she would regret later on. It was so much easier 
 470.228 +when Seira was there to drag her off. “Saint Tail is not begging for you to catch 
 470.229 +her! I don’t see why she’d pick such an inept person to be the one to figure out 
 470.230 +who she is.”
 470.231 +	The green haired boy frowned as he turned to face the (unbeknownst to 
 470.232 +him) mysterious thief. “How would you know, Haneoka? You’re not there when 
 470.233 +I match wits with Saint Tail again and again. You wouldn’t understand this sort 
 470.234 +of thing. It’s part of criminal mentality, Saint Tail’s in particular. She wants me 
 470.235 +to catch her.”
 470.236 +	Fuming, Meimi reduced the distance between her and her rival in an 
 470.237 +instant. “You match wits with her? So that’s why you always lose. I knew there 
 470.238 +had to be some reason.”
 470.239 +	“Shut up! This has nothing to do with you!” the boy said angrily as he 
 470.240 +matched her glare. Why was she always shooting him down? Especially about 
 470.241 +Saint Tail? He was the expert on the thief, not her. She should know her place!
 470.242 +	Before Meimi could shoot something back that would have stunned her 
 470.243 +classmates and, in particular, Asuka Jr., their teacher was upon them. And 
 470.244 +apparently, Meimi had said it because after the room fell deathly silent as 
 470.245 +everyone’s attention had focussed on her, she spent the rest of that morning 
 470.246 +outside holding two buckets of water. 
 470.247 +
 470.248 +	By lunchtime, Meimi was still embarrassed about her little outburst 
 470.249 +earlier. She was still getting freaked out looks from Asuka Jr. and Lina was 
 470.250 +giving her the evil eye. Seira had yet to make an appearance and that was really 
 470.251 +starting to worry her. She couldn’t remember Seira ever missing a full day of 
 470.252 +school. The clouds were starting to darken and the wind was picking up, 
 470.253 +blowing back her long hair. It even smelled like rain. She really didn’t feel like 
 470.254 +going through the effort of giving Asuka Jr. a challenge, but she knew she had 
 470.255 +to. A promise was a promise, after all. Patting him on the back as she passed, he 
 470.256 +stared at her oddly. She murmured something as she headed for the church to 
 470.257 +see if her friend had taken refuge there. 
 470.258 +
 470.259 +	Haneoka sure was acting strangely. Even more so than normal. And he 
 470.260 +still couldn’t believe what she’d said earlier this morning. The things that had 
 470.261 +come out of that girl’s mouth... He shook his head and continued eating his 
 470.262 +lunch. 
 470.263 +	“Good luck tonight!” a boy said as he passed by. 
 470.264 +	Asuka Jr. raised an eyebrow and stared at the boy until he was out of 
 470.265 +sight. Freak. He went back to eating his lunch.
 470.266 +	“Oh, I’ll bet Kaitou Saint Tail’s going to perform her greatest heist,” a 
 470.267 +girl said as she and her friends came from behind. 
 470.268 +	“I wonder what she wants this time,” another girl said thoughtfully as 
 470.269 +she came from his other side. 
 470.270 +	“What’s going on?!” The young detective wannabe stood up in 
 470.271 +frustration. A slip of paper came floating down off of his back. “Huh?” Plucking 
 470.272 +it from the ground, he quickly skimmed over it. 
 470.273 +	“Tonight I will come to steal an important videotape from Kinomoto 
 470.274 +Sakura. Not even the coming storm can stop me. ~ St. Tail”
 470.275 +	“Saint Tail?!” The green haired boy’s eyes went wide at the letter. 
 470.276 +Another challenge! This time, he would prove Haneoka-san wrong. Leaving the 
 470.277 +rest of his lunch, he ran off to call the Inept Police Force for backup.
 470.278 +
 470.279 +	The door flew open as Haneoka Meimi entered her house. She barely 
 470.280 +had the willpower to take off her shoes. Releasing a frustrated sigh, she 
 470.281 +collapsed onto the couch, her bookbag dropping next to her. Try as she might, 
 470.282 +she had been unable to locate her missing best friend and none of the nuns 
 470.283 +would tell her where she was. It was like some huge conspiracy was keeping her 
 470.284 +from seeing Seira. Okay, maybe not. But it was still frustrating after seeing her 
 470.285 +best friend crying the night before. She wanted to be there, to help her. Just like 
 470.286 +how Seira had always helped her when things were bad. She couldn’t get the 
 470.287 +nun girl off her mind all day. Her worrying was just getting worse. She still 
 470.288 +didn’t quite know why Seira had wanted to see her the night before. I certainly 
 470.289 +wasn’t just to tell her what she needed to do. And she was really starting to fear 
 470.290 +that it had something to do with her. Why else would Seira be avoiding her this 
 470.291 +way? 
 470.292 +	“Meimi, are you alright?” her father asked, pushing up his glasses with 
 470.293 +his index finger.
 470.294 +	“No.” 
 470.295 +	“Would you like to see a magic trick? It’ll cheer you up.” He smiled as 
 470.296 +he entered the living room. 
 470.297 +	“No.”
 470.298 +	He frowned as he went back to the kitchen. “I’m worried about Meimi-
 470.299 +chan, Mama. She seems so troubled, but she won’t let me cheer her up.”
 470.300 +	Eimi smiled as she hugged her magician husband. “That’s okay. I’m 
 470.301 +supposed to be your special assistant, so she doesn’t need to see the magic trick 
 470.302 +anyway. Besides, Meimi’s in love,” she stated quite positively. Meimi 
 470.303 +sweatdropped, still within earshot of her parents. 
 470.304 +	Genichirou turned around, looking at the back of his daughter’s head. 
 470.305 +“In love? Are you sure? I think she’s just troubled about school.”
 470.306 +	“No, she’s in love. Sitting there that way reminds me just how I was at 
 470.307 +her age.” 
 470.308 +	“Like you? That’s what I’m worried about.”
 470.309 +	“Then stop worrying about it and we’ll go rehearse that magic trick of 
 470.310 +yours. I’m sure I’ll make a good special assistant,” Eimi said suggestively.
 470.311 +	“Oh, practice _that_ part. Yeah, I always love _that_ part.”
 470.312 +	Meimi blushed profusely at her parents’ plans. At least they weren’t 
 470.313 +worrying about her anymore. She didn’t feel like explaining as it was. In love. 
 470.314 +Ha! If only. That would be easier than this. Sweatdropping at a strange noise 
 470.315 +coming from the kitchen, she quickly excused herself and hurried upstairs. 
 470.316 +
 470.317 +	“Ruby? Why is Seira avoiding me? Why is she acting so strangely?” 
 470.318 +Meimi asked as she tossed her school blouse vaguely in the hedgehog’s 
 470.319 +direction. Of course, she got no answer. “I mean, we’ve been best friends for 
 470.320 +years. We’re always together. So why would she just leave me out of things 
 470.321 +now? We’re partners. She’s the only reason I’m Saint Tail anyway. Maybe I 
 470.322 +shouldn’t go until she explains things to me. I need to know what hurt her so I 
 470.323 +can try to fix it. I really hope it wasn’t me. If I hurt her...” Sighing, her skirt 
 470.324 +joined the blouse as she dug through her closet. Not that it mattered what she 
 470.325 +picked out as it was because she would soon be running across rooftops as Saint 
 470.326 +Tail. “She’s acting strangely. Something about all this just makes me nervous. I 
 470.327 +need to see her smile again before I can rest easily. I can’t get her out of my 
 470.328 +mind. But that doesn’t help any if she’s not there. I missed her all day.” Pausing 
 470.329 +for a moment, she shook her head. “No, since last night. I never should have left 
 470.330 +her. I should have stayed with her. I was stupid to leave after seeing those tears 
 470.331 +in her eyes.” She clutched a sweater to her chest, her eyes falling closed as guilt 
 470.332 +grabbed at her soul. Regret at failing Seira when she knew Seira would have 
 470.333 +stayed with her no matter what preyed on her mind, visions of what might have 
 470.334 +been running over and over. 
 470.335 +	Ruby made a small sound as she stood up and tilted her head to the 
 470.336 +side, poking out of Meimi’s school clothes. 
 470.337 +	Smiling, Meimi picked up her small pet. “Thanks, Ruby. You’re right. I 
 470.338 +need to go work all of this out with Seira. Neither of us can be happy until we’ve 
 470.339 +put things right.” She kissed the hedgehog’s forehead and set it back down. Her 
 470.340 +thoughts grew more determined to fix things as she slipped out the window. 
 470.341 +“Seira.”
 470.342 +
 470.343 +	Seira heard her coming long before she could see her. Her eyes were 
 470.344 +still closed as she stay kneeling in prayer. Her heart was racing as she tried to 
 470.345 +stay calm, praying for the strength to keep going. If only things could work out... 
 470.346 +But no, she had decided a long time ago that they wouldn’t. That’s why she had 
 470.347 +chosen this life. She had things planned. A hand on her shoulder startled her out 
 470.348 +of her thoughts and what little concentration she had gathered. Attempting a 
 470.349 +smile, she turned to face her friend, the look of concern on Meimi’s face wiping 
 470.350 +the smile away. The silence lasted for a few moments before she stood up. 
 470.351 +Meimi’s blue eyes tried to catch her own gray blue eyes, but she couldn’t meet 
 470.352 +her gaze. “Hello, Meimi-chan.”
 470.353 +	“Seira, where were you? I couldn’t find you at all at school. None of 
 470.354 +the Sisters would tell me where you were, either.” Meimi took a step closer to 
 470.355 +the brunette. “I was worried about you. I missed you. And after last night... It 
 470.356 +scared me. All of those things you said last night and then you up and disappear 
 470.357 +today. I didn’t know what to think.”
 470.358 +	Clasping her hands together, the nun-in-training looked away. “I’m 
 470.359 +sorry, Meim-chan. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just didn’t feel well today. I 
 470.360 +couldn’t go to school.” Her heart twisted at the half truth. A sigh escaped her 
 470.361 +lips. She had already tried to tell Meimi the night before. It was pointless to try 
 470.362 +again. She would just have to hold those feelings inside. Forever. Because she 
 470.363 +knew they would never go away. She had been so scared of them at first. She 
 470.364 +had been raised by nuns. It was completely improper to feel that way. But as 
 470.365 +time went by, she realized that she couldn’t help it. It was part of who she was. 
 470.366 +She couldn’t keep herself from loving Meimi. She could merely keep herself 
 470.367 +from expressing it. And if she couldn’t, then it was best for her to go into the 
 470.368 +convent. It would be a way to repay the church for raising a lonely orphan girl 
 470.369 +like herself. If she couldn’t be with the one she loved, at least she could do that.
 470.370 +	“Why? Were you sick? Or was it because of last night?” Meimi 
 470.371 +demanded. Taking Seira’s arm, she turned the slightly smaller girl to face her. 
 470.372 +Her face was still marked with concern. “Seira, whatever it was last night, I 
 470.373 +shouldn’t have left. And I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I 
 470.374 +don’t ever want to hurt you. Please tell me what’s going on.” Her fingers lightly 
 470.375 +brushed Seira’s puffy red cheeks. Sadness welled up in her at that. It was 
 470.376 +obvious that she’d been crying earlier. 
 470.377 +	Seira blushed a bit at the feeling of Meimi’s fingers against her cheek. 
 470.378 +Her eyes fell closed, the frightened girl torn between pulling away and melting 
 470.379 +into the warm touch. Why did she have to do this to her? She was helping her by 
 470.380 +keeping it all inside, by not burdening her with these feelings that she could 
 470.381 +never return. Her eyes started to sting again but she fought to hold the tears 
 470.382 +back. “Meimi-chan... Please just go and get the tape.. Please...” she pleaded with 
 470.383 +the mysterious thief, unsure of how much more she could take before breaking 
 470.384 +down. The young Sister-in-training shuddered as Meimi’s fingers brushed some 
 470.385 +tears away from her cheeks. It hadn’t occurred to her until then that she’d begun 
 470.386 +to cry.
 470.387 +	“Seira, please tell me what’s going on. I don’t know if it’s my fault or 
 470.388 +not, but I want to help you,” Meimi whispered softly, feeling horrible at seeing 
 470.389 +the other girl in such pain. If only there was some way for her to alleviate it. To 
 470.390 +take it on herself. “Please, Seira-chan.” Seira tried to respond a few times, but 
 470.391 +only sobs escaped her. Meimi pulled her shuddering body close, hugging her as 
 470.392 +warmly as she could. The brunette slumped against her, choked sobs coming 
 470.393 +from her as she held on. The poor girl seemed so tiny and frail in her grasp. “No. 
 470.394 +I’m going to do what I should have done last time. I’m going to stay with you. 
 470.395 +I’ll always be there for you, Seira-chan. I’ll always protect you.” Hugging the 
 470.396 +other girl tighter, Meimi closed her blue eyes. ‘Not Saint Tail, but me. I’ll 
 470.397 +always be there to help her. I don’t need a flashy alter-ego to be there for Seira.’
 470.398 +	This wasn’t fair! How could she be so close and yet so far? It was like a 
 470.399 +taste of heaven. All she ever wanted, but she knew it would be snatched from 
 470.400 +her at any moment. This wasn’t really hers. She was only getting Meimi’s 
 470.401 +warmth, her loving embrace because of their friendship. It would never be what 
 470.402 +she really wanted. This was only a mirage. She had to keep her mind from 
 470.403 +giving in. But it felt so nice, Meimi’s arms around her. She couldn’t help but rest 
 470.404 +her head on the magical girl’s shoulder. If she had to endure much more of this, 
 470.405 +it would be far too much for her to handle. “You have to help that girl. I’ll be 
 470.406 +here when you’re finished. I promise,” she whispered softly into Meimi’s ear.
 470.407 +	Meimi hesitated, biting her lip. Could she really just abandon her again 
 470.408 +the way she had the night before? What if it made things worse? Seira was much 
 470.409 +more important to her than Saint Tail. Her choice between the two was clear.
 470.410 +	“Please. She needs your help. She’ll be hurt badly if you don’t get that 
 470.411 +videotape back. It’s important.” Seira wiped at her eyes as she took a step away 
 470.412 +from Meimi’s warm embrace. “She’s in love with the girl she gave that tape to. 
 470.413 +If you don’t get it back, it could ruin everything.”
 470.414 +	That startled her. The girl she gave it to? So she... was in love with 
 470.415 +her...? Alright, this was starting to get confusing. “You’ll still be here?” Meimi 
 470.416 +repeated, sounding unsure. 
 470.417 +	Nodding, Seira hugged herself. “I’ll still be here, Meimi. I promise you. 
 470.418 +But please, help her first. I... I understand what she’s going through. She needs 
 470.419 +your help.” When she’d first stumbled upon the pale, dark haired girl, she had 
 470.420 +been outside the church, some bodyguards following nearby. Something about 
 470.421 +her, maybe the sad look in her stormy blue eyes, had drawn Seira closer. She 
 470.422 +had learned of the girl’s True Love, her best friend who hadn’t caught on about 
 470.423 +how she felt despite numerous hints. She had videotaped a confession of her 
 470.424 +love and had accidentally given it to the other girl by mistake rather than the 
 470.425 +video she had meant to give her, something showing off a costume. Now she 
 470.426 +was afraid that the other girl would find out before she was ready. She still 
 470.427 +remembered the dark haired girl’s words. 
 470.428 +	“When I close my eyes, I can see her smiling at me. So warmly, so 
 470.429 +tenderly. Yet she doesn't see the yearning, doesn't notice the depths of my love 
 470.430 +for her. It flows deeply through me, cradling my soul when things get too 
 470.431 +painful to move on. Her very essence, all that she is forces me to carry on when 
 470.432 +I don't think I can anymore. I would do anything for her. I would give her the 
 470.433 +world if I could. I would give her my heart, but she already has it. Does she 
 470.434 +know that? Is it just an accepted fact or does she still think that maybe I'm just a 
 470.435 +little strange? That my reasoning for acting the way I do can't possibly be 
 470.436 +because I'm in love with her. So in love with her. I would die for her. This life is 
 470.437 +only a cruel joke without her so my own life can't be worth very much at all. But 
 470.438 +her... She’s an angel. I don't regret a single day, a single second that was spent 
 470.439 +with her, no matter the pain it would cause later. Even if I had known, I wouldn't 
 470.440 +give it away for the world. Because on cold, lonely nights like tonight, I can 
 470.441 +close my eyes and see her through the tears, waiting for me. Sometimes that's 
 470.442 +the only way I can get to sleep. In her arms, I know that I would be able to 
 470.443 +finally sleep peacefully. But that will never happen, will it? I'll have to keep 
 470.444 +pretending, keep yearning for her, even if it hurts. I can't show her the tears, the 
 470.445 +rips in my soul. I can't let her know that I'm bleeding inside. That every smile 
 470.446 +hides the sobs I keep from her. But that's the way it has to be. How would she 
 470.447 +handle the knowledge that being with her is both the most wonderful, warm 
 470.448 +feeling in my heart, and the most painful, cold torment? I can't take that 
 470.449 +innocence away from her. She would lose something. And then our friendship 
 470.450 +would suffer for it. She wouldn't act the same way around me anymore and I 
 470.451 +would hate myself for that.” Tomoyo closed her eyes and sighed. “I want her to 
 470.452 +know, but it shouldn’t be this way. She wouldn’t understand if she finds out on 
 470.453 +her own.”
 470.454 +	‘I want to tell you, too, Meimi. But I can’t... I tried, but I can’t. I’m 
 470.455 +sorry,’ Seira thought to herself sadly. 
 470.456 +	Finally nodding assent, Meimi crossed her arms. “Alright, but I’ll be 
 470.457 +right back. I can’t stand to see you like this Seira. I need to know what’s hurting 
 470.458 +you.”
 470.459 +	Seira smiled softly, taking Meimi’s hand. “Thank you, Meimi-chan. 
 470.460 +I’m sure the girl will be very happy to receive God’s protection with the help of 
 470.461 +Saint Tail.” 
 470.462 +
 470.463 +	Sakura Kinomoto sweatdropped as her older brother, Touya once again 
 470.464 +argued with the younger, green haired boy about just why he needed to be there. 
 470.465 +Just half an hour ago, a boy named Asuka Jr. had arrived with several police 
 470.466 +officers and had demanded that they let him in, showing off some sort of trinket 
 470.467 +as if it were a badge and an excellent reason for them to comply with his 
 470.468 +demands. Touya had not been about to, but his friend, the bespectacled white 
 470.469 +haired boy had managed to calm him down long enough for the green haired boy 
 470.470 +to slip past and explain his case. Apparently, the mysterious thief Saint Tail had 
 470.471 +pegged their house for her next heist and would be there that night. And even 
 470.472 +more of a shock to the young Cardmistress was that she was after a videotape 
 470.473 +that Tomoyo had given her. That just didn’t make sense. Why would a thief 
 470.474 +want to steal something that her friend had given her? Especially something of 
 470.475 +no actual value like a videotape. The green haired boy had shrugged off her 
 470.476 +question, merely stating that ‘Saint Tail’s like that. I’m sure she has a reason.”
 470.477 +	But that wasn’t a good enough explanation to the brunette. 
 470.478 +Unfortunately, he seemed to be in no mood to explain, busying himself with 
 470.479 +planning some sort of trap for the mysterious thief. So Sakura sat alone in her 
 470.480 +room, her brother’s irritated voice coming upstairs through the door as he 
 470.481 +hounded the younger boy at every step. Sakura was thankful that her father was 
 470.482 +gone for the night. Of course, that meant Touya had to cook. And he had 
 470.483 +expressed no interest whatsoever at feeding the hungry looking officers 
 470.484 +downstairs. 
 470.485 +	Why did she want the videotape? What could be so important that 
 470.486 +she’d sneak in to steal it? It was just a videotape of her in various costumes with 
 470.487 +some action sequences at the end to appease Kero-chan. Maybe she should call 
 470.488 +Tomoyo. Tomoyo always made things seem better, especially when she was 
 470.489 +confused like this. Her hand reached out instinctively for the pink cell phone 
 470.490 +Tomoyo had given her so long ago. Her fingers paused just over the speed dial 
 470.491 +button. The dark haired girl loved taking videos of her. Wouldn’t it worry her if 
 470.492 +Sakura told her someone was trying to steal it? No, she couldn’t worry Tomoyo 
 470.493 +like that. The other girl was rather... eccentric. Especially when it came to her. 
 470.494 +But she’d never really seen her worried about anything that didn’t have to do 
 470.495 +with her. Still, she didn’t want to press her luck and worry Tomoyo 
 470.496 +unnecessarily. This matter would likely be solved soon enough.
 470.497 +	But what was on that videotape?
 470.498 +
 470.499 +	Touya spent a long time preparing dinner, making sure that everything 
 470.500 +was just perfect. The intoxicating smells wafted through the house, seeming to 
 470.501 +draw everyone towards the kitchen. Yukito watched intently as he went about 
 470.502 +pouring in some water. The taller boy made absolutely sure that he had just 
 470.503 +enough food for himself, Yukito, and his little sister. Of course, it was a rather 
 470.504 +difficult job discerning just how much the white haired boy would eat. 	
 470.505 +“So what are you making?” one of the officers asked curiously. He and 
 470.506 +two others had gathered to watch Touya cook. They all looked starving. But the 
 470.507 +teenage boy still wasn’t pleased about this intrusion into his home. 
 470.508 +Pointedly ignoring them, Touya went back to preparing the food. It was 
 470.509 +with some satisfaction that he noticed someone’s stomach growling. 
 470.510 +
 470.511 +Asuka Jr. paced the living room nervously. It was starting to grow late 
 470.512 +out and there had still been no sign of Saint Tail. She was coming. He knew she 
 470.513 +was. He knew it at his very core. Because she always did. There was something 
 470.514 +in that line of thought that comforted the boy. It was reassuring; a constant in an 
 470.515 +otherwise always shifting world. And for that, he thanked Saint Tail. But he was 
 470.516 +still going to catch her and find out just who she was! This game of theirs had 
 470.517 +gone on long enough. He wouldn’t allow himself to be fooled by anymore of her 
 470.518 +tricks. This time all of the cards were on the table and he was determined to win. 
 470.519 +“Take your shoes off,” the older boy of the house demanded, his eyes 
 470.520 +following Asuka Jr.’s every move. The officers that had come with Asuka Jr. 
 470.521 +had already complied. 
 470.522 +“What?” The green haired boy asked, turning around for the hundredth 
 470.523 +time on the plush carpet as he continued his pacing.
 470.524 +“I said, take your shoes off,” Touya repeated firmly. 
 470.525 +“I need to be able to catch Saint Tail! This is official business. You can 
 470.526 +take it up with the mayor,” Asuka Jr. argued, his frustration building. He would 
 470.527 +be the one to catch Saint Tail! Why did everyone insist upon getting in his way? 
 470.528 +Didn’t they understand? It was his quest! He just had to catch her! It was the 
 470.529 +natural order of things. Yet people still insisted upon interfering. Right now it 
 470.530 +was his time. As soon as his business with Saint Tail was concluded, it could go 
 470.531 +back to being Torga’s time. Or whatever his name was. But the look on the older 
 470.532 +boys face told an entirely different story. Grumbling to himself, Asuka Jr. finally 
 470.533 +left his shoes by the door. 
 470.534 +Crossing his arms angrily, the junior detective returned to his pacing, 
 470.535 +oblivious to anything but his sole purpose in life. Where had he been, again? Oh 
 470.536 +yes. She would be here. And when she did...
 470.537 +“Hello! I’m here to see Kinomoto-san. Is she here?” A cute girl in a 
 470.538 +black and white school uniform asked. It was the same uniform he’d seen that 
 470.539 +Sakura girl wearing earlier. Must be a classmate. He couldn’t quite see her face 
 470.540 +under shadows cast by the slightly larger than usual hat she was wearing. “Yeah, 
 470.541 +she’s upstairs. But make it quick. This is official police business.” A giggle 
 470.542 +escaped the girl as she headed for the stairs. Stupid girl. She didn’t understand 
 470.543 +what she was in the middle of. He continued his pacing, waiting for just the right 
 470.544 +moment to pounce on Saint Tail. It couldn’t be much longer now.
 470.545 +
 470.546 +Confusion. That was the first response that came to Sakura’s mind as 
 470.547 +she sat in stunned silence, her television currently showing static. Two hours. 
 470.548 +The tape had been two hours long. How do you take two hours to confess your 
 470.549 +love to someone? Tomoyo had found an excellent way. And she’d made perfect 
 470.550 +use of the new editing system her mother had given her, splicing in scenes from 
 470.551 +earlier tapes and cute background music as she all the while narrated the video, 
 470.552 +giving an explanation of her feelings and what Sakura meant to her. It was 
 470.553 +certainly the oddest declaration of love that Sakura had ever been witness to, but 
 470.554 +it had definitely been done well. 
 470.555 +But for some reason, the brunette just couldn’t work herself up to be 
 470.556 +surprised. It made sense. Even if she hadn’t really understood a lot of what the 
 470.557 +dark haired girl had said before or some of the hints she had given, this just 
 470.558 +seemed to clear up everything, giving her an insight into her best friend that 
 470.559 +she’d never thought to look for. Of course Tomoyo loved her. In hindsight, it 
 470.560 +was blindingly obvious. Looking back, everything took on a whole new light. 
 470.561 +Things made more sense now. Tomoyo made more sense now. 
 470.562 +And in some ways, Sakura made more sense now. The video had really 
 470.563 +gotten her to think. Every little confession Tomoyo had made, every explanation 
 470.564 +that had drawn Sakura closer to the screen, wanting to know what the pale girl 
 470.565 +was about to say next, had started to confuse her more and more as the video 
 470.566 +went on. But now...  What Tomoyo had explained had sounded so familiar. The 
 470.567 +feelings she had described and the emotions that coursed through her had all felt 
 470.568 +so close to her. As if she understood what Tomoyo had meant. But she couldn’t 
 470.569 +possibly understand, could she? Those feelings weren’t anything like what she 
 470.570 +had felt for Yukito. Yet Tomoyo was most positively in love. So where had 
 470.571 +those feelings, or the memories of those feelings, been to have come unbidden to 
 470.572 +her mind? 
 470.573 +And then, she understood. Just as those stormy blue eyes had conveyed 
 470.574 +the feelings deep within Tomoyo, she knew that she’d felt them everyday 
 470.575 +herself. How far did it go back? How long had she felt this way? She couldn’t 
 470.576 +tell for sure. But those safe, warm feelings had bathed her for quite a while now. 
 470.577 +That soft thrill, the yearning, and the jumbled thoughts. The hot blushes and the 
 470.578 +embarrassing moments. She had felt this way about Tomoyo for a mystifying 
 470.579 +amount of time. She just hadn’t realized it. “Hoe...” 
 470.580 +	Tomoyo had been too close to her. Sakura had never been able to 
 470.581 +understand because those feelings were always there. She had come to take them 
 470.582 +for granted, just as she had taken Tomoyo for granted. As if they’d always be 
 470.583 +there the same way that Tomoyo would always be there. So she had never taken 
 470.584 +the time to actually look at those feelings, to see that Tomoyo was their source. 
 470.585 +That Tomoyo made her happy. Just like what Tomoyo had said. ‘I’ll be happy as 
 470.586 +long as the person I like is happy.’ Those words had comforted her slightly 
 470.587 +when she was trying to get over Yukito. But now she understood the warmth 
 470.588 +behind Tomoyo’s voice when she’d said it. This time she knew what Tomoyo 
 470.589 +had truly meant. “But Tomoyo-chan... You make me happy,” Sakura whispered. 
 470.590 +Her head cocked to the side in thought, she realized that it was true. Tomoyo did 
 470.591 +make her happy. She was the one thing in this world that she always knew could 
 470.592 +make things seem better. 
 470.593 +	She had had these feelings for a long time now. But it took two hours 
 470.594 +tape to make her realize what they were.
 470.595 +
 470.596 +	Closing the door quietly behind her, Sakura’s ‘friend’ was pleased to 
 470.597 +note that Sakura looked to be completely out of it. She was looking off into 
 470.598 +space, deep in thought. With a skillful hop, the girl was on the other side of the 
 470.599 +bed, quickly making her way to the television and the video. Had her mind been 
 470.600 +on the situation at hand rather than on Seira and what could be troubling the 
 470.601 +poor nun girl, she would have scene the cord running from the gaming system to 
 470.602 +the controller. And with her above average reflexes, she probably wouldn’t have 
 470.603 +stumbled and come crashing to the ground with a loud thump. 
 470.604 +	Sakura’s attention shifted to the unexpected girl in her room, cutting 
 470.605 +through her introspection like a knife. “Who are you?” She asked curiously as 
 470.606 +she stood up. Why would anyone from school be over here now? Except... Her 
 470.607 +voice grew shaky as her knees threatened to give out. This was too sudden! She 
 470.608 +had to have a moment to compose herself. “Tomoyo-chan?” she asked 
 470.609 +hesitantly. Sure the girl didn’t seem to have Tomoyo’s usual grace, but everyone 
 470.610 +had their off days. 
 470.611 +	Meimi sweatdropped as she scrambled to her feet. She could already 
 470.612 +hear Asuka Jr.’s footsteps as her ran up the stairs, followed closely by the Inept 
 470.613 +Police Force and Sakura’s big brother. She silently cursed as she glanced around 
 470.614 +hurriedly for the videotape. This wouldn’t be happening if her mind didn’t keep 
 470.615 +wandering elsewhere. She told Seira that they needed to talk. She doubted she’d 
 470.616 +be able to get anything done at this rate. The cold worrying about Seira was 
 470.617 +weighing heavily upon her soul. 
 470.618 +	“Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura started nervously, taking a step forward. In the 
 470.619 +dim room, it was hard to make out any features of the girl ahead of her, the 
 470.620 +oversized hat still shadowing her face. “I... I want you to know that...” To 
 470.621 +Sakura’s embarrassment, Asuka Jr. and the rest of the boys chose that moment 
 470.622 +to bust into her room. Her face turned a bright shade of crimson as her hands 
 470.623 +went to her chest. What had she been about to say anyway? Could she work up 
 470.624 +the strength to say it after they all left again?
 470.625 +	“I know it’s you, Saint Tail! I’m not letting you get away this time,” 
 470.626 +Asuka Jr. stated as he and the others rushed into the room. His eyes never left 
 470.627 +her. He knew what a mistake that could be. He was the leading expert on Saint 
 470.628 +Tail, after all. 
 470.629 +	The girl in the school uniform just grinned at the intruders. Pulling the 
 470.630 +oversized hat to the side, her long pony tail fell out and down her back. With 
 470.631 +another swift movement, the school fuku was gone, replaced by the magician’s 
 470.632 +tuxedo based costume she wore. “One.”
 470.633 +	“Not this time!” The green haired boy thrust himself over the bed, 
 470.634 +slumping on the floor in time to hear the word ‘two’. “I won’t let you escape 
 470.635 +until I know who you are, Saint Tail!” He yelled as he leapt forward. 
 470.636 +	“Three!!” Sakura blossoms flew out of the large hat, starting to whip 
 470.637 +around the room, blinding the group with the onslaught of petals. She had 
 470.638 +thought it appropriate. 
 470.639 +	“Block off all the exits! Don’t let her out of the house!” Asuka Jr. 
 470.640 +yelled as he made his way towards the mysterious thief. He held his blazer over 
 470.641 +his head, trying to block the storm of flower petals. Almost there...
 470.642 +	Sakura vaguely remembered her fight with the Flower Card as all of 
 470.643 +this went on, the whole thing not making much sense, especially after her recent 
 470.644 +revelation. Just what was going on? That girl... She was the one trying to steal 
 470.645 +Tomoyo’s video! Her video! That was only for her!! 
 470.646 +	Meimi hurriedly searched for the video. To her dismay, there were two 
 470.647 +tapes on top of the television. Blinking through the swirl of petals, she saw 
 470.648 +labels on the two. ‘Sakura’s Exhausting Day at the Park’ was half way through 
 470.649 +and the other label was blank. She snagged that one, praying that she had chosen 
 470.650 +the right one. But by then it was too late. As she turned to head for the door, a 
 470.651 +hand gripped her bare arm just above her long gloves. Tightly. 
 470.652 +	“I won’t let you go!” Determination flared in the junior detectives eyes 
 470.653 +as he held tightly to his prize. This was it. He would finally know once and for 
 470.654 +all. He squinted, trying to see through the haze of flowers. She looked so 
 470.655 +familiar. He knew her, he was certain of that. He couldn’t quite make out who. 
 470.656 +His heart skipped a beat as he realized how close he was to finally attaining his 
 470.657 +goal. “I’ve caught you, Saint Tail.” 
 470.658 +	Meimi’s eyes went wide as she froze where she stood. Was this the 
 470.659 +end? Was he finally going to find out who she was? What would he think? What 
 470.660 +would Seira think? What could she do? She looked away, unsure of herself. 
 470.661 +Suddenly this wasn’t a game. It wasn’t just cat and mouse anymore. It was over. 
 470.662 +She couldn’t help but feel like she’d failed Seira. She knew the other girl would 
 470.663 +be fine with whatever happened, but could she even go out as Saint Tail after 
 470.664 +this? No, not if he found out. And she was Saint Tail for Seira. So she could help 
 470.665 +her. No, this wasn’t fair. It couldn’t end now. 
 470.666 +Suddenly, something jostled into Asuka Jr. and, to his sheer horror, he 
 470.667 +lost his grip on the mysterious thief. Mortified, he looked up to see Touya 
 470.668 +blindly stumbling through the raining petals. That moron! How could he ruin 
 470.669 +this!
 470.670 +The grip was gone. It... It wasn’t over, was it? The game was still afoot. 
 470.671 +Her heart began beating again, a smile returning to her lips as she felt warmth 
 470.672 +rush through her previously cold body. Looking up, she saw the tall boy from 
 470.673 +downstairs, fumbling through the flower petals. No, that wasn’t it. He knew full 
 470.674 +well where he was going. He had saved her. She smiled broader before dashing 
 470.675 +towards the door. 
 470.676 +Touya grabbed Asuka Jr.’s arm as he tried to get past him and after the 
 470.677 +mysterious thief. “What the hell’s going on here?” he asked, his eyebrows 
 470.678 +arching. The junior detective still looked like he was suffering from shock. 
 470.679 +Touya hid a smirk. He really didn’t like this kids methods. Too much like the 
 470.680 +brat for his liking. And he didn’t like the idea of the brat with his sister at all. 
 470.681 +Speaking of which, where was Sakura?
 470.682 +
 470.683 +Meimi bolted down the stairs, taking them two at a time as she gauged 
 470.684 +the distance to the door. She was sure that Asuka Jr. was right behind her as he 
 470.685 +often was and every little second counted. In the kitchen, she could dimly hear 
 470.686 +someone with an Osaka dialect and the white haired boy arguing over the last of 
 470.687 +the food. Ignoring it, mysterious thief Saint Tail broke out into the inky black 
 470.688 +night, broken only by tiny pinpricks of light through the velvet. The cool air felt 
 470.689 +refreshing against her skin, the tense moment back in the house getting to her 
 470.690 +much worse than she’d thought. After a brief second, she leapt up onto the 
 470.691 +rooftop, bounding to another one a short distance away. All that was left was to 
 470.692 +return the videotape and return to Seira. All in a night’s work for Kaitou Saint 
 470.693 +Tail. Grinning to herself, she had no idea that she was being watched. 
 470.694 +
 470.695 +Sakura stared in stunned amazement as the magician girl cleared 
 470.696 +another building.  She idly wondered if Tomoyo had felt that same amazement 
 470.697 +at seeing her bounding along rooftops similarly. But that had been a magical 
 470.698 +event. This was more like professional curiosity. After all, she had met her share 
 470.699 +of magical people. Pulling out a Sakura Card, Sakura quickly shouted ‘Release’ 
 470.700 +and used the Jump to catch up, leaping effortlessly along behind the other girl. 
 470.701 +That was her video. And she was going to get it back. 
 470.702 +
 470.703 +Her mind still focussing on the sad looking nun girl, it took Meimi a 
 470.704 +moment to notice that someone was following her. Frowning, she turned to see 
 470.705 +who it was, expecting the young junior detective to be on her trail. To her 
 470.706 +surprise, the younger brunette girl had given chase and was doing a wonderful 
 470.707 +job of keeping pace with her. There weren’t that many people who could. In 
 470.708 +fact, it seemed like the wings on her feet were practically carrying her along. 
 470.709 +“Stop!” Sakura yelled, a Card in her hands in case her call was ignored. 
 470.710 +“I want that videotape back. It’s mine.”
 470.711 +Meimi shook her head, turning around towards the younger girl. “I’m 
 470.712 +afraid it’s not. I was sent here to return it to a girl who had misplaced it. It’s 
 470.713 +really hers.”
 470.714 +Sakura was silent for a moment, biting the inside of her lip. “Misplaced 
 470.715 +it?” Had Tomoyo not meant to give it to her yet? Was she still worried about 
 470.716 +what Sakura would think if she found out? Had she gotten it by accident?
 470.717 +Nodding, the pony tailed girl took a step backwards. Pausing for just a 
 470.718 +second, she took another. “Of course. So it seems that it’s not your tape after all. 
 470.719 +But don’t worry. It will be back in it’s rightful owner’s hands soon enough.”
 470.720 +Sakura sighed. This was still too much for her to take all at once. So if 
 470.721 +Tomoyo hadn’t meant for her to see the tape, if it had been a way for the dark 
 470.722 +haired girl to get out all of that pent up emotion inside, should she just pretend 
 470.723 +she hadn’t seen it? But then she would have to ignore Tomoyo’s feelings as well 
 470.724 +as her own. She couldn’t do that to her friend. Sakura knew that she had to go 
 470.725 +talk to Tomoyo. “So you’re just returning it to Tomoyo-chan?” she asked 
 470.726 +reluctantly.
 470.727 +Meimi nodded again. “And whatever’s on the tape, if it’s that 
 470.728 +important, hopefully she’ll show you someday.” She smiled as she took another 
 470.729 +step. “And if you’re that important to her, I’m sure she will.” The pony tailed 
 470.730 +girl couldn’t help but wonder why Seira was so involved in this mission, but she 
 470.731 +sure hoped things worked out for the two girls.
 470.732 +Sakura blushed a little and smiled. “Hai... I think she will.”
 470.733 +With a quick count, Kaitou Saint Tail disappeared in a swirl of doves. 
 470.734 +
 470.735 +.	Not long after that, Saint Tail managed to sneak into the Daidouji 
 470.736 +mansion. Which was no small feat when compared to the Kinomoto residence. 
 470.737 +There were plenty of well trained guards (all female, curiously enough), and a 
 470.738 +very well placed security system. It took her over an hour to get inside the huge 
 470.739 +place. Moving quietly, she looked around for a good place to leave the tape, 
 470.740 +complete with a cute pink ribbon. 
 470.741 +	“You managed to get it back? Her faith in you is obviously very well 
 470.742 +founded.” Smiling sweetly, the dark haired girl got out of bed, her long 
 470.743 +nightgown trailing just above her feet. In the dim light, she could have easily 
 470.744 +been a ghost, her pale skin sharply contrasted by her dark hair. 
 470.745 +	Kaitou Saint Tail froze. This had never happened before. She wasn’t 
 470.746 +quite sure how to react. “Who? Oh, Seira-chan. But how did you...” She trailed 
 470.747 +off, shaking her head. How did she link her to Seira? It must have been the 
 470.748 +video. Seira had said that God might set things right and now here she was with 
 470.749 +the tape, playing messenger for Him because of Seira. 
 470.750 +	Tomoyo continued to smile that odd smile of hers, her head tilted to the 
 470.751 +side. She held the tape to her chest tightly, glad to know that her confession was 
 470.752 +once again in her hands. She would tell Sakura soon enough. “Arigato 
 470.753 +gozimasu, Meimi-san.”
 470.754 +	“All in a days work for...” Meimi trailed off again, sweatdropping. 
 470.755 +“Wait, what do you mean?”
 470.756 +	Tomoyo just smiled again. “Seira was talking a lot about you. You 
 470.757 +have to be the same girl she was talking about. I think that she needed someone 
 470.758 +to listen just as much as I did. Everyone goes to her with their problems, but no 
 470.759 +one seems to stop and wonder if she has any.” Of course, no one really asked 
 470.760 +her, either aside from her mother, but her mother was often times busy. But 
 470.761 +that’s because she did a good job of pretending to be happy for Sakura’s sake. 
 470.762 +Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Which was why she had made the 
 470.763 +videotape in the first place. It was a way of voicing all of the turmoil that the 
 470.764 +feelings inside of her gave rise to.
 470.765 +	“She was? I.. Well, I’m really glad I could help. Seira-chan seemed 
 470.766 +really worried about all of this so if I’ve managed to put it right then maybe that 
 470.767 +will get me a step closer to fixing things with her.”
 470.768 +	“I can see why someone’s in love with you. You’re very sweet and 
 470.769 +caring. A little like someone else I know.” Tomoyo had to force herself not to 
 470.770 +bring up Sakura. She knew that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to quit talking 
 470.771 +about the magnificent Cardmistress for at least half an hour. 
 470.772 +	“Someone?” How much did this strange girl know about her and what 
 470.773 +was going on? How much had Seira told her? Whatever it was, she was very 
 470.774 +perceptive. 
 470.775 +	“I think you know who,” was the simple reply.
 470.776 +	Meimi arched her eyebrows, unsure of what she meant. But before she 
 470.777 +could say anything, the pieces began to coalesce. Why Seira was so involved 
 470.778 +with this, why she related to this dark haired girl, why she’d called Meimi out to 
 470.779 +the church the night before, why she was always willing to do anything for her, 
 470.780 +why seemed to get jealous of Asuka Jr. from time to time, why she threw herself 
 470.781 +into their time together with the whole Saint Tail thing. “Seira...”
 470.782 +	“You should probably get to the church before you keep her waiting for 
 470.783 +too long,” Tomoyo said thoughtfully, ushering the mysterious thief back towards 
 470.784 +the window. “I’m sure she’ll want to know how things turned out. Thank you 
 470.785 +again, Meimi-san. And please tell Seira-san that I’m glad I came to her with my 
 470.786 +problem.”
 470.787 +	Meimi nodded weakly before sliding out the window. 
 470.788 +
 470.789 +	Seira was deep in prayer again, as she had been since Meimi had left 
 470.790 +much earlier that afternoon. It was the only way that she could calm herself 
 470.791 +about the whole situation. She hadn’t felt good at all and this was at least letting 
 470.792 +her get it all out to someone she knew would listen. She didn’t hear Meimi’s 
 470.793 +approach this time, but the arms that slowly went around her from behind, shook 
 470.794 +her out of the near trance-like state that she had been in. 
 470.795 +	“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Meimi asked simply, resting her 
 470.796 +head against Meimi’s back. She could feel the soft rise and fall of Seira’s 
 470.797 +breathing in her arms. 
 470.798 +	“I... I didn’t know how. I didn’t think I could,” Seira explained, a little 
 470.799 +thrown off by what was happening. It couldn’t be what she thought it was. 
 470.800 +	“I’m sorry. I should have noticed sooner, Seira.” Sighing, she let her 
 470.801 +eyes fall closed, still resting against the Sister-in-training. 
 470.802 +	Seira didn’t know what to make out of what was going on. The only 
 470.803 +thing she was fairly certain of was that Meimi knew her dark little secret. She 
 470.804 +blinked back painful tears, shaking her head ever so slightly. “No, I’m the one 
 470.805 +who should be sorry, Meimi-chan. I just couldn’t help it. You don’t understand. 
 470.806 +I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. I.. I know I shouldn’t, but...”
 470.807 +	“Why not?” Meimi asked softly, slowly opening her blue eyes. 
 470.808 +	Pausing for a moment, Seira shook her head in confusion. There were 
 470.809 +plenty of reasons. Because some of the Sisters said it was wrong, even if she 
 470.810 +didn’t believe that. Because she was afraid of losing Meimi. Because she didn’t 
 470.811 +want to hurt the other girl. “Because...”
 470.812 +	“I love you,” Meimi whispered shyly, embarrassed. It was the first time 
 470.813 +she’d uttered those words, and to her best friend at that. But she didn’t care if the 
 470.814 +situation seemed awkward. She was just glad that she understood. 
 470.815 +	Seira’s slightly darker eyes went wide as it ran through her mind. 
 470.816 +“You... Meimi-chan?” She stopped blinking back the tears, several falling down 
 470.817 +her delicate features as she turned around in Meimi’s grasp. “You what?”
 470.818 +	Meimi blushed as she met the other girl’s gaze. “I love you, Seira,” she 
 470.819 +repeated softly. Why was she still crying? What had she done wrong? She had 
 470.820 +searched her heart before coming back here. She knew this was what she 
 470.821 +wanted. But had she made things worse?
 470.822 +	Smiling through the tears, the nun girl wrapped her arms around the 
 470.823 +mysterious thief, holding onto her tightly. “Oh, Meimi-chan... I love you, too!” 
 470.824 +She held on for what seemed like an eternity in the middle of the church, both 
 470.825 +girls huddled together. “I love you,” she whispered again, not wanting to let go. 
 470.826 +It felt so nice to finally hold her, especially after hearing that. 
 470.827 +	Meimi was blushing lightly as she rocked back and forth with the 
 470.828 +slightly smaller girl in her arms. She felt overwhelmed inside. The feelings were 
 470.829 +almost too much for her. But even exhausted as she was, she felt wonderful. 
 470.830 +There was no place she'd rather be. Her blush darkened as Meimi’s eyes closed, 
 470.831 +her lips puckering as she leaned ever so slowly forward. Her own eyes falling 
 470.832 +closed in the face of sheer exhaustion and in such a warm embrace, she gave in 
 470.833 +completely to her friend, meeting those lips in a startlingly enrapturing kiss. The 
 470.834 +waves inside of her heart were no longer crashing, pulling her under in the 
 470.835 +confusion. The sea was finally calm. “I love you,” she heard whispered softly. 
 470.836 +Whether she said it or Seira had, it didn’t really matter as she surrendered 
 470.837 +herself back to the kiss.
 470.838 +	
 470.839 +

   471.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   471.2 +++ b/stories/substituteforlove.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   471.3 @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
   471.4 +
   471.5 +
   471.6 +I traveled round the world 
   471.7 +Looking for a home 
   471.8 +I found myself in crowded rooms 
   471.9 +Feeling so alone... 
  471.10 +
  471.11 +
  471.12 +
  471.13 +    A figure caught her eye as she was turning back to the counter.  For a second she caught her breath, hope springing up
  471.14 +unbidden, but she was to be disappointed once again when the woman turned.  The skin was far too dark...the hair was similar,
  471.15 +but not quite the right shade.  She was not the one. 
  471.16 +    Sakura was about to turn away again when she realized that the woman was also looking at her.  Looking at her with raised
  471.17 +eyebrows and a startled expression that quickly transformed to disappointment as she watched. 
  471.18 +    Then green eyes met green. 
  471.19 +    Something passed between them.  A sense of kinship, a recognition of some kind.  She made as if to rise but the other
  471.20 +woman gestured for her to remain seated and approached her instead. 
  471.21 +    She felt a lump in her throat.  The young woman moved with the unconscious grace of a true lady.  She might have been a
  471.22 +princess, she moved with such fluidity...it was a joy to watch her.  Her hair flowed down her back in soft waves. 
  471.23 +    For the life of her, Sakura couldn't help but be reminded of someone else. 
  471.24 +
  471.25 +
  471.26 +
  471.27 +Substitute for Love
  471.28 +By Janice
  471.29 +sparkle@animefan.org
  471.30 +
  471.31 +
  471.32 +    "Are you...waiting for someone?" asked the woman a little hesitantly. 
  471.33 +    "Well...not exactly," said Sakura.  She smiled a little.  "Would you care to join me?" 
  471.34 +    "Thank you."  Her voice was low and well-modulated, a lovely voice.  She spoke with formal politeness, reinforcing the
  471.35 +image of a princess in Sakura's head.  Still, she thought, I prefer higher voices.  High, sweet, voices...  She cut off the
  471.36 +thought cleanly and sharply, as one who has had much practice might do. 
  471.37 +    The door opened and Sakura looked up quickly, a reaction that had become almost as instictive as breathing. 
  471.38 +    And perhaps almost as necessary. 
  471.39 +    Strangely, the other woman looked up simultaneously, with a movement almost identical to Sakura's.  The two of them
  471.40 +squinted at the figure outlined in the doorway, and then each turned away with a sigh.  Then their eyes met again and they
  471.41 +smiled ruefully at each other. 
  471.42 +    "Have you always worn your hair long?" the woman asked.  The question was sudden, but somehow neither abrupt nor
  471.43 +jarring.  It seemed like the most natural question in the world. 
  471.44 +    Sakura put her hand self-consciously to the hair that fell down her back in a straight auburn curtain.  "No," she said quietly.  I
  471.45 +used to wear it in a short, pixie cut all through school.  But I haven't cut it in a long time.  Someday, I'll cut it short again." 
  471.46 +    "Someday, when you find...her?"  The questioning inflection was slight but unmistakable. 
  471.47 +    Sakura nodded slowly.  "Does...she have long hair?" she asked. 
  471.48 +    After a pause, the other woman nodded in turn.  "She...did...the last time I saw her, anyway.  Long and straight, like yours. 
  471.49 +But hers was lighter than yours." 
  471.50 +    "You move with the same unconscious, gentle, grace that she did," said Sakura.  "You don't really look like her, though her
  471.51 +hair was long and wavy like yours, but you...you *feel* a little like her, somehow." 
  471.52 +    The woman nodded again, as slowly as Sakura had.  "I'll bet you were athletic in school," she said. 
  471.53 +    Sakura smiled a little.  "Does is show?" 
  471.54 +    "Oh, in the way you move, in the way you carry yourself...the little things." 
  471.55 +    "She was always very observant, too.  She used to amaze us all.  Sometimes it seemed like she knew everything," Sakura
  471.56 +said reminiscently.  The door opened again and once again both women looked up in unison.  "I guess I've become the
  471.57 +observant one, now."  A thread of irony edged her tone.  "I certainly wasn't then, and I paid for it."  A sigh escaped her lips. 
  471.58 +"Why is it that we truly don't appreciate the most wonderful things in our lives until they're gone?" 
  471.59 +    The woman's hand covered hers comfortingly, her skin dark against Sakura's comparative paleness.  "I don't know," she
  471.60 +said sorrowfully.  "I don't know." 
  471.61 +
  471.62 +*    *    * 
  471.63 +
  471.64 +    Sakura pulled closer to her in the darkness, running her fingers through the long, soft hair.  "I'm afraid," she whispered. 
  471.65 +    "Of what?" 
  471.66 +    "Of finding her.  What if..."  It was hard to say.  "What if she's found happiness with someone else?  It was so long ago.  I've
  471.67 +changed.  I'm not the same person I was then...and she won't be either."  A tear escaped from her eye and ran sideways down
  471.68 +her face to hide itself in the pillow.  All of her fears were pouring out of her now.  "Why have I spent my life chasing a dream? 
  471.69 +What if...what if she doesn't love me anymore?  What if I only disrupt her life and make her unhappy by finding her?"  Her
  471.70 +voice dropped to a whisper. 
  471.71 +    "What if...what if I never find her at all?" 
  471.72 +    The arms around her tightened, and she felt as though they were the only things holding her together.  Without them, she
  471.73 +thought, she would shatter into a million pieces. 
  471.74 +    The low voice hovered in the darkness.  "I know," it said softly.  "I know." 
  471.75 +
  471.76 +
  471.77 +
  471.78 +
  471.79 +Lyrics at the beginning are from Madonna's "Substitute For Love", from her CD, "Ray of Light".  The characters
  471.80 +belong to the creators of the series "Card Captor Sakura" and "Utena", respectively... and respectfully. 
  471.81 +
  471.82 +
  471.83 +

   472.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   472.2 +++ b/stories/sudnglmps.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   472.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1806 @@
   472.4 +Hello, everyone! ^-^ We're so sorry it's been so long. We wound up 
   472.5 +
   472.6 +taking a little more than we thought we could handle, so we're working on a 
   472.7 +
   472.8 +whole lot of stories right now. This just happens to be the only one we've 
   472.9 +
  472.10 +managed to finish. ^^; We're working on a lot of other stories and joint author 
  472.11 +
  472.12 +stories atthe moment, so we don't really know when we'll finish the rest of 
  472.13 +
  472.14 +them. We'd still really love to hear from you at: amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
  472.15 +
  472.16 +We've got ICQ, too, so we'd love to talk to anyone on that. ^^ We're ChibiUsa
  472.17 +
  472.18 +Tomoe and our ICQ number is 50279282. 
  472.19 +
  472.20 +
  472.21 +
  472.22 +A friend of ours put up a site for the ChibiUsa & Hotaru Anthology, so you
  472.23 +
  472.24 +can find a lot of stories about the two of them by many great authors there. ^^
  472.25 +
  472.26 +The Anthology site is at: http://members.xoom.com/chibinhotaru/enter.html
  472.27 +
  472.28 +Please check it out. ^-^ Thanks to everyone who's helped make that a 
  472.29 +
  472.30 +possibility. ^^ So many beautiful stories came out of it and we appreciate all 
  472.31 +
  472.32 +your help. And most of all, we'd like to thank The  Ghost of 'lectricity, 
  472.33 +
  472.34 +because without him, there never would have been a site for the anthology. 
  472.35 +
  472.36 +Thanks, everybody. ^-^ We're still trying to collect stories for it, so if you 
  472.37 +
  472.38 +have any interest in writing a short story for the ChibiUsa & Hotaru Anthology, 
  472.39 +
  472.40 +please contact us. ^^
  472.41 +
  472.42 +
  472.43 +
  472.44 +This story uses one of the characters from the Sailor V manga, Natsuna 
  472.45 +
  472.46 +Sakurada. She was a police chief in that and she chased after Sailor V 
  472.47 +
  472.48 +throughout the manga. ^^  She collected a lot of things about her and 
  472.49 +
  472.50 +kept them in her office. You never do find out what happens to her after
  472.51 +
  472.52 +the Sailor V manga, so this should hopefully wrap things up for her. 
  472.53 +
  472.54 +
  472.55 +
  472.56 +Well, that should be all for now. ^^ We really hope you enjoy the story. 
  472.57 +
  472.58 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation,
  472.59 +
  472.60 +and others. 
  472.61 +
  472.62 +
  472.63 +
  472.64 +
  472.65 +
  472.66 +			     'Sudden Glimpse'
  472.67 +
  472.68 +			            by
  472.69 +
  472.70 +		           The Amazoness Quartet
  472.71 +
  472.72 +
  472.73 +
  472.74 +
  472.75 +
  472.76 +Present Tokyo
  472.77 +
  472.78 +   Minako walked to the end of the hallway, although she wasn't known as 
  472.79 +
  472.80 +Minako anymore. She was known as her alias, Venus. She was a Sailorsenshi. 
  472.81 +
  472.82 +She wasn't thirteen years old anymore. She wasn't living in her own little 
  472.83 +
  472.84 +world. She wasn't able to play volleyball anymore and she wasn't able to 
  472.85 +
  472.86 +date anyone since the small cresent-moon-baldspotted kitty walked into her 
  472.87 +
  472.88 +life and told her of her past. She was forever changed by that one act. She 
  472.89 +
  472.90 +remembered her past, she remembered her present, she remembered period. And 
  472.91 +
  472.92 +that one act had so much pain into her life that she was tired of living. 
  472.93 +
  472.94 +Even though it had been many years since she left the trail of Sailor V 
  472.95 +
  472.96 +behind her she was still a remembrance of her life. Even if no one else 
  472.97 +
  472.98 +cared to remember, like the many idols that she had honored and discarded.
  472.99 +
 472.100 +   But, she also supposed that it wasn't exactly Artemis' fault that she had 
 472.101 +
 472.102 +been given her curse of eternal loneliness. It was, in fact, her 
 472.103 +
 472.104 +protector's fault. . The man who had told her he was to protect her always 
 472.105 +
 472.106 +and then with his dying words left her with almost nothing. No hopes of 
 472.107 +
 472.108 +ever being loved and no hopes of ever feeling the happiness that she always 
 472.109 +
 472.110 +saw in her princess' face whenever she looked into Mamoru's eyes. It was 
 472.111 +
 472.112 +the one thing that made her hate Serenity. But, in all her life, no matter 
 472.113 +
 472.114 +what the hate never lasted. Just as she never hated Adonis for what he did 
 472.115 +
 472.116 +to her, because he was heartbroken and lost. Just as she was now, and 
 472.117 +
 472.118 +because she could understand what he felt in those last few years of the 
 472.119 +
 472.120 +silver millennium when he had to watch her love grow for a man that 
 472.121 +
 472.122 +ultimately lead to the end of the happiest times of human existence.
 472.123 +
 472.124 +
 472.125 +
 472.126 +Past Silver Millennium
 472.127 +
 472.128 +   "Serenity what are you doing her in the Terra sector?" Venus yelled 
 472.129 +
 472.130 +grabbing onto one of the pigtails that cascaded down Serenity's back. The 
 472.131 +
 472.132 +girl looked to Venus with sobbing eyes, she sighed and cliched onto 
 472.133 +
 472.134 +Endymoin.
 472.135 +
 472.136 +   "Venus don't make me go now," she yelled in her honeyed voice, "I really 
 472.137 +
 472.138 +want to stay here with the Prince."
 472.139 +
 472.140 +   "No," Venus said grabbing the princess from the prince's hands. " Are you 
 472.141 +
 472.142 +crazy? Your mother would kill me if you stayed here! She'd have my rank 
 472.143 +
 472.144 +stripped and I'd never ever be able to show my face at my home planet!"
 472.145 +
 472.146 +   "It's all about you isn't it," Serenity said half meaning it, half-joking.
 472.147 +
 472.148 +   "No I'm just trying to get you to try and not act so childish!" Venus 
 472.149 +
 472.150 +yelled, "'You are almost eighteen years old, and able to take over for your 
 472.151 +
 472.152 +mother as soon as possible. You know that you are not a child and I know it 
 472.153 +
 472.154 +you have to act with some rational thought don't you?"
 472.155 +
 472.156 +   "You aren't my mother!" she yelled tugging her hand away from her 
 472.157 +
 472.158 +protector's grip.
 472.159 +
 472.160 +   "It must be hard," another male voice intruded into her ears and Venus 
 472.161 +
 472.162 +swirled around to find out who it was. "Having a bundle of curiosity for a 
 472.163 +
 472.164 +princess."
 472.165 +
 472.166 +   "Kunzite!" Endymoin yelled at his guard for having such a loose tongue. 
 472.167 +
 472.168 +Venus blushed slightly and ducked her head at the Lord Generals presence. 
 472.169 +
 472.170 +Venus is shy? He thought, This take-charge-ask-no-questions-girl is shy?
 472.171 +
 472.172 +   "No need for formalities around Lord Generals now is there?" Kunzite 
 472.173 +
 472.174 +asked more to Venus then the others. Venus pushed back a strand of hair.
 472.175 +
 472.176 +   "No there isn't," she said, "we are equal and should be treated that 
 472.177 +
 472.178 +way." 
 472.179 +
 472.180 +Then the girl seemed to remember her meaning for being there. "Isn't it 
 472.181 +
 472.182 +Serenity?" She reached out and grabbed the princess's pigtail again and 
 472.183 +
 472.184 +shoved the girl into the moon transfer beam. Not exactly hurting her 
 472.185 +
 472.186 +because she had also grabbed the girls arm in the process. She wasn't about 
 472.187 +
 472.188 +to give the princess the benefit of hiding behind the prince again.
 472.189 +
 472.190 +   When the girls left the Lord General turned to his Prince Endymion. He 
 472.191 +
 472.192 +smiled and shook his head laughing at something that he thought was funny. 
 472.193 +
 472.194 +Perplexed the Prince asked what was so funny to the guard.
 472.195 +
 472.196 +   "Nothing Prince," he said, " She must really care for you if she is ready 
 472.197 +
 472.198 +to make her protector so angry at her for endangering her life."
 472.199 +
 472.200 +   "What do you mean?" he asked, "She is safe here. I can protect her."
 472.201 +
 472.202 +   "You are young and naïve," Kunzite said, "You do not know how dangerous 
 472.203 +
 472.204 +it is here. How much protection you and Serenity get from the generals and I. 
 472.205 +
 472.206 +Venus is only doing her job by protecting and scolding her princess. She is 
 472.207 +
 472.208 +scared. You are a threat. No matter how much you love Serenity you can not 
 472.209 +
 472.210 +save her from everything. This planet is still under sedge. It is still not 
 472.211 +
 472.212 +safe from all of the dangers that exist. Don't you wonder why the King and 
 472.213 +
 472.214 +Queen, your parents, allow you to visit the moon so often?
 472.215 +
 472.216 +   "No," Endymion said, " They have never put up much of a fight." Kunzite 
 472.217 +
 472.218 +nodded his head and motioned for Endymion to follow him.
 472.219 +
 472.220 +   "It's because you are almost completely safe in the Moon Kingdom." 
 472.221 +
 472.222 +Kunzite 
 472.223 +
 472.224 +answered, "Queen Serenity has vowed to care for and protect the planet 
 472.225 +
 472.226 +Earth and all the people inside it. Because you are the highest order 
 472.227 +
 472.228 +prince in this land and caretaker for the people you are the most valuable 
 472.229 +
 472.230 +entity in this day. You will not live to see Serenity age. She is immortal 
 472.231 +
 472.232 +you know that, don't you? She will live only to see you die, and you to 
 472.233 +
 472.234 +become jealous of the fact that she will be forever young. It is a doomed 
 472.235 +
 472.236 +match from the start and I do not agree to it flourishing any longer. You 
 472.237 +
 472.238 +will get no help from me or from the other generals to see her, and if we 
 472.239 +
 472.240 +see her again I have to close all gateways to the Moon Kingdom.
 472.241 +
 472.242 +   "What!" the young prince yelled a look of total horror on his face, "You 
 472.243 +
 472.244 +do not have to power!" Kunzite sighed he turned staring in complete 
 472.245 +
 472.246 +seriousness.
 472.247 +
 472.248 +   "Yes," Kunzite said, "I have the power to cut off all traveling and all 
 472.249 +
 472.250 +people from seeing you at all. I have the power to create a total hell on 
 472.251 +
 472.252 +earth for you if needed. I will do anything I need to protect you and the 
 472.253 +
 472.254 +princess. If you do not understand that then you are in for a amazing treat 
 472.255 +
 472.256 +to hear that reality is not all fun and games." Endymion stared at his 
 472.257 +
 472.258 +'friend'. The man he trusted with his life, and inside he knew that the man 
 472.259 +
 472.260 +was only doing this to protect them his maturity level wasn't at all at 
 472.261 +
 472.262 +it's highest. He yelled at Kunzite, and threatened to denounce the Lord 
 472.263 +
 472.264 +General from his rank. Then he stalked off, and Kunzite was left alone.
 472.265 +
 472.266 +   "Ah to be young again," Kunzite said even though the age difference 
 472.267 +
 472.268 +between him and Endymion was about three years the phrase was meant as a 
 472.269 +
 472.270 +joke.
 472.271 +
 472.272 +   "They do no seem to understand how much we care for them," Venus said, 
 472.273 +
 472.274 +her 
 472.275 +
 472.276 +voice making the Lord General to spin around and stare into the sad eyes of 
 472.277 +
 472.278 +SailorVenus. They where cold and piercing, as if everything that Kunzite 
 472.279 +
 472.280 +had just thought about in relativity to maturity flew out the window at the 
 472.281 +
 472.282 +mere sight of them. She wasn't looking at him, but in the direction that 
 472.283 +
 472.284 +Endymion had exited from.
 472.285 +
 472.286 +   "True," he replied as soon as he had gotten the nerve, " They do no 
 472.287 +
 472.288 +understand what we must go through to give them the life that they so badly 
 472.289 +
 472.290 +want."
 472.291 +
 472.292 +   "Even so," Venus said, "If apart of that happiness means we must 
 472.293 +
 472.294 +sacrifice 
 472.295 +
 472.296 +them to love one another are we hurting them by separating them? My whole 
 472.297 +
 472.298 +planet's meaning for existing is to give love to the planets surrounding 
 472.299 +
 472.300 +us. I'm going against all of my principals of I separate them like this. I 
 472.301 +
 472.302 +can't stand not giving them the love that they apparently have. Am I wrong 
 472.303 +
 472.304 +for doing so?" Kunzite looked at her and how she was so close to tears. It 
 472.305 +
 472.306 +made him upset to see her that way. In fact it almost killed him to see her 
 472.307 +
 472.308 +that way.
 472.309 +
 472.310 +   "I don't know," he answered, "So much can be compromised by doing so. I'd 
 472.311 +
 472.312 +hate to put your princess in so much danger. I know that they love each 
 472.313 +
 472.314 +other, but it is too much to just let them be together without thought for 
 472.315 +
 472.316 +everyone else."
 472.317 +
 472.318 +   "Perhaps," she said, " I can allow it in the confines of the Moon Kingdom 
 472.319 +
 472.320 +walls. I will have to talk to the other senshi, but I need to talk to you 
 472.321 +
 472.322 +first. He is, after all, your top priority."
 472.323 +
 472.324 +   "I don't know it's a lot to consider." Kunzite answered watching Venus 
 472.325 +
 472.326 +get 
 472.327 +
 472.328 +up and walk away. She tossed him a small pen with her planets' symbol. It 
 472.329 +
 472.330 +was orange and about the height and weight of a regular ballpoint pen.
 472.331 +
 472.332 +   "Press the handle and you will be able to speak to me at anytime you need 
 472.333 +
 472.334 +to. It is untraceable, and no one will be able to hack in to our systems 
 472.335 +
 472.336 +when you make the call. If needed you may have the generals talk to me as 
 472.337 +
 472.338 +well. I don't have it all figured out though, and I need more time. Okay? 
 472.339 +
 472.340 +Goodbye." Then she turned and left.
 472.341 +
 472.342 +
 472.343 +
 472.344 +Present Tokyo
 472.345 +
 472.346 +   "Venus-sama," Diana's voice interrupted Minako's thoughts into the Silver 
 472.347 +
 472.348 +Millennium. She turned to the small gray kitten that sat next to her with a 
 472.349 +
 472.350 +worried expression on her tiny kitty face. She smiled at the 
 472.351 +
 472.352 +acknowledgement of the elder senshi to her person.
 472.353 +
 472.354 +"Are you alright Venus-sama? You are so quiet right now." Minako sighed and 
 472.355 +
 472.356 +stared at the tiny violet-gray eyes of the kitten smiling and purring a 
 472.357 +
 472.358 +happy tune into her head. Minako padded the kitten between her ears and 
 472.359 +
 472.360 +smiled happily.
 472.361 +
 472.362 +   "I am alright Diana," she said quietly taking into account that the 
 472.363 +
 472.364 +kitten 
 472.365 +
 472.366 +had thought of her, "You are just like your father, Diana-chan. As sweet 
 472.367 +
 472.368 +and worried as ever, and taking time out to see if I'm okay. Your such a 
 472.369 +
 472.370 +sweetie thank you Diana." Diana smiled and then shook her head as quickly 
 472.371 +
 472.372 +as possible, as if she was trying to remember the reason why she had come 
 472.373 +
 472.374 +to Minako's room at all.
 472.375 +
 472.376 +   "There is a man here waiting for you," she said in a whisper, "He is 
 472.377 +
 472.378 +accompanied by Mamoru-san. He says that you should come down quickly so 
 472.379 +
 472.380 +that you may speak with him." Minako jumped up with a sudden bolt of 
 472.381 +
 472.382 +electricity.
 472.383 +
 472.384 +   "He knows you talk?" she asked the kitten quickly grabbing her by the 
 472.385 +
 472.386 +shoulders and bringing her close to her face.
 472.387 +
 472.388 +   "Yes Venus-sama he does", Diana said, " Papa isn't home right now may I 
 472.389 +
 472.390 +come with you Venus-sama? Please?" Minako stood taking Diana into her arms 
 472.391 +
 472.392 +and placing her onto her shoulders to rest.
 472.393 +
 472.394 +   "I wouldn't feel safe without you." Minako walked down the flight of 
 472.395 +
 472.396 +steps 
 472.397 +
 472.398 +on her way to the living room, she was almost shaking because of what Diana 
 472.399 +
 472.400 +had told her. She was scared to know that Mamoru-sama had brought someone 
 472.401 +
 472.402 +to her house, and that this person knew that Diana could talk no less. Who 
 472.403 +
 472.404 +was he? She turned a ways to see Mamoru sitting down and reading the report 
 472.405 +
 472.406 +that she had written for her english college class the week before. It had 
 472.407 +
 472.408 +been on the American favorite, "The Scarlet Letter". It was like the 
 472.409 +
 472.410 +American's reading the many favorite poets and writers of Minako's time for 
 472.411 +
 472.412 +their school assignment in their Japanese classes.
 472.413 +
 472.414 +   "Mamoru-sama?" she said in her soft voice, "Can I help you?" He looked up 
 472.415 +
 472.416 +at her and smiled. He closed the report and pointed at the 'A' printed in 
 472.417 +
 472.418 +the front.
 472.419 +
 472.420 +   "Very good Minako," he said, "I'm proud of you." Minako smiled and 
 472.421 +
 472.422 +stepped 
 472.423 +
 472.424 +to the bottom of the stairs.
 472.425 +
 472.426 +   "And, yet I know that you didn't come down to congratulate me on my 
 472.427 +
 472.428 +english report," she said. Mamoru smiled and stood up letting the report 
 472.429 +
 472.430 +lay on the table.
 472.431 +
 472.432 +   "Your right," he said, "I am afraid I have a job for you. You are the 
 472.433 +
 472.434 +only one I felt fit to have do this for me."
 472.435 +
 472.436 +   "Like what Mamoru-sama," she said, "You only seem to beat around the 
 472.437 +
 472.438 +bush, 
 472.439 +
 472.440 +and I can't help if you won't tell me what's wrong."
 472.441 +
 472.442 +   "It's ChibiUsa and Hotaru," Mamoru said, looking down quickly and sat 
 472.443 +
 472.444 +down. "I am worried about them."
 472.445 +
 472.446 +   "Why?" she said looking around her room looking for the other man Diana 
 472.447 +
 472.448 +was talking about.
 472.449 +
 472.450 +   "They're in love you know," he said bluntly.
 472.451 +
 472.452 +   "Of course I do," Minako answered, "I'm surprised you know. It's only 
 472.453 +
 472.454 +been 
 472.455 +
 472.456 +a few months maybe a year by now. I haven't been keeping track of any of 
 472.457 +
 472.458 +it."
 472.459 +
 472.460 +   "Why do you think they're so secretive about these things?"
 472.461 +
 472.462 +   "Maybe because ChibiUsa is the Neo-Princess of Crystal Tokyo, and Hotaru 
 472.463 +
 472.464 +is just a senshi. Only there to protect ChibiUsa not love her."
 472.465 +
 472.466 +   "That should make no diffrence," Mamoru began, but Minako placed her 
 472.467 +
 472.468 +fingers on his mouth.
 472.469 +
 472.470 +   "It does," she said, "It makes a big time difference, and if ChibiUsa is 
 472.471 +
 472.472 +to 
 472.473 +
 472.474 +marry anyone it would be a crowned prince. Someone like Elios, and not a 
 472.475 +
 472.476 +senshi. Do you don't understand much about things like this because you 
 472.477 +
 472.478 +fell in love with a crowned princess. You didn't have to worry about things 
 472.479 +
 472.480 +like this, ChibiUsa does. What would you do if she came up to you and told 
 472.481 +
 472.482 +you that she was in love with a girl, and a senshi no less. If it had been 
 472.483 +
 472.484 +you or Princess Serenity you would have been banned from seeing Serenity. 
 472.485 +
 472.486 +It's kind of the same thing here, understand?"
 472.487 +
 472.488 +   "No, I don't understand but then again my memories are clouded," he 
 472.489 +
 472.490 +looked 
 472.491 +
 472.492 +down thinking a second before answering, "You where one of the only ones 
 472.493 +
 472.494 +who have received almost all of your memories. I can't even remember my life 
 472.495 +
 472.496 +now, let alone my memories then."
 472.497 +
 472.498 +   "Perhaps I should talk to them," Minako said.
 472.499 +
 472.500 +   "No," Mamoru protested, "I do not want them to know that we know. I want 
 472.501 +
 472.502 +them to tell us when they're ready."
 472.503 +
 472.504 +        Minako looked confused. "I don't really know what I could do if you 
 472.505 +
 472.506 +don't want me to talk to them."
 472.507 +
 472.508 +        Mamoru shook his head. "I know that there's something you can do. 
 472.509 +
 472.510 +They need to understand that they can tell us that they're in love. But they 
 472.511 +
 472.512 +have to be ready to tell us."
 472.513 +
 472.514 +        "Hmmm...." Minako thought about the situation for a bit. "It's 
 472.515 +
 472.516 +getting dark out. Maybe I can come up with something if I sleep on it."
 472.517 +
 472.518 +        "Thank you, Minako. I really appreciate this. ChibiUsa's afraid of 
 472.519 +
 472.520 +the consequences of being in love with Hotaru. Even though she's the 
 472.521 +
 472.522 +princess I want her to know that everything will be fine," Mamoru sighed 
 472.523 +
 472.524 +wearily. "I just wish there was more I could do."
 472.525 +
 472.526 +        Minako smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll think of 
 472.527 +
 472.528 +something."
 472.529 +
 472.530 +        "Oh, before I go I wanted you to talk to someone." Mamoru called for 
 472.531 +
 472.532 +someone. A man walked around the corner. Minako gasped as she saw who it 
 472.533 +
 472.534 +was.
 472.535 +
 472.536 +
 472.537 +
 472.538 +        Meanwhile, Hotaru and ChibiUsa's thoughts were far from the 
 472.539 +
 472.540 +discussion Minako and Mamoru were having. They were both at the house where 
 472.541 +
 472.542 +ChibiUsa lived with Usagi's family. The two girl's were locked in a 
 472.543 +
 472.544 +passionate embrace on the couch. The lights were off and the only 
 472.545 +
 472.546 +illumination was the moonlight that filtered in through the windows. THeir 
 472.547 +
 472.548 +tongues dueled as their hands roamed each other's bodies, the thin fabric of 
 472.549 +
 472.550 +their clothes the only barrier between them.
 472.551 +
 472.552 +        They froze when they heard footsteps leading towards them. They 
 472.553 +
 472.554 +pulled away quickly. Hotaru was smoothing out her skirt as the footsteps 
 472.555 +
 472.556 +approached them. ChibiUsa was looking down nervously.
 472.557 +
 472.558 +        ChibiUsa looked up. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was Shingo, 
 472.559 +
 472.560 +Usagi's little brother, and it didn't look like he'd seen anything. "What 
 472.561 +
 472.562 +are you two doing out here with all the lights off?" he asked.
 472.563 +
 472.564 +        "Nothing," ChibiUsa answered immediately. "We were about to go 
 472.565 +
 472.566 +upstairs. We were talking."
 472.567 +
 472.568 +        Shingo stared at her oddly for a moment before shrugging. He sat 
 472.569 +
 472.570 +down on the couch by them and turned the TV on. Hotaru and ChibiUsa both got 
 472.571 +
 472.572 +up.
 472.573 +
 472.574 +        "We're probably off to bed now," Hotaru said with an exaggerated 
 472.575 +
 472.576 +yawn.
 472.577 +
 472.578 +        Shingo looked at the clock. "It isn't that late."
 472.579 +
 472.580 +        "Yeah, well, we're going back to my room anyway. Goodnight, Shingo," 
 472.581 +
 472.582 +ChibiUsa said.
 472.583 +
 472.584 +        Shingo waved to them as they walked upstairs.
 472.585 +
 472.586 +
 472.587 +
 472.588 +        "You know, one of these days we're going to get caught," Hotaru 
 472.589 +
 472.590 +stated matter-of-factly.
 472.591 +
 472.592 +        ChibiUsa sighed. "We should be more careful. I forget where I am 
 472.593 +
 472.594 +when you're around so its hard to remember."
 472.595 +
 472.596 +        Hotaru smiled, glad to have that affect on the pink haired girl. "I 
 472.597 +
 472.598 +know what you mean. I wouldn't really mind if we got caught, though. At 
 472.599 +
 472.600 +least we wouldn't have to hide it so much. Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa 
 472.601 +
 472.602 +don't hide it like we do."
 472.603 +
 472.604 +        ChibiUsa sighed again. "I know, but that's a different situation. I 
 472.605 +
 472.606 +haven't even been born yet in this time. That and I've always been told what 
 472.607 +
 472.608 +responsibilities I have to the kingdom because I'm I have to one day be its 
 472.609 +
 472.610 +queen. I'm pretty sure that I've already messed with a few of those 
 472.611 +
 472.612 +responsibilities when we fell in love."
 472.613 +
 472.614 +        Hotaru stroked her cheek gently. "ChibiUsa, please don't worry. I'm 
 472.615 +
 472.616 +sure everything will be fine. No matter what happens, I'll be here with you. 
 472.617 +
 472.618 +Even if everyone wanted us apart."
 472.619 +
 472.620 +        ChibiUsa put her hand atop Hotaru's. "I love you, Taru-chan." She 
 472.621 +
 472.622 +hugged the dark haired girl to her.
 472.623 +
 472.624 +        Hotaru returned the warm embrace. "I love you, too, Odango-chan."
 472.625 +
 472.626 +        They held onto each other reassuringly, knowing the other was there 
 472.627 +
 472.628 +for them. They stayed that way for hours as they talked before finally 
 472.629 +
 472.630 +falling asleep together.
 472.631 +
 472.632 +
 472.633 +
 472.634 +*******Minako's Plcae
 472.635 +
 472.636 +        Minako sat watching the man befor her pace back and forth trying to 
 472.637 +
 472.638 +reclaim his thoughts on what brought him here. She could only stare though. 
 472.639 +
 472.640 +Because the shock that he was here probably made her speechless, and the past 
 472.641 +
 472.642 +was still fresh in her memories. It made her so uneasy to be around him, and 
 472.643 +
 472.644 +what made her even more uneasy was the fact that he was supposed to be dead. 
 472.645 +
 472.646 +He walked around his long, shoulder length, silver hair tied back into a 
 472.647 +
 472.648 +ponytail. His crystal gray eyes flitering in the dark light.Kunzite...she 
 472.649 +
 472.650 +thought, why are you here?  Her eyes lined with tears and she was about to 
 472.651 +
 472.652 +cry if she hadn't held her breath and waitted for the feeling to go away. She 
 472.653 +
 472.654 +stopped though. Then he stopped and stared at her for afew seconds and went 
 472.655 +
 472.656 +to her to comfort her. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her 
 472.657 +
 472.658 +on her forehead.
 472.659 +
 472.660 +          "what's wrong?" he asked. Her eyes trying not to decive her from 
 472.661 +
 472.662 +giving away her thoughts.
 472.663 +
 472.664 +          "I thought you where dead," Minako said slipping herslef away from 
 472.665 +
 472.666 +him. "Why are you here?"
 472.667 +
 472.668 +          "Because I was reborn," Kunzite answered. "When you helpped kill 
 472.669 +
 472.670 +Queen Beryal I was released from the bonds of being her slave. So where the 
 472.671 +
 472.672 +other generals. But, they won't be reborn."
 472.673 +
 472.674 +          "Why?" she asked,"Why are you here?"
 472.675 +
 472.676 +          "Because I heard you." Kunzite said, "I heard you calling for me in 
 472.677 +
 472.678 +your dreams. About the silver Millenium. I heard you calling for help. So I 
 472.679 +
 472.680 +came."
 472.681 +
 472.682 +          "Then you know about ChibiUsa and Hotaru," Minako said recalling 
 472.683 +
 472.684 +her converstion with Mamoru. You about the and my mission."
 472.685 +
 472.686 +          "Yes," Kunzite said, "I am also here to help you with that."
 472.687 +
 472.688 +          "How?"
 472.689 +
 472.690 +          "We send them back to Crystal Tokyo. We let them see what it's like 
 472.691 +
 472.692 +in the future. Let them talk to thier future-selfs and realise that they can 
 472.693 +
 472.694 +tell Mamoru-sama about thier secret. I can help you know."
 472.695 +
 472.696 +          "Send them back?"
 472.697 +
 472.698 + **********
 472.699 +
 472.700 +
 472.701 +
 472.702 +	Hotaru woke up first. She blinked several times as she slowly woke up.
 472.703 +
 472.704 +Something felt different. Her left arm was asleep, but that wasn't it. It as 
 472.705 +
 472.706 +pinned under the familiar weight of her pink haired lover. She flexed her 
 472.707 +
 472.708 +fingers, feeling a tingle throughout her arm. She slowly tried to pull her arm
 472.709 +
 472.710 +out from under ChibiUsa. She finally gave up after a couple minutes. She sighed
 472.711 +
 472.712 +before kissing ChibiUsa's cheek. 
 472.713 +
 472.714 +	"ChibiUsa-chan," Hotaru said as she gently shook the other girl. Hotaru
 472.715 +
 472.716 +heard noises from another room. They were different from the sounds she usually 
 472.717 +
 472.718 +woke up to. A type of happy chaos she'd grown to find comforting. The sounds
 472.719 +
 472.720 +of her Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Haruka-papa all going about their 
 472.721 +
 472.722 +business. The sounds she heard were still happy, but not the same. She couldn't
 472.723 +
 472.724 +quite put her finger on what was different, though.
 472.725 +
 472.726 +	When she started shaking ChibiUsa again, she realized the sheets 
 472.727 +
 472.728 +covering them weren't her sheets. She relaxed a bit when she remembered that 
 472.729 +
 472.730 +they'd fallen asleep in ChibiUsa's room. The relief was shortlived however, as 
 472.731 +
 472.732 +she looked around the room. The room was much bigger than ChibiUsa's and 
 472.733 +
 472.734 +lavishly decorated. There were a lot of lamps in the room and trinkets lying 
 472.735 +
 472.736 +around the room collected over the years by the people who lived there. 
 472.737 +
 472.738 +	"ChibiUsa," Hotaru said louder, shaking the pink haired girl more 
 472.739 +
 472.740 +urgently. "Wake up."
 472.741 +
 472.742 +	"Mmmm..." ChibiUsa rolled over with her back to Hotaru. Hotaru managed
 472.743 +
 472.744 +to get her hand out from under the other girl, freeing it. She moved he arm 
 472.745 +
 472.746 +around trying to work the feeling back into it. Hotaru sighed in frustration. 
 472.747 +
 472.748 +She was worried about where they were. She'd feel a lot better if ChibiUsa 
 472.749 +
 472.750 +was awake. She needed the reassurance the other girl's presence always gave 
 472.751 +
 472.752 +her. 
 472.753 +
 472.754 +	"Odango-chan, please wake up," Hotaru said desperately. 
 472.755 +
 472.756 +	"What?" ChibiUsa asked sleepily.
 472.757 +
 472.758 +	"Get up," the dark haired girl said, relief evident in her voice.
 472.759 +
 472.760 +	ChibiUsa hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave the comfort of
 472.761 +
 472.762 +sleep.
 472.763 +
 472.764 +	"ChibiUsa," she heard the other girl say again. 
 472.765 +
 472.766 +	"Okay, I'm up." ChibiUsa sat up groggily, wiping the sleep from her
 472.767 +
 472.768 +eyes. She blushed and pulled the sheet up around her as she realized her 
 472.769 +
 472.770 +state of undress. Hotaru would have found it cute if she wasn't so worried.
 472.771 +
 472.772 +
 472.773 +
 472.774 +	ChibiUsa looked closely at the dark haired girl for a moment. 
 472.775 +
 472.776 +"What's the matter?" she asked. Hotaru looked so nervous. ChibiUsa hoped 
 472.777 +
 472.778 +nothing was wrong. She felt an icy pit form in her stomach as she saw the 
 472.779 +
 472.780 +frightened look on Hotaru's face. 
 472.781 +
 472.782 +	"Do you know where we are?" Hotaru asked her. 
 472.783 +
 472.784 +	The pink haired girl looked around the room for a minute. "We're 
 472.785 +
 472.786 +in Crystal Tokyo. We're in the palace, but I'm not sure what room." She 
 472.787 +
 472.788 +began to lie back down on the bed, glad to have answered Hotaru's question. 
 472.789 +
 472.790 +She felt relieved that it wasn't anything big. 
 472.791 +
 472.792 +	Hotaru grabbed her arm to keep ChibiUsa in a sitting position. 
 472.793 +
 472.794 +"Then why are we in Crystal Tokyo? We were in your room back in the present 
 472.795 +
 472.796 +last night, remember?" 
 472.797 +
 472.798 +
 472.799 +
 472.800 +	ChibiUsa looked around the room again nervously, now fully awake. 
 472.801 +
 472.802 +Why were they in ChibiUsa's time? Had her mother brought them there? If
 472.803 +
 472.804 +that was it, then why was Hotaru there with her? Did her mother already 
 472.805 +
 472.806 +know about them? Had Setsuna brought them? ChibiUsa's head began to swim
 472.807 +
 472.808 +with unanswered questions. 
 472.809 +
 472.810 +	Hotaru got up and took a closer look as she walked around the 
 472.811 +
 472.812 +room while she waited for ChibiUsa to get her bearings. It was the pink 
 472.813 +
 472.814 +haired girl's time period after all. For some reason, the room was oddly
 472.815 +
 472.816 +familiar and calming. Something caught her eye about some of the lamps. 
 472.817 +
 472.818 +She inspected it closely, shocked by what she'd found. 
 472.819 +
 472.820 +	"I think I know where we are," ChibiUsa said happily. "They must
 472.821 +
 472.822 +have moved all my things to a new room and this is it. Kind of like a 
 472.823 +
 472.824 +suprise for when I got back." She lifted up a stuffed bunny doll from off
 472.825 +
 472.826 +the bed. "I had this on my bed here in the palace when I went back to the
 472.827 +
 472.828 +past. I felt bad because I'd forgotten to bring it along." She smiled and
 472.829 +
 472.830 +hugged the bunny to her bare chest. 
 472.831 +
 472.832 +	"That's can't be it," Hotaru replied.
 472.833 +
 472.834 +	ChibiUsa looked up, confused. "Why not?"
 472.835 +
 472.836 +	"Because this is one of the lamps I collected. It's one of my 
 472.837 +
 472.838 +favorites."
 472.839 +
 472.840 +	"Then where are we?" ChibiUsa got up and walked over to the other
 472.841 +
 472.842 +girl.
 472.843 +
 472.844 +	"Well, wherever we are, someone must know we're here." The dark 
 472.845 +
 472.846 +haired girl said thoughtfully.
 472.847 +
 472.848 +	"This is too strange. Why would I be brought back here while I 
 472.849 +
 472.850 +was asleep?" ChibiUsa asked.
 472.851 +
 472.852 +	"I have no idea, Odango-chan. I'm sure someone can tell us what's
 472.853 +
 472.854 +going on, though." Hotaru thought about it for a moment.
 472.855 +
 472.856 +	"My mom should know. She might even be the one who had us brought
 472.857 +
 472.858 +here." ChibiUsa tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice. If it was
 472.859 +
 472.860 +her mother that had brought them both then she probably knew thet they 
 472.861 +
 472.862 +were together. ChibiUsa wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to her mom 
 472.863 +
 472.864 +about that.
 472.865 +
 472.866 +	"Good. Hopefully she can help us," Hotaru said, feeling a little
 472.867 +
 472.868 +better about there current situation. 
 472.869 +
 472.870 +	ChibiUsa stepped forward and opened the door. The two girls stepped
 472.871 +
 472.872 +out of the room. Before they could do anything, a little maroon haired 
 472.873 +
 472.874 +girl ran up to them. 
 472.875 +
 472.876 +	"Mama! Mama! Shisa won't leave me alone!" The little maroon
 472.877 +
 472.878 +haired girl ran up to the two of them looking about ready to cry. She
 472.879 +
 472.880 +looked like she was about five or six and her hair was done up in odangos
 472.881 +
 472.882 +with pigtails coming out from them. 
 472.883 +
 472.884 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa stood there, not sure what they should do. The
 472.885 +
 472.886 +little girl looked up at them with big, teary eyes, waiting for them to say
 472.887 +
 472.888 +something.
 472.889 +
 472.890 +	Another little girl ran up to them before they could decide what to
 472.891 +
 472.892 +do. She had darker hair than they other one and she wore glasses. Her hair
 472.893 +
 472.894 +almost reached her shoulders. "Selene doesn't understand," Shisa said. "I
 472.895 +
 472.896 +just wanted us to play, but she's been trying to ignore me." 
 472.897 +
 472.898 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa stared at the two children for a moment. ChibiUsa
 472.899 +
 472.900 +turned to look at Hotaru, waiting for the other girl to say something. Hotaru
 472.901 +
 472.902 +looked back at her and shrugged helplessly. 
 472.903 +
 472.904 +	"Mama? Are you okay?" Selene asked, sounding frightened. "Why are 
 472.905 +
 472.906 +you smaller?"
 472.907 +
 472.908 +	Shisa looked at the two of them as well. "Yeah. What happened?"
 472.909 +
 472.910 +	"Its okay," ChibiUsa said soothingly, trying not to worry the two 
 472.911 +
 472.912 +girls.
 472.913 +
 472.914 +	"And mama, your hair isn't as long as it used to be." Shisa added as 
 472.915 +
 472.916 +she looked at ChibiUsa. 
 472.917 +
 472.918 +	The two girls turned to Hotaru, but they couldn't notice anything 
 472.919 +
 472.920 +different about her other than her size. They turned in unison to look at
 472.921 +
 472.922 +ChibiUsa again. 
 472.923 +
 472.924 +	"Its a bit confusing," Hotaru said reassuringly. "We don't really 
 472.925 +
 472.926 +know what's going on either. But don't worry. I'm certain that everything's
 472.927 +
 472.928 +fine." Hotaru put a hand on both of their shoulders and smiled. The two 
 472.929 +
 472.930 +girls seemed to relax slightly. "Could I ask you a question?"
 472.931 +
 472.932 +	Shisa nodded. "Okay."
 472.933 +
 472.934 +	"Who are your parents?" Hotaru asked anxiously.
 472.935 +
 472.936 +	The two girls shared distraught looks before Selene answered. 
 472.937 +
 472.938 +"You two are."
 472.939 +
 472.940 +
 472.941 +
 472.942 +Minako walked down the corridors from the palaces marbled floors."How 
 472.943 +
 472.944 +did that happen?" Minako asked aloud. Her thoughts were in a jumble. 'Maybe 
 472.945 +
 472.946 +I shouldn't have come to the future,' she thought to herself. 'No. I'm the 
 472.947 +
 472.948 +Senshi of love. I wanted to help Hotaru and ChibiUsa. But why did I
 472.949 +
 472.950 +have to find out who I got with? Setsuna will kill me if she finds out that I 
 472.951 +
 472.952 +know. I just had to know, didn't I?' she asked herself. After meeting Kunzite
 472.953 +
 472.954 +again in the past, she thought that he might very well be the man she'd marry.
 472.955 +
 472.956 +When Hotaru and ChibiUsa had been sent to the future, she decided to go too so 
 472.957 +
 472.958 +she could help them, and possibly find out who she ended up with while she was 
 472.959 +
 472.960 +there. Her love life never worked out for her and now she finally had renewed
 472.961 +
 472.962 +hope for it. And with Kunzite's reappearance, she had a burning curiosity to
 472.963 +
 472.964 +find out how things would turn out for her. This had all made her start thinking
 472.965 +
 472.966 +about the past again, but she'd never thought that a certain part of her past
 472.967 +
 472.968 +would be such a big part of her future. 
 472.969 +
 472.970 +	When she'd gone to find out who her one true love really was, she'd seen
 472.971 +
 472.972 +her future self in the arms of Natsuna Sakurada. Natsuna had been a police chief
 472.973 +
 472.974 +when Minako was Sailor V and she'd fallen in love with Sailor V. Minako had only
 472.975 +
 472.976 +been thirteen at the time compared to Natsuna who had been about ten years older
 472.977 +
 472.978 +than her. It hardly seemed to matter to Natsuna, though. She'd quickly had some
 472.979 +
 472.980 +of her officers out trying to get Sailor V so she could talk with her. It had 
 472.981 +
 472.982 +frightened Minako to have the older woman chase after her like that. Eventually
 472.983 +
 472.984 +she'd even found out that Sailor V was Minako. Things between the two of them
 472.985 +
 472.986 +had left off unresolved because Minako's family had moved to England a short
 472.987 +
 472.988 +time afterward. She was shocked to find out what had become of that whole
 472.989 +
 472.990 +situation.  The idea scared her. Had she really been in love with Natsuna all
 472.991 +
 472.992 +this time? She wished Artemis was there. She stopped before the ornate doors
 472.993 +
 472.994 +of what she was fairly certain were the goup of rooms Hotaru and ChibiUsa 
 472.995 +
 472.996 +shared with their daughters. She'd asked a bit about the future and for the
 472.997 +
 472.998 +directions from her future self so she'd be prepared to help the two younger 
 472.999 +
472.1000 +girls. She'd planned on asking her future self about what had happened between
472.1001 +
472.1002 +her and Natsuna, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. She
472.1003 +
472.1004 +took a deep breath and composed herself before entering the room.
472.1005 +
472.1006 +	When she opened the doors to the bedroom she saw Shisa and Selene 
472.1007 +
472.1008 +jumping up and downtrying to get the two naked girls to comply with thier 
472.1009 +
472.1010 +needs. She smiled andcleared her throat trying to get the attention of the 
472.1011 +
472.1012 +two tiny girls. They stopped and looked at her.
472.1013 +
472.1014 +        "V-sama!" Shisa yelled jumping to Venus' arms and kissing her on the
472.1015 +
472.1016 +cheek in adorance. Selene pulled on Minakos fuku.
472.1017 +
472.1018 +        "V-sama, Shisa is being mean to me agian," Selene whinned, sticking her
472.1019 +
472.1020 +tounge out at Shisa.
472.1021 +
472.1022 +        "You two know better then to just barge in on your parents like that,"
472.1023 +
472.1024 +Minako said. Shisa stuck her tounge out at Selene and looked tirumphantly at
472.1025 +
472.1026 +Minako. "And, you know that Selene doesn't always like your games. You have
472.1027 +
472.1028 +to leave her alone sometimes. Try and practice your senshi skills with Jupiter and
472.1029 +
472.1030 +Mars."
472.1031 +
472.1032 +         "V-sama," Shisa yelled, "I want to practice with you!"
472.1033 +
472.1034 +         "Later Shisa," Minako said. "Just leave us now." The girls left and
472.1035 +
472.1036 +Minako closed the doors to the bedroom and smiled at the two nervous,naked
472.1037 +
472.1038 +girls. Hotaru had pulled the sheet over the girls and held her close to the
472.1039 +
472.1040 +cornor."Why are you two hiding from me? You've been married quite a while now."
472.1041 +
472.1042 +          "M-married?" ChibiUsa asked. "What do you mean married? We're only
472.1043 +
472.1044 +sixteen!"
472.1045 +
472.1046 +          "Not in this world your not ChibiUsa-chan." Minako said, handing over
472.1047 +
472.1048 +the clothes to a hamper, and turned and pulled out a gown that resembled
472.1049 +
472.1050 +Serenity's princess gown. She turned to ChibiUsa and grabbed her away from the
472.1051 +
472.1052 +sheet. She pushed the dress on her and released her hair from the tangled
472.1053 +
472.1054 +odangos. She began to brush the hair very gently, and when the tangles where
472.1055 +
472.1056 +gone she turned to Hotaru. Hotaru stared at her  from the sheet and watched her
472.1057 +
472.1058 +pull out another dress that resembled a senshi's attire but was decorated with
472.1059 +
472.1060 +tiny sequins that where shapped like tiny moons and stars. In the middle of her
472.1061 +
472.1062 +bow was a small locket that had the Saturn and Moon symbol on it. In the middle
472.1063 +
472.1064 +of the symbols was a tiny crystal that was colored black with silver lining on
472.1065 +
472.1066 +it.  Hotaru put on the dress and boots that laced up her legs almost to her
472.1067 +
472.1068 +knees.
472.1069 +
472.1070 +           "How do you know we're not from this world," Hotaru asked, "How come
472.1071 +
472.1072 +your being so calm about this?"
472.1073 +
472.1074 +           "Because I am from your world 'Taru." Minako said, "I am only posing
472.1075 +
472.1076 +like you and ChibiUsa. There is much that you need to know. Those two girls are
472.1077 +
472.1078 +the new princess' of Crystal Tokyo, they are your daughters."
472.1079 +
472.1080 +            "Look at us Mina-san," Hotaru said, "We're girls. How can we have
472.1081 +
472.1082 +children?"
472.1083 +
472.1084 +            "Ever heard of cloning? It's kinda like that but a bit harder to
472.1085 +
472.1086 +understand. Let's just say they've done a lot between our time and this one."
472.1087 +
472.1088 +            "Then how did you get here Mina-san?" ChibiUsa asked "How did you
472.1089 +
472.1090 +get to the Future Tokyo?"
472.1091 +
472.1092 +            "I was helped just like you two where," Minako smiled, "By someone
472.1093 +
472.1094 +you'd never guess." 
472.1095 +
472.1096 +	    ChibiUsa & Hotaru both looked at her. Minako sighed. "Its pretty
472.1097 +
472.1098 +confusing. Trust me." 
472.1099 +
472.1100 +
472.1101 +
472.1102 +*******
472.1103 +
472.1104 +
472.1105 +
472.1106 +     "Natsuna" Venus' voice breathed in the ear of her lovers. She kissed her
472.1107 +
472.1108 +sweetly on the cheek,tracing the jawline of her face with her gloved hand.
472.1109 +
472.1110 +Natsuna smiled sweetly her hair spilled over the fluffy pillows that litterd
472.1111 +
472.1112 +thier bed. She reached up pulling Minako's face to her own, kissing her fully on
472.1113 +
472.1114 +the mouth.
472.1115 +
472.1116 +    "I missed you today lover where have you been?" she asked, "I thought you
472.1117 +
472.1118 +would teaching the girls how to use thier powers by now."
472.1119 +
472.1120 +    "Not today," Venus said, "Today is our day to be together. You know that,
472.1121 +
472.1122 +it's our anniversary." She traced Natsunas creamy white breast with her
472.1123 +
472.1124 +fingertips bringing shivers down her spine. She loved every minute of this.
472.1125 +
472.1126 +Making her lover shiver underneath her touch and kisses. Strange how it just
472.1127 +
472.1128 +seemed so right after having shared so much with Natsuna in her past, Minako was
472.1129 +
472.1130 +able to share the future as well. It was perfect.
472.1131 +
472.1132 +      But there was the unresloved issue of Kunzite. What would he do if he
472.1133 +
472.1134 +fould her younger self wondering around. It wasn't like it was easy for him to
472.1135 +
472.1136 +let go of the fact that she and Natsuna where married. He'd always belived that
472.1137 +
472.1138 +they would get together and stay together no matter. Much Usagi and Mamoru's
472.1139 +
472.1140 +relationship, but in the end she couldn't wait for true love of the past to come
472.1141 +
472.1142 +to her. When there was the chance of being with such a sweet human being as
472.1143 +
472.1144 +well. She just hoped that her younger self could understand that so
472.1145 +
472.1146 +early.Chibi-Usa and Hotaru must be awakeing by now, she thought, I wonder what
472.1147 +
472.1148 +thier reaction on thier faces are right now....
472.1149 +
472.1150 +
472.1151 +
472.1152 +********
472.1153 +
472.1154 +
472.1155 +
472.1156 +	"Minako, what's going on?" ChibiUsa asked her worriedly.
472.1157 +
472.1158 +	Minako hesitated before replying. Maybe Setsuna should be doing all
472.1159 +
472.1160 +this. She was the Senshi of Time after all. "Well, you two have been hiding 
472.1161 +
472.1162 +your relationship for a while now. You shouldn't do that. The rest of us 
472.1163 +
472.1164 +care about you and all we want is for the two of you to be happy. So I thought
472.1165 +
472.1166 +if you saw the future, or at least some of it, you'll realize that you can 
472.1167 +
472.1168 +tell all of us about the two of you without worrying."
472.1169 +
472.1170 +	"We've already told my parents," Hotaru said. 
472.1171 +
472.1172 +	"Yeah, but you've been dating for a while now and you haven't told 
472.1173 +
472.1174 +any of the rest of us. We wish you didn't think you needed to hide from us,"
472.1175 +
472.1176 +Minako explained.
472.1177 +
472.1178 +	"Wait, how do you know, then?" ChibiUsa asked. 
472.1179 +
472.1180 +	"I am the Senshi of Love you know." Minako smiled. 
472.1181 +
472.1182 +	Hotaru sat down on the plush couch near them, shocked from all that 
472.1183 +
472.1184 +she'd heard. ChibiUsa sat down by her and put an arm around Hotaru, drawing 
472.1185 +
472.1186 +her close. Both girls needed comfort from each other at the moment. Things 
472.1187 +
472.1188 +seemed so strange. "I can't believe we have daughters," Hotaru said, amazed.
472.1189 +
472.1190 +"I never thought we'd be able to. I can't believe it." 
472.1191 +
472.1192 +	"So they're me and Taru's daughters?" ChibiUsa asked.
472.1193 +
472.1194 +	"Yes. They are the children you wind up having," Minako said.
472.1195 +
472.1196 +	ChibiUsa sat in silence. She'd been so worried about what her mother 
472.1197 +
472.1198 +would think about her getting with Hotaru. Hotaru was a girl, so ChibiUsa had
472.1199 +
472.1200 +thought she wouldn't be able to have an heir. Now it seemed that there wasn't
472.1201 +
472.1202 +anything for her mother to worry about other than Hotaru being a Sailor 
472.1203 +
472.1204 +Senshi.
472.1205 +
472.1206 +	"They were so sweet. Will we be able to see them again before we leave?"
472.1207 +
472.1208 +Hotaru asked Minako.
472.1209 +
472.1210 +	"I'm really not sure. You might," was all Minako could answer.
472.1211 +
472.1212 +	"So they're like clones? Is one a clone of ChibiUsa and one a clone of
472.1213 +
472.1214 +me? Or are they both a mix of the two of us?" Hotaru asked.
472.1215 +
472.1216 +	"I don't know. I really don't know much other than what my future self
472.1217 +
472.1218 +told me. Besides, its probably better that you two don't know about things like
472.1219 +
472.1220 +that anyway." Minako started thinking about Natsuna again after she mentioned
472.1221 +
472.1222 +her future self. She shook her head and tried to stay focussed on the two 
472.1223 +
472.1224 +younger girls in front of her.
472.1225 +
472.1226 +	"Are you okay?" ChibiUsa looked at Minako oddly.
472.1227 +
472.1228 +	"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something," Minako said, 
472.1229 +
472.1230 +sounding distant.
472.1231 +
472.1232 +	"This is a lot farther than the future I'm from," ChibiUsa remarked.
472.1233 +
472.1234 +	Minako laughed. "Its not as far into your future as you think."
472.1235 +
472.1236 +	ChibiUsa blushed a little at the idea of getting married and having
472.1237 +
472.1238 +children so soon. Hotaru looked happy about the whole thing.  
472.1239 +
472.1240 +	"What should we do while we're here in the future?" Hotaru asked 
472.1241 +
472.1242 +confused.
472.1243 +
472.1244 +	"You should probably talk to your future selves. That way you can 
472.1245 +
472.1246 +see that there really isn't anything for the two of you to worry about. You
472.1247 +
472.1248 +should talk to some of us, too, and see how we handled finding out about 
472.1249 +
472.1250 +the two of you. You might be surprised about how things have happened to the
472.1251 +
472.1252 +rest of us. I know I am." Minako stood up to leave. "I've got to go for now."
472.1253 +
472.1254 +	"Where are you going?" ChibiUsa asked her.
472.1255 +
472.1256 +	"I've got a lot on my mind. I've got to think. Good luck to you both. 
472.1257 +
472.1258 +Ja!" Minako quickly walked out the door, leaving ChibiUsa and Hotaru once again
472.1259 +
472.1260 +alone in the room.
472.1261 +
472.1262 +
472.1263 +
472.1264 +*******
472.1265 +
472.1266 +
472.1267 +
472.1268 +         Minako wondered the sweet smelling halls until she reached the source.
472.1269 +
472.1270 +Makoto was cooking agian and the smell drove Minako crazy. It was so nice having
472.1271 +
472.1272 +the familiarity of her friends habits then the cold harshness of this world. She
472.1273 +
472.1274 +slipped inside hoping to grab a tiny cookie from the steaming batch next to the
472.1275 +
472.1276 +unsuspecting Makoto. But, just as she was able clasp one in her grasp Makoto's
472.1277 +
472.1278 +spoon slammed her hand down with a rap.
472.1279 +
472.1280 +         "Ow! Makoto what did you do that for!" Minako whinned, she looked at
472.1281 +
472.1282 +the upset Makoto her green eyes flaring slightly.
472.1283 +
472.1284 +         "Venus, you know you can'thave those." Makoto told her, "And since when
472.1285 +
472.1286 +did you start calling me by my given name. You know we only call each other by
472.1287 +
472.1288 +our senshi names."
472.1289 +
472.1290 +         "Sorry," Minako said tapping her heand with her finger, "Stupidity
472.1291 +
472.1292 +leak." Makoto smiled slightly at her friends gesture.
472.1293 +
472.1294 +         "So why aren't you with Natsuna?" Maoto asked. "She was looking for you
472.1295 +
472.1296 +a little while ago."
472.1297 +
472.1298 +         "Oh I have some thinking to do," Minako said, "It is our anniversary,
472.1299 +
472.1300 +and I can't think of anything to do with her right now." Makoto turned to her
472.1301 +
472.1302 +agian after having checked the cookies one last time. She reached over and
472.1303 +
472.1304 +offered one to her friend.
472.1305 +
472.1306 +         "Yeah I can't belive it's been so long since you and her got together."
472.1307 +
472.1308 +Makoto answered, "You and her where one strange couple I tell you. She was
472.1309 +
472.1310 +always after with her crush and you where always looking in all the wrong
472.1311 +
472.1312 +places."
472.1313 +
472.1314 +          "You mean Kunzite?" Minako asked.
472.1315 +
472.1316 +          "Yeah you and the rest of us where always looking for them to come
472.1317 +
472.1318 +back and be with us. But, we soon found out that that was just a dumb pipe
472.1319 +
472.1320 +dream."
472.1321 +
472.1322 +          "And where is your lover Jupiter-sama?" Minako asked.
472.1323 +
472.1324 +          "Probably up in the training grounds agian testing the newest
472.1325 +
472.1326 +similation atmospheres. They're a work of art don't you think?" Makoto asked.
472.1327 +
472.1328 +Minako rubbed her neck slightly, as if to show physical pain.
472.1329 +
472.1330 +          "Yeah what can I say it's a work out," Minako answered, "Not like the
472.1331 +
472.1332 +training we did with Luna and Artemis." So, Minako thought, Jupiter and the rest
472.1333 +
472.1334 +are in the same boat as I am. The generals are apparently not our husbands like
472.1335 +
472.1336 +they where in the past. But, like me, it's people who had a large influence in
472.1337 +
472.1338 +our lives. My don't I feel special...
472.1339 +
472.1340 +
472.1341 +
472.1342 +******
472.1343 +
472.1344 +	"Hi, Venus-san!" a little girl said as she ran into the room. She had
472.1345 +
472.1346 +short blue hair and light green eyes. She looked like she was around Shisa and
472.1347 +
472.1348 +Selene's age. 
472.1349 +
472.1350 +	"Hi..." Minako said, unsure. 'Another one?' she thought.
472.1351 +
472.1352 +	"Hello, Meimi." Makoto smiled at the younger girl.
472.1353 +
472.1354 +	"Makoto-mama, are the cookies almost done?" the little girl asked.
472.1355 +
472.1356 +	"Yeah. You better eat some before Minako finishes them all," Makoto
472.1357 +
472.1358 +said teasingly. 
472.1359 +
472.1360 +	"Makoto-mama? Mako-chan... I mean, Jupiter. You're her mom?" Minako
472.1361 +
472.1362 +asked, shock spreading through her. Her future self hadn't said a thing about
472.1363 +
472.1364 +Makoto having a daughter. Makoto stared at her oddly. "Of course you are,"
472.1365 +
472.1366 +Minako said nervously. "I was just kidding."
472.1367 +
472.1368 +	"You're acting strangely, Venus. Are you sure you're okay?" Makoto
472.1369 +
472.1370 +asked.
472.1371 +
472.1372 +	"Yeah. Like I said, I'm still trying to think about what to do 
472.1373 +
472.1374 +about Natsuna for tonight." 
472.1375 +
472.1376 +	"Well, if you want to be alone with her tonight, Ai can always spend
472.1377 +
472.1378 +the night here with us," Makoto offered.
472.1379 +
472.1380 +	"Could she? That would be great!" Meimi said happily. 
472.1381 +
472.1382 +	"The kids love playing together, anyway," Makoto gestured at Meimi's
472.1383 +
472.1384 +enthusiasm. 
472.1385 +
472.1386 +	'The kids?' Minako thought. 'I really should have spent more time 
472.1387 +
472.1388 +talking to my future self.' "Umm... Ai?" Minako said, not being able to think
472.1389 +
472.1390 +of anything else to say. 
472.1391 +
472.1392 +	"You know, cute little red-headed girl. You and Natsuna's daughter?"
472.1393 +
472.1394 +Makoto laughed. "I really hope you didn't forget about her."
472.1395 +
472.1396 +	Minako's eyes widened in shock. 'My daughter? Why didn't my future
472.1397 +
472.1398 +self mention that? Isn't that something I should know? How could she just
472.1399 +
472.1400 +forget to mention that?' "Sure, sounds good. Thanks Mako... Jupiter."
472.1401 +
472.1402 +	"Okay. Meimi and I will go get Ai a little later. I'm sure you and
472.1403 +
472.1404 +Natsuna would want to be alone on your anniversery anyway." Makoto gave
472.1405 +
472.1406 +Minako a conspiratorial wink in front of the innocent little girl. 
472.1407 +
472.1408 +	"Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks..." Minako said, trying to sound grateful.
472.1409 +
472.1410 +	"When's Ami-mama getting home?" Meimi asked Makoto.
472.1411 +
472.1412 +	'Ami-mama? Mako-chan's with Ami? I can't beleive it. I really 
472.1413 +
472.1414 +wasn't ready for this. There's so much I need to know,' Minako thought.
472.1415 +
472.1416 +	"Pretty soon. Don't worry about it. After she gets home, we'll 
472.1417 +
472.1418 +go pick up Ai. How's that sound?" 
472.1419 +
472.1420 +	"That sounds good. I hope Ami-mama gets home soon." Meimi looked
472.1421 +
472.1422 +thoughtful as she picked up another cookie. "Do you think Shisa and Selene
472.1423 +
472.1424 +could come over, too?"
472.1425 +
472.1426 +	Minako looked up. "Oh, could they? I'm trying to help Hotaru and
472.1427 +
472.1428 +ChibiUsa with something and it would probably help if they were alone."
472.1429 +
472.1430 +	Makoto thought for a moment. "I'll have to talk to Small Lady 
472.1431 +
472.1432 +and Saturn, but I'm sure that will be fine."
472.1433 +
472.1434 +	"Really? Thanks, Makoto-mama," Meimi said happily. 
472.1435 +
472.1436 +	"Yeah, thanks, Jupiter. That would help a lot," Minako said.
472.1437 +
472.1438 +	"Don't mention it. Its nice having all the girls around here 
472.1439 +
472.1440 +anyway. And it distracts Ami from working too hard," Makoto laughed again.
472.1441 +
472.1442 +	"I should probably be going," Minako said, standing up.
472.1443 +
472.1444 +	"I hope you and Natsuna have fun. Good luck with everything today."
472.1445 +
472.1446 +	"Thanks. Bye, Jupiter. Bye, Meimi." Makoto and her daugher waved to
472.1447 +
472.1448 +Minako as she quickly headed out the door. 
472.1449 +
472.1450 +
472.1451 +
472.1452 +******
472.1453 +
472.1454 +
472.1455 +
472.1456 +        "ChibiUsa," Elder Venus whisphered, "Small Lady, Saturn are you in
472.1457 +
472.1458 +here?" She looked to the two figeting girls near the doorway talking to each
472.1459 +
472.1460 +other and looking quite frightened. She motioned for Mercury and Mars to come
472.1461 +
472.1462 +with her. Surprized that Venus had brought the other senshi with her to the
472.1463 +
472.1464 +bedroom they deduced that this was Elder Venus and not the Minako that they
472.1465 +
472.1466 +knew.
472.1467 +
472.1468 +        "Venus-sama, Marsand Mercury," Hotaru asked looking at each of the
472.1469 +
472.1470 +senshi. Each looked beautiful grown and matureed to the age of twenty six. The
472.1471 +
472.1472 +age that each of them would eventually stop aging at when they reached the 30th
472.1473 +
472.1474 +century. Mars looked at Venus andthen to the two girls.
472.1475 +
472.1476 +         "Well," she said, "If you hadn't told me I wouldn't of ever guessed. She
472.1477 +
472.1478 +does look like Small Lady and Saturn of our time. Are they really from the past
472.1479 +
472.1480 +Venus-sama?"
472.1481 +
472.1482 +         "Well don't look at us like we're sideshow freaks," ChibiUsa yelled,
472.1483 +
472.1484 +"We are human beings you know!"
472.1485 +
472.1486 +         "Odango-chan!" Hoatru cursed, reciving looks from Rei.
472.1487 +
472.1488 +         "Odango chan," she whispered, "That's what I call...never mind. So you
472.1489 +
472.1490 +want to hear from us how we reacted to your coming out?" Hotaru looked at
472.1491 +
472.1492 +ChibiUsa and clasped her hand into her own, nodding.
472.1493 +
472.1494 +         "Well," Mars answered, "It really was the best thing for us all. I
472.1495 +
472.1496 +made us realize that you two where growen women, fully capatible of caring for
472.1497 +
472.1498 +each other. You are 15 years old aren't you? Most of us knew that we cared for
472.1499 +
472.1500 +others and didn't know what to do about it. You two had the courage to do what
472.1501 +
472.1502 +we never could have at that age. It wasn't until you two started to come out
472.1503 +
472.1504 +that I realized my love for your mother Small Lady. Ami started to realize her
472.1505 +
472.1506 +love for Makoto and Diana and that friend yours Mamokofelt love for each other
472.1507 +
472.1508 +as well. In the end it was the best thing for us all.
472.1509 +
472.1510 +	"And Venus-sama what about you?"
472.1511 +
472.1512 +	"I fell in love with my dearest Natsuna, and fully understand what
472.1513 +
472.1514 +you and Saturn are going through. Haruka and Michiru and Setsuna-san are all the
472.1515 +
472.1516 +parents of you too, remember? How did they react?
472.1517 +
472.1518 +	"They where proud of us.."
472.1519 +
472.1520 +	"Right," Venus answered, "And so where we. We are apart of you as
472.1521 +
472.1522 +well Small Lady, we are your family you must always remember that."
472.1523 +
472.1524 +	"Thank you minna-san," Hotaru said, "This was a great help to us,
472.1525 +
472.1526 +and our lives. We'll tell Usagi and the others as soon as we get home." Mars got
472.1527 +
472.1528 +up to leave and Venus followed behind her. Mercury walked up to them, handing
472.1529 +
472.1530 +ChibiUsa a small pen. ChibiUsa looked at it with wonderment and with an unspoken
472.1531 +
472.1532 +question.
472.1533 +
472.1534 +	"Keep this in memorance of this trip Small Lady," Ami said, "So
472.1535 +
472.1536 +that you can always remember that we are here for you no matter what." With that
472.1537 +
472.1538 +she kissed ChibiUsa and Hotaru on the forhead and walked away.
472.1539 +
472.1540 +
472.1541 +
472.1542 +******
472.1543 +
472.1544 +
472.1545 +
472.1546 +	ChibiUsa wearily leaned against Hotaru for support. "They understand,"
472.1547 +
472.1548 +she said quietly. "They really do understand."
472.1549 +
472.1550 +	Hotaru smiled gently at the girl she loved. Not only had her parents 
472.1551 +
472.1552 +approved, but so had their friends. She nodded. "They do. And they're happy 
472.1553 +
472.1554 +for us."
472.1555 +
472.1556 +	ChibiUsa smiled back, her hand going up to Hotaru's cheek. All the 
472.1557 +
472.1558 +worries she'd been having were washed away. She knew things would work out for
472.1559 +
472.1560 +them. They're friends and family cared for them, they were married, and they 
472.1561 +
472.1562 +had two beautiful daughters in the future. No matter what happened to bring 
472.1563 +
472.1564 +them to that point, it was worth it. Tears lightly clouded her eyes, her 
472.1565 +
472.1566 +emotions overflowing. "I love you, Taru," she said. The two girls held
472.1567 +
472.1568 +each other closely.
472.1569 +
472.1570 +	"Oh, Odango-chan. I love you so much," Hotaru said softly. Her hand 
472.1571 +
472.1572 +ran through ChibiUsa's soft, pink hair as her lips met the other girl's. They
472.1573 +
472.1574 +kissed passionately, both locked in the feelings of the moment. 
472.1575 +
472.1576 +	They stood holding each other for several minutes, neither wanting the
472.1577 +
472.1578 +other to let go. ChibiUsa gently stroked Hotaru's cheek, smiling as the other
472.1579 +
472.1580 +girl continued to run her hand through her pink hair. 
472.1581 +
472.1582 +	"Hotaru-chan?" ChibiUsa's voice finally broke the silence.
472.1583 +
472.1584 +	"Yes?"
472.1585 +
472.1586 +	"What do you think Rei meant when she mentioned my mom?" ChibiUsa 
472.1587 +
472.1588 +asked, curious.
472.1589 +
472.1590 +	"I'm not sure. It doesn't matter, though. We'll find out soon enough.
472.1591 +
472.1592 +One day, we'll be here. And you heard Minako. It's not as far as we think."
472.1593 +
472.1594 +Hotaru kissed ChibiUsa again lightly.
472.1595 +
472.1596 +	A smile spread across ChibiUsa's lips. "Yeah. You're right. One day."
472.1597 +
472.1598 +The two girls finally let go of each other. ChibiUsa grabbed Hotaru's hand.
472.1599 +
472.1600 +"We should probably find Setsuna so we can leave."
472.1601 +
472.1602 +	Hotaru nodded. "I'm really glad we were broght here," she said. 
472.1603 +
472.1604 +	"Me too," ChibiUsa agreed.
472.1605 +
472.1606 +	Before they could get very far, they heard footsteps heading towards
472.1607 +
472.1608 +them. They turned around when they heard a woman shout for them to wait.
472.1609 +
472.1610 +Three women quickly ran up to them. ChibiUsa quickly noticed her mother, Neo
472.1611 +
472.1612 +Queen Serenity, and the two other women seemed to be Hotaru and ChibiUsa's
472.1613 +
472.1614 +future selves. ChibiUsa's pigtails were longer, but still not as long as her
472.1615 +
472.1616 +mother's. She'd grown into a beautiful woman, looking regal in her palace 
472.1617 +
472.1618 +gown. Hotaru was just a little taller than ChibiUsa, her dark eyes, now 
472.1619 +
472.1620 +behind a pair of thin reading glasses, no longer carried any of the pain from 
472.1621 +
472.1622 +her youth. 
472.1623 +
472.1624 +	ChibiUsa's mother smiled at her. "My little girl," she said happily.
472.1625 +
472.1626 +	"Mom," ChibiUsa gasped. She hadn't seen her mother in several years,
472.1627 +
472.1628 +ever since she'd gone back to the past again. She knew Usagi would one day 
472.1629 +
472.1630 +be her mother, but it just wasn't the same as seeing Neo Queen Serenity again.
472.1631 +
472.1632 +ChibiUsa ran up to her mother and hugged her. "Mom, I missed you." 
472.1633 +
472.1634 +	The queen laughed slightly. "I know. I missed you back when you were 
472.1635 +
472.1636 +gone too. I know you had your reasons, though." She smiled towards Hotaru. 
472.1637 +
472.1638 +"I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you found someone that means so much to 
472.1639 +
472.1640 +you. Its more than I could have hoped for when I sent you to the past
472.1641 +
472.1642 +to train to be a Senshi."
472.1643 +
472.1644 +	Serenity held ChibiUsa at arms length and looked her in the eyes.
472.1645 +
472.1646 +"There's a lot you have to face before you reach this point in your lives,
472.1647 +
472.1648 +but with Hotaru by your side, you'll get through it just fine."
472.1649 +
472.1650 +	ChibiUsa hugged her mother again. "Thanks, mom."
472.1651 +
472.1652 +	Hotaru's future self took a step forward. "ChibiUsa, you're just as
472.1653 +
472.1654 +beautiful as the day we met." ChibiUsa blushed at the compliment.
472.1655 +
472.1656 +	ChibiUsa's future self stepped forward as well. "Good luck telling 
472.1657 +
472.1658 +everyone. Try not to worry about it too much. There are still a lot of 
472.1659 +
472.1660 +hardships the two of you have to go through, but I wouldn't mind going back 
472.1661 +
472.1662 +to relive some of the things you have coming up." With an odd smile on her
472.1663 +
472.1664 +face she added, "Like the honeymoon."
472.1665 +
472.1666 +	"ChibiUsa," the future Hotaru said, a smile forming on her lips as 
472.1667 +
472.1668 +well. 
472.1669 +
472.1670 +	Hotaru looked confused. "Does everyone still call Odango-chan 
472.1671 +
472.1672 +ChibiUsa?"
472.1673 +
472.1674 +	The pink haired girl of the future laughed. "No, only Taru still 
472.1675 +
472.1676 +calls me that, even if I'm not chibi anymore."
472.1677 +
472.1678 +	Hotaru nodded happily. "That sounds good. I like that name."
472.1679 +
472.1680 +	ChibiUsa thought for a moment before asking, "What about Shisa 
472.1681 +
472.1682 +and Selene?"
472.1683 +
472.1684 +	"What about them?" replied her future self.
472.1685 +
472.1686 +	"Well, so Hotaru and I... we wind up," ChibiUsa began.
472.1687 +
472.1688 +	"Yes," the future Hotaru answered, smiling at the girls that had once
472.1689 +
472.1690 +been her and her wife. "You wind up having twins."
472.1691 +
472.1692 +	"But how?" ChibiUsa asked.
472.1693 +
472.1694 +	"Its confusing," the future raven haired girl said. "But it doesn't
472.1695 +
472.1696 +matter. All you need to know is that some day the two of you will have the
472.1697 +
472.1698 +twins. And they'll be a big part of your lives. They're a lot to handle, but
472.1699 +
472.1700 +trust me, they're worth it." 
472.1701 +
472.1702 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru smiled at each other and held hands. 
472.1703 +
472.1704 +	"Thank you," ChibiUsa said. 
472.1705 +
472.1706 +	"Thanks for everything," Hotaru added. 
472.1707 +
472.1708 +	Their future selves smiled back at them.
472.1709 +
472.1710 +	"Don't mention it," Serenity said. "I'm glad you both got to be here,
472.1711 +
472.1712 +if only for a brief time, to see that you shouldn't worry so much about the 
472.1713 +
472.1714 +rest of us. We all care for the two of you."
472.1715 +
472.1716 +	When the two girls turned around, Setsuna was already standing there.
472.1717 +
472.1718 +"Are you read to leave?" she asked them.
472.1719 +
472.1720 +	"Hai, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru answered.
472.1721 +
472.1722 +	"Good. Then as soon as we get Minako, we'll leave," the Senshi of time
472.1723 +
472.1724 +said. The two younger girls followed after her while they're future selves waved.
472.1725 +
472.1726 +
472.1727 +
472.1728 +	Minako was standing alone on a balcony, looking out over the buildings
472.1729 +
472.1730 +in Crystal Tokyo. She sighed to herself. She turned around when she noticed a
472.1731 +
472.1732 +shadow near her. She looked over to see Natsuna standing in the doorway.
472.1733 +
472.1734 +	"Oh, hi. I hadn't noticed you," Minako said, trying to pass herself off
472.1735 +
472.1736 +as her future self.
472.1737 +
472.1738 +	Natsuna smiled to herself. "I know you aren't my Minako. At least not 
472.1739 +
472.1740 +yet." Minako just nodded, having been caught. "You really shouldn't worry too much
472.1741 +
472.1742 +about all of this. You shouldn't fear what your future holds, Minako."
472.1743 +
472.1744 +	Minako turned around and looked out at the bustling city again. "I'm not
472.1745 +
472.1746 +afraid."
472.1747 +
472.1748 +	"You could have fooled me," Natsuna said.
472.1749 +
472.1750 +	"Its just that... I wasn't ready for this. I didn't see it coming," 
472.1751 +
472.1752 +Minako said quietly.
472.1753 +
472.1754 +	"Is that so bad?" Natsuna asked her.
472.1755 +
472.1756 +	Minako thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know. I don't know
472.1757 +
472.1758 +what to think right now. This is all so strange."
472.1759 +
472.1760 +	"I know. If you hadn't come here, things would have happened in their own
472.1761 +
472.1762 +time. Instead, you already know what happens between us. You don't understand 
472.1763 +
472.1764 +how things developed between us, though. I know I'm not what you're looking for
472.1765 +
472.1766 +right now, but eventually..." Natsuna paused. "Eventually we fall in love."
472.1767 +
472.1768 +	Minako laughed a little in spite of herself. "I already knew how you felt.
472.1769 +
472.1770 +You made that perfectly clear ever since I was Sailor V. I guess I'm just 
472.1771 +
472.1772 +surprised at how I wind up feeling. I had no idea."
472.1773 +
472.1774 +	Minako was shocked when she saw a little girl peeking out from around
472.1775 +
472.1776 +Natsuna. Minako looked carefully at the little girl. She had shoulder length 
472.1777 +
472.1778 +slightly curly reddish brown hair. She looked up at Minako and smiled before 
472.1779 +
472.1780 +disappearing behind Natsuna again. 
472.1781 +
472.1782 +	"Ai," Natsuna said. 
472.1783 +
472.1784 +	"That's Ai?" Minako asked.
472.1785 +
472.1786 +	Natsuna nodded. "Yep, that's her. We were on our way to Makoto's. I 
472.1787 +
472.1788 +knew you were going back soon, so when I saw you out here all alone, I wanted
472.1789 +
472.1790 +to say something before you left."
472.1791 +
472.1792 +	"Really? Thanks, Natsuna. And you too, Ai." Minako smiled to the little
472.1793 +
472.1794 +girl as she peeked around Natsuna again. 
472.1795 +
472.1796 +	"Minako?" Minako turned when she heard Setsuna say her voice. "Are you 
472.1797 +
472.1798 +ready?" Setsuna asked. 
472.1799 +
472.1800 +	"Yeah. I'm ready," Minako said. She looked back at Natsuna and Ai a last 
472.1801 +
472.1802 +time before rushing over to Setsuna and the two younger girls. Natsuna and Ai 
472.1803 +
472.1804 +waved to her as Setsuna prepared to send Minako, Hotaru, and ChibiUsa back to 
472.1805 +
472.1806 +their own time. Hotaru and ChibiUsa weren't too sure who the women and the girl 
472.1807 +
472.1808 +were, but they waved along with Minako as a bright light engulfed them.
472.1809 +

   473.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   473.2 +++ b/stories/summerbreeze.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   473.3 @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
   473.4 +Summer Breeze
   473.5 +Psychokittensenshi611
   473.6 +
   473.7 +	Her hands felt like the warm summer breeze on my cheeks.  "You can’t 
   473.8 +love me."  She said it like a rule; a law.  Somewhere, it had been written that I 
   473.9 +would not, could not feel this emotion that ran deep inside my veins alongside my 
  473.10 +blood.
  473.11 +	"I do!"  I wanted to shout at her, but it came out as only a whisper.  I was 
  473.12 +so afraid, yet so contented just to be with her.  "I love you"...
  473.13 +	"But you can’t!"  She was able to shout out me.  She pulled me closer to 
  473.14 +her face, her sweet breath like dark purple irises on my lips.  "You’re... you are 
  473.15 +everything I can not be.  You’re...so pure...so utterly pure."  She closed her eyes 
  473.16 +and bent her head, as if to avoid staring back into mine.  "I can never be what 
  473.17 +you deserve."
  473.18 +	My heart felt like it would sink down in my chest or rise above it at any 
  473.19 +moment.  Couldn’t she see?  Couldn’t she open her eyes and her heart?  "I don’t 
  473.20 +know what I deserve"but you’re what I want.  You’re everything I could ever 
  473.21 +want and you’re what I need."  She was shaking, her hands were shaking on my 
  473.22 +cheeks.  The breeze was faltering.  "Hotaru-chan, please," I touched her chin 
  473.23 +gently.
  473.24 +	She looked up at me once again, tears trickling down her pale cheeks in 
  473.25 +small rivers of diamond tears.  "Oh Chibi-Usa," her lips shook out the words.  
  473.26 +"How could you want me?"  I wiped the tears gently from her cheeks.  "I’m...the 
  473.27 +darkness"and you’re the light.  You are life and I am death."  She looked down 
  473.28 +at her knees again.  "How could you love me?"
  473.29 +	"You’re wrong, Hotaru-chan!"  I could feel my heart rising higher, into my 
  473.30 +breasts and hands and feet, spreading inside of me.  "You may be death, but you 
  473.31 +are also rebirth.  You begin life, starting anew in a cycle that I have yet to 
  473.32 +understand."  I leaned close into her face, wanting to feel her iris breath again.  
  473.33 +"You are everything I could ever want, Hotaru-chan.  You are beauty in the 
  473.34 +darkness.  You are my light."  Her lips were so close to mine.  "How could I not 
  473.35 +want you?"
  473.36 +	Her face flushed, pale cheeks that never seemed to tan turning a light 
  473.37 +crimson.  "Don’t say that, please don’t say that…"
  473.38 +	And, suddenly, it didn’t seem to matter to her what she had shouted 
  473.39 +before.  When I leaned in just enough to feel her soft, full lips upon mine…well, 
  473.40 +that was the end of everything and the beginning of something completely new.  I 
  473.41 +could feel her hands at the base of my neck, tugging at the ends of my hair.  I 
  473.42 +couldn’t stop myself from touching her pale arms, letting my hands meander up 
  473.43 +to her shoulders and down her back.  She was so warm, so soft, like sheets of 
  473.44 +silk left out in the sun.  I felt her lips pull away slightly from mine, and I moved 
  473.45 +away a bit, just enough to end the kiss but still to feel her warmth.  She sighed 
  473.46 +heavily onto my cheek and rested her head on my shoulder.
  473.47 +	"Chibi-Usa," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.  "We can’t be 
  473.48 +together like this."
  473.49 +	"What do you mean?"  I nuzzled my head on top of hers, catching the 
  473.50 +scent of her hair.  Lilacs.  I smiled.
  473.51 +	"We can’t be…be lovers."  She moved slightly, her voice slightly softer.  
  473.52 +"You’re to become Princess of Crystal Tokyo in the future.  You are going to 
  473.53 +inherit a crown.  You can’t…be with me…"
  473.54 +	"Hotaru-chan."  I felt that warm, rose colored feeling rise in my chest once 
  473.55 +again.  Sparks could fly off of my fingertips.  Mountains would crumple at my very 
  473.56 +whim…or at hers.  I could do anything with this feeling.  I could do anything with 
  473.57 +her.  "I want you, I need you.  I love you.  All that I ask of you is that you give me 
  473.58 +a chance, you give us a chance."  She sobbed lightly into the curve of my neck.  
  473.59 +"Please, Hotaru-chan…the future isn’t unchangeable.  Just me coming to the 
  473.60 +past all these times has changed it."
  473.61 +	"But…"
  473.62 +	"Hush, Hotaru-chan."  I cradled her head close to mine.  I smiled slightly.  
  473.63 +"Normally, I’m the one crying to you."  We both chuckled a bit.  "Hotaru-chan, I 
  473.64 +just want you to…to let me love you.  Just for awhile."
  473.65 +	"But don’t you see?  Can’t you see that if I let you then – "
  473.66 +	"Then what?"
  473.67 +	She paused, moving away from me and wiping her tears.  "Chibi-
  473.68 +Usa…this can’t work."
  473.69 +	"No, what would happen?"
  473.70 +	"Don’t you see, it can’t work, because – "
  473.71 +	"No, don’t ignore me."  I pulled her closer once again.  "What would 
  473.72 +happen if you and I became a couple?"
  473.73 +	She was quiet, just staring back into my eyes and quivering a bit in my 
  473.74 +arms.  She didn’t even seem to breathe.  Her lovely, thin frame rest so close to 
  473.75 +mine on the floor of her dimly lit room.  Pale hands and feet seemed even paler 
  473.76 +in comparison to her dark clothes.  My little black angel.  "I can’t tell you…not 
  473.77 +now…"
  473.78 +	"What is it, Hotaru-chan?"  I pulled her onto my knees.  "I’ve told you a 
  473.79 +secret I’ve kept from you for awhile now.  Why can’t you tell me?"
  473.80 +	She swallowed audibly.  "I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.  
  473.81 +Since I first met you, Chibi-Usa.  And if we are together, and I let myself love 
  473.82 +you…it’ll just be like everyone else.  I don’t want you to leave…to go away like 
  473.83 +everyone I’ve loved…"
  473.84 +	"I could never go away from you."  I couldn’t feel anything for a minute.  It 
  473.85 +was like my heart stopped beating in my chest.  My veins continued only to pump 
  473.86 +the crimson feeling of love I felt for her.  And then, whenever my heart decided to 
  473.87 +start up again, I was kissing her.  It was with a kind of fierceness that she kissed 
  473.88 +me back.  Her small caresses and fierce kisses and explorations made me weak 
  473.89 +in my knees.
  473.90 +	The silver and golden rays of sunlight drifted into Hotaru’s room.  I just lay 
  473.91 +there for awhile, surrounded by her sweet scent and wrapped in her arms.  The 
  473.92 +shadows of tree leaves left dark spots across her blanket and bare midriff.  I 
  473.93 +couldn’t help but stare at her.  God, she was beautiful.  Lying there like that.  Her 
  473.94 +hair a bit messed up, strands sprawled out behind her head on her pillow.  Her 
  473.95 +eyes were closed, but I knew them with just a memory.  Dark purple, almost 
  473.96 +black, deep as any ocean but clear as a sunny sky.  How could one human being 
  473.97 +be so perfect, so utterly beautiful in every way?  How could someone like her 
  473.98 +love someone like me?
  473.99 +	I kissed her shoulders, just for the feeling of her silken skin on my lips.  
 473.100 +There was nothing more I wanted in the world than to be there with her, lying in 
 473.101 +her comfortable bed, bathed in the strong light of the sun or the pale, comforting 
 473.102 +light of the moon.  There was no other place that could soothe me like this.  Her 
 473.103 +arms were my only shelter, her lips my only release.
 473.104 +	She stirred a bit, her muscles moving slightly underneath my lips and 
 473.105 +hands.  I rested my head by her breast, loving the sound of her heart beating 
 473.106 +beneath my ears.  Her breathing relaxed me…deep and smooth and soft all at 
 473.107 +once.  I closed my eyes, just loving the feel of her beside me, underneath me, all 
 473.108 +around me.  

   474.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   474.2 +++ b/stories/sunrise.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   474.3 @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
   474.4 +Sailor moon doesnt belong to me obviously it belongs to Naoko Takeuchi ^.~
   474.5 +
   474.6 +
   474.7 +
   474.8 +
   474.9 +
  474.10 +Sunrise 
  474.11 +By: Obscure Sapphire
  474.12 +
  474.13 +Rini stood on Hotaru's front porch. It was very early, the sun was only just 
  474.14 +beginning to rise, coloring the clouds pink and purple. Pink the color of her 
  474.15 +own hair, Purple the color of her best friend's eyes. 
  474.16 +
  474.17 +It had been a long time since she had seen her, hadn't seen her in fact since 
  474.18 +she was a small baby after the incident with Mistress 9. Shivering slightly in 
  474.19 +the cold breeze Rini slipped around the side of the house and peered into 
  474.20 +Hotaru's bedroom window. It was softly lit on the inside by many delicate lamps, 
  474.21 +and she could see her lying in her bed.
  474.22 +
  474.23 +It startled her for a moment to find that they looked the same age now. She 
  474.24 +herself hadn't grown for many centuries, it had been easy to forget the passing 
  474.25 +of time. 'Will she even remember me? Does she remember what happened?' 
  474.26 +
  474.27 +She sat down on the dew-soaked grass, her knees drawing up to her chest. She 
  474.28 +felt horribly selfish. On the one hand she hoped that Hotaru remembered none of 
  474.29 +it, it was a terrible time in her life and she had been given a second chance. 
  474.30 +But. She also wanted to be able to talk to her about it. To tell her that she 
  474.31 +understood the pain that those memories would have elicited because she felt the 
  474.32 +same kind of pain every day of her life. 
  474.33 +
  474.34 +As Wicked Lady she had done horrible things. She had hurt her friends. Had tried 
  474.35 +to kill Sailor Moon who was in fact her own mother. Her mother, who was the most 
  474.36 +important person in her life had almost died because of her, even if she was 
  474.37 +being controlled by someone else, she felt responsible. 
  474.38 +
  474.39 +No one else understood. How could they? The only person who might possibly 
  474.40 +understand was peacefully sleeping a few feet away.
  474.41 +
  474.42 +Rini sat there for a very long time. Eventually, as the sun blazed fully in the 
  474.43 +sky and the house at her back came to life, she wondered if Serena was awake and 
  474.44 +wondering where she was. Finally she gathered her courage and stood up, brushing 
  474.45 +bits of wet grass from her bottom. Very slowly, she made her way back around to 
  474.46 +the front door and made herself ring the doorbell. 
  474.47 +
  474.48 +Hotaru opened the door, clad in a pale lavender nightgown and looking slightly 
  474.49 +rumpled. The two girls stared at one another, amethyst eyes staring into rose 
  474.50 +quartz. As one, they moved to embrace each other. They were best friends again, 
  474.51 +withought a word being spoken, and they always would be. No matter how much time 
  474.52 +passed, through earth and heavan, nothing would keep them apart.
  474.53 +
  474.54 +
  474.55 +
  474.56 +please please please review. 
  474.57 +            Review Story ( be a responsible reader and write a review)
  474.58 +            Title: Sunrise
  474.59 +            Name:
  474.60 +            Email: (optional)
  474.61 +            Review:
  474.62 +                 
  474.63 +
  474.64 +
  474.65 +If you feel that this entry violates any of the guidelines set by FanFiction.Net 
  474.66 +please click here to notify the staff. 
  474.67 +
  474.68 +      Home  |  About Us  |  Terms of Service  |  Browser Compatibility  |  
  474.69 +      Privacy
  474.70 +
  474.71 +

   475.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   475.2 +++ b/stories/sunset.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   475.3 @@ -0,0 +1,301 @@
   475.4 +Hello minna! The Amazoness Duo asked me to write a lemon about Chibi - Usa and 
   475.5 +Hotaru... and here it is, hope you like it!
   475.6 +
   475.7 +
   475.8 +
   475.9 +Disclaimers: Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi.
  475.10 +
  475.11 +
  475.12 +
  475.13 +This fic is a Sekkushiaru roman so minors should not read this. 
  475.14 +
  475.15 +
  475.16 +
  475.17 +Hotaru and Chibi - Usa are both 16 in this story.
  475.18 +
  475.19 +
  475.20 +
  475.21 +
  475.22 +
  475.23 +Sunset Magic
  475.24 +
  475.25 +
  475.26 +
  475.27 +By Sailor Scorpio (wagner.gegame@t-online.de)
  475.28 +
  475.29 +
  475.30 +
  475.31 +
  475.32 +
  475.33 +The sun was standing high in the bright blue sky shining down on the sea, the 
  475.34 +water glittering as if it was built up out of myriads of diamonds. It was early 
  475.35 +afternoon, the beach was crowded with people who were enjoying the warm summer 
  475.36 +day at the shore. 
  475.37 +
  475.38 +
  475.39 +
  475.40 +The two girls arriving there made a long face as they saw how many people had 
  475.41 +the same idea as them. For some time they only stood there, overlooking the mass 
  475.42 +of people, adults relaxing in the sun, children building castles of sand, 
  475.43 +teenagers playing beach volleyball... not to mention all the guys in the water!
  475.44 +
  475.45 +
  475.46 +
  475.47 +Hotaru put their bag down and took off her sunglasses. Then she looked over to 
  475.48 +Chibi - Usa who seemed to be a little disappointed, she just stood there, 
  475.49 +holding the sunshade. A nudge from her friend ripped the pink haired girl out of 
  475.50 +her thoughts.
  475.51 +
  475.52 +
  475.53 +
  475.54 +"Hey! Are you just going to stand there all day? We didn't come here for nothing 
  475.55 +but to have fun!" Hotaru said, excited. She was in a too good mood to let it be 
  475.56 +spoiled. So she took Chibi - Usa by the arm and dragged her with her. 
  475.57 +
  475.58 +
  475.59 +
  475.60 +They were lucky and found a nice little spot not too far from the water. Hotaru 
  475.61 +laid out their blankets while Chibi - Usa put the sunshade up before she started 
  475.62 +to take off her clothes, revealing the white and pink bathing dress she was 
  475.63 +wearing underneath. Hotaru did the same and stripped down to her purple and 
  475.64 +black bikini. 
  475.65 +
  475.66 +
  475.67 +
  475.68 +"Bet I'll pull you under!" Hotaru giggled as she and Chibi - Usa dashed towards 
  475.69 +the water. "So? We'll see if it won't be the other way round!" Chibi - Usa 
  475.70 +called after her as the raven haired girl dove into the warm sparkling water and 
  475.71 +started to swim.
  475.72 +
  475.73 +
  475.74 +
  475.75 +Chibi - Usa followed her and looked around confused. She had lost Hotaru among 
  475.76 +the huge amount of people having fun in the ocean. She swam further out, looking 
  475.77 +around and calling her friend, but her voice was swallowed by the crowd. 
  475.78 +
  475.79 +
  475.80 +
  475.81 +She was so busy at watching out for Hotaru that she didn't notice a shadow 
  475.82 +slowly approaching her beneath the surface. Suddenly, a figure broke the surface 
  475.83 +behind her, grapped her and pulled her under. 
  475.84 +
  475.85 +
  475.86 +
  475.87 +Gasping for air, Chibi - Usa came up and stared directly into a pair of mocking 
  475.88 +purple eyes. "Told you I'd pull you under!" Hotaru smirked. Chibi - Usa feigned 
  475.89 +anger: "Oh you, just wait!" She tried to grab Hotaru, but the other girl was 
  475.90 +faster and escaped. Chibi - Usa wasted no time and followed her, trying to catch 
  475.91 +her, but it was difficult because the people hindered their movements. Finally, 
  475.92 +Chibi - Usa was able to catch her lover and the girls started a fight, splashing 
  475.93 +water at each other and tried to pull the other under. 
  475.94 +
  475.95 +
  475.96 +
  475.97 +Chibi - Usa spitted some water. "Bah! That's kind of salty." She started to feel 
  475.98 +chilly and noticed she was having goosebumps. "Let's get out and take a 
  475.99 +sunbathing. I'm cold." She swam back towards the beach, got out of the water and 
 475.100 +relaxed on her blanket. 
 475.101 +
 475.102 +
 475.103 +
 475.104 +As she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in front of Crystal Palace. 
 475.105 +Huh? Why am I back in Crystal Tokyo? she thought confused. She walked into the 
 475.106 +palace, passing doors and people without any reactions of her surrounding, as if 
 475.107 +she was nothing more than a spirit. She gasped as she suddenly saw Helios, who 
 475.108 +she had once fallen in love with when she was younger. He looked so beautiful 
 475.109 +and regal... she could feel her cheeks burning from just looking at him. 
 475.110 +
 475.111 +
 475.112 +
 475.113 +"Can I help you, my king?" one of the palace guards said as Helios approached 
 475.114 +him. "Have you seen Serenity?" King Helios asked. The guard seemed to think a 
 475.115 +little while. "When I saw her last time she said she needed to discuss something 
 475.116 +with Sailor Saturn."
 475.117 +
 475.118 +
 475.119 +
 475.120 +"Thank you!" King Helios replied and walked off. Chibi - Usa blushed a little, 
 475.121 +but she was curious and followed him. Soon she could see herself older and in 
 475.122 +her princess robe, Sailor Saturn was with her, and the two women had wrapped 
 475.123 +their arms around each other. "Hi dear!" her double called as she saw Helios, 
 475.124 +wrapping her free arm around his neck and kissing him. 
 475.125 +
 475.126 +
 475.127 +
 475.128 +She wanted to know what they were speaking of, but the voices sounded as if they 
 475.129 +were muffled by something, the image was fading, and suddenly she felt herself 
 475.130 +being shaken, her skin burning like fire, she could hear somebody call out her 
 475.131 +name... Chibi - Usa... Chibi - Usa...
 475.132 +
 475.133 +
 475.134 +
 475.135 +"Chibi - Usa!!!" Chibi - Usa opened her eyes and saw Hotaru's face over her, 
 475.136 +looking a little worried. She noticed the beach was almost empty, the sun was 
 475.137 +standing low, almost touching the water. Have I been asleep that long? she 
 475.138 +wondered. 
 475.139 +
 475.140 +
 475.141 +
 475.142 +"What's the time?" she said, wincing a little because of her sunburn. Hotaru 
 475.143 +took a look at her watch: "Almost nine p.m... you've been asleep for hours!" She 
 475.144 +reached in her bag and got out some ointment for sunburn. She carefully removed 
 475.145 +the straps of Chibi - Usa's bathing dress and applied the ointment on her 
 475.146 +partner's red skin. 
 475.147 +
 475.148 +
 475.149 +
 475.150 +Chibi - Usa let out a sigh as she felt Hotaru's hands gently rubbing the cool 
 475.151 +gel onto her shoulders and back. "I'm such a baka..." she whispered. "That could 
 475.152 +only be me, falling asleep while lying in the sun..."
 475.153 +
 475.154 +
 475.155 +
 475.156 +"Don't blame yourself, it was my fault, I should have woken you up but I 
 475.157 +didn't!" Hotaru said softly. She made Chibi - Usa lie down and applied the gel 
 475.158 +on her legs while the pink haired one glanced towards the water. 
 475.159 +
 475.160 +
 475.161 +
 475.162 +What she saw there was of a breathtaking beauty. It was late enough and the sun 
 475.163 +was slowly setting, colouring the sky and the ocean into wonderful shades. Soft 
 475.164 +blue was mixing with red and orange, bright purple shining where the colours 
 475.165 +met. The sun itself was nothing more than a yellow and orange ball slowly diving 
 475.166 +into the water, leaving an almost white path glowing onto the dark blue water.
 475.167 +
 475.168 +
 475.169 +
 475.170 +Chibi - Usa was stunned. "Hotaru... look at this!" she whispered. "Isn't this 
 475.171 +beautiful?"
 475.172 +
 475.173 +
 475.174 +
 475.175 +Hotaru stopped what she was doing and looked up. "Beautiful is understated... 
 475.176 +this is... ah, I cannot find words!"
 475.177 +
 475.178 +
 475.179 +
 475.180 +Both girls looked at the beautiful sunset. The sky was getting dark, the first 
 475.181 +stars started to gleam, but Chibi - Usa and Hotaru kept on looking until the sun 
 475.182 +was completely set and the last remains of the spectacle were faded.
 475.183 +
 475.184 +
 475.185 +
 475.186 +Chibi - Usa held Hotaru close to her. "There's only one thing I know which is 
 475.187 +more beautiful than this..." she said.
 475.188 +
 475.189 +
 475.190 +
 475.191 +"Oh? And that'd be?" Hotaru asked, curious.
 475.192 +
 475.193 +
 475.194 +
 475.195 +"You..." Chibi - Usa whispered as she bent closer to Hotaru. Her lips were 
 475.196 +brushing Hotaru's and the two girls met in a deep kiss. 
 475.197 +
 475.198 +
 475.199 +
 475.200 +The kiss broke into a multitude which were tender at first, but soon the kisses 
 475.201 +were becoming more and more passionate, making them yearn for more. The whole 
 475.202 +athmosphere seemed arousing, the stars sparkling above them, the ocean sweeping 
 475.203 +the beach, playing a soft melody of love as Hotaru made Chibi - Usa recline on 
 475.204 +the blankets. 
 475.205 +
 475.206 +
 475.207 +
 475.208 +Chibi - Usa let out a soft moan as Hotaru started to trail soft little kisses 
 475.209 +along her neck. She let her hand run into Hotaru's hair while her other hand was 
 475.210 +roaming on Hotaru's back, gently caressing her. She grew bolder and reached for 
 475.211 +the fastener to open the top of Hotaru's bikini. 
 475.212 +
 475.213 +
 475.214 +
 475.215 +Hotaru responded by carefully sliding the straps of Chibi - Usa's bathing dress 
 475.216 +off her lover's shoulders and down to her waist, uncovering her upper body while 
 475.217 +Chibi - Usa took Hotaru's bikini top completely off. 
 475.218 +
 475.219 +
 475.220 +
 475.221 +The pink haired girl let out a moan as she felt Hotaru's hands on her bare skin, 
 475.222 +gently kneading the flesh of her breasts and lightly pinching the rock hard 
 475.223 +nipples. "Hotaru..." she whimpered, feeling her center heating up as her body 
 475.224 +was responding to Hotaru's treatment. 
 475.225 +
 475.226 +
 475.227 +
 475.228 +She mimicked her lover by caressing Hotaru's own breasts, the sweetness of 
 475.229 +Hotaru's touch was making her forget the painful sunburn. A choked moan escaped 
 475.230 +from her throat as she felt Hotaru's mouth on her breasts, licking, then sucking 
 475.231 +her nipples while rolling the other one between her fingers. She started to 
 475.232 +writhe on the blanket, her womanhood already moistened with her arousal, crying 
 475.233 +for attention. 
 475.234 +
 475.235 +
 475.236 +
 475.237 +"Go lower, please... Hota - chan..." she pleaded, letting out a strangled gasp 
 475.238 +as Hotaru slipped the bathing dress completely off of her, letting the other 
 475.239 +girl take off her bikini panties. The raven haired girl twisted a little until 
 475.240 +she reached a position where they could both give and receive pleasure, feeling 
 475.241 +her own body needing attention.  
 475.242 +
 475.243 +
 475.244 +
 475.245 +Hotaru moaned as Chibi - Usa let her tongue dance on her heated sex, trying to 
 475.246 +return the pleasure Hotaru had given her earlier. She let her own tongue draw 
 475.247 +circles around Chibi - Usa's nub, making her beloved shudder of pleasure.
 475.248 +
 475.249 +
 475.250 +
 475.251 +Chibi - Usa slipped a finger inside her lover while she started to suck her 
 475.252 +pearl with abandon, Hotaru's legs were trembling as she did this, imitating her. 
 475.253 +Hotaru felt close to the edge, but she tried to hold on, wanting her lover to 
 475.254 +come with her. Chibi - Usa was just driving her crazy with pleasure, she lost it 
 475.255 +completely, her mind flashed white, she cried out in ecstasy as she came, the 
 475.256 +last thing she registered was the tight grip around her finger and Chibi - Usa 
 475.257 +crying out her name as she reached her climax at the same time. 
 475.258 +
 475.259 + 
 475.260 +
 475.261 +
 475.262 +
 475.263 +Chibi - Usa blinked, spent, she felt she was about to drift off into Morpheus' 
 475.264 +waiting arms. Next to her, Hotaru was already about to doze off. Why not... No 
 475.265 +one will miss us, Chibi - Usa thought as she let sleep overwhelm her.
 475.266 +
 475.267 +
 475.268 +
 475.269 +
 475.270 +
 475.271 +The end.
 475.272 +
 475.273 +
 475.274 +
 475.275 +Ssh... be quiet please... don't wake them up... ^.~
 475.276 +
 475.277 +
 475.278 +
 475.279 +
 475.280 +
 475.281 +
 475.282 +
 475.283 +
 475.284 +
 475.285 +
 475.286 +
 475.287 +
 475.288 +
 475.289 +
 475.290 +
 475.291 +
 475.292 +
 475.293 +
 475.294 +
 475.295 +
 475.296 +
 475.297 +
 475.298 +
 475.299 +
 475.300 +
 475.301 +
 475.302 +
 475.303 +
 475.304 +

   476.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   476.2 +++ b/stories/superman.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   476.3 @@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
   476.4 +Hi everyone! ^-^ This is a songfic I finished while I was depressed over a few 
   476.5 +things and when I was supposed to be working on my ChibiUsa & Hotaru 
   476.6 +manga story. ^^;;; It’s about Zero from Rockman X and hopefully it shows the 
   476.7 +pain a ‘hero’ endures. I really hope you like it. ^-^ It's to the song
   476.8 +'Superman' by Five for Fighting.
   476.9 +
  476.10 +Superman
  476.11 +by Amazoness Duo
  476.12 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  476.13 +
  476.14 +
  476.15 +“I can’t stand to fly.
  476.16 +I’m not that naïve.
  476.17 +I’m just out to find
  476.18 +The better part of me”
  476.19 +
  476.20 +	Zero gazed across the ruined cityscape, his Z-saber still held firmly in 
  476.21 +his gloved hand as he surveyed the carnage. It was like some vision straight 
  476.22 +from a horrible nightmare. What made it even worse was that he knew he was 
  476.23 +responsible for a good portion of it. All in the line of duty, of course. But 
  476.24 +sometimes he wondered if that was enough. He was causing just as much 
  476.25 +damage as the Irregulars. What was the difference? Both sides were fighting for 
  476.26 +peace, but a peace that would fulfil their own objectives. And what was Zero 
  476.27 +trying to do? He was an Irregular Hunter, but did he really believe 
  476.28 +wholeheartedly in their ideals? He didn’t know anymore. They were good 
  476.29 +ideals. To protect the humans from those Repliroids that had turned against 
  476.30 +them. But the Irregulars had their own ideals. They wanted to have the freedom 
  476.31 +long denied them by their human creators.
  476.32 +	The blond robot didn’t fool himself into thinking that he believed in all 
  476.33 +of the Irregular Hunters ideals. The truth of the matter was that he had to keep 
  476.34 +fighting. He had to keep running. From whom or what, he was uncertain. But he 
  476.35 +knew that the only solace he found, his only form of escape was deep in battle. 
  476.36 +Trying to set things right. But he had no idea how he could ever possibly put 
  476.37 +things right. Things were far too complicated for a simple battle to solve. So 
  476.38 +Zero kept scrambling from battle to battle, continuing his war against the 
  476.39 +Irregulars. No, that wasn’t what he was fighting. That was a specification of his 
  476.40 +job as the leader of Zero Unit. His personal war was being waged against Sigma. 
  476.41 +That’s what had led him this far. Whether he was running away from his 
  476.42 +problems or head on into them, he only knew he had to keep going.  
  476.43 +
  476.44 +“I’m more than a bird,
  476.45 +I’m more than a plane,
  476.46 +I’m more than some pretty face beside a train.
  476.47 +And it’s not easy to be me.”
  476.48 +
  476.49 +	Zero was the ultimate warrior. He was strong, quick, very nearly 
  476.50 +unstoppable. A ruthless killer if he had to be. Someone who would accomplish 
  476.51 +the mission objectives no matter what the situation. But that wasn’t necessarily 
  476.52 +true. He was so much more than that. He was a lost and confused soul. He was a 
  476.53 +traveler, weary of his travels and where they might take him. He was a wounded 
  476.54 +child, hiding amidst the rubble, hoping someone would come along and save 
  476.55 +him. Yet he held up the image that he had projected around himself from very 
  476.56 +near his activation, hiding behind the strong warrior that everyone believed him 
  476.57 +to be. He could play his part well enough. It protected him in the same way he 
  476.58 +tried to protect those that he fought for. Let them believe what they wanted. It 
  476.59 +was safer that way, to be cold, to not give in to the emotions that boiled within 
  476.60 +his soul. He was calm and collected, always cool under fire.
  476.61 +	He was inches away from the edge of chaos, dancing ever closer to the 
  476.62 +ledge and just about to plunge into madness.
  476.63 +
  476.64 +“I wish that I could cry,
  476.65 +Fall upon my knees.
  476.66 +Find a way to lie,
  476.67 +About a home I’ll never see.”
  476.68 +
  476.69 +	His image was so close to shattering and no one noticed. Not the 
  476.70 +Irregulars that he spent so much time stalking nor his comrades back at the 
  476.71 +Irregular Hunters. In the end, they were no different. They were all lonely souls, 
  476.72 +fighting for their beliefs in an endless war that seemed to spiral out with him at 
  476.73 +it’s very core. He didn’t know how much time he could keep fighting. His will 
  476.74 +was slipping. After Iris’s death, he had to rethink just what he was fighting for. 
  476.75 +And he still didn’t know. X. But one day he would have to kill X to save 
  476.76 +everything. And he would do it in an eye blink. But in doing so, he would be 
  476.77 +killing himself as well, finally breaking the last pieces of whatever lay in his 
  476.78 +cold heart. And he would finally allow himself to cry. To fully realize the 
  476.79 +atrocities he had seen and been a part of. He still didn’t have any idea who he 
  476.80 +was. He had played so many parts over the last few years. Mentor, friend, lover, 
  476.81 +comrade, enemy. And throughout it all, he kept up the charade, always 
  476.82 +wondering how much longer he had before it slipped from his fingers entirely. 
  476.83 +He was running out of time. And he was no closer to finding out who he really 
  476.84 +was.
  476.85 +
  476.86 +“It may sound absurd,
  476.87 +But don’t be naïve.
  476.88 +Even heroes have the right to bleed.
  476.89 +I may be disturbed,
  476.90 +But won’t you concede?
  476.91 +Even heroes have the right to dream.
  476.92 +And it’s not easy to be me.”
  476.93 +
  476.94 +Zero didn’t know how long he could keep fighting. He couldn’t run 
  476.95 +much further. The demons were right on his heels, about to drag him down and 
  476.96 +finish him, to stop him from his pointless war. He knew it was only a matter of 
  476.97 +time before it was over. He thought he had grown numb to the battles, to the 
  476.98 +war, but he found himself growing distasteful of it, getting a sick taste in his 
  476.99 +mouth at the thought of battles to come. He had tried so hard to portray himself 
 476.100 +as a warrior, but even he couldn’t last forever. He needed a rest before his weary 
 476.101 +soul collapsed entirely. The fighting had taken its toll on the blond robot. 
 476.102 +Despite his best efforts, he knew that his time was almost spent. That thought 
 476.103 +gave him pause. Should he carry on? Was this really worth the effort? If he 
 476.104 +stopped running, would he finally have to face his past and the demons inside of 
 476.105 +himself? Was it impossible for him to ever get the peace he longed for? Or did 
 476.106 +he only live to fight? In which case, he may just welcome his death.
 476.107 +
 476.108 +“Up, up, and away...
 476.109 +Away from me.
 476.110 +Well it’s all right.
 476.111 +You can all sleep sound tonight.
 476.112 +I’m not crazy.
 476.113 +Or anything.”
 476.114 +
 476.115 +	A damaged Irregular attempting to drag itself away caught his eye as he 
 476.116 +stood on the edge. With a swift shot of his Z-Buster, the Irregular fell silent. He 
 476.117 +had accomplished his mission. But at what cost? What separated the Hunter 
 476.118 +from the hunted? When would the distinction blur to the point where it no longer 
 476.119 +existed? X was still grounded firmly in his pacifism, trying to cling to peace 
 476.120 +with all of his dear little heart. But Zero knew full well the dangerous line he 
 476.121 +was treading. He and Sigma had switched places on which side of the dance 
 476.122 +between Hunters and Irregulars they were both on, after all. Zero had originally 
 476.123 +been the Irregular, but now he was the one hunting Sigma. How long before 
 476.124 +there was nothing at all to distinguish between the two anymore? With every 
 476.125 +battle, it was an inner struggle to keep balanced on the fine line separating them. 
 476.126 +But there was something deep inside of him that he had struggled to control for 
 476.127 +years now. And his steel grip on it was weakening. He’d already lost Iris, 
 476.128 +Colonel, and Teal to the war. What would he do if he lost X? Could he afford to 
 476.129 +lose his last tie to sanity? 
 476.130 +
 476.131 +“I can’t stand to fly.
 476.132 +I’m not that naïve.
 476.133 +Men weren’t meant to ride,
 476.134 +With clouds between their knees.”
 476.135 +
 476.136 +	Every single day, Zero stepped out to confront the ugly conflict that 
 476.137 +threatened to tug the population of earth apart. He was always in the middle of 
 476.138 +the worst possible situations, getting his hands dirty in whatever needed to be 
 476.139 +solved. But he was only one man. And he was so tired... He’d already seen and 
 476.140 +done more than anyone ever should have to. It was too much. It was burying 
 476.141 +him alive and he couldn’t claw his way back to the surface. It was slowly 
 476.142 +crushing him under the immensity of it all. He knew that he would fall soon 
 476.143 +enough under that weight. It was simply too much for him to bear. He just 
 476.144 +wasn’t strong enough. All of his faith was placed in X, that the blue robot would 
 476.145 +somehow be able to put right what he couldn’t, that he could survive the trip into 
 476.146 +madness that Zero was starting to fail at. 
 476.147 +
 476.148 +“I’m only a man,
 476.149 +In a silly red sheet.
 476.150 +Digging for Kryptonite on this one way street.”
 476.151 +
 476.152 +	Holding his Z-Saber tightly, he looked down to the ruined city below. 
 476.153 +He was designed and built to be a war machine, to kill. Whoever had made him 
 476.154 +had planned for him to fight. And so that’s what he was doing. Parts could be 
 476.155 +added, pieces could be fixed. But his creator had forgotten the most important 
 476.156 +piece of all. His soul was being worn down by the constant brutality, the 
 476.157 +constant insanity that surrounded his every waking moment. No, he may be a 
 476.158 +war machine, but that didn’t mean anything about the man inside. He was 
 476.159 +foolish to be out here trying for a victory that he knew would never come. The 
 476.160 +vicious cycle would continue on forevermore. There was only so much he could 
 476.161 +take before the burden became too much. 
 476.162 +
 476.163 +“Only a man,
 476.164 +In a funny red sheet.
 476.165 +Looking for special things inside of me.
 476.166 +Inside of me.
 476.167 +Inside of me.
 476.168 +Yeah.
 476.169 +Inside of me.
 476.170 +Inside of me.”
 476.171 +
 476.172 +	What was inside the war machine? What was he besides a killer? He 
 476.173 +knew X could answer that, but the answers eluded him in the cold night. He 
 476.174 +knew he was weak and tired. But he couldn’t rest now. There was still so much 
 476.175 +to be done. Too bad he wouldn’t be around for the end of it. He had won this 
 476.176 +battle, but it would only be a downward spiral from there. Coming forth 
 476.177 +victorious from battle didn’t always mean he had made it through unscathed. He 
 476.178 +may be able to continue winning in his fight with the Irregulars, but his mind 
 476.179 +couldn’t take much more. The shell was about to crack and get to the soft insides 
 476.180 +of his soul. Just who was he? Had he really made a difference? Was he more 
 476.181 +than the war machine that everyone presumed he was? Everyone but X. But 
 476.182 +even with the smaller robot’s faith in him, he wasn’t quite so sure of himself. He 
 476.183 +didn’t think he could last much longer. He hoped that X would understand. He 
 476.184 +couldn’t stay around for him, no matter how much he wanted to. 
 476.185 +
 476.186 +“I’m only a man
 476.187 +In a funny red sheet.
 476.188 +I’m only a man looking for a dream.
 476.189 +I’m only a man
 476.190 +In a funny red sheet.
 476.191 +And it’s not easy...”
 476.192 +
 476.193 +	It was almost over. He didn’t have a lot of time left. He needed to 
 476.194 +figure things out for himself. Who he was and what was deep inside of him. His 
 476.195 +fight was almost over. But before it was, he would have to confront his past. A 
 476.196 +shiver went through him as his eyes shut tight, trying to keep back the torrent of 
 476.197 +emotions breaking through his cold exterior. Just a little further. He had to push 
 476.198 +himself a little further before he could call it quits. He didn’t know if he could 
 476.199 +last that long. But he knew he had to try. 
 476.200 +
 476.201 +“It’s not easy to be me...”
 476.202 +	
 476.203 +	Zero turned from the flames, walking silently into the night. His helmet 
 476.204 +hung limply from his fingers. Fighting didn’t hold anymore appeal to him 
 476.205 +tonight. He was sick. All he wanted was to go back ‘home’ and rest. And try 
 476.206 +desperately to hold himself together. Just a little longer.

   477.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   477.2 +++ b/stories/swing.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   477.3 @@ -0,0 +1,299 @@
   477.4 +	Lovers of the Past
   477.5 +	Part I: In The Mood
   477.6 +	By:  PsychoKittenSenshi611
   477.7 +
   477.8 +
   477.9 +	The club was as packed as it possibly could be on a Saturday night.  A 
  477.10 +young woman, short black hair shining even in the dim light, slid up to the 
  477.11 +bar, her long skirts flowing as she sat on a stool.  She was an eye-catcher 
  477.12 +in that beautiful black dress, the short sleeves revealing delicate white 
  477.13 +flesh on her arms, the wrinkled skirts flowing up every so often and would 
  477.14 +reveal glimpses of little white ankles.  Her small feet were covered by 
  477.15 +little black shoes, matching the dress with perfection.  Her gloves where 
  477.16 +white with a black rim around the wrist, completing the delicate ensemble.
  477.17 +	She was gorgeous.
  477.18 +	But, somehow, she managed to fade into the background of the dancers, 
  477.19 +her small frame blending in with some strange force into the area of the bar.  
  477.20 +She would glance around, noticing people who stood out more than others, but 
  477.21 +they did not notice her.  No matter how gorgeous she was.
  477.22 +	The swing music emerged from the large band, beckoning her onto the 
  477.23 +wooden dance floor.  She did not comply.  She would tap her feet and shake 
  477.24 +her small hips on her stool, but she did not dance.  The bartender noticed 
  477.25 +her by accident, staring off into space and catching a glimpse of shining 
  477.26 +black hair.  He focused fully on her, in all her glory, as she threw her head 
  477.27 +back, her entire body shaking to the intoxicating music.  His young body 
  477.28 +could not deal with this beauty, and his knees shook in his new pinstriped 
  477.29 +suit.
  477.30 +	She was gorgeous.
  477.31 +	But, she would not dance.
  477.32 +	Something caught this black beauty's eye, and she glanced in the 
  477.33 +direction of it.  A whir of pink, followed by the swishing of white skirts, 
  477.34 +and the bubbling sound of beautiful laughter.  She was transfixed at the 
  477.35 +sight before her.  Long pink hair flowing as beautifully as the white skirts 
  477.36 +that whirled around her ankles.  Small white-clad feet tapped expertly on the 
  477.37 +dance-floor, and were swept upward as this flower's partner lifted her up and 
  477.38 +swung her around.  Flips, dips, whirls, and turns...this beauty was not to go 
  477.39 +unnoticed.  To our little black darling, though, she was something much more.
  477.40 +	She was gorgeous.
  477.41 +	"Bartender!"  The small voice dripped with urgency and need.  The young 
  477.42 +man, intoxicated by her and his self-esteem rising, hurried over to her, his 
  477.43 +eyes not leaving the front of her dress.
  477.44 +	"Yes?"  He replied, in a slightly seductive tone.
  477.45 +	She either ignored it or didn't notice.  "Who is that woman, over 
  477.46 +there?"  A long, white-gloved hand motioned to the pink-haired seductress.
  477.47 +	"Oh, you mean Bunny?"  He smiled, memories flooding his mind.
  477.48 +	"Bunny..." The black-haired woman rolled it around on her tongue.  "Is 
  477.49 +that her real name?"
  477.50 +	"Yes," he smiled again.  "Well, her real name is Little Rabbit, but 
  477.51 +everyone calls her Bunny."
  477.52 +	"Oh," came the reply.  "I see."  She hadn't looked at the young man the 
  477.53 +entire time, her eyes transfixed on Bunny.  Something about her enchanted our 
  477.54 +black beauty, and made her want to walk up to her and kiss that pink haired 
  477.55 +rabbit right in the middle of the dance floor, filled with people.  Something 
  477.56 +about this little rabbit made her want to get off of her stool of safety and 
  477.57 +enter her world.
  477.58 +	The bartender leaned over the counter, trying to catch her attention.  
  477.59 +"And what," he began, "is your name?"
  477.60 +	She turned back to him slowly, wondering what to say.  "My name?"  She 
  477.61 +said again, and her mind cleared for a second.  "Oh.  I'm Firefly."
  477.62 +	He smiled.  "Glad to meet you, Firefly."
  477.63 +	Engrained politeness forced her to smile back at him and clear her 
  477.64 +throat.  "And what, may I ask, is your name?"
  477.65 +	He smiled wider, glad she was showing interest in him.  "I'm Seiya."
  477.66 +	The strangeness of his name made her take a closer look at him.  He was 
  477.67 +really quite handsome, large navy blue eyes whose depths could sink a woman 
  477.68 +daring enough to wade into their waters.  She took in the sharp angles of his 
  477.69 +face, the short and stylish hair cut, and the well-tailored suit that he 
  477.70 +wore.  Over the high counter on the bar she couldn't see much else, even if 
  477.71 +she had been standing.  She blushed a little in spite of herself, noticing 
  477.72 +finally that he was VERY interested in her.  "That's an interesting name..." 
  477.73 +She commented, trying to break the still air between the two.
  477.74 +	"I know.  I don't know what my parents were thinking!"  He chuckled, 
  477.75 +and she joined in, relieved.  "What brings you here tonight, Firefly?  Here 
  477.76 +for the dancing, the music," he paused, weighing his words carefully.  "Or 
  477.77 +are you meeting someone?"
  477.78 +	She blushed again.  This wasn't working out well.  "No, I'm not meeting 
  477.79 +anyone at all."  She turned away from his now eager eyes, just in time to 
  477.80 +catch a glimpse of that whirl of pink before it slammed into her.
  477.81 +	The entire ordeal was utterly embarrassing.  Bunny had been dancing, 
  477.82 +just having a good time, when suddenly her partner decided to try out a new 
  477.83 +move.  He had wanted to throw her up in the air and catch her as she spun 
  477.84 +down into his arms, but it hadn't quite worked out the way he had wanted it 
  477.85 +to.  He had thrown her, all right, but she was so surprised she had pulled 
  477.86 +away in mid-air, and ended up going backwards and slamming, quite painfully, 
  477.87 +into the bar.  Now she lay sprawled on top of someone she didn't recognize, a 
  477.88 +stool going painfully into her hip, and her hair caught underneath someone 
  477.89 +else's foot.  Or maybe it was her foot.  She couldn't tell.  She knew it was 
  477.90 +caught somewhere, though.
  477.91 +	Firefly groaned at the weight that pressed down on her.  She rubbed her 
  477.92 +head with her left hand and sat up on her right elbow before opening her 
  477.93 +eyes.  The mysterious girl, Bunny, was inches from her face, red eyes staring 
  477.94 +into dark purple ones.
  477.95 +	She screamed.
  477.96 +	Bunny, more than just a little perplexed, covered her ears and squeezed 
  477.97 +both eyes shut.  When the loud noise finally stopped, she opened one eye, 
  477.98 +making for a very cute little figure.  When she saw the somewhat startled and 
  477.99 +very beautiful Firefly before her, however, she opened both eyes again, and 
 477.100 +stared.
 477.101 +	The moment was awkward.  Dark purple staring into dark red, both women 
 477.102 +sprawled out on the floor with a couple stools between them.  It seemed like 
 477.103 +an eternity before Seiya ran to help both of them up...yes, an eternity, a 
 477.104 +wonderful and blissful eternity that sparked something between two very 
 477.105 +beautiful young women.  Seiya brought them both into a back room to tend to 
 477.106 +their wounds, but they had just barely noticed them.  All they saw was dark 
 477.107 +purple and dark red.  That's all.
 477.108 +	Oh!  She was so beautiful!  Bunny had never seen such beauty wrapped up 
 477.109 +in one gloriously petite package.  She had never seen such a deep shade of 
 477.110 +purple, let alone in eyes as glorious as this.  How could she have not 
 477.111 +noticed this woman before?  This dark, mysterious, beautiful woman?
 477.112 +	Firefly was enchanted.  Perhaps it was that hair, such a cute little 
 477.113 +shade of pink.  Perhaps it was those eyes, red and perfect and wonderful.  
 477.114 +Perhaps it was the cute figure of this petite woman, shown off perfectly in 
 477.115 +that beautiful white dress.  Whatever it was, her senses lived in it, reveled 
 477.116 +in it, and wouldn't let her forget that wonderful look in those red eyes.
 477.117 +	Seiya sat them down on two crates in the storage room.  He watched 
 477.118 +them, an eyebrow raised in a silent question.  Why were they staring at each 
 477.119 +other like that?  He'd never seen that kind of look before.  He turned their 
 477.120 +faces toward him, and cleared his throat.  "Hey ladies, that was a pretty 
 477.121 +hard fall.  Are you cats alright?"
 477.122 +	Bunny's head cleared, and she spoke up.  "Oh, I'm alright...just a little 
 477.123 +banged up."  She breathed out slowly, her face turning the same shade as her 
 477.124 +eyes.  "And embarrassed."
 477.125 +	Seiya laughed.  "I would be too.  But hey, that's what you get if 
 477.126 +you're swinging with Helios!"
 477.127 +	Bunny sulked.  "Yeah, thanks.  I feel SO much better now."
 477.128 +	"Don't worry about it."  The soft voice emerged from the woman beside 
 477.129 +her, and she turned to look at her, red eyes wide.  "Anyone with half a brain 
 477.130 +could see it wasn't your fault."  Firefly smiled.
 477.131 +	Bunny swallowed hard.  She was trying to fight this overwhelming heat 
 477.132 +that emerged from her belly when she looked at this enchantress.  "Th...Thank 
 477.133 +you."  She swallowed hard again.  "But, I apologize anyway, because I can 
 477.134 +tell it probably hurt!"  She tried to break the mood with a small chuckle, 
 477.135 +and succeeded in getting a wider smile and giggle out of the other woman.
 477.136 +	"Hey you two lovely cats, I'm going to get some Band-Aids and wash-
 477.137 +cloths.  I'll be back in a second."  Seiya opened the door and closed it 
 477.138 +softly, leaving the two women in the small storage room all by themselves.
 477.139 +	Bunny was the first to break the silence.  "Since I crashed into you 
 477.140 +and all...I thought it'd be nice if...if we could call each other by our first 
 477.141 +names."
 477.142 +	"Alright."  Firefly nodded.
 477.143 +	"So what's yours?"
 477.144 +	"Firefly."
 477.145 +	"I'm..."
 477.146 +	"Bunny.  I know."
 477.147 +	"How do you know?"
 477.148 +	Firefly smiled.  "Seiya told me."
 477.149 +	"Oh.  You know Seiya?"
 477.150 +	"Not really.  I just met him tonight.  I asked him what your name was."
 477.151 +	"Really?  Why?"
 477.152 +	"Because..." She swallowed the lump in her throat.  "I noticed you 
 477.153 +dancing, and thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
 477.154 +	Bunny could have fainted.  She had never heard anything like that ever 
 477.155 +said to her before.  Where did this come from?  This overwhelming feeling 
 477.156 +that something was RIGHT about this?  This feeling that they had met before, 
 477.157 +in another time, another place?  That she had kissed this woman, held this 
 477.158 +woman, comforted this woman, and made love to this woman?  "I...thank you."
 477.159 +	"You're welcome."  Firefly turned away from those red eyes.
 477.160 +	"You...you're very beautiful yourself, you know.  I've never seen anyone 
 477.161 +like you before."  Bunny smiled.  "You have very lovely eyes, Firefly."
 477.162 +	Firefly smiled at the complement.  "Thank you, Bunny."  Doing something 
 477.163 +that was mainly from her instincts alone, she placed a white-gloved hand over 
 477.164 +Bunny's bare one, not thinking at all.  She didn't know Bunny would suck in 
 477.165 +her breath at the sudden contact, her chest heaving with the sweet ache of it 
 477.166 +all.  She didn't know the smaller, pink haired girl would lean in and kiss 
 477.167 +her sweetly on the lips.
 477.168 +	But if she had known this, she would have done it anyway.
 477.169 +	Bunny's lips brushed her own lightly, and she could have melted right 
 477.170 +onto that crate.  When they pulled away from each other, they realized what 
 477.171 +they had done, what they had given into, and blushed.  Firefly tried to make 
 477.172 +her hand pull away from Bunny's, but her body wouldn't respond.  Instead, 
 477.173 +taking on a mind of it's own, her hand slid around Bunny's waist and pulled 
 477.174 +her half on top of her.  The only slightly smaller girl had her hands in 
 477.175 +between them, resting just above Firefly's breasts.  Her left leg was trapped 
 477.176 +between Firefly's other two, pulsing with some uncontrollable heat.  
 477.177 +Firefly's body still in charge, she dipped her head low and kissed Bunny 
 477.178 +fiercely, deepening the kiss more than they both thought possible.
 477.179 +	Her perfume was like a drug, Bunny thought.  It got her higher than 
 477.180 +anything had ever before.  She couldn't imagine something that made her feel 
 477.181 +half this good.  What reminded her of these kisses?  She didn't know.  No one 
 477.182 +had ever kissed her like this, not this passionately, not this wonderfully, 
 477.183 +not this meaningfully.  No one had ever held her like this, so warm and 
 477.184 +inviting and comfortable and RIGHT.  No one had ever reminded her of home, 
 477.185 +not like this woman before her in the long black dress who's eyes were a deep 
 477.186 +purple like the endless night sky.
 477.187 +	When the kiss did end, they pulled away slowly, swollen lips still 
 477.188 +puckered.  Bunny licked her lips, tasting the sweet honey of the Firefly 
 477.189 +before her.  She tried, in vain, to move from her slightly uncomfortable 
 477.190 +condition, but her body stopped her.  She couldn't control her next move, a 
 477.191 +thought that would normally be scary but didn't frighten her in the least.
 477.192 +	"Firefly, you're a wonderful kisser..." Bunny's lips were mere inches 
 477.193 +from Firefly's.  A small hand traveled up Firefly's thigh, tickling and 
 477.194 +exciting at the same time.  She didn't know where her skirt began or ended, 
 477.195 +but realized that the way they were sitting must have folded her skirt way up 
 477.196 +beneath her.  That wasn't a problem, concerning the circumstances.
 477.197 +	The hand came to rest underneath her skirts at her hip, feeling along 
 477.198 +her hipbone and just below her belly button.  She kissed her Bunny once 
 477.199 +again, tongue diving in her mouth in a quest to quench this fire she was 
 477.200 +starting inside of her.
 477.201 +	Bunny had to retaliate.  Nothing she did seemed to affect this Firefly.  
 477.202 +Nothing.
 477.203 +	Except this.
 477.204 +	Her small hand slipped past her Firefly's underwear, coming in contact 
 477.205 +with soft and curly hair.  She ran her hand down this, feeling the two tensed 
 477.206 +legs spread around her in an instinctive movement.  A small finger traced its 
 477.207 +way down the entrance to this Firefly's cave, feeling along her most 
 477.208 +sensitive place.  Lying back on the crates, Firefly pulled this Bunny above 
 477.209 +her and kissed her again.  Fierce.  Hard.  Scared.
 477.210 +	Legs spread wider, giving that prying finger better access to her.  Not 
 477.211 +sure how to continue, Bunny traced the entrance again and again, feeling her 
 477.212 +finger and hand dampen with the touches.  Finally, an instinctive movement 
 477.213 +placed in the back of her mind from long ago made her plunge her finger into 
 477.214 +this Firefly, feeling the body beneath her stiffen and shudder with desire.  
 477.215 +Her hand plunged in and out, feeling the inner muscles of her new lover 
 477.216 +clench down on her finger.  The kisses became even harder, desperate pleas to 
 477.217 +continue, soundless gasps and moans, eyes and teeth clenched in pure 
 477.218 +pleasure.  The raw pleasure of it all.
 477.219 +	Firefly threw her head back as she continued to shudder.  "Oh God..." She 
 477.220 +moaned, arms and hands locked around Bunny's shoulders.  "Oooohhhh God..." She 
 477.221 +repeated, hips rocking and bouncing on the crates below her.  She realized, 
 477.222 +through the haze that pleasure brings, that she was doing nothing for this 
 477.223 +woman above her, nothing to please her.  Arching her back, she reached the 
 477.224 +neckline of her lover's dress and pulled it down slowly.
 477.225 +	Unsure how to go about it, she stared at the round breast before her.  
 477.226 +The nipple, hardened and ready for her, stuck out like a rosebud.  Instincts, 
 477.227 +buried in the back of her mind from a time long forgotten, made her bend her 
 477.228 +head down to it and begin sucking on it.
 477.229 +	Bunny stared down at her, feeling herself start to stiffen.  Her 
 477.230 +fingers began to slow their movements and eventually stopped, and she 
 477.231 +realized this only after Firefly tilted her head toward her and brought her 
 477.232 +hips to her own.  Sliding her underwear down with one hand and molding her 
 477.233 +breast with her other, she stared into the pink-haired lady's eyes with pure 
 477.234 +desire in them.  The underwear were off, and now she laid back down, 
 477.235 +underneath her little rabbit.
 477.236 +	Lowering her hips onto Firefly's, Bunny moaned.  Their skirts were 
 477.237 +spread out around them, still stuck around their waists.  If she could break 
 477.238 +this completely intimate contact she would, but now she was stuck in the 
 477.239 +moment, feeling the wonderful feeling of completion as they met each other 
 477.240 +again and again...
 477.241 +	Bunny kissed her lover as climax overtook them both at the same 
 477.242 +instant, shuddering over and over, hips rocking and bouncing back and forth 
 477.243 +against the crates, creating a loud amount of noise.  All Firefly could do 
 477.244 +was wonder where Seiya was and clutch Bunny to her, teeth clenched and 
 477.245 +muscles locked in the fabulous release.  They stayed like that for a long 
 477.246 +time, the last spasms and waves washing over them, feeling more at peace then 
 477.247 +they had ever felt before.  The shuddering eventually stopped, however, and 
 477.248 +all they could do was lay together, still clutching at each other and legs 
 477.249 +locked in a tight embrace.  Soft swing music filtered through the door, and 
 477.250 +they both smiled.
 477.251 +	"In the Mood", by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, was being played.  
 477.252 +They both knew, by some outer force, that this was right, this was a sign, 
 477.253 +and that they loved each other.
 477.254 +	It was 1938, the era of swing, and the two women were locked together 
 477.255 +in a tight embrace in a storage room of an underground swing club.
 477.256 +
 477.257 +*   *   *
 477.258 +
 477.259 +	"Oh, Taru-chan!  Come over here, quick!"  Chibi-Usa called to her 
 477.260 +lover.  "Come on!  It's our song!"
 477.261 +	Hotaru walked into the room, an apron around her waist.  "What?  I'm 
 477.262 +baking cookies, Odango..."
 477.263 +	"I know, I know, but I want you to dance with me for a little while."  
 477.264 +She grabbed the black-haired girl's hands and pulled her into an intimate 
 477.265 +embrace.  "You know, every time I hear this song, I want to hold you close."
 477.266 +	"I know.  I feel the same way."  She kissed Chibi-Usa's cheek lightly.  
 477.267 +"I'm trying to remember, what's this song called?"
 477.268 +	"It's really old, I know that for sure."
 477.269 +	"Yeah, the recording's kinda fuzzy."  Hotaru smiled at Chibi-Usa.  
 477.270 +Suddenly, she went weak at the knees, and sunk to the floor.
 477.271 +	Chibi-Usa sunk with her, still holding her close.  "Taru-chan?  Are you 
 477.272 +alright?"  Her voiced was pressed with worry.
 477.273 +	"Yes, Odango...I'm just...a little overwhelmed, that's all."  Hotaru laid 
 477.274 +her head on Chibi-Usa's shoulder.  "I don't know.  I just had the strangest 
 477.275 +thing happen...I saw us, together, only you looked like Black Lady and I looked 
 477.276 +kinda like Mistress 9...but we weren't EVIL...just older.  And we were dancing 
 477.277 +together, to this song."
 477.278 +	"What do you mean?"  Chibi-Usa looked thoughtful, suddenly catching a 
 477.279 +bit of the vision herself.
 477.280 +	"I don't know."  Hotaru looked up at Chibi-Usa.  "Maybe this has always 
 477.281 +been our song, Odango."
 477.282 +
 477.283 +*   *   *
 477.284 +
 477.285 +	AUTHORS NOTES...
 477.286 +	DUN DUN DUN...
 477.287 +	Are you guys confused or what?!  What's going on?!  Catch it all in 
 477.288 +Part II!  He he he.
 477.289 +	Well, as always, I'd like to thank my bestest buds back in California 
 477.290 +for their continuing support, you know who you all are!  ^-^ 
 477.291 +	And, of course, the three lovely women of the Amazoness Quartet, who 
 477.292 +have accepted me into their lovely arms!  This story is dedicated to you 
 477.293 +guys!  Especially Holly and Heather.  Minako is going to have one comin' at 
 477.294 +her soon, I just got to figure out what!  I hope I did justice to the love of 
 477.295 +Chibi-Usa and Hotaru, which is FOREVER LASTING!  To anyone who has 
 477.296 +objections, come over here and we'll...TALK about it...GGGGRRRRR...just kidding.
 477.297 +	Thank you everyone.  Be safe, all, and remember to love and love alike!  
 477.298 +Love rules the world.
 477.299 +	
 477.300 +	PsYcHoKiTtEnSeNsHi611
 477.301 +Aka
 477.302 +	Gabrielle!

   478.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   478.2 +++ b/stories/takesonept1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   478.3 @@ -0,0 +1,353 @@
   478.4 +
   478.5 +AUTHOR'S NOTES: First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to read
   478.6 +this. I'm so very glad you bothered! This is my second shoujo ai fic. That
   478.7 +sounds terribly official, doesn't it? ^_^ I'm hoping to keep this under
   478.8 +three chapters, considering how many *other* fics I have going. Please send
   478.9 +feedback if you're so inclined!
  478.10 +
  478.11 +This isn't as dark as 'Conjure Me', and hopefully there's a little humor in
  478.12 +it as well. I can't resist the temptation to play with Tomoyo's head.
  478.13 +*angelic*
  478.14 +
  478.15 +I hope you enjoy!
  478.16 +-Meredith
  478.17 +
  478.18 +Disclaimer: This fic features two women in love. L-O-V-E. ^_~ If you have a
  478.19 +problem with this, please evolve, or at least get out of this fic. Any and
  478.20 +all flames will be summarily laughed at and used to line the gerbil cage.
  478.21 +Remember, bigotry is not a family value.  If you're not allergic to the
  478.22 +aforementioned topic (even the gerbil ^_~), then welcome!
  478.23 +
  478.24 +Rating is PG-13. Light kissing, ect.
  478.25 +
  478.26 +
  478.27 +
  478.28 +============================
  478.29 +It Takes One to Know One 1/?
  478.30 +by Meredith Bronwen Mallory
  478.31 +http://www.demando.net/
  478.32 +mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com
  478.33 +============================
  478.34 +
  478.35 + 
  478.36 + She had never held another girl before; and though she had known what to
  478.37 +expect, the reality of blood fleeing Tomoyo's lithe form was so terrifying
  478.38 +she nearly fell to her knees. Gently, she cradled the young school girl
  478.39 +close to where her heart beat frantically, moving her arm to support
  478.40 +Tomoyo's knees. Now, stumbling backwards, and she pressed her back against
  478.41 +the side of the foot bridge, which was chill with soul of winter. Tomoyo's
  478.42 +eyes were wide and vivid against her pale skin, before they vanished behind
  478.43 +twin fanned lashes and the heiress' body went completely limp.
  478.44 + "Two hundred six and still a lady-killer," remarked a deep voice, filled
  478.45 +with morbid humor. Snow flakes caught in fur the color of the sun, and
  478.46 +melted as if the locks were what their shade suggested.
  478.47 + "Kero!" the woman scolded, the flash in her emerald eyes visible even
  478.48 +through the heavy fall of snow. The white masses moved like waves in the
  478.49 +wind, lapping even so high as her thighs. She held Tomoyo high over the
  478.50 +winter ocean, as one protects holy, precious things.
  478.51 + "I'm sorry," the Seal Beast remarked, the rumble in his throat sincere.
  478.52 +"It's just, there's so much blood. I never saw her body, so  never really
  478.53 +hit me that she was dead. Even after all this time."
  478.54 +
  478.55 + Oh, but *she* had seen Tomoyo dead, and white and in the coffin and damn
  478.56 +it they put her in the ground. Tomoyo's body, just a husk, an empty thing
  478.57 +that was blasphemy because it dare to look like the beautiful girl without
  478.58 +actually being her. There had been no blood, then-- the morticians cleaned
  478.59 +it up-- only the garish, red lines on the corpse's wrists, and the silver
  478.60 +bracelets placed there to hide them. Nothing could be done about her lips--
  478.61 +pale blue from hypothermia, even through the pink lp gloss.
  478.62 +
  478.63 + "She's not going to die," his mistress replied firmly, "I won't allow even
  478.64 +Tomoyo to hurt herself."
  478.65 + "Do you need help, Sakura-sama?" this from another voice, high and silvery
  478.66 +like the the moon on an autumn afternoon.  Yue's pale eyes were narrowed
  478.67 +and focused, he held his wings aloft over his two companions, shielding
  478.68 +them..
  478.69 + "Iie, but thank you. We need to get her inside. Let's go,"  within the
  478.70 +young woman's face, there was a brief flash, like a ghost's photograph, of
  478.71 +a younger, more carefree Sakura. Then, the snow dove in drifts of suicidal
  478.72 +faeries, and the bridge was empty as if no one had ever been.
  478.73 +
  478.74 +
  478.75 +############################
  478.76 +
  478.77 +
  478.78 + To err is human.
  478.79 + 
  478.80 + To really screw up is even more human than that.
  478.81 +
  478.82 + She looked about twenty six, this Sakura; her mouth hovered in a coral
  478.83 +crescent forever between a smile and a frown, and if she let you look
  478.84 +really close, you could see that there was something written and obscured
  478.85 +by the jungle in her eyes. She was tall, this Sakura, and she carried
  478.86 +herself like she knew where she was going, even when she didn't. Her years
  478.87 +numbered two hundred and six; and so many of those years had been
  478.88 +wandering, looking, wanting so badly for something that was gone.
  478.89 +
  478.90 + Eden wasn't paradise until we lost it, after all.
  478.91 +
  478.92 +
  478.93 +############################
  478.94 +
  478.95 +
  478.96 + Tomoyo had planned her suicide. Not the when, but the 'where' and the
  478.97 +'how' and the 'fate-of-my-body', since the 'why' had been laid down years
  478.98 +ago by a glorious Sakura-smile and the realization that she could never
  478.99 +speak what was in her heart. The 'when' was the theta, the renegade
 478.100 +variable that she teased and prodded herself with; 'when' didn't matter,
 478.101 +because she was almost always ready to die. In the bottom drawer of her
 478.102 +dresser, she kept the dress she planned to wear, the ribbons she'd use in
 478.103 +her long tresses, and expensive, pearl-handled letter-opener that was going
 478.104 +to do the trick. She was Cinderella, and the ball was waiting on her.
 478.105 + 
 478.106 + She stayed because she wanted to be by Sakura's side until someone else
 478.107 +came to take her place. Then; just fade to black. Maybe she was a little
 478.108 +scared, and maybe she thought herself a coward for wanting to take that way
 478.109 +out, but certainty in death allowed her to live.
 478.110 +
 478.111 + Yesterday, at nineteen, When had come to her with wide open arms,
 478.112 +whispering that her mother was away and Sakura engaged and... and she had
 478.113 +known it was time.
 478.114 +
 478.115 +
 478.116 +
 478.117 +
 478.118 + She had been sleeping in such a way that, while under the spell of
 478.119 +Morpheus, she could sense and hear and feel the world around her, but she
 478.120 +was trapped in her ivory bones. Now the voices seemed to blur and then
 478.121 +focus. Dark wings fluttered before her eyes until the abstract angles and
 478.122 +colors of the world came into view. She couldn't even be bothered to wonder
 478.123 +why she wasn't dead-- there was something inside her so sensitized to the
 478.124 +other girl that she sensed her beloved's presence almost immediately.
 478.125 + "Do you..." began a voice that sounded like wind chimes in a summer house
 478.126 +filled with the scent of one's lover. Under Tomoyo's blue silver gaze, the
 478.127 +older woman pressed her lips together, and her green eyes said things to
 478.128 +Tomoyo that were just too good to be true. "You do realize this is the
 478.129 +first chance I've had to talk to you in one hundred eighty seven years?
 478.130 +Hoee..." she looked down at her feet, "What I am I supposed to say?"
 478.131 + "Sakura," Tomoyo breathed; taking in the matured vision of her beautiful
 478.132 +best friend. Her hair, done up in her habitual style, was a little longer
 478.133 +and a little darker. Even in the plain cream sweater and black pants that
 478.134 +graced the older woman's lithe form, Tomoyo could sense the barely
 478.135 +contained power of the Cardmistress. "Sakura," she began again, some how
 478.136 +understanding that this woman had been so changed by her experiences that
 478.137 +she was not quite (and only not quite) her childhood friend, "-sama," she
 478.138 +decided firmly. The situation may have been strange, but she accepted
 478.139 +Sakura instantly.
 478.140 + "You can call me Kinomoto-sensei, if it's easier," Sakura offered.
 478.141 + "That makes me think of your father," Tomoyo protested weakly. For the
 478.142 +first time, her eyes moved to the rest f her surroundings. Just her room at
 478.143 +home, with the curtains drawn partially so she could still see the snow
 478.144 +drifting down like lazy flower petals. The lights were on, bright and
 478.145 +somehow tangible; the quilts gathered about her form and Sakura's tender
 478.146 +gaze made her body momentarily forget the chill of being unrequited.
 478.147 + "Kinomoto-kun," Tomoyo tried, blushing just a little, "I have always
 478.148 +thought Sakura-chan would make a cute '-kun'. Li-kun should have addressed
 478.149 +her as such, in the beginning, since they are both magical people."
 478.150 + Kinomoto-kun seemed to darken at the mention of the Chinese boy, but she
 478.151 +laughed, "I'd never thought of that."
 478.152 + "Of course, That Brat doesn't have an once of respect in his body," pipped
 478.153 +a familiar, high Osakan voice.
 478.154 + "Kero-chan!" Tomoyo giggled, taken by surprise as the small, winged
 478.155 +creature dove into her hair.
 478.156 + "It's nice to see you again, Tomoyo-san," Kero said cheerfully. He hovered
 478.157 +near her for a moment, before darting back to the table situated on the
 478.158 +other side of the room. Tomoyo could see Yue had installed his rather
 478.159 +elegant form on the couch, and she nodded in greeting. Her eyes, however,
 478.160 +soon sought the blinding glory of Kinomoto-kun-- she was everything Tomoyo
 478.161 +had known Sakura would grow up to be and more.
 478.162 +
 478.163 +
 478.164 + "Do you think you can eat something?" Kinomoto-kun asked, taking a seat on
 478.165 +the bed and offering Tomoyo a tray of hot soup and warm bread. "I really
 478.166 +think you should but, if you're too weak, you might not keep it down."
 478.167 + "I am a little hungry," the heiress accepted the tray, enchanted by all
 478.168 +the new details and movements of the Cardmistress' future form. "Arigato,
 478.169 +Kinomoto-kun!"
 478.170 + "Tomoyo..." Kinomoto-kun's voice was tender as it moved over the world,
 478.171 +like silk pressed against Tomoyo's skin.
 478.172 + "Hai?" Tomoyo let the spoon rest against the side of the bowl, gazing on
 478.173 +the sorceress with concern, "Is something wrong? I want to help
 478.174 +Kinomoto-kun, if I can."
 478.175 + "Damn it!" the Cardmistress said suddenly, taking Tomoyo's hands gently in
 478.176 +her own and cradling them like baby birds, "You always do this. You do
 478.177 +everything for me and nothing for yourself."
 478.178 + "I want Sakura-chan to be happy," the heiress emphasized, as if that
 478.179 +explained everything. She looked down at her hands, feeling out-of-sorts
 478.180 +without a camera to see the world through.
 478.181 + "Well, I'm not," Kinomoto-kun's tone was firm as she ran a dainty finger
 478.182 +over the bandages on the younger girl's wrist. "I'm not happy, because the
 478.183 +person I love left me."
 478.184 + "Li-kun?" Tomoyo was scandalized. There was a sudden guilt inside her,
 478.185 +swinging like a pendulum, because she had not chosen the correct person for
 478.186 +her Sakura.
 478.187 + Kinomoto-kun leaned in close, until their foreheads touched, "No, Tomoyo.
 478.188 +Watashi wa Tomoyo ga daisuki desu. Aishiteru."
 478.189 + "Watashi ka?" there was a fluttering of live flowers in Tomoyo's rib cage,
 478.190 +as if everything she'd ever known had been drained from her body. "But
 478.191 +Sakura-chan is going to marry Li-kun and live happily in Hong Kong."
 478.192 + "Correction," Kinomoto-kun said dryly, " 'Sakura-chan'," she referenced
 478.193 +her younger self with some malice, "was engaged to marry Li-kun, when her
 478.194 +best friend Tomoyo cut her wrists and, for good measure, drowned herself in
 478.195 +the middle of winter. Sakura-chan was-- and still is-- in love with
 478.196 +Tomoyo," Kinomoto-kun's eyes were all emerald fire, and Tomoyo could not
 478.197 +look away, "but, all her life Sakura-chan had thought that boys went with
 478.198 +girls and so on. She was too stupid to understand how she felt, and too
 478.199 +dense to see the truth even when her best friend put it right in front of
 478.200 +her. So, when Tomoyo died, the world wasn't the same any more, and
 478.201 +everything she touched was like in the fairy tale-- it seemed to turn to
 478.202 +glass and cut her."
 478.203 + "I wasn't trying to hurt you," Tomoyo linked her arms around the
 478.204 +sorceress, but Kinomoto-kun could only see the time before. She rested her
 478.205 +cheek against the heiress' soft lavender hair and stared without seeing
 478.206 +into the snow night beyond the window.
 478.207 + "So Sakura-chan broke off her engagement," she continued, "She went to
 478.208 +college and pretended to be a person. She majored in archeology, since it
 478.209 +made a good excuse, and studied magic in Tibet. She lived so long that
 478.210 +every day was a nightmare, and she worked ten years to perfect a Card and a
 478.211 +spell that would help her change her mistakes." Small tears gathered in the
 478.212 +corners of the sorceress' eyes.
 478.213 + "It hurts me to see you cry," Tomoyo said honestly, taking up a quilt to
 478.214 +ease the sadness seeping from Kinomoto-kun's eyes.  Kinomoto-kun's arms
 478.215 +tighted around her suddenly, and Tomoyo was suffused with a feeling of
 478.216 +wings folded at her back as the other woman rocked her gently.
 478.217 + "You're real... It hurts me to think I never... I didn't...," Kinomoto-kun
 478.218 +took a deep breath, "Why did you give so much to me, when I never gave
 478.219 +anything back?"
 478.220 + "Sakura-chan has always given to me!"
 478.221 + "But not the way you wanted," it was a shrewd point; and for the first
 478.222 +time, Tomoyo felt the dream-like quality vanish from the situation. No
 478.223 +dream or vision would have shown her this.
 478.224 + "No..." she admitted softly, "But I didn't have a right to want those
 478.225 +things."
 478.226 + "Of course you do!" for a moment, just a moment, Kinomoto-kun and
 478.227 +Sakura-chan were the same. "Everyone has a right to love!" Gently, the
 478.228 +sorceress brushed the twilight locks away from Tomoyo's face. Then, to
 478.229 +break the growing intensity, "Your food is getting cold."
 478.230 + "Hai, Kinomoto-kun," Tomoyo obediently took back to sipping her soup, glad
 478.231 +when Kinomoto-kun didn't get up. Instead, the older woman watched her with
 478.232 +careful attention, playing absently with the slighly curling ends of the
 478.233 +younger girl's hair. "Are you sure you couldn't have been happy with
 478.234 +Li-kun?"
 478.235 + "You don't believe me, do you?" Kinomoto-kun shook her head roughly, "Did
 478.236 +you know that I used to sit with him in the darkened movie theater and
 478.237 +wonder if there was something wrong with me because all I wanted to do was
 478.238 +go home and call you? That he practically had to bribe me to kiss him? When
 478.239 +he first said he liked me, I was just excited that *someone* did, since I
 478.240 +thought I had never felt anything. I always got 'hayaaan' when I was with
 478.241 +you, but I was with you all the time, so I didn't notice."
 478.242 + "Sakura...," the sound breezed past Tomoyo's lips, and she so wished she
 478.243 +could see the same look in her friend's  wide pools of green. Coming from
 478.244 +this slightly different Sakura, it didn't seem real.
 478.245 + "It doesn't matter if you still don't believe me," Kinomoto-kun smiled
 478.246 +sadly, tracing lightly down the slope of Tomoyo's nose, "I'm going to
 478.247 +change the past. I wonder how many times Clow did the same, trying to get
 478.248 +things right?"
 478.249 +
 478.250 +
 478.251 + "Three, if I remember correctly," Kero put in. He'd managed to pilfer a
 478.252 +large cake from the Daidouji kitchen and, after lugging his prize upstairs,
 478.253 +was taking a bath in it as Yue looked on with vague disapproval.
 478.254 + "Kero-chan!" Kinomoto-kun scolded, "I put servants to sleep! What will
 478.255 +happen when the cook wakes up and finds her cake gone?"
 478.256 + "I'm not worried," an icing-coated Kero sang, making a flying nose-dive
 478.257 +into the cake, "My wonderful Mistress will get me out of this mess, and I
 478.258 +haven't had a Daidouji cake in almost two bloody centuries!"
 478.259 + "Of course, your 'wonderful mistress' will save you," Kinomoto-kun rolled
 478.260 +her eyes with good nature.
 478.261 + "There's another cake in the back of the freezer, if you want it," Tomoyo
 478.262 +offered, smiling at the sudden chorus of 'wai!!" that struck up from the
 478.263 +other side of the room. Kero offered a paw-full of cake to the winged young
 478.264 +man by his side.
 478.265 + "I hate food," Yue sniffed, "But thank you all the same, Tomoyo-san."
 478.266 + "Isn't there some place you two can go? It's big house," Kinomoto-kun
 478.267 +raised an eyebrow, only half-teasing.
 478.268 + "Hey," Yue pointed out with trace of his own brand of humor, "Someone has
 478.269 +to protect Tomoyo's virtue from certain amorous sorceress."
 478.270 + "Yue, what a thing to say!" Kinomoto-kun turned pink, "HOOOOEEE!"
 478.271 + Added Kero, from somewhere in the mound of cake, "And keep you from doing
 478.272 +any permanent damage to your younger form."
 478.273 + "Chaperones," Kinomoto-kun sighed. The two women blushed and looked at
 478.274 +their hands.
 478.275 +
 478.276 +
 478.277 + Having finished her meal, the young heiress set the tray on her
 478.278 +nightstand, studying Kinomoto-kun with wise, moon-shine eyes.  "Change the
 478.279 +past..." she murmured.
 478.280 + "I really didn't know if I could do it," Kinomoto-kun replied, in answer
 478.281 +to the question Tomoyo hadn't asked. "But... after I found you on..," her
 478.282 +profile turned down, locks of auburn hair obscuring her features, "maybe I
 478.283 +shouldn't talk about this." Tomoyo's soft touch on her shoulder seemed to
 478.284 +bring the words out; "I looked, to see if you'd been reborn. All my
 478.285 +research in Hong Kong and Tibet suggested a great chance of failure in
 478.286 +time-travel, so that was my other hope. When the cards found your new form,
 478.287 +I was elated. You were thirteen, living on the colony on Europa. That's why
 478.288 +it took me so long to find you."
 478.289 + "Europa..." Tomoyo murmured, "It's an ocean moon, ne? Very cold?" Her body
 478.290 +seemed to tense with the memory of the lake and her attempt to meet death.
 478.291 + "Hai," Kinomoto-kun tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling, "You
 478.292 +were in training to dive for the gin-pearls that grow under the icebergs.
 478.293 +But all accounts, you were happy-- designed clothes for your classmates,
 478.294 +sang, worked hard in school. I told myself I just wanted to see if you were
 478.295 +really alright. I was being selfish..."
 478.296 + Breathless, "What happened?"
 478.297 + "I happened," Kinomoto-kun laughed bitterly. "I arranged a meeting with
 478.298 +you easily enough-- I offered to sponsor the school you attended. And there
 478.299 +you were-- your hair was short, but it was you and... I'm a really selfish
 478.300 +person, Tomoyo." Gently, Tomoyo eased the older woman's grip on her hands,
 478.301 +moving so that Kinomoto-kun could rest her head in the heiress' lap.
 478.302 + "You're not selfish," Tomoyo murmured, fascinated by the play of light in
 478.303 +the gold-yellow-topaz-all-over-autumn of Kinomoto-kun's hair.
 478.304 + "I am, because I was so happy to see you, and I promised to help you go to
 478.305 +a good conservatory, cultivate your voice. I felt betrayed that you didn't
 478.306 +recognize me, but I didn't let you see that. I just wanted to be near you
 478.307 +again. Then, when business called me back to Earth-- That is, when I called
 478.308 +to check on you, you'd done it again!"
 478.309 + "Death," Tomoyo may or may not have murmured. And, with sudden
 478.310 +understanding, "She loved you and thought she was... was wrong."
 478.311 + "All because I was so stupid as to come back into your life again."
 478.312 +Kinomoto-kun raised her head, eyes filled with the same desperate affection
 478.313 +Tomoyo hid within herself. "I have to change that. all of this."
 478.314 + "You have," Tomoyo pointed out.
 478.315 + "Not enough. I can't just say, 'Don't give into the sadness, Tomoyo' and
 478.316 +then expect you to wait around for me to figure things out. I thought I
 478.317 +might just vanish after I rescued you, but obviously I haven't changed all
 478.318 +that much."
 478.319 + "I won't leave," it was a breathless promise, "I would never hurt
 478.320 +Sakura-chan."
 478.321 + "But, see, you'll only be doing it out of obligation-- you'll still be
 478.322 +miserable."
 478.323 + "I don't see how--"
 478.324 +
 478.325 +
 478.326 + "Wait." Kinomoto-kun's lips turned up in an almost smile, "listen."
 478.327 +Downstairs, the clicking of the front-door latch echoed, and Tomoyo heard
 478.328 +the faint callings of *her*  Sakura. She started to trill out a happy
 478.329 +reply, but the sorceress at her side raised a single finger, motioning for
 478.330 +silence. Sakura's calls came closer and rose to a level of fear-- the sound
 478.331 +of hurried footsteps vibrated down the hall and then.
 478.332 + A happy, pixie-ish face, and a voice slightly out of breath, "Tomoyo-chan!
 478.333 +I was worried..."
 478.334 + With smile of pity and a little self-loathing, Kinomoto-kun said;
 478.335 + 
 478.336 + "Okari. I've been waiting for you, Sakura-san."
 478.337 + 
 478.338 + 
 478.339 +======================
 478.340 +
 478.341 +TO BE CONTINUED
 478.342 +
 478.343 +There once was a lady named Mere,
 478.344 +Who was madder than a March Hare,
 478.345 +She did love to write,
 478.346 +deep into the night,
 478.347 +and feedback made her so happy she walked upon air!
 478.348 +
 478.349 + 
 478.350 + 
 478.351 + 
 478.352 +
 478.353 + 
 478.354 +
 478.355 +
 478.356 +

   479.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   479.2 +++ b/stories/tbcoml.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   479.3 @@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
   479.4 +The Biggest Choice of My life
   479.5 +By The Blue Esper
   479.6 +
   479.7 +Authors note:  I just wrote this story as a spur of the moment and it is 
   479.8 +also my first story, sned all falmes compliments, etc to 
   479.9 +blue_sonnet@animefan.co.uk
  479.10 +
  479.11 +	There she is, just standing there, radiating in a beauty.  Her soft, 
  479.12 +pink hair flowing in the wind as she gently runs down the hill to try and 
  479.13 +catch her hat.  This scene before me reminds me of when we met, only 
  479.14 +things are very different now, though.  I gently place my hand in my 
  479.15 +pocket for reassurance as to what I was about to do, feeling the velvet-
  479.16 +covered box within my fingers I breathe gently. Slowly standing up, I 
  479.17 +leave the basket and picnic mat we placed and run off to catch the hat 
  479.18 +she just can't reach.  Gently reaching, our hands make contact with each 
  479.19 +other instead of the summer hat; we both just give a little giggle at 
  479.20 +this motion, we both being what we are now, my beautiful princess and I.  
  479.21 +Again a reach for the hat and pass it to my friend, wait no lover is more 
  479.22 +appropriate.  I gently reach for her hat again and pull it from its hold 
  479.23 +in the breeze.  Brining it down to her face and slowly placing it on her 
  479.24 +head, waiting for her to lift her face and allow me to gaze at her beauty.  
  479.25 +"Odango-chan" I gently gasp as she does as I wish, just gazing into each 
  479.26 +others eyes, I wonder, How did I ever receive such beautiful girl, no 
  479.27 +woman.  We take each other's hand and slowly walk back up the hill to our 
  479.28 +picnic spot, we were no longer just 'good-friends' and I was going to do 
  479.29 +something that would affect us both.  Gently guiding her down into her 
  479.30 +seating spot, I place myself next to her.  I take her hand, just gazing 
  479.31 +into her beautiful eyes; I gently reach into the pocket, which contained 
  479.32 +the velvet box.  Brining it out and moving it to her face, I try to speak, 
  479.33 +but my voice just wouldn't follow.  I try again and it doesn't follow 
  479.34 +suite, she doesn't deserve someone this nervous, I think as I let go of 
  479.35 +her hand and turn away. "What's wrong?"  She says, in a gentle voice 
  479.36 +almost killing me, I turn back around and try to speak to her, but can't.  
  479.37 +Maybe everyone who takes this step is nervous, I don't really know, I 
  479.38 +never really had someone to go to in my time of need, except to woman 
  479.39 +before me, yet I wasn't able to turn to her about this.  I stand up and 
  479.40 +say the only thing I could, "I'm sorry, but I don't deserve someone as 
  479.41 +good as you", I feel my stomach turn as I spoke, I run away from her, how 
  479.42 +could I do this to her?  I turn back to look at her once more, only to 
  479.43 +see what I had done to her, why was I doing this?
  479.44 +
  479.45 +	Darkness, that's all I was good for, staring at my ceiling in my 
  479.46 +bedroom.  I remember back then, no one expecting Chibi-Usa would choose 
  479.47 +me over Helios, she had two lovers dearly wanting to be with her for all 
  479.48 +eternity and she chose me, now I have just destroyed all that we had.  
  479.49 +Now that I think, maybe she should have chosen Helios, he was a prince 
  479.50 +and would never be this nervous. I fear what people will say, even worse, 
  479.51 +how they will treat me now.  I hear a gentle sound on the door to my room, 
  479.52 +not wanting to see anyone I just turn over.  But maybe I should have 
  479.53 +locked my door, as Haruka-papa walks into the room, followed by Michiru-
  479.54 +mama and Setsuna, who really scares me, is Setsuna though.  I have always 
  479.55 +known Setsuna thought of Chibi-Usa as a daughter as she was a part of 
  479.56 +Mamoru and Setsuna loved Endymion before, but new it was never possible, 
  479.57 +so maybe she'll understand what I am going through.  "What is the matter 
  479.58 +Hime-chan?"  Oh like you don't know, I think as I'm asked a question I 
  479.59 +cannot answer.  I just lie there, motionless, looking away from the three 
  479.60 +who entered my room.  Suddenly there is more weight applied to the 
  479.61 +opposite side of the bed, I don't want to look, yet I want to know whom 
  479.62 +it is?  "Hotaru, please tell us what happened between you and Small Lady" 
  479.63 +She speaks gently, rubbing my shoulder.  I quickly motion for her to move 
  479.64 +her hand by pushing it from me, she wanted to know why, but I couldn't 
  479.65 +tell her, because I desired the same answer.  The weight lifted from my 
  479.66 +bed and all I heard afterwards was my door open and close again.  What 
  479.67 +have I done with my life?  Have I ruined everything I had?
  479.68 +
  479.69 +	Three days have passed, and I finally have the courage to leave my 
  479.70 +room, gently walking down the steps, awaiting another joke from Haruka-
  479.71 +papa.  But I reached the bottom of the steps and all I heard was silence, 
  479.72 +maybe they didn't care about me anymore?  No that is silly, as just as I 
  479.73 +made a step into the living room Setsuna-mama made a grab for me, holding 
  479.74 +me tight in her grasp.  "Hime-chan, we need to talk" she says to me, 
  479.75 +causing me to feel gut wrenched, wishing I never left my room, "Don't 
  479.76 +worry, I felt we should be alone for this and so I asked Haruka and 
  479.77 +Michiru to leave for the moment".  She gently guides me into the kitchen, 
  479.78 +as it was more quite there.  Just sitting down, I wait for the inevitable 
  479.79 +question Setsuna is going to ask me.  "So, how is your homework, keeping 
  479.80 +up in class lately?"  Her question confuses me, but from the nervousness 
  479.81 +I had, all I can do is giggle.  I look at Setsuna-mama, gently smile down 
  479.82 +at me; I know she is the senshi of time and knows what has happened, so I 
  479.83 +know she is only trying to help.  "I haven't been to school for a while" 
  479.84 +I reply to her 'question', I really want to tell someone, but I can't, it 
  479.85 +was like, when I tried to...  "Why's that?  What kept you from going to 
  479.86 +school?"  She asks me.  Suddenly I feel a full urge of strength suddenly 
  479.87 +build up within me at what I realised.  "It's because, I tried to tell 
  479.88 +Odango-chan something, but couldn't and I felt, I felt...I've got to go!" 
  479.89 +I then knew what I had to do; I slowly stand up and run to the front door, 
  479.90 +looking back at Setsuna, seeing a smile on her face, showing me that I am 
  479.91 +doing the right thing.  I leave the house bound for my next destination, 
  479.92 +a place where everything is almost eternal.
  479.93 +
  479.94 +	"Taru-chan?" I see the pink haired girl before me, tears welling up 
  479.95 +in her eyes, at this moment I believe nothing can stand in my way of what 
  479.96 +I am to do, for both of us.  I slowly walk up to her, the whole world 
  479.97 +seeming to get warmer as every step I make puts me closer to her.  
  479.98 +Stopping just a few feet away from her, I see her more clearly, her 
  479.99 +beautiful face now stained with the tears I gave her, her appearance, 
 479.100 +once exquisite and perfect, now a wreck and a mess.  I lower my face in 
 479.101 +shame, "Chibi-Usa, I apologise for what I have done to you, you mean 
 479.102 +everything to me, I didn't want to hurt you, I...I" I lift my face to see 
 479.103 +hers, a confused look on her face, "I love you" I say, her face now 
 479.104 +lightening at my words, seeing her reaction, I want to be by her side 
 479.105 +even more now.  Without consciously acting I suddenly start racing to 
 479.106 +reach her, she doing the same in kind, and within a moment we finally 
 479.107 +reach other and embrace.  'I'm sorry' is all I can say to her.  After a 
 479.108 +while of gazing at each other, Chibi-Usa asks me 'the question' I was 
 479.109 +dreading anyone to ask me, "What happened?"  I slowly take her hand into 
 479.110 +mine and gaze into her eyes again, "I was going to ask you something, but 
 479.111 +I couldn't and I misinterpreted my feelings" I look away from her because 
 479.112 +of what I had said, finally admitting what I had kept trapped inside.  
 479.113 +"Well, what were you going to ask?"  Her voice, cheerful and fluent, 
 479.114 +showing that must have forgiven me, I am so lucky to have her.  Looking 
 479.115 +at her, the gleam in her face, I knew the perfect time had came up again, 
 479.116 +reaching in my pocket for the box I had never removed, I take it and out 
 479.117 +hold it to her, my mouth dry and a feeling of nervousness all over me, I 
 479.118 +open my mouth, "Chibi-Usa, I love you so much and after everything we 
 479.119 +have been through, I have only one thing to say."  I open the lid of the 
 479.120 +box to expose the silver ring, with gently golden crescent moons dancing 
 479.121 +all over it and an amethyst stone in the top, to show that I feel perfect 
 479.122 +when she is all around me.  "Will you marry me?"  I stand there just 
 479.123 +looking at her, looking at her turn her face from me.  "Taru-chan, I love 
 479.124 +you to, but..." Than was probably the worst hit I had ever received in my 
 479.125 +life, the 'but' she gave me spiralled around my head, maybe she didn't 
 479.126 +love me as much as I wished.  "I wanted to propose to you, YES I WILL 
 479.127 +MARRY YOU" My world was rocked from side to side at her words, a HUGE 
 479.128 +weight lifted from my chest, allowing me to breath again.  I gently take 
 479.129 +the ring from its box, to place it on her finger, but she quickly removes 
 479.130 +her hand from my hold.  "Wait" she says to me, as she also takes out a 
 479.131 +box, opening it to reveal a gold ring, with a joint crescent moon and the 
 479.132 +symbol of Saturn entwined.  "Will you marry me?" all I can do is laugh at 
 479.133 +this moment, she DID feel the same way about me, I answer the only way I 
 479.134 +can, "YES", we both gently exchange our rings, and hug each other softly 
 479.135 +and passionately.  "This will be a shock to everyone, wont it, my Odago-
 479.136 +chan" I say, putting an emphasis on 'my'.  "No, more crazy things have 
 479.137 +happened, it's not like people won't have expected it anyway" she says 
 479.138 +gazing into my eyes, I gently place my hand on top of hers, allowing out 
 479.139 +rings to be seen side by side.  "Well, I don't care what anyone says, as 
 479.140 +long as I'm with you".

   480.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   480.2 +++ b/stories/tcs1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   480.3 @@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
   480.4 +"Tomoyo Captor Sakura"
   480.5 +by: Ren-chan
   480.6 +
   480.7 +Part I: Morning Breaks 
   480.8 +
   480.9 +
  480.10 +Author's note: 
  480.11 +My first attempt at a fanfic. I don't know how this will go because I am making
  480.12 +it up as I go along. It will be done in parts. I predict it will start out slow
  480.13 +but will pick up pace. I hope you enjoy my fic. Beware of grammatical errors.
  480.14 +I'm assuming you know Tomoyo's situation, have seen a good part of the series,
  480.15 +and know some Japanese language and/or culture. I may use them. This first part
  480.16 +is from Tomoyo's point of view. I'm planning to change point of view from time
  480.17 +to time. Well, let's see how this goes. I use the characters as close to their 
  480.18 +personalities as portrayed in the manga and anime series. (I'm still not sure
  480.19 +how to do Cerberus's Osaka accent, so its in standard.)
  480.20 +
  480.21 +This is subject to change: story and title depending on how the story goes. This
  480.22 +is a draft kinda. I decided to put it up anyway because I want my work up and 
  480.23 +known to the world. Besides, won't it be great to see how the amateur writer 
  480.24 +grows and changes? =P
  480.25 +Tomoyo, Sakura, and company belong to CLAMP-sama etc etc. I'm just imagining 
  480.26 +what would happen in the future. Send comments and critizisms (be gentle) to 
  480.27 +renchan@lodoss.org
  480.28 +
  480.29 +
  480.30 +
  480.31 +
  480.32 +I wake to the light touch of her foot against my own. I smile to myself
  480.33 +and turn around in my bed to stare at the beautiful face of my best friend.
  480.34 +Her hands lay folded together on top of my pillow, gently touching my nose.
  480.35 +I feel myself blush slightly by her touch. I sit up in bed and stretch. I 
  480.36 +head to the windows and pull away the curtains allowing the bright sunshine
  480.37 +to poor into my room, greeting the new day.
  480.38 +
  480.39 +She still feels comfortable sleeping in the same bed with me at sleepovers
  480.40 +like when we were children. All these years we've been together, we've grown
  480.41 +closer. I know her as if she were me and she knows me as if I was herself. 
  480.42 +But still, as I kneel next to her side, gazing longingly at her sleeping 
  480.43 +face, she still doesn't know. She still doesn't understand. But it's alright.
  480.44 +As long as I'm with her, as long as I can make her happy, see her happy, let 
  480.45 +me be there for her, it's alright. Even if she never understands how much-
  480.46 +
  480.47 +"I love you, Sakura-chan," I whisper to her as I stroke her short, soft 
  480.48 +brown hair. She smiles and stirs a bit in her sleep. She didn't hear me. 
  480.49 +She's such a deep sleeper. I wonder what she's dreaming about...
  480.50 +
  480.51 +"Tomoyo-chan.."
  480.52 +
  480.53 +I look at her bewildered. Did she just say my name in her sleep? I shake my
  480.54 +head to shrug out any hope of her loving me the way I love her. She is going
  480.55 +out with Li-kun, afterall. I supported their relationship, and still do. He 
  480.56 +makes her happy and that's all I'm concerned about. As long as Sakura is
  480.57 +happy-
  480.58 +
  480.59 +"Tomoyo-chan.."
  480.60 +
  480.61 +I stiffen as she repeats my name. Slowly her eyes open to see mine looking
  480.62 +over her. She slightly blushes as her eyes shine brightly even with my 
  480.63 +shadow looming over her. She gives me the sweetest smile I've ever seen her
  480.64 +give me. I melt inside with complete joy. I move back, tilting my head down
  480.65 +feeling my pale skin blush from head to toe. 
  480.66 +
  480.67 +"Good morning, Tomoyo-chan."
  480.68 +
  480.69 +"Good morning, Sakura-chan."
  480.70 +
  480.71 +She looked out the window and smiled happily. She hasn't changed a bit since 
  480.72 +then. Sakura-chan is the same as we first met and through the times of our 
  480.73 +adventures in capturing the Clow Cards, now turned Sakura Cards. She is the 
  480.74 +Card Mistress. Her cards leap out of her bag and surround her lovingly, greet-
  480.75 +ing her good morning. 
  480.76 +
  480.77 +Kero-chan pokes his head out from the covers of the bed sitting up yawning. He 
  480.78 +blinks his little, dot eyes as he floats from the bed. He floats around muttering
  480.79 +about how he wished he didn't wake up from his great dream about giant cakes made
  480.80 +of chocolate. The Sakura Cards float back into the Book and float towards Kero,
  480.81 +glowing brightly.
  480.82 +
  480.83 +"Good morning, Sakura. Good morning, Tomoyo. Ne, can we have breakfast? Daidouji-
  480.84 +san makes great pancakes! Oh, can she make the blueberry ones or the banana ones?
  480.85 +How about some strawberry shortcake, too?" He continues to babble about sweets 
  480.86 +while Sakura-chan and I smile at each other.
  480.87 +
  480.88 +"Hai. I'll ask her to make some as soon as she comes," I reply.
  480.89 +
  480.90 +"Wai! Wai!" exclaims Kero-chan as he dances in the air in joy.
  480.91 +
  480.92 +"Tomoyo-chan, can I use the bathroom first? I won't take long."
  480.93 +
  480.94 +I nod to her and watch her leave the room. I walk to my desk and pull out one of
  480.95 +my numerous sketch books with drawings of dresses and costumes. Most of them with
  480.96 +a detailed Sakura-chan wearing them. I sigh as I stare at the recent sketch of
  480.97 +her in a halter top complimenting her figure under an open button-down, denim 
  480.98 +double-pocket breasted, short sleaved shirt. With that she wears a matching cargo
  480.99 +denim short shorts and knee high combat boots. This is less extravagant than the
 480.100 +costumes I used to make for her as a Card Captor. Nowadays, I design a lot of 
 480.101 +everyday clothes with Sakura as my model. She doesn't mind at all. That makes me
 480.102 +extremely happy. Sometimes she gets Li-kun to pose and try on some of the men's
 480.103 +designs I make. I am planning to go to the fashion a school, after all. Men's
 480.104 +clothes designs should be in my portfolio. I sit back in my chair and stare at 
 480.105 +the sketch of Sakura-chan in complete awe.
 480.106 +
 480.107 +"That's a nice design. You got Sakura's features down perfect from head to toe."
 480.108 +I gasp startled, noticing Kero-chan hovering over my shoulder. I nod to him as 
 480.109 +he studies my drawing. His face turns slightly serious. He folds his arms, taking
 480.110 +a deep breath. I look at him curiously, wondering what he's thinking about.
 480.111 +
 480.112 +"Tomoyo," the guardian beast begins,"I've noticed how you look at Sakura." He 
 480.113 +pauses as if he's choosing his words. "I know how you feel about Sakura."
 480.114 +
 480.115 +I stare at him, slightly shocked. I take a deep breath and smile sadly, not quite
 480.116 +meeting his gaze. I know when I was younger I was pretty obvious. All I ever did
 480.117 +was tape her, draw her in flashy costumes, and talk how cute and perfect Sakura
 480.118 +was. I try to be more subtle now that she has Li-kun. I don't want to burden her 
 480.119 +with my feelings.
 480.120 +
 480.121 +"I realized it awhile back. It's pretty obvious when you two were younger." He
 480.122 +pauses again and continues. "Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with it. If I
 480.123 +did, I would've consulted Sakura about it." I tense up and look at him in fear
 480.124 +at the idea that he could've told her his suspicions. "Relax, I haven't said any-
 480.125 +thing about it." 
 480.126 +
 480.127 +I sigh in relief. "Thank you, Kero-chan. It means alot that you don't mind about
 480.128 +my feelings for Sakura and that you haven't told her about it."
 480.129 +
 480.130 +The little beast hovers down, sitting on the desk. "No problem. I'm just worried
 480.131 +about you that's all. Sakura can be... oblivious to things like that." He pauses 
 480.132 +again. "I don't think Sakura would mind. She speaks highly of you and holds you 
 480.133 +dear and stuff." Another pause, as if stopping himself short from saying some-
 480.134 +thing further. "She wouldn't hold your feelings against you."
 480.135 +
 480.136 +I smile happily at that. I notice that he is starting to tense up. 
 480.137 +
 480.138 +"Sakura is really involved with that brat." Another pause. "I think he knows, 
 480.139 +too. Don't get upset. I don't think he wants to touch the subject either. But he
 480.140 +knows you won't do anything to jeopordize their relationship. Afterall, you got 
 480.141 +them together and supported them until this day. He might say something to you 
 480.142 +about it. Err... Just don't think about it."
 480.143 +
 480.144 +The door opens to reveal Sakura-chan all freshened up. She smiles to the both of
 480.145 +us. She looks at my drawing with a little sweatdrop on her head. She studies it 
 480.146 +more carefully and smiles. 
 480.147 +
 480.148 +"You're really talented, Tomoyo-chan. I'm flattered that you know my features so 
 480.149 +well and make great clothes for me. I hope you get into that art school you want.
 480.150 +You make the best designs."
 480.151 +
 480.152 +I blush slightly at her compliments as I smile brightly. "Thank you so much, it
 480.153 +means alot to me."
 480.154 +
 480.155 +She nods and begins to change behind me. I blush even more as I look away, even 
 480.156 +though we've changed in front of each other numerous times. "So what are we 
 480.157 +going to do today?"
 480.158 +
 480.159 +"A picnic in the park with Syaoran. It's been awhile since we've all been to-
 480.160 +gether. He's making lunch. We gotta be there at two so we can kill some time
 480.161 +in the shopping area right after breakfast." She turns to me and holds my hands
 480.162 +in hers. "Please help me pick out a present for him for our two-year anniversary.
 480.163 +I know you're good at these things."
 480.164 +
 480.165 +I smile, holding in the slight  pain in my heart. Two years... Two years they've 
 480.166 +been going out. I brought them together. And she's smiling more brightly
 480.167 +since then. There's no way I could tell her how I feel. Li-kun is going to be 
 480.168 +with us. Will he confront me after what Kero-chan said? "Of course, Sakura-chan.
 480.169 +I'll help you." 
 480.170 +
 480.171 +She smiles brightly. "Thank so much! I love you, Tomoyo!" She hugs me tight, then
 480.172 +holds my hands again, tighter yet so gentle. "I'm so glad you're my best friend. 
 480.173 +You're always there for me. I don't how to make it up to you."
 480.174 +
 480.175 +I was about to say something just as we heard the door knob turn. Kero-chan 
 480.176 +quickly does his stuff animal impression as the door opened to reveal my mother
 480.177 +on the other side. She smiled brightly just as she always did when Sakura-chan
 480.178 +came over. She loves her just about as much as I do because she looks soo much
 480.179 +like Nadeshiko-san. I look at her as she notices Sakura-chan holding my hands.
 480.180 +
 480.181 +"Good morning, Tomoyo." she says happily to me with a conspiring wink. "Good
 480.182 +morning, Sakura-chan. What do you two want for breakfast?"
 480.183 +
 480.184 +Mother wants me to be honest with her and try to win Sakura-chan's feelings. I
 480.185 +know she doesn't want me to end up like her and Nadeshiko-san. But I won't, she's
 480.186 +happy and secure with him. Mother will never understand how much seeing Sakura
 480.187 +happy makes me happy. I wouldn't have set them up if I didn't think I could stand
 480.188 +her being with another. Besides I know he'll protect her and will take great care
 480.189 +of her. "Blueberry or banana pancakes would be nice. Maybe some croissants and 
 480.190 +strawberry jelly."
 480.191 +
 480.192 +She nods to me and grabs Sakura by the arm. "Ok! Sakura-chan, why don't you help
 480.193 +me while Tomoyo gets ready? Don't take too long, ok?" Mother drags her down the 
 480.194 +hall insanely happy while I smile, glad that Mother gets to spend time with Sakura
 480.195 +as well. I know she misses Nadeshiko-san everyday and seeing Sakura reminds her
 480.196 +of her.
 480.197 +
 480.198 +Kero-chan flies happily around the room as I quietly walk out the room towards the
 480.199 +bathroom. I begin to remember all the times I would tape Sakura in her adventures,
 480.200 +the late nights I spent making her costumes, and all the times I tried to get her 
 480.201 +to understand my feelings. She's still as dense as I remember. I also remember how
 480.202 +I would root for Li-kun as he tried to confess his feelings for Sakura.  Back then
 480.203 +all I could think about was Sakura in all her glory in my costumes capturing them 
 480.204 +on film and getting her and Li-kun together so I could emerse myself in joy seeing 
 480.205 +Sakura even more happy. But lately all I can do is imagine us together.. happy..
 480.206 +
 480.207 +No, I have no magic to protect her like Li-kun has. How could I ever bear her a 
 480.208 +beautiful child? What about her having a "normal" wedding? But I love her just as 
 480.209 +much, possibly even more than Li-kun. Why am I thinking about this? All that matters
 480.210 +is Sakura happy. Why should I ask Sakura for so much? Her friendship is enough. 
 480.211 +I shake out any further thoughts of doubt about Li-kun and Sakura-chan. I open the
 480.212 +bathroom door and think about what Sakura should give to Li-kun.
 480.213 +
 480.214 + * * *
 480.215 +
 480.216 +Back in Tomoyo's room, Kero-chan flies around the room impatiently waiting for food.
 480.217 +For one minute he thinks of Clow Reed and sighs as he remembers the things he had go
 480.218 +through, comparing them with Sakura's situations.
 480.219 +
 480.220 +"Sigh.."
 480.221 +
 480.222 +Unknown to him, outside on the roof, is a transperant image of a smiling Clow Reed and
 480.223 +another transperant image of a woman with wings. 
 480.224 +
 480.225 +"This is the last test, if it should even be called a test. But is this really necessary?"
 480.226 +whispers Clow. The woman nods and smiles warmly as they gradually fade into the morning 
 480.227 +light.
 480.228 \ No newline at end of file

   481.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   481.2 +++ b/stories/tcs2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   481.3 @@ -0,0 +1,310 @@
   481.4 +"Tomoyo Captor Sakura"
   481.5 +by: Ren-chan
   481.6 +
   481.7 +Part II: Prelude to a Picnic
   481.8 +
   481.9 +
  481.10 +
  481.11 +Wai! Today Tomoyo, Shaoran, and Kero-chan are going to the park for a 
  481.12 +picnic with me! It's been awhile since all of us were together. Two 
  481.13 +weeks to be exact. Semester finals are finally over, so it's time to 
  481.14 +have some fun. It makes me really happy I get some time off to spend 
  481.15 +with my best friend and my boyfriend. But I can't help but feel Tomoyo
  481.16 +being upset about something. Something in her eyes tell me that's she's
  481.17 +sad. I asked once about it, but she said it was about school work. Odd,
  481.18 +she never seems to have a hard time with school. Whatever is bothering 
  481.19 +her she knows she can come to me. Hopefully today will cheer her up. 
  481.20 +
  481.21 +Sonomi-san can cook really well. It seems she only does when I'm around.
  481.22 +I wonder why that is? Whenever I'm around she's overly happy to see me. 
  481.23 +It makes me glad she likes me. Though I still wonder what she has against
  481.24 +Father. I tried asking Touya, and he just gave me a weird look. I really
  481.25 +don't like it when people don't explain things to me. I know I'm a bit 
  481.26 +dense, but if they tried spelling it out for me I know I'll understand. 
  481.27 +I'm seventeen already. I'm not ten anymore. Sigh~ I'll ask him again 
  481.28 +later.
  481.29 +
  481.30 +"Sakura-chan, did you enjoy breakfast?" Sonomi asks sweetly.
  481.31 +
  481.32 +"Un!" I grin happily.
  481.33 +
  481.34 +"Oh, I do hope you come back again, and maybe we'll-" One of the maids 
  481.35 +come in handing her a phone. Sonomi in her professional tone speaks into
  481.36 +the phone, hanging it up sadly. "I was about to ask if you'd like to join
  481.37 +Tomoyo and me to a weekend at the beach, but it looks like I some work
  481.38 +to handle instead. I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."
  481.39 +
  481.40 +I shake my head. "It's alright. Maybe next week. I'd love to go with the
  481.41 +both of you for some weekend. I'm sure Father won't mind." I smile hoping
  481.42 +it would make her feel better.
  481.43 +
  481.44 +The stars I could see in her eyes told me she felt more than better. 
  481.45 +"That would be great!" She rose from her chair and smiled. "I should be
  481.46 +going. Good bye, Tomoyo. Good bye, Sakura-chan. Come over again soon!"
  481.47 +She left the room as the maids began to clear the table.
  481.48 +
  481.49 +"You go ahead upstairs and get Kero-chan ready," says Tomoyo,"I'll catch
  481.50 +up."
  481.51 +
  481.52 +I happily skip up the stairs to Tomoyo-chan's room. Tomoyo-chan and 
  481.53 +Sonomi-san live in such a big mansion. I wonder if they ever get lonely
  481.54 +living in big place like this. And what about Tomoyo-chan's father? I've
  481.55 +never met him before. Now that I think of it... Neither Sonomi-san nor 
  481.56 +Tomoyo-chan has ever mentioned him really. I've never seen any pictures
  481.57 +of him. 
  481.58 +
  481.59 +Finally I come to Tomoyo-chan's room. I open the door thinking about what
  481.60 +store we should go to first to but Shaoran's present. I wonder what he
  481.61 +would li-
  481.62 +
  481.63 +"PAAANCAKES!!"
  481.64 +
  481.65 +"Gyaaaahh!" Kero pops out of nowhere squishing his little forehead against
  481.66 +mine. He looks at me gravely, giving me a ghastly look. Hunched back, he
  481.67 +stares into my eyes hungrily, rubbing his little paws together.
  481.68 +
  481.69 +"Wheeere's myy swweets Saaa-kuu-raa!" 
  481.70 +
  481.71 +"Uh-uh-uh... um... K-Kero-chan... I-I.." I sweat furiously not knowing what
  481.72 +to do. He seriously freaks me out when he does this. 
  481.73 +
  481.74 +"Here you go Kero-chan!" Tomoyo swings the door open with a tray of fresh 
  481.75 +fruit in yogart, croissants, a jar of strawberry jelly, and banana pancakes
  481.76 +topped with warm maple syrup. Carefully she places it in the table in the
  481.77 +center of the room. She looks at me warmly then amusingly at Kero-chan.
  481.78 +"Sorry I took so long. I had to warm up the syrup a bit."
  481.79 +
  481.80 +"Ii-taaa-daa-kii-maa-suuuu!!" Kero-chan insanely happy flies to the tray of
  481.81 +sweet breakfast food muttering 'Wai! Wai!' in between bites. I sweat drop as
  481.82 +I watch him devour the food, his belly growing bigger and rounder with each
  481.83 +bite he takes. "Arigatou, Tomoyo!"
  481.84 +
  481.85 +I slump to the soft carpeted floor breathing heavily in relief. I look up to 
  481.86 +see Tomoyo-chan offering her hand to help me up. I take her hand, such a soft 
  481.87 +and gentle touch, feeling warm inside. Did I ever feel like this before when 
  481.88 +I held her hand? I gaze to into her eyes, a sweet melancholy shimmers in her
  481.89 +delicate violet eyes. "Tomoyo-chan..," I say barely above a whisper.
  481.90 +
  481.91 +"Are you ok, Sarkura-chan?" Tomoyo asks in a worried tone. I shake my head.
  481.92 +
  481.93 +"Yes, I'm alright. Thanks for saving me." 
  481.94 +
  481.95 +"No problem. Anything for you, Sakura-chan." She smiles again, eyes looking 
  481.96 +like slits, barely seeing her eyes. "I have out picnic basket ready. Shall
  481.97 +we go?"
  481.98 +
  481.99 +"Un!" I nod to her. I look at Kero-chan who now has an enormous round belly
 481.100 +that could make Santa himself be jealous. I glare disapprovingly to my glutton
 481.101 +guardian beast. Grabbing him abruptly by his back I plop him into my backpack.
 481.102 +"Geez, Kero-chan! All you do nowadays is eat and snack! What kind of guardian
 481.103 +beast are you getting out of shape like that!?"
 481.104 +
 481.105 +He didn't hear a word I said. He keeps muffling 'Wai! Wai!' in my bag. I let 
 481.106 +out a sigh and put on it on. He's utterly hopeless. Tomoyo-chan and I walk out
 481.107 +of the room and out the front door towards her limo. Her bodyguards bow to 
 481.108 +greet us hello, and we bow back. They sure are intimidating. I've always felt 
 481.109 +awkward around them, even until now. I guess I'll never get used to them.
 481.110 +
 481.111 +"I'm sorry we had to take the limo," Tomoyo says. "I know you like riding in 
 481.112 +my moped with me. But it isn't working well, so it's in the repair shop."
 481.113 +
 481.114 +I shake my head. "It's alright." I stop and wonder for a moment. "Why's your
 481.115 +moped in the shop?" I tense up, squeezing my hands. "Did something happen?"
 481.116 +
 481.117 +Tomoyo turns to look out the window. Not quite able to meet my gaze. Her long
 481.118 +bangs slightly mask her face. "I've been having some trouble with the engine.
 481.119 +It's been making some weird noises." She turns to me smiling. "I'm sure it's
 481.120 +nothing. So don't worry about it."
 481.121 +
 481.122 +I nod slowly. Part of me doesn't quite believe it. But Tomoyo-chan would never
 481.123 +lie to me. The limo comes to a slow stop and pulls over to the curb. Finally,
 481.124 +we arrive in the commercial district. The bodyguard with the real long hair
 481.125 +opens the door and we step out. We bow good bye to them and go on our way. Hand
 481.126 +in hand we go through the streets looking around the various stores looking for
 481.127 +a good place to look for a present. After a bit of window shopping and browsing
 481.128 +through some clothes stores, Tomoyo stops and looks up at the sign of a store. 
 481.129 +
 481.130 +"Premiere Chocolates." 
 481.131 +
 481.132 +"Li-kun likes chocolates doesn't he?" I nod to her. We look at the window and 
 481.133 +see many types of boxed chocolates, wrapped chocolates, and chocolates shaped 
 481.134 +like animals and people. There is also a display of stuffed animals holding a 
 481.135 +box of chocolate. Tomoyo-chan nudges me. "Maybe we can get those import choco-
 481.136 +lates he like. Maybe they come with something special like those stuffed animals
 481.137 +over there."
 481.138 +
 481.139 +I nod enthusiastically. "That'd be a great idea!" We enter the store looking at
 481.140 +various chocolates. We look at the shelves with import chocolates looking for 
 481.141 +the brand and flavor Shaoran likes. I take a step back-
 481.142 +
 481.143 +"Oi, watch where you're going." 
 481.144 +
 481.145 +I accidentally bumped into someone behind me. "Go-gomen na-" I look back to a-
 481.146 +pologized to see who I bumped into. "Onii-san!!"
 481.147 +
 481.148 +"Well, well. If it isn't Kaijuu," he says with a smirk. "Monsters shouldn't be
 481.149 +let loose in a quiet town like this. See you just bumped into me almost dropp-
 481.150 +ing these newly made chocolates. Trying to cause a ruckus, huh? Heh heh."
 481.151 +
 481.152 +"KAIJUU-JANAI WA!!" I raise my voice at him, annoyed. How dare he call me that
 481.153 +in public! I'm not a kid anymore! Why must he insist on calling me that!? GRR!!
 481.154 +
 481.155 +"Oooh? Well, only monsters scream in a quiet little shop like this." I turn 
 481.156 +around and notice the other people in the shop staring at me. I flush bright red
 481.157 +and lower my voice. I notice onii-san smirking amusingly. 
 481.158 +
 481.159 +"You just work everywhere don't you?? I swear it's like you're trying to keep an 
 481.160 +eye on me!" I realize what day it is and look at him oddly. "Don't you have a 
 481.161 +modeling job today?"
 481.162 +
 481.163 +Touya nods his head. "It's later today." He turns his head noticing Tomoyo and 
 481.164 +gives her a small smile. Tomoyo smiles and bows back. "I have to work, Kaijuu. 
 481.165 +You better not eat out the store." He walks away smirking towards the counter, 
 481.166 +newly made chocolates in hand. I angrily glare at him, but stop when Tomoyo lays
 481.167 +on of her hands in my shoulder, calming me down. She always relaxes me.
 481.168 +
 481.169 +"Look over there." I turn to where she pointed to. I stare in awe at the display 
 481.170 +towards the back of the store. "I think, Li-kun would like it. And it's also one
 481.171 +of his favorite brands of chocolate." I nod in agreement as we walk over to the
 481.172 +display.
 481.173 +
 481.174 +Belgium chocolate pieces surround a beautifully crafted dagger in a carved and 
 481.175 +laminated wood box. Shaoran likes collecting swords and daggers. He practices 
 481.176 +everyday with his sword. We both stared at it admiringly. It's kinda rare to see
 481.177 +a dagger surrounding chocolates. One of the sales associates comes to us and look
 481.178 +at us kindly. "May I help you with something today, ladies?"
 481.179 +
 481.180 +I nod my head. "Yes," I say to him, "how much is this chocolate set?" 
 481.181 +
 481.182 +The young man nodded. "This is a rare collection. Only one thousand of these sets
 481.183 +were made. Each dagger was hand-made by some expert blacksmiths in Europe. I don't
 481.184 +everything about it. But I know the company wanted to try something new with sell-
 481.185 +ing their chocolates. I find it odd for them to be selling daggers with chocolate.
 481.186 +Doesn't make sense to me, but they're quite popular." The sales associate coughs.
 481.187 +"I'm sorry for rambling. This set costs nine thousand five hundred yen."
 481.188 +
 481.189 +"Hoe!?" 
 481.190 +
 481.191 +"I told you. It's a rare collection. This is one of the only places in Japan, in 
 481.192 +the world that sells it. We have only ten sets here. We already sold six of them.
 481.193 +I'm not sure if the last four will be here by the end of the week." He turns around
 481.194 +noticing another customer. "Excuse me, ladies. If you need help with anything, just
 481.195 +call me over." He walks away, leaving us to ponder about the set.
 481.196 +
 481.197 +"It's really expensive Sakura-chan. Can you really afford it?"
 481.198 +
 481.199 +"Actually I can. I saved up some money from when I used to model in the same place
 481.200 +as Touya. The thing is I worked for months to save that money..." 
 481.201 +
 481.202 +Tomoyo pulled out her credit card. "I'll help pay for half. How about that?"
 481.203 +
 481.204 +I look at my best friend wide-eyed and felt my cheeks faintly blush. "I couldn't.."
 481.205 +
 481.206 +"It's quite alright," Tomoyo says dreamy eyed, "I have some old costume designs I 
 481.207 +never got you to try out. I re-did that prince costume design I made for you back
 481.208 +in grammer school. I also have a princess and other costume designs for you to try 
 481.209 +out." She starts to blush eyes filled with stars more bright than before. "Oh, 
 481.210 +Sakura-chan, you'd look so beautiful in those costumes!" She takes my hands in hers
 481.211 +staring happily into my eyes. "Please wear them! I could tape them you in them like
 481.212 +old times! I could use them to help my portfolio for art school. Maybe I could be a
 481.213 +theater costume designer. You'd do that for me won't you?"
 481.214 +
 481.215 +I laugh nervously, sweating dropping more than this morning. So Tomoyo-chan still 
 481.216 +hasn't given up on me wearing those fancy designs. I really don't mind. I actually
 481.217 +feel kind of honored she'd let me take part in her artistic genius. Though, I do find
 481.218 +it a bit weird. Oh, well. I can't say no to her. I nod to her uncertainly, and she
 481.219 +sighs happily. She seems a little too happy, but at least she doesn't seem sad like
 481.220 +before. I'm glad I can make her smile. I don't think I'd be able to bear to see her
 481.221 +sad... or cry..
 481.222 +
 481.223 +Tomoyo called over the sales associate and charged the set on her card. I thank her
 481.224 +repeatedly, and she says its ok. "I know you'll look wonderful when I tape you in my
 481.225 +costumes," she says enthusiastically. I sweat drop again, but quickly smile.. and 
 481.226 +faintly blush? I wonder why my cheeks gets so warm when...
 481.227 +
 481.228 +"Oi, Kaijuu. What are you still doing here? Don't you have do some stomping somewhere?
 481.229 +Like maybe trash that Li punk's place?"
 481.230 +
 481.231 +I turn around and glare at Touya. "I'm not a monster! And stop saying bad things about
 481.232 +Shaoran! He's a very nice guy! He's MY boyfriend!"
 481.233 +
 481.234 +Onii-san narrows his eyes. "I don't like that punk. I suggest you find someone else."
 481.235 +
 481.236 +"Don't tell me who to go out with! Shaoran is a gentleman and has always been there for
 481.237 +me!" I lower my voice. "Besides he helped me a lot when I captured the Clow Cards and
 481.238 +turned them to Sakura Cards! How can you not approve of him!?"
 481.239 +
 481.240 +"Here you go, miss," says the sales associate as he hands the set to Tomoyo. "Thank you
 481.241 +very much. Have a nice day!"
 481.242 +
 481.243 +Touya looks into the bag and gasps. "Why the hell are you buying that expensive thing!?"
 481.244 +
 481.245 +"It's for Shaoran! Our anniversary is coming this week!"
 481.246 +
 481.247 +"Over my dead body! I do not like that punk kid and how he treated you before! I don't
 481.248 +trust him!" Now he lowers his voice. "I think me and the little beast agree on that!"
 481.249 +A little muffled cry of agreement comes from my backpack.
 481.250 +
 481.251 +"I don't care I love him! And you can't stop me from loving him! Why can't you just be 
 481.252 +happy for me? Why can't you see what a good guy he is!?" I'm nearly crying as I say 
 481.253 +this. Why can't onii-san be happy for me? For us?
 481.254 +
 481.255 +Onii-san looks sadly at me. Oddly he looks sadly at Tomoyo-chan too. She shakes her head
 481.256 +and faintly smiles back at him. He shakes his head in defeat. "If he does anything to 
 481.257 +hurt you," his eyes narrow again, more serious, and voice grows deadly, "I swear I will
 481.258 +make that punk will PAY."
 481.259 +
 481.260 +"Shaoran's a good guy, Onii-san. Please believe me.."
 481.261 +
 481.262 +***
 481.263 +
 481.264 +"Achoo!!" I rub my nose, sniffling. I decided to come to the park a little early. I sit
 481.265 +on the park bench listening to the birds chirp and trees rustle in the wind. I narrow my
 481.266 +eyes thinking about Sakura and Tomoyo. Sakura I trust. But what about Tomoyo? I know she
 481.267 +helped me confess my love for Sakura. Thanks to her, we're together. She also has lessen
 481.268 +her idolization towards her. I mean would a best friend make silly costumes for her to 
 481.269 +wear, taping her constantly, flattering her constantly and going dreamy eyed sometimes
 481.270 +to the point where she seems going orgasmic 'just' because they're best friends? Doesn't
 481.271 +that seem strange to go through all that, feel all that over your best friend? Maybe I'm
 481.272 +thinking too much. Could she really be in love with her? I mean it's not impossible. I 
 481.273 +liked Yukito-san... Now that I think of it, Sakura also was a bit "Haniyaaan" around 
 481.274 +Mizuki-sensei..
 481.275 +
 481.276 +"Hmph!" I shake my head furiously at the thought. It was all because of our magical ties
 481.277 +with them. I cross my arms, closing my eyes feeling the wind mussing my hair. If one 
 481.278 +thing is for sure, Tomoyo-san and I look out for her happiness and well-being. She knows
 481.279 +we're happy together. She won't jeopordize her happiness.. Our happiness. At least, I 
 481.280 +don't think so. I hope not.
 481.281 +
 481.282 +This week is our two year anniversary. I saved up a lot of money for this white gold
 481.283 +celestial bracelet. I hope she likes it. I can feel the box fitting snuggly in my breast
 481.284 +pocket of my denim jacket. Hopefully within the next four or five years I can save up for
 481.285 +an engagement ring. Sure it may seem a bit early for marriage, but I know for sure whom
 481.286 +I truly love. There's no other woman for me. I hope she'll except my proposal when I do.
 481.287 +
 481.288 +Then it hits me. It's not going to be easy. There's her over-protective brother and that
 481.289 +damn stuffed animal. They won't let me marry her so easily. They still don't approve of 
 481.290 +me. What the hell!? I've been treating her like a princess! I helped her become the Card
 481.291 +Mistress! I really do love her! Why can't they see that!? Geez, buncha idiots. If I was
 481.292 +bad to her, Sakura woulda burned me with Firey or something. I'd never hurt her...
 481.293 +
 481.294 +"Shaoran!"
 481.295 +
 481.296 +I turn to see Sakura in the distance with Tomoyo. Both of them wave at me. It's best if
 481.297 +I don't think of it. I just want a great afternoon with the girl I love and the girl who
 481.298 +made our relationship possible.
 481.299 +
 481.300 +
 481.301 +
 481.302 +
 481.303 +Author's Ramble:
 481.304 +
 481.305 +Hello! Hope you people understood whatever Japanese I used. I hope I used it right. ^_^;;
 481.306 +Well, it took me awhile but I finally kicked myself in the butt and wrote this down. In
 481.307 +art history class too! ^_^;; Also when I should be drawing storyboards for my narrative 
 481.308 +class! Sigh.. when will I get my priorities straight??
 481.309 +
 481.310 +
 481.311 +insanelycutetomoyo@yahoo.com
 481.312 +http://www.geocities.com/kanzikari/
 481.313 +

   482.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   482.2 +++ b/stories/temporary.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   482.3 @@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
   482.4 +Author's Notes: This is a short Nadeshiko/Sonomi fic, because, in my humble
   482.5 +opinion, they make an absolutely beautiful couple.  ^_^ This is mostly a
   482.6 +Somoni sketch of sorts, but I hope you enjoy it. Please email me and tell me
   482.7 +what you thought!
   482.8 +
   482.9 +~Cali
  482.10 +
  482.11 +California Dumount
  482.12 +
  482.13 +Send all feedback, comments, or offerings (excluding firstborns ^_~) to:
  482.14 +stone0virgin@crosswinds.net.
  482.15 +
  482.16 +Legal Disclaimer: I am not plural, I am not CLAMP.
  482.17 +
  482.18 +Personal Disclaimer: I'm not straight, and I'm not sane. <sticks out
  482.19 +tongue>
  482.20 +^_~
  482.21 +
  482.22 +Gender Disclaimer: This fic involves two beautiful women. One of those women
  482.23 +is in love with the other woman. If you have a problem with this, please
  482.24 +evolve.
  482.25 +
  482.26 +Without further ado...
  482.27 +
  482.28 +=========================
  482.29 +Temporary One 1/1
  482.30 +by California Dumount
  482.31 +stone0virgin@crosswinds.net
  482.32 +=========================
  482.33 +
  482.34 + "Sonomi...."
  482.35 +
  482.36 + She saw Nadeshiko's lips moving, pale coral parting to reveal that small
  482.37 +pink tongue. Words reached her eyes, sung in the other girl's gentle, high
  482.38 +soprano; but Sonomi had been staring far too long at the whole of
  482.39 +Nadeshiko's china pale to register that her cousin was actually saying.
  482.40 +
  482.41 + "Sonomi..."
  482.42 +
  482.43 + Nadeshiko's pretty face fell to an expression of worry, her opal eyes
  482.44 +focused more closely on Sonomi. The older girl felt a light, tingling warmth
  482.45 +at the base of her spine, a typical symptom when she was the focus of
  482.46 +Nadeshiko's attention. The pale girl leaned forward, bright eyes still
  482.47 +worried; and in the swirling mix of her half-reality daydream, Sonomi leaned
  482.48 +in too.
  482.49 + "Are you feeling alright, Sonomi?"
  482.50 +
  482.51 + It was a rather rude awakening when she felt only Nadeshiko's cool hand
  482.52 +against her suddenly burning forehead.
  482.53 + "My, you ARE rather warm," Nadeshiko murmured, absently brushing away
  482.54 +a
  482.55 +stray lock of Sonomi's hair.
  482.56 + "I'm fine!" the older girl sputtered, a feeling off horror sliding
  482.57 +down her
  482.58 +back, curling through her ribs and around her heart. She looked at Nadeshiko
  482.59 +with wide, horrified eyes of sapphire, before her fear melted into a feeling
  482.60 +of annoyance. 'That's the third time this week,' she though, thin,
  482.61 +unartistic fingers coming up to massage her temple. 'Damn.'
  482.62 + "Are you sure?" opal eyes narrowed, framed with ebony and utterly
  482.63 +enchanting in their bland attempt at disbelief.
  482.64 + "Very sure," Sonomi nodded affirmatively, lips moving in a smile she
  482.65 +only
  482.66 +willed herself to feel.
  482.67 + "Oh, what if you *are* ill?" Nadeshiko wailed melodramatically.
  482.68 +Mischief
  482.69 +was written in her lithe form as she gasped in horror, "What if you have
  482.70 +some mysterious disease from Africa!? What if there isn't a cure... Sonomi
  482.71 +don't leave me!!" The smaller girl tossed herself into Sonomi's lap,
  482.72 +'weeping' onto her cousin's shoulder. There was a moment, stilled, when
  482.73 +Sonomi felt that her bones had melted into her flesh, so that she might
  482.74 +better focus on the feeling of Nadeshiko's breath on her neck, and
  482.75 +Nadeshiko's little heart fluttering inside her breast, and Nadeshiko's soft
  482.76 +hair and....
  482.77 + "Nadeshiko..." Sonomi gasped out, feeling that if she didn't say
  482.78 +*something*, didn't take the glory rising up inside her and shove it into a
  482.79 +word that it might travel through her blood and make her do something
  482.80 +(wonderful, wonderful) stupid. 'Nadeshiko' was the only word that could hold
  482.81 +such feelings and not turn in on itself. The younger girl giggled, but
  482.82 +Sonomi didn't hear it, instead feeling the delicate vibration against her
  482.83 +neck. Then it, and the all-consuming cloud of Nadeshiko and wide pink skirts
  482.84 +vanished, returning to the other end of the picnic blanket. Nadeshiko's face
  482.85 +still held a carefully made expression of vexation, but there was a naughty
  482.86 +light in her eyes that made Sonomi giggle despite herself.
  482.87 + "See, now you're all better!" Nadeshiko chirped happily, "No
  482.88 +strange
  482.89 +African diseases for my Sonomi-chan, nuh-uh!" The mock-gravity in her
  482.90 +cousin's words only made Sonomi laugh harder.
  482.91 + "Thank you," she said between giggles, "I needed that."
  482.92 + "You certainly did," Nadeshiko said seriously, "For a minute you
  482.93 +looked
  482.94 +like the world was going to end."
  482.95 + 'Iie,' Sonomi thought, feeling chilled in the shade of the tall elm,
  482.96 +'You're the end of the world.' The tenderness in her mind soothed the words,
  482.97 +but did nothing to combat the sudden bout of sadness that colored them.
  482.98 + "Well it's not," she replied with an air of authority, "At least
  482.99 +not today.
 482.100 +Let's finish up and get going. Don't you have a shoot this afternoon?"
 482.101 + "Probably," Nadeshiko said, reaching into the picnic basket for the
 482.102 +container of cherries. After struggling with the lid, she popped it open and
 482.103 +plucked out a cherry, holding it above her mouth and batting at it with her
 482.104 +tongue.
 482.105 + "You're so silly, Nadeshiko-chan," Sonomi grinned, giggling when the
 482.106 +other
 482.107 +girl paused in her game and crossed her eyes. She looked like a kitten
 482.108 +caught playing with string.
 482.109 + "That's why you love me!" Nadeshiko said, eyes candid.
 482.110 + "Though heaven knows how I manage it," Sonomi forced past the beating
 482.111 +of
 482.112 +her heart. She leaned over and picked out a cherry, eating it quickly.
 482.113 +Nadeshiko just rolled her eyes.
 482.114 +
 482.115 +
 482.116 + "I don't see why we can't just stay out here all day," Nadeshiko
 482.117 +pouted as
 482.118 +they folded up the blanket and placed the empty containers in the basket.
 482.119 + "You have a shoot later on," Sonomi reminded her politely. She
 482.120 +thought
 482.121 +perhaps her brain needed a few moments of Nadeshiko-less lucidity.
 482.122 + "I know," the other girl stretched her pale arms and yawned like a
 482.123 +cat,
 482.124 +"But I just... I don't know, I want to *do* something today." Unable
 482.125 +to
 482.126 +think of anything uncompromising to day, Sonomi simply shrugged.
 482.127 + "Oh, come on," Nadeshiko sang, spreading her arms as if to embrace
 482.128 +the
 482.129 +world and Sonomi in it, "Let's just stay a little while longer." Her
 482.130 +slim,
 482.131 +elegant hands captured Sonomi's, whirling her around in and endless circle
 482.132 +of color and shadow. The scenery blurred, Nadeshiko was the only clear
 482.133 +thing, smiling and laughing....
 482.134 +
 482.135 + Without warning (as, Sonomi reflected, most of Nadeshiko's accidents were),
 482.136 +the pale girl's foot slipped and sent the two cousins tumbling down the soft
 482.137 +slope, and blinding whirl of gray, brown, pink skirts and blue slacks.
 482.138 +Nadeshiko shrieked and shrieked, but to Sonomi's ears it sounded as if she
 482.139 +was enjoying it. They rolled to the bottom of the hill, the older girl
 482.140 +pressed against the softness of the younger, having landed on top.
 482.141 + "Are you alright?" the question burst from Sonomi. Nadeshiko lay
 482.142 +still
 482.143 +beneath her, eyes closed and face serene.
 482.144 + "Hai," the other girl murmured dreamily, eyes still closed,
 482.145 +"That was fun."
 482.146 +For a brief, paranoid moment, Sonomi considered that Nadeshiko was
 482.147 +deliberately plotting, trying to force her to act the sweet impulses
 482.148 +flooding through her veins.
 482.149 + "Nadeshiko..." Sonomi's tone was suddenly sharp. She braced her
 482.150 +weight on
 482.151 +her arms, afraid to crush the delicate china doll beneath even her slight
 482.152 +weight.
 482.153 + "You're really warm, Sonomi-chan," sweet coral lips moving again, so
 482.154 +close,
 482.155 +and Sonomi felt herself once again drawn into the spell. There was no
 482.156 +fighting it. All awareness suddenly flowed to her breasts, pressed against
 482.157 +Nadeshiko's own full ones. The other girl's pink sun dress had slipped off
 482.158 +her shoulders, revealing only soft ivory skin. Sonomi imagined it, the whole
 482.159 +of Nadeshiko's flesh, covering the other girl's body with delicious satin.
 482.160 +Her hands throbbed into protest from supporting all her weight, and against
 482.161 +her will, Sonomi let herself lay more fully against Nadeshiko. The pale
 482.162 +girl's face was calm and still, ebony lashes fanned against her cheeks,
 482.163 +breathing light and airy. And then those small, full lips, naturally pink,
 482.164 +and the warm cavern of Nadeshiko's mouth beyond their barrier. Sonomi
 482.165 +thought desperately, trying to evade the ideas flooding her.
 482.166 +
 482.167 + .... she could reach down and brush Nadeshiko's soft cheek.
 482.168 + .... or gather her up and cradle her, pretend that she though Nadeshiko was
 482.169 +hurt.
 482.170 + .... maybe she could cup Nadeshiko's pretty face, bring her lips down on
 482.171 +the other girl's. Those lips would be warm and clinging, and somehow Sonomi
 482.172 +might lift Nadeshiko into a sitting position, lean over her, thrust her own
 482.173 +tongue into the other girl's mouth, run it along those pearly teeth, melt or
 482.174 +shatter into a million tiny pieces reflecting only Nadeshiko, Nadeshiko....
 482.175 +
 482.176 + "You're really warm, Sonomi," the pale girl said quietly, opening
 482.177 +those
 482.178 +moon-opal eyes, her voice worried. Sonomi quickly removed her weight,
 482.179 +standing up and helping Nadeshiko to her feet. Once again, a slim pale hand
 482.180 +came up to touch the other girl's forehead, feeling for a temperature. "Are
 482.181 +you sure you're alright?" Sweet, innocent.
 482.182 + "I'll be fine," Sonomi's voice was strangled, "Someday."
 482.183 +
 482.184 + She really wasn't sure how much had happened.
 482.185 +
 482.186 +
 482.187 + 

   483.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   483.2 +++ b/stories/thedepthsofhereyes.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   483.3 @@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
   483.4 +The Depths of Her Eyes
   483.5 +Sailor Moon Lemon Fanfiction
   483.6 +By:  PsYcHoKiTtEnSeNsHi611
   483.7 +**I like to play with my shift key**
   483.8 +
   483.9 +	Author's Notes-Hey all you out there, how are you?  Please tell me you 
  483.10 +know what's going on here.  This is a lemon.  That means that there is sexual 
  483.11 +content of a tasteful nature.  Personally, I don't really think there should 
  483.12 +be age limits on these things...I mean, if you're old enough to understand 
  483.13 +what's going on, you should be able to view these things.  But, I don't make 
  483.14 +the rules, I'm just living in them (and bending them a little).  Just 
  483.15 +remember, love and sex are parts of life, whether some stuffed up pig thinks 
  483.16 +so or not.  Live and love and protect yourselves.  ^-^
  483.17 +
  483.18 +~*~
  483.19 +
  483.20 +	"Ah," she said softly while rubbing her shoulder with her right hand, "I'm 
  483.21 +so stiff!"  She smiled softly at me.  "I must have worked out too hard at 
  483.22 +the gym."
  483.23 +	"I guess so."  I looked away from her eyes and back toward the TV.  I 
  483.24 +tried desperately, yet to no avail, not to notice how close she was sitting to 
  483.25 +me on my rather large couch.  How every once in awhile a whisp of hair would 
  483.26 +come a little too close to my nose, and the scent would make me close my 
  483.27 +eyes for a moment and remember dreams that I knew would never come alive.
  483.28 +	She cleared her throat, and my eyes darted back to hers.  "Do you 
  483.29 +think...you could help me?"
  483.30 +	"Huh?"  I asked, my mind still a little fuzzy from my own daydreams.
  483.31 +	"Could you just help me get this knot out, right here?"  She took my hand 
  483.32 +in hers, which caused a strange feeling to rise inside of me, and led it to 
  483.33 +her soft shoulder.  I let my hands tingle with the feeling of her skin 
  483.34 +beneath them, and then began to breathe again.
  483.35 +	"Uh...sure."  Slowly, I began to rub her shoulder, being careful not to 
  483.36 +touch her neck or anywhere below where her hand had placed mine.  I could 
  483.37 +feel my cheeks burning, and my legs throbbing (not to mention the area that 
  483.38 +was in-between them).  I tried not to breathe too hard as I continued to rub 
  483.39 +her shoulder.
  483.40 +	"That feels good..." she said softly, and bent her head forward.  Long 
  483.41 +soft hair fell in front of her face as well, and I found my hand move upward to 
  483.42 +her neck and begin massaging the soft skin there.  I finally managed to 
  483.43 +reach up with my left hand and do the same.  "Mmm..." she moaned, and I 
  483.44 +swallowed hard.
  483.45 +	This...was this good, or was this bad?  I really couldn't tell.  All I 
  483.46 +could do was continue, my hands finally moving to the top of her neck, where 
  483.47 +soft skin meets the jawbone.  She continued to moan softly, but the tone had 
  483.48 +changed just a notch, but enough to make me squirm from the unbelievable 
  483.49 +amount of heat that pooled at the base of my belly.  She leaned her head 
  483.50 +back, that soft hair tumbling over my small hands and wrists, and I leaned 
  483.51 +forward slightly to catch it's scent.  So clean, so fresh...beautiful, just 
  483.52 +like she was.  I found myself staying in my rather awkward position, just so 
  483.53 +I could sit closer to her.
  483.54 +	Suddenly, I felt her hands on mine.  I panicked, worried if she had felt 
  483.55 +my closeness and was repelled by it.  She would throw my hands away from her 
  483.56 +and storm out of my house in disgust, and I would never see her beautiful 
  483.57 +smile ever again...
  483.58 +	Instead, she turned around so she was facing me, and led my hands to her 
  483.59 +waist.  Her eyes met mine...sinking depths into a lovely ocean...and leaned 
  483.60 +in toward my face.  I pulled back, out of pure surprise, and I felt her 
  483.61 +stop.  Her hands were still above mine, but no longer moving.
  483.62 +	I could feel her, or hear her, take a deep breath.  "Why are you afraid?"
  483.63 +	"I'm not," I swallowed hard, "afraid."
  483.64 +	"Yes you are!"  She yelled, and I backed away from her a little further.  
  483.65 +I could see her take another deep breath, as if collecting herself.  "You have 
  483.66 +a deep fear of intimacy.  You know it."
  483.67 +	"I'm not afraid!"  I said, as defensively as I could muster under the 
  483.68 +pressure of her deep eyes.
  483.69 +	"Oh really?  Watch."  She leaned in toward my ear, and I pulled back 
  483.70 +slightly.  She sighed, as if from exhaustion, but didn't pull away from my 
  483.71 +ear.  "You're afraid of me."  Her soft voice barely whispered into my ear, 
  483.72 +but I could catch the pain in it.
  483.73 +	I felt my heart squeeze in my chest.  I loved her so much...I would never 
  483.74 +hurt her, not matter what...but now I was, because I was afraid to admit to 
  483.75 +her, to myself, that this was what I wanted.  What I needed.  "No I'm not."  
  483.76 +New determination, carved from the raw passion and my heart beating rapidly 
  483.77 +in my chest, almost forced me to pull her the rest of the way toward me.  I 
  483.78 +felt her stiffen slightly, but I didn't let go, even though I wasn't quite 
  483.79 +sure she wanted me to hold on.  I turned her head, as gently as my shaking 
  483.80 +hands could muster, and kissed her soft lips.
  483.81 +	Heaven!  The only way to describe this...this wonderful feeling.  The soft 
  483.82 +pressure of her lips against mine, the tension behind it and the amazing 
  483.83 +release that came with it.  She fumbled around slightly and ended up 
  483.84 +straddling me, lowering her small hips upon my thighs.  How much I had 
  483.85 +wanted this, how much I had needed this...she gripped my face and parted her 
  483.86 +lips slightly, forcing me to do the same.  The kiss deepened, and I felt the 
  483.87 +need inside of me deepen as well.
  483.88 +	I let my hands wander her freely, knowing that I couldn't stop them if I 
  483.89 +tried.  I found little places that made her moan slightly when 
  483.90 +touched...that place just below her ear, her soft neck, the place just below 
  483.91 +her hip...sensitive places, her places...
  483.92 +	Her own hands began to wander me as well.  I felt her fumble with the 
  483.93 +buttons on my shirt, but I couldn't stop to help her...not when her own 
  483.94 +shirt needed to be undone.  I wasn't even sure what I was doing, but all I 
  483.95 +knew was that it felt good to touch her and she seemed to like it.  I know I 
  483.96 +liked the way she was touching me.  Who am I kidding?  I loved it.
  483.97 +	She pulled away from my mouth, gasping slightly and looking at me through 
  483.98 +half-closed lids.  "God..." she moaned, then seemed to try to collect 
  483.99 +herself.  "I want you so much...I need you so much...please..."
 483.100 +	I gripped her hips and pulled her so she was against me.  "I want you just 
 483.101 +as much."
 483.102 +	"Make love to me..." swollen lips pleaded.  How could I deny the request?
 483.103 +	"Yes..." that husky voice wasn't mine, was it?  I covered her mouth with 
 483.104 +my own once again, and we proceeded in moving into a better position on the 
 483.105 +couch.  I finally ended up beneath that lovely figure and she pulled off the 
 483.106 +blouse she was wearing and tossed it to the side.  Her small lacy bra was 
 483.107 +soon tossed aside as well, and I faced the new complication with complete 
 483.108 +confidence.  Covering those little rosebuds with my hungry lips, I felt her 
 483.109 +shudder lightly, and those small hands wind into the back of my hair to pull 
 483.110 +me closer.  I could feel her legs widen, perhaps out of instinct, and those 
 483.111 +small thighs wrap around my waist.  Such exquisite pain.
 483.112 +	Those lovely lips could let wonderful sounds emerge from them...some I'd 
 483.113 +never heard before!  Small "oh!'s" were quite familiar, but not the way she 
 483.114 +would say them.  Her hands wandered again to the front of my shirt, 
 483.115 +awkwardly undoing the rest of the buttons.  I felt her hands stroke my own 
 483.116 +chest, feeling around my nipples and...
 483.117 +	"Oh!"  My head shot up and I felt her stiffen as well.  My eyes met hers 
 483.118 +again, desire almost blurring my vision.  She was still beautiful.  No 
 483.119 +matter what...I could be blind, but I would still know her beauty.
 483.120 +	She kissed me again, forcing me down beneath her.  My head rested softly 
 483.121 +on the cushions of the couch, and I reached up above me to pull her closer to 
 483.122 +my chest.  She was so warm, so soft...her bare skin would brush mine, so 
 483.123 +soft, as she began to pull desperately at my clothes and her own.  I could 
 483.124 +only watch, my hands and limbs shaking violently in the haze of passion.
 483.125 +	Her hands, so small and delicate, were working harder then I'd ever seen 
 483.126 +them.  Her pulls at my pants were almost frightening in their urgency.  She 
 483.127 +gently lifted herself off my lap and pulled them all the way off me, 
 483.128 +struggling but working with quick pushes and hard pulls.  I slipped my hands 
 483.129 +up her long school skirt and touched her bare legs and thighs, until I 
 483.130 +reached the delicate fabric of her underwear.  So soft, so sweet...just like 
 483.131 +her.  Slowly, carefully, I pulled them off her bare legs, sliding them all 
 483.132 +the way down to her knees.  Awkwardly she leaned back, sitting atop my 
 483.133 +calves and stretching her long legs towards me.  I sat up as well, leaning 
 483.134 +forward so that our waists were level, and slid her silky white panties down 
 483.135 +her legs until they landed with a small sound on the carpeted floor.  She 
 483.136 +grasped at my own underwear and managed to pull them off, until I too was 
 483.137 +completely naked in front of her.
 483.138 +	Glorious smells, glorious sights...so new and intriguing and beautiful.  I 
 483.139 +took in as much of her as I could, treasuring the tiny details...that little 
 483.140 +tiny brown mole just beneath her right breast, that tiny birthmark just 
 483.141 +beneath her belly button...the way her waist curved in so slightly and then 
 483.142 +curved outward to her hips.  Her tan lines revealed whiter flesh around her 
 483.143 +breasts and on her broad shoulders, then down again to her hips and down 
 483.144 +towards her...
 483.145 +	A deep intake of breath made me look up at her, but I realized I was the 
 483.146 +one who had made the sound.  I could feel the tension in her calves and legs 
 483.147 +that were wrapped around my waist now - somehow we had managed to drift 
 483.148 +extremely close to each other - and I felt it in myself.  I reached toward 
 483.149 +her, to caress that soft skin, but only managed to touch her cheek.  She 
 483.150 +closed her eyes and kissed my hand, so soft, so sweet...I wanted to say 
 483.151 +something to her, to let her know...to tell her everything I'd ever wanted 
 483.152 +to say...
 483.153 +	"Chibiusa..." I managed to whisper, and for awhile I wasn't sure she had 
 483.154 +heard me.  But when she opened those red eyes to look at me, those deep red 
 483.155 +eyes that plagued me with their depths, tortured me because I knew I had 
 483.156 +fallen into them, were now full of desire and something else.
 483.157 +	"Please, Hotaru...don't say anything.  Just..." she swallowed hard, almost 
 483.158 +uncomfortably.  "Just please, kiss me..."
 483.159 +	I didn't know what to do.  Like a fool, I stared at her for quite some 
 483.160 +time.  But, finally, the only part of my mind that actually thought caught 
 483.161 +on.  I leaned toward those soft lips again, this time slowly...my eyes 
 483.162 +closed, and I felt those soft little lips against mine.  Her eyelashes 
 483.163 +brushed my cheek as her arms came around my neck, and the soft little 
 483.164 +sensations sent my mind whirling, little butterflies and fireworks the color 
 483.165 +of her hair swirling around together.  The biggest explosion, however, was 
 483.166 +the amazing feeling of her impatient leg wrenching itself between my legs.
 483.167 +	The kiss wasn't broken, but I hissed aloud.  She seemed to catch the 
 483.168 +sound, 
 483.169 +and moved around so that my right leg was between both of hers.  The small 
 483.170 +"oh" that escaped that beautiful mouth was enough.
 483.171 +	I broke the kiss and looked deep into those red eyes.  It was time.
 483.172 +	I laid her back gently on the couch, her lower back resting on one of the 
 483.173 +armrests.  Her small hands slid down to my waist, then up to my breasts 
 483.174 +again.  The feelings were wonderful, I admit, but I had only one goal in 
 483.175 +mind.  I was going to make her happy...so happy...
 483.176 +	When our hips met that first time, it sparked something more than desire 
 483.177 +in the both of us.  I still remember the sound of her breathless moan in my 
 483.178 +ear, the way her arms locked around my neck, the feeling of her legs wrapped 
 483.179 +around my waist.  I still remember those tensed muscles, the heavy 
 483.180 +breathing, and the small moans that increased to loud groans as our 
 483.181 +ministrations continued.  Oh, she was so beautiful, those eyes that had me 
 483.182 +sinking shut tight, little beads of sweat dotting her forehead and making 
 483.183 +her hair a darker shade of pink.  Those moans, cutting through the noise of 
 483.184 +the TV that was still on and going right into my mind, causing the fireworks 
 483.185 +to become huge bombs of pleasure.
 483.186 +	And when I felt her body tense, and the deep movements of her hips that 
 483.187 +followed, I knew what was to come...my own fabulous release...my head shot 
 483.188 +up to the ceiling, my eyes closed, my hips bucking and trying to drown 
 483.189 +themselves in her own.  She held my waist fast, making sure it went to all 
 483.190 +the right places.  The sounds of our moans mixed together filled my ears and 
 483.191 +my mind, and it was all I could do not to die of pure blissful pleasure.
 483.192 +	But that blissful high brought us crashing down.  We were like that for a 
 483.193 +few moments that seemed so long but so short...then, my body still shaking, 
 483.194 +I fell atop her in a sweaty heap.  Our breathing was heavy and deep, but we 
 483.195 +held each other until it calmed down.
 483.196 +	Warm, my fuzzy mind said.  That's the first thing I knew as I opened my 
 483.197 +eyes.  Warm.  Warmth.  So warm.  I lifted my head slightly, my vision 
 483.198 +clearing as sleep left me.  I looked up to see Chibiusa, sleeping so softly. 
 483.199 +  Her breathing was so comforting, her chest lifting up slowly and softly.  
 483.200 +I smiled.  She was beautiful, even when she was sleeping.  Especially when 
 483.201 +she was sleeping.
 483.202 +	I laid my head back down as gently as I could, but evidently that wasn't 
 483.203 +soft enough.  She stirred, and I cursed myself for waking her.
 483.204 +	"Mmm...Hotaru?"  She rubbed her left eye with her hand, as if to rub the 
 483.205 +last bits of sleep away.
 483.206 +	"Hi..." I said, my voice still husky.  "How are you?"
 483.207 +	"Wonderful."  She smiled, and I giggled slightly.  "You know what?"  The 
 483.208 +tone was different, making me cease all movement.  I knew that tone.  It was 
 483.209 +so...serious.
 483.210 +	"What?"  Panic rose in my chest, and my heart began to thud quite rapidly.
 483.211 +	"I..." Those red eyes turned away from me.  "I don't know how to say it."  
 483.212 +She laughed slightly, almost sarcastically.  "Me, not knowing how to say 
 483.213 +something.  Ironic."
 483.214 +	"Chibiusa...you're...I don't understand.  What can't you say?"  I began to 
 483.215 +worry about my heartbeat.
 483.216 +	"I have to tell you something, Hotaru.  And it's very important.  It has 
 483.217 +to do with all this," she waved her hand to the couch and to us.  I tilted my 
 483.218 +head to the side, still confused.  "I don't know how you're going to react 
 483.219 +to me telling you what I need to say."
 483.220 +	"Chibiusa, whatever it is...please tell me.  I want to know.  I promise, I 
 483.221 +won't make fun of you, or act weird.  Just please, tell me."  I was trying 
 483.222 +to strain my voice so she could know how much I cared, but my heart seemed 
 483.223 +to be preventing it.  The thudding was so violent I clutched at my chest in 
 483.224 +pure worry.
 483.225 +	"Hotaru...I..." still hesitant...still trying to hard, "I...love you."  
 483.226 +She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.  I stared at her, that beautiful 
 483.227 +form, for a long time.  Finally, I managed to part my heavy lips and speak.
 483.228 +	It came out in barely a whisper.  But she still heard me.  "I love you, 
 483.229 +too."
 483.230 +
 483.231 +~*~
 483.232 +
 483.233 +WeLl HeLlO aLl yOu CaTs AnD kItTeNs OuT tHeRe!
 483.234 +	This story I hereby dedicate to the wonderful Ghost of 'Lectricity, the 
 483.235 +one and only!  As you all must very well know, I do love to play with my shift 
 483.236 +key.
 483.237 +	I also must say that these two beautiful characters are not of my own 
 483.238 +creation, but the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.  All the usual disclaimers 
 483.239 +apply...so no one can sue me or anything stupid like that.  However, the 
 483.240 +plot is mine, so no one can jack that either.
 483.241 +	Ok, ok, no I actually have to get to the point.  I hereby dedicate this 
 483.242 +story to the amazing Ghost of 'Lectricity himself!  ^-^  It's your present, 
 483.243 +so I hope you enjoy it.
 483.244 +	Love you all!
 483.245 +	<3 Gabrielle
 483.246 +
 483.247 +	The PsYcHoKiTtEnSeNsHi611...
 483.248 +

   484.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   484.2 +++ b/stories/thedream.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   484.3 @@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
   484.4 +I don't own these characters or make any money off of them. Please don't sue me.
   484.5 +
   484.6 +
   484.7 +The dream
   484.8 +By, Clayton Overstreet
   484.9 +
  484.10 +
  484.11 +  Sakura looked around suspiciously. The fact that she couldn't see three feet infront of her nose was irrelvant. The mist was everywhere. Suddenly she called out a card and tossed it in front of her. "Windy! Blow away the mist so I can see it's visible form." The card glowed and suddenly Windy spead out, taking the mist with her. Sakura smiled as she saw a small cloud. "Mist, return to your power confined. Mist!" She swung the wand and the Mist card and Windy returned to card form, then floated to her hand. Sakura smiled and put them away with the other.
  484.12 +  Madison and Kero came running up behind her. "Way to go Sakura!" Kero yelled.
  484.13 +  Madison focused her camera on Sakura's face and smiled. "I agree. And you look great."
  484.14 +  Sakura blushed and looked down at her costume. Madison was always making them for her. "Well I wouldn't look so great if it weren't for you Madison."
  484.15 +  Madison blushed slightly. "Thanks Sakura."
  484.16 +  Suddenly Lee and Maylin were there too. Maylin looked down at Sakurak and snorted. "Lee could have done it better." Sakura looked at Madison and they both rolled their eyes.
  484.17 +  Lee stepped forward. "Good capture Sakura." Sakura blushed and Maylin made a nasty comment under her breath. Sakura also noticed Madison blanch slightly.
  484.18 +  "Are you alright Madison?" Sakura asked looking at her nervously.
  484.19 +  Madison smiled same as always, "I'm fine Sakura." The words sounded like they always did, but something seemed wrong. Oh well, if something were bothering Madison she would tell Sakura. She was her best friend after all.
  484.20 +  Meanwhile Kero had perched on Sakura's shoulder. "Well I have to say Sakura is getting way better at capturing cards."
  484.21 +  Maylin walked up and looked into Kero's eyes. "What do you know? You're just a stuffed animal!" They continued fighting like that for several minutes, until Sakura got fed up.
  484.22 +  "Stop fighting right now you two or I'll have the change card switch your bodies like it did with Lee!" Sakura said. The two of them immediately quieted down, though they both stuch their tongues out at eachother again. Sakura sighed and glanced at Madison who giggled back. "Some times this seems like more trouble than it's worth."
  484.23 +  Madison smiled at her and shook her head. "You wouldn't do that Sakura. You are too good a person to leave the card running around like that."
  484.24 +  Maylin shook her head, "You could always just let Lee do it." She stopped and looked at Madison. "And why are you always complimenting Sakura like that anyway?"
  484.25 +  Madison blushed and stammered, "Because she's my friend..."   Sakura smiled and put her arm around Madison's shoulders. "That's right, best friends."
  484.26 +  Maylin shrugged and looked at Lee. "You could probably do it better than she could right Lee? You are so good at everything." Lee frowned and turned to walk away without saying a word. Maylin ran after him leaving Kero, Madison and Sakura alone.
  484.27 +  Madison turned and smiled at Sakura. Sakura smiled back. "Hey, want to have a sleep over at my house?"
  484.28 +  Madison's eyes sparkled slightly. "Yeah, that would be great Sakura. And we could watch my video of your last card capture."
  484.29 +  Kero meanwhile tugged on Sakura's ear. "Hey, don't forget we still need to eat dinner. I'm starving." The two girls laughed as Kero's stomach growled. Sakura summoned the fly card and Madison got on the wand behind her.
  484.30 +  "Hold on tight Madison." Madison wrapped her arms around Sakura's waist and held on.
  484.31 +   Once they were high into the air she looked down and smiled. "You know Sakura, I can't picture a better moment than this." She hugged Sakura a bit.
  484.32 +  Sakura nodded in return. "I know what you mean. It's a great view from up here."
  484.33 +  Madisn nodded and bit her lip. "Especially here with you Sakura."   Sakura smiled and turned back to her. Madison smiled at her and Sakura giggled. "Well as long as we're friends we can always do this any time. Especially after I catch all the cards."
  484.34 +  Madison smiled, then leaned in to get a better grip. "I'd like that Sakura... I really would."
  484.35 +
  484.36 +  When they arrived home Sakura turned the wand back into the key and opened the door. Tory was sitting in the living room. "Hello squirt. What's with the get up?"
  484.37 +  Sakura looked down at the silvery costume she was wearing. "Oh, Madison made it for me." Madison came in the door behind her and blushed a bit.
  484.38 +  Tory just shook his head. "Well anyway, dad is working late tonight and I'm going to a movie. You two will be on your own tonight."
  484.39 +  Madison looked at Sakura, "Can I use your phone to tell my mother where I am? She gets worried if I don't check in every now and then." Sakura nodded and Madison ran to make her call. Tory walked out and Sakura headed upstairrs to change her clothes and let Kero in. When she came down Madison was in the kitchen making some soup.
  484.40 +  "You took off the costume?" Madison asked.
  484.41 +  Sakura blushed, "I didn't want to get any food on it." Madison smiled and nodded.
  484.42 +  While they were eating Kero came flying downstairs to get some soup of his own. While they were eating Sakura looked over at Madison. "So why do you keep video taping me and making all those great costumes? It must be alot of work Madison."
  484.43 +  Madison smiled and shrugged. "I like to do it Sakura. It makes me feel good when you wear one of the costumes I make. You look terrific in them." Sakurak blushed and took another sip of her soup.
  484.44 +  "Well then thank you Madison. I realy appreciate it." Sakura said.   Madison blushed and looked down. "You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that Sakura. Your opinion means alot to me."   Sakura smiled and put her hand on Madison's. "You are my best friend Madison. Are you sure you are alright? You look worried about something."
  484.45 +  Madison took her hand back and smiled. "No, I'm fine." She smiled and looked up at Sakura. Sakura looked back and noticed something in Madison's face. She seemed like she was having trouble keeping the smile there.
  484.46 +  Sakura had seen that look before. "Madison could you please atleast promise that if anything is bothering you, you'll tell me?"
  484.47 +  Madison bit her lip and looked away. "Um... hey, we haven't watched the video yet." She grabbed her camera and ran into the livingroom before Sakura could say anything. Sakura looked at Kero who looked back and shrugged. They both got up and walked after Madison. When they got to the livingroon Madison had already slipped the tape into the VCR. Sakura and kero at on the couch while Madison grabbed the remote control and plopped down next to them.
  484.48 +  Once the video go going Sakura got so caught up in it that she tuned everything else out. Madison had a night vision attatchment so it could see through the fog and darkness. Sakura watched amazed at herself. Meanwhile next to her on the couch Madison was watching Sakura's face. "Wow Madison, that costume looks realy good."
  484.49 +  Madison nodded and smiled. "You look beutiful Sakura." Sakura didn't actually seem to hear her, since she was still watching the movie. Kero on the other hand had noticed that when she said that Madison's eyes had been nowhere near the television. He shook his head and turned back to the screen.
  484.50 +  After the movie was over Sakura turned to Madison. "You always get the best shots. Even before I found out about the Clow Cards. How do you do that?"
  484.51 +  Madison blushed and got up to put the video away before somebody else saw it. "Oh you know, it just deepends on what I'm shooting."
  484.52 +  Sakura giggled, "Well I'm like the only thing you ever take pictures of."
  484.53 +  Madison smiled again and looked confused. "Are you? I guess I really didn't notice." She picked up the camera and yawned. "I think I'd like to go to bed." Sakura looked at her strangely.
  484.54 +  "Well, alright. Maybe tommorow we can go to the park and hang out. For now though I'll put our dinner dishes away alright?"
  484.55 +  Madison looked at her, "Do you need any help?"
  484.56 +  Sakura shook her head. "Nah. Besides it will give you a chance to get ready for bed without me being in the way."
  484.57 +  Madison smiled and shook her head. "Thank you Sakura, but you have never been in my way." Sakura smiled and Madison ran up the stairs.
  484.58 +  Once she was gone Sakura headed for the kitchen. "So Kero, is it just me or do you think something is bothering Madison?"
  484.59 +  Kero flew behind her as she loaded the dishes. "I don't know for sure Sakura. But yeah I think so." He twitched his tail slightly.
  484.60 +  Sakura looked at him. "What do you think it could be?" Kero bit his lip and shrugged. This was one of those things Sakura would have to figure out on her own.
  484.61 +  "Maybe you could use a Clow Card to find out?" Kero said.
  484.62 +  Sakura looked at him shocked. "Kero! I am suprised at you. She's my best friend. If she doesn't want to tell me it's her business." Sakura stopped and sighed. "I just wish she'd trust me more is all."
  484.63 +  From her spot at the top of the stairs Madison let out a tiny sob. She wished she could tell Sakura. Wished that Sakura would understand. But it would never happen. Madison considered herself lucky to be Sakura's friend, even if it hurt to be so near her sometimes. But if Sakura found out how Madison realy felt about her... well then she might not even have that any more.
  484.64 +  "I think I'll sleep down here tnight Sakura. I read in the TV Guide that there was a anime marithon on tonight." Kero said.
  484.65 +  Sakura nodded and turned to walk up the stairs. "Good night Kero."
  484.66 +
  484.67 +  Wiping the tears off her face Madison turned and ran into Sakura's room. It wouldn't do for Sakura to see her crying. If Sakura got sad it always hurt Madison. Once she was in the room she quietly closed the door and sat back on the bed. Next to her on the night stand was a picture of her and Sakura together. She had an identical one at home next to her bed. While she was looking at it Madison fronwed again. Maybe she should tell Sakura. If she felt like Madison didn't trust her maybe it wasn't worth it to keep it from her. And if Sakura never wanted to see her again or was afraid of her... well that was something she would just have to live with. "That's right, the second she comes through that door I'll tell her."
  484.68 +  Sakura came through the door at that moment and smiled at her. "Tell me what Madison?"
  484.69 +  Madison blushed and her words caught in her throat. Ok, so much for that idea. "Um... I was just going to tell you... that I designed a new costume for you."
  484.70 +  Sakura smiled. "Realy? You'll have to tell me about it." She ducked into the closet to change and so Madison didn't see the look on her face. It was obvious that Madison had not meant a costume when she had said thet. And it hurt Sakura alot that her friend wouldn't tell her what she had realy meant.
  484.71 +  Meanwhile Madison was doing her best to sound cheerful and describe one of the new costumes she had been working on. After Sakura came out Madison smiled at her. "So... what do you think about Lee? Think you and he might get together?"
  484.72 +  Sakura smiled. So that was it. Madison had a thing for Lee and was afraid that Sakura liked him. "No, he's not really my type. If you want him go right ahead." For some reason though she couldn't quite picture Madison and Lee together though. And when she tried it actually seemed to hurt a bit. Quickly she looked around at Madison who looked back at her in shock.
  484.73 +  "Me like Lee? You must be kidding Sakura." Madison laughed.
  484.74 +  Sakura looked at her angrily. "Well then what is it? You've been hiding something from me all night. It's like you don't trust me or something." Sakura turned and sat down in the chair at her desk, facing away from Madison. Suddenly from behind her she heard a slight intake of breath. When she turned around Madison was crying heavly and looking right at her.
  484.75 +  "Oh I'm sorry Madison." Sakura quickly ran over and hugged her friend. Madison hugged her back, but still kept crying. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me."
  484.76 +  Madison sobbed again and said, "But... but I want to tell you. I'm just kind of scared that if I do you wont like me any more."
  484.77 +  Sakura turned and smiled at her. "Madison, there is nothing you could possibly say that would make me not like you. You're my best friend." Madison looked at her still uncertain. Sakura smiled and sat down. "Suppose I guess, do you think that would be alright?" Madison bit her lip, but couldn't hide the smile that creapt onto her face. Sakura smiled back. "This'll be fun we can see how good of friends we really are."
  484.78 +  Madison snickered a bit at that. "If you guess this then I think we'll be alot closer..." She shook her head and looked down. "... or you'll not like me any more."
  484.79 +  Sakura frowned again. "Now stop saying that! I told you that nothing will ever make me stop liking you. Now let's see, you've been acting this way since Lee showed up earlier right?" Madison shook her head. "Before that?" A nod. "Well then let's see... are you afraid one of us could get hurt capturning Clow Cards?" Madison shook her head again. "Then are you afraid I don't like your costumes? Cause if that's it you are all wrong, because I love them." Madison's breath caught in her throat at the mention of love, but she still shook her head.
  484.80 +  Sakura bit her lip thinking. "Well can you give me a hint? I mean some clue?"
  484.81 +  Madison looked up at her and shook her head. "I... I can't. I'm sorry Sakura." Sakura looked at her sadly, but then her attention was taken to the window. Madison looked too. "What is it Sakura? Is it a Clow Card?" Sakura nodded and they walked over to the window to look out. Suddenly a huge bat flew past the window causing both girls to scream.
  484.82 +  Kero came flying into the room. "What's wrong?" Sakura pointed outside. Kero flew to the window. Outside he saw that the neighbor's swimming pool was filled with ice cream. "Ah, it's the dream card."
  484.83 +  Sakura looked at him. "The dream card?"
  484.84 +  Kero nodded. "The dream card makes whatever your fondest wish is a reality. Unfortunately if someone is having a nightmare around it..." Sakura nodded thinking of the bat.
  484.85 +  Madison grabbed her camera and turned to Sakura. "Let's go!"
  484.86 +
  484.87 +  Sakura and Madison landed next to a large house. Sakura picked the wand up and looked around them while Madison video taped everything. Suddenly there was a movement from behind them and the dream card appeared. It looks at Madison and smiled pleasantly. Suddenly it's form began to change.
  484.88 +  Sakura looked at Kero. "How can I catch this one?"
  484.89 +  Kero rubbed his chin and nodded. "I'd say the create card has the best chance."
  484.90 +  Sakura nodded and turned back to the dream card. It had formed into Sakura herself and was still looking at Madison. Madison however was staring in horror having figured out what the card was doing. She looked at the fake Sakura, her eyes begging her not to say what she knew was coming. Meanwhile Sakura had grabbed the create card. "Create, make a dream catcher." She tossed the card and swung her wand. The create card turned into a bood with a quill and began writing in itself. Around the dream card a north american dream catcher appeared binding the fake Sakura.
  484.91 +  Sakura walked towards the other her and held up the wand. Unfortunately the card was still focused on Madison. It looked at her with what looked liek totaly understanding and just as Sakura swung the wand it said, "I love you too Madison."
  484.92 +  Sakura was so shocked by this that she was totaly speachless. Her arms contunued forward however and sealed the dream card, which floated along with the create card into her hand. Automatically putting the cards away Sakura turned to look at Madison.
  484.93 +  Madison looked back at Sakura with tears in her eyes. She brought her hand up to me mouth and bit her knuckle. Sakura and Kero both looked at her. Then Sakura noticed the blood dripping from where her friend was biting her hand. "Madison..." Before she could finish Madison turned and ran away into the darkness. Sakura wasn't sure what to do so she just stood there, watchign her friend run away.
  484.94 +  Madison ran for a long time. She wasn't even sure where she was going until she saw the penguin slide at the park. She quickly climbed up the ladder and hid inside. "Why did it have to do that? Why couldn't it have picked Sakura or Kero? Why me?" She cried for a long time. Blood dripped from her hand the entire time, but eventually stopped. Madison also fell asleep and leaned against the wall. Before long she was asleep.
  484.95 +
  484.96 +  Sakura sat down on the curb and stared off into space. Madison was in love with her... it was almost too much to believe. Kero flew infront of her and frowned. "What's your problem?"
  484.97 +  Sakura looked up at him. "She... she's in love with me..."
  484.98 +  Kero snorted. "So? What's the big deal? You humans always complicate this sort of thing so much. Look, I'm heading back to the house." He turned and flew away leaving Sakura alone.
  484.99 +  Sakura watched him go and shook her head. Sometimes she didn't understand Kero at all. Didn't he see how totaly crazy this was? Probably not since he wasn't human. But for some reason that didn't make Sakura feel any better. She sighed and leaned back.
 484.100 +  "Hello Sakura. You are out late tonight." A voice said from behind her.
 484.101 +  Sakura jumped up and looked around. Finaly she saw Miss Makinzy standing behind her. She smiled weakly at her and nodded. "Yeah, I had to catch the dream card. Is that why you are out here?"
 484.102 +  Miss Makinzy laughed pleasantly. "My my you must be focused on something. Usually you atleast pretend not to know about the Clow Cards." She carefully sat down next to Sakura. "So do you want to tell me what happend?"
 484.103 +  Sakura bit her lip. "I'm not sure if I should. It's kind of personal." She sighed and looked up at Miss Makinzy. "Have you ever had it turn out that some one was in love with you and you didn't even know it?"
 484.104 +  Miss Makinzy thought about it and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. But I think I can sympithize. Do you think you should talk with this person?"
 484.105 +  Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "You always have a way of making it sound like you already know everything that's going on."
 484.106 +  Miss Makinzy tried to look innocent. "Why whatever do you mean Sakura?"
 484.107 +  Sakura smiled at her, but it quickly faded. "You said 'this person' and 'they' an awful lot."
 484.108 +  Miss Makinzy blushed and smiled. "Well so much for the wise and mysterious teacher. You are right ofcourse. I've been here for a half hour and saw the whole thing. But what are you going to do about it?"
 484.109 +  Sakurak shrugged and looked up at the sky. A full moon and a lot of stars shown down. "If I knew I'd probably be doing it." She sighed and stood up. "But for now I think I just need to talk to Madison." She started walking towards Madison's house, then stopped and looked back at Miss Makinzy. "See you in school on Monday." Miss Makinzy nodded and turned to go in the other direction.
 484.110 +
 484.111 +  When she got to Madison's house Sakura checked to make sure there were no lights on. Then she walked to Madison's window. It was open, so Sakura climbed in and looked around. Madison was no where to be seen. Sakura sat down on the bed and looked around the room. She had been here before. Madison was her best friend after all. But she had never realized just how prominently she figured in it before.
 484.112 +  The walls were covered with pictures of her and Madison together, all in expensve frames. Madison's desk was covered with drawings of her in costumes Madison had made. The chelves were full of video tapes with Sakura's name on them. Sakura got up and walked over to the desk. A note book was open on it. Feeling a bit guilty to be reading her friend's private thoughts Sakura casualy flipped through it. Several of the mages were just Sakura and Madison's names mixed around: Sakura Avalon, Madison Taylor, Sakura Taylor, Madison Avalon. Sakura could barely belive it. She turned another page and read what was written there.
 484.113 +
 484.114 +  I never exapected Sakura to feel the same way as I do. I am just happy that we are so close. Maybe I should tell her how I feel. After all she deserves to know. But what if it scares her. What if she never talks to me again or smiled at me? That would hurt more than her not knowing. I can't do that to her. I can't rob her of that care free feeling that she shows around me.
 484.115 +  But what if she feels the same? No. No that isn't going to happen. If she did I would know by now. I will just have to try to cherrish what I have with her. Aleast I still have my videos and pictures of her. She looks so beutiful in those costumes. it always made me feel so good to see her wearing something I made for her.
 484.116 +  I think Lee likes her too though. I don't know if she likes him or not. If she does what will I do? That's an easy one. I'll smiled and be happy for her. No matter how much it hurts I will be happy. I just wish it could be me. I love her so much. I just wish she could love me too.
 484.117 +
 484.118 +  Sakura stopped reading and ran her fingers over a crinkly part of the paper. It looked like something had dripped on it. "She must have been crying." Sakura bit her lip and sat down in Madison's chair. It was all rather obvious now why Madison had been keeping this from her. Sakura knew that no matter what happend now things were going to be different between them.
 484.119 +  She looked up at the mirror that sat on the stand next to her. She saw herself looking back. There was nothing special she could see. Not anything that could make Madison feel like she did. Sakura wondered if she could feel the same way towards Madison. They had been friends for their entire lives. Whenever she felt bad Sakura had always known to talk to Madison about it.
 484.120 +  Sakura wondered how long Madison had been in love with her. Was there any indication of it before now? Her mind wandered back over the years. Every valentines day Madison always gave her chocolates and cards. She never seemed to give any to anyone else. Sakura smiled rememberign how she had told Madison that she should be giving them to the person she loved. "That's why I'm giving them to you Sakura." It was so obvious.
 484.121 +  Then Sakura remembered a day a long time ago. She and Madison had been going some where... a carnival or something. On the way Madison had suddenly stopped and looked at her. "I love you Sakura." Sakura had thought she meant as a friend. They were only eight yeard old at the time. Sakura had smiled and told her she loved her too. Madison had looked at her and shook her head. "I'll tell you when you are older."
 484.122 +  But she hadn't. Instead Madison had grown scared and lonely, despite being with the one she loved. Sakura shook her head and closed her eyes. "How could I be so stupid!" A tear fell down her cheek. She turned and looked at the pictures of her and Madison again. In many of them Madison was hugging her, smiling at her, or holding her hand. But as Sakura looked closer she could see a sadness in her friend's eyes. No matter how big the smile was something was stopping her from looking truely happy. And now she knew what.
 484.123 +  "I can't believe how much I hurt her." Sakura looked at the mirror again. She did love Madison ofcourse. They had been together their entire lives. But could she love her for the rest of her life? Her eyes were drawn back to the papers on the desk. Madison obviously thought that she and Lee might end up together, or had until tonight. She remembered how Madison had brought it up earlier. Sakura shook her head remembering her words. So if Lee wasn't Sakura's type what was? She looked at Madison's picture again and tried to imagine life without her... and couldn't.
 484.124 +  Suddenly her eyes snapped open. "What if she's hurt? If she isn't here then where is she?" Sakura began to panic. When Madison had run away her hand had been bleeding. Her eyes had looked so hurt. Sakura would do anything to stop Madison from hurting like that again. "I guess... I guess I do love her. But if she's hurt or lost that wont do me any good. I need to find her." Sakura looked around the room for some clue. Her eyes passed over the mirror again. "Ofcourse!" She pulled the mirror card out and summoned it, ordering it to show her where Madison was.
 484.125 +
 484.126 +  Madison's eyes opened slowly and she pulled her arms around herself. It may not have been winter but it was still cold. Looking out at the nights sky she sighed, causing her breath to show up in the air. She started making a fist, but flinched and looked down at her hand. It had blood all over it and she could see tooth marks. Quietly she cursed the dream card. Her life was ruined now. Sakura would never want to be near her again after this.
 484.127 +  She could just imagine what Sakura's face would look like. Digust, fear, and maybe even hatred. Sakura would never want to wear her costumes again. Would never let her video tape her any more.
 484.128 +  New tears replaced the dried ones on her cheeks. If she had only stayed back this one time. Suddenly she stopped and shook her head. No, Sakura wouldn't hate her. But she would never be as free around Madison any more. Madison would never get to hug her again and her dreams of ever kissing Sakura were gone. She had thought that maybe one day she could slip in a tiny kiss right on Sakura's lips. But now her friend would know what she was doing.
 484.129 +  Still crying Madison lay back inside the slide. She was cold and tired. She needed to get some sleep. Her last thoughts before she went to sleep were of Sakura.
 484.130 +
 484.131 +  Sakura saw Madison's eyes close as she went to sleep inside the penguin slide. A breeze blew intot he room from the open window. Sakura shivered, "It's cold out tonight." She looked back at the image of Madison. "I can't let her stay out like this. She could get sick or something."
 484.132 +  She put the mirror card away and grabbed the fly card. As she jumped onto her wand and out the window Madison's mother came into the room. "Is someone here?" She shivered and walked to the window. As she closed it a single white feather fell onto the window sill. She picked it up and looked at it for a minute. She set it down on Madison's desk and closed the window.
 484.133 +  Sakura, meanwhile, was flying over the city looking down. Less than an hour ago she and Madison had been doing this exact thing. Sakura now realized what Madison had been telling her then. Sakura would give anythign for Madison to be there with her now. Sakura almost smiled remembering the feel of Madison's arms around her and her face buried between Sakura's shoulder blades. But a sudden breeze across her back washed the feeling away.
 484.134 +  She looked down and saw the dark shapes below her. The zoo wasn't too far from here and in the distance Sakura could just barely make out the penguin slide. She rememberd when she had been cleaning up after the power card. That picture of her with the slide on her shoulders had almost gotten her into alot of trouble. If Madison hadn't claimed that she had done it on her computer things could have gotten difficult. She always did things like that for her.
 484.135 +  When Sakura landed by the penguin slide she wasn't sure what she was going to say. Quietly she walked over to the slide and slowly climbed up the ladder leading to the top. When she got there Madison was sound asleep inside. Sakura reached for her, then balked. Did she realy love Madison like this? If she didn't... if it was just a spur of the moment thing she could hurt her friend alot more. Looking over Madison's face however she knew the anwer.
 484.136 +  She reached out again and rubbed Madison's cheek softly. It was soft, but ice cold. Worriedly Sakura shook Madison's shoulder. When she didn't wake up Sakura got very worried. "Madison? Madison are you alright?" Madison's eyes remained closed. Sakura put her ear to Madison's chest and listned closely. She was still breathing, but her heart beat was slow. Sakura had to get her someplace warm and fast. She tried to pick her up,but Madison's limp form was too heavy. No way could she fly them like this.
 484.137 +  Reaching into her clothes she brought out the power and dash cards. She summoned them and felt a tingling sensation go through her body. Sakura turned back to Madison and gently picked her up. Then she turned and jumped out of the slide. Once she hti the ground she began running. The landscape flew past like a blur. Sakura was using her arms to block off as much of the wind as possible while she ran.
 484.138 +  Once she got to her house Sakura leaped up and practicaly flew through her open bedroom window. She lay Madison on her bed and put the Clow Cards away, then closed the window. Looking around she saw that Kero was nowhere to be seen. He had probably fallen asleep on the couch watching television. Sakura immediately turned back to Madison who was still asleep on her bed. Reachign behind her she dragged the chair from infront of her desk and sat in it next to the bed, holding onto Madison's hand. "Please be alright Madison. I can't loose you." She noticed that Madison's hand was bleeding again and got a bandaid from the bathroom. After that she simple sat next to her friend.
 484.139 +  Hours slipped past. Sakura eventually fell asleep, laying across Madison's stomach. The warm blankets seemed to bring the color back to Madison's cheeks. At about 5:34 a.m. Madison yawned and opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that her nose felt stuffed up. The second thing she noticed was that she was in a soft bed instead of the penguin slide. For a moment she had the hope that the entire night had been a dream and things would be back to normal. But when she saw Sakura laying across her she knew for a fact that it had all happend.
 484.140 +  Sakura felt Madison move underneith her and her eyes snapped open. Sitting up Sakura saw Madison looking at her and immediately wrapped her arms around Madison's neck holding her tight. "You're awake! I was so worried about you. Promise you'll never run off like that again." Madison was too stunned to say anything and just stood there stiff as a board. This wasn't working out anything like what she had thought. Not only was Sakura happy to see her but she was actually hugging her.
 484.141 +  "I... I promise..." She managed.
 484.142 +  Sakura pulled back and smiled into her eyes. "And you also have to promise not to keep stuff like that from me any more. That's not what people who love eachother do."
 484.143 +  Madison stared at her in shock, not actually believing what she had just heard. "But you can't... you don't... I mean..."
 484.144 +  Sakura smiled at her. "I want to apologize to you Madison."
 484.145 +  Madison shook her head, "Why would you need to apologize. I'm the one who embarrassed you."
 484.146 +  Sakura frowned and looked right at her. "Now Madison that isn't true. I've never been less embarrassed in my life. And I want to apologize to you for not seeing how you felt. If I had I think things would have been alot better for you and you wouldn't have hurt so much." Sakura reached out and put her hand on Madison's cheek and smiled at her.
 484.147 +  Madison stared straight ahead in shock. Sakura noticed her look and pinched her cheek pulling it to the side. "Ow! What did you do that for?"
 484.148 +  Sakura grinned and looked at her. "To snap you too your sences. You know you almost got yourself killed running off like that last night?" Madison looked down at herself and Sakura smiled at her calmly. "I don't blame you Madison. I might have done the same thing in your possition."
 484.149 +  Madison breathed in slowly. "You weren't supposed to know."
 484.150 +  Sakura smiled and moved onto the bed next to her. "I know Madison, but did you realy think I could be happy with you so sad? Or live without you?" Madison looked up at her and smiled, tears brimming at the edge of her eyes. Sakura smiled back at her, her hand still on Madison's cheek.
 484.151 +  Slowly, Madison reached up and put her hand over Sakura's. "I love you Sakura. I have ever since I've known you."
 484.152 +  Sakura smiled and nodded. "I love you too Madison."
 484.153 +  Madison let out a quiet sob and leaned forward to hug Sakura, burying her head into Sakura's shoulder. Sakura put her arms around Madison and held her close, running her fingers through Madison's long dark hair. Madison's fingers closed onto Sakura's clothes. "I have wanted to hear you say that for so long." Sakura smiled down at her and nodded.
 484.154 +  "I also have to apologize about something else. Before I found you in the slide I went to your house and checked your room. I saw your notebook." Sakura blushed and looked guilty.
 484.155 +  Madison smiled at her. "That's alright now. You don't have to worry Sakura."
 484.156 +  Sakura smiled and looked at Madison's eyes. "You know, for once you really look happy."
 484.157 +  Madison giggled and nodded. "I am." She looked over Sakura's face. "I don't suppose... I mean would you mind if I kissed you?"
 484.158 +  Sakura blushed and smiled at her. "I would love to Madison. But don't get your hopes up. I've never done this before." She and Madison leaned closer and looked into eachother's eyes. Their noses bumped and they turned their heads in the same direction for a minute. Then they finaly got into possition and closed their eyes. As their lips met an electric shock went down their spines. Sakura felt something move against her lips and realized with a start that it was Madison's tongue. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Madison kissing her. Suddenly it didn't seem like that big of a deal. Sakura opened her mouth and let the tongue slide in.
 484.159 +  Madison was in heaven. She had dreamed of doing this on so many nights she had lost count, but she had never thought it would actually happen. Now that it had she never wanted it to end. She slid her tongue into Sakura's mouth and opened her own eyes in suprise as Sakura's moved against hers too. When she did she saw Sakura looking back at her. Finaly after they realised that eventually they would need to breath they broke apart, both breathing heavily. Sakura smiled at her and said, "That was great Madison."
 484.160 +  Madison smiled at her. "Same to you Sakura." Madison reached up with a pale hand to rub Sakura's cheek. Her skin felt so soft and warm. Sakura smiled at her and pulled her in for another hug and kisses Madison behind the ear. Madison shivers slightly and buried her face into Sakura's neck kissing her too.
 484.161 +  Suddenly Madison pulled back and looked Sakura in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean you feel alright with me like this?"
 484.162 +  Sakura smiled at her and nodded. "Madison there is not a doubt in my mind. Why? Are you..?"
 484.163 +  Madison shook her head. "I would love to Sakura. I just wanted you to be sure." They held eachother again as the sun came up. When they looked at eachother's faces they looked like they were glowing in the golden dawn's light.
 484.164 +
 484.165 +  (For those of you who either don't apporive of lemons involving these two, or wish to have a nice, sex-free ending you should stop reading now. However if you either like the idea or are just too curious to stop now then read on. I promise to make it as romantic as possible.)
 484.166 +
 484.167 +  Sakura leaned back and looked at Madison. Then with no warning she reached down and pulled off her own shirt. Madison watched ehr and blushed a deep red. Sakura saw her and smiled. "Well it's not like we haven't seen eachother naked before Madison. I mean every time I've changed into your costumes..." She trailed off when she realized how much Madison had probably enjoyed that the entire time.
 484.168 +  Madison's blush deepend. "Sakura, this is different. I mean we're doing this so we can... well you know." She tried to look away, but her eyes seemed locked on Sakura and were busy moving up and down her body.
 484.169 +  Sakura was aware of the scrutiny and giggled. "See anything you like?" Madison nodded numbly. Sakura giggled again and leaned back giving Madison a better view. Madison's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. Almost unconsiously she reached out to run her finger tips down Sakura's side. Sakura shivered slightly and got goosebumps. Then she smiled at Madison. "Your turn."
 484.170 +  Madison blushed and looked down at her shirt. She started to take it off, then looked at Sakura again. She saw everything she had ever wanted staring her in the face and suddenly she wasn't the least bit nervous. She may never do this for anyone else, but she would be damned if she was going to balk infront of Sakura. Without another thought she slipped her shirt off. Smiling at Sakura she leaned back in an identical pose. Sakura grinned at her and said, "Wow, you look great Madison." Sakura reached out nervously and ran her fingers along Madison's ribs in an immitation of Madison's earlier motion. She smiled when she noticed Madison's nipples harden and stick out towards her.
 484.171 +  Now neither girl was unaware of what this sort of thing meant. Like most healthy teenagers they had been touching themselves for quite a while. But actually being there with someone that they loved was special. They leaned back towards eachother, their breasts pressing into the other's. They kissed again and ran their hands along eachother's backs. Sakura moaned slightly as Madison's fingers played down her spine and drew small circles at the small of her back.
 484.172 +  Sakura leaned down and kissed Madison on her collar bone, licking it slightly. Madison's bottom lip quivered slightly and she ran her fingers through Sakura's hair. Sakura meanwhile had worked her way down Madison's chest. Just above Madison's nipple she stopped and looked up at her. "Are you alright Madison?" As she had gone Sakura had gotten decidedly uneasy that she and Madison may be going a bit fast, so she had decided to check with Madison one last time.
 484.173 +  Madison smiled down at her and nodded. Her eyes were half closed and she had a contented smiled on her face. "I feel wonderful Sakura. It's a dream come true. But I could wait if you want to."
 484.174 +  Sakura smiled and shook her head. "I just made you sad for such a long time. I wanted to make sure you were finally happy."
 484.175 +  Madison reached down and stroked her cheek. "When you are happy I am happy. That's all that matters Sakuraaaah!" She gasped as Sakura locked her lips over her nipple. Sakura moaned in response and licked at her friend eagerly. Madison's back arched slightly to meet her. Sakura pushed back at the same time. Their legs interlocked and slide into eachother.
 484.176 +  Sakura finally released Madison when she noticed that her nipples were bright red. She gave it one last lick, then backed away. Without further instigation Madison leaned forward and gave Sakura a similar treatment. This went on for several minutes until Sakura noticed something warm and wet on her knee. She looked down and noticed Madison's crotch rubbing against her knee. She smiled and realized somethign similar was happening between her own legs and it felr REALLY good. Madison had reached up and was squeesing Sakura's other breast while she licked the other and Sakura let out another moan.
 484.177 +  Finally Sakura nudged Madison back and kisses the corner of her mouth. Madison smiled with tears in her eyes despite, or maybe because of her intense pleasure. Sakura wasn't sure which. When they stopped kissing Madison finally realized what was happening between her legs. She had been so engrossed in just touching Sakura she had missed what was going on elsewhere. Madison blushed and looked up at Sakura. Sakura nodded and lay back. Madison smiled and leaned forward, putting her face between Sakura's thighs. She topped for afew minutes and stared straight ahead like a deer caught in headlights. Sakura saw her and giggled.
 484.178 +  Madison smiled up at her and one last time whispered, "I love you."   Sakura nodded and replied, "I love you too Madison." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she felt Madison's breath on her.
 484.179 +  Experimentaly Madison's tongue lashed out causing Sakura to flinch slightly. It taisted... odd. Not bitter exactly. She had never actually taisted anything like it. One thing she was sure of though. She liked it. Once again she licked out and slid her tongue into Sakura. Sakura gasped and ran her fingers through Madison's hair. Suddenly she had an idea. "Madison could you switch possitions just a little?" Madison looked up confused, then smiled. She backed up while Sakura slid down. After afew twists and turns Madison was laying across Sakura with her head between the card captor's legs.
 484.180 +  Sakura meanwhile was getting her first real look at Madison's vagina. Slowly she licked across it, trying to focus between what she was doing and what Madison was doing. To her it taisted kind of like honey, only not as sweet. It was still good though and she quickly decided she wanted more. At the same time she licked across Madison's clit, Madison did the same to her. Both girls felt so completely good that they lost themselves in the moment and just kept licking.
 484.181 +  Madison slid her finger into Sakura, but just a little way in she met a barier and heard Sakura wimper slightly. "Oh I'm sorry. Are you alright Sakura?"
 484.182 +  Sakura nodded and smiled at her. "Just go slower... and now that I think about it would you like to... you know, do it at the same time?" Sakura gently traced a finger along the edge of Madison's pussy causing it to twitch slightly. Madison closed her eyes and nodded. Slowly they both turned back to what they were doing and both pushed their fingers in to eachother, slowly pushing inside.
 484.183 +  They both felt pain as they broke through the barrier, but they both got over it rather quickly, licking up the blood and other fluids which flowed out. Sakura added a second finger streatching Madison out slightly and slowly moved in and out. Madison copied her for every move until suddenly they both felt the other one tighten slightly and more fluids dripped out. For a brief moment Sakura considered using the Clow key to do this, but decided that using a mystcal item passed through her family for centuries for that would be a bad idea.
 484.184 +  Both of them were tired and shaking slightly. Madison slowly turned around and lay next to Sakura on the bed. Sakura put her arm around Madison and smiled at her. "Thank you." She leanded over and kissed Madison on the forehead. "You mean everything to me Madison."
 484.185 +  Madison's eyes were shut and she was feeling very sleepy. Still she managed to nod and peek out. "My Sakura, I will always love you. Now and forever." Madison's eyes closed again and she lay her head back on her pillow, with her arm drapped over Sakura's waist. Sakura held her close and smiled at her. Who would have ever guessed that they would end up together like this?
 484.186 +
 484.187 +  At school their friends were pretty understanding about the whole thing. In fact much to Sakura and Madison's embarrassment it turned out that they had already guessed about it. Apparently Madison was so busy trying to hide it from Sakura that she had neglected to hide it from anyone else. Kero and Lee didn't really seem to care anyway as long as Sakura was still their friend and kept catching Clow cards. Maylin seemed a little nervouse around them for a while, but since she no longer had to worry about Sakura going after Lee they eventually became pretty good friends. Unfortunately, she kept asking them questions about it like, "So what's it like? How did it happen?" And similar questions. They both took it good naturedly though.
 484.188 +  Miss Makinzy also didn't comment on it though she did smile and wink at the two of them when they came back on Monday. Actually Sakura and Madison never really told anyone. It just seemed that when other people saw them kissing eachother they seemd to figure it out. Sakura's brother still teased her like normal, her father didn't seem to notice, and Madison's mom told them that she was happy for them. Madison still video taped Sakura's card captures and made costumes for her. All in all things hadn't changed that much and only in the ways that counted.
 484.189 +
 484.190 +The End
 484.191 +
 484.192 +Author's note.
 484.193 +  So what did you think? I usualy use my best endings for the non-lemon stories, hence the double ending in this one. I never actually planned for this to be a lemon, but like other stories I have written sometimes it is just part of the story. If you didn't like it then please, don't read it. If you did emaile me and tell me what you think at clayton_n@hotmail.com
 484.194 +Oh yeah, I almost forgot. WARNING:This is a lemon. If you are underage, despite the fact that this was most likely listed as a lemon to begin with, you probably shouldn't read it.
 484.195 +
 484.196 +

   485.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   485.2 +++ b/stories/thejealousycard.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   485.3 @@ -0,0 +1,897 @@
   485.4 + 
   485.5 +
   485.6 +
   485.7 +The Jealousy Card:
   485.8 +
   485.9 +By Stirling Twilight and Amazoness Duo
  485.10 +stirling_9@hotmail.com
  485.11 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  485.12 +
  485.13 +     Sakura took a deep breath of fresh air as she started 
  485.14 +rollerblading down the street. It was a beautiful day, and the sun 
  485.15 +was shining brightly. A soft breeze gently blew over her as she 
  485.16 +made her way to school. She blushed lightly at the thought of 
  485.17 +Yukito waiting where he usually did before school. Sighing, she 
  485.18 +felt a pang of sadness at the thought of who he was waiting for. 
  485.19 +She slowed down, finally coming to a stop, as her brother rode by 
  485.20 +on his bike.  As long as he was happy, right? Tomoyo had once 
  485.21 +told her that what really mattered was that the one you loved was 
  485.22 +happy, even if they weren’t with you. 
  485.23 +     Waiting a few moments to make sure her brother and Yukito 
  485.24 +were well on their way, Sakura started rollerblading again, a little 
  485.25 +slower this time. She was glad Yukito had found love, but would 
  485.26 +she ever find it herself? She had thought she loved the older boy, 
  485.27 +but after her talk with him, she wasn't so sure anymore. He had 
  485.28 +told her that her feelings for him were like the ones she had for her 
  485.29 +father. Oddly enough, besides short bouts of sadness over him, she 
  485.30 +seemed to be doing pretty well. Maybe she was just being mature 
  485.31 +about it. But could there be something else to it? Could it be that 
  485.32 +maybe she was falling for someone else? Thinking for a moment, 
  485.33 +Sakura tried to figure who such a person could possibly be, but 
  485.34 +ended up dismissing the idea. She was happy for Yukito, Sakura 
  485.35 +decided, and that was all.
  485.36 +     Her spirits noticeably higher, Sakura flashed a smile at the dark-
  485.37 +haired girl waiting for her at the front gate of their school. "Hi, 
  485.38 +Tomoyo-chan!" she said, skidding to a stop in front of her best 
  485.39 +friend.
  485.40 +     "Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said happily. "How 
  485.41 +did you sleep last night?"
  485.42 +     "Pretty well.  I had a strange dream, but I can't remember it 
  485.43 +now. You were in it. And Li-kun.  And I was worried about you 
  485.44 +for some reason," Sakura trailed off, trying to remember more of 
  485.45 +her dream.
  485.46 +     "I'm very glad I was in your dreams, Sakura-chan, but don't be 
  485.47 +worried about me," Tomoyo said thoughtfully. "It was just a 
  485.48 +dream. And, in any case, worrying about it won't do any good. You 
  485.49 +should try to relax."
  485.50 +     "You're right," Sakura agreed. "I wish I could remember the rest 
  485.51 +of it, though. I feel like I’ve forgotten an important warning about 
  485.52 +something. Like it was a premonition." She pulled off her 
  485.53 +rollerblades along with the rest of her protective gear. Standing 
  485.54 +back up, she walked side by side with Tomoyo towards their 
  485.55 +classroom.
  485.56 +     "If your dream was a warning about something, I'm certain that 
  485.57 +you will eventually figure it out," Tomoyo said with a reassuring 
  485.58 +smile.
  485.59 +     Sakura found herself smiling back. 'I always do feel better after 
  485.60 +talking to Tomoyo,' she thought to herself. "Thank you, Tomoyo-
  485.61 +chan."
  485.62 +     "Whenever you want to talk, Sakura-chan, I’m always here for 
  485.63 +you. I love talking to you, and if it helps you, I'm happy." Tomoyo 
  485.64 +took her seat next to Sakura's and started pulling out what she 
  485.65 +would need for class from her backpack.
  485.66 +     Sitting down in her desk, Sakura grinned to herself. She felt a 
  485.67 +lot better about things now.  She wasn't worrying about her dream 
  485.68 +or her sadness over Yukito for the moment. Looking through the 
  485.69 +window, she watched the late students getting to school. She 
  485.70 +closed her eyes, basking in the warm sunlight as she waited for 
  485.71 +class to begin. This day could be a good one after all.
  485.72 +
  485.73 +     "How does this look?" Tomoyo asked tentatively as she handed 
  485.74 +Sakura a sheet of paper from her notebook. Sakura carefully took 
  485.75 +the paper, finishing up another bite of her lunch at the same time. 
  485.76 +She sweatdropped when she saw the sketch of herself in a costume. 
  485.77 +There were several different views to show the whole costume, 
  485.78 +including the large bow in back.  "What do you think?"
  485.79 +     "It's... nice," Sakura said, not quite knowing what else to say.
  485.80 +     "I think it would look really cute on you, Sakura-chan." 
  485.81 +Tomoyo grew starry eyed as she blushed at she thought of Sakura 
  485.82 +in the finished costume. "Do you think it could use more lace?"
  485.83 +     "No, no, I think it's fine the way it is," Sakura said hastily. Her 
  485.84 +troubles with wild Clow Cards had ended when she became the 
  485.85 +Card Mistress, and now with things settling down after Eriol, there 
  485.86 +really wasn't much of a need for her to go out as a Card Captor
  485.87 +anymore. But Tomoyo still made plenty of costumes for her, 
  485.88 +getting Sakura to come over to her house and try them on so the 
  485.89 +dark-haired girl could at least videotape her in them. She was 
  485.90 +happy to humor the dark haired girl, even if it was a bit strange 
  485.91 +wearing all the different costumes. Tomoyo seemed to love 
  485.92 +videotaping her in them so much that it was the least she could do 
  485.93 +for all the help and friendship the dark haired girl had given her.
  485.94 +     "Every time I finish a new costume, when I look at it, I get the 
  485.95 +feeling that something isn't right. It doesn't seem really finished. 
  485.96 +But when I finally see you wearing it, Sakura-chan, it's like the last 
  485.97 +piece of a puzzle has fallen into place. You complete them."
  485.98 +You complete me, Tomoyo wanted to add.
  485.99 +     Sakura blushed as Tomoyo smiled gently at her. For a second, it 
 485.100 +felt like she and Tomoyo were the only ones there. The feeling 
 485.101 +slowly faded and Sakura noticed all her classmates busily chatting 
 485.102 +through lunch. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or saddened that 
 485.103 +the moment had ended so quickly.
 485.104 +     "I'll start working on this one when I get home," Tomoyo 
 485.105 +finished. Her head tilted to the side, a worried look spreading over 
 485.106 +her face. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"
 485.107 +     "Hai… I'm fine," Sakura said, laughing nervously. For some 
 485.108 +reason, she felt awkward all of a sudden. Glancing around a bit 
 485.109 +while she ate some more of her lunch, she noticed Syaoran walking 
 485.110 +by, on his own as he often was. "Li-kun! Why don't you have lunch 
 485.111 +with us?" she asked happily. Syaoran paused for a moment before 
 485.112 +accepting, sitting beside the two girls.
 485.113 +     "I really hope we don't have much homework tonight," Sakura 
 485.114 +said conversationally. "It's my night to make dinner."
 485.115 +     "I hope so, too. If you need to pick up ingredients or anything, I 
 485.116 +could come with you before you go home," Tomoyo offered 
 485.117 +helpfully.
 485.118 +     Sakura smiled at her. "Thanks, Tomoyo-chan. I don't think I 
 485.119 +need anything, though." She placed a hand on her chin, trying to 
 485.120 +make sure.
 485.121 +     "Sakura..." Syaoran interrupted.
 485.122 +     "Hoe?" Sakura turned to Syaoran who was now staring straight 
 485.123 +ahead. Tomoyo turned to look at him as well, putting aside the 
 485.124 +sketches.
 485.125 +     "There's something I want to tell you," Syaoran said slowly.  He 
 485.126 +was really nervous, even though he'd probably never admit it to 
 485.127 +himself.
 485.128 +     "What is it?" Sakura asked curiously. Tomoyo smiled at him, 
 485.129 +knowing what it was that he wanted to say. She nodded slightly, as 
 485.130 +if urging him to go on.
 485.131 +     "I... I..."
 485.132 +     "Syaoran-kun, are you feeling okay?" Sakura asked worriedly.
 485.133 +     "It's about Sakura-chan, right, Li-kun?" Tomoyo suggested 
 485.134 +gently, trying to help him along.
 485.135 +     Syaoran nodded emphatically.  Sakura looked more and more 
 485.136 +interested as she waited to hear what he had to say. 
 485.137 +Syaoran rounded on Tomoyo and asked her pointedly, 
 485.138 +“Can you go?”  He wanted to be alone with Sakura if he was going 
 485.139 +to tell her. 
 485.140 +	The dark haired girl smiled and nodded. Picking up her 
 485.141 +notebook, she walked over to a nearby tree. She felt almost as 
 485.142 +nervous inside as the Chinese boy. This was it. He would finally 
 485.143 +tell Sakura, wouldn’t he? Maybe it was about time she did as 
 485.144 +well…
 485.145 +     Syaoran watched her go before turning back, to meet the green 
 485.146 +eyes that were watching him in confusion.  He gathered his breath 
 485.147 +and in one long exhale managed to force out, "I... I... I like you!" 
 485.148 +     Sakura blinked in confusion several times. "You what?"
 485.149 +     Syaoran stood up, made an obvious effort to composes himself, 
 485.150 +lost the battle and made a hasty retreat back towards the classroom. 
 485.151 +He nearly bumped into Naoko in his hurry.
 485.152 +     "What did he mean?" Sakura asked aloud. She just couldn't 
 485.153 +figure out what on earth Syaoran was trying to do, telling her that 
 485.154 +he liked her and then running away.
 485.155 +Tomoyo leaned towards her, having returned unnoticed.
 485.156 +     "I think Li-kun was trying to say that he loves you," Tomoyo 
 485.157 +explained in a soft whisper.
 485.158 +     Sakura's face turned a deep shade of crimson as realization hit. 
 485.159 +She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. 
 485.160 +After a few false starts she finally got out, "But... but... how?"
 485.161 +     Tomoyo smiled brightly at her friend. "That's not hard, Sakura-
 485.162 +chan. It's easy to fall in love with you. It's telling you that’s the 
 485.163 +hard part."  Standing up as the bell rang for the end of lunch, 
 485.164 +Tomoyo offered Sakura her hand. Sakura, still in shock, let the 
 485.165 +other girl help her stand. She tried to walk, but stumbled a bit. 
 485.166 +Tomoyo arms went gently around her waist, steadying the 
 485.167 +brunette. Smiling gently, she helped her back towards the 
 485.168 +classroom, not letting her own inner turmoil show.
 485.169 +
 485.170 +     It was a bit colder after school, but the weather was still 
 485.171 +pleasant. A gentle breeze meandered past the two girls on their 
 485.172 +way home. Sakura was still having trouble coming to grips with 
 485.173 +what had happened earlier with Syaoran. She was so worried, she 
 485.174 +wasn't really aware of where they were going. Tomoyo was 
 485.175 +silently leading her home, trying to give her best friend time to 
 485.176 +think.  Though it was still early in the evening, Sakura felt
 485.177 +tired, exhausted. She just wanted to lie down so that she wouldn't 
 485.178 +have to think about anything. Questions kept racing through her 
 485.179 +mind. How could he? Was he serious?
 485.180 +What should she do now?
 485.181 +     Sakura, walking slowly, noticed all of a sudden that Tomoyo 
 485.182 +wasn't at her side anymore. She turned around and saw the other 
 485.183 +girl standing there, her long, dark hair
 485.184 +fluttering behind her. Sakura looked at her with surprise.  Her 
 485.185 +friend seemed deep in thought.
 485.186 +     "Tomoyo-chan?"
 485.187 +     Tomoyo looked at her, but didn't answer right away.  Sakura 
 485.188 +felt a pang of nervousness. It was such an unusual attitude in her 
 485.189 +friend...
 485.190 +     "Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said at last, startling Sakura a little, "do 
 485.191 +you remember when I said that I loved you?"
 485.192 +     That was an easy one, Sakura thought. Tomoyo had told her 
 485.193 +that many, many times. "Un!" she nodded.
 485.194 +     "You looked happy, Sakura-chan, and you said that you loved 
 485.195 +me too. And I said: 'But Sakura-chan doesn't mean the same thing 
 485.196 +as me.' Do you remember?"
 485.197 +     Again, Sakura nodded. 
 485.198 + "After that, I told you that I'd explain everything later. Isn't that 
 485.199 +right?"
 485.200 +     Sakura's eyes lit up with remembrance. "Oh yes, I remember! I 
 485.201 +wondered so much about that, I couldn't figure what in the world 
 485.202 +you were talking about."
 485.203 +     Tomoyo smiled gently. "Well, I think I will tell you now, 
 485.204 +Sakura-chan," she said. "Truth is, I'm a little nervous about this. I 
 485.205 +don't know if the time is right, I'm not sure you will understand." 
 485.206 +She paused for a moment, and then added softly, "But I'm going to 
 485.207 +give it a try anyway."
 485.208 +     Sakura looked at Tomoyo intently.  She felt very excited all of a 
 485.209 +sudden. The dark-haired girl sounded so serious it was a bit scary, 
 485.210 +but an overwhelming curiosity gnawed at her.  After all, she 
 485.211 +thought, this was Tomoyo.  Whatever she had to say, it couldn't be 
 485.212 +anything bad, could it?
 485.213 +     "What is it? Please, Tomoyo-chan, tell me!" Sakura begged, her 
 485.214 +face bright with eagerness.
 485.215 +     Tomoyo took a deep breath and slowly released it. She gazed 
 485.216 +deeply into Sakura's beautiful green eyes. "Sakura-chan, we've 
 485.217 +been very close for a long time now, and I want you to know that 
 485.218 +you've always been the most important thing in the world to me."
 485.219 +     Sakura smiled happily at her. "You are a very important friend 
 485.220 +to me too, Tomoyo-chan." She let out a sigh. She was glad it 
 485.221 +hadn’t been anything big. She’d had enough surprises for one day.
 485.222 +     Tomoyo sweatdropped and decided to try a different approach. 
 485.223 +     "Whatever I do, wherever I go, I'm always thinking about you, 
 485.224 +Sakura-chan. It's like..." she was having trouble finding the right 
 485.225 +words. "You make me think of an angel, Sakura-chan. You are like 
 485.226 +a heavenly angel sent down to this earthly realm to fill the lives of 
 485.227 +humans with light. I feel like I would never be able to repay you 
 485.228 +for the joy you've brought into mine.  That's the way I feel, in my 
 485.229 +heart, when I think about you."
 485.230 +     Sakura felt a rosy blush spread all over her cheeks.  She 
 485.231 +lowered her gaze, forced out a shaky little laugh and rubbed the 
 485.232 +back of her head. "I... I... Oh, Tomoyo-chan, it's nothing like that! I 
 485.233 +mean, I'm not an angel. I'm not heavenly or anything. I'm just..."  
 485.234 +Sakura paused briefly, as if gathering her thoughts, then looked 
 485.235 +back up and smiled at her friend, a genuine smile this time. "You 
 485.236 +say the nicest things, Tomoyo-chan. I feel all warm and mushy 
 485.237 +inside when you say that kind of thing, even though I'm not the 
 485.238 +way you say. Thank you so much! You're my best friend in the 
 485.239 +whole wide world, and I'm really, really glad that you're happy 
 485.240 +when I'm around."
 485.241 +     Tomoyo sighed softly. This was sooo much harder than she 
 485.242 +thought it would be. Part of her just wanted to stop, put on her 
 485.243 +trademark happy smile and tell Sakura that they were late and that 
 485.244 +they should be hurrying. She knew Sakura would then dismiss 
 485.245 +everything Tomoyo had just said as "some more of Tomoyo's 
 485.246 +weird stuff", and things
 485.247 +between them would return to normal. It would be so easy, she 
 485.248 +thought, backing off and leaving love confessions for another day. 
 485.249 +But she couldn't do that, not this time.
 485.250 +Not when she had already come this far.
 485.251 +     "Sakura-chan," she started again, trying to find stronger words 
 485.252 +to express the feelings in her heart, "I'm always happiest when 
 485.253 +we’re spending time together. And whenever I'm unhappy, all I 
 485.254 +have to do is think about you to feel better. When I see you 
 485.255 +wearing one of the dresses I make for you, my heart feels like it's 
 485.256 +going to pound out of my chest in joy. Being with you, doing 
 485.257 +things with you is my idea of heaven. You mean so much to me. I 
 485.258 +can't bear the thought of not being able to see you. I want to be 
 485.259 +with you, always, forever."
 485.260 +     Sakura blushed again, redder this time. Tomoyo was always 
 485.261 +saying strange things around her, and she knew she should be used 
 485.262 +to it by now, but this... this was like all of them rolled into one. She 
 485.263 +wasn't sure what to say, or if she should just wait for her friend to 
 485.264 +continue.
 485.265 +     Tomoyo was blushing a little, too. She had said so much, and 
 485.266 +yet, she could tell, just by looking at Sakura, that she still hadn't 
 485.267 +gotten her point across. "I know you were surprised, today, when 
 485.268 +you found out about Li-kun's love for you, but I understand his 
 485.269 +feelings all too well.  Since the day I met you, you have been like 
 485.270 +the sun in my life, outshining everything else. Sakura-chan, cards 
 485.271 +aren't the only magic you have at your command.  I've been under 
 485.272 +your spell for a long time."
 485.273 +     Sakura didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until her 
 485.274 +lungs started to ache for air. She was blushing as red as a peony 
 485.275 +now, and she was starting to find it difficult to stand still. She felt 
 485.276 +weak in the knees from the nervousness building up inside her.
 485.277 +     "Sakura-chan, daisuki desu wa," Tomoyo declared with earnest 
 485.278 +feeling, and then, before her innocent cousin could once again 
 485.279 +misunderstand those three simple words,
 485.280 +she continued, "And I don't mean just as a friend. I love you so 
 485.281 +much more than that. Sakura-chan, I'm in love. I'm in love with 
 485.282 +you, I love you. Do you understand what I'm
 485.283 +trying to say?"  Tomoyo took Sakura's hands in her own and gazed 
 485.284 +again into those dazzling emerald green eyes.  "I love you," she 
 485.285 +repeated softly, her own stormy blue eyes trying to convey every 
 485.286 +bit of the feelings inside of her.
 485.287 +     "To... To... Tomoyo-chan..."  Sakura barely managed to get out. 
 485.288 +Her heart was thudding a mad tempo in her chest, and she was sure 
 485.289 +her eyes looked like saucers. The shock of Syaoran's confession 
 485.290 +felt like nothing compared to what she was feeling at this moment.  
 485.291 +She had thought that, after Syaoran, nothing in the world could 
 485.292 +surprise her anymore. Oh god, had she been wrong!  She knew that 
 485.293 +she had to say something, she could tell the other girl was waiting 
 485.294 +for her to say something, but her mind had gone completely blank. 
 485.295 +First Syaoran and now Tomoyo? It was too much for her. She felt 
 485.296 +like her whole world had been turned upside down.
 485.297 +     "Tomoyo-chan,” she stammered, “I... I... I'll talk to you later," 
 485.298 +Sakura finished, a little lamely. Turning around too quickly, she 
 485.299 +almost stumbled. Tomoyo's hand on her shoulder barely helped her 
 485.300 +regain her balance in time.
 485.301 +     Waving to Sakura while the brown-haired girl hurried off, 
 485.302 +Tomoyo called, "Bye, Sakura-chan! Sleep well!"
 485.303 +     Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura caught a glimpse of 
 485.304 +Tomoyo's smiling face. She managed a faint smile of her own and 
 485.305 +waved back weakly before turning back around.
 485.306 +Her mind felt sluggish as she tried to sort things out.
 485.307 +     What was she supposed to do? Nothing in her life seemed to 
 485.308 +make sense anymore. Breaking into a fast sprint after turning a 
 485.309 +corner, Sakura ran all the way back home, totally unaware of the 
 485.310 +fading glow that followed her.
 485.311 +
 485.312 +     “Oh, so the monster’s home,” Touya said conversationally as 
 485.313 +her heard Sakura come
 485.314 +in through the front door. He put down the job ads he’d been 
 485.315 +reading, ready to see his
 485.316 +sister’s angry face.  He was shocked to see her disappearing up the 
 485.317 +stairs.  “Sakura?” The
 485.318 +small glimpse of her hadn’t offered much of an explanation as to 
 485.319 +why she hadn’t argued
 485.320 +with him, but she had looked rather distraught. Worse than he’d 
 485.321 +seen her in a long, long
 485.322 +time. The house was silent again, except for the rustling of the 
 485.323 +newspaper on his lap.
 485.324 +“Well, she’s heading into high school now.  She’s probably just 
 485.325 +getting overemotional about 
 485.326 +something,” he told himself, not quite believing it. Telling himself 
 485.327 +not to worry, he went
 485.328 +back to looking for another job, but he kept glancing up towards 
 485.329 +her room, wondering
 485.330 +what was really wrong.
 485.331 +
 485.332 +
 485.333 +
 485.334 +"Kero-chan?" 
 485.335 +"Hmm?" 
 485.336 +Sakura shifted her arms on the open window ledge trying to get 
 485.337 +comfortable. She could see the moon behind the leaves and the 
 485.338 +Jade Plate swam for a moment in the wetness that suddenly 
 485.339 +appeared in her eyes. 
 485.340 +"Kero-chan...." 
 485.341 +Kero-chan clicked his tongue and glided to her side. 
 485.342 +"Sakura" he chided, "You haven’t finished a sentence yet 
 485.343 +tonight.  What's happened?" 
 485.344 +She sighed and pressed her eyes against her pajama sleeve. 
 485.345 +"Kero-chan, I had a dream last night." 
 485.346 +"Ah", the Seal Beast breathed in pleasure.  Sakura's dreams 
 485.347 +always carried a great deal of portent.  He drifted to where he 
 485.348 +could look at her. "What did you dream?" 
 485.349 +"I dreamt that Tomoyo-chan and Li-kun were in danger, and it 
 485.350 +was because of me."  She paused, breathing hard, and then the dam 
 485.351 +broke.  "I was so upset, and all through the dream I kept talking 
 485.352 +and nothing was coming out of my mouth. I wanted to tell them 
 485.353 +today at school, but I didn't know how, and I thought that maybe I 
 485.354 +would find a way, but every time I tried the time was wrong, and 
 485.355 +then Li-kun wanted to talk to me alone, and then Tomoyo-chan 
 485.356 +said..." 
 485.357 +"Clow Card!" Kero-chan yelled spinning towards the open 
 485.358 +window.  "Hurry!" 
 485.359 +“Card?” she stammered in surprise.  Obviously this was the day 
 485.360 +for it, and how very like her dream it all seemed… her talking and 
 485.361 +no one was hearing her.  With a sigh she gathered a few things and 
 485.362 +climbed out onto the tree.  It occurred to her as she descended that 
 485.363 +she should call Li and Tomoyo, but she also felt that being alone 
 485.364 +would be nice too.  At least with a Card to capture she wasn't just 
 485.365 +sitting and thinking. How long had it been since she’d been out 
 485.366 +Card Capting anyway?
 485.367 +Once out of sight of her house Sakura drew out the Key and 
 485.368 +joined Kero-chan in the air.  He flew purposefully, as if he knew 
 485.369 +where he was going.  Sakura saw, in her mind's eye, the many 
 485.370 +videos Tomoyo had taken of the Seal Beast.  Smiling at the 
 485.371 +thought she was suddenly very sorry she didn't call the dark hair 
 485.372 +girl.  Tomoyo would forgive her, there was no question, but at the 
 485.373 +same time Sakura also knew that no matter what her mood, 
 485.374 +Tomoyo would never exclude Sakura from something that would 
 485.375 +give her pleasure.  Before she realized what was happening the 
 485.376 +phone was in her hand, and the redial pressed.  But what to tell 
 485.377 +her?  Sakura had no idea where they were going. 
 485.378 +"Look!" Kero-chan cried, stabbing a paw downwards.  Sakura, 
 485.379 +phone to her head, looked down, and saw Li running in the same 
 485.380 +direction they were flying in, his glowing Lasin Board held before 
 485.381 +him. 
 485.382 +"Sakura-chan?" 
 485.383 +Momentarily disoriented Sakura realized the voice was 
 485.384 +Tomoyo's and the source was the phone.  "Tomoyo-chan!" she 
 485.385 +yelled over the wind, "We're near the clock tower, after a Card...." 
 485.386 +"I'm on my way," and she was gone. 
 485.387 +Sakura tucked the phone back into her pocket and drew closer to 
 485.388 +Kero-chan. "What should we do?" she mused aloud. 
 485.389 +Kero-chan turned towards her, smiling broadly, "Card Capture 
 485.390 +Sakura..." 
 485.391 +And he was gone. 
 485.392 +Sakura suddenly found herself standing in a room. The Key was 
 485.393 +in her hand. The room, a sort of box,  had no door, no windows 
 485.394 +and the walls were a sickly green.  Across from her Li stood, 
 485.395 +looking equally as surprised and Kero-chan was nowhere to be 
 485.396 +seen. 
 485.397 +"Li-kun?" she began, but no sound reached her ears.  He too 
 485.398 +opened his mouth, but she heard nothing.  Stepping back she 
 485.399 +pulled out the Sword Card, exchanged the Key for the Sword and 
 485.400 +swiped at the nearest wall.  It had no effect. Li also began trying 
 485.401 +attacks on the room, with the same effect. She moved closer to 
 485.402 +him, her hand reaching for him, and just as she touched his arm her 
 485.403 +hand went threw his as if he were a ghost.  Alarmed she drew 
 485.404 +back...he didn't seem to be aware of her.  He suddenly turned and 
 485.405 +appeared to be smiling at someone behind her.  Sakura looked back 
 485.406 +and saw Tomoyo, video camera in hand, looking at Li with a look 
 485.407 +that sent a chill through Sakura.   Rushing to her side Sakura was 
 485.408 +almost weak with relief.  She called Tomoyo's name, heard 
 485.409 +nothing, and stopped short.  Slowly she extended a hand… it 
 485.410 +passed threw Tomoyo without any resistance. Tomoyo and Li 
 485.411 +crossed the small room, intent it seemed, only on each other.  
 485.412 +Sakura drew back in confusion as the two came together in a 
 485.413 +passionate kiss. 
 485.414 +Nothing more than shock made Sakura sit down heavily.  Sword 
 485.415 +slipped silently from her fingers.  What did this mean?  What was 
 485.416 +happening? Her mind reeled at the sight.  Closing her eyes for a 
 485.417 +moment, hoping it was a dream, she opened them again.  In the 
 485.418 +center of the room stood Tomoyo and Yukito, kissing. 
 485.419 +"This is a dream," she screamed soundlessly, desperately, 
 485.420 +"Tomoyo-chan loves me and only me, she told me so!  Only me!  
 485.421 +None of this is real!" 
 485.422 +Raising her head once more she found herself confronted by Li, 
 485.423 +sword in hand, and Tomoyo clinging to his side.  Li was looking at 
 485.424 +her with unhidden hatred.  He raised the sword, and Sakura had 
 485.425 +just enough time to exchange the Sword for Shield as he swung at 
 485.426 +her.  The sword rebounded, sending a shock through his arm.  He 
 485.427 +staggered back, disbelief evident on his face. 
 485.428 +"Why?!" Sakura screamed mentally, her mouth forming the 
 485.429 +word.  Drawing herself up to her knees she studied Li.  He was 
 485.430 +panting, and still looked angry, but he didn't continue to fight.  
 485.431 +Could it be that he knew he was fighting a Card?  That had to be 
 485.432 +the answer. They were trapped within an uncaptured Card, and she 
 485.433 +had to figure out what the Card was. 
 485.434 +Suddenly the pieces were fitting.  She was seeing something 
 485.435 +that would make her… what?  Angry?  Jealous?  They must be 
 485.436 +experiencing something similar.  Li would see… 
 485.437 +Sakura sucked in her breath.  Li would see Sakura and Tomoyo!  
 485.438 +No wonder he turned on her!  But no, why fight Sakura, unless 
 485.439 +Sakura looked like Tomoyo to him.  That would explain his 
 485.440 +surprised look at being rebuffed by Shield.  Sakura acted quickly, 
 485.441 +bringing out Mirror, "Show me what Li-kun is seeing" she 
 485.442 +commanded.  In the disc Mirror held Sakura saw exactly what she 
 485.443 +expected.  In the place where she knelt on the floor cowered 
 485.444 +Tomoyo; a Sakura, assumably Tomoyo, was being crushed to Li’s 
 485.445 +side by his arm around her waist, and she looking horrified, weakly 
 485.446 +fighting to reach the figure on the floor. 
 485.447 +She locked eyes with Mirror and felt the color drain from 
 485.448 +her face, "Show me what Tomoyo-chan sees," she mouthed.  A 
 485.449 +chill went through her at the thought of what she was about to see. 
 485.450 +The first thing she saw was herself. She was smiling 
 485.451 +happily, seemingly without a care in the world. Two arms were 
 485.452 +around her waist, holding her tight. They belonged to Syaoran, 
 485.453 +who was uncharacteristically grinning. Lying on the floor in shreds 
 485.454 +was one of Tomoyo’s costumes for Sakura. Sakura instantly 
 485.455 +remembered it as the design Tomoyo had shown her earlier that 
 485.456 +day. Syaoran pulled up an ofuda, chanting briefly before throwing 
 485.457 +it on the tattered costume. Sakura’s counterpart in the Mirror just 
 485.458 +laughed as the costume burned, snuggling closer to Syaoran. She 
 485.459 +stopped watching when the images kissed. 
 485.460 +   Tears ran down Tomoyo’s pale cheeks as she looked on 
 485.461 +helplessly.   A steel band crushed Sakura heart at the sight and she 
 485.462 +lashed out at Mirror, blinded by tears of rage and sorrow.  "No!" 
 485.463 +she screamed over and over, "It's not like that."  She rose to her 
 485.464 +feet, picked up Sword and continued to rampage about the little 
 485.465 +green room.  Li and Tomoyo ignored her and again embraced as if 
 485.466 +nothing had happened.  Sakura stopped at the sight, and a sob 
 485.467 +escaped her. 
 485.468 +   "Tomoyo-chan…" 
 485.469 +     As if she had heard her name the ghost Tomoyo turned her head 
 485.470 +and smiled at Sakura, Li too smiled at her, but then the couple 
 485.471 +locked eyes again and kissed.  Sakura decided that this had gone 
 485.472 +on long enough.  She pulled out Darkness.  If they couldn't see 
 485.473 +each other the spell just might be broken. 
 485.474 +   "Surround Li-kun, Tomoyo-chan and myself in a darkness that 
 485.475 +we cannot see through." 
 485.476 +Instantly the room was gone and she stood alone in a vast night.  
 485.477 +Hesitantly she tested to see if the Card was still working. 
 485.478 +   "Tomoyo-chan?" she said, and heard nothing.  It was still 
 485.479 +working.  Obviously she had to name this Card to overpower it, 
 485.480 +like she had had to do with Mirror.  Drawing herself upright she 
 485.481 +closed her eyes and yelled with all her might, "Jealousy!" and the 
 485.482 +sound broke on her deafened ears like a storm.  Suddenly the green 
 485.483 +room broke like glass into a million tiny pieces.  Before she could 
 485.484 +do anything they gathered to her right, and were gone.  She quickly 
 485.485 +recalled Darkness and found herself on the street below the clock 
 485.486 +tower facing both Li and Tomoyo, who were looking around 
 485.487 +dazed.  Li seemed to come back to himself first and turned to 
 485.488 +Sakura with a look of raw hatred.  Sakura, shocked, took a step 
 485.489 +back in alarm.  Li looked from her to Tomoyo, and Sakura 
 485.490 +instantly knew she had to act, and quickly. 
 485.491 +   Sakura was fast, but Li was faster. 
 485.492 +   Li drew out an ofuda and threw it at Sakura even as she invoked 
 485.493 +Shield.  The glowing paper landed on her arm and she couldn't 
 485.494 +move.  Li grabbed Tomoyo roughly by the arm and began dragging 
 485.495 +her away. 
 485.496 +   Tomoyo looked back at Sakura, who was struggling against the 
 485.497 +spell.  "Sakura-chan!" she yelled helplessly. “Sakura-chan!”
 485.498 +   "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura screamed back in anger and frustration.  
 485.499 +"TOMOYO-CHAN!"
 485.500 +
 485.501 +   Syaoran landed on a rooftop far away from the immobilized 
 485.502 +Sakura. He shoved Tomoyo from him when they landed. She tried 
 485.503 +to keep her balance but fell to her hands and knees. “You…” he 
 485.504 +growled. “You’re what’s keeping me from her. You’re what’s 
 485.505 +standing in my way.  She and I are supposed to be together, but 
 485.506 +you keep getting in the way.”
 485.507 +   “No… That’s not it. I just want Sakura-chan to be happy.” 
 485.508 +Tomoyo looked up at the angry gaze he directed at her and shrank 
 485.509 +back. “I love her. I just hope she would be happy with me.”   She 
 485.510 +knew it was the wrong thing to say to the enraged boy even before 
 485.511 +she uttered it, but it was the truth. 
 485.512 +   “How could she ever be happy with you?” Syaoran sneered. 
 485.513 +“You just get in her way. She’s only your friend because she pities 
 485.514 +you.”
 485.515 +   Tomoyo shook her head. “No, she’s my best friend. We care 
 485.516 +about each other. We’ll always be friends…” Her mind raced. 
 485.517 +Nothing seemed certain to her anymore. The horrible images of 
 485.518 +Sakura and Syaoran came flooding back to her mind, threatening 
 485.519 +to overwhelm her. Syaoran’s hand grabbed her arm, hauling her 
 485.520 +back to her feet. The dark haired girl winced at the sudden 
 485.521 +explosion of pain the cruel movement brought. She flinched as he 
 485.522 +clutched her arm tightly.
 485.523 +	“I want you to leave her alone. To leave us alone. Do you 
 485.524 +understand?” Syaoran hissed angrily. He dragged the limp girl 
 485.525 +against his chest, shaking her hard.	Tomoyo, her dark hair flying 
 485.526 +wildly about her, closed her eyes tightly.  This only brought back 
 485.527 +earlier images. “No,” she said, trying to make him understand,  “I 
 485.528 +won’t leave unless Sakura tells me too. She means everything to 
 485.529 +me. I love her!” Looking at him defiantly, she tried desperately to 
 485.530 +bring up happier images of Sakura, ones she treasured and kept 
 485.531 +dear to her heart.
 485.532 +	Angrily, Syaoran shoved the dark haired girl backwards. 
 485.533 +Tomoyo gasped as she fell, landing hard on her side. “Don’t you 
 485.534 +dare stand in my way. She will be mine!” he howled.
 485.535 +	Keeping her eyes clamped shut, Tomoyo desperately ran 
 485.536 +memories over and over in her mind. When she first met Sakura, 
 485.537 +when Sakura had come to her house for the first time, when Sakura 
 485.538 +had first worn one of the costumes she made, the first time she’d 
 485.539 +videotaped Sakura with her camcorder. She waited quietly for what 
 485.540 +Syaoran would say next, but nothing came. Cautiously, she opened 
 485.541 +her eyes and looked around. “Sakura-chan!” she yelled, catching a 
 485.542 +glimpse of the brown haired girl. Forcing herself to her feet, she 
 485.543 +couldn’t help but smile as she ran to her friend. She stopped dead 
 485.544 +in her tracks, her eyes growing wide, when she saw Syaoran 
 485.545 +standing behind her. 
 485.546 +Tomoyo’s spirits sank as the two kissed.  Somewhere, in 
 485.547 +the back of her mind she could hear someone scream, “NO!”   She 
 485.548 +shut her eyes, wishing the vision would disappear, but it remained 
 485.549 +when she looked again.  She took a few slow steps towards them, 
 485.550 +her heart aching with each step. “Sakura-chan…. I’m… I’m happy 
 485.551 +for you,” she said quietly.  Sakura looked directly at her, giving her 
 485.552 +an icy stare that chilled Tomoyo to the bone. “Sakura-chan?” she 
 485.553 +asked weakly, “Why?”
 485.554 +	Sakura didn’t find her worthy of her notice as she bestowed 
 485.555 +all her attention on Syaoran. The two shared a deep kiss, ignoring 
 485.556 +the forlorn Tomoyo, as if she had simply ceased to exist. 
 485.557 +	Dropping to her already scratched knees, Tomoyo’s small 
 485.558 +body was wracked with sobs. “Sakura-chan….”, she whimpered, 
 485.559 +clutching her stomach.  She couldn’t bear it. Why was this 
 485.560 +happening?  Glancing back up, Tomoyo saw things had changed.  
 485.561 +Sakura was wearing a wedding dress and Syaoran a tuxedo.  A stab 
 485.562 +of pain shot through Tomoyo’s heart.  Sakura had promised her 
 485.563 +that she could make her wedding dress when they day finally 
 485.564 +came, but that wasn’t anything she’d make for Sakura.  Looking 
 485.565 +through her tear blurred vision, she could see her camcorder 
 485.566 +smashed on the floor near them, the film pulled out.  Blinking back 
 485.567 +her tears, Tomoyo could see things had shifted once again. Sakura 
 485.568 +now held a baby.  Sakura and Syaoran’s baby. 
 485.569 +	Unable to stand watching anymore, Tomoyo struggled to 
 485.570 +her feet.  She stumbled away from the scene, half delirious from 
 485.571 +the power of the Card and her visions.  “You don’t need me 
 485.572 +anymore, do you, Sakura-chan?” she asked the thin air.  Again, 
 485.573 +from somewhere, came the same scream of “No!”  Had she 
 485.574 +dreamed it?  Tomoyo felt numb all over.  Nothing seemed to 
 485.575 +matter anymore.  The person that mattered most didn’t care about 
 485.576 +her at all.  And she’d lost to Syaoran.  She felt… jealous of him.  
 485.577 +She wished she could be the one to make Sakura that happy.  She 
 485.578 +just prayed Sakura would always be happy as she stepped up on 
 485.579 +the ledge of the rooftop. “You don’t need me anymore, Sakura-
 485.580 +chan.  You don’t even want me as a friend.  But you’re happy.”  
 485.581 +She smiled sadly, blinded by her tears.  “I’m glad. I’m glad that 
 485.582 +Sakura-chan is happy.  Please stay that way, Sakura-chan.  I love 
 485.583 +you.  Forever.  Maybe I can be your guardian angel,” she added 
 485.584 +hopefully.  With that, Tomoyo stepped off the ledge into 
 485.585 +nothingness.  She kept her eyes shut tight as the ground raced to 
 485.586 +meet her.
 485.587 +
 485.588 +	Syaoran watched, shocked by the sudden turn of events. 
 485.589 +He’d intended to make his point clear with Tomoyo, that she never 
 485.590 +get in his way with Sakura, but she had turned suddenly and started 
 485.591 +looking off at something only she could see. After talking to 
 485.592 +herself, the dark haired girl had thrown herself off the rooftop. The 
 485.593 +screams of the Seal Beast had surprised him, but Syaoran couldn’t 
 485.594 +locate the magical animal no matter where he looked.  He blinked 
 485.595 +several times, still confused, and unsure about what had just 
 485.596 +happened. “At least she won’t get in my way anymore,” he said to 
 485.597 +no one in particular.
 485.598 +
 485.599 +	The world seemed to slow as a small dark haired girl 
 485.600 +plummeted through the air. Further and further she went, the brief 
 485.601 +amount of time slowing to a near stop for the girl as everything 
 485.602 +seemed to move in slow motion. “Sakura-chan...” she whispered, 
 485.603 +one last time, her eyes shut tight. Her heart felt as if it had been 
 485.604 +ripped out of her chest. Her whole world, her whole reason to live, 
 485.605 +had been crushed in the matter of minutes. She was looking 
 485.606 +forward to an end to her pain, to the end of her torment, to 
 485.607 +oblivion. And Sakura, her dear Sakura, would be happy. 
 485.608 +	A sudden impact shocked Tomoya back from her thoughts 
 485.609 +and her fall was suddenly interrupted as two arms wrapped around 
 485.610 +her tightly, fumbling desperately to hold on to her, gripping her 
 485.611 +like a pair of steel bars. “Tomoyo-chan!” a voice cried in terror, 
 485.612 +over and over in a hysterical pitch.  Her mind wondered what was 
 485.613 +happening, as the wind on her face gave her the impression of 
 485.614 +climbing upwards. The voice, close to her ear and frantically 
 485.615 +calling her name, was Sakura’s.  Tomoyo could feel her friend’s 
 485.616 +breathing coming in a labored pant as they raced skyward.
 485.617 + Opening her eyes slowly, Tomoyo blinked several times in 
 485.618 +confusion. Wasn’t she supposed to be dead by now?  She took a 
 485.619 +second to glance around, and found herself in the arms of the Card 
 485.620 +Mistress, whose wings were working hard to finish the arc of 
 485.621 +Saukar’s dive.  Seconds later Saukar touched down on a rooftop, 
 485.622 +deposited Tomoyo on her feet and dropped to her hands and knees 
 485.623 +beside the dark haired girl.
 485.624 + Maybe she was dead, Tomoyo thought.  Maybe this was 
 485.625 +heaven. “Sakura-chan?  Why?  Why did you save me, Sakura-
 485.626 +chan?” Tomoyo asked, her mind reeling.  “I did this for you.  
 485.627 +You’re happy.  That’s all I wanted.  You didn’t need me anymore.”
 485.628 +“No, Tomoyo-chan.”  Sakura heaved herself into a kneeling 
 485.629 +position, her hands clutching for the small girl.  She embraced her 
 485.630 +friend, crushing her to her chest, “I always need you,” she sobbed, 
 485.631 +“You’re my best friend. You mean so much to me. I don’t know 
 485.632 +what I’d do if you were gone.”  She blinked back the stinging tears 
 485.633 +in her eyes as she looked up at the dark haired girl.  Her body felt 
 485.634 +cold all over from the recent shock.
 485.635 +	“But, Sakura-chan, you… I would only get in the way.  
 485.636 +You aren’t even happy as friends anymore. You have what you 
 485.637 +want.  I hope you and Li-kun are very happy.” Tomoyo mustered a 
 485.638 +pained smile before turning away. 
 485.639 +	Sakura bolted to her feet and seizing her friend, shook her 
 485.640 +hard. “No! Tomoyo-chan, listen to me, it’s the Clow Card.  The 
 485.641 +Jealousy Card it’s still affecting you!  We’re best friends, nothing 
 485.642 +will ever change that. I know you want me to be happy, but losing 
 485.643 +you would definitely not make me happy. And I want you to be 
 485.644 +happy, too.”  The Card Mistress sighed, looking deeply into 
 485.645 +Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes. “Tomoyo-chan, you have to fight this.  
 485.646 +Please?  For me?”
 485.647 +	Tomoyo held her head, confusion flooding her mind. 
 485.648 +Glancing towards the roof’s edge, to Sakura and back, she 
 485.649 +shuddered, unsure of herself.  Finally giving out a small cry, 
 485.650 +Tomoyo threw herself into Sakura’s arms. “Oh, Sakura-chan, I’m 
 485.651 +so sorry….” The dark haired girl sobbed. “I just… I thought you 
 485.652 +hated me… that you didn’t need me anymore… and that you were 
 485.653 +happy with, with…  him…”  Her sobs overwhelmed her and she 
 485.654 +feel silent, leaning heavily against Sakura. 
 485.655 +	“Tomoyo-chan, it’s going to be okay,” Sakura said 
 485.656 +soothingly, hugging the limp girl close to her. Tomoyo’s hot tears 
 485.657 +rolled onto her shoulder, soaking into the cloth of her pajamas. 
 485.658 +“It’s just the Card.  I could never hate you, Tomoyo-chan.  You 
 485.659 +know that.  You’re my very important person.”  For a second, 
 485.660 +Sakura wondered where she had heard that before, but she quickly 
 485.661 +shrugged it off, not having time to worry about it. “Please, 
 485.662 +Tomoyo-chan, don’t cry.  It’s alright now.”
 485.663 +	The dark haired girl took another shuddering breath before 
 485.664 +standing up on her own. “Thank you, Sakura-chan.”  A small, 
 485.665 +genuine smile formed on her soft lips. “I always knew you would 
 485.666 +come save me if anything happened.”
 485.667 +	Sakura smiled back, relief filling her soul. “Of course I 
 485.668 +would, Tomoyo-chan.  I’m not about to let you get hurt by 
 485.669 +something like this. Or anything, for that matter.  I don’t want to 
 485.670 +see you hurt, Tomoyo-chan.” 
 485.671 +	Before the Card Mistress could think to ask Tomoyo if she 
 485.672 +was ready to go home, a sword slashed the air between both girls. 
 485.673 +Tomoyo gasped and Sakura jumped back, her staff in hand. She 
 485.674 +got ready to get a Card out just in case. Between them stood 
 485.675 +Syaoran, hatred and jealousy flaring in his eyes. “Li-kun!? Fight it, 
 485.676 +Li-kun! It’s just the Jealousy Card affecting you.”
 485.677 +	“Fight what?” Syaoran spat angrily. “I saw the two of you. 
 485.678 +She’s trying to steal you from me. She’s trying to get in the way.  
 485.679 +To come between us!” Raising the sword, he swiped at a stunned 
 485.680 +Tomoyo. 
 485.681 +	Sakura lunged forward, her eyes wide with fear of what he 
 485.682 +might do. Her staff barely blocked his sword inches from the dark 
 485.683 +haired girl. “Li-kun, don’t do this!” she pleaded as Tomoyo sank to 
 485.684 +her knees.
 485.685 +	He leapt backwards, landing in a fighting stance. He held 
 485.686 +the sword straight up in front of him, his eyes falling closed as he 
 485.687 +began to chant. Energy surrounded the blade.
 485.688 +	Sakura barely had time to throw herself in the way of 
 485.689 +Tomoyo when she realized what he was doing. “Shield!” she 
 485.690 +yelled desperately as his attack came flying towards them. The 
 485.691 +burst of lightening dissipated against Shield, leaving the two girls 
 485.692 +unhurt. Sakura glanced at Tomoyo, assuring herself that her friend 
 485.693 +was unharmed when another attack hit…and another and another. 
 485.694 +“Li-kun! Leave her alone!” she screamed, “Don’t hurt her!!” 
 485.695 +Sakura wondered how his rage could be so focused on the dark 
 485.696 +haired girl behind her.  “She’s never been anything but kind to 
 485.697 +you!”
 485.698 +	Syaoran narrowed his eyes as he began chanting again. 
 485.699 +Sweeping the sword down, a burst of wind struck against Shield. 
 485.700 +“How could you know?” he demanded.  “She blinds you with her 
 485.701 +hero worship, but she keeps coming between us.  She’s why you 
 485.702 +don’t returned my feelings.” 
 485.703 +	‘That’s what this is all about isn’t it?’ Sakura asked herself 
 485.704 +as she braced herself for his next attack. ‘They both… They’re 
 485.705 +both in love with me.”  Then the realization struck her with the 
 485.706 +force of an express train.  It was Sakura herself that had created the 
 485.707 +problem, literally!  As Card Mistress her feelings and desire were 
 485.708 +made manifest in the form of Cards.  Somehow she had created the 
 485.709 +Jealousy Card without even thinking about it.  That’s how Jealousy 
 485.710 +got to them both so easily, and so strongly! ‘This is all my fault.’ 
 485.711 +“Stop this!” the Card Mistress yelled. 
 485.712 +Turning to face him as she rose, Sakura pulled out Windy 
 485.713 +and sent it spilling before her.  “Bind Li-kun!” she yelled, bringing 
 485.714 +the Key down on the Card.  The resulting rush of air quickly 
 485.715 +surrounded the startled boy, pinning his limbs tight against his 
 485.716 +body.  Sakura didn’t hesitate as she twirled the Key over head 
 485.717 +again, Windy almost drowning out her command “…Sakura 
 485.718 +Card!”  The Card Mistress brought the Wand down on the softly 
 485.719 +glowing green dot within the rushing wind.  The Jealously Card 
 485.720 +lifted out of Windy and floated to her waiting hand.
 485.721 +For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the 
 485.722 +wind rustling past them.  Sakura recalled Windy and turned to face 
 485.723 +Syaoran, hoping the danger was now over.  Utter silence claimed 
 485.724 +the rooftop for a moment. Then the clatter of Syaoran’s sword 
 485.725 +against the roof broke the silence.  His mind started to clear from 
 485.726 +the haze of jealousy the Card had managed to place over him. 
 485.727 +“Sakura” he stammered, his faced blossoming to a brilliant 
 485.728 +crimson, “... I… I don’t know how I… I don’t know what to say… 
 485.729 +I’m… I’m sorry.”  He lowered his head.
 485.730 +Sakura let Shield fade away, but remained standing 
 485.731 +protectively in front of Tomoyo. “I’m not the one you intended to 
 485.732 +kill,” she said quietly.  A second silence descended, this one 
 485.733 +fraught with embarrassment.  Sakura looked at her friends and 
 485.734 +came to a decision.
 485.735 + “Fine,” she said, almost to herself.  She was tired of 
 485.736 +fighting. Tomoyo and Syaoran looked back at her quizzically, 
 485.737 +wondering what she meant. “Fine. You both want to know who I 
 485.738 +love, don’t you?  Stop this, then.  I care too much about both of 
 485.739 +you to watch either of you get hurt.  The Jealousy Card was using 
 485.740 +both of you.  And it’s because of me, because of your feelings for 
 485.741 +me!  It’s still getting to you both because of me.  So I want to put 
 485.742 +an end to this.” Sakura took a deep breath before continuing. “I 
 485.743 +will make my decision tonight. I’ll tell you both tomorrow the one 
 485.744 +who I love.”
 485.745 +	Syaoran looked up at her, his face still scarlet, “Tomorrow 
 485.746 +you’ll….”
 485.747 +	Sakura nodded, cutting him off. “Hai. Tomorrow I’ll tell 
 485.748 +you both which one I’m in love with.”
 485.749 +	Bending down, Syaoran retrieved his sword from where it 
 485.750 +had landed. Without a word he turned and leapt into the darkness.
 485.751 +	As soon as he left, Sakura collapsed to her hands and 
 485.752 +knees. The battle, the Card, and her own nervousness about what 
 485.753 +had happened earlier that day had finally taken their toll.  She 
 485.754 +glanced over when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She saw 
 485.755 +Tomoyo’s concerned face looking back down at her. Before the 
 485.756 +dark haired girl could say anything, Sakura threw her arms around 
 485.757 +her friend with a tearful howl. “Tomoyo-chan! Oh God, I almost 
 485.758 +lost you so many times tonight. You had me so worried. I’m so 
 485.759 +sorry you got dragged into all this. If I hadn’t called you, none of 
 485.760 +this would have happened.” She gently rocked back and forth, 
 485.761 +cradling the dark haired girl against her. 
 485.762 +	Tomoyo sighed softly. She liked having the other girl so 
 485.763 +protective of her, but she hated seeing Sakura so worried about 
 485.764 +things. “Sakura-chan, I’m fine. It’s all over now.”
 485.765 +	Sakura scrubbed her face with a free hand, trying to dry the 
 485.766 +tears that continued to threaten.  She untangled her arms from her 
 485.767 +friend’s neck.  Using her wand to help her weary body stand 
 485.768 +upright, Sakura looked out at the dark night sky. “No. Not yet. I 
 485.769 +still have to find out who I…” She blushed at the thought. In her 
 485.770 +mind she could see the boy who had been her rival, but had turned 
 485.771 +out to be her greatest help with the Clow Cards. She could also see 
 485.772 +her best friend, the girl that had always been there for her. She let 
 485.773 +her head drop sadly. She had no idea how she’d make a decision 
 485.774 +by the next morning.
 485.775 +	“Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, her voice barely above 
 485.776 +a whisper. Sakura looked so fragile standing there. “Sakura-chan, 
 485.777 +please don’t worry too much about tomorrow. Just make the 
 485.778 +decision that will make you happy.”
 485.779 +	Sakura turned back to her skeptically. “And I won’t have to 
 485.780 +go rescuing you from jumping off buildings if it’s Li-kun?”
 485.781 +	Tomoyo shook her head. “You said we’ll always be 
 485.782 +friends, remember? That’s all I need.  It’s what makes me happy.”
 485.783 +	Smiling a little, Sakura felt her spirits lifting. “Thanks, 
 485.784 +Tomoyo-chan. We will always be friends,” she reconfirmed, “It 
 485.785 +makes me happy too.”
 485.786 +	“No matter who you choose tomorrow, I’ll always be there 
 485.787 +for you, Sakura-chan. And I’ll always love you.” 
 485.788 +	Sakura felt her cheeks burn as she blushed.  She was still 
 485.789 +nervous about the idea that her best friend could be in love with 
 485.790 +her.  But, putting that aside she invoked Fly, unfolded her wings 
 485.791 +and turned towards Tomoyo. “Are you ready to go home?”
 485.792 +	“Hai, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo smiled. 
 485.793 +“I’m so tired, but I doubt I’ll be getting any sleep tonight.” 
 485.794 +Sakura sighed and lifted off into the sky. 
 485.795 +
 485.796 +Once Sakura had left Tomoyo on the terrace outside her 
 485.797 +bedroom the Card Captor rose and allowed herself to drift.  Kero-
 485.798 +chan was still missing, but she had more on her mind than the Seal 
 485.799 +Beast, who was more than capable of taking care of himself.  With 
 485.800 +a soulful sigh she glanced down at the town, with its the clock 
 485.801 +tower silhouetted against the moon.   The clock proclaimed the 
 485.802 +hour to be 1 AM.  Morning already, Sakura realized with a sigh.
 485.803 +With a thought the Sakura Cards in her pocket floated into 
 485.804 +the air, forming a circle around her.  She felt their presence, their 
 485.805 +love for her, and she drew comfort from it.  It was a warm feeling.  
 485.806 +Like when she had her arms around Tomoyo-chan.  
 485.807 +She paused mentally.  
 485.808 +No, not like it.  It was different.  It lacked a sort of 
 485.809 +excitement.  There was more to the feeling of comfort she had 
 485.810 +when she had hugged her friend.  Sakura’s mind raced away, 
 485.811 +trying to put into words the feeling that was suddenly so very 
 485.812 +important.  But try as she might she could not find an expression 
 485.813 +for that feeling.  
 485.814 +With a thought her wings vanished and she began to fall.
 485.815 +“Float!” she cried over the wind, and didn’t wait for the 
 485.816 +Card to answer her command before she turned in the circle of 
 485.817 +Cards, looking for the one she wanted.
 485.818 +“Illusion!” she yelled, as the wand came down on the Card 
 485.819 +named.  “Show me my heart’s desire.”
 485.820 +Even as she said it she knew she was cheating, but her 
 485.821 +mind, exhausted from the earlier battle, and everything else, was 
 485.822 +becoming desperate.  She could fly around all night waiting for the 
 485.823 +lightening bolt that was Tomoyo-chan to strike her…
 485.824 +Sakura sat down hard, in midair, as the air left her body.  
 485.825 +She drew a deep breath, her eyes fighting to focus.  She sat stunned 
 485.826 +for a long moment, trying to mentally collect herself. Before her 
 485.827 +Illusion was beginning to take form, but she no longer cared to 
 485.828 +wait for the outcome.  Recalling the Cards she resumed her wings 
 485.829 +and flew as quickly as possible back the way she came.
 485.830 +
 485.831 +Tomoyo stood right where Sakura had left her.  Her hands 
 485.832 +were pressed to her chest, and her eyes, watching the sky.  At first 
 485.833 +Sakura was unsure that her friend had seen her return, but as she 
 485.834 +alighted Tomoyo turned her face towards the Card Mistress.  She 
 485.835 +bore a look of serene peace that lifted some massive, unknown, 
 485.836 +weight off of Sakura’s shoulders.  Neither one spoke.  Sakura felt 
 485.837 +her wings fade and the weight of the charm around her neck.  
 485.838 +Silently she walked to her friend, who stood unmoving and 
 485.839 +watchful.  When they where within inches of each other Sakura 
 485.840 +stopped, and stood swaying for a moment.  Slowly she sank to her 
 485.841 +knees and slipped her arms around Tomoyo’s small waist.  
 485.842 +Tomoyo’s head fell back as she awaited the words that would 
 485.843 +transform her life.  Sakura, her head pressed against her friend’s 
 485.844 +hip, allowed her mind to express the feelings it couldn’t before. 
 485.845 +“It’s you,” she whispered.
 485.846 +Tomoyo’s eyes rolled closed, tears spilling onto her cheeks.
 485.847 +“It’s you,” Sakura repeated, no longer surprised.  “It will 
 485.848 +always be you, it has always s been you.”
 485.849 +Tomoyo’s fingers unlaced themselves and found a new 
 485.850 +home in Sakura’s hair.  At the contact Sakura looked up at her 
 485.851 +newly discovered lover.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she wondered 
 485.852 +aloud.
 485.853 +Tomoyo lowered her head to face her friend.  She smiled 
 485.854 +through her tears, “You needed to learn for yourself,” was the 
 485.855 +whispered reply.
 485.856 +“Are you sorry it took me so long to realize?” 
 485.857 +A sad smile played on the dark haired girl’s lips, her voice 
 485.858 +was a mere sigh, “I was willing to wait a lifetime for you… 
 485.859 +Sakura.”
 485.860 +
 485.861 + Kero-chan stood in the air before Li.  They had both seen 
 485.862 +everything that happened, and now Kero-chan was ready to defend 
 485.863 +the lovers if the need arose.  Li watched them for several long 
 485.864 +minutes before he tore his eyes away to look at the Seal Beast.
 485.865 +“I’ve lost,” he whispered, “… everything.  The Cards, the 
 485.866 +girl I love… everything.”  
 485.867 +Kero-chan’s tail whipped menacingly, “And what are you 
 485.868 +going to do?”
 485.869 +Li frowned.  “Do you think I would attack them?” he 
 485.870 +asked, in a sort of shocked anger.
 485.871 +Kero-chan allowed his silence to speak for him.  Li turned 
 485.872 +his back on the scene and disappeared into the night.
 485.873 +
 485.874 +
 485.875 +The day dawned crystal clear and Sakura was out early.  It 
 485.876 +was her morning to clean the classroom, and she knew Tomoyo-
 485.877 +chan would be waiting for her.  
 485.878 +It had been a week since they had come together as a 
 485.879 +couple.  ‘One week, six hours and 15 minutes,’ Sakura thought as 
 485.880 +she pushed herself harder, racing the clock for extra seconds in the 
 485.881 +company of her friend.  More than friend, she corrected herself 
 485.882 +with a smile.  As she rollerbladed, she relived, for the thousandth 
 485.883 +time, the feeling of Tomoyo’s hands on her as the dark haired girl 
 485.884 +helped her to rise from her position of worship at her friend’s 
 485.885 +waist.  Felt, again, as Tomoyo’s hands gathered her own, and then 
 485.886 +drew her into the dark bedroom.  Sakura had wanted, so much, and 
 485.887 +had slept, so long! She blushed, even now, thinking of it.  Not a 
 485.888 +good opening for a lifetime together, she mused, but Tomoyo 
 485.889 +didn’t seem to mind.
 485.890 +As she came within sight of the school Sakura could make 
 485.891 +out the form of Tomoyo waiting for her near the gate.  She raised 
 485.892 +her hand and waved wildly, the joy in her heart becoming one 
 485.893 +thought, one word…
 485.894 +“Tomoyo-chan!”
 485.895 +
 485.896 +
 485.897 + 
 485.898 +
 485.899 +
 485.900 +

   486.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   486.2 +++ b/stories/thief.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   486.3 @@ -0,0 +1,357 @@
   486.4 +
   486.5 +Author’s Notes: This is a Saint Tail story from Seira Mimori’s
   486.6 +perspective. I’ve been wanting to deal with her thoughts on things
   486.7 +for quite a while now. This isn’t the story I’d intended to write,
   486.8 +but I’m happy with it. ^-^ Now if I can ever write a story about
   486.9 +Seira & Meimi when they’re older, I’ll be happy. ^^;;
  486.10 +
  486.11 +
  486.12 +A Thief in the Night
  486.13 +by Amazoness Duo
  486.14 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  486.15 +
  486.16 +
  486.17 +It’s been such a long night. I should be sleeping right now, but I
  486.18 +can’t. So here I am, Lord. Your loyal servant, Seira. I know I should
  486.19 +be in bed. I have classes tomorrow and I promised Sister Abbess that
  486.20 +I would help her sweep the grounds. But for some reason, I can’t
  486.21 +sleep tonight. Whenever I close my eyes, I see her. I can’t put her
  486.22 +out of my mind long enough to fade into a blissful sleep. It’s like
  486.23 +her image has been burned into my eyelids. I toss and turn, seeing
  486.24 +her smile. I hug my pillow tightly, wishing it were her there with me
  486.25 +to qualm my waking nightmares. But I know she’s far away, having
  486.26 +entirely different thoughts before passing into a deep slumber.
  486.27 +
  486.28 +And it’s a well deserved sleep. She has done your will, my Lord.
  486.29 +She’s granted another person your protection by helping them as the
  486.30 +mysterious thief, Saint Tail. So she can sleep the sleep of the just.
  486.31 +Yet I only find myself caught in my blankets like a net, her voice
  486.32 +whispering in my ear with every breeze that brushes past my window.
  486.33 +I’m the one who convinced her to be Saint Tail. I send the hopes and
  486.34 +prayers of those who have been wronged unto her. And because she
  486.35 +trusts me, because she’s my friend, she will do anything she can to
  486.36 +fulfil those wishes. All I can do is wait here for her, praying to
  486.37 +you that she will be safe, wishing I could be there with her. But
  486.38 +that is her role. As I have my own.
  486.39 +
  486.40 +So I am praying to you tonight, the moon sailing high above as I do,
  486.41 +alone in the church. I pray not to get rid of the feelings inside of
  486.42 +me, because I can’t imagine living without the love I feel for Meimi.
  486.43 +I pray instead to help quell my chaotic thoughts, to soothe the
  486.44 +stormy sea inside of me. So that I can try to find some tranquility
  486.45 +in this endless night. 
  486.46 +
  486.47 +The rest of the nuns are already asleep. They don’t come here this
  486.48 +late at night. But I’m here almost every night. I feel safer here. I
  486.49 +don’t have to be so alone in my thoughts here because of you. Other
  486.50 +girls my age are listening to music idols or wanting to get into the
  486.51 +latest trend. I spend most of my free time at the church, whether
  486.52 +thinking or praying, speaking to you or listening to those whose
  486.53 +hearts are heavy. Most of the students already call me Sister Seira
  486.54 +even though I’m not officially a nun yet. That will have to wait
  486.55 +until after high school. But I’m glad that they trust me as one
  486.56 +already. I guess they see me around the church enough to believe I
  486.57 +am. 
  486.58 +
  486.59 +It’s so quiet here at night. So peaceful. I may not be a thief, but
  486.60 +I do love the night as much as Meimi. Enveloped in inky darkness,
  486.61 +it’s not the cacophony of confusion that daylight brings. I feel so
  486.62 +out of place, nothing like the other girls. They don’t see me as one
  486.63 +of them. I might as well already be a nun in their minds, one of the
  486.64 +many who teach at the school. I don’t understand what they’re talking
  486.65 +about half the time. I can only smile and nod and pretend I have some
  486.66 +vague idea of what’s going on. During the day, there are so many
  486.67 +distractions, so many confusing things. At night, I can finally try
  486.68 +to unravel the knots in my heart. I can sit here and think, trying to
  486.69 +make sense of my confused soul. 
  486.70 +
  486.71 +Meimi. She is what confuses me the most. Yet she is the one truth I
  486.72 +can hold onto. She’s who I understand better than anyone. She’s
  486.73 +energetic and emotional and altogether too flighty. But that’s part
  486.74 +of her charm. She gets so confused about herself sometimes. I think I
  486.75 +understand her better than she does herself. But that’s just because
  486.76 +she hasn’t taken the time to try to find out what she’s like. She’s
  486.77 +always busy with other things, her thoughts elsewhere. My thoughts
  486.78 +are always inexorably drawn to her. I want to know everything about
  486.79 +her. I want to immerse myself in all that is her. So when she likes
  486.80 +something, I’ll try to find out all I can about it. Whether it’s a
  486.81 +band or a movie star or some type of stuffed animal, I’ll spend my
  486.82 +free time digging up all the information I can on it. Maybe it’s my
  486.83 +way of being closer to her. I want to understand her heart and soul.
  486.84 +Everything that makes her who she is. 
  486.85 +
  486.86 +Meimi’s escapades as Saint Tail was another way I could be closer to
  486.87 +her. She has always been so amazing. Athletic, talented, smart. I
  486.88 +used to clap until my hands ached when she would show me magic tricks
  486.89 +as a child. The magician and the nun. What an odd pair we must have
  486.90 +made as children. What an odd pair we must still make. But I wouldn’t
  486.91 +have it any other way. So I thank you for that, for letting me find
  486.92 +Meimi. I’ve spent so long watching her, fascinated by what I saw. It
  486.93 +was only a matter of time before I found a way to put her talents to
  486.94 +use.
  486.95 +
  486.96 +Everyone suffers. You learn that in the church. But suffering is
  486.97 +part of life. All the same, I want to end that suffering. But there
  486.98 +wasn’t anything I could do on my own. People would come to me with
  486.99 +their problems and all I could do was listen and pray for them. Until
 486.100 +I finally found out how they could truly receive God’s protection. It
 486.101 +didn’t take long to talk Meimi into it. I know all the right buttons
 486.102 +to push with her, so I knew she’d do it before I even asked. I know I
 486.103 +probably shouldn’t have, but I believe some things are justified in
 486.104 +helping people. Even some deceit and trickery. Otherwise I wouldn’t
 486.105 +have teamed up with a magician and thief to grant people your
 486.106 +protection. Sometimes you have to do what you can to help people,
 486.107 +even if it is a little underhanded. 
 486.108 +
 486.109 +But I would be lying if I said those were my only reasons for
 486.110 +recruiting her as Saint Tail. I wanted something to share with her,
 486.111 +something that was ours and ours alone. A little secret we could
 486.112 +share, times we could sneak away together like lovers to whisper
 486.113 +about things no one else would ever hear. So in a way, this is my
 486.114 +love life. Standing in a church at midnight as I await my love to
 486.115 +come rushing in to pray with me and then run off to steal something
 486.116 +back from someone. Though I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way. I
 486.117 +blush faintly at all these thoughts rushing through my head, seeing
 486.118 +her once again vividly in my mind. 
 486.119 +
 486.120 +Saint Tail is our little secret. The one thing that we can share
 486.121 +away from the rest of the world. Something we can do together, just
 486.122 +the two of us. It makes me feel closer to her. It lets me have
 486.123 +something of her that no one else can have. But I don’t know how much
 486.124 +longer that can last. Her game of cat and mouse with Asuka Jr.
 486.125 +concerns me. If he finds out who she is, our little secret will be
 486.126 +out in the open. Our time together in the middle of the night will
 486.127 +end. I’ll no longer be blessed with her midnight visits. And I don’t
 486.128 +want to lose all of that. It’s too important to me. But it’s getting
 486.129 +more dangerous. I keep warning her about letting him find out, but
 486.130 +she keeps wavering. I think she loves the chase. Having him run after
 486.131 +her, spending all of his time and effort on her. But he doesn’t care
 486.132 +for her. He only cares about Saint Tail. He’s chasing Saint Tail,
 486.133 +scorning Meimi. I love Meimi, not some mystery girl that I don’t
 486.134 +know. Tuxedo or school uniform, I love her just the same. But I can’t
 486.135 +tell her that. I can’t let her know that my heart beats for her. I
 486.136 +can only warn her about letting him find out. And I know Meimi well
 486.137 +enough to know that the whole game of cat and mouse wouldn’t be fun
 486.138 +for her if there was no danger of him finding out who she is. So all
 486.139 +I can do is watch and worry. And pray.
 486.140 +
 486.141 +But pray for what? That she could somehow love me? That she won’t
 486.142 +let Asuka Jr. find out for my sake? Or for the sake of all she’s
 486.143 +helping as Saint Tail? I don’t know. So I don’t know if those prayers
 486.144 +are reaching you. Just... Please keep her safe, no matter what path
 486.145 +she chooses. I couldn’t live with myself if she got hurt as Saint
 486.146 +Tail. That would be entirely my fault because I’m the one who
 486.147 +convinced her to be Saint Tail in the first place.
 486.148 +
 486.149 +Saint Tail and Meimi are almost two different people. I don’t think
 486.150 +Meimi realizes it, but I can see. She changes when she puts on that
 486.151 +costume. She’s braver, more sure of herself as Saint Tail. She’s more
 486.152 +dedicated and focussed in a way, too. Which helps her to do what she
 486.153 +needs to, even if she does still play with Asuka Jr. chasing her. I
 486.154 +had no idea that would happen when I asked her to be Saint Tail. It
 486.155 +never crossed my mind that she would be almost a completely different
 486.156 +person as a mysterious thief. And yet, I love them both. Because they
 486.157 +are two sides of my dear Meimi. They’re both her in their own way. I
 486.158 +wish I could bring this up with Meimi, but I decided a long time ago
 486.159 +that I wouldn’t tell her how I feel. And she wouldn’t believe me if I
 486.160 +told her she acted like a different person as Saint Tail. She
 486.161 +probably doesn’t see it. If anything, it’s Saint Tail that likes
 486.162 +Asuka Jr. Meimi doesn’t get along with him at all. But I can’t
 486.163 +explain that to her. So she thinks that she might like him as well.
 486.164 +And it obviously confuses her horribly. It hurts that there’s nothing
 486.165 +I can do to help her.
 486.166 +
 486.167 +All I can do is be Meimi’s friend. All I can do is watch on while
 486.168 +she falls in love and drifts from me. All I can do is pray for her to
 486.169 +be happy in her life. I’ve always known we couldn’t be together.
 486.170 +We’re both girls. She doesn’t like me that way. My role is with the
 486.171 +church. I’ve known all of these things from the moment I fell in love
 486.172 +with her. So it was never about getting her love for myself. It’s
 486.173 +always been about simply loving her, getting closer to her and
 486.174 +finding out everything I can about this beautiful girl who wandered
 486.175 +into my life. I will one day become a nun, devoted to you. I will
 486.176 +never love another other than her. She will always be in my heart,
 486.177 +even though my path does not let me be with her. But that’s all
 486.178 +right. It hurts, sometimes. But this is how things are supposed to
 486.179 +be. I try to remind myself of that when I find myself crying, longing
 486.180 +to be held in her arms. That will always remain a dream, but one I
 486.181 +will cherish as I live my life for you. I will always love Meimi. My
 486.182 +calling to the church doesn’t change that. 
 486.183 +
 486.184 +A noise behind me scatters my thoughts to the wind. It’s her. I can
 486.185 +tell without even looking. She may be a silent thief, but I know all
 486.186 +of her tricks. And I know this church better than my own room, so
 486.187 +it’s easy enough to tell when someone enters. Especially her. I guess
 486.188 +certain habits never go away. She’s still trying to sneak up on me. I
 486.189 +don’t turn, still kneeling in prayer. What’s she doing here tonight,
 486.190 +I wonder? I didn’t call her about any missions for Saint Tail. She’s
 486.191 +never mistaken the day before. Maybe there’s something she wants to
 486.192 +talk about. My heart nearly seizes up with apprehension at that
 486.193 +thought. Whatever she would want to talk about this late would
 486.194 +probably be very important. I’ve always been her confidante, and I’ll
 486.195 +always continue to be so. But whatever is important enough to have
 486.196 +her come here in the middle of the night worries me. Is it about her
 486.197 +feelings for Asuka Jr.? Did something happen at home? Does she want
 486.198 +to quit being Saint Tail?
 486.199 +
 486.200 +Now I stand up. I can’t keep my anxiety from rising up within me. I
 486.201 +turn around, my long, white dress flowing about me. I never did
 486.202 +bother changing out of my nun’s clothes. There she is, radiantly
 486.203 +beautiful as ever. For some reason, she has come to me as Saint Tail.
 486.204 +My concern escalates. Did she go do something as Saint Tail on her
 486.205 +own tonight? Did something bad happen? Did someone find out who she
 486.206 +was? “Meimi, are you all right?” I ask worriedly, my hands clasped
 486.207 +together. She doesn’t answer me. Her eyes are cast in shadows, making
 486.208 +it impossible for me to tell what lay inside of them or whether she’s
 486.209 +been crying. 
 486.210 +
 486.211 +She starts to advance on me, her short pink skirt swishing about as
 486.212 +she does, the only noise in the empty church. I take a half-step back
 486.213 +unconsciously. She keeps coming forward. “Meimi?” I ask, more
 486.214 +nervously this time. No reply. Just the repeated swish-swish of her
 486.215 +skirt and the light clack of her heels on the floor. I take another
 486.216 +step back. And another. I smile weakly. “It’s good to see you, Meimi-
 486.217 +chan. I was just thinking about you. I hope that you’re okay.” Still
 486.218 +no answer. There’s something almost predatory in the way she’s
 486.219 +walking. I swallow, taking another few steps back. Something hits me
 486.220 +from behind, making me gasp out loud. I close my eyes, taking a deep
 486.221 +breath to try and calm myself. It’s only the altar. I must be pretty
 486.222 +worked up if I could have stumbled into it. And over Meimi at that.
 486.223 +But she’s always been the one to get me all worked up, even if she
 486.224 +doesn’t know it. 
 486.225 +
 486.226 +I open my eyes again, watching her stepping purposely towards me.
 486.227 +Her beautiful auburn ponytail swishes in time with her skirt, her
 486.228 +coattails shifting behind her as she walks ever closer. She’s simply
 486.229 +stunning. No wonder Asuka Jr. is so obsessed with finding out who
 486.230 +this beautiful Seraph is. So many boys have already been smitten with
 486.231 +her. Even her best friend, a girl dedicated to the church has fallen
 486.232 +in love with her. How could I help myself from doing just that? She’s
 486.233 +stolen a lot of hearts. She truly is a thief. But she can keep mine
 486.234 +forever. I don’t need it back. I’d rather she had it anyway.
 486.235 +
 486.236 +So captivated by her beauty am I that I barely realize how close
 486.237 +she’s getting until she’s practically upon me. I move again, but my
 486.238 +escape is blocked by the altar. I rest my hands on it, holding on
 486.239 +tightly until my knuckles go white. I smile again shakily. “Was there
 486.240 +something you wanted, Meimi?” My voice is shaking. Even I can hear
 486.241 +it. It’s never been this bad when I’ve been around her before. I’ll
 486.242 +feel warm and dizzy inside, but this has me completely lost. I don’t
 486.243 +know what to say or do. I feel trapped. She can feel it, can’t she?
 486.244 +The love I have for her must be excruciatingly obvious this close.
 486.245 +Why else would I be so weak and nervous being near her?
 486.246 +
 486.247 +Meimi is silent, standing before me. Strong, intent, focussed.
 486.248 +Everything that I can’t muster at the moment. A gloved hand reaches
 486.249 +up slowly. Her fingertips brush my burning cheeks, sending an
 486.250 +electric tingle through my skin. My cheeks darken considerably even
 486.251 +as I try to fight back my blush. “Meimi-chan, maybe we should go
 486.252 +outside. It’s awfully hot in here tonight,” I say, trying to sound
 486.253 +casual. I don’t look at her as I do. I can’t. I’d melt if I look into
 486.254 +her eyes, I just know it. I move to the left, trying to escape being
 486.255 +in such close proximity to this girl. She’s taking over all of my
 486.256 +senses. But before I can get away from her, Her arm blocks my path. I
 486.257 +turn only to find her other arm blocking the other way, boxing me in.
 486.258 +Her arms on the altar to either side of me, I find myself trapped
 486.259 +facing her. My heart beats deafeningly inside of me. She must be able
 486.260 +to hear it in the quiet of the night. I command it to be still, but
 486.261 +it’s not mine to control. It’s in her hands, after all. I can only
 486.262 +stand there, pressed tightly against the altar, looking down. Why is
 486.263 +she doing this? Why is she working her magic on me in such a way?
 486.264 +Even she can’t be naïve enough to not notice how this is affecting
 486.265 +me. Yet even then, I pray she won’t ask me about it. I didn’t want
 486.266 +her to find out. I didn’t want her to know I love her. She could
 486.267 +never love me anyway, so there’s no reason. Yet now I find myself
 486.268 +almost hoping that she knows. That she’s discovered my deepest,
 486.269 +darkest secret. That she can finally drag it out into the light.
 486.270 +
 486.271 +“Seira,” she whispers in my ear. Whether it’s her intention or not,
 486.272 +it sure sounds seductive to me. I shudder imperceptibly (I hope) at
 486.273 +the sound of her voice echoing throughout me. Her gloved fingers take
 486.274 +my chin, tilting my head up. I blush darkly but do nothing to stop
 486.275 +her. My head moves up docilely until I’m looking at her once more.
 486.276 +Even now, I can’t see her eyes. The shadows and her bangs keep them a
 486.277 +mystery to me. I feel that if I could get through that to see them,
 486.278 +that everything would make sense. I’d be able to understand what
 486.279 +Meimi was doing, what she was thinking. But they’re still hidden from
 486.280 +me. And her hand is cupping my chin. And her face is moving closer,
 486.281 +inching nearer. My eyes widen in a mixture of horror and yearning. I
 486.282 +want to stop her. But I can’t. I just can’t bring myself to stop her.
 486.283 +Not when I’ve dreamt of this for years. 
 486.284 +
 486.285 +Her lips brush mine, warm and soft and incredibly delectable. That
 486.286 +delicate touch hardly seems enough, a small glimpse of heaven that
 486.287 +leaves me longing for more. Meimi doesn’t keep me waiting long. Her
 486.288 +lips return to mine, more insistent this time. My thoughts are
 486.289 +jumbled, an incoherent mess as she kisses me. I press back further,
 486.290 +but she only moves closer. Her body presses against me now, sending
 486.291 +more shocks through my body. I’m trapped between her and the altar,
 486.292 +her kisses growing more passionate as she does what she wants in
 486.293 +response to my own pliable kissing. It’s then that I realize I’m
 486.294 +kissing back. Nervously, sure, but I’m kissing back all the same. I
 486.295 +can’t stop myself. I don’t want to stop myself. Each kiss touches my
 486.296 +soul like a gentle caress. One of her arms snakes around my back,
 486.297 +pulling me tighter against her. I make a weak gasp but otherwise
 486.298 +offer up no struggle. What am I doing? I should be telling her to
 486.299 +stop. Or... Or.. It’s hard to think past the kisses. They’re so warm
 486.300 +and they surround my mind like a fuzzy blanket, wrapping it up nice
 486.301 +and tight. 
 486.302 +
 486.303 +Why is she doing this to me? Can’t she see how weak she makes me? My
 486.304 +strength comes from the fact that I can never have her. Please don’t
 486.305 +take that away, Meimi-chan. My resolve would crumble. My plans for
 486.306 +the future would fall apart. I would be in freefall. And it’s all up
 486.307 +to you. All of my strength, whether I have it or whether it all
 486.308 +leaves me is entirely up to you.
 486.309 +
 486.310 +One of her hands caresses my cheek, the soft feel of her gloves
 486.311 +against my skin almost too much for me. But if I fall here, I know
 486.312 +that she’ll catch me, hold me tightly. But if I fall because of this,
 486.313 +who will save me? My entire life has been dedicated to repaying the
 486.314 +nuns who raised me by devoting myself to God. I knew I couldn’t be
 486.315 +with Meimi, so it wasn’t a problem. But if she could love me, then
 486.316 +what? What would I do? How could I possibly choose between her and my
 486.317 +path in life? I’m so confused again, even in the solace of the
 486.318 +church, in the night. My confusion has finally found me, no matter
 486.319 +how well I hid from it. 
 486.320 +
 486.321 +I want to tell her, to say something, to just collapse from all of
 486.322 +this madness. But she has other ideas. Her tongue presses against my
 486.323 +lips. My cheeks burning, my own lips open, accepting her. I can feel
 486.324 +her tongue brushing past mine, a thrill shooting through me at the
 486.325 +feeling. I kiss back hesitantly, but find myself responding more and
 486.326 +more to her lead. ‘Wherever you take me, I’ll follow,’ I think,
 486.327 +though whether this is more a declaration or a realization, I haven’t
 486.328 +a clue. 
 486.329 +
 486.330 +I don’t want this to ever end. I just want to be in her arms
 486.331 +forever, to feel this way for eternity. Is this what Heaven is like?
 486.332 +This delicious taste of ethereal joy? Part of me still tries to fight
 486.333 +it, telling me that I shouldn’t be doing this, that my path in life
 486.334 +forbids it. But I’m held captive by her lips, by the feel of her
 486.335 +against me. I gather all of my strength, what little is left, and
 486.336 +kiss my beautiful Saint Tail with everything I have. It leaves me
 486.337 +breathless, more confused than ever, but with a wonderful electric
 486.338 +feeling in my stomach.
 486.339 +
 486.340 +She steps away from me, her hands lingering on my sides for a moment
 486.341 +before finally pulling away. It’s only then that I realize my eyes
 486.342 +are closed. “Meimi-chan,” I whisper, blushing deeply. “I love you,” I
 486.343 +say, forcing it out before I get too scared to say it. I don’t care
 486.344 +how confusing it is anymore. I know that to be true. I know I love
 486.345 +her, no matter what trouble that causes. And I want her to know it,
 486.346 +too. I await her answer anxiously, but nothing comes. Is she still
 486.347 +playing mute? Or does she not know what to say? Is she as embarrassed
 486.348 +and unsure of everything as I am? I slowly open my eyes to see, but
 486.349 +she’s gone. I glance around frantically, but she is nowhere to be
 486.350 +seen. Disappeared like a magic trick, not even smoke left in her
 486.351 +wake. 
 486.352 +
 486.353 +My shoulders slump, her spirits dropping. Gone. Like a thief in the
 486.354 +night. But what was she here to steal? I kneel, clasping my hands in
 486.355 +prayer once more. This is my solace. But even as I begin to pray,
 486.356 +thoughts of her linger with me. God is in everything. Maybe I don’t
 486.357 +have to differentiate between my love for Him and my love for Meimi.
 486.358 +Maybe... “I love you, Meimi-chan,” I whisper again with all the
 486.359 +strength of a prayer. I love you. Even if you aren’t there when I
 486.360 +open my eyes.
 486.361 \ No newline at end of file

   487.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   487.2 +++ b/stories/thoughts.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   487.3 @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
   487.4 +Disclaimer: Me again. I suddenly got in a writing mood, so here it
   487.5 +is! Please note that I do not own any copyrighted items. I hope you
   487.6 +all enjoy it. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   487.7 +
   487.8 +Thoughts
   487.9 +By Forever3330
  487.10 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  487.11 +
  487.12 +	Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. Sitting on the sidelines,
  487.13 +holding everything swirling around in me back, building wall upon
  487.14 +wall around my true heart, trying to lock it away, all so that I can
  487.15 +give her, to the best of my ability, what she deserves. Someone who
  487.16 +loves her, who can protect her and her precious heart, who can help
  487.17 +her to shine more brightly then she already does, who can give her a
  487.18 +life. A marriage, a family, a reason to live.
  487.19 +	My treacherous heart is torn in two; I love her! I can protect her!
  487.20 +I can help her shine more brightly! But when it comes to the last, I
  487.21 +stop. Everything simply grows cold and I force a smile, just from
  487.22 +habit, as I feel the familiar despair and reason wash over me. I
  487.23 +can’t give her a life. Not a marriage, not a family. And how, how
  487.24 +could I possibly give her a reason to live, when I couldn’t do those
  487.25 +simple things?
  487.26 +	And so I cry tears that aren’t tears. They don’t exist, they don’t
  487.27 +cause me to cry out in grief; because they don’t exist in the world
  487.28 +where you can see and feel them. They only exist within me, as I cry
  487.29 +my way through eternity. But why do I do such a thing?
  487.30 +	A simple answer, I suppose. I do it for her. For her happiness. For
  487.31 +her heart. It’s the only path I can see. It’s the only path there is.
  487.32 +I would do anything for her; but that leaves me trapped, in a prison
  487.33 +I helped to make.
  487.34 +	I can’t leave. That would only hurt her. I can’t. I can’t stay;
  487.35 +that only causes me to die further inside of myself, pulling back,
  487.36 +only barely remembering to wear my smiling mask. But I have to stay.
  487.37 +I can’t hurt her. If I would truly do anything for her, then surely I
  487.38 +can do so simple a thing as be there through all the pain. No matter
  487.39 +what. Even if I eventually kill my own heart in the effort of trying
  487.40 +to stay, to not hurt the heart I treasure above all others.
  487.41 +	But I’m starting to wonder if that isn’t true. I’m beginning to be
  487.42 +unable to feel anything but the emotions I have for her, and the
  487.43 +emotions that I stand for her. Despair, loneliness, hope, love, and
  487.44 +endless longing, those too many to name, and worst of all reason. Is
  487.45 +reason even an emotion? Whatever it is, it is by far the worst thing
  487.46 +to have.
  487.47 +	Or the best.
  487.48 +	Without reason, wouldn’t I have ruined the life I’m so carefully
  487.49 +trying to build for her? Wouldn’t I have lost any chance of her
  487.50 +happiness? Wouldn’t she hate me?
  487.51 +	Most people would hate me, I’m sure. For something I can’t help,
  487.52 +something I never asked for, never meant to fall into…and I could do
  487.53 +nothing about it. As long as I wear my masks at least I can be near
  487.54 +her.
  487.55 +	I wish it would stop. The confusion, all of it. Every emotion that
  487.56 +swirls through me, the life I don’t want to live that I do want to
  487.57 +live. It would be easy to stop it all. But I can’t. My prison seems
  487.58 +to grow into something I can’t escape more and more as my desire to
  487.59 +escape it grows. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I wish…
  487.60 +	The last word I hear echoing through my mind, as everything quiets,
  487.61 +letting me rest, is ‘why’. Why? Why? Why…
  487.62 +	Why does anything happen? I don’t really know. I don’t know
  487.63 +anything at all, in a way. Does anyone know everything? If someone
  487.64 +does, could they come and explain to me once more why? Can they
  487.65 +explain that stupid, silly word that always ends my battles within
  487.66 +this prison?
  487.67 +	Can they explain why?
  487.68 +	I don’t want this. I don’t want to be forever wandering though this
  487.69 +dark place. I don’t want any of it. I don’t…
  487.70 +	But I do.
  487.71 +	I want the small, treasured moments where I have the light she
  487.72 +gives me. The light that eases the pain away, that forces the
  487.73 +darkness and the prison back. Sometimes the light makes me want to
  487.74 +break my masks. Sometimes it helps me to fix them, and reminds me why
  487.75 +I do any of this at all. But mostly the light leaves me with the
  487.76 +smallest, weakest hope. The most hope I can manage. The hope that
  487.77 +someday…someday…
  487.78 +	I don’t really know.
  487.79 +	The hope that she’ll save me, I guess. That’s silly, I know…you
  487.80 +have to save yourself. No one saves you. No one can, when you’re so
  487.81 +close to invisible as I am. But how am I to save myself when it takes
  487.82 +all my strength to keep alive? It takes all of me to show that smile
  487.83 +I have to give, to make them all think I’m okay. I’m always okay. I
  487.84 +have to be. If I show that I’m not, I could break it all…she can’t
  487.85 +worry about me. I can’t have that.
  487.86 +	I can’t really think anymore. I’m broken, I think. Broken. I don’t
  487.87 +think I can be fixed by anything but the one thing I can’t have.
  487.88 +Absurd, isn’t it? That I can’t find the strength to save myself, but
  487.89 +I can find it in me to save others from all that I feel? That I can
  487.90 +only mask everything that goes through my mind? That I can’t ever
  487.91 +really show all of myself, let the masks drop, let anyone, least of
  487.92 +all her, stare straight into my eyes and see in one glimpse
  487.93 +everything that I have to hide?
  487.94 +	All I can think right now it nothing, really. It’s simply an empty
  487.95 +void. I’m running out of emotions and thoughts. All but those that I
  487.96 +seem to be cursed with for the rest of my life. I must have an
  487.97 +endless supply of those; that or she hands them all to me, without
  487.98 +noticing. You’d think she’d notice. How can she simply pull something
  487.99 +out without realizing it?
 487.100 +	But that’s one of the things I like about her. She’s too innocent
 487.101 +to understand the workings of the heart, or of emotions themselves.
 487.102 +She just needs a few pushes in the right direction sometimes.
 487.103 +	But how can I know the right direction?
 487.104 +	I think she’s fallen for him, though. It’s not that hard to see. If
 487.105 +only they would move far, far away, so that it could all end. So that
 487.106 +I could make my disappearing act with her none the wiser. But no; she
 487.107 +can’t leave her home. Her friends, her family. Me. And I haven’t the
 487.108 +slightest idea why.
 487.109 +	No matter what I say I still can’t convince her that it’s for the
 487.110 +best.
 487.111 +	And so I sit here on a swing in the park, arguing with myself,
 487.112 +unconsciously smiling out of habit. Smiling when I feel like crying.
 487.113 +For once it would be nice to cry. But I wonder if I can cry. I used
 487.114 +to cry myself to sleep, a long time ago. I don’t think I have any of
 487.115 +the tears that people would refer to as real left. I think I’m too
 487.116 +far gone for that. To let it all go and simply cry. To sob. To wail.
 487.117 +To bemoan your fate.
 487.118 +	Perhaps I’m slightly insane to think that wonderful, but surely it
 487.119 +is better then this battle I hold within myself. I want them out. All
 487.120 +the painful emotions. But not the love or the hope. The love is
 487.121 +something that wouldn’t go away if I wanted it to. And the hope at
 487.122 +least gives me something to grasp. A rope thrown down into the hole
 487.123 +I’ve dug myself, beckoning for me to try to climb it, a little. A
 487.124 +rope that taunts with the thought that someone might descend to help
 487.125 +me up, or pull the rope back up with me attached.
 487.126 +	I know that the thought I keep trying to obliterate has to do with
 487.127 +that hope. The hope that it will be her who saves me; the hope that I
 487.128 +will be saved at all. Why would she save me?
 487.129 +	She doesn’t even know that I need to be saved.

   488.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   488.2 +++ b/stories/tnbxmas.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   488.3 @@ -0,0 +1,418 @@
   488.4 +Title: 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
   488.5 +Authors: Amazoness Duo
   488.6 +E-mail address: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
   488.7 +Rating: H-hentai
   488.8 +
   488.9 +This is a Sekkushiaru Roman, which means it is a romance story that contains
  488.10 +a lot of adult themes. This is for mature readers only. We don't own any of 
  488.11 +the characters in this, Toei, Naoko Takeuchi and assorted other people do. 
  488.12 +This is a Christmas themed story. Hotaru & ChibiUsa are both 15 and Kakyuu
  488.13 +& the Starlights are 19. Every space between paragraphs is a scene change.
  488.14 +Usagi and Mamoru are married and share an appartment, so ChibiUsa stays 
  488.15 +with Usagi's parents and Shingo. A lot of our story ideas come from an
  488.16 +IRL Sailormoon roleplaying game we play, and some of the ideas in this 
  488.17 +fic also come from that. One day we may write down the basics of what goes 
  488.18 +on in our role-playing game, but only if people are interested. If you have 
  488.19 +any ideas about who we should get Seiya and Taiki with, we'd really like 
  488.20 +to hear from you. We love feedback, so please e-mail us at: 
  488.21 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
  488.22 +We love to hear from people and what they thought of our stories or what
  488.23 +stories they'd like us to write.  Thanks. ^-^
  488.24 +
  488.25 +
  488.26 +		    "Twas the Night Before Christmas"
  488.27 +
  488.28 +			  By the Amazoness Duo
  488.29 +
  488.30 +
  488.31 +	The city of Tokyo was blanketed in a layer of snow. All was calm 
  488.32 +and peaceful...
  488.33 +	"Come on, Taiki. I don't have all day," Yaten complained as Taiki
  488.34 +ignored him and continued to look around the book store.
  488.35 +	"It's not Taiki's fault you didn't get Kakyuu a Christmas present
  488.36 +yet," said Seiya.
  488.37 +	"I just kept putting it off. You guys know how much I hate Christmas
  488.38 +shopping," said Yaten.
  488.39 +	"That doesn't matter. You should have gotten this done a while back
  488.40 +so you wouldn't have to worry about it now," Taiki spoke up from one of the
  488.41 +books she was looking at.
  488.42 +	"Well, thanks for going with me, but could we look at some other 
  488.43 +stores? This place sucks," said Yaten. Taiki looked up from her books and 
  488.44 +glared at her. "I mean, I can't find a gift for Kakyuu here."
  488.45 +	"Yeah, we should probably be going if Yaten's going to get anything 
  488.46 +in time," said Seiya.
  488.47 +	"Don't worry. I'll be done in a couple minutes," said Taiki. Yaten
  488.48 +and Seiya looked at each other. When Taiki was in a bookstore it could be 
  488.49 +days before they saw daylight again.
  488.50 +	Several minutes later, Taiki turned around to find that Seiya and 
  488.51 +Yaten were gone. 'Oh well,' Taiki thought, 'that gives me more time to find-
  488.52 +the books I want.' Taiki turned back around and continued to look through 
  488.53 +the shelves of books.
  488.54 +
  488.55 +	ChibiUsa sat alone in the Tsukino household. She looked outside at 
  488.56 +the snow as the weather seemed to get worse. She sighed. Earlier, she had 
  488.57 +found out that Usagi's parents, Kenji & Ikuko, and her brother Shingo were
  488.58 +stuck because of the snow, so they had to stay at a friend of the family's
  488.59 +house. They had been going to a dinner part and had asked ChibiUsa if she
  488.60 +wanted to go, but she declined. Usagi and Mamoru had called to see if she
  488.61 +was okay a short while ago. Mamoru had offered to go get her, but it would
  488.62 +have been dangerous in the blizzard.
  488.63 +	ChibiUsa remembered the Christmases she had spent in Crystal Tokyo 
  488.64 +with her family. She remembered getting a tree with her parents, having
  488.65 +big dinners with the other Senshi, looking at all the decorations people 
  488.66 +would put up around the Crystal Palace... She sighed again. She missed 
  488.67 +those times. She had tried to call Hotaru several times, but a little 
  488.68 +while after Usagi & Mamoru called the phone lines had gone out. Just to
  488.69 +hear her sweet voice would make ChibiUsa feel better and less homesick.
  488.70 +	ChibiUsa held the present she had gotten for Hotaru. She had wanted
  488.71 +to give it to her that day, but now she'd have to wait until it stopped
  488.72 +snowing, if it did at all. 'I hate this,' thought ChibiUsa. 'It's Christmas
  488.73 +Eve and I can't spend it with my loved ones. I can't spend it with my mom
  488.74 +and dad since they're in the future. Usagi's family can't get here. And 
  488.75 +Hotaru's spending Christmas with Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna. I can't 
  488.76 +even go see her because of the snow.' ChibiUsa sat closer to the fire. She
  488.77 +was wearing a shirt and some sweatpants to keep warm, but it didn't help 
  488.78 +much with how cold it was. She had started a fire earlier to keep warm, 
  488.79 +and it seemed to be heating up the room rather well. 
  488.80 +	She started to think about Hotaru, as she often did when she 
  488.81 +couldn't be with her. She thought about how Hotaru's dark hair fell to her
  488.82 +shoulders. How Hotaru's purple eyes would stare deep into her own. She 
  488.83 +could spend hours looking into Hotaru's eyes. How Hotaru's soft lips felt
  488.84 +against her own. ChibiUsa blushed. She remembered how they had almost been 
  488.85 +caught kissing right before class. ChibiUsa smiled to herself at the memory. 
  488.86 +"I wish she was here," said ChibiUsa aloud as she thought of the dark 
  488.87 +haired girl.
  488.88 +
  488.89 +	Seiya and Yaten walked along inside the mall. "So do you have any 
  488.90 +idea what you want to get Kakyuu?" asked Seiya.
  488.91 +	"I have no clue. I just want to get her something she'll like," 
  488.92 +said Yaten.
  488.93 +	Seiya shrugged. "Good luck. I don't really think she'll mind no 
  488.94 +matter what you get her. She has you and that's what keeps her happy."
  488.95 +	Yaten smiled. "Thanks, Seiya. You're right. I still want to get
  488.96 +her something special, though."
  488.97 +	The two walked along in relative silence for a while. Finally 
  488.98 +Yaten spoke up. "Lets go in here." Yaten indicated a store. Its sign read 
  488.99 +that it had unique merchandise.
 488.100 +	"What's 'unique merchandise'? asked Seiya.
 488.101 +	"Let's find out. Maybe I can find something for Kakyuu here," 
 488.102 +Yaten said as she walked into the store.
 488.103 +	Yaten and Seiya froze as they looked at the people in the store.
 488.104 +They were all dressed up in costumes of the senshi. And they were all men.
 488.105 +Seiya and Yaten looked along the line of costumed senshi. Some had beards, 
 488.106 +or goatees, or receding hairlines. Seiya and Yaten's gaze stopped as they 
 488.107 +saw the Starlights. Yaten and Seiya ran screaming from the store.
 488.108 +
 488.109 +	ChibiUsa blinked several times. She must have fallen asleep by the 
 488.110 +fire. She stretched a bit as she sat up. She heard a knock at the door. 
 488.111 +'That must be what woke me up,' thought ChibiUsa. She got up and walked 
 488.112 +towards the door. 'Who could it be?' she thought. She stood on her tiptoes
 488.113 +and looked out the peephole. Hotaru was standing outside. ChibiUsa quickly 
 488.114 +unlocked the door. 
 488.115 +	"Hotaru, what are you doing here? You look frozen. How did you get 
 488.116 +here? You didn't walk all the way did you? Do the others know you're 
 488.117 +here?" asked ChibiUsa. Hotaru just smiled slightly and let ChibiUsa lead
 488.118 +her inside. 
 488.119 +	"I wanted to see you," she said simply.
 488.120 +	"Oh, Hotaru. You shouldn't have come all this way through the snow.
 488.121 +It's dangerous," said ChibiUsa.
 488.122 +	"Are you happy to see me?" Hotaru leaned towards ChibiUsa and smiled
 488.123 +again. ChibiUsa kissed her. She felt ChibiUsa's warm lips against her own 
 488.124 +cold ones. 'It was worth it. I love being with her. I should have gone 
 488.125 +earlier,' she thought as ChibiUsa's tongue entered her mouth. Both girls 
 488.126 +finally pulled away from lack of breath. 
 488.127 +	"Thank you, Hotaru. I was feeling so lonely all by myself. And 
 488.128 +homesick. I wanted to see you so badly," said ChibiUsa.
 488.129 +	Hotaru brushed some of ChibiUsa's hair away from her eyes. "I missed
 488.130 +you, too."
 488.131 +	"You're shivering," said ChibiUsa. "You must be freezing. Let me 
 488.132 +help you." ChibiUsa helped Hotaru out of her clothes and then went off to 
 488.133 +get a blanket. Hotaru sat by the fire and waited for ChibiUsa. 'She really
 488.134 +worries about me. It feels so good to have someone like that. ChibiUsa's not 
 488.135 +even born yet, but she's my other half,' Hotaru thought. ChibiUsa came back 
 488.136 +and put the blanket around her. 
 488.137 +	"I'm going to make some hot cocoa. I'll be back in just a minute," 
 488.138 +said ChibiUsa.
 488.139 +	"Okay. But you better hurry. I may not be here when you get back,"
 488.140 +Hotaru said mischeivously. ChibiUsa smiled at her and walked off to make 
 488.141 +the cocoa. 'It's nice to know that someone cares for you like she does. 
 488.142 +She's really cute when she worries about me, too. I have a lot of fun when
 488.143 +I'm around her. It's like she brings out a part of me that no one else sees
 488.144 +but her,' thought Hotaru.
 488.145 +	
 488.146 +	"I'm telling you, Taiki. They looked like bikers," said Yaten.
 488.147 +	"They looked like the Hell's Angels in senshi fuku," agreed Seiya.
 488.148 +	"It's ironic, though, isn't it? We dress up like men as normal 
 488.149 +people," said Taiki.
 488.150 +	"Not normal people. We're the Three Lights, remember?" answered 
 488.151 +Seiya.
 488.152 +	"That's besides the point. We dress up like men, though as senshi 
 488.153 +you can see we're women, and they dress up like women as senshi," said 
 488.154 +Taiki.
 488.155 +	"Though as biker trash you can see that they're men. That doesn't
 488.156 +really matter, Taiki. It was still a scary sight," said Yaten.
 488.157 +	They walked along silently for a little while. 
 488.158 +	"Ironic, nonetheless," said Taiki.	
 488.159 +
 488.160 +	ChibiUsa walked back to Hotaru holding a mug of hot cocoa. She 
 488.161 +handed it to Hotaru who accepted it gratefully. ChibiUsa sat down by her.
 488.162 +She hugged her knees to her chest. ChibiUsa turned to her and smiled. "I'm 
 488.163 +really glad you're here, Hotaru."
 488.164 +	"I'm glad I'm here, too. Thanks for the cocoa, Odango-chan," Hotaru 
 488.165 +said, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. 
 488.166 +	"That's okay. I hope you like it. I know I can't cook very well," 
 488.167 +She was interrupted by a giggle from Hotaru, "but I tried, anyway."
 488.168 +	"Odango-chan, its easy to make cocoa. You don't have to do too much.
 488.169 +How could you mess that up?" Hotaru asked.
 488.170 +	"Oh, I'd find some way. That's the last thing I need. You get here 
 488.171 +and then I poison you with bad hot cocoa," said ChibiUsa.
 488.172 +	Hotaru took a sip. "It's pretty good," she said. She felt the warmth
 488.173 +go through her body as she drank a little more. She noticed that it wasn't 
 488.174 +the cocoa that was warming her up, though. It was ChibiUsa's hands on her 
 488.175 +shoulders, trying to rub some warmth back into her cold body. Hotaru purred
 488.176 +as she felt ChibiUsa's breath against the back of her neck. 
 488.177 +	"So how are Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna?" asked ChibiUsa. One of 
 488.178 +her hands started to go lower, sending a tingle up Hotaru's spine.
 488.179 +	"They're doing pretty well. They were doing a lot of cooking before 
 488.180 +I left. Haruka accidently set something on fire and they kicked her out of 
 488.181 +the kitchen," Hotaru said.
 488.182 +	"Haruka's almost as bad as I am when it comes to cooking," said 
 488.183 +ChibiUsa.
 488.184 +	"No, she's worse. Michiru-mama tries to help her, but something 
 488.185 +always goes wrong when Haruka-papa's cooking. She really tries to help, 
 488.186 +too," said Hotaru. She felt ChibiUsa's hands rubbing her back. 'I'm in 
 488.187 +heaven right now,'she thought to herself. The blanket slid past her 
 488.188 +shoulders. ChibiUsa felt a thrill race through her as she smelt the 
 488.189 +fragrant scent of Hotaru's hair. 
 488.190 +	"There. Are you feeling warmer now, Hotaru?" asked ChibiUsa. Hotaru
 488.191 +turned around so she was facing ChibiUsa. Hotaru's arms encircled ChibiUsa.
 488.192 +Her breasts pressed up agianst ChibiUsa's through her shirt. 
 488.193 +	"ChibiUsa, you warmed my life more than you'll ever know," Hotaru 
 488.194 +said. ChibiUsa blushed as she looked into Hotaru's eyes, as she had thought
 488.195 +about doing earlier. 
 488.196 +
 488.197 +	"I can't find anything," complained Yaten.
 488.198 +	"We've been around the mall and back twice now," said Taiki. "You'd 
 488.199 +think that you could find something by now."
 488.200 +	"I guess we better head home," said Yaten, defeated.
 488.201 +	"In that case, I'm going back to get one last book. I'll see you two
 488.202 +in a minute," Taiki walked off.
 488.203 +	Yaten sat near a fountain, angry at herself for not finding anything.
 488.204 +Seiya sat down by her. After a couple minutes of contemplation, Seiya turned
 488.205 +towards Yaten. 
 488.206 +	"I know what you can give Kakyuu," said Seiya.
 488.207 +	"What?" asked Yaten.
 488.208 +	Seiya pulled something out of her pocket. She held it in front of 
 488.209 +Yaten. It was a small fire red jewel with a ring of gold around it. 
 488.210 +	"What is it?" asked Yaten as she looked at it.
 488.211 +	"It's a piece of jewelry from Kinmoku. I found it right before we 
 488.212 +went to earth. I was going to give it to Kakyuu when I told her how I really
 488.213 +felt about her. But you won her heart. I want you to give this to Kakyuu,"
 488.214 +Seiya handed it to Yaten. 'First I lost Usagi, and now Kakyuu,' thought 
 488.215 +Seiya. 'I have really bad luck with women.'
 488.216 +	"Thanks, Seiya," said Yaten in a low voice as she looked at it. 
 488.217 +"She'll love it, especially since it's from Kinmoku."
 488.218 +	"Hey, don't worry about it. As long as she has you, she'll be happy. 
 488.219 +As long as she's happy, I'm fine," said Seiya. "Now let's go get a store to 
 488.220 +wrap it."
 488.221 +
 488.222 +	Hotaru & ChibiUsa held each other, the blanket forgotten on the 
 488.223 +floor. Hotaru leaned her head on ChibiUsa's chest. "I wish you'd let me 
 488.224 +tell everyone about us," said Hotaru.
 488.225 +	"I know, but we're both pretty young. People will think we're doing 
 488.226 +something stupid," said ChibiUsa
 488.227 +	"I don't care what they think about us. I just want everyone to know
 488.228 +that you're my Odango-chan," replied Hotaru. "As it is, all the boys see you
 488.229 +as a pretty single girl and they try to get you. I want them to know that 
 488.230 +you already have a girlfirend."
 488.231 +	ChibiUsa laughed. "Maybe I should just wear an "I'm gay with Hotaru"
 488.232 +sticker on my blouse."
 488.233 +	"Maybe. Then I wouldn't have to worry about boys talking to you," 
 488.234 +said Hotaru as she kissed ChibiUsa lightly.
 488.235 +	"Then you'd only have to worry about the girls chasing after me,"
 488.236 +said ChibiUsa.
 488.237 +	"Why do I doubt that? Anyway, that's why the sticker would say 
 488.238 +'with Hotaru'" said Hotaru with a smile.
 488.239 +	"Oh yeah? Momo-chan's had her eye on me for a while," ChibiUsa said.
 488.240 +	"I'm sure all the other girls in the school do. But they can't have 
 488.241 +you. I wouldn't let them," Hotaru said as their lips brushed again. 
 488.242 +	ChibiUsa brushed some hair out of Hotaru's eyes. "I love you," she 
 488.243 +said simply, looking deep into those purple eyes that drew her in.
 488.244 +
 488.245 +	Taiki had caught up with Yaten and Seiya after they had gotten 
 488.246 +Kakyuu's gift wrapped. 
 488.247 +	"Are we ready to go?" asked Seiya.
 488.248 +	"I suppose we are," answered Taiki. They pushed open the mall doors 
 488.249 +and looked out at the falling snow outside.
 488.250 +	"We'll never be able to get back," said Seiya.
 488.251 +	"Well, we'll have to try anyway," said Yaten determinedly. She 
 488.252 +started walking out of the mall, bracing herself against the still fallng
 488.253 +snow. "Are you two coming or not?"
 488.254 +	Taiki and Seiya exchanged glances before heading outside. They 
 488.255 +walked along for a while, but they started to have trouble finding where
 488.256 +they were going. They saw a silhoutte of a man in front of them. He waved.
 488.257 +	"Follow me!" he said as he started off.
 488.258 +	"What do we do?" asked Seiya.
 488.259 +	"We follow him. What else can we do." replied Taiki.
 488.260 +	"Who's stupid idea was it to head out here anyway?" asked Yaten. 
 488.261 +Taiki and Seiya both slapped her upside the head. Suddenly, the snow was 
 488.262 +blocked a bit. They were in an alleyway with a bunch of ragged men 
 488.263 +surrounding a fire barrel.
 488.264 +	"Hi. I'm Hobo Willie. It's nice to meet you," The man who had helped 
 488.265 +them stuck out his hand wich was covered in a ripped white glove. Taiki took
 488.266 +his hand and shook it. 
 488.267 +	"It's good to meet you too, sir. Thanks for helping us," Taiki said.
 488.268 +	"Don't worry about it. Are you fancy lads hungry? We're cooking...."
 488.269 +He looked at what the other bums and hobos were cooking over the fire. "I 
 488.270 +don't know what the hell we're cooking, but it is food. I think."
 488.271 +	"No! I'm in hell with a bunch of hobo's and I won't be with my 
 488.272 +Kakyuu for christmas!" said an exasperated Yaten.
 488.273 +	"You forgot bums, fancy lad," Hobo Willie added helpfully.
 488.274 +
 488.275 +	Hotaru & ChibiUsa's hands started to roam each other's bodies. 
 488.276 +ChibiUsa felt Hotaru's hands cup her breasts. She felt her nipples 
 488.277 +harden as Hotaru pinched them lightly through the cloth of her shirt. 
 488.278 +ChibiUsa slid out of the sweatpants she was wearing as Hotaru pulled
 488.279 +ChibiUsa's shirt off. ChibiUsa sat on her knees as she and Hotaru looked
 488.280 +at each other. She placed her hands on Hotaru's shoulders and gently 
 488.281 +pushed her to the floor. 
 488.282 +	"Odango-chan, you are so beautiful," said Hotaru as she traced the 
 488.283 +curves of ChibiUsa's body. ChibiUsa blushed. She crawled over towards 
 488.284 +Hotaru. One hand moved between Hotaru's legs. ChibiUsa crawled up further 
 488.285 +so her face was inches away from Hotaru's. Hotaru looked at ChibiUsa's 
 488.286 +flushed cheeks. 'She's still a bit embarrassed about our making love' 
 488.287 +Hotaru thought. 'She's not used to being close to someone like we are. I'm
 488.288 +not either, but I cherish every moment I have with her. I want to make 
 488.289 +sure she's not embarrassed around me'. Hotaru leaned her head closer to 
 488.290 +ChibiUsa as her hands went to ChibiUsa's chest. Her mouth met ChibiUsa's. 
 488.291 +ChibiUsa almost pulled away at the suddenness of it, but
 488.292 +she pushed back into the kiss, letting Hotaru's tongue enter her mouth. 'I 
 488.293 +am so lucky to have her' thought ChibiUsa. 'She always makes me feel safe.' 
 488.294 +Hotaru felt ChibiUsa's fingers slide into her. Hotaru continued to kiss 
 488.295 +ChibiUsa as she felt her fingers slide further into her. They pulled away 
 488.296 +from the kiss breathlessly.
 488.297 +	Hotaru's hand ran across ChibiUsa's stomach and through her pink 
 488.298 +pubic hair. ChibiUsa loved the way Hotaru's body felt against hers. ChibiUsa 
 488.299 +spread her legs. ChibiUsa moaned as Hotaru's fingers started to stroke her
 488.300 +pearl. Hotaru started kissing along ChibiUsa's neck. She felt herself 
 488.301 +near orgasm as she felt one of ChibiUsa's hands exploring the curves of her
 488.302 +body. Both girls moaned the others name as they reached orgasm together. 
 488.303 +They laid on the floor for a while panting. ChibiUsa kissed Hotaru's damp
 488.304 +forehead. ChibiUsa got off of Hotaru and grabbed the blanket. Hotaru pulled 
 488.305 +ChibiUsa close as ChibiUsa brought the blanket around them. 
 488.306 +
 488.307 +	Taiki looked at the hobos and bums as they threw their Christmas eve 
 488.308 +party. "They have nothing, yet they still enjoy Christmas."
 488.309 +	"And they invite us to stay for the party," said Seiya.
 488.310 +	Hobo Willie sat down by Yaten. "Are you okay, fancy lad? You don't 
 488.311 +look too happy. Are you hungry?" he asked.
 488.312 +	"Look, thanks for everything, but it's Christmas Eve and the only 
 488.313 +thing I want is to be back with my Kakyuu," said Yaten.
 488.314 +	Hobo Willie stared off into space for several minutes. Yaten looked
 488.315 +at him quizically. She waved her hand in his line of vision. 
 488.316 +	"Hmm, wha.. Oh, yeah. I lost track of what I was thinking about. Are 
 488.317 +you hungry?" he asked again. 
 488.318 +	Yaten sweatdropped. "No, I'm not. I just want to get home, somehow," 
 488.319 +Yaten said.
 488.320 +	Hobo Willie looked at Yaten for a moment, then nodded his head. 
 488.321 +"That kinda sucks, doesn't it. I'd like to get home, too, but my cardboard
 488.322 +box is across town."
 488.323 +	"Do you have any ideas on how I could get home?" Yaten asked 
 488.324 +desperately.
 488.325 +	"Oh, yeah. I have some of those," Hobo Willie said.
 488.326 +	Yaten sweatdropped again. "Could you tell me them?" she asked.
 488.327 +	"Now that's a good idea right there," He answered. He got up and 
 488.328 +walked towards the fire barrel. 
 488.329 +	'Well there goes the chance of getting help. I knew I shouldn't put 
 488.330 +my hope in some bum,' she thought.
 488.331 +	"Okay everybody. Listen up," Hobo Willie said. "It's Christmas Eve
 488.332 +and someone's very unhappy. If there's anything we can do to help someone's
 488.333 +Christmas, we should. I say we help these fancy lads get home!" Many hobos
 488.334 +and bums started yelling agreement. Yaten looked up as she heard that. These
 488.335 +people had nothing, yet they wanted to help.
 488.336 +	"We should get going now if you want to get home in time," Hobo 
 488.337 +Willie said.
 488.338 +	"Thanks," said Yaten.
 488.339 +	"Yeah," agreed Seiya. 
 488.340 +	"That's very kind of you," said Taiki.
 488.341 +	"Think nothing of it," Hobo Willie said. "Now all we've got to do is
 488.342 +find some reindeer."
 488.343 +	Yaten, Seiya, and Taiki sweatdropped.
 488.344 +
 488.345 +	"Odango-chan?" asked Hotaru.
 488.346 +	"Yeah, Hotaru?" ChibiUsa looked at the other girl.
 488.347 +	"Guess," said Hotaru.
 488.348 +	"What?" asked ChibiUsa.
 488.349 +	"I love you," said Hotaru.
 488.350 +	They kissed before ChibiUsa got up. "Just a minute. I wanted to give 
 488.351 +you something," she said.
 488.352 +	Hotaru walked over to her clothes. She pulled her present to ChibiUsa
 488.353 +out of her jacket. She turned around to see ChibiUsa walking towards her. 
 488.354 +ChibiUsa sat down by her. 
 488.355 +	"This is for you. Merry Christmas, Hotaru," said ChibiUsa as she handed
 488.356 +Hotaru her gift.
 488.357 +	"Merry Christmas, ChibiUsa," Hotaru said as she exchanged gifts with her
 488.358 +Odango-chan.
 488.359 +	"What is it?" asked ChibiUsa. 
 488.360 +	"Open it," Hotaru said.
 488.361 +	"No, I want you to open your present first," ChibiUsa said.
 488.362 +	"Okay. We'll open it at the same time," said Hotaru.
 488.363 +	ChibiUsa and Hotaru started to unwrap their gifts. 
 488.364 +	"Oh, Hotaru, it's beautiful," said ChibiUsa. She looked at the locket 
 488.365 +Hotaru had gotten her. She opened it and saw a picture of herself with Hotaru.
 488.366 +	"Thank you, ChibiUsa," Hotaru said as she looked at her gift. It was a 
 488.367 +small porcelain doll, with shoulder length dark purple hair. It was just like 
 488.368 +a doll she had when she was growing up. 
 488.369 +	"I remembered that you had a doll like that from a little while after we 
 488.370 +became friends. You told me all about it and how it was one of the only things 
 488.371 +you had of your mom's. Then it got possessed by a Daimon and destroyed by the 
 488.372 +outer senshi. You looked so sad. I found this a while ago and I had to get it
 488.373 +for you," said ChibiUsa. She and Hotaru met in a warm embrace.
 488.374 +
 488.375 +	Yaten, Seiya, and Taiki walked along with Hobo Willie guiding them. For
 488.376 +a minute the old man looked like Santa Claus, though Taiki rationalized it was
 488.377 +probably from their poor vision.
 488.378 +	"He seems kinda like old Saint Nick, doesn't he?" asked Seiya.
 488.379 +	"Yeah. An old Saint Nick who lost his job... and his mind," remarked 
 488.380 +Yaten. 
 488.381 +	"It's still nice that he's helping us get home," said Taiki.
 488.382 +	"Grab that!" yelled Hobo Willie.
 488.383 +	Seiya looked up just in time to see a carboard box flying at her. 
 488.384 +"AAaaaahhhhhh!" Seiya reflexively grabbed the box before it hit her.
 488.385 +	"Oh, good. You caught my house. I guess it wasn't as far across town as
 488.386 +I thought," said Hobo Willie. He pulled the box away from Seiya and folded it up.
 488.387 +"Don't you just love these new fangled mobile homes?" 
 488.388 +	They walked along through the snow until they reached a big building. 
 488.389 +	"Well, here you go. I believe this is your building," he said.
 488.390 +	"Thank you. I'd hug you if you weren't a scary old hobo," Yaten said 
 488.391 +happily as she shook his had and ran in to find Kakyuu.
 488.392 +	"Oh, what the hell," Seiya said and hugged the old man. Seiya followed
 488.393 +Yaten in.
 488.394 +	"Thanks again," said Taiki. "Is there anything we could do for you?"
 488.395 +	"Nah, Not unless you have parts to an edsel. There's a broken down one 
 488.396 +in the dump, and I'd be hell on wheels if I could get it to work," Hobo Willie
 488.397 +said.
 488.398 +	Taiki stared at him for a moment. "Here's some money. Use it for 
 488.399 +whatever you want. Merry Christmas."
 488.400 +	"C'mon Taiki. You're smart," said Yaten sticking her head around the
 488.401 +corner. "He's just going to buy booze with it."
 488.402 +	"Now there's a good idea," said Hobo Willie.
 488.403 +	Taiki walked inside as the Hobo walked off through the snow.
 488.404 +	Yaten opened the door to their apartment and Kakyuu threw herself 
 488.405 +into the other girls arms. 
 488.406 +	"Oh Yaten. I was so worried about you," said Kakyuu. "Don't scare me 
 488.407 +like that. I missed you." Yaten kissed Kakyuu.
 488.408 +	"I wish I had somebody like that who I could hold and kiss under the
 488.409 +mistletoe," said Seiya.
 488.410 +	Taiki looked up and saw some mistletoe hanging above Seiya. She kissed
 488.411 +Seiya.
 488.412 +
 488.413 +	Hotaru and ChibiUsa looked at the Christmas tree as they held each other.
 488.414 +	"Merry Christmas, ChibiUsa," said Hotaru.
 488.415 +	"Merry Christmas, Hotaru," replied ChibiUsa.
 488.416 +
 488.417 +The End
 488.418 +
 488.419 +Merry Christmas, Minna-san! ^-^
 488.420 +
 488.421 +>From Holly and Heather
 488.422 \ No newline at end of file

   489.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   489.2 +++ b/stories/togetherforeverpt1.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   489.3 @@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
   489.4 +Well, I went to www.fanfiction.net and I saw lots a lots of CCS fics, but only one was Tomoyo x Sakura, that made me a little angry, I'm enough of S/S mushy stories, so I'm going to down the scale, this is a yuri fic of CCS of two parts, I hope you like it. The second part will be posted as soon I made it. If there is anyone outside who like this couple, please try to make a fic of Tomoyo/Sakura, so we can entertain between us. Notes: Not Syaoran in this fic. Sorry, but I explained this before, so I won't repeat that. Tomoyo and Sakura have 10 years old. I have a question: 
   489.5 +
   489.6 +Ah: I WANT SOME FEEDBACK!!!! I want to know if you like it or don't. 
   489.7 +
   489.8 +
   489.9 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  489.10 +
  489.11 +"You and me, together forever" (Part 1) 
  489.12 +
  489.13 +Sakura woke up and looked at her clock, she was right on time for the first time, so she left her room dressed and ready to go school. She sat in the table and began to eat her breakfast, she was worried about Tomoyo. She saw her best friend was sad lately, even Tomoyo tried to deny it. Sakura wasn't convinced. Besides Tomoyo got an illness and couldn't come to school for a few days. Sakura had to give her the homework, and Tomoyo's bodyguards gave her Tomoyo's homework for the teacher. 
  489.14 +
  489.15 +"Kaijuu, you're going to be late," Touya said to her sister. 
  489.16 +
  489.17 +"Eh?" Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts. 
  489.18 +
  489.19 +"Can I ask you a question?" said her brother. 
  489.20 +
  489.21 +"Um, sure" said Sakura still thinking of Tomoyo 
  489.22 +
  489.23 +"You seem so worried these days, is anything wrong?" 
  489.24 +
  489.25 +"No, I don't think so," said Sakura. 
  489.26 +
  489.27 +"Well, if anything's wrong you can tell me okay?" said her brother as he sat. 
  489.28 +
  489.29 +"Sure, thank you onii-chan" said Sakura. 
  489.30 +
  489.31 +"You'd better go now, I'm sure that your friend's bodyguards are waiting for you" 
  489.32 +
  489.33 +"Yes, see you!!!" Sakura said and went to school. 
  489.34 +
  489.35 +Sakura rushed in her roller blades towards to school. When she arrived Tomoyo's bodyguards was waiting for her, Sakura stood before them. She greeted them and gave Tomoyo's homework. 
  489.36 +
  489.37 +"How is she?" asked Sakura. 
  489.38 +
  489.39 +"She's a bit fine today," said one of the bodyguards. 
  489.40 +
  489.41 +"Could you please tell her 'Hi' for me?" said Sakura. 
  489.42 +
  489.43 +"Don't worry, ah, she said 'I'm sorry for causing troubles for you'" said the bodyguard 
  489.44 +
  489.45 +"No, she's not causing any problem," said Sakura. 
  489.46 +
  489.47 +"We have to leave now, we'll be waiting for you at the end of class" 
  489.48 +
  489.49 +"Okay" said Sakura. 
  489.50 +
  489.51 +Sakura saw the bodyguards leaving and headed to her class, but suddenly she stopped, and laid her hand over her heart. She was hurt from what Tomoyo said, she felt her heart being ripped. 
  489.52 +
  489.53 +"You're not causing any trouble, Tomoyo-chan. Maybe I am the one who does," said sadly. 
  489.54 +
  489.55 +She entered to her class and sat. She turned to see the empty seat next to her. She was never before to be in class without her best friend. Tomoyo always was in her seat, now she wasn't. 
  489.56 +
  489.57 +"Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura whispered. 
  489.58 +
  489.59 +************ 
  489.60 +
  489.61 +During the break, Sakura and her friends sat wanting to talk about many facts, and Yamazaki brought up Tomoyo. "I think there is something wrong with Tomoyo" said Yamazaki. 
  489.62 +
  489.63 +"Huh?" said Sakura. 
  489.64 +
  489.65 +"What do you mean, Yamazaki-kun?" said Chiharu. 
  489.66 +
  489.67 +"Well, Tomoyo was so strange these last days, before she fell ill. She was sad and I think that she almost cried while she was leaning against a tree, and whispered something," said Yamazaki with concern in his eyes. 
  489.68 +
  489.69 +"How do you know that, you're lying again!!!" said Chiharu as she stepped on her boyfriend's foot. 
  489.70 +
  489.71 +"Aww... I used a special earphone... that hurt," said Yamazaki. 
  489.72 +
  489.73 +"What did she say... onegai, what'd she say?" Sakura asked Yamazaki, worried. 
  489.74 +
  489.75 +"I think that she said: 'She will never understand'...." said Yamazaki. Sakura didn't respond and began to eat, as she tried to figure what her best friend said, it was sure that Tomoyo was talking about her. 
  489.76 +
  489.77 +"Ah, I had that illness before but I recovered in a few days, but she is recovering so slowly, that or..." said Yamazaki. 
  489.78 +
  489.79 +"Or what?" said Sakura as she looked at Yamazaki. 
  489.80 +
  489.81 +"She has recovered and she isn't coming to school because she is avoiding something or someone. In few words: She is trying to not see something or someone that can hurt her" concluded Yamazaki. 
  489.82 +
  489.83 +That moment the bell rings and the group entered their classroom, Sakura sat in her seat and her mind was full work. 
  489.84 +
  489.85 +"She is avoiding school, for me? Is she trying not to see me? Am I the one who hurts her? And... what is it that she said I will never understand?" Sakura's thoughts were running like a wheel of fortune. 
  489.86 +
  489.87 +******* 
  489.88 +
  489.89 +When the class was over, Sakura leaves the school and outside Tomoyo's bodyguards were waiting for her, Sakura gives them the homework for Tomoyo, and they leave. Sakura went right to her house; she entered her room and fell on her bed, trying to think and found the answer of her problems, all she could think is about Tomoyo. After hours of thinking she felt exhausted and went to sleep. 
  489.90 +
  489.91 +******* 
  489.92 +
  489.93 +Sakura was dressed in one of her battle costumes; it was something that she used before. She was dressed as an harlequin, and was running ready to fight a Clow Card but she wasn't sure how to find it. She slowed her tracks and now was walking. She walked to the King Penguin and found someone leaning against a tree. She froze at the sight of two angel wings stained in blood. She ran to the tree and she froze and trying to deny what was she seeing. 
  489.94 +
  489.95 +Tomoyo was leaning back on the tree, her wings stained by blood, her white dress with bloodstains and her face showing her perpetual smile. Sakura recovered form her shock, and came closer to her friend. 
  489.96 +
  489.97 +"Tomoyo-chan???? Tomoyo-chan!!!! What happened to you?!??! Are you all right?!?!?" Sakura desperately asked her friend. Her hand brushed the cheek of her friend and she felt worse, she felt the coldness of Tomoyo's cheek, her body was cold, Sakura moved her head to Tomoyo's heart, trying to listen something but nothing came, there is no heartbeat coming from Tomoyo. 
  489.98 +
  489.99 +Sakura didn't believe this was happening, it must be a dream. She felt the coldness of her friend coming right to her heart, tears coming from her face, their taste was the most bitter. She took the dead body of her best friend, the one who was at her side in the worst moments, of the one who made Sakura smile. Sakura pulled the body closer to her and started to cry, crying loudly to the heavens, crying the loss of Tomoyo. 
 489.100 +
 489.101 +"WHY?!?!? TOMOYO, DON'T LEAVE ME!!! PLEASE!!!!! WAKE UP!!!! TELL ME YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!" said Sakura screaming from the depths of her soul. 
 489.102 +
 489.103 +There was no response from Tomoyo, her wings dripping blood. Sakura's body was stained with the blood of her friend. She held it tighter. She stopped screaming and started to cry without consolation, holding Tomoyo tightly. Sakura remembered when she met Tomoyo for the first time, all things they done together, Tomoyo giving her comfort, hearing Sakura's troubles and understanding Sakura, but no more now. 
 489.104 +
 489.105 +"My mother left me and now you... Did I hurt you?, Did I make you sad? Answer me...please" Sakura's voice wavered as she spoke. Her tears falling down onto to Tomoyo's smiling face. Anything that Sakura could say was useless now. Tomoyo won't open her eyes. Tomoyo won't give her a costume or tape her on video, Tomoyo won't smile at Sakura anymore. 
 489.106 +
 489.107 +"Tomoyo..." said Sakura still crying. 
 489.108 +
 489.109 +"No matter how much you cry, she won't awake. It's an angel that is dead" said a voice. 
 489.110 +
 489.111 +Sakura at the sound of that, she stood up holding Tomoyo, she looked in every place, and didn't find anything. 
 489.112 +
 489.113 +"WHERE ARE YOU???? ARE YOU THE ONE WHO DO THIS TO HER?!?!? SHOW YOURSELF!!!!!!" Sakura screamed enraged, her anger was full and the only thing she desired was to found the one who did this to her friend. 
 489.114 +
 489.115 +Suddenly a person appeared and Sakura froze. It was herself, a Sakura dressed in black clothes with bloodstains, and smiling at her, her face covered with blood as well. 
 489.116 +
 489.117 +"You... The Mirror Card?!?!?" asked Sakura surprised. 
 489.118 +
 489.119 +"No..." said the dark Sakura. 
 489.120 +
 489.121 +"Who are you then!?!?!?" asked Sakura with rage in her eyes. 
 489.122 +
 489.123 +"I won't tell you but I will give you a piece of advice... this will happen if you don't find the truth; if you don't, you will learn that the truth has a price. Sometimes this price is higher, like the death of your friend, and you won't realize how much you cared for something until you lose it. Think about it" said the dark Sakura and turned to go away. 
 489.124 +
 489.125 +"MATTE!!!!" screamed Sakura. 
 489.126 +
 489.127 +The dark Sakura saw as Sakura left Tomoyo on the tree again, now Sakura is facing the dark Sakura with eyes mixed by tears and rage. 
 489.128 +
 489.129 +"Whatever you are... you will pay, I will not stop until I saw you DEAD!!!" screamed Sakura and her hand went to her neck and grip on the key, the dark Sakura saw it and her smile turned into an evil one. 
 489.130 +
 489.131 +"Key that hides the power of darkness, I, Sakura, I command you under contract!!! RELEASE!!!" Sakura screamed and her key becomes a baton, the dark Sakura pulled out her own baton and prepared to fight. Sakura pulled the Firey Card and used it but the dark Sakura used the Shield Card and blocked it. Sakura used the Fly card and two angel wings appeared in her back. She flew directly to the dark Sakura and used the Sword card, but dark Sakura's Shield deflected the strike leaving her free to use her baton to strike a blow in Sakura's stomach, the blow made Sakura fell to the ground wounded by the strike on her stomach. The dark Sakura comes closer to her and smiled, her bloodstained hand going to Sakura's cheek. 
 489.132 +
 489.133 +"No matter how many cards you use it, you're not able to defeat me, if you don't find the truth that involved your friend, forget the idea of defeating me" said the dark Sakura. 
 489.134 +
 489.135 +"Are you saying that what happened to Tomoyo-chan is my fault?" said a Sakura wracked by sobs. 
 489.136 +
 489.137 +"Yes. If you're able to find the truth, maybe you can save her, but you don't have time, two days is that you have, find the truth" said the dark Sakura and started to fade away. 
 489.138 +
 489.139 +"Two days" whispered the dark Sakura before disappearing. Sakura stood up and hardly had she went where Tomoyo was, she let herself fall over her friend and her arms wrapped Tomoyo. She started to cry again. 
 489.140 +
 489.141 +"What is that I will never understand? What truth is it? You were trying to say something and I wasn't able to figure it out? What?? WHAT!?!?" said Sakura crying. 
 489.142 +
 489.143 +Suddenly a familiar voice come. 
 489.144 +
 489.145 +"Sakura, wake up!! You're having a nightmare!!!" said her brother, and suddenly the place started to fade away. 
 489.146 +
 489.147 +****** 
 489.148 +
 489.149 +Touya rushed to Sakura's room and trying to awaken her sister. He was awoken by the cry of Sakura, he tried to wake up her and finally Sakura opened her eyes. "Yokatta. Imouto-chan" said Touya. Sakura was still crying and she threw herself in her brother's arms, she cried with all her might. "Let it out, cry. This will make you feel better " said Touya softly. Sakura cried and cried. In her mind the image of Tomoyo on the tree was fixed it and how much she tried she didn't get rid off. 
 489.150 +
 489.151 +"Onii-chan..." said Sakura. 
 489.152 +
 489.153 +"It's all right if you won't tell me what happened. I won't pressure you, but I don't want to see you sad" said Touya with a concern in her eyes. 
 489.154 +
 489.155 +"Thanks" said Sakura a little better. 
 489.156 +
 489.157 +"Are you sure you can sleep again?" Touya asked Sakura. She nodded and her brother went to his room. 
 489.158 +
 489.159 +She looked for Kero-chan, when she felt something under the blanket. "Kero-chan?" asked Sakura. Kero-chan poked his head out of the blanket, and looked at Sakura. 
 489.160 +
 489.161 +"What happened?" he asked, Sakura told him what happened, and Kero-chan had an idea about it. 
 489.162 +
 489.163 +"Yes, there's no doubt" said Kero-chan convinced. 
 489.164 +
 489.165 +"If wasn't the Mirror Card , then who was it?" asked Sakura worried. 
 489.166 +
 489.167 +"The Truth Card" concluded Kero-chan. 
 489.168 +
 489.169 +"The Truth Card?" asked Sakura surprised. 
 489.170 +
 489.171 +To be continued..

   490.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   490.2 +++ b/stories/togetherforeverpt2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   490.3 @@ -0,0 +1,719 @@
   490.4 +Hi!!! I'm in exams period, but I did a little effort and I finished the   second and last part of this story. I 
   490.5 +hope you
   490.6 +              like it!! I will see you at the end of the story.
   490.7 +
   490.8 +              "You and me, together forever" (Part 2) 
   490.9 +
  490.10 +              "Yes. The Truth Card is a special card, it shows the truth of certain things   that are related to the 
  490.11 +persons who
  490.12 +              are involved" said the guardian beast.
  490.13 +
  490.14 +              "Can this card kill persons?" Sakura asked worried. 
  490.15 +
  490.16 +              Kero-chan looked away, when he felt Sakura's hand grabbing him and turned to   her.
  490.17 +
  490.18 +              "Is true?"   Sakura looked at him with a desperate look in her face. 
  490.19 +
  490.20 +              Kero-chan nodded. 
  490.21 +
  490.22 +              Then Sakura stood up on her bed and went to her dresser to pick some   clothes.
  490.23 +
  490.24 +              "What are you doing?" Kero-chan said looking at her. 
  490.25 +
  490.26 +              "I'm going to see Tomoyo. I won't let the card kill her," Sakura said trying   not to say it louder.
  490.27 +
  490.28 +              "You can't see her," Kero-chan said. Sakura turned and looked at him, he was   seeing a Sakura 
  490.29 +that he hasn't
  490.30 +              seen before.
  490.31 +
  490.32 +              "Why I can't see her?" Sakura asked angrily. Sakura wasn't pleased to hear   Kero-chan's response.
  490.33 +
  490.34 +              "Because, if you go now then the card will kill Tomoyo." Kero-chan said   seriously.
  490.35 +
  490.36 +              "But, why?" Sakura asked almost to cry. 
  490.37 +
  490.38 +              "Don't you remember? The only way to defeat the card is finding the truth,   the truth about 
  490.39 +Tomoyo" Kero-chan
  490.40 +              said. Sakura remembered the dream and what   the card said. "Only finding the truth, you are able 
  490.41 +to defeat and
  490.42 +              seal it,   is the only way to save Tomoyo" Kero-chan concluded.
  490.43 +
  490.44 +              "I have two days to find it" Sakura said. 
  490.45 +
  490.46 +              "And you must find it alone, by yourself" Kero-chan said. 
  490.47 +
  490.48 +              "Arigatou, Kero-chan" Sakura hugged him. 
  490.49 +
  490.50 +              After that Sakura went to sleep, she knew that the following days would be   harder.
  490.51 +
  490.52 +              ****** 
  490.53 +              She didn't know that The Truth Card, who was looking at Sakura's house,   observed her and then 
  490.54 +she went to
  490.55 +              Tomoyo's house and entered in her room.   Tomoyo was sleeping peacefully, the card looked to the 
  490.56 +nightstand
  490.57 +              and saw a   picture of Sakura, then she came to Tomoyo, she brushed her invisible hand   through 
  490.58 +Tomoyo's pale
  490.59 +              cheek.
  490.60 +
  490.61 +              "It's a pity that you must die. But your death will be needed to open   Sakura's eyes. You told her 
  490.62 +many times
  490.63 +              your true feelings, but she didn't   understand. So, I will make her understand in the worst way 
  490.64 +possible" the  
  490.65 +              card said and ran her hand again, this time stroking Tomoyo's soft hair.
  490.66 +
  490.67 +              "I know that you want her happy, but at least you deserve that she finds   your true feelings, it's 
  490.68 +ironic that you will
  490.69 +              die by her blindness, I will   end your pain&#8230; No, she will do it" the card said and faded 
  490.70 +away.
  490.71 +
  490.72 +              ****** 
  490.73 +              When the morning came, Sakura was dressed quickly and after eating her   breakfast; she rushed to 
  490.74 +her school.
  490.75 +              Touya and Fujitaka had a worry in their   faces.
  490.76 +
  490.77 +              "I hope she's all right," Touya said remembering what happened to her in the   last night.
  490.78 +
  490.79 +              "Of course she will, you must have faith on her," Fujitaka said smiling to   his son.
  490.80 +
  490.81 +              "It's true, it's a kaijuu but is my sister too," Touya said and leaves to   his school.
  490.82 +
  490.83 +              Sakura arrived to school and saw the bodyguards, they gave her the homework   and left. Sakura 
  490.84 +entered to her
  490.85 +              class like a bolt and looked for Yamazaki.
  490.86 +
  490.87 +              Yamazaki was surprised to see Sakura breathing heavily. 
  490.88 +
  490.89 +              "You were running aren't you? Yamazaki said smiling. 
  490.90 +
  490.91 +              "I need to know something&#8230;" Sakura said panting. 
  490.92 +
  490.93 +              "What?" Yamazaki said when he saw Terada-sensei 
  490.94 +
  490.95 +              Yamazaki said Sakura that she could ask him in the break. Sakura sat on her   chair and listen the 
  490.96 +class.
  490.97 +
  490.98 +              ****** 
  490.99 +              During the break Sakura looked for Yamazaki. Chiharu was strangling him when   he saw Sakura 
 490.100 +and asked for
 490.101 +              help. Sakura laughed a little and went to save   him. After that, Yamazaki saw that Sakura was 
 490.102 +worried and he
 490.103 +              knew what the   problem is.
 490.104 +
 490.105 +              "It's about Tomoyo-san you want to ask, do you?" Yamazaki said. 
 490.106 +
 490.107 +              "I want to know if Tomoyo-chan said something more that you told me   yesterday" Sakura said 
 490.108 +worried.
 490.109 +
 490.110 +              Yamazaki nodded and told her that Tomoyo said was "Why I give myself to the   false hope that 
 490.111 +she will
 490.112 +              understand? I said her that I'll tell her when   we're older but every day I feel that don't make sense 
 490.113 +anymore,"
 490.114 +              Yamazaki   finished and looked to Sakura, she was stunned but thanked Yamazaki.
 490.115 +
 490.116 +              After that she sat on the tree and when she felt and heard something. 
 490.117 +
 490.118 +              "At least you know what she said, don't you Sakura?" 
 490.119 +
 490.120 +              Sakura froze, it was the Truth Card leaned on a tree branch and looked   smiling nicely at her.
 490.121 +
 490.122 +              "What are you doing here?" Sakura said scared. 
 490.123 +
 490.124 +              "Don't worry Sakura. I came only to see how are you doing, that's all" the   card said and changed 
 490.125 +into Tomoyo.
 490.126 +
 490.127 +              Then the false Tomoyo jumped off the tree and looked at Sakura. Sakura felt   her body paralyzed, 
 490.128 +the false
 490.129 +              Tomoyo leaned to her and her face was only a   few inches form Sakura's face. Sakura tried 
 490.130 +desperately to move
 490.131 +              her body,   but there is no response.
 490.132 +
 490.133 +              "Don't worry. You're the one who can see me now. Your time is running out.   Ah, I saw Tomoyo 
 490.134 +last night, you
 490.135 +              don't know how nice she is when sleeping,   always smiling. It's like this," the card said and 
 490.136 +imitated Tomoyo's  
 490.137 +              sleeping face.
 490.138 +
 490.139 +              Sakura felt the tears running down her cheeks. 
 490.140 +
 490.141 +              "It's sad that she will die, but people die every day, so it's not a big   thing and you don't care about 
 490.142 +her," the card
 490.143 +              said.
 490.144 +
 490.145 +              "It's not true, I care about her, really, I don't know what I will do if   she's gone" Sakura said 
 490.146 +crying.
 490.147 +
 490.148 +              "I know how this will end. You will be crying at her grave, leaving flowers,   crying more and 
 490.149 +more, and looking
 490.150 +              for an explanation, and there is one: It   will be your fault" the false Tomoyo said and faded away. 
 490.151 +Sakura wiped
 490.152 +              the   tears away, and after she relaxed, whispered: "I will find the truth, I will   save Tomoyo-chan"
 490.153 +
 490.154 +              ****** 
 490.155 +              When the class was over, she ran to her house and started to think. Her only   clues were what 
 490.156 +Yamazaki heard
 490.157 +              form Tomoyo, as long she tried to realize the   true meaning of the words. After a long time when 
 490.158 +the night comes
 490.159 +              and after   she eats she let the last thought come. And she realizes that the thought   was related to 
 490.160 +something that
 490.161 +              happened time ago.
 490.162 +
 490.163 +              "I love you Sakura" Tomoyo said to her and then spoke "I'll tell you when   you're older". Sakura 
 490.164 +didn't care
 490.165 +              about that; she never spent in thinking   what that mean.
 490.166 +
 490.167 +              "She said that she loved me. But, what is she will tell me when we're   older?" Sakura thought. 
 490.168 +After that she was
 490.169 +              ready to sleep when a thought hit   her. Sakura fell to the floor with tears in her eyes. Finally she 
 490.170 +figured   what
 490.171 +              Tomoyo tried to say.
 490.172 +
 490.173 +              "I didn't know Tomoyo-chan&#8230;" Sakura said with tears. 
 490.174 +
 490.175 +              "What happened?" Kero-chan said looking at her with a concern in his face. 
 490.176 +
 490.177 +              "Tomoyo is in love with me. I'm so stupid" Sakura said and Kero-chan was   shocked.
 490.178 +
 490.179 +              "It was obvious, always, and I didn't know it" Sakura said. 
 490.180 +
 490.181 +              Kero-chan went to her and saw that she was still crying. "It's okay. You   found Tomoyo's truth, 
 490.182 +maybe you can
 490.183 +              save now, but you must find one thing   more and then all will be over" Kero-chan said and leaves 
 490.184 +Sakura alone.
 490.185 +
 490.186 +              "The only thing you must find is what you really feel for her. The card will   kill Tomoyo if you 
 490.187 +don't realize your
 490.188 +              true feelings for her. The two things   will make the truth that can defeat the card." Kero-chan 
 490.189 +thought hopefully  
 490.190 +              and wished luck to her and flies away.
 490.191 +
 490.192 +              Sakura couldn't sleep; the fact that her best friend was in love with her is   something that she 
 490.193 +cannot elude.
 490.194 +              Sakura thought how many times Tomoyo told   her, and how many times Sakura didn't understand. 
 490.195 +Sakura
 490.196 +              blamed herself over   and over for being so stupid.
 490.197 +
 490.198 +              "I'm a fool!!!!" Sakura thought to herself. 
 490.199 +
 490.200 +              "I know her true feelings but what I must find now?" Sakura asked. As much   she tried to think, 
 490.201 +she felt her body
 490.202 +              tired and she fell to sleep.
 490.203 +
 490.204 +              ******* 
 490.205 +              The next day at Sakura's school, Sakura looked for Rika; she found her   talking with Terada-
 490.206 +sensei. After that
 490.207 +              Sakura and Rika were alone.
 490.208 +
 490.209 +              "Rika-chan, I need your help" Sakura pleaded to her 
 490.210 +
 490.211 +              "About what?" Rika asked surprised. 
 490.212 +
 490.213 +              "Well. Someone I know is in love with me, but I don't know what to do"   Sakura said to Rika, but 
 490.214 +she can't say
 490.215 +              that person is Tomoyo.
 490.216 +
 490.217 +              "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I can't help you because you must find it by   yourself" Rika said.
 490.218 +
 490.219 +              "But, what's I must find Rika-chan?" Sakura asked her. 
 490.220 +
 490.221 +              "It's simple Sakura-chan, you must find what you really feel for that   person, it's only that" Rika 
 490.222 +said smiling.
 490.223 +
 490.224 +              Sakura saw Rika leaving and looked for a tree, she sat and started to think. 
 490.225 +
 490.226 +              "What I really feel for her&#8230;" Sakura thought to herself. "She is my   best friend, I love her 
 490.227 +as a friend,"
 490.228 +              Sakura said but she wasn't sure of   that.
 490.229 +
 490.230 +              "What I really feel for you, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura whispered. 
 490.231 +
 490.232 +              When the class was over, Sakura went to her house, when she entered her room   Kero-chan was 
 490.233 +watching the
 490.234 +              television, Sakura told him that she need to be   alone, Kero-chan nodded and went outside. Sakura 
 490.235 +pulled the
 490.236 +              curtains leaving   the room in darkness; she dressed her pajamas and sat on the floor.
 490.237 +
 490.238 +              "If I find my true feelings can I save you Tomoyo-chan? " Sakura asked to   herself. Suddenly she 
 490.239 +went to her
 490.240 +              dresser. She looked the costumes that   Tomoyo made for her; Sakura understood that was a way 
 490.241 +for Tomoyo
 490.242 +              to confess   her love.
 490.243 +
 490.244 +              "When I feel bad she is there to comfort me. She always listened all my   problems; she tried to 
 490.245 +help me to
 490.246 +              resolve them. She makes me laugh, no   matter how bad things are." Sakura said. She remembered 
 490.247 +Tomoyo said
 490.248 +              that she   wanted her special person happy.
 490.249 +
 490.250 +              "If I choose someone that's not her, she will be happy alone?" Sakura said. 
 490.251 +
 490.252 +              Sakura imagined Tomoyo always smiling, but when no one is seeing her, she   was still smiling 
 490.253 +but the tears
 490.254 +              started, she starts to walk for a path of   darkness, alone but always smiling.
 490.255 +
 490.256 +              "She is sacrificing for me, her happiness for mine. She would throw away her   own life, just for 
 490.257 +me." Sakura said
 490.258 +              with sadness.
 490.259 +
 490.260 +              "I didn't know that she loves me on that way, how I could be so blind?"   Sakura said. She doesn't 
 490.261 +want Tomoyo
 490.262 +              sacrificing for her, she doesn't want   to lose her, she doesn't want to lose that angel with an eternal 
 490.263 +smile and  
 490.264 +              beautiful black hair and lovely eyes which tell a lot of feelings, but   especially the strong feelings 
 490.265 +for Sakura.
 490.266 +
 490.267 +              Sakura sat on her bed. She laid a hand over her heart, and whispered, "I   want to know the truth. I 
 490.268 +want to
 490.269 +              know my true feelings for you&#8230;   Tomoyo-chan". The time passed when the clock 
 490.270 +announces that it's half
 490.271 +              past   eleven of the night, Sakura noticed that and went to dress quickly, she   grabbed her baton 
 490.272 +and many
 490.273 +              cards, and she went outside and used the Fly   card. She flew into the air and went to Tomoyo's 
 490.274 +house, hoping
 490.275 +              she wasn't   late.
 490.276 +
 490.277 +              ******* 
 490.278 +              The clock marked the end of the day, the Truth Card changed into Sakura; she   went where 
 490.279 +Tomoyo was.
 490.280 +              Tomoyo whispered dreamily "Sakura-chan". The dark   Sakura smiled using her baton she used 
 490.281 +her own version
 490.282 +              of the Sword Card,   and aimed it at Tomoyo's heart.
 490.283 +
 490.284 +              "She failed. She doesn't found her true feelings; your true love is   hopelessly. I will end your pain, 
 490.285 +Tomoyo
 490.286 +              Daidouji" the dark Sakura said when   saw a shadow over Tomoyo. The dark Sakura looked and 
 490.287 +her smile
 490.288 +              disappeared.
 490.289 +
 490.290 +              Sakura was there, angel wings from her back and looked both Tomoyo and the   card, she was 
 490.291 +smiling with tears
 490.292 +              as she was looking at Tomoyo, she sighed   knowing that she was still alive. The dark Sakura left 
 490.293 +Tomoyo and
 490.294 +              confront   her outside the house.
 490.295 +
 490.296 +              "It's late you know. You can't save her now. I'm going to kill her, in that   way, her pain will end 
 490.297 +and yours will
 490.298 +              start" the dark Sakura said angrily.
 490.299 +
 490.300 +              "You wanted to do that from the beginning do you?" Sakura asked 
 490.301 +
 490.302 +              "You don't know, I saw persons who loved with such passion but their   feelings weren't return, 
 490.303 +women, men,
 490.304 +              boys and girls, all of them embracing   that dream of being with the one they loved but ended 
 490.305 +alone," the dark  
 490.306 +              Sakura said.
 490.307 +
 490.308 +              "So, the solution is just killing?" Sakura asked. 
 490.309 +
 490.310 +              "When Clow Reed created me, my work was show the truth, but the results were   different, 
 490.311 +someone
 490.312 +              understood and ended with that person, but others showed   hate, angry, a lot of emotions what 
 490.313 +supposed
 490.314 +              weren't the right ones. Some   disappeared from them, not wanting to know about them anymore. 
 490.315 +Others just  
 490.316 +              killed them with indifference, others said that their friendship was a lie,   etc." the dark Sakura 
 490.317 +said.
 490.318 +
 490.319 +              "You don't answer my question. Why kill?" Sakura asked again. 
 490.320 +
 490.321 +              "I don't want to kill but sometimes it's necessary. It's necessary because   for some persons it's the 
 490.322 +only way to
 490.323 +              understand. I saw tears, people   killing themselves for an unrequited love, so many things that 
 490.324 +made me act   of
 490.325 +              this way, it's the reason why I don't belong to the Clow Book, I don't   want to be captured," the 
 490.326 +dark Sakura
 490.327 +              said held tightly on her own sword.
 490.328 +
 490.329 +              Sakura looked at her with sadness. 
 490.330 +
 490.331 +              "You don't know how important you're for Tomoyo," the dark Sakura said. 
 490.332 +
 490.333 +              "Yes, I know. She's in love with me," Sakura said with sincerity. 
 490.334 +
 490.335 +              The dark Sakura froze, and aimed her sword to Sakura 
 490.336 +
 490.337 +              "It's true, but I must kill her, I want to end her pain, she loves you so   much that she would die the 
 490.338 +day when
 490.339 +              you'll said that you don't need her   anymore" the dark Sakura said. Her eyes were burning.
 490.340 +
 490.341 +              "Later I will see how much you'll cry and then I will kill you. The Clow   Mistress doesn't deserve 
 490.342 +such love from
 490.343 +              that gentle girl, and I don't want   to be captured. I will continue showing the truth to people in that 
 490.344 +way or  
 490.345 +              another! Don't you understand? Now leave and wait for your death" the dark   Sakura said.
 490.346 +
 490.347 +              "I can't. I know what is being rejected, from others and myself. But I   learned that there is hope in 
 490.348 +front of you,
 490.349 +              it's true that there is no hope   for others, but I believe in hope. I want to show hope in others, even 
 490.350 +I'm   not
 490.351 +              successful, but at least I tried. Death is not the solution," Sakura   said with her eyes closed.
 490.352 +
 490.353 +              "But for some people is the only way to escape from pain" the dark Sakura   said.
 490.354 +
 490.355 +              "Maybe. But I don't want to lose Tomoyo-chan so I'm going to seal you,"   Sakura said
 490.356 +
 490.357 +              "Then fight, your truth versus mine," the dark Sakura said. 
 490.358 +
 490.359 +              Sakura made the card follow her and landed in the King Penguin Park. The   dark Sakura landed 
 490.360 +too and looked
 490.361 +              at Sakura. Sakura made the key turning   into the baton, and the battle began. Both were fighting 
 490.362 +with a great
 490.363 +              skill,   when Sakura pulled a card; the dark Sakura pulled the opposite, after a   while, the dark 
 490.364 +Sakura was
 490.365 +              desperately, it's the first time that she was   losing to the Mistress, she tried to kill Sakura but all 
 490.366 +was in vain,
 490.367 +              Sakura   blocked every attack and she used The Light card and the Firey Card. The   dark Sakura 
 490.368 +fell to the
 490.369 +              ground wounded. Sakura walked to her and kneeled.
 490.370 +
 490.371 +              "Thank you&#8230;" Sakura whispered. 
 490.372 +
 490.373 +              "For what?" the dark Sakura said 
 490.374 +
 490.375 +              "Because without you, I would never find what I am now, what I feel now. You   made me 
 490.376 +discover the truth,"
 490.377 +              Sakura said.
 490.378 +
 490.379 +              "I know what you really feel now, it's fine. You found the truth; the   guardian beast told that the 
 490.380 +one who found
 490.381 +              the truth could defeat me. I   don't regret what I did to you in the dream; it's good to know that 
 490.382 +there is   hope.
 490.383 +              Onegai... seal me" the dark Sakura said smiling with tears.
 490.384 +
 490.385 +              Sakura used her baton on the card. 
 490.386 +
 490.387 +              "Return to your original form&#8230; Clow Card" Sakura whispered. The Truth   Card was sealed 
 490.388 +and will not
 490.389 +              cause troubles any more. Sakura knew that there   was more one thing that she had to do.
 490.390 +
 490.391 +              Sakura looked for an open window in Tomoyo's house; she saw one and entered.   Moving 
 490.392 +carefully she entered
 490.393 +              into Tomoyo's room. She went where Tomoyo was,   Tomoyo was sleeping and Sakura whispered 
 490.394 +to her.
 490.395 +
 490.396 +              "Tomoyo-chan, please wake up" 
 490.397 +
 490.398 +              Sakura whispered again and again until Tomoyo opened her eyes. Sakura laid a   hand on 
 490.399 +Tomoyo's pale cheek,
 490.400 +              Tomoyo thought that she was in a dream, but the   hand felt so real, so warm. Tomoyo looked to 
 490.401 +Sakura, who
 490.402 +              was with the angel   wings and smiling.
 490.403 +
 490.404 +              "Sakura-chan, is that you?" Tomoyo asked surprised. 
 490.405 +
 490.406 +              Sakura nodded and gently she took Tomoyo into her arms, she laid Tomoyo's   head over her heart.
 490.407 +
 490.408 +              "Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said. 
 490.409 +
 490.410 +              Tomoyo listened Sakura's heartbeat, it was faster but also warmth covered   it. Tomoyo's heart 
 490.411 +started to beat
 490.412 +              faster too.
 490.413 +
 490.414 +              "What are you doing here Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. 
 490.415 +
 490.416 +              "I'm here because I wanted to know something from you, and vice versa,"   Sakura said.
 490.417 +
 490.418 +              "What?" Tomoyo asked surprised. 
 490.419 +
 490.420 +              "What do you really feel for me? I'm a friend to you or something more?"   Sakura asked
 490.421 +
 490.422 +              Tomoyo was shocked, and trying to say that Sakura is her best friend but the   response was not 
 490.423 +convincing.
 490.424 +
 490.425 +              "Tomoyo-chan, please be honest. Are you in love with me?" Sakura asked   quietly.
 490.426 +
 490.427 +              Tomoyo froze, but she thought it was better to say the truth. Tears starting   to fall through by her 
 490.428 +pale cheeks.
 490.429 +
 490.430 +              "Yes" Tomoyo said with tears. She thought that all is over, that Sakura will   never forgive her, 
 490.431 +that their
 490.432 +              friendship is over. But Sakura stroked   Tomoyo's hair and looked directly to her.
 490.433 +
 490.434 +              "Why you didn't tell me on that way?" Sakura said as she wiped away Tomoyo's   tears.
 490.435 +
 490.436 +              "Because I was afraid, I didn't want to lose your friendship, you deserve   something better than 
 490.437 +me, but I was
 490.438 +              scared that you wouldn't understand my   feelings" Tomoyo said.
 490.439 +
 490.440 +              "Why do you think I'm deserve something better than you?" Sakura asked. 
 490.441 +
 490.442 +              "Look at me, I'm a girl like you, we're second cousins, when you're older   you would want a 
 490.443 +family and I can't
 490.444 +              give you one. For me it's enough to have   your friendship. I said that I'm happy if my love is 
 490.445 +happy, too; when
 490.446 +              you   reach the true happiness, then I will know I succeed, and then you can   forget me, maybe my 
 490.447 +destiny is to
 490.448 +              be alone but I will face it because you're   the one I can love, now and ever" Tomoyo said avoiding 
 490.449 +Sakura's
 490.450 +              gaze.
 490.451 +
 490.452 +              "You thought when I found the truth by myself, or when you told me, that I   would hate you?" 
 490.453 +Sakura asked
 490.454 +              trying to met her eyes with Tomoyo's.
 490.455 +
 490.456 +              "Yes. It's the reason why I haven't told you before, thinking you hate me   I&#8230;." Sakura 
 490.457 +hugging her tightly
 490.458 +              cut Tomoyo's speech.
 490.459 +
 490.460 +              "No, I never would hate you, but I blamed myself for not knowing before when   even it was very 
 490.461 +evident.
 490.462 +              Everything you did for me was your confession of   love. Costumes, videos, advices, everything 
 490.463 +has the message
 490.464 +              'I love you,   Sakura-chan', you confessed your love, and I didn't know it" Sakura said   with a tear 
 490.465 +in her eye.
 490.466 +
 490.467 +              "It wasn't your fault. You were so innocent. I thought that you wouldn't   understand what I feel for 
 490.468 +you, so I
 490.469 +              decided to help you to get your true   love, in that way you'll be happy and me too," Tomoyo said a 
 490.470 +little relaxed.
 490.471 +
 490.472 +              "Are you really sure of that?" Sakura asked. 
 490.473 +
 490.474 +              "Yes, at least I'll try. You will find a boy that you will love; I will help   you to get him. Don't 
 490.475 +bother for me,"
 490.476 +              Tomoyo said with tears again.
 490.477 +
 490.478 +              "Don't cry Tomoyo-chan, I don't want to see you crying," Sakura said and   wiped the tears again.
 490.479 +
 490.480 +              "Why?" Tomoyo asked. 
 490.481 +
 490.482 +              "Because I made you cry many times before, I hurt you so much, and I don't   want to see you sad, 
 490.483 +not now and
 490.484 +              not ever" Sakura said now crying.
 490.485 +
 490.486 +              Tomoyo just looked at Sakura, she wiped the tears away. Sakura just smiled   as she continued 
 490.487 +crying, after a
 490.488 +              time she stopped her cry.
 490.489 +
 490.490 +              "Tomoyo-chan, there is something more that I would like to ask you" Sakura   asked looking at her 
 490.491 +friend.
 490.492 +
 490.493 +              "What Sakura?" Tomoyo asked 
 490.494 +
 490.495 +              "Why you said 'I'm sorry for causing troubles to you" to me?" Sakura asked. 
 490.496 +
 490.497 +              "Because for the homework, I know you like to sleep late, you usually don't   go to school early, so 
 490.498 +I thought I
 490.499 +              was making troubles. I'm sorry," Tomoyo   said.
 490.500 +
 490.501 +              "Don't say it. The one who had to do that is I. For the many times I didn't   understand, for hurting 
 490.502 +you, for
 490.503 +              everything. I'm really sorry, Tomoyo-chan"   Sakura said sincerely.
 490.504 +
 490.505 +              "I'm so glad that you understand about my feelings, about how much I love   you" Tomoyo said 
 490.506 +but closed her
 490.507 +              mouth.
 490.508 +
 490.509 +              "The last question Tomoyo-chan." Sakura said 
 490.510 +
 490.511 +              "Eh?" Tomoyo asked. 
 490.512 +
 490.513 +              "Yamazaki told that you were trying not to see me, that you were avoiding   school for me, that 
 490.514 +you was
 490.515 +              recovered from your illness, and not coming for   me. He heard you about give up the false hope 
 490.516 +that I will never
 490.517 +              understand   your love for me," Sakura said.
 490.518 +
 490.519 +              "I'm better Sakura-chan, but I'm still ill because I don't have a body like   yours. I'm weak so I 
 490.520 +must recover
 490.521 +              more slowly than others. I will never   avoid you, like I said before I want to see you every day of 
 490.522 +my life until  
 490.523 +              you found your special person, then you can forget me" Tomoyo said blushing.
 490.524 +
 490.525 +              "I don't want to forget you, the past days I thought only of you, I missed   you so much, I felt so 
 490.526 +lonely in school
 490.527 +              without you, I was so sadly for you,   and I don't want you sacrificing for me, can you promise 
 490.528 +that?" Sakura
 490.529 +              asked   nicely.
 490.530 +
 490.531 +              "I promise" Tomoyo said. 
 490.532 +
 490.533 +              "Thanks" Sakura said. 
 490.534 +
 490.535 +              "Why you came here?" Tomoyo asked. 
 490.536 +
 490.537 +              "To save you and confess my truth to you," Sakura said. 
 490.538 +
 490.539 +              "Save me? Truth?" Tomoyo asked confused. 
 490.540 +
 490.541 +              "Tomoyo-chan a few days before I had a dream where you were dead, killed by   the Truth Card, 
 490.542 +seeing you
 490.543 +              dead made me so desperately to bring you back to   life, but the card said if I find the truth, I would 
 490.544 +save you, but
 490.545 +              all was a   dream, but I wanted to save you. I found that you're in love with me but   also I realized 
 490.546 +my truth, in
 490.547 +              that way I defeated the card and sealed, a   while ago." Sakura said looking deeply at Tomoyo's 
 490.548 +eyes.
 490.549 +
 490.550 +              "Sakura-chan&#8230;"Tomoyo whispered. 
 490.551 +
 490.552 +              Sakura showed the card to Tomoyo, after that she hugged Tomoyo again. 
 490.553 +
 490.554 +              "I realized how much I need you, I don't want to lose you not now, not ever.   When I found my 
 490.555 +truth, I promised
 490.556 +              myself I was going to save you and confess   my truth" Sakura said.
 490.557 +
 490.558 +              "Your truth?" Tomoyo asked. 
 490.559 +
 490.560 +              "Yes" Sakura said. She took air and finally let the words out. 
 490.561 +
 490.562 +              "Tomoyo-chan, I'm in love with you, this is my truth. I realized my true   feelings for you, my love 
 490.563 +for you. I love
 490.564 +              you, Daidouji Tomoyo-chan" Sakura   finished her confession.
 490.565 +
 490.566 +              Tomoyo opened her eyes, she tried not to cry but she didn't. The tears fell   and it were of joy, not 
 490.567 +sadness. She
 490.568 +              wished if that is a dream, she never   want to get up. She looked to her reason to live with tears and 
 490.569 +smiling.
 490.570 +
 490.571 +              "I love you Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said crying. 
 490.572 +
 490.573 +              "I love you, Tomoyo-chan" Sakura whispered. She comes closer and wiped away   the tears of her 
 490.574 +love, and
 490.575 +              kissed Tomoyo softly on the lips, Tomoyo's arms   embraced Sakura. Sakura's angel wings 
 490.576 +wrapped both of
 490.577 +              them as they continued   kissing softly; the time seemed eternal for both. After a long time they   
 490.578 +broke the kiss.
 490.579 +              Sakura left Tomoyo in the bed and sat. Both girls looked to   each other with sweetness in their 
 490.580 +eyes.
 490.581 +
 490.582 +              "I would like to stay, but I must go to home" Sakura said sadly. Tomoyo   smiled at her.
 490.583 +
 490.584 +              "Don't worry. In a few days I will go to school, besides I don't want you   ill" Tomoyo said 
 490.585 +smiling.
 490.586 +
 490.587 +              "I know. Then we will meet in the school, okay?" Sakura said and kissed   Tomoyo's forehead.
 490.588 +
 490.589 +              "Okay" Tomoyo said. 
 490.590 +
 490.591 +              Sakura opened the window and went outside. 
 490.592 +
 490.593 +              "I love you Tomoyo-chan" Sakura said as she closed the window. 
 490.594 +
 490.595 +              "Me too. Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said as she finished closing the window. Sakura   went directly to 
 490.596 +her home,
 490.597 +              when she entered in her room Kero-chan was   sleeping and carefully she fell to sleep contently.
 490.598 +
 490.599 +              ******* 
 490.600 +
 490.601 +              A few days later, Sakura was eating her breakfast happily and her father and   brother looked at her 
 490.602 +surprised by
 490.603 +              the girl's attitude.
 490.604 +
 490.605 +              "Wow, you were happy these days. Something happened?" Fujitaka asked. 
 490.606 +
 490.607 +              "Yes" Sakura said as she finished her breakfast. 
 490.608 +
 490.609 +              "I suppose you found a boyfriend, kaijuu," Touya said but Sakura just smiled   and Touya had a 
 490.610 +puzzled look in
 490.611 +              his face.
 490.612 +
 490.613 +              Sakura went to the door, ready to go to school. 
 490.614 +
 490.615 +              "I would like to meet him someday" Fujitaka said to her. 
 490.616 +
 490.617 +              "You know who is, dad. I can't wait to see her, I'm in love with   Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura said 
 490.618 +happily to them
 490.619 +              and leaves to school.
 490.620 +
 490.621 +              Both were surprised, especially Touya. His cup fell to the floor also his   mouth. Fujitaka just 
 490.622 +smiled.
 490.623 +
 490.624 +              "It's her decision. I'm glad that she found someone special like Tomoyo-san"   Fujitaka said as put 
 490.625 +Touya's mouth
 490.626 +              in the right place.
 490.627 +
 490.628 +              "Now she's really a kaijuu, but I'm happy for her" Touya said regaining his   composure and leaves 
 490.629 +to his school
 490.630 +              to meet Yukito.
 490.631 +
 490.632 +              Tomoyo arrived to the school and entered in her classroom, in her desk she   found a card and 
 490.633 +some flowers, she
 490.634 +              was surprised because there is no one   when she entered. She took the card and read it.
 490.635 +
 490.636 +              "In this school I met a girl time ago, 
 490.637 +              and gave her an eraser,   I was glad to give her that. She is a beautiful angel with long dark hair 
 490.638 +and lovely blue
 490.639 +              eyes, and her smile is eternal as her love. I never noticed how amazing she is, she has magic, a 
 490.640 +special type of
 490.641 +              magic. When I kissed her, she opened her wings and take me to heaven, from then I couldn't wait 
 490.642 +to see her
 490.643 +              again. I only pray that angel can fulfill this wish of mine, of the depths of my heart and soul."
 490.644 +
 490.645 +              In the card with golden letters were: 
 490.646 +
 490.647 +              "You and me, together forever" 
 490.648 +
 490.649 +              Tomoyo was crying with joy and turned to see that Sakura was there with the   flowers also crying. 
 490.650 +Sakura
 490.651 +              embraced Tomoyo nicely and whispered.
 490.652 +
 490.653 +              "Can you fulfill my wish?" Sakura asked. 
 490.654 +
 490.655 +              "Yes!!! I want to be at your side forever, Sakura-chan" Tomoyo said with   tears. The two stayed 
 490.656 +in that way
 490.657 +              until they noticed her classmates and   released the embrace.
 490.658 +
 490.659 +              In the break, Tomoyo and Sakura went to a sakura tree and sat. Both girls   had a lunch made 
 490.660 +especially for the
 490.661 +              other. After that Sakura takes Tomoyo's   hand in her own.
 490.662 +
 490.663 +              "Tomoyo-chan, I'm so happy that you are with me now and I forgot the most   important thing" 
 490.664 +Sakura said
 490.665 +              smiling
 490.666 +
 490.667 +              "What Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked smiling. 
 490.668 +
 490.669 +              "Well, Tomo-chan&#8230;" Sakura's speech was cut by Tomoyo's giggle. 
 490.670 +
 490.671 +              "What's so funny?" Sakura asked giggling too. 
 490.672 +
 490.673 +              "Because you called me Tomo-chan." Tomoyo said laughing 
 490.674 +
 490.675 +              "I think that is sweet. May I can call you that?" Sakura asked. 
 490.676 +
 490.677 +              "Yes. Can I call you Saku-chan?" Tomoyo asked as she leaned to Sakura 
 490.678 +
 490.679 +              "Yes, Tomo-chan. I want to know something: Do you want to be my girlfriend?"   Sakura asked 
 490.680 +blushing.
 490.681 +
 490.682 +              Tomoyo laid a hand on Sakura's cheek, she comes closer and kissed her love,   they kissed for a 
 490.683 +long time.
 490.684 +
 490.685 +              "Yes, I want. I want to be your soul mate forever, Saku-chan" Tomoyo said   after the kiss.
 490.686 +
 490.687 +              Sakura made as she was caressing the invisible angel wings of Tomoyo. The   two embraced, and 
 490.688 +looked to each
 490.689 +              other.
 490.690 +
 490.691 +              "Tomo-chan, I promise that I will make you happy. I love you so much" Sakura   said looking at 
 490.692 +Tomoyo.
 490.693 +
 490.694 +              "I will make you happy, too. I will love you forever, Saku-chan" Tomoyo said   looking at Sakura 
 490.695 +too.
 490.696 +
 490.697 +              The two kissed again, they know that things will never the same again but   they're happy for have 
 490.698 +the one they
 490.699 +              loved, and they know that their wish of   be together forever will be fulfilled.
 490.700 +
 490.701 +              Owari (The End) 
 490.702 +
 490.703 +              Notes: 
 490.704 +
 490.705 +
 490.706 +              1_   This chapter is longer that the first, the original second part was short, but I decided revising 
 490.707 +and rewriting
 490.708 +              again and I think I was   
 490.709 +              successful.
 490.710 +
 490.711 +              I hope you liked it. It's nice for me writing about Tomo and Saku, they make   a perfect and 
 490.712 +beautiful couple.
 490.713 +
 490.714 +              If you liked it, don't, if you thought that part was really mushy, anything   please e-mail at:
 490.715 +
 490.716 +              cem_kamui@h... 
 490.717 +              or cemv_shinji@u...
 490.718 +
 490.719 +              Thank you for reading it!!! 
 490.720 +
 490.721 +              Until the next one!!! 
 490.722 +

   491.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   491.2 +++ b/stories/tomosak.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   491.3 @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
   491.4 +lizabellwaters@hotmail.com
   491.5 +
   491.6 +
   491.7 +It's really odd having a friend that's completely obsessed with you. 
   491.8 +But you know what? For years, I took it for granted. I figured it to be yet another odd fact about my best friend, 
   491.9 +Tomoyo. It's not as if that were her only unique trait, and I wasn't the only one writing her off that way. The girl had 
  491.10 +bodyguards, for crying out loud. Anything out of the ordinary that she said or did was chalked up to being just one 
  491.11 +more eccentric trait of the rich. 
  491.12 +Sometimes, she really made me freak out. Particularly with the more 'creative' and 'liberal' costumes she made for 
  491.13 +me, when Kero-chan and Syaoran weren't there with us. Those times, she'd spend hours with me, filming, even if we 
  491.14 +weren't doing anything more than talking. If it got too nerve wrecking for me, I might suggest my discomfort in a 
  491.15 +vague facial expression. I didn't mean for her to notice, but somehow-- back then I didn't know how-- she always 
  491.16 +understood everything I did or didn't say. "Don't be embarrassed," she'd reassure me, filming camera still in hand, 
  491.17 +"not in front of me." 
  491.18 +I never really minded the way she made me her life. 
  491.19 +She wouldn't be Tomoyo any other way. 
  491.20 +I'll admit it. I'm naive. It took me forever to figure out half the people who were in love with me. And of those, 
  491.21 +Tomoyo was the last. I wonder why? She was the most obvious one about it. Perhaps because it was so natural to 
  491.22 +me. I knew that the moment I walked into my classroom, the first one to greet me would be Tomoyo. Like a law of 
  491.23 +science or something. 
  491.24 +Another reason it took me so long was that it never occurred to me that people liked me or anything. Really! It just 
  491.25 +never struck me. I must have been to stuck on thoughts about Yukito-san. Speaking of which, I think that's about 
  491.26 +when I started figuring things out. That day I told Yukito-san, 'I love you.' Things fell into place after that. 

   492.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   492.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyo-farewell.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   492.3 @@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
   492.4 +"Tomoyo's Farewell Letter"
   492.5 +by Kamui Ikari
   492.6 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com
   492.7 +
   492.8 +
   492.9 +Hi! I'm back with a new story of CCS for you,
  492.10 +I hope you like it. I will see you at the end
  492.11 +of the story.
  492.12 +
  492.13 +----------------
  492.14 +
  492.15 +Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp,
  492.16 +Kodansha and other companies. This was made for
  492.17 +fun. Don't sue me.
  492.18 +
  492.19 +----------------
  492.20 +
  492.21 +
  492.22 +"Tomoyo's Farewell Letter"
  492.23 +
  492.24 +
  492.25 +
  492.26 +Sakura-chan:
  492.27 +
  492.28 +It's the first time that I've written a letter to you...
  492.29 +and it will be the last time.
  492.30 +
  492.31 +Yes, it's the first and last time.
  492.32 +
  492.33 +I remember the day that I met you for the first time:
  492.34 +you were beautiful, you came to me, and you gave me an
  492.35 +eraser, it was in school.
  492.36 +
  492.37 +From that day, things changed.
  492.38 +
  492.39 +We became good friends, we did many things together
  492.40 +and I was happy at your side, but I knew that someday
  492.41 +these things won't happen.
  492.42 +
  492.43 +Finally that day came.
  492.44 +
  492.45 +It was a five years ago, when you find the Clow Book
  492.46 +and became The Card Captor, the one who must capture
  492.47 +the cards before a disaster would come. I was excited
  492.48 +to have a friend who controls magic and must save the
  492.49 +world. It was the reason that I started to made you
  492.50 +battle costumes and recorded you on video.
  492.51 +
  492.52 +And he came too.
  492.53 +
  492.54 +He was your rival first and later became your friend
  492.55 +and finally...your beloved.
  492.56 +
  492.57 +I'm happy for you, you'd found your happiness and he
  492.58 +returned for you, you two will be forever.
  492.59 +
  492.60 +Your brother found his happiness too with him, 
  492.61 +everyone is happy.
  492.62 +
  492.63 +Do you remember when I told you something that I will 
  492.64 +explain when you're older?
  492.65 +
  492.66 +I will explain to you.
  492.67 +
  492.68 +I care for you, as you care for me, you said that you 
  492.69 +love me, but I don't love you...in that way.
  492.70 +
  492.71 +At the beginning yes, but not now.
  492.72 +
  492.73 +You care me as a friend but I don't care for you in 
  492.74 +that way now.
  492.75 +
  492.76 +The truth is:
  492.77 +
  492.78 +I'm in love with you, I love you as I never
  492.79 +loved someone before, it's the true reason
  492.80 +of my demeanor towards you.
  492.81 +
  492.82 +But, I'm happy for you, for finding your
  492.83 +"special person", for finding your true
  492.84 +happiness.
  492.85 +
  492.86 +And me?
  492.87 +
  492.88 +I don't know.
  492.89 +
  492.90 +I will go to some place, I don't which
  492.91 +one, but I must do it. It's painful to
  492.92 +be with you and not having you as I wanted.
  492.93 +
  492.94 +I plead you: After you read this, don't
  492.95 +look for me, don't try to find me, don't
  492.96 +waste your time in looking someone like
  492.97 +me, I don't deserve it.
  492.98 +
  492.99 +I won't see you again....
 492.100 +
 492.101 +I'll never see you again.
 492.102 +
 492.103 +Farewell...smy love....
 492.104 +
 492.105 +
 492.106 +Signed: Tomoyo Daidouji
 492.107 +
 492.108 +
 492.109 +P.S: I will love you until the end of my life
 492.110 +because you are my "special person".
 492.111 +
 492.112 +
 492.113 +
 492.114 +*************************
 492.115 +
 492.116 +Sakura returned to her home after her date with
 492.117 +Syaoran and found a letter in the floor, it has
 492.118 +no name, she tooked it and entered her home, and
 492.119 +readed it and finally found the reason of why
 492.120 +she was so special to Tomoyo...
 492.121 +
 492.122 +
 492.123 +OWARI (The End)
 492.124 +
 492.125 +
 492.126 +--------------
 492.127 +
 492.128 +Author's Notes:
 492.129 +
 492.130 +1. I'm not good at writing a farewell letter, but at least
 492.131 +   I tried.
 492.132 +
 492.133 +2. I could make a lot of stories about Tomoyo and her possible
 492.134 +   destiny. She is my favourite character of CCS. I tried to make
 492.135 +   her letter shorter but still contain her feelings about Sakura.
 492.136 +
 492.137 +Okay, that's all for now.
 492.138 +
 492.139 +If you like it, you don't, please e-mail me at:
 492.140 +cem_kamui@hotmail.com
 492.141 +
 492.142 +Until the next one!!!
 492.143 +

   493.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   493.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyo-prince.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   493.3 @@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
   493.4 +A Tomoyo and Sakura Story
   493.5 +By G. P.
   493.6 +Please send comments to: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
   493.7 +
   493.8 +Note: all names and characters are property of CLAMP. This story is
   493.9 +in no way meant to infringe on their intellectual property rights.
  493.10 +
  493.11 +This story is part of a series, but may be read alone. The previous
  493.12 +stories in order are:
  493.13 +Love is the Crooked Thing
  493.14 +First Date
  493.15 +Fruits Candy
  493.16 +Tomoyo and the Visitor
  493.17 +
  493.18 +
  493.19 +I.
  493.20 +The teachers all agreed. "Beauty in the Woods" had been such a
  493.21 +success for the fourth grade class that it deserved a reprise as the
  493.22 +fifth grade play. The students, enthusiastic but nervous, began
  493.23 +writing their names on the board. Just like last year, Mizuki-sensei
  493.24 +would determine the parts randomly. As Sakura wrote her name, Tomoyo
  493.25 +smiled, wondering what new costumes she would get to create for her
  493.26 +friend. Already her head was full of fantastic designs for a fairy
  493.27 +godmother, and dignified, regal attire fit for a queen. She could
  493.28 +hardly wait to start sewing! So enraptured was she with the prospect
  493.29 +of getting a new costume on Sakura that she missed the scowl on
  493.30 +Sayoran when she got up to write her own name on the board. 
  493.31 +
  493.32 +Newly returned from Hong Kong, he felt as out of place as ever. He
  493.33 +was puzzled why his awkward, tentative approaches to Sakura had gone
  493.34 +unnoticed. Brooding back home, he realized that Sakura had shown
  493.35 +interest in him, but he had been too busy to see. Now, she seemed
  493.36 +friendly, but that "something else" he had sensed was no longer
  493.37 +there. If only he were the Prince, and she the Princess of the play,
  493.38 +perhaps she could be made to see the connection they shared, as well
  493.39 +as their proper place in the order of things. Despite everything, he
  493.40 +had never really accepted the notion that a weak little girl could be
  493.41 +the true successor to Clow Reed. Awakened from his reveries by gasps
  493.42 +and cheers, he was delighted to see the first part of his plan fall
  493.43 +into place as Mizuki-sensei revealed the name of the Princess:
  493.44 +Kinomoto Sakura.
  493.45 +
  493.46 +Tomoyo flew from her chair, holding her hands together in ecstasy.
  493.47 +Sakura would make a perfect, absolutely perfect princess! Enraptured
  493.48 +in a flurry of flowers and bubbles, she failed to see own name
  493.49 +revealed:
  493.50 +
  493.51 +The Prince: Daidouji Tomoyo
  493.52 +
  493.53 +Dumbstruck, Sayoran glared at the blackboard. This was even more
  493.54 +ridiculous than last year. How could a quiet, nondescript girl like
  493.55 +her ever play the part of a noble prince? As shock turned to
  493.56 +aggravation, he finally noticed that his own name had been revealed
  493.57 +as well.
  493.58 +
  493.59 +Mizuki smilingly passed out scripts to the eager boys and girls. She
  493.60 +took great delight in being the new fifth-grade math teacher, though
  493.61 +her students were sadly unaware of the true power of numbers. As she
  493.62 +absently took her copy, Tomoyo’s attention was fixed on the Mistress
  493.63 +of the Cards. Mizuki laughed to herself and spoke up brightly,
  493.64 +
  493.65 +"Daidouji"
  493.66 +
  493.67 +The girl turned to face her, lavender eyes sparkling at the prospect
  493.68 +of her friend as a princess.
  493.69 +
  493.70 +"I think you'll make an interesting Prince."
  493.71 +
  493.72 +Tomoyo smiled and bowed slightly as she caught Mizuki-sensei's
  493.73 +enigmatic smile. She had not even thought about her own part in the
  493.74 +play. Well, with a little altering, she could wear the costume from
  493.75 +last year. But most of her time would be spent in designing a costume
  493.76 +fit for a true Princess.
  493.77 +
  493.78 +Next day the class had their first walk-through rehearsal. Terada
  493.79 +sensei joined Mizuki to supervise and direct. Right away he saw the
  493.80 +problem. Mizuki's odd method of casting generated excitement among
  493.81 +the students and audience, but this was the sort of snag he had
  493.82 +always feared. The Daidouji girl was one of his best students:
  493.83 +bright, punctual, cheerful, and talented. But she made an awful
  493.84 +Prince. Kinomoto had been surprisingly good in the role last year,
  493.85 +with a physical verve and commanding presence that convinced all that
  493.86 +here was a Prince indeed. But now he covered his face in his hands as
  493.87 +Daidouji dropped her sword instead of drawing it with a flourish.
  493.88 +Worse, her soft voice had none of the iron determination that such a
  493.89 +part demanded. He looked helplessly at Mizuki, who simply smiled as
  493.90 +if she had not a care in the world. Already, he was preparing his
  493.91 +apologies to the Principal. Turning to the math teacher he whispered,
  493.92 +
  493.93 +"Mizuki-san, eh, perhaps we might consider some slight alterations
  493.94 +to ensure, eh, a more harmonious cast?" He winced as Daidouji bowed
  493.95 +in apology after dropping her sword again. 
  493.96 +
  493.97 +Beaming, Mizuki whispered back, "Oh, that would be fine. I do worry,
  493.98 +though, about the effect such a change might have on the children. I
  493.99 +am sure that many of them would love to have a different part." With
 493.100 +a puzzled look on her face, she said distractedly, 'How might we
 493.101 +apportion the parts fairly so that every child gets the one they
 493.102 +want, and is also right for them?"
 493.103 +
 493.104 +Terada groaned to himself. She was right. One change would lead to
 493.105 +another, and it would be impossible to match up every student with
 493.106 +the part they wanted and would be best at. With a blush, he
 493.107 +remembered his secret hope that Rika-chan would play the Princess.
 493.108 +Well, they would just have to do their best. But already he was
 493.109 +dreading the night of the play.
 493.110 +
 493.111 +
 493.112 +II.
 493.113 +With the performance only a few days away, Sakura asked Tomoyo if
 493.114 +she would like to get together and rehearse. In Sakura's room the
 493.115 +following day the auburn-haired girl struggled to remember the lines
 493.116 +while her friend looked on encouragingly. For the first time, she
 493.117 +made it through without a stumble.
 493.118 +
 493.119 +"Do you want to do your lines, Tomoyo-chan?", she smiled.
 493.120 +
 493.121 +Tomoyo looked up and said, "Oh, thank you, Sakura-chan, but I
 493.122 +already know them by heart."
 493.123 +
 493.124 +Looking closely at her friend, Sakura noticed a brief look of
 493.125 +concern. Taking her by the hand, she spoke earnestly,
 493.126 +
 493.127 +"Tomoyo-chan, is everything all right?" 
 493.128 +
 493.129 +Startled, Tomoyo looked at her, smiling again, and said, "Oh, yes. I
 493.130 +was just thinking about how to finish the sleeves on your costume".
 493.131 +
 493.132 +With a worried look, Sakura blurted out, "Oh, I'm sorry if I
 493.133 +interrupted your sewing by asking you to come over. And even though
 493.134 +you already knew your lines you came to help me! I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-
 493.135 +chan".
 493.136 +
 493.137 +Tomoyo, distressed by Sakura's reaction, squeezed the girl’s hand,
 493.138 +"No, no, it's all right, really, That's not it, I'll have it all
 493.139 +finished in time...." Her voice trailed off in silence.
 493.140 +
 493.141 +Sakura looked closely at her friend, and again sensed something
 493.142 +troubling her. Smiling, she said, "If that's not it, Tomoyo, what is?
 493.143 +Something is bothering you, isn't it?"
 493.144 +
 493.145 +Tomoyo looked up into the shimmering emerald eyes and felt her heart
 493.146 +flutter. Since Sakura had first confessed her love almost a year ago,
 493.147 +the two had grown ever closer. An unexpected result of this was that
 493.148 +Tomoyo could hide less and less from her increasingly perceptive
 493.149 +friend. For years, Tomoyo locked her love away, safe and secret as
 493.150 +the little eraser in the box in her room. Unaware of Tomoyo's
 493.151 +passionate affection (as well as her silent pain), Sakura had
 493.152 +directed her singular concentration towards the capture of the Clow
 493.153 +Cards. Now that attention was focused laser-like on Tomoyo, and the
 493.154 +dark-haired girl found it increasingly difficult to conceal the
 493.155 +things she feared would hurt her friend. Haltingly, groping for the
 493.156 +right words, Tomoyo whispered,
 493.157 +
 493.158 +"Sakura-chan, I'm just...worried that I won't be a very good Prince
 493.159 +for you." 
 493.160 +
 493.161 +She looked away lest the tears take her. Ever since the first
 493.162 +rehearsal she had worried about being an adequate Prince for Sakura's
 493.163 +Princess. That concern was oddly like the anxiety that had stalked
 493.164 +her for the past year: how could she ever be worthy of Sakura's love?
 493.165 +Her adoration for the girl was boundless, but had boxed her in. She
 493.166 +was torn with worry that she could not be all her friend deserved. On
 493.167 +stage with the choir, and even as a soloist, Tomoyo performed with
 493.168 +confident ease. But now, the possibility of dropping her sword or her
 493.169 +lines terrified her, for that would bring unbearable dishonor to
 493.170 +Sakura. She had even gone to Mizuki-sensei, to suggest that another
 493.171 +student, perhaps Li-kun, might make a better Prince. But the
 493.172 +teacher's strange smile flustered her and left her speechless.
 493.173 +Suddenly she felt arms around her, and turned to see Sakura hugging
 493.174 +her tightly.
 493.175 +
 493.176 +"Tomoyo-chan, that's so silly! I wouldn't want anybody besides you
 493.177 +as my Prince. I know you'll be wonderful!" 
 493.178 +
 493.179 +As she smiled and hugged back, Tomoyo knew Sakura would love her no
 493.180 +matter what.  But at the thought of having to be "wonderful" in the
 493.181 +play her body tensed, and Sakura sensed it. Tomoyo was usually so
 493.182 +good at things like this, and Sakura had been too absorbed in the
 493.183 +role of the Princess to even notice her friend's anxiety. But what
 493.184 +could she possibly do? Tomoyo knew her lines; that wasn't the
 493.185 +problem. Thinking about it, Tomoyo fit all the ideals of a fairy tale
 493.186 +prince: she was gracious, self-sacrificing, confident, brave, kind,
 493.187 +and... beautiful. Sakura blushed. But physically, Tomoyo seemed
 493.188 +strangely ill at ease with the part. Sakura realized that with
 493.189 +cheerleading club, and gymnastics, and the exertions of capturing the
 493.190 +Clow Cards, the physical activity of the Prince’s role had been
 493.191 +second nature to her. But Tomoyo was different. How could she
 493.192 +possibly help her friend to look and move and sound like a prince?
 493.193 +
 493.194 + Long after Tomoyo had left to go sew, Sakura sat awake in her room,
 493.195 +determined to do something. She couldn't count all the times that
 493.196 +Tomoyo had helped her. When she was down, or afraid, or uncertain,
 493.197 +her friend was always ready to listen, to talk, or just to be there.
 493.198 +Now those roles were reversed, and she had to find a way to help.
 493.199 +Finally, long after midnight, she took out the Clow Cards and studied
 493.200 +them. Slowly going through the cards, each with her name engraved
 493.201 +upon it, she waited for inspiration. Finally, one leapt to her
 493.202 +attention as the obvious solution. She held it up, dancing out of
 493.203 +bed, heart bursting with the certainty that now everything would be
 493.204 +all right.
 493.205 +
 493.206 +III.
 493.207 +As the audience expectantly greeted the rising curtain, Tomoyo
 493.208 +helped Sakura into the elaborate Princess’ costume off-stage. A
 493.209 +circle of girls surrounded them, oo-ing and ah-ing at the magnificent
 493.210 +design. Sonomi had pitched in with sewing the night before, and even
 493.211 +then the two had been up till dawn. Stifling a yawn, Tomoyo felt it
 493.212 +all worthwhile as she made the final adjustments, sewing a loose bow
 493.213 +on the hem. She only hoped her own part in the play would not prove
 493.214 +too embarrassing for her friend. After worrying the matter to the
 493.215 +point of tears, she had finally resolved to just do her best.
 493.216 +Finished at last, she stepped back for a final appraisal, and stood
 493.217 +in awe.
 493.218 +
 493.219 +The design was inspired by the dress of the Italian Renaissance in
 493.220 +the early 15th Century. A moiré of dark green brocade served as the
 493.221 +gown. Decorated with golden moons and suns, the lush fabric was
 493.222 +outlined in a thick, gold trim. The gown was slashed in front,
 493.223 +revealing a crimson velvet petticoat embroidered with silver stars.
 493.224 +The sleeves were puffed and slashed, tied together with blood-red
 493.225 +ribbons, a delicate pink chemise peeking out from underneath. The
 493.226 +ends of the sleeves flared out and hung down, lined in spring green
 493.227 +silk. Pearls encircled Sakura’s delicate neck, and trimmed the
 493.228 +squared neckline of the gown. Typical of the time, she wore a wig of
 493.229 +blonde hair made of two long braids, entwined with long, pink
 493.230 +ribbons. Finally, a single teardrop emerald graced her forehead like
 493.231 +a third eye, hanging in place on a golden chain that encircled her
 493.232 +head like a tiara. She remembered her mother's words when she
 493.233 +borrowed the gemstone, "Please be careful, it's very precious to me.
 493.234 +It was Nadesico's"
 493.235 +
 493.236 +Tomoyo could only stand and stare in the presence of a Princess from
 493.237 +long ago. But if the costume so lovingly crafted by Tomoyo's heart
 493.238 +and hands had brought the Princess magically to life, the real
 493.239 +miracle was Sakura herself. Most girls would look awkward and out of
 493.240 +place in the costume, overwhelmed by the rich, luxurious fabrics. But
 493.241 +she wore them with a natural grace, as if she'd been raised as
 493.242 +royalty from birth. The real glory was Sakura's, and the dress merely
 493.243 +an obedient compliment to her innate beauty. Utterly enraptured,
 493.244 +Tomoyo was only dimly aware of the girl's anxious voice,
 493.245 +
 493.246 +"Tomoyo-chan, does it look all right? Tomoyo-chan?"
 493.247 +
 493.248 +As though awakened from a dream, Tomoyo blinked and stood
 493.249 +speechless. A male voice from behind whispered,
 493.250 +
 493.251 +"It looks wonderful. Kinomoto, you're on next, come with me.
 493.252 +Daidouji, you'd better get your own costume on soon".  Terada-sensei
 493.253 +had stopped short when he first saw her in the costume. Like a fairy-
 493.254 +tale come to life, Kinomoto made a radiant princess. As she went on-
 493.255 +stage for the first time, he heard the audience gasp, then applaud.
 493.256 +He smiled and thought, maybe this will work out, after all.
 493.257 +
 493.258 +As Tomoyo finished buttoning her costume, she went over her lines
 493.259 +one last time. She was nervous and sad and resigned all at once. With
 493.260 +a sigh, she stood on the edge of the stage as Yamazaki, this year's
 493.261 +narrator, intoned, 
 493.262 +
 493.263 +"To the country came a Prince".
 493.264 +
 493.265 +Terada-sensei nodded, while Mizuki-sensei, standing at his side,
 493.266 +watched her with curious eyes. With a sinking heart, Tomoyo scuttled
 493.267 +on stage, faced the bright floodlights, and spoke in her usual sweet
 493.268 +voice,
 493.269 +
 493.270 +"They say this is a mysterious castle".
 493.271 +
 493.272 +She saw the three fairy godmothers, and heard Rika-chan's
 493.273 +encouraging voice, "We've been waiting for you".
 493.274 +
 493.275 +Lying on her bier in the dark, behind the scenery of castle and rose
 493.276 +briars, Sakura fumbled about, looking for the Key. She had hidden it
 493.277 +and the card all too well in the costume's many layers. Finally she
 493.278 +found it, and quickly whispered the words, bathing the backstage in a
 493.279 +flash of golden light. A startled stagehand, wondering if a bulb had
 493.280 +suddenly blown, thought he heard a whispering voice,
 493.281 +
 493.282 +"...and be a proper servant for Tomoyo's princely heart."
 493.283 +
 493.284 +Relieved of an anxiety for her friend that had kept her up all
 493.285 +night, Sakura smiled to herself, and drifted off to a deep,
 493.286 +mysterious sleep.
 493.287 +
 493.288 +As Tomoyo drew the little prop sword, shortened by Terada-sensei to
 493.289 +keep her from dropping it, everything changed. When the sword emerged
 493.290 +it was longer, sharper, and more menacing than a mere prop.
 493.291 +Simultaneously, she changed, feeling a flood of confidence and power
 493.292 +surging through her arm, flooding her body. In a calm, measured, but
 493.293 +commanding voice, she demanded,
 493.294 +
 493.295 +"Who's there?"
 493.296 +
 493.297 +As the normally placid girl flourished the sword high above her
 493.298 +head, the children playing the fairies stepped back in fear. Though
 493.299 +stunned by the sudden transformation, Rika had the presence of mind
 493.300 +to continue with her lines. After warning the Prince of the sorceress
 493.301 +within, Tomoyo declaimed,
 493.302 +
 493.303 +" I have my sword, and my courage. I swear that I will break the
 493.304 +Princess' curse." 
 493.305 +
 493.306 +As the fairies bowed low and stepped aside, Tomoyo strode towards
 493.307 +the thick briars encircling the castle. But before the boys could
 493.308 +move back the props, the Prince slashed away, scattering them off-
 493.309 +stage. The sword cut through the two-by-fours in a shivering blow,
 493.310 +scattering fragments of props and wood across the stage. The audience
 493.311 +cheered the heroic assault, but Terada stared from off stage in
 493.312 +disbelief. He turned to Mizuki, only to be greeted by the ever-
 493.313 +present smile as she spoke,
 493.314 +
 493.315 +"I thought Daidouji might make an interesting Prince."
 493.316 +
 493.317 +He swallowed hard, and watched as the little girl advanced on the
 493.318 +evil Sorceress and her minions.
 493.319 +
 493.320 +As soon as he saw the sword, he knew. Peering through swirls of
 493.321 +black silk, Sayoran watched the girl in Prince's clothes advance
 493.322 +towards him. There was no doubt that she wielded the Clow Card,
 493.323 +Sword. Or rather, that the sword wielded her. Only a strong will
 493.324 +could master it, and the Daidouji girl lacked even Kinomot's meager
 493.325 +strength. How had she ever gotten a hold of such a thing? Well, no
 493.326 +matter, he would strip her of it and end this farce. He drew his own
 493.327 +sword, the indomitable legacy of the honored House of Li. He
 493.328 +whispered to his minions to get off the stage, and in a mad scramble
 493.329 +they happily obeyed. He took a fighting stance as a hush fell over
 493.330 +the audience.
 493.331 +
 493.332 +Terada, mumbling that none of this was in the script, made ready to
 493.333 +go on stage and stop the play. But Mizuki held his sleeve, and calmly
 493.334 +whispered,
 493.335 +
 493.336 +" It's all right. I made a few changes in the script so it wouldn't
 493.337 +be the same as last year".
 493.338 +
 493.339 +He stopped and watched aghast as Li lunged at the girl with a
 493.340 +glistening sword.
 493.341 +
 493.342 +Tomoyo deftly parried the heavy blow and slipped aside as Sayoran
 493.343 +charged. His surprise quickly changed to anger, and he slashed about
 493.344 +wildly. But each time she turned his blade, lightly dancing away. The
 493.345 +massive plume bobbed on her hat, but her body was calm and still
 493.346 +amidst the furious action. The audience gasped, then roared its
 493.347 +delight as the black sorceress hacked in vain at the plucky Prince,
 493.348 +who time and again dodged the deadly seeming blows. Panting, Sayoran
 493.349 +was engulfed in a rage of humiliation as the girl avoided his every
 493.350 +stroke with mocking ease. His mind clouded with anger, he failed to
 493.351 +remember that the Card's power was proportional to the will of its
 493.352 +user. Staring at the girl he felt true hate, and spat out the words,
 493.353 +
 493.354 +"You can never have her. She's mine!"
 493.355 +
 493.356 +Suddenly Tomoyo caught a glimpse of the figure on the bier, shrouded
 493.357 +in the dark and fast asleep. Her heart burst with longing for the
 493.358 +Beauty that lay within. Her voice rang out, clear and strong,
 493.359 +
 493.360 +"Witch! I'll finish you."
 493.361 +
 493.362 +She sprang like a panther, sword sweeping the air in a great
 493.363 +shinning arc. The blow knocked the sword from Sayoran's hands, and it
 493.364 +fell clattering to the floor. Another swing, and the sword stopped
 493.365 +short, inches from his neck. He stared into the icy blue eyes and
 493.366 +felt his courage drain away. In a commanding whisper she ordered,
 493.367 +
 493.368 +"Fall!"
 493.369 +
 493.370 +And he obeyed, dropping like a sack of potatoes, fast asleep.
 493.371 +
 493.372 +The audience clapped and yelled, swept away by the fantastic
 493.373 +spectacle. But Tomoyo stood oblivious, quietly sheathing the sword as
 493.374 +the castle gates opened and revealed Princess Aurora on her darkened
 493.375 +bier. Tomoyo now spoke not in the regal tones of the Prince, but with
 493.376 +her own earnest voice, which touched the hearts of all who heard her. 
 493.377 +
 493.378 +"The fairies spoke truly, for here is beauty beyond the world's rim.
 493.379 +Not sun, nor stars, nor shimmering moon compare with thee, oh fairest
 493.380 +of the fair. All victories are fleeting, my conquests brought to
 493.381 +naught, for this heart is mine no more. Awaken, Princess, and claim
 493.382 +thy thrall".
 493.383 +
 493.384 +Riffling through the script, Terada exclaimed, "I don't remember
 493.385 +those lines." glancing up at Mizuki, he stammered, "Did you.....?"
 493.386 +
 493.387 +But she only smiled, watching the play. Trancelike, the fairies spoke,
 493.388 +
 493.389 +"The Princess can be awakened with a kiss of true love"
 493.390 +
 493.391 +Tomoyo swept off her hat, hair falling down in a black cascade. She
 493.392 +knelt over the still, silent Princess, leaning closer and closer.
 493.393 +Their lips brushed lightly, then locked together in a passionate,
 493.394 +consuming kiss. Sakura's lashes fluttered as she awoke, a pulsating
 493.395 +warmth throbbing through her very being. She flushed crimson with an
 493.396 +aching desire, and instinctively wrapped her arms around the figure
 493.397 +above her. The world spun dizzily as she slowly came to. Waves of
 493.398 +longing washed over her as she rose from the bier, embracing the
 493.399 +sweet, pale figure in her arms. She held her ardent lover tightly,
 493.400 +their kiss a red ribbon binding their hearts together, forever. 
 493.401 +
 493.402 +Terada's frantic signaling failed to catch the attention of the
 493.403 +stunned stagehands working the lights. But Mizuki hid her giggle
 493.404 +behind one hand as she tinkled and dimmed the lights with the other.
 493.405 +As the stage went to black the Prince and Princess disappeared, and
 493.406 +the audience rose to their feet in a thunderous ovation. When Terada
 493.407 +saw the Principal rushing towards him, he quailed, and prepared for
 493.408 +his humiliation. As the applause continued and the actors made their
 493.409 +bows, the Principal rumbled,
 493.410 +
 493.411 +"Excellent job, you two. Best play I ever saw at Tomoeda. Better
 493.412 +special effects than the movies, I'd say!"
 493.413 +
 493.414 +"Thank you, Sir!" Terada spluttered as he and Mizuki bowed low.
 493.415 +Looking out the corner of his eye, he saw her smiling that odd, Mona
 493.416 +Lisa smile. Next year, he thought to himself, we'll do a damn variety
 493.417 +show. I couldn't survive another one of these.
 493.418 +
 493.419 +The next day, Sakura and Tomoyo sat on the grass after lunch. Sakura
 493.420 +had slowly come to realize just what had happened the previous night,
 493.421 +and blushed with every memory of it. Tomoyo couldn't stop talking
 493.422 +about how wonderful she looked in the Princess costume. Finally,
 493.423 +Sakura asked in a halting voice,
 493.424 +
 493.425 +"Ummm, Tomoyo-chan, ummm, why did you, ummm, kiss me....like that?
 493.426 +
 493.427 +Tomoyo tilted her head and smiled holding her friend's hand
 493.428 +delicately in hers,
 493.429 +
 493.430 +"But Sakura-chan, how else would a Prince kiss his Princess? I
 493.431 +wanted to do the best job I could in the part."
 493.432 +
 493.433 +A soft, lilting voice came from behind, and they both turned to see
 493.434 +Mizuki-sensei  standing by them,
 493.435 +
 493.436 +"She's quite right, Kinomoto. Besides, if you were the Prince and
 493.437 +Daidouji the Princess, wouldn’t you have done exactly the same?"
 493.438 +
 493.439 +Tomoyo gazed at her friend. Sakura stared at the ground, blushing
 493.440 +fiercely. There was nothing to say. 
 493.441 +
 493.442 +As always, Mizuki-sensei was exactly right.  
 493.443 +
 493.444 +
 493.445 + 
 493.446 \ No newline at end of file

   494.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   494.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyo.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   494.3 @@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
   494.4 +By Luriko-Ysabeth
   494.5 +iac@tangle.org 
   494.6 +
   494.7 +Frame: Pieces of Her Soul
   494.8 +
   494.9 +
  494.10 +	There are two things I have known since before I can remember.
  494.11 +
  494.12 +	Firstly, that I loved Kinomoto Sakura.
  494.13 +
  494.14 +	And secondly, that she would never care for me the way I did for her.
  494.15 +
  494.16 +
  494.17 +	One can grow accustomed to anything when one is a child, I hear, no 
  494.18 +matter how odd, no matter how painful.
  494.19 +
  494.20 +	And truly, it doesn't hurt that much, not now. Knowing that someday she 
  494.21 +will go to someone, probably some man, in whose arms she fits, whose 
  494.22 +house she graces, whose life she completes -- she deserves this, if it 
  494.23 +will make her happy. She deserves a wedding out of fairytales and a house 
  494.24 +out of dreams and a husband out of a maiden's longings, and a place in 
  494.25 +which her soul may fly as fast and as far as I know it can go.
  494.26 +
  494.27 +	(He had best be worthy of her, he had best make her happy, or -- he 
  494.28 +shall answer to me.)
  494.29 +
  494.30 +
  494.31 +	Maybe when my body changes and blossoms, and strange elixirs sing in my 
  494.32 +blood, it will be harder to remember this, as it was hard for my mother 
  494.33 +to understand it. 
  494.34 +
  494.35 +	Mother... you never did understand, did you? You never forgave your 
  494.36 +cousin Nadeshiko for wedding a kind man and bearing *him* two children in 
  494.37 +whom there is a perfection.
  494.38 +
  494.39 +	Yes, two.
  494.40 +
  494.41 +	It... fits, doesn't it, that as Sonomi loved Nadeshiko, Sonomi's child 
  494.42 +should love Nadeshiko's children?
  494.43 +
  494.44 +	Yet, even beyond their differences, my feelings for the one are nowhere 
  494.45 +near as strong as for the other; even though there are reflections, each 
  494.46 +in each, there is just no comparison.
  494.47 +
  494.48 +	It is nothing to Touya's detriment. He is... earth, distilled and 
  494.49 +refined to all that earth is, a mingling of all five, protecting, 
  494.50 +guarding, warm under the sun, cool with the night, fertile ground for 
  494.51 +small lives, endlessly renewing itself even as it is endlessly worn away, 
  494.52 +enduring for long years harsh and soft by turns.
  494.53 +
  494.54 +	Earth, inexorably drawn to the moon by the forces of gravity, even as 
  494.55 +the moon is drawn to it and it is drawn to the sun...
  494.56 +
  494.57 +	It is no fault of earth that I chose to look up instead of down, and 
  494.58 +gave my heart to a distant star.
  494.59 +
  494.60 +
  494.61 +	Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the star, just by burning 
  494.62 +as brightly and as gaily as it did, called my heart out of me.
  494.63 +
  494.64 +	It would have been... easier, had I wanted the earth. I might even have 
  494.65 +had it, if not all to myself.
  494.66 +
  494.67 +	But Sakura-chan is -- *Sakura*. There is nothing more beautiful or 
  494.68 +interesting to me, nothing that I would rather see. For just a moment of 
  494.69 +her in motion, limbs full of their own grace as she runs towards the 
  494.70 +goal... I would sell the whole earth for that to hold in my hands and 
  494.71 +call forth those feelings from my heart each time I gazed upon her, and 
  494.72 +count it well spent in the bargain.
  494.73 +
  494.74 +	And I have that, and a thousand others besides.
  494.75 +
  494.76 +	I love my mother dearly, but she can act foolish beyond measure. She 
  494.77 +loved Nadeshiko, perhaps even as I love Sakura-chan, and wanted nothing 
  494.78 +more than to be with her forever.
  494.79 +
  494.80 +	If Sakura-chan were to dwell in my house, eat at my board, sleep in my 
  494.81 +bed, then no one in all the world would be happier than I am.
  494.82 +
  494.83 +	But even now, I am happy.
  494.84 +
  494.85 +	When Nadeshiko married Kinomoto-san, my mother was hurt and jealous; I 
  494.86 +don't think she had ever thought that Nadeshiko might want someone else.
  494.87 +
  494.88 +	And because she was angry, she went away and never saw her again. Where 
  494.89 +is there sense in that? Where is there reason?
  494.90 +
  494.91 +	I like o-sushi. It is good to taste and filling to eat. But just because 
  494.92 +I cannot have o-sushi, shall I refuse to eat o-musubi? Shall I turn down 
  494.93 +chazuke? They, too, are filling to eat, and their taste is not bad.
  494.94 +
  494.95 +	Sakura-chan will offer the greater part of her soul into the keeping of 
  494.96 +some lucky other person, to hold and to nurture.
  494.97 +
  494.98 +	But that's all right. The sun is bright. Water is wet. Rocks are hard. I 
  494.99 +love Kinomoto Sakura. She will love someone else and be happy.
 494.100 +
 494.101 +	And I will be happy that she is happy.
 494.102 +
 494.103 +
 494.104 +	I don't think Mother ever quite understood that. We were vacationing 
 494.105 +once, on an island. I woke up very early one morning and went down to the 
 494.106 +beach as the sun was rising through the clouds. The water shone for a 
 494.107 +moment like silver and steel, and the clouds were all shot with pink and 
 494.108 +orange and mauve and gold, and the rocks curved down into the water as 
 494.109 +the gulls arced out beyond them and the breeze came salt-laden into my 
 494.110 +face -- that moment, just then, was perfect and eternal, and I was happy.
 494.111 +
 494.112 +
 494.113 +	(I tried to take a picture, but it couldn't hold it all and didn't come 
 494.114 +out that well anyway -- I wasn't as good then as I am now. It's all 
 494.115 +right; I can still remember most of it, and there have been other 
 494.116 +sunrises, even if they weren't the same.)
 494.117 +
 494.118 +	Much later, when my mother woke up, I told her how much I liked it 
 494.119 +there.
 494.120 +
 494.121 +	She offered to buy the house and probably the island as well, so I could 
 494.122 +keep the thing that made me so happy and come there whenever I really 
 494.123 +wanted to.
 494.124 +
 494.125 +	But you can't do that. You can't own a sunrise, or gulls in flight. Even 
 494.126 +if you lay claim to the place where they are. Even if you put a collar or 
 494.127 +something on the gulls -- even if you put them in a cage, you can't have 
 494.128 +the beauty of their soaring unless they give it to you (and I can't see 
 494.129 +how they could if they were in a cage, anyway).
 494.130 +
 494.131 +	So I thanked her, politely, and told her I would rather have a nicer 
 494.132 +camera and maybe some lessons in how to take better pictures.
 494.133 +
 494.134 +
 494.135 +	Many people, when they first encountered a camera, thought that it would 
 494.136 +steal someone's soul if it took a picture of them.
 494.137 +
 494.138 +	You can't do that, of course. Just one photograph, one frame of film, or 
 494.139 +even the entire strip cannot be enough for all of a person, in their good 
 494.140 +times and their bad times, with all their quirks and all their 
 494.141 +inconsistencies.
 494.142 +
 494.143 +	But you can, in one picture, capture a *facet* of them. Not all. Not 
 494.144 +everything. But a little piece, one solitary moment of what they are.
 494.145 +
 494.146 +	The more pieces, the more you can assemble something vaguely like a 
 494.147 +picture of the person they are.
 494.148 +
 494.149 +	And it isn't even stealing, any more than my blurry picture on the 
 494.150 +island stole the sun out of the sky. It's a record of a gift -- the gift 
 494.151 +that that person gave to the outside world, of what they were at that 
 494.152 +moment.
 494.153 +
 494.154 +	I have a picture, of Sakura-chan running, limbs full of their own grace 
 494.155 +as she runs towards the goal. A crystallized memory of how she looked as 
 494.156 +she was doing her best, for me and for all of us and especially for 
 494.157 +herself, that I can look at even when Sakura-chan is not around.
 494.158 +
 494.159 +	It's one of my favorites; I have many favorites, among all the pictures 
 494.160 +and movies I have taken of Sakura-chan.
 494.161 +
 494.162 +	Someone else will be the recipient of most of her soul, and she in turn 
 494.163 +will be given that person's soul to have in her keeping.
 494.164 +
 494.165 +	(I'm doing my best to help make sure that that person is someone who 
 494.166 +deserves that very great honor, and will make Sakura-chan happy.)
 494.167 +
 494.168 +	And when that happens... she won't have as much time to spend with me. I 
 494.169 +know that. I'm expecting it.
 494.170 +
 494.171 +	Love is infinite.
 494.172 +
 494.173 +	A soul is infinite.
 494.174 +
 494.175 +	Time in a day has a limit of 8, 6400 seconds, according to my 
 494.176 +calculator. And every one of those seconds is precious, and every one is 
 494.177 +no longer than it takes to say four syllables (five if you're quick).
 494.178 +
 494.179 +	So time is something you have to divide up. If you have to give time to 
 494.180 +your family, it needs to come from somewhere else... including your 
 494.181 +friends.
 494.182 +
 494.183 +	And even... even if she took the time from somewhere that wasn't me, my 
 494.184 +time with her will always be a gift, not a right. 
 494.185 +
 494.186 +	But I'm not unhappy. I'm content -- after all, how many other people are 
 494.187 +there who don't know Sakura-chan at all? How many other people are there 
 494.188 +whose closest contact with her is to see her skate by once, on her way to 
 494.189 +wherever she's going?
 494.190 +
 494.191 +	I, however... I have a treasury of every piece of her soul that she has 
 494.192 +chosen to give me. Whether she's happy, whether she's angry, whether she 
 494.193 +is overtaken by surprise or sorrow; all of them are Sakura-chan, and thus 
 494.194 +all of them are beautiful.
 494.195 +
 494.196 +	And each image, a tiny facet in itself, brings back the memories and the 
 494.197 +feelings, and the way it was before and after and during -- sometimes, a 
 494.198 +moment so beautiful it hurt.
 494.199 +
 494.200 +	And even that other person... they won't have all of her. They won't 
 494.201 +share in many of these, any more than I'll share in many of their images, 
 494.202 +or either of us will share in most of Touya's pieces of Sakura-chan. Even 
 494.203 +beyond that, there are parts of Kinomoto Sakura that none other than 
 494.204 +herself shall ever see.
 494.205 +
 494.206 +	Any more than anyone ever saw some parts of Amamiya or Kinomoto 
 494.207 +Nadeshiko, as much as my mother wanted to. No one else can own all of a 
 494.208 +person.
 494.209 +
 494.210 +	So why should I be jealous of the person whom Sakura-chan will choose to 
 494.211 +love?
 494.212 +
 494.213 +	I, too, have pieces of her soul.

   495.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   495.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyofirst.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   495.3 @@ -0,0 +1,260 @@
   495.4 +First Date
   495.5 +A Tomoyo and Sakura story
   495.6 +by G. P.
   495.7 +
   495.8 +Comments can be sent to the author at: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
   495.9 +
  495.10 +Note: This story is s part of a series, but does not have to be read
  495.11 +consecutively. The first story was, "Love is the Crooked Thing".
  495.12 +
  495.13 +
  495.14 +That first night Sakura only just barely got to sleep before the sun
  495.15 +rose. Thank goodness for Sundays with nothing to do! But sleep ended
  495.16 +early with pounding at the door and a terrible voice bellowing,
  495.17 +"Monster! Phone call!"
  495.18 +
  495.19 +"Ehhhhhh.....?"
  495.20 +
  495.21 +Sakura staggered out of bed, blinking blearily at the alarm clock. 
  495.22 +
  495.23 +"Hoooeeeeee! I'm late!" In a mad dash, Sakura threw on her uniform
  495.24 +and rushed down the stairs to breakfast. Except, instead of a hot,
  495.25 +steaming meal, there was an empty table. There sat her dreadful
  495.26 +brother, calmly sipping coffee. Sakura shot a glance at the schedule
  495.27 +board, nervously thinking,
  495.28 +
  495.29 +"Was I supposed to make breakfast?"
  495.30 +
  495.31 +No, there was Oniichan's name, grrrrrrrr....in a furious windmill of
  495.32 +arms and fists, Sakura roared towards her brother, who kept her at
  495.33 +arm’s length while regarding her with amused detachment.
  495.34 +
  495.35 +"Where's my breakfast I'm late for school why didn't you wake me up
  495.36 +if only I was bigger than you...."
  495.37 +
  495.38 +Touya interrupted her with practiced ease, "Fridge, Sunday, you're
  495.39 +not, phone." Sakura froze in mid-flurry, staring at the phone. With a
  495.40 +sheepish look, she picked it up,
  495.41 +
  495.42 +"Sakura here".
  495.43 +
  495.44 +"Ohayo, Sakura-chan" The sweet, musical voice of her best friend.
  495.45 +
  495.46 +"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!" A pause, and then she remembered- remembered
  495.47 +it all: The fortune telling, the maze, the song, Tomoyo....the kiss.
  495.48 +Sakura felt a crimson blush on her neck and cheek, as she stood
  495.49 +dumbstruck with her mouth open.
  495.50 +
  495.51 +"I thought we might go on a picnic to the park today? Would you like
  495.52 +to go, or are you busy with schoolwork and chores?" Tomoyo's bright
  495.53 +and sunny voice only made the blush deepen.
  495.54 +
  495.55 +"H-h-h-h-hai", Sakura managed to stutter out.
  495.56 +
  495.57 +"I'll make o-bento. Shall I be there in an hour?"
  495.58 +
  495.59 +"H-h-h-h-hai"
  495.60 +
  495.61 +"Bye-bye, I'll see you soon!"
  495.62 +
  495.63 +"H-h-h-h-hai", replied Sakura to the dial tone. Slowly she put down
  495.64 +the phone, closed her mouth, and stared at the floor. Just what had
  495.65 +happened the night before? Was it a dream, or had she really *sweat
  495.66 +drop* confessed her love to Tomoyo-chan? She staggered back to the
  495.67 +bedroom, her mind all awhirl…
  495.68 +
  495.69 +Mechanically Sakura changed out of her uniform and into a yellow
  495.70 +blouse and a pleated, light brown skirt. Brushing her red-auburn
  495.71 +hair, she struggled to remember. Finally, she plopped on the bed with
  495.72 +a sigh and stared at the ceiling until she heard the knocking down
  495.73 +below. She rushed down the stairs, beating her brother to the
  495.74 +hallway. Nervously she reached for the handle, turned it, and opened
  495.75 +the door. There, smiling as always, stood Tomoyo. Dressed in a
  495.76 +beautiful, be-ribboned white dress with red trim, picnic basket in
  495.77 +hand, Tomoyo bowed and sang out, 
  495.78 +
  495.79 +"Ohayo, Sakura-chan".
  495.80 +
  495.81 +"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan. Oniichan, I'm going to the park with Tomoyo-
  495.82 +chan".
  495.83 +
  495.84 +"Don't forget you're cooking dinner tonight- something better than
  495.85 +last time, I hope", came the laconic reply.
  495.86 +
  495.87 +Tomoyo covered the giggle with a white glove as Sakura gritted her
  495.88 +teeth in impotent rage. Remembering Tomoyo, she suddenly put her hand
  495.89 +behind her neck and laughed,
  495.90 +
  495.91 +"Ha-ha-ha...um, should we go now?"
  495.92 +
  495.93 +Tomoyo nodded happily, and the two friends slipped out the door.
  495.94 +
  495.95 +Wordlessly the pair walked to the park, Tomoyo glancing up at the
  495.96 +occasional cloud and twittering bird, Sakura staring at the sidewalk,
  495.97 +deep in thought. The day was bright and alive, with a cool breeze
  495.98 +that whispered of the end of summer. At last they entered the park,
  495.99 +where Tomoyo broke the silence,
 495.100 +
 495.101 +"Would you like to eat by the lake? I know a quiet spot under the
 495.102 +trees"
 495.103 +
 495.104 +"Yes", nodded Sakura, a little too vigorously.
 495.105 +
 495.106 +Tomoyo opened one of the picnic basket lids and took out a
 495.107 +delicately folded orange and brown cloth, decorated with a maple leaf
 495.108 +and pumpkin print. With easy grace she spread the cloth on the grass,
 495.109 +placed the basket to one side, and sat, legs tucked demurely
 495.110 +underneath her. Sakura dropped down quickly, looking at her hands in
 495.111 +embarrassment, finally holding them tightly in her lap. She was aware
 495.112 +of Tomoyo's lavender eyes regarding her with measured care. Never had
 495.113 +Sakura felt so ill at ease with her best friend. Her mind continually
 495.114 +wandered to the previous night, or rather, to what she thought she
 495.115 +remembered of it. Tomoyo looked on in concern as she set the table
 495.116 +with beautiful little white China plates, and delicately filigreed
 495.117 +Western silverware. Finally, she smiled and whispered,
 495.118 +
 495.119 +"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
 495.120 +
 495.121 +Sakura didn't know what to say, so she blushed instead. She had
 495.122 +always liked Tomoyo as her best, most special friend. The dark-haired
 495.123 +girl was always there for her, someone to talk to, to share
 495.124 +adventures with, and to ask for help and advice. For the past month,
 495.125 +since learning about Yue, Sakura had been battered by a storm of
 495.126 +emotions. Finally, after reading the Clow Cards, she had followed the
 495.127 +maze deep within her own heart and, to her surprise and joy, had
 495.128 +found Tomoyo within. And last night, they had shared a kiss- a
 495.129 +lover's kiss. Her heart burned and ached with the thought of it, her
 495.130 +very first. 
 495.131 +
 495.132 +But what if it was not the same for Tomoyo? Had Sakura presumed too
 495.133 +much? Had she rushed in unbidden and unwelcome? Had she taken from
 495.134 +her friend what Tomoyo had been too startled or kind to refuse? She
 495.135 +knew now that her friend had professed love a year ago, though Sakura
 495.136 +was too dense to have known it then. Only in the past day had she
 495.137 +realized what Tomoyo had tried to tell her. And only now did she know
 495.138 +her own heart, overflowing with a fierce, ecstatic love for her
 495.139 +friend. 
 495.140 +
 495.141 +But what if Tomoyo had changed? What if her love, unrequited for so
 495.142 +long, had grown old and faded? What if she loved someone else, still
 495.143 +treasuring Sakura as a friend, as someone she liked...but not like
 495.144 +that. The auburn-haired girl felt her stomach knot at the very
 495.145 +thought. Tomoyo, ever and always kind, would be loath to say that her
 495.146 +love was no more. Had she realized Tomoyo's feelings, and her own,
 495.147 +too late? Oh, what if she had missed her chance for Tomoyo's love,
 495.148 +forever? Sakura clenched her fists tightly, and felt her body tremble
 495.149 +with each halting sob.
 495.150 +
 495.151 +Tomoyo looked at her friend in silent agony. Sakura's pain tore at
 495.152 +her heart. Nothing was worth this, nothing. She was certain now that
 495.153 +Sakura had come to regret her words of last night, but did not know
 495.154 +how to take them back gracefully. Gently, Tomoyo took her friend's
 495.155 +hands in her own and spoke in an even voice,
 495.156 +
 495.157 +"Sakura-chan...Sakura-chan" 
 495.158 +
 495.159 +The Mistress of the Cards turned her tear-stained face away, trying
 495.160 +to yank her hands from Tomoyo. But the dark-haired girl had strong,
 495.161 +nimble fingers from countless hours of sewing, and held on with a
 495.162 +vise-like grip.
 495.163 +
 495.164 +"Sakura-chan, please look at me". When the wet, shimmering green
 495.165 +eyes turned to her, Tomoyo nearly stumbled. It had taken hours of
 495.166 +torment to fashion the words, and now she hesitated. Had she lived a
 495.167 +hundred lifetimes, she never, ever would have thought she could say
 495.168 +this. How easy it would be to quietly live her life with Sakura's
 495.169 +sweet words ever in her ear, even if she no longer meant them. But
 495.170 +what she was going to say now was right, and Tomoyo knew it.
 495.171 +Composing herself with the greatest difficulty, she smiled and spoke
 495.172 +in a calm, even tone,
 495.173 +
 495.174 +"Sakura-chan, I wanted to speak with you today. I wanted to tell you
 495.175 +something, about what you said to me last night". Sakura sat
 495.176 +motionless, like a fragile crystal statue. Tomoyo took a deep breath,
 495.177 +and continued,
 495.178 +
 495.179 +"Sakura-chan, if you did not...really mean what you said last night,
 495.180 +it's all right. I will always like you as a friend, no matter what. I
 495.181 +want you to know that". 
 495.182 +
 495.183 +Inside her, a voice screamed, "Liar!" It's all right? If Sakura
 495.184 +really did not mean what she had said, if she had said, "I love you"
 495.185 +out of pity, or kindness, or confusion, it was not "all right"- it
 495.186 +was a black agony that Tomoyo dared not face. But better that than
 495.187 +her friend, no, her one, true love, should be bound by words she did
 495.188 +not mean. Breathing deeply, unburdened by the words that were so hard
 495.189 +to speak, Tomoyo looked with a start at Sakura's reaction. Like some
 495.190 +terrified animal, Sakura was slowly shaking her head back and forth,
 495.191 +a look of utter terror upon her.
 495.192 +
 495.193 +Sakura's ashen face reflected her worst fear: that Tomoyo was gently
 495.194 +trying to untie the tangled knot that bound them. She was nearly
 495.195 +certain that Tomoyo no longer loved her, but was too kind to hurt her
 495.196 +by saying so. Never had she felt such a hopeless despair. She knew
 495.197 +she should let it all go, and walk away for Tomoyo's sake. But she
 495.198 +could not. Her overpowering love forced her to speak the words she
 495.199 +knew were wrong. Choking back a sob, Sakura blurted out,
 495.200 +
 495.201 +"Don't you...Tomoyo-chan, don't you love me?"
 495.202 +
 495.203 +Stunned, Tomoyo stared into Sakura's frantic eyes, felt hands
 495.204 +painfully gripping her own, nails digging into her palms. This was
 495.205 +not at all what she expected. Now, dancing on the precipice, she felt
 495.206 +a breathless, suspended hush, as though all the cosmos listened for
 495.207 +her reply. For the first time she sensed the presence of the Clow
 495.208 +Cards, watching her and waiting. Blinking back the tears, she gazed
 495.209 +into Sakura's emerald eyes and drew a deep, steady breath. She knew
 495.210 +she could never lie, even if it was the right thing, even if it was
 495.211 +for her beloved's sake. Carefully taking her hand away, she gently
 495.212 +brushed back the girl's auburn hair, and tenderly caressed the pale,
 495.213 +teary cheeks. With a sweet, soothing voice, Tomoyo spoke,
 495.214 +
 495.215 +"Sakura-chan, I loved you when I first saw you, love you now more
 495.216 +than words can tell, and will always love you, and only you, forever
 495.217 +and ever. I was never so happy as when you said you loved me, and
 495.218 +never so afraid as when I thought it might not be true.  I was
 495.219 +worried that you might have regretted what you said last night. I
 495.220 +didn't want you to suffer for my sake, for the sake of my love for
 495.221 +you".
 495.222 +
 495.223 +Crying again, Sakura buried her face in Tomoyo's chest and sobbed on
 495.224 +the soft, white of her dress,
 495.225 +
 495.226 +“Tomoyo-chan, I love you! I..I didn’t think you loved me anymore…I
 495.227 +didn’t think…” She broke down, weeping incoherently.
 495.228 + 
 495.229 +With soft, loving strokes, Tomoyo smoothed the girl's beautiful
 495.230 +hair, touched by fire from the afternoon sun. Nestled in Tomoyo's
 495.231 +black-gray tresses, Sakura remembered crying like this before,
 495.232 +remembered the comforting solace of her mother's bosom. She hugged
 495.233 +her friend fiercely at the memory, 
 495.234 +
 495.235 +Looking down at the trembling, vulnerable girl, Tomoyo felt a sweet,
 495.236 +painful ache wash over her. She knew now that Sakura truly loved her,
 495.237 +and that her love was freely given. Tomoyo felt a deep, glowing
 495.238 +peace. Despite the terrible fear of losing Sakura's newly found love,
 495.239 +she had been honest and fair. It seemed odd that as the Cards had
 495.240 +tested their Mistress, so too was she tested by Sakura's love. Last
 495.241 +night was like a fairy tale, where her dearest wish had magically
 495.242 +come true. Today, like a story from long ago, she was tested by a
 495.243 +dark, terrible riddle: to take Sakura in silence, or speak, and risk
 495.244 +losing her forever. Tomoyo spoke, and now, in a miraculous, unlooked
 495.245 +for happy ending, she cradled the beautiful princess in her arms. Her
 495.246 +falling tears glistened in Sakura’s hair.
 495.247 +
 495.248 +Tomoyo softly sang her Mother's favorite lullaby, gently rocking her
 495.249 +exhausted friend to sleep. Sakura dreamed of lavender-eyed angels in
 495.250 +glowing robes, dark tresses swirling as they floated slowly to Earth.
 495.251 +Tomoyo too grew drowsy in the afternoon sun as the song worked its
 495.252 +maternal magic. Dark lashes fluttering, she closed her eyes and soon
 495.253 +fell asleep in Sakura's arms. 
 495.254 +
 495.255 +There Sonomi found them, bathed in the orange-purple of the setting
 495.256 +sun. Hearing the song, her song, as she jogged through the park, she
 495.257 +came upon them, like two angels fallen to Earth. She stood and
 495.258 +stared, marveling at the fairy spirits entwinned in sleep. The
 495.259 +evening wind seemed to whisper the voice of Nadesico, soft and sweet
 495.260 +and approving. Finally she roused them from blissful slumber,
 495.261 +giggling to herself as they stretched and smiled and blinked
 495.262 +themselves awake. Laughing and singing, her loneliness forgotten,
 495.263 +Sonomi led the two girls home. 
 495.264 \ No newline at end of file

   496.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   496.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyofruits.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   496.3 @@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
   496.4 +Fruits Candy
   496.5 +A Sakura and Tomoyo Story
   496.6 +By G. P.
   496.7 +Please send comments to treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
   496.8 +Note: All characters depicted herein are property of CLAMP. This
   496.9 +work in no way is meant to infringe on those rights.
  496.10 +
  496.11 +This is story is part of a continuing series, though it can also be
  496.12 +read alone. The previous stories in the series are:
  496.13 +1. Love is the Crooked Thing
  496.14 +2. First Date
  496.15 +
  496.16 +
  496.17 +
  496.18 +Gazing out the window, Sakura caught sight of the long, black
  496.19 +Cadillac pulling up to the curb. With clipped, almost military
  496.20 +motions, a female bodyguard dressed in a severe, slate-gray dress
  496.21 +popped out and opened the back passenger door. Tomoyo emerged,
  496.22 +dressed in a simple cobalt-blue dress, her gray-black hair in two
  496.23 +long braids, tied at the ends with pink ribbons. Sakura felt her
  496.24 +heart flutter at the sight, and blushed deeply. She was still
  496.25 +adjusting to the notion of Tomoyo-chan as something more than her
  496.26 +very best friend. Like a double thunderclap, Tomoyo's love for her,
  496.27 +and her own love for Tomoyo, had come as explosive revelations, one
  496.28 +after another. 
  496.29 +
  496.30 +She still felt deafened by the shock, a bit confused and
  496.31 +disoriented. In some ways, nothing had changed. Tomoyo especially
  496.32 +seemed as she always had: bright, cheerful, kind, and helpful. But
  496.33 +Sakura was sometimes uneasy in her presence in a way she had never
  496.34 +felt before. Sometimes, sitting by her in class or at lunch, she felt
  496.35 +buffeted by a strange whorl of emotions. She knew now that those
  496.36 +emotions had always been there, laying unrecognized in her heart,
  496.37 +waiting. When she finally saw that Tomoyo liked her- like that, her
  496.38 +own feelings were at last unfettered. As the leaves fell and the
  496.39 +nights grew chill with winter, Sakura had struggled with the dilemma
  496.40 +of how to love her best friend.
  496.41 +
  496.42 +Tomoyo stepped lightly up to the door, carrying a canvas bag with a
  496.43 +picture of a French flag on the side. Sakura sprang to the door,
  496.44 +opening it as she approached. 
  496.45 +
  496.46 +"Konichiwa, Tomoyo-chan!"
  496.47 +
  496.48 +"Konichiwa, Sakura-chan!" She took Sakura by the hand and smiled,
  496.49 +"Thank you for inviting me to your house."
  496.50 +
  496.51 + "No, thank you for coming. My father is at a Conference for the
  496.52 +weekend and won't be here, so I wanted to make a special dessert for
  496.53 +oniichan tonight. You're just so much better at it than me."
  496.54 +
  496.55 +Tomoyo looked aghast, "But Sakura-chan, you make beautiful things.
  496.56 +The cake you baked for your father was wonderful".
  496.57 +
  496.58 +"All the same, I'm glad you're here. Would you like some tea?"
  496.59 +
  496.60 +"Oh, yes, thank you. Shall I help?"
  496.61 +
  496.62 +Sakura smiled, nodded, and went to boil the water as Tomoyo gathered
  496.63 +up the cups and napkins. It was just like her. She was helpful and
  496.64 +considerate in such a natural way that you were sometimes unaware of
  496.65 +what a gracious friend she was. Sakura broke the silence,
  496.66 +
  496.67 +"How is your Mother?"
  496.68 +
  496.69 +"Oh, she is very well, thank you. She was talking about you the
  496.70 +other day".
  496.71 +
  496.72 +Sakura tilted her head quizzically.
  496.73 +
  496.74 +Tomoyo smiled, and continued, "I showed her the videotape of your
  496.75 +race from the school festival. She watched it so many times that I
  496.76 +had to make a copy for her before the tape wore out." Tomoyo
  496.77 +suppressed what seemed to be a giggle,
  496.78 +
  496.79 +"She said you have great potential as a runner, but will need work
  496.80 +on your technique. She said your father should teach you, but if he
  496.81 +is too busy she would be happy to coach you."
  496.82 +
  496.83 +At the prospect of running like Sonomi, Sakura brightened visibly.
  496.84 +Almost leaping from her chair, her eyes glistening at the prospect,
  496.85 +she blurted out, 
  496.86 +
  496.87 +"Really? That is so nice of her! I would love to run like that!"
  496.88 +
  496.89 +Tomoyo touched her cheek with her hand and gazed adoringly at her
  496.90 +friend. In physical activity, in track and gymnastics and swimming,
  496.91 +Sakura was like some beautiful, feline animal, coiled power exploding
  496.92 +with easy grace. No wonder she made such an exquisite Card Captor!
  496.93 +
  496.94 +Sakura caught the pale girl's look and blushed. Tomoyo was
  496.95 +so....eccentric. Even knowing they were now more than best friends,
  496.96 +her adoration still stirred a strange mix of feelings: embarrassment,
  496.97 +shyness, and a delightful sense of being utterly loved. Sakura put
  496.98 +her hand behind the back of her head and laughed in an odd voice,
  496.99 +
 496.100 +"Ha-ha-ha, um, should we begin the dessert?"
 496.101 +
 496.102 +Tomoyo nodded, all smiles, and began to open the large canvas bag.
 496.103 +Sakura watched, her curiosity aflame. First out of the mysterious bag
 496.104 +was....the video camera. She felt the welling of a sweat drop. Tomoyo
 496.105 +laughed and said,
 496.106 +
 496.107 +" To film with, and to help you study your technique". 
 496.108 +
 496.109 +Sakura groaned at the prospect of her culinary clumsiness captured
 496.110 +for all eternity. She watched as Tomoyo next brought out a small
 496.111 +white bag and a set of little silver cones. Handling them with
 496.112 +respectful care she said,
 496.113 +
 496.114 +"This is a piping bag, and these are the nozzles. With a delicate
 496.115 +finger she pointed to a cone with a slim, tapering opening, and spoke
 496.116 +in a hushed, reverent tone,
 496.117 +
 496.118 +"This is a Saint Honore nozzle. Saint Honore is the Special Saint of
 496.119 +Pastry Chefs. The dessert we are making was done in his honor." Then,
 496.120 +she took out a small candy thermometer, a pastry mixer,  and a
 496.121 +strange, wicked looking whisk, whose rounded ends had been clipped
 496.122 +off. Looking at Sakura, she asked solemnly,
 496.123 +
 496.124 +"Do you have the other ingredients I asked for?"
 496.125 +
 496.126 +"Yes, ummmm", Sakura's voice trailed off as she scrambled into the
 496.127 +kitchen, then rushed back in with the list, reading it breathlessly
 496.128 +while Tomoyo closed her eyes and listened, "Flour, eggs, sugar,
 496.129 +butter, milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, superfine sugar, gelatin,
 496.130 +cornstarch?" Tomoyo nodded, opened her eyes, and smiled,
 496.131 +
 496.132 +"Shall we begin, Sakura-chan?"
 496.133 +
 496.134 +Vigorously nodding, Sakura followed her friend into the kitchen.
 496.135 +With a sinking feeling, she saw the dark-haired girl merrily setting
 496.136 +up a tripod in a corner. The red light showed the camera was on,
 496.137 +ready to follow her every blunder. At least it was something only
 496.138 +Tomoyo would see, and, thankfully, there were no costumes. The girls
 496.139 +tied on matching aprons and began, Tomoyo directing and Sakura doing
 496.140 +her best to follow.
 496.141 +
 496.142 +"We'll start with the Pate Sucre", Tomoyo sang out. She set the
 496.143 +pattern by showing Sakura how to do it, and then watching,
 496.144 +encouraging, and helping her friend along. Sakura took pride in the
 496.145 +dishes she could cook, but desserts, especially fancy ones, baffled
 496.146 +her. Watching Tomoyo in the kitchen, she felt a sweet heartache.
 496.147 +There was a perfect precision in her movements as she sifted and
 496.148 +rolled and mixed and whisked. Like a ballerina, she whirled and
 496.149 +dipped and spun her own special magic. Tomoyo had no sense for the
 496.150 +magic of the Clow Cards, but here, she was the Mistress, the cooking
 496.151 +tools her Cards. Lightly dusted in the fine, white pastry flour, she
 496.152 +looked like an angel: calm, watchful, and glowingly beautiful. 
 496.153 +
 496.154 +Sakura lightly placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, as if to
 496.155 +assure herself that this was indeed her friend, and not some
 496.156 +celestial visitor. Tomoyo glanced up and smiled, placing her hand on
 496.157 +Sakura's own, then slowly pulling away, their fingers lightly
 496.158 +interlacing for the briefest second. Sakura caught her breath and
 496.159 +swallowed hard, a crimson blush tickling her neck and ears. But
 496.160 +Tomoyo was back to her choux paste, mixing the egg into the crumbly
 496.161 +dough. Sakura shook her head and tried to remember Tomoyo's
 496.162 +directions. Peering into the oven as the round base baked to a golden
 496.163 +sheen, she asked in a puzzled voice,,
 496.164 +
 496.165 +"Tomoyo-chan, how can you be sure you can make it rise?" 
 496.166 +
 496.167 +Tomoyo turned with a puzzled look and answered, "I'm sorry, I don't
 496.168 +understand".
 496.169 +
 496.170 +"The pastry base we made...how do we make it rise?"
 496.171 +
 496.172 +Tomoyo laughed quietly and regarded her friend with thoughtful
 496.173 +eyes," We can't do anything to make it rise. It has to want to do it
 496.174 +itself".
 496.175 +
 496.176 +Sakura stared back, blinking in quiet incomprehension.
 496.177 +
 496.178 +The pale girl joined her at the window of the oven, "It's just like
 496.179 +flowers, or paintings, or sewing. You can't make it do anything. You
 496.180 +can only be there for it, to help it be what is wants to be." She
 496.181 +tilted her head, and smiled. 
 496.182 +
 496.183 +Sakura looked at her friend in slow realization of what she meant.
 496.184 +Tomoyo was so gentle, she would never force anything, be it pastry or
 496.185 +painting or costume. Or even, she thought with a start, her love.
 496.186 +Tomoyo had loved her for so long and never spoken, lest Sakura be
 496.187 +burdened or troubled. She had never tried to control their friendship
 496.188 +to her advantage, even going so far as to encourage Sakura's crush on
 496.189 +Yukito-san, and her tentative feelings for Li-kun. Tomoyo had been
 496.190 +ready to sacrifice her own happiness to ensure Sakura's own. The
 496.191 +auburn-haired girl felt a shiver as she blinked back the tears.
 496.192 +
 496.193 +Tomoyo gazed at the shimmering emerald eyes and felt her own heart
 496.194 +racing. Sakura lunged at her, staggering her back, hugging her
 496.195 +tightly. Tomoyo closed her eyes, feeling the trembling form in her
 496.196 +arms. Had all her hopes and dreams and prayers come true it could not
 496.197 +have brought a sweeter moment than this. Sakura's love washed over
 496.198 +her like an ocean wave, knocking her off her feet, swirling and
 496.199 +eddying in every corner of her being. She smoothed the red-auburn
 496.200 +hair, straightening a ribbon with nimble fingers. 
 496.201 +
 496.202 +Sakura drew back slowly, smiling, blushing, looking dazed and
 496.203 +slightly embarrassed. Tomoyo smiled at the white flour that now
 496.204 +powdered the girl's cheek. She reached out her hand, tenderly wiping
 496.205 +away the flour and the tears. She rested her palm on Sakura's cheek,
 496.206 +and then lightly caressed the soft skin with her fingertips.
 496.207 +
 496.208 +"I love you, Sakura-chan".
 496.209 +
 496.210 +Sakura gently enfolded the hand in her own and squeezed tightly. "I
 496.211 +love you too, Tomoyo". 
 496.212 +
 496.213 +Hands clasped, both girls stood transfixed until Tomoyo wrinkled her
 496.214 +nose and exclaimed, "The pastry base!"
 496.215 +
 496.216 +As if choreographed, the two twirled about and saw gray smoke
 496.217 +billowing from the oven. Quickly donning silver oven mitts, Tomoyo
 496.218 +opened the door and removed the baking sheet. Coughing in the smoke,
 496.219 +Sakura stared at the blackened circle.
 496.220 +
 496.221 +With a disconsolate look, Tomoyo murmured, "I ruined it". 
 496.222 +
 496.223 +Sakura looked sadly at her friend, then suddenly brightened.
 496.224 +
 496.225 +"We didn't ruin it. It wanted to burn!"
 496.226 +
 496.227 +Tomoyo looked up, smiled, and suddenly began to laugh. Sakura looked
 496.228 +on in surprise, and then started laughing, too. Neither had laughed
 496.229 +so hard in a very long time. Gasping for air in the still-smoky
 496.230 +kitchen, Sakura blurted out,
 496.231 +
 496.232 +"We...we better..hee...start another one, hee hee...before oniichan
 496.233 +gets back...hee..."
 496.234 +
 496.235 +Tomoyo, still giggling, nodded, and the two began again.
 496.236 +
 496.237 +After the surprisingly delicious noodle dinner, Touya watched Sakura
 496.238 +and Tomoyo disappear into the kitchen. The two had seemed inseparable
 496.239 +of late, and he was glad. He liked the pale, dark-haired girl,
 496.240 +sensing her intense devotion to his sister. He thought to call out
 496.241 +and ask if Tomoyo had actually cooked the meal, since it was so good,
 496.242 +but he smiled to himself and kept quiet. After several minutes the
 496.243 +two girls returned, each carrying one side of a large serving plate.
 496.244 +They placed the magnificent Saint Honore Pastry on the table before
 496.245 +him and shouted, "Happy Birthday!"
 496.246 +
 496.247 +From his job at the bistro he knew it was a complex dessert that
 496.248 +only the boldest chefs would attempt. The carmel-dipped buns ringed a
 496.249 +lake of layered, criss-crossed Crème Chibouste, deftly executed to
 496.250 +look like ripples on the water. In place of the normal spun sugar
 496.251 +ball on top sat two delicate pastry swans, gracefully arching necks
 496.252 +entwined like lovers. Enclosing them was a sparkling, bowl-shaped
 496.253 +cage of golden carmel. Amazed that they could create such a work, he
 496.254 +glanced up at them. Like two swans, the girls nestled together, hand
 496.255 +in hand, expectantly awaiting his reaction. He smiled, and understood.
 496.256 +
 496.257 +"It's beautiful."
 496.258 +
 496.259 +And it was.      
 496.260 +
 496.261 +  
 496.262 +

   497.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   497.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyostory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   497.3 @@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
   497.4 +
   497.5 +Love is the Crooked Thing
   497.6 +
   497.7 +By G. P.
   497.8 +
   497.9 +Comments can be sent to the author at: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
  497.10 +Note: All characters and names are copyright CLAMP. This work is in
  497.11 +no way meant to infringe upon their intellectual property rights.
  497.12 +
  497.13 +
  497.14 +BROWN PENNY by William Butler Yeats
  497.15 + 
  497.16 +I WHISPERED, "I am too young," 
  497.17 +And then, "I am old enough"; 
  497.18 +Wherefore I threw a penny 
  497.19 +To find out if I might love. 
  497.20 +"Go and love, go and love, young man, 
  497.21 +If the lady be young and fair." 
  497.22 +Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, 
  497.23 +I am looped in the loops of her hair. 
  497.24 +
  497.25 +O love is the crooked thing, 
  497.26 +There is nobody wise enough 
  497.27 +To find out all that is in it, 
  497.28 +For he would be thinking of love 
  497.29 +Till the stars had run away 
  497.30 +And the shadows eaten the moon. 
  497.31 +Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, 
  497.32 +One cannot begin it too soon.
  497.33 +
  497.34 + 
  497.35 +
  497.36 +
  497.37 +
  497.38 +Drawing a deep breath, pursing her lips in hesitant uncertainty,
  497.39 +Sakura flicked the clasp of The Book. Like a shot, the click
  497.40 +resounded loudly in the dimly lit room. Glancing up nervously, half-
  497.41 +expecting the entire household to come running, Sakura let out a
  497.42 +long, shaky sigh,.
  497.43 +
  497.44 +"Hoeeee, should I be doing this?"
  497.45 +
  497.46 +And without Kero to help, too. Another wave of ambivalence swept her
  497.47 +pajama-clad form as she hugged herself tightly in the chill night
  497.48 +air. For almost a month, she had been in turmoil, a gripping, minute-
  497.49 +to-minute whirlwind of heartsick emotion. Knitting her brow, Sakura
  497.50 +concentrated on the cards, willing them to come forth. Like leaves in
  497.51 +a storm they fluttered from the book, lightly spinning in a
  497.52 +breezeless swirl. Carefully reciting their names, Sakura closed her
  497.53 +eyes, hearing them fall softly to the table. Then, silence.
  497.54 +
  497.55 +Blinking her green eyes open, she stared at the two piles neatly
  497.56 +stacked before her. Sakura gently placed the bigger pile back in the
  497.57 +book, closing the cover and clasping the golden latch with a decisive
  497.58 +"snick".
  497.59 +
  497.60 +"All right, how did we do it before? 'Divide 4 with your left hand,
  497.61 +in any order you like'"
  497.62 +
  497.63 +She remembered Kero coaching her the first time, sagely fluttering
  497.64 +about as she arranged the cards. Oneechan had been in terrible
  497.65 +danger, tricked by an illusion of Mirror. She had  felt his danger as
  497.66 +a cold fist gripping her heart, squeezing tightly. The feeling now
  497.67 +was just as intense, but so very different: not cold, but hot, not
  497.68 +sharp and focused, but wild and dizzying. 
  497.69 +
  497.70 +"There"
  497.71 +
  497.72 +She looked down at the 10 cards, arranged in three neat rows of
  497.73 +three, with one set to the right side. Closing her eyes again, she
  497.74 +began to chant,
  497.75 +
  497.76 +"Cards made by Clow, answer my question. Show me the truth of the
  497.77 +situation before me".
  497.78 +
  497.79 +Speaking these last words, her heart fluttered as she drew a quick
  497.80 +breath. Thinking, do I really want to know the truth? For a month she
  497.81 +had not. She had turned away, closed her eyes, and desperately tried
  497.82 +to shut out the feelings that battered against her. Like a frightened
  497.83 +animal she had run, in sheer terror, from her own confused emotions.
  497.84 +But every day those feelings caught her, like baying hounds that
  497.85 +could not be stilled, hot breath on her neck, eagerly flushing her
  497.86 +into the open and cruelly driving her to ground. She shivered again,
  497.87 +sensing a whirling wind above the cards as her chant took effect. Her
  497.88 +auburn-red hair was lifted and tossed as her pajamas rustled and
  497.89 +flapped in the breeze. When the little zephyr died out, she blinked
  497.90 +her eyes open, gazing at the middle card in the top most row.
  497.91 +
  497.92 +"This is who is talking to me?"
  497.93 +
  497.94 +With a strangely steady hand, for the nervousness had drained away,
  497.95 +The Mistress of the Cards turned over... The Flower.
  497.96 +
  497.97 +"Eeeehhhh?"
  497.98 +
  497.99 +Puzzled, Sakura stared at the card, a sweat drop forming. Flower?
 497.100 +Not some Card of power and drama, like Dream, or Sword, or Windy?
 497.101 +Flower?! It was more than disappointing, it was…. irritating. For all
 497.102 +the wrenching agony she'd been through in the past weeks, it was
 497.103 +Flower that was talking to her?
 497.104 +
 497.105 +"This can't be right", she mumbled to herself. But it all looked
 497.106 +right, no, it felt right, too. If she didn't know the source of the
 497.107 +feelings that wracked her, she at least knew the Cards. And this was
 497.108 +right. 
 497.109 +
 497.110 +"OK, Flower. I found you at the School Festival, practically
 497.111 +drowning us in petals. Kero said you like people, and parties, and
 497.112 +fun, and, " Sakura felt a blush creeping up her neck, "and you danced
 497.113 +with me, hee". Hannyann! After the shock wore off it had been kind of
 497.114 +fun, dancing on the rooftop among the scents of a thousand blossoms.
 497.115 +
 497.116 +So, it was Flower that called to her. But looking at the Card,
 497.117 +Sakura could not believe that so gentle a thing could cause such
 497.118 +stormy feelings. With a quick breath, Sakura remembered yesterday in
 497.119 +school. Fidgety in class, the teacher calling her who knows how many
 497.120 +times before she came to, Tomoyo tugging desperately at her sleeve,
 497.121 +smiling as always. She remembered furious words with Li, stomping
 497.122 +away from the puzzled and angry boy. And even Tomoyo! Turning her
 497.123 +back on her very best friend, running away, sobbing. Wiping away the
 497.124 +tears with her pajama sleeve, she remembered the image of Tomoyo,
 497.125 +crushed, hurt beyond measure, clutching her hands tightly as Sakura
 497.126 +raced away from her. Guiltily looking at the pink cell phone, knowing
 497.127 +who had tried to call her all night before turning it off. Thinking,
 497.128 +“Now, I'm even hurting Tomoyo-chan”. 
 497.129 +
 497.130 +That's why she had to know, she could not put it off. Not knowing
 497.131 +the feelings that battered her was painful, but now it was hurting 
 497.132 +the people that she loved so dearly. 
 497.133 +
 497.134 +“Well,” she thought, “let's see just who, or what, is behind all of
 497.135 +this.” Looking decisievely at the middle row of cards, she reached
 497.136 +out and turned them over, 1, 2, 3.
 497.137 +
 497.138 +
 497.139 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
 497.140 +
 497.141 +
 497.142 +The emerald eyes widened as she scanned the cards. This made even
 497.143 +less sense than Flower trying to talk to her. There was nothing sweet
 497.144 +about the agony she had been feeling. Her heart racing and stopping,
 497.145 +flushed hot and cold, dizzy and spinney with a longing that was
 497.146 +tearing her apart. And a Silent Song? That was impossible,
 497.147 +ridiculous. What sort of song can be silent? TV with the sound off?
 497.148 +Karaoke? A broken CD player? But again, the Cards felt right.
 497.149 +Whoever, or whatever, was causing her to suffer was there on the
 497.150 +table, spelled out in three Clow Cards.
 497.151 +
 497.152 +Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated, as hard as she ever had. The
 497.153 +world fell away, room and house and family and friends and the whole
 497.154 +wide world vanishing into an inner darkness. Only three cards in a
 497.155 +black, velvety silence. Concentrate! For untold minutes, her
 497.156 +breathing stilled, heart barely beating, there nothing but the three
 497.157 +cards. All thoughts and feelings drifting away like incense at a
 497.158 +temple, wispy little nothings in the vast dark. And then, she heard it.
 497.159 +
 497.160 +From far, far away, down a tunnel or a tube or a cave, barely
 497.161 +audible in the inky midnight, a voice...no, a song! Sweet beyond
 497.162 +words, charming, alluring, and hauntingly beautiful. Sakura's heart
 497.163 +suddenly pounding, racing away from her as a stormy, thundering
 497.164 +whirlwind ripped apart the darkness, drowning out the faint melody.
 497.165 +With a shuddering gasp, she came to, reeling, dizzy,  the cards on
 497.166 +the table slowly coming into focus:  
 497.167 +
 497.168 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
 497.169 +
 497.170 +
 497.171 +Breathing heavily, her fists in tight little balls, Sakura forced
 497.172 +herself to calm down. Only one more. Pursing her lips, she glanced at
 497.173 +the outside Card, separate, alone in it's own little row. This is the
 497.174 +card that will tell me where. With mounting excitement, she reached
 497.175 +for the card, then hesitated. What would she do when she knew? In a
 497.176 +way, the not knowing was easier. Painful, yes, but not knowing was
 497.177 +easier, safer, and more comfortable, because by not knowing, she did
 497.178 +not have to do anything. With a smile, Sakura suddenly reached for
 497.179 +the final card. She knew herself well enough. When she knew, she
 497.180 +would act. From the very first sounds in the basement, she had faced
 497.181 +whatever came along. Sometimes fearfully, sometimes with a push or a
 497.182 +tug from Kero or Li, but she had met the cards, one by one. Her
 497.183 +little hand reached out, flipping the final card over.
 497.184 +
 497.185 +The Maze.
 497.186 +
 497.187 +Well, this at least made sense. Total, complete sense. Because
 497.188 +whatever, or whoever, was affecting her so severely was hidden far,
 497.189 +far away. It almost seemed that she had been in a maze herself for
 497.190 +weeks, stumbling up and down one blind alley after another. Fear of
 497.191 +the time she and Li and Tomoyo were trapped in the Maze dissipated as
 497.192 +her confidence burned brightly. 
 497.193 +
 497.194 +"This is a maze I can understand.” Sakura’s once gentle face was set
 497.195 +with an iron determination. Smiling, she whispered, “Now I'll find
 497.196 +you".
 497.197 +
 497.198 +Standing up, Sakura tightly clasped the Key at her breast.
 497.199 +
 497.200 +
 497.201 +“Oh Key that hides the power of darkness, obey your Mistress”.
 497.202 +Arching over the table, the girl picked up the Maze card and tossed
 497.203 +it in the air as her room dissolved into golden light. Twirling her
 497.204 +staff above her head, Sakura lunged and struck the fluttering card.
 497.205 +
 497.206 +“Release"!
 497.207 +
 497.208 +
 497.209 +Part 2
 497.210 +In the Labyrinth
 497.211 +
 497.212 +Standing at the gaping entrance of the maze, feeling a cool breeze
 497.213 +from the deep dark within, Sakura suddenly wavered as a sickly fear
 497.214 +settled upon her. There would be no help if she entered, no Tomoyo or
 497.215 +Li or Mizuki-sensei to fetch her out. If she went in it was alone,
 497.216 +except for whatever awaited within. Drawing a deep breath, she
 497.217 +stepped lightly across the threshold, the golden light swallowed up
 497.218 +behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim contours of the smooth
 497.219 +walls, a sudden thought brought her to an equally sudden stop, 
 497.220 +
 497.221 +“And once I’m in, how will I ever get out?” With a quick smile she
 497.222 +drew the Flower Card and flicked it into the air. “Release! And leave
 497.223 +a trail of petals that follows my every step!”
 497.224 +Now, with every step a gentle rain of pink sakura petals marked her
 497.225 +way. Plunging into the darkness, the tiny pajama-clad figure listened
 497.226 +for the haunting strains of Song. But all was silent, save for the
 497.227 +soft shuffling of her own feet. 
 497.228 +
 497.229 +On and on she went, sometimes doubling back, sometimes spiraling
 497.230 +around and around as the gray walls curved and looped. Finally, after
 497.231 +what seemed like hours, Sakura slumped against the wall in an
 497.232 +exhausted and frustrated heap.
 497.233 +
 497.234 +“I’m going nowhere like this”. She shut her eyes tight, listening,
 497.235 +hearing only silence. “OK, stop walking, and concentrate. Concentrate…”
 497.236 +
 497.237 + Three Cards: The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song. 
 497.238 +
 497.239 +She had heard the Song, sweet and melodic, faint but clear and
 497.240 +compelling. Now, there was only silence. The three cards were keys to
 497.241 +what had plunged her into turmoil for the past month. Her senses,
 497.242 +made keen and sharp by the year of hunting the Cards, could not
 497.243 +detect the presence of a Clow Card in all of this. With analytic
 497.244 +eyes, she turned to the stormy emotions that had beset her
 497.245 +since...since when?
 497.246 +
 497.247 +"Since I found out about Yue". 
 497.248 +
 497.249 +Yue, the real Yukito; and so coldly different. With a wistful
 497.250 +sadness she recalled lights like falling stars at the festival, a
 497.251 +gentle glance, the lazy arc of a candy thrown from a bike. Her
 497.252 +affection for him was undimmed, but, changed somehow. She shook her
 497.253 +head, jumped up with a start, and began walking again. Since Yue,
 497.254 +there had been an emptiness, a hole in her heart where a chill breeze
 497.255 +blew. But the strange, powerful feelings that wracked her were not
 497.256 +because of Yue, not about him at all. Or, rather, it was because he
 497.257 +was gone that those sweet, painful feelings were unleashed. It was as
 497.258 +if a dam had broken, and a flood of emotion, long bottled up, had
 497.259 +gushed forth sweeping all before it.   
 497.260 +
 497.261 +
 497.262 +Sweet, painful feelings. She stopped, standing quite still, and
 497.263 +closed her eyes. Sweet feelings? Yes, they were. They hurt, they
 497.264 +hounded her, and they had turned her life inside out. And yet, there
 497.265 +was an intense, breathless sweetness. It was like the delightful
 497.266 +feeling she had had with Yukito, or Mizuki-sensei, hannyann! But
 497.267 +wrapped tightly with a longing, an aching sense of incompleteness,
 497.268 +and an intensity that frightened her as no Clow Card ever had. And
 497.269 +whatever caused it was in here, with her, silent. Whatever, or whoever.
 497.270 +
 497.271 +Frustrated, she began walking again, one hand following the smooth,
 497.272 +cool wall, the endless corridors leading nowhere, the petaled path
 497.273 +stretching behind her into the distance. If only she could hear the
 497.274 +song again, she could get her bearings. She thought of Tomoyo-chan's
 497.275 +songs, her sweet voice, and suddenly felt a pang of longing for her
 497.276 +friend. Alone, the auburn haired girl realized how much she missed
 497.277 +the presence of the one who was always  at her side, with her on all
 497.278 +her adventures, waiting for her at school, always with a kindly look,
 497.279 +a gentle touch, and encouraging words.
 497.280 +
 497.281 +Tomoyo-chan. The wonder, the miracle of her friendship was something
 497.282 +she often took for granted amid the whirl of the Cards. But here,
 497.283 +alone in the twilight halls, she keenly felt the absence of that
 497.284 +sweet, loving presence. Even her odd obsessions, the costumes and the
 497.285 +videotapes (sweat drop forming), were signs of her love. Then, with a
 497.286 +gasp, Sakura  froze.
 497.287 +
 497.288 +Her love. Sakura, mouth open, stared at the ground in stunned
 497.289 +surprise. Her love. The crimson heat of an epochal blush crept up her
 497.290 +neck and shoulders and, like a red tsunami,  overwhelmed her. 
 497.291 +
 497.292 +"She...she likes me...like that". 
 497.293 +
 497.294 +Gripping the staff at her chest with both hands, Sakura stood
 497.295 +breathless. 
 497.296 +
 497.297 +"She...loves me". Shaking her head furiously, she cried, "Hooeee,
 497.298 +why didn't I see? Why didn't she tell me? Why?"
 497.299 +
 497.300 +Closing her eyes, Sakura thought of how unspeakably painful it must
 497.301 +have been for Tomoyo-chan, her most precious gift unseen and
 497.302 +unrecognized. But from Tomoyo, never a reproachful glare, an angry
 497.303 +word, never anything but unbounded, unconditional love. 
 497.304 +
 497.305 +"Baka", exclaimed Sakura, as her tears fell freely, 'How can I have
 497.306 +been so stupid? All this time, she loved me, and I, I didn't even
 497.307 +know. I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I'm so, so sorry...." Dropping to
 497.308 +her knees, the Mistress of the Cards buried her face in her hands,
 497.309 +sobbing.
 497.310 +
 497.311 +All this time, loving me...silently loving me. Through teary eyes,
 497.312 +Sakura stared into the distance and whispered,
 497.313 +
 497.314 +"Silently....loving me?"
 497.315 +
 497.316 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
 497.317 +
 497.318 +And then, she heard it again. 
 497.319 +
 497.320 +Louder this time, the song wafted from the center, the very heart of
 497.321 +the maze. Staggering to her feet, Sakura stumbled towards the sound.
 497.322 +Her face, streaked with tears, brightened as she recognized the voice,
 497.323 +
 497.324 +"Tomoyo-chan...Tomoyo-chan!"
 497.325 +
 497.326 +Racing towards the source of the song, Sakura felt her heart
 497.327 +throbbing from excitment and exertion. All the feelings of the past
 497.328 +month welled up inside her, but focused now, like a laser beam of
 497.329 +light. Now she understood. The roaring tempest within, no longer
 497.330 +angry at her ignorance, throbbed in harmony with her own heart. Now,
 497.331 +at last, she realized who she loved, had always loved, and always
 497.332 +would love for ever and ever and ever.
 497.333 +
 497.334 +"Tomoyo-chan!"
 497.335 +
 497.336 +Ahead, a pale, amythest light shone as the maze began to dissipate
 497.337 +and dissolve. The love song flowed like the burbling water of a
 497.338 +mountain brook, like white-hot lava, like the stars and the suns and
 497.339 +the moons in the black velvet river of the sky. Sobbing, laughing,
 497.340 +delighted, Sakura neared the white shrouded, dark haired singer
 497.341 +bathed in a shimmering, purple glow. Slowly the figure turned to face
 497.342 +her, blue eyes sparkling, smiling.
 497.343 +
 497.344 +
 497.345 +"Sakura-chan?"
 497.346 +
 497.347 +Puzzled, smiling, Tomoyo took her friend by the hand, leading her
 497.348 +into the spacious room. A shadow of concern darkened her face as she
 497.349 +squeezed the girl's hand and whispered,
 497.350 +
 497.351 +"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
 497.352 +
 497.353 +Catching her breath, blinking as she realized the maze had vanished,
 497.354 +Sakura saw the familiar outlines of her friend's room. Looking at
 497.355 +Tomoyo she smiled, blushed fiercely, then glanced away.
 497.356 +
 497.357 +"Tomoyo-chan, I...."
 497.358 +
 497.359 +Tomoyo gently held her hands, head tilted to one side, and gazed in
 497.360 +wonder.
 497.361 +
 497.362 +"Tomoyo-chan, I like you. I...I really like you".
 497.363 +
 497.364 +With a musical laugh that angels might envy, Tomoyo beamed and
 497.365 +replied,
 497.366 +
 497.367 +"I like you too, Sakura."
 497.368 +
 497.369 +Shaking her head wildly, Sakura squeezed the startled girl's hands
 497.370 +in an iron grip.
 497.371 +
 497.372 +"No...NO! I don't mean it like that. I....Tomoyo," Her emerald eyes
 497.373 +flashed fire as she grappled with the words,
 497.374 +
 497.375 +"Tomoyo I....I love you. I love you, too"
 497.376 +
 497.377 +For a long second, Tomoyo's face was a mask of shock and surprise.
 497.378 +Then, smiling through the tears, blue eyes shimmering in unforeseen
 497.379 +joy, her face shone with a radiant, heavenly light. Hand in hand,
 497.380 +eyes locked together, the two friends stood alabaster still. Leaning
 497.381 +closer, Sakura felt a warm breath against her tear-stained cheek.
 497.382 +Eyes closing, her lips lightly brushed against Tomoyo's. Tomoyo
 497.383 +wrapped her arms around Sakura as she returned the kiss with a gentle
 497.384 +passion.
 497.385 +
 497.386 +Sakura and Tomoyo stood, entwined and oblivious, as Flower gaily
 497.387 +danced above them, showering the lovers in a hurricane of blossoms.  
 497.388 +
 497.389 +
 497.390 +
 497.391 +
 497.392 +
 497.393 +
 497.394 +
 497.395 +
 497.396 +
 497.397 +
 497.398 +
 497.399 +
 497.400 +
 497.401 +Love is the sweet, silent song. And in the maze lies Tomoyo,
 497.402 +waiting, her silent song heard at last by Sakura, who braves the
 497.403 +confusion of the Maze to bring back her one true Love.     
 497.404 \ No newline at end of file

   498.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   498.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyovisitor.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   498.3 @@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
   498.4 +Tomoyo and the Visitor
   498.5 +A Tomoyo and Sakura Story
   498.6 +By G. P.
   498.7 +Please send comments to: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
   498.8 +
   498.9 +Note: all names and characters are property of CLAMP. This story is
  498.10 +in no way meant to infringe on their intellectual property rights.
  498.11 +
  498.12 +I.
  498.13 +Tomoyo first heard it while reading in the garden: a faint shuffling
  498.14 +noise by the big beech tree. She rose and walked over, looking for
  498.15 +the source of the sound. Then it moved, a small feathery body
  498.16 +flopping in the short grass. Leaning over, she saw a little orange-
  498.17 +brown bird with black wings, not quite a fledgling, cheeping in
  498.18 +fright. She looked up into the leafy branches of the tree, shading
  498.19 +her lavender eyes from the midday sun, but could see no nest.
  498.20 +Kneeling, Tomoyo undid the blue ribbon of her straw bonnet and used
  498.21 +it to deftly scoop up the tiny creature. It was noisy, active, and
  498.22 +did not seem to be hurt. Gazing at the lost little bird, she felt an
  498.23 +odd kinship. Smiling, she whispered,
  498.24 +
  498.25 +“You almost look ready to fly. I’ll ask Mother if you can stay until
  498.26 +you’re ready.”
  498.27 +
  498.28 +Cradling the bonnet, she walked to the house and opened the massive
  498.29 +front door. Her footsteps echoed as she walked the long hallway to
  498.30 +the stairs. Bounding into her room, she placed bird and bonnet on her
  498.31 +dresser and pulled up a chair. As she contemplated the tiny creature,
  498.32 +it regarded at her with large, watchful eyes. Then it began to chirp,
  498.33 +moving about in the bonnet, eyes fixed on Tomoyo, who said to herself,
  498.34 +
  498.35 +“You’re hungry, aren’t you? First let me see just what you are, and
  498.36 +then we’ll see what you want to eat”.
  498.37 +
  498.38 +With a smile she rushed downstairs to the library, and rushed back
  498.39 +clutching her Firudo Gaido Nihon no Yacho, A Field Guide to the Birds
  498.40 +of Japan. Looking at the bird, half expecting it to be gone, she
  498.41 +scanned the colored plates to try and identify it
  498.42 +
  498.43 +"It's a hawfinch, cocothraustes cocothraustes, of the Fringillidae
  498.44 +family". Tomoyo carefully sounded out the difficult Latin words.
  498.45 +"Your name is bigger than you are", Tomoyo giggled to herself. She
  498.46 +read on, "‘they are shy birds, spending most of their time hidden in
  498.47 +the treetops eating seeds and caterpillars'. I guess grubs would be
  498.48 +OK for you. I'll be right back!" She flew downstairs, to beg one of
  498.49 +the guards to take her to the pet shop. Already, she was in love with
  498.50 +it.
  498.51 +
  498.52 +II.
  498.53 +The next day Tomoyo, practically beaming, asked Sakura during lunch,
  498.54 +"Would you like to come to my house after school? There's something I
  498.55 +wanted to show you". 
  498.56 +
  498.57 +Sakura, intrigued, nodded her head and replied, "Sure. Let me call
  498.58 +my Father to see if it's OK. I don't have any chores today".
  498.59 +
  498.60 +After homeroom was dismissed, Sakura walked out with her friend and
  498.61 +saw a single, darkly garbed bodyguard standing by the black Cadillac.
  498.62 +The guard opened the back door, bowing low, her long, brown hair
  498.63 +hanging straight down. When Sakura clambered in, she was surprised by
  498.64 +the roominess of the car's interior. As the car sped away, she turned
  498.65 +to Tomoyo and said,
  498.66 +
  498.67 +"What did you want to show me?"
  498.68 +
  498.69 +Tomoyo smiled broadly, "You'll see"
  498.70 +
  498.71 +Tomoyo glanced at her friend, delighted by her intense curiosity.
  498.72 +Tomoyo loved surprises, and the sweet anticipation they caused. She
  498.73 +snuggled into the plush seat, thought about Sakura, and the hawfinch,
  498.74 +and felt a wonderful glow.
  498.75 +
  498.76 +
  498.77 +III.
  498.78 +Sakura gazed at the little bird, hopping merrily in its large,
  498.79 +silver cage. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed,
  498.80 +
  498.81 +"Kawaii! Tomoyo-chan, it is sooooo cute!"
  498.82 +
  498.83 +Tomoyo tilted her head and smiled brightly as Sakura asked, "Did you
  498.84 +give it a name yet?"
  498.85 +
  498.86 +Tomoyo shook her head no, and in a conspiratorial whisper, as if the
  498.87 +young bird would be embarrassed to hear such a thing, answered, 
  498.88 +
  498.89 +"I don't know if it's a boy or a girl".
  498.90 +
  498.91 +Puzzled, Sakura blurted out, 
  498.92 +
  498.93 +"How can you tell?"
  498.94 +
  498.95 +Tomoyo blushed and looked at the floor, whispering,
  498.96 +
  498.97 +"I...I don't really know"
  498.98 +
  498.99 +Sakura, realizing what she was asking, blushed, hid the nervous
 498.100 +giggle behind her hand and whispered,
 498.101 +
 498.102 +"S..sorry"
 498.103 +
 498.104 +Tomoyo looked up, all smiles, took her hand, and asked.
 498.105 +
 498.106 +"Would you like some tea?"
 498.107 +
 498.108 +And the two girls raced down together to the massive kitchen.
 498.109 +
 498.110 +
 498.111 +IV.
 498.112 +
 498.113 +Over the next week, Tomoyo spent hours with the little bird. She
 498.114 +sketched it, painted it, carefully weighed and measured it's food,
 498.115 +cleaned the cage, and overall attended it with more care than the
 498.116 +most doting of mothers. Most of all, she loved to just sit and watch
 498.117 +as the hawfinch explored it's cage, played with the little golden
 498.118 +bell she bought, and gamely tested its wings in a flurry of flapping.
 498.119 +She knew it would be ready to fly soon, and though she would miss her
 498.120 +companion, she grew excited at the thought of the fledging soaring
 498.121 +into the vast, open sky. After a nearly-rushed dinner, she excused
 498.122 +herself to go to bed, ran upstairs, and burst through the bedroom
 498.123 +door. There, she found the bird dead.
 498.124 +
 498.125 +At first, she thought it asleep, though in an odd, twisted posture.
 498.126 +But looking closely, she realized it had suddenly, inexplicably died.
 498.127 +Staring, she put her hand to her heart and felt her legs weakening.
 498.128 +It couldn't be...it had been gaily hopping and chirping just before
 498.129 +dinner. With a shaking hand she opened the door to the cage and, with
 498.130 +a slender finger, lightly nudged the warm, stiff lump, which slid
 498.131 +slightly on the bottom of the cage. She turned away, stunned,
 498.132 +sickened, her eyesight graying on the periphery, as she felt queasy
 498.133 +and faint. Just then, the phone rang.
 498.134 +
 498.135 +She reeled backwards, mechanically reaching for the pink cell phone
 498.136 +and holding it to her ear.
 498.137 +
 498.138 +Sakura stood puzzled when the phone was picked up with no greeting.
 498.139 +
 498.140 +"Hello? Tomoyo-chan?"
 498.141 +
 498.142 +Silence.
 498.143 +
 498.144 +"Tomoyo-chan, are you there? Are you all right?"
 498.145 +
 498.146 +Trembling, Tomoyo exclaimed in a rush,
 498.147 +
 498.148 +"Sakura-chan it's dead I...I… oh Sakura-chan I'm sorry it's all
 498.149 +right don't worry it's all right it's..."
 498.150 +Tomoyo broke off in a fit of sobbing.
 498.151 +
 498.152 +"Tomoyo-chan, what's the matter, are you all right?" Sakura shouted
 498.153 +out as the phone went dead.
 498.154 +
 498.155 +Tomoyo sat on her bed; fists clenched into tight little balls,
 498.156 +weeping hysterically. It was so young, just ready to fly. Why? Why
 498.157 +did it die now? Why, with a whole life ahead of it, why did it have
 498.158 +to die? Before it could even fly it was dead. The overwhelming
 498.159 +unfairness of it all staggered her. She sat crying, unheard in the
 498.160 +vast, empty house. Unable to move or see through her tears, she only
 498.161 +barely heard the frantic pounding on her window. Turning, she saw
 498.162 +Sakura perched on the ledge outside her room, wings disappearing from
 498.163 +her staff as she prepared to break through the glass. The sight of
 498.164 +the auburn-haired girl threw Tomoyo into a blind panic. She rushed to
 498.165 +the window and opened it carefully, taking Sakura by the hand as she
 498.166 +stepped into the room. By habit she smiled brightly, but the words
 498.167 +wouldn't come, and the tears wouldn't stop.
 498.168 +
 498.169 +Sakura beheld her friend in fear and wonder. Never, ever had she
 498.170 +seen Tomoyo like this. Always cheerful, always composed and never,
 498.171 +ever sad, the dark-haired girl looked shattered as her smile
 498.172 +dissolved in a renewed flood of tears. She turned away from Sakura,
 498.173 +arms flailing as if to ward her off. Hysterically she begged,
 498.174 +
 498.175 +"Sakura-chan go away please go away I'm sorry please please please!"
 498.176 +
 498.177 +Tomoyo shut her eyes tightly as a tempest of emotions raged inside
 498.178 +her. The sudden death of the little bird still tore at her in a raw,
 498.179 +uncontrollable grief. But for Sakura to see her like this was even
 498.180 +worse. Never, ever had she allowed Sakura even a glimpse of her
 498.181 +private sorrow, or of the passionate love that lay unrequited for so
 498.182 +long. She had dedicated herself to her beautiful friend, and vowed
 498.183 +never to burden her beloved with her own sadness or longing. And if
 498.184 +most of the time her joy at just being with Sakura was genuine, it
 498.185 +was sometimes a mask to hide her own hurt, and protect the precious
 498.186 +happiness of her one, true love. But now, she had hurt Sakura through
 498.187 +her grief for the bird. Struggle as she might, the little creature's
 498.188 +death was a pain she could not still, a bitter cup that overflowed
 498.189 +and spilled over. Her mask shattered, she felt naked and ashamed and
 498.190 +alone. Better she were dead than this.
 498.191 +
 498.192 +Sakura stood with her arms at her side, utterly helpless as Tomoyo
 498.193 +huddled in the corner. The sight was wrenching, and Sakura was at a
 498.194 +loss. Glancing about the room, she saw the door of the silver
 498.195 +birdcage open, and the motionless, feathered form within. Looking at
 498.196 +her still sobbing friend she understood, and felt her own heart break
 498.197 +for Tomoyo's loss. And if she did not comprehend all of Tomoyo's
 498.198 +grief, or it's secret cause (which was Sakura herself), she knew
 498.199 +enough to run to her love and enfold her in her arms.
 498.200 +
 498.201 +"I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-chan. I'm so sorry it had to die."
 498.202 +
 498.203 +Tomoyo felt the warm presence wrapped around her, melting the icy
 498.204 +pain in a passionate, loving hug. On her cheek the warm wet of her
 498.205 +tears mingled with Sakura's own as her friend held her tightly.
 498.206 +Sakura's love cut through the haze of guilt and shame like a fiery
 498.207 +sword. Tomoyo turned and shifted, laying her head on Sakura's
 498.208 +shoulder, hugging her tightly. How strange it was that she felt such
 498.209 +comfort here in the arms of her love, when seconds ago the mere
 498.210 +presence of the girl had thrown her into a horrified frenzy. Her iron
 498.211 +guard for once lowered, she gave herself up to the sadness, and
 498.212 +softly wept for the little bird. As the shadows of night covered them
 498.213 +they lay in a bittersweet embrace, hearts beating together till sleep
 498.214 +stole their pain away.
 498.215 +
 498.216 +Tomoyo awoke to the twittering of birds, and bright sunlight
 498.217 +streaming through the open window. She smiled to find Sakura in her
 498.218 +arms, still asleep. She remembered the hurt of the bird's death, and
 498.219 +felt the echo of grief deep inside. But Sakura's magic was not only
 498.220 +in the Cards, for she had blessed Tomoyo with the solace of her love.
 498.221 +As the dark lashes fluttered, Tomoyo kissed her tenderly on the
 498.222 +forehead. Waking, she smiled, and then looked at Tomoyo with sudden
 498.223 +concern. But Tomoyo smiled back and whispered,
 498.224 +
 498.225 +"I'm OK now. Thank you, Sakura-chan. Thank you so much."
 498.226 +
 498.227 +Sakura gazed into the deep blue eyes and then smiled again. Slowly
 498.228 +the two rose, slightly stiff from sleeping on the floor. Sakura
 498.229 +looked at the window, and the sun, and froze.
 498.230 +
 498.231 +"Hoeee, what if oniichan goes to wake me up for breakfast?"
 498.232 +
 498.233 +Tomoyo giggled, and whispered, "You’d better go."
 498.234 +
 498.235 +Sakura looked at her uncertainly.
 498.236 +
 498.237 +"Smiling, Tomoyo said, "I'm all right, really. It's still a little
 498.238 +sad, but I'm all right."
 498.239 +
 498.240 +Sakura looked wistfully at her friend and hugged her tightly. She
 498.241 +looked out the window and saw a bank of low clouds that would hide
 498.242 +her flight home. With another hug they parted, and Sakura flew
 498.243 +through the window as Tomoyo watched in awe. Then, turning with a
 498.244 +sigh, she looked at the cage, and wondered what to do.
 498.245 +
 498.246 +Her Mother, home for a rare weekend without work, sensibly placed
 498.247 +the hawfinch in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. Tomoyo
 498.248 +made the preparations, starting with a small pouch. She was unsteady
 498.249 +in needlepoint, but her Mother helped with the more complex stitches.
 498.250 +She talked on the phone with Sakura several times that day,
 498.251 +reassuring her that things were fine. As they worked, Tomoyo asked
 498.252 +her mother in an anguished voice why something so sweet and innocent
 498.253 +had to die before it had even flown. For a long time, Sonomi sat
 498.254 +silent as she worked the needle and thread. Finally, she looked up
 498.255 +and said,
 498.256 +
 498.257 +" I asked that when Nadesico was dying. I asked her. Through all the
 498.258 +pain she smiled at me and said,
 498.259 +
 498.260 +'But Sonomi-chan, we're just visitors here. We can't stay forever' “
 498.261 +
 498.262 +The two sat in silence while Sonomi cut and tied the last thread and
 498.263 +held up the finished work.
 498.264 +
 498.265 +"There, all done." 
 498.266 +
 498.267 +At sunset, Tomoyo gently took the little bird from the bag and
 498.268 +wrapped it in a white silk scarf. Placing the cold, enshrouded body
 498.269 +in the pouch, she took a small shovel from the tool shed and dug a
 498.270 +little hole under the tree. Kneeling, she carefully laid the pouch in
 498.271 +the warm earth and looked one last time at the design, a needlepoint
 498.272 +hawfinch soaring through a cloudless sky. Then she patted the dirt
 498.273 +down and stood with lowered head and folded hands. With eyes closed,
 498.274 +she thanked the little visitor, and begged it to find peace here
 498.275 +under the beech tree. Turning, the little girl left the gathering
 498.276 +dark to go find her mother, and to cry.
 498.277 + 
 498.278 +
 498.279 +  
 498.280 +
 498.281 +
 498.282 +
 498.283 +
 498.284 +
 498.285 + 
 498.286 + 

   499.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   499.2 +++ b/stories/toujour2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   499.3 @@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
   499.4 +The hiss of metal scraping against metal roused Hotaru from her unconscious state.
   499.5 +Violet orbs slowly opening to view a world that swirled around her, leading her head to
   499.6 +begin pounding, though now all she heard was her own breathing. Groaning lightly, she tried
   499.7 +to push herself up off what felt like the ground, but as she placed her palms to the floor, it
   499.8 +was smooth, too much so to be anything natural, and thought it better to try to see where she
   499.9 +was before risking another swoon. Unable to focus her eyes in the dim surroundings, she
  499.10 +squinted in a vain attempt to see with any kind of clarity.
  499.11 +The room had no visible walls, or ceiling, simply blackness lit with sparsely placed
  499.12 +torches, their shadows slithering menacingly across the ground. Out of the corner of her eye,
  499.13 +she saw a flash as the light from the torches reflected something. Her head turning in that
  499.14 +direction, her eyes rested on two figures, vaguely human shaped, one living midnight, the
  499.15 +other as crimson as blood. Not a word spoken between them as they stared each other down,
  499.16 +with what appeared to be weapons held at the ready, the suspense was almost tangible. The
  499.17 +red figure struck first, and once more they danced before her, the sharp, pronounced cry of
  499.18 +metal meeting in a tango of death, which Hotaru wanted no part of.
  499.19 +	The figures moved at a blinding speed, ducking, jumping, stabbing, their motion left
  499.20 +streaks of color behind them as they battled harder than she has ever seen anyone, anything
  499.21 +fight before. Whoever they were, whatever they were, they seemed oblivious to her presence.
  499.22 +She thanked the gods for that and tried to hold as still, and as silent as possible, to avoid any
  499.23 +attention to herself, while she continued to watch on. There was simply nothing else she
  499.24 +could do.
  499.25 +	The figure in red was obviously the aggressor; it gave the black shape no rest as it
  499.26 +hacked at it mercilessly with what appeared to be a pole arm of some kind. Its relentless
  499.27 +attacks were coupled with growls and grunts as the shots were either blocked or dodged
  499.28 +completely. As the sparks from the clashing weapons flew, the black outline continued to be
  499.29 +driven back, towards Hotaru's position on the floor. Was it defending her? Who was it?! She
  499.30 +had to get out of there…
  499.31 +	Her heart began to race, as she looked around herself frantically for somewhere to
  499.32 +hide, somewhere to get herself out of the open but saw nothing but blurry darkness. Closing
  499.33 +her eyes to prevent the room from spinning, she focused herself, trying to will herself into
  499.34 +lucid sight. Opening her eyes once more, she looked upon the room again, and by some
  499.35 +miracle, her attempt worked. Vision slowly starting to clear, she could see a few details
  499.36 +about each of the figures fighting before her. The black figure was obviously human, or
  499.37 +humanoid and was dressed in dark clothing and what appeared to be a ninja's mask covering
  499.38 +his face. He wielded a black bladed sword, which he handled as if it were an extension of his
  499.39 +body, obviously having been doing it for quiet some time.
  499.40 +	Hotaru gasped as she looked upon the red figure. It was the same size as a human,
  499.41 +but its face was distorted into a sick mockery of a person. The mouth was full of razor sharp
  499.42 +fangs, dripping saliva onto the floor as it grunted and roared, angry that the man wasn't
  499.43 +going down as easy as it hoped. It's eyes were two dried out sockets, a faint red glow seen
  499.44 +from them in place of pupils, and the thing had no nose; it's entire body was dried, red flesh.
  499.45 +Once more placing her hands to the ground, she pushed with all the strength she could
  499.46 +muster, and barely managed to gain any kind of clearance from the floor before her hands
  499.47 +gave out and she fell back to the ground with a loud thud. Both figures turned to her, neither
  499.48 +of them speaking. The creature took advantage of this and thrust his pole arm at the man
  499.49 +before he could have a chance to ready a defense, slamming him directly in the chest with the
  499.50 +weapon. A sickening crunch was heard as the metal sunk into the man's rib cage, blood
  499.51 +starting to seep over the silver blade and splattered onto floor. The man turned to look at the
  499.52 +creature, his eyes narrowed as he dropped to a knee, the weapon embedded firmly in his
  499.53 +body. Thick, red blood splattered from his wound onto the floor before he too slumped down
  499.54 +motionless.
  499.55 +	"It lives!" the thing screeched, glaring directly at Hotaru. It's 'voice' was
  499.56 +indescribable, the sound of a million souls screaming out in sheer agony at once. It chilled
  499.57 +her to the bone, causing her to freeze in place; a tiny whimper her only viable action. She
  499.58 +knew she had no defense. She was too woozy and disoriented to fight it hand to hand, it was
  499.59 +just too fast for her in any state. It approached her, leaving the crumpled figure on the
  499.60 +ground about 30 yards, or so, away.
  499.61 +	Picking up the man's sword, the creature did what could only be described as a grin,
  499.62 +it's jagged, yellowed teeth bared further as it's mouth opened. "Now YOU die, girl." The
  499.63 +creature laughed as it held the sword high in triumph, the black blade glimmered in the light
  499.64 +of the torches. It hissed to Hotaru and began to slice the blade through the air, but was
  499.65 +disrupted by the sound of the man behind them once more standing off the ground.
  499.66 +	"No…" the black clad man's voice sounded, "You know you can't kill her as long
  499.67 +as I still breathe…" and he winced and grunted as he pulled the pole arm from his chest,
  499.68 +leaving blood to spurt down the open wound. Hotaru's eyes went wide as she saw the
  499.69 +weapon he was holding: The silence glaive.
  499.70 +	"WHY DON'T YOU DIE!!?" the monster glared at the youth, making an
  499.71 +indistinguishable clicking noise before screaming at the top of its voice as it charged at the
  499.72 +man, who was in no shape to fight it any longer. The man closed his eyes and held the glaive
  499.73 +parallel to the floor. The light suddenly increased dramatically, as the torches flared, the
  499.74 +sudden burst of light blinded the creature, causing it to scream in rage and fall to the floor,
  499.75 +covering its face with it's clawed hands. Hotaru could now understand why the red beast
  499.76 +didn't let the man have any kind of rest at all: he knew it's weak point. All the colors of the
  499.77 +prism swirled from the flames into the glaive in his hands, the blood sizzling on the blade of
  499.78 +the weapon from the intense energy that caused the metal to glow. The youth's eyes opened
  499.79 +then, completely white with the energy feeding from the power of the torches, the light, and
  499.80 +turned to the creature.
  499.81 +	"DEATH EVERLASTING…" The man screamed to the sky… Death everlasting?
  499.82 +Is that like Death reborn?! Hotaru's head quickly snapped from the creature to the one who
  499.83 +held her weapon. "REVELATION!"
  499.84 +The blade flashed a single time in response to his call, and as he slashed the weapon
  499.85 +vertically through the air, a crescent shaped sickle of energy screamed across the sky to the
  499.86 +vulnerable creature on the floor. As it struck the writhing figure, what sounded like
  499.87 +electricity began to crackle, causing the monster to scream only once before being cut off
  499.88 +into silence. Its body quickly turned into nothing more than a pile of ash on the floor, a
  499.89 +massive scorch mark surrounding its former position.
  499.90 +	"W—who are you?" Hotaru managed to ask, causing the youth to turn to glance at
  499.91 +her, dropping back to a knee, and as the light from the glaive began to fade, she caught a
  499.92 +glimpse of black colored irises.
  499.93 +	"You'll see in time…" he feel back into a sitting position raising his hand to the sky,
  499.94 +his palm beginning to glow gently white. "Just go back to sleep, Hotaru…You need your
  499.95 +rest." then all went black once more.
  499.96 +
  499.97 +	Red, watery eyes glanced at Hotaru's motionless body, which lay on the hospital bed
  499.98 +in the silence of the night. Usagi hadn't returned from her run to the cafeteria yet, leaving
  499.99 +Chibi Usa with ample time to take in every feature of the sleeping angel. Her hand caressed
 499.100 +Hotaru's slender digits her own smooth palm,
 499.101 +"You'll be okay, right Hotaru?" Chibi turned her eyes to Hotaru's expecting her to
 499.102 +open them and reassure her that everything was just fine…. The only sound that was heard
 499.103 +was the incessant beeping of the heart monitor and the hissing of the ventilator as it forced
 499.104 +air into and out of her lungs.
 499.105 +	A click sounded behind Chibi, causing her to turn and look at the door, taking her
 499.106 +eyes off Hotaru for a moment. In came Usagi, carefully holding two foam cups in her hands,
 499.107 +and a bag in her mouth, carefully opening the door with her back. Chibi immediately went to
 499.108 +Usagi and took a cup from her, not because she wanted to help, but she knew that Usagi
 499.109 +can't be trusted to carry things… She has a tendency to fall and spill them.
 499.110 +	"Thanks," Usagi said, after removing the bag from her hand and moving to one of
 499.111 +the three wooden chairs in the room that were stationed by the window. "Careful, it's really
 499.112 +hot." She had already burned her tongue, and didn't want Chibi to do the same.
 499.113 +	"Ok…" was Chibi's response, as she set the drink down on the window sill, not
 499.114 +really interested in it right now, and immediately turned her eyes back to Hotaru. "You like
 499.115 +chocolate don't you? I know you don't like milk…" Usagi sighed, looking to the pink haired
 499.116 +child speaking to the incapacitated girl on the bed. Silence followed for a moment, the
 499.117 +sounds of the machines were the only things that broke the thick silence until Chibi spoke
 499.118 +again, "Do you think she can hear me?"
 499.119 +	"I dunno…I think so…." She knew that it was doubtful, since she wasn't conscious
 499.120 +and moving, that the receptors in her brain didn't register the words. "You should ask the
 499.121 +doctor, he would know for sure." Chibi only sighed and picked up her chocolate and looked
 499.122 +at it through the small drinking hole in the lid. "It's a bit on the sweeter side," Usagi relayed
 499.123 +to Chibi, hoping that would coax her into drinking it.
 499.124 +	"She can hear every word you say," the doctor said as he entered the room via the
 499.125 +door Usagi forgot to close, a few of the staff following suit. "She's not asleep, exactly…she's
 499.126 +in a state of coma, her brain is active, but her body isn't…she doesn't know she can't move,
 499.127 +she doesn't know she can't see, but she can hear you since sound is involuntarily heard."
 499.128 +The doctor sat down on the chair opposite the girls, and crossed his legs, before opening the
 499.129 +chart. The staff, on the other hand began to huddle around Hotaru, Chibi saw that most of
 499.130 +them had needles.
 499.131 +"It looks like your friend has spent a good few days in hospitals before," he pushed
 499.132 +his glasses back and continued, "We have to run a few tests on her skin for feeling, and her
 499.133 +lungs, her brain…it'll be done right now since this is still considered and emergency." Chibi
 499.134 +winced lightly as they stuck Hotaru in her arm to take some blood samples, "We'll have to
 499.135 +take her for another CT scan in the morning…it might take a while to get all the data, and
 499.136 +you two should get some rest."
 499.137 +"Another CT scan…and what is a CT scan?" Usagi looked to the doctor, rather than
 499.138 +the group around Hotaru, not wanting to watch them poke and prod around on her.
 499.139 +"A CT scan is a type of tissue scan…a CAT scan, you've probably heard of that."
 499.140 +He looked at the chart again, then back to Usagi, "And she had one when she came in, and it
 499.141 +showed no abnormalities." Usagi let out a breath that she felt like she had been holding since
 499.142 +she heard that Hotaru was here. "Another one in the morning will confirm the results, as well
 499.143 +as show any damage that might have occurred after the scan. She's not out of the woods yet,
 499.144 +not by far, but if the scan is good she should recover just fine."
 499.145 +

   500.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   500.2 +++ b/stories/toujour3.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   500.3 @@ -0,0 +1,404 @@
   500.4 +	The night wasn't easy for the girls. Both of them squeezed on the tiny hospital
   500.5 +bed in the darkness of Hotaru's room; the rhythmic hissing of the respirator paired with
   500.6 +the beat of the heart monitor made for a symphony of restlessness.
   500.7 +	"UGH, that beeping is driving me crazy!" Usagi said in the darkness, "I can't
   500.8 +sleep with it! I want to SLEEEEP!" She glared at the offending device, but was
   500.9 +reprimanded by an angry Chibi.
  500.10 +	"If that thing stops beeping, you'll get a few hours of sleep…. but Hotaru will
  500.11 +never wake up…. now stop complaining and block it out." The tiny girl curled onto her
  500.12 +side and tried to do the same, but was finding it very difficult. She sighed again,
  500.13 +wondering what Hotaru is thinking, what she's seeing, what she's hearing, what she's
  500.14 +feeling. Eyes glancing to the window, to the sky that was slowly losing it's inky
  500.15 +blankness in favor of a mild purple as the sun was creeping up over the horizon, she
  500.16 +stared at the slowly brightening sky for a time, before her eyes closed she didn't reopen
  500.17 +them.
  500.18 +	Chibi's sleep was tormented, torturous, and troubled. She had visions of a
  500.19 +happy, almost mocking future of herself, around Usagi's age. Seeing herself at her sweet
  500.20 +sixteen party surrounded by the other Senshi and her friends, as she was opening the
  500.21 +presents from a large stack on a nearby table, and the others were standing around her,
  500.22 +two were sitting on the sofa next to her: Hotaru to her right, and Usagi to her left. She
  500.23 +was flanked by Haruka and Michi who stood behind the sofa, Michi against Haruka's
  500.24 +chest, cradled in her arms, both of them smiling brightly.
  500.25 +	The inners, too, were there. Ami, as always, was telling them to be sensible
  500.26 +about what they're eating, her voice was as clear as always, "Minako! You shouldn't be
  500.27 +eating so much cake!" Her lips pursed slightly as she looked at the senshi of love with a
  500.28 +huge piece of chocolate cake in her hands, half of it in her mouth.
  500.29 +	"Mmh! Mm-mm mmh!" Mina mumbled over the massive piece of cake in her
  500.30 +mouth, narrowing her eyes at Ami, but with everyone laughing at her, she soon blushed.
  500.31 +	"Why not just rub it on your thighs, Minako?" Makoto chimed from the
  500.32 +armchair where she sat with a large glass of cherry soda. "That's where it's headed
  500.33 +anyhow," the brown haired girl quipped to her friend before taking another drink from
  500.34 +her cup.
  500.35 +	Chibi glanced over a single, black velvet box sitting on the table near her.
  500.36 +Blinking gently, she reached her hand out and picked it up, studying it carefully before
  500.37 +spotting a tag on the bottom, "To my best friend. Love always, Hotaru." She grinned
  500.38 +widely before opening the box, and gasping at the contents.
  500.39 +	The other senshi all stared at her with piqued curiosity at what was in the box,
  500.40 +including the outers, save Hotaru, who looked away with a smile. Reflecting the light
  500.41 +back on Chibi's face was a small, silver locket in the shape of a heart, her name engraved
  500.42 +across the surface in calligraphy. "Oh my…" was her only reaction at first, before her
  500.43 +hand reached up and opened the locket. On one side of the locket was a picture of Hotaru,
  500.44 +and on the other was a picture of Chibi. "Hotaru it's beautiful…thank you." She stood up
  500.45 +and moved to her, "Put it on me, please?" Hotaru nodded quickly and reached her hands
  500.46 +up to take it; she could feel the other senshi's eyes on her as she placed her arms around
  500.47 +Chibi's neck. Chibi felt the warm, smooth touch of Hotaru's fingertips as she fumbled
  500.48 +gently with the clasp, but as the clasp closed the sensation changed.
  500.49 +
  500.50 +	Trying to pull back to show the locket off, she caught some resistance, not
  500.51 +physically restraining Chibi, but rather like something was hung around her neck heavier
  500.52 +than it should be, as if Hotaru's limp hands were holding onto her.
  500.53 +	"You ok, Hotaru?" Chibi asked, wondering if her friend had a fainting spell or
  500.54 +something, but Chibi received no answer. Reaching up to pull Hotaru's hands away, to
  500.55 +help her to a bed, Chibi stated aloud, "Someone help me here, I think Hotaru fainted…"
  500.56 +but, again, silence 	was her answer.
  500.57 +	Fingers curling around Hotaru's wrists, Chibi jumped at the sensation. They
  500.58 +weren't as smooth and soft as they were before… they were dry and brittle, and as she
  500.59 +pulled back, the hands cracked and slumped lifelessly to the side of the couch. The thick,
  500.60 +tangible silence was shattered with Chibi's scream her eyes fell on Hotaru…or rather,
  500.61 +what Hotaru had become laying lifelessly on the couch.
  500.62 +	What once had been a beautiful, lively young woman, remained nothing more
  500.63 +than a set of grayed, decaying bones dressed in the costume of the Saturn senshi.
  500.64 +Hollowed, dark sockets that stared blankly at Chibi's terrified form, the jaw still attached
  500.65 +to her face causing the skull to grin knowingly at the pink haired woman who stood
  500.66 +petrified in the center of the room. "What's the matter Chibi?" the former Hotaru said,
  500.67 +her voice floating eerily on the chill air, sounding pained and distant. The head turned
  500.68 +slowly, stomach-churning crack sounded before her eye sockets began glowing with a
  500.69 +faint purple light.
  500.70 +	Turning quickly to face the rest of the senshi, she was greeted only with a
  500.71 +similar horror everywhere she looked. Each of the senshi in various states of decay and
  500.72 +death, rotted flesh hung from dried bones in all directions. "What's wrong, Chibi-Usa?"
  500.73 +Michi's voice too oozed over the still air, "Our daughter isn't good enough to be your
  500.74 +friend any more? Don't you know she saved all her money to buy you that locket? And
  500.75 +this is all you can do to repay her?!" Michi's sockets flared green a moment, then picked
  500.76 +up in intensity.
  500.77 +	"N- no…" Chibi managed to choke out, her voice shaking, until it climbed in
  500.78 +urgency, "but…. what's going on here?!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, but only
  500.79 +got a cruel chuckle from the living corpses that started to close in around her. Their bony
  500.80 +fingers began to grasp for her body, causing her to writhe and struggle, but this only
  500.81 +leading her to slam into another…they had her trapped. Tears began to stream down her
  500.82 +face as she tried desperately to fight her way out of the circle, only to be thrown harshly
  500.83 +back in by inhuman strength.
  500.84 +	"Aw…look at the little ingrate cry," Usagi said as she picked up the knife that
  500.85 +was used to cut the cake, her grotesquely misshapen hands, deformed by decay, gripping
  500.86 +the handle tightly. Holding the weapon high, Usagi grinned; metal blade reflected the
  500.87 +light menacingly over the frosting covering the steel. "We'll give you a reason to cry!"
  500.88 +the hiss of the blade carving through the air sliced the silence, caused Chibi's eyes to
  500.89 +widen and cry out in vain.
  500.90 +	The sound of the point slamming into her chest woke her with a start, causing
  500.91 +her to fall off the bed and onto the cold, hard tile landing with a pronounced yelp that
  500.92 +woke Usagi. Chibi's eyes darted around for any sign of something to prove her existence
  500.93 +in this reality, where the senshi were alive and spotted Usagi yawning and staring down
  500.94 +at her, "You ok?"
  500.95 +	"Yes!" Chibi answered quickly, staring Usagi down hard. The blonde looked
  500.96 +Chibi over for injury, and caught the glare from her. Chibi stood and began to back away
  500.97 +from Usagi, all the way to the wall, "Just fine!"
  500.98 +	"Uh…what's wrong with you? You look like you seen a ghost." Usagi stretched
  500.99 +her slender arms and placed her feet onto the floor. By now the sun had fully risen, and
 500.100 +shone down into the room brilliantly. Chibi checked herself over, and then quickly placed
 500.101 +her hand to her chest, looking for the locket. Nothing. Her sigh of relief cut short as she
 500.102 +noticed Hotaru's bed was gone.
 500.103 +	"Where's Hotaru?!" Chibi immediately went to the call button and pressed it a
 500.104 +several times before again having her hand removed once again by Usagi. She waited
 500.105 +impatiently, moving to peek out the door, looking for a nurse. Just as her hand tightened
 500.106 +around the handle with the intent to step outside, the door opened of its own accord,
 500.107 +admitting a doctor… one whom Chibi recognized at a moment's glance to be different to
 500.108 +the one from the previous night.  He was dressed the same however, green S.C.R.U.B.s
 500.109 +under a white coat, roughly 35 or so.
 500.110 +	"We have some news on your friend…" the man looked directly to Usagi, as
 500.111 +she was older, before turning to Chibi. His eyes were a sea green; soft and delicate,
 500.112 +paired with slightly graying brown hair, clean cut and well shaven. He paused for a
 500.113 +moment glancing down at the chart with a sigh, "We've found an abnormality on the CT
 500.114 +scan…"
 500.115 +
 500.116 +
 500.117 +	The sweet, rich whisper of a flute woke Hotaru from a deep slumber. Her eyes
 500.118 +fluttered gently as she glanced slowly around another torch-lit room. She was on a soft
 500.119 +mattress in a wall-less, ceiling-less black room very similar to the place she had
 500.120 +previously been. Rising to a sitting position, she saw a figure sitting on a chair adjacent to
 500.121 +the bed, the man who had wielded her glaive before.
 500.122 +The music stopped.
 500.123 +	"So you're finally awake…" The man said, his voice as smooth as the flute was.
 500.124 +His mask was still on, though his clothing was different from, black still, but it wasn't
 500.125 +bloody. He was sitting close to the bed, his legs crossed, looking over her. He didn't
 500.126 +speak after this, only watched her motions carefully, not cautiously, but he seemed
 500.127 +curious about her.
 500.128 +	"Who are you…?" Her voice was weak, it shook gently with a combination of
 500.129 +fear, uncertainty, and exhaustion, "...and where am I?" The youth looked thoughtful for a
 500.130 +moment, rubbing his chin through the thin cloth mask that shrouded his identity. He
 500.131 +looked a bit like Mamoru, now that Hotaru thought about it.
 500.132 +	"No…I'm not Mamoru." His voice sounded as soon as Hotaru had the thought
 500.133 +manifested in her head, "My name is Seisen." He paused for a second regarding the latter
 500.134 +question, thinking of how to answer her, while she sat dumbstruck at the way he detected
 500.135 +her thoughts. "I suppose the best way to describe this place would be the astral plane."
 500.136 +	"Astral plane…? Isn't that the out-of-body thing?" her violet eyes looked him
 500.137 +over, not really buying this astral plane business, but…where else could she be? This
 500.138 +wasn't like anywhere she's ever been before.
 500.139 +	"Yes…something like that. However, there are some differences between the
 500.140 +out-of-body and our existence here. You didn't come here from your own will, like I did,
 500.141 +and you weren't brought here because you died in what you perceive as the 'real world.'
 500.142 +You came here because something else brought you here. It wasn't me, I'm sure you'd
 500.143 +thought that already," which, in actuality was the first thing that came to her mind as he
 500.144 +suggest it. It was starting to frighten her that he could so easily read her mind. "That
 500.145 +creature you witnessed earlier is what brought you here."
 500.146 +	"Why would it want to… do that?" her eyes glanced away, her tone
 500.147 +melancholy, and frightened. "I'm just a girl…" She glanced away, careful not to think of
 500.148 +herself being a senshi, but instead thought of a lamp she owned at home, not wanting to
 500.149 +give herself away. "Why would it want me?" She recalled in detail the base of the lamp.
 500.150 +	"Very interesting lamp." The youth chuckled lightly, "You are very clever, but
 500.151 +I already know who…or rather, what, you are; there is no use in trying to deceive me, but
 500.152 +be certain I'm not here to harm you." Her mouth dropped open, and she sputtered a
 500.153 +moment, trying to think of a way to explain that she wasn't something special. Her
 500.154 +attempts at protest were cut short when he held up his hand. "Don't… you don't have to
 500.155 +make excuses, or try to hide what you are."
 500.156 +	"How do I know you're not here to hurt me…?" she edged carefully away from
 500.157 +him, but couldn't get too far on her weak hands. He shook his head, glancing to his side
 500.158 +then back to her.
 500.159 +	"Here…" he reached down onto the floor and picked up something, then
 500.160 +thought better of it as Hotaru tensed. "It's nothing to hurt you…trust me." She didn't ease
 500.161 +any when he put his flute onto his lap and used both hands to lift the object. Her eyes
 500.162 +narrowed onto the flash of silver from her glaive.
 500.163 +	"That's-- she started, but stopped when he nodded to her.
 500.164 +	"Your glaive…very nice, actually." His eyes wandered the weapon for a
 500.165 +moment, before turning it in his hands, so the blade faced inwards toward himself
 500.166 +"Here." His left hand extended the grip of the weapon to her, carefully aiming it away
 500.167 +from her body due to the large spike at the end of it. "It's yours anyhow."
 500.168 +	"Yes…" she reached her hand tentatively out to the weapon and placed it
 500.169 +around the grip before sliding it onto the bed next to her since she couldn't lift it with her
 500.170 +fatigued muscles. "Why did you have it?"
 500.171 +	"A very good question," His eyes smiled, though his mouth couldn't be seen
 500.172 +from behind the mask, "Well, when you don't have it with you, it does go somewhere
 500.173 +you know. All the senshi's weapons reside here when not in use; this way no one can get
 500.174 +their hands on them. The first breech happened today with that creature, but it will not be
 500.175 +happening again. I have seen to that." His eyes wandered to a dark part of the room, then
 500.176 +back to Hotaru.
 500.177 +	"Are you some kind of security guard or something? And why did that creature
 500.178 +want my weapon…?" She too, let her eyes then move to the blackness that cause his own
 500.179 +attention before tearing her eyes it, to focus back on his eyes.
 500.180 +	"Yes, and no. I am not required to guard the weapons, but I don't let anything
 500.181 +near them. Not that it was a problem until today. "It wanted your weapon because that
 500.182 +was the only certain way of calling you here; it was only a matter of time, having gotten
 500.183 +its hands on the weapon, before you could be brought here…" His hands folded in his lap
 500.184 +over his flute.
 500.185 +	"Why would it want me here…?" This was starting to make some sense, but
 500.186 +still a bit hard to believe, it made her head spin. She left her hand on her glaive, its
 500.187 +presence making her feel much better than had she been alone.
 500.188 +	"It wanted to kill you," Seisen told her dryly. "If it killed you here, it would
 500.189 +have killed your spirit, thus preventing you from being reborn. When you are here, you
 500.190 +are physical, tangible, much like you would be back home." His hand moved to his chest,
 500.191 +patting it gently, "But I'm sure you saw that, anyhow."
 500.192 +	"Why did you stop it?" Her eyes moved to his chest, where he touched. He
 500.193 +should have been dead; that wound wouldn't have simply closed on it's own.
 500.194 +"And…your wound…
 500.195 +	"Would you rather I let it kill you?" he chuckled lightly, shaking his head.
 500.196 +"And my wound is healed. You're not the only one with a healing power, Firefly."
 500.197 +	"You can heal too?" He had her attention now, and she sat up straighter against
 500.198 +the mass of pillows on her bed; it made her think he had gone a bit too far to make sure
 500.199 +she was comfortable.
 500.200 +	"Yes…you saw what other power I have. Does it look familiar to you? Only
 500.201 +difference is that your power moves on the circle of life. Your revolution is meant to
 500.202 +show that everything lives, and then it will die." He paused a moment, adjusting his
 500.203 +sitting position by uncrossing his legs. "My power lies on a single side of that, either life,
 500.204 +or death, never both.
 500.205 +	"Why do you have the powers I do?" Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and she
 500.206 +fidgeted, wanting to work out the stiffness that deadened her limbs.. Seisen studied her a
 500.207 +moment, his black eyes softening as he looked over her face. She was so weak, so frail,
 500.208 +but so completely powerful…after all Hotaru was both sides of the coin, much like her
 500.209 +power.
 500.210 +	"Well…" he paused a moment, reaching his hands behind his head to untie the
 500.211 +mask's ribbon that held the dark mask to his face. He let the top of the mask fall to reveal
 500.212 +his nose and mouth, running his hand through his dark black and purple hair.. His face
 500.213 +was sharp, boasting well chiseled features, but still seemed very much innocent. "It's a
 500.214 +long story, but it would be a bit odd that you have powers when your genetic copy
 500.215 +doesn't."
 500.216 +
 500.217 +	"What do you mean you found an abnormality?" Usagi eyed the doctor warily
 500.218 +as she spoke. Chibi stood looking up between two, not exactly sure how she should react.
 500.219 +	"Well, it appears there some trauma as her head hit the ground, causing her
 500.220 +brain to swell a bit. This could be completely harmless, or it could lead to possible brain
 500.221 +damage. Amnesia, paralysis…death." He quickly looked away from them as he spoke the
 500.222 +word "death", not wanting to watch their reaction. Usagi decided immediately that she
 500.223 +didn't like this doctor.
 500.224 +	"How can something range from nothing to death? It doesn't make sense."
 500.225 +Usagi cried, narrowing her eyes at the doctor. "Just do whatever you have to do to make
 500.226 +sure she'll be fine" Usagi narrowed her eyes at the doctor, who shifted uneasily under her
 500.227 +glare.
 500.228 +	The doctor shifted uneasily under her glare, shaking his head. "We can't…until
 500.229 +the guardian decides what is best for the child, we simply cannot take any action,
 500.230 +otherw—" Usagi's jaw dropped with disbelief that they would play God to simply await
 500.231 +an order from the guardian. "If this was an emergency, or something of the sort, we
 500.232 +could…" He began to stammer, sweat forming on his brow from the steadily-increasing
 500.233 +heat of Usagi's glare.
 500.234 +	"What do you mean IF this was an emergency? She could DIE! What does she
 500.235 +have to do for you to consider it an emergency!? I don't believe this!" Her hands curled
 500.236 +into fists as she began to advance on the doctor, her mind simply refusing to take what
 500.237 +the doctor claimed to be as the only solution. Chibi, now fully understanding the gravity
 500.238 +of the situation began to move on the doctor as well, on her mother's left side to block the
 500.239 +doorway.
 500.240 +	"Well….what I mean to say is that it-it has to be a trauma b-before we can do
 500.241 +much…" the doctor's back hit the wall, and he swallowed hard as he was stared down by
 500.242 +Usagi, and flanked by a pink haired child. The blonde girl's left eye twitched, and she
 500.243 +stopped suddenly in her tracks, glancing away from the doctor to the ground, her mind
 500.244 +giving her a possible solution.
 500.245 +	"Well then," Ceasing her forward motion, Usagi grew eerily calm as she smiled
 500.246 +knowingly up at the doctor…" Chibi stopped and looked up at her; the cool, steely
 500.247 +manner of her mother made her remember her dream and caused her to shudder, but she
 500.248 +didn't speak. "I guess I'll just have to let you have your way…I'll just go make a phone
 500.249 +call." Usagi said to the doctor, who was more than a bit surprised at her sudden change in
 500.250 +demeanor.
 500.251 +	"If you're trying to call this Haruka person, the phone isn't being answered."
 500.252 +The doctor stepped from the wall and straightened his coat nervously.
 500.253 +	"Oh no…I'm not going to call Haruka." She placed her hand on Chibi's
 500.254 +shoulder, but was taken slightly aback as Chibi stepped away from her. Usagi let it pass
 500.255 +for now, but continued, "I'm going to call a lawyer. Do the phrases 'Malpractice,' and
 500.256 +'wrongful death' mean anything to you, doc?"  She was now very glad Ami had a big
 500.257 +mouth and insisted on babbling to Usagi and the others. The doctor's eyes went wide, and
 500.258 +he opened his mouth to speak, only finding himself quickly silenced… "Should
 500.259 +ANYTHING, God forbid, happen to Hotaru…you will be very, VERY sorry. And my
 500.260 +first task as the owner of Hotaru Tomoe memorial hospital will be to fire you."
 500.261 +	"Well…" the nervous man began to shake visibly, and Usagi began to wonder
 500.262 +exactly how long he had been a doctor, and if this was the first bad news he'd delivered.
 500.263 +"I suppose this can be treated as a trauma…"
 500.264 +	"Yes…and if it isn't a trauma, it can become one…not hers, of course, but I
 500.265 +think I can handle you." Usagi said with a smile and a tilt of her head, "Now run along
 500.266 +and have the nurses get a real doctor in here, 'Kay?" Usagi surprised even herself,
 500.267 +thinking that what she just did would be more suited for maybe Rei, or possibly Haruka,
 500.268 +but never herself. It made her feel good. She brushed past the doctor on her way out, and
 500.269 +Chibi looked up at the man a moment, before following her mother, leaving the
 500.270 +dumbfounded man in the white coat glancing sheepishly at his feet.
 500.271 +
 500.272 +	"M…my genetic copy? A clone? You're a man, though." Hotaru looked over
 500.273 +the face of the man who sat before her, his black eyes closed. "I don't understand…"
 500.274 +	"I didn't expect you to…I'll explain in a moment. Would you like something to
 500.275 +drink? I have some juice here if you'd like some." He said, and waited as Hotaru
 500.276 +considered his offer. But as she shook her head in rejection, Seisen turned his head away
 500.277 +from her, feeling a bit dejected. "Alright…well, I suppose I should start at the beginning,
 500.278 +hmm?
 500.279 +	"When you died in the lab explosion…you were not supposed to recover. It was
 500.280 +no accident that the place was blown up. However, your father sold his soul to have you
 500.281 +reborn, and thus placed a great evil in you, and in him. Now here's where I come in…"
 500.282 +Pausing a moment to gather his thoughts, he allowed his rich black eyes to slowly move
 500.283 +over the weakened girl in front of him. "You've heard the theory 'for every action, there
 500.284 +is an equal and opposite reaction', right? Well, that's me. I'm your reaction. You were
 500.285 +reanimated as per the agreement your father made, but you became Mistress 9."
 500.286 +	"Yes…" Hotaru didn't like discussing the time period she was Mistress 9, it
 500.287 +caused her to recall fuzzy memories that had no real place in her mind. It only tormented
 500.288 +her and caused horrid nightmares.
 500.289 +	"Fearing you were too powerful to be stopped by the senshi, I was created by
 500.290 +another force to counter balance your existence." A shadow crossed his dark features as
 500.291 +he glanced away, looking towards the sword that leaned against the chair near him. "I
 500.292 +was created to kill you."
 500.293 +	"To kill me?" Hotaru's fears returned as she increased the grip on her glaive,
 500.294 +thinking she was a fool to have trusted him…to sit and talk. Seisen, upon sensing her
 500.295 +discomfort and sudden mistrust, sighed deeply, shaking his head.
 500.296 +	"Yes… I was created using your base DNA, but XY rather than XX…to receive
 500.297 +your power plus increased physical strength due to being a man. You were raised as
 500.298 +Mistress 9, and I was told that you were my enemy, that you were the plague of
 500.299 +mankind…harsh I know, but I bought into it. I was brought up in the way of the
 500.300 +warrior…trained daily to strengthen mind, body, and spirit so that one day I would be
 500.301 +able to kill you with little difficulty. However…I did all of this knowing that you were
 500.302 +my 'sister'. Since we are of basically the same DNA, there isn't another way to phrase
 500.303 +it." Hotaru let her eyes fall away; that would explain why he was defending her, and the
 500.304 +mass of pillows that was bigger than she was, but it still didn't make enough sense. "The
 500.305 +day Usagi and the others encountered 9; I was there to make sure they succeeded. If they
 500.306 +failed I was to finish the job. When it comes down to power, you can beat me out any
 500.307 +day, since I'm just a copy. But, since I wasn't biologically produced, I don't have some
 500.308 +of your…" thinking of the best way of phrasing it, but only finding himself able to
 500.309 +express himself clinically, "your physical weaknesses."
 500.310 +	Seisen looked her directly in the eye, his dark, but enchantingly innocent
 500.311 +features growing even more distraught as she instantly turned away. "I'm not going to
 500.312 +hurt you…" His voice was small, pained. His lack of tact and instant distress proved he
 500.313 +wasn't used to dealing with people.
 500.314 +	"You just said you were supposed to kill me." Hotaru frowned as she turned to
 500.315 +her glaive once more, her fingertips gently moving over the smooth metal of the blade.
 500.316 +"Now you say you won't hurt me. I don't know what to believe."
 500.317 +	"I was created to kill Mistress 9. She doesn't exist anymore, so my existence is
 500.318 +pretty much useless." Seisen shrugged and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes with
 500.319 +his hands behind his head. Hotaru glanced from him to the glaive by her side; his
 500.320 +vulnerable position might let her wound him and flee to find some way to get back home.
 500.321 +	"You can, if you like…you'd probably be doing me a favor," his eyes slowly
 500.322 +opened to look at her, "I won't stop you if you try." With his hands still behind his head,
 500.323 +he pulled the ribbon on the mask once more around his head and tied it into place, again
 500.324 +concealing his features, his eyes again closed..
 500.325 +	"What do you want from me? I don't understand all of this… You don't let it
 500.326 +kill me, but you were supposed to kill me…you go out of your way to make me feel
 500.327 +comfortable." Hotaru let her eyes move from him to the darkness of the room, looking for
 500.328 +any possible exit, or a portal of some kind. "I just want to go home."
 500.329 +	"Then I'll take you home, but leave your glaive here. You can't take it with
 500.330 +you, but it will be safe." He stood up, flute in hand, and stretched his body. He was tall, at
 500.331 +least as tall as Mamoru, and his build was above average, which did fit his story to
 500.332 +Hotaru. Picking up his sword, he slung the sheath around his body and latched it into
 500.333 +place, where it was in reach of his right hand over his shoulder. "Come on," he said,
 500.334 +placing the flute in a slot on the sheath's strap, which crossed his chest from right to left.
 500.335 +"They should be happy to see you…"
 500.336 +	Making their way along the darkness of the astral plane, Seisen guiding the way
 500.337 +past the torches that lined each room, and crossed the paths of others like a roadway
 500.338 +system. Hotaru was weak, and only shuffling along behind Seisen by will power. More
 500.339 +than once collapsed under her own weight, only to be caught by a blinding motion of the
 500.340 +ninja-dressed youth who offered he carry her, but she adamantly refused.
 500.341 +	"We're almost there," the black-eyed man looked up at a portal that swirled in
 500.342 +the darkness, purple spinning in a clockwise fashion, drawing in the very light that
 500.343 +surrounded them. Gusts of wind began to pull at the two as they neared the portal. The
 500.344 +long ribbons of Seisen's mask began to flutter around his face, just as Hotaru's hair did
 500.345 +the same, but her weakness caused her to drop to her knees. Seisen turned to regard her
 500.346 +for a moment, and shadow crossed his face as he drew his sword and faced the girl fully.
 500.347 +The black blade of the sword shimmered with a crackle of purple electricity as Seisen flat
 500.348 +out charged Hotaru, enough power and speed to physically counter the portal's pull,
 500.349 +making the air still for a fraction of a second before his powerful sword thrust came
 500.350 +hailing down just above Hotaru's head.
 500.351 +	 She had long enough to think, "I'm dead," before the blade met flesh.
 500.352 +
 500.353 +	On the flight from Japan to the United States, Haruka and Michiru sat restlessly
 500.354 +in the plane, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. They had been in the air for what
 500.355 +seemed like forever; the hospital had called them the night before and they had caught the
 500.356 +first plane to anywhere in the US, which landed in New York in about 20 minutes.
 500.357 +	"Sir?" the flight attendant regarded Haruka, her bright green eyes and sugary-
 500.358 +sweet smile shone down on the shorthaired woman. Haruka played it off, not bothering to
 500.359 +explain she was a woman, nor caring at the moment. "Would you like something to
 500.360 +drink? A soda? A glass of wine maybe?"
 500.361 +	"No, thank you. I'm alright." Haruka answered, and the woman, undaunted,
 500.362 +inquired if Michi would like something. She likewise refused politely though she was
 500.363 +being destroyed inside. She didn't want to have to do this again; she couldn't take things
 500.364 +like this. Why Hotaru? kept going through her head.
 500.365 +	"We land in 20 minutes," Michi checked her watch, "We can catch another
 500.366 +plane to Maine, or we can just get a bullet ca- a cab, rather."
 500.367 +	Haruka just closed her eyes and sighed, "We'll take a cab. We don't need to
 500.368 +wait for another plane… I hope they can drive fast."
 500.369 +
 500.370 +	Usagi now stood impatiently at the nurse's station, her tautly-crossed arms and
 500.371 +dangerous expression warning everyone she was not to be toyed with at the current time.
 500.372 +Taking a lesson from her daughter, she began the same full on assault on the bell Chibi
 500.373 +did only a few hours beforehand. "Hello! I need a doctor! A REAL doctor who CARES!"
 500.374 +She turned to glare at Hotaru's room in time to see the man slipping out of the room like
 500.375 +a weasel, and scurry into a lounge to avoid a confrontation with Usagi.
 500.376 +	A nurse came to regard Usagi and looked to the pink haired girl. The whole
 500.377 +floor knew what room they were from; it was not very often that you find a small midget
 500.378 +girl with pink hair done in ondangos. "Yes? A doctor will be right with you, Doctor
 500.379 +White just called and said he will no longer be on the trauma case, but to have someone
 500.380 +look at her right away." Usagi nodded in triumph, feeling much better about herself, and
 500.381 +the situation, though Chibi only regarded her with a wary glance, her dream still not
 500.382 +shaken so easily.
 500.383 +	"Where's Hotaru?" Usa finally managed to ask the nurse, standing on her tip
 500.384 +toes to see over the counter.	And ensued a verbal exchange that must have broken the
 500.385 +sound barrier at some point.
 500.386 +	"Radiology,"
 500.387 +	"What's she doing there?"
 500.388 +	"Getting another cat scan."
 500.389 +	"When will she be out,"
 500.390 +	"When it's done."
 500.391 +	"Don't you talk to her like that!"
 500.392 +	"I don't know when she'll be out!"
 500.393 +	"Then find out!"
 500.394 +	"I would ma'am, but I can't just call and ask them to hurry!"
 500.395 +	"No, but you can call and ask them how long it's going to take!"
 500.396 +	"I'm busy right now,"
 500.397 +	"Doing what? All I've seen you do is eat that nasty little salad."
 500.398 +	"Maybe you should get a salad, it might improve your temper."
 500.399 +	"Salads are not food! Vegetables are what food eat!"
 500.400 +	"I have to go now, I'll have someone in her room shortly,"
 500.401 +	"We'll be waiting."
 500.402 +	"Don't hold your breath,"
 500.403 +
 500.404 +
 500.405 +
 500.406 +
 500.407 +

   501.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   501.2 +++ b/stories/toujour4.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   501.3 @@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
   501.4 +"She never really had a chance on that fateful moonlight night.
   501.5 +Sacrificed without a fight, a victim of a circumstance.
   501.6 +Now that I've become aware and I've exposed this tragedy,
   501.7 +A sadness grows inside of me, it all seems so unfair,
   501.8 +I'm learning all about my life by looking through her eyes.
   501.9 +Just beyond the church yard gates, where the grass is overgrown,
  501.10 +I saw the writing on her stone. I felt like I would suffocate.
  501.11 +'In loving memory of our child, so innocent, eyes open wide.'
  501.12 +I felt so empty as I cried, like part of me had died…"
  501.13 +Dream Theater. "Through her eyes."
  501.14 +
  501.15 +"Ms. Tsukino?" A well-dressed, dark haired woman called as she entered the room
  501.16 +where Usagi and Chibi Usa were awaiting Hotaru's return. "I'm Dr. Lisa Terrene, and I've just
  501.17 +been assigned to Ms. Tomoe. She's on her way back from the CT scan now." The doctor looked
  501.18 +Usagi directly in the eye; her own brown eyes were made larger from the small metal-framed
  501.19 +glasses.
  501.20 +	"Yes? Is everything alright?" Usagi stood up as the woman entered, very much glad for
  501.21 +her professionalism, and seeming concern with Hotaru. The blonde immediately noted she wasn't
  501.22 +very much shorter than the doctor, and their build was almost the same, though Lisa was more
  501.23 +full in the bust and hips. Dr. Terrene regarded Usagi's question a moment, before stepping beside
  501.24 +her and opening the chart, showing her the films that were recently printed out.
  501.25 +	"See this black part here?" the doctor ran her finger along the slick surface, pointing at
  501.26 +the area that was considerably darker than the rest of the normal brain tissue, "This is a normal
  501.27 +result of acute head trauma. Though normally harmless, her previous medical conditions make
  501.28 +her more predisposed toward injury." Usagi nodded slowly, feeling a bit numb right now, having
  501.29 +looked at the CT pictures made it all the more real. Chibi pulled at Usagi's sleeve to try to see the
  501.30 +images as well, but the older girl didn't respond to the touch.
  501.31 +	"What does this mean, doctor? What should we expect? The other doctor said that she
  501.32 +could be well or die. That's too much of a range for me." Lisa closed the folder and crossed her
  501.33 +arms around it, leaning her back against the wall and looking down at Usa who was on her way to
  501.34 +the door to see if Hotaru was on her way back yet.
  501.35 +	"Well, the pressure in her head is stable right now, and we're going to keep her monitored
  501.36 +24 hours a day until it drops, or we have to take further measures." The doctor waited for Usagi to
  501.37 +nod before continuing. "Right now it'll be fine on it's own, but if she develops brain edema, it could
  501.38 +be fatal. We have to prep her for surgery just in case, we hope there won't be any trouble, but if
  501.39 +there is, we will have to physically release the pressure from her head, by opening the skull at key
  501.40 +points and removing the excess fluid." She hesitated a moment, glancing to Chibi, then back to
  501.41 +Usagi, "Since we don't know exactly where those points will be, I'm afraid we're going to have to
  501.42 +shave her entire head."
  501.43 +	"Shave her head?" Chibi's soft red eyes looked at Lisa and began to water slightly. She
  501.44 +couldn't imagine Hotaru without hair, but most definitely doesn't want her to die. "Why do you
  501.45 +need to do that?"
  501.46 +	"Because we don't want hair to get into the incisions, the holes we might have to make,
  501.47 +because hair isn't supposed to be there and could get her brain infected…" Dr. Terrene paused
  501.48 +and glanced apologetically at both girls, " I'm very sorry, but this is the only way to provide the
  501.49 +fastest possible treatment if something should go wrong, God forbid it." The doctor placed her
  501.50 +hand on Chibi's shoulder, "I know she means a lot to both of you, and I'm praying that she'll be
  501.51 +alright." Just as she finished her sentence, Hotaru was wheeled back into the room, still
  501.52 +unconscious. Chibi ran to see her, placing her hand on Hotaru's even before the bed stopped
  501.53 +moving. The tech looked at the girl, but didn't say anything as he locked the bed into place and
  501.54 +headed out of the room, nodding to the women before he left.
  501.55 +	"Did you hear that Hotaru? They want to shave your head…I know you wouldn't want
  501.56 +them to huh? But we'll get you some hats, and you can wear those." Chibi's eyes spilled tears,
  501.57 +the drops ran down her face and splashed onto Hotaru's cheek. "You said before you wanted a
  501.58 +hair cut like Haruka-papa, didn't you? Well, now you'll get to see what it looks like!" Chibi's hand
  501.59 +reached to Hotaru's hair and running her fingers through it, now beginning to sob. The lack of
  501.60 +sleep, and the horrid events of the last day had made her a nervous wreck. Usagi too felt like
  501.61 +crying, Hotaru's hair was so beautiful, it was a shame to cut it all off, but whatever would save her
  501.62 +life.
  501.63 +	"We'll need to shave her head now, hun…" Lisa said to Chibi, once more placing her
  501.64 +practiced hand on the small child's shoulder. A female nurse came into the room with a bag, a
  501.65 +pair of scissors and an electric razor. "I'm sorry…" Terrene said before stepping out of the room,
  501.66 +not wanting to observe the process.
  501.67 +	"Can I see the scissors?" Chibi asked the woman who looked at her dumbly a moment
  501.68 +before nodding and handing them, handle first, to the girl. "Thank you," she said politely and
  501.69 +wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Reaching out, she grabbed a lock of Hotaru's hair and
  501.70 +snipped it off, holding it tightly in her hand. The nurse, having gotten the idea handed Chibi a pair
  501.71 +of rubber bands to bind the hair together, which she did with only slight difficulty. "There…now I'll
  501.72 +always have a piece of you with me Hotaru!" Chibi said with her best brand of false cheer as she
  501.73 +handed the scissors back to the nurse. "Can we go get something for lunch, please?" The pink
  501.74 +haired child asked her mother, not wanting to stay either. She couldn't bear to watch it.
  501.75 +	"Sure, let's go get a donut or something sweet. I've been dying for something all
  501.76 +morning." Which was a half-truth, sure she had been hungry. She was always hungry. But
  501.77 +suddenly she didn't feel too much like eating. Placing her arm around Chibi, Usagi pulled her from
  501.78 +the bed, directing her to the door; though she cast one last look over her shoulder to see the
  501.79 +nurse began to cut the raven colored tresses from Hotaru's head…Usagi felt sick.
  501.80 +
  501.81 +	Seisen's blade sunk deep into the skull, and a quick turn of his body sent brain matter
  501.82 +flying, and blood running down Hotaru's clothes. The sound of the sword tearing free of the flesh
  501.83 +was that of someone slicing a cantaloupe open with a dull knife. Hotaru felt her body hit the floor,
  501.84 +and look up at the darkness and at the black dressed youth above her.
  501.85 +	"Next time, Firefly…duck?" Seisen returned his sword to its scabbard and wiped the
  501.86 +blood from his hands onto his pants. He turned to view the portal again, leaving Hotaru on the
  501.87 +floor, wondering what just happened. She wasn't dead? Her hands moved to her head and
  501.88 +touched it gently, though it was slick with blood and fluid, it was intact. It wasn't her head that he
  501.89 +cut…then whose was it? Hotaru turned behind her, finding a body lying within a foot of hers; what
  501.90 +appeared to be a mix between a human and a jackal. It's head was that of the latter, it's large
  501.91 +canines coated with it's own blood, as a large part of it's skull was torn clean off. The body was
  501.92 +human, though covered in mangled, dirty fur.
  501.93 +	"I'm… alive?" Hotaru's hands moved along her body now, making sure she was still
  501.94 +whole. "Thank you, Seisen…" she was polite about it, and placed her hands on the floor. She
  501.95 +began to push herself up, but the blood was too thick and her grip quickly slid, sending her
  501.96 +sprawling onto her chest. "ow…"
  501.97 +	"Need a hand?" The youth asked over his shoulder, before turning his head to gaze at
  501.98 +the girl. Hotaru nodded, finally admitting defeat; Seisen was immediately by her side, a hand on
  501.99 +her elbow, and another around her waist to lift her as if she weighed nothing at all. His hands did
 501.100 +not release her body; "Come on…this is going to be quite a ride, hold on tight, or you might get
 501.101 +lost…whatever you do, don't let go of me." He waited until Hotaru again signaled yes before
 501.102 +stepping onto the platform before the portal and then added a quick, "Here we go…" before
 501.103 +drawing his sword, a crackle of electricity surrounded them a moment, then sucked them into the
 501.104 +depths.
 501.105 +	The hungry, swirling vortex pulled them in, the colors were blinding and dizzying in their
 501.106 +intensity. Purple light flowed over them; tendrils of color began to tug at their bodies, pulling them
 501.107 +from every which way, but the sword's electric-like properties of the blade shocked them away.
 501.108 +Hotaru whimpered and pulled tighter onto Seisen, who wrapped both arms around her, as the
 501.109 +blade guided their way through the vast stream of time and space.
 501.110 +	Something caught Hotaru's eye. She was facing Seisen's chest, with a good view over
 501.111 +his shoulder, and glimpsed a black outline creeping slowly towards them. "Seisen…something is
 501.112 +coming, I can't make it out but it's moving really fast."  The youth turned his head to the right, to
 501.113 +look over his shoulder and swore quickly at what he saw.
 501.114 +Quickly approaching the pair, emerging from the darkness of the void was an
 501.115 +indescribable creature. Decayed human bodies were stacked in a shapeless pile, with large, bony
 501.116 +appendages that raked the air, flexing and extending as it neared the two. Soon, it's left tendril
 501.117 +like arm craned back and shot for them quickly. "Brace yourself!" Seisen shouted.
 501.118 +	A rough force rammed the pair forward, as the creature struck them, sending both the
 501.119 +youth and Hotaru spinning head over heels in the infinity. Seisen quickly flared his legs out, to
 501.120 +counter the spin, though he was slightly nauseas, and keep them facing in the same direction.
 501.121 +With a short grunt, he ignored the pain having no choice but to ride it out; he knew better than to
 501.122 +turn around and face what was attacking them. It would leave Hotaru vulnerable. Another forceful
 501.123 +slam collided with Seisen's back; this time a low snap was heard as one of the man's ribs was
 501.124 +cracked clean in two.
 501.125 +	"Ugh…" Seisen gurgled; it was obvious his lung was punctured. "Dammit…almost there,"
 501.126 +he whispered to Hotaru. "Turn your back to me…" he began to move his hands, grimacing in pain
 501.127 +as turned Hotaru in the opposite direction. She did as she was told, and held onto him tightly.
 501.128 +Once she was completely turned, he placed his around her shoulders, to give her more coverage,
 501.129 +just as another blow landed Seisen's back. He grunted loudly, cursing a blue streak as he
 501.130 +shuddered a moment, then went limp. His eyes closed.
 501.131 +	Hotaru glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on, only to be greeted with the
 501.132 +sight of Seisen's blood stained face, rivulets of the crimson liquid were pulled from his body,
 501.133 +twirling into ribbons as it spilled into the distance. Blood was pouring from his mouth; that much
 501.134 +was evident even with his mask on. The creature had pierced his rib cage. "Seisen!" Hotaru
 501.135 +yelled out, causing the man to open his dark, innocent eyes to regard Hotaru. He looked
 501.136 +exhausted, and was coughing thickly.
 501.137 +	"Take the sword…" his hands moved to hers, placing the blade into her palm then closing
 501.138 +her hand around it, the fierce wind still whipping around their bodies as the colors around them
 501.139 +began to decrease. "It's…pushing through me…it's trying to get to you…" just as he said that, the
 501.140 +tendril managed its way through Seisen's chest, spraying Hotaru's back with blood. Seisen's grip
 501.141 +increased on Hotaru and he began to push her away, but a moment too late; the bony extension
 501.142 +pierced her back, just at her heart. She screamed loudly, and Seisen's face contorted as he
 501.143 +gathered the last of his strength, "Hold on…don't let go of the sword, it will guide you back…"
 501.144 +	Shoving Hotaru away, and off the tendril, Seisen wiggled quickly, causing the hole in his
 501.145 +chest to enlarge, but it would decrease the dexterity of the tendril as he moved. "Brace
 501.146 +yourself…" The man pulled his legs back and placed them just at Hotaru's back, and with a quick
 501.147 +move and a loud yell, he shot both legs out, sending Hotaru flying down the portal at a dizzying
 501.148 +speed. She managed to get one last look behind her, to see her blood spilling through the vortex,
 501.149 +and Seisen floating limply through the air, before vanishing from sight. "Thank you…" she
 501.150 +whispered to him as she neared the end of the portal, her body shaking lightly from both fright
 501.151 +and blood loss.
 501.152 +
 501.153 +	Chibi turned the soup in her small, Styrofoam tray over and over with her spoon. Her face
 501.154 +was stained with tears, and she had no real appetite. She glanced over at Usagi, who sat staring
 501.155 +at her donut, looking for some kind of answer in the chocolate surface. "Good soup?" the blonde
 501.156 +girl asked without even looking up. Chibi only gave her a slight grunt, before putting the spoon
 501.157 +down and glancing at the clock. It was now 3:00PM; they had been in the cafeteria for almost half
 501.158 +an hour, neither of them having said a thing to the other until Usagi had broken the silence.
 501.159 +	"You think they're done yet…?" Chibi inquired, pushing the bowl away from her in
 501.160 +disgust. "I want to see her again" Usagi shrugged and was about to say something, but the loud
 501.161 +speaker sudden blared over their heads.
 501.162 +	"Code blue, room 415, code blue room 415!" Both girls immediately looked at each other,
 501.163 +stood quickly enough to knock their chairs over, and darted towards the elevator.
 501.164 +
 501.165 +	In the operating room, Hotaru's head was already opened up, and they were attempting
 501.166 +to drain the fluid from her skull but to little avail. Her blood pressure was dangerously low, and her
 501.167 +pulse was down to almost an almost unreadable level. She was hooked to a bypass machine at
 501.168 +this point, both blood and IV drips were in place, as the doctors tried desperately to save her
 501.169 +young life. Hotaru's spirit however, was quickly streaking back into reality, thanks to Seisen's
 501.170 +shove. The sword that was wrapped so tightly in her hand suddenly faded from existence as she
 501.171 +was rocked violently into a stop, just above her real self, though her vision was horribly blurred.
 501.172 +Her spiritual body bled, and her life was fading quickly, both in the real world, and in the astral.
 501.173 +Soon, as her vision began to focus, Hotaru saw her own body; hooked to tubes, blood pouring out
 501.174 +of her head while the medical team worked as quickly as possible to try to keep her alive. Her
 501.175 +spirit's eyes began to shut, both her bodies were shutting down.
 501.176 +	"What happened to me…?" Hotaru thought as an invisible force began to pull back into
 501.177 +her body. "The last thing I remember about being here is the snow, and the sky…" Soon, she was
 501.178 +being bound back into herself, and as she returned to her physical form, she was immediately
 501.179 +overwhelmed by pain.
 501.180 +	She regained consciousness on the table, a bolt of pain caused her to sit up quickly,
 501.181 +pulling both the IV drips from her arm in the violent motion. "Chibi…" Hotaru mumbled lightly,
 501.182 +glancing to one of the nurses, her violet eyes locking onto her for a moment before they rolled
 501.183 +back into her head and she fell back onto the table limply, causing a few instruments to go flying
 501.184 +off their trays, and a nurse to scream loudly.
 501.185 +	"Get her stabilized," the head surgeon directed the staff, "we need more anesthesia,
 501.186 +more blood, 0, get as much of it as you can carry! Move it!" the team began to scramble, a couple
 501.187 +slipping on the blood that coated the floor, dripping from the IV tubes. Before they could even
 501.188 +reach the door to head to the blood bank, the heart monitor let out a steady beep, signaling a loss
 501.189 +of the pulse. Hotaru Tomoe was dead.
 501.190 +
 501.191 +	"'Ruka…" Michi placed her left hand on her head, while her right quickly grabbed
 501.192 +Haruka's knee, squeezing it tightly in the cab that was racing to their destination. "I…I don't feel
 501.193 +good." She held her chest and clenched her eyes tightly shut, "God…it feels like my heart is
 501.194 +crumbling in my chest..." Haruka placed her hand on Michi's, not exactly sure how to comfort her,
 501.195 +but she didn't have a chance to even open her mouth before Michi began to sob. Haruka knew.
 501.196 +
 501.197 +	As Usagi and her daughter reached Hotaru's room, she was already gone and in surgery,
 501.198 +though there was a nurse in the room. Chibi went immediately to her and began pumping her for
 501.199 +information. "Where's Hotaru!?" she demanded, looking up at the woman who simply glanced
 501.200 +away, not allowing the young child to acquire eye contact.
 501.201 +	"The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you," she answered evasively and began to walk
 501.202 +out of the room but was blocked by Usagi who stood in front of the door, her hands on her hips
 501.203 +and a dangerous glare returning to her eyes.
 501.204 +	"Where. Is. She!?" Usagi demanded, her eyes starting to narrow as the nurse looked
 501.205 +away from her as well.
 501.206 +	"She's in the O.R." That was technically not a lie, since she was still physically in the
 501.207 +operating room, "the doctor will be in shortly to speak to you." The nurse then sidestepped Usagi
 501.208 +and left the room closing the door behind her.
 501.209 +	"I don't like this feeling," Chibi said to Usagi, looking at her fearfully, "I…I don't feel good, I
 501.210 +feel sick, and empty… Why do I feel like this? It's not right." Usagi was about to try to reassure
 501.211 +her, but the doctor entered the room with a solemn look on her face, Usagi felt her heart begin to
 501.212 +pound.
 501.213 +	"Ms. Tsukino… please sit down, you too as well, child." Usagi slid into the chair numbly,
 501.214 +and Chibi sat quickly into her lap, both their eyes glued to the doctor, "There is no easy way to
 501.215 +say this…Ms. Tomoe regained consciousness in surgery." She paused a moment, Chibi's eyes lit
 501.216 +up and a broad smile formed on her face, she began to dismiss her ache. "She whispered the
 501.217 +word 'Chibi'," Lisa spoke quietly, "Then she went into cardiac arrest…"
 501.218 +The doctor sat on the bed, placing a hand on either side of her head, "I'm sorry, both of
 501.219 +you, but your friend passed away…" Chibi's grin stayed on her face a moment, it felt stiff, unreal,
 501.220 +it slowly began to fade. Suddenly it felt very cold, and Chibi began to struggle for breath, tears
 501.221 +began to stream down both of the girl's faces, and Usagi placed her hand on her daughters back
 501.222 +to try to comfort her.
 501.223 +The silence of the room was suddenly shattered by Chibi's soul shredding scream.
 501.224 +
 501.225 +
 501.226 +
 501.227 +

   502.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   502.2 +++ b/stories/toujour5.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   502.3 @@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
   502.4 +WARNING: Yes, a fic with a warning. This isn't your run of the mill episode here. This
   502.5 +one will be slightly, if not very depressing. The email address is the same,
   502.6 +Saturn_Knight@hotmail.com for those of you who wish to email me, but don't send me
   502.7 +hate mail, because it'll be deleted.
   502.8 +***************
   502.9 +
  502.10 +"Where did we come from? Why are we here?
  502.11 +Where do we go when we die?
  502.12 +What lies beyond? And what laid before?
  502.13 +Is anything certain in life?
  502.14 +They say 'life is too short,' 'the here and the now,'
  502.15 +And 'you're only given one shot.'
  502.16 +But could there be more? Have I lived before?
  502.17 +Or could this be all that we've got?
  502.18 +'…Move on be brave! Don't weep at my grave!
  502.19 +Because I am no longer here.
  502.20 +But please never let your memory of me
  502.21 +Disappear…'"
  502.22 +Dream Theater: "The Spirit Carries On."
  502.23 +
  502.24 +	"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of one of
  502.25 +God's children." The day was overcast, gray and simply miserable. The angry sky
  502.26 +rumbled with fury as the small group crowded around an open grave, in direct defiance of
  502.27 +the chill. The figures, huddled around site, stood in somber, detached silence as the priest
  502.28 +continued to speak. " 'The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…' We commit thee,
  502.29 +Hotaru Tomoe back to God's earth, though the body is only a vessel, and you, such a
  502.30 +lovely child, are in the hands of God once more. 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,' so it has
  502.31 +always been and it always will be" He stepped forward, dropping a single rose on the lid
  502.32 +of the coffin, and motioned for the others to do so as well. The senshi approached one by
  502.33 +one, standing before the simple stone that marked her final resting place; an angel with its
  502.34 +wings wrapped around a small child, and murmured their final goodbyes to the lacquered
  502.35 +coffin lid.
  502.36 +	"We'll miss you, Hotaru…" Ami said as she crouched down and released the
  502.37 +rose, allowing it to fall above the priest's.
  502.38 +	"I'm sorry I never got to know you better," Minako sighed, she too allowing the
  502.39 +brilliant red rose to drop into the grave.
  502.40 +	"It won't be the same without you, Hotaru…" Usagi stood by the edge of the six-
  502.41 +foot deep, rectangular hole; Chibi was by her side. Both of them relinquished their roses
  502.42 +at the same time, Usagi turned to let Chibi stand a moment longer.
  502.43 +	"I'll miss you, Hotaru…you were my best friend. I never met anyone like you,
  502.44 +and I know I never will. You…" she paused, shaking her head and trying to swallow the
  502.45 +lump that creeped into her throat. "You can never be replaced…" Her eyes closed, tears
  502.46 +finding the way down her cheeks, only to fall, unheeded, onto the lid of the coffin.
  502.47 +'Why?' Chibi thought to herself. 'WHY!? It's not fair! She didn't do anything!
  502.48 +She wasn't a bad person anymore! It wasn't her fault before! SHE CHANGED!! DO
  502.49 +YOU HEAR ME?! SHE CHANGED!!!' She began to shake with anger, her small hands
  502.50 +curling into fists as she glared at the carving of an angel that watched over a nearby
  502.51 +grave. 'Why did you take her?! WHY!? All her power- all our power and we couldn't do
  502.52 +anything to help her! What good are we if we can't even protect each other!? How are we
  502.53 +supposed to protect the world? This is ridiculous…' Chibi was beginning falter, shaking
  502.54 +hard enough now that the other Senshi noticed, and Usagi slowly approached her.
  502.55 +"Come on…the other's need to say goodbye to her too. We all miss her," Usagi
  502.56 +too was crying, though not as uncontrollably as Chibi. The child didn't move, as much a
  502.57 +statue as the stone monuments that stood silent vigil over the dead. Slowly, red, swollen
  502.58 +eyes met Usagi's and Chibi opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't for a moment.
  502.59 +"Shh…" Usagi's finger moved over her daughter's lips, signaling her not to talk. She had
  502.60 +never seen her like this before, so angry, so…frightening.
  502.61 +"WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYY!!!!???" her piercing wail
  502.62 +echoed, rebounding off the tombstones, making the sound redirect to the people who
  502.63 +stood between them. Soon it sounded like the angels themselves were screaming in
  502.64 +agony.
  502.65 +
  502.66 +The ride back to home was quiet, uneventful. 'I'm glad she's at least quiet now,'
  502.67 +Usagi thought to herself, looking over at the sleeping child that rested in her lap. 'I
  502.68 +thought we were going to be kicked off the plane on the way back here. She was glad the
  502.69 +people were sympathetic, even if annoyed and distressed at the hysterically crying child
  502.70 +who only ceased her sobbing after she fell asleep.
  502.71 +"I didn't know she'd take it this hard." Ami whispered to Usagi who only sighed
  502.72 +and nodded, though both of the older senshi's eyes were puffy from tears, they had
  502.73 +nothing on the pink haired girl. "It's so sad…I never knew she cared about Hotaru this
  502.74 +much… they were very good friends, now that I do think about it." Usagi nodded to Ami
  502.75 +for a fraction of a second before her eyes went wide.
  502.76 +Hearing Ami talk about Hotaru in the past tense finalized it as her being gone.
  502.77 +Usagi winced visibly and pulled her daughter tighter into her body, suddenly wanting to
  502.78 +be comforted, though Chibi didn't awaken. "Ami…god, why did you say that?" Usagi
  502.79 +narrowed her eyes at Ami even though she knew that she wasn't angry at her, hissing
  502.80 +through her clenched teeth, "Why?"
  502.81 +"I…I'm sorry Usagi, but all I said was that Hotaru and Chibi were-" she cut off,
  502.82 +suddenly realizing just what she had said and her hand covered her mouth. She didn't
  502.83 +need to say anymore. She didn't have to.
  502.84 +They spent the rest of the long ride from the cemetery listening only to the rain
  502.85 +patter down, and Chibi's steady breathing as she slept. 'You must be exhausted,' Usagi
  502.86 +thought as she brushed aside some of the girl's hair. 'I've never seen you cry like that,
  502.87 +and this much before…let alone scream that loudly. You must really care about her,
  502.88 +huh?' She refused to talk about Hotaru in the past tense, it tore her too much to even
  502.89 +begin to. 'She's lucky to have a friend like you…'
  502.90 +"Usagi….Usagi? We're home now," Usagi looked up quickly, realizing they were
  502.91 +now at Makoto's house, where they would be staying to keep each other company. "Do
  502.92 +you need a hand with her?" Ami gestured to Chibi, she was the only one who didn't head
  502.93 +quickly inside, not because of the angel's tears that streamed from the heavens, soaking
  502.94 +the world beneath, but because they were too numb to know any better. Only Ami's hard
  502.95 +wired sense of responsibility and courtesy remained.
  502.96 +"Huh? Oh, no, I've got her…" Usagi placed both legs out onto the ground, before
  502.97 +standing; the cold, but comforting rain began to trace over her face. "Let's get inside."
  502.98 +The door to the car was closed by Ami, as Usagi needed both hands to carry her daughter,
  502.99 +who was too out of it to even place her arms around her mother's neck. 'God, she's such
 502.100 +a dead weight…'
 502.101 +A stabbing pain in Usagi's head brought to her a sudden halt. She leaned her back
 502.102 +against a soaked pillar, to keep herself upright. Her mind forced the replay of the scene at
 502.103 +the funeral, where they stood gathered around Hotaru's grave. Only this time, she was
 502.104 +watching herself, and the others, in third person.  Watching herself stand crying, Usagi
 502.105 +felt a direct chill, slithering down her spine before turning to the stone on the ground. It
 502.106 +was blank. The angel carved onto the gray stone suddenly turned its eyes and head to face
 502.107 +Usagi who gasped in fright. It began to mouth silent words to her, though she couldn't
 502.108 +make them out. 'I…I don't understand!' She thought trying harder to read the lips of the
 502.109 +angel.
 502.110 +"Love is stronger than death… Love is stronger than life… Don't let her grief
 502.111 +over come her… Love her…" Hotaru's hushed voice clearly sounded, whispering though
 502.112 +Usagi's ear, causing her to jump, and look around frantically, but the only thing she saw
 502.113 +now was Ami, who had her hand on Usagi's shoulder.
 502.114 +"Usagi! Are you ok? Get inside before your d--  catch a cold." She began to lead
 502.115 +her inside, oblivious to Hotaru's warning that carried itself on the fridged air.
 502.116 +
 502.117 +Seisen floated through the swirling darkness, unaware of the creature that was
 502.118 +stalking him through the endless depths of the portal.. Unbeknownst to him, he was
 502.119 +floating back to the astral plane, by nothing more than dumb luck, but the monster
 502.120 +trailing him intended to stop this. It's tendril flared quickly at the youth, intending to
 502.121 +entangle him and draw him closer to itself to pull him from the sanctuary of the darkness.
 502.122 +However, at that moment, Seisen's eyes opened  to see the imminent collision, but
 502.123 +managed to turn his body vertically so the tendril would only slam into his chest, not grip
 502.124 +him like the creature wanted. The impact of the blow sent the youth spinning head over
 502.125 +heels out of the portal and onto the ground of the astral realm, leaving the furious cry of
 502.126 +the creature to echo in his ears, just as his hand closed around the Silence Glaive. It began
 502.127 +to shimmer in response to his touch, but soon darkness was all he saw.
 502.128 +Waking in the still, flame lit darkness, Seisen sat up. His body was healed, he was
 502.129 +whole again…he glanced to the glaive by his side, which just shined knowingly. "Thank
 502.130 +you, Hotaru…" he mumbled under his breath before a single tear streamed down his face,
 502.131 +he could feel in his heart that the girl was dead, which meant he had very little time. He
 502.132 +stood up, grabbing the glaive in his hands, and began to run quickly down the path to the
 502.133 +afterlife.
 502.134 +
 502.135 +Makoto's house was deathly silent, the senshi sitting around the living room
 502.136 +staring at the rug in the middle of the floor. Nothing stirred the quiet, besides the sound of
 502.137 +the girls' breathing. A breeze floated on the thick air, chilling Usagi down to her bones,
 502.138 +though none of the senshi seemed to notice the sudden icy whisper that ran it's fingers
 502.139 +through Usagi's hair. "Remember…" Hotaru's hushed voice murmured to the girl,
 502.140 +"Remember…."
 502.141 +"Remember what?" she said aloud, causing the rest of the inners to look at her, as
 502.142 +the others chose to heal in their own way. Four sets of red eyes looked to Usagi, though
 502.143 +no one spoke to her.
 502.144 +Assuming she was just thinking aloud they dismissed it and went back to looking
 502.145 +at their own feet. Chibi stirred in Usagi's lap, sitting up and glancing to her mother, "Did
 502.146 +you hear her too?"
 502.147 +Seisen stood at the foot of the bed, having successfully managed to prevent
 502.148 +Hotaru's passage into the afterlife by mere moments. He sighed, sitting down on the
 502.149 +chair, exhausted. "If I had been a second later, you would have gone…I'm glad I know
 502.150 +my way around the plane," he spoke to her, though she was asleep, just to break the
 502.151 +uneasy silence.
 502.152 +"You see, when you die your spirit returns here, to the astral plane. You are here
 502.153 +physically, like I told you before, since your spirit makes you whole here." Seisen knew
 502.154 +he was only talking to himself, but it was that or listen to the burning of the torches. "I
 502.155 +found you before you wandered your way into the afterlife…some people find their way
 502.156 +back to the realm of the living, which is why they are ghosts because they have no body
 502.157 +and don't want to be completely dead. So, I stopped your spirit from entering and losing
 502.158 +you forever…now all we have to do is find a new body for you, or have you reborn…
 502.159 +that's going to be hell, let me tell you…we'll worry about that later, just relax…"
 502.160 +
 502.161 +Chibi sat in the tub of Makoto's bathroom in the now cooling water. She had been
 502.162 +in there for almost two hours, though she hardly noticed the time. Her skin was
 502.163 +wrinkling, her mind was wandering and her heart was aching. She didn't want to move,
 502.164 +she didn't want to think, she just wanted to be with Hotaru again.
 502.165 +"Chibi…? Are you OK in there?" Usagi asked as she gently knocked on the door.
 502.166 +The blonde was more worried about her daughter than she let on, Hotaru's words echoed
 502.167 +still in her ears, but she didn't understand what they were meaning to tell her.
 502.168 +"Yeah….I'm ok, I think I want to get out now." Chibi said, standing up and
 502.169 +letting the water drip from her body as she pulled the drain plug from the bath. She
 502.170 +watched the water swirling down the drain, but somehow in her mind she pictured
 502.171 +crimson swirls of blood draining down the hole. Her blood. She glanced away quickly.
 502.172 +"Ok…you have your pajamas and everything? We're going to sleep in the living
 502.173 +room, on the sofa…Minako, and Rei will be sleeping in Makoto's room, so we're sharing
 502.174 +with Ami." Usagi leaned her body against the door, her fingertips tracing the pattern of
 502.175 +the wood grain as she waited for Chibi to answer her.
 502.176 +"Yes…" was the only response Chibi gave as she began to towel off, though the
 502.177 +edge of the fabric was caught in the drawer. She sighed as she pulled it open and removed
 502.178 +the towel piece, and just as she was about to close the drawer, a small black object caught
 502.179 +her eye. Reaching in, she removed the black cylinder, which upon further inspection
 502.180 +revealed itself to be a box cutter; the razor still protruding from the top.
 502.181 +Chibi's mind flashed once more to the vision of her blood flowing down the
 502.182 +bathtub drain as she looked over the glint of the steel's edge. "Hotaru…" she said softly,
 502.183 +numbly running her finger over the blade, not so much as wincing as it tore easily
 502.184 +through her skin. "I'll see you soon…" she shoved the blade into the pocket of her
 502.185 +pajama pants and continued to dry herself off.
 502.186 +
 502.187 +It was almost 1:00 AM before Usagi finally fell asleep. Ami had been resting for
 502.188 +almost an hour before hand, though Chibi was still awake listening to the thunder rolling
 502.189 +in the distance. The child had been sitting in silence the entire night, weighing the pros
 502.190 +and the cons of the razor in her hand, and though terribly frightened she had chosen to
 502.191 +indeed go through with it.
 502.192 +The chill in the air was undeniable as the child walked her final, self imposed mile
 502.193 +down the dark, lonely hall towards the bathroom; she wanted to do it in the bathtub,
 502.194 +where she wouldn't make a mess for Makoto. Flipping on the light switch, Chibi was
 502.195 +instantly blinded by the fluorescent daggers that sought out her dilated pupils and paused
 502.196 +a moment to let her eyes adjust to the brightness.
 502.197 +"I'll be with you soon, Hotaru…" she whispered to herself as she closed the door
 502.198 +behind her and made very sure it was locked before she took a look at herself in the
 502.199 +mirror. Red, tired eyes stared back at her, alabaster skin stained with the tears that have
 502.200 +since run dry. The child sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and stepping
 502.201 +over to the tub and sitting herself in it. It was cold. She shivered lightly in the tub, though
 502.202 +she chilled even more when she rolled up her left sleeve, since it was closer to the heart
 502.203 +she figured that it would bleed faster. "I'm sorry mom…everyone," she whispered to
 502.204 +herself as she extended the end of the blade to full length.
 502.205 +As she placed the razor's edge to her skin, she hesitated a moment. It would hurt,
 502.206 +she knew very well, but it was better a moment of physical pain than a lifetime of agony.
 502.207 +"I'm sorry…" the girl whispered again before pressing down on the handle of the box
 502.208 +cutter and driving it as deep as it will go into her soft skin.
 502.209 +White hot pain seared her body as the deep, crimson liquid began to pour from the
 502.210 +small wound on her wrist…it would take too long. Gathering her courage, she roughly
 502.211 +pulled the blade up her arm, moving toward her elbow rather than horizontally across her
 502.212 +wrist, as it would slice the entire vein rather than just a portion of it. With every
 502.213 +centimeter of her skin that tore, it allowed more blood to freely drop into the tub, the tiny
 502.214 +globules soon becoming thick, morbid river that washed her life down the drain.
 502.215 +Unable to take any more pain, Chibi dropped the box cutter with a loud clatter
 502.216 +against the tile floor, sending a few droplets spraying across the white tile.
 502.217 +The sound transmitted easily through the thin walls of Makoto's house, causing a
 502.218 +few of the senshi to awaken. Sitting up in the darkness, Ami rubbed her eyes and
 502.219 +stretched; the clock read almost 1:15 in the morning. "Who is up at such an hour?" she
 502.220 +whispered to herself, though as she stood she realized that Chibi Usa was missing.
 502.221 +"Leave it to her to wake the house…just like her mother." Ami said aloud, pausing to
 502.222 +look over the sleeping Usagi, "That isn't necessarily a bad thing though…" Shaking
 502.223 +herself free from the stare she had placed on the senshi of the moon, Ami began to head
 502.224 +in the direction of the noise.
 502.225 +Ami stepped quietly through the house, and when she reached the bathroom door,
 502.226 +she knocked softly on it, "Is everything ok? I heard a loud noise…" This startled Chibi,
 502.227 +who turned to look at the door a moment, but the room began to spin.
 502.228 +She didn't care anymore, she could hardly focus on anything; not what she was
 502.229 +leaving behind, only what she was going to. Her vision continuing to blur, the child
 502.230 +forced her eyes open a last time, and in her disorientation saw her best friend leaning over
 502.231 +her.
 502.232 +Hotaru's violet eyes were of great comfort to the dying girl, and as she felt a hand
 502.233 +running through her hair, she knew everything was going to be over soon, and she
 502.234 +wouldn't have to feel anything else. "Shh….Chibi," the soldier of Saturn whispered to
 502.235 +her, caressing her face with her pale hand, "Just a moment or two longer."
 502.236 +Hotaru felt selfish…she felt ashamed, and dishonorable for doing this. She knew
 502.237 +she should have stopped her friend from killing herself, but she couldn't. Hotaru wanted
 502.238 +Chibi to be with her. She wanted to see her again, to feel her touch, to know that she
 502.239 +wasn't alone in the darkness. Seisen was someone to talk to, yes, but it wasn't the same.
 502.240 +Nor had the man stopped her from coming back to see Chibi, which led Hotaru to believe
 502.241 +that this was OK with him as well.
 502.242 +"What will happen…?" Chibi mumbled the girl who still stood over her, finding it
 502.243 +very difficult to talk. Her body ached all over as the muscles began to seize, leaving her
 502.244 +to sit stiffly with her friend. Hotaru didn't say anything to her, simply shook her head and
 502.245 +leaned down, nuzzling the smaller girl's face with her own. Chibi shakily raised her
 502.246 +bleeding hand and touched Hotaru's lips with her fingers, causing a smear of blood to run
 502.247 +across them. "Please…" Chibi said, touching her lips again.
 502.248 +The raven haired child nodded to her friend and tilted her face to the side. Just as
 502.249 +her lips met Chibi's, the door unlocked seemingly of it's own will. "Chibi?" Ami called,
 502.250 +though she wasn't heard by either of the two in the room. Hotaru wrapped her arms
 502.251 +around her friend's body and hugged her tightly.
 502.252 +Chibi shuddered a moment, taking a final deep breath before growing still; dying
 502.253 +wrapped in Hotaru's arms never breaking their kiss. "Chibi, I'm coming in." Ami said
 502.254 +again, and the door slowly opened.
 502.255 +The sight that Ami witnessed that day would never be forgotten. Hotaru,
 502.256 +completely restored in her beauty sitting on the ledge of the bathtub holding a bloody
 502.257 +child in her arms. The raven haired ghost turned to look at Ami slowly, her lips smeared
 502.258 +with blood, giving her an even more macabre appearance. "Goodbye Ami…tell my
 502.259 +parents I say the same. I'm sorry I'm so selfish…" and with that, she faded from sight as
 502.260 +Ami began to scream as loud as she could.
 502.261 +
 502.262 +"So how does it feel, little one?"
 502.263 +"H-…how does what feel? Where am I?"
 502.264 +"How does it feel to be dead?"
 502.265 +"I'm….dead?"
 502.266 +"Yes…you and Firefly…only there's a problem…"
 502.267 +"Problem….? I don't understand."
 502.268 +"……thou shalt not kill."
 502.269 +
 502.270 +

   503.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   503.2 +++ b/stories/toujour6.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   503.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   503.4 +	"….and that's brings us to now." Seisen said, looking over his creator with a
   503.5 +shrug of his shoulders, "She saved my life…and I want to help make things right with her
   503.6 +and her…friend." The black irises of the youth looked to his maker with a knowing
   503.7 +glance. He didn't need to speak the words. They were already known.
   503.8 +	"And what would you have me do, Seisen?" the booming voice asked the
   503.9 +kneeling man, who had removed his mask out of respect. "I would like to help you, but
  503.10 +my power is limited when I deal with mortals…I understand this girl has saved you, her
  503.11 +power is astounding…dangerous, yes, but impressive none the less."
  503.12 +	"I was created to destroy her…you made me to be able to strike that child down
  503.13 +without a second thought. I was trained to be the angel of death, created out of nothing to
  503.14 +be her demise….stripped of a childhood, stripped of a life, only to take hers. A job that,
  503.15 +thankfully, didn't need to be done. Now my intended victim saved my life, her glaive
  503.16 +gave me the power to heal myself when I would be dead." Seisen's speech was answered
  503.17 +with silence, allowing his powerful words to continue, "I am here asking for a way to
  503.18 +return the favor; I understand that you cannot simply grant the wish with a motion of your
  503.19 +hand, but I think I have a way to make things right. If you'll allow me to do
  503.20 +this….father."
  503.21 +	" 'Father…' so long since you've called me that. You hated me, when you
  503.22 +realized that your life wasn't meant to be normal…" the pain and regret in the voice was
  503.23 +evident, though it was masked by a cracking shield, "Very well, tell me your plan my
  503.24 +son…"
  503.25 +	"Thank you father…I need to speak to your daughter…. Her, and your other
  503.26 +son… I know they do not know who I am, you have hidden me well, but the time has
  503.27 +come now that I have to reveal myself, risking my own existence…please." Seisen's eyes
  503.28 +looked to the floor a moment, then back up to his maker.
  503.29 +	"….." a sigh was heard, the troubled soul of one who has seen one too many
  503.30 +tragedies. "As you wish, my son…I only hope Juno would listen to you. She hasn't the
  503.31 +mind to respect mortals, she does tend to like violence and mayhem… Jupiter may be
  503.32 +more understanding. I'll take you to them now, close your eyes my son.." and as Saturn
  503.33 +laid his hands on Seisen's head, the two of them vanished in a flash of purple colored
  503.34 +light, heading to the temple at Capitol.
  503.35 +
  503.36 +	"And you expect me to do something about that, mortal?" Juno wasn't all too
  503.37 +keen on the idea of wanting to help mortals, especially after Seisen was hidden from them
  503.38 +all these years. The queen of the gods sat on her throne next to her husband Jupiter who
  503.39 +was a little more interested in the goings on than the woman. "What does the happiness
  503.40 +of mortals have to do with me?"
  503.41 +	"I expect nothing…but I do request your, and your husband's, assistance in
  503.42 +making things…" Seisen paused, looking for the right word, both his eyes turned to the
  503.43 +floor in consideration before moving back to Juno's. "Better for both of them. I wouldn't
  503.44 +come to you, unless I knew that you could do something. After all, lady queen, you are
  503.45 +the goddess of women and marriage…who better than to help two women, than the
  503.46 +patron of them?" Juno fell silent, glancing away. "The king, and the queen of the gods
  503.47 +certainly have some type of power that could be of help."
  503.48 +	"What will you do for us in return, Seisen?" Jupiter began, looking the youth over
  503.49 +as he stroked his beard. He was greatly pleased that the man wasn't begging, or
  503.50 +demanding that they give their power to help his cause, "You know that we cannot bring
  503.51 +the dead to life again, even if you do have their spirits, their bodies are completely ruined.
  503.52 +New bodies might be possible, but they wouldn't remember each other and that seems to
  503.53 +be half the point, if I'm correct."
  503.54 +	"That is more or less the idea…reanimation isn't a necessity. Death is eternal. I
  503.55 +don't think either of them would have a problem with staying the way they are, so long as
  503.56 +they could be together. Mortals fear death because they are afraid of what comes
  503.57 +after…they both now know. The mystery is gone, so the will to live should be as well...
  503.58 +though I'm sure they will be missed, they will miss their friends." The youth's eyes
  503.59 +turned to the king, though he has yet to get up from his kneel on the marble floor before
  503.60 +the royalty of the gods.
  503.61 +	"What about you, are you afraid of death?" Juno asked him, her brow raising as
  503.62 +she gave him a smile that struck Seisen as slightly too smug, "You are mortal after all."
  503.63 +	"Yes, of course." Seisen said without a moments hesitation, "I do know what
  503.64 +comes after it…for other mortals, but I was not born in the way of man, and I don't know
  503.65 +if I even have a soul to offer after my body loses it's will." That left Juno, who had been
  503.66 +expecting him to say he was fearless quiet. Jupiter was greatly impressed with the man's
  503.67 +honesty, his integrity, and his genuine caring for someone he had only recently met. "And
  503.68 +I do not have much to offer in way of repayment, or gifts, but anything I have, or
  503.69 +anything I can do I will." The truth in the youth's words killed whatever doubt the king of
  503.70 +the gods had in his mind.
  503.71 +"Very well, Seisen…I will grant your plea, and the soul of the girl who was
  503.72 +destined for Hades will now be sent to the Elysian Fields... Though, I do have something
  503.73 +I need to ask of you." The king smiled broadly, before giving a noticeably nervous
  503.74 +chuckle, "You are strong in both the body, the mind, and the spirit…are you any good
  503.75 +with children?"
  503.76 +"I'm sure I can be, if given enough time…" Seisen's reply came, looking to Juno
  503.77 +who began to seethe with fury, glaring at both men before storming out of the throne
  503.78 +room.
  503.79 +"Good…" Jupiter seemed concerned very little with his wife's outburst, "I have a
  503.80 +child, from a woman named Leto…her name is Diana, and she needs someone to watch
  503.81 +her, teach her how to do things…can you look after her for a while?"
  503.82 +
  503.83 +Standing in the tower of the castle in the city of Capitol, Seisen stared at the stars
  503.84 +in the sky, his mask hiding his face in the darkness. The bright, full moon shone down
  503.85 +over the forest, and the lake surrounding the castle, it's pale, but somehow comforting,
  503.86 +light cast over the landscape.
  503.87 +"Mission accomplished…" Seisen said to himself, his voice sounded hollow as it
  503.88 +echoed off the stone walls of Jupiter's home. "I know you're there father…" the youth
  503.89 +called over his shoulder, though no one was in the room, "And I know you can hear
  503.90 +me…you created me to ensure that the spirit of Hotaru Tomoe was ushered into the after
  503.91 +life. She will be there very shortly, both her and her friend." Stillness only answered
  503.92 +Seisen, though the youth smirked, "I'm not angry…I'm sad, that she had to die so young,
  503.93 +but at least they'll be young, and beautiful forever, right?" Again, silence was the
  503.94 +response. "Yeah…that's what I thought." A soft rapping at the door brought Seisen back
  503.95 +to reality, he knew who it was already.
  503.96 +Both of the girl's spirits had been brought here, and they would all meet a final
  503.97 +time before they were sent to the afterlife, to eternity. It was time to say goodbye to them;
  503.98 +the girl he had met only days before, the child he was created to kill, and her friend.
  503.99 +"Come in." The youth turned his back to the doorway again, once more peering out over
 503.100 +the moonlit darkness.
 503.101 +"Seisen…" Hotaru said aloud as she opened the door and stepped inside. Her
 503.102 +voice no longer thick, and pained, but soft and gentle as he knew it should be.
 503.103 +"We…we're leaving now. I…we, wanted to come to thank you for everything you did to
 503.104 +help us. I know that you must have risked a lot to do this for us, and you don't know how
 503.105 +grateful we are." He didn't say anything, though he knew he should. The words wouldn't
 503.106 +find their way from his lips; his mind going blank when he should have been telling her
 503.107 +goodbye. Hotaru stepped forward, leaving the silent Chibi by the door, and placing her
 503.108 +hand on his shoulder, "Please look at me, Seisen…"
 503.109 +Seisen sighed and turned to face them. Each of the girls was dressed well; pure,
 503.110 +white gowns that looked befitting for queens, or princesses in this case, the long, lace
 503.111 +sleeves fit over their slender arms, leading down over the back of their hand and hooking
 503.112 +onto their middle finger. "You both look beautiful.." he said to Hotaru, before glancing to
 503.113 +Chibi who quickly averted her eyes; she felt guilty for being here, for making Seisen have
 503.114 +to strike a deal with the gods. "And you…" he began, regarding the pink haired girl,
 503.115 +"Smile. You're going to spend forever with your frie-" the youth paused, deciding to stop
 503.116 +using that word, and replacing it with the truth, "Your girlfriend." He finished, getting a
 503.117 +furious blush out of both of the girls, but not a word of protest.
 503.118 +"Thank you…" Chibi said, approaching him and giving him a quick hug before
 503.119 +Seisen knew what was coming. As her arms wrapped him, he stood in stunned silence for
 503.120 +a moment, before returning the embrace, then letting her slip away from him and back to
 503.121 +the doorway, "I'll be outside, 'Taru…" The girl thought it would be better to let them say
 503.122 +goodbye in private.
 503.123 +"You know you'll have to go soon," Seisen stated first, crossing his arms over his
 503.124 +chest, and arching a brow at her. "I don't want you to miss your appointment with
 503.125 +forever." He forced a smile, though it was hidden behind his cloth mask.
 503.126 +"Seisen…please." Hotaru sighed, reaching her hand out to pull the mask from
 503.127 +covering him, "Don't hide yourself from me…we both owe you a lot, and we can never
 503.128 +repay you for what you've done for us…if there's anyth-" she was cut off as Seisen put
 503.129 +his finger over her lips, shaking his head.
 503.130 +"You are my sister…your blood courses through my veins, just as mine in yours. I
 503.131 +only did what anyone else would do for their blood." He smiled again, reaching his hand
 503.132 +out to brush a few raven strands from her face, "You are welcome." Hotaru stepped to
 503.133 +him and let her arms encircle him, resting her head on his chest. The youth smiled, his
 503.134 +arms then finding their way around her, pulling her close for a moment, but a knock at
 503.135 +the door soon drew their attention.
 503.136 +"Hotaru…it's time to go, Dis says we have to leave really soon." Chibi's voice
 503.137 +was heard, though the door wasn't opened.
 503.138 +"Thank you, Seisen…I won't forget you, and what you've done." Hotaru said as
 503.139 +she stepped back from him and smoothed her dress, looking over her shoulder to the
 503.140 +door, "Just a second…"
 503.141 +"Go on," the man smiled, cocking his head in the direction of the door, "Don't
 503.142 +want her to leave without you." Seisen stepped away from her. Somehow, increasing the
 503.143 +distance made it seem like it would be easier to part. Hotaru sighed, looking back to the
 503.144 +youth before turning and stepping to the door. She was about to say something, but was
 503.145 +again silenced as Seisen held up his hand, "I'll see you again sometime…"
 503.146 +"Yes….until then, brother." Hotaru smiled, a tear streaking down her face as she
 503.147 +opened the door and stepped out.
 503.148 +"Until then, sister…" the youth whispered back as the door closed, then turned his
 503.149 +attention back to the sky. Reaching into the strap that crossed his chest, Seisen pulled his
 503.150 +flute from the padded compartment and brought it to his lips. A deep sigh was heard
 503.151 +before he began to play; the soft, whisper of a melody floated down into the valley below
 503.152 +as a tear fell from his eye to follow the music.
 503.153 +
 503.154 +"Seisen…?" a child's voice sounded in the darkness, causing the still conscious
 503.155 +man to turn his gaze to the sound of the voice. Diana…
 503.156 +"Yes?" he answered her, it was late…the girl should have been sound asleep by
 503.157 +now. The youth didn't move, only let his eyes remain on her, as he could see the faint
 503.158 +silhouette  of her body against the backdrop of the moonlight.
 503.159 +"I can't sleep…" Diana whispered to him, crawling up onto his bed and sitting on
 503.160 +her ankles. "Tell me a story?"
 503.161 +"A story…" Seisen repeated, "Ok…" he waited for the child to lie down and get
 503.162 +settled in.
 503.163 +
 503.164 +"I have a story….a love story. It all starts in the dark of night…with a young girl
 503.165 +lost outside in the snow…"
 503.166 +

   504.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   504.2 +++ b/stories/toujours.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   504.3 @@ -0,0 +1,231 @@
   504.4 +This is my first Sailor Moon fic. Not sure exactly how good it is, but I 
   504.5 +figured I might as well submit it for being read. I took a few liberties 
   504.6 +with the characters, not very many though, IE giving the already sickly 
   504.7 +Hotaru asthma. Time frame is of normal, Hotaru being 12-13. You can email me 
   504.8 +at Saturn_Knight@hotmail.com with comments/questions.
   504.9 +
  504.10 +	
  504.11 +
  504.12 +"Toujours"
  504.13 +By Saturn Knight
  504.14 +
  504.15 +Forcing herself along the icy street, near midnight, fighting the cold, 
  504.16 +which gnawed at her with relentless force, Hotaru pulls the purple sweater 
  504.17 +around her tighter; though it did nothing to keep the bitter caress of the 
  504.18 +wind from violating her body. In the back of her mind, playing like a broken 
  504.19 +record, the question 'Why did I agree to come to America!?' made her think 
  504.20 +of her warm, safe bed back home. 'Home…' Hotaru said to herself, just as the 
  504.21 +first snow began to fall, fluttering gently from the sky and landing on her 
  504.22 +shoulder. Turning to look at it, her body shaking violently from the cold, 
  504.23 +she frowned, wondering where she was, where were the others, and why did bad 
  504.24 +things always happen to her?
  504.25 +	"Because you're the Soldier of Death…that's why," she mumbled to herself, 
  504.26 +turning her gaze to the sky as the snow picked up, now falling regularly. A 
  504.27 +shuddering breath trailed into the sky, mingling with the frigid air before 
  504.28 +finally succumbing to the relentless chill of the night. "God, it's 
  504.29 +beautiful…" The faint light seeping through the clouds backlit the scene to 
  504.30 +perfection, something no artist could ever replicate. Tearing her gaze from 
  504.31 +the sky, back down to the snow covered ground, Hotaru felt fear rising in 
  504.32 +the back of her throat…she had been walking for the good part of an hour, 
  504.33 +and had come across nothing more than bare trees, rocks, and now snow.
  504.34 +	"I wanna go home…" she said to herself, the simple act of talking causing 
  504.35 +another plume of vapor to rise from her lips. Though her hands were numb, 
  504.36 +the muscles ached under her skin with every movement. She was very glad now 
  504.37 +that had she listened to Haruka's advice, on wearing her snow boots when she 
  504.38 +went out into the cold, otherwise, she would have lost the ability, and the 
  504.39 +will, to walk long before. Then she sneezed… a single, violent sneeze. The 
  504.40 +sudden loss of breath began a coughing fit that drove her to the ground, the 
  504.41 +snow crunching under her weight as she went down to her knees … Reaching 
  504.42 +into her pocket for her inhaler, she shakily threw the top off it and took a 
  504.43 +breath as best as she could and tried to hold it. Forcing herself not to 
  504.44 +cough as the world spun, she exhaled quickly and repeated, her body giving 
  504.45 +violent spasms from her refusal to cough.
  504.46 +	Unable to hold her fit any longer, she surrendered to her body and began 
  504.47 +coughing violently, trying to stand only caused the world to black out for a 
  504.48 +moment. Staggering, fighting with all the strength she could muster, but she 
  504.49 +was at war with something she could never beat; no matter how hard she 
  504.50 +tried, no matter how strong her will. She was fighting herself. As her body 
  504.51 +hit the ground, her eyes looked up to the sky as the snow continued to fall, 
  504.52 +making her already-numb face sting anew with the ice that was now settling 
  504.53 +in. As her body gave into shock, she felt the world slowly start to slip 
  504.54 +away from her conscious mind. Her last coherent thought as she looked to the 
  504.55 +sky, and it's dangerous beauty, was "It's hard to believe something so 
  504.56 +beautiful could be so deadly…" then all was darkness.
  504.57 +
  504.58 +	"I'm worried about Hotaru," Chibi Usa said to Usagi, as they sat in their 
  504.59 +hotel room in Maine. "She should have been back a long time ago." Chibi sat 
  504.60 +with her back against the bed, with Usagi behind her, brushing out her pink 
  504.61 +hair. "Do you think she's ok?"  She twisted her body to look at Usagi, who 
  504.62 +was too busy watching the American soap opera on TV to pay much attention. 
  504.63 +"USAGI!"
  504.64 +	"What?! Huh?" Usagi jumped, literally, as Chibi yelled, just about falling 
  504.65 +off the bed and onto the floor. "What now?" she blushed light red, 
  504.66 +embarrassed that she wasn't paying attention. Her own hair was let 
  504.67 +completely down, not in the usual dual ponytails. "I'm sorry… What did you 
  504.68 +say Chibi?"
  504.69 +	"UGH, you never listen!" Chibi took the remote and promptly switched off 
  504.70 +the TV, tossing the remote under the bed where she believed Usagi couldn't 
  504.71 +get it. Turning her eyes to Usagi, who was already on all fours, halfway 
  504.72 +under the bed attempting to fish the remote out, she shouted as loudly as 
  504.73 +she could, "USAGI!!" This caused Usagi to jump again, hitting her head on 
  504.74 +the under board of the bed, with a yelp and a wince, she quickly worm her 
  504.75 +way out, with the remote of course.
  504.76 +	"OW! What, Chibi Usa? WHAT?" Usagi's eyes were watering from the sting of 
  504.77 +the pain. "What is so important?" Reaching out her right hand to gingerly 
  504.78 +touch the fresh bump, her left hand extended with the remote to switch the 
  504.79 +TV back on, but met with a slap from Chibi's hand, knocking the remote away.
  504.80 +	"It's HOTARU! She's late! She said she'd be back 2 hours ago." Chibi 
  504.81 +glanced at the clock over Usagi's shoulder, "I'm worried about her…she 
  504.82 +doesn't know this place, WE don't even know this place…it's cold outside, 
  504.83 +and snowing, and it's dark, and it's lonely, an--"
  504.84 +	"…And you worry too much…" Usagi rolled her eyes and glanced longingly at 
  504.85 +the remote.
  504.86 +	"SOMEBODY around here has gotta worry. The only thing you worry about is 
  504.87 +how you look to Mamou Chan, and your shows on the TV!" Chibi stood, being 
  504.88 +short enough to look the sitting Usagi in the eye, "Hotaru is late…she's 
  504.89 +normally on time, unlike some other senshi I could name… Aren't you 
  504.90 +worried?" This struck a chord with Usagi, and she was about to protest, but 
  504.91 +as she moved to grab the remote from the floor, her eyes wandered to the 
  504.92 +window. There was roughly a foot of snow blanketing the ground, and the 
  504.93 +dark, thick clouds had suffocated the faint light that the moon provided.
  504.94 +	"Yeah, she's ok…" Usagi said, more in an effort to convince herself, rather 
  504.95 +than Chibi Usa, who was now at the windowsill, on her tip-toes peeking out 
  504.96 +from the 10th floor room. "Just stay off the phone in case she has to call 
  504.97 +and ask for our help." Almost as if on cue the phone rang, and both girls 
  504.98 +looked at each other. Before the end of the second ring, Chibi had vaulted 
  504.99 +over the bed and tore the phone receiver off the hook and, placed it to her 
 504.100 +ear. Usagi wasn't too far behind her, trying to maintain a bit of dignity, 
 504.101 +rather than throwing herself on the bed she had recently been crawling 
 504.102 +under.
 504.103 +	"Hotaru?" Chibi said, hopefully, but was greeted with the voice of a man on 
 504.104 +the other end.
 504.105 +	"Uh…no, this is Lieutenant Grey of the Maine PD. We found a girl out in a 
 504.106 +run down part of Oak Street, off the highway. She was unconscious, and 
 504.107 +covered in snow. She had a card key to this hotel, and this room. Purple 
 504.108 +hair, about five fe--"
 504.109 +	"HOTARU!!" Chibi shrieked, dropping the phone on the floor, her face going 
 504.110 +pale as she heard. Usagi quickly picked up the phone, placing it to her ear.
 504.111 +	"Hotaru is that you?" Usagi said into the phone, not sure what she was 
 504.112 +supposed to hear, but thought it would be bad news. She sighed, gazing to 
 504.113 +Chibi was sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest crying like the 
 504.114 +world was going to end.
 504.115 +	"No….This is Lieutenant Grey, of the Maine PD. A patrol had located a girl 
 504.116 +lying in the snow near the highway…we believe it's a friend of yours, since 
 504.117 +she had the key to this room in her pocket." The voice paused a moment, 
 504.118 +"She's currently at Memorial Hospital, south of Main Street."
 504.119 +	"Oh Hotaru…." Usagi reached down and placed her hand on Chibi's shoulder. 
 504.120 +"How do we get there from the hotel? The hotels on…" Usagi grabbed the pad 
 504.121 +off the desk near the phone, with the little pencil they provide, "It's on 
 504.122 +Greenway parkway."
 504.123 +
 504.124 +
 504.125 +	Arriving at the hospital, via the car Usagi had rented for their vacation, 
 504.126 +miraculously in one piece, in spite of the horrid driving conditions, the 
 504.127 +two entered the warm hospital and headed directly for the information desk. 
 504.128 +The sterile, cold feeling of the hospital sent chills down Chibi Usa's spine 
 504.129 +as she looked over the sparkling white tile, and stoic white walls of the 
 504.130 +entry way. The counter was vacant at the time they arrived, and Chibi Usa 
 504.131 +began an incessant attack on the bell, before having her hand removed by 
 504.132 +Usagi, who sternly shook her head. Removing her pink earmuffs, and staring 
 504.133 +out a nearby window, Chibi's heart sank. It was still snowing badly, and 
 504.134 +only grew more intense with every passing second.
 504.135 +	Turning back to the counter, Chibi was about to hit the bell again, when a 
 504.136 +woman emerged from the back area. Her white nurse's uniform was wrinkled, 
 504.137 +and fit her a bit too tightly, and the blue knit sweater she wore was 
 504.138 +stretched to its limit. "Yeah?" the red haired nurse asked. Usagi noted 
 504.139 +immediately that the woman smelled sickeningly of cigarette smoke.
 504.140 +	"Hi, we're looking for the girl who was found…" Usagi swallowed hard at 
 504.141 +this. She was used to visiting Hotaru in hospitals, but never for something 
 504.142 +like this. "She was found by the highwa--" The nurse cut her off with a 
 504.143 +sigh, rolling her eyes.
 504.144 +	"Room 415…fourth floor." The nurse then turned around and started back to 
 504.145 +the back, but paused. Reaching to the counter and taking the bell off the 
 504.146 +top, and placing it in her pocket, the woman gave Chibi Usa a steely glare.
 504.147 +	"My, isn't she the friendly one?" Chibi asked, taking Usagi's hand and 
 504.148 +pulling her towards the two massive steel doors of the elevator. Pushing the 
 504.149 +button a few times, Chibi waited impatiently for the lift to arrive. Her 
 504.150 +mind was cluttered with thoughts, assuming the worst…'I can't live without 
 504.151 +my best friend,' Chibi thought, trembling and blinking back the tears that 
 504.152 +made their way to eyes. 'If anything happens to Hotaru, I don't know what 
 504.153 +I'll do…I...I want to see her…I want to see her now!' With a red-eyed glare 
 504.154 +at the button, Chibi demanded, "What is TAKING this thing so long?!"
 504.155 +	"I don't know…I guess they're busy or something?" Usagi too, was wondering 
 504.156 +exactly what was keeping the lift from taking them to the fourth floor. She 
 504.157 +looked to her left and viewed the staircase, but dismissed it; there was a 
 504.158 +fire alarm on the door. Sighing, she pushed the button again…the elevator 
 504.159 +sounded in the silence of the lobby and opened it's metal jaws.
 504.160 +
 504.161 +	Entering the room was one of the hardest things Chibi had ever had to do in 
 504.162 +her life. She and Usagi crept into the eerily quiet room, only to see their 
 504.163 +friend laying there, hooked up to machines that kept her alive. Chibi gasped 
 504.164 +and ran to her best friend, shakily reaching out and taking Hotaru's hand as 
 504.165 +carefully as she could, afraid she was going to hurt the girl by her touch.
 504.166 +	"Oh Hotaru…" Chibi whispered, as she felt Usagi's hand on her shoulder 
 504.167 +giving it a gentle squeeze. The purple haired girl made no response to the 
 504.168 +touch. Her eyes were closed, a tube in her mouth to keep her breathing, with 
 504.169 +an IV in the back of her hand. Chibi Usa slowly reached out to move some of 
 504.170 +the matted purple hair from over Hotaru's eyes, in a vain, almost sadistic 
 504.171 +hope that the she would see violet orbs flicker to life.
 504.172 +	"It'll be ok," Usagi said reassuringly, not only for Chibi's benefit, but 
 504.173 +her own as well. It pained her to see Hotaru in this condition, as so often 
 504.174 +seemed the case. Another gentle squeeze of Chibi's shoulder, before the door 
 504.175 +opened and the doctor stepped into the room. He was dressed in green 
 504.176 +S.C.R.U.B.s, and had a stethoscope hanging around the collar of his white 
 504.177 +coat.
 504.178 +	"You must be the ones the officer called," the doctor said, picking up the 
 504.179 +chart from the door and giving it a glance over as he rubbed his slightly 
 504.180 +stubbled chin. "I guess we start off with the basic's, what's her name? We 
 504.181 +have Jane Do-" Chibi cut him off, looking up at the man who was at least 
 504.182 +twice her size.
 504.183 +	"Is she going to be ok?" her red eyes brimming with tears as she asks him 
 504.184 +the question, swallowing hard and waiting for the worst news. A faint hope 
 504.185 +whispered reassurance, but was swiftly drowned by the cackling of reality… 
 504.186 +Usagi was soon behind her, but cast a glance over her shoulder to Hotaru, 
 504.187 +who was lying as still as death.
 504.188 +	"We don't know, we don't have her medical history, insurance information, 
 504.189 +or any--" This time Usagi cut him off, stating the facts quickly.
 504.190 +	"Her name is Hotaru Tomoe… H-o-t-a-r-u   T-o-m-o-e." Usagi paused as the 
 504.191 +doctor scribbled down the name then continued, "Look under Haruka Tenou for 
 504.192 +the insurance information, H-a-r-u-k-a   T-e-n-o-u." She was now glad that 
 504.193 +Michi had insisted that they had health insurance for their trip; even if it 
 504.194 +was an expensive, and only temporary policy, it sure did come in handy right 
 504.195 +now.
 504.196 +	"Alright. I'll have my nurse check it out…" he turned to head away, but 
 504.197 +Chibi grabbed his shirt to keep him from going anywhere, and pushed the 
 504.198 +nurse's call buzzer a few times… not releasing her grip, she looked up at 
 504.199 +him, shaking her head.
 504.200 +"Something else I can do for you?" the doctor asked, looking down at the 
 504.201 +short pink-haired girl.
 504.202 +	"What's wrong with Hotaru?" A single tear ran down Chibi Usa's face as she 
 504.203 +all the horrid possibilities floated through her head.
 504.204 +	"First off she's got hypothermia, secondly she was barely breathing when 
 504.205 +they brought her in. She's lucky she had her inhaler in her hand or she 
 504.206 +probably would have died." The doctor's cold tone caused Chibi to sob a 
 504.207 +single time. This was her FRIEND he was talking about, not just a patient!! 
 504.208 +The doctor sighed and looked toward the door, grateful that one of the 
 504.209 +nurses came to see why the buzzer was being rung. Stepping over to her, he 
 504.210 +handed her the paper with the names on it and whispered something, then 
 504.211 +looked back the two standing by the bed, and nodded curtly to the nurse.
 504.212 +	"Visiting hours are over. They have been for about 4 hours or so, but 
 504.213 +seeing as how this is an emergency, you can stay. Plus, all the roads are 
 504.214 +snowed in… unless you're walking, you're not going to be able to get home. 
 504.215 +I've arranged for another bed to be brought in. I'm afraid we can only spare 
 504.216 +up to two beds per room, and your friend has one…" He stopped turned to the 
 504.217 +door, "I'll be back as soon as I get the information. She'll be fine until 
 504.218 +then." And with that, he headed out to gather the records of the girl.
 504.219 +	"She'll be fine, Chibi…I promise," Usagi said, glancing at her watch. It 
 504.220 +was almost 1 in the morning now. "I'm going to get some hot chocolate for 
 504.221 +us, down at the cafeteria. You can stay here if you want." Usagi said, 
 504.222 +moving to the door as Chibi Usa headed directly for Hotaru's bed and took 
 504.223 +her hand again, letting that be Usagi's answer. "I'll be right back, ok?" 
 504.224 +Usagi watched the two for a moment, feeling a sharp stab of pain as she 
 504.225 +realized this really could be it. Shaking it off, she turned on her heal and 
 504.226 +walked out of the room.
 504.227 +	Staring at her friend, Chibi Usa reached out again, running the back of her 
 504.228 +fingers gently down Hotaru's cheek, ignoring the tears that fell from her 
 504.229 +eyes. "The soldier of death…" Chibi whispered softly, feeling her heart 
 504.230 +breaking as she saw Hotaru in such a horrid condition. "The one who can 
 504.231 +destroy the world…" the pink haired girl murmured as she leaned down and 
 504.232 +placed a kiss on Hotaru's cheek, saying to herself. "It's hard to believe 
 504.233 +that someone so beautiful could be so deadly…"
 504.234 +

   505.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   505.2 +++ b/stories/truth-brings.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   505.3 @@ -0,0 +1,464 @@
   505.4 +Legal Foolishness: I do not profit from any of this stuff, so I ask you to refrain from suing me.
   505.5 +Warning: This is a yuri romance.  In other words, a story of love between girls.  If you don't like that, then don't read it.  People who flame me because they stubbornly refuse to accept such relationships with an open mind simply demonstrate their own ignorance.  And to all Sakura-Li/Syaoran fans: please keep an open mind.  I always do so when reading S-S fics, so return the favor.
   505.6 +Note: I've only seen the dubs.  I'll be using names from them (Madison rather than Tomoyo, Meilin rather than Meiling, etc).  I know the dubs are of low quality, but they're all I have to go on.
   505.7 +Note 2: This is a sequel to my first story, Deception Brings Truth.  You may want to read that before reading this.
   505.8 +Final Note, I Promise: This story was partially inspired by my first two reviews on Fanfiction.net for the previous fic.  The reviewers pointed out that the world rarely lets things happen in the perfect way that we writers sometimes like to say it does.  This fic will attempt to put a more realistic tone on my writing.  Thanks for reading this tedious stuff, and please enjoy.
   505.9 +
  505.10 +
  505.11 +Truth Brings Change
  505.12 +Animeanie
  505.13 +
  505.14 +
  505.15 +Madison and Sakura drew away from one another, ending a long, loving first kiss.  Neither had ever felt happier.  For Madison, it was a dream come true.  She had yearned for this for a good part of her life.  For Sakura, it was the beginning of a new part of her life.  She knew that her life was going to change.
  505.16 +
  505.17 +She just had no idea how big that change would be.
  505.18 +
  505.19 +*   *   *
  505.20 +
  505.21 +The next day was a school day.  Sakura skated along quickly, anxious to get to school and see Madison.
  505.22 +
  505.23 +As the school came into view, a thought popped into her head.  What were they going to tell their friends?  She and Madison had agreed yesterday to keep their love for one another a secret from their families, not being sure as to how they would take it, but they hadn't gone over what they'd do at school.
  505.24 +
  505.25 +Madison was waiting in front of the school, as usual.  She smiled and waved when she saw Sakura.  "Hi, Sakura!"
  505.26 +
  505.27 +Sakura smiled and skated up to Madison.  "Hi, Madison," she greeted her beloved.
  505.28 +
  505.29 +"Sakura, I was thinking about what we should do as far as school is concerned," Madison said a bit hesitantly.  "Would it be okay if...if we didn't tell anyone?"
  505.30 +
  505.31 +"Sure, Madison, if you want.  But are you sure we couldn't even tell our friends?  I'm sure that Chelsea, Nikki, and Rita would understand," Sakura said.
  505.32 +
  505.33 +Madison nodded, saying, "Yes, they probably would.  But sometimes they can be terrible gossips.  They might tell someone who wouldn't be as understanding.  And what if Chelsea accidentally lets it slip to Zachary?  He'd blab it out to the whole school."
  505.34 +
  505.35 +"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sakura admitted.  "Well, we'd better get to class, or we'll be late."
  505.36 +
  505.37 +*   *   *
  505.38 +
  505.39 +And so it went for a few weeks.  Neither Sakura nor Madison told anyone of their relationship, and no one had any reason to suspect that they had become more than friends.  They did nothing new, or out of the ordinary.  They talked with each other during class, sat with each other during lunch, hung out after school, and generally behaved as they always had.
  505.40 +
  505.41 +Certainly, nothing they did ever changed.  But to them, everything changed.  Their time spent together was no longer spent in friendship, but in love.  Sometimes, when no one was looking, Sakura would give Madison's hand a little squeeze, or Madison would give Sakura a small pat on the back.  Perhaps none of their activities changed but the way they viewed them did.
  505.42 +
  505.43 +And then life, as it too often does, took an unexpected turn, and brought their careful façade to an end.
  505.44 +
  505.45 +*   *   *
  505.46 +
  505.47 +One day at school, Sakura and Madison were sitting with Nikki and Rita for lunch, as they usually did.  The group of friends was waiting for Chelsea to arrive.  Sakura and Madison held hands under the table as they listened to their friend's gossip.
  505.48 +
  505.49 +When Chelsea finally arrived, she was holding a sheet of paper.  "Look!" she exclaimed, laying the paper down on the table for the others to see.
  505.50 +
  505.51 +Sakura looked at the paper.  At the top there were huge letters proclaiming 'SCHOOL DANCE'.
  505.52 +
  505.53 +As everyone read the notice, Chelsea summed up what they were reading.  "The dance is in a few days.  Since the last dance was for couples only, this one is open to everyone.  Best of all, anyone involved in after school clubs and teams gets to go free!  We could all go!"
  505.54 +
  505.55 +That part caught Sakura's attention.  She, Chelsea, and Nikki were part of the cheerleading team, and Madison was on the choir.  Thanks to her recent encounter with the Deception Card, Sakura had wasted a good amount of cash on a ticket to the last dance.  This time, though, she could go for free.
  505.56 +
  505.57 +Rita frowned.  "I'm not part of any club or team.  I'd have to pay," she said, more to herself than anyone else.
  505.58 +
  505.59 +"Don't worry, Rita.  We can all split your ticket expenses between us.  That way we can all go!" Sakura suggested.  Everyone else nodded.
  505.60 +
  505.61 +"Thanks, Sakura," Rita beamed.
  505.62 +
  505.63 +*   *   *
  505.64 +
  505.65 +So far, the dance was a lot of fun.  Sakura, Madison, Rita, Chelsea, Nikki, and the majority of students in the school were having a great time, whether dancing, eating, or just talking with friends.
  505.66 +
  505.67 +Sakura took a deep breath as one song ended.  She and her friends had been dancing for an hour now.  She was having a lot of fun.
  505.68 +
  505.69 +The DJ went on a loud-speaker for a moment and announced, "Okay, everyone, for this next song, you're gonna have to grab a partner."
  505.70 +
  505.71 +The music started up, and everyone found a partner.  Chelsea grabbed Zachary, who began another outrageous story.  "Did you know that school dances were invented by Native Americans?  Part of their education was learning the proper steps for dances..."Nikki and Rita partnered up, and thus Sakura and Madison were left to pair up.
  505.72 +
  505.73 +"May I have this dance, fair princess?" Sakura said with a mock bow.
  505.74 +
  505.75 +"For now and eternity," Madison replied, grinning.
  505.76 +
  505.77 +This dance was fairly fast and upbeat, and soon Sakura and Madison were totally absorbed within their own private world as they concentrated on nothing else.
  505.78 +
  505.79 +Eventually, the song ended, and the DJ announced that the next pick was a slow song.  Most of the students left the dance floor, leaving couples to dance.
  505.80 +
  505.81 +Rita, Chelsea, and Nikki all went over to the refreshments table to get some soda.  As they stood and quenched their thirst, Nikki asked, "Where did Sakura and Madison get to?"
  505.82 +
  505.83 +The three friends scanned the crowd until Chelsea pointed out to the dance floor.  "There they are!"
  505.84 +
  505.85 +The tree friends could see Sakura and Madison dancing slowly in the center of the room, almost totally hidden behind other dancing couples.
  505.86 +
  505.87 +"What are they doing?" Rita asked in confusion.
  505.88 +
  505.89 +*   *   *
  505.90 +
  505.91 +Sakura and Madison were in their own private world.  They had forgotten about the dance, about their friends, and about everything else.  All they saw was each other.
  505.92 +
  505.93 +It had just sort of happened.  One minute, they were dancing to an upbeat song, the next, a slow song had started and they'd drifted into each other's arms.  They no longer were thinking about what they were doing, but rather, just letting themselves do what seemed natural.
  505.94 +
  505.95 +Sakura and Madison gazed lovingly at one another, each letting herself become lost in the endless sea of the other's eyes.
  505.96 +
  505.97 +As the song drew to a close, Madison leaned closer to Sakura.  Sakura mimicked her, and slowly, their lips met.
  505.98 +
  505.99 +Hidden as they were by the other couples, their kiss remained hidden from all but four people: Chelsea, Rita, Nikki, and, further in the back, Zachary.
 505.100 +
 505.101 +*   *   *
 505.102 +
 505.103 +That happened to be the last song of the night.  The principal's announcement that the dance was over shook Madison and Sakura back to their senses.  Panicked, they looked around, but didn't see any way for someone to have seen them, besides the people on the dance floor, but hose people had been too wrapped up in their own dances to notice.
 505.104 +
 505.105 +Madison breathed a sigh of relief.  "Phew.  I don't think anyone saw us, Sakura."
 505.106 +
 505.107 +Sakura nodded.  "Yeah.  Thank goodness.  We'll have to be more careful from now on, though."  She smiled.  "Thank you for the dance."
 505.108 +
 505.109 +"You're welcome," Madison said, smiling.
 505.110 +
 505.111 +On their way out of the school to go home, neither Madison nor Sakura saw Rita, Nikki, or Chelsea standing in a corner, looking on in shock.  Nor did they see Zachary, who was quickly heading home.
 505.112 +
 505.113 +*   *   *
 505.114 +
 505.115 +The next day was another school day.  Sakura met Madison at the entrance to the school, and they walked in together.
 505.116 +
 505.117 +In the hallway outside their classroom, though, they saw Rita, Chelsea, and Nikki waiting for them.
 505.118 +
 505.119 +"Hi, guys," Sakura said cheerfully.
 505.120 +
 505.121 +"We saw you two dance last night," Chelsea said bluntly.
 505.122 +
 505.123 +"You did?" Sakura asked.
 505.124 +
 505.125 +"Would you mind giving us an explanation?" Chelsea snapped.
 505.126 +
 505.127 +"Well..." Sakura said hesitantly.
 505.128 +
 505.129 +"We're in love," Madison said.  "We've been hiding it for a few weeks."
 505.130 +
 505.131 +"You...you're not serious," Nikki said disbelievingly.
 505.132 +
 505.133 +"We are," Sakura said firmly.  "Madison and I love each other."
 505.134 +
 505.135 +Sakura and Madison had known that they would someday have to tell their friends about this.  They'd thought that the three would probably think it was weird, but be understanding and even supportive.  Neither expected the reaction they got.
 505.136 +
 505.137 +Chelsea practically exploded.  "What's wrong with you!?  You're both girls!"
 505.138 +
 505.139 +"We love each other for who we are, not what," Madison replied firmly.
 505.140 +
 505.141 +"That's sick.  That's just sick.  You're sick.  I don't believe you.  How can you do this?  It's wrong.  It's disgusting," Chelsea ranted.  Looking angrier than Sakura or Madison had ever seen her, Chelsea turned and entered the classroom.
 505.142 +
 505.143 +Nikki and Rita followed.  Nikki's face held a trace of fear as she glanced at Madison and Sakura.  Rita didn't even look.
 505.144 +
 505.145 +Sakura and Madison stood there, dumbstruck at how the people they called friends had reacted to their confession.
 505.146 +
 505.147 +*   *   *
 505.148 +
 505.149 +Their class was outside for Physical Education during the morning.  It gave classmates a chance to talk while waiting for their turn to play.
 505.150 +
 505.151 +Sakura looked over at where Chelsea, Rita, and Nikki were pointedly ignoring them.  "I can't believe them.  I thought they were our friends!" she said, angry and sad at the same time.
 505.152 +
 505.153 +"I knew that some people wouldn't understand...but I never expected our friends to be like that!" Madison said, still stunned.
 505.154 +
 505.155 +*   *   *
 505.156 +
 505.157 +Had Zachary know what was going to happen, he never would have told.  He, himself, didn't really care about whether Madison and Sakura were in love.  They were his friends one way or another.  It just didn't really matter to him.
 505.158 +
 505.159 +And that's why, when someone noted that Chelsea, Nikki, and Rita seemed to be avoiding Madison and Sakura, he told.  He had figured out that those three must have been having problems with Madison Sakura because of that.  Because it didn't make much of a difference to him, Zachary just sort of assumed that it wouldn't be a big deal to anyone else.
 505.160 +
 505.161 +And so he just casually told that person, and anyone within earshot, that Sakura and Madison were in love.
 505.162 +
 505.163 +*   *   *
 505.164 +
 505.165 +Word travels quickly in Middle School, riding along one of the fastest transports in creation: the gossipy tongue.
 505.166 +
 505.167 +This fact was evident as Sakura and Madison entered the cafeteria.  The moment they entered, a hush descended upon all gathered.  All eyes locked on them.  The two uncomfortably waked through the cafeteria, looking for somewhere to sit.  Each table they passed exuded a hostile aura.  Finally, they sat down at the far end of the cafeteria at a rickety old table that no one else ever sat at.
 505.168 +
 505.169 +"This is ridiculous," Sakura said to Madison.  "I could tell them that my stuffed animal talks and get less attention!  I could tell them that I catch rampaging, magical cards with the key I wear around my neck, and I'd attract less stares!"
 505.170 +
 505.171 +Eventually, conversations began to once again echo through the lunchroom.  Even so, from the many people glancing at them off and on, Sakura and Madison were uncomfortably aware that most of the conversations were centered around them.
 505.172 +
 505.173 +*   *   *
 505.174 +
 505.175 +"What a lousy day," Sakura grumbled.  "First we lose our friends, then the whole school won't speak to us."
 505.176 +
 505.177 +The rest of that school day had been much like lunch: people whispering about them, once-friendly classmates silently making it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the two girls.
 505.178 +
 505.179 +Now, as they walked home to Sakura's house, they were both reflecting on their miserable day.
 505.180 +
 505.181 +Madison slipped her hand into Sakura's and said optimistically, "Maybe some of them just need time.  Eventually, they'll just accept it."
 505.182 +
 505.183 +Sakura looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled.  "Yeah.  They'll probably be over it before long.  Maybe things'll be better tomorrow," Sakura said hopefully.
 505.184 +
 505.185 +But the next day, they would discover that their hopes had been in vain.
 505.186 +
 505.187 +*   *   *
 505.188 +
 505.189 +Sakura was surprised the next morning when she arrived at school.  As she approached the Middle School, she couldn't see Madison anywhere near the entrance to the school.
 505.190 +
 505.191 +Sakura frowned.  Madison always waited at the entrance for her in the mornings, even if doing so made them both late to class.
 505.192 +
 505.193 +Sakura shrugged.  Madison must not have been felling well, or maybe she had an appointment of some sort that morning.
 505.194 +
 505.195 +Sakura was about to enter the school when she caught just the faintest sound of voices coming from around the building.  One sounded like Madison's.
 505.196 +
 505.197 +Sakura quickly went to investigate.  On turning the corner, she saw three people.  The first two were large, bulky, fairly unintelligent-looking brutes known as Zilch and Weasel.  These two bullies were known by all Middle School students as the only seventeen-year-olds still attending eighth grade.  Thanks to being held back for several years, they were easily the biggest kids in the entire school.
 505.198 +
 505.199 +The third person Sakura saw was Madison, backed into a corner by the two thugs, terror plainly visible on her face.
 505.200 +
 505.201 +Zilch was talking at the moment, slurring with the heavy accent acquired from intoxication.  "So you're the little punk that everyone's been talking about.  We can't have trash like you around our school, you'll give it a bad name."
 505.202 +
 505.203 +"What are you going to do to me?" Madison asked, her voice quaking with fear.
 505.204 +
 505.205 +Weasel, sounding even more drunk than his partner, answered, "We're gonna get you outta school by puttin' you in the hospital."
 505.206 +
 505.207 +As fast as was humanly possible, Sakura transformed the Clow Key into the Sealing Wand, threw out both the Power and the Fight cards at once, and released their power.  Thankfully, there was no one around to witness the spectacle.  Although, with her love in danger, Sakura wouldn't have cared if the whole town had been watching.
 505.208 +
 505.209 +Sakura ran over, yelling, "Leave her alone!"
 505.210 +
 505.211 +Weasel grinned nastily.  "It's the other one, Zilch.  Let's beat'em both up!" he slurred.
 505.212 +
 505.213 +"Watch out, Sakura!" Madison yelled.
 505.214 +
 505.215 +Weasel stumbled over to Sakura and hurled his fist at her.  Thanks to the Fight Card, though, Sakura had the fighting skills of a master martial artist, and easily dodged the clumsy attack.
 505.216 +
 505.217 +As Weasel's fist flew past her head, Sakura grabbed Weasel's outstretched arm and, thanks to the Power Card, effortlessly threw it aside with such force that the drunken bully was thrown completely off balance.  As he awkwardly tried to regain his footing, Sakura swept her leg around and knocked him off his feet.  With a heavy thud, Weasel hit the concrete.
 505.218 +
 505.219 +Zilch lurched forward to confront her next.  He charged her, thinking to grab her.  As he approached, however, Sakura nimbly ducked aside, and as he passed by, she side-kicked him in the stomach.  Zilch flew several feet before landing facedown on the cold concrete.
 505.220 +
 505.221 +Neither Weasel nor Zilch got back up.  Both were unconscious, whether from hitting their heads on the concrete, or just passing out as a result of too much alcohol.  Or perhaps both.
 505.222 +
 505.223 +Sakura ran to Madison, who was sitting on the ground crying.  "Are you okay, Madison?  Did they hurt you?  If they did, I swear I'll..."
 505.224 +
 505.225 +Madison shook her head and said tearfully, "No, I'm okay.  It's just that I was so scared!"
 505.226 +
 505.227 +Sakura draped her arms around her beloved Madison and said softly, "Don't worry.  I'll make sure this never happens again.  From now on, I'll be here early every day.  I'll never let you out of my sight."
 505.228 +
 505.229 +Madison hugged Sakura.  "Thank you, Sakura.  I love you."
 505.230 +
 505.231 +"I love you, too, Madison," Sakura replied gently.
 505.232 +
 505.233 +*   *   *
 505.234 +
 505.235 +Sakura and Madison entered their classroom fifteen minutes late.  Their teacher frowned in annoyance, but didn't look all that surprised.  Sakura was frequently late, and the teacher had given up punishing her long since.
 505.236 +
 505.237 +Madison had not sat down for more than five minutes when she felt something bounce off her back.  Turning, she saw a piece of crumpled paper lying on the ground.  It was too small to be meant as a note of any kind.  It had simply been thrown to irritate her.
 505.238 +
 505.239 +She turned back around, and was soon hit by another piece of paper.  After a minute, she felt an eraser bounce off her shoulder.  Looking over at Sakura, she saw that she, too, was being assaulted by thrown objects.
 505.240 +
 505.241 +And so went the first period of the day.  Every minute or so, something new bounced off her.  She and Sakura desperately tried to ignore it.  The teacher didn't seem to notice.
 505.242 +
 505.243 +Bad as first period was, though, second was worse.  Because in second period, their History teacher actually seemed to encourage their classmates.  To begin with, when Sakura raised her hand and complained that someone had thrown a pen at her, he simply sneered at her and told her to sit down.
 505.244 +
 505.245 +Needless to say, this unspoken permission to carry on did not deter the class at all.
 505.246 +
 505.247 +Worst of all, the teacher began picking on Sakura and Madison.  He asked them impossible questions, ridiculed them when they answered incorrectly, and generally made their lives miserable as only a cruel teacher can.
 505.248 +
 505.249 +This obvious cruelty of their teacher left Sakura and Madison stunned.  How could a teacher behave this way?  How could a teacher act no better than his students?
 505.250 +
 505.251 +It was just so unfair.
 505.252 +
 505.253 +*   *   *
 505.254 +
 505.255 +Lunchtime finally arrived, and Madison and Sakura were once again sitting in the back at the rickety, shaky old table.
 505.256 +
 505.257 +Students put away their paper, pens, and erasers in favor of a new projectile: food.
 505.258 +
 505.259 +As old pieces of food began to come flying at them, Madison remarked gloomily, "I miss yesterday.  At least when they stared at us they didn't throw anything."
 505.260 +
 505.261 +Sakura sighed as some cafeteria glop landed near her hand.  "I should have brought the Shield Card."
 505.262 +
 505.263 +"Mind if we sit with you?" came a voice behind them.
 505.264 +
 505.265 +Sakura and Madison turned to see Li and Meilin standing there.
 505.266 +
 505.267 +"Um...sure, Li," Sakura said in surprise.
 505.268 +
 505.269 +Meilin and Li sat down, but not before Li gave the rest of the cafeteria a stone-chipping glare.  The volume of projectile food in the air decreased significantly.
 505.270 +
 505.271 +"Listen, Li, Meilin...you don't have to sit with us.  There's a good chance that you'll lose your friends," Madison warned.
 505.272 +
 505.273 +"You're the only friends we have," Li said with a shrug.
 505.274 +
 505.275 +"And...you're okay with us?" Sakura asked.
 505.276 +
 505.277 +Li frowned.  "Why wouldn't I be?  You two haven't changed at all.  You're the same as you were before."
 505.278 +
 505.279 +Meilin smiled and grabbed Li's arm.  "So long as you're not after Li, I don't care."
 505.280 +
 505.281 +Sakura could have broken down and wept from relief.  Here were two people who were willing to just accept them and be done with it.  It almost seemed too good to be true.
 505.282 +
 505.283 +Madison smiled.  "Thanks, you two.  You're true friends."  She glanced over at where Chelsea, Nikki, and Rita sat.  "Better friends than some."
 505.284 +
 505.285 +Meilin followed her gaze and frowned.  "You know, I was talking to them earlier.  Chelsea's really angry with you two, but she doesn't seem to be able to give any specific reasons why, other than 'It's wrong'.  Nikki seems to be really frightened of you two.  Rita actually doesn't seem to really care that much, but I think she's afraid to side with you," Meilin informed them.
 505.286 +
 505.287 +"That's probably the way most people feel, actually," Li remarked.  "They wouldn't bother you, but they're under pressure from the jerks to make your lives miserable."
 505.288 +
 505.289 +"Maybe after a while, the jerks will get tired of bothering you, and everyone else will stop when the jerks do," Meilin said encouragingly.
 505.290 +
 505.291 +"Yeah...but until then, we've got to put up with this," Sakura said gloomily as a paper cup bounced off her back.
 505.292 +
 505.293 +*   *   *
 505.294 +
 505.295 +Thanks to Li and Meilin, lunch had been a much better experience than it could have been.  Even though Li didn't do much talking and Meilin mostly talked about Li, Sakura and Madison were very grateful to have friends to sit with and talk to.  Li may have made it sound like no big deal, but Madison and Sakura knew that it must have taken a great deal of courage to publicly show that they were still friends.  Li and Meilin were risking a lot.  They could be persecuted for their loyalty just as badly as Sakura and Madison were being for their love.
 505.296 +
 505.297 +Once lunch was over, though, the day once again went downhill.
 505.298 +
 505.299 +For the rest of the day, Sakura and Madison were assaulted by another projectile: spitballs.  Several students had constructed spitball launchers during Lunch, and were now firing a barrage of juvenile artillery at the two girls.
 505.300 +
 505.301 +Throughout this bombardment, Sakura and Madison sat silently, vainly trying to concentrate on what was being taught.
 505.302 +
 505.303 +Some relief came during Math class.  Their teacher, Mr. Joy, was a fairly nice person, but he didn't tolerate students disrupting his class.  So it came as no surprise that when one boy shot a rubber band at Madison, Mr. Joy demanded that the boy stand in the hall for the rest of the class, then join him after school for detention.
 505.304 +
 505.305 +The boy protested to Mr. Joy.  "But, sir, they're freaks.  They're lesbians."  He pronounced this last word with particular contempt and disgust.  The blind, ignorant hatred in his voice sent a shiver down Sakura's back.
 505.306 +
 505.307 +Mr. Joy was unimpressed.  "My students' love lives hold very little relevance to mathematics, and are therefore none of my concern.  My business is educating them, and I will not have fellow students attempt to disrupt their education.  Now get in the hallway.  I don't expect to see you again until after school hours."
 505.308 +
 505.309 +Madison and Sakura's gratitude to Mr. Joy was immense.  After all their other teachers hadn't noticed or hadn't cared, one had finally stood up for them and treated them as equals.
 505.310 +
 505.311 +Math was the last class of the day, and so Sakura and Madison got to spend the last period of the day comfortably with nothing being thrown, shot, launched, or tossed at them.
 505.312 +
 505.313 +*   *   *
 505.314 +
 505.315 +Once the final bell had rung, though, both Sakura and Madison realized that their day was not over yet.  Today was Friday, and on Fridays, Madison had Choir practice and Sakura had Cheerleading practice.  Once again, they would be facing their peers, only this time, they'd be without the other's reassuring presence.
 505.316 +
 505.317 +Still, even though they had every reason to fear the worst, both tried to remain cheerful and optimistic.
 505.318 +
 505.319 +"Well, Madison, I've got Cheerleading practice, so I'll see you later, okay?" Sakura said.
 505.320 +
 505.321 +Madison nodded.  "Yeah.  I'll meet you in the front lobby."
 505.322 +
 505.323 +The girls went their separate ways.
 505.324 +
 505.325 +*   *   *
 505.326 +
 505.327 +As Sakura approached the girl's locker room, she saw her instructor standing at the entrance.  When the coach saw Sakura, she hurried over.
 505.328 +
 505.329 +"Hey, Coach," Sakura greeted her.
 505.330 +
 505.331 +The coach did not look happy.  "Sakura, I've received a great deal of complaints from students about you being on this team.  Normally, I would disregard these complaints because I know you to be a decent girl.  However, I'm in a very bad position.  I think it would be best if you left the squad."
 505.332 +
 505.333 +Sakura was shocked, not for the first time that day, at the total unfairness of it all.  "But Coach, why?  I haven't even done anything!"
 505.334 +
 505.335 +Her coach sighed.  "Please try to understand my position.  If word leaks out that I've let a girl with your...preferences on the squad, things could get out of hand.  Parents will complain; some may go as far as to remove their daughters from the team.  The media would hear about it, and the team, perhaps even the school, would get a lot of negative publicity.  It's going to be a very bad situation."
 505.336 +
 505.337 +"So you're kicking me off the squad?" Sakura asked, her heart sinking.
 505.338 +
 505.339 +The coach sighed again.  "No, I won't force you off the squad.  I'll let you decide what you want to do.  If you want to stay, I'll support you."
 505.340 +
 505.341 +Sakura appreciated that.  Her coach could easily lose her job in a situation like the one she'd described, and become the target of public harrassment.  But she was still unwilling to force Sakura off the squad.  Still willing to risk her career to help Sakura if need be.
 505.342 +
 505.343 +But Sakura wouldn't let that happen.  She forced a smile and said, "Thanks, Coach.  I appreciate that, but I'll just leave the squad."
 505.344 +
 505.345 +The coach looked sad and relieved at the same time.  "Thank you, Sakura.  I'm very sorry that this had to happen."
 505.346 +
 505.347 +Sakura turned and slowly walked to the front lobby to wait for Madison to get out of Choir.
 505.348 +
 505.349 +*   *   *
 505.350 +
 505.351 +Madison found that Choir was no longer enjoyable for her.  Kids glared at her.  The instructor had become cold and distant towards her, and looked as though he had to suppress saying something every time he saw her.
 505.352 +
 505.353 +Still, she tried to ignore this once everyone began singing.  She tried to lose herself in the song.
 505.354 +
 505.355 +For a while, this seemed to work.  She closed her eyes and sang, thinking of nothing more than the song's rhythm and flow.
 505.356 +
 505.357 +Halfway through the song, though, she felt something hit her head.  It felt like a thrown eraser, but it had not bounced off.
 505.358 +
 505.359 +She stopped singing and gingerly felt to see what it was.  Her fingers felt something moist and sticky.  Chewed-up gum.
 505.360 +
 505.361 +Trying hard to keep her tears at bay, Madison raised her hand.  The teacher stopped the song and asked in an annoyed voice, "What is it?"
 505.362 +
 505.363 +"Could I be excused for a moment?" Madison asked, voice trembling.
 505.364 +
 505.365 +The instructor motioned to the door.  "Go."
 505.366 +
 505.367 +Madison walked out of the room among suppressed giggles.  She headed for the bathroom across the hall, grabbing a pair of scissors as she went.
 505.368 +
 505.369 +Once in the bathroom, she looked in the mirror.  A wave of relief swept over her.  The gum only clung to a small portion of her hair, and it wasn't very deep.  It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  A few snips and it was out without removing a large section of her hair.  She just hoped Sakura wouldn't notice.
 505.370 +
 505.371 +Having removed the gum, she headed back to Choir practice, but stopped outside the door when she heard her name mentioned inside.  She pressed her ear against the door and eavesdropped.
 505.372 +
 505.373 +One girl was complaining, "Why don't you kick her off, sir?  None of us want her here."
 505.374 +
 505.375 +Madison's instructor answered,  "I would truly like to, but I'm afraid I can't.  Her mother is far too wealthy and influential for me to do anything about it."
 505.376 +
 505.377 +Madison had heard enough.  She opened the door and went inside.  She walked up to her instructor, and told him that she was no longer interested in Choir.  Which was true.  If they were going to act like this, she wasn't interested in staying just because her mother happened to be rich.  Then she turned, grabbed her things, and left, headed for the lobby.
 505.378 +
 505.379 +*   *   *
 505.380 +
 505.381 +"Sakura!  Why are you here so early?"
 505.382 +
 505.383 +Surprised, Sakura turned and saw Madison.  She hadn't been expecting to see Madison for another half-hour.
 505.384 +
 505.385 +"Madison?  You're pretty early.  Did Choir get out early today?" Sakura asked.
 505.386 +
 505.387 +Madison lowered her eyes and said, "I wasn't wanted there.  I decided to leave.  But what about you?  Why aren't you at Cheerleading practice?  Did you..."
 505.388 +
 505.389 +Sakura nodded.  "Yeah.  I had to quit," she said miserably.
 505.390 +
 505.391 +They started walking home to Sakura's house.
 505.392 +
 505.393 +Sakura talked while they walked.  "This has been the worst day of my life.  Our classmates hate us, our friends hate us and our teachers hate us or ignore us.  We get kicked off our after-school activities.  We get harassed in class.  Everywhere we go, someone bothers us.  It's just not fair!"
 505.394 +
 505.395 +As she talked, tears were forming in her eyes.  Now they began to fall.  She stopped, sat down on a bench, and began to cry, letting all the pent-up anger and sadness out.
 505.396 +
 505.397 +Madison sat next to her and held her close, providing Sakura a shoulder to cry on.  Seeing Sakura so miserable made Madison feel terrible.
 505.398 +
 505.399 +"It's just not fair!  Why do they treat us like this?  Why is everyone so cruel?" Sakura sobbed.
 505.400 +
 505.401 +Madison couldn't stand to see her beloved Sakura so miserable.  She took a deep breath.  "Sakura?"
 505.402 +
 505.403 +Sakura sat up, tears still trickling down her face.  "Yes, Madison?"
 505.404 +
 505.405 +Madison paused.  She knew what might happen if she said this.  But horrible the consequences might be to herself, if it could make Sakura happy again, it was worth it.
 505.406 +
 505.407 +"Sakura if you want to stop this...if you don't want us to keep going like this...it's okay.  If it'll make you happy, we can stop.  We can just be friends again, and everything can be normal again," Madison said.
 505.408 +
 505.409 +Sakura sat stunned.  It was as if someone had thrown a pail of water at her face.  What was wrong with her!?  Here she was, losing herself to self-pity.  Why, Madison was going through the same ordeal!  How could she be so self-absorbed?
 505.410 +
 505.411 +And over what?  So some people didn't like her anymore.  So some teachers didn't approve.  So she wasn't a cheerleader any more.  So what?  None of that was important.  Not really.
 505.412 +
 505.413 +Everything that was important was sitting next to her.  The important thing was that Madison loved her, and she loved Madison.  Nothing else mattered.
 505.414 +
 505.415 +Sakura smiled and dried her face.  "I'm sorry Madison.  I'm being stupid.  I've been focusing on the little things.  The important thing is that we have each other."
 505.416 +
 505.417 +"But if you're not happy, Sakura..."
 505.418 +
 505.419 +Sakura shook her head.  "Madison, I'm happier than I've ever been.  Being with you makes me happy.  As long as I have you, I'll always be happy."
 505.420 +
 505.421 +Joy, and perhaps just a little relief, shone on Madison's face.  "And I'm happy when you're happy, Sakura."
 505.422 +
 505.423 +Their arms encircled each other, and they gently hugged one another.
 505.424 +
 505.425 +"I'll always be there for you, Madison.  Regardless of what else happens, my love for you will remain solid," Sakura said softly.
 505.426 +
 505.427 +"And whatever the future holds, I'll be there for you," answered Madison.
 505.428 +
 505.429 +Things would not be easy, they knew.  But they also knew that they would always have the strength to overcome these obstacles.  Their love would see them through.
 505.430 +
 505.431 +The End
 505.432 +
 505.433 +
 505.434 +Epilogue
 505.435 +One month later...
 505.436 +
 505.437 +Sakura and Madison sat in the park together, enjoying the cool night.  Both thought about the past month.  So much had happened.
 505.438 +
 505.439 +They'd told their families about their love the weekend after being released from Cheerleading and Choir.  They figured that their families would eventually find out anyway, if not from them, then from rumors and such.  Madison's mother had been very understanding and even encouraging.  So, surprisingly, had Tori.  Actually, considering the time that he spent with Julian, perhaps it was not so surprising after all.  Sakura's father had also been understanding, saying that as long as she was happy with this, he didn't mind.
 505.440 +
 505.441 +Li and Meilin had stayed their steadfast friends throughout it all.  Li was a very deep and caring person once you got to know him.  And so long as no one was trying to steal Li away from her, Meilin was a very kind, thoughtful person.
 505.442 +
 505.443 +Eventually, after the first two weeks, the students in school moved on to other things.  The bullies moved on to newer, fresher targets, only harassing Sakura and Madison every now and then.  With the peer pressure to torment gone, most students just left the girls alone.  Not quite accepting them, but at least getting used to them.
 505.444 +
 505.445 +Chelsea still refused to speak to them, and Nikki still seemed to fear them.  Occasionally, Rita would give Sakura and Madison a small, almost sad smile in the hallways, as if to say privately that she would like to be their friend, but didn't want to be on the receiving end of all the public persecution.  Maybe someday, after a long time, they could again be friends.
 505.446 +
 505.447 +Zilch and Weasel hadn't bothered them again, not even trying to take revenge for their humiliating defeat (actually, Sakura suspected that they didn't even remember the whole ordeal, drunk as they'd been at the time).
 505.448 +
 505.449 +Of course, not everything was right.  Some people still hated Madison and Sakura, and continued to attempt to make their lives miserable.  But thankfully, such people were a minority.
 505.450 +
 505.451 +Yes, overall, things had gotten better.  They were still teased and bullied sometimes, but nowhere nearly as bad as in the days immediately following that dance.
 505.452 +
 505.453 +"It's been exactly a month since our fateful dance, Sakura," Madison said.
 505.454 +
 505.455 +"Yeah.  A lot has happened since then, but I think it's been worth it," Sakura said, smiling lovingly at Madison.
 505.456 +
 505.457 +"Me, too," Madison agreed, smiling back.
 505.458 +
 505.459 +Talking about dancing gave Sakura an idea.  She took out a Clow Card and said, "Hey, Madison, speaking of dancing..."
 505.460 +
 505.461 +She released the power of the card Float.  Slowly, she and Madison ascended higher and higher until finally, their feet rested on top of a cloud.
 505.462 +
 505.463 +Sakura bowed.  "May I have this dance, fair princess?"
 505.464 +
 505.465 +"For now and eternity," Madison replied, smiling.
 505.466 +
 505.467 +They danced amongst a sea of stars and upon a sea of clouds.  Tomorrow would be another hard day, but regardless of the hardships, they would have each other.  For now, they could dance.

   506.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   506.2 +++ b/stories/tshower.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   506.3 @@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
   506.4 +The Shower
   506.5 +By: Miss ParaPara
   506.6 +E-mail: missparapara@hotmail.com
   506.7 +
   506.8 +
   506.9 +" That was quite a work out, Chibiusa-chan." Hotaru & her friend had just 
  506.10 +playing a game of baseball with Usagi & her friends. They were now at 
  506.11 +Chibiusa's house, while Usagi & her friends went to go to the game centre. 
  506.12 +Shingo, Mr & Mrs.Tsukino had left for the day to do some clothes shopping. So 
  506.13 +they were the only two home.
  506.14 +
  506.15 +	Hotaru was feeling kind of weak, and suggestions that she take a 
  506.16 +shower.
  506.17 +
  506.18 +	" Sure go ahead," replied Chibiusa," I need one myself. I don't want 
  506.19 +to stink like Usagi!" Chibiusa liked to make fun of Usagi every chance she 
  506.20 +got.
  506.21 +
  506.22 +	" Well you can go first then." Said Hotaru as she wiped some sweat 
  506.23 +from her forehead. " This is your house afterall".
  506.24 +
  506.25 +	" Oh no Hotaru-chan. You are my guest you should go first." Chibiusa 
  506.26 +poured two glasses of lemonade. She gave one glass to Hotaru.
  506.27 +
  506.28 +	Moments passed as the girls drank their juice, neither one could 
  506.29 +decided who should have their shower first. Just then Hotaru got an idea.
  506.30 +
  506.31 +	" Why can't we take a shower together. It would save on hot water 
  506.32 +plus then we're both even". Hotaru took off her dirty sneakers.
  506.33 +
  506.34 +	" Great idea, Hotaru. Follow me." Chibiusa lead Hotaru into her 
  506.35 +bathroom. Hotaru could see that the Tsukinos' had a large bath.
  506.36 +
  506.37 +	" It should fit both of us." Chibiusa started to take off her 
  506.38 +clothes. Hotaru just starred. For such a young girl Chibiusa had nice, round 
  506.39 +breasts. When she took off her bra, the cold air made her nibbles a little 
  506.40 +hard. Next Chibiusa took off her shorts & panties! Chibiusa had a small patch 
  506.41 +of pink pubic hair growing on her young pussy. While Hotaru starred, Chibiusa 
  506.42 +turned on the shower and got it at the right temperature. When she turned 
  506.43 +around she noticed that Hotaru was still clothed. Maybe she's just shy, 
  506.44 +Chibiusa thought to herself.
  506.45 +
  506.46 +	" Come on Hotaru," Chibiusa touched her friend on the arm. Hotaru 
  506.47 +stopped looking at Chibiusa's naked body. " You have to take your clothes off 
  506.48 +to take a shower. Wearing clothes in the shower is silly."
  506.49 +
  506.50 +	" I see." was Hotaru's reply. She stripped down. Hotaru was only a 
  506.51 +year older than Chibiusa, but she was much more developed. Her breasts were 
  506.52 +large for her age. Her pussy was covered in dark hair. Hotaru also liked to 
  506.53 +masturbated at night and wasn't sure if Chibiusa did that or not.
  506.54 +
  506.55 +	The two got into the shower. They washed their hair and bodies. 
  506.56 +Hotaru liked this. Never in her life had she seen another female nude. She 
  506.57 +could feel her body react to this new sight. She started to get turn on and 
  506.58 +pre cum started to form between her legs. Chibiusa on the other hand didn't 
  506.59 +find that taking a shower with another girl was a big. She was used to taking 
  506.60 +bathes with Usagi. She was running her hair under the shower when she heard a 
  506.61 +loud thud. She turned around to see Hotaru laying in the tub.
  506.62 +
  506.63 +	" Hotaru!" Chibiusa shook her friend," Speak to me. Are you alright?" 
  506.64 +Hotaru didn't answer.
  506.65 +
  506.66 +	" Oh no," Chibiusa cried," She must have had a seizure." She turned 
  506.67 +off the water and dragged Hotaru out of the tub. She carried her to her 
  506.68 +bedroom and laid her on the bed.
  506.69 +
  506.70 +	" Don't worry Hotaru-chan," Chibiusa said as she went out the door," 
  506.71 +I'll call for help." Chibiusa went for the phone.
  506.72 +
  506.73 +	" No need, Chibiusa-chan," replied Hotaru in a weak voice," I'm O.K. 
  506.74 +I have seizures all the time. I feel fine now." Hotaru looked at Chibiusa, 
  506.75 +who was still wet & naked.
  506.76 +
  506.77 +	Chibiusa went over to the bed.
  506.78 +
  506.79 +	" Are you sure you're O.K.? Is there anything I can do for you?"
  506.80 +
  506.81 +	" Can I have a towel to dry off?" Hotaru asked.
  506.82 +
  506.83 +	Chibiusa returned with two towels & they dried off. Once again Hotaru 
  506.84 +began to get turned on. She wanted so much to touch Chibiusa's beautiful 
  506.85 +body.
  506.86 +
  506.87 +	" Chibiusa," Hotaru said after they were both dry," There is one more 
  506.88 +thing you can do for me. But I don't know if you would." Hotaru hung her head 
  506.89 +in shame.
  506.90 +
  506.91 +	" What is it?" asked Chibiusa," You know I'll do anything for you. 
  506.92 +You are my best friend." She looked at Hotaru laying nude on the bed.
  506.93 +
  506.94 +	" Um.. well.. Chibiusa would you make love to me?" Hotaru blushed. 
  506.95 +She had a feeling that Chibiusa was going to get mad at her.
  506.96 +
  506.97 +	Chibiusa smiled. She bend over and kissed Hotaru softly on the lips. 
  506.98 +She too had always wanted to make love with her friend.
  506.99 +
 506.100 +	" Sure. I'll pleasure you. Afterall I love you Hotaru." Chibiusa 
 506.101 +
 506.102 +kissed Hotaru once again this time she slid her tongue into Hotaru's mouth. 
 506.103 +Hotaru did the same. Their tongues danced and passion formed in their hearts.
 506.104 +
 506.105 +	Hotaru's hand moved down to her friends' soft breasts. She knead them 
 506.106 +in her hands, her fingers gently squeezing Chibiusa's hard nibbles.
 506.107 +
 506.108 +	" You have beautiful tits. May I suck them?" Hotaru asked. Chibiusa 
 506.109 +answered with a soft yes. Hotaru licked Chibiusa's nibbles, sending bolts of 
 506.110 +excitement though Chibiusa's body. She could feel her juices form between her 
 506.111 +legs. She started to play with Hotaru's large breasts.
 506.112 +
 506.113 +	Hotaru then started to feel adventurous. She ran her hands all over 
 506.114 +Chibiusa's body. She ran her forefinger between Chibiusa's pussy lips.
 506.115 +
 506.116 +	" Do you ever masturbate?" Hotaru asked.
 506.117 +
 506.118 +	" Yeah all the time. Oh Hotaru I love you playing with my pussy."
 506.119 +
 506.120 +	Hotaru kept fingering Chibiusa, while Chibiusa sucked on her friend's 
 506.121 +tits. But after a while Chibiusa started to masturbate Hotaru.
 506.122 +
 506.123 +	The sensation was too much for the two. They both came on each 
 506.124 +other's fingers.
 506.125 +
 506.126 +	" Let's taste." Hotaru put her finger in her mouth. Chibiusa's juices 
 506.127 +were sweet like honey.
 506.128 +
 506.129 +	Chibiusa tasted Hotaru's cum. It was delicious. It tasted like a 
 506.130 +combination of chocolate and candy. Chibiusa had a new idea.
 506.131 +
 506.132 +	" Do you want to get in a 69 position?" She asked. Hotaru didn't know 
 506.133 +what a 69 position was, but Chibiusa showed her. Pretty soon both girls were 
 506.134 +faced with each others soaked, hot pussies. Chibiusa made the first move. She 
 506.135 +started to lick the outer lips of Hotaru's cunt. This was turning Hotaru on 
 506.136 +even more. Chibiusa continued to put her tongue deeper into the girl. 
 506.137 +Hotaru's hot cum excited Chibiusa's taste buds.
 506.138 +
 506.139 +	Hotaru knew her friend needed pleasure too. She stuck her tongue 
 506.140 +inside Chibiusa and she licked the beautiful young lovebox. Chibiusa then 
 506.141 +stuck a finger inside Hotaru and fingered her outer lips and clit, while at 
 506.142 +the same time eating her pussy. Hotaru did the same.
 506.143 +
 506.144 +	" I'm cumming!" Both girls yelled at the same time. Once again they 
 506.145 +came at the same time. Each girl had a load of cum on her face & lips. This 
 506.146 +time they licked their cum off each other. Then they laid on the bed. Hotaru 
 506.147 +put her arm around Chibiusa.
 506.148 +
 506.149 +	" I love you Chibiusa. Thank you."
 506.150 +
 506.151 +	" I love you too. Now we need to clean up. We can't be covered in cum 
 506.152 +when Usagi & the others get here. You up for another shower?"
 506.153 +
 506.154 +..........................................................................
 506.155 +
 506.156 +Did you like it? Please e-mail me at<missparapara.hotmail.com>
 506.157 +
 506.158 +	
 506.159 +
 506.160 +
 506.161 +

   507.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   507.2 +++ b/stories/underneath.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   507.3 @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
   507.4 +Underneith My heart is yours 
   507.5 +By: Nakura
   507.6 +wildblackflower@hotmail.com
   507.7 +
   507.8 +Hello! This is Nakura, the author of this story. This is a fic about Sakura and Tomoyo when they are about sixteen. I have altered the story a little, so that the clow cards did not come to Sakura yet. It works better with the story. Okay, well this story is rated R which means it may contain bad language and sexual references. But this will not be a lemon unless I decide it is. O_^ Now, On with the story! 
   507.9 +
  507.10 +
  507.11 +~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~ ~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~
  507.12 +
  507.13 +"That's it, Sakura-chan! Keep it coming!" yelled a pale girl with dark lavender hair. Her stormy blue eyes hid behind a camera, and she had a beautiful smile on her face. 
  507.14 +"Tomoyo, you know I can't model as good as the girls on television! I will never win this competition!" said the girl the camera was pointed at. Her light brown hair was brushed neatly and her sea green eyes shone. She secretly loved these camera sesions with her dear friend Tomoyo. "And don't you think this outfit is a little dull for a beauty pagent?" 
  507.15 +"This is just a practice outfit, silly! The real dress is to good to mess up!" Tomoyo laughed. "With a little help and a great outfit, you can beat them all anyday! I know it!" 
  507.16 +Sakura sighed. "The things I do for you, Tomoyo-chan. Sometimes I just can't say no to you." 
  507.17 +"Good! Now lets work a little more on your faces. Give me that beaming smile of yours, Sakura!" Sakura smiled and blushed a bit. Tomoyo started to laugh. 
  507.18 +"What? Am I that horable?" asked Sakura with a hurt voice. 
  507.19 +"No, of course not!" said Tomoyo. "It's just that..." Tomoyo thought a 
  507.20 +minute. 'No, this isn't the right time.' she said to herself. "Oh, never mind." 
  507.21 +
  507.22 +
  507.23 +~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~ ~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~
  507.24 +
  507.25 +Sakura and Tomoyo were watching the movies they made of Sakura's modeling. Sakura had to admit, she did a pretty good job. She watched as she made a pouting face, then gave a suductive glance. She didn't notice how Tomoyo blushed at Sakura's look. 
  507.26 +She watched as she showed off the grey dress Tomoyo had made just for praticing her modeling in. It was low cut in the front and back and hugged her body in all the right places. In the side was a long slit to show off her legs. Matching sandels went with it. She couldn't wait to see the dress that Tomoyo made for her to actually compete in. If this one was pretty, the next one would be drop dead gorgeous! 
  507.27 +Tomoyo stole a passing glance at Sakura and sighed. "I guess we better go to bed." Sakura was to spend the night with Tomoyo until they could go to America for the contest tomorrow. 
  507.28 +"Hai, I'm sleepy!" said Sakura, letting out a long yawn. Sakura grabbed her bag and took out her pajamas. "Why don't I go change in the bathroom, while you use your room?" she asked Tomoyo who was taking the tape out of her VCR. 
  507.29 +"Okay," said Tomoyo with a small sigh. Sakura walked out of the room and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. "Why do you do this to me Sakura?" Tomoyo asked herself as she changed. "Oh, Sakura, why can I not tell you how I really feel? Why can I not express my love to you the way I really want to?" 
  507.30 +"Tomoyo, are you almost done?" called Sakura's voice into the room. 
  507.31 +"Just a minute!" Tomoyo called back as she finished dressing. "Okay!" 
  507.32 +Sakura opened the door and walked into the room. She was wearing a baby blue spagetti stap shirt and sleeping boxers. She walked over to the bed and motioned for Tomoyo to follow her. They got into bed, and soon Sakura was fast asleep. 
  507.33 +
  507.34 +
  507.35 +~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~ ~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~
  507.36 +
  507.37 +Sakura awoke with a start. She thought she heard someone downstairs. Nervously, she turned to wake Tomoyo up to alert her, but she found only rumpled sheets where her friend had been. Sakura got up and started to walk downstairs. 
  507.38 +The noise was steadilly getting louder until she reached the downstairs bathroom. She peeked in the room through a crack in the door and gasped. Inisde was Tomoyo with her hand between her legs. She was giving small coos of pleasure as she grasped a photo. Sakura was about to turn away when her friend gave a large cry of extasy and dropped the photo. Sakura gasped... it was a photo of her! 
  507.39 +Sakura quickly ran upstairs and hoped Tomoyo had not seen her. 
  507.40 +
  507.41 +
  507.42 +~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~ ~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~
  507.43 +
  507.44 +"Wake up, Sakura-chan! We are going to be late!" cried Tomoyo. "The plane leaves in two hours!" 
  507.45 +Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Did you load up the car yet?" 
  507.46 +"Yeah, Except for the stuff we need for this morning." 
  507.47 +Tomoyo quickly gave Sakura her outfit, put Sakura's makeup on, and got her hair done. Then she finished loading up the car and they were on their way. 
  507.48 +
  507.49 +"Tomoyo-chan?" asked Sakura neviously. 
  507.50 +"Yes Sakura?" 
  507.51 +"... Never mind..." 
  507.52 +'Does Tomoyo really have feelings for me?' 
  507.53 +
  507.54 +
  507.55 +~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~ ~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~,~
  507.56 +
  507.57 +Nakura~ Does Tomoyo really have feelings for Sakura? Does Sakura have feelings for Sakura? And where would Li, Meilin, and everyone else be during this? WHEN WILL THE MADNESS ALL END?!? Opps... hehehe. Well, tune in next time for chapter two of "Underneith my heart is yours"

   508.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   508.2 +++ b/stories/utenanshi_aftermovie.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   508.3 @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
   508.4 +After The Movie.
   508.5 +By: WaMat DeBly
   508.6 +Disclaimer: I do not own Utena, well I do own a box set, but that's besides the point... All characters is this fan fiction belong to the original creator, I'm just borrowing.
   508.7 +AN: this story takes place just after the end of "The Adolescence of Utena" Manga, As such, I recommend reading that before you read this, though it's not required to enjoy this little bit of fluff.
   508.8 +The theater began to empty, it's patrons mainly couples, though one couple stood out amoung the many, down near the front were two girls, one with long blackish hair had allowed her pink haired partner to rest her head agenst her own. Anthy looked over at Utena, the small monkey named Chuchu having alerted Anthy of Utena's state. "Utena, did you sleep through the entire movie, or were you..." her words fell short as she noticed the tear falling down her loves cheek. Opening her eyes Utena spoke slowly. "When I look at the stars I get this feeling... I don't know why, but I start to think that, no matter what happens, I have to do the best I can to live my life." Anthy took a moment to consider Utena's words before replying. "I know exactly what you mean." stand she held a hand out for Utena to take. "Let's go outside Utena." taking the offered hand with a smile, Utena wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes and walked with Anthy to the door leading out.
   508.9 +As they emerged from the darkness of the theater into the light of the outside world Utena pulled Anthy softly to her side, wrapping an arm around the slightly smaller girl as they walked back towards their apartment. Utena had become rather protective of Anthy after she'd learned that no one else treated her like a person, but only as a thing to be one, a prize to be gained, Utena had even given up on her own hope to find her prince in order to become Anthy's prince, something Utena didn't regret in the least.
  508.10 +"Utena, is something on your mind?" Anthy asked quietly. "You've been deep in thought the entire walk home." Glancing down, Utena gave Anthy a smile. "I couldn't help thanking about us, and about how happy I am that you're the person that I've helped you become, and not just a thing." Utena looked deep into Anthy's deep green eyes to see the love Anthy held there shining back to her. "Oh Utena, you really are my prince." she said, reaching up to place a feather soft kiss on Utena's cheek.
  508.11 +Utena sat quietly at the foot of her and Anthy's bed, her eyes following the ornate pattern's on the rose seal she wore, even now she still wore the ring, and often she would look at it, wondering just why fate had chosen her to change the world, a hand moved over Utena's shoulder to caress one of her cheeks. "Utena, please come to bed, It's getting late and we both have to go to work tomorow." Utena turned around, placing a small kiss on Anthy's soft lips. "Yeah, ok Anthy" sliding the ring back onto her finger, she slid into her loves embrace, thanking fate for having brought them together.

   509.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   509.2 +++ b/stories/vacation.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   509.3 @@ -0,0 +1,553 @@
   509.4 +Vacation
   509.5 +By ReiHime
   509.6 +You can e-mail her at AzrielX2000@aol.com
   509.7 +
   509.8 +Konichiwa minna...
   509.9 +This story is about the cute relationship between Hotaru and Chibi Usa. 
  509.10 +I know that there are a lot of people who don't believe that Hotaru and 
  509.11 +Chibi Usa are together, but I think the two of them are cute so that's 
  509.12 +why I wrote it. If anyone is offended by the idea of them together, by 
  509.13 +lesbians, or just by sex, don't read the fic. This is my first real 
  509.14 +attempt at writing a hentai fanfic, so please don't judge it too 
  509.15 +harshly... The names and characters are all property of Naoko Takeuchi 
  509.16 +and probably a whole bunch of other people who I don't know. Newayz... 
  509.17 +I hope ya like it...
  509.18 +
  509.19 +                            Vacation
  509.20 +
  509.21 +        "Why do you want the keys to the beach house?" Michiru asked 
  509.22 +curiously, as she lifted her cup to sip some of her coffee.
  509.23 +        "Chibi Usa and I are gonna go down to the shore for a little 
  509.24 +vacation" Hotaru answered cheerfully.
  509.25 +        "Just the two of you, on a vacation together?" Haruka chimed 
  509.26 +in, one eyebrow raised up, and a little smile on her face. Hotaru's 
  509.27 +face suddenly turned a deep crimson red.
  509.28 +        "N...N...NOT LIKE THAT!" Hotaru stammered out angrily to her 
  509.29 +"papa". Haruka gave a slight giggle as she sipped her own cup of 
  509.30 +coffee.
  509.31 +        "Oh Haruka" Michiru began as she placed a hand on Haruka's, 
  509.32 +"stop teasing her."
  509.33 +        Haruka put her cup back on the table and gave a slight apology 
  509.34 +to Hotaru. She got up from her seat, and went to her jacket on the 
  509.35 +living room coat rack. After digging through all the pockets, she 
  509.36 +returned to the kitchen holding a shiny sliver key. She tossed it
  509.37 +toward her little daughter. Hotaru caught it with ease, and smiled back 
  509.38 +at her papa. "Just don't wreck the place okay? You know how mad your 
  509.39 +mom and Setsuna get when they have to clean house." She looked at her 
  509.40 +wife sitting at the table, and gave her a warm smile. Michiru returned 
  509.41 +it with a smirk. Hotaru began giggling, and ran to her papa, giving her
  509.42 +the strongest hug she could. Michiru couldn't resist laughing as she 
  509.43 +saw Haruka gasping for air. After releasing her papa, Hotaru ran to her 
  509.44 +mama and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She then ran off to her room to 
  509.45 +get some clothes packed.
  509.46 +        Haruka sat back down across from Michiru. She began scratching 
  509.47 +the back of her head. "Geez, that girl is getting stronger."
  509.48 +        Michiru gave her a loving smile. "You know, you really 
  509.49 +shouldn't talk about her and Chibi Usa that way."
  509.50 +        "Oh come on Michi, we both know how Hotaru feels about Chibi 
  509.51 +Usa." She replied in an effort to defend herself. "Setsuna has already 
  509.52 +seen the two of them together in the future."
  509.53 +        "I know Ruka, demo, Hotaru doesn't know about her future. Plus, 
  509.54 +she really isn't comfortable with the idea of her and Chibi Usa yet. 
  509.55 +Right now they only think of each other as best friends. When the time 
  509.56 +comes, they'll realize their true feelings for one another, but until 
  509.57 +then, lets not rush them into it."
  509.58 +        Haruka sighed, leaned forward, and held Michiru's hand. "Okay, 
  509.59 +you win... I won't mention it again."
  509.60 +        Michiru leaned forward so that her lips were only centimeters 
  509.61 +from Haruka's. She brushed her lips against the other girl's softly, 
  509.62 +and whispered "I always win" before the two began kissing passionately.
  509.63 +        Hotaru walked back into the kitchen to say goodbye to her 
  509.64 +parents. She saw them kissing over the table, and sighed. "Gods you 
  509.65 +two. Get a room."
  509.66 +        This brought them back to reality, and the two women looked at 
  509.67 +Hotaru and smiled. Hotaru walked over to them, and gave each a kiss on 
  509.68 +the cheek before saying goodbye. She ran outside, and started her black 
  509.69 +convertible. Haruka and Michiru went over to the front door to watch 
  509.70 +her leave. "So you think they'll realize over this 'vacation'?" Haruka 
  509.71 +whispered, as she waved to Hotaru. Michiru smiled. "Maybe", she 
  509.72 +replied.  Hotaru backed out of the driveway, and headed to the Silver 
  509.73 +Palace.
  509.74 +
  509.75 +        "So how long are you two gonna be on this vacation?" Queen 
  509.76 +Serenity asked her 16 year-old daughter.
  509.77 +        "Uh" Chibi Usa began as she burrowed through her huge closet, 
  509.78 +looking for her favorite pants. "Only for the weekend. I can't really 
  509.79 +afford to stay any more than that considering all the work I have." She 
  509.80 +jumped out the closet with the pants, and ran to her bed to pack them.
  509.81 +        Queen Serenity looked around her daughter's enormous bedroom, 
  509.82 +and a huge sweatdrop formed over her brow. The room looked like a 
  509.83 +mother's worst nightmare, clothes strewn about everywhere; books and 
  509.84 +dolls covering the floor. "Gods", she muttered out, "your room is more 
  509.85 +of a mess than mine ever was at sixteen." Chibi Usa gave her a wide 
  509.86 +smile. "Well, I was inspired by you in the past." Serenity, gave her an 
  509.87 +evil glare (equal to the one she usually gave Mars Hime). The two girls 
  509.88 +stayed looking at each other, and soon burst out into laughter at how 
  509.89 +stupid the other looked.
  509.90 +        "Ahh" Chibi Usa said as she wiped her forehead. "I'm finally 
  509.91 +done packing." Serenity's eyes widened as she saw her daughter line up 
  509.92 +five huge suitcases. "Ano, Chibi Usa, do you really think you need that 
  509.93 +much clothing for just a weekend?" Chibi Usa gave her mother a 
  509.94 +surprised look. "I want to be prepared for anything." Another sweat 
  509.95 +drop formed on Serenity's head. But she figured it would be best not to 
  509.96 +argue the subject. Chibi Usa turned out as stubborn as she was, and she 
  509.97 +realized that arguing would do nothing to change her mind.
  509.98 +        Just then, a servant knocked on Chibi Usa's door. "Begging your 
  509.99 +pardon Serenity Sama, Usagi-Hime." He bowed to both women. "Hotaru-Hime 
 509.100 +is here for you Usagi-Hime." Both women thanked him, and asked for 
 509.101 +servants to take Chibi Usa's bags down to the car.
 509.102 +        Chibi Usa kissed both her parents and waved bye to the four 
 509.103 +princesses as she jumped into Hotaru's car. Hotaru looked over at her 
 509.104 +friend. "Ne, Odango-chan, was five suitcases really necessary?"
 509.105 +        Chibi Usa stuck her tongue out at her friend, and the two 
 509.106 +laughed. Hotaru started the car, and the two went through the castle 
 509.107 +gate, onto the road.
 509.108 +        "Those two are so kawai" Mars said as she watched them drive 
 509.109 +off.
 509.110 +        "Yup" Venus agreed. "They make the perfect couple."
 509.111 +        Queen Serenity thought back on the vision that Pluto had told 
 509.112 +her of, and hoped that everything went all right with the two girls.
 509.113 +        "Ahhhh" Chibi Usa yawned as she stretched her arms above her 
 509.114 +head. "It feels so good to be away from the palace sometimes." She 
 509.115 +looked over at Hotaru and frowned. Hotaru hadn't said anything since 
 509.116 +they left the palace. She just looked straight ahead at the road, 
 509.117 +seemingly deep in thought.
 509.118 +        Usa inched closer to her friend. She called her name a couple 
 509.119 +of times, but with no reply. She let out a big sigh, and sat back in 
 509.120 +her seat. "Whatever she's thinking about must be pretty damn important" 
 509.121 +she thought to herself, as she closed her eyes to get some rest.
 509.122 +        In fact, it was very important, at least to Hotaru. She was 
 509.123 +thinking about Chibi Usa. That morning's comment by Haruka was not 
 509.124 +unusual, she had made comments like that to Hotaru plenty of other 
 509.125 +times. Each time, Hotaru would deny having such feelings for her best 
 509.126 +friend, but inside she had already begun to question it. It wasn't like 
 509.127 +she had anything against lesbians, her own parents were lesbians, she 
 509.128 +had been brought up around it... But she just hadn't ever thought of 
 509.129 +herself as one. She thought she understood where her parents had gotten 
 509.130 +the idea from, she had never really been interested in guys, in fact 
 509.131 +the whole idea of dating a guy hadn't even crossed her mind even though 
 509.132 +she was already 17. But that didn't mean she liked girls. Then she 
 509.133 +thought of Chibi Usa. She never failed to notice how good Chibi Usa 
 509.134 +looked, but she would always dismiss it as just a friend noticing how 
 509.135 +someone else dressed. It also occurred to her that she would always 
 509.136 +take an extra amount of time when getting ready whenever she was going 
 509.137 +anywhere with Chibi Usa, but she just figured that there was nothing 
 509.138 +wrong with wanting to look good for a friend. After everything they had 
 509.139 +been through in the past, it didn't surprise her that she loved Chibi 
 509.140 +Usa, but she wasn't sure just what kind of love it was. They were 
 509.141 +emotionally very close. They never failed to notice if something was 
 509.142 +wrong with each other, and always shared their deepest feelings with 
 509.143 +one another. But Hotaru convinced herself that that was what best 
 509.144 +friends always did. Then she remembered the thoughts that she had had. 
 509.145 +Sometimes, when they would talk together, Hotaru would have an erg to 
 509.146 +lean over and kiss Chibi Usa. Actually, it wasn't just kissing. She had 
 509.147 +had thoughts of doing stuff that only Haruka and Michiru do, stuff 
 509.148 +like...
 509.149 +        The radio suddenly went on, and broke Hotaru's train of 
 509.150 +thought. She looked beside her, and saw Chibi Usa starring at her very 
 509.151 +concerned. "Daijobu?" Chibi Usa asked timidly. Her eyes expressed her 
 509.152 +deep worry over her friend.
 509.153 +        She looks so pretty, Hotaru thought. She quickly erased the 
 509.154 +thought from her mind, as she assured her friend that she was fine. 
 509.155 +"I'm fine, Odango-chan. You don't have to worry about me."
 509.156 +        Chibi Usa raised an eyebrow as she continued to stare at 
 509.157 +Hotaru. She still felt that something was bothering Hotaru, but she 
 509.158 +obviously didn't want to tell her about it right now. Hotaru looked 
 509.159 +back at the road ahead, trying desperately to avoid Chibi Usa's 
 509.160 +questioning eyes. She knew she should tell Chibi Usa about these 
 509.161 +thoughts she'd been having. Inside her, she knew it was the only way 
 509.162 +that she would feel better, but she was scared at how her friend would 
 509.163 +take it. She resolved that sometime during this vacation, she would sit 
 509.164 +down and talk to Usa about it, she had to or else she would go nuts.
 509.165 +        "We're almost there Odango-chan." Hotaru said cheerfully. "Uh 
 509.166 +huh" Chibi Usa replied, picking up the hint that they should change the 
 509.167 +subject. She turned back to face the road. The rest of the trip was 
 509.168 +traveled in silence.
 509.169 +
 509.170 +        "SUGOI!" Usa exclaimed as she looked at the fantastic sunset on 
 509.171 +the water. They had arrived at the house just in time see it. Usa sat 
 509.172 +down on the sand, wriggling her toes into it, and watched the fantastic 
 509.173 +site.
 509.174 +        Hotaru came out of the house, and saw Usa sitting there in the 
 509.175 +sand. A huge smile spread across her face, as she watched Usa. Hearing 
 509.176 +a door shut, Chibi Usa looked behind her, and saw Hotaru leaning on the 
 509.177 +car, smiling as she quietly watched her. Usa smiled back at her friend, 
 509.178 +and beckoned her to sit with her in the sand. Hotaru began walking, and 
 509.179 +sat down next to Usa. Usa quickly grabbed Hotaru's arm, and leaned her 
 509.180 +head on the girl's shoulder. Hotaru was somewhat surprised by the 
 509.181 +gesture, but decided to go one step further, and pulled her arm out of 
 509.182 +Usa grasp. Usa was ready to say something, but was quieted when she 
 509.183 +felt Hotaru's arm around her waist. Usa leaned closer to her friend, 
 509.184 +and the two watched as the sun set behind the water.
 509.185 +        After the sunset, Hotaru looked down at Usa. She had known the 
 509.186 +girl had fallen asleep in her arms some time ago, but thought she was 
 509.187 +too peaceful looking to wake up. She sighed as she brushed a strand of 
 509.188 +hair away from Usa's face. Usa really was very beautiful. Many boys in 
 509.189 +Crystal Tokyo had asked the Princess for a date, but she had turned 
 509.190 +them all down flat. She had told Hotaru that none of them had 
 509.191 +interested her, not even the handsome ones. She said that she was still 
 509.192 +waiting for her "Prince on a white horse". Thinking of it made Hotaru 
 509.193 +feel somewhat sad. She didn't want to think about anyone holding Usa 
 509.194 +the way she was. It felt so good to hold her, it gave her a warm 
 509.195 +feeling throughout her body. It just felt right, and she didn't want 
 509.196 +anyone to take that feeling away from her.
 509.197 +        A cold wind suddenly hit her, and she held Usa a little 
 509.198 +tighter. Night was falling, and it would be getting cold very soon. 
 509.199 +Hotaru began calling Usa softly to wake her up. Usa's eyes blinked open 
 509.200 +sleepily, and she looked up into Hotaru's face. Suddenly, the feeling 
 509.201 +was back. Hotaru looked into Usa's sleepy gorgeous face, and before she 
 509.202 +could think to stop herself, placed her lips softly on Usa's. To her 
 509.203 +surprise, Usa didn't pull away, in fact, she moved into the kiss. 
 509.204 +Hotaru's eyes closed as she let the feeling wash over her. Hotaru 
 509.205 +slowly backed away after what seemed like an eternity, and looked back 
 509.206 +at Usa. Usa just closed her eyes, and snuggled back into Hotaru. 
 509.207 +Hotaru, feeling the cold wind again, stood and picked Usa up from the 
 509.208 +sand. Usa unconsciously wrapped her arms around Hotaru's neck, and lay 
 509.209 +in her arms. Hotaru carried the sleeping princess into the house, and 
 509.210 +placed her in the guest room bed. She covered her with the quilt, and 
 509.211 +went into the kitchen.
 509.212 +
 509.213 +        It had been about an hour when Usa finally awoke. She looked 
 509.214 +around, and realized she was in the house. She sat up in the bed, and 
 509.215 +stretched a bit. She was about to get up, when she remembered 
 509.216 +something. She thought back, and remembered the sunset, and she lying 
 509.217 +against Hotaru. Then she remembered a kiss. She had woken up, and was 
 509.218 +kissing someone. "Hotaru", she whispered aloud as she placed her hand 
 509.219 +on her mouth. She got up out of bed, and went into the living room.
 509.220 +        Hotaru sat on the couch, with her head in her hands thinking 
 509.221 +about what had happened. During the hour, she had finally come to terms 
 509.222 +with the fact that she had feelings for Chibi Usa, feelings much 
 509.223 +stronger than that of just a friend, but she didn't know what she would 
 509.224 +say to the girl. It felt as if the world had changed because of a kiss. 
 509.225 +Would Chibi Usa be mad, disgusted? How could she look her best friend 
 509.226 +in the face again? But then, Chibi Usa had moved into the kiss, so 
 509.227 +maybe she...
 509.228 +        "Taru-chan?"
 509.229 +        Hotaru turned around sharply, and starred in surprise at Chibi 
 509.230 +Usa. Her heart began racing in her chest, and she swallowed hard. Chibi 
 509.231 +Usa moved around the couch, and sat next to Hotaru, not looking at her 
 509.232 +face. The two girls sat there in silence. Hotaru was freaking out, but 
 509.233 +it seemed that Chibi Usa was totally calm. Hotaru began fidgeting with 
 509.234 +her hands, praying to the Gods that Usa wasn't mad.
 509.235 +        "Taru-chan" Usa said again. "Did you kiss me?"
 509.236 +        Hotaru couldn't believe her ears. Chibi Usa sounded so calm. 
 509.237 +Her heart began racing faster. Could it be that she didn't totally 
 509.238 +remember what happened? Maybe she could just say that it must have been 
 509.239 +dream of Usa's. She was asleep and all, it would be a great excuse. No, 
 509.240 +Hotaru corrected herself. I promised myself that I was going to talk to 
 509.241 +her about this. Even thought I didn't want to bring it up like this, I 
 509.242 +still gotta get it off my chest. Hotaru swallowed hard, and turned to 
 509.243 +Chibi Usa, mouth open and ready to talk.
 509.244 +        Usa didn't give her a chance, and quickly moved forward, and 
 509.245 +kissed her friend full on the mouth. Hotaru was shocked, and initially 
 509.246 +tried to pull away, but Usa stayed on her, and pressed her lips harder 
 509.247 +onto Hotaru's... Hotaru's eyes began to close slowly, as she allowed 
 509.248 +the feeling to wash over her again. Chibi Usa leaned forward against 
 509.249 +Hotaru, and pushed her down onto the couch. Hotaru moved into the kiss 
 509.250 +more, and her arms went around Usa's waist. Hotaru was again shocked as 
 509.251 +she felt Usa's tongue slide into her open mouth. The two began probing 
 509.252 +each other's mouths now. Soon a new feeling began moving through 
 509.253 +Hotaru, one that was centered between her legs. Her hands began sliding 
 509.254 +up and down Usa's back, and reached under to explore the naked skin. 
 509.255 +Usa leaned back up over Hotaru, and pulled her shirt over her head, 
 509.256 +exposing her white satin bra. Hotaru went to reach for it, but Usa 
 509.257 +quickly removed it and threw it to the ground. Hotaru grabbed Usa's 
 509.258 +creamy round breasts and began massaging them. Usa moaned softly and 
 509.259 +arched her back, pusher her breasts into Hotaru's roaming hands.
 509.260 +        After a few moments Usa placed her hands on Hotaru's and 
 509.261 +stopped their movement. Hotaru was about to question it when Usa leaned 
 509.262 +back down, kissing her again. Usa pulled away, and whispered "Follow 
 509.263 +me" lustfully. She got off the couch (and Hotaru) and walked down the 
 509.264 +hall towards the master bedroom. Hotaru wasted no time jumping off the 
 509.265 +couch, and running after Usa.
 509.266 +        When she moved into the room, she saw that Usa had gotten under 
 509.267 +the covers of the bed, covering her totally except for her head. Hotaru 
 509.268 +began walking closer, until Usa said stop. Usa's face wore a devilish 
 509.269 +smile, and she bit her lower lip as she tossed something at Hotaru. She 
 509.270 +caught it, and upon further inspection, saw that it was a pair of silk 
 509.271 +underwear. The throbbing between her legs increased as she thought of 
 509.272 +Usa naked under the covers.
 509.273 +        She attempted to step forward, but was stopped again by Usa. 
 509.274 +"Odango-chan" she called out frustrated. Usa just giggled at her 
 509.275 +friend, then commanded her to strip. Hotaru starred wide eyed in 
 509.276 +surprise at Usa's request, but the increased throbbing between her legs 
 509.277 +convinced her to follow the princesses orders. Usa watched as Hotaru 
 509.278 +first pulled off her shirt, then her black pants, her socks, her bra, 
 509.279 +and finally her underwear. She stood there naked in front of her 
 509.280 +friend. Usa noticed something shiny on Hotaru's inner thighs, and 
 509.281 +smiled wickedly. "Come here" she commanded innocently.
 509.282 +        Hotaru walked quickly to the bed, and pulled back the covers. 
 509.283 +Usa let out a laughing scream. Hotaru starred in amazement. She had 
 509.284 +seen Usa naked before on certain occasions, but never had she looked as 
 509.285 +beautiful as she did now lying naked on the bed. Hotaru leaned down, 
 509.286 +and kissed the princess on her lips, Usa wrapped her arms around Hotaru 
 509.287 +drawing her friend closer. Their tongues played in each other's mouths 
 509.288 +and they moaned softly against one another. Hotaru's hands began 
 509.289 +exploring Usa's body. She began kneading her breasts, bringing a 
 509.290 +delighted moan from Usa. Hotaru pulled away, breaking the kiss, and 
 509.291 +went down to Usa's neck. She began sucking on the skin, and 
 509.292 +occasionally grazing her teeth against it. Usa loved it, and held 
 509.293 +Hotaru's head there.
 509.294 +        From her neck, Hotaru began a trail down to Usa's breasts. She 
 509.295 +licked at the swollen, hard nipples, and suckled one in her mouth. The 
 509.296 +pleasure was overwhelming for Usa, and she moaned in delight.  Never 
 509.297 +had she felt anything so good. She could feel her juices running onto 
 509.298 +her thighs, and began instinctively thrusting her pelvis. Hotaru loved 
 509.299 +the reaction, and began to gently nip at the nipple with her teeth. 
 509.300 +This brought even louder moans from the princess, and Hotaru could feel 
 509.301 +herself getting more and more excited. She raised her head from the 
 509.302 +first nipple, bringing a frustrated moan from Usa, but then moved onto 
 509.303 +the other, and began teasing it in the same way.
 509.304 +        Usa couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes squeezed shut as she 
 509.305 +screamed out Hotaru's name. Hotaru moved back up to Usa's face, as the 
 509.306 +orgasm wracked the moon princess's body. When the pleasure had 
 509.307 +subsided, she kissed her lover deeply. She moved her body, so that they 
 509.308 +rolled over. Usa was now on top, and it was her turn to play with 
 509.309 +Hotaru. Usa smiled wickedly, and began massaging Hotaru's smaller 
 509.310 +breasts. Hotaru moaned out Usa's name and closed her eyes, giving 
 509.311 +herself up to the pleasure. Usa brought the pebble like nipples to her 
 509.312 +mouth and began sucking and licking them. Hotaru's moans became 
 509.313 +steadily louder as Usa had her fun. Then an idea occurred in her. She 
 509.314 +could keep doing this and bring Hotaru to orgasm, but that would be 
 509.315 +boring. She wanted to make Hotaru totally lose herself, and she knew 
 509.316 +just how to do it.
 509.317 +        She rose up from the bed, and moved to the foot of it. Hotaru's 
 509.318 +eyes opened and she looked down at Usa in confusion. "Odango" she 
 509.319 +breathed out "What are you...?"
 509.320 +        "Bend your legs" was Usa's reply. Hotaru starred at her, not 
 509.321 +understanding what she meant. Usa repeated the command, only firmer. 
 509.322 +Hotaru silently obeyed and bent her legs so the knees were off the bed. 
 509.323 +Usa crawled seductively across the bed, and between Hotaru's parted 
 509.324 +legs. The smell of Hotaru's juices filled the room, and Usa licked her 
 509.325 +lips with apprehension. She leaned over, and began kissing Hotaru's 
 509.326 +flat strong stomach. Hm... all those crunches Haruka makes Hotaru do 
 509.327 +really paid off... she thought as she kissed around Hotaru's belly 
 509.328 +button. One hand began slowly playing with Hotaru's black pubic hair. 
 509.329 +Hotaru gasped as she felt how close Usa was to her most private part. 
 509.330 +She wanted more. Usa's hand began to travel downward, and she watched 
 509.331 +her lover's face, as she touched her swollen clit.
 509.332 +        It sent an electric shock through her body, and her pelvis 
 509.333 +lifted off the bed. She gasped loudly at the sudden surge of pleasure, 
 509.334 +and moaned for it to continue. Usa was shocked by the sudden reaction, 
 509.335 +but it only motivated her to perform more entertaining stunts. Her 
 509.336 +fingers moved down Hotaru's womanhood, to the moist opening. She began 
 509.337 +playing around it, going around in circles with one hand, while 
 509.338 +caressing Hotaru's inner thigh with the other. Hotaru's pleading moans 
 509.339 +became louder, as her body ached more and more for Usa's touch. Usa let 
 509.340 +one finger slide in, and began pumping it rhythmically into Hotaru. 
 509.341 +Hotaru began to move with the pumping, driving the finger deeper into 
 509.342 +her. Usa continued her assault by pushing another finger into Hotaru's 
 509.343 +virgin hole. A fire had begun in Hotaru's body, and with each minute it 
 509.344 +was growing more and more. She had begun calling out her lover's name, 
 509.345 +as sweat formed on her body. She grabbed the bed in support as Usa 
 509.346 +picked up her pace. Usa moved her head down to Hotaru's nub, and began 
 509.347 +to lick her lips. Just as Hotaru thought she couldn't take anymore, Usa 
 509.348 +grabbed the nub with her lips, and sucked hard on it.
 509.349 +        It was like electricity surging through her body. That single 
 509.350 +touch was enough to bring her to the most sensational orgasm that she 
 509.351 +could ever have. Her entire body lifted off the bed, and she screamed 
 509.352 +out Usa's name.. Her body was immediately wracked by powerful spasms, 
 509.353 +and all she could do was moan softly between them. Usa continued to 
 509.354 +pleasure her lover throughout the orgasm. She continued to pump her 
 509.355 +with her fingers, and began licking her swollen clit.
 509.356 +        When the feeling had finally ended, Hotaru looked down between 
 509.357 +her legs to see Usa smiling happily at her. She began a soundless 
 509.358 +laugh, and laid back into the pillows. Usa crawled up to her lover's 
 509.359 +face, and the two shared a passionate kiss. Hotaru could taste her 
 509.360 +juices throughout Usa's mouth, and she loved it. Just kissing her made 
 509.361 +her feel all warm again throughout her body, and the aching began 
 509.362 +again.
 509.363 +        She pulled her body up and leaned the weight against Usa, 
 509.364 +causing the princess to fall down on the bed. Usa wasn't quite sure 
 509.365 +what Hotaru was doing, but she didn't want to stop her. Hotaru used one 
 509.366 +knee to part Usa's legs, and settled between them. She broke off the 
 509.367 +kiss, and positioned herself over Usa. They both gasped as both their 
 509.368 +clits met together. Hotaru began to grind on Usa, rubbing their swollen 
 509.369 +nubs together. Usa pulled her lover's face down to meet hers, and the 
 509.370 +two kissed as they rubbed against each other. Hotaru's nipples rubbed 
 509.371 +against Usa's and the girl moaned loudly into Hotaru's mouth. She 
 509.372 +quickened the pace of her grinding as she felt the orgasm building up. 
 509.373 +Hotaru moved her head down to Usa's neck, and bit her softly as the 
 509.374 +orgasm exploded with her. The pain and the pleasure was driving Usa 
 509.375 +mad, and her whole body wrapped around Hotaru as she screamed her name 
 509.376 +into the night.
 509.377 +        The two girls lay panting for air as the orgasms finally 
 509.378 +stopped. Hotaru had collapsed on top of Usa, and she nuzzled into Usa's 
 509.379 +neck. Usa's hand reached up, and she began running her fingers through 
 509.380 +Hotaru's silky shoulder-length black hair. The last thing heard before 
 509.381 +either girl drifted to sleep, was the other's mumbled "aishiteru".
 509.382 +
 509.383 +        Hotaru awoke the next morning to the sweet sound of the ocean 
 509.384 +waves hitting the shore. She sat up in bed, and stretched. Looking back 
 509.385 +to the bed, she noticed that Chibi Usa was gone. Since when does she 
 509.386 +wake up before me?, she thought to herself. She shook her head, 
 509.387 +dismissing the thought, and got out of bed. She moved to the closet, 
 509.388 +and opened the doors looking for her mom's aqua colored robe. She 
 509.389 +frowned as she only saw her papa's navy blue one. She shrugged her 
 509.390 +shoulders and put the robe on. She was about ready to leave the room, 
 509.391 +when she heard a huge crash down the hall, followed by a loud scream. 
 509.392 +"USA!" she yelled, as she bolted out the door, and into the kitchen
 509.393 +        Smoke had filled the room, and Hotaru covered her mouth as she 
 509.394 +looked for her friend. Before she could get very far, she saw Usa 
 509.395 +waddling out the smoke, totally covered in the black soot. Hotaru ran 
 509.396 +to her, and pulled her out the kitchen into the hallway. She could see 
 509.397 +that Usa was crying, and was instantly concerned about her friend. 
 509.398 +"Daijobu Chibi Usa?" she asked, looking over Usa's body for bruises.
 509.399 +        Usa sniffled, and began to cry out. "The stove exploded." She 
 509.400 +mumbled out between sobs. Hotaru suddenly went wide-eyed. "N, nani?" 
 509.401 +she asked. Chibi Usa continued to cry as she answered. "I was tr, tr, 
 509.402 +trying to make you some breakfast. And the stove ex, ex, exploded." A 
 509.403 +huge sweat drop formed on Hotaru's brow. She looked down at her whining 
 509.404 +girlfriend, and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Usa saw this, and 
 509.405 +began laughing as well...
 509.406 +
 509.407 +        "Odango-chan, breakfast is ready!" Hotaru called out. After 
 509.408 +they had cleaned up the kitchen, it was decided that Hotaru would take 
 509.409 +care of the cooking... so that no other explosions occurred. Chibi Usa 
 509.410 +ran into the kitchen and quickly sat down at the table. Hotaru placed 
 509.411 +the tall plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon in front 
 509.412 +of the princess. Usa's eyes went wide as she looked at all the food, 
 509.413 +and drool could be seen at the corner of her mouth. Hotaru laughed as 
 509.414 +she sat down in her own chair. "How un-princess like Odango-chan." Usa 
 509.415 +gave her an evil stare, and stuck out her tongue in reply. Both girls 
 509.416 +laughed as they picked up their utensils. "IKODEKIMASU!" they yelled in 
 509.417 +unison, as they began eating.
 509.418 +
 509.419 +        "Ahhh" Usa sighed contently as she patted her full stomach. 
 509.420 +"That was a great breakfast Taru-chan"
 509.421 +        Hotaru smiled as she began washing the dishes. "Arigato, Usa. 
 509.422 +I'm glad all those hours spent with mama and Setsuna-mama learning to 
 509.423 +cook didn't go to waste."
 509.424 +        Usa got up from her chair, and walked over to Hotaru. She 
 509.425 +wrapped her arms around Hotaru's waist, and rested her head against her 
 509.426 +back. Hotaru smiled. Having Usa so close felt so right to her. It was 
 509.427 +something she'd always wanted, she realized. The two had hugged plenty 
 509.428 +of times before, but it was different now. They were a couple, and 
 509.429 +would be together forever, Hotaru hoped.
 509.430 +        "Ne, Taru-chan." Usa began. "This is our last day alone 
 509.431 +together. What do you wanna do?"
 509.432 +        Hotaru thought for a moment before replaying back. "We don't 
 509.433 +have to do anything. I just wanna relax here, with you."
 509.434 +        Usa smiled. "You're right. We have enough to do at home. We can 
 509.435 +just relax today, and spend time together."
 509.436 +        Hotaru cut off the water, and wiped her wet hands on the towel 
 509.437 +beside the sink. Usa released her hug, and walked over into the living 
 509.438 +room and turned on the television. Hotaru soon followed, and sat down 
 509.439 +on the couch beside the pink-headed girl. She put he arm around Usa's 
 509.440 +shoulder and pulled her closer. Usa nestled herself into Hotaru, and 
 509.441 +the two girls watched TV.
 509.442 +
 509.443 +        "Haruka-chan, Michiru-chan, Setsuna-chan, what a pleasant 
 509.444 +surprise." Queen Serenity exclaimed as she saw the three women walk to 
 509.445 +the gazebo. The four other women eagerly greeted the three as well 
 509.446 +before they all sat down together.
 509.447 +        "So" Rei began. "To what do we owe to this visit?"
 509.448 +        "It was too quiet around the house without Hotaru playing her 
 509.449 +music upstairs. We got kinda lonely." Haruka answered.
 509.450 +        "And since we haven't seen you all for a while, we decided to 
 509.451 +come over a pay a visit." Michiru chimed in.
 509.452 +        "Speaking of Hotaru" Setsuna began. "Have you heard from her or 
 509.453 +small lady?"
 509.454 +        The queen shook her head from side to side. "Iie. Not since 
 509.455 +they left together. I hope everything is all right with those two."
 509.456 +        Haruka covered her mouth as she snickered quietly. All the 
 509.457 +women turned to face her, and Michiru sighed as she raised her hand to 
 509.458 +her forehead. "You must excuse Haruka" Michiru said. "She finds 
 509.459 +anything referring to Hotaru and Chibi Usa to be very funny."
 509.460 +        "You mean about the two of them being a couple?" Makoto asked. 
 509.461 +Michiru shook her head in affirmation. The five inner senshi smiled and 
 509.462 +shook their heads.
 509.463 +        "Well they do make a very cute couple at least" Ami stated.
 509.464 +        "Well you got over the shock fast" Makoto said surprised as she 
 509.465 +folded her arms. Ami blushed a little. "We were all a little shocked at 
 509.466 +first. I mean, who would have thought that the two of them would ever 
 509.467 +get together like that?" All the girls shook their heads.
 509.468 +        "Yeah especially with that whole Helios thing" Minako chimed in 
 509.469 +"She seemed to have a big crush on him. I thought for sure that she 
 509.470 +liked guys."
 509.471 +        "She also always went after my Mamo-chan" Serenity inserted 
 509.472 +angrily as she crossed her arms in front of her. Sweat drops appeared 
 509.473 +on all the girl's heads as they thought back on those years.
 509.474 +        "Oh Usagi" Rei began. "She was just probably doing that to get 
 509.475 +on your nerves. You two were always fighting like that." All eyes fell 
 509.476 +on Rei. "Ahem" Haruka coughed "That sounds more like what you two do 
 509.477 +all the time." She pointed at Serenity and Rei. The two began 
 509.478 +scratching the back of their heads while they laughed loudly. The other 
 509.479 +women soon joined in the laughter as well.
 509.480 +
 509.481 +        "Odango-chan"...
 509.482 +        "Odango-chan"...
 509.483 +        Usa's crimson eyes slowly opened to see Hotaru looking down at 
 509.484 +her. She blinked several times, then smiled at her lover. Hotaru smiled 
 509.485 +back and bent down to kiss her beautiful girlfriend. Their lips met in 
 509.486 +a soft kiss.
 509.487 +        "Hmm, I thought you were never going to wake up Odango-chan." 
 509.488 +Hotaru said as she sat down next to her on the bed.
 509.489 +        Chibi Usa made a wide smile as she turned to look at the dark 
 509.490 +haired girl. "You know, I can get used to waking up like this."
 509.491 +        Hotaru smiled at Usa. "It's already one in the afternoon Usa, 
 509.492 +we should be leaving soon."
 509.493 +        Chibi Usa sat up in the bed letting go of her sheet so that her 
 509.494 +breasts were in full view. "Do we have to leave so early Taru-chan? I 
 509.495 +don't want to go back to the palace so soon. I want to stay here with 
 509.496 +you." She wrapped her arms around Hotaru's waist and kissed her again. 
 509.497 +Hotaru began running her hand up and down Usa's back and through her 
 509.498 +soft pink hair.
 509.499 +        "You have to get up now, Usa. By the time your actually ready 
 509.500 +to leave it'll be around four." Hotaru stood up from the bed, and moved 
 509.501 +to the doorway. Usa glared evilly at Hotaru. "Mou, I don't take that 
 509.502 +long to get ready." Hotaru looked back at Usa and giggled. "Yeah you 
 509.503 +do, now get up and into the shower. I'll start breakfast so it'll be 
 509.504 +done when you get out..."
 509.505 +        "I have a better idea" Usa began while getting off the bed. She 
 509.506 +began walking towards Hotaru whose eyes were immediately drawn to her 
 509.507 +lover's naked body. "How about we take that shower together?" She 
 509.508 +stopped in front of Hotaru and wrapped her long arms around her neck, 
 509.509 +drawing her into a deep kiss.
 509.510 +        Hotaru smiled as Usa pulled away and took the other girl's 
 509.511 +hand. The two walked together into the bathroom.
 509.512 +
 509.513 +        "So, how did you two enjoy your vacation?" Serenity asked the 
 509.514 +two girls. All ten scouts sat outside in the garden talking together.
 509.515 +        "It was great. I really needed to get out of this palace for a 
 509.516 +while, and being with Hotaru just made everything better." Usa looked 
 509.517 +to the side and smiled lovingly at Hotaru. Hotaru smiled back with the 
 509.518 +same love in her eyes.
 509.519 +        The eye contact didn't escape notice from the other scouts, and 
 509.520 +all the girls smiled a little as they looked at the two. Of course it 
 509.521 +was Haruka who began the giggling under her breath that woke the two 
 509.522 +girls from their gaze. She tried to cover it up as a cough, but with no 
 509.523 +success. Michiru just sighed as she covered her eyes with her hand and 
 509.524 +shook her head.
 509.525 +        "It's getting late, we should be getting back home." Setsuna 
 509.526 +said, addressing the other three outter senshi. They rose from their 
 509.527 +seats and walked back into the palace.
 509.528 +        "It was good to see you four again. You really should come over 
 509.529 +more often, it's rare to have us all together in one place at one 
 509.530 +time." Serenity said as they walked to through the main lobby. "Arigato 
 509.531 +Serenity Sama, we'll come back again soon." Michiru replied as they 
 509.532 +approached the door...
 509.533 +        Behind everyone, Chibi Usa and Hotaru walked along the corridor 
 509.534 +hand in hand. Usa turned to face Hotaru as they reached the door. "Call 
 509.535 +me when you get home, ne?" she asked the taller girl. Hotaru smiled and 
 509.536 +assured her that she would They stood looking at one another until 
 509.537 +Haruka called for Hotaru to come on. All the women stood standing in 
 509.538 +the doorway watching the two girls together. Hotaru brought her hand up 
 509.539 +to lift Chibi Usa's chin and placed her lips onto Usa's. The other 
 509.540 +women just starred, wide-eyed at the two kissing girls. As she felt 
 509.541 +Hotaru's lips leave hers, Usa could feel her face redden at the thought 
 509.542 +of her whole family seeing them kiss. Hotaru saw her girlfriend's face 
 509.543 +and smiled sweetly. She bent down to Usa's ear and whispered 
 509.544 +"aishiteru" before walking to the door. She walked past the others and 
 509.545 +outside to her car.
 509.546 +        After regaining consciousness, the three outer senshi proceeded 
 509.547 +outside to Haruka's red convertible, all except for Haruka who walked 
 509.548 +over to Hotaru's black car. "You got some explaining to do when we get 
 509.549 +home Taru-chan." She said as she bent down to Hotaru's window. The two 
 509.550 +laughed, and Haruka walked to her own car. When the others had left, 
 509.551 +all eyes fell on Chibi Usa. The princess stretched her arms over her 
 509.552 +head and yawned. "You know, I'm feeling really tired right now. I'll 
 509.553 +see you all tomorrow. Oyasumi." She called out as she quickly ran away 
 509.554 +to her bedroom.
 509.555 +
 509.556 +

   510.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   510.2 +++ b/stories/victorstory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   510.3 @@ -0,0 +1,261 @@
   510.4 +Disclaimer:  ChibiUsa, Hotaru, Michiru and Haruka are not my characters or 
   510.5 +creations.  They were created and belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
   510.6 +
   510.7 +
   510.8 +                         Happy Birthday Hotaru!
   510.9 +
  510.10 +
  510.11 +        The music was playing softly and there were two shadowed bodies 
  510.12 +sitting by the fireplace.  The two bodies just sat there holding one 
  510.13 +another.  One of the bodies had it's hair up in buns, while the other had 
  510.14 +it's hair down.  It looked around shoulder length.
  510.15 +
  510.16 +        (Where is this place?  I've never seen this place before.  Does this 
  510.17 +mean that something different is going to happen?)
  510.18 +
  510.19 +        Suddenly the music stopped and a loud and horrible laughter begun.  
  510.20 +Then, without warning, the person with shoulder length hair began to glow.  
  510.21 +As the person glowed, it also began to shrink.  The laughter just kept 
  510.22 +getting louder and louder as the person just kept getting smaller and 
  510.23 +smaller.  Soon the person disappeared and then the laughter stopped.  The 
  510.24 +room then vanished and the person with their hair in buns was all alone in 
  510.25 +darkness.
  510.26 +
  510.27 +        "Hotaru!," the person screamed, "Don't leave me!  Hotaru!"
  510.28 +
  510.29 +        (Hotaru!  NO!!!  Come back!  Hotaru!  I need you here with me!)
  510.30 +
  510.31 +        "Hotaru!  I'm scared!  Please come back and help me!
  510.32 +
  510.33 +        (Hotaru, I miss you.)
  510.34 +
  510.35 +        "Hotaru, I... love you."
  510.36 +
  510.37 +        ChibiUsa then snapped up panting and sweating.  Her heart was 
  510.38 +racing.  It had been the same reaccuring dream or nightmare as she called 
  510.39 +it, the only difference this time, was the room.  She sat there alone in the 
  510.40 +dark for the rest of the night, afraid that if she fell back to sleep, she 
  510.41 +would have the nightmare again.
  510.42 +
  510.43 +                                   ***
  510.44 +
  510.45 +        The following morning was like any other, Usagi's alarm clock was 
  510.46 +blasting and the rays of sunlight were beaming down on her face through the 
  510.47 +blinds.  The aroma of a freshly cooked breakfast was fastly filling the air. 
  510.48 +  Sitting at the dinner table, ChibiUsa wasn't in too happy of a mood.  The 
  510.49 +nightmare kept her up all night and Ikuko has started to notice.
  510.50 +
  510.51 +        "Is that nightmare getting at you, hon?"
  510.52 +
  510.53 +        "Huh?  Oh, yeah."
  510.54 +
  510.55 +        "You care to tell me about it?"
  510.56 +
  510.57 +        "I'd rather not.  There's someone else that I need to talk to it 
  510.58 +about."
  510.59 +
  510.60 +        "Ok but just be sure to talk to someone about it."
  510.61 +
  510.62 +        "I will.  Thank you."
  510.63 +
  510.64 +        After this ChibiUsa finished her breakfast and readied herself for 
  510.65 +school.
  510.66 +
  510.67 +                                     ***
  510.68 +
  510.69 +        "Hotaru, wait up!" ChibiUsa called out in the hallway.
  510.70 +
  510.71 +        Hotaru tunred around with a smile, greeting ChibiUsa.  ChibiUsa 
  510.72 +couldn't help but to notice Hotaru.  The young girl was wearing a black 
  510.73 +babydoll size tank and a short pair of jean shorts that end at half thigh.  
  510.74 +ChibiUsa caught herself and stopped before Hotaru noticed.
  510.75 +
  510.76 +        "ChibiUsa!  My birthday is in a week.  I hope you'll come over and 
  510.77 +spend some time with me.  You can come over and have supper with us."
  510.78 +
  510.79 +        "Of course I will.  I wouldn't turn down an offer to spend time with 
  510.80 +you, silly."
  510.81 +
  510.82 +        Hotaru just smiled with joy.  She was so happy that her only real 
  510.83 +friend was going to be with her on her birthday.
  510.84 +
  510.85 +                                     ***
  510.86 +
  510.87 +        ChibiUsa spent the rest of the day trying to decide how she could 
  510.88 +tell Hotaru about her dream and how she felt.  Then she decided, she would 
  510.89 +tell her on her birthday.
  510.90 +
  510.91 +        'Do I want to do anything or do I just want to ignore my feelings?  
  510.92 +How could I even begain to tell her how I feel?  I want to do something 
  510.93 +special for her birthday but what?'
  510.94 +
  510.95 +        By the end of the day ChibiUsa had done more serious thinking in 
  510.96 +that one day than she ever has in her whole life.  Finally she decided that 
  510.97 +she would take Hotaru on a picnic and tell her everything.  She still needed 
  510.98 +some time to plan out all the other details.
  510.99 +
 510.100 +        The next day ChibiUsa spent most of the day dreaming about what she 
 510.101 +would say to Hotaru.  She not only thought about what she would say but 
 510.102 +imagined all of the possible responses.  She liked some better than others.
 510.103 +
 510.104 +                                  ***
 510.105 +
 510.106 +        Slowly the days passed by and Hotaru's birthday was now only a day 
 510.107 +away.  ChibiUsa started to get her things together so that she could spend 
 510.108 +the next day with her best friend.  She had never been more nervous nor 
 510.109 +excited in her life.
 510.110 +
 510.111 +        That night ChibiUsa couldn't sleep.  Not because of the nightmare 
 510.112 +but because of her excitment.  She couldn't wait to tell Hotaru how she 
 510.113 +felt.  She prayed that Hotaru would tell her that she felt the same way 
 510.114 +about her.  The night hours slowly dragged on and ChibiUsa fell asleep and 
 510.115 +dreamt.
 510.116 +
 510.117 +                                   ***
 510.118 +
 510.119 +        It was a warm evening and the sun was begining to set.  Two shadowed 
 510.120 +figures sat on the grass and had thier backs agianst a tree.  You could 
 510.121 +easily tell that the two shadowed figures were both female from curves of 
 510.122 +thier bodies.  One leaned over to the other and gave her a soft kiss on the 
 510.123 +lips.  As they parted it became clear who they were.  Both had thier hair 
 510.124 +down.  One was Hotaru, the other was ChibiUsa.  Hotaru smiled and blushed 
 510.125 +then slowly she leaned over to ChibiUsa and began to kiss her softly and 
 510.126 +held her in her arms.  As the kiss went on Hotaru slipped ChibiUsa her 
 510.127 +tongue.  Shocked and caught off gaurd by this, ChibiUsa let out a soft moan. 
 510.128 +  When the kiss ended they both smiled and blushed.  ChibiUsa took hold of 
 510.129 +Hotaru and guided her to the ground and ran her hands over her body.  
 510.130 +ChibiUsa, then, went to lie down beside her laying her head on Hotaru's 
 510.131 +cheast and placing her hand on Hotaru's breast.  ChibiUsa started to tease 
 510.132 +her a little.
 510.133 +
 510.134 +                                   ***
 510.135 +
 510.136 +        The alarm clock started buzzing and ChibiUsa woke up, annoyed that 
 510.137 +it was only a dream.
 510.138 +
 510.139 +        'If only it had been real.' she thought to herself.  When she got 
 510.140 +out of bed she noticed a stain on the sheets and looked down to see that she 
 510.141 +was wet.  Upon noticing this she smiled and wondered how Hotaru would react.
 510.142 +
 510.143 +        "Today's the day.  I gotta make this work.  I just have to."
 510.144 +
 510.145 +                                   ***
 510.146 +
 510.147 +        It started out like any normal Friday.  There was no School that day 
 510.148 +because of Teacher planning.  ChibiUsa finished wrapping the gift that she 
 510.149 +had gotten Hotaru.
 510.150 +
 510.151 +        It was around noon when ChibiUsa went over to Hotaru's house.  She 
 510.152 +was set to be there for the day and night if Hotaru didn't turn her away.  
 510.153 +She wasn't sure how she was gonna get Haruka and Michiru to leave them alone 
 510.154 +long enough for her to do what she wanted.  She thought hard about what she 
 510.155 +could do while she walked to Hotaru's house.  When she got there sure 
 510.156 +enough, Michiru answered the door.  Haruka wasn't there though.
 510.157 +
 510.158 +        "Michiru, where is Haruka at?" ChibiUsa inquired.
 510.159 +
 510.160 +        "She is out getting some things for Hotaru's party.  Some last 
 510.161 +minute pick up's.  Why do you ask?"
 510.162 +
 510.163 +        "No reason, I was just wondering.  I figured that you two would have 
 510.164 +started something by now."
 510.165 +
 510.166 +        "No not yet.  We have something special planned for her so we want 
 510.167 +to have everything perfect."
 510.168 +
 510.169 +        "Really?  I have something special planned for her too.  If you 
 510.170 +wouldn't mind I would like to do it with her alone.  It's kind of 
 510.171 +embarrassing for me so..."
 510.172 +
 510.173 +        "I understand.  I'll talk to Haruka about it but I'm sure we can do 
 510.174 +that for you."
 510.175 +
 510.176 +        "Thank you." ChibiUsa said and smiled.
 510.177 +
 510.178 +                                ***
 510.179 +
 510.180 +        Michiru and Haruka were setting things up and told ChibiUsa that she 
 510.181 +and Hotaru could go off and do whatever while they worked on the 
 510.182 +decorations.  ChibiUsa saw this as the perfect time to make her move.
 510.183 +
 510.184 +        "Hotaru, I know of a really nice place in the park, lets go there.  
 510.185 +I have a couple of things that I want to give you."
 510.186 +
 510.187 +        ChibiUsa had her backpack with her and had a few things with her.  
 510.188 +She led Hotaru to a secluded place in the woods beside the park.
 510.189 +
 510.190 +        "This place is really beautiful ChibiUsa.  Thank you for bringing me 
 510.191 +here."
 510.192 +
 510.193 +        "Hotaru I want to go ahead and give you my gifts."
 510.194 +
 510.195 +        Hotaru nodded and ChibiUsa opened her bag and pulled out a small 
 510.196 +package and a larger package.  Hotaru opened the smaller package first.  It 
 510.197 +was a cd that was imported from America.  It was a group called Savage 
 510.198 +Garden.  This was thier fave. American band.  Next she opened the larger 
 510.199 +package.  It was a big teddy bear.  It looked just like her old bear.  She 
 510.200 +would still have it if the school bullies hadn't messed it up.
 510.201 +
 510.202 +        "Thank you ChibiUsa!" Hotaru said, beaming with joy.  She then gave 
 510.203 +ChibiUsa a big long hug.  ChibiUsa took this oppertunity and as Hotaru 
 510.204 +loosened the hug she turned her face to where they were face to face and 
 510.205 +ChibiUsa gave her a quick peck on the lips.  ChibiUsa was red with 
 510.206 +embarrassment.  Hotaru just sat there motionless and speechless.  She 
 510.207 +couldn't believe what ChibiUsa had just done.
 510.208 +
 510.209 +        Hotaru stood there confused and silent.  Not knowing what to do she 
 510.210 +ran home.  ChibiUsa knew that she had messed up, she knew that the next move 
 510.211 +would be up to Hotaru.  She was afraid that she had just ruined thier 
 510.212 +friendship.  When Hotaru got home Haruka and Michiru were waiting for her 
 510.213 +and ChibiUsa.
 510.214 +
 510.215 +        "Where's ChibiUsa?" Michiru inquried.
 510.216 +
 510.217 +        "Something came up and she had to go."  Hotaru couldn't tell them 
 510.218 +what had really happened.  As the day went on Hotaru couldn't think about 
 510.219 +anything besides what ChibiUsa had done.  As days passed all Hotaru could 
 510.220 +think about was did she do the right thing.  She thought it over and 
 510.221 +wondered.  She had battles between her feelings and what her brain thought.
 510.222 +
 510.223 +                               ***
 510.224 +
 510.225 +        One afternoon ChibiUsa had come by and knocked on the door.  Michiru 
 510.226 +answered and asked her to come in.
 510.227 +
 510.228 +        "That's ok, Michiru, I just came by to drop these off for Hotaru.  
 510.229 +They are her birthday presents from me.  I've been really busy lately and 
 510.230 +haven't had time to drop them off.  Tell her I said hi, ok?"
 510.231 +
 510.232 +        "I'll do that.  Bye-bye ChibiUsa."
 510.233 +
 510.234 +        Hotaru was standing around the corner and had heard everything.  She 
 510.235 +knew that ChibiUsa had to have strong feelings for her then.  That night all 
 510.236 +Hotaru could do was think.  She had to do something and it had to be soon.
 510.237 +
 510.238 +                                ***
 510.239 +
 510.240 +        The next morning before school she wrote ChibiUsa a note and dropped 
 510.241 +it off in her locker.  When ChibiUsa went to get her first period book she 
 510.242 +saw the note and read it.
 510.243 +
 510.244 +        'The woods by the park?  At 6?' she wondered to herself.  All 
 510.245 +ChibiUsa could think about for the rest of the day was what Hotaru had in 
 510.246 +mind.
 510.247 +
 510.248 +        The day passed and 6:00 arrived pretty quickly.  ChibiUsa ran to the 
 510.249 +spot that Hotaru and mentioned in the note as fast as she could.  When she 
 510.250 +got there she saw that Hotaru had a battery powered radio and she had the cd 
 510.251 +playing that she had given Hotaru for her birthday.
 510.252 +
 510.253 +        "ChibiUsa," Hotaru started, "I'm sorry I ran off.  I didn't know 
 510.254 +what to do and I had to think things through.  You had cought me off gaurd 
 510.255 +and I didn't exspect that.  What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry.  Can you 
 510.256 +forgive me.  I want you to love me and I want to love you."  With that said 
 510.257 +Hotaru started to cry.  ChibiUsa ran up to her and hugged her.
 510.258 +
 510.259 +        "Of course I can forgive you.  I want to love you and have you love 
 510.260 +me too."  Hotaru looked ChibiUsa straight in the eyes.  Thier faces grew 
 510.261 +closer and closer to each other's and they kissed. Thier tongues exploring 
 510.262 +the other's mouth.  They stayed this way for a while.  When the kiss broke, 
 510.263 +Hotaru said, "I love you chibiUsa and I want you to go out with me."  
 510.264 +ChibiUsa looked at Hotaru, smiled and nodded.

   511.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   511.2 +++ b/stories/voltarianmush.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   511.3 @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
   511.4 +WARNINGS: There are no sexually explicit scenes in this, but sex is discussed quite openly. LIME warning. The 
   511.5 +sex discussed is guys with guys, and girls with girls. YAOI and YURI warning. This openly mocks romantic and 
   511.6 +lemon fan material. PARODY warning. There are refrences to 10 year old girls having sex, for the sake of humor. 
   511.7 +SEX AMONGST CHILDREN warning. I'll repeat, though, that this is a PARODY PARODY PARODY PARODY 
   511.8 +PARODY. I'm NOT advocating child pornography. 
   511.9 +Now, for all of you that weren't scared off (all two of you), here's the fic. 
  511.10 +**************
  511.11 +"To-ya, I can't wait any longer, I must tell you! I love you!" 
  511.12 +"What, do you really mean that, Yuki?" 
  511.13 +"Oh yes, To-ya, oh yes, I do. With all my heart. Hold me, my love." 
  511.14 +"With the greatest of pleasures, Yuki-chan. May I call you that?" 
  511.15 +"Only if I may call you To-ya-chan." 
  511.16 +In perfect synch, their lips, the texture of a morning glory, came together. Their emotions were as pure as the 
  511.17 +crystalline dewdrops on the leaves of a morning glory. But quickly a blush came to their cheeks, and they split. 
  511.18 +Their inexperience made them shy. 
  511.19 +"My happiness is complete," sighed Yukito. "Now I can spend the rest of my like dedicating myself to you. All that 
  511.20 +will matter to me now is you, and only you." 
  511.21 +"I will think only of you," promised Touya. 
  511.22 +"We will be together forever, I know it." 
  511.23 +"Yes, beyond eternity, for every lifetime after and before." 
  511.24 +Yukito's delicate features turned to pale horror. "What, my love, have I said something wrong?" 
  511.25 +"No, you could never be wrong. It is I. Before you pledge yourself to me, I must tell you my horrible secret." 
  511.26 +"Yuki-chan, you have kept a secret from me? You have hurt me, and the pain is scratching away at my heart." 
  511.27 +Yukito wept. "Oh, forgive me! I never wanted to bring you anything but joy and delight. The truth is, I don't even 
  511.28 +know what my secret it. All I know is that there is something dreadfully different about me, but I'm not sure what." 
  511.29 +Touya laughed. "I already know that." 
  511.30 +"Really?" 
  511.31 +"Sure. You're not human." 
  511.32 +"Is that all? Whew, what a relief. I thought it was something important." 
  511.33 +"Let us forget these trivialities. Come, let's go to your house to lose our virginity, in exactly half an hour since our 
  511.34 +first kiss." 
  511.35 +"Be careful with me, To-ya-chan. I am frightened of pain, but desire the pleasure, and feel some odd compulsion to 
  511.36 +satisfy your every whim." 
  511.37 +"I will be as careful with you as I would be when break an egg shell." 
  511.38 +"Oh, To-ya-chan." 
  511.39 +"Oh, Yuki-chan." 
  511.40 +They kiss passionately, this time with no reserve, and there is doubt whether they will get so far as Yukito's house. 
  511.41 +But, to the disappointment of all, they only reached second base before they were interrupted. 
  511.42 +"Hello, onii-chan! Hi, Yukito-san. Hey, why are your shirts open?" Sakura asked. She was holding the hand of an 
  511.43 +euphoric Tomoyo. The grins on their faces were wide and sloppy. One might assume they saw hickeys on the girls' 
  511.44 +necks, but then quickly wave that thought as ridiculous, since they are, after all, only ten years old. 
  511.45 +Yukito was not in the slightest thrown off by Sakura's observant eyes. "Oh, To-ya-chan and I were just making out. 
  511.46 +Tomoyo, what are you staring at?" 
  511.47 +"I love Sakura-chan," the girl chanted, in a disturbing stoned-like manner, "And she loves me. I love taking pictures 
  511.48 +of Sakura-chan. I love kissing Sakura-chan. I love taking pictures of Sakura-chan kissing me. I love Sakura-chan. 
  511.49 +And she loves me. I love Sakura-chan's body. I love taking pictures. I love taking pictures of Sakura-chan's–" Sakura 
  511.50 +gave her lover a coy smile, which shut Tomoyo up. The dark haired girl turned [further] into a blubbery mass of love 
  511.51 +for Sakura. 
  511.52 +"Tomoyo-chan and I had wild, lesbian sex just ten minutes ago," Sakura explained, "and we even got it on tape! 
  511.53 +We're going to Tomoyo-chan's house to watch it on her gigantic screen while we fuck each other again like the 
  511.54 +nymphomaniacs we are. Wanna come?" 
  511.55 +"Maybe some other time. At the moment, Yuki-chan and I would like to make passionate love." 
  511.56 +"Oh, I see." 
  511.57 +"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo thought aloud in a dreamy voice, "I have this adorable outfit I made just for you. It's this 
  511.58 +pink leather bodice with bunny ears, full of frills and bows. Would you wear it while we...?" 
  511.59 +"Of course! You know I love showing myself off to you. Would you like me to before we–" 
  511.60 +"Oh, yes, please! And then..." 
  511.61 +The two ran off, for waiting any longer would be impossible. 
  511.62 +Yukito sighed. "Isn't love beautiful?" 
  511.63 +"Quite, my little snuggle bunny. But enough about my sister and her sex-crazed lover . We have our own loving to 
  511.64 +do." 
  511.65 +"Yes, we much catch up with them. Kiss me, To-ya-chan." 
  511.66 +"What, here, in the middle of the street?" 
  511.67 +"Right here, right now. It's more exciting like this." 
  511.68 +"Oh, Yuki-chan." 
  511.69 +"Oh, To-ya-chan." 
  511.70 +A storm of flowers encompassed them as they embraced and learned true happiness. 
  511.71 +~Fini~
  511.72 +Next Episode on Voltarian Mush! Will Touya and Yukito have heart-to-heart talks about how much they love each 
  511.73 +other? Will Sakura and Tomoyo have animal sex five times in six pages, or only four? And will Syaoran join in on 
  511.74 +the fun? Maybe! But we promise, there will be no Kero-chan! So tune in for the next, never-to-come, Voltarian 
  511.75 +Mush! 
  511.76 +**************
  511.77 +I wrote the first half of this after I got a couple of frustrating messages on the ccs yaoi ml based on my ‘Nothing 
  511.78 +Personal' fic, complaining that I had mangled the characters. But I do not think I wrote the characters any more out 
  511.79 +of character than in the sappy fics that these same people gushed over. I love a mushy fic just as much as the next 
  511.80 +person, but that doesn't mean that they're not any less true to the original story than, say, an angsty fic or a crossover. 
  511.81 +The story is meant to be humorous, do not get offended insulted. ;) 
  511.82 +-- Lizabell Waters 
  511.83 +lizabellwaters@hotmail.com
  511.84 +

   512.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   512.2 +++ b/stories/walkrain.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   512.3 @@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
   512.4 +Disclaimer: I've been writing a lot recently, I know, and I AM sorry about
   512.5 +it. I just keep thinking about new ideas, so I have to get them down before
   512.6 +they fly away. Or rather, I forget them. I like how I worded it first,
   512.7 +though I always have the knowledge, the tiny white butterfly, somewhere deep
   512.8 +within my mind, my soul. Anyways, this is a small fluffy fanfiction I wrote
   512.9 +after I thought it up playing minesweeper. I almost always lose minesweeper,
  512.10 +but oh well. ^^; I'm sorry! I know I should be working on 'Miss Witch', but
  512.11 +I'm stuck on that one scene! Ugh. -_- So sad.anyways, warning: this
  512.12 +fanfiction contains yuri and (I always add this in case it happens. My
  512.13 +stories take their own form.) yaoi. If this offends you, please don't read.
  512.14 +Also, I don't own any copyrighted stuff. Thanks! ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
  512.15 +
  512.16 +A Walk In The Rain~~A Cardcaptor Sakura fanfiction
  512.17 +By Forever3330
  512.18 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  512.19 +
  512.20 + A young brunette, maybe fourteen or so, walked slowly home from school,
  512.21 +looking up at the gray sky as she walked. Soon she would reach the park. A
  512.22 +small smile formed on her lips, and she stopped, waiting, listening.
  512.23 + Soon enough she heard soft, quick footsteps behind her, and looked at the
  512.24 +girl who stood next to her, breathing in short, quick, gasps.
  512.25 +"Tomoyo-chan.wasn't your piano lesson going to run late today?"
  512.26 + The second, slightly shorter girl stood up straighter, lavender hair
  512.27 +rippling in small waves as she did so. She smiled warmly, the calm, gentle
  512.28 +smile Sakura loved best. "Hai. But my sensei was sick. I hope she gets well
  512.29 +soon." Tomoyo's eyes looked worried, but they brightened. "But now we can
  512.30 +walk home together, Sakura-chan. Perhaps we could have a sleepover at your
  512.31 +house. It's Friday, after all."
  512.32 + Sakura beamed at her friend, barely noticing the tiny raindrops beginning
  512.33 +to sprinkle down on them. "Of course. Father won't mind; he says you're like
  512.34 +family, the way you're over at our house so often. Onii-chan says you are
  512.35 +family."
  512.36 + Tomoyo slipped her slender hand into Sakura's. "It honors me greatly that
  512.37 +Kinomoto-san would think of me as such."
  512.38 + Sakura giggled as they began to walk, perfectly in step. "Tomoyo-chan, you'
  512.39 +re so polite!"
  512.40 + Tomoyo smiled. "And you have a quality better then that Sakura-chan; you're
  512.41 +special to many people, and you're the sunshine in my darkness."
  512.42 + Sakura looked thoughtful for a few moments, then blushed. "Tomoyo-chan.oh,
  512.43 +it's raining! I should have brought an umbrella like Father told me to!"
  512.44 + Tomoyo looked up. "I love the rain.each little raindrop is like a tiny
  512.45 +world, a tiny soul. Each so different and so the same.all born from the same
  512.46 +Mother."
  512.47 + Sakura smiled softly and squeezed her best friend's hand softly. "You see
  512.48 +everything so much differently from me, Tomoyo-chan. I could happily spend
  512.49 +years with you, and only learn a tiny bit of everything you see."
  512.50 + Tomoyo looked over at Sakura, and smiled sweetly. "Sakura-chan, it would
  512.51 +make me very happy to do so; Sakura-chan's happiness is my happiness."
  512.52 + Sakura sighed. "Tomoyo-chan.I love rainy days too."
  512.53 + "Why?" Tomoyo looked over at her friend as they came to a stop, at a
  512.54 +railing on the small bridge that passed over the lake by the King Penguin.
  512.55 + Sakura gently took her hand from Tomoyo's, and leaned against the railing,
  512.56 +emerald eyes clouding over.
  512.57 + "Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked softly.
  512.58 + Sakura didn't reply, and simply looked out over the lake, then closed her
  512.59 +eyes, pressing deep into her memory, her soul this perfect moment. The
  512.60 +breeze was soft, blowing against her skin, warmly. And small raindrops fell
  512.61 +down from the sky.Sakura knew she was soaked to the bone, but didn't care
  512.62 +much. Tomoyo stood silently beside her, waiting ever patiently. Always
  512.63 +patient. Waiting.
  512.64 + Tomoyo turned and leaned on the railing, shivering as the cold metal
  512.65 +touched her skin. The cold and wet didn't bother her much; she was here with
  512.66 +her beloved special person. She would be lost in perfect bliss forever if
  512.67 +only this moment could stretch into eternity; but for her, it already did.
  512.68 +Looking over at Sakura, she smiled her soft smile. Her loved ones flashed
  512.69 +one by one through her mind, but she knew that her love for Sakura wasn't
  512.70 +rivaled by any of them. Oh, she had the strongest love possible for her
  512.71 +mother, her friends; but her love for Sakura left them all far behind. It
  512.72 +grew even now, as it always grew, second by second, as time went on. She
  512.73 +could always go on, powered by that love. Even if she had to let Sakura go
  512.74 +someday, her love would keep her going on. As long as she had these
  512.75 +memories.
  512.76 + Sakura sighed softly, not stirring Tomoyo out of her dream-like state, but
  512.77 +simply going farther into her own. She knew most people took her for the
  512.78 +oblivious girl she showed them, and for the most part she was. But
  512.79 +sometimes, sometimes she saw in and through what everyone wanted her to see,
  512.80 +through every illusion, straight to the soul of what was hiding. Tomoyo was
  512.81 +hard to figure out, but there had been times when understanding gripped her
  512.82 +for a few precious seconds, and then fled. Tomoyo had once recited a poem to
  512.83 +her...well; Tomoyo recited many poems to her. But one line had caught her
  512.84 +attention yesterday. 'To see a world in a grain of sand'. Sakura smiled
  512.85 +gently. As a child she had been able to do just that. But now, she could see
  512.86 +things deeper, almost like she was seeing through a fraction of what Tomoyo'
  512.87 +s view was. Tomoyo was so secretive sometimes.Sakura worried about her.
  512.88 + Tomoyo breathed in the air around her, slipping further into her
  512.89 +seeming-trance. There were so many things she could say right now. But
  512.90 +nothing would accurately describe the moment, the feelings, emotions,
  512.91 +senses. Nothing would describe it. But she could hold a wisp of what this
  512.92 +moment had been within her, forever. The moment itself could never be truly
  512.93 +there again, without it happening. Oh, she could live on. But this full
  512.94 +blast of life within the moment wouldn't happen after Sakura left. Tomoyo
  512.95 +hoped the time when such a thing would happen was far into the future.
  512.96 + Syaoran had turned to her, before he left to China, after he had promised
  512.97 +to come back for her. A promise Sakura hadn't asked for, and wasn't sure he
  512.98 +would keep. He had asked her to go with him. And she had refused. Perhaps,
  512.99 +perhaps she should have gone. But then she would never have been here, in
 512.100 +this small glimpse of heaven. If Syaoran were in Tomoyo's place right now,
 512.101 +what would be different? She should be happier, right? That was to some
 512.102 +extent something Naoko had asked her. Strangely enough, she hadn't thought
 512.103 +much about it. She couldn't leave her family, her friends. She couldn't
 512.104 +leave. They would have been devastated, especially Tomoyo. Sakura winced at
 512.105 +the thought. Her best friend had always told her that Sakura's happiness was
 512.106 +her own happiness, but Sakura knew that Tomoyo seemed to need her. Tomoyo
 512.107 +always seemed so fragile in Sakura's eyes, even though Sakura knew Tomoyo
 512.108 +was stronger then her in some ways. But she still couldn't bring herself to
 512.109 +do it. To go away from the people she loved. It would be too much. Even
 512.110 +though she was sure Tomoyo would have insisted on her going if the pale
 512.111 +heiress had known. Tomoyo thought she was happy with Syaoran. So Tomoyo
 512.112 +naturally tried to do what she thought would make Sakura happy, tried to
 512.113 +make it all come to life. Sakura shook her head, smiling slightly at the
 512.114 +thought.
 512.115 + Tomoyo opened her eyes, realizing only now they were closed. She shifted
 512.116 +and looked over at Sakura in concern. Usually the energetic Cardmistress
 512.117 +couldn't stay still.
 512.118 + Sakura smiled, and opened her eyes as she turned to Tomoyo. She giggled as
 512.119 +she saw her friend's soaking lavender hair messy for once. Still, Tomoyo's
 512.120 +hair was always beautiful, even like this.
 512.121 + Tomoyo blinked, not quite understanding. Then her eyes noticed Sakura was
 512.122 +soaked, and quite messy, and knew she must look quite the same. Embarrassed,
 512.123 +she giggled softly, and the two girls' giggles became laughter.
 512.124 + Slowly, their laughter drifted off, and the rain became heavier, but
 512.125 +neither noticed it. "Tomoyo-chan.what were you thinking about?"
 512.126 + Tomoyo smiled gently. "My special person."
 512.127 + "That's what you always say when I ask you that." Sakura commented.
 512.128 + "Because it's always true." Tomoyo smiled warmly.
 512.129 + Sakura smiled, looking at her friend.
 512.130 + "Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo felt Sakura's forehead. "Are you okay?"
 512.131 + "I'm fine." Sakura replied.
 512.132 + "If you say so." Tomoyo still looked worried.
 512.133 + Sakura's smile became dreamy, and she leaned slightly forward, touching her
 512.134 +own lips Tomoyo's petal soft ones. Pulling back the brunette blushed
 512.135 +slightly, but smiled all the same, then turned back to look over the lake in
 512.136 +embarrassment.
 512.137 + Tomoyo stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what had just
 512.138 +happened, and at the same time burning the memory into her heart, making
 512.139 +sure the memory would never leave her. That was the most happiness she had
 512.140 +ever felt, her soul combining with Sakura's creating a light brighter then
 512.141 +that Sakura alone could shine on her life. A hand rose unconsciously to her
 512.142 +lips, and she waited in the silence, looking over at Sakura.
 512.143 + Sakura finally turned back to her friend, and giggled. "Gomen ne, Tomoyo. I
 512.144 +didn't mean to surprise you."
 512.145 + Tomoyo blinked, and replied. "It's okay Sakura-chan."
 512.146 + "You wanted to know the reason I love rainy days?" Sakura asked, smiling at
 512.147 +Tomoyo's bewilderment.
 512.148 + "Hai, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo said, still slightly out of it.
 512.149 + "Because the stormy blue sky reminds me of your eyes." Sakura blushed. "And
 512.150 +it feels like my Tomoyo-chan is watching over me."
 512.151 + Tomoyo's mind kept going over the same words: 'my Tomoyo-chan'. "That
 512.152 +sounds like something I would say." She finally managed.
 512.153 +  Sakura giggled nervously, putting one hand behind her head. "I know.
 512.154 +Because it is something you would say, Tomoyo. My love is the same as yours.
 512.155 +Gomen. It took me a little while to get used to it, or to say anything."
 512.156 + "What do you mean?" Tomoyo was confused and yet strangely understood it
 512.157 +all.
 512.158 + "I mean that I love you, Tomoyo. I sometimes understand the things you say.
 512.159 +Plus everyone hints at it if I ask the right questions. Sometimes I just don
 512.160 +'t see things very clearly. Then, sometimes, I see it. Like in that poem you
 512.161 +recited the other day."
 512.162 + "What about Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo asked.
 512.163 + Sakura looked thoughtful. "I think Kero-chan tried to explain it to me. I
 512.164 +knew I never loved him, really, after I thought about it, but I didn't know
 512.165 +how to explain it. He said it was the attraction to magic, like with
 512.166 +Yuki-san and Ms. Misuki. But I know that I love you, Tomoyo. I asked
 512.167 +Light-sama and Dark-sama about love, once. They're smart. I think they love
 512.168 +eachother, Tomoyo. Light-sama said something about being to halves apart and
 512.169 +together whole."
 512.170 + Tomoyo nodded slowly. "Sakura-chan."
 512.171 + Sakura looked a little worried. "Is it okay for me to love you? Or did I
 512.172 +get everything wrong?"
 512.173 + Tomoyo shook her head, silencing Sakura. "Would you be happy?"
 512.174 + "With you?" Sakura sighed in relief. "Hai. I already am, Tomoyo. I like
 512.175 +moments like these. I would be truly happy if I could spend the rest of my
 512.176 +life with you."
 512.177 + Tomoyo nodded, smiling. "My happiness is you happiness Sakura. Whatever
 512.178 +makes you happy. If it would make you happy to spend the rest of you life
 512.179 +with me I would be happier then I could say. Aishiteru."
 512.180 + Sakura smiled, almost bouncing, her usual energy back. "Really? That would
 512.181 +make me very happy, Tomoyo! Do you promise?"
 512.182 + Tomoyo smiled at the genki girl. Her genki girl. "Hai, Sakura. I promise."
 512.183 + Sakura smiled, and kissed Tomoyo again, in a feather-light, quick, kiss.
 512.184 +"Good! But we have to get home before my family gets worried. I'm already
 512.185 +behind schedule because I forgot my roller blades at school."
 512.186 + Tomoyo smiled dreamily. "Whatever you say, Sakura." Sakura slipped her hand
 512.187 +into Tomoyo's and Tomoyo was aware of them starting to walk.
 512.188 + "Are you going to be quiet the entire walk home?" Sakura asked after a few
 512.189 +moments, looking curiously over at the heiress. "Don't you have anything to
 512.190 +say? Usually you tell me about new costumes and stuff."
 512.191 + Tomoyo smiled warmly, her gentle smile reserved for those she loved, this
 512.192 +one for Sakura. "The only thing I have to say is that we should take more
 512.193 +walks in the rain. They're nice. Especially if you're going to stop at that
 512.194 +bridge each time and give me a kiss."
 512.195 + Sakura smiled, blushing a little. "We could make it a habit, if you want."
 512.196 + "That would make me very happy, Sakura."
 512.197 + "Then it'd make me happy too." Sakura squeezed her love's hand.
 512.198 + And so they walked, in the rain.
 512.199 +

   513.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   513.2 +++ b/stories/wanto.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   513.3 @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
   513.4 +I Wanna to Love You Forever
   513.5 +by Duchess Diamond
   513.6 +I wanna to Love you Forever by Duchess Diamond
   513.7 +
   513.8 +Disclaimer: I not own Card captors. Nor do I own the song.
   513.9 +A/N I wrote this to make my best friend mad and to prove a point.
  513.10 +oh yes and a key.
  513.11 +Thoughts
  513.12 +"words"
  513.13 +{Dreams}
  513.14 +(A/N My thoughts)
  513.15 +Weird voice in Madison's head
  513.16 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  513.17 +You set my soul at ease.
  513.18 +Left your desperate spell on me
  513.19 +Say you feel it too.
  513.20 +I know you do
  513.21 +
  513.22 +Sukura, Madison, and Kero prepare for yet another card capture. "You ready Sukura" asked Madison. "As ready as I'll ever be," replied Sukura. "Then we better get going before Li shows up" said Kero. Sukura pulls out her key and she and Kero prepare to take off. "Good luck Sukura. Be careful" said Madison. "I will Madison," replied Sukura. And She and Kero fly off in to the night. Madison pointed the camera at her. I love you, Sukura.
  513.23 +
  513.24 +I've got so much more to give
  513.25 +Just to die and yet to live (A/N I think)
  513.26 +Pull yourself all over me
  513.27 +And I'll cherish every moment out here on my knees
  513.28 +
  513.29 +Madison sat back against a tree. (Sigh) I wish I could tell her how I feel, but what if.....if....she rejects me. I could ruin our friendship. (sigh) I wish I knew what to do. Do what's on your heart. "Who's there?" Do you really think Sukura will reject you, Madison. Is that what you believe in your heart? Well, no. It is....WAIT! Who are you and how do you know my name? I know lots of things. Like your eternal love for a cherry blossom. If you mean Sukura you're right. But alas I see a young wolf standing in the way of this love. (sigh) That would be Li. But I also see that the Cherry Blossom is understanding. So should I tell her? Look in your heart.
  513.30 +
  513.31 +
  513.32 +I wanna love you forever.
  513.33 +And this is all I'm asking of you.
  513.34 +Ten thousand life times together.
  513.35 +Is that so much for you to do
  513.36 +Cuz for the moment that I saw your face
  513.37 +And felt the fire in your sweet embrace
  513.38 +I swear I knew
  513.39 +I am going to love you forever
  513.40 +
  513.41 +What should I do? The voice tells me look in my heart. But does my heart want. Just then her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey Madison!" said Sukura cheerily. "Hi Sukura! How did it go?"said Madison cheerily. "Just look!" replied Sukura as she hand Madison a clow card. "Great job! Too bad I couldn't come watch." said Madison excited. "Um...Sukura may I talk to you?" Madison looks up at Kero. "Alone please" "Yeah sure I know when I'm not wanted." Kero flies away. "So you wanted to talk to me, Madison." "Yeah, Sukura. I wanted to say...." "Yes?" "I wanted to say...." Just say it "I love you Sukura." Sukura just stood there in shock. Madison turns around in shame. "Madison..." "yes?" Sukura kisses Madison gently on the lips. Madison wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer. Sukura kisses her harder. Slowly Sukura pulls part of from Madison. "I love you, too" She whispers softly in Madison's ear. 
  513.42 +
  513.43 +
  513.44 +I wanna love you Forever
  513.45 +
  513.46 +
  513.47 +
  513.48 +The End

   514.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   514.2 +++ b/stories/watchingyou.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   514.3 @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
   514.4 +Disclaimer: This is short. Karika! I hope it’s not too horrid! I
   514.5 +don’t own any copyrighted items. ~.^ ~~Forever3330~~ ^.~
   514.6 +
   514.7 +Watching You~~A Medabots fanfiction
   514.8 +
   514.9 +Forever3330
  514.10 +kawaiimotoko@hotmail.com
  514.11 +
  514.12 +	I’ve never been one to get crushes; actually, I never HAVE had a
  514.13 +crush. I never even had a crush on you. I just fell head-over heels
  514.14 +in love with you, straight from the moment I met you. Even if it
  514.15 +seems as if I don’t…it only shows through at small moments. But
  514.16 +that’s how I want it.
  514.17 +
  514.18 +	Do you know what kind of love I mean? The romantic, passionate kind
  514.19 +that keeps you going? The kind where you would sacrifice your life of
  514.20 +feelings or anything for the sake of the one you love without a
  514.21 +second thought? It’s scary, in a way.
  514.22 +
  514.23 +	Because you may never be loved back.
  514.24 +
  514.25 +	But it’s okay, I guess. I don’t like the thought of you getting
  514.26 +together with someone else. But that’s the way I am. Jealous. It’s so
  514.27 +hard not to just reach out and take your hand, and ask if you would
  514.28 +like to dance. But then, I’m getting used to being a wallflower,
  514.29 +leaning against the cold, hard stone, watching the couples twirl
  514.30 +about in patterns I couldn’t hope to break into, dancing along with
  514.31 +you as my partner. You need to have a partner, after all, to dance at
  514.32 +these things.
  514.33 +
  514.34 +	They all like you too. It hard to see how they couldn’t. I never
  514.35 +thought I would fall in love, but after I met you it wasn’t hard to
  514.36 +see how I could. But I had promised I would only watch you, knowing
  514.37 +that you would fall for one of them. Guessing you would fall for one
  514.38 +of them. Wishing you wouldn’t, that you’d look into my eyes and see
  514.39 +everything I can’t say for fear of scaring you off. That you’d accept
  514.40 +it. That you’d feel the same way.
  514.41 +
  514.42 +	My heart is very, very bad. It’s not making this whole ‘not saying
  514.43 +anything’ thing any easier on me.
  514.44 +
  514.45 +	You see my gaze and smile gently, the smile that makes my heart
  514.46 +flutter. “Erika-chan, would you like to dance? Everyone else is still
  514.47 +at the refreshment table, and this is my favorite song.”
  514.48 +
  514.49 +	My mouth must have said something without my permission again,
  514.50 +because now I’m dancing with you, twirling about in the dances that
  514.51 +meant so little when I was just watching them. I’m surprised to note
  514.52 +that you’re exactly my height now; I used to be taller. We pull
  514.53 +closer and I see that you’re mouthing the words, singing ever so
  514.54 +softly, eyes at your feet.
  514.55 +
  514.56 +	And you look up, seeing my eyes on you once again. And you smile,
  514.57 +the simple expression faltering. “E…Erika-chan…”
  514.58 +
  514.59 +	“Hai?” We’re slowing down a bit, earning us angry glares from other
  514.60 +couples.
  514.61 +
  514.62 +	“I…” You clear your throat. “I’ve been meaning to tell you
  514.63 +something.”
  514.64 +
  514.65 +	“What is it?” I think my heart just sped up quite a bit.
  514.66 +
  514.67 +	“I like someone.”
  514.68 +
  514.69 +	And then stopped. “Oh…um…oh, hey, there’s the others with the
  514.70 +drinks!” I’m about to go over to them, to my best friend and my other
  514.71 +friends, but you grab my hand.
  514.72 +
  514.73 +	“Erika-chan! Hold on for just one moment!” You pause, then sigh. “I
  514.74 +don’t think they like me back.”
  514.75 +
  514.76 +	I stop, if only because you look so sad. “I’m sure they like you
  514.77 +back.”
  514.78 +
  514.79 +	You smile sadly. “As a friend only. Erika-chan, I’ve been meaning
  514.80 +to tell you who I…”
  514.81 +
  514.82 +	My brain tells me I should run before my heart gets broken. My
  514.83 +heart disagrees, though it doesn’t want to be broken. It wants to
  514.84 +stay with you.
  514.85 +
  514.86 +	“…Who I like. I like you, Erika-chan.”
  514.87 +
  514.88 +	…
  514.89 +
  514.90 +	…
  514.91 +
  514.92 +	…
  514.93 +
  514.94 +	What just happened?
  514.95 +
  514.96 +	“You…you what?”
  514.97 +
  514.98 +	You look away. “I like you, Erika-chan.”
  514.99 +
 514.100 +	“That…that can’t be true…”
 514.101 +
 514.102 +	And then you lean in and kiss me, once.
 514.103 +
 514.104 +	I really must be going insane. “But…”
 514.105 +
 514.106 +	“Gomenasai…I…” You turn to leave.
 514.107 +
 514.108 +	“Karin-chan, wait!” I grab your hand this time, and you turn back
 514.109 +to look at me, tears streaming down your face. “I…I like you too.”
 514.110 +
 514.111 +	And then we’re hugging, and I feel a tap on my shoulder.
 514.112 +
 514.113 +	“Congratulations! We got the whole thing on tape!” Ikki beams,
 514.114 +proud of himself for not leaving the cap on the camera, most likely.
 514.115 +He winks at me. Of course he knew whom I liked. He IS my best friend,
 514.116 +after all. He used to have a crush on Karin, but then, he tends to
 514.117 +get crushes. “Right Metabee?”
 514.118 +
 514.119 +	“Yo, Ikki? Kogee’s out cold…” Metabee sweatdropped.
 514.120 +
 514.121 +	“Probably from seeing his life-long love kiss someone else.”
 514.122 +Sumiladon replied, shaking Kogee.
 514.123 +
 514.124 +“Kogee-kun has a life-long love?” You ask, blinking.
 514.125 +
 514.126 +	Somehow I have a feeling you never had crushes either.
 514.127 +
 514.128 +Owari!
 514.129 +

   515.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   515.2 +++ b/stories/waterrunsdry.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   515.3 @@ -0,0 +1,355 @@
   515.4 + How come who's asking?The stream, running full force, was a 
   515.5 +beautiful blue color.  Not deep blue or light blue, but a sort of 
   515.6 +mixture of the two.  Just a beautiful blue color.  They had never 
   515.7 +seen such a color before.
   515.8 + The two lovers, both petite women, looked up from the stream 
   515.9 +and into each others eyes.  One had light pink colored hair, and 
  515.10 +the other had dark blue...almost a black.  They were both not 
  515.11 +wearing anything, as is customary in the fourth dimension.  The 
  515.12 +lover's bodies shone in the light, but they did not look over the 
  515.13 +other's form.  They just continued to look at each other, before 
  515.14 +looking back into the stream.
  515.15 + "It's so beautiful, Hotaru."  The pink haired one said, 
  515.16 +still looking at the stream.  "I wish I could stay here with you 
  515.17 +forever."
  515.18 + "Why can't you?"  The dark haired one said.  "We both need 
  515.19 +each other, Chibi-chan.  We do.  So just stay here with me."
  515.20 + "I can't.  I just...can't."  Replied the pink haired girl.
  515.21 + "Look at our stream, Chibi.  Watch it flow.  This is our 
  515.22 +love.  Don't deny it!  It's our love, flowing, just as it always 
  515.23 +will.  We have always been a part of each other, and always will 
  515.24 +be."
  515.25 + "Our water WILL run dry, Hotaru.  It will run dry."
  515.26 +
  515.27 +
  515.28 +Water Runs Dry
  515.29 +A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman
  515.30 +By: PsychoKittenSenshi611
  515.31 +	Eeh-mail:  katprincess82@hotmail.com
  515.32 +		This is a Sekkushiaru Roman, so you all know what is 
  515.33 +expected of you.  You must be 18 to read this (sorry folks, I don't make 
  515.34 +the rules...unfortunately!) otherwise...well...we all know the consequences.  
  515.35 +This story contains love and love alone.
  515.36 +		Ok enough of that crap.  Read on loves!  *MuAH!*
  515.37 +
  515.38 +We don't even talk anymore
  515.39 +And we don't even know what we argue about
  515.40 +Don't even say I love you no more
  515.41 +Cause sayin' how we feel is no longer allowed
  515.42 +Some people work things out
  515.43 +And some just don't know how to change
  515.44 +Let's don't wait till the water runs dry
  515.45 +We might watch our whole lives pass us by
  515.46 +Let's don't wait till the water runs dry
  515.47 +We'll make the biggest mistake of our lives
  515.48 +Don't do it baby
  515.49 +Now they can see the tears in our eyes
  515.50 +But we deny the pain that lies deep in our hearts
  515.51 +Well maybe that's a pain we can't hide
  515.52 +Cause everybody knows that we're both torn apart
  515.53 +Why do we hurt each other
  515.54 +Why do we push love away
  515.55 +Let's don't wait till the water runs dry
  515.56 +We might watch our whole lives pass us by
  515.57 +Let's don't wait till the water runs dry
  515.58 +We'll make the biggest mistake of our lives
  515.59 +Don't do it baby
  515.60 +--Boyz II Men
  515.61 +
  515.62 +	Haruka sat next to Hotaru's bed, almost crying herself.  She 
  515.63 +understood her friend's pain almost perfectly.  She had just gotten over 
  515.64 +some troubles with Michiru, and the nagging pain was still at the back 
  515.65 +of her mind.
  515.66 +	Something inside of her told her Hotaru needed to be alone.  She 
  515.67 +stood up, trying to force out some kind of comforting words, but none 
  515.68 +came.  All she could manage was a comforting smile, and a hand on 
  515.69 +Hotaru's shoulder.
  515.70 +	Hotaru nodded to Haruka, then placed her head in her hands once 
  515.71 +again.  She knew this was it.  She knew it was finally over.
  515.72 +	ChibiUSA was gone.  Gone forever.  She had called Hotaru up to 
  515.73 +tell her it was over, and Hotaru didn't even hear one tone of sadness in 
  515.74 +her lover's voice.  Chibi had just told her she couldn't do it 
  515.75 +anymore...she couldn't keep living like this.
  515.76 +	Living like what?  Hotaru asked herself.  Living on different 
  515.77 +continents, only seeing each other on holidays?  She could understand 
  515.78 +that.  But...but...it was all so RIGHT, how could it just end like that?  
  515.79 +Two words and her entire life came crashing down.  ChibiUSA was the love 
  515.80 +of her life, and she could feel the love they shared even though they 
  515.81 +were miles apart.  She had decided to take the year study in the United 
  515.82 +States at Stanford.  An irreplaceable opportunity, she had said.
  515.83 +	Chibi was never one to pass up opportunities like this.
  515.84 +	She had practically begged Hotaru to join her, but Hotaru had 
  515.85 +declined.  Her own dreams were being fulfilled here in Japan, and she 
  515.86 +hadn't wanted to pass up her own opportunity to become a doctor.  She 
  515.87 +did it half out of the pain she was suffering from the loss, but the 
  515.88 +other half of her knew it was right.  She had thought that the 
  515.89 +separation would be just a test of their love, and everything would turn 
  515.90 +out right in a year just one year.  That's all.  Just one year.  Then 
  515.91 +they'd be together again and everything would be just as it was before, 
  515.92 +and they would get married.  Just like they had planned.
  515.93 +	But it was all over.  The year was almost up, and ChibiUSA had 
  515.94 +called Hotaru like she had done every month.  But it was no longer the 
  515.95 +happy and excited and somewhat depressed Chibi.  It was a cold and 
  515.96 +foreign Chibi.  She just told Hotaru she would stay another year, and 
  515.97 +that she was ending their engagement.  She had just said that she 
  515.98 +couldn't go on anymore.
  515.99 +	Hotaru burst into tears at the thought.
 515.100 +
 515.101 +*   *   *
 515.102 +
 515.103 +	Five thousand miles away, ChibiUSA sat in front of the phone, 
 515.104 +wondering what she had just done.  Hotaru had cried, she realized, and 
 515.105 +her eyes went wide with sadness at the thought.  What was she doing?  
 515.106 +She should be back home with her one true love sleeping in her arms.  
 515.107 +She should be in her bed, in her embrace, and in her life again.  What 
 515.108 +was she doing in this University in California, anyway?  Studying to 
 515.109 +become something she didn't even want.  She wanted to be a wife to 
 515.110 +Hotaru, and that was it.
 515.111 +	How could she, now that she had called it off?  She couldn't 
 515.112 +possibly call Hotaru right back and just say "oops I'm sorry about that!  
 515.113 +I was just kidding!"  What was that supposed to be?  Stupid dreams.  Why 
 515.114 +did she listen to them?  That was what her father did, and he had almost 
 515.115 +ruined his relationship with her mother.  But, luckily, her father had 
 515.116 +caught himself.  How the hell was she supposed to catch herself?  Every 
 515.117 +time she thought about Hotaru the dreams would creep into her head and 
 515.118 +horrify her...seeing the black haired girl die at her feet.  She couldn't 
 515.119 +possibly risk her life.  She couldn't be that selfish.
 515.120 +Hotaru was sitting on her bed now, probably crying.  Chibi could 
 515.121 +picture it perfectly.  Hotaru's small body, curled up in a tiny ball, 
 515.122 +holding a battered piece of Klean-x, her blue-black hair falling limp in 
 515.123 +front of her deep blue eyes.
 515.124 +	"Oh God...what have I done?!"  Chibi hunched over the phone, tears 
 515.125 +pouring out of her and sobs wracking her small body like never before.
 515.126 +*   *   *
 515.127 +The stream was beginning to trickle, no longer running with 
 515.128 +the same strength.  The dark haired girl gripped the other, pain 
 515.129 +in her eyes.  "ChibiUSA, please, no!"  She called out.  "It 
 515.130 +can't...it just CAN'T!"
 515.131 +		"It must, Hotaru.  It just has to happen."
 515.132 +
 515.133 +*   *   *
 515.134 +
 515.135 +	"Haruka-papa!  Come back here!"  Hotaru laughed, trying to grab 
 515.136 +the anniversary present from Haruka's eager hands.  Michiru just 
 515.137 +laughed, placing another plate on the table for the party.  She watched 
 515.138 +as her God-daughter ran after her lover, and smiled slightly.  Haruka 
 515.139 +wasn't supposed to open any of the presents for their anniversary, but 
 515.140 +she had already gotten to a couple.  Matching rings with two stones cut 
 515.141 +to resemble the two planets they represented, necklaces with "H&M 
 515.142 +Forever" on both, a couple paintings, and assorted nick-knacks to place 
 515.143 +around their new house.  Michiru smiled at that thought.  Their own 
 515.144 +house.  She couldn't wait.
 515.145 +	Haruka slowed down, breathless, still cradling the small silver-
 515.146 +wrapped package.  She breathed heavily, hunching over and placing her 
 515.147 +left hand on her knee, holding the package with her right.  She smiled a 
 515.148 +tired smile, and looked up at Hotaru.
 515.149 +	"Give...it...back..."  Hotaru said between gasps for air.
 515.150 +	"Come on...let me just open it now!"  Haruka gasped.  She looked up 
 515.151 +suddenly to see Michiru standing there, a hand on her aqua-colored 
 515.152 +dress.  Her hair tumbled down in front of her eyes, and her lips wore a 
 515.153 +smile.  She lifted up a small hand and held it out in front of her, 
 515.154 +motioning to the package.
 515.155 +	"Haruka..."  She softly pleaded, and Haruka obeyed her silent 
 515.156 +question.  Handing over the package with a scowl, she stood up straight.  
 515.157 +"Thank you, Haruka."  Michiru said quietly, and walked over to her 
 515.158 +lover.  She wrapped an arm around Haruka's waist and kissed her 
 515.159 +fiercely, forgetting about Hotaru completely.
 515.160 +	"You two!"  Hotaru knew when to turn around.  She turned on her 
 515.161 +heels and walked outside, leaving the two alone.  She knew that if she 
 515.162 +and Chibi were kissing...
 515.163 +	She suddenly stopped the thought.  She and Chibi were no...longer...
 515.164 +	Hotaru sat down on the bench in the garden, placing her head in 
 515.165 +her hands.  Not again.  She didn't want to have to go through this every 
 515.166 +day of her life.  She didn't want to have to keep telling herself OVER 
 515.167 +and OVER that it was done.
 515.168 +	She looked up at the noise of a car approaching.  She wondered who 
 515.169 +it could be.  Guests were not arriving for another hour or so.  Setsuna 
 515.170 +was out shopping for some goodies...hopefully bringing something back for 
 515.171 +her.  So who could it be?
 515.172 +	She looked down at her feet again, and ran her hands through her 
 515.173 +wavy tendrils of hair.  She was stressed, high strung, wound up like a 
 515.174 +spring.  She didn't WANT to be, but knew she was.  She needed to see 
 515.175 +ChibiUSA again, just once, to know it was really over.  She needed to 
 515.176 +see her again and talk to her and touch her pink hair and look into her 
 515.177 +red eyes, just ONE MORE TIME.  Just one.
 515.178 +	A car door opened and slammed shut.  She didn't even look up.  She 
 515.179 +didn't really want to.  She just ran her hands through her hair again, 
 515.180 +and closed her eyes tight to try to remember every single detail about 
 515.181 +her only love's face.
 515.182 +
 515.183 +*   *   *
 515.184 +
 515.185 +	ChibiUSA got out of the car, all the while her eyes on the timid 
 515.186 +figure sitting on a bench.  She knew who it was.
 515.187 +	She forced her eyes away to look up at the house.  It was 
 515.188 +gorgeous, really.  She hadn't expected it to be so big.  The entire 
 515.189 +house was a beige color, and the garden was big and gorgeous.  Flowers 
 515.190 +reached up to her thighs, but were all trimmed and well taken care of.  
 515.191 +The bench that her former lover was sitting on was lined by a small 
 515.192 +pathway that entwined in the flowers, half hiding her in the beautiful 
 515.193 +growth.  It seemed fitting that a beautiful flower should be surrounded 
 515.194 +by beautiful flowers.
 515.195 +	No, her inner voice shouted at her.  You ended that relationship, 
 515.196 +and you have to accept responsibility.
 515.197 +	Apologize!  Another voice screamed at her.  Apologize and 
 515.198 +everything will be fine again she'll take you back because you love each 
 515.199 +other and...
 515.200 +	But what if she doesn't love you anymore?  What if she's found 
 515.201 +someone else?
 515.202 +	Chibi almost cried out with the unbearable thought.  What if she 
 515.203 +HAS found someone else?  Someone who loves her more and cares for her 
 515.204 +more and kisses her and holds her...no one can touch her.  ChibiUSA knew 
 515.205 +she would have to do it soon, have to explain herself and apologize 
 515.206 +before the day was up.  She couldn't let the horrible pain go on another 
 515.207 +second.
 515.208 +	She walked briskly into the garden, trying to dodge plants as best 
 515.209 +she could.  She couldn't find a good enough path, so she began to 
 515.210 +carefully weave her way through the growth.  She tried, in vain, to 
 515.211 +brush off some of the petals and pollen that stuck to her dark jean 
 515.212 +shorts as she did so.
 515.213 +	She found herself a few feet away from the bench, with Hotaru's 
 515.214 +head still down.  Hotaru looked stressed, pained...not loved.  She hoped, 
 515.215 +with a selfish thought, that she hadn't been loved lately.  At least, 
 515.216 +not the way ChibiUSA would love her.  Not like that.  Hotaru's arms were 
 515.217 +on either side of her head, and Chibi could sense that she was deep in 
 515.218 +thought.  What was she thinking?  She couldn't tell.  She didn't know if 
 515.219 +she wanted to be able to tell.
 515.220 +	"Hotaru."  She whispered, slightly quivering on the 'u'.  Hotaru 
 515.221 +whipped her head upwards at the sound, and her eyes took Chibi in.
 515.222 +
 515.223 +*   *   *
 515.224 +
 515.225 +	Her hair had grown slightly, and she seemed to be a little taller.  
 515.226 +Her dark jean shorts looked really good with the pink T-shirt, and her 
 515.227 +little pink flip-flops were just right for the warm summer weather.  Her 
 515.228 +eyes were still the beautiful shade of red, and her lips were the same 
 515.229 +color.
 515.230 +	An overwhelming heat seeped through Hotaru's blood as her gaze 
 515.231 +focused on her once-lover's lips.  Oh God, she thought.  I must be 
 515.232 +imagining her.  That's it...I'm just imagining.  She's not really here, 
 515.233 +she didn't come to the party, she is still back at her college.
 515.234 +	"Hotaru?"  Chibi said again, this time questioning her.
 515.235 +	Hotaru cleared her throat, trying to prepare herself for the pain 
 515.236 +that was about to come.  "Hello, ChibiUSA.  Nice to see you."  Her voice 
 515.237 +came out remarkably controlled, the pain masked by the cold tone.  Her 
 515.238 +eyes and heart hardened, like ice.  She didn't want to feel the pain 
 515.239 +anymore.  She returned to her darkened self, inside herself and 
 515.240 +retreating back away.
 515.241 +	ChibiUSA looked shocked.  She had never seen Hotaru so cold 
 515.242 +before...Hotaru was always the voice of calm among the two, the reason in 
 515.243 +their chaos.  But never, ever, had ChibiUSA seem her so cold.
 515.244 +	"I didn't think you would come back here so soon."  Hotaru said, 
 515.245 +trying to mask the uncomfortable silence.  Her eyes narrowed into small 
 515.246 +slits, and her lips thinned out.  She realized just how ANGRY she was at 
 515.247 +Chibi, and clenched her fists at the thought.  How DARE she come back 
 515.248 +here, how dare she just stand there and act like everything is fine.  
 515.249 +She must have a lot of guts coming back here...
 515.250 +	"Of course, Hotaru!  It's Michiru's and Haruka's anniversary...and 
 515.251 +besides, it's summer vacation.  I wouldn't miss seeing all the Senshi 
 515.252 +back in one place for anything!"  She put on a silly grin, showing her 
 515.253 +perfectly straight white teeth.  Hotaru almost joined in with a smile of 
 515.254 +her own, but she caught herself.
 515.255 +	Hotaru stood up with the pure awkwardness of it all, and placed 
 515.256 +her hand on her hip.  "Well I must be going now.  Setsuna-mama is at the 
 515.257 +mall, and I have to go meet her.  See you later."  Hotaru walked briskly 
 515.258 +away, and Chibi stood still as she walked by.  Her eyes swept over 
 515.259 +Hotaru's curves longingly, and she let out a sigh.  Hotaru caught it, 
 515.260 +but didn't say anything at all.  She didn't want to say anything.
 515.261 +	Hotaru was almost to her car when Chibi finally got control of 
 515.262 +herself.  "Taru-chan!"  She called, and ran toward her.  Hotaru didn't 
 515.263 +move, her hand extended with keys in hand to unlock the car door.  
 515.264 +"Wait, Taru-chan!"  She complied, and soon enough ChibiUSA had caught up 
 515.265 +with her.  She was a little out of breath, and Hotaru waited in a 
 515.266 +patient silence.  Chibi finally got control over herself, and stood up 
 515.267 +straight.  "I'll go with you."
 515.268 +	"That's fine.  You stay here.  I'm sure everyone will want to see 
 515.269 +you."  Hotaru put the keys in the lock and turned them.
 515.270 +	"I...I'd like to go with you.  You know, catch up?"  She let out a 
 515.271 +nervous smile.
 515.272 +	Hotaru couldn't resist.  She just couldn't.  "You don't need to 
 515.273 +catch up with someone you pushed away," she snapped.
 515.274 +	Chibi was silent for a moment, and watched as Hotaru put her purse 
 515.275 +in the car.  Hotaru was walking around the side of the car when she 
 515.276 +caught herself in the daze again.  "Hotaru..."  She walked after her, and 
 515.277 +grabbed her arm gently.  "I...I didn't want to push you away.  It's just..."
 515.278 +	"Just what, Chibi-chan?"  She said curtly, tears forming at the 
 515.279 +base of her eyes.  "Just someone else?  You found someone better in 
 515.280 +America, didn't you?"  The tears fell like tiny stars to the ground.
 515.281 +	"NO!"  ChibiUSA said, her own tears forming.  "I've only ever 
 515.282 +loved you.  I still love you!  I always will!  I just have these dreams 
 515.283 +and you're...you're..."
 515.284 +	Hotaru threw open her door and climbed in.  She quickly put the 
 515.285 +keys in the ignition and turned them, starting the car.  ChibiUSA ran 
 515.286 +around to the other side and climbed in quickly, surprising Hotaru.  She 
 515.287 +took her eyes from the steering wheel and looked at Chibi, shocked.  
 515.288 +"Dreams, Chibi-chan?  DREAMS?  That's why you dumped me?"
 515.289 +	"Remember my father, when he had those problems with dreams?"
 515.290 +	"I remember you telling me about it, yes."
 515.291 +	"The same kind of dreams, Taru-chan.  The same kinds of dreams.  
 515.292 +It scares me!  I couldn't possibly risk letting them come true!"
 515.293 +	Hotaru put the car in reverse and drove away from the house, a 
 515.294 +little confused.  "I don't understand, Chibi-chan.  I just don't."
 515.295 +	"I love you, Taru-chan.  If that means sparing your life and 
 515.296 +getting rid of my happiness, then I'll do it!"
 515.297 +	"What about MY happiness?"  Hotaru shouted.  "I love you more than 
 515.298 +anything!  Without you I feel like I don't have a reason for living!"
 515.299 +	"I don't want it to be MY fault that you die!"  ChibiUSA shouted 
 515.300 +back, tears streaming down her cheeks.  The mall loomed up ahead, and 
 515.301 +she wiped the tears away.  "I couldn't stand the thought of putting you 
 515.302 +in danger.  I...I still can't."
 515.303 +	Hotaru pulled into the mall's parking lot, trying to keep her 
 515.304 +emotions under control.  "Is the danger you felt gone now?"  She 
 515.305 +whispered.
 515.306 +	"No."  Their gazes met at the sound of the word.  Hotaru swallowed 
 515.307 +hard.
 515.308 +	"Then...then why did you come here?"
 515.309 +	"Because I had to see you.  I had to know that you were alright."  
 515.310 +ChibiUSA closed her eyes and sighed.  She had finally gotten it all out, 
 515.311 +thank God.  Now Hotaru would know, and she could feel at least somewhat 
 515.312 +at peace.
 515.313 +	Hotaru swallowed hard again, trying to hold back the feelings of 
 515.314 +love and fear and overwhelming emotion that were beginning to overtake 
 515.315 +her.  "I guess I understand.  But we can't be together if it's too 
 515.316 +dangerous, can we?"
 515.317 +	"I guess not."  ChibiUSA sighed.  "But I still love you, Hotaru.  
 515.318 +I always will."
 515.319 +	"I...I love you too, ChibiUSA."
 515.320 +
 515.321 +*   *   *
 515.322 +
 515.323 +	"Oh Hotaru!"  The pink-haired girl flung herself into her 
 515.324 +lover's arms.  "I want to be with you so much!"
 515.325 +"Why can't you?!  I don't understand!"  The dark-haired girl 
 515.326 +said.  "We love each other..."  The stream was beginning to run 
 515.327 +again, and she smiled.  "It's too obvious that we do.  Our stream 
 515.328 +is still running!"
 515.329 +	"It will always run."  The pink-haired girl smiled, but the 
 515.330 +smile quickly turned back into a worried frown.  "But we can't 
 515.331 +always be together, Hotaru."
 515.332 +	"I don't understand!"  The other girl shouted once again.  
 515.333 +	"Those who do not understand love will always get in the 
 515.334 +way.  It's too dangerous.  Our stream will continue to always run, 
 515.335 +believe me.  I won't let it run dry."
 515.336 +	"It will run dry, Chibi-chan.  All things must.  You said it 
 515.337 +yourself.  If you don't want it to run dry, love me!  Just love 
 515.338 +me!"  The dark-haired girl dropped to her knees.
 515.339 +	"I will always love you, Hotaru."  The pink-haired girl 
 515.340 +said, and dropped to her knees in front of the other.  "I will 
 515.341 +always love you.
 515.342 +
 515.343 +ToOh BeEh CoNtInUeD
 515.344 +
 515.345 +*   *   *
 515.346 +
 515.347 +	Hey loves!  I've wanted to do a story like this for a long time.  
 515.348 +Stay tuned for part two!  Thanks as always to the Amazoness Duo, those 
 515.349 +wonderful gals!  ?
 515.350 +	And, of course, to my wonderful and supportive friends, Alea, 
 515.351 +Jessica, Analicia...hope all of you are doing alright in Cali!
 515.352 +	And to my new buds, especially Jayne.  Thanks for the support and 
 515.353 +your willingness!  I love yah!
 515.354 +	AND, FINALLY, to all my fans.  You are the ones I keep doing this 
 515.355 +for!  Thanks so much.
 515.356 +<3 PsychoKittenSenshi611
 515.357 +	Gabrielle
 515.358 +

   516.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   516.2 +++ b/stories/waterrunsdry2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   516.3 @@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
   516.4 +	Eros looked at the two mortal women, walking hand in hand 
   516.5 +down the pathway.  The two women were similar in height, the 
   516.6 +dark haired one just slightly taller than the one with soft 
   516.7 +pink hair.  Both were nude, but did not act any differently 
   516.8 +around each other.  Both were beautiful.  He smiled to himself, 
   516.9 +and then turned to his lovely wife Psyche.
  516.10 +	"Darling," she said, her beautiful voice pale to the 
  516.11 +sight of her big green eyes.  "I want them to be happy."  She 
  516.12 +sighed, and turned to his eyes.  "Can't you grant them 
  516.13 +happiness?"
  516.14 +	"All I can do, my love," he replied, his voice heavy with 
  516.15 +defeat, "is make them love each other .  They already love each 
  516.16 +other.  They just can't be together."
  516.17 +	"But WHY?!"  Psyche wailed in a high-pitched tone.  "Why 
  516.18 +can't they be together?"
  516.19 +	"That is not up to me.  I am not the one who decides 
  516.20 +their fate."  He turned to his only love, and smiled a sad 
  516.21 +smile.  "That is up to them, and them alone, my love."
  516.22 +
  516.23 +
  516.24 +The Water Runs Dry
  516.25 +Part 2
  516.26 +A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman
  516.27 +By:  PsychoKittenSenshi611
  516.28 +
  516.29 +
  516.30 +	"ChibiUSA!"  Hotaru yelled, her body bouncing in the 
  516.31 +force of her hard running.  "Wait!"  She ran towards her friend 
  516.32 +and lover, smiling.
  516.33 +	ChibiUSA turned at the sound of her name, and smiled at 
  516.34 +the black-haired girl.  "Hey Taru-chan!  How are you?"  She 
  516.35 +smiled again as Hotaru doubled over, breathing heavily.
  516.36 +	"I'm fine..."  She breathed.  Her cheeks were stained a 
  516.37 +pinkish color, adding to the darkness of her eyes.  "You're 
  516.38 +deaf, you know that?  I've been calling your name for the last 
  516.39 +mile or so.  I told you I'd meet you at the arcade!"  She said, 
  516.40 +a little exasperated.
  516.41 +	"I'm sorry, Taru-chan."  She smiled at her lover.  "I 
  516.42 +forgot.  I was kind of..."
  516.43 +	"...Lost in thought?"  Hotaru smiled a lopsided smile.  
  516.44 +"Chibi-chan, you're always lost in thought.  What were you 
  516.45 +thinking about this time?"
  516.46 +	ChibiUSA turned on her heels and faced toward the sunset.  
  516.47 +She watched the lights of Tokyo come on in a matter of seconds, 
  516.48 +and remembered a time that was tucked away in her heart-of-
  516.49 +hearts.  Usagi  and Mamoru had been taking her to buy some 
  516.50 +Curry ingredients, and they had held her hands on this very 
  516.51 +spot while the sun went down.  She smiled in remembrance, and 
  516.52 +with a new sense of understanding.  What they had gone through 
  516.53 +was horrible, but it had brought them together in the end.  Her 
  516.54 +future father had told her, one night over dinner, that if he 
  516.55 +could take anything back, he would have told Usagi about his 
  516.56 +horrible dreams.  He told her that the dreams were meant to be 
  516.57 +voiced, and not to be held inside, where no one could help.  So 
  516.58 +ChibiUSA turned back around just as the final rays of the sun 
  516.59 +sunk beneath the horizon.  
  516.60 +	"I was thinking of those dreams I have, Taru-chan."
  516.61 +	Hotaru was silent for a long time.  She was searching for 
  516.62 +the correct words to say, something that would comfort her best 
  516.63 +friend and lover.  She had always found them, but wasn't so 
  516.64 +sure this time.  "Chibi-chan... I don't know what to say," she 
  516.65 +admitted.  "Tell me how we can solve this."
  516.66 +	"I don't know, Hotaru."  ChibiUSA felt a small tear form 
  516.67 +on her cheek.  "Please make them go away..."  She started to 
  516.68 +sob, small diamonds flowing from her eyes.
  516.69 +	"Oh, Chibi-chan..."  Hotaru gathered the only slightly 
  516.70 +smaller girl in her arms.  She remembered a time where this 
  516.71 +happened regularly.  She smiled slightly.  ChibiUSA always had 
  516.72 +strange dreams, and was slightly psychic.  "Your dreams always 
  516.73 +mean something, and they're just a test... like your mother's 
  516.74 +and father's.  We can survive everything, remember that!  We 
  516.75 +can survive it all!  We have!"  She pulled the smaller girl 
  516.76 +away to look inside her deep red eyes.  "Remember, our love is 
  516.77 +just as meant to be as your mother's and father's, even though 
  516.78 +a queen hasn't told us so.  We know it's meant to be, because 
  516.79 +I've never loved anyone as much as I love you.  I never have 
  516.80 +and never will."
  516.81 +	ChibiUSA smiled, but the tears didn't stop falling.  But 
  516.82 +she knew now that they weren't out of fear, but out of 
  516.83 +happiness.  "And I you, Hotaru-chan."
  516.84 +
  516.85 +	*   *   *
  516.86 +
  516.87 +	"Darling!"  Someone yelled into the abyss.  "Darling!  
  516.88 +Wake up!"
  516.89 +	ChibiUSA fluttered her eyelids, and sat up straight.  The 
  516.90 +dream was strange this time.  She had been walking with Hotaru 
  516.91 +along a pathway, much like in the other dreams.  She wasn't on 
  516.92 +a bridge anymore, and there wasn't some strange stream that 
  516.93 +seemed to draw her attention.
  516.94 +	This time, there had been other people.
  516.95 +	A man and a woman, smiling down at the two of them.  They 
  516.96 +had been walking, naked, as usual, but this time that horrible 
  516.97 +earthquake didn't break the two apart.  This time, they just 
  516.98 +peacefully made love on the banks of a river.  Hotaru had said 
  516.99 +something in a low voice to ChibiUSA, and suddenly the dream 
 516.100 +world went white.  Something had happened, and she didn't have 
 516.101 +any idea what.
 516.102 +	"You make me so happy, Chibi-chan.  You make me feel so 
 516.103 +wonderful."  Hotaru had said, her naked body framed above her 
 516.104 +own.
 516.105 +	"You make me feel just as wonderful, my firefly."  The 
 516.106 +kiss had been wonderful, long, and sweet.  The climax had been 
 516.107 +more so, and ChibiUSA would have sworn up and down she had felt 
 516.108 +it, that this was real, that they had shared yet another moment 
 516.109 +basking in the glow their love made together.
 516.110 +	ChibiUSA didn't understand this at all.
 516.111 +	But, for the time being, what had woken her up?  A voice, 
 516.112 +a beautiful female voice... something that reminded her of a 
 516.113 +goddess.  A beautiful goddess.
 516.114 +	Like Hotaru.
 516.115 +	"What's going on, Chibi?"  Hotaru sat up in bed, leaning 
 516.116 +on her elbows.  The blue satin sheets slipped down below her 
 516.117 +perfect breasts, and ChibiUSA couldn't help but swallow hard.
 516.118 +	"Nothing..."
 516.119 +	"You had another dream, didn't you?"  Hotaru closed her 
 516.120 +eyes slightly, then looked up at her lover.  "You can tell me 
 516.121 +all about it, Chibi."
 516.122 +	"No, Hotaru...I mean I had a dream, but it wasn't like 
 516.123 +you think it was.  It was... it was... nice.  A nice dream, 
 516.124 +Hotaru."  Chibi smiled.  "For once, it was just us two 
 516.125 +together, on the bank of a river."
 516.126 +	"What were we doing?"  Hotaru asked, wanting to confirm 
 516.127 +her own suspicions.
 516.128 +	ChibiUSA broke out in a grin, and nudged her lover.  
 516.129 +"What do you think, Hotaru?"  She laughed, and reached her arms 
 516.130 +around the dark-haired girl's waist.  Her hands traveled down 
 516.131 +her hips to her thighs, and she heard the intake of breath 
 516.132 +emerge from the woman beside her.
 516.133 +	"Well..."  She breathed.  "I'm not sure... I think you 
 516.134 +should explain it to me..."
 516.135 +	"Hmm..."  ChibiUSA said in a deep, seductive voice.  "You 
 516.136 +were laying on top of me..."
 516.137 +	"Like this?"  Hotaru rolled over so that she was 
 516.138 +positioned on top of the smaller girl.
 516.139 +	"Yes, exactly like that."  ChibiUSA said, laughing a 
 516.140 +little.
 516.141 +	"Then what were we doing, Chibi-chan?"  Hotaru smiled, 
 516.142 +her dark eyes twinkling.
 516.143 +	"Then, you were sliding your hands up my thighs..."
 516.144 +	"Like this?"  Hotaru immediately complied, her right hand 
 516.145 +sliding up ChibiUSA's right leg and thigh.
 516.146 +	"Just like that."  She gasped as Hotaru's small hand slid 
 516.147 +up her thighs and reached their junction.  "Then... you were 
 516.148 +touching me..."
 516.149 +	"Oh really?"  Hotaru smiled seductively.  "Like this?"  
 516.150 +Her long fingers touched the junction of ChibiUSA's thighs just 
 516.151 +slightly, and the pink haired girl's legs spread as a reflex.
 516.152 +	"Yesss..."
 516.153 +	"Hmm... really?"  Hotaru slid a finger inside of her 
 516.154 +lover's most secret treasure, feeling her inner muscles clamp 
 516.155 +down on her finger.  "Just like that?"  The finger slid deeper 
 516.156 +inside, and Chibi's muscles tightened further.
 516.157 +	Chibi's nod was so emphasized she almost got a headache.  
 516.158 +But she didn't have time to focus on it, not with Hotaru above 
 516.159 +her, staring into her eyes and thrusting her finger inside of 
 516.160 +her.  Her pleasure grew and grew, heat mounting on top of heat 
 516.161 +until she almost reached boiling point.  Chibi could see the 
 516.162 +dream clearly now, the blue satin sheets of their bed being 
 516.163 +replaced by the warm earth of the ground.  Hotaru only dimly 
 516.164 +noticed the change of surroundings, the darkness of the room 
 516.165 +being replaced by the light of the Moon and the planet Saturn 
 516.166 +in the sky.  The two planets began to glow together in the 
 516.167 +warmth of the love these two women shared, glowing as brightly 
 516.168 +as their eyes.  Tall plants surrounded them, and smells that 
 516.169 +were foreign but somehow familiar flew inside their nostrils.
 516.170 +	"Chibi-chan..."  Hotaru groaned, her finger slowing it's 
 516.171 +movement.  She couldn't bear the separation anymore.
 516.172 +	ChibiUSA grasped her lover's shoulders and kissed her 
 516.173 +fiercely, her hips rising with need as she felt that one small 
 516.174 +finger sliding out of her.  But, when she felt the reassuring 
 516.175 +presence of Hotaru's hips upon her own, she knew it wouldn't be 
 516.176 +long.  The kiss deepened and intensified as the lovely feeling 
 516.177 +of joining swept over her heated flesh.
 516.178 +	"Oh God, Chibi..."  Hotaru thrust her head upwards, her 
 516.179 +back arching and pert nipples reaching toward the purple sky.  
 516.180 +"I love you forever, my princess..."  Suddenly, her sweaty body 
 516.181 +was framed in the glow of her own planet, and ChibiUSA gasped 
 516.182 +with the sudden beauty of it all.  She quickly grabbed her 
 516.183 +lover close to her, lips touching and mingling as tongues and 
 516.184 +hips danced in an erotic rhythm made only for them.
 516.185 +	In the sky, the Moon and Saturn began to gravitate toward 
 516.186 +each other, the light intensifying until the sky became white.  
 516.187 +Moans from their deities intensified as well, as their own 
 516.188 +climaxes grew and grew.
 516.189 +	Chibi was dimly aware of the light, but knew it only 
 516.190 +served her better, giving her a better look at this woman above 
 516.191 +her.  The thrusting grew harder and harder, hips touching in 
 516.192 +the lightest butterfly kiss as it intensified.  Chibi wanted 
 516.193 +this to go on and on forever, this wonderful exquisite dance of 
 516.194 +love that sent her flying into the abyss.  Hotaru was moaning 
 516.195 +more and more, low sounds that just served to turn her pink 
 516.196 +haired love into a puddle of liquid heat.
 516.197 +	"Oh God Hotaru... please don't stop... don't... please... 
 516.198 +I love you... forever..."  Chibi arched upward to her lover as 
 516.199 +her climax approached, her eyes opening to see the joining of 
 516.200 +the two great planets in the now white sky.  She watched, 
 516.201 +through her own shuddering and bucking of her hips, feeling 
 516.202 +Hotaru's grasp around her tighten, and feeling Hotaru's eyes 
 516.203 +look up from her mouth to the sky as well.
 516.204 +	The planets became one in the sudden fantastic display of 
 516.205 +power.  They glowed with a white light that shown for them 
 516.206 +only.  The light found itself and formed a beam that came down 
 516.207 +to the lovers and landed lightly on their foreheads.  The light 
 516.208 +grew and grew again, and a symbol came upon them.  A Moon and 
 516.209 +the Saturn planet, surrounded by a heart.  When the beam of 
 516.210 +light touched them, the cried out in pure ecstasy, and the 
 516.211 +world around them went white.
 516.212 +
 516.213 +	*   *   *
 516.214 +
 516.215 +	Hotaru's eyes opened slowly and carefully.  She found it 
 516.216 +to be fairly safe... staring into Chibi's breasts.  That was 
 516.217 +always a welcome sight.  She smiled.
 516.218 +	She sat up and looked around, noting the fact that she 
 516.219 +was back in their bedroom.  The small apartment was cramped, 
 516.220 +but they managed.  They could deal with all of this.  They 
 516.221 +would deal with all of this.  Especially after a night like 
 516.222 +tonight... no one could deny the power that they possessed when 
 516.223 +they were around each other.  Let the end of the world come, 
 516.224 +she would be ready, because in their Utopia she knew she would 
 516.225 +be with her one and only love.
 516.226 +	Together forever.
 516.227 +	Hotaru slipped out of bed to get a drink of water, 
 516.228 +heading for the nearby bathroom.  She turned on the light and 
 516.229 +turned on the sink, using a small cup that was by the sink.  As 
 516.230 +she was drinking, she glanced in the mirror.
 516.231 +	She spit the water out onto the mirror in horror.
 516.232 +	On her forehead, a pink outline of a heart, a Moon, and 
 516.233 +another planet was engrained.
 516.234 +
 516.235 +	*   *   *
 516.236 +
 516.237 +	Hey everyone!
 516.238 +	This story is hereby dedicated to the Amazoness Duo 
 516.239 +(a.k.a Holly and Heather) and Minako.  I hope that you enjoy 
 516.240 +it, and stay tuned for part three everyone.
 516.241 +	Also dedicated to everyone who supports me, to all my new 
 516.242 +and old friends, and to all those that read my stories and 
 516.243 +enjoy them.  Thank you all.
 516.244 +	<3 PsychoKittenSenshi611
 516.245 +		a.k.a
 516.246 +		Gabrielle

   517.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   517.2 +++ b/stories/whynotme.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   517.3 @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
   517.4 +Notes: This is a Tomoyo/Sakura fic.. It kinda switches from third to first person sometimes so bear with me.. ^^;; I don't own them so if you have a problem with that or the fact that I like to depict them in love go away and leave me alone.. ^-^ If you do like it send me love mail at meikosama@hotmail.com ^^v 
   517.5 +
   517.6 +
   517.7 +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   517.8 +
   517.9 +
  517.10 +Why Not Me?
  517.11 +
  517.12 +
  517.13 +By Chibi Nuriko
  517.14 +
  517.15 +
  517.16 +"Tomoyo-chan," I softly said as I tried to wake Tomoyo. "Tomoyo wake up, your having a bad dream." I shook her slightly as I lay next to her. Tomoyo slowly opened her eyes and smiled as she saw me looking down at her. 
  517.17 +
  517.18 +"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo whispered softly. 
  517.19 +
  517.20 +"Are you okay? You were having a bad dream and you were crying and talking in your sleep." I looked at her with concern and brushed my fingers over her cheeks wiping away her tears. "I was worried about you." 
  517.21 +
  517.22 +"I.." Tomoyo stopped briefly remembering her dream. A dream where she was pleading with Sakura not understanding why she would choose Li-kun over her. "You shouldn't worry so much about me Sakura-chan," Tomoyo tried to reassure her friend. 
  517.23 +
  517.24 +"But I do Tomoyo. Your my best friend and I love you," I took Tomoyo's hand in my own. 
  517.25 +
  517.26 +Those three words broke Tomoyo's heart. She thought Sakura didn't mean it in the way she wanted so she tried to ignore it. "What was I saying in my sleep?" she questioned. 
  517.27 +
  517.28 +"You just kept saying, 'Why not me?' over and over again. And you were crying so hard, I couldn't let you stay like that." 
  517.29 +
  517.30 +"I didn't even know I was doing that. I'm sorry I woke you up," Tomoyo said softly. 
  517.31 +
  517.32 +"I don't mind, I wasn't asleep anyways," I confessed. 
  517.33 +
  517.34 +"Why not?" Tomoyo asked confused. She was sure Sakura had fallen asleep before her. 
  517.35 +
  517.36 +I was thankful that the room was dark or Tomoyo would have seen me blush. "I... was watching you sleep." Tomoyo felt her cheeks burning and was quite unsure of what to say. "What were you dreaming about?" I asked after a moment of akward silence. 
  517.37 +
  517.38 +"It's not important Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said after a moment deciding she couldn't possibly tell her friend that in her dream, she was pleading for Sakura to love her. 
  517.39 +
  517.40 +I took hold of Tomoyo's hand underneath the blankets. "It is important Tomoyo. I want to know what caused you to be so upset." 
  517.41 +
  517.42 +"I can't Sakura, I just can't tell you," Tomoyo said almost frustrated. 
  517.43 +
  517.44 +"At least tell me why you can't tell me," I said. 
  517.45 +
  517.46 +"Because, it would only hurt you and upset you." 
  517.47 +
  517.48 +"Tomoyo, please...I promise, it'll be okay if you tell me," I was now really curious. 
  517.49 +
  517.50 +"I don't want you to hate me," Tomoyo said sadly. 
  517.51 +
  517.52 +"Nothing could ever be that bad." I tried to reassure her. "I love you, your my best friend." 
  517.53 +
  517.54 +"That's exactly it Sakura-chan," Tomoyo felt herself starting to cry already. 
  517.55 +
  517.56 +"I don't get it." 
  517.57 +
  517.58 +"I'm in love with you Sakura-chan. And I know you have..him. And I'm sorry, please don't hate me," Tomoyo begged. 
  517.59 +
  517.60 +_________ 
  517.61 +
  517.62 +From that night I felt a distance growing between me and Tomoyo. She kept pushing me towards Li-kun telling me she only wanted my happiness. I tried my best to make her happy but when I looked in her eyes I saw so much hurt. When I looked at her I felt as if a piece of me was dying because I was helpless to give Tomoyo what she needed. 
  517.63 +
  517.64 +Li and I did get closer. I believe for a time I did love him but it was never as I loved her. Even if I was unaware of my feelings for her at the time. After some time I noticesd Tomoyo had stopped calling me, and waiting for me after school. 
  517.65 +
  517.66 +I tried talking to Li about my fears of loosing my best friend over that night. When I cried he would hold me but he never made the pain any easier. Even Touya couldn't help me with this. Yukito-san was the only one who seemed to help me at all. It took his words for me to realize what was going on with Tomoyo-chan. 
  517.67 +
  517.68 +"If you let it go on like this Sakura-chan," Yukito took my hand in his. "Don't you know why she's pushing you away? Why your so hurt by it?" 
  517.69 +
  517.70 +I sat there almost numb and shook my head confused. "Isn't the only reaon for Tomoyo to push me away because she doesn't love me anymore?" I asked saddened by the thought. 
  517.71 +
  517.72 +Yukito gave me a reassuring look and I noticed a small smile playing on his lips. When I gave him a questioning look I couldn't help but to be annoyed by his soft laugh. "You really don't get it do you?" he asked not even giving me a chance to answer. "I guess I'll start from the begining so get comfortable while I explain something called love to you." 
  517.73 +
  517.74 +I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Yukito-san was always wise so I did as he said. Without speaking I just nodded to him and he continued. "This is something I've discussed with Touya before. We realized there was a special bond between you and Tomoyo many years ago. One that is more than that of just friendship or even that of siblings. Much like the connection between your brother and I." Yukito paused briefly to make sure I was fully grasping what he was saying. I tried to understand him, I really did but it didn't seem to work. I had no clue what he was trying to say. 
  517.75 +
  517.76 +Yukito noticed my confusion and decided to take another aproach. "When did you two start to grow apart?" 
  517.77 +
  517.78 +"A few months ago. It was the last time I spent the night with her." That much I was sure of. 
  517.79 +
  517.80 +"And what happened that night? What caused you two to grow apart?" 
  517.81 +
  517.82 +I felt myself blushing as I recalled watching Tomoyo sleeping. She looked just like an angel in the dim moon light. "She was having a bad dream. Crying and talking in her sleep so I woke her up. When I did she tried refusing to talk about it but eventually..she told me.." I trailed off remembering her words. She loves me. My Tomoyo-chan, my number one person is in love with me. At least she was. If she still were why would she be pushing me away? 
  517.83 +
  517.84 +Yukito must have noticed the change in my expression and he hugged me gently. "What did she tell you Sakura?" 
  517.85 +
  517.86 +"She told me that she's in love with me." I said as tears welled up in my eyes. 
  517.87 +
  517.88 +"So what's the problem?" he asked confused. 
  517.89 +
  517.90 +"What's the problem? I have a boyfriend." Sakura said frustrated with her situation. 
  517.91 +
  517.92 +"You know that's not the real problem. Tell me what's really going on Sakura-chan." 
  517.93 +
  517.94 +"I'm scared," I confessed as I started crying harder. 
  517.95 +
  517.96 +"Call her," he simply said. 
  517.97 +
  517.98 +"I can't. It's pretty clear she doesn't want me around." 
  517.99 +
 517.100 +"That's where your wrong Sakura. She wants you around more than anything in this world. You just have to realize why she's really pushing you away." 
 517.101 +
 517.102 +"Well what's her reason behind pushing away someone who loves her?" 
 517.103 +
 517.104 +"Because like you, she doesn't know just how much you love her." Yukito reached over and hugged me softly before standing up to leave. "Being in love is a confusing thing," he said as he walked out the door. 
 517.105 +
 517.106 +"In love?" I gulped, my body frozen. Was Yukito suggesting I was in love with Tomoyo as well? I mean, sure I feel more for her than anyone else but she was my best friend. Wasn't I supposed to feel like this for her? "Hoe..." 
 517.107 +
 517.108 +__________ 
 517.109 +
 517.110 +I think I've been sitting in front of the phone for an hour. I just pick it up and start to dial her number but as soon as I hear her answer it I slam it back down on the reciever. Taking a deep breath I decide that the best thing to do in this situation is to talk to her in person. Just as I'm about to head out the door my phone rings. "Kinomoto residence," I answer. 
 517.111 +
 517.112 +"Hey Sakura-chan, it's Tomoyo." I hear her say. My heart starts beating so fast I find it hard to breathe. 
 517.113 +
 517.114 +"H..Hi..Tomoyo-chan.." I manage to stutter. 
 517.115 +
 517.116 +"Did you just call me a while ago?" she asks me so innocently. 
 517.117 +
 517.118 +"No I haven't called you. Why?" I ask feeling bad for lying. How could I tell her that I'm scared to talk to her though? 
 517.119 +
 517.120 +"Well someone called and hung up and so I was wondering if it was you." 
 517.121 +
 517.122 +I sit almost unable to talk. Listening to her voice was having a strange effect on me and I wanted to see her so bad at that moment. "Can I come over Tomoyo-chan?" I ask her suddenly. 
 517.123 +
 517.124 +"Nani?" She asks laughing a little and I feel myself melting. "You know your always welcome here Sakura-chan." 
 517.125 +
 517.126 +"It's nice to hear you laugh again Tomoyo-chan." I said without thinking and blushed a little afterwards. "I'll be over there in a little bit okay?" 
 517.127 +
 517.128 +"Hai," I hear her say softly. I know she's probably blushing just as much as I am. She always blushes at any compliment I give her. Even if it's just how nice her shoes are. 
 517.129 +
 517.130 +"Ja matta ne," I say hanging up the phone. I rush to my room to put on some better clothes and tell Kero-chan where I'm going. Not five minutes after I got off the phone with Tomoyo I was out the door and on my way there. 
 517.131 +
 517.132 +For some reason I was really nervous to see her. I felt like the rest of my life was going to be decided in this meeting with her yet I just knew that something good was going to happen. As I finally approached her house I took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. 
 517.133 +
 517.134 +One of her maids answered the door and let me in. I saw Tomoyo coming down the stairs from her room and I felt my heart skip a beat or two. Yukito was right about me being in love with her I realize. 
 517.135 +
 517.136 +"Hey.." I say feeling shy around her for the first time in my life. She just smiles and takes my hand in her own and leads me to her room. I can feel myself smiling like an idiot as I look down at my hand in hers but I don't seem to care. I had no clue where the day would take us, but I really didn't care anymore. I didn't care about the things that bound me to Syaoran or anything else that would stand in my way of being with Tomoyo anymore. 
 517.137 +
 517.138 +When we got to her room she let go of my hand and I felt my heart start to beat at a normal pace once again. She looked down at the floor and softly apologized for holding my hand. "I know it's probably the last thing you want now that you know how I feel. I didn't think about it. Gomen." Tomoyo said. 
 517.139 +
 517.140 +I shook my head and walked closer to her and took her hand back in mine. I moved my other hand under her chin and lifted her face up so she was looking in my eyes. "Don't ever apologize for anything. You never have to be sorry for anything with me Tomoyo-chan." 
 517.141 +
 517.142 +"I'm glad your still my friend Sakura." she said weakly and I saw tears starting to form in her eyes. 
 517.143 +
 517.144 +"I'm sorry it hurts you so much Tomoyo. But..That's why I came here today.." I say feeling shy again. I sat down on her bed and motioned for her to sit down as well. 
 517.145 +
 517.146 +"I don't get it," she said. 
 517.147 +
 517.148 +"Ever since that last night we spent together I've felt a distance growing between us." 
 517.149 +
 517.150 +"I figured you didn't want me around," Tomoyo confessed to me. 
 517.151 +
 517.152 +I took hold of her hand and continued to speak. "I thought you didn't want me around because it hurt you to see me. But I realized you must have felt that I didn't want you around." 
 517.153 +
 517.154 +"You know I'll always want you around me Sakura-chan. Even if it does hurt sometimes." 
 517.155 +
 517.156 +"I'll never let you hurt again, I promise." My voice is shakey and I'm scared out of my mind now. Was I about to confess my love to Tomoyo? It was like I didn't even have control over anything anymore. My heart completly took over. 
 517.157 +
 517.158 +"I..don't think that's possible Sakura-chan." Tomoyo's voice was sad and tears were coming from her eyes. I raised my hand to her cheek and wiped them away softly. 
 517.159 +
 517.160 +"Yes it is," I whispered. "I love you Tomoyo-chan and.." I stopped to take a deep breath hoping to find my confidence. "I want to spend everyday of the rest of my life with you as my number one person. I'm in love with you Tomoyo." 
 517.161 +
 517.162 +She looked at me almost not believing what I was telling her. I couldn't help but smile at how sweet she looked. Slowly I bent forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "No more tears Tomoyo-chan. From now on I promise I'll make you happy." 
 517.163 +
 517.164 +She started crying harder and I felt her wrap her arms around me. I pulled her close to me and held her tightly as she cried tears of joy. "I love you Sakura-chan," she managed to say as her tears subsided. I probably held her for hours that day. But from then on, we never grew apart again and we finaly got our happy ending.. 
 517.165 +
 517.166 +-End 

   518.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   518.2 +++ b/stories/xeno-picnic.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   518.3 @@ -0,0 +1,712 @@
   518.4 +The Shion+KOS-MOS paring is the most debated in the Xenosaga fandom.
   518.5 +I think they were made for each other. No pun intended. 
   518.6 +
   518.7 +The events of this stroy take place betwenn Xenosaga Episode One and
   518.8 +Two. There will be some spoilers for the end of Episode One, and
   518.9 +those who haven't complete that game might be a bit lost in later
  518.10 +chapters. 
  518.11 +
  518.12 +I dont own Xenosaga. I only wish i did. 
  518.13 +
  518.14 +Gerad Dalton is my creation, however. Steal him and die. 
  518.15 +
  518.16 +
  518.17 +Chapter One 
  518.18 +Picnic for Two
  518.19 +By Silvercry
  518.20 +silvercry2000@yahoo.com 
  518.21 +
  518.22 +
  518.23 +...my spirit sleeping somewhere cold, 
  518.24 +until you find it there and lead it back 
  518.25 +home.... 
  518.26 +Bring Me to Life - Evanescence 
  518.27 +
  518.28 +
  518.29 +Allen had his head stuck in the refrigerator in the Elsa's kitchen,
  518.30 +looking for an early morning snack. All he was able to find was
  518.31 +freeze-dried this, frozen that, dehydrated something else. 
  518.32 +
  518.33 +"Aw, man," Allen whined. Don't they have anything quick and easy?
  518.34 +The service bots haven't woke up yet, and I'm hungry now. He heard
  518.35 +the door open behind him, but paid it no mind. 
  518.36 +
  518.37 +"Good morning, Allen," he heard Shion say cheerfully as she entered
  518.38 +the room. 
  518.39 +
  518.40 +"Hey, Chief," Allen replied, his head still buried in the fridge.
  518.41 +"If you're looking for food," he went on, "you're out of luck till
  518.42 +the bots are activated." 
  518.43 +
  518.44 +"Yes, I know," Shion replied. It sounded like she was trying to
  518.45 +suppress a little laugh as she spoke. 
  518.46 +
  518.47 +Wow, she has a cute little laugh, Allen thought. She really should
  518.48 +laugh more often. 
  518.49 +
  518.50 +"Allen," Shion went on, "would you let everyone know that KOS-MOS
  518.51 +and I will be gone for the day?" Her voice was moving through the
  518.52 +room, stopping by the door leading to the main part of the ship. 
  518.53 +
  518.54 +Allen finally pulled his head from the fridge and looked up. "Sure
  518.55 +thing, Chief. Where are you two -- WHOA!" 
  518.56 +
  518.57 +Allen's sudden yell startled Shion, and she nearly dropped the
  518.58 +whicker basket she was carrying. "Allen, be quiet!" Shion said
  518.59 +sharply. "Are you trying to wake the whole ship?" There was a silence
  518.60 +in the kitchen as Allen stared open mouthed at Shion in shock. "You
  518.61 +know, Allen," Shion politely informed him, "It's not nice to stare." 
  518.62 +
  518.63 +Not nice to stare! Allen thought. How could I not? 
  518.64 +
  518.65 +In all the time Allen and Shion had spent working together, he had
  518.66 +only seen he out of uniform a handful of times. Shion was never one
  518.67 +for casual social events; she spent almost all of her time working on
  518.68 +KOS-MOS. She wasn't exactly anti-social, just focused on her project
  518.69 +to the point of neglecting some other aspects of life. She was well
  518.70 +liked though, by her fellow KOS-MOS Project team members and, more
  518.71 +recently, by the unique party they were now apart of. The last time
  518.72 +he saw her out of her uniform was at the private beech at the
  518.73 +Foundation (he nearly had a heart attack when he saw her little black
  518.74 +bikini, he recalled). 
  518.75 +
  518.76 +But there was definitely something different about the way she was
  518.77 +dressed this morning. 
  518.78 +
  518.79 +Her hair was free of its typical braid, framing her face nicely. And
  518.80 +since when did the chief wear make up? Allen thought. A hint of
  518.81 +blush, a touch of lipstick and eye shadow...just what was going on
  518.82 +here? She was wearing a long, light-purple sundress that fell to mid-
  518.83 +calf length. The hem of the dress was purposely uneven, longer in
  518.84 +front and in back than on the sides, where it only reached her knees.
  518.85 +She was wearing a pair of matching sandals, and (much to Allen's
  518.86 +surprise) was even wearing nail polish. She carried a large whicker
  518.87 +picnic basket on one arm. 
  518.88 +
  518.89 +"Allen, my face is up here," Shion reminded him. 
  518.90 +
  518.91 +Allen snapped his head and neck back up so fast, Shion briefly
  518.92 +wondered if there would be any permanent damage. 
  518.93 +
  518.94 +Say something clever, yet indifferent! Allen thought to himself
  518.95 +frantically. He opened his mouth, but all he could manage was, "D-Did
  518.96 +you say something, Chief?" 
  518.97 +
  518.98 +"Honestly, Allen, you act like you've never seen me out of uniform
  518.99 +before," she replied. 
 518.100 +
 518.101 +"Only five or six times," Allen confessed. 
 518.102 +
 518.103 +A small smile crossed Shion's face. "So, you've been keeping count?"
 518.104 +she asked. 
 518.105 +
 518.106 +Allen shook a his head and hands furiously. "NO! I mean, not really.
 518.107 +I mean --what I mean is --" How can I get out of this one? "Um,
 518.108 +wasn't their a message you wanted me to give everyone?" 
 518.109 +
 518.110 +"Yes. KOS-MOS and I will be -- unavailable today. Just let everyone
 518.111 +know if they ask, alright?" Shion repeated. She turned to leave. 
 518.112 +
 518.113 +"Oh, right," Allen remembered, grateful for the change of subject.
 518.114 +"Where are you two headed? Our report to Vector HQ isn't due for
 518.115 +another two weeks." 
 518.116 +
 518.117 +Shion hesitated. "Out," she replied after a moment. "I have this new
 518.118 +EVS I want to load up and --" she stopped abruptly, then simply
 518.119 +repeated: "Out." 
 518.120 +
 518.121 +"Out?" Allen asked, puzzled. 
 518.122 +
 518.123 +"Out," Shion confirmed. She turned sharply, her dress flaring out
 518.124 +around her legs. The door opened, she walked through, and it shut
 518.125 +behind her, leaving Allen to wonder what the heck had just happened. 
 518.126 +
 518.127 +Shion quickly headed to for the elevator, not wanting to bump into
 518.128 +anyone else. When the door shut behind her, and it began to descend,
 518.129 +she released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She
 518.130 +glanced at her reflection in the glass of the door before her. Even
 518.131 +though she had spent a lot more time than usual on picking and
 518.132 +dressing in this particular outfit, she was a little surprised by
 518.133 +just how good she looked. A fact, she noted, which was definitely not
 518.134 +lost on Allen. She smiled. She was not what you would call a vain
 518.135 +person, but it was nice to be noticed as a woman once in a while. 
 518.136 +
 518.137 +Problem was, she was noticed by the wrong person. 
 518.138 +
 518.139 +Shion shook her head to clear it as the lift reached its
 518.140 +destination. She exited the lift and proceeded towards her
 518.141 +destination, her mood improving with every step. Past the cargo
 518.142 +elevator, down to the catapult level, and through the AGWS hangar. At
 518.143 +one point she noticed she was skipping, and stopped it immediately.
 518.144 +Get a grip, Shion Uzuki! she scolded herself as she reached the door
 518.145 +to KOS-MOS's room. You're acting like this is a -- 
 518.146 +
 518.147 +The door slid open, and Shion pushed the thought aside, and stepped
 518.148 +into the room. It was a simple room, not much to look at. That is, of
 518.149 +course, if one was to over look the single object in the center.
 518.150 +Shion walked up to and around the black maintenance bed for KOS-MOS,
 518.151 +to see the battle android still 'asleep' with in it. 
 518.152 +
 518.153 +Her regeneration cycle will be over in a few moments, Shion thought
 518.154 +to herself. Guess I'm a little early. She set the basket down near
 518.155 +the foot of the pod, and took a seat on the side of it herself, never
 518.156 +taking her eyes off the sleeping angel inside. An angel of death,
 518.157 +maybe, she thought, recalling all the times she had seen KOS-MOS in
 518.158 +action over the course off the last few days. On the heels of those
 518.159 +memories came images of the several times KOS-MOS had put herself on
 518.160 +the line to defend the Elsa...and Shion specifically. Ok, Shion
 518.161 +thought. Maybe she's a guardian angel. Another memory came to her
 518.162 +then -- a much older one. A thunderstorm, an attack by unknown men,
 518.163 +the premature activation of the original KOS-MOS, and the massacre
 518.164 +that followed. Or perhaps, she added sadly, a fallen angel. 
 518.165 +
 518.166 +KOS-MOS slept on, blissfully unaware for the moment. 
 518.167 +
 518.168 +"Sometimes I wish you could sleep forever," Shion whispered to the
 518.169 +sleeping android. "And others, I can't wait to see you wake up. I
 518.170 +wonder what would you say about that?" She tried to mimic KOS-MOS's
 518.171 +voice and tone then said, "'Shion, your current line of thought is
 518.172 +paradoxical in nature and serves no purpose.' Or something like
 518.173 +that." Shion sighed. "Don't you think I know that?" she whispered. 
 518.174 +
 518.175 +There was no reply from KOS-MOS. Shion continued to stare at the
 518.176 +android's face, waiting patiently for her eyes to open. After a few
 518.177 +moments, her gaze drifted down from her eyes to her mouth. And an
 518.178 +idea suddenly formed in her mind. A crazy idea. 
 518.179 +
 518.180 +What am I thinking? Shion asked herself silently. I can't do that!
 518.181 +But the more she stared at KOS-MOS's lips, the greater the desire
 518.182 +became. Just this one time, she tried to rationalize. She never has
 518.183 +to know! 
 518.184 +
 518.185 +"If I stole one kiss, would you hold it against me?" Shion asked in
 518.186 +a voice to soft to even be called a whisper. It certainly wasn't the
 518.187 +first time she thought about giving her mechanical angel a kiss, but
 518.188 +in the days since the incident at Proto Merkabah, the desire had
 518.189 +grown stronger and stronger. She had come so close to losing her that
 518.190 +day. Twice in fact. Sitting in her cabin that evening, she came to a
 518.191 +startling revelation. 
 518.192 +
 518.193 +She was in love with KOS-MOS. 
 518.194 +
 518.195 +"That's right, KOS-MOS," Shion told the sleeping angel. "I love you.
 518.196 +This is some fix I've got myself in, huh?" she laughed wearily.
 518.197 +"Wonder what everyone would say if they knew? I wonder what Kevin
 518.198 +would say? I wonder what you will say? Would you even understand?" 
 518.199 +
 518.200 +Her lips still looked so inviting, but Shion just couldn't bring
 518.201 +herself to kiss them. If that's going to happen, she decided, it will
 518.202 +happen when she's awake, and only if she's ready -- if she can ever
 518.203 +be ready. Instead, Shion leaned over KOS-MOS's body, her hair
 518.204 +cascading over her shoulders, and gave the woman who had taken her
 518.205 +heart without even trying, a quick, but heartfelt, kiss on the cheek. 
 518.206 +
 518.207 +In a corner of KOS-MOS's mind, a corner so far removed that she
 518.208 +wasn't even aware of its existence, something began to stir. To vague
 518.209 +to be called emotion, to faint to be called a sub-conscious desire.
 518.210 +Not yet important enough to trigger and internal diagnostic scan. But
 518.211 +something was there, was brought to life by a kiss that wasn't
 518.212 +supposed to happen -- yet. And it began to grow. 
 518.213 +
 518.214 +Shion pulled back with a gasp as she felt a twitch of movement from
 518.215 +KOS-MOS's face. Her face was mere inches away when her red eyes
 518.216 +slowly opened and locked with her own. 
 518.217 +
 518.218 +"Good morning, Shion." KOS-MOS greeted her in her even, precise
 518.219 +voice. She took note of Shion's close proximity, and misunderstood
 518.220 +the reason behind it. "My internal chronometer reads 0700 hours,
 518.221 +which was the assigned activation time. Do you require additional
 518.222 +offline time to finish my maintenance checks?" 
 518.223 +
 518.224 +Shion quickly puller her self back up to a sitting position on the
 518.225 +side of the maintenance bed, and turned her head to hide her growing
 518.226 +blush. "That wont be necessary KOS-MOS," she said quickly. "I - um -
 518.227 +had just finished." 
 518.228 +
 518.229 +"Very well," KOS-MOS stated simply, and sat up. She ran her usual
 518.230 +series of start-up diagnostics. Aside from and unexpected minor error
 518.231 +in an otherwise blank section of her OS, all the internal quires came
 518.232 +back green. 
 518.233 +
 518.234 +"All systems are operating within normal parameters," she informed
 518.235 +Shion. 
 518.236 +
 518.237 +Still facing away from her, Shion nodded. "Very good KOS-MOS," she
 518.238 +said carefully, her nerve failing. There was a brief rustle behind
 518.239 +her, followed by the soft *click* of high heels as KOS-MOS landed on
 518.240 +her feet outside the maintenance bed. Shion stood up then and the
 518.241 +upper hatch of the bed lowered and secured itself in place. As she
 518.242 +stood, she faced the battle android, who was staring at her intently.
 518.243 +Shion knew perfectly well that KOS-MOS stared at everything intently,
 518.244 +but today, she found the androids fixed gaze unnerving, and lowered
 518.245 +her gaze to the floor. 
 518.246 +
 518.247 +What was I thinking? Shion scolded herself. This was a bad idea; I
 518.248 +never should have -- 
 518.249 +
 518.250 +"Shion, I am curious as to why I was set to be activated at this
 518.251 +time," KOS-MOS stated. "Judging from your attire and the basket you
 518.252 +have with you, you seem to have plans for some time of leisure
 518.253 +activity, which does not include myself at this time." 
 518.254 +
 518.255 +Shion looked up, meeting her creation's eyes once more. That's as
 518.256 +close to a compliment on my dress as I'm going to get, she realized.
 518.257 +Feeling some of her bravery return, she said, "That's not entirely
 518.258 +true, KOS-MOS. I was actually hoping you would join me for a picnic." 
 518.259 +
 518.260 +KOS-MOS experienced an unexpected data surge from the part of her
 518.261 +Operating System was she had discovered the error this upon waking.
 518.262 +Before she could isolate the problem, the spike was gone. She added
 518.263 +to her error log for later review. 
 518.264 +
 518.265 +"Very well, Shion. I will accompany you," she replied. She turned
 518.266 +and headed for the door, her heels making a very rhythmic click-click
 518.267 +sound on the floor. She was already through the door before Shion
 518.268 +snapped out of her surprise. She picked up the basket, and headed out
 518.269 +the door as well. 
 518.270 +
 518.271 +------------------------------------------ 
 518.272 +
 518.273 +As much as the Federation likes to believe the opposite, there are
 518.274 +parts of known space where they have no power. This was good news for
 518.275 +Gerad Dalton. 
 518.276 +
 518.277 +As he welded the final components of his terminal together, he felt
 518.278 +the urge to cackle like one of those mad-scientist types he often saw
 518.279 +in horror sci-fi holos. He kept the urge in check. Who actually
 518.280 +laughs like that anyway? Besides, he wasn't mad. Furious maybe, but
 518.281 +not mad. 
 518.282 +
 518.283 +It wasn't too long ago that Gerad was a respected and up-incoming
 518.284 +researcher at Vector Industries. He knew the men up top (maybe even
 518.285 +Wilhelm himself!) had their eyes on him as he began to explore more
 518.286 +applications for the UMN, taking what was thought to be an
 518.287 +established, immutable science, and pushing it further. Some even
 518.288 +went as far as to call him a genius. 
 518.289 +
 518.290 +His own personal research was second in priority only to his desire
 518.291 +to rid the universe of the Gnosis. When the KOS-MOS project was
 518.292 +announced, he called in every favor he could to make sure he got the
 518.293 +number two slot, right after project head Kevin. With his reputation
 518.294 +and seniority in the company, he was the obvious choice. 
 518.295 +
 518.296 +Except Kevin chose a complete unknown: an nineteen-year-old named
 518.297 +Shion Uzuki. 
 518.298 +
 518.299 +Gerad wanted to cruse, wanted to scream, wanted to pound his fists
 518.300 +into the wall, but once again, held himself in check. The tiny, one
 518.301 +bedroom shack he lived in on a God-forsaken moon was covered wall to
 518.302 +wall with computer equipment; throwing a tantrum would only damage
 518.303 +something. Crudely wired and looking rather thrown together, a casual
 518.304 +observer would dismiss the mess as trash. It had taken several long
 518.305 +years to assemble, however, and its true power could not be seen by
 518.306 +the naked eye. 
 518.307 +
 518.308 +He called it the Jolly Roger. It was his life's work, nearly
 518.309 +destroyed by her. 
 518.310 +
 518.311 +When Kevin passed him over for that four-eyed wench, he was
 518.312 +devastated. It defied logic, defied reason. By choosing Shion over
 518.313 +him, he basically told him he wasn't good enough. 
 518.314 +
 518.315 +He wasn't good enough? Him, the genius Gerad Dalton?? 
 518.316 +
 518.317 +The Jolly Roger would show him, show her, show Vector, show the
 518.318 +whole damn universe! 
 518.319 +
 518.320 +He was so close the last time, two years ago. His research into the
 518.321 +UMN, combined with Vector's resources, made the Jolly Roger a
 518.322 +reality. His goal: the complete and total control over the entire
 518.323 +Unus Mundus Network. Lets see Shion Uzuki do that. 
 518.324 +
 518.325 +As it turned out, she did one better: she discovered what he was
 518.326 +doing, and reported him before he had the chance to bring the Jolly
 518.327 +Roger on-line. 
 518.328 +
 518.329 +Gerad removed the goggles he had been wearing. His face was tight
 518.330 +and worn, marked with many wrinkles. He was a mere 40 standard years
 518.331 +old, but his run from Federation law and his harsh life on a moon of
 518.332 +the ice planet Vladek has caused him to age horribly. His once neat
 518.333 +black hair was now long and unruly, peppered by streaks of gray. As
 518.334 +he closed of the final section of his super computer, he gave a sigh
 518.335 +of relief, and allowed himself a smile. 
 518.336 +
 518.337 +It was time to hack the entire UMN. 
 518.338 +
 518.339 +Once that was accomplished, he would see about handing out some
 518.340 +payback. 
 518.341 +
 518.342 +------------------------------------------ 
 518.343 +
 518.344 +KOS-MOS eyes darted from Shion's face to the strawberry she was
 518.345 +offering between her thumb and index finger, then back to her face.
 518.346 +She blinked once, then repeated the action. 
 518.347 +
 518.348 +She is so cute when she's confused, Shion thought. 
 518.349 +
 518.350 +"I do not see the point to this action," KOS-MOS informed her
 518.351 +finally. "I do not require foodstuffs to function." 
 518.352 +
 518.353 +"Just try it this once," Shion replied. "I think you might like it." 
 518.354 +
 518.355 +The two women were sitting on a red and white checkered sheet, in
 518.356 +the shade of a large (and probably extinct, Shion thought) tree. This
 518.357 +tree stood in the middle of a large expanse of grass and rolling
 518.358 +hills, extending as far as the eyes could see in any direction. They
 518.359 +sky was a perfect clear blue, with only the occasional whisper of a
 518.360 +cloud here and there. All in all it was the perfect time and place
 518.361 +for a picnic. Not even the red and blue EVS exit portal spinning
 518.362 +silently nearby could shatter the illusion. There was slight breeze
 518.363 +just then, blowing KOS-MOS pale blue hair across her face slightly.
 518.364 +Shion worried about it getting in her eyes for about a second, until
 518.365 +she remembered just who she was sitting with. 
 518.366 +
 518.367 +"Upon swallowing this item," KOS-MOS tried to explain. "It would be
 518.368 +broken down to its basic elements, and consumed by my internal
 518.369 +generator. I would draw no benefit from it. It would be better if you
 518.370 +were to eat it. I insist." 
 518.371 +
 518.372 +Shion felt touched by this comment, even though she knew it was
 518.373 +basic on cold logic and not genuine caring. She'd take what she could
 518.374 +get for now. 
 518.375 +
 518.376 +"KOS-MOS, don't argue." Shion instructed. "Open your mouth." 
 518.377 +
 518.378 +KOS-MOS's lips parted slowly, and Shion felt a slight blush fill her
 518.379 +cheeks. She slowly placed the strawberry in her friends mouth, and
 518.380 +forced herself to tear her eyes away as KOS-MOS bit into it and began
 518.381 +to chew. She quickly activated her Connection Gear that she had been
 518.382 +holding in the other hand, and accessed a program that she had spent
 518.383 +most of the last few weeks working on. Once the screen came up, she
 518.384 +hit the 'Upload Now' option. 
 518.385 +
 518.386 +The data transfer was so fast that even KOS-MOS almost missed it. In
 518.387 +no time at all a new OS sub-routine was downloaded, taking up the
 518.388 +same space where the unknown bug had been detected earlier. That was
 518.389 +the first thing she noticed. 
 518.390 +
 518.391 +The second was an explosion of sensations in her mouth. She had been
 518.392 +chewing the strawberry as instructed, but now she could taste it! It
 518.393 +was sweet and soft and juicy and -- and -- 
 518.394 +
 518.395 +KOS-MOS swallowed. Though her facial expression changed only
 518.396 +slightly, it was a difference Shion was able to notice. 
 518.397 +
 518.398 +"Wow," KOS-MOS said at last. 
 518.399 +
 518.400 +Shion was stunned. "Did you just say 'wow?'" she asked. 
 518.401 +
 518.402 +The moment soon passed, and KOS-MOS was in control again. "I believe
 518.403 +I did," she replied. "Perhaps my linguistic programs are
 518.404 +malfunctioning." 
 518.405 +
 518.406 +Shion sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, how did you like it?" she
 518.407 +asked. 
 518.408 +
 518.409 +KOS-MOS opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. After a
 518.410 +few seconds she spoke. "While I do not see how this program will
 518.411 +enhance my abilities as an Anti-Gnosis weapon system, it is a welcome
 518.412 +addition to my operating system." 
 518.413 +
 518.414 +"I meant the strawberry," Shion clarified. 
 518.415 +
 518.416 +"I see," KOS-MOS replied. "I find that I rather enjoyed it. Thank
 518.417 +you for sharing it with me." 
 518.418 +
 518.419 +Shion felt her heart beat just a little faster, and a new blush
 518.420 +spread across her cheeks. What am I, fourteen? she thought. She was
 518.421 +just being polite, stop reading into it! 
 518.422 +
 518.423 +"Shion, in the last several hours, I have noticed several abrupt and
 518.424 +dramatic changes in your heartbeat, respiration rate, and body
 518.425 +temperature," KOS-MOS informed her. "I am concerned about your
 518.426 +health. Perhaps you should consult a physician." 
 518.427 +
 518.428 +"How every perceptive of you, KOS-MOS," Shion said with a little
 518.429 +laugh. "I'll be alright, though. It's nothing." 
 518.430 +
 518.431 +"Are you certain?" KOS-MOS asked. 
 518.432 +
 518.433 +Shion looked away, staring off into the sky for a moment. She
 518.434 +sighed. "If I didn't know better," she said quietly, "I would think
 518.435 +you actually cared." 
 518.436 +
 518.437 +KOS-MOS turned her own gaze upward, scanning for whatever Shion was
 518.438 +looking at. "I do not wish for you to be unwell," she said 
 518.439 +
 518.440 +"Of course not," Shion said sadly. "After all, I'm your Primary
 518.441 +Directive." 
 518.442 +
 518.443 +KOS-MOS identified the tone of Shion's voice as what one might sound
 518.444 +like if the were unhappy or distressed. Unsure of how to respond to
 518.445 +such a situation, she decided to merely relate the facts of the
 518.446 +matter. It was what she did best after all. 
 518.447 +
 518.448 +"The Primary Directive of which you speak directs my action in time
 518.449 +of crisis. In such situations, I am to safeguard all Vector
 518.450 +personnel, especially you," she explained. "My current desire to
 518.451 +ensure you are well is --," she paused here, momentarily surprised by
 518.452 +what she was about to say. " - my own," she finished. "I -- just want
 518.453 +you to be alright." 
 518.454 +
 518.455 +Shion turned her head to look at the android, who was still staring
 518.456 +into the sky. She hadn't been expecting that response. She wasn't
 518.457 +sure what to say. 
 518.458 +
 518.459 +"Would you like another strawberry?" she asked awkwardly. Where did
 518.460 +that come from, Uzuki? she thought. KOS-MOS just performed the
 518.461 +android equivalent of pouring her heart out, and all you can do is
 518.462 +ask if she wants another strawberry?? 
 518.463 +
 518.464 +"I would like that very much, Shion," she replied, still staring off
 518.465 +into the sky. 
 518.466 +
 518.467 +--------------------------------- 
 518.468 +
 518.469 +On board the Elsa, MOMO watched the scene transpire on the UMN
 518.470 +screen near the bridge. In her hurry, Shion had neglected to activate
 518.471 +a privacy screen, and MOMO just happened upon it while on her way to
 518.472 +the UMN store terminal. 
 518.473 +
 518.474 +"Wow, Shion is so pretty in that dress!" she said to herself as she
 518.475 +watched them converse on the screen. Of course KOS-MOS is pretty
 518.476 +too...I wonder if she ever gets tired of wearing the same outfit? she
 518.477 +added silently. Then she remembered just who she was taking about and
 518.478 +decided that the android probably never gave it a second thought. 
 518.479 +
 518.480 +As she watched, Shion reached out with her foot, snagged the picnic
 518.481 +basket, and pulled it towards them. KOS-MOS watched her do this, and
 518.482 +said something to her. There was no sound , but it was easy enough
 518.483 +for MOMO to read their lips. 
 518.484 +
 518.485 +"It would have been easier to use your hands, Shion," KOS-MOS was
 518.486 +saying. 
 518.487 +
 518.488 +"But not as much fun!" Shion replied. MOMO giggled at that; she had
 518.489 +a point there. 
 518.490 +
 518.491 +"Fun is a wasted use of resources." KOS-MOS informed her creator. 
 518.492 +
 518.493 +Shion surprised MOMO by sticking her tongue out at KOS-MOS,
 518.494 +effectively teasing a machine capable of destroying a planet some
 518.495 +day. 
 518.496 +
 518.497 +"You still want these strawberries or not?" Shion asked. KOS-MOS
 518.498 +nodded. "All right, then," Shion stated. She reached into the basket,
 518.499 +and pulled out one strawberries. She held it between her thumb and
 518.500 +index figure, and guided it to KOS-MOS's mouth. The android slowly
 518.501 +opened her mouth and bit into the fruit carefully. She closed her
 518.502 +eyes as the taste of the simple piece of fruit washed over her. 
 518.503 +
 518.504 +MOMO noticed the blush in Shion's cheeks. 
 518.505 +
 518.506 +She also noticed the serene expression of genuine enjoyment on KOS-
 518.507 +MOS's face. 
 518.508 +
 518.509 +She started to feel a little awkward herself. Just what is happening
 518.510 +here? she wondered. What are they doing? She was beginning to think
 518.511 +she should quit watching, when Fate decided the matter for her. 
 518.512 +
 518.513 +The Elsa, which had been cruising through hyperspace at an even
 518.514 +clip, was suddenly thrown violently back into real space so abruptly
 518.515 +that she fell to the floor with a small yelp of surprise. She banged
 518.516 +her head against the UMN terminal, and saw stars for a few moments
 518.517 +before rising to her feet and heading for the bridge. She took a few
 518.518 +steps, then remembered that her friends were still in the EVS, and
 518.519 +hit communication button on the terminal to let them know what was
 518.520 +going on. 
 518.521 +
 518.522 +"Hey, Shion, KOS-MOS, I think you better get back. Something seems
 518.523 +to be --" 
 518.524 +
 518.525 +MOMO stopped speaking when she noticed that neither of the two women
 518.526 +could hear her. They continued their meal, oblivious to what was
 518.527 +going on in the real world. She quickly keyed in a few more commands
 518.528 +to the computer to discover the problem when the screen went blank
 518.529 +suddenly. After a few moments, it winked back on. 
 518.530 +
 518.531 +MOMO took one look at it. "Uh-oh," she said. Then she turned and ran
 518.532 +to the bridge. 
 518.533 +
 518.534 +On the UMN screen, there was a rotating gray and black image of the
 518.535 +skull and crossbones. 
 518.536 +
 518.537 +--------------------------------- 
 518.538 +
 518.539 +After feeding KOS-MOS nearly every piece of fruit that she had
 518.540 +brought with her (and having quite a bit of food herself) Shion began
 518.541 +to feel a little better, and very, very tired. 
 518.542 +
 518.543 +"Perhaps we should return now," KOS-MOS suggested. 
 518.544 +
 518.545 +"Not yet," Shion sighed wistfully. Once again, they sat side by
 518.546 +side, backs against the tree, staring out over the horizon. Shion
 518.547 +tapped a few commands into her computer, and suddenly it was sunset.
 518.548 +The bright oranges, reds and yellows slowly receding away from the
 518.549 +backdrop of twilight was breathtaking. 
 518.550 +
 518.551 +"It's beautiful, don't you think, KOS-MOS?" Shion asked, even though
 518.552 +she new the android thought no such thing. 
 518.553 +
 518.554 +"It is a unique sight for one who has spent their entire existence
 518.555 +in space," KOS-MOS agreed. 
 518.556 +
 518.557 +Shion leaned her head on the friend's shoulder. This really has been
 518.558 +a perfect day, Shion thought. Pleasant conversation, opening her mind
 518.559 +to new experiences, and just being together without having to worry
 518.560 +about the Zohar or the Gnosis or Albedo. I should really end it on
 518.561 +this note. 
 518.562 +
 518.563 +"What do think of me, KOS-MOS?" The question was out of her mouth
 518.564 +before she could stop it. 
 518.565 +
 518.566 +"You are Shion Uzuki, head of Vector Industries First R&D Division's
 518.567 +KOS-MOS project. You designed me," KOS-MOS replied. 
 518.568 +
 518.569 +"Forget I asked," Shion said quickly. 
 518.570 +
 518.571 +There was a pause of several minutes as the sun continued to set on
 518.572 +the two women. Shion felt her self grow more and more drowsy. She
 518.573 +felt so relaxed where she was, so safe, so happy. For the next few
 518.574 +minutes, she decided, I'm not going to think. Just be here with KOS-
 518.575 +MOS. I'll worry about what that means later. 
 518.576 +
 518.577 +KOS-MOS's mind, on the other hand, was spinning. Things seemed to
 518.578 +fall into place for her all of sudden. Every moment she had ever
 518.579 +spent with Shion since she was activated came back to her in an
 518.580 +instant. When she was upset with her, when she spoke with her, when
 518.581 +she tried to keep her from doing things she had to do. Lastly, the
 518.582 +utter terror and desperation in her voice aboard Proto Merkabah. 
 518.583 +
 518.584 +("You'd better come back, KOS-MOS! You'd better!) 
 518.585 +
 518.586 +Realization dawned on the android at once. The area of her mind now
 518.587 +occupied by the new taste program cheered silently at this
 518.588 +realization...but it was still to faint to be noticed. For now. 
 518.589 +
 518.590 +"Shion," KOS-MOS spoke suddenly, startling the young scientist. "I
 518.591 +believe I have come to a realization." 
 518.592 +
 518.593 +"What is it, KOS-MOS?" Shion asked. She felt her eyelids growing
 518.594 +heavy, and she was looking forward to falling asleep right where she
 518.595 +was. 
 518.596 +
 518.597 +"You are in love with me," KOS-MOS stated simply. 
 518.598 +
 518.599 +Shion was suddenly wide awake. She sat up quickly just as KOS-MOS
 518.600 +turned her head to face her. 
 518.601 +
 518.602 +"Do not deny it, Shion," KOS-MOS went on. "Careful examination of
 518.603 +your actions since the time of my activation proves this fact. What
 518.604 +we must now do is discuss what we shall do about it." 
 518.605 +
 518.606 +"You make it sound like this a problem to be 'dealt with' and
 518.607 +disposed off," Shion said, a little angrily. Not at KOS-MOS, but at
 518.608 +herself for being so obvious when she had thought she was keeping it
 518.609 +to herself. "Emotions are more complicated than that." 
 518.610 +
 518.611 +"I am aware of this, even if I do not understand them completely,"
 518.612 +KOS-MOS responded. "If you follow that fact to its logical
 518.613 +conclusion, you realize that I can never fully understand your
 518.614 +feelings for me, and therefore can never return them. This may be
 518.615 +acceptable for you now, as this 'date' indicates --" 
 518.616 +
 518.617 +"This is not a date!" Shion insisted, but her protest sounded hollow
 518.618 +even to her own ears. 
 518.619 +
 518.620 +" -- but eventually I will become a cause of great emotional stress
 518.621 +and pain for you." The android stood up. Without looking at Shion,
 518.622 +she continued. "The best course of action would be for me to remove
 518.623 +myself from your life as soon as possible." Shion began to protest,
 518.624 +but KOS-MOS talked over her. "I realize that my sudden departure will
 518.625 +hurt you, but I believe that it will be far better if I hurt you a
 518.626 +small amount now, compared to the great amount I will harm you later
 518.627 +by staying. In addition, the time has come for me to be turned over
 518.628 +to the Second Division, and begin mass production and field testing.
 518.629 +Good bye, Shion." She began to walk to the exit portal. 
 518.630 +
 518.631 +"Just you wait a minute, KOS-MOS!" Shion called after her. She
 518.632 +jumped to her feet as well. "You can't just leave like this!" 
 518.633 +
 518.634 +KOS-MOS continued walking. "That is precisely what I am doing. After
 518.635 +careful consideration, I have decided this will be the best course of
 518.636 +action." 
 518.637 +
 518.638 +Shion forced herself not to panic, even though she could feel the
 518.639 +same sense of dread fill her chest that she felt at Proto Merkabah.
 518.640 +She tried to keep her voice even (and failed) as she spoke. "Don't
 518.641 +leave me," she said quietly. 
 518.642 +
 518.643 +KOS-MOS stopped walking. She turned her head slightly to one side.
 518.644 +Shion could almost make out the profile of her face. She was looking
 518.645 +toward the ground. In that pose, as her ruby-red eyes blinked slowly
 518.646 +twice, she almost looked -- sad. 
 518.647 +
 518.648 +"I do not wish to hurt you, Shion. If I remain with you, I will do
 518.649 +so more than if I were to leave now," she said. 
 518.650 +
 518.651 +"Is that really what you want, KOS-MOS?" Shion asked her. 
 518.652 +
 518.653 +KOS-MOS opened her mouth to say 'affirmative', but found she
 518.654 +couldn't. She was experiencing an error in her verbal skill
 518.655 +programming. She quickly ran an internal diagnostic, to find the
 518.656 +error source was coming from the same place as before. 
 518.657 +
 518.658 +"No," she found herself saying. 
 518.659 +
 518.660 +Shion held her hand out to the android. "Then don't go," she said. 
 518.661 +
 518.662 +"Are you two serious?" a new voice called suddenly from the upper
 518.663 +branches of the tree. "Kevin passed me up for you? A child, little
 518.664 +girl who's so foolish that she'd fall in love with a weapon?" 
 518.665 +
 518.666 +Startled, Shion spun around and looked up. In an instant, KOS-MOS
 518.667 +was beside her, her right hand hovering over her holster. "Identify
 518.668 +yourself!" KOS-MOS demanded. This was only the second time in her
 518.669 +life that someone was able to sneak up on her, and she wasn't happy
 518.670 +about it. It didn't occur to her just then the fact she was angry
 518.671 +should have been impossible. 
 518.672 +
 518.673 +Standing quite easily on a tree branch which was actually thinner
 518.674 +than his feet, stood a man in a black and gray Vector uniform. Over
 518.675 +his right breast pocket however, was the image of the skull and
 518.676 +crossbones. 
 518.677 +
 518.678 +Shion noticed this, and her eyes went wide. "Dalton?" she asked. 
 518.679 +
 518.680 +"Ah, Ms. Uzuki!" Gerad replied. He brought both hands over his heart
 518.681 +in a gesture of mock happiness. "You remember me! I can't help but be
 518.682 +touched!" The smile vanished from his face, and his tone became as
 518.683 +serious as a heart attack. "I, of course, remember you." 
 518.684 +
 518.685 +"You know this person, Shion?" KOS-MOS asked. She attempted to use
 518.686 +her internal UMN link to access Vector personnel files for a Gerad
 518.687 +Dalton, but was unable to log on. Another internal error? she
 518.688 +wondered. 
 518.689 +
 518.690 +"I don't know how you got here, Gerad, but you can rest assured once
 518.691 +we get back, I'll be sure to report you! The Federation has been
 518.692 +looking for you for a long time!" 
 518.693 +
 518.694 +" 'We?' " Gerad asked. "What, do you have a mouse in your pocket?" 
 518.695 +
 518.696 +"Just what is that supposed to mean, Gerad?" Shion yelled back. "I
 518.697 +was talking about myself and KOS-MOS!" 
 518.698 +
 518.699 +"Oh yes, the weapon," Gerad said as though he was noticing the
 518.700 +battle android for the first time. "It could pose a problem. Lets
 518.701 +take care of that now, shall we?" 
 518.702 +
 518.703 +Gerad quickly pointed toward the two women. At the same time, KOS-
 518.704 +MOS detected a sudden energy surge coming from his body, and drew her
 518.705 +blaster. A jagged bolt of blue-white energy sprang from his
 518.706 +fingertips. Simultaneously, KOS-MOS shoved Shion down out of the way
 518.707 +with her left hand and fired with her right. 
 518.708 +
 518.709 +The two blasts met in mid-air and exploded, the force of the
 518.710 +explosion pushing Shion along the ground about five feet, and
 518.711 +flooding the artificial evening with light. When her vision cleared,
 518.712 +she noticed neither Gerad nor KOS-MOS had budged an inch. 
 518.713 +
 518.714 +"Well, well, well," Gerad said with honest surprise. "This should be
 518.715 +fun."
 518.716 \ No newline at end of file

   519.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   519.2 +++ b/stories/xmas-carol.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   519.3 @@ -0,0 +1,1925 @@
   519.4 +
   519.5 +
   519.6 +All I want for Christmas is You
   519.7 +by Amazoness Duo
   519.8 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com 
   519.9 +
  519.10 +
  519.11 +	Her name was Sakura Kinomoto. Sweet, lovable, and very energetic,
  519.12 +Christmas was one of her favorite times of the year. Her emerald
  519.13 +green eyes sparkled as all sorts of Christmas decorations caught her
  519.14 +their notice. “Sugoi! Tomoyo-chan, look!” The Twin Bells shop was
  519.15 +putting up a cute little Christmas tree right outside, decorated
  519.16 +festively with all sorts of beautiful decorations, lights flashing on
  519.17 +and off in spectacular patterns. Sakura giggled happily. She had gone
  519.18 +out shopping with her best friend to get a few last minute Christmas
  519.19 +gifts. 
  519.20 +	Tomoyo smiled cheerfully as she watched her genki best friend. Her
  519.21 +hand was on her ever trusty camcorder, capturing every second of
  519.22 +enthusiastic Sakura on videotape. Sakura was trussed up in an outfit
  519.23 +Santa Claus would have envied. Tomoyo had finished it just that
  519.24 +morning and was eager to see the Cardmistress in it. Despite her
  519.25 +initial embarrassment, Sakura didn’t even seem to notice the garment
  519.26 +was there anymore, walking around with her usual flourish. The little
  519.27 +white ball at the end of the red cap on her head bobbed back and
  519.28 +forth as she walked. Her feet were covered with little red shoes,
  519.29 +also with little white balls. Long white stockings kept Sakura’s legs
  519.30 +warm. Those ran up into a small red skirt that was trimmed with
  519.31 +white. Her red coat was held closed against the cold with green lace.
  519.32 +In both gloved hands, Sakura held shopping bags filled with her
  519.33 +latest gifts. Tomoyo sighed to herself. “The tree looks very nice,
  519.34 +Sakura-chan, but it’s not nearly as cute or as festive as you are.”
  519.35 +	Sakura blushed at the remark, sweatdropping at Tomoyo’s usual
  519.36 +bluntness about such things. She didn’t think she’d ever understand
  519.37 +why she said those kinds of things, but she had come to accept it.
  519.38 +She should see it coming by now, she told herself, but she always got
  519.39 +caught by surprise. Tomoyo was dressed all in green, with a beautiful
  519.40 +green bow in her hair. She said that she was dressed as ‘Sakura-
  519.41 +chan’s helper’. It looked pretty on her regardless, Tomoyo’s snow
  519.42 +white skin almost seeming to be an addition to the costume. Sakura
  519.43 +went back to looking at the tree, her fingers brushing through some
  519.44 +of the tinsel. “It’s so pretty! I hope Onii-chan and dad get the
  519.45 +Christmas tree up before I get back. I hope it’s big with lots of
  519.46 +lights and decorations.” She balled her fists up in anticipation,
  519.47 +already seeing the tree in her mind. 
  519.48 +	Giggling softly, Tomoyo led Sakura inside the shop, walking
  519.49 +carefully backwards so that she could get Sakura’s entrance. “Sakura-
  519.50 +chan enters the store, ready for more holiday gift giving. Like a
  519.51 +kawaii Santa Claus, she comes bearing gifts.” She barely noticed the
  519.52 +running commentary she was providing, lost up in the sheer perfection
  519.53 +that was Sakura. The holiday season could be one of the most
  519.54 +depressing times of the year, but right now that hardly seemed to
  519.55 +matter. It was as if she was too busy partaking of Sakura to allow
  519.56 +any other thoughts into her head. 
  519.57 +	Blushing again, Sakura went back to the task at hand, glancing
  519.58 +around the store for anything someone might like. “Let’s see... I
  519.59 +already have Onii-chan’s present. He’s getting that sweater. And I
  519.60 +got Yukito-san that basket of food you pointed out. Naoko-chan got
  519.61 +the book of scary stories.” Sakura paused for a moment to shudder.
  519.62 +That book sure had a spooky ghost on the cover of it. And Sakura
  519.63 +hated ghosts. Especially after Touya spent his youth telling her
  519.64 +scary stories about them. “And Chiharu-chan has those ribbons for her
  519.65 +hair. Rika-chan got that cute broach. Father has the scarf I made.”
  519.66 +Biting her lip, her mind went through the possibilities. What else
  519.67 +did she need for Christmas? Her eyes caught on something near the
  519.68 +back of the shop, drawing her towards it. “Kawaii!” It was a cute
  519.69 +angel doll, it’s wings folded beautifully behind it, it’s white silk
  519.70 +shining in the store light. It held a small candle in its hands, its
  519.71 +eyes closed as if in prayer. Her mind raced. Yes, she knew exactly
  519.72 +what she would get it for. A giggle escaped her lips as she picked it
  519.73 +up. “Wai! I have just enough for it. And it’s the last thing I need.
  519.74 +I’m going to get it for Syaoran-kun.” 
  519.75 +	Tomoyo’s sweet voice reached out to Sakura from behind Tomoyo’s
  519.76 +camcorder. Her smile was genuine, but Tomoyo couldn’t tell if she was
  519.77 +hiding behind the camcorder or not, using it to distance herself from
  519.78 +the situation. She wasn’t part of this. She was an observer. So there
  519.79 +was no reason to be sad about Sakura picking out a nice gift for the
  519.80 +boy she would one day marry. When she spoke, it was with all honesty.
  519.81 +“I’m sure that Li-kun will be thrilled to get such a lovely present
  519.82 +from Sakura-chan. Though being with Sakura-chan would be present
  519.83 +enough for anyone.”
  519.84 +	Smiling brightly, Sakura headed to the counter to make her
  519.85 +purchase. “Tomoyo-chan, arigato! I really hope so. It’s the last of
  519.86 +my money. I want it to be something special.” 
  519.87 +	“It is special. An angel from an angel.” Tomoyo sighed happily, a
  519.88 +light blush on her cheeks as she continued recording Sakura. The
  519.89 +brunette sweatdropped again, waving off the idea, but Tomoyo just
  519.90 +went around to get another angle of her angel.
  519.91 +	“I’m not an angel, Tomoyo-chan. I just want to make this a good
  519.92 +Christmas for everyone,” the Cardmistress explained, accepting the
  519.93 +bag with the angel inside from the shop owner before turning back to
  519.94 +her eccentric best friend. She was happy to have found it. It was
  519.95 +absolutely perfect. She couldn’t wait to wrap it up. Yes, this
  519.96 +Christmas would be perfect indeed.
  519.97 +	“You’re an angel to me, Sakura-chan. Floating down gingerly from
  519.98 +the sky, filling up the lives of all you meet with love, capturing
  519.99 +their hearts with your beauty and cute personality, making everyday
 519.100 +feel special. Sakura-chan’s my Christmas angel.” Another smile
 519.101 +crossed her lips as she continued filming, following the embarrassed
 519.102 +Sakura out of the store. Everyone knew, most of all Tomoyo, that an
 519.103 +embarrassed Sakura was a very cute Sakura. 
 519.104 +	“Thank you very much, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out, smiling despite
 519.105 +her blush. She knew that Tomoyo was a very wise person and took what
 519.106 +she said to heart. Tomoyo always seemed to be looking out for her and
 519.107 +she appreciated that. Even if some of what she said was strange,
 519.108 +Sakura knew that the dark haired girl meant it. That was part of why
 519.109 +it was so embarrassing to hear, actually. Because she knew that
 519.110 +Tomoyo was always being honest about it. She was always very happy to
 519.111 +hear it regardless. It made her feel warm inside, like when you would
 519.112 +sit right in front of a fire or it would wash over you or when you
 519.113 +had a nice cup of hot chocolate that swirled and heated you up
 519.114 +inside. It was much the same being with Tomoyo. 
 519.115 +	When they had finally reached Sakura’s house, they found that
 519.116 +everyone else seemed to be out for the moment. Sakura grinned as she
 519.117 +lugged in her bags. That meant no big brothers to get in the way of
 519.118 +her Christmas wrapping. A nearly forgotten thought struck her
 519.119 +suddenly and she turned back to Tomoyo. “Oh, wait right there, Tomoyo-
 519.120 +chan! I need to go get your Christmas present.” She motioned towards
 519.121 +the living room and began for the stairs. She was happy to note that
 519.122 +the Christmas tree was up and that it was beautiful. Underneath, she
 519.123 +could see some of the presents already. Spotting Tomoyo’s present to
 519.124 +her that Tomoyo had given her before they had left this morning,
 519.125 +Sakura grinned and rushed up the stairs. She couldn’t wait to give
 519.126 +Tomoyo her present. 
 519.127 +	Tomoyo waited patiently, sitting in front of the large Christmas
 519.128 +tree. She knew her mother had already purchased the largest Christmas
 519.129 +tree imaginable. They had spent the night before decorating it. She
 519.130 +had been happy to spend the time with her mother, worrying about
 519.131 +nothing other than a large tree. They had stayed up long after the
 519.132 +tree was finished, Tomoyo’s head on her mother’s lap. Her mother
 519.133 +would gently play with her hair while they both stared at the glow
 519.134 +from the Christmas tree, all the other lights in the house off. They
 519.135 +had talked late into the night, her mother telling her all sorts of
 519.136 +stories, most having to do with her sweet cousin, Nadeshiko. She had
 519.137 +finally fallen asleep, curled up and with her head still on her
 519.138 +mother’s lap. Looking at the Christmas tree brought back all of those
 519.139 +memories, diffused with other thoughts of Sakura and her family
 519.140 +around it, enjoying the holiday together. Still deep in thought,
 519.141 +Tomoyo pulled up her cell phone to call her bodyguards to pick her
 519.142 +up. Her mother was a very protective woman and wanted to make sure
 519.143 +that she was safe. Tomoyo didn’t really mind and the bodyguards were
 519.144 +all very nice, even if they all hid that under a mask of
 519.145 +professionalism. 
 519.146 +	Finally finished and with some tape still stuck to her now
 519.147 +gloveless hands, Sakura hurried down the stairs. She found Tomoyo on
 519.148 +her knees in front of the Christmas tree, the lights shining onto her
 519.149 +pale skin making it look like she was changing color herself in front
 519.150 +of Sakura. Sakura shook her head and approached the dark haired girl.
 519.151 +“Here it is. I had to wrap it really quickly, so I’m sorry if it’s a
 519.152 +little messy.” She hung her head apologetically as she held it out as
 519.153 +an offering to her best friend. 
 519.154 +	“I’d rather have Sakura-chan wrap it than any store,” Tomoyo said
 519.155 +happily as she stood up, taking the slightly rushed package. The
 519.156 +paper was crinkled and the tape was all over the wrapping paper,
 519.157 +which was a cream color with cute teddy bears holding hearts all over
 519.158 +it. Tomoyo hugged it to her chest, thrilled to receive a gift from
 519.159 +the girl she loved. 
 519.160 +	“Are you still having that Christmas party tonight, Tomoyo-chan?”
 519.161 +Sakura asked curiously, brushing some stray locks of hair from her
 519.162 +eyes.
 519.163 +	Watching Sakura carefully, Tomoyo nodded. Something was bothering
 519.164 +the brunette, she could tell. “Yes, it’s still tonight. I’ve already
 519.165 +passed out all the invitations at school. I’m going to make a cake
 519.166 +for it myself after I get home. Mother has to be at some business
 519.167 +party, but she promised that we’ll spend all of Christmas day
 519.168 +together. The house is decorated very prettily. I can’t wait for you
 519.169 +to see it, Sakura-chan. Sense mother owns a toy company, she made
 519.170 +sure that the house was perfect for Christmas.” Tomoyo’s smile came
 519.171 +easily, though a warning at the back of her mind made her cautious. 
 519.172 +	Sakura’s shoulder’s slumped visibly. There was obvious
 519.173 +disappointment in her voice. “Gomen nasai, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t think
 519.174 +I can come to your party. My family was all going out to dinner
 519.175 +tonight.” She had completely forgot that the two events would be
 519.176 +happening at the same time. To her surprise, Tomoyo’s smile never
 519.177 +faded, though her eyes closed.
 519.178 +	“That’s all right, Sakura-chan. Family is more important than a
 519.179 +Christmas party. Please have fun at dinner. I promise I’ll save some
 519.180 +of the cake for you and Kero-chan.” Tomoyo was the mask of
 519.181 +unconcerned sweetness to her friend, but inside she was heartbroken.
 519.182 +What was a Christmas party without Sakura? The biggest thrill would
 519.183 +be to see her best friend there, to enjoy Christmas Eve with her. And
 519.184 +if her mother was already gone, what was she to do? They were the two
 519.185 +most important people to her, yet she would be spending Christmas Eve
 519.186 +without them. But she still had a party that she was responsible for.
 519.187 +An idea struck her and the heartache dulled slightly, though it
 519.188 +refused to disappear. Images of Sakura in her cute Christmas outfit
 519.189 +and gift giving and Christmas carols with her lingered in her mind
 519.190 +like the events from something that now would not be. “I’ll videotape
 519.191 +the party for you so you won’t have to miss it. I’ll give it to you
 519.192 +as soon as I can.”
 519.193 +	“Great idea, Tomoyo-chan! I can’t wait to see it. I’ll be able to
 519.194 +pretend that I actually went.” Sakura smiled at the idea, still
 519.195 +unaware of the heartache behind her friend’s smile. It seemed like a
 519.196 +wonderful idea. What better way to handle both events? A car out
 519.197 +front pulled her from her thoughts.
 519.198 +	“It must be my bodyguards. I have to go home now and get ready for
 519.199 +the party. Sakura-chan, thank you so much for the present. Whatever
 519.200 +it is, I will cherish it always,” Tomoyo said sweetly. ‘Just like
 519.201 +I’ll always cherish you,’ she added to herself. 
 519.202 +	The two friends walked towards the door, Sakura following a little
 519.203 +behind Tomoyo. “I hope the party goes well, Tomoyo-chan. I bet it’ll
 519.204 +be lots of fun.” Sakura grinned as they reached the door. “You’ll
 519.205 +have to tell me how it all went later.”
 519.206 +	Smiling back, Tomoyo wasn’t so sure herself, but she hid her
 519.207 +concern. After all, it wouldn’t be the same without Sakura. But she
 519.208 +could still record it for her and try to make it a nice party for
 519.209 +everyone. It should be a nice way to spend Christmas Eve. The special
 519.210 +cake she was planning to make wouldn’t be for Sakura, but she could
 519.211 +still keep her in her thoughts while she baked it and got everything
 519.212 +ready. Yes, even if Sakura and her mother couldn’t be there, she
 519.213 +could throw a nice Christmas party for her friends and record it for
 519.214 +the two absent women. “I will, Sakura-chan. I’ll wrap up the video
 519.215 +and bring it by tomorrow afternoon when most of the Christmas
 519.216 +festivities are out of the way. And you’ll have to tell me how your
 519.217 +Christmas goes. I’m sure it will be lovely.” 
 519.218 +	“Tomoyo-chan, arigato,” Sakura said happily as she stood in the
 519.219 +doorway. She was very excited about the coming Christmas. She had
 519.220 +presents to wrap and she had to get changed before dinner. Not that
 519.221 +Tomoyo’s costume for her wasn’t cute, but it would look a little
 519.222 +strange at a restaurant. The brunette was nearly giddy with
 519.223 +excitement. Christmas Eve was always a time of great anticipation for
 519.224 +her. 
 519.225 +	Pausing for just a moment as she considered it, Tomoyo leaned
 519.226 +forward and planted a small, delicate kiss on Sakura’s pink lips. Her
 519.227 +own petal soft lips remained there for a brief second, thrilling in
 519.228 +the delightful feel of the sweet kiss. It was over in an instant, but
 519.229 +it felt like it had lasted much longer. The dark haired girl smiled
 519.230 +brightly, her eyes closing as she tilted her head to the side.
 519.231 +“Sakura-chan looks cute under the mistletoe,” she stated simply
 519.232 +before turning towards the waiting limousine. Her bodyguards watched
 519.233 +impassively as she walked back towards the vehicle. She was nearly
 519.234 +glowing as she walked, entranced by the wonderfully soft kiss she had
 519.235 +managed to give Sakura. She licked her lips while her back was still
 519.236 +to the brunette, savoring the flavor of Sakura’s strawberry flavored
 519.237 +lip balm. Her smile grew as she reached the door that one of the
 519.238 +bodyguards was holding open. She loved the holidays. “Merry
 519.239 +Christmas, Sakura-chan!”
 519.240 +
 519.241 +	Sakura was still in the doorway sometime later, her cheeks a bright
 519.242 +scarlet and her hands held tightly against her chest. Tomoyo had been
 519.243 +gone for several minutes already. But the kiss from the other girl
 519.244 +still lingered in her mind like a lazy butterfly moving slowly
 519.245 +through a meadow. Looking straight up, she saw the mistletoe hanging
 519.246 +above the threshold. Her brother had placed it up the week before.
 519.247 +She frowned, balling her fists as she got ready to blame her brother
 519.248 +as he often did. But for what? She really didn’t feel like it anyway.
 519.249 +She just felt... strange. It had been awkward, getting kissed by
 519.250 +Tomoyo under the mistletoe. But she found the idea returning again
 519.251 +and again in her mind like a light bulb that wouldn’t stay off. It
 519.252 +had been... pleasant. Warm. And very soft. Almost fragile. It took
 519.253 +her a moment to notice that she was breathless. A small laugh escaped
 519.254 +her, sounding tiny and distorted in the empty house. Such a silly
 519.255 +thing. No wonder people kept mistletoe around. For odd occasions like
 519.256 +that. She decided that it was a good thing, whatever it was. A nice
 519.257 +little holiday ritual. She found herself almost disappointed that
 519.258 +Christmas would be over soon and that she wouldn’t have a chance to
 519.259 +do that again. Maybe Tomoyo would kiss her again the next day when
 519.260 +she came by. Or maybe she could kiss her. Under the mistletoe. With
 519.261 +snow outside and Christmas music in the background. It almost sounded
 519.262 +romantic. Sakura tried to force away her blush.  
 519.263 +	The thought still replaying in her mind’s eye, Sakura made her way
 519.264 +back to her room upstairs. She had to hurry up and call Syaoran
 519.265 +before her father and brother got home. She wanted to wish him a
 519.266 +merry Christmas while she still had the chance on Christmas Eve. She
 519.267 +had already sent out his present the week before and she wanted to
 519.268 +know what he thought of it. “Hanyaa...” Life was good. Even if her
 519.269 +boyfriend lived so far away, she was still lucky to have him. And she
 519.270 +had a wonderful friend to help her through everything back home. And
 519.271 +soon enough she would be off for Christmas dinner with her family. 
 519.272 +	A low, desolate howl carried to Sakura over the wind. It was both
 519.273 +intensely close and extremely distant at the same time. But the
 519.274 +desperate hopelessness to it made the brunette shiver terribly, her
 519.275 +skin prickling into goosebumps. She told herself that it must have
 519.276 +merely been the wind, that it was nothing more. But there had been
 519.277 +something remotely human in the despair she had heard. It sent a
 519.278 +chill through her that she couldn’t shake. 
 519.279 +	Trying to ignore the eerie feeling that she was getting, Sakura
 519.280 +made her way over to the fireplace to warm herself. She was felt as
 519.281 +if she had waiting out in the snow for hours without the warm
 519.282 +protection of Tomoyo’s costume. Kneeling down in front of the fire,
 519.283 +she basked in the warm glow, its cheery heat spreading across her
 519.284 +cheeks, almost painfully at first. But despite the warmth it gave
 519.285 +off, Sakura couldn’t get warm enough. It never seemed to dispel the
 519.286 +cold that hung about her. Rubbing her hands together, Sakura knelt
 519.287 +closer. The flames flickered and faded. The howl returned, closer
 519.288 +this time, as if it were right over her shoulder. Any warmth the
 519.289 +flames had been giving off to Sakura dissipated quickly, her heart
 519.290 +pounding nervously in her chest. The cold winter outside seemed no
 519.291 +match for the frigid shroud that was gripping at her like thousands
 519.292 +of frozen hands. As the brunette stared uneasily into the flames, the
 519.293 +flames began to stare back at her, taking shape. A feminine figure
 519.294 +began to appear, long hair flickering as the flames danced lazily
 519.295 +about the fireplace. Screaming, Sakura fell backwards, kicking away
 519.296 +from the fire. Without a glance back, she ran up stairs. Her fingers
 519.297 +fumbled around her doorknob as they shook, the sound growing louder
 519.298 +and closer. She barely got the door open as the sound reached the
 519.299 +stairs, slipping in and slamming the door closed behind her.
 519.300 +Backpedaling in her frightened state, Sakura fell back on her bed,
 519.301 +staring at her door. 
 519.302 +If there was one thing that really frightened the magical girl, it
 519.303 +was ghosts. Everything else was tangible, something that she could
 519.304 +eventually overcome with support from Tomoyo or help from Syaoran or
 519.305 +Yue. Ghosts were just... They were scary. They always had been to
 519.306 +her. Touya had told her many ghost stories as a child and now she was
 519.307 +simply terrified of the very idea. She usually found herself gripping
 519.308 +onto Tomoyo when Naoko would start a scary story or when they were
 519.309 +walking through some dark shadows. But now she was all alone in her
 519.310 +room, the sound growing ever closer. Her shaking hands reached out
 519.311 +for the pink cell phone Tomoyo had given her so long ago, punching in
 519.312 +familiar numbers in a desperate attempt to reach her best friend. It
 519.313 +was all right. This was probably all in her mind. She just needed
 519.314 +Tomoyo to tell her that. She could trust her dark haired friend much
 519.315 +more than her own jumpy mind. -“Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered
 519.316 +nervously. She never finished dialing. The cell phone clattered
 519.317 +uselessly to the floor. “Hoe...” Now Sakura’s whole body had begun to
 519.318 +shake. A woman was walking through her door. At first, it appeared to
 519.319 +be gathering mist, pooling out through the closed door. But it slowly
 519.320 +began to take shape, features growing more defined in the dim light
 519.321 +of Sakura’s room. She had never hit the light switch upon entering
 519.322 +the room, but the woman before her was glowing softly in the
 519.323 +darkness. Her eyes were closed, long gray hair fluttering around her
 519.324 +as if in a breeze that Sakura could not feel. Sakura slowly felt her
 519.325 +fear melt away in this angelic woman’s presence. There was nothing
 519.326 +frightening about her, only a deep sadness that surrounded the woman.
 519.327 +It took Sakura a moment to realize she had seen this woman before.
 519.328 +Every day in pictures around the house. The last time she had seen
 519.329 +her alive was when she was only three years old. “Mama?” she asked
 519.330 +quietly, her voice wavering.
 519.331 +Nadeshiko smiled warmly at her daughter, drifting closer. She didn’t
 519.332 +seem to be moving at all as she did so, the distance dropping away
 519.333 +between them. Her jade eyes, the same green as her daughters, shone
 519.334 +brightly in the darkness like twin moons. They were gentle and
 519.335 +loving, just the way Sakura remembered her mother. Her dark hair
 519.336 +continued to flow about her in a breeze that was not there. “Sakura-
 519.337 +chan...” Her soft voice was achingly beautiful, wrapping around
 519.338 +Sakura like a time machine as years slipped away from her like grains
 519.339 +of sand. For a brief moment, she was three years old again, together
 519.340 +with her mother.
 519.341 +“Mama!” Sakura cried out, tears spilling down her cheeks as she
 519.342 +lunged forward to hug the spirit before her. Her arms encountered
 519.343 +nothing, moving through Nadeshiko as if she were never there.
 519.344 +“Mama..?” Sakura stepped back in confusion, watching her mother.
 519.345 +Nadeshiko closed her eyes sadly, her bright light fading ever so
 519.346 +slightly. It looked like an ancient pain had overtaken her, one that
 519.347 +she was all too familiar with. 
 519.348 +“Sakura-chan...” Nadeshiko whispered again. Her fingers brushed past
 519.349 +Sakura’s cheek and for a second the brunette could feel a light
 519.350 +breeze along her cheek, though the fingers were curiously absent. “My
 519.351 +baby girl. I’m always watching over you, Sakura-chan. I couldn’t
 519.352 +leave you all behind.” She smiled beautifully and for a moment,
 519.353 +Sakura was reminded of Tomoyo. They both shared a loving smile and
 519.354 +nearly the same long, dark hair. ‘And she watches over me, too,’
 519.355 +Sakura added to herself. She quickly pushed the thought away. Now
 519.356 +wasn’t the time. But if now wasn’t the time, when was? Unable to
 519.357 +answer her own question, Sakura merely shook her head, watching the
 519.358 +glowing woman. “But I can’t share in your joys or your sorrows. I
 519.359 +can’t be part of your lives anymore. I can only watch. And offer my
 519.360 +love across the distance. I can only hope that you all feel it.” The
 519.361 +pained look overtook her again and the hurt in her voice was evident. 
 519.362 +Sakura could never remember her mother looking so sad. The older
 519.363 +woman had always been happy during the short time Sakura had known
 519.364 +her, even up to her death. It seemed like nothing could hurt her.
 519.365 +Life itself seemed to thrill her and fill her with exuberance. But
 519.366 +now she hadn’t moved on, still holding herself close to the family
 519.367 +she loved so dearly. Only being able to watch them, unable to share
 519.368 +in their lives must have been painful for her. All she could do was
 519.369 +wait to be with them once more. But there seemed to be something else
 519.370 +as well. “We can..” Sakura offered, taking a step closer to her
 519.371 +mother. It had been so many years. Several crystalline tears dripped
 519.372 +unnoticed past her chin. “Sometimes I’ll feel it. It’s like you’re
 519.373 +there beside me. It feels warm and safe. And it makes me smile to
 519.374 +know that you’re watching. Because I know that you’re out there.”
 519.375 +A smile crossed Nadeshiko’s lips and the light surrounding her grew
 519.376 +in intensity. “My little girl... You’ve grown into such a beautiful
 519.377 +woman. I knew my little Sakura would do great things as she grew
 519.378 +older.” Her smile faded, as did her glow. She grew serious, her eyes
 519.379 +locking with Sakura’s. “It’s great to see you again, Sakura-chan, but
 519.380 +I can’t stay for long. I came to warn you.”
 519.381 +“Warn me?” Sakura asked worriedly. The ominous tone in her mother’s
 519.382 +voice didn’t help her state of mind. Oh, and the fact that she was
 519.383 +dead. From the stories she had heard, that usually meant she was back
 519.384 +for a very important reason. But what could that be? She had already
 519.385 +captured all of the Clow Cards and made them her own Sakura Cards.
 519.386 +She had faced Eriol and overcome the Catastrophe. What could be worse
 519.387 +than any of that that her mother would need to come warn her about?
 519.388 +Nadeshiko nodded gravely. “Sakura-chan, you’re at a very important
 519.389 +time in your life. Your decisions will affect a great deal of what is
 519.390 +to come for you. You need to make sure that they are the right
 519.391 +decisions.” A soft, wisp of a sigh escaped her lips. Her eyes fell
 519.392 +shut as her mind drifted back to some of her own decisions. “I have
 519.393 +only one regret from my life. The rest was wonderful. Having you and
 519.394 +Touya, the joys I was witness to, all of it. Even watching your lives
 519.395 +as I wait is a blessing. But there’s one thing that haunts me.
 519.396 +Everyday I see the pain that I’ve caused when I watch her. I can feel
 519.397 +her agony, but I’m helpless to ease its burden. I had no idea how
 519.398 +much I had hurt her.” Her voice choked off as tears threatened to
 519.399 +overwhelm her, but she forced forward. She hadn’t much time left. She
 519.400 +shook her head and continued. “You’re in that same position now,
 519.401 +Sakura-chan. We both overlooked the love that sustained us throughout
 519.402 +our lives. You can’t make the same mistake I made. Tasting her pain
 519.403 +is just too horrible. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
 519.404 +Tears began to fall down her cheeks, but she paid them no attention,
 519.405 +fixing her gaze on her daughter. “During my lifetime, I didn’t allow
 519.406 +myself time to worry about much of anything. I simply enjoyed the
 519.407 +beauty that existed in life. One of the most beautiful things I was
 519.408 +witness to was the love of my cousin, Sonomi. She was my best friend,
 519.409 +my guardian, and so much more. But I never realized the extent of her
 519.410 +love. I never knew how much I had hurt her when I got married. Losing
 519.411 +her was the most painful thing in my life.” A soft, warm smile
 519.412 +crossed her lips as she drew closer to Sakura. “Much worse than my
 519.413 +death. It never really did concern me. I had lived a happy life.
 519.414 +Death was just a crossroads. It even brought Sonomi back to me, if
 519.415 +only for a short time, so I was glad for that. But now... I watch her
 519.416 +every day. I watch over her in the same way I watch over you and
 519.417 +Touya. I’ve seen the pain she’s endured. And I know that I’m the
 519.418 +cause behind it. All because I failed her. I failed to see what was
 519.419 +right in front of me for all those years. And now she lives on in
 519.420 +pain that I can only watch. And wait. One day, I will make it up for
 519.421 +her. But that could be many years from now. I have to wait until her
 519.422 +own death for us to be reunited again. Sakura-chan, you’re travelling
 519.423 +the same path I did. And I’m afraid for you, my daughter. I don’t
 519.424 +want you to have to see that pain yourself.” Her teary eyes fluttered
 519.425 +for a moment, but remained fixed on Sakura’s green orbs. Sakura could
 519.426 +only look back, unsure of what to say. “Tonight, you will be visited
 519.427 +by three spirits. Listen to them. Learn their lessons well. The rest
 519.428 +is up to you, Sakura-chan. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Don’t
 519.429 +wait until your death to see the errors in your life. Don’t lose the
 519.430 +most beautiful thing in your life before you truly have the chance to
 519.431 +appreciate it.” She smiled softly, kissing Sakura’s forehead. Sakura
 519.432 +only felt a gentle breeze as her mother pulled away. “Remember,
 519.433 +Sakura-chan, I’ll always be watching over you. Please make sure she
 519.434 +doesn’t join me too soon. You only need one guardian angel.” Her
 519.435 +voice faded, becoming nothing more than a faint whisper. The room was
 519.436 +once again plunged into darkness.
 519.437 +Sakura sat in silence, and for a moment she wondered if her mother
 519.438 +had truly been there at all. Was it just some delusion? Had she been
 519.439 +dreaming? No, she had been there. It was her mother. She had to be.
 519.440 +Her voice still lingered in Sakura’s ears. But what had she meant?
 519.441 +What was awaiting her? Who was she hurting? Tomoyo, a voice in the
 519.442 +back of her mind supplied. But how? She would never hurt Tomoyo
 519.443 +intentionally. She was her best friend. The dark haired girl was
 519.444 +always there for Sakura. She would never dream of harming her pale
 519.445 +friend. But if she was doing it unknowingly... Sakura slumped back on
 519.446 +her bed, hugging herself tightly. “Mama...”
 519.447 +	
 519.448 +	Dinner came and went all too swiftly for Sakura. Her mind was too
 519.449 +focused on her mother’s words to really enjoy herself. Her brother
 519.450 +had noticed that something seemed wrong with her, but she quickly
 519.451 +explained that she was fine. He didn’t look like he believed her, but
 519.452 +he let it drop. The whole thing had been disturbing. But had it
 519.453 +really happened? She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and
 519.454 +Christmas was only a few short hours away, so she could have just
 519.455 +dreamt the whole thing. She had nearly gotten herself to believe that
 519.456 +by the time she was back home in her room. Kero was still
 519.457 +mysteriously absent, but she figured he was probably out looking at
 519.458 +all of the pretty lights decorating the city for Christmas. Or
 519.459 +getting something to eat. He did have a pretty one track mind
 519.460 +sometimes. 
 519.461 +	Sakura had contemplated calling Tomoyo several times, but she
 519.462 +couldn’t quite bring herself to finish dialing Tomoyo’s number. This
 519.463 +had to do with Tomoyo, didn’t it? That’s what the small voice in the
 519.464 +back of her mind had said at least. She didn’t know how to ask the
 519.465 +dark haired girl about it. ‘Besides,’ she rationalized, ‘Tomoyo-
 519.466 +chan’s busy with her party. I’ll just call her tomorrow. By then that
 519.467 +dream should have stopped bothering me anyway.’ Setting down the pink
 519.468 +cell phone near her bed, Sakura tried to ignore the area where her
 519.469 +mother had been standing not so long ago. It was just a dream. It had
 519.470 +to be. 
 519.471 +	Lying on her stomach, Sakura held onto a doll in front of her. The
 519.472 +doll looked quite a bit like Cardcaptor Sakura, even though she had
 519.473 +gotten it a while before she had ever found out about the Clow Cards.
 519.474 +Tomoyo had sewn it and given it to her a few weeks after they had
 519.475 +met. She had kept it near her bed ever since. She had plenty of
 519.476 +stuffed animals and dolls around her room, but this one was probably
 519.477 +her favorite. Maybe even more so than the teddy bear Syaoran had
 519.478 +given her. The teddy bear was sweet and she was happy to have
 519.479 +received it from him, but the little stuffed Sakura had been hers for
 519.480 +so long. It was always a comforting reminder of Tomoyo whether she
 519.481 +was doing homework or worrying about magical happenings or just lying
 519.482 +in her bed at night waiting for sleep to take her. Pulling it closer
 519.483 +to her face, Sakura could still faintly smell Tomoyo on the cute
 519.484 +little doll. Squeezing its soft fabric between her fingers, she let
 519.485 +her eyes fall closed peacefully. If she couldn’t call Tomoyo, this
 519.486 +was the second best thing. It almost felt like she was there with
 519.487 +her, soothing Sakura’s worried spirit the way she always did. She
 519.488 +felt herself drifting off, her worries dissipating in the calm that
 519.489 +slowly began to envelop the Cardmistress. Tomoyo’s gentle caress
 519.490 +seemed to spread through her soul, washing her worries away. She
 519.491 +could almost feel Tomoyo’s fingers brushing softly through her hair
 519.492 +and gave a content sigh, hugging the stuffed Sakura against her
 519.493 +chest. Her relationship with Syaoran could be a little strange at
 519.494 +times, but she could always count on Tomoyo in her life. Syaoran
 519.495 +wasn't very good at expressing his emotions so she didn’t know how he
 519.496 +felt very often. That coupled with his irrational jealousy at times
 519.497 +made things difficult. But they were made for each other, right? So
 519.498 +it didn’t matter. Sakura was almost the opposite. She couldn’t help
 519.499 +showing her emotions. It was just that she didn’t always understand
 519.500 +them. Like her feelings for Syaoran. She never would have understood
 519.501 +them if Tomoyo and everyone else hadn’t told her. Tomoyo was always
 519.502 +there for her, never too busy to help Sakura or just to spend time
 519.503 +with her. Tomoyo understood her feelings perfectly, even better than
 519.504 +Sakura herself did. The dark haired girl was the eye of the storm in
 519.505 +her life when everything else became overwhelming. She was the one
 519.506 +Sakura always turned to for comfort when she needed it. It was
 519.507 +strange how it differed from her relationship with her boyfriend. And
 519.508 +now that everything had gotten so confusing for her, it was Tomoyo
 519.509 +she had reached out for, if only in the form of the doll she had
 519.510 +given Sakura. 
 519.511 +	Nearly asleep, Sakura began to feel the imaginary fingers brushing
 519.512 +her hair from her eyes. A sleepy part of her mind mused that the
 519.513 +fingers were longer than Tomoyo’s. But that hardly seemed to matter
 519.514 +at the moment. In her dreamy state, she could see when Tomoyo had
 519.515 +first given her the Sakura doll. Tomoyo had given it to Sakura after
 519.516 +school. She couldn’t remember if it was near Christmas or not at the
 519.517 +time, but there was a light snow in Sakura’s dream and Tomoyo was
 519.518 +wearing their school’s winter uniform. The dark haired girl smiled
 519.519 +pleasantly as she gave Sakura the gift, telling her that she was so
 519.520 +happy to have met Sakura and that she wanted to thank her for being
 519.521 +her friend. Tomoyo had been new at the time, Sakura knew that. No one
 519.522 +else seemed to want to be friends with the slightly introverted,
 519.523 +eccentric heiress. But Sakura had quickly found her to be the best
 519.524 +friend she could have hoped for. She had been thrilled with the gift,
 519.525 +though a little puzzled that it was a doll of her. Despite her
 519.526 +friend’s obvious talent the doll showcased, Tomoyo mentioned that it
 519.527 +wasn’t as cute as the real Sakura. Sakura had blushed as she often
 519.528 +did when Tomoyo would say such embarrassing things. Tomoyo looked
 519.529 +incredibly happy, her hands on her cheeks as she simply watched the
 519.530 +brunette contently. It was strange. The oddest things could bring
 519.531 +such joy to Sakura’s dark haired friend. It usually had to do with
 519.532 +when they were together, Sakura realized sleepily. The thought
 519.533 +lingered for a moment, as if it wanted to say more to Sakura before
 519.534 +it drifted off to wherever dreams disappear to upon awaking. 
 519.535 +	The fingers in Sakura’s hair were still there as she finally began
 519.536 +to stir. Had she fallen asleep? She hadn’t been that tired, had she?
 519.537 +A wave of disorientation spun her around and around as her mind
 519.538 +slowly began to concentrate on the present again. It felt like she
 519.539 +was thinking through a heavy blanket, her thoughts muffled and
 519.540 +distant. Her whereabouts took a minute to come to her. Her room, of
 519.541 +course. Where else would she be? It slowly dawned upon her that that
 519.542 +was an awkward place to find fingers in her hair. Sometimes when she
 519.543 +would sit in the park with Tomoyo or when she would sit at her desk
 519.544 +before class started she would find the other girl’s pale fingers in
 519.545 +her hair, but Tomoyo would hardly be in her room right now, would
 519.546 +she? For a few moments, that was the perfect answer. Of course it was
 519.547 +Tomoyo. She must have come by after the party and was watching Sakura
 519.548 +sleep. The explanation sounded plausible enough, but once again she
 519.549 +was reminded that the fingers were longer, not quite as gentle as
 519.550 +Tomoyo’s. They were still soft and smooth in her hair, though the
 519.551 +overall feel was beginning to strike Sakura as different. Almost like
 519.552 +a woman stroking the hair of a cute child, unlike Tomoyo’s... Just
 519.553 +how did Tomoyo run her hands through her hair anyway? Like a best
 519.554 +friend? Sakura hadn’t seen many other best friends doing quite the
 519.555 +same thing. Tomoyo was loving and gentle about it, her fingers
 519.556 +playfully running through Sakura’s hair as they envisioned different
 519.557 +hairstyles. This thought brought an image of Tomoyo’s own beautiful
 519.558 +hair and how often she styled it differently. She found herself
 519.559 +embarrassed to be drifting so far from the topic at hand. Someone was
 519.560 +there with her. That realization finally shook the last vestiges of
 519.561 +sleep from her. 	Her eyes blinked rapidly as she sat up. Darkness
 519.562 +surrounded her in all directions, seeming to stretch off eternally.
 519.563 +Was this the Dark Card again? No, she could feel her bed underneath
 519.564 +her, her blanket twisted between her legs. After what seemed like
 519.565 +eons, Sakura’s eyes finally began adjusting to the darkness. What
 519.566 +looked to be a woman was sitting next to her on the edge of her bed,
 519.567 +long hair falling past her shoulders. Was it pink? She couldn’t tell
 519.568 +the exact shade in the darkness of her room. “Ruby Moon?!” The sound
 519.569 +of her voice scared her. She hadn’t noticed how silent it was. How
 519.570 +eerily silent. There was no snoring from Kero, no sounds of her
 519.571 +brother busily finishing some sort of work in his room, which she
 519.572 +would have counted on with it being Christmas Eve, no sound at all.
 519.573 +Her voice rang shaky and frightened in her ears. She tried to push
 519.574 +back her fears and confusion, gripping onto the stuffed Sakura in her
 519.575 +arms. ‘Everything will always be all right,’ Tomoyo’s voice whispered
 519.576 +in her mind. “What are you doing here?” she asked at last. Her voice
 519.577 +sounded less afraid now, simply curious. What reason did she have to
 519.578 +fear Ruby Moon anyway? But wasn’t she with Eriol in England now?
 519.579 +	Ruby Moon stood up and stretched extravagantly. Her butterfly wings
 519.580 +shimmered in the darkened room. Her long gloved fingers beckoned for
 519.581 +Sakura as she ignored her question. “Come. You have much to see. And
 519.582 +I don’t have much time to show you.”
 519.583 +	Sakura merely sat in confused silence, staring at the beautiful
 519.584 +crossdressing magical being. “What?” Sakura repeated, blinking. This
 519.585 +wasn’t registering in her sleep addled mind. Her mother’s words
 519.586 +slowly began to surface in the mist that shrouded her thoughts. Was
 519.587 +this one of the spirits she had been talking about? 
 519.588 +	Ruby Moon sighed, her hands on her hips. “We have to get going,
 519.589 +Sakura-chan. We don’t have all night. Besides, as soon as I finish
 519.590 +this, I’m gonna go watch Touya while he sleeps. I bet he looks
 519.591 +completely darling.” A grin crossed her lips, but she quickly forced
 519.592 +it away. Business before pleasure, she reminded herself. Taking
 519.593 +Sakura’s hand, she led her to the window. The Cardmistress followed
 519.594 +docilely, still completely confused by the situation. “I’m the Ghost
 519.595 +of Christmas Past. I’m here to show you your past holidays. Much was
 519.596 +left unseen their first time through, so this is your chance to see
 519.597 +the truth behind them. Keep your eyes open, Sakura-chan,” she
 519.598 +finished cordially. Her wings spread as she placed her hand on the
 519.599 +window. Soft, white snow fell outside, blanketing the city. Ruby
 519.600 +Moon’s hand slid through the glass as if it were nothing more than
 519.601 +water. 
 519.602 +	Amazement crept up on Sakura as she watched the pink haired woman
 519.603 +start to shift through the window. Amazement turned to shock as she
 519.604 +found herself getting pulled along through as well. She had time only
 519.605 +to get out a short yelp before she was on the other side, floating
 519.606 +above the fallen snow. Ruby Moon’s giggle fell on her ears, grabbing
 519.607 +her attention. Even though Sakura was only in her pajamas, the wind
 519.608 +and the cold moved past her as if she were being protected. “Hoe...
 519.609 +What’s going on?” Sakura asked again quietly. But she already knew.
 519.610 +They were going to see the past. With the soft smile that Ruby Moon
 519.611 +was wearing, it almost felt like a jolly idea. It was Christmas,
 519.612 +after all. Why not go and see the pretty decorations of years gone
 519.613 +by? But a chill went through Sakura, creeping through her whole body.
 519.614 +She was afraid of what she might find on the other side. 
 519.615 +
 519.616 +	When Sakura opened her eyes again, they were indoors. Murmuring
 519.617 +could be heard somewhere behind her, voices upon voices piled on top
 519.618 +of each other, all trying to be vaguely quiet but rising together in
 519.619 +a swell that was nearly deafening in itself. Sakura turned around,
 519.620 +trying to spot anything that would help tell her where she was. Her
 519.621 +bare feet moved against the carpet, though the carpet didn’t shift at
 519.622 +all. It was as if she weren’t there at all. Her eyes finally fell
 519.623 +upon something that rose her heart high up in her chest. “Tomoyo-
 519.624 +chan!!” The dark haired girl was wearing a beautiful dress with a
 519.625 +long white ribbon in her hair. If Tomoyo was here, then she didn’t
 519.626 +have to worry. Whenever Tomoyo was with her, everything seemed more
 519.627 +bearable. She felt at ease now that she wasn’t all alone in this
 519.628 +strange place. “Tomoyo-chan!” she called again, running to the other
 519.629 +girl. It was then that Sakura noticed that she was taller than
 519.630 +Tomoyo. That wasn’t strange in and of itself, she had always been
 519.631 +slightly taller than Tomoyo, more so in recent years. But she was too
 519.632 +much taller than her best friend. Tomoyo’s gentle curves were much
 519.633 +less defined, her face more childish. “Hoe?” It took Sakura a moment
 519.634 +to understand. Tomoyo was younger than she was. Just how much, she
 519.635 +couldn’t be sure. So she was in the past. “Tomoyo-chan..?” But Tomoyo
 519.636 +couldn’t hear her. She looked nervous as she kept looking into the
 519.637 +mirror, adjusting her ribbon one way or the other. It was strange to
 519.638 +see her like that. In all the time that Sakura had known Tomoyo, she
 519.639 +couldn’t remember one instance when the dark haired girl had looked
 519.640 +nervous. Tomoyo was obviously about to go onstage to sing. But she
 519.641 +had told Sakura before that she wasn’t nervous when she was singing
 519.642 +because she got lost in the music. So what was worrying her?
 519.643 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” Another voice called out, drawing both Sakura and
 519.644 +Tomoyo’s attention. In a fraction of a second, all of the worry
 519.645 +Sakura had seen on Tomoyo face dissolved as if it had never been
 519.646 +there at all. Tomoyo was once again her normal smiling self. Sakura
 519.647 +was a little surprised. Had she seen it at all or were her eyes only
 519.648 +playing tricks on her? Tomoyo looked completely fine now, smiling her
 519.649 +usual sweet smile. The owner of the voice turned out to be none other
 519.650 +than Sakura herself, albeit her younger self. 
 519.651 +	“Sakura-chan, I’m glad to see you,” Tomoyo said in her gentle, warm
 519.652 +voice. She took Sakura’s hands in her own, smiling happily, no trace
 519.653 +left of whatever was plaguing her moments before. “Thank you so much
 519.654 +for coming. Did you get a good seat?”
 519.655 +	Sakura returned the smile, shifting on the souls of her feet as
 519.656 +Tomoyo held onto her hands. She felt a gentle squeeze but that
 519.657 +nothing of it. “The seats are great. I’m right next to Rika-chan and
 519.658 +Naoko-chan.” She frowned slightly. “But Onii-chan and Yukito-san are
 519.659 +a few rows back. Onii-chan wouldn’t switch with me.” She sweatdropped.
 519.660 +	A soft giggle came from Tomoyo. “If poor Tsukishiro-san can’t have
 519.661 +Sakura-chan’s company then I’m sure he must be very sad. He’ll have
 519.662 +to make do with Touya-san instead. I’d be happy to be sitting out
 519.663 +there with Sakura-chan if I could.” Her stormy blue eyes sparkled in
 519.664 +the backstage light, their bright intensity never leaving Sakura. 
 519.665 +	Shaking her head swiftly, Sakura took a step closer to Tomoyo. The
 519.666 +dark haired girl began to smile even brighter at the close proximity
 519.667 +to her best friend. “No, you can’t do that, Tomoyo-chan. You need to
 519.668 +be up on stage singing. You’re the best in the choir. Everyone will
 519.669 +be so happy to hear you sing.”
 519.670 +	“There’s only one person I want to sing for. The person I love. I
 519.671 +want everything I sing to be for them. I want every word to go
 519.672 +straight to their heart. I want them to feel my love. When I’m
 519.673 +singing, I can see them in my mind. It’s like I’m with them, like
 519.674 +we’re together. So I sing with all my heart for them. When I think of
 519.675 +them, my love bubbles up inside my heart and it feels like it’s going
 519.676 +to burst. But when I sing, I can let all of my love out, I can pour
 519.677 +it into my singing. It’s how I express my love,” Tomoyo explained, a
 519.678 +distant look in her eyes. They held Sakura’s gaze, saying so much
 519.679 +more than her words could hint at. 
 519.680 +	“Hanyaa... Tomoyo-chan, no wonder your singing is so gorgeous! It
 519.681 +has to be if you’re singing for the one you love.” Sakura watched
 519.682 +Tomoyo with equal parts joy and admiration. “That’s wonderful. I wish
 519.683 +I could sing like you. I would sing for Yukito-san.” Her cheeks
 519.684 +flushed darkly at the thought, her eyes closing as she imagined
 519.685 +herself on stage singing to an audience consisting of only her
 519.686 +brother’s friend. Tomoyo must do the same thing, picturing only her
 519.687 +love listening happily to her beautiful music. 
 519.688 +	Tomoyo’s smile continued on as before, still bright and cheery, but
 519.689 +she let go of her grip on Sakura’s hands, pulling her own hands up to
 519.690 +her chest. “I’m sure your singing would be very cute, Sakura-chan.
 519.691 +Tsukishiro-san would love to hear it, I’m sure. You have such a
 519.692 +pretty voice that I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t want to hear
 519.693 +you sing. Like a beautiful Siren, Sakura-chan would lure everyone
 519.694 +close by, taking a place in all of their hearts.” The older Sakura
 519.695 +could almost see hearts in Tomoyo’s eyes as the dark haired girl
 519.696 +spoke fervently to her younger self. It was cute to see her with such
 519.697 +pure enthusiasm. Sakura had seen Tomoyo act that way often when she
 519.698 +would talk about the Cardmistress or about her true love. 
 519.699 +	The younger Sakura found herself blushing again at Tomoyo’s kind
 519.700 +words. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. But you have such a beautiful voice.
 519.701 +You’ll make the Christmas pageant wonderful. I can’t wait to see it.” 
 519.702 +Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, smiling at the brunette. Her
 519.703 +dark hair fell past her cheeks, contrasting starkly with her snow
 519.704 +white skin. She should be feeling nervous, a thought occurred to her.
 519.705 +But she wasn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to be. She merely felt
 519.706 +absorbed in Sakura’s presence, as she often did. It surrounded her
 519.707 +and held tightly to her heart. Her heart was trussed up with a
 519.708 +beautiful red bow, ready and waiting to be Sakura’s Christmas
 519.709 +present. “I’m going to be singing for you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo
 519.710 +explained. Her voice was soft and loving, directed fully to her
 519.711 +friend. “I want you to be the only one I’m singing for tonight. I’ll
 519.712 +sing with my entire heart for you, Sakura-chan.”
 519.713 +Sakura’s face lit up. Oh, what a wonderful Christmas present!
 519.714 +“You’re always so good with gifts, Tomoyo-chan. They’re always so
 519.715 +special. Thank you so much!” Sakura clasped her hands in front of
 519.716 +her, anxious to hear Tomoyo sing again. Whenever Tomoyo would sing,
 519.717 +it felt like the dark haired girl was singing directly to her. Her
 519.718 +melodious, gentle voice swept her away to warm and loving
 519.719 +destinations each time. She always looked forward to listening to her
 519.720 +sing. Her friends agreed that Tomoyo had an amazing voice and was a
 519.721 +wonderful singer, but it went beyond that for Sakura. She truly loved
 519.722 +listening to her friend’s melodies. She almost found herself lost in
 519.723 +them when Tomoyo would sing, but she was never afraid because she
 519.724 +knew Tomoyo would lead her back safely. Her eyes closed slowly as she
 519.725 +imagined the songs that often played in her heart, sung always by
 519.726 +Tomoyo. She would sneak by the choir room when she could, listening
 519.727 +to her best friend’s practices, forgetting everything else in the
 519.728 +world when she would. Her voice was encompassing, rolling emotions
 519.729 +through her body, drawing out the feelings deep in her heart. It was
 519.730 +Tomoyo’s special brand of magic and Sakura always found it enchanting. 
 519.731 +	“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo whispered. Sakura looked absolutely serene
 519.732 +as she stood quietly with her eyes closed. Tomoyo found her fingers
 519.733 +moving as if with a will of their own, lightly stroking Sakura’s warm
 519.734 +cheek. That wasn’t her full Christmas gift. There had been something
 519.735 +else she had wanted to give Sakura this Christmas. An explanation. A
 519.736 +sign. Her heart. Christmas was a time of giving and she wanted to
 519.737 +give Sakura her entire heart and soul. What the brunette would do
 519.738 +with them, Tomoyo did not know, but she would just be happy to let
 519.739 +her know that they were hers. She wanted to make Sakura happy with
 519.740 +every ounce of her being. Sakura was so intoxicating. Everything
 519.741 +about her only served to strengthen Tomoyo’s love for the girl. She
 519.742 +licked her lips, the soft pink rose petals suddenly dry. This would
 519.743 +be the perfect way to show Sakura what she meant with her present, to
 519.744 +show Sakura why she would be the only one Tomoyo was singing for. She
 519.745 +wanted Sakura to know what was behind the music when she was out on
 519.746 +stage. She drew nearer to Sakura, the beautiful brunette still
 519.747 +smiling with her eyes closed. Yukito was only a crush, Tomoyo knew
 519.748 +Sakura well enough to know that. Besides, she already had a good idea
 519.749 +who Yukito himself was interested in. She wanted to spare Sakura that
 519.750 +pain. She wanted to be the one who sheltered her heart and labored
 519.751 +all her days to brighten Sakura’s heart. Her lips were now inches
 519.752 +from Sakura’s. Delicate inches that felt both indescribably distant
 519.753 +and incredibly nearby. The Cardmistress’s spell had worked it’s magic
 519.754 +on her long ago, back before Sakura had ever been a magical girl. A
 519.755 +sweet, gentle kiss, one that would explain her love better than any
 519.756 +of her words ever could for her sweet yet naïve best friend. 
 519.757 +	“So what were you going to tell me, Tomoyo-chan? You told me you
 519.758 +wanted to see me before the pageant started.” Sakura’s emerald green
 519.759 +eyes fluttered open slowly. Tomoyo was surprisingly close, but that
 519.760 +just made her smile. She felt nice when Tomoyo was near her. 
 519.761 +	No, maybe Sakura wasn’t old enough yet after all. There would
 519.762 +always be other Christmases. One day Sakura would understand her
 519.763 +heart. But not yet. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, Sakura-chan,”
 519.764 +Tomoyo said softly, taking Sakura’s hands again. She gave them a
 519.765 +gentle squeeze and began leading Sakura after her. A smile crossed
 519.766 +her lips. Yes, her love could wait an eternity for this girl. She
 519.767 +didn’t need to tell her now. She could wait for Sakura. When Sakura
 519.768 +was ready, that’s when she would tell her. In the meantime, she might
 519.769 +as well work out her crush on Yukito. It was cute watching Sakura
 519.770 +chase after him as it was. The magical girl was always so determined,
 519.771 +her eyes burning with their own jade fire. “I’ll be singing for you,
 519.772 +Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo promised as they reached the exit. 
 519.773 +	Sakura nodded, a little confused. “Un, if you say so, Tomoyo-chan.”
 519.774 +Confusion gave way to concern. That Syaoran boy was probably trying
 519.775 +to steal Yukito away from her again while she was busy. She returned
 519.776 +Tomoyo’s smile as she got ready to slip out the door. “I have to go
 519.777 +keep an eye on Yukito-san. Merri Kurisumasu, Tomoyo-chan! I’ll be
 519.778 +watching!” Sakura called before ducking out. 
 519.779 +	Tomoyo stood alone with her hands held to her chest for a long
 519.780 +moment, staring at the space that Sakura had previously occupied. A
 519.781 +soft sigh escaped her lips. She slowly began to fade away in front of
 519.782 +the observing Sakura’s eyes, growing faint and dim. Sakura reached
 519.783 +out for her, her fingers finding nothing but a patch of cold air.
 519.784 +“Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered, thought whether it ever got out of
 519.785 +her mouth, she didn’t know. Even she couldn’t hear it. Her eyes
 519.786 +stayed on the solemn figure until long after the last trace of her
 519.787 +pale best friend was gone. 
 519.788 +	“She’s a brave little girl. You’re happiness meant the world to
 519.789 +her. So little things like that didn’t seem to matter to her. But it
 519.790 +grew more difficult as time went by. The hope of youth slowly slips
 519.791 +away from you as the harshness of reality sets in. I think she truly
 519.792 +believed that you would rescue her for quite some time,” Ruby Moon
 519.793 +said, startling Sakura as she appeared by her side. 
 519.794 +	“She was going to kiss me...” Sakura mumbled, a hand going to her
 519.795 +lips. She could remember that night, with her eyes closed. She had
 519.796 +had no idea that Tomoyo had been so close. That the dark haired girl
 519.797 +had another piece to her present. Her mind shot back to the kiss
 519.798 +under the mistletoe not that long before. So Tomoyo had some other
 519.799 +reason behind it other than just some holiday tradition. A shiver
 519.800 +went through her as the cold emptiness once again surrounded them.
 519.801 +She longed to see Tomoyo again, to see the warmth and brightness the
 519.802 +other girl seemed to give off. Anything but this expanse of nothing. 
 519.803 +	Ruby Moon nodded. “She was. That was back before she had given up
 519.804 +on being your special someone. There was still hope in her heart that
 519.805 +she could be the one you would love in the end. But that dwindled
 519.806 +away as time went by. She convinced herself that it wasn’t that way,
 519.807 +that you would love another. That someone else would be the one to
 519.808 +make you happy.”
 519.809 +	Sakura shook her head quickly, trying desperately to get a grasp on
 519.810 +everything that was piling up on her. “What? But why? I mean, I
 519.811 +didn’t... Everyone had to tell me about Syaoran-kun. I had no idea
 519.812 +about my feelings before he wound up telling me. And without everyone
 519.813 +else pushing us together, I might never have known. Why would she
 519.814 +decide that we could never...” She trailed off, having trouble
 519.815 +wrapping her mind around the thoughts that followed. Her cheeks
 519.816 +blushed stubbornly. 
 519.817 +	“If they’re your feelings to begin with,” Ruby Moon stated
 519.818 +enigmatically. She sighed, shaking her head. “Sakura-chan, she has
 519.819 +poured her love out to you for a very long time now. It stays
 519.820 +unwaveringly with you through all that you do. It’s left open and
 519.821 +obvious to the world. But you have never seen past Tomoyo to the love
 519.822 +that lies in her heart. You have ignored it, taking it for granted
 519.823 +that her love would always be there to nourish you as it was in the
 519.824 +past. Years of this have taken their toll on Tomoyo. She no longer
 519.825 +believes that you can love her because of it. So she contents herself
 519.826 +with waiting in the background and trying to help you with someone
 519.827 +she thinks you do love.”
 519.828 +	“I do love him,” Sakura said, suddenly feeling defensive. But why?
 519.829 +It had never been an issue to her before. But what troubled Sakura
 519.830 +was that after witnessing her best friend’s love for her from another
 519.831 +point of view, actually seeing it perhaps for the first time in her
 519.832 +life, she wasn’t so sure anymore. A blindfold had been pulled from
 519.833 +her eyes, allowing her to see the pulsing love the dark haired girl
 519.834 +held for her in all its glorious colors and magnitude. This left her
 519.835 +feeling on very shaky ground. It was nothing like how she felt for
 519.836 +Syaoran. It was almost intense enough for her to smell, taste, or
 519.837 +touch. A tangible object that Sakura could feel entwining around her
 519.838 +like so many flowing ribbons. She hugged herself tightly as she tried
 519.839 +to get a grasp on the overwhelming feelings surging through her. “I
 519.840 +don’t ignore her,” Sakura whispered, less sure of herself. Tomoyo had
 519.841 +been her best friend for years now. They had shared so much together.
 519.842 +She was always the focus of Tomoyo’s life. But Sakura found herself
 519.843 +caught up in so many things, always expecting Tomoyo to be there when
 519.844 +she needed her. And the dark haired girl always was. She had insight
 519.845 +into Sakura that shone a bright light into even the darkest areas of
 519.846 +her life that Sakura herself was clueless about. Yet Sakura had
 519.847 +missed so much about her friend. She always wrote it off as just more
 519.848 +of Tomoyo’s normally eccentric behavior. It was right there in front
 519.849 +of her and she continued to miss it. She just always expected that
 519.850 +love and warmth and support that Tomoyo always selflessly offered up
 519.851 +to her to be there in her life. 
 519.852 +	Ruby Moon offered a small, comforting smile to the Cardmistress
 519.853 +before putting a hand on your shoulder. “The past is filled with
 519.854 +beautiful memories, but life continues onward. You have to cherish
 519.855 +them as you life moves onward. Never forget their lessons or their
 519.856 +simple joys.” She paused for a moment. “We have to go, Sakura-chan.
 519.857 +There’s still much for you to see tonight.” Pity crept up on her for
 519.858 +the brunette girl, but she knew there was little she could do. 
 519.859 +Sakura followed along helplessly, trailing slightly behind as she
 519.860 +tried to get a grasp on the situation.  “Tomoyo-chan...” she
 519.861 +whispered again. Right now she desperately needed the dark haired
 519.862 +girl’s love and support. Whenever things were difficult for her,
 519.863 +Tomoyo was always there to soothe her battered spirit and warm the
 519.864 +cold inside of her. Tomoyo rarely dealt with the problem itself. No,
 519.865 +that was something for people like Syaoran to attack. Tomoyo’s
 519.866 +specialty was Sakura. Sakura was always the focus of her
 519.867 +concentration whenever Sakura needed help. And the Cardmistress found
 519.868 +herself realizing how much more important that was to her. She could
 519.869 +handle any problems when Tomoyo was there to bolster her heart and
 519.870 +soul. The world began to shift around Sakura, but she barely noticed
 519.871 +until they shown like Christmas lights all around her. In the eerie
 519.872 +lighting, she thought she saw Tomoyo standing alone before the
 519.873 +pageant once more, a phantom amongst the gathering lights. But before
 519.874 +Sakura could call out to the lonely shadow, she was gone.
 519.875 +
 519.876 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura called out, her hand reaching forward. Her
 519.877 +fingers laced around a bed sheet, pulling it close. “Hoe?” Blinking
 519.878 +confusedly, the brunette found herself back in bed, her blanket
 519.879 +pulled oddly around her. Her hand clutched for her cell phone
 519.880 +instinctively. “Tomoyo-chan…” she got out as it began ringing. There
 519.881 +was a long pause as Sakura waited. What if she wasn’t there? She had
 519.882 +to speak with her. She almost hung up when she heard it connect.
 519.883 +“Tomoyo-chan?!” 
 519.884 +There was a moment of silence before Sakura got her reply. “Sakura-
 519.885 +chan? Are you all right?” Tomoyo asked concernedly. “Is anything
 519.886 +wrong?” Her voice was gentle and soothing as always and Sakura could
 519.887 +feel her worries begin to melt away. Tomoyo waited patiently for an
 519.888 +answer. 
 519.889 +Sakura could picture Tomoyo sitting on her bed in her nightgown,
 519.890 +holding the phone in her soft, pale hands and felt herself relax.
 519.891 +“I’m.. I’m all right, I think. I just had a weird dream, that’s all.”
 519.892 +It had all been a dream, hadn’t it? Her mother, Ruby Moon, the past.
 519.893 +It was all just one big dream. She sighed. “It’s good to hear your
 519.894 +voice, Tomoyo-chan.” 
 519.895 +“You can always call me if you want to talk, Sakura-chan. I’m glad
 519.896 +that you’re doing all right. Please don’t let a dream worry you too
 519.897 +much. Sakura-chan should only have the prettiest, sweetest dreams of
 519.898 +all on Christmas Eve.” Tomoyo shifted on the other side of the phone.
 519.899 +It sounded like she was sitting up. “Whatever’s troubling you, I’m
 519.900 +sure it won’t affect your Christmas. Christmas won’t be the same for
 519.901 +your family if Sakura-chan isn’t bright and happy for it.”
 519.902 +	For a second, Sakura considered asking Tomoyo about her feelings.
 519.903 +Was the dream right about them? Did Tomoyo really love her? Looking
 519.904 +back on memories of past Christmases and just about any other time
 519.905 +she had spent with the dark haired girl, Sakura could only come to a
 519.906 +resounding yes as the conclusion. But that was something she would
 519.907 +have to ask her about in person. She smiled a little, feeling better
 519.908 +now that she was talking to her best friend. “You’re right, Tomoyo-
 519.909 +chan.” She giggled softly. “You’re always right. You always seem to
 519.910 +know what’s going on.”
 519.911 +	“I don’t know everything. I just have a good idea about Sakura-chan
 519.912 +because she’s my absolute favorite subject,” Tomoyo said matter-of-
 519.913 +factly. 
 519.914 +	“Arigato gozimasu, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said into the phone. The
 519.915 +dreams were all just getting to her because it was almost Christmas
 519.916 +and she was stressing out way too much about everything. Tomoyo’s
 519.917 +soft voice was already making the odd tone of the dreams seem far
 519.918 +off. Something over near the door caught her attention. Kero was
 519.919 +floating there in a top hat, wearing a green and red checkered scarf
 519.920 +and mittens with little snowmen on them. “Oh, Kero-chan’s here.
 519.921 +That’s a cute outfit you made him, Tomoyo-chan.”
 519.922 +	“Kero-chan’s wearing an outfit? I didn’t make him one. I gave him a
 519.923 +video game for Christmas. I’m sure it’s cute, though.” Tomoyo sounded
 519.924 +a bit confused, but it quickly disappeared. It was probably just
 519.925 +something he’d cobbled together himself. “And your welcome, Sakura-
 519.926 +chan. I always love hearing from you.”
 519.927 +	Sakura smiled as she slipped her legs over the side of the bed,
 519.928 +waving at the Seal Beast. Kero waited impatiently, his arms crossed.
 519.929 +“I’ve got to go now, Tomoyo-chan. I think Kero wants something.”
 519.930 +	“All right. Tell him I said ‘Merry Christmas’ for me, please. And
 519.931 +sleep well, Sakura-chan. Have the dreams of angels.”
 519.932 +	Sakura froze, her hand tightly on the phone. Angels... Her mother
 519.933 +had mentioned that earlier. But it had only been a dream. Still, the
 519.934 +coincidence was enough to shake her. “I will. Thanks again, Tomoyo-
 519.935 +chan! Sleep well!” Sakura hung up and set the cell phone back down.
 519.936 +Her emerald eyes went back up to Kero. “Where have you been, Kero-
 519.937 +chan?” she asked curiously. 
 519.938 +	Striking as cool a pose as he could possibly attain in his current
 519.939 +attire, Kero whipped his scarf back over his shoulder. “I am the
 519.940 +Ghost of Christmas Presents. I am here to show you all the great
 519.941 +stuff you’re gonna get!” Kero nodded triumphantly, transcendental
 519.942 +light starting to glow behind him. Ruby Moon’s hand snaked out from
 519.943 +the light and dragged Kero back through it. Sakura stared in
 519.944 +disbelief as she heard a muffled argument through the light. After a
 519.945 +long moment, Kero popped back into sight. He cleared his throat
 519.946 +loudly and began again. “I am the Ghost of Christmas Present! The
 519.947 +here and now. Today.” He glared back at the light before continuing.
 519.948 +“And I’m here to show you Christmas, Sakura-chan!”
 519.949 +	“What?” It took a moment for Kero’s words to register in Sakura’s
 519.950 +still clouded mind. Her head shook quickly, her eyes going wide as
 519.951 +realization struck her forcefully. “Oh, no! Kero-chan, I’ve already
 519.952 +seen Ruby Moon and my mother. It’s late. I’m tired. Can’t we do this
 519.953 +later?” Or better yet, not at all? A voice in the back of her mind
 519.954 +asked. She gave a wary smile to the oddly dressed Seal Beast. “It’s
 519.955 +almost Christmas, Kero-chan. And it’s late. And I understand. Tomoyo-
 519.956 +chan likes me.” A small blush started to spread across her cheeks.
 519.957 +“What else do I need to know?”
 519.958 +	“Plenty,” Kero said quickly. He looked at Sakura with his tiny
 519.959 +black eyes, studying her. “And I have no idea who this ‘Kero-chan’
 519.960 +is. I am the ghost of Christmas Presents.” He paused for a moment
 519.961 +before correcting himself. “Present.” 
 519.962 +	Sakura suppressed a giggle and nodded. “All right, Kero-chan. Where
 519.963 +do we go?”
 519.964 +	With a flourish of his scarf, Kero fluttered up to the
 519.965 +Cardmistress. “To a place you know well. Though this time you’ll be
 519.966 +seeing it in a different light. Finding out Tomoyo’s feelings isn’t
 519.967 +the only thing you’re supposed to learn, Sakura-chan. There’s much
 519.968 +more for you to discover tonight.” 
 519.969 +	But what more could there be? Sakura couldn’t come up with
 519.970 +anything. She had missed Tomoyo’s hints and gestures of love and
 519.971 +affection over the years, but now they made sense to her. That was
 519.972 +what her mother had meant about her overlooking something, right?
 519.973 +That had to be it. So she’d have to ask Tomoyo about it later. The
 519.974 +dark haired girl seemed to be fine with the way things were, so it
 519.975 +couldn’t be bad enough to warrant all this. In fact, this just
 519.976 +managed to make everything even more confusing than it already had
 519.977 +been. Now how was she supposed to treat Tomoyo? She already had
 519.978 +Syaoran as her boyfriend. She didn’t know what to do or even what to
 519.979 +say to Tomoyo about it. She could see herself in her mind’s eye
 519.980 +smiling at the pale girl upon arriving at her house. ‘Hi, Tomoyo-
 519.981 +chan! So you like me, huh? Well, we can still be friends, but I’ve
 519.982 +got Syaoran-kun. Did you want to go on a picnic?’ A small shiver went
 519.983 +through her. Just what was she supposed to say, anyway? Oddly enough,
 519.984 +she could see Tomoyo smiling her same sweet smile even after cruel
 519.985 +words like those and agreeing that a picnic would be lovely. It
 519.986 +didn’t make sense, but it was perfect Tomoyo. A lot about Tomoyo
 519.987 +didn’t make sense, but Sakura had always been happy to be her best
 519.988 +friend. At least now a little more about the dark haired girl was
 519.989 +clear. Even if it meant Sakura would eventually have to figure out
 519.990 +what to say to her about it. Or if she should. A sigh escaped her
 519.991 +lips as she took Kero’s small paw. She wanted to see Tomoyo, to tell
 519.992 +her everything. Tomoyo always managed to make her feel better. 
 519.993 +	“We’re here,” Kero said casually as he let go of Sakura’s hand.
 519.994 +They were standing in front of the Daidouji mansion, the lawn and
 519.995 +walls decorated extravagantly with Christmas decorations. 
 519.996 +	“Huh? Ah!” Sakura pulled a foot up, staring at the ground. Snow was
 519.997 +underneath her bare foot, but she couldn’t feel the cold. It was
 519.998 +distant, like walking through a video recording. The snow didn’t even
 519.999 +shift under her feet as if it didn’t recognize that Sakura was
519.1000 +standing there. Being set apart from the world that way sent a chill
519.1001 +down Sakura’s spine. She hadn’t even noticed that they had gone
519.1002 +anywhere until the top hatted Seal Beast had pointed it out to her.
519.1003 +The sudden transition made it difficult for her to get her bearings.
519.1004 +“Tomoyo-chan’s house,” she said at last, her eyes heading towards
519.1005 +Tomoyo’s bedroom window. “Oh! She’s having her party!” A small thrill
519.1006 +counteracted the creepy feelings that had been preying on her and a
519.1007 +smile crossed her face. “So I can see her party after all!”
519.1008 +	Kero nodded eagerly, hugging himself tightly as a look of pure joy
519.1009 +crossed his teddy bear face. “I LOVE Christmas parties! And ‘cause
519.1010 +it’s Tomoyo-chan’s, you just know there’s gonna be lots of cakes and
519.1011 +puddings and deserts and yummy stuff to eat. And games! I bet she’d
519.1012 +have plenty of games, too! Of course she would. It’s Christmas!”
519.1013 +Floating as if on a cloud of sheer ecstasy, the Ghost of Christmas
519.1014 +Present started flying circles around Sakura.
519.1015 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura wondered how the Ghost could possibly be
519.1016 +anyone but the Seal Beast with the Osaka dialect that she had known
519.1017 +for some time. He may have denied being Kero, but he wasn’t doing a
519.1018 +very good job of disguising himself. “So where is Tomoyo-chan having
519.1019 +her party then? I don’t see any lights.” The brunette held her hands
519.1020 +near her eyes, trying to get a better look. Sure enough, the only
519.1021 +lights coming from the mansion were from the many Christmas lights
519.1022 +generously positioned around the building. 
519.1023 +	Finally managing to get a hold of himself, though still seeing
519.1024 +visions of candy and deserts, the little bear in the top hat, began
519.1025 +to lead the way towards the house. “Christmas is a wondrous time,
519.1026 +Sakura-chan. People everywhere find themselves sharing food and gifts
519.1027 +with family and friends. Even if it’s cold outside, the warmth from
519.1028 +the hearts of those celebrating more than make up for it. Lovers kiss
519.1029 +under mistletoe. Friends exchange gifts with each other. Families
519.1030 +come together for generous meals to share. Big meals. With lots of
519.1031 +seconds. And plenty of deserts.”
519.1032 +	“Kero-chan...” 
519.1033 +	“Oh!” Kero shook his head, trying to get the images out of his
519.1034 +mind. He hadn’t noticed until then that he had begun salivating.
519.1035 +Dabbing at his mouth with his scarf, he continued on. “No matter who
519.1036 +you are or where you are, the most important thing about Christmas is
519.1037 +love. Sharing the holidays with the ones you love is what makes it
519.1038 +great. Giving of your heart, adding to a feast of warmth that you all
519.1039 +can share. Sure, there’s cool presents that I could be showing you
519.1040 +right now...” he glared off into the distance for a moment before
519.1041 +continuing, “but right now I have to show you the hidden parts of
519.1042 +this Christmas. Maybe when we’re done...” He nodded to himself,
519.1043 +pleased. “Well, we’ll see about that. But for right now, let’s go see
519.1044 +the party!”
519.1045 +	Sakura nodded eagerly, following Kero’s receding form into the
519.1046 +mansion. Wouldn’t Tomoyo be surprised when she knew what happened
519.1047 +even without the videotape!
519.1048 +
519.1049 +	The house really was entirely dark. Sakura could only see by the
519.1050 +light of the Christmas lights, and with them flickering on and off in
519.1051 +intricate patterns, it certainly made things difficult. She
519.1052 +considered using the Sakura Cards to light her path, but her nervous
519.1053 +hand couldn’t find the key. Everything felt wrong. Houses generally
519.1054 +held some feelings to them. Her own house felt comfortable and
519.1055 +loving. Tomoyo’s home had a warmth and sweetness to it that she had
519.1056 +always liked. But this time was different. It was like she was
519.1057 +walking through some sort of twisted version of the mansion. She
519.1058 +couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong. Only that she could
519.1059 +feel it. The shadows seemed to stick out at all angles, almost moving
519.1060 +from the sporadic Christmas light patterns. Sakura swallowed
519.1061 +nervously but found her mouth had gone dry. ‘Ghosts!’ her mind kept
519.1062 +crying out when a shadow would loom near her for a moment before
519.1063 +shifting in shades of green, red, and blue. She found herself wishing
519.1064 +not for the first time that night that Tomoyo could be there. Tomoyo
519.1065 +never seemed afraid, except when she was worried about Sakura. Ghosts
519.1066 +just didn’t seem to bother her, though the brunette couldn’t figure
519.1067 +out how anybody could not be afraid of ghosts. So she would always
519.1068 +clutch onto Tomoyo when she was worried about them. And she would
519.1069 +feel better, holding onto Tomoyo, because she knew the other girl was
519.1070 +there with her. But now...
519.1071 +	“I think it’s this way,” Kero said after a moment, completely
519.1072 +hidden in the darkness in front of Sakura. His voice didn’t sound
519.1073 +quite so sure. The place was so big! He had come with Sakura
519.1074 +occasionally, but he never got to do any exploring. He should be
519.1075 +making Sakura lead the way. After all, she knew the place better than
519.1076 +he did. But his keen Seal Beast pride got in the way as he floundered
519.1077 +about in the dark. He barely noticed Sakura’s shriek at his sudden
519.1078 +comment. 
519.1079 +	Catching her breath, Sakura followed the jolly ghost further into
519.1080 +the darkness. Her eyes caught on the flickering lights coming from a
519.1081 +large Christmas tree standing on the far side of a room she was about
519.1082 +to pass. Forgetting about all about Kero for the moment, Sakura
519.1083 +slowly entered the room. Wouldn’t this be where Tomoyo would have her
519.1084 +party? The large room could easily fit all of her friends and was
519.1085 +very well decorated. Finding herself drawn to the sparkling Christmas
519.1086 +tree, Sakura’s fingers reached out to touch a few of the ornaments.
519.1087 +They were all very beautiful. Some looked like priceless antiques,
519.1088 +placed with ginger care upon the branches. Glimmering crystal angels,
519.1089 +sparkling icicles, glass bells, and so much more festooned the tree.
519.1090 +Placed just as gingerly but with perhaps even more love, were small,
519.1091 +worn out trinkets from years long past. Sakura could see a small
519.1092 +snowman that’s seems were starting to show. It had Tomoyo’s name on
519.1093 +the back with a date. It didn’t surprise Sakura that Tomoyo had made
519.1094 +several other ornaments on the tree as well. Some were from nearly a
519.1095 +decade before. Yet these old ornaments, some quite obviously made by
519.1096 +a child (a skilled child, but a child nonetheless), appeared to be
519.1097 +some of the most cherished objects adorning the tree. “So you get to
519.1098 +be dressed up by Tomoyo-chan, too, Mr. Tree?” she asked quietly. Some
519.1099 +other ornaments appeared to be from a time even further back, the
519.1100 +grasp of age touching on them. Family heirlooms, Sakura supposed.
519.1101 +Several appeared to come from Tomoyo’s mother’s childhood, others
519.1102 +from further back than that. She caught sight of her mother in one of
519.1103 +them, a beautiful young girl around Sakura’s age at the time the
519.1104 +picture was taken. She was lying in the snow next to a brunette woman
519.1105 +that Sakura recognized instantly. ‘Sonomi and Nadeshiko’, it read on
519.1106 +the back. The two looked so happy in the picture. Her mother’s words
519.1107 +once again whispered in her ear. Tomoyo had once told her that all of
519.1108 +her mother’s employees were female because of her preference. And
519.1109 +Sonomi always talked about Sakura’s mother so dreamily. Was that what
519.1110 +her mother had meant about what happened to her? Sonomi did seem to
519.1111 +be in a lot of pain over her death. ‘But I would never hurt Tomoyo-
519.1112 +chan. I couldn’t stand to know she was in pain. So I shouldn’t have
519.1113 +to worry about it. But still...’ Her eyes couldn’t leave the picture.
519.1114 +The two best friends, happily together. One of them so in love with
519.1115 +the other. For a moment, the picture shifted and she saw herself and
519.1116 +Tomoyo in it. She backed away quickly, nearly tripping over a
519.1117 +Christmas present. 
519.1118 +Presents lay scattered underneath the tree, all done up in festive
519.1119 +wrapping paper with plenty of bows and ribbons. Sakura had to
519.1120 +suppress a laugh. She could definitely tell which were from Tomoyo to
519.1121 +her mother. Only two names alternated on them all. Sonomi and Tomoyo.
519.1122 +Her laughter was short lived when she read Sonomi’s name. No, she
519.1123 +wouldn’t hurt Tomoyo. She couldn’t. But the thought frightened her.
519.1124 +Her mother had warned her that she was making the same mistake she
519.1125 +had. But what? 
519.1126 +A sound from the other side of the room caught Sakura’s attention.
519.1127 +Her ears perked up as she peered into the shadows engulfing the rest
519.1128 +of the room starting just a few feet in front of her. She waited in
519.1129 +the darkness, holding her breath, waiting for it to happen again.
519.1130 +Lights shifted on the floor in front of her. Red, blue, green,
519.1131 +orange, violet. Blinking on and off in their continuing patterns.
519.1132 +Staring at the shapes they cast on the floor, Sakura began to wonder
519.1133 +if it had just been her imagination. A muffled sob reached Sakura’s
519.1134 +ears, quiet but unmistakable in the silent room. The voice behind the
519.1135 +pain racked cry was equally unmistakable to Sakura. That voice that
519.1136 +always soothed her soul, that carried her away to distant locales
519.1137 +when in verse, that made embarrassing comments about how cute she was
519.1138 +or how talented. 
519.1139 +“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered into the darkness. Her body went
519.1140 +as cold as if she had just awoken in the snow. Her heart felt just as
519.1141 +numb. She walked forward slowly, her emerald eyes questing valiantly
519.1142 +for any sign of her dark haired best friend. She could by now dimly
519.1143 +make out a large couch facing the Christmas tree with some pillows or
519.1144 +a large sheet lying over it. She couldn’t quite make it all out in
519.1145 +the dim light of the Christmas tree. A long table rested near the
519.1146 +couch. A delicious looking cake was set atop it, beautifully
519.1147 +decorated for the occasion. That must have been the cake Tomoyo had
519.1148 +hurried home to make. But it hardly looked touched, not a single
519.1149 +piece removed. Cups lay nearby, along with holiday themed napkins and
519.1150 +a large pitcher of spiced cider. This had to be where Tomoyo had
519.1151 +planned to have the party! But what had happened? It didn't look like
519.1152 +anyone had been here. 
519.1153 +“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo’s weak voice got out before another sob
519.1154 +broke through. The sheet shifted on the couch, darkness cascading
519.1155 +down around the top of it. The form shuddered, crying quietly in the
519.1156 +empty room. She had mistaken the dark haired girl at first, but now
519.1157 +her eyes began to adjust. From what little she could see, Tomoyo was
519.1158 +wearing a beautiful green and rust red party dress, her dark hair
519.1159 +done up in pigtails. Her tears sparkled in the darkness, reflecting
519.1160 +the colored lights as they slid down her cheeks. Her pale skin made
519.1161 +her look eerily ghostlike in the dim light, almost an apparition of
519.1162 +her normal self. 
519.1163 +Sakura’s heart broke in two to hear the strangled, miserable sobs
519.1164 +that broke free while Tomoyo cried, alone. The brunette was caught
519.1165 +completely off guard. She had never seen Tomoyo like this before.
519.1166 +“What happened?” she asked, hoping that Tomoyo would somehow hear
519.1167 +her. “Tomoyo-chan.” Her own voice was shaky in her ears. 
519.1168 +Tomoyo curled up into a tight little ball on the couch, hugging her
519.1169 +legs to her chest. Her head ached from crying too much. Her body felt
519.1170 +sick and exhausted. But she couldn't stop the tears. She should go to
519.1171 +her room before her mother got home so she wouldn’t see her like
519.1172 +this. She should clean up her little ‘party’ before she would have to
519.1173 +explain what had happened. But she couldn’t will herself to get off
519.1174 +the couch. She didn’t want to leave the dark confines of the room
519.1175 +that she had waited hours in. Hours all alone. She had the sinking
519.1176 +feeling that this is how it would always be. This was what awaited
519.1177 +her in her not so distant future. Alone, alone, always alone. She had
519.1178 +made the cake hours earlier, in preparation for her Christmas party.
519.1179 +Everything had been set up. She had done a meticulous job of making
519.1180 +sure everything would be perfect. Sakura would be there, after all.
519.1181 +And she wanted to spend a perfect Christmas Eve with her darling
519.1182 +Sakura. Finding out Sakura couldn’t be there had been a bit of a
519.1183 +shock, and a rather painful one. She wanted nothing else for
519.1184 +Christmas than to spend it in the glowing presence of her beloved
519.1185 +best friend. But she had hidden all that away. She couldn’t let
519.1186 +Sakura see how disappointed she was. No, she had to make sure that
519.1187 +Sakura enjoyed her night with her family. After all, that was an
519.1188 +important part of Christmas, too. But her family, her only family
519.1189 +could not be there for Christmas Eve. Her mother was far too busy
519.1190 +finishing things at work for the Holiday. She had understood that
519.1191 +when her mother had explained. Sonomi had been hesitant to go, making
519.1192 +sure that it was all right with Tomoyo if she did. Tomoyo knew how
519.1193 +busy her work could be and told her that it was quite all right, that
519.1194 +they would spend Christmas Day together, so it wasn’t a problem. The
519.1195 +two women that meant the most in Tomoyo’s life couldn’t be there for
519.1196 +Christmas Eve. But that was all right. She would be strong for them.
519.1197 +She had guests to attend to as it was. So she had finished the last
519.1198 +of her preparations for the party and then waited. And waited. And
519.1199 +decorated a little more before waiting. She didn’t know when it had
519.1200 +finally struck her that no one was coming. Minutes after the start of
519.1201 +the party? Hours? She couldn’t be sure. But it had all become too
519.1202 +much for her to bear. Here she was, all alone on Christmas Eve, like
519.1203 +some forgotten Christmas present that wouldn’t be found till the next
519.1204 +year. Tears fell past her ivory skin to the couch underneath her. 
519.1205 +Sakura was surprised when she felt a tear of her own slipping down
519.1206 +her cheek. Her eyes were starting to sting as she sat watching her
519.1207 +best friend crying softly. “Tomoyo-chan... What happened? Please..”
519.1208 +she pleaded with the dark haired girl to no avail. She felt so
519.1209 +helpless. There wasn’t anything she could do. She had been so sure
519.1210 +that nothing could faze Tomoyo, that she always managed to have the
519.1211 +gentle smile no matter the circumstances. Seeing her like this was a
519.1212 +wake up call for Sakura, shaking away the illusions that had
519.1213 +surrounded her friend. Suddenly Sakura started to wonder if she
519.1214 +actually had hurt Tomoyo before, not seeing behind the dark haired
519.1215 +girl’s smile to the pain she had caused. Her mind began pouring
519.1216 +through memories, but she quickly gave up that search. It would do no
519.1217 +good. Not now. 
519.1218 +Unknowing of the subject of her thoughts presence, Tomoyo continued
519.1219 +to cry in the darkness. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t think
519.1220 +she could take it. Her heart longed for Sakura, for a love that had
519.1221 +long been denied, one that she now knew she couldn’t have. Yet her
519.1222 +heart would not listen. It only called out for Sakura, aching
519.1223 +painfully for her. And loneliness was the only thing this road
519.1224 +offered. But she would live with it for Sakura. She didn’t know any
519.1225 +other way. Tomoyo cried harder, her sides starting to ache. The
519.1226 +thought of returning to her room, to her personal shrine to Sakura
519.1227 +just made her feel worse inside. She had no place to go. The
519.1228 +Christmas tree peeked out at her through her tear blurred vision,
519.1229 +taunting her with its grim reminder of this painful Christmas Eve.
519.1230 +Her stormy blue eyes shut tightly, her small body shaking on the
519.1231 +couch. She just wanted Sakura to hold her close, to feel her warm
519.1232 +embrace. To hear her beautiful voice. But she knew she couldn’t. This
519.1233 +was the dark underbelly of Christmas. It had two sides. The bright,
519.1234 +joyous side. The one she hoped that Sakura would be seeing with her
519.1235 +family. And the dark, lonely side. The holiday when experienced in
519.1236 +all of its gruesome torment. Alone. When all it managed to do was
519.1237 +reinforce how insignificant and lost one is in the wide world. 
519.1238 +Why had she thrown this party? What had she hoped to accomplish? She
519.1239 +just wanted to have a wonderful Christmas Eve for everyone. She
519.1240 +thought it would be perfect to have Sakura and all of her friends
519.1241 +over. But she knew at the back of her mind that they weren’t her
519.1242 +friends. They were Sakura’s friends. Like a puppy tagging along
519.1243 +behind her owner, Tomoyo had never really been befriended by Chiharu
519.1244 +and the others. She was merely there. Why would they come over for
519.1245 +Christmas of all days? They had their own families and loved ones.
519.1246 +They all had people to share the holiday with. Tomoyo felt frozen
519.1247 +despite the heat being on. Christmas Eve was almost over now. It was
519.1248 +growing late. The day would soon be over, but the scars on Tomoyo’s
519.1249 +soul would remain. After all, Today is always built upon Yesterday’s
519.1250 +ashes. 
519.1251 +Kero sighed, shaking his head. “Christmas isn’t always happy for
519.1252 +everyone. Even with a warm heart, with no one to share it with, what
519.1253 +good is it? It’s like having an oven, but no food to put in it. It’s
519.1254 +just... empty.” 
519.1255 +Sakura didn’t even turn to look at the festively dressed Seal Beast,
519.1256 +her eyes never leaving Tomoyo shuddering form. She looked so weak, so
519.1257 +frail. As if the slightest touch would shatter her into a thousand
519.1258 +jagged pieces. She remembered something her father had said to her
519.1259 +when she had accidentally broken a pot as a child. ‘Sakura-chan, when
519.1260 +we break things, we can’t always fix them. We can try to put them
519.1261 +back together, but they’ll never be exactly the way they were,’ he
519.1262 +had explained while they tried to glue the pot back together. Had she
519.1263 +broken Tomoyo? Could she pick up all the pieces? “What happened?” she
519.1264 +asked in a tiny voice.
519.1265 +Clearing his throat, Kero looked away. He had never seen Tomoyo, or
519.1266 +anyone that he could remember, looking quite so desolate before. “Her
519.1267 +mother couldn’t be here because of work. You couldn’t be here because
519.1268 +of dinner. You friends didn’t show up because they all had things to
519.1269 +do and they’ve never been Tomoyo friends exactly anyway so they
519.1270 +didn’t see it as a big deal. She always follows you around so why
519.1271 +would she care? I don’t think that matters though. The only ones that
519.1272 +she really wanted to be here were you and her mother.”
519.1273 +Shaking her head sadly, Sakura reached out hesitantly for Tomoyo
519.1274 +before stopping, her fingers inches from Tomoyo’s hand. “So this is
519.1275 +all tonight? This is what happened with her party? Tomoyo-chan...”
519.1276 +She sniffled, cold tears spilling down her cheeks. “Tomoyo-chan!” she
519.1277 +buried her face in her hands, crying into them. “It’s not fair! She
519.1278 +shouldn’t have to be so sad! I... Tomoyo-chan, I’m so sorry...” Her
519.1279 +mouth opened to say more, but her throat locked up, unable to allow
519.1280 +her to get anything else out. She just shook her head again, tears
519.1281 +falling to her pajamas. Painful shards of ice grew into her heart,
519.1282 +tearing at her with each consecutive sob that came from the dark
519.1283 +haired girl. She couldn’t help but feel that it was her fault, that
519.1284 +she had failed Tomoyo. ‘I always knew you would save me,’ Tomoyo’s
519.1285 +voice echoed in her mind. ‘But I failed her. I never saved her,’ her
519.1286 +own voice came back accusingly.
519.1287 +“Sakura-chan, I’m sorry I had to show you this,” Kero apologized. 
519.1288 +“No... I’m.. I’m glad you did. If I didn’t see this, I’d never know.
519.1289 +She would just smile when she sees me tomorrow and she’d act like
519.1290 +everything’s all right. Be..Because I..” Her eyes shut closed as she
519.1291 +tried to continue, choking back sobs. “Because I can’t see it on my
519.1292 +own... Kero-chan, I didn’t know..” A small whimper escaped her as she
519.1293 +fell back on her knees.
519.1294 +“It’s okay, Sakura-chan. You’ll figure it out. But it’s not over
519.1295 +yet. There’s still a final spirit to meet. The one who will judge
519.1296 +you. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.” Kero took Sakura’s hand,
519.1297 +leading her away from Tomoyo’s silent form. Sakura kept watching her
519.1298 +as she slowly began to walk away. She could see Sonomi enter the
519.1299 +room, and paused.
519.1300 +Sonomi brushed back some of Tomoyo’s long dark hair as she knelt
519.1301 +beside her. Work had gone later than she expected, but she had
519.1302 +hurried home as quickly as she could. It didn’t take long for her to
519.1303 +realize what had happened. The cake left untouched, the Christmas
519.1304 +letter for Sakura still in Tomoyo’s hands, the tears staining her
519.1305 +daughter’s cheeks. Tomoyo had just passed into a fitful sleep a short
519.1306 +time before her arrival. She wiped the remaining tear from Tomoyo’s
519.1307 +pale cheek before gently picking her up. She kissed her forehead
519.1308 +before walking out of the room with her baby girl. “It will be all
519.1309 +right, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t know how, but it will be. I’ll be here
519.1310 +for you when you wake up.”
519.1311 +‘At least Sonomi-sama tries to protect her!’ Sakura’s mind lashed
519.1312 +out. ‘And I’m the one she’s trying to protect her from. Oh kami-
519.1313 +sama... How long have I been hurting her?’ Her legs went numb at the
519.1314 +thought. Fresh tears burned in her eyes. A weak sob escaped her lips
519.1315 +and the world went black, plunging her into darkness.
519.1316 +
519.1317 +	It was cold. That was the first thing that Sakura noticed. Icy
519.1318 +hands dragged the breath right out of her, cold daggers lancing into
519.1319 +her sides as she tried to breathe in the frozen air. In all of the
519.1320 +other places she had traveled that night, the cold had been a
519.1321 +distant, forgotten thing as if she were not a part of it. But now it
519.1322 +surrounded her, grasping onto her, infusing into her body. Clutching
519.1323 +herself tightly, she struggled to fend off the shaking of her cold
519.1324 +body. “Kero-chan?” she called into the windswept night. But there was
519.1325 +no answer. The howl of the wind startled the Cardmistress, snow
519.1326 +falling about her pajama clad form. Alone and afraid, she started to
519.1327 +cry, slumping to her knees in the freshly fallen snow. The night had
519.1328 +take a lot out of her, and upon expecting to find herself in her bed,
519.1329 +she wound up out in the bleary night without the faintest trace of
519.1330 +her guardian. Still in anguish over seeing Tomoyo in such pain, pain
519.1331 +that she had helped to bring to the door of her sweet and gentle best
519.1332 +friend, Sakura couldn’t work up the strength to get back up. 
519.1333 +	‘Don’t cry. It won’t get you anywhere,’ a rough voice said from
519.1334 +nowhere. Sakura’s body shuddered as she was wracked with more sobs. 
519.1335 +	‘Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It just makes me feel sad,’ a
519.1336 +softer, more gentle voice spoke up from the same spot that was
519.1337 +nowhere but ever so near to the brunette. 
519.1338 +Tomoyo... She had heard Tomoyo say that before. She shouldn’t cry
519.1339 +because it made Tomoyo sad. And she couldn’t make Tomoyo sad anymore.
519.1340 +The other voice... It had to be Syaoran’s. He had told her that
519.1341 +crying wouldn’t solve anything, that she needed to face things
519.1342 +without tears. Yes, he was right. “Everything will always be all
519.1343 +right,” Sakura whispered to herself. That was her power, right? Her
519.1344 +special power. It wasn’t magic, it wasn’t strength. It was just a
519.1345 +tiny phrase in the midst of a snowstorm. But it came with the love
519.1346 +and support of those that had stood behind her at one point in time.
519.1347 +It came with the profound faith of those that believed in her. And
519.1348 +through that belief that they held in her, Sakura could have faith as
519.1349 +well. That perhaps everything would be. Blinking in the blizzard that
519.1350 +encompassed her, Sakura tried to look up. The endless white that had
519.1351 +blanketed everything she could see was replaced in the immediate
519.1352 +vicinity by a dark black shroud that rose up above her kneeling form.
519.1353 +The cloak flailed around in the darkness, snow not daring to fall
519.1354 +upon it’s midnight embrace. Yet Sakura couldn’t see make out whoever
519.1355 +it was inside of the cloak, only a vague figure that remained
519.1356 +shrouded in darkness. The figure held out a hand to Sakura, beckoning
519.1357 +her to follow. “Are you... Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet to
519.1358 +Come?” Sakura asked above the rising icy shriek of the wind. Her
519.1359 +voice trembled, though not entirely from the cold. She was to be
519.1360 +judged, she knew that. And she was afraid that she would be found
519.1361 +terribly wanting in the eyes of this macabre judge, jury, and
519.1362 +executioner. The figure nodded almost imperceptibly, causing Sakura
519.1363 +to wonder if she had even seen it at all. “There’s so much I’ve
519.1364 +learned tonight. I... I never knew how much I had ignored Tomoyo-
519.1365 +chan. I didn’t know how much I had hurt her. Please, show me more. My
519.1366 +mother said that you could help me. I don’t...” Her voice caught in
519.1367 +her throat painfully as she tried to speak. It took a moment to
519.1368 +swallow the burning tears and continue. “I don’t want to hurt anyone
519.1369 +anymore. I just want everything to be all right.” Tears threatened to
519.1370 +spill from her jade eyes, but the shadowed figure merely watched in
519.1371 +silence before beckoning once more. Sakura once again found herself
519.1372 +wishing Tomoyo was there to clutch onto. Why did they have to be
519.1373 +ghosts? Why couldn’t they have been the three magical beings of
519.1374 +Christmas? Or the three Mr. Seagulls? Anything would be better than
519.1375 +ghosts. But she had already made up her mind. Frightened or not, she
519.1376 +had to follow. The shadowed figure slowly took her hand. It felt cold
519.1377 +yet familiar in her grasp, but she couldn’t quite figure out who it
519.1378 +belonged to. Her mind quickly gave up the futile attempt as the
519.1379 +snowstorm grew infinitely worse, swallowing up Sakura and the
519.1380 +mysterious stranger in it’s jagged talons. 
519.1381 +
519.1382 +Before the two figures, the snow slowly began to dissipate,
519.1383 +weakening it’s snow white hold on Sakura’s vision. All around her,
519.1384 +the snow continued to fall with a silent intensity, but before her it
519.1385 +dropped in only small groups of snowflakes. She caught one between
519.1386 +her hands, holding it in her opened palms for a moment. The tiny ice
519.1387 +crystal was beautiful, a jewel from the sky. But almost immediately,
519.1388 +it melted into cold water in her hands, not a trace remaining of the
519.1389 +beauty she had seen moments before. 
519.1390 +Cold fingers curled under Sakura’s chin, lifting her gaze to the
519.1391 +glass in front of them. It took all of the brunette’s strength not to
519.1392 +jump at the sudden touch. The glass looked into a busy office room,
519.1393 +people hurrying about their business. One woman in a business suit
519.1394 +looked particularly familiar with her fairly short hair and glasses. 
519.1395 +“Working on your book, Naoko-san?” one of the women asked as she
519.1396 +poured herself something warm to drink. She had a warm, friendly air
519.1397 +about her, but her tone was almost teasing as if she asked the
519.1398 +question often.
519.1399 +Naoko frowned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with
519.1400 +her index finger. “No, I’m not working on it today,” she stated
519.1401 +simply, going through some papers shuffled together on her lap.
519.1402 +“Oh? Why not?” a man asked curiously. Despite the earlier teasing,
519.1403 +it seemed that they were used to a different answer. “Because it’s
519.1404 +Christmas Eve?”
519.1405 +Naoko nodded somberly, looking up again. The light shined off her
519.1406 +glasses for a moment, frightening Sakura as she watched. “I don’t
519.1407 +want to anger the spirits, after all. Today’s the anniversary. A girl
519.1408 +I went to school with for years did something horrific last year. You
519.1409 +see, she was a very lonely girl. You wouldn’t know that at first, but
519.1410 +she was. She only had one really good friend. None of us understood
519.1411 +at first, but as we grew older if became blaringly obvious. She was
519.1412 +in love with her friend. But it was an unrequited love, one that she
519.1413 +could never have. Every Christmas, she would try to give her gift of
519.1414 +love to the one she held dear, but every year it went unreturned. No
519.1415 +one could see that she was slowly freezing to death from the cruel,
519.1416 +cold emptiness in her heart. Eventually, you could see the pain in
519.1417 +her eyes, like cracks running through ice. It was frightening to see.
519.1418 +It always made me feel cold inside when those eyes would turn to me.”
519.1419 +Naoko pulled her jacket about her tighter, shivering in her chair. “I
519.1420 +didn’t hear from her after high school, but I heard stories. She
519.1421 +withdrew more and more as her lonely heart began to pain her even
519.1422 +further. Yet every Christmas she would offer up her gift and every
519.1423 +Christmas it would be denied her. One Christmas years ago, she simply
519.1424 +died. It was as if her body just couldn’t live with that torment
519.1425 +anymore. I heard that she looked peaceful, at rest. I guess she
519.1426 +finally found the rest in death that she couldn’t have in life.” A
519.1427 +cell phone call interrupted her story. Picking it up, she blushed a
519.1428 +little upon answering. “Nakuru-san! Hai, of course I’ll be home in
519.1429 +time for dinner.” The blush turned a little deeper as she whispered
519.1430 +into the phone. “Of course. You know I love seeing you in that dress.
519.1431 +Alright. I’ll see you in an hour or two.”
519.1432 +Sakura could only stare into the office, her hand on the window
519.1433 +shaking softly. Naoko’s story had sent a splinter of ice deep into
519.1434 +her soul, chilling her very being. Her mind hurried through images of
519.1435 +classmates, horrified that such a thing could happen. She abandoned
519.1436 +the quest immediately when a sweet, gentle voice rang out in her
519.1437 +mind. ‘You know who it is, Sakura-chan. You know who it is very
519.1438 +well.’ She couldn’t pinpoint the source of the voice, but the
519.1439 +unsettling feeling that washed over her kept her from searching for
519.1440 +it. “No... How can something like that happen? That’s terrible...”
519.1441 +She turned on the shrouded spirit, nearly hysterical. “How can
519.1442 +something like that happen on Christmas? Christmas is a time of
519.1443 +love... and joy and... And that’s too sad. No one should have to be
519.1444 +that lonely on Christmas. No one should ever have to be that lonely.
519.1445 +It..” she trailed off, hiccuping. Her tears were starting to build
519.1446 +again and she found it difficult to fight them off. “Please... Please
519.1447 +show me that there’s still love left in this desolate place...
519.1448 +Otherwise, what have I fought for? What good did I do? Please...” Her
519.1449 +voice quavered as she begged the ominous silhouette.
519.1450 +The shadow did not move, but the scenery around them did. They were
519.1451 +indoors at last, finally in a heated room. But the house they were in
519.1452 +offered little warmth. Sakura recognized it almost immediately.
519.1453 +“Tomoyo-chan’s house!” She exclaimed, a small yet delighted laugh
519.1454 +coming from her. Yes, that was exactly what she needed. She could see
519.1455 +Tomoyo, see the love that always flowed from her heart. The woman’s
519.1456 +warm and caring nature would help through whatever dark time had
519.1457 +befallen one of their classmates. She knew that what happened to her
519.1458 +classmate must be a warning, a sign of where her neglect was leading.
519.1459 +But she couldn’t believe that Tomoyo would ever do such a thing. The
519.1460 +notion was abstract to Sakura, beyond rational understanding. It
519.1461 +would never happen. 
519.1462 +Jade eyes darted around the large room of the mansion, looking for
519.1463 +any symbol of her dark haired best friend. It was the same room she
519.1464 +had seen Tomoyo in just a short time before, but now there was no
519.1465 +Christmas tree, no lights or decorations. It felt... empty. That
519.1466 +wasn’t to say the furniture and normal items were not there, but that
519.1467 +a feeling about the room, one that she associated with the house
519.1468 +itself was missing. Sakura swallowed painfully and turned to the
519.1469 +spirit. Her mind raced down a dead end tunnel, afraid of what was
519.1470 +lurking in the shadows at the end of that path. Turning away, she
519.1471 +bolted out of the room, hurrying for sanctuary, the one place she
519.1472 +could be sure she would find that feeling again. Tomoyo’s room. The
519.1473 +house rushed past her in a blur as she made her way to the lodgings
519.1474 +of her best friend. The door was already ajar, hanging open as if
519.1475 +pushed by a ghost. Pausing for only an instant, Sakura rushed in
519.1476 +headlong, hoping and praying that the pale woman who occupied it
519.1477 +would be sitting there even now, editing videotape or perhaps working
519.1478 +on a costume. But it was not to be so. Unable to give up hope, the
519.1479 +brunette looked around the room. A costume lay half finished on
519.1480 +Tomoyo’s desk, numerous designs neatly laid out near it. A small
519.1481 +camcorder was resting near the bed, a small stack of videotapes
519.1482 +nearby. A picture of the room’s owner, several years older than she
519.1483 +had been in Sakura’s own time and smiling as she sat next to an older
519.1484 +Sakura sat on the nightstand. The room looked just how Sakura had
519.1485 +remembered it, even if a few years change were evident. But it all
519.1486 +had a dull feeling to it, as if it were merely a moment of the past
519.1487 +captured inside the room, never moving forward but never holding the
519.1488 +life it once had. ‘When I videotape, I capture moments of Sakura-chan
519.1489 +frozen on film. I can watch them forever, cherishing these moments
519.1490 +even when they have long disappeared into the past,’ Tomoyo’s voice
519.1491 +echoed in Sakura’ panic driven head. She had spoken those words to
519.1492 +the Cardmistress not more than a week earlier, but they rang eerily
519.1493 +true in this room that was not truly a room. It had been turned into
519.1494 +a museum, a snapshot of it’s former self. Sakura’s knees felt weak
519.1495 +and wobbly, as if they belonged to someone other than the athletic
519.1496 +brunette. Her stomach felt sick as she shut her eyes tightly, trying
519.1497 +to force out the images of the long dead room. 
519.1498 +A faint, sickly sobbing finally drew Sakura out of her pain induced
519.1499 +game of hide and seek with reality. Like a Siren’s song, she followed
519.1500 +it, desperate to find it’s source. The voice behind the pain wracked
519.1501 +sobs sounded so familiar. Who could be in such terrible agony? The
519.1502 +cries were hopeless, desolate sounds that sent a chill over Sakura
519.1503 +that was worse than any of the snowstorm she had witnessed. Her feet
519.1504 +continued moving her forward even after her mind decided it didn’t
519.1505 +want to see whatever lay at the end of this path. She passed a framed
519.1506 +picture of her mother next to one by Tomoyo. They were nearly the
519.1507 +same age in the pictures. Sakura found herself awestruck by the
519.1508 +similarities. Tomoyo looked remarkably like her mother, something she
519.1509 +had never truly noticed before, despite Sonomi’s explanations of it.
519.1510 +It was almost frightening to see the two side by side. Long, dark
519.1511 +grayish hair clung around both of their shoulders, falling in
519.1512 +beautiful waves. Both with such pale complexions and such gentle
519.1513 +smiles. The biggest difference that Sakura could see were their eyes.
519.1514 +Nadeshiko’s were the same emerald green as Sakura’s whereas Tomoyo’s
519.1515 +were a deep, stormy blue. ‘Nadeshiko-chan was an angel I was blessed
519.1516 +to have met,’ Sonomi had once said. “So is Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura
519.1517 +whispered softly, unable to tear her eyes away from the photographs.
519.1518 +‘No!!’ Something inside her screamed. Whatever it was frightened her
519.1519 +dearly, but it’s message rang clear. No, Tomoyo couldn’t be an angel.
519.1520 +Not yet. Not yet. Please, not yet...
519.1521 +Her shaky footsteps finally brought her into the bedroom that housed
519.1522 +the quiet sobs that filtered through the house like an fine mist,
519.1523 +blanketing the house in sadness and grief. Sonomi Daidouji, Tomoyo’s
519.1524 +mother lie on her bed, clutching onto a pillow the way a woman would
519.1525 +clutch to a life preserver for dear life out in the cold relentless
519.1526 +ocean. Sonomi had been a beautiful, amazing woman when she was
519.1527 +younger, of that Sakura was certain. By the time she had met Sonomi,
519.1528 +something had been stolen from her. Her love remained, but her hope
519.1529 +and joy had been ripped away from her, leaving her bitter and pained.
519.1530 +But there was still a warmth in her heart, one that Tomoyo had
519.1531 +filled. Her daughter had given her some reason to continue on, a
519.1532 +gentle glow that Sakura had seen time and again in Sonomi’s presence.
519.1533 +But that was all gone now. Sonomi’s sobs were brittle, broken. There
519.1534 +was no more joy or warmth inside of her heart. It had all been cut so
519.1535 +violently away from her. She looked like a woman who had lost
519.1536 +everything, who had not a soul in the world to hold out for in this
519.1537 +life. There was a painful resignation in her sobs and Sakura realized
519.1538 +with shock that it was defeat. Sonomi had always been a firey willed
519.1539 +woman that continued on despite the pain life had dished out to her.
519.1540 +But that iron willed determination was gone. Sakura felt a shaky sob
519.1541 +of her own pass through her body. There was only one thing that this
519.1542 +could mean. Her mind still refused it with all its might, unable to
519.1543 +accept it as anything more than a lie. 
519.1544 +Without warning, the window opened suddenly, spilling white
519.1545 +crystalline snowflakes about the room. They swirled around Sakura in
519.1546 +hurried patterns, turning her around as they again filled up her
519.1547 +vision. 
519.1548 +
519.1549 +	When the last of the snow flakes had fallen away from the terrible
519.1550 +blinding white that had encompassed her, Sakura finally saw that they
519.1551 +were somewhere that she had not been for quite a long time. Her heart
519.1552 +froze in her chest, refusing to budge in even the smallest of
519.1553 +movements. She knew this place from long ago. Memories returned to
519.1554 +her unbidden, all carrying depths of sadness that she had not dwelled
519.1555 +on in years. There was not an ounce of snow on the ground. Only a
519.1556 +dark, dreadful sky that poured down a relentless rain from up above.
519.1557 +The shadows reached out as if in wait to lurch out and snag
519.1558 +unsuspecting visitors and lure them to stay in their endless depths.
519.1559 +This was a cemetery. The last time she had been to one was years
519.1560 +earlier when she had visited her mother’s grave.  The skies
519.1561 +themselves had gone from blinding white to an anguished dark indigo,
519.1562 +almost the same color as Tomoyo’s eyes. The skies above were weeping. 
519.1563 +	The wet, distraught Cardmistress caught sight of the dark figure
519.1564 +that was leading her along this dreadful tour up ahead near a
519.1565 +gravestone. The hand reached out slowly, beckoning her once more.
519.1566 +Sakura’s legs felt like wet ramen noodles, but somehow she managed to
519.1567 +close the distance between herself and the cloaked ghost. Her heart
519.1568 +was pounding in her chest, her mind still trying desperately to
519.1569 +believe that Tomoyo wasn’t... But Sonomi’s cries were proof enough.
519.1570 +They gave way the endless torment of a mother who has lost her only
519.1571 +child. Sakura slowed her pace as she came nearer, holding her hands
519.1572 +tightly to her chest. “This... This is only a warning, right? I can
519.1573 +still fix things, can’t I? Please... Please tell me! I can’t... It
519.1574 +just can’t be this way..” Tears stung her jade eyes, blurring the
519.1575 +world in front of her, but still it crept forward as her legs moved
519.1576 +forward of their own will. The ghost just watched her impassively,
519.1577 +it’s hidden gaze almost unbearable for Sakura. It’s familiar hand
519.1578 +pointed out to the grave again, demanding Sakura’s attention. The
519.1579 +Cardmistress balked, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as the rain
519.1580 +drenched her body and soul. “Please... Please tell me she’ll be all
519.1581 +right... I need Tomoyo-chan... She can’t...” Her voice choked off
519.1582 +with a painful sob as her eyes slowly turned to the tombstone. 
519.1583 +
519.1584 +‘	Tomoyo Daidouji
519.1585 +Our dear, sweet angel was here for but a short visit,
519.1586 +But we will never forget the joy and happiness she brought into our
519.1587 +lives.
519.1588 +May she soar in ways that this life denied her.’
519.1589 +
519.1590 +	Sakura’s head shook slowly, disbelieving the words at first. It
519.1591 +couldn’t be. No... Deep, endless regret and sadness gripped Sakura
519.1592 +tightly, wrenching at her heart. Her body shook with the force of the
519.1593 +sobs wracking her small body. “Tomoyo-chan... Please, no...” Her wet
519.1594 +hair fell about her face, obscuring her vision along with her now
519.1595 +freezing tears. She couldn’t tell what were raindrops and what were
519.1596 +teardrops anymore. Her fingers slowly brushed across the ingrained
519.1597 +words, her lips trembling as she did. “It’s not fair!” She screamed
519.1598 +into the storm, her whole body collapsing against the tombstone.
519.1599 +“Tomoyo-chan...” her hoarse voice whispered as she clung to the
519.1600 +tombstone as she would her now dead friend. The angel on top looked
519.1601 +down sympathetically from it’s statuesque eyes. Sakura clutched
519.1602 +tighter onto the tombstone, ignoring the biting stone against her
519.1603 +soft, wet skin. She was lost now. What could she do without Tomoyo?
519.1604 +Her best friend, her support, her confidant, all gone in one fell
519.1605 +swoop. And with it, all of the love and support that Tomoyo had
519.1606 +showered on her since they were in the third grade. Gone. Because of
519.1607 +her neglect. ‘Sakura-chan, you have to be careful with that flower.
519.1608 +You have to water it and love it every day or it will shrivel and
519.1609 +die. You must take good care of it,’ her mother’s voice reached out.
519.1610 +Sakura’s nodded her three year old head with a happy smile. But the
519.1611 +flower had died. Sakura had forgotten all about it and it had
519.1612 +withered. ‘Is that what I did to Tomoyo?’ she asked herself, her mind
519.1613 +still a shattered mirror of grief and sorrow. ‘Did I forget to water
519.1614 +her and love her? Did I forget all about her until she shriveled up
519.1615 +and died?’ Harsh, dark cries escaped Sakura, her head pressed firmly
519.1616 +against the stone. Her heart felt dead in her chest, nothing more
519.1617 +than a collapsed black hole of pain and suffering. Every time she
519.1618 +closed her eyes, she could see Tomoyo’s beautiful smiling face. But
519.1619 +she would never see that smile again. It had been taken from her. She
519.1620 +had not appreciated the gift that was bestowed upon her and it had
519.1621 +been returned. “No! No!! Tomoyo-chan!!” Her fist battered against the
519.1622 +tombstone to no avail, her wrist screaming in agony as she twisted
519.1623 +it. But that was hardly of any consequence to her anymore. Despair
519.1624 +wrapped around her soul like a thick blanket. 
519.1625 +	“Get away from here!” An angry voice called. It took all of
519.1626 +Sakura’s will to turn towards the voice. A girl that couldn’t be more
519.1627 +than eight years old stormed forward through the rain, only a small
519.1628 +umbrella in her hand there to protect her from it’s biting chill. She
519.1629 +had short, dark hair, and angry indigo eyes. She looked like she was
519.1630 +barely holding onto her composure, tears sparkling at the edge of her
519.1631 +eyes. Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but another spoke up before
519.1632 +she had the chance. Oddly enough, it was her own voice. Somewhat
519.1633 +older, dulled from what sounded like years of pain.
519.1634 +	“What?”
519.1635 +	The little girl shook her head, rain droplets falling away from
519.1636 +her. “You! You’re Sakura Li, aren’t you?” Her voice was accusatory,
519.1637 +hateful. As if the very possibility sickened and dismayed her. 
519.1638 +	Sakura spotted another woman. Herself, she mused. Though some years
519.1639 +older by now. “I am,” she whispered softly, looking at the girl
519.1640 +questioningly.  She was standing near the grave, just inches from
519.1641 +where the past Sakura was holding onto it. Her finger’s brushed
519.1642 +brunette hair from her eyes.
519.1643 +	“Get away from there! You’re not wanted here! Stay away from my
519.1644 +mama!” The girl yelled, her tears beginning to fall down her pale
519.1645 +cheeks. She was clearly upset by Sakura’s presence, her little body
519.1646 +shaking in what looked like rage. 
519.1647 +	Sakura opened her mouth several times but nothing came out. She had
519.1648 +only seen Tomoyo’s daughter twice before and once had been at the
519.1649 +funeral. “I’m sorry,” she stated at last in a voice that was nearly a
519.1650 +whisper. The girl was living with her grandmother now, though Sakura
519.1651 +hadn’t spoken to Sonomi in quite some time. Her eyes went back to the
519.1652 +grave and she choked back the tears that lurked just beneath the
519.1653 +surface. “She was my best friend. I miss her. I just... I wanted to
519.1654 +give her a Christmas present.” She held up a small wrapped package in
519.1655 +her hand, gingerly protecting it from the rain.
519.1656 +	“You killed her! She doesn’t need anything from you! Haven’t you
519.1657 +done enough!” The younger girl was crying heavily by now, huge tears
519.1658 +falling past her cheeks. But she never took her eyes off of Sakura,
519.1659 +dead intent on protecting her dead mother from any further pain. “She
519.1660 +loved you! She always pretended that it didn’t hurt her, that she was
519.1661 +happy, but I could tell... I could tell from the stories she told of
519.1662 +you and how wonderful you were, the times I saw her crying late at
519.1663 +night when she thought I was asleep. All you did was hurt her!! Get
519.1664 +away from my mama!” The girl ran up to Sakura, tears streaming down
519.1665 +her face. She hit at Sakura weakly, trying to fend off the woman who
519.1666 +had come to her mother’s grave, but her hands soon fell limply to her
519.1667 +sides. Her small body shook with her sobs for her mama, the one that
519.1668 +had been taken from her far too early.
519.1669 +	Sakura squeezed her jade eyes shut tight, tears spilling across her
519.1670 +own cheeks, mixing with the rain. Kneeling down, she held the young
519.1671 +girl close, whispering over and over again, “I’m so sorry.” She
519.1672 +barely noticed the rain anymore, her arms tightly around the young
519.1673 +girl before her. Tomoyo’s one and only daughter. Looking into those
519.1674 +tear filled indigo eyes had been like looking once more into Tomoyo’s
519.1675 +own eyes and it was too much for the brunette to handle. 
519.1676 +	“She... She got sick...” the girl sniffled, unable to struggle
519.1677 +anymore. “She got so sick... But she wasn’t scared. She was never
519.1678 +afraid of dying. I think... I think part of her wanted to die... The
519.1679 +part that you had ruined... She said that she’d watch me... That
519.1680 +she’d keep an eye on me... And that she’d watch you, too... But I
519.1681 +don’t want her to watch you.. Because you’ll just keep hurting my
519.1682 +mama the way you always did! I hate you!!” Fresh tears broke free as
519.1683 +the little girl slumped against Sakura. “She loved you so much, but
519.1684 +you hated her!! You hated my mama!! When she got sick, she didn’t get
519.1685 +better because of you! Gramma says that her broken heart wouldn’t
519.1686 +mend because of you so her body died the same way!” Her cries were
519.1687 +hysterical now, her small body shuddering against Sakura’s.
519.1688 +	Sakura could only offer her own muffled sobs in reply, her face
519.1689 +pressed against the young girl’s dark hair. The jagged pieces of her
519.1690 +heart that remained felt as if they had been set aflame, left to burn
519.1691 +away until there was nothing left. “I’m so sorry... So, so sorry...”
519.1692 +Her eyes blinked open slowly, tears still falling from them. “I... I
519.1693 +never meant to hurt you mama. I... I loved her...” Her voice cracked
519.1694 +at the confession, her jade eyes closing tightly again as more tears
519.1695 +threatened to overwhelm her. Yes, she knew that now. She did love
519.1696 +Tomoyo. She still did. She always had. But she realized it too late.
519.1697 +She held on desperately to Tomoyo’s only daughter, the two crying
519.1698 +together in front of an angel’s grave. 
519.1699 +	“This is what awaits you,” a familiar voice said from behind the
519.1700 +dark cloak as it stood looming over Sakura. A hand reached down and
519.1701 +took Sakura’s gently.
519.1702 +	Sakura shook her head, wiping at her eyes with her cold, frozen
519.1703 +hands. “Please.. Please say I can fix this. It’s not too late, is
519.1704 +it?” She looked up tearfully at the shrouded ghost, her eyes
519.1705 +pleading. “There has to be a way. Tomoyo won’t die like this, will
519.1706 +she?”
519.1707 +	The figure reached back and slowly pulled away the dark hood that
519.1708 +had covered its face. Brunette hair escaped the dark confines,
519.1709 +followed by emerald eyes. Sakura found herself looking up at her
519.1710 +mirror image. She herself was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The
519.1711 +still half shrouded Sakura reached down and took Sakura's hand with
519.1712 +her own, shaking her head. “I don’t know if you can prolong her life
519.1713 +or if she will still die at this time. But that doesn’t matter. You
519.1714 +can make what life she does have beautiful and warm. You can share it
519.1715 +with her, experiencing the joys and pains it brings together. It
519.1716 +doesn’t matter how much time she has left. It matters how that time
519.1717 +is spent. Sakura, don’t be afraid of death. Be afraid of an
519.1718 +unfulfilled life. Even if Tomoyo still dies and becomes your guardian
519.1719 +angel, at least she will have the beautiful memories of your life
519.1720 +together. I’m sure mom will watch out for her up there.” Her hand
519.1721 +pulled away to rest on Sakura’s heart. “The future is for you to
519.1722 +decide. Please choose carefully, Sakura. For both of our sakes.”
519.1723 +
519.1724 +
519.1725 +	“No!!!” The earth tilted around Sakura, colors blurring together as
519.1726 +she hurtled through what must have been an endless void. Her shoulder
519.1727 +slammed down hard into the floor, her bare feet sticking up in the
519.1728 +air out of her dry and none the worse for wear pajama pants.
519.1729 +“Hoe...?” Looking around the room curiously, Sakura found that she
519.1730 +had fallen out of bed. She quickly shifted to her hands and knees,
519.1731 +joyous realization slowly dawning upon her. Giggles escaped her lips
519.1732 +as she rose to her feet, twirling around in the early morning
519.1733 +sunlight. Her eyes spotted the Sakura doll Tomoyo had made for her
519.1734 +long ago and she instantly seized upon it, hugging the poor thing
519.1735 +until she was nearly certain it would pop. “I’m back!! Kero-chan, I’m
519.1736 +back!” Placing the Sakura doll back on the bed, Sakura lifted up the
519.1737 +sleeping Seal Beast by his hands, twirling around with him. Another
519.1738 +laugh escaped her as she spun on her foot. “My mom gave me a second
519.1739 +chance!” Sakura smiled gloriously as she ran to look out at the
519.1740 +beautiful sunlight spilling through her window. She basked in it’s
519.1741 +gentle glow, her eyes closed and her arms wide open. Kero muttered to
519.1742 +himself as he crawled back into his bed, pulling the blankets up
519.1743 +around himself. It was too early for crazy things like this. But
519.1744 +Sakura didn’t hear him, too busy with a hundred different thoughts to
519.1745 +bother. Her hand reached instinctively for the cell phone, but she
519.1746 +paused halfway through dialing Tomoyo’s number. No, this was
519.1747 +something she would have to do in person. And that was exactly what
519.1748 +she would do!
519.1749 +	Pulling off her pajama top and kicking her pajama pants off, Sakura
519.1750 +dug through her closet for something to wear. Her eyes finally caught
519.1751 +on a brown costume on the bed. With cute little antlers. She left the
519.1752 +closet and picked up the reindeer costume Tomoyo had made for her a
519.1753 +short time ago but she hadn’t had the time to wear yet. Well, and she
519.1754 +hadn’t been in a hurry to dress up like a reindeer. But she pulled it
519.1755 +on quickly, the jingle from the bells giving her a start. Another
519.1756 +giggle escaped her lips as she realized what it was. Looking in the
519.1757 +mirror, she sweatdropped as she saw herself dressed up as a cute
519.1758 +reindeer. It was most certainly one of Tomoyo’s designs. Plenty of
519.1759 +bells and cute reindeer paw gloves and boots adorned the costume. 
519.1760 +A snicker came from Touya who was standing in the doorway, leaning
519.1761 +against the doorframe casually. “You’re not actually wearing that for
519.1762 +Christmas Day, are you, kaijuu?” he asked curiously.
519.1763 +	Sakura whirled on him, her natural response getting the best of
519.1764 +her. Glaring at Touya, she crossed her arms, a chorus of jingling
519.1765 +following the simple motion. Her face turned red, but she maintained
519.1766 +her glare. “Onii-chan!!! Tomoyo-chan made this for me! Of course I’m
519.1767 +going to wear it for Christmas! She went through a lot of trouble to
519.1768 +make it and you shouldn’t make fun of it!” Oh, if she were a real
519.1769 +reindeer, she’d skewer him on her antlers right now. But he just
519.1770 +grinned and patted her on the head, making the bells shake again.
519.1771 +	“Be quiet on the way downstairs, kaijuu, or you’ll wake up dad.
519.1772 +Don’t stay out too long or you’ll miss Christmas Breakfast. Which you
519.1773 +have to help me cook.” Her turned his back to her, heading back
519.1774 +presumably to his own room. “But on second thought, I don’t need a
519.1775 +monster helping me cook. I’ll just make it on my own. So don’t worry
519.1776 +about breakfast. Tell Tomoyo-chan I said hello.”
519.1777 +	Sakura blinked in confusion for a moment as he walked off. A smile
519.1778 +slowly spread across her lips and she ran over and gave him a hug
519.1779 +from behind, bells jingling all the while. Kero pulled a pillow over
519.1780 +his head to muffle the noise. “Arigato, Onii-chan!!” 
519.1781 +	Using the Silent to get downstairs without the bells waking up her
519.1782 +father, Sakura quickly made her way outside. With a few words, she
519.1783 +was flying through the air to Tomoyo’s house. 
519.1784 +
519.1785 +	Landing in front of the large mansion that Tomoyo lived in with her
519.1786 +mother, Sakura paused before the large door. She hadn’t called
519.1787 +beforehand and it was probably too early for Tomoyo or her mother to
519.1788 +be awake. Maybe she should have waited until.. But before she could
519.1789 +finish her thought, the door sprung open. Tomoyo stood before Sakura
519.1790 +in the party dress she had seen her in the night before, clutching
519.1791 +her camcorder in her hand with a sparkle in her eyes. Sakura had a
519.1792 +moment to realize that Tomoyo hadn’t changed into her nightgown the
519.1793 +night before because her mother had carried her off to bed. 
519.1794 +	“Oh, Sakura-chan, it was so cute! I caught it all on videotape! It
519.1795 +was like a beautiful Christmas wish come true. Sakura-chan the
519.1796 +reindeer, flying across the sky in her hurry to bring Christmas joy.”
519.1797 +Tomoyo sighed extravagantly, her free hand on her cheek. “All you
519.1798 +needed was a cute little sleigh behind you and it would have been
519.1799 +perfect.” Her hand went under her chin thoughtfully as her gentle
519.1800 +smile settled in on her still ecstatic features.
519.1801 +	Blushing deeply, Sakura looked down. She hadn’t quite realized how
519.1802 +Tomoyo would react to her arrival this way. She should be used to it
519.1803 +by now. Part of her wanted to know how Tomoyo had gotten it all on
519.1804 +tape when she hadn’t known she was coming, but it hardly seemed
519.1805 +important. She smiled herself, glad to see Tomoyo with sparkles in
519.1806 +her eyes instead of the tears she had shed the night before. Sakura
519.1807 +lunged forward, hugging Tomoyo tightly. Her heart was overjoyed to
519.1808 +see Tomoyo again, to feel Tomoyo again, to smell her sweet scent all
519.1809 +over again. It was almost too good to be true. 
519.1810 +	Surprised for a brief moment, Tomoyo wrapped her own arms around
519.1811 +Sakura, gently rubbing her back as she hugged the brunette. She had
519.1812 +been thrilled to see Sakura on Christmas morning, showing up right at
519.1813 +her door like Santa’s cutest reindeer. The pain of the night before
519.1814 +faded into obscurity in Sakura’s warm embrace, driving back
519.1815 +everything but the love in her heart for the Cardmistress. “I’m so
519.1816 +glad to see you, Sakura-chan. I was thinking about you a lot last
519.1817 +night.”
519.1818 +	Sakura bit her lip as she pulled back slightly, startling Tomoyo
519.1819 +with her sudden change of behavior. “I know,” she whispered sadly.
519.1820 +Her emerald eyes flashed with determination as she smiled once again.
519.1821 +“But you’ll never have to think of me that way again. I promise.”
519.1822 +	Tomoyo continued to smile, but she was a bit puzzled by what Sakura
519.1823 +had meant. She merely took Sakura’s hands and led her inside. “Please
519.1824 +come in, Sakura-chan. There’s a nice fire going and my favorite
519.1825 +reindeer shouldn’t have to stay in the cold.” Sakura followed
519.1826 +obediently as Tomoyo led the way. They finally stopped in the same
519.1827 +room Tomoyo had occupied the night before, the large Christmas tree
519.1828 +still flashing it’s lights in wondrous patterns, a large fire blazing
519.1829 +in a fireplace adorned with two stockings. Tomoyo gently sat Sakura
519.1830 +down with her hands on her shoulders in front of the fire. There was
519.1831 +mistletoe hanging just about every conceivable place. Kneeling down
519.1832 +herself, Tomoyo smoothed out her skirt. “This is a wonderful
519.1833 +Christmas gift, Sakura-chan. Its so wonderful to see you.”
519.1834 +	The room looked much warmer and comforting in the early morning
519.1835 +light and it helped to soothe Sakura’s spirits as the memories of
519.1836 +Tomoyo crying on the couch the night before pushed at the back of her
519.1837 +mind. Her emerald eyes looked over shyly but determinedly at Tomoyo.
519.1838 +“Well, that’s not really my present, Tomoyo-chan. Could you open the
519.1839 +present I gave you yesterday? I have something I want to say along
519.1840 +with it.” She blushed a bit, her hand going behind her head
519.1841 +nervously. But her nervousness slowly dissipated as Tomoyo’s gentle
519.1842 +smile and nod calmed her. Her heart began to beat steadily again as
519.1843 +Tomoyo hurried over to the gifts under the tree, gracefully picking
519.1844 +up the gift she had received from Sakura the day before, having gone
519.1845 +straight to it.
519.1846 +	Anticipation filled the air as Tomoyo walked back over to Sakura’s
519.1847 +side, slowly sitting down next to her once more. Her mind wasn’t
519.1848 +focussed on what it could be, but simply that it was from Sakura.
519.1849 +That alone was enough to make it a wonderful Christmas present
519.1850 +indeed. She would have to find someway to repay Sakura with all her
519.1851 +heart for whatever the gift may be. Noticing that Sakura herself was
519.1852 +getting anxious, she decided to spare the poor brunette and began to
519.1853 +unwrap the present. To he shock and delight, it was the same angel
519.1854 +doll that she had seen Sakura pick up at the Twin Bells shop only a
519.1855 +day prior. “Sakura-chan, it’s gorgeous.. A beautiful angel from
519.1856 +Sakura-chan..” She watched it closely for a long moment, admiring the
519.1857 +beautiful gift her friend had given her. She hugged it tightly,
519.1858 +closing her eyes as she did. “It’s beautiful. But Sakura-chan, wasn’t
519.1859 +it for Li-kun?” Tomoyo’s eyes opened curiously, her dark hair
519.1860 +fluttering about as she turned her gaze once more to Sakura.
519.1861 +	Sakura shook her head quickly. “I only said that so it would be a
519.1862 +surprise. I got him a present a while back. When I saw it, I thought
519.1863 +‘That’s the perfect gift for Tomoyo-chan. She’s just like an angel,
519.1864 +so she’ll take great care of it.’” She smiled at the pale girl,
519.1865 +thrilled to see Tomoyo still delightfully holding the angel doll. To
519.1866 +her surprise, there were tears in Tomoyo’s eyes as well. They weren’t
519.1867 +the same bitter tears she had seen the night before, but joyous,
519.1868 +happy tears that threatened to consume the dark haired girl in what
519.1869 +amounted to utter bliss. 
519.1870 +	“It is perfect. Nearly as perfect as you. Thank you so very much,
519.1871 +Sakura-chan. I will treasure it always,” Tomoyo promised brightly,
519.1872 +her sweet lips turned into a gorgeous smile. This had to be the
519.1873 +single greatest Christmas she had ever had. Not only was she spending
519.1874 +the morning with Sakura, but to receive such a gift from her.. It was
519.1875 +like the brightest of dreams. 
519.1876 +	Brushing back her hair, Sakura met Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes with
519.1877 +her own emerald green ones. “But I was wrong. It’s not the perfect
519.1878 +gift for Tomoyo-chan. There’s one thing that could be better. One
519.1879 +thing that I can give to you that I hope can make up for everything.
519.1880 +A present that I didn’t even realize I had to give until last night.”
519.1881 +Swallowing deeply to keep her nerves in check, Sakura leaned forward
519.1882 +and kissed Tomoyo. The dark haired girl was surprised for only a
519.1883 +fraction of a second before she melted into Sakura’s kiss, kissing
519.1884 +back with a gentle yet intense fervor that left Sakura a little
519.1885 +shaken when she finally pulled away. Tomoyo was sitting next to her
519.1886 +with her bright, all knowing indigo eyes, a radiant smile on her
519.1887 +lips. The kiss had been small, but world shaking. Tomoyo simply
519.1888 +beamed in a light that seemed to burn from her heart. Sakura
519.1889 +surprised herself when she leaned in for a second kiss. Tomoyo’s lips
519.1890 +were splendidly soft, coaxing her own lips open into a deeper, more
519.1891 +drawn out kiss that left both girls breathless. “Tomoyo-chan.. I love
519.1892 +you,” Sakura said as she finally caught her breath.  She realized
519.1893 +that her hand was in Tomoyo’s hair and that their noses were pressed
519.1894 +together, Tomoyo’s hands both on her cheeks. 
519.1895 +	This time tears did spill from Tomoyo’s stormy eyes, dripping onto
519.1896 +Sakura’s cheeks as they made their path slowly downward. Those were
519.1897 +the most beautiful words Tomoyo had ever heard and she knew that they
519.1898 +were words that she could never possibly grow tired of hearing.
519.1899 +“Sakura-chan... My Sakura-chan..” she whispered softly in her musical
519.1900 +voice. “I love you so much.” Her lips lightly brushed Sakura’s again
519.1901 +as she gingerly pulled Sakura closer. Her eyes slipped closed, tears
519.1902 +still falling from them as they kissed again and again under the
519.1903 +mistletoe.
519.1904 +
519.1905 +	Years and years later, Sakura decorated a Christmas wreath with a
519.1906 +young dark haired girl with indigo eyes. The two held hands as they
519.1907 +walked along beautiful green grass under a frosty blue sky. Sakura
519.1908 +smiled as she reached her destination. She gently set down the
519.1909 +Christmas wreath in front of the tombstone. It read:
519.1910 +
519.1911 +‘Tomoyo Daidouji-Kinomoto
519.1912 +Loving wife and devoted mother. Even death can’t keep us apart.
519.1913 +Please watch over us, my beautiful angel.’
519.1914 +
519.1915 +	Sakura’s fingers lightly brushed over the inscription and the name.
519.1916 +A small tear fell unnoticed down her cheek, but a smile formed across
519.1917 +her lips. She placed a small present decorated with sakura blossoms
519.1918 +next to the tombstone.
519.1919 +The little girl placed her own present next to the tombstone before
519.1920 +taking Sakura’s hand again. “Merry Christmas, mama!” the girl said to
519.1921 +the tombstone, placing a small hand on it for a moment.
519.1922 +Sakura squeezed her daughter’s hand, her eyes still focussed on the
519.1923 +tombstone in front of her. She could almost feel Tomoyo’s soft
519.1924 +fingers brush past her cheek comfortingly. Her eyes fell closed and
519.1925 +she could swear that she could almost smell Tomoyo, could almost feel
519.1926 +the way her fingers would gently brush against her skin. “I love you,
519.1927 +Tomoyo. Merry Christmas.” 
519.1928 + 
519.1929 \ No newline at end of file

   520.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   520.2 +++ b/stories/yetheaven.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
   520.3 @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
   520.4 +Your friendly neighborhood Saturn Knight here again. I got a little better response to “Star Crossed,” so, this is the follow up to it. This story, and plot idea, are courtesy of Silver Angel Mako. And of course, dedicated to her. Oh, and be on the look out for part 3 coming whenever I have the muse. Enjoy.
   520.5 +
   520.6 +
   520.7 +“And yet by Heaven.”
   520.8 +
   520.9 +
  520.10 +	As the sun broke the clouds, shining it’s caressing rays down on the earth below, and as the birds began to call in gratitude to the life giving warmth, Tomoe Hotaru opened her eyes. A long inhale followed, as well as a deep stretch, but the apex of her motion offered her a sharp jolt of pain from her mistreated appendage. Gingerly sitting up, careful to be as silent as she could to avoid waking Chibi-Usa who was laying asleep next to her, the raven haired girl unwrapped the ACE-bandage she wore as a temporary brace. Her movements were very slow and deliberate, the increasing amount of slack curled up in her moving palm while the alligator clips were held firmly between her teeth. Those things always walked away when you weren’t looking.
  520.11 +	What lay beneath drew a low, regretful sigh from the girl as she viewed the damage she’d done in her fit of anger. “At least it was to myself...” Hotaru thought while a perfect finger traced the deeply bruised flesh that had swollen by at least half it’s original size. “I hope it’s not broken...” Her thoughts continued as she turned her hand to inspect the rest of the injury. Finding no obvious bumps, other than swelling, that would indicate a bone displaced and against the muscle and skin, it appeared to be just muscle injury. Deciding to wrap the injured limb once more to avoid aggravating the already painful limb, Hotaru leaned her back against Chibi-Usa’s headboard and began to concentrate on the task at hand.
  520.12 +	The movement caused the blanket wrapped, lightly snoring girl beside Hotaru to stir. Realizing this, Hotaru’s motions quickly ceased until she heard steady breathing coming from beneath the mound of bedding to her side. Once she was satisfied that Chibi was asleep, she resumed wrapping her arm as best the circumstances would allow. Just as Hotaru had placed the second alligator clip onto the end of the bandage, something caught her attention. She couldn’t remember some of the previous night.
  520.13 +	Did she have a seizure? No... that wasn’t it. Besides her wrist, she wasn’t in any kind of pain that results from her condition. She’d have to ask Chibi when she woke up what happened. Turning her eyes down to the bed beside her, something else struck Hotaru as odd. Normally, she would sleep on the floor beside the other girl’s bed and often get very little sleep because of it. But now, she felt rested and comfortable not achy and groggy from tossing and turning. Why was she in Chibi’s bed?
  520.14 +	Hotaru would get her answer faster than she thought, since not too long after she began to wonder about her peculiar placement, the only one who could tell her what happened awoke. A yawn issued from the bed-lump, followed by a low groan and a mumbling that Hotaru couldn’t understand. This drew a set of violet irises down onto the blanket covered body, and even though Hotaru wanted to keep Chibi comfortable and let her rest, the missing time in her mind drove the conscious girl to lightly shake at the sleeping one.
  520.15 +	A groan of protest followed, a hand pushing back at Hotaru’s to remove it from the groggy body. “Chibi-Usa....” came the dark haired girl’s soft plea, then came another shake of her friend, this time Chibi’s eyes opened and though squinted with sleep and from the attack from the sun, they viewed Hotaru.
  520.16 +	“What’s wrong?” Came the worried reply, expecting something to be awry since Hotaru always let her sleep as late as she wanted. Strands of pink hair were glued by the pressure of a head on a pillow, creases from the same phenomenon also appeared on Chibi’s face. As the sheets were pushed away by a small, pink-nailed hand, the smaller girl’s bunny print pajamas were revealed to the world as their owner sat up and looked the more coherent girl over for injury or distress.
  520.17 +	“Nothing...” Hotaru said first, to help calm her friend’s nerves, as she could sense the anxiousness. The view of Chibi’s sleeping clothes caught Hotaru’s attention, causing to look down to see what she was wearing. She was in her nightgown. That made Hotaru wonder, as she didn’t remember changing, and as her uninjured appendage reached for the small bit of lace that adorned the front collar of the simple black-cloth gown. “Chibi...” This was starting to worry her, since if she was starting to black out again.... “What happened last night....? How did I get in my nightgown and on your bed...?”
  520.18 +	Hotaru’s answer would have to wait, however, since Chibi was already squirming out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. Not wanting to wait, Hotaru stood as well, though her legs were a little shaky as she’d not used them for hours, and made her way over to her overnight bag that was sitting upon Chibi’s dresser. Only having one hand to work with, the slender digits worked open the zipper and pulled out her medicine box. It was full of bottles, measuring devices, tubes, canisters, even a syringe or two sealed tightly in a protective box with bright red markings speaking of emergency use only.
  520.19 +	Seeing the bottle she was looking for, she retrieved it from the rest of the medications and manipulated as best she could with one hand until it opened. Pouring the pills out onto the dresser, she quickly counted them by twos and put them back in the bottle. None were missing, so she didn’t need to take any after a seizure. She had almost been hoping it was that, since that was an already known condition and was more or less benign if she had someone around to help her through it.  Sighing quietly, the girl returned the bottle to the medicine box and the box to her bag. No sooner had she zipped it up than a groggy Chibi-Usa shuffled her way into the room and back to the bed where instead of laying down again, as usual, she sat. “Chibi? What happened...?” Hotaru couldn’t wait anymore. She had to know if her blackouts were returning.
  520.20 +	“Eh? Oh...” the red irised girl yawned and began speaking through her yawn, but realizing Hotaru couldn’t understand her began again once it had passed. “Well... after you hurt your hand...” Chibi’s face soon masked with guilt, feeling it was her fault for the damage done to Hotaru’s body, “You... you told me that you loved me, and....” Though the guilt was almost overwhelming, the knowledge that her best friend was in love with her broke through the sadness and brought a smile to her face, which increased after she saw Hotaru’s faint blush. “And....and I told you that I loved you too...” This kind of made Chibi-Usa squirm, the bunnies on the pajamas seeming to be doing a little dance from the sheer amount of fidgeting that Chibi was doing, “Then you kinda looked at me happy before you... umm....”
  520.21 +	“Before I....?” The suspense of what happened was starting to gnaw harder at Hotaru. Black-outs were never a good thing with anyone, but with Hotaru’s history they could be catastrophic.
  520.22 +	“You kinda fainted...” Chibi answered after a moment’s silence, having no real way to phrase it differently. “You looked up at me and smiled, then your eyes rolled back in your head and you plopped down on my bed.” The nervous smile on her face and the fidgeting stopped, the once squirming young girl growing serious, “You really scared me... I ran and got Usagi, but she just said you fainted and it’d be ok when you woke up, so just to get you into bed...” The way Chibi-Usa led off made her friend believe she wasn’t getting the whole story. It explained why she was in the bed, but not how she got changed.
  520.23 +	“How did I....?” Hotaru didn’t need to finish the thought, the direction of her eyes down to view her nightgown said everything. The thought of Usagi, or worse someone else, seeing her undressed to put on her nightclothes mortified the pale girl, causing her to cover her face with her hands. It caused a jolt of pain in the injured limb, making her bite her bottom lip to avoid letting out any kind of sound.
  520.24 +	“Oh. That’s.. Umm...” More stuttering from the bunny-clad runt while she looked for a way to answer Hotaru without further pushing the embarrassment she was clearly already feeling, “I kind of had to put you in it.” Feeling she needed to explain herself, lest she invoke an unfavorable reaction from the already fiercely blushing girl, she very quickly added, “Your tights were dirty and you were still in your big sweater and your skirt was kinda dusty too and your shoes were still on and the sheets were clean and I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable and I didn’t think you’d want to sleep in your clothes anyway it’d be too hot under the covers and you’d get caught on them when you sleep and...” Having to pause to draw a long breath, not realizing she rambled such a long sentence. Before she could continue, she caught Hotaru’s eyes peeking at her through her fingers.
  520.25 +	“You did it...?” Came the muffled question, the words silenced both by Hotaru’s hands and the ACE bandage that faithfully, albeit a little sloppily, acted as the brace that kept her from too much
  520.26 +aggravation to the injury.
  520.27 +	“Yeah...” The soft reply was offered, a set of red irises viewing their owners bare feet. “I just thought...” She didn’t have the chance to finish since the other girl’s uninjured hand softly set itself on her shoulder.
  520.28 +	“Thank you. I wouldn’t have slept very well.” The hand slid down Chibi’s shoulder to her back where it was pressed to pull the smaller one’s body into Hotaru’s for a quick hug. “I’m just glad I only fainted... I... I don’t want to think about what would have happened if...” A sharp chill ran down Hotaru’s spine, her eyes tightly clenched shut,  a pronounced shudder soon following. There was no need to finish the thought, they both knew full well what could have happened. A comforting hand was placed against her cheek, causing her to open her eyes and view Chibi looking up at her.
  520.29 +	“It’s ok now.. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” It wasn’t simply words of comforting Chibi was voicing, but something stronger. An oath. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you... I promise.”
  520.30 +
  520.31 +	A quick trip to the doctor landed Hotaru in both a sling and a rigid brace. The sling itself was made out of a black cloth body which covered both sides of the arm completely over the hand. It also covered the majority of Hotaru’s chest, though it was only her right hand that was damaged. The ends of the cloth were covered in the same black canvas as the padded strap was, to make the seams stronger. An unusual color choice, the doctor had noted, since most girls her age chose brighter, more cheerful colors. He didn’t know Hotaru very well.
  520.32 +	On the quiet car ride home, Haruka doing the driving, the young girl stared down at the new devices with a bit of distaste. She’d have to learn to be more careful. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. Anger had always been a normal part of her life, just as was with anyone, but the sheer ferocity of her jealousy shocked her. It also made her feel a little guilty, and even ashamed, of the negative and selfishness of her emotions. Hotaru’s violet stare looked past the faint reflection of herself in the glass to the sky above. A few, wispy white clouds were strung randomly through the sky, offering a bit of reprieve from the sun’s well meaning, though sometimes overbearing rays.
  520.33 +	“At least it matches your clothes,” Chibi quietly whispered to her from the seat beside her, a slender finger extending to trace along the end of the sling’s strap.  The sudden sound of a voice in the quiet of the car caused Hotaru to turn her head toward the one next to her. Chibi was trying to make Hotaru feel better, and make it not seem so bad, though it was having very little effect on her or Haruka. The statement got nothing more than weak smile and a nod before the melancholy gaze found it’s way once more up into the heavens.
  520.34 +	Haruka’s own eyes viewed the pair through the rear view mirror as they came to a slow halt at a stop-light. She was too worried about Hotaru’s condition to see the way Chibi-Usa was staring at her adopted daughter. The woman was more troubled than she let on, not wanting to get them concerned with her own feelings when Hotaru obviously had a lot to deal with.
  520.35 +	“Whaddaya wanna do when we get home?” A soft voice asked the distracted Hotaru, though only a shrug was it’s reply, but she didn’t give up. “Oh.... you sure you’re doing ok?” This time, it got nothing. Did Hotaru ignore her? No... Chibi didn’t believe that was it, she couldn’t fathom that happening. Not after what has gone on in the past few days. Plus, Hotaru seemed ok that morning whey they had been talking. “Hotaru?”
  520.36 +	“Hm?” Came the response, more out of reflex of hearing her name than a conscious decision, but at least it was something. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” Now, she was talking. That was more like it.
  520.37 +	“I asked what you if you were ok, but you didn’t answer me... what’s wrong?” A worried Chibi-Usa looked at her friend with a growing concern.
  520.38 +	“I’m just a little out of it... the stuff they gave me when they did my arm made me a little groggy...” It was the truth, of course, but it wasn’t the whole truth. She didn’t want to tell Chibi that she felt that she’d never be good enough for her. That she’d never be able to be what she needed, or even wanted, in the long run. What if fate had something different in store for them? What if she was meant to be with Helios and there wasn’t anything either of them could do about it. The sigh and head shake Hotaru offers next catches both Chibi-Usa and her adoptive father off guard.
  520.39 +	It was starting to trouble Haruka even more. Why was her daughter suddenly acting out? And so violently? It wasn’t like Hotaru to do something like that...it was more like Miss-
  520.40 +	A loud honk of a horn tore Haruka’s mind from the clouds and returned it to the driver’s seat of the car, her foot instinctively moving from the brake to the accelerator. As they once more began to roll along the streets of the city, a set of eyes watched them from afar.
  520.41 +
  520.42 +	Back into her room. Sanctuary. The dark drapes over the windows kept the vast majority of the light from ever seeing the interior of her room. As the two young girls entered the bedroom, it’s owner turned on a few lamps to illuminate the darkness. Slumping afterward into a chair in front of her desk, a large amount of thick books atop the latter, Hotaru’s good hand covered her face. She would have to talk about it soon, or she was going to explode.
  520.43 +	Haruka’s voice soon was heard from outside the door, which was open, saying something about going out. Hotaru didn’t really hear most of it, though she did catch Chibi’s answer of “See you later then.” More talk followed, none of it the quiet girl listened to. A hand on her knee caught her attention and she looked up. Haruka was gone. A quick shake of her head cleared the cobwebs and returned her to a semi-normal state. She didn’t even realize the tears that had been flowing for some time down her cheeks. Apparently, neither did Chibi-Usa, since she seemed shocked to view Hotaru’s tear stained face. Indeed, she’d been crying long enough to have wet the collar of her sweater..
  520.44 +	“What’s wrong?” It seemed like Chibi was saying that very often recently, and didn’t expect to have an answer given. Never hurt to try.
  520.45 +	“I...” Hotaru herself didn’t even understand what was happening to her. “I...” It was now or never, “Do you think we’ve made a mistake?” The statement found it’s way from her lips before she could even think about how to phrase it, or even know what she said. The pair of red irises on her averted towards the dark carpeting on the floor.
  520.46 +	“Do you really think that...?” Chibi sounded beyond hurt. After all that happened the night before, how could she say that? She refused to believe what Hotaru was saying was really what she thought was true. It couldn’t be.
  520.47 +	“I... I don’t know. It’s...” Hotaru paused to consider how to continue, the tears still flowing down her cheeks, unheeded. “I... I want to believe that we’re meant to be together, but what’s going to happen when someone needs to take your place, like you’ll take Usagi’s? An heir.” It terrified Hotaru to think that because of her the Moon Kingdom would be without a ruler.
  520.48 +	“Maybe the klutz and dad’ll have another one and that one will have a kid too. Then I’m off the hook.” Chibi’s pink brow raised in thought, seeing a very easy way out of this. She trusted that Usagi and Mamoru wouldn’t exactly quit after she was born. “Besides... what if this is the way it’s supposed to happen? Maybe we’re supposed to be together ‘cus if they do have another one, maybe that one’s gonna be the better queen?” It did make sense, that if fate was truly working here this may be the route it planned to take. “We did meet for a reason, ‘Taru.” This shortening of her name got a look from Hotaru. She’d never heard Chibi call her that before...Was it a pet name? Was she just trying to make her feel better?
  520.49 +	“Maybe you’re right.... I... I guess it’s possible too. I mean... when I told you, it was almost as if I didn’t have a choice but to let you know how I felt...” The doubt in Hotaru’s mind slowly began to fade, partially because it did seem to make sense, but more so because she wanted to believe it. Her uninjured hand reached out to set itself atop Chibi’s, which rested on her knee. The smooth, warm feel of her friend’s skin made her feel much better. The red irises which stared at Hotaru looked on her with complete adoration and love. Noticing this look, Hotaru averted her gaze, sheepish, with a soft blush to her tear streaked face. At least they’d stopped flowing.
  520.50 +	“Do I embarrass you?” Chibi asked quietly, not changing the loving gaze, instead leaning a little closer so her chin rested on Hotaru’s knee.
  520.51 +	“No...” comes the answer, “It... it’s the way you used to look at Helios...” Her heart fluttered in her chest, this was real. This wasn’t just an ambiguous look, or a long hug that she could convince herself was a sign of a greater affection. This was love. Though her blush grew in intensity, she returned her eyes to view the other girl directly. She couldn’t help but burst into giggles. The sound was music to Chibi’s ears, now knowing Hotaru was ok.
  520.52 +	“I do love you Hotaru... very, very much...” said a grinning Chibi-Usa as she looked up at her love, but had a question. “Umm... ‘Taru? Does this make us... a couple?” It was her turn to blush and turn her head away. A few moments of silence followed, but the pink haired girl soon felt a soft hand gently coaxing her chin up so her eyes would once more meet Hotaru’s.
  520.53 +	“It makes us anything we want to be... you’ll always be my best friend, no matter what we become...” The smooth, velvety feel of Hotaru’s palm and fingers ran over her friend’s cheek, their owner delighting in the way it caused Chibi’s eyes to close. “I want to be... if you do...”
  520.54 +	“Mm....hmm....” The answer had a pause between syllables, as Chibi was very distracted by the feel of the fingers on her face to do much in the way of coherent thoughts, much less speech. Her face grew warmer under Hotaru’s fingers, the blush increasing the temperature of her skin.
  520.55 +	“Ok....” Hotaru whispered very quietly, her hand ceasing it’s motion along Chibi-Usa’s cheek, cupping the warmth affectionately. ‘My girlfriend...’ The raven-haired girl thought to herself, never believing she’d be able to say that with complete honesty and accuracy. Not an illusion of her own mind. Not something she tortured herself with, the thought so longed for, so close, but not something she ever thought she could have. The smile that spread across her face was that of pure joy, her heart pounding in her chest so hard she feared it would leap out. And if it did, that was fine with her.
  520.56 +
  520.57 +She had what she’d always wanted.
  520.58 +
  520.59 +She could die right then and there.
  520.60 +
  520.61 +She’d already found heaven.

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 521.225 
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 521.227 
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 521.231 
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 521.245 
 521.246 +</TR></TABLE>
 521.247 
 521.248 +<!-- MN Navi 1.0 End -->
 521.249 
 521.250 +</div>
 521.251 
 521.252 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
 521.253 
 521.254 +left: 0; width: 278; height:321">
 521.255 
 521.256 +<img src="http://www.moonlitnights.org/submit_toheart-header.gif" width=278 height=321>
 521.257 
 521.258 +</div>
 521.259 
 521.260 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 521.261 
 521.262 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
 521.263 
 521.264 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
 521.265 
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 521.268 +<tr>
 521.269 
 521.270 +<td><img src="http://www.moonlitnights.org/small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
 521.271 
 521.272 +</tr><tr>
 521.273 
 521.274 +<td background="http://www.moonlitnights.org/table-bg.jpg">
 521.275 
 521.276 +Welcome to the Submissions page! Here you can find 
 521.277 
 521.278 +(pretty much) everything you might need to know 
 521.279 
 521.280 +to submit a story to <i>Moonlit Nights</i>. If you 
 521.281 
 521.282 +have any questions that aren't here, please <a href=
 521.283 
 521.284 +"http://www.moonlitnights.org/staff.php">contact</a> 
 521.285 
 521.286 +me and I'll be happy to answer.
 521.287 
 521.288 +</td></tr>
 521.289 
 521.290 +<tr><td><img src="http://www.moonlitnights.org/small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
 521.291 
 521.292 +</tr>
 521.293 
 521.294 +</table></div>
 521.295 
 521.296 +
 521.297 
 521.298 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 521.299 
 521.300 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
 521.301 
 521.302 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
 521.303 
 521.304 +<tr><td><img src="http://www.moonlitnights.org/large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
 521.305 
 521.306 +<td background="http://www.moonlitnights.org/table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
 521.307 
 521.308 +<b>Submission Policy</b>
 521.309 
 521.310 +<p>Stories submitted to Moonlit Nights should be 
 521.311 
 521.312 +formatted by the author prior to submission. While 
 521.313 
 521.314 +every story will be considered and read through 
 521.315 
 521.316 +for posting on the website, it does help if you 
 521.317 
 521.318 +ensure that your story is well-written and applies 
 521.319 
 521.320 +to the themes of this website (cute, anime, school-
 521.321 
 521.322 +girl couple is a good start. Shoujo-ai is close. 
 521.323 
 521.324 +Touya and Sakura is a big "no"). While I would prefer 
 521.325 
 521.326 +stories to be submitted in standard txt format, I 
 521.327 
 521.328 +will accept other formats (.doc, .html, and maybe a 
 521.329 
 521.330 +few others) via e-mail. If you do submit in these 
 521.331 
 521.332 +formats, though, keep in mind that the formatting 
 521.333 
 521.334 +will not look the same as when you sent it.</p>
 521.335 
 521.336 +
 521.337 
 521.338 +<p>Now that we've gotten that out of the way, you 
 521.339 
 521.340 +have a few choices. You can send via e-mail, or 
 521.341 
 521.342 +there's the faster way where you can upload your 
 521.343 
 521.344 +story directly to the site. Uploading is easier and 
 521.345 
 521.346 +faster for pretty much everyone, so if your story is 
 521.347 
 521.348 +in txt format and less than 80KB, that's what I'd 
 521.349 
 521.350 +prefer. Regardless of what format you use, please 
 521.351 
 521.352 +make sure you include the title of the story, your 
 521.353 
 521.354 +name (or whatever you want to be listed under), 
 521.355 
 521.356 +and your e-mail address. A short description of the 
 521.357 
 521.358 +story couldn't hurt either.</p>
 521.359 
 521.360 +
 521.361 
 521.362 +<p><a href="mailto:cloud_strife_952@yahoo.com">E-mail 
 521.363 
 521.364 +Cloud</a> -- <a href="maianuploader.php">Upload Your 
 521.365 
 521.366 +Story</a></p>
 521.367 
 521.368 +</div></td>
 521.369 
 521.370 +</tr>
 521.371 
 521.372 +<tr><td><img src="http://www.moonlitnights.org/large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
 521.373 
 521.374 +</tr>
 521.375 
 521.376 +</TABLE>
 521.377 
 521.378 +</div>
 521.379 
 521.380 +
 521.381 
 521.382 +</body>
 521.383 
 521.384 +
 521.385 
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   522.4 +<b>Template Error:</b> set_root: /hsphere/local/home/jremnet/moonlitnights.org/submit/templates/ is not a directory.<br>
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 527.126 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 0;
 527.127 +left: 0; width: 300; height:321">
 527.128 +<img src="sakutomo-header2.gif" width=300 height=321>
 527.129 +</div>
 527.130 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 527.131 +left: 0; width: 255; height:383">
 527.132 +<table cellpadding="0" width="255" style="border-collapse: collapse"
 527.133 +bordercolor="000000" border="0">
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 527.135 +<td><img src="small-win_top2.jpg"></td>
 527.136 +</tr><tr>
 527.137 +<td background="table-bg.jpg">Hello, and welcome to one of the 
 527.138 +biggest pages on the site, the Tomoyo and Sakura section. This 
 527.139 +is where the stories about Sakura and Tomoyo (from the Japanese 
 527.140 +anime/manga "CardCaptor Sakura") can be found. There are a few 
 527.141 +instances where a couple aside from those two appear, but this 
 527.142 +isn't all too common and done because it's been found to meet 
 527.143 +the standards and was a (in my opinion, at least) good enough 
 527.144 +story.
 527.145 +<p>
 527.146 +!H! = Hentai<p>
 527.147 +<img src="sakura-new.gif"> = New</td>
 527.148 +</tr>
 527.149 +<tr><td><img src="small-win_btm2.jpg"></td>
 527.150 +</tr>
 527.151 +</table></div>
 527.152 +
 527.153 +<div style="position: absolute; top: 400;
 527.154 +right: 95; width: 255; height:100">
 527.155 +<table border="0" width="400" height="100" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="000000">
 527.156 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_top.jpg"></td></tr><tr>
 527.157 +<td background="table-bg.jpg"><div align="center">
 527.158 +
 527.159 +<a href="stories/althea.txt"
 527.160 +target="_blank">So Much Easier</a> Althea K.<br>
 527.161 +<a href="stories/althea2.txt"
 527.162 +target="_blank">Why?</a> Althea K.<br>
 527.163 +<a href="stories/ccs-ql.txt"
 527.164 +target="_blank">Across The Distance</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.165 +<a href="stories/xmas-carol.txt" target="_blank">All I Want For Christmas 
 527.166 +Is You</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.167 +<a href="stories/Bara.txt" target="_blank">Be My Teddy Bear</a> Amazoness 
 527.168 +Duo<br>
 527.169 +
 527.170 +!H!<a href="stories/ccsakutomo.txt"
 527.171 +target="_blank">Candid 
 527.172 +
 527.173 +        Camera</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.174 +
 527.175 +<p><a href="stories/CCN0.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 0</a> 
 527.176 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.177 +<a href="stories/CCN1.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 1</a> 
 527.178 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.179 +<a href="stories/CCN2.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 2</a> 
 527.180 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.181 +<a href="stories/CCN3.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 3</a> 
 527.182 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.183 +<a href="stories/CCN4.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 4</a> 
 527.184 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.185 +<a href="stories/CCN5.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 5</a> 
 527.186 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.187 +<a href="stories/CCN6Sword.txt" target="_blank">Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 6</a> 
 527.188 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.189 +<a href="stories/CCN7Ieraninclasslatest.txt" target="_blank">
 527.190 +Cardcaptor Nadeshiko Chapter 7</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.</p>
 527.191 +
 527.192 +<p>
 527.193 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-00.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Authors'
 527.194 +Notes</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.195 +
 527.196 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-01.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 01</a> 
 527.197 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.198 +
 527.199 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-02.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 02</a> 
 527.200 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.201 +
 527.202 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-03.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 03</a> 
 527.203 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.204 +
 527.205 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-04.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 04</a> 
 527.206 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.207 +
 527.208 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-05.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 05</a> 
 527.209 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.210 +
 527.211 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-06.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 06</a> 
 527.212 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.213 +
 527.214 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-07.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 07</a> 
 527.215 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.216 +
 527.217 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-08.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 08</a> 
 527.218 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.219 +
 527.220 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-09.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 09</a> 
 527.221 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.222 +
 527.223 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-10.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 10</a> 
 527.224 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.225 +
 527.226 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-11.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 11</a> 
 527.227 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.228 +
 527.229 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-12.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 12</a> 
 527.230 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.231 +
 527.232 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-13.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 13</a> 
 527.233 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.234 +
 527.235 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-14.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 14</a> 
 527.236 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.237 +
 527.238 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-15.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 15</a> 
 527.239 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.240 +
 527.241 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-16.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 16</a> 
 527.242 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.243 +
 527.244 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-17.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 17</a> 
 527.245 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.246 +
 527.247 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-18.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 18</a> 
 527.248 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.249 +
 527.250 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-19.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 19</a> 
 527.251 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.252 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-20.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 20</a> 
 527.253 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.254 +
 527.255 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-21.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 21</a> 
 527.256 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.257 +
 527.258 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-22.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 22</a> 
 527.259 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.260 +
 527.261 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-23.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 23</a> 
 527.262 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.263 +
 527.264 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-24.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 24</a> 
 527.265 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.266 +
 527.267 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-25.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 25</a> 
 527.268 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.269 +
 527.270 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-26.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 26</a> 
 527.271 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.272 +
 527.273 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-27.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 27</a> 
 527.274 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.275 +
 527.276 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-28.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 28</a> 
 527.277 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.278 +
 527.279 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-29.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 29</a> 
 527.280 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.281 +
 527.282 +<a href="stories/dearsakura-30.txt" target="_blank">Dear Sakura-Part 30</a> 
 527.283 +Amazoness Duo and G.P.</p>
 527.284 +
 527.285 +<a href="stories/ccs-destiny.txt" target="_blank">Don't Close Your Eyes</a> 
 527.286 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.287 +<a href="stories/dontmake.txt" target="_blank">Don't You Make Me Happy</a> 
 527.288 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.289 +
 527.290 +<a href="stories/CCSDreamspart1fnl.txt" target="_blank">Dreams</a> 
 527.291 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.292 +<a href="stories/dreams2.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 2</a> 
 527.293 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.294 +<a href="stories/dreams3.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 3</a>
 527.295 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.296 +<a href="stories/Dreams4.txt" target="_blank">Dreams 4</a>
 527.297 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.298 +<a href="stories/empty_coffin.txt" target="_blank">Empty Coffin</a>
 527.299 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.300 +
 527.301 +        <a href="stories/ccstomodfinl.txt" target="_blank">Fallen 
 527.302 +
 527.303 +        Horses</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.304 +
 527.305 +<a
 527.306 +href="stories/ccsadults.txt" target="_blank">Final Heaven</a> Amazoness
 527.307 +Duo<br>
 527.308 +<a href="stories/ccs-cinderella.txt" target="_blank">If The Shoe Fits</a> 
 527.309 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.310 +<a href="stories/nervousdepression.txt" target="_blank">I Love You, I Love
 527.311 +You Not</a> 
 527.312 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.313 +
 527.314 +<a href="stories/itry.txt" target="_blank">I Try</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.315 +<a href="stories/getaclueedit.txt" target="_blank">Kiss Your Tears Away</a> 
 527.316 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.317 +<p><a href="stories/CCScharity.txt" target="_blank">
 527.318 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 1</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.319 +<a href="stories/CCScharity_2.txt" target="_blank">
 527.320 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 2</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.321 +<a href="stories/CCScharity_3.txt" target="_blank">
 527.322 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 3</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.323 +<a href="stories/CCScharity_4.txt" target="_blank">
 527.324 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 4</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.<br>
 527.325 +<a href="stories/CCScharity_5.txt" target="_blank">
 527.326 +Learning To Fly: Chapter 5</a> Amazoness Duo and G.P.</p>
 527.327 +
 527.328 +<a href="stories/sonomi.txt" target="_blank">Lonely, Lonely Heart</a> 
 527.329 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.330 +
 527.331 +        <a href="stories/lovelies.txt" target="_blank">Love Lies 
 527.332 +
 527.333 +        Bleeding</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.334 +
 527.335 +<a href="stories/ccsxmas.txt" target="_blank">Sakura-chan is Coming to
 527.336 +Town</a> 
 527.337 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.338 +
 527.339 +        <a href="stories/sleepingbeauty.txt" target="_blank">Sleeping 
 527.340 +
 527.341 +        Beauty</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.342 +<a href="stories/callme.txt" target="_blank">Starry, Starry Night</a> 
 527.343 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.344 +
 527.345 +        <a href="stories/The-End.txt" target="_blank">The End</a> 
 527.346 +
 527.347 +        Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.348 +
 527.349 +        <a href="stories/thejealousycard.txt" target="_blank">The 
 527.350 +
 527.351 +        Jealousy Card</a> Amazoness Duo and Stirling Twilight<br>
 527.352 +
 527.353 +<a href="stories/Changecard.txt" target="_blank">The Shape of Things</a> 
 527.354 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.355 +
 527.356 +<a href="stories/ccs-whatis.txt" target="_blank">What Is Love</a> 
 527.357 +Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.358 +
 527.359 +        <a href="stories/sonominadeshiko.txt" target="_blank">Where 
 527.360 +
 527.361 +        Did You Go?</a> Amazoness Duo<br>
 527.362 +<a href="stories/ccs-sh_01.txt" target="_blank">Stolen Holiday</a>
 527.363 +Ametrine and Forever3330<br>
 527.364 +
 527.365 +        <a href="stories/DeceptionTruth.txt" target="_blank">Deception 
 527.366 +
 527.367 +        Brings Truth</a> Animeanie<br>
 527.368 +
 527.369 +        <a href="stories/truth-brings.txt" target="_blank">Truth 
 527.370 +
 527.371 +        Brings Change</a> Animeanie<br>
 527.372 +
 527.373 +<a href="stories/fate-love.txt" target="_blank">Her Fate And Her Love</a> 
 527.374 +Avenge X<br>
 527.375 +
 527.376 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs-icanhear.txt" target="_blank">I Can Hear You</a>
 527.377 + Buffy<br>
 527.378 +<a href="stories/ccs-painful.txt" target="_blank">Painful</a> Buffy<br>
 527.379 +
 527.380 +<a href="stories/temporary.txt" target="_blank">Temporary One</a> California
 527.381 +Dumount<br>
 527.382 +<p>!H!
 527.383 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch1.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: Taken</a> Capitalist<br>
 527.384 +!H!
 527.385 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch2.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: Desperate Chase</a> Capitalist<br>
 527.386 +!H!
 527.387 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch3.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: First Kiss</a> Capitalist<br>
 527.388 +!H!
 527.389 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch4.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: Training</a> Capitalist<br>
 527.390 +!H!
 527.391 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch5.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: Journey</a> Capitalist<br>
 527.392 +!H!
 527.393 +<a href="stories/ccs_psla-ch6.txt" target="_blank">Pleasure Slave: Auction</a> Capitalist</p>
 527.394 +        
 527.395 +<a href="stories/ccs-gift.txt" target="_blank">The Gift That 
 527.396 +
 527.397 +        Keeps On Giving</a> Catsy<br>
 527.398 +
 527.399 +        <a href="stories/ccs-nakunaku.txt" target="_blank">Ureshisou 
 527.400 +
 527.401 +        Ni Shinagara, Naka Nakunaku</a> Catsy<br>
 527.402 +
 527.403 +        <a href="stories/cera1.txt" target="_blank">Etai No Shirenai 
 527.404 +
 527.405 +        Ren'ai Kankei</a> Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.406 +
 527.407 +        <a href="stories/cera2.txt" target="_blank">Ren'ai Yuugi</a> 
 527.408 +
 527.409 +        Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.410 +
 527.411 +        <a href="stories/moving.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo's Moving 
 527.412 +
 527.413 +        On?</a> Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.414 +
 527.415 +        <a href="stories/letgo1.txt" target="_blank">Trying To Let 
 527.416 +
 527.417 +        Go 1</a> Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.418 +
 527.419 +        <a href="stories/letgo2.txt" target="_blank">Trying To Let 
 527.420 +
 527.421 +        Go 2</a> Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.422 +
 527.423 +        <a href="stories/whynotme.txt" target="_blank">Why Not Me?</a> 
 527.424 +
 527.425 +        Chibi Nuriko<br>
 527.426 +
 527.427 +        <a href="stories/ccs.txt" target="_blank">A Dance To Remember</a> 
 527.428 +
 527.429 +        Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.430 +
 527.431 +        <a href="stories/cameo.txt" target="_blank">Different Views</a> 
 527.432 +
 527.433 +        Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.434 +
 527.435 +        <a href="stories/sakura.txt" target="_blank">For The Love 
 527.436 +
 527.437 +        Of A Friend</a> Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.438 +
 527.439 +        <a href="stories/Hiddenfeelings.txt" target="_blank">Hidden 
 527.440 +
 527.441 +        Feelings</a> Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.442 +
 527.443 +        <a href="stories/ccs2.txt" target="_blank">How Things Really 
 527.444 +
 527.445 +        Are</a> Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.446 +
 527.447 +        <a href="stories/ccs-understanding.txt"
 527.448 +target="_blank">Understanding</a> 
 527.449 +
 527.450 +        Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.451 +
 527.452 +        !H!<a href="stories/thedream.txt" target="_blank">The Dream</a> 
 527.453 +
 527.454 +        Clayton Overstreet<br>
 527.455 +
 527.456 +        <a href="stories/wanto.txt" target="_blank">I Wanna to Love 
 527.457 +
 527.458 +        You Forever</a> Duchess Diamond<br>
 527.459 +
 527.460 +        <a href="stories/Ellastory.txt" target="_blank">A Week to 
 527.461 +
 527.462 +        Life</a> Ella<br>
 527.463 +
 527.464 +<a href="stories/run.txt" target="_blank">As I Run</a> 
 527.465 +Forever3330<br>
 527.466 +<a href="stories/walkrain.txt" target="_blank">A Walk in the Rain</a> 
 527.467 +Forever3330<br>
 527.468 +<a href="stories/ccs-hewasnt.txt" target="_blank">He Wasn't</a> 
 527.469 +Forever3330<br>
 527.470 +<a href="stories/ccs-kg_p.txt" target="_blank">Kawaii Getsurin Prologue</a> 
 527.471 +Forever3330 and Nabiki_S<br>
 527.472 +<a href="stories/ccs-kg_01.txt" target="_blank">Kawaii Getsurin Part 1</a> 
 527.473 +Forever3330 and Nabiki_S<br>
 527.474 +<a href="stories/ccs-kg_02.txt" target="_blank">Kawaii Getsurin Part 2</a> 
 527.475 +Forever3330 and Nabiki_S<br>
 527.476 +<a href="stories/remswtch1.txt" target="_blank">Miss Witch Chapter 1</a> 
 527.477 +Forever3330<br>
 527.478 +<a href="stories/remswtch2.txt" target="_blank">Miss Witch Chapter 2</a> 
 527.479 +Forever3330<br>
 527.480 +<a href="stories/remswtch3.txt" target="_blank">Miss Witch Chapter 3</a> 
 527.481 +Forever3330<br>
 527.482 +<a href="stories/neveragain.txt" target="_blank">Never Again</a> 
 527.483 +Forever3330<br>
 527.484 +<a href="stories/ccs-perhaps_xmas.txt" target="_blank">Perhaps, Maybe, I Don't Know</a>
 527.485 +Forever3330<br>
 527.486 +<a href="stories/sakuheart.txt" target="_blank">Sakura's Heart</a> 
 527.487 +Forever3330<br>
 527.488 +<a href="stories/ccs-pltofear.txt" target="_blank">The Places You Have Come To Fear
 527.489 + The Most</a> Forever3330<br>
 527.490 +<a href="stories/thoughts.txt" target="_blank">Thoughts</a> 
 527.491 +Forever3330<br>
 527.492 +<a href="stories/tomoyo-prince.txt" target="_blank">A New Prince</a> G.P.<br>
 527.493 +
 527.494 +<a
 527.495 +href="stories/ccsfieldday.txt" target="_blank">Field Day</a> G.P.<br>
 527.496 +
 527.497 +        <a href="stories/tomoyofirst.txt" target="_blank">First Date</a> G.
 527.498 +P.<br>
 527.499 +
 527.500 +<a href="stories/firstkiss.txt"
 527.501 +target="_blank">First 
 527.502 +Kiss</a> G.P.<br>
 527.503 +
 527.504 +<a href="stories/tomoyofruits.txt" target="_blank">Fruits Candy</a> G.P.<br>
 527.505 +
 527.506 +        <a href="stories/tomoyostory.txt" target="_blank">Love 
 527.507 +
 527.508 +        Is The Crooked Thing </a> G.P.<br>
 527.509 +
 527.510 +<a href="stories/tomoyovisitor.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo And The
 527.511 +Visitor</a> G.P.<br>
 527.512 +
 527.513 +<a href="stories/TomoyoVideoDiary4.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo Video 
 527.514 +Diary 4</a> G.P.<br>
 527.515 +
 527.516 +        <a href="stories/jealous.txt" target="_blank">Jealousy</a> 
 527.517 +
 527.518 +        Hinako Shinjo<br>
 527.519 +
 527.520 +        <a href="stories/ccs-lost.txt" target="_blank">Lost</a> Hinako 
 527.521 +
 527.522 +        Shinjo<br>
 527.523 +
 527.524 +        <a href="stories/runaway.txt" target="_blank">The Runaway 
 527.525 +
 527.526 +        Bride</a> Hinako Shinjo<br>
 527.527 +
 527.528 +        <a href="stories/ccs-unexpected.txt" target="_blank">Unexpected</a> 
 527.529 +
 527.530 +        Hinako Shinjo<br>
 527.531 +
 527.532 +
 527.533 +<a href="stories/dedication.txt" target="_blank">My Dedication To You</a> 
 527.534 +Hitomi<br>
 527.535 +
 527.536 +        <a href="stories/grave.txt" target="_blank">I Live in You</a> 
 527.537 +
 527.538 +        Ides of Diamonds<br>
 527.539 +
 527.540 +        <a href="stories/magicnight.txt" target="_blank">It's a Magical 
 527.541 +
 527.542 +        Night</a> Ides of Diamonds<br>
 527.543 +<a href="stories/Christmas_story.txt" target="_blank">A Cherry Blossom
 527.544 +Christmas</a> 
 527.545 +isdestroyer<br>
 527.546 +
 527.547 +        <a href="stories/substituteforlove.txt" target="_blank">Substitute 
 527.548 +
 527.549 +        For Love</a> Janice<br>
 527.550 +
 527.551 +        <a href="stories/johannstory.txt" target="_blank">Sayonara 
 527.552 +
 527.553 +        Wa, Ame No Hi</a> Johann Chua
 527.554 +
 527.555 +<p>
 527.556 +<a href="stories/disbeauty1.txt" target="_blank">Discovering Beauty Part
 527.557 +1</a> 
 527.558 +James Brown<br>
 527.559 +<a href="stories/disbeauty2.txt" target="_blank">Discovering Beauty Part
 527.560 +2</a> 
 527.561 +James Brown<br>
 527.562 +<a href="stories/disbeauty3.txt" target="_blank">Discovering Beauty Part
 527.563 +3</a> 
 527.564 +James Brown<br>
 527.565 +<a href="stories/disbeauty4.txt" target="_blank">Discovering Beauty Part
 527.566 +4</a> 
 527.567 +James Brown<br>
 527.568 +<a href="stories/disbeauty5.txt" target="_blank">Discovering Beauty Part
 527.569 +5</a> 
 527.570 +James Brown<p>
 527.571 +
 527.572 +
 527.573 +        !H!<a href="stories/sakuralemonpt1.txt" target="_blank">Sakura 
 527.574 +
 527.575 +        Lemon Part 1</a> KaitouAce<br>
 527.576 +
 527.577 +        !H!<a href="stories/sakuralemonpt2.txt" target="_blank">Sakura 
 527.578 +
 527.579 +        Lemon Part 2</a> KaitouAce<br>
 527.580 +
 527.581 +        !H!<a href="stories/sakuralemonpt3.txt" target="_blank">Sakura 
 527.582 +
 527.583 +        Lemon Part 3</a> KaitouAce<br>
 527.584 +
 527.585 +        <a href="stories/ccs-aishiteru.txt" target="_blank">Aishiteru</a> 
 527.586 +
 527.587 +        Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.588 +
 527.589 +        <a href="stories/cckakumei.txt" target="_blank">Card Captor 
 527.590 +
 527.591 +        Kakumei</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.592 +
 527.593 +        <a href="stories/ccs-song.txt" target="_blank">Manana</a> 
 527.594 +
 527.595 +        Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.596 +
 527.597 +        <a href="stories/ccs-lifelove1.txt" target="_blank">The End 
 527.598 +
 527.599 +        And The Beginning Of Life And Love 1</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.600 +
 527.601 +        <a href="stories/ccs-lifelove2.txt" target="_blank">The End 
 527.602 +
 527.603 +        And The Beginning Of Life And Love 2</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.604 +
 527.605 +        <a href="stories/tomoyo-farewell.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo's 
 527.606 +
 527.607 +        Farewell Letter</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.608 +
 527.609 +        <a href="stories/meetagain.txt" target="_blank">We Meet Again</a> 
 527.610 +
 527.611 +        Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.612 +
 527.613 +        <a href="stories/togetherforeverpt1.txt" target="_blank">You 
 527.614 +
 527.615 +        And Me, Together Forever 1</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.616 +
 527.617 +        <a href="stories/togetherforeverpt2.txt" target="_blank">You 
 527.618 +
 527.619 +        And Me, Together Forever 2</a> Kamui Ikari<br>
 527.620 +
 527.621 +        <a href="stories/greatestgift.txt" target="_blank">The Greatest 
 527.622 +
 527.623 +        Gift</a> KBaron<br>
 527.624 +
 527.625 +        <a href="stories/tomosak.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo And 
 527.626 +
 527.627 +        Sakura</a> Lizabell Waters<br>
 527.628 +
 527.629 +        <a href="stories/voltarianmush.txt" target="_blank">Voltarian 
 527.630 +
 527.631 +        Mush</a> Lizabell Waters<br>
 527.632 +
 527.633 +        <a href="stories/tomoyo.txt" target="_blank">Frame: Pieces 
 527.634 +
 527.635 +        Of Her Soul</a> Luriko-Ysabeth<br>
 527.636 +
 527.637 +        <a href="stories/lost-feelings.txt" target="_blank">Lost 
 527.638 +
 527.639 +        Feelings</a> Mahou Kaijuu<br>
 527.640 +
 527.641 +        <a href="stories/lost-feelings2.txt" target="_blank">Lost 
 527.642 +
 527.643 +        Feelings 2</a> Mahou Kaijuu<br>
 527.644 +
 527.645 +        <a href="stories/lost-feelings3.txt" target="_blank">Lost 
 527.646 +
 527.647 +        Feelings 3</a> Mahou Kaijuu<br>
 527.648 +
 527.649 +<a href="stories/lost-
 527.650 +feelings4.txt" target="_blank">Lost Feelings 4</a> Mahou Kaijuu<br>
 527.651 +
 527.652 +        <a href="stories/coldnight.txt" target="_blank">Even In The 
 527.653 +
 527.654 +        Cold Night</a> Meimi<br>
 527.655 +
 527.656 +
 527.657 +<a href="stories/conjure.txt" target="_blank">Conjure Me</a> 
 527.658 +Meredith Bronwen Mallory<br>
 527.659 +<a href="stories/takesonept1.txt" target="_blank">Takes One To Know One Part
 527.660 +1</a> 
 527.661 +Meredith Bronwen Mallory<br>
 527.662 +
 527.663 +        <a href="stories/alwayseternal1.txt" target="_blank">Always 
 527.664 +
 527.665 +        And Eternal</a> MH Hughes<br>
 527.666 +
 527.667 +<a href="stories/alwayseternal2.txt" target="_blank">Always And Eternal
 527.668 +2</a> MH Hughes<br>
 527.669 +<a href="stories/ccs-notforme.txt" target="_blank">But Not For Me</a> 
 527.670 +Miss Kanzaki<br>
 527.671 +<a href="stories/ccs-truelovewaits.txt" target="_blank">True Love Waits</a>
 527.672 +Miss Kanzaki<br>
 527.673 +<a href="stories/different.txt" target="_blank">The Different Path</a> 
 527.674 +MysticMew<br>
 527.675 +<a href="stories/ccs-happy.txt" target="_blank">Happy Years</a> MysticMew<br>
 527.676 +<a href="stories/ccs-seal01.txt" target="_blank">Seal Chapter 1</a> MysticMew<br>
 527.677 +<a href="stories/seal02.txt" target="_blank">Seal Chapter 2</a> MysticMew<br>
 527.678 +<a href="stories/underneath.txt" target="_blank">Underneath My Heart Is
 527.679 +Yours</a> 
 527.680 +Nakura<br>
 527.681 +<a href="stories/ccs-cctomopt1.txt" target="_blank">CardCaptor Tomoyo Part 1</a> Princess
 527.682 +Chibiusa<br>
 527.683 +<a href="stories/ccs-anniversary.txt" target="_blank">
 527.684 +Anniversary</a> Radar<br>
 527.685 +<a href="stories/ccs_dear-diary.txt" target="_blank">
 527.686 +Dear Diary</a> Radar<br>
 527.687 +<img src="sakura-new.gif">
 527.688 +<a href="stories/ccs_theoneyoulove.txt" target="_blank">
 527.689 +Find Out The One You Love</a> Radar<br>
 527.690 +<img src="sakura-new.gif">
 527.691 +<a href="stories/ccs_home.txt" target="_blank">
 527.692 +Home</a> Radar<br>
 527.693 +<img src="sakura-new.gif">
 527.694 +<a href="stories/ccs_inmymind.txt" target="_blank">
 527.695 +Is It Real Or Just All In My Mind?</a> Radar<br>
 527.696 +<a href="stories/ccs_nadeshikosfirst.txt" target="_blank">
 527.697 +Nadeshiko's First School Day</a> Radar<br>
 527.698 +<a href="stories/ccs_nvr-engh-tm.txt" target="_blank">
 527.699 +Never Enough Time</a> Radar<br>
 527.700 +<a href="stories/ccs_adv-in-time.txt" target="_blank">
 527.701 +Sakura and Tomoyo's Adventure Through Time</a> Radar<br>
 527.702 +<a href="stories/ccs-2ndchild.txt" target="_blank">
 527.703 +Sakura, Tomoyo, And Their Second Child</a> Radar<br>
 527.704 +<a href="stories/ccs_tellstories.txt" target="_blank">
 527.705 +Stories</a> Radar<br>
 527.706 +<a href="stories/ccs-tellparents.txt" target="_blank">
 527.707 +Telling The Parents</a> Radar<br>
 527.708 +<a href="stories/ccs_tell-everyone.txt" target="_blank">
 527.709 +Telling Everyone</a> Radar<br>
 527.710 +<a href="stories/ccs-timeheals.txt" target="_blank">
 527.711 +Time Heals All Wounds</a> Radar<br>
 527.712 +<a href="stories/ccs-parenthood.txt" target="_blank">
 527.713 +The Road To Parenthood</a> Radar<br>
 527.714 +<a href="stories/ccs_thewedding.txt" target="_blank">
 527.715 +The Wedding</a> Radar<br>
 527.716 +<a href="stories/ccs_woman-girl.txt" target="_blank">
 527.717 +The Woman Is a Girl Again</a> Radar<br>
 527.718 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_grad-day.txt" target="_blank">
 527.719 +Grad Day</a> Raven_Roth<br>
 527.720 +<a href="stories/arigatou.txt" target="_blank">Arigatou</a> Riesz Fenrir<br>
 527.721 +
 527.722 +        <a href="stories/tcs1.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo Captor 
 527.723 +
 527.724 +        Sakura</a> Ren-chan<br>
 527.725 +<a
 527.726 +href="stories/tcs2.txt" target="_blank">Tomoyo Captor Sakura 2</a> Ren-
 527.727 +chan<br>
 527.728 +
 527.729 +        <a href="stories/lovestory.txt" target="_blank">A Love Story 
 527.730 +
 527.731 +        Part 1</a> Ricardo Chirinos<br>
 527.732 +
 527.733 +<a
 527.734 +href="stories/lovestory2.txt" target="_blank">A Love Story Part 2</a> 
 527.735 +Ricardo Chirinos<br>
 527.736 +
 527.737 +        <a href="stories/ccs-daydream.txt" target="_blank">Daydreaming</a> 
 527.738 +
 527.739 +        Ricardo Chirinos<br>
 527.740 +
 527.741 +        <a href="stories/ccs-loveme.txt" target="_blank">Just Love 
 527.742 +
 527.743 +        Me</a> Ricardo Chirinos<br>
 527.744 +
 527.745 +        <a href="stories/dreamingof.txt" target="_blank">Dreaming 
 527.746 +
 527.747 +        Of Sakura</a> Rich "Li"<br>
 527.748 +
 527.749 +        <a href="stories/myeyesonyou.txt" target="_blank">My Eyes 
 527.750 +
 527.751 +        On You</a> Rich "Li"<br>
 527.752 +
 527.753 +
 527.754 +<a href="stories/stepping.txt" target="_blank">Stepping Stones to the Future</a> 
 527.755 +rphjas<br>
 527.756 +<a href="stories/ccs_nightflight.txt" target="_blank">
 527.757 +Night Flight</a> rphjas<br>
 527.758 +<a href="stories/ccs_tearfulnights.txt" target="_blank">
 527.759 +Tearful Nights</a> rphjas<br>
 527.760 +<a href="stories/ccs_tomoyosmagic.txt" target="_blank">
 527.761 +Tomoyo's Magic</a> rphjas<br>
 527.762 +
 527.763 +        <a href="stories/ccs-sidebyside.txt" target="_blank">Side 
 527.764 +
 527.765 +        By Side</a> Ruby Moon<br>
 527.766 +
 527.767 +        <a href="stories/ccs-cannot.txt" target="_blank">I Could 
 527.768 +
 527.769 +        Not Ask For More</a> Samuraiheart<br>
 527.770 +
 527.771 +        <a href="stories/onewish.txt" target="_blank">One Wish</a> 
 527.772 +
 527.773 +        Samuraiheart<br>
 527.774 +
 527.775 +        <a href="stories/ccssmile.txt" target="_blank">Smile</a> 
 527.776 +
 527.777 +        Samuraiheart<br>
 527.778 +
 527.779 +<a href="stories/durimu.txt" target="_blank">Dream</a> Sarah F.<br>
 527.780 +
 527.781 +        <a href="stories/Sarasong.txt" target="_blank">I'll Have 
 527.782 +
 527.783 +        To Say I Love You In A Song</a> Sara Jaye<br>
 527.784 +
 527.785 +<a
 527.786 +href="stories/emeraldeyes.txt" target="_blank">Emerald Eyes</a> Shangri-la<br>
 527.787 +<img src="sakura-new.gif">
 527.788 +<a href="stories/ccs_kissfromrose.txt" target="_blank">
 527.789 +Kiss From A Rose</a> Siobhan Pettit<br>
 527.790 +<p>
 527.791 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-01.txt" target="_blank">
 527.792 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 1</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.793 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-02.txt" target="_blank">
 527.794 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 2</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.795 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-03.txt" target="_blank">
 527.796 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 3</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.797 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-04.txt" target="_blank">
 527.798 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 4</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.799 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-05.txt" target="_blank">
 527.800 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 5</a> somnambulated
 527.801 +<br>
 527.802 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-06.txt" target="_blank">
 527.803 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 6</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.804 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-07.txt" target="_blank">
 527.805 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 7</a> somnambulated<br>
 527.806 +!H!<a href="stories/ccs_yoru-08.txt" target="_blank">
 527.807 +Yoru No Uta Chapter 8</a> somnambulated</p>
 527.808 +
 527.809 +        <a href="stories/ccs-thousand.txt" target="_blank">I Want 
 527.810 +
 527.811 +        Certain Words More Than A Thousand Flowers</a> Spheeris1<br>
 527.812 +
 527.813 +	<a href="stories/ccs-lovebest.txt" target="_blank">The One You Love
 527.814 +Best</a> Star Knight Abraxis<br>
 527.815 +<a href="stories/illhap.txt" target="_blank">Illusions of Happiness Chapter
 527.816 +1</a> 
 527.817 +Starlight Armor<br>
 527.818 +
 527.819 +        <a href="stories/CCSReprise.txt" target="_blank">Reprise</a> 
 527.820 +
 527.821 +        Stirling Twilight<br>
 527.822 +
 527.823 +
 527.824 +<a href="stories/secretsdm.txt" target="_blank">Secrets</a> 
 527.825 +Starlight Knight<br>
 527.826 +
 527.827 +        <a href="stories/ccs-happiness.txt" target="_blank">Happiness</a> 
 527.828 +
 527.829 +        Syaoran No Ichiban Aikousha<br>
 527.830 +<a href="stories/ccs_chseasons.txt" target="_blank">Changing Seasons</a> tehwalrus<br>
 527.831 +<a href="stories/ccs-wilbOK-01.txt" target="_blank">
 527.832 +Everything Will Be Okay</a> tehwalrus<br>
 527.833 +<a href="stories/ccs-tomoyoslove.txt" target="_blank">
 527.834 +Tomoyo's Love</a> tehwalrus<br>
 527.835 +<a href="stories/ccs_revelations.txt" target="_blank">
 527.836 +Revelations</a> The Snow Queen<br>
 527.837 +<a href="stories/ccs_crooked.txt" target="_blank">
 527.838 +Crooked</a> Teresa Kaiju<br>
 527.839 +<a href="stories/ccs_inthemiddle.txt" target="_blank">
 527.840 +In The Middle</a> Teresa Kaiju<br>
 527.841 +<a href="stories/ccs-asiwait.txt" target="_blank">As I Wait For You</a> WaMat Debly<br>
 527.842 +<a href="stories/ccs-whitexmas.txt" target="_blank">White Christmas</a> WaMat Debly<br>
 527.843 +
 527.844 +        <a href="stories/ccsnewlyweds.txt" target="_blank">Kero-Chan's 
 527.845 +
 527.846 +        Newlywed Game</a> Yukito-No-Miko<br>
 527.847 +
 527.848 +        <a href="stories/another-day.txt" target="_blank">Yet Another 
 527.849 +
 527.850 +        Day Ends</a> Yukiyo
 527.851 +<br>
 527.852 +</div></td>
 527.853 +</tr>
 527.854 +<tr><td><img src="large-win_btm.jpg"></td>
 527.855 +</tr>
 527.856 +</TABLE>
 527.857 +</div>
 527.858 +
 527.859 +</body>
 527.860 +
 527.861 +</HTML>
 527.862 \ No newline at end of file